VANCOUVER, BC and ATLANTA, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. ("Liberty" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCAN) (OTCQB: LDDFF) (FRANKFURT: LD2), a leading concealed weapons detection solutions company, is pleased to announce that it has promoted Michael Lanzaro to the role of President & CTO.

Michael Lanzaro has over 25 years of management experience leading large high-tech organizations with product development, research and development (R&D), and marketing, as well as profit and loss responsibilities. Prior to joining Liberty Defense, Michael served as Vice President of Engineering for L3's (LHX-NYSE) Security and Detection Systems division, where he oversaw technology, R&D, and engineering development. As part of his role, he and his team were responsible for the development and certification of the company's millimeter wave body scanner, high throughput computed tomography checkpoint technology, and checked baggage systems. Prior to joining L3 in 2004, he spent seventeen years at Symbol Technologies, where he last served as Vice President of Engineering for the $700M+ mobile computing systems business prior to its $3.9B acquisition by Motorola.

Lanzaro received a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from New York Institute of Technology, a Master of Management degree from NYU's Polytechnic University, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is also a holder of 11 issued U.S. Patents.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Mike for the past 15 years and have seen first-hand how he can successfully take a product from the conceptual phase right through to commercialization," comments Bill Frain, CEO of Liberty Defense. "Mike has the leadership skills and strategic mindset to grow Liberty Defense into a true security and detection systems company spanning multiple and diverse technologies. He has established a great reputation in the global security marketplace, with customers and also within the technical community. He recently drove the completion of our licensing agreement for the next generation aviation HD-AIT technology and will look to leverage his experience as the company accelerates its development of the Liberty HEXWAVE platform."

"I joined the company 18 months ago to develop and commercialize innovative and disruptive technologies for the global security and detection market, whether that means protecting the public while travelling, going to a ballgame, or simply going to an office for work," states Lanzaro. "The recent incidents of violence in our country and beyond clearly demonstrates the need for the technologies that we are developing here at Liberty. It continues to be my passion to provide a more secure environment for people and to prevent tragic events from happening."

On Behalf of Liberty Defense

Bill Frain

CEO & Director



About Liberty Defense

Liberty Defense (TSXV: SCAN, OTCQB: LDDFF, FRANKFURT: LD2) provides multi-technology security solutions for concealed weapons detection in high volume foot traffic areas and locations requiring enhanced security such as airports, stadiums, schools, and more. Liberty's HEXWAVE product, for which the company has secured an exclusive license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a technology transfer agreement for patents related to active 3D radar imaging technology, provides discrete, modular, and scalable protection to provide layered, stand-off detection capability of metallic and non-metallic weapons. Liberty has also recently licensed the millimeter wave-based, High Definition Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) body scanner and shoe scanner technologies as part of its ongoing relationship with Battelle Memorial Institute. Liberty is committed to protecting communities and preserving peace of mind through superior security detection solutions. Learn more: LibertyDefense.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Although Liberty believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information in this press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Liberty. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Liberty's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history of the parties; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general development, market and industry conditions. The parties undertake no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of their securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable).

Liberty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Liberty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Liberty has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Liberty as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Liberty does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd.

Related Links

www.libertydefense.com


Oakland-based health care giant Kaiser Permanente is settling two class-action lawsuits over unequal pay, one on behalf of Black employees for $11.5 million and the other for Latino employees for $7.4 million.

The first case was filed in San Francisco Superior Court Thursday by four current and former Black employees on behalf of 2,225 workers in two job categories  administrative support and consulting services.

The complaint alleged Kaiser paid Black employees less than non-Black employees for doing similar work and failed to promote Black employees compared to non-Black employees despite similar performance reviews.

The filing was a formality to get court approval, as parties already agreed to the settlement terms after mediation. Attorneys for the employees investigated the case for more than two years.

As an African American current employee, I have come forward to raise issues of racial equity to make our workplace stronger, plaintiff Charleta Dabrowski said in a statement released Thursday. I support new programs dedicated to ensuring equal pay and fair opportunities.

The second case was filed in Alameda County Superior Court in June by a Latino employee on behalf of approximately 2,500 others in administrative support, consulting services and similar positions. The complaint alleged that Kaiser paid Latino employees less than white workers and discriminated in hiring, with Latino employees disproportionately working in the lowest-paying jobs and underrepresented in management.

Michael Cuenca, who worked for Kaiser for 10 years in diversity and inclusion and human resources, filed an internal complaint alleging racial pay discrimination in 2019 that was rejected in 2020, according to court documents. He also sent emails to executive leadership  starting with then-CEO Bernard Tyson  with a data report saying Latino employees were paid up to tens of thousands of dollars a year less than non-Latino colleagues. Cuenca was placed on administrative leave in July and, as of recently, is no longer working for the company.

Im pleased to have been able to help move (Kaiser) beyond the rhetoric of diversity with real and significant steps toward a more just and equitable workplace, Cuenca said in a statement Friday.

Kaiser said it chose to settle the two suits, representing a total of around 4,800 current and former Black and Latino employees, on negotiated terms.

Christian Meisner, Kaisers chief human resources officer, said the company was saddened to learn that any employee would feel discriminated against at Kaiser Permanente, in a statement. While various elements of the lawsuits are subject to dispute, we recognize the importance of listening and learning from our employees. Meisner said the company will hold ourselves accountable... to address any disparities and their root causes.

As part of the settlements, Kaiser will retain an independent consultant to conduct a job and pay analysis review and use the data to create more opportunities and career development for Black and Latino employees. The company will also conduct annual pay analyses, addressing any disparities, for the next three years. Finally, it will invest in more leadership development for underrepresented groups and racial bias training.

The Black plaintiffs were represented by two firms  Medina Orthwein and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein. The Latino plaintiff was represented by firms Bryan Schwartz Law and Nichols Kaster.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench
The Daily Emerald is the news division of Emerald Media Group, University of Oregons independent student media organization.



Ryan Nguyen(541) 346-5511 Ext. 325editor@dailyemerald.com
The of India (ECI) on Thursday dismissed allegations by Trinamool Congress that two of their activists were injured in firing by central forces in Ashok Nagar assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, an official said.

TMC activists had alleged two party activists were injured after they were hit by bullets fired by central forces outside booth number 79 in Ashok Nagar's Tangra area on Thursday when a few party members protested against a visit by BJP candidate for the seat, Tanuja Chakraborty.

Clashes broke out in the area between BJP and Trinamool Congress' activists and bombs bombs were hurled, police said adding that unidentified people vandalised one vehicle carrying central policemen.

"Two of my party colleagues were injured after bullets fired by central forces personnel hit them in their legs. Both are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. The central forces are not doing the right thing," TMC candidate Narayan Goswami alleged.

Following this, the ECI sought a report from officials posted in the district and based on inputs dismissed the allegations.

"There was no incident of any firing by central forces. We have no such report. This is a baseless allegation," a senior official told PTI.

During the fourth phase of polling held on April 10, four persons were killed after CISF personnel opened fire in self defence outside a booth in Cooch Behar districts Sitalkuchi area.
An award-winning Hong Kong journalist was found guilty on Thursday of improperly searching a public vehicle licence database to help track down the perpetrators of an attack on democracy supporters by government loyalists.

The conviction of Bao Choy, a producer with public broadcaster RTHK, comes at a time of deepening concerns over press freedoms in the international business hub as Beijing stamps out dissent in the wake of huge democracy protests.

Choy, 37, was found guilty by a magistrate on two counts of "knowingly making a false statement" to access number plate ownership records.

"Members of the public do not have an absolute right to obtain any document under this ordinance," magistrate Ivy Chui said.

She faces up to six months in jail and a HK$5,000 fine ($640) at sentencing.

Colleagues and members of RTHK's employee union gathered outside the court holding banners that read "Journalism is not a crime" and "Who wants the public kept in the dark?"

The database searches were made for an RTHK documentary last year called "Who Owns The Truth?" that investigated an attack on pro-democracy protesters by a gang of men armed with clubs and sticks.

The police's failure to respond quickly enough to the July 2019 assault was a turning point in the huge and often violent pro-democracy protests that year, further hammering public trust in the force.

RTHK used footage from witnesses and security cameras -- as well as number plate searches and interviews -- to piece together events.

It uncovered new details about the alleged attackers, some of whom have links to politically-influential rural committees that support Beijing.

It also said that police failed to respond to the build up of stick-wielding men ferried into the district by specific vehicles that evening hours before the attack.

Choy was arrested after the documentary aired in November.

Hong Kong maintains a publicly-accessible licence plate database long used by journalists, including pro-Beijing news outlets.

Story continues

But authorities announced a quietly-introduced rule change that meant journalists were no longer allowed to make searches.

During her searches, Choy ticked a reason box that said "traffic and transportation related matters".

"The only reasonable and inference is that the accused applied for the (vehicle) certificate for the purposes of interviews, reporting and programme production and these purposes have nothing to do with matters related to traffic and transport," Chui ruled.

su-yan/jta/oho
Or, at the very least, the owners heartbreak at what just happened.It happened earlier this week, on a roadway in Sirmione, Brescia, Italy, as reported by Formula Passion (with a hat tip to The Drive ). The unnamed owner, whose expression is the saddest youre likely to see this week, drove down a roadway and stopped at a slipway on Lake Garda. The makeshift ramp is used for loading and unloading boats.According to the Italian publication, the man put his Ferrari in neutral and got out. Before he realized what was happening, the car slowly started rolling toward the water, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it. Unless youre Superman or some other superhero, theres no chance you can stop a car from rolling down a slope.Not that this man didnt try. Based on the photo making the rounds online, which shows him in the lake, with the car, he went down with the Ferrari. Either that, or he really needed a place to sit down until the cops and the tow vehicle arrived. Sitting on the ground like a peasant probably wasnt appealing to him.The 812 Superfast was eventually towed out of the lake, but theres no word on how much damage it took from the unplanned swim. Neither is it known how much time it spent in the water, but the original source notes that the driver wasnt injured. And thats probably the only silver lining to the story. Ferrari 812 Superfasts have been going out at an incredible speed, and not exactly in the blaze of glory Bon Jovi sang about back in the 90s. That isnt to say that theres anything wrong with the car, but theres plenty to be said about the human at the wheel of a $400K V12 beast and that humans misjudging of road conditions or his skills in handling so much power
Davidson Homes, a homebuilder based in Huntsville, Ala., will begin building homes in the Houston area as its entry to the Texas market.

The privately-owned company, which targets first-time and move-up buyers, has tapped Jim Rorison to lead its Houston operations as division president. Davidson has deals in the works for 329 lots in the Houston region where it plans to begin building homes by July.
Shrugging off the disruptions of last year, businesses and agencies are looking for a strong revival in 2021. Adgully  as part of our annual TRENDING NOW endeavour  has been presenting the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of 2020.

In conversation with Adgully, Swapnil Tripathi, Chief Business Officer, Intercity RailYatri, gives an overview of the travel industry in the pandemic era.

Outlook for 2021

The year 2020 started with a complete lockdown and we were stuck in a faceoff-like situation with an uncertain and unknown new normal. However, as mobility started in July, non-discretionary travel (work & social travel) picked up faster and that led us to touch our pre-COVID volumes in November 2020. With revived travel sentiments and ease in mobility, we were able to close this financial year at 50-60% Y-On-Y growth, specifically from our main business centers across 14 states of India where our fleet operates.

The pandemic impacted the intercity mobility segment as emergency measures and safety protocols were put in place to prohibit the public movement to restrict the spread of the virus. It was a sudden jolt to the industry as well as travelers. We conserved our energy and utilised lockdown period to understand the consumer behaviour and their changed habits/ priorities to get our product and operations ready for the changed lifestyle.

Our research taught us that pandemic changed the passengers expectations in intercity mobility, where hygiene, cleanliness & social distancing became the bigger priorities as compared to the comfort and on-time arrival and departure.

The intercity mobility by bus & train improved throughout August 2020 to March 2021 and reached around 75-80% of pre-COVID levels. Simultaneously, we could create a better consumer stickiness for Intercity SmartBus because of the differentiated experience offered to our travelers with Safe+ program along with a fleet having Bus Captain, onboard washroom, live tracking on the app, just to name a few.

While we are cautious as the second wave of COVID-19 has hit the country and it may impact the mobility in April, which otherwise is a higher intensity travel period because of the onset of summer vacations. The year 2021 will be far better in general since industry and we, in particular, are far better prepared. Besides the government also does not intend to impact mobility, that being the lifeline of the economy.

We look forward to 2021, where our current 10-15% month-on-month growth should continue after the initial phase of slow movement due to restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus. We are currently running an all-time high fleet of 130+ Intercity SmartBus running across 630+ routes in India which should reach around 400-500 buses by year-end.

Read More: Conversational marketing will be talked about a lot this year: Arjun Bhatia

Consumer sentiments

The intercity bus landscape has changed significantly with the entry of technology-based players like ours, who at the current juncture dominate the industry with their presence on the most prominent routes in India. The pandemic has not only changed how the customers travel preferences but they are biased and have gained awareness towards organized players who are providing better hygiene, sanitization, and safe travel.

We launched a comprehensive Safe+ program in July 2020, which now has become the industry norm, especially amongst organised players.

However, a certain balance in consumer expectations emerged by December 2020, when along with hygiene and sanitization the earlier expectations around on-time arrival & departure and comfortable journey experience became a priority again.

We can now clearly establish that hygiene and sanitization is not a phase and has now become a standard expectation from the travelers along with on-time performance, safe boarding and journey comfort. Hence, our initiatives of onboard washroom, boarding lounges, Bus Captain, journey management app along with Safe+ program helped establish leadership and gain consumer mind space. Additional benefits such as complimentary travel Insurance, Flexi ticket, sanitization kit are also drawing more and more customer travelers attention.

Key learnings from 2020

The year 2020 made us stronger and we realised that every crisis brings us a new possibility and one should always put the best step forward to transform it into a bigger opportunity/ learning. Our capability to reach our travelers and accumulate consumer insights and implementing those changes in our product helped us stay ahead on the growth curve.

I would like to conclude by saying that evolution is the only constant for a brand to achieve its business growth not only today, but for the future and hence fast learning, listening to customers and enable those to your product are the keys to success.

Outlook for the travel industry

We expect the industry to go faster after struggling with a slow start in the coming months. COVID-19 vaccine slots will not only ensure containment of the spread of the virus, but also infuse a liberation thought in the consumers minds to start traveling. As a result, mobility to travel from metros to Tier 2 and 3 cities is bound to grow, which, in return, would give a boost to the economy.

Besides, the emergence of technology-based brands in the inter-city bus segment and fully digital train booking platforms are going to ensure that both modes grow to offer integrated mobility across the two primary modes of intercity travel in India. We are highly optimistic about non-discretionary travel for work, education, and social reasons to grow in 2021.
By Wong Tai-Chee



Not long ago, the historian Ranjit Singh Malhi strongly criticized the content of Malaysias latest high school history textbook, saying that it seriously lacks the reflection of the countrys ethnic diversity because it favours the dominant position of the Malays and Islam as the core of society. Ranjit also took the economic aspect as an example. The textbooks understate and sweep away the huge contributions of the Indians who had made to the rubber industry and the Chinese to the tin mining industry. He called on the Ministry of Education to correct the unfair and inaccurate content of the textbooks. It is strongly felt that during the revision process, the Ministry of Education must recruit scholars of all ethnic groups to participate and seek consensus before reaching a conclusion to reflect the true face of history.

It should be noted that history textbooks are fundamental to shaping national consciousness. Its content and opinions can affect the hearts of young and innocent school children, and may leave a deep and lingering imprint in their minds for a lifetime. However, what is frustrating is that the state system established by any regime tends to use mainstream culture to incorporate other sub-mainstream cultures to achieve the national goal of unification and even assimilation. Teaching of history is one of the important means. Even countries that belong to the same cultural foundation may have very different historical versions on both sides due to division. Mainland China and Taiwan are a good example.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in Taiwan, it has insisted on using historical education to pave the way for Taiwan's "de-sinicization". The average person understands that this is a preparation for "Taiwan independence." Taiwan has made major revisions to its history education several times. After 2006, the "National History" in Taiwan's textbooks was divided into two different textbooks, "History of China" and "History of Taiwan", which basically established the two concepts of mainland Chinese and Taiwanese residents. In addition, looking at Mainland China, the content of its history textbooks and that of Taiwan are vastly different. In addition to the admiration, derogation, or description of modern politicians, they each have their own opinions on internal affairs, accounts of anti-Japanese war, and diplomatic relations with the United States. It can be said that it is basically in a state of opposition. Under the influence of their respective teachers' persuasions, imagine the extent of shock that the students from both sides would have when they come into contact with each other about history after their thoughts and cognitive instinct are shaped at young age.

Over the past 20 years, China's rapid rise has been met with resistance and confronted by many Western countries, especially the United States. In addition to strengthening military research and development and improving the quality of foreign trade products competitiveness in the international market, the countermeasures taken by Mainland China is to intentionally uplift the patriotic enthusiasm of students and citizens in the field of education. Indeed, patriotism, as a cohesive element, is used as a safeguard for national sovereignty and reinforcement for nation building. Speaking of building "patriotism", we might as well explore whether the Malaysian federal government, which is dominated by Malays, has this agenda hidden in the newly compiled history textbooks.

After the May 30th coup in Indonesia in 1965, the Suharto government launched a "patriotic movement" as an argument for closing Chinese schools and banning Chinese publications. In recent years of international politics, "patriotism" has been distorted from its original implications by politicians to serve their political goals or party politics. In Malaysias Malay-dominated government, patriotic behaviour could have been interpreted that ethnic minority groups should cooperate with the ruling majoritys intentions. Failure to cooperate can be regarded as a non-patriotic behaviour. For example, Grab, an e-hailing car sharing company founded by Malaysias Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling in 2012, has grown rapidly. Its business today has expanded to more than 300 cities in Southeast Asia, and its total company value is estimated at 160 billion ringgit, surpassing the total asset value of 90 billion ringgit of the countrys largest state-run Malayan Banking Corporation. Reportedly, when Anthony Tan applied for funding from Khazanah Nasional (Malaysian Government Investment Corporation), he was reluctant to accept the condition that a substantial proportion of the investment had to be allotted out to be the usual "Bumi-shares or indigenous shares". Anthony Tan then negotiated the terms of cooperation with Temasek Holdings of the Singapore government, and the business has flourished under his leadership. In the eyes of the Malay-dominated government, Anthony's actions can be regarded as non-patriotic, although it was not said as such publicly.

Lets go back to the fact that Malaysia is compiling history textbooks. As ethnic minorities, Chinese, Indians and those from East Malaysia, we can accept the key position of the Malays in the textbooks, but we cannot accept minimizing the existence and historical contributions of ethnic minorities, or the distortion of their due status and merits. The deeds of ethnic minorities, must be presented accurately in the textbooks to students of all ethnic groups in a reasonably acceptable coverage, so that they can understand the true history of different races from an early age. On that basis, our children will obtain the message for mutual respect, and the need for inter-ethnic cooperation to achieve a shared prosperity. I think this is the key element for cultivating students from all ethnic groups to be truly patriotic and promoting a deeper understanding of each other.

Looking at the current world where racism is raging and mutually exclusive disputes between nations are common place, Malaysia is no exception. The racial party politics practised in Malaysia over the past 60 years has led to social disharmony, and it has led to mutual suspicion and extremism among races. This is not good for the future political and economic developments of the country. Revising the history textbook to give all ethnic groups a true face not only shows the government's courage to face history with honour, but it is certainly an important step in alleviating the current dilemma.

(Wong Tai-Chee has his B.A and M.A degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Paris, and earned his PhD in Human Geography from the Australian National University. After teaching 20 years in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, he retired in 2013. He then worked as Distinguished Professor for two years at Guizhou University of Finance and Economics, China, and as Dean and Professor at the Southern University College, Johor until the end of 2018. He was Visiting Professor to University of Paris (Sorbonne IV), Visiting Fellow to Pekin University, Tokyo University and University of Western Australia. His main research interests are in urban and economic issues, and more recently on Malaysian politics. Besides his 15 self-authored and edited book volumes, he has written over 100 academic articles and published widely in international journals.)




The Oklahoma Senate on Monday unanimously passed a bill to reimburse the families of fallen Oklahoma National Guard members who die on state active-duty orders for their funeral expenses.

The legislation was sent to Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday. He has up to five working days to enact or veto the bill, as Oklahoma is still in its legislative session.

Read Next: Navy Pulls Way Ahead of the Other Services in Race to 100% Vaccination

HB2374 would establish a program to reimburse families for funeral expenses up to $10,000. If enacted, the bill will take effect on Nov. 1, 2021. Reimbursements would be determined by the Department of Emergency Management; the bill orders the creation of an "Oklahoma Homeland Security Revolving Fund," from which the funeral expenses would be paid.

The median cost of an adult funeral with a viewing and burial is about $6,933 in Oklahoma and nearby states, but the national median cost is $9,135, according to 2019 data from the National Funeral Directors Association.

"This was not a bill that was requested by us, but we're very supportive of the effort,"

Brig. Gen. Tommy Mancino, an assistant adjutant general of the Oklahoma Army National Guard who has served for 36 years, told Military.com. "I think it's an appropriate thing to do for our soldiers and airmen in the National Guard in Oklahoma, when they choose to serve in the National Guard and are called to state active duty, as opposed to federal active duty, that they get the same kind of benefits for their families, should they provide the ultimate sacrifice."

Currently, the families of Oklahoma National Guardsmen who are killed overseas while on federal active-duty orders are reimbursed for their funeral expenses, but the families of those who die while serving on state active-duty orders are not. Mancino emphasized that "in all 54 states and territories it's handled differently."

"When it's the state active-duty mission, they work for the governor of the state, and therefore the laws within the state govern their rights and benefits," he said. "Soldiers that are injured on state active duty are not covered by federal health care protections like a normal, active-duty soldier or airman would [be]. And they're also not covered by the same ... [Department of Veterans Affairs] benefits that would accrue to a service member killed in the line of duty."

At least 20 Oklahoma National Guard members have died while serving overseas since 9/11, according to a 2020 news release.

Mancino said that "to the best of his knowledge" no Oklahoma Guard member has died on state active-duty orders, but some have been injured.

"We have had soldiers that are injured on state active duty, so they do participate in dangerous activities," he said.

Republican Oklahoma State Sen. David Bullard, who authored the bill in the state Senate, told Military.com that he is confident that Stitt will support the bill.

"Our governor is very, very on target with our service men and women, who serve both Highway Patrol, law enforcement and the National Guard," Bullard said. "I don't see the reason why the governor would veto it. He'll be on board with this."

Bullard said that supporting the bill was "an easy yes." Though Guard deaths on state active-duty orders are uncommon, he emphasized the importance of covering families financially.

"The fiscal impact was considered to be very low, because it's a very rare occurrence. But even in those rare occurrences, we just wanted to make sure that the families are covered," he said.

Republican Oklahoma State Rep. Dean Davis, who authored the bill in the state House, expressed support for the bill in an April 20 news release.

"I'm proud to have authored this important bill to honor the lives and sacrifice of our brave National Guard men and women who paid the ultimate price in service to their country and state," Davis said. "Having lost a loved one, these families shouldn't have to worry about funeral expenses. Just as their loved one was there for the state of Oklahoma, we will be there for them at their time of need providing this financial assistance as they are laid to their final resting place."

Related: Guard Members Who Deployed for the Inauguration Are Getting a Brand-New Award
Lawyers and civic group members hold a press conference in front of the Seoul High Court, Wednesday, after the court ruled in favor of an asylum seeker. The lawyers said the government should guarantee the man's right to make a refugee application. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



An appellate court in Seoul ruled in favor of an asylum seeker, saying it was illegal for the Korean government to reject his refugee application simply because Korea was not his final destination but a transfer point.



The Seoul High Court issued the ruling Wednesday as the man, whose nationality was not revealed, had filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Justice.



The latest ruling came after the ministry lodged an appeal following its loss in a lower court trial last June.



After arriving at Incheon International Airport in February last year, the man tried to apply for refugee status, saying that he had suffered political persecution in his home country and that about 10 of his family members and acquaintances had been killed there.



The airport's immigration service under the justice ministry, however, rejected his application, saying a transfer passenger was unqualified to enter the country and thus ineligible to make the refugee application, which it said should be made only at an immigration checkpoint at the airport. The man was not granted passage beyond the transit zone.



Following the rejection, the man remained in the airport transit zone for 14 months and slept on a sofa there.



The Korea Refugee Rights Network, which has supported the man's legal battle against the government, welcomed the latest court ruling, calling on the ministry to guarantee his opportunity of going through a screening procedure for his refugee application.



"I hope the ministry will not inflict more pain on the man by appealing the case at the Supreme Court," lawyer Lee Il said during a press conference held after the court ruling. "The ministry should apologize to him."



The man is currently staying in an accommodation offered by the civic group to comply with the government's 14-day self-isolation rule applied to foreign entrants, after the Incheon District Court, April 13, acknowledged his status as an "internee" and temporarily lifted the status so that he can receive medical treatment at a local hospital.


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 20:35:25|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Nov. 18, 2020 shows panda toys during a "Tree of Friendship" planting ceremony in Canberra, Australia, Nov. 18, 2020. (Photo by Liu Changchang/Xinhua)

- The stark disregard for the spirit of contract has put Australia's credibility into question.



- It is hoped that Australia will take an objective and rational view of the BRI and cooperation with China.



BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- With the federal government of Australia tearing up Victoria State's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreements with China, Australia has shown no respect for the spirit of contract or any sincerity toward improving bilateral ties.

On Wednesday, Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced her decision in a statement to scrap the memorandum of understanding on BRI cooperation and the framework agreement, which were signed in 2018 and 2019 respectively, between the government of Victoria and the Chinese side.

The statement, calling those deals "inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations," was made under Australia's Foreign Arrangements Scheme that came into effect last December.

It is reportedly the first time that the Australian government has used its new power tool to cancel agreements between local governments and other countries.

Photo taken on Nov. 2, 2020 shows the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

The stark disregard for the spirit of contract has put Australia's credibility into question. It seems risky now to strike deals with the country because of such unpredictable behavior.

Cooperation with Australia has become erratic. Blame the government's capricious behavior, something China knows all too well.

Since 2018, a dozen Chinese investment projects in infrastructure and agriculture have been turned down by Australia on so-called national security concerns.

Chinese dairy company Mengniu gave up its proposed acquisition of Lion Dairy and Drinks last August, after Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that the Chinese company's investment was "contrary to the national interest." Months later, Australia blocked a Chinese construction company from buying out a domestic builder, citing national security concerns.

The BRI deals with Australia have also long been in the crosshairs due to a cold-war mentality and ideological bias present among some politicians. The cancellation of the two BRI agreements, in spite of all tangible benefits and without explicit reasons given, raises concerns over the Australia's selective and discriminatory approach.

The BRI was initiated by China in 2013 to promote trade and economic cooperation among economies along the ancient Silk Road, and to further open up markets in a mutually beneficial manner.

Aerial photo taken on March 18, 2020 shows the container dock of Shanghai's Yangshan Port, east China. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

As of January this year, a total of 171 countries and international organizations including Australia have signed 205 cooperation agreements with China in the joint construction of the Belt and Road.

With the memorandum of understanding signed in 2018, Victoria was the first Australian state to sign a Belt and Road cooperation agreement with China.

With two-way trade between the state and China soaring to over 18.3 billion U.S. dollars annually at that time, Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews told Xinhua in 2019 that the partnership with China is important to his government, and "very important to Victorian economic prosperity, jobs and investment."

"There is no conflict of fundamental interest between us, and no major historical irritants to be healed," said Minister Wang Xining of the Chinese Embassy in Australia in his address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, a few hours before Payne announced the cancellation.

It is hoped that Australia will take an objective and rational view of the BRI and cooperation with China. Australia must behave in a way that bolsters mutual trust between the two counties. The country's own credibility is at stake. 
For our #BehindtheBrandManager series this month, we chatted to legal marketing consultant, co-founder and strategic lead at Yolk, Tereza Correia, who currently manages the Andersen brand in South Africa.

Tereza Correia of Yolk

Tell us a bit about Yolk and your journey in the industry...

You have a long history working in the marketing and communications space within the legal industry. How did you get into that?

You were involved in the recent rebranding of Tabacks into Andersen in South Africa. That's quite an endeavour. Please tell us more about what the process of turning Tabacks into Andersen SA entailed?

What media or social media channels do you use for brand communication and why?

Whats on your wish-list for brand objectives for 2021?

How do you plan on building the Andersen brand going forward?

What is it you love about the legal industry and your role in it?

What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned from your experience in the sector?

Correia has been in the field of marketing and branding for the legal industry for many years, working with the likes of Exigent, STBB, and Deneys Reitz (which later merged with the Norton Rose Group).Here Correia gives us some insight into the recent rebrand of Tabacks into Andersen in South Africa and their focus for the future...Yolk is a digital consultancy working with corporate & commercial law firms, legal tech providers and professional services organisations covering strategy, brand, creative and marketing disciplines.Yolk was founded in 2000, with two of the top 5 law firms in SA as clients, which really defined our niche at an early stage. Its been a fascinating journey as digital and technology have developed as a primary elements driving strategy, with the most progressive and innovative firms achieving top recognition in global rankings.When we started Yolk, there was a substantial innovation gap in legal marketing, creating opportunity to help firms build a more modern approach to marketing. Initial projects lead to long term client partnerships and work referrals in the industry.Prior to the rebrand, Tabacks was a collaborating firm of Andersen Global for two years. Firming up the association with the global brand through a more definitive structure, they became a full member firm from 1 January 2021. Paramount to the decision to completely rebrand as opposed to a dual brand model, was brand equity, shared expertise and recognition and reach into global markets, a strong differentiator for the firm as their presence in top tier economies as well as developing countries and regions is unmatched in the Legal, Tax and Advisory sector.A key focus group of colleagues considered the implications of both models as relevant to brand, growth and globalisation. Since these components were already a focus of the firms strategy, a complete rebrand was quickly recognised as the best fit.Our pre-launch campaign focused primarily on the structural and strategic thinking behind the re-brand, and was well received in the commercial marketplace so a complete changeover didnt challenge brand continuity or confidence. What we did need to consider was clarity on positioning, with potential confusion around Andersen (the founding organisation based in the US), Andersen Global (the global association of independent member and collaborating firms) and Andersen in South Africa (the South African representative firm of Andersen Global).The timelines were pretty tight, we had a two-month lead time to coincide with Andersen Globals Africa launch in mid-Feb. It must be said though that implementing an existing brand definitely supports a much quicker turn-around than branding from scratch. The biggest component was that we needed to build a new custom website, but fortunately Andersen in South Africa's team is exceptional and we had super support on every level, form content creation to strategic, practical and tactical input.Primarily LinkedIn for business engagement and paid content promotion, with Twitter serving as a global content collaboration channel and Facebook just really a contact point for lateral communication. LinkedIn offers the most relevant targeting and segmentation, with the content structure an opportunity to build service line and industry verticals. Their innovation in terms of formats and tech which makes a viable paid channel option.Digital communication seemed to have become almost channel agnostic, but recent developments in data privacy regulation (and concerns) mean a closer consideration of channels and their privacy efficiency.Having just launched Andersen in South Africa in February, as we head into Q2 were focussing on media and publishing partnerships, building and strengthening owned channels, connected networks and exploring new niche networks.Definitely brand development. Technology is also a focus, spanning operational, management, CRM and marketing automation and content delivery solutions.Andersen is a global company with a cohesive and clear identity. We are looking forward to establishing brand unity across the firms on the continent through a centralised branding and marketing strategy to position the firm and strengthen its offering. Were collaborating with regional firms to craft clear communication around their unique offerings, differentiators and collective expertise.It is an amazing industry to work in. I love its complexity, challenges and constant motion. We work with incredible people; I love the immersive collaboration.Working with multi-jurisdictional organisations in regulated industries requires a deeper consideration of global markets specifically around segmentation and regulation.Also an understanding of technology, platforms and how they integrate (or not in the case of legal solutions) - a clear tech strategy is mission critical.
BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Financial Literacy Month, OneUnited Bank, the nation's largest black-owned bank, is proud to announce its 11th Annual "I Got Bank!" National Financial Literacy Contest where ten children will win a $1,000 savings account. To support families who are home schooling their children due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Bank is offering a free "I Got Bank" E-Book.

Students from across the country between the ages of 8 and 12 are encouraged to read a financial literacy book of their choosing, and either write a 250-word essay or create an art project to show how they would apply what they learned from the book to their daily lives. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by June 30, 2021. The Bank will choose ten winners and award each winner a $1,000 savings account at OneUnited Bank by August 31, 2021. For more information, please visit: www.oneunited.com/book.

Teri Williams, OneUnited Bank President and author of "I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money," wrote the book when she found that there weren't enough books geared toward educating urban youth about finances. "In 2021, we launched the OneTransaction Campaign to encourage everyone to focus on one transaction to close the wealth gap for their family," states Ms. Williams. "Our contest and free book educate children on savings and investments, a profitable business, credit scores and home ownership. We know that educating youth will inspire the entire family!"

The 2020 winners are Amina Anyabwele, 9, Miramar, FL, William Cum Jr., 8, Pompano Beach, FL, Morgan Hardwick, 12, Washington, DC, Loren Herrell-Guy, 11, Chicago, IL, Olivia Hur, 12, La Crescenta-Montrose, CA, Mariah Mack, 12, Grovetown, GA, Javonte Patton, 12, Palm Coast, FL, Alizah Perez, 12, Pembroke Pines, FL, Sophia Prakash, 9, Glendora, CA, Aarionna Totty, 9, Holly, MI.

"I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money" is published by The Beckham Publications Group, Inc. (Beckhamhouse). For more information about the official contest rules, please visit: www.oneunited.com/book.

Media Contact: Suzan McDowell, Circle of One Marketing, [email protected], or 305-576-3790

About OneUnited Bank

OneUnited Bank is the premier bank for urban communities, the largest Black-owned bank, the first Black internet bank and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Its mission is to provide affordable financial services to support economic development in urban communities and maintain superior financial performance to maximize shareholder value. OneUnited is an FDIC insured bank and an equal housing lender.

SOURCE OneUnited Bank
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide Ukraine with a UAH 2.5 billion loan for the fight against COVID-19, in particular for the purchase of vaccines, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Svitlana Shatalova said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

"The Ukrainian healthcare system will additionally receive UAH 2.5 billion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan agreement proposed by the Ministry of Health within the framework of the COVID-19 Response and Vaccination Project in Ukraine," she said.

According to the deputy minister, the document provides for funds for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19 in the amount of about UAH 840 million.

"In addition, the agreement provides for logistics, the purchase of equipment for cold chains and sequencing of virus strains, as well as training on waste disposal. About UAH 900 million will receive the general fund of the state budget for the fulfillment of DLI indicators [disbursement linked indicators]," Shatalova added.
Metaplasia is defined as the replacement of a fully differentiated cell type by another. There are several classical examples of metaplasia, one of the most frequent is called Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's esophagus is characterized by the replacement of the keratinocytes by columnar cells in the lower esophagus upon chronic acid reflux. This metaplasia is considered a precancerous lesion that increases by around 50 times the risk of this esophageal adenocarcinoma. Nonetheless, the mechanisms involved in the development of metaplasia in the esophagus are still partially unknown.

In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, researchers led by Mr. Benjamin Beck, (FNRS research associate and WELBIO investigator at the IRIBHM, Universite libre de Bruxelles, Belgium), report the mechanisms involved in the transdifferentiation of esophageal keratinocytes into columnar cells.

Alizee Vercauteren Drubbel and colleagues used state-of-the-art genetic tools and mouse models to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which cells from the esophagus can participate to metaplasia. In collaboration with Prof. Sachiyo Nomura (Tokyo Medical University, Japan), they demonstrated that the reactivation of the Hedgehog pathway occurs in epithelial cells upon chronic acid reflux. The sole reactivation of this pathway in normal esophageal cells changes them and make them look like embryonic esophageal cells. Subsequently, a subset of these cells is converted into columnar cells.

It was really surprising to see the cells from the esophagus slowly changing over time and getting features of other tissues just by activating a signaling pathway in vivo." Alizee Vercauteren Drubbel, Study's First Author

The authors demonstrate that the hedgehog pathway alters the squamous differentiation program in virtually all the esophageal cells but induces a full squamous-to-columnar conversion in a subset of progenitors only. Interestingly, an embryonic-like epigenetic and transcriptomic program precedes the columnar conversion, suggesting that keratinocytes need to be dedifferentiated before activating another differentiation program. Conditional knockout in vivo demonstrates that the transcription factor Sox9 plays a pivotal role in the process of columnar conversion.

In conclusion, this work highlights mechanisms modulating cellular plasticity that may constitute the very first step of transdifferentiation and metaplasia development in the esophagus. Oesophageal adenocarcinoma incidence has dramatically increased over the past decades. This increase appears to be a result of the increased prevalence of Barrett's esophagus. Hence, "we hope that a better understanding of the processes involved in the development of metaplasia and their progression into cancer will help detecting people with a high risk of developing cancer." comments Benjamin Beck, the last and corresponding author of this study.
On Thursday, April 22, a Ukrainian soldier was killed as a result of shelling in the area of the Joint Force Operation (JFO), the command of the Pivnich (North) task force said.

"In the area of responsibility of the Pivnich task force, as a result of the shelling of the positions of our units by the Russian armed formations, one serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received a shrapnel wound incompatible with life," the task force said on Facebook.

The leadership of the military unit and the working group of the Military Law-Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are working at the scene.

The OSCE representatives were notified of the actions of Russian-occuaption forces through the Ukrainian side of the JCCC.

The command and personnel of the Pivnich task force express condolences to the family and friends of the deceased soldier.

"The actions of the Russian-occupation fighters once again confirm that the enemy is deliberately violating the ceasefire and does not want to adhere to the existing agreements on the ceasefire," the task force said.
NUR-SULTAN -- Prosecutors have asked a court in Nur-Sultan to sentence six defendants in the high-profile case of the killing of the teenage son of late Kazakh civil rights activist Dulat Aghadil.

Zhanbolat Aghadil, 17, was stabbed to death in a Nur-Sultan suburb in November, just 10 months after his father mysteriously died while in police custody.

Prosecutors on April 22 asked the Inter-District Court on Criminal Cases in the Kazakh capital to find defendant Omirzhan Rakhmet guilty of murdering Zhanbolat Aghadil and sentence him to 18 years in prison.

Sentences for the other five defendants in the case, who were charged with concealing a crime and failing to report a crime, should range between four and five years in prison, they added.

Rakhmet's lawyer told reporters his client pleaded not guilty.

In February 2020, Zhanbolat Aghadil's father, a well-known 43-year-old civil rights activist, died while being held in pretrial detention in Nur-Sultan just hours after being arrested for failing to comply with a court order to report to local police.

Authorities said Aghadil died from a heart attack, but his family and fellow rights defenders say he had no history of heart issues and suspected the real cause of death was being covered up.

Rallies were held in Nur-Sultan and other cities in February and March to demand a thorough investigation into his death.
Mine Action Officer, Ukraine

Organization: OSCE - Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Country: Ukraine

Closing date: Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Issued by: OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine

Vacancy number: VNSMUS01196

Vacancy type: International Seconded

Field of expertise: Military Affairs

Functional level: Senior professional

Grade: S2

Number of posts: 4

Duty station: Ukraine

Date of issue: 20 April 2021

Deadline for application: 18 May 2021 - 23: 59 Central European Time (CET/CEST)

General Minimum Requirements

The general minimum requirements for working with the OSCE are:

Excellent physical condition

Possession of a valid automobile driving license and ability to drive using manual transmission

Ability to cope with physical hardship and willingness to work extra hours and in an environment with limited infrastructure

Field of Expertise Requirements

The general minimum requirements for working in this field of expertise are:

Officer / Warrant Officer training and/or university degree in a relevant technical field

Significant experience in arms control, peace-keeping operations and/or other relevant areas of military-related affairs

Experience in negotiations and liaison with governmental and military authorities

Ability to compile and analyse information of a political-military nature

Level of Professional Competence Requirements

Furthermore, this level of responsibility requires the following:

Education:

First-level university degree in security, disaster or/and emergency management, law enforcement, or other relevant fields, or/and graduate from a national military or police

Experience:

Minimum 6 years of relevant professional experience

Mission Specific Requirements

Additionally, this particular post has specific requirements:

Mandatory:

At least six years of progressively responsible professional experience in a related field, preferably in an international environment or/and within operational missions with humanitarian mine action, commercial mine action, arms control, weapon contamination and/or military engineering portfolio;

Experience in project management;

Experience in designing and implementing awareness campaigns for diverse target groups (including men, women and children);

Knowledge and/or experience in International Mine Action Standards (IMAS), in Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), in Technical/Non-Technical Survey; Land release process; in Geographical Informational System (GIS);

Demonstrated experience/ability to conduct training or instruct in a field environment;

Excellent analytical, diplomatic and negotiation skills;

Understanding of the challenges facing Ukraine in mine action;

Professional fluency in the English language and the ability to draft documents clearly and concisely;

Ability to drive 4x4 vehicles with manual transmission;

Willingness / ability to travel to hazard areas of the Mission;

Flexibility and ability to work under pressure in a challenging environment and with limited time frames;

Ability to work effectively and inclusively in high stress environments;

Demonstrated ability and willingness to work as a member of a team, with people of different cultural and religious backgrounds, different gender and diverse political views, while maintaining impartiality and objectivity;

Demonstrated gender awareness and sensitivity, as well as the ability to integrate a gender perspective into tasks and activities;

Ability to operate Windows applications, including word processing and e-mail.

Desirable:

EOD, CIED, demining/mine clearance operations experience within the last 7 years period;

Knowledge of Google MAP, ArcGIS Map;

Working knowledge of the Ukrainian and/or Russian language(s);

Experience in working in Eastern Europe and/or knowledge of the region;

Knowledge of the OSCE principles and commitments;

Ability to drive 4x4 vehicles and holding a C driving license.

Note:

Based upon the Missions Mandate, the successful candidate will never be authorized to handle mines and/or ERW whilst working for the Mission; this includes the detector-assisted search, recovery, moving, render safe procedures (RSP), neutralisation, and disposal/demolition of explosive items. The role of the Mine Action Officer is of a strictly non-technical, advisory nature.

Tasks and Responsibilities

The Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), in line with the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, is committed to further improving gender balance among staff in all areas and levels within the SMM. We encourage qualified applicants, especially women to apply for this position.

If applicable, deployment is subject to attendance to and successful completion of pre-deployment training and assessment.

The selected candidate may be deployed Ukraine-wide, including hazardous areas.

Under the general direction and co-ordination of the Deputy Head of Operations of the SMM and the immediate supervision of the Senior Mine Action Officer, as Mine Action Officer, you will be tasked and responsible for:

Providing support to Senior Mine Action Officer, with monitoring of the implementation of mine action activities in accordance with relevant Minsk agreements; Supporting the Senior Mine Action Officer in preparing written communications to provide SMM management with background and context on the objectives of the mine action activities; Monitoring the area of operation (AoR), including potentially contaminated areas, ensuring the collection, compiling, analysing and providing of updated information to the SMM, including maps of the hazardous areas and database; Assisting Senior Mine Action Officer to provide technical expertise and advice on mine action. Supports the implementation, of the Missions mandate and advises on progress in area of mine action within his/her area of responsibility, supporting as necessary, in fostering dialogue and in designing and implementing specific confidence-building measures that will enable parties to work together to reduce the threats posed by landmines and other explosive hazards; Providing technical advice/expertise/recommendations, in relation to the mine action, including disengagement process and withdrawal of forces; Providing information on type of mines, ammunitions, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), military hardware, special equipment, explosive and other hazardous materials; Supporting development of mine-awareness training programme for monitors to raise awareness about operating in hazardous areas; Providing gender-sensitive mine awareness training/instructions for the Mission members, as well as for the civilian population; Developing and keeping the data base, ensuring the provision of updated information on mine contaminated areas to the SMM, providing risk assessments of potentially contaminated (suspected) areas (infrastructures); On behalf of the OSCE SMM, on a technical level, advising, where required, on mine action, coordinating activities with the relevant mine action stakeholders in Ukraine to support implementation of the Minsk agreements and related tasks, as well as other International Conventions; Contributing for development of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), plans, instructions, etc. related to mine action and delivering them as required; Representing the OSCE SMM at relevant workshops/meetings related to Mine Action, including on implementation of UNSCR 1325; Acting as the Senior Mine Action Officer as and when directed; Performing other duties as assigned and when required.

For more detailed information on the structure and work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, please see //www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine>https: //www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine.

The OSCE is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages the nomination of qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious, ethnic and social backgrounds. Please note that nationals or permanent residents of the country of the duty station are not eligible to apply.

Candidates should be aware that OSCE officials shall conduct themselves at all times in a manner befitting the status of an international civil servant. This includes avoiding any action which may adversely reflect on the integrity, independence and impartiality of their position and function as officials of the OSCE. The OSCE is committed to applying the highest ethical standards in carrying out its mandate. For more information on the values set out in OSCE Competency Model, please see //jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model>https: //jobs.osce.org/resources/document/our-competency-model.

Candidates should, prior to applying, verify with their respective nominating authority to which extent financial remuneration and/or benefit packages will be offered.

Please apply to your relevant authorities well in advance of the deadline expiration to ensure timely processing of your application. Delayed nominations will not be considered. The OSCE can only process Secondment applications that have been nominated by participating States. For queries relating to your application, please refer to the respective delegation as listed here: //www.osce.org/contacts/delegations>https: //www.osce.org/contacts/delegations.

Link to the organizations job offer: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1618936849501
Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign 2021 Atia Azohnwi

The third edition of the Cameroon Digital Skill Campaign opened in Limbe Wednesday, April 21 and will end on Friday, April 23, 2021.

The campaign which seeks to promote youth employability and entrepreneurship in the digital age is organised by The Cameroon National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC) and The Change Engine.

Due to exigencies imposed by the COVID-19, the Director General of ANTIC, Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw said the 3-day Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign 2021 had participants in five conference locations linked seamlessly by technology.

At least 200 young people between the ages of 18 and 30 and no fewer than 50 leaders from Government, Industry, Civil Society, and Academia were part of the campaign dubbed, Digital Skills for Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship in the Post-Covid Technology Driven Economy.

COVID-19: Catalyst for Digital Transformation

According to Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be the single most effective catalyst for Digital Transformation.

He regrets that many hold that Africa is not ready for digital transformation.

For a very long time, we as Africans have either entertained or promoted the school of thought that technology was a luxury  a luxury that Africa could not afford, a luxury that Africa was too poor, or way too underdeveloped to pursue, said Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw.

He says today, COVID-19 has given everyone the chance to experience first-hand the power of technology.

His words: Digital technology has enabled the continuation of work, education and communication. Technology turned out to be the deciding factor between students who were able to continue learning during the lockdown and students who were completely shut-off, companies who were able to continue running their operations and companies who had to shut down, as well as patients who were able to receive medical attention and those who, unfortunately, remained cut-off.

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that technology was never the goal, it was never the final objective. Technology is simply a tool, a means to an end, an accelerator and a catalyst, he furthered.

The Director General of ANTIC recalled President Paul Biyas December 31, 2015 speech in which he said, the digital economy is a genuine growth driver as well as a niche for new jobs for our youth.

Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw is of the informed opinion that today, digital transformation has the ability to help Cameroon leapfrog many of her development challenges.

Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign

Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw says ANTIC and The Change Engine organised the third edition of the Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign in order to harness the benefits of existing and emerging technologies, innovate out of the box strategies that must be devised for the promotion of youth employability and entrepreneurship.

It is also important to ensure that all training and capacity building solutions be informed by high level debates between key players in Government, Education, Industry and Civil Society, said ANTICs Director-General. The development of digital skills is a primordial part of the economic empowerment and development of a nation. Digital skills are indispensible for the development of a tech-savvy workforce, able to support increased technology adoption and innovation and enable investments in high value-added services.

The primary objective of Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign 2021 is to empower young people with highly sought after digital skills as well as internationally recognised professional training and certification.

By the end of this edition, one hundred young people would have been empowered, free of charge, with upper tier digital skills and professional certification by Microsoft and Microsoft 4Afrika. These young people will receive the following Microsoft Professional Certifications: Azure Security Engineer Associate; Azure Data Scientist Associate; and Azure Developer Associate, said ANTICs Director-General Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw.

He emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships. I am convinced that UNSDG17  Partnerships for the Goals if properly implemented, has the potential to accelerate the realisation of all the other sixteen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Professor Ebot Ebot Enaw adds that: The digital ecosystem for economic development and growth is complex with interdependent technical, social and business relationships. The Cameroon Digital Skills Campaign serves as a catalyst for mobilising and securing commitments from key players and stakeholders within the digital economy, to build a strong and joint national momentum towards Digital Ecosystem Architecture for a fully digitally included Cameroon. The youth are key to creating a new path for societal and economic advancement in our country and we all; Government, Private Sector, Academia, and Civil Society, have a joint interest  and shared responsibility  in ensuring a healthy and well-educated future workforce.

As illustrated by this partnership with the Change Engine and the support of Microsoft 4Afrika, and the different organisations present here to contribute to this great initiative; the Cameroonian government is open and willing to engage and work with stakeholders across the board to continue building a strong, thriving and prosperous Cameroon for all.

Helene Manyi Arrey, Founder of The Change Engine moderated the first high level panel discussion on the theme, Walking the talk. A case study of industry-led skills development programs.
Millennial Liu Lurui quit her job and moved to the outskirts of Beijing, where she built a farm on three acres of land to create a healthier lifestyle for herself and five friends. The farm was completed in April 2020, and includes a house, a garden and an organic orchard. They hope that their hobo life can set an example for people looking to lead alternative way of life

Jun 04, 2021 06:31 PM
Indiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory that was created by an Act of Congress and signed into law on May 7, 1800, by John Adams who was then the President of the United States. The territory existed from 1800 to 1816 and included parts of the present-day states of Illinois, Wisconsin, a major part of Indiana, Michigan, and the eastern portion of Minnesota. The territory officially became a part of the Union as the State of Indiana on December 11, 1816.

Becoming A US Territory

Map of the United States with territorial divisions fro 1805 to 1809.

The Northwest Territory was an organized unincorporated territory that was created by the Confederation Congress via the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. The vast Northwest Territory included major parts of the land area that was located to the east of the Mississippi River and the north of the Ohio River. On May 7, 1800, the US Congress decided to split the Northwest Territory into two parts. The larger portion was known as the Indiana Territory and the smaller portion was known as the Northwest Territory.

The Indiana Territory was therefore the first new territory that was carved out from the vast areas of the Northwest Territory. On May 13, 1800, William Henry Harrison was appointed by President John Adams as the first Governor of the Indiana Territory. The French fort of Vincennes, which was the oldest settlement of the territory, was made the first territorial capital. Until the arrival of Harrison at Vincennes, John Gibson, the territorial secretary, served as the acting Governor of the Indiana Territory. The territory was initially composed of four counties, namely Randolph County, Saint Clair County, Knox County, and Wayne County. With the rise in the territorys population, several counties were added. US President Thomas Jefferson also appointed Harrison as a special commissioner in 1803, to negotiate with the Indigenous tribes and decide their land boundaries. From 1803 to 1809, Harrison signed several treaties with the Indigenous peoples, beginning with the Treaty of Vincennes, Treaty of Grouseland, and Treaty of Fort Wayne, and successfully stripped millions of acres of land from Indigenous peoples to bring under the control of the US government.

On March 1, 1803, the State of Ohio was created and the land that was not included in the new state became a part of the Indiana Territory. On April 30, 1803, via the famous Louisiana Purchase, the French Territory of Louisiana was purchased from France by the United States. Harrison was also appointed as the Governor of the Louisiana Territory from 1804 to 1805. During this time, Harrisons Treaty of St. Louis with the Indigenous Sac and Fox tribes ceded more than 50 million acres of land to the United States.

Path To Statehood

Flag of the State of Indiana.

In 1804, the residents of the Indiana Territory voted to enter the second stage of government. The Michigan Territory was created by the Congress on January 11, 1805. The Indiana Territory was again divided by the Congress to create the Illinois Territory on February 3, 1809.

However, after Harrison negotiated the Fort Wayne Treaty in 1809, there was growing unrest among the Indigenous tribes, mainly the Shawnee peoples that were led by Tecumseh and his brother Shawnee Prophet. The two brothers formed a confederation of all Indigenous tribes that resided in the west of the Appalachian Mountains. The followers of Tecumseh and Prophet and their principal village Prophetstown were destroyed by Harrisons troops at the Battle of Tippecanoe on November 7, 1811. Many tribes subsequently allied with the British and this led to the beginning of the War of 1812 from June 18, 1812 onwards. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1814 between the victorious Americans and the British with their Indigenous allies.

After the Michigan and Illinois Territories were carved out from the large Indiana Territory, the territorial Assembly passed The State Capital Act in 1813 and selected Corydon in Harrison County as the new territorial capital. In April 1813, Thomas Posey was appointed by President James Madison as the new Governor of the Indiana Territory.

In 1815, the Indiana statehood petition was presented to the US House of Representatives. In the following year after much debate and deliberation, Indiana finally became the 19th State of the United States of America on December 11, 1816.
Engel & Volkers Salt Lake City announced that local real estate veteran Eric Santistevan has joined its brokerage as Branch Manager. He will soon assume the role of Principal Broker as a key aspect of the branchs expansion.

In his new role, Santistevan will oversee all aspects of teaching, training, and contract compliance for the brands global real estate advisors. He comes to Engel & Volkers after serving as Principal Broker for Keller Williams Utah Real Estate, where he was responsible for as many as 200 real estate professionals and their transactions over the last three years. Licensed as a broker for the past decade, Santistevan began his own career as an agent selling residential real estate to buyers and sellers more than two decades ago.

"Eric is the perfect fit for the culture at Engel & Volkers," said Paul Benson, CEO and License Partner of Engel & Volkers Gestalt Group. Not only is he passionate about his agents, he also brings many years of broker experience to our company and will be instrumental in our Salt Lake growth plan and beyond."

Santistevan credits his dedication to ethics, authenticity, and equity as the foundation for his success. An active member of the Salt Lake City community, he is committed to promoting diversity via his work and membership with the local Womens Council of REALTORS and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). He also serves on the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS Charity Committee.

I have been very familiar with the reputation of Engel & Volkers worldwide for my entire career, said Santistevan. Anyone whos been in the real estate business long enough knows there are very few actual luxury playersE&V is one of them. The brands history and reputation have brought me here, but also the fact that I would be working with some of the best agents in Utah. After twenty-five years in real estate, I can say Im more excited than ever before for the future of our industry and my career.

To learn more about Eric Santistevan, visit ericsantistevan.evrealestate.com. To learn more about Engel & Volkers Salt Lake City and its team of advisors, visit saltlakecity.evrealestate.com.

About Engel & Volkers

Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a personalized client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for todays savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 238 shop locations with over 4,900 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brands global network of over 13,700 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate and yachting. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit evrealestate.com.

# # #

For more information, please contact:

Paul Benson

License Partner, CEO

Engel & Volkers Gestalt Group

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New Delhi:

The police has recovered documents related to seven companies owned by Gurmeet Singh during investigation on Sunday. It was reported that Gurmeet Singh has parked his money into real estate sector.

Among the seven companies whose documents have been recovered, one company is related to real estate. The companys offices are in Delhi and Zirakpur.

On September 8, the police had recovered two laptops during the search operation at Dera premises. Police have now sent these laptops for forensic investigations.

Along with Honeypreet Insan, many others have been prosecuted for being traitor. But, as per police, no solid evidence have been recovered so far which proves Honeypreet as traitor.

As well, police said that no information has been traced from Honeypreets mobile which proves that she was involved in Panchkula violence. Police also said that map was not recovered from Honeypreet.

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A man charged with murder over the shooting death of underworld figure Daniel OShea two years ago has had his identity suppressed over concerns about his safety in custody.

Joggers discovered Mr OSheas body in Fawkner Park in South Yarra on the night of April 26, 2019 after the 41-year-old had been shot dead. Two guns believed to be connected with his death were found by children playing in the park the following day.

Daniel OShea was shot dead in Fawkner Park in April 2019. Credit:Victoria Police

On Thursday a man appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with murder after his arrest on Wednesday.

He cannot be identified after his lawyer raised concerns about his safety given Mr OSheas connections to criminal figures.
A sex therapist in Utah who has publicly challenged her faith's policies on sexuality has been kicked out of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following a disciplinary hearing.

Natasha Helfer received a letter Wednesday from a regional church official explaining the reasons for her removal from the Salt Lake City-based church, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Helfer was disciplined by church leaders in Kansas, where she lived before moving to Utah in 2019.

'After carefully and prayerfully considering this matter,' the letter states, 'it was the decision of the council to withdraw your church membership in response to conduct contrary to the law and order of the church.'

Helfer shared the letter on Facebook. Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said that, based on the letter, regional church leaders' decision was not related to her private practice as a therapist.

Natasha Helfer received a letter Wednesday from a regional church official explaining the reasons for her removal from the Salt Lake City-based church

'As the letter shared by Ms. Helfer indicates, the decision of the local leaders was based on her public, repeated opposition to the church, church leaders and the doctrine of the church, including our doctrine on the nature of the family and on moral issues,' Hawkins said in a statement.

Church members are taught not to have sex before marriage, engage in passionate kissing, touch another person's private parts or arouse 'emotions in your own body' that are supposed to be reserved for marriage. Homosexual relations also are forbidden even if a person is married or in a relationship

Helfer has been outspoken on sexual issues and supports same-sex marriage, counsels that masturbation is not a sin and says pornography should not be treated as an addiction. She had said that she hoped to remain in the church.

The story was originally reported by The Washington Post.

Helfer told the Tribune that she was asked to leave her disciplinary hearing before it began on Sunday because she refused to turn off her phone, which contained her notes.

'It is common for participants to be asked to turn off technology (including cell phones) or leave it outside the room, as was the case with this council,' Hawkins said. 'All but one of the participants complied with that request and had brought their statements in writing.'

Church members are taught not to have sex before marriage, engage in passionate kissing, touch another person's private parts or arouse 'emotions in your own body' that are supposed to be reserved for marriage, under its teachings.

Homosexual relations also are forbidden even if a person is married or in a relationship.

Helfer did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment.

Helfer has been outspoken on sexual issues and supports same-sex marriage, counsels that masturbation is not a sin and says pornography should not be treated as an addiction. She had said that she hoped to remain in the church

Helfer included a post of the letters explaining the concerns the church had with her 'misconduct'

Her ouster means she'll be leaving a religion she's been a member of since she was 5 years old.

While not a lifelong ban, the withdrawal of a person's membership by church leaders amounts to the harshest punishment available for a member of the faith. These ousters used to be called excommunication before the faith changed the terminology last year to 'withdrawal of church membership.'

People in this category can't go inside temples where members are married and other ordinances such as baptisms for dead relatives are performed.

Sam Young, a man who led a campaign criticizing the churchs practice of allowing one-on-one interviews of youth by lay leaders that sometimes included sexual questions, was kicked out of the church in 2018. Kate Kelly, founder of a group pushing for women to be allowed in the religions lay clergy, was excommunicated in 2014.

It appears from the letter she posted that the church had an issue with Helfer 'publicly' advocating views that were 'directly contrary to doctrines fundamental to the church'
Streptococcus mutans. Gram stain. Credit: CDC/Public Domain

Invasive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease, notably meningitis, during the first days and months of a baby's life can have persistent effects for children and hence their families, according to new research. Published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, the study is the first evidence of long-term effects including after GBS sepsis (infection in the bloodstream).

This large study analyzed outcomes for nearly 25,000 children born in Denmark and The Netherlands, between 1997 and 2017. Results show that children who had invasive GBS infection are twice as likely to have neurodevelopmental impairments (NDI) and to require special educational support than children who did not have GBS disease.

Effects later in life are significantabout one in 20 survivors will experience some form of neurodevelopmental disability. The authors note that the majority of GBS infection survivors will not have long-term effects.

This study was conducted through a partnership of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Aarhus University (Denmark), Amsterdam UMC (Netherlands) and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

Invasive GBS infection is increasingly recognized as a leading cause of newborn illness worldwide, with ~300,000 cases estimated annually. Important knowledge gaps have been highlighted especially regarding the long-term outcomes of patients who survive the acute disease during this critical period of life. Previous small studies have followed babies after GBS meningitis to a median age of about two years. No study has examined outcomes after GBS sepsis.

Dr. Bronner Goncalves, from LSHTM and a lead author on the study, said: "This is the largest study quantifying long-term effects of GBS infection for babies who survive, with follow-up to the second decade. We add to findings on long-term effects after meningitis, showing subtler cognitive outcomes at older ages. These new findings show an important, previously unquantified risk after GBS sepsis. Our results suggest that continued medical follow-up is key and could lead to earlier identification of problems, and more support to families."

Children in the study were identified using national administrative, medical, and laboratory databases. 2,258 babies were diagnosed as having had GBS infection, including meningitis and sepsis, within the first three months of life. For every GBS case, ten children who did not have the infection were matched on age, sex and other characteristics influencing long-term outcomes.

Children were followed up for an average of fourteen years in Denmark and nine years in the Netherlands, to analyze risks of death and of NDI (e.g. motor, cognitive, and socio-behavioral, and special educational needs). The findings are striking and reinforce the severity of this condition with a 5% mortality risk for babies dying from invasive GBS disease in high-income settings, although the risk is much higher in low and middle income countries. Compellingly, there are also serious consequences for some of the children who survive.

In Denmark, history of GBS infection in the first three months of life was associated with 1.8-fold increase in risk of NDI: 45 of the 969 children who survived the acute phase of the disease had moderate or severe NDI, such as motor impairment, by the age of 10. The risk was even higher in the Netherlands, where 36 of the 252 children with a history of invasive GBS disease needed special educational support by age 10, a more than two-fold risk.

Dr. Erzsebet Horvath-Puho, an associate professor at Aarhus University, Denmark and a lead author, said: "Our study suggests that babies who recover from invasive GBS disease have increased risks of cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments, which can impact their lives and their families. The long term effects on children was also evidenced by higher rates of hospitalization for those who survived this infection. In Denmark, a nearly two-fold increase in outpatient visits was observed and a 1.3 higher increase for hospital admissions compared to children who did not develop GBS disease."

Currently, the only available GBS disease prevention strategy is to provide antibiotic prophylaxis to women in labor whose baby is at increased risk of developing GBS disease. However, this strategy is not sufficient even in these two European countries and currently not adopted in settings with limited resources.

Professor Merijn Bijlsma, a pediatrician at Amsterdam University and a lead author, said: "Even with the best medical care, such as available for Dutch and Danish babies, survivors of GBS meningitis and also sepsis may be affected for life. The best way to protect these children is prevention of invasive GBS disease. We need better ways to identify at birth who is at risk, so prevention including with intrapartum antibiotics becomes more effective."

Professor Joy Lawn, from LSHTM and senior author and PI, said: "Every year hundreds of thousands of babies have GBS sepsis or meningitis, with a high mortality risk. Families in all continents are affected. Our study shows that GBS also affects educational potential for survivors. The global burden of disease is more than has previously been estimated, underlining the urgent need for prevention. Despite 30 years of research, maternal GBS vaccines currently are not yet availablea contrast to more than 100 COVID-19 vaccines in process within one year. We can and must deliver more for families affected by GBS all over the world."

Charlotte Cleary's daughter Aimee developed early-onset group B Strep meningitis and sepsis shortly after birth in July 2011. She spent three weeks very sick in hospital. and has recovered with brain damage and physical disabilities. Aimee was diagnosed with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy and pseudobulbar palsy, along with learning difficulties and sensory issues. Put simply, she can't sit, stand, walk, talk and is mostly tube-fed. Charlotte said: "Every day is a challenge and it's hard to look after a disabled child, although she does bring me so much joy. I do however have anger inside of me that GBS is so easy to prevent, so why are they not doing more to routinely test it in pregnancy? That is my question as Aimee's disability would most likely be non-existent."

The authors acknowledge study limitations including differences in the identification of children with GBS infection cases selection between the two countries. Importantly, these results from Denmark and the Netherlands reflect two high income European countries, and results in low and middle income countries may differ, hence data are needed from these contexts. Further research is needed as to why different children are affected differently. We know preterm birth is an important linked risk factor and more studies are needed to explore this association.

More information: Erzsebet Horvath-Puho et al, Mortality, neurodevelopmental impairments, and economic outcomes after invasive group B streptococcal disease in early infancy in Denmark and the Netherlands: a national matched cohort study, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2021). Erzsebet Horvath-Puho et al, Mortality, neurodevelopmental impairments, and economic outcomes after invasive group B streptococcal disease in early infancy in Denmark and the Netherlands: a national matched cohort study,(2021). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(21)00022-5
Diplomatic efforts needed to resolve sex slavery issue



The issue of Japan's wartime sex slavery has taken a turn for the worse after a local court dismissed a damages suit filed by South Korean victims of the crime against humanity. Regrettably, the dismissal has only created confusion and further complicated the matter, reducing the chances for the victims to heal their wounds and restore their human dignity.



On Wednesday, a judge at the Seoul Central District Court turned down the case brought by 20 plaintiffs, comprised of surviving sex slavery victims and family members of those deceased. The judge cited "sovereign immunity" as the main reason for the rejection. Sovereign immunity refers to a legal doctrine that allows a state to be immune from civil suits filed in foreign courts. It is disappointing to see the case rejected for deliberation based on the immunity principle.



The action contradicted an earlier ruling made by the same court  but a different judge  for 12 sex slavery victims. In January, this judge ordered Japan to pay 100 million won ($91,300) in compensation to each of the plaintiffs. At that time, the judge said sovereign immunity should not be applied to crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is hard to understand why the court reversed the previous stance abruptly. The complete reversal has only opened the old wounds of the victims who were forced into sex slavery for frontline Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.



The judge cited examples of court cases that were dismissed in accordance with sovereign immunity. In Italy and Greece, courts refused to apply the immunity rule to lawsuits claiming compensation for human rights abuse committed by Nazi Germany. Their rulings, however, were rejected by the International Court of Justice which did not allow an exception to the rule. Yet, it is absurd to compare the cases against Germany with the sexual slavery case. The times have changed greatly and there is a growing need to get tougher with heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity such as the sexual enslavement of South Korean women for Japanese troops.



Another problem is the court's position on the controversial 2015 agreement between South Korea and Japan to settle the sex slavery issue. The Moon Jae-in administration has virtually scrapped the bilateral deal, saying that it lacked a sincere apology from Japan and did not reflect the voices of the victims. The Constitutional Court ruled in 2019 that the agreement was "politically" but not legally binding. However, the district court judge made a misleading interpretation that the accord could be a measure to help the victims get compensation for their suffering.



The judge seemed to have put more weight on the international legal norm of sovereign immunity with little regard for the victims' rights to reparations and dignity. However, it makes sense for the judge to stress the importance of diplomatic efforts to resolve the wartime atrocity. The Moon government should make more efforts to find a diplomatic solution. But the court action cannot and should not justify Japan's stance that all reparations claims from its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea were settled by the 1965 bilateral treaty that normalized relations between the two countries.


By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) -United Nations human rights experts urged Switzerland on Thursday to repatriate two Geneva sisters from a squalid camp in north-eastern Syria five years after the girls were allegedly abducted by their mother who joined Islamic State (IS).

A senior Swiss foreign ministry official said it was working hard to have the girls repatriated. The mother's Swiss nationality had been withdrawn for security reasons, but she has other nationalities, he said.

"We have been working intensely on this case. We are trying to have the girls repatriated but it takes time. In the meantime we have contributed to more acceptable living conditions for them in the camp and have also organised telephone calls with their fathers," Johannes Matyassy told Reuters.

More than 60,000 people, two-thirds of them children, are held in camps for families associated with IS fighters, which the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross described after a visit in March as a "tragedy in plain sight".

The al-Hol and al-Roj camps, run by Syrian Kurdish forces, hold nationals from some 60 countries who fled IS's final enclaves.

"The two fathers of the girls, who both live in Geneva, have asked the Swiss government to take the necessary steps to repatriate their daughters, who were ostensibly taken by their mother on a vacation in August 2016 but ended up in Syria," the U.N. experts said in a statement.

"The repatriation of these two children should not be further delayed," they said, adding that the half-sisters were held at al-Roj.

The 14-year-old has anaemia and is believed to have suffered a severe shrapnel wound to her leg, requiring three operations, while the eight-year-old was thought to be in poor health.

The Swiss foreign ministry reaffirmed its 2019 policy on "travellers motivated by terrorism", which puts Swiss security first. Repatriation can only be considered for minors in such situations, but some mothers refuse to be separated, it said.

The fathers, through their lawyers, have written to Swiss parliamentarians seeking support for the girls' repatriation.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alex Richardson)
As the Sri Lankan government prepares to ram its Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill through parliament, several opposition parties have launched a campaign claiming that the proposed measure will pave the way for a Chinese colony in Sri Lanka.

The main opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and the United National Party (UNP) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), as well as the Sri Lanka Bar Association and several other organisations and individuals, have filed petitions in the Supreme Court against the bill.

The Colombo Port City project [Credit: China Communications Construction Company]

The petitioners claim that it violates the constitution. They are asking the court to rule that the bill must be passed by a two-thirds majority in the parliament and put to a national referendum. The court began hearing these arguments this week.

The Colombo Port City (CPC), constructed by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) with a $US1.4 billion loan from Beijing, is the largest single investment in Sri Lanka so far. When it is completed, the CPC will be a 230-hectare complex, built on a landfill near the Colombo harbour seafront.

According to the original agreement, the CCCC would control 108 hectares20 hectares on a freehold basis and the remainder on a 99-year lease. Sri Lanka would own the remainder.

The governments bill is designed to provide a legal framework for the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within the CPC and an Economic Commission to oversee its activities. This body will comprise five to seven members appointed by the president.

Only financial and commercial institutions will be set up in the SEZ. They will be exempted from a number of statutory tax laws and commercial regulations in order to provide major concessions for local and foreign investors. The Economic Commissions activities will not be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny.

The bill would deny employees in the SEZ the limited legal protections for other workers on wages, employment, pension and medical benefits. The government has stated that around 83,000 jobs will be created in the zone, but the workers will be at the mercy of the corporations operating there.

Sri Lanka already has 16 free trade zones (FTZs) with about 300,000 employees. Some labour laws still apply to these FTZs, though employers frequently refuse to adhere to them. The Port City SEZ, without even these nominal restraints on brutal exploitation, will be used as a model to suppress the rights of workers across the country.

The opposition groups that are against the bill are not concerned about this suppression of workers rights, which is aimed at facilitating international finance capitals ruthless drive to extract profits amid the global pandemic. They are instead whipping up a nationalist, anti-China campaign based on assertions that the government is betraying the countrys sovereignty.

SJB leader Sajith Premadasa told the media: It is a step of enslaving and subjugating this country to foreign countries. He did not name the foreign country but implied it was China.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was more explicit, telling a press briefing that the CPC was going to be another province of China if parliament passed the bill. The people never gave a mandate to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or his government to build a Chinese territory, he declared.

Wijedasa Rajapakshe, an MP from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and Muruththettuwe Ananda, a prominent Buddhist monk who supported the governments election, also denounced the bill as an attempt to establish a Chinese colony.

The so-called campaign to protect Sri Lankas sovereignty against China is based principally on the fact that Beijing funded the Port City project and has indicated its readiness to invest more. The SJB, UNP and JVP are not opposed to setting up FTZs or SEZs.

In addition to diverting social discontent in a reactionary nationalist direction, the opposition campaign aligns with US imperialisms escalating confrontation with China. Washington, along with its allies such as Japan and Australia and its strategic partner India, is preparing for conflict against Beijing, in order to shore up US hegemony in the Asia-Pacific and internationally.

As part of this drive, Washington is attacking the Chinese government for supposedly drawing countries such as Sri Lanka into a debt trap with cheap loans and investment.

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina Teplitz criticized the bill and warned of unintended consequences and of course among those is creating a haven for money launderers and other nefarious actors. Teplitz warned: [E]conomically vulnerable countries risk their sovereignty and independence, she said, adding that the US was willing to help Sri Lanka with its current debt crisis.

Sri Lanka has been increasingly drawn into the geo-political maelstrom produced by the escalating US confrontation with China.

Having backed the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse in its bloody communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the US became increasingly concerned about its growing ties with China after the LTTE was defeated in 2009. As part of its pivot to Asia against China, the Obama administration pressured Colombo to break its ties with Beijing and used the threat of war crimes charges to do so.

When that failed, the US sponsored a regime-change operation in the January 2015 presidential election, ousting Mahinda Rajapakse and installing the pro-US Maithripala Sirisena. The UNP, JVP, Tamil National Alliance and pseudo-left groups backed this intervention. Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe rapidly shifted foreign policy in favour of Washington, integrated its military with the US Pacific Command and halted Chinese projects, including the CPC.

Washington has increasingly expressed concern that the current President Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who came to power in 2019, is reorienting Sri Lanka towards Beijing. Gotabhaya Rajapakse is the brother of Mahinda and served as defence secretary under him. Mahinda Rajapakse is now prime minister.

Facing economic collapse and hit by the pandemic, the Colombo government is again relying on Beijing for loans and is desperate to seek foreign direct investments by providing a tax-free cheap labour haven. Once again, the US is seeking to use the threat of war crimes charges to pressure Colombo with the Biden administration co-sponsoring a UNHCR resolution in March to investigate human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

The US is particularly hostile to the Port City project because Washington views it as an attempt by Beijing to counter encirclement by the US. The project is part of Beijings Maritime Silk Road, a plan to secure access to crucial supplies of energy and raw materials via the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Chinas Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka at the end of this month.

Workers should oppose Rajapakses SEC bill, because it seeks to ruthlessly suppress their social and democratic rights. Its pro-investor measures are part of a broader onslaught against the working class, which has been accompanied by moves toward a presidential dictatorship.

The working class should no less forcefully reject the anti-China campaign of the opposition parties. It aims to divide the working class and align the population with the US plans for a potentially catastrophic conflict with China.
Of the total number of foreign workers contributing to the Spanish social security system, 1,319,511 are from non-EU countries (36.32%) while the other 752,748 are from EU countries (36.32%). The largest groups of foreign workers come from Romania (328,456), Morocco (267,571), Italy (122,372) and China (89,329).

Of the total figure, 1,179,827 (56.93%) were men and 892,432 were women (43.07%).

Average monthly foreign contributors

The average number of foreign workers registered with the Spanish social security system posted a rise of 18,262 in March in monthly terms. Rises of more than 2% were posted in Cantabria (up 4.52%), the Balearic Islands (up 3.64%), Andalusia (up 2.52%), followed by Galicia (up 1.6%) and Asturias (up 0.98%).

In contrast, Rioja (down 2.81%), Aragon (down 1.99%), Castile-La Mancha (down 1.81%), Ceuta (down 1.63%) and Navarre (down 1.46%) posted declines in foreign contributors in March.

By regime, the majority of the foreign workers contributing to the Spanish social security system fall under the General Regime (1,697,630), a figure that includes the Special System for Agricultural Workers (235,603) and the Special System for Domestic Workers (164,830). These are followed by the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (370,217), the Special Regime for Seamen (4,382) and the Special Regime for Coal Workers (30).

Over the month, the General Regime saw an average rise of 0.81% in foreign contributors. The sectors to enjoy the largest rises were Hotel and Catering (up 3.45%), Extractive Industries (up 3.04%), Construction (up 2.97%) and Crop and Livestock Farming and Fisheries (up 1.75%).

The special systems that make up the General Regime deserve a special mention, specifically the Special System for Agricultural Workers, which posted a decline of 1.13% in March, while the Special System for Domestic Workers rose by 0.4%.

For its part, the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers rose by 1.15% in foreign contributors in March to a total of 370,217 workers.

Comparisons with last year are not very representative due to the strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market in mid-March 2020.

Non official translation
Overall, first-quarter production was at 95% of normal capacity partly due to COVID-19 constraints at some operations

( ) said its coal production fell in the first quarter and reduced its full-year output guidance for both metallurgical and thermal coal.

Thermal coal production dropped 20% from the year-earlier quarter to 4.9 million tonnes (Mt), with guidance for the year cut to about 14 Mt, from about 24 Mt, reflecting the diversified miners plans to spin off its thermal coal operations in South Africa.

READ: Anglo American to spin off thermal coal operations in South Africa

Overall, first-quarter production was at 95% of normal capacity, meeting strong customer demand despite some limited constraints at certain operations due to COVID-19, said the FTSE 100-listed miner.

Production increased by 3% driven by strong performances at the copper operations in Chile, and PGMs and iron ore in South Africa, more than offsetting plant maintenance downtime at Minas-Rio iron ore in Brazil and the temporary suspension at the Moranbah metallurgical coal operation in Australia," said chief executive Mark Cutifani.

The company was keen to flag up its green credentials.

"Anglo American's portfolio is increasingly tilted towards future-enabling metals and minerals, with our recently proposed demerger of our thermal coal operations in South Africa moving us further in that direction, said Cutifani.

We are also making good progress in ensuring every operation plays its part towards a lower carbon world, with 100% renewable electricity supply now secured for all of our operations across Brazil, Chile and Peru.

All South American operations will have 100% renewable electricity supply from 2022.

Metallurgical coal production fell 14% from the year-earlier period to 3.3 Mt, leading the company to reduce full-year guidance to 14-16 Mt from its previous target of 18-20 Mt.

Copper production increased 9% due to strong performances at both Los Bronces and Collahuasi with prices for its copper about 40% higher in the first quarter than during the average for the whole of 2020.

Group Metals (PGMs) production grew 7%, with Mogalakwena volumes increasing by 17% due to higher throughput and grade.

Iron ore output was steady versus the prior-year quarter, although production at Kumba increased 10% on higher plant availability.

Diamond production fell 7% to 7.2 million carats, driven by operational challenges, including excessive rainfall in southern Africa and a COVID-19-related shutdown in Canada, as well as planned maintenance in Namibia.

The company noted that rough diamond sales continued to improve amid midstream restocking following an encouraging holiday selling season for diamond jewellery in major global markets.
In line with Earth Day, Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, has announced a three-year partnership with the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ Fund) to support conservation initiatives around the world.

Through the partnership, Mubadala will provide the MBZ Fund with $1.5 million annually to be directed towards supporting endangered flora and fauna in Africa and Asia, with a focus on countries where Mubadala has portfolio companies including Guinea, Indonesia, Thailand, and more, representing some of the worlds biodiversity hotspots. This will also be the first agreement of its kind in the region where corporate and conservation donor entities are collaborating to invest in preventing biodiversity loss.

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the MBZ Fund, commented: The importance of biodiversity conservation is a priority for countries across the globe, and we are excited to enter this strategic partnership with Mubadala to tackle this issue. With this agreement, we are retaining and restoring endangered species globally, thereby underscoring the importance of the private sector in protecting our ecosystems and paving the way for a better future for the next generations. This strategic relationship will also contribute to positioning Abu Dhabi regionally and globally as a leader in combining corporate and conservation funding to make a tangible difference worldwide.

Commenting on the partnership, Ahmed Al Calily, Chief Strategy and Risk Officer at Mubadala, added: As a responsible global investor, we care deeply about the communities we operate in and are proud to partner with the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund based on its history and legacy in protecting endangered species around the globe. This new partnership will further strengthen our existing community investment programmes and help our efforts to address critical issues such as biodiversity and species conservation, which is aligned with our commitment to making long-term sustainable decisions that positively impact local and global communities.

The partnership is focused on mitigating the threats to endangered species and their habitats in three countries, Guinea, Indonesia, and Thailand. In Guinea, funds will be directed to preserving endangered marine species including critically endangered marine turtles, the Atlantic humpbacked dolphin (Sousa teuszii), and the African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis).

In Indonesia funds will go towards supporting the marine ecosystem, in particular coral reefs and seagrass, in the Makasaar Strait, as well as terrestrial ecosystems through wildcat conservation in Aceh Province. Furthermore, in Thailand the support will focus on migratory wading birds  in particular the Spotted greenshank (Tringa guttifer), and their mud-flat and mangrove habitats in the northern Gulf of Thailand, and the Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), as well as other freshwater species located at Kaeng Krachan National Park.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund is a significant philanthropic endowment established in 2009 to provide targeted grants to individual species conservation initiatives, recognise leaders in the field of species conservation, and elevate the importance of species in the broader conservation debate. The Funds reach in species conservation is global, and its species interest is non-discriminatory. To date the Fund has supported over 2,200 projects in more than 160 countries.

-- Tradearabia News Service
Storia Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd., a young and disruptive F&B brand in India has announced the launch of its new, exciting ad film led integrated marketing campaign Wish it never gets over for their range of Storia Shakes. The campaign includes the roll out of three ad films in association with a man of many crafts- an actor, comedian, show anchor and a doctor Sanket Bhosale, with an interesting, humorous parody on current affairs.

The ad campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Prime Focus Technologies while the media campaign was planned and executed by Publicis Beehive. The WINGO campaign will be supported by a 360-degree integrated marketing communication, which includes strong digital activities and engagement building influencer activity planned by Django Digital over a period of 3 months.

The ads will be further amplified with the help of ATL and social media platforms, TV during IPL, digital across OTT platforms and YouTube in key markets. Storia is looking to interact and engage with the millennial and Gen Zs in key cities to reinforce its brand building journey as Indias highest fruit content shake that gives you a complete drinking experience making them the perfect refreshment to go for this summer.

Storia Fruit Shakes are a part of the companys portfolio of one of Indias largest range of natural, and Indias only trans-fat free shakes, having the highest fruit content (As per research done by MINTEL GNPD) in India and this campaign reinforces the companys promise of fruitiest, tastiest, and thickest shakes in town, which the consumer only wishes it never gets over. Storia Shakes are available in 9 lip-smacking flavours with no added preservatives. The Storia shakes are available across modern trades, e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Big Basket and companys D2C website.

Speaking about the campaign Vishal Shah, Founder & Managing Director, Storia Foods & Beverages Pvt. Ltd said, We, at Storia, feel a great responsibility towards our consumers because what we serve affects their health and lives directly. Hence, we find it imperative to deliver our value systems of wellness, convenience and sustainability with everything we do. We are excited to reach out to our consumers this summer through our first ever 360-degree campaign, in a fun yet a very impactful way. With the ongoing pandemic, we look to lighten the mood, in a category which is already very serious and usually only promotes health. This campaign is a great way to increase significant brand consideration with our millennials and Gen Z, in a format they relate to best, parodical yet impactful.

Commenting on the media campaign, Charles Victor, COO - Publicis Beehive said, Summer is a key season for F&B brands to engage with their consumers and Storia with its impressive range of offerings does a great job of communicating the same. Through the campaign, and a strong targeted media plan, were looking to turn the brand into the go-to refreshment this summer. We are confident this will have a big impact on the brand.

Please follow the link for campaign video:

Credits
At the welcoming banquet, various core products of Wuliangye were displayed, including all of its eight generations of products, presenting the development history of Wuliangye over a century and showing the long-standing history and culture of Chinese Baijiu, which drew attention of guests from home and abroad.

Guests from the partners of Boao Forum believed that the cooperation between Wuliangye, a world-renowned liquor brand and the Boao Forum is a win-win scenario. The annual conference provides an excellent platform for Wuliangye, and even other China's Baijiu brands, to go global, making Chinese Baijiu recognized by more and more consumers.

Themed on "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation," this year's annual conference marks the second time for Wuliangye to participate in the event as a partner, after its debut in the annual conference in 2018.

During this year's annual conference, Wuliangye will also actively participate in other important sessions by facilitating exchanges and deepening cooperation with all parties.

Meanwhile, relying on the forum's think tank achievements and platform resources, Wuliangye will accelerate the construction of a green, innovative and leading world-class enterprise during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/321020.html

SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road

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"Our posture's gonna be that we're posted outside of DC, awaiting the president's orders. We hope he will give us the orders. We want him to declare an insurrection, and to call us up as the militia."

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, in November, looking ahead to Jan. 6
(Independent)

The US Senate has overwhelmingly passed an anti-hate crimes bill on Tuesday that was created to address the surge of attacks against Asian Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The vote was 94-1 in favour of the bill, with Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri the lone senator to oppose the measure.

More follows ...
It appears the department has been aware of its reliance on international doctors for many years, warning in a 2017 report of the risks that existed if that supply of workers was shut off. Over-reliance risks predicted The report by the Medical Workforce Branch of the WA Department of Health projected a shortfall of 1450 medical practitioners across all specialties in the state by 2025. The report found the number of trained specialists would not meet demand in 18 specialties by 2025 with the resulting risk of not being able to meet health service needs and compromising safety and quality of care. The report noted the state relied on international medical graduates to help cover this demand and said these overseas doctors would continue to address short to medium-term shortfalls unless policy changes or shortages disrupted recruitment.

It is important to understand the impact a reduction in recruitment of IMGs would have on our health system in the short-term with regard to junior doctor numbers and in our consultant staff in the medium to long-term, the report warned. Policy changes or shortages in countries that traditionally supply our IMGs could have the potential to move a specialty from having a small excess to a shortfall within a very short time period. Despite this, the number of international healthcare workers on visas continued to rise. Demand for overseas workers rises In the 2020 financial year, the number of healthcare workers granted visas in WA increased by 8.2 per cent, according to the most recent report on temporary skilled visas from the Department of Home Affairs.

A total of 530 applications were granted, up from 490 in 2018-19, an increase despite migration in the last three months of the year being all but stopped by border restrictions. Loading Junior doctors, referred to as resident medical officers, were the profession granted the most visas, ahead of mechanical engineering technicians and diesel motor mechanics. General practitioners came in fourth. AMA WA president Andrew Miller said international staff had become a critical part of the workforce. These doctors are a buffer  they are not a big group but they are incredibly important because if you dont fill that last percentage of roles then the system starts to fall apart, Dr Miller said.

We were already trying to make up for a shortage and then COVID happened, borders closed and we went a long way backwards. Thats how Fiona Stanley ended up about 65 junior medical staff short at one stage last year. Dr Miller said the staffing issues had created significant problems for the operation of the hospitals and the welfare of local staff. Government redirecting staff The Department of Health spokesperson said it had been focusing on ensuring high priority areas had enough junior medical doctors. This included starting a cohort of interns at Fiona Stanley Hospital in early November 2020. Additionally, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency opened its graduate registration processes earlier (from 14 September 2020) and developed supporting resources to encourage early applications from the entry level clinical workforce to assist with workforce supply across all jurisdictions, they said.

The spokesperson acknowledged some staff had been redirected to COVID-related activities and said the department was helping hospitals recruit more newly recently qualified nurses and move skilled nurses back to the acute care setting. In April, Health Minister Roger Cook also announced the launch of a national and international recruitment drive to bring more experienced nurses into the health system. However, Dr Miller said solutions offered to date lacked the visionary planning and action required for a staffing problem that had been developing for years and exacerbated by COVID-19 border restrictions. He said a co-ordinated response from state and federal governments was required to strip out bureaucracy and allow much-needed medical staff into the country. Migration crash predicted

In a July 2020 budget update, the federal government forecast overseas migration to Australia would fall from 232,000 in 2018-19 to 154,000 in 2019-20 and 31,000 in 2020-21 due to border and visa restrictions. Loading Since March 20 last year, travel restrictions capped the number of international arrivals into Australia and prevented foreign nationals from entering unless they met certain criteria or obtained an exemption. Exemptions are granted to people providing critical or specialist medical services, people with critical skills required to maintain the supply of essential goods and services, people delivering services in sectors critical to Australias economic recovery or people sponsored by an employer to work in Australia in a priority migration skilled occupation. Eleven of the 18 exempt occupations are in medical fields.

A spokesperson from the Australian Border Force said since March 20 last year, 90 per cent of applications relating to medical fields had been approved, equating to more than 1500 people. The spokesperson said there was no limit placed on the number of individual travel exemptions issued. Life and death issue However, Kalgoorlie GP April Armstrong said international doctors with secured work and approved visas were struggling to get into the country. Dr Armstrong is the only doctor at her clinic, and is relying on two east coast doctors attending to her clients via videolink after being unable to get overseas doctors in to help.

She said she had been advocating on behalf of international doctors seeking to get into the country but many could not get the exemptions they needed. It is not just a workforce issue, it affects peoples lives. We are talking about life and death because people cant be seen because they are sitting in a waiting room, she said. I can see the rollout of the vaccines will be further slowed from a smaller workforce, tragedies like we saw at PCH will happen more regularly  and there will be declines in long-term health outcomes for patients. Kalgoorlie is generally a good bellweather for medical workforce issues in WA  and like Kalgoorlie was a warning flag that there was something wrong in WA, WA is the warning flag there is something wrong in Australia. This is an urgent national issue. A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure, which oversees arrival caps, said they were based on state quarantine capacity.
Four out of five Houston Methodist employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. The sliver who are not will be suspended or fired if they refuse the shot, according to company policy.

The hospital required managers to be vaccinated by April 15 and all other employees  about 26,000 workers in total  by June 7, said Stefanie Asin, a Houston Methodist spokesperson.

With 84 percent of the staff vaccinated, the hospital is close to herd immunity, CEO Marc Boom wrote in a letter to employees this month.

As health care workers weve taken a sacred oath to do everything possible to keep our patients safe and healthy  this includes getting vaccinated, Boom wrote.

A little more than 4,100 employees have not received at least a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital does not know yet how many employees potentially will be suspended or terminated because of the mandatory vaccination policy.

Since 2009, a hospital policy has mandated its workers receive the flu vaccine each year, unless they have a medical or religious objection qualifying them for exemption.

MORE DOSES: As COVID-19 vaccine supply increases in Texas, clinics say no appointments needed

Some workers expect to be let go because they wont sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment yet. Bob Nevens, Houston Methodists director of corporate risk and insurance, told the Houston Press that he was suspended for two weeks without pay and expects to be let go this month.

Jennifer Bridges, a nurse at Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown, said she would take the vaccine once its fully approved by the FDA, which could take years.

Were not against the vaccine, we just want to be more comfortable with this one and have thorough research out before we take it, Bridges said. When patients get care, they have the right to refuse treatment, but were not allowed that same exemption.

She circulated a petition protesting the mandate addressed to Boom, whom she said did not respond.

If you want the vaccine, that is great, but it should be your choice. It should not be forced into your body if you are not comfortable with it, reads the Change.org petition, which has drawn more than 2,500 signatures.

Several nursing homes in Houston are requiring COVID-19 vaccinations of their workers, while other hospitals in the Texas Medical Center have not yet followed suit.

UTMB is not mandating vaccination, said Christopher Smith Gonzalez, senior communication specialist for the hospital. But, in view of the high contagiousness of the some of the SARS-CoV-2 variants, UTMB has implemented enhanced respiratory precautions for all unvaccinated individuals caring for or evaluating patients for COVID.

While 80 percent of Texas Childrens Hospital employees are vaccinated against COVID-19, the hospital does not require inoculation. St. Lukes Health has vaccinated thousands of our staff, vaccinations are not mandatory, according to the health system.

Mandate being considered

But some are considering it to cut back on health hazards for employees and patients.

As a provider of health care services, Baylor College of Medicine currently requires vaccination for employees for a variety of infectious diseases, said Dr. James McDeavitt, senior vice president of Baylor College of Medicine. For example, flu vaccination for employees has been mandatory for several years. With appropriately defined exemptions (medical contraindications, religious beliefs), we support mandatory vaccination for COVID-19. We do not yet have this requirement in place, but it is under active consideration.

Memorial Hermann will make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory after it relaxes some of its COVID-19 protocols, such as mask-wearing and social distancing. However, it has not set a deadline for employees to receive the vaccine, said Drew Munhausen, a Memorial Hermann spokesperson.

The three vaccines available to the public as of April are authorized for emergency use, meaning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has evaluated the available clinical trial data for potential benefits and risks and OKd the treatment because there is no approved alternative. Drug manufacturers must submit safety data as part of the emergency use request.

There is no timeline for how long it will take the FDA to issue a full approval.

Texas law mandates that health care facilities have a policy regarding vaccinations, but does not require health care personnel to receive specific vaccines.

There is no clear-cut federal policy on the books, but the U.S. government cannot mandate vaccines. It leaves it up to the employer or school.

Everyone who hasnt had it is terrified of retaliation, Bridges said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination of health care professionals is essential to reduce the risk of symptomatic COVID-19, as is the continued focus on infection prevention and control practices.

An unvaccinated health care worker in March caused a COVID-19 outbreak at a Kentucky nursing home, according to an April CDC report. The coronavirus variant was newly introduced to the region.

A majority of the homes residents were vaccinated and did not develop symptoms or require hospitalization, but one vaccinated resident died as a result of the outbreak. Two unvaccinated residents also died, the CDC reported. Even with masks and other COVID-19 protocols, more than 25 nursing home residents and 20 workers were infected.

Unvaccinated residents and health care personnel had 3 and 4.1 times the risk of infection as did vaccinated residents and health care personnel, the CDC reported. Vaccine was 86.5 percent protective against symptomatic illness among residents, and 87.1 percent protective among health care personnel.

Vaccine hesitancy among health care workers is still high. Just over half of front-line health care workers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study released in March by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The number is slightly higher among those who work in hospitals and outpatient clinics, at 66 and 64 percent respectively.

COVID HELP DESK: Now that Im vaccinated, what can I do inside?

Curbing trauma

Teal Riley, nursing director of Houston Methodists ICU, was among the first clinicians in line for a COVID-19 vaccine when they arrived at the hospital. Riley and her husband are both nurses, and with kids at home, they considered the extra level of protection a no-brainer.

When I was doing my own research on the vaccine data with my demographic and age, it was convincing enough for me to decide I was going to get it, she told the Houston Chronicle. Houston Methodist already mandates flu and tuberculosis vaccines, so it did not come as a surprise to her when administrators made it a condition of employment.

Houston Methodist was one of several companies to offer incentives for its workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital is granting $500 bonuses to anyone who worked during the pandemic and received the vaccine.

Already were seeing positive results as the number of employee infections has dropped inversely with the number of employees receiving the vaccine, Boom wrote.

The email from Boom went out last Thursday, giving workers five weeks to book at least the first shot. Bridges, the Baytown nurse, said shes heard from employees across the system who are panicked at the idea of losing their jobs during a recession. Some are considering the vaccine just to keep their paychecks.

When vaccines were first made available to health care workers, some clinical professionals rushed to immunize. Carlos Martinez, a physical and occupational therapy technician at Houston Methodist, told the Chronicle in December that he was eager to sign up for a vaccine after experiencing the trauma of caring for so many sick patients.

I was running into these life stories and it really started to wear on me, Martinez said at the time. I mean, how could you not believe this? These people arent putting on an act, you know, theyre really sick.

Riley, the nursing director, said she can count on one hand the number of employees she manages who have not received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. For their staff, it isnt just a matter of protection at work  its also about curbing the trauma of caring for patients who may not make it out of intensive care. The benefits, to her, outweigh the risks.

It gives you a sense of hope, Riley said. This is all we have to look forward to right now.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu

julie.garcia@chron.com

twitter.com/reporterjulie
The View

Faculty weigh in on Chauvin verdict, fight for equality

The crowd gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center celebrates after Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd. Photo: Chad Davis Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

UBNOW STAFF

Following Tuesdays guilty verdict for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, UBNow sought faculty members thoughts on the trial and the continued push for racial and social justice in the United States. We thank these scholars for their quick responses. Here are their thoughts:

Athena Mutua, professor of law and Floyd H. and Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar The conviction of Derek Chauvin is edifying. A jury of his peers and a multitude of diverse protesters saw the arrogance, felt impunity and depraved indifference with which he needlessly murdered George Floyd. But while Chauvin, the individual, must be held accountable, the problem of police violence in the U.S. is deeper. It is historical, ongoing and systemic  authorized by the state, backed by law, institutionalized throughout our political economy, supported culturally and exercised primarily against people of color, the poor and the vulnerable. Police killings will not disappear with one or several convictions. Rather, change will come when: (1) we recognize that we do not need armed forces to regulate our traffic, monitor our schools and respond to mental health crises, among other issues; and (2) we begin to redefine what we need to be safe, invest in and create resilient communities, deal with oppression and treat each other with the dignity and compassion that we all deserve.

Raechele Pope, associate dean for faculty and student affairs, and chief diversity officer, Graduate School of Education I think many individuals, especially Black people, are experiencing a variety of emotions today. For many, there is relief that officer Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, but those feelings were immediately dampened by the almost simultaneous news of the police killing of a 16-year-old black girl, MaKhia Bryant, in Columbus, Ohio. While Chauvin may have been convicted, the larger issues of systemic racism in the police force and the inequity of policing in this country have only begun to face real scrutiny and accountability. The levels of exhaustion, numbness, rage and a host of other emotions among people of color over these seemingly endless shootings and hate crimes are affecting the well-being and mental health of so many.

Victoria Wolcott, professor of history The conviction of Derek Chauvin was a moment of justice, but it was a moment in a long history of white racial violence when justice has been rare. Like Emmett Tills 1954 lynching, George Floyds death has inspired massive and sustained calls for societal change. Indeed, the video of Floyds murder has played a similar role as Tills open casket, providing tangible proof of white supremacys consequences. And Chauvins conviction, in contrast to the acquittal of Tills murderers, suggests progress of a kind. However, the news of teenager MaKhia Bryants death in Columbus, Ohio, at the hands of police moments before the verdict was read dampens any sense of relief. And in the end, no trial can bring George Floyd back to his family.

Henry Louis Taylor, director, Center for Urban Studies The murder of George Floyd gave us a smoking gun of explicit racism imbued with a callous brutality rarely seen publicly. The only possible defense Chauvins lawyer had was dont believe your eyes. With the entire world watching, people did believe their eyes. There was only one possible verdict  guilty on all charges. Perfect conditions existed for winning this case More than 28 million people participated in protests across the nation and globe. COVID-19 self-quarantine conjured millions more in discussions across the world, while the murder ignited a social change movement not seen since the 1960s. There was a progressive Black chief of police and Black attorney general. The trail was televised and even the right-wing Fox News refused to give Derek Chauvin support. Even as the city prepared for the worst, everyone knew the jury would not render a not guilty. Not one jury member wanted to be on the wrong side of history. What does verdict mean? This victory reflected the peoples power. It was made possible by the millions who drew a line in the sand and said enough. But history teaches us, the retrogressive forces in this country will resist. Even as they say, justice was served, and this is the beginning of a new beginning, they will block efforts to defund the police and recreate policing as we know it. These same forces will fight reforms to improve the quality of neighborhood life among Blacks, Indigenous and people of color. They will work tirelessly to maintain the status quo. And the fightback will continue. The people will build on this shining moment. The people will continue to the quest for that day when BIPOC will cry free at last, free at last. This victory will cause them to keep the faith and raise the battle cry, Remember George Floyd. Power to the People.

Guyora Binder, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Law; Hodgson Russ Faculty Scholar Often, after a high-profile jury verdict, journalists and members of the public want to know whether the result will be a legal precedent that changes the law. And almost always, the answer is no, because juries are asked to decide questions of fact, not law. But this case is a rare exception. One of the important questions juries have to resolve in such cases is whether a police officers use of force was reasonably necessary, considered from the viewpoint of a reasonable officer. That is a value judgment, influenced by what jurors learn about police training and norms, but also influenced by societal expectations for police conduct. The evidence on this question before the jury is very well known to the public. Future juries everywhere will be familiar with that evidence and with the widespread public approval of the verdict. This case will change how juries evaluate police use of force, and how police are trained.

Christopher Dennison, assistant professor of sociology This verdict (and the attention surrounding this case) speaks to the growing concern and awareness of issues of inequality in the criminal justice system, particularly as it relates to police officers use of force. It is hoped that the discussions sparked from this case and verdict will continue moving society closer to a fairer, transparent and equitable criminal justice system.

Terri N. Watson, UB Center for Diversity Innovation Visiting Scholar; associate professor of leadership and human development, The City College of New York, CUNY Tuesdays guilty verdict was NOT a historic moment. Rather, it is indicative of just how imbalanced the scales of justice are for Black America. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was lynched. The world watched as Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyds neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. In a Beloved Community grounded in the five Cs (Care, Courage, Critical Reflection, Commitment, and Community), that would have never happened. Ironically, many people felt that because of the testimony of so many law enforcement agents on behalf of the prosecution, that Black America was finally on the receiving end of justice. However, 20 minutes before the guilty verdict was released, a 16-year-old Black girl, MaKhia Bryant, was executed by police officers in Columbus, Ohio. While the details of Bryants death are unclear at this time, what we know for sure is that she was a child and called for the police because she feared for her safety. Police officers are required to protect and serve  not murder and maim  Black men, women and children. If we, as a society, are sincere in our efforts to create a Beloved Community, we must embody the abovementioned five Cs and treat all Black people as precious and worthy of mercy and grace. Until then, there can be no justice.

Carole Emberton, associate professor of history I would say that while the verdict was a relief, particularly for the Floyd family, Im sure, it was only partial justice. The prosecutions case hinged upon the bad apple narrative of police brutality; that is, one bad cop acted outside the parameters of normal policing. But we know that is not the case. According to The Washington Post, nearly 1,000 people have been killed by police in the past year. The problem is obviously much deeper than one bad cop. The racialization of policing and the criminalization of Blackness has a long history in the U.S., and until steps are taken to address these issues, then unfortunately, these killings will continue, despite Chauvins conviction.

Ryan Muldoon, associate professor of philosophy The verdict in the Chauvin trial shows that accountability for egregious police behavior is possible, but by no means certain. It is important to remember that the headline of the initial police report for Floyds murder was Man dies after Medical Incident During Police Interaction. This baldly misrepresented what happened, and it was only because a citizen recorded the murder that we found out. This suggests a need for much deeper reforms. AG Garland [Merrick Garland, U.S. attorney general] announced that he would launch a patterns and practices investigation into the Minneapolis police department. This is a good first step. But we need to, at the very least, create a culture of accountability for police, both for racially discriminatory practices across all kinds of contact with citizens, and in particular in choices that lead police to use force against citizens. Citizens of all races and backgrounds should be confident that police are community partners and public servants, not an occupying force.
A County Derry nursery unit originally formed as a cross-community venture has said it was always linked to the town's controlled primary school.

Moneymore Nursery Unit was founded in 2002 in partnership with St Patrick's Primary School, the area's Catholic maintained primary school, and the controlled Moneymore Primary School.

However, in 2012, the nursery unit removed St Patrick's PS from its original admissions criteria, a move parents claim which makes it more difficult for children hoping to attend St Patrick's to access local nursery provision.

Terry O'Neill, who had three of his children denied a place in the nursery due to the criteria, says agreement had been reached in 2002 for the nursery to reflect a cross-community ethos.

Moneymore's play group was originally in the Catholic parish hall, he said.

When it was moved up to the Protestant ground, it was agreed to have a different uniform, crest and entrance into the nursery. It meant it felt more neutral.

The Moneymore man has contacted the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) for assistance.

In correspondence with NICCY, seen by the County Derry Post, the Education Authority (EA) said the nursery's current admissions criteria is at odds with its original intent.

The Education Authority (EA) acknowledges your observation that the original purported intent of Moneymore Nursery School i.e. integrated provider of education in Moneymore appears inconsistent with the current schools admissions criteria, and this has been the case since 2012/2013 academic year, they said.

As you will be a aware legislative responsibility for determining admissions criteria rests with eachindividual school/Board of Governors and is outwith the responsibility of EA.

Consequently EA has no role in establishing or amending individual schools admissions criteria;and neither does EA have the legislative authority to challenge an individual schools admissions criteria.

A response from Moneymore Nursery Unit is also included within the correspondence, where the unit say they have always been connected to Moneymore PS.

Moneymore Nursery Unit has always been a unit connected to Moneymore Primary School, they said.

The criteria for the Nursery Unit are reviewed annually and in most years amendments are made.

The Nursery Unit is often oversubscribed so the governors take account of a number of factors when reviewing and amending the criteria.

The primary schools are paired for the Shared Education programme and interact under activities related to it.

Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner Koulla Yiasouma said the current situation allows schools to 'drift' from their original mission and that government should instruct, rather than advise, Boards of Governors.

School Admissions Policy, across Northern Ireland, is an issue which we monitor on an ongoing basis, she said.

I am concerned, as Board of Governors ultimately have responsibility to set these in their respective schools, that many schools drift from their original mission.

That is why we must reform when the Department of Education instructs rather than advises Boards of Governors.

I will continue to recommend the Department moves to instruct Boards of Governors in uniform policies, relationship and sexual education, restrictive practices and of course admissions policies.

The importance of the latter has been demonstrated by the recent challenges posed by the transfer test.

The County Derry Post contacted Moneymore Nursery Unit for further comment, but did not receive a reply.
Regarding Texas House approves gun bill, (A1, April 16): It is hard to imagine a piece of legislation more poorly timed and more potentially dangerous to the public and police than the bill that has passed the Texas House of Representatives to allow the carry of handguns without any training requirements or a permitting process. It is incredible to think about these folks not being exposed to all the components of the concealed handgun license course such as where to carry, where you cant, when you can use your weapon, when you cant, not to mention not having to demonstrate some degree of competence with your weapon to minimize the risk to bystanders. This may be a bill with good intentions, but the consequences can be devastating. As a CHL holder for 11 years, I cant imagine a worse possible scenario. Hopefully the Senate will keep this from becoming law.

Chris Musemeche, Houston

Despite the pandemic, there were 600 shootings in which four or more people were shot by one person in 2020. Crime and especially hate crimes are on the rise. So far in 2021, there have been 147 mass shootings as of April 16. This number would be significantly higher if we counted all shootings. There was a shooting in Allen on April 5. Just a few days ago in a neighborhood close to mine, a high school student shot into the car of other high school students. I hear of random road rage and dispute shootings right here in the Houston area all the time. We need to be taking guns away, not making them more accessible. As a Texas resident for nearly six years now, I am considering leaving if House Bills 1927 and 1911 become law. Our legislators are making the state more dangerous for everyone, including our kids. Even handguns kill. And one life lost is one too many. We need to require background checks and make sure gun owners are licensed. Red flag laws need to be put in place. These bills would be huge step backwards when we really need to be pushing forward on safety.

Bharati Sadhwani, Richmond

Racist deeds

Regarding Addressing history, (A1, April 18): When my students would read the U.S. Constitution with me, there were strange sections that did not make much sense. Our book italicized them because they were no longer enforced. An amendment had changed the Constitution. But a careful reading shows that slavery was part of the original Constitution. I have great appreciation and awe for our founders. But I see their flaws. In the same way, I want the sins of our fathers to stay in our deeds. Let everyone know that once we purposefully kept out of Oak Forest people who were not white. Look at your deed and explain it to your children. And tell them why it does not apply. Dont get rid of it and pretend it never happened.

Michael Horne, Houston
[April 22, 2021] Rosemark, a New Business Focused on Enhancing Customer Relationships, Led by Industry Veteran Chris Kuenne, Launches with Equity Investment from Newlight Partners

Rosemark Group ("Rosemark"), a new company focused on helping brands build deeper relationships with their consumers, today announced that it has entered into an agreement under which Newlight Partners LP ("Newlight"), a growth equity investor, will make an equity investment of up to $150 million in the company. Rosemark will use the investment to build the next leader in customer marketing by acquiring and accelerating the growth of tech-enabled marketing companies focused on deepening consumer relationships. Rosemark is founded and led by Chris Kuenne, an entrepreneurial pioneer with more than 35 years of experience converting deeper consumer insights into thriving brands. Kuenne and his team are assembling best-in-class companies to join the Rosemark platform, which will support the unique culture of each company to enable its growth as an independent brand. Rosemark will create cohesion across the platform through its operational expertise, consumer connection strategy, and its cross-brand business development efforts, including Rosemark's proprietary Quantitative Persona(QP) method. "Marketing has made a significant shift to the numeric, algorithmic, and the measurable where purchase conversion is king. This is creating a mercenary mindset where the connection between brand and consumer is increasingly transactional, without regard to the motivations and preferences that deepen the consumer's connection to the brand," explains Chris Kuenne, CEO of Rosemark. "Brand relationships based primarily on transactions diminish over time. That's not good for either brands or the bottom line." Rosemark aims to reverse this trnd through systematically deepening the relationship between brands and their most valuable consumers.



"We are building Rosemark from the ground up to reverse this trend through systematically deepening the relationship between brands and their most valuable consumers," added Mr. Kuenne. "We will reduce the complexities that marketers face today, shine a light on their most valuable consumers, and deliver experiences and programs that build more enduring consumer-brand connections. In doing so, we believe we can help lead marketing into its next chapter. We are grateful to have the support from Newlight, whose approach of working closely with management to build great businesses is fully aligned with ours." "We are excited about supporting the Rosemark team and their mission to help companies enhance customer lifetime value. We believe the Rosemark Group model will be very attractive to high growth entrepreneurs and we look forward to partnering with them to acquire these businesses and drive incremental growth," said Adam Stulberger, a Partner at Newlight Partners.

About Rosemark Rosemark is an operating company focused on enhancing Consumer Lifetime Value. Rosemark will acquire and help accelerate the growth of best-in-class service and technology companies. Under the leadership of Chris Kuenne, the Rosemark team will partner with motivated entrepreneurs who are seeking a strategic and financial growth partner to help them achieve their vision for impact. Prior to founding Rosemark, Kuenne founded, built, and scaled, the global digital agency Rosetta. Several of Rosemark's leadership team also held senior positions at Rosetta, which was sold to the Publicis Groupe for $575 Million. About Newlight Partners LP Newlight Partners LP is a growth equity firm focused on building businesses in partnership with founders and exceptional management teams. For more than 15 years, the Newlight team has helped build successful enterprises in five sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, power & infrastructure, healthcare and business services. Led by David Wassong and Ravi Yadav, the Newlight team has invested approximately $6 billion in over 100 investments since 2005, first as the Strategic Investments Group at Soros Fund Management LLC (Soros), and now as Newlight after the team's spin out from Soros in 2018. Newlight has approximately $4 billion in capital commitments and assets under management. For more information, please visit www.newlightpartners.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005874/en/

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The German government is to support Ghana to conduct feasibility studies on the possibility of producing vaccines locally.



When successful, the initiative will help accelerate national plans to produce vaccines for better health outcomes and job creation.



Speaking with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Monday, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Christoph Retzlaff, said the COVID-19 pandemic had shown how critical it was for Africa to produce its own vaccines.



He said the shortage of vaccines and the dependence on delivery from other parts of the world were major hurdles in Africas fight against the global pandemic.



If I am informed well, Africa is producing only one per cent of vaccines that are needed on the continent. I am not talking just about the COVID-19 but all vaccines needed on the continent. There is almost no vaccine production capacity in sub-Saharan Africa; it is a situation we have to change together, the Ambassador added.



Form of support



Mr Retzlaff said as part of the support, Germany, through its development cooperation implementing agency, the GIZ, was assisting a committee set up by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to lead the national vaccine production agenda with funding and technical assistance from Germany to conduct initial feasibility studies.



He said stakeholders were in the process of determining the cost of the feasibility studies, which are to begin soon.



We are also linking the committee up with German technical experts and relevant Ghanaian players in science, industry and government, including the German pharmaceutical industry, such as Merck and BBraun.



Some of these global players have already established offices in Accra (Merck, BBraun). The German Delegation of Industry and Commerce in Ghana, AHK, recently organised the first German-Ghanaian Health Forum to bring together all the players, he said.



On why they chose to support Ghana, he said Germany believed that Ghana offered a favourable investment atmosphere for vaccine production and could become the hub for vaccine production in West Africa.



This will equip Ghana and West Africa better in their fight against future pandemics and diseases such as Ebola, Lassa and Yellow Fever, Mr Retzlaff said.



According to him, Ghana was the most attractive country in West Africa, considering its political stability, infrastructure and the level of science education in the country.



Global health and pandemic prevention



Mr Retzlaff said the additional effort by Germany to make vaccines accessible in Africa included the setting up of the first German-West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention to share science and knowledge in Ghana.



This will be one of four such centres in the world. The centre will be a collaboration among three universities  the FU Berlin University, the University of Bonn, both in Germany, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.



Germany is to provide 600,000 Euro per year for the programme until 2025, with an option to extend it to 2030, he said.

Additionally, the Ambassador said, the German pharmaceutical company, Merck, was to start a Merck Africa Vaccine Initiative" project to build the capacity of some African countries in vaccine production.



COVID-19 support



Mr Retzlaff said Germany had supported Ghana with a 25-million Euro facility to help it in its fight against the COVID-19 and its economic and social consequences since April 2020.



With this funding, Germany has supported the setting up of a COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, the procurement of medical and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as assisting the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research of the University of Ghana and the KCCR Institute in KNUST.



Germany, in collaboration with the government of Ghana and the Stanbic Bank, also supported small and medium-size companies with 12 million Euros to secure jobs in the midst of the pandemic. With a 2.3 billion Euro contribution, Germany is thus the second biggest donor for the international COVAX/Gavi Initiative, which procures vaccines for more than 100 countries worldwide.



Ghana was the first country in the world to receive the COVID-19 vaccine from COVAX on February 24, 2021. The EU is providing substantial funding for COVAX, he said.

Source: graphiconline.com









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Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the major trends in the market?

The introduction of food trucks is a major trend driving the growth of the market.



The introduction of food trucks is a major trend driving the growth of the market. At what rate is the market projected to grow?

The market will accelerate at a CAGR of almost 7% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be $ 31.42 bn .



The market will accelerate at a CAGR of almost 7% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be . Who are the top players in the market?

Abercrombie & Kent USA LLC, Butterfield & Robinson Inc., Classic Journeys, G Adventures, Gourmet On Tour Ltd., Greaves Travel Ltd., International Culinary Tours, ITC Travel Group Ltd., The Travel Corp., and Topdeck Travel Ltd., are some of the major market participants.



Abercrombie & Kent USA LLC, Butterfield & Robinson Inc., Classic Journeys, G Adventures, Gourmet On Tour Ltd., Greaves Travel Ltd., International Culinary Tours, ITC Travel Group Ltd., The Travel Corp., and Topdeck Travel Ltd., are some of the major market participants. What is the key market driver?

The increase in integrative culinary and cultural events is one of the major factors driving the market.



The increase in integrative culinary and cultural events is one of the major factors driving the market. How big is the Europe market?

The Europe region will contribute to 31% of the market share.

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The automotive audio speakers market has the potential to grow by during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 7.29%. Spa Market by Type and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025- The spa market has the potential to grow by USD 22.08 billion during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 6.15%. Download FREE sample report

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The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Abercrombie & Kent USA LLC, Butterfield & Robinson Inc., Classic Journeys, G Adventures, Gourmet On Tour Ltd., Greaves Travel Ltd., International Culinary Tours, ITC Travel Group Ltd., The Travel Corp., and Topdeck Travel Ltd. are some of the major market participants. The increase in integrative culinary and cultural events will offer immense growth opportunities. In a bid to help players strengthen their market foothold, this culinary tourism market forecast report provides a detailed analysis of the leading market vendors. The report also empowers industry honchos with information on the competitive landscape and insights into the different product offerings offered by various companies.

Culinary Tourism Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Culinary Tourism Market is segmented as below:

Type

Domestic



International

Geography

Europe



North America



APAC



South America



MEA

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR70511

Culinary Tourism Market 2021-2025: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The culinary tourism market report covers the following areas:

Culinary Tourism Market Size

Culinary Tourism Market Trends

Culinary Tourism Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the introduction of food trucks as one of the prime reasons driving the culinary tourism market growth during the next few years.

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Culinary Tourism Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist culinary tourism market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the culinary tourism market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the culinary tourism market across Europe , North America , APAC, South America , and MEA

, , APAC, , and MEA Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of culinary tourism market vendors

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Five Forces Analysis

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Type

Market segments

Comparison by Type

Domestic - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

International - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Impact of COVID-19 on type segments of market and recovery from pandemic

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Abercrombie & Kent USA LLC

Butterfield & Robinson Inc.

Classic Journeys

G Adventures

Gourmet On Tour Ltd.

Greaves Travel Ltd.

International Culinary Tours

ITC Travel Group Ltd.

The Travel Corp.

Topdeck Travel Ltd.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

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The company has reached an agreement with the global energy giant to store crude oil from Cliff Head Oil Field in the Perth Basin at BPs Kwinana facility.

Shares were as much as 28% higher today to 3.2 cents.

Triangle Energy (Global) Ltd ( ) shares rose as much as 28% on news it had reached an agreement with (LON:BP) (NYSE:BP) (FRA:BPE5) to store crude oil at BPs Kwinana facility in Western Australia.

The storage agreement is for one year and brings to an end a period of uncertainty regarding the storage of oil from Triangle Energys flagship Cliff Head Oil Field in the Perth Basin.

BP Kwinana will provide access to and use of the Kwinana facility to Triangle Energy to store its crude oil product, as well as provide services associated with storage and lifting.

Previously, BP stated its intention to cease fuel production at its Kwinana refinery and convert the refinery into an import terminal, and in March BP extended the crude oil supply agreement by one month, leading up to todays decision.

Shares traded up to 3.2 cents today as investors responded positively to the deal.

Cliff Head attractiveness

Triangle is now considering other oil marketing opportunities available for Cliff Head Oil Field, which last quarter produced and sold 58,148 barrels (an average of 632 barrels of oil per day), and negotiating offtake alternatives for Cliff Head production, managing director Robert Towner said.

Prior to the BP Refinery closure, we had completed our strategy to become the dominant operator of conventional oil licences in the Perth Basin, he said.

Subject to the completion of the recent acquisitions, we will be the operator of four licences at Cliff Head and these licences are located both offshore and onshore with significant infrastructure capable of taking oil to the market upon exploration and development success and the execution of a binding offtake agreement.

We have significant investment in licences which total 10,000 square kilometres in one of the countrys most exciting hydrocarbon basins.

Additionally, our $25 million holding in State Gas Limited provides significant leverage to the East Coast Gas market.

The details

The crude and condensate produced and delivered by Triangle will be stored at BP Kwinana in two tanks as a co-mingled product with crude and condensate from other producers also using the storage facility.

BP and Triangle have agreed to good faith discussions about an extension of the agreement beyond April 22, 2022.

In further good news for Triangle, it has also agreed to terms with BP Singapore in a non-binding term sheet for a related, non-binding offtake agreement for crude oil.

Under the two-year deal, BP Singapore will purchase the crude produced from the Cliff Head Oil Field, co-mingled with crude and condensate of other producers, on free-on-board BP Kwinana terms.

- Daniel Paproth
A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held for Judy Thornbloom of Osakis who passed away at the age of 59 in April of 2020. It will be held on Friday, June 11, 2021 from 1 - 5 pm at the Osakis VFW Post #7902 in Osakis.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian hasnt signed the package of the Law on Higher Education and Science and related laws and has addressed the Constitutional Court, as reported the press office of the President of Armenia.

Sarkissian has also issued a statement on this. The statement reads as follows: On April 2, 2021, the National Assembly submitted to the President of Armenia the package of the Law on Higher Education and Science and related laws for signature.

The President discussed the Law with the administration of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, academicians, representatives of universities, academic and educational sectors and non-governmental organizations and listened to their opinions and observations.

Based on the rational attached to the Law, the main purpose of the Law is to increase effectiveness of management of the systems of education and science, but it is necessary to emphasize that the Law does not have a systemic nature.

To adopt such a law, it is first and foremost necessary to have a specific vision for the development of science and education, a strategy and a plan for development, but this Law doesnt fully reflect the modern trends for development of science and education.

At the same time, the studies and expert opinions of the Staff of the President on the Law have led to the conclusion that certain provisions of the Law are problematic from the perspective of constitutionality.

Taking into account the aforementioned, the President hasnt signed the Law and has applied to the Constitutional Court with the request to determine compliance of the Law with the Constitution.
The new revelation in the Toledo case reminded me of Chicago police claiming that 17-year-old Laquan McDonald lunged at them with a knife when he was shot and killed on Oct. 20, 2014. The dashcam video, released more than a year later, showed that was not true  that McDonald was walking away from officers with a closed knife well before Officer Jason Van Dyke fired 16 shots and mowed down the teenager. The Chicago inspector generals office eventually concluded that 16 officers and supervisors were involved in an elaborate cover-up of the McDonald killing. This includes a former lieutenant who allegedly destroyed notes from witness interviews.
For American teenagers, their political coming of age has been a tumultuous one. Theyve seen the boundary-breaking candidacies of women and people of color, and the norm-shattering presidency of Donald Trump. Theyve lived through racial justice protests, a pandemic, and attacks on American democracy.

Research shows that a voting generation is typically shaped for life by what happens politically in their teen years and early 20s. What have teenagers taken away from all this? We asked 604 of them, ages 13 to 17, from around the country, in a poll by Dynata for The New York Times. A little more than half the teenagers surveyed were girls. And nearly half were Black, Hispanic, Native American or Asian-American. (We talked to more of them because Generation Z will be the first in which nearly half of the electorate is nonwhite.)

The survey revealed a generation of soon-to-be voters who felt disillusioned by government and politics, and already hardened along political lines  something political scientists said was new for people this young. But it also revealed a significant share of teenagers who felt motivated to become involved themselves, whether out of inspiration or frustration.

Simultaneously, we have this caustic, scorched-earth politics of the Trump administration, particularly for people of color, and at the same time we see young people exercising power and influence and organizing and showing up in the marches and the election, said Valeria Sinclair-Chapman, a political scientist at Purdue. This is their political socialization, so we have to see how it plays out.
Things to do in the Attleboro area and beyond
NOIDA/NEW DELHI: Kailash Hospital, one of the leading hospitals in Noida, is left with just 3-4 hours of oxygen supply. The hospital management has sought the Centre and the Noida district administration's help in this regard and asked the government to ramp up the oxygen supply to the hospital.

Due to oxygen shortage, the hospital is not admitting any new COVID-19 patient coming for treatment there.

Sharing more information, senior doctor Ritu Bohra, Group Director, Medical Kailash Hospital, said that the management has contacted the Noida District Administration and apprised it of the oxygen shortage situation being faced by the hospital.

She said that the hospital has received positive assurance from the Noida Administration and the oxygen supply is likely to be restored soon.

It may be noted that the Centre has roped in the Indian Air Force to airlift oxygen cylinders, regulators, and essential medicines as the hospitals in the national capital region face a shortage of oxygen cylinders and medicines.

As the second wave of Covid-19 hits India, the IAF has started airlifting personnel, doctors and nursing staff to help the government battle the pandemic.

Sources said that IAF has airlifted doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Vizag and Bengaluru for setting up a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Covid hospital in Delhi. The force has also airlifted oxygen containers of DRDO from Bengaluru for Covid centres at Delhi.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh directed all the defence establishments to set up more Covid-19 hospitals, use emergency powers and bring in retired personnel to tackle the crisis. A roadmap on how military infrastructure can be used to ramp up the fight against Covid-19 was also discussed in a Covid preparedness review meeting chaired by the Minister.

Several hospitals in Delhi had on Wednesday alleged that the Haryana government was not allowing vendors to supply oxygen to them and there is only limited stock left as hundreds of coronavirus patients battled for their life in these healthcare facilities.

According to an official, Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital at Pusa Road had five hours of oxygen left around 4:30 PM. There are 58 COVID patients, including 10 in ICU, in the hospital.

"The vendor, as per its representative, is not being allowed by the Haryana government to supply oxygen cylinders and liquid oxygen to Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital, Pusa Road. Supply left is sufficient only for five hours," the official said.

He said the Centre needs to intervene as a large number of hospitals are affected due to the "stoppage of oxygen supply from Haryana". A spokesperson of St Stephen's Hospital said they had only two hours of oxygen left around 4 pm.

"The Haryana government has not been allowing our vendor to supply oxygen to us. Of the 350 patients in the hospital, around 200 are on oxygen support," he alleged.

An official at the Holy Family Hospital in Okhla also claimed that the state neighbouring Delhi has stopped their tanker carrying oxygen. "Only a few hours of oxygen left. We are trying three-four vendors for fresh stock," he said.

Some major government and private hospitals in Delhi received a fresh stock of medical oxygen in the early hours of Wednesday, averting a crisis just in time, according to officials.

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital received 4,500 cubic metres of oxygen supply from a private vendor before 3 am. Another supplier sent 6,000?cubic metres of it later. This stock should last till 9 am on Thursday, an official said.

All the 132 ICU beds in the hospital are occupied and only three of the 487 non-ICU beds in the facility are vacant. An official at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital confirmed that a truck carrying oxygen from a firm reached them around 1:30 am.

Dr Suresh Kumar, the medical director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said a truck carrying oxygen from a vendor reached the facility around 3 am.

A record 28,395 coronavirus cases and 277 deaths marked the aggravation of the pandemic situation in Delhi on Tuesday as the positivity rate shot up to 32.82 per cent -- meaning every third sample came out positive -- amid a "serious oxygen crisis" unfolding in the city.

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De Carcer will be responsible for continued growth and development of the company's forensic engineering services throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, primarily serving sectors such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Energy, Construction, and Infrastructure.

"I am excited to begin this next chapter with Envista," said de Carcer. "Through my contributions and experience in the insurance carrier sector, I hope to jump in quickly and help continue to grow the brand in the market."

As an industry veteran with more than 20 years working in insurance with carriers such as Crawford and Tokio Marine, de Carcer has handled claims over $100M, managed large scale catastrophe response, and has a heavy background serving the construction, manufacturing, energy, marine, transportation, property, and civil liability sectors.

"There is immense potential for Envista to more broadly serve the insurance claims industry in Mexico and the Caribbean, and with engagement and passion for what we do, and why we do it, I'm inspired to work hard and keep pursing the continuous improvement of our world-class services for the success of our teams and for this great firm, of which I'm so grateful to be a part of," stated de Carcer.

"We couldn't be happier to have Gabriel onboard," said Mike Driscoll, Technical Director. "I have overseen the Mexico office for the past 5 years, and I'm thrilled to have someone with Gabriel's experience and knowledge of the industry help us continue to grow the Envista brand in Mexico and the Caribbean. I know our clients will enjoy working with him, as will the entire team."

In addition to de Carcer's appointment to the firm's Managing Director role for Mexico and The Caribbean, Envista also welcomes back two engineers to their team, further increasing the offices capabilities. Leonel Carrasco will join as Project Engineer, Fire/Electrical/Mechanical and Miguel Hernandez, will join the team as a Senior Project Engineer, Fire/Civil/Structural.

"The experience added to our team in Mexico just exploded," mentioned Liz Peterson, Vice President, International Forensics. "I know our clients will be in great hands, and I'm eager to see the potential of this team, and how they will work together to increase our services and capabilities in the market."

To reach de Carcer, Carrasco or Hernandez, please email [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], respectively. To submit an assignment, please call +52 55 6821 0880.

About Envista Forensics

Envista Forensics is a global leader in forensic consulting services. We provide failure analysis, fire and explosion investigations, digital forensics, accident reconstruction, building & construction consulting, geotechnical engineering, damage evaluations, and equipment restoration services following disasters of all kinds.

Envista has served the insurance, legal, and risk management industries for more than 30 years. Our experts travel globally to more than 30 offices located across North America, Europe, Singapore, and Australia. Visit our website at www.envistaforensics.com for more information.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Gaster

Vice President, Marketing

Envista Forensics

[email protected]

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(Eds: Adds inputs) Asansol/Tapan/Ratua, Apr 22(PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminded people of 2018 Asansol riots during his rally last week to "provoke" voters amid the ongoing elections, and asserted that it was "unbecoming" of someone of his stature.

The TMC boss, who addressed three rallies during the day, said it was a "matter of shame" that the PM, with his "provocative" remarks, tried to influence people.

"You, members of different communities, are living in harmony. The other day, however, the prime minister visited Asansol and made many objectionable comments... he brought up the issue of riots and made provocative statements. This doesn't befit a PM, or a home minister," she said.

Modi, during his address, had referred to the Asansol riots in 2018 on the occasion of Ram Navami, and indirectly blamed the TMC dispensation for the violence.

Reminiscing that an imam of a local mosque, who lost his son in the riots, had said he didn't want any more bloodshed or death, the TMC supremo said, "The imam's words stand in contrast to what our PM says.

"Even as people of different communities live here in peace, the PM rakes up the issue of riots." Claiming that she "has come to know that a photo of poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was removed from the podium, minutes before the PM began his public meeting in Asansol", the CM said the media should be able to verify the same.

"Kavi Nazrul Islam is the national poet of Bangladesh but he was born in Bengal, in Churulia village. We have named a university and the Andal airport after him. He is our pride," she stated.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee, during her rally in Tapan area of Dakshin Dinajpur district, slammed the BJP-led Centre over differential pricing of COVID-19 vaccines, and said that the Union government, flush with money collected under PM Cares Fund, should provide vaccines for free.

Pointing out that Covishield is priced at Rs 150 for the Centre, Rs 400 for states and Rs 600 for private hospitals, the TMC supremo said, "Is it a joke? Why is that one vaccine being sold at different rates? Vaccines should not be commercialised.

"The Centre has a lot of money in PM Cares Fund but it wouldn't provide vaccines free of cost. Why couldn't they (central leaders) do the needful all these months?" Alleging that "this COVID-19 rage was Modi's contribution" to the country, she said, "So far, you (PM) have done nothing, you did not alert people or take necessary precautions when there was time. Now, amid the rise in cases, you are asking people to buy doses and get vaccinated!" Citing Israel, where masks are no longer mandatory, as an example, Banerjee said, "What happened in India? Until recently, the Modi government did not allow states to undertake the vaccination drive on their own, and that has only led to a delay in the process." Underscoring that the TMC government has administered 43 lakh doses, she said, "As of now, we are inoculating 40,000-50,000 people every day. The state has sought one crore more shots." She gave assurance that her party, following re- election, will administer vaccines for free to all residents of the state over 18 years of age.

Banerjee also rued the fact that people are suffering due to shortage of medical oxygen, and said, "The PM held several meetings with the chief ministers. However, no master plan was prepared to ensure smooth supply of oxygen in the midst of this crisis." Contending that the BJP's "game plan to capture Bengal" will never succeed, the TMC boss said, "You (saffron party leaders) can rig one or two booths with the help of central forces, but not all." Claiming that she has information that the central forces opened fire "at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas district", when polling for the sixth phase of elections was underway, Banerjee said, "Such instances of firing, and deliberate lathicharge on voters should immediately stop." She further stated that the high court has rightly told the Election Commission to take appropriate measures to conduct polls amid the COVID-19 surge.

"The EC did not keep our request to club the last three phases of polls into one but instead curtailed campaign time from 10 am to 7 pm. The poll panel has also changed SPs and DMs to aid the saffron party. No matter what they do, the BJP will lose," the feisty leader said.

In Ratua area of Malda, she iterated that the Left, Congress and the ISF, which together have formed the Sanjukta Morcha, are "stooges" of the BJP.

"You may have earlier voted for the Congress or the Left. Now, they have formed the Sanjukta Morcha. All of them are stooges of the BJP. Please vote for the Trinamool Congress to prevent the BJP from seizing power." Banerjee asked the central security forces to perform 'Rajdharma' and not intimidate voters.

"Today, I heard CAPF personnel beat up a block-level officer in Uttar Dinajpur district on the issue of setting up a fan (at a polling booth). I don't know if an FIR has been filed in the matter. Such instances are unfortunate," she added. PTI SUS RMS RMS

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) praises the passage of the Jabara-Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act, 94-1, as an amendment to the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in the U.S. Senate.

The NO HATE Act will improve hate crime reporting by incentivizing state and local authorities with grants for law enforcement trainings, reporting hotlines, resources to liaise with affected communities, and public educational forums on hate crimes. Grants will be authorized from existing funds and managed through the Department of Justice. The legislation also amends the penalties for hate crimes to allow courts to require offenders to undertake educational classes or community service related to the victim's community as a condition of release.

"MJAC has advocated for the passage of this bill since it was introduced in the previous Congress. The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act will be a strong step forward in helping to stem the terrible rise in violence motivated by hatred we have seen in this nation," said MJAC Co-Chair Stanley Bergman.

"We applaud the Senate for this vote and call on the House of Representatives to pass this important legislation. The bipartisan effort and nearly unanimous support for this bill confirms that combating hate crimes and safeguarding minorities is the responsibility of all Americans," said Co-Chair Farooq Kathwari.

MJAC is a civil society coalition co-convened by American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Founded in 2016, MJAC brings together civil society, religious, and business leaders from across the U.S. to advocate for domestic policy issues of common concern.

MJAC's national council, and eleven regional councils in Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., represent a network of hundreds of Muslim and Jewish leaders committed to working together for the good of both communities and the country. MJAC stands at the forefront of those confronting hatred against religious minorities and has made stemming the rise in hate crimes a key advocacy area of focus.

SOURCE The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council
EU strikes deal on bloc's first climate law ahead of U.S.-initiated summit

Xinhua) 11:28, April 22, 2021

BRUSSELS/LISBON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday reached a provisional agreement on the first-ever EU climate law, which "enshrines the EU's commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050."

The deal came on the eve of a U.S.-initiated virtual summit on climate change scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

The EU climate law increases the bloc's 2030 net greenhouse gas emissions reduction target from 40 percent to at least 55 percent. The European Parliament had wanted to make the cut more ambitious, proposing to cut emissions by 60 percent in the next decade.

According to a statement by Portuguese Minister of Environment Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes, who chaired the negotiations in the last hours, "this agreement sends a strong message to the world" ahead of the U.S.-initiated climate summit, and "paves the way for the Commission to move forward, in June, with the climate package proposal."

"The European climate law is 'the law of laws' that sets the frame for the EU's climate-related legislation for the 30 years to come," added Fernandes, whose country holds the rotating Council presidency.

The climate law is a key milestone for the European Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, delivering on one of the commitments she announced in her political guidelines in July 2019, said a Commission press release on Wednesday.

Welcoming the deal, von der Leyen said: "Our political commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. The Climate Law sets the EU on a green path for a generation. It is our binding pledge to our children and grandchildren."

If adopted globally, the net-zero by 2050 pathway would limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Another element of the provisional agreement includes the establishment of a European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, composed of 15 senior scientific experts of different nationalities.

This independent board will be tasked, among other things, with providing scientific advice and reporting on EU measures, climate targets and indicative greenhouse gas budgets and their coherence with the European climate law and the EU's international commitments under the Paris Agreement.

The provisional agreement is subject to approval by the Council and the European Parliament, before going through the formal steps of the adoption procedure.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
This story was published in partnership with New York Focus.

In the late 19th century, Newburgh in the Hudson Valley represented the bleeding edge of industrial technology. Streams powering wool, gunpowder, flour and saw mills emptied into the Hudson River, where steamships carried industrial cargo. Thomas Edison in 1884 selected Newburgh to host one of the worlds first central power stations, making it the second electrified municipality in the United States after lower Manhattan.

A century later, Newburghs economic leadership had stalled, as manufacturers relocated and the river lost shipping traffic to trucking. The city of 28,000 now has the highest poverty rate downstate, and Newburghs mostly Latino and Black population struggles with high crime, water safety crises and rates of asthma more than twice the statewide average.

Newburgh has intermittently been visited by revitalization efforts. Then-first lady Hillary Clinton toured the citys Dutch Reformed Church in 1998 as part of a campaign to preserve historic architecture. The churchs ceiling later collapsed. A banner reading Save Americas Treasures still hangs in front.

Now, new energy production has been proposed in Newburgh, but it is drawing opposition from environmentalists. A natural gas-fired power plant applied for state approval to shutter its current aging facility and rebuild higher up on the bank of the Hudson as a brand-new plant.

The Danskammer power plant rebuild is the first proposal for a large-scale fracked-gas facility to be considered under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Gov. Andrew Cuomos signature climate legislation, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050.

The application is the first test of how the Public Service Commissions Siting Board deals with proposed fossil fuel infrastructure under that landmark law, passed in 2019.

If it is rejected on climate grounds, it will mean basically this will be the last application for a gas plant in New York state, because if this one cant meet the requirements now, every year that goes by, it gets harder, said Richard Webster, legal director for Riverkeeper, a nonprofit group that works on water issues in the Hudson River.

Two other downstate fossil fuel plants  NRG in Astoria, Queens, and Eastern Generation in Gowanus, Brooklyn  are also currently seeking state approval.

Climate advocates say the state should be decommissioning fossil fuel plants rather than approving new ones. Danskammer proponents argue that natural gas is cleaner than coal, and a new plant will be an improvement over the older, less-efficient plants, like neighboring Roseton Generating Station, also in Newburgh.

In March, hundreds of activists spoke at public hearings held by the Siting Board. Only a small minority supported granting Danskammers permit.

Originally coal-fired, Danskammer was repowered to run on gas after being damaged in Superstorm Sandy. The facility now operates as a peaker plant, revving up only a few days per year when electricity demand surges, typically on the hottest summer days.

The proposed new plant would continue to burn natural gas delivered through a pipeline. (New York banned fracking in 2015, but still imports gas, including fracked gas, from states like Pennsylvania.) As a relatively more efficient baseload plant, the new facility would be called upon by the grid to operate more frequently  humming away as much as 60-70% of the time, according to Michelle Hook, Danskammers vice president of public relations.

Though it emits less carbon dioxide and conventional pollutants than coal or oil, burned gas still creates climate pollution. Methane released in the extraction, transport and combustion of natural gas is also an especially potent greenhouse gas. One 2017 study of three gas-fired power plants found that the facilities were releasing more than 20 times more methane than their self-reported estimates.

The Danskammer proposal comes as Indian Point, a nuclear power plant in the nearby town of Buchanan in Westchester County, was set to close by April 30, leaving the state more heavily reliant on burning fossil fuels.

When you take a zero-emissions generator as large as Indian Point offline, and you dont have zero-emissions power generation to replace it, emissions are going to go up, Hook said. You can either get that power from a cleaner source, like a new, upgraded Danskammer, with all of the new emissions controls that are required on new plants  just like when new cars roll off the assembly line, they have much more emissions controls than a 1970 Buick  or, you can use the old facilities.

Environmental advocates point to a study by New York Independent System Operator, a nonprofit corporation that operates the state grid, that found there were no immediate reliability concerns for the states electricity demand if the new Danskammer facility wasnt built.

But proponents of natural gas say the continued use of fossil fuels will be a necessary part of the transition to green energy. Eventually, studies have found, the state will need to build on-demand capacity that can run during lulls of wind and solar, as those energy sources become a greater share of New Yorks energy mix.

Danskammers filings to the Siting Board say that the plant would increase emissions of carbon dioxide in New York state. However, it says, carbon dioxide emissions would decline in the Northeast region overall because the new Danskammer plant would be called upon to run more frequently, displacing older, dirtier sources of power.

Danskammer opponents say that analysis fails to take into account renewable projects currently underway. Also, climate activists say, building new fossil fuel infrastructure could have long-lasting lock-in effects.

While we have climate goals enshrined into law, if and when the state misses those goals, nothing functionally happens. And so every new piece of fossil fuel infrastructure you build runs the risk of locking you into a scenario where you miss those goals, said Alex Beauchamp, Northeast region director at Food & Water Watch.

Across the Hudson River from Newburgh, in the hamlet of Chelsea, Lou Cicigline, a retired state corrections sergeant, is also concerned about the planned construction. Cicigline moved to Chelsea from New York City 20 years ago, hoping to spend more time in nature.

Throughout the years of living here, when that plant did run once in a while, you seen all that smoke coming out, (when) the wind direction is coming this way, he said. For most of the time Cicigline has lived in the Hudson Valley, Danskammer burned coal.

That stuffs coming right into my house, he recalled thinking. Cicigline has recently had problems with breathing, he said, and he has been seeing his doctor to try to determine the cause. He wonders whether air quality played a role.

Cicigline also worries about the climate-heating effects of fracking, and about nitrogen oxides, which are produced at low levels by the burning of natural gas  though significantly less than by burning coal  and can worsen smog and contribute to respiratory problems.

In filings, Danskammer has suggested that it could convert the plant to run on green hydrogen or renewable natural gas after 2040  provided New York determines those experimental fuels count as zero emissions.

Environmentalists note that these fuels are currently unproven, prohibitively expensive and raise their own climate concerns. Most commercially available hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, while a tiny percentage of the hydrogen supply consists of green hydrogen, which is produced through electrolysis.

Renewable natural gas is drawn from landfills or manure in industrial agriculture, rather than drilled. Some green groups are enthusiastic about renewable natural gas, but others, such as Food & Water Watch, say increasing demand for it would incentivize the expansion of environmentally harmful factory farming.

If the transition to renewable natural gas or another source couldnt be made to fit within the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, Hook said, the plant would simply shut down.

According to the legislation, all electricity generation must be carbon-free by 2040. But the law has few interim milestones, aside from a goal of 70% renewable by 2030. And no individual plant faces a hard stop in 2030.

Probably, Danskammer is looking at the fact that other than the 2040 date, there are no other hard dates for gas plants to have to stop operating. And I think thats where they see their opening, said Hayley Carlock, director of environmental advocacy and legal affairs for Scenic Hudson, a regional environmental organization.

The states Climate Action Council, a 22-member panel tasked with charting the course for carrying out the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, has gotten off to a slow start, according to members. Having some clear written, enforceable guidance or requirements would just make things easier, Carlock said.

Aura Lopez Zarate, a community organizer with a focus on reproductive justice, enjoys kayaking in the Hudson and walking her dog by the shore.

If I was to have a family here in five or 10 years, I want my children to have clean air, clean water, a clean environment  like we all do. How can I do that when theres a plant pumping chemicals into our air? the 24-year-old said.

Activists like Lopez Zarate have been disappointed by state elected officials refusal to weigh in on Danskammer. While at least 20 municipalities around the Hudson Valley, including Newburgh and Beacon, have passed resolutions opposing the expansion, state legislators have held back.

Newburghs state Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat, has been largely silent on the issue, with the exception of a town hall in 2019, in which he warned that getting rid of Danskammer could spell financial calamity for Marlboro Central School District.

Part of the town of Newburgh, where the plant sits, falls within the Marlboro school district. As a result, the Danskammer plant and the neighboring Roseton plant are a major part of the tax base for the neighboring town of Marlborough.

That school district mostly serves Marlborough, which is 93% white and has more than twice the median household income of Newburgh.

To know we have this tax base for the next 20 years will help Marlborough families, Town Supervisor Alphonso Lanzetta said at the hearing last month.

Environmental experts say local taxes are often a roadblock to decommissioning fossil fuel infrastructure. One way to avoid local holdouts might be to regionalize the tax base for public education.

Were going to have to make sure that as these fossil fuel plants start to close, we have to address the local tax issue, because otherwise, potentially, school taxes are going to take a real hit, said Jen Metzger, the former Democratic state senator from Ulster and Orange counties who helped design the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and proposed legislation, which never passed, that aimed to halt the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure.

An advisory panel to the Climate Action Council plans to recommend that New York declare a moratorium on new natural gas facilities, potentially thwarting Danskammers proposed repowering. Meanwhile, legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Democrat from Brooklyn, would halt permitting for peaker plants until they submit plans to switch to battery storage and renewables within five years. That bill recently passed the state Senate, but has not yet been brought to a vote in the Assembly.

Brisport said applications like Danskammers likely wouldnt be subject to that legislation. This is the first plant that Im hearing is trying to convert from peaker to base load. That sounds like a loophole that we overlooked when constructing the bill, he said in an interview. It makes me wonder if we should go back and try and strengthen the bill now, to avoid situations like this.

Skoufis voted against Brisports bill to stop peaker plant permitting. When he spoke to Skoufis about the bill, Brisport said, the senator from Orange County cited concerns that the bill could cause a domino effect with the loss of property tax.

I disagreed, mostly because it wasnt a bill to make them close down  it was primarily to help them transition, Brisport said. Youre getting property tax on the property whether its a gas-fired plant, or its a plant running renewable energy and battery storage.

Skoufis could not be made available for an interview for this article. A spokesperson didnt respond to Brisports description of their exchange.

Even as pressure builds to ban fossil fuel buildouts, the governor has resisted calls to quash new gas construction. If you say as an absolute, well you can't build any more natural gas plants, then the question arises: What happens if you dont have enough renewables online? Cuomo said at a press conference on April 19. Im hopeful that we do. But what if you dont?

Danskammer supporters at the hearings were drawn heavily from the building trades, which anticipate temporary construction work on the new facility.

Todd Diorio, business manager of Laborers Local 17, has publicly cautioned against the bad faith and scare tactics of Danskammers critics.

Danskammer says the plant would not bring new permanent jobs, but would keep employment on par with the roughly 45 workers employed at the current facility.

Workers like Mark Sanchez-Potter, a substitute teacher who has led organizing efforts against the plant, agree that Newburgh needs job opportunities, but say the decision between environmental priorities and hard-hat jobs is a false choice. Rather than fossil fuel infrastructure, Sanchez-Potter would rather see the area invest in low-carbon work  jobs in sectors like nursing, teaching and domestic care.

Others, such as Metzger, suggest rebuilding Danskammer as a battery storage facility. In 2019, plans for a hybrid natural gas and battery facility in nearby Ulster County were dropped following residents and activists objections in favor of a utility-scale battery plant.

In the meantime, there are signs of new commercial development in Newburgh. In 2019, Hudson Taco opened in a former train station that had fallen into disrepair. Now, the restaurant is partnering with a local brewery that opened in 2012.

Not all development is welcome, however. Lopez Zarate worries the area may fall prey to gentrification, and richer arrivals could displace current inhabitants.

Still, the restaurant could help with Newburghs revitalization, the owner told Hudson Valley Magazine. This is going to be an eclectic Mexican eatery as opposed to a taqueria.

New York Focus is an independent investigative news publication covering New York state and city politics. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Thailand has been trying to procure at least 35 million more vaccine doses in 2021 to boost its vaccination drive by 50 percent in order to reopen the country completely for tourists. Thailands Ministry of Public Health revealed that the country ordered 63 million doses of the cost-effective coronavirus jabs to inoculate the population and achieve national herd immunity. It is now aiming to procure more supply for achieving its goal of vaccinating the entire population within 2021, the local newspaper Bangkok Post reported. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, separately told a press conference that of the total new doses that Thailand plans to purchase, the private sector will help source nearly 10 to 15 million. It, however, remains unclear if the country will import Pfizer and BioNTech's doses.

The ministry has planned vaccine deals since April 2020, giving priority to quality and safety. The Thai government has secured 63 million doses  61 million from AstraZeneca and 2 million from Sinovac  to build national immunity, control the epidemic, and boost the economy, Thai health ministry said in a statement.

Permanent Secretary of Thailands Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Kiattaphum Wongrajit told the newspaper that the vaccines will serve as another tool to provide national immunity which will help the administration to resume the economy faster. Therefore, Thai people were invited to receive a vaccination and were also requested to continue wearing a face mask, practicing social distancing, washing hands, and scanning the Thai Chana QR wherever they go to help avoid infection.

Thailand has been administering the jab in three phases. In its first phase, the country started vaccination for the high-risk elderly people; individuals at risk due to chronic diseases; people in five high-risk provinces of Samut Sakhon, Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan with the China-manufactured Sinovac vaccine, approved by the FDA and the Department of Medical Sciences. In its second and third phases, Thailand plans to inoculate all the adults as it plans to hit 10 million doses each month, starting June.

Rigorous vaccination campaign in Phuket

The Government of Thailand, particularly, started a very rigorous vaccination campaign in the resort island of Phuket in order to kick start the stagnant tourism industry. The residents of Phuket were even allowed to jump the queue during the mass inoculation drive to speed up the Thai governments goal of vaccinating at least 460,000 people by July 1, in order to fully reopen the island to overseas tourists latest by October. Phuket Tourism Association President, Bhummikitti Ruktaengam told CNA that the island economy has been in shambles due to the COVID-19 pandemic that grounded international air travel and induced fear for travel. Phuket residents have been losing hope.
MARE ISLAND, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fueling their desire to create a month-long Earth Day celebration, Redwood Empire Whiskey called on Affinity Creative Group to develop a 360-degree campaign bringing together the whiskey brand and its reverence for nature.

The Sonoma County-based company, Purple Brands, launched the Redwood Empire Whiskey label in 2017 to create a series of high-class whiskeys that pay homage to the company's roots in the Northern California Coasthome of the giant California Redwood trees.

Redwood Empire Whiskey's Earth Month With A Redwood Microsite Redwood Empire's Retail Display, designed by Affinity Creative Group

Purple Brands and Affinity Creative collaborated on Earth Month With A Redwood, a promotional campaign to celebrate Earth Day, Arbor Day, and the birthday of esteemed naturalist John Muir. This campaign augments the ongoing initiative with Trees For The Future , an organization responsible for planting over 200 million trees since 1989. Redwood Empire Whiskey has committed to planting one tree for every bottle sold, and through this partnership, has planted over 225,000 trees to date.

Earth Month with a Redwood is a connected campaign spanning physical and digital touchpoints to promote its dedication to sustainable practices and love for the great outdoors. The creative agency delivered a complete campaign strategy, creating retail and point-of-sale materials, a dedicated Earth Month microsite, and a 30-day social media campaign.

By utilizing QR codes across in-store and on-premise materials, as well as paid and organic social media efforts, the campaign's goal is to drive traffic to the dedicated microsite while educating and incentivizing consumers to enter the Redwood Glamping Experience Sweepstakes.

Along with virtual mixologist demonstrations, exclusive cocktail recipes, and tips for sustainable living practices, this campaign will culminate in a random drawing with one Grand Prize winner being awarded airfare and an all-expenses-paid weekend trip for two to Sonoma County, where they'll partake in a once in a lifetime luxury glamping experience that includes accommodations and meals set amidst the majestic redwoods as well as a VIP tour of the historic Redwood Empire distillery.

"The team at Affinity Creative is going above and beyond to over-deliver on KPIs for Redwood Empire's Earth Month campaign. Affinity is flexible in adapting to an expanded project scope and integrating their innovative concepts to make the campaign more meaningful to our target consumers." - Dave Trebilcock, Director of Brand Marketing, Purple Brands.

In the first twelve days of the month-long campaign, the Earth Month sweepstakes has had over 7,800 entries, and the Redwood Empire subscriber list and social media followings on Facebook and Instagram have shown exponential growth. Thoughtful design, innovative social content, and engaging in-store and digital promotion has led the campaign to immediate success.

The Glamping Experience Sweepstakes is legal in 35 states and can be entered via QR Code in-store or by visiting the https://earthmonth.redwoodempirewhiskey.com/ website. Entrants must be over 21, and no purchase is necessary. You can also follow the new content each day on Facebook and Instagram (@RedwoodEmpireWhiskey).

About Purple Brands: Founded by Derek Benham in 2001, Purple Brands is dedicated to creating extraordinary wine and distilled spirits experiences including nationally branded, custom, and private label wines for major U.S. and International retailers and restaurateurs. Purple Brands completed its distillery and began production in 2015. Its Redwood Empire Whiskey label and Benham's Gin are sold nationally. For more information, visit Purplebrands.com, Benhamsspirits.com, or redwoodempirewhiskey.com.

About Affinity Creative Group: From our unique creative campus, along historic officer's row on Mare Island, California, Affinity Creative Group provides brand design, digital media, and retail activation marketing services, particularly for wine, spirits, and other luxury categories. For more information about Affinity Creative Group, please visit AffinityCreative.com .

Media Contact

Carolyn Schwartz

707-562-2787

[email protected]

SOURCE Affinity Creative Group

Related Links

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Pune, India., April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malaria Treatment Market: Key Insights

According to our new research study on Malaria Treatment Market to 2027  Global Analysis and Forecast  by Malaria Treatment Type, Route of Administration, and End User, the Malaria Treatment Market Size was valued at US$ 1,508.12 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 2,126.42 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% during 20202027. The increasing resistance toward antimalarial drugs is hindering the market growth.

Malaria Treatment Market: Competition Landscape and Key Developments

Advanz Pharmaceutical, Ipca Laboratories Ltd, Zydus Cadila, Glenmark, Olympus Corporation, Abbott, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, and TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. are among the key companies operating in the global malaria treatment market. The leading players are focusing on the expansion and diversification of their market presence, and acquisition of new customer base, thereby tapping prevailing business opportunities.

In January 2021, GSKs, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) filling for Kozenis (tafenoquine) accepted by Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Get Exclusive Sample Pages of Malaria Treatment Market - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Insights at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00018229/



In May 2020, ADVANZ PHARMA Corp. Limited entered into an arrangement agreement to acquire a specialty pharmaceutical company named Correvio Pharma Corp. The acquisition provided ADVANZ PHARMA with an immediate and direct commercial presence in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and the Benelux region.

In 2019, the Middle East and Africa dominated the global malaria treatment market and accounted for approximately half of the market revenue. The growth of the market in this region is mainly attributed to the rising prevalence of malaria, surge in malaria awareness programs, availability of diagnostic tests for the disease, and initiatives by governments to control and prevent the prevalence of malaria across the region. On the basis of treatment type, the malaria treatment market is segmented into diagnostic tests, antimalarial agents, and vaccines. The diagnostic test segment accounted for more than 30% of the malaria treatment market in 2019. On the basis of route of administration, the malaria treatment market is segmented into oral and parenteral. The oral segment is expected to register a higher CAGR in the market during the forecast period. On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into hospitals specialty clinics and others. The hospital segment is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.

Malaria is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium spp. The growth of the malaria treatment market is mainly due to the high prevalence of malaria in low-income countries and large-scale implementation of malaria elimination programs by international and national organizations. Also, the increasing launch of advanced diagnostic tools and rising research activities to provide effective therapeutics is further driving the growth of the market. The WHO African Region accounts for the highest share of the global malaria burden.

Download Sample PDF Brochure of Malaria Treatment Market Growth Research Report at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00018229/



As per the WHO, in 2019, the region accounted for ~94% of malaria cases and deaths. Also, six countries in the region accounted for half of the global count of death caused by malaria, with Nigeria (23%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11%), the United Republic of Tanzania (5%), Burkina Faso (4%), Mozambique (4%), and Niger (4%) being the prime contributors to the this. Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria. In 2019, children accounted for 67% (274,000) of all malaria deaths worldwide. Also, every year, ~125 million pregnant women are at the risk of malaria worldwide. In Africa ~10,000 women and 200,000 babies die annually due to malaria. Apart from this, the increasing number of traveler malaria cases is also contributing to the demand for the malaria treatment modalities, as every year, thousands of people travel to malaria-affected region.

Malaria Treatment Market: Segmental Overview

In terms of treatment type, the antimalarial agents segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the malaria treatment market during the forecast period. In terms of route of administration, the oral segment is estimated to dominate the market during the forecast period. In terms of end user, the hospital segment accounted for more than 40% share in the global malaria treatment market in 2019.

Buy Copy of Malaria Treatment Market Research Study at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00018229/













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Press Release - https://www.theinsightpartners.com/pr/malaria-treatment-market
Cai Jingxiang moves a tree root collected from the beach at his exhibition hall of sea drifts in Jinjiang City, southeast China's Fujian Province, on April 19, 2021. Cai Jingjiang, a career advertisement designer, returned five years ago to his hometown at Tangdong Village, Jinjing Township of Jinjiang City. He found inspiration from the sea drifts washed ashore near his village, many of them in unique shapes. One day after another, Cai searched through the beach and brought home drifts with artistic potential, and turned them into pieces of artwork and domestic decorations. Cai converted an old house passed down in his family into an exhibition hall where he displays and illustrates his artistic creations from what used to be garbage in the sea. In this way, he wishes to call people's attention to environmental protection. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)

4

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[ Editor: JYZ ]
The University of Georgias College Republicans hosted Vernon Jones, who recently announced a bid for governor of Georgia, Wednesday evening. Jones is set to challenge Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.

Jones has an extensive history as a Democratic politician in Georgia. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 as a Democrat, then later from 2017 to 2021 as a Democrat. He also served as DeKalb Countys chief executive officer from 2001 to 2009.

He has unsuccessfully run for offices in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. In 2014, he unsuccessfully ran for DeKalb County Sheriff.

In January 2021, he announced his party switch from Democrat to Republican. Jones said hes always been very conservative as a Democrat. He mentioned previous politicians who also switched parties, among them former President Ronald Reagan, former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and former Georgia Gov. and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

What is Vernon Jones? A Democrat, became Republican, and getting ready to be the next governor of the great state of Georgia, Jones said.

Jones impression

Arriving late, Jones attempted to hype up a crowd of about 20 audience members. He began speaking about his personal upbringing and the direction in which the left is trying to lead the country. He called Stacey Abrams a fraud and called President Joe Biden Joe Crow.

He opened the floor to questions near the end.

The first question asked was about his recent switch between parties.

By the time the governor's race comes to fruition, which is about a year from now, it'd be two years [since I switched parties], Jones said.

A second question probed Jones voting history. He voted against the Georgia heartbeat bill in 2019, which would have outlawed abortions after six weeks.

Why did just two years ago you supported aborting unborn babies with the heartbeat bill? an audience member asked.

He said he voted against it because the bill didnt go far enough to protect unborn babies.

Why didn't [Brian Kemp] say from day one? From day one, you can't have an abortion. Why did he do it, if he's so pro-life? Jones replied.

Alexander, who did not disclose his last name, shouted, Its two cells on day one. Its microscopic.

Audience members also asked about the spread of misinformation regarding the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. Jones posted on his Facebook page that former President Donald Trump would still be president if Kemp had reversed the results.

Regardless of Georgia's outcome in the 2020 election, Trump would not have had enough electoral votes to remain president.

Jones replied to the question by saying Kemp didnt do enough to help Trump.

I'd have campaigned hard for the president in Georgia. Brian didn't. I would have campaigned hard for the president in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin. Yes, I would have done it. Brian never lifted a finger to go outside of this state, Jones said.

Every single word out of his mouth is a verifiable lie, Alexander said after the event had ended. I mean, it's just shocking to me that he would walk in here and start lie after lie after lie.

Jones platform

In an interview with The Red & Black after the event, Jones discussed his campaign platform.

He said he would make discrimination against political affiliation a hate crime. He also shifted focus toward law enforcement and Georgia drivers with plans to add courses to driver education programs in order to have new drivers learn how to handle themselves during a traffic stop.

Jones said he would make law enforcement officers receive two hours of training in de-escalation and two hours in use of force per year. He would also make law enforcement officers receive mental assessments every three years.
A large German technology company has purchased the Kojensi SaaS product while AR9 has also secured three new NC Protect customers in the EMEA region.

The new customer wins validate the companys date security products.

archTIS Ltd ( ) has launched into the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market with several new customer wins that validate its portfolio of data security products.

The EMEA customer acquisitions boost the companys go-to-market strategy and global expansion plan and follow the appointment of an EMEA-based sales director.

These customer wins were cheered by investors with shares of the company up more than 9% this morning to 29.5 cents.

Pleased with early EMEA expansion

archTIS managing director Daniel Lai said: Global growth and leveraging the network effect of the Defence Industry is an important part of our 2021 business strategy.

Our investment in bringing on an EMEA-based sales director and network of regional partners is starting to show results and I am pleased with the early expansion of our product portfolio in the EMEA market thus far.

New customers

A large German technology company has selected the Kojensi SaaS platform to provide regional collaboration of protected information with Australian Defence.

This customer win highlights how interconnected information sharing is between Defence and the industries that serve it, providing archTIS with the opportunity to secure additional sales to organisations that interact with existing Defence clients.

Security solution sales

archTIS has also acquired three new NC Protect customers in EMEA.

Berufsgenossenschaft fur Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege (BGW), the German social accident insurance provider for non-state institutions within the health and welfare service sectors, has selected NC Protect for secure employee and guest access in SharePoint.

Additionally, WyzeTalk, a digital employee engagement solution, has selected NC Protect, a data-centric security solution from archTIS portfolio, for secure Office 365 collaboration.

A European oncology biotech company has also purchased NC Protect for Office 365 and Microsoft Teams information protection.

Establishing global, diversified customer base

archTIS global COO and US president Kurt Mueffelmann said: archTIS products tackle universal information security concerns and address regional compliance requirements, allowing us to expand the opportunities for Kojensi and NC Protect to address these needs across EMEA industry, government and defence.

archTIS continues to prove we are able to execute on our strategy of establishing a global, diversified customer base built upon high-margin, predictable annual licensed revenue streams that deliver significant gross margins.

Impressed with level of support

BGWs Vanessa Koster, of IT Operations, Application Services, said: NC Protect allows us to provide secure, read-only access to sensitive content on our SharePoint on-premises portal.

We utilise NC Protect rules to keep the user interface slim and increase usability by hiding functionality that is not needed.

We are impressed with the speed and level of support and collaboration provided by the Nucleus Cyber team to ensure that all of our requirements were met.
A newborn baby was found in a basket and wrapped in blankets in the parking lot of Clinton Hospital early Monday morning, The Item newspaper reported.

We can confirm that an infant was found, evaluated and discharged to the care of DCF, Tony Berry, senior director of Media and Public Relations for UMass Memorial Health said in a statement to MassLive. Though The Safe Haven Act allows a parent to legally surrender newborn infants safely to an appropriate person at a hospital , the key is that the parent has to give the child to a person who can ensure the childs safety  not leave them unattended in a parking lot.

The baby was found by hospital staff and brought inside the hospital to be cared for, The Item reported.

The Safe Haven law was passed in Massachusetts in 2004 and has helped reduce the number of abandoned babies in the state, Michael Morrisey, who co-founded Baby Safe Haven New England with his wife Jean, told MassLive.

A baby was also found in the UMass Memorial HealthAlliance - Clinton Hospital, Leominster Campus parking lot in 2017.

There have been at least five baby abandonments in Massachusetts since 2017. The most recent case was a baby found in a trash bin in Dorchester in February.

The circumstances around the Clinton abandonment are still under investigation.

Were looking into this, Morrisey said.

The Safe Haven Act of Massachusetts allows a parent to legally surrender newborn infants 7 days old or younger at a hospital, police station, or manned fire station without facing criminal prosecution.

The group works hard to increase awareness about Baby Safe Havens, but despite efforts, sometimes the group encounters people who think they are following protocol for surrendering a baby but are abandoning it.

Weve met people who were not given straight information, Morrisey said.

Morrisey said Massachusetts has the best record in the United States for reducing baby abandonments.

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families takes custody of babies that are abandoned. They then go into a pre-adoptive screened home. Morrisey said that between 20% and 30% of women who use a Safe Haven end up seeking reunification with their child.

For more information, visit babysafehaven.com. The group also has a hotline phone number at 866-814-SAFE.
On Thursday, Mr. Ullah, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a federal judge who rejected his request for mercy.

This was a calculated, premeditated decision to kill as many people as you could, the judge, Richard J. Sullivan, said, all in the name of an organization that is dedicated to spreading terror.

The fact that Mr. Ullah had failed to execute his plan did not make him any less culpable or his intent less sinister, the judge said.

This is about as serious a crime as there is, Judge Sullivan added.

Two victims of the attack also submitted letters that described its lasting impact on their lives. One, David Wall, who had testified at Mr. Ullahs trial about being left with shrapnel in his right leg and having serious hearing problems, wrote to the judge about the anxiety he still feels when he enters the subway and rides crowded trains.

At times, I leave the subway system abruptly because my heart is racing and I just cant breathe, he wrote. Never am I relaxed on mass transit any more. My eyes constantly rove around my fellow passengers looking for a person carrying a bomb.
The Czech Republic on Thursday ordered Russia to remove most of its remaining diplomatic staff from Prague in an escalation of the worst dispute between the two countries in decades.

The spy row flared on Saturday when Prague expelled 18 Russian staff, whom it identified as intelligence officers.

It said two Russian spies accused of a nerve agent poisoning in Britain in 2018 were also behind an explosion at a Czech ammunition depot in 2014 that killed two people.

Russia has denied the Czech accusations and on Sunday ordered out 20 Czech staff in retaliation.

Thursdays decision, announced by Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek, requires Russia to have the same number of envoys as the Czech Republic has in Moscow. That means Russia will have to withdraw 63 diplomats and other staff from Prague, although Prague gave it until the end of May to do so.

Together with the initial step, this will greatly reduce what has been by far the biggest foreign mission to Prague and much larger than the Czech representation in Moscow.

We will put a ceiling on the number of diplomats at the Russian embassy in Prague at the current level of our embassy in Moscow, Kulhanek said.

I do not want to needlessly escalatebut the Czech Republic is a self-confident country and will act as such. This is not aimed against Russians or the Russian nation, but a reaction to activities of Russian secret services on our territory.

Russias Foreign Ministry in reaction demanded a reduction in the embassys staffing level, alluding to disparity in numbers of local employees.

The (Czech) ambassador was told that we reserve the right to take other steps in the event the hysterical anti-Russian campaign spirals further, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

At a time of acute tension in Russias relations with the West, the dispute has prompted NATO and the European Union to throw their support behind the Czech Republic, which is a member of both blocs.

Allies express deep concern over the destabilising actions Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on alliance territory, and stand in full solidarity with the Czech Republic, NATOs 30 allies said in a statement.

Slovakia expelled three Russian envoys on Thursday in solidarity with the Czech Republic. The Russian response to that step was not immediately clear.

In the last week, Moscow has also kicked out diplomats from Bulgaria, Poland and the United States in retaliation for expulsions of its own staff.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow took a negative view of Pragues hysteria.

President Vladimir Putin warned foreign powers in his state of the nation speech on Wednesday not to cross Russias red lines, saying Moscow would make them regret it.

CZECHS SAY THEIR EMBASSY PARALYSED

The Czechs say the loss of the 20 staff has effectively paralysed the functioning of their Moscow embassy.

The Russian embassys size in Prague is an overhang from the pre-1989 communist era, and had been about double the U.S. Embassy until this week.

Kulhanek said on Czech Television that Russia told the Czech envoy on Thursday there now would be strict parity.

He said that meant each country would have 7 diplomats and 25 others at respective embassies, which is the current level of Czech staff in Moscow.

He said the Czech side was considering how to proceed further after the Russian demand to cut the number of local employees.

The ministry said on Wednesday Russia had 27 diplomats and 67 other staff in Prague after the previous expulsions.

The Czech counterintelligence service has repeatedly said that the mission served as a base for intelligence work and its size made it difficult to reduce these activities.

The two suspects named by Prague in connection with the 2014 ammunition depot explosion, known under the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, are reportedly part of the elite Unit 29155 of Russias GRU military intelligence service.

Britain charged them in absentia with attempted murder after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury in 2018.

The Skripals survived, but a member of the public died. The Kremlin denied involvement in the incident.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Mumbai, April 22 : The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has slammed the Centre over its new allocation norms for the critical Remdesivir injections by allotting Maharashtra just 26 thousand vials per day against the state's requirement of at least 50 thousand daily.

Taking umbrage at being allotted only 26,000 injections daily, Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said that considering the serious Covid-19 situation in the state, the Centre should provide at least 50,000 vials daily to combat the scourge.

"Maharashtra requires 50,000 injections per day, which our government has been demanding. So far, we have been receiving only 36,000 injections per day. According to the new allotment, the state will get only 26,000 injections per day and this will create further crisis in the state," warned Malik, who is also Nationalist Congress Party's National Spokesperson.

Housing Minister Dr. Jitendra Awhad targeted the Centre demanding to know why the state was getting such a low allotment of Remdesivir injections considering the huge requirements here.

"Central government has decided to take over the distribution system of Remdesivir. Is it testing tolerance?" Awhad demanded.

Concurring, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the state will get only 26,000 per day for the next 10 days though its requirement is double, and he would write to the Centre for giving more injections to the state.

Presently, Maharashtra's Covid-19 case tally shot above the 4-million mark to touch 40,27,827 and the death toll is 61,911, besides a staggering 695,747 'active cases'.

As per the latest projections based on current trends, prepared by the state Public Health Department, the Covid-19 situation is likely to worsen dramatically over the next 10 days as the government grapples with shortages of isolation beds, oxygen beds, ICU beds, Ventilators, Remdesivir, medical oxygen and other treatment requisites.
22 April 2021

Type Event Proceeding



On April 21st, Caroline Walsh, overall and dairy category winner of the 2020 Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition hosted a virtual event from her farm through the medium of video, social media and live webinar



On Wednesday, 21 April, Caroline Walsh, overall & dairy category winner of the 2020 Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition took us through a day in the life on her dairy farm in Ballinascarthy, County Cork through the use of video, social media and a live webinar that evening with guest host, Aidan Brennan, Irish Farmers Journal and Caroline's Teagasc Advisor, Mark Treacy.

You can watch back the footage below and gain an insight into how Caroline operates her farm to a high level of technical performance and grazing efficiency in a sustainable manner.

Watch back the webinar below

Meet Caroline Walsh

In this first short clip, Caroline runs through an overview of her family farm

Grassland Management on Carolines farm

Caroline has invested heavily in grazing infrastructure so she can get cows out from early February to mid-November. She walks her farm once a week and more regularly from February onwards depending on growth.

Reseeding

Caroline gives an overview of how she decides to reseed paddocks on the farm using PastureBase Ireland and outlines the reseeding process. The reseeding plan is spray off, disc, set, roll, use of 2 bags of 18-6-12, lime if needed and a grass seed mix with clover.

Breeding

The average herd EBI on Carolines farm is just over 180. The heifer calves which will retained for 2 years time is just over 250. Caroline uses 100% AI as she doesn't feel comfortable having stock bulls especially with having 5 children on farm. Caroline uses the smaXtec bolus system which alerts her to animals going into heat or being sick. In the first 3 weeks, they generally AI once a day. Hear more from Caroline here.

Improving Sustainability in West Cork

In this clip, Mark Treacy, Teagasc advisor to Caroline Walsh, 2020 Grassland Farmer of the Year talks about how he has seen Caroline's system evolve from a high input system to a much more sustainable grass based system. Caroline's farm showcases great examples of how farms are adopting sustainable technologies.

Sustainability

Caroline talks about the steps she is taking to play her part in the journey to more sustainable farming such as replacing 1/5 of chemical nitrogen with slurry spread by LESS. Hear more about what she is doing in this clip.

Soil Fertility

Every December, Caroline soil samples on her farm from which they correct the pH and the P&K imbalances on the farm.
BALTIMORE, Md., April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MissionGO, a leading Unmanned Aircraft Solutions (UAS) company for utility inspections, critical medical and commercial cargo, and market leading training for operators announces the hiring of Frank Paskiewicz as Executive Vice President of Cargo Operations.

Paskiewicz brings more than 40 years of experience in industry and government aviation ranging from technical to executive positions. He comes with direct comprehensive knowledge and experience in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulatory process, aircraft certification, delegation systems, surveillance programs and policies, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) certification and operations.

MissionGO is founded on the bedrock of experts in manned and unmanned aviation, says President and Co-Founder Anthony Pucciarella. The addition of Frank Paskiewicz is an exciting step forward in our cargo operations and reflects our commitment to compliance, safety, and innovation.

As EVP of Cargo Operations, Paskiewicz will lead MissionGO aircraft certification and manufacturing, FAA regulatory consulting services, UAS integration strategies, and air cargo operations. This includes expanding MissionGOs cargo operations and supporting UAS client FAA certification programs. He will lead the development of products and services for MissionGOs air cargo operations, including research studies, airspace analysis, and flight activities.

MissionGO is leading the way for UAS delivery and future-use, said Paskiewicz. We are excited to bring cutting-edge solutions to the medical and commercial industries.

Paskiewicz developed his broad skill set from 28 years at several different positions within the FAA. Those include Deputy Director of the Aircraft Certification Service where he was responsible the adequacy of safety regulations and policies, national programs for aircraft, engines and propellers, and aircraft parts, which govern the airworthiness of aircraft (including Unmanned Aircraft Systems). Before that he was Manager of the Production and Airworthiness division where he oversaw FAA manufacturing policies, designee and delegation systems, international supplier programs, aircraft import and export policies, and related technical training curriculum.

Most recently, Paskiewicz was a partner at The Padina Group specializing in aircraft certification and airspace authorizations. He provided program management and technical support for UAS Type and Production Certificates, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, and research and development efforts for unmanned systems ranging from under 55Lbs. to transport category aircraft.

Paskiewiczs early career was anchored with his time as a Manager at Textron Lycoming. While at Lycoming he supported the United States Army Engine Plant and held positions in experimental engineering, production manufacturing, and engine/component testing.

About MissionGO

MissionGO is setting a new standard for next-generation transportation logistics. By leveraging unmanned aircraft systems, MissionGO delivers improved reliability, reduced costs, and increased transparency to benefit multiple sectors, including healthcare and utilities. The company is led by CEO and Co-Founder Scott Plank. Learn more today at www.missiongo.io

Contact: Amy Larkin

MissionGO Phone: (443) 478-1208

pr@missiongo.io

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a708eeca-b118-4187-a0d4-66696915d2b5
Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The U.S. government will work with the Clean Cooking Alliance, other country governments, and partners at every level of government to reduce emissions from home cooking."

At the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by President Biden, the U.S. government announced today that it is resuming and strengthening its commitment to the United Nations Foundations Clean Cooking Alliance. The pledge includes support to help countries achieve their climate ambitions through expanding access to clean cooking.

Approximately 2.8 billion people still lack access to clean cooking solutions, costing trillions of dollars a year in damage to health, the climate, and local economies. Changing the way families cook their food, by using clean fuels and stoves, will help slow climate change, drive gender equality, reduce poverty, and provide enormous health benefits.

The United States is announcing that it will resume and strengthen its commitment to the United Nations Foundations Clean Cooking Alliance, said Michael S. Regan, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The U.S. government will work with the Clean Cooking Alliance, other country governments, and partners at every level of government to reduce emissions from home cooking and heating that contribute to climate change and directly affect the health and livelihoods of almost 40 percent of the worlds population.

Ten years ago, the United States took a leading role in shining a light on the far-reaching impacts of household air pollution through the formation of the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA), committing to changing the way millions of people cook. Since then, more than one billion people have gained access to clean cooking, according to the World Health Organization.

We commend the U.S. government for reaffirming its global leadership on clean cooking, said Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance. 2021 is a critically important year for energy and international development. Through the Leaders Summit on Climate, the upcoming United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy, and the 26th UN Climate Conference, world leaders can make momentous progress on climate protection, health, the environment, and womens empowerment by focusing on clean cooking.

CCAs leadership for the past decade has helped build a foundation for transformative change in the lives of those most affected by the issue. It has also helped drive private sector innovation, accelerate investment, develop international standards, establish enabling policies, and expand the evidence base of the benefits of clean cooking technologies and fuels.

The Netherlands is pleased to see the U.S. government rejoining our efforts to address the hidden tragedy of traditional cooking practices, said Esther Reilink, Senior Policy Advisor, Directorate-General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands. We are not on track to reach our 2030 goal of universal access to clean cooking. This is the year to be crystal clear that we prioritize clean cooking in our development plans, our joint response to climate change, and our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Household air pollution from traditional stoves and dirty fuels is a major issue for the people of Nepal, said Madhusudhan Adhikari, Executive Director of the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Government of Nepal. U.S. government support for this work will be critical for ongoing efforts to achieve clean cooking in Nepal and other countries by 2030.

UN Climate Change gladly welcomes the re-engagement of the government of the United States on clean cooking, said James Grabert, Director, Mitigation Division, UN Climate Change. The work of the Clean Cooking Alliance is essential, particularly ahead of the 26th UN Climate Conference, at a time when Parties to the Paris Agreement need to present their revised Nationally Determined Contributions: no tool and no means can be left aside for the world to deliver on the temperature and climate neutrality goals it set itself in 2015.

Providing clean energy to households is critical to achieving global climate and sustainable development goals, said Helena Molin Valdes, Head of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat. Smoke from fireplaces, cook stoves, and lighting is responsible for more than half of human-made black carbon emissions and millions of premature deaths from household air pollution. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition partners welcome the U.S. governments re-engagement in the issue and look forward to cooperating to put in place solutions that improve lives and protect the planet.
"We are grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for their generous gift of a million dollars," said STEM NOLA Founder and CEO, Dr. Calvin Mackie. "This grant will support our innovative STEM educational ecosystem and kick off our plans to build the first STEM NOLA Innovation HUB, a hands-on, educational incubator, exposing and inspiring little boys and girls with STEM opportunities to cultivate their own STEM career dreams, with an emphasis on under-served students of color."

The future STEM NOLA Innovation HUB will be located in the New Orleans East Opportunity Zone. It will feature a specialized STEM-exploration laboratory space, classrooms, meeting spaces and serve as the headquarters for STEM NOLA's ongoing delivery and design of STEM programming. It will not only support a community with the city's largest population of predominately African American, low-income students, but also meet the immediate needs of students and teachers across Southeast Louisiana, with a focus on under-resourced communities.

Since 2014, STEM NOLA has delivered high-quality culturally, environmentally and developmentally appropriate programs to more than 65,000 children, 10,000 families and 1,200 schools across the country and in four countries. Hundreds of early grade educators have benefited from its customized curriculum and professional development. Prior to COVID-19, STEM NOLA reached more than 300 New Orleans children on a monthly basis. Since May 2020, the non-profit is engaging more than 2,000 elementary school-age children each month through its virtual hands-on STEM project-based workshops and activities.

STEM NOLA

Founded by New Orleans native and former tenured Tulane Engineering professor, Dr. Calvin Mackie, STEM NOLA (www.stemnola.com) is dedicated to exposing, inspiring and engaging communities in learning opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The award-winning programming designs and delivers activities, programs and events, with a focus on underserved communities. The non-profit organization is dedicated to developing future Innovators, Creators and Entrepreneurs through the exposure to 21st Century skills of Communication, Collaboration and Critical Thinking. Since 2014, STEM NOLA has engaged over 65,000 students - mostly under-served students of color - in hands-on STEM project-based learning.

Dr. Calvin Mackie

Dr. Calvin Mackie (www.calvinmackie.com) is an award-winning mentor, inventor, author, former engineering professor, internationally renowned speaker, and successful entrepreneur. He completed his degree in Mathematics at Morehouse in 1990, graduating Magna Cum Laude and a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society. He was simultaneously awarded a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he subsequently earned his Master's and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1996.

In 2018, Mackie was selected by Gov. John Bel Edwards to serve as one of three leading Louisiana advocates of STEM preparation to represent Louisiana at the inaugural State-Federal Science Technology Engineering and Math Summit to be hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in Washington, D.C. In 2017, Gov. Edwards appointed Mackie to the Louisiana Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Advisory Council. The council coordinates and oversees STEM education programs, to increase student interest and achievement in the fields of STEM; to ensure the alignment of education and workforce needs; and to increase the number of women who graduate from a postsecondary institution with a STEM degree or credential.

Dr. Calvin Mackie received the 2019 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Board's Chair (CBCF) Phoenix Award. The Phoenix Award is the highest honor presented by CBCF. It recognizes individuals whose extraordinary achievements strengthen communities and improve the lives of individuals and families, nationally and globally. In 2003, Dr Mackie received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in a White House ceremony during the Bush Administration.

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

Contact Information:

Tracey Royal Majornette Jefferson Tracey Royal Communications Tracey Royal Communications [email protected] [email protected] (615) 540-3649 (615) 540-2690

SOURCE STEM NOLA
MASON CITY, Iowa  Dropping a bag of drugs is sending a North Iowa man to prison.

Michael Isiah Schenker, 25 of Mason City, has pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine-3rd offense. Mason City police say Schenker was speaking with a uniformed officer on April 1 in the 400 block of 5th Street SW when a baggie of meth fell from his person to the floor. Police say a second baggie of meth was then found in the lining of Schenkers hat.

He has been sentenced in Cerro Gordo County District Court to up to five years behind bars.
Kiambu County police officers have arrested a man in connection with the death of his girlfriend.

Franklin Munyao, 44, allegedly strangled his 40-year-old lover in Kambi Moto Village in Ruiru on Sunday, April 18.

According to neighbours, the woman was last seen in public on Sunday during the day while she was hanging clothes on a communal clothesline.

On Tuesday, the neighbours noticed a foul smell from Munyaos one-roomed house and alerted police.

Officers rushed to the scene, broke down the door, and found the body of the deceased wrapped in a nylon bag and placed on the bed. Her pair of trousers had slightly been lowered.

Neighbours told The Standard that the woman visited Munyao a few times a month.

We did not know the lady had been killed. Munyao would routinely leave the house in the morning and return in the evening, said John Ngara, neighbour.

We even saw him leaving for work this morning (Tuesday, April 20). Were shocked to learn that he was staying with a dead womans body in his house, added Ngara.

Mary Kibathi, another neighbour, said: Besides a foul smell, we had noticed a swarm of flies clustering in the suspects house through the ventilation, suggesting all was not well.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives said the body had decomposed, indicating she was probably killed on Sunday.

The detectives also noted there were marks on the womans neck, indicating she was strangled.

Ruiru Sub-County Police Commander, Phineas Ringera, said a multi-agency team comprising police officers and DCI detectives tracked down Munyao, a waiter by profession, to his workplace at a restaurant on Thika Road, where he was arrested.

We have since collected the womans body and taken it to General Kago Funeral Home for postmortem, said Ringera.

Munyao is being detained at the Ruiru Police Station.
On the key track of carbon neutrality, Chindata Group will constantly focus on the key goals, through continuous innovation, unyieldingly pursue the ultimate green solutions to digital infrastructure challenges and create a new economic geographic coordinate in the new cycle of change.

As a digital infrastructure provider that uses 0.014 percent of all the electricity consumed by China, Chindata Group has a responsibility and an obligation to lead and drive the zero-carbon transformation of the digital infrastructure and explore the high correlation between the competitiveness of digital infrastructure products and the transformation and development of renewable energy.

In 2020, Chindata Group initially proposed a carbon neutrality roadmap by 2030 as the first internet technology company in China's digital economy sector. In 2020, Chindata Group's owned data centers consumed 0.02 percent of the electricity produced in China from renewable sources. The resulting reduction in carbon dioxide emissions was equivalent to planting 200,000 trees every day.

Meanwhile, Chindata Group is promoting the construction of China's Internet technology industry's first 150MW photovoltaic power station to meet its own energy needs, and gradually implementing its 2,000MW wind and solar development resources.

SOURCE Chindata Group

Related Links

https://www.investor.chindatagroup.com/


God is trying to tell you something. Or at least, it certainly feels like it.

It can start as that small feeling inside, leading you toward a path you never thought to travel. Maybe its the small voice that whispers in your mind to think toward a different perspective than the one you have now. Or, it could be hearing a clear message from God that you think isnt possible, only to hear it confirmed over and over by others who had no knowledge of this message beforehand. When we are at a crossroads in life, or just feel a stirring in our hearts for more than our present circumstances, this is usually when God might be telling us something we need to hear or do.

God calls us to seek Him daily for answers, requests, and peace that comes from obedience and trust in Him. When we make it a point to follow Him in loving trust, then He can open up more of the plan He has in store for each of us. So, if God is telling you to do something, these three steps might be worth following to understand more of what our heavenly Father has called you to do.

God Is Trying to Tell You Something - What Does God Call Us to Do Daily?

We are told in Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) that we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. This basically means that from morning to night, we are to place God first in everything we do, especially in our daily decisions. As we rise up in the morning, we are to thank Him for another day of life and ask that He lead us to accomplish what will bring others to Him and His kingdom. Our day should be filled with thanks for the blessings He has given us, great and small while asking for guidance as we move forward through daily challenges life brings.

This attitude each day allows God to reach us on a personal level, to let us know what and where we are to go next. To God, this shows not only our obedience to Him as our Creator, but our love for Him who loved us so much He allowed His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Once we demonstrate this devotion to God by seeking His love and guidance daily, He understands that we are at a place where we will accept and follow where He leads us next.

What Does the Bible Teach Us about Those Who Obeyed Gods Calling?

If ever we needed an example of the prosperity to follow someone who surrendered to God and followed His will, the Bible has countless examples of people taking the chance to obey Gods calling and be blessed beyond measure. From Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac to Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, to Jesuss disciples willing to spread the gospel when it meant separating from family and certain death, these examples from the Bible demonstrate the blessings God gives when we let Him take the reins.

What the Bible also teaches us is what happens to those who dont follow Gods calling, how unnecessary turmoil and struggle could come to them because they would rather follow their own ways than Gods. Think of Jonah and the whale; King Solomon and his love of pagan women; even Lots wife, who became a pillar of salt when she looked back when God said look forward. The Bible shows that God knows what is ahead, as He created the plan, so following what you think the plan might be will only lead to suffering, heartache, and even more of a treacherous path ahead. God offered the invitation to obey His command to all, and it wasnt cloaked as an ego trip but as a way to show His way can only lead to good outcomes.

What Are Three Things We Can Do When We Feel Like God Trying to Tell You Something?

So, lets say you feel you have been told something by God to do that you arent sure is God talking or your mind playing tricks. Maybe He is telling you to leave your current job and join ministry full-time; maybe He is telling you to not give up on a relationship that you think is dead; maybe He is telling you to make some lifestyle changes that could not only benefit you but those around you. But before you go off to complete what you feel God has called you to do, these three steps could help solidify whether this is truly from God.

1. Take Gods request to the Word:

God is trying to tell yo something. Do your research in Gods Word. The Bible is as relevant today as it was centuries ago, so no matter what you think God has told you, looking up Scriptures that apply is best.

If you need ideas on where to look first, the four Gospels are always good starting places because Jesuss sermons and parables can apply to several situations in our lives (career, marriage, ministry, children). I always like the book of Proverbs, in that several verses pertain to following God and avoiding temptations where your flesh might take over. The book of Psalms is another good option with King Davids regular conversations with God about several life topics, while many look to Pauls teachings through his letters to different churches as foundational insight into the modern world.

2. Talk with a trusted friend or confidante:

When God tells you to do something, it is never good to use just your judgment or understanding to determine what He is saying. We are social creatures so sharing problems or questions we have is something we always want to do. But before you go and tell anyone about what God is revealing to you, make sure who you tell this message to is someone who will give you sound, biblical insight into what God is saying.

Many turn to their pastors for this insight or their Bible study group, while some go to mentors, spouses, or trusted family members and/or friends. Whoever it is that you need to talk with, make sure it is someone who also has a strong relationship with God (as well as with you) and maybe bring questions to ask the person on what you think God might be saying and what you have found from your Bible research. Also, if this is a pretty important message given, it might be best to set up a specific time you can talk to this person about the matter privately and with as limited distractions as possible.

3. Write down and share questions and prayer requests to God:

It may sound silly to go back to the source of the original message, but sometimes God wants us to return to Him with questions and thoughts because it shows we see this as significant. It is always important to have quiet time with God, so maybe use some quiet time with God to discuss further what He told you in your spirit. Go to your place where you typically pray most to God, preferably away from others, and maybe write down some questions or prayer requests you have for God in order to know what to do with the message given.

Come to this quiet time knowing that your answer may not happen the first time you get down on your knees to pray. It could be days, months, or even years after God gives you the message to where He reveals to you what you are to do next. So, be patient, take the time with God, and know He will answer you when it is time to move forward.

A Prayer to Follow Gods Call

Whether you have or havent heard distinctly from God about something, it is always important to make sure you are spiritually ready for when God calls you. If you need help in preparing your heart for Gods mission, this prayer might be of assistance:

Dear heavenly Father,



Thank you for all You have done for me throughout my life, even while You were knitting me inside my mothers womb. I cant thank You enough for all You have done for me, especially in sending Your Son Jesus to die on the cross for my sins.



Today, I want to pray for You to prepare my heart to follow Your call. I pray that I will be alert and ready for when You call me to do something, to go somewhere, or to change something about myself to shine my light for You.

Lead me, Lord, to where You need me most, and I thank you for believing and loving me. Thank you, in Jesuss name. Amen.

Being open and ready to follow where God calls you can be quite a daunting task, especially if you dont feel spiritually ready for it, but taking the steps to prepare helps you show God this is important to you. As we have read through countless stories in the Bible, those who answered Gods call were able to surpass the mountains in front of them and reveal God to others through their resilience and obedience to God. Those that didnt answer the call were met with circumstances that some never fully recovered from.

If God has told you to do something, it is best to compare what He said to what the Bible says, gaining insight from a trusted friend or pastor, and then praying to God for answers and guidance. These three steps can help discern Gods meaning and the next step ahead on the journey. God is always telling us to do something; maybe today is the day to follow where He leads!

Related: Listen to our FREE podcast, Teach Us to Pray with Christina Patterson. You can find all the episodes at LifeAudio.com. Here's Episode 1:

Photo credit: Unsplash.com/BenWhite

Blair Parke is a freelance writer for BibleStudyTools.com and editor for Xulon Press. A graduate of Stetson University with a Bachelor's in Communications, Blair previously worked as a writer/editor for several local magazines in the Central Florida area, including Celebration Independent and Lake Magazine in Leesburg, Florida and currently freelances for the Southwest Orlando Bulletin.
Kim Ki-chang's new short story collection in the climate fiction genre, "Love in the Time of Climate Change," was published on April 2. Courtesy of Minumsa





By Ko Dong-hwan







Novelist Kim Ki-chang believes that the world today is anything but predictable because of all the extreme weather phenomena around the planet  collectively known as the "climate crisis." Our daily lives, he says, are instead irregular, risky and unstable.







He doesn't have to single out a particular event to recognize that the climate crisis is already here. He can now feel it almost naturally on a daily basis.







He expressed it in his latest work, "Love in the Time of Climate Change," with phrases like "hot winter," "chilly spring," or elaborated out to a grimmer degree in: "Sophie blocking her ears to stop hearing her skin being grilled under the sun," or "getting sunburnt under the morning sunlight without having closed the curtains over the windows last night."







Such vivid depictions put readers at the center of pain and horror against the real world that is becoming more and more unpredictable. This unpredictability is such an overwhelming force that, as he points out, even Korea's tech-savvy national meteorological center is sometimes left confused.







"These weather guys, in fact, forecast as they are shrouded in this unpredictability," Kim told The Korea Times. "The climate crisis has already brought us halfway to an apocalyptic society, where we can predict less and less every day."







The short story collection's ground zero consists of various real-life climate issues: rising temperatures, more frequent tornadoes, the effects of greenhouse gases, the Australian bushfires from 2019 that for months burned 14 percent of the world's forests, and global energy firms clashing over their interests. These problems are as close to apocalyptic as humanity has faced so far  and it is very clear what direction they will take in the near future.







"Before working on this collection, I asked myself a question both desperate and abysmal: since climate crisis is no longer merely the problem of polar bears, but that of ourselves, and a very imminent one, what should I do then, or what can I do now?" Kim said.







The cover of "Love in the Time of Climate Change" / Courtesy of Minumsa





Published by Minumsa in early April, "Love in the Time of Climate Change" highlights the fact that the climate crisis has varying tolls on people of different social classes, nationalities and ethnicities.







It's depicted in the first three works that share the same fictitious world, where some so-called "chosen people" with enough money and particular socially acceptable backgrounds are allowed inside an air-conditioned artificial space, under a huge dome that protects residents from the scorching sun, while others who were ostracized or chose to live outside in nature lived outside the dome.







The two groups constantly battle. Outsiders dig underground tunnels to reach inside the dome, either to live there or overthrow the society inside; while insiders keep the society safe by preventing the outsiders from coming in. The plot reaches a climax when the outsiders inflate condom-balloons containing explosives and blow them over the dome, shattering its cover.







"I wanted to show that the climate crisis is not just an environmental issue, but it will also speed up its unfair tolls (physically and mentally) on different classes of people," Kim said.







He wanted to deliver this message in as entertaining a way as possible. He used characters and settings from various cultures and countries: from survivors in the dome society's apocalyptic world, to an uncivilized mute boy living in a cave, to a polar bear and its cub constantly encountering predators, to a newly formed couple who keep digging a hole and building a tower without any apparent reason, only to get murdered by neighbors.







"I wanted to show various aspects of how the climate crisis can affect people's lives and those in various relationships," said Kim. "What I didn't want was to overwhelm readers with a bunch of information, because it makes storytelling dull and I am not a news writer."







<iframe width="740" height="409" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DLnhdnSUVs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>











Prior to writing "Love in the Time of Climate Change," Kim was most strongly motivated by a campaign video jointly made by Greenpeace and the Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi, which alerted viewers about melting icebergs in the Arctic. Titled, "Elegy for the Arctic," the three-minute video shows Einaudi playing sorrowful music on a small floating iceberg, while the frozen lands in front of him begin to melt and crack.







Kim said that the icebergs in the video "rip like paper," a description he used in one of the short stories he wrote about polar bears searching for ways to survive amid melting glaciers.







"It's just like the Maldives, where the country gradually loses its land due to rising sea levels," said Kim. "The Arctic is more than just a sheet of ice. It's where people and animals have lived. With the story, I wanted to depict the surreal emotions of the sobbing Earth."







Using his literary imagination, Kim wanted to shatter the status quo, where people, although they have learned enough about climate crisis either voluntarily or by chance, don't go further than learning just the facts. He couldn't find any clues that may lead to resolving this impending phenomenon. So the author tried to shake up the stagnant situation by trying to move people with emotion, not merely by providing them with information.







"Fear may not be the most effective method for us to face the climate crisis, but when we face life-or-death situations that force us to decide what we should do in our final moments, what will ultimately drive us to make that final decision is emotion rather than information," Kim said.







If people's minds when they chose not to go further than learning the mere facts about the climate crisis could be conceived of as "placid," what Kim wanted to do was throw a rock into that water and disrupt it to make a "necessary ripple."







"I hope my stories will provide 'sense-oriented knowledge' instead of 'cognitive knowledge' to readers," Kim said. "Because so far, they have been reluctant to do anything (radical), although they know that what they will meet in the end will be their own self-destruction."







Kim, a self-claimed neophyte writer, said that there was one more story he failed to finish and include in the collection  one mixed with unpredictable weather and unpredictable romance. "It was so hard to let 'unpredictability' slip into the plot that I eventually gave up," Kim said. "But do you know what's good about being a writer? Writers can keep challenging the narratives about various subjects."







"Love in the Time of Climate Change" is a new addition to "climate fiction," a genre not yet fully developed in Korea but already extensive in international book markets. Kim hopes that his latest work will encourage Korean readers to read more "cli-fi" books.







"I believe that a good book has the power to drive readers to continue reading another book," Kim said, mentioning "I'm With the Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet," by the Booker Prize-winning Canadian author, Margaret Atwood, and nine others as an example. "I hope my latest work gets translated someday and encourages more international readers to jump into the world of cli-fi."


The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Egypt's Minapharm have reached an agreement to produce over 40 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus per year, with production set to start in the third quarter of the year, RDIF announced on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Egypt's Minapharm have reached an agreement to produce over 40 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus per year, with production set to start in the third quarter of the year, RDIF announced on Thursday.

"RDIF ... Egypt's Minapharm, the regional leader in recombinant DNA technology, and its Berlin-based subsidiary ProBioGen AG announce the agreement to produce over 40 million doses per year of the world's first registered vaccine against COVID-19, Sputnik V. The parties intend to commence technology transfer immediately.

The rollout of the vaccine is expected in 3Q 2021," RDIF said in a press release.

Production will take place in Minapharm's biotech facility in Cairo for global distribution, the press release read on.

"This agreement is a natural expansion to Minapharm's regional leadership in biotechnologies, capitalizing on the vast international experience in cellular engineering and adenoviral vector technology of its wholly owned German subsidiary ProBioGen AG. We are pleased to join the RDIF in combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic," Minapharm CEO Wafik Bardissi said, as quoted in the press release.
A leading Melbourne management consultancy has reported a spike in workplace bullying and harassment complaints as hundreds of thousands of the citys workers continue the slow process of returning to their offices.

Barrington Centre is also warning that good workers are prepared to vote with their feet to maintain the work-life balance they found during the pandemic.

Worker Harman Singh at a suburban Watermans co-working space. Credit:Joe Armao

But a new way to manage the citys return to the office is emerging as CBD-based organisations support their employees to take space at suburban co-working hubs, sparing them long commutes into the city but maintaining physical contact with the professional world.

Operators of the centres, which are springing up in some of Melbournes largest suburban shopping centres, filling space left empty by retailers downsizing, report business is booming as bosses and workers explore new ways of doing things.
Geekdom

Phillip Hernandez has been named Chief Operating Officer at Geekdom after a year of managing the collaborative coworking spaces response to the pandemic and initiating systems that make the organization even more responsive to the needs of its entrepreneurial members. He will continue to oversee the plan to ensure the safety of Geekdoms members and utilizing the Entrepreneurial Operating System, focus the organization on supporting members startup success. Prior to joining Geekdom in March 2020, Phillip served as Vice President of Operations at Codeup for four years overseeing its San Antonio campus expansion and curriculum development and five years at Rackspace. Located in heart of downtowns tech district, Geekdom offers its members resources and opportunities that empower entrepreneurs to cultivate, shape, and grow ideas into viable businesses ready for the next level.
ANTWERP, Belgium, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global innovation platform, Plug and Play , together with Founding Partners City of Antwerp , CMB , DXC Technology , Euronav , and Port of Antwerp , has announced the launch of their first maritime program in Antwerp, Belgium. The purpose of the program is to connect international startups with the Founding Partners to pilot their technologies and drive the future of maritime as world-class leaders of R&D and innovation.

Startup collaboration at the local and global level

Led by a local team of four people, Plug and Play Maritime aims to strengthen an innovative startup ecosystem centered around the seafaring sector, that brings new technologies and entrepreneurs to the region and enables technological and business development. Plug and Play Maritime will be situated at the pre-campus of Maritime Campus Antwerp. The launch event, which will mark the start of the first program batch, is planned for June 2021.

"The launching of our first maritime platform in Antwerp represents the beginning of a new 'voyage' for us at Plug and Play. We are eager to support our founding partners and the existing local innovation community through our global ecosystem, by means of impactful startup-corporate collaboration," says Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play.

"With Plug and Play, the City of Antwerp and Port of Antwerp strengthen their position as innovation leaders in the international maritime business. The city wants to be part of the European top of scale-up cities by 2025. We take a lot of initiatives in our growth clusters: digital and circular economy. The City and the Port work closely together in the digital innovation hub The Beacon. With Plug and Play this collaboration gets a new dimension. We are confident that thanks to this new initiative, Plug and Play Maritime, we will be able to accelerate our joined ambitions," shares Claude Marinower, Vice-Mayor for Economy, Industry and Innovation, City of Antwerp.

Open Innovation enables tech that will shape the future of Maritime

Antwerp, home to the second largest port in Europe, is a hub for the maritime industry with a longstanding tradition. With its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Plug and Play's expansion into this sector will provide an opportunity for the five Founding Partners to increase their innovation activities with access to a network of over 30,000 global startups. Initial technology areas for scouting will include clean fuels and energy, big data and Internet of Things, future logistics, efficient shipping, autonomous vessels, sensors, and more. By providing innovation-as-a-service, this platform will also play a strategic role for the partners in pioneering a sustainable maritime industry of the future throughout Belgium and around the world.

Further offerings for startups, partners, and the growing ecosystem include business development, dealflows, workshops, weekly mentorship sessions, networking between partners, investment opportunities, and a series of monthly events including, Selection Days, Innovation Days, and EXPO Days. Plug and Play Maritime will run local operations from the pre-campus of Maritime Campus Antwerp, a co-working space for startups to utilize and scale their business.

"For the moment we have world class ports like the Port of Antwerp and a world class maritime industry in our country. To maintain our position, we need to look and think ahead," comments Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB. "Joining forces with partners creates scale in know-how and competencies resulting in R&D and innovation. This will help us to stay on top of new evolutions in the industry. Plug and Play, together with our Maritime Campus Antwerp, will help us to support our ambitions."

"The fundamental idea of the Maritime Campus Antwerp is to create scale and combine forces among those maritime players and stakeholders that want to tackle the huge innovation challenges for the maritime industry in the decades to come. The Plug and Play Maritime platform will contribute to the Maritime Campus Antwerp ecosystem by bringing the best startups and early scale-ups from all over the world to Antwerp to accelerate the introduction of maritime tech for our corporate partners," says Bart Huybrechts, Managing Director, Maritime Campus Antwerp.

Plug and Play Maritime offers a wide range of services to entrepreneurs

The basis of Plug and Play Maritime will be the 12-week open innovation program, run twice a year. Each program welcomes 20+ selected international startups that are addressing the specific technological needs of the Founding Partners. The startups and business units of the partners will work together on pilots and proof of concepts, leading towards production-ready implementations. The goal is to have at least one joint project completed for each startup, to be showcased at EXPO Day, the final event at the end of each program.

"Innovation can play a key role in making the future and prosperity of the port of Antwerp sustainable. The ecosystem represented by the Antwerp port platform is an ideal testbed for technology on a large scale. With Plug and Play Maritime we can live up to this ambition and play a pioneering role as a port of the future. In this way we seek to be a source of inspiration and to set an example for other ports. " explains Annick De Ridder, Vice Mayor of the Port of Antwerp.

"The Plug and Play platform will enable us to leverage our R&D capabilities and set up structural collaborations with start-ups and the wider ecosystem to drive mutual growth and benefits. We must invest in new technologies to further digitalise our Industry but also to make shipping cleaner and more efficient," states Hugo De Stoop, CEO of Euronav. "This is at the heart of our sustainability program to ensure our future relevance and competitiveness. Engaging in innovative ecosystems such as that of Plug and Play, together with the founding partners, is critical to achieve our long-term ambitions."

Founding Partners provide expertise and a vision of sustainable innovation

The consortium of Founding Partners consists of a distinctive blend of expertise and functions within the maritime sector, which will provide high value for startups looking to bring their technologies directly to key stakeholders in the industry.

"Collaborating with the Plug and Play network of startups will enable us to explore bleeding-edge innovations and how to integrate with our offerings across the Enterprise Technology Stack so we can deliver opportunities for our customers at lower cost and greater speed. We are proud to bring the capabilities of DXC to help incubated startups deploy their solution at scale, particularly in the areas of supply chain and logistics. Partnering with Plug and Play underlines our focus on our people and on our customers, associating our transformation to the 'new DXC' with the values of collaboration and value-led innovation," says Frederic Hertogs, Managing Director, DXC Technology, Belgium.

"As one of the leading ports in the world, Antwerp aspires to be the 'port of the future'. We use innovation as a lever to turn today's major challenges such as energy transition, digitalisation, and mobility into solutions. Through collaboration and implementing technologies such as big data, IoT, smart shipping, and future logistics, we are making our port smarter and more efficient. I believe that Plug and Play Maritime is an important milestone in bringing our port to the next international level and positioning it as a leading innovation platform," explains Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO, Port of Antwerp.

Corporations, startups, investors, and other industry leaders interested in getting involved, please visit the website or get in touch with David Neef: [email protected]

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 35+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com .

Press Contact: David Neef

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +49 160 6808115

About the City of Antwerp

The city of Antwerp brings together the best the world has to offer: it is home to a world-class port and its international trade opportunities; it is the cultural capital of Flanders and a strong creative sector with a long tradition in design. Antwerp has been and is firmly committed to stimulating ecosystems by bringing together capital, companies and knowledge institutions in the fields of digital innovation, sustainable chemistry and creative industries. These powerful ecosystems develop innovations for traditional business clusters such as the port, the chemical industry, and by helping to achieve successes in fields such as mobility, health and safety. This solid foundation together with strong ambitions and an open innovation culture, make Antwerp the ideal starting point for innovative companies. For more information, visit www.businessinantwerp.eu .

Press Contact: Magalie Verstraelen

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 487 67 87 03

About CMB

CMB is a diversified shipping and logistics group based in Antwerp, Belgium. CMB owns and operates 139 sea-going ships in dry bulk (Bocimar), container transport (Delphis), chemical tankers (Bochem) & crew transfer vessels (Windcat Workboats). CMB is also involved in cleantech (CMB.TECH) and real estate (Reslea, Maritime Campus Antwerp). CMB has offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Hamburg and London. For more information, visit www.cmb.be .

Press Contact: Katrien Hennin

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 499 39 34 70

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) helps global companies run their mission critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. With decades of driving innovation, the world's largest companies trust DXC to deploy our enterprise technology stack to deliver new levels of performance, competitiveness and customer experiences. Learn more about the DXC story and our focus on people, customers and operational execution at www.dxc.technology .

Press Contact: Antonio Carril

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 476 22 85 87

About Euronav

Euronav is an independent tanker company engaged in the ocean transportation and storage of crude oil. The Company is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium, and has offices throughout Europe and Asia. Euronav is listed on Euronext Brussels and on the NYSE under the symbol EURN. Euronav employs its fleet both on the spot and period market. VLCCs on the spot market are traded in the Tankers International pool of which Euronav is one of the major partners. Euronav's owned and operated fleet consists of 2 V-Plus vessels, 45 VLCCs, 28 Suezmaxes (one of which is in a joint venture and two vessels time chartered in and two to be delivered) and 2 FSO vessels (both owned in 50%-50% joint venture). For more information, visit www.euronav.com .

Press Contact: Ilse Derijck

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 472 73 04 84

About Maritime Campus Antwerp (MCA)

MCA is a "do" campus and ecosystem where business, technology and knowledge are linked to strengthen and develop the maritime sector. The aim of MCA is to connect entrepreneurs who develop sustainable and water-related businesses. MCA ecosystem is broad and focuses on joining forces between the various actors in the broad maritime sector at European level. In addition, the MCA Campus will become a lively new hotspot of Antwerp with cultural activities and catering establishments. MCA is an initiative of CMB. For more information, visit www.maritimecampusantwerp.com .

Press Contact: Katrien Hennin

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 499 39 34 70

About Port of Antwerp

As Europe's second-largest port, the Port of Antwerp is a major lifeline for the Belgian economy: more than 300 line services to over 800 destinations ensure global connectivity. The Port of Antwerp annually handles around 231 million tonnes of international maritime freight, and is home to Europe's largest integrated chemical cluster. The Port of Antwerp accounts, directly and indirectly, for a total of around 143.000 jobs and more than 20 billion added value. True to its mission 'a home port vital for a sustainable future', Antwerp Port Authority aims to flexibly respond to a rapidly evolving maritime market, allowing the port to continue playing its role as a leading world port. The emphasis in this respect is on cooperation, adaptability, a strong focus on innovation and digitisation, and on sustainable added value, as well as on responsibility towards society. For more information, visit https://www.portofantwerp.com .

Press Contact: Lennart Verstappen

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +32 473 920 414

SOURCE Plug and Play

Related Links

http://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com


Jack Ma, the most famous businessman China has ever produced, is avoiding the spotlight. Friends say he is painting and practicing tai chi. Sometimes, he shares drawings with Masayoshi Son, the billionaire head of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.

The wider world glimpsed Ma for the first time in months last week, during a virtual board meeting of the Russian Geographical Society. As President Vladimir Putin and others discussed Arctic affairs and leopard conservation, Ma could be seen resting his head on one hand, looking deeply bored.

The charismatic entrepreneurs star has dimmed in China. Credit:AP

For Ma  the charismatic entrepreneur who first showed, two decades ago, how China would shake the world in the internet age; whose face adorns shelves of admiring business books; who never met a crowd he couldnt razzle-dazzle  it is a stark change of pace.

Under the Communist Partys top leader, Xi Jinping, China has punished and shamed a series of tycoons who amassed enormous wealth and influence but were seen to overstep their bounds. Ma and the crown jewels of his online empire, the e-retail titan Alibaba and the fintech giant Ant Group, are Beijings biggest targets yet, as officials start regulating the countrys powerful internet industry like never before.
Now Open

22 April 2021

Whitbread, the owner of the Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotel brands, has opened the doors to its latest addition to Oxford - a new 123-bedroom Premier Inn at Botley.

The hotel, which welcomed its first guests on Friday (16th April), is the one of two major investments by Whitbread in Oxford this year as the UK's largest hotel business continues with its strategic expansion in the city.

Premier Inn Botley is the first Premier Inn hotel to the west of the city. The eight-storey hotel, which features Premier Inn's latest format bedrooms and Thyme restaurant on the first floor, occupies a prominent position overlooking the A34 and West Way.

A team of 30 team members, led by a new hotel manager who opened Premier Inn's hotel at Oxford Airport (Kidlington) in March 2020, welcomed guests travelling for work and other reasons that meet government criteria until 17th May.
Rick did not hesitate. Go and take all the time you need, he told me. The paper will give you the paid days. Family, he explained, is the most important thing we all have, and you have to be there with them in these moments.

The other story happened a little more than a year later. I was still new to the world of management/editing and was questioning if this work was a good fit, and if this newspaper was the right place for me to be. Having gotten to know Rick pretty well by then, I thought I should talk with him before I made any decisions.

That discussion may have saved my career.

He listened intently to my concerns, made me feel that he understood what I was going through, and then gave me the encouragement to stay and work through the challenges. He made me feel valued, and that's exactly what I needed. About a year later, Rick was promoting me to my current position, the one I've held for more than 14 years and the best job I've ever had.

When Rick accepted an offer to become publisher of our sister paper in Glens Falls in 2008, it was kind of like having a big brother move away to college. I was happy for him, and I knew we'd keep in touch, but I also felt apprehension and sadness that we'd not have that same relationship.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-21 23:03:37|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close





BOAO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference via video Tuesday.

Xi reiterated that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a public road open to all.

He said China will continue to work with other parties in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Xi called for making green a defining feature of Belt and Road cooperation.

The Chinese president's call has gained wide recognition among attendees at the Boao Forum.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
In keeping with the global Mx philosophy and clear emphasis on Product, People, Pitches and Passion factors in 2021, Havas Media Group India is reorganising and strengthening its team with Sanchita Roy taking over as Head of Strategy. Sanchita, who joined the group as Head of West to manage the overall Mumbai operations last year, is armed with over 19 years of experience in media planning and strategy.

In her new role, she will be responsible for driving the growth strategy for Havas Media Group India and leading strategic investments for its clients. Sanchita will continue to report to Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group, India.

Sanchita comes with a vast experience in FMCG, Telecom, Tourism & Auto having worked across key global businesses such as Unilever, J&J, Beiersdorf, SC Johnson, Reckitt, AB InBev, Nissan, Tourism Australia and Vodafone and domestic businesses such as Parle Agro and Berger Paints to name a few. In her previous role, she was heading the strategy function for Omnicom India across both agency brands, OMD & PHD. She was also responsible for rolling out PHDs strategic planning process, Source, in India and has several thought-leadership articles to her name. Her previous stints also include Wavemaker and Mindshare. Sanchita has been a recipient of coveted industry awards namely, Media Abbys, CMO Asia, Emvies and Campaign Asia Account Person of the Year.

Also read: Havas Group India announces Senior Management elevations

Commenting on the re-organisation, Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India, said, Havas Media Group India has won many new clients last year despite the slowdown and continues to keep the momentum this year too with many prestigious clients such as Dominos, CG Foods, Micromax and more. Our India offering is now a key contributor to the overall global pie and hence this is an important step towards strengthening our product portfolio. Sanchitas vast experience as a strategist makes her a perfect fit for this role and further bolsters our leadership team.

Commenting on her new role, Sanchita Roy, Head of Strategy, Havas Media Group India said, The last one year has been one of constant change across the world, especially so in the way consumers are interacting and engaging with brands. In my new role, the endeavour would be to understand these shifts and deliver Meaningful Media for our clients, using data, technology and content. I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to adding value and partnering Havas Media Group India in its new growth journey.
More than 87,000 metres of drilling has taken place at the Julimar Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in the past 13 months and the latest high-grade drill results grow its footprint even further.

A maiden mineral resource estimate is now anticipated in late Q3 of 2021 as the mineralised footprint at Gonneville continues to grow.

( ) ( ) continues to expand the footprint of its Julimar PGE-nickel-copper discovery near Perth, Western Australia, with strong new results from ongoing exploration seeing shares increase again this morning.

Seven rigs, three reverse circulation (RC) and four diamond, are continuing a 160,000-metre step-out and resource definition drill program at the large Gonneville intrusion, with more than 87,000 metres completed to date and a large number of assays outstanding.

The G4 and G11 high-grade zones have been found to extend to the northeast while infill drilling continues to demonstrate the large-scale resource potential of the Gonneville deposit.

Shares have jumped more than 6.5% in early trade to A$6.56 while the companys market cap sits at approximately A$2.127 billion.

World-class potential

Chalice managing director Alex Dorsch said the company continued to be impressed by the consistent, high-grade results coming from the ground beneath its feet.

Even after 87,000 metres over more than 13 months of continuous drilling, we continue to expand the footprint of our major Julimar discovery; a quite remarkable result that demonstrates the potential world-class nature of the discovery, he said.

The new intersections at the northeast extension of Gonneville are promising, as the previously identified discrete pods of high-grade mineralisation appear to be associated with a newly identified pyroxenite host unit.

Drill highlights

There have been 165 new high-grade drill intersections reported, with assays pending for a further 94 completed drill holes.

Among the highlight results are:

13.4 metres at 6.3 g/t palladium (Pd), 1.1 g/t platinum (Pt), 1.3% nickel (Ni), 0.7% copper (Cu) and 0.07% cobalt (Co) from 405.7 metres;

13 metres at 4.7 g/t Pd, 1.0 g/t Pt, 0.4 g/t gold (Au), 0.2% Ni, 2.2% Cu and 0.02% Co from 144 metres;

12 metres at 2.6 g/t Pd, 1.4 g/t Pt, 0.8 g/t Au, 0.2% Ni, 0.9% Cu and 0.01% Co from 138 metres;

45 metres at 1.7 g/t Pd, 0.6 g/t Pt, 0.2 g/t Au, 0.1% Ni, 0.1% Cu and 0.01% Co from 216 metres;

29 metres at 1.4 g/t Pd, 0.5 g/t Pt, 0.1 g/t Au, 0.2% Ni, 0.1% Cu and 0.02% Co from 115 metres;

23 metres at 1.7 g/t Pd, 0.4 g/t Pt, 0.2 g/t Au, 0.2% Ni, 0.2% Cu and 0.01% Co from 177 metres;

17 metres at 1.5 g/t Pd, 0.2 g/t Pt, 0.3 g/t Au, 0.2% Ni, 0.4% Cu and 0.02% Co from 207 metres; and

5 metres at 2.5 g/t Pd, 0.9 g/t Pt, 0.1 g/t Au, 0.2% Ni, 0.2% Cu and 0.02% Co from 67 metres.

High-grade zones expanded

Drilling has expanded the G4-G11 high-grade zones to the northeast and the G1-G2 zones down-dip, while infill drilling continues to confirm the current geological interpretation:

G4: >1,250 metres of strike length x up to 600 metres of dip extent, open north along strike and down-dip;

G5: >650 metres of strike length x up to 270 metres of dip extent, open north along strike;

G6: >875 metres of strike length x up to 450 metres of dip extent, open north along strike and down-dip;

G9: >500 metres of strike length x up to 250 metres of dip extent, open along strike and down-dip; and

G11: >1,200 metres of strike length x up to 300 metres of dip extent, open north along strike and down-dip.

Next steps

With the growth in the mineralised footprint, the quantum of resource drilling required to define the discovery is expected to increase and a maiden mineral resource estimate is now anticipated in late Q3 2021.

Recent land purchases mean that the resource drill-out can proceed without access constraints.

Reconnaissance exploration and environmental surveys in the Julimar State Forest are continuing with initial drilling targeted for the September quarter, subject to access approvals.

Chalice has also appointed a study manager for the project and continues to build its internal management and technical capabilities.

- Daniel Paproth
CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealing with a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming and complicated, whether newly diagnosed, during and after treatment, a caregiver, or a health care professional. Triage Cancer, a national, nonprofit, is hosting a free, one-day online conference on Saturday, May 15, to share valuable information and resources that will make cancer-related practical and legal issues less overwhelming. New information and details about the American Rescue Plan and other COVID-related laws and programs that benefit the cancer community will be included.

Participants can register until Monday, May 3, at https://triagecancer.org/conferences. The conference will cover topics such as:

Understanding health insurance, picking a health insurance plan, and appealing denials

Accessing clinical trials

How to work through treatment or take time off

Applying for and appealing disability insurance

Estate planning and medical decision making

Managing medical bills, finances, and getting financial help

Becoming an empowered patient and advocate

"We hope that people all over the country will register and take advantage of having access to these important topics all in one place," Joanna Morales, Esq., CEO of Triage Cancer, says. "And the timing could not be more relevant, with COVID-19 presenting employment and health insurance challenges for so many." For example, the conference will cover ways that people may qualify for free or very low cost health insurance, and so much more.

"We find that most people don't know about their health insurance options, how to make choices, and how to use insurance effectively once you have it," according to Morales. "So that will be an important part of our agenda."

The Conference will be presented by Morales and Monica Bryant, Esq., who are cancer rights attorneys, authors, speakers, and Triage Cancer co-founders.

Triage Cancer is accredited to offer contact hours and continuing education for nurses, social workers, and patient advocates who attend the conferences, as well as professional development credits for HR professionals. More information is available on the registration website.

About Triage Cancer

Triage Cancer is a national, nonprofit organization that provides free education on the practical and legal issues that can arise after a cancer diagnosis. Triage Cancer serves individuals diagnosed with cancer, as well as their families, caregivers, advocates and health care professionals, helping them navigate complex situations by providing free events, materials, and resources.

MEDIA CONTACT: JOANNA MORALES

[email protected], 310.489.0856

SOURCE Triage Cancer

Related Links

https://triagecancer.org/


Authorities on Thursday identified the body recovered from the Merrimack River in Andover on Tuesday as a Lowell woman who has been missing since January.

Lowell police have been investigating the disappearance of Kimberly Kelly-Oberhauser, 56, since Jan. 18, according to the Essex District Attorneys office.

Around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Andover Police and EMS responded to a report of a womans body discovered on the shoreline in the vicinity of Ravens Bluff. The body, identified as Kelly-Oberhauser, was removed from the water by the Andover Fire Department and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the district attorneys office said.

The matter remains under investigation pending an autopsy.

On Jan. 20, Lowell police posted a missing person poster to Facebook, saying Kelly-Oberhauser was last seen in Lowell around 10:45 p.m. on Jan. 18 and was driving a 2016 black Range Rover.

Then on Jan. 22, Kelly-Oberhausers Range Rover was found in the Merrimack River across from the Regatta Field by the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing, which was assisting the Lowell Police Department.
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Orthopedic implants market size is set to reach USD 6,894.2 million by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. The report Orthopedic Implants Market Share, Size, Trends & Industry Analysis Report, By Application (Spinal, Hip, Knee, Dental, Craniomaxillofacial and S.E.T (Sports Medicine, Extremities, and Trauma)) and by Regions, Segment Forecast 2019-2026 provides a detailed analysis of present market strengths and future market trends.





Market success of orthopedic Implants is entrenched in a rising geriatric population with an increasing life-span affected by musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and others. Technological innovations also have seen a steady rise in orthopedic medical implants market. Increasing number of joint replacement cases and sport injuries across the globe will catapult market to leading growth.

Download for sample copy @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/orthopedic-implants-market/request-for-sample

The center for health design has predicted elderly population to double in coming years. For instance; Japan and South Korea have a life expectancy of 83.7 years and 82.3 years respectively. Surplus Government investments in medical industry and supportive Government opinions in use of implants have directed massive growth for market in coming years.

Increasing investments by Government in healthcare and in doting company with a well-developed healthcare infrastructure add momentum to market in North America and Canada. Asia Pacific offers key players operating in market a thriving opportunity due to a high population base, high awareness regarding orthopedic implants, surge in healthcare infrastructure and rise in geriatric population. The key players operating in the orthopedics Implants market include Johnson and Johnson, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., Stryker Corporation and Medtronic PLC among others.





Else Place Inquiry for Discount @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/orthopedic-implants-market/request-for-discount-pricing





Segmentation of Orthopedic Implants Market is as follows

Orthopedic Implant Application Type Outlook (Revenue USD Millions 2015-2026)

Spinal

Hip

Knee

Craniomaxillofacial

Dental Orthopedic

E.T (Sports Medicine, Extremities, Trauma) Orthopedic

Orthopedic Implants Regional Outlook (Revenue USD Millions 2015-2026)
The Chinese Communist Party is believed to be responsible for newly found hack attacks on the U.S. government, businesses and American infrastructure, cybersecurity company Mandiant said Wednesday.

Why it matters: This is the third major cybersecurity breach to hit the U.S. in recent months  including two in March blamed on hackers linked to China's government: one targeting 30,000 U.S. victims, including small businesses and local governments, the other hitting Microsoft.

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Charles Carmakal, a senior vice president of Mandiant, told NBC News Wednesday, "We're starting to see a resurgence of espionage activity from the Chinese government."

Driving the news: The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement Tuesday that the breach was "affecting U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and other private sector organizations."

Zoom in: Carmakal said in an emailed statement that Mandiant "recently responded to multiple security incidents involving the exploitation of Pulse Secure VPN appliances," which is used by businesses for remote work.

The breach affected "dozens of organizations including government agencies, financial entities, and defense companies" in the U.S. and Europe, he said.

"We suspect these intrusions align with data and intelligence collection objectives by China," Carmakal added.

Per Carmakal, the hackers bypassed the multifactor authentication on Pulse Secure devices to access the as-yet unnamed victims' networks, accessing these sites "for several months without being detected."

"We believe that multiple cyber espionage groups are using these exploits and tools, and there are some similarities between portions of this activity and a Chinese actor we call APT5. "

Carmakal

Of note: President Biden took office a month after cybersecurity firm SolarWinds announced it was hacked in December, in a breach that was later discovered to be part of a massive cyberattack by suspected Russian hackers on multiple government agencies and U.S. firms.

In response, the Biden administration imposed sweeping sanctions targeting the Russian economy earlier this month.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced earlier this month a program designed to counter online attacks.

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Now three, Sophia has had another surgery to put a feeding tube in her stomach

She was in a coma for weeks before having nine months of rehabilitative therapy

Sophia had a seven-hour surgery to repair a hole in her trachea and oesophagus

Sophia, age one at the time, managed to get a car key battery and swallow it

Zineb Sadouk, 37, from Manchester, was left fearing for her toddler Sophia's life

A woman whose daughter was left with a hole in her oesophagus after swallowing a battery which generated electricity inside her has issued a stark safety warning to parents.

Zineb Sadouk, 37, from Gorton, Manchester, was left fearing for her daughter Sophia's life after the tot somehow managed to get a car key battery from a tall shelf and swallow it.

Sophia, who was one at the time, battled heart failure and spent weeks in a coma after the accident before having a seven-hour surgery to repair a hole in her trachea and oesophagus.

Her mother said the last few years have been a 'living nightmare', with Sophia, now three, still experiencing complications.

The youngster had another surgery this month to insert a peg feed tube into her stomach to provide her with nutrients and fluids.

Zineb Sadouk, 37, Gorton, Manchester, was left fearing for her daughter Sophia's life (both pictured) after the tot managed to get a car key battery from a tall shelf and swallow it

Sophia, who was one at the time (above), battled heart failure and spent weeks in a coma before having a seven-hour surgery to repair a hole in her trachea and oesophagus

Zineb has shared her daughter's story in a bid to warn other parents, admitting that she still has no idea how Sophia managed to swallow the battery.

She explained: 'I still don't understand how this happened to my little girl.

'I remember watching her in hospital, I never left her bedside and I was begging the doctors not to let her die.

'Whenever I meet another parent I tell them Sophia's story because I can't bear the thought of another child going through this.

Sophia, now three (above), had another surgery this month to insert a peg feed tube directly into her stomach to provide her with nutrients and fluids

Sophia, age one (left) at the time, was rushed to hospital after refusing food but doctors only discovered a button battery was lodged in her oesophagus on X-rays a week later

'We are so lucky that she is still here with us today but she has got such a long way to go before she can live a normal life again.'

Doctors thought Sophia had a virus or flu, but when she became breathless and blue, they ordered an X-ray which showed a small disc-shaped battery (above: similar battery) inside her

When one-year-old Sophia started vomiting and refusing food, mother-of-two Zineb and her husband Yahya, 52, rushed her to hospital.

But the worried parents didn't discover what caused Sophia's illness until a week later, when the X-rays revealed that a button battery had lodged in her oesophagus and trachea.

Sophia spent weeks in a coma and had a seven-hour surgery, before facing nine months of rehabilitative therapy.

WHAT IS AN NG FEEDING TUBE AND A PEG FEEDING TUBE? NG feeding tube A nasogastric tube (NG tube) is a special tube that carries food and medicine to the stomach through the nose. It can be used for all feedings or for giving a person extra calories. Peg feeding tube A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a procedure to place a feeding tube through your skin and into your stomach to give you the nutrients and fluids you need. Sources: Medline Plus and Ramsay Health Advertisement

Doctors initially thought Sophia was struggling with a virus or flu, but when she became breathless and blue, they ordered an emergency X-ray which showed the small disc-shaped battery inside her.

Sophia's heart was failing due to her internal injuries and she had to be stabilised at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool before she could be transferred to Great Ormond Street in London for a seven-hour surgery to repair the hole in her trachea and oesophagus.

Zineb said she had found her daughter playing with Yahya's wallet, which had been placed on a shelf 'a metre taller than her', but she had no idea she had swallowed anything.

She continued: 'She was playing on the floor and there was a button battery in plastic packaging in her dad's wallet for the car keys, but the wallet was on a shelf a metre taller than her.

'I found her playing with his wallet but I had no idea that she had swallowed anything until she started to fall ill.

'At first she was refusing her food and then she started being sick and suffering with diarrhoea.

'I kept taking her to A&E but they told me it was most likely just a bug and on the third time they discharged us with some antibiotics.

'It was only when she was struggling to breathe that I went again and they ordered the x-ray and realised what had happened.'

The couple left their jobs as a trainee teacher and taxi driver to move to London and be by Sophia's side while she underwent nine months of rehabilitative therapy at GOSH.

Zineb had found Sophia playing with her husband Yahya's wallet (pictured with Sophia), which was on a shelf 'a metre taller than her', but said she had no idea she had swallowed anything

Zineb (pictured with Sophia and Bahaar, one) has set up a fundraiser to raise 100,000 to pay off the family's 30,000 debts and for the therapy Sophia desperately needs for a normal life

Zineb has shared her daughter's story in a bid to warn other parents, admitting that she still has no idea how Sophia managed to swallow the battery

This month, Sophia had another surgery to remove her NG feeding tube, which carries food and medicine to the stomach through the nose, and replace it with a peg feed tube, which goes directly through the skin to the stomach.

After moving to London to support their daughter during her rehabilitation, Zineb and Yahyah becamse homeless and racked up 30,000 of debt.

The couple are now back in Manchester in temporary accommodation with Sophia and her sister, Bahaar, one, but have set up a fundraiser in a bid to raise 100,000 to pay off their debts and for the therapy Sophia desperately needs for a normal life.

Zineb said: 'I don't even have the words to describe what it is like. The last three years have been a living nightmare.

'She has been fed through a tube since she had the surgery and only this month we have started trying her on mashed foods, but she still finds it extremely hard to swallow.

'We struggle with her behaviour because she has lost such a huge portion of her life and development while living in hospital.

'We just want to give her the best chance at a normal life.'

To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/help-sophia-to-get-a-normal-life
The video game chat app, valued at around US$7bn, has reportedly ended negotiations for a potential merger with the computing giant, rekindling speculation of a possible IPO

Video gaming chat app Discord has decided to retain its independence by pulling out of merger negotiations with computing giant Microsoft Corp ( ).

According to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter, talks between the two sides, which were initially reported last month to involve a potential US$10bn tie-up, were ended without agreement, although there was a possibility for them to resume at a later date.

Discord, which has around 300mln registered users, had reportedly fielded interest from three companies regarding a possible sale after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic last year doubled its monthly user base to around 140mln as people stayed at home playing games and communicating online during lockdown.

The company also managed to double its valuation in a funding round in December to around US$7bn.

Discords decision not to merge with Microsoft has also revived rumours of a potential initial public offering (IPO) for the group which were initially sparked in March with the hiring of former ( ) executive Tomasz Marcinkowski.

Meanwhile, Discord may prove to be a missed target for Microsofts ongoing acquisition strategy, with the corporation having snapped up several smaller tech and media firms in recent years as it looks to expand its capabilities.

Earlier this year, Microsoft spent US$7.5bn to acquire ZeniMax Media, the owner of video game studio Bethesda Softworks, following its purchase of software development platform GitHub for US$7.5bn in 2018 and a US$26.6bn merger with professional social network LinkedIn in 2016.

Shares in Microsoft were up 0.5% at US$259.42 in mid-morning trading in New York on Wednesday.
Russia ending huge military drills near Ukraine

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu oversaw the massive drills. Photo: AP

Russia's defence minister on Friday ordered an end to military drills near Ukraine involving tens of thousands of troops and dozens of warships that had exacerbated tensions with the West.



The announcement came as President Vladimir Putin invited Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for talks in Moscow following weeks of renewed fighting in the east of Ukraine between government troops and pro-Moscow separatists.



But the Russian leader appeared to shoot down Zelensky's proposal to meet in war-torn eastern Ukraine, saying talks over the years-long conflict should be conducted directly with separatists.



Earlier in the day Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu oversaw massive drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea and said soldiers would begin returning to their permanent bases on Friday.



"The troops demonstrated their ability to ensure the reliable protection of our country," he said after flying over the Opuk firing range in a helicopter.



"I've made a decision to wind down the checks in the Southern and Western military districts," he said, adding the troop pullback should be completed by May 1.



The announcement came after the West repeatedly called on Putin to pull back troops.



Shoigu, who had arrived in Crimea earlier in the day to oversee military drills, said Moscow closely watched Nato movements and would remain vigilant.



Both armed with binoculars, Shoigu and the army's general chief of staff Valery Gerasimov oversaw the drills from a viewing platform as helicopters flew overhead.



The ministry released dramatic footage of the land and sea manoeuvres that showed troops practising amphibious landings, jets streaking through the sky and infantry fighting vehicles traversing green fields.



Both Nato and Ukraine's Zelensky welcomed Russia's announcement, with the Ukrainian leader saying on Twitter that "the reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension".



"Any steps towards de-escalation by Russia would be important and well overdue," said a Nato official.



"Nato remains vigilant and we will continue to closely monitor Russia's unjustified military build-up in and around Ukraine."



In Moscow, Putin said Zelensky was welcome in Moscow "any time".



"If President Zelensky wants to start repairing relations, then we of course welcome it," he said.



But the Russian leader also said that if Zelensky hoped to resolve problems stemming from fighting in eastern Ukraine, then he should first meet with leaders of the breakaway regions in Donetsk and Lugansk.



Zelensky had this week invited Putin to hold talks in Ukraine's east, saying millions of lives were at stake.



Timothy Ash, senior emerging markets strategist at London-based Bluebay Asset Management, said Putin was "playing games" and it was hard for the Ukrainian leader to accept direct talks with separatists.



"Everyone knows this is a state vs state conflict but Putin is trying to imply this is a civil war in Ukraine," Ash said.



Kiev said one more soldier had died of shrapnel wounds when "Russian armed forces" shelled Ukraine's positions on Thursday.



Some 30 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the year, compared to 50 in all of 2020.



The West and Ukraine have accused Russia of sending troops and arms across the border but Moscow has denied the claim.



Russia's buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border led to concern in Kiev and the West of a repeat of Russia's 2014 aggression, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.



The EU estimated this week the number of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border at more than 100,000.



Shoigu has described the movement of Russian troops as training exercises in response to "threatening" Nato actions.



On Thursday, he said Russia was closely watching Nato activity including the massive Defender Europe 2021 exercises.



Moscow said some 10,000 Russian troops and over 40 warships and other vessels were participating in the Crimea exercises.



Russia also said last week it intends to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military and other ships for six months beginning on Saturday.



The move could affect access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait.



Kiev has been battling separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, with the conflict claiming more than 13,000 lives. (AFP)
The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Ludovic Orban, declared on Thursday that the presence of Italians in Romania is millennial and that "we have common roots, we are close relatives".

"I conveyed today, by videoconference, a friendly greeting to the Italian community in Romania, on the occasion of the National Conference of the Italians in Romania Association - RO.AS.IT. I especially appreciate the collaboration, including at parliamentary level, in improving relations between Romania and Italy. The presence of Italians in Romania is a millennial presence. We have common roots, we are close relatives and this can be seen in the fact that we have a very close collaboration in a variety of fields," Orban wrote on Facebook.

He added that in Romania there are over 20,000 companies that have Italian shareholders, but also in Italy there are many companies with Romanian shareholders, as well as a large community of over one million Romanians, agerpres.ro confirms.

"The strategic partnership concluded in 1997 turned into a consolidated Strategic Partnership in 2008, which provides a basis for this in-depth cooperation between Italy and Romania. Italy is Romania's second-largest trading partner, after Germany, and this reflects the extremely good relations which exist between the two countries," he added.
Enterprise conversational AI platform, ORAI has raised Rs 3.6 cr in a pre-Series A round from Inflection Point Ventures, an angel network, marking ORAI's thirteenth deal in 2021. The funds raised would be used for international expansion and collaborations, sales and marketing along with product development and enhancement.

With over 50 clients from small and mid-size businesses (SMB) and enterprise segment, ORAI has also been expanding its clientele globally. Some of the marquee names ORAI is working with include GMR Delhi, Group Landmark, BMW Munich Motors and Sayaji Hotel.

Vinay Bansal, founder & CEO, Inflection Point Ventures, said, "Conversation AI and chatbot support is now a necessity. Many globally leading brands are already on this path. ORAIs tech platform is robust and covers top public platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Google helping their customers build 1:1 relationship with their end users. Not only this, they enable businesses to improve their response time to real time, generate leads faster and save on marketing costs. The experience of the founders in AI and NLP and their vision to grow ORAI beyond India attracted us to invest in the company.

ORAI provides a conversational AI platform incorporating text, voice, AR/VR and humanoids on one single platform for enterprises and SMBs. The tools also provide a predictive intelligence dashboard with a score to each lead with its probability to close. The platform seamlessly integrates with more than 20 digital channels and a variety of CRMs.

ORAI is expanding in the Middle East, Europe, the US and Asia Pacific and is on its way to achieve its goal of becoming the leader in conversational AI space with constant innovations helping businesses connect better with customers.

"In this ever-evolving digital world where millennial are constantly adopting chat, voice, speed,efficiency, and conversation, businesses have to harness technology adoption to keep up the performance. Hence, the customer-centric approach and adopting new-age channels are the key driving factors in the voice first and messaging first revolution and ORAI will play a very important role here," said Sujit Das Biswas, co-founder and CTO, ORAI.

ORAI was founded in 2020 by two technopreneurs who had the experience of building and selling complex enterprise solutions for more than 15 years. The company aims to leverage their experience from both technology and digital end to offer enterprises and SMBs conversational AI capabilities for enhanced performance, user engagement and experience.

The global conversational AI market size is expected to grow from $4.8 billion in 2020 to $13.9 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 21.9% during the forecast period.
Grey whale believed to be en route to France.

A grey whale, which appeared off the coast of Italy in mid-April in a first for its species, was spotted on Wednesday by the coast guard off Imperia, in the northern Liguria region, and is believed to be heading to France.

The animal was first sighted off the Pontine Islands, before being seen again off the coast of Naples, Sorrento, Gaeta and then Rome, in what is being described as an "exceptionally rare" event.

Noting that grey whales are usually found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean, marine biologists are baffled by the animal's "incredible migration" to Italy, suggesting the climate crisis as a possible reason.

The young grey whale currently touring the coast of Italy is estimated to be about 8 metres long and "appears undernourished and very thin," according to experts.

Animal lovers are advised to refrain by attempting to touch the whale - christened Wally by Italians - and to keep a distance of about 100 metres.

Sightings of the whale should be reported to the Harbour Master's Office using the toll-free number 1530.

Grey whales were hunted to extinction in the North Atlantic in the 18th century however one was seen in the Mediterranean - off the coasts of Israel and Spain - in 2010.

Photo La Repubblica
Lockett was booked into the jail April 15, the same day he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery to a police officer, sheriffs officials said. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison and was awaiting transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The George Floyd verdict will not set any legal precedent in South Florida  ex-Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in a different state with different laws.

But for criminal justice reform advocates in South Florida, Chauvins conviction nevertheless carries powerful symbolic weight, a boost of momentum for years-long campaigns to root out rogue cops, improve law enforcement training and rethink laws and policies that unfairly target Blacks and minorities.

Donald Jones, a University of Miami law professor, said he believes the case broadened support for reform efforts that reflect a seismic shift in public opinion because of the shocks of injustice weve seen for 20, 30 years building up.

The baseline line has changed, Jones said of the verdict. Now, we can talk about maybe there shouldnt be more arrests for marijuana possession, or maybe we should stop doing traffic stops simply because their windshield is too dark.

There are significant political hurdles to statewide reform, however. Last summers protests over Floyds death, despite being mostly peaceful, led to a backlash among Republican lawmakers in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis this week signed an anti-riot bill that supporters say is designed to protect businesses and public buildings and monuments from damage but critics say is aimed at squelching free speech and protests  particularly from the Black Lives Matter movement.

Still, even as protests erupted across the country and in South Florida last summer, the two largest police department were already ordering some key changes in how officers deal with civilians on the street. Miami-Dade, most notably, banned all choke-hold techniques outside of life-threatening encounters.

Both the city of Miami and Miami-Dade police say they were ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing police reforms but agree that the conviction of Chauvin  who faces up to 40 years in prison  will serve to reinforce policies that have cut back on uses of force, while emphasizing de-escalation techniques.

Story continues

Were constantly monitoring what goes on across the entire country with policing, said Miami-Dade Police Lt. Carlos Rosario, a department spokesman. Last June, we were already addressing a lot of issues that were brought up. Were always ahead in our training and always ahead in our policies.

Floyds death last May also put a spotlight on a criminal justice system where Blacks and other minorities are killed by police and jailed at disproportionate rates. Many of those arrests, like Floyds, are often for minor crimes.

The 46-year-old was handcuffed and lying face-down as Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes, a chilling exercise of brutality captured by bystanders on video. Three other officers stood by and watched as Floyd begged for his life, saying I cant breathe. A local medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. He wound up dead after being accused of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.

Long before the Floyd case, how the justice system treats minorities in Florida has been under intense scrutiny.

One high-profile case dates back to 2012, when George Zimmerman, a white and Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer in Seminole County, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a Black 16-year-old from Miami Gardens. Zimmerman called 911 on Trayvon, who was visiting his father in Seminole and was walking home from buying candy at a nearby market.

Police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, citing Floridas Stand Your Ground law, although he was later arrested for murder amid large-scale protests and a national reckoning over race and racial profiling. In 2013, he was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges after a three-week trial, a decision that also sparked national protests.

Reforms, but mostly incremental

But in the ensuing years, as more videos and cases of Black men shot and killed by police went viral, incremental changes have happened  but nowhere near the sweeping overhaul sought by many of the criminal justice systems critics.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2014 assumed control over most police shooting investigations, to add a layer of independence from the agencies that used to investigate its own officers who opened fire.

In Miami, after a string of fatal police shootings of Black men in the mid-2000s, the city entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2016 that mandated a host of reforms, like de-escalation training and a duty to intervene, some of which were already in place. The federal oversight officially ended in March.

Among the reforms Miami police say they have instituted are a physical fitness requirement, a duty to intervene if an officer believes a partner is using excessive force and implicit bias training, which was in place prior to the consent decree. We not only watch whats going on. We watch what fellow officers are doing, said Miami Assistant Chief Armando Aguilar Jr. We intervene not only when there is misconduct, but when an officer is about to engage.

Aguilar said the average annual number of shootings and use-of-force incidents has gone down substantially in the decade since Miami began implementing the reforms. A decade ago compared to now  its like youre looking at two different police departments, he said.

But the Floyd case did have some immediate impacts on police tactics. Last June, less than two weeks after Floyd protests began, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Freddy Ramirez said he spoke with experts and community leaders and decided to ban neck restraints at the largest police department in the Southeastern United States.

At about the same time, the agency released a three-page letter to the community listing reforms that were already in place and that would immediately go into effect. Among them: De-escalation training and warnings before firing a weapon. The department also said officers must exhaust all other alternatives before firing a weapon.

Miami-Dade police has also moved swifter with discipline, at least in one high-profile case: As protests were happening across the country in July, a Miami-Dade county police officer was seen striking an angry woman during a confrontation at Miami International Airport. He was immediately ordered fired  even though prosecutors have yet to make a decision on whether to charge him.

Stephen Hunter Johnson, a lawyer and chairman of Miami-Dades Black Affairs Advisory Committee, praised local departments for changing policies on shooting at moving cars, and de-emphasizing minor traffic stops. Still, he said, he wants to see more transparency when it comes to releasing information on complaints on uses of force, and the release of body-camera footage in police shooting cases.

City of Miami police officers guard the entrance to the home of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in Coconut Grove last summer as protesters gathered outside demanding she drop all charges against Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

The lack of transparency leads to mistrust, Johnson said on Wednesday, adding: The verdict will cause us to re-examine how we are policing people, especially if were over-policing Black people and, whether due to perceived biases, implicit or explicit, whether force is more likely to be used.

On the prosecution side, longtime Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has been heavily criticized by police reform advocates and Black Lives Matter leaders for never having charged a police officer in a fatal on-duty shooting. Shes argued that few state prosecutors have pursued such cases because of the wide leeway afforded cops under Florida law.

Making more cases

But in recent years, as more bystander and body-cam videos have captured confrontations between police and citizens across the nation, Miami-Dade prosecutors have become more aggressive about charging cops for rough arrests.

In 2019, Miami-Dade prosecutors also convicted then-North Miami police officer Jonathon Aledda of a misdemeanor count of culpable negligence for shooting at an autistic man holding a silver toy truck  another case that became national news because of jarring bystander video. Aledda admitted he mistook the shiny object for a weapon. His bullets missed the autistic man but struck the mans Black therapist, who was lying on the ground with his hands in the air.

But convicting officers is never an easy sell  jurors often give officers the benefit of the doubt, especially when making split-second decisions in dangerous moments, legal experts say. Aledda himself was acquitted of two felonies. In the past few years, three officers from Miami-Dade County have been acquitted for slapping or kicking a handcuffed suspect.

After winning reelection last year, Fernandez Rundle also pushed a bill that called for more expansive police training. The proposal gained some traction and bipartisan support in the Legislature, but has fizzled in the last week of the session. A separate House bill, negotiated with the Florida Legislative Black Caucus that also addresses police training issues, could be passed in the chamber as early as Friday.

After the Floyd verdict, Fernandez Rundle, a Democrat, issued a statement supporting ongoing reform efforts: As a nation, we now can begin healing, building trust, transforming policing and improving police-community relations across this nation. We now can also renew our focus on vigorously promoting racial equality generally.

Influence in courtrooms?

Ultimately, while the Floyd case sets no legal precedent, it may influence future courtroom decisions in other ways.

Rod Vereen, a former prosecutor and defense attorney who was the first Black candidate for Miami-Dade State Attorney in 2012, said he believes the state will still have a tough time convicting cops. But he said that public perceptions in light of the George Floyd verdict might better the odds.

It could have that effect. If you present a good case, before maybe it was a 70-30 chance. Now, its a 50-50 chance, Vereen said. The [George Floyd] video opened a lot of eyes of whites who have not had to live the kind of life of communities of color targeted by the police.

Alex Saiz, the legal director of the Florida Justice Center, the states only legal aid organization that handles criminal cases, said he hopes that the Floyd verdict will eventually push for the creation of an independent civilian body with teeth that  outside of the prosecutors office  can independently review police misconduct. In the wake of the Floyd verdict, Miami-Dade revived a civilian oversight panel, but it has limited subpoena power and has yet to meet.

What the George Floyd verdict means is not that people celebrating are anti-police, Saiz said. They are just pro-accountability.
New Delhi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :India posted a global record of almost 315,000 new Covid infections on Thursday as hospitals in New Delhi sent out desperate warning that patients could die without fresh oxygen supplies.

Health ministry data on Thursday showed 314,835 new infections in the past 24 hours, the most of any country since the pandemic began, taking total cases to 15.9 million, the world's second highest.
Liz Truss today faced criticism from Australian politicians after her allies insulted the Canberra minister she is trying to strike a trade deal with.

The International Trade Secretary welcomed Trade Minister Dan Tehan to London this morning for crunch talks.

UK sources had risked souring the meeting before it began after they labelled Mr Tehan 'inexperienced' and blamed the Australian government for the 'glacially slow' pace of trade talks.

Allies of Ms Truss also said Mr Tehan 'needs to show that he can play at this level'.

The comments prompted a furious response from Australian government MP Dave Sharma who said it was 'grossly wrong' to question Mr Tehan's ability.

Mr Sharma reportedly told Sky News Australia: 'This isn't the way you conduct negotiations by briefing against your counterpart in public.

'You're much better off having frank and fulsome and forthright discussions in private. Using a megaphone to try to conduct them or [to] shame your counterpart is amateurish.'

Ms Truss tried to repair the damage yesterday afternoon, issuing a statement promising Mr Tehan a 'warm welcome' amid reports that she also texted her counterpart to smooth things over.

This afternoon she tweeted a picture of her and Mr Tehan laughing together as she said they had a 'great morning of talks'.

'We want an agreement that will support jobs across the United Kingdom and strengthen ties between two democracies who believe passionately in free and fair trade,' she said.

Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, is holding face to face talks with Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan in London after her allies labelled him 'inexperienced'

Ms Truss tweeted a picture this afternoon of her and Mr Tehan laughing together after a 'great morning of talks'

The meeting came as Australian government MP Dave Sharma said it was 'grossly wrong' for allies of Ms Truss to have questioned Mr Tehan's ability

Mr Tehan is in London for two days of talks and the pressure is on to secure a breakthrough due to the fact he has been allowed to make the trip despite Australia's strict coronavirus travel policy.

Department for International Trade sources had told The Telegraph that Canberra needs to show 'some serious movement on their side' if significant progress is to be made.

Talks are said to have stalled since Mr Tehan took the job back in December last year.

Sources accused Australia of being 'slow to move on key UK asks' like on business visas and reducing tariffs on key exports like Scotch whisky.

A source close to Ms Truss had told the newspaper: 'She plans to sit him down in the Locarno Room [in the Foreign Office] in an uncomfortable chair, so he has to deal with her directly for nine hours.'

The source added: 'He is inexperienced compared to Liz. He needs to show that he can play at this level.

'Australia need to show us the colour of their money. They're great friends of ours and talk a good game about free trade and wanting a deal, but they need to match those words with action.'

One Australian minister told ABC News yesterday that the 'sledging' is 'not a very good tactic' and warned 'it's more likely to be counterproductive'.

Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald quoted an Australian trade official who said the comments were 'very disrespectful'.

British High Commissioner to Australia Vicki Treadell spoke to the media in Australia, telling ABC that 'this is a trade negotiation, so there will be tactics on both sides'.

Allies of Ms Truss said ahead of the meeting that Mr Tehan 'needs to show that he can play at this level'

It is estimated that a bilateral trade deal between London and Canberra could increase the value of UK exports to Australia by 900million a year.

Current British trade with Australia is reportedly worth more than 18billion a year.

Ms Truss said in a statement issued yesterday afternoon: 'I'm looking forward to giving Minister Tehan a warm welcome and building on the good progress we have already made.

'We want a gold standard agreement that boosts exports, drives investment, supports jobs, and breaks new ground in modern areas like services and digital trade.

'A deal will strengthen ties with one of our closest friends and a fellow pro-trade democracy, and help pave the way for the UK to join CPTPP, a modern trade group of eleven Pacific nations.'
I recently had the pleasure of reading "The Repressive Politics of Emotional Intelligence," a lengthy article by author and professor Merve Emre that recently appeared in The New Yorker.

As a student of emotional intelligence, it's always interesting to read criticism on the topic. Doing so allows me to see emotional intelligence through the eyes of others. It helps me to refine my own understanding of these ideas, as well as how I communicate them.

Emre's article is primarily a critique of the uber-successful pop-psychology book Emotional Intelligence, written by former New York Times columnist Daniel Goleman. For those who are unfamiliar, Goleman's bestseller, which was originally published in 1995 and has sold millions of copies since, brought the idea of emotional intelligence to the masses: the concept that a person has the potential ability to identify, understand, and manage emotional behavior.

Emre begins by arguing that the bestseller aided the transformation of a scientific theory into a tool of corporate management. A quick Google search would seem to support that argument, with tons of companies offering emotional intelligence training, emotional intelligence assessments, and suites of tools for developing emotional intelligence.

(Disclosure: My own work falls into this category, as I founded a small company with the goal of helping others develop their own "EQ," shorthand for emotional intelligence.)

Emre's right in implying that many of these tools are poorly designed, at times putting labels on people or measuring their value as workers in comparison with one another.

Of course, as with any task, there are tools that are better suited for the work; others, not so much. And the tools that have proven useful have taken years of iteration to get where they are -- and still, they're not perfect.

But by grouping good and bad apples together, and by focusing primarily on the tools' imperfections, Emre misses something.

The underlying goal of many of these instruments is to improve workplace behavior: so that passive-aggressiveness is replaced by honest, candid conversations; so conflicts are resolved in ways that don't force feelings down, only to resurface again later; so managers and teams learn to build psychologically safe cultures, instead of workplaces people dread coming into.

In many cases, when employers invest in tools and discussion around emotional intelligence, they send a signal to employees that they're interested in trying to improve.

Emre further claims that Goleman's take on emotional intelligence lacked nuance, that it was "stripped of the social and historical detail that might give it depth and complexity." While that may be true, I'd argue that this wasn't accidental, but rather intentional.

Goleman's primary goal wasn't to provide social commentary. It was to teach how the brain processes emotional behavior, and how understanding the way the brain works could help readers to understand themselves and prepare themselves to deal with everyday challenges.

Of course, people have been exploring the nature of understanding, processing, and managing emotions for centuries. But Goleman's book gave us a springboard for more in-depth analysis. It gave us a new vocabulary, introducing (or at least popularizing) terms like "emotional hijacking," when our emotions override our rational thinking and cause us to do something we later regret.

Beyond that, it used the research available to explain why this happens. It broke down complex neuroscience in ways we could all understand. It introduced us to the role of the amygdala, the little almond-shaped part of your brain that jumps into action when you feel attacked. Then it explained how, once enough time has passed, the amygdala calms down -- so you can start thinking again with the other, more rational parts of your brain.

Of course, Emre's right that there was much more to the stories Goleman shared -- including complex environmental, political, and societal factors that played a role in how those stories played out. But getting into all those details would have distracted from Goleman's goal: to teach that emotional intelligence can help, regardless of the situation.

The key word, though, is can.

That is, emotional intelligence can help, but it doesn't always help. Because, while emotional intelligence isn't inherently evil, as Emre asserts, neither is it inherently virtuous.

Remember that emotional intelligence is the ability to use knowledge of emotions to inform and guide behavior, usually to reach a goal. But goals can differ drastically from person to person.

In the corporate world, for example, I typically extol the benefits of offering employees sincere and specific praise. But what if a person commends others just to gain more power for themselves, or to gather support for a suspect cause? What if they use their ability to express (or disguise) emotions in an attempt to manipulate others? In contrast, a person in a position of power or authority could also use fear and pressure as intimidation tactics.

You see examples of the dark side of emotional intelligence everywhere: in business, in politics, in personal life.

Goleman didn't specifically address this dark side in his initial work, but he helped us to discover it. And while it's disturbing to unearth examples of this in your own life, it's important to be able to identify them -- so you can protect yourself when you do. That's part of emotional intelligence, too.
Photo taken on March 12, 2021 shows AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines at a hospital in Caceres province in Spain. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, April 22 : Amid shortages and uncertainties over availability and delivery of Covid-19 vaccines, the Maharashtra government plans to form a committee to scout for vaccines from the international markets, said Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik here on Thursday.

"We have discussed in the state cabinet a proposal to this effect and appointed a committee to scout for vaccines wherever available, nationally or internationally. However, a final decision on the same is pending," Malik told media persons in Parbhani.

The state is also in touch with the top honchos of Bharat Biotech which is producing Covaxin, even as the state girdles for the next phase of vaccination for all people aged above 18 from May 1.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that the Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune has conveyed to the state government that it would not be able to deliver its consignments directly till May 25 as it has prior commitment with the Centre.

The government will also make efforts to import vaccines from Sputnik V, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and Tope said there would be no dearth of funds if the doses are available.

However, late on Thursday, the government clarified that SII has not contracted all its production to the Centre and states were at liberty to procure Covid vaccines from the manufacturers under the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy.

Under the new policy, the manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their production to the Centre and the rest to states and 'other than Government of India channel' every month.

Faced with a huge task of procuring vaccines for the next phase, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday held an online conference with SII CEO Adar Poonawalla to discuss the issues.

Moreover, the SII move to supply the Covishield vaccines at Rs 400 for the states and Rs 600 to private hospitals, compared with the Rs 150 to the Centre, has not gone down well with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Against the current shortages, the state expects massive rush at vaccination centres in the second phase when people above 18 years will also be given vaccines.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro speaks at the White House climate summit on Earth Day (State.gov)

Brazils president Jair Bolsonaro pointed the finger at developed nations for burning fossil fuels in the course of the past two centuries, during pointed remarks at the White House climate summit on Thursday.

The leader said that Brazil has accounted for less than 1 per cent of historic greenhouse gas emissions, and despite being a large developing economy, currently accounts for 3 per cent of annual global emissions.

Mr Bolsonaro said that as home of the planets greatest biodiversity, Brazil was at the forefront of efforts to tackle global warming, and agreed with Mr Bidens call for the establishment of ambitious commitments.

The far-right leader announced that he was bringing forward Brazils commitment to climate neutrality by ten years, pledging to reach the goal by 2050.

He also said that he would eliminate illegal deforestation in Brazil by 2030 but that his country requires outside financing to protect the Amazon, the worlds largest tropical rainforest.

It was a shift in tone on the Amazon rainforest, exhibiting willingness to step up commitment even as many critics continue doubting his credibility.

Mr Bolsonaro announced during his video-link speech that he would double the amount of money for environmental authorities oversight. Its unclear how that reconciles with immediate spending, as the 2021 budget outlook for the environment ministry is the lowest for any year this century.

The speech appeared to show that his administration realizes it needs to at least start talking the talk in the face of international and domestic pressure.

Dan Wilkinson, who runs Human Rights Watchs environmental program, told AP that this is a different tone from the Bolsonaro who was in complete denial two years ago.

Mr Wilkinson said that it was going to be hard for anyone to take it seriously.

Last week a group of 15 US senators penned a letter to Mr Biden complaining of Mr Bolsonaros woeful environmental track record and urging the US to condition any support for Amazon preservation on significant progress reducing deforestation.

Story continues

Some 40 world leaders are participating in the two-day summit, coinciding with Earth Day, including the USs fellow largest polluters, China, India and Russia.

President Biden has invited allies and adversaries alike to the event, putting aside other fraught geopolitical issues in the hopes of more dramatic climate action.

Invitees include leaders of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which total about 80 per cent of global emissions. Nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis, already facing more extreme weather and rising sea levels, have also been invited.

Leaders spoke from their home countries at the wholly virtual event, which suffered early technical glitches. They pledged action to lower carbon emissions, although differed on the details.

AP contributed to this report

Read More

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[April 22, 2021] Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Stella Point Capital to Sell First American Payment Systems

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board ("Ontario Teachers'") and Stella Point Capital ("Stella Point") today announced an agreement to sell First American Payment Systems ("First American"), a leader in technology-enabled, electronic payments, to Deluxe (NYSE: DLX) for US$960 million. Ontario Teachers' and Stella Point will fully exit in conjunction with the transaction, thus successfully concluding their long partnership with First American since 2014. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, First American is an industry-leading, technology-enabled payment processing company that provides partners and merchants with powerful omnichannel payment solutions. Ontario Teachers' and Stella Point worked closely with management to significantly enhance the technology platform, pursue strategic acquisitions and accelerate organic expansion into high growth integrated payments verticals. "From day one, we have had a deep and collaborative partnership with Ontario Teachers' and Stella Point and are grateful for their instrumental support throughout the last seven years," said Neil Randel, Chief Executive Officer at First American. "Their industry expertise, operational experience, and approach to value creation certainly helped us to accelerate our growth plans - both organically and through strategic acquisitions - and deepen our capabilities, allowing First American to drive even greater value for our growing customer base." "We are pleased to have worked closely with the First American team since 2014 to help drive significant value creation and the continued evolution of the business into one of the leading, technology-driven providers of payment solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises in North America. We believe this transaction represents a terrific outcome for all stakeholders, and we look forward to continuing to watch First American prosper under the stewardship of its new owners," said Karen Frank, Senior Managing Director, Equities at Ontario Teachers'. "Over the past seven years, First American has achieved a tremendous transformation in its business to a leading technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of integrated payment services," said Adam Godfrey and Justin Wender, Managing artners of Stella Point. "First American is well-positioned for continued long-term growth in its current markets. We have great conviction that First American will continue to exceed the evolving needs of its partners and merchants and wish Neil Randel, Debra Bradford and the rest of the team well in this next chapter."



The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. About First American

First American Payment Systems, L.P., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a global payment technology company providing leading integrated payment solutions to more than 159,000 merchants throughout the Americas and Europe. First American provides partner and merchant payment solutions that include a robust set of in-store, online and mobile payment solutions paired with the latest in payment security, across a wide range of verticals. Backed by award-winning customer service, merchants and partners have access to our U.S. based Customer Call Center 24/7/365. For more information, visit?http://www.first-american.net.

About Ontario Teachers'

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers') is the administrator of Canada's largest single-profession pension plan, with C$221.2 billion in net assets (all figures at December 31, 2020). It holds a diverse global portfolio of assets, approximately 80% of which is managed in-house, and has earned an annual total-fund net return of 9.6% since the plan's founding in 1990. Ontario Teachers' is an independent organization headquartered in Toronto. Its Asia-Pacific region offices are located in Hong Kong and Singapore, and its Europe, Middle East & Africa region office is in London. The defined-benefit plan, which is fully funded, invests and administers the pensions of the province of Ontario's 331,000 active and retired teachers. For more information, visit otpp.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @OtppInfo. About Stella Point Capital

Stella Point Capital is a New York-based private equity firm focused on industrial, consumer, and business services investments. Founded by Managing Partners Justin Wender and Adam Godfrey, the firm actively seeks investment opportunities throughout North America, working closely with management teams to identify strong market positions and achieve transformational growth. Stella Point's investment team has over 75 years of combined investing and operating experience, encompassing more than 35 investments, at leading global private equity firms. Stella Point provides unparalleled senior level attention and expertise, seeking to cultivate strong relationships with portfolio companies to generate superior investment returns and significant long-term value. Please visit www.stellapoint.com for additional information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005146/en/

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The firm said 235 samples assayed saw gold greater than 0.5 grams per ton (g/t) gold, with 91 assaying greater than 5 g/t of the yellow metal

The Togi property spans almost 4,000 hectares and shows a similar geological setting to the northeast of Sado Island, 160 kilometres along strike

Corp ( ) (OTCQB:JGLDF) (FRA:2LD) has reported high-grade exploration results from the Togi project, on Honshu Island - one of the projects under its alliance with mining major Barrick.

In November last year, the alliance collected 412 rock samples and 88 bulk leach extractable gold analysis (BLEG) samples across the project. Of those 412, the firm said 235 samples assayed gold greater than 0.5 grams per ton (g/t) gold, with 91 assaying greater than 5 g/t of the yellow metal.

Meanwhile, stream sediment sampling defined a continuous northeast-trending 8 kilometre (km) corridor of gold anomalous drainages within the project, the company noted, with BLEG samples assaying greater than 15 parts per billion (ppb) gold, with a peak result from the Urugami prospect at the project returning an assay of 2,152 ppb gold.

in a statement, John Proust, the CEO and chairman of , said: "The Barrick Alliance positive assay results across the Togi Project, which includes the Togi Goldfield, highlight another underexplored epithermal district in Japan. The high-grade rock samples and extensive positive BLEG results reinforce the potential of the area and our belief that there are major gold discoveries still to be made in Japan."

The Togi property spans almost 4,000 hectares and shows a similar geological setting to the northeast of Sado Island, 16km along strike. That hosted Japan's second-largest gold mine - the Sado mien - with production of 2.5 million ounces of gold and 74 million ounces of silver prior to its closure in 1974.

Gold mineralization was discovered in the Togi area in 1896 and historic records from the Togi Goldfield report seven separate areas of workings along a 7km trend which produced a combined 48,000 ounces of gold and 180,000 ounces of silver between 1910-21.

In the southwest of the goldfield, historic mine workings on the Urugami deposits cover over 30 small veins and stockwork zones within a 4 sq km zone. Here, the Togo mine, the largest within the Urugami area, produced over 18,000 ounces of gold and 83,000 ounces of silver from stockwork vein and breccia zones.

Japan Gold is focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu.

The Barrick alliance, in which Japan Gold is operator, was formed in February, 2020, and has been expanded to cover 30 out of Japan Gold's 32 projects, or 1,889 square kilometres (sq km) in the south-east Asian country.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
You know its a special day when one of the coolest electric motorcycle brands surprises the world with five new colors for one of its most popular bikes. Zero Motorcycles DSR has just been released in nature-inspired colors to honor nature and celebrate Earth Day.But thats not all. For every limited-edition bike that gets sold, the Californian company will be donating $500 to the National Forest Foundation. The Foundation will then use the donations for various projects that are aimed at maintaining or restoring trail systems. This way, riders passionate about electric motorcycles and protecting the environment can also enjoy better access to sustainable trails. It all comes full circle.Our bikes are an incredible way to experience off-road riding, including in Americas National Forests, and we stand with the National Forest Foundation in their mission to guarantee access to those lands for future generations, said Sam Paschel, Zero Motorcycles CEO.This project only reiterates Zero Motorcycles commitment to sustainability. After all, their electric, hand-crafted bikes were designed for adventure and off-road explorations without any negative impact on the environment.Dayle Wallien, Conservation Partnerships Director for the National Forest Foundation, stated that we are excited and grateful to partner with Zero Motorcycles on projects to improve outdoor experiences and restore our National Forests. Our public lands are amazing places to explore and recreate and we appreciate a commitment to help us steward them from an innovative company like Zero.Each of the 15th anniversary limited-edition models is built with the well-known Z-Force 75-7 motor that delivers 116 lb-ft (157 Nm) of torque and a maximum speed of 102 mph (164 kph). And lets not forget that all DSRs have a range of 163 miles (262 km).The special edition DSR motorcycles are available for sales through official dealers, starting at $15,495.
Greentown Labs Opens its Houston Incubator on Earth Day 2021the city's first climatetech startup incubator Tweet this

Located at 4200 San Jacinto St. in the innovation district being developed by Rice Management Company, Greentown Houston provides more than 40,000 sq. ft. of prototyping lab, office, and event space for its growing community of startup companies with room for about 300 employees.

This is Greentown Labs' second location and first expansion outside of Massachusetts, and will serve as an on-the-ground catalyst for the energy transition in Houston. Greentown Houston will bring together civic and business leaders, entrepreneurs, students, and other stakeholders who have already begun the transition and raise awareness of the opportunity for those who have yet to engage.

"This is a tremendous, tangible milestone not only for Greentown Labs but also for the City of Houston and the energy transition," said Dr. Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. "Five years ago, climate change wasn't a topic among many conversations in Houston. Things have changed. Today, we are so proud to open our second-ever location in the energy capital of the world and we're eager to accelerate the energy transition over the next 10 years. Houston is buzzing with incredible climatetech startups, world-leading energy organizations, and a thriving investment community. At Greentown Houston, we aim to bring the ecosystem together and collaborate toward our decarbonized future."

Greentown Houston has received an incredibly warm welcome from the Houston energy innovation community since it announced its expansion plans in June 2020. Thanks to Mayor Sylvester Turner's leadership , Houston has doubled down on its efforts to lead the global energy transition and Greentown Houston is eager to partner with the city on these activities. Mayor Turner chairs Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of almost 450 U.S. mayors demonstrating leadership on climate action.

"There's no better way to celebrate the first anniversary of the Houston Climate Action Plan than to open Greentown Labs Houston," said Mayor Sylvester Turner. "Attracting and nurturing the next generation of energy companies is a critical piece of our city's ambition to lead the global energy transition. The Climate Action Plan calls for creating 50 Energy 2.0 companies, and thanks to Greentown Labs, we are already halfway there. We are grateful for Greentown Labs and their partners for helping Houston meet our climate goals and become the energy capital of the future."

Greentown Houston is a proud member of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and is actively involved in the organization's economic development efforts to help Houston lead the global energy transition. GHP was an early champion and advocate for Greentown Houston and has played a critical role in helping bring it to fruition.

"We are thrilled Greentown Labs Houston has officially opened its doors in the Energy Capital of the World, further positioning Houston as the leader of the global energy transition," said Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. "Today is a major milestone in Houston's broader efforts to build a more efficient and more sustainable low-carbon future. Greentown Labs and its members are a critical part of that effort, and I look forward to the collaborations and partnerships they'll form with other key players in Houston's energy community in the years to come."

Rice Management Company (RMC) is responsible for stewardship of Rice University's endowment, and has been a supportive partner of Greentown Houston since its team first began searching for the right location for the incubator. Rice University serves its mission by cultivating a diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor.

"Rice University enthusiastically welcomes Greentown Labs to Houston and the Ion District," said David Leebron, President of Rice University. "Rice University is committed to helping empower the city's innovation and entrepreneurial efforts, and we're eager to foster a strong partnership between our recently launched Clean Energy Accelerator and Greentown Houston. We're confident Houston's growing climatetech innovation ecosystem will help accelerate the city's leading role in the energy transition."

Accelerating the energy transition with partnership and collaboration

Greentown Houston is made possible by a network of civic and business leaders that represent a broad community of energy organizations, renewable energy experts, and organizations committed to supporting and growing the ecosystem of early-stage climate and climatetech startups.

Chevron , a longtime partner of Greentown Labs, has made public commitments to help enable the energy transition and was an early advocate of Greentown Labs' expansion to Houston.

"Houston is home to Chevron's largest employee base in the world, and we are committed to sustaining the region as the energy capital of the world and establishing Houston as the energy transition capital of the world," said Barbara Burger, Vice President of Innovation and President of Technology Ventures at Chevron. "As a longtime partner of Greentown Labs in Boston, we were excited to be the first Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston and to work with the Greentown community as we support the development of innovation solutions to enable more affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy for all."

Shell , a Greentown Labs partner since 2013, is an active participant and thought leader in the energy transition and has announced its intentions to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050.

"At Shell, we see the energy transition as a collaborative effort that requires innovation, investment, and partnership across sectors, industries, and society. Shell is proud to be a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston," said Gretchen Watkins, President of Shell Oil Company. "We are excited to support Greentown's entrepreneurs and startup companies and to work together to foster a sustainable, progressive ecosystem in the energy capital of the world."

NRG Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, brings the power of energy to millions of customers across the U.S. and Canada, including 100 percent renewable power to the City of Houston, and has supported Greentown Labs' expansion to Houston from the beginning. Reliant, an NRG company, is one of the largest electricity providers in Texas and is trusted to deliver innovative and reliable energy solutions to residents and businesses across the state.

"As we collectively work to create a more sustainable future and ensure Houston remains the Energy Capital of the World while becoming the Energy Transition Capital of the World, NRG and Reliant are thrilled to officially welcome Greentown Labs to Houston," said Elizabeth Killinger, Executive Vice President, NRG Home; President, Reliant; and Chair, Greater Houston Partnership Energy 2.0 Committee. "As a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston, we're eager to support and encourage the innovations that will launch through this thriving startup community."

Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. A Greentown Labs partner since 2020, Microsoft has put a powerful set of climate commitments into motion, including making its energy supply 100 percent renewable for all its operations by 2025, becoming carbon negative by 2030, removing its historical carbon emissions by 2050, and establishing a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund.

"The innovation to come from Greentown Labs Houston will be pivotal in creating new ways to advance our clean energy goals," said Darry Willis, Corporate Vice President, Energy Industry, Microsoft. "At Microsoft, accelerating the transition to a global, net-zero future is a top priority and I'm very encouraged by the work we, our partners, and participating energy organizations are driving."

BHP , a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs, is a leading global resources organization with operations in mining and oil and gas. BHP has been active in addressing climate risks for more than two decades and is committed to continuing to reduce emissions in their operations and to their goal of achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2050. BHP's climate action plan also includes a $400 million Climate Investment Program to develop technologies to reduce emissions from its own operations and those from the use of its resources.

"We have long recognized the importance of taking action to reduce emissions across our full value chain, which requires collaboration with others and innovative partnerships to meet our goals," said Tim Ong, Head of Innovation at BHP Petroleum. "We're proud to partner with Greentown Labs and to be a part of this cleantech community as we collectively explore inventive solutions for the energy transition."

Saint-Gobain , which operates in 70 countries, is one of the world's largest building materials companies focused on design, manufacturing, and distribution of materials and solutions that are key ingredients in the wellbeing and future of all. A committed Greentown Labs partner since 2014, Saint-Gobain was integral to the opening of Greentown Labs' headquarters, donating over $1 million worth of products and becoming the presenting partner of the building's event space.

"As a Founding Partner for Greentown Houston, Saint-Gobain congratulates Greentown Labs on their grand opening in Houston," said Minas Apelian, Vice President, Internal and External Venturing, Saint-Gobain. "We are excited to engage with entrepreneurs in Houston who are developing climate innovations and technology to make our world a better home. It's also wonderful to see how our donated, sustainable building materials helped transform Greentown Houston by providing better indoor air quality, thermal efficiency, and improved acoustical experiences."

This Earth Day, Greentown Houston is proud to announce its seven newest partners that are actively participating in and supporting the energy transition.

bp 's purpose is to reimagine energy for people and the planet. bp has set an ambition to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner, and help the world get to net-zero, and last year bp announced its strategy for delivering on that ambition. Partnering with countries, cities, and corporations to provide innovative energy, mobility, and decarbonization solutions as they shape their paths to net-zero is a core part of bp's long-term strategy. bp serves as the City of Houston's strategic and technical planning advisor on the Climate Action Plan, bringing expertise across the energy spectrum to help the city build a more sustainable and resilient future.

"bp is thrilled to partner with Greentown Labs," said Al Vickers, CEO of bp Wind Energy. "This is an important step in making Houston not only a hub for new cleantech innovation, but a leader in the global energy transition. Projects like Greentown Labs underscore our commitment to helping the City of Houston advance its Climate Action Plan and get to net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. As an incoming member of the Advisory Board, I welcome Greentown Labs to the Energy Capital of the Worldand look forward to getting to work."

Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) ("MCA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), is a global integrated business enterprise with 10 business groups that operate across virtually every industry. These include natural gas, industrial materials, petroleum & chemicals, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, automotive & mobility, food industry, consumer industry, power solution, and urban development. MC's business strategy involves leveraging its knowledge of industries and markets around the world to create new, sustainable businesses.

"We see Greentown Labs Houston playing a major role in accelerating our efforts to advance technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive the transition to a low-carbon society," said Minoru Aizawa, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MCA's Houston Branch. "Our company recognizes the importance of staying attuned to changes within the global environment and society, and we aim to generate societal and environmental value by addressing key sustainability issues through our business activities."

Intel Corporation is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. As the largest U.S.-owned semiconductor manufacturer, Intel aims to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use across its global manufacturing operations by 2030.

"Intel is proud to support Greentown Houston and we are looking forward to all that the startup member companies will accomplish," said Werner Schaefer, Intel Vice President, General Manager of Network & Communications Sales, Intel Houston Site Leader. "Shared corporate responsibility is key for usour world is facing challenges that are too big to be tackled alone. As we develop world-changing technology that enriches the lives of every person on Earth, we will offer our technical expertise to help the passionate and innovative startups build a healthier planet by leveraging the power of data."

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is one of the world's leading industrial groups, spanning energy, logistics & infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace, and defense. MHI combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon-neutral world, improve the quality of life, and ensure a safer world.

"Identifying the most promising technologies and bringing them to scale is critical as we look down the path to decarbonization," said Ricky Sakai, Vice President of New Business Development for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. "We are excited to partner with Greentown Labs and look forward to the collaboration between various stakeholders to advance climatetech innovations."

White Deer Energy invests in energy and industrial service and equipment companies and midstream infrastructure, and targets businesses that are embracing the rapidly evolving energy transition landscape. The firm targets equity investments of $25 to $100 million, principally in North America with control or co-control. White Deer seeks to provide capital to companies with strong management teams and significant growth potential. The firm works closely with management to pursue continual operational improvement and drive organic growth as well as growth through acquisitions. Since its founding in 2008, White Deer has raised capital in excess of $2.7 billion.

"Houston has long been the oil and gas capital of the world, but it is important to transition that title to the energy capital of the world," said Joe Bob Edwards, a Managing Partner of White Deer Energy. "With the opening of Greentown Labs in our great city, we are well on our way to effecting that transition. One of White Deer's visions is to encourage the collaboration between oil and gas companies and new energy companies to create a more sustainable world that has access to reliable and clean energy. That vision becomes infinitely more attainable with the right partnerships. We are excited and honored to support Greentown Labs and look forward to working with them and their other partners."

Ara Partners is a global private equity firm building companies that are decarbonizing the economy in immediate and tangible ways. Ara Partners invests in the industrial & manufacturing, chemicals & materials, energy efficiency & green fuels, and food & agriculture sectors, seeking to build businesses that are focused on sustainability and ESG principles.

"We are excited to welcome Greentown Labs to Houston," said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara Partners. "The journey to net-zero emissions requires the best and brightest entrepreneurs, engineers, and business builders. We are working hard to be part of the solution, alongside Greentown Labs, that will harness the talent, enthusiasm, and spirit of Houston to make progress for our city and the world."

Bechtel Corporation is a trusted engineering, construction, and project management partner to industry and government. Since 1898, Bechtel has helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs; grown economies; improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure; increased access to energy, resources, and vital services; and made the world a safer, cleaner place.

"Our customers in the energy sector are key to the successful transition to a lower-carbon future and we have a fundamentally important role in supporting them to reach their global emission-reduction targets," said Paul Marsden, President of Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals. "It's through collaboration with our customers and partnerships with next-generation innovators like Greentown Labs that we are able to find solutions to the environmental challenges that we're facing so that we can shape the future of energy."

These seven new partners join an impressive group of corporates that are committed to climate action. Since announcing its expansion to Houston in 2020, Greentown Labs has welcomed 17 Houston Founding Partners: Chevron , NRG Energy and Reliant Energy , Shell , BHP , Vinson & Elkins , Microsoft , ENGIE North America Inc. , Rice Management Company, Saint-Gobain , Sunnova Energy International Inc ., The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact , SCF Partners , Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co ., Direct Energy , CenterPoint Energy, Gexa Energy , and Wells Fargo . Greentown Labs also announced its four Grand Opening Partners, including Naturgy , FCC Environmental Services (FCC) , EIV Capital , and Williams .

Greentown Houston is actively welcoming new startup members to its incubator. To learn more about Greentown Houston, visit www.greentownlabs.com or attend the virtual Grand Opening celebration with Mayor Turner on April 22 at 2:00 p.m. CT / 3:00 p.m. ET. Tune in here to view the livestream.

About Greentown Labs

Greentown Labs is a community of climate action pioneers working to design a more sustainable world. As the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America, Greentown Labs brings together startups, corporates, investors, policymakers, and many others with a focus on scaling climate solutions. Driven by the mission of providing startups the resources, knowledge, connections, and equipment they need to thrive, Greentown Labs offers lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, an electronics lab, software and business resources, and a large network of corporate customers, investors, and more. With its headquarters in Somerville, Mass. and a recently opened incubator in Houston, Texas, Greentown Labs is home to more than 140 startups and has supported more than 330 startups since the incubator's founding in 2011. These startups have collectively created more than 6,500 direct jobs and have raised more than $1.2 billion in funding. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or Twitter , Facebook , and LinkedIn .

Greentown Labs Media Contact:

Julia Travaglini

VP of Marketing & Communications

[email protected]

603-867-3657

SOURCE Greentown Labs

Related Links

www.greentownlabs.org


By Mrinalika Roy and Manas Mishra

(Reuters) - Biogen Inc beat estimates for quarterly profit on stronger-than-expected sales for its muscle wasting disorder drug, although concerns over its reliance on its yet-to-be approved Alzheimer's therapy, aducanumab, weighed on shares.

The drugmaker declined to provide details on talks with the U.S. FDA about the drug's product label, which analysts said could be interpreted as a slower-than-expected regulatory progress for the therapy.

Aducanumab, which could become a blockbuster quickly, if approved, has faced a bumpy regulatory road, with outside experts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voting against the treatment last year. The FDA is due to decide on the drug by June 7.

Biogen has been under pressure on multiple fronts, with its mainstay multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera, facing increasing competition from cheaper drugs, pushing the company to pin its future growth on the Alzheimer's drug.

"Should aducanumab fail to gain approval in June 2021, that would leave Biogen with little in the way of a contingency plan and heavier reliance on pipeline assets," Wedbush analyst Laura Chico said.

Critics argue that more data is needed to show the effectiveness of the drug but those in favor of an approval have pointed to the large unmet medical need for Alzheimer's disease.

The company reiterated that its 2021 forecast includes possible sales from the treatment and said 600 sites are ready to treat patients with the drug.

Sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera more than halved in the first quarter to $479.3 million and the company is also facing competition for its other growth driver, spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza.

The company's quarterly profit, however, beat estimates, as sales of Spinraza fell less than expected.

Excluding items, Biogen earned $5.34 per share, above expectations of $5.04.

The company's shares were down 3% at $261.5 in midday trading.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Writing by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)
Photo: Glacier Media

Stay off private property and look before you cross.

Those are two of several safety messages being delivered in light of new stats from 2020 involving railroad accidents.

In North America last year, more than 2,200 people either suffered serious injuries or died from more than 3,400 train collisions, prompting CN Police to issue warnings about the risks of trespassing on railways.

Safety is a core value at CN and we want to take every opportunity to raise awareness on safe behaviour around rail, says Const. Peter M. Talvio of the Pacific Division, adding the only safe (and legal) way to cross train tracks is at a designated railway crossing.

It is our job to make sure that everyone knows that trespassing is not only illegal, it can be fatal.

CN Police remind the public it's illegal to trespass on railway yards, train tracks, tunnels and bridges.

If caught, trespassers could receive a violation ticket of up to $115, but also face possible criminal charges and a larger fine of up to $50,000.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Two people were killed and one was injured in a car explosion Thursday morning at Arshakunyats Avenue in Yerevan, authorities said.

Firefighters and first responders are at the scene.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations said it received a 911 call at 07:58.

Authorities didnt report what the possible cause of the explosion was.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in Moscow on a working visit. He is scheduled to hold talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

The Belarusian leader was met by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko and Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko, the BelTA news agency reported.

The Belarusian leaders press service earlier reported that issues related to the Union State would be on the agenda. Lukashenko and Putin are expected to discuss the current Belarusian-Russian relations, focusing on trade and economic cooperation. It is also planned that issues related to cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and further steps to restore full-fledged transport communication will be raised. In addition, Lukashenko and Putin will discuss joint response to current challenges and threats and exchange views on international issues and the situation in the region.

The previous meeting between the Russian and Belarusian leaders was held on February 22 in Sochi.
In 2020, more than 3,000 calls from citizens were received due to this initiative. The most frequently asked questions were related to family law, neighbourly relations, consumer goods, labour and management of estates.
Samsung is considering buying NXP Semiconductors as its biggest acquisition ever.

Samsung semiconductor division is currently one of the best in the business with some amazing products like Exynos processors. Now, it seems that Samsung wants to acquire a dutch semiconductor manufacturer to expand its reach.

According to Barrons (via SamMobile) the NXP Semiconductors is the same company that Samsung wants to acquire. The NXP has a $55 billion market cap, so it wouldnt be an easy trade for Samsung. However, having $114 billion in cash will increase Samsungs chance for this acquisition.

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Samsung Electronics is a leading manufacturer in the semiconductor industry, and acquiring a new semiconductor business may not seem reasonable. But paying piles of money for NXP Semiconductors has a specific reason.

NXP Semiconductors is one of the top manufacturers in the automotive semiconductor market. So acquiring it will allow Samsung to establish its position in the automotive industry. Continental AG, a German automotive parts manufacturer, currently accounts for 10% of NXPs revenue.

Dates back to February, Samsungs CFO Choi Yoon-ho revealed some of the companys plans for entering the automotive semiconductor industry and acquiring a business in this field. However, the deal is not finalized yet and the two sides must discuss the details of the transaction.

Advertisement

Acquiring NXP is the biggest acquisition of Samsung ever

Samsung is usually very conservative when it comes to buying new businesses. The biggest acquisition of the Korean OEM was in 2016 when they paid $8 billion for Harman International, an American audio electronics company.

The NXP Semiconductors is currently worth $55 billion and its unlikely that Samsung would pay all this money in cash. There isnt any more information about the deal yet, but Samsung is serious about the acquisition. Moreover, Samsung seems to be obsessed with the automotive semiconductor market, and theyre willing to close the deal as soon as possible.

Texas Instruments and Microchip Technologies are other targets for Samsung, but NXP has a better chance of signing the deal with the Korean company.

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The semiconductor industry has seen many big deals in recent years, including Nvidias $40 billion deal with ARM and AMDs offer for buying Xilinx at $35 billion.

As vehicles become more integrated with technology, the market size of the automotive semiconductor industry is constantly rising. Acquiring NXP Semiconductors will be a high-yield deal for Samsung. Moreover, it allows the Korean company to play an active role in the future of automotive technology.
Damascus, April 22 : Israel launched a missile attack on targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, injuring four soldiers, state TV reported.

The Israeli attack was launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Xinhua news agency quoted the state TV report as saying citing a military source.

It added that the Syrian air defences responded to the attack, destroying most of the missiles.

Residents in the capital heard the air defences' firing while tracing the Israeli targets in the sky.

Media said the move was in response to the launch of a Syrian missile earlier in the day, which fell in the Negev desert, not far from Isreal's Negev Nuclear Research Centre.

The previous Syrian attack set off air raid sirens in the village of Abu Qrenat, several kilometres away from Israel's Negev Nuclear Research Center, and triggered responses from the Israeli air defense force, according to media reports.
The company has invested US$1mln in AEON, which offers non-fungible token-based verification technology to strengthen product authentication for designer goods and combat luxury counterfeiting

( ) said it made its maiden investment in the non-fungible token (NFT) space by acquiring a stake in AEON International, a technology developer for the luxury fashion industry.

The company said it invested US$1mln in AEON through an oversubscribed funding round, joining other significant investors including an NYSE-listed Chinese ecommerce giant.

Based in Hong Kong and operating across Europe, the US and the Asia Pacific, AEON uses digital solutions to support and innovate supply chain processes in the luxury fashion sector, with clients including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Gucci and Michael Kors.

AEON also offers NFT-based verification technology to strengthen product authentication for designer goods and combat luxury counterfeiting, while its business division, AUTHENTIQUE, is applying NFT technology to open new revenue streams through minting unique fashion NFTs and by using smart contracts written into NFTs to grant original product manufacturers ongoing royalties for each physical product resold.

Meanwhile, NFT also announced that it will pay the salaries and bonuses of its board and management team entirely in cryptocurrency with immediate effect, adding that the salaries will be converted from fiat currency to Ether at the spot rate on the last day of the month.

"AEON is a pioneer in fashion technology that is leading the way in demonstrating the concrete benefits that NFTs can bring the fashion industry. The market opportunity for NFTs in the industry is huge, beyond using NFTs to establish digital ownership and verify the transfer of luxury products, AEON is also advancing the frontier of digital-first fashion products using NFTs. We expect this to be a growing future market and are delighted to support AEON alongside a roster of high calibre investors, NFT Investments executive chairman Jonathan Bixby said in a statement.

"NFT Investments' DNA and growth is based on digital currencies and assets, so it is perfectly appropriate that our team is showing its conviction in the long-term value of crypto by receiving their emoluments in cryptocurrencies. I am delighted to be a part of the first company worldwide to achieve this milestone," he added.
Alex Salmond has accused the BBC of making constant attempts to re-try allegations of sexual assault, of which he was acquitted.

The Alba Party leader hit out during an at-times tense interview by the BBCs The Nine programme, broadcast on Wednesday.

He was asked by presenter Rebecca Curran: Nicola Sturgeon and other party leaders have expressed concerns you might not be fit for office.

You want voters to judge you, to decide, so what are they voting for?

Are they voting for a man who thinks its OK to go to bed for what you described yourself as a sleepy cuddle with a staff member half your age in the first ministers residence, or are they voting for a man who thinks that is not OK?

Mr Salmond, 66, said: I think most fair-minded people in Scotland believe once a jury has decided, then the case is over.

Most fair-minded people dont appreciate the constant attempts by the BBC to re-try the case.

I made my position absolutely clear in the trial, the jury heard all the evidence and came to a conclusion.

The case was heard, I was found innocent, it is now time to move on. And Alba is moving on to discuss the future of Scotland.

As far as the other party leaders are concerned, in this campaign Im talking about the national, not the personal, and I think both participants and commentators on the campaign would do very well to follow that.

Last March Mr Salmond was cleared of sexually assaulting nine women following an 11-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

He was found not guilty on 12 charges and one charge of sexual assault was found not proven.
SYDNEY, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Gordon Brothers and Ritchie Bros. have created a formal joint venture, the Gordon Brothers & Ritchie Bros. Alliance. The Alliance provides end-to-end asset advisory and asset remarketing services to the insolvency and restructuring market in Australia and South East Asia.

The new Alliance will generate superior outcomes for clients, ranging from administrators, creditors, receivers, bankers, and financiers to the businesses in distress. The Alliance already has a strong track record in the mining, agriculture, construction, and transport sectors. Clients will benefit from global reach and leverage of the Alliance and the ability to provide cash-backed, guaranteed outcomes.

"By entering into a strategic partnership, we're able to present the market with the best end-to-end industrial asset advisory and realisation solution for distressed businesses, particularly those operating in the mining, agriculture, construction, and transport sectors," said Matt Aubrey, Managing Director at Gordon Brothers. "This is a formal joint venture between two market leading global companies that will raise the bar in asset advisory and realisation, delivering a valuable service for clients dealing with difficult and complex circumstances."

"The two companies bring unrivalled expertise and experience in their respective fields," said Finlay Massey, Sales Director APAC, Ritchie Bros. "While the Alliance is launching in Australia and South East Asia as a formal joint venture, the benefits of the relationship are already tried and tested. Gordon Brothers and Ritchie Bros. have, over the past three years, worked together to realise over AU$200 million worth of assets in the U.S."

"This is not just an exercise in helping restructuring and insolvency businesses recoup losses for investors and creditors, this is a partnership that will help businesses going through a restructuring or insolvency process to achieve the best possible outcome from asset sales to enable them to course correct," Mr. Aubrey said. "Achieving the highest price can make all the difference in the recovery of a business."

Backed by the world's largest database of buyers and sellers of industrial equipment and its 24/7 digital marketplace, the Alliance is confident its global expertise and scale will ensure the successful valuation and sale of assets for businesses and their restructuring and insolvency partners.

"We deploy advanced technology, data-led sales opportunities and the world's largest network for realising industrial assets to secure the best possible outcome for clients," said Mr. Andrew Cotton, Head of Alliance, Gordon Brothers & Ritchie Bros. Alliance. "With decades of experience and expertise, we're a safe choice for any distressed business, particularly those in the mining, agriculture, construction and transport space."

About Gordon Brothers & Ritchie Bros. Alliance

The Gordon Brothers and Ritchie Bros . Alliance is a joint venture between two market leaders in their field with deep understanding of distressed businesses and assets, and a strong track record in the mining, agriculture, construction and transport sectors.

. Alliance is a joint venture between two market leaders in their field with deep understanding of distressed businesses and assets, and a strong track record in the mining, agriculture, construction and transport sectors. The Alliance provides an end-to-end asset advisory and realisation solution for industrial assets, heavy equipment and trucks. Clients benefit from combined expertise, a global network and a seamless delivery throughout the process, with a central point of contact  resulting in an exceptional experience for clients.

The Alliance combines a deep knowledge of distressed situations and asset valuation with the benefits of a worldwide remarketing network. Its global reach and advanced technology enable the business to provide the best industrial asset realisation service in the market, standing behind their value opinions with cash backed guaranteed outcomes.

Clients benefit from access to the world's largest database for industrial asset realisation, world leading multichannel selling platforms, and 40 auction sites worldwide.

About Gordon Brothers

Since 1903, Gordon Brothers (www.gordonbrothers.com) has helped lenders, operating executives, advisors and investors move forward through change.

The firm brings a powerful combination of expertise and capital to clients, developing customized solutions on an integrated or standalone basis across four service areas: valuations, dispositions, operations and investments. Whether to fuel growth or facilitate strategic consolidation, Gordon Brothers partners with companies in the retail, commercial and industrial sectors to put assets to their highest and best use.

Gordon Brothers conducts more than $70 billion worth of dispositions and appraisals annually. Gordon Brothers is headquartered in Boston with over 30 offices across five continents.

Ritchie Bros.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
A Mayfield man who admitted visiting a Carbondale woman about the time she was murdered will face further action in Lackawanna County Court on a weapons charge.

Magisterial District Judge John Pesota sent the case against Jerry Koezeno to county court after a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

State police arrested Koezeno, 54, of 616 Poplar St., on April 14 with possession of a rifle that he was not allowed to have because of a series of felony convictions in Florida.

No one has been charged with killing Suzanne Pauswinski, 55, in the Carbondale apartment. She was found dead March 29 of multiple stab wounds.

Koezeno remains jailed in the Lackawanna County Prison, unable to post $100,000 bail.
The Center of the International Association of Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding and the International Association Turkmen Alabay was inaugurated in Ashgabat. The opening ceremony was attended by the leaders of parliament, senior government officials and representatives of the ministries, departments, public associations, mass media and the Ashgabat city administration.

A meeting of the International Association Turkmen Alabay was held in the conference hall of the new center. Opening the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister, President of the International Association of Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding and Chairman of the International Association Turkmen Alabay Serdar Berdimuhamedov congratulated everyone on the National Day of Turkmen Horse and Day of Turkmen Alabay, which this year will be celebrated jointly for the first time on the last Sunday of April.

Turning to the meeting agenda, Serdar Berdimuhamedov proposed to amend the Charter of the organization. According to it, the chairman of the Association will become its president, and the deputy chairman of the Association - its vice president. It was also proposed to establish Brave Turkmen Alabay of the Year medal to be awarded to the winner of the international competition to be held annually in April. The forum participants unanimously supported these proposals.

The forum concluded with the award ceremony on the occasion of the National Day of Turkmen Horse and Day Turkmen Alabay. According to the decree by the President of Turkmenistan, the most distinguished horse and dog breeders of the country were awarded honorary titles.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
U.S. businesses are urging the Biden administration to aim to cut greenhouse gases by at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The more than 300 businesses and investors include big companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Coca-Cola.

The target would be nearly two times the nations earlier goal and require major changes to the power, transportation and other industries. President Biden has promised to announce the 2030 goal before a virtual climate conference opens on April 22.

In a letter to Biden, the businesses said the U.S. needs a bold target to reach a carbon-free future and create millions of well-paying jobs.

Investing in clean energy and clean transportation can build a strong, more equitable and more inclusive American economy, they wrote. The letter was organized by We Mean Business, a group of companies that supports action to speed up a move to a carbon-free economy.

Companies with big energy holdings, including Exelon, General Electric, PG&E and Edison International, also signed the letter.

Several European lawmakers, business executives and union leaders also recently urged the U.S. to cut its greenhouse gases in half by 2030. They called for a cooperative alliance to fight climate change and work toward a low-carbon economy.

The letter from U.S. business leaders to the Democratic president comes as breaks are growing between corporate America and the Republican Party. Corporations have begun distancing themselves from Republican conspiracy theories and rejections of climate science, as well as the refusal to accept the 2020 election results.

Millions of Americans are already feeling the effects of climate change, the business leaders wrote to Biden. They noted the severe winter storm that caused electricity failures in Texas, deadly wildfires in California and record-breaking hurricanes in the South.

Biden brought the U.S. back into the Paris climate agreement and has made climate issues central to his presidency. But more action is needed, the business leaders wrote. An effective national climate plan will require all of us, they added. The leaders noted that Biden alone can set the path by quickly establishing a bold U.S. 2030 target.

Im Alice Bryant.

The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

__________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

greenhouse gases  n. gases, such as carbon dioxide, that trap heat in the Earths atmosphere

bold  adj. not afraid of danger or difficult situations

conspiracy theory  n. a theory that explains an event or situation as the result of a secret plan by usually powerful people or groups

hurricane  n. an extremely large, powerful, and destructive storm with very strong winds that occurs especially in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean
New Delhi:

Spain's government said on Monday Catalonia's separatist leader had failed to make it clear whether he had declared independence, urging him to say by Thursday whether he was maintaining his campaign to break the region away from Spain.

"The government regrets that the president of the Catalan government has decided not to respond to the request made by the government," deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters.

"In an issue as important such as this all that was asked, and all we are asking for, is clarity," she said, adding that Puigdemont had until Thursday at 10 am (8 am GMT) to make clear his intentions.

Last week, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government had set a Monday deadline for Puigdemont to explicitly say whether or not he proclaimed that Catalonia was breaking away from Spain.

File image of people carrying "esteladas" or independence flag in Barcelona. APFile image of people carrying "esteladas" or independence flag in Barcelona. AP"The government regrets that the president of the Catalan government has decided not to respond to the request made by the government," deputy prime minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters.

"In an issue as important such as this all that was asked, and all we are asking for, is clarity," she said, adding that Puigdemont had until Thursday at 10 am (8 am GMT) to make clear his intentions.

Last week, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government had set a Monday deadline for Puigdemont to explicitly say whether or not he proclaimed that Catalonia was breaking away from Spain.

In a letter sent to Rajoy, Puigdemont did not give a clear "yes" or "no" answer to the government's question and called instead for two months of dialogue.

He also requested that Spanish authorities halt "all repression" in Catalonia and requested a meeting with Rajoy "as soon as possible". In a written response to Puigdemont, Rajoy said a clarification was "absolutely necessary".

"I hope that in the hours that remain until the second deadline... you reply with all the clarity that citizens demand and the law requires," Rajoy said in his letter.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
President Joe Biden has made good on a campaign promise by signing an executive order creating a commission to examine Supreme Court reforms.

The most obvious reform which Biden has consistently refused to rule out is adding seats or court-packing.

This particular reform has a long history of being wielded as a political sword. Every discussion of court-packing includes the phrase, the number has been nine since 1869, but the court was actually first expanded to nine justices in 1837.

In 1866, Radical Republicans in Congress lowered the number to seven in order to guarantee that Andrew Johnson wouldnt have the opportunity to appoint anyone. After Grant, a Republican, succeeded Johnson, Congress raised the number back to nine.

In 1937, Franklin D. Roosevelt successfully applied pressure on the court to accept his constitutionally questionable legislative agenda by threatening to add seats. Ultimately, Roosevelts court reform applied enough political pressure on the court to force much of his New Deal agenda through, and Justice Owen Roberts sudden ideological shift became known as the switch in time that saved nine. Biden himself has referred to Roosevelts reform strategy as corrupt and a power grab.

Another possible tactic is limiting the terms of the justices. The Washington Post editorial board suggests that term limits would drain some of the intensity from Supreme Court politics by providing both parties with foreseeable, regular opportunities to nominate justices.

Unfortunately, while term limits may make the political branches treat court seats with less urgency, they also invite political motivations to infect the courtsomething that reform should be designed to avoid not cause.

The entire Supreme Court is designed by the framers to ensure that it wont function as a political branch. The framers believed that the best way to do that was to insulate the justices from all forms of political motivation.

Alexander Hamilton stated in Federalist No. 78, If  the courts of justice are to be considered as the bulwarks of a limited Constitution against legislative encroachments, this consideration will afford a strong argument for the permanent tenure of judicial offices, since nothing will contribute so much as this to that independent spirit in the judges.

Consider the effects of a life term: justices dont ever have to consider elections, approval ratings, fundraising, endorsements, or their next joball of which invite politics to motivate their behavior. If sitting on the Supreme Court isnt going to be their final job, all of these political variables suddenly come into play.

Nothing provides a better window into how the Supreme Court functions differently than a political branch than the recent attempts to throw out election results in states that Biden won in the 2020 election.

The Supreme Court, comprised of six justices appointed by Republicans and only three appointed by Democrats, rejected all attempts to throw out state election results in 2020. In fact, Yougov polling showed that after SCOTUS rejected one of the cases, their approval fell from 72 percent among Republicans to 39 percent. Conversely, their approval among Democrats rose from 35 to 57 percent. If the justices relied on politics to keep their jobs or to set up their next jobs, they couldnt endure a hit like that.

Meanwhile, in Congressa political branchthere was much less willingness among Republicans to reject overturning the elections because congresspersons need to keep voters happy, raise money, and keep their jobs.

What if a justice wanted to run for office after their term? Cases might become more about pleasing potential voters than doing impartial justice.

Making the Supreme Court more like Congress isnt reform; its destruction.

Eddie Zipperer is a political columnist and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Georgia Military College. He wrote this for InsideSources.
After several years of political turbulence, Leon Valley voters face another key decision about City Council leadership in the May 1 election.

In 2019, a council majority ousted City Councilor Benny Martinez through a process known as forfeiture. Hed been accused of violating the city charter by undermining the city manager and giving orders to staff members outside the chain of command.

Then last year, a council majority pursued the removal of longtime Mayor Chris Riley and Councilor Will D. Bradshaw. But in November, voters overwhelming supported a recall of two members of that majority. One of the leaders of the recall effort won a seat on the council.

On ExpressNews.com: Controversial police chief replaced in Leon Valley

In the latest controversy in the suburban community of 11,000, Councilor Josh Stevens, leader of the recall, was charged with assault on a peace officer and interfering with public duties. Then-Police Chief Joe Salvaggio accused Stevens of elbowing him in the chest after a council meeting last year.

The Bexar County District Attorneys Office last week dismissed the charges for insufficient evidence.

The city also has seen major staff upheaval in recent months. Former City Manager Kelly Kuenstler resigned at the end of 2020, and Salvaggio recently was fired by Acting City Manager Crystal Caldera.

David Gonzalez, a police veteran who joined the Leon Valley force in 2017, is now the police chief, and the council has hired Gilbert T. Perales, deputy city manager of Arlington, to become the new city manager effective in July.

Some see those changes as signs of progress for Leon Valley. Others arent so sure, and dont completely trust the leaders now in place.

In the May 1 election, voters will fill seats in three different council constituencies.

Martinez and Catherine Rodriguez, who lost her Council seat in November, are both trying to get back on the council, in separate races.

Tom Reel /Staff photographer

Martinez is running in Place 1, facing political newcomer Elaine Valdez and Evan Bohl, who ran unsuccessfully for the Texas House last year.

Martinez, a 69-year-old electronic technician and business owner, was a frequent critic of Kuenstler and Salvaggio.

He wants to phase out the citys red-light cameras and re-evaluate the police department, which he said is overstaffed. He says the city also needs to rethink its zoning rules in order to attract businesses. That would generate more sales tax revenue for the city treasury, paving the way for property tax relief, he said.

Valdez, a retired recreational therapist, said she wants to encourage mixed-use development, neighborhood connectivity and aesthetics along a revamped boulevard-style Bandera Road corridor. She also wants to fill vacancies on city boards and committees to give residents a greater voice in government.

I want to improve the quality of life in our city and look back on my service and see the progress I helped to create, Valdez, 65, said at a recent candidate forum held by the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area.

On ExpressNews.com: Leon Valley councilman accused of elbowing police chief

Bohl, a business owner, favors burying utility lines as part of the states Bandera corridor upgrades.

He said hed start a diversity committee to help Black residents and business owners and other people of color feel welcome in Leon Valley. Bohl said the city needs a specialized crisis management team to respond to police calls involving individuals in mental distress.

The reason why Im running is to ensure that we reduce our liabilities in city government, reduce the sensationalism in our meetings, bring the facts back, said Bohl, 30.

In Place 3, Jed Hefner, an information technology consultant who was appointed to the council in December, faces Danielle Carriere Bolton, an educator.

Hefner, 37, said hes tried to be a calming, fiscally responsible force on the council. He aims to facilitate upgrades to the citys aging swimming pools and other infrastructure, primarily through a bond issue that voters would have to approve.

He also wants to foster opportunities for businesses by avoiding over-regulation. Hefner said he opposes red-light cameras as the wrong way for a city to generate revenue, and he views a multi-lane parkway concept as the most viable design for Bandera Road.

By setting aside our differences and working together, we can remove the burdens that have prevented our city from achieving its potential, Hefner said.

Bolton, 49, said she wants to reduce the citys property tax rate and streamline spending, while promoting cleanliness and beautification. She favors a boulevard design for Bandera and supports well-thought-out regulations for subletting and short-term rentals to prevent problems in neighborhoods.

She said she hopes the council can work as a team, and she promised to devote the time and effort to listening to both sides of the story and making only decisions that are based on proven facts, not based on somebodys hidden agenda or hearsay.

The Place 5 race pits two candidates who have had bad blood: Bradshaw, the incumbent seeking a second term, and Rodriguez, who was unseated last year by Stevens, Bradshaws friend and political ally.

/

During the 2019 hearing to remove Martinez, Bradshaw said he had heard Rodriguez say, while attending a gathering in a Helotes bar, that she and others had a plan for Bennyto get him. He said she made the remark three days before filing a sexual harassment complaint against Martinez.

Rodriguez denied making the remark. The harassment allegations were not supported as part of the councils 2-1 vote to remove Martinez from office. Bradshaw cast the dissenting vote.

On ExpressNews.com: Judge issues injunction to stop Leon Valley councilmans removal

Rodriguez, 50, served one term on the council. She has a doctorate in education and is an independent contractor. Her priorities on the council have included public safety, improved city services and responsible growth, according to her biography on the citys website.

She did not attend the recent candidate forum.

Bradshaw, a supply chain manager, said he wants to be responsive to residents and support maintenance of parks and other amenities that attract families. He opposes red-light cameras, saying state data show accidents have more than doubled in Leon Valley since they were installed in 2018. He said the city should use outside oversight to make sure its police force does not engage in discriminatory profiling or use excessive force.

I dont have a personal agenda, said Bradshaw, 48. Its about what the citizens want.

shuddleston@express-news.net
Three years after a malfunctioning storage tank destroyed thousands of frozen eggs and embryos at an Ohio fertility clinic, its former lab director is blaming what he described as bungling staff and administrators who ignored his warnings.

The claims made for the first time in legal filings this month have ignited a flurry of accusations between University Hospitals in Cleveland and its former employee and his attorney.

Andrew Bhatnager, who oversaw the clinic's fertility tanks, said in an affidavit quickly sealed by a judge that a series of avoidable mistakes led to the tank failure. He also said he was pressured by the hospital's lawyers to withhold details about what went wrong.

Hospital attorneys called his statements salacious, misleading and untrue and have asked a northeastern Ohio court to stop Bhatnager's lawyer from releasing what it says is confidential information. A judge has scheduled a hearing for Friday to consider the request.

The back and forth erupted in what is one of the last remaining lawsuits against the hospital from the loss of more than 4,000 frozen eggs and embryos in March 2018. That failure and a second one the same day at a fertility clinic in San Francisco were the biggest such losses on record in the U.S., causing centers around the nation to review their procedures.

University Hospitals already has settled with hundreds of couples who had stored their eggs and embryos at the clinic and were devastated because the tank failures meant they might not be able to have their own children. Some had been trying for years to get pregnant, suffered multiple miscarriages or undergone cancer treatments that destroyed their fertility.

Just weeks after the storage tank failure, University Hospitals sent a letter to its patients saying that the tank had been malfunctioning for weeks and that someone had turned off an alarm system that should have alerted staff when its temperature began to rise.

The maker of the tank, which has been a target in other lawsuits, said its initial investigation concluded its equipment didnt malfunction and that missteps were made at the clinic in suburban Cleveland.

Little else has been released about what happened because all of the settlements with the families have been private and many of the documents filed in the lawsuits have been sealed.

But Bhatnager, one of several hospital employees included in the lawsuits, shared his version of the events this month after a rift developed between him and his former lawyers, who also represented University Hospitals. He accused the hospital of making him a scapegoat and said its attorneys wanted to stop him from telling the truth.

His new attorney publicly filed statements in a Geauga County court. In his affidavit, Bhatnager said he warned hospital administrators during his 18-month tenure that the fertility center was understaffed and had too many unqualified workers.

He said he was was not at the lab when the disaster occurred on March 4, 2018.

The staff, he said, failed to follow his instructions to move the embryos and eggs into another tank while the primary was undergoing maintenance and also didn't properly fill the tank with liquid nitrogen to maintain the right temperatures.

Bhatnagers lawyer, Subodh Chandra, has said the public has a right to know what happened.

But attorneys for University Hospitals want Chandra held in contempt of court, saying he publicly disclosed documents that contained confidential attorney-client information in an attempt to influence potential jurors with explosive and unsupported allegations.

To be clear, this is not about hiding the truth. Rather, this is about making sure that an unbiased jury is responsible for determining the truth  and not news organizations fed by improper and false allegations from an attorney whose client admittedly has ulterior motives, the hospital's attorneys said in a court filing.
The tech PR market took a small hit during the pandemic year, but there were plenty of bright spots in the midst of a taxing situation.

While the top 10 firms overall saw net fees from tech clients drop by 4.9 percent in 2020, six of those firmsHighwire PR (#4) , Walker Sands (#6), PAN Communications (#7), ICR (#8), The Hoffman Agency (#9) and Inkhouse (#10)actually billed more last year than they did in 2019. The top 50 firms were down 5.3 percent, from $620 million to $586.9 million.

While Edelman remained in the top spot, it experienced an 8.7 percent slide from $274.7 million in tech-related net fees to $250.6 million. Number-two Hotwire was also down a bit, dropping from $42.2 million to $41.7 million.

Finn Partners, which came in third, dipped from $32 million to $30 million, and number-five Zeno Group fell from $22.6 million to $20.9 million.

Meeting the Challenges

Heather Kernahan

Hotwire CEO, North America Heather Kernahan said that despite the hurdles of the past year, the agency maintained a really strong business.

It remained in the number-two spot in the tech rankings, and Kernahan said the business performance underscores our position as trusted, strategic consultants for our clients and our ability to create momentum in challenging circumstances.

She adds that the accelerated pace demanded by the past years many changes has both a downside and an upside.

The speed of technological development has led to a growth in opportunities for communicators, she notes. Companies have had to deliver at an incredible pace and I think well continue to see the need for enterprise tech to continue to deliver in new ways, faster.

But she also warns of tech burnout. There is nothing like the always-on nature and pace of tech communications and PR and with the lines between work and home blurring even more this past year, we have had to be hyper-aware of making sure our teams take the time to unplug.

Client needs have changed as well, Kernahan says, with the uncertainty of the current environment meaning that for many clients throwing out the playbook and navigating how to adjust plans was a necessity.

She also says that the changes brought about by the work-from-home environment are here to stay. Many of the tools and technologies that are now core components of the enterprise technology stacks that make WFH possible will remain critical.

One of the biggest challenges firms face in the coming year, she says, is making sure that the lessons learned from the pandemic remain in place. As the world creates a new normal, communicators cant lose sight of the guidelines we put in place this past year that helped determine what messages were most important, most helpful and most authentic.

Making an Impact

Emily Borders

Highwire PR brought on 15 people in 2020, and grew by 24 percent. According to Highwire principal Emily Borders, thats because the agency outlined a strategy at the beginning of the pandemic that saw us through the entire year.

That strategy was based on helping clients and employees navigate the disruption caused by the pandemic. With swift action, Borders said, we were able to create an environment where our teams and work had a real impact.

There was an increased demand for integrated digital offerings, virtual event support and experiential marketing in the past year, according to Borders. She also says that Highwire has noticed more conversation around data-driven PR and the use of data-driven insights.

Highwires beefed-up digital team allowed the agency to expand its digital services beyond owned social media program into sophisticated amplification across multiple channels.

Borders sees the intersection of health and technology as an area primed for major growth over the next year. That doesnt mean just COVID-related efforts, either. Were also seeing the same level of transformation across treatment for chronic conditions, heart health and mental health/wellness.

Cybersecurity and the enterprise technology space should also experience major growth, she says.

For success in 2021 and beyond, Borders says that creating a thoughtful approach to building culture and positive team dynamics will be critical.

She also stresses the importance of creating full top-to-bottom strategic communications programs, including brand building, sales enablement, lead generation and internal employee engagement. Demonstrating a distributed wealth of expertise, she says, will put agencies in the best position to succeed.

Getting Closer to Clients

Mike Santoro

Moving up one spot on the list, Walker Sands had a great 2020, according to CEO Mike Santoro. Fees from tech clients rose from $18.8 million to $20.2 million, a jump of 7.5 percent.

In addition to a team that has been working their butts off, that performance was driven by our strong reputation for B2B marketing and a world-class sales and marketing team.

As far as the tech sector is concerned, Santoro zeroes in on two major trends: SPACs and a potential antitrust backlash against Big Tech. Tech companies have been the big beneficiaries of SPACs, he says, and any meaningful activity on the antitrust front could unleash new VC investment as money follows new opportunities.

Some other areas of potential growth are no-code and low-code platforms for the enterprise, asynchronous learning solutions for K-12 education, and telehealth technology.

Walker Sands clients exhibited increased interest in branding, web design and development, and marketing strategy work, Santoro says. In Q2 and Q3, he notes, many clients ramped down customer acquisition spend and took a fresh look at brand-oriented projects they had been putting off.

One positive effect of the pandemic, he says, is that weve been able to get closer and much more personal with many of our clients That personal connection has led to more candid conversations and ultimately stronger relationships.

While Santoro says that Walker Sands has learned to pitch new business and handle large quarterly business reviews remotely, he still sees some role for in-person professional interaction in the new normal. But given the time saved and the nature of distributed teams, I think youll continue to see some of the big in-person moments continue in a virtual environment.

A Focus on Flexibility

Mark Nardone

Theres no doubt this year challenged us in all aspects, said PAN Communications executive vice president Mark Nardone, but we saw a roughly five percent increase in revenue.

PAN saw its tech-related fees rise from $19.3 million in 2019 to $20 million last year, an increase that Nardone attributes to solid performance around organic growth and a very healthy new business pipeline.

Another strong point is the resiliency and flexibility of the tech sector in general, allowing tech companies to be able to adapt to the potential crisis that arose during the pandemic.

Nardone also says that in the past year companies relied upon agencies and corporate communications teams to help them step into a bigger role in their industries, and some cases, in society.

Sectors that had a good year include remote work, cybersecurity, automation, healthcare, vertical tech, fintech, and logistics and supply chain. Areas facing a bit of pushback included B2B technology that sold into travel-hospitality, small businesses and early-stage brands.

PAN executive vice president, client relations Darlene Doyle said that the agency built more trust equity in 2020 than ever before. She attributes that rise to the agencys collaboration with clients on quickly refocusing programs to meet changing needs, coming up with new creative ideas to fill program gaps and being flexible on budgets.

Nardone is optimistic about what the coming year will bring. He says that HRtech and enterprise tech are a driving sector that is becoming increasingly important as remote work remains relevant. He also sees major opportunities in such sectors as fintech, automation, cybersecurity and healthcare.

But he cautions against growing too rapidly and losing focus on what truly differentiates your firm. To keep that focus, he says that firms should be people-first operations, prioritizing great talent, amazing training and development, and a culture that emphasizes work/life balance.

Clients are Asking for More

Sami McCabe

With $9 million in tech-related fees in 2020, Clarity enters the ODwyers tech listings at #14.

Clarity founder and CEO Sami McCabe said that his agency achieved growth across several fronts last year. We increased revenues by 47 percent, staff numbers by 42 percent and promoted 19 people globally. The firm also established a partner network across 30 countries and acquired a wholly owned office in Amsterdam.

Clients are asking more from agencies in the wake of 2020s events, according to McCabe. When the world shut down, clients were looking for a team that could adapt to their needs in real time, he said, as well as one that could service their business in a world that had suddenly become borderless.

To succeed with tech clients, he says, firms need to look at the sector not just as an industry vertical but as a mindset for businesses looking to drive positive change.

Because of that, the definition of a tech client has extended outside the sectors previous boundaries. We are seeing more and more opportunities to partner with companies outside of the traditional tech industry, but companies that have established and grown themselves with the mentality of the new tech business model.

The necessity of redefinition applies to tech-related agencies as well as to tech companies, McCabe says. Firms need to reimagine the mold of what a tech communications agency is, and can offer to clients.

Demonstrating the Importance of PR

Curtis Sparrer

Although Bospar principal and co-founder Curtis Sparrer says that the early days of the pandemic caused the loss of nearly a quarter of the firms business, it came back in a big way over the course of 2020, with an 8.8 percent jump in tech-related fees (from $5.7 million to $6.2 million), moving up one spot on the ODwyers tech rankings to #18.

Bospar fought the knee-jerk reaction from many companies to cut PR spending during the COVID-19 crisis by providing clients with research and talking points showing the need for PR during economic downturns. The research was compelling, Sparrer said, showing a near majority of Americans can trace their purchase decisions to PR.

Sparrer says that anything the cloud touched had a good 2020, while anything that related to travel, hospitality and being around people took a hit.

One major trend Sparrer saw in the past year: More executives were communicating on video than ever beforeeither on Zoom or in webinars. In response to that trend, the agency retooled its broadcast media training service and led a webinar for the San Francisco PRSA chapter on the best ways to make webcasting work for executives.

He also noted that the virtual landscape has sped up the pace of business. Before COVID, you would meet in person for brainstorms, and then finally with the clients for a presentation, Sparrer said. Now we just show up at our computer.

On the horizon for the coming year, Sparrer sees a big comeback for the travel and hospitality clients that were so strongly impacted by the pandemic.

And power of the cloud will remain front and center. The cloud is the infrastructure of the future, he says. And infrastructure matters.
BRUSSELS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the European Commission launches the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) 2022 competition. This initiative rewards the best achievements in sustainable tourism and green transition practices in smaller destinations across Europe.

EDEN was first introduced by the European Commission in 2007 as an initiative to reward non-traditional, emerging sustainable tourism destinations in Europe based on national competitions. The initiative has been redesigned and updated in view of the European Green Deal goals and it will contribute to the recovery and resilience of tourism destinations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers EU countries as well non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme[1]. The competition addresses smaller tourism destinations which can showcase their outstanding achievements in sustainability and inspire other tourism destinations in their green transition.

The European Destinations of Excellence is an EU initiative, implemented by the European Commission. Its aim is to recognise and award smaller destinations that have in place successful strategies to boost sustainable tourism through green transition practices. The competition is founded upon the principle of promoting the development of sustainable tourism in destinations which brings value to the economy, the planet and the people.

In order to compete for the 2022 European Destination of Excellence title, destinations are asked to demonstrate their best practices in sustainable tourism and green transition. Applications will first be evaluated by a panel of independent sustainability experts. In the second step, 3 shortlisted cities will be asked to present their city's candidature in front of the European Jury. The European Jury will select one winner, the European Destination of Excellence 2022, which will be announced in November 2021.

The winning destination will be positioned as a tourism sustainability pioneer committed to the European Green Deal objectives and will receive expert communication and branding support at the EU level throughout 2022.

To apply, destination representatives are asked to complete an online form. The deadline for applications is 16 June 2021 at 17:00 CET.

For all the latest news visit the European Destinations of Excellence website.

Contact

European Destinations of Excellence Secretariat:

Antigoni Avgeropoulou, [email protected], +49 (0) 30 70 01 86 390

Notes to Editors

Since 2007, the European Commission supported EU Member States and other countries participating in the COSME programme to reward non-traditional, emerging sustainable tourism destinations in Europe through the 'European Destination of Excellence" (EDEN) award. This action aimed to foster sustainable tourism destination management models across Europe by selecting and promoting EDEN destinations. To date, 175 destinations from 27 different countries have received the award under different annual themes. In 2019 the "Study on EDEN evaluation" was carried out to assess the continued relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the EDEN initiative and the various actions implemented in its framework, as well as its coherence with other EU initiatives. Following the results and recommendations of the evaluation study, the European Commission relaunched the initiative which is renewed, taking into account European Green Deal goals. In addition to the EU countries, it also covers non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme. The competition addresses smaller tourism destinations which can showcase their outstanding achievements in sustainability and inspire other tourism destinations in their green transition. The EDEN Award was implemented first as a pilot project and as a preparatory action initiated by the European Parliament and since 2011 has continued under the CIP/COSME programmes. The competition for the European Destination of Excellence 2022 opened on 22 April 2021 . Details on how to apply and terms and conditions can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/eden. The deadline for applications is 16 June 2021 at 17:00 CET . The competition is open to cities and towns in the EU Member States and non-EU countries participating in the COSME programme, with a population between 25,000 - 100,000. For small states with total population below 1 million, destinations with above 5,000 inhabitants are eligible to apply. Please refer to the Guide for Applicants for more information. Eligible applications will be evaluated against a set of established assessment criteria, by a panel of independent sustainability experts. The European Commission, based on the evaluation by experts, will shortlist 3 cities, which will be invited to present their candidatures in front of a European Jury. The European Jury will select one European Destination of Excellence 2022. Destinations shortlisted as finalists will be announced in September 2021 and the winner will be revealed in November 2021 .

References

[1] Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/39579

SOURCE European Destination of Excellence
The presidency has released the statement below declaring support for the embattled communications minister Isa Pantami amidst calls for him to step down or be sacked.

The presidencys reaction was contained in a statement by President Muhammadu Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

Mr Pantami, an Islamic cleric, has been in the eye of the storm for the past two weeks after videos resurfaced online showing he supported, over a decade ago, extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Many Nigerians called for his resignation or his sack based on the statements.

The minister later admitted making the controversial statements but said his views on such groups have changed. He also said he was being targeted for attack by people uncomfortable with his policies as the communication minister.

His explanation did not, however, satisfy many Nigerians who insisted on his removal, while many others declared support for him.

In his statement on Thursday, Mr Shehu said the Buhari administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.

He also said the administration would commence an investigation into allegations that some businesses were behind the attacks on the minister.

The government is now investigating the veracity behind these claims of attempted inducement, and  should they be found to hold credence  police and judicial action must be expected, he said.

Read Mr Shehus full statement below.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENCY ON RECENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL ECONOMY

Today, there is an unfortunate fashion in public discourse that makes leaders in politics, religion, and civil society liable in the present for every statement they have ever made in the past  no matter how long ago, and even after they have later rejected them.

This insidious phenomenon seeks to cancel the careers of others on the basis of a thing they have said, regardless of when they said it.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is, currently, subject to a cancel campaign instigated by those who seek his removal. They do not really care what he may or may not have said some 20 years ago: that is merely the instrument they are using to attempt to cancel him. But they will profit should he be stopped from making decisions that improve the lives of everyday Nigerians.

The Minister has, rightly, apologized for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them  for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong.

In the 2000s, the Minister was a man in his twenties; next year he will be 50. Time has passed, and people and their opinions  often rightly  change.

But all discerning Nigerians know this manufactured dispute is nothing to do with the Ministers prior words, but solely concern his actions in the present.

This Administration is committed to improving the lives of all Nigerians  and that includes ensuring they are not over-charged or under-protected for those services on which modern life depends.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Minister has been leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing; he has revolutionized the governments virtual public engagement to respond to COVID-19 and save taxpayers money; he has established ICT start-up centres to boost youth entrepreneurship and create jobs; he has changed policy to ensure locally produced ICT content is used by ministries, starting with his own; and he has deregistered some 9.2 million SIMs  ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to flagrantly use mobile networks undetected. In two short years, Minister Pantami has driven the contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to more than 18 percent, making it one of the top two playing a critical role in the emergence of the economy from the COVID 19-induced recession.

In putting people first, the Minister and this administration have made enemies. There are those in the opposition who see success and want it halted by any means. And there is now well-reported information that alleges newspaper editors rebuffed an attempt to financially induce them to run a smear campaign against the minister by some ICT companies, many of which do indeed stand to lose financially through lower prices and greater consumer protections. The government is now investigating the veracity behind these claims of attempted inducement, and  should they be found to hold credence  police and judicial action must be expected.

The Administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

April 22, 2021
Mumbai, April 22 : Grappling to break the chain of the virus, more stringent lockdown norms shall be implemented from Thursday (April 22) till May 1 with serious restrictions on movement of people or vehicles, as per an official order.

Among the highlights are -- essential services providers can only travel by public transport, government offices - barring emergency services connected directly to pandemic management - can work only with 15 per cent capacity or 5 persons, whichever is higher, and marriages can host only 25 guests with a fine of Rs 50,000 for violations.

For the Central government offices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region - the worst-hit in the country - and the Mantralaya, the department heads will decide on higher staff attendance after taking permission from the State Disaster Management Authority.

All public transport will be used for government staff, medical personnel or those requiring medical treatment, and the passes/tickets/authorization shall be issued on the basis of a government-issued I-card only, said the order from Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte.

Besides, all state and local government public bus services shall be operated with 50 per cent capacity, not standees permitted, while inter-city or inter-district travel by trains and buses would be subject to other conditions.

However, private transport can be operated only for emergency or essential services, or with valid reasons at half-capacity, but not for inter-district or inter-city travel.

Inter-district or inter-city travel will be permitted only for essential services or medical emergencies or exigencies like funerals, severe illness, etc, and those flouting shall be slapped with Rs 10,000 penalty.

In case of inter-city or inter-district travel as per other specified conditions like Covid tests at the point of embarkation with the cost borne by the passenger, wherever the travelers deboard, they will be hand-stamped and shunted to a 14-day home quarantine, and anybody detected with symptoms shall be immediately admitted to Corona hospital or care centres.

Earlier this week, the Mumbai Police introduced colour-coded stickers on vehicles for certain specific purpose which resulted in a huge relief for the authorities with no traffic jams and unnecessary commutes or joy-rides by people ending.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Imperial Valley News Center

Muncie Police Officers Indicted on Additional Charges of Excessive Force and Obstruction

Indianapolis, Indiana - A federal grand jury in Indianapolis, Indiana, returned a 17-count superseding indictment charging three officers and one sergeant of the Muncie Police Department with excessive force and obstruction.

According to court documents, Officers Joseph Chase Winkle, 34, Jeremy Gibson, 30, Corey Posey, 28, and Sergeant Joseph Krejsa, 50, were indicted for their roles in using excessive force against arrestees and attempting to cover up the misconduct.

The superseding indictment charges Winkle with 11 felony offenses, Gibson with three felony offenses, Krejsa with two felony offenses, and Posey with one felony offense.

Winkle is charged with five counts of depriving five different arrestees of their rights to be free from excessive force, and six counts writing false reports about his uses of force against those arrestees, as well as two other arrestees. According to the superseding indictment, Winkles actions included kicking, punching, knee-striking, and using a taser on arrestees without justification, and resulted in bodily injury to the arrestees.

Gibson is charged with two counts of depriving two arrestees of their rights to be free from excessive force, and one count of writing a false report about his use of force against one of those arrestees. According to the superseding indictment, Gibsons actions included punching, stomping on, and knee-striking arrestees without justification, and resulted in bodily injury to both arrestees.

Krejsa is charged with two counts of writing false reports related to two of Winkles excessive force incidents. According to the superseding indictment, on one occasion, Krejsa minimized the level of force used by Winkle during one arrest, and, on another occasion, falsely represented that a different Muncie Police Department sergeant cleared Winkle of his use of force when it was actually Krejsa who conducted that review.

Posey is charged with one count of writing a false report related to one of Winkles excessive force incidents. According to the superseding indictment, Poseys use of force report misrepresented the arrestees behavior, and mischaracterized and omitted Winkles unlawful use of force during the incident.

Winkle, Gibson, and Krejsa were previously charged in a 12-count indictment with civil rights and obstruction offenses arising from five of the six incidents charged in the superseding indictment. The superseding indictment adds additional excessive force and false report charges against Winkle and Gibson related to a sixth incident, and charges Posey (who was not included in the previous indictment) with obstruction.

The maximum penalty for the deprivation-of-rights offenses is 10 years of imprisonment and the maximum penalty for false report offenses is 20 years of imprisonment.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Trial Attorneys Mary J. Hahn and Katherine G. DeVar of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Linder of the Southern District of Indiana are prosecuting the case
The doctor's bag now sits in his closet gathering dust. He lost his stethoscope somewhere in the house - a familiar weight that sat on his neck for two decades.

It's been months since Justin Meschler, 48, practiced medicine. And he wonders if he ever will again.

He quit his job as an anesthesiologist during the pandemic last spring when fear began seeping into every part of his life. And what began as a few months off has now turned into something much longer.

"I feel guilty for leaving. I think about the others who stayed on. I think about the patients I could have helped. I feel like I abandoned them," Meschler said. "But mostly, I feel relieved."

A year into the pandemic, many others are joining Meschler at the door - an exodus fueled by burnout, trauma and disillusionment. According to a Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll, roughly 3 in 10 health-care workers have weighed leaving their profession. More than half are burned out. And about6 in 10 say stress from the pandemic has harmed their mental health.

In wrenching interviews, nurses, doctors, technicians - and even administrative staff and dental hygienists who haven'tdirectlytreated covid-19 patients - explained the impulse to quit and the emotional wreckage the pandemic has left in their lives.

It's not just the danger they've endured, they say. Many talked about the betrayal and hypocrisy they feel from the public they have sacrificed so much to save - their clapping and hero-worship one day, then refusal to wear masks and take basic precautions the next, even if it would spare health workers the trauma of losing yet another patient.

"You feel expendable. You can't help thinking about how this country sent us to the front lines with none of the equipment needed for the battle," said Sharon Griswold, an emergency room doctor in Pennsylvania.

"Most of us got into this to save lives. But when death is blowing around you like a tornado and you can't make a dent in any of it, it makes you question whether you're making any difference," said Megan Brunson, a night-shift nurse in Dallas.

5 1 of 5 Photo for The Washington Post by Rachel Wisniewski Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Photo for The Washington Post by Julia Rendleman Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Photo for The Washington Post by Chet Strange Show More Show Less 5 of 5









The Post-KFF poll found a majority of health-care workers say they feel respected by the general public and patients they interact with. At the same time, about 6 in 10 health-care workers say most Americans are not taking enough precautions to prevent the spread of covid-19, and about 7 in 10 say theUnited States has done a "poor" or "only fair" job handling the pandemic.

Many traced their disillusionment to how the pandemic exposed and magnified the broken parts of America's health-care system.

"You look at staffing, preparedness, what the priorities were for many hospitals during the crisis, and it's clear the industry is driven by profits rather than well-being of patients or health workers," Meschler said from his home in Louisville, Colo. "It makes you question the whole system."

As he intubated covid-19 patients last spring at his hospital, Meschler kept imagining himself joining their ranks.

He had asthma, high blood pressure, a heart condition and was overweight. He also had two young daughters and a wife he worried he might infect and kill every day he came home from work.

He deliberated the decision for days with his wife. He looked hard at their finances and the amount still left on his medical school loans. And one morning in his living room, he banged out a letter to his bosses: "It is with deep regret that I must give my required 120 day notice . . ."

Even before the pandemic, America was facing a loomingshortage of doctors and nurses. Additional losses to the medical workforce could spell dire consequences for U.S. health care. Because of the training required, it takes years of investment for the pipeline to produce a single doctor or nurse.

Experts warn the looming lack of medical professionals could make health care more expensive, less accessible and worse in quality as those remaining are asked to do more in an already overtaxed system. According to studies and industry estimates, as many as 1 million nurses could retire by 2030 and the country could be short an estimated 130,000 doctors by then.

The large numbers of doctors and nurses wanting to quit are also the early warnings of festering, unaddressedpsychic wounds among health-care workers.

If left untreated, experts worry they could lead to widespread incidents of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide for a group that has already sacrificed so much to get the nation through this pandemic.

"We need to stop treating them like heroes and start treating them like human beings," said Mona Masood, a psychiatrist who has counseled dozens of doctors in mental crisis in recent months. "I keep telling them, 'You don't have to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.' Health care can't just be about making patients well. We have to care for the healers, too."

- - -

For Celia Nieto, the breaking point came suddenly this fall while she was driving to a dentist appointment.

She had spent so many months fighting as an intensive care nurse - for her hospital to give her N95 masks, for families so they could see their loved ones before they died, for her kids so they could get the schooling they needed at home even as she was dealing with a torrent of despair at work.

In the silence of her SUV on the way to the dentist, Nieto, 44, began sobbing uncontrollably. Then came racing thoughts she could not quiet or control - worries about the future, her career, her kids, their school.

It had been happening a lot lately, thoughts coursing through her so intensely she couldn't sleep or eat or sometimes even speak. But on that October day, one thought surfaced that filled her with fear: She wished another car would run into hers and send her into a coma.

"It's not that I wanted to die per se. I just wanted all of it to stop: the crying, the racing thoughts. That's when I knew something was wrong," said Nieto, who lives in Henderson, Nev.

She called her insurance's mental health line and started therapy.

In the months since, Nieto has lost two fellow nurses on her unit - one to covid-19, and the other to suicide.

"I love my job. I love that on the worst day of someone's life, I can be the person who helps them through that," she said. But she also said she has begun to question whether the job is a good fit anymore, and if so, for how much longer.

"It could be a matter of months or years," Nieto said. "One thing I've learned from therapy is to take things one day at a time."

Many health workers say they feel trapped by their job. For doctors especially, the massive loans required by medical school make the idea of quitting seemimpossible.

In March last year, Philadelphia psychiatrist Masood saw increasingly anguished posts on Facebook groups for doctors and began organizing a grass-roots support line for physicians - similar to the suicide hotline that serves the general public.

She asked whether any psychiatrists would work with her to answer the calls. Within days, her inbox was bombarded with messages from more than 200 volunteers.

"As psychiatrists, I think we were all seeing the warning signs. You had doctors suddenly writing their wills, talking about how they felt abandoned to die, how the only choice they faced was being called a hero or coward," Masood said.

In the year since, the Physician Support Line she created has fielded more than 2,500 calls. But what worries Masood most is what will happen once the pandemic ends.

In her private practice, she has treated many soldiers returning home from war.

"When you're in the danger zone, all you're focused on is surviving. It's not until the afterward that you start processing the trauma, grief and things that you saw," she said. That is when people are most vulnerable mentally. "And if you don't have a way of coping with that, you start looking for other ways - drinking, self-harm, apathy."

- - -

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the government created programs and funding to help first responders with its lingering effects. The military invested resources - though advocates say not enough - into the mental health of veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

For the pandemic's health-care workers, however, that infrastructure of support doesn't yet exist.

It has been almost a year since Lorna Breen - an emergency room doctor in New York - died by suicide. In the months since, her sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer andCorey Feist, have worked furiously to prevent further deaths by creating mental health resources for health workers.

They created a foundation in her name and last year got a bipartisan bill called the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act introduced in the Senate. Some provisions of the legislation were included in the American Rescue Plan relief bill recently signed by President Biden, including $140 million allotted for medical training, hospital programs and a mental health awareness campaign.

But without language - from the still unpassed portions of the Lorna Breen Act - specifying how that funding must be used, Corey Feist and others worry the money will not be effective in addressing the crisis to come.

Since Breen's death, Feist and his wife have received hundreds of emails, messages and calls from health workers struggling with stress, burnout, suicidal thoughts and the difficult decision of whether to stay in health care.

"Many are suffering in silence because of the huge stigma that remains in the industry," said Feist, who also oversees 1,200 doctors and health workers as head of the University of Virginia Physicians Group.

Even before the pandemic, roughly one doctor in America was dying from suicide every day - a rate more thandouble that of the general population. Beyond the stoic culture of doctors, Feist said, the industry needs to overhaul policies that strongly discourage doctors from seeking mental help for fear of risking their medical licensing or malpractice insurance.

Feist also pointed to the snowballing cycle of burnout and workforce shortages. "The more people quit, the more you exhaust the ones left behind and push them to quit," he said.

- - -

For years now, Sharon Griswold and her husband - both emergency room doctors in Hershey, Penn. - have been feeling the fraying symptoms of burnout.

After the death and chaos of the pandemic, both have seriously contemplated leaving medicine. Griswold's husband was the first to take the plunge, giving his hospital notice this winter.

But Griswold said she just can't bring herself to quit.

Research has shown health-care workers are especially prone to burnout because of the workload, pressure and chaos that they deal with. Such burnout, studies show, can result in increased risks to patients, malpractice claims, worker absenteeism and billions of dollars in losses to the medical industry each year.

For Griswold, being a doctor has been such a huge part of her identity, saving lives and training new residents to do so. She has trouble seeing herself doing anything else as fulfilling.

But at the same time, Griswold said, she has grown increasingly angry.

As the country's health-care system has become increasingly dysfunctional in recent decades, the bulk of that dysfunction has landed on health workers - resulting in long hours, mounting paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles, fear of malpractice lawsuits and insufficient resources.

Griswold is profoundly frustrated with the system. "Health care's become a system run by insurance companies, pharmaceuticals and private equity. There are so many patient decisions that aren't up to doctors anymore, and it creates moral conflicts you wrestle with every day. It can be exhausting."

She's also frustrated with the public. "It's hard to let go of the anti-mask thing," she said. For months now, she has tinkered with an op-ed she hasn't yet submitted to her local newspaper, pleading for people to wear masks so that she doesn't have to keep watching patients die.

"The worst thing is the panic you see on dying people's faces when they realize this could be it. You sometimes see regret in their eyes, a feeling of not being ready," she said.

All those deathbeds she has witnessed, they take a toll, she said. "But I'm not ready to give up yet."

- - -

Recently, Meschler, the Colorado anesthesiologist who quit in the middle of the pandemic, got an email from his malpractice company.

The insurance agent wanted to know whether he really was leaving medicine for good or just taking a break. Leaving would require a complicated cancellation of his policy, the agent explained.

It was a question Meschler had been mulling for months.

He thought back to a car crash he witnessed as a teenager and how the medics asked him to help as they tried to save a woman struggling to breathe. He remembered how good it felt then to help another person.

He thought about his years in med school, sacrificing sleep, friends and any semblance of a balanced life.

Then, he thought about the anger he felt in the early days of the pandemic when it became clear his hospital hadn't prepared the necessary policies to keep him safe. He thought about his growing frustrations even before the pandemic, about the direction of American health care and his waning ability to make a difference.

He thought about his two daughters and the joy in recent weeks, dropping them off at school and being there when they got home. And he thought about the obituaries he had been reading lately at night in his living room - all the doctors and nurses lost in the pandemic.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do, to be honest," he said. "But I'm incredibly lucky to be alive, to even be in a position to walk away."

Meschler told the agent he didn't need the malpractice insurance anymore. He was leaving for good.

Scott Clement and Emily Guskin contributed to this report.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741. For doctors struggling with burnout and mental health, volunteer psychiatrists are offering free peer support at the Physician Support Line at 888-409-0141, seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. EST.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The governments of Armenia and Artsakh will sign an agreement by which Armenia will allocate an extra up to 10 billion dram every year during 10 years for financially supporting the individuals and businesses who suffered material damages during the war.

The Cabinet approved the decision during the April 22 meeting.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 20)  Priests of the Manila archdiocese will gather for a mass on May 8 to pray for thousands of people who died of COVID-19 since the local outbreak began over a year ago, Manila apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said.

The mass will be held at 9 a.m. at the Manila Cathedral, Pabillo said in his pastoral instruction dated April 20.

"We bring together at the altar of the Lord all the tears and sorrows of our people for their loved ones, the prelate said.

The whole Archdiocese will mourn for our dead during this pandemic but with great hope given by the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, he added.

At least 16,265 people in the country have lost their lives due to COVID-19, with many families unable to properly send off their dead loved ones due to health restrictions.

Pabillo suggested hanging up pictures of those who died this past year on a memorial wall to be set up in parishes, which could serve as reminder to always pray for them.

Pabillo also instructed parishes and religious communities in the archdiocese to dedicate a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament at 6 p.m. on May 5 for those in the front lines, on May 6 for the sick and and May 7 for the dead.

The Philippines has recorded 962,307 coronavirus cases, of which 116,434 are currently sick, with 829,608 recoveries.
The Duchess of Cambridge honoured the Queen on her birthday yesterday by borrowing her pearl earrings for a visit to an air cadet centre.

Kate Middleton, 39, borrowed the silver jubilee diamond and pearl earrings from the monarch, 93, who first wore them to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1977.

The mother-of-three wore the glitzy earrings along with a black D&G coat with gold button detailing as she joined husband Prince William on a tour of the 282 East Ham Squadron Air Training Corps.

The visit, which took place on the Queen's 95th birthday, was carried out in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh, who was Honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief of the squadron for 63 years before Kate took over as Commandant-in-Chief in 2015.

The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, honoured the Queen, 95, on her birthday yesterday by borrowing her pearl earrings for her visit to an air cadet centre

Kate Middleton borrowed the silver jubilee diamond and pearl earrings from the monarch who first wore them to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1977 (pictured, 2016)

Kate has worn the monarch's diamond and pearl drop earrings on a number of occasions, previously on her first solo engagement to the Netherlands in 2016.

The Queen is currently observing a two-week mourning period and Kate reflected the sombre mood with her black ensemble.

She previously wore the D&G military-inspired coat, which falls to just below the knees, on Remembrance Sunday in 2017. At the time she was pregnant with Prince Louis.

During the visit Kate was guided through a flight on the Grob Tutor, which is used by the RAF for elementary training,

The mother-of-three wore the glitzy earrings along with a black D&G coat with gold button detailing as she joined husband Prince William on a tour of the 282 East Ham Squadron Air Training Corps

The couple were also treated to a moving three cheers for the Duke of Edinburgh during the visit.

Established in 1941, the Air Cadets is a UK-wide cadet force with more than 32,000 members aged between 12-19 years old.

During the visit to 282 Squadron, The Duke and Duchess met cadets taking part in field craft exercises and leadership tasks, before speaking to a number of the young people who are preparing for their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

Kate has worn the monarch's diamond and pearl drop earrings on a number of occasions, previously on her first solo engagement to the Netherlands in 2016

The monarch, now 93, first wore them to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1977, pictured

Each year, the Air Cadets receives approximately 3,000 Duke of Edinburgh Awards across the schemes Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, amounting to over 193,000 Awards since the programme began in 1956.

The Duke and Duchess also spoke with a group of serving RAF officers who were all previously cadets and heard more about how the scheme help them to gain important life and social skills which they have taken forward into their careers.

It comes just three days after the Duke and Duchess joined family including Prince Harry at the Duke of Edinburgh's intimate funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Air Cadets receives approximately 3,000 Duke of Edinburgh Awards across the schemes Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, amounting to over 193,000 Awards since the programme began in 1956. Pictured, Kate Middleton at a centre
National Volunteer Week is April 18-24, 2021. VA Connecticut Healthcare System takes this opportunity to thank the hundreds of individuals, organizations and businesses who donate their time and resources in support of our veterans.

VAs Voluntary Services was founded in 1946 and is the largest centralized volunteer program in the federal government. Volunteers serve at VA hospitals, clinics, cemeteries, readjustment counseling centers and regional offices. In Connecticut, our volunteers serve at the West Haven and Newington campuses in addition to our Errera Center/West Haven Annex in Orange and six community clinics in Danbury, New London, Stamford, Waterbury, Willimantic and Winsted.
This article appears in the April 23, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this article]

III . Ramsey Clark: A Man of Courage

In Memoriam

William Ramsey Clark 1927-2021

A Representative of the American Ideal

My late husband Lyndon LaRouche and Ramsey Clark both had an unbounded respect for each other, recognizing in each other that specific quality of character, incapable of committing falseness or making any kind of compromise with the truth for personal benefit. Both of them had the character of the World War II generation, the better part of which shared the moral outlook of Franklin D. Roosevelt: that it was the moral obligation of the United States to help developing countries overcome the relicts of colonial underdevelopment. The better people of that generation had a truly republican set of values, in the sense of the American revolution and were not tainted by any of the several paradigm changes of the post-war generations.

Ramsey Clark, on his own initiative, became a lawyer for my husband in the appeals after his 1989 conviction. He was appalled by the legal atrocities of the conviction in the Alexandria, Virginia rocket docket court. The short time allowed, only three weeks, for the preparation for a very complex trial, and the haste of the jury selection, guaranteed that there would be no way to investigate possible prejudice in prospective jurors, meant justice could not occur.

Clark presented testimony to Independent Hearings convened August 31-September 1, 1995 to investigate allegations of gross misconduct by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), saying:

But in what was a complex and pervasive utilization of law enforcement, prosecution, media, and non-governmental organizations focussed on destroying an enemy, this case must be number one. There are some, where the government itself may have done more and more wrongfully over a period of time; but the very networking and combination of federal, state, and local agencies, of Executive and even some Legislative and Judicial branches, of major media and minor local media, and of influential lobbyist types, the ADL [Anti-Defamation League of the Bnai Brith] preeminently, this case takes the prize.

The purpose can only be seen as destroyingIts more than a political movement, its more than a political figure. It is those two; but its a fertile engine of ideas, a common purpose of thinking and studying and analyzing to solve problems, regardless of the impact on the status quo, or on vested interests. It was a deliberate purpose to destroy that at any cost.

In the years that Lyn, an innocent man, was sitting in jail, I was in touch with Ramsey Clark. He gave me invaluable advice, which contributed to our ability as an organization to survive this very difficult period. Later, after Lyn was freed thanks to, among other things, the intervention of hundreds of parliamentarians from all over the world, cardinals, bishops, decorated military men, members of governments and artists, Ramsey participated in many Schiller Institute events. He visited us periodically, both in Europe and in the United States.

Over these years he became close to both of us. While we came from different political backgrounds, our discussions would focus on subjects of universal significance, constitutional principles, the relation of individual freedom to the well-being of the state, the fight against repression in specific historical periods, or the importance of personal integrity for the creative ability of the individual. As is the nature of such discussions, they tend to transcend the limits of particular political affiliations and establish what is common to humanity. In this sense, Ramsey became a very important friend.

Especially in these extremely challenging times, we have to uphold the memory of this towering personality. There are unfortunately too few people like him, who embody the hope that the world will not give up on the U.S. and that the people of the U.S. are reminded of the better angels of their history.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

A trilateral meeting between foreign ministers of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan will take place in Istanbul on April 23, Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) A trilateral meeting between foreign ministers of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan will take place in Istanbul on April 23, Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

"Along with recent developments regarding the Afghan Peace Process, cooperation in the fields of security, energy, connectivity and irregular migration will be discussed during the Trilateral Meeting," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will also hold bilateral meetings with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts on the margins of the trilateral meeting, the ministry said.
Tesco has been ordered to pay out over 7.5 million for selling food past its use-by date at three of its stores.

The UK retailer admitted 22 breaches of the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations between 2016 and 2017.

An investigation began after Birmingham City Council received complaints from customers about food being sold past its use-by-date.

A Tesco spokesperson said the supermarket was 'disappointed' that a 'small number' of out-of-date products were found.

"The safety of our customers is always our priority and these incidents are not representative of the high standards of safety and quality we expect in Tesco stores.

"We took immediate action to address this at the time and we want to reassure our customers that we have robust procedures in place to make sure that this doesn't happen."

The retailer was fined 7.56m by a judge at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Monday (19 April).
Tehran, April 22 : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for the enhancement of security and economic cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.

"Security is a common concern for the two countries, and it is essential to boost cooperation in this regard," Rouhani said in a meeting on Wednesday with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He also stressed the need to promote security along the Iran-Pakistan borders, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Iranian President urged for the promotion of Tehran-Islamabad ties in trade, energy and border markets, adding it is necessary for both sides to implement the signed agreements to further cooperation.

Also, Iran stands ready to work with Pakistan towards the peace process in Afghanistan, he noted.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister, for his part, hailed the relations between the two countries as "cordial" and called for the promotion of all-out ties.

Iran and Pakistan will hopefully witness a new chapter in their ties, especially in the fields of trade and economy, said Qureshi.

He also backed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as a "big diplomatic achievement".

"We are very happy that the JCPOA has been preserved with the efforts of Iran, and today we are witnessing negotiations again to revive this multilateral agreement," the Pakistani diplomat said.

The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to establish joint border markets in efforts to strengthen cross-border economic exchanges.

The agreement, which was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Qureshi, aims to promote economic relations between the two countries and the welfare of border residents.

The border markets will be administrated based on the agreements and protocols between the two sides.

Qureshi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for a three-day official visit.

Earlier on Wednesday, the third joint border crossing between the two countries was opened.
New Delhi, April 22 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday said if governments want, "they can make heaven and earth meet", as it asked the Centre to ensure there is no obstruction in transport of oxygen to Delhi.

A division bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said if in case supply of medical oxygen to Delhi is blocked, then authorities responsible will be held criminally liable.

The bench said it is urgently required to resolve the issues with Centre's allocation of oxygen for Delhi from plants in other states like Haryana by the local administration there. It stressed that the Centre should provide adequate security for vehicles transporting oxygen and it should consider forming dedicated corridors for their swift movement.

The High Court gave these directions after it was informed that oxygen scheduled to arrive from Haryana's Panipat was not being permitted to be picked up by the local police. The Delhi government also informed the court that oxygen units scheduled to be picked up from Uttar Pradesh could not be brought to Delhi.

Emphasising on finding ways to resolve the current impasse with oxygen supply, the bench noted "if governments want, they can make heaven and earth meet".

"We direct the Central government to ensure allocation takes place as planned and transportation of the tankers takes place unhindered." Delhi government had recommended that oxygen should be transferred by air. On this aspect, the bench said research shows that airlifting of oxygen was very dangerous and it has to be transported either by road or rail.

The High Court was hearing a petition filed by Saroj Super Speciality Hospital, seeking urgent supply of oxygen. A similar petition was filed by Max hospitals, on Wednesday, where the Centre had assured that it will raise the allocation of oxygen for Delhi as 480 MT from 370 MT.

On Wednesday, the High Court had observed that the citizen can only fall back on the state. "It is the responsibility of the government. Beg... borrow... or steal, it is your job," said the High Court, directing the Centre to arrange oxygen supply.

"How is the government so oblivious of the reality on the ground? You cannot have people dying because of no oxygen. You take your own sweet time and people die," it had said.
CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners, LLC (PSM) announces today the launch of its Project Management Office (PMO) practice area. The new practice area, led by Paul Sheehan, expands the breadth of service offerings delivered by PSM's Solution Integration practice, directed by Andrew Taylor.

Some of the service offerings available from the new PMO practice area include:

PMO Outsourcing

PMO Consulting and Maturity Assessment Services

Change Management and Technology Adoption Services

Project and Program Management Consulting Services

Project Management Staffing Services

"We've seen a significantly-increased demand for project and program management expertise for IT and other business projects across various organizations and industries," said Mike Mete, a founder and Senior Partner at PSM. "With the creation of our PMO practice area, PSM will help organizations be more successful in achieving their critical business objectives."

About Porcaro Stolarek Mete Partners LLC ("PSM")



PSM, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is a leading provider of technology, business, and talent consulting services. The firm employs approximately 70 people and services over 300 clients. The company focuses on helping small and medium-sized companies grow by leveraging cloud-based solutions and in assisting with the identification, evaluation, and recruitment of top industry talent.

SOURCE PSM Partners

Related Links

www.psmpartners.com


On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Courtprobably the most conservative state high court in the countryconcluded that the states voters could not be trusted with a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults. By a 52 vote, the court tossed out the initiative, denying Florida residents the opportunity to vote on it. To justify its action, the majority seized upon a dubious rationale: It asserted that the ballot summary implies that the initiative will somehow legalize marijuana under federal law, rendering it affirmatively misleading. Because of this putative defect, the court denied Floridians an opportunity to repeal state laws banning recreational weed.

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The campaign to liberalize Floridas marijuana laws has long pitted the people against state officials. For years, the Republicans in the state legislature and governors mansion refused to expand access to cannabis. In 2016, Floridians took the matter into their own hands, legalizing medical marijuana through a ballot initiative amending the state constitution that passed with more than 71 percent of the vote. Former Republican Gov. Rick Scott, abetted by GOP state legislators, attempted to gut this new law by strictly limiting qualifying conditions for the drug and banning smokable marijuana. A court blocked that ban, and the legislature eventually repealed it.

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Seizing this momentum, cannabis reform advocates launched a new ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana for all adults over the age of 21. As of Thursday, the initiatives sponsor had raised $8.2 million and collected more than 556,000 signatures out of the 891,589 needed to get on the ballot in 2022. Its strong support at this early date indicated a real possibility that the initiative would cross the 60 percent threshold necessary to amend the state constitution. But as its proponents were collecting signatures, Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on the measures legality. Specifically, Moody urged the justices to rule that the summary intended to appear on ballots in 2022 was misleading and toss out the initiative.

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After hearing oral arguments, the Florida Supreme Court sat on this case for a yearan unprecedented amount of time for a challenge to a ballot initiative. Then, on Thursday, in an unsigned opinion, a majority of the court held that the language was unlawfully misleading. This ruling kills the entire initiative; because the court waited so long to issue its decision, the measures proponents do not have enough time to formally correct the summary before 2022. The majority took issue with a single word: permits. It noted that the ballot summary says the measure permits adults over 21 to buy, use, and possess marijuana for recreational purposes. But, the court pointed out, marijuana remains illegal under federal law. The summarys unqualified use of the word permits strongly suggests that the conduct to be authorized by the amendment will be free of any criminal or civil penalty in Florida, the majority held. Yet a constitutional amendment cannot unequivocally permit or authorize conduct that is criminalized under federal law. And a ballot summary suggesting otherwise is affirmatively misleading.

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It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the court relied on something other than the law to reach its decision.

This reasoning is curious because in 2014, the Florida Supreme Court held that a ballot summary about medical marijuana need not inform voters about an amendments impact on federal law, only state law. But on Thursday, without acknowledging it, the court quietly overruled this precedent. It declared that this summary strongly suggests that the conduct to be authorized by the amendment will be free of any criminal or civil penalty in Florida. Put differently, voters will think that, by amending their state constitution, they are somehow repealing or suspending the federal ban on marijuana. That, the court concluded, renders the initiative unlawful.

At the time of the 2014 ruling, the court leaned to the left. In their dissents back then, conservative Justice Charles Canady and Ricky Polston insisted that the initiative was misleading because it did not sufficiently convey the illegality of marijuana under federal lawthe same logic deployed on Thursday. Seven years later, the courts liberal justices have been forced out by mandatory retirement rules, and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has replaced them with conservatives who adhere to the Federalist Society party line. And on Thursday, Canady and Polston were able to transform their 2014 dissents into the majority, with the support of their fellow Republicans.

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Two justicesJorge Labarga, a moderate, and Alan Lawson, a conservativedissented. Lawsons dissent is quite sharp: He condemned the majority opinion as contrary to rational analysis, a non sequitur that violates basic principles of logic. The court typically takes a nonpaternalistic approach to our review, expecting voters to educate themselves regarding the details of a proposed amendment before voting. It presumes that voters possess a rudimentary knowledge of their governments structure and of the laws governing their conduct. That is especially true when citizens participate in the core right of self-governance by voting to amend their state constitution. Plus, there is the practical matter of not knowing how federal law will change in the years between the drafting of any ballot summary and a vote on the amendment. Indeed, Congress is currently considering legislation that would decriminalize marijuana on the federal level. Yet the Florida Supreme Court demanded the ballot initiatives summary predict that weed will remain illegal federally in November 2022.

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Reading Lawson tally the majority opinions inconsistencies and irrationalities, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the court relied on something other than the law to reach its decision in this case. It seems as if the majority is offended by the notion of legalizing marijuana under state law while it remains illegal under federal statute, and worked its way back from that conviction. But that is not the Florida Supreme Courts decision to make; it is supposed to be the choice of the voters.

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Then again, Florida Republicans are not very friendly to self-governance through ballot initiative. In recent years, they have placed heavy new burdens on this process in an effort to restrict the number of proposed amendments that reach the ballot. This drive is motivated in part by the success of a ballot initiative restoring voting rights to people convicted of felonies, which the legislature opposed and then eviscerated. Thursdays decision may be a byproduct of Republican hostility toward the initiative process as much as it is a consequence of five conservative justices distaste for marijuana reform. Whatever the motivation, the bottom line is clear: The Florida Supreme Court does not trust the states voters to govern themselves.

Update, April 22, 2021: This article has been updated to note that the court took nearly a year to issue its decision.

As politicians race to pass new voter suppression measures across the country, the fight for voting rights has never been more important. Slate Plus members allow us to cover this fight for the franchise with the urgency it deserves. We really couldnt devote the time and resources necessary to report out this monumental story were it not for your support. Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer
Mumbai, April 22 : Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal has tested negative for Covid-19. The actor had been battling the virus for almost a week, and he says he managed to recover so quickly because he had already taken the first dose of the vaccine.

"My prayers for all those suffering and families for their losses. Feel truly blessed to have two tests both Negative. God has been kind. One of the main reasons I am told by doctors I recovered so fast, was because I had taken my first dose of the vaccine, thus making the viral load very low, with no symptoms. I would urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible and continue to take all safety measures. Thank you all for your love and best wishes. Stay positive and don't become positive. Stay safe be smart. This too shall pass. Love and light. #recovered," Arjun Rampal shared in an Instagram post.

On Saturday, the actor wrote on Instagram to inform that he had tested positive and was living in isolation.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Armed robbers on Wednesday stormed a mobile money outlet in the open streets of Bantama in the Ashanti Regional capital Kumasi, making away with an estimated two hundred thousand cedis (GHc 200,000).



The masked robbers wielding pistols broke into the Osuani Boakye Ventures close to the popular Bonsam Gyam enclave at about 7:30 pm and demanded that the vendors surrendered all the money they had on them.



Narrating the incident to Ultimate News Ivan HeathcoteFumador, the C.E.O. Yaw Boakye Dankwah indicated that he had withdrawn some 241 thousand cedis for business operations on the said day.



The distraught businessman explained, I am in the super-agent category so other agents come to me for money. The only money I had electronically for the day on my phone was 43 thousand cedis. So if I estimate the amount left plus the other backup funds I had in safe, they made away with almost 200 thousand cedis.



Almost in tears, he lamented, Ghana is not a good country to work in. Imagine that some robbers came to an open place like Bantama wielding arms and there was no police around nor anyone to help you out. These robbers made away with all the money I have worked my whole life to raise.





Mr. Boakye Dankwah indicated that his CCTV footage couldnt pick up any clear images of the criminals who were fully masked.



Some eyewitnesses in the area said the robbers spoke broken English and doubted they could be natives from the area.



From the witness account, the robbers also attacked and robbed a man who had come to deposit money with the company at the same time the premises was attacked.







Source: starrfmonline.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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A 35-year-old Selma man has pleaded guilty to the 2013 killing of his estranged wife and another victim.

Beonridge Bradley III issued the guilty plea Wednesday before Dallas County Judge Don McMillan. Bradley and a co-defendant, 35-year-old Eddie Irvin, were initially charged with capital murder. Bradley pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of murder. Irvin is set for trial in June.

McMillan sentenced Bradley to two consecutive life sentences. He will be eligible for parole.

The deadly shooting happened in the predawn hours of Nov. 17, 2013. Killed were Kervina Woods, 24, and Donyea Williams, 27. Woods was the estranged wife of Bradley. Woods and Williams had a child together.

Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson said the deadly shootings stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute.

Bradley, authorities said, had slashed Woods tires earlier in the night while she was at a club with her sister and some of her friends. Woods called Williams to help her after she realized her tires were flat, but they decided to deal with the tires the next day.

Williams gave Woods and her friends a ride to Woods sisters. They didnt realize, Jackson said, that the two suspects  Bradley and Irvin  had followed them there. After dropping the friends and sister off, Woods and Williams headed to her Candlewood Apartment complex so Woods could get some clothes and return to stay with her sister for the night.

Bradley and Irvin, Jackson said, were still following them. They went inside and Bradley followed. At that point, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Bradley shot Williams in the doorway of the apartment and then shot Woods as she fled the bathroom. Both victims were shot multiple times.

Bradley, Jackson said, accidentally shot himself in the hand while shooting the two victims. He and Irvin fled the scene. Bradley gave the gun to Irvin for safe keeping, the district attorney said.

Later in the morning, about 11:20 a.m., Selma Police responded to the apartment complex on a report of a shooting. When detectives arrived on the scene, they were informed that Bradley had initially found the victims. The apartment was owned by Woods following her separation from the Bradley.

Bradley and Irvin were both questioned by investigators and admitted to their involvement, Jackson said.

Domestic violence can lead to terrible consequences, Jackson said. Lets pray for the families because they are going through unbearable pain at the loss of their kids.
Bloc Quebecois MP Sebastien Lemire rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, March 12, 2021. A Bloc Quebecois MP has apologized for taking a screen shot of a Liberal MP who inadvertently appeared nude during virtual proceedings in the House of Commons last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
COVID treatment covered by SSO, Phuket hospital confirms

PHUKET: People who are covered by the Social Security Fund are covered for COVID treatment, a medical officer at Vachira Phuket Hospital has confirmed.

COVID-19Coronavirushealth

By The Phuket News

Thursday 22 April 2021, 05:27PM

Photo: Vachira Phuket Hospital

The Social Security Office (SSO) in Phuket has yet to respond to questions by The Phuket News. However, a medical officer with the respiratory disease department at Vachira Phuket Hospital, who asked not to be named, was willing to clarify the situation.

First and foremost, all persons covered by the Social Security Fund will have all costs associated with treatment for COVID covered by the fund, the officer confirmed.

However, whether or not people covered by the fund must pay for COVID tests depends on whether they test positive, the officer added.

Any persons coming for a COVID test because the government has asked them to do so in a public notice will receive a COVID test for free. This is for high risk people only, the officer confirmed.

Any persons covered by the fund who present themselves for a test, whether or not the government has asked them to, and test positive for the virus will also receive a COVID test for free, the officer explained.

However, any person who presents themselves for a COVID test without any government office or officer asking them to do so, and who test negative for the virus, will have to pay.

This is to prevent people from turning up and taking a COVID test every time they are worried, even if they do not have any symptoms of infection, the officer said.

The use of COVID tests was being assigned accordingly to make best use of responding to instances and clear concerns of infections spreading, the officer added.

Of those who will be required to pay for COVID tests, Thais will be required to pay B2,300 for their COVID test, while foreigners will have to pay B3,800, the officer confirmed.

The officer said she did not know the reason for the price difference.

The issue came to the fore last week when Ministry of Labour Suchart Chomklin confirmed that free COVID-19 tests were to be provided to members of the social security scheme, covering members under Sections 33, 39 and 40 of the Social Security Act, if those people were at high risk of infection during the current outbreak.

However, the free tests were to be provided to people covered by the Social Security Act in Bangkok only, reported state news agency NNT.

Mr Suchart said the program was a joint initiative of the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Interior to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Bangkok areas, especially among those who have just returned from a trip to their hometowns during the Songkran holidays.
Exhibition and conference group Informa saw its adjusted operating profit plummet by 71 per cent to 267.8million last year as the pandemic hammered its operations.

With global lockdowns in force for much of the year, the company saw its revenues drop 43 per cent to 1.66billion.

After taking a one-off Covid-19 impairment charge in the first half of last year, Informa posted a statutory operating loss of 880.4million for the year.

Lockdown woes: Exhibition and conference group Informa has been hard hit by the pandemic

Informa has been cutting costs in the past year by laying off staff and closing offices, while postponing events and raising equity and debt to cushion the blow from the health crisis that has battered the events industry.

The group said the pace of return of physical events will determine the extent of improvement beyond this year's baseline revenue commitment of 1.7billion.

Mainland China, North America and the Middle East have tracked ahead of Europe in reopenings, Informa said. 'World of Concrete' kicks off in Las Vegas in early June, marking its first major trade show in the US, its largest market, since the pandemic began.

Analysts had expected Informa to post adjusted operating profit of 265million on revenue of 1.66billion, according to a company-compiled consensus.

Shares in FTSE 100-listed Informa are down 0.78 per cent or 4.40p to 559.80p. A year ago the share price was 434.60p.

Susannah Streeter, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Informa has managed to limp through the crisis, with the support of its subscriptions business, providing specialist content and digital platforms.

Back to normality: World of Concrete' kicks off in Las Vegas in early June

'There has been positive underlying performance for Taylor and Francis, Informas specialist in scholarly research arm and Informa Intelligence, which has seen strong growth in providing products for US banks.

'The group is hopeful that 2021 will be a year of transition for its physical events business and already there are positive signs from China, where the virus was supressed rapidly. 45 events have been held since last June, with 1.2million attendees. North America and the Middle East are expected to be the next regions to re-start events, with Europe lagging behind.

'Even as economies reopen, the world wont be taking a backwards step in digital transformation, and Informa will need to keep up the pace of transition, with its physical events business likely to be slow to recover.'
Mayor London Breed, facing yet another deadly month of overdoses in San Francisco, asked for clarity from the Biden administration Wednesday over whether opening a sanctioned drug use site would violate federal law.

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Breed  and several other mayors, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf  said the threat of federal enforcement is one of their greatest disincentives to opening a site where people can use drugs around health professionals and also access services like drug treatment.

And we ask that you end that threat, they wrote.

The request comes as the entire country faces a dramatic surge in fatal overdoses. The rise has largely been attributed to the increased prevalence of fentanyl, an incredibly powerful opioid that can kill someone with just 2 milligrams of powder. The San Francisco Police Department said its on track to seize more than double the amount of fentanyl in the Tenderloin this year as it did in 2020.

Experts have also blamed the pandemic, which has led to more people using drugs alone, and has also increased loneliness and stress.

Nearly 700 people died of overdoses in San Francisco last year, a 59% rise from 2019. The city may be in for yet another record-breaking year: 204 people died in just the first three months of 2021, according to data released by the medical examiner last Friday.

Public health experts around the country widely agree that safe injection sites are critical to curbing the deaths. About 100 of these sites exist around the world, in countries like Canada, Australia, Switzerland and France.

But at issue in the U.S. is the federal governments interpretation of Section 856 of the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, often referred to as the crack house statute. That law  which President Biden co-sponsored as a senator in 1986  prohibits anyone from maintaining a place where people use, sell or store drugs.

The Trump administration said safe injection sites would violate that law. In a 2018 New York Times opinion piece, former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said any city that opened one could face hefty fines and forfeiture of the property used in the criminal activity.

The idea faced another setback in January when a federal court knocked down a Philadelphia nonprofits attempt at opening a safe injection site.

The coalition of mayors  which also includes Bill de Blasio of New York City and Jim Kenney of Philadelphia  urged Garland to reevaluate the DOJs position on the Controlled Substances Act.

They also demanded that Garland issue a public statement explaining its position. If he is not prepared to explain his position, the mayors asked him to issue a national policy deprioritizing enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act against operators and clients of overdose prevention programs.

San Francisco, which has wanted to open a safe injection site for years, has another major hurdle to opening a site even if the federal government doesnt stand in its way: the state.

It is not currently legal to open such a site in California, but state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has sponsored legislation that would authorize San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland to open one. That legislation passed the Senate on Wednesday, and now will head to the Assembly.

Still, even if that passes, Breed is unlikely to allow the city to move forward unless it has assurance from the federal government.

Wiener said Thursday that because Biden takes a science-based approach to addiction, hes hopeful the new administration will be open to the idea.

Schaaf said Thursday that shes also optimistic.

Oakland is a compassionate city and overdose prevention sites can save lives and spare families the horrific pain of losing loved ones, she said in a statement to The Chronicle. These sites can help people who suffer from drug addiction get on a path to healing, as well as manage the impacts our entire community experiences when we allow drug illness to go untreated. ... Were hopeful for federal support.

The Department of Justice didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Sarah Ravani contributed to this report.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
ROCHESTER, Minn. - Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, a time when people are encouraged to safely rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, or unwanted drugs. Olmsted County usually holds a drive-up drop-off event, but it is canceled this year because of COVID-19. There are other take-back events still happening in Southeastern Minnesota and North Iowa. Click here to find one near you.

You can always drop off your unwanted prescription medications in a bin within the front doors of the Adult Detention Center any time of any day.

The pandemic is putting added strain on the country's opioid epidemic. More than 87,000 Americans died of a drug overdose between September 2019-September 2020 according to CDC data. The problem is even more troublesome in Minnesota, where overdoses jumped 32%, which is higher than the national average.

Judy Greske is a Mayo Clinic Ambulance paramedic in Duluth. Her son Jason Dobosenski was prescribed an opioid after a car accident. In the years to come, he battled addiction. Jason died from a heroin overdose in Mankato in September 2020. It was laced with fentanyl. Greske wants people to reframe how they think and talk about people struggling with addiction. "We should not be turning our backs on people with addiction problems. He felt it every time a medical professional or somebody treated him like an addict, treated him like he didn't deserve to be helped or loved. He felt it every time someone treated him disrespectfully," she says.

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson describes the opioids, meth, and heroin the country is seeing coming in from Mexico and South America is mind-boggling. "We're not going to enforce ourselves out of this epidemic. This is something we all have to get on top of, be conscious of, and do everything possible to stop it," he explains.
Amid ongoing contention surrounding gender ideology in the United Kingdom, alarms have been sounded about a policy allowing those suspected of rape in Scotland to self-identify as female.

The Times reported Saturday that a freedom of information request from a feminist policy think tank uncovered that Scotland Police said that if rape or attempted rape is perpetrated by a male who self-identifies as a woman  the male who self-identifies as a woman would be expected to be recorded as a female on relevant police systems.

Concerns about the confusion this sows into public data are being raised amid conflicting information about how law enforcement agencies document crimes.

Recording and presenting violent and sexual offenses committed by male as female distorts our understanding of the nature of offending by women and men, said Kath Murray, a policy analyst from Murray Blackburn Mackenzie.

Source:The Christian Post
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
By Krishna N. Das, Rupam Jain and Rajendra Jadhav

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Under fire for his handling of the world's worst COVID-19 surge, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has opened vaccinations for all adults from next month, but supplies are already running short.

Public forecasts by its only two vaccine producers show their total monthly output of 70-80 million doses will increase only in two months or more, though the number of people eligible for vaccines will double to an estimated 800 million from May 1.

Imports from Russia have also been delayed. India could start receiving the Sputnik V vaccine only by end-May, its local distributor Dr. Reddy's Laboratories told Reuters, at least a month later than New Delhi had expected.

That could lead to chaos at inoculation centres - and possibly help the virus spread further - as people horrified by COVID-19 patients' struggle for hospital beds and medical oxygen rush to seek immunity, government officials warn privately.

India has the world's biggest vaccine-making capacity, but has decided to delay big exports for now to focus on its own needs.

Still, supplies are already running short even for currently prioritised recipients over 45 years old.

"Eligibility doesn't guarantee availability," said a senior government official who declined to be identified.

"There are fears that the entire infrastructure will collapse but at this point all channels are being opened to ramp up supplies from other countries ... India needs a lot of help to deal with this crisis."

India is currently administering about 3 million doses a day, above the daily production of about 2.5 million and using existing inventories to fill the gap. Many states have reported they are out of stock.

Another government official said on the vaccination outlook: "(There will be) nothing dramatic by May, but more cases and deaths."

India recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 infections on Thursday, taking its total to nearly 16 million, around 185,000 of whom have died.

Story continues

The health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on vaccines.

MORE IMPORTS

India has also urged Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson to provide it with vaccines. Pfizer said it was talking to the government, while J&J has sought approval to do a small local trial but has not made any plans to sell it. Moderna has not commented.

Of the three, only J&J has a local production partner.

At the current rate of immunisation, using the AstraZeneca shot and homegrown Covaxin, it will take India more than two years to cover 70% of its 1.35 billon people, said Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in Washington and New Delhi.

"India has to produce at least 12 million doses for its own consumption every day," he said.

It has administered more than 131 million doses so far, the highest in the world after the United States and China. That, however, is lower than many richer countries per capita.

While India was initially fighting public hesitancy over vaccines, which partly led to it exporting millions of doses, the situation is completely the opposite now.

"Hundreds of people come to take vaccines, but every day they distribute only 100 coupons due to limited supply," said 45-year-old Santosh Pardeshi, who runs a laundry shop in the western district of Satara.

"I didnt get a coupon the first day so the next day, I reached the centre at 6 a.m., stood in a queue for five hours and managed to get my first dose."

A senior Satara health official said the district had the capacity to administer 50,000 doses a day, but supplies were only half that.

"All vaccination centres are now crowded and in some places people get tired standing in queue and start arguing with our staff," said the official, who declined to be identified for speaking without permission from his superiors.

"The crowd will rise further from May 1 ... unless they increase supplies, it would be difficult to manage the crowds. We may have to take the help of police."

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi, Rupam Jain in Panjim and Rajendra Jadhav in Satara; Additional reporting by Neha Arora in New Delhi; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Thursday, April 22, 2021

The Oregon Supreme Court imposed a five-year suspension of an attorney

In this lawyer discipline case, the Oregon State Bar charged respondent with violating Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC) 8.4(a)(2) (prohibiting commission of a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyers honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer) after he fired six bullets into the occupied offices of a lawyer with whom he was having a professional dispute, narrowly missing one of the occupants of the building.

In a client matter, the court found a failure to communicate.

The attorney is an Iraq veteran suffering from PTSD. He began drinking heavily after his father died in 2015.

From the side of the road, he fired six rounds from a pistol at and into the building where Hogans law firm was located. Three shots hit the brick siding, one hit a metal exterior door, and two went through one of the law firms lighted office windows. The law firm manager was in the office at the time. The police report stated that an investigator had reconstructed the trajectory of the bullets that went through the windows and found that one of the bullets had passed just to the managers left, about seven inches from her head, and hit the back of a computer. Respondent immediately left the scene and drove to his home in Vancouver, Washington. Sanction To recognize the gravity of respondents criminal conduct and ensure that respondent and other members of the Bar recognize the significance of the ethical standards to which they must adhere, we conclude that the lengthiest of permissible sanctions short of disbarment is warranted. Under BR 6.1(a)(3) the maximum length of a disciplinary suspension that we may order is five years, and that is the suspension we impose. Oregonlive reported Erik Graeff, 42, of Vancouver, sent at least three profanity-filled emails to the other attorney about three hours before the shooting, the affidavit said. The dispute apparently began because the other lawyer, Terrence Hogan, had left Graeff a voicemail saying he didn't approve of Graeff's work on a recent civil case in Washington the two teamed together on. Graeff responded to Hogan's voicemail with an email at 3:40 p.m., belittling the message and attached a picture of a cat playing a violin, the affidavit said. Hogan replied about a half-hour later saying Graeff will have to explain his conduct to the state bars in Oregon and Washington. Graeff is licensed to practice in both states. Graeff replied that the idea "sounds good," that he'd be waiting and he's tougher than Hogan and both state bars, the affidavit said. "You know where I am tough guy," Hogan wrote at 4:35 p.m., according to the court papers. "If the traffic wasn't such [expletive], I'd be there today," Graeff emailed three minutes later. (Mike Frisch) (Mike Frisch) He was befriended by an attorney but they had a falling out.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2021/04/the-oregon-supreme-court-imposed-a-five-year-suspension-of-an-attorney-in-this-lawyer-discipline-case-the-oregon-state-bar.html
Apr. 22Two Honolulu police commissionersincluding one who was state attorney generalare dissatisfied with the Honolulu Police Department's refusal to release body camera footage from a fatal confrontation with Iremamber Sykap, 16, who was shot and killed this month following a series of alleged crimes that involved a police pursuit and a car careening into a canal.

Sykap's death on April 5 was the first of two fatal officer-involved shootings of unarmed suspects this month. The Police Commission held a special meeting Wednesday, in part, to discuss the shootings. HPD officers killed burglary suspect Lindani Myeni, 29, after an April 14 fight in Nuuanu in which three officers were injured.

HPD Deputy Chief Aaron Takasaki-Young on Wednesday told police commissioners that officers recovered a replica firearm from the white Honda Civic that Sykap was driving, but not a functioning firearm.

HPD released body camera footage of Myeni's shooting. But in the Sykap shooting, according to Takasaki-Young, state law prevents HPD from releasing footage of a juvenile while the alleged co-conspirators, also juveniles, remain the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.

"Pursuant to the officer-involved shooting, three juveniles and two adults were subsequently arrested for offenses ranging from attempted murder to unlawful entry into a motor vehicle, " he told commissioners. "Those individuals have been released pending investigation. Body worn camera footage is not subject to release at this time."

HPD's refusal to release video of Sykap's shooting did not sit well with some commissioners, who cited Wednesday's release of body camera video by officials in Columbus, Ohio, in the shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant, 16. The video was released with Bryant's face blurred.

"I don't understand how civil litigation or the existence of an ongoing investigation prevents the release of the body cam footage, " said Honolulu Police Commissioner Doug Chin, Hawaii's former lieutenant governor, former state Attorney General and a former Honolulu deputy prosecutor. "I think that's the part that doesn't make sense to the public. If the camera says what the camera says, why not just release it ? I understand that's the department's position. But what we're trying to wrap our heads around is what prevents it from getting released simply to show what happened when the shots were fired ? The footage is not going to change."

Story continues

Sykap was driving a Honda being pursued by police from East Honolulu until he drove at officers while steering the wrong way on Kalakaua Avenue before going off the road and into a canal along Kalakaua, according to HPD. Police said the vehicle was involved in a robbery about 20 minutes before it ended up in the canal.

Police Commissioner Michael Broderick, also an attorney, asked Takasaki-Young on Wednesday why HPD could not release officers' body cam video that blurred Sykap's face, as officials in Ohio did.

Without the video, Broderick told Takasaki-Young that questions remain about HPD officers' use of deadly force.

Takasaki-Young did not offer a direct response. Instead, he said that officers had few options as the Honda bore down on them.

"The purpose of them using force, I have to say the situation they were involved in rapidly turned dynamic, " Takasaki-Young said. "Given the situation, the officers felt their best option (was ) to use force that, unfortunately, resulted in the discharge of their firearms. I don't think officers go into work everyday, commissioner, thinking that we're going to discharge our firearms. That's probably the last thing they want. The situations and our reactions are to the conduct and behavior we respond to. They have nothing to do with somebody's ethnic makeup or gender makeup."

Chin took issue with Takasaki-Young's response to Broderick.

"That's highly offensive, " Chin said. "I don't think Commissioner Broderick was at all trying to imply something like that. And for you to insinuate that commissioners think thatwe don't at all think that about police officers. That's not what his question was going at. He wants to know why the body cam footage was not released."

Takasaki-Young said he did not intend to offend the commission.

Joshua Wisch, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union Hawaii, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that HPD must release all body cam video, 911 call recordings and other evidence related to the shooting deaths of Sykap, who was Micronesian, and Myeni, a native of South Africa.

"We saw at today's Honolulu Police Commission meeting that HPD is continuing to stonewall, refusing to release footage of Iremamber Sykap's killing, " Wisch said. "This is simply wrong. HPD doesn't get to choose what information is relevant. They should release all the body camera footage of Iremamber Sykap's killing, of Lindani Myeni's killing, as well as the 911 calls. Police departments on the continent are able to do this and HPD should as well."
- 93% reduction in annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from 2018 baseline through switch to renewable energy

- Targeting 65% of suppliers by spend to have Science Based Targets by 2025

TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To mark Earth Day 2021, Thomson Reuters today announced it has reduced its annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 93% from 2018 baseline levels. The reductions are largely the result of investment in renewable power for the company's facilities through the purchase of renewable energy credits that incentivize the addition of more renewable power into the grid. The company is now ahead of its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitment to reduce annual GHG emissions by 50% by 2030.

The annual emissions reductions of 94,175 metric tons of Scope 1 (direct operations) and Scope 2 (indirect operations related to energy and heat, etc.) are equivalent to removing 20,346 passenger vehicles from the road annually. In addition to the switch to renewable energy, Thomson Reuters is carbon neutral through the purchase of carbon offsets and has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

"Despite the pandemic, we've seen tremendous momentum in corporate action on climate change and our company is committed to doing its part," said Steve Hasker, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters. "Reducing our GHG emissions is an important part of our ESG commitments. We are pleased to report that our decision to shift to renewable power has already reduced emissions significantly. Through our work across the entire supply chain, we are committed to doing more."

In 2020, Thomson Reuters joined the SBTi, a partnership between the United Nations Global Compact, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), to drive climate action in the private sector in support of the goals of the Paris Agreement limiting global temperature warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The SBTi requires companies make commitments, register their targets for approval, and report on progress. Thomson Reuters has the following SBTi-approved climate change targets:

Reducing absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2018 base year;

Reducing absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from fuel and energy related activities, business travel and employee commuting by 25% by 2025 from a 2019 base year; and

Targeting 65% of its suppliers by spend to have Science Based Targets by 2025.

Thomson Reuters is using its procurement process to engage and incentivize suppliers to take action and further reduce emissions across the entire supply chain to meet its SBTi commitments. The company has already begun tracking suppliers that have signed on to SBTi and is using this information to update its list of approved suppliers monthly. Moving forward, other actions to reduce emissions include reduced employee commuting through a hybrid working model, the increased use of technology for meetings, and efficiency upgrades within offices and data management centers.

"As part of the transformation of our business, we're making changes to our operations and we plan to embed these early results into our organization and capitalize on this momentum to take the company even further," said Kirsty Roth, Chief Operations and Technology Officer at Thomson Reuters. "By looking at our business model and operations, we're identifying ways to be more agile, innovative  and sustainable."

This week, Reuters launched a new ranking of the top climate scientists shaping the climate change debate. "The Hot List" identifies and ranks climate academics according to how influential they are, exploring not only their research but also how their work influences other scientists and the public, activists and political leaders.

As part of its Environment Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, Thomson Reuters discloses its environmental data annually in its Social Impact Report. The full report is available at www.tr.com/social-impact-report.

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the world's most global news service  Reuters. For more information on Thomson Reuters, visit tr.com and for the latest world news, reuters.com.

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The Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill is set to be pushed through Parliament by the Johnson government as early as June. It represents the culmination of the most serious attack on democratic rights in decades.

It was preceded by a raft of anti-democratic legislation pushed through in the last year, including the Spy Cops legislationthe Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Actand the Overseas Operations Bill.

The Police Bill empowers police to place the same restrictions on static public assemblies as they already can on moving public processions. These include restrictions on the location and start and finish times of protests, and the noise being made by protestors. The home secretary is empowered to decide what constitutes serious disruption to the activities of an organisation which are carried on in the vicinity of a public procession or serious disruption to the life of the community and restrict protests accordingly.

Demonstrations have been held nationwide but have mobilised only a few thousand peopleeven in London. On Saturday protests against the Bill gathered a 1,000 people at most in London. In some cities only a few dozen people attended.

The small turnouts do not reflect a lack of public opposition to the draconian laws being enacted by a widely hated government. The forces leading the protests comprise pseudo-left groups, including the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and Socialist Party, environmental groups including Extinction Rebellion, supporters of Black Lives Matter and numerous groups and individuals promoting identity politics who elevate issues of sexual orientation and gender self-identification above everything else. What unites them all is an insistence that class issuescentral to the governments clampdown on protestsmust be rejected.

The campaign against the Police Bill organised by these elements is therefore a political fraud, epitomised by the central lie and political conceit that the Bill is opposed by the trade unions and Labour Party.

The reality is that Labour and the unions have organised nothing against the Bill. Had they even put forward token opposition to it, Labour could have mobilised local branch officials and councillors ensuring that thousands and even tens of thousands were on the protests.

On this basis, the political reality is that the Police Bill is going to pass into law in a few months time as there is no constituency within the political elite, including Labour, for the defence of democratic rights.

Labour reluctantly voted against the Police Bill clear in the knowledge that the Conservative governments 80 seat majority will ensure its passage anyway. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer had originally planned for Labour to only abstain against it, thus giving it tacit support to go through unchallenged. Only last month did Starmer switch to opposing it, in the wake of the police attack on a vigil in London for Sarah Everard. Everard, a young woman, had been murdered just weeks earlier. By the time of the vigil, it had emerged that a London Metropolitan Police constable and firearms officer was due to stand trial charged with her kidnap and murder.

Labour opposed the Bill based on an amendment at its March 16 second reading. This only confirmed that its main concern was that the Bills provisions were not draconian enough. Starmers amendment opposed the Bill, notwithstanding the need for a police covenant and for tougher sentences for serious crimes, including child murder, terrorism and dangerous driving, and for assaults on emergency service workers

The amendment said nothing in opposition to the attacks on the rights of protest and assembly, but said it should be opposed only because the Bill rushes changes to protest law

The amendment insisted the Bill was not authoritarian enough regarding tougher sentences for serious crimes, including child murder, terrorism and dangerous driving, and for assaults on emergency service workers, before focusing on crimes centred on gender issues. It fails to introduce a single new measure specifically designed to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and is therefore an abusers charter since domestic abuse rates have spiked and victims of rape are facing the lowest prosecution rates on record, and because the Bill fails to criminalise street harassment, fails to make misogyny a hate crime, fails to raise minimum sentences for rape or stalking, and fails to give whole life orders to those found guilty of abduction and sexual assault and murder of a stranger.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) leader Frances OGrady opposed the Bill on similar grounds when speaking on the BBCs Politics Live on March 16. She declared the focus should be on women and ending violence and not just violence but harassment and everyday sexism that is what politicians should be focused on a real strategy to end that behaviour.

Her only citation of other nasty bits in this Bill focused on its picking on gypsy and traveller communities

Raising such legitimate concerns about the ongoing brutal treatment of gypsy and traveller communities is the equivalent of a magician using sleight of hand and distraction to conceal the fact that the TUC is doing nothing to oppose the wholesale evisceration of the right to protestwhich is the crux of the Bill and which is directed above all at the working class.

Those condemning the governments persecution and harassment of gypsy and traveller communities omit Labours own record in its role leading local councils in major urban areas. Earlier this month, Charlotte Nichols, Starmers shadow minister for women and equalities, had to apologise for taking part in distributing a leaflet campaigning for upcoming local elections in her Warrington North constituency raising the necessity of dealing with Traveller incursions.

The TUC only became genuinely animated after riot police stepped up their repression against anti-Bill protests in Bristol during the week of March 21. On March 26, the TUC published a statement representing the main trade unions representing some 100,000 workers across the Bristol area. It said nothing about the actions of the police in attacking demonstrators, but condemned instead actions of a minority of protesters that were in stark contrast to the peaceful demonstration against the Bill earlier in the day.

In their efforts to proclaim the unions as the only organisations that can defeat the Bill, Socialist Worker, the SWPs newspaper, published a piece on April 11, How workers battled to kill the bill in 1971.

The article argued that just as a Tory government in 1971 had passed a reactionary anti-union Bill, the Industrial Relations Act 1971, which was opposed by workers in mass Kill the Bill protestsso once again the unions can come to the rescue.

This is despite their acknowledging the role of the trade union bureaucracy in attempting to sabotage the Kill the Bill protests in the early 1970s. The SWP points out that at the TUC conference in March 1971 leaders refused to make it a condition of TUC membership that unions should not cooperate with the new anti-union laws, adding, It wasnt until September 1971, after the bill became law, that the TUC shifted to instruct rather than advise members not to register under the Act.

The SWP also carefully evades the fact that when the Edward Heaths Conservative government fell in 1974, after being defeated in the February general election, following years of mass strikes by miners and others, it was replaced by Harold Wilsons Labour government. Seeking to placate a combative working class, Wilson repealed the Industrial Relations Act, but replaced it with the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 that kept intact the bulk of the Tories anti-worker legislation.

More fundamental still, the fact that the SWP have to turn to events that took place 50 years ago in terms of when the unions and Labour were last involved in any successful struggles of the working class indicates what the SWP tries to conceal today.

The SWP, as with the entire pseudo-left whose members comprise a significant section of the well-heeled officialdom of these organisations, present the trade unions as essentially unchanged since the period when they were associated with a struggle to secure reforms. Since the 1970s, the unions have overseen an unbroken series of betrayals spanning decades.

The transformation of the unions as defensive organisations of the working class into corporate tools of management is not a British phenomenon, but confirms that the globalisation of production has stripped away the basis for reforms based on a nationally organised labour market and the trade unions ability to combine a defence of capitalism with securing even the most meagre concessions on behalf of their members.

A universal feature of the Kill the Bill protests is the virtual absence of representation from the trade unions and Labour Party. The occasional trade union, Constituency Labour Party and trades council banner is invariably brought by one or two members of the pseudo-left and Stalinist groups in a pathetic attempt to keep up the fiction that there is a fight being waged by these organisations.

Karen Reissmann, a long standing leading member of the Socialist Workers Party and a member of the National Executive Committee of the largest public sector union, Unison, said at the Manchester protest last week,  It is important that trade unions become a bigger part of this movement and join. Weve brought our union banner here today because its important that the government knows that the six million trade unionists in this country know that if this bill is passed it will restrict our ability at work to fight.

Six million members represented by one Karen Reissmann.

Karen Reissmann speaking in front of her Unison branch banner at the sparsely attended Kill the Bill protest in Manchester on Saturday (credit: WSWS Media)

In an unintended indictment of the role of the bureaucracy, the SWP writes, The main focus of resistance is presently on the streets, rather than in workplaces. For the SWP, boosting of the Kill the Bill movement on the streets is an attempt to ingratiate themselves closer to the myriad petty-bourgeois advocates of identity politics that presently dominate the protests.

An insidious role in facilitating the passage of the Police Bill is being played by the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG), a rump of around 30 left Labour MPs. While Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader from 2015-20, he and his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell led the organisation. Last November, Corbyn had the Labour whip removed as part of Starmers anti-Semitism witch-hunt, but Corbyn remains a leading SCG figure.

On March 30, three weeks after the Bills March 9 introduction to Parliament, the SCG published a brief statement of 10 shortly worded paragraphs. It was signed by 28 Labour MPs, six Labour supporting House of Lords peers, plus Corbyn.

While making token references to the attack on the historic right to protest, the main concern of these stalwart defenders of the capitalist order and of the Labour Party itself was revealed in their fearful warning that Legislation seeking to suppress the right to protest will only prompt more protests and increase conflict.

The SCG statement is a carefully crafted avoidance of the truth. It conceals the fact that Labour, the party to which they owe unswerving loyalty, has endorsed virtually the entirety of the Tories legislative agenda. Its statement explains that the government aims to weaken peoples ability to oppose its unjust and unpopular policies. This is why members of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs have consistently voted against the Overseas Operations Bill, the Spy Cops Bill and continue to be at the forefront of opposition in Parliament to the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

The fact remains that Labour allowed the passage of these same Bills and did nothing to mobilise the working class in opposition. On the Overseas Operations Bill, Labour abstained on its second reading before registering a formal vote against at its last readingknowing it would pass anyway. For all Corbyns crowing, nearly half (16) of the SCGs then meagre 34 MPs did not vote against the Overseas Operations Bill which is a licence for soldiers to maim, torture and kill.

Regarding the Spy Cops Bill, Starmer instructed his MPs to abstain and just 34 MPs, mainly from the SCG, voted against the third reading.

The fight against the Police Bill and the drive to authoritarian rule can only be fought on the basis of the independent political mobilisation of the working class, the only social force that is committed to the defence of democratic rights. In this vital struggle, the Socialist Equality Party explained in a statement published last month, workers are not only up against the Tory government and the entire state apparatus, but are in mortal conflict with the Labour Party, the trade unions and their myriad pseudo-left apologists.
In a typical awards season, movie studios pummel industry voters. Los Angeles Sunset Boulevard is plastered with For Your Consideration billboards for films that stand a decent shot; press and industry executives circulate at splashy invitation-only parties; press coverage ramps up; special screenings boast Q&As with the films actors and directors; journalists are bombarded with DVDs and online streams.

At the start of the last Oscar season, I went to the Hollywood premiere of Netflix's The Irishman, recalls MovieMaker Magazine Editor-in-Chief Tim Molloy in an email. Director Martin Scorsese and all the stars  Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel  came out and personally introduced the film. Netflix flew in reporters from across the country. Afterwards, we walked over to a glamorous poolside gala where we ate exquisite food, smoked hand-rolled cigars, and debated the film and Scorsese's career well into the night, against a backdrop made up to look like a blue-collar 1950s neighborhood. I'll never forget it.

These opulent affairs are just some of the ways studios romance the press and Academy voters, who decide the Oscar winners each year. Studios dont typically talk about the process, as most would like to keep up the appearance of a merit-based system, and yet: I would never argue that you can buy an Oscar, The Hollywood Reporter awards columnist Scott Feinberg says over the phone. But I think you can buy your way into the conversation.

That all came to a screeching halt this awards season, however, thanks to the still-ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which all but erased in-person moviegoing in 2020. As typically bustling cinemas sat empty across the US, releases were postponed, and postponed again. The movies that did come out in 2020 trickled onto streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime, HBO Max, and Hulu. This industry-wide sea change has resulted in a markedly different campaigning experience, too, even as vaccine rollouts ramp up and awards show producers figure out ways to inject some fun into Zoom-heavy ceremonies.

Sure, there are still plenty of FYC billboards lining the streets in Los Angeles this year. But what does campaigning lose when audiences cant see movies in the cinema, event spaces cannot host industry parties, and Q&As featuring big-name talent are relegated to Zoom calls?

Feinberg notes that the people who will be worst affected by a pared-down campaigning year are the drivers and caterers who would normally shuttle talent and party favours to studio-sponsored award season ceremonies, not to mention lead-up dinners, lunches, and cocktail parties. The food and dining industry and car services are not getting any of the business that they usually would get, he says. All of the studios send all of the talent in cars with drivers, and none of that happens this year. All of that has stopped. It's been a huge hit to the Oscar industrial complex, if you want to call it that. There's a ton of people now whose businesses largely revolve around this annual exercise.

Guests attend the Vanity Fair Social Club Oscar's Viewing Party in 2016 in Culver City, California (Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

Feinberg also asserts that Academy voters, many of whom are older, just arent as engaged this year. Thats due to a number of factors: Studios, for example, are phasing out DVD screeners in favor of streaming. If youre an older Academy member, you might not have the patience to deal with the technology shift. And when it comes to streaming platforms, older voters are most familiar with Netflix by default, simply due to the fact that Netflix has been around the longest, compared to competitors. I think it's not a coincidence that this year Netflix has, I believe, 35 nominations, including two best picture nominees and nominees in every acting category, Feinberg says.

As for the screenings and Q&As with talent, those are still happening  but over Zoom. Feinberg has noticed interest diminishing there, too. People are just so Zoomed out, he says. Because they're doing Zoom in their personal lives, theyre doing Zoom for work, and then they are being asked to do Zoom (or some variation of it) for participating in the Oscar season.

Plus, he says, theres something special about physically being in a room with celebrities when theyre promoting movies up for awards consideration. Without that, participation around awards season has been, according to Feinberg, depressed.

Lead-up press and award circuit Q&As also tend to be divisive, depending on who you ask. If youre an industry veteran, a virtual event might seem convenient because theres no travel and no hustle and bustle. If youre newer to the scene, their highly staged nature may put a damper on organic networking.

If youre an Oscar contender, there is no guarantee that you will ever have another [chance] at this, says Feinberg. Somebody who's really having a great moment, take for one example [Promising Young Woman director] Emerald Fennell She's missing out on a lot of stuff because she's in England, it's the middle of the night when most people are doing promotional stuff. And she hasn't had her movie [screened] aside from Sundance. So you wonder if that will [prevent people from] becoming more acquainted with her, like they normally would during the awards season.

Vanity Fair West Coast Editor, Krista Smith, actor Mya Taylor, and Director Sean S Baker speak onstage during IFILMs A Conversation with the Director and Star Of The Film Tangerine during the 2016 Vanity Fair Social Club #VFSC for Oscar Week in 2016. (Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

On the other hand, a movie like Nomadland, which is up for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director, has benefited this awards season  from a marketing perspective, anyway. The Hulu and Searchlight drama, about an older woman (Frances McDormand) who becomes houseless and travels through the American West in her van, has been screened at numerous drive-in cinemas during the pandemic. The vehicular coincidence of the films plot and the Covid-affected ways people are seeing movies seems to have been a good thing for the otherwise low-budget Nomadland, which is expected to sweep the Oscars.

Not all has been lost. Molloy posits that even a Covid-affected campaigning season has placed renewed focus on the films up for awards, and is less about superficial wining and dining. Its less about the razzle dazzle than any time I can remember in the last decade, he says. That's partly a good thing  we shouldn't judge movies by their opulent premieres. But it would be nice to at least see the films on the big screen. And I sure wouldn't mind a couple of parties.
The prevalence of Parkinson's increases with age and only 4 per cent of Parkinson's cases are diagnosed before the age of 50. While approximately 1 per cent of the population above 60 years suffers from Parkinson's, its instance increases to 5 per cent among those above 86 years.

"Though Parkinson's disease causes slowing of overall body movements, mental health issues are quite common (70-80 per cent) in such patients. Not often the disease manifests with mental disorders (anxiety, depression) rather than physical slowing. These mental disorders have a greater impact on the overall quality of life than the physical disability. Depression is the commonest mental disorder presenting as reduced interest and motivation along with fear of socialising among Parkinson's disease victims," said Abhinay M. Huchche, Consultant Neuro-Physician, Sree Lakshmi Gayatri (SLG) Hospitals.According to him, various types of sleep disturbances, visual hallucinations, thoughts filled with paranoia are also noticed in the patients.Screening for mental health issues in the first visit to the neurologist is a must. In the busy clinics, the caretaker must proactively bring up issues pertaining to mental health so that they could be addressed. Usually a multidisciplinary approach is needed to tackle mental health issues."An exercise programme for victims of Parkinson's disease helps boost their motivation and support groups help them overcome the depression. Appropriate medicines are added as per the need. Psychosis (hallucinations and delusions) wherein Parkinson's disease individuals lose touch with reality has to be dealt with sensitively. Caregivers and society need to be told that it is their faulty mind and not the original person that is behaving abnormally. Psychology, therapy and drugs form the core of therapy," added Abhinay Huchche.Commenting on the ailment's frequency, Kailas Mirche, Consultant Neurologist, Continental Hospitals, pointed Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. The ailment is witnessed more commonly in men than in women."Parkinson's disease is already the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world; and some international studies suggest that the number of people with Parkinson's has increased by over 35 per cent in the last 10 years. Although Parkinson's disease can't be cured, it is important its victims know about the condition at an early stage which could be managed using medications. Occasionally, doctors may suggest surgery to regulate certain regions of brain to improve the symptoms," Ketan Chaturvedi, Senior Consultant, Neurology, Wockhardt Hospital at Nagpur."Mental health issues are underrated, stigmatised and unaddressed in our society; and such conditions could be linked to more serious complications like Parkinson's disease. It is important we take a sympathetic approach to the victims of Parkinson's disease, and the social circle around such individuals promptly identifies these symptoms and provides help in improving the overall quality of life of these individuals," added Praveen Changala, Consultant -- Neuro Physician, Aware Gleneagles Global Hospital, LB Nagar.Source: IANS
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Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

Information on how to identify strategic and tactical negotiation levels that will help achieve the best prices.

Gain information on relevant pricing levels, detailed explanation on pros and cons of prevalent pricing models.

Methods to help engage with the right suppliers and discover KPI's to evaluate incumbent suppliers.

Request a free sample report for more information

Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Rapeseed Oil market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Rapeseed Oil pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers.

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 4.00%-8.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Rapeseed Oil TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities.

Some of the top Rapeseed Oil suppliers listed in this report:

This Rapeseed Oil procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Cargill Incorp .

. Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Bunge Ltd.

Wilmar International Ltd.

Louis Dreyfus Co. BV

Sodrugestvo Group SA

Olympic Oils Ltd.

American Vegetable Oils Inc.

Mackintosh of Glendaveny

Borges Agricultural & Industrial Edible Oils SAU

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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There are many challenges businesses could face when it comes to building a brand on social media. A few challenges include lack of creativity, online reputation management and the ability to become noticed and stand out.

Photo by Tranmautritam from Pexels

1. Run a competition

2. Product/service feature and benefits

3. Blog

Take your brand and business marketing to the next level Unlike other channels, Press Office newsrooms on Bizcommunity are an owned asset for brands, the place where PR or brand communications teams can communicate whatever, however and whenever they want...

4. Tips

5. CSI (Corporate Social Initiative)

6. Customer Reviews

7. User Generated Content

However, there is one challenge and theme that is becoming a daily issue for many businesses and that is the creation of content on a consistent level. Content is the lifeblood for a business on social media. If you do not have content your socials become inactive and dormant.There are three main aspects brands should consider when it comes to positioning themselves on social media. These aspects includeor. The creation of content should be based on these 3 aspects and should align to the business goals and objectives.Here a few ideas we focused on when creating content for a business on social media.If you're starting out, generating followers and engagement is not that easy. A great way to draw attention, generate followers and engagement is to run a competition. Partner with brands that align to your companys values. When it comes to running a competition, the trick in making it a success is the prize on offer. Make sure the prize is of a higher value.If you're stuck with creating unique content, the simple and easiest content to focus on is your product and service offering. However, we found that most brands are going this route on social media. One way to differentiate yourself from your competitors is to focus on the benefits customers will derive from your product/service. So instead of simple images of the product, share more about the experience and value potential customers will gain from it.Blogging contributes to your brand being found online and is an effective tactic used to educate potential customers. Besides writing about the value your product/service can offer, you can also write about solution offerings.The words How to has been the most searched keywords on Google. Blog using How to. If you a baker, you can write regular blogs on how to bake the perfect chocolate cake; how to bake a simple carrot cake; how to start a bakery. This type of content on your website will help your business with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Then share this content on your social media pages.Another form of content can be to provide weekly tips. Once you understand who your target audience is, try to see how you can add value to them by providing tips and ways to overcome the challenges you have experienced. These tips can be in the form of short video clips or carousal images.There are many needs within our communities. As a startup or small business, you might not always have the funds to sponsor a NGO. The easiest way to get involved in your community is to offer what you have (service, product or knowledge). This will only cost you time and you can use the sponsorship as content for your social media pages.Credibility and trust is a major issue when it comes to consumers buying into your business and service offering. Asking your clients for reviews and posting it on social media gives you more content to play around with and to use. Posting about your customers feedback instils confidence and trust amongst potential customers when conducting research online on your brand.Humans connect with humans and user generated content is an effective way to establish a human connection. User Generated Content can either be in the form of your clients or an influencer campaign. You can post about your clients experience in your store or shop. Alternatively run an influencer campaign where you run a trade exchange offering an influencer product/service in exchange for posts over their social media platforms.
Some app makers reveal that they fear how much power Apple and Google have when it comes to distribution and over their business.

Match Group Chief Legal Officer Jared Sine said during a hearing that they are all afraid, according to a CNBC report.

Match Group owns dating site Tinder. Aside from them, representatives from Apple and Google are also present during the hearing.

Tile faces new competition from Apple's AirTag technology and streaming music service Spotify.

Lawmakers are working on updates to the antitrust laws that could better account for the power a few tech moguls have over many digital markets.

READ MORE: Google, Apple Suspend 'Free Speech' Parler App in Wake of Capitol Riot

The Hearing

An executive from Spotify and Match Group said that Google and Apple have used their dominating presence in the app platform space to charge commissions as high as 30 percent of app developers' total sales.

The hearing was led by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee.

Klobuchar said that they are not angry about success, adding that they just want to ensure that capitalism keeps going in a strong way.

"This situation, to me, doesn't seem like that's happening," Klobuchar was quoted in a Forbes report.

Apple's chief compliance officer and vice president of corporate law, Kyle Andeer, and Google's senior director of public policy and government relations, Wilson White, both argued how their platforms have helped developers reach billions of customers worldwide.

Andeer said that creating software was difficult and often expensive when they introduced the App Store in 2008.

Andeer also noted that the App Store is not just a store, but also a studio containing canvases and brushes and paints that artists need to create their work.

Meanwhile, White said that they designed Android and Google Play with freedom, openness, and accessibility in mind.

Allegations

App developers are worried that Apple's own rival products incentivized it to make unfavorable decisions on them.

Spotify allows customers to upgrade only outside of its iOS app to avoid Apple's 15 percent to 30 percent commission fee on digital services,

In addition, Apple does not let the app maker discuss upgrades with customers through the app. Users have to go through a web browser on a PC or another method.

Meanwhile, representatives from Apple and Google both told lawmakers that their fees for developers are meant to be allocated to distributing apps through their platforms.

The representatives also said that it is for securing them properly.

App makers also complained about Apple's unclear app store rules and delay the launch of key features, according to a World News Era report.

Lee and Andeer discussed how complex Apple's App Store rules can be.

This was backed by Sine, saying Tinder had tried to submit a version of its app with a feature seeking to protect its LGBTQ+ users by notifying them when they were in a country where they could be a risk of exposing their sexuality.

Sine said it took two months for Apple to sort out the issue.

The app makers highlighted their dependence on the app stores because of their unprecedented access to consumers. However, they also noted that it is not a symbiotic relationship.

"We are not successful because of what Apple has done, we have been successful despite Apple's interference," Spotify Chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez was quoted.

READ ALSO: Android vs. iOS Market Share: Google Poised to Continue Dominance Until 2018

WATCH: Apple Store and Google Play Store owners testify before Congress (full hearing) - from CNET Highlights




Its been a big week for lithium, with a multi-billion-dollar mega-merger, a new major production deal in Chile, and funding for Europes first large-scale lithium refinery in Chile. Things are looking up for the vital battery metal.

Australian lithium miners Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) and Orocobre (ASX:ORE) agreed on a merger worth $3.1 billion, which will make them the fifth-largest lithium producer in the world. The company, to be based in Buenos Aires, plans to produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries using refined lithium to meet the increasing global demand.

The new company, which has yet to be named, is expected to achieve a 10 percent share of the lithium market within the next five to seven years.

At the same time, Chilean lithium and iodine producer SQM also signed a seven-year agreement to produce lithium hydroxide for use in 500,000 EV batteries alongside chemicals company Johnson Mattheys.

Chile currently holds around 60 percent of global lithium reserves, producing approximately 20 percent of lithium globally. However, at present, the mining of lithium can only happen in collaboration with a state-owned company, an issue that is currently being debating in the lower house.

Following Chile and Australia, Argentina is the third-largest global lithium producer, with a target of $10.7 billion in lithium exports within the next ten years.

In other lithium-based news - U.K. company Green Lithium has secured funding to construct Europes first large-scale lithium refinery to be based in the U.K., allowing the country to produce EV batteries for the home fleet.

Related Video: Guess What? Offshore Oil Is Cleanest Producer

A substantial proportion of lithium refining currently takes place in China, forcing Europe to rely on imports to fuel the EV market. However, with an anticipated 1.4 million tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate expected to be required annually to meet EV needs by 2030, it is vital that Europe develop its lithium industry. Markets expect an increase in demand of around 400 percent. Green Lithium hopes the new refinery will also go hand-in-hand with the U.K. governments net-zero carbon aims.

Richard Taylor, Green Lithiums founding director stated of the development, By providing the missing link in the supply chain, Green Lithium aims to become the gateway to, and critical enabler for, the UK and European electric vehicle market.

Metals like lithium and copper are projected to soar in the future as governments and regulators push for a move away from fossil fuels. Goldman Sachs analysts claimed in a recent research note that copper and lithium will become the new oil, arguing that "The critical role copper will play in achieving the Paris climate goals cannot be overstated".

Copper helps power wind, solar, and geothermal technologies. And with prices increasing by around 80 percent over the last year, this is already a much sought-after commodity. Analysts expect the price of copper to increase from $9,000 per tonne to as much as $15,000 per tonne by 2025.

For lithium, demand is increasing year-on-year as it continues to power batteries for EVs, as well as many electrical devices, including laptops and cell phones. The lithium-ion battery market value could reach as much as $46 billion by 2026, according to current estimates.

With several big advances being made in the lithium industry, it seems that the metals market is the one to watch as energy companies ramp up their renewables research and production.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Preliminary population statistics 2021, April

Published: 22 April 2021

More births in the early part of the year than in January to March last year

According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, Finland's population at the end of March was 5,537,116. During JanuaryMarch Finland's population increased by 3,323 persons. The reason for the population increase was migration gain from abroad: the number of immigrants was 4,841 higher than that of emigrants. The number of births was 1,578 lower than that of deaths.

Population increase by month 20182021*

According to the preliminary statistics for JanuaryMarch a total of 12,156 children were born, which is 717 more than in the corresponding period 2020. The number of deaths was 13,734 which is 358 lower than one year earlier.

Altogether 7,064 persons immigrated to Finland from abroad and 2,223 persons emigrated from Finland during JanuaryMarch. The number of immigrants was 1,148 lower and the number of emigrants 898 lower than in the previous year. The number of emigrations in the early part of the year was on the same level as after the mid-1990s. In all, 1,638 of the immigrants and 1,474 of the emigrants were Finnish citizens. In all, 23 per cent of the immigrants and 66 per cent of the emigrants were Finnish citizens.

According to the preliminary data, the number of inter-municipal migrations totalled 59,741 by the end of March. Compared with the previous year, the decrease was 1,183 migrations according to the municipal division of 2021.

Same-sex marriages took legal effect in March 2017. During JanuaryMarch 2021, same-sex partners entered into 65 marriages of which 45 were between two women and 20 between two men.

According to preliminary data by region, the population grew in Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa, North Ostrobothnia, Southwest Finland, Central Ostrobothnia, Aland, Kanta-Hame, Ostrobothnia, Paijat-Hame and South Ostrobothnia between JanuaryMarch of 2021.

The population grew most in absolute numbers in Uusimaa, where it grew by 2,467 persons. The next largest increase in population was seen in Pirkanmaa, 912 persons. Relative to the population, population growth was highest in Aland, 2.4 per mil, in Pirkanmaa, 1.7 per mil and in Uusimaa, 1.4 per mil. Population loss was highest in absolute numbers in the region of South Karelia that lost 222 persons of its population. The population of North Karelia decreased by 183 persons, which was the second biggest population loss. Relative to the population, the biggest population loss was found in South Karelia, 1.7 per mil.

Most migration gain from intramunicipal and international migration was collected by Uusimaa, 1,186 persons and Pirkanmaa, 958 persons. Most migration gain in relative terms based on total net migration was attained by Aland, 2.3 per mil, and Pirkanmaa, 1.8 per mil.

In absolute numbers, migration loss from total net migration was biggest in the region of Central Finland, 29 persons. Other regions did not have migration loss from total net migration. In relative terms, the biggest migration loss from total net migration was found in Central Finland, 0.1 per mil of the population.

During JanuaryMarch 2021, migration between regions numbered 25,034. The positive gain from migration between regions was seen in Pirkanmaa, Southwest Finland, Kanta-Hame, South Ostrobothnia, South Savo, Paijat-Hame, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, Kymenlaakso, Central Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, Aland and Lapland. In absolute numbers, the highest gain from migration between regions was received by Pirkanmaa, 697 persons. Also, the relative migration gain was highest in Pirkanmaa, 1.3 per mil of the population.

Migration loss from migration between regions was biggest in absolute numbers in the region of Uusimaa, 966 persons. Migration loss from migration between regions was biggest in relative terms in the region of Ostrobothnia, 1.5 per mil of the population.

Source: Preliminary population statistics, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Joonas Toivola 029 551 3355, Laura Lipasti 029 551 3041, info@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

Publication in pdf-format (248.4 kB)

Updated 22.04.2021

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Preliminary population statistics [e-publication].

ISSN=2243-3627. March 2021. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 6.6.2021].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/vamuu/2021/03/vamuu_2021_03_2021-04-22_tie_001_en.html
Lenovo has announced Lenovo TruScale for Hosted Desktops with Nutanix to deliver hosted desktops as a service on-premises.

Lenovo TruScale for Hosted Desktops with Nutanix provides Lenovo ThinkAgile HX software-defined infrastructure running Nutanix cloud platform software, a choice of Lenovo thin clients and PCs, and a choice of Citrix and other virtual desktop environments, all licensed to the end user and managed as a service with monthly billing.

According to Lenovo, TruScale for Hosted Desktops with Nutanix solutions provide cloud-like capabilities with infrastructure on premises, making it perfect for companies with data privacy compliance or regulatory concerns.

Other benefits are said to include reduced costs as Lenovo's services team handles configuration, migration, ongoing management, and end-of-life asset removal.

"Many organisations are modernising their IT infrastructures to support the growing demands remote work continues to place on their IT systems," said Lenovo Group executive vice president and president of infrastructure solutions group Kirk Skaugen.

"We are seeing a shift where customers are more interested in as-a-service models to help offset the investment associated with upgrading their IT systems quickly. Lenovo's collaboration with Nutanix provides customers with a more secure, Hosted Desktop as-a-service solution that is easy to secure, deploy and manage with minimal up-front costs."

Nutanix ANZ channel director David Gage said "Australian organisations overwhelmingly believe the hybrid workplace is here to stay, so much so that our latest Enterprise Cloud Index report found only two per cent of local business leaders expect a full return to the office by 2022 when the pandemic is expectantly behind us.

"With workers dispersed, the surface area attackers can exploit is larger than it has ever been and partners need to ensure their customers' critical data is kept secure while enabling remote access. With cloud-like capabilities and infrastructure on-premises, our end-to-end hosted Desktop-as-a-Service solution with Lenovo securely supports the hybrid worker  wherever they may be."

Lenovo infrastructure solutions group ANZ general manager Nathan Knight said "As companies tackle the requirements that continued remote work, place on their IT systems, there is a growing need for infrastructure solutions that can support this hybrid workforce now and in the future.

"We are seeing a definite trend towards as-a-service models where customers want to offset the investment associated with an IT upgrade without compromising on outcomes. Lenovo's collaboration with Nutanix provides businesses with a more secure, Hosted Desktop as-a-service solution that is easy to deploy and manage with minimal up-front costs."

Lenovo TruScale for Hosted Desktops with Nutanix is available immediately.
A new analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial of the stop-smoking drug varenicline (brand name Chantix in the US and Champix elsewhere), has provided clear evidence that varenicline does not increase the risk of psychiatric problems. The study also assessed the risk of psychiatric problems associated with bupropion and the nicotine patch. It similarly found moderate to strong evidence for no increased risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events relative to use of a placebo.

Varenicline is very effective at helping smokers to stop, mainly by reducing cigarette cravings. However, concerns were raised soon after its launch that it might lead a small proportion of users to experience psychiatric problems such as suicidal thoughts, mood disturbance and increased aggression.

This led the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency to require the manufacturer, Pfizer, to run a very large clinical trial to assess the safety of the drug. The results were published in 2016 and they were interpreted as giving varenicline a clean bill of health. The analysis conducted at the time showed that there was no 'statistically significant' difference between the rate of psychiatric adverse events in people given varenicline and those given an inactive placebo. However, did not mean there was no effect of the drug, just that there was no strong evidence that there was an effect - which is not the same thing at all.

When assessing drug side effects we need to be able to judge what the likelihood is of it causing side-effects. The study team has today published a new analysis of the trial data directly addressing that question. It used a method similar to that used by codebreakers during the Second World War, called Bayesian analysis, to directly estimate the strength of evidence that varenicline causes psychiatric problems. The analysis provided strong evidence that in people without a psychiatric history varenicline does not increase risk of psychiatric problems. In people with a psychiatric history it found that it probably did not lead to psychiatric problems but with less certainty. When it came to causing serious psychiatric problems, even in this group it provided strong evidence of no adverse effect of the drug.

Dr Emma Beard (UCL Behavioural Science and Health), who led the analysis, commented "The shadow of psychiatric problems has arguably cost thousands of lives by putting people off using varenicline to help them stop, and doctors off prescribing it. This analysis should provide further reassurance to smokers and clinicians that this is a safe, life-saving drug."

Professor Robert West, (also UCL), who was senior author on the paper, said "In my view this kind of Bayesian analysis should be standard for assessing all drug side effects, including for example, Covid-19 vaccines. It directly answers the question we want answered: what is the strength of evidence that the drug has side-effects? I'd like to see all studies of side effects use this approach in future."

###

For editors:

Peer reviewed: Yes

Type of study: Randomised Controlled Trial

Subject of study: People

Funding: Private foundation

This paper is free to download for one month from the Wiley Online Library: https:/ / onlinelibrary. wiley. com/ doi/ abs/ 10. 1111/ add. 15440 or by contacting Jean O'Reilly, Editorial Manager, Addiction, jean@addictionjournal.org.

To speak with senior author Professor Robert West: contact him by email (robertwest100@gmail.com) or mobile (+44 (0)7813916681).

Funding: EAGLES was funded by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.

Full citation for article: Beard E, Jackson SE, Anthenelli RM, Benowitz NL, St Aubin L, McRae T, Lawrence D, Russ C, Krishen A, Evins AE and West R (2021) Estimation of risk of neuropsychiatric adverse events from varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine patch versus placebo: secondary analysis of results from the EAGLES trial using Bayes factors. Addiction 116: doi:10.1111/add.15440
The Duke of Sussex has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburghs work supporting the natural world as he marked Earth Day by highlighting generations of conservation champions.

Harry said he felt proud and energised to continue the legacy of his grandfather and others and called on society to main efforts to look at the strengthening and protecting of biodiversity.

Philip was an early proponent of environmentalism, warning of the dangers of plastic in a speech in the 1960s, but he was also a fan of hunting and shooting  which most environmental activists oppose.

He was eating muesli 20 years before most people and drove around London in an electric car in an attempt to fight pollution.

The duke spoke in his role as president of African Parks, a non-profit conservation organisation that manages 19 national parks, in partnership with governments and local communities, in 11 countries including Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda and Chad.

The duke said: As we now begin to move towards an era of global recovery and regeneration, its critical that we continue to look at the strengthening and protecting of biodiversity, not just as a value we hold  but as a responsibility that is vital to our way of life.

On this Earth Day, I reflect on generations of conservation champions, including my late grandfather, and feel proud and energised to continue doing my part in this legacy.

This year especially, I join the incredible African Parks team and communities around the world in shared dedication to our environment and collective wellbeing.

The duke gives a speech after receiving an honorary doctorate of marine science from Plymouth University (Tim Ireland/PA)

Harry has worked with African Parks since 2016 when he helped the organisation complete its relocation of 500 elephants in Malawi, and is supporting its ambition to manage 30 parks by 2030.

An African Parks promotional video has been re-released and in a voiceover for the film Harry speaks about the need to provide resources for national parks and protected areas so they can deliver essential services like clean air and water, food security, carbon sequestration and jobs.

Peter Fearnhead, chief executive officer of African Parks, said: While we created African Parks 20 years ago to address the challenge of failing protected areas in Africa, today we see these effectively managed landscapes helping to address some of the most pressing challenges of our times, including climate change, pandemics, security and human wellbeing.

Alongside the dedication and commitment of Prince Harry, and with our transformational funders and all our government partners, we are realising the value of these wild areas by ensuring that the people who live within or around them truly benefit from them being conserved.

It is a sure way forward in helping to create a sustainable future for local communities, and for our planet.
It had been 200 days since a coyote started biting people in the East Bay. Five victims, including two toddlers, were attacked in Moraga and Lafayette. The search for the animal was unprecedented, with urban wildlife trackers working around the clock, and agencies at the local, state and federal levels collaborating to set and monitor traps, and collect DNA swabs from the victims, all to find a single animal the size of a coffee table.

Capt. Patrick Foy with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has seen his share of coyote incidents  there were a dozen across the state in 2020. There were also three mountain lion attacks and six bear attacks that year, but this coyote fiasco was different. Each new attack was upping the ante, with news reports terrifying the citizens of Contra Costa County. As the days stretched on, Foy knew, a capture was becoming increasingly crucial but increasingly unlikely.



Most people wont see a coyote for long, if at all, in the wild. They are quick animals, with pointed ears peeking out of their tan and black-speckled coats. At anywhere from 20 to 40 pounds, they are often mistaken for a stray dog or overfed cat. They are capable of running up to 40 mph. They can easily maneuver out of traps, and disappear into the brush for days at a time. In some instances, they see food in the hands of a willing human and quickly attack. And according to Foy, they are everywhere.



Except for the middle of the Death Valley and the top of Mount Shasta, youre going to find coyotes almost everywhere in California, Foy said.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The first attack took place in Moragas Commons Park in July, and the victim was a 2-year-old boy. He recovered, and the CDFW attempted to track the animal, but the trail had gone cold.



Five months later, in early December, another coyote incident occurred in Moraga. A morning workout group was using the track at Campolindo High School, 2 miles north of Commons Park. A man midway through his warm-up stretched out onto the track to do a pushup, and moments later felt a stabbing pain in his left leg. He stood up, and to his disbelief, he saw a coyotes jaw clamped down on his calf.



Foys department suspected a link between the cases. With help from the Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the CDFW set traps around the Moraga and Lafayette areas. The first type of trap the team tried  a box that would close the animal inside like a cage  didnt work.

Wouldnt go near it, Foy says. The other trap they tried  a body-gripping trap with padded clenches  was used to immobilize (but not physically harm) the coyote by clamping down on a paw or leg. This trap was more useful because, according to Foy, it could be easily hidden in the brush.

In addition to setting traps, the team searched for tracks, scat and other signs of life from the animal. With the help of local residents, the team worked on private property to place padded traps. About 150 days into the effort to locate the coyote, someone was searching for it at all hours of the day.



Coyote trapping is more complicated than setting a trap and waiting for the animal to get stuck, Foy explains. You just don't do that with coyotes  they're just too smart. They have a very good reputation for being intelligent animals, and it's well deserved, he says.



But finding an attacking animal fast is important. According to Stanley Gehrt, a professor of wildlife ecology at Ohio State University and a researcher on urban coyote activity, once a coyote comes into contact with humans, it becomes more likely that the same animal will continue attacking.

Without a quick removal, coyote confidence builds and makes another attack more likely, Gehrt says.



Foy agrees. Once you get past the eight, nine, 10-day mark, you start to reduce your probability of capturing the offending animal, he says.

Handout / Courtesy Kenji Sytz

Less than two weeks after the Campolindo High School biting, the coyote struck again, this time biting an employee on a break outside of Diablo Foods in Lafayette. The multi-agency team redeployed their efforts, working through the Christmas holiday and into the early days of 2021.



According to Gehrt, there is no proven path of rescuing an animal that has bitten multiple people. We don't have any evidence that there's any way you can rehabilitate that animal, he says. Once captured, the CDFW planned to euthanize the coyote.



For the rest of December, all of January and half of February, the crafty animal eluded the authorities. On Feb. 17, it resurfaced.

Just up the road from Campolindo High School, a 3-year-old girl was walking with her mother. The coyote came up quickly and bit the childs leg and lower back, the fourth such bite in the area.



Later that same day, the CDFW found a DNA match from the previous bites. Swabs from inside the wounds of the previous victims all pointed to the same conclusion: One coyote was responsible for all of the attacks.



Foy and his team set out once again to catch the animal, but for days, the padded traps all remained empty. Coyotes are remarkable survivalists, Foy says.



Two days later, on Feb. 19, the coyote attacked a man near a Kwik Stop in Lafayette. I just got bit by the same coyote thats biting everyone else, he told NBC News. The DNA sample the authorities took in that case was also a match.



Now in month eight, the search team continued looking for any sign of the coyote. Local police, state officials and the USDA had all launched multiple search operations, all of which were unsuccessful.



Then on March 11, 245 days after the first attack at Moraga Commons Park, a padded body-gripping trap near Campolindo High School captured an adult male coyote that weighed just under 40 pounds. A USDA employee reportedly shot the coyote with a firearm, and according to Foy, a tranquilizer was not used for safety reasons. Getting close to this particular coyote was just too risky.

Smith Collection/Gado/Gado via Getty Images

The coyotes remains were taken to the CDFWs laboratory in Sacramento, where DNA evidence was collected, and on March 17, the email Foy had been waiting for hit his inbox. Results showed they nabbed the culprit.

Evidence from CDFWs wildlife forensics lab matched the DNA of this coyote to samples taken from each of the five victims, he relayed in a CDFW press release. More good news followed with the results of a rabies test conducted by veterinary staff at UC Davis. The test came back negative.



We are hoping the community can find some additional relief that rabies was not an additional factor in the local coyote population, Foy told the East Bay Times.



Calling the capture a significant team effort, Foy added that the department felt a strong sense of relief for the Contra Costa County community. He recalled some residents walking up to the search team and personally saying thank you  something he has never seen in more than 20 years of wildlife management.

Meanwhile, Gehrt says that the divide between wild and urban spaces is dwindling, especially for animals like coyotes living near residential areas like Moraga and Lafayette.

Coyotes have taught us that there are going to be animals that are going to be living with us, Gehrt says. With coyotes, we did everything we could to keep them out. And they came in anyway.

On its website, CDFW has initiated a Keep Me Wild campaign to educate California residents about the dangers of coyote-human conflict.

Zachary Fletcher is a freelance journalist based in the Bay Area. He writes about sports, politics and the environment.
Advertisement

A salt mining canal filled with crystal blue water has become Utah's hottest new tourist attraction - but agencies are ordering people to stay away.

The canal, located on the Bonneville Salt Flats, quickly came to the public's attention last summer when photographer Matt Newey shared viral photos of the eye-catching destination on Instagram.

Since then, thousands of tourists have been flocking to 'the blue canal' in a bid to capture their own snaps of the stunning site.

Revelers have been kayaking along the canal and swimming in its azure waters, much to the alarm of agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management.

A salt mining canal filled with crystal blue water has become Utah's hottest new tourist attraction - but agencies are ordering people to stay away

The canal, located on the Bonneville Salt Flats, quickly came to the public's attention last summer when photographer Matt Newey shared viral photos of the eye-catching destination on Instagram

Bonneville Salt Flats officials released a statement saying that the canal is part of an 'industrial facility' and ordered the public not to 'access, swim, float, kayak, canoe, or pursue any other recreation activities' there.

The canal is leased to the mining company, Intrepid Potash, which uses it as a drainage ditch moving brines from mining areas to evaporation ponds.

The water features a concentrated brine solution, which gives it its stunning bright blue coloring.

But, despite initial fears that the canal contained toxins, the process of mining potash (salts) does not involve unearthing dangerous chemicals.

University of Utah geologist, Brenda Bowen told The Daily Beast Monday that she believes 'the water is not toxic'.

Despite initial fears that the canal contained toxins, the process of mining potash (salts) does not involve the unearthing of dangerous chemicals. However, land and environment agencies are urging people to stay away in a bid to protect the fragile salt flats

The water features a concentrated brine solution, which gives it its stunning bright blue coloring

'THE BLUE CANAL' The canal is used by mining company Intrepid Potash to transport brines from mining areas to nearby evaporation ponds. The brine mixture gives the water its bright blue coloring. The process of mining potash (or salt) does not involve the unearthing of chemicals. Intrepid Potash claims the water is not toxic, and land and environment officials are more concerned about protecting the fragile salt flats from foot and vehicle traffic than they are about the potential health problems of swimming in the canal. Advertisement

Instead, Bonneville Salt and other agencies fear the most potent hazard is foot traffic crossing the salt flats to reach the canal -- which is in a remote location.

Bowen told The Daily Beast that the flats are incredibly fragile and she fears there may be irreparable damage done with high impact traffic.

'We can look to landscapes where evaporite mining has stopped in the past and see that it takes many decades to rehabilitate or re-wild a salt flat,' she stated.

Meanwhile, Matt Newey, the man who took the original viral snaps of the 'blue canal' told The Daily Beast that tourists had been parking their cars on a dangerous emergency lane of a highway while they went in search of the site.

'When people first found out about the place the shoulder of I-80 [a nearby highway], looked like a Disneyland parking lot.'

However, the warnings haven't stopped social media users from making the journey to the canal in a bid to capture their own viral photograph.

'Social media's been posting this like crazy. I wanted to come out and take some photos, maybe check it out,' one visitor, who traveled for two hours, told FOX 13.

'Monkey see, monkey do.'
Jaipur, April 22 : Rajasthan's former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Thursday attacked the Central government over the looming crisis of vaccine, oxygen and Remsdesivir injections during the pandemic while advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi to adopt 'One Nation, One Vaccine and One Rate' formula for vaccines in India.

Favouring the Rajasthan government on diverse fronts, Pilot said that as the country sees around 3 lakh cases daily, there is a need to focus on saving lives of people.

"Elections will come and go, however, if people do not get vaccines on time and those suffering fail to get oxygen and life-saving drugs like Remsdesivir, then the coming generation will never forgive us," he added.

Pilot also questioned the Modi government on pricing the vaccines on three rates and said that the Centre is buying vaccines from two manufacturers at Rs 157 per dose while the same vaccine is bought at Rs 210 from one manufacturer and Rs 310 from another manufacturer under the PM Cares fund which is raising questions among people.

"The availability of one vaccine at three different prices has left people in quandary. There is a need of one nation, one vaccine and one rate to check hoarding and black-marketing of vaccine," he said adding that the Centre getting vaccine at Rs 150, state governments getting the vaccine at Rs 400 while private hospitals getting the vaccine at Rs 600 is beyond understanding.

Pilot also said that the expense of vaccines should be borne by the Central government and questioned the government's decision to export six crore doses of vaccine to foreign nations.

He also endorsed the idea of transporting oxygen via air route to put an end to the existing crisis.

On Remsdesivir, he said: "The decision to export 11 lakh Remsdesivir injections to foreign countries has put our people in danger as there is black-marketing reported of these vaccines." He further said that the Centre should talk to state governments in a transparent manner to remove grudges of common men.
Actor Kang Ha-neul / Courtesy of Kidari ENT





By Kwak Yeon-soo







Kang Ha-neul, who has played a variety of youthful characters in films such as "Twenty" (2015), "C'est Si Bon" (2015) and "Midnight Runners" (2017), is back with another film that inspires feelings of youthful innocence.







In "Waiting for Rain," Kang stars as Young-ho, an unmotivated student who is studying for the college entrance exam for the third time. One day, he sends a letter to his elementary school classmate So-yeon, whom he had crush on, to regain his verve.







On behalf of So-yeon who is ill, her sister So-hee (Chun Woo-hee) writes back and the two continue to exchange letters while trying to sort out their lives. The two agree to meet each other in person if it rains on Dec. 31.







"People call me a youth icon, but I honestly don't know what that means. I think youth is undefinable," he said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Thursday. "Therefore, I don't choose such characters intentionally. The script is the most important thing when it comes to choosing my next project."







Kang Ha-neul in a scene from "Waiting for Rain" / Courtesy of Kidari ENT, Sony Pictures





As the film is mostly set in 2003, Kang said it reminded him of his own childhood and first love. "I still remember the first time I fell in love. I often sent her hand-written letters, adding wise quotes from then-popular social media, Cyworld, to sound smart and serious," he laughed.







Kang explained that "Waiting for Rain" is different from other romance films because the main characters  Young-ho and So-hee  communicate entirely through letters that are narrated by both actors. The two impact each other, but they never meet in person.







Moreover, the film focuses on how the two characters fall in love rather than telling what happens after falling in love. Both develop feelings for each other after exchanging letters and small gifts.







"I think this unique characteristic of the film will allow the audience to explore the true meaning of intimacy. For me personally, I feel a film that leaves more room to imagine has a far bigger reach. It lingers on far longer," he said.







The 32-year-old actor shared his thoughts on the big question that arises from the film  whether you should do what you love or love what you do. "As I grow older, I think about this a lot. Most of all, it's important to just do it. Even if you have regrets, you can't turn back time. So it's best to just believe that you made the right choices and move on," he said.







When asked if he feels burdened by his humble media personality, Kang said he doesn't let himself be swayed by media attention. "I'm not easily weighed down by others' opinions. I have one daily goal, which is to encounter people with a smile each day," he said.







The actor, whose career spans 14 years, said he wishes to take on more interesting roles in the future  be it a stage play, TV series or film. "I don't have a favorite film genre or platform. Compared to a stage play that requires energy from the beginning to the end as the actors engage with a live audience, film or TV requires focusing on one scene at a time," he said.







"Waiting for Rain" will hit local theaters, April 28.






Malaysian opposition lawmakers led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad submitted a petition to the country's king on Tuesday seeking an end to a coronavirus emergency so Parliament can resume.

The king approved Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's plan for an emergency in early January to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but critics said it was a political ruse to help the embattled leader stay in power amid challenges to his leadership.

The emergency involves no curfew or military powers but Parliament is suspended until Aug. 1. Muhyiddin's government remains in control and has extraordinary powers to introduce laws without parliamentary approval.

Mahathir, 95, accused Muhyiddin of using the king's name as a shield against critics, making many Malays angry with the monarch instead. He told reporters outside the palace gate that he hopes the king will heed the people's voices. More than 39,000 Malaysians have signed an online petition since March for the king to end the emergency.

This declaration of a state of emergency is not about fighting COVID-19. Not at all ... it is about a weak government wanting to stay in power, Mahathir wrote on his blog earlier in the day.

Muhyiddin took power in March 2020 after instigating the collapse of Mahathir's reformist alliance that won 2018 elections and joining with the opposition to form a Malay-centric government. But his government is shaky with a razor-thin majority in Parliament.

Muhyiddin faces challenges from within his coalition and from the opposition, but support for his leadership cannot be tested with Parliament suspended.

Critics said the emergency has failed to curb new infections, with Malaysia's total cases more than doubling to over 379,000 since January. Many also questioned why Parliament cannot resume since most restrictions have been lifted, with businesses, malls and schools reopened.

With no parliamentary oversight, the government introduced a new law to combat fake news" about COVID-19 that critics say is a threat to freedom of expression. Another law allows the Finance Ministry to approve additional spending without scrutiny.

King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in February said Parliament can sit despite the emergency order, but Muhyiddin's government said it wasn't safe because there are many older lawmakers.

For the people, the price to pay is horrendous. They lose their freedom of speech and their right to change the government," Mahathir wrote. Whither the rule of law."

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / GlobeX Data Ltd. (OTCQB:SWISF) (CSE:SWIS) (FRA:A2PN34) ("GlobeX" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted secure communications and secure data management, is pleased to report that it has received the final Distribution Agreement for a distribution deal in South Asia with a large telecommunications operator, for its Swiss hosted Sekur encrypted email, encrypted messaging and secure file-share solution. The Company is reviewing the agreement to make sure it is in accordance with all items negotiated and is expected to sign the agreement by Friday April 23 2021, after which GlobeX expects the countersigned agreement to be received from the Telecom Operator within two weeks or less.

The Agreement is with a publicly listed company and for this reason, the name of the telecom operator will remain confidential until the agreement has been executed by both parties and a formal announcement can be made. The terms of the Agreement and the name of the telecom operator will be disclosed once the Agreement has been signed by all parties. GlobeX expects the Agreement to be completed in the next two weeks.

The telecom operator operates in several countries in South Asia and has a global mobile subscriber base of over 150 million subscribers. GlobeX already has an agreement in place with America Movil the 7th largest telecom in the world, and largest in Latin America, as announced recently in its press release dated October 13 2020, and this would be the second telecom conglomerate it would sign up in the emerging markets.

Recently, Alain Ghiai, CEO of GlobeX Data, has been featured in an Interview in Cybersecurity Asean, based in Malaysia, as the region has suffered some disastrous damage due to cyber-attacks as Southeast Asia remains a hotspot for cyber-attacks according to this article from Computer Weekly, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many medical and financial records have been stolen by cyber criminals.

Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger as part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one app solutions, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications and in particular in the WhatsApp application have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications form cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a SM number. The SM number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other SM users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

GlobeX's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About GlobeX Data Ltd.

GlobeX Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure data management and secure communications. The Company distributes a suite of secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted e-mails, and secure communication tools. GlobeX Data Ltd. sells its products through its approved wholesalers and distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. GlobeX Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.

On behalf of Management

GLOBEX DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@globexdatagroup.com

For more information, please contact GlobeX Data at corporate@globexdatagroup.com or visit us at https://globexdatagroup.com.

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. GlobeX cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond GlobeX's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in GlobeX's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, GlobeX undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: GlobeX Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641704/GlobeX-Data-Receives-Final-Approval-from-South-Asian-Telecom-Operator-for-its-Swiss-Hosted-Sekur-Secure-Email-and-Secure-Messaging-Application
Taylor Wimpey has hailed the continued strength of the UK housing market as it revealed its order book is over 100million bigger than at the same point last year.

The housebuilder said it is trading in line with full-year expectations thanks to a combination of significant consumer demand, government support schemes and decent mortgage availability.

Its forward order book at the end of last month totalled 2.81billion and represented nearly 11,000 homes compared to 2.67billion and just over 10,850 homes in March 2020.

Taylor Wimpey's forward order book at the end of last month totalled 2.81billion, representing nearly 10,995 homes compared to 2.67billion and 10,853 homes in March 2020

The group, which has been vigorously purchasing cheap land since the start of the pandemic, also reported that its strategic land pipeline was 4.4 per cent larger at around 143,000 potential land plots.

It welcomed the extension of the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday to late September and the introduction of the 95 per cent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, saying it proves 'that housing remains a priority for the UK Government.'

Taylor Wimpey further noted receiving solid demand for homes under the government's latest iteration of the Help to Buy scheme, which limits purchases to first-time buyers and contains regional price caps.

'With strong market fundamentals, customer demand for our high-quality homes remains robust, and we are achieving a strong sales rate and building a healthy forward order book,' remarked chief executive Pete Redfern.

The business has confirmed that a final dividend will be paid in May as it previously promised but declared that it has no intention to return excess capital to shareholders this year.

He added: 'We are a cash-generative business with a strong balance sheet and remain focused on our strategic priorities to drive operating profit margin while creating long term value for our customers and shareholders.'

The government recently launched a Mortgage Guarantee Scheme that allows people to gain a mortgage with just a 5 per cent discount on homes valued at under 600,000

Chancellor Rishi Sunak initially brought in the Stamp Duty holiday last summer to try and revive a housing market that virtually shut down in the early stages of the pandemic.

Homebuyers in England and Northern Ireland are exempt from paying the tax on properties worth up to 500,000 until June 30. After that date, there will be a staggered reduction in the tax break before it is abolished on October 1.

Meanwhile, the more recently launched Mortgage Guarantee Scheme allows people to gain a mortgage with just a 5 per cent deposit on homes under 600,000. HSBC, Lloyds and Santander are among those offering the scheme.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'It is interesting to see Taylor Wimpey describe the housing market as healthy in its latest trading update.

'On one level, this is simply a way of describing the company's confidence in its own immediate prospects, backed by a strong order book and robust sales rate, but it jars with the view of many observers who think the market has become divorced from economic reality.'

He added: 'The nature of the support provided to the sector, which largely seems to be directed at boosting demand rather than supply, means the market is functioning pretty well for Taylor Wimpey and its peers.

'There are questions about what will happen when the current schemes disappear, though politicians of all stripes seem committed to incentivising the housebuilders to keep building.'

Shares in Taylor Wimpey closed trading 0.8 per cent higher at 184.8p on Thursday.
Delhi's Dy CM Manish Sisodia has alleged that the main reason Delhi is witnessing a Oxygen crisis right now is the jungle raj for Oxygen by Haryana and UP. He has said that the government, officers and police of these states are not letting supply from their Oxygen plants come to Delhi.

The second wave of Covid-19 in India has proved to be more fatal and contagious than the first one. Even as Centre commits to increase the production of O2 in the coming days, the situation on-ground is getting grimmer with each passing day. States across India, especially the ones that are witnessing a high case load, including Maharashra, Delhi, West Bengal and others are reporting a shortage of Oxygen and lack of hospital beds.

Delh CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday tweeted that he has sought Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattars support in facilitating transport of oxygen trucks from Haryana to Delhi and the latter has assured full support.

However, Delhis Dy CM Manish Sisodia, on the other hand, alleged that the main reason Delhi is witnessing a Oxygen crisis right now is the jungle raj for Oxygen by Haryana and UP. He added that the government, officers and police of these states are not letting supply from their Oxygen plants come to Delhi. Emphasising that the officers of Delhi government have spoken to them and also tried to speak to the Centre, he expressed that things arent changing on-ground.

No restriction shall be imposed on the movement of Medical Oxygen between the State and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles: MHA #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/EvOkeuT7By  ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pointed out in the court today that the country is in dire need of oxygen. Taking a suo motu cognisance on the matter, CJI SA Bobde scheduled a hearing on the case tomorrow and urged the former to submit a national plan after taking into record the fact that 6 different high courts are hearing on the matter. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level review meeting to discuss how to boost availability of Oxygen.
A newly hired firefighter was found dead in his fire station bed after returning from an overnight call during his first shift on the job.

Efren Medina, 21, died on Saturday morning after fellow firefighters found him unresponsive in his station bed in St Marys, Georgia, which is 40 miles north of Jacksonville, Florida.

Medina and his colleagues had responded to an overnight medical call before returning to the station at 3:30am and going to sleep.

Later that morning at 7:30am fellow firefighters tried to wake Medina up but was unresponsive.

St Marys Fire Chief Tom Lackner says the department is still waiting on the medical examiner's report to determine Medina's cause of death.

He said that Medina was properly trained had passed his physical exams before being hired.

St. Mary's Fire Department firefighter Efren Medina, 21, died on Saturday morning after fellow firefighters found him unresponsive in his station bed

His wife of one year Brittany Vazquez is mourning the loss of her 21-year-old firefighter husband

'Just don't know why a 20-year-old wouldn't wake up... he passed his physical... everything came back clear; don't know,' Lackner told Action News Jax.

Lackner says that Medina was 'eager' to start what he described as his 'dream job'

'He was known for his long time passion for firefighting and his love of the fire service' the fire department said.

Medina was working his first 24-hour shift at the time of his death, the U.S. Fire Administration said.

'You never think that somebody 20 years old isn't going to wake up from their sleep,' Lackner told firstcoastnews.com

A GoFundMe set up to help his wife Brittany Vazquez with expenses has raised over $7,000, well over it's original $4,000 goal

Medina was described as 'caring and hardworking' and excited for his new career as a fireman as well as working as an EMT

Medina's wife Brittany Vasquez told Action News Jax: 'He just really loved life and anything that anybody told him he couldn't do, he proved him wrong.'

Medina was described as 'caring and hardworking' and excited for his new career as a fireman as well as working as an EMT by friends who set up a GoFundMe to help his widowed wife.

The fundraiser has raised over $7,000, well over it's original $4,000 goal.

'We are absolutely devastated by Efren's passing and are struggling to find the funds to support his wife, Brittany Vasquez, in paying the cost of the service, flights, and any other unexpected costs.' the fundraiser said.
A new campaign will be launched focusing on the devastating issue of sheep worrying by dogs as cases increase at an 'alarming rate'.

The two week campaign titled #LeadOn will be launched at the end of this month by the National Sheep Association (NSA).

It will include social media activity, webinars, workshops, new online case studies and content for both farmers and the public.

The aim of the initiative is to help both sheep producers in reducing the risk of attacks happening on farm and the public in preventing their dogs from being involved.

It comes as farmers across the country have suffered an increase in sheep worrying attacks by dogs over the past year.

Dog ownership has increased since the pandemic started, as walking in the countryside became one of the few activities to be enjoyed during lockdown.

Figures by NFU Mutual show livestock worrying cost farmers an estimated 1.3m in 2020, a rise of over 10% from the previous year.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said dog attacks led to serious animal welfare issue that put both sheep and pets at risk.

NSA is committed to ensuring the public develops a better understanding of the stress and suffering that any dog, no matter its breed, can cause to sheep by barking, chasing and attacking them," he said.

The hashtag #LeadOn will encourage dog owners to be responsible and act as an example to others by keeping their pets on leads in the presence of livestock.

Sheep farmers are being urged by the NSA to use the hashtag message in their own social media posts.

The group will launch #LeadOn on 30 April along with the latest results from its farmer survey looking at the issue of sheep worrying.
HIGHLIGHTS

SenSen's Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from North America to exceed A$1.5M per annum driven by new orders from Chicago Parking Meters and contract renewals from existing customers in the region.

Increases SenSen's current overall ARR guidance to ~A$4.5m for FY2022 and beyond, based on current confirmed orders and contracts.

Completed hiring of key marketing and sales executives to accelerate growth in the region; and additional staff hired to increase key account management and customer support in the region.

Opened North American headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada , fitted with a range of SenSen solutions for demonstrations and customer sales

Established multiple channel partner engagements to increase sales momentum in the region.

SenSen to participate and present at multiple vertical-focused industry trade shows and conferences in the region in the next six months to support marketing efforts and promote SenSen solutions in the region.

MELBOURNE, SYDNEY and LAS VEGAS, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading Smart Cities and AI software solutions provider SenSen Networks Limited (ASX: SNS,OTCQB: SNNSF, "SenSen" or "the Company") is pleased to provide an update on its expanding US Operations.

Revenue and Sales

On the back of new orders and contract extensions, SenSen's ARR from North America has crossed A$1.5M, which consists of:

Revenue from new orders from Chicago Parking Meters;

Contract renewals and extensions from the cities of Calgary and Edmonton ( Canada );

and ( ); Contract renewals from customers of the recently acquired Snap Network Surveillance's multi-camera people tracking software; and

Locked in contract with the City of Las Vegas ( Nevada ) for parking management & enforcement.

This represents strong growth in overall revenue and particularly ARR from North America, which currently accounts for over one third of SenSen's contracted ARR (~A$4.5m) in FY2022. ARR growth is expected to continue, with new channel partner arrangements being established and targeted sales and marketing activities underway.

SenSen's revenue base in North America now completely funds operations in the US and Canada, providing a strong platform for organic growth as the US economy re-emerges from the impacts of COVID-19 shutdown. SenSen's stable of flagship North American customers demonstrates a stable, high-reference client base to further accelerate growth in sales in the region.

Chicago Parking Meters

In the American Midwest, SenSen is working with Chicago Parking Meters (www.parkchicago.com) to provide parking and traffic analytics in the City of Chicago (Illinois), the third-largest US city. After SenSen successfully completed the POC trial, Chicago Parking Meters has ordered multiple systems from SenSen to improve the efficiency of its on-street parking management operations, which are currently being prepared for deployment in Q4 2021. Additional systems are planned for procurement in the coming months. These systems are expected to deliver both upfront and recurring revenues to SenSen.

Snap Network Surveillance

SenSen received its first set of orders from Snap Network Surveillance (Snap) customers since the acquisition in December 2020. Snap's AI-powered multi-camera networked tracking technology is currently being implemented for customers through various resellers - A3 Communications (South Carolina), A+ Technology (New York City) and Southeast Security (Ohio). SenSen will receive annual software maintenance fees from these customers.

These new orders are a positive endorsement of the value Snap technology brings to its customers. SenSen has developed a targeted market education and outreach plan to promote Snap's multi-camera person tracking and other solutions to this loyal base of partners and end customers, including airports, high-security prisons, shopping centres, universities, casinos, and law enforcement organisations.

City of Las Vegas

SenSen worked extensively with the City of Las Vegas to install Smart City technology on roads, car parks and garages across the city as well as outfitting a range of council vehicles with smart sensors, including scooters and Segways. As part of the progressive roll-out of SenSen systems under the contract with the City, multiple SenSen systems to improve the efficiency of on-street and off-street parking management have gone into production within the City of Las Vegas.

Additional systems are expected to go into production in the coming weeks. As announced previously, these systems generate both upfront and ongoing revenues.

SenSen has become a significant technology partner of the City of Las Vegas. SenSen was recently invited to participate in a paid smart curbside corridor pilot program with the City of Las Vegas in collaboration with Cox Communications ( www.cox.com ) to explore new avenues to leverage SenSen technology.

The pilot's objective is to use technology solutions to monitor congestion in high-traffic areas of downtown Las Vegas for the next six months with the aim of optimising efficiency for all types of transport, especially rideshares and taxis. The innovative public-private partnership trial covers six parking spots along the sidewalk adjacent to the 100 block of Main Street with two digital kiosks that utilise SenSen's video analytics and smart parking technology to better manage active curb loading zones for taxis and rideshares, making conditions safer for visitors and pedestrians.

Video analytics from the devices along the curb will capture vehicle and license plate information and send utilisation data to the kiosks to kick off a countdown timer. If a vehicle remains in the loading zone after the countdown ends, the system reports the incident directly to the city, ensuring a constant flow of traffic.

US office now open

Under a special grants program, the City of Las Vegas invited SenSen to open its new US office at the Las Vegas International Innovation Center, a premium, high-profile location in Downtown Las Vegas. The location is offered to companies, at subsidised rates, that are considered to be future disruptors in the technology space that align with City of Las Vegas priorities - including companies operating in IoT (Internet of Things), artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, cybersecurity, water science and advanced mobile data.

In late March, SenSen opened its new office, which features a showroom / demonstration area for marketing to potential Smart Cities and gaming customers. SenSen will benefit from a Las Vegas address as the world's leading convention city and a convener of business on a global scale. The city's supportive policy environment and growing focus on innovation make it an ideal location to test and develop SenSen's new technologies.

New Staff Hires in the region

Following SenSen's successful $7.15M international expansion capital raise in January 2021, SenSen has completed the recruitment of a number of senior executives to accelerate sales and marketing in North America, including:

Senior sales executive focused on the casino market;

Senior sales executive focused on the security & surveillance market;

Account manager to support and manage high-value direct customers; and

Pre-sales and post-sales technical support staff.

SenSen's North American team now constitutes six staff with four more to join the team before the end of June 2021, including an additional senior sales executive focused on the Smart Cities market and customer support.

"I am delighted to hit the ground running by hiring new staff and setting up our new US Headquarters to help execute our expansion plans in North America," said SenSen CEO Dr Subhash Challa.

"While our Smart Cities deals in Chicago and Las Vegas are built around our core strength in Intelligent Transport Solutions, we have multiple pipeline opportunities across all our verticals to pursue.

"In a post-pandemic world, we see significant potential to expand revenues in the US and other geographies. These newly announced contracts will significantly add to our previously announced revenues for FY2021, but even more importantly, will add to our growing ARR profile from FY2022."

This release is approved by the Board of SenSen.

About SenSen Networks Limited

SenSen is focused principally on the development, commercialisation and supply of innovative, data-driven business process enhancement solutions, designed to assist customers in their business operations and significantly improve business efficiency and productivity. SenSen provides video analytics and artificial intelligence data analytics software solutions to customers in the intelligent transportation systems and gaming sectors located in Australia, US, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Europe, India, and UAE.

Disclaimer - forward-looking statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon management's current expectations, estimates, projections and beliefs in regards to future events in respect to SenSen's business and the industry in which it operates. These forward-looking statements are provided as a general guide and should not be relied upon as an indication or guarantee of future performance. The bases for these statements are subjected to risk and uncertainties that might be out of control of SenSen Networks Limited and may cause actual results to differ from the release. SenSen Networks Limited takes no responsibility to make changes to these statements to reflect change of events or circumstances after the release.

SOURCE SenSen Networks Limited
General McKenzies request, military officials said, asks for 24-hour support from a carrier, with its attendant fighter squadrons, and is being viewed as a specific reference to the Eisenhower, which left its home port in Virginia in February and headed to the Mediterranean Sea. There, it took part in exercises with Italian and Moroccan naval forces. The Eisenhower is now in the Arabian Sea.

Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for General Milley, declined to comment on the carrier request. Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, also declined to comment. The Pentagon press secretary, John F. Kirby, said on Wednesday that Mr. Austin has made clear that we will execute the drawdown in Afghanistan in a safe, orderly and deliberate manner, and that we will do everything possible to protect our troops in the process.

He, too, declined to discuss the request, saying that for operational security reasons, we will also not preview specific force protection measures being planned.

Current and former senior Navy officials said immediate military missions may demand that warships deployments be extended. But when this repeatedly happens, the long-term health and readiness of the fleet can erode, jeopardizing the Navys ability to meet future missions.

We have these national assets like aircraft carriers to be available in times of crisis, especially when theyre needed to protect the lives of troops on the ground, Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, a retired Fifth Fleet commander, said in an interview. But you dont want this to be a routine thing, and thats whats happened in the past.

Aboard the Eisenhower, some sailors were already worried about their deployments being extended, particularly if the carrier ends up providing air operations throughout the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, which Mr. Biden said must be completed by Sept. 11.
Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 22 2021

Fast-cash rewards issued within 72 hours of arrest.

The Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk County Crime Stoppers will highlight several unsolved cases on the departments social media pages during National Crime Victims Rights week from April 18 through April 24.

Crime Stoppers is offering fast-cash rewards for information leading to an arrest in each of the cases. The rewards will be issued within 72 hours of an arrest.

Crime Stoppers has been proven to be an effective crime solving program since its inception in Suffolk County in 1994. During that time, more than $665,000 has been rewarded to tipsters who reported information anonymously and close to 2,800 arrests have been made.

Our partnership with Crime Stoppers has been instrumental in solving cases during the last three decades, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. By highlighting these unsolved cases, we hope to bring justice to these victims and their families.

Members of Suffolk County Crime Stoppers are dedicated volunteers from the community who work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to reduce crime in our communities, Crime Stoppers President Nick Amarr said. We are asking the public to reach out anonymously with any information to aid in these unsolved cases.

Cases being featured include:

A burglary at a Shelter Island home on March 19, 2018, during which Reverend Canon Paul Wancura was assaulted and seriously injured, dying from his injuries a month later.

A homicide during which Alejandra Vargas-Diaz shot and killed Albert Luis Rodriguez-Lopez during an argument at Billiards DBM in Port Jefferson on July 22, 2018. Detectives believe Vargas-Diaz may have fled to the Dominican Republic.

The fatal-hit-run of 17-year-old Jenna Lopez who was walking home from work on Route 347 in Port Jefferson Station on August 24, 2019. Lopez was struck by a vehicle, causing her to fall, and she was subsequently struck by additional vehicles. The first driver failed to stop. Drivers of the additional vehicles stopped and called 911, however, Lopez died at the scene.

The fatal hit-and-run of Ronald Destefano who was struck while walking to work on Route 347 in Stony Brook on December 20, 2020.

A shooting that injured three people during a birthday party and rap video shoot being held at a home on Long Springs Road in North Sea on March 2.
Advertisement

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter 'went big' with its second flight, reaching new milestones with a higher altitude, flying to the side and grabbing another black-and-white photo of its shadow on the ground below.

The US space agency said it climbed up to 16ft above the surface, hovered, tilted slightly and then moved sideways 7ft. When in position it hovered again to take a series of colour photos before landing.

Writing on Twitter, NASA JPL said: Go big or go home! The Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 2nd flight,' adding that it 'reached new milestones of a higher altitude, a longer hover, and lateral flying.'

NASA confirmed it took off on schedule at about 10:30 BST, but due to delays in getting data to travel the 181 million miles between Earth and Mars, didn't confirm it was a success until 14:44 BST.

Flying on Mars is particularly challenging due to the fact its atmosphere is just 1% of Earth's at ground level, and while the lower gravity, a third of that on Earth, helps, it is only a partial offset against the thinner atmosphere.

This means that in order to fly, the helicopter has to be ultra-light and rotate its blades extremely fast, up to 2,500 rpm, in order to achieve lift.

Ingenuity made its first historic flight on Monday April 19, going up 10ft, hovering, snapping a photo, and returning to the newly named 'Wright Brothers Field'.

Mission project lead, MiMi Aung, said every image of the helicopter on Mars is special, but the most iconic is the one taken by the craft showing its shadow on the surface, something Ingenuity replicated with the second flight.

Writing on Twitter, NASA JPL said: Go big or go home! The Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 2nd flight,' adding that it 'reached new milestones of a higher altitude, a longer hover, and lateral flying'

The US space agency said it climbed up to 16ft above the surface, hovered briefly, tilted and moved sideways for 7ft, taking a series of colour photos and then landed

While Ingenuity was sent to the Red Planet as a 'technical demonstration' with no science mission of its own, NASA says this could help scientists better understand how dust travels through the atmosphere of the Red Planet

INGENUITY: THE SMALL ROTORCRAFT THAT TOOK TO THE MARTIAN SKY Ingenuity was designed as a technology demonstrator rather than carrying any of its own science experiments or equipment. It rode to Mars attached to the belly of the SUV-size Perseverance rover. The helicopter took off from the 'Wright Brothers Field' on Monday April 19, making history as the first powered flight on another world. For the first flight, the helicopter took off, climbed to about 10ft above the ground, hovered in the air briefly, completed a turn, and then landed. It is built to be light and strong to survive the harsh Martian environment. It weighs just under 4lb and is only 19 inches tall as it has to fly in the much thinner atmosphere - about 1% that of the atmosphere found on Earth. It can fly up to 980ft, go up to 15ft in the sky and can spend about 90 seconds in the air before landing. The rotors are 4ft in diameter and the craft includes solar panels that charge lithium-ion batteries. It has a 30 day lifespan, with a total of five flights expected in that time. Advertisement

NASA scientists say they plan to push Ingenuity 'to the limit' with every test flight between now and the end of the flight window in mid-May.

Asked if NASA wants its helicopter to crash to show it has tested the full range of its capabilities, Aung, said she expects it will 'meet its limit'.

The 19 inch tall and 4ft diameter helicopter will attempt to complete four more test flights involving further distances and higher altitudes in the next two weeks.

For this second flight test at 'Wright Brothers Field,' the team set the small copter to take off at 10:30 BST, or 12:30 pm Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time).

On the first flight, Ingenuity hovered 10 feet above the surface. This time around, the team made the rotorcraft climb to 16 feet, saying you have to 'go big, or go home.'

Then, after the helicopter hovered briefly, it went into a slight tilt and moved sideways for 7 feet, coming to a stop and hovering in place.

While hovering, it made a series of small turns to point its colour camera in different directions before heading back to the centre of the airfield to land.

'Of course, all of this is done autonomously, based on commands we sent to Perseverance to relay to Ingenuity the night before,' said Aung in a NASA blog post.

As well as photos taken by the helicopter during its flight, Perseverance will also be on camera duty, capturing images of the flying vehicle from 210ft away.

NASA has named this vantage point overlooking Wright Brothers Field the 'Van Zyl Overlook' after Jakob van Zyl, a longterm member of the Perseverance team who died unexpectedly in August 2020, a month after the vehicle left the Earth.

The imagery of that first flight was captured by Perseverance with its Navcam and Mastcam-Z cameras - showing the drone lift, shuffle and land.

Ingenuity lead, MiMi Aung, said every image of the helicopter on Mars is special, but the most iconic is the one taken by the craft showing its shadow on the surface (right), which she compared in importance to the first image of Buzz Aldrin's boot print on the Moon in 1969 (left)

NASA's Perseverance rover makes OXYGEN on Mars for the first time Future astronauts travelling to the Red Planet can 'breathe easy' after NASA's Perseverance rover made history by creating oxygen from Martian CO2. The six-wheeled rover is on Mars to search for signs of ancient life, look for water and gather samples of Martian soil and rock to one day return to the Earth. It also has a range of other science experiments, including MOXIE, a small, gold box-shaped instrument that used electrolysis technology to generate oxygen. MOXIE, or the Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment, produced 5.4 grams of oxygen in an hour by pulling in CO2 and converting it to the life giving chemical during its first test on the Red Planet. This version is capable of producing up to 12g of oxygen per hour, or about 288g per day. Astronauts on the ISS consume an average of 840g of O2 every day. 'This is a critical first step at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars,' said NASA's Jim Reuter, adding it will make future human missions more viable. Advertisement

'Every image we get of the helicopter on Mars is special to me: After all, this has never been done before,' she explained.

'But I have to say that of all the images, perhaps the one that will stay with me the most is that image from the helicopter's navigation camera.'

The black-and-white image was taken when the rotorcraft was just 3.9ft above the ground, showing the shadow of Ingenuity with its two rotors over the surface of the 'Wright Brothers Field' soon after takeoff.

'When I first saw [that image], I immediately thought of the picture Buzz Aldrin took of his boot print on the lunar surface,' adding 'that iconic image from Apollo 11 said 'we walked on the Moon;' ours says 'we flew on another world,' said Aung.

After the flight Dr Aldrin shared that very photo, writing on Twitter: 'Today we watched history occur in real time. Congratulations to NASA and the Perseverance team on the first successful flight on another planet!

'This historic flight of the #MarsHelicopter truly is one small step that'll produce another giant leap for future Mars exploration!'

US President Joe Biden praised Nasa's team, saying the success of the mission proves 'anything is possible'.

He said on Twitter: 'NASA proved once again that with relentless determination and the power of America's best minds, anything is possible.'

The NASA team say this technology demonstration will pave the way for many more, larger helicopters on future planetary missions throughout the solar system.

Chief engineer Bob Balaram said he envisaged a helicopter 15 times heavier than the 1.8kg Ingenuity being able to fly on the planet in the coming years.

He said: 'We are thinking of things in the 25 to 30 kilogram class, which is about 50 pounds, and those vehicles would carry about four kilograms of science instruments.

'Early design work on that has started to see what it would take to deploy these and operate them but anything much larger, the packaging of the blades becomes quite awkward, so it may not be quite feasible in the near-term.'

The flight will be autonomous, pre-programmed into the aircraft because of the 15 minutes it takes for signals to travel from Earth to Mars

Ingenuity as seen on Mars on April 7, 2021 in a photo taken by the rover Perseverance. If the 08:30 BST flight is a success then it will become the first powered, controlled flight to take off and land on another planet, giving NASA their own 'Wright Brothers moment'

NASA has named this vantage point overlooking Wright Brothers Field the 'Van Zyl Overlook' after Jakob van Zyl, a longterm member of the Perseverance team who died unexpectedly in August 2020, a month after the vehicle left the Earth

WHAT IS MASTCAM-Z USED TO FILM THE INGENUITY FLIGHT The main purpose of Mastcam-Z, a camera mounted on a mast attached to Perseverance, is to take photos and video in high definition. It is also able to capture panoramic, colour and 3D images of features in the atmosphere and on the surface. It has a zoom lens so it can magnify distant targets, making it perfect to track the first Ingenuity flight. It is mounted at the eye level of a 6 and a half foot tall person with two cameras about 9.5 inches apart. NASA says it is the 'main eyes' of the Perseverance rover. Advertisement

Ingenuity arrived at the Jezero Crater on February 18 after an eight-month journey spanning nearly 300 million miles, tucked inside the belly of Perseverance.

After the spacecraft landed, it dropped the drone on to the ground so Ingenuity could prepare for its maiden flight.

It is designed to be mostly autonomous, so NASA will not be able to control the helicopter remotely, relying exclusively on the onboard AI to control flight.

This is because of the distance between Earth and Mars  it takes more than 11 minutes to get a radio signal back to Earth.

It is unlikely future versions will be controllable by humans, unless it is sent to the planet along with the first human mission in 2035.

The technology tested in this Mars copter could allow additional support to survey the terrain for rovers and humans alike in the future, NASA explained.

'It could also access difficult to access cliffs that cannot be reached by rovers. A whole new way to explore the alien terrain in our solar system is now at our disposal.'

Another successful technology demonstration on Mars this week saw the MOXIE box attached to Perseverance generate oxygen from carbon dioxide taken from the thin Martian atmosphere.

It's hoped one day the MOXIE technology could produce oxygen for astronauts on the Red Planet or fuel to help them return to Earth.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  An environmental advocacy group on Thursday reminded everyone to properly sort their waste, including face masks, which have become a "big issue" amid the pandemic.

"We continue to call for segregation of source because that is the only way that the solid waste can be managed accordingly," Earth Day Network Philippines trustee-in-charge Voltaire Alferez told CNN Philippines' New Day.

"But at the same time, the duty falls upon the local government units that while segregation of source is being done and should always be done by their collectors...so that landfills can also receive the residuals and all else should be recycled or composted," he added.

Alferez said that while the pandemic lockdowns have improved caused the air quality to improve, that was "offset" by the solid waste problem which is caused by deliveries to homes and "wanton throwing" of face masks to the surroundings.

Face masks and other hazardous wastes must be separated from other household trash and put in a black garbage bag, Environment Undersecretary for Climate Change Analiza Teh earlier told CNN Philippines.

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 states that: These [household hazardous] wastes are usually handled separately from other residential and commercial wastes.

Alferez stressed everyone must do their share to restore the earth. He urged people to reduce waste they generate and use reusable items such as eco bags. The advocate also advised adults to teach their children to be involved in environmental causes to ensure the preservation and conservation of the country's natural heritage.
LUND, Sweden, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hansa Biopharma, the leader in immunomodulatory enzyme technology for rare IgG mediated diseases, today announced its business update and interim report for January  March, 2021.

Highlights for the first quarter 2021

First commercial sales of Idefirix  recorded in Q1 2021 following treatment of the first patients. Commercial launch activities in early launch countries continue to be carried out as planned. National level reimbursement application processes underway and decisions by authorities in the first markets expected from mid-year and onwards.

recorded in Q1 2021 following treatment of the first patients. Commercial launch activities in early launch countries continue to be carried out as planned. National level reimbursement application processes underway and decisions by authorities in the first markets expected from mid-year and onwards. First Healthcare Technology Assessment report published in Sweden . The Swedish "TLV" assessment is favorable to the use of Idefirix  in highly sensitized patients incompatible with a deceased donor.

. The Swedish "TLV" assessment is favorable to the use of Idefirix in highly sensitized patients incompatible with a deceased donor. Hansa Biopharma enters into preclinical research collaboration agreement with argenx BV to evaluate the therapeutic potential of combining the two companies' IgG-modulating technologies for potential use in both the acute and chronic setting of autoimmune diseases and transplantation.

Encouraging three-year follow-up outcome and safety data in imlifidase treated transplant patents in line with expectations compared to outcomes in patients undergoing HLA-incompatible transplantation. Data expected to be presented later in the year in a peer-reviewed journal.

Magnus Korsgren , M.D., Ph.D. appointed new Head of R&D. Dr Korsgren will lead research and development activities based on Hansa's proprietary enzyme technology platform as the Company expands into new therapeutic areas.

, M.D., Ph.D. appointed new Head of R&D. Dr Korsgren will lead research and development activities based on Hansa's proprietary enzyme technology platform as the Company expands into new therapeutic areas. Patient recruitment in the phase 2 studies in AMR and GBS ongoing under a risk-based, site-by-site approach due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the AMR trial, 9 out of a target of 30 patients have been enrolled, and in the GBS trial 8 out of 30 have been enrolled.

US trial: Hansa continues to be in productive dialogue with the FDA and expects to reach an agreement near-term with the Agency on the protocol for a randomized controlled study in the US. Preparatory work to initiate the trial is ongoing. Hansa expects to initiate the trial over summer and to recruit the first patient in the second half of 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic: The global COVID-19 pandemic may still adversely impact Hansa Biopharma's operational business and trial activities.

Events after the end of the reporting period

Hilary Malone , PhD. in Molecular Neuropharmacology (born 1965, U.S. and UK citizen) proposed as new member of the Board of Directors at the next AGM. Dr. Malone is currently COO and EVP at Valo Health, Inc. (U.S.) and has held global executive positions at Sanofi, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Wyeth and AstraZeneca, among others. Birgit Stattin Norinder has decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the next AGM.

Financial summary

Solid cash position of SEK 1,255m at the end of March 2021 .

at the end of . Investments in SG&A and R&D in the first quarter amounting to SEK 60m (Q1'20: SEK 39m ) and SEK 47m (Q1'20: SEK 53m ), respectively, in line with plans.

(Q1'20: ) and SEK 47m (Q1'20: ), respectively, in line with plans. Cash flow from operating activities for the first quarter ended at SEK -121m (Q1'20: SEK -121m ).

SEKm, unless otherwise stated - unaudited Q1 2021 Q1 2020 FY 2020 Revenue 9.0 0.9 6.1 Gross profit 7.3 0.5 5.1 SG&A expenses -60.1 -38.7 -203.0 R&D expenses -47.4 -52.5 -227.2 Operating profit/loss -103.7 -91.4 -422.8 Net profit/loss -103.9 -93.4 -420.9 Cash flow from operating activities -120.9 -121.2 -290.3 Cash and short-term investments 1,254.7 476.9 1,377.5 Shareholders' equity 1,149.8 473.9 1,242.1 EPS before and after dilution (SEK) -2.34 -2.33 -9.98 Number of outstanding shares 44,473,452 40,026,107 44,473,452 Weighted avg. number of shares before and after dilution 44,473,452 40,026,107 42,176,872 Number of employees 101 78 87

Sren Tulstrup, President and CEO of Hansa Biopharma, comments

"Hansa Biopharma's evolution into a fully integrated, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company is now a reality following the Company's first commercial sales of Idefirix and treatments of the first patients.

Our long-term objective is to build Hansa into a recognized global leader in rare diseases across multiple broad therapeutic areas through the development of new transformative medicines for patients suffering from rare immunologic diseases. In order to do so, we need to successfully execute on our strategic priorities. This early in 2021, we have already demonstrated clear progress across our business and organization and that we are on track to deliver on our targets for the year.

In Europe, our commercial launch activities continue to be rolled out and implemented in early launch countries as planned. As part of this effort, we continue to have close interactions with national reimbursement authorities and leading transplant clinics. Decisions by authorities in the first of the early launch countries can be expected from mid-year and onwards following publication of Healthcare Technology Assessments to evaluate the health-economic impact from using Idefirix. A first such assessment was recently published in Sweden, which was favorable to the use of Idefirix in scenarios representing both high and low mortality assumptions for dialysis patients.

On March 29, Hansa entered into a preclinical research collaboration agreement with argenx BV to explore the potential of combining imlifidase, Hansa's IgG antibody-cleaving enzyme, and efgartigimod, argenx's FcRn antagonist. We are pleased to collaborate with argenx, a leader in the field of FcRn-inhibition, as they share our commitment to bringing innovative new medicines to patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. A combination of imlifidase and efgartigimod could potentially be used in both the acute and chronic setting of autoimmune diseases and transplantation and may potentially unlock additional therapeutic value.

In the US, Hansa is in productive dialogue with the FDA and we expect to finalize near-term an agreement with the Agency on a protocol for a randomized controlled study in the US. Preparatory work to initiate the trial is already ongoing and we are encouraged by the strong interest shown by leading US transplant centers to participate in the trial. Subject to the expected agreement with FDA on the study protocol in the coming months, we expect study initiation over the summer and the first patient to be enrolled in the second half of 2021.

In our ongoing phase 2 programs, GBS and AMR, we see patient enrollment progressing again following a temporary halt in the recruitment process during large parts of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, patient enrollment was reinitiated in both studies under a risk-based, site-by-site approach. As of April 21, 2021, 9 out of a target of 30 patients have now been enrolled in the AMR study, while 8 out of 30 have been enrolled in the GBS study. Depending on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment is expected to be completed towards the end of 2021, as previously guided.

Furthermore, I am pleased to announce that our long-term follow-up study in highly sensitized kidney patients continues to show encouraging outcomes after imlifidase treatment and transplantation. We now have three-year data available, demonstrating follow-up outcomes in line with expectations compared to outcomes in patients undergoing HLA-incompatible transplantation. Data is expected to be published later this year following submission of a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal.

I am also happy to see that we continue to attract the talent and competences needed to build a high-performance organization. In March, we announced the recruitment of Magnus Korsgren, M.D., Ph.D as our new Head of R&D. Dr. Korsgren's extensive international experience in translational medicine and drug development will be very helpful for our continued efforts to build a highly valuable pipeline of drug candidates within transplantation, autoimmune diseases and beyond.

Speaking about attracting highly qualified, international competences, I am also very pleased to see Hilary Malone, Ph.D in Molecular Neuropharmacology, being proposed at the next AGM as a new member of the Board of Directors at Hansa Biopharma. Ms. Malone currently holds the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Valo Health, Inc. in the US and has previously held global executive positions at Sanofi, Reata Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Wyeth and AstraZeneca, among others.

Hansa is off to a good start in 2021 and I look forward to updating you on our progress as we deliver on our mission to bring lifesaving and life altering therapies to patients with rare diseases who need them while generating value to shareholders and society at large."

Upcoming milestones and news flow

H1 2021 NiceR: initiate IND-enabling tox studies

Q2/Q3 2021 First national reimbursement agreement

H2 2021 Kidney transplantation US: First patient dosed

H2 2021 AMR Phase 2 study: Complete enrollment

H2 2021 GBS Phase 2 study: Complete enrollment

H2 2022 Kidney transplantation US: Complete enrollment

H2 2022 AMR Phase 2 study: Data read out

H2 2022 GBS Phase 2 study: Data read out

H2 2023 Kidney transplantation US: 12 months follow-up completed

H1 2024 Kidney transplantation US: BLA submission

Conference call details

Hansa Biopharma will host a telephone conference today Thursday April 22 14:00 CET / 8:00am EST.

The presentation will be held in English and be hosted by Hansa Biopharma's CEO, Sren Tulstrup, and CFO, Donato Spota. Slides used in the presentation will be live on the company website during the call under "Events & Presentation" and will also be made available online after the call.

To participate in the telephone conference, please use the dial-in details provided below:

Sweden: +46 8 50 55 83 75

United Kingdom: +44 333 300 90 35

United States: +1 833 526 83 82

The webcast will be available on https://streams.eventcdn.net/hansa/2021q1/

The interim report and latest investor presentation can be downloaded from our web

Interim report January  March 2021

https://investors.hansabiopharma.com/English/financial-data/quarterly-report/default.aspx

Investor road show presentation Q1, 2021

https://investors.hansabiopharma.com/English/events-and-presentations/presentations/default.aspx

This is information that Hansa Biopharma AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the Securities Markets Act.

For further information, please contact:

Klaus Sindahl, Head of Investor Relations

Hansa Biopharma

Mobile: +46 (0) 709-298 269

E-mail: [email protected]

Katja Margell

Head of Corporate Communications

Hansa Biopharma

Mobile: +46 (0) 768-198 326

E-mail: [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/hansa-biopharma-ab/r/hansa-biopharma-interim-report-jan-mar-2021,c3330555

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1219/3330555/1405196.pdf 20210421 HNSA - Q1 2021 Quarterly Report BoD FINAL ENG

SOURCE Hansa Biopharma AB
Mountain America earned Diamond Awards in five categories, including one Category's Best Diamond for the VISA Faves campaign. The VISA Faves campaign was designed to be an entertaining and creative way to provide awareness of Mountain America's three card types, inviting Gen Z and Gen Y members to choose their "fave" credit card. The Category's Best award is a prestigious distinction recognizing the best-of-the-best campaign in each category.

The other winning campaigns were:

Financial Education: Financial Education Videos, a series of educational videos providing advice for those seeking to improve their finances or just learn more about a certain topic.

Financial Education Videos, a series of educational videos providing advice for those seeking to improve their finances or just learn more about a certain topic. Multifaceted: Pass it Along with the Utah Jazz, a unique partnership allowing fans to nominate deserving charitable (or non-profit) organizations for a $5,000 donation and media recognition.

Pass it Along with the Utah Jazz, a unique partnership allowing fans to nominate deserving charitable (or non-profit) organizations for a donation and media recognition. Video  Non-Commercial  Series: Mountain America Member Stories, a series of videos providing financial education in a real-life relatable way by spotlighting members and telling their story of how the credit union has helped them both personally and professionally.

Mountain America Member Stories, a series of videos providing financial education in a real-life relatable way by spotlighting members and telling their story of how the credit union has helped them both personally and professionally. Complete Campaign: You Are Your Home Mortgage Campaign, a campaign with a message that regardless of the home or loan type, Mountain America has a mortgage option that fits an individual's needs.

"Everything we do is driven by our ultimate purpose: helping our members identify and achieve their financial dreams," says Sharon Cook, chief marketing officer and public relations officer at Mountain America Credit Union. "We are proud to celebrate the passion, creativity and success of our marketing campaigns, which help us better serve more members."

CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council celebrated Diamond Awards Week by announcing winners in 35 categories through a series of daily virtual award ceremonies. Turnout was outstanding for this year's award competition with 1,278 entries submitted. Six credit unions won Best of Show Awards, 86 won Category's Best Awards and 264 won Diamond Awards. For more information on the Diamond Awards or to view the entire list of winners, click here.

"The Diamond Awards competition is the most prestigious competition for excellence in marketing and business development in the credit union industry," said Amy McGraw, diamond awards chair and VP marketing/chief experience officer at Tropical Financial CU. "Credit unions that receive these awards should be extremely proud of their accomplishments and know that their work represents the very best examples of creativity, innovation, relevance and execution."

For more information about Mountain America Credit Union, visit macu.com.

SOURCE Mountain America Credit Union

Related Links

http://www.macu.com


LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK Jurisdiction Taskforce of LawtechUK, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, has today published its Digital Dispute Resolution Rules designed to enable faster and more cost effective resolutions to legal disputes relating to novel digital technology such as crypto assets, smart contracts, and blockchain applications, and foster confidence amongst businesses in the adoption of these technologies.

The use of these technologies in business has rapidly gained in popularity in recent years. JP Morgan, for example, is just one of many large-scale corporations already regularly taking advantage of the use of smart contracts (self-executing contracts run on blockchain technologies that automatically process transactions without the need for a third-party). The business benefits of smart contracts are wide-ranging, including enhanced security, improved efficiencies, and cost reduction in the implementation (and automating performance of) contracts between parties.

However, until now, there has been little consistency in how legal disputes relating to these types of technologies should be resolved, leading to lengthier and more costly processes.

Drafted in extensive public and private consultation with lawyers, technical experts and financial services and commercial parties, the Digital Dispute Resolution Rules published today are designed to facilitate the rapid and cost effective resolution of disputes arising in the context of these technologies, and to foster industry confidence in their use.

One important feature of the Rules is that they allow parties to resolve their disputes by an arbitrator, rather than by a judge in court (which can be a more time-consuming and costly process). They have also been drafted to provide maximum flexibility to adapt to as yet undeveloped technologies, and to reach a resolution to disputes quickly and efficiently by arbitrators with appropriate technical expertise and enabling on-chain implementation of decisions.

The UK has been at the global forefront of developing the legal infrastructure to support the deployment of these nascent and evolving technologies. In November 2019 the UKJT published its well-received legal statement on the status of cryptoassets and smart contracts under English and Welsh law. The legal statement was a significant step by the UK towards legal certainty for blockchain technology and crypto assets. Furthermore, English law provides an established and familiar framework by reference to which rights in respect of digital technologies can be effectively established and enforced, and has an impressive track record of dealing with and adapting to technological developments.

Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, chair of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce and LawtechUK Panel member, commented: "I am delighted to welcome the publication by the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce of the ground-breaking Digital Dispute Resolution Rules. International business is rapidly adopting the use of digital documentation and on-chain smart contracts. The Rules aim to provide a process for speedy and cost-effective resolution of disputes originating digitally. They will hopefully give global businesses greater confidence to adopt and utilise new digital technologies."

Jenifer Swallow LawtechUK Director at Tech Nation, comments: "Analogue ways of doing business will be widely restructured and digitised in the coming years, increasing efficiency and transparency. The smart contracts market alone is set to reach $345.4 million by 2026. Methods of dispute resolution must keep pace. The Digital Dispute Resolution Rules are a step change in that evolution and in enabling wider confidence and adoption of these technologies - underpinning those readily-available today and capable of adapting to those yet to be developed. This is an exciting next step in the UK's leadership at the forefront of business, law and technology, and also demonstrates how simple legal processes can be."

The UKJT will keep a close watch on how the Digital Dispute Resolution Rules are used, and will aim to consider whether further development or revision would be valuable within the coming year, based on user feedback.

[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/smart-contracts-market-size-to-reach-usd-345-4-million-by-2026-at-cagr-18-1-valuates-reports-832536081.html

The Digital Dispute Resolution Rules

The Rules are available for download here.

UK Jurisdiction Taskforce and LawtechUK

LawtechUK, a government-backed initiative within Tech Nation, is established to support the transformation of the UK legal sector through technology, for the benefit of society and the economy. Established in 2018 by the Secretary of State for Justice, the LawtechUK Panel, then the Lawtech Delivery Panel, are a group of leaders and experts from the public and private sectors working to achieve that objective and acting as the advisory board to LawtechUK.

The UKJT was established by the Panel as a taskforce to demonstrate that English law and the jurisdiction of England and Wales together provide a state-of-the art foundation for the development of distributed ledger technology, smart contracts and associated technologies.

The members of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT) are:

Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Chair of the UKJT

Lawrence Akka QC, Twenty Essex

Sir Nicholas Green, Chair of the Law Commission of England and Wales, as an observer

Richard Hay, Linklaters LLP

Peter Hunn, Accord Project

Mary Kyle, City of London Corporation

Matthew Smith, Financial Conduct Authority

Sir Antony Zacaroli, Justice of the High Court

The drafting team:

David Quest QC, 3 Verulam Buildings

Lawrence Akka QC, Twenty Essex

Anne Rose, Mishcon de Reya

Dorothy Livingston, Herbert Smith Freehills

Rory Conway, Linklaters

David McIlWaine, Pinsent Masons

SOURCE Tech Nation
This story originally appeared on MyJewishLearning.com

Did you know that some of Americas most popular candies (Tootsie Rolls! Peeps! Peanut Chews!) were invented by Jews?

How and why this came to pass is a remarkable tale that needs no sugarcoating.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Jewish beet farmers throughout the Russian empire produced the bulk of the sugar necessary to satisfy the high demand of the European market. When many of these impoverished farmers fled their shetls at the turn of the 20th century and immigrated to the United States, they leveraged their sugar-processing skills to find employment in candy factories.

Many went on to open their shops; such is the case with Morris Moishe Cohen, founder of New Yorks famous Economy Candy. Cohen, whose primary trade was shoe and hat repair, ran a sweets cart originally as a side hustle, but found that during the Depression, candy rather than cobbling was bringing in more cash. In 1937, Cohen converted his shop into a full-time confectionary selling sweetmeats, dried fruit, nuts, and gift baskets. More than 80 years later, Economy Candy is still run by Cohens descendants and has become a landmark for its incredibly vast (2,000 items and counting) selection of current, vintage, and hard-to-find candies.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by See The City See The Zoo (@seethecity_seethezoo)

Having come from an esteemed line of candymakers in his native Austria, Leo Hirshfield simply thought he was carrying on his familial legacy when he opened his corner candy store in New York in 1896. But in 1908, he unknowingly permanently made the world a little sweeter upon rolling out his own personal invention: a chocolate-flavored chewy cylindrical roll he dubbed Tootsie, after his pet name for his daughter Clara.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Annie Jane (S) or (P) (@annie_jane420)



A similar sweet success story is that of Romanian immigrant David Seltzer. After setting foot in his new home of Philadelphia, Seltzer made two fortuitous decisions. First, he changed his name to Goldenberg (a variation of Goldberg, which he heard was a good name to have in the United States), thereby relieving himself of a moniker that might have condemned him to a career involving bubbly water. Second (and to seal the deal), he went to work making carnival treats, then eventually transitioned into running his own candy business. One of Goldenbergs most popular creations was a chewy walnut and molasses candy. Later, he swapped walnuts for more cost-effective peanuts, and Goldenbers Peanut Chews were born. During the First and Second World Wars, Goldenberg won numerous government contracts to produce Peanut Chews as a nutritious non-ration bar for American soldiers.

The flourishing family business was passed on to Goldenbergs children, Sylvia and Harry, the latter of which passed it onto his sons, Ed and Carl, the latter of which passed it on to his son (also named) David. This great grandson of the original founder eventually sold the Peanut Chew empire in 2003 to Just Born candy company, which still produces the candy to this day under the Goldenberg name.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Goldenbergs Peanut Chews (@goldenbergspeanutchews)

Jewish owned and operated Just Born company was also the catalyst for pioneering another classic confection. In 1953, the candy conglomerate acquired the Rodda company, which at the time devoted the majority of its production capacity to churning out jelly beans, only occasionally dabbling at the (significantly more labor-intensive) marshmallow treats known as Peeps. After owner Sam Borns son Robert invented a machine that reduced production time from 27 hours to six minutes, the company rapidly became the worlds leading manufacturer (irony noted) of arguably Americas most iconic Easter candy.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by PEEPS (@peepsbrand)

What is perhaps most compelling about these bonbon backstories is that Hirshfield, Goldenberg, and others took what many might relegate as culinary juvenilia, candymaking, and demonstrated its potential as a form of high art by designing confections that made a lasting impact on the gastronomic landscape. In summarizing the American candy tradition, one might riff on the famous Marvin Gaye lyric, How sweet it is  and its made by Jews.
Labour has demanded a parliamentary investigation Boris Johnsons conduct after he personally messaged the billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson, telling him he would fix a tax issue for his employees during the height of the pandemic.

Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, called on the influential Commons Liaison Committee to summon Mr Johnson to give evidence to MPs on the issue and publish his correspondence with the entrepreneur.

In text messages, published by the BBC, Mr Johnson assured the British inventor the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, would address the companys issue over employees tax status. The prime minister defended his actions yesterday as the right thing to do with the country facing the novel coronavirus.

I make absolutely no apology at all for shifting heaven and earth and doing everything I possibly could, as I think any prime minister would in those circumstances, to secure ventilators for the people of this country, he told MPs.

During prime ministers questions, Mr Johnson also promised to provide details of the exchanges to MPs, but his official spokesperson later said there were no plans for a leak inquiry to establish how messages from his personal mobile got into the public domain.

According to The Times, the prime minister also received advice from the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, to change his mobile phone number amid concerns over the ease with which lobbyists and other business figures are able to contact him directly.

The newspaper reported Mr Johnson, who has had the same phone number for over a decade, rejected the advice from Mr Case  the most senior civil servant. No 10 declined to comment on the reports of private conservations while sources denied the account when approached by The Independent.

Demanding the thorough investigation into the prime ministers contacts with Sir James, Ms Reeves wrote in a letter to the chair of the Liaison Committee: I am sure that you will be as alarmed as I was, to see text messages between the prime minister and James Dyson revealed today.

These revelations seem to confirm a growing feeling that if one has access to a telephone number of someone like the prime minister or the chancellor of the exchequer, then they are able to gain special treatment, potentially even significant financial ones.

Ms Reeves said the prime minister should give evidence to the committee, publish all correspondence about government business on his mobile phone, and urged No 10 to release details of any other communications between ministers, officials, and external commercial lobbyists.

She added: We need the prime minister to appear before the Liaison Committee immediately, and for a thorough investigation into his conduct on this matter. Boris Johnson should also stick to the commitment he made this week in prime ministers questions and publish his text messages with other businesses.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, however, insisted it was very good that business leaders and constituents had direct access to ministers and those making decisions in Whitehall, adding: I think that in the real world, in reality, people are contacting ministers, contacting MPs, all the time.

Business people are contacting MPs all the time, constituents also contact me on my phone. I think that in a modern democracy its very good that people actually can have direct access to ministers and people who are taking responsibility.

In a statement on Wednesday, Sir James said he hugely proud of his companys response in the midst of a national emergency, and that he would do the same again if asked.

When the prime minister rang me to ask Dyson to urgently build ventilators, of course I said yes.Our ventilator cost Dyson 20 million, freely given to the national cause, and it is absurd to suggest that the urgent correspondence was anything other than seeking compliance with rules, as 450 Dyson people - in UK and Singapore - worked around the clock, seven days a week to build potentially life-saving equipment at a time of dire need.

Mercifully, they were not required as medical understanding of the virus evolved. Neither Weybourne (Dysons holding company) nor Dyson received any benefit from the project; indeed commercial projects were delayed, and Dyson voluntarily covered the 20 million of development costs. Not one penny was claimed from any government, in any jurisdiction, in relation to Covid-19.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Qrons Inc. (OTCQB:QRON), an innovative biotechnology company developing next generation treatments for unmet neuronal diseases, using tissue engineering, stem cells and machine learning synergic technologies is proud to report that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 10,954,315 to the Trustees of Dartmouth College which is directed to mechanically interlocked ,molecules-based materials for 3-D printing. The patents inventors are Professor Chenfeng Ke, a member of Qrons Scientific Advisory Board and Qianming Lin, Professor Ke's assistant.

Since July 2018, Qrons has conducted research with Professor Ke under a Sponsored Research Agreement with Dartmouth to develop innovative 3D printable hydrogels, biocompatible advanced materials as a component of its stem cell-based traumatic brain injury treatment. In October 2019, Qrons entered into an Intellectual Property License Agreement with Dartmouth for an exclusive world-wide license of intellectual property related to 3D printable materials in the fields of human and animal health. This patent grant is the culmination of that process.

Professor Ke explained " I am really excited about the issuance of the patent. I think it is an important step forward for the development of our hydrogels. I think this issued patent, along with several pending patent applications forms the foundation of our technology. "

Jonah Meer, CEO of Qrons, commented " Ido Merfeld, our co-founder who worked closely with Dr. Ke, and I commend Professor Ke for his brilliance and diligence in obtaining this important patent. We are proud to have been part of the process and hope to engage in future projects with Professor Ke and his talented team at Dartmouth in furtherance of our development model that includes collaborating with leading academic institutions."

About Dartmouth College

Founded in 1769, Dartmouth College is a member of the Ivy League and consistently ranks among the world's greatest academic institutions. Dartmouth has forged a singular identity for combining its deep commitment to outstanding undergraduate liberal arts and graduate education with distinguished research and scholarship in the Arts & Sciences and its three leading professional schools - the Geisel School of Medicine, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business.

About Qrons Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, with research conducted in Israel, Qrons is an innovative biotechnology company dedicated to developing biotech products, treatments and technologies to combat neuronal diseases an enormous social and economic burden on society. Qrons' approach is to seek to engage in strategic arrangements with companies and institutions that are developing breakthrough technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence , machine learning , molecular biology, stem cells and tissue engineering, for deployment in the fight against neuronal diseases. Our search is focused on researchers based in Israel, a country which is world-renowned for biotech innovations. Please visit https://www.qrons.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting the Company's business including increased competition; the ability of the Company to expand its operations, to attract and retain qualified professionals, technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts:

Qrons Inc.

Jonah Meer

Chief Executive Officer

212-945-2080

SOURCE: Qrons Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641432/Qrons-Announces-US-Patent-Office-Grants-Dartmouth-College-3D-Printing-Patent-Forming-Basis-of-License-Agreement-with-Qrons
Gardai in Offaly and Laois are among the busiest in Leinster outside Dublin when it comes to the issuing of Covid-19 fines for breaches of the Covid-19, according to the latest figures.

The latest Policing Authority report on policing performance by the Garda Siochana during the COVID-19 crisis shows that guards in the division issued 608 Fixed Charge Notices (FCN) since the powers were granted to penalised the public if travel and other rules were broken.

The Laois Offaly figure up to April 15 compares with 399 in Kildare, 452 in Carlow Kilkenny and 256 in Westmeath. Only Wicklow and Louth gardai had higher figures in Leinster counties.

However, breaches of the regulations in the two counties account for just 3% of the 20,242 FCNs that have been issued up to the middle of April around Ireland by gardai.

People leaving their homes without a reasonable excuse is the largest reason for issuing FCNs, accounting for 72.4% (14,650) of the total. MORE BELOW GRAPHIC ON THE FCNs issued.

The Policing Authority says that it is worth noting that while these account for the vast majority of FCNs issued, Gardai have stated that these are frequently issued to those travelling to or returning from house parties and similar gatherings.

In addition to this, approximately 4.0% (803) were issued to organisers of events, in both non-dwelling and dwellings,

while a further 14.1% (2,855) were issued to those who attended events in dwellings only.

Non wearing of face coverings accounted for just 1.7% (341).

The proportion of FCNs issued for breaches related to international travel increased. FCNs for non-essential international travel

accounted for 5.9% (1,186) while fines for persons travelling into the state who are not ordinarily resident accounted for 2.0% (407).

In terms of the age and gender breakdown, those aged 18 to 25 received the highest number of fines, accounting for 53% of all fines issued, while 75% of the total fines were issued to males.

The region with the highest number of FCNs issued remains the Southern Region, accounting for approximately 29% of the national total. Cork City, DMR North and DMR West are the Divisions with the highest number of fines issued, standing at 2,091, 2,062 and 1,408 respectively.

The period from Thursday 1 April to the bank holiday on Monday 5 April accounted for 1,294 FCNs alone.

The Policing Authority say it is too early to state definitively the degree to which the easing of restrictions will influence trends

in enforcement. It says the majority of restrictions on gatherings are still in place, as are restrictions and conditions for international travellers.

The Authority says it will continue to monitor trends and engage with the Garda Siochana as to their approach to policing the restrictions which are still in place.
MDHHS launches pilot Travel Points Testing at Michigan Welcome Centers and airports

MDHHS launches pilot Travel Points Testing at Michigan Welcome Centers and airports

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2021

CONTACT: Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - In an attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and select Michigan airports, are piloting a Travel Points Testing program this spring - bringing antigen COVID-19 testing to locations with high volumes of travel.

Quick and cost-free testing will be offered at several Michigan Welcome Centers and airports throughout the state, with results available in as little as 15 minutes. Walk ups are taken as space allows, and an option to register online while in line via a mobile device will also be available.

"As we head into the summer with vaccines ramping up and a light at the end of the tunnel, I am so proud of this partnership between MDOT and MDHHS to keep Michiganders safe," said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "I encourage all Michiganders to continue masking up, socially distancing and hand washing to slow the spread, and if you re-enter or travel across the state, get tested at one of the new sites being set up at key points. Finally, I encourage you to get vaccinated, which is the most effective way to keep you and your family safe and put this pandemic behind us."

"We are excited to provide space at our select Welcome Centers for immediate COVID-19 testing," said State Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba. "Our Welcome Centers are a gateway to thousands of travelers coming into the state each day, making them ideal locations to help prevent the spread of this horrible virus. Just look out for the COVID testing signs before the appropriate centers along the freeways."

Insurance is not required, and results can be obtained via text, email or uploaded to the traveler's patient portal.

"We are pleased to partner with MDOT and offer simple, quick COVID-19 testing for Michiganders and travelers to Michigan," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at the MDHHS, "With growing concerns of new, more contagious variants, testing for COVID-19 is more important than ever. If you are engaging in any travel, we encourage you to take advantage of this testing when you re-enter or travel across the state."

Testing trailers will be located on the grounds of Michigan Welcome Centers. Testing stations will be located at multiple locations inside Michigan airports.

Welcome Centers (open daily Monday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.):

Dundee Welcome Center (US 23): US 23 Mile Marker 8, Petersburg. Open starting April 23.

Monroe: Open starting April 23.

Airport

Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), 727 Fly Don't Dr., Traverse City. Open Wednesday, April 7. Hours: Wednesdays 2-10 p.m., Fridays noon to 8 p.m., and Sundays 3-11 p.m.

"Testing sites are widely available at MDOT Welcome Centers and airports for the convenience of the traveler, and we have created resources for travelers to journey safely. To learn more about the Pure Michigan Pledge and to view resources, visit our state travel office website," said Larisa Draves, executive director, Michigan Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus.

Additional sites will be announced as they are confirmed.

To learn more about coronavirus and related resources in Michigan, visit Michigan.gov/Coronavirus. Additional information about MDHHS's antigen pop-up testing is also available online.

To learn more about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance on travel and additional safety measures, visit CDC.gov.
Spotify Turns 15  My How Youve Grown!

As the streaming giant celebrates its 15th birthday, Fred Jacobs looks back on how Spotify has been able to grow and adapt to keep up with an ever-changing music economy.

Guest post by Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media Strategies

As birthdays go, your 15th is not one of the big ones. Thats reserved for your Sweet 16, turning 21, and then all those birthdays that end with a 0. Those are the ones you remember.

But we should be paying attention to Spotifys recently celebrated birthday  the big 1-5  because it should serve as a reminder to all of us in media  specifically, audio  that its not just about having that one great idea. Its about innovating  with a vengeance  every damn day of your existence.

Spotify may still be a little rough around the edges, but theyve invested their available capital in research and development  and its paying off.

A great story in Variety last week  15 Years of Spotify: How the Streaming Giant Has Changed and Reinvented the Music Industry  by Kristin Robinson says it all.

Not many adolescents earn that headline, but Spotify is serving notice on all audio players (radio broadcasters, are you listening?), and theyre taking no prisoners.

See the Results of Techsurvey 2021 The radio broadcasting industrys largest online survey identifies key digital trends, including the rise of podcasting, smartphones, and connected cars. See the results in our webinar on May 6th. Sponsored by Veritone.

They keep developing new innovations that keep their subscribers happy, while reminding the competition theyre in it to win it.

Robinson lists some of Spotifys most impactful moves since 2006 when Daniel Ek started it all. Here are a few of my favorites that serve as reminders that theres no laurel resting when it comes to todays digital media marketplace.

Mood playlists  In yesterdays post, we talked about the phenomenon that takes music out of old school radio formats and move it into playlists that reflect emotions.

Where else do you get playlists with names like feel free, all we have is now, desert voices, and to be, or not to be.

Some will say it all started with mix cassettes or party tapes back in the 70s, but someone in Sweden was paying close attention.

The fact that anyone can become a curator has also democratized Spotify, leading to the next effect

Anybody can become a star DJ  Now, you dont have to be on the radio (or be a program director) to be a music influencer. As Robinson points out, Spotifys team of editors can have the modern-day effect of breaking a record.

Labels vie to get their songs added to some of Spotifys most popular playlists.

As Robinson writes, Carl Chery, who replaced Basa, and Ned Monahan, who oversees Todays Top Hits and New Music Friday, along with Antonio Vasquez for Viva Latino and Lizzy Szabo for the alt-leaning Lorem, have found themselves in a taste-making role not worlds away from the one formerly held by radio DJs.

Spotify has created the best end-of-the-year list ever  Thats the one about YOU. This truly innovative feature personalizes your music listening over the past 12 months.

my spotify wrapped this year is going to be so embarrassing if i keep listening to the same playlist every single day  brenda  (@feeIingolden) April 20, 2021

Now called Spotify Wrapped, it is a popular gift from your audio streaming provider. And of course, Spotify customers are compelled to share their lofty (and embarrassing) tastes with each other  all over social media.

Storytelling is alive and well  While critics  including many of us in radio  have underestimated Spotify because its just a playlist service, it is anything but that.

Now artists share their musical stories on Spotify Clips, a feature that accompanies some playlists. It allow musicians to post videos geared to hardcore fans, the ones who just have to have those backstories of their favorite songs.

Spotify has tapped into something big here  something that radio used to do so well, from Casey Kasem to Jim Ladd.

Music in podcasts  This one may go down as one of Spotifys biggest accomplishments  providing podcasters with licensed music they can integrate in their shows.

They broke this innovation last year, utilizing their recently purchase of Anchor. If this one becomes a scalable reality, it will revolutionize podcasting.

And here are two for the road because Spotify has the car in its crosshairs:

Spotifys morning show  Weve blogged about the Daily Drive, a clever way Spotify puts together personalized collections of music and podcasts for the commuting consumer.

These curated shows are popular ways to get to work. And for radio execs who might scoff at the idea that an audio streaming company could challenge radio, think about how many times you pulled out of the garage, your morning show goes into commercials, and you dont hear any of the content you like for 10 minutes  which in traffic, feels like hours.

Spotifys voice in cars  The newest innovation  released last week  proves that Spotify did not take its birthday month off.

That Car Thing is an in-vehicle device that makes it easier to listen to Spotify. And the wait list to buy one ($80) is growing fast.

Its a touch screen with voice commands so that drivers can more easily enjoy Spotify content. And according to Chairman Ek:

Our focus remains on becoming the worlds number one audio platform  not on creating hardware  but we developed Car Thing because we saw a need from our users, many of whom were missing out on a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience.

So, dont bother with trying to find an appropriate gift for young Spotify this year  or the next or the next.

They are busily reminding us that you get to the top  and stay on top  by never failing to do something innovative.

Rust never sleeps.

Fred Jacobs President & Founder at Jacobs Media

Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media in 1983, and quickly became known for the creation of the Classic Rock radio format.

Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.

In 2008, jacapps was launched  a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created  a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the connected car and its impact.

Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Medias commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.

Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.

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JACKSON COUNTY, Mississippi -- A Jackson County woman will serve at least 22 years in state prison after pleading guilty to four counts of sharing sexual images of children on the dark web.

Cora Lee Schaub, 39, was sentenced by Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Kathy King Jackson to 40 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with at least 22 of those years in state prison. Schaub was also ordered to pay court costs and a $1,500 fine.

Schaubs husband, Gary Schaub, had also been charged in the case, but committed suicide shortly after the indictments were handed down, according to Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath.

Cora Lee Schaub was found in possession of images of children as young as toddlers subjected to sexual abuse and had shared those images on the dark web. Myers-McIlrath said Schaub was caught as a result of a cyber tip in which the images were shared, along with fantasies of Schaub and her husband participating in sexual abuse of children.

Our children are our treasure, Myers-McIlrath said. They are our future. They are the most vulnerable in our society. When someone steals their innocence, violates their trust and inflicts wounds that last a lifetime, we will hold them accountable.

Perpetration of the sexual abuse of children is one of the most vile and depraved acts one can engage in. This substantial prison sentence will protect our children.

Myers-McIlrath also credited the Jackson County Sheriffs Office and the state attorney generals Cyber Crime Division, which provided the initial cyber tip, for their efforts in the case.

To report child abuse, the public can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Childrens Cyber Tipline at 800-843-5678 and/or the Mississippi Child Protective Services Child Abuse Hotline at 800-222-8000.
Gary Rome, owner of Gary Rome Hyundai, is partnering with the Holyoke Community College Foundation on a one-day campaign to raise money for student support programs and scholarships at the college.

The Drive to Change Lives campaign is set for April 27 and will run a full 24 hours, from 12:01 a.m. to midnight online at hcc.edu/drive.

The goal of the campaign, which continues the Together HCC initiative started last year, is to raise money for student support programs and increase awareness about the issues that can impede student success.

Rome has pledged a donation challenge of $10,000 once the campaigns goals are met: secure 150 new donors and 1,000 social media comments, likes, or shares using the hashtag #TogetherHCC.

" The Drive to Change Lives campaign is about making a difference, said Rome. I hope my $10,000 challenge will shine a light on this important institution and all it does for our region, and that it will encourage others to make it a habit to give to HCC.

The one-day campaign has the potential to unlock more than $100,000 in matching donations from alumni and friends, which would put twice that much money into three areas that directly support students: the Presidents Student Emergency Fund; the Thrive Student Resource Center and Food Pantry; and scholarships.

The biggest challenge donation comes from alumna Peg Wendlandt, a 1958 graduate, and her husband Gary Wendlandt, who have pledged to match every individual gift up to $1,000, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $100,000.

On any given day, many of our students struggle with non-academic challenges that can derail their educations if left unaddressed  hunger, housing insecurity, homelessness, affordable healthcare, lack of access to technology, transportation, and childcare, said Julie Phillips, coordinator of alumni affairs and annual giving. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of those obstacles. We created Together HCC to bring attention to these issues and help students through these tough times.

As part of the campaign, members of the HCC community  students, staff, faculty, alumni, relatives and college friends  were asked to use the hashtag #TogetherHCC to share stories and images on social media that demonstrated the resilience of the college community in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The campaign raised $40,000 for the Student Emergency Fund and was selected as a finalist for a national Bellwether award.

For 75 years, HCC has been changing lives, paving the way for generations of learners in western Massachusetts and beyond, Phillips said. On April 27, Together HCC: Drive to Change Lives will enable all of us to come together to celebrate and support the school where so many students and alumni have found their calling.

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Islamabad, April 22 : Pakistan has opened a new border crossing point with Iran to bolster economic and trade exchanges, according to local media.

The Pishin-Mand border opened on Wednesday is the third crossing point after Taftan and Gabd, reports Xinhua news agency.

The two countries inaugurated the Rimadan-Gabd border gateway in December last year, whereas the Taftan border has been operational for decades.

Located in Balochistan province near the Gwadar port, the Mand crossing point will not only facilitate import and export of goods with Iran, but also help reduce pressure on crossings in handling thousands of Pakistani pilgrims visiting Iran.

Speaking at an inaugural ceremony, Minister for Defence Production Zubaida Jalal termed the opening of the new crossing point with Iran historic for both countries.

"It will prove to be a milestone in providing employment and trade benefits to Pakistan, particularly for the people of Balochistan," she said, adding that the border gateways will also promote tourism in the area.

The ceremony was attended also by Iranian Minister for Road and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is currently in Iran on a three-day official visit to review bilateral relations with a view to further deepening cooperation in diverse fields with Tehran.

Pakistani economic experts believe that the potential for bilateral trade is immense and Islamabad is taking keen interest in strengthening cooperation.

Currently, bilateral trade stood at $359 million with Pakistan's exports to Iran amounting to $36 million, and imports worth $323 million, according to local reports.
HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcome Group, LLC has turned the old adage to "go west young man" on its head by heading east to acquire two commercial properties in Georgia. These two acquisitions mark Houston-based Welcome Group's first purchases outside the state of Texas.

Welcome Group (PRNewsfoto/Welcome Group)

In recent weeks, the Welcome Group closed on the purchases of:

The Shaw-Almex facility in Decatur, GA. This is a single-tenant industrial/office building that was built in 1984 and expanded upon in 1996. The property totals approximately 135,000 square feet on nearly 15 acres. Welcome Group purchased the 100%-leased Shaw-Almex property for a price of $8,900,000 ($65.66/SF).

The Torsion Group facility in Tucker, GA. This is a single-tenant industrial/office building totaling approximately 49,700 square feet on 3.5 acres. The building is an industrial/office masonry facility with concrete tilt-up perimeter panels that was built in 1989. The purchase price was $3,900,000 ($78.49/SF). The property has five+ years remaining on a ten-year lease to Torsion Group Corp.

With these acquisitions, the Welcome Group now has more than 5.7 million square feet of industrial and office space within its commercial real estate portfolio.

"These first two out-of-state acquisitions mark an important milestone for our company," said Welcome Wilson, Jr., President, and CEO of Welcome Group. "We believe the greater Atlanta area offers tremendous potential for growth. We're also excited about the opportunity to further our expansion across the Southeast and move ever closer to our goal of acquiring 6 million square feet of commercial space by the end of 2021."

Welcome Group made nine additional acquisitions in 2020, comprising approximately 840,000 square feet of industrial warehouse and office space. This included the purchase of 23 acres for future development within Cedar Port Industrial Park in Baytown, TX, one of the largest industrial business parks in the United States.

Story continues

In early 2020, Welcome Group purchased 14.89 acres of raw land to develop a 66,151 square foot facility for JDR Cable Systems' new U.S. Headquarters in Tomball, TX. The global subsea cable supplier and servicer company's new headquarters will bring additional jobs to the local area. This recently developed project has just been completed; the Grand Opening will be held at the new facility, May 7th, 2021.

Welcome Group continues to seek additional acquisition and development opportunities across the Southeastern United States. Ted Kakambouras is the Acquisitions Director of Southeast Region and can be contacted at tkakambouras@welcomegroup.com. "We are continuing to expand our footprint across the U.S. and are always interested in attractive new acquisition opportunities," said Welcome.

About Welcome Group

Welcome Group owns 116 single-tenant industrial properties in Texas and Georgia, comprising more than 5.7 million square feet. Welcome Group develops and acquires single-tenant commercial, distribution, lab, and manufacturing properties, as well as entire real estate portfolios.

The company offers build-to-suit and design-build services for interested firms. Welcome Group is actively seeking direct purchase and sale-leaseback opportunities throughout Texas and the southeast United States.

For more information visit welcomegroup.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/welcome-group-expands-outside-of-texas-with-two-acquisitions-in-georgia-301275141.html

SOURCE Welcome Group
A rescue mission has saved the life of an orphaned polar bear tamed 'like a dog' by gold miners in the Arctic.

The cub on the remote Russian island of Bolshevik had been left all alone when its mother died.

The hungry little beast was attracted by the smell of cooking at a gold mine, and begged to be fed.

Over several months, the wild animal became tame as miners cared for her, saving her life, even though strict rules forbid the feeding of endangered polar bears because doing so means they lose the ability to hunt.

Footage of the bear shows her climbing a ladder at the facility in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago high in the Arctic, before jumping up to bear hug one of the miners.

A rescue mission has saved the life of an orphaned polar bear tamed 'like a dog' by gold miners in the Arctic. Footage of the bear shows her jumping up to bear hug one of the miners

The cub on the remote Russian island of Bolshevik had been left all alone when its mother died

The hungry little beast was attracted by the smell of cooking at a gold mine, and begged to be fed

'The female cub spent several months living close to humans, and got so used to them that it behaved like a dog,' said a report.

But then, the miners' contract came to an end and it was time for them to return to the mainland.

Andrey Gorban, 56, director of Royev Ruchei Zoo in Krasnoyarsk, who spearheaded the rescue bid, said: 'The workers could only get in touch with us at the end of their work stint, as they had no communication link at the base.

'We were told that the men were leaving back to the mainland, and the cub had stayed there alone.

'Our only hope was that they left quite a big open rubbish site, so there was a chance that the cub could feed off it for weeks.'

The video shows the orphaned polar bear climbing a ladder at the facility in the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago high in the Arctic

The forlorn bear is apparently looking for the gold miner workers, who had left the island at the end of their shift. The workers returned, however, after organising a rescue mission for the orphaned cub

With the help of Moscow Zoo, a decision was taken to launch a mission to save the tame bear.

A helicopter was flown to Bolshevik island, and the bear was found at the site pining after the missing gold miners.

The animal is now en route to Moscow Zoo where it will undergo quarantine before a decision is taken on where to permanently home it.

Over several months, the wild animal became tame as miners cared for her, saving her life, even though strict rules forbid the feeding of endangered polar bears because doing so means they lose the ability to hunt

The bear will not be reintroduced to the wild because she has had too much contact with humans, and would not survive.

Gorban praised the miners even though they broke the no feeding rule.

The cub was lost and helpless without its mother, he made clear.

'For right or wrong, they fed the endangered animal and through that tamed it,' he said.

'The shift workers saved its life, the cub had no chance to survive.'
[April 22, 2021] Deluxe to Acquire First American Payment Systems

Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), a Trusted Business Technology company, today announced an agreement to acquire First American Payment Systems ("First American") for $960 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. This transaction is expected to accelerate the company's transformation into a leading payments technology company as part of its One Deluxe strategy. First American is a privately owned, industry-leading, large-scale payment processor. The company provides partners and merchants with comprehensive in-store, online, and mobile payment solutions, including powerful digital payment processing services that help customers navigate through traditional, mobile, and virtual point-of-sale channels. With the acquisition of First American, Deluxe is expected to double the annual revenue of its Payments segment while maintaining healthy margins, firmly establishing Deluxe as a leader in the payments industry. "This is a major, logical and responsible next step in our transformation. With electronic payments playing an increasingly important role across the economy, the addition of First American's independent, leading payments platform will advance our One Deluxe strategy and our overall growth trajectory," said Barry McCarthy, President and CEO of Deluxe. "Deluxe serves an integral part of the payments industry, with our software and services processing more than $2.8 trillion annually. First American's end-to-end payments platform presents significant cross-sell opportunities as we continue to invest in our higher growth Payments segment, and this combination will create a multitude of opportunities to drive tremendous value for our shareholders." "Our acquisition of First American will enable Deluxe to participate in merchant services, a part of the strong secular growth payments industry," said Michael Reed, President of Payments for Deluxe. "With this combination, Deluxe and First American customers will have access to a broader array of valuable and robust technology services and solutions. We expect to offer these merchant services to our thousands of financial institution customers, millions of small businesses and hundreds of the world's biggest brands through our established and highly effective sales and distribution system. Importantly, we are excited to welcome First American to our shared customer-centric culture and strong platform for revenue growth, capital investment, and future job opportunities." "Today's announcement is a testament to the accomplishments of the First American team over the last 30 years that have established our company as a deeply trusted payments partner with an unwavering focus on customer service," said Neil Randel, Chief Executive Officer of First American. "In joining forces with a Fortune 1000 publicly traded company, we are advancing our mission to create innovative solutions as we continue to help our customers succeed and prosper. I look forward to working closely with Barry, Mike and the team to exponentially grow our combined company and deliver enhanced value to all of our stakeholders." Upon close of the transaction, the First American management team will join the Deluxe Payments team, and Randel will become Managing Director, Merchant Services. Joining Two Payments Platforms Expected to Create Powerful Scale and Significant Growth Opportunities The combination is expected to generate significant near-term revenue synergies.

The addition of First American's scalable, omni-channel payment technology and proprietary back-end processing and settlement platform will further advance the Deluxe transformation.

The combination of First American's diversified distribution channels of independent software vendors (ISVs), financial institutions (FIs), and independent sales organizations with Deluxe's thousands of FIs and millions of small business customers will add cross-sell opportunities and significantly expand distribution scale.

Deluxe anticipates cross-selling opportunities in new verticals, including government, not-for-profit and retail, among others, supporting the unified One Deluxe approach to sales, technology, and customer relationships.

First American brings new capabilities to help businesses consolidate their platforms and integrate payments through powerful yet simple-to-use point-of-sale solutions.

First American's technology platform will enable Deluxe to engage in dynamic innovation across its three other business segments (Cloud Solutions, Promotional Solutions and Checks) and enables a broader rang of future M&A opportunities.

Having operated a successful business for over 30 years, First American's management team brings substantial payments expertise that will enhance the strong bench of talent in place at Deluxe.



Preview of Preliminary First Quarter 2021 Results (unaudited) Deluxe delivers a strong start to 2021, steadily improving sequential performance as promised, and exceeded consensus expectations. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be up 7% to 9% year over year.

Adjusted EBITDA margin is anticipated to increase 300 to 350 basis points year over year.

Release of first quarter 2021 financial results and conference call scheduled for May 6, 2021. Transaction Details

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition. Deluxe will finance the acquisition with a combination of secured and unsecured debt. Following completion, the company's expected net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio is expected to be approximately 4.0x, with a long-term target leverage ratio of approximately 3.0x, or below. Advisors Cowen is serving as Deluxe's exclusive financial advisor, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP are serving as legal counsel to Deluxe in connection with the transaction. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is serving as legal counsel to First American. Conference Call and Webcast Deluxe will host a conference call today, April 22, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the transaction. Interested parties may access the conference call via the investor relations page at www.deluxe.com/investor and callers in North America may dial 833-282-0028 (access code 4733219). A replay of the call will be available after 11:30 a.m. ET through midnight on April 29, 2021 by dialing 800-585-8367 (access code 4733219). About Deluxe Corporation Deluxe, a Trusted Business Technology company, champions business so communities thrive. Our solutions help businesses pay and get paid, accelerate growth and operate more efficiently. For more than 100 years, Deluxe customers have relied on our solutions and platforms at all stages of their lifecycle, from start-up to maturity. Our powerful scale supports millions of small businesses, thousands of vital financial institutions and hundreds of the world's largest consumer brands, while processing more than $2.8 trillion in annual payment volume. Our reach, scale and distribution channels position Deluxe to be our customers' most trusted business partner. To learn how we can help your business, visit us at www.deluxe.com, www.facebook.com/deluxecorp, www.linkedin.com/company/deluxe, or www.twitter.com/deluxe. About First American First American Payment Systems, L.P., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a global payment technology company providing leading integrated payment solutions to more than 159,000 merchants throughout the Americas and Europe. First American provides partner and merchant payment solutions that include a robust set of in-store, online and mobile payment solutions paired with the latest in payment security, across a wide range of verticals. Backed by award-winning customer service, merchants and partners have access to our U.S. based Customer Call Center 24/7/365. For more information, visit http://www.first-american.net. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this release concerning Deluxe, the company's or management's intentions, expectations, outlook or predictions about future results or events are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements reflect management's current intentions or beliefs and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to vary from stated expectations, which variations could be material and adverse. Factors that could produce such a variation include, but are not limited to, the following: potential continuing negative impacts from pandemic health issues, such as the coronavirus / COVID-19, along with the impact of government restrictions or similar directives on our future results of operations, our future financial condition and our ability to continue business activities in affected regions; the impact that further deterioration or prolonged softness in the economy may have on demand for the company's products and services; the company's ability to execute its transformational strategy and to realize the intended benefits; the inherent unreliability of earnings, revenue and cash flow predictions due to numerous factors, many of which are beyond the company's control; declining demand for the company's checks, check-related products and services and business forms; risks that the company's strategies intended to drive sustained revenue and earnings growth, despite the continuing decline in checks and forms, are delayed or unsuccessful; intense competition; continued consolidation of financial institutions and/or additional bank failures, thereby reducing the number of potential customers and referral sources and increasing downward pressure on the company's revenue and gross profit; the risk the contemplated transaction and/or other future acquisitions will not be consummated; risks that any such acquisitions do not produce the anticipated results or synergies; risks that the company's cost reduction initiatives will be delayed or unsuccessful; performance shortfalls by one or more of the company's major suppliers, licensors or service providers; unanticipated delays, costs and expenses in the development and marketing of products and services, including web services and financial technology and treasury management solutions; the failure of such products and services to deliver the expected revenues and other financial targets; risks related to security breaches, computer malware or other cyber-attacks; risks of interruptions to the company's website operations or information technology systems; risks of unfavorable outcomes and the costs to defend litigation and other disputes; and the impact of governmental laws, regulations or investigations. The company's forward-looking statements speak only as of the time made, and management assumes no obligation to publicly update any such statements. Additional information concerning these and other factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from the company's current expectations are contained in the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005427/en/

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WASHINGTON - America's age-old reckoning with police violence against Black people entered a new and uncertain era Wednesday as a sweeping government probe of officer conduct and President Joe Biden's promise of legislative action offered fresh hope for lasting change.

A person reacts near Cup Foods after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minn. Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

WASHINGTON - America's age-old reckoning with police violence against Black people entered a new and uncertain era Wednesday as a sweeping government probe of officer conduct and President Joe Biden's promise of legislative action offered fresh hope for lasting change.

The relief at Tuesday's conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd quickly turned to resolve, with the White House and the head of U.S. law enforcement each vowing to seize the momentum.

Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, was convicted of murder and manslaughter after Floyd's death beneath his knee last May prompted a global outpouring of rage that resonates to this day.

Attorney General Merrick Garland promptly launched an investigation into the use of force at the Minneapolis Police Department and whether discriminatory practices were endemic at Chauvin's former employer  a probe observers expect could be just the first of many across the U.S.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks about a jury's verdict in the case against former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, at the Department of Justice, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

"Most of our nation's law enforcement officers do their difficult jobs honourably and lawfully. I strongly believe that good officers do not want to work in systems that allow bad practices," Garland said.

"Good officers welcome accountability, because accountability is an essential part of building trust with the community, and public safety requires public trust."

"I'm excited, my family's excited, the world is excited, because we feel like this is the land of the free. This is why people fight to get here. Justice for George meant freedom for all." Philonise Floyd

And White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. president meant what he said when he told Floyd's family in a phone call that he would do everything to speed along police reform.

"It's absolutely a priority in his mind, and he feels this is a moment where there should be momentum for action," Psaki said.

Next week's speech to a joint session of Congress will showcase that intent, she added.

BRETT COOMER - HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP Laynette Jacob takes a photo in front of a George Floyd mural with her friends in Minneapolis after learning of the guilty verdict on all counts in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of Floyd.

"He will use the power of his presidency, the bully pulpit ... to help push the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act forward."

That legislation, approved last month by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, would ban chokeholds, establish national standards for police conduct and make it easier to prosecute officers accused of wrongdoing.

It would also limit "qualified immunity" for law enforcement, which helps shield certain government agencies and officials from civil suits for constitutional violations, like excessive police force.

Whether Biden will be able to successfully shepherd it through the deeply divided and evenly split Senate remains an open question. But Wednesday, it seemed, was not a day for pessimism.

"As people of colour, we never get justice for anything," Floyd's brother, Philonise, said matter-of-factly in an interview on MSNBC.

This booking photo provided by the Minnesota Department of Corrections shows Derek Chauvin on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The U.S. Justice Department will examine the policies and actions of Minneapolis police following former officer Derek Chauvin's murder conviction. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Minnesota Department of Corrections via AP

"I'm excited, my family's excited, the world is excited, because we feel like this is the land of the free. This is why people fight to get here. Justice for George meant freedom for all."

It will be important to focus not on the cases that make the news, but on the lesser-known and far more frequent interactions that don't, said former Baltimore public defender Nila Bala, a criminal justice expert with the D.C.-based libertarian R Street Institute.

"It's very difficult to hold officers accountable unless things go extremely awry, as they did in George Floyd's case," Bala said.

"There are so many more day-to-day incidents that are not captured on video or are not so egregious, but are still an affront to human dignity ... those are the cases I think we really need to think about."

Bala acknowledged, however, that the track record in the U.S. suggests a steep uphill climb ahead.

"This is not a problem that's going to be stopped by one verdict in one case," she said. "There needs to be significant policing reform to rebuild the trust that's been lost between many Americans and law enforcement."

Biden himself made it clear Tuesday he has no intention of letting the moment pass  from his remarkable phone call with family members immediately after the verdict to a striking statement to the U.S. public.

"It is not enough. We can't stop here," Biden said of the verdict.

"We must not turn away. We can't turn away. We have a chance to begin to change the trajectory in this country. It's my hope and prayer that we live up to (Floyd's) legacy."

Just having a Democrat in the White House won't ensure that happens, said Dr. Monnica Williams, a psychology professor at the University of Ottawa.

Real change has to begin with confronting the mismatch inherent in a society where law and order is enforced almost exclusively by a militarized and heavily armed arm of the government with relatively little accountability, she said.

"Most of the work that the police do does not require a gun or a bulletproof vest," Williams said.

"In the United States, the police is very militarized and the idea is you go out and get the bad guy. We forget that, no  the police should be there to serve and protect everyone."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2021.
New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that people need to come together and unite as Indians and as human beings, to ensure the survival of the people of India in this hour of Corona crisis. He said that he, along with Dy CM Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, is constantly in touch with officials trying to ensure the entire process moves smoothly and is working 24x7 to ensure that the resources are made available to the people.

Kejriwal said that the newly increased quota of oxygen is going to be supplied primarily from Odisha. This consignment will take some time to reach Delhi, and the Delhi govt is trying its best to airlift oxygen from Odisha to cut down on the time it takes. He said that the 6-day lockdown is not a period of rest but a period of activity, which the Delhi government will utilize to overcome the shortage of oxygen, beds, etc, in Delhi and strengthen the health infrastructure.

In a press conference today, the Chief Minister said, "With the rise in coronavirus cases in the country, demands for oxygen cylinders, medicines, vaccination, etc, has increased. Their shortage is being felt. We, in Delhi, have also faced an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders."

"The Delhi government has spent a number of sleepless nights trying to arrange oxygen in hospitals and other COVID care centers to try and ensure that no patient suffers because of its absence. The Central government designates a specific quota for every state i.e. the number of oxygen cylinders a particular state is eligible to receive. The Delhi government estimated that Delhi has a daily requirement of 700 tonnes of oxygen."

Kejriwal said, "The Central government had earlier capped our quota at 378 tonnes, yesterday they increased it to 480 tonnes. Even though we require more oxygen, we are extremely grateful to the Central government for increasing our oxygen supply. The Central government also decides the company that will supply oxygen to the states. Delhi does not have any production centers. Our entire supply of oxygen comes from companies based in other states."

"The problem that has arisen here is that the states in which these companies are based are not allowing oxygen cylinders to come to Delhi. They say they wish to use the oxygen in their own states. Trucks supplying oxygen are being stopped. We are thankful to the Central government and the Delhi High Court who have aided us in this situation. Trucks have slowly started reaching Delhi," he added.

He said, "For the last two days, Manish ji, myself, other Delhi government officials have been in direct contact with Central government officials. Recently, the truck that had to restock the oxygen supply in GTB hospital was stopped and not allowed passage. I remember we immediately got in touch with a Central government Minister and he got the truck released. We are constantly in touch with officials trying to ensure the entire process moves smoothly. We are all working 24x7 to ensure that the resources you need are made available."

On the increased oxygen supply for Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "The newly increased quota of oxygen is going to be supplied primarily from Odisha. This consignment will take some time to reach Delhi. We are trying our best to airlift oxygen from Odisha to cut down on the time it takes. When we imposed the 6-day lockdown, we told you this will not be a period of rest. This will be a period of activity. We will utilize it to overcome the shortage of oxygen, beds, etc, in Delhi and strengthen the health infrastructure to meet your needs; and we are. This is a colossal crisis."

"If we decide to split ourselves into Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal...India will not survive. We need to come together. We need to unite as Indians, as human beings. We don't want to see news of states stopping trucks coming to Delhi, going to MP, etc. We want to see news that shows us how Delhi helped another state overcome its crisis, how Uttar Pradesh helped in doing so. We want to see news of togetherness and unity. This is the only way India can overcome this crisis. The country cannot afford to get divided into states at this point. It is my humble appeal to citizens and state governments of the country, please come together. Let us work together. Together with the increase in our resources, our manpower increases, our strength to overcome this pandemic increases. Together we are stronger," he added.

The CM further added, "It is my promise as the Chief Minister of Delhi, if we have surplus medicines, oxygen, and other supplies, we will send them to states that need them. When corona subsides in Delhi and doctors are required in other states, we will send them. Corona doesn't recognize borders. We must also move beyond them and work together. We need to show the world what good and efficient governance looks like. We will show the world how, despite having the largest number of coronavirus cases in the world, we were able to defeat the virus by coming together."
Michigans supply of COVID-19 vaccines has begun to catch up with, and in some cases surpass, the demand for shots.

Last week marked the first time available appointments were going unfilled, raising concerns from local health officials that progress toward herd immunity could be slowing down.

That is an enormous concern we have right now, said Adam London, health officer for Kent County. Were seeing both vaccine hesitancy and just a general lack of urgency from some people who are willing to get vaccinated. Its just not as urgent a matter as the group we were serving the past few months.

For seven consecutive weeks between late February and early-April, Michigan administered more doses than the week before. The one-week record climbed in that span from 50,779 shots per day to 94,543.

That streak came to an end last week. During the week ending April 17, clinics administered 85,611 vaccines per day. It was still the second-highest average to date, but the decline indicates a reduced demand as health officials were noting continued increases in supply.

Its not that there isnt demand, were just concerned theres a diminishing demand, said Linda Vail, health officer for Ingham County. Its just not as easy to get appointments filled as before. Before we had thousands waiting in line.

Ingham County, home to the states capitol, has received a significant increase in doses in recent weeks, from about 3,500 two weeks ago to about 7,000 last week, to nearly 12,000 this week.

The state of Michigan had to look at a lot of counties where uptake was starting to slow down, smaller counties, and think about pushing things out beyond a strict population-based formula, Vail said.

Now the trick is to get people to come in.

The Department of Health and Human Services has not responded to requests for comment about the states supply and demand of vaccine.

In some cases, health officials say residents who are willing to get a shot havent made it a priority to schedule an appointment, either because they expect to be met with a long wait or because they dont think theyre as susceptible to severe COVID-19 as older populations.

While COVID-19 has often been worse for individuals 65 years and older and those with underlying health conditions, hospitals are seeing younger patients hospitalized in recent weeks than during previous surges. On Tuesday, the state had 71 pediatric patients hospitalized with COVID-19 -- the most at one time to date.

As we see more variants, were seeing the younger population can be very ill and really struggle with this as well, London said.

Local health departments and health care systems are taking various steps to expand outreach and keep daily vaccinations from declining. That includes making signing up for an appointment easier, opening walk-in appointments, removing residency-requirements and even bringing shots to the homebound.

Related: Students at Wayne State offered $10 to get vaccinated against COVID-19

Instead of registering to be notified when an appointment is available to you, Ingham Countys regional clinics will soon allow for direct appointment scheduling.

Additionally, the health department is reaching out to bars, restaurants, school districts and colleges to get employees and students 16 years and older in the door to be vaccinated. That outreach is important because schools, bars and restaurants are among the highest concern settings for coronavirus transmission.

In West Michigan, Spectrum Health is partnering with local health departments and schools to identify locations within communities that have had barriers to access. When the system noticed a recent increase in demand for vaccine in Montcalm County, it shifted doses there and moved its clinic out of the hospital and into a nearby building to allow for higher capacity.

Were all trying to ensure that any barriers are broken down so community members will feel confident in these safe and effective vaccines, said Brian Brasser, Spectrums chief operating officer. When you see it start to slow down, it is a cause for concern and causes us to double our efforts to make sure information is readily available.

The West Michigan Vaccine Clinic, held inside DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, owns the states record for most vaccines administered in a 12-hour shift with more than 12,500. Brasser said the goal is to administer 3,000 to 4,000 shots per day, which theyve been on par with in recent weeks.

Still, they have the capacity to do more, and appointments are available for this week and next.

Weve heard some folks say theyre waiting their turn or want to make sure the most vulnerable can get their shot first, Brasser said. Its really important that everyone knows, if youre 16 and older, you are the priority and we are ready for you.

Other opportunities to get a vaccine today or in the coming days include:

Kent County is prioritizing getting respected leaders in the community to share their vaccine stories to get others interested in signing up for a shot. Theyve also made it easier to sign up for an appointment, and are planning home-based programs and a college night event later this month.

Part of the countys messaging is aimed at high school athletes. London noted those who get vaccinated soon would be fully-vaccinated by spring sport playoffs, in addition to graduation events and summer sports.

That goes for the parents too, London said. The more we can surround these young people with vaccinated families, the better off theyll be and the less likely theyll be affected by quarantine rules or illness.

Related: Michigan surpasses 6M COVID-19 vaccines administered

When it comes to excess shots, Vail said there isnt any concern that they cant be used in time or that theyll go bad. In the freezer, theyre good for six months, and she anticipates using all of the shots, if not the vast majority, before then.

As of Wednesday, April 22, Michigan had administered nearly 6.17 million doses of the three available COVID-19 vaccines. Approximately 3.76 million residents had received a first dose shot, and 2.4 million had completed their two-dose inoculation.

Among the states 16 years and older population, about 46.1% have begun the vaccination process, and 32.2% had completed it. Thats still a significant ways away from the levels health officials expect are needed for the state to reach herd immunity.

More than 70% of residents 65 and older have gotten their first dose, and more than 63% are fully immunized. Those percentages decline by age bracket, down to about 20% of 16-19 year olds getting a first shot and nearly 5% being fully vaccinated.

All residents 16 years and older are eligible to get a vaccine. Appointments are available to be scheduled at various sites statewide. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine.

Read more on MLive:

Spectrum Health officials hopeful latest COVID-19 surge has peaked

Is Michigan turning a corner on coronavirus surge? Too soon to tell, experts say

Michigan coronavirus data for Wednesday, April 21: 56 counties trending down in case counts

15.6% of U.S. adults are COVID-19 vaccine hesitant, how does Michigan stack up?
Tens of thousands of people crammed a relic site in northern Vietnam to commemorate the death of the nation's founding fathers, the Hung Kings, on Wednesday despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

By that morning, visitors had arrived at the foot of Nghia Linh Mountain in Phu Tho Province, ready to hike to the top to pay homage at the Hung Kings Temple relic site.

Vietnam designates the tenth day of the third month in the lunar calendar, which is considered the death anniversary of the founding fathers, as a national holiday, which fell on Wednesday this year.

The deluge of visitors was preempted by local authorities, who mobilized approximately 1,000 police officers, soldiers, and volunteers to route traffic and ensure order at the temple.

The force spent the day reminding visitors of COVID-19 safety regulations and advising them against forming big swarms and jostling in queues.

Youth volunteers and police officers put together two human chains to guide the flow of visitors at the main entrance.

After guests of honor offered their incense sticks during an elaborate ceremony in the morning, the tens of thousands of visitors standing behind the gates were allowed to move into the temple.

By 9:00 am, the crowd in the temple had significantly enlarged, leading to long delays stretching down to the main square.

It is estimated that the Hung Kings Temple relic site welcomed some 20,000 visitors in just the morning.

Le Truong Giang, director of the site, said the mangement board had devised plans to ensure order and COVID-19 safety during the national holiday.

During the ceremony for guests of honor, we cooperated with other forces in guiding visitors to the museum, as well as the Temples of Mother Au Co and Father Lac Long Quan [the legendary ancestors of the Vietnamese people] to avoid congestion, Giang said.

Visitors wait at the entrance of the Hung Kings Temple relic site, Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Police officers line up on the way to the Hung Kings Temple, Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors jostle to enter the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors jostle to enter the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors jostle to enter the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

A visitor salutes her acquaintance among the crowd at the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors throng the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

A guard hands out face masks to visitors at the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

A visitor prays outside a temple to avoid the crowd at the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors picnic at the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Visitors throng the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Phu Tho Province, Vietnam, April 21, 2021. Photo: Nam Tran / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Prince Harry is officially back home in the U.S.

The Duke of Sussex was photographed arriving in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, taking a 10+ hour American Airlines flight from London.

Prince Harry is officially back home in the U.S., The Daily Mail and Hello! report. The Duke of Sussex was photographed arriving in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, taking a 10+ hour American Airlines flight from London. According to the Daily Mail, Harry landed shortly after 1:30 p.m. California time and was driven back to his Montecito, California home he shares with Meghan. He arrived there around 4 p.m.

It was unclear how long Harry planned to stay in the U.K. after the Duke flew to England last week to attend the funeral of his late grandfather Prince Philip this past Saturday. After learning of Philip's death Friday, Harry was back in England two days later, that Sunday.

Some U.K. outlets wondered whether he would stay for his grandmother Queen Elizabeth's 95th birthday today. Harry, understandably, opted to return home to Meghan, who is heavily pregnant with their second child, a baby girl. She is due this summer and is so far along, she was not cleared to travel to England for the funeral.

Instead, Meghan watched the ceremony from home. She sent a handwritten note and custom wreath with Harry, according to a spokesperson for the Duchess. The wreath was designed by florist Willow Crossley, who previously did floral arrangements for the couple's evening wedding reception and their son Archie's christening.

The flowers chosen in the wreath were symbolic choices by the Sussexes to pay tribute to Philip's life. Harper's Bazaar wrote that the wreath included bear's breeches, which are the national flower of Greece, to represent Prince Philip's heritage, as well as sea holly, which represents the late prince's service in the Royal Marines. Other symbolic flowers featured are campanula for gratitude and everlasting love, rosemary for remembrance, lavender for devotion, and roses in honor of Prince Philip's birth month.

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Czech Republic's newly appointed Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek addresses the media at the Cernin's Palace in Prague, Czech Republic, on April 21, 2021. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Czechs Expel More Russians in Dispute Over 2014 Depot Blast

PRAGUEThe Czech Republic on Thursday ordered more Russian diplomats to leave the country, further escalating a dispute between the two nations over the alleged involvement of Russian spies in a massive ammunition depot explosion in 2014.

Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Russia wont be allowed to have more diplomats in Prague than the Czechs currently have at their embassy in Moscow. All others have to leave by the end of May, he said.

He estimated about 60 Russians will have to go.

The Czech secret services have repeatedly warned that Moscow had a disproportionately high number of diplomats at the embassy in the European Union nation, using it as a base for undercover spies.

The car of Russias ambassador to Prague, Aleksandr Zmeyevsky is parked in front of the Foreign Ministry in Prague, Czech, on April 21, 2021. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

I dont want to escalate anything, Kulhanek said. Its not a role for the foreign minister. But the Czech Republic is a self-confident country and will act accordingly.

He said the Czechs had to respond to the activities of Russian agents on Czech territory.

Its the Russian side that have paralyzed the situation, not the Czech side, he said, adding Prague was ready to discuss with Moscow how to set the number of employees at their diplomatic missions to enable their effective functioning.

Russian diplomats with families wait in line to check in at the Vaclav Havel airport after a Russian special government plane landed in Prague, Czech Republic, on April 19, 2021. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

Moscow responded immediately.

Prague has come on a path of destroying relations. We will respond quickly, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. They have gotten stuck in unbridled Russophobia.

Last weekend, the Czech government expelled 18 Russian diplomats it identified as spies from the GRU and the SVR, Russias military and foreign intelligence services. In response, Russia expelled 20 Czech diplomats.

The Czech government protested what it called Russias inappropriate reaction, saying the move had paralyzed the Czech Embassy in Moscow.

Kulhanek had given the Russian government a Thursday noon deadline to allow the return of the 20 Czech diplomats or see their staff at the Russian Embassy in Prague cut to the number remaining at the Czech Embassy in Moscow.

The minister said Russia didnt give an official response.

The Czech Republic is interested in having correct relations with the Russian Federation based on the principle of two sovereign states, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said. We hoped that Russia acknowledges that its reaction was inappropriate, but our proposal to cool down the situation was not answered.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Czech ambassador to the ministry on Thursday.

This kind of tone is unacceptable while talking to Russia, Zakharova said.

Czech leaders said Saturday they have evidence provided by the intelligence and security services that points to the participation of two agents from Russias elite GRU Unit 29155 in the 2014 depot blast that killed two people. Russia denied that.

The same two Russians were charged by British authorities in absentia in 2018 with trying to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury.

Kulhanek and Michal Koudelka, the head of the Czech counterintelligence service known as BIS, briefed NATO allies on the situation Thursday and the allies threw their weight behind the Czechs.

Allies express deep concern over the destabilizing actions that Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on alliance territory, and stand in full solidarity with the Czech Republic, they said in a statement.

Neighboring Slovakia became the first NATO ally to expel Russian diplomats as a sign of solidarity with the Czechs on Thursday. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said three diplomats were given seven days to leave. Their expulsion was based on information from the countrys intelligence services.

By Karel Janicek
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The global Sunglasses market size is expected to reach USD 27.72 billion by 2026 according to a new study by Polaris Market Research. The report Sunglasses Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report By Product (Polarized, Non-Polarized), By Material (CR-39, Polycarbonate, Polyurethane, Others), By Channel (Online, Offline), By Regions, Segments & Forecast, 2020  2026 gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

Demand for sunglasses has led to the need for reduced dependency on spectacles and uptake of contact lenses. Therefore, growing awareness among the general population regarding the importance of protecting the eyes is the key driving force for the market. Sunglasses exhibit the highest growth rate, which is a direct result of burgeoning prices, especially in the high-end segment of the market. The expected increase in the demand of sunglasses for health, lifestyle, and cosmetic purposes is also expected to drive the market.

Companies such as Luxottica Group S.p.A., Prada SPA, Safilo Group S.p.A, Fielmann AG, De Rigo SpA, Kering SA, Capri Holdings, LVMH, Marcolin S.p.A, and Maui Jim are some of the key players operating in the market.

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The average selling price of sunglasses is expected to be highest in the Europe, which is expected to drive the revenue in this market. Due to the dominant presence of major players of the market in Europe, there exists higher brand awareness and thus higher demand for the high-end sunglasses sector. This can be attributed to increasing awareness regarding eye healthcare and a trendsetting consumer base backed by abundant disposable incomes.

Increasing purchasing power backed by rising disposable incomes among the consumers across various regional markets is expected to drive the demand for sunglasses across the global market. Growing income level and households in the middle class have led to increased aggregate disposable income in developing regions.

Additionally, the proliferation of the internet and online retailing services is expected to positively impact the market. The Japanese market is characterized by growing demand for online purchase of sunglasses. However, growth in internet retailing has resulted in low product prices and thus has adversely affected the revenue streams. Growing purchase volumes of sunglasses are expected to curb the impact of this trend over the next seven years. High scope for penetration in this sector is expected to be an opportunity for industry participants.

Do you have questions or special requirements? Ask our industry experts: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/sunglasses-market/speak-to-analyst

Independent retailers and stores are businesses under private ownerships. These are usually single-store operations and offer both high risks and high rewards for the store owner. Major sunglasses vendors and brands give away franchising rights to individuals or enterprises willing to open up independent stores for a specific brand, retailer, or vendor for a certain royalty or franchise fee to be given to the sunglasses manufacturer.

Manufacturers have also made available prescription eyewear and sunglasses across several regions to grow their customer base. However, there lies a strong belief among consumers that sunglasses sold at certain drugstores are not customized and not in accordance with the prescription, due to which they do not focus the images but rather make them appear larger, thus costing significantly lesser.

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Behavioral and psychological symptoms that occur with dementia are different for everyone. Its important to talk to your doctor about your main symptoms and how best to manage those, whether through medication or lifestyle adjustments.

One way to manage behavioral symptoms associated with dementia is to track when certain symptoms occur. When a person with dementia exhibits an aggressive or out-of-character behavior, there is often a feeling of discomfort behind the behavior. Tracking will enable you to see if there is a certain trigger to the behavior and identify the feeling that may be causing it.

This tracking process is called the ABCs of behavior.

A ntecedent

B ehavior

C onsequence

The antecedent is the event or activity that immediately comes before a behavior. This is followed by the observed behavior. And often with a behavior there may be a consequence.

For example, a man with dementia has taken off his clothes when in public spaces, such as restaurants, several times. The family is beginning to get frustrated and embarrassed. The observed behavior is the removal of clothes. The consequence is frustration and embarrassment, and possible reprimand of the man with dementia. Tracking shows that the man is often pulling at his shirt or trying to open a window before removing his clothes. The family determines the man may be getting hot in restaurants and more crowded environments. They start bringing a fan and dressing lighter, and the behavior ceases.

Taking a few extra minutes to pay attention and track behavioral symptoms of dementia can be a key trick to symptom management.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Bridge Market Research has recently published the Global Clinical Trials Market the study provides an overview of current statistics and future predictions of the Global Clinical Trials Market. The study highlights a detailed assessment of the Market and displays market sizing trends by revenue & volume (if applicable), current growth factors, expert opinions, facts, and industry validated market development data.



A variety of financial terms such as shares, cost, revenue, and profit margin have been included in this Global Clinical Trials Market document to get a better understanding of different economic aspects of the businesses. This industry analysis report presents an actionable vision to key participants working on it. The report observes numerous in-depth, influential and inducing factors that outline the market and industry.

Clinical Trials Market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2020 to 2027. Data Bridge Market Research analyses the market to account to USD 69.94 billion by 2027 growing with the CAGR of 5.15% in the above-mentioned forecast period. The growing demand of clinical trials in emerging companies will help in driving the growth of the clinical trials market.

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Top key vendors and other prominent Players are:

Clinipace Worldwide

LabCorp

Eli Lilly and Company

ICON Plc.

Novo Nordisk

Parexel

Pfizer Inc.

Pharmaceutical Product Development

IQVIA, Roche Holding

Ranbaxy Laboratories

Sanofi Aventis A.S.

Roche Group.

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This Global Clinical Trials Market Report Will Provide:

The report evaluates the key factors of drivers, restraints, and opportunities.

The Market study includes Global Clinical Trials Market valuations and forecast for the upcoming years.

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Competitive Landscape 

Clinical trials market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies focus related to clinical trials market.

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Emerging Product Trends & Market Opportunities

The information and data gathered in this Global Clinical Trials Market Research Report for research and analysis is presented with diagrams, graphs or tables for the reasonable comprehension of clients. The market report is an honest wellspring of data which offers an adaptive perspective on the present market patterns, circumstances, openings and status. Moreover, enormous example sizes have been used for the information gathering in this Global Clinical Trials Market report which suits the necessities of little, medium just as huge size of organizations. This Global Clinical Trials Market report takes a shot at all the parts of market that are required to make the best and first-rate statistical surveying report.

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Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Clinical Trials Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope Global Clinical Trials Market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary  the basic information of Global Clinical Trials Market.

Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges of Geotextile Tube

Chapter 4: Presenting Global Clinical Trials Market Factor Analysis Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of Global Clinical Trials Market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by manufacturers with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions.

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source

Get Download PDF of Table of Contents to understand Structure of Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-clinical-trials-market

Research Methodology: Global Clinical Trials market

Data collection and base year analysis is done using data collection modules with large sample sizes. The market data is analysed and estimated using market statistical and coherent models. Also market share analysis and key trend analysis are the major success factors in the market report. To know more please request an analyst call or can drop down your enquiry.

The key research methodology used by DBMR research team is data triangulation which involves data mining, analysis of the impact of data variables on the market, and primary (industry expert) validation. Apart from this, data models include Vendor Positioning Grid, Market Time Line Analysis, Market Overview and Guide, Company Positioning Grid, Company Market Share Analysis, Standards of Measurement, Global versus Regional and Vendor Share Analysis. To know more about the research methodology, drop in an inquiry to speak to our industry experts.

Primary Respondents

Demand Side : Doctors, Surgeons, Medical Consultants, Nurses, Hospital Buyers, Group Purchasing Organizations, Associations, Insurers, Medical Payers, Healthcare Authorities, Universities, Technological Writers, Scientists, Promoters, and Investors among others.



: Supply Side : Product Managers, Marketing Managers, C-Level Executives, Distributors, Market Intelligence, and Regulatory Affairs Managers among others.

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Customization of the Report:

Data Bridge Market Research also provides customization options to tailor the reports as per client requirements. This report can be personalized to cater to your research needs. Feel free to get in touch with our sales team, who will ensure that you get a report as per your needs.



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.

Key Pointers Covered in the Clinical Trials Market Industry Trends and Forecast to 2027

Market Size

Market New Sales Volumes

Market Replacement Sales Volumes

Market Installed Base

Market By Brands

Market Procedure Volumes

Market Product Price Analysis

Market Healthcare Outcomes

Market Cost of Care Analysis

Market Regulatory Framework and Changes

Market Prices and Reimbursement Analysis

To Know more details visit to Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-clinical-trials-market

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Barely a week after a police officer was assaulted by a driver at Victoria Island, Lagos, another officer has been attacked by a driver on Wednesday.

In a video circulated on social media, a police officer was seen at the back of a truck talking to the driver, who was holding a beer bottle.

The driver then broke the bottle on the officers head and pushed him down from the truck. This act was supported by onlookers as there was a voice in the video inciting the driver to break the bottle on the officers head and push him down.

It is unclear what the police officer was doing at the back of the truck, but the assaulted police officer was unarmed and had an overall worn by traffic officers.

Police explains

In a statement released by Muyiwa Adejobi, the Lagos police spokesperson on Wednesday, the assaulted officer is an Assistant Superintendent of Police identified as Dauda Ajayi.

Mr Ajayi is a traffic officer attached to the Abattoir Division of the Command, the official said.

Explaining what transpired, Mr Adejobi said the officer was trying to arrest the truck driver who fled the scene of an accident at the Abbatoir area.

The fact of the case is that on Wednesday 21st April, 2021, at about 12.30pm, there was a case of hit and run serious accident involving a vehicle with Reg No BDG 756 YA, which hit a camry car with Reg No. KJA 281 GQ, and as a result a motorcycle rider, Ashiru Saadu, m, was affected and seriously injured.

In the process, the driver of the Camry car waited but the driver of the Dyna vehicle with Reg. No. BDG 746 YA escaped from the scene.

Then, the Traffic Officer gave him a chase and was stopped at Pipeline Area Oko-Oba, Lagos. The driver alighted from the vehicle, pounced on the Traffic Officer and broke a bottle on his head. The officer sustained varying degree of injuries, Mr Adejobi said in the statement.

He added that the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, was taken aback by the act of the driver and some individuals in the viral video and ordered that the case be thoroughly investigated while the driver and his accomplices involved in the dastardly act be caused to face the full wrath of the law.

The Lagos State Police Command has commenced investigation into the attack on the Traffic Officer, ASP Daudu Ajayi, m, attached to Abattoir Division of the Command as captured in the video that went viral today Wednesday 21st April, 2021.

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The Commissioner of Police has again warned the general public to desist from launching attacks on police personnel and other security agencies in the state as such will be tactically resisted and culprits (attackers) be dealt with in line with the provisions of the law, the police said.

Mr Adejobi added that the Commissioner has vowed to get the fleeing driver arrested and prosecuted so as to serve as a deterrent to others like him, and to ascertain that the command will not tolerate any act of lawlessness in the state.

The attack is coming on the heels of another attack on an officer by an erring driver on Saturday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the officer, Erhator Sunday, was hit several times by the arrested suspect, Victor Ebhomenyen, but remained unprovoked.

The police officer received encomiums and award from the state government for his professional conduct towards his assaulter.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  The country's military chief on Thursday floated the possibility of urgently constructing structures in parts of the West Philippine Sea being disputed by China after the East Asian giant failed to keep its word that it will maintain the status quo in the area.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said there has been a previous agreement that no claimant will build structures on the disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea, but China has clearly reneged when it proceeded with its massive construction there.

"We are entertaining the idea, of course subject to the wisdom of the NTF-WPS (National Task Force for West Philippine Sea), na magtatayo tayo ng mga istraktura sa lugar katulad ng ginagawa din ng China," he said in a virtual media briefing.

"Ang dahilan bakit hindi tayo nagtatayo diyan noong araw kasi may napagusapan na wala dapat magpatayo. Dapat magpatayo na tayo starting now," he added in remarks expected to draw the ire of China and other claimants.

[Translation: We are entertaining the idea of building structures there like what China is doing. We did not build structures there before because that what what we agreed on. We should start constructing now.]

Aside from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the South China Sea.

Manila had earlier protested Beijing's "illegal" building of artificial islands and structures in parts of the Kalayaan Island Group, an area claimed by China but considered by the Philippines as part of Palawan.

Earlier this month, around 200 suspected Chinese militia vessels were seen at Julian Felipe Reef. As of April 11, China had 240 militia vessels, four navy warships, and two China Coast Guard vessels in areas within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, an inter-agency body.

The Philippine government has filed several diplomatic protests and issued repeated demands for China to withdraw its vessels.

Sobejana refused to say how many of China's maritime militia are left in the area, adding that the data is within the purview of the NTF-WPS.

He denied inaction from the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who still keeps warm ties with China. He said there have been discussions with Chinese officials, but they have been futile because both sides insist on ownership  with the Philippines citing the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's historic claims to nearly the entire South China Sea and recognized the country's sovereign rights in parts of its exclusive economic zone which Beijing contests.

"Tsina-challenge natin sila na teritoryo natin ito, nandito kayo sa exclusive economic zone namin at dapat kayo ay umalis. Ganoon din ang challenge na ginagawa nila sa ating mga sasakyang pandagat," he said.

[Translation: We are challenging them by telling them this is our territory, you are in our exclusive economic zone and you should leave. They pose the same challenge on our vessels.]

Admitting limitations, the military chief said the AFP is trying its best to protect Filipino fishermen and preserve the country's marine resources in the West Philippine Sea by deploying 10 naval assets amid the massing of China's fishing vessels and maritime militia at the Julian Felipe Reef and other reefs. Also known as Whitsun, Julian Felipe Reef is also being claimed by Vietnam.

Duterte on Monday worried that there is no way for the country to take back the West Philippine Sea "without any bloodshed." He also said he will send Navy warships to the area once China conducts oil drills inside the Philippines' EEZ.

But Sobejana said a war with China should be the last option.

"Anything may happen, but last option na ang giyera na maaaring iniisip ninyo [The last option is a war]. We have to exert other means to resolve this problem in a diplomatic and peaceful manner," he said.

The AFP is only conducting "unilateral patrols" in the West Philippine Sea for now even as experts urge holding joint patrols with the United States. He said other allies may step up to take this challenge with the Philippines since that area is a navigational route.

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said now is the time to revisit joint patrols in Philippine waters with the US, a longtime ally, to "confront the bullying tactics of China."
Victims of domestic violence won't live in fear anymore, for the abusers are going to be monitored through GPS from now on, through an electronic bracelet they will be given the moment when the restraining order is issued against them, according to a release on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Labour.

In case that the limits imposed by the order are being stepped over, the authorities will receive the signal immediately and they will intervene in the shortest amount of time, agerpres.ro confirms.

The post came after the Romanian Parliament adopted a legislative proposal regarding the electronic bracelet meant for the monitoring of such abusers.

The Deputies' Chamber on Wednesday unanimously (310 votes) adopted as the decision-making body the draft law on the electronic monitoring, as part of some judiciary and criminal procedures.
Gov. Charlie Baker talks with volunteers at the COVID-19 vaccination site at Berkshire Community College on Thursday. The governor and lieutenant governor pose with collaborative members. Berkshire Health Systems CFO Darlene Rodowicz speaks with officials. Baker gives his COVID-19 update on Thursday at BCC's Paterson Field House. PreviousNext

Baker Tours Vaccination Site at Berkshire Community College



Leslie Drager, a public health nurse with Berkshire Public Health Alliance, explains the regional collaborative's vaccination system to Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on Thursday. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday praised the work of the Berkshire County Regional Collaborative in helping the commonwealth be a leader in COVID-19 vaccinations nationwide.

"Berkshire County was one of the first areas in the state to pursue a regional collaborative model to vaccinate their residents," Baker said after touring the collaborative's vaccination site at Berkshire Community College. "These collaborations, as you know, pool resources from local health care providers and health departments to create highly efficient operations that can vaccinate residents across a wide geographic area. That's especially important here in the Berkshires. And the incredible work this team has done has paid off."

Paid off to the tune of 45 percent of Berkshire County residents receiving at least the first vaccination dose  tying the Berkshires with Barnstable County on Cape Cod for the highest rate in the commonwealth.

"I expect at some point in the not-so-distant future, you'll cross 50 [percent]," Baker said. "That number will continue to climb now that everyone is eligible, and especially if we can get more doses from the feds."

Baker was joined on Thursday by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, state Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, and Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer.

He also shared the podium with Berkshire Health Systems' Darlene Rodowicz, who joined Baker in saying that the commonwealth's vaccination efforts are constrained only by the amount of vaccine doses it receives from the federal government.

"Each of our [three] collaboration locations are able to do up to 200 people per hour," Rodowicz said. "We always say each could do 2,000 people a day. We know, there is not enough supply to hit those numbers.

"But when there is, we're going to be ready to get those doses in your arms and move on from this pandemic."

To that end, Baker said Thursday that he is pushing federal officials to increase the commonwealth's allocation of vaccines by augmenting it with doses that are being turned away by officials in other parts of the country. "There are counties and there are states that are no longer even taking down the available allocation that's made available to them by the feds," Baker said. "Basically, they've said, Don't send us anymore. We haven't been able to put the stuff you've sent us to work.' That's not what's going on here in Massachusetts. "I've said to the feds, if you folks have states and counties that aren't taking the allocation available to them, we here in Massachusetts would love to have that because we have people who want to get vaccinated and an infrastructure that could do twice as many as we do now.  Darlene [Rodowicz] and [Tyer] both said they have talked to the delegation about this. I'm going to talk to the delegation about this next week." Baker said Massachusetts is a national leader in desire to receive the vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates all counties in the commonwealth have vaccine hesitancy rates "well below 10 percent," he said. "People in Massachusetts are eager to get vaccinated," Baker said. "This enthusiasm is a critical part of making Massachusetts a leading state among all big states in getting our residents vaccinated." And Berkshire County is doing its part, officials said. "We've done over 65,000 vaccines throughout the county," Rodowicz said. "This collaborative represents three locations throughout the county, in Great Barrington, Pittsfield and North Adams. This collaborative is comprised of 32 Boards of Health, the City of Pittsfield, Northern Berkshire EMS, CHP, our local community health center, and Berkshire Health Systems. I'd also be remiss if I didn't say thank you to those who have allowed us to use their facilities  BCC, DuBois Middle School in Great Barrington and St. Elizabeth's in North Adams. "And I also want to say thank you to the countless volunteers who are part of this collaborative and make this possible." Tyer said that while much of the conversation over the last year has been focused on the COVID-19 numbers  tests conducted, case counts, hospitalizations, vaccinations  officials cannot lose sight of what's important. "Behind all that data are people and families and kids and opening our schools and reopening our economy," Tyer said. "As we vaccinate more people, what that means is families can come together more often, our economy can reopen more slowly, people can get back to the things that they cherish." While Berkshire County residents can sometimes feel forgotten by the power structure at the other end of the commonwealth, Tyer said Baker and his team have been attentive to the needs of residents in this neck of the woods. "When you first came to Pittsfield, in that moment of panic when we had our first community spread, you came, you came to our city," Tyer told Baker. "And you've been with us every step of the way. I remember when we were planning for your visit, I said to Gina Armstrong, the city's director of public health, what are the top five things you need the governor and lieutenant governor to know. One of those things, in particular, was we needed an MDPH epidemiologist as soon as possible. And I think, before you got back to Boston, we had our epi. That's the kind of responsive, caring way that you have treated the Berkshires and all the residents of Massachusetts." During Baker's tour, Hinds received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. He felt grateful to be able to secure an appointment and told iBerkshires that it was purely coincidental that he was scheduled for the same time that the governor would be in attendance. "It's a big relief," Hinds said. "I just became eligible Monday, and so I was happy to have a quick turnaround even though I heard the doses for Berkshire County, ran out within three or four minutes, so I was lucky to get on early and I feel somewhat lucky as well to have an appointment so quickly."
Michael B. Jordan is smitten with his girlfriend Lori Harvey, and he isnt afraid to show the world just how strong his feelings for her are.

In a new interview, the actor briefly touched up his and Harveys relationship, sharing the sweet reason he decided to publicize their love on social media, despite his very private lifestyle.

Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey attending events | Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Harpers Bazaar

Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey confirmed their romance earlier this year

Jordan and Harvey first sparked romance rumors in November 2020 after they were spotted stepping off a plane together in Atlanta over Thanksgiving.

A month later, the pair further fueled dating speculations when they headed to the ski slopes in Utah for a wintry getaway while ringing in the New Year.

It wasnt long after that the couple finally confirmed their relationship by sharing steamy photos of them together on Instagram.

Michael B. Jordan says hes extremely happy with Lori Harvey

Although the couple has been showing off their love for each other on social media since becoming Instagram official, theyve still kept a tight lip on their budding romance.

However, that recently changed as the Black Panther star just opened up about his relationship with Steve Harveys step-daughter.

Michael B. Jordan attending the 51st NAACP Image Awards in 2020 | Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

RELATED: Lori Harveys Dating Life Before Michael B. Jordan Included Several Rappers, a Father and His Son, and 1 Broken Engagement

While speaking with People, Jordan briefly touched up his and Harveys romance. Though hes always been private about his personal life, the actor revealed that he wanted to celebrate the love he shares with Harvey, which is why he decided to go public with their relationship.

Im still private, and I want to protect that, but it just felt like it was a moment of just wanting to put it out there and move on, he told the publication. I am extremely happy.

Over the last few months, Jordan and Harvey havent shied away from sharing various PDA-filled photos on Instagram and certainly havent held back from showing the world just how much they mean to each other.

I think when you get older, you feel more comfortable about the [public nature] of the business that were in, Jordan continued. So for me, it was a moment to, I guess, take ownership of that and then get back to work.

Lori Harvey has shared glimpses of her relationship with Michael B. Jordan

Though Harvey has yet to address her relationship with Jordan publicly, she has shared plenty of lovey-dovey photos of them together on her Instagram.

Not only did she upload sweet birthday tributes to the Just Mercy star in honor of his birthday back in February, but the model has also had plenty of flirty exchanges with her beau on Instagram.

While it seems that shes doesnt have a problem showcasing their budding romance online, insiders previously reported that Harvey was hesitant at first to go public with their relationship.

[Lori] is hesitant to feed into the attention, a source told HollywoodLife earlier this year. Thats not to say she will never post about him, but she has been hesitant because she knows from experience what happens. Its actually not hard for her to keep it off social because she has no problem moving in silence.

Now that shes shared glimpses of her and Jordans relationship, it seems Harvey has gotten comfortable showcasing their romance on social media!
A fire at the Domino Sugar plant sent white smoke billowing over the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, last Tuesday, but no injuries were immediately reported, a fire department spokeswoman said.

A conveyer belt apparently carried a burning substance from a silo to other parts of the facility, said Baltimore City Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Adams. Fire and smoke could be seen coming through the roof when firefighters arrived, and the silo collapsed after they entered the building, according to the department.

Firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze inside the facility around 5 p.m., approximately two hours after they responded to the three-alarm fire, according to Adams.

All of the employees safely escaped from the building, and no injuries to firefighters were immediately reported, Adams said.

All the employees were accounted for, Adams added.

Flames could be seen from a distance after 3 p.m. at a storage facility behind the waterfront refinery. Fire boats were seen in aerial video pouring water on the fire from the harbor.

The 99-year-old refinery, which employs 510 full-time workers and is in the midst of replacing its massive, beloved neon rooftop Domino Sugars sign with an LED replica, processes about 6.5 million pounds of raw cane sugar a day, The Baltimore Sun reported.

American Sugar Refining Inc., the owner of the Baltimore refinery, said in a statement that the fires cause is under investigation.

In November 2007, a powerful explosion and fires forced the refinery to shut down for a week. The powdered sugar mill was declared a total loss.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Maryland
AALBORG, Denmark, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Asetek A/S (OSE: ASTK) today held the annual general meeting at its offices in Aalborg, Denmark.

The general meeting took note of the report by the Board of Directors and Management, and the audited annual report for 2020 was approved.

The Nomination Committee reported on its activities during last year. The Nomination Committee's proposed remuneration to be paid to the members of the Board of Directors were adopted.

The remuneration report for 2020 was adopted.

The proposed candidates were all elected, and the Board of Directors is hereinafter composed of the following:

- Jukka Pertola

- Erik Damsgaard

- Jrgen Smidt

- Maria Hjorth

The following were elected to the Nomination Committee and the Committee is hereinafter composed of the following:

- Ib Snderby

- Claus Berner Mller

- Jukka Pertola

Following the general meeting, the Board of Directors constituted itself with Mr. Jukka Pertola as chairman and Mr. Erik Damsgaard as vice chairman.

Mr. Ib Snderby is chairman of the Nomination Committee. Mrs. Maria Hjorth is chairman of the Audit Committee, and Mr. Jukka Pertola is chairman of the Remuneration Committee.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, State Authorized Public Accountants were re-elected as auditors.

The general meeting authorized the Board of Directors to, until the next annual general meeting, to acquire the Company's own shares.

The general meeting adopted the new remuneration policy for the remuneration of the management as prepared by the Board of Directors

All proposals were adopted.

For further information, please contact:

Andre S. Eriksen, Chief Executive Officer Mobile: +45 2125 7076, e-mail: [email protected]

Peter Dam Madsen, Chief Financial Officer Mobile: +45 2080 7200, e-mail: [email protected]

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A sex offender set to stand for election as an MP has admitted he didn't tell locals about his conviction because he wanted 'to see if he would be found out'.

Christopher Killick is to contest a parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool in May - a little over a year since he was convicted of voyeurism.

The 41-year-old last year pleaded guilty to filming a naked woman as she lay unconscious in a hotel room in 2015.

On top of the incident, his victim had to endure a five year legal battle just to get the case to court, after prosecutors initially told her what Killick did was not illegal.

As she prepared to go to the Court of Appeal, a judge in another similar case ruled that filming a partner during sex without consent was unlawful - and Killick was subsequently convicted by magistrates.

Killick was given a 30-month community order, fined 2,000 and put on the sex offenders' register for five years.

But now, just over 12 months on, the sex offender plans to contest the Hartlepool by-election in May as an independent candidate.

Though laws introduced in 2018 ban sex offenders from running as local councillors, there are no such rules for parliament.

If Killick wins he could land a seat in the House of Commons and an 81,000-a-year salary.

Christopher Killick (pictured outside court last year) is to contest a parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool in May - a little over a year since was convicted of voyeurism

However Killick, who only moved to the area from north-London several weeks ago, has risked further upsetting residents in the constituency - by not declaring his convictions on his election leaflets.

Who can stand as an MP and are there rules banning sex offenders from standing as politicians? There are currently no rules banning sex offenders from running to become an MP. To stand as a candidate you only need to be aged over 18, a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and a citizen of a commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter or remain in the UK, or has indefinite leave to remain in the UK. There are some people are banned from running, such as police officers, civil servants and judges, as well as people in the armed forces. People who are subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order in England, or equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are also banned from running. Those who wish to become a candidate have to complete a set of nomination forms and send a 500 deposit to - which is lost if a candidate does not secure at least 5 per cent of the vote. Unlike with parliamentary seats, sex offenders cannot run for a seat as a local councillor, under new rules introduced in 2018. Advertisement

Killick said he had originally intended to share details of his past, but 'got a bit frightened'.

He said: 'When I didn't put the sex offence on my election leaflet, I did that because I wanted to see what whether I'd be 'found out'.

'I suppose I knew it was going to come out eventually. I've been punished and I'm still being punished.'

Killick will be one of 16 candidates contesting the seat, which follows the resignation of Labour MP Mike Hill amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Mr Hill, 57, who has been the town's MP since 2017, was due to face an employment tribunal later this year into claims of 'sexual harassment and victimisation'.

He has denies the allegations.

Killick, who is originally from London and went to university in Sussex, described his decision to run as an MP was 'an experiment'.

He said: 'I'm doing an experiment to see how much publicity I can get.

'Not by speaking about the offence I committed, but by speaking about the stuff I really care about.

'The question is now, whether I'll be tolerated.'

Killick was initially arrested on suspicion of rape in 2015.

His victim alleged she had been both drugged and raped by Killick after waking up in a hotel room in Bethnal Green with no memory of how she got there.

Police dropped the rape charge due to a lack of evidence.

But during their investigation they discovered a 62-second video his victim lying naked on the hotel bed, which Killick admitted to having taken for his later sexual gratification.

Prosecutors told the victim that his filming was not illegal multiple times. This led her to launch a crowdfunding campaign for a judicial review.

Shortly before the legal challenge was due to be heard however, the Court of Appeal ruled in a separate case that filming someone in an intimate act without consent was always unlawful.

Killick was initially arrested on suspicion of rape of his victim in 2015. His victim alleged she had been both drugged and raped by Killick after waking up in a hotel room in Bethnal Green with no memory of how she got there. Police dropped the rape charge due to a lack of evidence

The decision not to prosecute Killick was then reassessed, and at a Stratford Magistrates' Court hearing last year, he was ordered to pay his victim 5,000 in compensation and put on the Sexual Offenders Register for five years.

The conviction made national headlines, with his victim speaking about how she had campaigned for five years for justice.

Killick said: 'I've had a lot of time to think about what I did. It was a mistake and I wouldn't do it again.

'I've never underestimated the seriousness of the offence.

'When I was arrested in 2015 on suspicion of rape, I told the police that I had made this video.

'I didn't know whether it was illegal or not, but I knew it was wrong.

'I've always maintained that it was a big mistake and I want to say I'm sorry that she's had to go through such a long process in order to get this conviction.'

Killick is currently unemployed, but has previously worked as a shop sales assistant.

He will be on the Sex Offender's Register until September, 2025. There are currently no rules banning sex offenders from running for a seat as an MP.

To stand as a candidate you only need to be aged over 18, a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and a citizen of a commonwealth country who does not require leave to enter or remain in the UK, or has indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

There are some people are banned from running, such as police officers, civil servants and judges, and people in the armed forces.

People who are subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order in England, or equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, are also banned from running.

Those who wish to become a candidate have to complete a set of nomination forms and send a 500 deposit - which is lost if a candidate does not secure at least 5 per cent of the vote.

Unlike with parliamentary seats, sex offenders cannot run for a seat as a local councillor, under new rules introduced in 2018.

Killick will contest the Hartlepool seat along with 15 other candidates, a number of whom are independent.

Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems and the Green Party will all put candidates up for the by-election.
Our team at Schatz Orthodontics strives to provide the best personalized care possible for patients. We are so honored to receive this recognition from Find Local Doctors. says Dr. Eric Schatz

Schatz Orthodontics is a state-of-the-art orthodontics practice, located at 22610 US Highway 281 N, Ste 201 in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Eric Schatz is a board-certified orthodontist leading a team of highly skilled dental professionals. providing top orthodontic care for children, teens and adults. Superior ratings and five-star online reviews earned Schatz Orthodontics the recognition as a 2021 Top Patient Rated San Antonio Dentist by Find Local Doctors. Find Local Doctors is a trusted online directory, helping consumers easily identify qualified and reputable physicians and dentists in their area.

Schatz Orthodontics provides excellence in orthodontic treatment for children and adults in a relaxed, island-themed setting. One of the first things noticed about Schatz Orthodontics from the moment patients step through the door is the fun and exciting energy. The clinics comprehensive services include all types of braces for all ages and needs, and Dr. Schatz is a certified provider for Invisalign and Invisalign Teen. Comfort is one of their top priorities, right up there with providing the best orthodontic treatments to ensure that patients acquire the beautiful smile they deserve.

Our team at Schatz Orthodontics strives to provide the best personalized care possible for patients. We are so honored to receive this recognition from Find Local Doctors. says Dr. Eric Schatz.

More about Dr. Eric Schatz:

Dr. Eric Schatz is a board-certified orthodontist who graduated with honors from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry. He then continued his education with a multi-year residency to specialize in orthodontics at the same university. Dr. Schatz always keeps up to date with the latest methods and technologies in orthodontics. As a part of his continuing education, he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics and a member of various professional dental organizations, including the American Association of Orthodontists, the American Dental Association, the Texas Dental Association, the Southwest Society of Orthodontists, the Charles Tweed Foundation and the San Antonio District Dental Association.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit http://www.schatzorthodontics.com or call (210) 494-4606.
Overview



In March 2020, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) sponsored a strategic visioning session to imagine how Oregon could better support children and youth needing the highest levels of care for psychiatric symptoms. This became the start of building a comprehensive image of a treatment system for children and youth that:

Ensures the highest levels of care for youth psychiatric residential treatment, and

Improves the work experience for staff and providers.



The session gave participants from different parts of the sector the chance to discuss current issues, identify common themes and create a vision for the future.

Learn more about OHA's 2020 visioning session



Our Goals Participants recommended three bold steps the state, providers, and individuals can take to begin improving the system, which OHA will further define this year.

Rename, Rerule, Rebrand and Respond Braided Funding Senate Bill 2 (legislative investments and support for the continuum of care)

Our Vision Oregon's vision of youth psychiatric residential treatment services identifies important elements for future success, such as:

A unified system of care,

Every door leads to the right care, and

Seamless whole person care. To learn more, view the graphic of Oregon's vision. It summarizes Oregon's March 2020 discussions and can be used to communicate with and engage others about the vision. If you are unable to read the graphic, please see the summary of the March 2020 visioning session, which includes text descriptions of each element on the graphic.



Meetings



These meetings will map out the journey toward our future vision.
CUPERTINO, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueback Global has been recognized as part of the Financial Times list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021. This prestigious award is presented by the Financial Times and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

The FT The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies comprises the enterprises that contribute most heavily to economic growth. 500 companies are featured on the list, which was announced online on April 13, 2021 and can currently be viewed on the FT website. Out of the millions of active companies in North and South America, only 500 firms were awarded in the list, and Blueback Global is ecstatic to be recognized as one of FT's inaugural list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021.
Billed as "a very modern take on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy", Yasmeen Khan's North of England-set, Asian-centric distillation, with its slapstick sound effects, fart jokes, double entendres and variable puns, actually feels more like a throwback to 1970s TV sitcom and the Carry On films. There's even the 'You Have Been Watching....' closing credits framework as seen in such old BBC bangers as Are You Being Served and It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

That's not to say it isn't funny  it mostly is  but references to modern phenomena such as Peaky Blinders, Instagram followers and "diversity, inclusivity...all the bandwagons", in the words of Algernon's manservant Lane, reimagined here by Divina De Campo as a tartly disdainful drag queen PA, feel more puzzlingly out-of-place than the nostalgia for late twentieth century TV comedy and game shows.

Khan has turned Wilde's epigram-spouting high society deceivers Jack and Algernon into struggling Asian actor Jamil, supplementing his floundering career by producing an online 'Reet Good Guide to the North' under the pseudonym of Ernest North, and popular movie star Algy, whose paths cross when the latter is filming a rom-com in the North. If Tom Dixon's likeable Algy could be more preeningly self-involved, Gurjeet Singh strikes precisely the requisite mix of vulnerability and vaulting ambition as Jamil: they make an engaging team.

Mina Anwar (who also directs) deftly invests the Lady Bracknell figure, now a hard-nosed property developer called Ms Begum (or "Ms By-Gum" as she's jokingly referred to at one point), with a surprising combination of charm and irascibility; her cosseted daughter Gwendolyn morphs into social media-obsessed Gul (Nikki Patel, delightful). Country girl Cecily Cardew has become New Age therapies-obsessed Safina ("but I've been manifesting like a bastard!") played with winning eccentricity by Zoe Iqbal. Both Jamil/Ernest and Algy/Ernest promise their beloveds a trip to Nando's and Khan's script is at its best when it riffs off the Wildean original: "Ernest, you're not going to any poultry establishment with this young woman, are you?"

There is also an affecting meditation on cultural appropriation and being true to ones heritage, delivered when Jamil fronts up  over Skype  to Paul Chahidi's amusing, grotesquely patronising big-time director, even if it does feel as though it belongs in another play entirely.

The self-consciously theatrical tone of Mina Anwar's digital production is similarly inconsistent  "too much?" enquires an actor to his scene partner after a dramatic outburst, head-mics are clearly visible in performers hair, the camera frequently panning away from the flimsy looking set into the auditorium of Huddersfield's Lawrence Batley Theatre  and it isn't clear whether the aim is to remint Wilde's well worn text for modern audiences, or to comment upon it. Furthermore, while the deliberately clumsy camera work successfully evokes the slipshod TV production values of yore, it sits uneasily alongside the slick into-camera video conversations the characters participate in.

Despite these misgivings, this co-production between The Dukes Lancaster and the Lawrence Batley Theatre is still a warmly enjoyable 75 minutes, in large part due to the performers. Melanie Marshall is a touchingly forlorn Miss Prism, not the puritanical schoolmarm we're used to but, to quote her enthusiastic pupil, "a multi-hyphenated renaissance woman", and Harriet Thorpe spins delicious comic gold out of Jamil's clueless agent, forever forgetting the name of her own client. Plus look out for hilarious cameos from Hugh Dennis and Sindhu Vee as a pair of grievously mismatched television presenters.

In all honesty, Oscar Wilde doesn't really require this sort of embellishment, but Yasmeen Khan makes a creditable, intermittently successful attempt at bridging the gap between multicultural modern Britain and the rarefied Edwardian milieu the original play was conceived in. Amusing on screen at home, I suspect it would be a whole lot more fun when watched with a theatre full of people.
[April 22, 2021] Gopuff Donates $300,000 to Local Health Care Organizations

Gopuff, the go-to solution for immediate everyday needs, today announced $300,000 in donations to a dozen local health care organizations that have been working on the frontlines of COVID-19 across the nation over the past year. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005748/en/ Gopuff donated to organizations across the country working on the frontlines of COVID-19, including the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium in the company's hometown of Philadelphia. (Credit: Jared Piper of the Philadelphia City Council communications staff.) "Community health organizations like Philadelphia FIGHT have played a huge role in our battle against COVID-19 and in our massive vaccination efforts," said Philadelphia 1st District Councilmember Mark Squilla. "The Philadelphia FIGHT team has always worked hard to keep our community safe and healthy, and their tireless effort over the past year amid the pandemic has been truly admirable. We are grateful for Gopuff's generosity in giving back to the groups that have done so much for our residents during a challenging time." In March of 2020, as part of the company's $1 million Health Care Support Initiative that launched in response to COVID-19, Gopuff partnered with dozens of hospitals to deliver essentials to health care workers nationwide and the company continued to execute on this commitment over the past year. Now, in addition to donating $80,000 to Philadelphia FIGHT, Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium and Valley Youth House in the company's hometown of Philadelphia, Gopuff is supporting a number of organizations across the country in cities where the company operates, including: Upham's Corner Health Center in Boston, MA

Emory COVID-19 Impact Fund in Atlanta, GA

Denver Health Fund COVID Response Fund in Denver, CO

Rush Hospital COVID-19Fund in Chicago, IL

Banner Health Foundation Comm Response in Phoenix AZ

Hope Mission Center in Miami, FL

Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc. CA (News - Alert)

Mission Language and Vocational School in San Francisco, CA



About Gopuff

Gopuff is the go-to solution for immediate everyday needs, fulfilling customer orders of cleaning and home products, over-the-counter medications, baby and pet products, food and drinks, and in some markets, alcohol - in just minutes. With micro-fulfillment centers in every market it serves, the company delivers thousands of products quickly for a flat $1.95 delivery charge. Gopuff is open 24/7 in many markets and late night everywhere else to bring customers what they need, when they need it most. Founded in 2013 by co-founders and co-CEOs Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola, Gopuff currently operates more than 400 sites, including 250 micro-fulfillment centers and the recently acquired 160+ BevMo! locations. To learn more, visit www.gopuff.com or follow Gopuff on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Download the Gopuff app on iOS. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005748/en/

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Syria demands from the United Nations and the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli strikes close to Damascus, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) Syria demands from the United Nations and the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli strikes close to Damascus, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"The Foreign Ministry calls on the UN and the Security Council to condemn Israel's cowardly aggression against Damascus, carried out last night.

As well as the ongoing coordinated and planned hostilities against the sovereignty of Syria by the three occupiers: the United States, Israel and Turkey," the ministry said in a statement.
[April 22, 2021] Accenture Completes Acquisition of Cygni to Expand its Cloud First and Software Engineering Capabilities

Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE: ACN) has completed its acquisition of Cygni, a cloud-native, full-stack development firm that helps companies transform their business through advanced technical software development services and innovative technical solutions. The terms of the transaction, which Accenture announced on March 29, were not disclosed. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005973/en/ Left to Right: Joel Hofgren, Cloud Infrastructure & Engineering lead at Accenture with Jon Persson, CEO and founder of Cygni (Photo: Business Wire) With headquarters in Stockholm, and offices across Sweden and one office in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Cygni helps some of Sweden's most recognized brands to transform digitally. The company was founded in 2006 with the vision to be the best place to work for highly skilled and ambitious software developers and has been recognized by 'The Great Place To Work Foundation' as the best workplace in Europe five times as well as the best workplace in Sweden for seven consecutive years. The acquisition adds approximately 190 software developers to Accenture Cloud First, bringing a highly skilled, cloud-native, full-stack engineering team with cloud, data, and modernization skills across multiple platforms and industries. Cygni will further enhance the global capabilities of Accenture Cloud First. Powered by 70,000 cloud professionals, and a $3 billion investment over the next three years, the Accenture Cloud First group brings together unmatched depth and breadth of cloud expertise, industry cloud solutions, ecosystem partner capabilities, and assets that help clients realize greater value from cloud at speed and scale. About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capailities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services - all powered by the world's largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 537,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.



Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "likely," "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "positioned," "outlook" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Many of the following risks, uncertainties and other factors identified below are, and will be, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accenture's results of operations have been significantly adversely affected and could in the future be materially adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; Accenture's results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company's clients' businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture's business depends on generating and maintaining ongoing, profitable client demand for the company's services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company's results of operations; if Accenture is unable to keep its supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company's business, the utilization rate of the company's professionals and the company's results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture could face legal, reputational and financial risks if the company fails to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture's profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture's level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company's effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture's ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; as a result of Accenture's geographically diverse operations and its growth strategy to continue to expand in its key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; Accenture's business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture's work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; Accenture's results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key alliance partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company's results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture's services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture's results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if it is unable to maintain effective internal controls; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; Accenture might be unable to access additional capital on favorable terms or at all and if the company raises equity capital, it may dilute its shareholders' ownership interest in the company; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the "Risk Factors" heading in Accenture plc's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture's expectations. Copyright  2021 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are trademarks of Accenture.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005973/en/

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Ylli Didani, 43, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Michigan on Wednesday with conspiracy to distribute cocaine

An ex-Michigan man has been charged by federal officials for allegedly being the kingpin of a $100 million international cocaine trafficking organization that planned to use a submarine to transport drugs across the Atlantic.

Ylli Didani, 43, who is originally from Albania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday with conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

Didani, who prosecutors allege is in charge of a global drug ring that distributed cocaine in 15 countries, was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina late last month.

The charges come after Didani was linked earlier this month to Marty Tibbitts, the CEO of the Detroit-based Clementine Live Answering Service.

Tibbitts died in a plane crash in July 2018 when the vintage fighter jet he was flying nosedived into a dairy barn, killing 50 cows as well.

The late CEO was allegedly working with Didani on the submarine prototype that was meant to transport the drugs.

Tibbitts is believed to have bankrolled Didani's alleged drug trafficking ring.

The charges come after Didani was linked earlier this month to Marty Tibbitts, the CEO of the Detroit-based Clementine Live Answering Service. Tibbitts died in a plane crash in 2018

The CEO, who died in a 2018 plane crash, was allegedly working with Didani on the submarine prototype (pictured above) that was meant to transport the drugs

Pictured above is plans for the submarine, referred to as the 'torpedo', and text message exchanges about it

He was not named in Didani's indictment or criminal complaint but was identified as a co-conspirator by the Detroit News earlier this month.

US authorities have been tracking Didani since back in 2015 after they became aware of his suspicious international travel and had been linked to money laundering and drug smuggling investigations.

During the years-long investigation, federal prosecutors said they were able to determine that Didani and his co-conspirators - who have not been indicted - planned and financed the distribution of cocaine from various locations, including Michigan.

Among the alleged evidence included in the indictment and related court documents is photos of Didani posing with large amounts and cash and weapons, travel records, various text messages and suspicious payments.

Prosecutors say Didani allegedly received at least $550,000 from his co-conspirators in two transactions in June 2016 and December 2017 for the bulk purchase of cocaine.

He is accused of using private planes and commercial containerships to obtain and distribute the cocaine throughout Europe.

Didani, who prosecutors allege is in charge of a global drug ring that distributed cocaine in 15 countries, was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina late last month. He is pictured above in an undated photo

US authorities have been tracking Didani since back in 2015 after they became aware of his suspicious international travel and had been linked to money laundering and drug smuggling investigations. He is pictured above in an undated photo

His indictment includes the allegations that Didani was trying to build a submarine, or underwater drone, with Tibbitts to transport large quantities of cocaine to Europe.

The drone, which was going to be equipped with an underwater modem and GPS antenna, would transport the cocaine while attached to the bottom of a commercial containership.

The drone would then be remotely released from the containership off the shore of Europe before being picked up by a fishing boat controlled by Didani's organization, according to the indictment.

Authorities say that drug ring abandoned the submarine plans after Tibbitts died in 2018 and were forced to find a new financier overseas.

Tibbitts had allegedly given more than $1.8 million to Didani since their partnership began in 2015, according to the indictment.

He allegedly gave Didani's cartel an $864,000 check in 2016, which may have been cashed at a pawn shop or gold exchange business.

The CEO also allegedly took a private plane to Washington D.C. to give Didani $350,000 during a clandestine late night meeting.

Federal prosecutors say law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands seized nearly 7,500 pounds of cocaine that was allegedly linked to Didani's drug ring and had a street value of more than $100 million

Contributing to the downfall of Didani's alleged drug operation, at least two of the his shipments were seized in 2019 and again last year in the Netherlands after being shipped from South America

Didani allegedly struggled to find funding for his cartel after Tibbitts died and turned to a sponsor in the United Arab Emirates.

Contributing to the downfall of Didani's alleged drug operation, at least two of the his shipments were seized in 2019 and again last year in the Netherlands after being shipped from South America.

Federal prosecutors say law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands seized nearly 7,500 pounds of cocaine that was allegedly linked to Didani's drug ring and had a street value of more than $100 million.

Didani was arrested on March 31 in South Caroline but has since been brought to Michigan where is facing the federal conspiracy to distribute cocaine charge.

He is being held without bail in the Midland County Jail.

US Attorney Saima S. Mohsin said of Didani's indictment: 'This is a very significant and important prosecution of a large scale, well-organized drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars, across multiple continents.

'I salute the entire law enforcement team who labored so tirelessly on this case, from prosecutors to police officers, federal agencies to local police departments. Their efforts culminated in today's indictment and demonstrate cooperation and teamwork at its best.'

Tibbitts (pictured with wife) was killed in a tragic plane accident back in July 2018
Biographer Blake Bailey appeared destined for a major success following the publication of his 900-page portrait of author Philip Roth earlier this month. The massive tome chronicling the life of an American literary giant had received several glowing reviews in the lead-up to its April 6 launch date and landed on the New York Times Bestsellers List after two weeks of sales.

But on Sunday, three short comments on a culture blog's scathing review of the biography set off a flurry of allegations that have now threatened to derail Bailey's book launch and possibly upend his career.

The writer lost his literary agent and the support of his publisher in less than a week following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and assault dating back to his days as a New Orleans middle school teacher in the mid-to-late 1990s. At least three women accused Bailey of grooming them when they were students in his eighth-grade English class and then exploiting that relationship for sex after they became young adults, and two women have accused him of rape.

Bailey has denied the now widely-reported allegations through his lawyer and expressed confusion and frustration with his publisher and agent.

"Mr. Bailey has never acted inappropriately with any student and has never received any complaints about his time at Lusher more than 20 years ago," his attorney Billy Gibbens told the Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate on Tuesday. "It is absurd to suggest that he was grooming students for anticipated encounters as adults many years later. The allegations . . . are false, hurtful descriptions of conduct between adults. Mr. Bailey has never treated a woman inappropriately and has never forced himself on a woman."

The celebrated biographer from Oklahoma began his career as an eighth-grade English teacher at Lusher Middle School in New Orleans more than two decades ago. He left teaching to pursue writing, first authoring a biography of novelist Richard Yates that became a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography in 2004. He won the award for his next biography of writer John Cheever in 2009, which also earned him a spot as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

Bailey, 57, had earned mostly positive feedback on his latest project, but a contrarian critique by the New Republic took Bailey to task for indulging "a laundry list of Roth's gripes" with his ex-wife and other women in his life. A similarly blistering criticism of Bailey's portrayal of women in "Philip Roth" published on a blog called Reluctant Habits sparked the new accusations.

The allegations that Bailey had fostered inappropriate relationships with former students first surfaced on Sunday in the comment section of the Reluctant Habits review. The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate reported more detailed accounts from several former students in a report on Tuesday.

The women said Bailey stayed in touch with them after they moved on to high school and later used his position as a mentor to pursue sexual encounters with them after they had turned 18. One of the women alleged that Bailey stayed in touch with her throughout high school and then raped her years later when she was 22, the Times-Picayune reported.

The New York Times reported a second rape allegation against Bailey on Wednesday. A 47-year-old woman who works in the publishing industry told the Times that Bailey raped her after a party at the home of a mutual acquaintance in 2015. After the woman informed Bailey's publisher about the incident, he sent her an email denying the allegation, the Times reported.

"I can assure you I have never had non-consensual sex of any kind, with anybody, ever, and if it comes to a point I shall vigorously defend my reputation and livelihood," Bailey wrote in the email sent to the women, the Times reported. "Meanwhile, I appeal to your decency: I have a wife and young daughter who adore and depend on me, and such a rumor, even untrue, would destroy them."

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that The Story Factory literary agency had ended its business with Bailey.

"Immediately after we learned of the disturbing allegations made against Blake Bailey, The Story Factory terminated its agency representation with Mr. Bailey," the agency said in a statement to the Times.

On Wednesday, Bailey's publisher W.W. Norton announced that it had taken the rare step of putting a shipment of "Philip Roth" copies on hold and said it would pause promotion of the book.

"These allegations are serious," a spokesperson for W.W. Norton said in a statement, the New York Times reported. "In light of them, we have decided to pause the shipping and promotion of 'Philip Roth: The Biography' pending any further information that may emerge."
The meaning and purpose of Russias policy in the international arenaI will just say a few words about this to conclude my addressis to ensure peace and security for the well-being of our citizens, for the stable development of our country. Russia certainly has its own interests we defend and will continue to defend within the framework of international law, as all other states do. And if someone refuses to understand this obvious thing or does not want to conduct a dialogue and chooses a selfish and arrogant tone with us, Russia will always find a way to defend its stance.

At the same time, unfortunately, everyone in the world seems to be used to the practice of politically motivated, illegal economic sanctions and to certain actors brutal attempts to impose their will on others by force. But today, this practice is degenerating into something even more dangerousI am referring to the recently exposed direct interference in Belarus in an attempt to orchestrate a coup detat and assassinate the President of that country. At the same time, it is typical that even such flagrant actions have not been condemned by the so-called collective West. Nobody seemed to notice. Everyone pretends nothing is happening.

But listen, you can think whatever you like of, say, Ukrainian President [Viktor] Yanukovych or [Nicolas] Maduro in Venezuela. I repeat, you can like or dislike them, including Yanukovych who almost got killed, too, and removed from power via an armed coup. You can have your own opinion of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenkos policy. But the practice of staging coups detat and planning political assassinations, including those of high-ranking officialswell, this goes too far. This is beyond any limits.

Suffice it to mention the admission made by the detained participants in the conspiracy about a planned siege of Minsk, including plans to block the city infrastructure and communications, and a complete shutdown of the entire power system in the capital of Belarus! This actually means they were preparing a massive cyberattack. What else could it be? You know, you cannot just do it all with one switch.

Clearly, there is a reason why our Western colleagues have been stubbornly rejecting Russias numerous proposals to establish an international dialogue on information and cyber security. We have come up with these proposals many times. They avoid even discussing this matter.

What if there had been a real attempt at a coup detat in Belarus? After all, this was the ultimate goal. How many people would have been hurt? What would have become of Belarus? Nobody is thinking about this.

Just as no one was thinking about the future of Ukraine during the coup in that country.

All the while, unfriendly moves towards Russia have also continued unabated. Some countries have taken up an unseemly routine where they pick on Russia for any reason, most often, for no reason at all. It is some kind of new sport of who shouts the loudest.

In this regard, we behave in an extremely restrained manner, I would even say, modestly, and I am saying this without irony. Often, we prefer not to respond at all, not just to unfriendly moves, but even to outright rudeness. We want to maintain good relations with everyone who participates in the international dialogue. But we see what is happening in real life. As I said, every now and then they are picking on Russia, for no reason. And of course, all sorts of petty Tabaquis are running around them like Tabaqui ran around Shere Khaneverything is like in Kiplings bookhowling along in order to make their sovereign happy. Kipling was a great writer.

We really want to maintain good relations with all those engaged in international communication, including, by the way, those with whom we have not been getting along lately, to put it mildly. We really do not want to burn bridges. But if someone mistakes our good intentions for indifference or weakness and intends to burn or even blow up these bridges, they must know that Russias response will be asymmetrical, swift and tough.

Those behind provocations that threaten the core interests of our security will regret what they have done in a way they have not regretted anything for a long time.

At the same time, I just have to make it clear, we have enough patience, responsibility, professionalism, self-confidence and certainty in our cause, as well as common sense, when making a decision of any kind. But I hope that no one will think about crossing the red line with regard to Russia. We ourselves will determine in each specific case where it will be drawn.
Two people were taken to a hospital after a car crashed into a utility pole near the southbound lanes of Route 309 in Butler Twp. Tuesday afternoon. A separate accident occurred an hour later at the same scene during the clean-up of the initial crash.

The crash involving a Suburu sheared the pole, sending it and wires to the berm near Keystone Kitchen, just north of Hollywood Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Wires hung low from the crash site to Hollywood Boulevard causing first responders to direct traffic away from it.

Butler Twp. police are investigating and said the driver and a passenger were taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton.

Kevin Tarapchak, deputy chief at Valley Regional Fire and Rescue, said firefighters first had to stabilize the vehicle before they could free one person trapped inside. The other person in the mangled Subaru made it out on their own.

Traffic moved slow in the north and southbound lanes and was being directed by fire police as police investigated, firefighters worked the crash site and Verizon began assessing the damage.

Firefighters were waiting for a crew from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to put out emergency cones as a warning to motorists when a woman drove into the wires with her vehicle around 4:30 p.m. No one was hurt but the car was tangled in the wires. She was headed south and failed to follow directions and the traffic pattern that detoured southbound traffic into the northbound lane, said Tarapchak.

This is why there is such a push for the move over law, Tarapchak said. Motorists need to pay attention, he said.

Valley Regional firefighters and Butler police responded as did Hazle Twp. Fire and Rescue, Valley ambulance and Lehigh Valley EMS.

 Amanda Christman
Dragonfly forms distribution agreement enabling the sale of the company's CBD range over the counter in Australia

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dragonfly Biosciences UK, makers of a leading seed to shelf range of CBD oils and skincare products has formed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Health House International Australia, enabling the sale of Dragonfly CBD oils over the counter in Australia. The partnership comes off the back of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration in February 2021 changing the regulations to allow registered CBD products to be sold over the counter in Australian Pharmacies.

Commenting on the partnership with Health House International Australia, Regan Saveall, Chief Executive at Dragonfly Biosciences UK says: "The non-exclusive distribution agreement with Health House International is great news for Dragonfly Biosciences and more importantly our range of CBD products as we extend our global outreach to shoppers in Australia. Health House International has a medicinal cannabis portfolio, and like Dragonfly Biosciences, the company is all about providing high quality products and ensuring Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) with all products certified and meeting the latest country regulations.

Health House International Australian Chief Operating Officer, pharmacist Paul Mavor notes: "This agreement is another win for the Health House International and brings the company a step closer to filling the void in the current market which needs reliable, high-quality, affordable medicinal cannabis. The Dragonfly CBD brand is sold in thousands of pharmacies and grocery retailers already. It is exactly the kind of product that would fit very nicely on Australian pharmacy shelves."

Regan Saveall, Chief Executive at Dragonfly Biosciences UK notes further: "Sharing the same business values is essential for any working partnership. Right from the start as a business, our seed to shelf strategy has sat at the heart of our brand - Dragonfly - ensuring always that what we are putting on the shelves and online for consumers to buy a quality product, containing the advertised amount of CBD oil; THC-free; has a batch number; legal and use-by date on every pack and compliant with all regulatory frameworks. And thanks to this integrity we were the first CBD oil to be stocked by Boots and subsequently on shelf in Tesco and Sainsbury's to name but a few retailers, despite our humble origins.

"In fact, when we started in 2017, we had just 10 hectares of crop but we made sure we were organically certified, because we knew that the CBD sector was going to be about quality ingredients, to win the hearts and minds of consumers, retailers and indeed regulators. And that's where we grew as a company, increasing our cultivation to 650 hectares.

"Quality, safety and being legal has been a bit of a 'thorn in the side' for the booming CBD industry. That's why Dragonfly Biosciences has invested in the very highest production standards including owning a state-of-the-art laboratory for extraction, toxicity testing and processing.

"We have the very best High-Performance Liquid Chromatography testing facilities and applications, which as well as testing for cannabinoid and water content, also reviews the oils' microbiology, looking for the presence of heavy metals and herbicides or pesticides. As a result, each batch of our Dragonfly CBD product has a supporting Certificate of Analysis from a third party, ISO accredited laboratory confirming CBD content and the absence of THC. This is what sets us apart in the CBD industry, which is why we are award winning as a brand."

Regan Saveall adds: "Reaching consumers with our product portfolios across the globe, like Australia is part of a business strategy at Dragonfly Biosciences, but so too is investment across product innovation in the CBD sector and the continued resources, investments and commitments that we are making as a company across extraction and manufacturing facilities. Throughout 2021, we will have further news around product portfolio expansion, together with partnerships and investment plans and announcements."

About Dragonfly Biosciences
ColonialWebb of Richmond, VA, today announced an upcoming free webinar geared towards professionals that manage the upkeep of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing assets for ANY industry.

The webinar will explore the three components of life cycle costs that affect an organizations bottom line:



Capital

Utility

Maintenance & Repairs

Speaking from several years of experience in the field, co-hosts John Mosteller, and Ernie Combs will break down the tedious balancing act of managing mechanical equipment. Every organization has unique needs, and there is no one size fits all approach for keeping a pulse on this type of equipment. This webinar will help guide attendees towards asking the right questions to transform their maintenance programs from reactive to preventative. After the main presentation, there will be a live Q&A where attendees can ask any relevant questions.

The Managing Life Cycle Costs for Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Assets webinar will go live at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, May 18th. Following the live stream, attendees will have access to view the event on-demand.

To register for the free webinar, please click here to sign up.

John Mosteller is the Director of Service Sales at ColonialWebb. He has been working in the industry for 23 years, focusing on the financial impact of Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing systems in the built environment. He is currently an ASHRAE member, an Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Member, an AEE Certified Energy Manager, and a board member of Independent Contractors Exchange (ICE). Johns mission is to create win-win partnerships with customers by moving away from a reactive mindset and equipping them with the information they need to make the best decisions for their organization.

Ernie Combs is the Director of Business Development for Construction at ColonialWebb. He has been working in the industry for 18 years, half of which was spent working for a local engineering firm before transitioning to the contractor side of the business. Ernie is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Virginia and is driven to provide ColonialWebbs customers with a comprehensive source of business advantage.

ColonialWebb was founded in 1972 and is dedicated to helping our customers find the best solutions for their buildings and facilities. Offering superior construction, installation, and service of building mechanical systems, our unmatched expertise makes us the valued partner for facility managers, owners, and contractors alike. As a Comfort Systems USA company, we are strengthened by a nationwide network of mechanical contractors prepared to build, service, or retrofit any commercial or industrial mechanical, HVAC, Refrigeration, Electrical, Plumbing, Water Solution, or Process Piping system. Visit our website at http://www.colonialwebb.com to see why our customers have considered ColonialWebb their contractor of choice for 50 years.
Blake Bailey, a celebrated literary biographer, has come under fire this week due to several accusations of sexual misconduct stemming from the time he spent as a middle school teacher in New Orleans.

The fallout: He was dropped by his book agent, and his publisher halted all printing and promotion of his latest book.

Here's what you should know:

Who is Blake Bailey?

Blake Bailey, 57, is best known as a literary biographer of acclaimed authors Richard Yates, John Cheever, Charles Jackson and Philip Roth.

He's won numerous awards for his work, most notably for his "Cheever: A Life."

His latest bestseller, the 880-page "Phillip Roth: The Biography," was published earlier this month by W.W. Norton & Co. Roth reportedly handpicked Bailey to be his biographer in 2012, according to The Washington Post.

What are Bailey's ties to New Orleans?

Before becoming a celebrated author, Bailey, a Tulane University graduate, got his start teaching eighth-grade English at Lusher Middle School in 1992. He stayed at the school for about nine years.

Bailey left New Orleans for a time but moved back with his family two months before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. He wrote about the Katrina experience in a series for Slate before moving elsewhere.

He now lives in Virginia.

What is Bailey accused of doing?

In interviews published by The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate on Tuesday, three of Bailey's former students described sexual encounters with him several years after he taught them. One of the former students, Eve Crawford Peyton, accused him of raping her after he spent years staying in contact with her under the guise of mentorship.

Two of those three students say that in each of their encounters, Bailey told them he had wanted them since they were students of his.

A fourth student, Elisha Diamond, said she fled from a bar meetup during her freshman year in college after Bailey made a series of suggestive remarks and slid his hand up her thigh.

The four students are part of a broader group of former students who spoke anonymously about how Bailey bantered flirtatiously with them, invited them to discuss their love lives with him while they were still in high school and assigned them the novel "Lolita," a book that centers on a literature professor who forces his underage stepdaughter into a sexual relationship.

The women now coming forward said it's been difficult to watch Bailey's reputation rise steadily. Peyton recently sent a letter to The New York Times, outlining how former students felt he "used our trust against us in the cruelest and most intimate way possible."

A classmate of Peytons sent a similar letter, then also publicly posted it under a review from Edward Champion, who writes a blog about culture and found Baileys latest biography to be misogynistic.

Bailey  systematically groomed 12- and 13-year-olds, she said in her comment, which was initially left under her real name, though she later deleted the remark and asked not to be identified. We cannot deny that he waited until we were no longer his students to cajole, coerce and rape us, and we also cannot deny the deep and lasting betrayal of trust that his actions ignited.

On Wednesday, The New York Times published another accusation against Bailey, this one from publishing executive Valentina Rice. She alleges that Bailey raped her while they were both overnight guests at the New Jersey home of a book critic for The Times in 2015. Rice alleged that Bailey forced himself on her even as she said "no" and "stop" repeatedly, according to the report.

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

Read more about accusations against Bailey from his ex-students here.

Author Blake Bailey accused of abusing ex-Lusher students' trust for sex; denies illegal conduct A celebrated literary biographer who taught eighth-grade English at New Orleans Lusher Middle School in the 1990s is now facing accusations t

How has Bailey responded?

Bailey has denied the allegations to the Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate and other news outlets, primarily through his New Orleans defense attorney Billy Gibbens.

Said Gibbens:

"Mr. Bailey has never acted inappropriately with any student and has never received any complaints about his time at Lusher more than 20 years ago.

"It is absurd to suggest that he was grooming students for anticipated encounters as adults many years later. The allegations in your email are false, hurtful descriptions of conduct between adults. Mr. Bailey has never treated a woman inappropriately and has never forced himself on a woman."

Gibbens' statement reflects other arguments that Bailey has made directly to a few of the women who are now coming forward, some of whom have confronted him.

"Whatever the rumor mill says, I had sex with no minors or students who were my students at the time," Bailey wrote in an email to one of the women who said she had a sexual encounter with him and agreed to be interviewed on the condition of anonymity. "My behavior was deplorable, but I did nothing illegal."

Bailey echoed his contention  that he had never had sex with minors or students while he was teaching them  in a separate email last year to Peyton.

"For what its worth, you werent in 8th grade when the night in question occurred; you were in your 20s and I was in my 30s (just), and for the record I wasnt attracted to you when you were in 8th grade and have never laid a glove on any student, while she was my student, including college and grad school students," Baileys email read. The email also said Bailey was suffering from an unspecified mental illness at the time of the encounter.

In response to Rice's allegation that he raped her, Bailey told The Times her account was "categorically false and libelous."

What is the fallout?

Bailey has now been dropped by his literary agency, Story Factory. The publisher of his Roth biography, W.W. Norton & Co., has "paused the shipping and promotion" of the book in response to the allegations.

Story Factory said it decided to fire Bailey on Sunday "immediately after [learning] of the disturbing allegations made against" him.

Norton announced its halt to the Roth biography rollout on Wednesday, with a spokesperson for the company saying that the allegations against Bailey are "serious."

"In light of them, we have decided to pause the shipping and promotion of 'Philip Roth: The Biography' pending any further information that may emerge," the spokesperson added.

So far, no legal actions have been taken against Bailey.

Read more about the aftermath of the accusations made against Bailey here.
Tehran, April 22 : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for the full implementation of the 2015 nuclear deal, commonly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"The JCPOA must be implemented well. We want the implementation of the same JCPOA document, neither a word less nor a word more," Rouhani made the remarks in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He added that Iran does not want "a JCPOA plus", Xinhua news agency reported Rouhani stressed that the new round of talks about the nuclear deal should aim to map out three steps.

"The first step is the lift sanctions by the US... As the second step, we want to verify the lift of sanctions thereafter," he said, adding that at the third step, Iran will implement its own commitments under the deal.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments in May 2019, ayear after the administration of former US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday that the latest round of the nuclear talks in Vienna are "progressive" despite "existing difficulties".

Under the JCPOA, Iran is allowed to enrich uranium only up to a 3.67 per cent of purity and its stockpile should not be more than 300 kg.

On January 4, Iran started to produce uranium enrichment of 20 per cent purity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin endured an awkward moment during Thursday's climate summit after he was left sitting in confused silence following a technical glitch.

Putin was left looking bewildered as he was introduced while France's President Macron was still talking and ended up sitting silently on screen, oblivious to the fact he was on air.

Moderators had quickly scrambled to cut off Macron and move onto Putin when they realised there was no translation for the President, who was speaking in French.

Putin was left looking bewildered as he was introduced while Macron was still talking - in French and without a translator

Moderaters scrambled to cut off Macron and move onto Putin as they realised there was no translator lined up for the French President's address.

Putin was left sitting silently on screen as moderators scrambled to sort the technical glitch

A few moments later the summit was back on track as Putin was introduced again and began his speech.

'It is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming go way back. But what kind of comprehensive solutions can we see today?', he told fellow world leaders.

'It's not enough to tackle the issue of new emissions, it is also important to take up the task of absorbing the CO2 that is already in the atmosphere'.

A few moments later the summit was back on track as Putin launched into his speech. 'It is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming go way back. But what kind of comprehensive solutions can we see today?', he told fellow world leaders

President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders on Thursday, asking them to work together to keep the earth's temperature from rising too high in the next decade, arguing it would result in new jobs and economic opportunities.

'The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,' he said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit.

'This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,' Biden argued. 'Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.'

In his remarks, Biden stressed the importance of working together but also emphasised combatting climate change can create jobs and boost economies.

President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders, asking them to work together to combat climate change as he kicked off Climate Summit

The East Room of the White House was decorated in greenery for the climate summit and Biden was introduced by Vice-President Kamala Harris

He spoke from the East Room of the White House, which was camera-ready for the virtual summit, decorated with plants and greenery.

Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him and he was joined by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and climate czar John Kerry.

The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually, were on a screen in front of him.

Biden vowed the US would do its part, pledging the country will cut emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 per cent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2015.

'No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand all of us, all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies. We have to step up,' he said.

The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually, were on a screen in front of him

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who addressed the summit

Biden argued taking action now would 'set the world up for success, protect livelihoods around the world and keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must get on the path now, in order to do that.'

Climate initiatives in Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan $85 billion to modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their systems to meet rider demand $174 billion on electric car development $111 billion to replace lead pipes and service lines and to modernize drinking water and sewer systems $100 billion to protect nature-based infrastructure  lands, forests, wetlands, watersheds, and coastal and ocean resource; to build up electrical system; expand tax credits for clean energy generation and storage; plug orphan oil wells and mines; and redevelop Superfund sites $40 billion to improve the infrastructure of the public housing system in America $100 billion to upgrade electrical grid $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools $10 billion in the modernization, sustainability, and resilience of federal buildings $35 billion investment in climate science $10 billion for a new Civilian Climate Corps Advertisement

'If we do will breathe easier, literally, and figuratively,' he said. 'We'll create good jobs here at home for millions of Americans and lay a strong foundation with growth in the future.'

His summit kicked off with a slick video about planet earth, where astronauts like Neil Armstrong talk about seeing it from space and how it suffers from global warming.

There were a few technical glitches - Harris' audio had an echo when she spoke, making it difficult to decipher her remarks, and there were dial tones when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke.

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance on Thursday.

But there will be no one-on-one conversations taking place on the sidelines after the US slapped additional sanctions on Russia and Biden has vowed to take on China.

There will be 'no bilaterals or side zoom rooms that are happening,' a senior administration official told reporters on a call Wednesday.

The meeting marks Biden's first face-to-face meetings with the two leaders - whom he has spoken to on the phone - since he took office.

The leaders, in their remarks, kept their focus on the topic at hand and reiterated their own country's goals to combat climate change.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday the UK would cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035.

'It's vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically correct green act of bunny hugging... This is about growth and jobs,' he told the summit.

The State Department released a full schedule of the summit, which will take place virtually Thursday and Friday.

In addition to the president and world leaders, several Cabinet secretaries and business leaders will attend.

Speakers include Pope Francis, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, World Bank President David Malpas, and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

President Joe Biden, center, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, listen during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on his fellow leaders to get 'serious' about combatting climate change and said it was not about 'bunny hugging'

Vice President Kamala Harris opened the climate summit, introducing President Biden

With the summit, Biden is seeking to revive a US-convened forum of the world's major economies on climate that George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used and Donald Trump let languish.

The new US target on emissions aims to 'challenge the world on increasing ambition and combatting the climate crisis,' an administration official said on a briefing call with reporters.

Combined with announcements expected by other leaders, the official said the world will be closer - but not yet on track - to keeping the planet's temperature within 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, the level scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.

'Over half the world's economy is now moving to cut emissions at a global pace needed to keep 1.5 C in reach,' the official said. 'Our coalition is growing.'

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks in front of a screen showing all 40 world leaders in attendance at Biden's Climate Summit

Pope Francis will be among the speakers at Biden's Climate Summit, he will address the group on Thursday

Japan said Thursday it aims to cut emissions 46 percent by 2030 -- significantly more than previously pledged -- and Canada is expected to follow suit. Both countries have forged early bonds with Biden.

Biden's action raises the pressure on China - by far the world's largest carbon emitter.

In his remarks to the summit, Chin's President Xi Jinping reiterated his country's pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

'We must be committed to green development. To improve the environment is to boost productivity,' he said.

Xi said developed countries, responsible for greater historical carbon emissions, should bear more responsibility for making changes at home and helping developing countries finance their transition to low-carbon economies.

Xi emphasised that China is aiming to move from peak carbon to net zero in a short time period - just 30 years, or the span of one generation.

Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg will be among the business leaders addressing the summit

And Japan, a heavy user of coal, announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target.

In his remarks, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world is 'at the verge of the abyss' because of climate change and must take aggressive steps to avoid catastrophe.

He called for world leaders to build a global coalition for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 - 'every country, every region, every city, every company and every industry.'

Britain in November will host a UN conference in Glasgow that aims to upgrade the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A UN report late last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius -- a level at which the planet is forecast to see many glaciers and ice caps melt, low-lying areas submerged and increasingly severe droughts, floods and disasters that could trigger famine and mass migration.
The NATO's Allied Land Command are ready to provide support to Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the press service of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said.

"This is our opportunity and indeed our responsibility to provide ground support. It sends a powerful message when NATO Corps commanders speak in one voice," Commander of the NATO's Allied Land Command, Lieutenant General Roger Cloutier said.

Cloutier also said that he supports Ukraine, and the state can count on help.

In turn, the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Sirsky informed the commanders of the NATO's Allied Land Command about Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, the number and composition of Russian military groups in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and in the immediate vicinity of the Ukrainian border, the situation, which is happening around Ukrainian borders, as well as possible predictable scenarios for the further development of events.

"The ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in a high degree of combat readiness, ready to carry out tasks as intended. But we understand that we are dealing with a serious and numerous enemy," Sirsky said.

He also thanked his colleagues, representatives of partner countries for supporting Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Libyan Coast Guard saves 104 migrants, child dead - MRW Woman's body also recovered, trafficker stopped

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, 22 APR - Migrant Rescue Watch (MRW) tweeted on Thursday that the Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat 'Ubari' "rescued 104 migrants, including 10 women and three children, and recovered two bodies, one female and one male child".



It said that those rescued disembarked safely at the naval base in Tripoli.



Police took one person into custody in connection with the deaths aboard the boat, MRW said.



It said the migrants included 43 people from Mali, 33 from the Ivory Coast, 16 from Guinea, eight from Sudan, three from Senegal and one from Niger.



The news was indirectly released in advance by International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Safa Msehli, who late Wednesday evening tweeted, "A child and one woman died off Libya today and more than 100 people were intercepted and taken to the limbo of detention. The European walls of silence continue to grow taller". (ANSAmed).




After the reigning Mrs. World, Caroline Jurie, resigned over the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant on-stage fracas, first runner-up Kate Schneider from Ireland was bestowed with the title of Mrs. World 2020. Mrs. World Inc. announced in a statement on Wednesday that it received the resignation of Caroline Jurie, and therefore, Mrs. Ireland Kate Schneider was the new titleholder. The agency published a photograph of Schneider with the title Mrs. World. Jurie was involved in a controversy at the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant after she aggressively pulled the crown off the head of the title winner Pushpika De Silva, inuring her at a ceremony on national TV.

The former Mrs. World alleged that De Silva was ineligible for the crown as she was divorced and had concealed the details from the jury. Police in Sri Lanka arrested Jurie for hurting Pushpika De Silva in Columbo and released her on bail later. The incident attracted global flak, as people flooded social media with appeals to take the Mrs. World title from Jurie back. During a ceremony televised nationally, Jurie had accused de Silva saying that she was a divorcee and only married women were qualified to become Mrs. Sri Lanka, although, the claim was contested by Mrs. Sri Lanka later who confirmed that she was, in fact, separated. After de silva took a legal course against the insult and the injury she sustained, Columbo police announced in a statement, We took Mrs. Jurie and Chula Padmendra into custody. Cops took the former Mrs. World under custody for damaging the property at the pageant venue, Nelum Pokuna Theatre, and for injuring de Silva.

Sri Lanka'da duzenlenen bir guzellik yarsmasnda birincilik odulunu kazanan Pushpika De Silva sahnede yasanan arbedede basndan yaraland. pic.twitter.com/kQGpTIAv9r  HUSEYIN AVNI KEMAL (@Hak2861) April 6, 2021

"Her voluntary resignation decision was made solely by Caroline herself," Mrs World Inc said in a statement.

Relinquished her title

Mrs. World Inc announced that the title was given to the runner-up in the 2020 contest, which Jurie had won, and her conduct was under review by the country's pageant organizers. The agency informed officially that Jurie had relinquished her title in its entirety. meanwhile, the Sri Lankan title winner Jurie defended her actions saying that she was standing against injustice and that Mrs. Sri Lankan pageant was tainted. She stressed that she was only ensuring that each candidate had equal opportunity. Being apart is one. Divorce is something else, she wrote in a Facebook post.

De Silva explained in a Facebook post, that she was not a divorced woman, and if at all there were doubts surrounding her marital status, she should not have been allowed to come so far," and should have been disqualified during initial rounds. She added that it was a moment of great insult for her as a single mother to have the crown, which was placed by Mrs. World 7 minutes ago snatched from her head in front of everyones eyes.

Even though my crown has been snatched in front of everyone, I will keep my head straight at this moment, de Silva said. She added, This is a historical moment for me as a single woman when women and men all over the world have raised their voice for me. Social media raised calls for honouring De Silva once again and she was given the crown back in a small ceremony organized after the incident.
People touring the U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector, soft-sided processing facility, look at the pods inside one of four living areas at the facility, in Yuma, Ariz., on April 20, 2021. (Randy Hoeft/The Yuma Sun via AP)

Democrat Senators Urge Biden to Reimburse Arizona for National Guard Troops at Border

Two Democrat senators on April 21 called on President Joe Biden to reimburse their state for sending National Guard personnel to the border to help deal with the immigration crisis.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, announced on April 20 that hes sending up to 250 Guardsmen to the border to deal with the surge in illegal immigrants attempting to cross and successfully crossing into the United States. It will cost some $25 million.

The situation in our border communities is just as badif not worsethan the coverage weve been seeing, Ducey told a press conference. Its become evidently clear that Arizona needs the National Guard, and the White House is aware of that. Yet, to this day, there has been no action from this administration, and it doesnt look like they are going to act any time soon. If this administration isnt going to do anything, then we will.

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said they back the deployment in a letter to Biden.

While some resources are being provided through the recently signed American Rescue Plan, additional personnel are needed at the border to ensure our communities are protected, and migrants are treated fairly and humanely, they wrote.

This need for a secure and orderly process at the U.S. southern border should not fall on the state of Arizona or Arizona border communities, they said, noting that some 500 Guard personnel are already deployed to southern Arizona border sectors.

As such, we request you reimburse the state of Arizona for the deployment the Governor announced yesterday to support border security and continue to increase DHS personnel who can further assist with the processing of migrants, securing the border, and executing important security missions.

A White House spokesperson didnt respond to a request for comment.

The border fence between the United States and Mexico just east of Sasabe, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2018. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The number of illegal border crossings has surged under Biden, increasing to 168,195 in March from 75,315 in January. The number of unaccompanied minors, or children not accompanied by parents or other guardians, leaped nearly 13,000 to 18,663 from January to March.

The United States has struggled to contain them, opening more than a dozen new facilities and asking foster parents to take them in.

Many Republicans have been critical of the Biden administrations handling of border enforcement. Some Democrats have as well.

Sinema and Kelly told Biden in their letter, There is a crisis at the southern border.

Biden on April 17 for the first time acknowledged the situation as a crisis, telling reporters that he planned to increase the number of refugees allowed into the country. Biden said that would help ease the crisis.

Asked about the characterization, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a briefing on April 19 that Biden does not feel that children coming to our border, seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships, and other dire circumstances is a crisis.

He does feel that the crisis in Central America, the dire circumstances that many are fleeing from  that that is a situation we need to spend our time, our effort on, and we need to address it if were going to prevent more of an influx of migrants from coming in years to come.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has offered that favorable conditions be created in Ukraine so that to attract more Turkish tourists.

This issue was discussed during a meeting on the development of Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in the tourism industry, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Government portal.

In particular, Shmyhal stressed the need to work out ways to intensify mutually beneficial cooperation with Turkey in the field of tourism, in particular, to expand sea and air services.

"Ukrainians are on the list of the most numerous tourists in Turkey, and the geography of their vacation is constantly expanding. Therefore, we should consider the possibility of expanding transportation services, in particular to organize additional flights to popular weekend routes, as well as to launch transportation services with new cities, said Shmyhal.

At the same time, the prime minister stressed that it is important to develop favorable conditions for attracting tourists from the Republic of Turkey to Ukraine.

"Apart from big cities, it is worth considering the possibility of developing destinations for sanatoriums that will be interesting for the family travels," Shmyhal said.

In turn, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Turkey Andrii Sybiha added that tourists from Turkey may be interested in prominent Ukrainian cities: Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khotyn, etc.

The participants also considered the possibility of mutual recognition between Ukraine and Turkey of future health certificates being developed in the European Union. According to the prime minister, this will help significantly increase the flow of tourists between countries during the pandemic.

Following the meeting, Denys Shmyhal instructed the relevant agencies to study the possibility of increasing regular and charter flights between Ukraine and Turkey and consider ways to simplify the system of entering Ukraine for vaccinated Turkish citizens.

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New COVID-19 mutant in Bengal, escapes antibodies' immunity

Scientists have found a new lineage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus named 'B.1.618' in India, which is predominantly circulating in West Bengal. This is the second lineage to be identified from the country. The infection through this variant makes plasma therapy as redundant as an investigational treatment.

600% jump in oxygen demand from hospitals

Putting tremendous pressure on the nation's medical infrastructure, the latest surge in COVID-19 cases has driven up the demand for medical oxygen, a critical commodity in treating the respiratory ailment. The demand for oxygen in hospitals has reportedly gone up 600-800 per cent over the past few days. During the first COVID-19 wave, the demand for liquid medical oxygen went up from 700 metric tonnes per day (MTPD) to 2,800 MTPD. But during the second wave, it has further skyrocketed to 5,000 MTPD, reported India Today.

COVID-19 vaccination: India needs 8 yrs 9 months to achieve herd immunity

At the current pace of vaccination against coronavirus, India would need another 8 years and 9 months to inoculate 70 per cent of its entire population, a threshold required to achieve herd immunity. As of April 20, approximately 10.97 crore Indians have received the first dose of one of two coronavirus vaccines approved for use in the country. This accounts for a mere 8.09 per cent of the nation's 135.5 crore population.



CARE Ratings cuts India's GDP forecast to 10.2% for FY22With economic activities getting affected across the country due to curbs imposed by states amid surge in COVID-19 cases, Care Ratings has revised down its forecast for GDP growth to 10.2 per cent in 2021-22 from earlier projection of 10.7-10.9 per cent. This is the third revision by the rating agency in the last one month.

Bharat Biotech's Covaxin 78% effective; works against most COVID-19 variants

Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine has shown an overall interim clinical efficacy of 78 per cent and 100 per cent efficacy against severe COVID-19 disease. ""Efficacy against SARS-Cov-2 has been established. COVAXIN has demonstrated an excellent safety record in human clinical trials and in usage under emergency use," Dr Krishna Ella, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, said.

Keep border issue at 'appropriate position', focus on long term ties: China to India

China said on Wednesday that it was committed to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it urged India to put the boundary issue at an "appropriate position" and meet it "halfway" for the long term development of the bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said this at his media briefing as he parried questions
The production model 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ EV has made its debut. With testing of Cadillacs inaugural electric luxury SUV running ahead of schedule, the brand announced that customers may place order reservations beginning in September 2021, with initial availability starting the first half of 2022.





A 12-module, 100 kWh battery pack and a rear-wheel-drive Ultium Platform deliver a Cadillac-estimated 340 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque, along with a Cadillac-estimated range of more than 300 miles (483 km) with a full charge.

LYRIQ also offers high-speed DC fast charging for public stations at 190 kW, enabling customers to add up to an estimated 76 miles of range in about 10 minutes of charging time. For home charging, LYRIQ offers a segment-leading 19.2 kW charging module, which can add up to 52 miles of range per hour of charge.

To help customers take full control of their electric driving experience, LYRIQ will feature next-generation variable Regen on Demand technology, along with the convenience of One-Pedal Driving.

With Cadillacs new variable Regen on Demand, drivers can control how quickly LYRIQ slows down or comes to a complete stop using a pressure-sensitive paddle located on the steering wheel. Both technologies make use of regenerative braking to help maximize electric driving efficiency.

Additional 2023 LYRIQ highlights include:

Available Super Cruise hands-free driver-assistance technology for compatible roads;

A 33-inch-diagonal advanced LED display with the ability to emit over 1 billion colors;

Cadillacs next-generation Active Noise Cancellation system;

Slim-line LED headlamps with choreographed lighting sequence;

AKG Studio 19-speaker audio system with headrest speakers;

KeyPass digital vehicle access;

Dual level charge cord; and

Standard 20-inch split six-spoke alloy wheels or optional 22-inch dynamic split-spoke Reverse Rim alloy wheels.





Customers will be able to select from Satin Steel Metallic or Stellar Black Metallic exterior colors, and Sky Cool Gray or Noir for the interior.

The 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ is expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2022, with pricing starting at $59,990. It will be produced at GMs Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly facility, which is receiving a $2 billion investment to support electric vehicle production. An additional $2.3 billion is being invested in an all-new battery cell manufacturing plant at Spring Hill, by Ultium Cells LLC, the joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution.
The photo on the right shows the face of the apparel store employee, who was allegedly assaulted by the wife of Belgian Ambassador to Seoul Peter Lescouhier. Yonhap



Belgian Ambassador to Seoul Peter Lescouhier apologized Thursday over an assault incident involving his wife, promising to cooperate with an ongoing police probe as soon as his wife recovers from an illness.



Police have been looking into allegations that Lescouhier's wife slapped an apparel store employee in the face and another employee in the back of her head early this month. The employees had asked the wife if she paid for the clothes she was wearing at the time because the shop was selling the same apparel.



"The Ambassador of Belgium sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife which happened on April 9th and wants to apologize on her behalf," the embassy said in a Facebook post. "No matter the circumstances, the way she reacted is unacceptable."



The embassy said that the ambassador's wife has been unable to respond to the police investigation because she had a stroke at the beginning of last week and has been hospitalized.






(Natural News) Scientists initially thought that the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), does not mutate as readily as the viruses that cause flu, hepatitis or AIDS. The molecular proofreading system that SARS-CoV-2  the virus behind COVID-19  and its kin use to prevent damaging genetic errors when replicating supposedly made them stable.

But these scientists were eventually proven wrong. Several new variants of the original virus have been spotted in different countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. The mutation appeared to cause major changes to its contagiousness and the way the virus acts in general.

What were seeing is similar mutations arising in multiple places, said Adam Lauring, a virologist at the University of Michigan. Thats pretty suggestive that these mutations are doing something.

These mutations seemed to make the virus transmit more readily and evade the immune system. (Related: Mutation has caused the coronavirus to become more contagious but less deadly, says new study.)

Five most prominent coronavirus mutations

In January, researchers reported for the first time that antibodies from individuals with COVID-19 did not completely neutralize a variant first identified in South Africa. A few people who recovered from the disease also appeared to have been reinfected with the mutant virus.

According to Scientific American, the five of the most prominent variants discovered are 20A.EU1, B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P1 and P2.

The 20A.EU1 variant, first identified in Spain, contains a mutation called A222V on the viral spike protein. The spike is a component of the coronavirus that binds to a receptor on human cells called ACE2, and this attachment helps the virus get inside those cells and infect them. The spike protein is also the part of the pathogen that is targeted by human antibodies when they fight back against the infection. In lab tests, human antibodies were slightly less effective at neutralizing viruses with the A222V mutation.

Over the course of several months, the 20A.EU1 variant became the dominant one in Europe. But epidemiologists never saw any evidence that it was more transmissible than the original. Researchers believe that when Europe began lifting travel restrictions last summer, the variant that was dominant in Spain spread across the continent.

Scientists in the UK had been watching the B.1.1.7 variant for some time before announcing in December last year that it might be at least 50 percent more transmissible than the original form. That announcement was based on epidemiological data that showed the virus rapidly spreading throughout the nation. And it led to international travel bans and stronger lockdown measures in the UK.

Despite initial concerns, there has been no real evidence that the variant is more infectious in children than the original, said University of Cambridge microbiologist Sharon Peacock, who is also the executive director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, a group that analyzes genetic changes to the virus. Both Pfizer and Moderna believe that their COVID-19 vaccines will still work against B.1.1.7. Recent data from the UK hint that the variant may be more lethal than the original, but the analyses are preliminary.

The B.1.351 variant appeared around the same time as B.1.1.7, and it spread quickly in South Africa to become the dominant version in that country. Like its European counterpart, B.1.351 contains the N501Y mutation, although evidence seems to suggest the two variants arose independently. But scientists are more concerned about another mutation called E484K that appears in the South African version. The genetic change may help the virus evade the immune system and vaccines.

In January, researchers reported they had detected two new variants in Brazil, both descendants of a somewhat older common ancestor variant. Of the two, researchers were more concerned about P.1. That variant contains more mutations than P.2 (though both have the E484K mutation), and it has already been seen in Japan and other countries.

Big Pharma may need to make updated version of coronavirus vaccines

Early last year, scientists at the U.K.s University of Bath and the University of Edinburgh said that SARS-CoV-2 is being mutated by human proteins that degrade it, and that natural selection of the virus is enabling it to bounce back.

Natural selection  survival of the fittest  is allowing the virus to fight back against the mutational process, the scientists said.

Professor Laurence Hurst, director of the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath, said: I have looked at mutational profiles for many organisms and they all show some sort of bias, but Ive never seen one as strong and strange as this.

The scientists noted that all organisms mutate but this is usually a random process as a result of mistakes made when DNA is copied.

In the case of SARS-CoV-2, mutation may well not be a random process and that instead humans are mutating it, as part of a defense mechanism to degrade the virus, the scientists explained.

According to the scientists, the results of possible mutations could have implications for vaccine design.

Knowing what selection favors and disfavors in the virus is really helpful in understanding what an attenuated version should look like, said Hurst.

Vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer seem to work against the new variants, although Moderna has started developing a booster shot specific to new variants. Experts said a slight drop in effectiveness would still make both vaccines worth using because they showed more than 90 percent effectiveness in trials.

Im optimistic this wont compromise the [COVID vaccines], but obviously, its something weve got to watch closely, Lauring said, adding that companies may need to retool these vaccines and administer updated versions in the coming years, much in the same way that flu vaccines are revised each year. (Related: IT NEVER ENDS: How many doses of vaccine will be pushed for every new coronavirus mutation?)

Follow Pandemic.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

ScientificAmerican.com

FoxNews.com
Future development

In order to create an international financial center with modern high-rise buildings in city centers or coastal areas requires substantial amounts of money. With much support of the central government, the two cities could possibly succeed in creating international financial centers to equal those in other regions of ASEAN, but doubts remain whether all the satisfactory prerequisites will be met.

This very ambitious plan is actually quite contradictory to Vietnam's aim of becoming a strong and prosperous nation, with a developed and high-income economy through use of high technology and innovation, as set forth in the Resolution adopted at the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, early this year.

According to the Global Financial Center Index, as far as fintech application is concerned, New York tops the list, followed by Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, then London. Ho Chi Minh City, as the countrys future international financial center, harbors an ultimate goal and aims to focus on the fintech sector, which will then drive the development process of the City.

Currently, under the ongoing pandemic scenario, new issues are reshaping the global financial world to prepare for a post-pandemic society, with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and substantial geopolitical changes. Various unforeseen issues are seriously shaking the Dubai international financial center, as also raising big questions about the future of Hong Kong as a global financial center, while Brexit may well mark the end of London as another international financial center. Therefore, taking the chance to becoming a leading international financial center is well worth targeting for Vietnam as this goal is not entirely out of reach because Asia controls six of the top ten international financial centers in the world.

With the world in upheaval, there are questions as to whether by means of appropriate policies and adequate support from the central government if Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang City could be turned into major international financial centers. This issue has been high on the agenda at meetings with Ho Chi Minh City officials, scientists and central agency officals for the last several years.

Many have agreed to making this plan of becoming an international financial center even better than any other international financial center, and to becoming a new-generation special economic zone (SEZ). With international standard regulations and services in place and a high level of free flow of capital, an SEZ is possible, just like the ones in China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Catastrophic losses

Generally speaking, SEZ is a separate territory within a country with more favorable support in terms of taxes and other regulations than other areas of the country. However, although a SEZ may bring immense benefits, it may also cause many problems. Firstly, it takes five to ten years to create large-scale benefits, and a SEZ will only be successful in attracting new investors if incentives and support are really appealing in comparison to other international SEZs. Since investors are not bound, they may leave instantly if benefits are not as expected. Consequently, bigger offers can also lead to bigger losses.

Secondly, fiscal incentives only attract investors who are interested in tax havens and can create white elephants that need staggering costs and require large amounts of money, but which owners cannot dispose of. A SEZ indicates a failure of investments by the state, and the bigger the investments, the more catastrophic are the losses. Thirdly, companies in a SEZ only want their products to have significant effect on commercial and investment activities in international markets while their expected impact on businesses of the host country could be devastatingly disappointing.

SEZs in China

It is necessary to analyze SEZs in China compared to other countries, so as to understand them better. The scale of the SEZs in China are just the opposite of SEZs in other countries. SEZs in the rest of the world are like pyramids, starting at a point on the top and getting bigger over time, but the SEZs in China began over a large area of 327 square kilometers, and then became smaller and smaller after 2003.

The first stage from 1980 to 1991, was meant for establishing and exploring, with SEZs playing a role in attracting FDIs and testing policies. The second stage from 1992 to1999 saw the strongest growth of SEZs along the coast, with at least one SEZ in each province. The third stage from 2000 to 2007 was intended for SEZs to expand further to the Central and Western regions and less developed areas. However, SEZs in the fourth stage from 2008 saw major changes with no more tax incentives for FDI businesses inside and outside SEZs. The new tax policy was applied to the whole economy, with improvements planned for other economic zones. SEZs of the fourth generation were not meant to test the policies like those of the first generation. Instead, they concentrated on development of high technologies to increase the global value chain, as well as attract the world intellectual elite.

The World Bank SEZ researchers have considered vast separate areas in China as typical of seeing SEZs as laboratories for testing policies on finance, labor and even pricing policy, and then applying them to the entire country for checking their effectiveness. However, this was useful for only the first SEZs like the ones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen. These are places for testing the policies by assigning tasks with specific intentions since Shenzhen is next to Hong Kong, Zhuhai is near Macau and Xiamen is across from Taiwan. Choosing geographic locations for the first generation SEZs was the most important factor. The second generation SEZs in the 1990s were no longer meant for testing policies, but focused on the development of strategic regions. The third generation SEZs did not regard geographic locations as top priority, rather, they were expected to improve specific situations such as connection between rural and urban areas or ties of socio political and cultural centers in regions.

However, countries that try to learn from China model of SEZ are advised to consider its first generation SEZs with the main focus on choosing coastal areas. African countries like Egypt, Ethiopia and Zambia have been skeptical, even as China persuades them to follow in its footsteps. Development of SEZs is always hard, uncertain and only meant for brave and enterprising individuals.

Comprehensive review

The official method of SEZ impact assessment is based on the international trade model of static effect, including job creation, FDI attraction, foreign currency attraction and added economic value. The formal approach sees the SEZ only as the second-best policy option, behind entire liberalization of the economy. The more modern approach, by contrast, sees SEZ as a catalyst for overall growth in the economy as a whole which is the dynamic effect.

Recently, the dynamic effect approach has dominated the research of SEZ. Based on the theory of endogenous growth and the new institutional theory, the dynamic approach sees the spill-over effect and the benefits of the SEZ beyond the barrier of an independent oasis through backward linkage with domestic firms, human capital development, technological innovation, and institutional reform in the host country. While China's overall growth rate is still high, in the mid-2000s the growth rate of all SEZs was more or less stable, or even lower than the overall growth rate and ultimately converging into national growth. Only high-tech SEZs have outperformed the rest of the SEZs.

Lack of understanding

Asian countries also see SEZ as an institutional laboratory. The problem is that once these experiences are applied to the whole country, SEZ will gradually lose its role. SEZs one percent export growth contributes to an increase of 0.44% of GDP, but decreases gradually with the rate of economic liberalization. SEZ established in the 70s and 80s does not contribute much to job creation, exports, and growth in the present period. The room for SEZ to be successful in the future is decreasing and is only suitable for ideas of SEZ as venture capital. SEZ is only an option when the profitability is large enough to compensate for the loss in the event of SEZ failure. The core cause of SEZ failure in the world is due to lack of understanding.

There is no universal success formula for SEZ, and it is not like looking for coastal zones to establish an SEZ for it to be successful. The most typical failure of site selection is in the case of SEZ Calabar in the South East Nigerian Sea. SEZ Calabar failed due to site selection with a strong propensity to calculate the economic impact only in the static state, without paying attention to the connectivity of SEZ with major maritime routes and with medium national shipping centers, called the animation effect. The cause of the failure is also due to the fact that the central and local authorities always had conflict of interests, as well as extreme government intervention in the operation of SEZ Calabar.

Many countries establish the SEZ with a portfolio of industries such as hot pot for investors, including world-class universities with high-tech parks, manufacturing zones, and casinos as well. With the current mushroom-growing SEZ syndrome, in order to succeed, countries need to create a 21st century SEZ with a development mindset that is completely isolated from the achievements of the previous century. SEZ must not only become a common bloc for the economy but also have to go global. To do so, the South Korean government since early 2013 announced plans to establish the mini-SEZ system, replacing the popular 20th century thinking of setting up SEZs over a large area and isolated from the provinces and a big city. The majority of SEZs in India are also mini-SEZs.

Sovereignty at risk

Poor government administration leading to excessive national debt is one of the reasons for the SEZ cult. Creating SEZs with increasing budget revenues to try and cure a disease is actually curing only the symptoms. Establishing the SEZ only proves a choice of failure, and indicates the ascendancy of crony capitalism. The Sri Lankan government ceding the strategic port of Hambantota to China to write off a debt of USD 1.12 bn is called swapped sovereignty. Converting debt into shares is a dangerous debt-trap diplomacy tactic that China has applied to host countries dating back to the 1980s in export processing zone near the Costa Rican city of San Jose. Chinese SEZ developers buyback sovereign debt or government bonds at a discount price from a third party. They then negotiate with the Central Bank for debt relief, and in return, they get a good address in the SEZ.

Today Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Greece, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe are typical cases of swap sovereignty debt in SEZs. In addition, the high land price in SEZ is one of the main reasons why the government and investors are very fond of SEZ. For example, in a fishing village, land prices for SEZ Shenzhen increased by nearly 5,000 percent over 30 years. SEZ developers who accept high risks with excess profit will offer world-class SEZ development plans, the first step to conquer the confidence of the host country, but then there is the sovereign debt swap game later.

In short, if you want to know how deformed an economy really is, then just look at the SEZ. Instead of a country defining SEZ, know how the SEZ defines the country, its purpose and for whom it is for, and what the current World Geopolitical Bureau has to do with the SEZ. It should be noted that SEZ tendency is only for political purposes and more of a gamble, and the country that does not need a special economic zone is truly unique and exceptional.

Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Tho, Member of National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council
Chinese health official stresses preventing COVID-19 import

Xinhua) 16:40, April 22, 2021

Customs officers ask and record information of inbound passengers at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese health official Wednesday called for continuous efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 through imported cases as the number of patients around the globe keeps rising.

The newly added COVID-19 cases worldwide have been on the upswing for eight consecutive weeks and 5.26 million new cases were reported last week, Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission, told a press conference.

Mi also vowed to step up COVID-19 vaccinations in China and called on the public to strengthen individual protection against the virus.

China has seen over 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu)
Christian leaders form new site to 'stop corporate tyranny'

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Recent weeks have seen a renewed focus of the conservative Christian movement on woke capital. Following corporate denouncements of the new Georgia voting law, many Christians and conservatives are looking for ways to resist the growing tide within corporate America of partisan activism. Amidst this controversy, a coalition of conservative and evangelical thought leaders opposed to corporate activism, has launched a new website: StopCorporateTyranny.org. It is dedicated to exposing left-wing activism with corporations and educating conservative Christians about how it can be opposed. The website is a hub for updates, information, and resources for normal investors who are troubled by the growing trend of explicit corporate activism. It includes articles highlighting recent examples of woke capital and will call attention to campaigns to push-back against corporate politics.

Free speech is under attack like never before. Activists are weaponizing Big Tech and other corporations as an arm of cancel culture, said Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel and SVP of communications at the Alliance Defending Freedom. While we continue to enjoy strong legal protections for free speech, our cultural institutions, our universities, and our corporations are rejecting free speech, and even punishing people for expressing their ideas. We face the very real risk of our societal norm of robust debate and dialogue being replaced with shaming, shunning, and silencing. Big Techs ongoing campaign of censorship against conservative and religious views is a prime example of this ominous threat to all Americans. Free speech is a cornerstone of a vibrant and prosperous nation. Its essential for democracy, the search for truth, and as a check on governmental power and tyranny. Instead of virtue signaling to a woke mob thats never appeased, corporations should take actions that build up a culture of free speech and religious freedom that will serve their customers, employees, and all Americans for generations to come.

Within the conservative movement, there has been much discussion over the possibility of regulating big business to ensure ideological neutrality by law. Such a move is rife with potential complications, and even if those complications are resolved and some concrete policy proposal is found, it will likely be several years before the Republican Party is in a position to legislate on this issue.

But, while some wait for fairer political winds, progressive partisanship in American business is only increasing. The StopCorporateTyranny.org project is a mobilization of the conservative movement to fight back against corporate activism now, regardless of which party controls the White House.

This campaign comes at a time of increasing scrutiny over corporate activism. For many religious and conservative leaders, the recent attacks by corporate America on Georgias voting law have prompted a re-examination of what the political focus for their movement should be. Since the election of Donald Trump, big businesses  particularly tech giants  have become more openly partisan and politically involved. Richard Manning, President of Americans for Limited Government, said by email that the attack on Georgia over their decision to require voter identification for voters by multi-national corporations is reminiscent to the attack on North Carolina led by Silicon Valley corporations when the state voted to keep men out of womens restrooms.

In the intervening years between North Carolinas 2015 bathroom bill and today, corporate boardrooms have increasingly become a focal point for progressive politics. Despite the long-standing tradition of conservative support for corporations, corporate activism is now so widespread that many Republican officeholders are openly advocating punitive actions by government against some of the largest companies in America.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri recently announced his support for breaking up Amazon. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida declared his support for Amazon workers attempting to unionize, accusing the tech-giant of waging a culture war against working-class values. It is increasingly the view of many that the alliance between the political left and corporate America represents a serious threat to traditional values.

In some cases, businesses have explicitly committed themselves to deplatforming conservative dissent. Following the passage of Georgias voting law, dozens of corporate leaders participated in a Zoom call in which they discussed how to oppose voting laws being proposed in other red states. But most of the country does not believe that the proper role for corporations is advocating for political causes.

In the midst of this flashpoint, StopCorporateTyranny.org is an emerging resource for educating conservatives and Christians on how to push back against the politicization of big business  which does not rely on government action, as the makeup of the federal government does not determine whether shareholders, investors, and customers can rein in boardrooms. It is a grass-roots effort, headed by some of the leaders of the conservative Christian movement, designed to provide tools to ordinary Americans for resisting corporate activism. "Right now, nearly 400 large corporations are pushing Capitol Hill to enact the Equality Act. Working in concert with the far-left Human Rights Campaign, these major businesses are not only seeking to end women's sports, but to end religious freedom. Full stop, Justin Danhof, director of the Free Enterprise Project at the National Center for Public Policy Research, said by email. Americans of faith must engage with these corporate oppressors and https://www.stopcorporatetyranny.org will provide you with the tools and resources to do just that. It's time that big businesses heard from all 'stakeholders' not just those pushing leftist policies."
Chief Harold "Buster" Hatcher of the Waccamaw Indian People has been fighting for his tribe to be justly acknowledged.

That effort started about 30 years ago, and its far from over.

His tribe is one of nine that are recognized by the state of South Carolina. What Hatcher is still working for, though, is federal recognition, which comes with significant benefits. Federally-recognized tribes can be eligible for specific services and protections and have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

But getting that recognition doesnt come easily, as evidenced by the decades put into the effort for the Waccamaw Indian People of South Carolina.

After all these years, there have recently been signs of progress, Chief Hatcher said  progress that could eventually propel them toward that federal recognition.

This week on the podcast, reporter Adam Parker breaks down some of the positive developments made this year  like the introduction of a new bill by U.S. Rep. Tom Rice R-Myrtle Beach to grant the Waccamaw federal recognition  and Chief Hatcher explained why that federal acknowledgement is something worth fighting for.

Two Coastal Carolina University professors also joined us to discuss a new exhibit about the Waccamaw Indian People debuting April 27 at the Horry County Museum.

Listen now for more.

Understand SC is a weekly podcast from The Post and Courier that draws from the reporting resources and knowledge of our newsroom to help you better understand South Carolina. This episode was hosted and edited by Emily Williams.

How to listen:

Related reading:
Greenlands IA party has a strong environmental platform that is well-aligned with Eclipse Metals' environmental initiatives.

In January this year, Eclipse acquired the Ivittuut Project that hosts the Ivittuut cryolite mine.

Ltd ( ) has welcomed the formation of a new government by the Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) party in Greenland following a national election held earlier this month.

IA formed a coalition with the Naleraq party, and its policies are supported by minor parties in parliament.

Since winning the election, the IA party has publicly stated it is supportive of responsible mining.

Incoming Prime Minister and IA leader Mute Bourup Egede have said in one of its recent statement that mineral exploitation was "a possibility for developing [Greenland's] economy", but the IA policy would exclude exploitation of uranium in Greenland.

The IA party has a strong environmental platform that is well-aligned with Eclipse Metals' environmental initiatives.

Working with the new government

Eclipse executive chairman Carl Popal said: "We are looking forward to working with the new Coalition Government to progress the development of the Ivittuut project.

"Ivittuut is an industrial mineral and REE project with no uranium mineralisation.

Ivittuut has more than 120 years of mining history, and it is not in a populated urban or farming setting.

We look forward to exploring its potential and working with the new government to develop a new mine or mines in this part of Greenland."

Evaluating mine potential

In January this year, Eclipse acquired the Ivittuut Project which hosts the historic Ivittuut cryolite mine and undeveloped mineral resources, including a large REE-bearing carbonatite deposit.

Between 1865 and 1985 the Ivittuut mine produced 3.8 million tonnes of high-grade cryolite, for use in the aluminium industry, from the world's largest known minable resource of naturally occurring cryolite.

Evaluation of past exploration drilling has demonstrated substantial resources of cryolite and fluorite within the mine environs plus a large body of high-grade quartz below the pit floor.

Eclipse is evaluating the mine's potential to produce high-grade quartz as well as cryolite-fluorite and iron-zinc mineralisation and to assess the economic potential of the historical tailings dump.
Worldview Indias journalists remember April 2003 for the kind of journalism Indians havent practised before or since

April 2003 was the cruellest month for the people of Iraq, a month of reflection on Pakistan by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and a rare opportunity for Worldview India, a group of Indian journalists who helped lift the mist from the months historic events.

The Americans occupied Iraq by April 3. Vice-president Dick Cheney, the real author of the operation, was eager to declare victory on April 9. It had to be a spectacular media event. After all, Mr Cheney embedded 300-plus journalists with the US military.

The choreography was audacious. In a prepared statement, Mr Cheney would declare victory on the global media, which would be interspersed with images of an ecstatic, popular upsurge pulling down the statue of Saddam Hussain at Firdous Square. Mr Cheneys talking head would alternate with the slow fall of the statue. Mr Cheney would never have dreamt that all the back-channel tricks that went into the manufacture of the memorable spectacle would be exposed. For the first time in Indian journalism history, Worldview India posted camera units/reporters in Baghdad, Najaf, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Amman and in Lebanon. Some of these reporters happened to be in Palestine Hotel, witnesses to the real story, the one the world wasnt supposed to know.

Contrary to the narrative of a popular uprising toppling the statue, the Americans had to think on their feet: they had to improvise the iconic images because the popular upsurge had simply not materialised. US Marines were mobilised to lasso the statues neck and have it pulled down by cranes. CNN, the occupations premier cheerleader, has to this day incorporated a video of the statue as a lasting symbol of Americans replacing a brutal dictatorship with democracy. The sole superpower can arrange for a statue to be pulled down, but how does it show images of crowds celebrating Saddam Husseins fall?

The 1991-92 Shia uprising in Najaf/Karbala, encouraged by Operation Desert Storm, was harshly put down by Saddam. The only images of the damaged shrine of Imam Hussain was brought to the world by a TV crew led by this reporter. The Shia refugees from this unreported conflict had been settled in a vast ghetto on Baghdads outskirts. It was named, like much else those days, as Saddam City. It dawned on Mr Cheneys team that one group of people thrilled at Saddams fall were the inmates of the nearby ghetto, teeming with disgruntled Shias.

A deal was struck with controversial cleric Muqtada Sadr. Saddam City was renamed Sadr City. Thats when celebrations erupted on Baghdad streets. Crowds from Sadr City trampled on Saddam posters and beat it with their sandals. The American romance with Iraqs Shias burgeoned.

On March 20, 2005, Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times recommended Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani for the Nobel Prize. Sistani remains the blue-eyed ayatollah because he differs with Tehran on the clergys role in governing the state.

Mr Cheneys contrivance of a quick victory in Iraq was matched by the energetic diplomacy of the US embassy in New Delhi. They persuaded South Block to participate in the American victory by taking over the administration of Iraqs Kurdish North. Powerful ministers like Jaswant Singh found the US blandishments tempting. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, as much a statesman as a skilful politician, rather than rubbish his Cabinet colleagues, went into one of his extended spells of deep reflection.

He called up his friend A.B. Bardhan, CPI secretary-general. Are you supporting Indian occupation of Kurdish Iraq? Vajpayee taunted. Not at all, exclaimed Mr Bardhan. But I see no protest, Vajpayee replied. The PM was looking for signs of street restiveness on the issue to cite in opposing the idea. The source for this exchange was Mr Bardhan, but Vajpayee didnt deny it.

This was a period of extraordinary tension between India and Pakistan. After the December 13, 2001 attack on Indias Parliament, the two militaries were in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation. On April 18, Vajpayee landed in Srinagar and, without a hint to his Cabinet, held out the hand of peace to Pakistan. An awesome power has arisen. Regional quarrels have no meaning now. Conflicts in the region would have to be composed. The January 4, 2004 India-Pakistan summit in Islamabad followed.

Vajpayee found the sole superpower moment forbidding. Hence his quest for regional peace. Narendra Modis crawl towards a regional entente is dictated by a different set of circumstances. The burgeoning China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan togetherness in the vicinity makes a friendly America look too distant.

Worldview Indias journalists remember April 2003 for the kind of journalism Indians havent practised before or since. The idea was to cover the war and occupation of Iraq from an Indian perspective. The Western media would of course cover it, but from its own perspective. The embedded journalists were in fact a part of the war effort. This wouldnt be the Indian perspective, unless New Delhi accepted that it was Indias war too. Indian media houses are stone deaf on such issues. For coverage of foreign affairs, they have deals with Reuters, BBC, CNN and so on -- so much for atma nirbharta. A word of gratitude is owed to S.Y. Qureshi, Doordarshans then director-general, for grasping the significance of the project. He fought the resistance in the system. The standard argument against covering foreign affairs was that it has low TRP ratings.

Let Mr Qureshi bear witness. Amitabh Bachchans Kaun Banega Crorepati had the highest ratings until Worldview Indias one-hour prime-time reporting from the Gulf by dedicated reporters pipped it to the post.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few showers this afternoon. Thunder possible. High around 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
There are words that both convey intelligence and likely will increase the actual intelligence of your statements because they require the nuance that is a hallmark of a thoughtful person.

Such words include, for example, probabilistic, opportunity cost, and wise. I describe them here in a contemporary context: the expanded definition of infrastructure, which is being used by the Biden Administration to include increased climate-change expenditures and restrictions on the public.

Probabilistic

A probabilistic analysis of the wisdom of Paris-accord-level efforts to control planetary climate requires assessing the joint probability of all of the following occurring:

Climate change is significantly man-made.

The net impact if climate change is a significant net negative, for example, that severe flooding and species degradation outweigh the benefits of colder areas becoming more arable and livable for humans, animals, and plants.

Sufficient global compliance with carbon restrictions, for example, that China , India, and other developing nations will stop such activities as building coal-fired power plants.

That naturally occurring events such as volcano eruptions dont reduce the effect of human efforts to cut carbon emissions.

That the aforementioned efforts will in fact, significantly control the earth's climate.

That the benefits to be derived will outweigh the costs to humankind: direct dollar cost plus the indirect costs of higher prices for energy and other products, and the restrictions on human freedom. For example, government policies to not build more freeways despite population increase is turning already stressful commutes that eat time from peoples overpacked days into gridlock that restricts people from getting to work, seeing family, and discretionary travel. For example, my best friend is in his last months of life and although he lives just 15 miles from me, before COVID lightened the traffic, it was so bad that it would take me over an hour each way to see him, so we spoke only by phone.

That technological solutions such as safer, more portable nuclear energy wont have ameliorated the problem before climate disaster and with less fiscal and human cost.

Opportunity Cost

This refers to how the fiscal and human costs could otherwise be spent. Here are ways that the attempts to control the earths climate could otherwise be used.

Create an Entrepreneurship Army: K-20 programs in ethical entrepreneurship. Jobs are sustainably created only with entrepreneurs with good ideas and the ability to execute them well. Could creating an Entrepreneurship Army be a game-changer?

Create an Assistance Army. Wealthy people know the value of hiring to free them up for activities that are more lucrative or otherwise beneficial or pleasurable. A campaign to educate the middle class about this could spur demand for, for example, personal assistants: errand doers, homework helpers for their kids, tech tutors, and elder caretakers. Those likely part-time jobs wont pay a lot, but having two or three could yield a sustainable new living for people who otherwise are on the dole and provide meaning to their lives, while providing a valuable, ethical service to millions.

Supporters of the Biden Administrations plan to raise taxes could argue that the increased revenue could pay for all of the following as well as to fund climate-control expenditures. A counter is that raising taxes imposes other significant costs: reduced ability of companies to invest in research and development, and of individuals ability to buy things. The latter would further reduce companies ability to hire and develop new products, from life-saving drugs to a better/cheaper smartphone. Increasing taxes also replaces peoples ability to voluntarily donate to non-profit causes they deem more beneficial than the forced donation (taxation) to attempts to control the climate.

Wise

Wisdom goes beyond clever, smart, or effective. It refers to decisions that consider the full-range of outcomes to decide what will yield the greatest good for the greatest number without trampling on fundamental human rights.

Regarding our climate-change example, considering all the preceding factors and impacts on all stakeholders would lead to a wise decision. That could be a liberal position or a conservative one. Alas, the latter is given short shrift in todays censorious media and by the Cancel Culture. Its the new and more virulent McCarthyismthe opposite of intelligence.

Graphic credit: Picserver CC BYDA 3.0 license

David Sage is a pen name.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The latest in flyover country culture war and peek at the moderate Democratic Party leader becoming just a bit more progressive . . . Read more:

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a measure that would have banned transgender athletes from girls' and women's school sports. The Democratic governor's action Thursday thwarted an effort by conservative Republican lawmakers to make Kansas the latest state with a GOP-controlled legislature to enact such a ban, with more than 20 considering it.
Do you have a horse going to the U.S. to race? Are you a SC trainer or driver member and going stateside to race? If so, Standardbred Canada has some important information you need to know regarding eligibility fees and insurance coverage.

Prior to sending horses to the United States to race, Canadian trainers and owners are encouraged to pay their eligibility with Standardbred Canada. Canadians may opt to pay the U.S. eligibility fee when going to the U.S. to race, but this is not advised IF you plan on returning to Canada to race in the same year if your horse is solely Canadian owned, as you will be required to pay the Canadian eligibility fee as well.

To avoid duplication of payment, Standardbred Canada advises members with horses that are solely Canadian-owned and heading to the U.S. to race, but returning to Canada this year, to only pay the Canadian eligibility fee.

If you are a SC trainer or driver or groom member and going to the U.S. to race, it is important that your membership is current in order for your insurance to be up to date and relevant for your protection.

Accident insurance for drivers, trainers, grooms, officials

If you are a Driver, Trainer, Groom or Official, under age 70, you are eligible for three kinds of insurance for horse-related accidents when you become a paid-up member of Standardbred Canada. Participation in the plan is mandatory and the cost will be reflected in your annual membership renewal.

English Download brochure (PDF) || French Download brochure (PDF)

For the Members Accident Claim & Medical Report form, click here.

SC also offers Horsemens liability insurance:

Horsemen's liability program

Should your horse injure someone or damage property of others, then you would be covered for damage, as the court would determine, up to $1,000,000. In addition, all legal costs incurred to defend you from a third party claim (lawsuit) are paid. The plan is in effect 24 hours a day in any location in North America.

Download application (PDF)
Here's a breakdown of candidates who have filed 2021 petitions for each local district:

 The Auburn Enlarged City School District Board of Education's deadlines for candidates is next week, and so far incumbents Salvatore "Sam" Giangreco and Kathy Rhodes are running again, while Patrick Mahunik has also put his hat in the ring. More candidates could file before the April 28 deadline.

 The Cato-Meridian Central School District board has two candidates for two three-year positions. Vice President Michael Lees and fellow incumbent Jenny Kyle are looking to get reelected.

 The Jordan-Elbridge Central School District has two three-year seats up for grabs this year. Incumbent William Yard and newcomer Annette Gustafson are the candidates for the area.

 The Moravia Central School District's board has two open three-year positions. Neil Stevens, Mary Owen and incumbents Leigh Hess and Jennifer Bilinski are angling for spots.

 The Port Byron Central School District Board of Education has familiar faces running for two open three-year seats. Vice President Joe Verdi and fellow incumbent Melinda Quanbeck are planning to return to the board.
The Brit Awards will include a non-socially distanced audience as part of the governments live events pilot scheme.

On Thursday (22 April), it was announced that the annual award ceremony would once again have a live audience at the O2 Arena this year, with 4,000 tickets up for grabs.

Audience members for the 11 May event will be able to watch the nights biggest awards and see performances from Dua Lipa, Griff, Arlo Parks and Headie One, all without social distancing or a requirement to wear a mask once seated.

In order to be given entry to the event, attendees will have to take a lateral flow coronavirus test, with entry only being given if it comes back negative.

Of the 4,000 tickets, 2,500 will be gifted to key workers in the Greater London area to thank them for their work during difficult times.

Speaking about the decision, Lipa  who is nominated for three awards including Best Album  said: This has been a long, tough year for everyone and Im delighted the night will honour the key worker heroes who have cared for us so well during that time and continue to do so.

They are quite simply an inspiration. The Brit Awards are always special and this will truly make it a night to remember.

The Brit Awards are one in a number of events taking place as part of the governments events research programme, which is looking at how events can safely restart this summer.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives a virtual press conference inside the Downing Street briefing room in London on April 5, 2021. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

No. 10 Announces Inquiry Into Leak of Texts Between PM and Dyson

No. 10 Downing Street on Thursday announced an inquiry into the leak of Prime Minister Boris Johnsons texts that led to accusations of preferential treatment.

According to the BBC, in a text exchange last March, Johnson personally promised Sir James Dyson he would fix an issue over the tax status of his employees at Dyson Ltd. after he was directly lobbied by the entrepreneur.

During a news briefing in Westminster on Thursday, the PMs spokesman confirmed that No. 10 had instructed the Cabinet Office to look into the leak.

The position has changed from yesterday, he said. It was correct at the time yesterday but, as usual, we keep things under review, and we have now decided to undertake this internal inquiry.

As you would expect, we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure we have this internal inquiry into that.

Johnson was accused of giving favours to his rich friends, but he said he would give absolutely no apology at all for doing all he could to secure ventilators for the National Health Service (NHS), which were in short supply during the early stages of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

We had 9,000 ventilators in this country, Mr. Speaker. We secured 22,000 as a result of that ventilator challenge. I think it was entirely the right thing to doto work with all potential makers of ventilators at that time, he said.

The text exchange took place last March, when the UK government was appealing to companies to supply ventilators to help the NHS fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sir James, whose firm is now based in Singapore, wanted an assurance that his staff would not have to pay additional tax if they came to the UK to work on the project.

James told Sky News it was absurd to suggest that the urgent correspondence was anything other than seeking compliance with rules.

He said that the ventilator cost Dyson 20 million ($28 million), which was freely given to the national cause.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith on Tuesday called on No. 10 to examine the leak and to refer the case to the National Security Adviser Sir Stephen Lovegrove.

This begs the question, what is happening to government security? Duncan Smith said to Politics Home.

There definitely now needs to be a proper review of ministerial use of private communication systems. People dont take it seriously.

Alexander Zhang contributed to this report.
The unprecedented development of COVID-19 vaccines less than a year after discovery of this virus was enabled by more than $17 billion of research on vaccine technologies funded by the NIH prior to the pandemic, according to new research from Bentley University's Center for Integration of Science and Industry. The article, titled "NIH funding for vaccine readiness before the COVID-19 pandemic," demonstrates the critical role this broad foundation of government-funded research plays in ensuring vaccine readiness.

The report, published today in the journal Vaccine, examined the maturation of research and NIH funding for ten technologies that were applied in candidate COVID-19 vaccines as of July 2020. The maturation of these technologies was described in 51,530 published research papers from 2000-2019, of which 8,420 (16%) acknowledge NIH funding totaling $17.2 billion. Some of these technologies have been employed successfully in vaccines since the mid-20th century. Others, such as the viral vectors employed in the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, emerged from genetic engineering in the 1980s, and were found to be established prior to 2010. Still others, including the mRNA technologies employed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, only recently reached an established point.

"Rapid development of COVID vaccines was only possible because companies had access to a tool kit of established technologies," said Dr. Fred Ledley, Director of the Center for Integration of Science and Industry. "Some of the most recent technologies, including mRNA and viral vectors, proved to be particularly suitable for COVID-19 and the timelines required to combat this pandemic. The substantial public sector investments over the past 20 years that went into the maturation of these technologies needs to be considered in the pricing of these products and their availability to the public."

"This study also found surprisingly little NIH-funded, published research on vaccines for recognized pandemic threats, such as coronavirus, Zika, Ebola, or dengue virus," said Dr. Anthony Kiszewski, lead author of the study and Associate Professor of Natural & Applied Science at Bentley University. "Mechanisms need to be developed for funding research on vaccine technologies that accelerate vaccine development against emergent threats and preempt future pandemics."

###

Dr. Anthony Kiszewski was the lead author on this work along with Dr. Ekaterina Galkina Cleary, Dr. Matthew Jackson and Dr. Fred Ledley. This work was supported by a grant from the National Biomedical Research Foundation.

"NIH funding for vaccine readiness before the COVID-19 pandemic" DOI: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. vaccine. 2021. 03. 022 . It is published in Vaccine, Volume 39 (2021) published by Elsevier.

THE CENTER FOR INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY at Bentley University focuses on advancing the translation of scientific discoveries to create public value. The Center is an environment for thought leadership and interdisciplinary scholarship spanning basic science, data analytics, business and public policy. For more information, visit http://www. bentley. edu/ sciindustry and follow us on Twitter @sciindustry.

BENTLEY UNIVERSITY is more than just one of the nation's top business schools. It is a lifelong-learning community that creates successful leaders who make business a force for positive change. With a combination of business and the arts and sciences and a flexible, personalized approach to education, Bentley provides students with critical thinking and practical skills that prepare them to lead successful, rewarding careers. Founded in 1917, the university enrolls 4,200 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate and PhD students and is set on 163 acres in Waltham, Massachusetts, 10 miles west of Boston. For more information, visit bentley.edu. Follow us on Twitter @BentleyU #BentleyUResearch.

About Vaccine

Vaccine is the pre-eminent journal for those interested in vaccines and vaccination. It is the official journal of The Edward Jenner Society and The Japanese Society for Vaccinology and is published by Elsevier http://www. elsevier. com/ locate/ vaccine

Media Contact: Helen Henrichs, hhenrichs@bentley.edu, 781-891-2277

For news media only:

Corresponding author: Dr. Fred D. Ledley, Director, Center for Integration of Science and Industry, Bentley University, Waltham, MA. Tel: 781.891.2046; email: fledley@bentley.edu
OSLO (Reuters) -Norway will lend (is this the right word? Suggests the doses must not be used!) 216,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine it has in stock to Sweden and Iceland, the country's health ministry said on Thursday, enabling the two Nordic neighbours to speed up their inoculation campaigns.

Norway on March 11 suspended the rollout of the vaccine after a small number of younger people were hospitalised for a combination of blood clots, bleeding and a low count of platelets, some of whom later died.

Sweden and Iceland will be able to receive the doses from Norway for as long as the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout is suspended.

"We will get the doses we lend back as soon as we ask for it," Health Minister Bent Hoeie said in a statement.

Norway has twice postponed its decision on whether to restart AstraZeneca injections, and is now awaiting a report from a government-appointed commission due on May 10.

If a decision is made to permanently exclude the AstraZeneca vaccine from Norway's campaign, the doses it has ordered can be donated to other countries in cooperation with the European Union, the health ministry said.

Sweden continues to use the AstraZeneca vaccine for certain age groups, in line with many other European nations, reserving it for those who are 65 years and older for whom the benefits are seen to clearly outweigh the risks.

And while Swedish infection rates and hospitalisations are on the rise, Norway is currently seeing a decline in new COVID-19 cases.

"Sweden is in a demanding situation with regards to infections and has also given significant support to Norway in our work to secure access to vaccines," Hoeie said.

European Union outsider Norway's participation in the EU's vaccination purchase programme, signed last year, was organised in collaboration with Sweden.

Of the total, 200,000 doses will go to Sweden and the remaining 16,000 to Iceland, which has a much smaller population.

The relevant doses are set to expire in June and July.

(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik, editing by Victoria Klesty)
A teenage boy stabbed his friend during a fight they pre-arranged in order to settle a dispute between their respective girlfriends, a court has heard.

The boy (15), who cannot be named for legal reasons, twice stabbed his friend during the straightener which they had arranged after there had been slagging about the boy's girlfriend.

The accused pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to production of an article in the course of a dispute and assault causing harm at an address in north Dublin on February 7, 2020. He has no previous convictions.

A local garda told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that the accused and the victim were friends and they agreed to settle a dispute between their respective girlfriends with a fist fight.

The garda said that prior to the fight the accused lit toilet paper on fire and placed it on the windshield of the victim's family car in order to entice him outside from his home. The two teenagers touched fists before beginning a fight that lasted approximately two minutes.

During the fight, the accused produced a knife and twice stabbed the victim. The victim ran inside his home and was followed by the accused who tried to stab him again before leaving the scene.

In interview with gardai, the accused said he brought the knife because he was concerned the victim had a hurl. Facebook messages between the two showed that they had agreed that no weapons would be used in the fight, which they called a straightener.

The accused said in interview that there had been slagging about his girlfriend regarding something he had told his friend in confidence. The court heard he has since apologised to the victim in person for the offence.

The garda agreed with Ronan Munro SC, defending, that the wind blew away the toilet paper his client lit on fire and that it was not a determined effort to set the car on fire.

He agreed with counsel that his client said he had been smoking weed on the date and was stoned at the time of the fight. He agreed that the environment the accused is in is not great and that he has a brother who is in trouble with gardai.

The garda agreed with Mr Munro that his client speaks about going to prison in a fatalistic way. He agreed the accused had disengaged from school since the pandemic and said the accused is constantly out on the streets.

Judge Elma Sheahan remanded the accused on continuing bail on strict conditions, including that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour, maintain a curfew between 10PM and 6AM, continue attending school and continue liaising with the school's counsellor.

She adjourned the case for finalisation to June 4, next.

At a previous sentencing hearing in March, Judge Sheahan agreed to remand the accused boy in Oberstown detention centre for 28 days so he could engage with the Probation Service on the suggestion of defence counsel.

On Thursday the court heard that the accused was released on bail last week and has been attending school after previously disengaging since the pandemic began.

Additional evidence

At a previous sentencing hearing in March, Mr Munro said a report from the Probation Service had been ordered and that his client did not show up to the appointment. He said a report is not going to happen unless his client is remanded in Oberstown.

Counsel said his client has a certain view of custody, but that this may change after being remanded for 28 days.

Judge Sheahan asked the accused what he thought about being remanded in Oberstown and meeting with the Probation Service there. The accused replied that it would be handier to get the report and agreed he was not too bothered about going into custody.

She asked the accused's grandmother, who was present in court, what she thought about this arrangement in light of the accused seeming to be open to being remanded in custody.

The accused's grandmother replied that it would be for the best and that he would be able to get

the help he needs. She said her grandson has gone off the rails since fighting his friend.

Judge Sheahan ordered that the accused be remanded in Oberstown until Thursday's date, but said there was liberty to bring the matter before the court if a Probation Report was ready before then.

She told the accused to use this time as a break from everything and warned him not to get into trouble in Oberstown.

At the sentence hearing on Thursday, Judge Sheahan asked the accused if he had enjoyed his time in Oberstown.

No, the accused responded. Judge Sheahan told him to keep that at the forefront of his mind.
A GOP-backed bill introduced Monday would change the name of an Ohio state park to honor former President Donald Trump.

The bill primarily sponsored by freshman state Republican Mike Loychik to rename Mosquito Lake State Park to Donald J. Trump State Park is the latest attempt by Ohio Republicans to honor the former president.

'This legislation is meant to honor the commitment and dedication that our 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, bestowed upon the great people of Trumbull County,' Loychik wrote in an initial statement.

In this October 12, 2018 file photo then President Donald Trump waves as he arrives for a campaign rally, in Lebanon, Ohio. A GOP-backed bill introduced Monday would change the name of an Ohio state park to honor the former president

The state park is located in Cortland, Ohio, with more than 7,000 acres, and one of the largest lakes in the state

He added: 'This enthusiasm for our former president was also historic throughout the state of Ohio last November as he pushed for initiatives and policies that was very well-received with my constituency and the state.'

While Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, he won Ohio with more votes than any candidate in state history.

The state park proposal is just the latest indication of Trumps influence in politics over the GOP party in Ohio - whether in the measured approaches of it over establishment Republicans like Gov. Mike DeWine, who is expected to run for reelection next year, or in the many right-wing candidates vying for the partys nomination for Sen. Rob Portmans seat.

In Trumbull County, where the Mosquito Lake State Park is located, Trump won nearly 55% of the vote in November.

The state park is located in Cortland, Ohio, with more than 7,000 acres, and one of the largest lakes in the state.

Loychik had initially announced his plans for the bill in mid-March, resulting in a wave of criticism from Democratic colleagues.

Loychik had initially announced his plans for the bill in mid-March, resulting in a wave of criticism from Democratic colleagues

'Ohioans are struggling with an addiction crisis, economic disruption, and a pandemic that the other guy said would disappear just like magic,' Democratic Rep. Rich Brown tweeted on March 12. 'Instead of addressing these pressing issues, Ohio House Republicans are spending their time flattering the Insurrectionist in Chief.'

The state would need $300,000 allocated to change the signs in the park, according to the bill language.

A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with Loychik.

David Batyk holds up a largemouth bass he caught at Mosquito Lake State Park near Cortland, Ohio, Friday, April 16. A GOP-backed bill introduced Monday, April 19, would change the name of the state park to honor former President Donald Trump

Also in response to the bill, the state Department of Natural Resources defended the name of the park.

'The name has withstood the test of time. Mosquito Creek Lake was formed by damming Mosquito Creek back in 1944,' the statement read. 'Since then, Mosquito Lake State Park has become one of Ohios best state parks, best fishing lakes, and has one of Ohios most important wildlife refuges.'

The first proposal introduced by Republican legislators in honor of Trump sought to declare his birthday, June 14, as Donald J. Trump Day in Ohio.

While it is not uncommon for states to turn the birthdays of former presidents into paid holidays or days of significance, that designation is usually bestowed after death. More than 40 states, including Ohio, recognize Ronald Reagan Day.
Work on the I-55 pedestrian bridge is expected to be completed later this year. The project includes a second pedestrian bridge over the DuPage River, which is in place. The two pedestrian bridges on the south side of Black Road will ultimately connect the Forest Preserves DuPage River Trail in Shorewood with the Rock Run Greenway Trail in Joliet.
The NHL's New Jersey Devils honor the late Capitol Police officer and New Jersey native Brian Sicknick at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Jan. 14, 2021. (Elsa/Getty Images)

The Reprehensible Exploitation of Brian Sicknicks Death

Commentary

The untimely death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick has been a central rallying cry to fuel anger and outrage about the so-called Trump-inspired insurrection on Jan. 6.

Just as the pepper spray clouds dissipated from the Capitol grounds the next day, Sicknicks employer issued a shocking statement.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. this evening, United States Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick passed away due to injuries sustained while on-duty, the Capitol Police said in a press release hours after his death on Jan. 7. Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots  and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The story took a horrifying twist after The New York Times reported that Sicknick, 42, had been bludgeoned to death by Trump supporters. The 12-year veteran of the force was struck  in the head with a fire extinguisher, the Times claimed in a Jan. 8 article. With a bloody gash in his head, Mr. Sicknick was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. The news was attributed to two anonymous law enforcement officials.

The entire media, Democrats, and plenty of Republicans dutifully echoed the narrative; despite no video evidence or firsthand confirmation that Sicknick had been murdered in such a vicious way, millions of Americans instantly accepted the account as truth.

It led to a series of useful optics for the anti-Trump flanks on both sides of the political aisle. A somber procession of police vehicles shut down parts of the nations capital on Jan. 10 to honor the officer. At the invitation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sicknicks family attended a rare Capitol memorial service on Feb. 3, the weekend before Trumps second impeachment trial began. President Joe Biden and his wife, as well as Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, attended the service as Sicknicks remains lay in honor in the Rotunda. In another ceremony, his remains were transported and buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

His death was used as fodder for Trumps trial.

The insurrectionists killed a Capitol Police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher, House Democratic impeachment managers alleged in the official memo (pdf) laying out the evidence against the former president.

But on Feb. 12, the NY Times posted what the paper called an update to its Jan. 8 article. The fire extinguisher attack, the paper of record admitted, wasnt true: Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official.

The retraction was a stunning confession by one of the influential news organizations in the country. In a fair world, the fabricated story would have resulted in public apologies from the editors and recriminations from other media outlets that repeatedly regurgitated the fire extinguisher tale as truth. Lawmakers duped by the falsehood would be calling for heads to roll, and Democrats would have been forced to remove any reference to the killing from official government records and impeachment trial presentations.

That, of course, didnt happen. The extinguisher attack was quickly memory-holed, and the narrative shifted to the idea that Sicknick died after suffering a reaction to bear spray. Federal authorities zeroed in on a suspect seen on video appearing to spray a chemical substance on the officer before he later collapsed and died, The Associated Press reported Feb. 27. Two men were arrested in March, charged with using the spray against Sicknick and other officers; theyve been behind bars ever since.

Unpunished for seeding the lie about the fire extinguisher attack, the NY Times produced an elaborate video showing how Sicknick was sprayed and suggested the chemical caused his death. The paper said if the assailants were responsible, they could face murder charges. A D.C. grand jury quickly indicted (pdf) the men on 10 counts, including three weapons charges and for causing significant bodily injury.

But, as The Epoch Times and other news outlets confirmed last week, Brian Sicknick didnt die at the hands of blood-thirsty insurrectionists from a fire extinguisher attack. He didnt die from a reaction to bear spray. After intentionally delaying the release of autopsy results for monthsa spokeswoman for the D.C. Medical Examiners Office told me via email earlier this month that Sicknicks case was complexthe coroner concluded that Sicknick died of a stroke caused by blood clots at his brain stem.

Desperate to help Democrats and the news media hang on to the collapsing narrative, the coroners press release nonetheless insisted that an unprecedented incident of civil insurrection at the United States Capitol resulted in the deaths of five individuals. The same office confirmed earlier this month that two men died of heart failure, while a woman died of a drug overdose; the only person killed on Jan. 6 was Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter, by a still-unidentified police officer.

The exploitation of officer Sicknicks death is one of the most reprehensible examples of the lefts psychosis in recent memory. The media and the Democratic Party have no boundaries when it comes to weaponizing human tragedy for political purposes. Even after theyre caught red-handed, no apologies are offered. Theyre utterly shameless, blinded by a depraved thirst to exact revenge on Trump and anyone in his orbit.

And despite the truth, tens of millions of Americans who share this unreasonable contempt toward Trump and their fellow countrymen will continue to perpetuate the lie about what happened to Sicknick. They, too, will leverage his tragic death in order to portray Trump supporters as blood-thirsty cop killers. No amount of facts will ever dissuade them from acknowledging the reality or accept how theyve been used as unwittingwitting?dupes in the lefts nonstop siege against the right.

Brian Sicknick. RIP.

Julie Kelly is a political commentator and senior contributor to American Greatness. She is the author of Disloyal Opposition: How the NeverTrump Right Triedand Failedto Take Down the President.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
This collaboration provides a unique opportunity for LMC to further their mission of promoting conservation of ocean ecosystems by helping to inform thousands of residents and guests throughout the popular network of lifestyle brands under ELS. ELS is one of the leading operators of manufactured home communities, RV resorts and campgrounds, and marinas in North America with more than 430 locations from coast to coast.

Along with financial support to LMC, the brands will work in partnership on projects designed to encourage environmental conservation and sea turtle research, including social media campaigns and working to share LMC's educational programs and messages with customers of ELS brands. The Center's mantra is that "the sea turtle tells us the health of the ocean and the ocean tells us the health of our planet." To that end, ELS is building more eco-conscious components in its business model to benefit marine life and the planet.

"Consideration of the environment is ingrained in our culture and is part of our daily operations," said Pat Zamora, vice president of marketing for Equity Lifestyle Properties. "With that internal focus and many of our customers being passionate outdoor enthusiasts, this partnership is a natural fit. We're honored to support the efforts of Loggerhead Marinelife Center."

"Partnerships like this are invaluable to promoting the mission of Loggerhead Marinelife Center," said Caitlin Farmer, co-interim CEO & CFO of LMC. "By leveraging the national brands and exposure of Equity Lifestyle Properties, many people will be introduced to our mission in ocean conservation and sea turtle research and rehabilitation."

About Equity Lifestyle Properties

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. owns and operates the highest quality portfolio of lifestyle communities in the United States. We have a controlling interest in more than 430 communities, resorts and marinas in 32 states and British Columbia with more than 165,000 sites. Our goal is to create value for residents and guests by providing consistently high levels of services and amenities in attractive surroundings. Our high standards have been recognized with numerous industry awards for the outstanding quality of our properties and the professionalism of our management. For more information, visit EquityLifestyleProperties.com .

About Loggerhead Marinelife Center

Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a nonprofit sea turtle research, rehabilitation and educational institution that promotes conservation of ocean ecosystems with a focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. The Center features an on-site hospital, research laboratory, educational exhibits and aquariums, and also operates the Juno Beach Pier, which hosts world-class angling and sightseeing. Situated on one of the world's most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open daily and hosts over 350,000 guests free-of-charge each year. The Center's conservation team works with 90 local and international organizations across six continents to form partnerships and share conservation initiatives and best practices that are core to its mission of ocean conservation. The Center is expanding and has launched its Waves of Progress capital expansion campaign, designed to accelerate and amplify LMC's conservation and education impact. When complete, the facility will offer one of the world's most advanced and unique experiences for guests and scientific partners. For more information, visit www.marinelife.org or call (561) 627-8280.

SOURCE Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.

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MOSCOW  Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in an emotional message from behind bars Thursday that he felt pride and hope after learning from his lawyer about the mass protests demanding his freedom that swept across Russia the previous night.

Meanwhile, Navalnys doctors urged him to immediately end a prison hunger strike now in its fourth week to save his life and health. And a top aide said Wednesday nights protests seemed to have brought a compromise from Russian authorities on getting Navalny the medical help he had demanded when launching the hunger strike.

In an Instagram post Thursday, Navalny called people who turned out to protest in his support the salvation of Russia.

The 44-year-old who is President Vladimir Putins most well-known critic said he hadnt known what was really happening outside the prison because he only has access to one TV channel, but his lawyer visited him Thursday and brought him up to speed. And, I will sincerely say, two feelings are raging inside me: pride and hope.

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People are marching in the street. It means they know and understand everything, said Navalny. They wont give up their future, the future of their children, their country. Yes, it will be difficult and dark for some time. But those pulling Russia back historically are doomed. There are more of us in any case.

Navalny was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin  accusations that Russian officials reject.

Soon after, a court found that the politicians stay in Germany violated the terms of his suspended sentence for a 2014 embezzlement conviction and ordered him to serve 2 1/2 years in prison.

The mass street protests in support of Navalny  which authorities had declared unlawful  swept dozens of cities and smaller towns across Russia. The largest crowds were seen in Moscow, where thousands marched down the city center amid a heavy police presence.

Yet unlike on past occasions, officers in riot gear didnt interfere with the rally in the Russian capital, allowing crowds to swarm streets and squares for hours. According to OVD-Info, a rights group that monitors political arrests, police detained only 31 people in Moscow, which usually accounts for the vast majority of arrests across the country.

But overall, OVD-Info tallied more than 1,900 arrests Wednesday night, with more than 800 in St. Petersburg. While some violent detentions, with police using stun guns, were reported in St. Petersburg, in many cities the demonstrations went on without clashes with law enforcement.

Leonid Volkov, Navalnys top strategist and chief of staff, noted in the YouTube live stream that the number of arrests was significantly lower than during the nationwide protests in January after Navalny was arrested.

Independent political analyst Abbas Gallyamov believes the turnout at Wednesdays protests indicates that the harsh Russian crackdown on previous demonstrations hasnt scared off Navalnys supporters.

Hundreds were jailed after the January demonstrations and Navalny allies were slapped with criminal charges for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions.

Navalnys aides and associates in different Russian regions, in the meantime, were targeted with detentions and raids both before and after Wednesdays protests. Many were jailed, and one was reportedly brutally beaten by police who came to search his apartment.

Gallyamov said this indicated a change of tactics for the authorities, from sweeping crackdowns on all demonstrators to targeting suspected protest leaders.

Last week, Russian authorities took the pressure on Navalnys allies and supporters to a new level, with the Moscow prosecutors office petitioning a court to label as his Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his network of regional offices as extremist groups. Human rights activists say such a move would paralyze their activities and expose their members and donors to prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Navalny began the hunger strike to protest prison authorities refusal to let his doctors visit after he developed severe back pain and numbness in his legs. Officials insisted Navalny was getting all the medical help he needs. But Navalnys doctors said last week that the politician could be near death, as his test results showed sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, and heightened creatinine levels that indicated impaired kidneys.

Navalny was transferred Sunday from a penal colony east of Moscow to the hospital ward of another prison in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital.

On Thursday, Navalnys personal physician Dr. Anastasia Vasilyeva released a letter she signed with four other doctors, urging him to end his hunger strike.

The letter revealed that Navalny was taken to a regular hospital Tuesday in Vladimir, where he underwent tests and was examined by specialists in accordance with requests from his doctors. It said they were given the results of those tests through Navalnys lawyers and family on Thursday.

Navalnys doctors said they would continue to insist on access to their patient  his chief demand in launching his hunger strike  but urged him to immediately stop the hunger strike in order to save life and health, saying that they consider being examined by civilian, non-prison doctors and undergoing objective tests enough to end the strike.

Volkov in a tweet Thursday said the pressure Navalnys supporters put on the authorities, first by calling a demonstration and then by making it happen, helped achieve this result.

As soon as the protest was announced, Alexei was taken for a multidisciplinary medical exam to a civilian hospital in Vladimir, and had a large amount of tests. As soon as the protest happened, today, all of a sudden, we were given all the test results.
Maya Shipman PKA Suzi Analogue of Never Normal Records [interview]

In this edition of A2IMs Featured Executive column, were highlighting the work and accomplishments of Maya Suzi Analogue Shipman, the founder/owner/operator of Never Normal Records, based in Miami, FL.

Guest post from A2IM

Welcome to A2IMs Featured Executive column, where we highlight executives making moves and supporting the growth of the independent community. To submit yourself or a friend for a potential feature, fill out this form .

Maya Suzi Analogue Shipman is a prolific Producer, Songwriter, Composer, Member Of DISCWOMAN Collective, The Recording Academy & Creator Of Never Normal Records based in Miami, FL.

She is energetically pioneering the new wave of women producers both on stage (having toured with the likes of Sylvan Esso, Princess Nokia, BONOBO, TOKiMONSTA and more), and through her label.

Follow Maya on Instagram, and Never Normal Records on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit there website here.

NNR believes the only good system is a Soundsystem.

Tell us about Never Normal Records!

Never Normal Records is a label and audio archive featuring a community of Afro-diasporic artists and allies who are innovating audio/visual works combining sound, technology and our world in order to self-determine equitable Black futures. NNR believes the only good system is a Soundsystem.

Recent tragedies in the US have proven a void in the care and acceptance of Black livelihood, despite the countless contributions by Black people & labor that is in tandem with what has now come to be known as American success. This tragic plague hauntingly extends into every aspect of day to day living for Black America and the diaspora worldwide. Never Normal dedicates its creative focus to highlighting stories and sounds from the people through visual & song form to bear witness to the vast expression and possibilities of Black future.

Never Normal Records operates a non-standard business model that centers artist care, especially in regards to Black and Indigenous music. In addition to sharing our practices, we bring a very youthful market and much space for building educational opportunities for the future music workers and creatives. We are very tapped in with our community across the board, from artists to journalists, visual artists and more.

What are your long-term goals for your company?

The long term goals of my company are to generate sustainable business partnerships that financially and logistically support the careers of the artists affiliated with the label, as well as innovate the industry with the dynamic catalogue and content that Never Normal Records brings. My goal is for Never Normal to become a valuable power player in the modern music industry and encourage more healthy and sustainable ways to create and distribute Black music and beyond.

Whats one milestone for NNR that youre particularly proud of?

Music from the Never Normal Records catalogue has been played on nearly every continent of the world, and featured on global TV networks.

Any other exciting company updates?

Never Normal will launch our first Collection Set series, featuring collectible physical music that is a snapshot of our times from worldwide Black composers on March/April 2021. The inaugural Collection Set, entitled NYOTA IMARA/BLACK FUTURE will feature tapes from artists NO EYES, Suzi Analogue, Heavee & RaFia.

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Arjun Rampal Tests Negative For Covid-19, Attributes His Quick Recovery To Vaccination

Actor Arjun Rampal on Thursday said he has tested negative for COVID-19, less than a week after he contracted the virus.

Rampal, 48, had opened up about his diagnosis on April 17 and said he was "asymptomatic" and was under home quarantine.

The actor took to Instagram and said he recovered from the virus quickly thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine.

"My prayers for all those suffering and families for their losses. Feel truly blessed to have two tests both Negative. God has been kind (sic).

"One of the main reasons I am told by doctors I recovered so fast, was because I had taken my first dose of the vaccine, thus making the viral load very low, with no symptoms," Rampal wrote.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arjun (@rampal72)

The actor appealed to people to get themselves vaccinated and continue to follow strict safety protocols amid the pandemic.

"Thank you all for your love and best wishes. Stay positive and don't become positive. Stay safe be smart. This too shall pass. Love and light," he added.

With 7,684 new cases, Mumbai's caseload on Wednesday rose to 6,01,590. The city also recorded 62 deaths, highest in a day since July 21, 2020 when the same number of fatalities had been witnessed.
Representatives of three parliaments - Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania - issued a joint statement of support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia's aggressive actions.

They said this during a visit to Shyrokyne, Donetsk region, on Wednesday, according to the press service of Donetsk Regional State Administration.

In particular, Deputy Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Paulius Saudargas said that the war in Donbas is Russia's aggression, not a bilateral conflict.

Brothers, you are not alone. Today we saw with our own eyes the problem, which is not only your problem, but also the problem of the whole Europe and the whole world. This is not a bilateral conflict, this is an aggression by one side, and this side is Russia. We want to unite all our efforts so that this conflict ends and Ukraine regains the integrity of its borders. We saw a terrible situation today, and together we must stop it, Saudargas said, summing up the first day of the visit of the deputy speakers of the Ukrainian, Polish and Lithuanian parliaments to Donetsk region.

He was supported by Deputy Speaker of the Polish Sejm Magorzata Gosiewska.

Unfortunately, I have seen more than one war. I watched the war not only here in Ukraine, but also in Georgia. In my opinion, they are united by two things: the terrible oppressive silence that reigns now where life once was; and the culprit is the Russian Federation, which brought pain, destruction and devastation to these lands, Gosiewska said.

First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked all the military who reliably defend Ukraine from the aggressor.

In addition, the deputy speakers of the three parliaments visited Mariupol Sea Port, the Hnutove checkpoint and the village of Shyrokyne.

As Ukrinform reported, European officials paid a working visit to Donetsk region on April 21 to personally see and assess the situation in eastern Ukraine, discuss issues of inter-parliamentary security cooperation and countering Russian aggression.

The Russian armed forces have recently been building up troops near the state border of Ukraine in the north, east and south, as well as in occupied Crimea. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations by the armed formations of the Russian Federation in eastern Ukraine has increased; there are losses among the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian Federation is conducting a propaganda campaign to justify possible aggression against Ukraine.

The Lublin Triangle is a trilateral format of interaction among Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, created by the foreign ministers of these countries in July 2020. The purpose of the format is to support Ukraine's integration into the European Union.

ish
New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is celebrating Diwali with all grandeur at the temple town of Ayodhya on Wednesday. The Deepotsav witnessed 2 lakhs 'diyas' being lit up the banks of river Saryu in Ayodhya.

Live Updates

# UP CM Yogi Adityanath performs aarti on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya

#Diwali celebrations underway at banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya



#Diwali celebrations underway at banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya. pic.twitter.com/a6M1KFdUFg  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

#UP CM Yogi Aditynath says 133 crore to be invested for development of Ayodhya



#Ram Rajya is rule free of communalism and casteism

#Ram Rajya is the rule which is free from terrorism, Naxalism

#Without naming the previous governments, Yogi Adityanath calls them Ravan Raj

#Ram Leela artists from Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka to perform today

#The number of 'diyas' which will be lightened today will be equal to population of Ayodhya

#Development is the only way to include all human beings in the mainstream

#Ram Rajya is the welfare of humanity

#Ayodhya will emerge with glory in the coming future with the model of Ram Rajya

#UP CM Yogi Adityanath wishes happy Diwali to the public present in Ram Katha Maidan

#UP Governor Ram Naik and CM Adityanath distribute allotment letters to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Ayodhya

#BJP leader Rita Bahugna Joshi addresses people at Ram Katha Maidan

# Many cabinet ministers are also present on the occasion.

# Ram and Sita arrived in a helicopter.

# Ayodhya has been decorated as a bride and flowers were thrown from helicopter.

# Yogi Adityanath greets Ram and Sita in Ayodhya's Ram Katha Park.. Governor Ram Naik is also present in the celebrations

# UP CM Yogi Adityanath arrives in Ayodhya, will participate in Diwali celebrations

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrives in #Ayodhya, will take part in #Diwali celebrations pic.twitter.com/p6kituXYWD  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 18, 2017

# UP CM Yogi Adityanath reaches Faizabad airport

The state government is also getting ready to make a new Guinness World Record by lighting record number of diyas on the banks of the Saryu River as a part of Diwali celebrations.

Prominent buildings and ghats have been illuminated to attract tourists. The objective of the entire programme is to promote Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, as a tourist destination.

A grand aarti of River Saryu will also be performed by Chief Minister Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik followed by a laser show.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Had Andrews consulted his own federal Labor colleagues, they might have told him that while the opposition didnt rule out supporting individual BRI projects, it was its policy not to sign up to the program as a whole. Had he consulted either then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull or his successor, Scott Morrison, they might have told him that the politics on China was rapidly changing. Loading Along the way, many theories emerged about why Andrews was so close to China, with seemingly no economic benefit when compared to other states. The links of some of his staffers were put under intense scrutiny. Andrewss adviser Marty Mei was named a special consultant to the Shenzhen Association of Australia, part of a network of groups run by the Chinese Communist Partys United Front Work Department. His electorate officer, Nancy Yang, once undertook a CCP propaganda training course and last year posted a series of articles and videos on social media suggesting the coronavirus was created by the United States and transported to China by the US Army. Andrews repeatedly defended both of his staffers. Andrews visited China six times as Premier and at least once as opposition leader. He also made all of his ministers visit the country at least once.

It also must be said that Andrewss penchant for centralising decision-making wasnt confined to the BRI deals; from the Suburban Rail Loop to the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victorian Premier has always been criticised for avoiding internal stakeholders that may object or have a different point of view. The Premier always defended the BRI deals on the basis that they would create more jobs and economic opportunities for his state. But he has never been able to name a single job or project that was created because of his decision to sign up to the BRI. Given Andrews lack of consultation, it was easy to see how Victoria failed to read the tea leaves. After all, a year before Victoria signed the MOU, the federal government reached its own BRI agreement with the Chinese government. While this deal only applied to the participation of Australian firms in third party countries, it remains an embarrassment within senior ranks of the federal government and DFAT. It is the deal that dare not be mentioned. And back in 2017, the federal government was sending out mixed messages on BRI. In May of that year, then-trade minister Steven Ciobo, prior to attending the first Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, said: Australia supports the aims of initiatives such as the Belt and Road that improve infrastructure development and increased opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. It also allowed a 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-owned company in 2015  a move that would be unthinkable today. Loading

The federal government was, itself, slow to wake up to the existential threat posed by Chinas growing assertiveness. In 2017, it was forced to back down on a controversial extradition treaty with Beijing amid opposition from Labor and its own backbench. Later that year, the eyes of the senior ranks of the then-Turnbull government finally opened to what former ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis described as the Chinese Communist Partys intention to take over Australias political system. In 2018, the Turnbull government passed world-leading legislation targeting foreign interference in politics and other domestic affairs. While 2017 doesnt seem that long ago, the centre of gravity on the question of Chinas rise has completely shifted. This has been sparked by Beijings militarisation of the South China Sea, the democratic crackdown in Hong Kong, the detention of more than 1 million Uighurs in Xinjiangs forced labour camps, and Chinas economic coercion against countries that stand up to it, including Australia. Andrews wasnt ignorant of these issues. Last year, fending off criticism about a Chinese company building a fleet of trains for Victoria being linked to Chinas mass internment of Uighurs, Andrews said he did not agree with everything that is done in every country. Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson, one of the first federal MPs to call for a more assertive foreign policy towards the CCP, says Australias journey on rebalancing its relationship with Beijing and reasserting its sovereignty and interests has been rapid and welcome.

In 2016 the prevailing view in Canberra was to see the relationship solely through economic opportunity and blinkered to some risks, whereas now a realism has now been normalised, he says. Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, chair of Federal Parliaments Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, says it was part of the CCPs strategy to bypass federal governments and create a wedge within a country. The CCP used the Victorian deals as a propaganda tool to spruik the BRI to our neighbours, she says. We need to speak with one voice here, because if we dont, were allowing a foreign regime to subvert our national interest. In 2020, as criticism of the Victorian governments approach to China escalated, the Morrison government announced new foreign agreement veto laws. The legislation, passed in December, required Foreign Minister Marise Payne to cancel agreements that states, territories, local governments and universities enter into with an overseas government if they contradict Australias national interest. Along with the two BRI deals, Payne also announced this week she was cancelling two Victorian government education agreements  one struck with Iran in 2004 and another with Syria in 1999. She warned other agreements could be announced in the coming months.
Exeter University - where JK Rowling and Zara Tindall studied - tops the list of 108 universities where sex assault allegations have been made by people on the Everyone's Invited website.

The forum, set up last year by former student Soma Sara for people to share their stories of sexual abuse and 'rape culture', has shaken Britain's educational establishments.

Along with top schools, the UK's most prestigious universities were named in the 1,000 plus testimonials and red-brick Exeter appeared most, coming up in 65 anonymous testimonials on the website.

Oxford, Leeds, Edinburgh and University College London make up the top five.

Everyone's Invited's founder Miss Sara, who set it up while living with her grandmother's Paris home during lockdown after graduating from UCL, has said they were overwhelmed with new testimonials from universities.

The number of universities named emerged days after Education Secretary Gavin Williamson ordered a crackdown on student rape culture and called for universities to follow a new emergency code.

A University of Exeter spokesman told MailOnline: 'The safety, security and wellbeing of our students is, and always will be, our primary concern.

'We have put in place a wide range of safety and support measures in recent years, improved our policies and reporting system and continue to work with students, colleagues and community partners to tackle misogyny and violence against women  this includes a special session of the Provost Commission in April on our collective role as a community and institution.'

'We have made it clear to all members of our community that we have zero tolerance for sexual harassment, abuse or assault, and that criminal or disciplinary proceedings will be brought against those who commit these offences.

'We will continue to support each other and work together to keep all members of our community safe and feeling safe. We encourage all students to report and get the support they need.'

The University of Exeter, one of the country's top universities, has been named the most on the Everyone's Invited website

Soma Sara's campaign claiming 'rape culture is everywhere' has engulfed thousands of UK schools and universities

England's universities watchdog also published its 'statement of expectations' - which outlines the practical steps that institutions should be taking to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct on campus.

The Office for Students (OfS) said all institutions should have processes in place to allow students to report any incidents and work to minimise potential barriers to reporting.

Miss Sara said: 'From the testimonies it is clear that rape culture is endemic on university campuses across the UK. This is not just a school issue, it's a cultural one.

Top ten universities named in reports of alleged sexual abuse on Everyone's Invited University of Leeds makes the top 5 University of Exeter 65 Oxford University 57 University of Edinburgh 53 University of Leeds 53 University College London 48 Durham University 41 University of York 40 University of Manchester 38 University of Bristol 37 University of Cambridge 36 Advertisement

'We encourage students to develop the courage to challenge this culture. If you see a person being mistreated - don't be a bystander, call it out, take action to stop it from happening.

'If you witness misogyny and sexism challenge it through conversation and do this with empathy and understanding not anger and rejection.'

A total of 108 UK universities across all four nations were listed in total.

The claims came after a former Director of Public Prosecutions warned Britain could 'live to regret' a rush to criminalise schoolboys after an explosion of school sex abuse claims.

Lord Macdonald urged police and prosecutors not to confuse 'obnoxious and unpleasant' behaviour with crimes.

He spoke out after the national police lead on child protection, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, heralded it as the 'next big child sexual abuse scandal to hit the country'.

Mr Bailey predicted that 'rape culture' claims would engulf the entire education sector, leading to referrals to every police force in the country.

So far, more than 100 schools have been named in over 8,000 harrowing anonymous testimonies on the Everyone's Invited website, which was set up to expose misogyny, harassment and assault in schools.

Soma Sara, founder of the Everyone's Invited website said yesterday there had been a 33 per cent increase in testimonies from the state sector and a 44 per cent increase in accounts from universities since March 9.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who is also an ex-Director of Public Prosecutions, called for an independent inquiry.

He said: 'There's got to be an inquiry and it has got to get going very fast, this is serious. There is of course a criminal investigation and I would encourage anybody who can to come forward and give evidence in that investigation.'

But his predecessor Lord Macdonald cautioned against making snap judgements, saying: 'We may live to regret a headlong rush into criminalisation.'

The top lawyer, who led the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) from 2003 to 2008, said serious offences such as rape and sexual assault must be pursued.

But he warned prosecutors not to jump on the bandwagon and be 'wary of social media campaigns that may draw in all sorts of behaviour that is obnoxious and unpleasant but not criminal'.

A sign reading 'Educate Your Sons' is attached to a gate outside James Allen's School. The school was protesting rape culture at nearby Dulwich College Boys School

He told the Daily Mail: 'Police and prosecutors will face real challenges where complaints are made anonymously and people will need to come forward if cases are to be built.

'Victims of crime should be reassured that in doing so they will be treated with respect, care and consideration.

'But prosecutors will need to distinguish between cases where real crimes have been committed and cases where boys are just being obnoxious and going unchallenged.

'And we need to be honest that cases from the past where it is one person's word against another will be very difficult to prove.

'Imagine a girl saying, 'he assaulted me at a party four years ago', and he's arrested and says, 'No, we just had a snog'.

'That's a tricky case to prosecute, to put it mildly. We need to understand that what we are talking about here is bringing young people into a court system with judges and juries and the prospect of prison.

'This is very serious stuff. It is not an easy environment for victims, witnesses or defendants.'

He added: 'Prosecutors should also be wary of social media campaigns that may draw in all sorts of behaviour that is obnoxious and unpleasant but not criminal.

Lord Macdonald (pictured) urged police and prosecutors not to confuse 'obnoxious and unpleasant' behaviour with crimes

'The criminal law is a very blunt instrument. Much of this behaviour needs challenging in different ways. By education and communication. By parents as well as by schools.

'By peer groups. And by moving resolutely away from the complicit notion that 'boys will be boys'.

'Pornography, social media, the sexualisation of everything- all these play a part.

'Girls do need protecting. But do not expect the criminal justice system to do this work on its own.'

Another former top prosecutor suggested the CPS would 'fall over' if it were to be inundated with criminal allegations about schoolchildren.

Nazir Afzal, the ex-chief prosecutor for the North-West who brought down a Rochdale child abuse gang, said: 'We can barely cope with what the police are already referring in relation to adults.

'Trials are taking place maybe two to three years after a rape allegation has made and if we are proposing to take a large proportion of these cases through the justice system it will just fall over.

'It could not cope. It would let everyone down. There needs to be some real expectation management here.'

He went on: 'I am very much in favour of bringing the most serious offenders to justice, but at the same time we can't have a situation where we are criminalising a whole generation, particularly when it is our failings that have made it happen. An independent inquiry is needed.'

Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which represents over 1,300 private schools, backed an inquiry.

He said: 'Personally I'd be perfectly happy for there to be an independent inquiry because this is clearly a serious issue which needs to be dealt with across society.'

He added: 'I would have thought it would be helpful if it went beyond schools.

'Clearly they are going to look at schools and there'll be some things which schools can do or should do which other agents can't do or won't do.

'But if it's going to be an independent inquiry, you're going to want to look across the whole spectrum of institutions, and also incidentally of time, because we know that this is not a new problem.'

Oxford University (stock image) has been named 57 times on the Everyone's Invited website

Both Edinburgh (left) and Leeds (right) universities have been named 53 times on the site

The universities named in testimonies on Everyone's Invited The top ten spots for claims of sexual assault are: University of Exeter 65 Oxford University 57 University of Edinburgh 53 University of Leeds 53 University College London 48 Durham University 41 University of York 40 University of Manchester 38 University of Bristol 37 University of Cambridge 36 The universities named in testimonials are: * Aberdeen University * Arts University Bournemouth * Aston University * Bangor University * Birbeck, University of London * Birmingham City University * Boston Community College (USA) * Brighton University * Bristol University * Chester University * Chichester University * Chulmleigh Community College * City University London * Clemson University * Coventry University * Cromwell Community College * De Montfort University * Durham University * Exmouth Community College * Fairfax University * Falmouth University * Glasgow Caledonian University * Glasgow University * Goldsmiths College London * Greenwich University * Griffith University (Australia) * Harper Adams University * Heathfield Community College * Heriot-Watt * Holloway university (RHUL) * Holsworthy Community College, Devon * Huddersfield University * Kansas State (USA) * Keele University * King's College London * Kingston University * Lancaster University * Leeds Beckett University * Liverpool John Moores University * Liverpool University * Loughborough University * London South Bank University *London School of Economics * Manchester Met University * Melbourne University (Australia) * Middlesex University * Newcastle University * Northumbria University * Norwich University of Arts * Nottingham Trent * Nottingham University * Oxford Brookes * Plymouth University * Portsmouth University * Purdue University - (USA) * Queen Mary University * Queen's University Belfast * Ravensbourne University * Reading University * Sciences Po (France) * Sheffield Hallam * Sheffield University * SOAS University London * Solent Southampton University * St. George's London * Staffordshire University * Stirling University * Surrey University * Sussex University * Swansea University * Teesside University * University College London * University of Bath * University of Bournemouth * University of Cambridge * University of Derby * University of East Anglia * University of Edinburgh * University of Exeter * University of Gloucestershire * University of Hull * University of Kent * University of Leeds * University of Manchester * University of Newcastle * University of Oxford * University of Southampton * University of St Andrews * University of Strathclyde * University of Suffolk * University of Sunderland * University of the West of England * University of Wales * University of Wolverhampton * University of York * University College Galway * University of Cork * University of Lincoln * University of Mannheim (Germany) * University of Nice - Cote d'Azur * University of the Arts London * University of Tirana (Albania) * University Southern California (USA) * Vrij Universitiat Amsterdam (Netherlands) * Warwick University * Washington State University (USA) * Washington University (USA) * Yale University (USA) Advertisement

Revealed: Ex-British private school student, 22, behind 'rape culture' website Everyone's Invited co-founded movement from her grandmother's Paris home with actor Paul Walker's daughter - after sharing stories with pals of being abused and shamed

The former boarding school girl whose personal account of 'rape culture' has snowballed into a sex scandal engulfing Britain's entire education sector launched her campaign from the bedroom of her grandmother's home in Paris during lockdown, MailOnline can reveal today.

Soma Sara, 22, started the Everyone's Invited movement with Meadow Walker, the daughter of late actor Paul Walker, after they bonded on Instagram when she spoke about surviving abuse after watching BBC drama I May Destroy You last June.

The campaigner lives in France but was educated at an exclusive private Catholic school in Hampstead before boarding at Wycombe Abbey School in Buckinghamshire then completing an English master's degree at University College London last year.

Miss Sara's campaign claiming 'rape culture is everywhere' has engulfed thousands of UK schools and universities but also gained huge traction from all over the world, especially in the United States, with Miss Walker running the project across the Atlantic.

Fast and Furious actor Mr Walker was killed in a car crash in 2013, leaving behind his daughter Meadow, then 15.

Now 22, Meadow, runs the global foundation in her famous father's name and is now using her Instagram account with 2.5million followers to support teenagers who suffered sexual abuse in schools and universities as a co-founder and trustee of Everyone's Invited, which is run by volunteers.

Miss Sara - who has previously said she is half Chinese and has an American grandmother - started the campaign after she and some friends discussed their stories of being abused, shamed and teased by boys.

She claimed their experiences were 'characterised by an endemic rape culture' and that 'misogyny and sexism was the bedrock'.

Miss Sara said she had spoken to her American grandmother about the abuse, and told the Times: 'She says it's been going on forever. It's still a very patriarchal society and boys feel the need to prove themselves to each other. The only new thing is the social media technology which exacerbates and spreads these behaviours.'

Miss Sara added that she had been 'fetishised for being Asian', being told: 'Where are you really from? Can I get with you?' and 'constantly being compared with this Japanese porn star'. Miss Sara added: 'I'm half Chinese. It was really disturbing but I accepted it.'

Created last year, contributions to the Everyone's Invited website have surged since the murder of Sarah Everard from South London earlier this month.

Although hundreds of prestigious private schools have been named and shamed, many other women have also used the platform to reveal their ordeals within the state education system, at university or the family home.

Soma Sara's campaign claiming 'rape culture is everywhere' has engulfed thousands of UK schools and universities

Within a week she had received and shared more than 300 anonymous responses of people with stories of 'misogyny, harassment, abuse and assault', and thousands more have followed, predominantly from girls but also from boys.

These include harrowing tales of children as young as 11 being forced to share explicit images, later being shared to shame them over messaging platforms, and teenagers describing being drugged and raped at parties.

Incidents involving boys from more than 100 schools have been collated, including some attending elite fee-paying ones such as Sherborne, Westminster and Eton - where Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prince William studied.

Today British police said they have received 'more than 7,000' testimonies from pupils, and growing claims Britain's top schools have covered up sexual offences to protect their reputations.

Describing her extraordinary journey Miss Soma told The Times after describing her own experiences at school in Britain the response was 'overwhelming'.

She said: 'In the holidays I grew up in London social circles and sex was a palpable presence throughout my teens. Disgusting behaviour was trivialised.

Meadow Walker, the daughter of late actor Paul Walker, runs the global foundation in her famous father's name

'It could be sexual coercion, rape, catcalling, sexual bullying, stealthing [non-consensual condom removal], image-based abuse [revenge porn], victim blaming. Sexual abuse didn't just exist, it thrived. It was rife.'

Her campaign has gone global, with Meadow Walker becoming part of the team, and expanding its influence to the United States where she has 2.5million followers on Instagram.

She claims that online porn and poor standards of sex education are to blame - but Miss Sara says girls are also guilty.

She said: 'The slut-shaming, jealousy, competition. We are all guilty to some extent. We have this weird culture now where we post pictures of ourselves and want to be liked like the Kardashians. Social media gives us this impossible body image that creates insecurity and eating disorders and never feeling perfect enough'.

'When we narrow our focus on a school, a demographic, or as an individual, we risk making these cases seem like anomalies. But this isn't rare, it happens all the time,' she wrote in Friday's i newspaper.

'When we direct the blame onto a person or place we are undermining the most important message: rape culture is everywhere. And because it's everywhere it affects everyone.'

Meadow Walker is the daughter of Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker. They are pictured together when she was a child

Today Britain's most senior child protection officer urged parents who suspect their sons have committed sexual abuse to hand them over after he said police have received 'more than 7,000' testimonies from pupils at schools.

Simon Bailey, who leads the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) on child protection, speculated that the growing school sex scandal has been fuelled by online pornography and the sexualisation of women.

The father-of-two Norfolk chief constable, 56, also suggested some schools may have covered up allegations of sexual abuse, and is expecting to see further reports of abuse at universities and state and private schools.

More than 100 schools have been named in thousands of harrowing anonymous testimonies on a website set up by former private school pupil Soma Sara, 22, to expose misogyny, harassment and assaults in schools.

There have even been allegations of a 'rape culture' at some institutions, sparking a major Whitehall investigation into the scandal that has seen some of Britain's most elite schools named in accounts of sexual abuse.

Schools named on the Everyone's Invited website include Eton College, St Paul's School, Dulwich College, Westminster School and Highgate School.
A Monmouth County man who pleaded guilty to defrauding the government out of nearly $1 million in taxes has been sentenced to 19 months in prison.

Bilal Salaj, 56, of Marlboro Township, pleaded guilty last year to tax evasion, failure to pay payroll taxes and conspiracy, according to Audrey Strauss, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Salaj operated a construction business in Manhattan and placed the company in the name of a person who worked for him, investigators have said.

From 2014 to June 2019, Salaj ordered the unnamed third party to cash about $3.2 million in business checks and he used the money to pay cash wages to his employees, spending the rest on personal expenses, according to prosecutors.

Salaj failed to pay his tax obligations to the IRS and maintained a cash payroll for his business while cheating the government out of almost $1 million, Strauss said in a statement.

In addition to prison, Salaj was ordered to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $952,778 and to serve three years of supervised released, Strauss said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
On February 21, 2019, police officers from the Madrid district of Salamanca entered the home of Maria Soledad Gomez without knowing what they would find. We began to knock on the door. The young man opened it a crack but left the door chain on. We insisted that he open properly. He took off the chain, opened the door and ran to the end of the hallway. He came back and we asked him about his mother. He told us that she was inside and that she was dead.

Thats how police officers spoke of the arrest of Alberto Sanchez Gomez, known as the Cannibal of Ventas after the Madrid district where his mothers apartment is located. Speaking in court on Wednesday, the officers who took part in the arrest described in a little under an hour the macabre scene they found in the victims home, and the cold confession from Sanchez Gomez, who faces 15 years in prison for murder and another five months for desecrating a body.

Alberto Sanchez Gomez at trial on Tuesday. EUROPA PRESS / Europa Press

We entered the home to see if she needed help. In the second room, we found human remains; and in the kitchen, a pot containing others, said one of the officers. According to the public prosecutor, the 28-year-old murdered his mother, dismembered her body and ate parts of it in a bid to get rid of the evidence.

He was very calm, I didnt see any emotion of any kind. He was very calm, very cold, one officer told the court, speaking about the moment of the arrest. The officer said that on the afternoon of February 21 he and a colleague had gone to the victims home in Ventas after one of her friends reported to the police that she had not seen the 69-year-old for nearly a month. We had come to her home on other occasions, the officer said. There was a restraining order [against Sanchez Gomez] for verbal abuse. After entering the home briefly and examining the scene, he requested immediate backup to take in Sanchez Gomez and inspect the place.

Alberto Sanchez, in a photo provided by one of his friends.

The police officers who brought Sanchez Gomez to the station in the Madrid neighborhood of Tetuan told the court of his cold confession. We asked him if he had been with someone else in the apartment. And he confessed everything, said one officer. He said that he had attacked his mother from behind, and that he had dismembered her with a saw.

According to police, while he confessed to murdering his mother, his mind appeared to be elsewhere: He told us that he was worried about his dog. Officers told the court that they were surprised by how nonchalantly he described what had happened, as if it were a casual conversation. When questioned in the station by an officer about his reasons for killing his mother, his response was terse. He said that it was because she made his life impossible, said the officer who took Sanchez Gomezs statement.

The trial against Sanchez Gomez began on Tuesday at the Madrid Provincial Court. At the first day of trial, he told the court that he heard voices telling him to kill his mother. After his mother filed a restraining order against him, Sanchez Gomez had been living on the street, in friends places and in squatter homes. His daily life revolved around drinking every day, smoking pot and hearing voices, he said, adding that he saw hidden messages when he watched television. Sanchez told the court that he has had psychological problems for years, and that he began hearing voices at age 16. After returning from an internship in Greece some years ago, he was admitted to Princesa Hospital on several occasions to undergo psychiatric treatment.

On Wednesday, Sanchez Gomez appeared in the same clothes as the day before  a jumper with the hood over his head. He left court looking at the floor. On Friday, Sanchez Gomezs brother will testify by video.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
New Delhi, April 22 : With an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases in the national capital, hospitals with Covid infected patients in need of oxygen support continued to raise the alarm over shortage of oxygen to draw the attention of the Delhi Government's healthcare system.

The Delhi government stated on Wednesday that the city is gasping for oxygen for the last over 50 hours. The healthcare system of the Delhi government has been on its toes since the last few days with Delhi battling for beds to accommodate the increasing Covid infected patients daily.

Delhi's several private and government hospitals have informed the state government about the oxygen stock for Covid patients. Not only the hospitals but the state government too, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been raising the issue of oxygen shortage.

Lacking its own resources of oxygen, the state government amid a flood of complaints of oxygen shortage continued to knock on the Centre's door for beds and now for oxygen supply.

As per the Delhi Government, the Centre has increased Delhi's oxygen quota from 378 MT to 480 MT. However, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday during a press conference said, "On Wednesday, hospitals in Delhi faced a crisis because out of the 378 MT oxygen sanctioned to Delhi by the Centre, only 177 MT was received. The UP government did not allow oxygen loaded trucks to enter an oxygen plant there, which resulted in an emergency situation in many hospitals in Delhi." Sisodia, who also looks after Covid-19 management as the nodal minister, said on Thursday that the administration is getting calls from hospitals day and night regarding shortage of oxygen.

"At some points, the situation becomes critical when Medical Directors of hospitals say they have 150-200 Covid-19 patients who need support of oxygen and they have stock for only two hours. They say they can do nothing without oxygen support to patients. Delhi is not getting the full supply of its approved quota of oxygen by the Centre," said Sisodia.

As per the Delhi government's report, many government hospitals are also reaching the point of oxygen shortage for Covid-19 patients. On Wednesday night, oxygen shortage in GTB hospital put the entire Delhi Government on its toes, however, the crisis was averted with support from other hospitals.

As per the Delhi Government's data (till 5 p.m., Thursday), most of the government-run hospitals have oxygen stock for less than 24 hours. Among the big Delhi government-run hospitals, Ambedkar Nagar hospital is the only one which has oxygen stock for the next 24 hours. The other major Covid dedicated hospitals such as Burari Hospital, DDU Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, and GTB hospital have oxygen stocks for only 12-15 hours.

Similarly, private hospitals like BLK Hospital (Pusa Road), Holy Family Hospital (Okhla), Max Hospital (Patparganj), St. Stephens Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Max (Shalimar Bagh)- all have oxygen stock for Covid-19 patients for less than 24 hours.

Many private hospitals have started appealing to the administration to get oxygen supply through the social media also.

Delhi reported 24,638 new Covid cases on Wednesday while the active cases rose to 85,364. Delhi's daily positivity rate has been over 30 per cent for the last few days.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
With the unprecedented, unpredictable events of the last year dominated by a once-in-a-generation health pandemic, Brown and other leaders across the city, the state and the country cannot be evaluated outside of that context. Whos to say, without a COVID crisis that no one could foresee whether Brown might be snapping his suspenders today, proud of progress his department made curbing Chicagos violence epidemic? It is not easy to evaluate the leadership of Brown  and of Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, for that matter  with such a wild card in the deck.
London, April 22 : The UK is likely to see a "summer surge" in coronavirus cases as many adults were still not vaccinated against the disease, a British government advisory scientist said.

On Wednesday, Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee that advises health departments on immunisation, said modelling shows coronavirus cases will rise in the summer as lockdown is relaxed, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The models that we've seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population who've not been immunized," he told the BBC.

Finn, from the University of Bristol, said the UK is still "vulnerable" and the dates for easing restrictions may need adjusting.

"Quite a wide range of uncertainty" remains over how big the wave would be "because it depends on how quickly the vaccine rollout continues", he said.

It also depends on whether people will stick to the rules as lockdown is eased, he said.

"If people move too far forward with that too fast, we'll see things start to come up earlier," Finn said.

"The sense that the problem is all over, I'm afraid is a flawed one, we're still in a vulnerable situation, and there are still significant numbers of people who potentially could be harmed by this infection if this happens." Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that as the UK continues to make progress in the fight against coronavirus, "we cannot delude ourselves" that the virus has gone away.

He noted that the majority of scientific experts are of the view that there will be another wave at some stage this year and Britons must learn to live with the virus.

However, he said there was nothing in scientific data to suggest the UK would have to deviate from the roadmap out of lockdown.

The UK has so far reported 4,411,068 confirmed coronavirus cases and 127,577 deaths.

More than 33 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, the UK is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  The Latest on the funeral of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a suburban Minneapolis police officer during a traffic stop April 11 (all times local):

3:02 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is calling for legislative change to ensure true justice following the police killings of Daunte Wright, George Floyd and more.

Speaking at Wrights funeral Thursday, Klobuchar, of Minnesota, said true justice is not done as long as Black Americans are killed by law enforcement at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot April 11 by a white police officer during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb.

Klobuchar called for passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which seeks to ban chokeholds and qualified immunity for law enforcement at the federal level.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also read proclamations decrying Wrights death.

___

2:20 p.m.

The Rev. Al Sharptons eulogy for a 20-year-old Black man slain by a police officer in Minnesota included a stinging rebuke of the possibility that Daunte Wright was pulled over for having air fresheners dangling from his mirror.

Wrights mother has said her son called her after being stopped in suburban Brooklyn Center. She says he told her he had been pulled over because of the air fresheners. Police say he was stopped for expired registration.

Sharpton said Thursday that activists have come to Minneapolis as the air fresheners of Minnesota.

He says they are working to get the stench of police brutality out of the atmosphere.

___

2:09 p.m.

Delivering the eulogy at Daunte's Wright's funeral Thursday, the Rev. Al Sharpton called the 20-year-old father a prince.

Wright, a Black man, was shot and killed by a white police officer during an April 11 traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb.

Sharpton says mourners came from all over the country because you hurt one of our princes.

Story continues

Wrights mother says he called her just before he was shot, telling her he had been pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, which is a traffic violation in Minnesota.

Sharpton says the police "thought he was just some kid with air freshener. He was a prince!

Police have said Wright was pulled over for having expired license plate tags.

___

1:50 p.m.

Daunte Wrights mother, Katie Wright, says his fatal shooting changed both their lives.

Speaking at her 20-year-old son's funeral in Minneapolis Thursday, she said: The roles should be completely reversed. My son should be burying me.

Wright buried her face in her hands and Dauntes father, Arbuey, briefly took the microphone.

When he passed it back, Katie Wright recalled how her son became father to a boy born prematurely, describing his happiness and pride.

She says: Junior was the joy of his life. He lived for him every single day.

Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center on April 11.

___

1:38 p.m.

The attorney for the family of Daunte Wright says the suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed the young father during a traffic stop last week should be facing more serious charges.

Officer Kim Potter is charged with manslaughter in Wrights April 11 death. Potters chief said he believed the officer, who has since resigned, meant to pull her Taser.

Speaking at Wright's funeral, attorney Ben Crump said Potter should not have pulled any weapon.

In a rousing speech to the mourners inside Shiloh Temple International Ministries, Crump acknowledged the relatives of other young Black men and women killed by police.

He said: We have to fight for our children until Hell freezes over. And then we have to be prepared to fight on the ice.

___

1:10 p.m.

Daunte Wrights funeral has opened with trumpeter Keyon Harrold played a rendition of Amazing Grace and Lift Evry Voice and Sing, often referred to as the Black national anthem.

Artist Ange Hillz also painted Wrights portrait with white paint on black canvas at the service Thursday. Hillz executed similar portraits of George Floyd at his funeral and of Breonna Taylor.

Wright died last week after being shot during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Ben Crump, attorney for the Floyd and Wright families, led the assembled mourners in chanting, Daunte Wrights life mattered! He also praised Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the team that prosecuted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in Floyds death.

___

12:23 p.m.

The funeral has begun for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old father of one killed last week by a police officer in a Minneapolis suburb.

The funeral Thursday comes just two days after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd, a Black man whose killing set off waves of protests for racial justice across the United States and around the world.

The fatal shooting of Wright on April 11 sparked days of protests in Brooklyn Center.

The police officer who shot Wright, 26-year-veteran Kim Potter, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. The citys police chief said it appeared from the officers body camera video that she had intended to fire a Taser at Wright, but mistakenly fired her pistol.

___

12:02 p.m.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and the family of Daunte Wright have arrived at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis for Wrights funeral.

The young man Black man was killed last week by a police officer during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Sharpton, a well-known civil rights leader, also spoke last year at the funeral for George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis.

Floyds death set off protests and unrest across the United States, and around the world.

___

11:38 a.m.

More than a dozen men from a local security group, many with rifles, sidearms and wearing body armor, are watching over the funeral for Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man killed last week in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

The mens patches identify them as members of the Minneapolis Freedom Fighters, a group of Black men formed last year to provide security in Minneapolis largely Black north side neighborhoods during unrest following the death of George Floyd last year.

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted two days ago of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death.

___

11:08 a.m.

The family of Daunte Wright is preparing for his funeral Thursday. It comes just days after guilty verdicts were handed down for the former Minneapolis police officer whose killing of George Floyd set off nationwide protests and a reckoning over racism. Wright died April 11 after a white Brooklyn Center police officer shot the 20-year-old Black man during a traffic stop. Her chief said it appeared the officer mistakenly used her gun instead of her Taser. The officer resigned soon after and is charged with second-degree manslaughter. Wrights killing came amid increasing tension during the weekslong trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer who killed Floyd.
Protesters urge Biden admin. to take action against Ethiopia for genocide of Amhara, Orthodox Christians

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A new civic engagement group based primarily in the Washington, D.C. area, called Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians, held a protest in front of the U.S. State Department Tuesday, where several dozen gathered to urge the Biden administration to take action against the Ethiopian government for its indifference to and perpetration of acts of genocide against ethnic and religious groups.

Through their efforts, the group hopes to create public awareness about the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Amhara and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia.

They also called for an end to the illegal imprisonment without bail of leaders of Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia: Eskinder Nega, Sentayehu Chekol, Aster (Qeleb) Seyoum and Askale Demele who opposed (the ruling) OPDO-Prosperity Partys acts of human rights abuses in Ethiopia and its policy of complete marginalization of residents of the metropolitan Addis Ababa, the countrys capital and largest city. Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia is a registered political party in the country.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Yohannes Gethaun, the public relations officer for Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians, elaborated on why his organization decided to hold the protest event. We demand that Ethiopians shall be governed through a transient period led by technocrats, no politicians. Theyve failed us for the last 47 years so we prefer a government run by technocrats, which will have a term limit, those people, the technocrats, will arrange an election process, lead the transition period through a peaceful process.

Gethaun slammed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, a member of the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization, who has held that position since 2018, for his lack of action as churches have been destroyed along with entire towns. He doesnt care, he maintained. Another person who attended the event, also named Abiy, alleged that he acts like he doesn't care, but hes behind the whole thing.

As long as hes in power, for the next 10 years or 20 years, that is his plan, Abiy continued. Contending that the election is already rigged, he explained that its just another dictatorship were going through again. Abiy contended that Ethiopia has never operated as a true democracy since the first Tigray Peoples Liberation Front took power in 1991.

Another attendee, Waussihan, told CP that he was attending the event to raise awareness for a very serious situation in Ethiopia where Abiy Ahmed is just waging war against Amhara people. He asserted that Abiy Ahmed organizes his own militias and sends these militias to the farmers to kill children  mothers and they even just cut the abdomen of the mother and to just give her the baby because the baby was Amhara. He also expressed disappointment that the international media is denying this fact.

Abiy Ahmed is waging war against Tigrays and hes allowing ... other external forces to just rape children, Waussihan insisted. Hes killing people because of their identity, because they are ethnic Amharas.

What we want is the international community to know what is really happening in Ethiopia, he said. That is the only thing we need. We dont need any help, we need the international community to learn what is  happening in Ethiopia.

It is high time that Abiy Ahmed Ali be removed from power, Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians Task Force Chairman Shimelis Legesse wrote in a press release announcing Tuesdays protest, which was obtained by CP. The fate of Ethiopias 116 million people should never be left at the hands of this narcissist person. Politically independent Ethiopian technocrats shall be given the opportunity to form a transitional government with a legally binding term limit.

Therefore, we call upon the U.S. government to use all its diplomatic channels in support of the Ethiopian peoples quest in which rule of law is respected and democracy flourishes, he added.

While expressing dissatisfaction with the U.S. government and the international communitys deafening silence regarding Ethiopia overall, Gethaun praised the Trump administration for halting military and security aid to the existing regime and commended the Biden administration for continuing to withhold the aid.

Legesse had previously written a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlining complaints on the absence of due attention by the USA administration regarding the current alarming human rights violations in Ethiopia; vengeful imprisonment of leaders of Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia by the regime of Abiy Ahmed Ali.

As Legesse explained in the March 15 letter, also obtained by CP: The Apartheid-like regime of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) was set aside from power on April 2, 2018, and Abiy Ahmed Ali became prime minister of Ethiopia. While Ethiopians from all walks of life were full of hope and optimism with the ascendancy of Abiy to the helm of power, Legesse lamented that it did not take long for Mr. Abiy Ahmed Ali to betray the people of Ethiopia bestowed upon him.

The letter included a short list of gross human rights violations, including the ethnic cleansing of about 1 million people in southern Ethiopia, the murder of scores of Orthodox Christians and the subsequent burning of their churches and the ongoing genocide against members of the Amhara ethnic group.

According to Legesse, The U.S. government has not shown any concern for the plight of the Amhara and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, who face genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Though the U.S. governments stand for an independent and internationally coordinated investigation on the atrocities committed by all combating sides on civilians in Tigray during the ongoing civil war is commendable, I am dismayed at U.S.' stand in support of negotiation between leaders of the internationally registered terrorist organization, the TPLF  with the Ethiopian government, he wrote.

Legesse added in the letter to Blinken that TPLFs 27 years apartheid-like rule was marred by divide and rule on Ethiopians based on ethnic background and religious affiliation.

Legesse was the primary speaker at Tuesdays event, which was conducted mostly in a foreign language. However, some of the chants directed at the State Department were in English: Its ethnic cleansing! Amhara genocide must be stopped now!

Amhara lives are being massacred! they chanted. Enough is enough! Stop the genocide!

In addition to urging the U.S. government to Stop Amhara ethnic cleansing, protesters called on President Joe Biden and Blinken to break your silence on Amhara genocide and asked, Where is your American moral values?

Gethaun, who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years, indicated that his organization had yet to receive an adequate response from the State Department following the submission of the March 15 letter, thereby making the protest a necessity.

CP has reported extensively on the violence in Ethiopia. Earlier this year, a famous Ethiopian monastery dating back to the sixth century was bombed, killing one monk and leaving 12 nearby buildings, including the monks ancient dwellings, destroyed.

In January, approximately 750 people were killed as an Ethiopian Orthodox church said to contain the Ark of the Covenant described in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, fell victim to an attack. A recent report from Amnesty International showed satellite imagery analysis which corroborated reports of indiscriminate shelling and mass looting as well as signs of new mass burials near two recently destroyed churches.
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ is off to the races this year. Quarter over quarter Crave has increased its franchise sales. The brand was also cited as a FRAN-TASTIC 500 brand which is a prestigious recognition. The Crave brand has graciously received this award for the second year in a row. The founders, Samantha and Salvatore Rincione are veterans in the franchising and restaurant industry. Crave features BBQ, hot dogs, brats and sausages amongst other items such as sides and toppings. Not to mention the self-serve beer wall with up to 48 taps of local craft beer and mixed drinks on tap. The brand offers a family friendly environment where there is something for everyone. The locations feature patios and tons of games for inside as well as outside for adults and kids alike. TVs can be found throughout the restaurant as well with local sporting events and more. Each store incorporates some local "flare" with artwork or items that are specific to that region.

Alesia Visconti, CEO of FranServe Inc. says, "Franchising is a doorway for many people looking to be their own boss. A brand that makes our annual "FRAN-TASTIC 500" list demonstrates that it goes above and beyond the norm in helping people fulfill their dreams of business ownership through franchising! It's a brand that sets itself apart!"

Crave thrives on the success of its franchisees and happiness of their customer's. This past month Crave has signed franchisees in the NC, LA, CA and TN markets, They have made it their mission to expand nationally in a strategic manner, hitting markets where there is demand for our product. Currently Crave has locations in Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and more coming soon.

The modern interior of Crave restaurant coupled with its menu makes this a unique franchise opportunity. Aside from its offerings to customers, Crave's offerings to its franchisees are unique as well. When becoming a Crave Franchisee you will receive:

Real Estate Assistance

Development Management

Marketing Assistance

Operational Support

Constant Training

Top Notch Communication

More

To become a Crave Franchisee, or for additional information, please email [email protected] .

SOURCE Crave Franchising LLC

Related Links

https://iwantcrave.com/


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 10:04:06|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported six new COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Thursday.

Of them, two were reported in Guangdong and one each in Tianjin, Shanghai, Hubei and Yunnan.

Two new suspected COVID-19 cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported in Shanghai, according to the commission.

No new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported. On the same day, eight patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

A total of 5,549 imported cases had been reported on the mainland by the end of Wednesday. Among them, 5,303 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 246 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 90,547 by Wednesday, including 303 patients still receiving treatment, five of whom were in severe conditions.

A total of 85,608 patients had been discharged following recovery on the mainland, and 4,636 had died as a result of the virus.

There were three suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Wednesday.

Sixteen asymptomatic cases were newly reported, all arriving from outside the mainland. There were a total of 310 asymptomatic cases, of whom 297 were imported, under medical observation on Wednesday.

By the end of Wednesday, 11,704 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 209 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), while 49 cases had been reported in the Macao SAR, and 1,082 cases, including 11 deaths, had been reported in Taiwan.

A total of 11,302 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, while 48 had been discharged in the Macao SAR, and 1,038 had been discharged in Taiwan. Enditem
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LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of a $690 million Ponzi Scheme engineered by actor Zachary J. Horwitz against investors nationwide, Miami-based law firm Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman (LKLSG) filed a class action complaint on April 20, 2021, against Horwitz, his company 1inMM LLC and their bank, City National Bank.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of four investors who allege that Horwitz offered promissory notes with guaranteed returns of between 35% and 45%, telling investors that he would use the proceeds from the notes to acquire movie distribution rights and license them to media companies for a profit.

Horwitz allegedly told investors that he had longstanding relationships with executives at HBO and Netflix. In truth, Horwitz had no such relationships and 1inMM had no distribution deals. Instead, Horwitz allegedly used new investor funds to pay principal and interest to previous investors in a classic Ponzi scheme. He allegedly used some of the funds for personal use, including a multimillion-dollar residence, lavish gambling trips, chartered jets and luxury cars.

The lawsuit also alleges that City National Bank knew about the alleged fraud and assisted it. City National held all of Horwitz's business and personal accounts, and allegedly knew about the fraud from a series of red flags associated with those accounts, including a series of transfers of money from investor accounts to Horwitz's personal account. When the accounts were nearly depleted, City National loaned Horwitz $1.4 million on a personal line of credit.

LKLSG filed the case with San Francisco-based law firm Girard Sharp. More information is available at www.horwitzponzi.com.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP (www.lklsg.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict similar outcomes with respect to future matters. Opportunities to discuss your particular case are welcomed. All communications are treated confidentially.

About Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman LLP

LKLSG is a Miami-based commercial law firm providing focused, efficient, and hands-on representation in high-stakes legal proceedings including complex commercial litigation, class actions, bankruptcy and receiverships, lender/borrower litigation and workouts and labor and employment litigation.

SOURCE Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman

Related Links

https://lklsg.com


Spain: Madrid election, entire left against PP Debate between 6 candidates with ample space for Covid mgmt

(ANSAmed) - MADRID, 22 APR - The second part of the first TV debate between the six candidates running in the upcoming May 4 Madrid regional election touched on various topics including social problems, taxes, post-pandemic economic recovery, and climate change, following the first half of the debate that dealt solely with management of the pandemic.



Regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the Popular Party (PP), whom polls show as favoured to win the election, faced joint attacks from all three left-wing candidates: ngel Gabilondo of the Socialist Party, Monica Garcia of Mas Madrid and Pablo Iglesias of Podemos.



One of the strategies applied by the progressive parties to gain ground was to appeal for a mass mobilisation of their voters, with the goal of warding off the risk of low turnout, which analysts have said could hurt them.



In the end, Gabilondo appealed directly to Iglesias, calling on his support for a hypothetical government led by the Socialist Party.



"Pablo, we have 12 days to win the election," Gabilondo told him. (ANSAmed).




Understanding whether Mars was once able to support life has been a major driving force for Mars research over the past 50 years. To decipher the planet's ancient climate and habitability, researchers look to the rock record - a physical record of ancient surface processes which reflect the environment and the prevailing climate at the time the rocks were deposited.

In a new paper published in JGR: Planets, researchers on the NASA-JPL Mars Science Laboratory mission used the Curiosity rover to add another piece to the puzzle of Mars' ancient past by investigating a unit of rocks within Gale crater.

They found evidence of an ancient dune field preserved as a layer of rocks in Gale crater, which overlies rock layers that were deposited in a large lake. The rock remnants of the dune field are known today as the Stimson formation.

The findings help scientists understand surface and atmospheric processes - such as the direction the wind blew sand to form dunes - and potentially how Mars' climate evolved from an environment that potentially harboured microbial life, to an uninhabitable one.

By looking at the preserved rock layers through images collected by the Curiosity rover, the researchers reconstructed the shape, migration direction and size of the large dunes, also known as draas, that occupied that part of the crater.

The models of ancient dunes, created by Imperial researchers, show that dunes were nestled next to the central peak of Gale crater - known as Mount Sharp - on a wind-eroded surface at a five-degree angle. The research also found that the dunes were compound dunes - large dunes which hosted their own set of smaller dunes which travelled in a different directions to the main dune.

Lead author Dr Steven Banham of Imperial's Department of Earth Science and Engineering said: "As the wind blows, it transports sand grains of a certain size, and organises them into piles of sand we recognise as sand dunes. These landforms are common on Earth in sandy deserts, such as the Sahara, the Namibian dune field, and the Arabian deserts. The strength of the wind and its uniformity of direction control the shape and size of the dune, and evidence of this can be preserved in the rock record.

"If there is an excess of sediment transported into a region, dunes can climb as they migrate and partially bury adjacent dunes. These buried layers contain a feature called 'cross-bedding', which can give an indication of the size of the dunes, and the direction which they were migrating. By investigating these cross beds, we were able to determine these strata were deposited by specific dunes that form when competing winds transport sediment in two different directions.

"It's amazing that from looking at Martian rocks we can determine that two competing winds drove these large dunes across the plains of Gale crater three and a half billion years ago. This is some of the first evidence we have of variable wind directions - be they seasonal or otherwise."

The lower part of Mount Sharp is composed of ancient lakebed sediments. These sediments accumulated on the lakebed when the crater flooded, shortly after its formation 3.8 billion years ago. Curiosity has spent much of the last nine years investigating these rocks for signs of habitability.

Dr Banham added: "More than 3.5 billion years ago this lake dried out, and the lake bottom sediments were exhumed and eroded to form the mountain at the centre of the crater - the present-day Mount Sharp. The flanks of the mountain are where we have found evidence that an ancient dune field formed after the lake, indicating an extremely arid climate."

However, the new findings suggest that the ancient dune field might have been less nurturing of life than previously thought. Dr Banham said: "The vast expanse of the dune field wouldn't have been a particularly hospitable place for microbes to live, and the record left behind would rarely preserve evidence of life, if there was any.

"This desert sand represents a snapshot of time within Gale crater, and we know that the dune field was preceded by lakes - yet we don't know what overlies the desert sandstones further up Mount Sharp. It could be more layers deposited in arid conditions, or it could be deposits associated with more humid climates. We will have to wait and see."

Rovers on Mars are allowing researchers to explore the planet in detail like never before. Dr Banham added: "Although geologists have been reading rocks on Earth for 200 years, it's only in the last decade or so that we've been able to read Martian rocks with the same level of detail as we do on Earth."

The researchers continue to examine rocks found by Curiosity and are now focusing on the wind patterns recorded by dunes further up Mount Sharp. Dr Banham said: "We're interested to see how the dunes reflect the wider climate of Mars, its changing seasons, and longer-term changes in wind direction. Ultimately, this all relates to the major driving question: to discover whether life ever arose on Mars."

###

The research was funded by the UK Space Agency and forms part of the preparation for the forthcoming ESA ExoMars mission to explore Mars for signs of ancient life.
The state human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, suggested that at least two of them were mistreated in custody and accused Pashinian of issuing illegal orders to investigators.

The detainees included Mkhitar Zakarian, the mayor of the towns of Agarak and Meghri making up a single local community.

Scores of angry local residents insulted Pashinian and blamed him for Armenias defeat in last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh as he walked through the towns on Thursday morning. The prime minister was jeered by a group of other protesters when he headed to Syuniks capital Kapan later in the day.

Meeting with senior law-enforcement officers there, Pashinian described the protests as a violation of the law and demanded tough reactions to them from the Armenian police and National Security Service (NSS). His press secretary claimed that the protests were organized by his political foes.

Tatoyan condemned the protesters for swearing at Pashinian. But the ombudsman also deplored Pashinians unacceptable remarks made during the Kapan meeting, saying that government officials have no right to order criminal investigations into concrete individuals.

Zakarian, the Meghri and Agarak mayor, was arrested after being taken to Yerevan early in the morning. His lawyer, Gayane Papoyan, said Armenias Investigative Committee suspects him of organizing the protests accompanied by what it regards as hooliganism.

They cant explain the basis of their suspicion, Papoyan told reporters. She denied her clients involvement in the protests.

The Investigative Committee did not comment on Zakarians arrest or say who else was taken into custody.

Zakarian and the elected heads of virtually all other Syunik communities demanded Pashinians resignation late last year.

Another detainee, Menua Hovsepian, is a deputy mayor of Goris, another Syunik town which Pashinian briefly visited on Wednesday. His legal status remained unclear as of Thursday evening.

A representative of Tatoyans office was allowed to talk to Hovsepian at a police station in Yerevan. In a statement, the ombudsman said Hovsepian claimed to have been beaten up and verbally abused by police officers. He said he will send an appropriate letter to the Office of the Prosecutor-General.

Tatoyan also decried the treatment of another Syunik detainee, Ararat Aghabekian. Lawyer Papoyan publicized a mobile phone video of law-enforcement officers bringing him to the Investigative Committee headquarters in Yerevan. It showed a handcuffed and visibly ill Aghabekian imploring them to call an ambulance and hospitalize him.

Aghabekian is a well-known resident of the Syunik village of Shurnukh run by his brother Hakob Arshakian. The latter said that police officers broke into his home overnight and took him away without any explanation.

He didnt participate in the protests. The guy was sick and lay in bed for the last ten days, Arshakian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

Tatoyans office also received reports of several other arrests made in Syunik. The ombudsman said that among these detainees are a member of Goriss municipal council and a village administration chief.

Vahe Hakobian, a Syunik-linked businessman and politician critical of the Armenian government, claimed that the authorities made more than two dozen illegal arrests in response to the anti-Pashinian protests.

A deputy chief of the national police, Armen Fidanian, insisted, however, that only two or three men were taken in for interrogation. Fidanian denied that the investigation is illegally directed by Pashinian.

Armen Khachatrian, a pro-government lawmaker who accompanied the prime minister on the trip to Syunik, also denied any political persecution. There is no question that what happened was hooliganism, he said.

Opposition groups claimed the opposite, praising the Syunik protesters and condemning the arrests.

Hundreds of opposition supporters rallied outside the prosecutors headquarters in Yerevan on Thursday evening to demand the immediate release of all detainees. They clashed with riot police guarding the building.

Syunik borders districts southwest of Karabakh which were mostly recaptured by Azerbaijan during the autumn war. As a result of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war on November 10, Armenian army units and local militias completed in December their withdrawal from parts of those districts close to Kapan and other local communities.

Shurnukh was effectively divided into two parts as a result of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation that left many Syunik residents seriously concerned about their security.

The small village was the first stop of Pashinians unannounced regional tour which began late on Tuesday. The premier went into one or two Shurnukh houses and briefly talked to their residents. One of them said afterwards she told Pashinian that he is not welcome in her home.

Armenias former President Levon Ter-Petrosian on Thursday accused Pashinian of breaking into the womans home without permission, saying that was the most disgusting moment of Pashinians Syunik expedition.

I would not like to see my countrys prime minister in a more humiliating situation, Ter-Petrosian said in a short statement posted on ilur.am.
Most readers have never heard of the WDOD radio playhouse, and I must confess all I know is what the ole timers remember.

In an interview, WDOD Co-Owner Earl Winger told me they missed out by not continuing with the playhouse. Winger said Chattanooga could have been like Nashville. The playhouse was located in the old Capital Theater building on Market between 5th and 6th streets. Winger said he brought Gaylord McPherson to Chattanooga from WHO in Des Moines to help produce the show. Winger said he got a lot of talent, some for several years, others for guests performances.

The playhouse was broadcast live over the CBS radio network around noon. According to Mr. Winger, it lasted for about two years. Winger wasn't sure of the years, but he said some time in the 40s. The Gospel group, the Swanee River Boys started at the playhouse. They sang Gospel - Western songs.

Group owner Buford Abner said he met his wife here and they got married. He said he spent his honeymoon at the Read House.

Think about it, a live show from Chattanooga every day, and that would have been fun. As for names, Archie Campbell, George Goebel, Homer and Jethro, and I know Don Gibson did several performances. Winger said some of the talent would go back and forth between Chattanooga and WNOX's Midday Merry-Go-Round in Knoxville, then on to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry. Winger said the legendary Arch McDonald worked in Chattanooga for a short time.

I asked Winger why he stopped the show. He responded that a live show needed full time attention and he had other things going outside radio. Winger was partner in a soft drink company and had financial interest in Clemons Brothers furniture. The late Frank McDonald with the Dismembered Tennesseans said he attended many of the radio playhouse shows and that had an influence on his starting his famous bluegrass group.



WDOD AM would have been 96 years old on April 13th had they still been on the air.
Press Release

21 April 2021

Orlando, FL - For the fifth consecutive year, UCF's Rosen College of Hospitality Management is ranked among the top five best hospitality and hotel management schools in the world, by CEOWorld magazine. The college, which is less than 20 years old, ranked fifth in the world for 2021, among colleges and universities that have been in existence for more than 50 years, such as Switzerland's Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne and the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, which ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

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"Rosen College has consistently proven that's its culture of global hospitality education, integrated curriculum and industry partnerships makes it a top choice for educating the future leaders of the hospitality industry," says Youcheng Wang, dean of the college. "We are extremely proud to hold the honored position of being one of the top programs in the world."

Last year, UCF's hospitality programs were ranked No. 1 in the nation and No. 2 in the world in the ShanghaiRankings' listing of 500 of the world's top universities.

Located in the heart of hospitality in Orlando, Florida, Rosen College excels in teaching, research and scholarship. Its in-depth level of course work supported by the HOSPITALITY+ curriculum strategy that incorporates classroom and practical learning through hands-on experience in internships and jobs guarantees that when students graduate they have a deep, robust understanding of the industry they are entering. The college offers five bachelor's degree programs, five undergraduate certificate programs, three master's degree programs and one Ph.D. program.

To further the research and scholarship leadership, the college will host the 6th World Research Summit for Hospitality and Tourism, in partnership with world renowned research journal publisher Elsevier. The two-day summit, scheduled for December 14-15, 2021, will be completely virtual. The conference website is accepting registrations and abstract submissions. https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/world-research-summit-for-hospitality-and-tourism .
Before dawn a missile from Syria landed a few kilometers from the Israeli Dimona nuclear research center. There was no damage because Dimona is 300 kilometers south of the Syrian border in a rural desert area. First thoughts were that this was another Iranian attempt to carry out some credible revenge for the April 11 th Mossad operation that destroyed the underground Natanz nuclear fuel enrichment facility. If this was a deliberate missile attack, it failed, but it will mean Israel spending a lot of money firing expensive ABM (anti-ballistic-missile) missiles at more Syrian anti-aircraft missiles that cross the border either accidently or on purpose. Israel can solve this problem by modifying its ABM fire control software to discriminate between the trajectories of SAMs that are not headed for civilian or military targets and those that are. The Israeli Iron Dome system has long used such a method to only shoot down targets headed for targets that must be defended.

Initial examination of the impact area debris near Dimona revealed it was the kind of SAM (surface-to-air missile) that had landed in Israel accidently for years. For example, in 2017 Israel used an Arrow 3 anti-missile missile to intercept a Syrian SA-5 SAM that had been fired at Israeli jets bombing a target in eastern Syria near Palmyra. Apparently several SA-5s missed the Israeli jets and instead of detonating anyway, as these missiles are programmed to do, continued into Israeli air space and an Arrow 3 ABM missile was fired just in case the incoming threat was a ballistic missile. At the time it was suspected that Syria might have deliberately modified some of their SA-5 missiles to operate as surface-to-surface missiles. This has been done before with Russian SAMs, usually as an unofficial (and crude) modification by Arab users. There have been some modern SAMs with a built-in surface-to-surface mode. This was done for the U.S. Nike-Hercules system used during the 1960s and still around. Other users of the Nike-Hercules (like Taiwan and South Korea) made this modification and produced an accurate, if expensive, surface-to-surface short range ballistic missile. The Nike-Hercules was designed for potential use as a surface-to-surface weapon.

The 2017 incident was the first time the Arrow 3 has been used in a combat situation, and it was implied that the Arrow fire control system was programmed to automatically assume that anything resembling a ballistic missile headed for Israel, whether intentional or by accident, was a danger to Israel and should be shot down just to be on the safe side. Syria responded by announcing that if Israel continued carrying out these air raids in Syria, then the Assad government would use hundreds of ballistic missiles (most SCUDs and other Russian designs) against Israel without warning. This is what Arrow was designed for and what the Israeli forces constantly prepare for. The recent Dimona incident was promptly claimed by Iran as a revenge attack.

Iran Meltdown Over Natanz

Over the last week Iran went public with more details about the April 11th explosion at their Natanz nuclear fuel enrichment facility. Iran now admits the attack took place and that it did major damage to their new high-performance nuclear enrichment (turning uranium into weapons grade material) equipment. There was massive equipment failure and damage on a scale similar to the 2010 attack carried out with software designed to get into the heavily guarded Natanz nuclear fuel enrichment compound, and the computer controlled equipment there. Later analysis indicated that the deep-underground (about 50 meters, or 155 feet) plant was effectively destroyed. The target was the thousands of centrifuges that turn uranium ore into nuclear fuel or, with more effort, nuclear material suitable for a nuclear explosive. Israeli hackers got to the centrifuges in 2010 via a computer worm hack called Stuxnet. A worm is malware (hacker software) that gets into target systems via stealth and physical media like USB thumb drives. Stuxnet was released four or five years before it got to Natanz, apparently via a USB drive containing the normally invisible (to most users) malware. Once that USB drive is used on any local or Internet network connected computer, Stuxnet automatically copies itself onto all computers connected to the network. On each computer, especially industrial microprocessors that are used to control equipment, Stuxnet checked for centrifuge control software unique to the Natanz facility. When finally found in 2010, Stuxnet proceeded to modify the centrifuge control software to mimic known types of equipment failure and did so gradually. By the time the Natanz system operators discovered something was wrong, thousands of their expensive new centrifuges were damaged so badly that they had to be replaced. The 2021 attack on Natanz used a different approach, because the Iranians had spent a lot time, effort and money to prevent another Stuxnet attack.

In 2021 the Israelis first got the technical details of the Natanz electrical system as well as details of the new generation of centrifuges Iran installed there. The Israeli plan was to use explosives placed and detonated where it would shut down the primary and back-up power systems when the maximum number of new centrifuges were powered up and vulnerable to severe damage if the main power and back up power systems failed simultaneously. The explosives were placed correctly and went off on time. The result was Natanz again suffered major centrifuge loss that will take months get back into production again and over a year to completely fix.

Then there are the needed security upgrades, which are uncertain until Iran can find out more about exactly how the attack was carried out. They knew a lot of explosives had been involved but were unsure of how the attacker figured out how and were to place them without being discovered. To aid in solving that mystery Iran went public with details, and the name of a suspected key operative. Iran is looking for Reza Karimi, a 43 year old Iranian who left the country several days before the attack. There are probably other Iranians involved as well as the suspected Israel Mossad agents who came to Iran and worked with a growing number of Iranians seeking to overthrow their current religious dictatorship. The Iranians have been seeking more of these Mossad Iranians since the 2018 Mossad operation in the capital when a heavily protected warehouse containing top-secret documents was located by Mossad, covertly entered and half a ton of documents on the Iranian nuclear program were removed and 24 hours later showed up in Israel. Until now Iran denied that the Mossad operation took place and that the documents were real. Since 2018 Israel has allowed foreign intel and nuclear program experts to examine the documents and that led to international acceptance of the documents as authentic.

Iran is desperate to get hold of Reza Karimi and, to help with that, they televised what looked like an Interpol (international police) Red Notice. To obtain a Red Notice, a country must provide sufficient evidence that the suspect is indeed so dangerous that Interpol will request that the many nations that work with Interpol will accept the Red Notice and look for and arrest Karimi. The televised Red Notice could not be found on the Interpol website and so far Interpol has apparently not decided whether or not to accept the Iranian Red Notice request. There were no casualties at Natanz, many Iranians support the attack and the many Iranians living outside their homeland openly express their hostile attitude towards the Iranian nuclear program.

The two attacks on Natanz were very damaging to Iranian claims that they do not have a nuclear weapons program. In the aftermath of both attacks it become clear that Iran was using powerful new centrifuge designs to create nuclear material that was far more refined (above 20 percent) than needed for a nuclear power plant. Iran needs a lot of nuclear material refined to 90 percent to make nuclear weapons. The data Mossad made public in 2018 and the aftermath of the 2021 attack demonstrate the Iran is still seeking nuclear weapons.

Blowback In Iran

The growing number of Mossad operations in Iran has led to public criticism, often by the senior clerics who actually rule the country. There has been more of this public criticism in Iran because the government has, for decades, devoted major resources to destroying Israel. That effort has consistently, and often spectacularly failed, at great cost to Iran. This makes the religious dictatorship, look like incompetent and frauds because these senior clerics always insisted they were doing Gods Work. In the last few years that Work appears to be finding ways to destroy Iran via corruption, mismanagement and trying to blame it all on Israel and the United States. The latest Mossad attack made a lot more Iranians realize that the Mossad was apparently entrenched inside Iran and finding more Iranians willing to work with Mossad against projects many Iranians agreed were endangering and impoverishing Iran, and a major cause of the declining living standards and growing crackdowns by the IRGC (Islamic Revolution Guard Corps) and police. The IRGC knew that the Israelis had been successful at establishing a clandestine Mossad presence in Arab nations but thought Iranians were too sophisticated for that. That might have been the case for Iranians who trusted their government. That trust began to erode decades ago and even the IRGC, in one of its recent actual public opinion reports to the religious leadership, revealed that most Iranians now hated their government and many were also fed up with Islam. Which brings to the present, as Iranian leaders realize that many Iranians are willingly and effectively working with the enemy.

Iran is trying to portray itself to foreigners as the innocent victim of Israeli aggression. Iranians insist that Natanz was only producing enriched uranium suitable for power plant fuel. But recent IAEA (UN inspectors) reports describe evidence that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb and need highly (to 90 percent purity) uranium for that. The foreigners are not as easy to deceive as before but more questions are being asked about Natanz. Inside Iran the accidental fire at Natanz in mid-2020, described as a construction accident, is now being revisited as details of how Mossad agents inside Natanz got 150 kg of explosives into the underground complex and managed to hide them, and their remote control detonators, where they would not be found and would do maximum damage when detonated.

Syria

The Iranians are still in Syria, but in reduced numbers because of cash crisis back home. The Iranian mercs and their IRGC supervisors are more concerned with establishing a military presence near the Israeli border so they can carry out terror attacks via the use of missiles or rockets. So far this has proved slow going and expensive. The Israeli airstrikes regularly hit weapons shipments from Iran and secret Iranian bases. Israel has more friends in Syria than Iran does in Israel, or in Syria for that matter. Israel is not alone in wanting the Iranians to just go home. That sentiment is shared by many Syrians, Lebanese, Turks, Kurds, Iraqis, Russians and Americans.

April 21, 2021: In the south (Egyptian border) an Israeli night patrol on an isolated portion of the border spotted three vehicles coming from Israel and headed into Egypt. Suspecting smugglers the troops identified themselves and ordered the vehicles to halt. The vehicles kept coming. The troops opened fire on the tires to halt the vehicle and one of the bullets his a passenger, killing him. The incident is still being investigated.

April 18, 2021: In Iran, Mohammed Hejazi, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, died of a heart attacks. Or did he? Many Iranians, especially senior government officials, feared this was another Mossad assassination. The deputy commander is next in line to replace the Quds commander. Iran is still seeking revenge for the early 2020 American missile attack that killed veteran Quds commander Qassem Soleimani. This guy turned out to be the most effective boss Quds ever had and his replacement turned out to be mediocre in comparison. Paranoid Iranians believe that is why the new Quds commander has not been killed but his deputy has.

April 17, 2021: In the south (Gaza) for the second time in the last three days Israeli airstrikes destroyed Hamas facilities in Gaza in response to rocket attacks from Gaza. There is a ceasefire but, as interpreted by Hamas it is more of a lessfire than ceasefire with occasional attacks using unguided rockets that a fired to impress Arab audiences in Gaza elsewhere. If no one in Israel is hurt, the return attacks are at less critical unoccupied facilities. If a rocket attack kills or injures someone in Israel the retaliation is more extensive and lethal. The increased Gaza violence is believed to be a side-effect of Hamas efforts to win the Gaza-West Bank elections that will take place on May 22nd. Hamas is not as popular as it was over a decade ago when it unexpectedly won elections in Gaza and used that to establish a separate Palestinian state, leaving the long dominant Fatah party with control of the West Bank. There are a lot of Hamas candidates in the West Bank, where Fatah corruption and mismanagement have provided Hamas with a lot of support. Hamas and Israeli security have increased investigations and arrests of Hamas candidates, but for different reasons. Fatah realizes that Hamas could win the parliamentary elections and put Fatah out of business, or close to it. Israel sees many Hamas candidates for parliament as actual or potential terrorists. The election campaign had a lot of pro-Hamas Palestinians go public with that support. In situations like that Israel takes names and seeks to discover who is naughty and who is nice.

April 16, 2021: In Greece, officials from Greece and Israel signed the contracts awarding Israel a 20 year fighter pilot training contract worth $1.66 billion. Greece called for bids on this contract in February. Israel was a front runner, in part because the two nations had long trained together and become allies against Islamic terrorism and growing Turkish aggression. The main reason for Israel getting the contract was their success in pilot training over the last half century. Greece has a smaller air force than Turkey but was always considered to have better trained pilot. Turkey lost its edge in F-16 pilot training after a 2016 purge of the Turkish air force because the Islamic government suspected the air force of being disloyal. Turkey lost so many F-16s pilots that it had problems training new ones. Recent encounters between Greek and Turkish F-16s made it clear that the Greeks had a pilot edge and, with the new Israeli run pilot training program, the Greeks hope to hold onto it.

The training contract has Israel providing ten Italian M-346 advanced jet trainers, which are what the Israeli air force uses. Israel obtained 30 M-346s in 2012 instead of trying to replace the elderly A-4 light bombers used as jet trainers with older F-16s. The A-4 wasn't a great trainer aircraft given its age and high maintenance cost. Israel eventually realized that older F-16s would not be much better as trainers. The M-346s were obtained at a price Israel could afford via a billion-dollar barter deal. Israel was pleased with the performance of the M-346s. That meant obtaining Israel as a jet trainer export customer was a big deal for Italy as it played a role in obtaining more export sales.

April 13, 2021: In the Persian Gulf another Israeli owned cargo ship (the Hyperion Ray) was hit by an Iranian missile off the coast of the UAE, There was no significant damage to the 20,000 ton (DWT) vehicle carrier but the ship apparently went to nearby Oman to repair the damage and continue its voyage.

April 11, 2021: At the new Iranian Natanz nuclear fuel enrichment facility the power failed just as a new generation of more efficient centrifuges, used for uranium enrichment of uranium to high enough levels to be used in weapons, began operation. Iran blamed Israeli hackers although later Iran said they were seeking someone in the area responsible for a pre-positioned bomb that went off at an electrical substation that controlled the power supply to Natanz. This facility is largely underground and requires a lot of electrical power to function. Israel had no official comment but Iran was certain Israel was the culprit and once more threatened retaliation. Those threats have been active for several years now and Iran is angry that it has not been able to inflict any significant damage on Israel. This makes a lot of Israelis nervous because in the past the Iranians have persisted, often to the point of recklessness (having an attack traced back to Iran) and killed some Israelis. If Iran is directly connected to any murder of Israeli civilians the diplomatic blowback if often enormous. Currently Israelis going abroad are warned to avoid a list of situations that Iran is using to entice Israelis into an area were Iranian operatives can kidnap or kill them.

This kind of conflict between Israel and Iran, which avoids doing anything to trigger direct attacks between the two countries, has been going on for decades. Iran does not want to cross the line because Israel has more military options than Iran and also wants to avoid direct attack, like airstrikes against Iranian nuclear weapons facilities. The Iranians know that Israel has carried out such airstrikes in the past and is capable to doing it against Iran. Israel has refrained because Iran, which has been close to actually building a nuclear bomb for over a decade, has never done so. Twenty years ago, Western nations began predicting that Iran would have a nuclear bomb within a few years. None of these predictions came true and Iran seemed more intent on maintaining the illusion that they were going to test their first nuclear device any time now. One reason that has not happened is because the Iranian leadership wants nukes to enhance Iranian efforts to intimidate other countries into cooperating. Thats an ancient Iranian strategy. But this time Iran has a powerful armed faction of Islamic fanatics (the IRGC) who cannot be trusted to follow tradition. Many IRGC members truly believe they are on a Mission From God and not bound by tradition or reality. Iran wont official admit this but it is common knowledge inside Iran and even within the IRGC. Iran does not want to build a bomb unless they can be sure its use will be rational and not subject to unpredictable whims of religious fanatics.

April 10, 2021: In southern Syria (Damascus) an Israeli airstrike near the Damascus airport destroyed an Iranian ammunition storage site, setting off large secondary explosions and fires which were visible from the city. Three Iranian personnel were killed.

April 7, 2021: In southern Syria (Damascus) an Israeli airstrike near the Damascus airport destroyed an Iranian ammunition storage sites, setting off large secondary explosions and fires which were visible from the city. Three Arab mercenaries working for Iran were killed. The airstrike was apparently launched from aircraft in Lebanon and the Israeli Golan Heights, where they launched their air-to-ground missiles.

April 6, 2021: In the Red Sea, off Yemen, Israeli commandos placed a limpet mine on the side of a stationary Iranian freighter (the Saviz) and caused minor damage, including a fire that was quickly extinguished. The Saviz has been anchored in international waters 150 kilometers northwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeida since 2017 and Iran insists it is there to keep that portion of the Red Sea safe from pirates. Everyone has gone along with that fiction. For example, in mid-2019 a Saudi military transport helicopter paid a visit to pick up an ill Iranian sailor who was flown to a Saudi hospital for emergency treatment. The Iranian request for a medical evacuation was done via the UN because the Saudis and Iran have no diplomatic relations. This is one of those curious situations so common to the cultures of the region. The Saviz has been anchored (outside the shipping lanes and in plain sight) for years. Apparently, the ship, which is regularly resupplied by other Iranian merchant ships, is unarmed but there are also several speedboats on the deck and men in IRGC uniforms are regularly seen out in the open as well. In reality the Saviz serves as a mothership for small, fast, smuggling boats that can carry limited quantities of small items ashore and get away with it. The Saudis have not shut down the Saviz because of some unofficial understanding that as long as Iran does not resume putting naval mines in the shipping channel and firing missiles at passing military and commercial traffic, the Saviz would be left alone. The Saviz may well be the main source of the additional UAVs the Shia rebels have been getting and using since 2017. But as long as none of these UAV attacks do any serious damage, the Saviz will be left alone. It was believed that eventually the truth about the Saviz would come out, and join that many other strange tales of mysterious Middle East. Israel moved this story forward with the limpet mine attack and the Saudis may follow with a seizure of Saviz, especially considering the growing number of Iranian UAVs used by the Yemeni Shia rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.

April 3, 2021: Israeli government personnel travelled to Libya to meet with Saddam Haftar, oldest son of LNA (Libyan National Army) leader and founder Khalifa Haftar. The Israelis have followed the Libya situation closely for decades and see the upcoming national elections as an opportunity to add Libya to the growing list of Arab countries establishing political and economic relationships with Israel.

April 2, 2021: Syria and Russia signed a long-promised deal for two Russian companies to explore offshore Syrian waters for oil and natural gas. There are already large natural gas deposits being extracted by Israel in an offshore region near the Lebanese border. It turns out that these large deposits of natural gas, because of new exploration tech, can be found offshore (and a few on shore) throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, especially coastal areas from Egypt to Greece. This has caused a growing number of disputes about exactly where the maritime borders are and who actually owns which offshore area. The two Russian exploration firms were assigned areas near the Lebanese border and Lebanon has already disputed the Syrian interpretation of the maritime border. Russia and Syria signed the original offshore exploration agreement in 2013 based on the huge proven (with exploratory drilling) fields found and being developed off northern Israel. One reason Russia intervened militarily in Syria during 2015 was to protect their exploration rights off Syria. Israel has confirmed that its offshore natural gas wealth off the coast was enormous and keeps getting better.

In late 2014 Israel announced a third major natural gas discovery off their coast. This one was worth over $100 billion dollars. The two previous ones were worth over a trillion dollars. By 2918 Israel found that their natural gas fields were actually 14 percent larger than earlier estimated. These discoveries make Israel largely energy independent and a major exporter of natural gas. This is a recent development as serious exploration for natural gas off the Israeli coast only got started in the late 90s and since then more and more natural gas has been found offshore in the eastern Mediterranean, from Lebanon to Egypt. Israeli commercial production began in 2013 with the completion of pipelines extending 150 kilometers offshore. Israeli GDP was continuing to grow without the natural gas discoveries but with the natural Israel becomes largely energy independent and an energy exporter as well. Israel went on to signs long-term natural gas export deals with Jordan and Egypt worth nearly $20 billion.

Syria is hoping for a trillion-dollar natural gas bonanza offshore. The Russians firms will earn billions if they find that gas and supervise the drilling and construction of infrastructure to extract, store and distribute, inside Syria and to export customers, the natural gas. Having Russia as a partner in this means Russia has something worth fighting for in the eastern Mediterranean and Syria. This offshore natural gas wealth is another reason why Russia maintains good relations with Israel, even if that angers Iran and Turkey.

March 31, 2021: In southern Syria (Sweida and Quentera provinces) along the Israeli and Jordan borders the Iranian presence has become visibly unpopular. Anti-Iran graffiti is showing up in border villages. The main complaint is the Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah mercenaries. Iran has tolerated Hezbollah raising money by distributing illegal drugs. This is something Hezbollah has done in Lebanon and other countries for decades. This, and large annual Iranian subsidies, have paid for Hezbollah becoming the most powerful armed group in Lebanon and de-facto ruler of southern Lebanon. The drug business has made Hezbollah unpopular with most Lebanese and people in the many countries where Hezbollah is active in the drug trade. This includes some African and South American countries as well as the United States and Canada.
A South Korean court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of people referred to as wartime comfort women and relevant families.

The suit was seeking damages from the Japanese government.

Tokyo takes the position that the lawsuit should have been dismissed on the basis of sovereign immunity. It's a concept under international law in which a state is immune from the civil jurisdiction of a court in a foreign country.

The Seoul Central District Court said it had applied sovereign immunity to the case.

No Japanese government officials attended the proceedings.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Kato Katsunobu said the government should refrain from commenting at the moment.

Kato said, "We will continue to strongly urge South Korea, as a state, to take appropriate measures to correct violations of international law."

He added that the Japanese stance over the issue won't change at all.

Earlier in January, the same court ordered the Japanese government to pay damages to plaintiffs in a separate lawsuit.
Australia has canceled infrastructure deals with CCP over "national interest," sparking outrage from Beijing.

Australia announced on Thursday that it had canceled two infrastructure agreements relating to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China. A statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne revealed that the two controversial BRI deals with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were among four projects cancelled under Australia's new Foreign Arrangements Scheme, which had been in operation since December of last year.

According to Breitbart, Australia had also cancelled two older agreements with Iranian and Syrian entities because these projects were "inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations." The report also showed that this is the first time the new powers were called upon by the conservative coalition government, which is being led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

While China is Australia's biggest trading partner, Australian leaders have not shied away from showing their disapproval over CCP's political and economic influence. The Australian government did not hesitate to cancel the "Belt and Road" deals with China because it was "inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy" or "adverse to our foreign relations," Payne said.

The "Belt and Road" initiative is a large-scale network of CCP-funded infrastructure projects that include ports, pipelines, railways, and highways that span Asia and Europe, as part of Xi Jinping's ambition to build a more seamless bridge between Beijing and the rest of the world. Following the cancellation of the "Belt and Road" deals with China, the CCP has expressed its displeasure over the Australian government's decision.

According to MarketWatch, Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton forbid CCP to use the "Belt and Road" deals with Australia as "propaganda."

He pointed out that the "problem" was the "values or the virtues or the outlook of the Chinese Communist Party." The CCP had been actively setting up militarized ports in the Asia-Pacific region and Australia had observed an "increased level of foreign interference" in the said region.

Reuters reported that a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has expressed his disapproval, calling on Australia to cease its "Cold War mentality and ideological bias" and "immediately correct its mistakes and change course."

A CCP spokesman is also crying foul because Australia reportedly reviewed over 1,000 deals and chose to cancel only four, two of which were the "Belt and Road" deals with China. He warned that these cancellations will put further strain on an already strained relationship.

The Chinese embassy in Australia also expressed its "strong displeasure and resolute opposition" to the cancellation, writing in a statement that said it was an "unreasonable and provocative move" that is "bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations." China warned that Australia "will only end up hurting itself," Reuters reported.

Australia reiterated its commitment to its foreign policy, telling reporters on Thursday, "We will always act in Australia's national interest to protect Australia, but to also ensure we can advance our national interest in a free and open Indo Pacific and a world that seeks a balance in favour of freedom."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 21:47:42|Editor: huaxia

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CAIRO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) on Thursday voiced deep concerns over the recent situation in Somalia and the ongoing critical conditions for reaching a political dialogue among different parties.

The AL called in a statement on the federal government, the governments of different regional states, and the other Somali parties to reach a political solution over the national election issue.

The pan-Arab body said the political dialogue is the only choice for reaching a consensus deal for running the coming elections in Somalia.

The statement reiterated the AL's support for the Somali people at all levels until they overcome the current challenges of rebuilding the state institutions, and expressed willingness to push for national unity, stability and recovery across the country.

Somalia's federal government suffered a deeper crisis after its mandate expired on Feb. 8 without an agreement to hold long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections.

On Monday, Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo welcomed the African Union to take a leading role in facilitating an election process that will enable "every citizen to elect their representatives through free and fair elections." Enditem
Downing Street slapped down a sacked former minister today after he accused the Prime Minister of surrounding himself with 'cowards' and 'desperately weak people'.

Johnny Mercer vented his fury at No10 after being axed as veterans minister in a row over the treatment of veterans of the Troubles.

He had expressed frustration at a lack of progress over legislation to protect former British Army soldiers from prosecution for crimes they may have committed up to 50 years ago.

Mr Mercer, a former Army officer himself, delivered a savage assessment of his time in the Government as he said he had been 'treated like s*** throughout'.

He claimed Mr Johnson had surrounded himself with 'people who will endlessly tell you what you want to hear' and hit out at the way in which he left the Government after he was sacked via text - a move he described as 'weak' and 'embarrassing'.

The comments came after Mr Mercer had already described the Government as the 'most distrustful, awful environment' he had ever worked in and compared UK politics to a 'cesspit'.

But asked about Mr Mercer's opinion today, the Prime Minister's spokesman told reporters: 'We would reject that. The Prime Minister has set out in his letter to Johnny Mercer his gratitude for the work that he has done in the role and the importance of the ongoing work that the UK is taking forward. I don't plan to add to that.'

Johnny Mercer has stepped up his war of words with Downing Street after he accused Boris Johnson of surrounding himself with 'cowards' and 'desperately weak' special advisers. He is pictured on ITV's Peston programme last night

Mr Mercer claimed Mr Johnson had surrounded himself with 'people who will endlessly tell you what you want to hear'

Why was Johnny Mercer sacked? Johnny Mercer was sacked before he could resign as veterans minister over new legislation giving legal protection to UK soldiers serving overseas. Mr Mercer had been heavily involved in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which is going through its final stages in Parliament. The legislation was developed in response to legal claims made against serving British soldiers and marines after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it does not cover former service personnel who served in Northern Ireland before the 1997 God Friday Agreement. Mr Mercer wants the law to be extended to them, to avoid them facing historic prosecutions over alleged crimes committed decades ago in the 1970s and 1980s, when the province was in turmoil. In his letter to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, Mr Mercer said the Government risks 'damaging an already bruised veterans cohort further'. He said he had hoped Mr Johnson's premiership would 'signal a step change in veterans affairs in the UK' and that he had raised his concerns in a face-to-face meeting with him. But Mr Mercer said he remained 'genuinely appalled' by the experiences suffered by some of those who have served in Britain's armed forces. 'I fought and bled alongside them, I've been far more fortunate than many of them since, and I have a duty to tell their truth to power,' he added. Mr Mercer said in the letter to the Prime Minister that not including those who served during the Troubles was his 'red line', adding: 'They are not second-class veterans. They deserve the protections of the Overseas Operations Bill like everyone else.' Mr Johnson said in his reply to Mr Mercer that the Overseas Operations Bill is a 'crucial part' of efforts to protect personnel against 'vexatious and repeated' legal claims. 'But we are committed to doing more over the coming months, including for those who have served in Northern Ireland,' he said. Advertisement

Mr Mercer said he exited the Government because he felt like he was the 'last man in the room who's willing to fulfil our manifesto commitments'.

He also accused ministers of a 'gross betrayal of people who signed up to serve in the military'.

Mr Mercer has been replaced in the veterans minister role by former Scots Guard captain Leo Docherty, the MP for Aldershot.

In his formal exchange of letters with the Prime Minister, Mr Mercer said he was 'forced' to offer his resignation with a 'heavy heart'.

Mr Mercer told The Telegraph that 'leadership is all about who you surround yourself with' in an apparent jibe at Mr Johnson.

'If you surround yourself with desperately weak people who will endlessly tell you what you want to hear, driven by SpAds [special advisers] who have that classic combination of overconfidence blended perfectly with total ineptitude, you will get surprises,' he said.

The Tory MP had informed Number 10 ahead of time of his intention to quit at the despatch box in the House of Commons but the information went public and Mr Mercer has accused Downing Street of 'leaking' it.

He told the newspaper: 'It's safe to say I felt like I was treated like s*** throughout, and the last act of leaking my resignation, which I sent as a courtesy only to Number 10 so that I didn't ambush them, was a huge mistake.

'And then when I refused to resign I challenged the Chief Whip to look me in the eye and sack me. He couldn't do it, I left and he texted me. That summed it up. What cowards.'

Mr Mercer told ITV's Peston programme about being sacked by text: 'It is a bit of a disaster. It didn't go as I planned. I thought I was doing the right thing.

'It is poor. It is weak. It is embarrassing. But that is the way some people operate in Westminster.'

Mr Mercer had blasted the Government yesterday afternoon in an interview with Times Radio.

He said he believes Mr Johnson is 'deeply committed' to the Northern Ireland veterans issue 'but the truth is that nothing, nothing has been done'.

He said: 'And we've had an incredibly difficult year with coronavirus and all the rest of it and he's the Prime Minister. He's got all these challenges going on. And I respect that and I totally accept that.

'But he should, you know, he should expect his ministers I think to be as committed to the manifesto as he is, alright. And if I'm made to feel like I'm the last man in the room who's willing to fulfil our manifesto commitments, there's something wrong. We reached that point, so I left.'

Mr Mercer continued: 'This is the most distrustful, awful environment I've ever worked in, in government.

Mr Mercer published his resignation letter which revealed he was 'forced' to leave Government

Mr Mercer said he will lobby on behalf of Northern Ireland veterans in Parliament, having said he made promises to those troops in Mr Johnson's name

10 Downing Street claimed Mr Mercer resigned, but the former veterans minister said he was 'relieved of my responsibilities'

'Almost nobody tells the truth is what I've worked out over the last 36 hours. And, you know, so I don't think anyone really can get on their high horse about trust and ethics and all the rest of it in politics, because as far as I'm concerned, most of it is a bit of a cesspit, I think we do have a clear commitment to follow through on our promises and do right by those who serve.'

Mr Mercer said he believed the Government was guilty of a 'gross betrayal' by failing to do more to protect British veterans who served during the Troubles.

He said: 'The reality is that for these people, their experiences after having served this nation, 50 years later, they are constantly being dragged over to Northern Ireland, and asked to relive their experiences, it is people are drinking themselves to death.

'It is breaking up families, it is ruining our finest people. And all they did was serve at the behest of this government at the behest of the House of Commons, to uphold the rule of law on the peace and when the peace in Northern Ireland.

'And yet now we're happy to cut them off to people who want to rewrite history. And that is all that's going on, you know that nothing's changed here.

'But the politics, and for me, it's a gross betrayal of people who signed up to serve in the military.'

Mr Mercer has been heavily involved in the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, which was being considered by MPs this week as it goes through its final stages in Parliament.

The legislation was developed in response to legal claims made after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but does not cover incidents in Northern Ireland.
Under current law, voters are given two issues to decide  whether the official should be ousted and which of the successor candidates should be elected instead.

That, Allen argues, is unfair because with multiple candidates, someone could win with relatively few votes. Under his measure, voters would simply decide whether to retain the incumbent with a plurality of votes or opt for one of the other contenders.

SCA 3 also would cancel a recall election if the incumbent resigns after the recall qualifies which, in the case of governors, would mean an automatic takeover by the lieutenant governor. If another statewide official facing recall resigned, the governor would name a successor.

Allens second measure, Senate Bill 752, would require that before voters signed petitions for a recall, an initiative or a referendum, they would have to certify that they had read a list of the proposed measures top financial contributors. As with Newmans SB 660, its declared aim is to prevent signature gatherers from misrepresenting the issues involved.
The Republican National Committee says its Chair Ronna McDaniel is focused solely on winning back Congress in 2022, but there may be something else on her mind, according to a Thursday Politico report citing unnamed sources.

McDaniel, a Michigan native, told RNC members during a closed-door meeting in Dallas that shes considered stepping down and running against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the 2022 November election, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with her comments.

In a statement, an RNC official essentially rejected the idea that McDaniel could run, but took aim at Whitmer in the process.

Gov. Whitmers dismal record of leadership has done lasting harm to Michigan families, said Richard Walters, RNC chief of staff in the statement. Michigan would be vastly better off with a change in leadership, but the chairwoman has no desire to do anything else other than lead the Republican Party to victory in 2022 by taking back the House and Senate.

McDaniel, who first won her seat as RNC chair after helping Republicans win Michigan for President Donald Trump in 2016, was reelected to the position in January. Before her RNC tenure, the niece of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney served as chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

In the closed-door meeting, she voiced displeasure with Whitmers handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly since her children have been unable to return to in-person schooling, according to Politico.

Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite responded to the comments in a statement pointing out the short list of candidates currently in the running for Republican gubernatorial nominee.

So thin is the Republican bench for the Michigan gubernatorial primary that Ronna McDaniel, who already said she wasnt going to run last month, is considering leaving her post chairing the national party, where shes been the #1 opponent of $1,400 pandemic relief checks and called the $18 billion in American Recovery Plan aid to Michigan a boondoggle, Applewhaite said. Michiganders will see right through part-time Ronna, who abandoned the state long before she dropped the Romney from her name.

Other candidates who have announced a run for governor are Ryan Kelley, a Republican planning commissioner in Allendale Township, and Austin Chenge, a U.S. Army veteran. Video footage placed Kelley near the front of a crowd that stood face-to-face with U.S. Capitol police on the west side of the building during the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Read more from MLive:

Ryan Kelley pushed to arrest lawmakers, then stormed the Capitol. Now he wants to be Michigans governor.

Michigan native Ronna McDaniel re-elected as national GOP chair

Republican chair Ronna McDaniel tests positive for coronavirus
(CNN)  It was just about a year ago that doctors started noticing Covid-19 patients showing up in emergency rooms with strokes, and complained that blood clots were clogging up dialysis machines and other equipment being used to keep coronavirus patients alive.

Frantic intensive care unit specialists reported "dramatic" blood clots in the heart, liver and other organs. Autopsies of coronavirus victims in New Orleans showed their lungs were jammed with clots.

Some young, seemingly healthy patients were suffering massive strokes from Covid-19.

"As a blood clot expert, I can tell you it's the most blood-clotting disease we have ever seen in our lifetimes," said Dr. Alex Spyropoulos, a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York.

"I have been doing this for a quarter century. I have never seen these levels of blood clots."

Spyropoulos and colleagues have done a series of studies showing that treating Covid-19 patients with blood thinners can dramatically reduce or even prevent these clots. And getting vaccinated against Covid-19 can prevent them altogether by preventing infection in the first place.

So they feel it's ironic that fears about a much, much rarer type of blood clot may now scare people off getting vaccinated.

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in giving out Johnson & Johnson's Janssen coronavirus vaccine while experts investigate whether it can cause blood clots and, if so, what to do about it.

The European Medicines Agency said Tuesday it had found a possible link, but said the overall benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. For use in the EU, the agency said the vaccine must include a warning about "unusual blood clots with low blood platelets" as "very rare side effects."

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met last week to discuss the issue, and decided to wait for more information after discussing the cases of six women who developed a very unusual type of blood clot after getting J&J's vaccine, as well as other possible cases. They'll meet again Friday to come up with recommendations, which could include an extra warning to help vaccine recipients and doctors look for the symptoms, or restrictions on who should get the J&J vaccine.

Whatever the risk might be from vaccines, experts agree it's extremely low.

"You have as much risk of getting struck by lightning as you have of getting one of these rare blood clots," Spyropoulos told CNN.

Multiple risk factors

Blood clots in general are extremely common -- affecting 900,000 Americans a year, according to the CDC. They kill an estimated 100,000 people every year. Especially common are clots in the brain. About 795,000 people suffer strokes every year in the US, according to the American Heart Association. The group estimates 10-15% of these are in adults under the age of 45.

Risk factors for ordinary blood clots include surgery, accidents, cancer treatments and even sitting too long, noted Dr. Mark Crowther, a hematologist and thrombosis expert for the American Society of Hematology.

"There are some weak risk factors -- for example, airline travel if you fly from Hawaii to Los Angeles," Crowther told CNN. "Prolonged car trips are risk factors," added Crowther who is chair of the department of medicine at Canada's McMaster University.

And being infected with coronavirus greatly raises this already common risk.

"The vaccine, without question, dramatically reduces the risk of any of the Covid-associated blood clots," Crowther said.

The underlying mechanism that may be involved in the blood clots linked to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the US and AstraZeneca's vaccine in the UK and Europe is extremely rare, and appears to involve a little-understood immune response.

"The chances of getting what we are calling vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia or VITT is one in a million," Spyropoulos said.

"The chances of you being hospitalized with Covid is roughly one in 100 for the adult population. The chances of having a blood clot once you are hospitalized is probably one in five or one in six." That risk rises to 1 in 3 for people in the ICU, Spyropoulos said.

"The benefits of any vaccine far outweigh the risks -- period," he said.

"This complication from the vaccine is excruciatingly rare. Certainly more people are going to be killed by handgun in the United States than by these complications," agreed Crowther.

Many ordinary blood clots are never noticed -- something the CDC wants to change. It's taking part in an awareness campaign about blood clots which, if untreated, can cause mini-strokes, or lung-damaging pulmonary embolisms.

The rare blood clots being linked with vaccines are a type that become obvious. They block the veins leading from the brain and cause intense headaches or severe abdominal pain.

But they develop slowly, giving people the chance to get the right treatment -- if they seek it in time.

Now, media reports are starting to pop up about people suffering more ordinary blood clots after having been vaccinated. It's unlikely they are caused by the vaccine but it's hard for people who aren't trained in medicine to know the difference, Crowther said.

Getting vaccinated, especially against Covid, is a memorable event, and it's natural if people suffer a health problem soon after having been vaccinated for them to associate it with that vaccine.

"Vaccine hesitancy is a real problem. There is no way an average person can understand the magnitude of the risks," Crowther said. The results can be more deadly than the blood clots.

Uncomplicated treatment

The good news is that it's not complicated to treat VITT, the experts agreed.

"The blood thinner that is most likely to be used for many of these patients is exactly the one you would use for standard, run-of-the-mill blood clots," said Crowther. Choices include pills such as apixaban, sold under the brand name Eliquis and rivaroxaban, sold under the brand name Xarelto. The American Society of Hematology also says delivering an antibody-based product called intravenous immune globulin can help restore a healthy balance of platelets.

"Any hospital in the United States would be well positioned to manage these blood clotting complications," Crowther said.

What's important for the time being is for doctors to avoid using another common blood thinner known as heparin. Heparin itself can cause the same antibody reaction being seen in VITT -- and in fact, it was doctors familiar with the heparin-related reaction who noticed what might be going on with the vaccines and blood clots.

The tell-tale signs of this rare reaction include not only blood clots, but a low level of platelets, which help blood to clot.

That seems like a contradiction, but Spyropoulos says what's going on is an immune reaction in which antibodies target platelets. "They form a complex causing the platelets to clump," he said.

The platelets disappear from circulation as they get stuck together. "You see a kind of gunk," Spyropoulos said.

This story was first published on CNN.com "These blood clot experts want you to get a Covid-19 vaccine. Here's why.".
Mohundro Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - A Paducah woman accused of abusing a baby in her care has pleaded guilty.The McCracken Circuit Court Clerk said 48-year-old Melany Mohundro entered a guilty plea Wednesday to a charge of second-degree criminal abuse. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24 at 9 am.She was arrested in July after authorities received a report of a 9-month-old baby barely breathing. Evidence allegedly showed the baby had been shaken violently. Deputies say Mohundro was frustrated the baby was crying.
's ( ) ( ) (FRA:3MW) Adrian Griffin caught up with Proactive's Andrew Scott soon after welcoming an update from joint venture partner ( ) on exploration at the Greenbushes South Project in Western Australia. He adds that they've also progressed the joint venture agreement with Charger Metals which was announced in December 2020 with Charger making progress towards its initial public offering on the ASX.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  Barring Filipinos from leaving to work in the Middle East may be off the table as the Department of Foreign Affairs is optimistic about the complete abolition of the kafala system.

In a virtual briefing, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said that while the agency has no authority to impose a deployment ban, she expressed confidence that the decades-long kafala system would be abolished.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Wednesday hinted at a possible suspension of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to the Middle East if the removal of the abusive system will not be pursued.

The kafala system requires migrant workers to have a sponsor in the host country before a visa and worker's permit can be issued. It generally binds a worker to one employer leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation, according rights groups.

"But we're very positive," Arriola said. "There's no turning back dahil nagsimula na ang mga reforms (because the reforms have begun)."

The DFA official is banking on the move of Saudi Arabia to eliminate the kalafa system, which is only applied to skilled workers, last March 14.

According to Arriola, Saudi Arabia is now studying to also get rid of the controversial system covering household service workers.

"Saudi Arabia ang pinakamalaki at mayaman sa Middle East at 'yung leadership niya, makaka-impluwensiya ang Saudi Arabia sa ibang Middle East countries," she pointed out.

[Translation: Saudi Arabia is the largest and richest in the Middle East and under its leadership, Saudi Arabia can influence other Middle East countries.]

Middle Eastern countries like Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain have introduced reforms in the kafala system.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this week branded the kalafa system as "unjust and exploitative."

READ: Duterte backs complete abolition of kafala system in Middle East

"It places thousands of migrant workers, particularly household workers, in the most vulnerable situation  unseen, unheard, and unable to defend their dignity as a human being," Duterte said.

The labor chief on Monday said over 1.7 million Filipinos are documented workers in the Middle East.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan is sure the economy is recovering. According to his calculations, there will be a 7-7.5% economic growth in March.

There are many investors and representatives of various businesses. At the moment as well there is a program worth several hundred million dollars, which relates to Gyumris Kumayri center, he told reporters today after the Cabinet meeting.

The reporters stated that this program has been initiated by former prime minister Karen Karapetyan, over which the minister said: We have different kinds of programs, we dont consider ourselves as the smartest, and if there are smart programs, we are implementing them.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
[April 22, 2021] CrowdStrike Security Cloud Integrates with Network Detection and Response Solutions For Comprehensive Platform Responses to Threats

CrowdStrike, a leader in cloud-delivered endpoint and workload protection, announced today a series of integrations with CrowdStrike Security Cloud that correlates the CrowdStrike Falcon platform's enriched endpoint and workload telemetry with network telemetry for greater end-to-end visibility and contextual insights to combat threats. These integrations with leaders in network detection and response (NDR) and network threat analytics ( NTA (News - Alert) ) help mutual customers build a cohesive platform tailored to protect and defend against any threats across all enterprise software components, wherever those threats are encountered. With the surge in remote workforces and ever-increasing cloud adoption, modern security operation centers (SOCs) are faced with increased attack surface blind spots and an uptick in operational challenges due in part to lack of interoperability across point security solutions. Security professionals are spending too much time and resources investigating increased alert volume impacting their productivity and efficiency in addition to compromising their security posture. CrowdStrike customers desire a strong connection between the Falcon platform and the NDR ecosystem to boost their security efficiency and efficacy with shared contextual telemetry and indicators of compromise (IOCs). Today, along with our partners we are delivering to customers better ways to maximize their investment in the Falcon platform. With CrowdStrike's integrations with ExtraHop (News - Alert) , Vectra, Awake Security, Corelight, Darktrace, IronNet and ThreatWarrior, mutual customers can now integrate CrowdStrike's industry-leading next-generation antivirus (NGAV) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) with leading NDR solutions that monitor east-west traffic and communications within the network itself and help surface any blind spots that span across network and cloud environments. Through these integrations, customers can take advantage of: Concise and actionable insights based on coordination of alerts and telemetry across CrowdStrike and leading NDR solutions

Integrated data feeds that enable enhanced response capabilities to identify and isolate risks faster with cloud-scale artificial intelligence (AI)

Enhanced threat intelligence to pinpoint novel attack methods with identification of new attack signatures

Customizable response actions are available for partners to execute leveraging Real-Time Response capabilities (RTR) on the Falcon platform, based on early attack behaviors observed on the network

Open ecosystem of purpose-built integrations for cloud-delivered extensibility and flexibility "The increased complexity in corporate networks, coupled with the heightened sophistication of cyber threats, can quickly overwhelm today's security analysts. While many point solutions promise comprehensive security, security teams are often not only left with blind spots in their environments but also siloed tools and data in the IT stacks that put security teams at risk of missing or overlooking critical alerts," said Amol Kulkarni, chief product officer, CrowdStrike. "CrowdStrike's Security Cloud is an open platform enabling seamless integration with best of breed solutions. This integration with NDR partners provides mutual customers a comprehensive, holistic cybersecurity solution with enhanced visibility, streamlined detection and response and frictionless automation to address protection and operational challenges, while helping drive total cost of ownership down." CrowdStrike is committed to fostering a powerful open ecosystem, built on the cloud-scale AI-powered CrowdStrike Security Cloud, capable of processing trillions of events per week. To learn more about all of these differentiated NDR integrations, please visit the CrowdStrike technology partner page. Partner quotes: Extrahop

"The power of EDR and NDR isn't some imagined future state. Our customers are already using the best-of-breed integration between ExtraHop and CrowdStrike, combining real-time endpoint and network telemetry to defend against the most advanced cyber attacks," said Raja Mukerji, co-founde and chief customer officer at ExtraHop. "Our decision to partner with CrowdStrike was intentional, as our respective platforms both offer massively scalable, cloud-native detection and response capabilities. Our ongoing collaboration is designed to maximize the combined value of NDR and EDR, and we look forward to continuing to work together in service of our customers."



Vectra

"Enabling Vectra Cognito to integrate with other best-in-class products allows our customers to understand and stop threats faster, which is why we invest in and promote an open ecosystem," said Kevin Kennedy (News - Alert) , Vectra vice president of product management. "Integration with CrowdStrike combines valuable context from the endpoint with Vectra network and cloud detections to paint a comprehensive, unified picture of an active cyberattack that allows analysts to take immediate action to mitigate the threat. The result is more efficient SOC investigation workflows and faster response." Awake Security

"Integrating the Awake platform with CrowdStrike Falcon Insight is a combination that will empower our joint customers to identify and respond to threats even more quickly," said Rajdeep Wadhwa, vice president of product management at Awake Security. "By capturing and analyzing every packet that crosses the network, Awake gives security teams the ability to see managed and unmanaged devices and surface malicious intent in a way that's immediately actionable. By integrating with CrowdStrike, users now have even more information at their fingertips that will allow them to see threats and make remediation decisions faster."

Corelight

Lana Knop, chief product officer at Corelight says, "With CrowdStrike and Corelight, customers get the same level of insight from their networks that they've come to expect from their endpoints. Corelight's Open NDR Platform, powered by Zeek and Suricata, delivers fast answers to any question a security analyst may have for events occurring beyond the endpoint. The synthesis of both technologies provides full enterprise visibility and immediate context for accelerated investigation, detection and response." Darktrace

"CrowdStrike and Darktrace have mutual customers who see the value of integrating endpoint data with self-learning, autonomous AI," said Eloy Avila, Darktrace America's CTO. "As a self-learning technology, interoperability with CrowdStrike enables dynamic, real-time protection of the endpoint, allowing threats at the host level to be thwarted with speed and precision, whenever they strike." IronNet

Don Closser, chief product officer at IronNet Cybersecurity, said, "The speed, volume, and sophistication of modern cyber attacks are requiring organizations to up their defensive game with integrated solutions that provide full visibility across both the endpoint and network. The ability to trace anomalous behavior from the network to a compromised device, and vice versa, is critical for enabling security teams to quickly identify and respond to threats. Partnering with CrowdStrike will provide IronNet's customers an even greater level of Collective Defense." ThreatWarrior

"Unifying network and endpoint security drastically strengthens an organization's security posture," said Rob Lancaster, senior vice president of Strategic Alliances and Product at ThreatWarrior. "Integrating ThreatWarrior's network-based threat detection with CrowdStrike's endpoint protection provides customers with complete visibility, detailed context, and active response across public, hybrid, and multi-cloud digital estates. This unique pairing ensures that no infrastructure or device is compromised, while speeding up attack detection and resolution. We're thrilled to be partnering closely with CrowdStrike to bring simple solutions to complex cybersecurity problems for our joint customers and partners." Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding benefits customers may experience as a result of integrations with CrowdStrike Security Cloud. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements, as actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those anticipated or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of such risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. About CrowdStrike CrowdStrike, a global cybersecurity leader, is redefining security for the cloud era with an endpoint and workload protection platform built from the ground up to stop breaches. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform's single lightweight-agent architecture leverages cloud-scale artificial intelligence (AI) and offers real-time protection and visibility across the enterprise, preventing attacks on endpoints and workloads on or off the network. Powered by the proprietary CrowdStrike Threat Graph, CrowdStrike Falcon correlates 5 trillion endpoint-related events per week in real time from across the globe, fueling one of the world's most advanced data platforms for security. With CrowdStrike, customers benefit from better protection, better performance and immediate time-to-value delivered by the cloud-native Falcon platform. There's only one thing to remember about CrowdStrike: We stop breaches. Qualifying organizations can gain full access to Falcon Prevent by starting a free trial.

Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter  2021 CrowdStrike, Inc. All rights reserved. CrowdStrike, the falcon logo, CrowdStrike Falcon and CrowdStrike Threat Graph are marks owned by CrowdStrike, Inc. and registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and in other countries. CrowdStrike owns other trademarks and service marks, and may use the brands of third parties to identify their products and services. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005441/en/

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Britain Slashes Aid to China by 95 Percent

The British government has decided to cut its aid to China by 95 percent, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Wednesday.

In a written statement to Parliament, Raab said he had reduced the UKs Official Development Assistance (ODA) to China by 95 percent to just 0.9 million ($1.25 million).

The remaining budget will fund programmes on open societies and human rights, he said.

The reduction was part of the UKs cuts to its international aid budget announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak last November.

Sunak said that the domestic fiscal emergency caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic meant he had to cut international aid from 0.7 percent of the UKs national income to 0.5 percent.

Raab said the new budget allocation is intended to ensure the UKs spending on international aid brings maximum strategic coherence, impact, and value for taxpayers money.

He said the UK remains a world leader in international development even after the cuts, and promised to return to our commitment to spend 0.7 percent of gross national income on ODA when the fiscal situation allows.

Reducing international aid is a controversial issue in the UK and is opposed by opposition parties.

Responding to Raabs announcement, Sarah Champion, a Labour MP who chairs the International Development Committee of the House of Commons, said: We condemn in the strongest possible terms the magnitude of the aid cuts.

But she said she found it very surprising that China is still receiving money.

The TaxPayers Alliance, an organisation that champions the interests of UK taxpayers, welcomed the cuts.

Danielle Boxall, the Alliances media campaign manager, said: Slashing foreign aid to China is long overdue.

Previous projects, like helping the Chinese produce rice, saw wanton waste of taxpayers cash, she said. This should be a stepping stone to a proper and permanent cut in the ostentatious overseas aid budget.

The UKs relations with the Chinese regime have deteriorated over recent years due to disputes over Hong Kong, Chinese telecom giant Huawei, Chinese cyber-attacks on UK institutions, and allegations of Chinese human rights abuses including genocide.

Last month, the Chinese regime imposed sanctions on British individuals and entities in retaliation for UK sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for the alleged abuse of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of the Conservative party, one of the people sanctioned by Beijing, welcomed the cuts to aid to China, but questioned why we have to send any aid to the worlds second largest economy.

It is welcome but there are plenty of transactions within the UK that need to stop as they prop up a dictatorial, nasty, and frankly horrid regime, he was quoted by The Sun as saying.
After an international mission to China turned up more questions than answers about the pandemic origins, the WHO is evaluating how to move forward through a diplomatic quagmire to solve the mystery.

Determining how the virus that causes COVID-19 first began spreading among humans is seen as vital to preventing future outbreaks.

But a long-delayed report, drafted by the team of international experts sent to Wuhan at the start of the year and their Chinese counterparts, drew no firm conclusions and called for more investigation.

The World Health Organisations emergency committee this week urged the rapid implementation of the report recommendations for phase two probes.

But while the WHO and countries worldwide agree further investigation is needed, a fight is brewing over what the next phase of inquiry should entail and where it should take place.

It took more than a year after COVID-19 first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019 to get the international expert team to China, and Beijing appears intent on seeing the next phase focus elsewhere.

We hope that other relevant countries will cooperate closely with WHO experts in a scientific, open, transparent and responsible manner, as China has done, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on March 31.

Absurd

But critics question the transparency around the first mission, called for in a resolution passed last May by WHO member countries, and insist far more investigation in China is needed.

At a very basic level, there is unanimity in terms of that the phase two should take place in China, a senior Western diplomat in Geneva said, requesting anonymity.

Beijing was the only party voicing the view that somehow the next phase should be in any other region, the diplomat added.

The idea that the next phase should not focus primarily on China is absurd, U.S. geopolitical expert Jamie Metzl told AFP.

Metzl, one of 24 scientists from the US, Europe, Australia and Japan who published an open letter earlier this month demanding a more comprehensive investigation, described the first mission and resulting report as deeply flawed.

Critics charge the mission was heavily orchestrated by Beijing and that the report focused disproportionately on theories favoured by China.

The oversized role that the government of China played in this process, I think was problematic, the Western diplomat said.

Ranking hypotheses

While the international and Chinese experts provided no clear answers on the origins of the pandemic, they ranked a number of hypotheses according to how likely they believed they were.

The report said the virus jumping from bats to humans via an intermediate animal was the most probable scenario, while it dismissed a theory involving the virus leaking from a laboratory as extremely unlikely.

For basically every area investigated it said more study was needed.

Except one: the lab-leak theory  a U.S. favourite under former president Donald Trump that has always been flatly rejected by China.

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After the report was released, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus however insisted all theories remained on the table.

In particular, he said the probe into Wuhans virology labs was not extensive enough and that he was prepared to launch a fresh investigation.

The scientists behind the open letter also called for proper investigation of the lab-leak theory, emphasising that just 440 words of the report were dedicated to discussing and dismissing it.

They highlighted that the very terms of reference for the mission, negotiated with Beijing, stated the task was to identify the zoonotic source of the virus.

Effort to discredit China

The Chinese did a fantastic job of making clear very subtly that this study mission was about looking at the zoonotic origins, Metzl said.

While this was one very credible hypothesis, what we should have been looking at is the origins of the pandemic, he said.

When you start with the frame of the zoonotic origins of the virus, you start with a conclusion.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian slammed Metzl and the other letter signatories, saying their aim was obviously to mount pressure on the WHO and the joint mission.

He maintained it was the U.S. and other countries, not Beijing, that had politicised the mission to discredit China.

By blatantly questioning the independence and research conclusions of real scientists, they will not only cripple international cooperation on origin tracing, but also undercut global anti-epidemic efforts, he warned.

Even as all sides stress the urgency of solving the origins mystery, there seems to be little progress towards the next steps.

A WHO team is currently reviewing the report recommendations and will prepare a proposal for the next studies that will need to be carried out, a spokesman said.

But he did not say when the proposal would be presented to Tedros or a new mission could be expected.

In their letter, the scientists urged countries to pass a fresh resolution during next months World Health Assembly demanding a truly unrestricted and full international investigation.

France 24 is Premium Times syndication partner. We have permission to republish content.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the EU to consider banning Russia from the global SWIFT payments system.

According to Ukrinform, Kuleba said in an interview with Reuters that he put forward this idea at a video conference with EU foreign ministers on April 19.

He said that such measures could be included in a package of new economic sanctions if Russia escalated the situation.

Western diplomacy had helped restrain Russia but everything "will depend on whether they're ready to ... follow their words with deeds," Kuleba said.

According to Kuleba, Kyiv currently has no new information indicating that Russia has decided to take new military action against Ukraine.

"And this is why the reaction of the West, the consolidated reaction of the West, is so important now, to prevent Putin ... from making that decision," he said.

Kuleba also said he asked Washington to supply "powerful means of electronic warfare" to counter Russia's capacity to jam Ukrainian communications when he met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week.

Russia continues to mass its troops near Ukraine's borders, while Russian media outlets have launched an information campaign of lies and provocations to discredit Ukraine and justify Russia's military intervention under the pretext of "protecting the Russian-speaking population."

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Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will participate in an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit for national leaders in Indonesia later this week, with the crisis in Myanmar on the top agenda.

This will be PM Chinhs first overseas trip since his election on April 5.

PM Chinh will lead a high-ranking delegation to an ASEAN leaders meeting to be held at the headquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 23-24, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday.

Thai and Indonesian media reports had said that ASEAN leaders would meet to discuss the crisis in Myanmar, in the presence of Min Aung Hlaing, an army general in Myanmar.

The Myanmar situation is cause for concern in ASEAN and the world.

Myanmar has been plunged into socio-political instability since the army led by Hlaing arrested leaders of the civil government on February 1.

This arrest resulted in nationwide protests that have claimed many lives.

ASEAN countries are trying their best to promote dialogue with Myanmar in order to stabilize its situation.

The Myanmar crisis is also on Vietnams top agenda when the country holds the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in April.

During a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc underlined the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation while calling for more cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, such as ASEAN.

ASEAN is beefing up its centrality to find a proper solution for Myanmar to quickly stabilize its situation via dialogue and reconciliation, State President Phuc stated.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The global market research company analyzed the cognitive search market. Forrester defines cognitive search as "next-generation search engine software that employs AI technologies...to ingest, understand, and organize information from multiple disparate data sources to enable humans to find content, answers, insights, and/or explore a large corpus of information," and cited Yext as one of 34 cognitive search providers.

According to Forrester, "search is exciting again thanks to vendors who innovate with AI, create use-case-focused solutions (e.g., digital commerce), and offer interaction methods beyond just textbox queries."

"We believe being included in Forrester's cognitive search analysis is a major milestone in Yext's significant expansion from a listings company to a search company," said Howard Lerman, Founder and CEO of Yext. "Cognitive search is the future, and at Yext, we're delivering the future today by helping companies upgrade from outdated keyword search technology that hasn't changed in over 20 years to a modern, answers-led search solution that can transform their business."

Yext made waves in the search industry with the launch of its revolutionary enterprise search product, Yext Answers, in 2019. Powered by advanced natural language processing (NLP) and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) technology, Answers returns official, direct results in dynamic, actionable forms to effectively drive conversions, reduce support costs, and surface new customer intelligence.

Within a year of launch, the product expanded from English to French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese to meet demand in Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), and Japan.

Read Forrester's full Now Tech: Cognitive Search, Q2 2021 report here , and discover Yext's innovative search solutions here .

About Yext

The ultimate source for official answers about a business online should be the business itself. However, when consumers ask questions on company websites, too often they are left in the dark with wrong answers. Yext (NYSE: YEXT), the Search Experience Cloud, solves this problem by organizing a business's facts so it can provide official answers to consumer questions  wherever people search. Starting with the company website, then extending across search engines and voice assistants, businesses around the world, like T-Mobile, Jaguar Land Rover, BBVA USA, and Kiehl's  as well as organizations like the U.S. State Department and World Health Organization  trust Yext to radically improve the search experience on their websites and across the entire search ecosystem.

Yext's mission is to help businesses and organizations around the world deliver official answers everywhere people search. Yext has been named a Best Place to Work by Fortune and Great Place to Work, as well as a Best Workplace for Women. Yext is headquartered in New York City with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Dallas, Geneva, London, Miami, Milan, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and the Washington, D.C. area.

CONTACT: Amanda Kontor, [email protected]

SOURCE Yext, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.yext.com


Best Life

The COVID vaccines have proven to be highly protective against the novel coronavirus, but nothing is ever 100 percent foolproofespecially when it comes to the coronavirus, which has evolved and mutated over the course of the past year and a half. Health officials and experts have called out several variants of concern, including a variant that originated in India and is potentially more transmissible and more likely to bypass current vaccines. Now, new research has shown that the India variant
A hairdresser has revealed how mother-of-two 'collapsed into her arms' and wept as she described how her violent boyfriend was stalking her - weeks before he battered her to death.

Stylist Annie Riley, from Norwich, appeared on Lorraine today and explained how Kerri McAuley broke down during an appointment in January 2017 and revealed her partner Joe Storey, 28, was stalking her.

Weeks later, he murdered the 32-year-old before smearing her blood on his face, taking a selfie and leaving her to die. She suffered 19 injuries to her head and face during the savage attack.

Annie said the mother-of-two arrived at her appointment and burst into tears, revealing: 'Kerri explained in detail about what happened during that attack and it wasn't nice to hear. It was distressing to say the least.'

A hairdresser has revealed how mother-of-two Kerri McAuley, from Norwich 'collapsed into her arms' and wept as she described how her violent boyfriend Joe Storey, 28, was stalking her - weeks before he battered her to death (pictured)

She publicly posted graphic pictures of her injuries caused by Storey, saying he had left her with 'a broken cheek bone and a broken heart'

The hairdresser explained: 'I'd been seeing Kerri for nine months and it was sort of towards the end before she was sadly taken that Kerri opened up to me.

'She was a beautiful young lady, everything to live for, fabulous friends and great family. She was just an amazing person.

'She was the type of girl who didn't talk about her her business, we just had fun and a laugh. The typical banter between hairdresser and client.

'It wasn't until a couple of weeks before her murder, that I learned she was a victim o domestic violence.'

Storey was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 24 years for murdering Kerri in the horrific attack which left her skull 'like a mosaic' of bone fragments

Annie revealed: 'She had cancelled an appointment saying she had been in hospital all night and I said book in when you're better.

'Two days later she posted pictures on social media of a very nasty bruise and swollen eye.

'Needless to say, I was completely shocked because she didn't show any signs of being in a domestically violent relationship.'

She continued: 'A couple of days later, she rebooked with me. It was a Friday and it was very wet and very rainy.

Stylist Annie Riley appeared on Lorraine today and explained how Kerri broke down during an appointment in January 2017 and revealed her partner Storey was stalking her

'When I opened up the door to her, she just basically collapsed into my arms crying which I was quite shocked at because we didn't have that type of relationship. Like I said, we more bantered.

'Through the appointment, she said he was stalking her on social media, anything he could get hold of her.

'She was concerned about emails and how she could stop them. I advised she just spam and ignore them.'

Annie said friends and family continued trying to support Kerri in the weeks up to her death, revealing: 'Her mum was aware - obviously because she had moved back in with her mum and had done everything she could to escape her abuser.

The mother-of-two was murdered by Storey six months after she endured four hours of being attacked and locked away. In this first attack, in July 2016, she escaped through a window wearing only her underwear

'Her mum had done everything she could to help Kerri, but she wanted to go back home and live her life again.

'Sadly, when she was back home and vulnerable he managed to get at her again.'

The mother-of-two was murdered by Storey six months after she endured four hours of being attacked and locked away. In this first attack, in July 2016, she escaped through a window wearing only her underwear.

She told police she feared Storey would kill her during the attack. She later told a friend 'I know he is going to kill me'.

She told police she feared Storey would kill her during an attack in July 2016. She later told a friend 'I know he is going to kill me' (pictured together on holiday)

The pair took a romantic trip away to Rome that summer, and during the trip, the pair posted selfies of themselves in front of the Trevi Fountain and a video of them enjoying a candle-lit meal in an Italian square.

It is thought the city break was a gift from Storey who also lavished Ms McAuley with champagne, flowers and perfume.

She found the courage to walk away from her 18-month on-off relationship in November with violent Storey. and told friends she felt 'stronger than ever' and was 'on the end'.

She publicly posted graphic pictures of her injuries caused by Storey, writing: 'My ex, who claims he loves me, beat and suffocated me until I almost passed out.'

Less than a fortnight after the split, Ms McAuley appeared to be enjoying the single life as she visited a nail bar with a friend

Timeline of Storey's crimes July 2016 - The mother-of-two endured four hours of being attacked and locked away. She escaped through a window wearing only her underwear. Summer 2016 - Pair travelled to Rome for a romantic holiday away November 2016 - Kerri left Storey and posted on Facebook about his violent behaviour. She shared social media posts suggesting she was 'getting back to being pretty' January 2017 - Kerri opens up to Annie about Storey's harassment Weeks later, she was bludgeoned to death in her flat 2017 - Storey was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 24 years for murdering Kerri in the horrific attack. November 2018 - A report found the thug was left free to batter Keri to death despite being prosecuted for attacking her a year before and having three restraining orders against him from other ex-girlfriends. Advertisement

'It has left me with a broken cheek and a broken heart. It's out there now and maybe I can now move on.'

Less than a fortnight after the split, Kerri appeared to be enjoying the single life as she visited a nail bar with a friend.

She publicly wrote: 'Getting back to pretty. Onwards and upwards.'

On the night of her death, the pair went bowling and out for dinner before drinking at pubs in Norwich.

They were spotted arguing before they returned to Ms McAuley's flat where bloodied footprints and splatters were later found.

She was bludgeoned to death in her flat after falling victim to Storey's temper for the final time.

The mother's body was discovered at her flat when her ex-partner and the father of her two boys became concerned he could not contact her.

He contacted her mother Lesley used her spare key to let herself in but found her daughter lifeless on the floor alongside a bloodied mattress.

She was found with a tie wrapped around her neck following the 'brutal and sustained attack'.

Following the mother's tragic death, neighbours described hearing her 'screaming for help' at the flat she shared with her two young sons Blake and Riley in Norwich.

Prosecutor Simon Spence told the jury how Storey had previously assaulted Ms McAuley on at least two other occasions before her death.

He once headbutted her during a night out and broke her jaw on other occasion, leaving her hospitalised.

Mr Spence described this as 'a sight that will no doubt haunt them for the rest of their lives.'

Appearing on the programme today, Annie said she was 'completely shocked' by the photographs of Keri shared online because she hadn't shown any signs she was in a violent relationship

Pathologist Ben Smith described Kerri's skull as 'almost a mosaic of small fractured pieces of bone'.

Police tracked Storey to his friend's flat where they arrested him on suspicion of murder after finding him wearing a shirt which was 'covered with blood'.

The court heard 'literally thousands' of text messages were found on Storey's phone which 'showed a relationship in which Kerri was was trying to keep away from the defendant.'

Annie said Kerri explained in detail about what happened during attacks in the weeks before her death and said it was 'distressing'

The 32-year-old suffered 19 injuries to her head and face during the savage attack

Women's Aid warns perpetrators manipulate Covid-19 restrictions to increase their control over their victims Earlier this year, a Women's Aid campaigner warned domestic abuse cases could surge during the national lockdown because perpetrators use the restrictions to 'create real barriers' and increase their control over their victims. Lucy Hadley, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Women's Aid, described how the restrictions last year had 'stopped victims from accessing the support' they needed and enabled abusers to isolate them. The charity, which found 78 per cent of women had found it more difficult to leave their toxic relationships in June last year, expected there to be a spike in victims separating from their abusers after the lockdown finally comes to an end. Figures last year from a Women's Aid report found that 91 per cent of respondents experiencing domestic abuse said that the pandemic had negatively impacted them in at least one way. Advertisement

In one sent by Ms McAuley to Storey, she wrote: 'I deserve far better than you, a dirty, lying cheat of a woman beater. You're a coward.

'You've broken my face. I could have another you in a heart-beat, one that doesn't break my bones.

'There is only so many beatings a girl can take before they walk away.'

She also told Storey she had 'put up with so much' and insisted there was 'only so much I can take' adding 'I feel broken inside'.

During the exchanges Storey insisted he was 'so, so sorry' for occasions he had 'Just flipped' and 'lost it'.

He added: 'I just flipped and lost it. I will never kill you, will I'.

Jurors took just an hour to find Storey unanimously guilty of murdering her on January 7 2017.

Storey was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 24 years for murdering Kerri in the horrific attack.

In November 2018, a report found the thug was left free to batter Keri to death despite being prosecuted for attacking her a year before and having three restraining orders against him from other ex-girlfriends.

The report, by the Norfolk County Community Safety Partnership, found Storey violently attacked five previous girlfriends as far back as 2008, and at the time of the murder had three restraining orders to protect former partners.

A risk assessment by probation services in 2008, when Storey was 18, found he had 'the potential to inflict fatal harm upon his partner and unborn child'.
MENLO PARK, Calif., April 21, 2021 /CNW/ -- Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) today reported revenues and earnings for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, net income was $111 million, or $.98 per share, on revenues of $1.398 billion. Net income for the prior year's first quarter was $90 million, or $.79 per share, on revenues of $1.507 billion.

"We are extremely pleased that our first quarter results exceeded the high end of our guidance and reflect a broad-based recovery that is well under way," said M. Keith Waddell, president and CEO of Robert Half. "Protiviti's revenues grew 35 percent year-on-year, reflecting continued momentum across its wide array of service offerings, including very strong managed solutions with staffing. This is Protiviti's 14th consecutive quarter of year-on-year revenue gains. Our staffing operations significantly outperformed their historical sequential trends, led by small- and medium-size businesses and permanent placement, which grew 22 percent sequentially."

Waddell continued, "We are experiencing a faster early-cycle recovery than we have seen in the past which positions us well for future growth. As always, the strength of our brands, people, technology and business model will drive our continued success. Our employees have made possible many great accolades, including very recent inclusion on FORTUNE's '100 Best Companies to Work For' and Forbes' 'America's Best Employers for Diversity' lists for 2021.

"Return on invested capital for the company was 37 percent in the first quarter," Waddell concluded.

Robert Half management will conduct a conference call today at 5 p.m. EDT. The prepared remarks for this call are available now in the Investor Center of the Robert Half website (www.roberthalf.com/investor-center). Simply click on the Quarterly Conference Calls link. The dial-in number to listen to today's conference call is 877-814-0475 (+1-706-643-9224 outside the United States). The password is "Robert Half."

A taped recording of this call will be available for replay beginning at approximately 8 p.m. EDT today and ending at 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 20. The dial-in number for the replay is 855-859-2056 (+1-404-537-3406 outside the United States). To access the replay, enter conference ID# 5481208. The conference call also will be archived in audio format on the company's website at www.roberthalf.com/investor-center.

Founded in 1948, Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm and a recognized leader in professional consulting and staffing services. The company's specialized staffing divisions include Accountemps, Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Robert Half Management Resources, for temporary, full-time and senior-level project professionals, respectively, in the fields of accounting and finance; OfficeTeam, for highly skilled administrative support professionals; Robert Half Technology, for project and full-time technology professionals; Robert Half Legal, for project and full-time staffing of lawyers, paralegals and legal support personnel; and The Creative Group, for creative, digital, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals. Robert Half also is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm that provides clients with consulting solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit.

Robert Half has staffing and consulting operations in more than 400 locations worldwide.

Certain information contained in this press release and its attachments may be deemed forward-looking statements regarding events and financial trends that may affect the company's future operating results or financial positions. These statements may be identified by words such as "estimate", "forecast", "project", "plan", "intend", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", or variations or negatives thereof, or by similar or comparable words or phrases. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements.

These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: changes to or new interpretations of U.S. or international tax regulations; the global financial and economic situation; the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to mitigate its spread; changes in levels of unemployment and other economic conditions in the United States or foreign countries where the company does business, or in particular regions or industries; reduction in the supply of candidates for temporary employment or the company's ability to attract candidates; the entry of new competitors into the marketplace or expansion by existing competitors; the ability of the company to maintain existing client relationships and attract new clients in the context of changing economic or competitive conditions; the impact of competitive pressures, including any change in the demand for the company's services; on the company's ability to maintain its margins; the possibility of the company incurring liability for its activities, including the activities of its temporary employees, or for events impacting its temporary employees on clients' premises; the possibility that adverse publicity could impact the company's ability to attract and retain clients and candidates; the success of the company in attracting, training, and retaining qualified management personnel and other staff employees; the company's ability to comply with governmental regulations affecting personnel services businesses in particular or employer/employee relationships in general; whether there will be ongoing demand for Sarbanes-Oxley or other regulatory compliance services; the company's reliance on short-term contracts for a significant percentage of its business; litigation relating to prior or current transactions or activities, including litigation that may be disclosed from time to time in the company's SEC filings; the ability of the company to manage its international operations and comply with foreign laws and regulations; the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the possibility that the additional costs the company will incur as a result of healthcare reform legislation may adversely affect the company's profit margins or the demand for the company's services; the possibility that the company's computer and communications hardware and software systems could be damaged or their service interrupted; and the possibility that the company may fail to maintain adequate financial and management controls and as a result suffer errors in its financial reporting.

Additionally, with respect to Protiviti, other risks and uncertainties include the fact that future success will depend on its ability to retain employees and attract clients; there can be no assurance that there will be ongoing demand for Sarbanes-Oxley or other regulatory compliance services; failure to produce projected revenues could adversely affect financial results; and there is the possibility of involvement in litigation relating to prior or current transactions or activities.

Because long-term contracts are not a significant part of the company's business, future results cannot be reliably predicted by considering past trends or extrapolating past results. The company undertakes no obligation to update information contained in this release.

A copy of this release is available at www.roberthalf.com/investor-center .

ATTACHED :

Summary of Operations Supplemental Financial Information Non-GAAP Financial Measures



ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except per share amounts)



Quarter Ended March 31,

2021

2020

(Unaudited)







Service revenues $ 1,398,380



$ 1,506,691

Costs of services 836,669



892,303









Gross margin 561,711



614,388









Selling, general and administrative expenses (1) 423,062



442,868

(Income) loss from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts (which is completely offset by related costs and expenses) (1) (11,988)



40,376

Amortization of intangible assets 576



338

Interest income, net (45)



(957)









Income before income taxes 150,106



131,763

Provision for income taxes 39,508



41,848









Net income $ 110,598



$ 89,915









Diluted net income per share $ .98



$ .79









Shares:





Basic 111,424



113,187

Diluted 112,496



113,858





(1) Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses exclude gains and losses on investments held to fund the Company's obligations under employee deferred compensation plans. Under these plans, employees direct the investment of their account balances, and the Company makes cash deposits into an investment trust consistent with these directions. Changes in the Company's deferred compensation obligations noted above are included in SG&A or, in the case of Protiviti, costs of services, while investment income is presented separately. Reclassifications have been made to prior periods' consolidated financial statements to conform to the current presentation. These reclassifications had no impact to previously reported income before income taxes.

ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (in thousands)





Quarter Ended March 31,



2021

2020



(Unaudited) SELECTED CASH FLOW INFORMATION:







Depreciation

$ 13,962



$ 15,913

Capitalized cloud computing implementation costs

$ 8,488



$ 10,379

Capital expenditures

$ 9,739



$ 14,276

Open market repurchases of common stock (shares)

797



983















March 31,



2021

2020



(Unaudited) SELECTED BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION:







Cash and cash equivalents

$ 497,930



$ 249,914

Accounts receivable, net

$ 799,673



$ 853,529

Total assets

$ 2,565,169



$ 2,274,852

Total current liabilities

$ 1,076,586



$ 913,354

Total stockholders' equity

$ 1,197,699



$ 1,129,925



ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC.

SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED)

(in thousands)

Beginning in Q3 2020, the Company modified its presentation of service revenues for Accountemps, OfficeTeam, Robert Half Technology and Robert Half Management Resources to include inter-segment revenues from services provided to Protiviti in connection with the Company's blended business solutions. This is how the Company measures and manages these divisions internally. The combined amount of divisional intersegment revenues with Protiviti are aggregated and then eliminated as a single line item. The Company has prepared the below schedule to provide readers with historical comparative information to better evaluate the related trends.



2018



2019



2020



2021



Q1



Q2



Q3



Q4



Q1



Q2



Q3



Q4



Q1



Q2



Q3



Q4



Q1

SERVICE REVENUES:





































































































Accountemps $ 476,055



$ 488,400



$ 486,240



$ 490,849



$ 490,084



$ 494,582



$ 501,905



$ 498,650



$ 489,884



$ 331,542



$ 351,598



$ 385,000



$ 417,116

OfficeTeam 261,642



268,902



265,758



269,125



252,633



261,952



267,023



259,147



239,979



136,299



173,685



214,985



220,467

Robert Half Technology 166,102



178,711



185,687



186,666



182,426



189,461



195,630



198,314



196,652



162,028



161,007



175,730



172,239

Robert Half Management Resources 186,690



182,737



181,638



187,745



196,003



195,236



200,421



201,097



211,878



165,031



154,917



167,116



183,271

Elimination of intersegment revenues (24,201)



(30,776)



(35,557)



(41,847)



(36,519)



(38,519)



(46,518)



(50,883)



(46,273)



(41,514)



(59,816)



(92,393)



(103,818)

Temporary and consultant staffing 1,066,288



1,087,974



1,083,766



1,092,538



1,084,627



1,102,712



1,118,461



1,106,325



1,092,120



753,386



781,391



850,438



889,275

Permanent placement staffing 121,400



135,038



129,667



125,884



131,562



140,894



134,582



126,394



120,489



71,030



87,203



91,387



111,703

Protiviti 207,645



234,042



252,793



263,236



252,341



272,779



299,089



304,666



294,082



283,910



321,303



362,261



397,402

Total $ 1,395,333



$ 1,457,054



$ 1,466,226



$ 1,481,658



$ 1,468,530



$ 1,516,385



$ 1,552,132



$ 1,537,385



$ 1,506,691



$ 1,108,326



$ 1,189,897



$ 1,304,086



$ 1,398,380























































ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The financial results of Robert Half International Inc. (the "Company") are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). To help readers understand the Company's financial performance, the Company supplements its GAAP financial results with the following non-GAAP measures: adjusted gross margin; adjusted selling, general and administrative expense; segment income; combined segment income and as adjusted revenue growth rates.

The following measures: adjusted gross margin; adjusted selling, general and administrative expense; and segment income include gains and losses on investments held to fund the Company's obligations under employee deferred compensation plans. The Company provides these measures because they are used by management to review its operational results.

Combined segment income is income before income taxes, adjusted for interest income and amortization of intangible assets. The Company provides combined segment income because it is how the Company evaluates segment performance.

Variations in the Company's financial results include the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, billing days, and certain intercompany adjustments. The Company provides "as adjusted" revenue growth calculations to remove the impact of these items. These calculations show the year-over-year revenue growth rates for the Company's lines of business on both a reported basis and also on an as-adjusted basis for global, U.S. and international operations. This information is presented for each of the six most recent quarters. The Company has provided this data because it focuses on the Company's revenue growth rates attributable to operating activities and aids in evaluating revenue trends over time. The Company expresses year-over-year revenue changes as calculated percentages using the same number of billing days, constant currency exchange rates, and certain intercompany adjustments.

The non-GAAP financial measures provided herein may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in the Company's industry, as other companies may calculate such financial results differently. The Company's non-GAAP financial measures are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to amounts presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company does not consider these non-GAAP financial measures to be a substitute for, or superior to, the information provided by GAAP financial results. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided on the following pages.

ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES ADJUSTED SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS RECONCILIATION (UNAUDITED) (in thousands)



Quarter Ended March 31,

Relationships

2021

2020

2021

2020

2021

2020

Reported

Adjustments

Adjusted (1)

Reported

Adjustments

Adjusted (1)

Reported

Adjusted SERVICE REVENUES:





































Accountemps $ 417,116







$ 417,116



$ 489,884







$ 489,884



29.8 %

32.5 %

29.8 %

32.5 % OfficeTeam 220,467







220,467



239,979







239,979



15.8 %

15.9 %

15.8 %

15.9 % Robert Half Technology 172,239







172,239



196,652







196,652



12.3 %

13.1 %

12.3 %

13.1 % Robert Half Management Resources 183,271







183,271



211,878







211,878



13.1 %

14.1 %

13.1 %

14.1 % Elimination of intersegment revenues (103,818)







(103,818)



(46,273)







(46,273)



(7.4) %

(3.1) %

(7.4) %

(3.1) % Temporary and consultant staffing 889,275







889,275



1,092,120







1,092,120



63.6 %

72.5 %

63.6 %

72.5 % Permanent placement staffing 111,703







111,703



120,489







120,489



8.0 %

8.0 %

8.0 %

8.0 % Protiviti 397,402







397,402



294,082







294,082



28.4 %

19.5 %

28.4 %

19.5 % Total $ 1,398,380







$ 1,398,380



$ 1,506,691







$ 1,506,691



100.0 %

100.0 %

100.0 %

100.0 %







































GROSS MARGIN:





































Temporary and consultant staffing $ 344,931







$ 344,931



$ 412,996







$ 412,996



38.8 %

37.8 %

38.8 %

37.8 % Permanent placement staffing 111,498







111,498



120,280







120,280



99.8 %

99.8 %

99.8 %

99.8 % Protiviti 105,282



1,688



106,970



81,112



(3,671)



77,441



26.5 %

27.6 %

26.9 %

26.3 % Total $ 561,711



$ 1,688



$ 563,399



$ 614,388



$ (3,671)



$ 610,717



40.2 %

40.8 %

40.3 %

40.5 %







































SELLING GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE:





































Temporary and consultant staffing $ 278,547



$ (9,151)



$ 269,396



$ 286,174



$ 33,058



$ 319,232



31.3 %

26.2 %

30.3 %

29.2 % Permanent placement staffing 94,867



(1,149)



93,718



105,722



3,647



109,369



84.9 %

87.7 %

83.9 %

90.8 % Protiviti 49,648







49,648



50,972







50,972



12.5 %

17.3 %

12.5 %

17.3 % Total $ 423,062



$ (10,300)



$ 412,762



$ 442,868



$ 36,705



$ 479,573



30.3 %

29.4 %

29.5 %

31.8 %







































OPERATING/SEGMENT INCOME:





































Temporary and consultant staffing $ 66,384



$ 9,151



$ 75,535



$ 126,822



$ (33,058)



$ 93,764



7.5 %

11.6 %

8.5 %

8.6 % Permanent placement staffing 16,631



1,149



17,780



14,558



(3,647)



10,911



14.9 %

12.1 %

15.9 %

9.1 % Protiviti 55,634



1,688



57,322



30,140



(3,671)



26,469



14.0 %

10.2 %

14.4 %

9.0 % Total $ 138,649



$ 11,988



$ 150,637



$ 171,520



$ (40,376)



$ 131,144



9.9 %

11.4 %

10.8 %

8.7 % Amortization of intangible assets 576







576



338







338



0.1 %

0.1 %

0.1 %

0.1 % (Income) loss from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts (11,988)



11,988







40,376



(40,376)





0.9 %

(2.7) %

0.0 %

0.0 % Interest income, net (45)







(45)



(957)







(957)



0.0 %

0.1 %

0.0 %

0.1 % Income before income taxes $ 150,106



$ 



$ 150,106



$ 131,763



$ 



$ 131,763



10.7 %

8.7 %

10.7 %

8.7 %

(1) Changes in the Company's deferred compensation obligations are included in selling, general and administrative expense or, in the case of Protiviti, costs of services, while the related investment income is presented separately. The non-GAAP financial measures shown in the table above are adjusted to reclassify investment income from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts to the same line item which includes the corresponding change in obligation. These adjustments have no impact to income before income taxes.

ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES COMBINED SEGMENT INCOME RECONCILIATION (UNAUDITED):





Quarter Ended

March 31,



2021

2020









Income before income taxes

$ 150,106



$ 131,763

Interest income, net

(45)



(957)

Amortization of intangible assets

576



338

Combined segment income

$ 150,637



$ 131,144



ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES REVENUE GROWTH RATES (%) (UNAUDITED):





Year-Over-Year Growth Rates (As Reported)

Non-GAAP Year-Over-Year Growth Rates (As Adjusted)



2019

2020

2021

2019

2020

2021



Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1 Global















































Accountemps

1.6

0.0

-33.0

-29.9

-22.8

-14.9

2.1

-0.7

-32.3

-30.2

-23.1

-14.6 OfficeTeam

-3.7

-5.0

-48.0

-35.0

-17.0

-8.1

-3.1

-5.7

-47.8

-35.8

-18.2

-8.7 RH Technology

6.2

7.8

-14.5

-17.7

-11.4

-12.4

7.0

6.8

-14.2

-18.2

-11.9

-12.4 RH Management Resources

7.1

8.1

-15.5

-22.7

-16.9

-13.5

10.3

7.5

-14.8

-23.5

-18.1

-14.3 Elimination of intersegment revenues (1)

21.6

26.7

7.8

28.6

81.6

124.4

21.6

24.9

7.7

28.2

81.5

127.3 Temporary and consultant staffing

1.3

0.7

-31.7

-30.1

-23.1

-18.6

2.2

0.0

-31.2

-30.7

-23.8

-18.9 Permanent placement staffing

0.4

-8.4

-49.6

-35.2

-27.7

-7.3

0.9

-9.0

-49.1

-35.7

-28.5

-8.1 Total staffing

1.2

-0.3

-33.7

-30.7

-23.6

-17.5

2.1

-1.0

-33.2

-31.2

-24.3

-17.8 Protiviti

15.7

16.5

4.1

7.4

18.9

35.1

14.1

15.5

4.5

6.4

17.9

34.7 Total

3.8

2.6

-26.9

-23.3

-15.2

-7.2

4.3

1.9

-26.4

-23.9

-15.9

-7.6

















































United States















































Temporary and consultant staffing

3.0

2.0

-31.7

-31.0

-24.1

-20.3

3.2

0.5

-31.7

-31.3

-23.9

-19.4 Permanent placement staffing

3.0

-4.9

-51.6

-37.1

-31.3

-12.4

3.2

-6.3

-51.6

-37.3

-31.0

-11.4 Total staffing

3.0

1.3

-33.7

-31.6

-24.8

-19.6

3.2

-0.2

-33.7

-31.9

-24.6

-18.6 Protiviti

17.3

21.3

6.4

10.8

22.9

35.5

17.5

19.5

6.3

10.3

23.3

37.1 Total

5.6

4.7

-26.5

-23.3

-15.3

-8.7

5.7

3.2

-26.5

-23.7

-15.0

-7.6

















































International















































Temporary and consultant staffing

-4.8

-3.8

-31.8

-27.0

-19.3

-12.3

-1.0

-1.9

-28.9

-28.4

-23.5

-17.0 Permanent placement staffing

-5.3

-15.9

-45.0

-30.9

-19.3

5.2

-4.1

-14.6

-43.2

-31.7

-23.0

0.3 Total staffing

-4.8

-5.6

-33.8

-27.6

-19.3

-10.1

-1.5

-3.7

-31.1

-28.9

-23.4

-14.8 Protiviti

10.4

1.3

-3.9

-5.0

4.3

33.8

3.3

2.4

-1.5

-8.0

-1.7

26.1 Total

-2.2

-4.4

-28.4

-23.4

-14.7

-2.0

-0.6

-2.7

-25.7

-25.0

-19.2

-7.2

(1) Service revenues for Accountemps, OfficeTeam, Robert Half Technology and Robert Half Management Resources include intersegment revenues, which represent revenues from services provided to Protiviti in connection with the Company's blended business solutions. Intersegment revenues for each line of business are aggregated and then eliminated as a single line item.

The non-GAAP financial measures included in the table above adjust for the following items:

Foreign Currency Translation. The "As Reported" revenue growth rates are based upon reported revenues, which include the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. In order to calculate "Constant Currency" revenue growth rates, as reported amounts are retranslated using foreign exchange rates from the prior year's comparable period.

Billing Days. The "As Reported" revenue growth rates are based upon reported revenues. Management calculates a global, weighted-average number of billing days for each reporting period based upon inputs from all countries and all lines of business. In order to remove the fluctuations caused by comparable periods having different billing days, the company calculates "same billing day" revenue growth rates by dividing each comparative period's reported revenues by the calculated number of billing days for that period to arrive at a "per billing day" amount. The "same billing day" growth rates are then calculated based upon the "per billing day" amounts.

Intercompany Adjustments. The "As Reported" revenue growth rates are based upon reported revenues. In order to remove the fluctuations caused by the impact of certain intercompany adjustments, applicable comparative period revenues are reclassified to conform with the current period presentation.

The term "As Adjusted" means that the impact of different billing days, constant currency fluctuations, and certain intercompany adjustments are removed from the revenue growth rate calculation. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP year-over-year revenue growth rates to the "As Reported" year-over-year revenue growth rates is included herein on Pages 10-12.

ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES REVENUE GROWTH RATE (%) RECONCILIATION (UNAUDITED): Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth  GLOBAL



Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Q4 2020

Q1 2021 Accountemps























As Reported

1.6



0.0



-33.0



-29.9



-22.8



-14.9

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.5



-0.1



-0.3



-0.1



1.1

Currency Impact

0.5



0.8



0.8



0.0



-0.2



-0.8

As Adjusted

2.1



-0.7



-32.3



-30.2



-23.1



-14.6

OfficeTeam























As Reported

-3.7



-5.0



-48.0



-35.0



-17.0



-8.1

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.3



-0.1



-0.2



-0.1



1.1

Currency Impact

0.6



0.6



0.3



-0.6



-1.1



-1.7

As Adjusted

-3.1



-5.7



-47.8



-35.8



-18.2



-8.7

Robert Half Technology























As Reported

6.2



7.8



-14.5



-17.7



-11.4



-12.4

Billing Days Impact

0.1



-1.5



-0.1



-0.2



0.0



1.1

Currency Impact

0.3



0.5



0.4



-0.3



-0.5



-1.1

Intercompany Adjustments

0.4





















As Adjusted

7.0



6.8



-14.2



-18.2



-11.9



-12.4

Robert Half Management Resources























As Reported

7.1



8.1



-15.5



-22.7



-16.9



-13.5

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.5



-0.1



-0.2



0.0



1.1

Currency Impact

0.7



0.9



0.8



-0.6



-1.2



-1.9

Intercompany Adjustments

2.5





















As Adjusted

10.3



7.5



-14.8



-23.5



-18.1



-14.3

Elimination of intersegment revenues























As Reported

21.6



26.7



7.8



28.6



81.6



124.4

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.8



-0.2



-0.4



-0.1



2.7

Currency Impact

0.0



0.0



0.1



0.0



0.0



0.2

As Adjusted

21.6



24.9



7.7



28.2



81.5



127.3

Temporary and consultant staffing























As Reported

1.3



0.7



-31.7



-30.1



-23.1



-18.6

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.4



-0.1



-0.3



0.0



1.0

Currency Impact

0.5



0.7



0.6



-0.3



-0.7



-1.3

Intercompany Adjustments

0.4





















As Adjusted

2.2



0.0



-31.2



-30.7



-23.8



-18.9

Permanent placement staffing























As Reported

0.4



-8.4



-49.6



-35.2



-27.7



-7.3

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.4



-0.1



-0.2



0.0



1.1

Currency Impact

0.5



0.8



0.6



-0.3



-0.8



-1.9

As Adjusted

0.9



-9.0



-49.1



-35.7



-28.5



-8.1

Total staffing























As Reported

1.2



-0.3



-33.7



-30.7



-23.6



-17.5

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.4



-0.1



-0.2



0.0



1.1

Currency Impact

0.5



0.7



0.6



-0.3



-0.7



-1.4

Intercompany Adjustments

0.4





















As Adjusted

2.1



-1.0



-33.2



-31.2



-24.3



-17.8

Protiviti























As Reported

15.7



16.5



4.1



7.4



18.9



35.1

Billing Days Impact

0.1



-1.6



-0.1



-0.3



0.0



1.6

Currency Impact

0.3



0.6



0.5



-0.7



-1.0



-2.0

Intercompany Adjustments

-2.0





















As Adjusted

14.1



15.5



4.5



6.4



17.9



34.7

Total























As Reported

3.8



2.6



-26.9



-23.3



-15.2



-7.2

Billing Days Impact

0.0



-1.4



-0.1



-0.2



0.0



1.1

Currency Impact

0.5



0.7



0.6



-0.4



-0.7



-1.5

As Adjusted

4.3



1.9



-26.4



-23.9



-15.9



-7.6



ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES REVENUE GROWTH RATE (%) RECONCILIATION (UNAUDITED): Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth  UNITED STATES



Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Q4 2020

Q1 2021 Temporary and consultant staffing







As Reported

3.0



2.0



-31.7



-31.0



-24.1



-20.3

Billing Days Impact

0.2



-1.5



0.0



-0.3



0.2



0.9

Currency Impact























As Adjusted

3.2



0.5



-31.7



-31.3



-23.9



-19.4



























Permanent placement staffing























As Reported

3.0



-4.9



-51.6



-37.1



-31.3



-12.4

Billing Days Impact

0.2



-1.4



0.0



-0.2



0.3



1.0

Currency Impact























As Adjusted

3.2



-6.3



-51.6



-37.3



-31.0



-11.4



























Total staffing























As Reported

3.0



1.3



-33.7



-31.6



-24.8



-19.6

Billing Days Impact

0.2



-1.5



0.0



-0.3



0.2



1.0

Currency Impact























As Adjusted

3.2



-0.2



-33.7



-31.9



-24.6



-18.6



























Protiviti























As Reported

17.3



21.3



6.4



10.8



22.9



35.5

Billing Days Impact

0.2



-1.8



-0.1



-0.5



0.4



1.6

Currency Impact























As Adjusted

17.5



19.5



6.3



10.3



23.3



37.1



























Total























As Reported

5.6



4.7



-26.5



-23.3



-15.3



-8.7

Billing Days Impact

0.1



-1.5



0.0



-0.4



0.3



1.1

Currency Impact























As Adjusted

5.7



3.2



-26.5



-23.7



-15.0



-7.6



ROBERT HALF INTERNATIONAL INC. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES REVENUE GROWTH RATE (%) RECONCILIATION (UNAUDITED): Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth  INTERNATIONAL



Q4 2019

Q1 2020

Q2 2020

Q3 2020

Q4 2020

Q1 2021 Temporary and consultant staffing







As Reported

-4.8



-3.8



-31.8



-27.0



-19.3



-12.3

Billing Days Impact

-0.4



-1.4



0.0



0.0



-1.0



1.4

Currency Impact

2.4



3.3



2.9



-1.4



-3.2



-6.1

Intercompany Adjustments

1.8





















As Adjusted

-1.0



-1.9



-28.9



-28.4



-23.5



-17.0



























Permanent placement staffing























As Reported

-5.3



-15.9



-45.0



-30.9



-19.3



5.2

Billing Days Impact

-0.4



-1.1



-0.1



0.0



-1.0



1.7

Currency Impact

1.6



2.4



1.9



-0.8



-2.7



-6.6

As Adjusted

-4.1



-14.6



-43.2



-31.7



-23.0



0.3



























Total staffing























As Reported

-4.8



-5.6



-33.8



-27.6



-19.3



-10.1

Billing Days Impact

-0.6



-1.3



-0.1



0.0



-1.0



1.5

Currency Impact

2.3



3.2



2.8



-1.3



-3.1



-6.2

Intercompany Adjustments

1.6





















As Adjusted

-1.5



-3.7



-31.1



-28.9



-23.4



-14.8



























Protiviti























As Reported

10.4



1.3



-3.9



-5.0



4.3



33.8

Billing Days Impact

-0.6



-1.4



0.0



0.1



-1.4



2.1

Currency Impact

1.4



2.5



2.4



-3.1



-4.6



-9.8

Intercompany Adjustments

-7.9





















As Adjusted

3.3



2.4



-1.5



-8.0



-1.7



26.1



























Total























As Reported

-2.2



-4.4



-28.4



-23.4



-14.7



-2.0

Billing Days Impact

-0.5



-1.3



0.0



0.1



-1.1



1.6

Currency Impact

2.1



3.0



2.7



-1.7



-3.4



-6.8

As Adjusted

-0.6



-2.7



-25.7



-25.0



-19.2



-7.2



SOURCE Robert Half

For further information: M. Keith Waddell, President and Chief Executive Officer, (650) 234-6000, http://www.roberthalf.com

Related Links

http://www.roberthalf.com


Holger Petersen of Edmonton is a legend in the music world. As co-founder of Stony Plain Records and the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and broadcaster on CKUA and CBC Radio, he introduces Alberta musicians to the world and brings world music home to Alberta.

Music, as they say, is the universal language. It connects cultures. It connects people. It is endlessly fascinating. Theres no end to the regional styles around the world. When I travel, I love going to used record stores to see what they have. In any city, thats my priority. Its enriching to listen to music, whether its live, on vinyl, or digital. It brings people together.

Holger Petersen was born on Pellworm Island, West Germany, on November 23, 1949, the oldest of three boys. When he was five, his family emigrated to Canada, living in Manitoba before settling in Edmonton, Alberta, when he was seven.

As a child, Holger loved the British Invasion bands. In his early teens, he was a regular at the jukebox supply shops around Jasper Avenue and 97 Street, digging through bins of used 45s that sold five for a dollar. Meanwhile, he read every book he could find on the blues and subscribed to blues magazines, ordering back copies to learn as much as he could about the genre.

As a teen, he was playing drums with local bands Spiny Normans Whoopee Band and Hot Cottage when he heard about the new Radio and Television Arts Program at NAIT. Holger instantly knew it was for him. During his first year in the program, Holger made another important life-changing discovery: Albertas public broadcaster CKUA Radio. He immediately appreciated the stations eclectic musical programming. At CKUA, I found two things that have always remained crucial for me: a community and an opportunity to collaborate, says Holger.

Welcomed by the stations community of fellow music lovers, 18-year-old Holger started volunteering at CKUA. At the same time, he was writing about music, reviewing albums and interviewing musicians for the NAIT Nugget, the schools student newspaper. Given his growing knowledge of and respect for musicians and their craft, Holger was a natural interviewer, landing conversations with some of the biggest names in the world of music.

In 1969, Holger started broadcasting Natchl Blues, his weekly radio program on CKUA. Focusing solely on the music in the early days, Holgers program grew to feature the in-depth interviews he would become known for. His calm nature, backed up by thorough research, put those he interviewed at ease, making for engaging conversations. By the time he graduated from NAIT in 1970, he was already a seasoned radio veteran, going on to produce and host other CKUA programs like Acme Sausage Company and HP Sauce. But his signature program Natchl Blues stands out. It is Canadas longest running blues program, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019. Since 1987, he has also hosted Saturday Night Blues  the first national radio network blues show in Canada  on CBC Radio.

As Holger built his radio programs, he became aware that many of the old school blues artists were still alive, but unrecorded and all but forgotten. So he set out to change that. Right from the start, Holger tapped their creative energy to fashion fresh, memorable sessions.

I would bring them up to Edmonton, get some gigs for them, and then go in the studio and record solo records. But every time I did that, I would be investing my own money. Eventually, I was doing the photography, the packaging and liner notes, and delivering the record. It was one step away from starting your own label.

In the fall of 1975, Holger was in a garage band called The Glass Prism with good friend Alvin Jahns, who had a business accounting background. Holger proposed that the two start their own record label. Stony Plain Records issued its first record in 1976. The partners could have launched their label in a larger centre with more opportunities, but they chose to remain in Edmonton. Holger travels the world seeking new stories and new music, always with a focus of bringing the world back to Alberta.

Holgers abiding respect for musicians, along with dealing fair and square in business, helped build Stony Plains name. He focused on building a solid stable of Canadian blues and roots musicians. He also worked with international artists who sought a niche label, giving them a professional place to work.

Given the musical network that Holger was building in these days, its no surprise that he helped develop another cultural legacy in Alberta. Being around like-minded people at CKUA led him to become a founding member of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival in 1979 and its artistic director from 1985-1988, giving a solid foundation to an event that would become by all accounts the best folk music festival in Canada.

I loved it. It was the best job I had, recalls Holger. But Stony Plain Records started to take off, and Holger was also invited to broadcast nationally on CBC. Something had to give. After his three-year contract was up, Holger passed along the festivals reins. Holger can still be found at the festival each year, broadcasting from the CKUA tent, or quietly appearing at the side of a stage, confirming the reputation of the musicians about to perform.

A big break came in 1985, when Ian Tyson asked Holger to help him put out an independent album. Cowboyography became a huge hit, going gold, then platinum. I thank Ian every day for opening that door for me. I'm happy to be still working with him all these years.

With Holgers steady hand, Stony Plain Records has built a deep, award-winning blues and roots catalogue, becoming the leading roots music label in Canada. The label has not only survived several decades in the harsh climate of the music industry, it has also achieved global success and acclaim. In-depth stories about musicians he interviewed over the years fill his books Talking Music: Blues Radio and Roots Music (2011) and Talking Music 2: Blues and Roots Music Mavericks (2017).

Stony Plain Records has won 15 Juno Awards, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and more from the Maple Blues and Canadian Country Music Association. In 2014, the Blues Foundation in Memphis named Stony Plain Records the Label of the Year. Most of the labels blues releases make the Top 5 in radio charts. So far, Stony Plain Records has released over 400 albums (and counting), including gold and platinum albums for fellow Albertans Ian Tyson and Corb Lund.

As the record label grew, so did Holgers commitment to help Canadian musicians achieve the respect and exposure they deserve. He helped found the Alberta Recording Industries Association (now Alberta Music) to guide musicians as they build their careers. He championed musicians as a board member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) for 16 years, standing up for songwriters, supporting them politically, actively representing them, and supporting non-profit applications for funding. He still serves with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which showcases and promotes Canadian artists and music through the Juno Awards. Over the years, he has also represented the business side of the music industry on the boards of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency and the Canadian Independent Record Production Association.

So far, Holgers work has led to more than 20 regional, provincial, national and international awards and recognitions, including three lifetime achievement awards. In 2020, he was inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame by the Folk Alliance International in New Orleans and was the first non-American citizen to be named Best Public Broadcaster by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2003 and received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Alberta (2012) and Athabasca University (2004). He received Queen Elizabeth IIs Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005), and Queen Elizabeth IIs Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).

These days, Holger has refocused his work at Stony Plain, selling its catalogue to True North Records in 2018, but remaining as Executive Producer for the label. As always, his radio programs continue to sustain his love of sharing and celebrating music. Holger says he would love to follow in the footsteps of his broadcasting hero Jack Hagerman, (a.k.a. John Worthington, the Old Disc Jockey on CKUA), who died in 2019 at the age of 92, only weeks after creating his last show. Radio is something I want to continue as long as they'll have me, smiles Holger.

When he is not broadcasting, working with recording artists, or hunting for used records, Holger and partner Anne Green enjoy visiting good friends in many cities, as well as attending concerts, music festivals and music conferences around the world. Holger is proud dad of son, Matthew, and grandfather of two granddaughters.
The OnePlus Watch launched to some pretty sour reviews due to its poor performance. A recent post on the OnePlus forum addresses the negative feedback. And a new OnePlus Watch update promises to fix the major issues that users are experiencing.

The OnePlus Watch was plagued with issues at launch

On the post, product manager Raymond Z thanked the community for its feedback and listed off the improvements that the new update will bring. The list does touch on most, if not all, of the main gripes that users have with the device.

If you remember, the OnePlus Watch launched just recently, and people who bought the device were not only underwhelmed, they were downright annoyed. The heart rate monitor took a long time to give a reading, and thats probably the smallest complaint. The step tracking was typically off by sometimes hundreds of steps.

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Another major issue dealt with the notifications. People would typically get the same notification multiple times. This would be a major bother to people who get a lot of notifications to start with. These issues put the OnePlus Watch behind other smartwatches.

The list of improvements include better GPS tracking and heart rate monitoring

The list of improvements is a rather sizable one. Whats more, is that it includes improvements to the main pain points that people have been dealing with. We see improved accuracy of activity tracking for walking and running, optimized heart rate monitoring algorithm, and optimized notification syncing algorithm. This means that we should see improvements with the main annoyances.

The other improvements are improved GPS performance, enabled notification app icons for the most frequently used apps, improved raise-to-wake function, fixed some known bugs, and improved system stability. With this major update, users who bought the OnePlus Watch should hopefully see real improvements to their day-to-day experience.

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The new OnePlus Watch update doesnt stop at the improvements

Along with the list of fixed bugs, Raymond Z also revealed a list of features that are to come down the road. Theres a new always-on-display feature coming. Itll be a neat feature, but it will most likely impact battery life. Theres also remote camera control for Android devices running Android 6.0 or higher. Other additions include a 12-hour time format and support for four additional languages- German, Italian, Polish, and Spanish.

There are 100+ workout modes coming. Which is great for users because having more health-centric features than just the step tracker and heart rate monitor makes this a more compelling buy.

The AI watch face seems interesting. The Oppo Watch has a watch face that uses AI to automatically match itself to the outfit youre wearing. OnePlus might nip that feature- especially since both companies share the same parent company. The update is set to be released in Canada and the States in a few days. Keep your eyes open for this latest update.
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.
Kupwara:

An Army jawan was thrashed by a mob in north Kashmir's border town of Kupwara on Tuesday before he was rescued by the police after rumours that he was a braid chopper.



The soldier was the latest victim of mob frenzy that has also brought people back to the streets in protest.



Over the last few weeks, a group of foreign tourists, an 18-year-old out to meet his girlfriend and two labourers are among people beaten up on a similar suspicion.



Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister has called the over 100 reported incidents of braid chopping an attempt to "create mass hysteria" and vowed to get to the bottom of it.



There has been no breakthrough yet in multiple police probes despite Rs 6 lakh reward for the arrest of the braid choppers.



Top police officers, however, suspect that Kashmiri separatists, who had blamed security forces for the incidents and called for a shutdown earlier this month, were contributing to the sense of insecurity over the mysterious plaint slashers.



Last week, six men were, however, arrested in downtown Srinagar's Batamaloo locality for rumour mongering and instigating the public to pelt stones on security personnel to protest the braid chopping incidents. In the state's Doda district, the administration has banned entry of outsiders without police permission for two months to avoid braid chopping incidents.



At least six more reports of braid chopping have been registered by the police over the last 24 hours, according to PTI, that also led to protests in several parts of Kashmir including capital Srinagar.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi, April 22 : Expressing concerned at the continuous increase in Covid cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced cancellation of his visit to West Bengal on Friday for a string of rallies.

"Tomorrow, I will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal," the Prime Minister said, in a tweet.

As per party sources, Prime Minister Modi was supposed to address four rallies in West Bengal on Friday.

"As per the original schedule, two of these rallies were planned at Malda and Murshidabad on April 22 and the other two rallies scheduled in Bolpur and Kolkata on April 24. Concerned with the prevailing Covid situation, all four rallies by Modiji were rescheduled on April 23. Now, as per the Prime Minister's tweet, he is not coming to Bengal tomorrow," a West Bengal BJP leader said.

On Monday, the BJP had decided not to hold big rallies in West Bengal and announced that it would instead hold small public meetings of not more than 500 people to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi and senior central leaders. In a statement, the BJP had said that all these small public meetings will be organised in open spaces following all the Covid guidelines.

"Assembly polls in West Bengal are going on and the completion of this constitutional and democratic process is also very important. Keeping this in mind, BJP chief J.P. Nadda, has decided that only in West Bengal, small public meetings of all the central leaders including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be held in which not more than 500 persons will be allowed to attend," the BJP said in a statement.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
'Religious Liberty in Crisis': Ken Starr says new challenges are undermining America's first freedom

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Prominent legal scholar Ken Starr, best known for serving as the independent counsel who investigated former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, has written a book warning that societys growing hostility to religion and the coronavirus pandemic have created new challenges to America's first freedom.

Starrs latest book,Religious Liberty in Crisis: Exercising Your Faith in an Age of Uncertainty, was released last week. It examines the history of religious liberty case law in the United States and looks ahead to the possible future threats to the First Amendment.

In an interview with The Christian Post, the 74-year-old said he was motivated to write the book in light of the pandemic restrictions on religious worship, which he discusses at the beginning of the book.

The pandemic and the onset of the pandemic brought a new set of challenges, and I was moved to write a book which has actually been on my heart for 40 years, he said.

We now see that government has enormous power, even at state and local levels, he added.

The government has power to do good, but it also has power to infringe upon our fundamental liberties. So, the pandemic provided the occasion to step back and reflect on our culture of liberty and to provide a tool for believers to understand their liberties and to speak out in favor of their liberties.

Starr, who formerly served as president of the Baptist higher education institution Baylor University in Texas, said the book is designed to give every American a grounding in [the] fundamental principles of religious liberty.

I hope that parents and grandparents will see fit to guide their children and their grandchildren to read and understand these great principles which need to be transmitted on to the rising generation, he said.

While Starr acknowledged that hostility to religious liberty has existed for many years, he explained that the culture has shifted quite significantly in recent years.

He warned that in many quarters, religion is viewed as a negative influence on society and accused in broad terms as serving as a mask from discrimination that inflicts harm on others.

We need to be able to understand that narrative and to counter that narrative with what I think [is] the truth about religious commitment, especially in the Christian community  that the Church is a source of enormous good as society measures good, he added.

Starr cited the Equality Act, a sweeping piece of legislation marketed by Democrats as a necessary measure to enshrine nondiscrimination protections for LGBT individuals into law, as one of the gravest threats to religious liberty.

It would be disastrous because, by its terms, it would prevent the invocation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Starr told CP.

The fundamental purpose of  the Religious Freedom Restoration Act [of 1993] was to protect individual conscience and freedom and conscience belief. The statute, by its terms, if enacted, would eradicate that.

Starr went on to say that the Equality Act raises profound First Amendment concerns as to its constitutionality.

But that will take many years to litigate, and so we need to preserve these historic mechanisms, such as the filibuster, to protect us against essentially a runaway majority  a very narrow majority  but a runaway majority, he argued.

The Equality Act passed the Democratic-led House of Representatives earlier this year on a largely party-line vote. But a vote has yet to take place in the Senate, where Democrats have a narrow 50-50 majority with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of Democrats.

The passage of the Equality Act would require the abolition of the filibuster rules, which require most Senate bills to receive 60 votes instead of a simple majority. As of right now, Democrats lack the votes necessary to abolish the filibuster or pass the Equality Act with a simple majority.

Regarding the Biden administrations position on religious liberty, Starr maintained that the signs are not promising thus far.

Starr expressed particular concern about the effort to eradicate freedom of conscience, to say to conscientious objectors, We dont care about your beliefs. We want to achieve our social ends and we will simply ignore your concerns based on faith.

In the book, Starr listed Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker who has repeatedly found himself in court because he refused to make cakes celebrating same-sex weddings and gender transitions due to his religious beliefs, as an example of a conscientious objector.

He told CP that the assault on religious belief and practice, which includes the adverse treatment of Phillips, represents a sea change in attitude in the culture.

Historically, Americans have understood and appreciated freedom of conscience and have stood by dissenters and the right to dissent, he assured. That is part of our constitutional heritage. But that heritage is being challenged now by those who have social goals and are very aggressive in their effort to pursue those goals.

Starr takes solace in the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has articulated six great principles in favor of religious liberty, and those principles have been articulated over the past half-century.

In particular, 40 years ago, the Supreme Court issued a breakthrough opinion in a case allowing Christian groups on college campuses to meet on the same footing as secular groups, he said, referring to the 1981 Supreme Court caseWidmar v. Vincent.

In that case, the nations higher court ruled the University of Missouri at Kansas Citys policy preventing religious groups from meeting on campus unconstitutional.

And over these four decades, the Supreme Court, as the culture has changed, has remained steadfast in support of these great principles, he stressed.

Most recently, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the presence of a cross honoring fallen soldiers on public land in Bladensburg, Maryland, did not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, ruling that the state of Colorado was overly hostile to the baker when it penalized him for violating a state discrimination law by refusing to bake a same-sex wedding cake.
Current and former Detroit employees involved in an alleged coverup that included intentionally destroying emails will not face criminal charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Wednesday, April 21.

The investigation involved former Detroit Office of Development and Grants Director Ryan Friedrichs, whos also the husband of Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, as well as Detroit Mayor Mike Duggans former Chief of Staff Alexis Wiley.

Friedrichs was granted immunity from criminal prosecution prior to granting an interview to state investigators, according to a summary of the investigation.

The facts and evidence in this case simply did not substantiate criminal activity and therefore we cannot pursue charges against any individuals, Nessel said during a press conference announcing her decision Wednesday.

Read more: AGs warrant review recommendation

The investigation, conducted over a year and nine months, found that Friedrichs ordered staff, through his deputy director Sirene Abou-Chakra, to delete emails related to a grant program that was facing public scrutiny.

Robert Carmack, a businessman and foe of the Detroit mayor, on Nov. 14, 2018 used a mobile electronic billboard to share secretly recorded video footage of Duggan visiting the home of Dr. Sonia Hassan and alleging an extramarital affair. Hassan was head of a nonprofit that supports pregnant women in Detroit.

The billboard sparked media coverage and 14 Freedom of Information Act requests that were submitted to the city between Nov. 14, 2018 and the following June, largely related to communications, including emails, between Duggan, grant administrators, other city officials and Hassan.

The inquiries also raised questions about a possible conflict of interest with Hassans nonprofit organization, Make Your Date, which operated under the umbrella of Wayne State University and received more than $300,000 in grant funding from Motor City Match, a program run by Friedrichs agency using $20 million in combined federal Housing and Urban Development and Detroit taxpayer funds.

Two employees who worked under Friedrichs in the Detroit Office of Development and Grants initiated the records destruction complaint that the attorney generals office ultimately investigated, as well as a second complaint related to the misappropriation of federal funds that was investigated by HUD and the Office of the Inspector General.

The employees alleged that because of the personal relationship between Mayor Duggan and Dr. Hassan, the (Make Your Date) program received preferential treatment from the Duggan administration and that Duggan channeled funds to his friends and supporters through the Motor City Match program.

Read more: AGs investigation summary

Friedrichs told state investigators he received instruction from Wiley to end any communications with Hassans nonprofit and to instruct his employees to delete any communications with the nonprofit.

On further questioning Friedrichs explained he could not recall who first mentioned the staff-level employees deleting their (Make Your Date) emails but Wiley did say or OK it, the investigation summary says. Friedrichs agreed to pass her message on to subordinates.

Wiley again contacted Friedrichs in February 2019 and notified him she understood that communication with Hassans nonprofit was ongoing. At that time, Friedrichs said he again passed along the message to delete emails and discontinue communications with Make Your Date.

Friedrichs said Wiley spoke on behalf of and with the authority of the mayor.

The situation culminated in a meeting between Duggan, Wiley and Friedrichs in June 2019 during which Friedrichs claimed Wiley denied ever issuing orders for emails to be deleted.

Although Wiley declined to be interviewed during the investigation, a statement provided through her attorney disclosed that Wiley believed she was the victim of the old boys club in that (Detroits chief financial officer) and Friedrichs had colluded together to make it appear that she was to blame, rather than accepting blame for their own actions.

The investigation concluded that Duggan was unaware of the order for emails to be destroyed.

The warrant review recommendation completed by the attorney general said there is no clear path to success regarding criminal prosecution. It recommended Detroit create clear best practices and training for employees related to freedom of information laws and records retention.

One of the employees who sparked the investigation has a whistleblower lawsuit pending against Detroit in Wayne County Circuit Court.

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The company is advancing resource growth drilling over a range of targets immediately adjacent to the Seko prospect within its flagship Dandoko Project in Mali.

(ASK:OKU) (FRA:JYA) is progressing drilling at its Seko prospect, within Dandoko Project in Mali, testing several high priority resource growth opportunities in close proximity, where it recently reported an initial resource estimate.

The company is undertaking a 14,000 metres drilling program at the Dandoko Project, targeting a resource extension along strike and at a depth of Seko with Auger and IP geophysical targets along the 15 kilometres Dandoko corridor.

Oklo has also completed 8,146 metres of aircore drilling at Kandiole and Sari Projects with assay results pending.

Drilling advances at various targets

Oklo managing director Simon Taylor said: Following the recent announcement of the initial MRE at Seko, we are pleased to report that our resource growth drilling programs are advancing over a range of targets immediately adjacent to Seko and at various regional targets at our Kandiole, Kouroufing and Sari Projects within Oklos strategically located landholding in west Mali.

Importantly, all targets being tested are located within reasonable trucking distance of the 0.67 million-ounce Seko gold resource.

Foundation for continued resource growth

The Dandoko Project resource was prepared by independent consultants, Maja Mining Ltd in accordance with the JORC Code.

Mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike, and accordingly, the reported resource is considered an initial resource that provides a central foundation for continued resource growth.

Taylor said: The current resource growth drilling program is targeting three areas.

Firstly, numerous targets immediately outside the resource pit shells, particularly at SK1 South.

Secondly, the identification of additional high-grade starter pit opportunities similar to SK1 North and SK2 along the 15 kilometres Dandoko gold corridor.

Thirdly, regional targets within the Kandiole, Kouroufing and Sari Projects, all of which are near Seko and have previously delivered promising bedrock drill intersections.

Technical studies

The company has also initiated studies to investigate development options incorporating the initial Seko resource.

Technical studies centred upon the initial resource are considered a base case scenario, as the mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike and only a small proportion of the Dandoko gold corridor and regional targets have been assessed in detail to date.

Taylor said: With over 65% of the Seko resource hosted within the oxide zone, the potential of a large-scale open-pit mining development with a simple gold processing flowsheet is being assessed as part of initial technical studies.

With 79% of the MRE already in a combined measured and indicated category and considerable potential existing to rapidly grow the resource through successful drilling, results from initial studies may be expanded to encompass new opportunities as they arise.

Environmental and baseline studies

In December 2020 quarter, Digby Wells Environmental was appointed by the company to undertake baseline studies that will form the basis of the ongoing Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and environmental licencing requirements related to the mining licence at Dandoko.

Digby Wells is an international company providing environmental and social expertise, focused on the mineral resources sector in Africa.

Studies on flora & fauna, aquatic ecology, soils, wetlands and water monitoring, socio-economic and health, demographic and land use studies are all progressing well.

All the programs are fully funded from Oklos cash reserve of about A$14 million.
Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson seemed to agree much more than not during a 30-minute televised debate this week. But when they did disagree, the two congressional candidates launched into personal attacks against each other.

My opponent has been desperately spewing all sorts of lies, Carter said more than once during the debate Wednesday night, which aired on WDSU.

When we talk about desperation, evidence to my right, Peterson said at one point, referring to Carters spot on the stage at Xavier University, which hosted the debate.

Karen Carter Peterson steers slightly left of Troy Carter in first Louisiana congressional debate Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter didnt disagree broadly Friday during the first debate between the two candidates for an open congressio

One key difference during the debate was that Peterson repeatedly called herself a bold and courageous leader, while Carter touted his ability to work with everyone to get things done, including Republicans.

The two Democratic state senators from New Orleans are competing for the 2nd Congressional District seat in a special election Saturday. The district, which elected Cedric Richmond for a decade until his resignation in January, includes most of New Orleans and the West Bank of Jefferson Parish and snakes up the Mississippi River to north Baton Rouge.

Carter led the March 20 primary with 36% of the vote to Petersons 23%. Since then, Peterson has pushed a strong progressive message, while Carter has aligned himself with more moderate Democrats and sought to win over the 16% of primary voters who backed Republican candidates.

A look at Karen Carter Peterson's time in Louisiana Legislature: Issues she's supported, more In her 21 years as a member in the state House and Senate, Karen Carter Peterson has cast, literally, tens of thousands of votes on legislation.

John Couvillon, a Baton Rouge-based pollster and demographer, is projecting a 14% turnout for the runoff election, compared to 18% for the primary.

Wednesday night's debate was the second of three during the runoff. The last one will take place Thursday at 6:15 p.m. on WWL television.

Peterson and Carter were political allies until this race got underway, and that could be seen in their answers to questions posed by host Travers Mackel and three Xavier students.

They both said they want to allay misguided fears to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19. They both support raising the federal minimum wage, although Peterson wants to go as high as $20 per hour, while Carter has supported $15. They both want to help small businesses have better access to the Paycheck Protection Program that began under President Donald Trump and has continued under President Joe Biden.

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Carter and Peterson both oppose enacting restrictions on the participation of transgender athletes in sports, and both oppose term limits on members of Congress. They both favor legalizing recreational marijuana and oppose lifting public mask mandates that Gov. John Bel Edwards has imposed in Louisiana.

They both said they support the Medicare for All plan that calls for the government to take over the health care system, when asked to give a yes or no answer to the question. At other forums, Carter has explained that he supports allowing people to move to a government health care plan or stay with their existing private plan, an idea supported by Biden known as public option.

Carter and Peterson both support removing the elevated Interstate 10 over Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, but not until officials get input from local residents and business leaders.

'I'm no Trumper,' says Troy Carter in response to accusations from Karen Carter Peterson Karen Carter Peterson is seeking to tie Troy Carter to former President Donald Trump in the final 10 days of a special election that will send

During Mackels lightning round of yes/no answers, the two differed on whether to extend Bidens moratorium on drilling for oil and gas on federal lands and waters. Peterson wants to continue it, while Carter said, its time to move on.

Peterson said she supports comprehensive immigration reform when asked about the Mexican border crisis, while Carter less specifically called for treating people humanely and ensuring that they get vaccinated.

Both mentioned big Washington political figures who have endorsed them: For Carter, it was Richmond, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and U.S. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

They recognize that in order to get things done, they need to send someone to Washington who can build bridges, not walls, [who] can establish relationships that mean something, not kick rocks because you dont get your way, not spew lies because youre losing, Carter said.

Peterson cited an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and said of Carter, I believe that its wrong for someone to stand with the oil companies while people in the River Parishes and Cancer Alley are dying of pollution, toxic waste from these companies.

She was referring to Carters failure to return $19,150 in campaign contributions from companies that service the oil and gas industry, top executives from Entergy Corp. and a Chevron Corp. lobbyist. His failure to return the donations led the Oil Change USA group to remove him from its list of 3,200 candidates and officeholders who signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. Peterson has signed it.

Peterson, in her closing statement, promised that I will never ever lie to you and said she will shake things up to get things done.

Carter, in his closing statement, accused Peterson once again of consistently telling untruths and said, I promise that Ill always tell you the truth.
OSCODA, MI  On Tuesday, four members of Congress sent the U.S. Air Force a reprimand for its opaque approach to keeping the local community abreast of cleanup decisions at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan. The letter urged a commitment to meaningful and substantive community engagement with Oscoda stakeholders.

The Air Force may not have gotten the memo.

The next day, Air Force managers cut off a local advisory board member during a meeting who wanted to read a community letter advocating for more robust cleanup, and then ended the meeting without giving her a chance to make a comment.

That member, Cathy Wusterbarth, said afterward she was threatened with repercussions if she tried to read the letter early in the meeting because the new Air Force site manager  the fourth since 2016  felt advocating for groups outside of the board was inappropriate.

The experience exemplifies the concern that locals and lawmakers have with Air Force community relations, she said.

Were there to be community liaisons, said Wusterbarth, who co-leads the NOW (Need Our Water) activist group in Oscoda and also sits on the base Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), which held its quarterly meeting Wednesday, April 21. Thats the purpose of being a community RAB member. Thats our job  to relay what the community is saying.

The RAB meeting dust-up was a sour end to a busy week of activism around cleanup at Wurtsmith, where huge plumes of PFAS pollution caused by decades of training with chemical-based firefighting foam have poisoned the groundwater and resulted in do not eat warnings for fish, deer and other wildlife in one of the states most highly polluted wetlands.

Wusterbarth and other members of the NOW group  including a former state regulator who discovered the chemicals in Oscoda and was instrumental in bringing PFAS to light in Michigan  appeared on a press call with U.S. Sen. Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, both Democrats, earlier that day to highlight frustrations with the Air Force.

Afterward, the National Wildlife Federation and NOW released a coalition letter urging stronger cleanup measures and more transparency. It was signed by Oscoda elected officials, business owners, health officials, residents, the RAB board, members of local civic organizations, homeowner associations, angler groups as well as PFAS advocates around the country.

The press call and letter followed an online townhall hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) on Tuesday, April 20, in which state officials said theyve asked the Air Force to install more groundwater treatment systems beyond those already being planned to stem pollutants entering Clarks Marsh and Van Etten Lake.

The Air Forces refusal to design the Clarks Marsh system (an expansion of a system installed in 2014) to adhere to Michigans strict new laws on discharging PFAS into the groundwater has already sparked outrage from activists this spring. It also resulted in action by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, took steps to force the Department of Defense to comply with state law in Oscoda by invoking provisions in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

In a Tuesday, April 20 letter to new Air Force site manager Catharine Varley, Peters, Kildee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin urged the Air Force to design the Clarks Marsh system expansion to meet state rules regardless of whether it would probably meet those thresholds anyway, arguing that designing it that way now would prevent unnecessary expenditures of taxpayer money on enhancing treatment down the line.

In calls with reporters this month, Air Force officials claimed the federal Superfund law bars them from designing the system to meet Michigans stricter rules.

The system expansion is one of several interim cleanup actions the Air Force agreed to undertake last year under heavy pressure from activists, state regulators and members of Congress  which gave the military $13.5 million in supplemental funding specifically for new stopgap cleaning measures at the former base in late 2019.

Construction is expected to begin this fall on the Clarks Marsh system expansion, followed shortly after by a similar system of new extraction wells that would suck up contaminated groundwater and pipe it to an activated carbon treatment before it enters Van Etten Lake, where its causing toxic surface water foam to pile up on the Oscoda Township beach.

The Clarks Marsh system would increase polluted groundwater capture from the nearby fire training area by 40 percent, either by expanding the existing granular activated carbon (GAC) system or switching to ion resin exchange. However, a retired state site manager says those plans would only clean up a fraction of the contamination entering the marsh.

A pair of 20,000-pound activated-carbon vessels help treat PFAS-laden water in groundwater treatment system at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base fire training area. This system, near Clark's Marsh, is being expanded by the Air Force.MLive.com

Were all quite disappointed in how little the expansion that the Air Force proposed in this action was, said Bob Delaney, a former Wurtsmith site manager with EGLE who is working with the NOW group. We were all expecting something better.

Delaney, who spoke on the press call Tuesday with Peters and Kildee, overlaid the Air Force map showing the expanding pollution capture zone atop an EGLE map showing a much larger area of contamination thats entering the marsh from the former base wastewater treatment plant now owned by Oscoda Township and other points nearby.

Delaney criticized the Air Force for keeping the public in the dark about the extent of the contamination, calling it impossible for the public to make informed comments on proposed plans without all the relevant information. At the EGLE townhall meeting the night before, staff members with the water resources division also disclosed that they had discovered the Air Force was not disclosing all of its data during a 2019 treatment system inspection.

When we came out to do the sampling inspection, the Air Force was not aware that we were coming out, Charlie Bauer, a water resources manager in EGLEs Bay City office, said Tuesday. One of the things we found out from that sampling inspection is that they were not providing us all the data that they were collecting for PFAS. So, we sent a compliance communication requiring that they provide that data.

On Wednesday, Kildee said hes lost his patience.

The deadline is today, he said. I mean, this is gone on far too long.

If (the Air Force) wants to talk about the technical difficulties in meeting deadlines, the one deadline that they can meet as of, lets just say 11 a.m. this morning, is to be transparent with the community, Kildee said.

That doesnt require money. That doesnt require any technical support. It doesnt require equipment, Kildee said. It requires a decision to be transparent with the community  include them in all of the deliberations, provide them all the documentation that they request. And that is a starting point I think would change the conversation, because if they know that all of their work is going to be viewed in the light of day, the excuses for delay disappear.

In Oscoda, activists arent holding their breath.

In advance of Wednesdays RAB meeting, Wusterbarth attempted to get Delaneys presentation onto the agenda but said was stymied by an arbitrary deadline.

The NOW group and local officials have been upset with the Air Forces communication with the community this year. Both the Oscoda and Au Sable township boards passed resolutions recently calling for greater input in decision-making. The group says it was blindsided by the Air Forces announcement of the Clarks Marsh plan; only learning the draft had been released after being contacted by journalists for comment.

Those concerns were among many highlighted by lawmakers and the activist coalition letter this week.

Wusterbarth, who has been a member of the RAB since the board was re-formed in 2017 at the request of Oscoda Township, has regularly used her seat on the board to advocate on behalf of NOW, giving sometimes lengthy updates on the groups activities during past meetings.

Unfortunately, I was told that I may suffer repercussions if I attempt to read the community public comments during the meeting, said Wusterbarth, who was quickly interrupted by Air Force site manager and board co-chair Catharine Varley.

Cathy, can you please add this at the end during the public comment period? Thats what we asked, Varley said. Not that you do it during your updates. These are supposed to be the updates of what youre doing based on your RAB position.

Two hours later, following a short presentation on the danger of unexploded munitions and a long, highly-technical geology presentation about plume modeling, time was scare for public comment. The meeting moderator called on one person.

It wasnt Cathy Wusterbarth.

They filibustered it, said Tony Spaniola, an attorney and activist who owns a home across from the base on Van Etten Lake. Usually, if theres people in the queue with questions, they ask if its ok to go over time. Not tonight.

They just ran out the clock.

A message sent to Varley and the Air Force late Wednesday seeking a response to the activist concerns was returned mid-day Thursday. In an email, Varley said the board planned to take more public comment but we ran out of time.

The RAB meeting was scheduled for three hours, and it would not be fair to expect RAB members or members of the public to sit through a longer meeting, Varley said. I have reached out to Ms. Wusterbarth and invited her to submit her comments in writing so we can have them as part of the public record.

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House Democrats pass DC statehood bill; critics slam move as 'power grab'

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The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill that would admit the District of Columbia to the Union as the 51st state, a move critics are calling a power grab.

The "Washington, D.C. Admission Act" passed the House Thursday on a party-line vote, with 216 Democrats voting in favor of the measure and 208 Republicans voting against it. The wide partisan divide surrounding the D.C. statehood debate reflects the fact that should the overwhelmingly Democratic District of Columbia become the 51st state in the Union, it would almost certainly send two Democratic senators to the Senate and a Democratic Congresswoman to the House, tilting the balance of power in Democrats favor.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the non-voting delegate representing the District of Columbia in Congress, made the case for statehood on the House floor Thursday: This country was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed, but D.C. residents are taxed without representation and cannot consent to the laws under which they, as American citizens, must live.

According to Norton, D.C.s population of 712,000 is larger than two states. D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and pays more federal taxes than 21 states. D.C.s gross domestic product is larger than 17 states.

Congress has a choice, she continued. It can continue to exclude D.C. residents from the democratic process, forcing them to watch from the sidelines as Congress votes on federal and D.C. laws, and to treat them, in the words of Frederick Douglass, as aliens, not citizens, but subjects. Or it can live up to the nations founding principles, join the 54 percent of Americans  and growing  who support D.C. statehood and pass H.R. 51.

Recognizing the policy implications that would come with an increased Democratic majority in Congress, conservative groups quickly condemned the passage of the D.C. statehood bill.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, lamented that Radical pro-abortion Democrats in the House are ignoring the Constitutions principles regarding the seat of federal government to push for D.C. statehood, knowing it would stymy pro-life legislation, and force Americans in our nations capital to fund abortion on demand.

This is their latest power grab and attempt to change the rules in order to advance the worst of their agenda before the 2022 midterm elections. Make no mistake, they pursue this deeply unpopular agenda at their own political peril, she added.

In a letter addressed to members of Congress, Dannenfelser elaborated on her concerns about the bill. She explained that the Dornan Amendment, sometimes referred to as the District of Columbia (D.C.) Amendment, is a funding ban in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill that ensures taxpayer money cannot finance abortions in the District of Columbia.

D.C. statehood would remove the ability for the federal government to limit such funding, she warned. If D.C. were to become the 51st state, it would join the list of states that use state tax dollars to fund abortions for women enrolled in Medicaid.

Dannenfelser also described the attempt to admit D.C. as a state as an attempt to add two Democratic senators to the Senate where they would stand in the way of pro-life legislation designed to defend our most basic rights, the first of which is life. She expressed concern that the two Democratic senators that would represent D.C. in the Senate would undoubtedly vote in lockstep with the abortion lobby to confirm only the most radical pro-abortion judges and justices.

Additionally, critics of the push to make D.C. a state cite the U.S. Constitution as another reason for their opposition. In a June 2020 op-ed for the Boston Globe, Jeff Jacoby explained that Article I, Section 8 provides explicitly for a national capital that would not be part of a state nor treated as a state, but rather a unique enclave under the exclusive authority of Congress  a neutral district in which representatives of all the states could meet on an equal footing to conduct the nations business.

In addition to criticizing the push for D.C. statehood, the conservative group FreedomWorks has called on Congress to support the D.C.-Maryland Reunion Act. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., would make the areas outside of the National Mall, the Capitol and the White House part of Maryland, thereby giving its residents voting representation in Congress without adding any new states to the Union and maintaining Capitol Hill as the neutral district that Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution calls for.

While the Washington, D.C. Admission Act has passed the House of Representatives, it faces an uphill climb to passage in the Senate. Although Democrats have a 50-50 majority in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote, the filibuster rule requires most legislation to receive 60 votes for passage.

Currently, the Senate version of the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., only has 44 co-sponsors. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., as well as Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, have yet to sign on as co-sponsors. Like the House version of the bill, the Senate version of the D.C. statehood measure is not expected to accumulate any Republican support.

The House had previously passed a D.C. statehood bill last year, but the bill was never brought up for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. Polling has shown that the support for D.C. statehood has grown over time.

According to a 2021 poll by Data for Progress, a liberal group, 54% of Americans support making Washington, D.C., a state. A 2019 Gallup poll found that just 64% of Americans support D.C. statehood. In 2016, 86% of District of Columbia residents voted to approve a referendum that would add Washington, D.C., to the Union as the 51st state.
DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Airborne Optronics Market by End Use, System, Technology (Hyperspectral, Multispectral), Application (Commercial, Military, Space), Aircraft Type (Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing, Urban Air Mobility, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Region - Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global airborne optronics market size is projected to grow from USD 1.4 billion in 2020 to USD 2.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 12.7% from 2020 to 2025.

The market is driven by various factors, such as a growing fleet of commercial and combat aircraft and increased deployment of electro-optics in unmanned vehicles.

The airborne optronics market includes major players Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Thales SA (France), Safran (France), FLIR Systems, Inc. (US), and Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel). These players have spread their business across various countries includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect airborne optronics production and services by 7-10% globally in 2020.

Surveillance system: The largest segment of the airborne optronics market, by system.

The surveillance system segment is expected to be the largest market by value. The growth of the surveillance system segment of the airborne optronics market can be attributed to the increasing usage of small UAVs in the military sector along with long-range and high-altitude UAVs to provide battlefield intelligence. Small UAVs help monitor enemy forces or specific areas and send video feedback to ground stations with the help of GPS. UAVs are used for ISR operations to record information of potential targets that are otherwise challenging to detect.

Multispectral: The fastest-growing segment of the airborne optronics market, by technology.

Based on technology, the multispectral segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the airborne optronics market during the forecast period. The growth of the multispectral segment of the airborne optronics market can be attributed to the low-cost multispectral imaging system which is considered to be the best fit for unmanned autonomous aircraft.

Commercial: The fastest-growing segment of the airborne optronics market, by application.

Based on the application, the commercial segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the airborne optronics market during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to various commercial applications of airborne optronics. The use of drones is not limited to aerial imaging and surveying applications. UAVs are also integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) to carry out a range of commercial operations, including preventive maintenance, rapid emergency response, facility surveys, security, and land surveys. The demand for drone services in different verticals is also increasing, with the rise in the use of UAVs.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: The fastest-growing segment of the airborne optronics market, by aircraft type.

Based on aircraft type, the unmanned aerial vehicles segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the airborne optronics market during the forecast period. UAVs are commonly termed drones and are mostly known for their wide usage in various military missions such as border surveillance. They are also used for mapping, surveying, and determining weather conditions of a specific area. Certain remotely piloted UAVs are designed to operate as loitering munition for defense forces. These UAVs are equipped with high-resolution cameras and electro-optics and infrared systems that help them carry out surveillance activities and identify the location of a target. Once located, the UAV is guided towards the target to destroy it.

OEM: The fastest-growing segment of the airborne optronics market, by end use.

Based on the end use, the OEM segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the airborne optronics market during the forecast period. OEMs are responsible for the installation of optronics in an aircraft during the assembly stage and are then made available for delivery to aircraft manufacturers and space agencies. Over the years, there has been a significant rise in the demand for different aircraft types across regions. According to Airbus, it delivered 863 commercial aircraft to 99 customers in 2019.

North America: The largest contributing region in the airborne optronics market.

North America is projected to be the largest regional share for the airborne optronics market during the forecast period. The key factor responsible for North America, leading the airborne optronics market owing to the rapid growth of the technologically advanced optronics in the region. In North America, the rise in aircraft orders and supplies is encouraging manufacturers of airborne optronics to increase their sales year on year. The increasing demand for commercial aircraft and the presence of some of the leading players operating in the market, such as Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), FLIR System (US), Lockheed Martin (US), L3Harris Technologies (US), and Collins Aerospace (US), are expected to drive the airborne optronics market in North America. These players are focusing on R&D to increase their product lines and using technologically advanced systems, subsystems, and other components for manufacturing airborne optronics.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Growth Opportunities in the Airborne Optronics Market

4.2 Airborne Optronics Market, by Application

4.3 Airborne Optronics Market, by Country

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.2.1 Drivers

5.2.1.1 Growing Fleet of Commercial and Combat Aircraft

5.2.1.2 Modernization and Technological Advancements

5.2.1.3 Increased Deployment of Electro-Optics for Unmanned Vehicles

5.2.2 Opportunities

5.2.2.1 Emergence of Urban Air Mobility Platforms

5.2.2.2 Growing Defense Budgets of Major Economies

5.2.2.3 Global Expansion of Military Air Fleet

5.2.2.4 Use of UAVs in Military Operations

5.2.3 Challenges

5.2.3.1 Inefficiency in Extreme Weather Conditions

5.2.3.2 Impact of COVID-19

5.3 Operational Data

5.4 Ranges and Scenarios

5.5 Impact of COVID-19 on Airborne Optronics Market

5.6 Disruption Impacting Customer's Business

5.6.1 Revenue Shift and & New Revenue Pockets for Airborne Optronics Market

5.7 Supply Chain Analysis

5.8 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.8.1 Threat of New Entrants

5.8.2 Threat of Substitutes

5.8.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

5.8.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers

5.8.5 Competition in the Industry

5.9 Technology Analysis

5.10 Airborne Optronics Market Ecosystem

5.11 Case Study Analysis: Airborne Optronics Market

5.12 Tariff and Regulatory Landscape

5.13 Average Selling Price

5.14 Volume Data

5.15 Trade Data Analysis

6 Industry Trends

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Value Chain Analysis

6.3 Emerging Technologies

6.3.1 Cameras for Unmanned Vehicles

6.3.2 Hyperspectral Imaging

6.3.3 Multispectral Imaging

6.3.4 Multi-Sensor Data Fusion for Navigation

6.3.5 Autonomy Level for Unmanned Systems

6.3.6 Weaponized Drones with Electro-Optics

6.4 Impact of Megatrend

6.5 Innovation & Patent Analysis

7 Airborne Optronics Market, by System

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Reconnaissance System

7.2.1 Technological Advancements in Optronics Enable UAVs to Carry-Out Reconnaissance Missions

7.3 Targeting System

7.3.1 New Contracts are Being Secured by Airborne Targeting Manufacturers to Provide New Advanced Targeting Systems for Combat Aircraft

7.4 Search and Track System

7.4.1 Search and Track System Provides Fighter Aircraft Stealth Vision

7.5 Surveillance System

7.5.1 UAVs are Increasingly Utilized in the Military Sector to Provide Battlefield Intelligence

7.6 Warning/Detection System

7.6.1 Increasing Investments by Armed Forces Facilitate Warning/Detection

7.7 Countermeasure System

7.7.1 Requirement for Adding Self-Protection Capability to Fighter Aircraft Drives this Segment

7.8 Navigation and Guidance System

7.8.1 New Guidance and Navigation Standards Drive the Demand of These Systems

7.9 Special Mission System

7.9.1 Demand for Monitoring Aerial Refueling Drives this Segment

8 Airborne Optronics Market, by Technology

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Multispectral

8.2.1 Low-Cost Multispectral Imaging System is Considered to be the Best Fit for Unmanned Autonomous Aircraft

8.3 Hyperspectral

8.3.1 Hyperspectral Imaging Improves Situational Awareness with the Help of Isr Systems

9 Airborne Optronics Market, by Application

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Commercial

9.2.1 Technological Advancements in Drones Technology Have Enhanced Their Capabilities for Commercial Applications

9.3 Military

9.3.1 Wide Use of Airborne Optronics in Military Applications Drive the Market

9.4 Space

9.4.1 Increasing Use of Advanced High-Tech Cameras for Space Applications Will Drive this Segment

10 Airborne Optronics Market, by Aircraft Type

10.1 Introduction

10.1.1 Impact of COVID-19 on Aircraft Type Segment

10.1.1.1 Most Impacted Segment

10.1.1.2 Least Impacted Segment

10.2 Fixed Wing

10.2.1 Business Jets

10.3 Rotary Wing

10.4 Urban Air Mobility

10.5 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

11 Airborne Optronics Market, by End Use

11.1 Introduction

11.1.1 Impact of COVID-19 on End Use Segments

11.1.1.1 Most Impacted Segment

11.1.1.2 Least Impacted Segment

11.2 Original Equipment Manufacturer (Oem)

11.2.1 Increasing Use of UAVs in Civil and Commercial Applications Drive this Segment

11.3 Aftermarket

11.3.1 Increasing Use of Optronic Devices in Military Aircraft Drive this Segment

12 Regional Analysis

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Impact of COVID-19 on Airborne Optronics Market

12.3 North America

12.4 Europe

12.5 Asia-Pacific

12.6 Middle East

12.7 Latin America

12.8 Africa

13 Competitive Landscape

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Market Share Analysis, 2019

13.3 Revenue Analysis of Top 5 Market Players, 2019

13.4 Competitive Scenario

13.4.1 Competitive Leadership Mapping

13.4.1.1 Star

13.4.1.2 Emerging Leader

13.4.1.3 Pervasive

13.4.1.4 Participant

13.4.2 Startups Competitive Leadership Mapping

13.4.2.1 Progressive Companies

13.4.2.2 Responsive Companies

13.4.2.3 Dynamic Companies

13.4.2.4 Starting Blocks

13.5 Competitive Scenario

13.5.1 New Product Launches/Developments

13.5.2 Deals

13.5.3 Contracts

14 Company Profiles

14.1 Key Players

14.1.1 Northrop Grumman Corporation

14.1.2 Thales Sa

14.1.3 Flir Systems, Inc.

14.1.4 Safran

14.1.5 Elbit Systems Ltd.

14.1.6 Lockheed Martin Corporation

14.1.7 Leonardo Spa

14.1.8 L3Harris Technologies Inc.

14.1.9 Hensoldt Ag

14.1.10 Collins Aerospace

14.2 Other Players

14.2.1 Israel Aerospace Industries

14.2.2 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.

14.2.3 Kappa Optronics GmbH

14.2.4 Stark Aerospace, Inc.

14.2.5 Excelitas Technologies Corporation

14.2.6 Osi Optoelectronics, Inc.

14.2.7 Leidos Holdings, Inc.

14.2.8 Ii-Vi, Inc.

14.2.9 Bae Systems plc

14.2.10 Aselsan A.a.

14.2.11 Intevac, Inc.

14.2.12 Ximea GmbH

14.2.13 Headwall Photonics, Inc.

14.2.14 Cubert GmbH

14.2.15 Resonon Inc.

15 Appendix

15.1 Discussion Guide

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/prbucw



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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[email protected]



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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 21, 2021) - Rain City Resources Inc. (CSE: RAIN) ("RAIN" or "Rain City" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that is has entered into an option agreement with an arm's-length party to acquire an undivided 100% interest in the Bro Property, Yukon.

The Bro Property (the "Bro") is four (4) claims totalling 73 ha located approximately 150 kilometers northeast of Whitehorse and 50 kilometers southwest of Ross River, Yukon and is completed surrounded by Archer Cathro. The Bro lies in the St. Cyr range of the Polly Mountains, southwest of the Tintina Fault. Situated within the Pelly-Cassiar Platform which is comprised mostly of moderately faulted and folded Paleozoic miogeoclinal elastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks that were deformed during Mesozoic arc-continent collision, and by mid-Cretaceous intrusions of intermediate compositions. The Ketza-Seagull District is bounded on the northeast by the Tintina fault which has postulated right lateral strike slip displacement in excess of 450 km. The Bro property is located just north of the Seagull uplift between the Seagull Thrust to the north and the Pass Peak Thrust to the south. Structures within the window are characterized by steeply dipping normal faults.

The H-zone is a brecciated gossan zone containing pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite mineralization. The mineralization identified on the H zone consists of a wide stockwork breccia zone probably related to steep-dipping fault structures. Massive sulphides of pyrite, galena, chalcopyrite and minor sphalerite and arsenopyrite and oxidized equivalents occur in open space boxwork textures. The main trench has exposed a gossan zone 40m wide. Surface grades of mineralization are hard to predict because of the oxidized nature of mineralization.

With a VMS target in mind, the stockwork breccia mineralization could be interpreted to represent post-depositional remobilization of exhalative base and precious metals into a structural zone. Historically, Noranda's drilling only tested the up-hill portion of this breccia zone and assumed a shallow west-dip of the surface zone which they interpreted to be a thrust fault. Noranda interpreted the sulphide mineralized breccia intersected is a flat lying extension of the mineralization in the Trench gossan. However, structural measurements in the trench suggests the zone is steeply dipping and hence has not been adequately drill tested.

The Company finds the Bro Property compelling as it's an excellent VMS target in VMS country. The H-zone is a classic example of a change of geological interpretation which could lead to new discovery.

Terms

The Bro Property can be acquired for aggregate consideration of CAD$3,000,000 over 3 years, with a 3% NSR reserved to the Vendor. The royalty can be bought out at a rate of CAD$2,000,000 per 1% at any time.

Payments in cash or stock to comprise a total CAD $2,500,000 as to the following:

CAD$500,000 payable within 30 days of signing

CAD$500,000 on first anniversary

CAD$500,000 on second anniversary

CAD$1,000,000 on third anniversary

Payments in cash to comprise a total CAD $500,000 as to the following:

CAD$100,000 payable within 30 days of signing

CAD$100,000 on first anniversary

CAD$100,000 on second anniversary

CAD$200,000 on third anniversary

The Company will be increasing and amending our non-brokered private placement (see News Release dated April 14, 2021) from 10,000,000 units up to 15,000,000 units of securities of the Company ("Units") and amending our purchase price to $0.05 per unit. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-full Common Share purchase Warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.075 at any time up to 60-months following issuance.

Technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Derrick Strickland P. Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

"Christopher Reynolds"

Christopher Reynolds

President and Chief Executive Officer

Rain City Resources Inc.

Telephone: 604 681 3170

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, actual results of the Company's exploration and other activities, environmental risks, future metal prices, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81271
The Thumb Regional Sobriety Court has maintained its mission to help improve the future of certain individuals caught in a loop of repetition in the criminal justice system, despite the challenges the pandemic has presented.

Huron County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Wallace is one of the members on the TRSC team trying to curb recidivism and help people that need it.

Not everyone is successful, Wallace said. We are all human beings. We cant get them all but we can do better than we were.

The TRSC serves Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties and the team consists of a judge, program coordinator, case managers, probation officers, prosecutors, defense counsel, treatment representatives, law enforcement, and drug testing representatives.

Each team member brings a different perspective to the group, Wallace said. The judge has the final say of what happens. The judge is the team leader and the arbiter.

When someone in Huron County is determined to be appropriate for the program, is willing to enter the program and one of the judges signs off on it, the defendant is sentenced to the program as part of their probation. Wallace said at that point Tuscola County Chief Judge Amy Grace Gierhart takes over and has authority over the case. If the person fails the program, the case returns to Huron County for a probation violation.

Why sobriety courts? Wallace asked rhetorically, Its because they work. A report came out from the Supreme Court that said people in sobriety courts are three times less likely to re-offend. Thats huge, especially when you consider who we are targeting in the first place  people who keep coming back through the system.

The report Wallace was referencing was this years Problem-Solving Courts Annual Report, which showed in the 199 PSCs in the state this year, 68% of the 2,800 participants had completed a drug or sobriety court program and that graduates were three times less likely to be convicted of a new offense within three years. Wallace was a speaker at this year's Michigan Problem-Solving Courts' press conference April 14.

Wallace told the Tribune there are certain types of people who the judicial and correctional system fails to help.

What we have learned over the last 20 or 30 years is that someone that becomes dependent on alcohol or drugs, their brains have changed, Wallace said. It gets to the point where getting that substance is more important than breathing, almost. So while they are in jail, we are safe from them, but when they get out they will go back to drinking.

We arent changing their behavior, they keep coming back, Wallace continued. While jail is an essential tool for the general public, it is not designed to change behavior.

A night in jail is typically enough to scare most people straight, Wallace said. However, with certain offenders jail becomes a familiar setting.

When you get to be a high-risk, high-needs offender, you become acclimated to it, Wallace said. We also arent addressing the underlying issue which is the dependency on the chemical.

Wallace has been involved in sobriety courts since 2008, when he was previously the director of a national program.

I was in Alexandria, Virginia at the National Center for DWI Courts, Wallace said. That is an arm of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, or NADCP. At the NADCP we trained teams around the country on how to do these programs.

I was the senior director for the center responsible for the training programs around the country, Wallace continued.

In his role, Wallace ran the center and arranged trainings around the country, raising awareness in the public and securing funding for the center.

Wallace said sobriety courts focus on a high-risk, high-need offender, which is someone who has been through the criminal system several times, possibly has been on probation or put in jail, but has an underlying dependency on a substance like drugs or alcohol.

Sobriety court programs are designed to be an intensive supervision and intensive treatment program where the courts hold them accountable, Wallace said. At the same time, they are in intensive treatment to address why they are there.

While an individual can seek sobriety treatment outside the court system, the success rate is lower. Wallace said while people could go into a program themselves, those type of programs are typically only 90-day programs, whereas the sobriety court programs are a year or more.

What we know is they will stay in treatment longer because the court has told them to, he said.

Wallace said when people voluntarily seek treatment, it is often prompted by requests from their significant other or employer, and often the short-term programs dont work for this type of offender.

High-risk, high-need offenders need at least a year, Wallace said. Ninety days is almost useless. Typically these programs are 18 months long and have to be more than a year to ensure sufficient time for a change.

The reason the longer program is needed is because often with addiction it isnt just about treating the chemical dependency, but also the life and routine. On one side, a chemical dependency creates a dopamine dependency, which Wallace said can be treated.

In brain development, we all have the amygdala, which creates dopamine, so when you have drugs or alcohol it creates that rush and the amygdala remembers that, Wallace said. Your brain remembers the good stuff, but it ignores the downside of it. When you go in for 90 days, they dont really address how to handle that.

It is hard to change but people forget that, he continued. Think about New Years resolutions, you are going to lose weight and for the short term you might do great, but what about long term?

In a sobriety court, individuals enrolled in a program are held accountable in various ways, including meeting with judges every other week, and by having to do frequent drug testing. Wallace said the program is designed around incentives and sanctions.

The sanctions might be jail, but it could be writing a paper about how you screwed up, Wallace said. It is graduated so it gets more intense each time, so we can find the right response so they wont do it.

Wallace said the program is designed to handle struggles that often occur when fighting addictions.

We recognize that they are going to screw up, Wallace said. Change is hard for everybody and addiction takes time to change. Just because they test positive doesnt mean they are out of the program. Sometimes we say, Okay, you screwed up. Heres a consequence, now get back on the wagon. Were moving on. As long as they are working with us and they are trying to do what they can.

It may be two steps forward and one step back, or two steps back and one step forward, he continued. As long as they are working with us and working forward, we will keep working with them. The consequences will get more severe, but it doesnt mean they are just discharged from the program.

Recognizing both the successes and failures is an important part of the process Wallace said.

The other side is when they do something right, we recognize it, Wallace said. Behavioral change requires positives and negatives. The positives can be incentives like the judge saying, Good job. I am proud of you. How many times have you heard a judge say that? Sometimes the incentives can be applause, and everybody claps.

Wallace said other incentives might be a fish bowl full of gift cards.

It is nothing major, but little things to say keep going, he said. We focus on both the accountability and the encouragement.

Being involved in someones journey and success is incredibly rewarding, Wallace said.

What is fascinating to watch is when they first come in, they are very guarded, Wallace said. They dont think the judge is here to help them. In about six months you see a huge change in the person. They are more joyful, they are having a conversation with the judge, and they recognize the benefits of being sober.

At graduation, when you hear them talk about before and after, it can really be a powerful message, he continued.

Wallace said the success and recovery is one of the most rewarding aspects of being involved.

It is a phenomenal, joyful thing to see that success, he said. Here is someone that in all likelihood we will not see again in the criminal courts.

As a prosecutor, we are seeing people go to prison all the time and how many times are we are seeing them coming back, Wallace asked rhetorically. Here we are seeing people come into the system and but we are seeing a time when they are recognizing the benefits and we really made a difference.

However, with the success comes the failures, which Wallace said can weigh on you.

There are certain individuals that you have high hopes with and you think they will make it, but they dont, he said. What is really challenging is finding the best way to respond at what is going on. They are masters at coverup. So, how do we make sure we are getting through to them?

Wallace said having a team of individuals helps form the ways to reach individuals that are ready to change.

The programs are broken up into several phases and upon successful completion of each the program, participants receive a certificate and upon successful completion of the program participants graduate.

When they reach their graduation during the program it is recognized, Wallace said. We also quarterly try to have a graduation ceremony. Obviously with COVID right now, things are different.

However, based on the 80% success rate of 187 people that have participated in the TRSC program since 2014, the system works. In Huron County 67 people have participated in the program of 43 graduated, 10 failed, two were discharged and 12 remained active as of Jan. 31, 2021. While 77% of the people involved in the TSRC programs were employed when they entered the program, that number increased to 95% when they graduated.

There can be a large cost associated with sobriety courts because it involves a team of people to oversee the program. However, Wallace said the costs are outweighed by the savings elsewhere.

We arent using the jail as much, Wallace said. We use it, but not extensively. Then, by them not coming back to the court system, that is another cost benefit.

Wallace said lessening the load on the court systems also allows courts and law enforcement officers to focus on more serious crimes.

We are making a benefit to the community by changing the behavior of these individuals, Wallace said.

For more information on Thumb Regional Sobriety Court, contact TRSC Program Coordinator Heather Walther at 989-672-3888 or email her at hwalther@tuscolacounty.org.
Daniel Anguilu drove by his George Floyd mural on his way to lunch and immediately saw that something was wrong.

The vibrant mural  part of East Houstons so-called Graffiti Building at Bell and Chartres  had been vandalized again, this time with a racist word scrawled in red spray paint. Anguilu and a second artist, Carlos Alcarez, painted the mural days after Floyds murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer,

Anguilu stepped out of his car and was greeted by a police officer who said he had already reported the hateful graffiti.

The message, which on Thursday afternoon he quickly painted over, stated: (N-word) lives dont matter.

Anguilu could not bring himself to repeat the message but showed a picture of the vandalism to newly-promoted Houston police Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu. She was taken aback.



We really dont know why this happened or if they really meant something by it, Anguilu said.



The vandalism  on the same industrial block as a painted portrait of slain pop star Selena  comes nearly two days after the guilty verdict that convicted disgraced police officer Derek Chauvin of murder. The death of Floyd, a longtime resident of Houston, last summer sparked nationwide protests and seeded a new civil rights movement.



This is at least the third vandalism at his Floyd mural, Anguilu said. Someone scrawled, KKK over the work the last time.



I believe in freedom of expression, Anguilu continued. If somebody felt the need to do that, thats fine. Itll get cleaned up.

Anguilu said he was unsure when the vandal struck but police believe it could have happened anywhere from Wednesday night through early Thursday morning.



Chief Troy Finner, as well as Major Offenders investigators, were among the authorities who quickly responded to the vandalism. The chief, during a news conference, declined to call the vandalism a hate crime so soon in the investigation and without knowing the race of the suspect. But he blasted the culprit as a knucklehead.



I dont know what their motivation is, Finner said. I dont know if its hate  or whatever.



The chief said the defacer could at least face criminal mischief charges.



Im upset about it, Finner continued. But you know what? Let them do it again. Let them get caught.



Investigators will next canvas the area surrounding the graffiti park and see if cameras picked up the suspect.



Eugene Howard, head of Brazoria Countys NAACP chapter, said he believed the vandals motivation to be clear.



There were other murals on this wall but they picked this one, Howard said.



Other murals in Houston  including the painting across from Floyds former Cuney Homes residence  dedicated to the slain man were being monitored, police officials said.



Members of Floyds family could not be reached for comment on the vandalism.



Remnants of the vandalism remained Thursday afternoon as Anguilu waited for Alcarez to bring more spray paint.



Alcarez soon arrived with the rest of the paint to patch up the mural. He recalled drawing the bulk of the portrait as Houstonians protested Floyds death last summer. He handled the bulk of the portrait, he said, while Anguilu painted the I cant breathe, message.



nicole.hensley@chron.com
Editors Note: This is part of an ongoing series that features things to do in Upstate New York while we still experience the Covid-19 pandemic. Before venturing out, please take proper precautions and check for any changed business hours, park hours or availability. Safe travels!

Here is a list of nine hiking experiences you might want to check out as warm weather descends upon Upstate New York. They are all of various degrees of skills, from the most challenging to some that are family-friendly. Follow all trail signs, warnings and posted rules. And be sure and wear proper hiking shoes and keep an eye on the weather. As they say in Upstate NY, If you dont like the weather now, just wait an hour or two. Happy trails!

Zoar Multiple Use Area (Cattaraugus County): The area in Western New York has several nice hiking opportunities within its 3,000 acres. The Zoar Valley is about 11 miles in length, and some of the trails are for the most serious of hikers. The rewards can be great, as the area includes 20 twenty waterfalls to view. These trails take the hiker through forests, gorges, rivers and streams, and even a thick black walnut grove. Zoar Valley is a New York State Watchable Wildlife site. There are unlimited chances to catch a number of wildlife in their natural habitat including broad-winged hawks, American kestrels, red-bellied woodpeckers, woodchucks, fox, midland painted turtles, and red-spotted newts. The ZMUA has a convenient wildlife watching station near the Forty Road parking area. Caution: A 400 foot cliff area, while beautiful, can be dangerous if you get too close to the edge as footing can be slippery.

Website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/36931.html

Storm King Mountain (Orange County): Great Hudson Valley hiking! Probably not for the amateur hiker right away, the trails on this mountain can be challenging and steep inclines present themselves to you at several sections of the trails. The most popular loop (Orange Trail) is about 2.5 miles and can take between 2-3 hours to complete. The view at the summit is unparalleled, with probably the best selfie spot in the valley. The Hudson River, in all its magnificent, is on full display from here.

Website: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/storm-king-mountain-via-storm-king-trail

Sunset breaks on the Adirondack High Peaks. Photo was taken by Rochester photographer Melanie Collins from the summit of Cascade Mountain, one of the Adirondack High Peaks.SYR

Cascade Mountain (Essex County): Cascade Mountain rises more than 4,000 feet above the ground and is one of the legendary 46 mountains known as the High Peaks. A moderate hiker should have no problem hiking this mountain, with the main trail about two and a half miles one way in length. The 360-degree view at the summit gives you an unimpeded view of the Lake Placid area and there is a surprise twofer here. Along the trail you will come to a juncture which allows you to also hike up Porter Mountain. Porter is also a member of the High Peaks Club and is considered one of the groups easiest climbs. This is a great chance to tick off two mountains in one glorious afternoon. If you think these two mountains are easy, you might think again. Easy, perhaps, in comparison to the other Adirondack Mountains. But they can still be a wearing and taxing day on the hiking trail. For those doing the math, Porter Mountain is #38 on the list of 46 peaks in order of hiking ease. Cascade Mountain is No. 36.

Website: https://www.adirondack.net/business/cascade-mountain-11114/

Devils Hole (Niagara County): A fascinating tour for those who are either beginning or moderately skilled hikers. Just a great area. The trail begins with a descent down a set of stone stairs and then stretches out for about two miles along the old Niagara Gorge trolley route from the late 1800s (closed in 1935). Any view along the Niagara Falls frontier is beautiful and this hike is no different. What a great way to spend the day, getting excellent hiking exercise while enjoying the majesty and history of the region. You will have great views of the rivers whirlpool rapids near the hiking trail. Total time on this hike is about three hours round trip.

Note: Although the hike should not be a problem for any moderate or skilled hiker, the stone steps leading down the gorge to the trail can be intense and dangerous when wet. Once down, the hike will be no problem. Of course, if you go down, you must come up. Just be prepared for the steps.

Website: https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7020995/devils-hole-trail

Hikers rest while enjoying a spectacular view of the Adirondack Park from the top of Mount Marcy August 22, 2009. The mountain is the highest point in New York State with an elevation of 5,344 feet.Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com

Mount Marcy (Adirondacks): This hike is not for pikers. I would suggest only the most seasoned hikers tackle this mountain. At 5,343 feet this is the tallest mountain in New York state. It is immense and can be quite intimidating to hikers. There are several trails to explore, although the most popular one is known as the Van Hoevenberg Trail. This trail is a 14-mile roundtrip loop to the summit. Hiking can be intense at times. But at the summit you will be satisfied in knowing that you are standing on top of the world. Well, as far as New York state goes anyways.

At the summit there are historical plaques which denote several important dates in the mountains history including a marker commemorating the centennial of the first successful ascent to the top (August 5, 1837). This particular hike will take you most of the day to complete. There are several other hiking routes to the top that are longer.

From the summit you can see the Monteregian Hills in Canada as well as mountains deep into Vermont.

This is a very popular hike. On Labor Day in 2016, nearly 400 hikers made the trek up to the summit and back down in a single day.

Website: https://hikingandfishing.com/mount-marcy/

Breakneck Ridge Trail (Cold Spring; Putnam County): A difficult hike for sure with many rock ledges, craggy cliffs, deep crevices, and steep inclines. The trail is about a two and a half miles in length. Because it is located so close to the Hudson River, there are beautiful river panoramas virtually around every corner. This is a hiking opportunity that is very popular with New York City residents. In fact, there is an MTA rail stop in Cold Spring right near the trailhead. It brings adventurous hikers on a limited weekend basis up from the city, some 55 miles to the south.

The view from the summit shows you Bannermans Castle in the middle of the Hudson River to the north, and Storm King Mountain to the south.

Please note: This is considered to be one of the most difficult hiking experiences in the Hudson Valley. You will encounter a mostly rocky surface most of the way to the top, and when those rocks are wet (which is frequently) it can be dangerous. At times you will feel like you are rock climbing rather than hiking. Wear and use proper hiking clothing and shoes.

Prospect Mountain (Lake George; Warren County): This is the most popular hiking trail in the Lake George area. Although the three-mile-long trail to the 2,030 feet summit can be done by those with moderate hiking skills, it is not recommended for children. There are several very steep grades, but ample resting places for you to catch your breath. In the summer months you will not be alone on your hike, as this is very popular with vacationers.

A most interesting aspect of this hike is that there is actually more to see at the top other than the stunning scenery. At one time there was a cable incline railway that pulled well-heeled adventurers up to the summit without breaking a sweat. It was built in 1895 and was at the time the longest cable railroad in the world. The wealthy visitors were coming to stay at the hotel on top of the mountain, Prospect Mountain House. Today you can see all manner of remnants of this endeavor still standing silently around the mountain, rusting in the afternoon sun, recalling the busy days when the railroad was in existence. The hotels fireplace is still standing.

Overlook Mountain (Woodstock; Ulster County): This is another great Catskill hiking trail as well as another hike with a long-gone hotel in its past. The hike is just shy of 5 miles in the loop. Most of your trail is an old gravel trail. Near the top of this mountain was one of the great storied Catskill Mountain hotels, Overlook Mountain House. Today there are many faded relics of the hotel to be found, including many walls, rooms, windows, and foundations. The hotel, after several fires, was abandoned in the 1930s.There is also an intact Catskill fire tower which you can climb. All of this makes for a very busy hiking day with large numbers ascending on a warm summer afternoon. Many have said that they have even found the wreck of an old airplane crash near the top.

While many hikers to the top of Overlook Mountain complain that the trail is not your typical wooded trail, but rather a gravel path, others like the relative ease this afford in getting to the top. Of this 3,140 foot mountain.

Although more of a strenuous walk than a hike, this is perhaps the most fascinating hiking experience on this list.

Website: https://www.hikingproject.com/trail/7028499/overlook-mountain-trail

Deer Pond Trail (Tupper Lake): This is a real favorite. By no means is it a taxing hike, but it is a long one. Almost half the hiking loop is even terrain, but the total distance of the trail loop here is more than seven miles. There are gentle inclines, and a handful of not so gentle inclines. But this is a wonderful hike on a beautiful day. You will experience open fields, and thick Adirondack forests, clustered with Norway spruce, sugar maples, birch trees, evergreens, and old maples. In essence, the Adirondacks at its best. A pretty lake and several ponds dot the landscape. Very popular in the autumn. The trail head is located two miles east of the village of Tupper Lake.

Website: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/new-york/deer-pond-loop--5

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The three remaining former officers charged in George Floyd's death are awaiting trial in August.

The officers will want to avoid going to a jury trial, criminal justice experts tell Insider.

Experts say the officers are likely to take a plea deal if offered, or ask for a bench trial.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Since Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder, the three other former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's killing have almost no chance of walking free, criminal justice experts told Insider.

Chauvin, 45, faces up to 40 years in prison after a jury on Tuesday found him guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter. His sentencing is scheduled for June 16.

Former officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng are expected to go to trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Former Minneapolis police officers (from L to R) J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao, and Thomas Lane. Hennepin County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images

"I'm almost 100% confident that likelihood of guilty pleas in all three cases has just gone up by a lot," Mike Lawlor, associate professor at the University of New Haven, told Insider. "I think that the certainty of the conviction is extremely high and the possible penalties are also extremely high under the circumstances."

Lawlor, a nationally recognized expert on criminal justice reform, is a former member of the Connecticut state legislature and worked as the undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning in the governor's office there.

He believes "the ball is probably more in the prosecutor's court" at this juncture, and that Thou, Lane, and Kueng are better off taking a plea deal than testing their luck at trial. But it's an open question whether prosecutors are willing to offer the three men that option.

Chauvin was the most senior officer on the scene of Floyd's killing, having worked for two decades at the department. Thao had been a full-time officer at the department since 2012. Kueng and Lane were rookies who Chauvin was training at the time.

Story continues

"I think two of them were like in their first week or two on the job to start with, so obviously normally you'd expect them to get a much more lenient sentence than Chauvin would get," Lawlor said. "What I'm sure prosecutors have to factor in is what the public reaction to that might be."

"It just seems like it would be very reckless for any one of the three of them to actually go to trial given the possible outcomes," he added.

A message left for state prosecutor Matthew Frank was not immediately returned. Attorneys representing Thao, Lane, and Kueng also didn't immediately return Insider's calls for comment.



People celebrate Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict outside the Hennepin County Government Center. CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

Chauvin was originally in talks for a plea deal

Three days after Chauvin killed Floyd, as racial justice protesters flooded streets across the country and businesses burned in Minneapolis, Chauvin was in talks to plead guilty to third-degree murder, a charge that carries a sentence of more than 10 years.

The deal fell apart at the last minute when then-Attorney General Bill Barr rejected it. Barr had approval in that case because Chauvin wanted the federal government to promise he wouldn't face civil rights charges if he pleaded guilty in state court.

"The reason is politically understandable," Lawlor said. "It was reported that Bill Barr felt that it would be perceived as too lenient and the election was underway. So I think those kinds of factors affect how prosecutors think sometimes in terms of what the sentence should be."

Lawlor believes the only circumstance in which the other three officers wouldn't take a plea deal is a similar situation, where the defense and prosecution can't to come to an agreement over sentencing.

"They were fired, what they did was wrong and unlawful. So they're gonna get convicted. I think the only real question is what their sentence would be," he said. "And I think a willingness to plead guilty and admit remorse, et cetera, would probably entitle them to a significant discount over what they might otherwise get."

Serious discussions between defense and prosecution over plea agreements will probably happen after Chauvin's sentencing, Lawlor said.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, left, and fired officer Derek Chauvin, right. Pool via AP/Ramsey County Sheriff's Office via AP

Requesting a change of venue or a bench trial

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve is an associate professor of sociology at Brown University and the author of the book, Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America's largest Court.

She told Insider it is clear that Thao, Kueng, and Lane will request their trial be moved out of Minneapolis. Chauvin's defense made the same request but was denied.

"The Chauvin verdict, the guilty verdict, I think it's cast an enormous pressure on the defense to try to find a supposedly impartial jury," she said.

Public opinion about policing is turning, though not radically, with the availability of video footage from police killings and mass protests, Gonzalez Van Cleve said. She pointed out white Americans are becoming skeptical about the policing that Black and Latino people are subjected to in their neighborhoods.

"These officers are facing the potential reality that even if they move this case, this is going to be a really hard to seat a jury that supposedly doesn't have an opinion on this case," she said.

Gonzalez Van Cleve said the former officers may have a better chance of acquittal if they request a bench trial, pointing to the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in Chicago.

McDonald, who was Black, was shot 16 times and killed by then-officer Jason Van Dyke. After the prosecution presented a dash cam video at trial, showing that McDonald was walking away when he was shot, Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a gun.

At the time, people were sure the three other Chicago police officers who were accused of attempting to cover up the shooting also would be convicted. But they requested a bench trial and were found not guilty.

"So the question is, why did that happen?" Gonzalez Van Cleve said. "Well, many judges are former prosecutors and prosecutors work hand in hand with law enforcement as their star witnesses and that kind of institutional interdependence makes many judges really rely on the testimony of officers and just kind of believe them full cloth," she said.

Gonzalez Van Cleve said that the defendants and their attorneys will have to talk through whether they realistically have a shot a an acquittal with a jury anywhere in Minnesota.

"And so the question would be, is there an option for a bench trial that might be 'more fair' or more in their favor?" she said.

Read the original article on Insider
KABUL  Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Hanif Atmar spoke with Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau about expanding bilateral cooperation and the Afghan peace process.

Minister Atmar congratulated Marc Garneau on his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada and praised the good and effective relations between the two countries during the tenure of former Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne.

Minister Atmar spoke about the latest developments in peace and postponement of the Istanbul Conference due to non-participation of the Taliban, and the efforts to strengthen regional consensus supporting the Afghan peace process. The Canadian Foreign Minister assured Mr. Atmar of Canada's comprehensive efforts to strengthen international and regional consensus supporting peace in Afghanistan.

The two sides exchanged views on dynamics of the International Coordination Group work and response to families of PS752 flight victims. They agreed on both countries' technical teams to work together for further coordination.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.

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State, Health Insurers Further Extend Agreements to Provide Coronavirus Testing and Treatment at No Cost to Patients

State, Health Insurers Further Extend Agreements to Provide Coronavirus Testing and Treatment at No Cost to Patients

Media Contact: Laura Hall, 517-290-3779, halll17@michigan.gov

Consumer Hotline: 877-999-6442, Michigan.gov/DIFScomplaints

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2021

(LANSING, MICH) Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) have announced that the state has secured agreements from many of the states health insurers to further extend their commitments to waive all out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and treatments. These agreements cover more than 90% of the commercial health insurance market in Michigan.

We are using every tool at our disposal to fight this global pandemic, and one way we are doing that is by ensuring that Michiganders have the coverage they need for COVID-19-related health expenses, said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. I'm grateful that so many of our Michigan health insurers have stepped up to make sure no Michigander has to worry about how theyll pay for life-saving treatment, testing, or vaccinations as we fight this pandemic.

Michiganders need to be able to focus on protecting their health and seeking appropriate medical care if they need it, without having to worry about COVID-19 related medical bills, especially when so many families are feeling the economic impact of the pandemic, said DIFS Director Anita Fox. DIFS is here to help answer any health insurance questions or concerns as we continue to protect Michiganders health and financial wellness.

At least through the deadlines listed below, consumers with individual and group health plans from the listed companies will not be charged cost-sharing, including copays, deductibles, and coinsurance, for medically appropriate COVID-19-related treatment, such as primary care visits, diagnostic testing, emergency room visits, ambulance services, and approved medications and vaccines.

The insurers who have agreed to waive cost-sharing are:

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network (testing and treatment waiver expires September 30, 2021)

HAP, Alliance Health (testing and treatment waiver expires September 30, 2021)

Humana (testing waiver expires at the end of the declared public health emergency, currently July 19, 2021, treatment waiver expired January 1, 2021)

McLaren Health Plan (testing and treatment waiver expires September 30, 2021)

Meridian Health Plan (testing and treatment waiver expires at the end of the declared public health emergency, currently July 19, 2021)

Molina Healthcare Michigan (testing and treatment waiver expires September 30, 2021)

Oscar (testing waiver expires at the end of the declared public health emergency, currently July 19, 2021, treatment waiver expires April 30, 2021)

Physicians Health Plan (PHP) (testing and treatment waiver expires December 31, 2021)

Priority Health, Priority Health Insurance Co. (testing and treatment waiver expires September 30, 2021)

United (testing waiver expires at the end of the declared public health emergency, currently July 19, 2021, treatment waiver expired January 31, 2021)

Federal law requires health insurers to provide no-cost coverage for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, though not necessarily for COVID-19 treatment, during the federal public health emergency, which is currently set to expire on July 19, 2021. Consumers with Medicaid or Medicare may also receive a no-cost COVID-19 test, vaccination, and related services provided by a health care provider.

Consumers with coverage from an insurer not named in the state agreement, such as Aetna or Paramount, should contact their insurance company to find out about their COVID-19 related-coverage.

DIFS can help consumers with health insurance questions and complaints and can provide information about the Health Insurance Marketplace Special Enrollment Period that is currently open through August 15. Contact DIFS Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 877-999-6442 or Michigan.gov/HealthInsurance.

The mission of the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services is to ensure access to safe and secure insurance and financial services fundamental for the opportunity, security, and success of Michigan residents, while fostering economic growth and sustainability in both industries. In addition, the Department provides consumer protection, outreach, and financial literacy and education services to Michigan residents. For more information, visit Michigan.gov/DIFS or follow the Department on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

####
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thistle Technologies, a new security company addressing the connected device market, today announced $2.5 million in seed funding from True Ventures. Thistle was founded by Window Snyder, who formerly served as chief security officer at Square, Mozilla, and Fastly, in addition to chief software security officer at Intel Corporation. She's held multiple security leadership positions at Apple and Microsoft.

The number of connected devices in businesses, homes, industrial plants and elsewhere is exploding. Growth will continue to increase dramatically with the adoption of 5G networks. These devices, which include printers, edge IoT devices, remote systems like ATM machines, consumer electronics and automobiles are difficult to securely and reliably update because of their limited processing power and memory. In some environments the devices are too critical to operations for them to be shut down for a software update install. As a result, they are attractive targets for attackers who exploit vulnerabilities in their software. Reports have revealed that IoT devices now represent as much as one-third of malware infected devices, and more than half of IoT devices are vulnerable to medium or high-severity attacks.

While there have been advances in application security for more than 20 years, device manufacturers face serious challenges building security resilience into software. Security sensitive mechanisms, like updates, should be built and tested by an experienced security team. Thistle provides embedded device manufacturers the ability to incorporate a highly reliable and resilient implementation into their products quickly and easily.

"True Ventures has been so supportive of our vision of democratizing product security for devices," said Window Snyder, founder and CEO of Thistle Technologies. "We're making it easier for device makers to deliver on their security requirements. When the update mechanism is resilient and reliable, the business can leverage that beyond security fixes to provide updates for new features with confidence. This can even open up new revenue streams for some customers. Security can be an enabler."

"Window has so many of the qualities we look for in founders," said Phil Black, co-founder of True Ventures. "She has deep domain expertise, is highly respected within the security community, and she's driven by a deep passion to evolve her industry. What she's building is an astute and natural next step in security technologies."

About Thistle Technologies

Thistle Technologies is building tools that help connected device manufacturers build security resiliency into devices. The company was founded by Window Snyder, who draws on two decades of experience working as a security leader at Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Square, Fastly and Mozilla. Thistle is backed by True Ventures.

About True Ventures

Founded in 2005, True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups. With more than $2.8 billion under management, True provides seed and Series A financing to entrepreneurs in today's fastest growing markets. To date, the firm has helped more than 300 companies launch and scale their businesses, creating over 25,000 jobs worldwide. To learn more, visit www.trueventures.com.

Media Contact

Escalate PR for Thistle

[email protected]

617-312-5942

SOURCE Thistle Technologies
Delaney brings the battle of spiritual warfare into the spotlight, highlighting the way Angels and Demons may work behind the scenes in our world.

Author Scott B. Delaney offers fans a sequel to The Shaft with this newest installment, The Tigers Eye: Angels in Mumbai ($19.49, paperback, 9781662809101; $35.49, dust jacket, 9781662813870; $9.99, e-book, 9781662809118).

Four years after the events of The Shaft took place, a highly anticipated Global Calling event held in Mumbai, India is interrupted by a horrific terrorist attack. An angelic visit convinces one of the recently recruited terrorists to switch sides in a fight for justice. Spiritual warfare rages as Earth trembles in the wake of this vicious attack. Angels and demons battle for the hearts and minds of both believers and non-believers in this epic battle of good versus evil.

In a style reminiscent of Frank Peretti, Delaney brings the battle of spiritual warfare into the spotlight, highlighting the way Angels and Demons may work behind the scenes in our world. This wild, sometimes unsettling, supernatural ride through the slums of India will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Scott B. Delaney is an accomplished leader with over 25 years of experience in brand and generic pharmaceutical management, currently serving as President and CEO of Unichem Pharmaceuticals, USA. Having served in various churches as a praise and worship leader and mentor, Delaney currently lives with his wife (Jenny) and two children (Bradley and Brynne) in Upper Makefield, Pennsylvania.

###

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 15,000 titles published to date. The Tigers Eye is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media

NEW HAVEN  A city man is free on $100,000 bond after he pleaded guilty in U.S. Federal Court to possession of a firearm by a felon, according to federal authorities.

Demetrius Drew, 26, of New Haven, made his plea before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven and now faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced, according to federal authorities.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 90F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
A Brisbane man has become the first person in the state to be sentenced for possessing child-like sex dolls under Commonwealth laws targeting child abuse related offences.

The 46-year-old Riverhills man was sentenced to two years imprisonment, to be released immediately on a two-year $2000 good behaviour bond, after police found six child-like sex dolls in his house.

One of the child-like sex dolls that was found by police in the mans Riverhills home. Credit:Australian Federal Police

Police also found a laptop at the house that contained child abuse material.

Investigators were alerted after Australian Border Force officers detected a child-like sex doll in a shipment from China on January 20, 2020.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 22:51:43|Editor: huaxia

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At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link and delivers an important speech titled "For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together" in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing on Thursday.

Please see the attachment for the translation of the full text of the speech. Enditem

Full Text: Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at Leaders Summit on Climate

For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the Peoples Republic of China

At the Leaders Summit on Climate

22 April 2021

Honorable President Joe Biden,

Honorable Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure to join you at the Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day. I wish to thank President Biden for the kind invitation. It is good to have this opportunity to have an in-depth exchange of views with you on climate change, and to discuss ways to tackle this challenge and find a path forward for man and Nature to live in harmony.

Since time of the industrial civilization, mankind has created massive material wealth. Yet, it has come at a cost of intensified exploitation of natural resources, which disrupted the balance in the Earths ecosystem, and laid bare the growing tensions in the human-Nature relationship. In recent years, climate change, biodiversity loss, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed severe challenges to human survival and development. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added difficulty to economic and social development across countries. Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action. We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and Nature.

 We must be committed to harmony between man and Nature. All things that grow live in harmony and benefit from the nourishment of Nature. Mother Nature is the cradle of all living beings, including humans. It provides everything essential for humanity to survive and thrive. Mother Nature has nourished us, and we must treat Nature as our root, respect it, protect it, and follow its laws. Failure to respect Nature or follow its laws will only invite its revenge. Systemic spoil of Nature will take away the foundation of human survival and development, and will leave us human beings like a river without a source and a tree without its roots. We should protect Nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where man and Nature can both prosper and live in harmony.

 We must be committed to green development. Green mountains are gold mountains. To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to improve the environment is to boost productivity  the truth is as simple as that. We must abandon development models that harm or undermine the environment, and must say no to shortsighted approaches of going after near-term development gains at the expense of the environment. Much to the contrary, we need to ride the trend of technological revolution and industrial transformation, seize the enormous opportunity in green transition, and let the power of innovation drive us to upgrade our economic, energy and industrial structures, and make sure that a sound environment is there to buttress sustainable economic and social development worldwide.

 We must be committed to systemic governance. Mountains, rivers, forests as well as farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts all make indivisible parts of the ecosystem. Protecting the ecosystem requires more than a simplistic, palliative approach. We need to follow the innate laws of the ecosystem and properly balance all elements and aspects of Nature. This is a way that may take us where we want to be, an ecosystem in sound circulation and overall balance.

 We must be committed to a people-centered approach. The environment concerns the well-being of people in all countries. We need to take into full account peoples longing for a better life and a good environment as well as our responsibility for future generations. We need to look for ways to protect the environment, grow the economy, create jobs and remove poverty all at the same time, so as to deliver social equity and justice in the course of green transition and increase peoples sense of benefit, happiness and security.

 We must be committed to multilateralism. We need to work on the basis of international law, follow the principle of equity and justice, and focus on effective actions. We need to uphold the UN-centered international system, comply with the objectives and principles laid out in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, and strive to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We need to each take stronger actions, strengthen partnerships and cooperation, learn from each other and make common progress in the new journey toward global carbon neutrality. In this process, we must join hands, not point fingers at each other; we must maintain continuity, not reverse course easily; and we must honor commitments, not go back on promises.

China welcomes the United States return to the multilateral climate governance process. Not long ago, the Chinese and US sides released a Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis. China looks forward to working with the international community including the United States to jointly advance global environmental governance.

 We must be committed to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the cornerstone of global climate governance. Developing countries now face multiple challenges to combat COVID-19, grow the economy, and address climate change. We need to give full recognition to developing countries contribution to climate action and accommodate their particular difficulties and concerns. Developed countries need to increase climate ambition and action. At the same time, they need to make concrete efforts to help developing countries strengthen the capacity and resilience against climate change, support them in financing, technology, and capacity building, and refrain from creating green trade barriers, so as to help developing countries accelerate the transition to green and low-carbon development.

Colleagues,

The Chinese civilization has always valued harmony between man and Nature as well as observance of the laws of Nature. It has been our constant pursuit that man and Nature could live in harmony with each other. Ecological advancement and conservation have been written into Chinas Constitution and incorporated into Chinas overall plan for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. China will follow the Thought on Ecological Civilization and implement the new development philosophy. We will aim to achieve greener economic and social development in all aspects, with a special focus on developing green and low-carbon energy. We will continue to prioritize ecological conservation and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development.

Last year, I made the official announcement that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This major strategic decision is made based on our sense of responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind and our own need to secure sustainable development. China has committed to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in a much shorter time span than what might take many developed countries, and that requires extraordinarily hard efforts from China. The targets of carbon peak and carbon neutrality have been added to Chinas overall plan for ecological conservation. We are now making an action plan and are already taking strong nationwide actions toward carbon peak. Support is being given to peaking pioneers from localities, sectors and companies. China will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period and phase it down in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Moreover, China has decided to accept the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and tighten regulations over non-carbon dioxide emissions. Chinas national carbon market will also start trading.

As a participant, contributor and trailblazer in global ecological conservation, China is firmly committed to putting multilateralism into action and promoting a fair and equitable system of global environmental governance for win-win cooperation. China will host COP15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity this October and looks forward to working with all parties to enhance global governance on biodiversity. We support COP26 to the UNFCCC in achieving positive outcomes. As we in China often say, It is more important to show people how to fish than just giving them fish. China has done its best to help developing countries build capacity against climate change through various forms of results-oriented South-South cooperation. From remote sensing satellites for climate monitoring in Africa to low-carbon demonstration zones in Southeast Asia and to energy-efficient lights in small island countries, such cooperation has yielded real, tangible and solid results. China has also made ecological cooperation a key part of Belt and Road cooperation. A number of green action initiatives have been launched, covering wide-ranging efforts in green infrastructure, green energy, green transport and green finance, to bring enduring benefits to the people of all Belt and Road partner countries.

Colleagues,

As we say in China, When people pull together, nothing is too heavy to be lifted. Climate change poses pressing, formidable and long-term challenges to us all. Yet I am confident that as long as we unite in our purposes and efforts and work together with solidarity and mutual assistance, we will rise above the global climate and environment challenges and leave a clean and beautiful world to future generations.

Thank you.
Somalias largest telecommunications provider, Hormuud Telecom, has announced the rollout of the countrys first indigenous mobile money application.

The fin-tech app, named WAAFI, gives Somalis access to a range of digital services across a singular platform for the first time. On the WAAFI app, consumers can access bank accounts, perform online transactions, send international remittances and make international/domestic phone calls all from inside the app.

WAAFI provides a fully integrated mobile money experience that upgrades from the existing USSD technology that many Somalis use. Currently, USSD-enabled mobile money technology is widespread in Somalia, with penetration rates as high as 80% in urban areas and 55% in rural areas.

The app launches as Hormuud continues the expansion of its high-speed digital infrastructure across Somalia. Hormuud estimates that around 50% of urban populations in Somalia currently have access to 4G data while slightly over 60% have access to 3G, both of which are considered broadband-level service within frontier economies. In the coming years, it aims to increase access to high-speed internet for Somalis across the country.

In launching WAAFI, Hormuud aims to recreate the success mobile platforms have seen in neighbouring countries. Hormuud also hopes that the app will be an enabler for new value chains and new business models in Somalia by eliminating inefficiencies, such as typing an incorrect number during a USSD transaction.

A first in Somalia, WAAFI also enables people to make in-country bank transfers via their phone. This supports Somalias goal to become a truly cashless economy and helps combat fraud  it is currently estimated that over 95% of the Somali shilling in circulation is counterfeit.

Speaking on the announcement, Hormuud CEO and Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Yuusuf said: Somalia is a unique example of a country where digital adoption is widespread among all age ranges and demographics. We are continuing to see a move towards a position where Somalia can claim to be the worlds first truly cashless economy, and the roll out of WAAFI is an important step on that journey. Providing businesses and customers with more efficient technology is going to be a driving force behind the development of the Somali economy and its integration with the wider international community.

In February 2021, the Central Bank of Somalia issued the first mobile money licence to Hormuud Telecom, meaning that its mobile money platform EVC Plus is now formally regulated and licensed by the Central Bank. There are 3.6 million Hormuud Telecom subscribers within Somalia, of which 3 million are EVC Plus users.

WAAFI allows users to access their bank account through deposits and withdrawals via their EVC Plus wallet. Through this, businesses can generate QR codes that allow customers to directly credit businesses bank accounts.

Abdulaziz Mohamed Nurani, the founder of premier fashion retailer Tik, said: The WAAFI app has transformed how I do business. Having important digital services all housed under one app makes it easier to pay my employees and trace transactions quickly. Even when Im abroad or cannot be physically present, with this app I can check on my business and address any problems. Operating throughout the pandemic, this app has allowed me to keep my customers and my employees safe. With contactless payments, we can reduce physical contact and the spread of the virus in our communities.
The Pitch offers a respectable bit of snark and the most entertaining read which offers progressive celebration of human tragedy.

Sadly, most MSM overlooks the only unanimous bipartisan vote we've seen in Missouri for years as 153 legislators were basically unopposed in booting this disgraced politico.

Read more . . .
The demonstration in front of the building of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia ended since a police officer started feeling bad during the clashes.

The policeman is currently being transferred to a hospital.

The situation in front of the Prosecutor Generals Office got tense after someone in the crowd threw eggs at the building. Dozens of citizens were apprehended as a result of the clashes.

Human rights activist Ruben Melikyan posted the following on his Facebook page: Right now the authorities are framing at least a few of the citizens detained in front of the Prosecutor Generals Office as hooligans. The political order is clear  lock up, under the name of hooliganism, dignified citizens carrying out peaceful acts of disobedience against the authorities licking the boots of Turks.

The protesters demand the release of the heads of several communities of Syunik Province and insist that they were illegally detained.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
The trailer for Haunted: Latin America grasped its audience's attention quickly as different people recall and comment on their ghostly experiences. The trailer has interview subjects saying, That house was definitely haunted, I saw the devil, Evil is everywhere, Its so mortifying, so terrifying". These dialogues definitely raised the curiosity in viewers especially with Netflix describing the stories to be true. If you are also intrigued to know what actually happened to these people recounting their horror encounters, learn what time does Haunted: Latin America release on Netflix

What Time Does Haunted: Latin America Release On Netflix?

As mentioned above, Haunted: Latin America season 1 on Netflix has people narrating their real-life paranormal experiences with the documentary series recreating the scenarios for visual effect. With incidents recited by people from countries like Mexico and Colombia, this Spanish language series is the Latin American version of Haunted. Haunted, which released in 2018, was called entertaining by several reviewers because of the shows dramatic effects. For anyone who wishes to see this upcoming rendition of the Haunted, below are the Haunted: Latin America release date and time.

The Haunted: Latin America release date was March 31 (Wednesday), thus the series is already available for streaming on the giant. Similar to Haunted, the Spanish version may also have six episodes but there is no official information regarding the number of episodes. As for the Haunted: Latin America release time, the OTT platform released it around 12:00 AM Pacific Standard Time/3:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. That is 1:30 PM India Standard Time.

As much as some people enjoyed watching the Haunted series on Netflix, some were sceptical of it. The series was criticised for falsely claiming to be based on real incidents. Several took to social media to mock the series for it. One Twitter user called it most transparently fake. Even the IMDb ratings for the series is as low as 4.5 out of 10. Nevertheless, the two seasons did interest a lot of people with some finding it fun to watch rather than scary.

Other than Haunted: Latin America, At Eternitys Gate is also becoming available on the OTT platform on March 31. The movie shows Vincent Van Goghs last days in France as he does some of his eclectic paintings. For fans of the supernatural or horror genre, It: Chapter 2 is going to become available on Netflix from April 10.

Image Courtesy: Haunted: Latin America Season 1 on Netflix

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.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday cancelled banking licence of Maharashtra-based Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd for failing to garner adequate capital and with no prospects of earning for the lender. Almost 98% of the customers and depositors of Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank are eligible to receive full amount from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

The RBI says continuance of the Warud, in Amravati based bank, is prejudicial to the interests of its depositors and the bank with its present financial position would be unable to pay its present depositors in full. The central bank also added that public interest would be adversely affected if the bank is allowed to carry on its banking business any further.

As per the RBI statement, more than 98% of the depositors will receive full amounts of their deposits from DICGC. On liquidation, every depositor would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs5 lakh from the DICGC subject to the provisions of the DICGC Act, 1961.

The bank was under all-inclusive directions since 17 January 2019. RBI has also directed state commissioner for cooperation and registrar of cooperative societies to issue an order for winding up and appointing a liquidator for the bank.

The bank does not have adequate capital and earning prospects. As such, it does not comply with the provisions of section 11(1) and section 22 (3) (d) read with section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The bank has failed to comply with the requirements of section 22(3) (a), 22 (3) (b), 22(3)(c), 22(3) (d) and 22(3)(e) read with section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, RBI says in a release.

With the cancellation of licence, liquidation proceedings will commence and the process of paying depositors of Bhagyodaya Friends Urban Co-operative Bank would be set in motion.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has set aside $8.2 billion in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds for Puerto Rico.

HUD also announced it will remove the onerous restrictions unique to Puerto Rico that limited the islands access to CDBG-Disaster Recovery (DR) funds that were allocated following Hurricane Maria in September 2017.

Since its first days, the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized action to enable stronger recovery for Puerto Rico, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a release. The actions taken by HUD today will unlock access to funds Puerto Rico needs to recover from past disasters and build resilience to future storms, while ensuring transparency and accountability. We are committed to an ongoing partnership with Puerto Rico to empower the islands communities and help them build back better.

Among the restrictions removed by HUD are the incremental grant obligations (or tranche structure) and review by the Federal Financial Monitor. HUD also removed the requirement for Puerto Rico to request and submit any certification, observations, and recommendations by the Financial Oversight and Management Board, beyond what is already required by law.

CDBG-DR funds enable grantees to address significant unmet needs for long-term recovery, including disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure, housing, and economic revitalization. CDBG-MIT program funds can be used in areas impacted by recent disasters to carry out strategic and high-impact activities to mitigate disaster risk and reduce future losses.
RTHK: Russia ending huge military drills near Ukraine

Russia's defence minister on Friday ordered an end to military drills near Ukraine involving tens of thousands of troops and dozens of warships that had exacerbated tensions with the West.

The announcement came as President Vladimir Putin invited Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for talks in Moscow following weeks of renewed fighting in the east of Ukraine between government troops and pro-Moscow separatists.

But the Russian leader appeared to shoot down Zelensky's proposal to meet in war-torn eastern Ukraine, saying talks over the years-long conflict should be conducted directly with separatists.

Earlier in the day Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu oversaw massive drills in Moscow-annexed Crimea and said soldiers would begin returning to their permanent bases on Friday.

"The troops demonstrated their ability to ensure the reliable protection of our country," he said after flying over the Opuk firing range in a helicopter.

"I've made a decision to wind down the checks in the Southern and Western military districts," he said, adding the troop pullback should be completed by May 1.

The announcement came after the West repeatedly called on Putin to pull back troops.

Shoigu, who had arrived in Crimea earlier in the day to oversee military drills, said Moscow closely watched Nato movements and would remain vigilant.

Both armed with binoculars, Shoigu and the army's general chief of staff Valery Gerasimov oversaw the drills from a viewing platform as helicopters flew overhead.

The ministry released dramatic footage of the land and sea manoeuvres that showed troops practising amphibious landings, jets streaking through the sky and infantry fighting vehicles traversing green fields.

Both Nato and Ukraine's Zelensky welcomed Russia's announcement, with the Ukrainian leader saying on Twitter that "the reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension".

"Any steps towards de-escalation by Russia would be important and well overdue," said a Nato official.

"Nato remains vigilant and we will continue to closely monitor Russia's unjustified military build-up in and around Ukraine."

In Moscow, Putin said Zelensky was welcome in Moscow "any time".

"If President Zelensky wants to start repairing relations, then we of course welcome it," he said.

But the Russian leader also said that if Zelensky hoped to resolve problems stemming from fighting in eastern Ukraine, then he should first meet with leaders of the breakaway regions in Donetsk and Lugansk.

Zelensky had this week invited Putin to hold talks in Ukraine's east, saying millions of lives were at stake.

Timothy Ash, senior emerging markets strategist at London-based Bluebay Asset Management, said Putin was "playing games" and it was hard for the Ukrainian leader to accept direct talks with separatists.

"Everyone knows this is a state vs state conflict but Putin is trying to imply this is a civil war in Ukraine," Ash said.

Kiev said one more soldier had died of shrapnel wounds when "Russian armed forces" shelled Ukraine's positions on Thursday.

Some 30 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the start of the year, compared to 50 in all of 2020.

The West and Ukraine have accused Russia of sending troops and arms across the border but Moscow has denied the claim.

Russia's buildup of troops on the Ukrainian border led to concern in Kiev and the West of a repeat of Russia's 2014 aggression, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.

The EU estimated this week the number of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border at more than 100,000.

Shoigu has described the movement of Russian troops as training exercises in response to "threatening" Nato actions.

On Thursday, he said Russia was closely watching Nato activity including the massive Defender Europe 2021 exercises.

Moscow said some 10,000 Russian troops and over 40 warships and other vessels were participating in the Crimea exercises.

Russia also said last week it intends to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military and other ships for six months beginning on Saturday.

The move could affect access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait.

Kiev has been battling separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, with the conflict claiming more than 13,000 lives. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
For the past six years, Katie Mehnert felt lost as she tried to build businesses tied to renewable energy in Houston.

The citys sprawl made it hard to connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs, and existing start-up incubators seemed more focused on oil-and-gas innovations.

She watched with some interest when Rice University announced its Ion startup hub but was floored after Greentown Labs  North Americas largest clean-energy incubator  said in June that it would open its second U.S. location in the Loop.

She applied for her business, Ally Energy, a digital company aiming to diversify the traditional- and clean-energy workforce. They were accepted six weeks ago.

I didnt have a community, Mehnert said. I never felt a sense of community around clean energy and the energy transition until Greentown Labs came.

Greentown Labs Houston office holds its grand opening Thursday, marking a milestone in Houstons slow-but-accelerating embrace of the clean energy industry. Its the incubators first location outside of the Boston area.

Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs, and Mayor Sylvester Turner hope the opening will send a clear message: Houston, known as the energy capital of the world, is ready to lead the energy transition.

Getting on board

Houston is best known for its oil and gas companies, refineries and petrochemical companies, which in recent years have largely downplayed, if not ignored the transition to clean energy. But as climate change becomes an ever more urgent threat, and investors bring pressure on companies to adjust their businesses to a low carbon world, many are investing in new, cleaner technologies.

On HoustonChronicle.com: In climate push, Biden bets on cutting fossil fuels while protecting jobs

This week, for example, Exxon Mobil on proposed an $100 billion hub in Houston to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from the regions industries. Chevron on Wednesday said is entering into a partnership with Toyota to develop hydrogen as a transportation fuel.

Ajay Mehta, general manager of new energies research for Shell, said many of the ingredients to make Houston the energy-transition capital of the world are already here, including a skilled workforce knowledgeable in energy, major companies that can help commercialize new technologies and lower costs  for workers and businesses. He said he hopes Greentown Labs will create another incentive for clean-energy companies to consider locating and growing in Houston.

I hope this starts creating that culture  developing an ecosystem in Houston that is much more welcoming to the green-tech community, Mehta said. Here is a place we can assemble and come together, that connects industry and academic partners to solve this complex problem together.

Concessions to COVID

COVID-19, however, has forced Greentown Labs to temporarily scale back some of its programs. The grand opening ceremony will have limited in-person attendance but will be live-streamed. In-person networking events, information fairs and panels  staples of its flagship location in Sommerville, Mass. outside of Boston have been put on hold.

But moving businesses into the space has not been delayed. Greentown Labs received its certificate of occupancy on Monday, and on Tuesday start-up Katz Water Technologies moved in its first prototype. The rest of the 30 inaugural companies will move into the 40,000 square-foot building over the next several weeks.

When all are moved in, the companies will work on projects ranging from nickel mining for lithium ion batteries to plant-based plastics to technology companies searching for efficiencies in the electrical grid. More than two-thirds of the building is dedicated to lab spaces for companies to fabricate prototypes.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Energy industry getting behind tech incubators

Reichert said the umbrella of businesses Greentown Labs supports is wide for a reason.

The problem is really big, Reichert said, referring to climate change. If you look at all the issues involved with climate-tech, you could spend a lifetime working on it. We need to do work across every sector of the economy.

Wildcatting attitude

From her perspective, Mehnert with Ally Energy said Houston is ready to take on the challenge. It was wildcatters and mavericks who led the first energy revolution here, she said, and attitudes they brought and the innovations they forged can help pave Houstons path to remain the energy capital of the world.

Were making a stand, she said. Were saying we built energy 1.0, and well build energy 2.0.

shelby.webb@chron.com
Afternoon blast of bullets sprays this high-traffic location as law enforcement looks for clues more useful than spent shell casings.

Read more . . .

KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is on the search for suspects who fired at least 40 to 50 shots at a shopping area near 77th Street and Parallel Parkway Tuesday morning. According to Nancy Chartrand, a public information officer for the KCK Police Department, investigators are still determining a motive.
Less than one percent of people at a New York City school who were fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine tested positive for coronavirus, a new study finds.

These so-called 'breakthrough cases' occur when people test positive for the virus at least 14 days after receiving their final dose of the vaccine, and which officials say is not surprising.

Researchers found that just two people - or 0.5 percent - out of 417 employees at Rockefeller University who received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines later contracted the virus.

Both patients had mild infections and easily recovered.

The data show how well the vaccines work in real life and suggest that falling ill with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated is very rare.

Just two people out of 417 employees at Rockefeller University in New York City who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 later tested positive for the virus. Pictured: Maritza Nieves (right) is tested for coronavirus antibodies in Santa Fe Springs, California, April 21

One case featured the E484K mutation (middle), first identified in the South African and Brazilian variants, and the other the S477N mutation (right), seen in the NYC variant

Experts have warned that breakthrough cases will continue to occur as tens of millions of people are vaccinated across the country.

In clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine was 95 percent effective in preventing symptomatic disease and the Moderna vaccine was 94.5 percent effective,

Meanwhile, real-world data showed the Pfizer jab was 91 percent effective against all disease for at least six months and the Moderna vaccine was 90 percent effective.

This means that fully vaccinated people are between 90 and 95 percent less likely to develop COVID-19 than unvaccinated people.

'We have characterized bona fide examples of vaccine breakthrough manifesting as clinical symptoms,' the authors of the new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, wrote.

'These observations in no way undermine the importance of the urgent efforts being taken at the federal and state levels to vaccinate the U.S. population.'

The two people who were vaccinated were both women, both of whom had mild cases and recovered easily.

Experts say the data show that vaccines are effective but that mutations can evade the antibody response from the immune system (seen with patient 1)

The first case was a 51-year-old who received her second dose of the Moderna vaccine on February 19. She tested positive for coronavirus just 19 days later.

The second case was a 65-year-old woman who was given her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on February 9.

Three weeks later, on March 3, her unvaccinated partner tested positive, with the woman testing positive herself on March 17.

Results from genome sequencing found that coronavirus variants caused the breakthrough infections rather than the original virus.

Samples from the first patient showed the E484K mutation, first identified in the South African and Brazilian variants.

Studies have found that this mutation more easily escapes vaccines and reduces the effects of antibody neutralization,

Meanwhile the second patient was found to have the S477N mutation, most commonly seen in the New York City homegrown variant.

It comes just one week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed less than 0.01 percent of Americans been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 later contracted the disease.

'So far, about 5,800 breakthrough cases have been reported to CDC,' the federal health agency wrote to CNN in an email.

'To date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in case demographics or vaccine characteristics.'

The CDC also told CNN that seven percent of those 5,800 cases - or 396 people - were later hospitalized and 74 of them died of COVID-19.


President Vladimir Putin warned western governments Wednesday not to cross the red line in respect to Russias security interests.

The warning came during Putins yearly state-of-the-nation address. He directed strong words at critics who are concerned about Russias recent build-up of troops along its border with Ukraine.

The United States and its allies have urged Russia to pull the troops back. In recent weeks, tensions between Russia and Ukraine have increased as both countries violated ceasefire agreements.

While saying he did not want to burn bridges in the international community, Putin did say he would defend his countrys interests. He said Russias answer to outside threats would be quick and tough.

He did not define where the red line would be on a number of issues, but said we will determine where it is  in each case.

Putin said no foreign country should be able to tell Russia what it can do on its own land, and that includes increasing the number of soldiers on its border with Ukraine.



Without naming a specific country, he also criticized unlawful, politically motivated economic sanctions against Russia.

He was speaking about economic restrictions placed last week on Russia by U.S. President Joe Bidens administration. The action came after U.S. officials accused Russia of attempting to influence the 2020 election and hacking into U.S. computer systems. The U.S. also sent 10 Russian diplomats home, investigated a number of Russian companies and restricted the countrys ability to borrow money.

Putin has denied the U.S. accusations. In response, Russia put its own penalties on the U.S., including sending 10 diplomats home and restricting the way the U.S. Embassy can operate in Russia.

In his speech, Putin also said he would direct his country to continue to modernize its military. That includes buying and developing missiles and weapons. He said work continues on an underwater unmanned vehicle that can carry nuclear weapons and also a nuclear-powered missile.

He asked other nations to recognize that Russia has its own interests and will always find a way to defend its position. He warned other countries not to use selfish and arrogant language when speaking about Russia.

Putin questioned why Western governments were quick to criticize Russia but did not speak out against a failed attempt to assassinate Alexander Lukashenko, a Russian ally and the president of Belarus. He condemned political interference by foreign governments in other countries as well, saying it goes over the top and crosses all boundaries.

While Putin targeted his critics, he also praised his countrys progress in the last year. He noted Russias fast development of vaccines against COVID-19 and put forward economic plans aimed at helping the country recover from the pandemic. He urged more Russians to get vaccinated so the country could reach herd immunity faster.

As Putin spoke, protests supporting imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny happened in Moscow and across Russias far east. Police arrested several of Navalnys supporters in Moscow and many other protesters were detained across Russia.

Im Dan Friedell.

Vladimir Isachenkov wrote this story for the Associated Press. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

Do you think a Western country will cross the line with Russia? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page.

___________________________________________

Words in This Story

burn a bridge v. a phrased used to signify breaking a connection between two people or organizations

determine v. to officially decide something because of evidence or facts

motivate v. to give someone a reason for doing something

sanctions n. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc.  usually plural

hacking v. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage, etc.

selfish adj. having or showing concern only for yourself and not for the needs or feelings of other people

arrogant adj. having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people : having or showing arrogance

over the top adj. having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people : having or showing arrogance

boundary n. a limit on something

herd immunity n. when enough people in a group or society are protected from a disease due to vaccination or prior infection to keep others safe
Scott Disick's current girlfriend Amelia Hamlin, 19, was spotted stepping out to a Pilates studio in Los Angeles this Wednesday.

In what appears to be a coincidence his latest ex Sofia Richie, 22, was seen outside the same Pilates studio that very day.

Amelia, whose parents are Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills Lisa Rinna and Shameless actor Harry Hamlin, wore a cozy sweater and leggings.

Coincidence?: Scott Disick's current girlfriend Amelia Hamlin (left) and latest ex Sofia Richie (right) were spotted at the same Los Angeles Pilates studio Wednesday

She complemented her brown outfit with what appeared to be a pair of Yeezy Slides in the 'Core' color which sell online for $335 new and $286 used.

Meanwhile Sofia stuck to a stylish black ensemble workout ensemble but added a pop of color with pink-trim sneakers and red shades.

Sweeping her blonde hair back into a ponytail, the daughter of Lionel Richie chatted on the phone as she headed along on her way.

Sofia and and Amelia have met before - they were pictured posing up together last February at the Rolla's x Sofia Richie Launch Event in West Hollywood.

Meanwhile: Sofia stuck to a stylish black ensemble workout ensemble but added a pop of color with pink-trim sneakers and red shades

Showbiz legacy: Sofia is not only the daughter of Lionel Richie but also the younger half-sister of The Simple Life star Nicole Richie

However after Amelia and Scott were pictured on a beach date together Sofia unfollowed not just her but the entire Hamlin family.

While dating both Sofia and Amelia, Scott, 37, has carried on an amicable co-parenting relationship with his ex-fiancee Kourtney Kardashian, 42.

Kourtney's little sister Kim Kardashian is currently in the process of divorcing her third husband Kanye West who started Yeezy.

Amelia is 19, Scott started dating Sofia when she was 19, and before that he was linked to Bella Thorne when she also was 19.

Fashion: She complemented her brown outfit with what appeared to be a pair of Yeezy Slides in the 'Core' color which sell online for $335 new and $286 used

Lisa could be seen in a recent trailer for The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills voicing her objections to her daughter's new romance.

'He's too damn old...and he's got three kids!' exclaimed Lisa's co-star Kyle Richards to which Lisa could only reply: 'I know!'

On the final season premiere of Keeping Up With The Kardashians last month Scott revealed that his close bond with Kourtney contributed to his split from Sofia.

Meanwhile: Amelia's latest outing comes amid her ongoing romance with reality TV heartthrob Scott Disick, 37, who has three children with Kourtney Kardashian, 42

Word on the street: Recently an Us Weekly source insisted that 'Amelia's not bothered by Kourtney' and the tight co-parenting equation is 'not an issue'

He even claimed that Sofia gave him an 'ultimatum' demanding he choose either her or the mother of all his children.

Although he attempted to have Sofia become 'more of a priority' he felt that she was 'wanting to push Kourtney out' of the equation, he alleged.

Scott and Sofia were a couple for over two years before they broke up last May, reportedly tried to rekindle the romance and then split for good over the summer.

Remember when: Sofia and and Amelia have met before - they were pictured posing up together last February at the Rolla's x Sofia Richie Launch Event in West Hollywood (pictured)

The way they were: Scott and Sofia were a couple for over two years before they broke up last May, reportedly tried to rekindle the romance and then split for good over the summer

Platinum Disick: Scott is pictured stepping out with Amelia in Miami earlier this year

Recently an Us Weekly source insisted that 'Amelia's not bothered by Kourtney' and the tight co-parenting equation is 'not an issue.'

In a teaser for the upcoming episode of the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians he can be seen telling Kourtney: 'I love you.'

Scott repeatedly needles Kourtney to make a decision about whether they should eventually get back together or not but she balks at the 'pressure.'

As seen on Instagram: In a teaser for the upcoming episode of the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians Scott (right) can be seen telling Kourtney (left): 'I love you.'

The way they were: Kourtney's little sister Kim Kardashian is currently in the process of divorcing her third husband Kanye West who started Yeezy
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday questioned the basis on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested states to look at lockdown as the last resort, and said despite the existing restrictions the COVID-19 cases are not coming down.

A day after PM Modi addressed the nation, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday imposed several new lockdown-like restrictions, including a ban on inter-city and inter-district travel, and allowed only those working in the essential services to travel in local trains in Mumbai.

Referring to PM Modi's suggestion made on Tuesday that lockdowns should be the "last resort", an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said the focus should be on action rather than delivering speeches.

"Several ministers in Maharashtra have suggested that the state be put under complete lockdown for at least 15 days. CM Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision on this. But, on what basis did the PM advise to avoid a lockdown?" it asked.

The editorial said the Maharashtra board's Class 10 exams have been cancelled and the central government has also scrapped the CBSE Class 10 exams. The COVID-19 situation in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka "has gone out of control", it claimed, adding that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recommended a two-week lockdown in Gujarat.

"The situation is not improving despite strict curbs in Maharashtra," the Marathi daily said. It was felt that the Prime Minister will advise citizens on how to face such a situation, the editorial said.

The economy is devastated and those who survive the pandemic will "die of suffocation under the crumbling economy", it claimed. It said the PM admitted that the COVID-19 situation has worsened in the country, but stopped short of saying what should be done to end the crisis.

He says the COVID-19 crisis needs to be tackled unitedly, but his concept of "unity" doesn't involve the opposition parties, the Marathi daily said. "If the Prime Minister had stopped his West Bengal poll rallies on time, the spread of COVID-19 could have been checked," the Marathi publication said.

"Lakhs of people from different parts of the country who were in West Bengal have spread the virus in their respective states. The country has got only coronavirus from the Kumbh mela and political melas," the editorial claimed.

Political leaders need to exercise self-restraint and only then they get the moral right to preach the people, it said. Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 67,468 fresh coronavirus cases, taking its tally beyond the 40-lakh mark, while 568 more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the state health department.

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The pressure to generate big ideas can feel overwhelming. We know that bold innovations are critical in these disruptive and competitive times, but when it comes to breakthrough thinking, we often freeze up.

In his latest book, New York Times best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Josh Linkner suggests a better approach. Instead of shooting for a $10 billion IPO or a Nobel Prize, Linkner argues that the most prolific innovators focus instead on "big little breakthroughs" -- small creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time.

These micro-innovations are less risky, accessible to everyone in an organization, and deliver meaningful results while helping individuals develop their creative skillset.

Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results provides a pragmatic methodology to cultivating inventive thinking, creative problem solving, and innovation, one baby step at a time.

Making the case that we can all be "everyday innovators," Linkner shares the mindsets and tactics of everyday people doing exceptional things in business, health, nonprofits, community, and education. Through thousands of hours of research and interviews with CEOs, billionaires, celebrity entrepreneurs, and Grammy-award-winning musicians, he shares the eight core obsessions of everyday innovators:

1. Fall in love with the problem

Rather than prematurely landing on a specific solution, this involves taking the time to carefully examine and understand the challenge at hand. It means being more committed to solving the problem than to a particular manner of solving it and remaining flexible and open-minded in order to find the optimal approach.

2. Start before you're ready

Everyday innovators take the initiative to get started now instead of waiting for permission, detailed instructions, or ideal conditions. They are willing to course-correct along the way, adapt to changing circumstances in real time, and operate with agility.

3. Open a test kitchen

Innovation is both strengthened and de-risked through experimentation. By building a framework and conditions for testing and creative exploration, ideas are cultivated and optimized.

4. Break it to fix it

Ditching the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" advice of the past, everyday innovators proactively deconstruct, examine, and rebuild to deliver superior products, systems, processes, and works of art.

5. Reach for weird

Preferring the unexpected approaches to the obvious ones, everyday innovators challenge conventional wisdom by searching for unorthodox ideas. They have a penchant for discovering oddball, sometimes even bizarre, ideas in order to discover better outcomes.

6. Use every drop of toothpaste

Consider this a scrappy approach to doing more with less. Counterintuitively, being resource constrained can fuel creative breakthroughs. Resourcefulness and ingenuity become powerful weapons in the fight for superior innovation.

7. Don't forget the dinner mint

Adding small, creative flourishes can yield significantly improved results. An extra dose of surprise and delight enables new invention, competitive victory, and individual achievement.

8. Fall seven times, stand up eight

Realizing that setbacks are inevitable, everyday innovators use creative resilience to overcome adversity. Mistakes are a natural and important part of the innovation process and can be flipped into advantages when studied and embraced.
Former vice president Walter Mondale, who died Monday night at the age of 93, is a political figure indelibly associated with the collapse of American liberalism and the turn by the Democratic Party decisively to the right.

As respectful obituaries in the corporate press noted, he was the last Democratic Party candidate for president to claim to be continuing the legacy of New Deal liberalismalthough by 1984, when Mondale was routed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, this continuity was purely rhetorical.

Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale at the Democratic National Convention, 1976 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

It is a hallmark of Mondales political career that he was closely connected to three critical turning points in the rightward trajectory of the Democratic Party.

Mondale entered politics as an acolyte of Hubert Humphrey in 1948, when Humphrey was leading the purge of Communist Party supporters from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, as the party was called in Minnesota. It was the embrace of Cold War anti-communism that put liberalism in unbreakable bondage to American imperialism and set its course firmly to the right.

Mondale reached the summit of American politics in 1976, as the running mate of Jimmy Carter on the victorious Democratic Party ticket that ousted Republican Gerald Ford. Carter and Mondalewith Mondale serving as an unusually influential vice presidentestablished the first Democratic administration in a half-century that broke with New Deal liberalism.

In 1984, Mondale headed a presidential ticket that lost 49 out of 50 states to an ultra-right Republican, President Ronald Reagan, winning the fewest electoral votes of any Democratic candidate in history. All subsequent Democratic candidates have disavowed the label liberal and advocated openly right-wing, pro-business, pro-corporate economic and social policies.

Mondale was the son of an impoverished Lutheran minister and grew up in a series of small towns in southern Minnesota populated by the descendants of Scandinavian immigrants. He enrolled in Macalester College and later transferred to the University of Minnesota, graduating in 1951.

Before obtaining his degree in political science, however, he had already been schooled by a master of political skullduggery. In 1948, the 20-year-old Mondale was a congressional district campaign manager for the senatorial campaign of Hubert Humphrey, then the mayor of Minneapolis.

The New York Times obituary observes, Mr. Mondale joined the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and became involved in its internal battle to oust Communists and their sympathizers. Mr. Humphrey, at the time the outspoken mayor of Minneapolis, led that fight. 

Humphreys anti-communist purge marked the demise of two decades of efforts in Minnesota to build an independent political party based on the unions and organizations of small farmers.

The Farmer-Labor Party (FLP) had been established in the 1920s and became so successful that it reduced the Democratic Party to third-party status in the state. The FLP did not, however, represent a genuine break by the unions from the Democratic Party, as both parties continued to support the Roosevelt administration in national politics.

This was reinforced by the role of the Stalinists of the Communist Party USA, who had considerable influence within the FLP. The CP backed Roosevelt in the name of the wartime alliance with the USSR, and in 1944 helped engineer the merger of the FLP with the Democrats.

From a purely electoral standpoint, the Minnesota Democrats were the weaker party in the merger with the FLP. But the American ruling class was preparing its Cold War offensive against the Soviet Union, and the anti-communist purge was the domestic counterpart.

The first critical fight in Minnesota was the purging of the Trotskyists from the trade unions in MinneapolisSt. Paul, where they had enormous influence since leading the general strike movement in 1934 that brought tens of thousands of workers into the Teamsters union. This was carried out by Teamsters and American Federation of Labor (AFL) bureaucrats, backed by the Roosevelt administration, which prosecuted and jailed 18 leaders of the Socialist Workers Party, many of them from the Twin Cities.

The presence of socialists and communists within the merged Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party became the next testing ground for the methods that were ultimately given the name McCarthyism after its most repulsive advocate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. But Democratic Party liberals played a more decisive role in the witch-hunt, and those from Minnesota, like Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy and Orville Freeman, took the lead.

Humphrey & Co. perfected the technique of combining liberal rhetoric in domestic policy and hard-line anti-communism in foreign policy, which became the mainstay of the Democratic Party. The predominance of Minnesota liberals in the Democratic Party over the next four decades is extraordinary. Politicians from this state, only 18th of the 50 states in population in 1950, falling to 21st today, were either on the Democratic Party national ticket or significant challengers for the presidential nomination in every election from 1960 to 1984.

Mondale was Humphreys protege and ultimately his political heir. It is another hallmark of his career that his major steps up each rung of the political ladder were due to patronage, not to any particular popular appeal on his part.

In 1958, Mondale, two years out of law school, took a key position in the administration of Governor Freeman, and in 1960, Freeman named Mondale, only 32, to fill a vacancy as state attorney general. Similarly, when his former mentor Humphrey was elected vice president in 1964, a Democratic governor selected Mondale as his replacement. After eight years in the Senate, Mondale was tapped by Jimmy Carter as his running mate, to give the former governor of Georgia a connection to the liberal wing of the party.

Mondale accomplished this steady ascent without the slightest indication of independent thought, let alone dissenting opinion. In 1964, he served as head of the credentials committee at the Democratic National Convention, which, on orders from Lyndon Johnson and Humphrey, seated the segregationists from Mississippi and gave only token recognition to the delegation of Mississippi Freedom Democrats.

Mondale entered the Senate in time to vote for the Voting Rights Act and other liberal legislation associated with the Great Society policies of the JohnsonHumphrey administration, but did not initiate it. He did not support Eugene McCarthy, his fellow senator from Minnesota, when the latter broke with the Johnson administration over the Vietnam War and challenged Johnson for renomination. Mondale remained an adamant supporter of the war until 1969, when it had become Nixons war and most Democrats now claimed to be antiwar.

In 1976, Mondale fit easily with the shift to the right in the Democratic Party signaled by the victory of Carter in the presidential primaries. He agreed to become Carters emissary to the liberals because they were moving in the same direction. Fiscal responsibility, not meeting social needs, had become the watchword: retrenchment, not expansion, of the welfare state.

The CarterMondale administration came to shipwreck on twin disasters, one domestic and one foreign. Carter came into direct conflict with a powerful section of the industrial working class, the coal miners. When 111,000 miners struck the industry in 1977 and voted down a contract after more than two months on strike, Carter invoked the Taft-Hartley Law to force them back to work. The miners defied the order, and the administration could not enforce it.

Overseas, the authority of American imperialism was directly challenged by the Iranian Revolution, which overthrew the Shah of Iran, long the most powerful ally of the United States in the Middle East. A series of provocations culminated in the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran by militant students and the 444-day hostage crisis. The economic impact of the Iranian revolt was felt in rising oil prices and gasoline shortages in America.

Mondale was, according to his obituary notices, the first American vice president to serve as, in effect, a deputy president, with significant authority delegated to him and a major role in internal policy deliberations. There is no record of any significant disagreement between Mondale and Carter on major issues or policy actions. He was a right-wing politician in a right-wing administration, which marked a turning point, particularly in domestic policy, towards increasing confrontation with the working class.

Carters record was so right-wing that it provoked a challenge to his renomination in 1980 from Senator Edward Kennedy. Mondale firmly defended Carter, campaigned for him throughout the primary contests, and thus played a key role in Carters narrow primary victory.

It is noteworthy that the CarterMondale administration set in motion the preparations for breaking a strike by the air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administrationintended, in part, to offset the humiliation inflicted by the coal miners. Carter had to cede that role to the next administration after Reagan won the 1980 election by a sizeable margin. But everything Reagan did to smash the PATCO strike in 1981 was based on plans already worked out under Carter and Mondale.

Mondale was the presumed frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, and he easily defeated challenges from Senator Gary Hart, former campaign manager for George McGovern, who attacked him from the right, and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who criticized him from the left. His campaign was thoroughly undermined, however, by the overall shift to the right in the Democratic Party.

The colorless Mondale, with a wooden grin and a stiff manner, seemed to personify the inability of the Democrats to make any genuine popular appeal to the working class. But it was the reactionary record of the CarterMondale administration that made that impossible. Although Reagan was widely hated, particularly for the devastation his policies had caused to industrial workers through factory closures and unionbusting, he won by a landslide, carrying every state but Minnesota.

The election of Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 gave Mondales career in public life a final, significant chapter. Clinton named him US ambassador to Japan, where he represented the interests of American imperialism in the capital of its then-greatest economic rival, continuously pressuring the Japanese government to open its markets to American goods. In that period, Clinton pushed through NAFTA in large measure to consolidate a North American trade bloc against Japanas opposed to the current USMexicoCanada deal, worked out by Donald Trump with Democratic support, which targets China more directly.

In 1998, the Clinton administration dispatched Mondale to Jakarta to read the riot act to the crumbling regime of Indonesian dictator Suharto. As the WSWS wrote at the time, After a one-and-a-half hour meeting with Suharto, Mondale emerged to demand full, demonstrable and vigorous implementation of the IMF plan to deregulate the Indonesian economy as the price for a $US38 billion financial bailout.

The US concern was Suhartos poor economic management in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, not his long and bloody record of crimes against the Indonesian people and suppression of all democratic rights.

A longtime US stooge, since he took power in a bloody 1965 CIA-backed military coup in which 1 million people were slaughtered, Suharto was clinging desperately to power. While US officials denied that Mondale had delivered a private message from Clinton that Suharto must step down, there were widespread reports that the administration had held closed-door meetings to discuss a Manila scenario, referring to the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines in 1986.

Barely two months after the Mondale visit, with anti-government riots spreading throughout the country, Suharto took the advice of his imperialist overlords and announced his resignation. This was to be a controlled transition that would preserve Indonesian capitalism and the corrupt ruling elite, and protect American interests. In this, his final major political intervention, Mondale acted as always as a representative of American imperialism, demonstrating once again the role of Democratic Party liberalism.
Police have announced that the alleged bomb scare at a hospital in Wrexham was a hoax after reports flooded in about a suspicious package.

Staff and patients were evacuated from the 800-bed Wrexham Maelor Hospital in Wales just after 1pm as officers spent several hours investigating what North Wales Police only formally described as an 'incident'.

Chief Inspector Mark Williams has now said: 'I would like to thank staff, patients and the public for their cooperation and patience following what appears to have been a hoax call to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

'Our priority throughout this afternoons incident was to ensure people were kept safe.'

The road leading to the site was blocked by officers at both ends, with nobody allowed into the hospital, including patients with planned appointments, who were urged to stay away.

Police have announced that the alleged bomb scare at a hospital in Wrexham was a hoax after reports flooded in about a suspicious package

One nurse told the BBC how people inside the building were ushered outside and told to move further back in the car park earlier in the afternoon.

But Tonya Hinds, 26, was locked down in the hospital and told she and her two daughters were unable to leave, instead being kept with her partner in the main outpatients department.

'It's very hectic here, you can tell something's not right,' she said.

'It is stressful and worrying with two kids under five. The nurses are fabulous helping me keep my girls occupied.'

Just before 5pm, however, the site was deemed safe and staff and patients were allowed to return.

People were told not to enter or leave Wrexham Maelor Hospital this afternoon while officers at the scene investigated

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which runs the hospital, tweeted: 'A search of the #Wrexham Maelor was carried out following reports of a suspicious package.

'We have worked with @NWPolice to carry out a search, which has now been completed.

'Access to the hospital is no longer restricted and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.'

A witness had earlier tweeted: 'Something currently happening at the Maelor in@wrexham ..not sure what.. Security currently stopping anyone from leaving or entering the building and everyone has been moved away from the main car park ????'

Chief Inspector Mark Williams has now said: 'I would like to thank staff, patients and the public for their cooperation and patience following what appears to have been a hoax call to Wrexham Maelor Hospital'

Another added: '@wrexham bomb scare in the maelor hospital.'

Meanwhile, the local MP Sarah Atherton urged people to avoid the area while emergency services deal with the incident.

A local school also offered to keep the children of any parents who were working at or visiting the hospital in classes as a result of the disruption.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford were in the town earlier today but the party confirmed there were no plans to visit the hospital.

A spokesman from North Wales Police said earlier this adfternoon: 'We are currently dealing with an incident at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Please avoid the area until further notice.'
By Juliet Nalwooga

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth Ochola has urged officers to stick to their professional code of conduct and avoid civil litigation against the force that is biting deep into their budget.

While opening a one-day workshop on, Understanding Civil litigation from a police perspective, held at the Naguru headquarters this morning, IGP Ochola noted that there are substantial indications that civil litigation against the force has increased significantly.

He cited some of the incidents that often lead to civil suit against police to include misuse of firearms, unlawful arrests and search, poor response to complaints, and illegal detentions among others.

He has as such implored all Unit commanders to sensitize their subordinate officers to apply established police policies, rules, and lawful tactics to avoid a civil suit.

The workshop has been organized by the Police Directorate of Human Rights & Legal Services and is presided over by the Director of Civil litigation in the ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Martin Mwambustya.
A study of almost 5 million live births in California by researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego reports that babies born to mothers diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were more likely to experience negative health outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight, than babies born to mothers without a cannabis use disorder diagnosis.

The findings are published online in the April 22, 2021 issue of the journal Addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the study.

Cannabis use disorder is a diagnostic term with specific criteria that defines continued cannabis use despite consequent, clinically significant impairments. The research team, led by first author Yuyan Shi, PhD, associate professor at The Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, conducted a retrospective cohort study of 4.83 million mothers who delivered live, single births in California from 2001 to 2012.

They identified 20,237 women who were discharged after delivery with a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder. Not all people who use cannabis meet the criteria for cannabis use disorder. The study authors stated the actual incidence of cannabis use disorder is likely higher than reported numbers.

The researchers found that diagnoses of cannabis use disorder, based on medical records at time of delivery, rose from 2.8 to 6.9 per 1000 deliveries from 2002 to 2012. Compared to a matched control group of 40,474 mother-infant pairs, infants born to women with cannabis use disorder were more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight and be small for their gestational age -- all factors that can require greater or more intense medical care or presage later health issues.

Additionally, researchers found that, though rare overall (less than 1 percent), the risk of infant mortality was greater for infants born to women with cannabis use disorder. These infants were 35 percent more likely to die within a year of birth than infants in the control group. Conversely, these infants were also less likely to be hospitalized within the first year of life than control group infants.

"Because we are looking only at medical records, there is a lot we don't know about the mothers and infants in this study," said first author Shi, "but our analysis supports the recommendation that health professionals screen for and address cannabis use disorders in their pregnant clients -- to protect both their health and potentially the health of their infants."

Currently, screening for cannabis use or related disorders is not standard practice during pregnancy health care, though marijuana is the illicit drug most commonly used by pregnant women, typically to self-treat depression, anxiety, stress, pain, nausea and vomiting, often during the first trimester. It is also not standard of care to provide counsel on the lack of safety data around cannabis use during pregnancy. Both strategies may be helpful, as well as encouraging patients to discontinue use of cannabis during pregnancy and while breastfeeding and referring to treatment when appropriate.

According to a 2018 published study, approximately 7 percent of pregnant women self-reported marijuana use, with rates as high as 10 percent among women ages 18 to 25. Rates based on urine toxicology were even higher, with 19 percent of pregnant women ages 18 to 25 screening positive for marijuana use.

Previous research has found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis, can reach fetuses and infants through the placenta and breastmilk, respectively. THC disrupts the normal function of the endocannabinoid system, which has been shown to play a key role in pregnancy, including implantation of the embryo in the uterus and maintenance of the placenta.

###

Co-authors include: Bin Zhu, UC San Diego; and Di Liang, UC San Diego and Fudan University, China.
In an effort to offer travellers in the Middle East a more localised and user-friendly experience, leading global travel marketplace Skyscanner has rolled out the Arabic language offering across all domains, including UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Travellers visiting Skyscanner on the desktop, mobile web or via the app will now be able to select Arabic as a language option to access more localised content, including local currency and a better user experience when linking to partner sites to complete their travel bookings.

Travel is returning in the region at a strong pace. On Skyscanner, interest in both domestic and international flights have increased steadily from UAE travellers, with a lift of 23 per cent in searches and even more dramatically from Saudi travellers, where there was an increase of 110 per cent in searches from February to March of this year.

UAE

23 per cent month-over-month increase in searches on Skyscanner, March 2021 vs February 2021

Top searched countries in March

 India

 Philippines

 Pakistan

 United Kingdom

 Russia

Saudi Arabia

110 per cent month-over-month increase in searches on Skyscanner, March 2021 vs February 2021

Top searched countries in March

 Saudi Arabia

 India

 Pakistan

 Philippines

 Egypt

According to a recent YouGov survey, commissioned by Reed Exhibitions, ahead Arabian Travel Market 2021, the money that Middle East travellers spend on international leisure travel will begin to exceed 2019 levels in as little as three years.

Were pleased to be able to offer travellers in the Middle East a far more relevant experience on desktop, allowing them to plan and book travel in their local language and currency, said Gavin Harris, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Skyscanner. Arabic is one of the 5th most spoken languages in the world and outbound travel from the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounts for a significant proportion of the total travel market. We previously launched the Skyscanner app in Arabic to great success, so it was a logical next step to bring the localised experience to desktop users too. Were excited about the opportunity this will afford our partners in the region as well.

Now, travellers in the Middle East will be able to choose Arabic as their language of choice when visiting Skyscanner, giving them access to all of Skyscanners leading flight search, comparison and booking functionality and features. When travellers select a flight option with a partner, they will automatically be redirected to the Arabic locale on the partners site, where it is offered as a language option, ensuring for a smoother, more user-friendly experience.

Skyscanner is already a well-established player in the region, with Etihad Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia all participating in the travel marketplaces direct booking platform to sell tickets directly to Skyscanner users. Skyscanner offers partnership opportunities for airlines, destination management companies, travel operators and companies from a range of sectors, such as advertising, data & analytics solutions, as well as a world leading affiliates programme and flights APIs to power flight search on partner websites and apps. - TradeArabia News Service
Law enforcement investigate the scene of a police involved shooting, in Elizabeth City, N.C., on April 21, 2021. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

Deputy Fatally Shot North Carolina Man While Serving Search Warrant: Sheriff

The unidentified deputy has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation

A North Carolina deputy shot and killed a man while law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at his residence in Elizabeth City on Wednesday morning, officials said.

Andrew Brown Jr. was killed after a search warrant was served by deputies from the Pasquotank County Sheriffs Office at about 8:30 a.m. in a residential neighborhood, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II told reporters during a press briefing.

According to a report from WAVY-TV 10 News, Brown was shot in his car.

An eyewitness, Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street told The Associated Press that Brown was shot while trying to drive away. Deputies fired at him multiple times, she said.

Williams, who said she ran outside after hearing a gunshot, said Browns vehicle skidded out of his yard and eventually struck a tree. She saw further shots being fired at the car by deputies.

When they opened the door, he was already dead, Williams told the news wire. He was slumped over.

Officers then attempted to perform chest compressions on Brown, she said.

He did not have a gun. Hes not a violent person, Williams told the Virginian Pilot.

A car that authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and a broken rear windshield.

Sheriff Wooten told reporters that he hadnt yet reviewed body-worn camera footage of the incident. The officer who fired his service weapon hasnt been identified and has since been placed on administrative leave, he said.

District Attorney for the First Prosecutorial District Andrew Womble said that the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will lead a probe into the incident.

Womble also said the state will be taking charge of processing the scene where the events took place, including but not limited to the collection of physical evidence.

What we are looking for at this time will be accurate answers and not fast answers, Womble said. Were going to wait for the full and complete investigation  and well review that and make any determinations that we deem appropriate at that time. This will not be a rush to judgment.

A citizen speaks with an officer in front of the municipal building after at least one Pasquotank County Sheriffs deputy shot and killed a man while executing a search warrant, the sheriffs office in Elizabeth City, N.C., said on April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

According to court records reviewed by The Associated Press, Brown was 42-years-old and had a history of drug charges and a misdemeanor drug possession conviction.

Family members told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was 40-years-old, a father of 10 children, didnt possess any weapons, and was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Police didnt confirm the familys account of events, citing an active criminal investigation.

People gather outside the municipal building after at least one Pasquotank County Sheriffs deputy shot and killed a man while executing a search warrant, the sheriffs office said in Elizabeth City, N.C., on April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

According to the Charlotte Observer, some 200 people gathered Wednesday night as news of Browns death spread.

Elizabeth City officials said that they would impose a curfew if needed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Seafarers Charity awards grants to new online services to support seafarers

Actioning their new strategic approach, The Seafarers Charity awarded a total of 844,760 to 17 organisations in its first meeting of this years grant programme.

The charity recently launched its strategy Thrive, which focuses on achieving five strategic outcomes for seafarers [Enhanced financial resilience; Better working lives at sea; Improved Health and Wellbeing; Raised safety standards and practices and increased social justice] and rebranded from Seafarers UK. Last year the charity awarded 3.5m to organisations supporting seafarers through its annual grants award programme and additionally a specific COVID-19 Emergency Fund to provide an all-embracing eco-system of welfare support to seafarers. The charity Safer Waves is amongst the new grant recipients for the provision of an email support service to merchant seafarers who have experienced sexual violence, harassment or gender discrimination while working at sea. This new service has been developed after research suggested that after experiencing harassment or assault, cases were badly mishandled, and victims did not have access to appropriate support. Comments from respondents showed that the burden has been on the individual to prove that what had happened to them was bad enough' to be taken seriously. The ability to receive support was further compromised if the perpetrator was in a position of seniority onboard. The anonymous service will help seafarers process traumatic incidents, give coping strategies if they are still in an abusive situation, and ultimately reduce the impact of the incident. The pre-development consultation of the service showed that email was the preferred communication method. Another newly funded service will be delivered by Befrienders Worldwide to offer emotional support to seafarers through a new Befrienders Worldwide Help App which will be adapted to enable seafarers to contact designated Help centres located in countries which have strong links to shipping. The development of this programme recognises the isolation and loneliness many seafarers face and resulting mental health problems. The prospective Seafarers Support Centres are USA - Boston; Spain - Costa del Sol; Sri Lanka / India; Singapore - Singapore City; Philippines - Manila; China - Hong Kong. These were selected on technical grounds - main shipping routes, satellite connections and the languages spoken. Befrienders Worldwide also wants to work collaboratively with other maritime welfare and seafaring charities and will provide access to each of these organisations via Befrienders Worldwides Seafarers International Emotional Support Services. Catherine Spencer, CEO of The Seafarers Charity said, We award funds to organisations to support a holistic range of delivery partners to ensure seafarers are supported at all stages of their lives. As well as our long-term partners such as ISWAN, Seafarers Advice and Information Line, The Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris, Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Society, Sailors Children Society, the Merchant Navy Welfare Board, and The Fishermans Mission we are also exploring opportunities to work with new partners to support the emerging welfare of seafarers. We aim to be responsive to the needs of seafarers and our strategic approach aims to remove hardship and get to the root of problems through proactive and innovative work. Were pleased to be working with these two new partners to provide these new and much needed services to support the difficulties experienced by those who work at sea.




The conviction of former officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd is a rare, and welcome, instance of police being held accountable for their actions. Its a good start, but theres a long way to go. The opportunity exists right now to pursue meaningful police reform. It starts with holding police accountable but it cant stop there.

America is over policed. We spend approximately $115 billion annually on policing. Thats larger than the military budget of every country on Earth except for the U.S. and China. Russia spends less on tanks than we do on cops. In a country with more than 12 million children living in food-insecure households, armored troop carriers for municipal police departments seem like a poor allocation of resources.

We should be asking police to do less. The recent killing of Daunte Wright by a police officer who couldnt tell a taser from a loaded gun shows that perhaps its a bad idea to have armed agents of the state making traffic stops. Why are cops the first ones on the scene when someone is having a mental health episode? Wouldnt it make more sense to dispatch someone with the training necessary to deal with a person in distress rather than an officer with 16 weeks of training and a gun. It varies by state, but 16 weeks is the average length of time it takes to become a licensed police officer. It takes 24 months on average to become a licensed cosmetologist.

Its time to fundamentally change the nature of policing in America.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
France will impose new entry restrictions on travelers from India to fight a contagious coronavirus variant spreading in that country, an official said Wednesday. The restrictions come in addition to those previously announced regarding four other countries -- Brazil, Argentina, Chile and South Africa -- that will be implemented starting from Saturday.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal also confirmed that France will lift its ban on domestic travel as planned on May 3, but will maintain its nighttime curfew, now in place from 7 pm to 6 am. Non-essential shops, closed since the partial lockdown of the country at beginning of April, won't reopen before mid-May, he said.

France suspended all flights from Brazil earlier this month in an effort to curb the spread of a new Covid-19 variant found in the South American country. The temporary measure is to be replaced Saturday by tight travel restrictions regarding a list of now five countries, including a mandatory 10-day quarantine with police checks to ensure people arriving in France observe the requirement.

France is also requiring more stringent testing for the coronavirus on travelers from these countries, who will need to pass a mandatory antigen test upon their arrival, in addition to a pre-boarding PCR test. A variant first identified in England is now responsible for about 80 per cent of the virus cases in France, while the variants first seen in Brazil and South Africa make up less than 4 per cent of French infections, Health Minister Olivier Veran said last week.

Attal said Wednesday that daily numbers of new infections are tending to decrease in the country -- yet they still reach more than 30,000 people per day on average. With almost 6,000 Covid-19 patients in intensive care units and hospitals close to capacity, Attal said France may be close to reaching a "peak".

He noted "encouraging" signs, but this is "not sufficient enough". "The epidemic is decreasing twice as slow as in November especially due to the English variant," he said. "The pressure on hospitals is extremely strong."

Nursery and primary schools will reopen on April 26 after a three-week closure as planned, followed by high schools on May 3, Attal said. France intends to gradually reopen nonessential shops, some of its cultural places and cafe and restaurant terraces starting from mid-May.

President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday praised the acceleration of the vaccination campaign in the country, with more than 2.5 million jabs injected last week. France has reported more than 100,00 deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also read: UK's Heathrow Airport refuses to allow extra flights from India amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Also read: UK adds India to COVID-19 travel 'red list' amid new variant cases
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A major cross-border search for missing Louth girl Svetlana Murphy ended with relief after she was found safe and well.

The PSNI located the 14-year-old in Belfast and she was due to be reunited with her family on Thursday night.

Gardai issued a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert around midnight on Wednesday after they became seriously concerned for Svetlanas safety.

It is understood that PSNI officers arrested Mr Maculevicius and will be liaising with gardai.

Svetlanas family had not heard from her after she was seen leaving her home on the Beach Rd, Blackrock, with 18-year-old Nojus Maculevicius on Monday.

Following a Child Rescue Ireland Alert issued by An Garda Siochana, 14 year old Svetlana Murphy has been found safe and well by police. An 18 year old man has been arrested and is assisting police with their enquiries. Thank you all for your assistance with this investigation. pic.twitter.com/HyQE7Ymi83  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) April 22, 2021

Gardai had believed there was an immediate and serious risk to the Louth girls safety and said they urgently needed to locate her and return her to her family.

Svetlana was reported missing on Monday evening after she left her family home with Mr Maculevicius that afternoon.

Neither of them had been in contact with their families since.

Mr Maculevicius was driving his metallic-grey Hyundai and travelled north. The pair were spotted in Newry at around 7pm on Monday and the car was seen in Belfast city centre at 5.35pm on Wednesday.

While the teenagers know each other, the case is technically considered an abduction as Svetlana is a minor and gone since Monday without her parents permission and Mr Maculevicius is an adult.

Gardai issued a missing persons appeal for Svetlana on Tuesday. On Wednesday, senior officers issued a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert around 12 midnight. They are issued rarely and only in the most serious of cases.

There have been seven previous CRI cases since it was set up in 2012. In all but one case, the children were recovered safely.

Certain criteria must be met before a CRI can be issued, including that there is a reasonable belief that the child has been abducted and a reasonable belief that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of a child.

Sources said Mr Maculevicius had only a small amount of cash when he left Blackrock on Monday.

During the search, gardai were monitoring any use of bank cards, both at ATMs and in-store, including garages.

Such welcome news and a huge relief that Svetlana Murphy has been found safe and well. Well done to An Garda Siochana and their colleagues in the PSNI for their great work and co-operation.  Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) April 22, 2021

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said: Such welcome news and a huge relief that Svetlana Murphy has been found safe and well.

"Well done to An Garda Siochana and their colleagues in the PSNI for their great work and co-operation.
Citing three unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that Biden will likely use the word genocide in his April 24 statement on the 106th anniversary of the start of the massacres that left an estimated 1.5 million Armenians dead.

My understanding is that he took the decision and will use the word genocide in his statement on Saturday, said one of them.

CNN quoted, for its part, U.S. government sources as saying that Washington has already notified its Western allies about Bidens intention to recognize the genocide.

Biden repeatedly pledged to do that when he ran for president. The United States must reaffirm, once and for all, our record on the Armenian Genocide, he said in a September 2019 letter to the Armenian Assembly of America.

Earlier this week more than 100 U.S. lawmakers led by Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff sent an open letter to Biden urging him to honor that pledge.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian likewise called on Biden to reaffirm your commitment to advance historical justice and prevent new genocides in a letter released by his office on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian echoed Sarkissians appeal in comments to The New York Times. He said the U.S. presidents recognition of the Armenian genocide would send a strong moral signal to many countries.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate recognized the 1915 genocide in separate resolutions overwhelmingly passed in 2019.

Successive U.S. presidents have until now refrained from doing so for fear of antagonizing Turkey, a NATO ally vehemently denying any premeditated government effort to exterminate the Ottoman Empires Armenian population. Some of them, including Barack Obama and Donald Trump, used instead the Armenian phrase Meds Yeghern (Great Crime) in their April 24 statements.

According to U.S. officials interviewed by The New York Times, Biden is mindful of the risk of a further deterioration of U.S.-Turkish relations but seems determined to further human rights on the international stage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the issue with his High Consultations Council on Thursday. Our President has stated that they will continue to defend truths against the so-called Armenian genocide lie and those who support this slander with political motivations, Erdogans office said.

Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group research and consulting firm, told Reuters that Erdogans response to Biden's expected move will likely be limited.

"Erdogan is ... unlikely to provoke the U.S. with actions that could further undermine Turkeys weak economy," he said.
ZEELAND, MI  Becoming superintendent of Zeeland Public Schools wasnt always Brandi-Lyn Mendhams plan. She said her current role as the districts assistant superintendent of curriculum is her dream job.

But when Zeeland Superintendent Cal De Kuiper announced he would retire at the end of this school year and the position opened up, Mendham said she felt an urge to put her name in the running for the job.

There is something truly special about Zeeland, she said. I felt driven to apply.

Mendham was recently chosen by the Zeeland Board of Education to be the next superintendent, making her the districts first female superintendent. The board voted unanimously to enter into contract negotiations with Mendham at the Friday, April 16 meeting.

She will take over as De Kuipers successor on July 1, 2021, according to a district announcement.

Mendham was hired as Zeelands assistant superintendent of curriculum in 2014. Before that, she served in educational roles at West Shore Educational Service District, Grand Valley State University and Baldwin Elementary School, according to her LinkedIn profile.

RELATED: Zeeland Public Schools hires new curriculum and technology director

Mendham said that being the districts first female superintendent has significant meaning to her.

Currently, just over a quarter of superintendents in our country are women, she told MLive in a prepared statement. I have two daughters of my own and understand the importance for girls to believe in themselves and know they can achieve their dreams with hard work, perseverance, and dedication.

The Zeeland school board conducted a superintendent search with the help of consultant and former Allegan County superintendent Mark Dobias, who works with the Michigan Association of School Boards to conduct executive searches.

School leaders opted to first interview internally for the position, with plans to extend the search to external applicants if necessary, said school board president Tom DenHerder. Mendham was the only internal applicant for the position.

DenHerder said the school board was looking for a leader who could continue the great work already happening at Zeeland Public Schools.

We are fortunate that (Mendhams) current role as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum has allowed her to work closely for years with not only the superintendent, but also with ZPS teachers, district staff, and the community as a whole, he said in a prepared statement to MLive.

Her knowledge and expertise will allow for a seamless transition.

Mendham said she is honored to be selected as the districts 14th superintendent.

Im humbled, honored, and proud to lead an amazing team and do whats best for the children in our community, she said. The Zeeland community can expect I will lead with integrity and a listening ear.

The soon-to-be superintendent earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University, and her masters in elementary education with an early childhood emphasis, and bachelors degree in group science from Grand Valley State University.

Zeeland is a growing Ottawa County school district with plans for a number of districtwide capital improvements in the coming years if taxpayers approve a $75 million bond proposal on the May 4, 2021 ballot.

Funds from the bond proposal would go toward accommodating current student population growth, upgrading facilities and funding safety and security.

Zeeland has just over 6,000 enrolled students this year. The districts enrollment has grown by 800 students in the last eight years, and is expected to gain another 100 students per year for the foreseeable future, De Kuiper previously told MLive.

De Kuiper, who has been at the helm of the district for nine years, will retire on June 30, 2021. He has devoted 39 years to educating students.

The superintendent made several administrative hires to expand curriculum and special education programming during his tenure, including the hiring of Mendham and assistant superintendent of special education Holly Boehle.

De Kuiper said his time in retirement will be spent with friends and family, including a new grandson.

Although my official last day as your superintendent will be June 30, I will always remain a steadfast advocate for education and a proud supporter of Zeeland Public Schools and our community, he said.

More on MLive:

Zeeland schools proposing $75M bond in May 4 election to help district keep up with rising enrollment

Zeeland Public Schools Superintendent Calvin De Kuiper retiring in June

Six candidates to interview for Kentwood Public Schools superintendent
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This FMI report examines the wearable medical device market for the period 20162026. The primary objective of the report is to offer insights into current strategies and development scenario in the market that is significantly helping growth trajectory of global businesses and companies operating in this market. The wearable medical device market report begins by defining the product segment, application, and distribution channel. It is followed by an overview of the market dynamics of the global market, which includes FMIs analysis of the key trends, drivers, restraints, opportunities, regulations and government initiatives that have an impact on the global wearable medical devices market.

The primary factors fuelling demand for wearable medical devices include progressive demographic geriatric population, increasing prevalence of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease and associated morbidity and mortality rates, escalating healthcare costs, rising consumer demand for home healthcare devices for improved health and safety etc. Moreover, adoption of wearable medical devices is also gaining traction in the home healthcare sector. However, lack of awareness among general population about wearable medical devices in certain countries, reluctance to shift from conventional devices to wearable devices, substitute and alternative products for wearable medical devices, availability of viable treatment options for certain diseases etc. are the factors hampering the growth of global wearable medical devices market.

Request a Sample of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-826

Based on product segment, the market has been segmented into wearable therapeutic medical device, (further sub-segmented into hearing aid, insulin pump and respiratory therapy devices (respiratory therapy devices is further sub segmented into sleep apnea devices and non-invasive ventilation)), wearable monitoring and diagnostic devices, (further sub-segmented into fetal and obstetric devices (fetal and obstetric devices is further sub-segmented into wearable fetal monitors and infant motion sensing monitors), continuous glucose monitoring devices and cardiac monitoring devices (cardiac monitoring devices is further sub-segmented into wearable heart rate monitors, wearable pulse oximeters, wearable blood pressure monitors) and health and fitness devices. A detailed analysis of each segment has been provided in terms of market size, Y-o-Y growth rate, absolute $ opportunity and BPS analysis.

Based on application type, the market has been segmented into patient monitoring, home healthcare and health and fitness.

The report has been segmented based on distribution channels into hospital pharmacies, clinics, online channel and hypermarkets. In countries such as U.S., Canada, U.K, Japan etc. physician recommend wearable devices to patients through clinics, hospitals pharmacies as these devices are used for monitoring purpose. Apart from this few wearable medical devices such blood glucose monitors etc. are available in hypermarkets, few manufacturers use go-to-market strategy by supplying their products through online channel distribution mode by reaching out to the customers.

The next section of the report highlights wearable medical devices market size and trends by region, and provides market forecast for 20162026. Key regions considered in this report include North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and the Middle East & Africa (MEA). The study discusses key regional trends contributing to growth of the wearable medical devices market across the globe, as well as analyses the extent to which drivers are influencing this market in each region.

The above sections by product segment, application type and distribution channels  evaluate the present scenario and growth projections in the global wearable medical devices market for 20162026, considering 2015 as the base year, 2016 as the estimated year and provided data for the forecast period, i.e., 20172026.

To reach the global market size for wearable medical devices market we employed the bottom up approach and have also considered revenue generated by device manufacturers. In order to provide an accurate forecast, we started by sizing up the current market, which forms the basis of how the global wearable medical devices market is expected to grow in the future.

In addition, it is imperative to note that in an ever-fluctuating global economy, we not only conduct forecasts in terms of CAGR, but also analyse based on key parameters, such as year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth rates, to understand the predictability of the wearable medical devices market and to identify opportunities in the market.

The wearable medical devices market segments, by product segment, application type, distribution channels and region, are analysed in terms of Basis Point Share (BPS) to understand the individual segments relative contributions to market growth. This detailed level of information is important for identifying various key trends in wearable medical devices market.

Get Full Report Buy Now @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/826

Another key feature of this report is the analysis of key segments in terms of absolute dollar opportunity. This is traditionally overlooked while forecasting the market. However, absolute dollar opportunity is critical for assessing the level of opportunity that a provider can look to achieve, as well as to identify potential resources from a sales and delivery perspective of the market.

To understand key growth segments in terms of growth and adoption of wearable medical devices globally, Future Market Insights developed the Market Attractiveness Index. The resulting index should help providers identify the real market opportunities.

Key Segments Covered

By Product Segment

Wearable Monitoring and Diagnostic Devices

Fetal and Obstetric Devices Wearable Fetal Monitors Infant Motion Sensing Monitors

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices

Cardiac Monitoring Devices Wearable Heart rate monitors Wearable Pulse Oximeters Wearable Blood Pressure Monitors

Wearable Therapeutic Medical Device

Hearing Aid

Insulin Pump

Respiratory Therapy Devices Sleep Apnea Devices Non Invasive Ventilation

Health and Fitness Devices

By Application Type

Patient Monitoring

Home Healthcare

Health and Fitness

By Distribution Channels

Hospital Pharmacies

Clinics

Online Channel

Hypermarkets

By Region

Global Market

North America

Latin America

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

APEJ

Japan

MEA

Request for Report Ask A Question @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-826

Key categories of providers covered in the report are wearable medical devices manufacturers. This section is primarily designed to provide clients with an objective and detailed comparative assessment of key providers and the potential players with respect to the same. Report audiences can gain segment-specific vendor insights to identify and evaluate key competitors based on the in-depth assessment of their capabilities and success in the wearable medical devices marketplace.

Detailed profiles of the providers are also included in the scope of the report to evaluate their long-term and short-term strategies, key offerings, SWOT analysis and recent developments in the wearable medical devices market. Key market competitors covered in the report include Medtronic plc, Siemens AG, Fitbit Inc., Bayer AG, Panasonic Corporation, Animas Corporation- Johnson and Johnson, Smiths Medical - A Smiths Group Company, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Owlet Baby Care, OMRON Corporation, Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Rest Devices Inc.
YEREVAN.  There was a big speculation in connection with the 2020 budget that the government paid bonuses with funds transferred to the government by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at Thursdays Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia.

"The government has carried out an allocation of about 120 billion drams for the martial law-related expenditures. Of that, 52 billion drams were allocated by the Hayastan [All Armenian] Fund, he added.

Pashinyan stated that during the 2020 budget report in the National Assembly, it shall be presented in a closed session, in detail, and line by line, on what these 120 billion drams were spent, so that this topic would be finally closedif it is not closed yet.

He noted that from 1992 to September 2020, US$247 million were raised through the Hayastan All Armenian Fund to implement programs in Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). "During the [recent] 44-day [Artsakh] war, $212 million were raised; that is, more than 70% of what was raised during 28 years," Pashinyan said.

He informed that they have decided to allocate 110 billion drams to implement an infrastructure and housing program in Artsakh over the course of three years. "This will be a bigger program than all the programs implemented by the Hayastan All Armenian Fund in Artsakh; that is, in three years a bigger program will be implemented in Artsakh than in the 29 years since the day of the establishment of the Hayastan [All Armenian] Fund," the PM stated.
Initial projects showcase Purdues interdisciplinary approach to cybersecurity

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Proposed research at Purdue University is developing innovative solutions using artificial intelligence to enhance the security of current and future Rolls-Royce platforms powered by the companys propulsion systems.

Shaoshuai Mou, an assistant professor in aeronautics and astronautics, is the leading principal investigator on a project focused on the integration of artificial intelligence with classical theories for intrusion detection in resource-limited embedded systems. He is joined in the project by co-PI Ding Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

The project is one of three from Purdue accepted by Rolls-Royce as part of a newly launched Cybersecurity Technology Research Network, which the company announced today (April 22). The network, which is a partnership between Rolls-Royce, Purdue Universitys Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and Carnegie Mellon Universitys CyLab, is focused on improving the cybersecurity for platforms powered by the companys propulsion systems.

The Cybersecurity Technology Research Network is the latest chapter in a long-standing partnership between Purdue and Rolls-Royce, one that continues to strengthen the states economy. As a Rolls-Royce global University Technology Partnership, Purdue is recognized as a critical part of the companys technology and development strategy. Through this new network, Rolls-Royce can access the broad expertise of Purdues researchers, who lead in cyber-physical systems with a focus on security, autonomy and resiliency.

Collaborations in recent years have included the construction of the Purdue Technology Center Aerospace, a facility in West Lafayette where the company conducts research and development for jet engine components, and a new turbine test rig at Zucrow Laboratories on the West Lafayette campus. The partnership between Rolls-Royce, Purdue and the state of Indiana was supported in part by a $6 million commitment over three years by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

The universitys cybersecurity program is ranked No. 6 nationally, and Purdues CERIAS is viewed as one of the worlds leading centers for research and education in areas of information security that are crucial to the protection of critical cyber and cyber-physical infrastructures.

Cybersecurity was also just announced as a critical research topic under Purdues new national security and technology strategic focus area. The announcement of Purdues Next Moves on April 9 included five strategic focus areas that will advance the universitys competitive advantage.

Purdues involvement with Rolls-Royce underscores the importance of industry and academic collaboration to address emerging cyber and cyber-physical threats, said Theresa Mayer, executive vice president for research and partnerships. Our researchers can leverage their expertise and perspective to identify projects and develop solutions to challenges facing these industries today.

Hear more from Mayer on Purdues cybersecurity work.

As part of his research project, Mou is focused on developing techniques for cybersecurity that works well in systems that must operate in harsh environments with high temperature and significant noise, such as an aircraft. The research will look to integrate recent advances in artificial intelligence and learning with classical optimization theories in developing these new techniques.

The research also will explore how to enhance security resilience for embedded systems.

This project shows great promise in empowering embedded systems with intelligent, resource-efficient cybersecurity capability, said Dongyan Xu, director of CERIAS and the Samuel Conte Professor of Computer Science.

Hear comments from Joel Rasmus of CERIAS on Purdues partnership with Rolls-Royce and Carnegie Mellon University.

Also accepted in to the Rolls-Royce research network were:

A proposal by Ananth Grama, the Samuel Conte Professor of Computer Science, for a one-year research project on cybersecurity. Grama said the project aims to develop new techniques to optimize security of systems in resource-constrained environments, and to test these innovations in real-world systems. The focus of the project is on developing models and methods in noisy environments.

A proposal by Sorin Matei, professor and associate dean for research and graduate education in the College of Liberal Arts, to develop a method of testing Rolls-Royce job candidates for the ability to think in terms of trade-offs by evaluating them on tasks that require systems thinking. The method will use a gamelike scenario to test the candidates in a complex, engaging way. Matei said the successful candidates will be the ones who demonstrate the ability to see that all choices involve costs and that all costs have long-term, systemwide implications, not just local and immediate costs.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Writer, Media contact: Brian Huchel, 765-494-2084, bhuchel@purdue.edu

Source: Theresa Mayer, tsmayer@purdue.edu

Dongyan Xu, dxu@purdue.edu

Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines:
Residents in geographic areas with high risk of transmission or serious illness from COVID-19 and front-line workers in those communities including grocery stores, restaurants and child care facilities, will be eligible for a vaccine starting Friday, health officials for the province said Wednesday.

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Residents in geographic areas with high risk of transmission or serious illness from COVID-19 and front-line workers in those communities including grocery stores, restaurants and child care facilities, will be eligible for a vaccine starting Friday, health officials for the province said Wednesday.

Anyone who is 18 and over living in the geographic area the province has identified, or who works in these areas, will be eligible for a vaccine.

The news comes late, as Wednesday was the day the province planned to unveil the vaccine rollout to those geographic areas seriously impacted by the second and third waves.

"Were also going to be including, as part of the index, population density, proportion of racialized populations, the average income of that geography and an assessment of housing in that geography to help us come up with the final list," vaccine team medical co-lead Dr. Joss Reimer said.

"We will continue to look at other types of workers in those communities, but wanted to start with those who were most obviously in the data experiencing higher risks, and/or were clearly defined as far as where they worked," Reimer said.

By Wednesday, the province hadnt completed the statistical analysis it required to release the details on geographic prioritization.

Vaccine supply will depend on how many communities are eligible and how many people would be affected, with only a few communities becoming eligible at a time.

"The plan is to create a list of communities much like we did with congregate living or personal-care homes, where they wont all become eligible at the same time," Reimer said. "We will be starting with a small number of communities, but then moving down the list according to the priority thats set up with the index."

Determining which workers would take priority over others for the vaccine program in the specific geographic area depended on data identifying which occupations faced the greatest risks.

"For some of the professions, there was very clear data showing that they have experienced higher rates of transmission as well as severe health outcomes," Reimer said at the news conference on Wednesday.

Reducing the risk of future transmissions was also identified as a goal for the team.

"And so jobs where we see a lot of interactions with the public could be an area we want to target in order to reduce the height of wave three," she said.

 kkielley@brandonsun.com
EXTON, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The First Resource Bank (OTCQX: FRSB) Board of Directors has declared a five percent (5%) common stock dividend to shareholders of record on May 6, 2021. This stock dividend is payable on May 20, 2021.

Chief Executive Officer, Glenn B. Marshall stated, "This is the eighth 5% stock dividend in the Bank's history. We appreciate the continued support of our shareholders and we remain focused on increasing shareholder value."

About First Resource Bank

About First Resource Bank First Resource Bank is a locally owned and operated Pennsylvania state-chartered bank, serving the banking needs of businesses, professionals and individuals in the Delaware Valley. The Bank offers a full range of deposit and credit services with a high level of personalized service. First Resource Bank also offers a broad range of traditional financial services and products, competitively priced and delivered in a responsive manner to small businesses, professionals and residents in the local market. For additional information visit our website at www.firstresourcebank.com. Member FDIC.

This press release contains statements that are not of historical facts and may pertain to future operating results or events or management's expectations regarding those results or events. These are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs, such as "will", "would", "should", "could", or "may" are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are either beyond our control or not reasonably capable of predicting at this time. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements. Readers of this press release are accordingly cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. First Resource Bank disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any of the forward-looking statements herein, whether in response to new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE First Resource Bank

Related Links

http://www.firstresourcebank.com


Jobilla, a Helsinki, Finland-based talent acquisition startup, closed a 2.16M funding round.

The round was led by Trind VC while 700k were raised as loans and governmental grants.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate further expansion in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, scale up operations in the USA, develop its AI-powered candidate filtering to the platforms capabilities.

Led by Co-founder and CEO Henri Nordstrom, Jobilla provides a recruiting platform which leverages marketing practices and modern recruitment tools to connect companies with top talents not actively looking for new opportunities. The system creates scalable recruitment campaigns which utilize social media that reach out to ideal candidates and filter suitability through a short series of qualifying questions via mobile-optimized forms. Candidates are then screened and prioritized utilizing AI in a process that takes minutes instead of weeks of work from expensive headhunters.

Customers include RE/MAX, German Red Cross, and Securitas. In its next phase of growth, Jobilla will expand its customer base in the United States.

Jobilla has offices in Helsinki, Finland; Berlin, Germany; San Francisco, the US; Riga, Latvia; and Jakarta.

FinSMEs

22/04/2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday announced a reduction in flights from high-risk COVID-19 nations, like India, following an alarming rise in cases across the world.

After a Cabinet meeting in Canberra, Morrison said: "What we have agreed to -- and this particularly relates to the chartered services we're running into the Northern Territory -- we will be reducing by some 30 per cent the numbers coming through our chartered services in the months ahead."



While the list of high-risk countries was still being finalised, Morrison said the announcement was made keeping in view India's worsening second wave of the India registered over 3.14 lakh new cases on Thursday, the highest-ever single-day count recorded in any country, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,59,30,965.

"We will also be limiting the departure exceptions for Australians travelling to high-risk countries to India. As time goes on, and the pandemic continues to rage, there are countries that are frankly of greater risk than others," Morrison said.

"The Chief Medical Officer, working with others and the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), will be seeking to put a list of high-risk countries in place," he said, adding that the list would be similar to that of the UK's COVID-19 travel "red list".

Morrison further said new rules to return to Australia would now be applied for those coming from such high-risk nations.

If you have been in a high-risk country in the previous 14 days, before getting on your last point of embarkation to Australia, then you would need to have had a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test 72 hours before leaving that last point of embarkation, Morrison said.

Morrison said these new steps reflect that this is a global pandemic which is raging.

Australians are living like few others anywhere else in the world. We take those border arrangements very seriously. This is a way of matching that risk, the prime minister said, explaining how strict border controls has led to fewer cases in Australia.

''We have been working hard to get Australians home, particularly since last September. And there will continue to be the opportunity for those to return from places like India, but in very controlled circumstances," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Western Australian (WA) Premier Mark McGowan sought travel suspension from India after an outbreak in a quarantine hotel in Perth.

McGowan said on April 3, a family of three returned to Perth from the UK and on April 10, a couple returned from India and tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later.

Gowan said genome sequencing linked the strain the two families were now suffering from. He said somehow there was transmission between two rooms with closed doors.

There were another 18 guests on that floor at the time of transmission.

Since the 10th of April, there have been 13 security guards, 31 various hotel staff, one doctor, and two CCTV installers, on that floor. All of these people will be re-tested as soon as possible," he said. Health authorities are investigating how the transmission occurred.

The coronavirus has so far claimed 910 lives, along with 29,603 confirmed infections, in Australia, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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SEATTLE  An apartment building at 41 Dravus St. has sold for just under $6.6 million, according to King County records.

The seller was Lee Properties, which developed the project in 1991. Lee has its offices there.





. . .
It is heartwarming to know that a newborn daughter born in a Rajasthan village was welcomed with great aplomb and brought home in a helicopter. According to Times Now, bands walked alongside her once she landed, while rose petals adorned the path leading to her home.

The mega-celebration was because she is the first daughter to have been born in the family after 35 long years.

This was why the father spent Rs 4.5 lakh to hire this copter and make the celebration a grand affair.



Also read: Twin Baby Girls Get Scared When Dad Approaches Them After Shaving His Head And Beard Off

IANS

Village folks of Nimbdi Chandawata in Nagaur district turned up in a large crowd to see the chopper landing in their village and catch a glimpse of the baby girl. The daughter was born at her maternal grandfather's home two months ago. She landed in her paternal village on the auspicious occasion of Ramnavami, when villagers sang bhajans and showered flowers on the baby and her mother.

The baby girl's grandfather Madan Lal Kumhar decided to bring the girl home in a helicopter and took permission from the district collector to build helipads both in her maternal and paternal villages.

Also read: Unique and Cute Hindu Baby Girl Names Of 2021

Fresh Headline

The distance between the two villages is 30 km and was covered in about 20 minutes. The little girl's father Hanuman Ram Prajapat took his daughter in his arms and deboarded the helicopter amid cheering of crowds.

He said, "By bringing my new born daughter in a helicopter, I want to give a message that daughter's birth should be celebrated like a festival."

Also read: Baby Girls Sold For Rs 60,000 And Boys For Rs 1.5 Lakh Each - Mumbai Racket Busted

Navbharat Times

What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments.
A prayer gathering at the Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan's capital Chengdu is shown in a file photo.

Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan have made another raid on the Early Rain Covenant Church in the provincial capital, Chengdu, RFA has learned.

Seven church members and 12 children were taken away by police following a raid on a study session run by the church at around 10.30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

All 19 were taken to the local police station for questioning, church member Joseph Pan told RFA in an interview on Thursday.

"Police from the Yongningjie police station in Wenjiang district took a group of children of church members to the police station, where they held them in the absence of their parents," Pan said.

"These actions on the part of the police were in serious contravention of the Chinese constitution," he said.

Chinese law requires the parents of minors to be present for police to detain them.

"In raiding and persecuting house churches and Protestant believers, the police and other municipal departments have plummeted to a new moral low," he said.

The U.S.-based Christian rights group ChinaAid reported that 16 of the 19 detainees were released on Wednesday evening at around 9.00 p.m. local time.

The remaining three stayed in detention, with no reason given to their families.

"Police are supposed to have a guardian present if they want to detain minors, because these are children," Pan said.

"But the Chengdu police are willing to cross that basic humanitarian line and persecute Christians in order to get credit from higher up," he said.

China breaks own laws

ChinaAid president Bob Fu called on the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to end the persecution of house churches.

"Several minors and teachers of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu were arbitrarily detained by police, just because they are Christians who had met to talk and study together," Fu said.

"This is a clear violation of China's own constitution, and of the principle of religious freedom stipulated by international law, and enshrined in rights covenants and treaties," he said.

He called on the Chengdu authorities to ensure that Christians have the freedom to practice their religion.

A litany of abuses

Earlier this year, an annual report from the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) found that the CCP had "taken unprecedented steps to extend repression" in 2020.

It detailed a litany of abuses, including "abuses of the freedoms of religion and expression."

In June 2020, the State Department's annual religious freedom report found that while China's constitution promises citizens freedom of religious belief, it limits protections for religious practice to normal religious activities and does not define normal.

"The government continued to exercise control over religion and restrict the activities and personal freedom of religious adherents that it perceived as threatening state or CCP interests," the report said, citing religious groups and rights groups.

The government continued a campaign of religious assimilation, to bring all religious doctrine and practice in line with CCP doctrine, adopting a formal five-year plan on Jan. 7, 2020, the report said.

"Officials across the country shut down religious venues, including some that were affiliated with the authorized patriotic religious associations, and placed surveillance cameras in houses of worship as a condition of allowing these venues to continue operating," it said.



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
(Natural News) After years of a relatively gun violence-free Trump administration, the mass shootings have returned with a vengeance, timed suspiciously with the new Leftists push for gun control.

(Article by L Todd Wood republished from CreativeDestructionMedia.com)

The corrupt media is behind the effort to force Americans to give up their weapons. NPR wasnt even coy about it, crowing last week in a broadcast titled  Last week saw mass shootings across the U.S. Could they be a springboard for gun control?

Between the tragedies in Atlanta, Georgia and Boulder, Colorado there were several other mass shootings  in Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Stockton, California and Gresham, Oregon. Two people died and 26 were wounded. How can Americans prevent the next gun tragedy?

Murderous day after murderous day, America quickly descended into a chaotic hellhole under the Biden administration as three multiple shootings were recorded within 24 hours on Sunday, according to Reuters. The surge of mass shootings comes as the Biden administration attempts to enforce stricter gun control, wrote Zero Hedge.

Isnt it blatantly obvious this is coordinated by some evil force? This isnt an accident.

The Second Amendment wasnt crafted for self-defense, or hunting; it was crafted to ensure citizen power against a tyrannical government.

They want your guns and they want them now. This is the one thing standing between the globalists and complete tyrannical control, slavery, serfdom, Hell on Earth.

Dont fall for this ruse. We dont know how they are getting to these deranged individuals and causing them to commit these heinous acts. But, it is obvious they are doing it, just like they stole the election, just like theyve opened the border, just like they are destroying the US dollar.

The Second Amendment is absolute, no matter what Beijing Biden says.

Read more at: CreativeDestructionMedia.com and Shootings.news
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 19:04:45|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China strongly condemned the terrorist attack Wednesday night in a hotel in Quetta in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, the Chinese embassy here said Thursday in a statement.

A car bomb hit Serena Hotel in Quetta causing many casualties, said the statement, adding that China expressed "condolences to the unfortunate victims and sympathy to the injured."

It added that Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong was leading a delegation on a visit to Quetta on the same day. "When the attack occurred, the Chinese delegation was not in the hotel. Till present, no reports of casualties of Chinese citizens in the attack have been received."

Five were killed and a dozen injured in the car bomb attack, according to Balochistan officials, adding that security has been beefed up in major cities across the country after the deadly attack.

Proscribed militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack but it has not been officially confirmed. Enditem
Some two months after Calcasieu Parish Sheriffs Office discovered the remains of a missing Beaumont woman, officials have released more details regarding how she was found and why officials believe her boyfriend was involved.

The information came as a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Jonathan Menard for capital murder and tampering with physical evidence in connection with polices discovery of Kayla Rices remains in a shallow grave in Vinton, Louisiana.

Rice died as a result of asphyxiation and strangulation all while carrying Kyan Dexter Rice, Kaylas unborn child, according to an autopsy report.

Rice was first reported missing to Beaumont Police on Dec. 28, 2020 by her mother, Pam Hanson. She told officers that her daughter had been missing since Nov. 23 of that year, according to court documents.

Related: Beaumont man arrested after skeletal remains found in Louisiana

After Hansons report, Beaumont Police interviewed Menard. He told officers that he visited Vinton, Louisiana several times, even though he was not legally allowed to leave the state because of a previous conviction.

It wasnt until Jan. 6, 2021 that officers located Rices beige Honda Accord, which was parked in the 1100 block of McFaddin Street in Beaumont. Another man was in the drivers seat of the car, the documents said.

Beaumont Police used the vehicle identification number, which had been sprayed black, to confirm that the car belonged to Rice. Along with a blacked-out VIN, the vehicles license plate had been removed and replaced with another plate.

The man told Beaumont Police that Menard sold him the car with no bill of sale because Menard did not have the title of the car  which Menard admitted to in a statement to police, the documents said.

Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox

Police said, nearly a month after the car was found, the man told police he helped Menard use the car to take Rices body to Vinton, Louisiana before burying her in the shallow grave where police later found her remains.

The 2005 Honda Accord was used in the transportation of human remains across state lines to dispose of evidence, James Robichaux, a detective in the Beaumont PDs Criminal Investigations Division, said in a February probable cause affidavit. Jonathan Menard then spray painted the entire vehicle and changed the plates on the vehicle in an attempt to alter the exterior of this vehicle.

At this time, no charges have been filed against the man who allegedly assisted Menard in transporting Rices body across state lines and burying it, Beaumont Public Information Officer Carol Riley told The Enterprise.

Jefferson County District Attorneys Office could not be reached for comment on the matter.

After Rices remains were found, Beaumont PD issued a warrant for Menard, who was already being held in Calcasieu Parish. He had been arrested on a parole violation on Feb. 11. Menard was transferred to Jefferson County in late February and held on $1 million dollar bond.

jorge.ramos@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/byjorgeramos
LOUISVILLE, Colo., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Solution LLC, America's premier billing firm continues their remarkable growth with the announcement of a strategic partnership with Jet Rescue Air Ambulance. Air Solution LLC will be providing billing, appeals, and collection support to one of the largest air ambulance providers in North America.

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance operates a 24/7 dedicated Flight Operation Center along with a fleet of 7 Dedicated Air Ambulance Aircraft. With operating bases in both the US and Mexico Jet Rescue has established itself as the premier provider for Air Ambulance services in Latin America. They have been one of the leading providers of COVID-19 related transports, and received the Air Ambulance of the Year award at the 2019 ITIC awards. "We are very excited to be working with Air Solution. We are already seeing increased payment times and quicker turnaround on our claims," says Carlos Salinas, CEO of Jet Rescue.
A Korean court ruled Wednesday that women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese imperial army cannot seek compensation from the Japanese government through the Korean legal system.

The ruling came three months after the same court recognized the right of another group of sex slaves and their families to sue the island country for compensation here.

The Seoul Central District Court dismissed a case brought in 2016 by 20 plaintiffs, including former sex slaves Kwak Yae-nam, Kim Bok-dong, who have since died, and Lee Yong-soo and the families of others.

"According to sovereign immunity under international law, seeking compensation for the actions of the Japanese state cannot be allowed," it ruled.

The doctrine of sovereign immunity stipulates that a sovereign state cannot commit a legal wrong under the laws of another country and is therefore immune from civil or criminal prosecution.

Judge Min Seong-cheol said, "Forcing the victims to engage in sexual relations at the time was part of the exercise of Japanese government authority and constituted a sovereign act."

"Failing to recognize Japan's sovereign immunity goes against precedent set by the Supreme Court as well as the general trend in the international community," he added.


Winnipeg health facilities are short close to 1,300 nurses, and the situation is growing worse, according to information made public Wednesday.

Winnipeg health facilities are short close to 1,300 nurses, and the situation is growing worse, according to information made public Wednesday.

The Manitoba NDP says the new numbers, which it obtained under freedom of information legislation, show why hallway medicine is returning to Manitoba.

A day earlier, the Opposition party drew attention to overcrowding in the emergency department at Grace Hospital, where a 93-year-old woman spent five days on a stretcher before being admitted to a ward.

According to the new information, there were 1,283 vacant nursing positions across the city  a 17 per cent rate  in January. That was up from 15 per cent last July.

Nursing vacancies were especially high in the emergency departments of two of Winnipeg's three acute-care hospitals. At Grace Hospital, the ER vacancy rate was 20 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent in July, while at St. Boniface Hospital, it stood at 22 per cent, compared with 20.6 per cent in July.

Health Sciences Centre's ER nursing vacancy rate was 12.9 per cent in January and 9.6 per cent in July 2020.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew called the nursing shortage a "system failure," and he laid the blame on the Pallister government.

"That woman was in the hospital for five days because 20 per cent of the jobs in that area are empty. They dont have a nurse working in them," Kinew said.

He noted that in the recent provincial budget, the government cut funding for acute-care services by $13 million.

The president of the Manitoba Nurses Union said she's been sounding the alarm about the province's nursing shortage for at least two years.

Darlene Jackson said. "It's getting extremely worrying."

Jackson said the health system is being propped up by an exhausted nursing workforce that has been burdened with huge amounts of overtime.

Manitoba needs a plan to recruit and retain more nurses, she said, noting the nursing shortage exists across the country.

Ontario, alone, requires an additional 20,000 registered nurses, Jackson said.

In this competitive environment, Manitoba nurses have gone four years without a collective agreement, and the Pallister government's message to all public-sector workers is to expect wage freezes in the first two years of any new agreement.

Jackson said while the nursing vacancy situation in Winnipeg is worrisome, it's dire in the north. The vacancy rate in the Northern health authority is 47.4 per cent, she said.

"Its frightening for the north to have vacancy rates that high," she added.

She called Premier Brian Pallister's recent call for retired Manitoba nurses to assist Ontario "absolutely absurd." Manitoba needs to look after its own considerable health care needs first before making offers to other provinces, she said.

Health Minister Heather Stefanson said the nursing shortage has been a challenge across the country for many years.

"What I want to do right now is just thank (nurses) for everything that theyre doing. I know these are not easy times at all," she told reporters Wednesday.

The province's health authorities are working on recruiting and training more nurses, Stefanson said, noting that 37 just received their acute-care credentials with another 40 "in the hopper as well."

"The pandemic has created more challenges for sure, and were seeing that across the country. It just means that we have more work to do, and we are committed to making sure we do that work and work with nurses to see how we can recruit and retain them in the province of Manitoba," the minister said.

Stefanson said she's asked the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to look into the situation in the Grace Hospital emergency department to see what is causing the patient backlog and what can be done to alleviate the situation.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Unsold birds are destroyed by Tractor Supply after being offered for "Clearance."

Tractor Supply birds are routinely "gotten rid of" once the charm of "Oh, how cute" wears off. Buyers grow tired of caring for them, and few if any spend money on veterinary care. Birds are dumped in the woods, along roadsides, and offered on Craigslist. Sanctuaries get calls from people who find these fragile creatures wandering about, starving, lost and helpless.

"This year we've heard from more Tractor Supply shoppers than ever before," says Karen Davis, President of United Poultry Concerns. "Distressed by the inhumane 'tower' brooders in which the birds are being held this year on a metal grate with no soft bedding, they urge store managers to 'do something,' like fill dry water cups. Dying birds are taken to the backroom to die slowly in tanks, out of sight."

In this video, a farmer denounces "Tractor Supply's AWFUL New Brooders."

United Poultry Concerns joins people across the U.S. in urging Tractor Supply to stop selling baby birds and all live animals. At the very least, the company needs to eliminate the "tower" brooders which add to the inherent cruelty of treating living creatures as nothing but merchandise.

For more information, visit United Poultry Concerns at www.upc-online.org .

SOURCE United Poultry Concerns

Related Links

http://www.upc-online.org






NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday said the fifth batch of the Rafale aircraft arrived in India after flying a distance of almost 8,000 km from France.



The IAF did not disclose the number of aircraft that landed in India but people familiar with the development said four jets were part of the new batch.



The IAF said mid-air refuelling to the fleet was provided by the air forces of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).



"After a direct ferry from #MerignacAirBase, France, the 5th batch of Rafales arrived in India on 21 Apr. The fighters flew a distance of almost 8,000 Kms with air-to-air refuelling support by @Armee_de_lair and UAE AF. IAF thanks both the Air Forces for their co-operation," it said in a tweet.



Earlier, the aircraft were flagged off from the Merignac airbase in France by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who is on a visit to France.



The IAF chief also visited a Rafale aircraft training centre on the third day of his five-day visit to the European country.



"Air Chief Mshl RKS Bhadauria on an official tour to France lauds pilots & sees off the next batch of Rafales on a non stop flight to India with mid-air refueling by French Air force & UAE. Thanks France esp FASF & French Industry for timely delivery & pilot training on schedule despite covid," the Indian embassy in France wrote on Twitter.



In his brief remarks, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said some of the Rafale aircraft have been delivered a "little bit" ahead of time and it has contributed to the overall combat potential of the IAF.



Ahead of his visit, military officials in Delhi said Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria's trip to France is expected to boost cooperation between the IAF and the French Air and Space Force (FASF).



"This ferry, which is the fifth from here, marks the end of the third batch of our pilots and all our maintenance crew. The Rafale training centre has provided world-class training and it is because of the level and quality of training that we were able to operationalise the aircraft quickly," he said.



The IAF chief also thanked the French government and the French air force for providing the required support for the training programme as well as for the ferrying of the aircraft to India.



The arrival of the new batch of the aircraft will pave the way for the IAF to raise a second squadron of Rafale jets. The new squadron will be based at the Hasimara air base in West Bengal.



The first Rafale squadron is based at the Ambala air force station. A squadron comprises around 18 aircraft.



India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.



With the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale jets with the IAF has gone up to 18.



The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29 last year.



On Tuesday, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria held talks with General Philippe Lavigne, Chief of Staff of the FASF, on ways to further expand cooperation between the two sides.


Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to announce that of the remaining 5,130,000 warrants exercisable at $0.30 issued pursuant to the private placements that closed on January 20, 2017 and January 30, 2017 (the "2017 Warrants") January 23, 2017 and January 27, 2017), 4,520,000 warrants were exercised for proceeds of $1,356,000.

On March 9, 2021, the Company announced that the expiry date was accelerated from the earlier of January 20 and 30, 2022 to April 8, 2021, as a result of the fact that the Company's common shares closed at a price of at least $0.60 for twenty (20) consecutive trading days as of March 8, 2021. The unexercised 610,000 2017 Warrants expired on April 8, 2021.

The Company is fully funded and committed to completing the largest exploration and diamond drilling program to date during the summer months of 2021. In excess of 5,000 metres is expected to be drilled at Alces Lake this summer.

About Appia

Appia is a Canadian public-listed company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements ("REE") and uranium on the Alces Lake property, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 65,601 hectares (162,104 acres) in Saskatchewan.

The Company also has a 100% interest (subject to a 1% Uranium Production Payment Royalty and a 1% Net Smelter Return Royalty on any precious or base metals payable, provided that the price of uranium is greater than US$130 per pound) in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. The Camp historically produced over 300 million pounds of U 3 O 8 and is the only Canadian camp that has had significant rare earth element (yttrium) production. The deposits are largely unconstrained along strike and down dip.

Appia has 97.4 million common shares outstanding, 108.4 million shares fully diluted.

For more information, visit Appia's website at www.appiaenergy.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Tom Drivas, CEO and Director: (cell) 416-876-3957, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiaenergy.ca

Frederick Kozak, President: (cellular) 403-606-3165 or (email) fkozak@appiaenergy.ca

Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81409
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 01:03:10|Editor: huaxia

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HARARE, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe will hold its premier trade showcase, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), in July this year following a break last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This came after President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave the green light for this year's edition of the ZITF, always held in the second city of Bulawayo, to run from July 20 to 23.

"Please be advised that the President has approved that the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair be held during the period 20th to 23rd July 2021," reads a letter to the ZITF chairperson Busisa Moyo and signed by the secretary in the Ministry of Industry Mavis Sibanda.

Zimbabwe has in the past successfully used the annual ZITF as a platform to showcase Zimbabwe's trade and business potential to both local and foreign investors, thereby helping to attract foreign direct investment.

The last trade fair was held in 2019, running under the theme "Propagating Industrial Growth through Trade and Investment".

The 2020 edition was shelved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government has relaxed operations of industry and commerce after they were curtailed for the greater part of 2020 and early this year due to a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths. Enditem
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) responded to about 28,000 emergency cases in a year following the deployment of the 307 new ambulances last year.



Before the procurement of the ambulances, the NAS, which was operating with 55 semi-functioning ambulances, could do less than 5,000 cases in a year.



The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Ambulance Service (NAS), Prof. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah, who made this known, said the 28,000 is a record in the history of the NAS.



The Service was now in a position to help the country build a very robust emergency medical system.



In so doing, we are also helping to improve the referral system in order to improve the emergency response system in the hospitals, he told journalists in Accra last Tuesday.



On January, 28, 2019, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned and presented 307 new, state-of-the-art ambulances to the NAS in fulfilment of his 2016 campaign pledge of one-constituency, one-ambulance



At the time of the presentation of the new ambulances, the NAS had 130 stations and 10 regional control rooms across the country, with 55 semi-functioning ambulances.



Read also: 5 Suspects in Fomena bullion van robbery arrested; Leader still on the run

Positive impact



However, Prof. Zakariah said, the Service had 288 ambulance stations across the country.



He stated that the one-constituency, one-ambulance project was having a positive impact on the lives of the people, especially those in the rural communities as it had brought tremendous improvement in emergency medical and rescue services



Can you imagine some people who have never seen even a taxi carrying a pregnant woman now have the benefit of an ambulance in good condition and well-equipped ready to move from one area to the other, the CEO, who is leading a team from the NAS to tour the country to assess the impact of the new ambulances on the lives of the people, said.



The ambulances have improved inter-hospital transfers and interaction with some of the health authorities, they are able to realise that even maternal mortality is on the decline in many areas, the reason being that some pregnant women, who would have died on their way to the hospital, are now able to get transportation to the hospitals safely.



It has also improved the delay in terms of seeking help, so basically this project is very positive and its impacting lives and we are encouraging government to do more, Prof. Zakariah said.



He also said response time to emergencies had improved from over 30 minutes to 20 minutes or less.



Last year, the government approved a credit facility for the procurement of 100 more ambulances and the CEO expressed the hope that the procurement process would start this year.



Read also: Ghana Health Service takes delivery of tricycle ambulances in Upper East

Monitoring



We embarked on a nationwide monitoring to assess the impact of the ambulances. We started with the five regions of the north last year.



This year, we resumed the visits and we just returned from the second leg of the visit. We visited Oti, Volta, Eastern . We are now planning to move to the Ashanti Region, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions after which Western , Western North and Central will be covered and eventually end in the Greater Accra Region, he said.



Paramedics school



Prof. Zakariah said the NAS was in talks with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to facilitate the affiliation of the NAS Paramedics and Emergency Training School at Nkenkensu in the Ashanti Region with the university.



An affiliation will lead to the offering of degrees beyond the certificate programmes to run degree and post graduate programmes. This will enable Ghana to become the hub of training of paramedics in West Africa, he added.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Fox & Friends co-hosts (from left to right): Pete Hegseth, Ainsley Earhardt, Brian Kilmeade. Fox News

A Fox News host on Thursday said anti-racism protesters should be "barred" from calling 911.

Kilmeade reacted to a string of local protest headlines read off by co-host Ainsley Earhardt.

"You should be barred from - anyone who says that, you are no longer allowed to use 911," he said.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade launched into a tirade just 10 minutes into Thursday morning's show, arguing that anti-racism protesters "should be barred" from calling 911 if they speak out against the police.

Kilmeade, who has co-hosted the show since 1998, was reacting to fellow anchor Ainsley Earhardt listing off a series of headlines about a handful of protests in the aftermath of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's conviction for the murder of George Floyd.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

"Ohio State University, now, the students are gathering in the students union and they're demanding that the school cut ties with Columbus police. In Portland, someone punched an officer in the face," Earhardt said, offering little context and not citing any sources of the reports.

"They smashed windows of a Starbucks," she continued. "They spray painted anti-police messages on walls there. Minnesota, protesters were yelling at police 'Get the blank out,' and in New York at that local restaurant, 'We don't want you here. We don't want you here.'"

Kilmeade quickly jumped in.

"Good, and you know what? You should be barred from - anyone who says that, you are no longer allowed to use 911," he said, adding: "Let's just hope, in your life, you never need a police officer."

While the initial reaction to the Chauvin verdict on Tuesday was mostly positive from daytime Fox News hosts and guests, several others have expressed frustration at how the ruling played out among the public and in the mainstream media.

Most notably, the network's top-rated primetime host Tucker Carlson cast doubt on the verdict by implying the jury was intimidated into convicting Chauvin, while Greg Gutfeld - co-host of "The Five" and host of the eponymously named "Gutfeld!" - celebrated the jury's decision "even if he might not be guilty of all charges" because "my house was looted."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Turkish national current, the lira, has fallen after reports that US President Joe Biden is poised to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and this could escalate tensions between Washington and Ankara.

The lira fell 2.2 percent against the US dollar on Thursday. At 10:43am local time, the Turkish national currency had fallen by 1.7 percentto 8.31 liras against one dollar.

Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the last century as an act of genocide, The New York Times and The Associated Press have reported, citing US officials.
As Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill read the final guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, George Floyd's family, close friends and advisors who gathered in Minneapolis on April 20 to watch the verdict in semi private transitioned from cries to cheers. From left in front row: the Rev. Al Sharpton; Brandon Williams, a nephew who Floyd thought of like a son; Williams's longtime girlfriend Tiffany Hall, who knew Floyd for 16 years; and Rachel Noerdlinger, in the red coat, who works with Sharpton's National Action Network.

As Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill read the final guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, George Floyd's family, close friends and advisers who gathered in Minneapolis on April 20 to watch the verdict in semi-private transitioned from cries to cheers. From left in front row: the Rev. Al Sharpton; Brandon Williams, a nephew who Floyd thought of like a son; Williams' longtime girlfriend Tiffany Hall, who knew Floyd for 16 years; and Rachel Noerdlinger, in the red coat, who works with Sharpton's National Action Network. Credit - Ruddy Roye for TIME

There are sounds that humans make with intention. Then there are the wordless sounds we make when our emotions take overthe sounds that, in their texture and tone, speak even more clearly.

Guilty, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said, as he read the jurys April 20 verdict on the first of three charges leveled against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Perry Floyd Jr. Thats when I heard those involuntary sounds come up and out.

Painting by Ange Hillz for TIME

Get a print of TIMEs George Floyd JusticeNot Yet For All Cover

It was the collective sound of shock, filtered through deep pain, followed by relief. It filled a third-floor Hilton Hotel ballroom, where Floyds family watched the local NBC station on a movie theater-sized screen. Many had come from distant places for this momentHouston, Charlotte, N.C., New York City. Theyd carefully slipped away from the direct stares of the overwhelmingly white press that had begun to tail and track them. (Photojournalist Ruddy Roye and I, as well as a documentary team, were the only members of the media present in the room.) They had gathered in that ballroom, with its collapsible walls and busily patterned carpet, because COVID-19 and security restrictions kept them from the courtroom. And because they had reason to want the moment kept semi-private. Because they loved George Floyd, they had faith Chauvin would be held accountablebut they all knew that, statistically speaking, the trial was not likely to end the way it did.

Story continues

Roxie Washington, left, with her and George Floyd's daughter, Gianna Floyd, awaiting the verdict in Minneapolis on April 20. Ruddy Roye for TIME

As two additional guilty verdicts followed, the volume rose. The screams became more confident, more affirmational and appreciative of what a jury of 12 Americans had done. They had, for the first time in Minnesota history, convicted a white police officer of murdering a Black man while on duty. Chauvin, who during a May 25, 2020, arrest had held Floyd down with his knee for more than nine minutes even as Floyd declared that he could not breathe, would now face up to 40 years in prison.

Brandon Williams, George Floyds nephew whom Floyd considered a son, leapt into the air. Then, someone, a man on the far side of the ballroom, cried outthis time with intention, with words that had become familiar in the more than 10 months since Floyds murder: Say his name!

George! Floyd!

Say his name!

George! Floyd!

Who made America better?

George! Floyd!

After anxiously waiting for the news, Tedra McGee hugs her mother, Shareeduh McGee, Floyd's cousin, just after the verdicts were read. Ruddy Roye for TIME

People do not react with uncontrollable cries nor with the sounds of street protest when they have confidence that the constitutions guarantee of universal equality will be as reliably extended to them as it is to those who are police officers. This is the way people react when historydistant and recentobliges them to warn their children about the dangers of law enforcement and common criminals alike. Ours has always been a country of both law andwhere Black Americans are concernedlies.

From the very beginning of this country, when Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, with such moral authority and clarity that most Americans today can still recite its claims about the inalienable rights of man, he did so aided by the wealth and privilege he derived from exploiting and enslaving human beings.

Read more: The Story Behind TIMEs George Floyd JusticeNot Yet For All Cover

In the 1840s, a Virginia-born slave named Dred Scott tried to turn to the law for justice. He sued his enslaver for emancipation on the grounds that hed been made to work in a free territory that is today part of Minnesota. Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, issued a ruling that declared Black people could not be citizens and had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. The decision was among the things that put the country on a collision course for the Civil War.

And just 30 years ago, a group of white officers in Los Angeles were caught on video tape, beating, kicking and punching a lone Black man named Rodney King. A suburban Simi Valley jury did not convict any of the four officers of use of excessive force or assault.

On the morning of the Chauvin verdict, fate and irony brought Americas attention back to Minnesota, Benjamin Crump, a lawyer representing the Floyd family, told me. This is the land where Dred Scott had no rights. Just three decades ago it would have been unthinkable to get a criminal indictment, much less a conviction, against a white officer who killed a Black person, Crump said.

George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd is flanked by the Rev. Al Sharpton, left, and Attorney Ben Crump during a news conference after the verdicts were announced. Ruddy Roye for TIME

Chauvins lawyer Eric Nelson had tried but failed to place a litany of conflicting, complicating and sometimes cynically racist suggestions about Floyds cause of death in the jury members mindsplacing the blame on the person to whom the terrible thing happened, a brand of gaslighting familiar to every Black person in America who has attended school, worked, attempted to become a homeowner, sought health care or had any contact with the criminal justice system. Chauvins team wanted the jury to believe that the eyewitnesses to Floyds murder were an angry and mostly Black mob who distracted Chauvin. That Floyd was large and strong enough to resist two other officers, but in ill enough health that an enlarged heart or a substance addiction or exposure to carbon monoxide from a nearby tailpipe could have really caused his death. But the prosecution was able to counter those arguments with facts. Floyd was in the main kind, strong and healthy. What had stopped his heart was Chauvins knee and Floyds position, handcuffed face down on the street. By Tuesday afternoon the world had seen Chauvin leave the courtroom in handcuffs.

Read more: The Intersection Where George Floyd Died Has Become a Strange, Sacred Place. Will Its Legacy Endure?

Perhaps more importantly, Philonise Floyd, the younger brother of George Floyd, who told me hes hardly slept more than two to three hours a night since the trial began, was there to see it in the courtroom. An unassuming man thrust into a central role when George, the familys sun, was killed, Philonise Floyd likes a flashy suit but speaks softly and slowly. He came to the hotel and told his wife, his brothers and cousins, a nephew and a nieceplus a smattering of activists, civil rights icons and those who wish to bewhat he witnessed. The justice system had affirmed that what happened to George Floyd was wrong. It was unnecessary. It was murder. Then, in bits and pieces, in scattered conversations around the ballroom, the family began to talk of what they must now do for others like them.

And there will be others. Even on that day, the list of Black people killed by police grew longer. To Black people inside and outside that Minneapolis ballroom, a conviction in the death of one Black man is unlikely to tip the scales, to make anyone feel that police accountability and equal justice can now be counted upon.

Crowds gathered to honor Floyd following the guilty verdicts. Ruddy Roye for TIME

I thought of the day I turned 16. My father took the morning off to deliver me to my driving test. When the driving evaluator and I returned, I walked through the door and flashed a thumbs up. My father, sincerely one of the best cheerleaders of daughters to ever live, stood and applauded. At least four or five people around him joined in. He had, of course, told them what I had come for and roped them in with his enthusiasm. My father insisted on a picture of me, my paperwork and the evaluator, as well as one with the woman who issued my first license.

When we left the building, he handed me the keys to his car and told me I would drive us to a celebratory lunch. But before I could put the key in the ignition, my father put his hand on the wheel and said, first we must talk. That was the day my father told me what I must do if stopped by the police, in hopes that I would come home alive. It was advice gleaned from cases he had seen, cases he had handled and grieving families hed advised. Sharing it, my father, a lawyer who until that day I thought feared no one and nothing, said this advice was no guarantee. We are descended from people who survived the Middle Passage, arrived in chains, made this country so rich that slave patrol forces were built to keep enslaved and later free Black people inside racial boundaries. And now, was it any wonder, he said, there were people entirely uncomfortable with what it means for us to be free? This conversation is all that Daddy can offer you, Janell, he said. Take it seriously.

When you are Black and interact with a police officeror a private citizen who wants to be onethe possibility that anything and nothing at all can get you killed is always there. And if you are Black and the police were involved, it is unlikely their claims will be properly investigated and any misconduct pursued to the full extent of the law. And yes, there is something particularly grotesque about unrequited injustice crashing in on your life when it is the handiwork of the justice system itself.

Read more: Still So Much Work To Be Done. Buoyed by Chauvin Trial Results, the Police Reform Movement Looks Ahead

We came so close to George Floyds killing falling into that gap. His death was initially described by the department as a medical incident. Chauvins superior testified during his trial that Chauvin did not immediately report that when Floyd left the scene in an ambulance he was already dead. Private citizens, most of whom were Black or Latino, reported Chauvins conduct at least 18 times, with some mentioning that what they considered his excessive use of force had centered on their necks. And yet Chauvinwho, under Minnesota law, had the discretion to write a summons for the counterfeit 20-dollar bill that Floyd was accused of spending, rather than making an arrest was training others on the job.

A man raises his fist in George Floyd Square as people gathered after the verdicts were read. Ruddy Roye for TIME

Last spring, in the early days after Floyds death, I went to Minnesota in the middle of a pandemic, with my asthmatic lungs, because I knew that something significant was taking shape if people in Minneapolis were willing to stand up, to keep yelling, to keep marching, even to burn things down, because a police officer had suffocated a Black man to death under his knee. While the death itself was brutal, death by police use of force is unfortunately commonfor men of color, but particularly Black men. (Police use of force, something one of Chauvins expert witnesses tried to tell jurors they were not seeing in the video, is, one 2019 study found, the sixth most common cause of death for young Black men.) This time the response felt different. By the time I arrived, the National Guard had been called out. Men in fatigues with long guns were visible on the citys streets. Food and water were hard to find. But no one who wanted answers seemed deterred. As far as I can tell, they still arent today.

In the months that followed, the sense that this time was different remained. And now, with the word guilty uttered three times, it is. Now, the members of the Floyd family to whom I spoke told me they will return to their homes, but not to their lives as they once were. There will be work to complete, children to school, meals to makebut also healing to do, and the looming possibility of trial for the three remaining officers, whom some expect will attempt to strike plea bargains. Theres the question of what becomes of the memory of Floyd, an ordinary man in life whose face and name now dot the landscape. For those who loved him, theres been some justice, still George, Big George, Perry, Floyd is gone.

Then, there are the tasks that remain for the rest of us. The aversion to taking police and their press releases at their word; the effort to interrogate an officers actions when someone dies, just the way anyone elses would be; the capacity to humanize Black victims of police violence, and to swiftly knock down stereotypes that have for so long passed as evidencethese things need to become the norm in courtrooms, in prosecutors offices, in newsrooms and in elected offices. Activists, grieving families and their lawyers have already done a lot to get us where we are. Rather than let the wordless sounds of this moment fade in our ears, their voices must remain.
[April 22, 2021] Wallbox joins forces with Iberdrola for 100 % renewable energy consumption in its new factory and offices in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wallbox and Iberdrola have signed a long-term on-site Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to produce, consume and reuse 100 % of the energy produced at its plant and offices in Barcelona's Zona Franca. Iberdrola's investment in the photovoltaic installation will allow Wallbox to make savings in the production and consumption of green energy from day one. In this way, the energy company continues to highlight the competitiveness of renewables through bilateral contracts that promote energy supply at competitive and stable prices with large customers committed to sustainable consumption. With this collaboration, Wallbox will meet its goal of operating in these facilities with energy autonomy, as well as reducing its carbon footprint, putting itself at the forefront of productive energy management by relying mostly on solar energy. The Wallbox factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca will have photovoltaic solar panels that will produce 1,500 MWh/year for the self-consumption of these facilities and offices, equivalent to the consumption of 500 homes. Installation at the offices will begin at the end of April and is expected to be completed by the end of June, allowing the photovoltaic system to come into operation at the beginning of the second half of the year. Smart, bidirectional energy

The facilities will also have a unique, smart and bidirectional energy management system, which will optimise generation, storage and use of the grid. Through regeneration, 75% of the energy consumed in the production process is returned to the internal energy grid for reuse. The new plant is expected to be fully operational in September this year. Both due to the volume of green energy production generated, as well as due to the development of a new generation of nZEB (Zero Energy Building) buildings, the Wallbox plant is a pioneering building with almost zero energy consumption, aligning itself with the trends of the new sustainable engineering, as well as in self-consumption at a global level. "With this unprecedented action in the industry, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to accelerating the process of adopting cleaner energy in everyday life. Energy consumption around the world is changing at an accelerating pace, which leads us to develop products that promote decarbonisation. Thanks to this agreement, our products will also be manufactured with renewable energy, therefore closing the production circle in the most sustainable way possible," said Enric Asuncion, CEO of Wallbox. "These collaboration formulas, in which Iberdrola invests and allows its customers to save from the outset by producing renewable energy at its facilities, highlight the competitiveness of renewables and continue to open up opportunities for undertaking projects that are transforming the present and future of energy in our country. Thee long-term power purchase and sale contracts provide stability to customers and have become an optimal tool for managing the electricity supply of large consumers who are committed to clean and sustainable consumption. In this case, we also maximised the infrastructure by taking advantage of the available surface area on the factory roofs, which we combined with an innovative energy efficiency system", explains Raquel Blanco, global director of Smart Mobility at Iberdrola.



Taking self-consumption to the next level

In February this year, Wallbox launched a pilot project to apply bi-directional charging technology to enable the use of energy stored in electric car batteries to supply part of the surplus energy demand of its corporate offices. The system, installed at the corporate headquarters in Barcelona's Zona Franca, consists of a fleet of Quasar bi-directional chargers and a fleet of Nissan Leaf electric vehicles. The vehicles are available for use by Wallbox employees and are recharged at night to power the offices during the day. In this way, the building behaves as a smart ecosystem, where its architecture is maximised to capture available solar energy and release or store it on demand through the cars, which act as buffers at times when the building's energy demand exceeds either the contracted power or that generated by the solar panels.

"This innovative ecosystem has a dual system of stationary and mobile batteries. The former offer the first line of basic coverage and are configured to charge with a purely renewable energy mix, while the latter squeeze the flexibility capabilities offered by electric vehicles, both for emission-free mobility and as a storage resource with high energy density," said Eduard Castaneda, CPO of Wallbox. "The benefit is again twofold as Wallbox employees are offered access to a sustainable means of transport, while at the same time the need for power from the grid is reduced, as the vehicles become both generators and storage. The grid becomes more flexible and efficient with the flattening of the generation/consumption curve". The intention is to increase the fleet of vehicles and Quasar bi-directional chargers until full energy supply autonomy is achieved. Right now, Wallbox already has 7 of them and the fleet will be increased by 15 additional vehicles. "We not only seek to develop the new technologies that will enable the use and management of clean energy globally, but we are also playing a leading role in their adoption. We live our commitment to sustainability from within, it is in our DNA", concludes Castaneda . About Wallbox

Wallbox is a leading energy management company that manufactures smart charging solutions for electric vehicles. Combining cutting-edge technology with exceptional design, Wallbox creates a smart ecosystem that improves the way we manage, use and store energy. Founded in 2015 with headquarters in Barcelona, Wallbox's mission is to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles today in order to make more sustainable use of energy tomorrow. Imagining a world free of fossil fuels, Wallbox's technology enables people to create, use and share renewable energy in ways they never thought possible. Wallbox currently sells to more than 60 countries and employs 400 people in offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas, as well as having two of its own factories. Wallbox offers four types of chargers, including Quasar, the first bi-directional home charger with advanced bi-directional charging technology, which was recognized with the highest award at CES, the world's leading industry technology show. During the first half of 2020 it completed a 23 million Series A investment round and in February 2021 Wallbox closed a 33 million financing round for expansion into new markets, expansion of manufacturing and R&D facilities, as well as hiring new professionals. About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is one of the world's principal energy companies, a leader in renewables, and is spearheading the energy transition towards a low-emission economy. The group supplies energy to around 100 million people in dozens of countries and has renewable, grid and commercial activities in Europe (Spain, the UK, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the US, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, while counting markets including Japan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland as growth platforms. With a workforce of more than 37,000 and assets of over 12.518 billion, it recorded turnover in excess of 33 billion and net profit slightly exceeding 3.61 billion in 2020. The company contributes to the maintenance of 400,000 jobs in its supply chain, with an annual procurement budget of 14 billion. A leader in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has committed more than 120 billion over the last two decades to building a sustainable energy model based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. WALLBOX MEDIA CONTACTS:

US: Colleen Robar, 313.207.5960, crobar@robarpr.com

GLOBAL: Barbara Calixto, +34.671.518.711, barbara.calixto@wallbox.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wallbox-joins-forces-with-iberdrola-for-100--renewable-energy-consumption-in-its-new-factory-and-offices-in-barcelona-301274684.html SOURCE Wallbox

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India saw the worlds biggest one-day jump in coronavirus cases ever as a ferocious new wave grips the country, overwhelming hospitals and crematoriums and prompting frantic cries for help on social media.

The South Asian nation reported 314,835 new infections Thursday, topping a peak of 314,312 recorded in the U.S. on Dec. 21. People took to Twitter and Instagram to call for everything from hospital beds to medicine and doorstep Covid-19 tests.

The grim milestone shows how the pandemic crisis has shifted firmly to the developing world, where variants and complacency are threatening containment measures and theres a lack of vaccines, with supplies dominated by richer nations.

India now has almost 16 million cases, the second-most globally, as it struggles to provide enough shots for its 1.3 billion people despite being home to the worlds biggest vaccine manufacturer. Lower vigilance around masks and social distancing have contributed to the resurgence, with large religious festivals and elections allowed to take place with few precautions.

It stands in contrast to America, where cases are on a downward trend, helped in part by aggressive vaccinations. Even at the height of its outbreak, the U.S. only reported more than 300,000 cases on two days.

Indias second wave is also more lethal after the country saw fewer fatalities than other developing nations earlier in the pandemic, puzzling experts. Covid-related deaths have jumped to more than 184,000, still trailing the U.S., Brazil and Mexico, according to Johns Hopkins data.

On Bharath Pottekkats Instagram feed, one message screams Mumbai please help! Lungs damaged due to pneumonia infection. In need of ICU bed. Another reads Plasma urgently required for treatment of Covid patient in Max Hospital, Delhi. More follow. Urgently needed Tocilizumab injection. Please DM if you know of stock in and around Mumbai.

The relatively slow pace of vaccinations is adding to the problem. India has administered more than 132 million vaccine doses, according to data from its health ministry. Thats enough to cover only about 4.8% of its population, according to Bloombergs vaccine tracker.

The outbreak threatens to derail the Indian economy, which had just begun to recover after a nationwide lockdown last year pushed it into a historic recession. A new virus variant with a double mutation has also been detected locally, and concerns are growing that its driving the new wave.

New Delhis largest hospital chain operator rushed to court Wednesday night to seek critical oxygen supply after 1,400 Covid-19 patients across the Indian capital were put at risk due to dangerously low supply levels.

The Delhi High Courts two-judge panel headed by Justic Vipin Sanghi expressed shock and dismay over the governments neglect and directed Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration to beg, borrow, steal but ensure adequate oxygen supply for hospitals.

This is just bad planning. Why didnt we foresee this? This is not rocket science, Justice Sanghi said during the hearing.

The late-night courtroom drama, with the state and federal government lawyers bickering over oxygen supplies to the national capital, which has among the best health-care infrastructure in the country, is a grim indicator of a worse situation in the hinterlands.

The ferocity of the second wave is also resonating with investors and analysts. Indian stocks and the rupee have turned Asias worst performers this month as sentiment soured, while credit default swaps also surged. Care Ratings Ltd. on Wednesday lowered Indias gross domestic product growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 10.2%, from as much as 11.2% last month. This is its second downward revision in less than a month.

The outbreak is also prompting responses from other countries.

Singapore on Thursday announced a ban on visitors from India. Australia will cut flights from India to reduce Covid risk, Indian news channel NDTV said in a tweet. The U.K. added India to its travel ban list April 20, and earlier this month New Zealand temporarily suspended arrivals of its citizens and residents from India due to a spike in the number returning infected with Covid. Hong Kong banned flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines for 14 days starting April 20, while Macau has extended the quarantine requirement for travelers from those three countries to 28 days.
This summer, I will hopefully be a camp counselor for a day camp in U-City. I am also going to do extra math, history and coding (kudos to my dad for that). I am currently writing a fiction novel, which I will work a lot on during the summer. I also plan to hang out with my friends a lot, and I will hopefully go to Chicago to visit my grandparents.

 Avital Vorobeychik, 8th grade, Epstein Hebrew Academy



This summer I am planning on working for Bnai Amoona as a counselor for the first few weeks. Then, I will be attending sleepaway camp, Herzl in Minnesota, for a couple weeks. Finally, I am planning on just hanging out with my friends and family, socially-distanced.

ADVERTISEMENT

 Benjamin Kruger, freshman, Parkway Central High School

This summer is a bit of a mystery for me. Its mostly going to be a combination of work, traveling to look at colleges and getting a well-needed break from the heavy expectations of school. Sadly, my chances to go to a concert are slim-to-none but Ill hopefully take some time to see friends. My biggest goal for this summer is to get outside and work on my art portfolio. Overall, its a little depressing that my plans for this summer are anticlimactic but Im going to try to make the best of it.

 Olivia Riutcel, junior, Webster Groves High School

This summer, I will be working for two weeks at Ramot Amoona, the day camp at Bnai Amoona. After that, I plan to go on the EPIC Israel trip with USY. I will be in Israel for five weeks, first a quarantine, and then I will be traveling around the country. I am really looking forward to spending my summer in Israel with my friends and trying new things.

 Ilana Boyer, sophomore, Whitfield School

This summer I am going to be a counselor at Camp Emeth. Im also going to spend my sixth summer as a camper at JCC Camp Chi in Wisconsin. After camps were canceled last summer, I was devastated. I couldnt be more eager to have a summer with camp again.

 Alex Cohen, sophomore, Clayton High School

This summer I plan to work at United Hebrews summer camp as a camp counselor. I plan to hang out with my friends and travel to Florida with my family as COVID restrictions ease up. I also will attend yearbook camp towards the end of the summer to prepare for my editor position next year. I look forward to hiking, mountain biking and spending time outside. Overall, I plan to just relax after this crazy, abnormal school year.

 Molly Levine, sophomore, Marquette High School

Over this summer I look forward to going to Camp GUCI in Indiana. After being stuck at home with very little social interaction for well over a year, Im really looking forward to seeing several friends for the first time in what feels like ages. Once I return home from camp, I plan to work on my college essays and other preparation for my senior year and the college application process. All in all, with vaccines being quickly distributed, I think the summer will be a much-needed return to normalcy.

 Jordan Eisen, junior, Parkway North High School

This summer, I look forward to traveling to sleepaway camp for the first time in two years due to the cancellation last year. While that will take up the majority of my time, I am also excited to continue to volunteer with some local organizations and to prepare for the upcoming college application process. Ive been taking COVID precautions very seriously throughout this last school year, and have kept up with school virtually, so Im hopeful that with the warm weather, this summer can provide a break from being stuck indoors.

Ryan Silver, junior, Ladue Horton Watkins High School

I will be going to Israel this summer with my summer camp. This will be my first time going to Israel, and I am very excited to share this experience with some of my best friends. I am especially looking forward to visiting Yad Vashem.

 Noah Kleinlehrer, junior at MICDS

This summer I am planning to go to Israel with Ramah Seminar. Although we were also supposed to go to Poland, due to COVID, that part got canceled. I am still traveling to Israel for 5 weeks with around 350 other kids across the US and Canada.

 Halle Wasserman, junior, Whitfield School
A US soldier watches a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter land in southeastern Afghanistan, August 4, 2019. Alejandro Licea/US Army/Reuters

Biden's plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by September 11 doesn't comply with the peace deal but is welcome.

But Biden has to stick to his plan and refuse to let the end of the war in Afghanistan in 2021 replicate the "end" of the war in Iraq in 2011.

Bonnie Kristian is a fellow at Defense Priorities.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

In a video address to the nation on Wednesday last week, President Joe Biden announced the 20-year US war in Afghanistan will finally end by September of this year.

It's not quite the timeline of the pact negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration: Biden said he'll "begin" the final US withdrawal on May 1, which was to be the deadline for its completion, and instead complete it by the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

This doesn't exactly comply with the peace deal, but it doesn't discard it, either, and that could prove enough to hold the Taliban to its side of the bargain.

This is excellent news - long overdue, but only made more welcome by two decades of delay. Biden's brief speech made a cogent case for US departure from Afghanistan, giving weight to his insistence that this plan is to be taken seriously. That weight is, frankly, needed with a war of this length, cost, and chaos.

Indeed, the challenge for Biden over the next four months will be keeping to his own agenda, refusing to let the end of the war in Afghanistan in 2021 replicate the "end" of the war in Iraq in 2011.

Kuwaiti and US soldiers close the border gate after the last vehicle crossed into Kuwait during the US military's withdrawal from Iraq, December 18, 2011. REUTERS/Caren Firouz

Biden's arguments for ending US intervention in Afghanistan were practical and persuasive. He pointed to the futility of Washington's nation-building attempts and argued for Afghan self-determination and resolution of what is essentially a civil war.

Recounting a trip to the country in 2008, Biden affirmed that "only the Afghans have the right and responsibility to lead their country."

An endless US war can't "create or sustain a durable Afghan government," he said, and we are foolish to continue to try. This is the problem with the conditions-based exit scheme long popular among the bipartisan foreign policy establishment: The conditions will never be met. Thus an ostensible schema for ending the war is in practice a tool to prolong it perpetually, as Biden seems to understand.

Story continues

The president emphasized the distinction between the war's initial mission - retribution for 9/11 and "ensur[ing] Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again" - and the aimless mission creep of subsequent years. He promised US counterterror programs would continue to keep Americans safe.

The connection he could have drawn a bit more boldly, however, is that the counterterrorism model of 2001 (invading, occupying, and manipulating a whole country because it hosted terrorist training camps) makes no sense in 2021 (when far more advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities allow the US to monitor and address threats emanating from anywhere in the world).

Soldiers from the last US military unit to depart Iraq arrive at Fort Hood in Texas, December 21, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

"Our diplomacy does not hinge on having boots in harm's way - US boots on the ground," Biden rightly said. He should have made clearer that US counterterrorism doesn't require forever wars either.

That absence is part of what leaves me still a bit skeptical about this plan. In previews of the announcement last week, Biden administration officials told The Washington Post the "goal is to move to 'zero' troops [in Afghanistan] by September."

But a New York Times report the same day revealed "zero" may not mean "zero": "Instead of declared troops in Afghanistan, the United States will most likely rely on a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations forces, Pentagon contractors, and covert intelligence operatives to find and attack the most dangerous Qaeda or Islamic State threats, current and former American officials said."

That means this might not be the full withdrawal the remarks suggest. Biden said he wouldn't pass the responsibility of "presid[ing] over an American troop presence in Afghanistan" to a fifth consecutive president, but that's only true if we use a deceptively narrow definition of "troops."

As it stands, it appears Biden's plan is to keep a small American military presence in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

That continuous exposure to attacks from anti-American forces opens the door to future re-escalation, to precisely the "cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan" Biden decried. It opens the door to an "end" of a war unfortunately reminiscent of the Obama administration's "end" of the war in Iraq in 2011.

There too, ending combat operations didn't mean going to a true "zero" troop presence. The war re-escalated just three years later when the Islamic State registered as a new regional threat, and it has continued ever since.

"It's time for American troops to come home" from Afghanistan, Biden said last Wednesday. That's absolutely correct, and the president should match those words with a full exit that precludes all possibility of resuming our country's longest war.

Bonnie Kristian is a fellow at Defense Priorities, contributing editor at The Week, and columnist at Christianity Today. Her writing has also appeared at CNN, NBC, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and Defense One, among other outlets.

Read the original article on Business Insider
San Francisco public defenders are beginning to mount legal challenges to evidence handled by Justin Volk, a former Medical Examiners Office lab analyst now facing charges for allegedly stealing drugs from his workplace.

In the past week, defense attorneys in two pending DUI cases argued before San Francisco judges that Volks 2020 methamphetamine arrest and pending cases should be admissible in trial. Such information could be used to shred Volks credibility.

The cases are the first to test Volks arrest as a defense strategy, and may be a preview to the public defenders approach in upcoming cases.

The lab work performed at the San Francisco Medical Examiners Office reaches beyond death and homicide investigations. It includes toxicology testing for sexual assaults and DUIs.

Every case in which Mr. Volk handled evidence is tainted and should be dismissed, said Sandy Feinland, forensic lead attorney with the San Francisco Public Defenders Office. It is outrageous that our client could be convicted based on unreliable evidence.

The defense argument proved unsuccessful last week, after a judge refused to allow Volks drug cases to be part of an upcoming DUI trial. Defense attorneys in the second DUI case tested this strategy again Wednesday with another judge, while prosecutors said the evidence should not be admitted.

We have been meticulous about reviewing all cases in which Mr. Volk was involved in any substantive role, said Rachel Marshall, a spokesperson for the San Francisco District Attorneys Office. His alleged misconduct is not relevant to this case because he played no substantive role.

At the Wednesday hearing in San Francisco, public defender Alexa Horner called Volks former co-workers to testify about errors he made in his work, suggesting that the former lab analyst could have been using drugs on the clock.

Chinyere Williams, a former forensic toxicologist at the M.E.s office, said she witnessed Volk switching or mis-entering dates on the computer. Kelsa West, another former toxicologist at the office, said she remembered Volk making errors in demographic information or in documenting biological samples.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harold Kahn, however, seemed unconvinced that Volks mistakes were caused by drug use and not simple human error.

Everybody makes mistakes  we all invert numbers, Kahn said, visibly frustrated by the line of questioning.

Volk, who was fired from the Medical Examiners Office last year, was subpoenaed to testify at the hearing Tuesday but didnt show up, officials said.

Volk, 40, was arrested Aug. 31 in Utah after officers who pulled him over for speeding found a M.E.s office evidence bag of drugs and glass pipes in his car, records show. He now faces two separate criminal cases out of Utah and San Francisco: Charges in Utah include possession of methamphetamine, hydrocodone, MDMA and cocaine, while San Francisco prosecutors charged him with theft and possession of stolen property.

Volks arrest raised serious questions about the security and quality standards of the Medical Examiners Office and forced officials with the San Francisco District Attorneys Office to review thousands of cases to determine whether they may have been tainted by Volk. Prosecutors in November publicly released a list of more than 800 cases that required further scrutiny.

While prosecutors argued that Volks involvement in many of his cases was too minimal to have an impact, defense attorneys said evidence of his misconduct still deserves to be heard by juries.

Kahn is expected to rule on the matter Thursday after hearing from at least one more witness.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
Chicago attorney and author Elizabeth Vrato recently discovered her grandfather's lifesaving WWII heroism. Tweet this

Chicago Lawyer magazine's March 2021 issue is the first American publication to spotlight Commandant Kadri Cakrani, who sheltered approximately 600 Jewish people in Albania while serving as the military officer in charge of its Berat region during Nazi occupation.

"I spent four years researching, traveling, and interviewing leaders who changed the world, such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Attorney General Janet Reno," says Vrato. "And, all along there was this dramatic, heroic story within my own family."

Vrato first learned of her grandfather's wartime actions in a Facebook post about the new Solomon Museum of Jewish History in Berat. Shortly afterwards she managed to visit the museum, just as borders closed at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Some of the extraordinary testimony, correspondence, and photos she encountered there, collected by Professor Simon Vrusho, now are viewable on KadriCakrani.org.

"I'm so proud this story can finally be told," Vrato says. "My grandfather shows us the best aspects of humanity and of Europe."

Commandant Cakrani bravely rallied his soldiers and the local citizenry to shelter Jews from the Nazis, even though the penalty for doing so was death. Fluent in German after having gone to school in Vienna, Cakrani lied capably under repeated threats and questioning by Nazi officials, saying he had no information about any Jews in the Berat region. He never turned over a single name. Whenever he got word of Nazi sweeps to find Jews, the sheltered refugees  from Poland, Germany, France and Macedonia  were moved from one part of the city to another, keeping them safe. He also took the enormous personal risk of hiding Jews in his own home.

At the end of WWII, Cakrani himself became a refugee. He put his life on the line once again in opposing Communist dictator Enver Hoxha in his takeover of Albania. Chased by Hoxha's death warrant and aided by British officers Colonel David Smiley and Lieutenant Colonel Billy McLean, Cakrani narrowly escaped to a displaced persons camp in Italy. Cakrani was granted political asylum by President Truman and worked with U.S. Intelligence to try to restore democracy to Albania. Furious at Cakrani's escape and protection by the West, Dictator Hoxha seized all of Cakrani's property and assets.

Kadri Cakrani never spoke publicly against Hoxha or about his work to shelter Jewish people during the Holocaust, in order not to endanger the lives of his fellow soldiers and friends who remained behind the Iron Curtain under Hoxha's regime. His story remained untold for decades.

Today Cakrani's son and daughter, along with his granddaughter Elizabeth Vrato, are available to provide commentary and details or to answer questions.

In addition to being the granddaughter of Kadri Cakrani, Vrato is the great-granddaughter of one of the Founding Fathers of Albania, who signed its Declaration of Independence. She is a graduate of NYU Law School, a Truman Scholar, and has practiced law in the public and private sectors, including with Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The anecdotes and life lessons she shares have broad family appeal for any human-interest audience, including the value of every human life, the importance of combatting antisemitism, and the fragility of democracy.

Contact:

Debra Pickett

Page 2 Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Elizabeth Vrato
[April 22, 2021] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) on Behalf of Investors

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. ("Emergent" or the "Company") (NYSE: EBS) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Emergent investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at https://www.glancylaw.com/cases/emergent-biosolutions-inc/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On March 31, 2021, The New York Times published an article reporting that in late February 2021, employees at Emergent's Baltimore manufacturing plant "mixed up" ingredients of the different COVID-19 vaccines, contaminating up to 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson ("J&J") vaccine forcing regulators to delay authorization of the plant's production line. On April 1, 2021, the Associated Press (News - Alert) reported on Emergen's "history of violations," noting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has repeatedly cited Emergent for problems such as poorly trained employees, cracked vials and problems managing mold and other contamination in its facilities.



On April 3, 2021, The New York Times reported that the Biden administration placed J&J in charge of Emergent's Baltimore plant and prohibited it from producing the AstraZeneca vaccine, a setback for a Company that had touted its "unique" preparedness and "proven manufacturing capabilities" only months prior. On this news, the Company's stock price fell $14.29 per share, or over 15%, over two consecutive trading sessions to close at $78.62 per share on April 5, 2021.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Emergent should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC (News - Alert) Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email shareholders@glancylaw.com. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times (News - Alert), Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005398/en/

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The upcoming decision from Facebooks independent Oversight Board on whether to uphold or reverse Facebooks indefinite suspension of former President Trumps profiles has policymakers on edge.

Why it matters: The decision will set a historic precedent for how the tech giant treats accounts of world leaders, and could be a litmus test for the boards power.

Context:

Facebook helped establish the Oversight Board with $130 million in funding in 2019 to review user appeals of Facebook's content moderation choices.

Its independence has been questioned by Facebook critics, but its first few case decisions this year suggest the board isn't afraid to disagree with Facebook, and it tends to err on the side of free speech.

Trump was the only case in which Facebook has indefinitely suspended a sitting head of state, but the company has begun taking action on other world leaders' accounts. It froze Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros page for 30 days in March for violating Facebook's policies against spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

Details: "I'm less concerned about the fate of Donald Trump as much as I am about the precedent that this is setting for the removal and de-platforming of everyone else," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told Axios.

Khanna warned that bringing President Trump back to the platform immediately may not be the best approach.

"At the very least" there should be a long waiting period before he's brought back on, he argued. "[W]e still get threats at the Capitol of people who are inflamed by what he did, so it doesn't seem to me that there's been enough time that has elapsed."

Conservatives Axios spoke to are still angry about the decision. "While I would be glad to see Mark Zuckerbergs Supreme Court deliver a check on his conceit, I will not be celebrating," says Rep. Jim Banks, chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House.

"No corporate CEO or their oversight board should be more powerful than the leaders you elect, he said.

Facebooks content moderation standards are not applied in a fair and neutral manner," says Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), ranking member of the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust.

"If this were true, world leaders who spew violent speech like the Ayatollah of Iran or Chinese Communist Party officials would be de-platformed."

The big picture: Around the world, state leaders have condemned Trump's account bans by social media giants, arguing that having platforms freeze the pages of world leaders is a slippery slope.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the bans "problematic." Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called them "censorship." Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has urged his followers to boycott the platforms. Polish officials say they plan to make social media bans illegal.

Sources at Facebook tell Axios the company was initially expecting the board to uphold its decision, given that so many other platforms made similar calls in light of the Capitol attack.

Facebook VP of global affairs Nick Clegg told Axios in January, following the Board referral, "I very much hope and can expect  that they will uphold our decision."

Be smart: Even if the board were to reverse Facebook's decision and mandate the reinstatement of Trump's accounts both on Facebook and Instagram, Facebook has preserved its freedom of action over broader policy.

The company has committed to following the board's decisions as they pertain to specific posts and accounts, but it says it will treat the board's wider policy recommendations as suggestions.

It's unlikely Facebook wouldn't take those recommendations seriously, given that it explicitly asked the Board for more guidance about these issues when it punted the case over for consideration.

Facebook is required to issue a public reaction to the decision and any policy recommendations within 30 days of the decision explaining how it will handle the recommendations.

Catch up quick: Facebook established the Oversight Board in 2019 to review appeals of the company's controversial decisions around speech.

On January 21, the day after Biden's inauguration, the company said it would refer its decision to indefinitely suspend Trump's personal accounts following the Capitol siege to the Oversight Board.

The board immediately agreed to take on the case, and at the time said it would make its decision public within 90 days, i.e. by April 20.

But the board updated its bylaws when it agreed to take the Trump case, giving it the option of extending the 90-day deadline in exceptional circumstances.

Last Friday, the Oversight Board told members of the press that it would delay its decision and make an announcement "in the coming weeks," citing the volume of public comments on the case.

The board received over 9,000 comments related to the case.

Worth noting: The ban applies only to Donald Trump's personal accounts. Facebook began transferring millions of followers over from all of the official White House accounts to the Biden administration in January.

What to watch: A board decision to uphold Facebook's ban of Trump's accounts could spark wide outrage among conservatives who have long argued that tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter are biased against them.

Go deeper: Review of Trump ban marks major turning point for Facebook
The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by former sex slaves seeking compensation from the Japanese government. In January, the same court had ruled in favor of a different group of former sex slaves. The result is judicial chaos.

Nobody in Korea doubts the crimes committed by Japan against the former sex slaves, and all Koreans agree that the victims must be compensated. The judges in the latest case probably share that sentiment. But the law is the law, and it grants states sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. In other words, the Japanese government cannot be tried in a Korean court. The question before the court was not whether Japan did anything wrong but whether a Korean court has jurisdiction over a foreign government. Most countries acknowledge sovereign immunity for similar crimes, even when war crimes are alleged. Such issues must then be resolved either through diplomacy or the International Court of Justice in the Hague, where cases can only be brought by countries, not by individuals or public prosecutors.

The judges in the first case said there exists an exception for "crimes against humanity," but these too are not normally a matter for ordinary criminal courts but for international courts and tribunals. The confusion has not been helped by the Moon Jae-in administration, which has always been eager to stoke populist anti-Japanese sentiment. It made a great show of revoking a face-saving agreement that former President Park Geun-hye had signed with Japan in 2015 under murky circumstances, by dismantling a foundation set up with 1 billion yen to compensate the victims. Moon also made almost no diplomatic efforts to improve relations with Japan while inviting the victims to various national ceremonies to cash in on anti-Japanese sentiment. It was only when he wanted Japanese support for one of his harebrained attempts to engage North Korea that he described the first court ruling in January as "perplexing."

The issue of the former sex slaves is an international matter, and Korea cannot hope to find international support unless it respects international law. Some judges seem to woo public approbation with their judgments and can in some way profit from anti-Japanese sentiment. But it is precisely in this area that vigilance is of the essence. Yoon Mee-hyang, the former head of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, is a case in point. She was able to cloak herself for years in the garb of honest advocacy of the victims while in fact she thieved, embezzled and coerced, stealing money from both the victims and the government, and anti-Japanese sentiment helped her do it with impunity. Her actions have been gleefully seized on by rightwingers in Japan and set the cause of the victims back for decades. In this charged atmosphere it is doubly important that the law is observed to the letter.


By Devjyot Ghoshal and Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pankaj Solanki, a doctor and the director of a small hospital in New Delhi, rushed to an oxygen vendor earlier this week to secure enough cylinders to keep 10 COVID-19 patients on the ICU ward breathing.

His supplies would only last until Thursday night, and so he has sent a driver out to try to find more.

"It is mental agony. I can't bear it any more. What if something happens to the patients?" he told Reuters.

The last-minute scramble for oxygen at Dharamveer Solanki Hospital is playing out across the city and the country, which is facing the world's largest surge in COVID-19 cases.

Hospitals in India's capital, renowned for some of the best medical care in the country, are unable to guarantee basic services and thousands of lives hang in the balance - a stark warning of how India's healthcare system is buckling amid the pandemic.

Big private hospital chains have not been spared.

This week in New Delhi, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, seven Max Healthcare hospitals treating more than 1,400 COVID-19 patients were down to between 2 and 18 hours of oxygen left.

Staff at a major facility of the Apollo group had a harrowing night wondering if oxygen to 200 patients would run out. A tanker arrived at around 3 a.m., just in time, a source at the hospital said.

As panic breaks out at hospitals unable to admit some people with severe COVID-19 symptoms, police are being deployed to secure oxygen. In court, judges are challenging the central government to do more to address shortages.

In a late-night court hearing on Wednesday, Delhi justices called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to "beg, borrow, steal or import" to meet the city's needs. Officials said they were arranging supplies, but the judges weren't convinced.

The state "cannot say 'we can provide only this much and no more', so if people die, let them die; that cannot be an answer by a responsible sovereign state," said Justice Vipin Sanghi.

Story continues

OXYGEN EMERGENCY

Demand for medical oxygen has soared. India recorded 314,835 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, the highest tally anywhere during the pandemic. In Delhi alone, the daily rise is around 25,000.

Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been criticised for failing to plan for the upsurge in cases.

On April 13, when Delhi recorded 13,000 new cases, Kejriwal told a news channel there was "no shortage of oxygen". Five days later, he tweeted, "OXYGEN HAS BECOME AN EMERGENCY".

"It is poor forecasting. Maybe they are not able to understand the gravity of the situation," said Anant Bhan, an independent researcher of global health and bioethics.

"This is a reminder again - we should have extra reserves of oxygen. It shows poor planning."

A senior gas industry source directly involved in supplying oxygen to Delhi hospitals said the city had moved too slowly in recent days in liaising with authorities and suppliers.

The city has few production units nearby and transportation is a challenge.

The Delhi government and federal health ministry did not respond to Reuters questions for this story.

At an INOX gas plant in the state of Uttar Pradesh, around an hour's drive from Delhi, 12 trucks from cities across northern India were waiting to load oxygen on Thursday.

Six drivers told Reuters they had faced long delays, as surging demand from hospitals in the capital and elsewhere outstripped supply.

"We have been waiting for three days," said Bhure Singh, one of the drivers. "Demand has increased and there is no gas."

The plant has been visited by government officials and police, some carrying assault rifles. An Uttar Pradesh police officer said they had been given orders to escort trucks in some instances to make sure they reached their destination.

LAWYERS' BARBS

At one Max facility in west Delhi treating 285 COVID-19 patients, oxygen supplies this week ran dry as authorities diverted their tanker to another hospital, the healthcare group wrote in a letter to Delhi's health minister.

Staff had to borrow cylinders from another facility.

The medical superintendent at the Shanti Mukund Hospital, Kulwinder Singh, told Reuters on Thursday they were asking families of 85 patients who needed high-flow oxygen to make other arrangements because they had only two hours' worth of supply.

Some hospitals in Delhi have run out of oxygen altogether, putting lives at risk, the city's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said in a televised address. "After some time, saving lives would be difficult," he warned.

In the capital, the fight for oxygen has reached the High Court, where judges convened late on Wednesday night to hear a plea from Max hospitals.

For around two hours, lawyers for Delhi and the federal government traded barbs over transportation challenges and supplies. Other lawyers shared real-time updates on oxygen tanks reaching hospitals in the city, and a judge took notes on demand and supply statistics for the capital.

The Supreme Court also intervened, saying Modi's administration should draw up a plan to address shortages of oxygen and critical supplies.

"The situation is alarming," the court said.

(Additional reporting by Alasdair Pal in Yusufpur and Danish Siddiqui in New Delhi; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
The publisher of a new, bestselling biography about Philip Roth has temporarily halted the books shipping and promotion as its author, Blake Bailey, faces multiple allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.

These allegations are serious. In light of them, we have decided to pause the shipping and promotion of Philip Roth: The Biography pending any further information that may emerge, according to a statement provided Wednesday to The Associated Press by W.W. Norton & Company.

Existing copies remain widely available, including on Amazon.com, where the 800-page book ranked No. 812 on the print bestseller list as of midday Wednesday. The biography was released internationally in early April and was due to be published in Australia on June 16, although some bookstores are stocking US copies.

American writer and biographer Blake Bailey. Credit:Getty Images

Bailey, who has denied any wrongdoing, has already been dropped by his literary agency, the Story Factory. Bailey was an 8th grade English teacher at the Lusher Middle School in New Orleans in the 1990s and numerous former students have spoken out recently, alleging inappropriate and manipulative behaviour at the time and saying he later pursued sexual relationships.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 09:39:10|Editor: huaxia

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Auckland Zoo, the biggest zoo in New Zealand, decided on Thursday to move New Zealand's only two elephants to new homes in Australia to give them both the family herd they need for their long-term wellbeing.

The two female Asian elephants, Anjalee (14) and Burma (38), will be moving to new homes at welfare accredited zoos in Australia later this year. Anjalee will join the herd at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo and Burma will head to Australia Zoo to join their all-female herd.

"We will always put the welfare of animals first, and these moves are all about meeting the needs and ensuring the best long-term outcomes for Anjalee and Burma - two very different elephants at different life stages, with different needs. This includes giving Anjalee, whose biological clock is ticking, every opportunity to breed," said Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley.

"We've been working hard with our Australian colleagues and the Asian elephant breeding program to ensure the needs of both animals are met now and in the future. It's because those needs are very different for each elephant that our own elephant specialists and vets have chosen separate homes for Anjalee and Burma."

At Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Anjalee will be integrated into a family herd of two cows and one calf, and three bulls - giving her the very best opportunity to breed, which is important to her long-term reproductive health and wellbeing. Meanwhile Burma, who at 38 can no longer breed, will join the herd of four females at Australia Zoo (Queensland) where she will have the opportunity to play her natural role of 'aunty' to the herd's younger females.

To make the process of integration easier for Anjalee and Burma, Auckland Zoo vets and staff will travel with them. The elephant keepers, all of whom have years of experience and close relationships with both elephants, will share staying on at Taronga Western Plains and Australia Zoo respectively, providing Anjalee and Burma with that reassuringly familiar presence as they work with their Australian colleagues to fully settle the two elephants in.

"We are still devastated by the reality that we will no longer have elephants in New Zealand, and we know many in our community are feeling the same. Burma and Anjalee are extraordinary animals that have helped inspire millions of people to care about and act for wildlife and the environment," said Buley.

"However, as always, we must put the needs of the animals first, and we are both relieved and excited to have secured such wonderful new homes for both elephants that will ensure they will have the very best long-term futures." Enditem
By: Kaela Colwell, Kelley Howes On April 9, 2021, the SEC's Division of Examinations (EXAMS) published a Risk Alert summarizing its observations from recent examinations of investment advisers, registered investment companies, and private funds engaged in ESG investing. The Risk Alert is the latest in a series of announcements from the regulator that demonstrate its focus on investor protection in connection with climate and ESG investing. On March 4, 2021, the SEC announced the launch of the Climate and ESG Task Force within the Division of Enforcement. The task force is led by Kelly L. Gibson, Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement, and is comprised of 22 members from the Enforcement Division's specialized units, the SEC's headquarters, and its regional offices. On March 3, 2021, EXAMS released its 2021 Examination Priorities, which emphasize an enhanced focus on climate-related risks.

Notably, the task force has committed to working closely with the Division of Corporation Finance, the Division of Investment Management, and EXAMS to access information across SEC registrants for purposes of identifying potential regulatory violations and insights. The task force is also encouraging individuals to report compliance issues to the Office of the Whistleblower and intends to work with the Office of Market Intelligence to triage climate and ESG-related complaints, tips, and referrals. While it is too early to observe the modus operand...................... To view our full article Click here
Russia and Iran Are Helping Break Wheat and Fuel Blockade of Syria, Says Report

April 21 , 2021 (EIRNS)Various Southwest Asia media reported yesterday that Iran, Russia and Syria have set up an operations room to ensure Syria is supplied with enough wheat and fuel oil for its people to survive in the immediate period ahead. U.S. and European Union economic sanctions, combined with U.S. seizure of Syrian oil fields and stealing Syrian wheat from its northeast breadbasket region, have reduced 90% of the Syrian people to poverty and sparked widespread hunger.

EIR does not have independent knowledge of this report at this time. The source of the story is cited as Sputnik news agency, which in turn cited unnamed sources in Damascus. Russian ships are reported to be transporting large quantities of wheat to Syria and will continue to do so until the end of June, under previously-existing contracts. That should secure Syrias flour needs until the middle of 2022, putting an end to the current horrendous bread crisis, according to this report.

Asharq Al-Awsatthe largest pan-Arab publication, based out of London, but Saudi ownedwrote that according to the Sputnik sources, the new mechanism has ensured safe access to the Syrian estuaries for four Iranian tankers transporting crude oil and natural gas and escorted by Russian warships over the recent days. The idea is to coordinate a supply of oil during the coming period by sending groups of Iranian ships to Syria in a single batch, provided that the Russian naval fleet in the Mediterranean would take over the safety of their access to the Syrian ports continuously until the end of this year.

Without military escorts, oil tankers have not been getting through. Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous told the parliament recently that seven oil tankers heading to Syria with cargos of crude oil, some of them coming from Iran, had been intercepted in the Red Sea, and two others intentionally attacked, an op-ed by Yanis Iqbal in Eurasia Review on April 19 reported. Israel was reportedly involved in those actions to enforce the U.S. brutal Caesar sanctions.

Iqbal reminded readers that George W. Bush had imposed the first U.S. sanctions on the nation of Syria in December 2003 under the Syria Accountability Act, allegedly to stop its development of weapons of mass destructionthe same now-admitted lie used as the pretext for the invasion of Iraq. The only change in the sanctions since has been to periodically tighten them, culminating with the brutal 2020 Caesar Sanctions Act which cuts any company or individual, of any nation which assists the economic reconstruction of Syria off from access to the U.S. banking systemi.e. to using the U.S. dollar.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Japan Gold Corp. (TSXV:JG) (OTCQB: JGLDF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce high-grade gold assays from surface sampling at its Barrick Alliance, Togi Project, on the Noto Peninsula of Honshu Island (Figure 1).

Togi Project Result Highlights:

412 rock samples were collected from outcrop, float, and mine waste dumps: 235 samples assayed gold greater than 0.5 g/t Au, with 91 assaying greater than 5 g/t Au ( Table 1 ): including 64 samples assaying 5 g/t Au - 20 g/t Au including 27 samples assaying greater than 20 g/t Au,

with a peak value of 79.7 g/t Au



Highly anomalous gold in bulk leach extractable gold analysis (BLEG), from stream-sediment sampling, has defined a continuous 8 km-long corridor

"The Barrick Alliance positive assay results across the Togi Project, which includes the Togi Goldfield, highlight another underexplored epithermal district in Japan. The high-grade rock samples and extensive positive BLEG results reinforce the potential of the area and our belief that there are major gold discoveries still to be made in Japan", commented John Proust, Chairman & CEO.

Togi Project

The 3,990-hectare Togi Project is located on the northern flank of a regional graben and hosted in early Miocene andesite volcanics under-lain by a northeast trending gravity anomaly. A similar geological and structural setting is noted 160 kilometres along strike to the northeast on Sado Island, which hosted Japan's second largest gold mine, the Sado Mine with production of 2.5 million ounces of gold and 74 million ounces of silver2 prior to its closure in 1974 (Figure 1).

Gold mineralization was discovered in the Togi area in 1896 and historic records from the Togi Goldfield report seven separate areas of workings along a 7 km trend which produced a combined 48,000 oz of gold and 180,000 oz of silver between 1910-21. Deposits mined in the project area are divided into the Hirochi deposits in the northeast and Urugami deposits in the southwest (Figure 2). The Mori vein from within the Hirochi group produced 16,500 oz of gold at an average grade of 14 g/t Au. The vein is reported to be up to 4 m wide, with gold values ranging between 8 g/t Au and 20 g/t Au1. Records show the mineralization at lower mine levels open at depth with average grades of 8.12 g/t Au and 56.9 g/t Ag1, workings did not exceed 120 m below portal level.

In the southwest of the goldfield, historic mine workings on the Urugami deposits cover over 30 small veins and stockwork zones within a 4 square km zone. The Togo Mine, the largest within the Urugami area, produced over 18,000 oz of gold and 83,000 oz of silver from stockwork vein and breccia zones1,3. Sinter mapped at Urugami and the narrower stock-work style of quartz vein mineralization indicate the top of a hot-spring epithermal system is preserved, thus supporting the potential for deeper boiling-zone vein targets. For more information on the Togi Project refer to the Company's news release dated July 18, 2019.

Barrick Alliance Geochemical Sampling of the Togi Project

During November 2020, the Barrick Alliance collected 412 rock samples and 88 BLEG samples across the Togi Project. Systematic stream sediment sampling has defined a continuous northeast trending, 8 km long corridor of gold anomalous drainages within the Togi Project (Figure 2). Gold and pathfinder element anomalism within the corridor are defined by BLEG samples assaying greater than 15 ppb Au, with a peak result from a sample in the Urugami Prospect returning an assay of 2,152 ppb Au.

During the BLEG sampling programme Japan Gold geologists collected quartz vein and silicified rock samples from vein outcrops, float, and from historic mine waste-dumps around the Urugami and Hirochi Prospects (Figure 2).

The Urugami Prospect

At the Urugami Prospect, an approximate 4 square km alteration zone hosts 30 separate high-level epithermal vein zones and silica sinter sub-crops (Plate 4), 110 of 215 rock samples collected here gave results greater than 1 g/t Au. High-grade results from selective-grab samples of outcropping vein zones up to 1.5 m wide include:

72.2 g/t Au and 46 g/t Ag

62.0 g/t Au and 30 g/t Ag

50.7 g/t Au and 42 g/t Ag

42.9 g/t Au and 34 g/t Ag

Rock float and mine dump samples gave a similar tenor of gold with 39 samples assaying greater than 5 g/t Au, peak results include:

52.8 g/t Au and 88 g/t Ag

51.1 g/t Au and 112 g/t Ag

45.4 g/t Au and 116 g/t Ag

Refer to Table 1 for significant Au, Ag and Gold Equivalent results, and to Plates 1 to 4 for examples of quartz vein and sinter samples collected.

The Hirochi Prospect

At the Hirochi Prospect, a series of workings developed along a 2.2 km northeast trending zone hosting multiple parallel quartz veins, 86 of the 185 samples collected here gave results greater than 1 g/t Au. Thirty-eight samples gave Au results greater than 5 g/ t Au with peak results from float and mine dump samples including:

79.7 g/t Au and 374 g/t Ag

44.6 g/t Au and 1,200 g/t Ag

33.2 g/t Au and 218 g/t Ag

22.2 g/t Au and 192 g/t Ag

Selective grab samples of vein outcrops up to 1 m wide at the Hirochi Prospect returned up to 7.1 g/t Au and 110 g/t Ag, and a chip-channel sample from a 1 m wide vein gave 3.5 g/t Au and 6.6 g/t Ag, refer to Plates 5 to 8 for examples of quartz vein material collected at the Hirochi Prospect.

Areas of intense clay alteration seen between the Hirochi Prospect and Urugami Prospect suggest continuity of the hydrothermal system between the two prospects. Continuity of the system is strongly supported by the contiguous nature of gold in BLEG anomalism along the 8 km long alteration corridor, further emphasizing exploration potential.

References

1 Gold Mines of Japan, 1989. The Mining & Materials Processing Institute of Japan

2 Garwin et al. 2005. Tectonic setting, Geology, and gold and copper mineralization in the Cenozoic magmatic arcs of Southeast Asia and the West Pacific. Economic Geology 100th Anniversary Vol. pp 891-930

3 Austpac Gold NL., 1988-94. Company Annual Reports

Sampling Techniques and Assaying

Rock results presented in this news release and accompanying figures are from 1-3 kg selected grab and semi-continuous chip-channel outcrop, and selected grab of float and historic mine waste dump samples. The grab samples of float material reported in this announcement are believed to originate from the underlying bedrock of the drainage basin from which they were collected. The Company cautions that grab and float samples are selective by nature and may not be representative of typical mineralization on the property. Sample preparation and assaying were done by ALS Vancouver, BC, Canada. Samples were crushed and pulverised and gold was analysed by 50 gram-charge Fire Assay and AAS finish. A 48 multielement analysis including silver was done by four-acid digest and ICP-MS determination.

A Chain-of-Custody was established between the Company and receiving laboratory to ensure the integrity of the samples during transportation from site to the lab.

Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) were inserted by Japan Gold at every 20th sample to assess repeatability and assaying precision of the laboratory. In addition, the laboratory applied its own internal Quality Control procedure that includes sample duplicates, blanks & geochemical standards. They report these results with the certified Assay Report. Laboratory procedures and QAQC protocols adopted are considered appropriate. The CRMs and internal QC-QA results fall within acceptable levels of accuracy & precision and are considered to lack any bias.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Japan Gold's Vice President of Exploration, Andrew Rowe, BAppSc, FAusIMM, FSEG, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Japan Gold Corp.

"John Proust"

Chairman & CEO

About Japan Gold Corp.

Japan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused solely on gold exploration across the three largest islands of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu. The Company has a country-wide alliance with Barrick Gold Corporation to jointly explore, develop and mine certain gold mineral properties and mining projects. The Company holds a portfolio of 31 gold projects which cover areas with known gold occurrences, a history of mining and are prospective for high-grade epithermal gold mineralization. Japan Gold's leadership team represent decades of resource industry and business experience, and the Company has recruited geologists, drillers and technical advisors with experience exploring and operating in Japan. More information is available at www.japangold.com or by email at info@japangold.com

For further information, please contact:

John Proust

Chairman & CEO

Phone: 778-725-1491

Email: info@japangold.com

Cautionary Note

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results related to future partnerships and the Company's 2020 gold exploration program. These statements are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to, general economic, market and business conditions; competition for qualified staff; the regulatory process and actions; technical issues; new legislation; potential delays or changes in plans; working in a new political jurisdiction; results of exploration; the timing and granting of prospecting rights; the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, arrange or conclude a joint-venture or partnership; and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may differ from the information provided herein and, consequently, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this News Release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information or to explain any material difference between such and subsequent actual events, except as required by applicable laws.

Table 1: Significant rock samples greater than 5 g/t Gold





NB: Au Eq g/t is Gold Equivalent calculated using a gold price of USD$1,745 per ounce and a silver price of USD$25 per ounce

To view an enhanced version of Table 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_001full.jpg





Figure 1: Barrick Alliance Togi Project on the Noto Peninsula, geological setting.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_002full.jpg





Figure 2: Togi Project, Gold in BLEG basin results and Gold in rock chip results.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_003full.jpg





Plate 1: Urugami Prospect, outcrop grab sample 024629, brecciated chalcedony vein. Au 72.2 g/t & Ag 46.4 g/t



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_006full.jpg







Plate 2: Urugami Prospect, float sample 024607, colloform-crustiform banded quartz vein. Au 52.8 g/t & Ag 88 g/t



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_007full.jpg





Plate 3: Urugami Prospect, float sample 024604, colloform-crustiform banded quartz vein. Au 45.4 g/t & Ag 116 g/t



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_008full.jpg





Plate 4: Urugami Prospect, float sample 022744, banded silica sinter. Au 0.05 g/t / Ag 0.24 g/t

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_011full.jpg





Plate 5: Hirochi Prospect, float sample 023415, Ginguro banded quartz vein. Au 79.7 g/t & Ag 374 g/t

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_014full.jpg







Plate 6: Hirochi Prospect, float sample 023497, Colloform-crustiform banded quartz vein. Au 44.6 g/t & Ag 1,200 g/t

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_015full.jpg





Plate 7: Hirochi Prospect, mine dump sample 023467, Ginguro banded quartz vein. Au 33.2 g/t & Ag 218 g/t

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_018full.jpg

NB: Au Eq g/t is Gold Equivalent calculated using a gold price of USD$1,745 per ounce and a silver price of USD$25 per ounce



Plate 8: Hirochi Prospect, float sample 023418, Hydrothermal brecciated quartz vein. Au 6.5 g/t & Ag 167 g/t

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5665/81362_9aaa807b34203baf_019full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81362
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 11:01:53|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has offered to help find an Indonesian submarine that went missing with 53 people on board.

The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 submarine was reportedly conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the resort island of Bali when losing contact early Wednesday.

The Indonesian military, quoted by the media, said it has sought help from Singapore and Australia in the search mission.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the country would provide whatever support it could offer.

"We are obviously very concerned about these reports. It's very distressing for families and particularly for the Indonesian Navy," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Thursday.

"We operate very different submarines from this one, but the Australian Defence Force and Australian Defence organisation will work with defence operations in Indonesia to determine what we may be able to do."

At the depth of about 700 meters, the submarine is feared to have sunk about 60 miles off the northern coast of Bali Island early Wednesday after losing contact, according to local media.

The submarine, which was built in Germany in 1979, reportedly lost contact at around 3:00 a.m. local time.

"Right after being given permission to dive, after being given the clearance, (the submarine) lost contact," Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto was quoted by Indonesia's daily newspaper Kompas as saying.

The Indonesian military is deploying a number of warships to the site where the submarine was thought to have lost contact, he said. Enditem
When she is not making wine, Cadamatre writes and teaches. She is writing a yearlong blog series for the Wine Scholars Guild that began in January 2021. She recently published her first article for GuildSomm. She also teaches Wine & Spirit Education Trust classes for the Napa Valley Wine Academy and coursework for the Institute of Masters of Wine to assist students in earning the designation.

If that were not enough, there is her day-to-day, which has been quite the balancing act this past year during the pandemic. Instead of taking things one day at a time, Cadamatre said she takes them one hour at a time.

She and Brian divide their workday parental responsibilities by comparing their calendars. Cadamatres day begins early. I usually get up at 6 a.m. and check emails. Ill schedule East Coast calls at this time if needed for Trestle Thirty One. By 6:45 a.m., Ive gotten the kids up and am working on getting myself and everyone else ready for the day. I drop my youngest off at daycare at 8 a.m. and then am off to my full-time job either at my office at the winery or from home depending on what is going on. My oldest has been Zoom schooling during the pandemic. Luckily, Brian has been able to work from home full time to manage that.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC) have urged African countries not to destroy Covid-19 vaccines that have expired.



The WHO is asking countries on the continent to hold on to expired stock and wait for further guidance.



The call comes after Malawi and South Sudan said they would discard more than 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca jab that were out of date.



The Africa CDC says it has spoken to the manufacturer and has been reassured that the vaccines are still safe.



Many vaccines can be used up to 36 months after manufacture, but because Covid-19 jabs are so new, there is not enough data to prove their effectiveness over longer periods.



Whatever the guidance, the final decision rests with national drug regulators.



However, the issue will further increase the challenges around persuading people on the continent to get vaccinated.



The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in Africa has been slow, partly because of supply issues and scepticism about the jab.



Out of 55 African countries, 41 have benefitted from the delivery of vaccines via the global-sharing scheme Covax. Seven are yet to receive their first batch.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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New Delhi:

Over 250 policemen of the Rajasthan government went on a mass leave on Monday and some of them who were supposed to give guard of honour to Home Minister Rajnath Singh refused to do so. The constabulary went on leave after rumours occurred that a government order would reduce their pay scales. Jodhpur Police commissioner Ashok Rathod said that it was not a sanctioned leave and the policemen who were part of the guard of honour had to be replaced with other cops.

He further said that it was a serious issue and action would be taken against guilty policemen.Rajasthan DGP Ajit Singh said that indiscipline in any form would not be condoned.

The state constabulary has been protesting against rumours that their pay scale grades would be reduced from the existing Rs 24,000 to the proposed Rs 19,000 per month.

This followed a WhatsApp message which went viral among groups of constables. The protest ahead of Diwali has left the government in a tight spot as this would mean reduction in police deployment in sensitive areas.

The DGP issued a letter on Monday evening to district superintendents of police and inspector generals, while asking them to speak to the protesting constables and dispel pay rumours.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Downing Street today declared that a formal leak inquiry is under way after Boris Johnson's private texts to James Dyson emerged.

After stopping short of ordering an investigation yesterday, the PM's spokesman said the Cabinet Office will now be looking into how the messages were made public.

The move comes amid Tory fears of a civil service mole trying to sabotage the government. The BBC revealed that Mr Johnson promised billionaire inventor Sir James he would 'fix' a tax rule so his staff could help make ventilators for the NHS.

The PM's spokesman said today: 'I can confirm that yes, we have instructed the Cabinet Office to look into this. The position has changed from yesterday.

He refused to say what had sparked the shift, saying: 'As you would expect we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure that we have this internal inquiry. So the Cabinet Office will be getting that under way.

'It is to get into the source of leaks of private communication of the Prime Minister ... as it relates to this issue with Dyson. It is limited to that.'

No10 insisted there was no official investigation yesterday, although informal scoping was believed to have been taking place to try to find the origin.

Senior Tories are convinced that the messages could only have come from civil servants who would have been shown records under government rules. However, others have suggested Mr Johnson circulates similar kinds of private messages quite freely among aides.

A government source stressed yesterday that the way the leaks had emerged might not be straightforward. 'It could be several places not just the obvious one,' the source said.

Downing Street today declared that a formal leak inquiry is under way after Boris Johnson's (pictured) private texts to James Dyson emerged

Mr Johnson promised Sir James Dyson (left) that tycoon's staff would not have to pay additional tax if they came to the UK to make ventilators for the NHS

Mr Johnson mounted a furious defence yesterday as he came under fire over the leaked texts.

He roared back as he was berated by Keir Starmer over 'sleaze' at PMQs, saying he made 'no apology' for pulling out all the stops at the height of the crisis.

The premier said he had been moving 'heaven and earth' to get as many ventilators as possible amid dire warnings the health service would be overwhelmed with patients who needed them.

Mr Johnson also suggested he is willing to release his full private communications with the billionaire inventor, who had volunteered to help at no profit.

But Sir Keir said: 'Every day there are new allegations about this Conservative Government: dodgy PPE deals; tax breaks for their mates; the Health Secretary owns shares in a company delivering NHS services.

Text exchange between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson over the tax status of his employees Dyson: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James' Johnson: 'I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic' Johnson: 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here' Dyson: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all. James' Dyson: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please? We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear. Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days. The former is now covered under an 'Exceptional Circumstances' umbrella, Work Days are not. So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.' Johnson: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.' Just two weeks later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status. Advertisement

'Sleaze, sleaze, sleaze, and it's all on his watch.'

The angry clashes came as MPs raised the alarm about civil service sabotage, with a molehunt ongoing.

One former ministers pointed out Mr Johnson would have been obliged to disclose the messages to officials, and highlighted the slew of recent leaks over alleged cronyism and the Greensill lobbying row.

Another MP told MailOnline: 'There is a horrible leaker in the Cabinet Office or No10.'

The PM's spokesman insisted he had 'complied with the ministerial code' - which states that if discussion are held without officials present 'any significant content should be passed back to the department as soon as possible'.

Downing Street said yesterday there was no official hunt going on for the culprit, although informal efforts were thought to be in progress.

Treasury sources have dismissed suggestions Mr Sunak was concerned about the text exchange, and denied the leak had come from his allies.

Sir James wrote an official letter to the Treasury asking for the tax status of his staff to remain the same if they moved from Singapore to the UK to produce vital ventilators during the pandemic.

But in a private text seen by the BBC, Mr Johnson told Sir James that he 'will fix it' himself.

He then added 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here'.

Just two weeks later, Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status.

It is the latest in a string of cronyism and lobbying questions facing the Conservative Party, after accusations that David Cameron used his influence and contacts to lobby ministers and officials behalf of his financier boss Lex Greensill.

This included texting Mr Sunak in an unsuccessful effort to secure coronavirus loans.

Last month WhatsApp messages between Matt Hancock and a former neighbour who supplied the NHS with test tubes emerged, sparking questions over how they had come into the public domain.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that Mr Johnson 'averted an even greater crisis' on ventilators last spring with his text exchanges with Sir James.

'I don't think it's unfair in the sense that people are trying to lobby ministers, lobby MPs, all the time,' he told Sky News.

'In this particular instance, I think we're trying to create a story where there isn't one.

'The Prime Minister was very clear yesterday that he would have done exactly the same thing again, he had a duty, as far as he was concerned, to make sure that we got ventilators made here in the UK.

'At the time, as you will remember, there was a huge crisis in Italy precisely because they hadn't produced enough ventilators, and that was the thing that we had to do.

'He moved, in his words, the Prime Minister said, he moved heaven and earth to try and make sure we got ventilators made here in the UK. That's what happened  it averted an even greater crisis and it saved lives.'

Mr Kwarteng said that it was 'very good' that business leaders and constituents had 'direct access' to ministers and those making decisions in Whitehall.

'I think that in the real world, in reality, people are contacting ministers, contacting MPs, all the time,' he told Sky News.

'Business people are contacting MPs all the time, constituents also contact me on my phone.

'I think that in a modern democracy it's very good that people actually can have direct access to ministers and people who are taking responsibility.'
This is the most successful series of procedures - from oocyte collection in Kenya to in vitro fertilisation and cryopreservation in Italy - the team of Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Safari Park Dv?r Kralove, Kenya Wildlife Service, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Avantea has ever conducted. Additionally, the team confirmed the successful sterilisation of the southern white rhino bull Owuan, which was conducted in December 2020. The bull will now be introduced to the Ol Pejeta southern white rhino females that have been identified as potential surrogate mothers for future northern white rhino offspring.

Females Najin and Fatu at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya, are the only remaining northern white rhinos in the world. To prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino, an international consortium of scientists and conservationists called BioRescue led by Leibniz-IZW has been harvesting immature egg cells (oocytes) from the two females and artificially inseminating these using frozen sperm from deceased males in order to viable northern white rhino embryos since 2019. In the near future, the embryos will be transferred to southern white rhino surrogate mothers to develop northern white rhino offspring.

On March 28th, 2021, 19 oocytes were retrieved from Fatu's ovaries using a probe guided by ultrasound, after the animal was placed under general anaesthesia. Fatu is the younger of the two northern white rhinos, Najin's daughter and Sudan's granddaughter. Both the anaesthesia and the ovum pickup procedure went smoothly and without complications. After incubating and maturing the egg cells at Avantea's laboratory in Italy, 14 of them were fertilised with thawed sperm from deceased northern white rhino bull Suni using a procedure called intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Four fertilised oocytes developed into viable embryos that are now stored in liquid nitrogen along with the five embryos already created in previous procedures. There are now a total of nine embryos, all derived from oocytes collected from Fatu.

"We are excited with the laboratory outcome of the last ovum pick-up in March. With nine pure northern white rhino embryos now developed, the partners in the project should embark on the next phase of the project -embryo transfer to the surrogate southern white females at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. We are eager to get the progeny from the project that will guarantee survival of the species", says Kenya's Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Najib Balala.

Embryo development was achieved with the help of Geri, an innovative benchtop incubator with integrated continuous embryo monitoring capabilities designed to provide an individualised and undisturbed incubation environment, and donated by Merck.

"Merck is a long-term partner to Project BioRescue. We are supporting efforts to save the Northern White Rhinos (NWR) by offering innovative fertility technologies to increase chances to save NWR from extinction", says Sebastian Bohl, Vice President, Global Head of New Businesses, Fertility, Merck.

During the most recent procedure, Najin, who is now 31 years old, was put under light sedation whilst standing and examined via ultrasound. After the results of the ultrasound, the team decided not to attempt the procedure as she had not appeared to have developed enough promising oocytes. The consortium will soon thoroughly discuss if and how to continue the oocyte collections with Najin, as ethical risk assessments are a pivotal part of the programme.

Another very important step in the success of the BioRescue programme was the selection and sterilisation of the southern white rhino bull Owuan in December 2020. The animal was sterilised by the BioRescue team with a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure using state-of-the-art equipment. The sterilisation went smoothly and without any complications. In March 2021, the BioRescue team confirmed via electroejaculation that the sterilisation was indeed successful. Owuan has recovered well from the examinations and is up to his future role: as a sterilised bull, he will reliably indicate through his behaviour the reproductive cycle of potential surrogate mothers without any risk of impregnating them. This information is a crucial prerequisite for transferring the embryos to surrogate mothers at the correct timing of their reproductive cycle. Under the guidance of Kenya Wildlife Service, the team carefully planned the location of selected southern white rhino females for Owuan's company and his introduction to them will take place in the coming weeks.

###

The BioRescue research programme, significantly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and additional donors such as foundation Nadace ?EZ, the philanthropist Dr Richard McLellan and Merck EMD foundation, will continue with its ambitious plan to create more embryos from oocytes collected from the northern white rhino females in a three to four-month cycle as long as the COVID-19 pandemic allows for the team to travel to Kenya. With the sterilisation confirmed and relocation of surrogates planned, the next milestone of the programme is getting within reach.

Further information and your support: http://www. biorescue. org

Media Package

A collection of photographs can be accessed through the following link: https:/ / hidrive. ionos. com/ share/ xmoqdysq6s

The photographs shall only be used in direct connection with the story depicted in this press release and credit must be "BioRescue/Rio the Photographer".

Boilerplates

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)

The Leibniz-IZW is an internationally renowned German research institute of the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. and a member of the Leibniz Association. Our mission is to examine evolutionary adaptations of wildlife to global change and develop new concepts and measures for the conservation of biodiversity. To achieve this, our scientists use their broad interdisciplinary expertise from biology and veterinary medicine to conduct fundamental and applied research - from molecular to landscape level - in close dialogue with the public and stakeholders. Additionally, we are committed to unique and high-quality services for the scientific community. http://www. izw-berlin. de

Safari Park Dv?r Kralove

Safari Park Dv?r Kralove is a safari park in the Czech Republic. It's one of the best rhino breeders outside of Africa and the only place where the northern white rhino bred in human care - both remaining females, Najin and Fatu, were born here. Safari Park Dv?r Kralove coordinates efforts to save the northern white rhinos. safaripark.cz/en/

Kenya Wildlife Service

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is a state corporation that was established by an Act of Parliament (Cap 376), now repealed by WCMA (2013), with the mandate to conserve and manage wildlife in Kenya, and to enforce related laws and regulations. KWS undertakes conservation and management of wildlife resources across all protected area systems including community conservancies in collaboration with stakeholders. kws.go.ke/

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000-acre wildlife conservancy working to conserve wildlife, to provide a sanctuary for great apes and to generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and community development. It is a key conservation area in the wider Laikipia ecosystem and aims to manage sustainable, diverse and healthy wildlife populations in an integrated wildlife and livestock system. Ol Pejeta Conservancy is the largest black rhino sanctuary in east Africa and is the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees. It is also home to the last two northern white rhinos on the planet. Ol Pejeta's cutting-edge wildlife security includes a specialised K-9 unit, motion sensor cameras along its solar-powered electric fence, and a dedicated Rhino Protection Unit. Ol Pejeta also integrates livestock with wildlife - both as a means to earn revenue for conservation but also as a rangeland management tool. http://www. olpejetaconservancy. org/

Avantea

Avantea is a laboratory of advanced technologies for biotechnology research and animal reproduction based in Cremona, Italy. Avantea has over twenty years of experience and the know-how in assisted reproduction of livestock developed through years of research conducted in the biomedical and animal reproduction fields. http://www. avantea. it/ en/

University of Padua

University of Padua in Italy is one of the oldest in the world, celebrating 800 years. Its Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science is developing leading research and education in the field of wildlife conservation and welfare with a special focus on ethical assessment and evaluation of research projects and educational programs. http://www. unipd. it/ en/

Contacts

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt

BioRescue project head and head of Department of Reproduction Management

+49305168440

hildebrandt@izw-berlin.de

Steven Seet

Head of Science Communication

+491778572673

seet@izw-berlin.de

Safari Park Dv?r Kralove

Jan Stejskal

Director of Communication and International Projects

+420608009072

jan.stejskal@zoodk.cz

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Elodie Sampere

Communications Specialist

+254 / 727 341 612

elodie.sampere@olpejetaconservancy.org

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)

Dr. David Ndeereh

Head, Veterinary Services

+254/722 556 380

dndeereh@kws.go.ke

Avantea

Cesare Galli

Director

+390 / 372437242

cesaregalli@avantea.it

Padua University

Barbara de Mori

Director of the Ethics Laboratory for Veterinary Medicine, Conservation and Animal +39 / 3403747666

barbara.demori@unipd.it

Merck KGaA

Alexander Shaplygin

Global Head of Fertility Communication

+49 151 14542092

alexander.shaplygin@merckgroup.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  The Department of Health said it will issue guidelines on the administration of COVID-19 shots for private companies who have purchased vaccines for their employees.

In a briefing at the House of Representatives, lawmakers clarified how private companies will go about the immunization of their employees when their purchased doses arrive.

They can have vaccination site in their own companies but they have to comply with certain requirements, meron kasing (there will be) appropriate set up for that.

They have to have vaccinators, they should have doctors needed for post-vaccination monitoring, said Gloria Balboa, director of the DOH National Capital Region.

She added that the DOH will assist companies in complying with the setup requirements.

Quezon City Rep. Allan Reyes said the guidelines should be issued prior to the arrival of the vaccines so they can be ready.

The private companies are just waiting for instructions on how to do it, Reyes said.

President Duterte earlier directed vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to fast-track arrangements that allow private firms to bring in COVID-19 vaccines amid a surge in infections.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers demanded an explanation from the DOH on why some cities receive more doses than the others.

Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo said the vaccine coverage rate for senior citizens in their city is way lower compared to others.

Quimbo stressed the goal must be to narrow vaccine disparity gaps to avoid the spread of infections to neighboring cities.

Balboa, however, argued the doses allocated per city are dependent on the eligible population submitted by local officials.

Government data showed over 1.5 million individuals have received a COVID-19 shot as of April 20.
The ongoing pandemic has changed the way we work as digital transformation continues to accelerate at a rapid pace. Major organizational changes have prompted CIOs and other business leaders to rethink how their teams are configured and how they interact with each other and with customers.

New challenges, changing customer needs, and the increasing role of technology mean leaders are looking for new ways to empower their teams and equip them with the tools to succeed now and in the future.

Manish Tomar, Chief Information and Digital Officer at KPMG, has been on the frontline of digital transformation in his organization. We asked him to share insights gleaned from leading a team through a transition to a digital workplace with speed and agility.

Q: How has COVID-19 transformed your organization?

A: COVID-19 forced us to rethink our entire organizational priorities and our digital transformation journey across our front-, middle- and back-office. When the pandemic first hit in March of 2020, there were a lot of discussions around prioritizing our initiatives in alignment with our changing business objectives and priorities, to accelerate digital transformation. With the majority of our employees and clients now working from home, we knew investing in a digital workplace model was critical to continue providing the service KPMG is known for.

For us, transformation had to be both functional and technical. On the functional side, we had to figure out how to drive collaboration and improve productivity among our employees. We knew we had to deliver a better employee experience for our front-, middle-, and back-office team members to keep them engaged and provide them with the resources to prepare for the new reality.

On the technical end, the architecture had to be transformation ready to support speed and agility as we modernize and transform our technology assets. We needed systems in place that could support the needs of our employees and clients, while still meeting our rigorous cybersecurity standards. And, of course, all of this needed to happen while keeping operational expenses low.

Q: How important are speed and agility for your organization?

A: COVID-19 really tested our ability to act with the speed and agility needed to navigate a task of this scale. While digital transformation was already a priority pre-pandemic, the rapid shift to digital in the wake of COVID-19 meant we needed to assess our strategy to stay ahead of changing business demands.

We worked with our business partners to define what the new reality for IT teams both now and post-pandemic would look like. With each day presenting new challenges and opportunities for our team, agility became one of the most important factors in our planning. We asked ourselves how we could digitally enable our organization to boost employee productivity and how we could cross-skill and upskill our employees to ensure they had the tools needed to not just react but also proactively identify potential obstacles and resolve issues.

But speed and agility arent just about people  you also have to examine the support structure in place and determine what infrastructure and supporting process changes are needed to enable your team in the most secure way.

Q: How has your organization used speed and agility to address challenges and respond to evolving employee and client needs?

A: Some of KPMGs clients traditionally require our workforce to be on-site at the clients location. When the first wave of the pandemic hit, those clients had questions about when KPMG employees could return to the office so their businesses could keep running, and to do so in a safe manner.

In response, our team remained agile and worked quickly to ensure multiple applications and mobile resources were available to our people. By preparing our partners and professionals with the resources they needed, we immediately switched to a remote workforce and were still able to provide our clients with the same service and capabilities.

Launching a remote workforce like this on such a quick timeline requires both internal and external alignment. Internally, we look at innovation through the lens of our customers. What problem is this solving? How can internal solutions be applied to our customers? How fast can we deliver on value?

Externally, we work with our technology partners to collaborate and gather the resources needed to make these things happen. For example, when we talked with our partners at Salesforce, we asked how they were addressing similar challenges. They shared insights on what they are doing with their own business - they call it Salesforce on Salesforce - and integrated those ideas into our own solutions. This kind of collaboration enabled us to move quickly and effectively when overcoming the challenges associated with our own digital transformation, to the benefit of our clients.

Q: How do employees and customers fit into digital transformation?

A: When it comes to our employees, a unified experience is one of KPMGs most important objectives. We look for digital assets to help us stay connected both internally and with our customers. We also take time to measure digital adoption and collect feedback from our employees to drive continuous improvement.

Implementing a CRM platform like Salesforce helps our employees collaborate. It also gives them access to valuable data that can improve client and market knowledge.

On the customer side, a CRM platform is critical for engaging customers and increasing sales effectiveness. We can better understand our customers and their needs, which allows us to more accurately identify what services they may need and move quickly to provide them. With an integrated platform like Salesforce, we can unify marketing and sales data in a single source of truth to operate at a higher speed to value.

Q: How can CIOs effectively lead their teams through change?

A: Change is difficult, especially during a time like this. CIOs need to be engaged with their business to make sure changes to people, processes, tools, and technologies are directly aligned to their business goals. Change isnt just about IT. It involves the entire organization. As such, CIOs need to work with other leaders to understand the organizations culture and how its objectives are evolving.

Then, you can work together to align priorities and create a support structure to address those new needs. With a strong vision and a list of priorities in place, your team will have a clear direction moving forward with measurable goals to work towards.

Q: What is one lesson youve learned in the past year?

A: At KPMG, the importance of technology became very evident in the past year. While technology and our IT infrastructure have always been a part of our work processes, COVID-19 brought them to the forefront of our business and our conversations. Even those organizations that had minimal technological infrastructure realized they had to invest in new systems if they were going to make it through the pandemic.

The conversation around technology has transitioned from short-term survival to long-term innovation. Platforms like Salesforce have the opportunity to transform customer and employee experiences and continue driving business impact.

Q: What does the future of digital transformation look like?

A: The future of digital transformation is all about continuous improvement. At KPMG, we are using data-driven insights to support a digital workplace and drive firm growth. Emerging

technologies are making it easier to modernize and simplify our technology assets  a key factor for moving with speed and agility.

Technology also allows us to address transformation in a cost-effective fashion so we can fund new ideas and innovation. The conversations around technology get me excited because we arent going to take our foot off of the accelerator. Well continue to use technology to meet our business needs while figuring out how it can shape our future strategy and transformation roadmap.

As Chief Information & Digital Officer at KPMG, Manish works to accelerate and enable adoption of digital technology and drive transformation across the KPMG front, middle and back-office to a 21st Century connected enterprise. He works with key KPMG stakeholders and technical leaders to process the firms digital strategy by deploying a multi-cloud ecosystem, rationalizing their application portfolio in support of a more SaaS-driven enterprise. He is accelerating KPMGs ability to scale Intelligent Automation and deploy tools that increase productivity, collaboration, and an improved mobile experience for our partners and professionals.
Retired rabbis try to keep hands off while hearts remain on

In the mid 90s, when Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman served as chairman of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) ethics committee, the Reform Jewish group faced a quandary: What do you do when a retiring rabbi sticks around too long?

There were many problems with rabbis retiring but never wanting to give up the reins of power, and there were many situations when a newly incumbent rabbi had to bring charges against a retired rabbi who wouldnt keep his hands off the congregations workings, said Stiffman, who spent almost four decades as assistant and senior rabbi of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

That transition from longtime rabbi to successor can be difficult for all parties, Stiffman and other rabbis say, and to avoid conflict, the CCAR adopted a code for how the incoming and outgoing rabbis should behave.

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Still, moving from being the central spiritual figure in many peoples lives to an emeritus role  or no role at all  often remains a challenging experience. To get a sense of what retirement is like for Jewish clergy, the Jewish Light spoke with five local rabbis who in recent decades have partially or fully retired.

A common theme emerged of people wanting to stay connected to Judaism and continue to engage with people as a rabbi, while also wanting to try new things and sometimes encountering unexpected challenges.

Some old, some new, some hurdles may sound like it could describe retirement from any job, but Stiffman said retiring from a synagogue is not the same thing as leaving a corporation.

Most of the time when an executive leaves, thats it, period, and they know that, he said. However, the rabbinate is a little different in that if a retiring rabbi remains a member of the congregation and comes to services, sometimes people will say to the retired rabbi, Its not the same, youre still my rabbi, and that can create a number of different problems.

Its a very big change

At a CCAR conference in the 90s, Stiffman chaired a workshop on how emeritus rabbis should treat incoming rabbis and vice versa. A prominent rabbi who has since died stood up and delivered a rant about his successor. The moderators cut him off, and while the group normally recorded the sessions, in this case they destroyed the tape, Stiffman said.

Its a very big change and sometimes hard, he said. I know there were times when I saw changes to things that I had innovated, that I thought, Well, Im sorry about that, but knowing that my successor is the boss, I kept my mouth shut. Some of the retired rabbis werent able to do that.

To avoid conflicts, the CCAR adopted a code stating that the rabbi emeritus should help the successor in the position to which he/she has been elected and should guide lay people to understand that when a new rabbi commences his/her rabbinic duties, responsibility is transferred automatically and fully. The rabbi emeritus also should guide lay people to accept the new rabbi as the successor and to show him/her all courtesy. The rabbi emeritus should refuse to be drawn into questions of congregational policy or into newly established relationships between the new rabbi and his/her congregants, individually or collectively.

Rabbi Mark Shook, who spent 23 years at Congregation Temple Israel before retiring in 2010, said his colleagues in other parts of the country have struggled in retirement because they did not have a plan.

They couldnt be away from the congregational life, and all of a sudden it was like going cold turkey  they just were not prepared for it, Shook said.

That absence of a plan proved problematic for Rabbi Josef Davidson, who retired in 2006 at age 58 from Bnai Zion Congregation in Chattanooga, Tenn.

At that unusually young age for retirement, Davidson said, he planned to try to reinvent himself, but he wasnt sure as what. Maybe he could apply for a position leading a nonprofit. Maybe he could serve as a hospital chaplain.

It didnt work out, he said.

I was too young, Davidson said. I still needed to do something at that age that did bring in some income but also gave me some structure.

He and his wife had moved to St. Louis, where a daughter and her family lived. And in 2009, Congregation Bnai Amoona needed a rabbi, so he applied and got the job.

It ended up being a really good part of my rabbinate, Davidson said.

For those who remain in the same city and as members of their congregations, their experiences are also shaped by their successors. The CCAR code of ethics instructs new rabbis to respect the experience and work of the predecessor and to see to the well-being of the rabbi emeritus and his/her spouse.

Fortunately, Stiffman knew his successor, Rabbi James Bennett, who had served as an assistant rabbi at Shaare Emeth from 1984 to 1993.

I was very lucky because my successor is a real mensch, and when he came to town, he said, I know there are a lot of people who have had very close relationships with Jeff, and if they want him for a wedding or a funeral, I am sure we can always work out something, and I wont object, which is very rare, Stiffman said. Usually, the new rabbi, who is a stranger coming in from out of town, wants to establish him or herself.

Its in their DNA

Like Stiffman, Rabbi Lane Steinger said that one never stops being a rabbi.

Steinger retired from Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community in 2016 after seven years but remains connected to the congregation as rabbi emeritus.

Given that the rabbinate is a central part of his and others identity, Steinger advises clergy to think of the things that you can do to continue to be a rabbi but that really nourish you as a person, he said.

For Steinger, that has meant reading Jewish texts each day and teaching a monthly bible study group with Shir Hadash and a virtual study group on the Haftorah portion for a congregation in New York.

I am happy that I am helping this congregation out and that I can do something I love to do, Steinger said.

Davidson and Shook both serve as police chaplains, which includes riding in cars with officers and talking with them in the stations.

Davidson, who works with the Ballwin Police Department, said, What I like about it is that I am talking to people who do something completely different from what I have ever done. Often times, we have different points of view on almost everything, so it gets me out of my bubble and makes me feel good that I am giving back to the community in which I live.

Impact of COVID

Whatever their routines were in 2019, the retired rabbis, like everyone else, have had their lives disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After retiring as senior rabbi of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in 2013, Dale Schreiber, on her 65th birthday, checked an item off her bucket list: She traveled to China and visited the Terracotta Army, a collection of sculptures that had been buried with the first emperor of China during the third century BCE.

When I got back, I realized I wasnt done, Schreiber said.

So she took a job as a chaplain with Pathways Hospice and Palliative Care.

Schreiber found it to be a gift because she was able to help people relax into the last chapter of their life and state their intention and accept the care and their worthiness for it, she said.

But once the pandemic worsened last March, Schreiber, who had been traveling around the world with her scientist husband, stopped seeing patients because she worried she would be a contaminant.

She continued to talk with families of patients but eventually stopped contact altogether. She continues to do orientation for hospice staff and to officiate funerals and counsel the bereaved.

Not seeing patients took some stress off of me in trying to figure out how to be there with people who were incredibly frail and still committed to having the best life they could for the longest possible time, Schreiber said.

She was also feeling a little sad that I couldnt go the distance with them.

Choosing how to serve

In addition to serving as a police chaplain, Shook continues to teach a bible study class on Saturday mornings at Temple Israel. Now it takes place over Zoom, which is really unsatisfying, but you gotta do what you gotta do, he said.

Otherwise, Shook said, he has enjoyed retirement and the ability to change what you are doing on a dime to follow different interests. You can choose when and how you want to serve.

Shooks take is that there is no cookie-cutter retirement. Everyone is different, the things that work or dont work are different for every rabbi, he said.

Still, he said, one key for retiring rabbis is to step back from their former congregations.

Anything that they do is prone to misunderstanding, he said. Thats the hard part, is realizing that the congregation is going to get along without you just fine, and life goes on.
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The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate alleged illicit trade on human organs between Nigeria and China.

The resolution was a sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rimamnde Kwewum (PDP-Taraba) and co-sponsored by Olajide Olatubosun (APC-Oyo), at plenary on Thursday.

Moving the motion earlier, Mr Kwewum said that about two weeks ago, Chinese authorities seized a cargo ship that sailed from Nigeria with 7,200 refrigerated penis.

According to him, they were found in 36 boxes labelled as plantain on the ship that harboured at the Shanghai port called Red Market.

He said the Chinese General Administration of Customs had alerted that an increasingly large number of armed groups in Africa used organs which were harvested in unsanitary conditions to finance their nefarious activities.

The media was awash a few years ago with horrifying stories of the harvest of organs of Nigerians and other Africans stranded in Libya for sale in Europe, the Middle East, America and China.

Aware that the increasing cases of missing persons, ritual killings and trafficking of persons out of the country may be linked to the Red Market which can be attributed to the trafficking of young men and women who end up being victims of organ harvesting;

Also aware that the increased banditry, kidnappings and spiralling violence in several parts of the country today make those parts of the country vulnerable and provide safe havens and ready supply channels for the illicit activities, he said.

Mr Kwewum said harvest of organs could only be done by medical surgeons with the aid of rogue public officials.

He said perpetrators of the illicit trade generated between US$ 600 million to US$ 1.2 billion profit annually.

The lawmaker recalled that in 1987, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the illegal trade violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Cognisant that the International Community has made efforts to curb the menace of Red Market, such as the Istanbul Declaration urging professionals to put an end to the unethical actions where organs of unfortunate victims of economic migrants and human trafficking in Europe and the Middle East are ripped off, thereby constituting a gross abuse of the rights to life of those Nigerians.

Convinced that if nothing is done to curb this criminal act, more criminals will set up shops dealing in human organs in Nigeria, taking advantage of the insecurity in the country, he said.

The House mandated the Committees on Human Rights and National Security and Intelligence to investigate the whole gamut of this value chain, known as the Red Market or illicit market in human organs.

In his ruling, the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, who presided over the session, mandated the committees to report back within 10 weeks for further legislative action.

(NAN)
Paul Ricard is in talks with Formula 1 about reducing the French GP hosting fee.

Le Figaro newspaper reports that the circuit at Le Castellet will be limited to just 15,000 fans per day for its scheduled late June event.

"We are fighting for the right to host the grand prix, which is something we can control. This is better than fighting an invisible virus," said race boss Eric Boullier.

"If the attendance is limited to 15,000 spectators per day, we will receive only 20 percent of the income. We have the opportunity to cover all the costs of organising the race, but we will continue to discuss the size of the fee," the Frenchman and former McLaren boss added.

"We are in commercial negotiations. Hopefully common sense will prevail," Boullier added.

"We need to minimise our losses but still give the audience a great show. We have been pleasantly surprised by the demand for tickets despite the uncertain situation. Almost all of the tickets have been sold," he revealed.

Boullier said Paul Ricard also wants to extend its contract with Formula 1.

"The contract expires at the end of the year, but we want to renew it," he said. "If everything depended only on me, I would have already signed a new one for 10 years, but I need to report to the management."

One rumour is that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali will keep the calendar at 23 races for 2022 by ousting one European event to make way for the new Miami GP.

"The attractiveness of the new grand prix can be somewhat exaggerated," said Boullier.

"We have seen situations when, after a big announcement about a new grand prix, the race never takes place. The question is whether Liberty Media wants reliable grands prix with historical value and ties to the history of Formula 1 to remain on the calendar," he said.

(GMM)
Varun Dhawan has responded to a comment made by a social media user accusing him of showcasing his privilege at a time when the country is reeling under the second wave of the novel coronavirus. A few days ago, Dhawan was also criticised on social media for sharing a tweet attached to a picture of himself urging fans to stay at home. However, some netizens found the tweet 'tone-deaf' and allegedly self promotional. The actor has just completed his shoot for Bhediya in Ziro and Dhawan and his wife, Natasha Dalal were papped at the airport yesterday as they returned to Mumbai. In the video, Dhawan asks the photographers to follow social distancing. "You went out for vacay and gave paps the chance to snap, now you come back and complain. Stop over showing your privilege when people in your country are dying," a social media user commented.

"Well, your assumption is wrong. I was shooting my film and not on holiday. And what do you mean 'Gave them a chance?' How do you not give them a chance? I have people who have also lost their life in covid. So please keep your assumptions to yourself," Dhawan wrote back.
Officials look into 30 'unusual' preliminary cases

Officials look into 30 'unusual' preliminary cases

Maggie Ho reports

Health authorities are investigating whether there are any irregularities at a laboratory processing Covid tests, after it detected 30 preliminary positive cases on a single day from people living in different buildings all across the city.



Speaking at a regular press briefing, Dr Albert Au from the Centre for Health Protection said the patients had been admitted to hospitals for isolation, but nine subsequently tested negative for the coronavirus.



Au said officials will still handle the cases the same way as confirmed cases  by isolating those involved and putting their close contacts in quarantine.



He called this unusual circumstances, and added the government has asked University of Hong Kong microbiologist, Yuen Kwok-yung, whos advising the administration on the pandemic, to inspect the laboratory in question, run by BGI.



I have to say that this is a bit unusual. Because there were 30 cases from the same lab on the same day, so this is a bit strange, he said.



There are two possibilities. The first is that some of these cases are true positive cases, and there is silent transmission or even outbreak in the community which had not been detected before, he said.



Another possibility is that some of these cases are false positive, but for the reasons why they tested positive but negative after admission to hospital  that requires further investigation, said Au.



Meanwhile, health officials on Thursday reported two new confirmed local cases, with neither of them having a clear source of infection.



One of them involves a teacher who lives in Tseung Kwan O, and works at Greenfield English International Kindergarten in Lohas Park. Around 30 children she taught have been sent into quarantine.



The other local case involves a 19-year-old man, who lives in San Wai Court in Tuen Mun, and works at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals.



People who had worked with him were ordered to get tested.



Twelve imported cases were recorded, comprising people flying in from Nepal, India, Pakistan and Turkey  four of them were found to be carrying the N501Y mutation of the virus.



One of them was identified when being quarantined at the Ramada Hong Kong Grand Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.



Authorities suspect there might have been cross-infection between guests who were quarantined on the same floor of the hotel..



Officials said they had also ordered two more rounds of mandatory testing for people whove been to places where two patients carrying a highly infectious variant of Covid-19 visited  including Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Port St Mary RNLI launches after inflatables drift offshore at Castletown Bay

Port St Mary RNLI launched both its inshore and all-weather lifeboats last night following a report that three inflatables with children onboard were drifting offshore.

At 7.19pm, the volunteer crew were requested to launch both their lifeboats by Belfast Coastguard after the alarm was raised that the inflatables were drifting off Castletown Bay.

Under the helm of Mark Whiteley, Port St Mary RNLIs inshore lifeboat Spirit of Leicester launched in slight seas and made its way to the scene, closely followed by the all-weather lifeboat Gough Ritchie 2 under the command of Coxswain Mike Keggen.

Shortly after, both lifeboats were stood down following an update from the Coastguard that everyone had safely returned to shore.

Speaking following the call out, Sarah Keggen, Port St Mary RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: We are delighted that everyone managed to return safely to shore this evening unaided. Inflatables can be great fun but they are not designed for open water and its easy to get swept out to sea. Conditions can change quickly and you could be put at risk. Should you get into difficulty or see someone in trouble, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
One reason why barbecue is such a tough business is because the process of smoking meat can be wildly uneconomical.

Take brisket, for example. A pitmaster receives a raw brisket that weighs 14 pounds. The brisket first needs to be trimmed of any extra fat and rough edges to ensure it cooks properly in the smoker. This results in about two pounds of fat being removed.

After the brisket cooks for 12 or so hours, another five pounds of fat and moisture renders out of the brisket. The weight of the cooked brisket is now seven pounds.

So the pitmaster pays for 14 pounds of brisket and ends up with seven pounds he can sell after it is cooked. Thus, only about 50% of the raw product can be turned into revenue-generating smoked meat. This number is the yield.

In the barbecue business, yields are low (50% and under). This can be compared to a steakhouse where a typical 16-ounce ribeye might weigh 12 ounces after cooking, resulting in a 75% yield. Not bad.

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In the past, losing 50% of your raw product in the cooking process might not matter when brisket cost $1-$2 per pound. Those two pounds of brisket trim often just ended up in the trash. I remember cooking recipes at home that called for beef fat and just going to my local H-E-B and asking the butcher for a bag of trim fat and theyd give it away for free.

Not anymore. As the wholesale cost of brisket approaches $4 per pound, that pile of trimmed brisket fat is almost the equivalent of $8 being thrown in the trash. And many barbecue joints trim 40 briskets a day. Thats $320 a day, $2,240 a week, and a staggering $8,960 a month potentially going into the bin.

So how can a pitmaster turn all or part of that brisket trim (mostly fat) into a revenue-generating product?

In cooking, fat is used for two main purposes: adding flavor and moisture. In the barbecue business, one application for efficiently using brisket trim is adding flavor and moisture to sausage.

You may have noticed many barbecue joints now offer housemade sausage. You might think this is due to the pitmaster becoming ambitious and wanting to produce a unique sausage to help them stand out from the pack. And that may be the case. But it is also due to the current economics of barbecue, specifically the requirement to efficiently use all raw products, which now makes it a necessity to take on the physical and time-consuming process to produce handmade sausage.

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Problem solved, right? Not quite. Most sausage recipes call for about 20% fat in the mixture along with ground meat and spices. So, if a barbecue joint produces 80 pounds (2 pounds of trim per brisket times 40 briskets) of usable brisket trim per day, theyd need to make and sell 400 pounds of sausage a day to incorporate all that trim. Thats a lot of sausage!

Indeed, most restaurants cant sell that much sausage per day. So what to do with all the extra sausage produced with all that extra brisket trim?

Again, pitmasters are getting creative. Now you see many barbecue joints offering fully-cooked sausage that has been vacuum-sealed, refrigerated and sold via mail-order or take-away that can be reheated at home. In effect, theyre selling their version of the packaged sausage you find at any grocery store. Tejas Chocolate & BBQ in Tomball has become well-known for their reheatable, packaged meat items.

By expanding the market for their sausage, barbecue joints can now more efficiently re-purpose brisket trim and offer unique products both in their restaurant as well as to consumers all over the country via mail order. As beef prices rise, economic necessity really is the mother of invention at Texas barbecue joints.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

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A variant that appears to be wreaking havoc in India has been detected in Canada and sparked a temporary ban on direct passenger flights from India and Pakistan on Thursday. But experts say it's too early to know how concerning this new version of the COVID-19 virus is.

A COVID-19 patient wearing oxygen mask waits inside a vehicle to be attended and admitted in a dedicated COVID-19 government hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, April 22, 2021. India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP /Ajit Solanki

A variant that appears to be wreaking havoc in India has been detected in Canada and sparked a temporary ban on direct passenger flights from India and Pakistan on Thursday. But experts say it's too early to know how concerning this new version of the COVID-19 virus is.

The variant  named B.1.617  has so far been classified as a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization, rather than a "variant of concern," the term attached to the variants first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist with the University of Ottawa, said Thursday that a variant of interest is one that is "suspected" to either be more contagious than the initial strain, cause more severe disease, or escape the protection offered by vaccines.

A variant of interest can become a variant of concern if more evidence emerges that it does one or more of those things, he added.

Here's what we know about the new variant:

HOW TRANSMISSIBLE IS IT?

India is dealing with massive surges in COVID-19 activity  there were 300,000 new cases reported Wednesday with 2,000 deaths linked to the virus  but the Indian government has not confirmed the new variant is fueling the current wave.

Deonandan said the variant appears to be responsible for about 60 per cent of cases in India's most populated region, which would suggest a higher transmissibility.

He said it's "probably around 20 to 30 per cent," more contagious, but added that experts still don't know if the variant causes more severe disease.

"It may be a little less bad than B.1.1.7 (the variant first detected in the U.K.)," Deonandan said. "But our biggest concern is: If it becomes common here, are we then fighting off essentially another B.1.1.7?"

Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease expert with McMaster University, said it's important to flag this variant as one of interest because it does seem account for more and more of India's caseload.

But, he added, other factors  including the country's densely populated urban centres and mutligenerational homes with poorly ventilated spaces  may be contributing to how quickly it's spreading there.

"Is it because of situations that lead to high levels of transmission and super spreading, or is there something biologically different about this variant?" Chagla said. "Or is it some combination of the two?"

Alain Lamarre, an immunology and virology professor at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique in Quebec, doesn't think the new variant of interest is more concerning than the variants first detected in South Africa and Brazil.

He said he's more concerned about the variant first discovered in the U.K., which is "clearly more transmissible and more virulent."

WILL CURRENT VACCINES WORK AGAINST THE NEW VARIANT?

The variant first detected in India has a double mutation on the spike protein gene, which our current COVID-19 vaccines target. But experts say there's no evidence right now that the approved vaccines won't work against it.

Deonandan said the variant may diminish vaccine efficacy, "at least a little bit," because that's what we've seen with the variants of concern so far.

But, he added, that doesn't mean efficacy will drop from 95 per cent to zero, for example.

Deonandan likened the coronavirus's spike protein to the license plate on a car, with vaccines giving our cells that plate number so they know to keep it out when they see it.

"But if the license plate has changed, will the cell still recognize the car?" he said. "So the question is: Has an entire digit on the plate changed, or is it just a smudge on the corner?"

Deonandan added that the mRNA vaccines seem to be adept at catching different versions of the virus by targeting many aspects of the spike protein.

"So, they may say: 'Look out for all license plates beginning with the letter B,' rather than this specific license plate," he said.

Lamarre said adapting mRNA vaccines like those by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to new variants would be faster and easier than altering other types of inoculations.

"The approval process will be quicker as well because the proof of concept has been done and we know that the mRNA vaccines are safe and efficient," he said.

WHERE HAS THE VARIANT APPEARED IN CANADA?

The B.C. Ministry of Health said Thursday there had been 39 cases of the B.1.617 lineage in the province on April 4, before it was identified as a variant of interest.

Quebec confirmed Wednesday what's believed to be the province's first case of the new variant, causing Premier Francois Legault to urge the federal government to tighten restrictions on air travel.

Legault said the premiers of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia were among those behind a letter sent to the federal government expressing concerns about new variants coming into the country.

Deputy chief public health officer Dr. Howard Njoo said Thursday that Canada will be making adjustments at the border for incoming flights "very soon."

B.C.'s top doctor Bonnie Henry said some of the 39 cases of the variant in that province were directly related to travel from India, but others had no travel link.

The cases were seen "at different times over the last month-and-a-half to two months," Henry added.

CAN WE CALL THE VARIANT A "DOUBLE MUTANT?"

While some have dubbed the variant a "double mutant," Chagla said that's a misnomer that conjures up false images of a super virus.

The earlier variants of concern don't have a single mutation, Chagla said, but instead a set of them that change the virus in certain ways.

Having two mutations on the spike protein doesn't necessarily mean the variant is more dangerous than one that has a single mutation on that gene, Chagla added.

"That's a terrible term," he said of the double-mutant label. "When you see double mutations as compared to single mutations people get freaked out, but in reality many of these are combinations of mutations."

 With files from Jacob Serebrin in Montreal

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.
Expressing anguish that COVID-related safety protocols were being flouted in West Bengal campaigning, the on Thursday placed an immediate ban on road shows, 'pad yatras' and vehicle rallies in the state and said public meetings having more than 500 people would not be allowed.

Using its constitutional powers, the commission issued an order placing fresh restrictions on physical campaigning in the state where two more phases of elections are due on April 26 and 29.

The orders came into force from 7 pm on Thursday.

"The commission has noted with anguish that many political parties/candidates are still not adhering to the prescribed safety norms during the public gatherings...," the order read.

" ... the commission invoking its powers under Article 324 further orders that with effect from7 pm of April 22, in the state of West Bengal no roadshow/padyatra shall be permissible; No cycle/bike/vehicle rally shall be permissible; No public meeting beyond the limit of 500 persons at a place subject to availability of adequate space with social distancing, adhering to COVID-19 safety norms, shall be permissible," the order said.

It made clear that permission for road shows, cycle, bike or vehicle rallies, if granted already, stands withdrawn.

The order came on a day when the state registered highest single-day spike of 11,948 Covid-19 cases.

In a letter addressed to heads of all recognised parties on Wednesday, the commission had referred to the directions of the Calcutta High Court issued on Tuesday which said that it would be open for the EC and the state chief electoral officer to take requisite steps and also to ensure successful implementation of COVID protocols by requiring strict compliance of prescribed guidelines and orders by all political parties, candidates and all other concerned with the poll process.

The EC had recently prohibited campaign between 7 pm and 10 am to discourage public gatherings.

It has also extended the silence period to 72 hours from 48 hours before end of poll in each phase of poll in Phase 6, Phase 7 and Phase 8 in West Bengal.

In view of extension of silence period, there would in any case be no campaigning from 6.30 pm on April 26 (date of poll of 7th phase) to April 29 (date of poll of 8th phase).

The had on Monday decided to stop holding large rallies, gatherings and meetings for the West Bengal assembly elections, capping attendance at 500 due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The Trinamool Congress had urged EC to club the last three phases of polls to check the spread of the virus.

The EC had on Wednesday told the that its suggestion was not feasible and had cited the election law to turn down tne request.
Vlogger Jeff Wittek has said he was left with a 'broken skull and face' after YouTuber David Dobrik swung him around on a rope attached to an excavator for a stunt.

Wittek - a member of Dobrik's Vlog squad - had in June last year shared pictures of injuries, including a bruised eye, without detailing how he suffered them.

He wrote then: 'Sorry I havent posted any new pics of the mullet this week. I got in an accident and broke my face and skull in a few places. But Im OK.

'Im more alive than ever. Ill heal up good as new, and Ill get some new pics of that mullet up as soon as they can get me a blow dryer up to my hospital room.'

On Wednesday he uploaded a clip to YouTube called How I Broke My Face which explained to fans how he had actually fallen from an excavator driven by Dobrik.

It has already been viewed more than 1.4 million times.

Footage of the incident shows the moments before Wittek lands face down in the shallow water as those watching the stunt rush to help him.

Vlogger Jeff Wittek has said he was left with a 'broken skull and face' after YouTuber David Dobrik swung him around on a rope attached to an excavator for a stunt

Footage of the incident shows the moments before Wittek lands face down in the shallow water as those watching the stunt rush to help him

Wittek, left - a member of Dobrik's Vlog squad - had in June last year shared pictures of injuries, including a bruised eye, without detailing how he suffered them. On Wednesday he uploaded a clip to YouTube called How I Broke My Face which explained to fans how he had actually fallen from an excavator driven by Dobrik, right

Wittek said he had kept the explanation for his injures a secret because he 'was in a lot of pain, and that's how I choose to cope with my pain'

Wittek says: 'I just jumped out of a plane 20 times, what's the worst that could happen if I swing from a rope over a one-foot deep lake?

'And yeah, I didn't know I was going to go that fast. So I grabbed the f***ing rope and I tried to make a goddamn funny video for people. This was where I made a mistake.

'I forgot that the biggest f***ing idiot I know was driving it.'

Dobrik, who has more than 18 million followers on YouTube, has not yet commented on the video. DailyMail.com has contacted a representative for comment.

He is well known for carrying out extreme pranks on YouTube and TikTok.

Wittek said he had kept the explanation for his injures a secret because he 'was in a lot of pain, and that's how I choose to cope with my pain'.

Wittek then details how members of the Vlog Squad - the name of the LA friends who work with Dobrik - met in Bear Lake in Utah where they each took turns to be swung round by an excavator driven by him

YouTuber Corinna Kopf, who also was filmed pulling the same stunt, can be heard telling Dobrik he 'always things too far' after he sped up the machine. The footage then cuts to Wittek being swung round at high speed before he lands face down in the water as others scream and run to help him

The footage of the accident begins with clips of Wittek and others skydiving for a separate stunt.

Wittek then details how members of the Vlog Squad - the name of the LA friends who work with Dobrik - met in Bear Lake in Utah where they each took turns to be swung round by an excavator driven by him.

YouTuber Corinna Kopf, who also was filmed pulling the same stunt, can be heard telling Dobrik he 'always things too far' after he sped up the machine.

The footage then cuts to Wittek being swung round at high speed before he lands face down in the water as others scream and run to help him.

Dobrik already faced controversy in March of this year when a woman accused a former member of his Vlog squad of sexual assault.

He addressed the accusations in a YouTube video, telling fans: 'Consent is something that's super, super important to me.

'I've been really disappointed by some of my friends, and for that reason I've separated from a lot of them... I'm sorry if I've let you down, and things like that won't happen again.

'And I learned from my mistakes and I also believe actions speak a lot louder than words. And you know, you can take my word for it that I'm going to change, but I'll also show you and I'll prove you that the mistakes I made before won't be happening again.'

Wittek says 'the biggest f***ing idiot' Dobrik was driving the excavator

In August last year Dobrik purchased a new $9.5 million mansion in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. The newly constructed mansion features six bedrooms, seven bedrooms, luxury amenities  and panoramic city, canyon, and mountain views.

Back in December, David posted an Instagram Story video begging his fans not to come to his home anymore.

'This is crazy that I'm still making these stories,' he said. 'I literally feel like a broken record  I sound like my parents. But stop coming here, please. I don't wanna have to move, but this is terrifying.'

The plea didn't seem to work, however. In March, someone shared the address to David's old home in a since-deleted Reddit post.
UTICA, N.Y.  Jason DAvolio was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Thursday after he was convicted of murdering his estranged wife, Kerilee, and putting her body in a dumpster in July of 2019.

After just 90 minutes of deliberation, a jury found DAvolio guilty of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in November of 2020.

DAvolio shot Kerrilee in the back of the head with a long gun, and put her body in a nearby dumpster. She was later found in the Ava landfill.

During the murder trial, the prosecution painted DAvolio as a scorned husband whose was enraged by his failed attempts to reunite with his estranged wife and mother of his three daughters.

Kerilees mother, Hope Wagner, gave a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing, saying to DAvolio, you planned her death. Premediated her final days. And it was years in the making.

Wagner hopes the sentence is as severe as the crime.

I ask the court to silence him foreverhave no mercy, she said.

During the trial, the defense tried to claim Kerrilee shot herself in the back of the head with the long gun. The forensic pathologist who testified in the case said after performing more than 5,000 autopsies, shed never seen someone commit suicide by shooting themselves in the back of the head with a long gun.

When DAvolio spoke at the sentencing hearing Thursday, he maintained Kerrilee committed suicide.

Before issuing his sentence, Judge Dwyer said to DAvolio, I cant tell you, Mr. DAvolio, how disappointing it isyou have no heart in that body whatsoever.

DAvolio was sentenced to the max on both counts, 25 to life for murder, and 1 1/3 to 4 years for concealment of a human corpse.
A man looks at items on a table calling for the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom outside the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2021. (Jamie Joseph/The Epoch Times)

Proposed Bill to ID Recall Petitioners Withdrawn From California Senate

Proposed legislation that would have allowed California politicians facing the threat of recall to identify and contact petition signers has been shelved.

Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), who authored Senate Bill 663, pulled it from consideration on April 20. The proposed legislation would have given politicians access to the personal information of petition signers so they could be contacted to see if they wanted to change their minds.

Though Newman made it clear the proposed changes would not have applied to the current petition to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill sparked a lengthy debate in Californias Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments on April 12, when opponents suggested that giving politicians access to the personal information of petition signers was an invasion of privacy rights and could lead to retaliation.

Its a small victory, but well take it in stride, Orrin Heatlie, founder of the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign, told The Epoch Times.

I think the public needs to become more aware of what these people are trying to put through. And this is proof that when we take notice of what theyre doing and we raise opposition to it, they back downbecause they know that were watching, and that were aware of the agenda theyre pushing forward, and were not going to tolerate it.

Newmans spokesperson Alina Evans told The Epoch Times that after introducing the bill, the senator realized its just not the right time for it.

The environment is just so hard right now  because with the kind of excitement around this current recall, the proponents of the recall were conflating this bill with their effort, Evans said.

Newman has realized that confusion over the intent of the proposed legislation and how it might affect Newsoms recall have made it very hard to have a thoughtful discussion about this bill, she said.

When asked if Newman was pressured by Gov. Newsom to kill the bill, Evans replied categorically, no.

Evans said the bill isnt dead, but is just kind of on pause in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Newman is now working on new legislation that he plans to reintroduce in 2022.

He certainly heard concerns about privacy and took those to heart, she said.

We have turned it into a two-year bill, so the idea is that we will continue to work on it  looking into other ways to be able to let people who have signed a petition know that theyve signed it. Maybe theres a way to do so that would not violate anyones privacy.

Though Newman put forth several amendments to SB 663, part of the reason he is delaying it is to alleviate peoples worries about privacy, Evans said. Hes going to look at what else he can do so that those concerns are completely assuaged.

Evans said the senators idea really is to let people know what theyve signed.

There are certainly other ways the bill could be drafted. We havent talked through what that could look like. Given now that we have another year, we can do that in a way that is hopefully easier for everyone, she said.

Newman was recalled in 2018 and then reelected in 2020. He has said that the recall campaign against him deliberately misled voters.

Heatlie suggested Newman might have a vendetta against recall campaigns owing to his prior experience.

Rather than keeping the interests of the people in mind, hes trying to erode their right to privacy and right to petition the government, Heatlie said. Hes making this his personal agenda to attack the recall process, because he considers himself a victim of that process.

Heatlie said he felt the legislation violated the state Constitution.

This is an attack on the First Amendment right to petition the government. Its an attack on a right to privacy. Its a reckless and dangerous bill, he said.

If Newman reintroduces similar legislation, Heatlie said, Our team will make it our mission to make sure that hes recalled again.

The Election Integrity Project, California (EIPCa), a watchdog organization, also opposed SB 663.

Ruth Weiss, EIPCas director of legislative oversight, told The Epoch Times recently that SB 663 had the very powerful potential of suppressing the willingness of people to hold their officials accountable through recalls.

EIPCa is grateful for the many California citizens who came forward to express their concern regarding SB 663, and pleased that it has been withdrawn for now, Weiss said in an April 21 email.

Weiss said that if Newman reintroduces the bill next year, its doubtful the legislation would be met with any more favor then, calling its basic tenets wrong and anti-democratic.

Dozens of opponents called in to the April 12 committee hearing to oppose SB 663, including representatives for the California Chamber of Commerce. Despite the opposition, the committee voted 41 to move the bill forward to the Judiciary Committee, where it remains.

Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) voted against the bill, while Newman and Sens. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), Connie Leyva (D-Chino), and Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) supported it.
CHARLESTOWN, Nevis, April 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IG Global Group LLC (IGG), (the Company) is pleased to announce the entry into Kazakhstan via the establishment of a 100% owned Kazakh subsidiary: IG Copper and Gold Ltd.

IG Global Group sees world class opportunities in the mineral rich country of Kazakhstan. IGGs team and experience in the Russian Far East and Asia is a strategic advantage in its ability to operate in this region.

Kazakhstan has huge potential in its mining industry sector in magnitude and scale of projects

The country boasts abundant resources that position the country well on the global mining scene

Kazakhstan has implemented international standards and a modern framework for investment in the mining sector

Kazakhstan is extremely rich in mineral resources thanks to the very favourable geographical position of the country. It has a very diverse geological composition, including: gold, copper, chrome iron ore deposits, polymetallic deposits, tungsten, molybdenum and uranium ores, as well as a large supply of oil and natural gas resources.

Kazakhstan has spent the last five years establishing an efficient mining investment framework. In 2016, Kazakhstan became a member of the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Standards, and in 2017 it adopted simplified mineral licensing after the Australian model, ensuring open access to geological data and its digitization, as well as a simplified procedure for providing subsoil use rights, establishing and classifying mineral resources.

Some of the very large, modern projects being developed in Kazakhstan are Aktogay (large scale open pit mine located in the East Kazakhstan Region (KazMinerals), Bozshakol (large scale open-pit copper mine in the Pavlodar Region (KazMinerals), and Koksay (copper mine development project in south-eastern Kazakhstan).

Thomas E. Bowens, President & CEO of TCM and IGG, stated, We are very excited to have established IG Copper and Gold Ltd and our first corporate offices in Kazakhstan. IGG will initially be targeting high value gold and porphyry copper gold assets for exploration and development. This marks our entry into the third country following on from our highly successful operations in both Russia and the United States. We look forward to much upcoming success in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

About IG Global Group LLC

IGG is a private international holding company focused on the exploration and development of world class mineral deposits. The Companys collective activities consist of mineral exploration, mining operations and mining service companies, with projects and clients in the United States and the Russian Far East. IGG was founded in 2010 by Thomas E. Bowens, a Certified Professional Geologist, with degrees in Economics, Geological Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) and a masters degree in Geology (the latter two from the Colorado School of Mines). IGG brings together experienced professionals who are innovators in their fields with selected technical consultants who are well-versed in the latest industry exploration and mine development techniques and technologies. For more information, visit www.igglobalgroup.com.

Contact: info@igglobalgroup.com

Source: IG Global Group
OAKVILLE, ON and CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Hospital Specialties Ltd. ("CHS"), a leading specialty distributor and manufacturer of medical and surgical products, announced today it has received a strategic investment from Flexpoint Ford ("Flexpoint"), a private equity investment firm specializing in the healthcare and financial services industries. Previously majority-owned by affiliates of Cortec Group, CHS will continue operating as an independent company led by CEO Mike Canzoneri and the company's current management team, who will continue to be owners in the business. The company will remain headquartered in Oakville, Ontario.

Founded in 1967, CHS is one of the most well-respected providers of innovative medical products and customized patient care solutions for customers throughout the healthcare market in Canada and internationally. CHS serves healthcare providers and patients with a wide range of specialty solutions and locally manufactured products and works to introduce the most advanced medical technology in a mission to improve patient care and outcomes.

"We are delighted to welcome Flexpoint Ford as a highly strategic investor to CHS and are excited to leverage their deep expertise across our focus markets," said Mike Canzoneri, CEO of CHS. "With this new partnership, we remain well positioned for growth and will continue to provide customers and suppliers with the innovative, essential products and value-added solutions they've come to expect from our team for over 50 years."

"We have followed CHS closely for many years and see numerous opportunities to grow the business over the long term," said Jonathan Oka, Managing Director at Flexpoint Ford. "The company has a leading market position and well-established reputation within the medical device industry, and we are proud to partner with Mike and his team. The addition of CHS to the Flexpoint portfolio underscores our commitment to investing in high quality healthcare companies in partnership with their management teams and employees."

The Flexpoint team included Jonathan Oka, Dan Grigorescu and Blake Heyde. As part of the transaction, Flexpoint received financial advice from Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets. The company's financial advisors were Harris Williams LLC and TM Capital Corp. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Canadian Hospital Specialties

Canadian Hospital Specialties (est. 1967) is a privately held company located in Oakville, ON, Canada that serves customers in the acute care and alternate site healthcare sectors throughout Canada and internationally. CHS provides single-use and other medical products supplied by global medical device manufacturers as well as its own manufactured products, which are marketed under the proprietary MED-RX brand, across categories including Respiratory, Anesthesia, Perfusion, Interventional, Biopsy, Drainage, Diagnostic Imaging, Pharmacy, Medication Delivery, Neonatal Care, OEM and General Medical. CHS also provides specialty contract manufacturing services for medical device and life sciences companies. For more information about CHS, please visit www.chsltd.com .

About Flexpoint Ford

Flexpoint Ford is a private equity investment firm that has raised more than $4.8 billion in capital and specializes in privately negotiated investments in the financial services and healthcare industries. Since the firm's formation in 2005, Flexpoint Ford has completed investments in more than 30 companies across a broad range of investment sizes, structures and asset classes. Flexpoint Ford is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with additional offices in New York, New York. For more information about Flexpoint Ford, please visit www.flexpointford.com .

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Canadian Hospital Specialties:

Glenda Iuliani

905.825.9300

[email protected]

Flexpoint Ford:

Nick Theccanat

Prosek Partners

281.546.0526

[email protected]

SOURCE Flexpoint Ford
Dhaka, Apr 22 (UNI) India has so far provided seven million Covid vaccines to Bangladesh and the remaining doses will be delivered very soon, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswamy said here on Thursday morning.

The High Commissioner said the delay in the delivery has occurred due to the Covid-19 second wave which has hit India.

However, he said India has increased the production of vaccines to overcome the crisis and they will be provided to Bangladesh soon.

Mr Doraiswamy hoped that the disruption in vaccine supply will not affect the relations between the two neighboring countries and underlined that India has agreed to supply more vaccines to Bangladesh keeping close ties in mind.

Bangladesh has signed a deal in November last year with the Serum Institute of India, the worlds biggest vaccine maker, for 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

India has also giver 1.2 million free doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Bangladesh in March during the two-day visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bangladesh to celebrate its 50th independence anniversary.

UNI MAZ PS 1620
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.  The Oregon Institute of Technology's senior leadership said on Wednesday that they have petitioned the state to declare an impending strike by the faculty union unlawful, claiming that the union "did not bargain or act in good faith."

"Taken together, the unions actions caused unnecessary delays at the bargaining table. The University believes additional time is warranted to continue negotiations in good faith, without a potential strike looming," OIT said in a statement.

Tensions between OIT administrators and faculty have been flaring for months amid ongoing negotiations over salary and benefits. Formal negotiations reached an impasse in March, and the Oregon Tech - American Association of University Professors (OT-AAUP) announced its intent to strike on April 8.

OIT claims that the union engaged in a handful of improper actions  filing its final offer with the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) before providing proposals at the negotiating table, attempting to interfere with the University's bargaining team, direct dealing, and inaccurate costing of the union's proposals.

Two of those complaints relate to disputes that have unfolded parallel to the salary negotiations. The OIT Faculty Senate, a leadership body that is part of the university governing structure, called for OIT president Dr. Nagi Naganathan to resign in March and circulated a vote of "no confidence" in Naganathan's leadership.

According to the Faculty Senate, 92 percent of faculty respondents affirmed the vote of no confidence. Regardless, the OIT Board of Trustees said this week that they stand by Dr. Naganathan.

In its statement, OIT said that the Faculty Senate and union were "working in concert" to remove the university's lead negotiators. Administrators also said that the union addressed the OIT Board of Trustees regarding faculty contracts, constituting direct dealing with leadership outside of the negotiating process.

OIT said that the union also failed to accurately account for the costs of their contract proposals, displaying lower costs than would actually be accumulated over the length of the contract.

"In essence, the faculty unions actions consisted of bad faith bargaining, unlawful conduct related to orchestrating a campaign to remove and bypass Oregon Techs chief negotiator, and for failing to provide a correct and factual cost summary that would properly inform the public and allow for a public debate on the merits of their proposal," administrators said.

OIT says it has asked the ERB to declare the union's strike unlawful, direct it to return to the bargaining table for 30 more days, and "otherwise comply with the law" before attempting to strike again.

The ERB is a state agency that helps to resolve labor disputes, providing arbitration, conciliation, and administering collective bargaining law for public employees.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Thursday and not separately reported by Alliance News:







Solid State PLC - Worcestershire-based computing products manufacturer - Expects to announce results for year ended March 31 ahead of recently-upgraded consensus forecasts. Trading since February update has continued to be encouraging, with stable order flow and strong invoiced sales in March. "The final month of the financial year benefitted from demand pulled forward and a strong contribution from the two businesses acquired at the end of February," company says. Adds it has seen "particularly strong" order intake post-year end, building confidence in the outlook for the year ahead. Chief Executive Gary Marsh says: "The outcome for the full year represents an excellent achievement for the group, given that notwithstanding the disruptions of Covid and the Brexit uncertainty, the performance exceeded the prior year, which was itself a record year."







Deltex Medical Group PLC - medical devices manufacturer based in Chichester - Revenue for 2020 falls to GBP2.4 million from GBP4.3 million in 2019, while pretax loss widens to GBP794,000 from GBP210,000. Firm says the 44% fall in revenue reflects the "near-complete closure of the global elective surgery market" and the running down of stock levels by distributors. Gross margin was also adversely affected by the reduction in manufacturing volumes, falling to 68% from 77%. Says current sales levels remain "comparatively subdued", as pandemic continues to hit number of elective surgical procedures being undertaken. "Moreover, many of our international distributors are reporting that their core customers are experiencing a 'third wave', and that consequently there are very low levels of elective surgery taking place. We anticipate that sales in the first half of 2021 will reflect the continuing CV-19 prevalence in many of our key markets," company says. However, it looks ahead to "significant increase" in activity in second half of the year.







Shearwater Group PLC - London-based cybersecurity services provider - Expects to report full-year underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in excess of GBP3.6 million, up from GBP3.4 million the year before and ahead of market expectations. Revenue of GBP31.8 million was delivered in the financial year ended March 31, down on GBP33.0 million the year prior. "Shearwater delivered very strong trading in H2 FY21 with year on year revenues for the six months up by 24% on the same period in the prior year. Revenue was driven by new client wins and several high value contract renewals," company says.







CareTech Holdings PLC - Potters Bar, Hertfordshire-based social care and education services provider - Says first-half performance in line with market expectations, with "continued resilience" in face of pandemic. Reports stronger revenue for half ended March 31 and increased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation versus year before. "I am delighted with the performance of the group over the first half of the financial year. Operationally the business continues to demonstrate considerable resilience in this challenging environment and I am pleased to report that our trading performance for the period is in-line with market expectations with stronger performance for the group when compared with the same period last year," says Executive Chair Farouq Sheikh. Final dividend of 8.75p reconfirmed and to be paid to shareholders in May.







Trifast PLC - Uckfield, England-based industrial fastenings firm - Reports return to monthly year-on-year growth throughout the second half and as a result of strong performance, expects year ended March 31 to exit ahead of current market expectations on underlying basis. "The group's return to sustained growth since September 2020, in addition to a very strong pipeline and high activity levels across all our key sectors, means we are looking ahead with confidence although, we remain mindful of macro level headwinds including future possible pandemic related restrictions," company says.







Trident Royalties PLC - growth-focused mining royalty and streaming company - Notes Apollo Consolidated announcement regarding a significant increase in indicated mineral resources at the Lake Rebecca gold project in Western Australia. Trident holds a 1.5% net smelter return gold royalty over the entirety of the project. "As we reported on 14 January 2021, since completing the royalty acquisition on 29 October 2020, Apollo had announced some very encouraging infill and exploratory drilling results. These have provided the basis for the project's first mineral resource estimate update resulting in the total contained gold ounces increasing to 1.105Moz and, importantly, increasing the total resource in the Indicated category to 815,000 oz," says Trident Chief Executive Adam Davidson.







Town Centre Securities PLC - UK-based property investment and car parking operator - Says billed a total of GBP5.1 million of rent and service charge for the English quarters payable on March 25 and April 1. As of April 21, had successfully collected GBP4.1 million, or 80%, with further GBP600,000 agreed to be deferred. "With the gradual easing of lockdown, we are now seeing collection levels improving on a quarter by quarter basis and we expect to see this improvement continue," company says.







Highbridge Tactical Credit Fund Ltd - credit investment fund - Net asset value per share GBP2.5009 at end of 2020, up from GBP2.1233 a year ago, and says it has continued to perform well so far in 2021. "Your board is committed to returning all monies to investors and creditors as soon as practicable. We will provide updates from time to time on the progress made during 2021," firm says, adding it has decided to retain listing on LSE for the the foreseeable future primarily to facilitate future distributions. separately, says on or around May, around GBP2.3 million expected to be paid to Multi-Strategy Creditors. "Multi-Strategy Creditors are reminded that following this distribution they will receive future redemption proceeds as a number of cash payments following receipt by the company of the redemption proceeds from HCC, and further announcements will be made when any cash payment is to be made following the realisation of any other assets comprised in the redemption portfolio," it says.







Arkle Resources PLC - gold and zinc explorer focused on Ireland - Says diamond drilling is due to commence at its wholly-owned Mine River project in Counties Wicklow and Wexford. Says 12-hole drill programme to begin on Monday, with total of 1,000 metres to be drilled and is expected to take 10 to 12 weeks. "The first 3 holes of 12 will target a new area 750 metres along strike from previous discoveries at Tombreen where we found visible gold in one trench. Visible gold is a very encouraging sign. The follow up drill holes will look to expand the Tombreen gold target along strike," Chair John Teeling says.







Wildcat Petroleum PLC - seeking investment opportunities in upstream petroleum - Signs memorandum of understanding with Nabirm Global LLC, an African oil & gas explorer with operations in Namibia for their potential participation in any future initial coin offering that Wildcat may launch. "Nambirm is the holder of a Namibian Petroleum Exploration Licence 0058 held over block 2113A which potentially contains an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of prospective oil resources. Under the MoU, the two parties agree that there may be scope to tokenise these prospective oil resources," company says.







Touchstar PLC - supplier of mobile data computing services - Revenue for 2020 falls to GBP5.9 million from GBP7.1 million in 2019, though swings to pretax profit of GBP23,000 from loss of GBP829,000 as administrative expenses fall to GBP3.1 million from GBP4.6 million. Company says: "Touchstar has made a better-than-expected start to 2021. As this year progresses we anticipate the conduct of business to become more straightforward, which is why we are optimistic of better outcomes. As we have said before, we do not expect to benefit from an entire year of ordinary levels of trading until 2022."







Empyrean Energy PLC - oil & gas development company with interests in China, Indonesia and US - Has now received tax return of USD357,702, representing corporate alternative minimum tax credits.







Cora Gold Ltd - West Africa-focused gold explorer - Says results from first 4 drill sections, involving 8 reverse circulation holes, have been received from campaign at Sanankoro gold project in southern Mali. "The first drill results of our largest drill campaign at Sanankoro are extremely promising. 34 metres at 1.98 grammes per tonne gold from 13 metres depth and 52 metres at 1.78 grammes per tonne gold from 20 metres depth are two very good drill holes and further emphasise the potential of the Selin deposit at Sanankoro, as we look to both grow the resources and convert them to Indicated from Inferred category," says Chief Executive Bert Monro. Firm plans to drill up to 35,000 metres by end of July.







Spectra Systems Corp - Rhode Island-based authentication technology provider - Selected by a Canadian lottery to provide its Premier64 Integrity internal control system. Spectra has also renewed its contract with a long term US lottery customer and will be converting this customer to its Premier64 Integrity ICS. These contracts are for a base period of five and four years, respectively, the former with optional renewals of up to five years. Total value of these contracts estimated at USD1.0 million over the full term.







Schiehallion Fund Ltd - makes minority investments in later stage private businesses which have potential to become publicly-traded - Raises gross proceeds of USD700.0 million via placing of C shares. Placing was "significantly oversubscribed" and, after scaling back, 700.0 million C shares will be issued.







Standard Life Private Equity Trust PLC - investment company - Net asset value per share stands at 550.1 pence at December 2020 from 501.0p at end of September. NAV total return was 10.5% for the three months to end of December.







Caerus Mineral Resources PLC - exploration & resource development company focused on minerals in Europe to supply global clean energy drive - Says N Mathiatis drill programme continues to progress with a total of 9 holes of the 39 hole programme complete to date. Phase 2 drill programme has been approved for the Troulli project, and the company is also planning to test the various dumps, ore stockpiles, tailings and the main Troulli Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide sulphide orebody that has never been mined and is present in the current open pit floor at the Troulli license. "I am delighted with the rapid progress that we have made in the short time since listing. The results of our exploration programmes to date have been very encouraging and should provide shareholders with the confidence that exploration funds are being well spent," says Chief Executive Martyn Churchouse.







Animalcare Group PLC - animal health business - Says Daxocox has now been granted marketing authorisation for the EU. Daxocox is approved in Europe for the treatment of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Additionally, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate has authorised Daxocox with the same indication for use in the UK. Also announces agreement under which Virbac will distribute Daxocox in the majority of European countries outside Animalcare's seven direct markets. "Animalcare plans to launch Daxocox early in the second half of 2021, into an initial addressable European market estimated to be in the region of GBP130 million," company says.







Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC - London-based utility-scale battery storage fund - Completes acquisition of 30 megawatt battery project located near Wester Dechmont, Livingston in West Lothian, Scotland. The project was acquired for a total enterprise value of GBP15.6 million, plus up to GBP350,000 of deferred contingent consideration. The acquisition increases the total capacity of operational utility-scale battery storage projects in the fund's investment portfolio to 425 megawatts.







Lansdowne Oil & Gas PLC - North Celtic Sea-focused oil and gas exploration company - Says due to non-performance by SpotOn Energy pertaining to the financing solution required under the farm-out, the Barryroe partners have elected to discontinue the agreement. Providence/EXOLA will now lead the project development and funding arrangements. "We are pleased to confirm that the Barryroe partners have re-taken control of the Barryroe project and that Lansdowne will retain its 20% equity interest," says Chief Executive Steve Boldy.







By Lucy Heming;A lucyheming@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
An international group of scientists from Italy, the USA, China and Russia have studied the relationship between collectivism, individualism and life satisfaction among young people aged 18-25 in four countries. They found that the higher the index of individualistic values at the country level, the higher the life satisfaction of young people's lives. At the individual level, however, collectivism was more significant for young people. In all countries, young people found a positive association between collectivism, particularly with regard to family ties, and life satisfaction. This somewhat contradicts and at the same time clarifies the results of previous studies. Russia was represented in the research group by Sofya Nartova-Bochaver https:/ / www. hse. ru/ en/ org/ persons/ 143572312 , Professor at HSE University's School of Psychology. The results of the study have been published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.

https:/ / iaap-journals. onlinelibrary. wiley. com/ doi/ abs/ 10. 1111/ aphw. 12259

What is this about?

Research shows that cultural factors play a significant role in explaining differences in indicators of subjective well-being and, in particular, life satisfaction.

Life satisfaction is one component of subjective well-being. It is an individual assessment of the correlation of living conditions with standards, a sense of correspondence between desires and needs on the one hand, and achievements and resources on the other.

Cultural factors include the values of individualism or collectivism. In general, an understanding of individualism is based on the assumption that people are independent of each other. It is a worldview centred on personal goals, uniqueness and control. Collectivism, on the other hand, assumes the importance of connections with others and mutual obligations.

Scientists distinguish between collectivism and individualism both at the cultural level (part of the national culture) and at the individual level (the individual's worldview). In this case, within the scope of the approach taken by the American psychologist Harry Triandis, individualism and collectivism can be considered in two dimensions -- horizontal and vertical:

Vertical Individualism (VI) is characterized by a desire to be outstanding and gain status through competition with others.

Horizontal Individualism (HI) is related to the desire to be unique, different from the group and able to rely on oneself.

Vertical Collectivism (VC) is characteristic of people who emphasize the integrity of their group and maintain competition with outgroups (a group of people to which the individual feels no sense of identity or belonging), as well as the possible subordination of their desires to authority.

Horizontal Collectivism (HC) is related to the desire to be like others, to follow common values, and to live interdependently without having to submit to authority.

The study's authors set out to discover how different dimensions of collectivism and individualism relate to life satisfaction in young people during early adulthood.

How was it studied?

The study involved 1,760 young boys and girls aged 18-25 from China, Italy, Russia and the USA -- countries that differ greatly in their individualistic values index. The average age of the respondents was around 20 years old. All of them university students, studying primarily social and behavioural sciences.

According to Hofstede's model, Italy and the United States are individualist cultures, while China and Russia are collectivist.

The study used special methods and questionnaires to identify individual levels of collectivism and individualism -- the Horizontal and Vertical Individualism and Collectivism Scale (INDCOL), as well as the level of life satisfaction -- the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). The influence of gender, age and cultural differences on life satisfaction was taken into account.

What were the findings?

At the country level, it was confirmed that individualism is closely linked to the degree of life satisfaction among young people. The higher the country's index of individualistic values, the more satisfied respondents are with their lives. Americans are the luckiest in this regard, as the USA has the highest individualism index, followed by Italians in second place and Russians and Chinese in third and fourth place, respectively.

At an individual level, the results were different -- life satisfaction showed a positive correlation with the two collectivist dimensions (vertical and horizontal) regardless of the type of culture. However, no significant correlations were found with either vertical or horizontal individualism.

The study showed that the degree of life satisfaction among young people is related to interdependence and social communication in different types of cultures. The researchers cite the example of Russians and Italians. For both, although some live in a collectivist country and others in an individualist one, life satisfaction is positively related to the successful fulfilment of social roles and obligations. Although this is to be expected, the transition to adulthood in Italy, as the authors note, is strongly intertwined with family relationships.

Previous research on American samples has not shown a relationship between life satisfaction and mutual social commitment. But this study did, for both levels of collectivism.

Overall, the fact that vertical collectivism, namely family ties and the obligation to take care of one's family, even at the expense of one's own needs, contributes positively to life satisfaction is unexpected and noteworthy, say the researchers. At the same time, the findings show correlation with a recent study proving that family and social relations are important basic components of happiness in different countries, regardless of gender and age.

Why is this needed?

Early adulthood is a period when there are still few social obligations and more opportunities to live out individualistic values. The original hypothesis of the study was that levels of life satisfaction are positively related to individualistic values at a personal level. Concluding this would have confirmed the results of much previous work. However, the results turned out to be the opposite.

The authors note that this study is more age-restricted than previous ones and also looks at the relationship between life satisfaction and different dimensions of individualism and collectivism. The new findings suggest that further research in this area is needed to clarify the particular influence of individualist and collectivist values on different aspects of subjective well-being.

Here, however, the researchers make it clear that this situation can occur not only because Americans and Italians are more satisfied with life, thanks to their countries' individualistic culture, but also because of differences in social inequality, the increased availability of opportunities and future life prospects.

###
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Its never easy replacing longtime valued employees -- especially when three of them retire at once after a combined 87 years of experience.

But thats the situation for the Ocean Springs School District, which will lose high school principal Vickie Tiblier, middle school principal Carla McCaleb and Director of Child Nutrition Gayle Schultz at the end of the current school year.

Its always difficult to replace people with this kind of experience when they reach that golden age of retirement, said superintendent Bonita Coleman. But while we will miss them, we understand, are happy for them and wish them the very best.

We love to see people retire when theyre still active enough to enjoy those retirement years and we know all of them have plans do do that with their grandchildren, children  to catch up on a lot of missed time with them while theyve been at work.

Coleman noted that Tiblier had 33 years in education, while McCaleb and Schultz each had 27 years, adding that 25 years is considered the magic number for public schools and anything beyond that is gravy for the district.

In addition, with each of the three long ago eligible for retirement, they could easily have taken that route when the COVID-19 outbreak began, but chose to remain with the district though a difficult time.

They stayed and got us through the pandemic, Coleman said. People in other places were retiring as soon as the pandemic hit, but they stayed and were able to take us through what was an unprecedented time in our history.

To fill those large shoes, the district formed interview committees, each comprised of 13 members, including seven teachers, Coleman said. About 40 applications were received for the two principal jobs, combined, and the committees narrowed those down to six who were interviewed.

When the smoke cleared, Melissa Arnold, currently an assistant principal at Ocean Springs Middle School, was tabbed to take over for McCaleb at OSMS, while Chris LeBatard, who is finishing his ninth year as principal at Pecan Park Elementary, will move into the Director of Child Nutrition role at the central office.

While those two hires were in-house, the choice for the top job at the high school was not. Braxton Stowe will take over for Tiblier at OSHS, coming to Ocean Springs after serving as the principal at Columbia High School southwest of Hattiesburg.

We wanted to make sure it was, number one, someone who was highly attuned to not only areas where we could grow the high school, Coleman said, because for us to stay in the number one spot, we have to continue to grow. Thats even more difficult when youre near the ceiling.

For that reason, the interview panels  and specifically the teachers  wanted to make sure it was someone who could identify where the areas for opportunity for growth were.

Stowe, 34, also worked as principal at North Panola High School and Coahoma Agricultural High School. He earned his Bachelors degree in Secondary Education from Mississippi State University, a Specialist in Educational Leadership degree from the University of Mississippi and a Masters of Arts in Public Policy from MSU, where he is now pursuing his Educational Leadership Doctoral program.

Coleman acknowledged that the three communities where Stowe has served as principal are very different than Ocean Springs, but said the qualities he brings to the position are universal.

When you look at Columbia High School, the dynamics of that school and the community, its probably the closest to what hell experience at OS, Coleman said. He talked about it a lot during his interview and included it in his entry plan  for all practical purposes, good instruction is good instruction, regardless, and being committed to the community is just that.

Those good leadership skills we understand are those that are transferable and hes committed to that. The other thing I think the committee was really impressed with is that he does have a pretty well-rounded background in working with high performing students like the ones he has in Columbia, but also in working with lower quadrant students, regardless of where they are, even at Ocean Springs flagship school.

Coleman also noted Stowe had a graduation rate of 94-95% at Columbia, while Ocean Springs has been hovering at the 89-90% rate.

Thats one of the key metrics were looking to him to figure out -- how to move those students who are in the bottom 25 percent into the proficient and advanced levels, she said.

It was also noted that Stowe will be the first African-American principal in the schools history. Coleman, who is herself African-American, said while that certainly wasnt a factor in the hiring process, it is another testament to Ocean Springs uniqueness.

OS is incredibly different, she said. Ive been here nine years and it will be my home unless a hurricane blows me away. The level of love that people have here, for each other, regardless of anything else, is what I think attracts people to us, to Ocean Springs.

It may be a factor for some, but it wasnt to anybody sitting in that (board) room. Our school board approved these people unanimously. Weve always said we identify as Greyhounds. Our colors are blue and grey. As long as we keep that as a focal point, and excellence continues to be a focal point  our goal is to be number one. If we play stickball, we want to win and we want our kids to have the best opportunities and the very best leadership, regardless of the packaging.
The majority of Britons want the UK's foreign travel ban to last until next year - and most have no intention of going on holiday this summer, according to a poll.

Some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent say they are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only a quarter harbouring hopes of a break in another country.

The findings, in an exclusive poll for MailOnline by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, underline the level of nervousness among the population after a year of brutal lockdowns.

It comes as ministers try to rush through 'Covid passports' in time for the scheduled easing of the non-essential travel ban on May 17.

According to a new poll, 43 per cent of Brits are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only 16 per cent harbouring hopes of a break in another country

Some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea

Greece is ready to welcome vaccinated British tourists immediately while Spain and Portugal will throw open their borders from June.

The European Union's ban on visitors is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one dose and 10million of those receive both doses already.

But there appears to be limited appetite from the public for the reopening, after ministers repeatedly warned about the threat of importing mutant strains of the virus.

Some 43 per cent have no intention of going on holiday anywhere this summer, according to the poll this week.

Just 16 per cent are planning to go abroad, while 33 per cent are taking a break within the UK - and 8 per cent want to do both.

Asked about the idea of extending the ban on non-essential travel to the end of the year, 27 per cent said they 'strongly' supported such a move, and another 28 per cent were more mildly in favour.

Some 21 per cent were opposed, 10 per cent 'strongly', and a fifth were neutral on the issue.

A Government source told MailOnline that the Covid passport scheme would be in place next month to help people who want to travel to countries that are requiring proof of vaccination - but the source insisted that the key factor for Britons will be the rules on quarantine when returning to the UK.

'You've got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are. We will have that green amber red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?', the insider said.

And they suggested that holidaymakers will not know what countries fall into what 'traffic light' category until around a week before May 17.

The criteria for assessing countries are set to include whether there are variants of concern, how good their genomic scanning system is, vaccination levels, and overall infection levels.

'That will all become clear much nearer the time,' one source said. 'India has just gone off... You're going to book a holiday in Spain in June? Well, good luck, but just make sure you are insured.'

Ministers are believed to be looking at whether islands can be treated separately from the mainland in some countries.

SPAIN: Brits desperate for some sun in Europe are set for good news as countries including on the Costa Blanca (pictured) plans to welcome vaccinated travellers from the UK from June

The European Union 's ban on visitors is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one including 10million with both doses already.

The UK fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time.

Madeira was previously restricted when it had low cases, as Portugal was suffering high infection rates. Greece is also said to be trying to make individual islands Covid-free to help with restoring tourism.

Spanish Tourism Secretary Fernando Valdes said today his country is 'ready' for UK holidaymakers to travel to Spain and 'restart holidays', adding: 'We are desperate to welcome you this summer. We've been having constant conversations with UK authorities'.

Mr Valdes confirmed the plan was for British holidaymakers to arrive from June, adding that a travel corridor between the two countries is firmly on the table with covid passports 'easing' the return of 'safe' travel.

He said: 'I believe that certificates is going to help us. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been trying to put in place different means to help safe tourism. It is true we have passed through some waves of this pandemic, this virus, but now I think we are ready because we do have vaccinations. We have been having constant conversations with UK authorities, these certificates are going to ease travel and help tourism from this summer on'.

The EU's plans, code-named 'gettogether' in Brussels, should allow vaccinated travellers to travel freely and avoid tests and quarantine, bringing hope to millions desperate to go abroad on holiday or to see family this summer for the first time in more than a year.

Officials from the EU's 27 member states held their first meeting this week to discuss the plans but are already said to have decided that vaccination rates will be the key metric when deciding who can visit the bloc.

Insiders say Britain will 'certainly' be among the first to be allowed in through the vaccine passport scheme, with June touted as a start date. The country's case was helped further yesterday when it fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time.

In tandem with EU countries opening up for all vaccinated British travellers in around six weeks' time, UK travel industry sources claim they have been told Covid passports are expected to be brought in from next month as Michael Gove was sent to Israel to study their 'green pass' app as a potential model. Paper options will also be available for people without smart phones, according to NHSX, the digital arm of the health service developing it.

Greece has already dropped its quarantine rules for travellers from more than 30 nations if they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19 from May 15 - two days before Brits can travel again. More than 20 other countries, including Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal and Cyprus, have suggested that they may ask arrivals for vaccination proof.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest killing of tens of people by bandits in Zamfara State. The Nigerian leader warned that...

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest killing of tens of people by bandits in Zamfara State.

The Nigerian leader warned that such wanton disregard for life will be brought to an end sooner than later.

President Buhari in a reaction to the incident said that this insane and persistent violence against innocent people must stop.

He added that these criminals should stop pushing their luck too far by believing that the government lacks the capacity to crush them.

The President directed the military, security and intelligence agencies to take immediate steps to close all existing gaps in their operations being exploited by criminals to wreak havoc.

He expressed hope the Special Operation launched by the military at 3:00am on Thursday from Maru Local Government area will prove decisive in ridding the state of the frequent and horrifying bandit activities.

The violence against poor villagers who are struggling with poverty and other severe economic challenges is not going to be tolerated by this administration, the President warned.

Buhari has called on the security forces to redouble their efforts in bringing an end to this mindless violence against innocent people.

Lets not give these criminals any opportunity to succeed by taking the war to their own camps and stop them in their tracks before they even have the time to respond under our massive fire power.

Buhari reassured the people of Zamfara State that, despite the latest set back in our efforts to protect our citizens, there will be no compromise in our determination to defeat these enemies of humanity.
This 2018 portrait released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows Connecticut's U.S. Attorney John Durham. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP)

Reminder: The Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax Was a Political Dirty Tricks Operation

Commentary

The Spygate scandal has been in the national news again recently, chiefly due to a sarcastic public statement by former President of the United States Donald J. Trump.

On March 26, Trump said, Wheres Durham? Is he a living, breathing human being? Will there ever be a Durham report?

Trump publicly mentioning Durham has apparently resulted in mainstream media journalists suddenly deciding that the Durham special counsels office is worth reporting on, even if only so they can spin the usual false narratives about it.

CNN went first, followed just a few days ago by the New York Times, which published a fascinating article about how Durhams investigation of the origins of Christopher Steeles fake Trump dossier has led him to the Brookings Institution, an influential Washington, D.C. think tank, and a Russian researcher who used to be employed there named Igor Danchenko.

These days when much of the mainstream news media bothers to mention the Spygate scandal, they refer to the investigation that the FBI began in late July 2016, code-named Crossfire Hurricane, as a counterintelligence probe.

Well, it wasnt. Not really. You may notice I put quotation marks around the words counterintelligence.

The reason I do that whenever Im writing about the FBIs probe of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign is because there was no real intelligence basis for that investigation. Documentary evidence has proven this.

Real counterintelligence operations are based on valid intelligence from legitimate sources. Crossfire Hurricane was not. There were no valid intelligence sources since the people who supplied the fake Trump/Russia evidence to the federal agencies turned out to be political operatives working for Hillary Clinton.

Far from being a valid counterintelligence investigation, Crossfire Hurricane was a political opposition operation making use of federal investigative and surveillance powers to attempt to find crimes while they spied on Hillary Clintons political opponent in the 2016 election.

Thats what I believe prosecutor John Durham is going to establish once hes finished with his special counsels investigation.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) has been saying for going on four years now that the FBIs spying on the Trump presidential campaignand then on the Trump administration itselfhad no valid intelligence predicate. Nunes has been vindicated on that claim by declassified evidence.

And then last October the further declassification of former CIA Director John Brennans notes from his briefing of then-President Barack Obama in July 2016 confirmed, yet again, that Nunes is correct. None of the U.S. or foreign intelligence services provided any real intelligence evidence for starting up Crossfire Hurricane.

A screenshot of the declassified Brennan notes.

Turns out it wasnt any substantive intelligence regarding mysterious trips or meetings had in Russia by former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, or mysterious machinations in Ukraine by former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, or Michael Cohen traipsing around Prague paying off hackers, or some supposed affair that former Trump National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn was having with a Russian academic named Svetlana Lokhova at Cambridge University that led to the Obama FBI spying on Trump and his associates via a federal surveillance warrant.

Brennans presidential briefing notes revealed the likely true origin of the hoax. And the origin was exactly what many Spygate researchers had long suspected.

Not only did Brennans briefing notes reveal the CIA had intelligence about Clintons campaign staff allegedly presenting her with a plan to launch a fake narrative accusing the Trump campaign of working for Russia, the intelligence also narrowed down the progenitor of the plan to one of Clintons foreign policy advisers. Further, the explosive notes also gave the exact date that Clinton approved going forward with this plan: July 26, 2016.

But wait! There was more: The intelligence garnered by the CIA also disclosed the alleged reason for launching the Trump-Russia Collusion Hoax: to provide a distraction that would pull the publics attention away from Clintons growing email server scandal.

Brennans damning briefing notesand the memo sent to both James Comey and Peter Strzok in September 2016proves that before the FBI went ahead and got its surveillance warrant of Carter Page in late October 2o16, then-President Barack Obama had been fully briefed by Brennan that the Clinton campaign was allegedly launching a fake Russia scandal with Trump and his close associates as the targets. Associates like Carter Page. Gen. Michael Flynn. Michael Cohen. Paul Manafort.

Obama knew this. Brennan knew. Comey. Strzok. How much did Vice President Joe Biden know?

Long before the election was held on Nov. 3, 2016, we can now see that many of the major Spygate players inside the Obama administration knew the Clinton campaign was sending out well-funded political operatives to launch a fake Russian scandal targeting Trump and his campaign associates.

These operatives approached politicized federal officials with fake stories that were then used to place the selected targets under suspicion. Then both the federal officials and the well-paid political operatives seeded the news media with strategic leaks about the targets.

Its not a conspiracy theory to say top Obama administration people played along with this when theres documentary evidence to support the charge.

Instead of ignoring the Clinton operatives being sent to them to push these fake Trump-Russia stories to them, Comey and others seemingly decided to play along with the hoax.

After all, Trump was a maniac, a lunatic, he was going to blow up the entire world, starting with North Korea. (It helps to remember the atmosphere of hysteria that gripped the Washington political class at the prospect of a Trump victory back before the election was held.)

And by the time Trump won the 2016 presidential election, the die was cast. It was far too late to take any of this fake evidence back. They were forced to press onward as if the Clinton-approved Trump-Russia collusion hoax was real.

When Durham finishes his investigation and shows what he and his investigators have found, I dont believe hell do anything to contradict all the already publicly available evidence on Spygate.

The evidence shows what it shows. The only question at this pointand Trump was right to ask about itis what Durham will do with it.

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.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  With less than two months until its official opening, Harry Potter New York is setting up the largest collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts products under one roof.

The store, announced in February, will officially open June 3 in Manhattan. The store comes to the United States by way of Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, which hosts a massive collection of original Harry Potter props, set designs, costumes and a volumes of behind the scenes footage from all the Harry Potter films. Interactive tours of the Warner Bros. studio attract thousands annually.

Harry Potter New York will open on June 3, 2021. (Warner Bros. Studio Tour London)

This will be the largest dedicated Harry Potter store in the world and will become a must-visit fan destination where Harry Potter enthusiasts can engage with interactive experiences and numerous photo opportunities as they step into the magic, said Sarah Roots, senior vice president of worldwide tours and retail for Warner Bros. We are very excited to be opening in New York. Its the ideal city in which to launch with so many dedicated Wizarding World fans, a cutting-edge retail environment and a community that embraces innovative experiences.

Harry Potter New York will open on June 3, 2021. (Warner Bros. Studio Tour London)

The official Harry Potter flagship store will be located in the heart of Manhattan next to the iconic Flatiron building at 935 Broadway. The three-story shop, which will be spread out over more than 20,000 square feet, will greet incoming guests with a huge model of Fawkes the Phoenix gazing down from the ceiling.

Harry Potter New York will open on June 3, 2021. (Warner Bros. Studio Tour London)

Merchandise is fully inspired by the Harry Potter series and categorized by the different houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. For years, fans have taken tests to determine what house they belong to in the fictional world.

Harry Potter New York will open on June 3, 2021. (Warner Bros. Studio Tour London)

For more updates on the Harry Potter New York store, visit the companys Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
[April 22, 2021] Bank of America Declares Quarterly Stock Dividends

Bank of America Corporation today announced the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on Bank of America common stock of $0.18 per share, payable on June 25, 2021 to shareholders of record as of June 4, 2021. The Board also declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $1.75 per share on the 7% Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, Series B. The dividend is payable on July 23, 2021 to shareholders of record as of July 9, 2021. Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 66 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,300 retail financial centers, including approximately 2,700 lending centers, 2,600 financial centers with a Consumer Investment Financial Solutions Advisor and approximately 2,400 business centers; approximately 17,000 ATMs; andaward-winning digital banking with approximately 40 million active users, including approximately 31 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.



For more Bank of America news, including dividend announcements and other important information, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for email news alerts. www.bankofamerica.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422006031/en/

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When visitors walk through Chinatowns winding streets, they are bombarded with all sorts of sights, sounds and aromas. Even if youve lived in the neighborhood your entire life, sensory overload can set in pretty easily. For this reason, most people do not associate Chinatown with historically significant architecture. Kerri Culhanes new exhibition at the Museum of Chinese in America, however, could begin to change that perception.

The show is called Chinese Style: Rediscovering the Architecture of Poy Gum Lee (1923-1968). It is made up of more than 80 artifacts, including photos, architectural drawings and blueprints. The exhibition is on view until the end of January, along with another project, Sub-Urbanisms: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns and the Contested American Landscape.

Culhane is an architectural historian whos spent more than a decade documenting important sections of the Lower East Side, including the Bowery, Little Italy and Two Bridges. Shes also associate director of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council. A few years ago, in preparing an application for the Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District, she became intrigued by the works of Poy Gum Lee. His name appeared repeatedly in Department of Buildings permits until the 1950s. She was curious to know his story. Culhanes search for answers took her on a three-year exploration covering two continents.

Lee was born on Mott Street in 1900 and attended the Pratt Institute, M.I.T. and Columbia. In 1923, he went back to China with his family, becoming a prolific and sought after architect. During World War II, Lee fled China and returned to New York. He worked for the New York City Housing Authority, and became the go-to building designer in Chinatown. Lees distinctive style combined Art Deco and Modernism with Chinese design flourishes. He died in 1968.

Culhane has been cataloging Lees work throughout the neighborhood, with help from his family, which shared a large number of drawings and documents for the project. Noteworthy sites include the On Leong Tong/Chinese Merchants Building (83-85 Mott St.; see drawing at the top of this article), the Kimlau Memorial (at Bowery and East Broadway) and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Building (60 Mott St.)

During a recent press preview at the museum, we asked Culhane about Poy Gum Lees lasting legacy in Chinatown and what she hopes visitors will take away from the exhibition. I am hoping that this is a way for people to recognize that there is tremendous value in the architecture in Chinatown that may go unrecognized because its misunderstood, she explained. While some of Lees buildings are widely admired, others are easily overlooked. Theres so much going on in Chinatown that it can be hard sometimes to make out that there is some sense of place there.

We have examples in Chinatown , she added, of an internationally regarded architect from an extremely prolific practice in China who brought ideas of Chinese architecture to Chinatown. The exhibition tells the story of the Chinese American experience through the eyes of a messenger (Lee) who was influenced by two very different cultures.

Believe it or not, not a single one of Lees Chinatown buildings is a New York City landmark. Generally speaking, neighborhood property owners are strongly opposed to landmarking. In preparing the successful nomination for the National Register, Culhane said, the idea I had was to really celebrate the histories of these buildings so that the value is seen in what they represent. Thats still my goal I hope the value is recognized so that they are preserved. I think they are important in Chinatown, as landmarks, as symbols, and I hope thats reflected in the show.

Culhane will be participating in a MOCA Talk Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m. The Museum of Chinese in America is located at 215 Centre St. More information about the exhibition can be found here.
PEOPLE

Pyramid Systems add Perspecta vet

Government systems integrator Pyramid Systems has hired market veteran Stacy Cleveland as senior vice president of client delivery.

Cleveland will focus on client operations and support Pyramids creation of solutions that customers apply over long periods, the Fairfax, Virginia-headquartered company said Wednesday.

Before joining Pyramid, Cleveland was executive director of the mission support services business at Bart & Associates.

She also spent nearly two decades at Perspecta and its heritage businesses going back to EDS.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is meeting today to discuss the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which forms a key part of the State's vaccination programme.

Almost 15,000 doses of the single-shot vaccine have arrived in Ireland but have yet to be administered.

Why are Niac meeting today?

The Johnson & Johnson rollout in Europe was paused after eight reports from the US of serious cases of unusual blood clots associated with low levels of blood platelets.

The rollout has since resumed across Europe as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said the benefits of the jab in preventing Covid-19 outweigh the risks of side effects. Niac is meeting to consider whether or not to roll out the J&J vaccine in Ireland.

What is Niac?

Niac is the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.

It is an independent expert group that provides evidence-based advice to the Department of Health on vaccines, immunisation and related health matters to inform health policies in Ireland.

When will we know what Niac decide?

We may know later today.

One option they could take is to limit the J&J jab to over-60s, like the AstraZeneca vaccine.

If Niac decides not to restrict the use of the J&J jab to any specific age cohort, it will help speed up the country's vaccine rollout.

What is the target for the rollout?

The Government hopes to have vaccinated more than 80% of the country with one jab by the end of June.

Last night, the Taoiseach said that while challenges on vaccine delivery exist, that target still stands. However, he said the decision by Niac on the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine will be crucial in determining if the Government meets its June goal.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has urged NIAC to allow the Johnson & Johnson jab to be given to people under the age of 60.

When can I get my vaccine that is available?

If you are aged between 65 and 69, you can register to get the jab now. From Friday it will be extended to people in the 60-64 age bracket. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said: "The vaccine portal opens for everyone aged 60 to 64 tomorrow morning. The HSE are asking people aged 64 to register first on Friday for their Covid vaccine. We will then work our way down through those aged 63 to 60."

Ireland will receive 545,000 extra doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over the next three months.

Can I choose what vaccine I get?

No. The Tanaiste warned last week anyone who refuses an AstraZeneca vaccine will have to wait until the entire population is vaccinated to be offered an alternative.

How many vaccines are in the country?

As of April 16, Ireland has received just over 1.48m doses of Covid-19 vaccines, the majority coming from Pfizer.

Ireland has received:

1,009,710 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

109,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

355,200 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

14,400 doses of the Janssen vaccine.

Ireland is due to receive 600,000 doses of the one-shot Janssen vaccine by June.

It was announced last week that Ireland will receive 545,000 extra doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over the next three months.

Read More HSE replanning vaccine programme after AstraZeneca 'shortfall'

And how many people have been vaccinated?

The latest figures from the Department of Health show that more than 1.2m doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered here as of April 19.

Some 863,958 people have received their first dose while 355,529 people have received their second jab.

Have there been supply issues?

Yes. Lots of them.

Yesterday it was revealed that there had been further supply issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A HSE spokeswoman said a delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines scheduled for April 24 has been reduced from 45,000 doses to 9,000 doses.

A second delivery scheduled for April 30, of 165,000 doses, is now delayed, with an expected new arrival date of May 3, she added.

Damien McCallion, HSE's national lead for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, told the Oireachtas Health Committee that supply was is the biggest constraint to the programme.

Asked if they could still meet the target of 80% of adults receiving at least one dose by the end of June, Mr McCallion said they are not in a position to answer.
Jordan Barrett is known for his sandy blonde tresses.

But on Tuesday, the supermodel ditched his beachy locks for auburn waves.

The 22-year-old was spotted rocking his new hairdo while out with a group of friends in Lt. Petrosino Square in New York City.

New hair! Jordan Barrett showed off his new auburn waves while out with a female friend in Lt. Petrosino Square in New York City, on Tuesday

The Byron Bay raised runway star dressed for the small gathering in almost head-to-toe navy outfit.

His look comprised of a loose-fitting jacket over a white T-shirt with cargo trousers.

He was seen with his arms around a female friend - who was dressed in a white tank top, jeans and a denim jacket and straddling a scooter.

Boy in blue: The Byron Bay raised runway star dressed for the small gathering in almost head-to-toe navy outfit with a loose fitting jacket over a white T-shirt with cargo trousers

Socialising: Jordan and his gal pal were seen chatting to a group of friends who were sitting in the shade on park bench

The pair were seen chatting to a group of friends who were sitting in the shade on park bench.

Jordan recently revealed a distinctively rugged new look on Instagram.

The IMG Models talent uploaded a short video of himself pouting for the camera with two large scars on his face.

On set: This comes after Jordan revealed two large scars on his face. 'All systems go,' the catwalk king wrote in his caption, making sure to tag the official Instagram account of an upcoming TV series called Burn

One large scar stretched across his forehead, while another dragged down his cheek towards his neck.

'All systems go,' the catwalk king wrote in his caption, making sure to tag the official Instagram account of an upcoming TV series called Burn.

Several crew members could be seen it the background of the video, suggesting that Jordan was on-set filming scenes for the series.

Headed for the silver screen: Last year, a source told Daily Mail Australia that Jordan is 'transitioning into film this year', and it was understood at the time that he had landed a role in a major Hollywood flick

Last year, a source told Daily Mail Australia that Jordan is 'transitioning into film this year' and it was understood at the time that he had landed a role in a major Hollywood flick.

Jordan has had huge success overseas after being scouted at the tender age of 14.

He was walked for labels such as Tom Ford, Balmain, as well as Zadig & Voltaire.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Highlighting the human rights achievements in Bahrain is a priority in parliamentary diplomacy.

The focus should be on the comprehensive progress and development in human rights within the comprehensive development process of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

This was emphasised by Council of Representatives Speaker Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal during a virtual meeting with the parliaments delegation to the 142nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and related meetings to be held online in May.

The Speaker praised the qualitative projects, initiatives and programmes in Bahrain to enhance the culture of human rights and to strengthen the efforts made by the government headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in support of human rights in various fields.

Strengthening and developing the methodology for parliamentary diplomacy is a common objective for both the Council of Representatives and the Shura Council, the two chambers of the parliament.

There is continuous coordination and integration between the two councils with an overarching goal to boost Bahrains status and to show the comprehensive achievements in parliamentary democracy and the human rights field, she said.

Zainal indicated that the Representatives Council is keen to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy in cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Bahraini embassies abroad, to highlight all civilisational achievements in general, and human rights in particular, to show the development and progress witnessed by the Bahraini human rights record.

Global model

Speaker Zainal affirmed that Bahrain has become a prominent example and global model in the fields of human rights, peace, coexistence and tolerance. She noted that the noble approach of His Majesty King Hamad made the values and principles of cooperation and human solidarity on which the prosperity and progress of nations are built, through multiple royal initiatives, to promote world peace and the advancement of the human conscience.

She praised the governments efforts in upholding human values, strengthening the role of the state of law and institutions, rights and justice, and ensuring the health and safety of all.

The Speaker recalled the initiative of the late His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, to launch the International Day of Conscience, which was adopted by the United Nations for the first time in 2019, stressing that the initiative confirms the role of the Kingdom and its position in the international community.

She affirmed the continuing parliamentary support for the distinguished efforts of Bahrain in serving humanitarian causes and building a common global understanding dominated by security and tranquility, combating and rejecting all forms of extremism, terrorism and hatred among people.
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Heathrow Airport is refusing requests for extra flights from India before the Covid-hit country is added to No10's travel red list at 4am tomorrow because of long border queues.

It comes after MailOnline revealed that India's troublesome variant, which has plunged the subcontinent into chaos and lockdown, has been spotted more than 200 times in Britain - doubling since Matt Hancock told MPs there were 100 detected cases on Monday.

Four carriers asked the west London airport to allow a total of eight extra flights to arrive before the Friday deadline as families desperately try to avoid having to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.

Heathrow said it turned down the requests because of concerns about queues at the border. It is understood that it did not want to exacerbate existing pressures by allowing more passengers in.

A maximum of 20 of the 40 passport control desks at Heathrow Terminal 2 are currently being manned because of social distancing, MailOnline understands. Staff are also in small bubbles because of coronavirus, preventing groups being deployed when the border becomes busy.

The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that it also received applications for charter flight permits from India to the UK - but these had been declined or withdrawn as they did not meet the qualifying criteria.

Sixteen direct flights - which carried about 300 passengers each before carriers lines brought in social distancing - were scheduled to land in the UK this week ahead of the travel ban.

Online travel agent Skyscanner said searches for flights to Britain from India have increased by more than 250 per cent this week, while travel agents say that a standard 400 economy ticket has soared to 2,000 due to a shortage of seats on planes.

Most Britons trying to return are in India on emergency visas for family funerals or weddings or on business, Indra Travel chairman Suresh Kumar said. Universities warned that the travel ban has left 10,000 international students scrambling to return to UK campuses before tomorrow.

Yesterday India reported nearly 315,000 new cases after premier Narendra Modi thundered that the country was being overwhelmed by a coronavirus 'storm'. However, its death toll could be 10 times higher than officially reported, according to analysis of the numbers being burned in crematoriums.

Though the Indian government has imposed a week-long shutdown, authorities have struggled to contain the new variant sweeping the subcontinent. Feats about the mutation prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to cancel a visit to the country to meet his counterpart this week.

Scientists think B.1.617 spreads easier than older strains and has mutations which help it evade vaccines - but to what degree remains unclear. Doctors in India claim there has been a sudden spike in admissions among people under 45, who have traditionally been less vulnerable to the disease.

People coming out of Heathrow Terminal 2 after arriving back from Mumbai before the new restrictions come into force

A healthcare worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a nasal swab sample from a man for a Covid-19 rapid antigen testing along the street in New Delhi

Yesterday the Indian government reported a global record of 314,000 new cases after premier Narendra Modi warned that the subcontinent was being overwhelmed by a coronavirus 'storm'

Passengers arrive at Heathrow Terminal 2 from Mumbai as travel agents warn of a desperate scramble to beat Friday's quarantine deadline

India is currently battling a second wave of cases, but the numbers per capita are nowhere near levels seen during the UK's winter peak

The UK's hugely successful vaccination programme and brutal four-month lockdown has squashed deaths to double-digits. But India's fatalities have started to climb on the back of a spike in infections

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE INDIA VARIANT? Real name: B.1.617 When and where was it discovered? The variant was first reported by the Indian government in late March. But the first cases appear to date back to October 2020. It has been detected in 21 countries as of April 19, Public Health England bosses say. How many people in the UK have been infected with it? Matt Hancock revealed there had been 103 cases so far since it was first spotted on February 22. But Public Health England's latest report, published on April 15, says 77. These were detected in England and Scotland. What mutations does it have? It has 13 mutations that separate it from the original Covid virus that emerged in China  but the two main ones are named E484Q and L452R. Scientists suspect these two alterations can help it to transmit faster and to get past immune cells made in response to older variants. Is it more infectious and can it evade vaccines? The L452R mutation is also found on the Californian variant (B.1.429), even though the two evolved independently. It is thought to make the American strain 20 per cent more infectious. The E484Q mutation is very similar to the one found in the South African and Brazil variants known as E484K, which can help the virus evade antibodies. The South African variant is thought to make vaccines about 30 per cent less effective at stopping infections, but it's not clear what effect it has on severe illness. Professor Sharon Peacock, of PHE, claimed there was 'limited' evidence of E484Q's effect on immunity and vaccines. Lab studies have suggested it may be able to escape some antibodies, but to what degree remains uncertain. How deadly is it? Scientists still don't know for sure. But they are fairly certain it won't be more deadly than the current variants in circulation in Britain. This is because there is no evolutionary benefit to Covid becoming more deadly. The virus's sole goal is to spread as much as it can, so it needs people to be alive and mix with others for as long as possible to achieve this. And, if other variants are anything to go by, the Indian strain should not be more lethal. There is still no conclusive evidence to show dominant versions like the Kent and South African variants are more deadly than the original Covid strain - even though they are highly transmissible. Doctors in India claim there has been a sudden spike in Covid admissions among people under 45, who have traditionally been less vulnerable to the disease. There have been anecdotal reports from medics that young people make up two third of new patients in Delhi. In the southern IT hub of Bangalore, under-40s made up 58 percent of infections in early April, up from 46 percent last year. There is still no proof younger people are more badly affected by the new strain. Should we be worried? Scientists are unsure exactly how transmissible or vaccine-resistant the Indian variant is because it hasn't been studied thoroughly. The fact it appears to have increased infectivity should not pose an immediate threat to the UK's situation because the current dominant Kent version appears equally or more transmissible. It will take a variant far more infectious strain than that to knock it off the top spot. However, if the Indian version proves to be effective at slipping past vaccine-gained immunity, then its prevalence could rise in Britain as the immunisation programme squashes the Kent variant. The UK currently classes the Indian strain as a 'Variant Under Investigation', a tier below the Kent, South African and Brazilian variants. But there are calls to move it up to the highest category. Scientists tracking the constantly-evolving virus say it's still not clear if India's third wave has been caused by the variant, or if it emerged at the same time by coincidence. Advertisement

Hospital staff across India have been warning they will run out of oxygen as the health system collapses around them amid a surge in cases which has seen India register a record 2,023 deaths in one day.

Health experts said India let its guard down during the winter by allowing big gatherings such as weddings and festivals to proceed.

The Indian premier is also facing criticism for addressing packed political rallies for local elections and allowing a religious festival to go ahead where millions gathered.

Though some scientists believe the variant is no deadlier than other variants circulating in Britain, SAGE adviser Professor Sir Mark Walport said India's addition to the red list may have come too late. The former Chief Scientific Adviser added there were 'good reasons' for keeping it out of Britain.

A Government spokesperson said: 'We are in a global health pandemic - people should not be travelling unless absolutely necessary. Every essential check helps avoid the risk of importing dangerous variants of coronavirus which could put our vaccine rollout at risk.'

Travellers are seeking to fly back to Britain before the enforced quarantine comes into effect, with currently 30 flights a week operating between the two nations as the new variant wreaks havoc.

Earlier this week the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that India would be added to the red list because of rising cases and a new variant.

Since then, online travel agent Skyscanner said searches for flights returning to the UK from India had increased by more than 250 per cent.

Travel agents say that a standard 400 economy ticket from India to the UK has soared to 2,000 due to a shortage of seats on planes over the next three days.

Suresh Kumar, chairman of Indra Travel, told The Telegraph most Britons trying to return are in India on emergency visas for family funerals or weddings or on business, as well as students.

Universities warned that the travel ban would leave 10,000 international students scrambling to return to UK campuses before Friday.

Vivienne Stern from Universities UK told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the current capacity of quarantine hotels cannot hold all the students expected to return to the country.

She said the Government had not yet made it clear if more hotels would be allowed to open rooms for them. Applications from India next year are up 25 per cent and universities are worried quarantining could put off current students.

When the new rules come into effect, anyone arriving in England or Scotland from India will need to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days and follow a strict coronavirus testing regime at their own expense. There are currently no direct international flights from India into Wales or Northern Ireland.

In England, a stay in one of the hotels costs 1,750 per passenger travelling alone - including transport, tests, food and accommodation.

Every additional adult, or child over 12, must pay 650, while children aged five to 12 pay 325.

According to SAGE scientist Sir Mark, the decision to put India on the red list may have come 'too late'. He told BBC Breakfast yesterday: 'These decisions are almost inevitably taken a bit too late in truth, but what's absolutely clear is that this variant is more transmissible in India.'

He added he believed it was becoming the 'dominant variant' in India, while there were also concerns it could be more effective at escaping a natural or vaccine-induced immune response, 'so there's good reasons for wanting to keep it out of the country if at all possible'.

MailOnline understands the long delays are being caused by a perfect storm of problems with the Home Office accused of using a 'rigid and inflexible' bubble system for staff meaning those not on the rota for passport control cannot be moved in to ease pressure at peak times, despite social distancing and regular sanitising.

Huge queues are being made worse because electronic-gates cannot be used because the Government is yet to fully digitise the 'passenger locator forms', which travellers must fill in before heading to the UK.

Unions claim Heathrow could use all passport control desks if they had installed screens surrounding each booth, rather than the front-facing ones they chose. But they also blame passengers for failing to fill in the right forms with birder staff they are seeing large numbers of people using fake covid test certificates that are not properly checked by airlines.

Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Services Union, said: 'The Government should put more pressure on airlines to make sure that all the documents are there and correct before people fly. Why are these people boarding without the carrier making sure they have the documentation they need? It would not solve it, but it would make the queues shorter'.

The most up-to-date data from the Government's official coronavirus variant tracking programme shows 103 infected people have had the mutant strain.

But separate figures published by the same group of experts show the B.1.617 variant has actually been spotted 215 times - with it making up around one in every 200 positive swabs that are analysed.

Scientists said it was a 'very troubling' number and that it was proof the variant was spreading, with 85 per cent of samples detected in the past month.

However, health chiefs say some of the cases will be duplicates because the majority are linked to foreign travel. Everyone flying in to England from India - and anywhere abroad - currently has to take two Covid tests while quarantining at home for 10 days. British experts are currently managing to sequence the majority of positive tests because cases are so low.

The Covid variants circulating in the UK

A health worker collects a swab from a policeman in Bhopal, the capital city of India's Madhya Pradesh state

Health workers rest in between cremating virus victims in Delhi amid the huge surge in infections and deaths

An elderly woman waits to receive a vaccine in Delhi where hospitals are running perilously low on oxygen

Burning pyres of patients who died of Covid-19 at a crematorium in Delhi over the weekend. The city of 29 million people has fewer than 100 beds with ventilators, and fewer than 150 beds available for patients needing critical care

Relatives wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) walk amid burning funeral pyres as they perform last rites for covid-19 victims in Bhopal

The development comes after other scientists and senior Labour politicians slammed the Government for allowing thousands of travellers from India to pour into the UK every week despite knowing about the variant for nearly a month.

No10 only announced India was being added to the UK's travel red list yesterday, and the measures don't start until 4am on Friday. At least 5,000 of people are due to arrive in Britain from India before the travel restrictions come into effect, as a desperate scramble to beat the quarantine deadline ensues.

Amid growing numbers of the variant at home and the spiralling epidemic in India, the Prime Minister has had to cancel a scheduled visit to Delhi next week.

Reacting to the new Indian variant cases, Professor Paul Hunter, an epidemiologist from the University of East Anglia, added: 'It does look like this is growing rather more quickly than it should be while we're in this sort of lockdown.

'It is still a little bit early to know what's really going on with this variant, but the signs are not looking good.'

The data, published by the Covid-19 Genomics UK Consortium, shows the Indian variant has been spotted in every part of the UK except Northern Ireland - with 198 samples in England, 10 in Scotland and seven in Wales.

Professor Hunter said it was 'almost certain' that there are more cases of the Indian variant because it can take two or three weeks for sequences to be analysed and published.

There have been anecdotal reports from medics that young people make up two third of new patients in Delhi. In the southern IT hub of Bangalore, under-40s made up 58 percent of infections in early April, up from 46 percent last year.

There is still no proof younger people are more badly affected by the new strain.

As Britons scramble to get back to the UK, travellers have complained of two-hour queues at border control at Heathrow Airport, where five flights from India are due to arrive today.

Labour slammed the Government for not banning arrivals immediately despite the Indian variant being under investigation by UK officials for almost three weeks. Sir Patrick Vallance's predecessor admitted ministers were too slow to respond to the new B.1.617 strain claiming the ban was 'taken a bit too late in truth'.

Revealed: The countries on the UK's red list Angola

Argentina

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Botswana

Brazil

Burundi

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ecuador

Eswatini

Ethiopia

French Guiana

Guyana

India

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

Zimbabwe Advertisement

The PM is facing growing calls to ease lockdown quicker after the number of deaths continues to fall and the jab drive hit the milestone of fully vaccinating 10million Brits. A total of 33m have had at least one injection.

The Indian variant was first identified internationally in October and detected in the UK on February 22. 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.

Those alterations are thought to make the virus more transmissible, and lab studies suggest it can escape antibodies - a key part of the body's Covid immune response. But because the E484Q mutation is rare, scientists aren't sure to what degree it will change the way the virus behaves.

Meanwhile, it emerged today that around 100 people are trying to enter the country each day with a 'fake Covid certificate.

The fake documents claiming a traveller has a recent negative test result are 'very easy' to forge, MPs on a cross party committee on Covid were told. And there is no way to tell how many more are being missed.

Lucy Moreton, professional officer for the Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents border immigration and customs staff in the UK, also said there is 'little to no' evidence on how well people are adhering to quarantine rules.

Ministers want Heathrow to dedicate a terminal to passengers arriving from red list countries amid fears the airport has become a Covid 'breeding ground'.

The Home Office is keen for Terminal 4 - which has been shut since last year - to process travellers from coronavirus hotspots with troublesome virus variants.

Officials are bracing for a huge influx of red list arrivals after India was added due to the emergence of a new variant and spiking infections in the country.

Up to 5,000 passengers are expected to fly back to the UK over the next 48 hours as part of the rush to beat Friday's 4am deadline, after which British nationals arriving from India will need to isolate in a quarantine hotel at their own expense.

No10 wants Heathrow to prevent red list arrivals from mixing with passengers from low risk countries, with travellers complaining of queues of up to six hours with little social distancing.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 passengers are pouring into the airport each day, with up to 1,000 thought to be from countries already on the red list.

Heathrow shut terminals 3 and 4 - primarily for long-haul and European travel - last May during the first national lockdown, with all flights being redirected to terminals 2 and 5. It has led to thousands of passengers from high and low risk countries being funneled into the same arrival and departure lounges.

Rules at border control also mean every passenger has to show forms proving which country they've come from and their reasons for visiting the UK.

Ms Moreton said it had led to arrivals from red, amber and green countries mixing in a confined space for hours. Asked if this meant it was a breeding ground for infection, Ms Moreton told MPs: 'Yes, very much so.

'When it's so slow and the queues are so bad, then absolutely it's a significant risk to the border force staff that are doing it, and to the travellers that are standing in those queues.'

E-gates are still shut and every form needs to be checked by hand, which has slowed the rate at which staff can process passengers.

It comes as India grapples a troublesome new variant, with an oxygen tank leaking outside a hospital on Wednesday and killing 22 critically ill patients after their supply was shut off.

An oxygen tanker leaked outside an Indian hospital, killing 22 Covid-19 critically ill patients after their supply was shut off. Pictured: Firefighters arrive on the scene wearing protective gear

Officers were seen thrashing locals with sticks and forcing them to perform sit-ups and press-ups in the street in Chattarpur

Relatives wearing PPE attend the funeral of a man who died from Covid disease at a crematorium in New Delhi

All of the victims were on ventilators and in need of constant oxygen supply at the Zakir Hussain Hospital's Covid ward in the western city of Nashik when the supply was disrupted for around 30 minutes.

Hospital staff across the country have been warning they will run out of oxygen as the health system collapses around them amid a surge in cases which has seen India register a record 2,023 deaths in one day.

It comes as the country's police were caught humiliating Covid rule-breakers with draconian physical punishments.

Officers were seen thrashing locals with sticks and forcing them to perform sit-ups and press-ups in the street in Chattarpur as authorities struggled to contain the deadly new variant which appears to be affecting younger people.

India has been in the grips of a second wave of infections blamed on lax government rules and the new 'double mutant' B.1.617 strain, adding almost 3.5million new cases this month alone.

As the oxygen tanker leaked at the Zakir Hussain hospital, which is a dedicated Covid-19 medical facility, panic ensued among the patients, their families and staff.

Video footage from outside of the hospital shows the gas leaking from the tanker and dense white clouds covered the area. The fire service arrived at the scene and sprayed water to control the leak.

'As per current information, 22 people have died due to the interrupted supply of oxygen at the Zakir Hussain municipal hospital,' district collector Suraj Mandhare told NDTV.

India's Covid death toll could be TEN TIMES higher, with crematoriums 'burning far more victims that reports show' - as country records global record 314,835 cases in a day

India's Covid death toll could be ten times higher than is being officially reported, according to analysis of the numbers being burned in crematoriums.

Another 314,835 infections were reported on Thursday, the world record for a daily cases figure, while the health ministry said there were 2,074 fatalities.

India's health infrastructure has been brought to its knees by a second wave which is three times higher than the first, with medics pointing to a new variant believed to be more infectious.

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, election rallies and cricket matches.

But now cities are on lockdown again, anti-viral drugs like redesivir are being sold on a flourishing black market and oxygen cylinders are being looted, with tankers given armed escorts to transport supplies.

While India's infections have risen higher than any other country in the world, their deaths have remained conspicuously low.

Local news reports from the states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar reveal that while at least 1,833 people died of coronavirus recently, based on the number of cremations, just 228 have been officially tallied.

Funeral pyres for Covid patients burn at a park converted into a crematorium in Delhi on Wednesday

Another 314,835 infections were reported on Thursday, the world record for a daily cases figure

The health ministry said there were 2,074 fatalities on Thursday, a new record for the country, but believed to be vastly under-reported

An Indian boy carries an empty oxygen cylinder for filling at oxygen filling centre in Bangalore on Wednesday

This analysis, by the Financial Times, revealed that in the Jamnagar province of Gujarat, 100 Covid victims had burned on funeral pyres - but just one coronavirus death was recorded officially.

Delhi, a city of 29 million, has less than 100 beds available for patients requiring ventilators and fewer than 150 for those in need of intensive care.

Major private and government-run hospitals in the capital have sent out urgent appeals to the central government, calling for immediate supply of oxygen for hundreds of patients on ventilator support.

On Wednesday, nearly 500 tonnes of oxygen was supplied to Delhi but this fell short of the required 700 tonnes per day.

Similar chaos is unfolding across the country, with desperate people taking to social media to beg for beds, oxygen or medication.

In the eastern city of Patna, Pranay Punj described how he ran frantically from one pharmacy to another in search of the antiviral medication remdesivir for his seriously ill mother.

He finally located a pharmacist who said the drug could only be found on the black market, and offered to source it for an eye-watering 100,000 rupees (1,000), more than 30 times its usual price.

He instead got the medicine from a relative whose wife had just died of the virus, but later that night received a call from the hospital informing him they were out of oxygen.

'Several hours later, we managed to procure one bed at (a) very high price in a private hospital and moved her there,' he said.

Despite India's status as the 'pharmacy of the world', the biggest producer of generic drugs has been unable to meet the demand for antiviral medication such as remdesivir and favipiravir.

In the northern city of Lucknow, Ahmed Abbas was charged 45,000 rupees for a 46-litre oxygen cylinder, nine times its normal price.

'They asked me to pay in advance and pick it (up) from them the next day,' the 34-year-old said.

The crisis has added to criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, already under fire for allowing huge religious gatherings and addressing crowded political rallies himself.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal last weekend hit out at 'doctors giving patients unnecessary oxygen'.

Relatives and family members carry the dead body of a Covid-19 victim for a cremation at Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium, on the banks of the Yamuna river in New Delhi in the early hour of Thursday

A crematorium worker checks a burning pyre of a Covid-19 victim at Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium

Multiple funeral pyres of those patients who died of COVID-19 disease are seen burning at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium

Funeral pyres at a makeshift crematorium in the capital Delhi on Wednesday, the city of 29 millions is rapidly running out of hospital beds for patients, oxygen supplies and even basic medication

A body shrouded in a white sheet lies on a gurney as funeral pyres burn in Delhi on Wednesday

'Patients should only be given as much oxygen as they need,' Goyal told reporters.

Delhi is now planning to import 50,000 tonnes of oxygen and has set up a special train service called the 'Oxygen Express' to transport cylinders to hard-hit states.

Modi said in an address to the nation on Tuesday night that 'all efforts are being made' to boost supplies.

'One solution to this crisis was to create a stockpile of antiviral drugs when cases were low, but that did not happen,' said Raman Gaikwad, an infectious diseases specialist at Sahyadri Hospital in the western city of Pune.

Instead, remdesivir manufacturers told the Indian Express this week that government officials had ordered them to cease production in January because of a fall in infections.

With requests for beds and supplies reaching fever pitch on social media platforms, a network of activists and influencers has sprung into action to help those in trouble.

Climate activist Disha Ravi and YouTuber Kusha Kapila are among the dozens of young Indians who have sourced, compiled and shared information detailing the real-time availability of hospital beds, local helplines, pharmacy numbers and even food delivery services.

Content creator Srishti Dixit, 28, said she received a new request for help every 30 seconds, creating a huge backlog.

Unpaid, she works late into the night, editing and verifying details of where to get what and amplifying requests for help.

But the lists she shares with her 684,000 Instagram followers becomes obsolete almost immediately as beds fill up and pharmacies sell out.

'I am not always successful, I am sure there are lapses... but hopefully it is helping people at least on an individual level', she said.

With cases rising at a record pace, India's government is leaving its healthcare workers and anxious citizens to pick up the pieces.

'My friend is desperate... we have been trying for all the government helplines but none of them are responding (and) most of the oxygen suppliers have switched off their phones', said Zain Zaidi, sales manager at a Lucknow hotel.

An Indian boy carries an empty oxygen cylinder for filling at oxygen filling centre in Bangalore on Thursday

A man waits to refill an oxygen cylinder at a store in Delhi. Suppliers have been given armed escorts to help move supplies amid reports of oxygen looting

'I just managed to find one supplier but he is charging 20,000 rupees. I have to buy it at any cost', the 34-year-old told AFP in a panicked voice, disconnecting the call.

States across India have imposed restrictions, with Delhi in a week-long lockdown, all non-essential shops shut in Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh set for a weekend shutdown.

The United States now advises against travelling to India, even for those fully vaccinated, while Britain has added India to its 'red list'. Hong Kong and New Zealand have banned flights.

India's inoculation programme has also hit supply hurdles, prompting New Delhi to put the brakes on exports of the AstraZeneca shot, which is manufactured locally by the Serum Institute.

India has administered more than 130 million shots so far and from May 1 all adults will be eligible for a jab.
Metal Additive Manufacturing Market: Increase in demand from the automobile industry to drive growth.

The manufacturing process of automobile components involves the use of metal additives. Automobile manufacturers use metal additive manufacturing to reduce the cost, lead time, and weight. Metal additives are also used for the production of various automobile parts such as bumpers, windbreakers, pumps, valves, and cooling vents. The increase in demand for metal additive manufacturing to produce automobile components used in formula-one and supercars are expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period.

Is there any relief during this COVID pandemic? Request Free Sample Research Report

As per Technavio, the rise in demand from developing countries will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Metal Additive Manufacturing Market: Rise in demand from developing countries.

Many OEMs of metal additive manufacturing are shifting their manufacturing bases to developing countries. The availability of raw material, low transportation costs, easy availability of land, cost-effective manpower, and less stringent regulations and policies by the government in developing countries are encouraging manufacturers for shifting centers. The emergence of the manufacturing hubs in APAC is expected to augment the market growth. The rise in investments in manufacturing activities in developing countries is driving the demand for metal additive manufacturing, which in turn increases the market growth over the forecast period.

"Increased preference for additive manufacturing and rise in R&D activities will further boost market growth during the forecast period", says a senior analyst at Technavio.

Metal Additive Manufacturing Market: Major Vendors

3D Systems Corp.

EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems

General Electric Co.

Materialise NV

Norsk Titanium AS

Metal Additive Manufacturing Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the metal additive manufacturing market by application (Aerospace, Healthcare, Tools and mold, Automobile, and Others) and geographic landscape (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

The North America region led the metal additive manufacturing market in 2020, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as a rise in the demand for dental and implants in the healthcare industry.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and gain competitive intelligence about market players. Track key industry trends, opportunities, and threats. Inform your marketing, brand, strategy, and market development.

Download FREE Sample Report

Related Reports on Materials Include:

Global Ceramide Market- The ceramide market is segmented by application (cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and MEA). Download FREE Sample Report

Global Low Foam Surfactants Market- The low foam surfactants market is segmented by application (home and personal care, industrial and institutional cleaning, food and dairy cleaning, and others) and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, and South America). Download FREE Sample Report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Challenges

Market Drivers

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

Report Page: https://www.technavio.com/report/metal-additive-manufacturing-market-industry-analysis

SOURCE Technavio

Related Links

http://www.technavio.com/


How to win a First Amendment Award in journalism, in four easy steps:

I started to notice. ...

I kept asking questions. 

We began to request records. 

It didnt really sit well with me.

That sequence of actions led MLive reporter Brad Devereaux to uncover a pattern of subquorum meetings held in private by the Kalamazoo City Commission for years. His reporting has led to changes in the commissions practice, and last week, it won Devereaux the First Amendment Award from the Michigan Associated Press Media Editors.

That is the contests most prestigious award, because it underscores the fundamental reason why our profession is the only one enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. In a functioning democracy, the people need access to the workings of their government, and transparency from those governing them.

MLive has grown its statewide reporting reach, and audience that reads it, since we combined our web and print operations in 2012. And in the past year, with the unprecedented confluence of a pandemic, racial equity protests and a tumultuous presidential election, the relevance of our reporting and analysis has grown significantly.

But our roots remain in day-to-day watchdog reporting in our eight traditional local markets: Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Saginaw. Every day, in a routine that has gone back 150 years or more, our reporters read agendas, attend meetings, ask questions.

Devereauxs very good at in; in fact, he won the same award five years ago when he was working at The Saginaw News. But how he approaches the job is standard practice for MLive reporters across Michigan.

I was trying to get my footing on the beat  as time went on I started to notice a little bit of talk about these other meetings that I really didnt know (about), Devereaux recalled on MLives Behind the Headlines podcast this week.

Every once in a while, a commissioner would say, Well, we talked about this at our small group meetings and we had a really good conversation. That was just enough to make me think, Why are they having these other private conversations?

Devereaux pressed the issue with city leaders, who said their attorneys had assured them they were on solid legal footing. In fact, the practice had been going on for decades. Nothing to see here, right?

Well, theres an old saying in our profession: If your Mom says she loves you, check it out.

Devereaux interviewed a legal expert who said the meetings likely violated the states Open Meetings Act. In fact, orientation sessions for incoming commissioners instructed them on the ins and outs of these subquorum meetings.

Devereaux said he was given conflicting information about what was being discussed in the private sessions, so he used the Freedom of Information Act to request documents. He found the commission had been discussing all kinds of controversial topics outside of the publics view, and kept no minutes of their actions.

For a really good reporter like Brad to come along and sniff that out  exemplifies why journalism matters at a local level, said Mickey Ciokajlo, the editor who oversees all local news for MLive. The city still pushes back on a legal front. Im not a lawyer. Brads not a lawyer  but it doesnt pass the smell test.

Theyre doing the peoples business behind closed doors, and by Brad exposing that, that has resulted in change.

In January, city leaders announced they would suspend the closed meetings for six months, and hold committee of the whole deliberations on a trial basis. Its a novel concept  transparency  and we hope it catches on in Kalamazoo and across Michigan.

But dont worry: Either way, Devereaux will be checking back at the end of six months, asking questions and pursuing information for the sake of his readers. Thats what we do.

John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions youd like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at editor@mlive.com.
I agree with the dissent and vehemently disagree with the twisted reasoning of the majority, he said. This goes beyond the decision. It goes to whats going on in America in terms of people being able to restore their rights and become active citizens after they do something wrong in their youth.
DEERFIELD - Three people were injured in a Wednesday afternoon head-on collision on Route 5 that closed the road to traffic, according to police.

The two drivers were each taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment of what police called serious but not life-threatening injuries. A passenger was taken to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.

The crash occurred just before 2 p.m. on Route 5, also known as Greenfield Road, in the area of Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory at 281 Greenfield Road.

According to police, a Honda CRV cross the center line directly into the past of a Chevy sedan. Both vehicles sustained heavy front-end damage.

The names of the injured were not released to the press.

According to police, the driver of the Honda admitted to dozing off momentarily just before the crash.
SHANGHAI, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AppGallery will participate in one of the largest game industry conferences, WN China Online 2021, that will take place online from April 26 until May 14, 2021. AppGallery will sponsor the event and speak with key audience about the platform's benefits.

WN Conference takes place four times a year and gathers around 4,500 professionals offline and 20,000 participants online. Its main goal is to bring together gaming industry experts from all over the world to talk with a wide audience about relevant cases and to create a platform for sharing experiences.

On April 26, WN China Online 2021 speakers will conduct lectures in an AppGallery branded virtual studio, including Huawei Global Gaming Business Development Director Alexandre Salem and Senior Business Growth Manager from Huawei Mobile Services Europe Alisa Nikitina. Alexandre will talk about the latest AppGallery advances and share interesting cases. Alisa will tell about the marketing opportunities of the integrated advertising platform Huawei Ads. Their presentations will start at 09:00 (CET) and 13:30 (CET) respectively. Users will be able to ask questions in a real time in the streaming chat.

Alexandre Salem has over 13 years of experience in banking, strategy consulting and operational management with an expertise in media and technology. Prior to joining Huawei, Alexandre led Gaming Strategic Partnerships at Google in EMEA.

Alisa Nikitina is a tech professional with over seven years of experience in advertising, sales and marketing, focusing on mobile apps. She created digital marketing strategies for thousands of clients in different verticals.

AppGallery offers participants of the conference special bonus for their advertising campaign in Huawei Ads. All is needed for submitting the application is to fill out a form on the conference's online platform.

Virtual AppGallery booth will work from the beginning until the end of the conference. All visitors will be able to ask questions about the platform to Arseniy Khlebtsev, Huawei Ecosystem Development Manager.

About AppGallery

AppGallery is a smart and innovative ecosystem that allows developers to create unique experiences for consumers. Our unique HMS Core allows apps to be integrated across different devices, delivering more convenience and a smoother experience  and this is part of our wider "1+8+N" strategy at Huawei.

AppGallery's vision is to make AppGallery an open, innovative app distribution platform that is accessible to consumers, and at the same time, strictly protects users' privacy and security while providing them with a unique and smart experience. Being one of the global top three app marketplaces, AppGallery offers a wide variety of global and local apps across 18 categories including navigation and transport, news, social media, and others. AppGallery is available in more than 170 countries and regions with over 530 million monthly active users. Huawei has partnered with 2.3 million developers across the globe, and the total downloads from AppGallery have reached 384.4 billion times within 2020.

Related Links

https://www.huawei.com



SOURCE Huawei
Organisation models have shifted from product driven to customer centric and now to purpose led in its latest iteration. But while product and customer mind-sets were crucial in defining organisational culture in great companies like Apple and Amazon, purpose is only something that emerges in most companies via their marketing communications.

At the christening of our virtual panel, Adgully4um  a series of knowledge webinars conducted via Zoom Video Conferencing, we engaged with experts from the Public Relations industry to discuss the role of Enhanced Social Responsibility in the context of the new normal. The discussion was joined by:

Madhu Chhibber, CEO, Madison PR  Moderator

Abhishek Gulyani, Chief Executive Officer, India at H+K Strategies

Ashwani Singla, Founding Managing Partner of Astrum

Nitin Mantri, Group CEO, AvianWE

Nitin Thakur, Director, Brand & Communications, Max Group

The purpose of the discussion was to understand how purpose is taking front and centerstage is most organisations and how values are becoming the lodestone for business decisions.

Prefacing the discussion, Madison PRs Madhu Chhibber said, We live in a chaotic world where uncertainty is the only certainty for now. Brands have always existed to meet a need but they also have a wider responsibility to fulfil. While several brands have consciously realised this over the years often times other priorities have taken over. Purpose driven communication is more important now than ever.

In their opening comments, panellists shared how the idea of being purpose driven is really taking root in marketing exercises and in the broader organisational culture, its leadership and stakeholders.

Astrums Ashwani Singla said, For over a decade, I have championed the cause of leadership with a purpose. Most organisations are good at telling their story  what they do and how they do it. But when you start asking the question why do you do something? Eight out of ten organisations struggle to find the answer. When you find your purpose you will find the meaning in your existence and the conversation about whether there needs to be social impact and do companies need to do something different during a time of crisis for their customers wont need to be answered. They will do what is right at all times whether it is good, bad or ugly.

Singla further said, During the same time last year when we were suffering from death by webinars, the big focus during conversations was that whether the company is going to do something for their employees or something extraordinary for their customers. The idea of establishing leadership both from a reputation as well as from a market leadership standpoint is important for which you need understand why you existwhich informs what you need to do.

Also read: How the PR Industry fought to stay resilient & relevant

Some companies like Hindustan Unilever have done this really well  reinforce the same purpose over and over again, align the organisation  its external and internal stakeholders to find that meaning. Then you have clarity of purpose and action.

AvianWEs Nitin Mantri remarked, The pandemic has brought social responsibility to the forefront. Whether it is practicing social distancing, wearing a mask or relief efforts  people are thinking more and more about how their actions will impact others. Depending on how we are vaccinated, it is likely that the post-COVID-19 world will be challenged with fewer jobs, lower salary, and lower morale at the same time the social action that marked 2020 is only likely to intensify. Last year, we had Black Lives Matter in the U.S and Famers Protests in India, more and more people are taking up causes in support of initiatives they believe in. Even before the world was turned upside down by the pandemic, the demand for social responsibility was increasing.

Continuing further, he said, Our Brands in Motion study which WE Communications does globally revealed that the new brand loyalty is driven by more than product or customer service  like a shared understanding of humanity and respect. In fact, 53 per cent of respondents said they wanted brands to address environmental problems and 74 per cent said that they want brands to take up issues that matter to them. Even before the pandemic, consumers wanted brands to care about social, environmental and ethical issues.

We also discovered that leadership  how it is defined is in the midst of significant transformation. If you dig deeper into a report we did recently, 89 per cent of leaders believe that purpose is becoming as important as financial results. 89 per cent are engaging with issues that affects their employees as a moral obligation. 86 per cent leaders say they have become more introspective and the list goes on, Mantri added.

Max Groups Nitin Thakur pointed out, The publics frame of mind currently is most receptive to health, wellness and safety related aspects but this may be transient. Purpose driven communication has been important since the last decade. Focusing on product driven outcomes or presenting the company as a fabulous asset always took precedence in meetings. In the unlisted space, the discussion will revolve around valuation and in the listed space the company would want to project the growth in bottom line or market capitalisation and that ended up holding sway.

The current situation is a perfect time to get a buy-in internally that an organisation needs to pivot its focus mainly towards being seen as relevant and purpose driven. You have that frame of mind, so you can get that buy-in, investments, reputation trajectory change and invest in planning around it for the next three years. And I say three years frankly because five and ten year planning is redundant, Thakur added.

Some would say that the chief communications officer should be the center of such a shift in the organisation. This shift is a change in perception. Id like to be a contrarian and say that being a purpose driven is not a tick mark for an organisation. To really undergo an image transformation is a business planning exercise. The CCO should at best be a part of a task force in the organisation formed to be purpose driven. Unless the organisation is evaluating its products/services and how they are aligning with the cause, the supply chain is set itself to be accountable, the short term impact to a business is baked in, or else the transformation is not going to succeed and it is cause-washing at best.

H+K Startegies Abhishek Gulyani commented, The purpose has to be owned by the CEO of the company who has to basically answer three key questions:

What is the companys reason to exist? What is the value the company brings to the customer? How do we uniquely position ourselves in the market?

Now, the value that you bring to your customers extends to a much broader ecosystem. Therefore, what you uniquely offer to the market as a purpose driven organisation has broadened.

Gulyani noted, A lot of people believe that CSR is equal to purpose. Its not and this is a change in mind-set that PR professionals need to bring. Communications leaders can play a role by having a seat at the table with the board and the CEO and articulate the purpose that resonates with the stakeholder ecosystem.

For an agency, our role is to help identify the purpose, ensure it resonates and select the creative platform to define the messaging i.e. begin looking at our content publishing strategy. We have to be careful when crafting a higher purpose. The purpose cant be over the top or it will become very difficult to execute. There may also be the case that nobody understands what the purpose is. It will take the leadership team, communication partners and agencies to start articulating the purpose externally, he concluded.
Two high-profile gun bills, each targeting a different approach to gun safety, are on track to be merged at the Oregon Legislature.

The House Rules Committee held a hearing Wednesday to propose changes to Senate Bill 554, which as written would allow local governments to ban holders of concealed weapons permits from bringing guns into public buildings. The bill has already been approved in the Senate.

But Democrats, who control the committee, signaled they will probably rewrite it to include elements of a separate gun measure, House Bill 2510.

That bill would require gun owners to secure their weapons when not in use, either by placing them in a locked container or by using a trigger lock. The measure would also require people whose guns are stolen to promptly report the theft to law enforcement.

The gun storage bill has been held up in the House since April 5, when it was originally scheduled for a floor vote. Democrats have twice delayed debate on the bill by one-week increments.

It now appears that Democrats plan is to combine the two bills, which would require fewer overall floor votes to get the policies approved. Debates over gun legislation tend to be lengthy, and minority Republicans typically deploy parliamentary procedures that can add hours to the time it takes to complete a vote.

If the plan works the way they hope it will, the House will approve the combined bill, completing passage of both concepts in their chamber in one swoop. The combined bill would have to go back to the Senate for concurrence, since it would be fundamentally different than the version already given a Senate thumbs-up.

But the move to combine the bills could benefit the GOP, as well. Republican lawmakers have faced intense pressure from gun rights groups to walk out and deny Democrats a quorum on the day the gun measures are scheduled for a vote.

While some GOP Senators did just that when Senate Bill 554 was scheduled for a vote in the Senate, enough remained to allow the vote to proceed. The decision to stay was followed by reported threats against the safety of at least two Senators, and the caucus leader is now the subject of a recall attempt.

Merging the gun bills would mean fewer votes for which Republicans would be pressured to walk out.

The combined bill would be nearly identical to the separate bills, with one significant exception. Originally, Senate Bill 554 would have allowed any government body in Oregon to ban firearms in public buildings under their control, even when carried by someone with a concealed handgun license.

The amended version would limit that right to universities, colleges and public schools, along with the state Capitol.

That proposed change didnt sit well with Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who was a chief sponsor of the original bill. Ive been in this process a long time, and I understand the necessity for compromise, she said.

But Burdick said the amendment goes way too far in terms of weakening the bill. For instance, she said, while state lawmakers could ban guns from the Capitol, which is under their direct control, other state agencies would not have that option.

In the climate we live in, state buildings need to be included in the list of places that can ban anyone from carrying a gun, she said.

Even with the proposed changes, Republicans were not exactly lining up to support the bill.

I want my constituents to feel safe and know that they have a speedy, reliable access to their firearms in an emergency, said Rep. Lily Morgan, R-Grants Pass.

The Rules Committee did not act on the bill Wednesday, but it has scheduled at least two more public hearings on the measure.

Chris Lehman clehman@oregonian.com
New Delhi, April 22 : Wadhwani Advantage launched an acceleration programme to assist businesses across the healthcare industry, from manufacturers of medical devices to pharmaceutical firms and delivery providers.

The programme includes 1-12 months of engagement and offers up to three years of hand-holding support enabled through a personalised Artificial Intelligence led business acceleration process.

"This programme seeks to enable acceleration of enterprises, which are able to address some of the largest and neglected areas of the healthcare system in India," Samir Sathe, Executive Vice President, Wadhwani Advantage at Wadhwani Foundation, said in a statement.

"Through this programme, we aim to strengthen the Indian healthcare sector by supporting and empowering business enterprises in the sector. We aim to build partnerships with leading healthcare ecosystem stakeholders to jointly represent the voice of the healthcare businesses and work for their enablement," Sathe added.

The programme aims to ignite the growth of businesses in the healthcare sector, accelerate revenues and free cash flows to fund growth for maximising their growth potential through aDo-It-Yourself (DIY)'discovery and business solution tool kits and other knowledge resources using AI-enabled automated logic and personalised interventions.

Wadhwani Advantage has partnered with Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED), Voice of Healthcare (VOH) and Xynteo Vikaasa to leverage synergies in the healthcare space.

The goal is to strengthen the business ecosystem without any commercial expectations.The Wadhwani Advantage offerings are high-quality interventions without charging any price.

The curated advisors will offer pro bono and subsidised or success-based fees, if needed, to help the businesses to finish their transformation journey and be certified by Wadhwani Advantage.
During the clashes that took place in front of the building of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia a little while ago, police apprehended dozens of citizens, and they are forcefully taking them.

A cameraman was thrown to the ground during the clashes.

Human rights defender Ruben Melikyan posted on his Facebook page that there is a woman among the apprehended.

The situation in front of the Prosecutor Generals Office got tense after someone in the crowd threw eggs at the building.

The protesters demand the release of the heads of several communities of Syunik Province and insist that they were illegally detained.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry and Invest for Jobs  an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), have signed an agreement to promote the automotive sector and support the development of industrial parks in Ghana.



A ceremony co-hosted by the German Ambassador to Ghana and the Minister of Trade and Industry in Accra, marked the cooperation between the two parties.



Invest for Jobs is the brand for the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation; it is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH among other partners.



The cooperation will contribute to the development of selected industrial zones and parks, in collaboration with local and international parks developers.



For the purpose of this cooperation with the ministry, an amount of 540,000 Euros is being invested  through a financing agreement, to support industrial park development and to establish an Automotive Desk at the Ministry



The grant agreement was signed by Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, country director of GIZ Ghana and Patrick Yaw Nimo, the chief director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.



Following the signing ceremony, the German Cooperation presented two vehicles, one each to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK Ghana) with whom GIZ also has a cooperation agreement. Both VW Tiguan cars were assembled locally in Ghana.



Through the local assembly of vehicles, 3,600 direct and indirect jobs would be created in Ghana, and the addition of components and parts manufacturing will also add about 6,600 direct and indirect jobs.





Source: asaaseradio









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Featured Video
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez discussed the increase in military assistance to Ukraine.

According to the Foreign Ministrys press service, Dmytro Kuleba had a phone call with Bob Menendez on April 20.

During the conversation, Menendez said that the U.S. Senate is very concerned about the buildup of Russian forces near Ukraine's border and the threats that Moscow's current actions pose to Ukraine and Europe.

Kuleba briefed his interlocutor in detail on the current situation in the zone of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and along the Ukrainian border. He drew particular attention to the illegal actions of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, as well as to the militarization of the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

In turn, the Senate Committee chairman stressed that Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine is completely unacceptable for the United States and the civilized world, and assured that any new stage of aggression will have grave consequences for Moscow. At the same time, he praised Ukraine's balanced and wise reaction to Russia's attempts to provoke an escalation.

Menendez assured Kuleba of unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, the readiness of the U.S. Senate to continue to resolutely support its strategic partner, especially in the context of the escalation of Russia's aggressive actions.

Menendez said that he is awaiting approval by the Senate Committee he chairs of the Ukraine Security Partnership Act, which provides for an increase in annual military aid, including the provision of lethal weapons.

As Ukrinform reported, on April 15, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order imposing new sanctions and restrictions on Russia in response to actions by the Russian government and intelligence services against U.S. interests and sovereignty.

During an online meeting of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defense on April 14, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran said that Russia concentrated 56 battalion tactical groups with 110,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.

According to the minister, the real goal of the Russian military buildup at the Ukrainian border may be attempts to force the Ukrainian government to make concessions in the negotiation process and to demonstrate readiness to use armed force.

ish
TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), will release its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021, on Thursday, May 6, 2021. Paul Hill, President and CEO, and John Rim, CFO, will host a conference call and audio webcast at 10:00 a.m. EST the same day. Slides to accompany management's prepared remarks will be available to view during the call via the webcast link and after the call in the Events section of Quarterhill's website.

Webcast Information

The live audio webcast will be available at:

https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1454081&tp_key=b73fdb2366

Dial-in Information

To access the call from Canada and U.S., dial 1.888.231.8191 (Toll Free)

and U.S., dial 1.888.231.8191 (Toll Free) To access the call from other locations, dial 1.647.427.7450 (International)

Replay Information

Webcast replay will be available for 365 days at:

https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1454081&tp_key=b73fdb2366

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About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a growth-oriented company in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry as well as a leader in Intellectual Property licensing. Our goal is to execute an investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS - and its adjacent markets - to become a global leader in that industry. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information: www.quarterhill.com

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The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington on May 7, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Supreme Court Rules Against Teen Murderer

The Supreme Court ruled 63 against Brett Jones, 31, a man convicted of committing murder when he was 15, rejecting his argument that the court should impose new restrictions on the power of states to sentence juveniles to life imprisonment without parole.

In its ruling, the high court determined that his sentence doesnt violate the Eighth Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Jones had argued that two Supreme Court decisions on mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile defendants required the sentencing judge to explicitly find that rehabilitation was impossible in his case before imposing life without parole. The Supreme Court disagreed, determining the sentence was constitutional as long as the judge considered the defendants youth in sentencing him.

The decision came on April 22 in Jones v. Mississippi, court file 18-1259.

The high court split along conservativeliberal ideological lines.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, as well as Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a separate opinion concurring in the judgment.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

The Jones case dates to 2004, when the then-juvenile defendant killed his paternal grandfather, Bertis Jones, 68, during an altercation about the teenagers girlfriend at the time. He had come to stay with his grandparents in Mississippi two months before.

Court documents say Brett and Bertis argued after Bretts girlfriend was found in his bedroom. Later that day, Brett sassed Bertis and the confrontation became physical. Brett stabbed Bertis repeatedly with kitchen knives, testifying he was afraid and didnt know anything else to do because [Bertis] was so huge.

A Lee County, Mississippi, jury rejected the self-defense claim and convicted him. He was given life imprisonment without parole, as required by state law.

In 2015, a state court resentenced Jones to life in prison, which means he has to remain incarcerated until hes 60 before he can be considered for conditional release. The ruling was prompted by a Supreme Court decision.

Jones asked for mercy.

Im not the same person I was when I was 15, he said.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas Gardner wasnt moved, describing the killing as particularly brutal.

He was stabbed eight times, and Brett Jones had to resort to a second knife when the first knife broke.

Since Jones committed the crime, the case law on juveniles receiving life sentences without parole has evolved. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled in Roper v. Simmons that executing individuals who were under 18 when they committed their crimes violated the Eighth Amendment.

Two subsequent Supreme Court precedents, Miller v. Alabama (2012) and Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016), fleshed out jurisprudence on the issue.

In Miller v. Alabama, the court held that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments.

After that ruling, the Mississippi Supreme Court vacated Joness sentence. At a new sentencing hearing, a state court heard evidence that Jones had an abusive childhood and rehabilitated himself in prison, but still determined he wasnt eligible for parole.

Then, in Montgomery v. Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Miller ruling announced a substantive rule of constitutional law that must be given retroactive effect.

Jones went back to court in hopes that the new Supreme Court ruling would work in his favor, but he lost.

In the new majority opinion, Kavanaugh rejected the argument advanced by Jones and by Sotomayor in her dissent that the Miller and Montgomery rulings taken together created an additional constitutional requirement that the sentencer must make a finding of permanent incorrigibility before sentencing a murderer under 18 to life without parole.

In those rulings, the Supreme Court unequivocally stated that such a finding is not required, Kavanaugh wrote. And we will not now rewrite those decisions to impose a requirement that the Court twice rejected.

This court opinion should not be construed as agreement or disagreement with the sentence imposed against Jones, he wrote, noting the defendant was free to continue seeking relief from the state.

Determining the proper sentence in such a case raises profound questions of morality and social policy. The States, not the federal courts, make those broad moral and policy judgments in the first instance when enacting their sentencing laws. And state sentencing judges and juries then determine the proper sentence in individual cases in light of the facts and circumstances of the offense, and the background of the offender.

In her dissent, Sotomayor wrote that the high court guts the Miller and Montgomery rulings.

Referencing the Miller decision, she wrote that A sentencer must actually make the judgment that the juvenile in question is one of those rare children for whom [life without parole] is a constitutionally permissible sentence.
New Delhi: In view of the prevailing COVID-19 crisis in the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 22) cancelled his visit to poll-bound West Bengal and said that he will chair high-level meetings to review the situation.

Informing through a tweet, the PM said that he will chair high-level meetings on Friday due to which he will be unable to visit Bengal.

"Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal," PM Modi wrote in a tweet.

Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2021

As per the PMs schedule, at 9 AM he will hold an internal meeting to review the COVID-19 situation. After the meet, at 10 AM, Modi will interact with the Chief Ministers of high burden states and discuss the ongoing crisis. The PM is also slated to hold a meeting with leading oxygen manufacturers in the country via video conferencing at 12.30 pm.

Meanwhile, the senior BJP leader will address the people of West Bengal through a virtual medium at 5 pm on Friday. He was earlier scheduled to address four rallies across four districts and 56 assembly constituencies in the state.

Creating a world record of the highest single-day surge, India recorded 3,14,835 fresh coronavirus infections, pushing the cumulative tally to 1,59,30,965 on Thursday, as per data by the Health Ministry.

The country's total COVID-19 caseload climbed to over 1.59 crore, of which, 22.91 lakh (22,91,428) were active cases. India also witnessed 1,84,657 deaths due to the deadly infection.

(With inputs from agencies)

Live TV
State governments will not have to wait till May 25 to procure Serum Institute of Indias (SII) Covishield vaccine, the union health ministry indicated on Thursday evening.

The ministry issued a statement dismissing claims by Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope that it has contracted SII's entire Covishield production till May 24.

"There have been some media reports suggesting that (SII) has contracted all its production till 25th May 2021 to the Centre, and therefore till that date the state governments will not be able to procure vaccine from SII. These media reports are based on incorrect facts and are without any basis," health ministry said without referring to the Maharashtra health minister's comment.

On Wednesday, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had a virtual interaction with SII CEO Adar Poonawalla regarding procurement of vaccines.

Asked on this state health minister Rajesh Tope said Adar Poonawalla has informed that SIIs entire production has been booked by Centre till May 24. So it is clear we will not be able to procure vaccines for persons between 18-45 years till then.



While the Centre has disputed Tope's remarks, there are other issues which could result in a lackluster launch of the universal on May 1.

Registration of persons over 18 years for will begin on April 28 but states and private hospitals may still not be able to provide jabs to them from May 1.

Further, Bharat Biotech, which manufactures Covaxin, is yet to declare its price at which it will sell its vaccine to states and private hospitals, delaying the process.

Dr Reddys Laboratories, which is bringing in Sputnik V to India, said it was trying to import the first batches of the vaccine from Russia by the end of May.

Pfizer said it would sell to the government immunisation programme and for India it would be at a not for profit price.

Adar Poonawalla, SII chief executive officer, has said the signing of contracts with private hospitals would start in a couple of weeks and the supply by the third or fourth week of May.

This implies that there would be hardly any doses available to private hospitals across the country for those between 18 and 44 years.

A hospital administrator operating a chain of hospitals said: There can be some photo-ops and symbolic vaccinations, lets say, for a group of college students, on May 1. Doses for this phase would not be available to use by then.



Hospitals have begun negotiation with vaccine makers to gauge the volumes they can procure.

We are targeting to have the first batches (of Sputnik V) imported by Q1, and are trying our best to have them by the end of May, a DRL spokesperson said.

Pfizer has said it would engage with governments only to sell its vaccine during the pandemic.

We note certain press reports citing a price for American vaccines in India. As far as Pfizer is concerned, this information is incorrect. During the current pandemic situation worldwide, Pfizer has maintained that its priority would be to exclusively support governments through supply of its vaccine only to governments for their immunisation programmes. This would be our approach in India as well, a Pfizer spokesperson said. The company further added it had adopted a distinct pricing structure for high, middle, and low/lower-middle-income countries.

For India, Pfizer has offered a not-for-profit price for its vaccine for the Government immunisation program. We continue to be in discussion with the Government and remain committed to make our vaccine available for deployment in Indias immunisation programme, the company said.

On Tuesday the Centre announced its accelerated phase 3 strategy to open up to everyone above 18 years and gave flexibility to states and private hospitals to procure them.

States have begun discussion with vaccine manufacturers and some like Assam, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh have promised free doses for their residents.
Chinese Christians are reportedly facing the "most serious crackdown since the cultural revolution" according to a 818-page report released on Tuesday by Aid To The Church In Need, a Catholic organization that helps war refugees and serves oppressed Christians around the world.

Breitbart revealed that the Aid To The Church In Need (ACN) report showed authorities in China have "intensified" its crackdown on religious minorities.

Breitbart quoted ACN in saying that Xi Jinping's leadership makes it "ever-more bleak" for religious freedom that they project will continue and become "more intrusive and pervasive." ACN's report showed that religious suppression in China has intensified more than ever.

"Under the current leadership of Xi Jinping, the prospects for religious freedom--and human rights more broadly--are becoming ever-more bleak. With no meaningful political liberalisation in sight, repression and persecution will continue and, with the tools of modern technology, become even more intrusive and pervasive. Freedom of religion in China is currently subjected to the most serious crackdown since the Cultural Revolution," ACN said.

ACN's report is entitled, "Religious Freedom In The World Report 2021." In the Regional Analysis Section of its report for Mainland Asia, ACN stressed that China has " dubious distinction of having fine-tuned one of the most pervasive and effective state-run engines of religious control currently in operation anywhere in the world."

ACN cited the latest Pew Research Center "report on global religious restrictions" that was released in November 2020. The said report said that "China scores 9.3 out of a possible 10 on Pew's Government Restrictions Index (GRI)," which happens to be "the highest score in the study."

"Combining mass surveillance, a social credit system that scrutinizes and sanctions individual behaviour (sic), and brutal crackdowns on religious and ethnic groups suspected of disloyalty, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is in a class of its own when it comes to the suffocation of religious freedom," ACN quoted of the Pew Research Center report.

"Furthermore, as revealed in the China country report, it has become only more brutal since Xi Jinping became China's president in 2013, as demonstrated by the mass internment of more than a million primarily Muslim ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang Province and their subjection to coercive "de-radicalization" programs since 2017," ACN stressed.

Breitbart highlighted from the ACN report the incarceration of 900,000 to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups that were held in more than 1,300 concentration camps across China. This is on top of the arrest of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in 2019 and the manipulation of the Catholic Church there.

The Main Findings of the ACN report classified China to belong in the Red Category where religious persecution was high. China is joined by Myanmar and 12 African countries in the said category, which is estimated to encompass 3.9 billion people or 51% of the world's population.

There are four more classifications such s the Orange category, the "under observation" classification, countries where hate crimes occur, and the rest remains unclassified. There are said to be 36 countries under the Orange category that involves 1.24 billion people. Overall, 31.6% of the world's countries experience violations in religious freedom encompassing 62 countries or 5.2 billion people.
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MILWAUKEE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced a global partnership with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a trailblazer in the people-first approach to buildings and communities, to promote global application of the WELL Building Standard (WELL). Leading the buildings space with more than 135 years of experience, Johnson Controls is ideally positioned with technologies and solutions that accelerate the reinvention of healthy buildings. The two organizations will work together to advance technology development, outcome-based planning and best practices that will improve the health and safety of people in buildings and communities.

Fortifying its commitment to the IWBI partnership, Johnson Controls will form a Healthy Buildings Center of Excellence as part of its global network of OpenBlue Innovation Centers to consolidate the company's comprehensive worldwide efforts to provide support for WELL. Leveraging this Center of Excellence, Johnson Controls is on track to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating at headquarter buildings in the United States and China by the third quarter of this fiscal year. In addition, the company will invest in the WELL AP program with a goal of 500 employees achieving the WELL AP credential by the end of the year. As a Keystone member of IWBI, Johnson Controls also will support research and the advancement of healthy buildings.

"At Johnson Controls, we believe at the center of a vision for a healthy world must be healthy buildings. It's natural for us to grow our relationship with IWBI since we both believe that the spaces around us can improve operating efficiency, promote health and well-being as well as boost productivity and enhance sustainability," said Ganesh Ramaswamy, vice president and president, Global Services for Johnson Controls . "With our leadership around OpenBlue Healthy Buildings, Johnson Controls brings to IWBI in-depth understanding of the power of connected technologies. Through our partnership we will help advance the WELL Building Standard and explore areas such as continuous monitoring in support of healthy buildings around the world."

Strategic partners and experts in healthy buildings to customers across the globe, Johnson Controls employees work with customers to identify products and solutions to improve occupant wellness that they can align with WELL criteria. Johnson Controls will cover the cost of the WELL AP exam for qualifying employees and allow them to dedicate working hours to prepare. By supporting this credential, which denotes expertise in the WELL Building Standard and a commitment to advancing human health, experts at Johnson Controls will bring additional value to their trusted advisor relationships with clients.

"This is an important collaboration focused on putting health first to foster innovation, optimize for health and accelerate the opportunity for everyone, everywhere to benefit from WELL," said Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO of IWBI. "We commend Johnson Controls for its leadership and we look forward to working more closely together to drive our shared goal of true market transformation."

WELL is designed to work harmoniously with global building rating systems such as USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Living Building Challenge and other leading global green building standards. Johnson Controls ambitious and accelerated sustainability commitments address critical, global environmental needs such as carbon reduction, energy efficiency and water conservation. Partnering with IWBI to advance the WELL Building Standard supports broader action across building construction, facilities management and environmental wellbeing for all. Johnson Controls wide-reaching global presence supports the development of standards that take specific environmental factors into consideration. With nine Innovation Centers around the world, Johnson Controls is well suited to support standards development of healthy buildings needs in various climate types such as humid continental conditions in the Midwest United States, tropical settings in Singapore and other climate types worldwide. These centers are designed to accelerate the reinvention of the building landscape, supporting research and development of dynamic smart facilities that help businesses meet sustainability commitments, while delivering healthy places, enriched experiences and cost savings.

To read more about Johnson Controls commitment and accomplishments around sustainability, please visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/environment

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet.

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc
Lanny Davis, former special counsel to Bill Clinton, pauses for a quick portrait as he arrives for a debate with Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist to President Donald Trump, at Zofin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 22, 2018. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Lanny Davis Registers as Foreign Agent for Ukrainian Oligarch Facing Bribery Charges

Lanny Davis, a Democratic public relations guru with longstanding ties to the Clintons, has signed a $75,000 monthly contract to help drop a federal case against a Ukrainian oligarch who faces bribery charges in the U.S.

Dmitry Firtash, one of Ukraines richest men, hired Daviss firm to help correct the public record regarding the federal case pending against the oligarch, according to a filing with the Justice Departments Foreign Agents Registration Act unit.

Davis will work with Firtashs attorney, Dan Webb, in order to prove that the indictment is invalid and should be dropped, according to a consulting agreement Firtash signed with Daviss firm, David Goldberg & Galper.

Firtash, who made his fortune in the energy industry, has been fighting extradition proceedings to avoid trial in the U.S. on charges that he attempted to bribe Indian government officials for rights to mine titanium.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago obtained the grand jury indictment in June 2013.

Davis had previously worked for Firtash but the two sides cut ties in 2019. Firtash hired Rudy Giuliani, the personal lawyer for Donald Trump, and Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, a husband-and-wife legal team influential in conservative circles.

While Davis has been an outspoken supporter of President Joe Biden, Firtash was identified by federal prosecutors as playing a role in the Giuliani-led effort to dig up dirt on the Biden familys activities in Ukraine.

Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash is pictured prior to a public hearing at the higher regional court in Vienna on Feb. 21, 2017. (Georges Schneider/various sources /Austria OUT/Photonews.at/AFP via Getty Images)

Firtash loaned $1 million to a Ukrainian businessman, Lev Parnas, who worked with Giuliani to investigate the Bidens. Parnas was indicted in October 2019 with illegally funneling campaign contributions to Republican political committees.

He has said in interviews that Firtash helped with the Biden effort in hopes of making his legal troubles disappear.

For us to be able to receive information from Firtash, we had to promise Firtash something, Parnas said in an interview with MSNBCs Rachel Maddow. So for Firtash, it was basically telling him that we knew his case was worthless here and that hes being prosecuted for no reason. And that basically, it could get taken care of.

I am pleased to rejoin the legal defense team led by Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn to prove that Mr. Firtash is innocent of the charges filed against him by U.S. prosecutors in Chicago, Davis said in a statement.

I hope that the Chicago federal prosecutors and U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. will re-evaluate the case as I believe it will be determined that there are no facts to support any of the charges against Mr. Firtash.

Davis became a prominent figure during the Trump administration as the lawyer and public relations guru for Michael Cohen, the one-time personal attorney for Donald Trump who cooperated with the special counsels investigation.

By Chuck Ross

From The Daily Caller News Foundation

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Imperial Valley News Center

Patient Recruiter Sentenced to Prison for $3.3 Million Cancer Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

Tampa, Florida - A Florida man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a scheme that resulted in the submission of approximately $3.3 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for genetic testing.

Ivan Andre Scott, 36, of Kissimmee, was convicted by a federal jury on Jan. 8, 2021, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive unlawful health care kickbacks, and three counts of receiving unlawful kickbacks. According to court documents, Scott was the owner of Scott Global, a telemarketing call center located in Orlando. The evidence showed that Scott targeted Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing phone calls falsely stating that Medicare covered expensive cancer screening genetic testing, or CGx tests. Each test cost as much as $6,000. After beneficiaries agreed to take the test, the evidence showed Scott paid unlawful bribes and kickbacks to telemedicine companies to obtain doctors orders authorizing the tests.

The evidence at trial showed that the telemedicine doctors approved the expensive testing even though they were not treating the beneficiary for cancer or symptoms of cancer, and often without even speaking with the beneficiary. According to the evidence presented at trial, Scott then sold the genetic tests and doctors orders to laboratories in exchange for illegal kickbacks. To conceal the illegal kickbacks, Scott submitted invoices to the laboratories and other marketers making it appear as though he were being paid for hourly marketing services, rather than per referral.

Between November 2018 and May 2019, labs submitted more than $3.3 million in claims to Medicare for genetic tests that Scott had referred to them, of which Medicare paid over $1.3 million. In that timeframe, Scott personally received approximately $194,000 for his role in the scheme.

The defendant used telemarketing and telemedicine to defraud Medicare of more than a million dollars for unnecessary genetic screening tests, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Departments Criminal Division. The department will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who seek to use new technologies to plunder our government health care programs.

Fraudsters who steal from taxpayer-funded federal health care programs and engage in predatory telemarketing calls are a threat to our countrys health care system and its most vulnerable beneficiaries, said Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar of the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Our agents will continue to aggressively investigate health care fraud and hold criminals responsible for their actions.

The unscrupulous tactics used in this scheme to steal from taxpayers is what drives our investigators to combat healthcare fraud, said Special Agent in Charge Michael McPherson of the FBIs Tampa Field Office. The FBIs mission to protect the American people includes protecting them from fraudsters who cheat our nations federally funded healthcare systems.

The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of Operation Double Helix, a federal law enforcement action led by the Health Care Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section, focused on fraudulent genetic cancer testing and the use of telemedicine that has resulted in charges against dozens of defendants associated with telemedicine companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories for their alleged participation in one of the largest health care fraud schemes ever charged.

Trial Attorneys Alejandro Salicrup and Jamie de Boer of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Two veterinarians in Chile have been accused of applying or promoting dog vaccines to people, falsely claiming it offered protection against COVID-19.

According to the health department for the northern province of Antofagasta, at least 100 workers at a mine and a hospital received the Octuple immunization shots.

Antofagasta Deputy Health Secretary Roxana Diaz said her agency got a report that workers at Maria Fernanda Munoz's veterinary practice in the city of Calama weren't using masks and clients were told it was because the staff was vaccinated.

In an interview Tuesday with the government's 24 Horas television channel, Munoz acknowledged giving herself a vaccine meant to protect dogs, not humans, from Covid, on two separate occasions. She claimed that it was effective.

'I did not provide vaccinations. If the vaccine is so bad, if it didn't do anything to me, why doesn't the Health Department really come and test if my blood has antibodies or not?' Munoz said.

Maria Fernanda Munoz is one of two veterinarians in Chile who have been fined for providing or promoting dog vaccines as false protection against COVID-19. Munoz admitted to administering herself two doses of the canine vaccine and applying the shot to a worker at her practice as well as the employee's husband and two daughters

July Pereira said that she, her husband and the couple's two daughters were also immunized by Maria Fernanda Munoz, the veterinarian who she works for. She and her family did not report any side effects from receiving the dog vaccine as a protection against being infected with COVID-19

July Pereira, who is diabetic, told the network said that she, her husband and the couple's two daughters also got the dog vaccine from Munoz, for whom she works as a clinic administrator.

She said she was aware it was for dogs and the family decided to get it because of concerns about her husband working in close proximity to so many people at his job.

Both Munoz and Pereira said they didn't have any adverse reactions to the vaccine shots.

The shots were applied last year, before any COVID-19 vaccines had been approved in Chile.

'The vaccines that are administered in dogs are specifically for dogs. They cannot be applied to a human being,' Calama veterinarian Paulina Carrasco told 24 Horas.

Medical treatment of animals has been temporarily suspended at a veterinary in Calama, Chile, where its owner used a vaccine for dogs on her herself and four other people

A veterinary clinic operated by Carlos Prado remains closed after the health department in the northern Chilean province of Antofagasta fined him for promoting the use of canine vaccine to immunize humans against COVID-19

The U.S. based VCA veterinary hospital chain includes a reference on its website warning against confusing the new human coronavirus - one of a broad family of viruses that affects many species - with another specific type of virus that is targeted by canine vaccines.

According to the Center for Disease Control, cats and dogs across the globe have contracted the coronavirus after coming into contact with people who were infected. The CDC says that the risk of a pet spreading the virus to people is 'considered to be low.'

Diaz said another veterinarian, Carlos Pardo, also promoted use of the canine vaccine for humans on his Facebook page in September 2020.

According to a local veterinary's website, the Octuple vaccine is administered on dogs for the first time during their first two months of life and once again in the third and fourth month. Dog should get additional doses every year thereafter.

The vaccine can be used to treat canine parvovirus, canine distemper or distemper, canine infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis, canine tracheobronchitis or kennel cough, and coronavirus infection.

The health department fined Pardo the equivalent of about $9,200 and Munoz about $10,300. Both have appealed.

Police officers arrive at a meeting point in the Plaza de Armas to start a day of checking people's transit permissions as part of lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, in Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday.

A funeral worker removes empty coffins that held remains that were later cremated, at La Recoleta cemetery in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Andean nation reported 25,353 confirmed deaths and 1,141,403 cases as of Thursday, according to data from John Hopkins University.

'The truth is, it's very dangerous,' Diaz said. 'There are studies that say the effects can be local - irritation caused by the medications it has - or systemic. But we haven't done a study of what happens inoculating a person with canine vaccines because that would be unethical.'

Chile has now vaccinated 7.7 million of its 19 million people with at least one dose of legitimate COVID-19 vaccines.

The Andean nation reported 25,353 confirmed deaths and 1,141,403 cases as of Thursday, according to data from John Hopkins University.
Oregon health officials announced six new coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday as well as 989 new or presumptive cases, continuing the troubling upward trajectory seen across the state in recent weeks.

An hour before the public data release, Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen told a House legislative COVID-19 subcommittee theres a fair amount of not-so-good news in our update this week.

The bad news included that -- despite recent predictions it would be a week later -- Oregon could see 300 people hospitalized with the virus within the next few days. Last week, an Oregon Health & Science University predicted the state would hit that 300-patient threshold by May.

During Wednesdays legislative hearing, Allen also highlighted how the states positivity rate has risen to about 6%, indicating a higher spread of disease and a need for more testing. And while Allen said Oregon had the third lowest number of cases per capita since the pandemic began, the state was the 23rd lowest per capita over the past week.

Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that 11 counties could move to the states extreme risk category and its accompanying restrictions if Oregon reaches 300 hospitalizations and a 15% increase over the past week. Those counties include Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Linn, Marion, and Polk.

Currently, Grant County is ranked second highest in the nation for COVID-19 case rates, behind Dimmit County, Texas, according to The New York Times. Grant County, population 7,200, beat out every county in Michigan, which is dominating the list of top 100 counties, for most COVID-19 cases per capita.

Klamath County also has made the list, ranking 87th.

Obviously, its concerning Allen told lawmakers Wednesday. We are still on the upward track here.

Hospitalizations: The number of hospitalized patients in Oregon grew to 272, an increase of 17 patients from the day before. In the past two weeks, Oregons number of COVID-19 patients have grown by 53%, compared with the national average that is unchanged.

The health authority reported 65 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care unit beds across the state, seven more than Tuesday.

Vaccines: Oregon on Tuesday reported that Oregonians received 39,882 new COVID-19 vaccine doses. The seven-day running average is 33,933 doses per day.

As of Wednesday, Oregon had administered 1,369,371 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 1,153,611 doses of Moderna and 90,301 doses of Johnson & Johnson. A total of 1,635,625 people have completed the vaccine series, while 570,359 have had at least one dose.

States across the country, including Oregon, put Johnson & Johnsons rollout on pause last week as experts study it for blood clot risks.

Where the new cases are by county: Baker (6), Benton (24), Clackamas (61), Clatsop (7), Columbia (7), Coos (2), Crook (4), Curry (5), Deschutes (99), Douglas (7), Grant (10), Harney (2), Hood River (5), Jackson (93), Jefferson (3), Josephine (23), Klamath (34), Lake (3), Lane (82), Linn (33), Malheur (3), Marion (114), Morrow (3), Multnomah (167), Polk (20), Tillamook (5), Umatilla (16), Wallowa (1), Wasco (3), Washington (134) and Yamhill (13).

The state noted in its Wednesday report that case counts were lower than expected on Tuesday due to technical issues with its lab reporting program.

Deaths: Oregon has recorded 2,466 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Oregons 2,461st COVID-19 death was an 82-year-old Douglas County man who tested positive April 16 and died April 13 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregons 2,462nd death was a 90-year-old Benton County man who tested positive April 16 and died April 19 at his residence. He had underlying conditions.

Oregons 2,463rd death was a 67-year-old Jackson County man who tested positive March 29 and died April 18 at Asante Ashland Community Hospital. He had underlying conditions.

Oregons 2,464th death was a 42-year-old Jackson County man who tested positive March 25 and died April 18 at Asante Rogue Valley Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Oregons 2,465th death was a 48-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive March 28 and died April 16 at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center. He had no underlying conditions.

Oregons 2,466th death was a 56-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive April 1 and died April 16 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. He had underlying conditions.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 177,134 coronavirus cases -- either presumed or confirmed -- and 2,466 deaths.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
In the third lockdown, 93,000 firms finances weakened to the point of significant financial distress, according to Begbies Traynor

A record number of businesses fell into serious trouble during the first quarter of the year, under pandemic pressure.

In the third lockdown, 93,000 firms finances weakened to the point of significant financial distress, according to the red flag alert report by insolvency experts Begbies Traynor  the largest quarterly rise since 2014, and means 723,000 companies are at risk of going bust.

Since the pandemic began, the number of severely distressed firms has rocketed by 42 per cent.

Julie Palmer, at Begbies Traynor, said: The dam of zombie businesses could be about to break.

'This is no ordinary recession and while businesses have had significant assistance from central government, large parts of the economy have been put on hold.

The hardest-hit sectors have been transport and logistics, property services, financial services and construction.
Around 20 people have been detained at an unauthorised rally in support of jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny in Moscow, the Public Observation Commission told Sputnik.

On Wednesday, the demonstrations took place across amid the reports about Navalny's poor health condition despite the authorities' refusal to authorise the rallies. According to the Russian Interior Ministry, about 14,400 people joined the rallies in 29 Russian cities.

The rally in Moscow, like in other cities, has already come to an end. The Interior Minister said that some 6,000 people took part in the demonstration in the Russian capital.

In January, Navalny returned to Moscow from Berlin after receiving medical treatment for his alleged poisoning. The opposition figure was arrested on arrival and referred to a court, which in early February rescinded his suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple probation breaches and replaced it with a 3.5-year term behind bars. A Moscow city court reinstated the ruling but reduced the sentence to 2.5 years.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chennai, April 22 : The first bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy took suo moto notice of newspaper reports about transfer of oxygen cylinders from Tamil Nadu to other states even as the state is reeling under the surging Covid cases.

The High Court bench asked the state advocate general, Vijay Narayan to get a report on the measures taken by the state to handle the crisis. The court also took exception to the shortage of Remdesivir and ventilators.

The bench directed the state to inform it about the steps taken by the government regarding oxygen supply. The court observed that Tamil Nadu has several industries which can supply oxygen and that there is proper infrastructure to transport this oxygen.

Vedanta Industries, Tuticorin, has already written to both the Tamil Nadu government and the Union health ministry that it can supply oxygen from its Sterlite Copper plants which were shut down. The company has offered to supply 1000 tons of oxygen daily.

The court said there need not be any confusion and that the state has to control the situation.
CHARLOTTETOWN - Prince Edward Island says it will receive double the number it expected of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in May and June.

A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is administered at a COVID-19 clinic in Ottawa on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

CHARLOTTETOWN - Prince Edward Island says it will receive double the number it expected of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in May and June.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Heather Morrison says the extra 47,430 doses will mean more people will get their first doses sooner and others won't have to wait as long for booster shots.

She says health officials expect to be able to offer everyone a booster shot no later than 12 weeks after their first dose.

Starting next week, people in their 40s can begin booking vaccination appointments on the Island.

Morrison is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today, involving a person who arrived in the province from outside Atlantic Canada.

There are now 12 active reported cases in the province.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.
LONDON and NEW YORK, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AINQA Health Pte. Ltd. (Headquartered in Singapore, CEO: Kanagasingam Kathirkama Thamby, also "AINQA") and Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd. (Headquartered in Tokyo, President: Satoshi Murabayashi, also "MURC") have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 13 April 2021 to collaborate in the fight against infectious diseases by allowing innovative projects using advanced technologies such as AI(Artificial Intelligence) in low-and middle-income countries. Both companies will contribute to the promotion of global health by bringing together their knowledge, expertise and networks to form new projects and conduct experimental projects.

As the world grapples with COVID-19, infectious disease control is one of the major global challenges. New models of collaboration through innovative solutions are required to reduce the burden of infectious diseases and promote health equity in the world.

AINQA is a company that uses cutting-edge technologies such as data science and AI to develop effective digital solutions for infectious disease with healthcare stakeholders around the world. MURC established a Center on Global Health Architecture to tackle issues in global health. One of its initiatives is to combat infectious diseases focusing on "digital health," or the use of digital technologies to improve health and wellness systems.

This MoU aims to combine their efforts to form projects on the implementation of digital platforms in low-and middle-income countries such as Asia and Africa, with a focus on "Prevention," "Early detection," and "Response," as well as "Prediction" in the fight against infectious diseases. Through digital platforms, both parties aim to create a healthier and better future for low-and middle-income countries.

SOURCE AINQA Health
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By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG

AP Business Writer

NEW YORK  It looks like something to celebrate: small businesses posting Help Wanted signs as the economy edges toward normalcy. Yet, instead of snapping up these jobs, many out-of-work Americans are choosing to stay home.

Some are worried about catching COVID-19 or prefer to live off unemployment benefits that are significantly higher amid the pandemic. Child care is another issue  parents aren't able to work when they need to tend to or home-school their children. That's contributing to a hiring and staffing crisis at small companies, which in turn can put a dent in their revenue and profits.





. . .
Apr. 22Michigan is launching a program to offer travelers to the state COVID-19 tests at an airport and two Welcome Centers, officials said Thursday.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Department of Transportation and select airports have teamed up to offer the pilot program, which aims to curb the spread of the virus.

"As we head into the summer with vaccines ramping up and a light at the end of the tunnel, I am so proud of this partnership to keep (Michiganians) safe," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. "I encourage all (Michiganians) to continue masking up, socially distancing and hand washing to slow the spread, and if you re-enter or travel across the state, get tested at one of the new sites being set up at key points."

The governor also encourages Michiganians to get vaccinated to help end the pandemic.

Under the pilot program, free testing will be offered at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City and the Michigan Welcome Centers in Dundee and Monroe.

Hours for testing at the airport are 2-10 p.m. Wednesdays, noon-8 p.m. Fridays and 3-11 p.m. Sundays.

Testing at the two welcome centers will begin Friday. Hours at both the Dundee Welcome Center on U.S.-23 and the Monroe Welcome Center on Interstate 75 will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday.

Additional sites will be announced as they are confirmed.

Travelers will be able to register online for a test at an airport or Welcome Center and walk-ups will be taken as space allows, officials said. Insurance is not required and results can be obtained via text, email or uploaded to a traveler's patient portal. Results will be available in as little as 15 minutes.

"With growing concerns of new, more contagious variants, testing for COVID-19 is more important than ever," Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at the state health department, said in a statement. "If you are engaging in any travel, we encourage you to take advantage of this testing when you re-enter or travel across the state."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CharlesERamirez
But there was a reason for this to be in place at the time. I think were reaching the outer edges of that. But precisely when that will expire remains to be seen, and well be working with the aldermen to make that determination.
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Located just south of the Adler Planetarium, the station sits where Meigs Field Airport used to operate before it was abruptly destroyed overnight in 2003 at the order of former Mayor Richard M. Daley. The land from the single-runway airport, which opened there in December 1948, has slowly been developed into the urban park called Northerly Island.
Islamabad, April 22 : Pakistan has once against called on the Indian side to cooperate with its courts and appoint a counsel for Kulbushan Jadhav to implement the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Retired Indian Navy officer Jadhav was sentenced to death in 2017 by a military court in Pakistan on charges of espionage and terrorism. India had subsequently approached the ICJ against the denial of consular access to Jadhav, besides challenging the death sentence.

During a weekly press briefing at the Pakistan foreign office, a government spokesperson stated that it is hoped that "India will cooperate with the Pakistani court in giving full effect to the ICJ judgment".

"The Indian side is once again urged to take the necessary steps, including the appointment of a legal counsel to represent Commander Jadhav in the case, so that legal proceedings could be duly concluded and full effect could be given to the judgment of the ICJ," said foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudri.

Pakistan's demand comes in reference to the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 17 July 2019, cancelling the death sentence of Jadhav and calling for a trial into the allegations against him in the civilian court.

It is pertinent to mention here that the death sentence to Jadhav was handed over by a military court in Pakistan, which was not accepted by the ICJ.

Pakistan has maintained that it is abiding by the ICJ judgment and has filed a case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). However, the Indian High Commission (IHC), raising question over the high court's decision to appoint a defence counsel in the case, has challenged the case.

The Indian High Commission, represented by Barister Shahnawaz Noon, has contested that the high court is not proceeding as per the requirements of the ICJ.

"India has stressed upon the rights granted to its citizen under the Vienna Convention and the ICJ's decision. They have the right to arrange a legal counsel for their citizen," he said.

The IHC has adjourned the proceedings till May 5, 2021.

Pakistan is insisting that it is fully implementing the ICJ judgment, accusing India for opting for delaying tactics in appointing a counsel for Jadhav.

"Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the International Court of Justice judgment of July 17, 2019. It is hoped that India will cooperate with the Pakistani courts in giving full effect to the said judgment," said Pakistan foreign office spokesperson.

On January 14, the Pakistan government was ordered by the IHC to contact the Indian government again regarding the appointment of a legal counsel for Jadhav.

In this regard, the chief justice of IHC, Athar Minallah, has stated that the Indian High Commission has not appointed a counsel yet despite being sent notices four times.

"The Indian government is apparently not serious in Jadhav's matter," Minallah said.
Hero MotoCorp and Gogoro Inc. announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the shift to sustainable electric mobility in India. The companies will establish a battery swapping joint venture to bring Gogoro's industry leading battery swapping platform to India and will collaborate on electric vehicle development to bring Herobranded, powered by Gogoro Network vehicles to market.

Hero MotoCorp has decided to halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its Global Parts Center (GPC), in view of the ongoing escalation in the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

State Bank of India (SBI) said that IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on its unlisted subsidiary SBI General Insurance Company for violation of regulations relating to motor third party insurance obligations.

On a standalone basis, Nestle India net profit rose 14.62% to Rs 602.25 crore on 8.58% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,610.82 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. The board has declared an interim dividend for FY2021 of Rs 25 per equity share, which shall be paid on and from 19 May 2021.

ICICI Securities' consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 111% to Rs 329 crore on 53% increase in revenue to Rs 739 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

On a consolidated basis, Phillips Carbon Black reported 75.55% jump in net profit to Rs 127.73 crore on 23.75% increase in net sales to Rs 866.73 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

KEC International has secured new orders of Rs 1,245 crore across its various businesses.

ICRA has upgraded the rating of MTAR Technologies (MTAR)'s long-term bank facilities to "ICRA A-" from "ICRA BBB+" while revising the outlook on the same to 'Positive' from 'Stable'.

5paisa Capital reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5.86 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 1.70 crore in Q4 FY20. Total revenue from operations during the quarter increased by 39.88% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 49.53 crore in Q4 FY21.

On a consolidated basis, TV18 Broadcast's net profit surged 77.02% to Rs 251.08 crore on 5.40% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 1,347.94 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel Long Products reported a net profit of Rs 339.86 crore in Q4 March 2021 compared with net loss of Rs 133.23 crore in Q4 March 2020. Consolidated revenue from operations surged 53.40% to Rs 1,546.74 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

On a standalone basis, Swaraj Engines' net profit soared 105.55% to Rs 32.56 crore on 74.10% surge in revenue from operations to Rs 304.91 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Corrects figures in paragraphs 2, 12 to 1.4 mln from 1.2 mln and 700,000 from 596,618 respectively)

By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is effective at preventing symptomatic and severe disease in people with some chronic illnesses, like diabetes and heart disease, the biggest real-world study showed on Thursday.

The analysis of almost 1.4 million people by Israel's largest healthcare provider will offer further hope for countries as they get shots into citizens' arms, particularly those considered vulnerable, and curb the pandemic that has killed more than 3.1 million people.

The vaccine was 80% effective against symptomatic infection for people with heart or chronic kidney diseases, 86% for people with type 2 diabetes, 75% for cerebrovascular disease, and 84% for people suffering from immunodeficiency, according to the Clalit Research Institue study.

For people who were vaccinated and were already suffering three or more chronic conditions or risk factors, such as heart disease, neurological disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, smoking, pregnancy or obesity, the research shows it was 88% effective in preventing symptomatic infection.

It was more than 90% effective against severe disease for people with type 2 diabetes, heart or cerebrovascular disease and 100% for people suffering from immunodeficiency.

The data is the latest from Israel where a universal and digitised healthcare system and the speedy vaccination programme have allowed researchers insights into the vaccine's potency. Clalit covers more than half of Israel's population.

The results were lower than the 96% overall vaccine effectiveness seven days or more after the second dose, found by the study and the 95% effectiveness found in clinicial trials last year.

But researchers said they offered some optimism that the vaccine still offers protection against severe illness in people who become infected after they get their shots.

Story continues

"Protection is mildly reduced among patients with several co-morbidities. These results are very encouraging, as they suggest that most COVID-19 cases will be prevented by vaccination even in the elderly and chronically ill," said Ran Balicer, Clalit's chief innovation officer.

"People with chronic diseases, multiple chronic or severe chronic diseases, should get vaccinated because the vaccine is very effective in protecting them against the high rates of complications that are expected," Balicer said.

The research was also carried out by Harvard and the University of Michigan and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.

The Clalit study compared about 700,000 people vaccinated between Dec. 20, 2020 and Feb. 14 against the same size group of unvaccinated people, matching age, gender and other characteristics.

The subgroup of the people with chronic diseases was about 130,000 people, Balicer said.

More than half of Israel's 9.3 million population has been fully inoculated since its vaccination drive began in late December. COVID-19 cases have dropped continuously since a mid-January peak as the economy has largely opened.

Until mid-April, Israel has documented 98% fewer coronavirus cases, 93% fewer critically ill and 87% fewer COVID-19 deaths, according to Eran Segal, data scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Balicer said that although Israel was not yet at "herd immunity," the sharp drop was "proof of the potential of mass vaccination to really take us out of harm's way and shows the light at the end of the tunnel".

OBESITY, HYPERTENSION AND OVERWEIGHT

The large sample size allowed researchers to look more closely at subgroups of people with specific chronic diseases which would not necessarily be examined in a vaccine clinical trial, the researchers said.

It also found the vaccine to be 92% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among people over the age of 70, 96% for overweight people and 93% for those suffering obesity and provided 90% protection for people suffering from hypertension.

Danny Altmann, an immunology professor at the Imperial College London, said the study was among the first real world research to offer such granular data into vaccinated subgroups.

"Transitioning into real-world application, the effectiveness still looks terrific, but inevitably there are people who make poor vaccine responses," he said in an email to Reuters.

"We need to know who they are, why, and what can be done to rescue immunity. Next, we need to see the results from each of the big cohort studies for the various patient groups."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said that of the 84 million people who have been fully vaccinated in the United States, fewer than 6,000 have got sick with COVID-19 more than two weeks after being fully dosed.

Of those, nearly 400 were hospitalised and around 75 died, according to CDC data. Some of the hospitalisations and deaths were not due to COVID-19 infections.

Pfizer's late-stage clinical trial included people with co-morbidities. The most frequently reported co-morbidities were obesity (35.1%), diabetes (with and without chronic complications, 8.4%) and pulmonary disease (7.8%), a spokesman said.

(Additional reporting by Steve Scheer in Jerusalem and Michele Gershberg; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Josephine Mason in London)
"It is clarified that the CoWIN platform will be ready for 18+ beneficiaries by April 24, however, the registrations to book appointments (starting May 1) will begin only from April 28, 2021 (sic)," MyGovIndia said in a tweet.

In the wake of shortage of oxygen supply in the country and unabated rise in Covid-19 cases, mining firm Vedanta has filed a petition in Supreme Court to allow the company to reopen its controversial Tuticorin copper smelter plant to manufacture oxygen.

Appearing for Vedanta, senior advocate officer Harish Salve on Thursday said that if the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) is allowed to re-start, it can be utilised to meet the ongoing demand for medical oxygen. The Tamil Nadu government has opposed the plea while the apex court has agreed to hear the case on April 23, Friday.

Yesterday, in a letter to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, CEO Pankaj Kumar wrote that the company was keen to support the nation's needs and meet the rising demand for oxygen.

Kumar said that the Sterlite plant in Tuticorin contains two oxygen plants with a combined capacity of producing 1,000 tonnes of oxygen, daily. "We would like to offer these facilities for your use, towards ensuring that there is no lack of this viral commodity in the nation," he added.

He also requested the Tamil Nadu government to grant permission to re-start the plant but only to manufacture oxygen gas which it claimed "would be instrumental in supporting state government" amid the pandemic.

In 2018, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had sealed the Tuticorin plant over allegations of releasing pollutants in its vicinity and in the wake of violent protests. While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) allowed the plant to resume operations in February 2019, the Supreme Court set aside the ruling. Subsequently. the company approached the Madras High Court. However, the high court upheld the pollution board's closure last year in August. After which Vedanta filed a petition in SC, claiming that "forces were conspiring against the nation' by keeping Sterlite Copper shut.

Also read: Registration for vaccination of 18 yrs and above from Apr 24; here's how to register on CoWin

Also read: Piramal Capital mobilises Rs 2,500 crore to integrate Dewan Housing acquisition
Thursday, April 22, 2021

James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed, writes: (page 208)

"This collection by attorneys Bill and Ed Wegmann includes a report by Wackenhut - a detective agency the Wegmanns hired - of an interview of a secretary who worked for attorney G. Wray Gill. Gill had employed David Ferrie as an investigator on some of his cases, including his work for Carlos Marcello. This secretary, named Sandra Anderson, told the detectives that she had seen a photograph depicting Shaw with Ferrie."

DiEugenio's source is Probe Magazine, Volume 4 Number 8, page 8, which is not very helpful, since many issues are not online, In this case, that article is now online and page 8 does indeed give us more information:

"In a report to the Wegmanns by Wackenhut agents along with WDSU reporter Rick Townley (4/19/67), there are references to attorney G. Wray Gill. In this report she said she had a photo depicting both Shaw and Ferrie." [emphasis in original]

Ok, the source is a report of an interview with Rick Townley. I have all the detective reports in the Wegmann/Dymond files, and here is that memo:

A few points about this memo:

Of course, the photograph in question is not available. An FBI agent came and confiscated it. Sound familiar? Sandra Anderson also claimed that David Ferrie was in Dallas "right around the assassination period." We know that is not true. She claimed she made airline reservations for David Ferrie and Clay Bertrand, but Townley could find no evidence to support that allegation. An interesting aside about Betty Parrott (mentioned on page three) - that she was known as "the mother hen to all the homosexuals in the French Quarter." We have previously blogged about Parrott - and her inability to find Clay Bertrand back in 1963 . In addition, Parrott also talked to both the FBI and the Garrison investigation.

Anderson said that Morris Brownlee took the photograph. And, guess what? The Wackenhut detectives talked to Brownlee. Here is the memo:

On page four, Brownlee told Wackenhut that "he never had his picture taken anyplace with SHAW or DAVID FERRIE and that he never took their picture." He added that "this is the first time that he has heard of such an alleged incident."

On May 3, 1967, Brownlee called up Wackenhut to 'state he was interested in clearing David Ferrie's name in the investigation." He also added this about the picture:

Now, you might expect that the denials from Morris Brownlee about the picture might be reported by James DiEugenio. He never mentions it in his book or in Probe Magazine. You might expect that the other ridiculous claims by Sandra Anderson might give one some concern about her credibility. Nope, not all in. In fact, James DiEugenio just repeated the allegation this week on the Education Forum:

Now, the Anderson allegation is also proof that "Shaw's lawyers knew he was lying."

All of this begs the question: Did James DiEugenio actually read all the Wackenhut reports?
It is not important at the moment to relocate Ghanas national capital from Accra, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Dan Botwe has said. In his view, enough measures have been put in place to make Accra work efficiently as the national capital, thus, it will be too expensive to move the capital now.



I do not think the relocation of the capital city is important now because it costs so much, Mr Botwe told journalists at the Regional Ministers and Chief Directors Conference. In his estimation, now that we have expanded services with leadership and well-trained capacity-building, we should be able to deliver.



Mr Botwes comment comes on the back of repetitive clamouring for the national capital to be moved to a different part of the country. Earlier this month, one of the capital relocation advocates, the Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Kwame Akuoko Sarpong, revived the debate, saying Accra was made Ghanas capital by accident.



He suggested that Accra be made a commercial capital while administrative functions of the country are moved to areas around Kintampo in the Bono East Region. I have spoken about this before, he said, adding: We can be thinking of relocating the administrative capital somewhere near Kintampo while Accra remains the commercial capital.



[We can] have an administrative capital away from Accra, somewhere within the interior, near Yeji, where theres water, Nana Akuoko Sarpong suggested.



He added: We must plan ahead because Accra was not planned to be a capital.



Accra, the chief noted, became a capital by accident around 1875 during King Tackies time because Accra is very close to the sea and is below sea level, he explained after a ceremony to celebrate his 45th-anniversary as the Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area.



Accra became the capital of the British Gold Coast colony in 1877 with the transfer of the seat of government of the colonial authority from Cape Coast.

Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An internal police review will be launched following the death of Gold Coast mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson, as police admit they failed to protect her.

Police confirmed Ms Wilkinson twice contacted officers in the weeks before her death, allegedly at the hands of her former partner, Brian Earl Johnston.

Kelly Wilkinsons former partner has been charged with her murder.

Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd confirmed there was a domestic violence incident on March 29, and two other instances involving Ms Wilkinson attending police stations.

Ms Wilkinsons burnt body was found in her Arundel home on Tuesday morning, with her three children believed to be inside at the time.
Beyond Capital, an impact investment fund that invests in companies seeking solutions to improve the lives of people at the bottom of the economic pyramid in India and East Africa, is pleased to announce its recent investment in Hasiru Dala Innovations. Hasiru Dala Innovations is an early-stage company focused on livelihoods and entrepreneurship opportunities for wastepickers, through inclusive businesses that enable the circular economy and mitigate the environmental effects of waste.

Hasiru Dala Innovations was founded in 2015 by Shekar Prabhakar, Nalini Shekar, and Marwan Abubaker. The company employs a decentralized model to collect waste from households and bulk waste generators by empowering micro-entrepreneurs at the last-mile and ensuring responsible treatment of waste through upstream partnerships with local partners and global companies.

The company is helping to tackle a pervasive environmental and public health crisis in urban India. Approximately 377 million people generate about 62 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. Of that total, approximately 43 million tons is collected and 12 million tons is treated. There are 4 million independent waste pickers in India who collect, clean, and segregate recyclable waste and sell it further up the value chain in order to make a living.

Hasiru Dala Innovations enables economic justice for wastepickers through a variety of initiatives, including a partnership with Bangalores municipal corporation. Hasiru Dala Innovations also operates a round-the-clock manned customer helpline during business hours, providing reliability and consistency of service. The company is working with more than 36,000 residential households, has 420+ unique clients, and has impacted 350+ wastepickers and micro-entrepreneurs. The companys sister organization is a nonprofit dedicated to social justice and policy advocacy, placing Hasiru Dala Innovations in a unique position to usher in best practices for solid waste management throughout the country.

Through its important work, Hasiru Dala Innovations is poised to play a critical role in not only helping micro-entrepreneurs build their livelihoods throughout urban India, but also helping CPG clients recover and recycle plastic waste generated in the ecosystem, noted Beyond Capital Co-Founder and CEO Eva Yazhari. This impactful company is committed to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including responsible consumption and production, sustainable cities and communities, and decent work and economic growth. We are excited to partner with Hasiru Dala Innovations in this journey and are impressed by the resilience and agility of the business.

This investment, which is being matched by Beyond Capital co-investing partner the Eckenstein-Geigy-Stiftung Foundation, will allow Hasiru Dala Innovations to further its reach, including advancements in the companys operational and marketing efforts.

We are passionate proponents of the need to move from a linear economy to a circular economy model with consumers, producers, and waste management providers doing their utmost to accelerate the transition, said Shekar Prabhakar, CEO, Hasiru Dala Innovations. Our vision of integrating this generation of wastepickers and microentrepreneurs into the mainstream circular economy and enabling its accelerated adoption by consumers and producers is greatly enhanced by this investment led by Beyond Capital.

ABOUT HASIRU DALA INNOVATIONS

Hasiru Dala Innovations Private Limited is a for-purpose, not-for-loss business that is focused on creating better livelihoods and entrepreneurship opportunities for wastepickers through inclusive businesses that enable the circular economy. The company enables economic justice for the community that it partners and works with  wastepickers.

Please visit https://hasirudalainnovations.com/ for more information.

ABOUT BEYOND CAPITAL

Beyond Capital is an impact investment fund that invests in for-profit early-stage companies throughout East Africa and India. The fund invests in businesses that are focused on greater access to health care, sanitation, and energy, as well as food security and financial inclusion, which can increase the quality of life and standard of living for consumers living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Though the fund seeks market-rate financial returns, Beyond Capital is structured as a nonprofit, which permits the organization to emphasize fidelity to its social mission alongside its financial mandate.

Please visit http://www.beyondcapitalfund.org for more information.
At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link and delivers an important speech titled "For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together" in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing on Thursday.

Please see the translation of the full text of the speech.

Full Text: Remarks by Chinese President Xi Jinping at Leaders Summit on Climate

For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the Peoples Republic of China

At the Leaders Summit on Climate

22 April 2021

Honorable President Joe Biden,

Honorable Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure to join you at the Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day. I wish to thank President Biden for the kind invitation. It is good to have this opportunity to have an in-depth exchange of views with you on climate change, and to discuss ways to tackle this challenge and find a path forward for man and Nature to live in harmony.

Since time of the industrial civilization, mankind has created massive material wealth. Yet, it has come at a cost of intensified exploitation of natural resources, which disrupted the balance in the Earths ecosystem, and laid bare the growing tensions in the human-Nature relationship. In recent years, climate change, biodiversity loss, worsening desertification and frequent extreme weather events have all posed severe challenges to human survival and development. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has added difficulty to economic and social development across countries. Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action. We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and Nature.

 We must be committed to harmony between man and Nature. All things that grow live in harmony and benefit from the nourishment of Nature. Mother Nature is the cradle of all living beings, including humans. It provides everything essential for humanity to survive and thrive. Mother Nature has nourished us, and we must treat Nature as our root, respect it, protect it, and follow its laws. Failure to respect Nature or follow its laws will only invite its revenge. Systemic spoil of Nature will take away the foundation of human survival and development, and will leave us human beings like a river without a source and a tree without its roots. We should protect Nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes, and endeavor to foster a new relationship where man and Nature can both prosper and live in harmony.

 We must be committed to green development. Green mountains are gold mountains. To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to improve the environment is to boost productivity  the truth is as simple as that. We must abandon development models that harm or undermine the environment, and must say no to shortsighted approaches of going after near-term development gains at the expense of the environment. Much to the contrary, we need to ride the trend of technological revolution and industrial transformation, seize the enormous opportunity in green transition, and let the power of innovation drive us to upgrade our economic, energy and industrial structures, and make sure that a sound environment is there to buttress sustainable economic and social development worldwide.

 We must be committed to systemic governance. Mountains, rivers, forests as well as farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts all make indivisible parts of the ecosystem. Protecting the ecosystem requires more than a simplistic, palliative approach. We need to follow the innate laws of the ecosystem and properly balance all elements and aspects of Nature. This is a way that may take us where we want to be, an ecosystem in sound circulation and overall balance.

 We must be committed to a people-centered approach. The environment concerns the well-being of people in all countries. We need to take into full account peoples longing for a better life and a good environment as well as our responsibility for future generations. We need to look for ways to protect the environment, grow the economy, create jobs and remove poverty all at the same time, so as to deliver social equity and justice in the course of green transition and increase peoples sense of benefit, happiness and security.

 We must be committed to multilateralism. We need to work on the basis of international law, follow the principle of equity and justice, and focus on effective actions. We need to uphold the UN-centered international system, comply with the objectives and principles laid out in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement, and strive to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We need to each take stronger actions, strengthen partnerships and cooperation, learn from each other and make common progress in the new journey toward global carbon neutrality. In this process, we must join hands, not point fingers at each other; we must maintain continuity, not reverse course easily; and we must honor commitments, not go back on promises.

China welcomes the United States return to the multilateral climate governance process. Not long ago, the Chinese and US sides released a Joint Statement Addressing the Climate Crisis. China looks forward to working with the international community including the United States to jointly advance global environmental governance.

 We must be committed to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities is the cornerstone of global climate governance. Developing countries now face multiple challenges to combat COVID-19, grow the economy, and address climate change. We need to give full recognition to developing countries contribution to climate action and accommodate their particular difficulties and concerns. Developed countries need to increase climate ambition and action. At the same time, they need to make concrete efforts to help developing countries strengthen the capacity and resilience against climate change, support them in financing, technology, and capacity building, and refrain from creating green trade barriers, so as to help developing countries accelerate the transition to green and low-carbon development.

Colleagues,

The Chinese civilization has always valued harmony between man and Nature as well as observance of the laws of Nature. It has been our constant pursuit that man and Nature could live in harmony with each other. Ecological advancement and conservation have been written into Chinas Constitution and incorporated into Chinas overall plan for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. China will follow the Thought on Ecological Civilization and implement the new development philosophy. We will aim to achieve greener economic and social development in all aspects, with a special focus on developing green and low-carbon energy. We will continue to prioritize ecological conservation and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development.

Last year, I made the official announcement that China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. This major strategic decision is made based on our sense of responsibility to build a community with a shared future for mankind and our own need to secure sustainable development. China has committed to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in a much shorter time span than what might take many developed countries, and that requires extraordinarily hard efforts from China. The targets of carbon peak and carbon neutrality have been added to Chinas overall plan for ecological conservation. We are now making an action plan and are already taking strong nationwide actions toward carbon peak. Support is being given to peaking pioneers from localities, sectors and companies. China will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period and phase it down in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Moreover, China has decided to accept the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and tighten regulations over non-carbon dioxide emissions. Chinas national carbon market will also start trading.

As a participant, contributor and trailblazer in global ecological conservation, China is firmly committed to putting multilateralism into action and promoting a fair and equitable system of global environmental governance for win-win cooperation. China will host COP15 to the Convention on Biological Diversity this October and looks forward to working with all parties to enhance global governance on biodiversity. We support COP26 to the UNFCCC in achieving positive outcomes. As we in China often say, It is more important to show people how to fish than just giving them fish. China has done its best to help developing countries build capacity against climate change through various forms of results-oriented South-South cooperation. From remote sensing satellites for climate monitoring in Africa to low-carbon demonstration zones in Southeast Asia and to energy-efficient lights in small island countries, such cooperation has yielded real, tangible and solid results. China has also made ecological cooperation a key part of Belt and Road cooperation. A number of green action initiatives have been launched, covering wide-ranging efforts in green infrastructure, green energy, green transport and green finance, to bring enduring benefits to the people of all Belt and Road partner countries.

Colleagues,

As we say in China, When people pull together, nothing is too heavy to be lifted. Climate change poses pressing, formidable and long-term challenges to us all. Yet I am confident that as long as we unite in our purposes and efforts and work together with solidarity and mutual assistance, we will rise above the global climate and environment challenges and leave a clean and beautiful world to future generations.

Thank you.
(Natural News) In an email blast sent out to his supporters on Monday, former President Donald Trump bashed those who are just saying no to the experimental Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) gene therapy injections being administered under his Operation Warp Speed mass vaccination scheme.

According to Trump, there is no reason for anyone to skip the jab because every medication carries with it some risk. Taking a precautionary approach, even for an alleged virus that almost nobody develops symptoms from, is deranged pseudo-science, according to Trump.

The federal pause on the J&J shot makes no sense, Trump complained. Why is the Biden White House letting insanely risk-averse bureaucrats run the show?

Trump is referring, of course, to the federal governments temporary halt on all further administration of Johnson & Johnsons Chinese Virus injection, which just like every other emergency use authorization (EUA) jab currently being administered is linked to deadly blood clots.

In Trumps view, most people are not experiencing these blood clots immediately after injection so there is no reason to stop the highly profitable, zero-liability operation from proceeding.

Just six people out of the nearly 7 million whove gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine reported blood clots, Trump further whined. The condition is more common in the general population, and every vaccine  indeed, every medication  carries some risk, including the Moderna and Pfizer jabs.

Despite several years back while running for president in 2016 expressing his own anti-vaccine sentiments, Trump has now decided to take aim at those resisting the latest experimental injections from Big Pharma, which are not even approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Trump says that it is sheer lunacy for Resident Joe Biden to delay millions of vaccinations and feed fears among the vax-resistant.

Indeed, this moronic move is a gift to the anti-vax movement, Trump added in the email. The science bureaucrats are fueling that deranged pseudo-science.

You can read the full press release below as tweeted by the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN):

President Trumps statement on Bidens vaccine plan: pic.twitter.com/03WUPMouYj  RSBN  (@RSBNetwork) April 17, 2021

Trump was the catalyst for the new normal

Many seem to have forgotten that it was Trump who declared a national emergency with regards to the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) back on March 13, 2020. This opened up the door for nationwide lockdowns, mask mandates and other authoritarian impositions.

Not long after his declaration, Trump announced the launch of Operation Warp Speed, which promised a fast-tracked vaccine scheme to be rolled out at warp speed.

Now, thanks to Trump, Americans are being coerced into getting jabbed as a condition of returning back to normal. Governments around the world, including here in the United States, are also now talking about forcing people to carry around vaccine passports to prove they were injected as a condition of entry into stores.

Colleges and universities all across the country are already announcing that in order for students to return to on-campus learning this fall, they will need to get injected with one of Trumps rushed-to-market Wuhan flu shots.

Trump went along with the scam giving the criminals everything they wanted by signing off on trillion-dollar sellouts and strengthening the corrupt medical industrial establishments, allowing criminal politicians to destroy America and the world, wrote one discouraged commenter at Big League Politics about the downfall of Trump, who appears to be in a delusional state of mind.

Now, he stupidly doubles down on his heinous crimes by belligerently feigning innocence and selling the toxic crap they call a Covid-19 vaccine. The dude actually thinks he has a chance to be president again.

More related news stories about the fallout from Trumps Operation Warp Speed debacle can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Talking about India-Bangladesh relations, Doraiswami said the two countries have very special relationship and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh braving the second wave of Coronavirus.

The Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka said this at Akhaura Land Port in Brahmanbaria of Bangladesh on Thursday morning while returning from India by road after a five-day vacation. He left for India through the Akhaura land port on April 18.

The Indian High Commissioner also mentioned that India has provided vaccine to several countries and Bangladesh is the highest recipients among all the countries.

"We have said we would do our best to meet everyone's needs, subject to limits of production, domestic demands, and other obligations. We will continue to do our best to support the vaccine rollout in our neighbourhood countries, but it is important to bear in mind that there is a huge wave of the pandemic underway in India."

Doraiswami also said that there is limitation in the agreement signed between the original owners of the vaccine and manufacturing countries, including India. Now both, the owners of the vaccine formula and manufacturing countries, are working together to enhance production and supply of vaccine.

"We can assure Bangladesh that we will do our best to ensure that within the limit of physical production we will share whatever we can," Doraiswami said.

Bangladesh has received more than 10.3 million vaccine doses, including 3.3 million as gift while rest as part of a commercial deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII), from India.

Beximco Pharma of Bangladesh signed a deal on November 5, 2020 with the SII to buy 30 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British drug company AstraZeneca. As per the deal, India will supply five million doses of vaccine per month.

--IANS

sumi/rt
Determined to provide another layer of protection for students and teachers who are back in the classroom, officials at some Chicago-area high schools said they hope to take advantage of Illinois recently expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility for those 16 and over.

With the expansion of vaccine eligibility for those 16 and older, which began on Monday in Chicago and earlier this month in the rest of Illinois, 53% of the states 18 and older population, and 50% of those 16 and older, have now received at least one vaccine dose, the Illinois Department of Public Health said Monday.

The IDPH recommends everyone 16 years and older be vaccinated and we are looking at the possibility of vaccination clinics for high school students, IDPH spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.

The state health department is also working with public universities and local health departments to operate university student vaccination clinics, with expansion to other universities and colleges across the state, she said.

Minors need parental consent for any medical care, including vaccines, Arnold said, adding that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for use in those 16 years and older.

We strongly encourage parents and children to talk about the importance of vaccination, Arnold said.

A series of vaccine clinics launched in March at New Trier High Schools Northfield campus and run by Cook County, retail pharmacies and a group of local emergency departments has gotten shots in the arms of 10,000 eligible teachers, senior citizens and first responders from more than 70 surrounding communities, New Trier High School spokeswoman Niki Dizon said Monday.

Now, with the states expanded vaccine availability to the general public, including high school students ages 16 and over, around 500 New Trier students received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on April 13, Dizon said.

We also know many other eligible students have obtained appointments elsewhere, Dizon said, adding: We continue to hold second dose clinics for those who got their first doses on site and look for opportunities to hold more first-dose clinics as well.

Story continues

At Elgin-based Unit School District 46, Superintendent Tony Sanders said officials at the northwest suburban district that enrolls roughly 37,000 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade are encouraging families to get their students vaccinated.

As with our staff vaccinations, we will work with our local health departments, hospitals and community health agencies to support the vaccination effort, Sanders said.

For staff and other eligible community members, we were able to host one, on-site clinic in the district and would be glad to support that again at the request of our health agencies, Sanders said.

While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is not a requirement for school employees or students, Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Max Weiss said, Protecting our school communities through vaccination is key to continuing progress toward our shared goal of full in-person learning.

___
TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued an emotional apology Thursday for introducing COVID-19 restrictions that sparked furious backlash as he confirmed his government would bring in paid sick-leave for workers after months of refusing to do so.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford makes an announcement during the daily briefing at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday April 1, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued an emotional apology Thursday for introducing COVID-19 restrictions that sparked furious backlash as he confirmed his government would bring in paid sick-leave for workers after months of refusing to do so.

Ford said he was sorry for increasing police enforcement powers and closing playgrounds last Friday  measures that were rolled back amid an onslaught of criticism  and said his government got it wrong.

"I will always try to do what's right," Ford said, choking back tears. "If we get something wrong, we'll fix it."

The premier acknowledged his government's recent moves had angered many but maintained he still had the authority to lead the province. He deflected criticism that the impact of the third wave could have been lessened with stronger policy responses, saying he could have done more with greater vaccine supply.

The government announced last week's restrictions amid soaring COVID-19 cases and an alarming rise in people in hospital and intensive care. Critics were especially incensed at the government handing police the power to stop people at random to ask why they were out during the province's stay-at-home order.

Ford said the measures had been brought in too fast in response to dire COVID-19 projections.

"I will always try to do what's right. If we get something wrong, we'll fix it." Doug Ford

"We moved too quick; if I make a mistake, I correct it immediately," Ford said. "I'm sorry and I apologize to each and everyone of you."

The premier confirmed that his government was working on a sick-leave program to support workers, although he did not provide a timeline or any further specifics.

Critics slammed Ford for failing to make commitments to immediately implement sick leave and noted he also didn't move to follow other recommendations from experts, like closing all non-essential workplaces.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Ford's inaction earlier in the pandemic set people up for the devastating third wave and he failed to make firm promises Thursday to improve the situation.

"How much longer are Ontarians going to have to wait for their premier to do the right thing, base his decisions on public health and science, and save lives and stop the spread of this virus," Horwath said.

Green party Leader Mike Schreiner said the premier's apology fell short.

"The people of Ontario need more than an apology, he said. "They need action that follows the science. That's what's driving the frustration and anger."

The union representing public employees said the sick leave announcement lacked action.

"It's time for far more than assurance that he'll work on something," said Fred Hahn, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario.

The CEO of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario expressed frustration with Ford's apology, saying he should delegate the entire pandemic file to Health Minister Christine Elliott.

"The time for emotional pleas from the premier is over," said Doris Grinspun. "I hope that the Minister of Health will understand better the situation and act quickly."

Public health experts, opposition politicians, labour groups and local officials have been calling for sick-leave support for much of the pandemic, arguing it would reduce COVID-19 spread in workplaces.

Ford had steadfastly refused to implement such a program, pointing to an existing federal benefit, but his government indicated this week that it would finally change course.

His ministers said a provincial policy would fill "gaps'' in the federal benefit, including reducing wait times for funds, expanding eligibility, and providing time off to get vaccinated.

Ontario reported 3,682 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 806 people in intensive care. It also reported 40 more deaths from the virus.

The province's top doctor said the province appears to be at a "very precarious transition time" as several pandemic indicators, including the seven-day average in new daily cases and the virus's reproductive number, decreased slightly compared with last week.

"Are we at a plateau? Some things are plateauing, some things are dipping down a bit," Dr. David Williams said.

Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's co-ordinator of the provincial outbreak response, highlighted what he deemed a "new, unfortunate and sad" development  people dying from COVID-19 at home, without being hospitalized.

He said there have been an average of two such deaths per day over the last two weeks, "in excess anything that we saw during wave one and over wave two."

Meanwhile, the province issued two new emergency orders Thursday that will help bring more health-care workers to overburdened hospitals.

One order allows workers to provide patient care outside their regular scope of practice, consistent with duties assigned by a hospital. The other allows out-of-province health care workers to practice in an Ontario hospital without registering with regulatory colleges in the province.

The government said the orders will allow staff from Ontario health facilities to be redeployed to hospitals and will also pave the way for out-of-province health workers to practice here.

Ontario said it had received tentative offers of health-worker support from Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

- with files from Shawn Jeffords and Paola Loriggio.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.
New Delhi, April 23 : Amid reports of shortage of oxygen in the hospitals during the second wave of Covid across the country, India will be importing oxygen generation plants and containers from Germany to cater the shortage.

Government sources said that 23 mobile oxygen generation plants are being air lifted from Germany. These will be deployed in static hospitals and provide adequate oxygen to the needy.

Further, sources said that India is procuring a large number of oxygen containers for adequate supply of oxygen in Delhi and other states.

IANS was first to report that India is deliberating on to import oxygen containers and equipment from foreign friendly nations to meet the crisis the country is facing after the second wave of Covid-19 hit severely.

The government planned to assign Indian Air Force to airlift in oxygen containers and equipment from friendly nations.

The problem India, in importing oxygen, facing is transportation due to an acute deficiency of containers to carry. The government is in talks with all the stakeholders to get the containers.

The government had roped in the air force to airlift oxygen cylinders, regulators, and essential medicines as the national capital region faces shortage of oxygen cylinders and medicines.

The IAF started airlifting personnel, doctors and nursing staff to help the government battle the pandemic.

So far IAF has airlifted doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Vizag and Bengaluru for setting up of a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Covid hospital at Delhi. The force had also airlifted oxygen containers of DRDO from Bengaluru for Covid centres at Delhi.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh directed all the defence establishments to setting up of more Covid-19 hospitals, use emergency powers and to bring in retired personnel to tackle the crisis.

A roadmap on how military infrastructure can be used to ramp up the fight against Covid-19 was also discussed in a Covid preparedness review meeting chaired by the Minister.

Further after the directions of the government, Army hospital at Delhi Cantonment area has been converted into Covid facility for people infected with the virus in Delhi.

The DRDO had stated that they have set up a Covid hospital on Delhi with 250 beds, and the capacity will be increased to 500 and then 1,000, if required.

Rajnath Singh instructed more fully functional Covid hospitals be set up in Lucknow, Patna, Varanasi and Ahmedabad within 8-10 days and also in other places where required.

He said that the ESIC Hospital, which was converted to Covid hospital in Patna, has started functioning with 500 beds. He added that work is on war footing to set up a 450-bed hospital in Lucknow, a 750-bed hospital in Varanasi and a 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad.

There were also discussion on roping in retired military doctors and nursing staff for assistance if they volunteer.

The minister also had suggested to utilise the services of vaccinated retired armed forces personnel to assist the civil administration and state governments to deal with the current situation.

(Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
In an appalling 63 decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court effectively reinstated juvenile life without parole by shredding precedents that had sharply limited the sentence in every state. Justice Brett Kavanaughs majority opinion in Jones v. Mississippi is one of the most dishonest and cynical decisions in recent memory: While pretending to follow precedent, Kavanaugh tore down judicial restrictions on JLWOP, ensuring that fully rehabilitated individuals who committed their crimes as children will die behind bars. Justice Sonia Sotomayors dissent, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, pulls no punches in its biting rebuke of Kavanaughs duplicity and inhumanity. It doubles as an ominous warning that the conservative majority is more than willing to destroy major precedents while falsely claiming to uphold them.

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The Supreme Court strictly curtailed the imposition of juvenile life without parole in two landmark decisions: 2012s Miller v. Alabama and 2016s Montgomery v. Louisiana. In Miller, the court ruled that mandatory sentences of JLWOPthat is, sentences imposed automatically upon convictionviolate the 8th Amendments bar on cruel and unusual punishments. It explained that childrens crimes often reflect transient immaturity; because their brains are not fully developed, young offenders are less culpable than adults and have greater potential for rehabilitation. In Montgomery, the court clarified that discretionary sentences of JLWOPthat is, sentences imposed at the discretion of a judgeare generally unconstitutional, as well. It then applied these rules retroactively, allowing all incarcerated people who were condemned to life without parole as children to contest their sentences. Taken together, Miller and Montgomery held that JLWOP is unconstitutional for all but the rarest of juvenile offenders, those whose crimes reflect permanent incorrigibility. And they forbade judges from imposing JLWOP unless they found that the defendants crime reflected irreparable corruption.

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On Thursday, Kavanaugh overturned these decisions without admitting it. His majority opinion in Jones v. Mississippi claims fidelity to Miller and Montgomery while stripping them of all meaning. Kavanaugh wrote that these precedents do not require a judge to make a separate factual finding of permanent incorrigibility before imposing JLWOP. Nor, Kavanaugh wrote, do they compel a judge to at least provide an on-the-record sentencing explanation with an implicit finding of permanent incorrigibility. Instead, a judge need only be granted discretion to sentence a child to less than life without parole. So long as that discretion exists, Kavanaugh held, the 8th Amendment is satisfiedeven if the judge provides no indication that they actually considered the defendants youth, gauged their potential for rehabilitation, and nonetheless decided their crime reflected permanent incorrigibility.

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As Sotomayor noted in her extraordinary dissent, this conclusion would come as a shock to the Courts in Miller and Montgomery. Those decisions explicitly required the judge to actually make the judgment that the child is incorrigible. They also expressly rejected the notion that sentencing discretion, alone, suffices. Kavanaugh claimed that he followed these precedents, Sotomayor wrote, but he is fooling no one. (Justice Clarence Thomas, writing separately, was more honest than Kavanaugh: He acknowledged that the majority had subverted Montgomery, and supported openly killing it off instead of quietly overruling it while pretending to follow it.)

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The Court distorts Miller and Montgomery beyond recognition, Sotomayor continued. (Remember: When she writes about the Court, Sotomayor means Kavanaugh and the conservative jurists who signed onto this opinion.) The Court attempts to paper over its mischaracterization, she explained; it pretends that these past decisions required only an individualized sentencing procedure. But that is simply false: Miller and Montgomery set forth a substantive proportionality principle that outlawed JLWOP for all but the rarest of children whose crimes reflect irreparable corruption. Kavanaugh ignoredand, by extension, abolishedthis substantive limit on the imposition of LWOP on juvenile offenders. Instead, as Sotomayor put it, he reprised Justice Scalias dissenting view and turned it into the law. The upshot is that the substantive limit on JLWOP has been lifted; judges may resume doling out these sentences without any real constitutional constraint.

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The conservative justices have destroyed landmark precedents safeguarding the rights of children without owning up to their own handiwork.

The Court simply rewrites Miller and Montgomery to say what the Court now wishes they had said, and then denies that it has done any such thing, Sotomayor declared. The Court knows what it is doing. Then she used Kavanaughs own words against him, quoting his past statements claiming to support stare decisis, or respect for precedent, to illustrate how he has abandoned his own purported principles. How low this Courts respect for stare decisis has sunk, Sotomayor wrote. The Court is willing to overrule precedent without even acknowledging it is doing so, much less providing any special justification. It is hard to see how that approachand here, she quoted Kavanaugh himselfis founded in the law rather than in the proclivities of individuals. 

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In the final portion of her dissent, Sotomayor recounted the story of the defendant in this case, Brett Jones, to show how many aspects of Jones crime seem to epitomize unfortunate yet transient immaturity. Jones was the victim of violence and neglect that he was too young to escape. His biological father was an alcoholic who physically abused his mother, who had severe mental health problems. His stepfather abused him, too, using belts, switches, and a paddle. He openly expressed his hatred for Jones. When Jones moved to Mississippi to live with his grandparents, he abruptly lost access to medication he took for mental health issues, including hallucinations and self-harm. Jones grandfather beat him, as well. One day in 2004, when Jones grandfather tried to hit him, Jones stabbed him repeatedly, killing him. He had turned 15 just 23 days earlier. Jones tried to save his grandfather with CPR but failed. After making minimal efforts to conceal the crime, he confessed to the police.

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Jones experience is depressingly common among people sentenced to JLWOP. His crime was clearly the consequence of a traumatic childhood. He has been a near-model prisoner, earning his GED, working behind bars, and studying the Bible. His grandmotherthe widow of his victimhas urged the courts to release him. Jones experience bears out the Supreme Courts pronouncements in Miller and Montgomery that juvenile crimes often reflect immaturity, the product of underdeveloped brains and severe childhood trauma rather than permanent corruption. As Jones himself put it at his resentencing hearing: Minors do have the ability to change.  Please give me just one chance to show the world, man, like, I can be somebody.  I cant change what was already done. I can just try to show  Ive become a grown man.

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On Thursday, Kavanaugh and the rest of the courts conservatives denied that opportunity to Jones. At his resentencing, the judge did not consider whether Jones crime reflected permanent incorrigibility, and Kavanaugh blessed that miscarriage of justice. His decision will prevent hundreds of other juvenile defendants from securing early release. And as Sotomayor pointed out, the burden will fall disproportionately on racial minorities: 70 percent of all youths sentenced to LWOP are children of color, and the trend has worsened since the courts decision in Miller. Once again, Sotomayor forced her colleagues to confront the racial inequities that their decisions exacerbate.

Jones should know that, despite the Courts decision today, what he does in life matters, Sotomayor concluded. So, too, do the efforts of the almost 1,500 other juvenile offenders like Jones who are serving LWOP sentences. These lives certainly mattered to Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored Montgomery and endorsed strong constitutional protections for juvenile offenders. But they do not matter to his successor, Kavanaughwho has now undone a key part of Kennedys legacyor to the rest of the courts conservatives. These justices have destroyed landmark precedents safeguarding the rights of children without owning up to their own handiwork. They have condemned hundreds, perhaps thousands more fully rehabilitated people to die in prison because of crimes they committed as teenagers. Sotomayors expressions of disgust for the conservative majoritys barbarous deceptions are incredibly powerful. But they will be cold comfort for people like Brett Jones, who lost their hope of a second chance the moment conservatives captured the Supreme Court.

As politicians race to pass new voter suppression measures across the country, the fight for voting rights has never been more important. Slate Plus members allow us to cover this fight for the franchise with the urgency it deserves. We really couldnt devote the time and resources necessary to report out this monumental story were it not for your support. Mark Joseph Stern, staff writer
DALLAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced a major refresh of the Trend Micro partner program that provide more cloud services resources and rewards partners with additional discounts for enabling organizations to better secure public cloud computing environments.

The objective of the revamped program is to make it more profitable for partners that work with customers to deploy best-in-class Trend Micro cloud security services via our authorized distributors and the AWS Marketplace or the AWS Consulting Partner Private Offer (CPPO) program, through which many cloud-native partners already resell AWS services.

Digital transformation has surged over the past year as organizations shift workloads to the cloud to support remote working, optimize business processes and drive innovative business strategies to engage customers. Channel partners supporting these organizations need a cybersecurity partner they can trust to help them secure a wide range of application environments with confidence.

"As a leader in cloud security, Trend Micro is that trusted partner. While there is plenty in our new partner program for our solution providers, we've turned the page in a new chapter of support for cloud-first channel businesses," said Louise McEvoy, Vice President of U.S. Channels for Trend Micro. "Our new program increases partner profits, provides platforms and tools for partners to build their cloud services, and adds new, streamlined procurement options to help partners meet customers' needs and build long-term relationships. We've listened to our partners and evolved our program to advance their cloud security practice and service offerings to help our joint customers operate efficiently in this ever-changing time."

The cornerstones of the cloud-first partner program are:

A cloud-first focus on partners that provide cloud services. The new program offers partners service-oriented pre-sales support, co-selling tools, and free access to Trend Micro's cloud security posture management solution, Cloud One  Conformity, that can accelerate and automate well-architected security assessments.

on partners that provide cloud services. The new program offers partners service-oriented pre-sales support, co-selling tools, and free access to Trend Micro's cloud security posture management solution, Cloud One  Conformity, that can accelerate and automate well-architected security assessments. Increased deal registration discounts to protect margins for partners who register opportunities and actively work with us to bring customer success.

to protect margins for partners who register opportunities and actively work with us to bring customer success. Cloud marketplace bundles and security services enablement: Trend Micro's cloud-first program and new enablement platforms will enable partners to build their cloud service bundles and grow their businesses more profitably on the AWS Marketplace. Our partners are entitled to full use of our new white-label cybersecurity assessment services, cloud risk assessment tool, and can enroll in the Trend Micro professional service partner program.

Trend Micro's cloud-first program and new enablement platforms will enable partners to build their cloud service bundles and grow their businesses more profitably on the AWS Marketplace. Our partners are entitled to full use of our new white-label cybersecurity assessment services, cloud risk assessment tool, and can enroll in the Trend Micro professional service partner program. Early Warning Services: The Trend Micro Vision One platform allows Trend Micro's Incident & Response teams to proactively provide joint customers with threat intelligence and risks through daily scanning for indicators of compromise (IoC) related to notable targeted attacks. It opens a path for partners to build their services to help customers respond to and mitigate threats quickly and efficiently.

The Trend Micro Vision One platform allows Trend Micro's Incident & Response teams to proactively provide joint customers with threat intelligence and risks through daily scanning for indicators of compromise (IoC) related to notable targeted attacks. It opens a path for partners to build their services to help customers respond to and mitigate threats quickly and efficiently. Commitment to simplicity and flexibility that shifts compensation from a tier-based standard discount model to a flat standard discount for all partner types.

"In recent years, Presidio has made the strategic decision to grow our cloud-based business. We have been partners with Trend Micro for many years, and the changes they are making ensures that our partnership will only grow stronger" said Jon Jensen, vice president of cybersecurity for Presidio. "Together, we've closed a number of AWS consulting partner private offers (CPPO) and recognize the flexibility and profitability of Trend Micro's cloud-first channel model offers."

Trend Micro's channel strategy has been recognized with multiple accolades including four separate achievements just this year from CRN including a 5-star rating in its 2021 partner program guide, recognitions on the Top 100 Coolest Cloud Companies list and Top 100 Security Companies list, and Louise McEvoy being named to the 2021 Channel Chiefs list. In addition, the company was named as a Champion in the Canalys Global Cybersecurity Leadership Matrix for 2020 for the increased investment in its channel-first strategy to help partners drive SaaS business across its portfolio.

For more information about the Trend Micro partner program and partnership opportunities, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/partners/channel-partners.html.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.trendmicro.com .

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It turns out that Joe Biden was not, in fact, joking during his presidential run when he told everyone that he planned to tax the bejesus out of wealthy investors. Bloomberg reports Thursday that the White House is considering a plan that would nearly double the top tax rate on long-term capital gains to 39.6 percent for Americans who earn more than $1 million, up from about 20 percent.

Stocks swooned a bit in response to the news, unsurprisingly. But the development shouldnt have come as a total surprise, since Biden clearly stated in his campaign platform that he planned to tax investment returns at the same rate as ordinary income. He now appears ready to follow through on that promise. The money would be used to fund the trillion-dollar package of family policies, such as child-care funding and paid leave, that Biden intends to unveil next week.

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Under the the proposal, those raking in seven figures would ultimately face a 43.4 percent levy on capital gains. That would be the grand total between the new 39.6 percent long-term rate, and the 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on investment income that was created as part of the Affordable Care Act. Currently, the tax rate on ordinary labor income maxes out at 37 percent, but during the campaign Biden promised he would nudge it back to 39.6 percent. High earners also face a 3.8 payroll tax for Medicare. (For what its worth, Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday afternoon that nothing had been finalized yet.)

Bloomberg reported earlier that Biden will propose almost doubling the capital gains tax rate for wealthy individuals to 39.6%  meaning federal tax rates for some investors could be as high as 43.4%. Stocks slid.



Heres what @PressSec had to say https://t.co/GJJf2FytRq pic.twitter.com/djzppRn7x8  Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) April 22, 2021

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So, other than the fact that private equity guys are probably about to start making Uncle Joe Stalin jokes, what can we take from this? Here are a few points that I think are worth keeping in mind:

 First, this is a dramatic break with tax history, and wealthy investors are going to be ticked. With some brief exceptions, such as the very early 20th century and the period from 1988 to 1990, capital gains have traditionally been taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income, partly in order to encourage more savings and investment. I would expect that much of the pushback against this will ultimately come from Silicon Valley, since venture capital returns are taxed at capital gains rates. See, for instance, the reaction from Billionaire VC Tim Draper.

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43.4% capital gains tax might kill the golden goose that is America/Silicon Valley. People need an incentive to build long term #startups of value. In California, that would be a 56.4% tax burden. >50% Spells death to job creation.  Tim Draper (@TimDraper) April 22, 2021

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Second, for his plan to work, Biden cant just raise the capital gains ratehe has to reform how taxes on investment are collected, too. Today, Americans only have to pony up capital gains taxes when they sell an asset like a stock or bond and net a profit. If the government raises the rate too high, the mainstream view is that many investors will simply choose to sit on their portfolio and let it rise in value, rather than sell, in order to avoid paying the tax. Economists call this a lock-in effect. And because of it, the conventional wisdom has been that government can raise the most revenue from capital gains taxes at a rate of 28 percent. Go any further and the government will end up on the wrong side of the Laffer Curve and raise less money.

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However, there are ways that Biden can raise the revenue-maximizing rate. One reason that lock-in is currently such a problem is that wealthy heirs are exempted from paying capital gains taxes when they sell assets that theyve inherited under a rule known as stepped-up basis. As a result, wealthy Americans can avoid a massive IRS bill by just holding their assets until death, and passing them on to their kids or donating them to a foundation. During his campaign, Biden said he would end stepped-up basis, making it harder to skirt the tax man forever. Another idea that Democrats are considering would be to essentially make wealthy investors pay taxes each year on the paper profits from their assets if they increase in value, even if they arent sold. Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden has said he plans to push for such a mark-to-market system.

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 Third, between this potential capital gains hike, the proposed increase to the corporate tax rate, and Bidens plan to crack down on global tax havens and impose a minimum worldwide corporate tax, its pretty clear that the president isnt just trying to raise revenues from the rich. Rather, hes aiming to tax capital. Instead of going after highly paid lawyers, doctors, and entertainers who draw a big salary or partnership profits that are essentially labor income, hes really sticking it to shareholders. Which is just kind of funny coming from the former senator from Delaware of all places, which as we all know is a glorified corporate P.O. box with an Amtrak stop.
BALLSTON SPA  An effort to expunge the Working Families Partys endorsed candidates from Novembers ballot by claiming their petitions were not valid has been tossed out.

Supreme Court Judge Dianne Freestone dismissed the suit, filed by former Republicans who recently switched their affiliation to the third party, because their attorney failed to name the Working Families Party in the court filing.

Former GOP Congressman John Sweeney, who filed the suit against the WFP endorsed candidates, said it was thrown out on a technicality.

The reality is the pleading on it was that we should have included the state Working Families Party as an interested party, Sweeney said. From our prospective (WFP) were not an affected party. The coversheet (for petitions) under any circumstances is not valid.The interested parties were the candidates themselves.

Attorney Kevin Luibrand, who represented the Saratoga County Board of Elections, which previously rejected the claims that the endorsed candidates' petitions were invalid, applauded the decision.

It is a well-reasoned and sourced decision issued in a very short time, Luibrand said.

Saratoga County Democratic Chair Todd Kerner said the suit was an attempt by the GOP to stop the will of the people.

We appreciate the judge throwing the case out, Kerner said. We wish the Republicans spent more time trying to get voters to vote than trying to limit their choices and methods to vote.

Sweeney said his clients are considering an appeal.

Both the Saratoga County and Saratoga Springs GOP Chairs, Carl Zeilman and Chris Obstarczyk respectively, have said they have nothing to do with the influx of Republicans and Independence party members, 73 in all, moving to the WFP.

Joe Seeman, a WFP volunteer who selects candidates for endorsements, maintains the move is a ploy to take over the party. He also said, even though the suit is dismissed, his endorsed candidates might now face primaries by the newly minted WFP candidates members. Saratoga Springs Supervisor Tara Gaston, a Democrat endorsed by the WFP, will be among those possibly facing a primary challenge on June 22 against former unaffiliated voter Bruce Altimar and former Republican Gabriel OBrien.

The Times Union was unable to reach Thomas Sartin, a Saratoga Springs police officer, who was the lead petitioner on the suit.

Republicans are suing the Working Families Party throughout the state.
The pianist Hasaan Ibn Ali worked in an ensemble led by Max Roach and was credited as the Legendary Hasaan on one of the groundbreaking drummers mid-60s releases. But the pianist didnt release an album as a bandleader during his lifetime  and in fact, only ever appeared on that one studio album  making him more of a jazz-world footnote than a household name.

Now his legacy could undergo a reassessment. Ibn Ali did helm an ensemble in the studio in 1965, and the resulting album, long presumed destroyed in a fire, will be released on Friday as Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album.

The saxophonist Odean Pope, who played on the record, said Ibn Alis talents have long been overlooked.

He can play the most complex piece, like a Cherokee, or the most beautiful composition like, Embraceable You, and play those tunes extremely good, Pope said of his mentor, who died in 1981. Sometimes, he would play a ballad and tears would be coming down my cheeks.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned the US and NATO not to cross a "red line" with Russia and condemned what he called a coup plot against the Belarus government. Speaking in his annual state of the nation address on Wednesday, April 21, Putin claimed that the West shouldn't misjudge Russia as tension mounts over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine and Russia's jailing of Putin critic Alexei Navalny. President Putin said Russia wanted good relations with all countries, but there were constant attempts by Western powers to "pick on" Russia.



"We don't want to burn bridges, but if somebody interprets our good intentions as weakness our reaction will be asymmetrical, rapid and harsh." He said: "We'll decide for ourselves in each case where the red line is".

On 17 April the Belarus government announced that they had foiled a plot to assassinate President Lukashenko. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained two Belarusians allegedly involved in the plot.



Putin backs Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who faces huge opposition and Russia claims the assassination attempt was backed by the US. The reported coup attempt comes after Belarus president Lukashenko claimed re-election last year, in a vote widely condemned as rigged. Opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has been exiled since then and the US has placed several sanctions on the Belarus government and Putin says the US is weaponizing its use of sanctions.



In his speech Mr Putin said that "the West didn't think about Belarus or Ukraine, when the Maidan events were going on there". Putin was referring to mass protests in Kyiv's Maidan Square in February 2014 thG led to pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fleeing to Russia.

"The organisers of any provocations against Russia will regret [their actions] in a way they never have before," Mr Putin warned.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A father accused of murdering his estranged wife allegedly controlled what she wore, how she styled her hair and banned her from getting a driver's licence or a job.

Mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson had sought a police restraining order against her American husband Brian Earl Johnston, 34, before he allegedly set her on fire in the back yard of her Arundel, Gold Coast home on Tuesday morning.

Ms Wilkinson's heartbroken family have since revealed she kept the alleged domestic violence from her loved ones for an entire decade.

Queensland Police admitted to failing Ms Wilkinson after she had visited a police station twice to complain he had breached the conditions of a protection order.

The 27-year-old's father Reg Wilkinson and sisters Danielle Carroll, Natalie and Emma Wilkinson told the Gold Coast Bulletin the young mother endured 'months, years of abuse.'

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnston on their wedding day. He had been arrested earlier in April

Kelly Wilkinson's father Reg Wilkinson and sisters Danielle Carroll, Natalie and Emma Wilkinson said the young mother endured 'months, years of abuse'

They claimed Johnston dictated what clothes she wore and how she styled her hair, as well as keeping her from her friends and family, and not allowing her to drive or work - leaving her with no money.

Ms Wilkinson met Johnston online 10 years ago and shortly after travelled to the US to meet him. The pair married when she was just 18, before separating a couple of months ago.

'She was just starting to become who she was, who she wanted to be and discover what she wanted, and what she liked, who she could be,' Emma said.

Danielle said her sister returned to Australia five years ago to try and flee Johnston, an ex-US Marine, who followed her Down Under.

The devastated family said it wasn't until Ms Wilkinson came home that they realised the true extent to her marriage's problems.

'She was such a private person and didn't want to burden any of us with what was happening and I guess that was her fear of speaking out and people not believing,' Natalie said.

QPS Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said the service had failed Ms Wilkinson

Forensic officers during their lengthy investigation of the Arundel property

Danielle told 7News that Ms Wilkinson's death 'wasn't an accident' and wasn't the first time violence had occurred in their turbulent relationship.

Ms Wilkinson eventually opened up about Johnston's alleged abuse to her mother, who died seven weeks ago.

'We only lost mum seven weeks ago and she thought, 'mum is the only one who knows', and said 'I need to speak up and say something now',' Natalie said.

Ms Carroll said she felt 'complete emptiness' walking into her late sister's house on Wednesday night, hours after she died.

'It's so hard. Kelly was just so much more than this. For what we've been through, for what's happened, there really just are no words,' she said.

Mr Wilkinson's father said his daughter's death 'totally preventable'.

On Thursday, Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd and Gold Coast Superintendent Rhys Wildman fronted the media to announce an internal review of the tragic case and admit that they had failed to protect Ms Wilkinson.

'Ultimately it's a failure,' said Codd. 'A woman has died. She's been killed. Somewhere along the line she has engaged with the system, and we were unable to prevent this from occurring.'

A major aspect of the review will be why Johnston was granted police bail after he was arrested on April 11 for what were described as 'serious crimes' allegedly committed in February. Police bail is a decision made by a police officer rather than a magistrate.

Superintendent Wildman revealed that police had been in touch with Kelly Wilkinson after a Personal Protection Order was issued following a domestic violence incident police became aware of on March 29.

She then visited Southport police station a further two times complaining that Johnston had not abided by the terms of the order.

Codd defended the decision and said police assessed that Johnston had not breached his conditions.

'Contact was made [by Ms Wilkinson] because of suggestions there were breaches of conditions and they were looked at and assessed and it was determined the scenario was consistent with the conditions.'

Ms Wilkinson had also been in touch with Gold Coast domestic violence agencies seeking help due to her fear of how the situation had evolved.

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnstone lived for a time in his home state of Ohio, USA

Police and SES search along the street where Kelly Wilkinson and her children were living

A local Arundel resident, Louise Christie, paid her respects at the scene on Wednesday

'I'm aware there was contact made with one of the domestic and family violence entities on the Gold Coast around April 13,' said Assistant Commissioner Codd. 'Engagement was made with our Gold Coast District domestic and family violence unit.

'I can't go into the explicit detail but it was to highlight concerns on behalf of Kelly about understanding the process about why the [alleged] offender was not in custody.'

Johnston's lawyer, Chris Hannay, told media on Wednesday that he had met with Johnston on Sunday, less than 48 hours before he allegedly attacked and murdered Ms Wilkinson.

'On Sunday, I got some instructions from him in relation to some other fairly serious matters that he has been charged with, and I haven't spoken to him since,' Mr Hannay said.

He said Johnston did not appear distressed or agitated during the weekend conference.

'Obviously, no one expected this to happen... everyone thought that they were just chugging along as a normal process.'

Kelly Wilkinson pictured with one of her three children during her time living the US

Tuesday's alleged attack came seven years after the couple shared photos of their wedding, surrounded by their loved ones.

Other photos showed Mr Johnston holding one of their children next to Ms. Wilkinson during a holiday in the US, and Ms Wilkinson smiling during a trip to Niagara Falls.

Ms Wilkinson's mother Karen, who died in February in a tragic double blow for the family, had also shared images on Facebook of her daughter and her young family visiting his native Ohio.

She and husband Reg owned the Spikes Court house in which the couple lived before the relationship breakdown.

A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Kelly's children had raised more than $122,000 by Thursday afternoon, more than double it's original goal of $50,000.
Three felony offenders were arrested for being in the country illegally, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

The first case unfolded early Wednesday, when agents encountered a group of migrants on a ranch southwest of Freer. One migrant was identified as Jasiel Olvera-Olguin, a 34-year-old Mexican citizen. A records check revealed that Olvera-Olguin had been convicted in 2004 for sexual abuse and burglary in Des Moines, Iowa.
There was a need for urgent collective action to tackle the worsening food crisis in Afghanistan as one-third of the country is now facing a critical shortage of food due to droughts and economic woes, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a report published on Wednesday. The drought and food crisis in the county is one of the worst witnessed in recent decades, as nearly 13.1 million people grappled with lack of access to food, the agency said, citing the latest food insecurity analysis. The food crisis has rendered the population helpless with mounting hardships both social and economic as they struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath of the never-ending armed conflicts that have ravaged the country.

In #Afghanistan, nearly half the country has crippled food production adding to severe risks of hunger and malnutrition. @IFRC is appealing to support Afghan Red Crescent's relief and long-term help for the people of Afghanistan.@ARCSAfghanistan pic.twitter.com/SBcDWhqZyc  IFRC Asia Pacific (@IFRCAsiaPacific) April 21, 2021

In a statement, the Afghan Red Crescent Society Acting President, Dr. Nilab Mobarez said: We are deeply concerned about worsening and severe water shortages in many areas, depleted food crops and crippled economic activity, such as decimated local markets and basic incomes. Furthermore, he added, In the past month, Afghan Red Crescent volunteers and response teams have urgently ramped up relief, including food and cash assistance for thousands of drought-affected families across the parched provinces of Badghis, Baghlan, and Faryab.

[Afghan red Crescent helps families amid food shortage. Credit: Twitter/@ARCSAfghanistan]

[Credit: Twitter/@ARCSAfghanistan]

7.5 million Swiss francs funding needed

An emergency appeal was rolled out by the IFRC that sought immediate funding of approximately 7.5 million Swiss francs to the Afghan Red Crescent, which will deliver the cash grants to the citizens to buy food supplies. This would restore livelihoods and crops for at least 210,000 impacted people that are suffering from food shortages. According to IFRC, there are at least ten provinces that have been worst affected by food insecurity and drought in recent years, with crop production dipping up to 27 percent in 2021, according to the estimate by the Afghanistan Inter-Cluster Coordination Team.

FRCs Head of Delegation for Afghanistan, Necephor Mghendi, said in a statement, This is one of the worst ever droughts in Afghanistan and millions of people are barely surviving. People are walking long distances, as drinking water is running out and crops are failing. He added, We have grave fears for more than 18 million people who will need humanitarian support in Afghanistan this year due to this drought-driven food crisis piled on top of the debilitating social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the long-running conflict.

Mghendi appealed for the international partners to take urgent action to help Afghan people in the hour of extreme need, as millions in Afghanistan longed for food, water, and cash assistance to survive. We are revitalizing drought-resistant crops and diminished livestock while supporting income generation for women and other population groups most at risk, FRCs Head of Delegation for Afghanistan said.
"When you leave the house, and you're not sure if you brought enough poop bags."



Kevin Wehrer

was this week's winner.



The winner's name will be put into a drawing for a free month subscription or extension.



Look for a new photo Monday.
Workers sort medical oxygen cylinders meant for Covid-19 patients, before dispatching them to hospitals, amid surge in coronavirus cases, at BMTC bus stand in Bengaluru, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (PTI)

Bengaluru: Karnataka has asked the Centre to supply 1,500 metric tonnes of oxygen and one lakh vials of Remdesivir in view of the growing COVID cases in the state.

"We have estimated that in the next one month, we may require 1,500 metric tonnes of oxygen. In this regard, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has written to Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal," state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar told reporters here on Thursday.

He said he too has written to the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan for supply of oxygen.

Sudhakar said the state government had a meeting with the major oxygen generators in the state.

Of them JSW Steel is the largest one.

"We had a meeting with Sajjan Jindal and he has assured us to supply as much oxygen required in the state," Sudhakar said.

The Minister said after the meeting JSW steel supplied 40 metric tonnes in the last two days required for Bengaluru.

Besides this, the State has demanded additional supply of Remdesivir injections, which is crucial for COVID treatment.

According to him, the state has ordered 70,000 vials of Remdesivir injection, of which 20,000 had arrived while the remaining would be supplied in the coming days.

"We have already ordered 70,000 vials of Remdesivir. This besides we have put forth the demand for one lakh Remdesivir vials for which we have written to the Centre," he added.

To a question as to why the state did not stock enough oxygen beforehand, the Minister said when the cases had reduced, there was no such demand and hence there was no point in storing it.

Now that the cases have gone up the meetings took place to meet the requirement.

The minister's statement came as the demand for oxygen and Remdesivir injection grew in view of the alarming rise of COVID cases, leading to their blackmarketing as well.

The government cracked the whip and arrested a few who were black marketing Remdesivir injection.

However, the shortage persisted.

There, however, is no crackdown on the blackmarketing of oxygen cylinders in the state.

The grim situation could be assessed from the fact that on Wednesday alone, the state reported 23,558 fresh COVID cases and 116 deaths while the active cases in the state has gone up to 1.76 lakh.

The active cases comprised 904 patients in the ICU.

Bengaluru Urban district alone contributed more than 70 per cent of the cases and fatalities, prompting Sudhakar to call Bengaluru the epicentre of COVID in Karnataka.
(@FahadShabbir)

Three Swedish members of the European special forces mission in Mali were slightly hurt late Wednesday by a roadside bomb in the east of the country, the Swedish military said

Stockholm, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :Three Swedish members of the European special forces mission in Mali were slightly hurt late Wednesday by a roadside bomb in the east of the country, the Swedish military said.

"Two of the soldiers have returned to duty and the third is under medical observation," it said in a statement on Thursday.

Sweden has committed 150 troops to Takuba, a coalition of European special forces that supports Mali's beleaguered armed forces in their nine-year-old campaign against jihadists.

The Swedish contingent, backed by three Blackhawk combat helicopters, is based in Menaka, in the flashpoint eastern region of Liptako near the border with Niger and Burkina Faso.

Sweden has also deployed 215 troops with the UN force in Mali, MINUSMA.
Our friends at km77.com have put the Stepway through its paces on the track, starting with the dreaded moose test . The low-cost faux crossover aces this maneuver that determines how well a vehicle steers clear of a suddenly appearing obstacle such as a moose, despite the softer suspension setup and higher center of gravity compared to the Sandero.The cited publication mentions adequate and similar reactions to subcompact SUVs at similar speeds. The driver did not feel unsafe or challenged at all at 73 kilometers per hour, which is 45 miles per hour in the United Kingdom and United States. Give the Stepway five more clicks, and the low-cost hatchback understeers into a safety cone on the driver side despite ESC intervention.Increase the speed to 80 kph (50 mph), and the front-wheel-drive model understeers even harder. Be that as it may, the Spanish publication argues that the Stepway had predictable and safe reactions in all of the attempts.A clear improvement over the previous generation of the Sandero Stepway, the newcomer also impresses in the slalom. Yes, the steering isnt exactly sharp. Yes, the body roll is perceptible. But on the upside, the electronic stability program doesnt interfere too much with the driver's inputs.Manufactured in Mioveni, Romania, for European markets, the Stepway retails from 12,350 ($14,840) and features two levels of standard equipment. Essential is the base spec, which features three engine options: the TCe 90, ECO-G 100, and the TCe 90 with a continuously variable transmission.The Euro NCAP isnt exactly fond of the Sandero Stepway, awarding it two stars out of a maximum of five stars for safety. The reason Dacia couldnt do better is the lack of automated emergency braking against pedestrians or cyclists and the lack of lane support. In terms of crashworthiness alone, this model and the more affordable Logan would have received four stars.
China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited and its subsidiaries ("China Unicom" or "the Company" and "the Group") (HKEx: 0762; NYSE: CHU*) announced that the Company filed its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the "2020 Form 20-F") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

The 2020 Form 20-F is available on the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at https://www.chinaunicom.com.hk and on the SECs website at https://www.sec.gov. Shareholders may also request a hard copy of the Companys complete audited financial statements, free of charge, by contacting the Company at Investor Relations Department:

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited

Tel: +852 2126 2018

Fax: +852 2126 2016

Email: ir@chinaunicom.com.hk

Address: 75/F, The Center, 99 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong

*Based on the Executive Order 13959 issued on 12 November 2020 by the former President of the United States and the guidance by the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, NYSE staff determined to commence proceedings to delist the Company's ADSs and suspended trading in the Company's ADSs from 11 January 2021. In order to protect the interests of the Company and its shareholders, on 20 January 2021, the Company filed with the NYSE a written request for a review of the determination by a Committee of the Board of Directors of the NYSE. Please refer to the Company's announcement dated 21 January 2021 for details.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421006112/en/

Contacts

For media enquiries:

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited

Mr. Ivan Wong

Tel: +852 2126 2018

Fax: +852 2126 2016

Email: ir@chinaunicom.com.hk

Address: 75/F, The Center, 99 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong
As a home health care worker, Norwalk resident Amelia McClinton lived in fear of infecting her clients with COVID-19. She was looking for vaccination appointments online when her local community health center called her about a day-long clinic meant just for patients like her.

I wanted to get vaccinated, so I would have kept looking, but this was so easy and convenient, said McClinton, who is Black. It takes a big burden off my mind.

The Norwalk Community Health Center  where McClinton got her shot in March  is located in one of the states 50 priority ZIP codes, which have consistently lagged behind in vaccinations since January.

As the coronavirus pandemic grew and vaccines became available, federally qualified health centers like the Norwalk Community Health Center were in a critical position, particularly because their patients live in the same neighborhoods and priority ZIP codes that the state is trying to target. For decades, FQHCs have been providing primary care to underserved areas, with federal funds to support their efforts. Strategically located in areas that were slow to embrace the vaccine, FQHCs have emerged as a linchpin of the Biden-Harris administrations efforts to boost vaccine equity and help racial minorities.

A lot rides on the shoulders of the FQHCs. But are they reaching their communities effectively?

Its hard to measure. But some that were unsatisfied with their performance changed their approaches, and they say it made a difference.

The numbers

Federal data from mid-March, when individuals 55 and older were eligible to be vaccinated, show that 8% of the vaccines administered by the states FQHCs had gone into the arms of Black residents in the state. Twelve percent of vaccinations went to Hispanic residents. Those numbers were more similar to the states eligible population at the time than they were to the demographics of the ZIP codes served or the patient populations of Connecticut FQHCs  though those patient populations skew younger, making comparisons difficult. More recent data show potential improvement among Latino patients, though changes in how the data are reported make it difficult to compare March and April.

A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nationally, FQHC data showed a similar trend, where vaccine recipients resembled the demographics of populations statewide. They seem to be doing a better job of vaccinating people of color relative to the national vaccination rates of people of color, and pretty consistent with their share of the population, said Jennifer Tolbert, a researcher at KFF. But they could do more to reach patients of color, the study concluded.

Connecticuts FQHCs have consistently lagged behind the national average in the percentage of vaccines administered to minority FQHC patient populations, though it is unclear how much that is a product of the states largely age-based rollout policy as opposed to challenges reaching eligible populations. Connecticut continues to lag in the most recent data from early April, just before the state expanded eligibility to adults 16 to 44.

Interpreting statewide data to examine the vaccination efforts of individual health centers is an endeavor littered with caveats  but some FQHCs have evaluated their own numbers and taken matters into their own hands. Unsatisfied with their initial progress, two Connecticut FQHCs  Norwalk and Fair Haven Community Health Care  have switched up their approaches to booking appointments to reach priority ZIP codes over the course of the past few months, efforts that they say have been paying dividends.

Correcting course

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration does not release vaccination rates by race or patient population percentages by federally qualified health center, but Fair Haven and Norwalk shared some of the data that they report to the HRSA with The Connecticut Mirror. First Choice, Charter Oak and Community Health Center declined to do so; CHC did not keep a copy of its responses from early March, a spokesperson said.

The CDCs Vaccine Administration Management System really was problematic in accessing many of the people we serve, in that you had to be computer literate, you had to have access to computers, you had to speak English, you had to have an email, said Suzanne Lagarde, chief executive officer at Fair Haven. But leaving the VAMS platform alone wasnt a solution; it presented its own challenges. Now you had the challenge of, How do you fill those spots now with the people whom you serve?'

One of the key changes that Fair Haven has since implemented was to allow community partners  Apostle Immigrant Services, Unidad Latina en Accion, Junta for Progressive Action and New Haven Legal Aid, among others  to directly schedule appointments in their system without needing to go through Fair Haven staff. The team at Fair Haven then manually enters a clients information into their preferred electronic medical record system, which is known as EPIC; community organizations do not have access to EPIC directly.

The concept is, clients are going to trusted agencies in the community, and those agencies have the ability to give them the appointment in that moment, Lagarde said.

Fair Haven moved off VAMS in early February, and their numbers show the difference, said Abigail Paine, vice president of quality  though the improvement in the numbers is also a result of expanded eligibility criteria. Over 65% of vaccines administered in January were to white patients; that number rose to over 70% in February and dropped to 40% in March. Were doing about 400 vaccines a day  but were trying very hard to be particular in who we target, Lagarde said.

Prior to the one-day, patient-only clinic that Norwalk held on a Saturday, the center had managed to vaccinate only 13% of its 55+ patient population, according to numbers from Debbie Bailey, quality and performance improvement officer. Eligibility had just been expanded to people 45 and over at the time of the clinic, which was the centers first attempt to vaccinate patients at this scale. The day-long vax-a-thon was the product of days of planning, during which the clinic manually called all eligible patients in its database to schedule appointments.

Norwalk Chief Medical Director Marcelyn Malloy said the FQHCs feel an obligation to reach their patients knowing that they already have built up some trust with them.

Its easier when someone calls you and says Hi, we have an appointment for you. And you know what time, and that well take care of everything for you, including your second dose  and if you have any questions, you know where to reach us, she said.

Since early March, some state FQHCs have been ordering doses directly through the federal government to improve vaccine equity, amounting to over 300,000 doses. Four FQHCs were initially invited to participate in the program, and the invitation was subsequently extended to 13 more.

In addition, FQHCs and other providers operating in vulnerable ZIP codes have been allocated as much vaccine as they ask for to serve those communities, said Josh Geballe, the states chief operating officer. Connecticut has not publicly released vaccine allocation numbers by provider, though some other states do.

Vaccine supply was not an issue at Norwalk Community Health Center, but staffing and costs are, Malloy said. The one-day clinic cost the center about $10,000, including security. Fair Haven is also administering shots at capacity.

HRSA data also show that FQHCs list staffing and reimbursement as their main challenges in vaccine administration.

It takes a village to run a vaccine clinic, said Everett Lamm, vice president of Clinical Affairs at Fair Haven. Staff need to manage vaccine supply, checking in clients, translation, vaccine administration, social distancing compliance and post-vaccine observation. It  really early on  depleted us. Weve been reliant on, at first, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and lucky most recently to have a seven-member team from the Connecticut Air National Guard. We have volunteers with us on a regular basis at Wilbur Cross from the medical reserve corps. We have students from Wilbur Cross High School who are dedicating and donating their time.

What is a reasonable expectation of Connecticut FQHCs?

FQHCs are an important part of addressing vaccine equity  but focusing on health centers alone wont fully address the issue, Tolbert said. The number of vaccines allocated and distributed by FQHCs is dwarfed by the vaccines administered by all partners every day.

The state aims to distribute vaccines proportionally to the number of residents that live in vulnerable ZIP codes, so its target has varied over time as eligibility has broadened. The state wants all provider types to send at least the target percentage  currently 31%  of vaccines to priority ZIP codes because they all have a presence in communities that rank high on the socially vulnerable index  a measure of communities that are most likely to need assistance in a public health emergency, Geballe said.

FQHCs have met the states target at times  though they fell short at 30%, as of the most recent data from April 12-17. But the state as whole has not achieved its goal yet, hitting 26% in the most recent data available.

The statewide data on progress towards equity targets could paint a misleading picture of the efforts of individual FQHCs, which might be far exceeding their percentage goal. Some  such as Community Health Center  have run mass vaccination clinics, which cater to the entire state, and therefore cannot be expected to reflect anything but the demographics of the state. Given the sheer volume of doses administered via that site, their efforts could be driving the overall FQHC statistic.

Were doing thousands of doses a week at the mass vaccination sites, but then you know were a health center, and we know full well that not everyone who is within the universe of our patient population can get to these places. We know that the majority of people who are out there at the mass vaccination sites are not CHC patients, said spokeswoman Leslie Gianelli. Were trying to bring the vaccine to the communities of color really almost concurrent with opening the mass vaccination sites.

HRSA percentage figures from early March did not include those mass vaccination efforts, Gianelli said, complicating the data. Later reports include the mass vaccination statistics CHC has since started to report to HRSA. As of data this past week, 7% of shots statewide have gone to Black patients and 20% to Hispanic ones.

At Fair Haven, defining their goals and progress has been as much a qualitative enterprise as a quantitative one. The center isnt just trying to reach patients  but to reach residents that are not already in its orbit.

I was less worried about our patients, because we had care coordinators calling patients one-by-one, addressing any concerns they might have, Lagarde, Fair Havens CEO, said. I was more concerned about people who live within blocks from us in Fair Haven and dont seek care from us and dont seek care from anyone because many of them are undocumented.

Those people may not even show up in Census estimates, as they are historically undercounted. In as much as data can illuminate, bad data can obscure. The center relies instead on feedback from community partners to gauge how well theyre reaching those populations, Paine said. Canvassers are also going door-to-door to sign up people for appointments then and there and offer them rides if they need them.

The center has set itself a different sort of numerical target: The goal is to knock on all 5,642 doors in Fair Haven, Lagarde said.

Making the case to get a vaccine

Back in March, Norwalk hoped to get Johnson & Johnson vaccines for their ease of administration. Much has been made of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines potential to reach under-served communities in the wake of its sudden suspension earlier this week as federal regulators investigate rare blood clots potentially linked to the shot. At a press conference earlier last week, Geballe said that the state was not analyzing how many J&J doses went to high-SVI communities in particular.

Only 9% of doses orderer by federally qualified health centers in Connecticut have been Johnson & Johnson vaccines, which amounts to 34,800 doses, wrote HRSA spokesperson Scott Kodish last week.

Past polling suggests that the Johnson & Johnson one and done vaccine was the most appealing option for those who were on the fence about getting vaccinated, prior to the pause; however, side effects were the most commonly cited fear for those people, so it is unclear if that will remain true.

J&J-related worries could compound existing problems.

We know that theres some  and I dont love the term  vaccine hesitancy among people of color, so its not as simple as saying, Hey, youre eligible.' Tolbert said.

National polling has shown that hesitancy among people of color has been dropping.

Getting people vaccinated is urgent, Lamm said. The pandemic continues to disproportionately impact his patient community, and towns with higher vaccination rates tend to see lower case rates.

Norwalks patient population was devastated by the pandemic.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we had almost a 60% positive rate among our patients, Malloy said. But you have to remember [that] a lot of our patients, multiple generations of the same family live all together, sharing a bathroom. You cannot quarantine. Essentially if one person gets COVID, everyone gets COVID, and thats why we had such a high positivity rate.

Malloy sells people on the vaccines on the promise of restoring a modicum of normalcy.

We need to get people vaccinated. This is not just about getting sick, Malloy said. For some people, and most people actually, its about getting back to a lifestyle where our kids are educated, or people are able to work and their kids arent at home remote-learning, paying additional costs for babysitters. This is about getting back to being a human being, which is why weve decided that it is really part of our mission is to vaccinate our patients and the community.
Robert Morris urges church to vote in local elections, pray for Christian candidates

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Robert Morris, founder of the multi-campus Gateway Church in Texas, which draws some 36,000 worshipers weekly, urged his congregants on Sunday to get active in local government elections and vote to protect their communities while highlighting a raft of members running for office.

Im asking you, as your pastor, to vote. Its very important that we vote in these elections because theres a lot being decided for our communities and for our schools and for our children and grandchildren, Morris said during a broadcast of his church service on Facebook.

Morris told his congregants that he recently gathered with leaders of his church campuses in Southlake, Colleyville and Grapevine, along with a number of other local church leaders, to discuss mobilizing the church community to participate more effectively in the political process. During these meetings, they learned that several church members are running to become mayors, members of the local city council or positions at the school district.

We had pastors come together and pray and what we realized was, we had people running for these offices that are members of our churches, Morris said. Were not endorsing a candidate. Were not doing that. But we just thought that since theyre a member of the family of God, that you might want to know if someone in the family, in this family of churches, is running. I want you to pray for every person running for office.

He lamented that too many voters tend to forget about local elections after a general election when its the local elections that tend to impact their lives the most.

You know, we hear about something, some curriculum thats been approved by the school board sometimes and we get upset about it. But many of us didnt vote for the school board, nor do we pray for them on a daily basis or on a weekly basis. So Im asking us to change that. Im asking us to pray, to get informed and to vote in local elections, he said to applause.

We seem to get all stirred every four years about one election, and these other ones go by and we dont do a thing about it, he noted.

Jason Yates, CEO of My Faith Votes, told The Christian Post last summer that one of the reasons some Christians have shied away from the political process is the Johnson Amendment.

The Johnson Amendment, which has been in effect since 1954, is seen by supporters as a way to separate church and state in modern American life. It forces religious leaders to give up their 501(c) 3 tax-exempt status if they choose to give sermons endorsing specific candidates ahead of elections. It also prohibits churches, synagogues, mosques and other nonprofit institutions from raising money for political candidates.
Gabriel Olonisakin, the immediate past chief of defence staff (CDS), says while in office, he conducted a study which revealed that bandit...

Gabriel Olonisakin, the immediate past chief of defence staff (CDS), says while in office, he conducted a study which revealed that bandits would invade forests.





While dealing with Boko Haram insurgents in the north-east, the military, under his watch, had also been tasked with fighting bandits who operate from forests in the north-west.

Speaking at a thanksgiving service held in his honour in Ode Ekiti, his hometown in Gbonyin LGA, Ekiti state, the former defence chief said the military adopted futuristic intelligence to address insecurity.

He said they identified 14 security challenges and developed strategies that bordered heavily on intelligence gathering to tackle such attacks.

We went through the storm and came up with those babies of necessities. The system did not have those structures to do what we were facing, so we had to come up with ad hoc arrangements like the platforms we created with the intelligence agencies, NAN quoted him to have said.

So, I encouraged the officers under me to add value wherever they found themselves. And we always think outside the box, because if you dont do that, you might not add value and more importantly, to give the system their best.

That was why we were coming up with strategies on a monthly basis to address the challenges we were facing on security threats, ranging from terrorism, insurgency, to theft.

We were also futuristic in our approach to address some of the strategies. This invasion of our forests by bandits we are experiencing at the moment, I saw it years back. I did a kind of study and I knew that our next target was going to be the forests.

We also made sure we encouraged a lot of research and development in the army formation. So, we did our best for this nation in terms of resolving this pathetic insecurity issue  that I can boldly say.

Olonisakin, who was replaced by Lucky Irabor in January, had earlier said, under his leadership, the military reclaimed all territories controlled by Boko Haram.
Embodied by its brand mission of "Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World", OPPO is taking strides towards a more sustainable future

DUBAI, UAE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global smart device brand OPPO today outlines the contributions it has made in the past year to facilitate the corporate sustainability initiatives enacted at the company since 2004. These contributions highlight OPPO's achievements in improving stakeholder wellbeing, including the wellbeing of its products users, its employees, and the society as a whole, as well as the company's impact on the environment.

"The company was founded in 2004, OPPO has been committed to improving the wellbeing of our employees, customers and partners, as well as bettering our impact on the environment and society as a whole. Sustainability has been an integral part of our development strategy during this time, ensuring our ability to innovate and provide the best possible products and services for our users in what we call the Internet of Experience," said Tony Chen, Founder and CEO of OPPO. "In reflection of our brand mission 'Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World', and in staying true to our core value of Benfen, we will continue to invest in our sustainability. In doing so, we also look forward to working with partners across the industry to create a better future for people worldwide."

OPPO's achievements in sustainability were verified by the leading testing service provider TUV Rheinland, which gave recognition of OPPO's contributions based on international standards. This third-party verification proves OPPO's own work towards creating a circular economy, which includes prioritizing the use of sustainable materials and minimizing its waste output. OPPO now adopts sustainable production processes, spanning from design, packaging, upgrading to material processing and more. As a result, TUV Rheinland also certified the outcomes of OPPO's sustainable resource management and reduced emissions.

Seeing itself as a global citizen, further to its own social responsibility initiatives, OPPO is also working with suppliers to conduct sustainable management projects and collectively build a more sustainable ecosystem. For example, under the OPPO Social Responsibility Code of Conduct, suppliers are prohibited from engaging in unlawful or unethical practices, including monopolistic behavior, bribery or corruption.

As part of its contribution to the circular economy, OPPO recycled 13 times more product by weight in 2020 compared with 2019. This was further supported by its efforts in using more renewable materials, with recycled plastic making up 35% of the plastic material contained in its smartphone components. At the same time, the company also achieved a 42.7% reduction in general waste and a 20% reduction in indirect greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

When it comes to people, as the lifeblood of its organization, OPPO has consistently put employee wellbeing at the forefront of its business operations. The company organized more than 670,000 hours of educational sessions and training programs in 2020 to assist exployees in planning and developing their careers. Likewise, for the millions of customers worldwide who use its products each day, OPPO takes their wellbeing just as seriously and has taken huge steps to better protect their data privacy. These include adding a number of innovative features to its ColorOS 11 operating system and as well as obtaining certifications for strict data privacy standards such as ISO (ISO/IEC 27001, 27018, 29151), TrustArc and ePrivacy.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, OPPO joined hands with the global community and mobilized resources to provide aid and support around the world. In the Philippines, OPPO collaborated with NGO Save the Children to help students receive remote education through the donation of 100 OPPO A12e smartphones and 100 Rock Space Bluetooth headsets. In Thailand, OPPO donated over 20,000 N95 face masks to medical workers at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital and distributed medical kits to more than 13 hospitals across the country.

OPPO is also supporting communities and culture around the world through initiatives such as its Campus Global Emerging Artists Project Renovators (Renovators) program. In 2020, OPPO launched the second Renovators program, providing a platform for 3,000 students from 150 top universities around the world to unleash their creative imagination.

Making a significant and lasting impact on sustainability requires long-term thinking and commitment. OPPO will continue to further its own sustainability initiatives while collaborating with industry partners to create a better future for everyone.

The full 2020 Sustainability Report will be available on the OPPO official website soon. Please stay tuned!

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global technology brand since 2004, dedicated to providing products that seamlessly combines art and innovative technology.

OPPO is on a mission to building a multiple-access smart device ecosystem for the era of intelligent connectivity. The smartphone devices have simply been a gateway for OPPO to deliver a diverse portfolio of smart and frontier technologies in hardware, software and system. In 2019, OPPO launched a $7 BillionUS Dollar three-year investment plan in R&D to develop core technologies furthering design through technology.

OPPO is firmly pursuing the creation of the best technology products and technological artistry for global users. Based on the brand elements of leading, young and beautiful, OPPO dedicates to the mission of letting the extraordinary users enjoy the beauty of technology.

For the last 10 years, OPPO has focused on manufacturing smartphones with camera capabilities that are second to none. OPPO launched the first mobile phone, the Smile Phone, in 2008, which marked the launch of the brand's epic journey in exploring and pioneering extraordinary technology. Over the years, OPPO has built a tradition of being number one, which became a reality through inventing the world's first rotating camera smartphone way back in 2013, launching the world's then thinnest smartphone in 2014, being the first to introduce 5X Zoom 'Periscope' camera technology and developing the first 5G commercial smartphone in Europe.

Today, OPPO was ranked as the number four smartphone brand globally. OPPO brings the aesthetics of technology of global consumers through the ColorOS system Experience, and Internet service like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+.

OPPO's business covers 40 countries with over six research institutes and five R&D centers across the world, from San Francisco to Shenzhen. OPPO also opened an International Design Centre headquartered in London, driving cutting edge technology that will shape the future not only for smartphones but for intelligent connectivity.

About OPPO MEA

OPPO started its journey in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2015 after setting up its regional office in Egypt. Following the immense success of the brand's sales centre in Cairo in the first year, OPPO accelerated its expansion plan across the MEA region and inaugurated its country operations in the UAE in 2019. Now OPPO is physically present in more than 13 markets across the region, including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the Levant.

To empower its presence in the region in line with its product localisation strategy, OPPO further invested in MENA and set up its very own factory in Algeria in 2017, thus, becoming the first Chinese brand to build a manufacturing premises in North Africa. Based on insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO has evolved the progress of product localisation, taking into consideration several perspectives towards each market, including product localisation, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localisation, to better communicate with local young customers; and talent localisation, to understand local consumers further and provide an optimum customer service.

Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region specifically. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X Series and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region.

A forward-thinking international technology company, OPPO strives to be a sustainable company that contributes to a better world and have enacted positive change in every way possible through activating local community initiatives and humanitarian, charity campaigns.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1494378/OPPO_Sustainability.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1451542/OPPO_Logo.jpg
Some wept. Some cheered. Some stood in silent reverence, absorbing the moment when it was announced that a jury had found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd Tuesday.

Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, who traveled to Minnesota to pray with Floyds family and offer support, was recorded in a video clip declaring wow! as they heard the outcome of the highly charged case that had for months captured the worlds gaze.

On Wednesday morning Bryant thanked all the people who helped to create the moment that blanketed many communities across America with hope and exultation.

Source:The Christian Post
by Paul Wang

The journalist will have to pay HK$ 6,000 for requesting information from the Transportation Department under false pretence. The journalists' union decided to pay the fine. "Today is a very dark day for all journalists in Hong Kong, not just for me personally ... it's a ruling on journalism in Hong Kong. The court ruled that searching for public information or access to public data is no longer allowed in Hong Kong, Bao said. Suspicions hang over links between organised crime and police in the attack against protesters and passengers in Yuen Long.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  Bao Choy, a freelance journalist with RTHK, Hong Kongs public broadcaster, was fined HK$ 6,000 (US$ 775) for trying to trace the owners of vehicles through the Transport Department database under false pretence.

According to security camera footage, a group of hooligans arrived in certain vehicles with weapons and canes used to beat pro-democracy protesters and passengers at the Yuen Long MTR[*] station on 21 July 2019.

The verdict was delivered today at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court. Bao Choy was accompanied by a group of colleagues holding banners that read Journalism is not a crime and Who wants the public kept in the dark?

Upon leaving the court, Bao Choy met with a hundred journalists and supporters. "Today is a very dark day for all journalists in Hong Kong, not just for me personally ... it's a ruling on journalism in Hong Kong," she said. "The court ruled that searching for public information or access to public data is no longer allowed in Hong Kong, she added.

Visibly moved, Bao Choy explained that the conviction puts journalists' work at risk and throws mud at her documentary, as if that was not true.

In fact, the documentary that was broadcast on RTHK[] before the security law won this year's Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award, although RTHKs new management, closer to Beijing, declined to accept it.

To show their solidarity with Bao Choy, the journalists' union decided to pay the fine.

During her research for the licence plates of suspects vehicles, the 37-year-old journalist ticked a reason box that said traffic and transportation related matters.

The other two options available when accessing the database were legal proceedings and sale and purchase of vehicle. She did not find the option other purposes or it was not available.

The fuss over Bao Choy's so-called false statement risks overshadowing the Yuen Long incident and the suspicious links between the police and organised crime groups in connection with the punitive attack against pro-democracy protesters.

On that day, many protesters were dressed in black, and were on their way back from a protest downtown; the attackers were dressed instead in white T-shirts.

After the journalist's documentary aired, the police conceded that some plainclothes officers were at Yuen Long but did not intervene to protect the victims from the beating.

In addition, reports indicate the 999 official emergency telephone number was inundated with calls and that it took more than 40 minutes for police to respond.

Later, the police accused some of the victims of rioting and took some into custody.

After Bao Choy's arrest on 3 November 2020, law enforcement authorities presented another version of events, claiming that the incident had been a fight between two equally-matched sides.

In August 2020, triad members were arrested, but as some observers noted, they caught the small fry, not those behind the attack.

Photo: Apple Daily TV

[*] Mass Transit Railway.

[] Radio Television Hong Kong.
Xinhua

Updated: 2021-04-22

Photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao Town, South China's Hainan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

BOAO, Hainan -- This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), an increasingly influential platform that has witnessed China's opening up and integration with Asia and the global community.



The ongoing annual conference in Boao, a town in South China's Hainan province, has attracted 2,600 attendees, including government officials, entrepreneurs and scholars from over 60 countries and regions.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday underscored the significance of the theme of the BFA annual conference 2021, which he said is convened against "a very special background."

The theme -- A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation -- is most opportune and relevant under the current circumstances, Xi said in a keynote speech delivered via video at the opening ceremony of the conference.

For the last 20 years, Chi Fulin, director of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development, has attended each annual conference.

"I have first-hand experience with the forum's growing influence and role. It has become an important international platform in China for Asia and the world," he said.

At the BFA annual conference in 2018, Xi announced a batch of opening-up measures, with the expectation that the country's opening-up efforts will benefit all enterprises and people in China and around the world as soon as possible.

The measures included significantly broadening market access, creating a more attractive investment environment, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights and taking the initiative to expand imports, among others.

Faced with the economic downturn and the pandemic, participants have used the forum to engage in dialogues and identify new areas of collaboration.

China's recent opening-up measures, especially those in the financial sector, have created tremendous opportunities for multinationals to tap into, said Eddie Chen, head of China & Asia at Eurazeo, an investment company headquartered in France.

"One of the most exciting parts of doing business in China is that things are changing fast, and changes bring opportunities," he said, noting that the changes happening in China are positive ones.

The gathering of political leaders, entrepreneurs and experts has also transformed the once-obscure town of Boao.

Seeing opportunities brought by the forum, Jiang Xiang, a local resident, opened a bar by the seaside 10 years ago. "Without the BFA, I wouldn't have started my business because Boao town was very underdeveloped then, with little transportation and no industry," said Jiang, adding that the forum has attracted many people.

He said many people from various industries at home and abroad have come to meet and exchange, develop industries and travel in Boao. The bar has become a hotspot for tourists and received a large number of Chinese and foreign guests every year, especially during the conference.

"As long as there are people and there is opening up, there will be opportunities," Jiang said.




One positive thing that everybody noticed during last years health crisis was how quiet everything got. All of a sudden, people all over the world could actually hear all sorts of nature sounds.Now, imagine what that was like at ocean level. Scientists observed an unprecedented level of silence, due to all types of shipping coming to a halt. In fact, the International Quiet Ocean Experiment ( IQOE ) project, which had been studying the impact of human sound on marine life since 2015, observed such profound changes during this time, that it designated 2020 International Year of the Quiet Ocean.Since commercial shipping is one of the biggest factors that increase ocean noise, next to energy exploration and recreational boating, its vital for ship manufacturers to integrate green technologies, and the good news is that its actually possible to reduce ocean noise.A great example of this is the first product carrier to receive a Silent-E notation, which certifies that the ship does not go beyond average to moderate noise levels. Passenger ships have gotten this certification before, but the fact that a cargo ship received it marks a premiere in the shipping industry.Launched by Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI), this ship is designed to comply to eco-friendly and low-noise criteria that are becoming more and more important for shipping companies worldwide. In fact, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is on its way to establishing official criteria for regulating underwater noise levels.According to HSHI, major ship-owning companies are the ones who request that shipbuilders integrate green technologies into their ships and the Korean ship manufacturer is one of those who apply environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices to their operations.Lets hope that the HSHI minimal-noise product carrier will be followed by many more commercial ships that support marine life.
PARLAMENTUL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA

 2010

The Moldovan Parliaments website design was supported by the Democracy Support Programme in Moldova"  an initiative financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 10:19:29|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. State Department official said on Wednesday that the second round Vienna talks over the Iran nuclear deal "made some progress," but important disagreements still existed between the United States and Iran.

The senior official said that the indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Vienna "made some progress" in clarifying respective steps to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"But clarification doesn't necessarily mean consensus," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "There still are disagreements and, in some cases, pretty important ones on our respective views about what is required to -- what is meant by a return to full compliance."

The official said the United States had provided Iran with examples of three categories of sanctions, including "sanctions that we believe we would need to lift in order to come back into compliance, and the sanctions that we believe we would not need to lift."

The third category of sanctions was much more complicated with further assessment needed, according to the official, some of which were deliberately imposed by the previous Trump administration to hinder a successor administration from returning to the deal.

The official noted that Washington and Tehran had not discussed the sequencing issue, saying the two sides "are still in the process of describing and detailing the steps that each side is going to have to take."

The official, however, emphasized that Washington had made it clear to Tehran that "a sequence that the U.S. does everything before Iran does nothing is not an acceptable sequence."

"We've made some progress," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN earlier in the day, referring to the Vienna talks. "There is still distance to travel, but ultimately the United States is committed to returning to the JCPOA ... on a compliance-for-compliance basis."

Sullivan also said that the United States would not make any moves on this issue until "we have clarity and confidence that Iran is prepared to put its nuclear program back in the box that it was in during Iran nuclear deal."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday stressed that the new round of talks about the nuclear deal should aim to map out three steps. "The first step is the lift of sanctions by the United States ... As the second step, we want to verify the lift of sanctions thereafter," he said, adding that at the third step, Iran will implement its own commitments under the deal.

The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) together with the EU. Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments in May 2019, one year after the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. Enditem
This week, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Lynne M. Tracy, traveled through the Syunik region to learn first-hand from local officials and U.S. Embassy program partners how the region has been affected by the twin crises of the pandemic and conflict this past year. She also met with the recipients of several U.S. government grant projects to discuss how the Embassy can continue to maintain these partnerships to support the regions recovery and development.

From Sunday, April 18-Thursday, April 22, Ambassador Tracy traveled to Sisian, Meghri, Kapan, and Goris, meeting with the Governor of Syunik, Melikset Poghosyan; the Mayor of Meghri, Mkhitar Zakaryan; the Mayor of Goris, Arush Arushanyan; and the Mayor of Sisian, Artur Sargsyan. She discussed how the U.S. government is providing humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the conflict and shared ways in which we continue to support the regions development.

In Sisian, she also visited the Sisian Adult Education Center Foundation to meet with the beneficiaries of a U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission Small Grant project in the Hatsavan community. The project helped community members learn fund-raising skills so they could raise money to build a playground for the children of Hatsavan.

In Meghri, the Ambassador met with partners at a USAID-supported Farm Service Center, which is helping more than half of Meghris farmers by giving them access to high quality supplies and services. She also visited USAID partner Haykush Hovsepyan and her family at their dry fruit production facility. USAID support is helping the family produce and sell dry fruit, ensuring increased cash flow into the community. Also while in Meghri, the Ambassador met with the Border Control Post Commander and visited the St. Hovhannes Church, a recipient of a $500,000 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grant which restored its historic frescoes.

In Kapan, the Ambassador was pleased to have the opportunity to meet with a group of alumni of U.S. government exchange programs to learn about their experiences in the United States and about how they have been doing back home in Armenia during this difficult year.

Finally, in Goris, Ambassador Tracy met with families displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and the community social worker and USAID project partners that have been assisting them and others affected by the conflict. During her visit Ambassador Tracy reaffirmed that the United States will continue to provide assistance to improve the lives of Armenians.
Accra Mall Limited, organizers of the Future Fashion Fund has launched a pop-up store at the mall for Bright Sena Banini the winner of the maiden Future Fashion Fund which was organized in 2019.



Sena, who operates under the brand name SENABRYTE was declared the winner at the runway show organized to climax the Accra Mall Fashion Weekend (AMFW) on Saturday, 31st August 2019.



Speaking at the launch, Mr. Anthony Asamoah, Marketing Manager of Accra Mall, reiterated the rationale behind the pop-up store and Accra Malls commitment to startups;



"As part of the prize package for the winner of the Future Fashion Fund, Accra Mall assured the winner of a pop-up store at the Mall in addition to many other prizes. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from launching the store last year but thankfully we have been able to commence the trading activities this year in accordance with all COVID-19 safety protocols



Speaking after the launch of the store, SENABRYTE expressed deep gratitude to Accra Mall for honoring its promise.



This pop-up store at Accra Mall is a dream come true and I cant thank Accra Mall enough for this opportunity and privilege; I still cant believe this but I am so grateful. I also want to thank everyone who believed in me, he expressed.



The Future Fashion Fund is an extension of the Accra Mall Fashion Weekend (AMFW) which is an annual two-day fashion event that focuses on the fashion and beauty retail category. The event features a Beauty Expo and a style talk in addition to the runway show. The runway show also features clothing, makeup and accessories from tenants at the mall.



The Accra Mall Future Fashion Fund 2019 was supported by Standard Chartered Bank and sponsored by Woodin, Dark & Lovely, and Black Opal Makeup (distributed by Body Basics).

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
New Delhi, April 22 : As the demand for oxygen cylinders skyrocketed amid the surge in Covid-19 caseloads, smartphone maker Xiaomi on Thursday announced that it will donate Rs 3 crore to procure more than 1,000 oxygen concentrators for hospitals across states.

In an open letter, the company said that these oxygen concentrators will be donated to hospitals and state governments where the need is the highest, for example, Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and a few other states.

Along with this, the company has also partnered with non-profit organisation GiveIndia to raise Rs 1 crore for Covid-19 warriors.

"Also partnering with @GiveIndia to raise ?1 crore for #COVIDwarriors," Manu Jain, Managing Director, Mi India, wrote on Twitter.

The donation page will be live on mi.com.

"These are small steps that we are taking to support the urgent needs of the country's healthcare system and the frontline workers who are toiling round the clock to combat the threat and impact of Covid-19," he added.

Currently, several hospitals across the country are running out of oxygen for Covid-19 patients.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the concerned officials to ensure that oxygen is supplied to various states and Union Territories (UTs) in a smooth and unhindered manner.




Press release

Paris, 22 April 2021

Financial information at 31 March 2021

Excellent sales momentum across the Group, underpinning the stabilization of EBITDAaL

Revenue growth primarily driven by strong performance in Africa & Middle East

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 10,315 10,265 10,394 0.5% (0.8)% EBITDAaL 2,565 2,573 2,601 (0.3)% (1.4)% eCAPEX (excluding licenses) 1,760 1,566 1,580 12.4% 11.4% EBITDAaL  eCAPEX 805 1,007 1,021 (20.1)% (21.2)%

Orange group revenues were up 0.5%1 in Q1 2021 thanks to the recovery of equipment sales and an excellent performance in fixed broadband and IT & Integration services.

Growth was primarily driven by Africa & Middle East, which posted its best first quarterly performance in 10 years (up 7.1%), and by Other European countries2 (up 2.2%). The Enterprise segment returned to modest growth (+0.4%), while France was resilient (-0.2%) and Spain remained markedly negative (-7.4%).

Group EBITDAaL edged down very slightly (-0.3%) in a quarter impacted by the health crisis throughout, which was not the case in Q1 2020.

Q1 eCAPEX was in line with the Groups targets for 2021. This increased by 12.4% versus Q1 2020, mainly due to Network investments and fewer asset disposals.

Orange again delivered a very robust commercial performance, setting a new record for first-quarter FttH net adds.

IT & Integration services posted strong growth, including 16% year-on-year revenue growth at Orange Cyberdefense.

5G packages are now available in five countries. In France, Orange now covers 239 municipalities with 5G.

Commenting on the publication of these results, Stephane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group, said:

In spite of the effects of the health crisis which remained significant in the first quarter, the Group demonstrated its resilience, maintaining revenue growth (+0.5%) and stabilizing EBITDAal (-0.3%). Revenues in particular were sustained by the remarkable performance in Africa and the Middle East where Orange posted growth of more than 7% and passed the threshold of 130 million mobile customers. Growth reached 2.2% in the Europe segment excluding the Spanish market where recovery remains a priority. The Enterprise segment continues to improve following the difficulties faced in the second half of 2020 resulting from the first lockdown period. IT and integration services also advanced strongly, primarily in Cloud Computing, and Digital and Data, which saw annual revenue increases of 5% and 11% respectively.

In France our commercial performance was very solid and we set a new record for net FttH sales in a first quarter, which allowed us to reach almost 5 million fiber customers. In addition, Orange Bank now has 1.5 million customers in Europe and over 500,000 customers in Africa.

Our 5G services are already available in five countries with France now offering coverage in 239 municipalities. Strong demand for 5G-compatible smartphones augers well for the adoption of this new technology by our customers.

Thanks to the signing of a Fiberco project partnership in Poland, we are continuing to roll-out our infrastructure strategy, just as we have done with Orange Concessions and Totem, our European TowerCo. All the objectives that we announced in this regard a year ago will be delivered as planned and under excellent financial conditions.

Finally, I'm proud to be able to underline that Orange has continued to show it can rise to its responsibilities in the face of the health crisis thanks to the power of its networks and the commitment of its employees, to whom I extend my warmest thanks.

Comments on Group key figures

Revenue

Orange group revenues reached 10.3 billion euros in Q1 2021, up +0.5% year-on-year on a comparable basis despite the health crisis, which impacted the entire quarter, as opposed to just two weeks in Q1 2020. Growth was fueled by equipment sales, which were up +10.8%, fixed broadband services, up +5.3%, and IT and integration services, up +5.1%. In contrast, roaming revenue was down sharply (-31.1% year-on-year) as a result of ongoing travel restrictions.

Africa & Middle East, where revenue increased by +7.1%, was the main driver of this growth. Poland also performed well, with growth of +4.1%.

Customer base growth

There were 11.13 million convergent customers Group-wide at March 31, 2021, up +2.8% year-on-year.

Mobile services recorded 216.6 million access lines at March 31, 2021, up +1.2% year-on-year, including 78.0 million contracts, up +0.9%.

Fixed services had 45.0 million access lines at March 31, 2021, down -0.3% year-on-year. The number of fixed narrowband access lines was down -3.5%, while the number of very high-speed fixed broadband access lines continued to grow (+6.2%), delivering very good results, particularly in France and Poland.

Mobile financial services expanded their customer base, integrating nearly 300,000 business customers. This brought the total to 1.5 million customers in Europe and over 500,000 for Orange Bank Africa.

EBITDAaL

Group EBITDAaL amounted to 2.56 billion euros in Q1 2021, down -0.3% with roaming revenues declining 42 million euros year on year.

EBITDAaL from telecom activities was 2.59 billion euros, down -0.6%.

eCAPEX

Group eCAPEX for the first quarter reached 1.8 billion euros, up 194 million euros mainly due to the reduction in asset disposals, but also owing to the ramp-up in investments that were slowed in Q1 2020 as a result of the health crisis. The acceleration was particularly marked in France and Africa & Middle East.

As of March 31, 2021, Orange recorded 49.3 million households worldwide connectable to FttH (up 22.2% year-on-year) and over 50 million households connectable to very high-speed broadband (FttH and cable).

In Q1 2021 Orange continued to roll out its infrastructure strategy as set out in its Engage 2025 plan. Following the creation of Orange Concessions in January 2021 and the launch of its European TowerCo TOTEM in February, the Group announced on April 12, 2021 the creation of a FiberCo in Poland that will support the rollout of optical fiber in areas with limited or no access to very high-speed infrastructure. The FiberCo, valued at launch at 605 million euros, will include 2.4 million lines, including 1.7 million to be rolled out over the coming five years.

Changes in asset portfolio

There were no significant changes in the asset portfolio in Q1 2021.

Following its announcement on December 2, 2020, on April 8, 2021 Orange SA launched a conditional voluntary public tender offer to purchase a 47.09% equity stake in Orange Belgium at a price of 22 euros per share. The offer, the prospectus for which has been approved by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), will be open until April 23, 2021.

Outlook for 2021

The Group is maintaining its financial targets for 2021 as announced on February 18, 2021, namely:

stable but negative EBITDAaL,

eCAPEX of 7.6-7.7 billion euros,

organic cash flow from telecoms activities over 2.2 billion euros,

ratio of net debt to EBITDAaL for telecoms activities maintained at around 2x in the medium term.

As a reminder, these targets take into account the allocation of the 2.2 billion euro tax refund received at the end of 2020 after the French Council of State found in the Groups favor in a long-running tax dispute, which is intended to generate added value for the Group in the long term but will have an impact on short-term targets.

Dividend

As already announced, in respect of 2020, the Annual General Shareholders Meeting of May 18, 2021 will vote on a dividend payment of 0.70 euros per share plus 0.20 euros per share linked to the French Council of States favorable decision in the matter of a long-running tax dispute as mentioned above. Taking into account the 0.40 euro interim dividend paid on December 9, 2020, the balance of the dividend to be proposed to the AGM will be 0.50 euros per share, to be paid in cash on June 17, 2021. The ex-dividend date will be June 15, 2021.

In respect of the 2021 financial year, a dividend of 0.70 euros per share will be proposed to the 2022 Annual General Shareholders Meeting. An interim dividend of 0.30 euros per share will be paid in December 2021.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Board of Directors of Orange SA met on April 21, 2021 to review the consolidated financial results for the three months to March 31, 2021.

More detailed information on the Groups financial results and performance indicators is available on the Orange website https://www.orange.com/en/consolidated-results.

Review by operating segment

France

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 4,404 4,415 4,431 (0.2)% (0.6)% Retail services 2,688 2,692 2,692 (0.2)% (0.2)% Convergent services 1,154 1,137 1,137 1.5% 1.5% Mobile Only 559 563 565 (0.7)% (1.0)% Fixed Only 975 993 991 (1.8)% (1.6)% Wholesale 1,286 1,319 1,336 (2.5)% (3.7)% Equipment sales 269 252 252 6.6% 6.6% Other revenues 162 151 151 6.9% 7.2%

Good performance in convergence and fiber

Q1 2021 continued to be affected by health related restrictions, including the closure of approximately one-third of our stores representing 40% of our sales.

Despite the unfavorable comparison base to a Q1 2020 that was still relatively unaffected by the health crisis, Orange France reported a very limited decline in revenue, which would have been virtually stable had it not been for the effect of promotions on digital content offers.

Revenue from retail services, excluding digital content offers, was up +0.1% thanks to the good commercial performance of fiber and convergent services, which more than offset the structural decline in PSTN and the negative impact of the crisis on customer roaming. Excluding digital content offers and PSTN, revenue from retail services rose +1.9%.

Equipment sales were growing again, boosted by the release of new 5G devices.

Wholesale revenues decreased mainly due to the drop in national roaming and the structural decline in copper network revenues due to the success of fiber.

On a commercial level, convergent ARPO was once again up year on year (+0.20 euros), excluding digital content offers, despite the drop in roaming and content-related revenue.

With +32,000 net additions, mobile contracts (excluding M2M) held up well in a very intense competitive environment at the entry level, without jeopardizing price stability for the main offers.

Fiber continues to perform very well with +385,000 net additions, a record for a first quarter and close to the all-time high of +388,000 net adds recorded in Q4 2020. Over one year, Orange recorded nearly 1.4 million new FttH customers, up 38.9%.

Europe

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 2,583 2,646 2,685 (2.4)% (3.8)% Retail services 1,727 1,808 1,831 (4.5)% (5.7)% Convergent services 666 690 695 (3.6)% (4.2)% Mobile Only 719 772 781 (6.9)% (8.0)% Fixed Only 265 274 280 (3.3)% (5.3)% IT & Integration services 77 71 74 7.7% 3.9% Wholesale 454 471 478 (3.7)% (5.1)% Equipment sales 368 323 331 14.2% 11.3% Other revenues 34 44 45 (22.9)% (24.6)%

Solid commercial performance with an improving trend, although Q1 revenue remained under pressure due to Spain

Revenue from Europe (including Spain, Poland, Belgium and Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova) was again down in Q1 2021, but the decline was significantly less than in Q4 2020. This development was due to Spain, where revenues fell 7.4% year on year while revenues from Other European countries rose 2.2% including a particularly strong performance in Poland, up 4.1%.

The decline in retail services (-4.5%) accounts for most of this change and was only partially offset by the strong rebound in equipment sales (+14.2%). Wholesale services revenues fell 3.7% due to the decrease in roaming.

The commercial performance remained positive in Europe, with +64,000 mobile contracts net additions excluding M2M and +62,000 of fixed broadband, including 126,000 FttH connections.

In Spain, revenue continued to deteriorate, particularly in retail services which declined 10.2% year on year principally due to the impact of the repricing of our existing customer base in H2 2020. Wholesale services revenues were also down 2.3%.

The repositioning of our offers resulted in a positive commercial performance in Spain for the third consecutive quarter, with +10,000 net additions in convergent services, +49,000 in FttH and +24,000 in mobile contracts excluding M2M.

Africa & Middle East

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 1,488 1,389 1,445 7.1% 3.0% Retail services 1,301 1,185 1,233 9.8% 5.5% Mobile Only 1,137 1,047 1,094 8.5% 3.9% Fixed Only 160 131 133 21.8% 20.4% IT & Integration services 4 6 6 (31.2)% (32.0)% Wholesale 153 173 181 (11.3)% (15.1)% Equipment sales 24 21 20 15.4% 19.4% Other revenues 9 10 10 (6.1)% (11.3)%

Consistently excellent commercial performance

Africa & Middle-East first-quarter revenues continued to show strong growth driven by mobile data, Orange Money and fixed broadband:

The 4G customer base reached 36.1 million, an increase of 36.0% in one year;

reached 36.1 million, an increase of 36.0% in one year; The fixed broadband customer base grew 38.4% year on year to 1.8 million customers, with revenue up 38.2%;

grew 38.4% year on year to 1.8 million customers, with revenue up 38.2%; Orange Money continued its strong growth with revenues up 18.9%. The customer base grew to 22 million active customers, an 18% increase year on year.





The mobile customer base grew 6.0% year on year to 130.9 million customers.

This exceptional growth was driven principally by the Sonatel and Cote dIvoire sub-groups and by Egypt. Half the countries in the region posted double-digit revenue growth with particularly strong performances in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon.

Enterprise

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 1,907 1,900 1,934 0.4% (1.4)% Fixed Only 918 953 974 (3.7)% (5.7)% Voice 288 303 307 (4.9)% (6.0)% Data 630 650 667 (3.2)% (5.6)% IT & Integration services 769 723 737 6.4% 4.4% Mobile* 220 223 223 (1.3)% (1.4)% Mobile Only 157 163 166 (3.9)% (5.2)% Wholesale 12 10 10 19.1% 19.1% Equipment sales 52 50 48 3.2% 7.6%

Return to revenue growth due to the strong rebound in IT and integration services

Continuing the trend seen since Q3 2020, the Enterprise segment returned to growth thanks to a strong recovery in IT and integration services revenues, driven by revenues from both Cybersecurity which was up 16% year on year and Cloud services up +5%.

Revenues from IT & Integration services now account for over 40% of total revenues in the business segment.

This performance offset the decline in Mobile3, which continued to be impacted by the decline in roaming, traditional voice services, as well as Data, which continues to suffer from event cancellations due to the health crisis.

International Carriers & Shared Services

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 364 374 374 (2.5)% (2.5)% Wholesale 255 272 271 (6.3)% (5.9)% Other revenues 109 101 103 7.8% 6.6%

Revenue from International Carriers and Shared Services fell 2.5%.

Services to international carriers continued to be heavily impacted by the health crisis and the ongoing restrictions on international travel, with a decline in voice services and a transformation of usage to the benefit of OTT operators.

Other revenues grew due to Orange Marine, driven by its new Survey business, and despite the content business continuing to be impacted by cinema closures and the release postponement of several films.

Mobile Financial Services

The customer base of Mobile financial services amounted to 1.5 million customers in Europe including nearly +300,000 newly integrated business customers with Anytime cards or mobile insurance.

In France, the share of new customer relationships made through paid offers continued to grow, reaching 94% in Q1 2021 compared with 51% in Q1 2020.

In Spain, commercial activity was sustained with more than 100,000 customers at the end of March 2021.

Orange Bank Africa already had 514,000 customers at the end of Q1, 63% of whom have taken out a loan.

Calendar of upcoming events

18 May 2021  Annual Shareholders Meeting

29 July 2021 - Publication of first-half 2021 results

26 October 2021 - Publication of third-quarter 2021 results

Contacts

Press: +33 1 44 44 93 93







Sylvain Bruno

sylvain.bruno@orange.com







Tom Wright

tom.wright@orange.com







Olivier Emberger

olivier.emberger@orange.com



Financial communication: +33 1 44 44 04 32

(analysts and investors)







Patrice Lambert-de Diesbach

p.lambert@orange.com







Samuel Castelo

samuel.castelo@orange.com







Aurelia Roussel

aurelia.roussel@orange.com







Andrei Dragolici

andrei.dragolici@orange.com







Louise Racine

louise.racine@orange.com





Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Oranges financial situation, results of operations and strategy. Although we believe these statements are based on reasonable assumptions, they are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including matters not yet known to us or not currently considered material by us, and there can be no assurance that anticipated events will occur or that the objectives set out will actually be achieved. More detailed information on the potential risks that could affect our financial results is included in the Universal Registration Document filed on March 17, 2021 with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and in the annual report (Form 20-F) filed on March 18, 2021 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Other than as required by law, Orange does not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments.

Appendix 1: Key financial indicators

Quarterly data

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

comparable

basis 1Q 2020

historical

basis change

comparable

basis change

historical

basis Revenues 10,315 10,265 10,394 0.5% (0.8)% France 4,404 4,415 4,431 (0.2)% (0.6)% Europe 2,583 2,646 2,685 (2.4)% (3.8)% Africa & Middle-East 1,488 1,389 1,445 7.1% 3.0% Enterprise 1,907 1,900 1,934 0.4% (1.4)% International Carriers & Shared Services 364 374 374 (2.5)% (2.5)% Intra-Group eliminations 432 459 475 EBITDAaL (1) 2,565 2,573 2,601 (0.3)% (1.4)% o/w Telecom activities 2,592 2,607 2,635 (0.6)% (1.6)% As % of revenues 25.1% 25.4% 25.3% (0.3 pp) (0.2 pp) o/w Mobile Financial Services 28 35 34 19.8% 17.8% eCAPEX 1,760 1,566 1,580 12.4% 11.4% o/w Telecom activities 1,754 1,559 1,574 12.5% 11.4% as % of revenues 17.0% 15.2% 15.1% 1.8 pp 1.9 pp o/w Mobile Financial Services 6 7 6 (3.4)% 9.0% EBITDAaL  eCAPEX 805 1,007 1,021 (20.1)% (21.2)%

(1) EBITDAaL adjustments are described in Appendix 2.

Appendix 2: Adjusted data to income statement items

Quarterly data

1Q 2021 1Q 2020

historical basis In millions of euros Adjusted data, Presentation adjustments, Income statement, Adjusted data, Presentation adjustments, Income statement, Revenues 10,315 - 10,315 10,394 - 10,394 External purchases 4,342 2 4,344 4,378 - 4,378 Other operating income 146 - 146 137 - 137 Other operating expense 100 57 157 86 2 88 Labor expenses 2,169 31 2,199 2,195 19 2,215 Operating taxes and levies 881 - 881 915 - 915 Gains (losses) on disposal of fixed assets, investments and activities na 6 6 na 57 57 Restructuring costs na 106 106 na 6 6 Depreciation and amortization of financed assets 21 - 21 9 - 9 Depreciation and amortization of right-of-use assets 358 - 358 317 - 317 Impairment of right-of-use assets - - - - - - Interest expenses on liabilities related to financed assets 0 0 na 0 0 na Interest expenses on lease liabilities 27 27 na 29 29 na EBITDAaL 2,565 163 na 2,601 58 na Significant litigation 54 54 na - - na Specific labor expenses 27 27 na 17 17 na Fixed assets, investments and business portfolio review 6 6 na 57 57 na Restructuring program costs 106 106 na 6 6 na Acquisition and integration costs 9 9 na 4 4 na Interest expense on liabilities related to financed assets na 0 0 na 0 0 Interest expense on lease liabilities na 27 27 na 29 29

Appendix 3: Economic CAPEX to investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

In millions of euros 1Q 2021 1Q 2020

historical

basis eCAPEX 1,760 1,580 Elimination of proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets 19 182 Telecommunication licenses 277 2 Financed assets 20 58 Investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets 2,076 1,822

Appendix 4: Key performance indicators

In thousands, at the end of the period March 31

2021 March 31

2020 Number of convergent customers 11,129 10,825 Number of mobile accesses (excluding MVNOs) (1) 216,624 208,532 o/w Mobile accesses of convergent customers 19,991 19,291 Mobile only accesses 196,633 189,241 o/w Contract customers 78,069 74,860 Prepaid customers 138,556 133,671 Number of fixed accesses (2) 44,985 45,193 Number of fixed retail accesses 29,400 29,349 Number of fixed broadband accesses 21,913 20,776 o/w Accesses with very high-speed broadband 10,230 8,105 Accesses of convergent customers 11,129 10,825 Fixed only accesses 10,784 9,952 Number of fixed narrowband accesses 7,487 8,572 Number of fixed wholesale accesses 15,585 15,844 Group total accesses (1+2) 261,609 253,725

2020 data is presented on a comparable basis.

Key performance indicators by country are presented in the Orange investors data book Q1 2021, available on www.orange.com, under Finance/Consolidated results/2021: https://www.orange.com/en/latestconsolidated-results



Appendix 4: glossary

Key figures

Data on a comparable basis: data based on comparable accounting principles, scope of consolidation and exchange rates are presented for previous periods. The transition from data on an historical basis to data on a comparable basis consists of keeping the results for the period ended and then restating the results for the corresponding period of the preceding year for the purpose of presenting, over comparable periods, financial data with comparable accounting principles, scope of consolidation and exchange rate. The method used is to apply to the data of the corresponding period of the preceding year, the accounting principles and scope of consolidation for the period just ended as well as the average exchange rate used for the income statement for the period ended. Changes in data on a comparable basis reflect organic business changes. Data on a comparable basis is not a financial aggregate as defined by IFRS and may not be comparable to similarly-named indicators used by other companies.

EBITDAaL or EBITDA after Leases: operating income (i) before depreciation and amortization of fixed assets, effects resulting from business combinations, reclassification of cumulative translation adjustment from liquidated entities, impairment of goodwill and fixed assets, share of profits (losses) of associates and joint ventures, (ii) after interest on debts related to financed assets and on lease liabilities, and (iii) adjusted for significant litigation, specific labor expenses, fixed assets, investments and businesses portfolio review, restructuring programs costs, acquisition and integration costs and, where appropriate, other specific elements. EBITDAaL is not a financial aggregate as defined by IFRS standards and may not be directly comparable to similarly-named indicators in other companies.

eCAPEX or economic CAPEX: (i) acquisitions of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding telecommunications licenses and financed assets, (ii) less the price of disposal of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. eCAPEX is not a financial performance indicator as defined by IFRS standards and may not be directly comparable to indicators referenced by similarly-named indicators in other companies.

Organic Cash Flow (telecoms activities): for the perimeter of the telecoms activities, this corresponds to the net cash provided by operating activities, minus (i) lease liabilities repayments and debts related to financed assets repayments, and (ii) purchases and sales of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, net of the change in the fixed assets payables, (iii) excluding effect of telecommunication licenses paid and significant litigations paid or received. Organic Cash Flow (telecoms activities) is not a financial aggregate defined by IFRS and may not be comparable to similarly-named indicators used by other companies.

Convergent services

The customer base and the revenues invoiced to convergence services customers (excluding equipment sales) was for convergent offers defined as the combination of, at a minimum, a fixed broadband access and a mobile contract subscribed by retail market customers.

Convergent ARPO: the average quarterly revenues per convergent offer (ARPO) is calculated by dividing revenues from retail convergent services offers invoiced to customers generated over the past three months (excluding IFRS 15 adjustments) by the weighted average number of retail convergent offers over the same period. ARPO is expressed by monthly revenues per convergent offer.

Performance indicators

The fixed retail accesses correspond to the number of fixed broadband accesses (xDSL (ADSL and VDSL), FTTx, cable, Fixed-4G (fLTE) and other broadband accesses (satellite, Wimax and others)) and fixed narrowband accesses (mainly PSTN) and payphones.

The fixed wholesale accesses correspond to the number of fixed broadband and narrowband wholesale accesses operated by Orange.

Mobile Only services

Revenues from Mobile Only services consists of revenues invoiced to customers of mobile offers excluding retail convergence and equipment sales. The customer base includes customers with a contract excluding retail convergence, machine-to-machine contracts and prepaid cards.

Mobile Only ARPO: the average quarterly revenues from Mobile Only (ARPO) is calculated by dividing the revenue from Mobile Only services (excluding machine-to-machine and IFRS 15 adjustments) generated over the past three months by the weighted average of Mobile Only customers (excluding machine-to-machine) over the same period. The ARPO is expressed as monthly revenues per Mobile Only customer.

Fixed Only services

Revenues from Fixed Only services include the revenue of fixed services excluding retail convergence and equipment sales: traditional fixed-line telephony, fixed broadband and enterprise solutions and networks (with the exception of France, where enterprise solutions and networks are listed under the Enterprise segment). For the Enterprise segment, fixed-only service revenues include sales of network equipment related to the operation of voice and data services. The customer base consists of fixed-line telephony and fixed broadband customers, excluding retail convergence customers.

Fixed Only Broadband ARPO: the average quarterly revenues from Fixed Only Broadband (ARPO) is calculated by dividing the revenue from Fixed Only Broadband services (excluding IFRS 15 adjustments) generated over the past three months by the weighted average of Fixed Only Broadband customers over the same period. ARPO is expressed as monthly revenues per Fixed Only Broadband customer.

IT & integration services

Revenues from IT and integration services include revenue from unified communication and collaboration services (Local Area Network and telephony, consulting, integration, project management and video conferencing offers), hosting and infrastructure services (including cloud computing), application services (customer relations management and other application services), security services, machine-to-machine services (excluding connectivity), as well as equipment sales for the products and services above.

Wholesale

Revenues from other carriers consists of (i) mobile services to other carriers including incoming traffic, visitor roaming, network sharing, national roaming and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), and (ii) fixed services to other carriers including national networking, services to international carriers, high-speed and very high-speed broadband access (fiber access, unbundling of telephone lines and xDSL access sales) and the sale of telephone lines on the wholesale market.

1 Unless otherwise stated, changes are on a comparable basis.

2 Europe excluding Spain

Mobile revenues include mobile services and mobile equipment sales invoiced to businesses and incoming mobile traffic from businesses invoiced to other carriers.

Attachment
China will announce the name of its first Mars rover on Saturday (April 24), coinciding with the country's Space Day, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).





The CNSA launched a global naming campaign for its Mars rover on July 24, 2020, one day after the successful launch of the Tianwen-1 Mars probe.

The public was invited to vote for their favorite names on social media among 10 candidate names from January to February 28. The 10 names on the shortlist are:

- Zhurong, the name of the god of fire in Chinese mythology;

- Chitu, which means red rabbit in Chinese. It's similar to the name of China's lunar rover, which is Yutu, or the Jade rabbit;

- Nezha, a household name of a child capable of fire breathing in Chinese mythology;

- Fenghuolun, Nezha's major weapon, which means flaming wheels in Chinese;

- Qilin, which means kirin in Chinese, is a dragon-like creature in Chinese mythology. It's taken as a symbol of luck, good omens, protection and prosperity by Chinese.

- Hongyi, which means the quality of being broad-minded and determined in Chinese;

- Qiusuo, which means to seek (for things like knowledge or truth) in Chinese;

- Zhuimeng, which means to pursue dreams in Chinese;

- Tianxing, which means the movement of celestial bodies in Chinese;

- Xinghuo, which means spark in Chinese.

About half of the names have their origins in Chinese mythology, and have something to do with fire. That's probably because the Chinese name for Mars, Huoxing, literally means the fire planet.

The final answer will be unveiled in three days.

It's not the first time that China's space authorities invited the general public to name the country's space missions or spacecraft.

The name Tianwen-1 for the Mars mission, was also selected from 35,912 nominations, and was announced on Space Day last year.

It comes from a poem "Tianwen" written by ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan (around 340-278 BC), meaning "Questions to Heaven."

The Tianwen-1 Mars probe, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit of the red planet after performing an orbital maneuver on February 24.

The lander and rover are expected to land on Mars in May or June, according to Bao Weimin, a senior space expert from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
2021-04-21

Maeci

Deputy Minister Manlio Di Stefano met today Uzbekistan's Energy Minister, Alisher Sultanov, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The talks focused on the concrete prospects for bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the energy sector, in preparation for Uzbek President Mirziyoyev's visit to Italy.

We are highly satisfied with the level reached by our economic partnership," said the Deputy Minister, "but we believe that it is above all a promising opportunity for development in new sectors. Italian companies are willing to invest when the business climate improves, and so greater confidence results in a stronger presence on the territory."

At the regional level, the Deputy Minister expressed the hope of strengthening relations with Uzbekistan and the Central Asian region. The interlocutors renewed their availability to cooperate in view of the second meeting of the Italy-Central Asia Ministerial Conference in the 1+5 format, after the first meeting held in December 2019 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inaugurated by Minister Di Maio and chaired by Deputy Minister Di Stefano.
DETROIT  An accused cocaine kingpin who feds believe was planning underwater drone drug shipments in collaboration with a Michigan CEO will face trial in federal court.

A federal grand jury decided this week that the case against former Michigan resident Ylli Didani, 43, can go to trial. Didani is charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

It is alleged that Didani was the leader of an international drug trafficking organization with ties to the United States, Mexico, South America and Europe. The criminal complaint includes details of a scheme to use an underwater drone to smuggle cocaine to Europe, and WDIV Detroit has identified a Michigan CEO who was allegedly helping to manufacture the drone. The complaint also says law enforcement has seized more than $100 million-worth of cocaine from Didanis organization.

This is a very significant and important prosecution of a large scale, well-organized drug trafficking organization involved in the distribution of thousands of kilograms of cocaine worth tens of millions of dollars, across multiple continents, Acting United States Attorney Saima S. Mohsin said in a statement.

Didani and unindicted co-conspirators allegedly planned and financed the distribution of cocaine from several locations, including Michigan.

The complaint alleges that, in 2017, an unindicted co-conspirator  who WDIV Detroit has identified as Grosse Pointe CEO Marty Tibbitts who died in a plane crash in 2018  was overseeing the design of an underwater drone that would transport large amounts of cocaine to Europe by attaching to the bottoms of commercial containerships. The drone was to be equipped with an underwater modem and GPS. It would be remotely released from the ship and then picked up by a fishing boat controlled by Didanis organization.

In transactions during June 2016 and December 2017, Didani allegedly received at least $550,000 from co-conspirators for the purpose of purchasing bulk cocaine. He and unindicted co-conspirators allegedly used private aircraft and commercial containerships to obtain and distribute cocaine throughout Europe.

The criminal complaint further alleges that Didani arranged the distribution of several shipments of cocaine from South America to Europe, where the cocaine was seized by law enforcement. In 2019 and 2020, law enforcement seized over 3400 kilograms of cocaine allegedly from Didanis organization. The seized cocaine has a street value of over $100 million.

Didani was arrested on March 31 in Charlotte, N.C. The criminal complaint against him was unsealed on April 1. Didani was indicted on Wednesday, April 21, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. attorneys Mark Bilkovic, Timothy McDonald and Michael El-Zein.

The case is the culmination of collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations; and the Farmington Hills, Sterling Heights, Troy, Novi, Dearborn Heights and Northfield Township police departments.

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UCSF Police

Police are investigating a shooting that occurred Wednesday in the parking lot of the UCSF Mission Center Building at 1855 Folsom St.

The UCSF Police Department responded to gunfire at 11:50 a.m., according to a statement.
VANCOUVER, Wash., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hubb, a leading virtual, hybrid, and in-person event software platform, today announced data findings from its 2021 Spring UNTETHERED Design-a-thon Event held in mid-March. The findings confirm the pandemic forced a major change within the industry, with a staggering 83% of event professionals surveyed confirming they now have experience hosting and/or planning a virtual event, versus only 45% surveyed in the May of 2020.

Hubb surveyed more than 1,600 of the event planners who attended the UNTETHERED Event this year. Their findings include:

Screenshot of Untethered's Session Lobby

83% have experience planning and hosting virtual events, in comparison to 45% in the spring of 2020

33% have planned at least one large virtual event, up from 9.5% last year

20.25% consider themselves virtual event "experts" in 2021, a staggering leap from only 4.2% last year

3% have not planned or attended a virtual event, in comparison to 14.3% in 2020's survey

"These findings prove that event planners moved with urgency and flexibility this past year. The dramatic adoption in virtual event planning will no doubt shape how we proceed as an industry," said Allie Magyar, CEO of Hubb. "We need to think of events, post-pandemic, in a much different way. Instead of virtual or in-person, events are simply events, and we need to curate the experiences and value based on where attendees will be physically located. And there is a big opportunity in how we connect those audiences.

Magyar says it is essential the $400 billion event planning industry understands that the landscape of events has markedly transformed after planners had to rapidly adapt to the virtual platform amid the pandemic.

Although Magyar believes virtual has now sealed its position as a permanent facet of events and marketing, she also foresees in-person events making a come-back of their own. A recent study suggests many people will likely return to attending in-person events in the second half of 2021. Magyar notes that event planners will have to plan more interactive and engaging events, whether in-person or online, with a close tie to building their "community."

"The central takeaway from the UNTETHERED Event is how much we as an industry create community. The event planning industry is a people industry. We want the human-to-human connection," said Magyar. The content we gathered is valuable. However, what we heard loud and clear is that networking, small group discussions, building off each other's ideas, and creating something new together is really what drives peopleregardless of whether the format is in-person or virtual."

Hubb is designed as a single platform that manages virtual, in-person, and hybrid environments. The platform provides both immersive attendee experiences and robust back-end management tools. Hubb's technology enables meeting planners to bulletproof their event strategy and easily pivot from onsite to online with the press of a button. The Hubb platform allows organizations to create custom, immersive experiences that bring their brand to life.

A second hybrid UNTETHERED Fall event is planned for September 2021, where event professionals will test out new changes in the hybrid event planning space.

About Hubb

Hubb is re-inventing the way the world experiences events. The Hubb Platform creates virtual, onsite and hybrid events that bring brands to life. We help drive business growth by streamlining time consuming processes, mining profitable insights, boosting engagement and improving ROE. By collecting, managing and marketing event data more efficiently, Hubb powers high-impact, immersive and personalized experiences for attendees, speakers, sponsors and even your executives. Built by event-management veterans for event professionals, the Hubb Platform gives event planners unprecedented control and agility to create experiential designs that bring their brand to life. Forrester recently rated the Hubb Management Platform as a Leader in The Forrester Wave:: B2B Marketing Events Management Solution, Q1 2021. For more information, visit www.hubb.me.

Media Contacts

Raime Merriman

[email protected]

Sara Threadgill

[email protected]

512-545-3916

SOURCE Hubb

Related Links

http://www.hubb.me


Johnson Controls, a global company for smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, announced that its chairman and CEO George Oliver has been invited by U.S. President Joe Biden to participate in the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate.

Addressing climate crisis

The summit will bring together leaders of the worlds major economies and other vital partners for an urgent and open dialogue on ways to strengthen collective efforts to address the climate crisis.

President Biden has made tackling climate change a top national priority since taking office and is urging other world leaders to attend the summit to discuss how their governments will help drive the goal of limiting global temperature rise.

Roadmap to a low-carbon economy

Transitioning to a lower-carbon economy is an opportunity to build back better, as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic

I am honored to accept President Biden's invitation to join him and other world leaders calling for urgent climate action. It is especially important to establish a roadmap to limiting the rise of global temperatures as we get closer to the COP26 climate conference scheduled for November in Glasgow, said George Oliver, chairman, and CEO, Johnson Controls.

Transitioning to a lower-carbon economy is an opportunity to build back better, as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Providing clean, sustainable, and energy-efficient solutions creates jobs while building strong, resilient, global economies.

Clean energy economy

According to the White House, a major theme of the summit will be the broad economic benefits of climate action, with a strong focus on job creation. This will explore both the economic benefits of green recovery and long-term decarbonisation and the importance of ensuring that all communities and workers benefit from the transition to a clean energy economy.

Representing Business Roundtable and Johnson Controls, Oliver will address these topics in a session on April 23 as well as the role buildings can play to slash both emissions and costs.

Promoting eco-friendly future

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of Americas leading companies. Oliver was named chair of the Business Roundtable Energy & Environment Committee in January 2021.

The Committee is dedicated to advancing policies that encourage innovation and support an environmentally and economically sustainable future.

Reducing carbon emissions

The vast majority of Business Roundtables 223 member CEOs have made public commitments to reduce their companies greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprints, are making serious progress, and reporting on it publicly. Nearly half of those commitments are for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, if not sooner.

Business Roundtable members are playing a significant role in driving ambitious climate action and the policy needed to spur low-carbon economic growth. Last September, the organization endorsed the goals of the Paris Agreement and proposed aggressive policies to achieve those goals.

Commitment to cut emissions

Johnson Controls believes its OpenBlue platform for optimizing building sustainability will be central to fulfilling its goals

Johnson Controls' own ambitious emissions reduction targets were recently approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative  an independent organization that assesses corporate sustainability claims.

As part of its environmental sustainability commitments, Johnson Controls aims to cut operational emissions by 55 percent and reduce customers emissions by 16 percent before 2030.

Johnson Controls believes its OpenBlue platform for optimizing building sustainability will be central to fulfilling these goals and ultimately creating an environment for healthy people, healthy places, and a healthy planet.

The climate pledge

The company also recently joined the Business Ambition for 1.5C campaign and is a signatory to The Climate Pledge, an initiative of business leaders co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism.

Signatories to the pledge commit to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040  ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement goal.
[April 22, 2021] PowerFuel Damas Co-Founder Wins 2021 Global Amazon AIexa Skills Challenge to Help Rescue Women from Domestic Violence

SAN DIEGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego transplant and Brazil native Danielle Vantini was named the top prize winner at the 2021 Global Innovation Summit for her Alexa voice application prototype aimed at combating domestic violence by discretely helping rescue women from dangerous environments. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the application called Glow Up, Damas was recognized as a technology solution that leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) to address one of the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals: gender equality. In the event of a domestic violence threat, Glow Up, Damas would use coded language and responses to arrange an escape from an abuser. By covertly calling a free self-driving taxi, Glow Up, Damas could help women get away from an abusive environment. Vantini, also the co-founder of San Diego-based PowerFuel Damas , was inspired to create the application after experiencing sexual harassment in her Brazilian workplace. "Gender equality is such an important topic in the world," she said. "Brazil is a very chauvinist country, where every 4 minutes the police register violence against women and every 9 minutes a woman is raped. It's my passion to take this business idea further to make the world more equal for all of us women." Now in beta, Glow Up, Damas found its runway at the Global Innovation Summit hosted by San Diego-based EDequity.Global . The Alexa voice application uses artificial intelligence to potentially rescue countless women who are financially dependent on their partners. In the event of a threat, the app Glow Up, Damas activates by using coded language and responses to arrange an escape from an abuser. By silently calling a free self-driving taxi, Glow Up, Damas will help women leave a dangerous environment and arrange an escape from their abusers. In advance of the summit, Vantini was among the 46 women, marginalized college/university students, and entrepreneurs from Nigeria, North America, India, Kenya, Brazil and Mexico, who completed the Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge, a five-week foundational-level AI training program that results in Alexa-powered business ideas that address one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The participants go on to present at the Global Innovation Summit, where this year, Vantini was named a first-place winner. EDequity.Global is a global coalition of partners advancing cloud education and economic equity for women and BIPOC youth leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS). EDequity.Global is a brand under We Connect The Dots, a nonprofit educational organization based in Westbury, New York.



EDequity.Global founder Shauna Ruyle said of the Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge: "In the face of a global health, economic and education crisis, these program graduates decided to take on the Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge to gain a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence, learn in-demand cloud skills and prepare themselves for the future of work. This is what today is about, we are celebrating their accomplishments and innovative Alexa skills that address the United Nations SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals]. This generation is facing some of the most challenging global issues of our time, and our goal is to help them to use AI for good."

Sponsors and partners of the Global Innovation Summit include AWS , American Association of University Women (AAUW), Google , Netflix , ThingLogix , African Leadership University , De Cero a Ciencia De Datos , California State University Office of the Chancellor , The Basement UCSD , Southwestern College and more. 2020 African Descent Fellow, U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), Founder and President Bell Global Justice Institute, National Council Member, United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) London J. Bell, J.D., LL.M., opened the event as keynote speaker. The esteemed panel of judges included: Dr. Silvia Mah  Founder of AdAstra Ventures, Forbes Council Member, angel investor and TED Talks speaker

 Founder of AdAstra Ventures, Forbes Council Member, angel investor and TED Talks speaker Kjell Hegstad  Chief Innovation Officer at CirrusLabs, Co-founder of ING Direct  most successful U.S. digital Bank, TED Talks speaker

 Chief Innovation Officer at CirrusLabs, Co-founder of ING Direct  most successful U.S. digital Bank, TED Talks speaker Ruth Stanbridge  Creative Director, Vocala

 Creative Director, Vocala Mike Roberts  CEO, Creating Coding Careers

 CEO, Creating Coding Careers Dr. Mary Bonk Isaac , Founder of HEDGE Co. Curtis Chambers, former director of engineering at Uber mentored Vantini to give insights on how this idea and prototype could be viable to the public. "Judging the Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge participants at the Global Innovation Summit was invigorating, as we witnessed how a conversational gateway like the Alexa platform can be applied to address critical needs, from the environment to economic empowerment to gender equality," said Mah. "At the core of every idea was at least one UN Sustainable Development Goal, so to watch entrepreneurs from across the globe creatively tackle world challenges and pitch their nascent ideas was inspiring and invigorating. I'm grateful to have been included." To learn about the progress of Glow Up, Damas and Danielle Vantini, please visit https://www.powerfueldamas.com/ or follow @powerfueldamas on Instagram. Virtual or in-person interviews with app creators available upon request. Contact:

Danielle Vantini

(619) 416-4356

308210@email4pr.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powerfuel-damas-co-founder-wins-2021-global-amazon-aiexa-skills-challenge-to-help-rescue-women-from-domestic-violence-301275280.html SOURCE PowerFuel Damas

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On Monday, Jan. 27, the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center of St. Louis held a press conference in Jewish Federations Kaplan Feldman Complex to announce plans for an $18 million project that would include a major expansion of the museum and the establishment of a $3 million endowment. Pictured is U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, one of the dignitaries who spoke at the event. Photo: Bill Motchan

U.S. Rep Ann Wagner, R- Ballwin, has co-sponsored legislation that seeks to expand and strengthen the Abraham Accords, the agreements reached last year between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

This legislation will expand upon the achievements of the Abraham Accords and help our Israeli and Arab partners build a more peaceful and stable region. By strengthening regional cooperation, we will also improve our ability to counter Irans destabilizing agenda. The Israel Relations Normalization Act will enhance a strong working relationship between states, identify potential barriers to future agreements, and work to combat racist actions that have stalled previous relations, Wagner stated in a news release Wednesday.

The bill, the Israel Relations Normalization Act of 2021, has bipartisan support and is a companion bill to legislation introduced in late March by Republican and Democratic senators.

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The legislation calls for developing and implementing a regional strategy to encourage economic cooperation among Israel, Arab states, and the Palestinians to enhance the prospects for regional peace, respect for human rights, transparent governance and cooperation to address water scarcity, climate solutions, health care, sustainable development, and other areas that result in benefits for residents of those countries.

The pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC and J Street, the liberal Middle East policy group, both have expressed support for the bills.
Chennai, April 22 : As Tamil Nadu's fresh cases touched 11,681 with 53 deaths, the state's core Covid panel will meet on Thursday to discuss future strategy to contain the pandemic. Tamil Nadu health secretary, scientists and district collectors will be part of the Core committee meet which is likely to take place virtually on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the active cases in Tamil Nadu touched 84,361 cases and the state has stepped up the number of daily tests to 1.1 lakh samples. The occupancy in hospitals is now 75 per cent and the number of fatalities in the state has touched 13,252 so far. The state is now reporting an average of 10,016 daily cases and 41 deaths while there were 6,263 fresh cases and 21 deaths on April 14.

Tamil Nadu Covid panel expert committee member Prabhdeep Kaur who is also the Deputy Director, National Institute of Epidemiology in a statement said that cases have been growing in an exponential manner. While speaking to IANS, Kaur said, "People must cooperate by wearing face medical masks and avoiding all non-essential activities. We must do this to protect ourselves, our community and society at large." The health department is preparing charts, graphs, statistics and brainstorming is taking place to evolve new and fresh strategies to stop Covid from spreading further.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Sharpton decries stench of racism in Daunte Wrights death View Photo

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Daunte Wright, the young Black man shot by an officer during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, was not just some kid with an air freshener, but a prince whose life ended too soon at the hands of police, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday during an emotional funeral.

Hundreds of people wearing COVID-19 masks packed into Shiloh Temple International Ministries to remember Wright, a 20-year-old father of one who was shot by a white police officer on April 11 in the small city of Brooklyn Center. The funeral was held just two days after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the death of George Floyd and amid a national reckoning on racism and policing.

The absence of justice is the absence of peace, Sharpton said. You cant tell us to shut up and suffer. We must speak up when there is an injustice.

The civil rights leaders thundering eulogy included a stinging rebuke of the possibility that Wright was pulled over for having air fresheners dangling from his mirror. Wrights mother has said her son called her after he was stopped and told her that was the reason. Police said it was for expired registration.

We come today as the air fresheners for Minnesota, Sharpton said, vowing changes in federal law. Were trying to get the stench of police brutality out of the atmosphere. Were trying to get the stench of racism out of the atmosphere. Were trying to get the stench of racial profiling out of the atmosphere.

We come to Minnesota as air fresheners because your air is too odorous for us to breathe, he said. We cant breathe in your stinking air no more!

Brooklyn Centers police chief said it appeared from body camera video that the officer who shot Wright used her pistol when she meant to use her Taser as Wright struggled with police. The 26-year veteran, Kim Potter, is charged with second-degree manslaughter. Both she and the chief resigned after the shooting.

Ben Crump, attorney for both the Floyd and Wright families, has called for more serious charges against Potter and said Wrights son is going to get old enough to watch that video of how his father was slain so unnecessarily. A misdemeanor, a misdemeanor.

Its too often that traffic stops end up as deadly sentences, a death sentence, Crump said, adding he wants Wrights son to know, We stood up for Daunte, his father.

Dauntes mother, Katie Wright, told mourners, The roles should be completely reversed. My son should be burying me, before burying her face in her hands.

Wright recalled her son becoming a father to a boy born prematurely: He was so happy and so proud, and he said he couldnt wait to make his son proud. Junior was the joy of his life. He lived for him every single day.

Funeral attendees were brought to their feet when artist Ange Hillz painted a portrait of Wright  white paint on a black canvas  as trumpeter Keyon Harrold played Amazing Grace and Lift Evry Voice and Sing, the Black national anthem.

And during a silent reading of Wrights obituary, some could be heard crying softly.

Later, at the cemetery where Wright was buried, some shouted Daunte! after his parents opened a basket, freeing two white doves that flew away.

The families of several other Black people killed by police were there, too, including the mothers of Philando Castile, who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb in 2016, and Eric Garner, who was filmed saying I cant breathe in a fatal 2014 encounter with New York City police.

Also attending were relatives of Oscar Grant, killed in 2009 by a California transit officer who mistook his service weapon for a stun gun, similar to the Wright case, and of Emmett Till, the teenager whose 1955 lynching in Mississippi helped spark the civil rights movement, as well as the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was shot in her Kentucky apartment by officers serving a warrant in 2020.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also attended.

True justice is not done as long as having expired tags means losing your life during a traffic stop, Klobuchar said before a minister gave the closing prayer. True justice is not done as long as a chokehold, the knee on the neck or a no-knock warrant is considered legitimate policing.

More than a dozen members from an armed team of local men, the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, provided security.

Wright was killed when a scuffle broke out as police tried to arrest him after realizing he had an outstanding warrant for failing to appear in court on charges of fleeing police and having a gun without a permit.

It set off protests in Brooklyn Center, a working-class, majority nonwhite city, with hundreds of people gathering every night for a week outside the citys heavily guarded police station. While the mayor called for law enforcement and protesters to scale back their tactics, the nights often ended with demonstrators lobbing water bottles and rocks at the officers, and law enforcement responding with pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets.

___

Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan. Morrison is a member of the APs Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronlmorrison.

___

Find APs full coverage of the death of Daunte Wright at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-daunte-wright

By AARON MORRISON, TIM SULLIVAN and TAMMY WEBBER

Associated Press
Border cartels are using TikTok and other social media platforms to recruit American teenagers to smuggle migrants for cash.

Adverts show cartels are offering more than $3,000 for teenagers and young adults to drive smuggled migrants into the U.S. when they reach the border, images obtained by Fox News show.

After crossing the checkpoints, they are then required to reach a parking lot or other specific location where the migrants are then transferred to stash houses scattered along the US side of the border, according to the report.

Border cartels are using TikTok and other social media platforms to recruit American teenagers to smuggle migrants for cash

Ads cartels are offering over $3,000 a ride for teens and young adults to drive smuggled migrants into the U.S. when they reach the border

The job entails driving the migrants through checkpoints before dropping them off at a specific location

Sources told the news outlet that some adolescents have even used their parents' vehicles to make the journey without their knowledge or permission.

Officials have raised concerns for the safety of the teenagers who become involved in such missions.

One ad by a drug cartel obtained by Fox News reads: 'Need 2 or 3 drivers to go through a checkpoint.'

Another states that there are 'six left'. 'Lemme know ASAP for that easy cash,' it reads.

Some of the ads offer between $3,000-$4,000 for the journey.

The migrants are then picked up by someone trusted by the cartel and transferred to stash houses scattered along the border, according to the report in Fox News

US authorities estimate there are over 1,000 people who enter the US unnoticed by sneaking past border control every single day

Border cartels are using TikTok and other social media platforms to recruit American teenagers to smuggle migrants for cash

US authorities estimate there are over 1,000 people who enter the US unnoticed by sneaking past border control every single day.

Around 172,000 undocumented migrants, mostly from Central America, tried to cross into the United States over the Mexican border in March, 71 percent more than the previous month, with a sharp rise in the number of children traveling alone.

The total includes about 19,000 unaccompanied migrant children and 53,000 family members traveling together, the preliminary figures showed.

Central Americans have been fleeing crushing poverty and surging violence as well as a rise in natural disasters.

According to UNICEF, the number of migrant children trying to reach the United States from Mexico has increased ninefold since the beginning of the year.

Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Central America after criticism of her handling of the migrant crisis Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Central America in June and will hold virtual talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei next week on the migrant surge at the US border. Harris, who in charge of US diplomatic efforts to cut immigration from Mexico and Central America's 'Northern Triangle', has faced criticism for her refusal to visit the border or hold specific news conferences to answer questions on the situation. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Central America Harris has pushed Central American countries to increase troops at their borders and said she plans to visit Guatemala and Mexico. At a meeting with advisers last week, which focused heavily on anti-corruption efforts, Harris spoke about tackling the root causes of migration that have plagued the region for decades - gang violence, drug-trafficking cartels, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes - with diplomacy. Source: Reuters Advertisement

The rise from 380 to 3,500 youngsters registered at reception centers at the southern side of the border has overwhelmed the facilities, the UN children's agency said.

'It breaks my heart to see the suffering of so many young children, even babies, on the Mexican border with the United States,' said Jean Gough, the fund's director for Latin America and the Caribbean, who is based in Panama.

'Most of the shelters I visited in Mexico are already overpopulated and cannot accommodate the growing number of children, adolescents and families migrating northwards,' added Gough, following a five-day visit to the border.

Mexican authorities are recording an average of 275 new migrant children a day waiting to cross into the United States or having been sent back from the northern side of the border, according to UNICEF.

Mostly coming from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, minors make up 30 percent of total migrants - the highest such figure ever registered for children.

UNICEF said people traffickers 'shamelessly exploit' the desperation of families looking to escape gang and domestic violence, poverty, the effects of climate change and unemployment brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Central America in June and hold virtual talks next week with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on the migrant surge at the US border, the White House said Wednesday.

On March 24, she was tasked with leading the efforts to tackle the 'humanitarian crisis' amid a surge of migrants trying to enter the US since Biden's administration came into office.

Harris will meet virtually with Giammattei on Monday.

'The two will discuss working together to address immediate relief needs of the Guatemalan people as well as deepening cooperation on migration,' the vice president's spokeswoman Symone Sanders said.

Harris will take part by video in a roundtable on Tuesday with Guatemalan community organizations and discuss 'solutions to root causes of migration,' Sanders said.

A White House official said that additionally Harris 'will travel to the region in June.'

The schedule raises the profile of Harris on one of the toughest-to-resolve issues facing the new Biden administration.

Unlike Republican Donald Trump, who emphasized physically stopping would-be immigrants from crossing the border, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have pledged to help regional governments address the poverty and violence driving people to make the difficult journey north in the first place.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich invited the Vice President on a tour of the border this month in a letter.

A makeshift camp of migrants sits at the border port of entry leading to the United States in Mexico

The March arrest totals at the US-Mexico border represent the highest monthly level since April 2000

He wrote: 'Recently, you stated, 'You have to see and smell and feel the circumstances of people to really understand them.' With that in mind, I formally invite you to join me for a tour of the southwest border in Arizona later this month.

'It will provide firsthand insight into what Arizonans, law enforcement officials and migrants are experiencing. I will make myself available any day of your choosing.'

Shortly after her appointment, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also branded Harris 'the worst possible choice' to lead the border team, saying Biden had 'completely trivialized the issue by putting someone in charge who flat out just doesn't care'.

Ted Cruz added 'she is not going to be able to solve this crisis', branding it Biden's 'biggest political mess'.

Biden initially said his vice president would be in charge of returning migrants to their home countries in her new role.

He said: 'The vice president has agreed... to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders.'

The White House later claimed Harris was not directly involved with the border crisis but was instead addressing its 'root causes'.
Providence will no longer wait on partners as it plans to push forward one of Europe's largest untapped oil projects.

( ) shares recovered strongly through Thursdays trade as investors warmed somewhat to the companys new self-help strategy to take forward the Barryroe oil project.

After starting the day falling over 15% the share closed at 3.4p, marking only a 6.8% decline for the session.

Alan Linn, who joined as chief executive in January 2020, believes the new plan for the project will be very beneficial for shareholders.

Indeed, forward looking investors will be hoping that with full control of the project, Providence will no longer be left waiting on the cusp of development.

Well successes back in 2012 saw the Irish oil company soar before frustrations at the deal-making table saw the project stall in subsequent years.

Barryroe contains more than 700mln barrels of oil in place and nine years ago test production rates in excess of 3,500 barrels per day beat expectations.

It remains one of Europes largest untapped oil projects.

Latest development plans value the project at some US$560mln to Providence, meaning it remains a very high impact venture not least as a current market price of 3.4p values the exploration company at just 26mln.

Moreover, the development scenario presently laid out only addresses some 48mln barrels  or in other words 16% of the recoverable resource.

For most of the past nine years Providence has either been negotiating, closing or waiting for payment for farm-out partnership deals.

Amidst a variety reasons, challenges and market conditions none of the prior deals were fully realised. And, today, the most recent tie-up was terminated.

Providence now intends to take all the work it has been doing in the background and go it alone with the project.

The latest farm-out deal was with a Norwegian company called SpotOn Energy which was a vehicle with ties to a number of service providers including Schlumberger and Maersk Drilling.

Drawing inspiration from SpotOns approach and financing model, the company will move the Barryroe project forward.

In a statement, Providence chief executive Alan Linn said work to achieve a funding solution is well advanced.

The Irish company hopes to conclude a financing by the third quarter to allow a crucial drill programme in 2022.

We are looking forward and actively building a revised development partnership with key service providers and a financing package designed to meet the needs of the project, Linn said.

We have been encouraged by the support we are receiving from service providers and banks and the commitments being offered to work with us in progressing the project.

We are currently working with key service providers to structure direct long-term partnerships on a risk / reward basis and we are also in discussions with brokers to raise a Nordic bond.

In the meantime, major shareholder Pageant Holdings has offered to underwrite a US$2.5mln placing, priced at 3p per share.

An issue of warrants could, if exercised, add a further US$2.5mln to Providences coffers.

Linn described the interim funding as very welcome and noted that it confirms the continuing support for the project.

The Barryroe early development scheme is an attractive investment which offers excellent returns, even in a low oil price environment, Linn added.

We look forward to completing the funding process and appreciate the support and patience of shareholders.

The early development scheme will be of considerable benefit to the local economy and contribute to Irelands energy security as we move towards a low carbon economy.
It Is Indoctrination: State Minister on Kids Creating Anti-Police and BLM Posters

New South Wales ministers are calling for the sacking of an Australian primary school teacher after anti-police and Black Lives Matter posters, which were created by the students, were found displayed around the classroom.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Year 5 and 6 students at Lindfield Learning Village in Sydney made placards which said Stop killer cops and White lives matter too much. It also included other slogans such as We cant breathe and Pigs out of the country.

New South Wales (NSW) Police Minister David Elliott called for the teacher to be sacked and said the posters were evidence of the political indoctrinating and brainwashing of left-wing ideologies in schools.

Were supposed to be telling our kids that if you wear a uniform, youre a hero, Elliot told 2GB radio. They have completely let their student body down by indoctrinating and brainwashing them at a time when they should be learning how to read and write.

Elliot was concerned that the controversial issues from America around police were being imported into Australian society.

Whats going on in America is not our war, he told Nine news. Were Australians.

NSW Police Minister David Elliott has SLAMMED political posters made by primary school students, calling them an attack on police by left-wing ideologues who want to skew what Australia stands for. Do you agree? #9Today pic.twitter.com/BM2pX6Pvkl  The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 20, 2021

Elliot said Australian society had a different and higher level of respect for their men and women in blue. He emphasised that the Australian police force was independent and apolitical, with civilian oversight involved in misconduct processes.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell ordered a full review into the school and said politics had no place in the classroom.

These posters should not be displayed in a classroom. Any teacher found to be politicising a classroom will face disciplinary action, Mitchell said.

One Nation minister Mark Latham backed Elliots calls for the teacher to be fired and added that the principal should also be dismissed.

This is completely unacceptable for a student to be saying White lives matter too much,' he told the Daily Telegraph. For the teacher to display it in the classroom is appalling.

It is not education it is indoctrination, theyre polluting the minds of little kids, Latham said. It is not humanity, it is not compassion, it is a warped mutant ideology shoved down the throats of little kids.

Mark Latham talks during the launch of his new book on Oct. 5, 2017, in Sydney, Australia. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

According to the school website, Lindfield Learning Village was opened in 2019 as an alternative school and is based on empathy and trust. It does not require students to wear school uniforms, does not use bells, and work is self-assessed by students.

The NSW Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) president Jason Wong said the schools unconventional teaching style was met with overwhelming support by the parents.

I thought it was a bit ironic that the word brainwashing was used, Wong told Sydney Morning Herald. Because what Ive seen in my children is theyre being encouraged to think about things.

In a letter to parents on Wednesday, principal Stephanie McConnell apologised for the offence caused and said the teacher had not taught the slogans to students.

Students were asked to write down all the issues they have heard from the mainstream news, other information sources or commentary [concerning Aboriginal history], McConnell wrote. I am sorry for the offence this poster has caused people.

We will be working with the Department to make sure something like this does not happen again.
Slender women desperate for a curvy 'slim thick' figure popularised by social media stars including the Kardashians are taking a potentially dangerous appetite stimulant in order to gain weight, a documentary reveals.

Model Altou Mvuama, 19, from London, is one of thousands of women worldwide who have taken Apetamin, often falsely promoted by social media influencers as a quick fix for enhancing curves and achieving an hourglass physique.

Apetamin, which is manufactured and sold by the Indian pharmaceutical company TIL Healthcare, is a syrup containing cyproheptadine (a hepatotoxin) to stimulate appetite, lysine and some vitamins.

It has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and has reported side effects including liver failure, extreme drowsiness and excessive swelling.

Despite this, Altou found Apetamin for sale on a string of sites including Amazon, Instagram and Depop, with bottles available for as little as 10. She was also able to buy it in three shops in London, with shopkeepers extolling its ability to help people gain weight.

In Dangerous Curves: Get Thicc, Get Sick?, a new BBC Three documentary, she spoke to other young women who have taken Apetamin in the hope it would help them sculpt their dream body, and was horrified when she heard about the nasty side effects they experienced.

Altou Mvuama, 19, from London, was so desperate for a 'slim thick' figure she took an appetite stimulant to gain weight - despite the fact it put her late mother in a coma

Altou, who promoted Apetamin to her YouTube followers, was stunned to discover the product is illegal in the UK and can cause liver failure in a new documentary

Women including Altou are desperate for a 'slim thick' figure like Kim Kardashian's, pictured in a recent Instagram post. Kim is not connected to Apetamin in any way and has not promoted it

Altou, who previously shared a video promoting Apetamin to her 14,600 YouTube subscribers, told how the product made her so drowsy she fell asleep at her school desk and her mother questioned if she might be pregnant.

'You definitely get really sleepy and tired and miserable, my mum thought I was pregnant at one point because the amount of times I was sleeping,' she recalled.

'I was falling asleep at school and my mood swings were crazy. My mum did not want me to take Apetamin, because she was taking it a long time ago, again she loves being thicc[sic]. It had a huge affect on her. Because she has sickle cell anaemia she had to go to hospital, she ended up in a coma, it wasn't good at all.'

Despite what happened to her mother, who recently passed away after her inherited illness got worse, Altou said she took Apetamin, adding: 'I sometimes feel having a perfect body is worth the risk.'

WHAT IS APETAMIN? Apetamin is an appetite stimulating weight-gain supplement manufactured and sold by the Indian pharmaceutical company TIL Healthcare. It is a syrup containing cyproheptadine (a hepatotoxin), lysine and some vitamins. It has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It is illegal to sell Apetamin in most countries, including the United States and UK. It is heavily promoted and illegally sold on social media as a way of achieving the fashionable curvy 'slim thick' body shape. Advertisement

With her mother gone, Altou is now the breadwinner and has to look after her younger sister and take care of all the bills, putting her under pressure to succeed in her modelling career.

'I've always been very slim. That may have been great for Naomi Campbell, but now the girls who make serious cash have curves,' she explained at the beginning of the documentary.

'There's way more pressure on me to do well, I'm seriously tempted to take Apetamin again. Usually I can never eat enough to gain weight, but Apetamin changed that.'

Having heard rumours about its side effects, she spoke to three women who also took the medicine after seeing it recommended by influencers.

One revealed she collapsed in the street after a dose and was hospitalised twice, but continued taking it because she was 'in denial'.

'I took it again and I collapsed down the stairs at home,' she said. 'I went from weighing 54kg to 86kg in the space of three months.

'I was told taking the Apetamin would only make me gain weight round my bum and my hips and my thighs, and to be honest with you it's quite daft of me to think that.

'I had an inkling that it is illegal from the time I went to the chemist and asked for it and they looked at me like I was mad. When they said, "You're not supposed to be taking this," I ran.'

She added that she thought taking Apetamin was the 'easy route' to achieving the body she wanted, but when that didn't work, she decided to get a Brazilian Butt Lift.

Altou, pictured, said influencers with curves are the ones bringing in the money online

With her mother gone, Altou is now the breadwinner and has to look after her younger sister and take care of all the bills, putting her under pressure to succeed in her modelling career

'I said to myself, "OK, I will get my breasts done, and that's it". Three years down the line I found myself on the table again,' she said.

'I was somewhat disappointed and a bit disgusted at myself because I've put my life at risk for the sake of looking nice in a dress.'

Another woman told how Apetamin left her so exhausted that it 'hurt her eyes to be awake' and her feet swelled up to the point where she had to change into slippers on a night out.

And one, who took it for three months, said she kept falling over and tripping up. She added: 'I was just sleeping all the time, I couldn't even write my name on a piece of paper, my hands were shaking that much.

'In the month-and-a-half I was taking Apetamin I probably gained 2st. The whole of me increased, [it was like] you put me in water and I just expanded.'

Having heard rumours about its side effects, she spoke to three women who also took the medicine - which is manufactured by TIL Healthcare in India and illegal in the UK - after seeing it recommended by influencers. One (pictured) revealed she collapsed in the street after taking it and was hospitalised twice, but continued taking it because she was 'in denial'

Altou also watched in horror as an American influencer, Asha Grand, revealed she is 'lucky to be alive' after she claimed Apetamin made her so drowsy she blacked out and crashed her car.

Towards the end of the documentary, Altou spoke to Dr Victoria Garland, a resident physician at the George Washington University in Washington DC, who had a patient arrive at her liver clinic complaining of fatigue after taking Apetamin.

'She was jaundice, her own body was fighting her liver,' she said, adding that her patient had an Apetamin-induced autoimmune hepatitis, where her body attacked itself. 'It's hard to know what could have happened, she could have full liver failure had she continued it.

'What particularly worries me about Apetamin is the way that it's marketed as a vitamin supplement, which implies that it's safe, it's natural.

'The natural ingredient that stimulates appetite is cyproheptadine, and then there are a few other ingredients like B vitamins, which is where it gets its name. There are no actual studies, we don't know how Apetamin will impact a person.'

Scrolling the internet, Altou found Apetamin for sale on a string of sites including Amazon, Insatgram and Depop. She was also able to buy it in three shops in London, with shopkeepers extolling its ability to help people gain weight

Altou admitted she now 'definitely regrets' making the video in which she recommended Apetamin following her investigation.

'Through that video someone might buy Apetamin, start taking it, misusing it perhaps and then perhaps they can get liver failure as well and that's because of me,' she said.

'It's really sad to think there's girls endangering their lives just to look a certain way.'

A spokesperson for TIL Healthcare said: 'We are not exporting this product to the UK, and we have no information on its availability in the UK.'

Since the investigation the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is investigating the sale of this product, according to the BBC, and social media sites and retailers have begun removing listings, although some remain.

A representative for Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said: 'Apetamin is an unauthorised medicine which should not be sold, supplied or advertised without a license. Taking unauthorised medicines can have serious health consequences. The sale of this product is now under investigation.'

A YouTube spokesperson said: 'YouTube's community guidelines prohibit any content encouraging dangerous or illegal activity. We routinely remove content flagged by our community that violates these policies.'

An Instagram spokesperson said: 'Buying and selling non-medical or prescription drugs is strictly against our policies an we have removed the accounts brought to our attention.'

An Amazon spokesperson told the BBC: 'This product has been removed and we've taken action against the sellers in question. Buying and selling non-medical or prescription drugs is strictly against our policies.'

And a spokesperson for Depop commented: 'Medical products, including unlicensed products such as Apetamin, are not permitted on Depop and will be removed.'

Dangerous Curves: Get Thicc, Get Sick? is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer now.
W.W. Norton has stopped shipping and promoting Blake Bailey's biography of Philip Roth following allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against the author by a number of women. On Monday, Baileys literary agency, the Story Factory, dropped the author when those allegations first surfaced. Bailey has denied all allegations.

In a statement Norton said the allegations are serious ones, adding: in light of them, we have decided to pause the shipping and promotion of Philip Roth: The Biography pending any further information that may emerge.

The allegations come in multiple forms. First, former students of Bailey's charged that when Bailey was their eighth grade English teacher at the Lusher Middle School in New Orleans in the 1990s, he engaged in inappropriate conduct, including what one woman called grooming students. Second, publishing marketing executive Valentina Rice alleges that Bailey raped her in 2015, according to the New York Times. (According to the Times story, Garner reported that he was horrified when he learned of the accusation, adding that he and Bailey do not have a relationship.) Rice said that the attack occurred when she and Bailey were houseguests of current Times book critic Dwight Garner. The Times story also includes a report from a former graduate student of Bailey who charges that the author raped her in 2003.

The Times report goes on to say that as the #MeToo movement took hold, Rice, using an email account under a different name, wrote to Norton president Julia Reidhead accusing Bailey of nonconsensual sex. Though Rice did not hear back from Norton, she did hear from Bailey, who said that his publisher had forwarded her note to him. I can assure you I have never had non-consensual sex of any kind with anybody, ever and if it comes to a point I shall vigorously defend my reputation and livelihood, he wrote in an email the Times said it has viewed. Norton told the Times it took the allegations seriously, and that Bailey denied the charges when confronted by the publisher.

The biography was released by Norton on April 6 in a 50,000-copy first printing, and has sold just over 7,500 print copies to date at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Philip Roth: The Biography has received generally positive reviews, including one from PW.
Even as coronavirus vaccination drives are hamstrung due to vaccine shortages across various states in India, thieves broke into the storeroom of the PPE Centre of the Civil Hospital in Haryana's Jind district and stole as many as 1,710 doses of coronavirus vaccine. These include 1,270 doses of the Covishield vaccine and 440 doses of COVAXIN. The district does not have any vaccines left at the moment.

"1,270 of Covishield and 440 of COVAXIN have been stolen from PPC Centre. Some important files have also been stolen," an official told news agency ANI.

The accused had allegedly decided to steal only vaccines as they left other medicines and cash in the storeroom untouched. Police have registered a case against unidentified people. As per initial investigation, the hospital administration neither had a CCTV surveillance system in place nor had they deployed a guard to prevent vaccination theft.

Haryana ranks second in terms of coronavirus vaccine wastage while Punjab ranks third. As per an RTI reply, Haryana wasted 9.74 per cent of the doses used by states till early April whereas Punjab wasted 8.12 per cent of the doses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Ministry have urged the states in the past to avoid wastage of vaccines. The Health Ministry said earlier this week, "The government of India from its share will allocate vaccines to states and UTs based on the criteria of the extent of infection (number of active COVID cases) and performance (speed of administration). Wastage of vaccine will also be considered in this criteria and will affect the criteria negatively. Based on the criteria above, the state-wise quota would be decided and communicated to the states adequately in advance."

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: Registration for vaccination of 18 yrs and above from Apr 24; here's how to register on CoWin

Also read: SII's Covishield comprises over 90% of 12.76 crore COVID-19 vaccines administered so far
George W. Bush warns Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal plan empowers Taliban, endangers girls

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Former President George W. Bush warns of harmful implications that could result from President Joe Bidens plan to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans and sparked the U.S. war on terror.

Biden, the fourth president to handle the conflict in Afghanistan that began during the Bush administration, reportedly went against the advice of military commanders when he announced his recent decision to remove the troops from Afghanistan by September.

The Afghanistan withdrawal was negotiated during the Trump administration in a deal with the Taliban despite heavy opposition from Republicans.

Biden said he spoke with former Presidents Bush and Barack Obama before making his decision.

Democratic leaders and former President Donald Trump praised Bidens decision, while Bush, Republican leaders and leading military officials warned that withdrawing troops would bolster the Talian and destabilize Afghanistan.

Bush expressed concern for the women and girls in Afghanistan who will face increased danger with the removal of U.S. troops.

"My first reaction was, wow, these girls are going to have real trouble with the Taliban," Bush said in a Today interview. "A lot of gains have been made, and so I'm deeply concerned about the plight of women and girls in that country."

... All I know is the Taliban, when they had the run of the place, they were brutal, Bush, who often avoids criticizing the policy decisions of his successors, continued.

A spokesperson for the Taliban criticized the Biden administrations decision to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond a May 1 deadline agreed to last year by the Trump administration, warning that those whom failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable.

In the interview, the 74-year-old Bush also discussed immigration, the Derek Chauvin trial, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of Americas Immigrants.

Biden's decision to continue with a plan to remove troops and end a decades-long military presence in Afghanistan was made without the support of many top military leaders concerned it could undermine security in the region.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, a retired military commander, cautioned that withdrawing U.S. troops would further remove stability from Afghanistan, according to The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. officials said some generals recommended retaining the current force of 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and increasing diplomacy to lead to a peace agreement instead of completely removing the troops.

Trump praised the announcement as a wonderful and positive thing to do, but said the U.S. should stick as close to the May 1 withdrawal deadline his administration set and advised against setting Sept. 11 as a deadline, CNN reported.

"I wish Joe Biden wouldn't use September 11 as the date to withdraw our troops from Afghanistan, for two reasons, Trump said Sunday. First, we can and should get out earlier. Nineteen years is enough, in fact, far too much and way too long.

"September 11 represents a very sad event and period for our country and should remain a day of reflection and remembrance honoring those great souls we lost, Trump added.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cautioned the withdrawal of troops would lead to Afghanistans inability to restrain the Taliban.

"Apparently, we're to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by gift-wrapping the country and handing it right back to them," McConnell said, according to Fox News.

"The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said America does not need to fight forever wars.

"[A]fter sinking two decades of blood and treasure into wars in the Middle East, it is time to bring our troops home," Schumer said.

Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, a leading conservative Christian activist organization, recently hosted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., on his radio program to discuss the implications of this decision for the Middle East.

Graham called Bidens decision a disaster in the making.

Wilson said this decision especially puts Israel, an American ally, and other countries in the region in direct danger.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Moscow has expressed a strong protest to the Czech ambassador in connection with the additional restrictive measures taken by Prague against employees of the Russian Embassy in Prague, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) Moscow has expressed a strong protest to the Czech ambassador in connection with the additional restrictive measures taken by Prague against employees of the Russian Embassy in Prague, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Czech Ambassador to Moscow Vitezslav Pivonka visited the Russian Foreign Ministry amid escalation in bilateral relations and mutual expulsion of embassy staff. The diplomat told reporters that he would continue to work in Moscow "for now" and expected further meetings with the Russian side to resolve existing problems.

"A strong protest was lodged against him in connection with the additional restrictive measures taken today by Prague against mployees of the Russian Embassy in Prague," the statement says.

The Czech ambassador was told that Prague continued to promote the anti-Russian campaign under far-fetched pretexts and its actions were destroying bilateral relations.

"It was emphasized that the language of ultimatums was unacceptable for us," the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
A Newark Public Schools student and first-generation college student was accepted into seven of the eight Ivy League colleges he applied to, the school district announced Wednesday.

Janic Aguirre, a 17-year-old from the Class of 2021 at Bard High School Early College, was accepted at Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Cornell University and Columbia University, while only waitlisted at Brown University, the district announced this week.

" I kind of took the YOLO (You Only Live Once) approach. I thought this will be the only time I apply to college so why not? Aguirre said in a news release from the district.

Aguirres career interests have spanned a range of academically-rigorous subjects, including astrophysics, computer science, law and his current focus on Mayan epigraphy, which he planned to pursue after studying anthropology and linguistics in college, a news release from NPS said.

Some of my classmates call me quirky, and helpful and curious, Aguirre said in the release.

Congratulations are in order for Janic Aguirre of Bard Early College High School, who received not ONE, not TWO but... Posted by Newark Board of Education on Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Joanne Baron, a professor at Bard Early College High School, echoed the word curious to describe her student. Baron taught a class on Ancient Mayan writing that led Aguirre to his interest in Mayan epigraphy.

Janic is one of those people who just really seems to excel at everything he does, Baron said. My colleagues and I actually had a bit of a competition to see who could get Janic interested in their specialty  and I feel like I won that competition.

Aguirre, who is from a family of Japanese and Nicaraguan descent, speaks fluent Japanese and is working to create his own language, the districts announcement said. So far, he has created 300 words.

Janic is always in pursuit of ways to feed his passion for knowledge. I am proud and excited for him to arrive at his next place to think and to continue nourishing his greatness. I can hardly wait to see the mark that he leaves on this world, said Carla Stephens, principal of the high school.

The phrase - place to think - is the motto for Bard High School Early College, which offers a range of electives and college services to help students explore career and higher education goals, the district said.

The Newark Board of Education and Newark Public Schools community alike couldnt be any prouder of Janic Aguirre and his fellow peers, the district said in a statement. It is with the utmost pride that we have our scholars join the ranks as game-changers and future leaders within our society.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.
Burma Myanmar Junta Members House Bombed in Yangon

SAC member U Thein Nyunt. / The Irrawaddy

The Yangon house of U Thein Nyunt, a member of the military regimes governing body the State Administrative Council (SAC), was attacked with three bombs around 7.15 pm on Wednesday.

Three homemade bombs were thrown at the house. Only one bomb exploded. One of them was made with PVC pipe and the others were made with iron pipes. No one was injured and there was no serious damage, said a source close to U Thein Nyunt.

Junta forces arrived at the house in Yangons Thingangyun Township following the incident and carried out patrols in the neighborhood.

U Thein Nyunt, a former National League for Democracy (NLD) member, drew ire from his fellow politicians after he accepted a seat on the SAC formed by the military regime after it seized power from the civilian government in a Feb. 1 coup.

Before 1988, he served in the youth affairs department of the Burma Socialist Programme Party led by the late military dictator U Ne Win. After the pro-democracy uprising in 1988, he joined the NLD.

He was on the central executive committee of the NLD when he left the party following its decision to boycott the 2010 general elections. Together with Dr. Than Nyein and U Khin Maung Swe, he co-founded the National Democratic Force (NDF) party.

However, after cracks emerged in the NDF, he founded a new political party, the New National Democracy Party. The house which was attacked on Wednesday is also the headquarters of his party.

U Thein Nyunt was elected to the Lower House representing Yangons Thingangyun Township in the 2010 general elections. He was one of the most vocal opponents of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) government, the proxy of Myanmars military.

But he lost his seat in the 2015 general election and failed to win it back in the 2020 election. U Thein Nyunt has been critical of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD government since 2015, after apparently siding with the USDP.

The turncoat was also one of the people who incited Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to stage his coup, after the USDP and its allies suffered a resounding defeat in the 2020 general election.

You may also like these stories:

EU Sanctions 10 More Myanmar Regime Members But Some Still Missing

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Prominent Protest Leader Escapes Arrest by Myanmar Junta
CHICO, Calif.  The Chico Police Department said it is working to identify three people who barged into Tuesdays City Council meeting and refused law enforcements orders to leave.

Tuesday's city council meeting started at its regular time at 6 p.m. and was following COVID-19 protocol, but quickly came to an end when people entered the chamber building.

For more than a year, participation in Chico City Council meetings has been limited to online only due to the pandemic. But now, due to an executive order, the public could attend Tuesday's meeting in person.

Speakers were required to sign up to speak by checking in at one of the speaker card tables located outside of the Council Chamber. All speakers were given instructions to wait in the speaker line. Only one speaker was allowed into the Chamber at one time. Masks were also required for anyone entering the Chamber. In addition, the Engaged Chico civic engagement program was also available for citizen input on agenda items.

RELATED: Disruption abruptly ends Chico City Council meeting

But as the meeting started, a group of 15 people, some carrying flags and most not wearing masks, made their way through the unlocked doors and into the Council Chambers.

The Chico Mayor was then forced to put the meeting into recess. Law enforcement said they addressed the group, explaining that they were disrupting a public meeting and needed to exit the Chambers and to fill out speaker cards if they wished to address City Council.

Law enforcement said they continued to educate the group as well as explain California Penal Code Section 403.

"Every person who, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or breaks up any assembly or meeting that is not unlawful in its character, other than an assembly or meeting referred to in Section 302 of the Penal Code or Section 18340 of the Elections Code, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

RELATED: Chico city leaders react to council meeting disruption

Authorities said most of the people cooperated with law enforcement and returned outside. However, three people stayed in the Chamber, refusing law enforcements orders to leave.

The Chico City Council went into a closed session. The City Council voted to adjourn the meeting due to the disruption. Because the meeting had been adjourned, law enforcement said it chose to use discretion and no physical arrests were made at that time.

The Chico Police Department is now seeking the identity of the three people seen in the photograph above this article. Authorities say they want to hold them criminally accountable for their actions.

Anyone with information regarding the three people's identities is asked to call the Chico Police Department at (530) 897-4900. Callers may remain anonymous.

This is a developing story. Action News Now will keep you updated with new information on-air and online.
WASHINGTON  Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced on Wednesday a sweeping investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, signaling that the Biden administration will seek to combat police abuses around the country and apply stricter federal oversight to local forces.

The Justice Department will examine whether the Minneapolis police routinely use excessive force or treat minorities unfairly. The inquiry will also scrutinize police training and accountability practices, among other issues. Mr. Garlands announcement came a day after the conviction of former Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder last year of George Floyd, a Black man whose death spurred the largest racial justice protests in decades.

Good officers do not want to work in systems that allow bad practices, Mr. Garland said in brief remarks delivered at the Justice Department. Officers welcome accountability because accountability is an essential part of building trust with the community and public safety requires public trust.

The Minneapolis police have long faced accusations of racism. Black residents are more likely to be pulled over, arrested or roughed up than white residents. Black people, who account for 20 percent of the citys population, made up more than 60 percent of the victims in city police shootings from late 2009 through May 2019, police data shows.
(Natural News) Officials in the Indian capital of New Delhi have plunged the city into a weeklong total lockdown that began on Monday, April 19. This was supposedly done to prevent the citys healthcare infrastructure from collapsing due to the massive surge of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths that have been recorded.

India has been trying to avoid the severe lockdowns that pummeled the countrys economy last year, but New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the weeklong lockdown is necessary to prevent the citys hospitals from completely breaking down. (Related: Post-vaccine variants: India discovers new double mutant Wuhan coronavirus strain.)

Delhis health system is unable to take more patients in big numbers, said Kejriwal during a virtual press briefing on Monday. I dont say that the system has collapsed, but it has reached its limits. If a lockdown isnt implemented now, the situation will go beyond control.

Many hospitals in the city are already turning away patients due to lack of beds. Even people with severe COVID-19 cases cant find the proper facilities to take care of them because hospitals are running low on oxygen and other supplies.

Kejriwals government said it had informed the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the citys dire need of beds and oxygen, and that beds were being set up in schools and other requisitioned emergency facilities. The Chief Minister claimed that New Delhis oxygen supply quota was cut and diverted to other states.

People living and working in the metropolis of nearly 30 million have spoken to news outlets about seeing ambulances making their way from one hospital to another trying to find an empty bed, with many more patients lining up outside the hospitals waiting to be let in. People have even spoken about ambulances idling outside crematoriums, with some carrying half a dozen bodies in their vehicles.

People keep arriving, in an almost collapsing situation, said Dr. Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in New Delhi. Lok Nayak, which has 1,600 beds, has been temporarily converted to focus on treating COVID-19 patients.

According to health authorities, there are fewer than 100 beds with ventilators available and fewer than 150 beds for patients who require critical care.

New Delhi reported 25,463 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, nearly three times its previous biggest daily tally of around 8,500 cases during its peak in November last year.

People in New Delhi terrified of lockdowns, even short ones

At 10 p.m. on Monday, all non-essential businesses and services in New Delhi were forced to shut down, including many workplaces like shops and factories. People are not allowed to leave their homes, except for a handful of reasons, such as seeking and providing medical care and purchasing necessary groceries.

People are allowed to leave New Delhi, as airports and train stations would remain operational. This policy was made so that the citys large migrant work force can return to their home villages, or visit neighboring states to look for work.

Many people are still terrified of the extremely harsh lockdown they experienced last year. Amrit Tripathi, a laborer working in New Delhi, remembered walking hundreds of miles to get home during last years lockdown. We will starve, said Tripathi.

Learn more about the state of the coronavirus pandemic in other countries like India by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

WSJ.com

ABC.net.au
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JobzMall and Dale Carnegie of Orange County are bringing their forces together to expand leadership and professional development in the region. The JobzMall and Dale Carnegie of Orange County partnership brings cutting edge courses directly to the largest talent community in Orange County. This partnership will empower the students, job seekers, and HR professionals seeking to grow their leadership, communication, and business skills through Dale Carnegie's 100 years of research, practical experience, and fresh thought leadership.

"As we get exponentially more digital due to Covid-19, human skills, soft-skills will be more important than ever," said Nathan Candaner, CEO of JobzMall. JobzMall is the first talent platform in the world to enable job seekers to display and seek job opportunities with their soft skills. "We are very excited to be partnering with the premiere organization in training and developing leaders in all areas," said Candaner.

"Over the last year we have seen our world transform. People have had to reinvent themselves and the way in which they communicate. Organizations are looking for people that not only have technical or trade talents, but more importantly key interpersonal and soft skills. We believe that Dale Carnegie's key principles align with JobzMall's professionals seeking to grow to enhance their marketability and achieve their professional goals," said Geri Cerkovnik, CEO of Dale Carnegie of Orange County. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with such an innovative company that strives to not only help people gain an immediate job, but one that is truly transforming peoples' futures," she added.

About Dale Carnegie Training

Dale Carnegie emphasizes practical principles and processes by designing programs that offer people the knowledge, skills, and practices they need to add value to a business. Connecting proven solutions with real-world challenges, Dale Carnegie helps people discover the unsuspected strengths they have to improve their lives personally and professionally. Over the last 106 years, the company has helped eight million individuals tap capabilities they did not know they had and achieve results they did not imagine were possible. Headquartered in Melville, New York, Dale Carnegie is represented in all 50 of the United States and over 82 countries. More than 2,700 trainers present Dale Carnegie programs in 32 languages every day.

About JobzMall

JobzMall is the talent marketplace for the new workforce. JobzMall movement is pioneering the talent marketplace and how talent meets work. It's faster, easier, and more human. Our mission is to empower everyone to pursue their potential and become a better member of their community. www.jobzmall.com

Contact: Aida Dunn [email protected]

SOURCE JobzMall
The U.S. renewable diesel market is hotso hot, in fact, that one of the feedstocks for the highly profitable renewable fuel is running low, according to Valero.

That feedstockused cooking oil, or rather, waste oilis considered less carbon intense than vegetable oil when it comes to making renewable diesel. And this makes it a highly profitable enterprise for those companies hoping to earn trading credits under Californias low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS).

In fact, those incentives, which include a $1/gallon blenders credit, are the main catalyst for the commodity.

At the start of the pandemic, when gasoline demand in the United States tanked, several refiners took that time of slack demand to retool their refineries to process used cooking oilinstead of crude oil. At a time when demand was soft, those sizable federal and state incentives looked pretty enticing. Of course, many of those projects could take years.

Even without those projects coming online, that feedstock is in such high demand that the United States is close to being tapped out right now, Martin Parish, senior vice president of alternative fuels at Valero said on its Q1 earnings call on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Compared to crude oil, the used cooking oil market is small, but that doesnt mean it is without impact. An estimated 21.4 million barrels of renewable diesel are used in the United States each year. And if all the renewable diesel refinery projects announced last year come online as planned, it could mean a removal of 300,000 bpd of would-be crude oil feedstock from the market, according to an August 2020 Reuters analysis.

Valero is one of those companies looking to expand its renewable diesel operationsin St. Charles, Louisiana. It hopes to beef up its production capacity by 400 million gallons per yearbut the shortage of cooking oil means it will have to rely on other, less LCFSy feedstocks such as animal tallow and distillers corn oil to produce its renewable diesel.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A motorist narrowly missed being smashed into by a tree as it collapsed across both lanes of a quiet neighborhood street.

The tree came crashing down near an intersection in the Duke Park area of Durham, North Carolina.

Footage from another vehicle shows an SUV pulling up to a crossroads as the huge tree begins to fall.

Noticing the danger, the driver speeds up in an attempt make it past as the tree's branches begin to hit the ground and create a small gap for the vehicle to get through.

Luckily the SUV is seen pulling through and driving to safety just before it collapses.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the vehicle sustained some damage.

'It was loud, like a large tree hitting the ground. You know, just like breaking wood,' nearby resident Nealon Kallok told WRAL.

'It's kind of crazy because I'm always going past that tree, like walking. So, it's scary to know it was so close to falling for the past weeks.'

A motorist narrowly missed being smashed into by a tree as it collapsed across both lanes of a quiet neighborhood street in Durham, North Carolina

Charlotte Davis, who lives two blocks away added: 'I saw that and said, "Oh, my gosh. It happened."'

Durham's Urban Forestry Department said the tree fell from a combination of winds and rot in its roots system.

The accident on April 14 caused considerable damage at the junction, downing power lines and road signs.

'Wow, that was lucky! ' Durham Transportation Department wrote after seeing footage of the SUV's lucky escape.

Durham's Urban Forestry Department said the tree fell from a combination of winds and rot in its roots system

They added: 'We'll be working with our Public Works team to check utilities at Markham/Washington, remove the tree, and rebuild the signal.'

The tree is on private property so isn't one that city workers would usually inspect for potential dangers.

Utility crews worked overnight to restore power, and the road reopened to traffic the following afternoon.

Five years ago a pregnant woman died after a tree fell on her minivan just six blocks away.

Utility crews worked overnight to restore power, and the road reopened to traffic the following afternoon

Wendy Rodriguez, 30, and boyfriend Luis Zavala were sitting in their vehicle outside their apartment when high winds caused a large tree to come crashing down.

According to ABC 11, Zavala said he was knocked unconscious and when he came round Rodriguez was screaming for help.

Both were rushed to a nearby hospital where Rodriguez, who was 21 weeks pregnant, was determined to be brain dead.
As the second wave of the pandemic is turning out to be deadlier than the first one, everyone has been advised to stay at home amid the curfews and lockdowns imposed in several cities.

The shooting of the films have come to a halt and most celebrities have jetted off to their favourite locations like Maldives and Goa for a holiday. Fans of these stars are however not happy about it. They have pointed out the hypocrisy of actors who themselves advise people to stay at home on Twitter and then head out for vacations.

Instagram

Several stars including Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan among other are being trolled. Amid all this, Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri and son Aryan have head out to New York to meet Suhana Khan.

As the video of their departure made waves on social media, fans trolled them mercilessly.

"Under which essential services do these celebrities come? R we common ppl mad to sit at home and follow the protocols", wrote a fan.

See the comments below.

Instagram
Many of the larger cities and towns in New Jersey address the use of bicycles in differing detail for separate outcomes.

In Newark, bicycles are prohibited in city parks. Atlantic City has laws on when bicyclists can ride on the famed boardwalk.

In Hoboken and Jersey City, laws clearly say that bicyclists are required to obey traffic signs and devices like motor vehicles. And Jersey City bans them on sidewalks in downtown business districts, and outside the business areas too, unless the rider is under the age of 9.

Edison has explicit rules on bicycles, which mirror state traffic laws, calling for them to have brakes, when reflectors and headlights are needed, and how bicyclists should make left turns.

Those towns do not require bicycles to be licensed, though, like Perth Amboy, where police wielded their local law during a confrontation with local Black and Hispanic teens recently, arresting one and seizing the wheels of four riders.

Reaction to footage of the incident went viral on social media, and the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office is now reviewing the matter.

Some other towns require licenses, too.

In Union, bicycle owners must register their bikes with police, and attach the proper registration tag or decal. In Fair Lawn, bicycles need a license, but the fee has since been repealed.

Licensing bicycles does not work, says Debra Kagan, executive director of the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition.

Shes not sure how many towns have them - the state does have 565 municipalities - but its not many and there is very little enforcement by police, she said.

Our position is, they are unnecessary and do not provide more safety, and they do provide a barrier to bicycles on our streets, Kagan said.

Kagan watched footage of the Perth Amboy incident, which starts with the young riders popping wheelies and weaving along city streets, at times riding against traffic.

Safety is one thing, but licensing does not address the the safety issues identified in the Perth Amboy incident, she said. It creates an opportunity for discriminatory enforcement...it is not going to solve the the safety of riding in the streets.

Kagans comments mirrored those of the states chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who tweeted the footage and later called it another, example of the kind of excessive criminalization that invites selective enforcement by police officers.

Black and brown people are targeted and racially profiled for normal activities like riding bikes, walking down the street, or driving a car, ACLU Executive Director Amol Sinha said.

Perth Amboys ordinance on bicycles, an entire chapter that was first enacted in 1939 and amended in 1991 and 2011, calls for a proper license tag and cost .50 cents per bike per year.

Violating the ordinance gives police the power for immediate confiscation of the bike and penalties up to $50 and 10 days in jail.

Sinah also said in a statement that such municipal ordinances requiring licenses should not be used to criminalize residents.

New Jerseyans across the state have started to engage in an important debate about whether police should be deployed for something that can and should have a non-police response. New Jersey is not alone, and this is only the latest example of strict enforcement and escalation when it comes to over-policing people of color, particularly Black people, Sinah said.

As weve seen far too often in our country, its these law enforcement interactions that are traumatizing for individuals and can escalate, leading to tragic outcomes for people of color, the statement said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
Yet another elite NYC private school has hopped on board the woke train - this time in an email to families supporting Derek Chauvin's conviction in the murder of George Floyd.

The Spence School, a $54,000-a-year Manhattan all-girls private school, sent out a letter Wednesday and also posted it on the school's website commenting on the guilty verdict.

The school, which boasts notable alum including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kerry Washington, called the conviction a 'crucible moment for our nation and for our ongoing struggle for racial justice and equity.'

'The jury's verdict, an important step toward accountability and healing, however, does not erase the tragedy of the murder of George Floyd, and there is important work ahead that requires our collective voice and courage,' the letter reads.

An alum who asked not to be named received the letter and was appalled, telling DailyMail.com she was shocked at 'how they forced students to get involved' in the trial.

'Where is the protection of innocence?' she said.

The Spence School, a $54,000-a-year Manhattan all-girls school, sent out an email to families Wednesday urging support of Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict

Derek Chauvin is pictured in court on Tuesday as the jury found him guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd

The email came from the head of the school, Bodie Brizendine, who addressed the letter to the 'Spence Community'.

The email came from the head of the school, Bodie Brizendine, who addressed the letter to the 'Spence Community'

'Our charge and our struggle remain the same: to shape a world that rejects injustice and hate, and offers dignity and humanity for all individuals and communities. Our Anti-Racism Task Force Reportdeeply rooted in our mission that has never wavered from the tenets of inclusivity, belonging and justicestands as our important path forward for our school and our community,' the letter reads.

'More immediately, and in the aftermath of this trial, we turn our attention to our students who look to us to help them comprehend this moment. Our divisional counselors are ready to support our students with developmentally appropriate care and guidance.

'The bottom line is that these types of crimes should not be happening. Full stop. And, as our community continues to move forward, we will also continue to remember the loss of lifemen, women and childrenwho have fallen prey to senseless brutality.'

Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

The alum told DailyMail.com, 'I attended Spence School and wrote a letter about their involvement in the Chauvin trial. I was appalled they were subjecting children to such horror.

'If the students were following the Chauvin trial so closely, I cannot imagine the trauma,' she added. 'I am an American Citizen. I am witnessing an attempt to destroy our nation. And I am speaking out!

'A mistrial is in order when the entire nation is told if the verdict does not comply with ''wokeness'' then look for violence, killing, arson and looting,' she said.

She also spoke of the recent controversy at the Brearley School after a father penned a letter to parents saying he was pulling his daughter from the school due to its woke antiracism 'obsession'.

A-list actresses Kerry Washington and Gwyneth Paltrow are among the Spence School's notable alumni

Actress Emmy Rossum and former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg's daughter Georgina are among the Spence School's notable alumni

In his letter, Andrew Gutmann mapped out what he called Brearley's 'critical race theory' which he said is 'advocating that Blacks should forever be regarded as helpless victims'.

One of the examples he gave was the school's 'sophomoric' and 'simplistic' anti-training sessions for parents, and the fact that materials that have been taught for years are now suddenly considered offensive in light of the BLM movement.

He didn't say which books had been pulled but said it applied to his daughter's fourth grade class.

Gutmann fumed that the girls are being taught to hate their own country and that white students are being judged for the color of their skin.

He also denied that there was systemic racism in the US, saying there hadn't been since the 1960s.

'Systemic racism, properly understood, is segregated schools and separate lunch counters. It is the interning of Japanese and the exterminating of Jews. Systemic racism is unequivocally not a small number of isolated incidences over a period of decades,' he said.

'What the school is saying, what all these schools are saying, is that if you don't agree with us, we don't want a dialogue, don't even want your kid in our school,' Gutmann told DailyMail.com during an exclusive interview at his home.

'They shove it down our throats. Honestly, I have no problem if people disagree with everything I wrote. But there has to be a dialogue. That's my point.'

Andrew Gutmann, 45, wrote a letter blasting the $54,000 a year Brearley School over its woke antiracism 'obsession'. Gutmann told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that he never intended his scathing letter to go viral but now welcomes the controversy he sparked

Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson and his wife Jenny (pictured in 2017) accused Manhattan's elite all-girls Spence School of 'anti-white indoctrination' four years ago

This isn't the first time the Spence School has been called out for pushing wokeness.

Last year billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson threatened to stop donating to the Spence School because of 'anti-white indoctrination' in the curriculum being taught to his two daughters.

Paulson, who became a celebrity in the banking industry after raking in billions from his bet against the American housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis and served as an economic adviser to President Donald Trump, made the claims in a letter to the school in 2017 that was unearthed last summer.

At the time both of Paulson's daughters, Giselle and Danielle, attended the school.

In the letter, signed by Paulson and his wife Jenny, the couple described several examples of reading materials their daughters received which they claim include malicious portrayals of white people.

They argued that the curriculum is 'designed' to promote anti-white ideologies by teaching students, of which less than a quarter are minorities, that white people are successful because of their race.

'In recent years we have reached out on several occasions to discuss a disturbing trend in one area of the curriculum that we believe is having a negative impact on our daughters' education,' the Paulsons wrote in the letter.

'As we've noted before, there appears to be an anti-white indoctrination that permeates many parts of the Spence curriculum.'
Markarova: U.S. Senate Committee advances bill to increase annual military aid to Ukraine by $300 mln

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously adopted a bipartisan Ukraine Security Partnership Act, which increases annual U.S. military aid to Ukraine by $300 million, including lethal weapons, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said.

"This bill is extremely important and timely in the context of the escalation of Russia's aggressive behavior towards Ukraine and the buildup of the military presence on the border and in the occupied Crimea," Markarova wrote on Facebook.

She said that now Ukraine expects the rapid adoption of the bill by the U.S. Congress.
BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Biosciences, a pioneering life sciences company targeting the biology of aging, today announced the publication of preclinical research demonstrating clinical benefit of its chaperone-mediated autophagy activator platform in mice models of Alzheimer's disease. The article, titled "Chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents collapse of the neuronal metastable proteome" by Bourdenx et al., was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Cell on April 22, 2021.

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) controls the levels of soluble proteins in cells. It has been proposed that the age-related decline of CMA leads to an increased concentration of insoluble proteins that may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. This study demonstrated that the upregulation of CMA with one of Life Biosciences' tool oral compounds significantly improved neurologic function and decreased the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in two different mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, even after the onset of neurologic dysfunction.

"The publication of this preclinical study validates our CMA platform and demonstrates that an age-related decline in CMA activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease," said Joan Mannick, MD, Head of Research and Development at Life Biosciences. "As we look ahead, we anticipate advancing our platform of CMA activating candidates towards the clinic for the potential treatment of aging-related diseases including neurodegenerative diseases."

Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD, a Life Biosciences founder scientist and Professor and Co-Director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, commented, "The results of this study identify a direct contribution of CMA to the maintenance of the neuronal proteome in vivo in physiological and pathological conditions. Additionally, this paper provides evidence of the potential value of CMA activation as a therapeutic strategy for age-related neurodegenerative disorders. We look forward to progressing the clinical development of our compounds that activate CMA and believe that this new approach has the potential to prevent the buildup of insoluble proteins that underlie neurologic dysfunction."

Life Biosciences has in-licensed the intellectual property related to targeting of CMA from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

About Life Biosciences

Life Biosciences is a private biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel therapies to extend healthy human lifespan. The Company is focusing on three platforms targeting key mechanisms underlying aging biology: mitochondrial uncoupling, chaperone-mediated autophagy, and epigenetic reprogramming. Therapies developed within each platform have the potential to prevent, treat, and/or reverse multiple aging-related diseases. For more information, please visit www.lifebiosciences.com.

Media Contact

Maggie Farrand

[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact

Stern Investor Relations

Alexander Lobo

[email protected]

SOURCE Life Biosciences

Related Links

https://www.lifebiosciences.com


The Atlanta police officer who shot and killed Rayshard Brooks in June attempted on Thursday to be reinstated by the force, despite facing murder charges for the killing.

Garrett Rolfe, a six-year veteran of the force, was fired on June 13, the day after Brooks' death. Both men were 27.

Rolfe and his colleague, Officer Devin Brosnan, were called to a Wendy's by customers who said a man was asleep at the wheel, blocking the drive-through.

Brooks spoke to the officers for over half an hour and was cooperative, but failed a sobriety test.

When the officers attempted to arrest him, Brooks snatched a Taser and ran away, turning to face the pursuing officers and fire in their direction. Rolfe then shot him dead.

Lance LoRusso, Rolfe's attorney, said on Thursday at a hearing of the Atlanta Civil Service Board that he was dismissed without following correct procedures, and his client's rights were 'grossly violated'.

Garrett Rolfe, seen in a June 18 booking photo, appeared at a Zoom hearing on Thursday

Rayshard Brooks, 27, was laughing and chatting with the officers for over half an hour

Officer Devin Brosnan is seen on the right, during the fatal encounter with Brooks on June 12

He told the three-person panel that Rolfe was not given enough time to respond to his 'notice of proposed adverse action' - typically a 10-day period - before he was fired.

LoRusso noted that the then-police chief, Erika Shields, did not sign his dismissal form - and resigned her position that same afternoon. She is now head of Louisville Metro Police Department, in Kentucky.

The dismissal form was signed by the assistant chief, Todd Coyt, who testified on Thursday that he believed Rolfe behaved appropriately.

Coyt said he would have tried to keep Brooks closer to the car, to stop him fleeing, but that otherwise the two men 'acted accordingly and were trying to show compassion and did everything they could to calm the situation down.'

Coyt still is with the Atlanta Police Department, as assistant chief.

LoRusso, the lawyer, said that the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, pressured the police force to fire Rolfe by telling reporters the circumstances of Brooks' death required immediate action.

The shooting of Brooks came less than a month after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis, and the country was roiling.

The Wendy's where Brooks was shot was set on fire amid violent protests.

The Wendy's where Brooks was shot and killed was set alight on June 13

Protesters, already on the streets for the George Floyd protests, were enraged by Brooks' killing

A protester is arrested on June 13 amid unrest in Atlanta following Brooks' killing

Rolfe's disciplinary hearing was rescheduled, to accommodate a 5pm press conference called by Lance Bottoms, said Sgt. William Dean, an internal affairs investigator.

Rolfe said he didn't find out about his 'employee response hearing' until 3:45pm, when he was more than an hour away from the city.

Lawrence-Hardy said it was necessary to fire Rolfe swiftly to keep the peace, noting city policy allows for it when an officer's presence 'impairs the effectiveness of others.'

She added: 'Keeping (Rolfe) active would've been extremely disruptive.'

Lance Bottoms then told the press conference: 'It is clear that we do not have another day, another minute, another hour to waste.'

Rolfe himself appeared on the Zoom call, but only answered one question from Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, the attorney representing the police department.

Lance LoRusso is seen in June leaving jail with an officer after Rolfe was initially denied bail

She asked whether he had ever had a conversation with Atlanta Police Union representative Ken Allen regarding the shooting and his firing, and Rolfe said he had, but that he had not authorized Allen to speak for him at his dismissal hearing.

He declined to answer any other questions from her under the Fifth Amendment, and LoRusso replied on Rolfe's behalf.

Lawrence-Hardy said that Shields was entirely within her rights to fire Rolfe, for excessive use of force.

Under the police rules, officers 'are expressly prohibited from the unnecessary or unreasonable use of force against any person or property' and that they 'shall only use that force, which is reasonable and necessary to affect an arrest, prevent an escape, necessarily restrict the movement of a prisoner, defend himself or another from physical assault, or to accomplish other lawful objectives.'

The panel did not issue a ruling, and have set no deadline for their decision.

No date has yet been given for Rolfe's murder trial, and indeed there is as yet no prosecutor after the new district attorney, Fani Willis, who took over in January, sought to recuse her office, citing her predecessor's mishandling of the investigation.

The murder charges will not necessarily impact the decision of the civil service board.

In February, the board reinstated officers Mark Gardner and Ivory Streeter, who were fired last June after video surfaced showing them deploying Tasers on two college students during last summer's protests in downtown Atlanta.

The veteran officers still face a variety of criminal charges, including aggravated assault and simple battery.
DENVER, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewAge, Inc., the Colorado-based organic and healthy products company intending to become the worlds leading social selling and distribution company, announced that Direct Selling News (DSN) ranked NewAge, Inc., No. 29 on the DSN Global 100 List of the top revenue-generating companies.



The DSN Global 100 is a collective effort to show the impact and potential of the $180 billion direct selling industry on the worlds economy. With an eligibility requirement of a minimum $100 million in annual sales, the 2021 Global 100 represents the gold standard of achievement and comprises aggregate revenue of more than $64 billion from companies spanning multiple industries based in 17 countries.

The 2021 list, unveiled online at DirectSellingNews.com and to be featured in the June issue of Direct Selling News magazine, recognizes the impact of the direct selling industry in economic and social realms and the performance of the leading global companies. It is a valued and trusted resource for entrepreneurs and other direct selling companies looking to partner with the most successful businesses in the industry.

Gaining growth in all its sectors and business segments, NewAge reached $500 million in proforma net revenue in 2020 versus $254 million in 2019, a growth rate of 98%. NewAges Direct to Store segment grew 8.3% organically, its 13th year of consecutive growth, and NewAges Direct/Social Selling Segment comprised the bulk of the increase driven by strong organic growth in Europe, the U.S., and Mexico, and the addition of the ARIIX acquisition at the end of the year.

Brent Willis, Chief Executive Officer of NewAge, commented, Having achieved half a billion dollars in pro forma revenue in four years time is a solid initial accomplishment. Our business model is right on trend, as is our unwavering commitment to healthy products. We have the potential to be a leader in the gig economy and see an unobstructed pathway to transforming the industry and delivering superior, sustainable and profitable growth.

Mr. Willis continued, We are honored to be named a top revenue-generating company. We believe that the social selling landscape offers unlimited growth potential for our family of Brand Partners and our shareholders. Our dedicated team of more than 400,000 Brand Partners and consumers is a tremendous source of competitive advantage and growth as e-commerce and social selling continue to disintermediate traditional retail.

About the DSN Global 100 List

The Global 100 List offers a unique perspective on the global impact of the industry. Recognition of these companies is the culmination of months of research and the cooperation of many individuals throughout the world. Wherever possible, the DSN team seeks out public records and documents for publicly traded companies and nearly 80 percent of the DSN Global 100 data is compiled from privately held companies.

About New Age, Inc.

NewAge is a purpose-driven firm intending to become the worlds leading social selling and distribution company. Colorado-based NewAge commercializes a portfolio of organic and healthy products worldwide through primarily a direct route-to-market system. The company competes in three major category platforms including health and wellness, inner and outer beauty, and nutrition and weight control  leading a network of more than 400,000 exclusive independent distributors and brand partners around the world.

The company operates the websites newage.com, noninewage.com, ariix.com, mavie.com, thelimucompany.com and zennoa.com websites.

For investor inquiries about NewAge, please contact:

NewAge Investor Relations:

Riley Timmer

Vice President, Investor Relations

Tel: 1-801-870-8685

Riley_Timmer@NewAge.com

For media inquiries about NewAge, please contact:

NewAge Public Relations:

Mindy Eardley

PR/Communications Manager

Tel: 1-801-573-4818

Mindy_Eardley@NewAge.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1eb9b4ac-f455-4ad0-907a-655ceb5de34b
Marketing & Booking Software for Tour & Rental Operators "Rockon's site has the digital pull, that we simply did not have before coming on board." Captain Mark B.

After months of use, Florida Tour & Rental Operators share their feedback after using a new Activity Booking Software named Rockon Recreation Rentals. When evaluating whether a software integration that serves at such a core element of the businesss operation; it does not go without some heavy scrutiny and critical assessment.

Activity Booking Software is important in so many ways to these operators, and there is a pretty wide variety of different providers on the market today. To some degree, they all have basic online reservation functionality that remains front and center as a box-to-check for most Tour & Rental Operators, but the savvy operators looking to grow are demanding more. It is no secret, that consumer online purchasing behaviors have continued to evolve post pandemic. Operators know this too, and they are expecting more from their booking service partnerships.

When we spoke with several of the new users of the software, there was pretty clear insights that were unexpectedly similar. The first strand of consistency was the ability of the software to help them grow. Captain Mark B., who runs a boat and jet ski rental operation out of Central Florida exclaimed, "Rockon's site has the digital pull, that we simply did not have before coming on board." Captain Mark stated that this has helped his business grow, "...140% and growing." Similarly, another operator, Jay P. who rents Kayaks, Paddleboards, and more out of Gainesville, FL area, states his company now has the ability to, "reach other markets in South Florida that was harder to reach prior [to joining]" and has, "...increased his traffic by quite a bit," as a result of his Activity Booking Software.

Another trend that was drawn was the ease of use. Captain Parker, who runs a Manatee Tour operator out of Homosassa who has been using his Tour Operator Software for nearly a year now reported that he, "...didn't know a booking service could be so good." Jay P. in Gainesville, FL explained that it only took him, "...3 days to really get on top of it and almost master it.", whereas other name-brand booking systems he used in the past he reported that he, "...[doesn't] think I ever really did master it."

The last but not least, strand of consistency found was the ability of the software to create accounting reports. Captain Mark B. in Central Florida explains his Activity Booking Software has, "...saved us a lot of time in clerical work, and made us more efficient." Jay P. in Gainesville, FL shares that the reporting is a, "...critical function to their business because of their unique partnerships."

These are the top 3 results of feedback reported by Florida Tour & Rental Operators after using the Rockon Recreation Rental Activity Booking Software. They're voices are heard loud and clear that their software needs are heightened even more in this day and age. The need for growth support, time savings, and clarity in accounting all appear to be paramount to their expectations to compete with the fierce competition of activity providers in Florida.
~ Says insulting of civil servants a norm ~

According to Independent Member of Parliament Christophe Emmanuel, the Minister of Education Rodolphe Samuel only threw fuel on the fire and made a situation worse by questioning the integrity of civil servants in his Ministry and maintaining his position of placing a non-St. Maartener above a St. Maartener as acting head of the Department of Public Education.

The MP said that the Minister attempted to explain his actions via a press release on Wednesday and failed miserably". All he did was further insult the civil servants and contradicted his own actions in the process, the MP said. At this stage, he might as well resign, he is unfit to lead that Ministry, Emmanuel said.

He pointed out that Samuel stated in his press release that his intentions were to start the process of making three (3) Acting positions in the ministry, permanent positions. The Minister said he removed the local Acting head of Department Public Education (DPE) and replaced her with a non-St. Maarten national. So the Minister, who by his own words is working to make positions permanent, replaced a local in an acting role with a non-local in the same acting role. So is the Minister saying his intention is to make the non-St. Maartener permanent? MP Emmanuel asked.

Furthermore, the MP continued, saying that the non-St. Maarten national has been here for quite some time has nothing to do with it. Point is, there are other St. Maarten people who could have and should have been appointed or leave the person that was there in the position until you identify such a person. Perhaps even a young St. Maartener returning home with the relevant degrees. Nothing against the gentleman who was placed, but when do you start putting your people first in their own country? The Minister of Education should be ashamed of himself, MP Emmanuel said.

The MP said that another major insult came in the form of the Minister questioning the integrity of civil servants. He stated in his press release: I wrote 5 letters, and I have seen one of them on social media. The letter written to Acting SG Powell-Richardson personally is the one that I saw on social media. This leads me to question the integrity of persons in the administration.

First of all, you just never know how things can end up where they end up. You cannot blatantly question peoples integrity without factually knowing that they committed some unprofessional act in their role. If you dont know, then you just accused the entire administration and specifically your Secretary-General, a long-time civil servant, of wrongdoing, Emmanuel said.

We have heard reports from civil servants in the Education Ministry about the treatment they receive from Samuel and his cabinet. The fact that the Minister can so openly and without substantiation question the integrity of the civil servants directly under him further erodes mutual respect and whatever professional relationship that existed. The Minister is trying to cover up that he did not stand up for St. Maarten people and he only made the situation worse by telling other St. Maarten people that they have no integrity. He might as well resign, MP Emmanuel concluded.
Authorities have arrested a man they say was responsible for shooting a man found dead in a car in Camden earlier this month.

Kyree Johnson, 30, of Camden, was arrested Wednesday and charged with first degree murder and absconding parole, according to a joint statement from the Camden County Prosecutors Office and the Camden County Police.

Officers were called to 1200 block of Lakeshore Drive on April 6 shortly after 4 p.m. and found Lamar Maye, 46, of Camden, police said. Maye was rushed him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m., authorities said.

An investigation alleged Johnson was the shooter, and he was eventually found in Atlantic City and arrested Wednesday by members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force  Camden Division, the office said.

Johnson was taken to the Camden County Detention Facility and was awaiting a detention hearing, authorities 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.
Dancehall-reggae artist Hot Topic knows the true meaning of a mothers love. Thats why when he penned the song, Mama I Love You, a song that hits home in a real way so much so that tears fills his eyes whenever the artist hears the song on the radio.

The song is based on my true life story, the struggle I had to go through. My mother had 11 kids and she raised six more with her 11. It was 22 of us grow up in a one bedroom house, my mother used to cut up rice bag and stuff it with grass to sleep on, it was rough, the artiste whose real name is Calvin Wisdom, said.

He grew up in the Bloomwell district, close to Spaulding, Clarendon with his siblings.

We live good, we keep the bond, my eldest sister go up to the USA and carry up most of us one one go foreign, he said.

Hot Topic said it was his mothers love that literally kept him alive. As a youngster, he had severe health problems that challenged the familys meagre resources. Hot Topic revealed painfully that his mother even flirted with the idea of abandoning him on more than one occasion because of the terrible community-borne rumours that he had a spiritual affliction.

My mother loved me a lot, I had it really rough. When I was young, I was sickly and people used to talk say duppy de pon me and she admitted to me that several times, she left mi a roadside ah Spauldings because of the pressure and she turned back for me every time. She fight with me, do the best for me, a real mothers love, thats why I am alive today, he said.

The financial challenges forced him to drop out of the Thompson Town Secondary school. At age 11, he moved to Waterhouse to live with an aunt, and never returned to secondary school. When he became an adult and left his aunts house, the struggle only intensified.

Sometimes for three months, mi no eat no cook food. Mi eat June plum and ripe guava, if me hustle a money and buy a bulla, mi mek it serve me all three day. Sometimes when mi belch, froth come out, he said.

He started to walk to studios all over Kingston, and even Spanish Town to record songs. He eventually got into a group called Tag Team that recorded at Shocking Vibes but that didnt last long. He entered Digicel Rising stars in 2008, then rattled around Kingston seeking more opportunities. He entered the Jamaica Cultural Development Commissions festival contest in 2012 under the name Rasta KeeKee and became a finalist with Jamaica Mek Ya.

He entered the JCDC contest again two years later changing his name to King Solomon, and he got to the top ten again. In 2017, he even landed a collaboration called Calling Out for Love with Sizzla Kalonji who he had forged a friendship with years ago. However the song was never officially released.

In 2019 he linked up with young producer Power Forbes and started to finetune a new sound, changing his name once again to Hot Topic. He has been locked in the studio working on a number of tracks.

One of those songs is Mama I Love You which will be released on April 25th on the Power Forbes label. The song will be distributed by Zojak Worldwide on all digital platforms.

We shot the video last week, and it will be released on the same day, just in time for Mothers Day, mi just want people to support the song. Check out Hot Topic on my social media pages, Hot Topic said.

Producer Junior Forbes started the Power Forbes recording label in New York City, New York in 1997 where the producer worked with acts such as Frankie Paul, Dennis Brown, Ginjah and others. He returned to Jamaica where he started to work with the artist Hot Topic.

I would like to big up Lenky who made the riddim for this project. Ginjah is also on the riddim with a song call Ghetto Youth, Junior Forbes, founder and chief executive officer of Power Forbes Music, said.
The city of Pittsfield has received a] grant worth nearly $163,000 to create two parklets and new bike lanes.
Thousands of family members of Pfizer Ireland employees will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine by the company in the coming months, it has been confirmed.

The vaccine manufacturer said the family of Pfizer staff will be offered the vaccine over the coming months in line with the Government's age-based approach.

Pfizer's more than 4,000 staff across its five locations in Ireland were informed of the company's offer on Wednesday.

The company said its decision will not affect the supplies set to be delivered by the manufacturer to the State's vaccination programme in the coming months.

The latest figures from the HSE show that Pfizer provided more than 1 million of the almost 1.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine supplied to Ireland up to April 16.

The rollout is set to begin with "immediate family/household members" over the age of 60 from next month.

The rest of the staff's family/household members will be vaccinated over the coming months.

All of the costs will be covered by Pfizer.

A spokesperson for the company told The Echo: "Family of Pfizer colleagues will be offered the vaccine over the coming months.

"At the moment we are currently planning this phase of the programme with regard to the prioritisation groupings of the national vaccination programme and will start with immediate family/household members over age 60 initially (from mid next month onward) and then progress to include other age categories at a later stage.

"This will be run independently by Pfizer and the vaccine doses used in this programme are separate to the supply provided to the government.

"All costs associated with it are covered by the company."

Pfizer operates in a number of locations in Ireland, including Ringaskiddy.

Earlier this year, the medicines company vaccinated staff who were deemed essential to the supply of its coronavirus vaccine.

It has since been extended to non-essential workers.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school.

Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Masters in Organizational Management Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 171 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 37 making it to the final list for Online Masters in Organizational Management Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-organizational-management-degree-programs/

2021 Online Masters in Organizational Management Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

American University

Azusa Pacific University

Bethune-Cookman University

Brandman University

Brenau University

California Baptist University, Online

Campbellsville University

College of Saint Mary

Colorado Christian University

Colorado State University Global

Colorado Technical University

Columbia Southern University

Creighton University

Excelsior College

Golden Gate University

Gonzaga University

Lewis University

Lincoln Christian University

Lindenwood University

Michigan State University

Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Northcentral University

Northeastern University

Norwich University

Penn State World Campus

Quinnipiac University

Regent University

Robert Morris University

Saint Louis University

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Southern New Hampshire University

Thomas Edison State University

University of Denver

University of Saint Francis

University Of Wisconsin

Western Governors University

Western Kentucky University

About Intelligent.com

Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/.
St. Mary Parish  Investigators with the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations (LSP BOI) made seven arrests, seized over $50,000.00 in U.S. currency, and have issued additional arrest warrants in connection with drug trafficking. The heads of the organization, identified as 48-year-old Lamar Weeden of Parks, LA and 41-year-old Willie Alfred Sr. of Jeanerette, LA, were arrested on Monday April 19, 2021.

In 2018, the St. Mary Parish Sheriffs Office began an investigation involving several subjects selling illegal narcotics. Through the course of the investigation, a large amount of illegal narcotics, prescription medication, and U.S. currency was seized by investigators.

Weeden was booked into the St. Martin Parish Detention Center on charges of racketeering, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and proceeds obtained in illegal drug transactions. Alfred was booked into the St. Mary Parish Correctional Facility on charges of racketeering, three counts of distribution of cocaine, and distribution of methamphetamine.

Additionally, the following individuals were identified and arrested for their roles in the organization. They were also booked into the St. Mary Parish Correctional Facility.

 Kim Butler, age 39 for racketeering

 Leroy Hawkins, age 54 for racketeering

 Kurwin Webb, age 46 for racketeering

 Leon Williams, age 64 for racketeering

 Clifford Harris, age 48 for racketeering

This was a collaborative effort between LSP BOI, St. Mary Parish Sheriffs Office, Assumption Parish Sheriffs Office, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs & Border Protection and Louisiana National Guard Counter Drug Program. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are pending.

The Louisiana State Police online reporting system is available to the public through an anonymous reporting form that is submitted to the appropriate investigators. The form can be found by visiting http://la-safe.org/ and clicking on the Suspicious Activity link.
Addressing the House on Wednesday, Mr. Lemire took responsibility for the photo.

Image Sebastien Lemire, a Canadian lawmaker, apologized on Wednesday for having taken a nude screenshot of Will Amos, another lawmaker. Credit... House of Commons

I would like to present my apologies to the House for breaching the standing orders by taking a picture of a member on April 14, Mr. Lemire said in French. I personally apologized to him, but I also wanted to do so publicly, to him personally, to his family, to his colleagues and anyone I may have offended. Id like to say, to conclude, that I have no idea how that photo made its way into the media.

It was not immediately clear what action, if any, the House would take in response to Mr. Lemires acknowledgment. After Mr. Lemires remarks, Anthony Rota, the House speaker, thanked Mr. Lemire and said, I will come back to the House with my decision.

A spokesman for Mr. Lemire said on Wednesday that the lawmaker would have no further comment.

On Thursday, Mr. Amos said he appreciated Mr. Lemires apology, adding, That piece of honesty is a good start.

However, MP Lemire did not say with whom he shared it, why he shared it, and how many people shared it after receiving the photo from MP Lemire, Mr. Amos wrote on Twitter. Since the Speaker of the House is considering an investigation, I dont have further comments at this stage.

After the photo of Mr. Amos appeared on social media, jokes soon followed, including some from other legislators.
In February 1951 he was posted to the UK for specialised artillery training followed by a stint with the British Army on the Rhine in Germany. He related well to senior officers. His affable nature likely saw him avoid severe discipline for misdemeanours. Donald Begg (centre) on leave in Japan in 1946. In Germany, with an early morning artillery demonstration about to start, Begg, a safety officer, was metres away from high-ranking British and NATO officers. Unbidden, his German driver appeared with bacon and eggs and a steaming mug of coffee for him. Begg prepared himself for a serious reprimand as the fearsome commander of the forces approached. On hearing Begg speak, the general simply muttered I might have known youre an Australian and ordered him to eat his breakfast before it got cold. Begg spent 1960 studying at the India Defence Forces Staff College in Wellington, in the Blue Mountains area of southern India. An informal conversation with an Indian general led to his inviting Don to go fishing with him in Kashmir, to the incredulity of the Australian High Commission in Delhi, given that India had closed Kashmir to foreigners. Permission was granted and the Australian military attache accompanied Begg on a coveted VIP visit. On the descent into Kashmir they encountered a landslide. After the road had been cleared and repaired, they were told to move to the head of the traffic queue  their diplomatic car gave them priority. They crossed the damaged section carefully amid cheering from workers, and later discovered the cheering was because theyd demonstrated the repairs were good enough to take the weight of a vehicle.

The visit gave them insight into the political and military situation but alas Begg was taken trout fishing only once. His high-ranking guide caught two fish but he caught none. He thought this a satisfactory outcome, however, preserving the proper relationship of a colonel to a major. After India, Begg, now a Lieutenant-Colonel, worked at the Directorate of Military Training Army at Army HQ, Canberra, until he was posted in 1963 to Cambodia as military attache at the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh. The Vietnam conflict was escalating and apart from routine office work, Begg undertook reconnaissance trips to Cambodian military installations and plantations in the Cambodia-Vietnam border areas to help locate a suspected North Vietnam supply route (the Ho Chi Minh trail). Don Begg in his office in Vietnam. He always carried a few bottles of one-star brandy, to help with communication. The Corsican manager of a French rubber plantation professed to know nothing about any trail used to supply arms to North Vietnamese, despite the sound of distant gunfire. Invited to dinner, Begg produced his brandy and voila, after a while some of his questions were answered without being asked. Sounds of gunfire didnt always indicate conflict. During a visit to an easygoing Cambodian battalion about 1 kilometre from the unmarked border, Begg realised that the short burst of machine gun fire hed heard a couple of hours earlier was responsible for the venison lunch he enjoyed with the officers, accompanied of course by the cognac he contributed.

At the request of General Westmoreland, the US head of the Military Aid Commission in Vietnam, Begg travelled to a specific hill tribe area to find out why the tribes had refused American weapons offered to them to fight the Viet Cong. A tribal leader stated vehemently they didnt want to fight anyone except, perhaps, the Americans who were bothering them. Towards the end of 1966 Begg was sent at short notice to Vietnam to take over as commanding officer of 1st Field Regiment at Nui Dat. He immediately oversaw the changeover to American guns and gunnery systems, their existing weapons being unreliable in the tropics. The change occurred while simultaneously providing fire support to the taskforce. Rest periods were largely taken up with training drills. In Beggs words, a taxing time. Loading His assignment over, he took charge of national service training in Singleton for two years then became Director of Equipment Policy in Canberra. In his final position, and by now a Major-General, he headed Logistic Command in Melbourne and liaised with Major-General Alan Stretton who led the relief operation after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in December 1974. In 1975, Begg resigned from the army and he and Helen settled in the Tweed Heads hinterland where he became a keen avocado grower. After Helens death in 1989, he moved to nearby Terranora, where he switched his attention to growing orchids.
Liverpool and Manchester United are in talks to play two pre-season friendlies at Old Trafford and Anfield this summer.

The Premier League rivals are negotiating the options of facing each other at Manchester United's home in July and then on Merseyside a month later.

The plan is for fans to be welcomed back to both sporting arenas as part of the process of bringing supporters back into stadiums ahead of the new season with all coronavirus restrictions set to be lifted on June 21.

Liverpool and Manchester United are in talks to play two pre-season friendlies this summer

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's (L) United could play Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool twice in friendlies

Liverpool are not planning to play any friendlies abroad this summer but will travel to Austria and France for pre-season training camps.

Jurgen Klopp's side trained in Saalfelden, Austria, last August after being forced to abandon their plans to hold a pre-season training camp in Evian, France due to Covid-19.

But the Reds are expected to return to Evian this summer as they gear up for the new campaign.

The Premier League clubs are negotiating plans to play at United's home Old Trafford in July

Premier League clubs usually embark on pre-season overseas tours but they are effectively off the table due to coronavirus.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed earlier this month that Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo was due to hold talks with the League Managers Association to express his concerns about top-flight clubs' pre-season preparations.

The Wolves manager wanted more collaboration among clubs to ensure next season runs as smoothly as possible.

They are also looking to warm-up for the new season by playing each other at Anfield in August

After days of silence, John Henry has issued an apology for Liverpool's Super League debacle

United joint chairmen Joel Glazer (right) and Avram Glazer (left) are yet to front up to fans

'As managers, maybe we can find an understanding that we can be close to each other in terms of preparation games,' he said.

'A meeting inside the LMA will be enough to consider the options.

'We should make decisions together. If we have four Premier League clubs close to each other, we can prepare together as we will all be in the UK.'

Liverpool and Manchester United sparked outrage among their fan bases this week when their owners agreed to join a controversial European Super League.

The pair, alongside fellow Big Six clubs Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham were part of 12 founding members of the breakaway tournament.

But on Tuesday night the Super League was suspended after all six English clubs withdrew following huge backlash from supporters and resistance from players, managers and pundits.

Liverpool owner John W Henry apologised to their fans, Jurgen Klopp and the players on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile former United defender Gary Neville slammed United's three-line statement on quitting the European Super League, with no apology and no admission of fault leaving fans still furious at their club.
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Transitional Military Council in Chad announced in a statement on Wednesday that it will reopen its borders from Wednesday
[April 21, 2021] motormindz Expands Global Industry Consulting Presence to over 32 countries for "Boots on the Ground" Expertise

TROY, Mich., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- motormindz, Inc., the automotive industry's premier venture consultancy, today announced a strategic global expansion to over 32 countries across North and South America, the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. "This move is a key component of our global strategic plan and marks the transition from the formation of geo focused strategic partnerships, to a formalized infrastructure aimed at providing a single-source, end-to-end global solution for our clients," said Jeff Van Dongen, CEO of motormindz. The global expansion will provide local resources to advise and assist motormindz' clients worldwide, bringing a boots on the ground perspective to the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in each geographic region. "The expansion provides an opportunity for our clients to not only access a native approach to each region, but also tap into motormindz' entire global network o automotive industry executives, technologists, and advisors," stated Alan Harris, motormindz' Global Director.



"The challenges our industry is facing requires the kind of immediate, global solution sourcing, scaling, and speed-to-market that motormindz can help provide. It gives us extreme flexibility and nimbleness to successfully meet these needs at scale for our OEM clients and their suppliers," stated Tristan-Mason Smith, motormindz' Global Director. Fueled by an ever-increasing consumer demand for safe, frictionless, buying and ownership experiences  OEM, venture, and private equity investments in both ACES and Modern Retailing technologies continue to grow at a rapid pace.

"The number of technology providers developing solutions for automotive has never been greater. In an increasingly crowded space, providers try to differentiate themselves by solving for smaller, more disparate problems. Our clients depend on us to leverage our operational experience to help source, validate and integrate the right technologies aimed at solving their most critical challenges. motormindz' global infrastructure will help our clients strike the correct balance between today and tomorrow, regionally and globally," said Martin Wilson, motormindz' Global Director. About motormindz: motormindz is the industry's premier automotive venture consultancy serving OEMs, technology providers, mobility, and automotive retail. A global network of automotive executives and technologists assembled in a model that delivers unique operational leverage and strategic access to scale new and emerging technologies into proven solutions. For more information, please visit www.motormindz.com/global . SOURCE motormindz inc.

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(Source: Getty, delicious)

Australia Post has announced it has decided against a crucial change to its delivery service that would have had a crippling impact on hundreds of small businesses across the country.

Until yesterday, the postal service was planning to stop delivering perishable goods after 30 June, citing complex regulation that differed across states.

The looming change sparked backlash from small businesses and fresh food producers from all across the country, particularly in regional and remote areas.

A Change.org petition was also established by farming lobby group AgForce Queensland, which had more than 14,000 signatures, to urge Australia Post to reconsider the decision.

In a statement today, Australia Post announced it would continue to ship perishable goods beyond July.

We recognise the original date for ceasing perishable transport through our network would cause significant disruption to small businesses, many who have experienced significant growth in eCommerce sales during COVID-19, said Australia Post acting CEO Rodney Boys.

A new industry working forum has also been put together to resolve the cross-state regulatory issues. This forum will be co-chaired by Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson and a representative from Australia Post.

The new forum would help Australia Post better understand what our customer capabilities and needs are and work hand-in-hand with regulators to determine where changes may be required, Boys said.

Billson was part of the wave of small businesses calling for the decision to be reversed, and on Wednesday said the abrupt decision could be devastating.

The small business ombudsman said he was encouraged by the postal services willingness to work with the industry to resolve issues across its delivery network and said he wanted to help eCommerce-driven small businesses that rely on the postal service to deliver their products.

The ombudsman and Australia Post will meet next Tuesday, while the industry forum will meet in May with a "view to hold regular sessions" thereafter.

Story continues

Switching from AusPost could cost small businesses thousands

Pepe Saya founder Pierre Issa told Yahoo Finance that the decision reversal represented a massive win for both customers  who would continue to be able to receive items they buy online  as well as businesses across the country.

The investment weve made from a business point of view into systems that support Australia Post logistics is huge. We never talk about those things, he said.

But switching from these systems, and even changing the website, can come to thousands of dollars, Issa said.

Weve been [using] Australia Post now for six years. Our systems are well and truly embedded in our culture of how we do things.

Hats off to Australia Post, this is all I can say, for recognising and listening to the community, he said.

Were not out to fry anyone. Were just here to say, hey, look at this [again].

Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to the free Fully Briefed daily newsletter.
TEL-AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AirEye, the Network Airspace Protection (NAP) leader, announced today that it raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP). Steve Krausz, General Partner at USVP, joined the company's Board of Directors. Canaan Partners also participated in the round.

"AirEye addresses the largest unprotected and hence vulnerable network environment - the digital corporate airspace," said Shlomo Touboul, CEO and co-founder of AirEye. "The company has been doing extensive research into the vulnerabilities and attacks and has coined the term of Antenna for HireTM to describe devices that attackers can remotely take over to compromise the corporate network. The vulnerable wireless devices operate as Antenna for HireTM outside the network which therefore cannot be adequately protected by today's IoT security solutions. Attackers exploit the Antenna for HireTM to gain unauthorized corporate network access, hijack a corporate device or cause data leakage." Recent AirEye research discovered that on average 40,000 potential Antennas for HireTM are in proximity of a typical organization.

A 2019 survey revealed that 72% of business data breaches came via unsecured wireless devices. Modern malware such as Emotet already incorporates wireless capabilities to propagate across disparate networks. These digital airborne attacks bypass all network security solutions such as network firewalls, NAC or DLP solutions. The rise of such attacks is a consequence of the prevalence of wireless devices in the corporate airspace perimeter.

"Undoubtedly, the world is increasingly adopting wireless devices. Solving the rapidly growing airspace attack vulnerability is an extremely complex problem. It requires both cybersecurity and RF transmission expertise. These technical disciplines are rarely found in a single team. At AirEye, co-founders with decades of cybersecurity expertise joined forces with experienced wireless experts to build a unique company for one of today's rapidly growing security threat. USVP is excited to join the AirEye team as it pioneers the first comprehensive solution for Network Airspace Protection," said Steve Krausz, Partner at USVP.

The company already has installations amongst enterprise customers in Israel, Europe, and Japan. "As one of the largest medical facilities in the Middle East, the corporate network airspace is a big concern for us," said Zafrir Argov, CIO at Hadassah University Medical Center. "We have thousands of corporate and medical devices that operate wirelessly. On top of that, we have hundreds of thousands of visitors roaming our campuses. Ensuring that our devices do not mistakenly connect to open public networks or malicious wireless networks is a must. AirEye enables us to enforce our security wireless policy. The platform provides us the necessary security and compliance-mandated visibility. Furthermore, I feel safe knowing that the platform detects and prevents airborne network attacks in real-time. The implementation of the first stage," Zafrir added, "was an easy and quick process - we didn't even require any additional IT or cybersecurity resources. This was critical, especially in times like the COVID-19 pandemic."

Drawing the analogy to the eve of WWI, the Allies had not imagined the sky above them as a theater of war. Yet ever since then, the skies have dominated the modern battlefield. The same is true for cybersecurity with the explosion of uncontrolled wireless devices inside the airspace perimeter opening a new target-rich environment for attackers. Similarly, before AirEye, the corporate security teams were unprepared to repel attackers from the sky. "AirEye is the first and only comprehensive solution to this novel attack vector. Companies must prepare for the unknown and unexpected and that now includes digital airborne attacks. Security teams often get defeated when they suffer from a failure of imagination," remarked Jacques Benkoski, Partner at USVP.

With this investment, AirEye will increase its headcount across its R&D center, based in Tel-Aviv, launch its US operations and develop new marketing and sales initiatives to accelerate global growth.

About AirEye

AirEye Network Airspace Protection (NAP) is the only solution that provides full protection against any form of airborne attacks launched against the organizational network. Digital airborne attacks leverage wireless communications (including Wifi, cellular, 5G, and Bluetooth) in the corporate airspace in order to gain unauthorized network access, hijack the network or leak data through Antenna for HireTM. The platform monitors all wireless communications in real-time, detect violations of corporate security policies and blocks attacks automatically. The AirEye solution is a SaaS platform that seamlessly complements existing corporate network security infrastructure, without the need for architectural changes or messy integrations. The platform is deployed in various industries, including finance, banking, telecom, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and aerospace. The company was founded by veterans of the security and wireless industries, Shlomo Touboul, Ohad Plotnik, Amichai Shulman and Roi Keren, who combined their knowledge to combat these new attack vectors.

For more information, visit https://www.aireye.tech/.

About U.S. Venture Partners

U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) is a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, partnering with entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into world-changing companies. USVP has invested in over 500 companies spanning four decades, including: Box, Check Point Software, Guidewire, HeartFlow, HotelTonight, Imperva, Inari Medical, Inspire Medical Systems, Intersect ENT, Luminate, Omada Health, ON24, Pluto TV, Prevoty, Sequent, Silverback Therapeutics, ThreatMetrix, Trunk Club, Trusteer, Vontu, Yammer and Zerto. USVP focuses on early-stage start-ups that transform cybersecurity, enterprise software, consumer and healthcare. The USVP team consists of former entrepreneurs, technologists, corporate executives, and financial professionals who assist with strategy, scaling, team building, product development, and business development. USVP is based in Menlo Park, California. More information at https://www.usvp.com/.

SOURCE AirEye

Related Links

https://www.aireye.tech/


TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - 530 miles down the road from Minneapolis, Lafayette residents and other Hoosiers have a mixed bag of emotions following the conviction of Derek Chauvin. Take Ginger Osborne, who is traveling to see family in Illinois. She says she isn't sure how to feel after following all the events over the last year.

"I hope I think... whoever was at fault I think the verdict was about the only answer really that was going to be for everybody involved, so I really don't know," Osborne said.

On the other hand, there's Vishal Chakravarthi, who was pleased to see Chauvin convicted.

"You know um, George Floyd regardless of his race or color deserved justice because there was excessive force from the police," Chakravarthi said.

Chakravathi is Indian, and says the problem of police brutality extends beyond the borders of the U.S.

"It's a problem in India as well, where I'm from, and regardless of George being black or white or blue or whatever, um you know the judgment was right," Chakravathi said.

Others like Jim Stacui were aware of the trial but haven't been able to follow closely. He believes as long as due process was served, the trial was fair.

"I honestly don't know enough about the trial to have an opinion... if it was a fair trial that wasn't influenced by outside factors, then it was fair. If it was fair it was fair," Stacui said.

Then there's Barag Vasekar who said he felt the trial was very close to him. He says while he's happy with the conviction, there's more work to be done.

"I think justice is served, but justice will really be served when this kind of incident will never occur in our country, not a single incident," Vasekar said.
Israel says Syrian missile was not aimed at nuclear reactor

Israel says Syrian missile was not aimed at nuclear reactor View Photo

JERUSALEM (AP)  The Israeli military said Thursday that a Syrian missile that reached deep into Israeli territory and set off air raid sirens near the countrys top-secret nuclear reactor was the result of a misfire and not a deliberate attack.

The missile landed in southern Israel early Thursday, prompting Israel to respond with airstrikes on the missile launcher and other targets in Syria.

The armys chief spokesman, Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, was quoted as telling military correspondents that the Israeli air force was already operating in Syrian airspace when the anti-aircraft missile was fired. He said the projectile, identified as a Russian-made SA-5 missile, missed its target and exploded in southern Israel.

The missile, also known as an S200, set off air raid sirens in a village near Dimona, the southern desert town where Israels nuclear reactor is located, and some 300 kilometers (200 miles) south of Damascus.

There was no intention of hitting the nuclear reactor in Dimona, Zilberman was quoted as saying.

An Israeli missile-defense system tried but failed to intercept the incoming missile. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the incident was under investigation.

In Washington, Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, gave a similar assessment to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

I think it reflects, actually, incompetence in Syrian air defense, where they were responding to Israeli strikes on targets in Syria. The fired their missiles, the missiles went ballistic, literally, and followed a parabolic trajectory to Israel, he said. I do not believe it was an intentional attack, but just rather a lack of capability on the part of the Syrian air defenders.

In recent years, Israel has repeatedly launched air strikes at Syria, including at military targets linked to foes Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, both allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Such strikes routinely draw Syrian anti-aircraft fire. Thursdays exchange was unusual because the Syrian projectile landed deep inside Israel.

Syrias state news agency SANA said the exchange began with an Israeli air strike on Dumeir, a suburb of the capital, Damascus. Dumeir is believed to house Syrian army installations and batteries as well as bases and weapons depots belonging to Iran-backed militias. SANA said four soldiers were wounded.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group based in Britain that tracks Syrias civil war, said the Israeli strikes hit an air defense base belonging to the Syrian military and destroyed air defense batteries in the area. It said the Syrian military fired surface-to-air missiles in response.

Syrian media made no mention of an anti-aircraft missile landing deep inside Israel.

The air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village near Dimona. Explosions heard across Israel might have been the air-defense systems.

Apparent missile fragments were found in a swimming pool in Ashalim, a community approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Dimona. Israeli troops arrived at the scene and collected the fragments. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The exchange between Israel and Syria comes against the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Iran, which maintains troops and proxies in Syria. Iran has accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabotage at its Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge.

The exchange of fire also threatened to complicate U.S.-led attempts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran, to which Israel is deeply opposed.

___

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

By JOSEF FEDERMAN

Associated Press
Jaguar Land Rover's assembly plant in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, England, will be shut down temporarily. Photo: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UKs largest car manufacturer, has been plunged into fresh crisis as a shortage of computer chips has caused the company to temporarily shut down production at two of its main plants.

The company, which is owned by Indias Tata Motors (TTM), said it would have a limited period of non-production at its plants in Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside starting on Monday, according to the Guardian.

It has been reported that the shutdown is scheduled to last at least a week, although JLR will continue to monitor its chip supply before committing to a reopening date.

The chip shortage, which has been steadily worsening since last year, currently spans across the globe and has put pressure on a number of carmakers who are competing directly with tech companies for supply.

WATCH: Jaguar Land Rover to cut 2,000 non-factory jobs globally

The computer chips, also known as semiconductors, are used by companies such as Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony (SONY), the makers of the Xbox and PlayStation games consoles, as well as phone manufacturer Samsung (005930.KS).

Last year Apple (AAPL), the worlds biggest buyer of semiconductors, was forced to delay the launch of the much-hyped iPhone 12 by two months due to the shortage.

It has also affected cryptocurrency miners who need computer chips to solve puzzles that earn them Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other digital assets.

The automotive industry doesnt count for much in the semiconductors industry, a source at another car manufacturer told the Guardian.

The entire global car industry buys about $37bn (26bn) worth of chips annually.

A JLR spokeswoman said: Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some COVID-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semiconductors, which is having an impact on our production schedules and our ability to meet global demand for some of our vehicles.

We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible.

Story continues

READ MORE: Jaguar Land Rover aims to shift to all-electric brand by 2030

Last week, Nissan (7201.T) announced that it would furlough around 10% or 800 employees at its UK plant in Sunderland amid the computer chip shortage.

The Japanese carmaker has asked affected workers to remain on furlough until the chip shortage lets up and production can be increased.

The company also announced it is planning to halt production at some of its factories in Japan from next month.

Other carmakers have made similar moves. Earlier this month$, US car company Ford (F) announced that it will cut car production due to the global chip shortage.

Renault (RNO.PA) and Honda (HMC) also flagged similar plans.

On Friday, the world's largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) dampened any hopes of the issues letting up soon, saying that the shortage could continue into 2022.

WATCH: What UK government COVID-19 support is available?
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City are currently identifying all individuals who may have come into contact with three people who illegally crossed the border from Cambodia before resting in the southern metropolis and eventually heading to northern Vietnam.

Two women and one man sneaked into the southern province of Tay Ninh at around 1:00 am on Wednesday, the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) said in an urgent announcement on the evening of the same day.

The trio made their way to Tan Bien Town where they caught a taxi to Ho Chi Minh City, arriving at a hotel near Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 4:00 am.

The cab driver knew the three passengers were border jumpers following their conversation and subsequently filed a health declaration upon his return to Tan Bien Town.

Later on Wednesday morning, the border jumpers took another cab to Tan Son Nhat and boarded flight VJ134 to Hanoi. They landed at Noi Bai International Airport at 9:10 am.

The two women traveled to their homes in Dinh Hoa District in northern Thai Nguyen Province by taxi and were brought to a quarantine center at around 2:00 pm.

The man was found in Que Vo District in northern Bac Ninh Province on the evening of the same day and was also quarantined.

As of Thursday morning, all three individuals had tested negative for the novel coronavirus once.

The HCDC is tracking each of the border jumpers direct contacts while awaiting the results of their second COVID-19 tests.

Local residents have been advised to stay alert to potential cases of illegal entry given the complicated COVID-19 pandemic in neighboring countries, as well as promptly report to authorities if they detect any border jumpers.

Vietnam has documented 2,812 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday afternoon, with 2,490 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
POTTSVILLE  Schuylkill Countys senior citizens will see more activities that benefit them after the commissioners approved on Wednesday appropriations totaling more than $450,000 for those programs.

The combination of federal and state grants, which total $454,975, will allow the Office of Senior Services to provide additional meals to the elderly, as well as personal protective equipment for those who work with them.

One of the countys historic landmarks will be getting a face-lift after the commissioners voted to extend the reimbursement agreement with PennDOT, thereby allowing the department to finish work on the Zimmerman Covered Bridge in Washington Township.

County Engineer Lisa Mahall said the bridge, one of two covered spans in the county, will be closed during the repairs. A detour will be put in place.

She said the project will be put out for bids in 2022. The work should take one construction season, which is around eight months, to complete, according to Mahall.

Also, the commissioners approved a supplemental budget appropriation of $23,845 to Revize Web Services to redesign the countys website.

Its all the countys agencies and websites, Director of Finance Paul E. Buber said.

Another appropriation, for the Community Development Block Grant Program, authorizes the spending of $736,906 funneled through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

In other business, the commissioners:

 Approved a three-year agreement, effective June 1, with Hess Embroidery and Uniform, West Reading, to provide uniforms for county prison personnel. The cost will be $45,243.69 in the first year, $46,553.11 in the second and $46,632.16 in the third; the second and third years are optional.

 Approved a one-year purchase of service agreement, effective May 1, with Wicks Outdoor Advertising, Bethel, for local foster family recruitment.

 Approved budget adjustments of $1,275 for the Adult Probation and Parole Office and $25,000 for engineering.

We are not increasing overall spending, just shifting budgetary authority between line items, Buber said.

 Appointed Edward J. Winkelbauer, of Orwigsburg, to the board of the Schuylkill County Housing Authority, replacing John A. Shandor, of Saint Clair.

He did a fine job, commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington said of Shandor.

 Approved new rates for Lehigh Valley Health Network Schuylkill OccMed services offered to employees. Bender said the only increase was $25 for a skin test.

 Approved, by a 2-1 vote, a consulting contract with Virginia Murray for oversight to the Tax Assessment Office. Hess dissented from the contract, saying he opposed the restructuring of that office and the Tax Claim Bureau that led to it.
The need for a strategy for the re-development of Buncrana Shore Front has been reiterated.

At April's meeting of Inishowen Municipal District councillors, the issue was raised by Sinn Fein councillor Jack Murray.

Cllr Murray proposed a meeting of the relevant people to take the matter forward.

I would like to see a meeting of all of the necessary and relevant people from Donegal County Council, to progress a strategy for the re-development of Buncrana Shore Front.

It would include the likes of Planning, Water, Environment, Roads, and Community, to identify funding streams, to see how we could best improve the Shore Front and make it as attractive a tourism offer as possible.

Obviously, the Leisure Centre will be on site very soon, so we should look at how we can make the Shore Front a real holiday destination.

"The public conveniences there have also been discussed in the past. We need to access the funding to improve and enhance them.

We also need small things like picnic benches down there and some people have suggested restoring the putting green.

"I feel all of these suggestions should be put on the table, at a meeting of all of the people who are qualified to implement and share any ideas. We need to have everybody at the table. I think it would be very worthwhile, said Cllr Murray.

Seconding Cllr Murray's proposal, Councillor Rena Donaghey (Fianna Fail) said the Shore Front strategy/master-plan should encompass the area from Buncrana Pier right out to Ned's Point.

Cllr Donaghey said: The RNLI station, which is currently situated at Ned's Point, should be moved into Buncrana Pier. The strategy/master-plan should be all inclusive.
The European Union is seeking to restore its bilateral dialogue with Russia on the issues of disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU Peter Stano said, commenting on the remark made by Russian President Vladimir Putin who said that Russia strongly urges foreign partners to discuss issues of global stability and draft a "security equation."

"The EU works hard to uphold multilateral processes for disarmament and non-proliferation. We have non-proliferation and disarmament dialogues with a dozen states and have proposed to the Russian side to revive our bilateral dialogues on these issues," TASS cited him as saying

Moreover, according to Stano, the EU further encourages "strategic stability talks between Russia and the US." "These are all important settings for an in-depth exchange, to gain understanding of each others positions, and to look for solutions and potential cooperation," Stano added.

On Wednesday, Putin delivered his annual State of the Nation Address when he noted that Russia is calling on foreign partners to discuss issues of global stability and draft a "security equation." According to him, "the subject, the goal of such talks may become the creation of an environment for non-confrontational co-existence on the basis of a security equation which would encompass not only traditional strategic arms, intercontinental ballistic missiles, heavy bombers and submarines but also all attack and defense systems capable of resolving strategic tasks regardless of their equipment." The Russian leader underlined that Moscow is always open to broad international cooperation.
The government supports the exclusive allowance of natural processes in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and in Romania's other 13 National Parks, Prime Minister Florin Citu affirms in a message sent on Earth Day.

"Today we celebrate Earth Day, and the theme chosen this year is restoring our planet, hard tried as a result of humans' often excessive activities and needs. By removing valuable ecosystems from the exploitation circuit and returning them to nature, humanity has the chance to ensure the continuity of life for wonderful species of flora and fauna, which are otherwise endangered. In Romania we can start restoring nature, at least by allowing exclusively natural processes in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and in the other 13 National Parks," Florin Citu wrote in a Facebook message on Thursday.

The prime minister added that all these natural areas account for only 3 percent of Romania's surface, but "their strict protection would mean everything for the protection of species and landscapes, a delight for visitors and a still insufficiently explored potential for ecotourism".

"It is a direction that the Romanian Government supports and that is in full agreement with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the European strategy for biodiversity. But the fight against pollution, respect and protection of the environment are the responsibilities of each of us so that today and in the future we are able to live in harmony with nature, to keep its waters and soil clean," Citu also states.
Kanpur, April 22 : A private medical facility in Kanpur has been booked for lack of facilities and negligence after the district judge who had tested positive for Covid-19, went to the hospital and saw the state of affairs.

The judge reached the Naraina hospital along with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Anil Mishra, on Wednesday and both were stunned to see the disorder.

The CMO later lodged a complaint with the police.

In his complaint, Mishra said that he accompanied Justice R.P. Singh, who had tested positive for Covid-19, after informing the hospital's manager Amit Narain.

"We took the elevator to take the judge to an upper floor, but it got stuck for a long time. After we got out of the elevator, there were no doctors to take care of Covid-19 patients and neither was any specialist present to attend to Singh," he said.

Several attendants, who were present there, also complained of negligence.

The judge immediately asked the CMO to pull up the private medical college and ordered legal action against it over the negligence.

The CMO went to Panki police station and lodged a complaint of negligence against the hospital.

Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun said: "An FIR has been registered against Naraina Medical College's manager Amit Narain, doctors and staff members." The staff members have not been named in the FIR.

The case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
A line of heavy thunderstorms prompted extreme weather warnings for most of the tri-state region on Wednesday afternoon.

The major threats tend to be damaging storms, downpours, and widespread lightning; hail was recorded in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and a brief tornado warning was given for Dutchess County.

Temperatures will drop after the storms pass through, only reaching 50 degrees on Thursday; wind gusts of 40 mph or higher will make it sound like the 20s and 30s for most of the day.

Related Article: Powerful Late Winter Snow Storm Hurls Towards the Western US



Storms in NY and NJ

Sound up to hear the hail pinging off a building in Tribeca. #NYwx #NYC https://t.co/n9aDQkg3rJ  Storm Team 4 NY (@StormTeam4NY) April 21, 2021

Strong storms rumbled through most of New York, New Jersey, and portions of Connecticut on Wednesday afternoon, pelting the region with hail and threatening the tri-state with damaging winds, heavy rain, and lightning.

Brief Tornado Warning

WILD WEATHER: This rotating thunderstorm was the tornado warned storm passing from Dutchess County, NY into Litchfield County, CT earlier this afternoon.

Send us your storm photos and videos: https://t.co/8vx5mCXcdz



: @wflamholtzwx pic.twitter.com/JGoU4FnoRC  News 12 Weather (@News12Weather) April 21, 2021



As the storms hit, pea-sized hail was recorded in Brooklyn, while larger hail was seen in Manhattan. When the strongest storms struck, a tornado warning was released for Dutchess County, but it was lifted shortly after 3 p.m. For the most up-to-date information on the storm's timing and predicted effects, check out the live radar here.

Intense Storm

Severe thunderstorm warnings had been released by mid-afternoon for nearly the entire tri-state south, as wild winds toppled trees in Ulster County and elsewhere. More possible pop-up storms should be expected until about 6 p.m. when the worst weather should start to shift out of the city.

Long Island is also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 4:45 p.m. Here you will find the most recent extreme weather warnings for your region.

The extreme weather risk in and around the city was elevated Wednesday morning ahead of the storms, with most locations in and around the city in the "more likely" category. They began moving in shortly after lunchtime and will continue to do so until about 6 p.m. in various areas of the tri-state region. When the National Weather Service released the slew of alerts, the region was forecast to see the worst weather at 3 p.m.

Duration

Storms that may have lingered are forecast to dissipate by Wednesday evening when gusty winds and much cooler temperatures arrive. The high for Wednesday is forecast to be about 64 degrees. After that, temperatures are expected to plummet.

Temperature Drop

The entire area will experience a significant drop in temperature overnight, with a high of just 51 degrees forecast on Thursday. For most of the day, strong winds gusting above 40 mph will make it sound like it's in the 20s and 30s.

A freeze alert has been released for parts of the area from late Wednesday through Thursday morning, with lows forecast to be close or below zero. Here you will find all of the most recent extreme weather warnings for your region.

Also Read: Snowmageddon 101: How to Keep Pets Warm During Cold Season

For more weather news, don't forget to Follow Nature World News!
Hailey Do walked on the street of Sydney, Australia on February 19, 2020. (provided by Hailey Do)

It Was a Really Tough Time: Pandemic Takes a Toll on International Students Mental Health

It has been more than one year since the last time Hailey Do, a third-year student from the University of Technology Sydney, left her hometown. Feeling trapped in her 80-square meter flat in the bustling suburb of Strathfield, Sydney, she longs for her peaceful homeland, Da Lat, a small city nestling among the wooded hills and weaving roads of Vietnams Central Highlands.

Vietnam shut its border on March 22, 2020, the same day the country surpassed over 100 cases of coronavirus infections for the first time. Just one day before, Australia reported 1081 confirmed cases and started to impose the social distancing rules.

Despite initially wanting to return home, Do stayed in Australia to fulfil her role as the newly elected president of the Vietnamese Dynamic Students of New South Wales (VDS NSW).

But surviving in one of the worlds most expensive cities was not easy for the 20-year-old student, who lost her only job at a fast-food chain due to COVID-19. Unable to make ends meet, Do got by on the money sent by her family back home, who was also struggling financially themselves.

I cant see my family, and I miss home so much. It was a really tough time, Do said.

I was very tired, and I just cried every day, she said, noting that she wanted to leave everything behind and go back to Vietnam.

Hailey Do by the beach in Australia on October 31, 2019. (Image by Hailey Do)

Around 400,000 international students choose to remain in Australia during COVID-19, and Do is not the only person who was hit by the pressure.

A study published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) entitled the Psychological Wellbeing and Academic Experience of University Students in Australia during COVID-19 noted international students are a very high-risk population for mental health difficulties.

Their survey on 787 international students in an Australian university showed nearly two-thirds of respondents had a low or very low level of well-being during the pandemic.

The situation is not unique to Australia.

Research by Frontiers in Psychiatry notes 85 percent of 124 international students surveyed in the UK or USA had moderate-to-high levels of perceived stress, and 12 percent had moderate-to-severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.

A Lonely Experience

Clinical psychologist Isabella Choi who runs Australias first online mental health project for Chinese international students in the pandemic told The Epoch Times that the increased levels of anxiety and depression among international students during COVID-19 were linked to social distancing,

Especially those who maybe are in their first year of study where they havent really had an opportunity to make friends or get to really know Australia, Choi said.

Do agrees, recalling the distress she felt during the time she was stuck in her rented Sydney inner-city apartment.

It felt like the walls were closing in, she said. Oftentimes I would go to the balcony and look at the sky, wishing I was a bird so I could just fly up high.

Luna Manandhar, an Australian international student from Nepal, also had similar issues. Manandhar, who is also the international officer at the University of Technology Sydney, said the first three months of the pandemic were challenging as she struggled to maintain herself after losing her job at a restaurant, her only source of income.

I was like in the middle of the ocean, said the young Nepalese girl, I didnt know what to do.

Luna Manandhar in Zoom meeting. (Nina Nguyen/The Epoch Times )

The Challenge of Speaking Out

The fact that only around 20 percent of the students were making use of mental healths support services makes it harder to solve the problem, the MDPI study pointed out.

Choi believed this is due to low mental health literacy and the stigma related to speaking about mental issues, especially in some Asian communities.

Not many people know about what is depression or anxiety, Choi said. And because people dont know what it means theres a lot of stigma around it so when someone is very depressed or anxious, then people think maybe that persons crazy, whats wrong with them.

And often they might take those symptomsthat they might notice [as] headaches or not being able to sleep, rather than reporting that theyve been really down and really anxious about something, she said.

She believes the linguistic and cultural barriers also prevent overseas students from seeking help.

They might not actually feel very comfortable talking to someone in English about how they feel, Choi said.

Her online interactive mental health project for Chinese international students, she said, is the first project in Australia to use Chinese language, sayings and metaphors to communicate with students.

People walk past signage for Australian universities in Melbournes central business district on June 10, 2020, (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Do was more pragmatic about how she herself sought help, noting that talking to friends and maintaining positive thinking help. She also found having spiritual support was also beneficial as it made her realise everything that Im going through now is so minor.

Actually I think for many people, they dont need any detailed instructions, all they need is just someone who can listen to them, Do said.I also try to reflect on myself to see where I did wrong, try not to put blame on external factors and instead look for ways to improve next time, she said.

Manandhar said Australias world-class education and its English-speaking environment also make this country one of the best places to study in.

I have not regretted coming to Australia, because that was something that Ive always wanted to [do], she said.
Whenever the news breaks of a royal engagement, one of the most anticipated questions is about the engagement ring. From the famous blue sapphire that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wears to the classic three-stone style set in yellow gold that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex received from Prince Harry, there is no denying the fact that royal engagement rings are nothing short of breathtaking. Typically, the cost of a royal engagement ring is often far into the 6-figure range, although we have to say that most of them are pretty much priceless. Here is why Princess Eugenies engagement ring is far rarer and more expensive than we realized.

How and when did Princess Eugenie get engaged?

Princess Eugenie at 2018 Royal Ascot | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Princess Eugenie and her now-husband, Jack Brooksbank, had been together for quite some time, first meeting all the way back in 2010, while on a ski trip in Switzerland. According to Town & Country, the princess was only 20 years old, but even at such a young age, there is no doubt that she was smitten.

The feeling was obviously mutual, and the two of them dated for over 8 years, even when Princess Eugenie was living thousands of miles away in New York City for a few years.

So, how did they make the long-distance relationship work? According to Brooksbank, the couple spent a lot of time on Skype, and things worked out for the best. It was during a trip to Nicaragua in 2018 that Brooksbank asked Eugenie to marry him, with the princess saying it was an incredible moment. As for the setting, he said that there was a beautiful volcano, summer setting, birds are flying.

What is Eugenies engagement ring like?

While engagement rings most often feature a diamond as the main stone, the royals have been known to break away from tradition just a bit with rings that feature gorgeous gemstones. The Duchess of Cambridge probably wears the most well-known one, and we all know that Princess Diana chose it from a catalog years earlier.

Princess Eugenies ring, which is just as beautiful, features an orange sapphire with a pink tint, surrounded by diamonds. It is similar to the one her father, Prince Andrew gave her mom, Sarah Ferguson, when he proposed in 1986, and just about all royal fans would agree that the ring is stunning.

Marie Claire reports that Brooksbank chose the unique ring because of the way it changes color when it hits certain lights, much like Eugenie  very romantic.

Princess Eugenies engagement ring is far rarer and more expensive than we realized

Princess Eugenies engagement ring | Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty Images

Anyone who has done their research knows that the average price for an engagement ring is around $5000. However, average just wont do when it comes to royal engagements, and Eugenies ring is rarer and more expensive than anyone realized.

According to The Adventurine, the ring features a Padparadscha sapphire, one of the rarest there is. It is highly coveted by collectors, due to the fact that this type of stone is more expensive than a diamond  up to $10,000 to $50,000 per carat, in fact.

They arent found just anywhere, either  The Natural Sapphire Company reports that these precious stones mainly come from Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Only the best will do for a princess about to tie the knot, and Brooksbank certainly made a wonderful choice. It was in October 2018 that Jack and Eugenie tied the knot at St. Georges Chapel located on the grounds of Windsor Castle, a perfect fall day that complimented the lovely ring just beautifully.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 20:20:48|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, April 22 (Xinhua) -- One police officer was killed and one policeman wounded after two gunmen fired on them in western part of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan on Thursday, the latest in a string of targeted killings, the capital police confirmed.

The shooting occurred in Karta-e-Chahar locality, Police District (PD) 3 at midday and the attackers fled shortly after opening fire on the policemen who were on duty in a district market place, the Kabul police said in a statement.

On Wednesday night, personnel of National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's national intelligence agency, arrested an Islamic State (IS) member in PD 12, in the eastern side of the city, the NDS confirmed on social media platform twitter.

The arrested IS member was involved in conducting several bomb explosions and targeted killings in the city, the agency said.

Over the past months, big Afghan cities have witnessed a spate of terror attacks by Taliban insurgents and the IS outfit's militants opposing the government. Enditem
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen, but where the Dutchman was fastest in Bahrain on Saturday, he failed to do so in Imola. Still, the data shows that the RB16B was faster.

Hamilton clear on Saturday

In the Weekend Debrief F1TV Ted Kravitz and Rob Smedley look back on the Grand Prix weekend in Imola. Smedley was impressed by the race of Verstappen, but the weekend didn't start so well for the Dutchman. First Max crashed out during the second free practice, and on Saturday he lost the pole due to some mistakes.

''The first mistake was at the first chicane. You can see at the entrance to the corner that the data is still the same, but at the exit, Verstappen has to take his foot off the gas a little bit because he came off the track. He lost a lot of time there. During the rest of the lap he gains it back, especially in the medium-speed corners. We saw that in Bahrain as well, where the Red Bull is significantly better,'' says the former race engineer.

Verstappen wins the race

The data shows that Verstappen is faster than Hamilton just before the last few corners but then loses the pole in the last two corners. ''Towards the end Hamilton wins again, and it looks like he was able to save his tyres longer for the last sector, so his car is better there.''

On Sunday, however, Verstappen came good with a win. ''Max's race on Sunday was impressive. He didn't do anything wrong at all. The same goes for Lewis Hamilton. After the red flag he drove impressively back to P2. Those two drivers are at their absolute peak'', Smedley concludes.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school.

Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Masters in School Counseling Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 166 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 40 making it to the final list for Online Masters in School Counseling Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-school-counseling-degree-programs/

2021 Online Masters in School Counseling Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Adams State University

Angelo State University

Arkansas State University

Campbellsville University

Chadron State College

City University of Seattle

Creighton University

Drake University

Edinboro University

Emporia State University

Fort Hays State University

Gallaudet University

Gwynedd Mercy University

Heidelberg University

Indiana Wesleyan University

Lamar University

Lehigh University

Liberty University

Lubbock Christian University

Mercy College

Messiah College

Missouri Baptist University

New York University

Oregon State University

Salem College

Seton Hall University

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Southwestern Assemblies of God University

University of Central Arkansas

University of Denver

University of Louisiana at Monroe

University of Massachusetts Boston

University of North Dakota

University of Southern California

University of Tennessee at Martin

University of the Southwest

University of West Alabama

Vanderbilt University

Wake Forest University

Walsh University

About Intelligent.com

Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides which include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/.
Digital transformation is imperative for sustained growth in the advertising industry and in recent months this has been more prevalent than ever before as advertisers, publishers and agencies seek new technologies to future-proof their businesses. While some have been forced to fundamentally change how they operate others are searching for new ways to generate additional advertising revenue. Whatever the circumstances, selecting a modern advertising management software to fulfil all requirements will be at the forefront of any digital transformation project. However, while this presents many opportunities there are some implementation considerations to discuss which a reputable provider can assist with.

These implementation considerations include cost, risk, and time commitment which can be a deterrent for many especially for mid-market to large enterprise-sized companies. In addition to high costs, weeks or months of effort, and diverted resources, the end result can often fall short of expectations  a chance no company wants to take. Even established providers can draw companies into costly and elaborate projects they don't need, creating an unfortunate lack of trust in the industry.

To mitigate risk in implementing an advertising management software and instil confidence in the industry, ADvendio, a leading Salesforce powered solution, is offering a money-back guarantee on internal implementations for all new advertiser, publisher and agency customers if the agreed go-live date is not met. This approach to risk management gives companies peace of mind, helping them make the switch to a cutting edge media buying and selling solution without the risk associated with more traditional alternatives.

This offer is unmatched by anyone else in the industry and speaks to ADvendio's impeccable track record of delivering consistency and quality. Furthermore, this money-back guarantee is a response to the development of a game-changing remote implementation strategy to accelerate digital transformation. Initially developed with pandemic precautions in mind, ADvendio has been able to work with internal teams to push through fast, effective, and successful solutions by leveraging internal resources already in place which allows companies to pivot to new strategies in weeks, not months.

Julian Ahrends, vice president of business development at ADvendio, is excited to publicly announce the implementation money-back guarantee.

This guarantee demonstrates how confident we are in implementing our out-of-the-box solution regardless of the company size and location. Our success rate of meeting go-live deadlines and implementing our software for even the largest of media companies, most recently CBC in Canada, makes this very attractive for advertisers, publishers and agencies alike.

We are offering new customers to pay nothing upfront or get their expenses refunded. This confidence in our solution is what separates us from the competition who cant offer the same turnaround times or successful go-live track record as us.

All interested companies just need an internal technical team with an understanding of their existing work processes. ADvendio will provide a company trial in a sandbox within minutes to demonstrate functionality and efficacy. Companies who choose to move forward will have access to expert consultants to guide you through the proven process and if the anticipated rollout schedule is not met, they are eligible to pay nothing or receive a full refund of the costs incurred during implementation.

With an industry-leading approach to support digital transformation with unrivalled implementation processes and a money-back guarantee, ADvendio is poised to redefine how their media buying and selling solution is adopted over the coming months and years to come.

To find out more about ADvendio, visit: https://www.advendio.com
University of Bath scientists have been awarded a research grant of 1.3 million to develop a portable device to detect the street drug spice on the spot. They expect the new technology to be ready for use in clinical settings, prisons and across police services within three years.

Dr Chris Pudney with an early prototype of the spice-detection device. Image Credit: University of Bath

Despite the serious and increasing public health problem that spice poses in Britain and other countries of the world, there is currently no point-of-care test to tell if someone has recently taken it. At present, testing involves urine samples being sent to a laboratory for analysis, with results being available after three to seven days.

A prototype of the spice-detecting device was developed by the Bath team in 2019. It was found to detect the drug from street material and in saliva in less than five minutes. The success of these trials attracted interest from police forces, drug testing facilities, homeless charities, prisons and private enterprises, leading to the new grant.

Dr Chris Pudney from the Universitys Department of Biology & Biochemistry, and creator of the new technology, said faster testing is essential if users are to receive treatment and harm-reduction interventions.

There is no way of knowing if spice has been taken if someone presents with psychosis or intoxication symptoms that could also be due to other reasons. So we see the detection technology as a way to inform care in case of overdose. Dr Chris Pudney, Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath

The Bath research team, led by Dr Pudney, will use the grant to create a simple testing solution that can be used in the field.

Dr Pudney said: Spice is endemic in homeless communities and prisons. Its highly potent, addictive and poses severe health risks to users including psychosis, stroke, epileptic seizures and can kill. We want to deliver a detection system both to raise the prospect of rapid treatment and to stem the flow of drugs in these communities.

Also causing alarm are recent reports of children 'mistaking' spice (a synthetic form of cannabis and classified as a Class B drug in the UK) for cannabis, resulting in multiple hospital admissions.

The detection device will be developed by a multi-disciplinary team that combines expertise in analytical/synthetic chemistry, optics engineering, artificial intelligence, harm reduction and addiction psychology.

Also involved in the research is Dr Jenny Scott from the Universitys Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology. She said: Drug testing and checking, which is increasing in many countries around the world and in the UK, has been shown to have an impact on drug-taking behavior and to potentially reduce risk.

Spice use is a particular issue in homeless communities. In the future, we hope our technology can be used to offer drug testing to spice users and to tailor harm-reduction information to these vulnerable people. The machines could be used in drugs services, homeless hostels and further down the line, in pharmacies.

The researchers will base their new spice-testing technology on a cloud-hosted data analytics platform developed by a University of Bath spin-out, BLOC Labs.

We hope to combine this technology with a deeper understanding of the communities that use spice so that we can deploy the spice-detecting technology in the most effective way possible to benefit the most vulnerable in society, said Dr Pudney. Our ultimate aim is to save both money and lives.

By the end of the grant period, the group aims to start a not-for-profit social enterprise to bring their technology to the mainstream. The group plans to roll out the full range of activities necessary to deliver the technology, including portable device design, analytical software development, chemical fingerprint libraries and the associated community pharmacy practice advice to deploy the technology effectively.

We believe the scope and potential of our research is truly unique and presents the best chance for tackling spice use in the UK and more widely. Dr Chris Pudney

Dr Pudney's academic partners for the project include Professor Stephen Husbands, Dr Ian Blagbrough and Dr Jenny Scott from Bath's Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology; Dr Tom Freeman from Bath's Department of Psychology; Dr Richard Bowman from Bath's Department of Physics; Dr Tom Haines from Bath's Department of Computer Science, and Dr Oliver Sutcliffe from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Non-academic partners include Avon and Somerset Police; Greater Manchester Police; drug testing and information facilities MANDRAKE and Tic Tac Communications; charities Bristol Drugs Project and Developing Health and Independence; Hull Prison; the University of Bath spinout company BLOC Labs, and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Our prayers are also with the students who were injured and who will be impacted by this tragic accident. We continue to trust in God who walks alongside us in every situation, he said
Washington, April 22 : A senior US State Department official said that the second round of the talks in Vienna over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal "made some progress", but important disagreements still existed between Washington and Tehran.

The senior official said on Wednesday that the indirect talks between the US and Iran in Vienna "made some progress" in clarifying respective steps to revive the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reports Xinhua news agency.

"But clarification doesn't necessarily mean consensus," said the official.

"There still are disagreements and, in some cases, pretty important ones on our respective views about what is required to -- what is meant by a return to full compliance." The official said the US had provided Iran with examples of three categories of sanctions, including "sanctions that we believe we would need to lift in order to come back into compliance, and the sanctions that we believe we would not need to lift".

The third category of sanctions was much more complicated with further assessment needed, according to the official, some of which were deliberately imposed by the previous Trump administration to hinder a successor administration from returning to the deal.

The official noted that Washington and Tehran had not discussed the sequencing issue, saying the two sides "are still in the process of describing and detailing the steps that each side is going to have to take".

The official, however, emphasised that Washington had made it clear to Tehran that "a sequence that the US does everything before Iran does nothing is not an acceptable sequence".

"We've made some progress," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN earlier in the day, referring to the Vienna talks.

"There is still distance to travel, but ultimately the US is committed to returning to the JCPOA on a compliance-for-compliance basis." Sullivan also said that the United States would not make any moves on this issue until "we have clarity and confidence that Iran is prepared to put its nuclear program back in the box that it was in during Iran nuclear deal".

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday stressed that the new round of talks about the nuclear deal should aim to map out three steps.

"The first step is the lift of sanctions by the US... As the second step, we want to verify the lift of sanctions thereafter," he said, adding that at the third step, Iran will implement its own commitments under the deal.

The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) together with the EU.

Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments in May 2019, one year after the administration of former US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.
A Non Governmental Organisation, the Consumer Initiative, has appealed to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to abolish the confiscation of cards withheld by Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in commercial banks.

Aliyu Ilias, Executive Director of the group, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said commercial banks operating in the country had been confiscating cards belonging to customers of other banks seized by their ATMs.

We received complaints from bank customers on the issue and this was further verified through a survey.

Commercial banks have over the years perfected and operated a system of confiscation of cards including but not limited to credit and debit cards.

These belong to customers of other banks used on their ATMs and same withheld by the banks.

This practice put in place by commercial banks in Nigeria ultimately forced cardholders to request and to pay for issuance of new cards by their respective banks, Mr Ilias said.

He said that the practice had placed heavy burden on bank customers and cardholders.

He said the withholding of cards by ATMs was not most of the times, the fault of customers, cardholders or users as the case may be, adding that, it was usually due to ATMs fault or poor connectivity from the banks.

Why then should the customer or cardholder be made to bear the brunt of applying and paying for a new card?

A customer who has been frustrated due to service failure upon which his card is withheld and possibly not meeting his financial needs as at when due is further put through harrowing experience, he said.

He added that it would make such customers incur more financial and logistic burdens of obtaining new cards.

N60 billion printing

Meanwhile, another group, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups, has urged Nigerians to dismiss allegations made by the governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, that the federal government recently printed N60 billion to make up for allocations made the states monthly.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has dismissed the claim.

The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, in his reaction said the government was right to print money and lend the government. 

But the group led by Bassey Williams, on Wednesday in Abuja said it wanted to correct the falsehood been peddled by some individuals and some political parties regarding the printing of N60 billion.

The issues raised by Gov Obaseki and others; alleging that N60 billion was printed by CBN and the federal government to augment for the March, 2021 FAAC allocation, is orchestrated by enemies of Government just to whittle down the confidence Nigerians have in the government and her effort to invigorate the economy, the group said.

It also said, reports made available to us reveals that going by the money FAAC share, the funds are monies generated and domiciled in the federation account, and is usually shared to the states every month.

ADVERTISEMENT

There was no evidence that the March allocation was borrowed which contradicts the claims of those saying March allocation money was printed. We further discovered that all the states owe the CBN. These monies are bailout funds given to them to cushion the effects of the difficulties experienced by the governors in their bid to deliver on good governance.

It added that we dont need such distractions at this time when the country is facing much insecurity and hunger in the country. We need patriotic interventions and we equally expect progressive contributions towards developing and governing the Nigerian polity.
This year is shaping up to be a very dry one in California. Coming off of an already-dry 2020  the third-driest year on record since 1895  the state has gotten only a fraction of the precipitation it would need to replenish water supplies. Even with some possible rain on the horizon soon, experts say its unlikely to make a difference in the overall situation.

In response to the deepening drought conditions, this week Marin Countys water agency became the first in the Bay Area to announce water-use restrictions for nearly 200,000 residents. On Wednesday, Mendocino and Sonoma counties were next after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for the areas. More cuts could be on the way, the State Water Board has warned.

For Californias winegrowers, the dry conditions present a complex set of questions. Wine quality doesnt always suffer during drought years  in fact, it seems clear that certain wines can actually be improved by drought. But you wont find any winemakers out there rejoicing. Theyre expecting the drought to severely diminish grapevines yields, reducing the amount of wine they can make and sell.

Not to mention the fact that this years extremely dry landscape promises a scary wildfire season ahead of us, as my colleague J.D. Morris has reported.

Its August levels of water down there, Napa winemaker Steve Matthiasson told me earlier this month, referring to the groundwater in his vineyards. Normally, by this time of year, there should have been enough rainfall that the soils would be fully saturated, but instead his tests show that the water levels go only a few feet down.

Erik Castro / Special To The Chronicle 2019

Napa has about 50% of the water that its vineyards really need, according to Kaan Kurtural, an associate specialist in cooperative extension in viticulture with UC Davis. That tracks with other parts of the state, too: Cris Cherry, owner of Villa Creek Cellars in Paso Robles, says his vineyard has gotten about 14 inches of water so far this year, half his areas historical average.

Like a human whos uncomfortably thirsty, a grapevine in drought conditions may simply have less energy to spend, resulting in a crop thats smaller than usual. If we didnt have a big rain, we know the vines are not going to set a lot of crop, Cherry explains. If a vine normally sets 20 clusters (of grapes), maybe it sets 16 smaller clusters instead.

No one in the business of selling wine wants to see their product inventory slashed, of course. But on the bright side, dry years have resulted in delicious-tasting wines in the past. The last drought cycle produced two of the most celebrated vintages in recent California history, 2013 and 2014. What you see in drought years is concentration, Cherry says: Less fruit, but maybe more intensely flavorful fruit.

The other piece of good news is that grapevines handle drought a whole lot better than other types of plants. Many winegrowers here, including Cherry, practice dry farming, meaning they dont irrigate at all, relying solely on what falls from the sky to water their vines. Years like this one really put dry farmers commitment to the test, but Cherry says it would take a bigger crisis than this years to get him to change course. The vines are not in danger of dying.

Our water footprint is awfully low compared to other crops, and grapes are more drought resistant, says Kurtural. Whereas almonds need about 4 acre feet of water to grow in California, he says, grapes demand only about 1 to 1.5 acre feet.

To put it clearly, Kurtural says: Grapes are still the most efficient permanent crop in California.

Brittany Hosea-Small / Special to The Chronicle

Thats not to say people arent worried. All that deliciously concentrated-tasting fruit could be a moot point if wildfires result in widespread smoke taint concerns, as they did in 2020, when many California winemakers found some or all of their crop ruined.

And regardless of how wine fares in any given year, the longterm implications of these drought cycles do pose a serious threat to the states wine industry. California has always cycled in and out of drought; thats a normal part of the climate, says Matthiasson. But he believes the cycle has sped up, which is worrisome.

In 2013, we felt like, OK, were in a drought, this will last for a couple of years and then the rain will come back, he says. But its come back a lot sooner than we thought it would.

Kurtural is less concerned about wine regions close to the coast, like Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles, than about the Central Valley, the true workhorse of Californias wine industry, including areas like the San Joaquin Valley. In 20 years, its possible Napa could look a little like the San Joaquin Valley, Kurtural says. That would be OK. Theyre still growing grapes there and doing a good job.

But in that scenario, he continues, What happens then to the San Joaquin Valley?

What else Im writing

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

 Heres the ultimate local wine story: a vineyard within the San Francisco city limits. The Two Eighty Project, run by Christopher Renfro and Jannea Tschirch, has big ambitions to become a different sort of wine enterprise, involving the cultivation of unusual grape varieties (including some potentially climate change-resistant hybrids) and a commitment to social justice. Read my profile of the project.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

 My wine pick this week is the Shebang red blend, a nonvintage cuvee from Sonomas Bedrock Wine Co. that incorporates wines that dont quite make the cut for its higher-end bottles. The current release sells around the Bay Area for between $10-$15, a bargain thats hard to beat.

What Im reading

 Theres been a major development in The Chronicles investigation into Dominic Foppoli, the Windsor mayor and winery owner accused of sexual assault. In 2017, town officials received a complaint from a woman who said Foppoli had assaulted her in the hot tub at Christopher Creek Winery. Officials repeatedly failed to investigate the complaint and could have unearthed more about Foppolis alleged behavior, Cynthia Dizikes and Alexandria Bordas report.

 Alexander Peartree has a short but sweet meditation on how grocery store wine became a metaphor for sexuality in a scene from the Canadian sitcom Schitts Creek.

 Conversations about climate change and the wine industry often overlook the use of glass bottles, which require an enormous amount of energy. In VinePair, Katie Brown considers some experiments with plant-based bottles  were talking vessels made with flax seeds, canola, soy and more.

 In addition to wine, another tasty beverage that I love to drink is boba tea. Have you heard about the looming boba shortage? News of the tapioca-ball scarcity has prompted a run on the boba shops, according to my colleagues Janelle Bitker and Elena Kadvany.

Attention wine writers!

For anyone reading this who is a wine writer  or would like to be a wine writer!  you may be interested in the upcoming Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, which will be held virtually on May 10-12. Ill be moderating a panel about the language of wine, and many of the writers I admire most will be offering other sessions. The symposium is accepting applications for attendees through April 30; you can learn more here.

Drinking with Esther is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles wine critic. Follow along on Twitter: @Esther_Mobley and Instagram: @esthermob
Assays Pending on 9 Additional Holes in which 4 Intersected Visible Gold Over a 1.8-kilometer Strike

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Karus Gold Corp. ("Karus Gold" or the "Company") announces additional high-grade gold drill results including 12.4 meters ("m") of 4.3 g/t gold in hole FG-20-376, starting at 239.4 m downhole in the Lower Zone of the FG Gold Project ("Project" or "FG Gold"), part of the 1,000 square kilometer ("km") South Cariboo Gold Property in British Columbia.

Additionally, hole FG-20-376 which intercepted 62.3 m of 1.7 g/t gold, confirms broad mineralization and higher-grade potential within the Upper Zone which hosts an at surface historical resource. All five holes included in this news release successfully expanded the footprint of gold mineralization beyond the historical resource area.

These results suggest the Lower Zone now hosts a mineralized footprint of approximately 650 m of strike and over 300 m down dip of historical drilling, while the remaining nine holes to be released over a 1.8 km strike could substantially increase this mineralized footprint of the FG Gold project.

Highlights

FG-20-376, 100 m from the discovery hole FG-20-377 ( 14.3m of 6.4 g/t gold ) returned 20.9m of 2.9 g/t gold , confirming the continuity of gold mineralization within the Lower Zone discovery and includes: 12.4 m of 4.3 g/t gold at 239.4 m downhole, including: 1 m of 38.0 g/t gold at 240.3 m downhole

) returned the continuity of gold mineralization within the Lower Zone discovery and includes: FG-20-378 returning 62.3 m of 1.7 g/t gold confirms higher grades than those previously reported in FG-20-368 including: 6.6 m of 9.7g/t gold at 195.9 m.

Drilling further strengthens the understanding of the geology and highlights underground potential for FG Gold with 3.6 km of mineralized strike and unconstrained depth potential.

Assays pending for nine additional holes over 1,800 m of lateral strike length in which all have intersected quartz veining in the Lower Zone in which four of these holes showed visible gold.

Project remains vastly underexplored along a >20-km trend, providing many opportunities for resource expansion and new discoveries on-strike and down dip.

Karus Gold CEO, Andrew Kaip, comments, "To date, the results from the 2020 drilling program support our belief that FG Gold is a large orogenic gold system many times larger than the historical resource area. Results indicate that the Company is finding further, high grade mineralized zones well outside of historical drilling, providing greater confidence in the structural interpretation and geologic model of the FG Gold deposit."

Mr. Kaip continues, "Karus Gold is well advanced in planning an exploration program for 2021 that is expected to include a minimum 15,000 m of drilling at FG Gold to demonstrate continuity of high-grade gold mineralization; and continue to expand the footprint of gold mineralization along strike and down dip of historical drilling. We will provide more details on the 2021 exploration program in the coming weeks and as we get closer to listing on a stock exchange later in Q2 2021."

Karus Gold was formed in January 2021 pursuant to a spin-out transaction from KORE Mining Ltd ("KORE"), whereby KORE transferred ownership of its Canadian exploration properties, including FG Gold (see Karus Gold's news release dated January 25, 2021 for more information).

Exploration Program Details

Fifteen large diameter (HQ) oriented core drill holes for a total of 5,830 m were completed from June to October 2020. The drill program was designed to step-out up to 200 m downdip and test nearly 2 km along strike. The program is targeting the continuation of known gold-mineralized [orogenic] quartz veins further down-dip and along strike within prospective and un-tested regions of the targeted [phyllite] host rock.

Assays from holes FG-20-376, and holes FG-20-378 to FG-20-381 are reported in this release with all other hole assays pending. A plan map of the drill collars and traces is included in Figure 1, including the location of the cross section, Figures 2 and 3. A long section showing the location of the drill results released in relation to historical drilling is shown in Figure 4. The full table of results are included below.

Due to coarse visible gold, metallic screening assays provide a much more representative sample versus conventional fire assays. Historical drilling and assays had limited and sporadic metallic screen analyses which may have underestimated historical gold grades. See below for more details on metallic screens.

Detailed Discussion of Results

Structural analysis and re-interpretation of historical drilling carried out prior to initiation of 2020 drilling by Karus Gold highlighted significant potential for expanding high grade gold zones below the extents of historical drilling. 2020 drilling was designed to test the hypothesis that high grade gold zones correlating to plunge lines within both limb and hinge zones and are extendable both at depth and along strike. Gold-bearing quartz vein swarms appear to be correlated with high-deformation areas and hinge/limb areas of locally folded strata. The orientation [azimuth] of the drilling was intended to delineate potential continuous 'mineral-shoots' within the mineralized zones.

The cross-section in Figure 2 (Section line A to A' on Figure 1) shows the location of FG-20-376, 185 m up-dip from the 14.3 m of 6.4 g/t gold at 386 m downhole as previously reported by KORE in hole FG-20-377 (see KORE's news release dated November 11, 2020). The 20.9 m of 2.9 g/t gold at 239.4 m, including 12.4 m of 4.3 g/t gold at 239.4 m downhole in FG-20-367 demonstrates continuity of gold mineralization for 330m along the Lower Zone down-dip from historical drilling.

The Figure 3 (cross-section B to B' on Figure 1) shows the location of the 62.3 m of 1.7 g/t gold, including 6.6 m of 9.7 g/t gold in FG-20-378. Results from FG-20-378 improve upon the anomalous gold mineralization encountered in FG-20-373, which was terminated in gold mineralization and highlights the potential of the Upper Zone to contain broad intervals of better than predicted gold mineralization based on past drilling. FG-20-379, drilled along the same section line as FG-20-378, successfully tested both the Upper and Lower Zones down dip of previous drilling. The hole intersected 11.5 m of 2.4 g/t gold, extending Upper Zone gold mineralization a further 160 m down dip. The Lower Zone was successfully tested a further 210 m down dip where FG-20-379 intersected a 50.5 m wide interval of anomalous gold mineralization including 3 m of 5.8 g/t gold.

FG-20-380 (located in Figure 4) is located 300 m southeast of Section B to B' (Figure 3) encountered both Upper and Lower Zone mineralization. The Lower Zone returned a broad interval of anomalous gold mineralization beginning at 346.7 m of 1.1 g/t gold over 49.9 m, including 15.5 m of 1.9 g/t gold 330m down dip of historical drilling.

FG-20-381 (located in Figure 4) is located 100 m southeast of FG-20-280 and was drilled along the fourth section line to test the continuity of gold mineralization down dip of historical drilling. The 24 m of 1.3 g/t gold, including 7 m of 3.1 g/t gold in FG-20-381 successfully extends the Lower Zone for 330 m down dip of historical drilling. Assay results for FG-20-381 along with FG-20-382 and 383 are awaiting metallic screen assay results and will be reported in the coming weeks.

2020 drill holes FG-20-376 to FG-20-386 are drilled across four complete cross sections over a strike of ~650 m designed to cross both upper and lower zones to allow for correlation both down dip and along strike of both the Upper and Lower Zones. Holes FG-20-387 to FG-20-390 test for lateral and down-dip mineralization in areas below sparse historical drilling. Drilling in 2020 tests over 1,780 m of strike length below the limits of historical drilling. Hole location data for drill holes FG-20-376 to FG-20-381 are included at the end of this news release.

To date, the results from the 2020 drilling program are very encouraging to Karus Gold. Early results indicate that the Company is finding further, high grade mineralized zones well outside of historical drilling, providing greater confidence in the structural interpretation and geologic model of the FG Gold deposit.

Table of drill results

Drill Hole Zone From To Length1,2 Gold Grade3



(m) (m) () (g/t) FG-20-376 Lower 239.4 287.3 47.9 1.6 incl.

239.4 260.3 20.9 2.9 incl.

239.4 251.8 12.4 4.3 FG-20-378 Upper 174.1 177.0 2.9 7.7 and Upper 195.9 258.3 62.3 1.7 incl.

195.9 202.5 6.6 9.7 incl.

214.0 224.6 10.6 1.8



236.4 250.3 13.9 1.0 FG-20-379 Upper 286.0 297.5 11.5 2.4 and Lower 430.1 480.5 50.5 0.8 inc

432.0 449.0 17.0 1.7 inc

445.0 448.0 3.0 5.8 FG-20-380 Lower 346.7 396.5 49.9 1.1 inc

349.5 378.5 29.0 1.5 inc

363.0 378.5 15.5 1.9 FG-20-3814 Upper 272.5 287.1 14.6 0.6

Lower 333.0 357.0 24.0 1.1 inc

344.0 351.0 7.0 3.1

1. Karus Gold has not been able to determine true width yet due to complexity of the vein structures within the mineralized zones. The 2020 drill program was designed to better understand the geometry and how the mineralized zones are related. The orientation of individual quartz veins within the mineralized zones are quite variable. Reported widths are drill indicated core length and not true width, for the reasons above. Average grades are calculated with un-capped gold assays, as insufficient drilling has been completed to determine capping levels for higher grade gold intercepts.

2. Drilling data on the Lower Zone is currently limited and the true thickness and orientation of the zone is not firmly known. However, based on current data, it is estimated that intercept represents ~50%-65% of the true thickness of the zone.

3. Composites are calculated using a 0.3 g/t Au cutoff, incorporating no more than 7m downhole dilution. Higher grade composite sections are calculated using a 1 g/t and 3g/t cutoff incorporating no more than 5 m downhole dilution. Where screen metallic data is present, it is used preferentially for composites over Fire Assay data as it is more representative of the true sample value due to the increased sample volume processed and the multiple gold size fractions analyzed.

4. Pending screen analysis.

Details of Metallic Screen Assaying

Metallic screen assays are often used in exploration when coarse or visible gold is present in the core as is the case at the FG Gold Project. Traditionally, fire assays are undertaken on 30-50 grams of pulverised sample. The metallic screen fire assay uses a larger sample (1 kilogram in Karus Gold's case), with screening (to -106 micron) to separate coarse gold particles from fine material. After screening, two samples of the fine fraction are analyzed using the traditional fire assay method. The fine fraction is expected to be reasonably homogenous. The entire coarse fraction is assayed to determine the contribution of the coarse gold. This method helps reduce the erratic assay results often seen in the higher-grade zones found in "nuggety" gold deposits such as the FG Gold Project. All assays are performed at accredited independent commercial assay labs.

Regional Geology

The FG Gold property straddles the boundary between the Omineca and Intermontane tectonics belts of the Canadian Cordillera. The eastward emplacement of the Intermontane Belt onto the Omineca Belt along the Eureka Thrust Fault caused widespread regional metamorphism and structural deformation of both Belts. The regional scale, northwest trending, shallowly plunging, Eureka Syncline is the dominant resulting structure in the project area. Rocks in the core of the Eureka Syncline are comprised of basalt, augite porphyry flows, tuffs and volcanic breccias metamorphosed to a low grade; they are structurally emplaced onto metavolcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. The Quesnel Terrane is recognized for its prevalence of copper, gold and molybdenum mines and showings such as those at Highland Valley, Boss Mountain, QR and Mount Polley.

Property Geology

The FG Gold property is centrally located over the Eureka Syncline, strategically encompassing two limbs and the hinge zone of a gold-bearing meta-sedimentary rock unit of the Quesnel Terrane. The gold-bearing rock, a 'knotted' phyllite, is the host rock for gold mineralization over the 3 km strike length of the Resource Area (see Figure 1). Surface mapping and geophysical inversion of airborne electromagnetic (EM) data suggests the knotted phyllite has a strike length of over 20 km with potentially thickened regions occurring in the Eureka Syncline hinge zone (Kusk Zone Target) (see Figure 1).

Gold mineralization occurs in and is associated with development of quartz - Fe carbonate - muscovite - pyrite vein stockwork. The stockwork is best developed in the knotted phyllite unit. Stockwork zones locally concentrate in zones greater than 10 m wide and are dominantly stratabound. Fe-carbonate alteration and carbonate porphyroblasts development within the knotted phyllite unit is observed to extend well outside immediate areas of veining.

About the FG Gold Project

The FG Gold project consists of 35 claims, totaling 13,008 hectares, in the eastern Cariboo region of central British Columbia, approximately 100 km east of Williams Lake. The project is at low elevation and accessible by forestry roads. FG Gold hosts an orogenic gold deposit on the northeast limb of the Eureka syncline. The southwest limb and hinge zone are underexplored. The Project also hosts copper-gold porphyry mineralization at the Nova Zone, discovered in 2018. Figure 4 highlights the 20 km trend of host rock expression at surface.

The 20 km trend is defined by gold in soils and geophysics that traces the mineralized rock group around the regional syncline. The Project has only been shallowly drilled where the mineralized rock group comes to surface. Past drilling averages only 93 m deep into a steeply plunging sedimentary host rock. Mineralization is open at depth and along almost the entire trend. Figure 5 is a regional view to the northwest of the host rock potential of the Eureka syncline and that extends through Eureka Ridge and highlighting the tens of kilometers of exploration potential relative to the area of historical drilling.

FG Gold is part of Karus Gold's 1,000 km2 South Cariboo Gold District which hosts 110 km of the Eureka thrust structural trend ("Trend") that drives gold mineralization in the District. The Trend is highly prospective for orogenic gold deposits, some of largest in the world, and includes the Company's Gold Creek Project. The Cariboo region is accessible with local power, well developed road network and skilled local labour from multiple current and past operating mines.

The previous drilling targeted stratigraphic controls on mineralization and did not penetrate into the bulk of the host-rock structure. Drilling was largely done with reverse circulation ("RC") drilling and narrow core to generate shallow bulk-disseminated gold intercept models. Within the current resource there appears to be mineralized corridors or chutes that are open at depth in the host rock.

More information on the NI 43-101 technical report dated December 16, 2020 "Technical Report on the South Cariboo Gold Property" filed under Karus Gold's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Karus Gold's website at www.karusgold.com.

About Karus Gold

Karus Gold is 100% owner of the 1,000 km2 South Caribou Gold Project that includes the drill-stage FG Gold and Gold Creek projects in British Columbia. Karus Gold is supported by strategic investors Eric Sprott; and insiders, together with the management and Board, own approximately 59% of the basic shares outstanding.

Further information on Karus Gold and its assets can be found on the Company's updated website at www.karusgold.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting us as info@karusgold.com or by telephone at (888) 455-7620.

On behalf of Karus Gold

"Andrew Kaip"

Chief Executive Officer

(647) 515-7858

Investor Relations

Nima Shafigh - Kin Communications

(604) 684-6730

KAR@kincommunications.com

QA/QC and Qualified Person

Once the drill core was received from the drill site, individual samples were determined, logged for geological attributes, sawn in half, labelled, and bagged for assay submittal. The remaining drill core was then stored at a secure site in Horsefly, BC. The Company inserted quality control samples at regular intervals within the sample stream which included blanks, preparation duplicates, and standard reference materials with all sample shipments intended to monitor laboratory performance. Sample shipment was conducted under a chain of custody procedure.

Drill core samples were submitted to Bureau Veritas' analytical facility in Vancouver, BC for preparation and analysis. Sample preparation included drying and weighing the samples, crushing the entire sample, and pulverizing 250 grams. Analysis for gold was by method FA450: 50g fire assay fusion with atomic absorption (AAS) finish with a lower limit of 0.005 ppm and upper limit of 10 ppm. Gold assays greater than 10ppm are automatically analysed by method FA550: 50g fire assay fusion with a gravimetric fusion. Metallic screen techniques were employed to assay gold mineralized zones thought to contain coarse gold. Approximately 1000 grams of coarse reject material are pulverized and screened. Two splits of the fine fraction are assayed, as well as all material that does not pass through the screen (the coarse fraction). The final gold assay reported is a weighted average of the coarse and fine fractions.

Bureau Veritas is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard for gold assays, and all analytical methods include quality control materials at set frequencies with established data acceptance criteria. Parameters for Bureau Veritas' internal and Karus Gold's external blind quality control samples were acceptable for the analyses returned.

Technical information with respect to the Project contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael J. Tucker, P.Geo., who is Karus Gold's VP Exploration and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the technical matters of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects", "suggests" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information.

Such factors include, among others: risks related to exploration and development activities at the Company's projects, and factors relating to whether or not mineralization extraction will be commercially viable; risks related to mining operations and the hazards and risks normally encountered in the exploration, development and production of minerals, such as unusual and unexpected geological formations, rock falls, seismic activity, flooding and other conditions involved in the extraction and removal of materials; uncertainties regarding regulatory matters, including obtaining permits and complying with laws and regulations governing exploration, development, production, taxes, labour standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, site safety and other matters, and the potential for existing laws and regulations to be amended or more stringently implemented by the relevant authorities; uncertainties regarding estimating mineral resources, which estimates may require revision (either up or down) based on actual production experience; risks relating to fluctuating metals prices and the ability to operate the Company's projects at a profit in the event of declining metals prices and the need to reassess feasibility of a particular project that estimated resources will be recovered or that they will be recovered at the rates estimated; risks related to title to the Company's properties, including the risk that the Company's title may be challenged or impugned by third parties; the ability of the Company to access necessary resources, including mining equipment and crews, on a timely basis and at reasonable cost; competition within the mining industry for the discovery and acquisition of properties from other mining companies, many of which have greater financial, technical and other resources than the Company, for, among other things, the acquisition of mineral claims, leases and other mineral interests as well as for the recruitment and retention of qualified employees and other personnel; access to suitable infrastructure, such as roads, energy and water supplies in the vicinity of the Company's properties; and risks related to the stage of the Company's development, including risks relating to limited financial resources, limited availability of additional financing and potential dilution to existing shareholders; reliance on its management and key personnel; inability to obtain adequate or any insurance; exposure to litigation or similar claims; currently unprofitable operations; risks regarding the ability of the Company and its management to manage growth; and potential conflicts of interest.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resource will be converted into mineral reserve. It is uncertain if further exploration will allow improving the classification of the Indicated or Inferred mineral resource. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.





Figure 1. Location of Diamond Drill Holes and Section Lines

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7720/81349_e4ad52fd346b3a06_001full.jpg





Figure 2. Cross Section A to A' showing FG-20-376 (View to Northwest)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7720/81349_e4ad52fd346b3a06_002full.jpg





Figure 3. Cross Section B to B' showing FG-20-378 and 379 (View to Northwest)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7720/81349_e4ad52fd346b3a06_003full.jpg





Figure 4. Long Section of FG Gold Main Zone Showing Lower Zone Intersections and Visible Gold (View to Northwest)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7720/81349_e4ad52fd346b3a06_004full.jpg





Figure 5. View to the Northwest of the Eureka Syncline showing the Property-scale Potential to Expand Gold Mineralization Potential at FG Gold

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7720/81349_e4ad52fd346b3a06_005full.jpg

Table of Drill Hole Collar Locations

Drill Hole Length Azimuth Dip Easting Northing Elevation

(m)







(m) FG-20-376 361.5 225 -75 665103 5797713 1563 FG-20-377 439.5 229 -55 665102 5797706 1561 FG-20-378 331.5 220 -80 665212 5797567 1546 FG-20-379 507 225 -55 665212 5797567 1546 FG-20-380 503 227 -55 665437 5797279 1555 FG-20-381 406.5 245 -55 665497 5797234 1561

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81349
Lucknow, April 22 : CPI national secretary Atul Anjaan has said that the panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh would prove be a super spreader of Covid virus.

"All safety protocols and Covid guidelines have been thrown aside in these elections and the state administration is solely responsible for the chaos prevailing in Uttar Pradesh during the Covid times," he said while talking to IANS.

He slammed the state government for deploying the entire state machinery in the panchayat elections.

Anjaan said the state government was unprepared despite warnings from the ICMR and IMA about the severity of the second wave.

"Had the state government retained the infrastructure built during the first wave, the situation would have been not so grim today. People are dying due to shortage of ventilators and oxygen and are being forced to buy oxygen and medicines in black market," he stated.

The CPI secretary said even UP cabinet minister Brajesh Pathak had expressed anguish over the prevailing situation in the state. He had written to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, highlighting the case of historian Yogesh Praveen, who died due to delay in getting an ambulance for the hospital.

He also cited the example of a former judge who could not arrange medical care for his wife despite desperate phone calls to the CMO office and other authorities in Lucknow. His wife later died due to lack of treatment and nobody came forward to help him out, Anjaan said.

The CPI leader said that even the president of the UP IAS officers' association, Deepak Trivedi, had a tough time in getting an ambulance and bed in SGPGI which showcased the state of affairs in the state.
If technological breakthroughs can be made in the next 65 years at a speed comparable to that of the past 65 years, future technological development will be even faster, famed American cryptographer and scholar Whitfield Diffie said during a session on artificial intelligence (AI) at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 on April 19.



The term "artificial intelligence" was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy, a researcher who later went on to establish the AI labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Sixty-five years have passed and now I believe we will face both opportunities and challenges in the coming five to 10 years, said Max Yuan, Chairman of Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology Co. Ltd., at the session, adding that the technological dividends of the past 65 years will be fully released for the AI implementation across various industries, including education and healthcare, so as to promote their development.

"However, all of our current technology systems and frameworks have not actually broken through the barriers of those systems formed in the past 60 years," Yuan said. He believes that the technological bottleneck is not an issue faced by just one or two countries, but rather one that finds its roots in the entire AI system and at the core of AI technology development.

Yuan continued that today's AI is not a separate discipline or industry and requires many basic disciplines for support. Only when those disciplines and basic industries have developed to a certain stage, can AI lose the shackles of the past. "Technology was regarded as a tool during the first and second technological revolutions, but nowadays people's expectations of AI far exceed the scope of a mere tool. That is a concern," he said.

Diffie pointed out that supervision problems, too, are worth noting. The high costs and complications of AI can make supervision extremely difficult.

It is key for companies to notify users on is the purpose of data collection in advance; otherwise consumer trust will be worn out, said Leif Johansson, Chairman of the Board of London-based multinational biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and a BFA board member.

How can the public gain a better understanding of AI? Du Lan, Senior Vice President of iFLYTEK Co. Ltd., said that this should become a part of overall education. Du suggested that AI should be included as a universal course from elementary school, into middle school, all the way to university. Wang Haifeng, CTO of Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., believed that the best way to understand AI is through actual products. Forming habits to use products such as intelligent navigation systems and smart speakers can exert a subtle yet transformative influence. Wang also said the fostering of AI talent, too, should feature high on the agenda.

Since the issuance of 5G licenses in June 2019, many cities across China have accelerated their construction and application of 5G facilities and set the goals for a 5G rollout. By the end of 2020, China had achieved full 5G coverage in all cities above prefecture level. This year, the country will continue to greatly expand its 5G coverage across counties and towns.

By late February this year, China had nearly 800,000 5G base stations, accounting for 70 percent of the world's total, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The ministry also estimated 5G mobile phone shipments in China would account for 80 percent of the total shipments in the second half of this year.

Yang Jie, Chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest telecom operator in terms of subscribers, describes 5G as omnipotent. During a session on the future of 5G at the BFA Annual Conference 2021 on April 19, Yang said 5G could be applied "from Heaven to Earth." For example, the 5G base station built at an altitude of 6,500 meters at the advanced base camp of Mount Qomolangma. This particular station ensured the smooth operating of China's latest expedition to re-measure the height of the mountain in 2020. Moreover, netizens could enjoy a 24/7 live stream starring the beauty of Qomolangma from the highest terrestrial 5G signal station in the world through a 4K HD live broadcast with a 360-degree VR rotating view.

Yang also introduced a joint collaboration between China Mobile, Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. in Shanxi Province and other tech companies. As underground operations used to be very dangerous at Yangquan, one of the largest anthracite production bases in China, 14 5G base stations were installed at some 500 meters below sea level. This has further realized the monitoring of all underground workings and the real-time monitoring of harmful gases, ensuring efficient and safe proceedings.

"The input-output ratio remains very high. We have reduced the number of people by 20 for one borehole operation. This can help save tens of millions of RMB in total investment every year," Yang said.
(Newser)  A Syrian anti-aircraft missile landed in southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria. It marked one of the most serious incidents of violence between Israel and Syria in years, the AP reports. However, Israeli media later described the Syrian missile as an "errant" projectile, not a deliberate attack deep inside Israel. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group based in Britain that tracks Syrias civil war, said the Israeli strikes hit an air defense base belonging to the Syrian military and destroyed air defense batteries in the area. It said the Syrian military fired surface-to-air missiles in response.

story continues below

Syria's state news agency SANA said the exchange began with an Israeli air strike on Dumeir, a suburb of the capital of Damascus, but it made no mention of an anti-aircraft missile landing deep inside Israel. The Israeli military described the projectile that landed near the nuclear site as a surface-to-air missile, which is usually used for air defense against warplanes or other missiles. That could suggest the Syrian missile had targeted Israeli warplanes but missed and flew off errantly. However, Dimona, the Negev desert town where Israel's nuclear reactor is located, is some 185 miles south of Damascus, a long range for an errantly fired surface-to-air missile. An Israeli official said early Thursday that the missile may have been an attempt to hit an aircraft striking targets in the Golan Heights, the Washington Post reports.

(Read more Israel stories.)
Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari has written to US President Joe Biden expressing concern over increase in against Sikhs in America, saying last week's Indianapolis shooting has reverberated throughout the community both in India and the diaspora.

Eight people, including four members of the Sikh community, three of whom were women, were killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx location in Indianapolis.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the dastardly 9/11 attacks, it is regrettable but needs to be flagged that the aftermath of that catastrophe saw an increase in targeting the Sikh community, Tewari said in a letter to Biden that was delivered to the White House on Wednesday.

The Congress leader expressed "deepest condolences" to the aggrieved families of the horrific and dastardly tragedy at Indianapolis.

I represent the constituency of Sri Anandpur Sahib in the Indian Parliament. This constituency is located in the state of Punjab situated in the North West of India. Punjab is the natural and spiritual home of millions of Sikhs who live across the world, he said.

This unfortunate outrage in Indianapolis has reverberated throughout the community both in India as well the diaspora. This tragedy is personal for me as it was in Sri Anandpur Sahib that the Sikh faith was consecrated on the 13th of April 1699, wrote the Congress leader.

Tewari highlighted the August 2012 attack on a Sikh temple at Oak Creek in Wisconsin which claimed seven lives.

Members of the Sikh faith once again became victims of a perverse mindset, he said.

May I on behalf of the over two million people that I represent and the state that the community calls it's organic home, appeal to your good self to kindly advise all US state governors and mayors to try and ensure that members of the Sikh faith are protected from such gut wrenching and absolutely senseless attacks, Tewari wrote.

Noting that the Sikh community is very altruistic, Tewari said: Most recently this spirit of selflessness was evidenced once again when the Sikh community of New York City served meals to health care workers, COVID affected patients as the city was ravaged and unable to cope with rising cases of COVID-19, he said.

It is integral to the Sikh ethos to serve all those who need to be served de-prioritising one's own needs for the greater good of society, the Congress leader wrote.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Disinfecting wipes sold by H-E-B are creating quite the mess.

Already mired in litigation over BioErase antimicrobial surface wipes distributed by a Beaumont partnership, H-E-B disclosed the Environmental Protection Agency instructed the grocery chain to remove the wipes from store shelves within 30 days.

The EPA requires cleaning products that make pesticidal or disinfection claims on their labeling, such as controlling bacteria or viruses, must be registered with the federal agency.

BioErase products state theyre exempt from EPA registration because theyre classified as minimal risk pesticides under federal law due to their all-natural ingredients. H-E-B, however, says it learned from the EPA that the claim is false, so the wipes cant be legally sold.

On ExpressNews.com: H-E-B, Beaumont partnership wrangle over disinfecting wipes

The EPA has opened an investigation into Beaumont-based Maverick International Ltd. in connection with the distribution of a possibly unregistered pesticide, agency spokesman Joseph Hubbard said in an email Wednesday.

H-E-B accuses Maverick of attempting to hide the registration requirement from the San Antonio chain in order to sell BioErase.

H-E-B says in an amended lawsuit filed this month in state District Court in San Antonio that its now stuck with worthless BioErase inventory.

Due to Mavericks false and fraudulent claims regarding BioErases alleged EPA exemption, H-E-B will have to incur additional losses in removing the product from its shelves and storing and/or disposing it, the grocer says.

H-E-B has recalled and assembled thousands of units of BioErase product in its warehouse facilities in Bexar County, it adds.

Its the latest twist in an escalating legal spat, which started last month when H-E-B sued Maverick for allegedly failing to deliver the quantities of BioErase the grocer ordered and for missing deadlines.

The grocer wanted the wipes because of increasing demand for surface cleaning products amid the coronavirus pandemic.

H-E-B says it agreed to buy almost 599,000 BioErase canisters, while Maverick alleges the grocer committed to buy 500,000 canisters a month over a 12-month period  for a total of 6 million units.

Maverick has sued H-E-B in state District Court in Jefferson County, alleging statements the grocer made led Maverick to delay filing its suit first. Maverick wants all of the litigation to unfold on its home turf rather than in San Antonio.

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Maverick acquired millions of canisters of dry wipes and tens of thousands of gallons of disinfecting liquid to activate the wipes based on an agreement it says it reached with H-E-B. Maverick says H-E-B slowed the pace of delivery of the canisters and delayed the issuance of purchase orders.

Besides alleging H-E-B is liable for 6 million canisters, Maverick is suing H-E-B for business disparagement and defamation over comments to the Express-News about the grocers original lawsuit.

Maverick consistently failed to honor its commitments in a timely manner, H-E-B spokesman Valentino Lucio said in an email last month. This left H-E-B without the products to fulfill customer needs and resulted in lost sales.

Maverick alleges H-E-B chose to leak or publicize the matter to the Express-News. The newspapers article on the dispute also appeared on the website of the Beaumont Enterprise, a sister publication.

Court documents in H-E-Bs case are accessible at the Bexar County clerks office.

Both H-E-B and Maverick are suing each other for more than $1 million in damages.

H-E-B originally sued for breach of the purchase orders. It also sought a court judgment declaring that it had fulfilled its obligations and did not commit to purchasing 6 million. H-E-B now is making more claims, including for fraud and negligent misrepresentation. It wants the court to rescind all agreements with Maverick.

Mavericks failure to deliver the BioErase wipes in a timely fashion led to a glut of inventory as demand tapered off, H-E-B says. It resorted to marking down the canisters to $7.99 from $9.98 at one store last month. There also were coupons offering an additional $2.50 off.

Lucio, the H-E-B spokesman, declined to comment Tuesday. Mavericks lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.

pdanner@express-news.net
Northern Nigerias premier university, Ahmadu Bello University, located in Zaria, Kaduna State, produced more members of the current set of Nigerian state governors than any other tertiary institution in the country, a PREMIUM TIMES review of official documents shows.

An extensive review of their official resumes also shows that half of the 36 state governors obtained their first degrees from three universities in the country while only two of the governors got theirs abroad.

Most-attended universities

ABU

Seven of the governors got their first degrees or a masters from ABU, named after the only premier of the defunct Northern Region whose administration established the university in the First Republic.

The alumni governors of the university include Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Darius Ishaku of Taraba State and Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Three of the seven governors obtained a bachelors degree in accountancy from the university. But Messrs El-Rufai and Ishaku obtained their bachelors and masters degrees from the university. Mr Ishaku took two masters degrees in architecture and urban and regional planning, while Mr El-Rufai received a masters in business administration in 1984.

Mr Bello, who started his tertiary education at Kaduna State Polytechnic, obtained a Masters in Business Administration from ABU in 2002.

The 58 year-old institution, formerly named the University of Northern Nigeria, covers a land area of 7,000 hectares and encompasses 106 departments, making it one of the largest universities in sub-Saharan Africa.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that about one-third of Nigerias current ministers also attended ABU.

UNILAG

The University of Lagos (UNILAG), which calls itself Nigerias first choice university, is the second most attended university among the governors.

This newspaper had also reported that UNILAG produced the second highest number of the nations current ministers. This means that ABU and UNILAG have the highest number of alumni among incumbent ministers and governors.

Six of the serving governors obtained their first degrees from UNILAG. Two of the state executives returned for their masters degree in the university.

The alumni include Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.

UNIMAID

The University of Maiduguri produced five of the current state governors who at least obtained a bachelors degree from the university.

While the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, enrolled in the school for postgraduate studies, four of his counterparts had their first degrees at the university.

Abia State Governor Chikezie Ikpeazu and Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State had their bachelors and masters degrees from UNIMAID.

UI and others

Closely following the three is the University of Ibadan which has four alumni among the governors.

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Obafemi Awolowo University graduated three governors while the University of Jos and Usmanu Danfodiyo University each graduated two of the governors.

The University of Nigeria, the University of Port Harcourt, Bayero University Kano, Enugu State University, Benue State University, Rivers State University and Federal University of Technology, Owerri, each has one governor on their roll of alumni.

Foreign trained

While 10 of the governors bagged various degrees from foreign institutions, only the governor of Yobe State, Mai-Mala Buni, and his counterpart in Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, had their formative higher educational degrees from institutions outside Nigeria.

After taking first and second degrees in Nigeria, Mr El-Rufai received a bachelor of law degree from the University of London in 2008. He later bagged a masters degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. The governor of Lagos state also earned a similar degree from the same university.

Mr Fayemi completed his bachelors and masters degree in Nigeria before undergoing a doctorate programme in War Studies from Kings College, London, specialising in civil-military relations.

Likewise, Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, took a degree from Columbia University and Pace University in New York.

The governors of Imo and Ogun also respectively earned their masters degrees at Washington University and Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

Mr Buni and his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, had masters degrees in Leeds Beckett University and Commonwealth University Belize in the United Kingdom, in that order.

Other institutions

Mr Zulum, a professor, began his academic sojourn at Ramat Polytechnic in Borno State and later attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained a masters degree in agricultural engineering.

The governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, attended the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Badagry, in Lagos while the governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, had his first degree from the Plateau State Polytechnic and later proceeded to Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA.

Meanwhile, Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, got his first qualification at Yaba College of Technology before he proceeded to Thames Valley University in the UK for a second degree.

Viable alternatives for funding

Despite training many members of the Nigerian political class, public institutions in the country still have multifaceted problems, with arguably the most serious being poor funding. The gross under funding could be linked to undue reliance on the government for funds which has resulted in inadequacy of infrastructure and facilities for teaching and research.

This year, budgetary allocation by the federal government to education is the lowest in 10 years, when measured as a percentage of the total spending plan. This means the federal government will again fall below the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation.

The global body proposed that 15 per cent to 20 per cent of annual budgets be earmarked for education to enable nations cater for their rising education demands.

Some of the alternative strategies for improving Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of universities in Nigeria include: establishment of entrepreneurship training centres in the universities, alumni contributions, partnership programmes and collaboration with other institutions.
MONTREAL, April 22, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank of Canada (the "Bank") today released its 2020 Report on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Advances and revealed some measures it is adopting to fight climate change. The report is intended for all Bank stakeholders. It outlines the Bank's commitments and achievements in sustainable development as well as its key performance indicators. It is available in the Social Responsibility section of nbc.ca.

Net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with interim targets by 2050

The Bank today announced a target to achieve net-zero GHG emissions for its operating and financing activities by 2050. Numerous uncertainties persist as to the best way to achieve this objective, given ongoing methodological developments across the country and around the world. To address these uncertainties and ensure continued progress, the Bank will set interim reduction targets on the way to the 2050 goal and maintain constructive dialogue on these issues with its clients and suppliers.

"Our commitment to major environmental, social and governance issues has remained strong in 2020. Our approach helps communities prosper and promotes our shared values by putting people first," said Louis Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Canada. "Over the coming years, we will continue to improve our practices and support our clients and suppliers in their climate transition, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Our interim targets will drive the process forward and help ensure this key goal is reached for the benefit of our planet."

Interim target for reducing GHG emissions from operations under our control: reduction of 25% by the end of 2025, compared to 2019 levels

On September 25, 2020, the Bank announced an interim target for reducing GHG emissions from the operations of its business segments and subsidiaries. This science-based target aims to reduce GHG emissions by 25% by the end of 2025, compared to 2019 levels. This will help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement.

The Bank has one of the lowest carbon footprints per dollar of revenue, per employee and per square metre in North America. This is largely due to its significant use of hydroelectricity and rigorous management of the office space required for its activities. The Bank will continue to focus on energy efficiency. One promising initiative involves a system that manages energy use in many of its branches remotely. LEED assessment system criteria are applied to many of the Bank's existing and planned buildings. The new head office currently under construction is designed to meet LEED Gold v4 criteria.

To meet the goal set for 2025, the Bank plans to minimize business travel and adopt a hybrid model that includes remote work, among other things.

In 2020, the Bank reduced the carbon footprint of its activities by 13% compared to 2019. This reduction was mainly due to the decrease in business travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bank achieved its 2020 carbon neutrality goals by purchasing Verified Carbon Units from Will Solutions. This B Corp-certified company adheres to the principles of a sharing economy to monetize the climate-related actions of Quebec SMEs to benefit community projects. The Bank has also purchased Verified Carbon Units from the Nature Conservancy of Canada as part of the Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project, one of the largest carbon projects in North America. The Bank has set the same carbon neutrality goals for 2021. Purchasing Verified Carbon Units is in line with the Bank's commitment to protect biodiversity and natural environments.

The 2021 report on advances related to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) will be published soon. It will provide more detailed information on the above initiatives.

The Bank joins the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

The Bank has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, a global partnership of financial institutions that work together to develop an approach to assess and disclose the GHG emissions associated with their loans and investments.

The Bank already contributes to numerous international initiatives related to climate, including the CDP, the TCFD and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, which the Bank became a founding signatory in 2019.

Commitment to protect the Arctic and position on coal

The Arctic is likely to become more attractive to investors over the coming decades. Given the fragility of this environment, the Bank has made an official commitment in line with its current practice not to offer or grant new services related to oil and gas exploration, exploitation or production in the Arctic. The Bank has also made an official commitment in line with its current practice not to finance new thermal coal mining and processing activities.



Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements, notably regarding the Bank's ability to meet its target of net-zero GHG emissions for its operating and financing activities by 2050. These statements are inherently subject to significant risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond the control of the Bank and may require the Bank to adapt its initiatives and activities or adjust its targets. Except as required by law, the Bank does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, by it or on its behalf. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented for the purpose of interpreting the information contained herein and may not be appropriate for other purposes.



About National Bank of Canada

With $344 billion in assets as at January 31, 2021, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading integrated financial groups. It has more than 26,000 employees in knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity. Its securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's activities at nbc.ca or via social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE National Bank of Canada

For further information: Claude Breton, Vice-President - Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, National Bank of Canada, Tel: 514-394-8644, [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.nbc.ca


[April 22, 2021] Eon Announces Appointment of First Chief Medical Officer

DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Denver-based healthtech leader Eon today announced that Dr. Scott Skibo has joined the company as Chief Medical Officer to further advance its mission to make patients healthier and healthcare affordable. Dr. Skibo completed his pulmonary and critical care fellowship at Yale University in 2004. In 2012 at Gundersen Health, Western Campus for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, he co-implemented one of the first system-wide incidental pulmonary nodule programs in the country. From there, he moved to Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde, NC, where he built and led a lung cancer program that gained national recognition as a Lung Cancer Center of Excellence. Dr. Skibo and Haywood were an early adopter of Eon EPM solutions for lung cancer screening and incidental pulmonary nodule management, and understand the value Eon brings to an early detection lung cancer program. The success of Eon at Haywood led parent company LifePoint Health to expand Eon to all 88 hospitals. Dr. Skibo is leading the Clinical Transformation team, a new division within Eon, that is largely focused on patient follow-up exam adherence and will be instrumental in developing new care pathways that are integrated into Eon's EPM platform. Standardized pathways and a targeted focus on patient return will allow for optimal management of patients across multiple health systems and patient cohorts. Eon's Centralized Management solution is the first of its kind to merge technology and clinicians that deliver improved patient outcomes to its hospital partners.



Dr. Skibo says, "I'm very excited to join Eon as Chief Medical Officer, leading the Clinical Transformation team and collaborating directly with the Executive Leadership team. As a former customer, I know first-hand how Eon EPM helps programs identify patients early who are at risk for lung cancer, the most powerful thing we can do as professionals. As Eon implements EPM technology for multiple additional disease states, I'm looking forward to helping guide our efforts towards better care pathways and improved clinical outcomes at a macro level across the U.S." "Dr. Skibo is an accomplished healthcare expert with an unwavering commitment to patient care, who will raise the Eon bar even higher," says Christine Spraker, Co-CEO of Eon. "As our first Chief Medical Officer, his insight into our solutions and how they can meet the needs of different programs at facilities nationwide is priceless. It's quite obvious in everything he does that he shares the same passion as we doimproving patient care."

Eon's dedication and drive are fueled by the positive outcomes of early identification and intervention of catastrophic disease. The physician-founded company is contracted in 260+ facilities across the U.S. with its disease-defying technology. Its EPM Solution is an intuitive cloud-based platform, developed by a team of physicians, clinicians, and data scientists to decrease administrative headaches, ensure patient capture, and improve outcomes. Eon offers EPM solutions for multiple disease states, including lung, thyroid, pancreas, aneurysms, adrenal, renal and liver. About Eon

Eon is a Denver-based healthtech company dedicated to revolutionizing the way healthcare data is gathered, curated, and shared among industry professionals. We are on a mission to ensure the right data reaches the right people at the right time to identify disease early and stop it in its tracks. We believe together we can defy disease. For more information, please contact Fahad Siraj at 416-518-4936 or 308158@email4pr.com and follow Eon on LinkedIn and Twitter . View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eon-announces-appointment-of-first-chief-medical-officer-301274711.html SOURCE Eon

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
It was just about the worst kept secret on the Lower East Side. Now city finance department records confirm Gary Barnett of Extell Development, one of New Yorks biggest developers, is indeed the new owner of the former Pathmark site on Cherry Street. The property, listed as 250 South St., changed hands for about $103,400,000 on March 15. In a separate transaction, Extell paid $46.5 million to acquire Pathmarks long-term lease. So the deal is worth closer to $150 million.

The Pathmark grocery store closed at the end of last year, amid rumors that Extell had made a deal for the site. Current zoning allows for a nearly one-million square foot building on the parcel, which features views of the East River. It also happens to be surrounded by a lot of public and subsidized housing. Barnett, who grew up on the Lower East Side, is known for his over-the-top luxury projects.

In the past, Extell has declined to discuss its plans. Documents filed last week show Pathmark has a first right of refusal on any new grocery store that might be built in the new complex. Many low and middle income residents fear the high-rise project will feature a high-end grocery catering to luxury tenants. The closure of Pathmark has left thousands of locals without a full-service store in the immediate vicinity.

The seller was listed as Cherry Street LLC/Park-It Management. Signing the agreement on behalf of Extell was Marc Kwestel, the companys executive vice president for finance.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m. This afternoon we spoke with Victor Papa, president of the Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, a not-for-profit housing developer and tenant advocacy organization. Two Bridges owns, along with Settlement Housing Fund, a building adjacent to the development site, where the Pathmark pharmacy was formerly located. Papa said his organization intends to reach out to Extell, the new lease-holder of the pharmacy site. Its unknown whether the company intends to find a new tenant or whether it has interest in purchasing the building.

Papa said he is very concerned about the prospect of a big building (it could be 40-50 stories tall) going up on Cherry Street. Neighbors will obviously be unhappy about this type of out of scale project. But there may be little they can do about it. Zoning in this part of the neighborhood permits large-scale construction. Extell will likely be able to circumvent the local community board as well as the City Council.
Photo: The Canadian Press A passenger from Air India flight 187 from New Delhi arrives at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Wednesday April 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

The federal government is suspending incoming passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next month as cases of COVID-19 surge in both countries.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says because there are so many people arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan with COVID-19, all commercial and private passenger flights from both countries will be prohibited as of midnight.

He says cargo flights will still be allowed, particularly to ensure shipments of vaccines and personal protective equipment can continue.

Shipments of vaccine to Canada, however, are suspended by India likely until at least June, as the country battles its biggest surge of COVID-19 yet.

More than 300,000 people were diagnosed in India today, its highest single-day total to date.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says half of the people who are testing positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Canada on an airplane came from India, even though Indian flights accounted for only one-fifth of air traffic.

She says passengers coming from Pakistan are also testing positive at higher rates than average.

Alghabra says there are no flights coming in from Brazil at the moment but Canada won't hesitate to ban further commercial flights if the data supports it.

At least 32 flights from Delhi and two from Pakistan have landed in Canada in the last two weeks carrying dozens of passengers who later tested positive for COVID-19.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :The board of Investment (BOI) on Thursday said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) provide excellent opportunities in various fields for Chinese and Indonesian investors to play their due role in this major economic and industrial project.

The Board of Investment (BOI) presented Investment opportunities in CPEC during a webinar jointly organized by Embassies of Pakistan and China in Jakarta.

Chairman Board of Investment (BOI), Atif Bokhari , Ambassadors of Pakistan and China to Jakarta Xion Qian, Deputy Minister for Coordination and Mining, Chairman KADIN, DG NDRC, Deputy Chairman BKMP, Deputy Director CIECC were part of the webinar, said a press release issued by BOI here.

The event highlighted the achievements of the CPEC as the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and apprised the audience about the project's inclusiveness to third party participation. Addressing the webinar, Minister of State/Chairman BOI, Atif Bokhari appreciated the organizers for holding such a meaningful webinar on CPEC. Atif Bokhari shared that CPEC has entered in its second phase and efforts are now focused on forging Business to Business (B2B) and peer-to-peer(P2P) collaborations in the form of Industrial and socio-economic cooperation.

Briefing about Pakistan's liberal investment regime, Chairman stated that Pakistan allows 100 percent repatriation of profits, dividends and capital.

In addition, Pakistan is actively pursuing development of SEZs and is offering attractive fiscal incentives including 10-year tax holiday on income and custom duty exemption on import of capital goods to both developers and enterprises. He further stated that the Government has launched conducive policies for Electric Vehicle, mobile manufacturing, Construction sectors in a bid to enhance investment profile of Pakistan.

He concluded by encouraging Indonesian and Chinese investors to be part of the shared future of Industrialization and economic prosperity. Pakistan Ambassador to Jakarta Muhammad Hassan underscored the importance of the webinar as a meaningful platform that offers an opportunity to all sides to understand and explore potential avenues.

 Ambassador of China Xion Qian remarked that CPEC is a landmark project and it offers valuable opportunity to the three countries to explore trilateral cooperation and untapped business opportunities.

The participants identified that Pakistan and Indonesia can explore collaboration in the field of textile, food processing, agricultural products, infrastructural development, chemical and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, gemstones, iron and steel to name a few, as Indonesian companies have vast experience and expertise in these areas.

The Indonesian speakers stated that their companies can help Pakistan in establishing downstream industry and also assist with value added products. Federal secretary BOI Ms. Fareena Mazhar applauded the efforts of the organizers for arranging the webinar.

She stated that Pakistan is taking several reform initiatives to streamline our business processes and offer a conducive business environment to both local and foreign investors.

Ms. Fareena shared that Pakistan would welcome Indonesian investment in sectors such as food and agriculture, value added textile, tourism, construction and also encourage investors to explore the Electric Vehicle sector as Pakistan offers tremendous scope for setting EV manufacturing units. A detailed presentation on CPEC was delivered by Project Director PMU, Asim Ayub.

He briefed the audience about Industrial Cooperation under CPEC, various incentives available to investors under SEZ act and Pakistan also offers sole enterprise option.

He emphasized that Pakistan is fully focused towards Industrial transformation and investors should take benefit of the lucrative incentives.

The webinar offered an opportunity to jointly explore the promising prospects of CPEC and to devise a way forward to bolster regional economic cooperation.

The participants vowed to further advance Industrial cooperation between Pakistan, China and Indonesia.


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Authorities in Ohio have identified the Columbus police officer who fatally shot Black teenager MaKhia Bryant on Tuesday  with a city official calling the incident a horrendous tragedy but urging the public to be patient as the investigation continues.

Officer Nicholas Reardon, one of several cops who responded to the chaotic scene, was identified Wednesday as the one who killed the armed 16-year-old girl. He has been a Columbus police officer since December 2019 and is being placed on administrative leave, officials said at a news conference.

Police also released audio of the two 911 calls about the incident and new bodycam footage from other officers at the scene. In the first call, a woman or girl was heard asking police to come to the house and saying someone was trying to stab people there. Authorities have not confirmed the callers identify, but MaKhias mother told reporters it was her daughter who called asking for help during an attack.

Grandma! Grandma! someone was heard shouting in the background of the call while others screamed.

The videos, which were similar to one released Tuesday night, appeared to show the 16-year-old with a knife in her hand and lunging toward two women in a residential driveway. Shots were heard moments later and MaKhia immediately fell to the ground.

The bodycam footage also showed emergency workers performing CPR on Makhia as she lay on the ground after being shot.

Come on MaKhia, stay with us, an officer repeatedly said.

The shooting, which happened moments before a jury convicted ex-cop Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, sparked outrage across the community as it involved another person of color killed by a police officer. At least 200 protesters gathered outside the citys police headquarters hours later to call for justice and transparency in the case.

Columbus Safety Director Ned Pettus asked that the public not rush to judgment as a fully independent investigation is just beginning.

I understand the outrage and emotion around this incident, he told reporters Wednesday. A teenage girl is dead, and shes dead at the hands of a police officer. Under any circumstances that is a horrendous tragedy, but the video shows that theres more to this.

We have to ask ourselves ... what would have happened if he had taken no action at all? Pettus said of the officer who fired his weapon.

Mayor Andrew Ginther also pleaded for patience and said the whole community has work to do.

We dont yet have all the facts, but we do know that a 16-year-old girl, a child in this community, tragically died last night, he said. Bottom line, did MaKhia Bryant need to die yesterday? How did we get here? This is a failure of our community. Some are guilty, but all of us are responsible.

2021 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This is the latest installment of The Oregonian/OregonLives advice column, Why Tho? by Lizzy Acker. Lizzys advice first appears in our weekly advice newsletter. Want to get it early? Subscribe now.

Dear Lizzy-

I am 64 and my wife of 35 years is 66. We love each other and will be together until the death of one or the other of us.

I am approaching retirement, and I am scared of that. We have so many things we want to do, but I need alone time. With the pandemic, I am working from home, and feel a bit smothered. Im worried that I wont have any time to myself.

When I have tried to discuss this with my wife, she gets defensive and pouty. So mostly I just bite my tongue and just live with it.

Any ideas that I can start now so retirement isnt the time when things blow up?

Needs ME time

Dear ME time,

Sometimes it feels like the pandemic has turned all of our houses into tiny planets and we are astronauts marooned with our immediate families, able to communicate with Earth but still unable to return home.

For people lucky enough to be stranded with family, this confinement means very little alone time, and thats hard because almost everyone needs alone time, except, I have learned, toddlers.

Your wife probably needs it too, though maybe the way she is dealing with her stress over this whole situation is by refusing to be alone and confront the existential terror of living through a global pandemic.

I can see why this might cause you to stress about the entire rest of your lives and I do think its something you can address if it continues, but also? Dont stress too much.

There will come a time when we fix our spaceships and return to Planet Earth. And its coming sooner rather than later. Vaccines are now available to all Oregonians over 16 and by June, many more people will be fully vaccinated.

Right now, your wife is stuck with you, just like you are stuck with her. But soon she wont be.

Encourage her, once it is safe, to engage in the things she loves. You might not need to encourage her! She probably misses her life just like we all do.

If, as time goes on and the constraints of the pandemic are no longer a concern but she is still zipped to your side, consider getting outside of the house, doing something meaningful like volunteering for a cause you care about, or even getting a part-time job so you can take your wife on a post-COVID trip to Spain or Tahiti. She probably wont be pouty or defensive about that kind of me-time.

Congratulations on retirement!

Lizzy

Broken heart

Dear Lizzy,

I met a guy and we kept seeing one another until last year -- he said he would never date me. We retained a very one-sided friendship. During the snowstorm I picked up him and the new girl he was seeing -- I didnt know that I would be taking them both back to his place. Later that night he blocked me from all social media and told me to never talk to him again after I expressed to him why I was upset about picking them up -- he didnt understand why I was upset.

Fast forward a month later and he texts me. The first time he asks to hook up and we dont, the second time he asks and we do. I asked if he was seeing anyone and he said it wasnt any of my business to know. When we had first started seeing one another, he said we were exclusive and then months later said he had been seeing other people and I had not. This is a pattern and he lies. I dont know if the girl I met is still seeing him, but should I reach out and let her know or should I let it go?

Feeling Guilty

Dear Feeling Guilty,

Oh, how I wish I could say, Wow this sounds hard, but I have no experience with this kind of thing. But alas, I have lived many a similar story.

There is barely a corner in San Francisco where I didnt at some point stop to sob, as I was walking around for hours, waiting for someone who was sometimes definitely in another relationship to call me, acknowledge me, realize I was the one he wanted to be with.

The worst part is sometimes he did call.

I know its going to be hard for you to take my advice, but I really hope you do because you can get mired in a situation like this for years and its not good for your self-confidence or your health in general. And I wish I had taken this advice much, much sooner than I did.

You dont deserve to be treated like this.

I know that because no one deserves to be treated like this. Honestly, just thinking about you driving this boy around with another girl in a snowstorm makes me furious. And it has nothing to do with the other girl (or lets be real, girls) he is probably seeing. You cannot help her or them. Instead, you need to focus on yourself.

You deserve respect and love.

Now you need to block him, delete his number, cut off the love, friendship and sex you are giving him. Its going to suck and you might not be able to sleep for several nights or months. You might need to watch every existing episode of Law and Order or every Marvel movie in order. You may need to obsessively exercise and/or eat ice cream and/or play Candy Crush on your phone.

But when you get to the other side of that heartbreak and you consider dating again, remember your worth. Remember what you deserve. It helps to find out at the beginning what someone is looking for -- do they just want to hook up or are they interested in a serious relationship? Dont pretend you are down to just hook up if what you need is a serious relationship. Ask for what you want and if someone cant give it to you, walk away.

You will be amazed to discover -- when you find someone who treats you with love and respect -- that this was always a possibility.

Lizzy

Got a burning question for Lizzy? Email her at lacker@oregonian.com.

Read more Why Tho?

Want to get Lizzys advice before anyone else? Subscribe below to get it delivered every week straight to your inbox.
The Lagos State chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has broken ranks with its national body to announce a partial suspension of the ongoing nationwide strike of judiciary workers.

The nationwide strike embarked upon by JUSUN on April 6, in protest against the denial of the judiciary its financial freedom from the executive, has shut down courts across the country for 17 days, as of Thursday.

But an online platform, LoyalNigerianLawyer, reports that a statement by the chair of the Lagos State chapter of JUSUN, Shobowale Kehinde, announced on Tuesday that judiciary workers in the state would now work on Wednesdays to Fridays and observe the nationwide strike only on Mondays and Tuesdays of every week.

Mr Kehinde, in the statement declaring a partial suspension of the strike in the state, said the chapters decision followed assurances by the government to meet its members auxiliary demands.

He said the chapter had, at various meetings, obtained the best assurances of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Chief Judge, Kazeem Alogba, for improved welfare packages for its members in the state.

National JUSUN concerned

This points to a potential major crack within JUSUNs fold, which may begin to manifest in other states, and eventually weaken the unions resolve to sustain the strike till its demand is met.

The National Treasurer of JUSUN, Jimoh Musa, told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday morning that the unions national leadership is concerned about the development and had started taking steps to address it.

As I am speaking with you, I am about to board a flight to Lagos to meet with the union leadership in the state. The president instructed me to go to Lagos to find out what is really going on, Mr Musa, who is acting for the unions president, Marwan Adamu, said on Thursday.

JUSUN members throughout the country have been on strike since April 6 fighting for judiciarys financial independence as provided for in the Nigerian constitution.

Lagos government has listening ears

But the Lagos State chapter of JUSUN said it subscribed to partial suspension of the strike because the Lagos State government had proved to have listening ears.

This, according to the statement by its chair, led to the leadership of the government and judiciary in the state giving assurances to meet its members auxiliary demands.

In his statement entitled, Addendum on Strike Day 16, the branch chairman stated, We had many interactions on strike situations with fellow state chairmen especially from Southwest, Southeast and Southsouth.

Lagos JUSUN finds out that its only the Lagos State Government that had shown concern and seriousness with listening ears to this JUSUN struggle.

At this moment, Lagos JUSUN has had four meetings with powerful government officials, especially Mr Governor himself.

From my position and privileges as JUSUN chairman Lagos, we are indeed lucky. Even the national leadership hasnt made significant progress as Lagos JUSUN does at the moment.

Our auxiliary demands are being speedily looked into and results are manifesting, the statement read in part.

Giving some specifics of the auxiliary demands, Mr Shobowale said both the state governor and the chief judge had pledged to improve on the welfare allowances as being agitated by the chapter, since 2014.

Our union had the best assurances directly from Mr Governor and the Chief Judge of Lagos State on improving welfare allowances for staff which has eluded us since 2014.

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While showing commitment today with the delivery of two new buses to the judiciary while the House of Assembly had only one bus given to them even though both arms of government are currently on strike, he added.

National body will achieve financial autonomy for all states

In clear acknowledgement that the financial autonomy being agitated for by the national body of JUSUN was not yet in place in Lagos State, Mr Kehinde said that would be achieved nationally to the benefit of all members across the various states.

Though there is a national agitation for financial autonomy, this will be achieved nationally and all states will benefit from it, the statement read.

Strike still ongoing, but relaxed

The statement said the Lagos chapter lacked the power to suspend a national strike, hence JUSUN strike is very much ongoing in Lagos State.

It added, But due to the great respect and honour Lagos state judiciary staff has for Mr Governor and the Chief Judge of Lagos State, its our desire only to relax the strike rules to allow clearance of backlogs, reading of judgement and decongestion of prisons occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and End SARS protest.

It stated further that the chapter would therefore partially suspend the strike by limiting work days to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of every week, while Monday and Tuesday of every week remains our strike days that all staff must stay off duty to observe the national strike.

It promised that the chapter would review the progress and would make informed decisions as the events unfold.

Reiterating that the staff of Lagos State judiciary is still on strike, the chapter added that it was magnanimous in putting Lagos judiciary and the government of Lagos State first in our time of strength.

All gates of courts in Lagos State will be partially open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only. Life itself is all about give and take. The congress says its time to give so that it can be given to us all, the statement added.

JUSUNs demand

The union had embarked on the ongoing strike on April 6 demanding the implementation of section 121(3) of the Nigerian constitution conferring financial independence on the judiciary at the state level.

Going by the constitutional provision, the judiciary and the legislature are to receive their allocations directly from the consolidated revenue account of the federation.

JUSUN, in its longstanding battle to achieve the enforcement of the constitutional provision, had in January 2014, obtained a judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, abolishing piecemeal funding of the judiciary and ordering an immediate compliance with the process of funds disbursement as provided in the constitution.

However, in disobedience to the constitution and the court judgment, state governors have continued to receive all the funds meant for the state and only release money to the judiciary and the legislature as they please.
Video: We Are China

Xi calls for jointly building life community for man, nature

Xinhua) 20:59, April 22, 2021

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 19, 2020 shows wind turbines in Jiucaiping scenic spot in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for unprecedented ambition and action to build a community of life for man and nature.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji)
Two students were found dead on Thursday in a suspected 'lightning blast' after hiking up a volcano on a French island in the Indian Ocean to see it erupt.

Police say the blast of a lightning strike might have killed the two men, whose bodies were found near the 'eruption cone' of Piton de la Fournaise on the French overseas territory of La Reunion.

The two men, both in their 20s, had set out on a walking trip on the volcano in the southeast of the island but were found dead in the volcano's main caldera, the hollow formed after magma erupts.

The hikers had wanted to see the Piton de la Fournaise (above) erupt, but might have been struck by lightning. (file image)

The Piton de la Fournaise is on the island of La Reunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean.

The victims have only been identified as students at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the Academy of Reunion.

Police suspect the students might have been killed by a lightning strike given that their hair and soles were burnt, or by a 'blast effect', where a shock wave causes internal lesions in the body, according to Zinfos974.

'We were informed at 4/5 pm that the two young people had not returned', said Lieutenant Stephane Narbaud, commander of the High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon.

The students were found dead near the 'eruption cone' of the volcano on La Reunion (file image of Piton de la Fournaise)

The commander said they mobilized four personnel by land and two volunteers familiar with the area by air, along with two other personnel 'who flew over the eruptive cone despite very difficult conditions'.

'An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow. Forensic scientists will focus on knowing how they died and the dating of their deaths', said public prosecutor Caroline Calbo.

Commander Narbaud warned hikers to stay away from the volcano.

'Do not take the risk of going into the enclosure. You see the risks, unfortunately', he said.

'There is no path, there is fog. Only scientists from the Observatory are equipped to approach an eruptive mouth.'
Burma Previous Military Regimes and Parallel Governments in Myanmar

U Nu (left) and Dr. Sein Win.

Last week, deposed parliamentarians from the National League for Democracy (NLD) formed a government in parallel with the militarys State Administrative Council.

The military regime promptly declared the national unity government (NUG) an unlawful association. The NUG is not the first government established in parallel with Myanmars military regimes.

During the popular pro-democracy uprising in 1988, former Prime Minister U Nu formed a government to rival the Burma Socialist Programme Party government led by Dr. Maung Maung, a confidant of military dictator General Ne Win.

U Nu, then 82, formed the alternative administration on Sept. 9, 1988, nine days before a major reshuffle within the military dictatorship. He announced: I have notified today the foreign governments that I could reach that I am the legitimate prime minister and that I request them to only recognize the government formed by me. My premiership wont end just because a group of power- hungry men arrested me with the use of arms and sentenced me to 412 years in prison.

The ethnically Karen Mahn Win Maung served as president in U Nus 12-member parallel government. He was the last civilian president before Gen. Ne Win seized power in the March 2, 1962, coup. U Aung Shwe and U Tin Oo, both of whom became NLD leaders, served as the home and defense ministers respectively in the parallel government.

U Nu, who promised a democratic general election, faced considerable opposition from other activists. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, then 43, was winning popular support as the daughter of independence hero General Aung San. I was taken aback by the fact that former Prime Minister U Nu formed a parallel government. The future of the people must be decided by the people, she said.

Dr. Maung Maung reportedly consulted with an astrologist in Gen. Ne Wins Burma Socialist Programme Party to foresee his political future.

Some ministers swiftly resigned from the parallel government, saying they were given the positions without being consulted. A new group of generals seized power on September 18, 1988.

In December 1989, the new leader, General Saw Maung arrested U Nu and his ministers and published propaganda against U Nu.

On December 18, 1990, another parallel government led by Dr. Sein Win, a cousin of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, emerged.

Dr. Sein Win, who obtained a doctorate from Germanys Hamburg University, was the son of U Ba Win, the elder brother of Gen. Aung San. Both U Ba Win and Gen. Aung San were assassinated with other cabinet members in 1947 ahead of independence.

Dr. Sein Win was the chairman of the National Democracy Party, which was allied to the NLD. He was elected to the Lower House representing Paukkaung Township in Bago Region, Gen. Ne Wins hometown, in the May 1990 general election. But the military refused to recognize the election results.

Three months before Dr. Sein Win formed his parallel government, the elected NLD lawmakers from the election held a secret meeting in Amarapura Township, Mandalay, to form a parallel government. However, they were arrested by the militarys State Law and Order Restoration Council and given long prison sentences.

Dr. Sein Win fled to Thailand and formed his National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, with other elected MPs in Manerplaw, which was controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU).

Dr. Sein Win appointed himself as chief minister and demanded the restoration of democracy and protection of human rights. The parallel government put pressure through the United Nations on the military regime. It also worked for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from home arrest and called for sanctions against the regime. It also played a role in establishing the Democratic Voice of Burma media agency.

The regime called Dr. Sein Win, by then in the US, exiled Sein Win and published a book on the Destructive Acts of the Burma Communist Party, the KNU and Dr. Sein Win. It also blamed Dr. Sein Win for some acts of sabotage inside Myanmar.

Dr. Sein Wins parallel government lobbied for democracy for more than 20 years from overseas. He abolished it after the NLD won several by-elections in 2012 and entered the national parliament.

The NLD won by landslides in the 2015 and 2020 general elections.

Myanmars military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, claimed the 2020 poll was marred by fraud and staged a coup on February 1, the day the new parliament was set to convene.

The lawmakers from the NLD who managed to escape arrest formed the NUG on April 16.

The NUG, which was formed nine years after the abolishment of Dr. Sein Wins parallel government, includes President U Win Myint and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in their original positions, along with leaders from the Kachin, Karen, Chin and Mon ethnic groups.



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More boys than girls are being born in China and more single males in their prime marriageable age are resigned to a celibate life after failing in the intense hunt for a bride. Some statisticians are referring to the imbalance as a women deficit in the worlds most populous nation, Asia Times writes. Chinas dearth of baby girls has been somewhat concealed by the overall demographic picture of steep declines in newborns over the decades. But preliminary data from the countrys ongoing population census have again thrown the stark gender imbalance  in almost all age brackets from toddlers to people in their optimal childbearing age  into sharper relief.

The National Statistics Bureau (NSB), while still crunching data collected in the nationwide headcount, noted in its revised 2019 Yearbook that Chinas sex ratio stood at 104.45 males versus 100 females that year. While that mismatch does not appear to be huge, in the context of the sheer size of Chinas 1.3 billion-plus population it indicated a guy glut of 30 million more males than females that year.

The internationally recognized normal gender ratio must be below 103 for sustainable population production, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In most countries with normal demographic patterns, males also outnumber females, but not by much given males generally higher mortality rates and shorter life expectancy.

Yet Chinas gender asymmetry is even more pronounced among newborns, hitting 111 in 2020 when overall new birth registrations plunged to a decade low of just over 10 million, despite the imposition of sweeping shelter-in-home orders to stop Covid-19 infection chains in the first and second quarters. The gender gulf resulting in even fewer births has been a constant worry for policy planners. China Remin Universitys Center for Population and Development found that on average 18 of every 100 boys born in China since 2015 would not be able to find a wife when they reach adulthood. The findings were based on a mathematical projection study examining the NSB gender ratio data in children and adolescents.

Professor Li Shuzhuo, the director of Xian Jiaotong Universitys Demography Institute, also found in a recent study that to achieve an overall gender equilibrium of the UN-recommended ratio of 103 in China, an additional 28 million females would have to have been born between 1980 and 2015. Li argued that the women deficit would mean negative population growth and a host of issues like social disharmony, more sex crimes as well as tough matrimonial competition for redundant males to find a female mate.

Lis prescription, on top of more stringent enforcement of womens rights protection laws, is for Beijing to drop existing birth control rules altogether. Beijings draconian one-child policy implemented between 1978 and 2015 is largely to blame for the demographic imbalance.

Patrilineal traditions are still prevalent in rural China, in numerous backwater towns and villages where the need to have male offsprings to pass a family name and hence wealth down to the next generation still trumps other values, said Eric Mer, an associate professor with the Peking Universitys School of Governance.

If a couple can only have one kid, chances are that they will try to have a son, with the help of prenatal gender detection and when abortion was easy and commonplace.

As for the economic impact, Mer said the consequence of the imbalance may manifest itself in tepid consumption growth as female consumers were generally more willing to spend. He cited a study by the PKUs School of Economics that found Chinese cities with more female residents like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou all saw more sustainable retail and merchandise volume growth than other urban centers between 2015 and 2018. He said the first step to redress the imbalance was for Beijing to stop dictating how many children a couple may have to allow them autonomy in childbearing and thus give incentive to have bigger families.

There have been sensationalistic proposals like reviving the system of fraternal polyandry for a number of bachelors to share one wife. But there have also been serious discussions among policymakers in provinces grappling with the starkest sex imbalance to criminalize gender selection by parents as well as unapproved termination of pregnancies not related to a medical emergency.

Womens rights groups in Chinas southern Guangdong province, where 2010s population census revealed an alarmingly high sex ratio of 125, have been pushing officials there to consider handing out cash to parents of female babies and waive part of their tuition when these girls reach schooling age.
Nicola Sturgeon suffered another mortal blow to her separatist dream today as a poll showed support for Scottish independence sliding again.

YouGov research found 53 per cent wanted to stay in the UK and 47 per cent wanted to go it alone, with the lead for the union up four points on last month.

Meanwhile, a separate survey has suggested the SNP faces missing out on a crucial majority at Holyrood in elections next month.

Nicola Sturgeon has made calling a fresh referendum as early as this year the key plank of her manifesto for the ballots on May 6.

She has insisted that a big SNP win will provide a mandate for another contest, even though the last vote in 2014 was billed as 'once in a generation'.

However, the YouGov poll for the Times suggests that support for breaking away is slipping as the campaign progresses, with Ms Sturgeon embroiled in a bitter civil war with Alex Salmond and his Alba party.

YouGov research found 53 per cent wanted to stay in the UK and 47 per cent wanted to go it alone, with the lead for the union up four points on last month

A Savanta ComRes survey for The Scotsman projected that the SNP is currently on track to return 63 MSPs in total  two short of a majority and the same number as in 2016

Only 1 per cent of voters said they plan to vote for Mr Salmond's Alba Party, but his campaign appears to be hurting the SNP

A Savanta ComRes survey for The Scotsman projected that the SNP is currently on track to return 63 MSPs in total  two short of a majority and the same number as in 2016.

There would still be a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, as the Scottish Greens are set to return eight MSPs, two more than 2016.

Only 1 per cent of voters said they plan to vote for Mr Salmond's Alba Party, which would leave it without a single MSP elected.

The SNP is in line for a constituency vote of 46 per cent and a list vote of 38 per cent.

It predicts that the Scottish Conservatives will achieve 25 per cent of the constituency vote and 23 per cent of the regional list, which would see it return 32 MSPs  one more than in 2016.

Scottish Labour is forecast to return 20 per cent on the constituency and 17% on the list vote and is predicted to return 21 MSPs, three fewer than in 2016.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are predicted to return five MSPs, the same number as in 2016, with 6 per cent of the constituency and 5 per cent of the list vote.

The poll of 1,001 Scottish adults also found that support for Scottish independence is split, though support for No has increased since a survey at the start of April.

Similarly to YouGov, Savanta found that 48 per dent would vote No in an independence referendum, while 45 per cent would vote Yes, with the remainder undecided.

When 'don't knows' are excluded, that left support for the union at 52 per cent compared to 48 per cent who wanted to break away.

An equivalent survey at the start of April found a dead heat between the two camps.

The latest Savanta poll was carried out between April 16 and 20.

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes, said: 'These latest figures show the SNP potentially missing out on a majority, but there are still plenty of routes for them to get one.

'While 'both votes SNP' has never made the most of the SNP's dominance, increasing their vote on the list could top up the seats they need, but they'd require a sizeable shift in their favour from these latest figures.

'Instead, squeezing the soft Labour constituency vote in seats in South Scotland, for example, could help them overtake the Conservatives and give the SNP the majority they crave.

'That could be easier said than done, though; with the Conservatives up in this poll, and a healthy proportion of Labour voters more likely to trust the Conservatives than their own party to protect the union, the Conservatives will also be trying to squeeze Labour in an attempt to hold off an SNP challenge.'
Bengaluru, April 22 : Karnataka would procure 1 crore doses of Covid vaccine to inoculate adults in the 18-44 years age group from May 1, an official said on Thursday.

"Rs 400 crore has been earmarked to buy 1 crore doses of vaccines in the first phase to inoculate citizens in the 18-44 years age group," an official in the Chief Minister's office told IANS.

The Central government announced on April 19 that in the third phase of the vaccination drive, all adults above 18 years would be given the vaccine.

"I urge all those above 18 years to register for the vaccine from April 28 on Co-Win portal," Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said in a tweet.

Cumulatively, 76,41,817 people, including senior citizens above 60 years of age, those in the 45-59 years age group, healthcare workers and frontline warriors have been vaccinated in the state since the drive was launched on January 16.
PRINCETON, N.J., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Mussel Polymers, Inc. (MPI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. George K. Kodokian to the MPI Board of Directors. After a thirty-year career at DuPont culminating in his appointment as a DuPont fellow, Dr Kodokian joined the MPI Board in April.

"Mussel Polymers innovative use of Polycatechol styrene is solving a wide range of previously intractable adhesive problems," said George Kodokian. "I am excited to work with the MPI team to bring the innovative technology to market applications".

"We are excited that Dr. Kodokian has joined our team and is providing his world-class strategic expertise in application of our primer and adhesive development," said George Boyajian, Chief Executive Officer of MPI. "His deep experience gives MPI important insights into market needs, while his background in adhesives is invaluable as we examine a wide range of applications of our systems."

Dr. Kodokian is the Principal Consultant of Growth Advances, a science and technology consulting company which he founded, and Executive Vice President of Growth Science from April 2020 to the present. Dr. Kodokian served as a Fellow at DuPont, an innovative science and technology company, from October 2016 to April 2020. Prior to that, Dr. Kodokian served as Chief Technology Officer of Entergain in Energy Storage at DuPont from 2007 to 2016. Earlier, Dr. Kodokian served as Chief Technology Officer of Biomedical at DuPont from 1999 to 2007.

Dr. Kodokian holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from American University of Beirut, a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London, a Master of Business Administrations from University of Delaware, and a PhD in Materials Science from Imperial College London.

About MUSSEL POLYMERS, INC. (MPI)

MPI is an adhesive and related systems company developing the world's most effective adhesives for wet, high moisture, and low-energy surfaces. Its systems also improve the strength of many dry applications. MPI's solutions are based on Polycatechol styrene (PCS), a proprietary synthetic polymer that mimics the structure of the natural adhesive used by mussels to anchor themselves to substrates in the ocean.

MPI partners with adhesive companies to improve the bonding strength of their existing products-both wet and dry, while expanding their use cases.

MPI plans to introduce its first product, an underwater coral adhesive system in Q4 of 2021. PCS is non-toxic and is also being developed for biomedical applications.

MPI headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Please visit www.musselpolymers.com for additional information.

SOURCE Mussel Polymers, Inc.

Related Links

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[April 22, 2021] Huobi Asset Management Launches Virtual Asset and Mining Funds for Institutional Investors

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huobi Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited (Huobi Asset Management), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huobi Technology Holdings Limited (Huobi Tech, stock code: 1611), today announced the launch of four crypto-related funds for institutional investors. The new offerings, include three virtual asset funds and a private equity fund for blockchain mining-related businesses. On March 3rd, 2021, Huobi Asset Management obtained the SFC's approval to manage and distribute funds 100% invested in digital assets, making Huobi only the second virtual asset fund manager to become licensed in Hong Kong. Since obtaining approval, Huobi Asset Management has already received $50 million USD in commitments across the four funds and is targeting $100 million by Q3 2021. Huobi Asset Management's new crypto-focused funds include a BTC tracker fund, ETH tracker fund, and a multi-strategy virtual asset fund, all of which are 100% invested in virtual assets. The multi-strategy fund is an actively managed fund that invests in a basket of diversified cryptocurrencies, offering investors the potential for higher returns than passive allocation. Both the ETH tracking fund and the multi-strategy fund are the first virtual asset investment products of its kind to be issued by a licensed fund manager in Hong Kong. "Huobi Asset Management offers professional investors the opportunity to build virtual asset ownership in a secure, reliable and convenient manner via traditional fund products, elevating concerns in the area of accounting treatments, tax implications and audit interpretations investors otherwise would have to face when directly purchasing virtual assets" Said Gillian Wu, CEO of Huobi Asset Management. "The funds launched are intended to cater to type of investors with different risk appetite we are confident about future growth"



In addition to the three virtual asset funds, Huobi Asset Management is also offering a private equity fund that will make investments in crypto mining-related businesses, a market segment that has seen exponential growth over the past few years. As institutional investors, retail investors, and enterprises alike continue to adopt virtual assets, Huobi will leverage its expertise to identify and invest in companies in the virtual asset mining ecosystem, including hardware manufacturers or mining pools. The private equity fund caters to investors seeking relatively stable returns through the operational management of portfolio companies within the mining space. Huobi Asset Management's funds are open to qualified institutional investors as defined by the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Securities and Futures (Professional Investors) Rules of the SFC. As a licensed asset manager, Huobi is the first to accept both fiat currencies or virtual assets as choices for subscription. Current investors in the new funds include high net worth individuals, mutual funds, corporate treasuries, family offices, and other traditional asset managers looking to increase their exposure to blockchain and digital assets as part of a diversified investment strategy.

The launch of the new funds comes as digital assets like BTC and ETH reach record highs amid growing institutional adoption. With digital assets becoming an increasingly important asset class, Huobi Asset Management aims to cater to institutional investors in need of investment products with a regulatory oversight from a trusted brand. The funds will be managed by a senior investment team with decades of combined asset management experience at global financial institutions, with investments expertise built across both traditional and virtual asset classes. "I am glad to see the funds from Huobi Asset Management are launched fast and efficient; also the virtual asset custody business of Huobi Technology is progressing at a high tempo," said Zhang Li, CFO of Huobi Technology. "We aim to be the leader in providing all-round virtual asset related services in Asia, and shall continue the best effort in driving regulatory compliance within the virtual asset industry" About Huobi Technology Holdings Limited Huobi Technology Holdings Limited ("Huobi Tech") were listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in November 2016 (Stock Code: 1611). Primarily engaged in OEM & EMS manufacturing of power-related and electronic products, Huobi Tech is also expanding its business into technology solutions with an emphasis on blockchain applications. Huobi Tech is applying for digital asset and finance-related licenses in major markets around the world, incubating and expanding new businesses. Up to now, the company has already successfully got the approval from the SFC to conduct Type 4(advising on securities) and Type 9(asset management) regulated activities, the Trust or Company Service Provider license and the Trust Company License (Nevada USA). View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huobi-asset-management-launches-virtual-asset-and-mining-funds-for-institutional-investors-301275216.html SOURCE Huobi Technology

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Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide has cancelled his planned trips to India and the Philippines due to the worsening COVID-19 situation, the government`s top spokesperson said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that plans had been made for Suga to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time in person, with the pair slated to discuss a number of issues pertaining to economic and security issues and spanning infrastructure building, cooperation in outer space and cybersecurity, reports Xinhua news agency.

Both India and Japan are struggling to contain a rebound in novel coronavirus virus infections, with the Japanese government saying on Wednesday that a fresh state of emergency would be declared for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures from Friday amid a surge in cases.

Japan and India have also postponed their planned foreign and defence ministerial talks that were scheduled to take place this weekend in Tokyo, owing to COVID-19 cases rising in both countries.

Suga`s visit to the Philippines, meanwhile, was supposed to mark the 65th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Suga has said he needs to remain in Japan to focus on the fight against the pandemic, which, in hard-hit Osaka Prefecture in western Japan, has seen the healthcare system overloaded, with not enough beds available in hospitals to treat patients suffering from severe COVID-19 symptoms.

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A successful restaurant owner couple who kept a female tourist as a slave have offered her $70,000 in compensation as they both face a decade behind bars.

Shiela and Joshua McAleer lured the woman, who can't be named, to Australia in 2013 to work in their family home and multiple businesses in Sydney's south.

Soon after her arrival, Mrs McAleer was said to have organised a passport and three-month tourist visa for the woman, which meant the Filipino tourist was unable to work elsewhere.

The victim had left her home in the Philippines for a chance at a better life, but instead was forced to work as a virtual slave at the couple's home in Rockdale where she cared for their children for hours on end.

Shiela and Joshua McAleer (pictured) lured a woman from the Philippines to Australia in 2013 to work in the family home and multiple businesses in Sydney's south

A few weeks after the woman arrived, Shiela McAleer (pictured) organised a passport and three-month tourist visa, which meant the Filipino tourist was unable to work elsewhere

Soon after moving in, the McAleer's allegedly told the tourist she owed them a debt she needed to repay after she had a medical procedure at Sutherland Hospital, in Sydney's south.

The victim also worked many hours at their Filipino restaurant, often unpaid, and she was always supervised.

The woman finally escaped from her living nightmare in 2016 and moved in with a friend.

While the woman was 'on the run' from the McAleer's, the cruel couple hired a private detective in a bid to track down her whereabouts.

They also previously told the frightened woman they knew police who could 'harm her' as well as her family back home.

In a victim impact statement heard in court, the woman labelled Shiela McAleer a 'cruel' person.

'I felt like a slave but didn't say anything,' she said. 'I had no power to change my situation,' she said, according to 9 News.

Shiela and Joshua McAleer have both pleaded guilty to several offences, including harbouring an unlawful non-citizen and making a false statement for health benefits.

They will be sentenced in June and face a maximum of 10 years behind bars.

Shiela McAleer has pleaded guilty to several offences, including harbouring an unlawful non-citizen and making a false statement for health benefits
A bishop's episcopal rings were stolen by a burglar who posed as an estate agent to gain entry to his flat.

The Right Reverend Christopher Lowson was away from his 1million home next to Westminster Cathedral when serial burglar Costas Michael entered, a court heard.

Michael had earlier pretended to be an estate agent to get hold of keys for the apartment block.

He took the two rings  traditionally given to bishops when they are consecrated  from Rt Rev Lowson's desk drawer. He also stole a watch, two credit cards and another ring from a neighbouring flat.

At Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, the 40-year-old convicted thief admitted stealing 7,300 worth of valuables during the two raids.

At the time of the burglaries in October last year the British Cypriot had absconded from open prison where he was serving a 44-month sentence. Rt Rev Lowson, 68, who was appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 2011, was not named as a victim but confirmed his rings were taken.

Bishop Lowson (right) said his rings had been replaced with help from his local jeweller. Costas Michael (right) had earlier pretended to be an estate agent to get hold of keys for the apartment block

The Right Reverend Christopher Lowson was away from his 1million home next to Westminster Cathedral when serial burglar Costas Michael entered, a court heard (pictured: Westminster Cathedral)

The married father of two, pictured, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Like anyone who has been burgled there is obviously some distress that your home has been violated in this way.

'In this instance I can only thank the police for their careful and assiduous work in tracking down the alleged burglar and keeping us informed at every step in the process.'

Bishop Lowson said his rings had been replaced with help from his local jeweller.

Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said Michael 'has numerous offences on his record for domestic burglaries'. He has reportedly also claimed to be a maintenance man to burgle properties. Michael will be sentenced on June 18.
Oxygen Express set to haul first oxygen consignment from Vizag Steel Plant to Maharashtra.(Photo:Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

Oxygen Express set to haul first oxygen consignment from Vizag Steel Plant to Maharashtra.(Photo:Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, April 22 : To meet oxygen demands in Covid-19 hospitals, the Indian Railways is to start running 'Oxygen Expresses' to ensure unhindered supply of the gas and also set up "green corridors" for swift supply.

"First Oxygen Express with liquid medical oxygen (LMO) tankers is going to start its journey for Mumbai from Visakhapatnam tonight," the Railways said in a statement.

Tankers filled with LMO at Visakhapatnam are being transported through roll on-roll off service.

Another Oxygen Express started its journey from Lucknow to Bokaro via Varanasi to fulfil the requirements of oxygen in Uttar Pradesh.

For the movement of the train, a green corridor was created between Lucknow to Varanasi. "The distance of 270 km was covered by the train in 4 hours 20 minutes with an average speed of 62.35 kmph," Indian Railways said.

Transportation of oxygen through trains is faster over long distances than road transport. Trains can run 24 hours in a day but truck drivers need to take halts.

The Railways also said that ramps will be required to facilitate loading/unloading of tankers in/from flat wagons.

Also, due to restrictions of height of road over bridges (ROBs) and overhead electrification (OHE) at certain locations, out of the various specifications of road tankers, the model of road tanker T 1618 with height of 3,320 mm was found feasible to be placed on flat wagons (DBKM) with height of 1,290 mm.

Indian Railways transported essential commodities and kept the supply chain intact even during the lockdown last year as it continues to serve the nation in times of emergencies.
Father of 10 shot dead in North Carolina

Forty-year-old Andrew Brown, father of 10, was fatally shot Wednesday morning by a Pasquotank County sheriffs deputy in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Few details are known about the police shooting at this time, but the Pasquotank County Sheriffs Office states the shooting occurred around 8:30 a.m. while deputies were serving a search warrant.

According to a witness, Brown got into his car and started to drive away. Neighbors said the deputy fired his weapon between 6 and 8 times into Browns vehicle. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to take over the investigation.

Lydia Brown, grandmother of Andrew Brown, said she was in bed when her daughter delivered the news that her grandson had been shot and killed. He was just here two or three days ago picking up his mail. We want to know why. We want to know what [happened]. And we want to know who, she said about the investigation into the shooting, concluding, He was my grandson and I love him.

Browns aunt Clarissa Gibson said she heard about the shooting on the news before finding out it was her nephew. He had children and he cared and loved for them, she said.

Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten held a press conference on the incident, giving virtually no details on the shooting outside of the unnamed officer having been placed on leave during the course of the investigation. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered in the area to mourn Brown, protest the police shooting and document the crime scene.

In September, the Pasquotank Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the countys first 33 body-worn cameras for deputies, but it is unclear if deputies have been issued the cameras. Keith Rivers, President of the Pasquotank NAACP, said, If the body cameras were on that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served. He added that the police were in riot mode.

Detroit police kill a mentally ill, self-harming man

On Tuesday, Detroit police responded to a mental health call near 8 Mile and Hanna. Two officers approached a man who appeared to have self-inflicted wounds from a large knife he was wielding. When they tried to subdue him, he allegedly stabbed one the officers in the leg several times, and the other officer fired a salvo of bullets into him, killing him and wounding his partner.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig nonetheless said it was too early to know the true cause of death. He couldve not only succumbed from the shots that were fired to protect the officer, part of it might have been the injuries he sustained, the self-inflicted injury, were just not certain, he said.

The suspects mother informed police she believed her son was having a situation based on drug usage, Craig said. The officer who was stabbed and shot in the hand by his partner was in stable condition.

Columbus police release footage of killing of 16-year-old girl

In an unprecedented move, Columbus police have released body-camera footage of a Columbus police officer shooting 16-year-old MaKhia Bryant, a foster child in the custody of Childrens Services. The shooting occurred Tuesday, only 20 minutes before a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd. Columbus police stated that the Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation and had released the footage.

The footage shows an officer approaching a driveway where a group of young people are standing. In the video, Bryant is seen pushing another female to the ground, whereupon a male individual runs up and kicks the woman on the ground as the officer draws his weapon, shouting, Get down! Get down! Get down! Get down!

Between the first and second Get down! Bryant runs towards a car where she appears to assault another female. Immediately after the fourth Get down! the police officer discharges his weapon four times into Bryant. She would die a short time later.

Hazel Bryant, MaKhias aunt, told the Dispatch that her niece got into an altercation with someone else at the home. Hazel Bryant said her niece had a knife, but maintained that the she dropped the knife before she was shot multiple times by police.

Dozens of anti-police protesters displaying Black Lives Matter signs, equipped with megaphones and a loudspeaker, joined the crowd gathered behind crime scene tape about a half-block away from the shooting scene.

Group arrested for protesting Knoxville police killing

A group protesting the refusal of legal officials to release bodycam video of the shooting of a Knoxville, Tennessee, high school student were arrested Monday night, April 19, at a Knox County Commission meeting. Seven of a group of between 30 to 40 demonstrators were demanding video of the shooting of 17-year-old Anthony J. Thompson Jr. at Austin-East Magnet High school.

Many residents of this east Tennessee city, home to the University of Tennessee, are angry over the police killing April 12, in an incident which involved four police officers. Police claimed the incident was a school shooting and said that officers had shot and killed the youth only after he shot at them. None of that proved to be true and now the family, community and even high-ranking city officials have called for making the video public.

Protesters at a Knox County Commissioners meeting (source: Twitter/Jordan Brown)

The first reports were that police officers responded to a report of a student with a gun holed up in a bathroom. When they arrived, according to the first police reports that proved wrong, the youth had supposedly shot an officer named Wilson in the hip and the youth was then shot and killed by police who had returned fire. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) issued the erroneous story and later retracted it.

According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, The TBI account changed dramatically when it released a new statement (that)  Thompson had a gun but said preliminary tests showed the bullet that hit Wilson did not, in fact, come from Thompsons gun. The account continues: The new statement said officers struggled with Thompson, and that Thompsons gun was fired during the struggle. It did not say who fired the gun. Police then fired twice, and Wilson was apparently hit by friendly fire.

Police had come to the school at the request of the mother of a 16-year-old student who had dated Thompson. The girl told her mother, Regina Perkins, she wanted to come home after getting in an argument and scuffle with Thompson, Associated Press reported. Perkins also said she was sorry she had called police. I never meant for anything to happen to him, she told AP. We are mourning, my daughter is grieving the loss of her first love and we also want answers and justice in this case.

Police sued over beating of 73-year-old with dementia

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against Loveland, Colorado, police over the June 26, 2020, arrest of 73-year-old Karen Garner. The lawsuit alleges that officers Austin Hopp (arresting officer), Daria Jalali (assisting officer) and Sergeant Philip Metzler used excessive force when arresting Garner, spraining her wrist, dislocating her shoulder and fracturing her arm, all on suspicion of stealing $13.88 worth of merchandise from Walmart.

Garner suffers from dementia and sensory aphasia, impairing her ability to not only verbally communicate, but understand others. Such elderly people, according to the Alzheimers Association, often unknowingly walk out of stores with merchandise they have not paid for.

Garners attorney Sarah Schielke presented footage to the media showing employees confronting Garner outside the store, whereupon she re-enters the store and returns the merchandise. According to Schielke, Garner attempted to pay but was not permitted to do so and asked to vacate the premises.

Walmart called police to report the incident, according to the lawsuit, but informed Loveland [police] that Ms. Garner was elderly, small, and petite, further reporting, that she was headed eastbound, and that they had suffered no actual loss because they had retrieved the merchandise from her.

Officer Hopp responded to the call. In the bodycam footage, Hopp encounters Garner walking in the grass along the side of a road on her way home. Hopp pulls his vehicle over and asks Garner to stop as he approaches her. Garner pauses, looks at Hopp, and then continues walking. Nine seconds later, he then grabs Garners arms, twisting them behind her back, forcing her to the ground, all the while Garner repeats, Im going home.

Jalali arrives on scene to assist Hopp in detaining an elderly, 4 10, 80-pound woman. Both officers ask her questions, but Garner is only heard repeating Im going home. As both Jalali and Hopp struggle to get Garner into the back of Hopps police vehicle, a bystander is seen in the body-camera footage asking Hopp, Do you have to use that much aggression?

Hopp responds to the witness saying, What are you doing? Get out of here; this is not your business, further stating, She just stole from Walmart and refused to stop, refused to listen to lawful orders and to fight me. Hopp justifies his brutality by also stating, This is what happens when you fight the police. I have to use force to safely detain her.

The witness asked Hopp for his supervisors name. Metzler, Hopps supervisor, who later arrives on scene, proceeded to speak with the witness directly. The lawsuit alleges Metzler intimidated the witness, but deactivated his body-camera to cover up the brutalization of Garner.

Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges Garner was denied medical care for the nearly six hours after she was detained because officers told deputies at the jail she had not sustained any injuries. Upon the deputies discovery that Garner was in fact injured, they took her to the hospital.

This is not community policing. This is community terrorism, Schielke wrote in a statement. Ms. Garner is one of the most vulnerable members of our communitya mother, a grandmother, a tiny, frail human with cognitive disabilitiesand they treated her like an animal.

According to court records, considering the extent of the brutality and Garners cognitive disabilities, the district attorneys office dismissed all charges against Garner in August 2020. The three policemen have been assigned to desk jobs or placed on paid leave.
By Drs. Steph Lee and Gabriel Cisneros

As pediatricians and advocates for climate change solutions, we invite you to celebrate on Earth Day the beauty of nature and our environment and consider the importance of climate action. There is still much work to be done to improve childrens environmental health and achieve environmental social justice.

More than 1 in 4 deaths a year in children worldwide under 5 years old can be related to environmental risks, according to the World Health Organization.

Childrens health is negatively affected by air pollution due to increased physical vulnerability and higher exposure to pollutants by body weight. Additionally, poor health from air pollution is associated with socioeconomic and racial inequalities.

We see firsthand that African-American children with asthma, who experience 138,000 asthma attacks each year attributable to air pollutants, die at a higher rate than white children with asthma. Even though Black and Hispanic people do not produce the majority of air pollution, these communities are exposed to more air pollution than non-Hispanic white people, who experience a pollution advantage.

During a pandemic, these inequalities continue to mount. We know that COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting groups of color, and risk factors for severe COVID-19 are also diseases linked to chronic exposure to air pollution.

Structural racism and economic disadvantages are both known drivers of premature death from air pollution, compounding the effects of climate change and the pandemic, as low-income communities are hit hardest by COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the urgency with which we need to clean up our air and decrease fossil fuel emissions for the betterment of childrens health. The scope of the problem requires state-wide action, since air pollution is not only in urban cities  agriculture accounts for about an eighth of premature adults deaths by particulate matter from fertilizers and manure, with corn production being a major culprit.

If Pennsylvania committed to transition to zero-emission transportation strategies as proposed by the American Lung Association, by 2050 we could save over 2 billion dollars in health costs, avoid 200 deaths, save adults and children from over 2300 asthma attacks, and stimulate the economy, with avoiding the loss of 10,800 work days.

For Philadelphia alone, health benefits would be over 1 billion dollars, with 126 deaths avoided, and 1600 asthma attacks avoided

We can start the path toward achieving social justice by addressing the aftermath of climate change on marginalized communities. We cannot neglect work on reversing climate change while helping Pennsylvanians through this pandemic. The two are not mutually exclusive. Recognizing climate changes consequences on childrens health is imperative to moving forward.

What can you do? Call, text, email your legislators about climate priorities. Support renewable energy sources that decrease fossil fuel emissions. Policy measures should be considered under the lens of benefiting communities of color and supporting greater economic equality.

Children are being harmed by climate change and that will continue long after this pandemic if we do not act. Climate change solutions are pandemic solutions.

By mitigating climate changes impact, we can address socioeconomic and racial inequalities and create healthier Pennsylvania children.

Dr. Steph Lee MD MPH is a pediatrician with Penn State Health St Josephs in Reading and a preventive medicine specialist.

Dr. Gabriel Cisneros MD is a pediatrician with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Childrens Community Pediatrics and co-chair of the Pennsylvania American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Committee.
One more illegal rally participant sentenced to jail for assault on policeman

 Moscow's Presnensky District Court

12:04 22/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  Moscows Tverskoy District Court on Thursday sentenced a participant of the illegal January 23 rally Stanislav Akhmedov to 2 years in penal colony for attack against a police officer, RAPSI learnt in the Investigative Committee.

Investigators claimed that during the unauthorized rally the defendant used force against the law enforcement officer. According to video records, he punt ed the policeman several times.

The man pleaded guilty in full.
(Natural News) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joined a project that would develop special satellites that could identify air pollution super emitters. NASA said in a statement on April 15 that its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California would be providing an instrument that would be built into the satellites.

Carbon Mapper, the nonprofit leading the project, aims to use the satellites to provide a more targeted approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

What weve learned is that decision support systems that focus just at the level of nation states, or countries, are necessary but not sufficient, Riley Duren, CEO of Carbon Mapper and a University of Arizona researcher, told BBC.

We really need to get down to the scale of individual facilities, and even individual pieces of equipment, if were going to have an impact across civil society.

Super emitters are individual sources of air pollution that generate a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Examples of super emitters include landfills, dairy farms and leaking pipelines.

Super emitters are often intermittent but they are also disproportionately responsible for the total emissions. That suggests low-hanging fruit, because if you can identify and fix them you can get a big bang for your buck, Duren said.

NASA to help develop satellite that can pinpoint sources of air pollution

The project is a partnership between multiple entities, including Carbon Mapper, JPL, the government of California and Planet, a company that makes and launches satellites.

The group has recently completed the projects initial phase, which was to draw up a blueprint for the satellites. JPL and Planet are currently working together to build two prototype satellites for a 2023 launch. By 2025, the alliance will launch a constellation of 20 or so satellites into space.

Central to the success of the constellation will be JPLs existing imaging spectrometer, which is set to be incorporated into the satellites. The device is able to break down visible light into hundreds of colors, providing a unique chemical signature for gases like methane and carbon dioxide.

It is different from most other spectrometers that are currently in orbit, which have larger pixel sizes. Satellites equipped with these devices can identify greenhouse gases over a large area, but cannot locate them over hyper-specific points, say at the scale of individual equipment, due to poor resolution.

JPLs spectrometer, on the other hand, has pixels of around 98 square feet, which will dramatically sharpen a satellites eye for detail.

With such high-resolution images, there [will be] no question where greenhouse gas plumes originate. This technology [will] enable researchers to identify, study and quantify the strong gas emission sources, JPL scientist Charles Miller said in a statement from NASA. (Related: New satellite data from NASA show how carbon links everything on Earth.)

Carbon Mapper and Californias Air Resources Board (CARB) will create an open-access data portal to make emissions data available to everyone, including industry actors, governments and private citizens. This, in turn, can expedite repair of leaks, support disaster response and improve environmental resilience.

We know that if we can identify leaks efficiently, they can be repaired. Its about getting that information in front of folks in a timely way. That will make it actionable, CARB executive officer Richard Corey said.

This comes amid Californias aim to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The target is part of the states overarching goal of achieving carbon neutrality a few decades from now. Inventions.news has more on amazing technologies that help address pollution. Sources include:

EcoWatch.com

BBC.com

NASA.gov

ARB.ca.gov
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
Christian university faculty issues vote of no confidence after board upholds biblical hiring policy Franklin Graham applauds univeristy 'taking biblical stand'

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Faculty at a private Christian university in Washington cast a vote of no confidence after its board of trustees announced it would continue a hiring policy that prohibits hiring full-time faculty members who are gay.

Seattle Pacific University, a private evangelical Christian and Wesleyan institution in Seattle affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, enrolls around 3,500 students and adheres to the biblical definition of human sexuality, according to a university statement.

SPUs Faculty Senate obtained responses from around 90% of the faculty on the boards decision last week to maintain that policy despite objections from some in the school community.

Around 72% of the faculty who responded agreed with the no confidence vote regarding the board and its decision, according to a statement released Monday, according to The Seattle Times.

The Boards decision to maintain SPUs discriminatory hiring policy related to human sexuality, as well as its manner of delivering that decision, have regrettably compelled the faculty of SPU to pass a vote of no confidence in the SPU Board of Trustees, the faculty senate said.

We presume that each member of the Board  like each one of us  wants this institution to thrive.  But we fear that the Boards actions imperil the ability of SPU and its community to flourish.

Franklin Graham, a prominent evangelical leader and president of the evangelical humanitarian organization Samaritans Purse, applauded the Christian universitys leadership in a Facebook post.

I appreciate that the Board of this Christian school is willing to take a stand on biblical and moral issues when so many today are caving, Graham wrote. Im thankful to see that this Board has stood against the winds of culture  and now their own staff and students  and I pray that they will continue.

Despite the facultys criticism of the boards adherence to the biblical definition of sexuality, the schools statement on human sexuality published initially in 2005 is explicit in explaining its position that sex should remain in the context of a husband and wife.

The statement is also referenced in the schools Behavioral and Community Expectations page.

In particular, we affirm the institutions of marriage and family as central to the purposes of God, the schools statement reads.

We believe it is in the context of the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman that the full expression of sexuality is to be experienced and celebrated and that such a commitment is part of Gods plan for human flourishing. Within the teaching of our religious tradition, we affirm that sexual experience is intended between a man and a woman.

The statement also addresses how issues surrounding human sexuality are controversial and must be considered with personal and spiritual sensitivity and scholarly care.

Student members of the schools LGBT support club, Haven, have called on the university to remove or edit the sexuality statement as detailed in an April 12 Instagram post.

A few years ago, the university changed the statement after the club petitioned, but Haven claims the school did not remove all homophobic elements.

We, the queer and allied students of Seattle Pacific University, have waited long enough for SPU to step up and take responsibility for the homophobia steeped into the schools administration , Havens statement read. Each of us feels unwelcome and unwanted by the administration of our school.

The student club said if SPU is truly concerned about diversity, it should include LGBT students.

Haven asked the university to remove the Statement on Human Sexuality by May 1, National College Decision Day.

In January, adjunct nursing professor Jeaux Rinedahl sued SPU, claiming the school did not hire him as a full-time professor because of his sexual orientation.

Rinedahls attorneys wrote the university, claiming its policy was discriminatory, and called on them to hire him full-time at the university.

The employment attorneys started a petition urging SPU to hire Rinedahl as a full-time professor.

Daniel Martin, SPUs president, recently resigned from the university on April 5 after serving the university for nine years to enter into a leadership role for a national health system, according to the schools website.

SPU was one of the first universities to cancel in-person classes due to the pandemic and the university will return to in-person instruction in the fall of 2021.
Netflix has found a way of getting around some of the censorship it is encountering with its productions in Turkey. The streaming platform has announced that an adapted version of the series If Only, created by Turkish screenwriter Ece Yorenc, will be made in Spain. The decision was taken nine months after the Turkish government refused the series a filming license after discovering that one of the lead characters was gay. Rather than cut the character out, Netflix has handed the project to screenwriter Irma Correa under the title Si lo hubiera sabido (or, If I had Known) with Yorenc acting as consultant.

Starring HBO series 30 coins actress Megan Montaner, If I Had Known will tell the story of Emma, who is entering her thirties with the feeling that life has become dull after 10 years of marriage. A supernatural twist allows her to inhabit her younger body and, ironically, rewrite the script.

Referring to the change of location for the production, Yorenc told Variety magazine that Turkeys Ministry of Culture has the power to cancel a show depending on the image it gives of the country. Although it hadnt used this power before, it applied it to my series though it didnt give any explicit reason. But we know that its because the series has a gay character. They hoped wed change the screenplay, adapting to the moral norms they expected. But I, along with Netflix, didnt agree to making any change to the original screenplay and we finally decided to cancel the series. But now I really want to focus on the project, which is very exciting. I want to forget the past.

All I can say is that we will have diversity in all its senses, and a strong Turkish flavor Spanish screenwriter Irma Correa

Yorenc has said that several countries showed an interest in taking on the project, and that in the end Spain was chosen because, apart from the fact that Netflix Spain showed the most interest, Correa had already worked with the adaptation of another one of Yorenc's series, Fatmagul, which became Alba in Spain and was also produced by Boomerang.

Joining the conversation on the recent adaptation, Correa told Variety: All I can say is that we will have diversity in all its senses, and a strong Turkish flavor.

A year back, Netflix had problems in Turkey with its teen series Love 101, also due to the potential appearance of a homosexual character. Rumors began to circulate on social networks that one of the characters would come out as gay as the plot developed. The rumor triggered an outcry and Netflix had to release a statement denying the storyline. Despite these clashes with the authorities, Netflix has just opened a production headquarters in Turkey, as it did in Spain in 2019, and has a dozen projects in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Netflix Spain has revealed it will be making two new series besides If I Had Known: the action-packed Baruca, created by Victor Siera and Xose Morais and starring Alberto Ammann, and the drama Intimidad, created by Veronica Fernandez and Laura Sarmiento.

English version by Heather Galloway.
[April 22, 2021] ChenMed Executes Contracts for 18 of 26 New Medical Centers Opening in 2021

MIAMI, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ChenMed, a leading senior-focused primary care practice, today announced leases are signed on the first 18 of 26 new medical practices it expects to open in 2021. The physician-owned and led company is self-funding these initial openings in four states, having achieved 19 percent net member growth in 2020, along with 11 percent higher net membership growth during the first quarter of 2021. "Our commitment to underserved communities has never been stronger," says Christopher Chen , M.D. ChenMed CEO. The first wave of 2021 new ChenMed practice openings includes six new centers in Detroit, five new centers in Houston, and significant expansions in greater Miami, up 36 percent; Orlando, up 33 percent; Tampa Bay, up 20 percent; and New Orleans, up 25 percent. "Our commitment to underserved communities has never been stronger," says Christopher Chen, M.D. ChenMed CEO. "We'll soon be operating nearly 95 primary care centers in 12 states, in the neighborhoods where they are most needed. We already are applying so many learnings from the coronavirus pandemic to further sharpen the high-touch primary care we effectively deliver to tens of thousands of low-income seniors with complex health and an average age of 72 years." ChenMed doctors fulfill their purpose by being accountable for helping their patients achieve better health, including responding quickly to patient calls or texts to their cell phones and honoring same-day telehealth or in-person appointments when needed. Plus, ChenMed centers offer services that help reduce barriers to healthy living, from transportation assistance to on-site medications to helping with social services, along with weekly "love calls" to check on patients. "We're a provider of choice for more than 20 Medicare Advantage health plans precisely because of our practice's proven ability to pivot wheneve needed to improve both quality of care and patient experience," explains Jason Barker, chief operations officer at ChenMed. "Our doctors and care teams do whatever it takes to help vulnerable seniors stay healthy and happy. We deliver affordable VIP care that includes patients having their primary care doctor's cell phone number and being able to see their doctor same day, either by telehealth or a safe in-person appointment."



ChenMed centers are universally located in underserved neighborhoods, where lack of access to high quality primary care and other social determinants of health have negatively impacted longevity for many years. These barriers have shortened average life spans by as much as 20 years when compared to older adults living in nearby more affluent zip codes. So, the innovative medical practice is working to address what Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr heralded more than 50 years ago: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman." Community service is a ChenMed medical practice hallmark. So, every Chen, Dedicated or JenCare Senior Medical Center opening means another underserved neighborhood starts receiving strategic good will from the mission-driven practice. For example, ChenMed recently pushed forward its VaxTheNation program in all 10 of the states in which it operates more than 75 centers. This physician-led community service initiative has, during the past six weeks alone, safely administered more than 50,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to seniors in neighborhoods having heightened need, as spotlighted in the latest COVID-19 vaccines race and ethnicity report.

Published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the report shows that:

- Blacks represent 16 percent of Florida's population and 17 percent of COVID-19 deaths; yet, only eight percent of Florida COVID-19 vaccinations

- Hispanics represent 27 percent of Florida's population and 37 percent of COVID-19 cases; yet only 21 percent of Florida COVID-19 vaccinations

- Blacks represent 11 percent of Pennsylvania's population and 12 percent of COVID-19 deaths; yet only four percent of Pennsylvania COVID-19 vaccinations

- Hispanics represent 18 percent of Illinois' population and 25 percent of COVID-19 cases; yet only 11 percent of Illinois COVID-19 vaccinations About ChenMed ChenMed, headquartered in Miami, is a privately owned medical, management and technology company that delivers the high-touch and personalized primary care Medicare Advantage-eligible seniors need to enjoy better health. This high-touch primary care is shown to reduce coronavirus deaths by 40 percent, according to a study published in American Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Named one of Fortune 2020 "Change the World" companies, ChenMed brings concierge-style medicine and better health outcomes to the neediest populations. ChenMed brands include Chen Senior Medical Center, Dedicated Senior Medical Center and JenCare Senior Medical Center. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chenmed-executes-contracts-for-18-of-26-new-medical-centers-opening-in-2021-301275132.html SOURCE ChenMed

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Ed Stelmach of Andrew has lived a life of service to Albertans. He has done so humbly, honestly, with integrity and dignity. While some Albertans may only know Ed through his time as Premier of the province, his record of public service spans well before and after his time in the Legislature. Albertans have reaped the rewards of his service for decades and will continue to do so for generations to come.

Im proud of a number of things, but first and foremost is the diversity of this Legislature, the people coming here from different backgrounds, different cultures, different colours, different countries. It speaks well for Alberta. Quite frankly, it is one of our greatest strengths.

Edward Michael Stelmach was born on May 11, 1951, in Lamont, Alberta, the youngest of five children, and was raised on a farm near Andrew. The grandson of Ukrainian farm immigrants who sought a better life and opportunity in a new land, his first language was Ukrainian. He did not learn English until he attended grade school.

An accident on the first day of Grade 1 resulted in Ed badly breaking his leg, an injury that required hospitalization. The care he received at Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate Hospital in Mundare contributed significantly to his appreciation for faith-based community health care. The nuns who served at the hospital treated the whole person  body, mind and soul  remembers Ed. They did more than care for his leg. They also tutored him in English and math, enlisting the other patients in the ward to work with him on his studies. Looking back, Ed says that his time in the hospital taught him the value of volunteerism and community.

Inspired by his social studies teacher Marshall Krywaniuk, Ed developed an appreciation for world history and its impact on current events. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Alberta with the intention of becoming a lawyer. He married his high school sweetheart and fellow University of Alberta student Marie Warshawski in 1973. That same year, his oldest brother Victor passed away suddenly. Ed and Marie decided to leave Edmonton and return to the original Stelmach family homestead to operate the farm, where they raised their family.

Ed has always been ready and willing to roll up his sleeves and help his community, from serving on the local co-op board and leading his kids 4-H club, all the way to serving as Premier of Alberta. In between, he served in a diverse range of roles, such as school trustee with the County of Lamont Board of Education, on the boards of the Archer Memorial Hospital, and Lamont Auxiliary Hospital and Nursing Home, as well as chair of the Vegreville Health Unit Board. In 1986, he was elected as a Lamont County councillor. A year later, the council appointed him as reeve, a position he would continue to hold until his entry into provincial politics. All told, Ed has dedicated more than 40 years (and counting) to public service, including more than 25 in municipal and provincial politics.

Each step of the way, he has never forgotten his community or his identity, drawing on the advice given to him by his Member of Parliament Don Mazankowski: Always respect those who have elected you. You owe it to them to act with integrity, compassion and respect. And the people who sit across the aisle from you have also been elected. You need to respect that, too.

In 1992, Ed was encouraged to seek the Progressive Conservative nomination for the Vegreville-Viking constituency. He won the nomination and went on to be elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for five terms from 1993 to 2011. Over the years, he successfully managed major portfolios as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development; Infrastructure; Transportation; and International and Intergovernmental Relations.

In 2006, Ed led the Progressive Conservative Association to win one of its largest electoral victories in its 44 years as Albertas government. In fact, Albertans gave him the largest mandate ever for a first-time Premier of Alberta. He succeeded Ralph Klein to become Albertas 13th Premier and was sworn in on December 13, 2006. Ed is the first Premier of Alberta of Ukrainian origin and only the second person of Ukrainian descent to be elected Premier of a Canadian province.

One of the hallmarks of Eds leadership style is that he listens. He then works with stakeholders to reach collaborative solutions. He is known for his consistent ability to bring disparate groups and points of view together, and to find a win-win solution for all. From the beginning, his caucus, as well as external stakeholders, recognized that he was always willing to discuss thorny issues in a respectful fashion.

Many initiatives introduced by Eds government will benefit generations of Albertans to come. Highlights include the 10-year plan to end homelessness, Albertas first-ever climate change strategy, and interprovincial free trade agreements with British Columbia and Saskatchewan, which not only became the gold standard for such agreements, but also led to cooperative joint trade missions to Asia. He created the Municipal Sustainability Initiative and the $1 billion Green Trip Fund to ensure predictable funding to municipalities across the province. He tackled the provinces growing deferred maintenance budget by investing billions of dollars into public infrastructure. He made government more transparent and accountable to the public. In short, Ed made decisions in the best interest of the province, even if it meant loss of support for him personally. He adhered to the maxim of former Premier Peter Lougheed, who said, First we make the right decision for the right reason, then we figure out the politics.

Although he retired from provincial politics in 2011, Eds service to his community continues. His current volunteer associations include the Edmonton Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy, the Andrew Lions Club, and the St. Michael Community and District Agricultural Society.

Since 2012, Ed has served as board chair of Covenant Health, which governs all Catholic hospitals in Alberta and is the largest Catholic health care provider in Canada. He also currently serves as honorary chair of the fund development campaign to encourage community investment in Lakeland College.

In 2007, Ed and Marie established the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation. It has generously donated to Alberta community groups, students and charitable organizations focused largely on vulnerable populations, and women and children in difficult situations. Ed and Marie continue to personally fundraise to ensure the foundation will continue to have a significant impact for community groups in Alberta for generations to come. Ed and Marie see the foundation as a way to continue how their parents generation cared for one another when times were tough.

In recognition of his lifetime of public service, Ed has received many honours. In 2007, he was made an honourary chief of the Blackfoot Confederacy and given the name of Star Chief. In 2009, the Government of Ukraine awarded him the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Class III in recognition of his work in the betterment of Alberta-Ukraine relations. He received the Hetman Award from the Alberta Provincial Council of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in 2011 and the Michael Luchkovich Award from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in 2013. Ed is also a recipient of Queen Elizabeth IIs Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005), and Queen Elizabeth IIs Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).

Eds support for post-secondary education is one of his many legacies. In response, the University of Alberta awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws. In 2014, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) celebrated Eds contributions by awarding him an Honorary Degree of Business Administration. That same year, Lakeland College recognized him as a Distinguished Citizen, awarding him an Honorary Bachelor of Applied Business Degree.

Ed and Marie continue to live on the homestead founded by Eds grandparents in 1898. In 2012, they donated the home built by his grandfather to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, a living history museum east of Edmonton that depicts how Ukrainian immigration made a significant impact on Albertas cultural identity. After careful restoration work, the house was unveiled as the Stelmach House Learning Centre in 2016.

Stelmach House tells the story of the hardships faced by pioneers through the lens of one family. Why is it important to preserve history? If we dont know where we come from, we dont know where were going from here, says Ed. Our current privileges and freedoms wont endure if we dont understand past threats to them.

Ed and Marie are proud parents of Les, Terry, Nathan and Lynette, and proud Gigi and Baba to nine grandchildren.
Hoy seguimos llevando esperanza a mas regiones del pais con la entrega de 44 350 dosis de vacunas de AstraZeneca a la region Ayacucho y 26 620 a Huancavelica. Asi estamos cumpliendo nuestro compromiso de inmunizar y proteger a todos los adultos mayores. #AccionesEnLasRegiones pic.twitter.com/RI6o0ysSEr
Catholicos of All Armenians presides over Divine Liturgy in Stepanakert

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Boxer Narek Abgaryan to face off against Joe Ham in Dubai

Caparros and Armenia national team member giving press conference (LIVE)

"Armenia" bloc: We plan to meet with residents of Shirak Province

Armenian water resources come under Azerbaijani control, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, Jun. 4 digest

Armenia acting PM: Health insurance is inevitable

Armenia Investigative Committee launches criminal case regarding keeping of bodies and remains of deceased servicemen

Opposition "Armenia" bloc representative: Authorities are actually busy bribing voters

Armenia legislature passes law to help ease requirements for future teachers

Russia ambassador visits Meghri, Armenia border checkpoint (PHOTOS)

Armenia ruling party's candidate for anti-corruption commission member not elected

Armenia acting premier: There will be statement in coming days about exposure of high treason

Dollar loses value in Armenia

Armenia acting PM: Our task is to support our farmers so that engaging in agriculture is planned activity

China Daily: Water tribe prospers ashore in Fujian

Why does blood oxygen drop during COVID-19?

Kate Winslet named Global Ambassador for LOreal Paris

China calls for closer security, economic cooperation with Afghanistan

Yura Movsisyan arrives in Stockholm

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: There was proposal from Azerbaijans Aliyev on Meghri issue

CIS Observation Mission continues to monitor snap parliamentary elections in Armenia

Nepal reports first death from 'black fungus'

Armenian analyst: High-ranking US delegation's visit to Armenia can't be viewed as support to incumbent authorities

"Armenia" bloc: Things can't get any worse in the country from the perspective of censure

Arthur Abraham building park in his hometown
I find little in the world more annoying than the pompous assertions of ignorant people confidently spreading falsehoods. Tony Greensteins letter on anti-Semitism, April 7, is a veritable model of such smug cluelessness. Zionists, he declares, have never been interested in fighting anti-Semitism. He obviously needs to study history: Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, launched the Zionist movement in response to the notorious anti-Semitic trial and condemnation of Major Alfred Dreyfus assumed to be guilty of treason largely because he was Jewish.

Zionism is the Jewish response to anti-Semitism. Zionism is the reaffirmation of Israel as the ancient and historical homeland of Jews, forced into slavery in foreign lands but ever returning in fact and in story. Next year in Jerusalem, is the promise of Zionism made by Jews to their children every year at every Seder table. Indeed, while many Jews are loyal citizens of countries other than Israel, they had better not forget that anti-Semitism can raise its ugly head at any moment. Anti-Semitism is rampant throughout Europe, and up by 12% in the U.S. and 91% in Canada since last year.

Most disturbing is the rise of the new anti-Semitism on the political left, typified by Tony Greenstein. Indeed, too often these people are self-hating Jews like Jewish Voice for Peace members, or as my African-American friends call them Jewish Oreos. They attack Jewish identity and self-determination by slandering Zionism and criticizing Israel, the only democracy and island of stability in the Middle East, while standing mute on egregious human rights violations by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, etc.

These people accept the existence of Islamic Republics of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Mauritania, but protest indignantly the existence of Israel as the worlds sole Jewish state. Now that, really is anti-Semitism.

Rosette Liberman

Pittsford, N.Y.

Tony Greensteins April 8 letter and Stan Hellers March 19 Op-Ed advocate that antisemitism should be fought with blinders on. Specially they maintain that the sole focus of this fight should be right wing extremist antisemitism, whereas left wing extremist antisemitism, Islamic extremist antisemitism, and antisemitism masquerading as criticism of Israel should be ignored.

In advocating this dubious position they set up a straw man argument, falsely asserting that the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism labels all critics of Israeli policies as antisemites. However, the fact is that the IHRA definition specifically states that legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies are in no way antisemitic.

This reveals their underlying goal in trying to apply these blinders, which is to excuse and enable those who would stop at nothing to destroy the worlds only Jewish state. In fact the organization of which Heller is a member, Jewish Voice for Peace, persistently criticizes Israel illegitimately in every way imaginable, including for defending Israeli civilians against deadly Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks.

When one advocates ignoring three of the four major sources of antisemitism in the world today, holds Israel to standards applied to no other country, and supports policies that would end Israels existence, one is an antisemite. If the shoe fits, wear it and stop pretending otherwise.

Daniel H. Trigoboff

Williamsville, N.Y.

Stanley Heller has misrepresented the effort to define antisemitism. This effort is not a campaign to force a definition of anti-Semitism onto world governments to protect Israels government from criticism. On the contrary, Jewish spokespeople go out their way to debase themselves by stating that criticism of Israel is acceptable, even warranted, they just want to protect Israel from obsessive criticism not directed at any other country.

A good example of this is the response to Israel vaccinating its people faster than any other country. Rather than congratulating it for protecting its citizens, Israel was criticized for failing to vaccinate Arabs not living in Israel. This is part of the effort by Israels critics to condemn it for pink washing, that according to the April 22 Pink News is a PR tactic used by Israel to cynically exploit support for LGBTQIA people to whitewash its oppression of the Palestinian people. In other words, Israel is incapable of honestly carrying out humanitarian acts. This is antisemitism.

For the edification of New Haven Register readers, the definition of an anti-Semite is a person who hates Jews more than is necessary.

Larry Shapiro

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

So Tony Greenstein of the U.K. wants to lecture other people about On How To Fight Antisemitism. Really?

He is a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Committee and Jews For Boycotting Israeli Goods. He was expelled from Jeremy Corbyns antisemitic Labour Party for being too antisemitic. Sort of like Alfred Rosenberg or Joseph Goebbels lecturing people about fighting antisemitism.

Richard Sherman

Margate, Fla.

Neither Stanley Heller nor Tony Greenstein realizes that it is anti-Semitic when Israel is criticized not for what it does, but for what it is  the nation-state of the Jews.

Consider the BDS movement, founded ostensibly to protest Israelis building Jewish communities on Palestinian land. The land, in fact, is of religious and historic importance to Jews. It is of strategic importance to Israel and was liberated from nineteen years of Jordanian occupation only after Jordan allied with Egypt and Syria in a war instigated with the open intention of destroying Israel and annihilating her people. The Jordanians had ethnically cleansed the land of its Jewish population and allowed terrorists to stage attacks on Israel from areas under Jordanian control. Yet, Jordan made no effort to grant self-rule to the Palestinian Arabs of the area and the founding charter of the Palestine Liberation Organization, issued in 1964, specified that the PLO made no claim to the land in question. But that changed following the Six Day War.

The Arab League rebuffed Israels 1968 offer to exchange land for peace and Palestinian leaders flatly rejected several other proposals for the establishment of the first-ever-to-exist Arab State of Palestine. Yet, Palestinian leaders cited the presence of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (part of what Jordan called The West Bank) as obstacles to achieving peace between themselves and Israel.

In truth, what bothered BDS organizers was the fact that Jewish owned businesses employed Jews and Palestinians, working side-by-side, and served both Jewish and Palestinian consumers. Such a situation might lead to Jews and Palestinians realizing that they could get along and that a Palestinian state could co-exist with the nation-state of the Jews. Palestinian leaders frequently warn their people against normalizing the Occupation and BDS proponents admit that the movement seeks to destroy the Jewish state. This is in accord with the Islamist idea that no Jewish state should be allowed to exist in the Middle East. That is anti-Semitism.

Toby F. Block

Atlanta

Those Stanley Heller (March 19) and Tony Greenstein (April 8) anti-Israel screeds perfectly personify a famous rabbinic gloss on Isaiah (49:17): our worst enemies come from within. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, while including both Right and Left varieties, explicitly excludes such criticisms of Israeli government policy that would be applied to any other country. But antisemitic critics are rarely so specific, but rather indulge in hyperbolic defamation. delegitimization and double standards against the worlds one Jewish majority state. Nonetheless, IHRA is only descriptive, not prescriptive, providing no negative consequences against offenders. Worst case, they wear that label proudly.

Modern Zionism arose in response to virulent, endemic late 19th Century European antisemitism. Its signal success was the rebirth of a sovereign state in the Jews historic homeland for a scattered, defenseless, demoralized and desperate people. It has since served as a refuge for endangered Jews, such as Holocaust survivors, expellees from Arab lands, Russians and Ethiopians.

No, fighting antisemitism is not a sudden concern, or a cynical diversion from alleged sins. It lies at the very core of Israels national ethos. To suggest otherwise, is itself an abominably antisemitic, utterly baseless, canard.

Richard D. Wilkins

Syracuse, N.Y.

The writer is a former resident of Waterbury.

Are Tony Greenstein and Stan Heller naive? Where have they been hiding since the Squad of Arab supporting and Jew hating Congresswomen arrived in Washington, D.C.?

The consistent hostility to the Jews of Israel as well as those of the world is apparent to all. The bias and tissue level hatred is so apparent from the LEFT that it would take a denial driven by bias to ignore it.

Let us as a nation identify where hate originates and make every legitimate and honest effort to uncover it and defeat it. Dont you agree?

Dr. Carol Fineblum

Needham, Mass.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The events commemorating the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide have launched in Ukraine, Analitikaua reports, adding that the events have started with an information campaign. In particular, information banners about the Armenian Genocide have been installed in several streets of major Ukrainian cities.

On the sidelines of the commemoration events, an online lecture will be held on April 24 about the Armenian Genocide, the crime against humanity and civilization.

Round-tables, thematic exhibitions, flash mobs, rallies, tree-planting and screening of movies about the Armenian Genocide are also planned. All the events will take place with strict maintenance of anti-coronavirus rules.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
"The SKALE Denali upgrade will be a critical ingredient to catalyzing the growth of blockchains and decentralized systems." Sterling Witzke, sr advisor to Winklevoss Capital

SKALE Network now the only live in-production Ethereum native, multichain network

SKALE Network, the Ethereum native multichain network built to help Ethereum Dapps scale to more users with lower costs and better performance, today announced the completion of the Denali mainnet upgrade for SKALE Network. With 46 validator orgs and 153 nodes completing the upgrade, this is the first major upgrade following the October 1st Kilimanjaro Mainnet Launch. This makes SKALE Network the only live, in production multichain network that works in a natively integrated manner with Ethereum.

As gas fees rise and congestion continues to take its toll on the growth of the Ethereum network, consumers and developers alike are looking for fast, scalable, secure decentralized solutions. In order to satisfy that demand, developers need access to a highly decentralized, execution layer that will specifically tie into the Ethereum mainnet and leverage the large ecosystem of tools and tech theyre already familiar with. Developers are looking to provision their own dapp specific blockchain, so they can get the flexibility they need to react to their user demands and growth projections.

SKALEs Ethereum native multichain architecture offers a fast, free to users/gasless, Ethereum orchestrated blockchain solution that can be deployed quickly and efficiently without having to learn any new tooling. Denali is SKALEs latest network upgrade, and includes several key components. The most important are the ability to deploy Dapps with gasless transactions at sub  second block times at incredibly high throughput, newly audited smart contracts and advanced chain functionality. It additionally includes the next phase of SKALE Networks modular framework, which will allow for greater configuration and upgradability for decentralized applications. Lastly, developers gain NFT support, where dApps can create NFTs on SKALE Chains at no cost and with billions of dollars of stake supporting their security.

"The SKALE Denali upgrade will be a critical ingredient to catalyzing the growth of blockchains and decentralized systems. Poor user experience has been a hurdle to mass adoption thus far. SKALE removes that friction by significantly lowering costs and creating a high performance experience for decentralized applications." said Sterling Witzke, senior advisor to Winklevoss Capital, a SKALE early supporter.

The goal of the SKALE Network is to bring Ethereum to billions of users globally. SKALEs new modular architecture is a key upgrade and means that developers will be able to make an even greater impact on the Ethereum ecosystem. They will be able to utilize services like Oracles, Bridges, and Analytics offerings from a variety of best of breed providers. With 130 developers currently in the SKALE innovator program, many will begin deployment after the Denali upgrade. Key recent Dapps supporting SKALE include Minds, Collab.land, Bondly, Human Protocol and CryptoCrusades, which represent a range of different use cases for SKALE. Here is what they had to say about the upgrade:

"Were very excited for the Denali upgrade and what it offers us as we build our free and open source social network. Its clear that creating a sustainable network that scales to billions of users is no small task and we believe by using SKALE alongside Ethereum we can achieve the throughput, security and UX necessary. In the end, its about allowing our users to earn tokens for their contributions to the network in a cost effective and efficient way, and this upgrade is a big step in that direction." Bill Ottman, CEO & Founder, Minds.com

Anytime you deal with community management its critical to offer users fast, secure experiences that are low or no cost to them. SKALEs Denali upgrade is particularly exciting because you maintain the ease of deployment, while gaining sub half-second blocktimes in a gasless environment with really high throughput. This is crucial to Collab.Land's vision of a multi blockchain ecosystem, where you can scale up and down based on need. - James Young, CEO Abridged.io, creators of Collab.Land

Were looking forward to the SKALE Denali upgrade, especially the ultra fast blocktimes, fast finality and gasless transactions. With our own Bondly specific SKALE chain, we can facilitate the trading of NFTs and digital assets in the non-crypto world in exactly the way consumers expect. - Brandon Smith, CEO Bondly

SKALE is a complete game-changer. We get our own dapp-specific blockchain with high TPS, and free gas which has allowed us to use complex algorithms entirely on-chain, like our A* pathfinding, binary search trees, and combat system. CryptoCrusades is revolutionizing blockchain games with this in-depth on-chain gameplay, powered by Ethereum and SKALE. Sherman Meredith, Blockchain Lead, CryptoCrusades.

The SKALE Network is a community owned and run network, and validators play a critical role in running and maintaining the network. Key validators had this to say about todays Denali network upgrade:

Its been incredibly exciting to run the SKALE Network and see it grow to 153 nodes and over $2 Billion in total value locked in just 6 months. As a validator, the Denali upgrade is particularly exciting as it brings sub  second blocktimes and its dapp specific multichain framework at a critical growth period for Ethereum. With its well thought security model and incentive arrangements, SKALE is really well positioned to power many of the top Dapps in the coming year. Konstantin Richter, CEO & Founder of Blockdaemon

"SKALEs Denali upgrade is coming at just the right time as the crypto space is moving to a multichain paradigm with developers deploying and users using applications on different blockchains. From a validator perspective, the experience has been incredibly smooth and we believe that dapp-specific SKALE chains will help to unleash a new wave of innovation." Brian Fabian Crain, CEO and Co-Founder, Chorus One

For more information:

Dapp Developers interested in utilizing SKALE for a project, please apply to the SKALE innovator program.

Documentation on deploying a Dapp to SKALE, can be found in the Developer Portal

To learn more about the SKALE $SKL token, please visit our SKL Token page.

About SKALE

SKALE is an Ethereum native, multichain network that gives developers the ability to easily provision their own dapp specific, fully decentralized blockchains. These SKALE chains can execute sub  second block times, run very high tps per chain, and run full-state smart contracts, support decentralized storage, execute Rollups, and machine learning in EVM. The SKALE Network is an open source project with many contributors including SKALE Labs, Inc. headquartered in San Francisco, CA. The SKALE Networks supporters include Arrington Capital, Blockchange, ConsenSys Labs, Hashed, HashKey, Floodgate, Multicoin Capital, Recruit Holdings, Signia VP, and Winklevoss Capital. The SKALE Network is supported by many of the top validators in the world including 01NODE, Ankr, Anonstake, Audit One, Blockdaemon, Blockware, Chainflow, Chainode, Chorus One, Cypher Core, Dokia Capital, Figment Networks, FreshSkale, Hashed x DELIGHT, Hashquark, Staked, Stakin, Stake With Us, WolfEdge Capital, as well as Staking Facilities. SKALE Network utilizes the $SKL token which is listed on 23 exchanges globally, including Binance, Coinbase, FTX, Gemini, Huobi, OKEx and more. For more information please visit http://www.skale.network, @SkaleNetwork on Twitter, and @skaleofficial on telegram.
AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - Heineken Holding N.V. said that its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders has adopted all proposals on the agenda of the AGM. The Board announced the distribution of a dividend for the year 2020 of EUR 0.70 per share. The dividend will be made payable on 6 May 2021. Heineken Holding N.V. shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 26 April 2021. The AGM reappointed Das as non-executive member of the Board of Directors with effect from 22 April 2021, for the maximum period of four years. The AGM reappointed A.A.C. de Carvalho as non-executive member of the Board of Directors with effect from 22 April 2021, for the maximum period of four years. The AGM reappointed Deloitte Accountants B.V. as external auditor for the financial year 2022. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TSX.V: DME

U.S. OTC: DMEHF

Frankfurt: QM01

VANCOUVER, BC, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY CORP. (the "Company") (TSXV: DME), (U.S. OTC: DMEHF), (Frankfurt: QM01) From the President of the Company.

Desert Mountain Energy Corp. ("DME" or the "Company") announces it is exercising its right to accelerate the expiry of all of the 8,203,062 warrants (the "Warrants") issued under its private placements which closed on October 2nd and 14th, 2020. The acceleration of warrants will require all warrant holders that wish to exercise their warrants to do so on or before the close of business 30 days from the date of this news release, being May 24, 2021 (the "Early Exercise Period"). Those warrants that are not exercised on or prior to the Early Exercise Period will be deemed void and of no further force or effect.

The Warrants are exercisable at a price of CAN$2.00 per common share

Depending on the number of Warrants exercised during the Early Exercise Period, the Company expects to: 1) receive gross proceeds of up to approximately CAN$16.4 million; 2) issue up to 8,203,062 million common shares pursuant to the exercise of Warrants.

Warrant holders who wish to exercise their Warrants will be required to deliver to the Company at Suite 510, 580 Hornby St. Vancouver, BC, V6C 3B6, by 4:30 p.m. Vancouver time, on or before May 24, 2021, the following:

Duly completed and executed Warrant Exercise Form;

Their original Warrant certificate;

The applicable funds due to exercise their Warrants, payable to the Company by way of certified cheque, money order, bank draft, or wire transfer.

The exercise of the Warrants will strengthen the Company's current cash position and provide the working capital to bring the Company's objectives of being a fully vertically integrated helium production company further towards reality.

"The early exercise places the Company in a very unique position of not being restrained with possible negative impacts within the capital markets in a timely and efficient manner", said Robert Rohlfing, the Company's CEO. "These monies come into the Company without additional fees or commissions, therefore, all of the money directly goes to the Company. Furthermore, the Company shareholders benefit from no further share dilution outside of the current agreements. The Company has demonstrated judicious use of the funds generated from the 10/2/20 & 10/14/20 private placements. As of 04/07/21 the Company had in excess of $12,800,000 CDN in the treasury to facilitate all planned operational aspects. The additional approximately $16,400,000 CDN, places the Company in the position, which is extremely unusual for a junior resource company with tier 1 assets. We appreciate the continued support of our strategy to develop our assets."

ABOUT DESERT MOUNTAIN ENERGY

Desert Mountain Energy Corp. is a publicly traded exploration and resource company focused on the discovery and development of rare earth gas fields in the U.S. The Company is primarily looking for elements deemed critical to the renewable energy and high technology industries.

We seek safe harbor

"Robert Rohlfing"

Robert Rohlfing

Chairman & CEO

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forwardlooking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding the Company's anticipated performance in the future the planned exploration activities, receipt of positive results from drilling, the completion of further drilling and exploration work, and the timing and results of various activities.

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and the United States; financial risks due to helium prices, operating or technical difficulties in exploration and development activities; risks and hazards and the speculative nature of resource exploration and related development; risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company's title to properties.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the continued operation of the Company's exploration operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company does not intend to, and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Desert Mountain Energy Corp.

Related Links

https://desertmountainenergy.com/


DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Automotive Radar Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Range, Medium Range Radar, Short Range Radar, Frequency, Application, and Vehicle Type" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Mmarket was valued at US$ 5,019.0 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 11,640.8 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.9% from 2020 to 2027.



APAC led the global Automotive radar market with over 30% revenue share in 2019, followed by Europe. The automotive radar market in APAC is sub segmented into China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the Rest of APAC. The Asia Pacific automotive radar market is expected to grow at a significantly higher CAGR during 2020-2027.

Government initiatives - such as "Made in China 2025" and "Make in India" - are catalyzing the growth of the automotive sector in the region. Improvements in infrastructure, increase in domestic consumption, and low labor costs in Southeast Asian countries are the key factors attracting automotive companies to this region. Increasing efforts by automotive giants in the optimization of automated cars is expected to significantly drive the sale of electric vehicles in APAC countries such as India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

APAC comprises major automotive manufacturers such as Hyundai-Kia, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Tata Motors Limited, Lexus, and Toyota. Moreover, the governments of various countries in APAC are taking initiatives for the development of the automotive sector; for instance, under Union Budget 2019-2020, the Government of India announced its plans to set up R&D centers at an expenditure of US$ 388.5 million to enable the automotive sector to meet the global standards. Such government initiatives and strong automotive manufacturing sector in different countries are expected to support the growth of the automotive radar market in the region in the coming years.

APAC countries are increasingly implementing intelligent transport systems (ITS) as they improve road safety, ensure smoother traffic, reduce environmental burdens, and stimulate regional economic activity. The advancements in transportation systems, along with the mounting importance of car safety, are propelling the adoption of advanced technologies such as automotive radar in vehicles.



In 2019, Germany and rest of European countries estimated to be the key countries contributing to the European automotive radar market growth. In 2019, the region witnessed promising results of tech investments despite the economic slowdowns in the UK and EU. Over the past 5 years, capital investments in the European technology sector has grown by 124%, with a 39% increase in 2018-2019 alone; in 2019, the investments reached US$ 34.3 billion.

Western Europe is characterized by the high standards of living, and it is one of the richest regions on the continent. The automotive manufacturers have 304 vehicle assembly plants and production plants in 27 countries in Europe. In 2019, more than 3 million units of commercial and passenger vehicles were produced at these sites. Thus, the growing production of commercial and passenger vehicles is boosting the demand for radar systems.



A disciplined approach by EU through the reinforcement of measures for halving the total road accidents and deaths is another factor escalating the adoption of automotive radar systems in the region. Short range radar systems are being extensively used in luxury cars that are on road in the region.

Additionally, the EU is now promoting 76-79 GHz radar frequency, thereby creating extended growth opportunities for OEM manufacturers. As per spectrum regulations and standards developed by the ETSI and the FCC, c the UWB band of 24 GHz frequency range would be phased out of Europe by the beginning of 2022.



Key Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Rising Number of Road Accidents and Fatalities

Increasing Demand for Passenger Cars

Market Restraints

Challenges Associated with Test and Validation of Radar Sensors

Market Opportunities

Rising Demand for Advanced Imaging Radar

Market Trends

Growing Focus on High-Resolution Radar Systems

Company Profiles

Continental AG

Denso Corporation

Aptiv plc

HELLA GMBH & CO. KGAA

Robert Bosch GmbH

VALEO SA

ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Veoneer Inc.

Nidec Elesys Corporation

TungThih Electronic Co., Ltd.

The global automotive radar market has been segmented as follows:



Automotive Radar Market - by Range

Long Range Radar (LRR)

(LRR) Medium Range Radar(MRR)

Short Range Radar (SRR)

Automotive Radar Market - by Frequency

24 GHz

77 GHz

79 GHz

Automotive Radar Market - by Application

Adaptive Cruise Control

Autonomous Emergency Braking

Blind Spot Detection

Forward Collision Warning System

Intelligent Park Assist

Others

Automotive Radar Market - by Vehicle Type

Passenger Cars

Light Commercial Vehicles

Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/9ux2u3

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


ANN ARBOR, MI  Ann Arbor officials say the citys restrictions on adding accessory apartments to homes are keeping homeowners from building them, but new rules could allow them on over 22,000 properties.

About a couple dozen Ann Arbor homeowners have applied to add accessory dwelling units  known as ADUs  to their properties since the city adopted an ADU ordinance in 2016.

In some cases, ADUs can be in detached structures such as a carriage house or an apartment above a garage, or a separate rental unit within a home or home addition.

Under proposed ordinance changes to remove barriers and relax the restrictions, about 15,600 residential properties would have additional flexibility to add ADUs, and another 6,750 would be newly eligible, city officials said.

City Council members debated the proposal this week, arguing for and against certain changes. They ultimately voted unanimously to advance the ordinance to a second reading June 7 when the discussion will continue.

I am going to support this at first reading because I really look forward to the public hearing on this topic, said Council Member Elizabeth Nelson, D-4th Ward.

A couple built an apartment above their garage. Ann Arbor officials want more like it.

Nelson and three other council members  Kathy Griswold, Jeff Hayner and Ali Ramlawi  fought against removing the owner-occupancy requirement that stipulates the property owner must live in either the home or the ADU. In a 7-4 vote on whether to keep that restriction, they were outnumbered.

In addition to removing the owner-occupancy requirement, the proposed changes would allow ADUs in more zones  all residential zones except mobile home parks  and remove a 5,000-square-foot minimum lot size requirement.

The changes also would allow homeowners to build new detached ADUs on their properties, eliminating the requirement that structures had to exist prior to Dec. 31, 2016. The changes also would eliminate parking requirements and deed restrictions.

For residential properties up to 7,200 square feet, an ADU of up to 600 square feet could be built. For bigger properties, the maximum ADU size would be 800 square feet.

ADUs must be set back at least three feet from rear or side property lines.

While some residents have expressed concerns three feet is too close for comfort, Brett Lenart, the citys planning manager, noted there are extra fire-rated construction requirements if an ADU is going to be within five feet of a property line.

Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward, said shes excited about the ordinance changes as a way of increasing the supply of rental housing in desirable neighborhoods.

Increasing housing supply via ADUs is the opposite of sprawl and its smart growth, she said.

I dont want to over-promise and we shouldnt exaggerate how big a change these ordinance amendments are likely to have, she said. This is not a rezoning. It is not like a rezoning. Our ordinance already allows approximately 15,600 properties to host ADUs. Under these amendments, these existing allowed properties will have greater flexibility and approximately 6,700 properties will become newly eligible.

Thats all. Its just a one-third increase in the number of properties that are eligible.

Given the cost of constructing ADUs and the poor return on investment, Disch said, I can tell you that you are not going to see 21,000 people rushing to construct ADUs. Its more likely to be 1% or 2% of that over the next five to 10 years.

Hayner, D-1st Ward, argued the changes effectively eliminate single-family zoning, allowing anyone who owns a property with a single home on it to add an ADU.

Some council members echoed concerns of residents who are worried it could lead to more investors buying houses to convert them into rental houses with ADUs.

We are opening up a hot real estate market, Hayner said.

Without the owner-occupancy requirement, Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, said hes concerned investors are going to go after lower-priced homes, putting pressure on the poor and working class.

Were just going to uncap the potential thats locked into these larger land lots, investors are going to come and scoop them up, and fewer people will be in homeownership, he said.

Even if the city kept the owner-occupancy requirement, the other proposed changes still remove a lot of hurdles to creating ADUs, Ramlawi said, suggesting taking a more measured approach.

Even if Ramlawi is right it would result in less homeownership and more rental housing options, Council Member Erica Briggs, D-5th Ward, said she doesnt see that increased housing diversity as a bad outcome.

While theres been a lot of speculation, Briggs said, I think what we do know is this will modestly increase our housing supply in our community and that is a real goal.

There seems to be an insinuation if its an owner-occupied property and an ADU is added, its OK, but if its a rental house and an ADU is added, thats less seemly, Briggs said, adding she doesnt care if the person next door is a renter or owner.

Investors already area making cash offers on lower-priced housing, Disch said.

Is the prospect of being able to slap an ADU on that property likely to accelerate that? Only if that developer has another wad of cash to build that ADU, because banks do not finance them. ADUs are a poor return on investment, she said.

They are not like a kitchen or a bathroom renovation where you increase the value of your property by almost as much as you put in. Youre lucky if you see as much as half the value as you lay out as an increase to your property value, so the financial incentives just arent there to make this a big real estate gambling opportunity.

The idea is to add more housing supply, so if its another rental unit adjacent to a rental house, thats fine, and if its another rental unit adjacent to an owner-occupied home, thats also fine, said Council Member Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward.

Our community wants to see these built so lets give this a try, she said.

Griswold, D-2nd Ward, said she supports the concept of ADUs, but she also is listening to her constituents and supports a phased implementation. At some point in the future, she would be open to lifting the owner-occupancy requirement, she said.

Council Member Travis Radina, D-3rd Ward, said hes not interested in leaving another hurdle in place.

Whether those new neighbors happen to be homeowners or happen to be renters is not necessarily super concerning to me, he said.

The citys owner-occupancy requirement was put in place in the ADU ordinance adopted in 2016 to assuage concerns about a potential invasion of nuisance renters in neighborhoods.

Such restrictions also are a common way of addressing concerns that absentee landlords and their tenants will allow properties to fall into disrepair, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.

Council Member Linh Song, D-2nd Ward, said shes been looking to the AARPs reports about ADUs

A lot of the reports actually point to owner-occupancy requirements making financing difficult, just as it would for single-family homes, she said. And enforcing owner-occupancy laws can be tricky. Its been challenged in the courts.

In Oregon, more than two-thirds of properties with ADUs are owner-occupied even without an owner-occupancy mandate, Song said, citing an AARP report.

Theres demand for ADUs, including from people who are trying to find nearby housing for their elderly parents who are on waitlists, she said, adding it also can help with child care to have grandparents closer.

I dont see the owner-occupancy requirement being really helpful given that were in a housing crisis, she said.

Disch cited research indicating one-third of ADU occupants in Vancouver had incomes between half and two-thirds of the citys median household income.

ADUs are enabling people who cannot afford to buy a house in a desirable residential neighborhood to rent a small house in that residential neighborhood and benefit from its amenities, including possibly proximity to jobs, she said.

It seems reasonable to add this option especially as the city becomes increasingly less diverse economically and racially, Song said. So, Id like to see ... what neighbors we would be able to welcome by relaxing these rules.

A lot of the smaller properties that will be newly eligible to add ADUs are closer to the center of the city, Nelson said, guessing the changes will incentivize building more ADUs near downtown where property values are already higher.

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Ann Arbor comes to agreement with DTE over carbon neutrality programs

Washtenaw County law enforcement, leadership issue joint statement on conviction of Derek Chauvin
Correction: This article has been updated to correct that police misstated the date of the most recent application by Justin Hunt for a parade permit. It was on April 20.

Standing in the parking lot of the North Charleston jail where he'd been incarcerated following a protest, Justin Hunt held a microphone and spoke of the pain, racism and trauma he said he experienced at the hands of Charleston police.

Hunt, 31, and his cousin, David Austin Bennett, 28, were arrested April 20 on allegations of disorderly conduct and failure to get a permit for a protest in downtown Charleston two days earlier.

Hunt and others held a news conference April 20 outside Charleston police headquarters on Lockwood Drive as a judge in Minnesota announced a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty on three counts, including second- and third-degree murder, for the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May.

They expressed relief at the verdict and emphasized that major changes were still needed in the Lowcountry to ensure equal, just treatment of the Black community.

A little over an hour after their news conference, the activist said he was swarmed by four unmarked police cars and arrested.

"Yesterday was the most traumatic day I've ever experienced in my life," Hunt said April 21, addressing reporters at a news conference in front of the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on Leeds Avenue, where he'd been incarcerated. "I have faced racism in my life. I have been discriminated against in my life, but yesterday showed the true problem that needs to be addressed in the city of Charleston."

Joined by representatives of several other Charleston-area activist organizations, he called into question the reason for his and Bennett's arrests and the tactics officers employed in taking him into custody.

Hunt said earlier Tuesday he'd met with a number of law enforcement leaders, including Sheriff Kristin Graziano, Charleston police Lt. Jason Bruder, state representatives and clergy to discuss how they could improve law enforcement relationships with the community.

Had authorities told him he had warrants out for his arrest or that he was going to be arrested later that day, the activist said he would have surrendered himself peacefully.

Hunt said, "6:05 p.m. the warrant was out for me. And thats OK, if you feel that type of way, that you as law enforcement need to legally criminalize me, but understand that I am innocent until proven guilty."

Describing his arrest, the activist said officers in unmarked patrol cars circled him, treated him "like a caged animal," and "entrapped" him, but that he did not resist.

He was released from custody that night after members of his organization  Stand as One  paid bail, but the next morning, Hunt said he got a call from jail staff who told him he'd been mistakenly released and had to come back into custody or they'd be forced to issue a new arrest warrant.

When he surrendered himself, deputies strip-searched him, Hunt said.

The activist said he plans to file lawsuits against Charleston and pledged he was not giving up his fight for justice.

When I submit for a permit, I want it passed," Hunt said. "Im going to do it the legal way and you will not, after what you did to me and my cousin, you will not restrict us ever from expressing our First Amendment right again.  Youre gonna give us our legal right. Were not going to beg for it anymore."

Hunt said Black deputies at the jail were traumatized by seeing him go from being an activist touring their jail to seeing him come back in handcuffs hours later.

Speaking about Sunday's protest and march, which ended peacefully following tense confrontations with Charleston police outfitted in riot gear, Hunt said he applied for a permit but it was denied.

City and police officials contest that claim.

A police statement issued earlier on Wednesday said that out of 115 permit applications made since July 1, four were denied.

Of those four, three were resubmitted and approved, and one wasn't resubmitted because the date had passed, police said.

A city spokesman said Hunt did not submit a permit application for Sunday's protest, but had for the day he held a news conference outside the city police headquarters on April 20. Before that, he had not applied for a protest permit since August, and it was approved, the spokesman said.

Hunt's and Bennett's arrests are connected to a protest in downtown April 18, when dozens of people gathered to demonstrate against police brutality and the deaths of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., and Adam Toledo in Chicago at the hands of police.

Police officers told organizers they could not march down King Street as the group planned just before the march started at 5:30 p.m. that night. Protesters claimed officers were selectively enforcing permit ordinances.

Nevertheless, organizers warned protesters they shouldn't walk in the street, spray paint or damage property.

Police tracked the crowd and had officers outfitted in helmets, batons and other tactical gear deployed to keep the march from reaching King Street.

The group, now over 60 protesters, diverted down Calhoun Street and made its way toward the Charleston City Market.

At the Market, the group grew to over 75 individuals. Organizers criticized police for not allowing them to march down King Street, saying the May riot was being held against all Black Lives Matter protesters.

On May 30, a peaceful protest devolved into violence and chaos following Floyd's death in Minneapolis at the hands of Derek Chauvin, a former police officer who was convicted April 20 on the three counts.

The group made a stop on the stairs of the U.S. Customhouse, then began to march back to Marion Square. They again tried to reach King Street and were rebuffed by officers in riot gear carrying zip ties.

Protesters eventually made their way back to the square, where the rally ended without violence or property damage shortly before 8:30 p.m.

Arrest affidavits released Wednesday connect Hunt's and Bennett's actions on Sunday to their arrests.

Police told protesters to stay on the sidewalks lining Meeting Street, according to the documents. The group agreed, but police said they then marched along the pavement of Society Street toward King Street, and knelt in the roadway for several minutes.
Astronomers using data from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) telescopes have released a new all-sky map of the outermost region of our galaxy.

Known as the galactic halo, this area lies outside the swirling spiral arms that form the Milky Way's recognizable central disk and is sparsely populated with stars. Though the halo may appear mostly empty, it is also predicted to contain a massive reservoir of dark matter, a mysterious and invisible substance thought to make up the bulk of all the mass in the universe.



The data for the new map comes from ESA's Gaia mission and NASA's Near Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, which operated from 2009 to 2013 under the moniker WISE. The study makes use of data collected by the spacecraft between 2009 and 2018.



The new map reveals how a small galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - so named because it is the larger of two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way - has sailed through the Milky Way's galactic halo like a ship through water, its gravity creating a wake in the stars behind it. The LMC is located about 160,000 light-years from Earth and is less than one-quarter the mass of the Milky Way.



Though the inner portions of the halo have been mapped with a high level of accuracy, this is the first map to provide a similar picture of the halo's outer regions, where the wake is found - about 200,000 light-years to 325,000 light-years from the galactic center. Previous studies have hinted at the wake's existence, but the all-sky map confirms its presence and offers a detailed view of its shape, size, and location.





A simulation of dark matter surrounding the Milky Way galaxy (small ring at center) and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) reveals two areas of high density: the smaller of the two light blue areas is a wake created by the LMC's motion through this region. The larger corresponds to an excess of stars in the Milky Way's northern hemisphere. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/NSF/R. Hurt/N. Garavito-Camargo & G. Besla

This disturbance in the halo also provides astronomers with an opportunity to study something they can't observe directly: dark matter. While it doesn't emit, reflect, or absorb light, the gravitational influence of dark matter has been observed across the universe. It is thought to create a scaffolding on which galaxies are built, such that without it, galaxies would fly apart as they spin. Dark matter is estimated to be five times more common in the universe than all the matter that emits and/or interacts with light, from stars to planets to gas clouds.



Although there are multiple theories about the nature of dark matter, all of them indicate that it should be present in the Milky Way's halo. If that's the case, then as the LMC sails through this region, it should leave a wake in the dark matter as well. The wake observed in the new star map is thought to be the outline of this dark matter wake; the stars are like leaves on the surface of this invisible ocean, their position shifting with the dark matter.



The interaction between the dark matter and the Large Magellanic Cloud has big implications for our galaxy. As the LMC orbits the Milky Way, the dark matter's gravity drags on the LMC and slows it down. This will cause the dwarf galaxy's orbit to get smaller and smaller, until the galaxy finally collides with the Milky Way in about 2 billion years. These types of mergers might be a key driver in the growth of massive galaxies across the universe. In fact, astronomers think the Milky Way merged with another small galaxy about 10 billion years ago.



"This robbing of a smaller galaxy's energy is not only why the LMC is merging with the Milky Way, but also why all galaxy mergers happen," said Rohan Naidu, a doctoral student in astronomy at Harvard University and a co-author of the new paper. "The wake in our map is a really neat confirmation that our basic picture for how galaxies merge is on point!"



A Rare Opportunity



The authors of the paper also think the new map - along with additional data and theoretical analyses - may provide a test for different theories about the nature of dark matter, such as whether it consists of particles, like regular matter, and what the properties of those particles are.



"You can imagine that the wake behind a boat will be different if the boat is sailing through water or through honey," said Charlie Conroy, a professor at Harvard University and an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, who coauthored the study. "In this case, the properties of the wake are determined by which dark matter theory we apply."

Conroy led the team that mapped the positions of over 1,300 stars in the halo. The challenge arose in trying to measure the exact distance from Earth to a large portion of those stars: It's often impossible to figure out whether a star is faint and close by or bright and far away. The team used data from ESA's Gaia mission, which provides the location of many stars in the sky but cannot measure distances to the stars in the Milky Way's outer regions.



After identifying stars most likely located in the halo (because they were not obviously inside our galaxy or the LMC), the team looked for stars belonging to a class of giant stars with a specific light "signature" detectable by NEOWISE. Knowing the basic properties of the selected stars enabled the team to figure out their distance from Earth and create the new map. It charts a region starting about 200,000 light-years from the Milky Way's center, or about where the LMC's wake was predicted to begin, and extends about 125,000 light-years beyond that.



Conroy and his colleagues were inspired to hunt for LMC's wake after learning about a team of astrophysicists at the University of Arizona in Tucson that makes computer models predicting what dark matter in the galactic halo should look like. The two groups worked together on the new study.



One model by the Arizona team, included in the new study, predicted the general structure and specific location of the star wake revealed in the new map. Once the data had confirmed that the model was correct, the team could confirm what other investigations have also hinted at: that the LMC is likely on its first orbit around the Milky Way. If the smaller galaxy had already made multiple orbits, the shape and location of the wake would be significantly different from what has been observed. Astronomers think the LMC formed in the same environment as the Milky Way and another nearby galaxy, M31, and that it is close to completing a long first orbit around our galaxy (about 13 billion years). Its next orbit will be much shorter due to its interaction with the Milky Way.



"Confirming our theoretical prediction with observational data tells us that our understanding of the interaction between these two galaxies, including the dark matter, is on the right track," said University of Arizona doctoral student in astronomy Nicolas Garavito-Camargo, who led work on the model used in the paper.



The new map also provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to test the properties of the dark matter (the notional water or honey) in our own galaxy. In the new study, Garavito-Camargo and colleagues used a popular dark matter theory called cold dark matter that fits the observed star map relatively well. Now the University of Arizona team is running simulations that use different dark matter theories to see which one best matches the wake observed in the stars.

"It's a really special set of circumstances that came together to create this scenario that lets us test our dark matter theories," said Gurtina Besla, a co-author of the study and an associate professor at the University of Arizona. "But we can only realize that test with the combination of this new map and the dark matter simulations that we built."

Launched in 2009, the WISE spacecraft was placed into hibernation in 2011 after completing its primary mission. In September 2013, NASA reactivated the spacecraft with the primary goal of scanning for near-Earth objects, or NEOs, and the mission and spacecraft were renamed NEOWISE. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California managed and operated WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The mission was selected competitively under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NEOWISE is a project of JPL, a division of Caltech, and the University of Arizona, supported by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.



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As New York continues to reopen and pandemic restrictions are slowly lifted, the sprawling federal and state court systems have lumbered back to life, transforming how they operate in order to safely bring people back into buildings and clear case backlogs while infection rates remain high.

Nowhere has the change been more visible than in jury trials.

In Manhattans Federal District Court, witnesses now testify from Plexiglas booths. Defendants communicate with socially distanced lawyers through telephone-style handsets. And jurors no longer sit in tight rows in an old-fashioned jury box. Instead, they are spaced apart on elevated platforms that reach toward the rear of the courtroom.

Rather than cramming into a tight conference room to deliberate or eat lunch, jurors now receive a separate courtroom in which to spread out. They, like other visitors, pass through rigorous health screenings to enter the court, and they await jury selection in assembly rooms in chairs spaced six feet apart.

Our ability to get jurors to serve was dependent upon having an environment that was both safe and perceived as safe, said Judge P. Kevin Castel, a member of an ad hoc committee of judges appointed to figure out how to carefully restart jury trials in federal courthouses in Manhattan and White Plains.
Page Content

In a case of water rights between the Alegria Real Estate N.V. and the Government of Sint Maarten, the Judge on April 19, 2021, considered all the claims made by Alegria to be without merit and rejected their request to have the decision to deny the water rights annulled.





On October 6th, 2020 the Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development, and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI) Egbert Doran, denied the request made by Algeria Real Estate N.V. for water rights.





The amount of water rights requested was more than 13,000 m2. Alegria challenged this refusal of the requested water rights by filing an objection by the administrative Judge.





According to Alegria, a valid and binding agreement was entered into based on the confirmations made by the former attorney





representing the Ministry of VROMI and the Secretary General of VROMI.





Alegria also claimed, among other things, that they were being discriminated against in the denial of the requested water rights.





The Judge as mentioned earlier, rejected Alegrias request to have the decision to deny the water rights annulled.





The Judge referred to the relevant laws and jurisprudence that reiterate that Alegria should not have taken the position that they had a reasonable expectation to get the water rights because neither the former attorney representing Alegria, or the Secretary General of the Ministry of VROMI were authorized to make such commitments on behalf of the Ministry of VROMI or country Sint Maarten.





As the decision to refuse the requested water rights was properly motivated, the Judge did not find any faults in said refusal to justify the claims of Alegria.





As there are other legal matters related to the various Alegria cases still ongoing, the Minister of VROMI cannot divulge any additional information other than what the Court has ruled in connection with the court case.





The Minister of VROMI would like to conclude by stating that he is very pleased with the outcome of the administrative decision.
Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been unveiled again after it was repeatedly vandalized and boarded up during his presidency.

The newly forged star, which features a TV symbol to celebrate his work on The Apprentice, was laid down Thursday on the iconic boulevard.

The five-pointed brass star sits alongside famous Paramount film executive Y. Frank Freeman and director Irwin Winkler.

Donald Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been unveiled again after it was repeatedly vandalized and boarded up during his presidency. The five-pointed brass star sits alongside famous Paramount film executive Y. Frank Freeman and director Irwin Winkler

The newly forged star, which features a TV symbol to celebrate his work on The Apprentice, was laid down on Thursday on the famous boulevard

Trump's star was painted over, pickaxed and even drilled into pieces when it became a battleground for political debate during his presidency and 2016 campaign.

It was destroyed by a sledgehammer in 2016, attacked with a pickaxe in 2018 and last October a man dressed as the Incredible Hulk destroyed it with a pickaxe again causing 3,000 worth of damage.

It has also been frequently defaced. Last June, it was famously covered in Black Lives Matter slogans and an artist once placed a miniature wall around it to protest at Trumps immigration policies.

In another instance, a person put a cage over the sign amid calls for the former president to face jail time for his perceived crimes.

The first desecration came during the 2016 election when James Otis used a sledge hammer and a pickaxe to destroy all of the star's brass inlays.

The vandal admitted to defacing the star and he served three years' probation.

It was repaired but was destroyed again in 2018 by a man named Austin Clay, who was sentenced to a day in jail, three years of probation, and 20 days of community service.

Trump's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was spray-painted black in June last year amid BLM protests

After being painted black it was then spray painted in blue and further graffitied

Several months later protests resulted in the star being graffitied with a swastika and other offensive writing.

In June last year, a demonstrator spray painted the star completely black before a bag of dog excrement was placed on top.

Although nobody identified as the culprit, it took place during a Black Lives Matter protest and the star was tagged with the initials BLM, along with some choice swear words.

The final act of vandalism came in October when a man dressed as the Incredible Hulk destroyed it with a pickaxe 'beyond recognition'.

A video showing a man dressed as the recognisable Marvel character went viral last year as the then-president's star was smashed.

According to Los Angeles police at the time, the star was smashed at around 5.50 p.m. on Friday, October 2.

In July 2018, a man named Austin Clay destroyed the star which has become a site for protests

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce called for anyone who takes issue with any star featuring on the famous landmark should 'project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalise' it.

Until today, it was boarded up for months in an effort to stop further damage to the star which is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

After acts of vandalism, the non-profit, non-partisan group Hollywood Historic Trust replaces a star.

Mr Trump was first honoured with the star in 2007 in the television category, after he starred in the popular TV show The Apprentice. He was also a producer on the beauty pageants he owns.

But that was not his only brush with the big screen. The former president also made a cameo appearance in the 1992 movie 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' starring Maccaulay Culkin.

In another cameo appearance, Mr Trump was seen in Season 2, Episode 8 of television show Sex and the City, starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
New Delhi: The Uttarakhand government on Thursday (April 22) closed all government offices in the state for three days amid worsening COVID-19 situation in the country caused by the deadly second wave.

All the offices in the state will remain closed from Friday (April 23) till Sunday (April 25), except for those employed in essential services. During the closure, all the offices will be sanitized.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has made it mandatory for people travelling from outside the state to register on Smart City Portal (smartcitydehradun.uk.gov.in). Only after registration on the portal, they can enter the state.

Besides registration, the passengers also have to furnish a negative RT-PCR test not older than 72 hours. Mandatory for tourists, devotees and others coming from outside the state to register on Smart City Portal, entry allowed only after registration; RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hrs necessary. People returning to state to undergo 7-day quarantine, Dehradun DM was quoted as saying by ANI.

The night curfew hours have also been extended which will now begin at 7 pm instead of 9 pm and will continue till 5 am.

Uttarakhand reported 3,998 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths on Thursday (April 22). The total count of cases in the state rose to 138,010 while the death toll reached 1,972.

Live TV
New Delhi: Union Ministry of Labour and Employment had last year issued notification amending EPF Scheme 1952 to allow withdrawal of non-refundable advance by EPF members/subscribers in the wake of COVID -19 pandemic in the country.

The notification permited PF withdrawal of upto the amount of basic wages and dearness allowance for three months or upto 75% of the amount standing to member's credit in the EPF account, whichever is less, in the event of outbreak of epidemic or pandemic. Since the particular withdrawal was allowed due to the onslaught of covid-19 pandemic, the government had made such withdrawals tax-free in the hands of employees.

For employees, who wish to make PF withdrawals other than the permitted COVID-19 stress related withdrawal, the following taxation implication must be understood.

What are the different types of Advances and service eligibilities against each?

The service eligiblilty against different types of advances for which member can apply are as under:

1. Housing Loan / Purchase of Site / House / Flat or for construction / addition

2. Lockout or closure of factory

3. Illness of member / family

4. Marriage of self/son/daughter /brother/sister

5. Post matriculation education of children

6. Natural Calamity

7. Cut in electricity in establishment

8. Purchasing equipment by physically handicapped

9. One year before retirement

10. Investment in Varistha Pension Bima Yojana

Such withdrawals are generally permitted after completing five years of service and are therefore tax-free. Additionally, if an employee is out of job for 2 months, the EPF balance can be fully withdrawn.

However, PF fund withdrawn for purpose other than above reasons before employees complete five years of continuous service (in one or more companies) will attract tax. If employees withdraw more than Rs 50,000 from the PF fund then TDS @10 percent under Section 192A will also be levied. If the person does not have a PAN, in cases of such withdrawals, TDS will be deducted @30 percent. TDS will not be levied if the withdrawal is less than Rs 30,000.

Live TV

#mute
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
With the alarming surge in the number of Covid cases in the national capital, if the oxygen quota gets depleted in these hospitals, Delhi will stare at a catastrophe, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government said in statement on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Delhi is gasping for oxygen for a second day running as several hospitals are left with a few hours' stock.

The statement came after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the "Centre has increased Delhi's oxygen quota".

"The Centre today (Wednesday) announced that it will supply 480 metric tonnes of oxygen to Delhi, which will take almost 72 hours to reach. The city is running out of time. A total of 140 MT of oxygen, which was supposed to reach Delhi, has not reached the capital so far," the statement said.

It added that the Delhi government has repeatedly appealed to the Centre to increase its oxygen quota and has also informed it that the suppliers are facing obstructions from district authorities of neighbouring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Delhi government has been demanding oxygen supply from the Centre of up to 700 MT per day. However, it received around 240 MT oxygen on Monday and 365 MT on Tuesday, according to the statement.

Lacking with its own source of oxygen, Delhi's supply comes mainly from the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the Delhi government, the national capital will get more supply of oxygen from sates like Odisha, West Bengal and Uttarakhand, apart from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

"What remains a matter of grave concern is that of the 480 MT, 100 MT oxygen will come from Odisha and West Bengal, which will take almost 72 hours to reach Delhi. Delhi is in dire need of oxygen to save thousands of people battling with the virus. Our citizens, our hospitals, our city is running out of time," the statement read.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid-19 management in the national capital, had said that the power related to oxygen supply lay with the Central government, which decides which state will get how much oxygen.

"This morning (Wednesday), several Delhi hospitals ran out of oxygen because it was supposed to come from a plant in Faridabad, Haryana. However, a district official reached the plant and stopped the life-saving oxygen vehicles from entering Delhi, claiming instead that going forward, this oxygen will stay with Haryana. When the Centre decides on the issue of oxygen, no state government should have the authority to stop its supply," Sisodia said.

The state government also shared a list of hospitals facing oxygen shortage:

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital: Currently it has only 10-12 hours of oxygen supply available for all its patients with no other alternative. This level is dangerously low, with supply chain disruptions and delays being regularly witnessed over the week.

Manipal Hospital: Around 230 Covid patients are admitted to the hospital, which has an oxygen backup of merely 12 hours.

Max Hospital, Patparganj: It has around 262 Covid patients and oxygen for about three hours while the oxygen backup for the 285 Covid patients at the Max Shalimar Bagh will last for only about two hours.
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Thursday (April 22) banned roadshows and vehicle rallies in the state with immediate effect and said no public meeting having more than 500 people would be allowed, in view of the COVID safety norms being flouted during the poll campaign in West Bengal. The EC orders will come into force from 7 pm on Thursday.

The EC order said the commission has noted "with anguish" that many political parties and candidates are still not adhering to the prescribed safety norms during the public gatherings, therefore, "permission for roadshow, cycle/bike/vehicle rallies, if granted already, stands withdrawn."

Permission for roadshow, cycle/bike/vehicle rallies, if granted already, stands withdrawn: Election Commission of India ECI also notes "with anguish" that many political parties/candidates are not adhering to prescribed safety norms during public gatherings #WestBengalPolls pic.twitter.com/2tS9XFzGH5  ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

Earlier in the day, the Calcutta High Court warned on the alarming situation saying, If EC wont act the court will. The court also expressed dissatisfaction with the Election Commission of India over enforcement of Covid-19 health safety norms during the ongoing West Bengal assembly election process, including campaigning.

Hearing three public interest litigations (PILs) seeking enforcement of Covid protocol during the elections, the Calcutta HC bench presided by Chief Justice T B N Radhakrishnan said that issuance of circulars and holding meetings on Covid safety were not enough. The court sought an affidavit by Friday on steps taken to enforce the norms.

The court is quoted as saying, We are not satisfied with the materials on record to state that the Election Commission of India and its officers on the ground in West Bengal have enforced their circulars, adding that the ECI circulars show the route map and the protocol for the political parties, their workers, the people at large and responsible management by the officers including the police and other forces under its command.

Meanwhile, sixth phase polling in West Bengal recorded at least 79.09 per cent voter turnout till 5 pm in 43 assembly constituencies. Polling was held between 7 am and 6.30 pm at 14,480 polling stations in 17 assembly constituencies in North 24 Parganas district, nine each in Nadia and Uttar Dinajpur districts, and eight in Purba Bardhaman district.

"Polling was by and large peaceful today, apart from a few incidents of violence," a senior official of the CEOs office reportedly said in Kolkata.

Among the four districts, Nadia registered the highest voter turnout of 82.67 per cent, followed by Purba Bardhaman (82.15 per cent), Uttar Dinajpur (77.76 per cent) and North 24 Parganas (75.94 per cent). The Election Commission has deployed 1,071 companies of central forces for the sixth phase.

Notably, the state will witness two more phases of polling on April 26 and 29, while the votes will be counted on May 2.
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Through the strategic collaboration with Alghanim Industries, the Maharat Min Google initiative provided free in-person and online digital skills training and tools to students, educators, job seekers and small businesses. The online platform is comprised of over 100 lessons and explanatory videos, covering a range of digital marketing skills including search engine marketing, social media, video, e-commerce and more.

Commenting on the impact of the initiative, Alghanim Industries' Executive Chairman, Kutayba Y. Alghanim said: "Our support for this program stems from our commitment to equip our youth with the knowledge and skills that will allow them to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven economy. We are especially proud to have partnered with a reputed global entity like Google as well as INJAZ Kuwait which has for many years been empowering the country's youth to build successful and innovative careers."

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative succeeded in reaching its target and helped students plan for their future through interactive virtual sessions. Beyond Kuwait, Alghanim Industries' support has also helped Maharat Min Google reach 9,200 students in Palestine and 8,000 students in Yemen, in collaboration with INJAZ Al-Arab.

Meanwhile, Chairman of INJAZ Kuwait, Bader Al Kharafi, said: "INJAZ Kuwait is honored to conclude this program, which has equipped more than 2,000 young men and women in Kuwait with necessary digital literacy skills, especially in these unprecedented times which have propelled all efforts for e-learning across the country. We are grateful for Alghanim Industries' ongoing support to INJAZ Kuwait and we hope to reach a wider number of students in future initiatives."

The Maharat Min Google partnership was developed in response to the increasing demand for digital skills within the job market and the absence of sufficient Arabic-language digital training in MENA educational systems. Furthermore, despite the significant contribution women make to the world of innovation, the region has among the lowest female labor market participation rates globally. As a result of these considerations, the initiative was designed to raise hopes for all Arab youth, especially young women, to achieve their future aspirations.

Media Contact:

Hussain Al-Qatari

Corporate Communications Manager

[email protected]

+965 66361371



SOURCE Alghanim Industries
(ANSA) - ROME, APR 21 - Italy has produced the first robot in the world that thinks out loud and so learns new things like children, arousing empathy in humans.

The robot has been created by two Palermo University experts, Arianna Pipitone and Antonio Chella.

Pipitone is an expert in computational models for language and Chella an expert in informatics and robotics.

Their research, published in the iScience journal, is an important step towards a more effective communication between humans and machines.

"We'd like to show that robots are machines able to think," Chella told ANSA.

"The idea that a robot can have a sort of thought is stunning, and this can aid interaction, creating the right level of trust".

Pipitone said "it's an approach that makes the robot different from typical machines".

The pair used the Pepper robot for their experiment, a small humanoid with big eyes use din dozens of labs the world over.

But the software enabling him to think aloud is unique. (ANSA).


Israeli President said that is willing to make more efforts to further develop the Israel- relationship.

Rivlin made the remarks when he received the credentials presented by the new Chinese ambassador to Israel, Cai Run, at the president's residence on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli president asked Cai to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lauding the long history of the friendship between the Jewish and Chinese peoples, Rivlin said will always keep in mind the selfless help provided by the Chinese people to the Jewish refugees during the World War II.

In recent years, said the Israeli president, the bilateral relationship has made positive headway and the cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results in various fields.

Noting that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between and China, Rivlin said that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop its relationship with

For his part, the Chinese ambassador conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Rivlin.

Cai said that the Chinese and Jewish peoples have shared a time-honored friendship despite the vast geographic distance, and the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992 turned a new page in the history of the China-Israel relations.

In 2017, and Israel established an innovative comprehensive partnership, ushering in a new stage of development for the bilateral ties, Cai added.

The two countries and peoples have understood, supported and helped each other in the joint fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Chinese envoy, adding that China and Israel have made positive progress in practical cooperation despite the impact of the pandemic and other factors.

Cai pledged to work with friends in both countries to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two states and make contributions to advancing the China-Israel innovative comprehensive partnership.

Cai arrived in Israel on January 22, as the ninth Chinese ambassador to the country.

--IANS

int/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops met yesterday in Bkerke. The birth of a "salvation" government that is "free from partisan interference" is a priority. The frontal war between President Aoun and the interim prime minister Hariri, who is meeting the Pope today. The power vacuum slows investigations into the double explosion at the port of Beirut.

Beirut (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Council of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops supports the proposal launched by the Maronite primate, Card. Beshara Rai, for an international conference on Lebanon and the formation of a government "free from partisan interference".

The Eastern Catholic dignitaries of the land of cedars, gathered yesterday in Bkerke and in a note issued following the meeting call for a global initiative to resolve the internal crisis and favour the birth of an executive "of salvation and free from any possible political or party interference".

Chaired by the Maronite patriarch, the meeting saw the participation of the Greek-Catholic patriarch Youssef Absi, the Syrian-Catholic patriarch Ignace Younan and numerous bishops and personalities of the Eastern Church.

Those present recalled that the country has been without a government in office with full powers since 10 August 2020 and that the formation of the new executive has sparked a frontal war of competences and attributions of powers between the head of state Michel Aoun and the Prime Minister in charge. Saad Hariri, today in Rome where he will meet Pope Francis.

On behalf of the Council Fr. Claude Nadra stressed that "Lebanon has lost its sovereignty" and "political forces are unable to sit at the same table", which is why "the organization of an international conference" under the aegis of the UN is increasingly necessary. He added that this initiative is "mandatory to defend" the Lebanese people and to enforce "international resolutions" that have never entered into force (in particular UN 1559).

Catholic leaders also called for the establishment of a new government "capable of making decisions and getting to work", putting an end to a crisis that has lasted for over eight months, insisting that "neutrality" must remain "the identity of Lebanon."

The meeting also discussed the socio-economic crisis that has caused "hunger, misery, poverty and rampant unemployment" in the country. A situation that is not due "only to the new coronavirus pandemic, but to the absence of a government".

A power vacuum that is also at the root of the slowness of the investigation into the twin explosion at the port on 4 August, while the families of the victims and injured are still awaiting the compensation promised by the state.
Covaxin maker is yet to come out with a formal pricing for its Covid-19 vaccine, but company chief Krishna Ella said it would ideally like to have the maximum possible price.

Covaxin is being sold for $15-20 in the international markets. The company is in process of ramping up its vaccine production capacity to 700 million doses annually and is also pursuing approval for it in 60 countries. In Mexico, the Philippines, and Iran, it is already fetching $15-20 per shot.

Ella, CMD of the Hyderabad-based company, told a television channel: As a company we would like to have the maximum possible price. We would like to recover the costs incurred in clinical trials, and other things. We want to reinvest the money into (R&D) and be ready for future pandemics.



is working on other vaccines for Zika, Chikungnya, H1N1 etc. We need cash for future R&D. I never give dividends in my company. I continue to live simply, Ella said.

Based on his experience of selling other vaccines, Ella said he felt that each state government can have a different price based on volumes, logistics, at what time they want the delivery, etc.

We have experience and knowledge of working with state governments. But, in the private market, we work with children now (for the non-Covid-19 vaccines). Working with adults is the most dangerous, Ella said on a lighter note.

He also felt that states can opt for tendering and then subsequently choose a vaccine. They have an accounting process, so tendering can be a route.



Meanwhile, Dr Reddys Laboratories, which is bringing Sputnik V to India, said, Sputnik V is currently being sold globally at prices of $10 per dose or higher. As far as India is concerned, we are in discussions on the price of the imported vaccine. We will share an update once there are further developments in this regard.



Sources said the cost could be close to $10 per dose in the private market, while the governments may get it for $4 or so.

Covaxin has shown an efficacy of 78 per cent against mild, moderate disease and 100 per cent against severe disease from phase 3 trial data analysis. Sputnik V, on the other hand, has shown 97.6 percent efficacy.
WATCH: Credit Suisse reports loss after Archegos scandal

Credit Suisse (CSGN.SW) has been forced to tap investors for money to repair its balance sheet as the fallout from the Archegos Capital blowup continues.

The Swiss bank on Thursday announced a loss for the first quarter and raised roughly $2bn (CHF1.8bn, 1.4bn) from investors to help bolster its capital position. Separately, Switzerland's financial regulator opened an investigation into the bank's dealing with Archegos.

Credit Suisse said on Thursday it had raised roughly $2bn through the sale of mandatory convertible notes to "a selected group of core shareholders, institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals." Barclays analysts said the fundraising hadn't been anticipated.

Thomas Gottstein, the CEO of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Photo: Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP, file

Credit Suisse said its "capital position remained solid" but said funds would be used to "further strengthen" its balance sheet.

READ MORE: Hedge fund blowup sends shockwaves through Wall Street and the City

The fundraising comes in the wake of the Archegos Capital blow-up. Archegos was a little-known New York family office that spectacularly collapsed last month after making a series of highly leveraged bets on tech and media stocks. Archegos dealt with a number of investment banks but Credit Suisse has been the worst affected by the collapse. Chief executive Thomas Gottstein told media his bank was one of the top three brokerages working with Archegos.

READ MORE: Credit Suisse warns Archegos Capital blowup will cost it 3.4bn

The collapse pushed Credit Suisse to a CHF757m (686m, $827) loss in the first quarter, the bank said. While slightly better than initial guidance from the bank, it compares poorly to a CHF1.2bn profit made a year earlier.

The loss came despite a 30% jump in revenues, which was driven by surging activity at its investment bank where revenues accelerated by 80%. That strong performance was wiped out by a CHF4.4bn provision taken to cover losses from Archegos. Credit Suisse's investment bank lost CHF 2.5bn in the quarter.

Story continues

WATCH: Credit Suisse takes $4.7bn hit from hedge fund collapse

Gottstein admitted the performance was "unacceptable".

"We have taken significant steps to address this situation as well as the supply chain finance funds matter," Gottstein said in a statement, referencing issues with another client, Greensill Capital.

"Among other decisive actions, we have made changes in our senior business and control functions; we have enhanced our risk review across the bank; we have launched independent investigations into these matters by external advisors, supervised by a special committee of the Board; and we have taken several capital-related actions."

READ MORE: Credit Suisse faces battle to win back trust after Archegos and Greensill

Credit Suisse said it was likely to take another CHF600m hit from Archegos in the second quarter as the bank still had about 3% of total positions to exit. The Wall Street Journal reported late on Wednesday that Credit Suisse's exposure to Archegos was as high as $20bn at one point. Gottstein declined to give details on a call with media.

FINMA, the Swiss finance regulator, on Thursday said it had opened a file on Credit Suisse's handling of Archegos. The watchdog will investigate "possible shortcomings in risk management" and confirmed ongoing proceedings related to Greensill.

FINMA has ordered the bank to make short-term changes, including "organisational and risk-reducing measures and capital surcharges as well as reductions in or suspensions of variable remuneration components."

"These precautionary and temporary measures are intended to complement and reinforce steps already taken by the bank," the regulator said.

Credit Suisse is making sweeping changes to its prime brokerage  the division that lent to Archegos  and will reduce leverage by $35bn, Gottstein said. The division will be "resized and de-risked," he told media.

Gottstein admitted there was "significant concern" among the bank's shareholders but said governance measures were "already being strengthened" and promised a "forensic analysis" of what went wrong in both the Greensill and Archegos cases.

"Our underlying result is a testament to the earnings power of Credit Suisse and to the commitment of our employees," Gottstein said in a statement. "And it makes it all the more important that we quickly and decisively resolve the issues we are currently dealing with."

Shares were down 6.7% in Zurich.
Russian police detained more than 1,700 people across the country as protesters gathered on April 21 to demand the release of jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. The prominent Kremlin critic is reported to be seriously ill as he enters the third week of a hunger strike, and prison authorities have rejected demands for him to be treated by independent doctors.
State Department officials also would not discuss any prospective sanctions. A department statement said the Biden administration will continue to use all available tools to make clear to the military that it will pay a serious price for its actions and must reverse course.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, without naming names, pressured private corporations to rethink providing support for Myanmars military after the coup.

Some countries and some companies in various parts of the world have significant investments in enterprises that support the Burmese military, Mr. Blinken said in releasing the State Departments annual report on human rights abuses worldwide. They should be looking at those investments and reconsidering them as a means of denying the military the financial support it needs to sustain itself against the will of the people.

Braden Reddall, a spokesman for Chevron, said in a statement that we condemn the human rights abuses in Myanmar and we support the people of the country on their journey to a modern, peaceful and prosperous democracy.

Mr. Reddall said Chevron is a nonoperating partner in the Yadana field through an affiliate, which he said does not control direct payments to Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, other than income taxes. If we do not pay our taxes, we stand in breach of contract, which could put employees at undue risk of criminal charges, he said.

He suggested that there could be other negative side effects from sanctions for people in the region, including the disruption of energy supplies. Gas from Yadana accounts for about 8 percent of the electricity in Thailand and around half of all electricity in Myanmars largest city, Yangon, Mr. Reddall said, adding that the energy is crucial for homes, schools, hospitals and communication.

Yadana, he said, is a mature field that requires ongoing maintenance to maintain safety and future production. If the field were to be shut down for an extended period, he said, it could adversely affect its future production potential.
Srinagar, April 22 : The J&K police on Thursday claimed to have solved a murder case in Baramulla district by arresting two accused including the wife and her paramour for the husband's murder.

Police said, "On the intervening night of March 8 and 9, 2021, Muhammad Altaf Malik, 34, son of Ghulam Rasool Malik of Seriwarpora, son-in-law of Late Abdul Razaq Ganie was found dead near his cowshed at Renji village of Pattan tehsil in Baramulla district.

"He was later buried by family members at Renji graveyard.

"On March 22, brother of the deceased submitted an application for initiating inquest proceedings as he and his family members were suspicious about the death of his brother.

"Following orders of DM Baramulla, the dead body was exhumed and post mortem was conducted by a panel of doctors from GMC Baramulla.

"After the receipt of interim medical report and the statements of some prime witnesses the inquest proceedings were converted into an FIR and investigation was started.

"After using a blend of technical and human intelligence, police could finally focus on the wife of the deceased, Tasleema Begum. She was put to sustained questioning during which she disclosed the commission of the crime alongwith Ghulam Muhammad Dar, son of Muhammad Ramzan Dar of Renji village.

"The duo had hatched a conspiracy to kill the deceased a month before the occurrence as they were in an illegitimate relationship. On 8th March both gave the final touch to their plan and accordingly Tasleema called Ghulam Muhammad during night and they both bludgeoned Altaf to death.

"Thereafter they took the body and threw it near cowshed to conceal the manner of death and camouflage it as death due to slipping.

"Both the accused have been arrested, weapon of offence has been recovered on their disclosure while further investigation is in progress".
(Newser)  "Using cooking utensils when dealing with dangerous reptiles" is a bad idea, Riverside County Animal Services said in a Facebook post after a southern California man was bitten by a rattlesnake he had tried to pick up with barbecue tongs. County officials say the man, who was bitten on his left hand, was hospitalized and animal control officer Mike McGee captured the snake with a bucket and a 5-foot pair of tongs, CBS 2 reports. McGee says rattlesnakes are usually released within a mile of where they were captured, but this one was euthanized because it "was highly likely this snake might end up in one of the adjacent homes again."

story continues below

"A coiled rattlesnake can strike the length of its body and the bites are painful and, in some rare cases, fatal," warns Animal Services Commander Chris Mayer. The bitten man, a Corona-area resident who asked to be identified only as Steve, says he was worried about children encountering the snake after he spotted it near his home Saturday evening, but he soon realized that trying to pick it up with 14-inch tongs was a big mistake, NBC Los Angeles reports. Steve says he was part of a team that cleared rattlesnakes in the military and he thought he would be able to safely "assess the situation." He says antivenom prevented him from becoming seriously ill, but the bite was "extremely painful." (Read more rattlesnake stories.)
A Florida woman is facing several charges in the alleged theft of $470,000 from a federal veterans program and the state of Michigan, the Michigan Attorney Generals Office announced today.

As a fourth-time habitual offender, Sophia J. Quill, 60, would face up to life in prison if convicted of any of the nine felony counts she was charged with in front of Judge Mark A. McConnell of the Wayne County 18th District Court via Zoom on Wednesday, April 21.

Quill allegedly worked with two co-conspirators in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Michigan Department of Treasury by creating aliases and fabricating documents to make it appear that she and co-conspirator Melissa Flores were heirs to various individuals who died.

RELATED: 3 charged in fraud scheme allegedly stole $470K from veterans program, state of Michigan

Between 2013 and 2019, it is alleged that Quill and Flores defrauded the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of more than $430,000 and the Michigan Department of Treasury out of more than $40,000.

Flores was arraigned last year along with the third co-conspirator Quills son Steven Decker who allegedly received proceeds from the scheme and used some of the money to conceal property used to conduct the fraud.

I said it after the first arraignments and Ill say it againtaking advantage of agencies that offer public benefits for our servicemembers and their families is a slap in the face to the brave men and women who protect this country, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. Let the months spent building and prosecuting this case serve as a warning to anyone trying to defraud our state or federal agencies. It will not be tolerated.

Quill is charged with one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $100,000 fine and forfeiture of proceeds and items used during the crime; four counts of false pretenses $50,000-$100,000, a felony punishable by 15 years imprisonment, a $25,000 fine or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater; two counts of false pretenses $20,000-$50,000, a felony punishable by 15 years imprisonment, a $15,000 fine or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater; and two counts of false pretenses $1,000-$20,000, a felony punishable by 5 years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater.

Since Quill is charged as a fourth habitual offender, she is facing a maximum term of life imprisonment if convicted of any of the charges.

Judge McConnell set bond at $10,000 cash/surety and ordered that Quill have no contact with Flores. Quills probable cause conference is scheduled for April 29 and her preliminary examination is scheduled for May 6, both via Zoom.

Quill was not arraigned last year with her co-defendants because she was out of the state and COVID-19 made extradition from Florida difficult. However, the Wayne County District Court was recently able to coordinate her remote arraignment.

READ MORE:

Accused cocaine kingpin who allegedly planned underwater drug shipments to face trial

Michigan attorney accused of grabbing womans breast at restaurant to face lawsuit

Woman to be charged for alleged false claims of sexual assault, kidnapping

Body camera video shows Grand Rapids police officer punching man after traffic stop

Unprecedented housing market leaves Realtors stunned: Never seen anything like this
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New Mexicos Court of Appeals this week affirmed the reckless child abuse convictions of two former Portales day care owners.

Sandi and Mary Taylor, former owners of Taylor Tots Daycare, were sentenced to 30 and 36 years in prison, respectively, after two children in their care were left in a hot vehicle for 2 hours and 40 minutes in July 2017.

Maliyah Jones, 22 months, died as a result of the incident. Aubri Loya, then 23 months, was seriously injured but survived and has recently started public school.

Officials said temperatures outside the vehicle exceeded 90 degrees.

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The state Supreme Court last September, in a 3-1 decision, ordered the Taylors released from prison pending appeal on their 2019 convictions.

Tye Harmon, the Taylors attorney, said he will appeal Mondays ruling and still hopes his clients will ultimately be acquitted of the criminal charges.

My hope is the Supreme Court will agree with our argument that there was never a crime committed, Harmon said Monday afternoon.

Harmon has argued that the childrens suffering was an accident.

Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb said she read the appeals court opinion Monday and I feel the law is in the states favor and the law is clearly laid out in the opinion.

It is the states hope that the Supreme Court denies (review) and  will put this case to rest for the victims and the defendants will return to jail.

The Taylors have been free on bond since September and are expected to remain free until all appeals are exhausted.

Theyre doing great, spending time with family and doing everything theyre supposed to be doing under the court order, Harmon said. Theyve got a very, very positive outlook and strong family support.

If the state Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal of the ruling issued Monday, it could affirm the appeals court decision, reverse the conviction and send the case back to the district court, or find that an acquittal should have been the jurys finding in 2017.
A brave survivor has revealed the horror night a dentist sadistically raped and smeared blood and faeces into her mouth while she was tied to a bed for hours.

Jebson John Pidgeon Herrod, 37, was jailed for seven years on Thursday morning after pleading guilty to 22 charges.

The former Gympie, Queensland, dentist broke the woman's jaw in October 2015 and bound her to the bed while he poured blood and faeces into her mouth until she gagged.

Former Gympie dentist Jebson Herrod (pictured) was sentenced to seven years jail after pleading guilty to 22 offences including sexual and indecent assault

The woman told the Brisbane District Court that she had 'no doubt' in her mind that she would be 'dead by sunrise', the Courier Mail reported.

'When I was sexually assaulted and tasted the faeces and blood that had been rubbed across my teeth I was in so much shock that I wished I was dead,' she told the court.

'I was waiting, crying, begging, frozen in terror, wondering what death was going to feel like and hoping and praying that my Nan was waiting for me.'

The woman said Herrod abused her until she blacked out and 'smiled at her' when she woke up - telling her he thought he killed her.

She told the court she felt 'numb' as Herrod left the room and later returned with a knife to cut her free from the zip ties.

The woman was so relieved to be alive that she thanked her rapist profusely for his 'kindness' in sparing her life.

Mr Herrod smeared blood and faeces into a woman's mouth until she vomited in 2015 and restrained her to a bed with zip ties

'He hugged me into him after violently assaulting me for hours and he fell asleep while I tried to stay still,' she said.

Herrod's lawyer Terry Morgan told the court the rapist had no recollection of his horrific crimes and showed remorse by writing an apology to the woman.

Judge Leanne Clare rejected his claims as 'not credible' as Herrod consistently showed 'traits of self-absorption' and the need to 'dominate those who cause [him] offence'.

She described the assaults as 'sadistic' and said the former dentist 'inflicted pain and humiliation just because' he wanted to.

'A personality disorder is not a mental health condition which impairs your relevant capacity, it is a partial explanation but it does not alleviate your responsibility,' she said.

Herrod will be eligible for parole in October 2023.
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LAS VEGAS  An Arizona man has pleaded guilty in a Dec. 10 crash that killed five bicyclists on a southern Nevada highway in December.

Commercial truck driver Jordan Alexander Barson, 45, of Kingman, entered the plea Tuesday and faces a June 9 sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors said Barson had a high level of methamphetamine in his system when his truck plowed into cyclists riding behind a support vehicle on U.S. 95 between Boulder City and Searchlight.

Two other bicyclists and the driver of the support vehicle were injured.

Court documents indicate that a plea deal with prosecutors reduced the number of charges that Barson faced, fox5vegas/KVVU-TV reported.

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He had faced 14 counts, including separate counts of DUI and reckless driving for each of the five bicyclists killed.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI resulting in death. Each count carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

Terms of the plea agreement also include a fine of $2,000 to $5,000.
In his speech last week announcing the imminent withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden spoke about the bravery and resolve shown by troops whove paid a tremendous price on our behalf, including the 2,448 who died. Biden notably did not mention the more than 100,00 Afghans who have died in the conflict or even the specific case of those whove worked directly with U.S. troops.

Ismail Khan, who worked as a translator with the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2011, described the withdrawal announcement as heartbreaking, saying he was worried the Taliban would target Afghans like himself who had assisted the U.S. military. The Americans are out. So who are they going to take revenge on? Those who helped Americans, he said.

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Khan was forced to leave Afghanistan after his photo was published in a Pakistani newspaper in 2011. Hes been living in the Seattle area since 2014 on whats called a special immigrant visa and works with the group No One Left Behind, which assists other Afghans on SIVs. The SIV program for Afghanistan was launched in 2009based on a similar one for Iraqto grant visas to Afghans who worked for the U.S. military, as translators or in other roles, and whose lives are in danger as a result. As of 2020, more than 18,000 Afghans who worked for the U.S. government and more than 45,000 of their family members have received visas under the program, according to the Congressional Research Service.

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But this hasnt even come close to meeting the demand for these visas. As of 2019, there was a backlog of 18,800 applications. Because of staffing issues and the lengthy security check involved, the application processing time is 658 days, which doesnt count the amount of time it takes for applicants to compile the documents they need. Khan credits the support of his American supervisor with the fact that his application was processed in a relatively brisk two-and-a-half years. He says he knows Afghans who began their applications before he arrived in the U.S., more than seven years ago, and are still waiting.

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As noted in a recent assessment of the program by Brown Universitys Costs of War project, the long waiting time means the program is particularly unsuited to the people it is designed to help: those whose lives are in imminent danger. More than 300 interpreters have died while waiting for their applications to be processed, according to No One Left Behind. The problem is likely to only get worse once U.S. forces leave.

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When asked about U.S. obligations to its Afghan partners last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to the program, saying, We have a program that I think youre all aware of that is the so-called special immigrant visa program that they would be eligible for, and Im certainly committed, if theres a demand for it and request for it, to move forward on that. Biden ordered a review of the program as part of his Feb. 4 executive order on refugee resettlement, and that review is still ongoing.

A State Department spokesperson told me last week that the U.S. government is fully aware of the contributions of our Afghan colleagues and the risks they face and that the Department of State is working with interagency partners, including the Department of Defense, to identify ways to strengthen, improve, and expand the special immigrant visa program. In an emailed statement, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a longtime advocate of the program, said she would continue [her] work to increase support for the SIV program and to pursue every opportunity available for Congress to show its support for the Afghan people whove served and sacrificed by our side.

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But Noah Coburn, an anthropologist at Bennington College who studies Afghanistan and the author of the Costs of War report, says the current framework is simply inadequate. If theyre really thinking about how do we reform the SIV program, theres no way it will be ready in time to save many Afghans before September. It needs a complete overhaul and reformulation, he said.

Inadequate as it may be, there is, at the very least, a system in place for helping Afghans who worked directly for the military. Translators, in particular, have received significant bipartisan support and media attention. (Theres even a new CBS sitcom on the topic.) But they may be just the tip of the iceberg if the most dire predictions about post-withdrawal Afghanistan come to pass.

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A full security collapse in Afghanistan after September is not inevitable. The U.S. will continue to provide aid to the countrys government and military, and negotiations for a cease fire and potential power sharing between the government and the Taliban are ongoing, though they are fraught. (Khan notes that even if theres a peace agreement at the national level, Afghans who worked for the Americans and their families would still face risks, either from individual Taliban fighters or from kidnappers and extortionists who may believe they have more money.)

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But if the U.S. militarys assessments are to be believed, the worst-case scenarios are entirely plausible, and the Biden administration should be ready for them.

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If the national government splinters and the Taliban comes in and takes power, within months we could be looking at Taliban retribution teams going door to door and neighborhood to neighborhood, cleansing anyone who was affiliated with the U.S. government, said Coburn. This could include not only contractors for foreign militaries but employees of the U.S.-backed government and national military, whom the Taliban view as puppets. Members of ethnic minority groups like the Hazaras, who have faced massacres at the hands of the Taliban in the past, could also be forced to flee, as could those who have participated in womens education or other practices the Taliban abhors.

Afghans are already the third-largest refugee population in the world. If either the Talibans return to power or a complete security breakdown following the troop withdrawal triggers a new exodus, will the U.S. feel any obligation to help?

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Theres precedent for such a rescue. In 1975, about 125,000 Vietnamese refugees arrived in the U.S. as part of a sponsored evacuation program following the fall of Saigon. Many of them were first flown to Guam for processing, which Coburns report cites as a model for how SIV holders could be removed from danger while going through the lengthy application process.

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Coburn says the post-Vietnam experience shows that to say that we cant do that logistically now is just false. The resources it would take would be small compared to the resources weve invested militarily in Afghanistan over the years.

Now, as in the 1970s, the issue is less logistics than politics. The Vietnam evacuation faced some opposition at the time, including from freshman Sen. Joe Biden. Biden is a very different politician than he was then, though recent events dont provide much reason to think hell be too ambitious on this issue. After Biden promised a major expansion of U.S. refugee resettlement on the campaign trail, the White House last week announced that it would be keeping the Trump administrations historically low refugee cap in placethough it backtracked after major backlash a few hours later and promised an unspecified expansion next month. The presidents current determination allots just 1,500 refugee slots for all of the Middle East and South Asia, the region that includes Afghanistan. (This does not include SIVs.)

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Its probably true that U.S. military power was never going to bring stability to Afghanistan, and it may be true that international troops were only delaying an inevitable collapse. But you dont have to support the U.S. mission to believe that it created certain obligations on behalf of the Afghans who participated in it. The Americans most lasting legacy in Afghanistan may be, Khan warns, that they betrayed those that helped them the most. They left them there.

In my six years at Slate, Ive written about multiple national elections, social movements, and major cultural phenomena. With support from Slate Plus members, Ive also gotten to dive deep into stories and angles no other outlets were covering, and that Slate wouldnt have otherwise had the time or resources to tackle. Christina Cauterucci, senior writer
(Newser)  On the same day Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes, a white teacher in north Texas apparently thought it would be funny to stage a photo of herself with her foot on the neck of a 10-year-old Black student. The Greenville Independent School District says the Lamar Elementary School employee was suspended Wednesday, the day after the photo appeared on Facebook, reports the Herald Banner. Superintendent Demetrus Liggins says it was "a very inappropriate photo and the optics obviously are terrible." In a letter to district parents, Liggins said there would be a thorough investigation and appropriate action would be taken.

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The boy's mother says her sister posted the photo on Facebook and she wishes she hadn't shown it to anybody. She tells NBC 5 that the photo was staged after the teacher joked about putting her foot on the boy's neck if he didn't bring a signed paper back. "It was a joke between me, her and my son, and nobody knows the relationship that we have, except the three of us," says the mother, who has known the teacher for years. She says the teacher is a "good person" who doesn't deserve to have her life "destroyed" and she has reached out to the district to urge them not to fire her. Other relatives say the teacher should have known better. "With whats going on in the world right now, that aint nothing to play about at all," the boy's uncle tells WFAA. (Read more Texas stories.)
New Delhi, April 22 : As India faces the daunting task to make life-saving oxygen cylinders and key Covid drugs available amid the raging second wave of the pandemic, top health experts said on Thursday that the country needs to prepare itself for a long haul -- at least for the next 2-3 years -- unless oral drugs that can effectively kill the virus are available over the counter.

The Centre and the state governments need a well chalked-out plan for the next couple of years -- unlike the current scary situation -- to deal with the pandemic, which will become like a seasonal flu, they said.

"The future remains a mystery. Covid may continue for long if the strains remain infectious, and hit us hard a multiple times in the years to come, or it may disappear if the virus mutates to a very docile one similar to flu," Neha Gupta, infectious diseases specialist at the Medanta-The Medicity, told IANS.

"The ideal situation will be oral drugs which can effectively kill the virus and are safe to use on OPD basis. Till then, mask, hand hygiene and social distancing are of paramount importance for us and must remain a part of our lives for years to come," she elaborated.

Covid-19 may be seasonal like flu, according to researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago.

"One conclusion is that the disease may be seasonal, like the flu. This is very relevant to what we should expect from now on after the vaccine controls these first waves of Covid-19," said Gustavo Caetano-Anolles in a paper published in the journal 'Evolutionary Bioinformatics'.

While temperature and latitude are unmistakably correlated with Covid-19 cases, researchers said that climate is only one factor driving seasonal Covid-19 incidence worldwide - something that we are currently witnessing in India.

According to V. Ramana Prasad, senior pulmonologist at the KIMS Hospital in Hyderababd, Covid is now going to be there in the community forever, like any other communicable disease.

"The only option for any country is to vaccinate majority of its people so that the disease severity comes down both in terms of morbidity and mortality. After two-three years, it may become endemic and we may see sporadic spurt of Covid cases, like Swine Flu," Prasad told IANS.

The virus is changing at its own pace, and mutations are affected by factors other than temperature or latitude.

"We don't know exactly what these factors are, but we can now say that seasonal effects are independent of the genetic makeup of the virus," said Caetano-Anolles.

India is now facing more lethal variants, even a triple-mutant one.

The B1617 variant, first detected in Maharashtra, contains mutations from two separate virus variants -- E484Q and L452R. The third mutation evolved from the double mutation where three different Covid strains combined to form a new variant.

Two of these triple-mutant varieties have been found in samples collected from Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.

Pratibha Dogra, senior pulmonologist at the W Pratiksha Hospital in Gurugram, said that Covid has come back with a vengeance with the second wave.

"The healthcare system is overwhelmed. It is affecting all age groups and ironically males aged 20-50 are the worst affected. We are now dealing with RT-PCR negative but High Resolution CT (HRCT) chest positive Covid patients, which is the new cohort," Dogra informed.

Shubhranshu, senior pulmonologist at the Jaipur Chest Centre, said that it looks like it may take around one-two years for things to return to normal, provided we vaccinate more and more people and maintain social distancing.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Brisbane man who developed blood clots after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine has returned to his duties as a Queensland police sergeant.

Queensland police issued a statement on his behalf on Friday, announcing the 40-year-old officer was back on duty following the scare.

Queensland Health is investigating any links between the vaccine and blood clots. Credit:Eddie Jim

A 40-year-old sergeant from Brisbane was recently vaccinated against COVID-19. Shortly after, symptoms developed which warranted further medical attention, it read.

The sergeant previously underwent surgery on his knee in 2009 and developed deep vein thrombosis following this procedure. He recovered from this diagnosis within 12 months.
Excitement is building at the Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as the museum announces a fundraising competition to complete the restoration of their Douglas SBD-2P Dauntless (Bu.02173) and recently-arrived F-117A Nighthawk (85-0817) before the end of this year (2021).

Anyone who has visited the Air Zoo, or who follows them on social media, knows that one of their most inspiring experiences is housed in the museums Flight Discovery Center. Since 2013, the Air Zoo has proudly boasted one of the nations most recognized and respected, community-based aircraft restoration programs. While the pandemic has hit the program pretty hard, restoration continues to advance, fueled by the passion of a talented staff and more than 75 volunteers, all of whom bring their unique expertise and dedication to the Air Zoos important work in bringing historic aircraft back to life.

The challenges that have accompanied the global pandemic have not been lost on this group of outstanding men and women. They have persevered through safety and policy changes, and a lengthened timeline brought on by a reduction in available volunteers, not to mention a shortage of materials, tools and the financial support necessary to complete these projects. Volunteers and work hours have begun to pick back up, thankfully, and the team is ready and raring to go, with two important deadlines to meet.

The Air Zoos restoration team, undaunted by the unexpected funding deficit, has not only continued their hard work on the aircraft, but turned this obstacle into a friendly competition  and they are now inviting the public to join them. For the Air Zoo to complete the SBD and Nighthawk this year (2021), it is critical that they raise significant funds ($50,000 each) to support the final phases of restoration. This funding will cover, but is not limited to, the acquisition of finishing tools, parts fabrication, priming and painting and this is where community support is critical.

To join the challenge, the public is invited to make a tax-deductible gift to support the plane of their choice and the Air Zoos restoration team as they work diligently to cross the finish line. Every dollar counts in this monumental challenge! As Air Zoo volunteer and Team SBD leader, Terri Mucciante, noted: Even my grandkids are donating $10 and $5. They love coming here and they love seeing this, and so do all the other kids and families who come here.

Learn more and join the challenge at airzoo.org/fund-your-favorite

The museums Douglas SBD-2P Dauntless is a historic World War II Navy aircraft which, as many will recall, was once thought lost forever in Lake Michigan.

An early variant of the Dauntless, Bu. 2173 began its naval service as an SBD-2P photo-reconnaissance aircraft, one of only 14 built. It boasts an interesting history. For example, the aircraft was erroneously designated lost at sea in 1942, but went on to fly in the Battle of the Coral Sea that May. However on February 18, 1944, this Dauntless actually did crash into water, on a training exercise over Lake Michigan, rather than the Pacific Ocean. The reported likely cause for this accident came from carburetor icing, rather than enemy flak. Thankfully, the pilot, John Lendo, was not injured in the crash, but Bu.2173 sank to the bottom of Lake Michigan, likely saving it from destruction in the post-war scrapping drive which claimed most other aircraft of similar vintage.

On June 6, 2009, a recovery team retrieved Bu. 2173 from Lake Michigan on behalf of the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, then known as the Pacific Aviation Museum. Under an agreement between the Pacific Aviation Museum and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, SBD Bu.2173 was to undergo an extensive restoration, which is where the Air Zoo came into the picture.

The Air Zoos Restoration Team received 2173 in July, 2016. Since then, the restoration team has logged more than 36,000 volunteer hours into the refurbishment of this historic aircraft. Upon completion, the SBD-2P Bu. 2173 will return to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, as a national treasure! The goal is to have it completed and delivered by December 7th, 2021 in time for their National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day celebrations  on the 80th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Hawaii. Discover more.







The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk nicknamed Shaba landed at the Air Zoos Flight Discovery Center on December 7th, 2020, after a nearly 2,000-mile trek across the country. The Air Zoo is proud to possess one of the first F-117 Nighthawks released for public display at a non-governmental institution, as well as being the only Michigan museum to have one for display.

The backstory: In the early 1970s, the United States found itself vulnerable to new, advanced air-defense missile systems that integrated radar-guided surface-to-air missiles and air-launched, radar-guided missiles. To mitigate the threat, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched a program to develop the necessary technology and strategies for reducing radar detectability in U.S. aircraft.

Lockheeds legendary Skunk Works received the contract award to produce their F-117 in November 1978, with the first flight taking place on June 18th, 1981, just 31 months later! Produced in true Skunk Works fashion  under absolute secrecy  the Nighthawk went on to play an important role in six different conflicts, including Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. During Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991) alone, F-117s flew an impressive 1,271 sorties with an 80% mission success. Only one F-117 was ever lost in combat, and this was in a different conflict over Serbia in March, 1999.

The Museums F-117, nicknamed Shaba, first flew on January 8th, 1986 and logged just over 5,000 flight hours. The highly decorated Shaba is one of ten F-117s which flew at least 50 combat sorties and one of just seven to fly in at least three of the four significant campaigns where Nighthawks played a role.

Volunteers at the Air Zoos Restoration Center have logged more than 2,800 hours restoring Shaba and plan to have leading edges fabricated, priming, painting and detailing done for her more permanent display in the main gallery of the Air Zoos Flight Innovation Center by years end. Discover more.







About the Air Zoo

Located at 6151 Portage Rd., Portage, MI 49002, the Air Zoo is a Smithsonian-affiliated aerospace & science experience with over 100 rare air & space craft, inspiring interactive exhibits, indoor amusement park rides, full-motion flight simulators, hands-on science-based education programs, and more. The Air Zoo is a not-for-profit organization and is open 360+ days per year. For hours, tickets, safety policies and procedures as well as temporarily altered experiences due to COVID-19, visit airzoo.org/plan-your-visit.
Cargill Food manufacturers in Asia face the challenge of meeting rising consumption demand, especially within the convenience and foodservice categories. As leaders in the modified starches industry, this partnership with Starpro will allow us to leverage our collective strengths more effectively to generate greater opportunities for growth, as well as support new innovations and solutions in the future, said Franck Monmont, managing director of Cargill Starches, Sweeteners & Texturizers Asia. Our ambition is to be the partner-of-choice for customers in the region by combining deep market and technical knowledge, a robust product offering, and cost optimisation through local manufacturing.

With the Cargill - Starpro partnership signing ceremony, Cargill expands specialty tapioca starch offerings for Asian food customers, reaffirms commitment to Asia Pacific region

Johnney Hsueh, consultant at Starpro added, Through this cooperation between Cargill and Starpro, we look forward to promoting the wider use of quality modified tapioca starch among food manufacturers across the world."

The agreement will cover a full range of locally-manufactured modified tapioca starches for the food industry across markets in the Asia-Pacific as well as globally. In addition to this high-quality tapioca starch range, Cargill also offers a wide portfolio of starches and starch-based texturising solutions across different raw materials that provide multi-functional properties to meet the varied needs of Asian customers food processes and cuisines.

Texture is a critical element in the Asian palate. From instant noodles to packaged foods and snacks like Chinese sausages, gyozas, and Japanese mochi, as well as beverages like the perennial favourite bubble tea, Asian consumers are known to seek out textural experience in their foods, explained Monmont. As a non-GMO botanical with unique textural properties such as chewiness, springiness, and a clean taste profile, tapioca starch is well suited to help food manufacturers meet the product expectations of Asian consumers.

This signing with Starpro is the latest move by Cargill to grow its specialty starch portfolio in the Asia-Pacific, after the announcements of the expansion of a cold-water swelling starch line at its sweetener plant in Pandaan, Indonesia, as well as the construction of a modified starch plant in Songyuan, China.

As part of the companys long-term strategic vision to grow its presence in the Asia-Pacific, Cargill has also made many significant investments in the region in recent years:

 Construction of a new $100 million corn wet mill and starch dryer in Pandaan, Indonesia;

 Launch of its first chocolate manufacturing operation in India;

 Openiing of ts first food innovation centre in Singapore;

 Celebrating 40 years in Malaysia and total operational investment of nearly $450 million;

 Growth in Thailand with $70 million investment in seafood and poultry, total investment of more than $1.15 billion after 50 years in the country.
ALBANY  Eight days after protesters and city police officers clashed at the entrance of South Station, Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Police Chief Eric Hawkins ordered dozens of officers Thursday afternoon to forcibly clear a small encampment that demonstrators had set up outside the police station.

Officers were seen throwing a resistant protester to the ground and zip-tying his hands behind his back, as well as another using a baton to bash camping chairs. Some police were seen with tape placed to obscure their badge numbers.

About two hours after the confrontation, a protester was seen being put into an ambulance. The severity or nature of the injuries was unclear Thursday evening. Demonstrators were chanting "Black Lives Matter" in the intersection as their former camp was cleared.

Police said they arrested eight people at the South Station on charges including disorderly conduct, obstruction of governmental administration and rioting. Five received appearance tickets for city court. The others were sent to Albany County jail. Police said some of the charges were related to the April 14 incident between police and protesters.

Samira Sangare, 23, said she was among those charged with the violation of disorderly conduct and returned to the scene in the evening. "They pushed me with their shield and I fell back," she said. "They dragged me by my legs."

Sangare described a friendly and welcoming atmosphere of Black empowerment before the scene was cleared. "Today was a traumatic time for peaceful protest."

At about 8:30 p.m. roughly 60 activists remained, behind a barrier with about a dozen state troopers guarding the station, as temperatures hovered near freezing. Organizers said their demands remained the same.

Its cold, said Jamaica Miles. But people dont look like theyre going anywhere anytime soon. Miles said activists' heating equipment and supplies were destroyed when police cleared out the encampment.

Speaking to the Times Union, Chief Hawkins defended the police mobilization. The three objectives were to clear the area, do it safely and create a safe space, he said. "And we accomplished all three tonight."

Hawkins noted that demonstrators acquired propane tanks and burn barrels and there were reports that they were trying to get a generator.

"And just the general cleanliness and not giving access to people in the area for emergency services," he said. He also expressed concern about the encampment growing into a situation similar to that in Seattle where activists maintained a prolonged presence.

Preparing for action

At about 3 p.m. Hawkins declared it "is time to end this unlawful occupation. He and Mayor Sheehan tweeted out statements.

Law enforcement sources said the forcible clearing was dubbed "Operation Save South Station" by police.

For several days, protesters have occupied the roadway in front of the South Station," Hawkins tweeted. "The Albany Police Department, in efforts to support the freedom of expression and to de-escalate a tense situation, did not interfere with this unlawful occupation.

Protesters may continue to peacefully demonstrate, but they must do so in a space that is safe and lawful," he continued.

Sheehan backed Hawkins' decision to clear out the protesters, claiming residents in the area had "reached out to my office expressing fear for their safety and describing the negative impacts this unlawful occupation has had on their ability to access resources."

Vacari Fox, 33, founder of social justice organization Community Matters, said she was at work when she saw images and videos of protesters being forcibly removed.

They said they support a peaceful protest, and we were doing that, but then they come here and do all of this, she said. Fox also said she was upset with Sheehan for not organizing a meeting with activists, just as protesters have demanded all week. She has not met with community leaders, and she has just shown us that she wont, Fox said.

It all took minutes

Minutes after protesters were pushed away from the station, a front loader and dump truck cleared out tents and other items. City Department of General Service workers were also seen hosing down the area where protesters had been setting fires to keep warm. City workers also used a ladder and a pole to remove a Black Lives Matter flag that was flying from an outside corner of the station. After the protesters were pushed out of the street, the police put more barricades up around South Station, continuing to block traffic through the area at Trinity Place and Arch.

Just before police moved in Thursday, officers told protesters they had 15 minutes to pack up their tents and belongings or face arrest.

About four dozen officers faced about 15 protesters, who had refused to leave. Officers made a line to push the demonstrators away from the camp.

It all took minutes, with police pushing people away from the South Station entrance to the intersection of Grand and Arch streets. By then about 30 more demonstrators had arrived, and parked cars in the intersection to block traffic. A second protest group also surrounded Albany City Court on Morton Avenue, where police vehicles are kept.

State Police and Albany County sheriff's officers were also present.

Alice Green, one of the citys most well-known civil rights advocates and director of the Center for Law and Justice, arrived and stood in front of barricades in front of the line of officers, barely recognizable wearing a scarf, hat, mask and winter coat to shield her from the cold weather. She walked through the line and had a conversation with one of the officers.

"Nobody's telling me anything," Green told the Times Union. "And I didn't expect them to come and move these people. It's just short notice. They created the situation that I think is not good for this community, because the people are really angry."

The Times Union had not seen any elected officials at the scene by 6 p.m., other than Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce, who was standing off to the side.

The New York Civil Liberties Union put out a statement around 5 p.m. that said in part: There is no excuse for police violence against protesters anywhere in New York. Protests calling for an end to police brutality against Black New Yorkers should never result in more police brutality."

The NYCLU in its initial statement said tear gas was used, but Times Union reporters at the scene said they did not smell tear gas. Albany police said there was no tear gas used. There might have been confusion in watching videos from the scene as the demonstrators had lit fires, and the fires were put out by police with fire extinguishers. Later in the evening, the NYCLU said "we can no longer confirm that tear gas has been in use this evening."

'I'm not going'

One of the protesters, Brandon Brown, 21, declared before the officers arrived, Ill be here. Im not going nowhere. Brown had been pepper-sprayed in the face when a small number of protesters were at South Station's entrance on Wednesday, April 14.

He had a gas mask on Thursday and was pacing in front of a trash bin barrier demonstrators had created when they heard police were coming to forcibly remove them.

The police's decision to physically clear the camp Thursday came as pressure mounted on the chief. Demonstrators have been at the encampment for days, a move they say is aimed at drawing attention to police brutality and the confrontation last week  which resulted in an officer pushing a light out of a protester's hand, and pushing the megaphone of another protester, which caused her to fall on the pavement. Hawkins said the officer became agitated after a protester broke a window in South Station.

Sheehan spoke out, comparing the event to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The remark drew criticism and Sheehan later apologized.

Still, some police officers were outraged that the gathering on a public street was allowed to continue and it prompted the head of the patrol officers union to write a scathing letter critiquing department leadership.

About 20 people were at the encampment Thursday but several of those gathered throughout the day appeared to be people who came over from the Capital City Rescue Mission on nearby South Pearl Street.

The backdrop

Dozens of people who gathered at the encampment Tuesday rejoiced when ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder for killing George Floyd by kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Floyd's death triggered countless demonstrations around the country and spurred calls for social justice reform and restraint on police.

The local protesters praised the verdict but said much more needed to be done to end police brutality. They said they would not leave the Albany site until the city met a series of demands, which include firing the officer who grabbed at the light and megaphone.

The city fenced off the sidewalks around the police department's South Station early Wednesday morning  five days after protesters began the sit-in. Police said fencing was part of "normal safety protocol." It was unclear why the city waited five days to do it. Also on Wednesday, the police department released photos and videos of people they say they were trying to identify "in reference to activities" that occurred during the April 14 clash.

The protesters had put up tents on Arch Street, and lit fires inside large metal rings to stay warm. People have also written and painted on the outside walls of the station, including some messages with foul language and insults against officers.

Paul Buckowski and Pete DeMola contributed to this report.
Drivers should not let their policies be automatically renewed without comparing prices. Comparing multiple quotes just before the renewal date can help drivers save considerable amounts of money, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that explains how drivers can save money if they obtain car insurance quotes before the renewal date.

For more info and free car insurance quotes online, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/why-compare-insurance-costs-before-renewal/

Policyholders who let their car insurance coverage to be automatically renewed are probably making a big mistake. Drivers should research the insurance market and look for better deals before renewal time arrives. Usually, insurance companies are sending renewal information with 30-45 days before the renewal date. This period is enough for policyholders to analyze the insurance prices and to decide if they should remain with the current provider or they should look for another one.

Before making any major decision, drivers should consider the following:



Drivers should check if all the info about them is updated. The new insurance rates should consider the recent major changes in the lives of the policyholders. Many of these changes can have a significant impact on insurance premiums. Events, like getting married, or getting a better job, can lower the costs of car insurance. If the insurer is not aware of these events, drivers should contact them and ask for updated insurance rates.

Consider looking for another provider. If all info is correct, but the premiums have risen, then the policyholder is the victim of price optimization. This strategy is used by insurance providers on clients who are deemed to be less likely to look for better insurance deals on the insurance market. In this case, drivers should consider switching their carriers and look for better car insurance deals.

Shop around for better car insurance deals. Comparing online car insurance quotes can help drivers find better car insurance deals. Brokerage websites will allow drivers to discover insurance offers made by multiple insurance providers that sell policies in their areas. Drivers who got the insurance policy they wanted can request the help of an insurance agent to further customize that policy and save more money on insurance.

Check the discounts. Drivers who are considering switching their insurers should check the discounts provided by the current carrier. Bundling discounts can be really rewarding and drivers who combine the homeowner's insurance with car insurance can save as much as 20%.

For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.
Aventura voters will decide whether to approve three amendments to the city charter in a mail-only election that ends April 27, including one change that could allow Mayor Enid Weisman to run for city commission after her mayoral term limits expire next year.

In 2018, voters approved a charter tweak to let city commissioners run for mayor after two consecutive four-year terms without waiting four years in between. Now, the reverse scenario is on the ballot, asking whether a mayor should be allowed to run for city commission directly after serving eight years as mayor.

Weismans second four-year term expires in November 2022, meaning she would become eligible to run for city commission at that time if the proposed amendment passes. It would mean all elected officials in Aventura could serve up to 16 consecutive years.

Weisman said she had nothing to do with getting it on the ballot. The proposed charter changes were put forward by the citys independent charter revision commission, and the city commission had no power to amend or reject them, she said.

I was actually quite surprised, Weisman said of the proposed term-limit change. She said shes still ambivalent about whether to run for commission next year if its allowed.

Right now Im being mayor, she said. Anything else Ill have to deal with at that time.

Still, Weisman has encouraged residents to vote yes on the measure.

This amendment will allow experienced leaders to continue their service to Aventura, she wrote in a letter to constituents.

Aventura Mayor Enid Weisman speaks at a press conference at Miami City Hall on July 30, 2020.

Elected officials and lawsuits

The second referendum would prevent city commissioners from simultaneously serving as officers or governing board members of community associations, including condo boards, that are engaged in a lawsuit against the city of Aventura.

The issue has come up once in the past for current Commissioner Robert Shelley, who is also president of the Williams Island Property Owners Association board of directors.

Story continues

When the association sued the city several years ago, Shelley recused himself from a vote that could have posed a conflict.

That, to me, should be sufficient, Shelley told the Miami Herald. Were grown-ups.

He said he would support a ban on individual commissioners suing the city while in office, but not the proposed rule to force commissioners to resign from community association positions where they do so much good.

Im not in favor of the way it was written, Shelley said.

In her letter to constituents, Weisman called the proposal an enhancement to Aventuras ethical policies.

Charter Review Commission

The third and final proposed amendment would have the charter review commission meet every six years, rather than every five, in an effort to align votes on charter changes with the citys even-year municipal elections. Its a cost-saving effort, said Weisman, given that holding a special election like the one happening next week can cost the city as much as $60,000.

Other than Shelleys objection, the three proposed amendments have garnered support from the citys seven elected officials. The amendments need a simple majority of yes votes to pass.

There has been some public opposition to the first and second questions. In a post on Facebook, former Commissioner Gladys Mezrahi urged residents to reject the entrenchment of power of an officer being in power for 16 years.

And on question two, Mezrahi said the ethics rule should apply to board members at schools, hospitals and nonprofits, not just community associations.

This change should apply equally to everyone, her post said.

Ballots were sent out April 7 and can be returned by mail or in person to the Miami-Dade Elections Department at 2700 Northwest 87th Avenue, Miami, FL 33172.

The deadline for ballots to be received is 7 p.m. April 27.

The city chose to restrict the special election to mail ballots only, which is allowed by Florida law for citywide referendum votes.
Digital transformation has taken the front seat in companies across the globe as business leaders adapt to rapidly shifting consumer needs. In the wake of COVID-19, companies saw their digital transformation plans accelerate by six years on average, with many of these same companies increasing their digital budgets by almost 80 percent.

Customers, consumers, and employees alike are looking to CIOs and other technology leaders to address new challenges brought to the fore by the pandemic, with innovative solutions designed to empower workers and facilitate valuable relationships between companies and their stakeholders.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has been enhancing the role of digital in client experience for years, but, as with many other organizations, the pandemic accelerated this financial institutions digital transformation. Alysse Anderson, VP of Frontline Tools & Enablement, and Uzair Hussain, VP of Client Relationship Infrastructure, are leading conversations about how CIBC can continue to use digital resources for growth and innovation, whilst nurturing client and organizational relationships.

Here, Alysse and Uzair discuss how organizations can adapt their digital strategies with speed and agility, and how technology leaders can play a pivotal role in driving business transformation.

Q: How has COVID-19 affected digital transformation at your organization?

Uzair: Digital transformation has long been a part of our business strategy at CIBC, however, the pandemic accelerated things as we adapted to a new work environment and evolving client needs. Ninety-two percent of banking transactions are now performed digitally, which surpassed our expectations for 2020.

Our team looks at digital as a vital tool in building and strengthening client relationships. We ask ourselves, How can technology help deepen relationships and support more meaningful interactions? In many ways, digital is now at the forefront of client experience. While our banking and advice centres act as a hub for education and specialized financial matters, many of our clients are finding solutions to their everyday needs online.

COVID-19 has also impacted how we collaborate. As more and more of our team members transitioned to working from home, we needed to lean into digital collaboration tools to ensure our teams had the resources they needed to help our clients. The foundational investments wed made in platforms and tools equipped our teams to be cross-functional when the pandemic hit, supporting them to streamline the client experience and ensure quick and easy access to important information about lending, loans, and more.

Q: COVID-19 highlighted the importance of speed and agility. How do you think about speed and agility for your organization?

Alysse: At CIBC, weve worked to create agile teams across the organization. But widespread adoption of agile practices became mission-critical when the pandemic began. Our technology leaders looked at how we could further ramp up digital transformation and determine the technology we needed to invest in to support both our employees and our clients.

The most important part of this transformation for us was ensuring agility was embedded in our business practices. We began to look at projects through the lens of crawl, walk, run to get valuable products and services into the hands of stakeholders faster, while also thinking about how we could encourage long-term growth.

When it comes to speed and agility, its important to remember that foundational investments are not one and done. Instead, CIOs and technology leaders have to prepare for constant evolution to meet the changing needs of all of their organizations stakeholders.

Q: How have you maintained and improved the customer experience during COVID-19?

Uzair: One of the best examples of improved client experience during COVID-19 is the recently launched CIBC GoalPlanner. We had a great opportunity to modernize and simplify the financial goal planning process to support our clients as they adapted to new realities and potentially economic hardships brought on by the pandemic. We created CIBC GoalPlanner to help clients begin their financial goal planning process and work with an advisor to create a plan, plus track progress towards their goals.

Further, our investment in an enterprise CRM in partnership with Salesforce supports our ability to get a 360-degree view of a client, allowing our teams to provide tailored services seamlessly, and respond to a clients varied needs

Q: What challenges are technology leaders facing as we turn to a post-pandemic world?

Uzair: One of the biggest changes for CIOs and technology leaders is helping employees adapt to the new work-from-home environment. At CIBC, we focused on supporting our team members to get comfortable with new resources and ways of working, so they could continue to meet client needs and offer a high level of service, even though they were no longer meeting in-person. Prior investments in collaboration technology made it easier for us to pivot quickly and avoid any major disruptions in client service.

Alysse: Employee well-being is also a really important consideration for CIOs and other business leaders as we settle into our new work environment. When the pandemic began, we knew CIBC needed to adapt quickly to continue serving our clients, but we also had to consider the safety of our team members  especially those working in-person at our banking and advice centres. The well-being of our team members is critically important, and by providing resources to support them, we were able to cultivate positive morale during a challenging time, which also created a better experience across the board for our clients.

Q: More and more technology leaders are being asked to lead change within their organization. How have you embraced this role within your organization, and what advice do you have for other leaders?

Alysse: Digital transformation comes down to leadership. CIOs and other technology leaders have to lead by example, and establishing a clear purpose and creating a culture thats accepting of change and failing fast upfront can do wonders when leading through change. Team members and clients are looking to those in charge for reassurance and guidance as we all work to navigate change together. Consistent and frequent communication about your plans can help alleviate any anxieties or uncertainty your team members may have.

Leaders must also rethink the way their teams work. Change can be difficult and take its toll on your employees. Encourage your teams to take breaks and take advantage of the resources and support available to them. You should also consider adapting to different work styles and hours to accommodate your employees needs as they work from home  it isnt just about building operational resilience, but also about supporting your team to build personal resilience and creating a culture of engagement and support for clients and teams alike.

Q: As we prepare for the post-pandemic world, what advice do you have for other CIOs and IT leaders?

Uzair: CIOs and technology leaders should integrate digital into the broader business strategy, not just treat it as another channel for communication. Digital can be used to enable all kinds of experiences, but its important to remember that people are still at the centre of client experience, and digital acts as a support for meaningful human interactions.

I like to think of digital transformation as a spectrum with high-tech on one end and high-touch on the other. Successful technology leaders can find the balance between these two to meet the diverse needs of their clients or customers, and employees.

Alysse: Working with the right vendors is also a very important part of digital transformation. CIBC is currently on a multi-year journey in rolling out our enterprise CRM with Salesforce. By partnering with a company like Salesforce, we not only have access to innovative technology, but also a team of experts to collaborate with, who challenge us to push boundaries.

As we look to a post-pandemic world, our team at CIBC will continue to balance speed, technology, business processes, and a constant focus on client experience to better serve our clients and teams  and keep building the bank of the future.

To learn more about how Salesforce Professional Services can help CIOs lead through change, visit our website.

Alysse Anderson is Vice President of Frontline Tools & Enablement at CIBC, a leading North American financial institution. Alysse is responsible for the strategy and delivery of the banks retail sales and advice platforms and their user experience, as well as servicing platforms for front line team members.

Uzair Hussain is Vice President of Client Relationship Infrastructure at CIBC, a leading North American financial institution. Uzair is responsible for the strategy and direction of the banks enterprise-wide client relationship programs, including CIBCs enterprise Client Relationship Management (CRM) platform.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Egyptian firm Minapharm announced Thursday it will produce 40 million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first partnership for the production of Sputnik V in the Middle East and North Africa, Minapharm said in a joint statement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Rollout of the vaccine intended for "global distribution" was expected later this year, said Minapharm and the RDIF, which backed the financing of the vaccine.

Like the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines, which have been linked to rare blood clotting, the Sputnik jab uses adapted strains of the adenovirus that causes the common cold.

But Russia's state-run Gamaleya research institute, which developed the Sputnik vaccine, said this month that there was no risk of blot clots from its jab.

"The Russian vaccine is highly efficient and trusted by regulators around the world and makes a huge contribution in the fight against coronavirus," RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev was quoted as saying in the statement.

Russia's registration of Sputnik in August last year triggered criticism both at home and abroad over the fast-track procedure, but a leading medical journal said this year it was safe and highly effective.

The vaccine has been registered for use in dozens of countries.

Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, said this month it was preparing to produce 80 million doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine through state-firm Vacsera.

Cairo is also in the final stages of agreeing to purchase 20 million doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine, according to the health ministry, with a shipment of 500,000 shots expected this month.

Egypt, with a population of over 100 million, has recorded nearly 219,000 positive cases including more than 12,000 deaths.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the GOP response to President Joe Biden's address to the Joint Session of Congress next week, Republicans announced on Thursday.

Scott, the lone black Republican in the Senate, has taken the lead on police reform for the GOP.

'I'm excited and honored for this opportunity to address the nation,' he said. 'We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America. I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans' optimistic vision for expanding opportunity and empowering working families.'

Biden will address the nation from the well of the House of Representatives next Wednesday, April 28, ahead of his 100th day in office.

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the GOP response to President Joe Biden's address to the Joint Session of Congress next week

Scott was a member of the House of Representatives when then-S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley appointed him to fill one of the state's Senate seats in 2013. He then won it in his own right in 2014 special election. In addition to his political career, Scott owns an insurance agency, Tim Scott Allstate.

During the Trump administration, Scott met with then-president Donald Trump at the White House to talk about race relations in the wake of Trump's comments after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where Trump said there were 'very fine people' on both sides. He also defended Trump on his Proud Boy comments, saying the then-president 'misspoke.'

Scott also worked with Ivanka Trump on getting the child tax credit doubled.

He is up for re-election in 2022 and Donald Trump gave him his 'complete and total' endorsement, calling him 'Strong on the Military, Law Enforcement, loves our Vets, protects our Second Amendment and our Borders.'

The response to a presidential address is seen as a possible star-making role for a member of the opposing party. Stacey Abrams gave the response for Democrats to one of President Donald Trump's State of the Union addresses.

But the platform also can be fraught with peril. There is a long list of politicians on both sides of the aisle who have bombed - Senator Marco Rubio famously stopped speaking to take a drink of water when he gave the response to one of Barack Obama's speeches.

By picking Scott, GOP leaders focused their response to the president on Congress and the role it will play in countering Biden's legislative agenda as opposed to picking a Republican who is weighing a 2024 presidential bid.

Scott is set to introduce his police reform bill in a few weeks and has spoken a potential compromise with Democrats Rep. Karen Bass and Sen. Cory Booker.

'I think we are on the verge of wrapping this up in the next week or two, depending on how quickly they respond to our suggestions,' Scott told reporters.

Scott said that there are 'really only four or five outstanding issues from my perspective': The 1033 program, which provides local and state police with military equipment, ending qualified immunity, and a federal ban on chokehold and 'no-knock' warrants.

Biden is also expected to address police reform in his speech, which will be his most high-profile public address since his remarks on Inauguration Day.

'He believes the bar for convicting officers is too high,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. 'It needs to be changed.'

Police reform has returned to the forefront in the wake of Derek Chauvin being convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

Psaki said Biden supports a bill that would ban chokeholds and require that deadly force only be used as a last resort in arrests.

That bill has passed in the House of Representatives but faces a rough time in the closely divided Senate.

President Joe Biden will address the nation next Wednesday, April 28, in his most high-profile public speech since Inauguration Day

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is still finalizing what will go in the speech

Biden will also reveal a new legislative item in his address, a 'human infrastructure' plan called the American Families Plan. Its price tag could top $1 trillion.

It will focus on social programs such as child care and education.

'A core of that will be him laying out the specifics of the American Families Plan, his commitment to child care, to education, and to delivering on those middle class priorities,' Psaki said.

'On his mind are issues like police reform, health and his commitment to expanding access to health care,' she continued. 'So I expect he'll talk about a range of issues.'

Psaki noted that the speech is still being finalized.

'We're working through' the content and what will make the final cut, she said at Thursday's press briefing, adding 'unless you want to sit through a seven hour speech, which I don't think you do.'

Only 200 tickets will be available for Biden's speech due to COVID protocols. Democrats are already jockeying for one of limited spots allocated for lawmakers, administration officials and guests while many Republicans are expected to boycott.
(Photo : Screenshot From Pexels Official Website) Lawmakers Propose Bill to Ban Law Enforcement Data Collection | 'The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act'

A certain bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers proposed a brand new bill on Wednesday April 21 that could ban the law enforcement as well as intelligence agencies from being able to buy user data from smartphones, social media, and even other digital sources coming from third-party data brokers. The bill is called "The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act."

The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act

The new act calls for the government agencies to really obtain a court order before they will be able to access personal information that is collected online. This includes geolocational information as well as electronic surveillance data. Sen Ron Wyden of Oregon stated in a press release that this bill would close legal "loopholes" which allow data brokers to easily sell American's personal information to intelligence agencies or law enforcements.

Wyden also added that doing business online does not directly amount to giving the government any form of permission to track the user's movement or go through the users' most personal data. Clearview AI, a certain facial-recognition software company, was directly named as a data collector whose gathered data should be protected from being sold to none other than the government due to certain privacy concerns.

Clearview AI Gathers Data Online

The New York Times also reported back in January 2020 that Clearview AI's system would include an extensive database consisting of over three billion images all taken from social media accounts as well as millions of other websites even without the user knowing. Although the particular software has been reportedly used to solve a number of crimes, along with certain data privacy concerns, it could still lead to the whole misidentification of suspects.

According to the story by ABC, Noan Ton-That, the current CEO of Clearview AI noted that the company actually only collects certain publicly available photos that are available on the open internet and are accessible from any computer in any part of the world. The statement noted that they have not yet seen the particular bill and that they plan to review it carefully to provide feedback if ever they get the opportunity to do so.

Read Also: American Civil Liberties Union Sues Clearview AI for Violating Privacy

House's Version of the Act

The bill was introduced by none other than Wyden and Sen. Rand Paul from Kentucky and is now being supported by 18 other members of the whole Senate. Paul noted in a press release that the Fourth Amendment's general protection against certain unreasonable search and other seizure ensures that the whole library of every single American will not be violated on the whims, or the financial transactions, of every single government officer.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. known as Jerry Nadler of New York as well as House Committee Chair Rep. known as Zoe Lonfgren hailing from California also introduced the House's version of this particular act on April 21. The House Judiciary Committee will reportedly be examining the legislation over the course of the upcoming months according to Nadler.

Related Article: Clearview AI Allegedly Searches Millions of Faces Without Consent: How to Check If You're Included

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Wokeism is far more dangerous than secularism

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Wokeism, which some call the "new" religion of our day, is entirely incompatible with Christian values and, left unchecked, will undermine the foundation of American society. If that sounds hyperbolic, we fail to acknowledge that its very purpose is to do just that.

Originating from Critical Theory, wokeism challenges existing power structures and seeks to dismantle what we see as universal truths[1]. The U.S. is a nation shaped by the principle that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"[2]. Since the founding fathers were Christians, "the inalienable rights from the Creator" can be further expanded to include God's vision for man and society as told in the Bible:

I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality and to do nothing out of favoritism. 1 Timothy 5:21

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. James 2:8-9

Throughout our history, Americans struggled with achieving these ideals. Still, through fierce debate, social turmoil, and even war, the outcome has been a continuous push towards racial and gender equality, preserving individual liberty and opportunities for economic prosperity. Together, our political leaders, civic activists, and the community have fought to dismantle institutional and legal systems that perpetuated racial or gender disparity. Today, the U.S. is one of the least prejudicial nations on earth.[3]

In contrast, wokeism sees our nation as fraught with oppression from racial injustice and gender norms that subjugate portions of our society and, therefore, must be destroyed. Through social media messaging, celebrities, and even our politicians, their followers chant slogans demanding power for who they claim are powerless, based on a racial or ethnic class rather than their standing with God. They require all of society to abolish traditional gender norms of males and females and assert that gender is a spectrum that the individual can self-determine. Their religion relies on control and power to impose their ideas, from which violence would be a natural consequence if people do not conform. Major corporations, politicians, and mainstream media are capitulating to these demands, so they remain relevant and avoid the persecution that comes from resistance.

Wokeism is far more effective than secularism ever could be because it fills the "God-shaped hole" in our culture. It claims its own interpretation of justice, righteousness, sin, and judgment. Followers find meaning in the ultimate goal of dismantling oppressive power structures to create their utopian society.[4]

The ideas put forward by wokeism are the exact opposite of what God has spoken over over us as children of God. We were created male and female, made in His image with authority over the earth.

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:26-27

Repeatedly, God instructs us to do what is right and to behave with justice, kindness, and love towards all, without favoritism or regard for race.[5] The avowed enemy of man is Satan who comes to steal, kill and destroy. If he can rob our society of faith in our systems of justice and freedom, he can replace it with whatever ideals he wants. Understood this way, wokeism at its core wants a war against God and everything He stands for. It leaves Christians, holding unto God's law, the most formidable threat of all.

Our responsibility as followers of Christ is to uphold the standards set forth by God as the ultimate path to peace and justice in society. We should not capitulate the Divine order of the universe to be popular or liked, even with our family or friends. We are tolerant of people who don't accept the truth, but we cannot accept there is no ultimate Truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life[6]. There is no difference between us based on race  "the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him."[7]



[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_theory

[2] https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

[3] https://www.christianpost.com/news/social-media-and-the-internet-sowing-racial-discontent.html?clickType=link-topbar-news

[4] https://www.convergemedia.org/wokeism-the-new-religion-of-the-west/

[5] 1 Corinthians 12:13, Acts 10:34-35

[6] John 14:6

[7] Romans 10:12
Line Of Duty has released a first look spoiler picture showing the moment DI Steve Arnott and Ted Hastings arrive at the shooting scene after Sunday's cliffhanger.

The most recent episode, which drew in an astonishing 10million viewers, saw DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) locked in a tense showdown with PC Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper), with two gunshots heard as the screen faded to black.

In the new spoiler pictures, it sees DI Arnott (Martin Compston) and AC-12 boss Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) arrive at the crime scene with DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-Franklin) and DCS Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin).

FIRST LOOK: Line Of Duty has released a first look spoiler picture showing the moment DI Steve Arnott and Ted Hastings arrive at the shooting scene after Sunday's cliffhanger

DI Arnott appears horrified as he puts on a pair of blue forensic gloves while a collection of sirens and police cars can be spotted in background.

Line Of Duty fans were sent wild on Sunday evening as the latest episode ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger as Kate and Ryan were locked in a showdown.

After viewers learnt that Joanne Davidson, played by Kelly Macdonald, was related to gangster Tommy Hunter, the fifth episode ended with DI Fleming in a tense showdown with PC Pilkington.

Line Of Stress! The most recent episode, which drew in an astonishing 10million viewers, saw DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure), R, locked in a tense showdown with PC Ryan Pilkington (Gregory Piper), L, with two gunshots heard as the screen faded to black

Tense: In the new spoiler pictures, it sees DI Arnott (Martin Compston) and AC-12 boss Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) arrive at the crime scene with DC Chloe Bishop (Shalom Brune-Franklin) and DCS Patricia Carmichael (Anna Maxwell Martin)

Soon after the show aired, Twitter was flooded with wild reaction from fans, who demanded bosses show the next episode now, as the suspense was too much to wait another week to see the outcome of the shoot off.

Fans were also left reeling after fan favourite Hastings was tipped as being the elusive H again.

In typical AC-12 style, a twist emerged in the form of a throwback clue to the 2019 series showing the word definitely misspelt as 'definately' in Jo's messages - a clue that previously suggested Hastings could be one of the bent coppers he is so hellbent on finding.

Although fans were already reeling with the twist, the show ended with the tense cliffhanger seeing PC Pilkington drawing his gun at DI Fleming.

Drama: Line Of Duty fans were sent wild on Sunday evening as the latest episode ended on a nail-biting cliffhanger as Kate and Ryan were locked in a showdown

In the closing moments, Kate  a goodie (at least we hope)  and PC Ryan  a baddie through and through  are seen with their guns trained on each other.

Leaving viewers on the edge of their seats, the episode then ended after the duo shouted at each other to drop their guns, with two gun shots heard as the screen faded to black.

Has Kate  whom we've watched snaring bent coppers over six series  been killed in the line of duty? Or has she finished off corrupt and psychopathic Pilkington?

And if she's only wounded, will DI Arnott  Kate's partner in crime-fighting  manage to save her?

Kate had managed to send him a text just before the intense final scene, however it remains to be seen if he makes it to her in time to help and catch Ryan.

Detective work: On Monday, Line Of Duty fans shared their theory over who survives the shoot out after they claimed the series six trailer gives away a clue

On Monday, Line Of Duty fans shared their theory over who survives the shoot out after they claimed the series six trailer gives away a clue.

It came as actor Adrian, who plays Hastings, revealed that there's already been 'a very big clue' about what happens in next week's episode.

Putting their amateur detective skills to the test, several Line of Duty fans took to Twitter after Sunday's show to suggest that the series six trailer had the answers.

They were quick to point out one blink-and-you-miss-it scene which sees Kate standing next to Acting Detective Superintendent Jo - which has yet to air on the show.

Fans thus deduced the scene must happen in the aftermath of the shooting - indicating Kate survives. Although nothing is known of Ryan's fate.

One person declared: 'Screen grab from #Lineofduty session 6 @BBC trailer. #katefleming looks p***ed, #jodavidson has her hands in the air. THIS SCENE HASN'T OCCURRED YET. #katefleming lives for at least 1 more episode.'

And another wrote: 'Nah shes no dead! Major spoiler if you Look back at the original season 6 trailer - both Jo and Kate get stopped by armed police, exact same clothes they were wearing just now. I reckon Ryan either missed or the second shot was Jo.'

Adrian appeared to back up the theories as he appeared as the first guest back in the Good Morning Britain studio on Monday, pointing fans away from the misspelt 'definately' but insisting many 'already know' her fate.

Interesting: It came as actor Adrian, who plays Hastings, revealed that there's already been 'a very big clue' about what happens in next week's episode on Monday's GMB

Reflecting on Sunday's dramatic show, Adrian said: 'Great cliffhanger again, Jed loves his cliffhangers. And a lot of LOD fans know [what's coming next for Kate].'

Presenter Adil Ray then jumped in asking: 'Theyve worked it out you mean?'

Adrian continued, knowingly nodding his head: 'A lot of Line of Duty fans know whats going on. All will be revealed in the fullness of time.'

Susanna then despaired as she said: 'I feel like you're giving us a really heavy piece of information that I can't for the life of me work out.'

Adrian then dropped the bombshell: 'Yes, theres been a very big clue. Im giving you a scoop. As the first guest back on the show, I am giving you a massive scoop. Theres a clue out there as to what happens next.'

Line of Duty continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
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The police in Osun on Thursday said it rescued a 25-year-old female student of the Osun College of Health Technology, Ilesa, who was abducted on Tuesday.

According to a statement by Yemisi Opalola, the Osun Police Spokesperson, the victim, Rukayat Bayonle, was abducted on April, 20, at about 2.30 a.m, at Olomilagbala Area, Ilesa, Osun.

Upon a distress call that the victim was abducted, the Osun Commissioner of Police, Olawale Olokode, drafted a combined team of police Tactical Unit, JTF and other security outfits on a rescue mission of the abducted girl.

The abductors numbering about five, invaded the quarters of the student and took her to the bush.

The security operatives on an unrelenting rescue operation of the victim, followed suit in the bush to do a thorough combing.

At about 5.25 a.m of the same day, within the space of three hours, the Police and local security men rescued the kidnapped victim unhurt.

The Commissioner of Police, hereby, urged members of the public to be vigilant, support, co-operate and collaborate with the Police in the fight against all forms of criminalities, the statement read in part.

(NAN)
UAE Airlines have suspended their flights between Dubai and India for 10 days starting from April 25 over the steep spike in COVID-19 infections as the second wave of COVID-19 grips India. Earlier this week, the United Kingdom added India to its red list which means anyone who is not a resident of the UK or Ireland, or a British citizen, cannot enter the UK if they have been to India in the previous 10 days. The travel ban is said to be effective from Friday, April 23. The UK's decision of imposing a travel ban to India comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to Delhi in the light of the prevailing Coronavirus situation.

Moreover, the United States on Tuesday issued a had advised its citizens to avoid travelling to India even if they have been vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its statement said, "Because of the current situation in India even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to India. If you must travel to India, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travellers should wear a mask, stay 6 feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands."

Moreover, even Hong Kong also suspended flights to and from India on Sunday in the wake of the alarming situation of COVID-19 in the country. Authorities in Hong Kong said that 53 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to the city tested positive for COVID-19.

New Zealand had also imposed a travel ban on travellers coming from India. This decision was taken after it detected 23 COVID-19 cases among passengers flying from outside earlier this month, of which 17 were positive for the Indian variant. Hence New Zealand temporarily suspended the entry of travellers from India including its own citizens.

India on Thursday reported its highest single-day spike of 3,14,835 new COVID-19 infections which also becomes the highest single-day spike of COVID-19 infections globally for any country. The previous high was reported by the US in January at 2,97,430 cases. Fatalities due to COVID-19 in India rose by a record 2,104 to reach a total of 184,657, according to the health ministry.
AFRICA, Apr 22, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - World Cyber Security Summit will virtually connect the most influential voices in Africa's cyber security space this May. Notable speakers include the likes of Daniel Adaramola - CISO, Unity Bank PLC; Themba Mnguni - Deputy Director, IT Audit, Department of Rural Development and Land Reform; Muyowa Mutemwa, Senior Cybersecurity Consultant, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Faheem Ali - Expert Financial Inclusion, FinTech and Digital Transformations - Chief Risk Officer, Musoni & more.Thursday, 22 April 2021: Taking place on 24 May 2021, the virtual event will focus on topics such as envisioning cyber security as a tool for a safer Africa; Digital Hijacks: Ransomware Threats Are on the Rise, Real-time threat analysis, visualization and incident response; Cyber Security framework for OT, ICS & IoT environments and much more.Why Africa?African governments face a rapidly evolving variety of digital challenges, ranging from espionage to critical infrastructure disruption, organised crime, and combating innovation. And, so far, most African governments' responses have lagged behind the rapid evolution of the cyber threats that their countries face.Lack of understanding of cyber-related matters, lack of effective supervision and issues like oversight have increased the potential for cyber violence in Africa.Given that African countries are among the most vulnerable to cyberattacks, it is in their best interests to participate more actively in international fora that are currently forming norms for state behaviour in cyberspace.World Cyber Security Summit - Africa will feature keynotes from thought-leaders and industry experts, private networking sessions, private video meetings and more."At the World Cyber Security Summit, we have hand-picked thought leaders and experts from a variety of fields to address the foremost pressing cyber security challenges confronting African governments and businesses. The event will also include technology vendors specialising in cyberspace to assist organisations in identifying threat areas and appropriate strategies to address them," says Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.The summit will feature a ground-breaking collaboration of experts such as Humphrey Odhiambo - Head of Partnerships & Content, CIO East Africa; Hisham Mohamed Aly - Egypt CISO, Risk Division, Emirates NBD; Fene Oskawe, Director, Group IT - GRC & Strategy, IHS Towers; Confidence Staveley, Founder and Executive/Director, CyberSafe Foundation, Top 50 Women in Cyber Security Africa 2020; to name a few.The summit will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with speakers in Q&A sessions and network with solution providers in virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms and private networking rooms.About World Cyber Security SummitWorld Cyber Security Summit is a thought-leadership driven, business-focused initiative that provides a platform for CISOs who are looking to explore new-age threats and the technologies/strategies to mitigate them.To register visit - World Cyber Security Summit - Africa.For further details, please contact:Karthik AMarketing Leadmarketing@tresconglobal.comSource: World Cyber Security SummitCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
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U.S. car manufacturer Tesla was urged to respect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers following its apology for its attitude toward customer complaints.



Respecting consumer rights is the prime prerequisite for companies' operations, the China Consumers Association (CCA) said on Wednesday.

Enterprises need to pay attention to consumers' complaints in a sincere manner and offer them reasonable explanations and effective solutions, said the CCA.

It added that carmakers should use their professional knowledge for strict self-inspection, and technological advantages should not be an obstacle to solving problems.

Consumers also need to defend their rights in accordance with the law and avoid aggressive behaviors, according to the CCA.
ONTONAGON COUNTY, MI  A former Upper Peninsula priest pleaded guilty today to four counts of criminal sexual conduct, which will result in the harshest prison sentence thus far in the Michigan Attorney Generals clergy abuse investigation.

Gary Jacobs, 75, pleaded guilty in Ontonagon County on Thursday, April 22, to three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, the attorney generals office announced. He was facing four separate sexual abuse cases and his plea agreement required that he plead guilty to the highest charge in each case.

Jacobs faces a fifth case in neighboring Dickinson County where a similar plea agreement is planned; that hearing is set for May 3.

The charges in the five cases involved alleged sexual assaults between 1981 and 1984 in Ontonagon County and in early 1984 in Dickinson County when Jacobs worked for the Catholic Diocese of Marquette. Several charges involved a child between 13 and 16 and one charge involved a child younger than 13.

RELATED: Two former Upper Peninsula priests charged with with sex crimes

The plea agreement in the Ontonagon cases states that Jacobs will serve eight to 15 years in prison. He will be a lifetime registered sex offender for the first-degree counts; and will have Tier II registration for the second-degree charge. He will be required to attend sex offender counseling. He will have lifetime electronic monitoring upon release.

All victims  those involved in the cases and those who came forward since  will be allowed speak at Jacobs sentencing, set for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25, in Ontonagon County Circuit Court.

RELATED: Judge denies accused priests request to throw out confession in sex crimes case

The case was investigated by the Michigan Attorney Generals clergy abuse investigation team. This plea agreement will result in the harshest prison sentence thus far in the Michigan Attorney Generals clergy abuse investigation.

Previously, former priests Patrick Casey and Brian Stanley pleaded guilty resulting in jail sentences of 45 and 60 days each, respectively.

RELATED: Michigan priest sentenced to 45 days in jail as part of clergy abuse investigation

RELATED: Former priest sentenced to two months in jail for tying up teen boy

This plea agreement and subsequent prison time is the culmination of resolute work by our clergy abuse investigation team, but that work would not be possible without the courageous victims who came forward, Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. This sentence will not erase the pain Mr. Jacobs inflicted on those who trusted him, but I hope our pursuit of justice can offer some sense of relief as their vulnerability led to this accountability.

Jacobs is among 11 clergymen so far charged with sex crimes uncovered by the attorney generals ongoing clergy abuse probe. The probe has also identified at least 454 accused priests and 811 victims.

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Former senior energy official expelled from CPC, office

Xinhua) 14:17, April 22, 2021

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Liu Baohua, former deputy head of the National Energy Administration, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from his post for grave violations of Party discipline and laws.

An investigation found that Liu had lost his ideals and convictions, betrayed original aspiration and mission, and resisted the authorities' investigation, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.

Liu had violated the eight-point frugality code on Party and government conduct, accepted bribes, and reported false personal information to the Party, the statement added.

He made a fortune by interfering in market activities against the law, and also accepted large amounts of money and gifts by taking advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others in business operations and project contracting, according to the statement.

Liu's actions have gravely violated Party discipline, and they constitute significant violations of duty-related laws. He is also suspected of committing the crime of accepting bribes, the statement noted.

Under Party regulations and laws, and as approved by the CPC Central Committee, a decision has been made to expel him from the Party, remove him from his post, confiscate his illicit gains, and hand over his case for judicial proceedings.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
Pfizer has claimed there is no evidence linking their Covid-19 jab to blood clots after a Brisbane cop was hospitalised three days after receiving their vaccine.

The 40-year-old police officer, who worked patrolling Queensland's quarantine hotels, received the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday.

He was rushed to a private hospital on Wednesday after developing blood clots and has since been discharged.

Queensland Health and the Therapeutic Goods Administration are investigating, but he is believed to have had recent knee surgery - which heightens the risk of developing clots.

Pfizer said in a statement they had recently carried out a 'comprehensive assessment of ongoing aggregate safety data' of their vaccine.

'(This has) provided no evidence to conclude that arterial or venous thromboembolic events (blood clots), with or without thrombocytopenia, are a risk associated with the use of our Covid-19 vaccine,' the pharmaceutical giant said.

Pfizer has said there is no evidence to conclude blood clots are a risk associated with their Covid-19 vaccine. Pictured is the Pfizer vaccine

A Queensland police officer working at a quarantine hotel was taken to hospital on Wednesday after developing blood clots three days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Pictured is a file image of a paramedic and police officer outside a quarantine hotel in Brisbane

'This safety database analysis included a review of all adverse events received for the vaccine through to March 27, 2021. Pfizer considers that the benefit-risk profile of (the vaccine) in preventing Covid-19 remains positive.'

Pfizer added it was closely examining the man's case.

'The safety of our vaccine is paramount. We closely monitor all reports of possible adverse events following vaccination and collect relevant information to share with the TGA,' Pfizer said.

'In Queensland, all adverse events in relation to the Covid-19 vaccines are reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration,' a Queensland Health spokesperson said.

'The TGA will then undertake an assessment and determine whether there is any clinical link to the vaccination.'

Pfizer said it was monitoring all reports of possible adverse events following vaccination. Pictured, a health worker in Melbourne with the Pfizer vaccine

More than 200 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered globally.

People under 50 are being advised to take the Pfizer vaccine over the AstraZeneca jab amid concerns about rare blood clots with that jab.

So far, three people have developed clots in Australia after being given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

They include 48-year-old Genene Norris who died in NSW last week.

The TGA said her death was likely linked to her vaccination.

Ms Norris had several chronic health conditions when she received the jab on April 8. She became unwell three or four days later before dying on April 15.

The other two who developed blood clots likely linked to their AstraZeneca jab are a woman in Western Australia and a man in Victoria, both in their 40s.

At least 14 people in Australia have had allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson also halted the rollout of its own vaccine in Europe last week after US officials recommended a pause due to six detected cases of very rare blood clots.
Pixote Hunts career in animation spans over 40 years. He has had the opportunity be a director and art director on both feature films and shorts, yet he retains the same enthusiasm for the possibilities of the medium as when he first started.

He is now sharing his knowledge with a new generation of artists at CAT Animation, an online school founded by Dave Kuhn and Dave Pruiksma. Hunt took time recently to sit down with the two Daves to discuss his passion for art direction and why its a crucial part of any production.

These days, the position of art director seems to be a rather misunderstood part of the animation process. Many people use the term almost interchangeably with visual development. As Hunt puts it:

I think they were using these phrases quite liberally, back and forth. If I were to sit down with them, chances are its the visual development aspect of filmmaking that theyre talking about. But its different than what you can Google about the flashy paint splatters and derivative design shapes that are loosely termed as art direction.

Some people believe that art direction is developing ones own specific style and applying that style, like a template, to whatever project they are on. Hunt disagrees:

The position of art director is such a wonderful opportunity to reinvent yourself over and over. I think the first thing that comes to mind whenever I get a script is, Oh my God!  because I dont know whats going to happen next, Im not really sure at first, and thats so exciting.

When asked what he feels is an art directors job in animation, Hunt says:

I believe the art directors job is to show the films leaders what their film could look like. First, we start with the biggest picture, something so big that it doesnt appear in anyones film. We are world builders: we build that world to give the directors and producers opportunities to home in and get closer and closer to what they want. And finally, well come up with an establishing shot that is suitable for the film, with everything harmonious and as if from one hand. But were world builders first. As for the character designs, the world is open. We consider character designs as a casting director does, meaning, Here is who I think might fit these opportunities. Lets start the conversation by talking about who these characters might be. If we need to change the direction or refine the direction that were going in, we do.

Hunts patient, soft-spoken demeanor cant disguise his unbridled exuberance over the art of animation and his good fortune in working with and learning from legends in the field: Eric Larson, Ted Kierscey, Mel Shaw, Walt Peregoy, and Iwao Takamoto.

Like many artists of his era, Hunts first real awareness of animation was from television and watching Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color (in black and white) at a very early age. Around that time, a neighbor drew a cartoon character for him, and it dawned on him that there were real people and artists who made animation. He thought:

People can make something [inanimate] live! With that I was hooked!

Hunt describes a seminal moment on his pathway to knowledge: when he was introduced to a clip from the 1958 Disneyland educational film 4 Artists Paint 1 Tree. The film shares the process and insights of four top Disney artists  Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Joshua Meador, and Walt Peregoy  as they paint the same subject matter. Hunt says:

I was just amazed at how an individual artists voice can be expressed, influence a whole body of work, and end up on the big screen.

After high school, Hunt studied at the prestigious School of Visual Arts, which led to animation work in New York and eventually Florida. It was while animating short sequences for Disney World that Hunts talent was brought to the attention of Eric Larson, one of Walts so-called Nine Old Men, who immediately offered the young artist an opportunity to train with him at the Disney Animation Studios in California.

Hunt leapt at the offer and, during those months of his training, enjoyed almost exclusive access to Larson and other top artists at the studio. After being successfully promoted from trainee, Hunt worked as an effects animator at Disney for nearly six years.

But, ultimately, it was his passion for the foundational artistic and design aspects of production that led the young artist to move to Hanna-Barbera, where he could develop greater skills in the area of visual development with renowned designers Iwao Takamoto and Walt Peregoy (whose work in 4 Artists Paint 1 Tree had inspired him in his youth). Says Hunt:

And that was the really beginning of that journey into the world of art direction for me. I was privileged enough to work with Peregoy (famed for, among other things, the dramatic styling of 1961s One Hundred and One Dalmatians), and gain his insight into color and design, and even hi life and professional philosophies, for the next 30 years, until the end of his life.

While at Hanna-Barbera, Hunt worked up to the positions of director and art director of the animated sequences in the feature film The Pagemaster. Afterwards, he returned to Disney Feature Animation, where he worked as art director for The Rescuers Down Under. He was subsequently director and art director for one of the more abstract pieces produced at Disney, the segment for Beethovens Symphony No. 5 in Fantasia 2000 (image at top), and later the hauntingly beautiful short One by One for an unproduced future version of Fantasia.

Of his role at CAT Animation, Hunt says:

This art direction class I will be teaching for CAT Animation this summer semester is important to me, personally, because I have never experienced a class like this before. It is an opportunity for students to see the big picture. What I hope students will take away from my class is, first of all, just experiencing and remembering that this is an art form. This is their voice. This is their contribution to what we love, what I love so much about this wonderful art of animation. Its not just a title: its a real thing. Theyll learn not to focus on how they can find their style. I am proud to say that I dont have a style, and I will probably never have a style. I feel this way because I believe that each for film and art direction  each time one gets a chance to develop a film  the experience should be wonderfully different than the one before. So, if Im known as the person who does a particular shape of a particular tree, thats kind of it. One-note. Done. What if your next opportunity is not that shape of tree, or a rock, or building? Then as an art director, youre relying on some other mechanical way to get there. So, rather than finding their style, I hope that my students will learn to find and cultivate their voice, which is how they see the world differently than the person next to them. Then, no matter what story is placed in front of them, the trained artist can see the world differently than the person next to them. And thats as close to a style as I can possibly hope for any artist to get, as opposed to a formula.

The next session at CAT Animation starts in June. To learn more about the classes and personal mentoring CAT Animation offers, visit the schools official website.
The is racing to locate an Indonesian Navy submarine, which has disappeared north of Bali with 53 sailors on board. The German-built submarine, named KRI Nanggala, has less than 72 hours of oxygen on board. Regional navies, including the Singapore and Malaysian navies have swung into action and the US, Australia, France and Germany have offered help.

Indonesia shares a comprehensive strategic partnership with India, which binds it to assist. Even more important for the is its image as the naval power with the biggest and best resources in the region.

On 21 April, an alert was received by through International Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), regarding the missing Indonesian submarine, said Indias Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Wednesday.

Fortunately, the Indian Navy is well equipped for the job. In 2018, it acquired two deep submergence rescue vessels (DSRVs) from M/s James Fisher Defence, UK. These were primarily meant for rescuing crew members from stricken Indian submarines. But, with New Delhi taking on a leadership role in the Indian Ocean Region, the DSRV will be made available for emergencies involving other navies as well.

Currently, there are about 40 nations that operate submarines in the world, out of which only a few have any form of rescue capability. The third generation Indian Navy rescue capability can, therefore, be called upon to assist during submarine contingencies of other navies in the Indian Ocean Region, says the Indian Navy website.

India ordered two DSRVs so that one each could be based on its western and eastern coasts, in order to respond rapidly to an emergency in either direction. In a submarine accident, speed of response is critical for saving the lives of the crew. For that reason, India procured its DSRVs in a flyaway configuration, teamed with Indian Air Force heavy transport aircraft that can rapidly transport it from its home base to an airfield from where it can be transported onwards by air, land or sea.

The first rescue complex was inaugurated at Visakhapatnam on 10 June 2020. It is from here that India is coordinating its response. However, with the DSRV being despatched on its mothership, the SCI Sabarmati, rather than by air, the 2,500 nautical miles journey will require 6-7 days to reach Bali.

Indian Navy divers have trained extensively for underwater emergencies. The DSRV, which is operated by a crew of three, can rescue 14 personnel from a disabled submarine at one time. The rescue of 53 sailors would involve four dives.

On October 15, 2018, the DSRV carried out underwater mating with a bottomed submarine, at a depth of over 300 feet. After mating the DSRV opened both submarines hatches and transferred personnel to the DSRV.

India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking Search and Rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV. Indian Navys DSRV system can locate a submarine up to 1000 metres in depth, utilising its state-of-the-art Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), said the MoD statement.

After the distressed submarine is successfully located, another sub-module of the DSRV  the Submarine Rescue Vehicle (SRV)  mates with the submarine to rescue the trapped personnel. The SRV can also be used to provide emergency supplies to the submarine, it stated.
CANTON, Ohio, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TimkenSteel Corp. (NYSE: TMST) will release its 2021 first-quarter financial results on Thursday, May 6, after the market closes on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company will provide live Internet listening access to its conference call with the financial community scheduled for Friday, May 7, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. The live conference call will be broadcast at investors.timkensteel.com. A replay of the conference call will also be available at investors.timkensteel.com.

About TimkenSteel Corporation

TimkenSteel (NYSE: TMST) manufactures high-performance carbon and alloy steel products in Canton, OH serving demanding applications in automotive, energy and a variety of industrial end markets. The company is a premier U.S. producer of alloy steel bars (up to 16 inches in diameter), seamless mechanical tubing and precision components. In the business of making high-quality steel primarily from recycled materials for more than 100 years, TimkenSteel's proven expertise contributes to the performance of our customers' products. The company employs approximately 2,000 people and had sales of $831 million in 2020. For more information, please visit us at www.timkensteel.com.

SOURCE TimkenSteel Corp.

Related Links

http://www.timkensteel.com


If nothing is done to combat climate change, global temperatures could rise by 3.2C within the next 30 years, shrinking the world economy by 18%, according to new research from Swiss Re, which was rolled out on Earth Day, 51 years after the first Earth Day in 1970.

Climate change poses the biggest long-term threat to the global economy, but the impact could be lessened if decisive action is taken to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement, said Swiss Re. (The Paris Agreement commits to keep average global temperature increase under 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

However, Swiss Re emphasized that climate change will have economic costs even if the Paris Agreement goals are met.

Read more: Climate Change Poses Much Greater Existential Risk for the World Than COVID-19

The Swiss Re Institute conducted a stress test to examine how 48 economies (representing 90% of world economy) would be affected by the ongoing effects of climate change under four different temperature increase scenarios.

Expected global GDP impact by 2050 under these four scenarios compared to a world without climate change are:

An 18% decline if no mitigating actions are taken (with a 3.2C increase in temperatures);

A 14% decline if some mitigating actions are taken (with a 2.6C increase in temperatures);

An 11% decline if further mitigating actions are taken (with a 2C increase in temperatures);

A 4% decline if Paris Agreement targets are met (below a 2C increase)

In a severe scenario of a 3.2C temperature increase, China stands to lose almost one-quarter of its GDP (24%) by mid-century, said the report. On the other hand, the U.S., Canada and the UK would all see around a 10% loss, while Europe would suffer slightly more (11%). Economies such as Finland or Switzerland are less exposed (6%) than, for example, France or Greece (13%).

As global warming makes the impact of weather-related natural disasters more severe, it can lead to substantial income and productivity losses over time, the report said. For example, rising sea levels result in loss of land that could have otherwise been used productively and heat stress can lead to crop failures. Emerging economies in equatorial regions would be most affected by rising temperatures.

Countries Resilience to Climate Change

In addition to looking at the expected economic impact on each country, Swiss Re Institute also ranked each country on its vulnerability to extreme dry and wet weather conditions, as well as their capacity to cope with the effects of climate change.

It found that the countries most negatively affected are the ones with fewest resources to adapt to and mitigate the effects of rising global temperatures. The most vulnerable countries in this context are Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Indonesia. Advanced economies in the northern hemisphere are the least vulnerable, including the US, Canada, Switzerland and Germany.

Should the more severe 3.2C temperature scenario play out, said Swiss Re, the potential output loss of the most negatively affected emerging economies could increase up to 45% of GDP.

Climate change will have economic costs even if the Paris Agreement goals are met, but the costs could be significantly more severe in alternative scenarios. Hence, the Paris targets remain the best achievable outcome, the report affirmed.

Mitigation Measures

Mitigating climate change requires a whole menu of measures, said Swiss Re. For example, more carbon-pricing policies combined with incentives for nature-based and carbon-offsetting solutions are required. As part of corporate reporting, institutions should also disclose their roadmaps on how they intend to reach the Paris and 2050 net-zero targets.

Swiss Re explained that there is a unique opportunity at hand to green our economies. The public and private sectors, including insurers as providers of risk transfer capacity, risk knowledge and long-term investment, can facilitate transition to a low-carbon

economy, the report said.

Re/insurers also play a role in providing risk transfer capacity, risk knowledge and long-term investment, using their understanding of risk to help households, companies and societies mitigate and adapt to climate change, according to Swiss Re in a press release accompanying the report.

The transition to a low-carbon economy will only be possible if public and private sectors pull together, said Jerome Haegeli, Swiss Res group chief economist, in the release. Global cooperation to facilitate financial flows to vulnerable economies is essential. We have an opportunity to correct the course now and construct a world that will be greener, more sustainable and more resilient.

Haegeli said Swiss Res analysis shows the benefit of investing in a net-zero economy. For example, adding just 10% to the US$6.3 trillion of annual global infrastructure investments would limit the average temperature increase to below 2C. This is just a fraction of the loss in global GDP that we face if we dont take appropriate action.

Climate risk affects every society, every company and every individual. By 2050, the world population will grow to almost 10 billion people, especially in regions most impacted by climate change, said Thierry Leger, group chief underwriting officer and chairman of Swiss Re Institute.

So, we must act now to mitigate the risks and to reach net-zero targets. Equally  nature and ecosystem services provide huge economic benefits but are under intense threat. Thats why climate change and biodiversity loss are twin challenges that we need to tackle as a global community to maintain a healthy economy and a sustainable future, Leger continued.

The Swiss Re Institute report is titled: The economics of climate change: no action not an option.

Topics Trends Climate Change Swiss Re
SAN FRANCISCOA recent study out of James Cook University in Australia shows pornography use is not associated with sexist views.

JCU psychology lecturer Dr. Dan Miller and fellow researchers surveyed more than 300 heterosexual men on their pornography habits and attitudes towards women.

The idea that pornography promotes sexism is frequently proposed by the media and in academic discourse, Miller said. Not only was there no link between overall pornography use and sexism, use of violent and humiliating pornography specifically was also not associated with greater sexism."

Indeed, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formerly Morality in Media) website claims, without evidence, that Pornography fosters aggression by normalizing and depicting verbal and physical violence as enjoyable.

But the research belies these claims. In The Sunny Side of Smut, Melinda Wenner Moyer points to several studies showing that moderate porn consumption does not promote sexism. Contrary to what many people believe, recent research shows that moderate pornography consumption does not make users more aggressive, promote sexism or harm relationships, Moyer writes. If anything, some researchers suggest, exposure to pornography might make some people less likely to commit sexual crimes.

In fact there is research showing that men who watch more porn have more gender egalitarian views than men who watch less or don't watch porn. Miller described the study in question, by Taylor Kohut and colleagues, as one of the most important studies on the association between porn use and sexism. Its data is based on part of the General Social Survey, which he calls a really good, large-scale survey. The major limitation of that study is that it measures porn use in a very blunt way, without differentiating viewing clips on tube-sites or still images and asking whether participants have viewed porn in the past year or not, rather than taking frequency into account. This kind of dichotomous measure isn't going to capture the cumulative effects of frequent use of porn. And those who claim that porn use promotes sexism are generally talking about the effects of frequent exposure.

While Millers study uses a much more limited sample, it measured frequency of porn use and used an existing measure of sexism.

The James Cook University researchers did find that men who thought that pornography realistically depicts sex and relationships were more likely to hold sexist views. Its not clear whether porn is more likely to cause sexism in naive men or whether more sexist men are less familiar with real-life sex and relationships.

Researchers are still trying to measure whether and to what extent many or most porn users internalize messages from porn.

Miller performed a correlational study that found that men's porn use was associated with interest in engaging in "porn-like" sex. However, this didn't seem to be a driver of feelings of sexual dissatisfaction with one's sexual relationship, he said.

In an experiment by Kohut and colleagues, women who watched porn depicting clitoral self-stimulation were more likely to later engage in this behavior compared to the control group.

Perhaps most worryingly, another study found that university students who frequently viewed porn judged their peers to be less likely to use condoms, and were themselves more likely to engage in unprotected sex.

On the other hand, all available evidence indicates crime against women is declining worldwide. And theres research showing that rather than porn or fantasy changing peoples attitudes or behaviors, it seems like people tend to be turned on by things they ideologically oppose. For example, research by Dr. Justin Lehmiller, detailed in his book Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life, showed that progressives are more likely to have sexual fantasies in which women experience violence and humiliation. Conversely, conservative men tend to fantasize about sharing their wives.

Image by Sammy-Williams from Pixabay
In a major development, the fifth batch of Rafale fighter aircraft with four planes arrived in India on Wednesday flying a distance of 8,000 km from Merignac Air Base in France. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Air Force thanked the French and UAE air forces for their refuelling support to complete the journey.

After a direct ferry from #MerignacAirBase, France, the 5th batch of Rafales arrived in India on 21 Apr. The fighters flew a distance of almost 8,000Kms with air-to-air refuelling support by @Armee_de_lair and UAE AF. IAF thanks both the Air Forces for their co-operation. pic.twitter.com/jp81vODCp2  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) April 21, 2021

On April 21, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria visited the Rafale training centre in France and spoke on the occasion of the completion of all Rafale training. He lauded pilots & saw off the next batch of Rafales on a non-stop flight to India with mid-air refuelling by the French Air force & UAE. The Air Chief also thanked the French government, French Airforce & French Industry for timely delivery & pilot training on schedule despite the COVID pandemic.

@IAF_MCC chief on an official tour to  visited the Rafale training center & spoke on the occasion of the completion of all Rafale training in  & flight of another batch of Rafale fighters to @JawedAshraf5 @PMOIndia@DrSJaishankar @DDNewslive @MEAIndia @rajnathsingh pic.twitter.com/WQYzxthYzp  India in France (@Indian_Embassy) April 21, 2021

On ways to further expand cooperation between the two countries, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria also held talks with General Philippe Lavigne, Chief of Staff of the FASF.

Air Chief Mshl RKS Bhadauria on an official tour to France lauds pilots&sees off the next batch of Rafales on a non stop flight to  with mid air refueling by French Air force&UAE.Thanks  esp FASF & French Industry for timely delivery&pilot training on schedule despite covid pic.twitter.com/LNeUu5DL6k  India in France (@Indian_Embassy) April 21, 2021

Fourth Batch of Rafales

On March 31, India received the fourth batch of Rafale fighter jets from France, which joined the Golden Arrows Squadron in Ambala. The three combat aircraft took off from France early in the day and was provided mid-air refuelling by the UAE Airbus 330 multi-role transport tankers over the Gulf of Oman.

India-France ink deal over Rafale jets

In September 2016, India had ordered 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and by April end, over 50% of these aircraft would have arrived in the country. The aircraft had started joining the IAF squadron in the July-August timeframe last year and were quickly operationalised by the Air Force.

The aircraft had also been deployed for patrolling along the China front in eastern Ladakh and other fronts during the height of the China confrontation. The planes equipped with the Hammer missiles have enhanced their capability to carry out air-to-ground strikes like the one in Balakot. The second set of Rafale jets arrived in India in November 2020.

(With ANI Inputs)

(Image credits: @Indian_Embassy Twitter)
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, is taking another step in committing to a more environmentally friendly future by joining The Climate Pledge, a cross-sector business community working together to crack the climate crisis and solve the challenges of decarbonizing our economy. The commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism calls on new signatories to be net-zero carbon across their businesses by 2040a decade ahead of the Paris Accord's goal of 2050.

By joining this initiative, UST is marking an unwavering commitment to sustainability. Powered by purpose, UST invests an average of 2% net profits in impact-based outcomes annually and is implementing science-based, high-impact changes to the business initiatives that support the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.

For over 20 years, UST has strived to drop its carbon emissions and has been innovating to address climate change and environmental issues and focus on global sustainability and socio-economic development. From its humble beginnings in 1999, UST has always invested in improving society through several CSR projects and positively impacting the world. These initiatives range from planting trees and restoring mangrove forests to rescuing and rehabilitating people impacted by natural disasters. UST's 'Step It Up America' and 'Impact India' programs provide career training and employment opportunities. UST's IGBC LEED Gold certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) 6.5-acre Trivandrum India campus has one-third of the area with waterbody/lake channeling throughout the campus. The company continues to seek opportunities to protect the planet and commit to transforming lives for the communities they impact every day.

"We are thrilled to join and support The Climate Pledge. From our inception, we have always endeavored to transform the lives of our employees, clients, end customers, and the community we live in," said Krishna Sudheendra, Chief Executive Officer, UST. "Environmental stewardship has also been a foundational part of this journey. Together with Amazon, Global Optimism, and the other signatories, we are fully committed to drive tangible progress and jointly take action to limit global warming."

"Less than two years ago, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge and called on other companies to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years earlytoday, more than 100 companies with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than 5 million employees have signed the pledge," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. "We are proud to stand with other signatories to use our scale to decarbonize the economy through real business change and innovation."

As a signatory of The Climate Pledge, UST commits to:

Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.

Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business change and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.

Take actions to neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

Switching to renewable energy for 25% of power needs by 2025 and 50% by 2030.

Utilizing electric vehicles only for movement within our global campuses.

Creating own solar power plant to generate 1.2MW of power by 2023.

"Our mission has always been to transform not just businesses, but the people and communities they touch. We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative, which aligns with our long-term commitment to sustainability," said Nandagopal Ramachandran, General Manager  Operations. "As we advance in our sustainability goals, this effort enables us to make a truly boundless impact. We proudly stand with Amazon, Global Optimism, and the other signatories of The Climate Pledge, in a commitment to being a net-zero carbon company by 2040."

To learn more about The Climate Pledge, visit https://www.theclimatepledge.com/. For more information about UST's social commitment, please visit https://www.ust.com/en/who-we-are/ust-social-commitment.

About The Climate Pledge

In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Now 105 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge, sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. For more information, visit www.theclimatepledge.com .

About Global Optimism

Global Optimism exists to precipitate transformational, sector-wide change. Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge. It's one we must get on track for now. Every scientific assessment shows that to meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, to keep global heating below 1.5C, we must halve our emissions between 2020 and 2030. Tackling the climate crisis is only possible when everyone, everywhere plays their part. We work with like-minded collectives from all sectors who are willing to invest in the choices required to be on this challenging  and life-affirming  journey. For more information, visit https://globaloptimism.com/ .

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about .

About UST

For more than 20 years, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a real impact through transformation. Powered by technology, inspired by people and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients' organizationsdelivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 26,000 employees in 25 countries, we build for boundless impacttouching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at ust.com

Media Contacts, UST:

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Update: Subsequent to the interview, the Health Minister has updated that registrations for people over 18 years of age will begin on April 28

Amid a tremendous surge in COVID-19 infections in the country, the Centre has given a green light for vaccination of citizens above 18 years of age from May 1. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has informed that registration for the same will soon begin on the government's Co-WIN website.

Co-WIN app Chief and Chairman of the empowered panel of COVID-19 vaccination RS Sharma on Thursday spoke exclusively to Republic Media Network's Executive Editor Niranjan Narayanaswamy, on the next phase of India's vaccination drive. During the conversation, Sharma shed light on the scale of the vaccination drive undertaken by the Government of India to protect billions of citizens from contracting the deadly virus.

Sharma noted that India has undertaken the vaccination drive on a scale of billions of people, making it the most complex factor of all. Fortunately, we have been carrying out large-scale operations for many years, he said. For example, while issuing Aadhar cards to the citizens, we were enrolling over 2 million people per day and sending all that data in real-time at the end of each day. Similarly, when implementing Unified Payments Interface (UPI), we have recorded 4 billion transactions in the month of January this year.

Sharma stated that when India builds something, it builds on a large scale and the Co-WIN platform is no exception. India has administered over 13.23 Crore doses so far, of which 30 lakh doses were administered in the last 24 hours itself. The Centre on Monday announced a liberalized vaccine policy, making all adults above 18 years of age eligible for getting vaccines from May 1.

Under the third phase of the vaccination drive commencing next month, manufacturers would be free to supply 50% doses to state governments and in the open market by making an advance declaration of the price before May 1. The Serum Institute of India on Wednesday announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

COVID-19 in India

India on Thursday recorded over 3.14 lakh new infections pushing the country's tally to 1,59,30,965, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. 3,14,835 fresh infections were registered in a span of 24 hours, while the death toll increased to 1,84,657 with a record 2,104 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The active cases have increased to 22,91,428 comprising 14.38 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has dropped to 84.46 per cent. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,34, 54,880. The case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.16 per cent, the data stated.
New Delhi, April 22 : US pharma major Pfizer on Thursday offered to supply the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a "not-for-profit" price, media reports have cited.

The company had earlier said that it will supply the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine only through government contracts.

Pfizer shared that it aims to provide equitable and affordable access to vaccines for people around the world. The company charges $19.5 per dose from the US government to supply the vaccine.

The European Union is under talks with Pfizer/BioNTech for a new contract for 1.8 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

In the EU, Pfizer has significantly increased prices of its vaccine over the last few months -- from 12 euros to 15.5 euros and then 19.5 euros ($23) per dose for orders in 2022-23.

Earlier this month, Pfizer's said its mRNA-based 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. Last week, Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla, proposed the need for a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine within 12 months of getting fully inoculated.

Meanwhile, India is set to roll out its Phase 3 vaccination drive, wherein everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible to get a vaccine against Covid-19 from May 1.

The government claimed that pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines are being made flexible in Phase 3 of the world's largest vaccination drive.

Further, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalised vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage. This would augment vaccine production as well as availability, incentivising vaccine manufacturers to rapidly ramp up production as well as attract new vaccine manufacturers, domestic and international, said an official statement from the Health Ministry.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for commitment to restoring the planet, and to making peace with nature, in his message to mark International Earth Day, celebrated annually on 22 April
4 killed, over dozen injured in SW Pakistan's hotel bomb blast

Xinhua) 10:07, April 22, 2021

Security forces arrive at the blast site in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on April 21, 2021. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Four people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded inside the parking of Serena hotel in Quetta, capital city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province.

ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded inside the parking of Serena hotel in Quetta, capital city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, the country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said.

There was a threat alert in Quetta and other major cities after some suspicious calls were intercepted, and security was on high alert including cities in Balochistan, Rasheed told Xinhua.

He said that despite the security measures, the vehicle carrying explosives managed to enter the parking lot from the main gate of the hotel, which is a matter of big concern and the responsible people will be taken to task for creating security lapse which gave terrorists a chance to carry out the attack.

Fire breaks out at the blast site in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on April 21, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)

Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal hinted at involvement of some "foreign hand" in the attack and said that the elements which do not want to see Pakistan prospering are in search of a loophole in the security of the province, and launch attacks when they succeed in finding any.

Proscribed organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack in a text message to journalists saying a suicide bomber launched the attack targeting locals and foreigners, but the claim has not yet been officially confirmed.

The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital whose spokesman Waseem Baig told Xinhua that two of the injured people are in critical condition and a state of emergency has been declared at the hospital by the provincial government.

An ambulance arrives at the blast site in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on April 21, 2021. (Str/Xinhua)

Intelligence sources from Quetta told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that one security guard was killed and two policemen were injured in the attack.

Soon after the blast, the hotel's parking area located in its premises was sealed by the counter terrorism department of police who also restricted media to access the site for reporting, Inspector General Police of Balochistan Muhammad Tahir Rai said.

Home minister of Balochistan told media that a bomb disposal squad reached the blast site to investigate into the incident, and according to initial investigation, some 40 kg of explosives were used in the attack.

Fire breaks out at the blast site in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on April 21, 2021. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

Fire erupted in several vehicles following the blast, badly destroying five to seven of them, he added.

Talking to Xinhua, intelligence sources, who were close to the hotel when the incident happened, said that the loud blast was heard many miles away from the blast site and fire erupted in the hotel's parking following the explosion.

Security has been beefed up in other cities including Islamabad following the blast and all sensitive government buildings and installations are being guarded, according to local reports.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked the industry to wait and watch for the next few days to assess the situation. Addressing national executive committee members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Finance Minister also said that industries will get oxygen supply once the medical need for oxygen is met.

In the virtual interaction, the minister assured the industry of the government's support. Sitharaman said that the government is keeping an eye on all developments on the COVID-19 front and that it would take necessary steps to bring about a positive change. The minister urged the industry that is sceptical about growth amid the second wave to wait and watch for the next few days to assess the situation.

"With all the steps, we should hope to see a positive change in the way the second wave of the pandemic is moving. I would want you to keenly observe what is going on. We are together with the industry in this. I am sure all of us together will understand how best to now ramp up and sustain the growth momentum which we are keen to see between the last quarter and this one," Sitharaman said.

"With the Prime Minister's address to the nation, along with the new vaccination guidelines and the five-fold strategy adopted in handling Covid-19 cases -- i.e., test, track, treat, Covid-19 protocol and vaccination -- there will be a sense of reassurance," she added.

Sitharaman also said that oxygen supply in the country has been neatly mapped and will be monitored closely at district level for the next 15 days. She further stated that various new permissions have been given by the government to multiple states including Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh to ensure sufficient supply of oxygen.

"The government has exempted all inter-state movement of oxygen tankers from the requirement of registration and permits. They can operate round the clock. Cylinder-filling plants are operating 24 hours to fill the gaps with necessary safeguards," said Sitharaman.

The minister also said that the government is taking measures to ensure adequate supply of coronavirus drugs such as Remdesivir. Sitharaman said that the production of the medicine will be ramped up to 1 lakh vials per month within the next few months.

FICCI members requested the government to support micro, small and medium enterprises as they are currently facing a lot of hardships. FICCI President Uday Shankar said spelling out what qualifies as essential goods and what not would clear a lot of confusion in the industry.

Also read: Centre working to save lives, livelihood: Nirmala Sitharaman

Also read: 'Don't want to arrest economy': Sitharaman says govt won't go for lockdowns in a big way
Gunmen have attacked a hospital in north-west Nigerias Kaduna State, abducting two female nurses.



Kidnappings for ransom by criminal gangs have become common in the country but this is the first time a hospital has been targeted.



A nurse who escaped told the BBC that men had hurriedly entered the hospital in the village of Idon asking for medical staff.



The nurses then rushed out thinking it was an emergency only for the gunmen to fire in the air and seize them.



This comes two days after students were abducted from a private university near Kaduna city.



Hours later, at least 50 people were killed in a series of raids on villages in neighbouring Zamfara State.

Source: BBC









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Featured Video
UPSTACK Taps Channel Leader Scott Forbush as Chief Revenue Officer Were ecstatic that Scott has come aboard. He has the experience and business acumen UPSTACK needs to achieve its growth goals, beginning with acquiring like-minded partners."

UPSTACK, a profitable, fast-growing platform that transforms the buying experience for businesses seeking cloud and internet infrastructure solutions, announced today that Scott Forbush, a technology and channel veteran, has joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer.

In his new role, Forbush is responsible for strategic revenue growth and adoption of UPSTACKs ground-breaking platform, which enables buyers of IT services with technology and an ecosystem of experts to effectively and efficiently source mission-critical digital services.

Combining the industry's leading advisors with advanced technology, support resources and data, UPSTACK architects and sources customized technology solutions for businesses with needs that span cloud, colocation and network connectivity.

As CRO, Forbushs top priority will be to drive UPSTACKs inorganic growth through an aggressive agent investment strategy backed by an initial $50 million investment from Berkshire Partners. UPSTACK already has acquired 10 independent agencies.

Were ecstatic that Scott has come aboard. He has the experience and business acumen UPSTACK needs to achieve its growth goals, beginning with acquiring like-minded partners, said Christopher Trapp, CEO at UPSTACK. Scotts relationships with master agents, agents and service providers of all sizes coupled with his direct sales experience put him in a unique position to drive the company forward.

Forbush joins UPSTACK with 25 years of experience in the telecom industry in various executive sales and channel sales positions. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Telarus, where he led the master agencys six regional sales teams to impressive growth during his tenure. Previously, Forbush was Vice President of Indirect Sales at Zayo Group and Vice President of Indirect Sales at Electric Lightwave.

Im excited to have joined the UPSTACK team. The vision for the company breaks the mold for telecom agencies with a deep bench of experts using technology that can scale rapidly, said Forbush. UPSTACK is investing in advisory partners with experience in colo, connectivity, contact center, cybersecurity  you name it. The expertise that we have  and will continue to build  is unprecedented and enables us to provide the best technology solutions for our business customers.

For more information about the UPSTACK Advisory Partnership, visit https://upstack.com/for-advisors/ or contact partners@upstack.com.

About UPSTACK

Launched in 2017 in New York, N.Y., UPSTACK is transforming the way cloud and internet infrastructure is sourced and sold. The company uses advanced technology to enable an extensive team of cloud infrastructure advisors to offer customized solutions for businesses of all sizes. With UPSTACK, business buyers streamline IT procurement by tapping into a single source for mission-critical technology services from hundreds of proven providers along with the professional guidance to identify and evaluate the best solutions. UPSTACK's service portfolio includes colocation and data center, network connectivity, SD-WAN, unified communications, cloud contact center, private and public cloud, security, mobile, business continuity and IoT. For more information, visit us at https://upstack.com/.
ENDEAVOUR TO ANNOUNCE ITS Q1 RESULTS AND HOST WEBCAST ON MAY 13, 2021

George Town, April 22, 2021  Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) provides notice that it will release its financial results for the first quarter of 2021 on Thursday, May 13, before TSX market open.

Management will host a conference call and webcast on the same day, Thursday May 13, at 8:30am Toronto time (ET) to discuss the Company's financial results.

The conference call and webcast are scheduled at:

5:30am in Vancouver

8:30am in Toronto and New York

1:30pm in London

8:30pm in Hong Kong and Perth

The webcast can be accessed through the following link:

https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/drgvvuhp

Analysts and investors are also invited to participate and ask questions using the dial-in numbers below:

International: +1 646-741-3167

North American toll-free: +1 877-870-9135

UK toll-free: +44 (0) 8002796619

Confirmation Code: 7972969

The conference call and webcast will be available for playback on Endeavour's website .

Click here to add a Webcast reminder to your Outlook Calendar

CONTACT INFORMATION

Martino De Ciccio



VP  Strategy & Investor Relations

+44 203 640 8665

mdeciccio@endeavourmining.com Brunswick Group LLP in London



Carole Cable, Partner

+44 7974 982 458

ccable@brunswickgroup.com







Vincic Advisors in Toronto



John Vincic, Principal



+1 (647) 402 6375

john@vincicadvisors.com

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Corporate Office: 5 Young St, Kensington, London W8 5EH, UK

Attachment
The Hemsworth brothers are undoubtedly one of the most famous trios of siblings in the world.

But unlike some, Chris, Liam and Luke weren't born into Hollywood stardom, and instead enjoyed a humble upbringing in Australia alongside their doting parents Leonie and Craig.

The genetically blessed trio were born in Melbourne; their mother an English teacher, and their father a social-services counsellor.

Proud parents: Chris (far right), Liam (second left) and Luke Hemsworth were brought up in remote Australian with their doting parents Leonie and Craig (both pictured)

When Liam - the youngest of the siblings - turned five, the gang uprooted and relocated to a remote cattle farm in Bulman in the Northern Territory, which Chris recalled was 'four-and-a-half hours from the nearest town'.

'My parents ran the community centre which doubled as a post office and grocery store,' he previously told The Telegraph. 'It was in the middle of nowhere.

'There were crocodiles and buffalo. I went to a school that was made up of 60 [Aboriginal] kids between the ages of five and 17, all mashed into two classrooms.'

When speaking about their upbringing on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2016, Luke, now 40, was asked if the trio had been raised 'basically like a pack of wild dingoes'.

Looking back: 'My parents ran the community centre which doubled as a post office and grocery store,' he previously told The Telegraph. 'It was in the middle of nowhere.' Pictured: Chris and Leonie

'The Hemsworth house of horrors': 'I think as we got older, parents of kids we knew would gradually drop their kids off further and further away from our house,' Luke recalled. Pictured: Two of the brothers alongside father Craig

'Yeah, the Hemsworth house of horrors!' he laughed. 'Wed wake up in the morning and literally say, See ya, mum, and just disappear into the bush.

'I think as we got older, parents of kids we knew would gradually drop their kids off further and further away from our house.'

The family later moved to Phillip Island in Victoria, where they spent a lot of time surfing together as youngsters.

Yet as with most brothers, the gang would get into all sorts of wild arguments and fights over the years.

Speaking to Conan OBrien in 2012, Liam, 31, said: 'I feel like thats when you really get to know each other, when you give someone a good punch in the face.

Just married: Craig and Leonie tied the knot in 1983, with Liam sharing this heartwarming photo of their wedding day only recently

'Its one way of expressing love. That was how we did it in our house  "Hey, man, good to see you, heres a punch in the face for you".'

Liam admitted he once threw a knife at Chris' head when he was eight years old, adding: 'It was just a warning. Like "if you mess with me, Ill throw a knife at your head".'

Chris, 37, claims he and Luke also used to torment Liam with a BB gun, telling the Herald Sun: 'We made Liam put a motorbike helmet on and a couple of jumpers and some gloves and we said 'run' and we had to hunt him around the house.

'He didn't love that game as much as we did.'

Sibling rivalry: Chris (right) claims he and Luke (centre) also used to torment Liam (left) with a BB gun, telling the Herald Sun: 'We made Liam put a motorbike helmet on and a couple of jumpers and some gloves and we said 'run' and we had to hunt him around the house'

Brotherly love: Despite a wild upbringing, the three world-famous brothers are now closer than ever. Pictured L-R Chris, Luke and Liam in 2015

Despite a wild upbringing, the three world-famous brothers are now closer than ever - and when Chris shot to fame in Hollywood, he sweetly decided to pay off his parent's debts.

Talking to The Independent in 2015, Liam said: '[My father] called my brother Chris back and said, "I don't know how to feel.

'"Since I left home, I have had debts and I thought I'd be paying them off until I died and have this weight hanging over me, and now to have them completely cleared".'

The gang share regular photos with Leonie - who recently turned 60 - and Craig, with fans going wild over their ever-youthful looks.
Frustrated Sydney residents are pleading with local authorities to solve the mystery behind a lingering odour they say smells like nappies and rotten eggs.

Fed-up locals from Minchinbury, in Sydney's west, are demanding answers over a 'putrid' smell they claim is wafting into their suburb from a garbage landfill site.

The foul-smelling air has become a constant for angry residents living in the suburbs of Blacktown, where recently the stench has become 'intolerable'.

Minchinbury residents in Sydney's west believe the 'rotten egg' smell is wafting into their suburb from a nearby garbage landfill site (pictured)

'You get a slight whiff and as the night progresses it gets worse,' resident Trevor Govendor told 7NEWS.

'From a property perspective is it going to impact our property values, from a health perspective is it affecting our health?'

Another frustrated local described the stench as 'a nappy that has just been sitting there for ages'.

A third resident described the vile odour as an 'egg smell' and said the air was causing her husband headaches.

Fed-up residents have called upon authorities to trace the source of the intolerable stench

Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale said it's up to the NSW Protection Authority (EPA) to trace the mystery odour back to its origins.

'What the hell can we do to fix it? Because you are the body that has the control to fix the problem for the people in Minchinbury and surrounds,' Mr Bleasdale said.

Authorities have said the smell is a recurring phenomenon that is usually only triggered by hot summer days.

However they say the combination of recent downpours and cool weather could be fuelling the abhorrent stench.

Blacktown City Mayor Tony Bleasdale (pictured) said it's up to the NSW Protection Authority (EPA) to trace the mystery odour back to its origins

'Recently, it has just been bad', resident Trevor Govendor admitted.

'Like choking bad.'

The EPA has enlisted the help of an 'independent odour specialist' to investigate the source of the rotten smell.

Authorities have narrowed in on the Bingo Dump in Eastern Creek, but have put other waste facilities on high alert with the threat of random inspections.

'We're doing everything we can', a Bingo Industries spokesperson said.
Russia is ready to start building its own space station with the aim of launching it into orbit by 2030 if President Vladimir Putin gives the go-ahead, the head of its Roscosmos space agency said on Wednesday.

The project would mark a new chapter for Russian space exploration and an end to more than two decades of close cooperation with the United States aboard the ageing International Space Station (ISS).

"If in 2030, in accordance with our plans, we can put it into orbit, it will be a colossal breakthrough," Interfax news agency quoted Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin as saying. "The will is there to take a new step in world manned space exploration."

Russian cosmonauts have worked with counterparts from the United States and 16 other countries about the ISS since 1998 - one of the closest fields of cooperation between Moscow and Washington, whose relations are currently in deep crisis over human rights, cyberattacks and a range of other issues.

Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told Russian TV at the weekend that Moscow would give notice to its partners that it would leave the ISS project from 2025.

Rogozin said the Russian station, unlike the ISS, would most likely not be permanently crewed because its orbit path would expose it to higher radiation.

But cosmonauts would visit it and it would also use artificial intelligence and robots.

He said Russia was ready to consider allowing foreign crews to visit, "but the station must be national... If you want to do well, do it yourself."

Interfax quoted an unnamed source as saying that Russia planned to spend up to $6 billion to get the project launched.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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An Irish woman charged with membership of the Islamic State is fighting her exclusion from the UK.

Former Irish Defence Forces member Lisa Smith from Co Louth has been barred from the UK by the British home secretary under regulations that allow for the exclusion of EEA nationals on the grounds of "public policy, public security or public health... prohibiting that person from entering the United Kingdom". It is linked to the charges she faces on Isis membership and funding terrorism.

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission in London heard on Wednesday that Lisa Smith cannot be excluded from the UK as her father is from Belfast, making her a dual British-Irish citizen due to her father's British citizenship.

The commission was told her exclusion from the UK, notably Northern Ireland, is affecting her life negatively and preventing her seeing her family.

"The appellant lives close to the border with the United Kingdom ," the legal argument, seen by the Irish Examiner, reads. "As a consequence, her ability to move across the border is part of her social identity."

Parents were not married

Her father moved from the North to the Republic, where Ms Smith was born in 1982. The British Home Office argues that because her parents were not married when she was born  they are still not married  she is not a British national.

Hugh Southey QC, arguing on behalf of Ms Smith, noted there is no power under these regulations to exclude a British citizen (including dual nationals) from the United Kingdom.

"Had [Smith's] parents been married at the time of her birth, she would have been granted British citizenship automatically," he said.

"[Smith's] liability to be excluded from the United Kingdom is therefore based solely on the accident of birth outside wedlock for which [she] is not responsible.

"[Smith] is liable to be excluded due to her birth status, whereas those in precisely the same circumstances but whose parents were married are not. As a consequence, there is clearly a difference in treatment."

Precedent

Ms Smith's legal team argued there was precedent already set by British courts that citizenship rights cannot be judged on the basis of so-called legitimacy and "there is no justification for the stark differential and less favourable treatment, based solely on an accident of birth for which she is not responsible".

The hearing lasted one day and is due to return a verdict in a number of weeks. Ms Smith's trial date for terrorism charges is set for January 2022.




The UK government is coming under increasing pressure to call a public inquiry into its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the country is amongst the world leaders in rolling out vaccinations, it also has the fourth-highest rate of deaths per capita in the world. According to the government, 126,000 people in the UK have died of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. But why did so many people die? And were any of these deaths preventable? Georgette Mulheir, a global expert on the impact of institutional care on health and life chances, asserts that any public inquiry must ask serious questions about Britains system of care for older people and adults with disabilities. At least 20% of those who died were living in care homes, whilst care home residents make up only 0.6% of the population. Although older people are at a higher risk of dying from Covid, the deaths in care homes are still wildly disproportionate. The UK is not alone. Almost half of Swedens Covid deaths were in care homes. In New York State, the figure is 30%.

According to Mulheir, this phenomenon may relate to deep-seated discriminatory attitudes. One of the most disturbing aspects of the way Covid deaths are reported in the UK, she says, is that the deceased are routinely referred to as older people or as people with a disability or underlying health problem. The unspoken implication seems to be that these people are expected to die in any case. Equally concerning, she continues is the sense that these lives are of less value than young, healthy people.

Most of the care home deaths are of older people, but disturbing news is emerging of disproportionate Covid deaths among adults with learning disabilities  those aged 18 to 34 with are 30 times more likely to die of Covid than their peers of the same age. One doctor observed that the biggest factor associated with the increased rate of death was living in care homes or residential settings.

Georgette Mulheir believes that any inquiry must take account of the history of discrimination against people with disabilities. If we do not understand the past, she says, we miss the clear reasons behind what appear to be inexplicable errors of policy and practice.

Why would young people with learning disabilities be more likely to die of Covid-19? One reason that seems obvious is rarely mentioned in reporting. Large groups of people are not meant to live together in one building. Lack of resources and limited staff time make it impossible to provide individualised care for each resident. So much activity is done communally that, if one person gets sick in an institution, the disease spreads like wildfire.

According to Georgette Mulheir, across the world, institutional settings have long been associated with higher mortality rates. But there is a tendency to imagine the deaths are due to the illness, disability or frailty of the residents, rather than the institutional system itself. This is rarely the case, says Mulheir, who has led programmes to reduce mortality rates in institutions in many countries  in a baby institution in Sudan, where the rate was over 80%, in Romania, where some institutions had mortality rates of 30% to 40%. In nearly all cases, deaths were due to neglect or abuse. Changing the approach to care reduced mortality dramatically.

In one institution for children with disabilities in Bulgaria, Mulheir says, we asked the director why the mortality rate was so high and she replied, You must understand, these children are sent here to die. The average life expectancy of one of these children is 11 years. If a child lives longer, we feel we have done an exceptionally good job. However, when Georgette Mulheir investigated, she found that most of the deaths had no direct relation to disability. Instead, the children were dying from malnutrition. Observing mealtimes showed that, on average, each child was given 1 minute 20 seconds to eat their meal. Mulheirs team worked to change the way personnel fed children, reducing the mortality rate almost to zero.

According to Georgette Mulheir, such pseudo-scientific explanations for high death rates in institutions are not new. A belief that people with disabilities intrinsically have a shorter life expectancy than their peers, coupled with a discriminatory judgment that their lives are of less value has, in many countries, led to warehousing people with disabilities in institutions and waiting for them to die. Once removed from their families and hidden away from society, in some circumstances, this led to a suggestion that curtailment of life might be expedient, even merciful.

Georgette Mulheir Reveals Legacy of the Eugenics Movement in Social Care Today

The Eugenics movement was born nearly 150 years ago but reached the height of its influence between the two world wars. One stated aim was to improve the health of the nation by breeding out defects, isolating people with disabilities and ensuring they could not procreate. UK scholars and politicians played a leading global role, with London hosting the first International Eugenics Conference in 1912. The audience, including Winston Churchill and Lord Balfour, was addressed by Charles Darwins son, who went on to lobby the government to arrest people deemed as unfit,' then segregate them in colonies or sterilise them.

Those early Eugenics-inspired practices still prevail in care systems today. In her 30-year campaign to end institutionalisation, Mulheir has encountered many women with disabilities who were sterilised against their will while they were children living in institutions. The simplest way to control people with disabilities was through institutionalisation, Mulheir asserts. Across Europe and in the United States, at various points in the 20th Century, enforced sterilisation of children and adults with disabilities in institutions was commonplace.

At the same time as the UK Eugenics movement grew in strength, Germany was already going one step further, with medics and lawyers joining forces to argue for the extermination of people with disabilities. The 1920 essay, Permitting the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life is seen by many as a blueprint for the Nazis future crimes against humanity. Dr Ewald Melzer, who directed an institution for children and adults with disabilities, reacted against the claims that disabled lives were unworthy. He believed it was societys Christian duty to care for people with disabilities, but he also saw institutionalising them as ideal for carrying out experiments.

In his survey of the attitudes of parents of disabled children, many apparently said that though they loved their children, they would be willing to have the children killed, so long as they were not aware it had happened. These results were cited by the Nazi regime as a basis for Aktion T4. Through this programme, institutions for children and adults with disabilities were transformed into killing centres, starting with newborn babies. The government compelled midwives to report all babies born with disabilities, then coerced parents to place their children in institutions. Visits were discouraged or forbidden. Quickly, medical personnel transformed a programme of institutionalisation into extermination.

Children with disabilities were the earliest victims of Hitlers programme of mass murder, disguised as mercy killing. Mulheir says, institutions, allegedly set up to provide expert care, killed children first by deliberate starvation, then by lethal injection, with nurses  trained to preserve life  lovingly cradling babies in their arms as the poison was administered. Later, gas chambers were developed to improve efficiency. More than 5,000 children were killed in the network of institutions for children with disabilities, followed by more than 200,000 disabled adults. And the medical and administrative teams who developed the first mass extermination programme were transferred  together with their killing technology  to set up and manage the death camps of Treblinka and Sobibor.

The Monetary Value of a Life and the Crisis in Social Care

In Nazi Germany, the killing of children with disabilities was also justified economically. A propaganda campaign demonstrated to the general public the huge expense of keeping disabled children in institutions  suggesting that money could and should instead be spent on healthy children. This, despite the fact that most of the children were institutionalised compulsorily and the expenditure, was therefore unnecessary.

Whilst the Eugenics movement in the UK did not result in extermination camps, its impact still resonates today. In February 2021, University College London (UCL) issued an apology for its role in promoting the pseudo-science of Eugenics. As the first University in the world to set up a Eugenics Department, it provided academic cover, legitimising theories of race and disability that directly affected policy and practice globally.

As a result of the horrors of the holocaust, the popularity of Eugenics began to wane in the 1940s, but John Maynard Keynes still claimed that Eugenic theories were fundamental to planning the economics of the Welfare State. According to Georgette Mulheir, this partly explains why our social services still, stubbornly, focus on the failed policy of excluding and institutionalising older people and those with disabilities, rather than including them in our homes, families and communities.

Today in the UK, debates around the crisis in social care focus on the high cost of looking after older people and disabled people. And those costs predominantly relate to institutionalisation. Georgette Mulheir has carried out extensive research on the costs of various kinds of care across the world. She said, across low, medium and high-income countries, it is always more expensive to care for a child with disabilities in a poor-quality institution that harms their health and development than to support them to live in family care, where their health outcomes, happiness and life chances are greatly improved.

Right now, bodies representing UK care homes are asking the government for more financial assistance. Due to the pandemic, they are only running at 70% occupancy and because they receive their funding per resident, their income is down considerably, whilst costs have increased. Mulheir suggests that before the government automatically uses tax-payers' money to bail out a profit-making care system, some fundamental questions should be answered. Firstly, why are they running at low capacity? It is partially because so many people have died. But also, precisely because of the high rates of preventable deaths, many families are now reluctant to place their relatives in care homes. If the industry has failed so spectacularly, why should we bail it out?

The problem, though, according to Georgette Mulheir, is that we have no alternative. As a country, we have underfunded home-based care and support systems for families and communities. We have allowed a harmful institutionalised system to flourish and grow, without questioning whether it is fit for purpose. The government, local authorities and families simply have nowhere else to turn for help for people with increasing support needs.

There is no denying that institutionalising people is big business, with the UK spending more than 20 billion annually. We imagine our modern social work systems have nothing in common with the eugenicists vision from more than a century ago, but, in the context of a society where lives are valued according to economic output, many older and disabled people are still segregated, excluded and warehoused in institutions. And what happens when resources, already stretched thin, reach breaking point? According to Mulheir, the economic imperative takes over and the rights, needs and wishes of individuals become secondary, with terrifying results.

Blanket DNARs  The Logical Next Step

Throughout the pandemic, disturbing reports appeared in the UK press that led to an official investigation into blanket Do Not Attempt Resuscitation orders (DNARs) in care homes for older people.

Within weeks of UCLs public apology for its role in promoting Eugenic theories, the Care Quality Commission issued its damning report. It was indeed the case that, in some care homes, DNARs were entered into the notes of all residents, without consulting the person or their family.

According to the report, in at least one case, a family doctor sent letters to families, stating, Dear [care home resident relative] adding that after looking at medical notes and using a computer algorithm, I realise there is less than one percent chance of resuscitation being successful. For this reason, I have signed a do not resuscitate order in their nursing notes.

It appears a similar approach has been taken to people with learning disabilities. According to Mencap, Throughout the pandemic, many people with a learning disability have faced shocking discrimination and obstacles to accessing healthcare, with inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices put on their files and cuts made to their social care support.

As yet, there is no clear analysis of Covid deaths in care homes. But some over-stretched medics and civil servants appear to be using economic arguments and pseudo-science  this time in the shape of a computer algorithm  to decide who lives and who dies. How far these approaches have resulted in preventable deaths is, as yet, unknown. But it is certainly the case, says Mulheir, that if we expect older and disabled people in institutions to die, we rarely ask questions when it occurs. In this context, a public inquiry into Covid deaths must open the doors of residential institutions and find out what really happens inside.
GARDAI have issued a Child Rescue Ireland Alert and are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 14-year-old, Svetlana Murphy.

The CRI was issued overnight and remains in place.

A CRI alert remains in place



An Garda Siochana are continuing to appeal to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts Svetlana Murphy



An Garda Siochana respectfully requests that this post is shared widely but to refrain from posting uninformed & ill-judged comments https://t.co/FV89aqDz49  Garda Info (@gardainfo) April 22, 2021

Gardai say they have serious concerns for the safety of Svetlana, who is from County Louth, and that there is an immediate and serious risk to here health or welfare

"At approximately 4pm on Monday, April 19, Svetlana left her home on Coast Road, Blackrock, County Louth. She is described as 5 foot 1 inch in height with a slim build. She has brown hair and brown eyes. At the time she went missing, Svetlana was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top and black runners," stated a garda spokesperson.

Svetlana is in the company of 18-year-old Nojus Maculevicius (pictured).

Nojus is described as being 6 foot in height with a slim build. He has dark brown hair and he is clean shaven.

He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top. He may also have been wearing a khaki green hoody, and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Nojus are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

Gardai are satisfied that Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock, County Louth to Newry, County Down on Monday. They were sighted in Newry at approximately 7pm.

Gardai say they also are satisfied the Hyundai Veloster car was in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday They are not aware of Svetlanas and Nojus whereabouts at this time.

As part of the urgent appeal, anyone with information is asked to contact gardai on 999 or 112.

Members of public should not approach those involved or the car and should instead immediately contact gardai providing as much information as possible.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 21)  The Department of Information and Communications Technology says it expects to roll out the countrys vaccine information management system (VIMS) with local governments as early as end-April.

Kasalukuyan po ang binigay po sa aking deadline nila Sec. Charlie Galvez is bago matapos ang Abril, lahat ng mga LGUs ng NCR dapat na-roll out na sa maraming LGUs, said DICT Usec. Manny Caintic in a televised briefing.

[Translation: The deadline given to me by (vaccine czar) Sec. Charlie Galvez for now is before April ends, it must already be rolled out to as many LGUs as possible in NCR.]

For the rest of the 1,700 local government units, Caintic said they must be accommodated by May.

The DICT is being assisted by the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Health and other organizations in rolling out the system nationwide, said the official. The agency is also trying to tap national ICT councils for assistance in training personnel on using the system in vaccination centers.

The VIMS aims to be the single source of truth for all information concerning the countrys COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Maaari rin po itong gamitin ng ating mga health professionals upang maisaayos ang aktuwal na pagbabakuna sa bakuna centers at maging ang mga LGUs upang magkaroon nang mas maayos na aksyon at polisiya ang mga ito sa kanilang mga vaccination progress, explained the DICT official.

[Translation: It may be used by our health professionals to organize the actual vaccination in vaccine centers and even LGUs in order to come up with better actions and policies concerning their vaccination progress.]

Caintic said the VIMS also allows for the exchange of information and data with other systems, and that the DICT is currently working on its interoperability with the preexisting vaccine systems of LGUs.

Magsusumite ang mga LGU nung kanilang mga masterlist, iyong mga kandidatong babakunahan nang sa ganoon ma-fill-out na doon sa VIMS base, he explained. Para pagdating mo doon sa bakuna center nandoon na ang datos mo. Hahanapin na lang, iki-click, lusot ka na sa dulo.

[Translation: LGUs shall submit their masterlist containing candidates for vaccination so that (their information) can be filled out in the VIMS base. So that your information will already be at the vaccination center. You only need to look for it, click on it, and you're good to go.]

Caintic, however, admitted that they have been consistently following up on LGUs who have yet to submit their masterlists and that the DILG has been helping them in the effort.

[I]mportante pong mapadala nila lahat agad ang kanilang masterlist kasi importante sa amin yun para sa demand planning, sa distribution and allocation, he said.

[Translation: Its important for them to send their masterlist immediately because this is important for our demand planning, distribution and allocation.]

The government hopes to inoculate 50 to 70 million people against the virus by year-end. It is currently vaccinating health workers, senior citizens and people with comorbidities.
Kayrros proprietary technology is the first to differentiate between emissions from gas production and coal mining

Kayrros has released measurements quantifying the total methane emissions across the Appalachian Basin. The findings, derived from satellite data and proprietary algorithms, place the Appalachian Basin ahead of the Permian as the biggest source of methane in the US and identify the primary sources behind its emissions.

Kayrros leverages data from the European Union's Sentinel-5P and Sentinel-2 satellites, and advanced mathematics, to detect and attribute large methane emissions events worldwide. Recent data show emissions from fossil fuel production in the Appalachian Basin hit 3 million tons in 2019 and 2.4 million tons in 2020. Given that the warming potential of methane is estimated at 84 times that of carbon dioxide, this is equivalent to the annual emissions of ~30 million cars.

Excluding emissions from coal mines, emissions from natural gas (from the Appalachian's Marcellus Basin) declined from 1.9 million tons in 2019 to 1.4 million tons in 2020. In comparison, Permian measurements showed methane emissions from oil and natural gas production declined from 2.7 million tons in 2019 to 2.0 million tons in 2020.

Across the basins, methane emissions fell by 20% in the Appalachian and by 26% in the Permian in 2020, largely due to the impact of the Covid pandemic on energy demand. The variation in the percentage decreases can be traced to the differing energy mixes within each basin. These results are consistent with IEA estimates of US emissions from oil and gas and are materially higher than EPA estimates.

The satellite measurements also show that while the methane footprint of the Appalachian is larger than that of the Permian in absolute terms, the 2020 methane intensity of gas production in the Appalachian was lower than in both the Permian and Anadarko Basins. This is likely explained by the fact that Appalachian gas is "non-associated," meaning it's the only hydrocarbon fuel produced in the basin. In the Permian Basin, it's mainly associated with oil extraction, meaning that it comes as a by-product of oil production.

The Appalachian region has been an important source of coal since the 19th century. More recently, it has also become a major hub for natural gas production. Hundreds of coal mines are intermingled with thousands of gas wells across the basin, which complicates the task of measuring total methane emissions and attributing them to their sources.

The findings demonstrate that large methane emissions cannot simply be considered as an unavoidable side effect of production but rather the avoidable consequence of various factors such as insufficient or poorly maintained infrastructure for natural gas gathering, processing, and transportation. Kayrros tracking and attribution technology not only makes it possible to measure change in performance over time and compare trends across basins and assets but also to detect emissions in near realtime and optimize mitigation and prevention efforts. Efficient and accurate leak detection is the first step toward their eradication, and therefore has substantive positive implications for operational standards and policy-making in the energy industry.

This is the first time that methane emissions from coal have been quantified in a comprehensive manner. The modeling approach used by Kayrros in the Appalachian Basin now makes it possible to measure the vast majority of methane emissions worldwide and add granularity to their types and sources. Future Kayrros analyses of major coal mining regions in Australia and China will bring further transparency and make it possible to analyze variations in methane intensity across different types of coal mined around the world. This is a new and important milestone in bringing transparency to energy and the environment.

About Kayrros

Kayrros is the leading global asset observation platform built on fundamental science, strong R&D, and leading technology. Harnessing satellite imagery and multiple sources of unconventional data with machine learning, natural language processing, and advanced mathematics, Kayrros monitors and measures energy and natural resource activity worldwide. With access to data on more than 200,000 industry assets, Kayrros customers track individual or multiple assets in configurable proprietary or collaborative workflows to analyze industrial and environmental performance for maximum insight and optimal operational and financial decisions. For more information, visit www.kayrros.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005858/en/

Contacts:

Arnaud Salla Kekst CNC, Paris +33 6 16 17 52 26

Julius Lang Kekst CNC, Munich +49 162 207 4729

kayrros@kekstcnc.com

Chris Jones Pierpont Communications

cjones@piercom.com 713-627-2223
With several private and government hospitals in running low on medical for COVID-19 patients, the Centre raised the national capital's quota from 378 metric tonnes to 480 metric tonnes on Wednesday.

"Central govt has increased Delhi's quota of We r very grateful to centre for this (sic)," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.

The Centre announced that it will supply 480 metric tonnes of oxygen to Delhi, which will come from Odisha, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, the city government said in a statement.

"What remains a matter of grave concern is that of the 480 metric tonnes, 100 MT oxygen from Odisha (70 MT) and West Bengal (30 MT) will take almost 72 hours to reach Our citizens, our hospitals, our city is running out of time," it said.

Meanwhile, the 140 metric tonnes of oxygen that Haryana has to supply was yet to leave for around 8 pm.

On Monday and Tuesday, around 240 MT and 365 MT of oxygen was supplied to Delhi against the requirement of 700 MT per day, the statement said.

Since Delhi does not have its own source of oxygen, the capital's supply comes from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Hours before the announcement, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged at a press briefing that an official of the Haryana government stopped oxygen supply to Delhi from a plant in Faridabad.

The neighbouring state, however, denied the allegations.

Several hospitals in Delhi also alleged that the Haryana government was not allowing vendors to supply oxygen to them and there is only a limited stock left as hundreds of patients battled for their lives in these healthcare facilities.

"If the oxygen quota gets depleted in these hospitals, Delhi is staring at a catastrophe waiting to unfold," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said in the statement.

Suppliers are facing obstructions from the district authorities of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, it added.

"It is indeed unfortunate that states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are curtailing the supply of life-saving oxygen to Delhi. Just as the Haryana government, the Uttar Pradesh government has illegally captured the oxygen production plants, depriving Delhi of oxygen," the statement read.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Antonio, TX, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Airrosti, a national healthcare provider of high-quality, outcome-based musculoskeletal (MSK) care, has added three new roles to its leadership team including Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Health Plan Sales, and Vice President of Enterprise Sales. The new roles position Airrosti as the nations leading entry point for MSK care, including most muscle and joint injuries, helping patients increase speed and accessibility to care.

Airrosti is a nationwide provider-led MSK solution, offering in-person and virtual care. The only MSK solution with over 17 years of experience and 1 million cases treated, Airrosti delivers significant savings to patients and plan sponsors through a 43% reduction in total episode cost.

We are energized about the expansion of our leadership team, further enabling us to break down barriers to musculoskeletal care, said Airrosti Chairman Kelly Green. In adding strategic thought leaders to our organization, we are poised to help people get out of pain as quickly as possible, while providing the highest level of care and patient experience.

Airrosti added Airrosti Remote Recovery as its virtual telehealth solution last year and aggressively hired providers and built new clinics throughout 2020. This hiring continues unabated with 125 new treatment team members planned for 2021. Airrosti Remote Recovery is currently available in 36 states, with complete national coverage expected by the end of this year.

Zubair Faiz, Chief Information Officer

Zubair Faiz joined Airrosti as Chief Information Officer in September 2020. Faiz is leading the information technologies team as Airrosti continues to deepen and extend the proprietary technology used to deliver a world-class clinic experience through Airrosti Remote Recovery. He is also set to partner with Airrostis Development and Finance and Accounting teams to develop a data warehouse and reporting tools plan to leverage 15 years of Airrosti data. He will also help develop additional technology around Airrosti Remote Recovery.

Faiz is a technologist with a demonstrated track record of successfully leading teams through the changes in healthcare technology. His significant experience in healthcare technology as the CIO at Healthcare Highways, and his 19 years of progressive leadership roles at Healthcare Services Corporation, allows Airrosti to move forward, faster with a variety of technology initiatives.

Jode Lemmon, Vice President of Health Plan Sales

Airrosti named Jode Lemmon as the Vice President of Health Plan Sales in January 2021. Lemmon is the first hire to Airrostis new Health Plan Sales team that will focus on securing Airrosti Remote Recovery partnerships with regional and national health plans throughout the U.S. Lemmon will focus on expanding Airrosti Remote Recovery access through these partnerships and will better position Airrosti to more effectively engage national and regional employers throughout the country.

Lemmon brings over 25 years of experience in health benefits, human resources, and labor relations to Airrosti. Prior to joining Airrosti, Lemmon worked in health plan partnerships for WebMD Health Services and with Consortium Health Plans working in sales effectiveness and consultant relations to help Blue Cross Blue Shield plans grow national account business. She also served as Principal in the Baltimore/Washington office of Mercer for more than 12 years.

Worth Houghton, Vice President of Enterprise Sales

Worth Houghton was named the Vice President of Enterprise Sales in March 2021 and will lead the efforts in evangelizing Airrosti Remote Recovery to large, self-funded employers throughout the U.S. Houghton and his team will provide the virtual solution to employers to help combat musculoskeletal costs through the prevention of unnecessary imaging, surgical procedures, and prescription drug utilization.

Houghton is a 30-year veteran of the employee benefits industry and a passionate champion of innovative healthcare solutions. His professional experience paired with his own personal health care journey, combine to give Houghton a unique and insightful view of the opportunities ahead for todays employers. Houghtons broad range of experience includes front-line sales at national insurance companies, consulting with an insurance services division of IBM, and many years on the cutting edge of employee benefits technology and navigation.

About Airrosti

Airrosti Rehab Centers (Airrosti), is a national healthcare group that employs and trains skilled providers who specialize in delivering high-quality, outcome-based musculoskeletal care, both in person and virtually through Airrosti Remote Recovery. The companys strict adherence to quality care standards across its provider network significantly reduces costs and recovery times for patients and prevents unnecessary MRIs, pharmaceuticals, and surgeries. Many patients experience significant improvement in pain, range of motion, and a return to normal activity, often within only three visits. Airrosti is currently available in 32 states and has over 175 brick-and-mortar locations across Texas, Virginia, Ohio, and Washington. To learn more, visit airrosti.com.
A Gold Coast man has been arrested and charged after allegedly trying to import more than half a million dollars worth of heroin.

The 20-year-old was charged with 10 offences after police searched a Robina property and found a .22-caliber pistol with a silencer, a sawn-off .410 shotgun, ammunition, more than $42,000, MDMA and cocaine.

ABF officers in Sydney discovered the heroin after it had been sent through the international mail system. Credit:Police Media

An investigation was launched after Australian Border Force officers in Sydney recently detected a kilogram of heroin, which had been sent through the international mail stream.

Police allege the man tried to import the heroin, which had an estimated street value of more than $500,000.
The Red & Black spoke with Deborah Gonzalez as she reflected on what it means to be the first Latina and woman in her new role as district attorney.
When Blake Baileys 900-page biography of legendary New Jersey author Philip Roth published earlier this month, it provoked both rapturous praise and intense criticism. It also reignited a complicated conversation around one of Americas most polarizing writers, as Roth is both celebrated for his Pulitzer-winning prose and derided for his documented misogyny.

New questions began to swirl around the Newark natives legacy, specifically whether it could survive a 21st Century dialogue around male entitlement and chauvinism.

I think were due another fight over Roths work, novelist Sandra Newman told The Times. People tend not to talk about (his misogyny), or excuse it with an embarrassed chuckle. Its at the centre of his work. I think he was saying things he believed.

Now, allegations against Bailey, first reported Tuesday by NOLA.com, have complicated the discourse even further, with former students describing his inappropriate flirtations as an eighth-grade teacher and an exploitation of the teacher-student relationship for sex in their early adulthood. Two women have also come forward accusing Bailey of rape.

The response was predictably swift: Baileys publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, announced Wednesday it would pause the shipping and promotion of the book and his agency, the Story Factory, dropped him on Sunday. In a statement given through his attorney, Bailey denied all of the allegations.

This unlikely series of events has unfolded with a certain irony: Roth, who was obsessed in later life with the project of his biography and how he would be remembered, seems to have now inextricably linked his own fate to that of his hand-picked biographer.

Author Blake Bailey is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Philip Roth, who died in 2018, chose Bailey to write his biography.Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; W.W. Norton

Throughout his career and especially in the years following his death in 2018, Roth faced frequent charges of sexism and misogyny. While scholars and readers alike continue to champion his prolific oeuvre of 31 published works, for which Roth received nearly every major literary prize minus the Nobel, others lambast him as a relic of a pre-#MeToo society.

Criticisms tend to focus on Roths crass depictions of male sexual machismo and flatly written female characters, who detractors say are treated more as sexual objects than people with agency.

And now, as Bailey faces allegations much more severe than even the harshest charges lobbed against his subject, critics say the biographer unfairly cemented Roths side of the story.

The fiercest criticism of the biography, the 15th best-selling non-fiction book in America as of Wednesday, came from New Republic Literary Editor Laura Marsh, who characterized Bailey as an adoring wingman who is exceptionally attuned to (Roths) grievances and rarely challenges his moral accounting.

She accused Bailey, who began work on the project in 2012, of holding animosity toward women in Roths life and portraying them as caricatures.

Women in this book are forever screeching, berating, flying into a rage, and storming off, as if their emotions exist solely for the purpose of sapping a mans creative energies, she wrote.

In a phone interview with NJ Advance Media last Friday, before the allegations surfaced, Bailey addressed what he described as a brutal review.

You cant please everybody with a biography of Philip Roth, Bailey told NJ Advance Media.

Philip is a lightning rod, and people tend to either love him or not. And if they love him, many people have said I was uncowed and courageous and let it rip, which I think is certainly true. But there have been people who said that Ive destroyed him, that because of me, he was going to be canceled, etc. etc., thats how hard Ive been on him.

A lawyer representing Bailey did not agree to a request for an additional interview after the report of the allegations.

The biography, which received mostly positive reviews and was called a narrative masterwork by famed writer Cynthia Ozick, carries readers through Roths two failed marriages and subsequent sexual affairs with young women, often from Roths perspective and including his defensive commentary, critics claim.

Upon its April 6 release, headlines first focused on some of the books most buzzy disclosures: his first-wife, Margaret Martinsons faked pregnancy and abortion, an aggressive advance on a young friend of his ex-wifes daughter, his unsuccessful seduction of Nicole Kidman, who was starring in a film adaptation of The Human Stain, and myriad other accounts of Roths reputed womanizing.

At just under 900 pages, the book is most thoroughly a sprawling apologia for Roths treatment of women, on and off the page, and a minutely detailed account of his victimization at the hands of his two wives, critic Parul Sehgal wrote for The New York Times.

After his second divorce from actress Claire Bloom, Roth felt his reputation was irreparably damaged when she published a tell-all memoir, Leaving a Dolls House in 1996. Setting the record straight with an authorized biography was the project that consumed the last phase of his life  several potential biographers came and went, before Roth settled on Bailey, who had written literary biographies of John Cheever and Richard Yates.

Bailey said he was surprised by the handful of harsh reviews and staunchly defends his work, which became the great experience of his life.

I didnt expect people to say I was overly sympathetic with his worst failings and even complicitous with his worst failings, Bailey said. I certainly didnt expect to be called Philips wingman. That is astonishing, how anyone can reach that conclusion, based on whats in my book.

Roth has long faced controversy throughout his half-century-long career, beginning with the publication of Goodbye Columbus in 1959. In writing less than flattering Jewish characters, critics accused Roth of airing out the newly-assimilating Jewish communitys dirty laundry.

His greatest success and most controversial work came ten years later, however, with the irreverent best-seller Portnoys Complaint, featuring nearly 300 pages of then-unprecedented sexual explicitness and biting satire of Jewish-American life.

If youre triggered, if youre easily offended by certain characterizations and sexual material, those books wont be for you, Bailey said of Portnoy and Sabbaths Theater, Portnoys even more vulgar successor, for which Roth won a National Book Award in 1995. But thats the wonderful thing about living in America  is that no one can force you to do something you dont want to do.

Controversy now extends even further beyond Roths bibliography, as allegations against Bailey have reached the authors longstanding relationship with the Newark Public Library, to which Roth donated more than $2 million  about one-fifth of his estate  and 7,000 books. The institution is scheduled to unveil the Philip Roth Personal Library in June, but has now canceled a planned June author event with Bailey.

For the time being, with the biographys publication halted and the powers-that-be already getting ahead of the controversy, it appears critical consensus has landed squarely against Bailey. How Roth will be remembered, with a biography that was meant to be the final word on his legacy, now hangs in the balance.

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ALGIERS, Algeria (AP)  An Algerian court on Thursday convicted a high-profile university professor specializing in Islam of offending the Muslim religion, and sentenced him to three years in prison.

Said Djabelkhir was not immediately jailed and said he would appeal, according to a group of lawyers defending dozens of detained members of Algeria's pro-democracy movement.

I am a professor and not an imam, using reason and critical thought, he was quoted in the press as saying as he left the courtroom.

Another university professor, joined by a group of lawyers, had filed suit against Djabelkhir for Facebook posts they deemed offensive to Islam.

Before his conviction, Djabelkhir told the French daily Le Figaro that it is the first time in the history of Algeria that a university professor is (being tried) for giving his opinion in his own domain of specialization."

Djabelkhir said he makes the distinction between history and myth in religious writing, but his detractors contend that everything in the Quran is history, with a capital H.

The Algiers office of Amnesty International spoke of a scandalous ruling.

To punish someone for his analysis of religious doctrine is a flagrant violation of freedom of expression and religious liberty, even if the comments are offensive to others, Amnesty said.

The conviction appeared to be a message that defending Islam is also a judicial matter in Algeria.

Some politicians, university teachers and journalists had expressed solidarity with the professor ahead of his trial, denouncing a return of the Inquisition.

Djabelkhir, widely followed on social media, is known for putting into question some dogmas of Islam. He also opposes the head covering warn by many Muslims, saying that it is not a religious obligation and nowhere affirmed (as such) in the Quran or the Sunna  references to the Muslim holy book and tradition and practices of the prophet of Islam.
GOTEBORG, Sweden, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Getinge announces clearance from the US FDA of several new software options for the Servo-u and Servo-n ventilators. In addition to the latest software upgrades, Getinge also received clearance for the new Servo-u MR ventilator for the MRI room.

"The COVID-19 pandemic and the heightened awareness of respiratory health have driven the need for personalized ventilation solutions for critically ill patients. Now more than ever, options for personalized lung protection and personalized weaning solutions are at the forefront of respiratory patient health. Getinge strives to support clinicians and patients by optimizing lung protection and delivering solutions for personalized ventilation," said Eric Honroth, President, Getinge North America.

With this software upgrade for the Servo-u and Servo-n combined, Getinge adds several new functionalities and options across all patient categories  adult, pediatric and neonatal. Getinge broadens its portfolio of lung-protective tools, including Automatic Stepwise Recruitment maneuver (Auto SRM), a standardized and automated workflow that guides lung recruitment and helps clinicians identify a personalized PEEP that provides the lowest driving pressure, which is a variable strongly associated with patient survival in ARDS1. Stress index and Transpulmonary pressure monitoring, including key parameters for assessment of lung stress during controlled and spontaneous ventilation, complements the lung protective toolkit, which was designed to optimally divide the cognitive workload between the clinician and the ventilator.

Additionally, the clearance includes Heliox therapy. Heliox is a mixture of helium and oxygen that facilitates laminar flow and minimizes airway pressure due to its low density. This helps reduce the work of breathing (WoB) of patients suffering from obstructive lung diseases.

Getinge also received clearance to introduce the Servo-u MR to the US market, a complement to the Servo Family, expanding Getinge's platform of ventilators into the MRI room. Designed to guide the ventilator into a safe position, the Servo-u MR includes a magnetic field indicator with visual and audible alerts and an auto-lock handle that locks all four wheels as soon as the clinician releases the ventilator.

"We are seeing a transformation in the way healthcare providers view respiratory health," said Eric Honroth. "With this clearance, we are excited to be part of driving this transformation, working hand in hand with experts and clinicians."

Getinge remains committed to innovation in ventilation platforms. With its rich legacy of firsts, Getinge is proud to bring innovative products and solutions to clinicians through this most recent 510k clearance.

The new options and the Servo-u MR ventilator are expected to be available in the US in July 2021.

Read more about Getinge's Servo ventilators.

1. Amato M, Meade M, Slutsky A, et al. Driving Pressure and Survival in the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2015; 372:747755.

MCV00107385 REVA

Media contact:

Ampy Vasquez

Director, Marketing Communications

(+1) 862-221-4626

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/getinge/r/getinge-receives-us-fda-510-k--clearance-for-three-products--expanding-the-servo-ventilator-platform,c3330644

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/942/3330644/1405297.pdf Getinge receives US FDA 510(k) clearance for three products, expanding the Servo ventilator platform 04 21 2021 https://news.cision.com/getinge/i/getinge-servo-family,c2903172 Getinge Servo Family https://news.cision.com/getinge/i/eric-honroth--president--getinge-north-america,c2903174 Eric Honroth, President, Getinge North America

SOURCE Getinge
Jawahar Goel, promoter and managing director of Dish TV, has offered a substantial portion of his equity in the firm as security for the credit facilities availed of by the Essel group, Subhash Chandra, chairman and group promoter, said on Thursday.

Chandras statement acquires significance as the group has struggled with debt for a while. is a direct-to-home (DTH) company, and the stake of the promoter family  led by Goel, who is Chandras brother  stands at 7.3 per cent, BSE data shows.

However, this promoter stake has been pledged to lenders, who have been revoking shares  in just a year, the stake has fallen from nearly 55 per cent to 7.3 per cent. Consequently, pledged shares as a percentage of total equity have dropped to 3.74 per cent from 51 per cent.

Lenders such as are now among the key shareholders in Dish TV, holding 24.2 per cent in the firm. Deutsche Bank, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), and IndusInd Bank hold 6.2 per cent, 4.7 per cent, and 3.8 per cent, respectively.

Chandra said he was committed to releasing the pledge offered by his brother and that it would not be done at a low price. We wish to deny all the speculation pertaining to the shares being released at a lower price and sold to third-party investors at a higher price. This is baseless and incorrect. The (Essel) group has no such intentions whatsoever, Chandra said.

The group is also confident of returning the security cover back to Jawahar Goel and his family. Goel has only stepped forward to offer support, and has no financial stress whatsoever in his personal capacity, Chandra added.

Last year, had picked up 24.2 per cent in after the latter defaulted on a loan. For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, Dish TVs total debt stood at Rs 760 crore. The company is yet to release numbers for financial year 2020-21 (FY21). In FY20, Dish TVs total debt stood at Rs 1,784 crore.

Last October, was barred by the from selling its stake in after the latter approached the court. The injunction has stayed since then. Dish TV, in a letter to YES Bank, had said it had not pledged shares to it and that being a DTH licence holder, prior approval from the information and broadcasting ministry would be needed to effect a transfer of shares.
1 of 695 Fast mitigation of power grids instability risks

Skoltech scientists in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona and the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed an approach that allows power grids to return to stability fast after demand response perturbation. Their research at the crossroads of demand response, smart grids, and power grid control was published in the journal Applied Energy.

Power grids are complex systems that manage the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to consumers, also called loads. As it is not possible to store electrical energy along the transmission lines, grid operators must ensure, ideally at all times, the balance between production and consumption of electrical energy, i.e. the stability of power grids. While it is essential to guarantee the provision of electricity to consumers and meet their needs, random events, such as electric faults, fluctuations due to renewables penetration or a sudden excessive demand, may perturb the grid stability, possibly leading to brownouts or worse, blackouts. An illustrative real-life situation is when the electricity demand for air conditioning is high in case of heat waves, and cannot be met. If the electrical power reserve is insufficient, rolling blackouts may be implemented on a part or the whole of the distribution network; this management strategy, or worse, failures that lead to non-controlled blackouts profoundly affect the customers' comfort and well-being, as well as the utility companies' operation and profitability.

Careful scheduling by electricity providers is crucial to manage peaks of demands. To avoid contingencies, solutions exist: generator reserves, ancillary services, and demand response. The latter solution involves the customers who may reduce or shift their electricity consumption at suitable times for the company in exchange for lower prices. Companies may also leverage direct load control programs acting on, e.g., air-conditioners' and water heaters' switches.

"Demand response is a low-cost and flexible solution that relies on the customers' tolerance to a temporary perturbation of their comfort, but it may also cause problems such as the parasitic synchronization of individual devices. Put simply, after some demand response operation like turning all devices on, the devices will all be in the same state, consuming energy; then after some time they will all be off, and then on again almost simultaneously, and so on and so forth, if no action is taken to avoid such a kind of collective behavior. In other words, if all devices become synchronized, the power grid has to bear the stress of consumption oscillations possibly causing instability, and certainly delaying the ensemble's availability for a subsequent demand response period," professor Henni Ouerdane comments.

In the new study, the scientists analyzed the relaxation of the energy consumption dynamics of an ensemble of thermostatically controlled loads (air conditioners) after a demand response perturbation. Relaxation must occur rapidly enough to ensure energy efficiency, grid stability, and return to the consumers' "comfort zone".

"The focus was on a discrete model that captures the actual discrete dynamics of the system as information and control signals are sent over discrete time intervals. While it was shown previously using a continuous in-time model that relaxation may be accelerated through mean-field control, it is essential for practical load management to rather rely on discretized control models. The study demonstrates that super-relaxation is a genuine feature of discretized models, but also how these models based on a few control parameters provide energy systems operators with an efficient way to effectively manage the consumption dynamics of aggregated loads", adds lead author of the study and Skoltech PhD student Ilia Luchnikov.

"Our work essentially deals with the optimal use of energy resources and the sustainability of power systems, but the scope of demand response extends beyond power systems management, as it may be applied in other settings like the water sector, the oil industry, and waste management," professor Ouerdane concludes.

###

Skoltech is a private international university located in Russia. Established in 2011 in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Skoltech is cultivating a new generation of leaders in the fields of science, technology and business, is conducting research in breakthrough fields, and is promoting technological innovation with the goal of solving critical problems that face Russia and the world. Skoltech is focusing on six priority areas: data science and artificial intelligence, life sciences, advanced materials and modern design methods, energy efficiency, photonics and quantum technologies, and advanced research. Web: https:/ / www. skoltech. ru/ .

This story has been published on: 2021-04-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Moscow says it has ordered its troops to start returning to their permanent bases following extensive military drills in southern Russia and in and around the occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in March 2014.



The April 22 announcement comes amid heightened tensions with the West over Russias major military buildup around the areas of eastern Ukraine where fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 13,000 people since April 2014.



Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the objectives of the snap inspection "have been fully achieved" and that the troops would return to their bases by May 1.



However, it was unclear from Shoigu's announcement if the return order covered all of the troops involved in the Russian buildup near Russia's southern border and in occupied Crimea -- one of several issues that have roiled tensions between Russia and the West.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted that the "reduction of troops on our border proportionally will reduce tensions."

"Ukraine is always vigilant, yet welcomes any steps to decrease the military presence & deescalate the situation in Donbas. Ukraine seeks peace. Grateful to international partners for their support," Zelenskiys tweet said.

An unidentified NATO official said in Brussels that "any steps toward de-escalation by Russia would be important and well overdue," adding that the Western alliance "remains vigilant."



The official called on Russia to "withdraw all its forces from Ukrainian territory."

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States would wait for to see if Russia followed through after Shoigu's announcement.



"We've heard the words. I think what we'll be looking for is action," Price told reporters.



Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was prepared to host Zelenskiy in Moscow at any time.



"If we are talking about bilateral relations, then, by all means, we are ready to welcome the president of Ukraine at any time that is convenient for him," Putin told reporters in Moscow.



The Ukrainian president invited Putin on April 20 to meet him "anywhere" in eastern Ukraine for talks on calming tensions.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its drills near Russia's southern border and in Crimea involved more than 60 ships, over 10,000 troops, around 200 aircraft, and about 1,200 military vehicles.



But the military hasn't reported the total number of additional troops that have been moved to the region.



Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat said on April 19 that Russia has massed some 100,000 troops near the border, while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on April 20 that the Russian buildup across the border was continuing and was expected to reach a combined force of over 120,000 troops in about a week if it didn't stop.



Russia has argued that it has the right to deploy its forces anywhere on its territory and claimed that they dont threaten anyone.



Ukraine and many other countries refuse to recognize the annexation of Crimea and consider it a violation of international law and Russian-signed agreements safeguarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine.



Shoigu said the military had to be ready to respond quickly in case of an "unfavorable" developments arising from NATO's DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercises, an annual, U.S. Army-led, multinational joint exercise across 26 countries in Europe and Africa, including Estonia -- which shares a border with Russia -- Bulgaria, and Romania.



The Russian troop buildup near Ukraine's border came amid stepped-up violations of a cease-fire in Ukraines east and prompted the West to urge Moscow to pull its forces back.



The United States and NATO have said that the buildup was the largest since 2014, when Russia forcibly seized Crimea and threw its military, political, and economic support behind separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine.



The Crimea maneuvers included the landing of more than 2,000 paratroopers and 60 military vehicles on April 22, with fighter jets providing air cover for the operation.



Shoigu oversaw the exercise flying in a helicopter over the Opuk firing range in Crimea.



Russia last week announced the closing of large areas of the Black Sea near Crimea to foreign navy ships and state vessels until November, prompting protests from Ukraine and raising Western concerns.



Moscow also announced restrictions on flights near Crimea this week, arguing that they fully conform with international law.



Moscow also warned Kyiv against trying to retake by force separatist-held territory in the east of Ukraine, saying that Russia could step in to protect civilians in the region.



Zelenskiy on April 21 signed an order allowing the call-up of reservists for military service without announcing a mobilization.
For the second week in a row, China will be at the centre of Four Corners, this time Poking the Dragon reported by Stephen Long on ow Australias trade with China became a political weapon.

I feel like we are just a pawn in their political game. Winemaker, South Australia

Over the last twelve months, China has launched a wave of trade sanctions against Australia. Industry after industry has been hit with a range of punishing measures, from massive new taxes to import restrictions. As a result, many Australian products have effectively been banned from entering China, leaving the businesses that rely on this trade in peril.

Were all in survival mode. Were doing the best we can. Thats all we can do. Lobster fisherman, Tasmania

On Monday Four Corners investigates whats behind Chinas trade war with Australia.

Theyre strategically picking off Australia where it has the least impact on their economy. Grain grower, WA

The call by Australia for an independent review into the causes of the COVID-19 outbreak in China is often cited as the trigger. But as Four Corners demonstrates, this conflict is being driven by a far wider array of concerns.

The intent is for China to change Australian policy including on issues of the South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Huawei, and foreign interference. Economist

Four Corners reveals how the trade sanctions appear to have been carefully timed and targeted again and again to cause maximum damage.

To wait until aftera lot of the Australian barley crop was planted, was it strategic? I would think so. Grain grower, WA

Travelling from the barley fields of WAs salt lake country to the lobster trawlers of Hobart, Four Corners shows the human and financial cost of the ongoing dispute.

The markets actually dropped to zero. Weve got to find a new home for $1.1 billion worth of wine. Wine industry spokesman, South Australia

Its terrible. I lease the boat, Ive got a crew to look after, weve got three families that live off my family business and at the moment I dont see a future for us. Lobster fisherman

Despite the hardship, some of those hurting the most say Australia has no choice but to hold firm.

Unfortunately, I think for our democracy, for our way of life, for everything that we hold dear to ourselves about Australia. Whether it is China or another country, I think Australia needs to stand up for itself. Seafood processor

Monday 26th April at 8.30pm on ABC.

Related
Al Sharpton cried then praised God for Derek Chauvins conviction for George Floyds murder

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Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues like the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Pastor Jamal Bryant, longtime civil rights leader, the Rev. Al Sharpton, praised God and revealed that he broke down in tears moments after former Minneapolis police offer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd Tuesday.

We want to pray and thank God. Somehow God made a way. He had mercy. We believe in a God that can even get through the cracks of the jury room and bring conscience and bring truth, Sharpton said shortly after a jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyds death.

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after he was restrained for several minutes by Minneapolis Police Department officers. Chauvin was caught on video kneeling into Floyds neck as he begged for his life until he stopped breathing.

The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that officers had responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. Authorities were told someone tried to pay with a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods. The video of Floyds death sparked international protests and calls for justice from many Christian leaders including Sharpton, who has for decades marched and pushed a racial justice agenda through his National Action Network.

Sharpton called Chauvins conviction in Minnesota, which comes less than a year after Floyds death, historic.

This is the first time in the history of this state that a white police officer has been convicted, less known, convicted of a murder. This is the first time in a long ring of fights that weve seen three counts, guilty on all three. We dont find pleasure in this. We dont celebrate a man going to jail. We would have rather George be alive, he said as Floyds family and friends shouted amen!

We celebrate because we, because young people, white and black, some castigated, many that are here tonight, marched and kept marching and kept going. Many of them looked down on, but they kept marching and wouldn't let this die, Sharpton continued.

This is an assurance to them, that if we dont give up, that we can win some rounds, he said, noting that they will fight until The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act becomes law.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would overhaul policing and eliminate qualified immunity for all local, state and federal law enforcement officers. Qualified immunity shields police officers performing discretionary functions from civil liability.

Sharpton, who eulogized Floyd at his funeral last year, is set to eulogize another man, Daunte Wright, 20, who is mixed-race on Thursday. Wright was shot dead by Kimberly Potter, a white Brooklyn Center police officer on April 11 after she mistook her gun for a Taser.

Wright was pulled over for expired license plates and resisted arrested and jumped back into his car when an officer attempted to handcuff him. He had an open warrant for his arrest for a misdemeanor firearms offense for aggravated robbery in 2019 in which he'd choked a woman and threatened to shoot her if she didn't hand over $820 she had stuffed in her bra to pay for rent.

Potter subsequently resigned on April 14 and was formally charged on that same day with second-degree manslaughter following days of protests and riots.

Speaking Tuesday about the Chauvin verdict, Sharpton added, Were going to have to deal with the funeral of Daunte Wright in this same county. This same area. We still have cases to fight but this gives us the energy to fight on.

He also praised the jury for allowing God to use them in Chauvins trial.

For the jury, we want to thank them for letting God give them the strength. Wherever they are tonight. We want them to know we broke down in tears when we heard the verdict. We had to hold each other and hug in tears because too many nights we cried, many of us for decades. Its been nights in jail but today we can wipe our tears away and fight on for another day, he said.

Bryant who was with Sharpton, Jackson and the Floyd family in Minneapolis, shared a video on Instagram Wednesday showing an emotional Sharpton and Jackson.

Sometimes you cry not out of pain or grief but out of relief.... this has been a long journey! Supremacist[s] paint us as savages, evangelicals as heathens, racist police as suspects but we are Gods children and we are human! @real_sharpton @revjjackson I didnt have the strength to cry from feeling drained, shocked and numb. Its a reminder that you cant be so use[d] to fighting that you lose capacity to feel, he said.
For drivers that are looking for an exceptional used vehicle at a low price, Volkswagen of Kingston is the dealership to visit!

For drivers that are looking for an exceptional used vehicle at a low price, Volkswagen of Kingston is the dealership to visit! They offer a wide variety of excellent used models, ranging from sedans to SUVs, and giving a ton of great features. What are some of their offerings? Continue reading below to find out yourself!

Starting off the list of excellent used vehicles available is a 2013 Fiat 500 Pop, a great vehicle that has a price of $6,200. This model has only 72,842 miles on it, meaning that it is in a relatively good view. The model also offers a 1.4-liter I-4 engine system and a 5-speed manual transmission, giving drivers a ton of amazing benefits and performance.

A second amazing vehicle on the list is a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic LT, a vehicle that has a price tag of only $7,600. This model has a total mileage of 65,790 and features a 1.8-liter I-4 DOHC engine system and a 6-speed automatic transmission technology. This gives drivers greater performance, greater efficiency, and more, letting them tackle the world without worry or pause.

Finally, drivers can enjoy an amazing 2014 Volkswagen Passat 1.8-liter SE w/Sunroof model, a vehicle that has a price tag of $8,000. This model has a total mileage of 123,668, not bad for a vehicle thats seven years old. The vehicle also offers a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine system as well as a six-speed automatic transmission technology.

These systems and features give drivers a ton of benefits, though they are far from all that drivers can enjoy at Volkswagen of Kingston. To learn more, or to take these vehicles and others for a test drive, interested parties should contact the dealership today. They can be reached at 877-218-1607, or contacted online at https://www.vwofkingston.net/.
Ruben Flores, who investigators say helped his son Paul cover up the murder of Cal Poly student Kristin Smart, has been released after a judge lowered his bail.

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig Van Rooyen set bail at $50,000 for Ruben Flores, 80, who has pleaded not guilty to accessory after murder in Smart's death. Paul Flores, 44, has pleaded not guilty to murder and is being held without bail.

The judge said he reduced Ruben Flores' $250,000 bail because of health problems and the fact that he faces a maximum of three years in prison if convicted  and he could serve that much time awaiting trial. He posted bail Wednesday and was released around 11 p.m. last night. He was met by Susan Flores, Paul's mother, and they left together.

His conditions of release include surrendering his passport, remaining in San Luis Obispo County and agreeing to wear an electronic monitor.

San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office/Handout

Smart hasn't been seen since disappearing on the walk home to her dorm on Memorial Day weekend 1996. The lone suspect for over two decades was Paul Flores, a fellow Cal Poly student who walked back with her that night. Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were arrested on April 13, marking the first time anyone has been arrested in connection with Smart's disappearance. According to investigators, Paul Flores killed Smart during an attempted sexual assault and his father helped hide the body.

There have long been suspicions Smart's body was buried on the property of Ruben Flores' Arroyo Grande home, an approximately 20-minute drive from the Cal Poly campus. A number of search warrants have been executed on the property in recent years, including two in the last year that permitted investigators to dig up the backyard. Photos showed investigators focusing on the back deck, bringing in cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to aid in the search.

That search yielded evidence she was buried there until "recently," according to prosecutors' filing first reported by the San Luis Obispo Tribune's Matt Fountain.

"The excavation below his deck at 710 White Court showed damning evidence that a body had been buried in that location and then recently moved," prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle said.

"Due to evidence gleaned from the excavation, it is reasonable to believe Ruben Flores currently knows the location of Kristin Smart's remains," Peuvrelle continued. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart the prosecution."

Attorney Harold Mesick, representing Ruben Flores, said his client poses no threat to the public and argued he should be released on his own recognizance because it would otherwise take money he needs to hire a soils expert and biologist for the case.

Axel Koester / Sygma via Getty Images

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LONDON, ON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - VersaBank (TSX: VB) ("VersaBank" or the "Bank") reports the results of its 2021 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held in London, Ontario on April 21, 2021.

Each of the director nominees listed in VersaBank's Management Information Circular dated March 4, 2021 were elected as directors of the Bank. The detailed results of the vote are as follows, with percentages rounded to two decimal places:

Director

Number of Votes

Cast Percentage of Votes

Cast Robbert-Jan Brabander In Favour:

Withheld: 15,093,761 9,366 99.94 % 0.06 % Gabrielle Bochynek In Favour: 15,071,612 99.79 %

Withheld: 31,515 0.21 % David A. Bratton In Favour:

Withheld: 15,042,437 60,690 99.60 % 0.40 % R.W. (Dick) Carter In Favour:

Withheld: 15,093,761 9,366 99.94 % 0.06 % The Honourable Thomas A. Hockin In Favour:

Withheld: 15,092,981 10,146 99.93 % 0.07 % Peter Irwin In Favour: 15,093,761 99.94 %

Withheld: 9,366 0.06 % Art Linton In Favour:

Withheld: 15,093,736 9,391 99.94 % 0.06 % Susan T. McGovern In Favour:

Withheld: 15,071,795 31,332 99.79 % 0.21 % Paul G. Oliver In Favour:

Withheld: 15,093,741 9,386 99.94 % 0.06 % David R. Taylor In Favour:

Withheld: 15,093,660 9,467 99.94 % 0.06 %

At the meeting, the Shareholders also approved the re-appointment of KPMG LLP as auditors of the Bank and approved the Long Term Incentive Plan.

VersaBank's Voting Results with respect to all matters voted upon at the Meeting will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT VERSABANK

VersaBank is a Canadian Schedule I chartered bank with a difference. VersaBank became the world's first fully digital financial institution when it adopted its highly efficient business-to-business model using its proprietary state-of-the-art financial technology to profitably address underserved segments of the Canadian banking market in the pursuit of superior net interest margins while mitigating risk. VersaBank obtains all of its deposits and provides the majority of its loans and leases electronically, with innovative deposit and lending solutions for financial intermediaries that allow them to excel in their core businesses. In addition, leveraging its internally developed IT security software and capabilities, VersaBank established wholly owned, Washington, DC-based subsidiary, DRT Cyber Inc. to pursue significant large-market opportunities in cyber security and develop innovative solutions to address the rapidly growing volume of cyber threats challenging financial institutions, multi-national corporations and government entities on a daily basis.

VersaBank's Common Shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VB and its Series 1 Preferred Shares and Series 3 Preferred Shares trade under the symbols VB.PR.A and VB.PR.B respectively.

Visit our website at: www.versabank.com

Follow VersaBank on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE VersaBank

Related Links

https://www.versabank.com/


The hotel industry and short-term rental companies, such as Airbnb Inc., are on uneven ground  and that needs to change, says Winnipeg Coun. Markus Chambers.

The hotel industry and short-term rental companies, such as Airbnb Inc., are on uneven ground  and that needs to change, says Winnipeg Coun. Markus Chambers.

"We need to level the playing field," he said Wednesday, calling for the city to examine whether it should require short-term rentals to pay Winnipegs five per cent accommodation tax.

He also asked for the city to review the accommodation industrys standards and regulations, in view of its booming growth in recent years.

"In 2015, (local) revenue from Airbnbs and short-term rentals was $1.5 million. In 2018, it was $16 million," said Chambers. "The industry has exploded, but its created unintended effects as well."

People across the city, he said, have complained about being neighbours to houses, condos and apartments used primarily as short-term rentals.

"This isnt what they signed on for  making a major investment in their home and living next door to, basically, a very transient population Its a security issue," Chambers said.

"We need to look at some standards and practices and regulations that regulate that industry a little better."

Because short-term rentals offer "substantively the same services" as hotels and motels, the councillor said they should be charged the same tax.

The hotel industry has paid the accommodation tax since it came into effect in 2008.

Once a month, hotels and motels pay a sum equal to five per cent of their bookings, with a few exceptions  one being "small bed-and-breakfasts and similar accommodations with three rooms or less for rent."

The accommodation tax supports Destination Winnipeg, the downtown convention centre, and a host of other organizations, projects and events designed to bolster tourism.

Scott Jocelyn, president of the Manitoba Hotel Association, said hes been pushing city council to apply the tax to short-term rentals for years.

"For us, its about tax fairness," he said, adding the hotel industry goes through rigorous licensing and health and safety processes.

Short-term rentals, such as Airbnb properties, arent subjected to any of that, yet they run essentially the same business, Jocelyn said.

If people want to rent out their homes a few times a year, said Jocelyn, he has no problem with that  its when they set up businesses in residential areas that it becomes an issue.

He points to Toronto as a beacon for potential new regulations. Beginning in September 2020, all short-term rentals operators had to register their properties with the city. These operators pay an accommodation tax of four per cent.

Notably, Torontonians can no longer list properties as short-term rentals that are not a principal residence.

This last regulation is a particular sticking point for Cam Finnson, owner of Nest Host, a short-term rental company that deals mostly with corporate housing (such as lodging for visiting film crews) but also rents out spaces on Airbnb.

The company manages dozens of properties.

"It would essentially kill the company," he said, adding it would depend on how the regulations shape up, if they come to be.

"There are 300 to 400 other owners that have rental properties that essentially do this for extra income or theyre renting," Finnson said.

Regulations such as Torontos would leave these local businesses in a tough spot, Finnson said, adding, however, he is in favour of the accommodation tax being applied to short-term rentals.

Chambers, Jocelyn, and Finnson all said they want to see the industry working on common ground.

But Finnson said hed want the city to promote short-term rental companies like his as viable accommodation for travellers, in the same way it does for hotels.

Chambers said paying the tax could "legitimize" short-term rentals as an industry.

If submitted to the five per cent tax, said Finnson, his company would deal with it the same way hotels do: add it to the taxes already tacked onto the rented space, which the customer would pay.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
Cake-lovers, rejoice! At long last theres a mess-free solution for carrying a slice of your favourite sponge in your handbag.

Cake jars  all the layers of a traditional cake, squished inside a jar and eaten with a spoon  are set to be the sweet treat trend of the summer. Made from offcuts of sponge with lashings of filling, theyre perfectly portioned to pack in your lunchbox or take on a picnic.

Marks & Spencer is the latest retailer to launch a range of cake-away jars, including a version of its beloved Colin the Caterpillar.

Sarah Rainey gives her verdict on 'cakeaway' jars eaten with a spoon, as the concept falls back into fashion across the UK. Pictured: Colin the Caterpillar cake jar, 4, M&S

The concept can be traced back 100 years to Army wives who used jars to send their husbands home-baked cakes while they were stationed overseas. Having fallen out of fashion, the cake jar is back  and, from classic Victoria sponge to fruity lemon loaf and eye-catching rainbow cake, there are plenty to choose from. SARAH RAINEY grabs a spoon . . .

CANNED CATERPILLAR

Colin the Caterpillar cake jar, 4, M&S

WHATS IN THE JAR? All the elements of a traditional Colin cake: chocolate sponge, chocolate ganache and white chocolate chips, with a white chocolate caterpillar face on top and added chocolate sauce.

The 178g plastic lidded jars also come in raspberry ripple and trillionaires shortcake flavours.

TRANSPORT TEST: Im worried the runny chocolate sauce will ooze into my handbag, but the lid fits tightly and keeps the layers in place. It even survives a vigorous shake by my toddler, whos desperate to tuck in.

TASTE TEST: Gooey, decadent and with just the right ratio of buttercream to sponge. The jar is the perfect size for digging in with a spoon, and I can scrape out every morsel of chocolatey goodness.

VERDICT: Delicious; but theres no way one person can eat it all. 4/5

CLASSIC VICTORIA

Victoria cake jar, part of the Big Four set, 24 for 4 (6 each), coolcakesbychris.co.uk

Sarah said the Victoria cake jar (pictured) is a little pot of pure indulgence

WHATS IN THE JAR? Three layers each of vanilla sponge, vanilla bean buttercream and strawberry jam  a mouth-watering Victoria sponge for one.

London cake-maker Chris Childs sells this classic flavour as part of a gift set that includes chocolate fudge, luscious lemon and spiced carrot cake. At just 100ml, its tiny compared with the rest, but makes up for it in presentation: the gold-lidded glass jars are tied with raffia bows with eco-friendly tags.

TRANSPORT TEST: Freshly baked, these are designed to be eaten within two days of delivery. The contents shift in my lunchbox but it still looks appetising, with ruby jam oozing into the sponge.

TASTE TEST: The sponge is moreish, the buttercream smooth and luxurious  and the fruity jam brings all the flavours together. Each jar is equivalent to a single cupcake, so I can justify scoffing two.

RATING: This is a little pot of pure indulgence.5/5

VEGAN COOKIES

Cookies and cream cake jar, 4.25, cakeinajar.co.uk

Sarah said cookies and cream cake jar (pictured) is a delight for vegans and non-vegans alike

WHATS IN THE JAR? Four generous layers of light vanilla sponge, served with a creamy cookie-flavoured frosting and cookie crumbs.

Made by London-based Georgina Sterling, all the cake jars  which come in 190ml and 300ml sizes  are vegan, and can be adapted to accommodate allergies. Varieties available include coffee, peanut butter, Oreo and chocolate.

TRANSPORT TEST: This is about as secure a jar as you can get  in fact, I struggle to get into it. The cake will last ten days in the fridge and can be frozen for a month, so its fine to carry around.

TASTE TEST: More like a pudding than a cake, its sticky, stodgy and moreish. It tastes buttery and creamy, with cookie throughout; it may be plant-based but theres no compromise on flavour.

RATING: A delight for vegans and non-vegans alike.5/5

UNICORN MAGIC

Unicorn cake jar, 25 for 3 (8.33 each), candyscupcakes.co.uk

Sarah said unicorn cake jar (pictured) is perfect for a children's party favour, but too sickly sweet for grown-ups

WHATS IN THE JAR? With swirls of pastel buttercream, vanilla sponge and an edible gold unicorn horn, this is a little girls fantasy cake in a jar.

Created by Manchester-based Candice Bannister, who also offers mermaid and rainbow varieties, it comes wrapped in tissue with a pretty gift tag.

The 400ml plastic jar (two cupcakes worth) isnt much to look at, but the contents themselves are mesmerising.

TRANSPORT TEST: Ideal for long walks or car journeys because it will stay fresh for a week unrefrigerated. Theres so much cake inside that it doesnt budge, even when stored upside-down.

TASTE TEST: The sponge is light and the buttercream velvety smooth, but overwhelmingly sweet. The jar is so tall the spoon Im using doesnt reach all the way inside and I end up with cake crumbs all over my hands.

RATING: Cute and perfect for a childrens party favour, but too sickly sweet for grown-ups.2/5

VERY CHERRY

Cherry Bakewell cake jar, 12 for 2 (6 each), buttercup-cakes.net

Sarah said Cherry Bakewell cake jar (pictured) is the ultimate cake-lover's treat

WHATS IN THE JAR? Almond sponge, almond buttercream and black cherry jam, piled high and sealed in a jar with a gold lid.

Buttercup Cakes is a family business in the Peak District, which only started selling cake jars last year after its wedding orders dwindled. Founder Linda Ashcroft says theyve been a hit during lockdown, with many customers describing them as a hug in a jar.

At 190ml, the portions come with two spoons  but you wont want to share.

TRANSPORT TEST: These are meant to be stored in the fridge, so I dont want to take mine too far. Squeezed into a picnic hamper on its side, it survives intact.

TASTE TEST: Im not usually a Bakewell fan but in cake form its mouth-watering, with the jam and icing stopping the sponge from becoming too dry. I save half for later and its just as delicious second-time round.

RATING: The ultimate cake-lovers treat.4/5

CHOC-ORANGE APPEAL

Chocolate orange cake jar, 5.50 from jacksbakery.co.uk

Sarah said chocolate orange cake jar (pictured) is a case of quantity over quality

WHATS IN THE JAR? Soft chocolate sponge with chocolate-orange buttercream icing. Each jar has three layers of delicious ingredients inside  and, at 460ml, theyre the biggest of the lot, so theres plenty to go around. Other flavours include mint chocolate, Galaxy, Maltesers and Milky Way.

TRANSPORT TEST: Baker Jack says this will last up to two weeks. But the layers arent as neat as some other jars, with buttercream smeared over the insides on arrival. A few hours en route to a picnic and there are no leaks, but its looking a little worse for wear.

TASTE TEST: Without a layer of fruity curd, this is a little dry and the sponge slightly too dense. I was hoping it would taste like a Jaffa Cake, but the orange flavouring is too subtle.

RATING: Sounds delicious, but its simply a case of quantity over quality.2/5

RAINBOW LAYERS

Rainbow cake jar, 4, thepuddingparlour.com

Sarah said rainbow cake jar (pictured) is beautiful to look at but was lacking a little in flavour

WHATS IN THE JAR? With five multi-coloured layers in a 13cm-high jar, these glorious rainbow cake jars have become a viral sensation on social media. Made by siblings Kristy and Greg at Northumberland-based The Pudding Parlour, these combine rainbow sponge with a generous dollop of plain buttercream.

TRANSPORT TEST: As the glass jars are tall and thin, these arent the easiest to transport (or eat), yet the lid keeps everything locked inside. But after a few hours in my handbag, the layers are all wonky.

TASTE TEST: Despite the garish colours, the cake doesnt taste at all of food colouring. But although the sponge is crumbly and theres not enough buttercream for my liking, its still delicious  and a guaranteed hit with children or anyone who needs cheering up.

RATING: Beautiful to look at but sadly this one was lacking a little in flavour.3/5
Moscow: Doctors for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have appealed for him to end his more than three-week hunger strike after prison authorities allowed civilian physicians to examine him.

In a letter from five physicians affiliated with Navalny, published by Russias independent Mediazona news outlet on Thursday, they said Navalny was examined at a civilian hospital on Tuesday. Navalny started his hunger strike three weeks ago as a demand to see independent specialists of his choosing at his expense.

Alexei Navalny, pictured at court in February, has been urged to end his hunger strike. Credit:AP

Russias treatment of Navalny has drawn international condemnation, including from the US, which promised consequences for the Kremlin if Navalny were to die in prison. His condition, described as being near death by his allies, prompted mass protests throughout Russia on Wednesday.

Our main task is to preserve our patients life and health, the letter from the five doctors said. Thus, we, as attending physicians, appeal to Alexei Navalny and ask him to immediately stop the hunger strike in order to preserve his life and health. We consider the fact that civilian doctors were allowed to see him and conduct independent examinations and consultations to be sufficient for this.
Chevron is pursuing a strategic alliance with Toyota North America to develop large-scale hydrogen businesses.

The California oil major on Wednesday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japanese automaker to collaborate on public policies to support the development of hydrogen infrastructure and pursue joint research and development of hydrogen-powered transportation and storage, particularly for hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric vehicles.

We are excited to collaborate with Toyota. Working towards a strategic alliance on hydrogen presents an opportunity to build a large-scale business in a low-carbon area that is complementary to our current offerings, Andy Walz, president of Chevrons Americas Fuels & Lubricants, said in a statement. This opportunity leverages our market position, assets, technology, and organizational capability and supports our efforts to help advance a lower-carbon future.

Oil companies are increasingly looking to diversify into hydrogen as the world shifts away from fossil fuels over growing concerns about climate change. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth that can be harnessed to store and deliver a tremendous amount of energy for transportation, power generation and industrial uses. For oil companies, hydrogen offers properties similar to oil and natural gas in that they can be transported through pipelines and distributed through existing fuel station networks with some adjustments.

Toyota has been researching and developing fuel cell technology for nearly 25 years, and manufactured its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2014. The company in December unveiled its second-generation hydrogen car -- called Mirai, after the Japanese word for future -- which starts just below $50,000. Toyota projects that fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen will one day be as common as hybrid gas-electric vehicles.

ENERGY TRANSITION: Pricey hydrogen still attracts oil companies looking to future

This is another important step toward building a hydrogen economy, Bob Carter, Toyota North Americas executive vice president, said in a statement. Combining Toyotas decades of experience in developing hydrogen powered fuel cell electric technology with Chevrons deep resources in the energy sector has the potential to create new transportation choices for both consumers and businesses that move us toward our goal of carbon neutrality.

However, hydrogen today is too expensive to produce in vast amounts, costing $200 to $250 per barrel to produce, as much as five times the cost of a barrel of oil. Many oil companies believe if they can get the cost of hydrogen down, it could become a major energy source powering the global economy.

Chevrons prospective partnership with Toyota isnt the first time the oil major has invested in hydrogen. The company over a decade ago installed several hydrogen fuel stations along Californias hydrogen highway, but as of last August, only 42 hydrogen stations have been built.

Oil executives speaking at industry conference CERAWeek by IHS Markit last month said hydrogen will likely need incentives from policymakers and bold investments from industry to rival fossil fuels.

As an industry, we cant give the market what it doesnt want, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told CERAWeek attendees virtually last month. Weve got to find a way to work across the value chain in order to create that pull through for hydrogen into the right markets and the right uses that make sense for our customers.
HOLYOKE  MiraVista Behavioral Health Center began offering addiction services this week at the former Providence Behavioral Health Hospital and hopes to open inpatient psychiatric beds next week.

Mercy Medical Center, part of Trinity Health Of New England, was scheduled to end its predominately outpatient addiction services Wednesday. It was announced in February that the 1233 Main St. site had been sold by Mercy for $4 million to Health Partners New England and GFI Realty, which renamed the facility MiraVista.

Plans call for the opening of 36 inpatient beds by months end for those 18 and older experiencing a mental or emotional health crisis with or without co-occurring substance abuse, MiraVista spokesperson Bob LaRochelle said. Such services at the 74-bed psychiatric facility had been shuttered in June by Mercy, citing low admissions and staff recruitment challenges.

The closure ended inpatient services for children and adolescents as well, adding to a chronic prolonged wait in emergency rooms for those needing inpatient psychiatric care. (Baystate Medical Center in Springfield plans to open a 12-ped pediatric unit on April 28 and Holyoke Medical Center expects to open an additional 34 inpatient adult psychiatric beds by the end of May.)

Health Partners CEO and founder Michael Krupa had said in March that MiraVista hoped to open a 12-bed pediatric unit at the hospital by April 30  dependent on state licensing approval and adequate staffing  and all beds by fall.

However, LaRochelle said MiraVistas pediatric unit would not open until this summer at the earliest as it continues working on staff in all departments, including medical providers.

MiraVitas has hired 85 employees to date, he said.

We have offers out for some top-level positions but are still recruiting for a chief medical officer, LaRochelle said. We have hired a chief operating officer.

Mark Paglia has been hired as chief operating officer and Erin Daley as chief nursing officer, according to the MiraVista website. Paglia was previously the executive director of behavioral health services at Mercy Medical Center, and Daley was director of Mercys emergency department.

Krupa, who holds a doctorate in developmental and child psychology from Harvards Graduate School of Education, is founder and chief executive officer of TaraVista Behavioral Health Center, a 108-bed, for-profit psychiatric hospital for adults and children that open in 2016 in Devens, and whose total patient revenue has been put at close to $67 million.

Eventually, 200 employees or more could be hired at MiraVista, said Krupa. He also said that employees laid off by the sale of Providence could apply for jobs at MiraVista, but that union contracts Mercy had with the Massachusetts Nurses Association and United Auto Workers, Local 2322, would not be honored.

The MNA held a rally Thursday afternoon to address the recent sale of the hospital, which it said impacted about 40 nurses represented by the MNA and 60 members of UAW.

In response to the rally that raised issues of the quality of mental health care and access to care at a for-profit hospital, MiraVista issued a statement saying that it is looking forward to providing the same compassionate, high-quality health-related services in Western Massachusetts that we do at our affiliated facility TaraVista in Devens. Delivering superior patient-centered care will always be our top priority at MiraVista.

The fiscal 2021 state budget signed by Gov. Charlie Baker in December included $10 million to fund creation of inpatient mental health acute care beds, with priority given to beds for children and adolescents in underserved areas of the state. Payments upon completion could be up to $150,000 per new bed, particularly if finished early this year.

Related content:
(Newser)  Arizona has become the first border state to declare an emergency amid a surge in arrests of people crossing the border illegally. Gov, Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency in six counties in southwest Arizona Wednesday, saying the Border Patrol is "overwhelmed" and local law enforcement agencies are "crying out for help," the Arizona Republic reports. Ducey is sending 250 National Guard troops to support law enforcement at the border with Mexico. His office says the troops will help with medical operations in detention centers and will install and maintain a state-operated camera system on the border, per the Hill.

story continues below

The Republican governor said $25 million would be spent on the deployment. He did not say how long it would last. Ducey blamed the rise in illegal crossings on the Biden administration, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The numbers dont lie, this drastic surge is a direct result of the bad policy, coming out of Washington, DC," he said Wednesday. The Republic reports that Arizona's two Democratic senators said they supported the move. Sen. Mark Kelly said " there is a crisis on the border" and he has been pushing the administration to provide more resources. (Read more Arizona stories.)
Mark Gottlieb's life changed in an instant when another driver crashed into his car, damaging four vertebrae in his upper spine and smashing six teeth.

In the months following that January 2019 crash, Gottlieb got the teeth crowned and, for debilitating neck pain, tried injections, chiropractic care and physical therapy. The treatments were all covered by his car insurance.

New Jersey law, as in 12 other states, requires drivers to buy personal injury protection, or PIP, coverage to pay medical expenses. Gottlieb had the maximum: $250,000.

Unfortunately, Gottlieb's pain persisted. "Nothing was working. The only other thing was surgery," he said.

Though he wanted his operation performed near his home, Gottlieb said, staff members at the Bergen Pain Management clinic, where he was receiving care, insisted he go to Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus. On April 3, 2020, Gottlieb underwent a complex type of fusion surgery on the herniated discs in his cervical spine. He went home the same day.

His pain improved a bit. Then the bills came.

The Patient: Mark Gottlieb, 59, a marketing consultant in Little Ferry, New Jersey, covered for $250,000 in medical costs by his Geico car insurance. He also has an Aetna health insurance policy, which is secondary.

Medical Service: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, a type of neck surgery to replace damaged discs with bone grafts or implants to stabilize the spine.

Service Provider: Hudson Regional Hospital, a stand-alone, for-profit facility in Secaucus, New Jersey, and Bergen Pain Management in Paramus, New Jersey.

Total Bill: Taken together, the hospital and surgeon billed Gottlieb more than $700,000. The hospital billed $445,995 for the surgery, an amount reduced by Geico to $103,778. Bergen Pain Management billed an additional $264,444 for the main surgeon. Based on a review, Geico reduced that to $141,548. It paid $52,365 toward that before Gottlieb's medical coverage in his auto policy was exhausted. Then it was up to his health insurer or Gottlieb to deal with the rest.

What Gives: When injuries are the result of auto accidents, car insurance is primarily responsible to negotiate and pay the insurance portion of medical bills. That creates a host of financial landmines for patients.

Gottlieb hit all of them.

With the high charges common in the U.S. for treatment, accident victims can easily exhaust the policy limits of even generous personal injury coverage, leaving some vulnerable to huge bills.

Although it's rare to hear car insurers complain that they paid a hospital or doctor too much, auto insurers "typically pay more for some of the same services" than health insurers, said Robert Passmore, a vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, a trade group.

That's in part because auto insurers generally don't have broad networks of medical providers who have agreed to negotiated discounts off their billed charges, as do health insurers. So patients end up "out of network," subject to whatever list price the provider charges.

Gottlieb said he checked with Geico before his surgery but was told it had no information for him about networks. With about $190,000 remaining in his PIP fund at the time, he was not too worried. He said efforts to get cost estimates were unsuccessful.

Instead of network rates, car insurers generally use other payment calculations. Some states set specific payments on fee schedules. But not every medical billing code is listed and, in those cases, they sometimes pay whatever the provider bills.

In this case, that was a lot: Gottlieb's hospital and surgeon's charges, even after being reduced by Geico, were about eight times as high as what Medicare would have paid.

While Geico generally pays rates set by the state (which are dramatically lower than what was charged), Gottlieb's bill included a bunch of billing codes not on the state schedule. For most, the insurer paid exactly what was charged. For example, Geico allowed the full price of $65,125 charged by the surgeon for the removal of a damaged disc and paid the hospital $39,195 for nine surgical screws.

By September  with bills from his various providers still rolling in  Gottlieb's PIP fund ran out after the remaining $52,365 was paid to Bergen Pain Management, short of the $141,548 Geico had recommended as reimbursement for the surgeon.

Insurance pays bills as they are submitted, which is often not in the order in which the treatment was rendered.

"It appears that Bergen Pain Management is still entitled to the $89,183 balance of the billing from your procedure," Geico wrote in a September letter to Gottlieb, which added that he could submit that balance to his health insurer or pay it himself.

When he submitted the surgeon's bill to Aetna, he discovered neither the doctor nor hospital was in his insurance network. He had not checked before the operation since he never dreamed that outpatient surgery would exhaust the auto policy.

That means Aetna did not have a negotiated rate with his providers, which might have knocked the charges down dramatically.

Instead, Aetna said it would allow an out-of-network payment of $4,051 for the surgeon, according to a Jan. 28 email to Gottlieb. In a written statement to KHN, Aetna spokesperson Ethan Slavin said that amount was based on Gottlieb's policy terms, which set physician payments about 10% above Medicare rates for out-of-network care.

Because he had not yet met his annual out-of-network deductible, Gottlieb himself would have to pay the $4,051. He withdrew his request for Aetna to pay. Because out-of-network surgeons frequently go after patients to pay the balance of such bills, Gottlieb is waiting to see if Bergen Pain Management  which has already been paid $52,365 for the surgery  will come after him for more.

Neither the Bergen clinic nor the surgeon has sent him to collections or sued for the amount. Neither responded to multiple emails and phone calls placed by KHN seeking comment.

In a written statement, Hudson Regional spokesperson Ron Simoncini said the hospital "charged the state-mandated fee" where applicable, and where there was no such mandate, "the charges were reasonable." It is not seeking additional payment.

Citing policyholder privacy, Geico declined to answer KHN's questions, including how it determines what it will pay.

Did the auto insurer pay too much?

Geico had set an allowable reimbursement of $141,548 as the surgeon's fee.

"That is an outrageously high surgeon's fee for this type of surgery," said Dr. Eeric Truumees, a professor at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas-Austin.

"I do a tremendous amount of complex cervical spine surgery and never had a fee that high even for complex surgery that takes 10 hours," said Truumees, president of the North American Spine Society. He had no direct knowledge of Gottlieb's case.

Altogether, Geico recommended and partly paid $245,326 to the hospital and surgeon for the procedure.

In contrast, Medicare would have paid about $29,500 for the entire procedure, with about $1,800 of that going to the surgeon and the rest to the hospital, according to researchers at Rand Corp. who analyzed Gottlieb's bills at KHN and NPR's request.

The surgeon's bill was also high compared with what private insurance usually pays, according to Barry Silver of Healthcare Horizons Consulting Group in Knoxville, Tennessee. Silver compared Gottlieb's bills with hundreds of similar claims from two carriers that administer employer-based health insurance nationwide. The total Geico paid the hospital was in line with what employers paid and was actually less than the two highest fees seen in his data. But the highest allowed charge in Silver's database for the surgeon's fee was $87,549, far less than the $141,458 Geico recommended.

Resolution: Gottlieb remains in the dark about whether Bergen Pain Management will seek the remaining $89,000 toward his bill.

Previously, Gottlieb sued the driver who caused the accident  and won a substantial "pain and suffering" court settlement. He wants to preserve it for future medical needs.

He has filed numerous complaints about his bills with state regulators, lawmakers and his insurers. Aetna sent his surgeon's bill to its internal Special Investigations Unit following his complaint.

But, "based on our investigation, we determined there was no further need for action," spokesperson Slavin said.

The Takeaway: Most people are unaware that auto insurance kicks in first after an accident and that it works very differently from health insurance  so you have to pay attention to how the policies coordinate.

That's especially true if the accident requires major treatment.

If you have a low amount of personal injury coverage in your car policy, your medical bills may well kick over to your health policy. So when you sign up for nonemergency treatment  especially if it's extensive, like surgery  it's important to make sure the providers are in your health insurer's network.

Some auto insurers have networks. Ask whether yours does.

Try to get cost estimates in writing for nonemergency care and compare that with what you have left in your auto policy coverage.

"If it's more than you have left, it may be possible to negotiate with the hospital or doctor to reduce their charges," said Silver at Healthcare Horizons.

Bill of the Month is a crowdsourced investigation by KHN and NPR that dissects and explains medical bills. Do you have an interesting medical bill you want to share with us? Tell us about it!
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Sky Gold Corp. (TSX-V:SKYG) (OTC PINK:SRKZF) ("Sky Gold Corp." or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on recent activities on the Company's Newfoundland properties and the Evening Star property, located in Mineral County, Nevada.

Newfoundland Properties

Mustang property - The Company continues to await complete assays from the remaining 17 diamond drill holes drilled at its Mustang property located contiguous to New Found Gold's Queensway property and approximately five kilometres southwest of its discovery drill hole, NFGC-19-01. Recently a high-resolution magnetics geophysical ground survey has been completed over the entire Mustang property. The data is currently being reviewed and interpreted by the Company's consultant geologists and geophysicist.

Virginia property - The Virginia property is located approximately 5.7 kilometres northeast of New Found Gold's drill hole NFGC-19-01 which intersected 92.86 g/t Au over 19 metres (see New Found Gold press release dated Aug. 12, 2020). The property is also contiguous to the south of Labrador Gold Corp.'s Kingsway property, where drilling is active on the "Big Vein" target. A Company representative has recently visited the Virginia property to review logistics for a drill program this summer. The Virginia property has received all necessary permits for its maiden diamond drill program. Historic results completed in the early 1990s by Manor Resources Ltd. report two areas of mineralization in the Zone A-2 target. One showing comprised quartz veining developed over a 35-metre-wide zone within sheared gabbro and graphitic shale (main shear) returning up to 8.7 g/t Au, and a second showing comprising a sheared gabbro returned a grab sample up to 109.6 g/t Au.*

* Gold values on adjacent properties in similar rocks and assays based on historical work in surface sampling and drilling are not representative of the mineralization on the property, have not been verified and should not be relied upon.

Evening Star property

The Company is pleased to announce that EM Strategies is finalizing the documents for submission to the Bureau of Land Management in Carson City, Nevada, for the permitting of a drill program on the Evening Star property. Eight drill site areas have been selected on the Gold Bug, Golden Eagle-Golden Bomber, and Good Hope 2 targets. The strong coincident geophysical (gravity and magnetic surveys) anomalies (refer to Press Release March 17, 2021) interpreted to be related to the silver-rich base-metal skarn and/or Carbonate Replacement Deposit mineralization at the Gold Bug target area will be a priority target. The Company has also secured a diamond drill contractor for the Evening Star property, pending completion of their current client's program, the drill program is expected to start in June on the Evening Star property.

Qualified Person

Catherine Fitzgerald, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, and Independent Director of Sky Gold, is the Qualified Person responsible for reviewing and approving the technical contents of this news release as they pertain to the Newfoundland and Evening Star properties.

About Sky Gold Corp.

Sky Gold Corp. is a junior mineral exploration company engaged in acquiring and advancing mineral properties in Canada and the USA. In addition to the Company's Newfoundland properties, the Company also owns the Evening Star property, located 12 km southeast of Hawthorne, NV, which is prospective for gold mineralization and CRD (Carbonate Replacement Deposit) base and precious (silver and gold) mineralization.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Mike England"

Mike England, CEO & Director

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Tel. 1-604-683-3995

Toll Free. 1-888-845-4770

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward -looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at WWW.SEDAR.COM).

SOURCE: Sky Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641750/Sky-Gold-Update-on-The-Newfoundland-Properties-and-The-Evening-Star-Property-Nevada
Tory London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey (above) launched his campaign bus today

Shaun Bailey today launched a scathing attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan accusing him of mounting a '4.68 billion tax grab' by introducing a raft of controversial measures.

Conservative London mayor candidate Mr Bailey claimed that his Labour opponent will generate the huge figure over the next three years if he wins the May 6 election.

The 4.68 billion is mainly made up of plans to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone to the North and South Circular roads with motorists charged 12.50 to enter it, plans to charge motorists 5.50 for going into Greater London and a proposed Council Tax hike.

Speaking at the launch of his campaign bus, which will tour the capital as the election hots up, Mr Bailey said: 'If we continue on the current trend that Sadiq Khan is going, we are set to pay an extra 4.68 billion in tax in the next three years, and that's just as London is trying to recover from the effects of Covid. The next year or two will determine the next 10 to 15 years of economic development in London, and by extension, the whole country.'

Mr Bailey used his campaign bus launch to hit out at his rival Sadiq Khan's tax grab measures

He has also promised to scrap all Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes, which have led to extensive road restrictions and cycle lanes across the capital, insisting that only those with full community support would be implemented.

Mr Bailey added: 'Sadiq Khan is not just anti-motorist but he's also anti-London. His taxes on motorists will destroy businesses, raise the cost of living and risk London's recovery from the lockdown.'

He accused Mr Khan of 'mismanaging' Transport for London's (TfL) finances which has forced him to target motorists as a way of raising revenue.

He fumed: 'When he (Mr Khan) racked up 9.56 billion of wasteful spending at TfL, he had to ask the government for three bailouts. And when he was told to find new revenue, he chose to increase the congestion charge to 15 a day, seven days a week.

'It's the same story with ULEZ and the same story with the 5.50 Outer London Tax. Each one is an attempt to make Londoners pay for his financial mismanagement.'

Mr Bailey revealed that as way of balancing TfL's books, he would implement corporate sponsorship for the underground network, which would generate an estimated 490 million. He is also proposing a London Infrastructure Bank, bringing public and private investment together to fund long-term projects for TfL.

Mr Bailey is going head to head with Mr Khan for the keys to Town Hall at the election on May 6

Outlining his plans, he claimed that major businesses could sponsor Tube stations across the entire network, from global names to local shops.

He added: 'For example, you could have Harrods sponsoring Knightsbridge station or a business in outer London sponsoring its local tube station.

'All stations would be on the table but not the names of tube lines and it would be a great way to raise revenue. Londoners need a city that's safe and easy to get around and under Mr Khan that is not the case at the moment.'

A London Labour spokesperson said: 'These ridiculous claims are so completely ludicrous and lacking in any basis in the real world that we are beginning to feel sorry for the Tory candidate. His campaign has started to look more like a comedy sketch than a real campaign for London Mayor. For the avoidance of all doubt - these are invented numbers, with no foundation in the real world and Londoners should just completely ignore them.'
Facebook is looking to widen its reach to religious groups by introducing a new feature called "prayer posts" on the social media platform. The Mark Zuckerberg-founded tech giant is currently testing out the feature, which lets users post prayer requests and click on a "pray" button to let others know that they have prayed for their respective requests.

According to Faithwire, Robert P. Jones, founder and CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) was one of the first people to try out the feature. Jones was surprised to find the new feature pop up on his Facebook account.

He went on to Twitter to share a screenshot of the prompt, which read, "You may enable group members to ask for and respond to prayers in a post. You can manage Prayer Request post and who can create them in Group Settings." PRRI's Jones mused, "Wondering what FB algorithm thinks it knows about me?"

So I just had this Introducing Prayer Posts pop up as a new fb feature on my profile. Anyone else seeing this? Wondering what fb algorithm thinks it knows about me? pic.twitter.com/TnP1reKDGR  Robert P. Jones (@robertpjones) April 14, 2021

The answer came through Facebook's head of Global Faith Partnerships Nona Jones, who explained that the prayer posts feature was specifically designed to help the faith community come together.

Facebook's Jones, who leads Gainesville's Open Door Ministries with her husband Pastor Timothy Jones Sr., explained that the idea for the new prayer posts feature came about from the idea of how users have connected through Facebook while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic's lockdowns and restrictions.

"Our mission to give people the power to build community extends to the world's largest community; the faith community," Nona told Religion News. "As a local church pastor with my husband, I know very well how disruptive the last year has been for people of faith and the houses of worship that serve them."

"This is why we are committed to finding ways to build the tools that help people connect to hope on Facebook," the Facebook rep added. The tech giant said that the new prayer posts feature is being tested within a subset of groups in the U.S. for now, but did not elaborate on the criteria to be one of those who are able to participate in the test run.

Facebook's new prayer posts feature, which is geared towards the faith community, will let group administors allow members to use the feature, which they can then use to post prayer requests in the group. Other members can then click the "pray" button to let the prayer requester know that the individual had prayed for them. Users can also react, comment, or send a private message to the poster.

The test run of Facebook's new prayer posts feature is one of the tech giant's projects that cater to the faith community. Another is its #MonthForGood campaign, which is a campaign during the observance of the Muslims' Ramadan.

The move comes after backlash over Facebook was accused of censoring conservatives, specifically former President Donald Trump and his supporters. The tech giant claimed, however, that "the right is better at connecting with people on a visceral level," as reported by Politico.
The Australian parent of failed specialist finance firm Greensill Capital, whose recent collapse sparked worldwide corporate fallout and a political scandal in Britain, has entered liquidation, administrators said Thursday.

The demise of Greensill Capital Pty Ltd is the latest chapter in a saga that has ensnared Conservative politicians including ex-prime minister David Cameron.

The company had filed for bankruptcy last month for its operations in Britain, and also in Australia where its parent group is based and Germany where it has a banking arm.

Greensill's implosion threatens about 50,000 jobs at companies that relied on its supply chain financing, including the steel empire of Indian-British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta.

Greensill Capital Pty Ltd, which is the parent company of the Global Greensill Group, had provided head office support and sourced funding for the finance giant's operations.

Creditors including Credit Suisse, Japan's SoftBank and the Association of German Banks met online early Thursday and "resolved to place the company into liquidation", according to a statement from administrators Grant Thornton.

The administrator provided an overview of the company to its 41 creditors and their representatives, who then voted in favour of liquidation.

Administrators will now wind down activities and attempt to sell off chunks of the business, which was founded in 2011 by Australian Lex Greensill.

"As of today, the company is now in liquidation," Grant Thornton added in the statement.

"The liquidators will continue to identify and realise available assets, monitor developments in relation to the administrations of Greensill UK and the Greensill Bank AG, and continue their investigations in relation to Greensill Capital Pty Limited in liquidation."

- Cameron in firing line -

The controversial company specialised in short-term corporate loans via a complex business model that ultimately sparked its declaration of insolvency.

Story continues

Lex Greensill had obtained inside access to the Downing Street machine of then-premier Cameron, on the promise of helping to provide the government with the latest thinking on financial technology.

Cameron was forced to step down following Britain's Brexit referendum in 2016, and two years later became an adviser to Greensill Capital, amassing share options that were potentially worth millions.

This year, he privately lobbied senior officials including finance minister Rishi Sunak for government support before the firm's business model of supplying interim finance to companies imploded, rendering his share options worthless.

Cameron is most directly in the firing line because of his personal and undeclared lobbying, but denies any impropriety.

The Greensill scandal now faces heightened scrutiny in Britain, where the government already faces cronyism allegations over key contracts linked to its Covid-19 response.

Parliament's Treasury Committee has launched an inquiry into Greensill's collapse, with appearances widely expected from Cameron, Sunak, and Lex Greensill.

Greensill faces a string of other inquiries in Britain, with the National Audit Office also probing the firm's involvement in Covid-19 support schemes and state monitoring of its activities.

Labour leader Keir Starmer slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday over government "sleaze" involving preferential access given to both Greensill and pro-Brexit billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson.

ved-rfj/jwp/lth
Ms. Huang Yingzhou, an immigrant from China, announces her withdrawal from CCP and its affiliated organizations at a rally in New York on April 18 to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal. (Li Linzhao/Epoch Times)

Chinese Immigrant Quits CCP in Memory of 3 Family Members Who Died From Its Persecution

On April 18, Ms. Huang Yingzhou, an immigrant from China, announced her withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations at a rally in New York City to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal in Beijing.

The Tuidang movement began in December 2004 after the publication of the editorial series Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party by The Epoch Times. Since then, it has become a global movement of Chinese people renouncing their ties to the CCP.

As of April 21, more than 376 million Chinese people have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, according to the Tuidang center.

Back then, I was forced to join it. Im really happy to be able to quit it here today. Its like a lasso on me that is broken and Im free from this evil, Huang said.

Huang told The Epoch Times how she learned about the CCPs true nature from her own familys plight in the past.

Huang said her grandfather, a barefoot doctor (one without formal medical training), took good care of all patients who came to see him in his village. Being a follower of Chinas first provisional president, Sun Yat-sen, he was arrested and beaten to death by the CCP. My father was about eight to nine years old when my grandmother was taken to a labor camp following my grandfathers arrest. He had to hide in the mountains to escape from being arrested and persecuted, she said.

Huangs father had to survive by foraging in the mountains. But her two uncles, who were around four or five years old at the time, were starved to death because they had no one to care for them at home.

I have always hated the CCP, Huang said. Those two generations have suffered so much, but there has been no way to redress their grievances.

Huang also described how her father saw the CCP very clearly. My father always told us that the Communist Party is thugs and that everything it represents is fake. They relied on gangsters to seize power and deceive many Chinese people, Huang said.

My father also told me that my grandfathers last words were: If the Communist Party falls one day, you must tell me at my grave, Huang said. My father always wanted to see its fall and said that if he could not live long enough to see that, I must tell him at his grave when that happens.

She said it was only after she started working that she really began to have a better understanding of the CCP.

As I become more aware of pervasive scandals such as those of tainted milk powder and vaccines, I see how unscrupulous businessmen and corrupt officials work together to make their profits under the guise of doing good for China. There are also many people who are brave enough to reveal the truth and speak out for what is just, only to be suppressed and persecuted by the authorities, Huang said.

I am slowly beginning to believe that the CCPs news is superficially glamorous, but in reality, there are a lot of dark secrets that are being covered up, and the weak and innocent have no place to speak out, Huang said. Please see the CCP and its evil clearly, and there are many things out there worth being looked into.

Huang said she was very proud to now be free from the shackles of the CCP and hoped that more Chinese people will join her.

Lin Tianzhong and Liu Qiaoling, two others who quit the CCP at the rally, said that they dont like the one-party dictatorship and want the mainland to have a democratic system like the United States.

Li Linzhao contributed to this report.
To the Editor:

Re Allegations Against Biographer Halt Shipping of His Roth Book (front page, April 22):

If Blake Bailey, Philip Roths biographer, is credibly accused of rape and attempted rape, let him be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

But why punish the rest of us? Dont prevent me from reading a biography that no less a writer than Cynthia Ozick has labeled a narrative masterwork.

Terry Pristin

New York

The writer is a former reporter for The New York Times.

A Chance for Redemption, Even for Derek Chauvin
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global precision farming market size is anticipated to reach USD 16.35 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is projected to expand at a CAGR of 13.1% from 2021 to 2028. Precision farming, also known as site-specific crop management or satellite farming, is a farm management concept that uses information technology to ensure optimum health and productivity of crops. The precision farming technique largely depends on specialized equipment such as sensing devices, antennas and access points, and automation and control systems. It also involves maintenance services and managed services. Additionally, it incorporates a broad range of technologies such as bio-engineering, robotics and automation, imagery and sensors, and big data.

Key suggestions from the report:

Increasing government support for adopting modern agricultural techniques and the growing need for efficiently monitoring the health of crops are expected to drive market growth

The cloud-based software model is anticipated to gain significant market share over the projected period as it reduces energy consumption and provides storage for a large amount of data while facilitating cost saving

Innovations in GPS mapping and related farming applications are enabling farmers to operate more efficiently and increase their profit margins

Demand for drones is expected to grow in the agriculture field as they are increasingly used in monitoring irrigation systems

Yield monitoring finds wide applications in soil monitoring as it helps detect the properties of soil for increasing yields

The digital revolution in the agricultural sector, along with government financial incentives to farms, is likely to drive demand for precision farming in Europe in the forthcoming years

Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth owing to the availability of the largest agricultural land, which provides growth opportunities in countries such as China , India , Australia , and Japan

Key players in the precision agriculture market include AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc. (Agribotix LLC); Deere and Company; Proagrica (SST Development Group, Inc.); Farmers Edge, Inc.; and Granular, Inc.

Read 150 page research report with ToC on "Precision Farming Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Offering, By Application (Yield Monitoring, Weather Tracking, Field Mapping, Crop Scouting), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" at:https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/precision-farming-market

The growing number of applications for telematics in agriculture is anticipated to drive demand for precision farming over the projected period. Telematics services include tracking devices using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to show the position of the equipment for management purposes. Major manufacturers of agriculture equipment are adopting telematics services for their equipment to improve farm efficiency, thereby reducing the cost of agricultural operations and maximizing profitability. Additionally, improved management can help reduce environmental impact. Telematics technology is used to capture and transfer data from the farm equipment through sensors installed on tractors and other field monitoring equipment. The increasing adoption of telematics systems by agricultural equipment companies is expected to drive market growth.

Furthermore, with advancements in GPS guidance and automation, drones are poised to transform the agriculture industry. The ability of drones to precisely analyze the soil at the beginning of the crop cycle and detect a plant infected with bacteria or fungus is anticipated to propel the growth of the drone segment.

However, the low rate of technology adoption among farmers is likely to hamper market growth over the forecast period. This may be due to factors such as the absence of stringent standards and limitations on the exchange of data. Furthermore, farmers lack independent consulting and advisory services owing to the absence of validated agronomic models for Variable Rate Technology (VRT) to make decisions on investments. Independent services are not linked to co-operatives, government bodies, and farmer associations where farmers can get additional information to make improved decisions.

Grand View Research has segmented the global precision farming market based on offering, application, and region:

Precision Farming Offering Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Hardware



Automation & control systems





Drones







Application control devices







Guidance system







GPS









GIS







Remote sensing







Handheld









Satellite sensing







Driverless tractors







Mobile devices







VRT







Map-based









Sensor-based







Wireless modules







Bluetooth technology









Wi-Fi technology









Zigbee technology









RF technology





Sensing devices





Soil sensor







Nutrient sensor









Moisture sensor









Temperature sensor







Water sensors







Climate sensors







Others





Antennas & access points



Software



Web-based





Cloud-based



Services



System integration & consulting





Maintenance & support





Managed services





Data services







Analytics services







Farm operation services





Assisted professional services





Supply chain management services







Climate information services

Precision Farming Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

Yield Monitoring



On-farm





Off-farm



Field Mapping



Crop Scouting



Weather Tracking & Forecasting



Irrigation Management



Inventory Management



Farm Labor Management

Precision Farming Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





U.K.





France





Russia





Italy



Asia Pacific



Japan





China





India





Singapore





Australia



South America



Brazil



Middle East and Africa (MEA)

List of Key Players of Precision Farming Market

Ag Leader Technology

AgJunction, Inc.

CropMetrics LLC

Trimble, Inc.

AGCO Corporation

Raven Industries Inc.

Deere and Company

Topcon Corporation

Find more research reports onNext Generation Technologies Industry, by Grand View Research:

Agriculture Drones Market - The global agriculture drone market was valued at USD 193.4 million in 2015. The increasing investments rendered to the manufacturers, by the venture firms, are expected to drive the market over the forecast period.

The global agriculture drone market was valued at in 2015. The increasing investments rendered to the manufacturers, by the venture firms, are expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Smart Agriculture Market - The global smart agriculture market size was valued at USD 5.79 billion in 2016. Increasing automation of commercial greenhouses and growing implementation of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) concept in greenhouses, in a bid to obtain higher yield and maintain optimum growing conditions, are the key factors driving demand over the projected period.

The global smart agriculture market size was valued at in 2016. Increasing automation of commercial greenhouses and growing implementation of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) concept in greenhouses, in a bid to obtain higher yield and maintain optimum growing conditions, are the key factors driving demand over the projected period. Vertical Farming Market - The global vertical farming market size was valued at USD 3.89 billion in 2020. It is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.6% over the forecast period.

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

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People are silhouetted against the Sydney Opera House at sunset in Australia, Nov. 2, 2016. Australia's government said Wednesday that it cancelled "Belt and Road" infrastructure deals with China. Reuters



Australia has cancelled two Chinese ''Belt and Road'' infrastructure building initiative deals with a state government, provoking an angry response from Beijing.



The bilateral deals with Victoria state were among four vetoed under new laws that give the federal government power to overrule international agreements by lower-level administrations that violate the national interest, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said late Wednesday.



The ''Belt and Road'' deals struck with Beijing in 2018 and 2019 triggered the legislative response.



Victoria Education Department pacts signed with Syria in 1999 and Iran in 2004 were also canceled.



''I consider these four arrangements to be inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations,'' Payne said.



The Chinese Embassy in Australia said in a statement the decision ''further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations.''



''It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself,'' the embassy said on Thursday, referring to the Australian government.



The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a headline: ''Australia faces serious consequences for unreasonable provocation against China.''



The move ''marks a significant escalation that could push icy bilateral relations into an abyss,'' the newspaper added.



Australia's bilateral relations with its most important trading partner are at their lowest point in decades. Chinese government ministers refuse to take phone calls from their Australian counterparts, and trade disruptions are widely seen as China imposing economic punishment.



But Payne said Thursday she did not expect China to retaliate.



''Australia is operating in our national interests. We are very careful and very considered in that approach.'' Payne said.



''It's about ensuring that we have a consistent approach to foreign policy across all levels of government, and it isn't about any one country,'' she said. ''It is most certainly not intended to harm Australia's relationships with any countries.''



Victoria's center-left Labor Party government said the Foreign Relations Act, under which the deals were cancelled, was a matter for the federal government.



''The Victorian government will continue to work hard to deliver jobs, trade and economic opportunities for our state,'' the statement said.



Victoria's opposition leader Michael O'Brien, who vowed to scrap the deals if he won elections next year, welcomed the federal government's decision.



O'Brien, who belongs to the same conservative Liberal Party as the foreign minister, said the Victorian government had ''given away major infrastructure contracts to Chinese-owned companies'' under one deal.



''In return, the Chinese government has smashed our farmers with tariffs on barley. They have smashed our wine exporters with trade sanctions,'' O'Brien told Melbourne Radio 3AW.



Observers have described the Victorian deals as vague and non-binding. Some suspect their value to the Chinese Communist Party was to exploit differences in opinion in Australia over ''Belt and Road'' deals, which critics argue can create debt traps for poor countries.



Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said his government would not allow the Chinese Communist Party to use such deals with Australian states as ''propaganda.''



''Our problem is with the values or the virtues or the outlook of the Chinese Communist Party,'' Dutton told Sydney Radio 2GB.



The party had militarized ports in the Asia-Pacific region and Australian security agencies had reported an increased level of foreign interference across the region, Dutton said.



''We're worried about cyberattacks and we're worried obviously about state governments that enter into compacts with the Communist Party against our national interests,'' Dutton said.



''We can't allow these sort of compacts, these sort of arrangements and friendships to pop up because they're used for propaganda reasons and we're just not going to allow that to happen,'' he added. (AP)


I write best when Im reading novels that give me an inferiority complex. When I was reading Ayad Akhtars Homeland Elegies, for instance, Id be at my desk the next morning and try to begin the day writing one sentence with two words as interesting as his pairing orphic concordances. I also read lots of nonfiction that will help me bring a scene to life. I never have writers block, but when a novel is stalling, its usually because I havent done my homework and need to dig deeper into the research.

Your new novel anticipates the start of the Salem witch hysteria a few decades later. What other books would you recommend to people interested in the subject?

Begin with poetry by Anne Bradstreet. You wont find witches, but you will find poems that celebrate her love for her husband and the natural world, as well as one that mourns the loss of her library in a fire and another that expressed her desperate pain at the death of a grandchild. You will find spiritual doubt. Theyre beautiful, and they remind us that the Puritans internal lives were as complex as ours.

There are plenty of fascinating books about witchcraft in history and about Salem in particular, but the one I like best is The Devil in the Shape of a Woman, by Carol F. Karlsen. Bonus points for the title alone.

Has a book ever brought you closer to another person, or come between you?

When I finished Howard Frank Moshers A Stranger in the Kingdom as a young man, I was so moved that I wrote him. He wrote back, one of his classic, handwritten letters penned in blue ink on lined, yellow paper. Wed be friends until he died. I dedicated one of my novels to him.

Whats the most interesting thing you learned from a book recently?

From Sy Montgomerys lovely The Soul of an Octopus: An octopus would make a terrible pet, but not because theyre dangerous. Rather, theyre playful and smart and usually gentle with humans, but theyre likely to get themselves into trouble slithering out of their tank.

After reading her book, I went to the New England Aquarium just to watch them.

What moves you most in a work of literature?
DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Therapeutic Drug Monitoring - Technologies, Markets & Companies" report from Jain PharmaBiotech has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report deals with therapeutic drug monitoring, a multi-disciplinary clinical specialty, aimed at improving patient care by monitoring drug levels in the blood to individually adjust the dose of drugs for improving outcome. TDM is viewed as a component of personalized medicine that interacts with several other disciplines including pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenetics. One chapter is devoted to the monitoring of drugs of abuse (DoA). Various technologies used for well-known DoA are described. A section on drug abuse describes methods of detection of performance-enhancing drugs.



The TDM market is analyzed from 2020 to 2030 according to technologies as well as geographical distribution. The global market for DoA testing was also analyzed from 2018 to 2028 and divided according to the area of application. Unmet needs and strategies for the development of markets for TDM are discussed. The report contains profiles of 35 companies involved in developing tests and equipment for drug monitoring along with their collaborations. The text is supplemented with 21 tables, 9 figures, and 210 selected references from literature.



Benefits of this report

Up-to-date one-stop information on therapeutic drug monitoring

Description of 35 companies involved with their collaborations in this area

Market analysis 2020-2030

Market values in major regions

Strategies for developing markets for therapeutic drug monitoring

A selected bibliography of 210 publications

Text is supplemented by 21 tables and 9 figures

Who should read this report?

Biotechnology companies developing assays and equipment for drug monitoring

Reference laboratories providing drug monitoring services

Pharmaceutical companies interested in companion tests for monitoring their drugs

Clinical pharmacologists interested in integrating therapeutic drug monitoring with pharmacogenetics for development of personalized medicine

The report contains information on the following:

Technologies for TDM

Drug Monitoring Instruments

Applications of TDM

Drugs Requiring Monitoring

Monitoring of Biological Therapies

Monitoring of Drug Abuse

Markets for TDM

Companies

Key Topics Covered:

Introduction Technologies for TDM Drug Monitoring Instruments Applications of TDM Drugs Requiring Monitoring Monitoring of Biological Therapies Monitoring of Drug Abuse Markets for TDM Companies References

List of Tables

Table 1-1: Historical landmarks in the development of therapeutic drug monitoring

Table 4-1: Psychotropic drugs requiring TDM

Table 5-1: Drugs requiring TDM

Table 5-2: Indications and therapeutic ranges of various AEDs

Table 6-1: Molecular imaging methods for tracking cells in vivo

Table 6-2: Applications of molecular diagnostics in gene therapy

Table 7-1: Commonly tested drugs of abuse and recreational drugs

Table 7-2: Testing and confirmation cutoff concentrations/detection times for DoA

Table 7-3: Historical landmarks of drug abuse in sports

Table 7-4: Drugs used by athletes for performance enhancement

Table 7-5: Genes that may be used for performance enhancement

Table 8-1: Global markets for TDM according to technologies from 2020-2030

Table 8-2: Global markets for TDM according to tests in drug categories 2020-2030

Table 8-3: Global markets for TDM according to point of application 2020-2030

Table 8-4: Markets for TDM and DoA testing equipment 2020-2030

Table 8-5: Geographical distribution of markets for TDM tests 2020-2030

Table 8-6: Drivers for growth of TDM markets

Table 8-7: Global markets for DoA testing 2020-2030

Table 9-1: Major players in therapeutic drug monitoring

Table 9-2: Drugs for which monitoring and detection tests are provided by LabCorp

Table 9-3: Collaborations of companies involved in TDM

List of Figures

Figure 1-1: Therapeutic window of a drug

Figure 1-2: Therapeutic range of a drug

Figure 1-3: Flow chart of TDM

Figure 1-4: Interrelationships of TDM

Figure 2-1: Separation of structurally similar drug molecules by HPLC

Figure 2-2: Determination of the identity of a target substance by mass spectrometry

Figure 2-3: Basic principle of a biosensor

Figure 8-1: Unmet needs in TDM

Figure 8-2: Metabolism of azathioprine and biomarkers for TDM

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tf05gj

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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Liam Hemsworth comes from a talented family of actors, but it appears to come with a downside.

According to a report by Woman's Day magazine, the 31-year-old Hunger Games star is apparently struggling with a career slowdown.

The magazine claimed Liam has struggled with the lack of scripts crossing his path in his professional life.

'He's been at a loose end': Liam Hemsworth comes from a talented family of actors, but it appears to come with a downside. Pictured (L-R), brothers Liam, Luke and Chris Hemsworth

'Liam has been at a bit of a loose end in the past couple of years,' an anonymous source told the publication.

'The movie scripts haven't exactly been piling up at his door, and his divorce from Miley Cyrus took the wind out of his sails.'

The insider went on to claim that he has become something of a 'recluse' in Byron Bay, with it even affecting his relationship with his Thor star brother, Chris.

Slow: According to a report by Woman's Day magazine , the 31-year-old Hunger Games star is apparently struggling with a career slowdown. Pictured at a film premiere in LA in 2019

'Liam and Chris have been inseparable throughout their careers, but lately Liam hasn't seemed to be such a fixture among Chris' social circle,' added the source. Pictured, Chris

'Liam and Chris have been inseparable throughout their careers, but lately Liam hasn't seemed to be such a fixture among Chris' social circle,' added the source.

Amid the influx of A-Listers flying into the country, the source also said Liam feels 'left out', with his brother Chris, 37, the 'ringleader' of the cavalcade of stars.

Liam last had a starring role in the comedy film Isn't It Romantic?, alongside Australian actress Rebel Wilson, which ran on Netflix to moderate success.

Hard times: The magazine claimed Liam has struggled with the lack of scripts crossing his path in his professional life

He's also had smaller parts in the films Arkansas and Killerman over the past few years.

But the actor is certainly in luck with his personal life, having been dating model Gabriella Brooks for over a year.

The pair have been dating since December 2019, following Liam's highly publicised split from his ex-wife Miley Cyrus in August that same year.
OKINAWA, Japan, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Halekulani Okinawa, the award-winning luxury resort located in the Okinawa Kaigan Quasi-National Park in Onna Village, a region known for its abundant nature and coral reefs, today launched its new Coral Nurturing program, a sustainability initiative dedicated to marine environment conservation. The new program was developed as part of Halekulani Okinawa's corporate responsibility efforts in support of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Onna Village, whose pledge to become a "Village of Coral" has earned the community its designation as a "Future City" for its superior approach to sustainability.

"At Halekulani Okinawa, we have been dedicated to providing our guests with memorable experiences since our opening in July 2019," said Jun Yoshie, General Manager of Halekulani Okinawa. "With the debut of our Coral Nurturing program, we hope that both new and returning guests will participate in this exclusive experience to learn and gain an even better understanding of the natural marine environment surrounding us, and the importance of coral conservation. As a member of the Onna Village community, it is an honor to contribute to these SDGs initiatives."

Halekulani Okinawa launched a new Coral Nurturing program, a sustainability initiative dedicated to marine environment. Tweet this

According to Professor Hideyuki Yamashiro of the University of the Ryukyus' Tropical Biosphere Research Center, more than half of all coral species inhabiting the world are located in Okinawa, with many unique and distinct corals found in the southern Okinawa region, including the waters around Halekulani Okinawa. Coral reefs, which account for only 0.2% of the world's ocean but 25% of marine life, have acted as natural breakwaters for the Okinawan islands, protecting the land and providing abundant marine resources since ancient times. Recently, numerous factors such as global climate change, plastic and land pollution, have adversely impacted the coral reefs in Okinawa and contributed to the deterioration of the marine environment.

In alignment with Halekulani Okinawa's mission of contributing to the conservation of the local environment, and in support of the UN's SDG "Life Below Waters" conservation goal, the new Coral Nurturing Program aims to restore the coral reefs by planting corals in the waters around the hotel where corals have died. Guests of the hotel are invited to participate in this one-hour program, which includes a series of hands-on activities for both children and adults and takes place every Wednesday morning. The experience begins with an introduction on the rich connections of coral reefs and other creatures and proper marine environment conservation, followed by the opportunity to participate in the seedling cultivation offshore and observe the planting process from the boat. The program is funded by the profits generated from sales of Halekulani Okinawa's eco-bags, which are made from recycled PET (plastic) bottles and sold at the hotel's on-property boutique.

Professor Yamashiro added: "As we continue to raise awareness of the threats our coral reefs are facing, global efforts such as the UN's SDGs have become an increasing priority. I am confident that Halekulani Okinawa's new Coral Nurturing program will support Onna Village's mission to protecting and regrowing the coral reefs in Okinawa."

Halekulani Okinawa developed this initiative in collaboration with Professor Yamashiro and the local Onna Village Fisheries Cooperative, who contributed their knowledge of coral planting coral seeding and collection from the regional seas. Halekulani Okinawa plans to continue strengthening its relationship with the local community through additional social contribution programs and activities, while continuing to provide unforgettable and educational experiences for guests.

For more information on Halekulani Okinawa's Coral Nurturing program, please visit www.okinawa.halekulani.com.

About Halekulani Okinawa

Halekulani Okinawa, the second hotel from the leading Hawaiian resort of the same name and first outside Hawaii, is a luxury beach resort located in Onna Village on the main island of Okinawa. Featuring a variety of accommodations built to emphasize the geographic features of its surroundings, Halekulani Okinawa sits on 32 acres of lush land within the Okinawa Kaigan QuasiNational Park and faces approximately one mile of coastline. Halekulani Okinawa is home to a diverse array of facilities including nine unique restaurants and bars. In addition, the property boasts the prestigious SpaHalekulani, a fitness center, luxury boutique, over 2,550 ft2 of meeting and convention space and five swimming pools, one of which is adorned with nearly 1.5 million mosaic tiles in the shape of Halekulani's signature Cattleya orchid. Halekulani Okinawa is the third member in Japan to join The Leading Hotels of the World, an exclusive collection of the world's most extraordinary luxury establishments.

SOURCE Halekulani Okinawa
Ukraine opposes the illegal transfer of "Scythian gold" to Russia, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine said.

On April 22, 2021, Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Svitlana Fomenko takes part in a session of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on the claim of the state of Ukraine against the Allard Pearson Museum - the archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam in the so-called "Scythian gold" case, the ministry's press release says.

"During her speech, the Deputy Minister said: Ukraine opposes the illegal transfer of ownership of the artifacts of the Ukrainian exhibition 'Crimea. The Golden Island in the Black Sea' to the Russian Federation, to Russian institutions hidden under the name of the so-called 'Crimean museums' that exist only within the framework of court cases," the press service of the Ministry of Culture says.

According to Fomenko, Russian institutions calling themselves "museums" are in fact thieves.

"We are aware of numerous facts of illegal export of Ukrainian cultural values from the territory of Crimea. For example, priceless masterpieces of Ivan Aivazovsky were removed. We know about the facts of damage, destruction of cultural heritage sites, facts of illegal archaeological excavations and the appropriation of found values. This concerns the UNESCO World Heritage Site - the ancient city of Tauric Chersonesus and its choir, suffering from unprofessional management and illegal reconstruction. The Khan's Palace in Bakhchisaray, which Ukraine has included in the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is the only example of Crimean Tatar palace architecture in the world - almost destroyed," the ministry said.

The Deputy Minister of Culture stressed that the occupation authorities regard the Crimean Peninsula as a base of military operations for further military escalation in Europe and around the world.

"Now Crimea is a place where cultural values are not protected and are not preserved for future generations," she added.

The Ministry of Culture said that the decision to send artifacts belonging to the Ukrainian people from the Ukrainian exhibition "Crimea. The Golden Island in the Black Sea" to Crimea now, when it is under Russian control, is illegal and will lead to the loss of the cultural heritage of Ukraine, and will also become recognition of the attempted annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
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SYDNEY, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China's anti-poverty strategy has not only succeeded in lifting many Chinese out of extreme poverty, but it has also provided hope to other developing nations. On this occasion, Richard Yuan, the chairman of Australia China Entrepreneurs Club, draws his crucial analysis.

With more than 1.3 billion population in the world, China has pushed its republic out of poverty readily than any other nation. China's example is the finest to achieve the Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations.

Australia China Entrepreneurs Club

In the last 30 years, around 700 million Chinese people have seen their level and quality of life grow, representing more than 70 percent of the world total. The number of impoverished Chinese living in rural areas fell to 55.75 million in 2015.

"Looking at the world, no country can lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in such a short period. Especially in the last eight years, China has eliminated poverty at an average annual rate of 10 million, which is unimaginable in other countries," a fundamental insight shared by Yuan.

Yuan shares a remarkable example of Hunan province where he grew up. Under President Xi's leadership, Hunan in 2013 saw a strategy to eliminate poverty. It was a system of targeting poverty-stricken households and individuals using a national registration system. It allowed the Chinese leadership to gather data from each underprivileged individual or household. The system brought over 128,000 registered villages and 290,000 households all over China including Hunan province.

After taking office as China's president, Xi Jinping drew up a precise strategy for "poverty reduction," promising to alleviate poverty in rural areas. To eradicate poverty, it established a program until 2020 that includes actions in favor of social welfare and the harmonious development of provinces, cities, municipalities, and towns.

China raised more than 10 million of its public out of poverty with every passing year. Furthermore, the lifestyles of rural citizens in poverty-stricken regions have also seen tremendous progress.

Poverty is a chronic disease of human society. Anti-poverty has always been a major event in the governance of the country and the country in ancient and modern times. A history of China is a history of the Chinese nation's struggle against poverty. From Qu Yuan's feeling of "growth to cover his tears and mourn the hardship of the people's livelihood" to Du Fu's longing of "there are tens of thousands of mansions and shelter the world with joy" to Sun Yat-sen's "home is full of people, everywhere." The long-cherished aspirations of "no man is left without getting what they want" all reflect the deep desire of the Chinese nation to get rid of poverty and have enough food and clothing.

After modern times, due to the decay of feudal rule and the invasion of Western powers, China's political situation has been turbulent, wars have been raging, and the people have no basic livelihood. The nightmare of poverty has plagued the Chinese people more seriously. Getting rid of poverty has become the dream of the Chinese people, and it is also an important part of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

"The strategy of 'selective poverty reduction' implies a more appropriate control of the project, a precise allocation of capital, a requirement for the exact implementation of policies and the distribution of adequate personnel, as well as the resulting tangible benefits that each action can generate on the citizens and, most importantly: no one will be left behind.

"From the central to the local level, China has built a rigorous working mechanism and formed a poverty alleviation system that involves the whole society, providing a powerful system guarantee to achieve the goal of comprehensive poverty alleviation," draws Yuan.

In November, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised China's efforts in eliminating extreme property. Yuan regards that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) could have "influenced" the Australian PM to adopt a change of tone.

"As the world's largest developing country, China's achievements in poverty alleviation reflect remarkable progress in protecting human rights and have also vigorously promoted the global process of poverty alleviation," concludes Yuan.

Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the National Poverty Alleviation Summary and Commendation Conference and declared that China has achieved a comprehensive victory in the fight against poverty. All the 98.99 million rural poor people were lifted out of poverty, 832 poor counties all got off their "hats of poverty," and all 128,000 poor villages were delisted from "poor villages." The overall regional poverty was solved, the arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty was completed, and another "human miracle" was created in the annals of history.

Hu Angang, the head of China Studies at Tsinghua University, reportedly said, "In my opinion, western politicians act for the next election. China has a ruling party that wants to achieve big goals. In the history of human development, China achieving this is, if not unique, then at least something worthy of admiration."

Media Contact:

Bianca Leon Rodrigues

+1 (469) 815-7866

[email protected]

Related Images

richard-yuan.jpg

Richard Yuan

SOURCE Australia China Entrepreneurs Club
GURUGRAM, India, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

With rural population accounting for around two-thirds of the Indian population, coupled with affordability of smart phones and data plans, e-commerce logistic opportunities will gain steam in the future.

Updated Technology such as GPS Monitored Robots, Drones, Inbuilt RFID, GPS, IoT, telematics will be used for tracking Inventory and delivering products in the future.

Significant investments in digital channels across Indian languages are expected to rise in the near future. Further, the Government of India's push towards digital initiatives is expected to accelerate outreach and adoption of digital wallets.

Rise in demand from Tier 2 and below cities: Currently most of the demand comes from metro and tier I cities. However, by 2025 this trend is expected to change, as tier II and lesser cities are emerging as new demand centers owing to higher internet penetration. Hence, it is estimated that in the next five years, a high proportion of demand is expected to come from tier II and below cities primarily due to cheap data plans, increase in usage of Smartphone, rise in per capita income and increasing propensity to purchase online in these areas.

Technological Disruptions: The pace of new technological innovations has been extremely rapid in India. Companies are embracing advanced technologies to meet higher consumer expectations. To keep pace with digital commerce, technological disruptions are revolutionizing the e-commerce supply chain industry. Technologies such as IoT, advanced algorithms, data analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation are emerging to streamline operations of the companies.

Expansion of Supply Chain Network: With the increasing potential of local and zonal shipments, large E-commerce logistic companies are focusing on establishing new Fulfillment Centers near the end consumers to increase speed of delivery and to cater to larger parcel sizes. Moreover, With Tier II and beyond cities driving the growth, several e-retailers are looking at expanding their network via strategic alliances and logistics partnerships in these areas.

The report titled "Indian E-commerce Logistics Industry Outlook to 2025- Driven by Changing Shopping Patterns and Increasing Demand of Fast Delivery Services" by Ken Research suggested that the E-commerce Logistics Industry of India is expected to grow in the near future due to increased demand from Tier 2 and below cities owing to increased internet penetration in these areas. Moreover, changing shopping patterns, increasing requirement of fast delivery services and usage of AI, Big Data analytics, and Block chain Technology to improve the customer experience will also play major role in the industry's future growth. The Industry is expected to register a positive five year CAGR of 23.6% in terms of revenue during the forecast period FY'2020-FY'2025F.

Key Segmentations Covered in India E-commerce Logistics Industry

By Shipment Location (Number of Shipments)

Domestic



International

By Type of Logistics Player (Revenue)

Third Party Logistics



In-House Logistics

By Major Product Categories (GMV)

Electronics



Apparel



House Furnishing



Personal Care



Books



Others

By Delivery Time (Number of Shipments)

Same Day Delivery



One Day Delivery



Two-Four Day Delivery



Four and More than Four Day Delivery

By Cities (Number of Shipments)

Delhi /NCR

/NCR

Bangalore



Mumbai



Hyderabad



Chennai



Kolkata



Ahmadabad



Others

By Payment Mode (Number of Shipments)

Cash on Delivery



Pre-paid

By Product Return Rate (Number of Shipments)

Accepted



Return/Replaced



Wrong Item Received





Product Not Matching





Damaged Product





Others

Key Target Audience:

E-commerce Companies

Third Party Logistic Companies

Potential Market Entrants

E-Retailers

Time Period Captured in the Report:

Historical Period  FY'2015-FY'2020

 FY'2015-FY'2020 Forecast Period  FY'2020-FY'2025F

Companies Mentioned:

ATS

E-Kart

Delhivery

Ecom Express

Bluedart

Xpressbees

DTDC-Dotzot

Shadowfax

Safeexpress

United Parcel Service

Gati

Go-Javas

DHL

Fedex

Aramex

Key Topics

Covered in the Report

India E-commerce Logistics Industry Market Size by Revenues and Number of Shipments.

India E-commerce Warehousing Industry

Trends and Development governing the Industry

Operating Model in E-commerce Logistics Market

Government Initiatives to boost the E-commerce Logistics Industry

India E-commerce Logistics Industry Market Segmentation basis Domestic /International Shipments, Type of Logistics Player, Major Product Categories, Delivery Time, Cities, Payment Mode and Product Return Rate.

Challenges faced by India E-commerce Logistics Industry

COVID Impact on India E-commerce Logistics Industry

Cost Component Analysis of the Industry

Investment Analysis

India E-commerce Logistics Industry

India E-commerce Industry

India E-commerce Growth Drivers

India E-commerce Payment modes

India E-commerce Major Players

India E-commerce Logistics Major Players

India ATS Market Share

India E-kart Market Share

E-commerce Warehousing

Investment in E-commerce Logistics

India E-commerce Market Segmentation

India COVID Impact on Consumer Behavior

India E-commerce Industry COVID Impact

India COVID Government Initiatives

India Warehouses Concentration

India Internet Penetration

India E-commerce Key Trends

India E-commerce Logistics Key Trends

India E-commerce Logistics Key Developments

India E-commerce Logistics Investments

India E-commerce Logistics Operating Model

India E-commerce Certifications and Policies

India E-commerce Logistics Value Added Services

India E-commerce Fulfillment Centers

Reverse Logistics Optimization Strategies

India Restaurant Investment Cost

Smart Logistic Strategies

Big Data Analytics E-commerce Logistics India

India E-commerce Logistics Promotion Techniques

India E-commerce Logistics Market Size

India E-commerce Average Order size

AI India E-commerce Logistics

Cross Comparison of Major Players basis Operational and Financial Parameters

Cross Comparison of Major Players basis Business Landscape

Cross Comparison of Major Players based on Strength and Weaknesses

Future Technological Disruptions in the Industry

Analyst Recommendations

For more information on the research report, refer to below link:

India E-Commerce Logistics Market Outlook to 2025

Related Reports

Competitive Landscape of Top 8 Indonesia E-Commerce Logistics Companies and Leading 5 E-Commerce Marketplace Platform: Basis GMV, GMV Split, Order Volume, Shipment Profile, Logistics Cost, Network, Fleets and Customer Profiles

The industry is witnessing huge investments by e-commerce players in logistics to ensure time-bound delivery. Jakarta, Surabaya, Sulawesi, Bandung, Kalimantan are the key hubs for demand and supply of e-commerce logistics. Emerging business opportunities in the market have led to the entry of new players in the market. The COVID-19 pandemic has also pushed the demand in the market as the need for social distancing has forced people to rely on online shopping.

UAE Logistics and Warehousing Market Outlook to 2025  By Road , Sea and Air Freight Forwarding; Domestic and International Freight, Major Flow Corridors, Integrated and Contract Freight Forwarding; By Warehousing (Industrial / Retail, CFS / Inland Container Depot & Cold Storage, Agriculture), End Users (Manufacturing, Retail, Food and Beverage, Automotive, Oil and Gas, Healthcare), Type of Warehouses; By Courier Express & Parcel Market , and, E-commerce Logistics

The report covers the overall size and future outlook of UAE Freight Forwarding, Warehousing, Courier Express and Parcel, 3PL and E Commerce Logistics market in terms of value, segmentation on the basis of service mix, by geography, by ownership and by type of industries. The report also covers the competitive landscape and company profiles of major Freight Forwarding, Warehousing and Express Logistics Companies in UAE. The report concludes with market projections for future and analyst recommendations highlighting the major opportunities and challenges.

India Logistics Market Outlook to FY24Driven by Government Infrastructure Push, New Age Logistics Startups, and Technology Innovation

The report covers various aspects including the current logistics scenario in India, its components viz, freight transportation, warehousing, CEP, VAS, and cold chain industries, the issues and challenges, major growth drivers, investment in infrastructure, tech disruptions and innovations, and competitive benchmarking. The report concludes with market projections for the future of the industry including forecasted industry size by revenue.

Contact Us:

Ken Research

Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications

[email protected]

+91-9015378249

SOURCE Ken Research
I Crair's cosmetics SiNTO As a partner of I Criar, transcosmos provides I Criar with a wide range of cosmetic manufacturing operations services at its warehouses, such as changing the mix of cosmetic product bundles and more.

transcosmos inc. is pleased to announce that the company has begun offering cosmetic manufacturing services  the services that transcosmos has been bolstering - to I Criar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Shinichiro Kobayashi), the operator of cosmetic brand "SiNTO." Cosmetic manufacturing (packaging, labeling, storage) Registration number: 12CZ200326

With its name originating from "SHINTO  permeate-," the essential factor for skin care products, SiNTO is a popular cosmetic brand that uses probiotics that nurture the skin microbiome. As a partner of I Criar, transcosmos provides I Criar with diverse cosmetic manufacturing operations services at its warehouse such as changing the mix of cosmetic product bundles and more. Going forward, transcosmos will provide not only I Criar but also to many more cosmetics brands with an extensive range of services including both domestic and international shipping.

transcosmos obtained a cosmetic manufacturing license in November 2020 at its "E-Commerce One-Stop Center Kita-Kashiwa," its logistics center specifically designed for e-commerce business. Since then, the company has been offering an end-to-end cosmetics distribution processing service, including packaging, labeling, storage and all other operations that fall under the category of cosmetics manufacturing.



About I Criar Co., Ltd.

I Criar was founded as an affiliate of Holon System Co., Ltd., succeeding Holon System's cosmetics business. With "I" representing both "I - myself" and "Love - I in Japanese" and "Criar" "creative" and "clear," I Criar aims to be a company that enables customers to "create myself (I)," "create love (I)," and "make myself beautiful and healthy." Under this commitment, I Criar disseminates the appeal of "safe, secure, and high quality" MADE IN JAPAN products to the world via its SiNTO brand. Visit SiNTO website here (no translation available): https://sinto-cosme.jp/

About transcosmos e-commerce support services

Recognizing the e-commerce market expansion, transcosmos offers a variety of service menus to assist clients in expanding e-commerce sales, and launching and rebuilding their e-commerce business, taking into consideration the size and the positioning of the business within their company. With its end-to-end services from providing consultation, to developing e-commerce systems, to defining operations to outsource, to developing marketing strategies, to customer support, to delivery, transcosmos helps clients succeed in their e-commerce business.

E-Commerce One-Stop Center Kita-Kashiwa basic information

Address: LOGIPORT Kita Kashiwa, 13-1 Matsugasaki Nitta, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, Japan

Access: By train: 6 minutes' walk from JR Jyoban line "Kita Kashiwa Station"

By car: Near National Route 16 / along National Route 6, approximately 6 km from Kashiwa interchange on the Joban Expressway

Usable area (after extension): 4,110 tsubo

Security: ISO27001 certification (information security managers stationed, indoor security cameras, 24/7 security guards)

Facilities / equipment: Warehouse Management System (WMS), handy terminals, automated material handling systems (automatic case sealers, automatic labelers), shrink wrap machines, air cushion machines, etc.

Visit here for E-Commerce One-Stop Center Kita-Kashiwa: https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/ec/one-stop.html

(About EC-X)

transcosmos "EC-X Series," a set of e-commerce solutions, offers best solutions that address specific challenges each client faces.

Visit here for EC-X special website (no translation available): https://transcosmos-ecx.jp/

*transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. in Japan and other countries.

*Other company names and product or service names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies.

About transcosmos inc.

transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 167 bases across 30 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of the e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce Services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services to consumers in 48 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment. Visit us here https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/
New Delhi, April 22 : A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking an independent judicial probe into the incident in a Nashik hospital, where 24 patients were killed due to an oxygen leak.

The plea filed by NGO Save Them India Foundation, through advocate Vishal Tiwari, sought direction from the top court to constitute a three-member commission, under the chairmanship of a former judge of the top court to probe the incident.

"The country is witnessing deficiency pertaining to the medical equipment along with failed distribution policy leading to greater consequences and on the other hand, negligent action of the hospital authorities leading to leakage of oxygen and death of Covid patients," said the plea.

The petitioner also contended that direction should be issued to initiate policies and guidelines for the channelised, and administered distribution of medical equipment.

"Such situation has led to the violation of fundamental rights of the citizens of this country prima facie the right to health care right to life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," added the plea.

The plea also sought an FIR in the matter under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 304A (Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.

In a horrific incident, at least 22 Covid-19 patients on ventilator support died at a Nashik public hospital after an abrupt drop in pressure due to leakage in oxygen supplies, and two others succumbed later.

The tragedy occurred at the Dr Zakir Hussain Hospital run by the BJP-controlled Nashik Municipal Corporation, which is among the biggest civic bodies, and in one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the state.

The plea also argued that a technical committee should be set up to monitor the medical equipment crisis.
Jessica Chastain celebrated Burberry's autumn/winter 2021 showcase by rocking a stylish black ensemble, courtesy of the brand's chief creative officer, Riccardo Tisci.

The 44-year-old actress shared a new rooftop Instagram snap on Wednesday, showing off the look while thanking her friend Tisci.

She also took to Instagram later in the day to wish her IT: Chapter 2 co-star James McAvoy a very happy 42nd birthday.

New look: Jessica Chastain celebrated Burberry's autumn/winter 2021 showcase by rocking a stylish black ensemble, courtesy of the brand's chief creative officer, Riccardo Tisci

Birthday wish: She also took to Instagram later in the day to wish her IT: Chapter 2 co-star James McAvoy a very happy 42nd birthday

Chastain wore her red bangs down for the snap with a navy blue top under a sparkling sequined black coat.

She wore a black sequined mini-skirt that matched the coat with nude heels to complete her rooftop look.

'I love when @riccardotisci17 hooks it up,' Chastain said, using the #BurberryAW21 hashtag for the fashion brand's autumn/winter 2021 showcase, held at their Regent Street flagship store in London.

Video: The actress also shared a brief boomerang video with her friend James McAvoy, who were both carrying pink balloons as they walked in a circle, arm-in-arm

The actress also shared a brief boomerang video with her friend James McAvoy, who were both carrying pink balloons as they walked in a circle, arm-in-arm.

She was wearing a light floral print dress while McAvoy was in a dark blue sport coat and brown top as he circled around with his co-star.

'Happy Birthday to my dear friend @jamesmcavoyrealdeal. I left a red balloon in the drain near your house... its def from me and no one else,' she joked, adding a clown emoji.

Light look: She was wearing a light floral print dress while McAvoy was in a dark blue sport coat and brown top as he circled around with his co-star

Birthday vibes: 'Happy Birthday to my dear friend @jamesmcavoyrealdeal. I left a red balloon in the drain near your house... its def from me and no one else,' she joked, adding a clown emoji

Chastain and McAvoy first worked together in the 2013 drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, which was split into two movies told from both their characters' perspectives.

They then reunited in IT: Chapter 2, playing the adult versions of The Losers Club members Beverly Marsh and Bill Denbrough.

They most recently starred in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, with McAvoy returning as Professor Charles Xavier and Chastain playing Vuk.

Together: Chastain and McAvoy first worked together in the 2013 drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, which was split into two movies told from both their characters' perspectives

Losers: Reunited: They then reunited in IT: Chapter 2, playing the adult versions of The Losers Club members Beverly Marsh and Bill Denbroug

The actress has been married to fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, who she shares daughter Giulietta with.

She is currently filming The Good Nurse for Netflix in Connecticut, alongside Eddie Redmayne, who plays serial killer Charles Cullen.

She will next be seen as Tammy Faye Baker in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, arriving in theaters September 21.
Cluj, Romania, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Digital investment fund Welthee has announced a series of strategic partnerships that are set to expand its services globally. The fund operates as a blockchain platform that offers multiple passive income streams with no commission fees.

After completing its development team with international talent, Welthee has partnered with BRD wallet for its key infrastructure solutions. Dexter Plus will also be joining the project as the main electronics supplier.

On the marketing side, the team is set to expand its reach through new partnerships with local and international firms. Besides continuing to work with Vandy Brand Consulting and Design Strategy, Welthee has partnered with acclaimed director Tedy Neculas Inspirational Agency. Internationally, New Yorks influential Throne PR will provide support across Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure the implementation of the projects communication strategies worldwide.

These partnerships are expected to continue as Welthee continues to grow. The team has shared its outlook on whats to come: Going forward, we plan to finalize new partnerships that will allow us to implement aspects of our vision in terms of social and environmental responsibility, which we will make public in the near future. We assure you of our continued efforts in bringing this exceptional project to fruition; one that will revolutionize the way people interact with the crypto investment market.

About Welthee

Welthee is a disruptive, zero commission and up to 0% risk wealth creation platform that empowers users with access to multiple streams of income. Welthee is the Future of Financial Freedom. To learn more, visit https://welthee.com/.

Media contact:

Robert Penington

Robert@thronepr.com





Attachment
Nearly 50 per cent of Ghanaians have lost their households main source of income to the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease which broke out in the country in March last year, a new survey has established.



According to the survey, the COVID-19 impact was acutely felt  more Ghanaians reported a decline in household income since the start of the pandemic, and an alarming percentage also lost their households main income sources, which in most cases were derived from the labour market.



The survey



The survey was conducted by researchers from the United Nations University World Institute of Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon.



They interviewed more than 600 workers in different cities throughout Ghana to assess the immediate and near-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on labour market outcomes.



These data have been analysed and published in a new report delivering novel insights on how the pandemic and related policy measures have impacted the livelihoods of workers and their families.



In the report, the researchers provided a comprehensive overview of their findings, which can help inform future policies.



Outcome



Four main results stand out: The COVID-19 impact was acutely felt - 84 per cent of respondents reported a decline in household income since the start of the pandemic, and an alarming 42 per cent had lost the households main income sources, which in most cases were derived from the labour market.



Not all workers were affected equally - job and earning losses were disproportionally reported by women and workers in informal self-employment, accentuating pre-existing inequalities.



In September 2020, employment and earnings were still remarkably below pre-pandemic levels, and the recovery has been slow to reach the most vulnerable.



Despite these, respondents, the report said, expressed support for Ghana's COVID-19 policy responseboth the early implementation of strict containment policies and the subsequent rollback.



About the researchers



Simone Schotte is a an applied microeconomist with research interests in development and labour economics, working specifically at the interface of poverty, inequality, and employment dynamics research. She joined UNU-WIDER as Research Associate in February 2019. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of Gottingen, Germany, where she was a member of the Globalization and Development (GlaD) research training group.



Michael Danquah, a development economist, is a Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER currently serving as co-focal point for the project Transforming informal work and livelihoods within UNU-WIDER's 201923 work programme. Michael is a visiting Research Fellow at the Transfer Project and a Researcher for the International Growth Centre (IGC), Ghana. Previously, he worked at the Department of Economics, University of Ghana, Legon.



Robert Darko Osei is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, and also the Vice Dean for the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Ghana. Robert has published widely in edited volumes and top international journals. He is currently involved in a number of research projects in Ghana, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.



Professor Kunal Sen has over three decades of experience in academic and applied development economics research. He is the author of eight books and the editor of five volumes on the economics and political economy of development.



Professor Sen is a leading international expert on the political economy of growth and development. He has performed extensive research on international finance, the political economy determinants of inclusive growth, the dynamics of poverty, social exclusion, female labour force participation, and the informal sector in developing economies.









Source: Graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks at a Los Angeles County Health Department press conference on the CCP virus in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 4, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

LA Mayor Proposes Modest Boost to Policing Budget, Bucking Defund Police Advocates

Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has called for a modest 3 percent increase in law enforcement funding despite calls from defund the police advocates, after an 80 percent spike in shootings this year.

Garcettis proposed $11.2 billion budget (pdf) for the coming fiscal year allocates $1.76 billion for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), up from the $1.71 billion the council approved last summer when they opted to slash the police budget by $150 million amid protests and pressure to defund the police following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

If you want to abolish the police, youre talking to the wrong mayor, Garcetti said on April 20, during his 2021 State of the City address in Los Angeles.

Still, the policing budget is lower than the $1.85 billion that Garcetti budgeted in 2020 for the LAPD.

Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police League, a union representing rank-and-file police officers, told The Los Angeles Times that while Garcettis proposed budget does make investments in beginning to add back officers to patrol our streets, it fails to address the significant damage caused by last years cut.

We are hopeful that City Council is committed to rebuilding the department as well, he said, according to the outlet.

An aide to the mayor said at an April 20 briefing that the decision to give the police budget a modest boost was partly prompted by rising crime, according to the LA Times.

LAPD crime statistics for the week ending April 10 showed that shootings were up 80 percent compared to the same period last year, homicides were up 28 percent, and aggravated assaults had increased by 14 percent.

Garcetti, too, made reference to rising crime rates during his State of the City address, during which he unveiled much of his spending plan, which he called a justice budget.

The first job of the city is to guarantee a life without fear, he said. Thats all the more important to remember during a year when across America, homicides are rising.

So parts of the guarantee in this budget are familiar, like making sure 911 calls are answered right away. But other parts mean pushing the envelope, investing in the alternatives to policing that prevent crime and interrupt cycles of violence.

When situations dont need guns, lets not send guns.

This justice budget funds a new approach were calling TURN: Therapeutic Unarmed Response for Neighborhoods, which involves sending clinicians instead of police officers to respond to nonviolent mental health emergencies.

The TURN program would allocate nearly $19 million to a combination of initiatives, including some $10 million to alternative mental health crisis response programs, which are still being developed, according to LAist.

Garcettis budget also allocates $32.5 million to the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, which involves intervention officerssome of whom are former gang membersproviding mentoring to young people to keep them from joining gangs.

The justice budget also allocates $2 million for so-called peace and healing centers.

The spending plan still requires city council approval.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 01:33:23|Editor: huaxia

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A screen shows British Queen Elizabeth II and a quote from her speech on the fight against COVID-19 at Piccadilly Circus in London, Britain, April 13, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)

"While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world," the Queen said in a statement published on the royal family Twitter account.

LONDON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who turns 95 on Wednesday, gave her birthday message to thank the public for the "support and kindness" to her family and herself after the death of her husband, Prince Philip.

The Queen's birthday, which comes a few days after the late prince's April 17 funeral, was marked in a low-key, private way, as there was no public celebrations when the monarch continues to observe two weeks of mourning until Friday.

Traditional gun salutes to mark the Queen's birthday have been cancelled for the second consecutive year.

Members of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fire a 41-round gun salute to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 93rd birthday in Hyde Park of London, Britain, April 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Tim Ireland)

In a statement published on the royal family Twitter account, the Queen said she has received and appreciated many messages of good wishes on her 95th birthday.

"While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world."

"My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days," the statement said.

The funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 at the age of 99, was held last Saturday in Windsor in line with the country's public health guidelines.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II departs from Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark her 93rd birthday in London, Britain, on June 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Ray Tang)
LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra today announced the availability of its Fusion KTP integrated global treasury management solution in the cloud. Existing customers are already in the process of migrating to Finastra's cloud solution which is hosted on Microsoft Azure. Accessing Fusion KTP in the cloud will give users the opportunity to accelerate innovation and time to market, and the ability to transform their operations at scale.

Fusion KTP supports treasurers within both banks and corporates in managing their evolving cash management, risk, reporting, compliance and accounting requirements. The solution offers end-to-end multi-asset coverage and supports collaborative cash and workflow management across customer organizations, allowing them to centralize their financial exposures - optimizing hedging cost, reducing risk and ensuring compliance.

"Making Fusion KTP available to customers in the cloud via Microsoft Azure builds on Finastra's strategic vision to help accelerate the digital transformation of financial services, and help customers on their journeys to open," said Riteesh Singh, Senior Vice President, Financial Messaging Marketplaces at Finastra. "Customers eager to transform their treasury operations will benefit from increased flexibility in adapting to constant change across global markets. In addition, they will be able to take advantage of the highest standards of security, resiliency, performance and operating excellence."

Cubillas Ding, Research Director at Celent, says: "Treasury functions are increasingly called upon to closely partner with internal business teams, as well as with innovative external technology vendors to navigate strategic and tactical course corrections, especially through uncertain markets. Set against global efforts to adapt and remodel, firms have to react to heightened business dislocations, altered competitive playbooks, in addition to a complex interplay of financial, liquidity and cyber risks. A leaner, more responsive posture will enable an organization to quickly steer towards optimal paths for growth, diversification and resiliency."

Fusion KTP is used by banks and corporates - mainly in France, Belgium and North Africa. For further information click here.

About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com

For further information please contact:

Caroline Duff

Global Head of PR

T +44 (0)7917 613586

E [email protected]

finastra.com

Corporate headquarters

4 Kingdom Street

Paddington

London W2 6BD

United Kingdom

T: +44 20 3320 5000

SOURCE Finastra
Three children have been rescued from a den of alleged abuse in the Philippines thanks to the arrests of two accused predators by Australian authorities.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal the kids, aged between six and 17, were freed last month from the Manila hovel where child abuse was allegedly livestreamed.

Not only were the children removed from harm's way, but the Philippine National Police also caught two alleged female 'pimps', both aged 27.

The children's rescue was brought about by Australian intelligence after Federal Police officers arrested a Brisbane man, 66, last August.

Police allegedly found a disturbing trove of child abuse material linked to the Philippines at the man's Jamboree Heights home, in the city's south-west.

Scroll down for video

Philippines authorities removed three children, aged between six and 17, from the home in Manila on March 4 - in an operation which can only now be revealed

One of the alleged victims sits on single mattress inside the Manila home as local police investigators pore through a chest of drawers

Detectives seized four mobile phones, three tablet computers and a laptop and put the man before the courts on a series of child abuse material charges.

The AFP itself was acting on a tip off from US authorities, which had intercepted vile images allegedly posted on Snapchat, Google and Yahoo social media sites.

Three months later, on November 3, NSW Police arrested a 40-year-old man, who they alleged had been paying the same Filipino woman for images of abuse.

The Federal Police shared its intelligence with Philippines authorities.

And the net finally closed on March 4 when authorities arrested the two women and ushered the alleged victims to safety.

Local authorities comforted one of the victims - a woman putting her arm around his neck and placing a towel over his face to protect his identity from local media

Above is the tiny home in Manila where authorities rescued the three children

This latest episode is just the latest in a string of child rescues brought about in the Philippines as a result of Australian policework.

In February, nine children aged between two and sixteen were rescued by local police in Angeles City, north of the capital.

A 42-year-old local woman was also arrested as a result of that raid.

Vital information that led to that rescue came about after the AFP found videos of a 61-year-old Victorian man allegedly raping Filipino girls.

The group of children were rescued some 14 months after the man was first arrested.

This image shows the rescue of children from a similar alleged den of abuse in Angeles City, about two hours' drive from Manila, in February

Footage shared by the Australian Federal Police at the time showed a grown woman carrying a child down a dirt road under the escort of an official

An AFP spokesman said intelligence the agency had passed on to the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre had led to 35 arrests and the removal of 135 children from harm in the Philippines.

Officials from Australia and the UK helped set up the 'centre for excellence' in February 2019 in a bid to stem the scourge of child abuse in south east Asia.

In a statement on Thursday night, Paula Hudson, the AFP's Child Protection Operations Superintendent, said: 'AFP child protection investigators work every day to help rescue from of the most vulnerable and bring the people who harm them to justice.

'For the AFP, this work is about the children we save. Our officers never give up, no matter whether a child victim is based in Australia or overseas.'

Members of the public who have any information about people involved in child abuse and exploitation are urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
MINSK -- Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka has met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking Russia's continued support amid ongoing protests triggered by last year's widely disputed presidential election.



There were no major announcements following the April 22 talks, although both Putin and Lukashenka praised the progress being made toward unifying the two countries.



"Our teams are continuing to work to develop the legislation for the union state," Putin said during his talks with Lukashenka, referring to a bilateral agreement that envisions close political, economic, and security ties.



"We are actively moving forward in union programs," Lukashenka said.



Ahead of the meeting, Lukashenka stoked concerns that he could make concessions to the Russian leader in exchange for his continued support against the protests by saying he was on the verge of making one of the most important decisions of his 26 years in power.



Meeting the new U.S. ambassador to Belarus, Julie Fisher, in neighboring Lithuania on April 21, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Belarus should retain its independence and sovereignty.

I want to see Belarus independent, free, and building friendly and mutually beneficial relations with all countries, first and foremost with our neighbors, but with other ones, too, said Tsikhanouskaya, who left Belarus under pressure from the authorities shortly after the August vote.



The Moscow summit came in the wake of a purported plot to assassinate Lukashenka that allegedly involved a blockade of Minsk, power cuts, cyberattacks, and an assassination attempt against Lukashenka. Security forces in Moscow claimed to have arrested several alleged coup plotters in Moscow earlier this month.



Russia and Belarus must "draw lines that no one should cross and respond to those who fail to understand the need to behave more calmly," Lukashenka said in the Russian capital.



On April 21 in Vilnius, Lithuania, U.S. Ambassador Fisher said her meeting with Tsikhanouskaya sends a clear signal that the U.S. stands with the Belarusian people.



As U.S. ambassador to Belarus, my priority is to embody that support, said Fisher, who in December was appointed the first U.S. envoy to Belarus since 2008, but has yet to present her credentials in Minsk.

Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent.

However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said later on April 21 that Fisher wouldn't take her position in the country under current conditions.

"Being able to return an ambassador to Minsk would send a powerful signal. But as long as what we have seen in Belarus continues, the human rights violations, the repression, there can be no business as usual," Price said.

Fisher said at her meeting with Tsikhanouskaya that "it is important that the international community speak up and speak out about what's happening, that we pay close attention, and that we call for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Belarus."

Since the August election, which Tsikhanouskayas supporters say she won, Belarus has seen unprecedented protests and political turmoil, with opposition groups claiming the vote was stolen by Lukashenka, who has run the country with an iron fist since 1994.

Security forces have arrested more than 34,000 people in a crackdown that has led to accusations of beatings and other rights abuses against demonstrators.

The West has refused to accept Lukashenka's victory, and few countries aside from Russia acknowledge him as president of Belarus.

Most prominent opposition leaders -- including Tsikhanouskaya -- have left the country.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions against individuals and companies tied to Lukashenka's regime.

Earlier this week, Washington reimposed sanctions on nine state-owned companies, a move expected to deliver a crippling blow to Belarus's declining economy.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and TASS
WASHINGTON  More than a century after the Ottoman Empires killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenian civilians, President Biden is preparing to declare that the atrocities were an act of genocide, according to officials familiar with the internal debate. The action would signal that the American commitment to human rights outweighs the risk of further fraying the U.S. alliance with Turkey.

Mr. Biden is expected to announce the symbolic designation on Saturday, the 106th anniversary of the beginning of what historians call a yearslong and systematic death march that the predecessors of modern Turkey started during World War I. He would be the first sitting American president to do so, although Ronald Reagan made a glancing reference to the Armenian genocide in a 1981 written statement about the Holocaust, and both the House and the Senate approved measures in 2019 to make its recognition a formal matter of U.S. foreign policy.

At least 29 other countries have taken similar steps  mostly in Europe and the Americas, but also Russia and Syria, Turkeys political adversaries.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the administrations discussions said Mr. Biden had decided to issue the declaration, and others across the government and in foreign embassies said it was widely expected.
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California's stringent wage and hour laws have led to unique legal risks for employers as they manage remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemicwhich makes it essential for employers to understand the common pitfalls to avoid.

"Many things throughout the world, and especially in employment law, have been forever transformed by the pandemic," said Danielle Moore, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in San Diego, to a virtual audience at the California State Council of SHRM's (CalSHRM's) 2021 California State HR Advocacy and Legislative Conference on April 15.

She noted that many California employers have been seeking advice on how to prevent lawsuits in light of the novel wage and hour issues that the coronavirus pandemic has caused.

"It's so important for HR practitioners in California to understand that both the labor code and case law interpretations of statutes greatly influence our abilities to create and maintain compliant employment policies and practices," said Mike Letizia, SHRM-SCP, president and CEO of Letizia HR Solutions Inc. of Stockton, Calif.

Here are some of the key compliance challenges employers should monitor as the pandemic persists.

Tracking Hours for Remote Workers

The Fisher Phillips COVID-19 Employment Litigation Tracker has documented COVID-19-related workplace lawsuits and found that issues related to remote work are among the most common.

Moore said employers are having a harder time monitoring for wage and hour compliance since many nonexempt employees aren't at the physical worksite. Remote work arrangements have led to claims regarding time-keeping violations, off-the-clock work, and missed meal and rest breaks.

Employers should note that California's wage orders define "hours worked" as "the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer" whether or not the employee is required to work.

Are employees spending time for the benefit of the employer? If so, the time is likely compensable even if employees decide on their own to do the work, Moore explained.

Under federal law, businesses can require employees to work small amounts of time each day without compensation if the time is administratively difficult to track. But the California Supreme Court has said the federal "de minimis" rule doesn't apply to California wage and hour laws.

"It's not just about the actual time that needs to be paid but also the time-keeping," Moore explained. Employers must as accurately as possible track start and end times, lunch breaks, meetings, and pre- and post-shift work.

Providing Meal and Rest Breaks

Employers must provide adequate meal and rest breaks to employees even if they are telecommuting. Such breaks can be difficult to track when employees aren't physically present at the worksite.

California's nonexempt workers are entitled to a 10-minute paid rest break for every four hours worked "or major fraction thereof." Employees must also receive a 30-minute unpaid meal break for every five hours they work. They can waive their right to take a meal break only if they work no more than six hours. A second break must be provided after 10 hours but can be waived if the first break was taken.

Meal breaks must be taken before the end of the fifth hour of a shift. So if workers clock in at 8 a.m., for example, they must clock out for lunch by 12:59 p.m.

Employers have a harder time ensuring remote workers take breaks, Moore said, particularly since employers can't see when workers are on a break and may interrupt them.

Michael Kalt, an attorney with Wilson Turner Kosmo in San Diego and CalSHRM's director of government affairs, noted in a prior session that CalSHRM supports several bills that would create more flexibility for remote workers. For example, AB 1028 would allow remote employees to choose when during the workday to take a meal or rest break.

Business Expense Reimbursement

When employees work from home, they may incur business expenses for Internet and phone use, as well as office supplies and furniture.

Even when employees are working onsite, they may incur COVID-19-related expenses for personal protective equipment and other safety measures.

Employers should note that the California Labor Code requires them to reimburse workers for reasonable business expenses. Specifically, California law requires an employer to "reasonably reimburse" an employee for "all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee" in carrying out job duties or employer directives.

The key words are "reasonably" and "necessary," Moore noted. "That doesn't mean that you have to pay thousands of dollars a month to the employee for their Internet service, but you do have to reasonably reimburse if it's necessary."

Working remotely was largely voluntary prior to the pandemic, but shelter-in-place orders made remote work necessary.

[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What are the business-related expense reimbursement requirements under California law?]

Even if employees have unlimited-use plans for their personal mobile phones, California courts have found that employers have to reimburse employees when they use their personal devises for work if the employer doesn't otherwise provide a device and cellular plan.

Most employers pay for mobile phone use through a stipend, Moore said. "But you can also do it with receipts and reimbursement."

In one case, a court found that the employer did not have to reimburse an employee for his home Internet access because the company provided workers with access to a mobile hotspot. The court rejected the employee's argument that he had to use his home Internet service because it was faster.

When determining whether to reimburse employee expenses, Moore said, employers should consider the following:

Is the expense necessary?

How much is reasonable to spend?

How should this expense be reimbursed?

She noted that employers that provide a stipend should have a clear policy letting employees know that they need to tell someone in human resources if the stipend doesn't cover the actual cost.

Moore said employers should carefully review their business expense reimbursement policies for remote workers because she expects reimbursement issues to spark the most wage and hour claims related to the COVID-19 crisis.


WASHINGTON -- The cost of prescription drugs could plummet under a new bill proposed by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley.

If passed, drug prices would be regulated to match what patients in other developed countries such as Canada or the United Kingdom pay. Currently, many drugs cost much more to purchase in the United States than they do abroad. Under the bill, Merkley said the cost of medications such as insulin would drop by nearly 500%. Companies that fail to match prices would also face fines.

The only people in the United States of America who think drug prices aren't too high are those getting rich from drug company profits, Merkley said during an interview with reporters Thursday.

According to Bloomberg, Americans pay about $1,200 more on prescription medication each year than anywhere else in the world.

In Douglas County, a father told me about a vial of medication his daughter needs to treat deadly seizures. It costs $200 in Canada, and here in the United States, he's charged $45,000, Merkley said, adding that staff later verified the costs.

Merkley acknowledged concerns from drug companies and some Republicans who are skeptical of too much regulation, worrying it would slow down drug innovation.

But Merkley said Americans should pay lower prices because taxpayer money is used to develop new drugs.

It is a completely bogus argument, Merkley said. A lot of that research money comes from the taxpayer. We pay it. And again, we should get the best price as a result."

You can read the entire bill here.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified the Agreement on Cooperation in Energy and Mining signed with Azerbaijan, according to Resmi Gazete.

The objective of this agreement is to promote the development of bilateral scientific, technical, technological, legal, administrative and commercial cooperation between the parties in the fields of energy and mining, primarily in the fields of renewable and clean energy and energy efficiency, organization of production of energy.

The parties shall cooperate in the fields of renewable and clean energy, and energy efficiency. They shall identify activity opportunities in the fields of renewable and clean energy and energy efficiency and encourage the authorized bodies and investors of both parties to support and develop the projects in these fields.

The parties shall support the establishment of a working group for cooperation in this field.

They shall cooperate in the following areas related to hydrocarbon and petrochemistry: technical cooperation on projects related to development and use of hydrocarbon resources; development of cooperation on projects related to geology and reservoir engineering; exploration, production, transportation, processing, commercialization, distribution and trade of hydrocarbons.
CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Stuve Gold Corp. ("Stuve Gold" or the "Corporation") (TSXV:STUV) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire a 100% unencumbered interest in the Inca property located in Maricunga Gold-Silver Belt of northern Chile (the "Inca Property").

Details of the Inca Property

The Inca Property is home to current artisanal high-grade gold-silver mining. It encompasses 2,941 hectares located in the southern sector of Maricunga Gold - Silver Belt, noted for its multi-million-ounce deposits such as Cerro Casale located 10 km to the east which has estimated reserves of 23 million oz of gold and 58.7 million oz of silver (1). Surface exploration programs conducted by the property owners in 2012 to 2014 identified five Au - Ag - Cu bearing alteration zones. The type and metal associations, the local geology, structure, and the mineralogy are the same as the neighboring acid sulphate epithermal gold-silver vein systems and the gold-silver-copper porphyry deposits at Cerro Casale.

(1) "Wikipedia, "Cerro Casale". Barrick.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-20.

Surface rock chip sampling from the western "Ojos de Agua" alteration zone returned high grade assays of up to 47.6 g/t Au and 765 g/t Ag from 1 - 2 metre wide high sulfidation veins and up to 2.2 g/t Au and 20.6 g/t Ag from the surrounding altered host rock. Artisanal mining on the Ojos de Agua veins is currently ongoing from which high grades of 72 - 290 g/t Au and 381 - 787 g/t Ag are reportedly being recovered.

A reconnaissance IP survey was recently conducted by the current owner of the Inca Property. That survey, completed over the Ojos de Agua alteration zone, outlines a strong open ended chargeability/resistivity anomaly 50 - 90 metres below surface which extends to over 300 metres in depth. This survey suggests the existence of a secondary enrichment blanket at shallow depth and justifies a drilling program to test the anomaly.

Artisanal production grades and historic data pertaining to assay results are from the current property owner's records which Stuve Gold has not independently verified. Stuve Gold intends to carry out a check sampling program designed to substantiate the reliability of the reported historic production grades.

Commenting on the properties, Terence Walker, Stuve Gold's VP of Exploration, remarked: "I am excited about this property's potential and very much look forward to starting a sampling check program in the very near future".

Details of the Acquisition

The purchase agreement (the "Agreement") relates to 17 claim packages consisting of 2,941 hectares for a total purchase price of US $6,150,000. The purchase price is payable in four equal payments of US $100,000 with the first payable on signing of the Agreement and three additional payments every six months thereafter. Thereafter, three equal payments of US $150,000 are payable every six months with a balloon payment of $5,300,000 due on the 48th month following signing of the Agreement. Stuve Gold does not earn an interest in the Inca Property until the full purchase price of US $6,150,000 has been paid, but Stuve Gold may stop making payments towards the purchase price at any time and Stuve Gold is not obligated to make any additional payments towards the purchase price thereafter.

Private Placement

To fund initial exploration efforts on the Inca Property, the Corporation intends to complete a non-brokered private placement of up to 6,000,000 units of the Corporation ("Units") at a price of $0.20 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,200,000 ("Private Placement"). There is no minimum offering. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Corporation ("Common Share") together with one share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share for a period of two years at a price of $0.35 per Common Share.

Stuve Gold may pay a cash commission or finder's fee to qualified non-related parties of up to 7% of the gross proceeds of the Private Placement and issue broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants") equal to up to 7% of the number of Units sold in the Private Placement. Each Broker Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Common Share at a price of $0.20 per Broker Warrant for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance.

The Corporation is completing the Private Placement in order to secure the funding necessary to conduct exploration efforts on the Inca Property. Existing insiders of the Corporation intend to participate in the Private Placement.

Completion of the Private Placement is subject to regulatory approval including, but not limited to, the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Common Shares, Warrants and Broker Warrants issued will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of the closing of the Private Placement.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Terence Walker, P. Geo, a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.

About Stuve Gold

Stuve Gold is engaged in advancing mineral exploration on properties in Chile that exhibit promising potential for gold, copper, silver and cobalt as a result of historical mining activities on, or associated with, such properties. Stuve Gold is currently advancing its "Coba SW" property which is located in the historic high grade gold and copper Carrizal Alto mining district. Stuve Gold has recently commenced surface sampling and geochemical work on its Santa Gracia property.

Stuve Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX-V under the symbol "STUV". More information on Stuve Gold may be viewed on Sedar.com or the Corporation's website www.stuvegoldcorp.com.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. Any securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to a U.S. person in the absence of such registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Corporation will not make any public offering of the securities in the United States.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to details concerning its properties, exploration plans, the closing of the Private Placement, statements pertaining to the use of proceeds, and the Corporation's ability to obtain necessary approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; the price of metals including gold, silver copper and cobalt; and the results of exploration programs. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. There can be no assurance that the Private Placement will be closed in any particular amount. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Stuve Gold disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the Inca Property and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

For further information, please contact:

Gordon Aldcorn

VP, Business Development

Phone: (403) 618 6507

Email: galdcorn@gmail.com

Terence Walker

VP. Exploration

Phone: +56981292207

Email: twalker@goldenrock.cl

Al Kroontje

President

Phone: (403) 607 4009

Email: al@kasten.ca

SOURCE: Stuve Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641799/Stuve-Gold-Corp-Enters-into-Acquisition-Agreement-for-Inca-Property-and-Announces-Proposed-Private-Placement
SmartLinx unveils R&D hub: SmartLinx Accelerating Innovation Lab (SAIL)

SmartLinx, a leader in cloud workforce management solutions for post-acute care and senior living organizations, today announced it established a research and development laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina.

SmartLinx Accelerating Innovation Lab (SAIL) was launched from the shores of South Carolina to develop new workforce management solutions and industry best practices that use cutting-edge digital transformation technologies to advance the long-term care industry.

The new R&D hub represents SmartLinx latest investment in advancing customer solutions introduced after the companys acquisition by Marlin Equity. SAIL will foster collaboration between researchers, developers, customers, and partners. Earlier this year, SmartLinx introduced a state-of-the-art time clock and employee communication system.

We believe technology can address every challenge in post-acute care and are committed to developing the best options, said SmartLinx new CTO Anil Chillarige, who launched SAIL as his first signature initiative. We are seeding concepts that leverage digital transformation to raise the bar on employee experience, quality of care, and operational efficiency.

SmartLinx provides state-of-the-art solutions designed to make health care staff more productive while keeping them safe and achieving compliance through automation. SAIL employs software developers, solution architects, futurists, and designers dedicated to improving these benefits and launching new innovations.

Forging new technology paths

SAIL recently introduced SmartLinx Advanced Timeclock for Employees (SLATE), which combines the latest innovations in touchless technology with integrated time tracking and employee scheduling. SLATE eliminates physical contact with a high-touch device while blocking access to anyone with a fever and enforcing attendance policies.

SAIL is also working on a next-generation staffing marketplace that can source qualified talent on demand and exploring analytics and intelligent agents like IP Softs Amelia described as Siri with a doctorate in psychology. Exhibiting artificial emotional intelligence, these agents facilitate high value human-machine interactions to support senior care residents.

Home to one of the nations top universities as well as a burgeoning and vibrant tech economy, Charleston is the ideal location for SAIL, explained SmartLinx CEO Marina Aslanyan. As SmartLinx continues to grow, the city offers an amazing pool of local talent and potential technology partners.

About SmartLinx

Founded in 2000, SmartLinx cares for those who care. Used in thousands of leading organizations, SmartLinxs workforce management solutions help healthcare providers manage people and processes by harnessing the power of real-time data. Solutions include talent acquisition and onboarding, human resources, benefits, payroll, time & attendance, scheduling, compliance, and business analytics. New financing options with preferred commercial lender Ascentium Capital provide several flexible structures and low introductory payment options to help clients utilize the breadth of SmartLinxs capabilities and products. The company is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey. For more information, please visit http://www.smartlinx.com or call 877-501-1310.
In spite of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in the Ashanti Region made a significant jump in its 2020 target, ending the year with an active membership of 2,902,306 from a benchmark of 2,725,177.

It represents 107 per cent of the 2020 target and 130 per cent of the 2019 membership achievement figure.



The Regional Director of the NHIA, Mr Kwadwo Tweneboa-Kodua, announced at the 2020 year review in Kumasi last Tuesday that part of the reason for the success could be attributed to the digitisation of the processes leading to the development of the NHIS Mobile Renewal Service.



New service



The service which allowed people to renew their membership by using the hash tag, *929#, instead of walking to the offices due to the COVID-19 was subscribed to by the people from the region, increasing the figures dramatically.



Beyond the mobile service, the NHIA also introduced the online application/renewal of the Health Facilities Credentialing process and electronic claims submission platforms for convenience and effectiveness.



"The NHIA has achieved a lot and continues to advance its cause in pursuit of the government's goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030.



"For this to materialise, it requires the concerted effort of all stakeholders," Mr Tweneboa-Kodua said.



The regional director urged the staff to discharge their duties diligently to ensure that it stayed on course towards achieving the set target for universal health coverage.



Claims



He told stakeholders that the authority had paid all claims up to September 2020, saying that against the backdrop that it took three months for claims to be submitted and same for processing, "I can say that technically, the authority owes them just one month, which is commendable."





Mr Tweneboa-Kodua said for now though, the achievement for 2020 would remain as the target for 2021 until a new one was set.



About 50 representatives from the districts and the region are assessing their performances and challenging themselves for higher heights.



Background



Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to introduce NHIS in 2003 through an Act of Parliament (Act 650, Amended Act 852) and full implementation started in 2004.



Under the NHIS amended Act 852 (2012), every Ghanaian is required to enrol onto a health insurance scheme.



It has significantly contributed to improved health services utilisation and health outcomes.



The authority has a total of 166 district offices with five registration centres which report to the membership and regional operations directorate.



The Ashanti Region is said to have recorded the highest active membership followed by the Greater Accra Region.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Britain is likely to see a summer surge in Covid cases as lockdown restrictions are eased, a top scientist has warned.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said modelling showed an increase in cases because a number of adults have still not been vaccinated.

And he warned that the dates set out by Boris Johnson in the lockdown roadmap may have be adjusted if there is a significant rises in cases.

At Tuedays press conference Mr Johnson warned Britons not to delude themselves that the threat of the virus had gone and said the majority of science opinion thought a third wave of Covid was likely at some stage this year.

Asked if he agreed with the prime ministers assessment, Professor Finn told BBC Breakfast: Im afraid he is right yes. The models that weve seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population whove not been immunised and who will therefore start to transmit the infection between each other.

He added that how big a third wave will be depends on how quickly the vaccine rollout continues forward, the supplies of vaccine and so on, and how many people come forward to receive vaccination, and also it depends on how people behave as the lockdown is gradually relaxed.

The next planned changes in the lockdown roadmap in England on 17 May include the reopening of hospitality venues, such as pubs, and meeting people in groups of up to 30 outdoors.

When asked if the loosening of restrictions may need to be altered, Professor Finn said it was a balancing act.

He added: People want to have some kind of certainty and businesses want to know how to plan, but on the other hand I think its always been presented as as a provisional timetable, based on what actually happens.

I think if we do start to see significant rises in cases in some parts of the country, they may need to adjust back those dates in order to avoid the situation coming into effect. Its a bit hard to be definite about this because by definition its uncertain.

Additional reporting by PA
Guwahati, April 22 : The crop prospect in the current season for the tea industry in Assam and West Bengal looks bleak due to the drought-like situation prevailing in both the states, a leading industry body said.

Tea Association of India (TAI) Secretary General P.K. Bhattacharya said that after the aftermath of prolonged period of lockdown and losing around 140 million kgs of made tea last year, the tea industry in north was hopeful for a fresh start in 2021, but is again foreseeing grim days ahead, faced as it is with the onslaught of natural calamities resulting in lesser crops.

In a statement, TAI said that the situation has worsened due to the recent massive hailstorm in the tea-growing regions of north Bengal.

According to the TAI, Assam has harvested only 0.23 million kg during the period of January-February this year as against 0.27 million kg last year and 0.44 million kg in 2019. It said that while the crop figure for the month of March is yet to be released by the Tea Board, the figure is expected to lower by around 10-15 per cent in March and April this year as compared to 2019.

"Similarly, north Bengal has harvested only 1.92 million kg this year as against 4.04 million kg in 2019 during January-February," Bhattacharya said.

He said that there is huge less rainfall recorded during January and February both in Assam and in north Bengal and the situation has worsened during the months of March and April as reported by the tea estates of both the states.

The TAI statement said that due to shortage of supply during the lockdown, tea prices witnessed a surge in prices for a brief period in 2020.

However, the price rise could not be sustained for a long period and auction prices subsequently declined sharply in the last few auction sales in 2020. However the increase in tea prices in 2020 has been largely offset by the loss in production.

The TAI said that Assam produces around 4.5 per cent of its total crop in the month of March and around 6 per cent in April which is around 32 million kg and 44 million kg, respectively. Similarly, West Bengal also produces around 5.5 to 6 per cent of its total crop in March and April amounting to around 23-25 million kg.

"The figure is expected to be lower by around 10-15 per cent in the month of March and April as compared to the corresponding period of 2019," the tea industry body said.
On Tuesday, Manitoba recorded its highest daily new COVID-19 case count in nearly three months: 211.

On Tuesday, Manitoba recorded its highest daily new COVID-19 case count in nearly three months: 211.

In as little as 10 days, that number could double  and 400 cases each day could overwhelm the health-care system, based on what happened in fall 2020, says Dr. Anand Kumar, attending ICU physician at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.

"We're on the cusp of a major wave again, and I think that short of extremely tight restrictions, it's going to be difficult to stop it," Kumar says.

Dr. Anand Kumar, attending ICU physician at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, has criticized pandemic responses that dont adopt a "COVID Zero" philosophy as a way to focus on locking down to keep case counts low and easily contact-traceable. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press files)

He and some of his colleagues have been urging the Manitoba government to implement tighter restrictions since the second wave hit in the fall. Hes criticized pandemic responses that dont adopt a "COVID Zero" philosophy as a way to focus on locking down to keep case counts low and easily contact-traceable.

But a "COVID Zero" approach, similar to the bubble strategy adopted in the Atlantic provinces and countries such as New Zealand and Australia, wouldnt work in Manitoba now, says deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal.

It would mean a complete lockdown until cases get as close to zero as possible.

"That is an extreme strategy. It just won't be a viable option, to be quite frank, from a public health perspective. We have transmission in the community. We have borders that are open, we rely on a lot of movement of individuals that are critical to our livelihoods from a goods and services perspective that move across the country. We aren't an island," Atwal says.

"Outside of that, it's really hard to go back to that at this point. Very extreme measures would have to occur, but they would have to occur at every jurisdiction; federal (and) provincial level."

Heres a look at how the beginning of Manitobas third wave compares to the start of its second:

Vaccines, variants race against time

Younger Manitobans are getting sicker with highly-contagious COVID-19 variants and are more likely to be admitted to hospital than they were during the first and second waves of the pandemic.

Vaccines aren't getting out fast enough to get ahead of the spread of these more infectious variants. B.1.1.7 is becoming the dominant strain in Manitoba and already accounts for the majority of new cases in Winnipeg.

However, research has shown existing vaccines are effective against B.1.1.7, and this week, vaccine eligibility was expanded significantly.

Manitobans 40 and up with no underlying health conditions are booking appointments to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine through local pharmacies. On Wednesday, the province opened vaccine appointments at its immunization clinics for all Manitobans 50 and older, and First Nations people 30-plus.

Front-line police and firefighters are also now eligible to make appointments, and the province plans to open vaccine clinics in "high-risk" areas.

On Tuesday, the province announced a plan to vaccinate truck drivers making essential trips across the U.S. border.

Hospitalizations rising, staff burned out

Hospitalization rates stabilized earlier this year, but didn't drop back to pre-second-wave levels before the third wave began. This time around, as the elderly population is largely vaccinated and younger people are entering the ICU, burnout is increasing.

"We've learned over and over not to underestimate this virus, and we're also dealing with a bit of a new beast with all these variants that are coming around. Perhaps even most importantly, we're dealing with an exhausted health-care workforce," St. Boniface Hospital microbiologist Dr. Philippe Lagace-Wiens says.

Nurses are rapidly retiring or moving out of critical care and trying to find work in private practice or less stressful areas, according to Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson.

"It's extremely worrying hearing from nurses that they are exhausted and don't know how much longer they can keep up with this pace, especially going into a third wave, seeing the variant that's out there and the climb in our numbers," she says.

Case counts feed into restrictions

Heading into the third wave, most Manitobans were already living with much stricter public health rules than before the post-Thanksgiving spike in COVID-19 cases.

In October 2020, daily case counts averaged 120. Over the past month (March 20 to April 20), that number reached 103. New third-wave restrictions were added Tuesday and public health officials have warned the next step could be a complete lockdown.

Economically, it makes more sense in the long run to lock down once than to go back and forth imposing restrictions on businesses and individuals, says Jesse Hajer, assistant professor of economics and labour studies at the University of Manitoba.

The province's unemployment rate wasn't as high in March as it had been in the first wave of the pandemic, but there are still roughly 11,000 lost jobs that haven't been recovered, and many of the emergency benefits and social supports brought in at the start of the pandemic haven't been renewed.

Support for small businesses has improved in Manitoba, but low-wage workers, many of them women, are hardest hit. At this point, funding for schools, child care and community organizations is necessary, Hajer says.

Pandemic fatigue real but temporary

Even before the third wave hit, Canadians were already reporting their highest levels of depression and anxiety, according to an early February poll from Mental Health Research Canada. There was a 70 per cent increase between the first and second waves in respondents reporting they were highly depressed.

Dr. Andrea Piotrowski, a Winnipeg clinical psychologist, says some people may be experiencing an "echo pandemic" because of high levels of anxiety and depression that can effect how they face a looming third wave. (Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press)

The resulting mental health crisis is an "echo pandemic," says Winnipeg clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Piotrowski.

The impact of isolation is taking its toll, but there are silver linings to look for in the third wave, she says. Thinking of this as a temporary experience, and being grateful for even little things  such as connecting with far-flung family members via virtual game nights, or learning to bake  can help. So can getting outside, being active and focusing on success stories from other countries that are further ahead in their pandemic response, she says.

"People are tired and they are fatigued, and we can almost see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, in terms of we are so close, but we really have to give just that extra push, that extra effort... In order for us to not go into a fourth wave, we do need to really think of, again, this is temporary," Piotrowski says.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay

michael.pereira@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @__m_pereira

Michael Pereira

Data journalist Michael Pereira is a data journalist and developer who spends his days pulling data from (sometimes unwilling) sources, extracting meaning for readers and producing graphics that tell a story. Read full biography
With just over a month of class left for most North Alabama school districts, more and more are sharing their plans on how they plan to close the coronavirus learning gap this summer.

It is an issue every school in the nation is currently facing. WAAY 31 has spoken to experts in the past few weeks who have said kids essentially lost a year of school! While school districts have a plan, some parents are concerned their kids will be too burned out to benefit.

"Our child's education is very important to us," Laurie McFalls said.

Her son, Jack, is about to wrap up second grade next month. She's a bit worried about third grade after an unusual start to the school year.

"I do have some concerns about what he's going to take with him into the next grade, because she had to spend so much time covering the grade he was supposed to be learning," McFalls said.

School districts have similar concerns.

"It comes from students not being in school," Director of Elementary Instruction at Huntsville City Schools Dr. Monte Linebarger said. "We can't expect our children to teach themselves."

Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County schools are all offering classes over the summer. Students would go to class four to five days a week depending on their grade level.

"We're going to do our best to not make it drill and work and those kinds of things, because we do understand that folks are weary," Madison City School Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said.

While some worry that it's too much, others say their kids can't wait to go back.

"I don't think our boys and girls will be burned out at all. Honestly, they've missed too much instruction. Just like my son, he's ready to get out of the house," Dr. Linebarger said.

Districts are also offering other services to make summer learning more possible for families with working parents.

"Free breakfast, free lunch, free transportation. Hopefully, that's going to be a selling point to allow their boys and girls to come back to school," Dr. Linebarger said.

School districts say they hope parents opt into the summer classes to make sure they can close the learning gap.

"In the long range, it's going to benefit to their kids," Dr. Nichols said.

"I'm pleading to parents! Please let your boys and girls come and experience the summer learning camp, so we can provide laser-instruction to them, so they can be ready for school next year," Dr. Linebarger said.

Madison City Schools says they've notified the parents of about 800 students about the summer classes. So far, around 300 students are enrolled. Madison County Schools expects about 3,400 students to participate in their summer program.

The classes for all three districts will start in June and last around a month. There will also be a virtual option and other resources available to students and parents.

In addition to summer classes, Huntsville and Madison City schools will offer after-school tutoring for their students next fall.

McFalls says she's grateful the district is thinking about how to help students who may feel behind when the next school year begins.

"It's really good to know that they're not going to pretend like it's all over, and that all the obstacles that have popped up in this past year are now just magically gone away. It's good to know that the school district is committed to supporting these kids until they don't need it anymore," McFalls said.
African health experts call for innovative financing to eradicate malaria

Xinhua) 10:13, April 22, 2021

NAIROBI, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Countries across the Sub-Saharan African region should explore fiscal incentives that can stimulate investments in malaria control programs amid the quest to eradicate the tropical disease by 2030, experts said at a virtual forum on Wednesday ahead of World Malaria Day on April 25.

The health experts, policymakers and advocates said that achieving zero malaria targets in Africa is possible subject to adequate financing, political goodwill, research and community engagement.

Elizabeth Chizema, coordinator of Zambia's End Malaria Council, said that domestic resource mobilization as opposed to over-reliance on dwindling foreign aid is key to bridging malaria funding shortfall in Africa.

"The private sector and home-grown philanthropies can help bridge the financing gap towards malaria control programs in the African continent that has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Chizema.

She said that the African Leaders Malaria Alliance whose current chair is Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, has prioritized innovative financing as a strategy to aid the elimination of the disease in the continent.

"Government and the private sector continue to renew financial pledges and commitments that will be channeled to high-impact malaria control interventions like expanding access to mosquito-treated nets," said Chizema.

In some high malaria burden African countries, the industry has supported procurement of commodities and public awareness campaigns on disease prevention, she added.

Hundreds of participants including policymakers, health experts and grassroots campaigners attended the virtual forum on malaria elimination organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in conjunction with RBM Partnership to End Malaria.

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa said eliminating malaria will boost economic and social outcomes in a continent that accounts for about 90 percent of global malaria caseload and fatalities.

"Malaria reduces Africa's economic growth by 1.3 percent annually. It affects productivity and therefore lifesaving and cost-effective interventions should reach communities affected by the disease," said Moeti.

She hailed milestones achieved in malaria vaccination targeting children below five years in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, adding that targeted inoculations have hastened progress towards elimination of the vector-borne disease.

Amira Elfadil, African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs said that high burden malaria countries in Africa have renewed commitment to eradicate the disease in line with continental and global targets.

"Africa is making progress towards malaria elimination through strong political commitment and funding," said Elfadil, adding that the momentum towards achieving zero malaria goal has gathered steam in the continent despite pandemic shocks.

Solomon Feleke, consultant at WHO STOP-Malaria Program in Botswana said that enhanced surveillance, timely diagnosis and treatment are key to boosting malaria control in Africa.

"Training of health workers, improving vector control and case management will deliver high impact and quality intervention for malaria eradication in the continent," said Feleke.

Odinaka Kingsley Obeta, Zero Malaria champion from Nigeria said that African countries should leverage domestic financing, enhanced data collection, research and training of community health workers in order to boost the war against the disease.

"Long-term investments, use of real-time data to inform malaria interventions and youth-led campaigns are key to boosting progress towards disease elimination in Africa," said Obeta.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G (SM-A226B), the companys upcoming budget 5G smartphone has surfaced in new CAD-based renders, thanks to @OnLeaks. This shows a 6.5-inch Infinity-V style notch instead of Infinity-O punch-hole screen in the A21 which when it was launched last year. The phone is said to measure 167.2 x 76.4 x 8.7~9.7mm.

It will feature a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as shown in the image, which also reveals a 3.5mm audio jack in the bottom. Earlier rumours revealed a 48MP+8MP+2MP+2MP quad-camera setup and a and a 13MP front camera for the phone, but this could also be for the Galaxy A22 4G (SM-A225F) that is also said to launch later. There are also rumours of MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset being used in the 5G version of the phone.

According to a leaked Samsung launch date roadmap from last month, the Galaxy A22 and the A22 5G could be introduced sometime in July. We should know more details in the coming months.

Source
Phnom Penh, April 22 : Police in Cambodias capital Phnom Penh are wielding canes and batons to threaten and beat people who violate the citys lockdown rules.

Thursday marked a week of lockdown measures in Phnom Penh, a city of more than 2 million., dpa news agency reported Introduced to curb an accelerating coronavirus outbreak linked to more than 6,000 infections and 54 deaths, the rules have been revised several times, deepening public confusion about what is permitted.

Nevertheless, the government has arrested hundreds of people for violations, while at least six have already been sentenced to one-year prison terms.

Authorities on Monday designated three red zones where people are banned from leaving their homes, except for emergencies.

The government said it would deliver food to the areas, home to almost 50,000 families. Many are low on supplies and have taken to social media to appeal for help.

Police officers, however, have shown little tolerance for people outside.

One video circulated on the official Facebook account of a district authority in Phnom Penh, showed two officers on a motorbike patrolling the streets with a cane.

The weapon is held by the pillion rider, who uses it to threaten and smack pedestrians.

Another clip shows an officer striking a man as he walks in front of Cambodia's Council of Ministers building.

A police spokesperson, who spoke to local outlet Voice of Democracy, defended using force against people who "don't listen".

However, Interior Minister Sar Kheng released a statement saying frontline officers must "avoid using any form of violence" in undertaking their duties.
The White House is trying to juice America's vaccination rate.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration highlighted a paid-leave provision in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed on March 11. The IRS, also on Wednesday, codified the tax credit, which broadly offsets the cost for employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide full pay for any time their employees need to get a Covid-19 vaccination or recover from that vaccination.

In the briefing, the Biden administration urged businesses to act. "Now is the time to step up our efforts to reach every working-age adult in America," he said.

The tax credit, worth up to $511 per day of paid sick leave, will be available between April 1 and September 30, 2021, for employees to receive Covid-19 vaccines or recover from shot side effects. Employers can receive tax credits for up to 10 days worth of sick leave per employee. Given that most people don't have severe side effects that last more than a day or so, this should cover all time off needed for vaccination.

Another tool to fight Covid-19

Businesses can strongly influence employees to receive their Covid-19 vaccine, and this makes it financially easier for small businesses to do so. New York is the only state to require employers to give paid time off for employees to receive the vaccine (up to four hours per injection), but it's certainly a best practice for every business. Now, with the tax benefits, small businesses don't have a good excuse for not providing PTO for their employees.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has promised guidance on other benefits that you can provide your employees, but they haven't followed through yet. Right now, the guidance is just "de minimis," but doesn't define what that means. While businesses wait for information on how they can encourage employees, this tax credit provides a great benefit--and one that employees will really appreciate.

Think about your customers as well

While business owners focus on their own employees, they are also right to be concerned about their customers. The White House also encourages businesses to take part in the "We Can Do This" campaign. This can involve "discounts for vaccinated individuals, product giveaways or brand rewards, messaging in-store, point-of-purchase promotions, direct outreach to customers, or public service announcements (PSAs) about the importance of vaccinations."
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Vaccines will allow us to control coronavirus without the need for future lockdowns, the experts behind a major new British study declared last night.

In the biggest examination of 'real-world' UK vaccination data so far, scientists found both the Pfizer and Oxford jabs slashed infections - and reduced transmission of the virus.

Analysis of more than 1.6million swabs from UK households found that among those who had been given at least one dose of either vaccine there was a 74 per cent drop in symptomatic infections.

Crucially, the jabs also cut asymptomatic cases  where the person infected has no signs of illness  by more than 50 per cent. This is critical to stopping people unwittingly spreading Covid.

The benefits in reducing infections were similar for everyone - including the elderly and those with long-term health conditions - who are most at risk.

The protective effect was most marked among those who'd had two doses of Pfizer - which led a 70 per cent drop in asymptomatic infections, rising to 90 per cent in cases with symptoms. Similar data was not yet available for the Oxford jab.

The chief scientist behind the study said the findings combined with Britain's current Covid situation meant the country had 'moved from a pandemic to an endemic situation'.

The study found that there were significantly more coronavirus cases among people who hadn't been vaccinated (top two graphs) than there were in people who had been given jabs or who had had Covid before (bottom five graphs) The longer it had been since someone got their vaccine, less likely they were to catch coronavirus, the numbers suggest

The proportion of Covid-positive people who developed symptoms (orange dots) was significantly higher in unvaccinated people. For those who did have a vaccine or had natural immunity, most people didn't get any symptoms at all if they picked up the virus (black dots)

Blood testing showed that people's levels of virus-fighting antibodies rocketed after they got a vaccine, particularly if they had never had the virus, and they also rose substantially among people who already had natural immunity. The dotted line represents the threshold for testing positive for Covid-specific antibodies. The higher the number, the greater the protection, scientists believe

Oxford University experts last night said the new findings left them 'cautiously optimistic' that vaccines would allow society to control Covid in the long-term without lockdowns.

But they warned the data, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, also confirmed that people could become infected or reinfected with Covid even after having a vaccine - suggesting measures like social distancing and masks may need to continue.

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson said that lockdown had been the main reason for the drop in coronavirus cases and deaths - not vaccinations.

However, Sarah Walker, professor of medical statistics and epidemiology at Oxford and chief investigator on the survey, said falling cases over the last three months had been due to a combination of both.

And she said that as long-term lockdown was not 'viable' in future, vaccines and booster jabs would be critical to us resuming more normal lives.

She said: 'Long-term lockdown isn't a viable solution so vaccines are clearly going to be the only way that we are going to have a chance to control this long term.

'Without vaccines, I don't think getting close to zero is really feasible in the situation we're now in UK where effectively it's endemic. We've kind of moved from a pandemic to an endemic situation.

'But I think the challenge is that, as demonstrated in India, in Canada and Brazil, the virus is very good at throwing us curveballs. And so I think we're always looking at one small step away from, from potential for things to go wrong again.'

ONLY 900 PEOPLE DEVELOPING COVID EACH DAY IN ENGLAND, SYMPTOM STUDY SAYS Fewer than 900 people in England are now developing Covid each day, according to a symptom-tracking app. It is the lowest level ever and below estimates from August when there were next to no restrictions. The Covid Symptom Study this week claims only 870 people suffered a symptomatic infection with the virus every day last week, based on reports from more than a million Britons. This was the lowest weekly number since estimates began in June and below the previous low point in mid-August before the 'rule of six' and a flurry of other restrictions came into force. For comparison, there were around 50,000 daily cases in the darkest days of January. Professor Tim Spector, the King's College London epidemiologist who leads the study, said the still-falling cases suggested that concerning fast-spreading and potentially vaccine-dodging variants were not having an impact. He added this was likely down to the successful vaccination programme  which has already jabbed three in every five Britons  social distancing, and warmer weather allowing people to spend more time outdoors. Other promising data today showed England's outbreak is still shrinking, as weekly Test and Trace figures showed positive tests fell by nine per cent in the seven days to April 14  despite a huge increase in testing. Advertisement

Researchers examined data from the UKs official Covid-19 Infection Survey, used to track infection levels and ran by the University of Oxford and Office for National Statistics.

They analysed 1,610,562 test results from nose and throat swabs taken from 373,402 adults between 1 December 2020 and 3 April 2021.

When compared to those who were unvaccinated, they found cases of coronavirus fell by 65 per cent.

Both vaccines were also found to be effective against the Kent/UK variant, which was widely circulating at the time.

Even those who tested positive had much lower viral loads, suggesting they are less likely to pass on the virus to others or become seriously ill themselves.

Dr Koen Pouwels, senior researcher at Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Population Health, said he was confident that the vaccines reduced onward transmission of the virus 'to a certain extent.'

'Essentially what we see is that the vaccine protects very well against infections with a high viral burden, so lots of virus present, and these are people that are particularly able to transmit to other individuals.

'So I think from that we can infer that it likely reduces transmission.'

Experts warned there was a risk of new variants forming among people who had been vaccinated or have had Covid previously, as the virus will evolve to infect them.

These new strains may be resistant to vaccines and lead to another deadly wave among the most vulnerable, which is why it is vital people continue to follow guidelines to reduce transmission risk, such as social distancing and masks.

He added: 'The fact that we saw smaller reductions in asymptomatic infections than infections with symptoms highlights the potential for vaccinated individuals to get Covid-19 again, and for limited ongoing transmission from vaccinated individuals, even if this is at a lower rate.'

In a separate study also published by the team also as a pre-print, just one dose of the Oxford or Pfizer produced 'strong antibody responses' in 95 per cent of people given a vaccine.

Fewer than 5 per cent of people had low responses to both vaccines, with researchers adding that there was a need to monitor this group's response to a second vaccination.

Second doses of the Pfizer jab significantly boosted the immune response in over-80s, making them on a par with younger adults and showing why second doses are particularly vital for the elderly.

Having both shots was also offered similar levels of protection against Covid-19 as for people infected with Covid previously.

Almost everyone who had never had Covid tested positive for immune system antibodies after just one dose of either the Pfizer (left) or AstraZeneca (right) vaccine. The size of the bar indicates the proportion of people showing signs of immunity. Each row of bars represents a different age group, with the youngest adults at the top and oldest at the bottom. The time series shows that immunity gets stronger as time goes on  more people tested positive the longer time went on

Blood testing of people who had already had Covid once and then got vaccinated showed immunity was still boosted by the jabs, regardless of whether they got Pfizer (left) or AstraZeneca (right). The size of the bar indicates the proportion of people showing signs of immunity. Each row of bars represents a different age group, with the youngest adults at the top and oldest at the bottom

While the two jabs behave differently in the early stages of immune response, both vaccines produced antibody levels that were sustained for at least 10 weeks.

Professor David Eyre, from the University of Oxford, said this supported the UK's decision to delay second doses by up to 12 weeks.

He said: 'In older individuals, two vaccine doses are as effective as prior natural infection at generating antibodies to the virus that causes Covid-19 - in younger individuals a single dose achieves the same level of response.

'Our findings highlight the importance of individuals getting the second vaccine dose for increased protection.'

Ministers welcomed the findings as latest figures show some 33,257,651 people have now had one dose while 11,192,601 are now fully immunised.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: 'Vaccines work and today's findings from the ONS and Oxford University provide further evidence that both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are having a significant impact on reducing infections across the UK.

'With over 33million first jabs already in arms, saving lives and cutting the risk of infection, it's vital everyone gets their second dose when invited, to protect you and your loved ones against this disease.

'The vaccine programme has shown what our country can achieve when working as one, it is our way out of the pandemic. When you get the call, get the jab.'

Health minister Lord Bethell said: 'These real-world findings are extremely promising and show our historic vaccination programme is having a significant impact across the UK by reducing infections among people of all ages, including those with underlying health conditions.

'I urge everyone to take up the offer of a free vaccine when invited and to make sure they get their second dose to gain maximum protection.

'It remains essential everyone continues to follow Covid-19 restrictions whether they have had the vaccine or not.'
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  A powerful explosion apparently from a suicide bomber struck the parking lot of a luxury hotel in southwestern Pakistan frequented by high-level guests on Wednesday, and officials said at least four people had been killed and 12 wounded. Chinas ambassador to Pakistan may have missed the blast by mere minutes.

The ambassador, Nong Rong, was leading a Chinese delegation that had been visiting the area and staying at the hotel, the Serena, in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

The Chinese were staying at Serena Hotel but they were not present at the hotel at the time of the attack, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistans interior minister, told the local news media.

The Chinese delegation was safe and all casualties were of Pakistani nationals, officials said. Two senior civilian officials were among the wounded.
Cast iron scrap (HS 72041000): 399 tonnes

Other alloy steel scrap (HS 72042900): 10,336 tonnes

Other steel scrap (HS 72044900): 20,761 tonnes

South Korea was the second-largest scrap supplier to China in March, supplying 6,290 tonnes, about 20% of China's ferrous scrap imports in the month, with Hong Kong (6.9% of the total) and Malaysia (3.9%) the other significant sources.China imported 38,602 tonnes of ferrous scrap in the first quarter of 2021, a 1,047% increase on the same period in 2020.The breakdown of imports in March 2021, according to the Harmonized System (HS) codes, are as follows:China also imported 14,068 tonnes of stainless steel scrap (HS 72042100) in March, with most of that (96%) coming from Malaysia and Japan.China did not import any tin-coated steel scrap (HS 72043000) or scrap ingot for remelting (HS 72045000) in March.
Interview ASEAN Has Violated Its Own Charter: Altsean-Burma Founder

Buddhist monks in Mandalay hold placards reading "We Support NUG-National Unity Government" during a march against the military regime on April 21, 2021. / Tayzar San

ASEAN will hold a summit in Jakarta this weekend to seek a solution to the deteriorating situation in Myanmar following the military coup in February.

Since the takeover, the country, which is a member of ASEAN, has witnessed a bloodbath with more than 700 civilians killed by the regime for protesting against military rule. The regimes brutality has prompted widespread international condemnation, forcing the 10-member bloc to get involved. Following initiatives by some member states including Indonesia, the summit is scheduled for Saturday.

Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing will personally attend the meeting, while the members of the countrys shadow National Unity Government (NUG) formed by deposed elected lawmakers and others have not been invited.

Debbie Stothard, the founder of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), an NGO that promotes human rights and democracy in Myanmar, said if the ASEAN governments stand on the side of the Myanmar junta, They are not just standing against the people of Myanmar, they are standing against all the people of ASEAN.

Here is an edited version of The Irrawaddys interview with her on the eve of the Saturday summit.

Q: How would you describe ASEANs stand on the coup?

STOTHARD: ASEAN is trying to avoid taking a stand. They are sitting on their hands. And they are delayed in responding to this crisis. Its actually made the situation worse in Myanmar. The situation has escalated from an illegal coup to a nationwide civil war within two and a half months because ASEAN fails to act. So the problem is ASEAN has not taken a stand.

Now, finally theyve started to move. They want to have an emergency summit, but their slowness to act really undermines their standing, their position, really undermines their position with the junta.

Now theyre only starting to realize  how serious the situation is. They should have had this summit in February.

ASEAN has invited the coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, but is not saying anything about the National Unity Government, which has requested an invitation. Did it do the right thing?

This is the worst form of interference in the internal affairs of Myanmar. The ASEAN governments have broken their own ASEAN Charter. They are inviting an illegal military regime instead of the legal government [the NUG].

Its as though ASEAN invited the separatist movement of southern Thailand to a summit and did not invite the national government of Thailand. It is as though ASEAN invited Donald Trump to a summit instead of President Biden. And they have broken the very principle of ASEAN.

But ASEAN would likely say it is acting as a mediator, as others have urged it to.

If they are going to be mediating, then all sides have to be at the table, not just the criminals.

So what should ASEAN do?

It is still not too late for ASEAN to redeem itself. ASEAN will get more respect from the junta, if they have the guts to invite the NUG to the meeting, and invite observers from the UN Security Councilif ASEAN really wants to make a difference, instead of [just] showing they are trying to do something.

When we talk about what ASEAN did, ASEAN claimed that it helped open up Myanmar because of the Cyclone Nargis humanitarian effort [in 2008]. But ASEAN was able to do that because they threatened the Burmese military junta at that time, [saying] they will not oppose the Western navies from entering the waters of Myanmar to deliver aid.

If you remember in those days [during] Cyclone Nargis, we had the US aircraft carriers stuck off the coast of Myanmar for two weeks. And there was also the Security Councils attention; Myanmar had been put on the Security Council agenda. So ASEAN said, You should do something, or else if the US Navy goes into your territory, we will not say anything. [It was] only then that Senior General Than Shwe got off his ass and did something, and said, OK, OK, well allow some aid to come inside the country.

So ASEAN claims credit for that; actually ASEAN would not be effective if we did not have the Western navies on standby. So in this case, ASEAN needs to invite the UN Security Council as a partner in resolving the crisis created by this illegal junta.

Now we see a lot of support in the UNexcept from China and Russiaand the Western countries are rejecting the coup and the junta. Does it seem like a repeat of the situation in 2008, though the circumstances are different? Do we have that kind of support from the West at the moment to force ASEAN to intervene in this current crisis?

It is pretty clear that even the European Union, which has been one of the more conservative blocs in the international community, in the West, they also initiated [this week]  sanctions on MEC and MEHL [Myanmar Economic Corporation and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, two military controlled companies], so we can see very clearly all the other stakeholders and players understand the urgency of acting now before Myanmar becomes another Syria.

It is absolutely important for ASEAN to take the situation seriously because if Myanmar does become another Syria, then the countries which suffer the most are the ASEAN countries as well as India, Bangladesh and China. So China fully understands this. Thats why China is trying to say ASEAN do something, because China will not take a strong stand one way or another. They are protecting their interests.

The bigger problem we think is Russia, because Russia does not have to feel any impact if the situation deteriorated into another Syria. Russia has been supplying more weapons. In fact they did a big deal on weapons, just before the coup. So the reality is this; no single country in this world is indestructible. They are not invincible. Even Russia and China can be persuaded.

But the voice that is needed is the ASEAN voice. When we talk to the UN Security Council, they say, Oh, it is important for the region and the country, to do something, to say something. Well, the country has now broken; now it is important for the region to invite the UN Security Council to partner with them, to do some actions, to halt the violence. This is most urgent.

Within ASEAN, it looks like they are divided. For instance, Malaysia and Indonesia support the Myanmar people but the others do not. Thailand is sitting on the fence. Some observers are saying that ASEAN is divided, and that it would be unprecedented for the bloc to intervene in Myanmars affairs. Whats your view on that?

Well, the brutality of the illegal junta has united the country of Myanmar. Hopefully, it inspires ASEAN to unite and do something. The reality is this: If ASEAN does not have any consensus for unity they are basically telling every potential dictator, every armed group and army in this region to go ahead and have a coup; we are not going to do anything. They are basically encouraging all those forces that will use violence to grab power. They are simply sending a strong encouragement to those [forces]. We already see Myanmar is on fire and the fire is spreading. We do not want to see the whole region engulfed in flames, because no matter how rich some ASEAN countries are, all the economic wealth can just disappear, just like that. Look at what happened to Myanmars economy.



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Myanmar Crisis Poses a Challenge to the ASEAN Way
By Humeyra Pamuk, Trevor Hunnicutt and Arshad Mohammed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as an act of genocide, sources said on Wednesday, a move likely to infuriate Turkey and further strain already frayed ties between the two NATO allies.

The move would be largely symbolic but would mean breaking away from decades of carefully calibrated language from the White House and come at a time when Ankara and Washington are already at loggerheads over a string of issues.

Biden is likely going to use the word "genocide" as part of a statement on April 24 when annual commemorations for the victims are held around the world, three sources familiar with the matter said.

"My understanding is that he took the decision and will use the word genocide in his statement on Saturday," said a source familiar with the matter. Sources cautioned that given the importance of bilateral ties with Turkey, Biden may still choose not to use the term at the last minute.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday told reporters the White House would likely have "more to say" about the issue on Saturday, but declined to elaborate.

The State Department referred queries on the issue to the White House and National Security Council had no comment beyond what Psaki said.

ATROCITIES

A year ago, while still a presidential candidate, Biden commemorated the 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children who lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire and said he would back efforts to recognize those killings as a genocide.

"Today, we remember the atrocities faced by the Armenian people in the Metz Yeghern  the Armenian Genocide. If elected, I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority," he said on Twitter at the time.

Story continues

Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.

For decades, measures recognizing the Armenian genocide stalled in the U.S. Congress and U.S. presidents have refrained from calling it that, stymied by concerns about relations with Turkey and intense lobbying by Ankara.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had established a close bond with former U.S. President Donald Trump, but he has yet to speak to Biden since he became president on Jan. 20.

While Turkish and U.S. officials have held talks since then, the Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Turkey by frequently expressing its discontent over Ankara's human rights track record, and the gap between the two sides over a host of issues including Turkey's purchase of Russian weapons systems and policy differences in Syria remains.

Any move by Biden to recognize the mass killings as a genocide will further harm already strained ties between the NATO allies, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Erdogan discussed the issue with his High Consultations Council, his office said on Thursday.

"Our President has stated that they will continue to defend truths against the so-called Armenian genocide lie and those who support this slander with political motivations," it said.

Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group research and consulting firm, said Biden's expected move reflected the deteriorating relationship between the NATO allies, but Erdogan's response would likely be limited.

"Erdogan is ... unlikely to provoke the U.S. with actions that could further undermine Turkeys weak economy," he said.

In 2019, the U.S. Senate passed a non-binding resolution recognizing the killings as a genocide, in a historic move that deeply angered Turkey.

Representative Adam Schiff and a group of 100 bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to Biden this week urging him to follow through on his campaign pledge and "right decades of wrongs."

(Reporting by Eric Beech, Humeyra Pamuk, Trevor Hunnicutt, Arshad Mohammed and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Michael Perry and Gareth Jones)
In early April, Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae visited a South Carolina prison, performed six songs and testified about his faith.

Fifteen months ago, the event would have been almost unremarkable, but since then, COVID-19 restrictions have prevented Lecrae from hanging out with prisoners, as he had previously done with less social distance after a performance hosted by Prison Fellowship.

We sometimes do it outside the security fence line and maintain that separation with the men or women on the inside, said Prison Fellowship President James Ackerman, describing a Hope Event the ministry held at a correctional facility in Alabama in September.

Lecraes visit this month was a sign that some prisons have begun permitting more in-person religious activities.

As conditions have improved state by state, some correctional facilities and prisons are opening back up for visitors and ministry purposes, Jim Forbes, communications director of Prison Fellowship, said in a statement to Religion News Service.

That comes as Prison Fellowshipthe largest US nonprofit serving incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people and their familiescelebrates Second Chance Month, aimed at raising awareness of the difficulties faced by people with a criminal record.

The virus has spread through correctional facilities, where social distancing is often not an option, infecting prisoners at a rate three times that of Americans outside prison walls, according to a recent report by The New York Times.

Over the past year, nearly all state-run facilities temporarily have halted outside visitors to help slow that spread, according to Prison Fellowships website.

But as vaccines become more widely available and states begin to loosen those restrictions, high-profile Christians like Lecrae, Justin Bieber, and Churchome pastor Judah Smith have been among the first to resume their visits.

Second Chance Month was first recognized by President Donald Trump in 2017. President Joe Biden issued a similar declaration this year, recognizing April as Second Chance Month.

By focusing on prevention, reentry, and social support, rather than incarceration, we can ensure that America is a land of second chances and opportunity for all people, Bidens declaration reads.

Prison Fellowship is celebrating with a number of virtual events, including a prayer service last Saturday and a rebroadcast the following day of its Second Chance Sunday worship service featuring music by musicians from the New York megachurch Hillsong East Coast and a sermon by Pastor Jon Kelly of Chicago West Bible Church. It has also created resources to help churches across the country host their own Second Chance services.

Lecrae is joining the organization for a number of events. Among them is a virtual gala on April 29, where Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy, also is scheduled to speak.

Lecrae, whose father, he has said, was in and out of jail, first got involved with Prison Fellowship in 2019 and has performed at several prisons since then, including the April 2 event in South Carolina.

In a recent interview with Religion News Service, Lecrae said, Knowing that theyre still human, knowing that they have dignity, worth, that God made them, fearlessly and wonderfully made them drew him to prison ministry.

Bieber, whose latest album is titled Justice, reportedly stopped by a California prison in late March at the invitation of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, in the company of his wife, Hailey Baldwin, and Smith. While there, they reportedly spoke with members of the Urban Ministry Institute, a prison seminary program, and Bieber announced that he plans to charter buses so inmates family members who have been kept away by COVID-19 could come to visit them.

It was a life-changing experience that I will never forget, the pop star said in a statement to ABC News Radio. It was such an honor listening to their stories and seeing how strong their faith is.

Evangelical Christians took up prison reform as a cause in the past few decades under the influence of Charles Colson, a former aide to President Nixon, who came to faith while serving seven months in Alabamas Maxwell Prison for Watergate-related crimes.

Colson founded Prison Fellowship in 1976, and the organization has worked with every administration since President Jimmy Carter. It played an instrumental role in crafting the First Step Act, legislation passed in 2018 that focused on reducing recidivism, the number of people who leave prison only to land back in confinement.

More recently Prison Fellowship has supported the proposed Equal Act, which would reduce disparities in cocaine sentences that punish Black Americans more harshly than white Americans.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping (center) and lawmakers stand for the anthem during the closing session of the rubber-stamp legislatures conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on March 11, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

The 5 Things the Chinese Regime Fears Most

Commentary

On April 16, the Hong Kong court officially sentenced key pro-democracy activists who were convicted last month. Most of their sentences are around a year to 18 months in prison. The crime for which the people were found guilty was illegal assembly without permission for a large-scale protest in August 2019 that was attended by hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers.

The crime appears to have no connection with the Hong Kong National Security Law, but many have linked the trial and conviction of the Hong Kong court with the National Security Law imposed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

As fear is the motivation for much of the CCPs domestic and foreign aggression, the Chinese regimes recent behavior in Hong Kong reveals some of its major fears.

Economic Decoupling

On the world stage, the legitimacy of the communist regime in the past three decades has mainly centered on its economic growth and economic potential of its large population. It uses this as bait to manipulate foreign governments and corporations that want a slice of the Chinese market.

The three major driving forces of economic growth are investment, consumption, and exports. Chinas mainlands domestic consumption contributes the least to its own GDP, accounting for only a little more than 40 percent of GDPfar less than the usual 70 percent for most other countries. Foreign trade through exports are massive levers for Chinas GDP.

The CCP system is an administrative-led authoritarian system. The regime controls society in many ways, but in the past two decades, this control has been reflected through Chinas economic operations. The more money the authorities have, the stronger their control over society.

The economic development of mainland China relies on the East Asian model, which is export-oriented. The East Asian model relies on consumption in foreign markets to promote economic growth. This is precisely why former U.S. President Donald Trumps launch of a U.S.-China trade war was terrifying for the CCP.

This is not simply due to the possibility of restraining the American markets dependence on Chinese productsthis action has forced officials in China to reconsider the continuation of the East Asian model in the mainland, which in turn poses a challenge to the structure of the countrys economic growth model.

In light of Trumps trade war and the pandemics effect on the world economy, the CCP has had to take precautions for its future economic development. This is the biggest reason why the CCP has begun to promote self-reliance and internal circulation of Chinese capital. Once the economy contracts, the CCPs government revenue will be under pressure, and its administrative stability maintenance budget will be affected. Without enough money for propaganda and enough incentive to legitimize their authoritarian leadership of China, the regime will be on shaky ground.

Disruption to Technological Exchange With the West

This fear is primarily related to the economy, because the Chinas export-oriented economy has reached its limit, you can only export so many goods. With the development of the world economy at a threshold, the export of simple and cheap goods cannot increase at the pace it has in the past few decades. Therefore, China needs to upgrade the quality of its products to continue increasing its market share. This will require China to seriously upgrade its technology and design innovation.

A screen shows visitors being filmed by artificial intelligence security cameras with facial recognition technology at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on Oct. 24, 2018. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

Technological advancement is also an important factor in the CCPs control over society and maintenance of its military. China is infamous for its draconian use of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and track its citizens.

If scientific and technological exchanges with the West are interrupted, it will severely impact the CCP, especially with regard to its losing the ability to steal intellectual property from foreign countries.

A large number of overseas students from mainland China study and engage in scientific and technological research in European and American universities. In 2020, there were over 370,000 Chinese students studying in the United States. For the CCP, this is an invaluable channel and method of exchange with American science and technology. Now, the United States has not only cut off various high-level academic exchanges but is also considering how to reduce the number of Chinese science and engineering students.

Although China has many outstanding scientific and technological professionals, the current culture inhibits true creativity and innovation, because innovation and creation are inherently incompatible with autocratic and totalitarian systems. If it is impossible to continue to exchange science and technology with foreign countries, then the progress of science and technology under the rule of the CCP will be greatly affected.

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang Independence

The CCP started with Marxism and communism and has always used this as the basic core value for ruling mainland China.

But in reality, since the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong, pure communist ideology has disappeared in the mainland. Only a few senior Party leaders truly believe in Marxist and communist ideology, which has brought an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy to the CCP.

To deal with this crisis, the CCP has since adopted aggressive nationalism to assert its control. This is why Chinese nationalism has continued to rise in the past two decades.

For example, in previous generations of propaganda, the CCP deliberately talked about its victory against the Chinese nationalists to legitimize the CCPs seizure of power. But recently, the CCP has begun to emphasize Chinas historical wars against Japan, boldly claiming that the CCP led Chinas victories over Japan. It is widespread knowledge that it was the Chinese Nationalists who led the war against Japan at the time. To obscure this fact, the CCP changed the historically recorded length of Chinas war against Japan from 8 years to 14 years to include the Pacification of Manchukuo, an insurgency against Japan from Manchu, which was jointly led by the Soviet Communist Party and the CCP in the mid-1930s.

The fervor for mainland Chinese nationalism continuously promoted by the CCP has continued unabated. The Chinese people have begun to view the CCP from the perspective of nationalism and Chinese identity rather than communist ideology.

In 2016, Xi Jinping boldly claimed in a public speech that they will never allow any person, any group, any political party, at any time, in any way, to split from China any part of its territory.

This tough statement is a perfect example of fuel for the rising tide of aggressive nationalism in mainland China.

As a result, in the face of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang affairs, the CCP cannot compromise or show any weakness via concessions. Through its evolution, the CCP has involuntarily taken on the cause of ultra-Chinese nationalism in order to justify its rule, devoid of any of its original communist ideals.

Religious Freedom

In the past decade or so, the CCP has stepped up its suppression of all religions and spiritual beliefs, with a very clear goal: to eliminate any ideological authority other than the CCP. To remain in power, it places controls on what Chinese people can see, do, and believe.

The pillar of a demolished Catholic church is seen in Puyang, in Chinas central Henan Province, on Aug. 13, 2018. The church was demolished to make way for a commercial development. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

The CCP has demolished churches, arrested underground church leaders, and forced Catholic leaders to follow CCP directives that violate Christian principles.

In Tibet, the CCPs main strategy for destroying the Tibetan independence movement was to target Tibetan Buddhism. Police stations were set up inside Tibetan monasteries. Tibetan lamas were forced to study atheism, materialism, and Xi Jinping thought. Those who dissented were arrested and imprisoned without trial.

In Xinjiang, more than one million Uyghurs and other Islamic minorities were arrested and placed in concentration camps for collective brainwashing. The key focus here is still religious ideology. A large number of Muslim imams have been arrested, and various religious books have been destroyed. Any online speech about faith and religion is treated as religious extremism and censored.

The core of the suppression of both Xinjiang and Tibet is religion. In Xinjiang, communist authorities tried to eliminate all religious cultures. These efforts included forcing its adherents to drink alcohol, eat pork, marry Muslim women to Han Chinese men, and carry out forced abortions and sterilizations, all of which violate the basic teachings of Islam. But in the eyes of the CCP, these traditional Muslim practices are manifestations of religious extremism.

For practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline, a special extrajudicial body, much like Nazi Germanys Gestapo, was created called the 610 Office. For the past two decades, Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily arrested and subjected to all manner of physical and mental torture. Those who give in are forced to renounce their faith and declare loyalty to only the CCP and the doctrine of atheism. Those who resist face continued torture and even their organs being harvested and sold on the illicit transplant market to locals and foreigners desperate for an organ replacement.

Religion and personal belief often hold moral authority beyond national and political ideology, posing a serious threat to any totalitarian regime.

Detaching the CCP Label From the Chinese Identity

What the CCP fears most is the truth that the CCP is not China, and the CCP does not represent the Chinese people.

People line up to buy face masks at a drug store in Nanjing in eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province, on Jan. 29, 2020. (Chinatopix via AP)

On Sept. 4, 2020, Xi Jinping delivered a speech to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the victory of Chinas War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The opening of the speech proudly introduced the five no promises of the Chinese regime. According to state-run media Xinhua, they are as follows:

The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to distort the history of the [CCP] or smear the Partys nature and mission. The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to distort and alter the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, or deny and vilify the great achievements the Chinese people have made in building socialism. The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to separate the [CCP] from the Chinese people or counterpose the Party to the Chinese people. The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to impose their will on China through bullying, change Chinas direction of progress, or obstruct the Chinese peoples efforts to create a better life. The Chinese people will never allow any individual or any force to jeopardize their peaceful life and right to development, obstruct their exchanges and cooperation with other peoples, or undermine the noble cause of peace and development for humanity.

The fifth promise highlights the unwillingness of the CCP to decouple from international economies.

Political parties are not equal to the government, and the government is not absolutely representative of the people of any country.

The CCP is not equal to China, and the communist regime is not equal to the Chinese people.

In The Epoch Times editorial series, Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, the CCPs behavior is described as being like that of a possessing spirit.

The non-separation of the Party and the country, the Party and the people, and the Party and the government are the prerequisites and foundations for the CCP to exist in China.

Internally, the Party and its members are very clear. Civil servants must be Party members, and promotions must be given only to Party members. Many jobs are given priority to CCP members. The Chinese are very clear that members of the CCP are the elite.

The day that everyone understands that the CCP does not represent the Chinese people will be the day its end has come. The CCP is not China, and the CCP does not represent the Chinese people.

This understanding was first put forward in official terms by former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a speech. The CCP has since had a deep hatred of Pompeo. His statement struck the CCPs Achilles heel and has the power to completely delegitimize the Chinese communist regime.

Alexander Liao is a columnist and journalist in research on international affairs in the United States, China, and Southeast Asia. He has published a large number of reports, commentaries, and video programs in newspapers and Chinese financial magazines in the United States and Hong Kong.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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April 21, 2021 Transcript of Senator Nancy Binay's interview on CNN Philippines' NEWS NIGHT (hosted by Rico Hizon) Mr. Rico Hizon (Q): Well, the community pantries are back, hopefully for good, with no more red-tagging, securing permits, and filling out these information sheets. Sen. Nancy Binay-Angeles (SNBA): Good evening, Rico. As what I've said, the enemy right now is hunger. And we must commend these community pantries for doing their part in helping our kababayans with this present problem. For me, we should all concentrate on how we will survive this pandemic. The priority should not be about red-tagging or the communist problem, eh. We should prioritize our response with this pandemic. Q: Senator, do you think the root cause of this red-tagging is the insecurity of the government? Because the sprouting of these pantries reflects lapses in government's pandemic response. SNBA: Kasi for me, Rico, at the end of the day, I think government, especially the national government, should realize that they do have lapses, (and) that they cannot really address all the present problems that we are now facing. And kumbaga, all help, all hands on deck should be welcomed. Q: But they're not acknowledging these lapses, Senator Binay. Is this really the best that the national government can do, red-tagging of community pantries, delayed cash aids, delays of vaccine arrivals, poor contact tracing. We are basically, Senator, the laggers just around here in our neighborhood, Southeast Asia. SNBA: That's it, Rico. I think the mere fact that we are not acknowledging the problem is the reason why we are here right now, with the biggest number of Covid cases in Southeast Asia, because we are not acknowledging that we do have a big problem right now. There was a tendency to always put down or not emphasize on the problem, which I think for me was the main reason why the surge happened. They were always trying to play it down, and not really asking or telling the people that "we are here right now, and we all need to do our part in solving this problem." Q: That's right, basically acknowledging that they have some shortcomingsthe national government should I think bring the people even closer together and work together. But there seems to be this blame game. Do not politicize the issue. Do not blame this person. They're not getting to the root of the issue, which is that they have their own mistakes. SNBA: And Rico they should also realize that this is not a competition. This is not about who can help more or who can help better. It's about all of us helping each other at this point. Q: The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives is calling for an investigation in this profiling and red-tagging of community pantries. Are you and your fellow senators also planning to look into it and even question Gen. Antonio Parlade why the profiling and red-tagging, which he has admitted to. SNBA: Well, that is an option that we can do in the Senate. But you know, right now for me, Rico, budget season is coming, we will beI will really make sure that we'll be addressing the budget for NTF-ELCAC. Maybe it's high time that we really review their budget. Q: Thank you so much for your insights and for joining us on NewsNight, Senator Nancy Binay.
New Delhi, April 22 : Islamic scholar and Padma Vibhushan awardee Maulana Wahiduddin Khan passed away due to Covid-19 on Wednesday night.

He was 97 years old and was admitted to a private hospital last week after he had a chest infection and had tested positive for Covid-19 too.

He was founder of the Islamic Centre in New Delhi. He died days after he was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi following coronavirus infection. The Islamic scholar was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2000, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan this year.

He is survived by two daughters and two sons.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
" The quarter was dominated by two main themes. Unfortunately, COVID-19 continued to capture the headlines remaining the major impediment to a return to economic growth in Canada. Government mandated business closures, disruptions to the supply chain, as well as multiple examples of manufacturing capacities being curtailed had a negative impact on freight demand, and our revenues, particularly during the first two months of the year. The frustrating part is that other countries that were more aggressive in addressing how the virus spread and secured vaccines well in advance of Canadian authorities, have seen a sharp rebound in economic activity. Until this situation is rectified, it is difficult to see any recovery in the Canadian economy .

"The second, and more positive point, relates to acquisitions. Since the start of 2021 we have announced two significant transactions, one which closed in April and the other we expect to close in the second quarter. Both companies, Bandstra Transportation Group, based in British Columbia, and APPS Transport Group, based in Ontario, are brand names easily recognizable in the Canadian transportation industry. These are precisely the type of companies we have waited to come to market, reinforcing our patient approach to acquisitions. Not only will we have two new platforms that will accelerate our growth in the near term, these companies when combined with our existing network provide our organization with an excellent opportunity to capture market share growth and enhance our bottom line.

"I am both excited and positive about the future of our company for a couple of reasons. It is only a matter of time before a sharp recovery in the Canadian economy takes place because the necessary conditions, including significant capital resources and consumer pent up demand, are waiting for COVID-19 to be brought under control. And, of course, the opportunities the new acquisitions bring to our company. In addition, I am of the view that the logistics and freight industry are ripe for further consolidation which we will be well positioned to capture, particularly "tuck-in" purchases," commented Mr. Murray K. Mullen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.



Key financial highlights for the first quarter of 2021 with comparison to 2020 are as follows:

HIGHLIGHTS

(unaudited) ($ millions) Three month periods ended March 31 2021 2020 Change

$ $ % Revenue





Less-Than-Truckload 120.7 112.9 6.9 Logistics & Warehousing 91.3 96.2 (5.1) Specialized & Industrial Services 79.3 111.3 (28.8) Corporate and intersegment eliminations (0.8) (2.2) - Total Revenue 290.5 318.2 (8.7) Operating income before depreciation and amortization (1)





Less-Than-Truckload 19.3 13.3 45.1 Logistics & Warehousing 15.9 16.4 (3.0) Specialized & Industrial Services 15.0 17.4 (13.8) Corporate (3.1) (1.9) - Total Operating income before depreciation and amortization (1) 47.1 45.2 4.2 (1) Refer to notes section of Summary







Mullen Group operates a diversified business model combined with a highly adaptable and variable cost structure. The financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2021, are as follows:

generated consolidated revenue of $290.5 million , a decrease of $27.7 million , or 8.7 percent, as compared to $318.2 million in 2020 due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (" COVID-19 ") resulting in:

, a decrease of , or 8.7 percent, as compared to in 2020 due to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (" ") resulting in: an increase of $7.8 million to $120.7 million in the Less-Than-Truckload segment

to in the Less-Than-Truckload segment

a decrease of $4.9 million to $91.3 million in the Logistics & Warehousing segment

to in the Logistics & Warehousing segment

a decrease of $32.0 million to $79.3 million in the Specialized & Industrial Services segment

to in the Specialized & Industrial Services segment earned consolidated operating income before depreciation and amortization (" OIBDA ") of $47 .1 million, an increase of $1.9 million as compared to $45.2 million in 2020 due to cost control initiatives and $6.0 million received from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (" CEWS ") resulting in:

") of .1 million, an increase of as compared to in 2020 due to cost control initiatives and received from the Emergency Wage Subsidy (" ") resulting in: an increase of $6.0 million to $19.3 million in the Less-Than-Truckload segment

to in the Less-Than-Truckload segment

a decrease of $0.5 million to $15.9 million in the Logistics & Warehousing segment

to in the Logistics & Warehousing segment

a decrease of $2.4 million to $15.0 million in the Specialized & Industrial Services segment

First Quarter Financial Results

Revenue decreased by $27.7 million, or 8.7 percent, to $290.5 million and is summarized as follows:

Less-Than-Truckload segment up $7.8 million , or 6.9 percent, to $120.7 million - revenue improved by $7.8 million due to the $5.9 million of incremental revenue generated from the acquisition of Pacific Coast Express Limited (" PCX ") and the steady nature of consumer demand being partially offset by COVID-19 and $0.2 million of lower fuel surcharge revenue.

, or 6.9 percent, to - revenue improved by due to the of incremental revenue generated from the acquisition of Pacific Coast Express Limited (" ") and the steady nature of consumer demand being partially offset by COVID-19 and of lower fuel surcharge revenue. Logistics & Warehousing segment down $4.9 million , or 5.1 percent, to $91.3 million - revenue declined by $4.9 million due to COVID-19 and government restrictions which led to plant closures and supply chain disruptions resulting in lower freight volumes and spot prices along with $1.7 million of lower fuel surcharge revenue.

, or 5.1 percent, to - revenue declined by due to COVID-19 and government restrictions which led to plant closures and supply chain disruptions resulting in lower freight volumes and spot prices along with of lower fuel surcharge revenue. Specialized & Industrial Services segment down $32 .0 million, or 28.8 percent, to $79 .3 million - revenue declined by $32 .0 million due to lower demand for specialized services including large diameter pipeline hauling and stringing services as well as fluid hauling and drilling related services resulting from a decline in the rig count in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Revenue also declined due to lower demand for civil construction services in northern Manitoba at Smook Contractors Ltd.

OIBDA increased by $1.9 million, or 4.2 percent, to $47.1 million and is summarized as follows:

Less-Than-Truckload segment up $6.0 million , or 45.1 percent, to $19.3 million - OIBDA improved due to cost control initiatives, $1.1 million of incremental OIBDA generated by PCX, and CEWS. Operating margin increased to 16.0 percent (CEWS adjusted - 15.2 percent) from 11.8 percent in 2020 due to cost control initiatives.

, or 45.1 percent, to - OIBDA improved due to cost control initiatives, of incremental OIBDA generated by PCX, and CEWS. Operating margin increased to 16.0 percent (CEWS adjusted - 15.2 percent) from 11.8 percent in 2020 due to cost control initiatives. Logistics & Warehousing segment down $0.5 million , or 3.0 percent, to $15.9 million - OIBDA declined due to a $1.3 million negative variance in foreign exchange resulting from the strengthening of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar and a higher cost of subcontractors in certain markets being partially offset by cost control initiatives and CEWS. Operating margin improved to 17.4 percent (CEWS and foreign exchange adjusted - 16.2 percent) from 17.0 percent (CEWS and foreign exchange adjusted - 15.8 percent) in 2020 due to the continued focus on cost controls.

, or 3.0 percent, to - OIBDA declined due to a negative variance in foreign exchange resulting from the strengthening of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar and a higher cost of subcontractors in certain markets being partially offset by cost control initiatives and CEWS. Operating margin improved to 17.4 percent (CEWS and foreign exchange adjusted - 16.2 percent) from 17.0 percent (CEWS and foreign exchange adjusted - 15.8 percent) in 2020 due to the continued focus on cost controls. Specialized & Industrial Services segment down $2.4 million , or 13.8 percent, to $15.0 million - OIBDA declined due to lower OIBDA from those Business Units providing specialized services including pipeline stockpiling and stringing services and from those involved in the transportation of fluids and servicing of wells. Operating margin improved to 18.9 percent (CEWS adjusted - 14.1 percent) from 15.6 percent in 2020 due to CEWS. Adjusted for CEWS, operating margin decreased due to a change in revenue mix.

Net income increased by $8.3 million to $13.0 million, or $0.13 per Common Share due to:

A $2.9 million positive variance in net foreign exchange, a $1.9 million increase in OIBDA, a $1.9 million positive variance in the fair value of investments, a $0 .7 million decrease in depreciation of property, plant and equipment, a $0.6 million decrease in income tax expense, a $0.2 million decrease in finance costs and a $0.2 million increase in the gain on sale of property, plant and equipment.

positive variance in net foreign exchange, a increase in OIBDA, a positive variance in the fair value of investments, a .7 million decrease in depreciation of property, plant and equipment, a decrease in income tax expense, a decrease in finance costs and a increase in the gain on sale of property, plant and equipment. The above was partially offset by a $0.1 million increase in depreciation of right-of-use assets.



A summary of Mullen Group's results for the three month periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 are as follows:

SUMMARY

(unaudited) ($ millions, except per share amounts) Three month periods ended March 31 2021 2020 Change

$ $ % Revenue 290.5 318.2 (8.7)







Operating income before depreciation and amortization(1) 47.1 45.2 4.2 Net foreign exchange (gain) loss (0.1) 2.8 (103.6) Decrease (increase) in fair value of investments (0.4) 1.5 (126.7) Net income 13.0 4.7 176.6 Net Income - adjusted(2) 11.8 9.5 24.2 Earnings per share(3) 0.13 0.04 225.0 Earnings per share - adjusted(2) 0.12 0.09 33.3 Net cash from operating activities 39.0 40.2 (3.0) Net cash from operating activities per share(3) 0.40 0.38 5.3 Cash dividends declared per Common Share 0.12 0.15 (20.0)

Notes: (1) Operating income before depreciation and amortization ("OIBDA") is defined as net income before depreciation of right-of-use assets and of property, plant and equipment, amortization of intangible assets, finance costs, net foreign exchange gains and losses, other (income) expense and income taxes. (2) Net income - adjusted and earnings per share - adjusted are calculated by adjusting net income and basic earnings per share by the amount of any net foreign exchange gains and losses, and the change in fair value of investments. (3) Earnings per share and net cash from operating activities per share are calculated based on the weighted average number of Common Shares outstanding for the period.

Non-GAAP Terms - Mullen Group reports on certain financial performance measures that are described and presented in order to provide shareholders and potential investors with additional measures to evaluate Mullen Group's ability to fund its operations and information regarding its liquidity. In addition, these measures are used by management in its evaluation of performance. These financial performance measures ("Non-GAAP Terms") are not recognized financial terms under Canadian generally accepted accounting principles ("Canadian GAAP"). For publicly accountable enterprises, such as Mullen Group, Canadian GAAP is governed by principles based on IFRS and interpretations of IFRIC. Management believes these Non-GAAP Terms are useful supplemental measures. These Non-GAAP Terms do not have standardized meanings and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Specifically, operating margin, net income - adjusted and earnings per share - adjusted are not recognized terms under IFRS and do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. Management believes these measures are useful supplemental measures. Investors should be cautioned that these indicators should not replace net income and earnings per share as an indicator of performance.

Financial Position

The following summarizes our financial position as at March 31, 2021, along with some key changes that occurred during the first quarter of 2021:

Working capital of $247.1 million including $117.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and an undrawn Bank Credit Facility of $150.0 million .

including of cash and cash equivalents and an undrawn Bank Credit Facility of . Total net debt ( $459.4 million ) to operating cash flow ( $221.2 million ) of 2.08:1 as defined per our Private Placement Debt agreement.

) to operating cash flow ( ) of 2.08:1 as defined per our Private Placement Debt agreement. Private Placement Debt of $458.2 million with no scheduled maturities until 2024 (average fixed rate of 3.93 percent per annum). Private Placement Debt decreased by $3.6 million due to the foreign exchange gain on our U.S. $229.0 million debt.

with no scheduled maturities until 2024 (average fixed rate of 3.93 percent per annum). Private Placement Debt decreased by due to the foreign exchange gain on our U.S. debt. Book value of Derivative Financial Instruments down $3.5 million to $34.4 million , which swaps our $229.0 million of U.S. dollar debt at an average foreign exchange rate of $1.1096 .

to , which swaps our of U.S. dollar debt at an average foreign exchange rate of . Net book value of property, plant and equipment of $932.7 million , which includes $592 .2 million of carrying costs of owned real property.

, which includes .2 million of carrying costs of owned real property. Repurchased 304,028 Common Shares at an average price of $12.21 per share under our normal course issuer bid.



About Mullen Group Ltd.

Mullen Group is one of Canada's largest logistics providers. Our network of independently operated businesses provide a wide range of service offerings including less-than-truckload, truckload, warehousing, logistics, transload, oversized and specialized hauling transportation. In addition, we provide a diverse set of specialized services related to the energy, mining, forestry and construction industries in western Canada, including water management, fluid hauling and environmental reclamation. The corporate office provides the capital and financial expertise, legal support, technology and systems support, shared services and strategic planning to its independent businesses.

Mullen Group is a publicly traded corporation listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MTL". Additional information is available on our website at www.mullen-group.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Contact Information

Mr. Murray K. Mullen - Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President

Mr. P. Stephen Clark - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Richard J. Maloney - Senior Vice President

Ms. Joanna K. Scott - Corporate Secretary & Vice President, Corporate Services

121A - 31 Southridge Drive

Okotoks, Alberta, Canada T1S 2N3

Telephone: 403-995-5200

Fax: 403-995-5296

Disclaimer

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risk factors associated with the oil and natural gas business and the overall economy. Mullen Group believes that the expectations reflected in this news release are reasonable, but results may be affected by a variety of variables. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and Mullen Group disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable Canadian securities laws. Mullen Group relies on litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements. Additional information regarding the forward-looking statements is found on pages 1, 40 and 41 of Mullen Group's Management's Discussion and Analysis.

SOURCE Mullen Group Ltd.

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In a corner of Ukraine once destroyed by human activity, life of another kind has been flourishing.

Wildlife has been thriving for 35 years in the Chernobyl reserve, created around the exclusion zone that's been in place since the town's Soviet-era nuclear plant blew up in 1986.

Denys Vishnevskiy came to work in Chernobyl 20 years ago to observe the restoration of wildlife.

He's now seeking to transform the exclusion zone into a reservoir for biodiversity.

The 43-year-old scientist, who lives and works in Chernobyl town, has been studying nature in the exclusion zone with one of his main areas of focus being on the impact of radiation on animals and their behavior.

The reserve is home to a variety of animals including deer, moose and boar.

Vishnevskiy says the heightened levels of radiation in the area do not seem to have had a critical effect on them.

Due to the absence of human activity, the number of wild animals has increased, a trend he measures records with the help of camera traps.

Vishnevskiy sees his work as a unique opportunity to see how nature changes when humans leave.

In Chernobyl today, he says, nature is moving back in.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) -- President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend the meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 24, his spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday, over COVID-19 pandemic concerns.

I think yung issue lang po talaga is yung could it be face-to-face, or could it be virtual? Marami rin pong mga hindi makakarating na heads of state from ASEAN personally, Roque said in a Palace media briefing.

[Translation: I think the only issue is could it be face-to-face, or could it be virtual? Several others heads of state from ASEAN will also not be able to attend personally.]

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was designated as Duterte's representative to the leaders' meeting, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, it explained the President decided to skip the meeting to attend pressing domestic concerns in light of the surge in infections.

"The Philippines strongly supported the convening of the meeting even without the full attendance of all ASEAN leaders, the DFA said.

The President, through Secretary Locsin, will convey the Philippines' commitment to ASEAN's collective efforts in addressing threats and challenges to peace and stability in the region, it added.

ASEAN heads of state will convene to discuss urgent regional matters such as the political crisis in Myanmar. Other discussion points include pandemic recovery efforts, community building measures, the DFA said.

READ: PH to 'strongly support' efforts to resolve Myanmar crisis in ASEAN summit  DFA
We are called by our faith, informed by science, and led by our relationships with impacted communities to respond with renewed urgency.

In the first net-zero commitment of its kind, a group of agencies of The United Methodist Church (UMC) today released a joint statement, Our Climate Commitment to Net-Zero Emissions. The collaborative, multi-institution statement pledges to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the organizations ministries, facilities, operations and investments by 2050. Net-zero describes the process by which human-caused greenhouse gas emissions can be balanced, or netted out, by removing emissions from the atmosphere.

The statement acknowledges that the UMC has long affirmed our individual and collective responsibility to address the unfolding climate crisis. In light of these values, the group said it was called by our faith, informed by science, and led by our relationships with impacted communities to respond urgently.

Todays commitment supports collective climate action  in partnership with the UMC, the broader faith-based community and all others with net-zero ambitions. Agencies will explore these climate efforts with a focus on supporting an equitable transition and new ways of ministry that better embody Gods vision of justice for Gods people and Gods planet.

The statement is endorsed by 11 General Secretaries and agencies:



Additional UMC agencies are also actively considering endorsing the statement.

The commitment comes at a time of growing climate action around the globe. Following the U.S. decision to reenter the Paris Climate Agreement, nine of the worlds 10 largest economies have stated ambitions to become carbon neutral. Meanwhile, corporate commitments to achieve net-zero have tripled in the last year.

Todays announcement coincides with Earth Day, an international celebration of the planet, as well as the Biden Administrations virtual Leaders Summit on Climate  a meeting of world leaders focused on climate action leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November.

Agencies will work together in the coming months to solidify actions and strategies associated with the statement.
| By Lou Cortina

For the second year in a row, the University of Maryland, Baltimores (UMB) Employee Recognition and Service Awards event was held virtually because of COVID-19, but this year some fun, games, and video tributes were added to the April 20 program on Zoom.

(From left) Aly Kwon, Rachel Laufer, and Josh Hiscock

The University handed out the annual Cecil S. Kelly Memorial Employee of the Year Award, James T. Hill Scholarship, and Community Service Award while recognizing employees who celebrated service milestones in 2020, including one 50-year employee. The ceremony featured videotaped congratulations from UMB deans and administration leaders, reflections from three longtime employees, and an online game of Kahoot for attendees featuring trivia questions about movies, sports, music, UMB, and more.

UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS; Juliet Dickerson, MS, interim associate vice president, Human Resource Services (HRS); and Mark Emmel, MAS, director of organization and employee development, HRS, presided over the program, with help from University Events and Protocol and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Attendees offered congrats and shout-outs in the chat box, adding personal touches to the annual event that before COVID-19 featured lunch and a festive get-together at Westminster Hall.

Our University is so fortunate to have a staff with such dedication, energy, and drive, Jarrell said in his opening remarks. Its been an exceptionally difficult year for everyone, and Im so proud of the creativity and resilience of our staff. Im sorry that we couldnt come together to celebrate in person, but that doesnt diminish the contributions you have made to UMB over the years.

There is enormous value in the kind of deep institutional knowledge this group represents. You know the Universitys strengths and challenges, our history and traditions, our culture and climate. You are the ones whom colleagues seek out when they need the impossible. And during the past year, you have done the impossible.

(See or download the event program.)

Cecil S. Kelly Memorial Employee of the Year Award



Aly Kwon, MS, regulatory affairs specialist for the University of Maryland School of Medicines (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), stepped up in a big way in early 2020 after a colleague resigned, leading to her recognition as UMBs Employee of the Year.

Kwon, who works with ethics committees to get approvals for domestic clinical trials and monitors them as they continue, took on the additional task of overseeing the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, essentially doing a second job for five months.

VTEU is a large federal contract that has 18 active task orders, totaling over $22 million in direct costs, according to Kwons supervisor, James Campbell, MD, MS, professor of pediatrics and chief of the pediatric clinical trials program at CVD.

Campbell said there was panic when the previous VTEU manager resigned, but it quickly subsided thanks to Kwon volunteering her services to keep the program running.

During those five months, not one deliverable was missed. Not one report went in late. There was no interruption in the functioning of the VTEU program, he said. And there was no slide in Alys normal everyday regulatory work. She accomplished this voluntarily, without complaint of the extra stress this was adding to her life, and always with a smile on her face.

The award, which comes with a $1,500 bonus, is presented to an employee who exemplifies the qualities of service, humanity, and commitment that Kelly exhibited during his career on UMBs facilities staff from 1966 to 1989.

Kwon said she was shocked to have won the award, given the accomplishments of her fellow nominees who were all UMB Employees of the Month in 2020, and plans to put her prize money toward a much-needed vacation with her husband and children.

This honor is amazing, Kwon said. Im just a small cog in a very big machine at CVD, and I want to thank my colleagues Brenda Dorsey, Lisa Chrisley, Carey Martin, Dr. James Campbell, and Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, our fearless CVD leader.

James T. Hill Scholarship

This years recipient, Rachel Laufer, MPH, lead research analyst at CVD, prides herself on finding new avenues for learning and professional development.

In 2019, she attended the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Network (ReSViNET) conference in Ghana to present her masters thesis, A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of RSV Preventive Interventions in Mali, to global experts in public health. RSV is a major childhood disease responsible for more than 60,000 deaths in children under 5 every year worldwide, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. The presentation helped attract funding support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the nonprofit PATH.

In 2020, she attended the Summer Institute in Statistics and Modeling in Infectious Diseases (SISMID) hosted by the University of Washington, taking three courses, each focused on a different aspect of modeling disease dynamics. She plans to attend the 2021 event as well.

Rachel is an extraordinarily talented member of my team, with demonstrated commitment to excellence in her work and to continuous improvement of her professional skills, said Meagan Fitzpatrick, PhD, assistant professor at UMSOM and faculty member at CVD. She has demonstrated an uncommon thirst for knowledge and unwavering drive, seizing on the unique opportunities for professional development that are offered by the University.

The James T. Hill Scholarship will afford me the opportunity to enroll in valuable courses from SISMID and learn advanced techniques in mathematical modeling that will better prepare me not only for my current position, but also for the rest of my career in global health, Laufer said.

The $2,000 scholarship was established to support the Universitys commitment to staff development in recognition of James T. Hills long and outstanding service to the University as well as his personal commitment to the professional development of UMB employees.

Community Service Award

This award recognizes employees who are active in local community service organizations or who have a long history of service on the local, national, and international levels. Josh Hiscock, PhD, MA, fits the bill on both fronts.

Hiscock, executive director of annual giving and alumni relations at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD), is passionate about serving the community, volunteering over 25 hours a month with the Kiwanis Club of Ellicott City. He joined Kiwanis, a global service organization that works to strengthen communities and serve children, in 2010 and has served in several leadership roles with the Howard County club including president in 2017-2018.

He also is a longtime volunteer with Key Club International, mentoring and advising young leaders in the student-led high school service organization that is sponsored by Kiwanis. On the international level, Hiscock is chair of a seven-member Visionary Leadership Team creating a leadership development program for the 180,000-plus members of Kiwanis in 80 nations around the world.

In fall 2019, Hiscock founded a service initiative titled Backpacks for Breaks, which addresses food insecurity in Howard County, specifically at two schools in Columbia with low-income students. The past two Decembers, the program provided backpacks filled with food for students to eat during winter break, when free and reduced-price lunches are unavailable. In total, Backpacks for Breaks provided nearly 6,400 meals.

Hiscock coordinated with the Howard County Public School System staff to raise funds, purchase food, find volunteers, manage logistics, and secure news media coverage of the effort, which was the subject of articles in The Baltimore Sun, Howard County Times, and Columbia Flier.

I saw a way for our club to make a meaningful difference and knew that we had to act, Hiscock said. We wanted to alleviate the stress on families so that kids could just be kids and enjoy their school breaks without worrying where their next meal would come from.

Giving back to the community is important to me and has been a consistent passion in my life since high school, he added. Its inspiring to work for an institution that values community engagement and service, and its an honor to be recognized by UMB and its leaders. We all have an opportunity to make an impact on the lives of others, and awards like this amplify the importance of each of us taking time to collaboratively address the needs of individuals and communities around us.

50 Years and Other Milestones

UMB annually recognizes employees who have hit service milestones in five-year increments between 20 and 50 years. In 2020, there were 121 such employees whose service time to the University totaled 3,115 years. One of them celebrated 50 years at UMB: Carol Stillwell, executive administrative assistant in UMSODs Division of Pediatric Dentistry.

Stillwell started at UMB in 1970 as a secretary at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and quickly shifted to a role in the UMB central office before joining UMSOD, where she has worked for the past 30 years. She is retiring at the end of April.

What Ive liked most about working at UMB is the camaraderie among our employees and that the people Ive worked with all appreciate each other, Stillwell said. I love it here at the School of Dentistry. Seriously, I really love it. The people here are wonderful. Everyone manages to get along.

Employees who celebrated milestones of 40 or 45 years in 2020 are:

45 years: Paula Barkon , Center for Information Technology Services, UMB; Catherine Brown , UMSOM; Deborah Horstman , UMSOD; Nolene Taylor , University of Maryland School of Nursing; Darlene Watkins , UMSOD.

, Center for Information Technology Services, UMB; , UMSOM; , UMSOD; , University of Maryland School of Nursing; , UMSOD. 40 years: Sharon Bowser, UMSOM; James Gardner, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy; Bryan Soronson, UMSOM; Mary Travers, UMSOD; Lynn Vogelsang, UMSOM.

UMB also announced during the program that Lei Zhang, PhD, research associate, UMSOM, was nominated for the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents Staff Award, the highest honor bestowed by the board for achievements of staff employees from institutions within USM. Winners will be announced later this spring.

Jen Badie contributed to this article.
Minneapolis, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :The conviction of a white officer for George Floyd's murder raised hopes Wednesday in the Black community of a historic turning point in US justice, but the police killing of another African American cast a shadow over prospects for change.

Derek Chauvin, led from a Minneapolis courtroom in handcuffs Tuesday after being found guilty of all charges, faces up to 40 years in prison for killing Floyd by kneeling on the unarmed man's neck for more than nine minutes.

The crime was recorded by a bystander whose video shocked the world, triggering mass protests across the United States and beyond, while also prompting a national reckoning on racial injustice and police brutality.

"But only with the passage of time will we know if the guilty verdict in the trial... is the start of something that will truly change America and the experience of Black Americans," Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd, the family's most outspoken member, wrote in a Washington Post opinion column.

"It's up to all of us to build on this moment." At the Minneapolis intersection where George Floyd was killed, now a makeshift memorial, resident Helena Sere was "overwhelmed" in the aftermath of the guilty verdict but felt it stopped short of justice for Floyd.

"Justice would be being able to bring him back," the 40-something African American told AFP. "But I would say the officer was made accountable for his actions, and I hope that's the beginning of change." But with Sere and other Americans expressing relief that a rogue officer faced his due -- and as President Joe Biden said the conviction could mark "a giant step forward in the march towards justice in America" -- another instance emerged of police using lethal force.

Authorities in Ohio released body camera footage of an officer fatally shooting a 16-year-old Black girl, Ma'Khia Bryant, who appeared to be lunging with a knife at another girl.

"As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting," the Floyd family's lawyer Ben Crump tweeted Tuesday.

Police in Ohio's largest city urged against a rush to judgment in the case, in which an officer shot Bryant 11 seconds after exiting his car.

"Deadly force can be the response the officer gives" when they are confronted with someone employing such force against another person, Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods told reporters when asked whether the officer should have used other means to de-escalate the confrontation.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki lamented the "tragic" shooting as she described a disturbing pattern in which "police violence disproportionately impacts Black and Latino people." Another fatal police shooting of a Black man, Andrew Brown, happened Wednesday in the state of North Carolina during an investigation. The exact circumstances of the deadly incident were under investigation.

While the Chauvin trial progressed in Minneapolis, the Midwestern city was rocked by the fatal police shooting Sunday of 20-year-old African American Daunte Wright.

A memorial service was set for Thursday in Minneapolis, with civil rights leader Al Sharpton delivering a eulogy.
Millions of lockdown-weary Britons are waiting with baited breath for ministers to reveal their 'green list' of countries ahead of holidays resuming from May 17.

The Government is expected to unveil its traffic light system on May 7, when destinations will be categorised by varying degrees of quarantine restrictions.

Those awarded green list status, where returning travellers will not have to self-isolate, will automatically become prime getaway locations.

But despite craving tourists to revive their flagging economy, typical British favourites such as France and Spain could be set to miss out.

Paul Charles, boss of the PC Travel Agency, said today the green list will instead likely include countries Israel, Barbados, Morocco, Maldives, Seychelles, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda.

Portugal could also be a rare European addition to the green list after wrestling cases right down.

Vaccine passports have been hailed as key to unlocking foreign travel this summer, with many countries ready to welcome people who've had both doses without tests.

Yet it is the toughened UK self-isolation restrictions facing returning holidaymakers that will likely sway their choice of destination.

One Government source said: 'Youve got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are.

'We will have that green, amber, red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?'

Below MailOnline drills down into the countries that are likely to receive green status - and the holidaymaker favourites that will likely be overlooked.

Experts from the PC Agency believe most of Europe will be amber not green (data from April 15)

THE COUNTRIES EXPECTED TO GO ON THE 'GREEN LIST'

Portugal

Vaccinated: 20% Daily cases: 4.7/100,000 Weekly change: -11%

Border controls: None currently, expect to be asked for proof of vaccinations or negative test

Portugal is steadily resuming normal life after weeks of restrictions has successfully brought cases right down.

In January the country locked down in the jaws of then the world's worst surge in cases that at its peak saw 12,000 people - of its 10million population - catching the virus at day.

Daily cases have now plateaued at around 500 - 47 per million - while deaths are in single digits.

A fifth of the population has now also been vaccinated, and the most vulnerable seven per cent have received both doses.

Restaurants, museums, shops, gyms and malls have all now reopened after months starved of income.

Such a hit to the economy means Portugal is enthusiastic about welcoming back British tourists, who typically flock to the Algarve by the thousands each summer.

Tourism minister Rita Marquez said she looked forward to Britons flying over from May 17, provided they show proof they've been vaccinated or have tested negative.

She told the Today programme: 'We hope to welcome all British holidaymakers from May 17.

'Holidaymakers can present to Portuguese authorities a certification that testifies they are vaccinated or have immunisation to the virus of they have a negative Covid test. It will be very straightforward process.'

Last month the country was removed from the red list, which was greeted by Portuguese officials.

Tui is currently advertising package holidays to a host of seaside resorts in the Algarve from as early as May 17.

Portugal is enthusiastic about welcoming back British tourists, who typically flock to the Algarve by the thousands each summer (Alvor beach pictured)

Dubai

Vaccinated: 51% Daily cases: 19.2/100,000 Weekly change : -1.3%

Border controls: Must arrive with proof of negative test within 72 hours

The United Arab Emirates is one of the world leading countries by vaccination rates, having jabbed more than half of its population.

Cases are also declining and daily deaths - which have been kept remarkably low, totalling 1,561 during the entire pandemic - have dropped to an average of around three per day.

Dubai, the UAE's biggest city, is expected to allow British tourists to return when they are given the green light to travel from the UK government, given how relaxed it was about Love Island influences flying there during the winter wave.

In February Dubai closed all bars, clubs and lounges for a month to tackle a spike in cases, but they have since reopened.

The city has been open for tourists since July 2020, with visitors required to take a PCR test 72 hours before arrival, and again on arrival in Dubai.

Industry chiefs are confident British tourists will be able to book holidays in the gulf shortly.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, told an event last month: 'The progress that's being made in the US, Israel (and) the UK gives us hope that life will start to assume some sort of normality.

'I think there are some strong indications that over the next few weeks, things will move very quickly.'

Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Travel Agency, reckons Dubai will be open for travel by July 31, along with neighboring Doha and Abu Dhabi.

Malta

Vaccinated: 44% Daily cases: 9.2/100,000 Weekly change: -22%

Border controls: Expected to open 1 June. Currently 14 day quarantine, arrive with negative PCR test and be retested on arrival

All the numbers are trending in the right direction Malta, paving the way for summer holidays in one of the Queen and the late Prince Philip's treasured island bolthole.

The archipelago with a population of only half a million people has indicated it will allow fully vaccinated Britons to fly there from June 1.

A negative PCR test certificate 72 hours prior to, or on arrival, is also likely to be accepteable.

Last month Malta Tourism Authority UK and Ireland director Tolene Van Der Merwe said: 'Malta is a very popular destination for British holidaymakers and is a key contributor to Malta's economy, so we are excited to welcome back fully vaccinated travellers from the United Kingdom from 1 June 2021.

'The people of Malta are looking forward to tourists returning who have loved our sunshine, culture, food and warm spirit year in year out.

'Malta has implemented its 'Sunny and Safe' Covid protocols, so visitors can be reassured that all restaurants, accommodation and service providers must comply with the highest levels of cleanliness and safety.'

And Malta's tourism and consumer protection minister Clayton Bartolo added: 'The health and safety of Maltese citizens and tourists will always be our top priority, and with the continued rollout of the vaccine here in Malta, this focused reopening plan is designed to slowly and safely reopen tourism to fully vaccinated Britons.'

Barbados

Vaccinated: 24% Daily cases: 2.6/100,000 Weekly change: 8%

Border controls: Visitors tested on arrival and must quarantine for 5 days

Stringent rules for overseas arrivals have helped keep overall cases below 4,000 in Barbados.

But from May 8 restrictions will be eased for visitors to the Caribbean holiday favourite with both doses of Covid vaccines.

They will still have to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test result three days prior to travel, a vaccination certificate, and have a PCR test completed at arrival at the airport.

However they will not have to spend at least five days self-isolating in approved accommodation, as per non-vaccinated tourists.

Barbados Tourism Marketing said these measures 'are likely to change' as the pandemic wanes.

But Such strict measures could deter holidaymakers who have not had both doses.

Nevertheless, an infection rate of just 2.6 per 100,000 should see Barbados make the green list.

Moreover Barbados has had a successful vaccine programme, with nearly a quarter of the population having received a first dose of the AstraZeneca jab.

Seychelles

Vaccinated: 68% Daily cases: 55/100,000 Weekly change: 21%

Border controls: Arrive with proof of negative PCR test taken with 72 hours

With a tiny island population of less than 100,000, the Seychelles have strode ahead with vaccinations and jabbed more than two-thirds of its citizens.

Currently there are an average 54 cases a day on the island, and the country has not recorded any deaths in some days.

It's small population means that its cases per 100,000 can appear worrying, but that's because just a handful of cases can have a sizeable shift in the numbers.

Last month the Seychelles opened its borders for tourists, with foreign affairs and tourism minister Sylvestre Radegonde citing the country's 'aggressive' inoculation drive as the key to unlocking.

He said: 'Our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery. The measures being announced reflect broadly the recommendation of our tourism partners and have been done in full consultation with and the endorsement of our health authorities.'

The Seychelles boasts some of the world's most idyllic beauty spots, with golden sands and clear blue seas.

The Seychelles boasts some of the world's most idyllic beauty spots, with golden sands and clear blue seas

Holiday favourites that hang in the balance...

France

Vaccinated: 19% Daily cases 47/100,000 Weekly change: -27%

Border controls: Seven-day quarantine, arrive with proof of negative test

After falling foul of the EU's bungled jab rollout - and President Macron's scepticism of the AstraZeneca vaccine - France is now making headway and has nearly inoculated a fifth of its population.

Like much of Europe it recently grappled with a devastating third wave, and although it appears to be past the peak, it is unlikely to make the UK's green list at first.

Paul Charles predicts it will be on the amber list under the UK's traffic light system.

It means travellers would require proof of a negative PCR test before arriving in Britain, take two further tests after returning and undergo a 10-day quarantine at home.

While this could pave the way for cross-Channel getaways, Macron this week appeared to suggest millions of vaccinated UK holidaymakers could be prevented from visiting France this summer.

A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past cafe terrace with chairs stacked outside a restaurant, in Paris

Unveiling France's travel strategy, the President said that Americans and Europeans could come if they have been jabbed or have proof of a negative coronavirus test result - without specifying if Britons would be included in the continental passport regime.

Responding to the announcement, travel bosses slammed Macron's 'incredibly disappointing' move and said it made 'no sense' to cut off vaccinated Britons while allowing unvaccinated Americans and Europeans to visit.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Steven Freudmann, Chairman of the Institute of Travel & Tourism and former President of ABTA, suggested the ploy is 'politically motivated and not guided by the scientific reality'.

He also pointed out that UK tourism is an incredible boon to the French economy, with statistics showing that British holidaymakers spent more than 5billion while visiting the country during 2017.

Spain

Vaccinated: 21% Daily cases: 18/100,000 Weekly change: -2%

Border controls: Hopes to open this summer. Currently closed to non-residents

Spain's tourism minister today said the country is 'desperate to welcome' UK visitors this summer.

Fernando Valdes told Sky News: 'I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we'll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.'

He added that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have been vaccinated or recently tested are 'going to help us'.

Tourism in Spain - the world's second-most visited country before the pandemic - fell 80 per cent last year and the country wants visitors back fast.

November: Spanish beaches are typically crammed with tourists soaking up the sun (Barcelona pictured)

March: But like much of Europe it has grappled with a third wave (Magaluf pictured)

But Spain's chances of being on the British government's green list hangs in the balance, with Paul Charles predicting it will probably be amber.

While the country has now given vaccines to 21 per cent of its population, its case rate is still much higher than the UK's.

The rolling seven-day average for daily cases was yesterday more than 8,000, compared with around 2,000 for Britain.

However it is understood that Spain's Canary Islands - a holiday hotspot - could be included on the green list because of the low level of cases.

Croatia

Vaccinated: 15% Daily cases 53/100,000 Weekly change: 10%

Border controls: Negative test taken within 48 hours

Croatia is one of a clutch of countries to have mooted using vaccine passports as a way to save foreign travel this summer.

But with a low vaccination rate and cases rising rapidly, the European holiday favourite will likely be overlooked for green list status.

After a huge spike in January, the country is in the teeth of an aftershock and yesterday recorded 2,000 more cases.

The R rate is also estimated to be at 1.18, meaning infections are rising.

However the country is still hoping to lure visitors to its beautiful beaches and vibrant tourist spots this summer.

Arrivals who have been vaccinated, recovered from Covid or had a negative PCR test will be able to go to Croatia for holidays.

Nikolina Brnjac, the country's tourism minister, said: 'EU citizens, as well as non-EU citizens, who have either recovered or been vaccinated or have a negative PCR or EU-approved antigen test, will be able to enter Croatia for tourist reasons.

'We have intensified preparations for the upcoming tourist year; we are arranging additional points for testing in tourist places in order to make our tourists' stay in the Republic of Croatia as pleasant and safe as possible.'
The Realme brand is known not only for its affordable handsets but also for its massive engagement with fans and users around the world. We have just received a press release from the company, announcing the launch of the second global wallpaper design contest.

Users, designers and design students from all over the world will be able to compete and create wallpapers for the Realme 8 5G smartphone, and the best ones will grab cash rewards of up to $10,000, as well as internships at the Realme offices.

The global contest has already opened, and weve provided a link in the Source below. It is ending on June 21, 2021, and Realme users from all over the globe can cast their votes for the best design. The top 200 choices will then be reviewed by a panel of designers and Realme executives, including Naoto Fukusawa, Realmes Product Design Director, the Korean graphic designer Grafflex, Madhav Sheth, CEO at Realme, and others.

The judges will be reviewing the applications and whether they are based on the creativity and storytelling around the core theme - Realmes slogan Dare to leap. There will be 53 winners, with their work announced on July 12, 2021.

This is the second time Realme is doing such a contest. The first one attracted over 7,500 wallpaper designs by over 5,500 participants from China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Spain, the press release reads. The voting process also gathered a buzz, with over 138,000 Realme users casting their vote.

Chase Xu, Realme CMO, has said Realme is a young brand with a strong focus on trendsetting designs and the contest encourages people to explore their visual environment and unleash their artistic potential.

Source
Wonderla Holidays announced the closure of its Bangalore park till 4th May, or until further notice following the government directive due to the rising Covid cases in Karnataka.

The state government is taking all possible precautions to contain Covid 19 across the state due to the steep spike in the number of cases in Karnataka.

The announcement was made on Wednesday, 21 April 2021, when stock markets were shut on account of Ram Navami. Shares of Wonderla Holidays rose 0.85% to settle at Rs 178.60 on Tuesday, 20 April 2021.

The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 234.5 on 10 March 2021. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 104.95 on 19 May 2020.

Wonderla Holidays operates three amusement parks in Kochi, Bangalore and Hyderabad under the brand name Wonderla.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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After the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) expired along with its mandate for employers to provide paid sick leave, state and local lawmakers stepped in to fill the gap. Their efforts have created a hodgepodge of temporary mandates requiring employers to pay workers who are sick, need to isolate or quarantine, or are seeking COVID-19 testing or vaccination. This article is the first in a series that explores employers' state paid-sick-leave obligations during the pandemic and beyond.





The COVID-19 pandemic added another layer of compliance challenges for California employers as they navigate paid-sick-leave mandates at the state and local level.

Many now face overlapping requirements. The FFCRA required certain public employers and private businesses with fewer than 500 employees to provide COVID-19-related leave through the end of 2020. Although the federal mandate has expired, employers that voluntarily provide such leave are eligible for tax credits through Sept. 30. Employers with workers in California, however, still may be required to provide paid sick leave under a statewide mandate and local ordinances.

"Many localities  implemented their own local emergency paid-sick-leave ordinances to address absences related to COVID-19 and have extended or will extend them this year," noted Jason Geller and Abby Harrington, attorneys with Fisher Phillips in San Francisco. Although most of these emergency laws provide up to two weeks of paid leave, other details may vary, including whether small or large businesses are covered, the reasons for which leave may be taken and the expiration date of the ordinance. Even employers with one worksite may have to comply with multiple ordinances if their employees are working remotely from other locations.

Here are the temporary rules that California employers must track and administer as the coronavirus crisis continues.

Statewide Leave Expanded

California lawmakers recently extended and expanded a COVID-19 paid-sick-leave law, which applies retroactively to Jan. 1 and expires on Sept. 30. Previous mandates covered food-sector workers and businesses with 500 or more employees, but the new law, SB 95, applies to employers with at least 25 employees.



Employees are eligible for leave if they are "unable to work or telework" for one of the following reasons:

The employee must quarantine or isolate under an order or guidelines from certain state or local authorities or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The employee has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine.

The employee has an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The employee is ill after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and cannot work or telework.

The employee has COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis.

The employee is caring for a covered family member who needs to quarantine or isolate.

The employee is caring for a child whose school or child care facility is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises.



 Covered Relatives Under Californias SB 95 In addition to an eligible employee, Californias COVID-19 supplemental paid-sick-leave law covers the following relatives: The employees child, including a biological, adopted or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.

The employees (or the employees spouses or registered domestic partners) parent, including a biological, adoptive or foster parent; stepparent; or legal guardian. The law also covers a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.

The employees spouse or registered domestic partner.

The employees grandparent, grandchild or sibling. Source: California Department of Industrial Relations.

Eligible employees may receive up to 80 hours of leave under SB 95. Employers can't require workers to use other paid-leave accruals first, and the time allowed under the COVID-19 supplemental paid-sick-leave law is in addition to accruals under the state's regular paid-sick-leave mandate. However, leave may run concurrently for COVID-19-related reasons that are also covered under local mandates.

Employers should note that the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (known as Cal/OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard requiring employers to pay workers who are excluded from the workplace because of a potential COVID-19 outbreak or exposure. However, employers may require covered workers to exhaust their COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave before providing additional paid leave.

Local Laws Vary

At least 11 local jurisdictions in California have COVID-19 paid-sick-leave laws: Long Beach, the city and county of Los Angeles, Oakland, the city and county of Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County.

"They were originally enacted last year as gap-fillers in response to the federal FFCRA, which generally applied to employers with fewer than 500 employees," explained Kayla Cox, an attorney with Littler in Sacramento, Calif. Therefore, many of California's local COVID-19 paid-leave laws initially only applied to employers with 500 or more employees.

Like the statewide mandate, however, many city and county ordinances were expanded to cover all employers.

For example, a 2020 supplemental paid-sick-leave law in Los Angeles County applied to employers with a nationwide headcount of at least 500 employees. Expanded coverage started on Jan. 1 and applies to all employers in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Employees are not eligible for additional leave under the new local ordinance if they already used their leave allowance under FFCRA or the prior Los Angeles County ordinance.

The city of Los Angeles also has a COVID-19 supplemental paid-sick-leave ordinance, which was expanded on Feb. 10 to cover employees who have been working for their employer for at least 60 days and can't work or telework for certain pandemic-related reasons. The ordinance applies to businesses with at least 500 employees in the city or 2,000 employees nationwide.

As with the statewide law, many local COVID-19 paid-leave ordinances provide that employees may use COVID-19 paid leave before using other accrued paid time off. They also provide that employees may voluntarily choose to use other accrued time off provided by an employer before using COVID-19 paid leave, but an employer cannot require an employee to do so.

"Additionally, many local COVID-19 paid-leave laws provide offsets," Cox said. For example, Santa Rosa's law provides that to the extent federal or state law requires employers to provide paid leave or paid sick time specifically related to COVID-19, an employer may substitute leave under the federal or state law for their obligations under Santa Rosa's local ordinance if the obligations coincide and the relevant federal or state law permits such concurrent paid leave.

"However, employers are required to provide additional paid sick leave under Santa Rosa's local ordinance to the extent that the ordinance's requirements exceed the requirements of those laws," Cox explained.

SHRM Resource Hub Page

Coronavirus and COVID-19



Tracking Leave Entitlements



Guillermo Tello, an attorney with Clark Hill in Los Angeles, recommended that employers audit where employees are performing remote work during the pandemic. "If an employee needs time off for a COVID-related reason, you need to identify which local laws apply to that individual.

"That's the starting point," he noted. "The next challengenow that you know where the work is being performedis identifying the local COVID-related leave law and ensuring that you stay informed and track what the law covers and when it expires."

Charles Thompson, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in San Francisco, suggested that employers designate a specific person in the organization to be responsible for monitoring COVID-19-related developments. Smaller businesses may want to reach out to an external source, such as a law firm or HR consultant, to help them comply, he said.

Certain pandemic-related restrictions will be gradually lifted as vaccines become more widely available. But Mark Phillips, an attorney with Reed Smith in Los Angeles, said some California rules and programs will remain in place for the foreseeable future. "So employers should exercise caution and not assume that employee protections and leave laws have become less complicated as the pandemic seems to lessen."


At a time when Manitobans are heading to provincial parks in massive numbers to escape pandemic boredom, the government has set up a fund to improve them.

At a time when Manitobans are heading to provincial parks in massive numbers to escape pandemic boredom, the government has set up a fund to improve them.

On Thursday, Premier Brian Pallister announced a $20-million endowment fund to be managed by the Winnipeg Foundation.

"I've never seen as many people at Beaudry Park, and a number of our other parks, as I have in this past year with COVID," said the premier during a news conference held at the park.

"Our parks have helped in many ways to help Manitobans get through stress, the anxiety, the mental health issues that are real through this COVID pandemic."

The principal amount of the fund would remain intact for perpetuity and generate about $1 million annually to pay for development of trails and boardwalks to restoring habitat, enhancing campgrounds and maintaining roads.

Private donations could be matched by the fund, Pallister said.

"This latest fund collaboration means we can all continue to see improvements in our provincial park system and share in the great outdoor opportunities Manitoba parks present," Rick Frost, the foundation's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

The fund is an exciting initiative, Conservation Minister Sarah Guillemard said, adding the annual funding isn't intended to replace government funding.

"Our parks are not for sale and our government is pleased to invest in long-term sustainability in our provincial parks which will ensure they remain treasured public assets for all Manitobans," she said.

The fund is a positive first step for the provincial government in recognizing the importance of parks and the need for additional investment in services, but it must do more, said Ron Thiessen of the Manitoba chapter of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

"Manitobans need more campsites, trails and opportunities to enjoy nature," he said. "Unfortunately, the government has not yet committed to any targets for expanding park services. We are disappointed that todays announcement did not include a commitment to establish new parks and protected areas as this is desperately needed to meet growing public demand, to conserve threatened species and to mitigate the impacts of climate change."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
 Flash

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who turns 95 on Wednesday, gave her birthday message to thank the public for the "support and kindness" to her family and herself after the death of her husband, Prince Philip.

The Queen's birthday, which comes a few days after the late prince's April 17 funeral, was marked in a low-key, private way, as there was no public celebrations when the monarch continues to observe two weeks of mourning until Friday.

Traditional gun salutes to mark the Queen's birthday have been cancelled for the second consecutive year.

In a statement published on the royal family Twitter account, the Queen said she has received and appreciated many messages of good wishes on her 95th birthday.

"While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world."

"My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days," the statement said.

The funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 at the age of 99, was held last Saturday in Windsor in line with the country's public health guidelines.
[April 22, 2021] Serious Labs Announces Development of Virtual Reality Driving Simulator with Support from Government Partners

Innovative VR Commercial Driving Simulator to Help Reduce Costs and Greenhouse Gases

EDMONTON, AB, April 22, 2021 /CNW/ - Edmonton-based Serious Labs today announced that it is developing a virtual reality (VR) commercial truck driving simulator with support from the Government of Alberta, Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA), and the Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA). Alberta will contribute $1 million to development costs of the simulator, while ERA will contribute an additional $2 million. AMTA is providing data and expert guidance to ensure that the simulator meets transportation industry needs. Serious Labs, the leader in VR simulation solutions for training and operation of heavy equipment, will design, manufacture, and pilot the simulator in Alberta. Commercial deployment is estimated to begin in 2024, with the simulator to be made available across Canada and the United States. "Our new VR driving simulator will not only help to create an expedited route to proficiency and safety for drivers, but a better, cleaner environment overall by lowering greenhouse gas emissions from both training and day-to-day operation," said Jim Colvin, CEO of Serious Labs. "This is a meaningful and important project for us, and we are excited by the journey ahead. Following our launch in Alberta, we look forward to making our simulators available across Canada, the United States, and beyond so that everyone can access these benefits." Mandatory Entry Level Training (MELT), the new training standard deployed throughout Canada for Class 1 and Class 2 commercial drivers, will become mandatory for all provinces by 2024. MELT is designed to increase the skill level and safety of commercial drivers by providing more training and practice. It requires that each new driver obtain over 100 hours of training time, including 76 and a half hours of in-cab driving time, before being issued a license. Canada's transportation industry is facing a laour shortage of over 20,000 commercial drivers which is projected to worsen in the coming years. "While the new MELT requirements are excellent news for increasing safety standards, it means more time as well as greater costs for training centers, more emissions, and makes entering the industry more difficult for new drivers," said Wade Carson, Senior Product Director at Serious Labs. "Our goal is to help alleviate those difficulties and instill best practices for drivers by enabling them to complete part of their in-cab training in VR instead."



The increased hours required for MELT training will also increase emissions. It is estimated that between 2023-2030, the Canadian trucking industry will contribute more than 5,650,000 tons of greenhouse gases while commercial drivers are being trained. The new commercial truck simulator is projected to significantly reduce this number. For each driver trained using a blend of VR and in-vehicle training, Serious Labs estimates a reduction of 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the traditional approach. As the simulator launches and becomes more widespread, Serious Labs projects it will displace 40% of emissionsmore than 2,260,000 tonnesproduced in training between 2023-2030. By 2030, the simulator will be reducing 55% of MELT-driven emissions on an annual basis. By ingraining best practices, the simulator will also enable drivers to reduce emissions from day-to-day operations by 2.8%.

"By replacing in-vehicle training time with VR simulators, Serious Labs has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Alberta's and Canada's transportation sectors," said Steve MacDonald, CEO of ERA. "This technology solution also supports the growth of Alberta's digital industry, a sector with enormous potential to diversify our economy and help accelerate action on climate change." ERA was created in 2009 to help deliver on the province's environmental and economic goals. ERA takes action on climate change and supports economic growth by investing in the piloting, demonstration, and deployment of clean technology solutions that reduce greenhouse gases, lower costs, attract investment, and create jobs in Alberta. In addition to the environmental benefits, the simulator will also provide significant advantages for the transportation industry, said AMTA President Chris Nash. AMTA and its members have advanced the commercial transportation industry through safety programs, progressive policy, and partnerships since 1938. "This VR simulator will change the face of driver training as we know it, and AMTA is behind the innovative technologies that will make our roads safer and our economies stronger," said Nash. "The rapid application of new technology and disruption in industry is advancing quickly and we are proud to work alongside Serious Labs, ERA, and the Government of Alberta. The need for all industries to keep pace with new technology advancements will require collaborative use of data and digitization to develop integrated solutions for a safer tomorrow." Serious Labs brings a strong track record to the project, having delivered its award-winning VR training solutions for multiple industry leaders around the globe, including United Rentals, Bechtel, DOW, Syncrude, the U.S. Department of Energy, Singapore International Airlines, British Airways, Rapid Access, Loxam, Riwal, and Nationwide Platforms. About Serious Labs Serious Labs (www.seriouslabs.com) designs and manufactures virtual reality simulators for heavy equipment including aerial lifts, cranes, forklifts, and commercial trucks. These simulators enable operators to learn and practice their skills in a risk-free virtual environment so they can work more safely and efficiently. With the power of virtual reality, Serious Labs helps increase productivity, reduce carbon emissions, and ensures that operators get home safely each day. About Emissions Reduction Alberta: For more than 10 years, ERA has been investing the revenues from the carbon price paid by large final emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since ERA was established in 2009, they have committed $646 million toward 204 projects worth $4.5 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs, create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative reductions of 37.7 million tonnes of CO2e by 2030. About the Alberta Motor Transport Association The Alberta Motor Transport Association was formed in 1938 and is the voice, the standard and the resource for commercial transportation in Alberta. AMTA represents 400 Carrier Members, 250 Associate Suppliers and 14,500 Associate Carriers through the Workers' Compensation Board industry codes for General Trucking (50714), Specialized Trucking (50701), and Garbage Collection and Disposal (57901). SOURCE Serious Labs Inc

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Key equity indices further pared losses in mid-morning trade. Metal stocks advanced for the second day. The Nifty was trading above the 14,250 mark. A steep surge in COVID-19 infections in the country weighed on the sentiment.

At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 195.73 points or 0.41% to 47,510.07. The Nifty 50 index lost 39.60 points or 0.28% to 14,256.80.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.20% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.45%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1456 shares rose and 1133 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 143,511,162 with 3,055,894 deaths.

India reported 2,291,428 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 184,657 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday imposed additional restrictions on travel within the state and the city, and a further reduction in attendance in government offices and such private offices that fall under the essential or exempted category. These curbs will kick in at 8 pm Thursday and be in force till 7 am on 1 May 2021.

In its second-highest single-day jump thus far, Maharashtra reported 67,468 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking its tally beyond the 40 lakh mark. Maharashtra also recorded an all-time high of 568 deaths. The toll rose to 61,911.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the industry to wait and watch for next few days to assess the situation amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and assured them of full government support. She was addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Members through virtual mode.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rose 1.51% to 4,450.80, extending gains for second day. The index has added 1.94% in two sessions.

Tata Steel (up 4.45%), Hindustan Zinc (up 3.04%), SAIL (up 2.87%), JSW Steel (up 1.71%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.56%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.18%), Welspun Corp (up 1.20%) and NMDC (up 1.09%) advanced while APL Apollo Tubes declined 1.28%.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Indiabulls Housing Finance jumped 9.36% to Rs 180.55. The company entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with HDFC to offer housing loans to homebuyers at competitive rates. Indiabulls Housing Finance will originate retail home loans as per jointly drawn up credit policy and retain 20% of the loan in it's books and 80% will be on HDFC books. The arrangement is part of Indiabulls Housing Finance's balance sheet light growth model.

Larsen & Toubro fell 1.24% to Rs 1315. L&T Construction has secured a significant contract to design and build one of the world's largest oil & gas supply bases. According to L&T's classification, the value of the said orders lies between Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore.

Caplin Point Laboratories rose 2.92% to Rs 522 after the company said its subsidiary received a final approval from the US drug regulator for its Abbreviated New Drug Application, neostigmine methylsulfate injection. The injection is indicated for the reversal of the effects of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) after surgery. According to IQVIA (IMS Health), neostigmine methylsulfate injection had US sales data of approximately $20 million for the 12-month period ending December 2020.

Global Markets:

Most Asian stocks were trading higher on Thursday following an overnight bounce on Wall Street.

The European Central Bank is scheduled to deliver its latest monetary policy announcement today, although no major shifts are expected.

In US, Wall Street rebounded on Wednesday after a two-day decline in a broad rally as a tilt toward stocks poised to benefit from a recovering economy offset Netflix Inc's sell-off after its disappointing results a day earlier. Both the S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, the Honourable Richard Panneflek, recently met with the newly appointed Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, Mr. Dennis Zulu, and his support staff.





Minister Pannefleks discussions centered around the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market, the measures taken by the government of Sint Maarten to mitigate the spread, as well as the stimulus plan to assist those affected.





The Director shared recent developments the ILO is undertaking with other Caribbean countries within the region regarding the impact that COVID-19 is having on their respective labour markets and how the ILO can provide the necessary technical assistance which would result in labour markets becoming more resilient and robust.





Minister Panneflek emphasized the importance of the availability of reliable and accurate labour market statistics. These statistics can then be monitored through a Labour Market Information System (LMIS) that would allow for the development of evidence-based policies and legislation.





Sint Maarten participation in regional and international conferences as it relates to labour was also discussed, such as the Sub-Regional Meeting of Caribbean Ministers of labour which is a bi-annual meeting where critical issues related to labour are deliberated and discussed. Also, the International Labour Conference (ILC) which is an annual event held in Geneva, Switzerland, where almost all countries of the world attend to discuss matters relevant to the world of work.





Such conferences grants Sint Maarten the opportunity to share experiences, common interest and concerns with other countries, helps foster relationships for cooperation at the broader regional and international levels.





Minister Panneflek expressed the importance of the Social Dialogue between representatives of government, employers and workers' via the Tripartite Committee. The Director acknowledged and applauded this initiative of the Minister as the ILO is a strong proponent of Social Dialogue.





The meeting with the Director was well received and it is therefore the intention of the Government of Sint Maarten to continue the already established mutual cooperation with the ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean on all labour related matters.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is again moving to change the Department of Veterans Affairs' motto to be more inclusive toward women and LGBTQ troops after the effort failed during the Trump administration.

The VA's current motto, in use since 1959, quotes President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address in 1865: "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan."

A new measure introduced Thursday by Reps. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., and Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, would change the motto to read, "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those 'who shall have borne the battle' and for their families, caregivers, and survivors."

Read Next: Air Force Two-Star General to Face Court-Martial on Sexual Assault Charge

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also introduced a Senate version of the bill Thursday.

The move to remove the word "him" from the motto has been a yearslong effort by veteran activists and lawmakers who argue that the change is just a small part of a larger push to make the VA a more welcoming place for women. It would also reflect female troops' dramatically expanded role in the armed forces, they say, including combat roles opening up to women relatively recently.

"It is long overdue for the Department of Veterans Affairs to update its mission statement to reflect all Americans who have fought for our nation," Rice said in a statement. "Women and LGBTQ military service members and veterans have sacrificed their lives to keep the rest of us safe, and they deserve to have this service properly recognized by the agency that serves them."

Roughly 35,000 women served during World War I; 140,000 served in World War II. About 7,000 served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The post-9/11 wars saw a huge spike in women joining the military, with some 700,000 female troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to VA data.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough told lawmakers at a recent hearing that more women than ever are choosing the VA for their health care, accounting for more than 30% of new enrollees during the past five years -- more than triple the number of women enrolled in 2001.

Shortly after being confirmed, McDonough orders a top-down review of his agency's policies to ensure they comply with a presidential executive order designed to combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.

A VA spokesman said the department is not yet taking an official stance on the motto.

"Obviously, this is something that came up in the context of confirmation hearings and my conversations with the veterans service organizations. I'm not in a position to announce anything on that," McDonough said in February.

This follows a contentious fight between veterans organizations and former VA Secretary Robert Wilkie during the Trump administration. Wilkie told Military.com last fall that the "only time [he heard] anything about this motto is from activists" in Washington, D.C.

Wilkie emphasized his opposition to changing the motto when he went to Lincoln's hometown of Springfield, Illinois, in August 2020 to dedicate a plaque bearing the current phrase at a VA cemetery.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: McDonough Orders Review of VA Policies to Ensure Inclusion of LGBT Vets, Employees
Shares of sugar companies continued their upward march on Thursday. In the past one month, Mills, Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Triveni Engineering have moved up in the range of 30 per cent to 43 per cent on expectation of improved earnings. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down nearly 4 per cent during the same period.

With the governments aggressive stance on increasing ethanol blending with petrol to levels of 20 per cent by 2025, the industry is undertaking huge capacity expansion programmes to meet the ethanol requirement of 10 billion litre by 2025, analysts say. This distillery capacity addition to utilise the B-Heavy & sugarcane juice route to produce ethanol, would be earnings accretive after the significant increase in ethanol prices in last two years, they believe.

Analysts at JM Financial Securities, for instance, suggest Indias sugar sector has drifted away from cyclicality (in terms of sugar prices) as well as from partial deregulation. It is fully regulated now and is likely to remain so in the foreseeable future, they said in a recent note.

"This has been led by structural oversupply in terms of sugar production (from swinging between 22-30mnt to 30mnt plus except in case of drought years in Maharashtra and Karnataka), the governments efforts on the Ethanol Blending Program (EBP; from 0.8 per cent to almost 8 per cent now; 20 per cent target EBP in 2025) through robust ethanol prices (especially B-Molasses and Sugarcane juice routes, which are indirectly linked with sugar prices) and the governments objective to ensure sugarcane farmers are paid without significant arrears," the brokerage firm said in sugar sector update.

Among individual stocks, Mills hit a new high of Rs 273 on Thursday, rallying 9 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade. In the process, the stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 272.05 hit on April 15. In the past one month, it has zoomed 34 per cent.

Rating agency ICRA revised the outlook on the long-term rating of the company from 'stable' to 'positive' on on April 10. The rating action, according to ICRA, considers an expected improvement in Mills operating profitability and debt coverage indicators in FY2022 on the back of higher B-heavy ethanol sales volumes; and an expected stable sugar realisation. In Uttar Pradesh (UP), sugar production is estimated to decline by around 20 per cent in SY2021, which is likely to support sugar prices in the near-term, it said.

Also, with continued higher diversion of cane towards B-heavy molasses, there is likely to be an increase in the sales volume of B-heavy ethanol, having better realisation, thus increasing the overall revenue and profits from the distillery segment, it added.
By Shlomo Ben-Ami





TEL AVIV  U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that he will withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, finally ending his country's longest war ever. The move was indicative of a broader shift by the United States away from the Middle East  one that has been a long time coming. Will anyone take its place in the region?



China seems to hope so. Just a couple of weeks before Biden's announcement, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Tehran to sign a 25-year "comprehensive strategic partnership" (CSP) deal with Iran, which will include economic, political, and security cooperation. The move has the U.S. concerned  and for good reason.



Yes, CSPs are a standard foreign-policy tool for China, which has already established them with other countries in the region, including Iraq and Saudi Arabia. And some have most likely exaggerated the scope of the CSP with Iran, such as by reporting that it includes $400 billion of Chinese investment in Iran. (Neither party has confirmed any specific figure.)



But even if the CSP does not elevate the China-Iran relationship to new heights, it is the first such partnership China has concluded with a long-established adversary of the U.S. At the same time, China is deepening ties with America's closest allies in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and even Israel.



For now, China's motivation seems primarily economic. Aside from gaining access to the region's energy resources, China can boost its profile in cutting-edge sectors by cooperating with Israel's high-tech industries. That is why  much to the annoyance of the U.S.  it has sharply increased its investment in Israel in recent years.



China has also looked to Israel to advance its connectivity ambitions, encompassed by the Belt and Road Initiative. Just as China has already taken control of seaports elsewhere across Asia and Europe, it has established itself at the Israeli port of Haifa. Similarly, anticipating reliance on Iranian oil, China has developed a direct shipping route to the port of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz.



One thing the U.S. does not have to worry about  at least for now  is China stoking conflict in the Middle East. Yes, the CSP with Iran mentions security cooperation, but it is no military alliance  and China is not taking sides in any military conflict. After all, China also conducts military drills with Iran's archrival, Saudi Arabia.



The last thing China wants is for a regional conflagration to disrupt oil exports or destroy its investments in the region. This makes China a responsible stakeholder in regional peace. But it doesn't signal China's willingness to underwrite security in the Middle East. Military alliances are not China's preferred tool in its global competition with the US.



China has also been careful not to be drawn into the region's long-running conflicts. While China recently suggested that it would host direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, this should not be given too much credence.



China is well aware that it was only because of America's massive expenditure of blood and treasure that China has been able to expand its economic influence in Afghanistan and Iraq. That is not the kind of investment it is interested in making.



Ultimately, China's economic interests are best served by keeping the Middle East's established U.S.-led security system intact. This partly explains why China's main partners in the Middle East are mostly U.S. allies.



China made an exception when it signed the CSP with Iran, but that, too, was an economic calculation: It wants to revive bilateral trade, which has suffered mightily since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reinstated sanctions in 2018.



In fact, it was only after sanctions were reintroduced that the idea of the CSP was born. The timing of its signing  just as the Biden administration tries to renegotiate and rejoin the nuclear deal  was a calculated decision by China to strengthen Iran's bargaining position, thereby, it is hoped, hastening the lifting of sanctions.



Iran will, however, pay a high price for its partnership with China, which has taken advantage of its economic travails to lay claim to a heavily discounted supply of oil. During earlier phases of the CSP negotiations, some Iranians warned that China was seeking an exploitative deal, much like the agreements that ended with it wresting control of Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port.



Iran's powerful Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, should also be wary of China. In particular, Hezbollah will need to reconsider its threat to launch a ballistic-missile attack on Israel's Haifa port, given that China now all but owns it.



As for the U.S., its military superiority in the Middle East will probably remain undisputed for some time. But military power will not be enough to stem China's strategic rise in the region (and beyond). For that, the U.S. will also need to boost its political clout, economic engagement, and cultural influence. Otherwise, as Biden put it in February, China will "eat our lunch."





Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, is vice president of the Toledo International Center for Peace. He is the author of "Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy." His article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).


On Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis welcomed Foreign Minister of Poland Zbigniew Rau, and Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlut Cavusoglu, accompanied by Foreign Minister of Romania Bogdan Aurescu, as part of their attendance of a Romania-Poland-Turkey three-way security conference, hosted by Romania.

According to a press statement released by the Presidential Administration, discussions focused on the main ways of co-operation in this format, with emphasis on the security developments in the Eastern Neighbourhood of NATO, advancing the regional security agenda and preparations for the NATO summit this year, agerpres.ro confirms.

"President Klaus Iohannis highlighted the important role of this trilateral format of dialogue, launched at Romania's initiative in 2012 in support of NATO's efforts to strengthen security on the Eastern Side of NATO from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, given that the three countries share a number of common interests in the field of security. President Klaus Iohannis highlighted Romania's concern, shared by the Polish and Turkish foreign ministers, with the worrying regional security situation caused by the unusual deployment of military forces to the illegally occupied Crimea and the eastern border of Ukraine, and he and the high ranking Polish and Turkish dignitaries looked into the circumstances of and prospects for detente," the release reads.

Iohannis stressed "the importance of strengthening the NATO posture of deterrence and defence on the eastern flank, increasing the resilience of NATO as an organisation, and its members, as well as the support extended to neighbouring partners."

"President Klaus Iohannis called for the continuation and diversification of multidimensional political consultations, as well as co-operation in this trilateral format, which has proved its worth over time. The President of Romania also encouraged the promotion of new trilateral co-operation projects in areas of mutual interest such as resilience, including by highlighting the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, on the basis of a substantial agenda to contribute to the consolidation of NATO. Thus, a strengthened interaction of the three allies in this format would become an instrument of coordination and joint action likely to strengthen regional security and the alliance as a whole. The President of Romania also welcomed the presence of the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Georgia at a special working session of the trilateral meeting in Bucharest, saying that this initiative unequivocally reaffirms the constant support of Romania, Poland and Turkey towards the partners from NATO's Eastern Neighbourhood," the Presidential Administration mentions.

The Presidential Administration also said that Iohannis underscored the need to continue NATO measures to strengthen deterrence and defence, thanking Poland and Turkey for their contribution to NATO's enhanced presence in the south of the eastern flank, of major importance in ensuring the security of the Black Sea, an integral part of NATO security.

"The President of Romania voiced hope that Romania, Poland and Turkey will continue their close co-operation and for year's NATO summit, a moment of major importance for reaffirming NATO solidarity and unity and commitment to the transatlantic relationship. President Iohannis also underscored the special importance of the incoming NATO summit to projecting a strategic vision of NATO for the next decade," reads the official statement.
The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has warned that illegal mining activities polluting water bodies and degrading the environment in the Central and Western regions are threatening raw surface water for treatment by the company in the area.



At present, raw water flowing to the GWCL intake points in the two regions have high levels of sludge, which increases operational and maintenance cost significantly, and makes the production process strenuous.



Government has consequently renewed the commitment towards the fight against illegal mining, popularly called galamsey, warning that the perpetrators would not be spared, irrespective of their status in society or political affiliation.



Renewed commitment



Speaking after a joint ministerial tour of various water stations in the Central and Western regions, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, said government would combat illegal mining in the countrys water bodies head-on.



The joint ministerial team also included the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Cecilia Dapaah; the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan; the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah; and the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.





The tour was part of a general nationwide fact-finding exercise to come to terms with the state of the nation's water bodies, particularly with the worsening levels of illegal mining activities.



Redline areas



Mr Jinapor said government would not tolerate mining in forest reserves and water bodies, and said those "redline areas" should not be crossed.





He said it was regrettable that the Pra River had been reduced to a place of illegal mining activities, and consequently led to low water availability for processing to supply the two regions.



At the Sekyere-Hemang water station, officials of the GWCL said the turbidity level  which measures relative clarity of a liquid  had shot up to about 1,500 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) from the hitherto about 500-800NTU at the time of construction in 2008.



The water at the intake point currently looked brownish, with a heavy silt content, which, the officials said, caused frequent breakdown of the treatment systems at least three times every month.



The situation was attributed to the sludge and silt in the muddy raw water that flowed to the intake point, which put significant pressure on the processing facility.



Daboase



At the Daboase intake point, the turbidity of the water, which was around 54NTU in 2007, had increased to more than 3,000NTU currently.



The situation had been caused by an increase in volumes of sludge in the water taken for processing, resulting in significant increase in the use of alum to attain the right quality for public consumption, officials explained.



The company said the Pra, Ankobra and other smaller river bodies in the regions had all been affected by the activities of galamseyers.



Sanitising the system



Mr Jinapor said government was not against mining, stressing that government is now more than ever committed to working to sanitise the system and ensure that mining was done the right way.



The minister called for a national consensus and support for policy to effectively sanitise the system to tackle the problem.



The minister of water and sanitation said the fact that the country was endowed did not mean water should be destroyed, saying we owe it to posterity to keep them safe.



Ms Dapaah said there were new water systems in the offing for Damongo, Sunyani, Keta, Wenchi and Tamale, among others, and that it might not be achieved if the countrys water bodies were all destroyed.



Warning



She warned Ghanaians and their foreign collaborators, who had in recent years embarked on the destruction of the countrys water bodies and forest reserves, that the current ministerial collaboration would not leave any stone unturned to bring perpetrators to book.



The Managing Director of the GWCL, Dr Clifford Braimah, said the current situation needed a lasting solution, and called on partners to join the fight against illegal mining due to the imminent threat, saying "the day you realise you cannot get water flowing in your homes, you would understand the situation".



The Central Regional minister said "we should be ashamed of what we have done to our water bodies. It's an anomaly", and promised to erect a security post at the various sites to help fight the menace.



The Western Regional minister pledged to put resources at his disposal to fight the menace.









Source: graphiconline.com









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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. and NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lirio, the leading behavior change AI company that uses Precision Nudging to move as many people as possible towards better health, today announced the launch of a new COVID-19 Vaccination Journey. In a related announcement, the company said it will work with Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS) to encourage COVID 19 vaccine acceptance among its patient population.

Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

While terms of the relationship were not disclosed, Lirio's patient engagement platform has the potential to impact over 500,000 lives among the health systems' patient populations in Louisiana. The journey is launching in April at a critical time for getting more people, especially those in under-served or hesitant populations, to get their vaccination. The company is finalizing agreements with additional health systems, which it expects to announce later in the spring.

"Each person's unique journey to better health matters, and each of their community's journey to better health also matters." says Chandra Osborn, PhD, MPH and Chief Behavioral Officer for Lirio. "We understand the reasons behind vaccine hesitancy vary from person to person, and from community to community where each person lives. Behavior change AI brings personalization at scale to successfully engage each individual within their communities to overcome vaccine hesitancy, and to create healthier communities for all."

"For the vaccine, we see this innovative outreach as another opportunity to help end the pandemic  something we are committed to as a healthcare organization," says Richard R. Vath, M.D., President and CEO of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. "We see Lirio as an important tool to educate and inform, and to help scale the distribution of the vaccine. Longer-term, we also see Lirio as a partner to help with our important population health work as well as providing a more personalized experience for our patients."

A recent KFF poll shows that while more Americans now want the COVID-19 vaccine, 13% of respondents polled said they will "definitely not" be vaccinated. In addition, there are a number of groups who are also declining to accept the vaccine today, including essential workers in non-health fields, and rural residents, at 21 % and 20% respectively, who were most likely to say they will "definitely not" get vaccinated.

Unique behavioral interventions overcome barriers such as vaccine safety, effectiveness, or perceptions related to COVID-19 severity and individual susceptibility to get everyone engaging with and acting on a vaccine promoting messages. Each message overcomes an individual's engagement with the vaccine-promoting communication and the separate, more substantial barrier to getting the vaccine itself.

Lirio leverages hundreds of behavioral interventions in English and Spanish to effectively activate people via email, SMS and MMS at each step in their unique journey to better health. Proprietary algorithms process data streams about people; deliver personalized behavioral interventions from hundreds of possible behavioral science solutions at each step in the journey; and process reactions, iterate, and improve. It ensures the right message is delivered to the right person at the right time.

About Lirio

Lirio's behavior change AI platform combines behavioral science and artificial intelligence to apply Precision Nudging technology to move as many people as possible along their unique journey to better health. Similar to precision medicine's individualized treatment plans, Precision Nudging allows Lirio to apply tailored behavioral science solutions to overcome patient-specific barriers to action. Every Precision Nudge is delivered at the right time and place to help drive scalable, sustained behavior change that enables providers to effectively engage and activate individuals within a population, optimizing care and treatment for everyone. For more information, visit https://lirio.com.

About Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is one of the largest healthcare systems based in Louisiana and is the leading healthcare provider for more than half the state's population. The health system is a non-profit, Catholic organization sponsored by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the ministry serves patients in Louisiana and Mississippi through a network of hospitals, clinics, physicians, elderly housing and integrated systems. The health system's unified physician organization is comprised of more than 1,100 adult and pediatric primary care physicians and specialists. For more information, visit www.fmolhs.org.

Media Contact

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SOURCE Lirio
A British grandmother who became the first person in the world to get an approved Covid vaccine in December has encouraged everyone to get their second dose.

Maggie Keenan, 91, from Coventry, praised 'incredible' staff for the UK's successful vaccine drive while speaking to NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens in a Zoom call.

The grandmother-of-four made history when she received the first Pfizer jab outside of a clinical trial at University Hospital, Coventry on December 8.

Ms Keenan, a former jewellery shop owner who only retired four years ago, is now fully vaccinated after getting her second jab at the end of December and says she is looking forward to 'a little holiday'.

And she urged all people called for their second vaccines to book appointments as soon as possible.

More than 10million people in the UK are now fully protected from Covid after having their second jab, with case numbers and deaths falling by the day as a result. Scientists believe some 10,000 lives have already been saved by the vaccination programme.

And asked what people feeling hesitant should do, Ms Keenan said: 'I'm telling everyone to go and get it because it really is the best thing I've ever done.

'The best thing I ever did. I hope everyone comes forward. There's nothing to it, you don't even feel anything.

'I just feel really honoured to have had it done, to have been the first and to have got the ball rolling.'

Maggie Keenan, 91, from Coventry, has encouraged everyone to get their second dose after making history by becoming the first person in the world to receive a Covid vaccine

Ms Keenan, who has lived in Coventry for more than 60 years but is originally from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, spoke on the Zoom earlier this week, where she was reunited with matron May Parsons.

The matron for respiratory medicine at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, administered Ms Keenan's first jab.

She spoke of her pride at delivering the vaccine and how well the roll-out has gone on since.

Ms Parsons said: 'Vaccinating Maggie was a little spark of light the midst of the darkness, and now I feel like the dawn is coming.

'It's almost unbelievable that we've managed to roll out the vaccine so successfully.'

UK's decision to stop under-30s getting AstraZeneca Covid vaccine did NOT put people off vaccination, study finds The UK deciding not to give AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine to under-30s has not put people off getting vaccinated, a survey has suggested. Regulators said concerns about extremely rare blood clots being triggered by the jab meant it would be safer to give young adults a different one where possible. In Europe clotting fears spooked some people into turning down the jab or asking for different ones. Denmark refused to use the vaccine at all. But the University of Stirling in Scotland did a survey that found almost nine out of 10 people in their 30s  close in age to those affected but old enough to still be given the AstraZeneca jab  are still happy to get a vaccine. The survey of 300 people did not ask specifically about the AstraZeneca vaccine but about jabs in general, and found no increase in hesitancy. Among 30 to 40-year-olds, 85 per cent said they were still planning to get jabbed. This was a slight dip from 87 per cent in the previous survey but the proportion saying they would refuse a jab also fell, from 9.9 to 9.8 per cent. Brits put a lot of trust in vaccines compared to people in Europe and a fast rollout and high uptake mean the UK is now one of the best protected countries worldwide. Advertisement

Ms Parsons, who has worked for the NHS for almost 20 years since moving from the Philippines, added: 'I'm really grateful to all my colleagues for the bravery and courage that they've shown throughout this pandemic, which has helped us care for our people and care for our patients like Maggie.'

Britain's vaccine drive is one of the most successful in the world, with around 60 per cent of all adults in the UK protected with at least one jab, compared to just 14 per cent in the EU.

Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: 'We're seeing patients coming forward in record numbers for their Oxford-AstraZeneca second doses.

'People are voting with their feet, showing continuing strong public support for the NHS Covid vaccination campaign which has already saved over 10,000 lives.'

Speaking after her first dose in December last year, Ms Keenan urged everyone to get a jab so they can get back to 'some sort of normality'.

She said: 'Yesterday was a massive day for me personally and for the rest of the world as we all look to get back to some sort of normality.

'It has all been such a whirlwind and everything hasn't really sunk in yet. I feel great and I'm so pleased to be able to go home and to spend some quality time with my family.

'I would like to say thank you to the hospital and its staff for the care and support shown to me during my stay  they have been truly amazing.

'My family and I are so grateful for the positive comments and well wishes received. I would urge everybody to get their vaccine as and when they are asked to do so.'

The national vaccination drive was launched at 70 UK hospitals, with most doses given to the over-80s.

Day one saw around 5,000 people vaccinated, including the elderly, care home staff and NHS workers.

Mrs Keenan was one of about 100 people vaccinated on the first day of the rollout at Coventry.
April 22 : Arjun Rampal, who had revealed last week that he had contacted the coronavirus, today shared on his Instagram profile that he has tested negative for COVID-19.

Sharing a selfie on social media, Arjun informed his fans and followers that he did two COVID-19 tests and both reports showed negative. He also informed that his doctors were of the opinion that he recovered so fast because he had taken his first dose of the vaccine, which makes the viral load very low. He also requested his fans and followers to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

My prayers for all those suffering and families for their losses. Feel truly blessed to have two tests both Negative. God has been kind. One of the main reasons I am told by doctors I recovered so fast, was because I had taken my first dose of the vaccine, thus making the viral load very low, with no symptoms, the actor wrote.

He further added, I would urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible and continue to take all safety measures. Thank you all for your love and best wishes. Stay positive and dont become positive. Stay safe be smart. This too shall pass. Love and light #recovered.

The actor shared on April 18 that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was under home quarantine. His post on social media read, I have tested for COVID-19. Even though I am asymptomatic, I have isolated myself and home quarantined... This is a very scary time for us but if we are aware and wise for a short span of time, it will yield long term benefits. Together, we can and we will fight Corona!

Meanwhile, on the work front, Arjun was last seen in Nail Polish. He has recently wrapped up shooting for Aparna Sens The Rapist. The film also stars Konkona Sen Sharma. Arjun will be also seen in Dhaakad with Kangana Ranaut.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)




The chief of SK Telecom Co. said Wednesday the wireless carrier will likely work with Amazon.com Inc. in video streaming services as the country's leading mobile carrier seeks to grow efforts to boost its non-mobile businesses.







SK Telecom currently holds a major stake in local video streaming service operator Content Wavve Corp., which it established with the country's three major broadcasters, KBS, MBC and SBS, in 2019.







SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho told reporters at COEX mall in southern Seoul that the possibility of working with Amazon in the video streaming sector is "obviously" being considered.







Cooperation between the two companies' video streaming platforms had been widely expected after SK Telecom announced last November that it had formed ties with the U.S. retail giant to offer its products to South Koreans through e-commerce unit 11Street Co.







The U.S. tech giant currently operates video streaming service Amazon Prime Video.







"(The cooperation) will allow much Korean content to enter the United States," Park said.







The CEO added that it is pursuing to work with other streaming giants, such as Netflix Inc. and Apple Inc., while ruling out collaboration with Walt Disney Co.'s flagship streaming service Disney+, which is set to launch in South Korea later this year.







The move comes as SK Telecom is set to split into two companies in a governance shake-up to boost its tech subsidiaries.







The company plans to create a new holding company for its non-mobile subsidiaries and affiliates via a spinoff within this year.







Last month, Wavve promised to invest 1 trillion won (US$896 million) in content over five years to strengthen its portfolio amid growing competition from local and foreign rivals. (Yonhap)


Inc has had a terrible week in China, but sentiment against the U.S. electric car company in its second-biggest market had been building as it struggled to keep pace with rapid growth.

The pile-on by media and scolding by regulators show how precarious China can be for big foreign brands, and how a company's handling of an incident can turn into a crisis if the country's tightly-controlled news outlets turn against it.

Tesla's defiance of industry convention, embodied by founder Elon Musk and a corporate culture that rarely admits mistakes, has won fans in the United States, but has backfired in China. Musk had such cachet that China's government allowed to be the first foreign carmaker not forced to team up with a partner to make cars locally. Now, is learning lessons its longer-established rivals got years ago.

Tesla's troubles in China also underscore a problem Musk and senior Tesla executives have acknowledged, though mainly in relation to the company's North American business. Tesla's rapid sales growth has outrun its capacity to repair vehicles when hardware goes bad.

"Service expansion is really important to the future strategy of the company," Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zach Kirkhorn told investors in January.

When a Tesla customer, angry over the handling of her complaint about malfunctioning brakes, climbed on top of a Tesla in protest on Monday at the Shanghai auto show, videos of the incident went viral.

The incident escalated after Grace Tao, Tesla's vice president for external relations - a former anchor at state broadcaster CCTV - questioned whether the angry customer, surnamed Zhang, was acting on her own.

In an interview with a local news outlet, Tao said, "maybe she ... I don't know, I think she is quite professional, there should be (someone) behind her."

"We have no means to compromise, it's just a process in the development of a new product," she added.

Tesla scrambled into damage-control mode, asking the online news outlet to withdraw the report, the outlet said on Tuesday on WeChat.

'INSINCERE' APOLOGY

Tesla issued a series of increasingly contrite late-night statements, from Monday's "no compromise" to Tuesday's "apology and self-inspection." By Wednesday night, Tesla said it was "working with regulators for investigation."

The official Xinhua news agency said Tesla's apology was "insincere" and called for removal of a "problematic senior executive," while the Global Times cited Tao's comments in calling Tesla's "blunder" a lesson for foreign firms in China.

Tao, who joined Tesla in 2014, could not be reached for comment. Tesla did not reply to a request for further comment.

"There have been consistent complaints on social media with Tesla in China regarding its quality and service issues, which seem to have been largely ignored by the local team until Tuesday," said Tu Le, analyst at research firm Sino Auto Insights.

"It's a delicate dance, though, since Tesla helps highlight the entire EV sector helping ALL companies grow their sales and raise their profiles," he said.

Tesla cars, made at its own Shanghai factory, are highly popular in China, which is by far the world's biggest EV market and accounts for 30% of Tesla's sales.

Investors have not shown worry. Tesla shares rose this week.

PRECARIOUS POSITION

Pressure on Tesla had been building.

Last month, it came under scrutiny when the military banned Teslas from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over vehicle cameras, sources told Reuters. Days later, Musk appeared by video at a high-level forum, saying that if Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down.

Tesla appeared to have scrapped much of its public relations team in the United States last year, although it has been hiring public relations staff in China.

For communications, it relies heavily on Musk's Twitter feed, which has over 50 million followers. As of Thursday, he had been silent on the China situation, which remained a hot topic, as Tesla owners took to Weibo to complain about quality issues such as sudden acceleration or steering failure.

On Thursday, Global Times Editor-in-Chief Hu Xijin said the intent is not to force Tesla from China.

"Our ultimate goal is to make foreign companies adapt to the Chinese market, seriously abide by Chinese laws and regulations, respect Chinese culture and consumers, and become a positive element in the Chinese economy. Whether it is a lesson or help, it all points to the same goal."

(Reporting by Tony Munroe in Beijing and Yilei Sun in Shanghai; additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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Mr. Putin has good domestic political reasons to address economic and social issues, including the struggle with Covid-19 in Russia, given his sagging ratings and parliamentary elections five months away. Ukraine is not a major concern among average Russians, who have been falsely assured that their troops are not involved, unless Russian soldiers start coming back in body bags. Polls show that Russians prefer economic development to dreams of a resurgent Great Russia, and at 68, Mr. Putin no longer holds the appeal he had when he came to power at 46, especially among younger Russians.

That is one reason analysts dont think Mr. Putin really intends any military action against Ukraine. Another reason is that the troop movements have been almost deliberately visible, but not suggestive of imminent action. It is in any case unlikely that Mr. Putin would try to overrun the rebel-held provinces of Ukraine, given the level of reaction this would provoke in the West.

The posturing then raises various other possibilities. One is that Mr. Putin is trying to put new pressure on President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, the former actor who was elected two years ago on the promise of cleaning up Ukraines notoriously corrupt politics and making peace with Russia, but who has not made much progress on either front. This week, Mr. Zelensky declared that he was prepared to meet Mr. Putin at any time.

Mr. Putin may also be trying to forestall any American or European thoughts of throwing more weight behind Ukraine, and especially any notion of considering Ukraine for NATO membership. Or Mr. Putin is trying to demonstrate, at a time when U.S.-Russian relations are at a serious low, that he still must be reckoned with. Or all the above.

Whatever Mr. Putins motive, the military buildup in Crimea is a dangerous ploy, especially by a major nuclear power. Chances that the saber-rattling could lead to an accidental confrontation may be minute, but even that is not a risk a responsible power should accept.
What happens when strange quarks are inserted into atomic nuclei? Which "habitable" universes are theoretically possible? These are just some of the questions Prof. Dr. Ulf-G. Meiner from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn wants to investigate. For this project, the researcher receives an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). Funding for the project, in which the Forschungszentrum Julich is also involved, amounts to about 2.3 million euros.

More than 99.9 percent of the mass of matter in the universe consists of atomic nuclei. The chemical elements differ in the number of protons and neutrons in their nuclei. How many protons and neutrons can be added to an atomic nucleus before it becomes unstable? What happens when strange quarks are inserted into a nucleus? How much can we change the fundamental parameters of the strong interaction to still produce enough elements that are relevant for life and a "habitable" universe?

Major implications for the stability of the universe

These kinds of theoretical questions with major implications for understanding the stability of our universe are what Prof. Dr. Ulf-G. Meiner from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics at the University of Bonn is working on in the EXOTIC project (Emergent Complexity from Strong Interactions). The European Research Council ERC is funding the project with an Advanced Grant. Over the next five years, around 2.3 million euros will be invested in the project, in which Forschungszentrum Julich is also involved.

"The Julich Supercomputing Centre will provide essential computing time on the JURECA-DC supercomputer, which should make it possible to perform calculations with an accuracy that previously seemed unattainable," says Meiner. The researcher is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Areas "Mathematics, Modeling and Simulation of Complex Systems" and "Building Blocks of Matter and Fundamental Interactions" at the University of Bonn.

Numerous awards

Meiner is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Bonn and is also director of the IKP-3 and IAS-4 institutes at Forschungszentrum Julich. The researcher has received numerous awards, including the 2016 Lise Meitner Prize of the European Physical Society, the Distinguished Scientist Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an honorary doctorate from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University in Georgia.

The Rector of the University of Bonn, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c.. Michael Hoch, congratulated the award-winning physicist on his funding: "The ERC grants are among the most important prizes for researchers of all. The fact that Ulf-G. Meiner, one of the world's most distinguished minds in his field, receives this award is an outstanding confirmation of his work, on which I warmly congratulate him on behalf of the University of Excellence Bonn."

Yet another funding commitment for Bonn was announced today in Brussels: Prof. Dr. J. Anton Zensus, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, also received a funding commitment from the ERC. Prof. Hoch says: "We congratulate very warmly on this award! Both ERC grants are also a joint success of our institutions, which are closely linked in the Bonn Research Alliance BORA, and of Bonn as a science location."

###

Media contact:

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ulf-G. Meiner

Helmholtz-Institut fur Strahlen- und Kernphysik

Universitat Bonn

Tel. +49-228-7323-65 or -66

E-Mail: meissner@hiskp.uni-bonn.de
New Delhi: Hospitals around the country have reported shortage of oxygen used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients as the number of new infections continues to grow at an alarming rate.

The oxygen crisis has led to the death of many patients. The crematoriums are running out of capacity. The top courts of the country had to step in to take stock of the worrying situation prevailing in the country.

Strange as it may sound, there is no shortage of oxygen production in the country.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Thursday (April 22) discussed how the oxygen crisis has affected the COVID patients around the country and how despite having sufficient oxygen stock, the hospitals are running short of supply.

India reported 315,802 fresh coronavirus infections on Thursday, creating a world record for the highest single-day spike in cases. With the increase in the number of patients, the scarcity of oxygen has also deepened.

Several hospitals in the city approached the Delhi High Court complaining that they have very little oxygen left which would last only a few hours and consequently many patients could die.

The High Court declared that if people died due to lack of oxygen, it would be considered a crime. The court added that the central government will have to meet the demand for oxygen and the state governments will have to take action against the hoarders.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the shortcomings of the entire system. Last year there were limited labs, PPE kits, medicines, and testing kits. This year we are suffering from scarcity of oxygen.

Despite sufficient production, why is there an oxygen crisis?

In view of its increasing demand, the central government has increased the oxygen quota of eight states including Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.

The thing to understand here is that there is no shortage of oxygen in the country. Oxygen is being produced more than consumption. It means that the trouble is with the supply of oxygen. Why then there is a crisis of oxygen in the country at all?

Oxygen is not used only to save the lives of patients in hospitals. It is also used in various industrial sectors such as iron, steel and petroleum.

According to a 2020 report, Maharashtra ranks first among the top five states in terms of production capacity of oxygen. It produces 991 metric tons of oxygen per day. Then comes Gujarat and after that states like Jharkhand, Odisha and Kerala.

There are a total of 17 large plants of oxygen in these five states alone. Whereas in the rest of the states and union territories, there are only 20 plants in total. There is not even a single oxygen plant in Delhi, the capital of the country. This helps explain the crisis.

Most states depend on these top five states for oxygen. But the problem is that demand for oxygen has increased in these oxygen-producing states too. And this has disrupted the whole supply chain of oxygen. In simple words, there is oxygen in India, but its supply is very difficult.

The question now arises why is the government not expanding the existing plants and why are new plants not being installed.

The answer is that it is not possible to do so at once. New oxygen manufacturing plants cannot be installed overnight. It is a time taking process.

Thus, the only way out of the current crisis is by making the existing supply chain more efficient so that the oxygen could reach every single patient in the country who needs it.

Live TV
Sirens sounded in the southern Israeli district of Abu Qrenat near the Dimona nuclear reactor on Thursday, the Israeli military said without immediately providing further details.

Such siren alerts are generally activated by rocket attacks.

A Reuters reporter about 90 km (56 miles) away from Abu Qrenat heard the sound of an explosion minutes before the military's text message.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Second, vaccine diplomacy has undermined Covax as countries with vaccines make bilateral donations for reasons that have more to do with geopolitical goals than public health. This inevitably leaves countries with the least political clout as wallflowers at the vaccine ball.

Third, vaccine hesitancy has hampered the rollout of vaccines, through the same combination of myth and misinformation that has enabled measles to resurge around the world. Reports of very rare side effects linked to some vaccines have spurred countries with other options to cast some aside. This includes vaccines that many of the worlds low-income nations were relying on but now question. Lets be clear: While safety is paramount and we pay careful attention to any signs of adverse events, the shots benefits vastly outweigh the risks for all four vaccines with W.H.O. emergency use listing.

And fourth, a new trend  lets call it vaccine euphoria  is undermining hard-won gains as some countries relax public health measures too quickly and some people assume that vaccines have ended the pandemic, at least where they live.

It doesnt have to be this way. Scarcity drives inequity and puts the global recovery at risk. The longer this coronavirus circulates anywhere, the longer global trade and travel will be disrupted, and the higher the chances that a variant could emerge that renders vaccines less effective. Thats just what viruses do.

We face the very real possibility of affluent countries administering variant-blocking boosters to already vaccinated people when many countries will still be scrounging for enough vaccines to cover their most-at-risk groups.

This is unacceptable. Analysts predict vaccines will generate huge revenues for manufacturers. Meanwhile, the ACT Accelerator is still $19 billion short of the funds it needs to expand access not just to vaccines but also to diagnostics and treatments like oxygen. But even if we had all the funds we need, money doesnt help if there are no vaccines to buy.

The solution is threefold: We need the countries and companies that control the global supply to share financially, to share their doses with Covax immediately and to share their know-how to urgently and massively scale up the production and equitable distribution of vaccines.
Prices for higher grades of steel scrap exported from Japan continued to increase over the past week, underpinned by strong appetite in the domestic market, sources told Fastmarkets this week.

Large blast furnace mills in the country have boosted their intake of scrap recently - heavy scrap (HS) in particular - putting pressure on buyers overseas to match local steelmaker buy prices.



Key domestic buyer Tokyo Steel has raised its scrap prices at most plants three times in the past 10 days and is now paying 42,000 ($389) per tonne for H2 at its Utsunomiya works.



Chinese interest in imported cargoes of HS - the Japanese equivalent of plate and structural (P&S) grade scrap - has risen in recent days, with a major buyer in Vietnam also heard to be active in the market.



Fastmarkets weekly price assessment for steel scrap P&S, export, fob main port Japan was 50,000-51,000 ($463-472) per tonne on Wednesday April 21, up by 1,000 per tonne from a week earlier.



Shindachi busheling, meanwhile, was sold to the domestic market at 49,500-50,000 per tonne, sources said, with offers for the grade in the export market at 49,000-51,000 per tonne fob.



Fastmarkets price assessment for steel scrap Shindachi, export, fob main port Japan was 49,000-51,000 per tonne on Wednesday, widening up 1,000 per tonne week on week.



Local strength still restricting exports

Export activity has been limited by strong competition from the domestic market, sources said.



Japanese scrap is probably the most expensive in the market right now, due to [good] local demand coming up to the Japanese Golden Week holiday and the incredible freight costs, a Japanese supplier source said.



Japan's Golden Week public holiday runs from April 29 to May 5 this year.



Mills in Japan are securing cargo before the long holidays and the domestic market is very strong, a Japanese trading source said.



I prefer to sell to the domestic market. Domestic vessel owners have not increased freight rates - the Japanese local freight market is flat, he said, adding that he was still having great difficulty securing vessels for exports.



Freight rates from Japan to Vietnam were said to be $50-60 per tonne for a 5,000-tonne cargo on April 21.



The fob Japan prices are getting very high. Recently, the US HMS price has become more competitive than Japanese cargoes, so workable prices - especially for Shindachi busheling - are getting high, a second scrap trading source said.



Japanese mills are also enjoying strong prices for both rebar and billet in the export market.



The rebar market is [strong] in Korea, but importers cant get Chinese bar because it is too expensive, so they are having to buy from other origins such as Japan, a South Korean steelmaker source said.



Lower grades

Lower-grade H2 was offered in bulk to the export market at 43,500-44,500 per tonne fob over the past week, depending on supplier, with bids at 41,000-41,500 per tonne fob from Vietnam. Traders said that prices of 43,000-44,000 per tonne fob would be required to get deals done.



H1:H2 (50:50) was offered to Taiwan at 44,000 per tonne fob earlier in the week.



With freight costs added, H2 offer prices would work out at around $480 per tonne cfr Bangladesh, which is too high for buyers to consider, a Bangladeshi steelmaker source said.



Fastmarkets price assessment for steel scrap H2, export, fob main port Japan was 43,000-44,000 per tonne on Wednesday, unchanged week on week.



Shredded scrap in bulk was offered at 48,000-49,000 per tonne fob over the last week, while several trading sources said that workable prices would be 48,000-48,500 per tonne fob.



Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel scrap shredded, export, fob main port Japan was 48,000-48,500 per tonne fob on Wednesday, narrowing up by 1,000 per tonne week on week.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. and GUANGZHOU, China, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RNAimmune, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in discovery and development of mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, announced today execution of definitive agreements for a seed round financing of $10 million. RNAimmune is a spin-off entity from Sirnaomics, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics against cancer and fibrotic diseases. Smooth River and Hong Kong Hongrun led the investment, with participation from Shanghai Walga Biotechnology, High Forest Investment and Terra Magnum Sigma. Sirnaomics also increased its investment in RNAimmune. This financing will allow RNAimmune to accelerate its research and development into mRNA vaccine and drug discovery focused on infectious disease, cancer, and rare diseases.

Since its founding in early 2020, RNAimmune has built up its mRNA vaccine and drug discovery and development platform to tackle high unmet medical needs in infectious diseases, cancer and rare diseases. The Company is now in the IND enabling stage for its lead candidate COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and plans to file an IND with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before the end of 2021. It is also advancing its RAS tumor vaccine program in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles. Headquartered in Maryland, United States, RNAimmune has set up its China R&D center in Guangzhou Bio-Island. Last August, the Company completed a seed financing round of $2.35 million.

"We are very pleased to see the exponential growth of RNAimmune, with completion of two rounds of financing in such a short time," said Patrick Lu, PhD, Chairman of the Board of RNAimmune. "The recent success of Moderna's and BioNTech's mRNA vaccines has demonstrated that mRNA technologies for development of novel therapeutics and vaccines are dramatically changing the landscape of the global pharmaceutical industry. RNAimmune has tremendous opportunities as a global mRNA innovating company."

About RNAimmune, Inc.

RNAimmune is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in discovery and development of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The Company leverages mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. RNAimmune is a spin-off venture from Sirnaomics, Inc. and has received a global exclusive right to the proprietary Polypeptide Lipid Nanoparticle (PLNP) technology for mRNA delivery from Sirnaomics. The Company has also developed a proprietary A.I. algorithm (ALEPVA) for antigen prediction and vaccine design. By integrating multiple established platform technologies, RNAimmune is aiming to develop a comprehensive mRNA drug discovery and development platform, from which the Company will enrich its therapeutic and vaccine product pipeline addressing tremendous unmet needs in treatments of viral infections, cancer and rare diseases. To learn more about RNAimmune, please visit the company website: www.rnaimmune.com.

About Sirnaomics, Inc.

Sirnaomics, Inc., a leading privately held biopharmaceutical company for discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics, is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, with subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China. The Company's mission is to develop novel therapeutics to alleviate human suffering and advance patient care in areas of high unmet medical need. The guiding principles of the company are: Innovation, Global Vision with a Patient Centered focus. Members of the senior management team have a great deal of combined experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, financial, clinical and business management in both the USA and China. The company is supported by funding from institutional investors and corporate partnerships. Sirnaomics has developed a strong portfolio of intellectual property with an enriched product pipeline. The therapeutic areas of focus include oncology and anti-fibrotic therapeutics. Learn more at www.sirnaomics.com.

Contact:

RNAimmune:

Stanley He, MBA

Email: [email protected]

Investors:

Stephanie Carrington

Tel: +1 646 277 1282

Email : [email protected]

Media:

Mark Corbae

Tel: +1 203 682 8288

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Sirnaomics, Inc.
BRUSSELS (AP)  U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of NATO member countries plan to discuss tense ties with Russia and China, the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the future of the 30-nation military alliance at a summit in Belgium on June 14.

The meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels will be a face-to-face opportunity for Biden to rebuild relations with leaders from Europe and Canada that became strained under former President Donald Trump.

This is a unique opportunity to reinforce NATO as the enduring embodiment of the bond between Europe and North America, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday in a statement.

Stoltenberg said the meeting will focus on the security challenges of today and tomorrow: Russias aggressive actions, the threat of terrorism, cyber-attacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, the security impact of climate change, and the rise of China.

The meeting will take place as NATO-led troops leave Afghanistan, the alliances biggest and most challenging operation ever, with the aim of being gone by Sept. 11 at the latest. NATO allies activated the organizations collective defense clause for the first and only time after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 to rally to the defense of the United States.
CLEVELAND  Van Weldon steered a red tractor slowly among the rows of new tomato plants on his farmland northeast of Houston, farmland that he worries could soon be ruined.

About an hours drive from downtown, Weldon has worked this soil since 1998. His domicile, he calls it. Here he built his business, Wood Duck Farm. There was something special to knowing this spot was his.

Now Weldon is fighting a proposed landfill that a Mississippi-based limited liability company, PC-II, wants to build next door. Project documents say it could receive 1,300 tons of household, commercial and other trash a day.

Few issues are more enduring when it comes to protecting the environment than the battle over landfills. And yet, on the 51st Earth Day, people such as Weldon are still fighting them.

Spurred by a neighbor, Weldon bought a laptop and spent evenings and weekends researching plans for the Peach Creek Environmental Park. He found himself facing a complex process that he felt would be expensive to win.

David and Goliath, Weldon said. Here we are.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The project is whats considered a Type 1 landfill, which can also receive special waste that can endanger health if not handled properly, according to the documents. The site spans 636 acres in San Jacinto County, right by where Weldon was considering planting blueberries. The landfill would initially cover 115 acres; a second one could follow.

Those behind the effort were looking for new opportunities for their 2,000 acres of forest land in the county after timber prices dropped and nearby communities grew, said the environmental project manager, Jeff Hobby, in a statement. They were trying to ensure their and Weldons businesses would continue to be good neighbors, he said. Hundreds of yards of forest will provide a barrier.

Project documents say the landfill will be designed to protect the health and safety of the people in the area.

A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesman wrote in an email that the application will have to comply with air and water quality rules.

But Weldon and at least some of his neighbors still dread the prospect of garbage trucks lining up along their narrow roads. They worry over contamination of the well water they use to irrigate and drink, as well as fouling of the crisp smell of their woodsy air.

For Weldon, its a threat to his business.

Growing concern

The farm was meant to be a weekend place while Weldon worked in oil trading, then Enron collapsed in 2001. So he started to grow cut flowers, then herbs. Now he sells produce at the Urban Harvest market, and in Rice Village and the Heights.

He wakes each morning to a cup of coffee and a cigar.

His customers trust the integrity of his zucchini and cauliflower and kale, Weldon said. And he believes that if the landfill is built, the smell, dust and water quality concerns will eventually wipe him out.

After his neighbor Dana Moody, 47, learned about the landfill, she spurred Weldon to action. She saw a Facebook post about it, long after it was first proposed in 2019.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The Baytown native lives a short drive from Weldon, on land next to the Sam Houston National Forest. Here, in the rural community west of Cleveland and Texas 59, she raised five kids.

This was supposed to be their legacy.

Moody knew a landfill wasnt going to beautify their rural neighborhood, and she felt devastated for Weldon, thinking about his sweet corn, strawberries and lettuce.

Whats going to happen to him? she asked.

Fighting back

So Moody and Weldon got to work. Moody did research on her cell phone: Whats a soil boring sample? A geomembrane liner system? A leachate tank? Weldon read about other communities in similar predicaments.

Moody called every community leader she could think of. Weldon hosted a community meeting at the farm.

Could they stop the project? Lower its height? Direct trash trucks through a forest road instead of the neighborhood?

Weldon reached out to an engineer, Abigail Gilson, who offered her personal advice. Gilson knows landfills can and do leak; her expertise is in preventing that.

Installing two liners, checking them for leaks and putting in an alert system for future breaks would go a long way toward being a responsible neighbor, she said.

Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

For now, the project is under technical review. TCEQ will hold a public meeting when thats through.

Nearly 200 comments on the project have already been submitted. One person said she was excited to leave the city and its pollution only to find this landfill proposed. Another worried about impacts to lakes where families swim and fish. There were concerns for property values.

(Project leaders believe the landfill will generate government revenue, jobs and funding to maintain roads.)

On Wednesday, the day before Earth Day, the landfill folks visited Weldon. Earth Day is observed worldwide, a movement meant to educate and involve people in environmental issues that are also gaining attention as urgency around climate change grows. This years theme is Restore Our Earth.

Still, the meeting left Weldon feeling like the company wasnt going to let the little farmer, he said, stand in their way.

emily.foxhall@chron.com
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has left the door open to lifting Australias 2030 emissions reduction targets following criticism from the United States ahead of an international summit where key trading partners will upgrade their climate commitments.

Asked if he would announce a new greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2030, Mr Morrison said it was not our plan to do that at the US Earth Day climate summit on Thursday night, but what we do later in the year, well address those at that point.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicated Australia is considering near-term emissions reduction targets. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Morrison said Australia was investing billions in low-emissions technology, which he expected would ramp up the rate of emissions reduction over time as industry adopted cleaner sources of power and production.

The way technology works is there is a long lead time into its development and commercialisation and once the technology is in place, you can see a massive transformation, he said.
UN chief calls for efforts to improve human relationship with nature, ocean

Xinhua) 09:41, April 22, 2021

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for efforts to transform mankind's relationship with nature and protect the ocean, the life support system of the planet.

In his video message to launch the second World Ocean Assessment report, the UN chief said that "we must transform our relationship with nature. This includes our relationship with the ocean, the life support system of our planet."

Noting the findings from the report "are alarming," the secretary-general said that "pressures from many human activities continue to degrade the ocean and destroy essential habitats - such as mangrove forests and coral reefs - hindering their capacity to help address climate change impacts."

"These pressures also come from human activities on land and coastal areas, which bring dangerous pollutants into the ocean, including plastic waste," said the top UN official.

The secretary-general also called attention to overfishing, ocean warming and acidification "that destroy biodiversity," as well as sea level rise that threatens the coastlines.

"The number of so-called 'dead zones' in the ocean has increased from more than 400 globally in 2008 to about 700 in 2019," the UN chief said, adding that "around 90 percent of mangrove, seagrass, and marsh plant species - as well as 31 percent of species of seabirds - are now threatened with extinction."

The secretary-general cited the report as saying that "many benefits that the ocean provides to humankind are increasingly being undermined by our actions."

He went on to say that "the experts attribute this to our general failure to achieve integrated sustainable management of coasts and the ocean."

Guterres urged all stakeholders to heed this and other warnings, noting that "better understanding of the ocean is essential."

He stressed that "ocean sustainability depends on us all working together - including through joint research, capacity development and the sharing of data, information and technology."

"The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, which started this year, provides a global framework to act as one to achieve this goal," said Guterres. "The findings of this assessment underscore the urgency of ambitious outcomes in this year's UN biodiversity, climate and other high-level summits and events."

"Together, we can foster not only a green- but also a blue - recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and help ensure a long term resilient and sustainable relationship with the ocean," the secretary-general concluded.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
[April 22, 2021] New Analysis Finds Technology Infrastructure Leads Key Areas of Technology Readiness in Schools

CALGARY, AB, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SMART Technologies, the edtech leader with a 30-year track record of pioneering learning solutions that encourage student collaboration and engagement, has released an analysis based on assessments completed by nearly 1,300 educators. The results show educators who report the highest level of technology capabilities were ten times more likely to observe high teaching and learning outcomes in their schools. The newly confirmed tie between good preparation and good outcomes is especially important since a recent RAND Corporation study found one in five school districts expect to offer virtual learning after the pandemic ends and one in 10, hybrid or blended instruction. This is in part to meet parent and student demandincreasing the need for effective education technology implementation. The new visual report sums up global research based on the responses of educators (administrators and teachers) who conducted detailed self-assessments over a two-year period with the EdTech Assessment Tool, an in-depth survey underwritten by SMART to benchmark school technology readiness against international standards and best practices. Educators rated their schools on nearly two dozen capabilities required to effectively prepare for or implement learning technologies, and gauged their schools' results on a half-dozen related teaching and learning outcomes. Technology infrastructure and management was the most well developed of four general areas of technology readiness, outpacing the other general areas of leadership and engagement, technolog integration, and professional development. Technology infrastructure readiness includes the underlying capabilities of network infrastructure, compatibility of learning technologies, technical support and design of learning spaces.

of four general areas of technology readiness, outpacing the other general areas of leadership and engagement, technolog integration, and professional development. Technology infrastructure readiness includes the underlying capabilities of network infrastructure, compatibility of learning technologies, technical support and design of learning spaces. School teaching goals were said to be met or exceeded by the 91% of educators who also reported the highest level of capability development. By comparison, meeting or exceeding teaching goals was true for only 41% of educators who reported the lowest level of education technology capabilities on a four-level scale.

who also reported the highest level of capability development. By comparison, meeting or exceeding teaching goals was true for only 41% of educators who reported the lowest level of education technology capabilities on a four-level scale. Student test scores slightly or greatly improved according to 92% of educators who also reported the highest level of capability development. Conversely, 25% of educators at the lowest of the four levels said student test scores at their schools had slightly or greatly declined.

who also reported the highest level of capability development. Conversely, 25% of educators at the lowest of the four levels said student test scores at their schools had slightly or greatly declined. The more classroom technology in use, the better the outcomes. Educators observing the highest level of outcomes also reported their schools had more classroom hardware and software in use than low-outcome schools. The biggest differenceswith the greatest apparent effect on outcomeswere for lesson creation, assessment and game-based classroom software. The largest percentages of reported use by high-outcome educators were for presentation software (96%), interactive whiteboards and displays (95%), collaborative software (91%), and lesson creation software (90%).



Nicholas Svensson . "It's gratifying to see that schools that intelligently plan for, and then apply, technology to teaching and learning before and during the pandemic also report strong outcomes, which are critically important as students and families adjust to new models of instruction." Educators who complete the research-based EdTech Assessment Tool receive a custom profile that helps their schools prioritize work and investment for better learning outcomes. In addition to the four areas included in the visual report, the EdTech Assessment Tool recently added blended learning as a fifth general area of readiness. Use of the EdTech Assessment Tool and the custom profile are available to administrators and teachers at no charge.

The new visual report, "EdTech Assessment Tool: Connecting Strong Capabilities with High Outcomes," can be downloaded at www.smarttech.com/profile . An earlier companion report specifically about blended learning, "Remotely Ready: Global Insights into Effective Teaching and Learning in a Pandemic," is available at www.smarttech.com/remotelyready . About SMART Technologies Inc.

SMART is a world leader in education technology, providing interactive solutions to help every person discover and develop the greatness within them. A consistent innovator for over 30 years, SMART is the inventor of the SMART Board and the developer of SMART Notebook, the world's most popular collaborative learning software, and part of the SMART Learning Suite. With their full range of interconnected displays, software, and accessories, used by millions in education and business, SMART helps students, colleagues and teams around the world create connections that matter. To learn more, visit smarttech.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-analysis-finds-technology-infrastructure-leads-key-areas-of-technology-readiness-in-schools-301274650.html SOURCE SMART Technologies

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H&M has been praised online for offering free 24-hour suit hire to help those with job interviews.

The high street retailer, which has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, has launched the new initiative in the UK, and will also soon be running it in America.

Customers are able to book a single-breasted navy jacket with matching trousers, a white shirt, blue tie and red handkerchief for free, and reserve the items online before they are delivered to their door in a garment bag.

H&M hopes the ONE/SECOND/SUIT campaign will help open more doors and boost confidence in a job interview, by ensuring anyone attending one 'can make a powerful first impression'.

The idea was applauded online, with one social media user writing: 'This is such a nice gesture.'

Customers are able to book a single-breasted navy jacket with matching trousers, a white shirt, blue tie and red handkerchief (pictured) for free, and reserve the items online before they are delivered to their door in a garment bag

H&M hopes the ONE/SECOND/SUIT campaign will help open more doors and boost confidence in a job interview, by ensuring anyone attending one 'can make a powerful first impression'.

Another said: 'Wow, this is awesome', while a third added: 'This is amazing! Long overdue but there should be something like this in place always.'

A fourth wrote: 'This is a fantastic service! Thank you H&M and any other organisations or service providers helping!'

After wearing the suits, shoppers must return the suit to a store, where H&M will arrange washing and dry-cleaning. All delivery charges are free.

Any returns that are late will incur a charge of 50, which will be donated to charity.

Like with any suit hire, customers will have to pay for any major damage, with the full cost of the ensemble coming in at 116.94.

Reaction: The idea was applauded online, with one social media user writing: 'This is such a nice gesture'

The brand cites research that claims it only takes on second for potential employers to assess a candidate based on first impressions.

The initiative says it will tackle this bias by 'ensuring the potential inside isn't overlooked because of what's on the outside'.

Sara Spannar, Head of Marketing & Communications at H&M, said: 'Job interviews can be a nerve wracking experience, but we believe nothing should hold you back, least of all what you wear.

'The ONE/SECOND/Suit is ready to wear confidence. A signal to the world and a reminder to yourself that you've got what it takes.'

The campaign launched in the UK on April 15 and in the US from May 13, and will run during a test period to gauge customer demand.
On the fifth anniversary of the late great Prince's death - age 57 - from an accidental fentanyl overdose, around 1,400 fans paid their respects at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, MN.

Inside, the seven-time Grammy winner's estate displayed his Paisley Park-shaped urn, and outside, fans hung mementos on the cyclone fence, reports Star Tribune.

Fans respectfully wandered around Prince's beloved 65K-square-foot complex sitting on roughly nine acres of land at 7801 Audubon Road.

RIP: On the fifth anniversary of the late great Prince's death - age 57 - from an accidental fentanyl overdose, around 1,400 fans paid their respects at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, MN

In the parking lot, followers of the Purple One could inscribe messages on white table coverings using purple Sharpies.

The Paisley Park website for the property describes it as an active museum, state-of-the-art recording studio, and concert venue in Chanhassen.

Those running the site are fulfilling Prince's wish that his former home would one day be open to the public, as it welcomes fans and musicians for tours, concerts, festivals, and special events.

Tributes poured in from Prince's many muses and notable admirers on social media, with his percussionist Sheila E. sharing five Instagram posts filled with memories.

'5 yrs ago today u ascended to heaven. Even though you left us your legacy, ur music, it is still hard to believe u are not here,' wrote the 63-year-old Grammy nominee, who met in him in 1978.

'I want to call or text u but I know u won't answer. There has never been and will never be another one like Prince. We miss u and remember u always, your legacy continues even now.'

Gone but not forgotten: Inside, the seven-time Grammy winner's estate displayed his Paisley Park-shaped urn, and outside, fans hung mementos on the cyclone fence

Tunnel: Fans respectfully wandered around Prince's beloved 65K-square-foot complex sitting on roughly nine acres of land at 7801 Audubon Road

In memoriam: In the parking lot, followers of the Purple One could inscribe messages on white table coverings using purple Sharpies

Susanna Hoffs shared a heart emoji-filled post in honor of Prince, whose song Manic Monday went on to become her band The Bangles' biggest hit in 1986.

SNL star Maya Rudolph - who fronts an impressive Prince cover band called Princess - posted a cheery b&w pic of him with a purple heart and infinity emoji.

Eight-time Grammy winner Beck - whose 1999 album Midnite Vultures was inspired by Prince - shared a pic of the pair embracing onstage the 2015 Grammy Awards captioned: 'Five years gone.'

While ,three-time Grammy winner Lizzo - who lived in Minnesota from 2011-2016 - posted a snap of him captioned: 'Missing you.'

'Your legacy continues even now': Tributes poured in from Prince's many muses and notable admirers on social media, with his percussionist Sheila E. sharing five Instagram posts filled with memories

Six o'clock already: Susanna Hoffs shared a heart emoji-filled post in honor of Prince, whose song Manic Monday went on to become her band The Bangles' biggest hit in 1986

'Five years gone': Eight-time Grammy winner Beck - whose 1999 album Midnite Vultures was inspired by Prince - shared a pic of the pair embracing onstage the 2015 Grammy Awards

The Mandalorian's Rosario Dawson shared a picture of the pair on a 2011 episode of Lopez Tonight captioned: 'You Funny Mother Flower #LegendsNeverDie.'

Ballerina Misty Copeland starred in Prince's Crimson and Clover music video in 2009, shared a snap from his Welcome 2 America Tour with purple heart emojis.

Apollonia Kotero posted a distorted snap of them co-starring in his Oscar-winning 1984 film Purple Rain captioned with purple hearts and a broken heart emoji.

Speaking of which, The Time frontman Morris Day Insastoried a video of his mentor performing captioned: 'The brotha was bad!'

Three-time Grammy winner Lizzo - who lived in Minnesota from 2011-2016 - Instastoried a snap of him captioned: 'Missing you'

The Mandalorian's Rosario Dawson shared a picture of the pair on a 2011 episode of Lopez Tonight captioned: 'You Funny Mother Flower #LegendsNeverDie'

En pointe: Ballerina Misty Copeland starred in Prince's Crimson and Clover music video in 2009, shared a snap from his Welcome 2 America Tour with purple heart emojis.

Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Vanessa Marcil played 'the groupie' in the musical genius' VHS album The Undertaker in 1995, and she posted a still captioned: 'On the other side w you.'

Prince's second wife Manuela Testolini, whom he divorced in 2006, posted a lengthy statement in his honor.

'5 years. It's gone so fast and so slowly at the same time. I don't know which is better,' the Canadian businesswoman wrote.

Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Vanessa Marcil played 'the groupie' in the musical genius' VHS album The Undertaker in 1995, and she posted a still captioned: 'On the other side w you'

'I miss your fire': Prince's second wife Manuela Testolini, whom he divorced in 2006, posted a lengthy statement in his honor

'I have so many conversations with you, but even more so this last year. Thank you for keeping the channel open. I wonder what you'd say about things. The pandemic. The protests and gun violence. About George Floyd and the city of Minneapolis. I think we'd talk about the big difference between accountability and justice.'

The late Prince Roger Nelson's sister Tyka - who shares one-sixth of his estate - shared a childhood snap of the pair and wrote to his fans: 'Thank u ALL 4 ur continued love & support it means the world 2 me! 4Ever Prince.'

On April 8, Prince's estate dropped the titular single off his posthumous 12-track album Welcome 2 America - hitting shelves on July 30 - which he recorded back in 2010.
As of April 16, 2021, U.S. correctional and detention facilities reported 399,631 cases of COVID-19 in incarcerated persons, resulting in 2,574 deaths (1). During July 14November 30, 2020, COVID-19 was diagnosed in 382 persons incarcerated in Idaho correctional facilities with work-release programs. Work-release programs (which place incarcerated persons in community businesses) have social and economic benefits, but might put participants at increased risk for bidirectional transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) operates 13 state-run correctional facilities, including six low-security facilities dedicated to work-release programs. This report describes COVID-19 outbreaks in five IDOC facilities with work-release programs,* provides the mitigation strategies that IDOC implemented, and describes the collaborative public health response. As of November 30, 2020, 382 outbreak-related COVID-19 cases were identified among incarcerated persons in five Idaho correctional facilities with work-release programs; two outbreaks were linked to food processing plants. Mitigation strategies that helped to control outbreaks in IDOC facilities with work-release programs included isolation of persons with COVID-19, identification and quarantine of close contacts, mass testing of incarcerated persons and staff members, and temporary suspension of work-release programs. Implementation of public health recommendations for correctional and detention facilities with work-release programs, including mass testing and identification of high-risk work sites, can help mitigate SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks. Incarcerated persons participating in work-release should be included in COVID-19 vaccination plans.

A COVID-19 case was defined as detection of SARS-CoV-2 by a nucleic acid amplification test collected from a person incarcerated in an IDOC facility during July 14November 30, 2020. Cases were reported to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW). Facility information and work-release assignments were provided by IDOC. Because IDOC facilities lacked space for individual quarantine and isolation, close contacts were quarantined in cohorts for 14 days from the date of exposure. COVID-19 patients were isolated in cohorts or transferred to an IDOC COVID-19 unit** for at least 14 days. Clinical care was provided by a privately held prison health care contractor, which maintained a COVID-19 log to track testing, symptoms, quarantine, and medical isolation, and regularly shared the data with IDHW. Routine periodic mass testing of staff members and incarcerated persons for SARS-CoV-2 was conducted by IDOC. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.

During July 14November 30, 2020, COVID-19 outbreaks occurred at five IDOC facilities with work- release programs. The facilities included four metropolitan community reentry centers (CRCs) with approximately 120 work sites in multiple industries (including manufacturing, food processing, agriculture, construction, retail, and hospitality) and a rural work camp with work sites in the agricultural sector. IDOC provided transportation to and from work sites. A total of 382 COVID-19 cases were identified among incarcerated persons, including 76 (20%) cases in one facility housing women only, and 306 (80%) cases in four facilities housing men only. The median patient age was 37 years (range = 2169 years). Among COVID-19 patients, 218 (57.1%) were non-Hispanic White persons, 40 (10.5%) were Hispanic or Latino persons, 10 (2.6%) were Black persons, and nine (2.4%) were American Indian or Alaska Native persons; race/ethnicity data were missing for 105 (27.5%) patients. No hospitalizations or deaths occurred.

IDOC facilities provided various housing arrangements for 108276 persons; the number of COVID-19 cases at each facility ranged from nine to 148 (Table). The total number of incarcerated persons was unavailable because facility populations fluctuated over time, and race and ethnicity data for all incarcerated persons at these facilities were not available. Most cases (64.1%) were identified through mass testing; 13.6% cases were in persons with COVID-19compatible symptoms. Initial cases at IDOC facilities were identified during JulyAugust 2020, at the same time increases in community incidence occurred in the counties where facilities were located (Figure).

Information on work-release placements was available for CRC A and the work camp. The first COVID-19 case in CRC A was identified on July 14, 2020, in an incarcerated person working at a food processing plant. A COVID-19 outbreak had previously been identified among nonincarcerated employees at this workplace; IDOC was not aware of the ongoing outbreak until notified by public health officials on July 22, 2020, which prompted ongoing communication among IDOC and public health partners. Subsequent IDHW guidance recommended that correctional facilities require work-release sites to notify them of COVID-19 cases among employees and suspend work-release during COVID-19 outbreaks until all close contacts were quarantined and tested.*** At CRC A, cases occurred in 75 incarcerated persons, 16 (21%) of whom worked onsite and 59 (79%) of whom worked at businesses in the community (including 12 persons at the aforementioned food processing plant, five at a car dealership, four at a different food processing plant, four at a manufacturing facility, and 34 at 25 other businesses). After mass testing at CRC A on August 4, 2020, and subsequent isolation of patients and quarantine of close contacts, only one new case was identified at this facility. Seventeen COVID-19 cases were identified at the work camp in July among incarcerated persons working at a single food processing plant. The first two of these cases experienced symptom onset on July 13, 2020, preceded by two cases in nonincarcerated food plant employees with symptom onset on July 9 and July 12, suggesting that the work camp outbreak might have resulted after incarcerated persons were exposed to infection at the work site.

COVID-19 mitigation measures at all 13 IDOC-operated correctional facilities included intensified cleaning and mandatory use of face masks for staff members and incarcerated persons (hand soap and four reusable face masks distributed to each incarcerated person), and periodic SARS-CoV-2 mass testing. Universal temperature checks and symptom screenings were conducted daily and at entry. New admissions were quarantined for 14 days and tested for SARS-CoV-2 before transfer to general housing. The percentage of positive test results from mass testing at IDOC facilities with work-release ranged from 1% to 92% (Table). All cases identified during mass testing occurred in persons who were asymptomatic at the time of testing.

Mitigation strategies at IDOC facilities with work-release programs included 1) providing temperature checks and symptom screening before incarcerated persons departed to work sites and upon their return; 2) ensuring that face masks were worn during transport; 3) requiring employers to provide a COVID-19 safety plan; 4) documenting work-site safety measures, including physical distancing, mask use, and hand hygiene; and 5) conducting employer site checks to confirm safety standards were being maintained. Three IDOC facilities with work-release programs erected temporary housing structures to create more space for isolation and quarantine. Work-release was suspended temporarily at three facilities (CRC C, CRC D, and the work camp) to help control outbreaks (Figure).

Collaborative public health response initiatives were also implemented. IDHW hosted weekly calls with representatives from IDOC, the health care contractor, local public health districts, and Boise VA Medical Center laboratory to share information on cases, clinical capacity, mass testing, and public health guidance. IDOC regularly provided lists of CRC work sites to IDHW; public health officials notified IDOC of work sites considered to be high-risk for COVID-19 transmission (e.g., congregate setting without mitigation measures) or those experiencing active outbreaks. These collaborations increased testing availability and prompted IDOC to reassign some work-release participants to lower-risk work sites.
Gardai have initiated a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) Alert for 14-year-old Svetlana Murphy who is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18.

Gardai are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of the 14-year-old who is missing from Blackrock in Dundalk since Monday.

Following investigations gardai now have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana.

At approximately 4pm on Monday, 19th April 2021 Svetlana left her home on Coast Road, Blackrock, Co. Louth.

She is described as 5 foot 1 inch in height with a slim build.

She has brown hair and brown eyes.

At the time she went missing, Svetlana was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top and black runners.

Svetlana is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18 years old.

Nojus is described as being 6 foot in height with a slim build.

He has dark brown hair and he is clean shaven. He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top.

He may also have been wearing a khaki green hoody, and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Nojus are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

Gardai are satisfied that Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock, Co. Louth to Newry, Co. Down on Monday, 19th April 2021, and were sighted in Newry at approximately 7pm.

Gardai are satisfied the Hyundai Veloster car was in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday evening, Wednesday 21st April 2021.

An Garda Siochana is not aware of Svetlanas and Nojus whereabouts at this time.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gardai on 999 or 112.

Please do not approach those involved, instead immediately contact 999 / 112 or your local Garda Station providing as much information as possible.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A man accused of stealing from Mills Fleet Farm is pleading not guilty.

Jonathan David Patterson, 32 of Mason City, is now scheduled to stand trial beginning June 22 for second-degree theft.

Mills Fleet Farm employees told investigators they observed Patterson stealing money on four different occasions. Court document state $4,780 was taken between February 2 and March 8.
New York, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market Research Report by Raw Material, by Application, by End-User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05911973/?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 Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market is expected to grow from USD 4,168.99 Million in 2020 to USD 4,754.04 Million by the end of 2025.

2. The Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market is expected to grow from EUR 3,655.45 Million in 2020 to EUR 4,168.43 Million by the end of 2025.

3. The Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market is expected to grow from GBP 3,249.70 Million in 2020 to GBP 3,705.74 Million by the end of 2025.

4. The Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market is expected to grow from JPY 444,937.59 Million in 2020 to JPY 507,377.04 Million by the end of 2025.

5. The Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market is expected to grow from AUD 6,053.93 Million in 2020 to AUD 6,903.50 Million by the end of 2025.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Zeolite Molecular Sieve to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



Based on Raw Material, the Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market studied across Artificial Zeolite and Natural Zeolite.



Based on Application, the Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market studied across Adsorbents, Catalysts, and Detergents.



Based on End-User, the Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market studied across Air Purification, Automotive Industry, Cosmetics, Industrial Gas Production, Nuclear Industry, and Waste and Water Treatment.



Based on Geography, the Zeolite Molecular Sieve 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 Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market including Anhui Mingmei MinChem Co. Ltd., Axens SA, BASF SE, Chemiewerk Bad Kostritz GmbH, Clariant AG, Eurecat Group, Hengye Group, Honeywell International Inc, Interra Global Corporation, IQE Group, KNT Group, Kuraray Co. Ltd, N Shashikant & Co., Patalia Chem Industries, Pingxiang XINTAO Chemical Packing Co. Ltd, PQ Corporation, Sorbead India, Tosoh Corporation, Tricat Group, W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn., Zeochem AG, Zeolyst C.V., and Zeox 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 Zeolite Molecular Sieve 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



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1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Zeolite Molecular Sieve Market during the forecast period?

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Rodney Wegg's eye tears up as he listens to his wife Kari, talk about her COVID-19 ordeal that resulted in a double-lung transplant during an interview with The Associated Press in their Westfield, Ind., home on Sunday, March 21, 2021. "I feel like I'm trapped in a Lifetime movie," he posted to co-workers, friends and relatives following Kari's case. "So much information, so many paths to take, so many decisions to make not knowing where they'll lead." And the most painful decision, one doctor warned in an August call with Rodney and his wife's siblings, was days away: whether to disconnect Kari from the machine keeping her alive. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)
The Strader family had lived at the Rodeway Inn in Venice, Florida, just south of Sarasota.

Tina Strader, a mother to four and a grandmother, was the housekeeping manager at the motel. Her husband, Gerald, told News Channel 8 how they would watch out for one another and would text when she worked inside a room.

Just in case.

Just in case happened Tuesday.

Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman said deputies got to the Rodeway Inn at 1710 S. Tamiami Trail just after 10:30 a.m. because a woman was reported to be bleeding and unconscious in Room 205. She was severely battered, according to the sheriff departments arrest report.

Her husband found her inside the rooms closet with a towel stuffed in her mouth. He had last heard from her when she texted him at 8:49 a.m. to tell him that she was going to clean Room 205. Two minutes later, he texted her back. No response. He sent another at 9:44 a.m. and still didnt get a response.

Gerald Strader was worried. This was not like her to not return a text.

According to deputies, Tina Straders husband is the one who found her inside the closet, battered and not breathing. He shouted for help and he and another employee pulled her out of the closet. Her husband began CPR until deputies arrived.

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What Im about to share with you, as a sheriff, is difficult, Hoffman said at a news conference from headquarters Wednesday. This is one of the most egregious crimes weve seen recently.

According to deputies, the motels surveillance video shows Tina Stradler entering Room 205 at 8:49 am.  exactly when she texted her husband. One minute later, at 8:50 a.m. ,the suspect, identified as Stephen Matthew Havrilka, 30, is seen entering the room where he remains until 9:04 a.m.

At that time, he leaves the room, carrying a white towel and his shoes, and walks north until hes out of view of the surveillance cameras.

At 9:12 a.m. Havrilka is seen again on the surveillance video leaving the motel from its north door, according to the sheriffs office. No one else is seen entering Room 205 from the time Havrilka left it until the victims husband enters at 10:07 a.m.

Story continues

Despite her husbands efforts, and paramedics, Tina Stradler, 46, never regained consciousness, Sheriff Hoffman said.

Stephen Matthew Havrilkas booking photo at Sarasota County Jail on April 20, 2021.

Havrilka, an animal ... with neo-Nazi alliances, Hoffman said, was found not far away from the motel after detectives got a call at 10:38 a.m. about a suspicious white male at Alligator Drive and South Tamiami Trail near a Regions Bank wearing jeans and shirtless.

Deputies caught up to Havrilka near the bank. He has 34 prior felony charges, 19 felony convictions, 16 misdemeanor charges, 10 misdemeanor convictions and four stints in prison, according to the sheriffs department and court records.

He was acting erratic, speaking gibberish, and he started kneeling and praying on the ground. He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and/or narcotics, the arrest report said. Speaking in tongues, Hoffman added.

It took five deputies to place him in custody, Hoffman said.

At a press conference on April 21, 2021, that announced the details of the murder of a Venice County motel housekeeper, Sarasota Sheriffs Office deputies show a poster board featuring mugshots of the man, Stephen Havrilka, who was arrested and charged with second degree murder. He has 34 prior felony arrests.

Havrilka was registered as a guest of the Rodeway Inn. Room 209. The same floor and a few rooms over from where Tina Stradler was attacked.

She fought hard for her life. According to deputies, she had defensive wounds on her hands, bruising on her face and head. There was blood on the bed and on the towel that had been placed in her mouth.

He did not know the victim but perhaps spent days observing her, Hoffman said. There is no other way to describe Havrilka. He is an animal. She was doing her job and was terrorized, battered. As a husband, I cant imagine what this victims husband is feeling now, Hoffman said. I want to see that this man is put away for life.

Havrilka, whose previous arrests include domestic violence with strangulation and battery of someone 65 or older, is charged with second-degree murder. He is being held in the Sarasota County Jail without bond. His arraignment is scheduled for May 28.

It has been amazing the messages and the stories that I have been told, Gerald Strader told reporters at News Channel 8. She was the only reason that they stayed there and the kind little things she did for them.

Strader also posted to his Facebook page and set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.

At 5:55 p.m. April 20, 2021 My entire world Tina Strader passed away. Murdered by some random crazy person that suffocated her to death while she was at work. In less than one month Ive lost my mother and my wife, Strader posted on Tuesday.

At 5:55 P.M. April 20, 2021 My entire world Tina Strader passed away. Murdered by some random crazy person that... Posted by Gerald Strader on Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Posted by Gerald Strader on Thursday, April 22, 2021
Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade in Flushing, New York, on April 18, 2021, to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the April 25th peaceful appeal of 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

US Should Confront Communist China on Forced Organ Harvesting Crimes: Religious Freedom Official

The Chinese regimes forced organ harvesting from political and religious prisoners should be brought up any time the United States and communist China are at the negotiating table, according to Gary Bauer, who sits on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

I think a lot of the world was in denial about it for a long, long time. But the evidence is becoming overwhelming that that is something that communist Chinese are engaged in, the commissioner said in an April 21 interview with The Epoch Times.

The independent panel in the annual report released on the same day called out China as one of the worlds egregious violators of religious freedom. Allegations of the regimes state-sanctioned organ harvesting have emerged since 2006, with researchers and investigators noting Chinas short waiting times and the seemingly on-demand organ supply. A peoples tribunal in 2019 after a year-long investigation concluded that the practice has taken place on a significant scale, and that practitioners of Falun Gong were probably the principal source.

There is no evidence of the practice having been stopped, the tribunal said in its 160-page final judgment issued last March.

In early March, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced to the House and the Senate the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act to confront the issue. Nury Turkel, another USCIRF commissioner, warned during a virtual press conference on Wednesday that the forcible practice has likely extended to Uyghur Muslims detained in concentration camps.

They are even marketing Uyghur organs in the Muslim majority countries, Turkel said, noting reports of wait times as short as 48 hours.

The very idea that in 2021, a powerful nation like communist China would be harvesting organs from prisoners or religious minorities who are being persecuted, its almost unbelievable, said Bauer.

Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual discipline that became immensely popular in the country in the 1990s, was subjected to brutal suppression beginning in 1999. Over the past 22 years, adherents have faced continued arrest, harassment, slave labor, and psychiatric drugs, among other torment methods crafted to make them renounce their faith. Experts observed that the same persecution methods have since become the blueprint for the Chinese regime to repress other religious groups, notably the Uyghur Muslim population in the Xinjiang region.

The Chinese Communist Party is deeply threatened anytime any of its citizens are devoted to a philosophy or a faith that is more important to them than the Communist Party of China, Bauer said.

I wish 20 years ago the United States would have listened more to the Falun Gong because they were warning the world all the way back in the 1990s and early 2000s, that communist China was a very repressive regime and would not liberalize as long as they were under communism.

Enemy of Religious Freedom

The Chinese regimes treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang has gained attention worldwide. Legislators in the United States and elsewhere are calling for the Olympics to be moved out of Beijing so as not to give the regime a platform to whitewash its image.

While endorsing such sentiment, USCIRFs Vice Chair Tony Perkins noted that communist Chinas human rights repression is far wider, with the Christian community under worsening persecution in recent years. Perkins and Chair Gayle Manchin both became targets of Chinese sanctions for being vocal about Xinjiang.

Given what theyre doing to their own people in China and abroad, its hard to trust the Chinese government, Perkins told The Epoch Times on Wednesday.

From the commissions perspective, we see them as a hostile body as not an ally or a colleague, but the enemy of religious freedom, he added.

In 2020, at least 42 elderly Falun Gong practitioners died due to the persecution, the oldest among them 92, according to Minghui.org, a U.S.-based clearinghouse that collects first-hand evidence on the persecution.

Bauer said such reports were extremely disturbing.

This is unacceptable. Civilized nations do not engage in this kind of horrendous activity, he said.

The communist Chinese government feels like it could do anything that it wants to, to torment or injure or hurt those people that they are living over, he added. That is outrageous, and it must stop.

The big choice for the world in the 21st century, he said, will be one between freedom and human dignity represented by the United States and other Western countries, versus the oppressive model of communist China that routinely persecute the Falun Gong, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and so many other groups.

April 25 marks the 22nd anniversary of a peaceful Falun Gong appeal, which saw 10,000 adherents gathered at the communist leadership headquarters in Zhongnanhai to ask for their rights of belief. Remarking on the occasion, Bauer expressed hope that international human rights groups could take the opportunity to speak out on the groups behalf and help end the ongoing abuses.

Falun Gong and any other group and communist China should have the right to peacefully assemble and to follow the dictates of their heart, he said.

My hope is that still in my lifetime, I will see the day when all the people living under the Communist Party in China will be free, and have all the basic liberties and rights that we all too often take for granted here in the United States.

Sherry Dong contributed to this report.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan believes that protests that accompanied his visit to the city of Megri were illegal and that law enforcement must react to them strongly, Armenpress.am reports.

"I would like to talk about what happened in Megri. It is clear that a violation of law took place, and I expect the law enforcement agencies to react very strongly. We must not allow the atmosphere of impunity in the country. The guilty must be brought to responsibility in a way that the public could see," he said during a meeting in the Syunik Province, according to video footage, published on Pashinyans Facebook page Wednesday.

He also asked the Prosecutor Generals Office representative about measures taken, to which the latter replied that a criminal case has already been initiated.

"We have already initiated a criminal case on Article 258 part 3 of the Criminal Code [hooliganism]," he said.
Women who experience partner violence at a young age don't always show physical signs of abuse and don't always disclose -- or recognize -- the dangerous position they're in.

A new study from Michigan State University is one of the first to examine multiple factors that influence young women's disclosure of partner violence that occurred during their first relationships, when they were just under 15 years old, on average.

Physical abuse is widely understood as unhealthy, wrong and abusive, but sexual violence and coercive control are less understood and still pretty hidden, especially among young women. Raising awareness about these different types of partner violence is important, so survivors can label what they are experiencing, ideally early on during the relationship, share with someone and be met with nonjudgmental support." Angie C. Kennedy, Study Lead Author and Associate Professor, Social Work, Michigan State University

The study was published in the Journal of Family Violence and includes co-authors Elizabeth Meier, a doctoral candidate in MSU's School of Social Work, and Kristen A. Prock, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

The researchers interviewed a diverse group of young women between the ages of 18 and 24, all of whom had endured some form of partner violence with their first boyfriends.

Overall, 91% experienced physical partner violence, 58% of which was severe; 91% experienced coercive control, which involves a partner having control over a survivor's life; and 50% experienced sexual partner violence, defined as rape or attempted rape.

Further, the interviews revealed four patterns of partner violence and disclosure:

1) Nearly 20% of women experienced both physical and coercive control that was severe. The coercive control included forced isolation from others, which made it very difficult to disclose, but they all eventually told someone and were able to escape the relationship.

2) Several women who were raped by their boyfriends had experienced a lot of abuse growing up, which led them to minimize the sexual violence. Additionally, some participants who had been raped noted they had been socialized to believe that forced sex was part of their role as a girlfriend. These factors resulted in limited or no disclosure.

3) More than 80% of the women reported feeling stigmatization such as shame or self-blame related to the partner violence, which was a barrier to them disclosing.

4) Only a few participants sought help from law enforcement. Those who sought help had experienced severe physical violence or coercive control, but not sexual violence. They also had a supportive friend or family member, or a personal connection to law enforcement, which aided in their disclosure.

"I was surprised by the severity of the partner violence many experienced, oftentimes at a young age. The partner rape was especially alarming," Kennedy said. "Some of these relationships can go on for years, and while the abuse stays secret, the suffering young women experience is immense."

Kennedy says that she is encouraged by survivors going public with their experiences and using the media to share their stories and hold their abusers accountable.

"Seeing people going public with their stories of partner violence -- especially recent examples of high-profile young women like FKA twigs and Evan Rachel Wood -- can help survivors make sense of their own experiences and lift the shame and self-blame they've been carrying," she said.
New Delhi, April 22 : Indian Navy rescuers on Thursday started searching for an Indonesian submarine that went missing with 53 people on board in waters north of the island of Bali.

The Indian Navy's Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) departed from Visakhapatnam to support the Indonesian Navy in Search and Rescue efforts for KRI Nanggala on Thursday.

On April 21, an alert was received by the Indian Navy through the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), regarding the missing Indonesian submarine. The submarine was exercising in a location 25 miles North of Bali with a crew of 53 personnel.

In the South East Asian region, only India has deep submergence rescue capabilities and the DSRV can carry out rescue operations in deep waters.

The DSRV can recover submarine crews from depths up to 1000 m and it is equipped with sonar and a Remotely Operated Vehicle to clear the underwater obstructions for the rescue operations. The DSRV can be transported to the area of operations by air or sea routes.

This system has a side scan sonar for locating the position of the submarine in distress at sea, providing immediate relief by way of posting Emergency Life Support Containers with the help of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and thereafter rescuing the crew of the submarine using the DSRV.

In a submarine accident, rapidity of response is most crucial to safety of life. "To ensure early mobilisation, the System has been procured in a flyaway configuration which permits rapid transportation of the Rescue System from the base to the exact location of the distressed submarine by transportation using air/land/sea vessels," the Indian Navy stated.

The DSRV is the latest in terms of technology and capabilities. Live undersea matings with different types of submarines along with transfer of personnel from submarine to DSRV has also been achieved.

The Indonesian Defence Ministry had sought assistance on Wednesday from Australia, Singapore and India in the search and rescue operation of the 44-year-old submarine, KRI Nanggala-402.

The submarine was conducting a torpedo drill when it went missing. Contact with the vessel was lost at 4.30 a.m. on Wednesday, the Indonesia military said. The submarine was built to sustain pressure at a maximum depth of around 250 metres.

The Indonesian Navy in a statement said, "It is possible that during static diving, a blackout occurred so control was lost and emergency procedures cannot be carried out and the ship falls to a depth of 600-700 metres."
[April 22, 2021] Onbe Propels Growth Trajectory with Key Executive and Board Appointments

Onbe, the preferred payments partner for the world's leading brands, today announced that industry executive George Eliopoulos, has been appointed as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), alongside a new member of the Board of Directors, Kevin Schultz. Eliopoulos and Schultz's appointments come on the heels of Onbe's recent brand launch announcement -following the merger of two leading fintechs, daVinci Payments and North Lane Technologies. In addition to Eliopoulos, Onbe has formed an executive team hailing from the world's top fintech, finance and payments leaders including Visa, PayPal (News - Alert) , Citi, JPMorgan Chase and more, led by interim CEO and Onbe Chairman Juli Spottiswood. Onbe has cultivated a world-class team from a combination of Onbe's rich fintech heritage, as well as the best talent the market has to offer. Eliopoulos, a 20-year industry veteran, previously led a number of PayPal's North American enterprise sales divisions and, prior to that, formed JPMorgan Chase's Midwest sales arm of a new commercial lending division. He has played vital roles in creating client organizations that resulted in dramatic revenue growth. He has extensive experience drivingcompany momentum and profit in the technology, payments, finance and banking sectors.



"I am thrilled to be joining Onbe, alongside an exceptional team-with whom I look forward to growing Onbe's market position, fueled by new innovations and expansive client relationships," said George Eliopoulos, Onbe CRO. "The company's mission to create engaging payment experiences for leading brands globally is something I've dedicated my career to, and I'm excited to start this new chapter of my journey as Onbe embarks upon its own new beginning." Schultz brings more than 30 years of experience in payments, having most recently served as EVP and Group President of Digital Banking and EVP and President of International at Fiserv. Prior to Fiserv, Schultz held leadership roles at First Data, Global Payments and Visa. Schultz joins the Board as an Independent Director, alongside Chairman Juli Spottiswood and Onbe investors from Centerbridge Partners, L.P., Bain Capital Ventures and Silversmith Capital Partners.

"Having been in the payments industry for three decades, I can say firsthand that it's rare to see a true innovator, like Onbe," said Schultz. "I'm excited to bring my experience to a company I believe is paving the way for the future of fintech." "George and Kevin bring invaluable experience to our already highly-respected team of accomplished payments experts," said Juli Spottiswood, chairman and interim CEO. "These appointments will further Onbe's mission to innovate and co-create engaging experiences that deliver value beyond currency, and we have no doubt that George and Kevin will play a pivotal role in Onbe's evolution as we continue our rapid growth throughout 2021 and beyond." ABOUT ONBE Onbe, based in Chicago and Philadelphia, creates engaging payment experiences on behalf of modern brands for consumers, workforces and marketplaces, delivering value beyond currency. Backed by top-tier investors and with over 25 years of industry experience, Onbe's team of experts and purpose-built payment issuing platform seamlessly connect brands to their constituents around the world. www.onbe.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005750/en/

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A Times investigation found that purchases of the companys anthrax vaccine had accounted for almost half the reserves entire annual budget for much of the last decade  leaving less money for critical supplies like masks that were scarce last year.

The Bayview plant was supposed to produce the bulk of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received federal authorization for emergency use this year but only for doses made in the Netherlands. AstraZenecas vaccine is not yet allowed in the United States, regardless of where it is manufactured.

The F.D.A. inspection began after routine checks showed that Emergent workers had contaminated at least part of a batch of 13 million to 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with the harmless virus that is used to make the AstraZeneca shot. The regulators found that Emergent failed to thoroughly investigate that incident and performed only routine cleaning afterward. One previous audit of Bayview for a pharmaceutical customer found that Emergent glossed over deviations from manufacturing standards without conducting thorough reviews.

The inspectors, who examined security footage as part of their review, found that Emergent failed to consider whether one or more workers might have been the source of the contamination. Workers are supposed to change gowns and bootees and shower before crossing between the different manufacturing zones for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

But the regulators said that rule appeared to be routinely violated. In one 10-day period in February, for instance, 13 employees moved from one zone to another on the same day, but only one documented having showered, they said. The inspectors also said Emergent failed to consider whether using common storage containers for raw materials might have caused the contamination. Emergents own internal audit last July said the flow of workers and materials through the plant was not adequately controlled to prevent mix-ups or contamination.

Federal officials have already insisted on a major change they say should significantly limit risks. This month, they ordered Emergent to stop making the AstraZeneca shot at the plant, and they are now trying to help AstraZeneca find a new manufacturing site.

In another finding, the F.D.A. regulators wrote that the Bayview building is not maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. Nor is it of suitable size, design and location to facilitate cleaning, maintenance and proper operations, they said.
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Morgan Properties, the nation's largest private multifamily owner headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, announced today it has been awarded a Rochester Top Workplaces 2021 honor by the Democrat and Chronicle. The distinction was awarded to 60 of Rochesters best employers for their commitment to developing and sustaining a culture that supports, promotes, and values its employees. Morgan Properties has 42 apartment communities in the area.

Morgan Properties was recently named the country's second largest apartment owner and tenth largest apartment manager by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). In 2019, Morgan Properties acquired Morgan Communities, a portfolio of 95 apartment communities and approximately 18,000 units in eight states for $1.9 billion. This transaction positioned the company as the largest multifamily owner in the state of New York with a significant footprint in Rochester. Despite the similar names, Morgan Properties has never been affiliated with Morgan Communities, a company based in Rochester, and the two companies are fully independent.

Im thrilled to see Morgan Properties recognized among an elite group of top employers in Rochester after significantly expanding its footprint in New York just two years ago, said Samantha McQuown, Vice President, Business Operations of Morgan Properties. Despite 2020 being an unprecedented year with challenges we could have never anticipated, this honor is a testament to the supportive and enthusiastic work environment that we strive to foster. We truly believe that our success is a direct result of our loyal and talented teams. We are so grateful that our dedicated employees have such a high degree of satisfaction and feel that Morgan Properties provides them with the resources they need to thrive.

The Democrat and Chronicle partnered with Philadelphia-based employee research and consulting firm, Energage, to determine the Top Workplaces in Rochester. The process is based on an anonymous, scientific survey of employees who rate qualities such as company leadership, career opportunities, workplace flexibility and culture, compensation, and benefits.

For career opportunities with Morgan Properties, visit https://www.morgan-properties.com/careers to learn more and apply.

About Morgan Properties

Established in 1985 by Mitchell Morgan, Morgan Properties is a national real estate investment and management company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Jonathan and Jason Morgan represent the next-generation leaders growing the platform and overseeing the business operations. Morgan Properties and its affiliates currently own and manage a multifamily portfolio comprised of 357 apartment communities and over 90,000 units located in 20 states, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast Region. The Company is the nations largest private multifamily owner and the second largest apartment owner in the country. Morgan Properties is the largest multifamily owner in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. With over 2,500 employees, Morgan Properties prides itself on its quick decision-making capabilities, strong capital relationships and proven operational expertise.

Learn more about Morgan Properties at www.morganproperties.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210420005175/en/

Press Contact:



Britni Ackrivo

backrivo@gregoryfca.com

484-504-9920

Source: Morgan Properties
Two Western Massachusetts women and a Worcester attorney who represents that countys sheriffs department have been nominated for judgeships, following protests about too few people who live outside the Boston area being selected for court positions.

Maureen E. Walsh, currently the presiding justice of Northampton District Court and the regional administrative judge for the four Western Massachusetts counties, has been nominated as an associate judge on the state Appeals Court, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Wednesday.

In addition, Lisa S. Lippiello, a Northampton lawyer who currently specializes in employment discrimination and sexual harassment cases, has been nominated as an associate judge for district court. She previously spent a dozen years as a New York City police officer, rising to the ranks to lieutenant, the announcement said.

Andrew J. Abdella, the sole legal adviser and general counsel and chief administrative officer to the Worcester Sheriffs Office, has also been nominated as a district court associate justice. After graduating from Suffolk University Law School, he began his career in 2006 as an assistant city solicitor for Worcester, it said.

Throughout their careers, Judge Walsh and Attorneys Lippiello and Abdella have demonstrated a strong commitment to serving their communities, Baker said in writing. Should they be confirmed, I am confident that their knowledge of the law and wisdom will serve the Commonwealth and their respective courts well.

The nominations come about six months after Mary Hurley, the Western Massachusetts representative on the Governors Council, joined local attorneys and retired judges to protest a lack of nominations to the Supreme Judicial Court of people who live west of Interstate 495 after two vacancies opened on that bench.

The Governors Council confirms judicial nominations across the state. Hurley, who retired as an associated justice in 2014 and also served as mayor of Springfield, said she is delighted with the nominations.

Im thrilled with the nomination of Maureen Walsh to the Appeals Court. She is an outstanding jurist, she said.

Hurley said she worked with Walsh when both were justices since Walsh is the regional administrative judge. She said Walsh excelled in the position even though it is a thankless job.

Walsh was first named as an associate justice of the Eastern Hampshire District Court in 2008 and later served as presiding justice in Holyoke District Court. She began her career as a law clerk to federal Judge Michael A. Ponsor and also served as a member of the Massachusetts Parole Board.

Hurley also said she knows Lippiello, who began her law career as a public defender in Northampton and has a variety of experience in private practice, handling criminal defense cases and matters tied to the LBGTQ community.

She is a former police officer and practiced in Northampton and I know she will make an excellent justice, she said.

Judicial nominations, as well as jury trials and many court matters, have been largely on hold since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most courthouses closed and hearings were held virtually. Now that courthouses are opening, Hurley said she expects a flood of nominations as courts begin to move through a backlog of cases.

As that happens, she said she wants to ensure people are nominated to justice positions in communities that they know best.

Local people know the character of the community, she said. In Springfield, for example, drugs, gangs and firearms are a greater problem than they are in Westfield or Northampton, and it is good to understand that.

She urged qualified lawyers to submit applications for nominations for judgeships.

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The head of a neo-Nazi group was arrested in Arizona after allegedly brandishing a gun at a group of Black men.

Burt Colucci 45, is the current commander of the Nationalist Socialist Movement, a leading neo-Nazi group in the US, according to The Southern Poverty Law Center.

He was arrested on Monday in a Phoenix suburb for pointing the loaded handgun at a Black man and threatening to kill him and his friends.

The incident happened outside a hotel after Mr Colucci reportedly put trash on the car of the Black men and used racial slurs towards them, according to police reports.

Mr Colucci told officers he was part of a white civil rights group and that he had pulled out his handgun and had it in a low ready position.

But the other men said he had aimed the weapon at them and threatened to kill them, and an independent witness reportedly backed that up.

Mr Colucci was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and his bond was set at $7,500 by a Maricopa County superior court judge.

He was allowed to return home to Florida but must come back to Maricopa County by 25 April for a hearing.

If convicted he faces up to three years in prison.

Two days before his arrest Mr Colucci held a rally with just 15 supporters in a Phoenix park with links to the civil rights movement in the city.

Reuters contributed to this report
Sinn Fein are coming under mounting pressure to explain whether the data and voting intentions of Longford people were stored in London and Frankfurt without their consent, Senator Micheal Carrigy has said.

It comes after Sinn Fein leader confirmed this morning that the partys online database of voter information is stored in Germany and had been moved from London after the advent of Brexit.

Senator Carrigy said Ms McDonalds responses when questioned about Sinn Feins transnational international database and social media operation, have serious consequences for the entire Irish electorate.

And, in a move to shed further light on the revelation, the Ballinalee postmaster called on Longford-Westmeath TD Sorca Clarke to "provide answers to the people of Longford" on the controversy.

Almost two weeks ago it emerged that Sinn Fein was storing the data of Irish voters in a centralised database, which was then used to compare them to a major social media operation to elicit their future voting intentions," he said.

All this time questions were being asked about this secret database and data mining operation, but nobody in Sinn Fein could give a straight answer about where the data was stored and if they had the consent of the Irish people to store it.

During an interview with Newstalk radio this morning, Ms McDonald said her party's voter database, known as Abu, contains the "returns from canvases" and that the information is stored in Frankfurt.

She explained that the server was located in London, but after Brexit its location had to change. She said that the database is "legally stored" in the European Union.

Senator Carrigy replied, said there was an onus on Ms Clarke as a local TD to set the record straight for the wider electorate.

Deputy Sorca Clarke TD needs to clarify immediately, is the information of any Longford voters stored in this secret central database?
The partnership will bring personal cloud to a market of more than 25 universities and eight million students in the coming three years

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., April 22, 2021, the IT arm of Telkom Indonesia Group, to deliver the Synchronoss Personal Cloud Solution to Indonesian universities. The Telkom Community Cloud will be offered to students at 25 universities as a tool to securely store, share and transfer academic documents with their professors, school groups and peers.



The white-label Synchronoss Personal Cloud solution will run on top of FLOU, Telkomsigma's multi-cloud platform. First-year students at selected universities will be able to join the new cloud solution beginning in September, with thousands of additional students phased in over the next three years. At the end of the three-year onboarding process, 450,000 students are expected to have access to the new Synchronoss-powered personal cloud solution. Students also will have the option to continue using a paid version of the same solution after they graduate, giving them the ability to access, store and share their academic files, photos, videos and other personal content long after they have left their educational institutions.

"We are excited to be partnering with Synchronoss to offer Indonesian universities a personal cloud solution that meets the needs of both students and faculty," said M Hassan Salman, EVP Telkomsigma. "Whether they are attending in-person classes or taking advantage of remote learning, students are generating and sharing massive amounts of data with their peers and their professors, and must be confident that their content is protected as well as available when needed. The Telkomsigma Community Cloud and its ability to keep those files both accessible and secure will provide a valuable service for students today as well as in the future once they've finished their studies."

In addition to giving university users access to their content anywhere and anytime and the ability to easily share that content with others, the automatic backup capabilities of the Telkomsigma Community Cloud also protects students from the loss of data due to hardware failure. And unlike other cloud solutions on the market, the Synchronoss-powered personal cloud allows student data to be stored in-country, a critical requirement for Telkomsigma to adhere to Indonesian law.

Anthony Socci, President and GM APAC, said the value of the new Telkomsigma partnership extends beyond the importance of providing millions of university students with an easily accessible, university delivered personal cloud. "Academic institutions are increasingly looking to provide personal cloud solutions to their students and staff as the magnitude of digital content created and shared increases dramatically. As Telkomsigma has found, the Synchronoss Personal Cloud Solution is fully able to meet the sometime unique needs of the academic sector - whether those requirements might be the flexibility to quickly add new services or the capacity to adhere to local data privacy regulations. We are excited to see how our partnership with Telkomsigma opens the door to additional collaborations with other educational organizations."

Synchronoss' personal cloud solutions have been adopted by mobile operators and other companies, including insurance providers, across the globe to deliver a high level of value to their customers and to drive new revenue. To learn more about Synchronoss cloud solutions, visit synchronoss.com/solutions/cloud.

About Synchronoss

Synchronoss transforms the way companies create new revenue, reduce costs and delight their subscribers with cloud, messaging and digital solutions, supporting hundreds of millions of subscribers across the globe. Synchronoss' secure, scalable and groundbreaking new technologies, trusted partnerships, and talented people change the way TMT customers grow their businesses. For more information, visit us at www.synchronoss.com.

Contacts

Media

Anais Merlin, CCgroup

Diane Rose, CCgroup

Investors

Todd Kehrli/Joo-Hun Kim, MKR Investor Relations, Inc.

investor@synchronoss.com
"We have only ONE world and no other choice but to do our very best to take care of it and preserve resources," said Kuba Jewgieniew , CEO and Founder of Realty ONE Group. "Our company works every day to build a legacy for our families, our communities and for future generations and we take advantage of every opportunity we can to make an impact."

Realty ONE Group prides itself in volunteering in communities everywhere and also uses its 501(c) charitable arm, Realty ONE Group Cares, to contribute to organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Beverly Carter Foundation and Feeding America and is looking forward to expanding giving around the world as it opens more offices internationally.

The company will celebrate its 16th anniversary on May 1, ONE Day, a day of corporate-wide giving and volunteerism.

The UNBrokerage has more than 16,000 real estate professionals in more than 300 offices in 45 states, Washington D.C. and Canada. As a sign of its tremendous appeal and growth, the company was named a Top 50 Franchise for Women by Franchise Business Review and was once again named the No. 1 Fastest Growing 100%-Commission company on Entrepreneur's Fastest Growing Worldwide Franchise list of 2021.

Learn more at www.OwnAOne.com .

About Realty ONE Group

Founded in 2005, Realty ONE Group is an industry disruptor, radically changing the face of real estate franchising with its unique business model, fun coolture, technology infrastructure and superior support for its real estate professionals. The company has rapidly evolved to include more than 16,000 real estate professionals in over 300+ offices across 45 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Canada. Realty ONE Group ranks in the top one percent in the nation by REAL Trends, has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as a Top 5 Real Estate Franchise and has been on Inc. 500's list of the Fastest-Growing Companies for seven consecutive years. Realty ONE Group is surging ahead, opening doors, not only for its clients but for real estate professionals and franchise owners. To learn more, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com.

SOURCE Realty ONE Group

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Gatundu South Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Kuria fell flat on his face Wednesday when he tried to prove hes on speaking terms with Uhuru Kenyatta during a live interview.

The outspoken lawmaker had appeared on Trace Radio in the morning to give his views on a number of topics in the Kenyan political scene.

Among the topics was his involvement with the Tanga Tanga faction associated with Deputy President William Ruto.

I did not join Tanga Tanga, I created Tanga Tanga. The Tanga Tanga movement is strong in spirit. Theres a deep message within it which I can summarize as self determination, Kuria said.

Maintaining that the ruling Jubilee party was on its deathbed, Moses Kuria said the party is to blame for failures of President Uhuru Kenyattas administration.

I would give the government (2107-now) a rating of 2-3/10. This is because in my opinion, Jubilee Party lost focus. The implosion of Jubilee Party is inevitable. It is now a question of when it will happen, not if, he said.

Kuria also gave his views on the BBI Bill saying the proposed constitutional reforms do not need a referendum.

There are good things about the BBI but most of the reforms do not require a referendum. But the owners of the BBI are trying to perpetuate power. Thats the main agenda of the BBI, he said.

Towards the end of the interview, Kuria, in an attempt to prove his closeness to the Presidency, made a call to Uhuru which went unanswered.

He must be attending to State business in Congo, Kuria said.
Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state in India from the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the government here to recently announce tightening of curbs that have already been in place. The new set of restrictions announced will be enforced from 8 pm today (Thursday, April 22) and will remain in place till 7 am on May 1.

The idea behind the restrictions are to ensure that maximum number of people remain at homes and that crowds of any kind are avoided. As such, public transportation - although operational - will only be for personnel involved in essential services. As such, local trains, metro and monorail services are only for government employees and healthcare workers, upon production of valid I cards. Movement of private passenger transport is only for emergency and essential services and restricted to within the city of residence.

Emergency and essential services' workers can also make use of state-run buses but each of these will only operate at 50% of total capacity.

Anyone needing emergency medical assistance or specially-abled people can avail the transport services.

There have also been curbs announced on the number of people that can attend a marriage ceremony or a funeral. Violators of any of these and other restrictions announced can be fined heavily.

Maharashtra reported over 67,000 cases on Wednesday and there were 568 deaths across the state, as per data released by PIB Maharashtra. The existing health infrastructure here are under tremendous strain as it is in many other parts of the country as well. As such, the state government here has seen strict restrictions as an emergency way of slowing the rate of transmission.

Many other states and cities have also announced curfews and lockdowns with the same objective. There is a lockdown in place in Delhi till April 26 while Karnataka also announced restrictions after cases continued to soar. A night curfew is in place in Kerala and Punjab while weekend curfew in Rajasthan has been extended till May 3. Eight districts in Chhattisgarh are under complete lockdown. Gujarat and Odisha have night curfews in several cities and districts, respectively.
Representatives of ministries, central authorities and religious denominations met at the Victoria Palace on Thursday to determine ways in which Romanians living, studying and working abroad can be supported, as well as in historical communities, agerpres.ro confirms.

The discussions focused on the Diaspora Hub projects, the single point of contact where Romanians abroad will be able to find useful information and which aims to become the state-citizen interface in the diaspora, the Mobile Community Center of the Diaspora, to provide itinerant assistance to Roma communities and to collect data on the fluidity of the migratory flow from one European state to another, states a release of the Department for Romanians Abroad sent to AGERPRES.

Also, the reintegration policies, the brain drain phenomenon and the issue of regaining Romanian citizenship, the equivalence of diplomas and studies were on the agenda of the discussions, according to the quoted source.

"The programs developed for the communities abroad require a trans-institutional approach, which is why we have met and we intend to meet regularly, collaborating effectively to achieve what we set out to do," said the secretary of state for Romanians Abroad, Oana Ursache, who chaired the meeting.

For his part, Dan Barna, Deputy Prime Minister, said that he wants "every Romanian citizen to feel that his/her country keeps a door open for him/her, for Romanians abroad to feel that Romania wants them".

Analyzed during the meeting were the measures and public policies for supporting Romanians and Romanian communities abroad and the directions of action assumed by the Department for Romanians Abroad and by the ministries, through the governing program.
Florence police say a man arrested in Texas for kidnapping in connection with the abduction of an teenage girl could face more charges in Alabama.

Daniel Skipworth, 19, of Tyler, Texas, already faces charges of third degree kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and trafficking of persons in Texas. Last Saturday, Abbygail Moody was found at a home where she had been held for about two days in Tyler.

Florence police say they are working closely with the FBI to pursue federal charges. They say the case remains fluid.

The fact that the crimes committed by Skipworth covered multiple states will come in to play during this investigation, Det. Josh Hein of Florence police said.

Moody has since returned home and has been reunited with her family. She left her home on foot on April 15 and was picked by Skipworth, authorities said, who she met online a week before. Skipworth took her to Tyler though Moody told authorities she asked multiple times to be returned home. The investigation involved local, state and federal law enforcement officers, with authorities able to track movements through Moodys phone.

Florence police said the case shows the importance of parents monitoring their childrens social media activity.

It is important as parents that we constantly know who our children are talking to and when they are talking to them, Hein said. There are many messaging apps and video game apps available for predators to reach out under the ruse of being friendly and of the same age. The reality of today is that no one can be trusted without a personal relationship through mutual family and friends.
The only Laois school that cares for children with profound special needs is awaiting a new purpose-built building for many years.

Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise is one step closer now in latest news confirmed this Thursday, April 22.

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD has confirmed that the project is going to the next planning stage, for detailed designs and a planning application.

"Please be advised that Kolbe Special School, Portlaoise, RN 20100P, has recently been authorised to progress to Stage 2b  Detailed Design which includes applications for all statutory consents, including Planning Permission, Disability Access Certificate and Fire Safety Certificate and also the preparation of tender documentation," she said.

The new replacement school building designed for special needs pupils will be on a greenfield site, set aside for many years beside the school on the Block Road.

The single storey building will have 8 classrooms and ancillary accommodation including a General Purpose room, a Home Economics Room, a Daily Living Skills room, library and resource area.

Sean Fleming TD Minister of State, Department of Finance announced the progress for Kolbe Special School, Portlaoise.

"This authorisation by the Minister will be very welcome news to everybody involved and associated with Kolbe Special School, who have been waiting a long time for progress on this very important project.

"Today is a good day and I will continue to ensure progress continues for the new school. At all times during the General Election 2020 I publicly stated that the Kolbe Special School was my No1 priority school in the County. I am now delivering on this election commitment," Minister Fleming said.

Laois/Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan also welcomed progress and reaffirmed the new school for Kolbe as a priority issue for 2021 and would like to see work commencing before the year is out.

Back in 2018, the then Minister Flanagan said he was informed by Minister Richard Bruton that the Department of Education was finalising the development of the project brief with a view to progressing the project into architectural planning.

Deputy Flanagan has also welcomed the new progress, saying that the new school for Kolbe is a priority issue for 2021 and he would like to see work commencing before the year is out.

In 2018, the Leinster Express visited the school to find that five of the seven classrooms as well as the nurses room are in prefabs. There was no room for PE or therapies due to the increase of pupils many of whom need the space for wheelchairs.

Deputy Principal Kate Steed said at that time that a new school was promised since she began working there in 2006.

These children have already got such a hard road ahead, and then for every other child in Portlaoise to get a new school. Our most vulnerable are left last, not even last, they are just left. There is no sign of a new school, we get told something is happening then it doesnt. This was never designed to be a school, it was a care facility".
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Boris Johnson threw himself wholeheartedly behind Joe Biden today as the US president tore up the Trump administration's antipathy towards tackling climate change.

Mr Biden used a climate conference attended by 40 world leaders including Vladimir Putin to pledge to cut US greenhouse gas emissions in half compared to 2005 output within the next decade, a move the Prime Minister hailed as 'game-changing'.

The US reduction - estimated to be around a 41-44 per cent cut on 1990 levels - is part of a national climate plan, which it is submitting as part of its return to the Paris climate accord, the world's first comprehensive climate treaty which Donald Trump quit when he was president.

But the Prime Minister has already faced criticism over his own plans which go far further than those of the US. Mr Johnson has set out the UK's moves to cut greenhouse gases by 78 per cent of 1990 levels by 2035.

According to advice from the UK Government's advisory Climate Change Committee (CCC), delivering on Mr Johnson's target will mean radical changes including an end to heating homes with natural gas boilers, eating less meat and dairy produce, and switching to electric cars. Critics said it would cost 10,000 to upgrade homes and mean a cut in foreign holidays.

But Mr Johnson urged the world's richest nations to embrace climate action for the sake of growth and jobs today - as he told them it was not just about 'bunny-hugging'.

'I'm not saying any of this is going to be easy and there is obviously going to be a political challenge,' the PM told assembled world leaders.

'It's vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically correct, green act of bunny hugging, or however you want to put it, there's nothing wrong with bunny hugging.

'What I'm driving at is this is about growth and jobs, and I think the President (Biden) was absolutely right to stress that.

'We can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener.'

The two-day US-led summit also heard from leaders of major economies including China, Japan, Russia, Canada, India and Australia.

As part of diplomatic efforts in the lead up to the summit, the US and China issued a statement pledging to work together and with other countries on the issue.

The Prime Minister announced a 'world-leading' target for the UK to cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035

The Prime Minister made the remarks as he addressed Joe Biden's virtual gathering of world leaders, at which the president vowed to halve US emissions by 2030.

What Boris Johnson's green targets mean for YOUR life and wallet Target - Cut meat and dairy consumption by a fifth over the next decade Impact - Someone who has meat for every three meals could only do this twice a week under the new plans. Similarly, the average Briton would need to shave a fifth of the average milk consumption down to 16ml a day - or roughly three teaspoons. Target - Ban new fossil-fuelled cars - including hybrids - by 2033 Impact - The average cost of buying a new electric car in the UK is 44,000, according to industry figures. Target - Ban the sale of oil-fired boilers by 2028 and gas boilers by 2033; require all homes to be insulated Impact - Energy efficiency measures - such as improving insulation and installing low carbon boilers - could cost 10,000 per home. Target - Stop expanding UK airport capacity and impose a frequent flyer levy with the aim of reducing the number of flights by 15% Impact - The average Briton currently takes 10 foreign holidays every five years, which would need to reduce to around 8. This is the equivalent of around three foreign holidays every two years. Advertisement

Among the countries bringing forward new targets were Japan, whose prime minister Yoshihide Suga said its target would be a 46 per cent cut on 2013 levels, compared to an earlier 26 per cent goal, with efforts to push the reduction as high as 50 per cent.

Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his country's new target of slashing carbon emissions by 40 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, saying it was "on track to blow past" the old target of a 30 per cent cut.

The European Union has agreed a new climate law which includes a goal to cut its emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 on 1990 levels.

Mr Johnson set out the UK's moves to cut greenhouse gases by 78 per cent by 2035.

'As host of Cop26 we want to see similar ambitions around the world, we are working with everybody from the smallest nations to the biggest emitters to secure commitments that will keep change to within 1.5C,' he said.

'I think we can do it, to do it we need scientists in all of our countries to work together to produce the technological solutions that humanity is going to need,' he said, pointing to technology to store carbon and cheap hydrogen.

He added: 'It will mean the richest nations coming together and exceeding the 100 billion US dollar commitment that they already made in 2009' to support developing countries, stressing how important that was.

It comes ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November.

President Biden told the summit it could help build a more prosperous, equitable society, stressing the jobs that could be created.

'The signs are unmistakeable, the science is undeniable. The cost of inaction keeps mounting.

'The United States isn't waiting, we are resolving to take action, not only our federal government but our cities and our states all across our country, small business, large corporations, American workers in every field,' he said.

He said the US only represented 15 per cent of the world's emissions and that no nation can solve the crisis on its own.

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who addressed the summit

There was an odd moment when it was time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak. He was introduced while French President Emmanuel Macron - in pretaped remarks - was still talking. Then Putin sat silently on screen as Biden sat quietly in the East Room with no one speaking; finally Putin spoke after being introduced again

President Joe Biden, center, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, listen during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House

The world leaders joined the Climate Summit virtually

Canada's Prime Minster Justin Trudeau raised his country's goal to of an emissions cut of 40%-45% by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30%

'The science is undeniable': Biden and Kamala Harris promise to slash US carbon emissions in HALF President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders on Thursday, asking them to work together to keep the earth's temperature from rising too high in the next decade, arguing it would result in new jobs and economic opportunities. 'The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,' he said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit. 'This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,' Biden argued. 'Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.' In his remarks, Biden stressed the importance of working together but also emphasized combatting climate change can create jobs and boost economies. He spoke from the East Room of the White House, which was decorated with plants and greenery. Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him and he was joined by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and climate czar John Kerry. The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually, were on a screen in front of him. Biden vowed the US would do its part, pledging the country will cut emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2015. 'No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand all of us, all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies. We have to step up,' he said. Advertisement

'All of us, particularly those who represent the world's largest economies, we have to step up.

'Those that do take action and make bold investments in their people, in clean energy futures, will win the good jobs of tomorrow and make their economies more resilient and more competitive.'

Countries have been expected to come forward with more ambitious plans up to 2030, known as nationally determined contributions (NDC) in the Paris deal, ahead of Cop26 in November.

That is because existing plans are not enough to meet countries' commitments under the Paris deal to curb global temperature rises to 'well below' 2C above pre-industrial levels - or 1.5C if possible - and avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has called for a 'people-centred' approach to the climate crisis.

President Xi said: 'We must treat nature as our root, respect it, protect it and follow its laws, we should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes.

'Second, we must be committed to green development - green mountains are gold mountains, to protect the environment is to protect productivity and to boost the environment is to boost productivity.

'The truth is as simple as that.'

He added: 'We must be committed to a people-centred approach, the environment concerns the wellbeing of people in all countries, we need to take into full account people's desire for a better quality of life and good environment as well as our responsibility for future generations.'

Vladimir Putin told the climate summit that since the 1990s Russia has halved its annual carbon dioxide emissions from 3.1 billion tonnes to 1.6 billion tonnes, and could be carbon neutral as early as 2025.

'This has become possible because of a fundamental restructuring of our industry and energy that has been under way for the last two decades,' he said.

'As a result, as of now, 45 per cent of our energy mix is accounted for by low-emission energy sources, including nuclear generation.'

Mr Putin said Russia planned to carry out a 'large-scale campaign' of environmental modernisation and greater efficiency across all sectors of its economy, including the use of carbon capture and storage from all carbon sources.

He continued: 'We're also building an infrastructure for producing hydrogen to be used both as a fuel, and an energy source.'

Mr Putin said Russia was also developing a carbon pricing and trading system, claiming such a system could allow Russia to be carbon neutral as early as 2025.

Boris Johnson's 'bunny-hugging' climate speech in full 'Id like to begin by thanking President Biden very much for bringing us together today in the way that he has and for setting out the problem in the eloquent way that he did at the beginning, and of course for returning the United States to the front rank of the fight against climate change. 'Im really thrilled by the game-changing announcement that Joe Biden has just made. And Im proud that the UK is doing the same. 'We were first country to pass legislation for net zero. We have the biggest offshore wind capacity of any country in the world, the Saudi Arabia of wind as I never tire of saying. Were halfway to net zero. 'We have carbon emissions lower than at any point since the 19th century, were ending support for fossil fuels overseas and doubling our international climate finance. Were actually speeding up because we see the obligations for developed countries to do more, were legislating to deliver 78% of the reductions needed to reach that goal by 2035. 'As host of COP26, we want to see similar ambitions around the world and were working with everybody, from the smallest nations to the biggest emitters to secure commitments that will keep change to within 1.5 degrees. 'And I think we can do it. And to do it we need the scientists and all of our countries to work together to produce the technological solutions that humanity is going to need. 'Whether its carbon capture and storage or solving the problems of cheap hydrogen delivery or getting to jet zero flying, getting to net zero flying, making sure that we can roll out EVs properly, making sure that our homes stop emitting such prodigious quantities of CO2, moving to sustainable domestic living. 'We can do this together across the world. Its going to mean the richest nations coming together and exceeding the $100 billion commitment that they already made in 2009 and I stress how important that is. 'Plus, I think what President Xi had to say about the harmony with nature was absolutely vital. If were going to tackle climate change sustainably, we have to deal with the disaster of habitat loss and species loss across our planet and we want to see even more examples of government and private industry working hand in hand as with the newly launched LEAF Coalition to reduce deforestation and the multi-trillion dollar Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. 'To do these things weve got to be constantly original and optimistic about new technology and new solutions whether thats crops that are super-resistant to drought or more accurate weather forecasts like those we hope to see from the UKs new Met Office 1.2bn supercomputer that were investing in. 'Im not saying any of this is going to be easy. There is obviously going to be a political challenge. Its important to go back to the original words of President Biden, its vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct green act of ''bunny hugging'' or however you want to put it. Nothing wrong with ''bunny hugging'' but you know what Im driving at. 'This is about growth and jobs and the President was absolutely right to stress that. I want to leave you with the thought that we can build back better from this pandemic by building back greener. 'Dont forget that the UK has been able to cut our own CO2 emissions by about 42 per cent on 1990 levels and weve seen our economy grow by 73 per cent, you can do both at once. ''Cake have eat'' is my message to you. 'Lets work together on this. Lets go to Kunming in October and Glasgow in November armed with ambitious targets and the plans required to reach them. 'And lets use this extraordinary moment and the incredible technology that were working on to make this decade the moment of decisive change in the fight against climate change and lets do it together.' Advertisement

The cost to YOU of Boris's green dream: To meet 80% reduction on carbon emissions by 2035 we'll have to spend 10,000 upgrading our homes, drink three TEASPOONS of milk a day, eat meat just twice a week and barely fly once a year

Boris Johnson's plans to slash the UK's greenhouse emissions by nearly four-fifths in a decade sparked criticism today, as the PM was accused of 'shameless virtue signalling' and pursuing unreachable targets that would put the UK's economic recovery at risk.

The Prime Minister has described the target to reduce emissions by 78% on 1990 levels by 2035, which will be set in law under the Government's sixth carbon budget, as the most ambitious in the world.

The major changes that will be necessary to achieve the 78% CO2 reduction - as set out by a report by the Climate Change Committee - are detailed below.

Meat just twice a week if you want to have it for three meals a day

One measure to meet the emissions target includes requiring people to cut the amount of meat and dairy they eat by a fifth in the next decade, the CCC said.

Average meat consumption currently stands at 70g a day, according to the NHS, so reducing this by a fifth would equal 56g - approximately the weight of a chicken breast.

This means that someone who has meat for every three meals could only do this twice a week.

Similarly, the average Briton would need to shave a fifth of the average milk consumption down to 16ml a day - roughly three teaspoons.

Tory MP Peter Bone criticised the plan for meat and dairy when it was first proposed by the Climate Change Committee last year.

'It's the sort of thing that won't happen because of government intervention. Maybe more people will move that way,' Mr Bone said.

'But government won't say to people, ''you can only have dairy products five days a week''.'

Achieving the 80 per cent reduction will require major changes to industry, farming and homes - as well as planting more trees. One such measure includes encouraging people to cut the amount of meat and dairy they eat by a fifth in the next decade, the government's Climate Change Committee (CCC) claimed (file image)

Mr Johnson, who drove a 15-year-old diesel car before entering government, has been determined to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions and the UK has pledged to reach net zero by 2050.

In February, it was revealed that the PM has ordered Whitehall departments to look at how much greenhouse gas emissions produced by different sectors of the economy cost society.

He pondered new carbon taxes and charges for Britain that would see higher prices on meat and cheese at the supermarket and on gas for their hobs and boilers at home.

At present, only airlines and power generators are charged for their emissions, but ministers want to extend the 'polluter pays' principle to all sectors. This could lead to a hike in prices for goods such as beef, lamb and cheese, or more heavily polluting forms of heating such as gas.

MailOnline has calculated the potential cost at the tills if the Government imposed a tax on meat, oil, dairy, eggs and sugar

No costs have been mooted by Whitehall, but recent studies by a team at Oxford University have calculated that surcharges of 40 per cent on beef, 25 per cent on oils, 20 per cent on milk, 15 per cent on lamb and 10 per cent on chicken would reduce emissions and reduce consumption in the way the PM wants.

This means that the cost of a sirloin steak, currently around 4.50 in the supermarket, would be around 6.30 and mince would rise 1.46 to 5.02. Olive oil would increase from 3.75 to 4.69.

Four pints of milk would go from 1.09 to 1.32, four lamb chops up to 7.50 from 6, six chicken breasts up 50p per pack to 5.50 while a whole chicken would increase in price by 28p to 3.78; Eggs would rise 5p to 94p and sugar would increase by a penny to 66p.

A study by the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food calculated tax levels for everyday items that would reduce carbon and consumption. Academics believe 40 per cent on beef would be required, 25 per cent on oats and 20 per cent on lamb

10,000 bill to rip out your oil and gas boiler - and replace it with electric heat pumps and hydrogen alternatives

The CCC has suggested that new oil-fired boilers will have to be banned by 2028, and gas-fired boilers by 2033.

A previous report suggested that these measures to reduce household emissions by 2050 could cost as much as 10,000 per home.

This includes about 2,000 on insulation and 6,000 on installing alternatives to gas boilers, such as electric heat pumps.

Hydrogen and heat pumps have both been touted as a low carbon emission alternative.

But issues with these heat sources have been highlighted by Dr Matt Lipson, the business lead at Energy Systems Catapult's Consumer Insight.

He told BBC Radio 4: The downside is theres no (hydrogen) supplier at the moment, so if you want to do it this winter you might struggle.

If hydrogen is part of a zero-carbon future, it could have to be produced by electrolysis (as shown above), which sees electric currents passed through water. Another option is for the plants to capture the carbon emissions and pump them underground

However, the report suggests that the reduction in household emissions by 2050 could cost as much as 10,000 per home.

This includes about 2,000 on insulation and 6,000 on installing alternatives to gas boilers, such as electric heat pumps.

Dr Lipson added: When we look at the costs nationally it seems the best option is a mix of solutions - theres no silver bullet unfortunately.

Obviously the price of a planet we can all live on isnt free but I think its probably worth the bill.

'We have to take a nuanced approach and different choices for different places.'

Dr Jonathan Marshall, head of analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: 'Calling time on gas boilers will represent a major step on the UKs path to a carbon neutral nation and is a way for families up and down the country to take action on their carbon footprints.'

There are also warnings about the volatile nature of hydrogen, which could result in explosions and leaks that are difficult to detect.

Boiler Guide states: 'Because of its high energy content, hydrogen gas is a highly flammable and volatile substance which makes it a risky fuel to work with.

'Hydrogen is incredibly flammable which makes it a dangerous fuel if not handled correctly. There is also no smell to hydrogen so sensors are required to detect leaks.'

Ban new fossil-fuelled cars - including hybrids - by 2033

The sale of new petrol and diesel cars, motorbikes and vans, including plug-in hybrids, will have to be phased out by the early 2030s, and even HGVs will start to shift to greener alternatives.

That will mean more electric vehicles and charging points, and people will also need to use their cars less, with more home working and more journeys on foot, bike or public transport - with buses and trains also going green.

'Achieving decarbonisation of surface transport will require a sector-wide transition to vehicles that produce zero tailpipe emissions,' the CCC has said.

It highlighted how cars account for 61% of 'surface' transport emissions, which covers roads, public transport and the rail network.

New petrol and diesel cars and vans are expected to no longer be sold by 2030.

And the committee has said hybrid cars, which are part-electric but still have an engine, should be included in this move from 2032.

The average cost of buying a new electric car in the UK is 44,000, according to industry figures, suggesting a heavy cost for consumers.

Experts have also raised concerns about whether the UK can manufacture enough batteries to fit e-models.

Hugh Bladon, from the Alliance of British Drivers, said: 'This would destroy the motor industry and make too expensive for the people who need to use cars to ever own one.'

Energy efficiency measures - such as improving insulation and installing low carbon heating - could cost 10,000 per home (file image)

Fewer foreign holidays - and higher prices for flights

A frequent flyer tax is being discussed, with an aim for flights from the UK to be cut by 15 per cent from 2018 levels in a 'highly optimistic' scenario for lowering emissions.

The average Briton currently takes 10 foreign holidays every five years, which would need to reduce to around 8. This is the equivalent of around three foreign holidays every two years.

Meanwhile, the upward pressure on air fares caused by extra taxes could see prices return to levels not seen since the 1970s.

The CCC found aviation emissions accounted for 7% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 - an increase of 88% from 1990 levels.

But as the Covid pandemic grounded planes and stopped international travel, the report estimates the UK has seen a drop of at least 60% of greenhouse gas emissions from 2019.

It highlights that with pre-pandemic passenger levels not expected to return until 2024, the pandemic has presented an opportunity to examine ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

Among the report's suggestions to prevent the situation worsening, they warn there can be no increase in UK airport capacity unless any expansion - such as at Heathrow - is balanced by reductions in capacity elsewhere in the UK.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Inc came under increased pressure in on Wednesday from regulators and state media after Monday's protest by a disgruntled customer at the Shanghai auto show went viral and forced the electric car maker into a rare apology.

The singling-out of in China, which accounts for 30% of the U.S. firm's global sales and where it makes cars at its own factory in Shanghai, comes amid ongoing U.S.- tensions and as other foreign firms have encountered backlash.

" will continue to open up its market to foreign business, but that does not mean foreign will be offered any privilege," the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said in an opinion piece on the " blunder".

On Monday, an unhappy customer clambered on top of a Tesla at the auto show in protest over the company's handling of her complaints about malfunctioning brakes, triggering a social media storm, with regulators and state media also weighing-in.

Late on Wednesday, China's market regulator urged Tesla to ensure product quality in the country, while the official Xinhua news agency said that Tesla's apology was "not sincere".

"The arrogant and overbearing stance the company exhibited in front of the public is repugnant and unacceptable, which could inflict serious damage on its reputation and customer base in the Chinese market," the Global Times write.

Tesla, whose cars are popular in China, declined to comment, but said in a statement it would share data on the brake incident with regulators, after a local regulator demanded it.

In videos that went viral from Monday's car show, a woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "The brakes don't work" shouted similar accusations while staff and security struggled to restore calm.

Tesla on Tuesday apologised to Chinese consumers for not addressing the complaint in a timely way, and said it would launch a review of its service operations in the world's biggest auto market.

However, the Xinhua news agency said Tesla's apology fell short.

"A big company should have the responsibility of being a big company, no company can do whatever it wants," it said in a commentary on Wednesday night.

"If a company does not rectify when it has a problem, if it does not change a problematic senior executive ... it will eventually make mistakes again," it said.

'ARROGANCE'

On Monday, Grace Tao, a Tesla vice-president, told a local media outlet that "there is no possibility Tesla will compromise" and said the she suspected that there was someone putting the customer up to the protest. The interview prompted accusations of "arrogance" on Tesla's part from state media.

Meanwhile, the Global Times published a story on a deadly accident reportedly involving a Tesla that "surfaced online on Wednesday," which it said raises further Tesla quality control concerns.

Last month, Tesla came under scrutiny in China when the military banned its cars from entering its complexes, citing security concerns over cameras in its vehicles, sources told Reuters. Earlier this month, Tesla said cameras in its cars are not activated outside of North America.

Chinese internet users last month began calling for boycotts of brands including H&M, Adidas, and Nike over past statements saying they do not use cotton from Xinjiang, where some researchers and foreign lawmakers say authorities use coercive labour to meet seasonal needs, which China denies.

(Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing newsrooms; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Steve Orlofsky and Marguerita Choy)

(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.)
After the George Floyd Verdict, Stanton Public Policy Center Calls for the Removal of Racist Display at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, protests the inclusion of a bust of Margaret Sanger at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center

April 21, 2021



WASHINGTON, April 21, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Planned Parenthood Founder, Margaret Sanger, has a prominent display in the National Portrait Gallery.



Planned Parenthood President and CEO, Alexis McGill Johnson, recently wrote in a New York Times Op Ed that Planned Parenthood: "...must fully take responsibility for the harm that Sanger caused to generations of people with disabilities and Black, Latino, Asian-American, and Indigenous people. McGill Johnson also criticized Sanger's association with, "white supremacist groups and eugenics."



Stanton Public Policy asks the question, "How can America move forward in addressing racial justice after the George Floyd verdict, when one of our nation's most prestigious public museums honors a racist?"



Stanton Public Policy Center is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice that empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



Stanton launched a national campaign several years ago to have the display of Margaret Sanger removed from the National Portrait Gallery.



Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, states: "How can America move forward in addressing racial justice after the George Floyd verdict when one of our nation's most prestigious public museums funded by tax dollars, honors a racist? Think about this for moment. Every American is paying to celebrate a racist at the National Portrait Gallery.



"During these challenging times, it is critical the National Portrait Gallery provide us with examples of heroes who offer hope and courage which inspire each of us to work for a nation where all are treated with dignity and equality. Sadly, Margaret Sanger's racist views and actions stand in stark contrast to these lofty ideals." Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, comments; "The national call to remove the display of a racist, like Margaret Sanger, from the National Portrait Gallery is not an attempt to rewrite or change history. Rather, it is a way to ensure we celebrate individuals whose lives reflect and embody the very best of who we are as a nation and honor the values we cherish.



"As America confronts racial injustice, it is critical our national institutions honor those who have inspired us to be our 'better selves' instead of honoring those who malign and diminish entire communities. In light of this, the Margaret Sanger display must go!" For more information or interviews contact:

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741.



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The University of Minnesota is one of two institutions in the United States to host a new center established by the Biostasis Research Institute (BRI) aimed at creating human organ banks through the cryogenic storage of organs donated for transplantation.

BRI is launching and funding the Organ and Tissue Preservation Center at the U of M, which will focus on technologies to safely and rapidly rewarm cryopreserved organs and other living systems. This center will be housed within the U of M Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) and will be led by IEM Director John Bischof and Medical School Department of Surgery faculty member Erik Finger.

"We applaud the BRI for spearheading a research effort that aims to address some of the most critical bottlenecks in regenerative medicine," said Bischof, a faculty member in the College of Science and Engineering. "By funding a new Organ and Tissue Preservation Center at IEM, BRI is accelerating research and technology development that will positively impact millions of patients, including children on transplant wait lists and people with neurodegenerative conditions."

Together with a sister research center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Organ and Tissue Preservation Center will develop new technologies to store tissues, and organs for biomedical research as part of a larger "Apollo Program" in cryopreservation (extreme cold storage) and suspended animation (safely slowing and stopping biological processes). This national research effort has now reached well over $100 million in funding from U.S. science agencies, philanthropic donors and industry partners.

"By funding biostasis research, we are investing in the future of organ donation and transplantation. This initiative advances the LifeSource mission: to honor the heroism of every organ donor by maximizing the impact of their life-saving gifts," said Susan Gunderson, CEO of BRI founding supporter LifeSource -- the Organ Procurement Organization serving Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin.

In addition to being supported by BRI, the University's Organ and Tissue Preservation Center will be bolstered by our new NSF Engineering Research Center ATP-Bio, which aims to develop and deploy breakthrough bioengineering technology to preserve a wide range of biological systems.

###

The BRI is founded and funded by five U.S. organ procurement organizations, the nonprofits designated by the U.S. government to coordinate all donation of organs for transplantation within a geographic area. These include LifeGift (Houston, TX), Nevada Donor Network (Las Vegas, NV), Donor Network West (San Ramon, CA), LifeSource (Minneapolis, MN), and Lifebanc (Cleveland, OH). Other founders and donors include the Organ Preservation Alliance, Bitcoin philanthropic foundation the Pineapple Fund, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, Massachusetts General Hospital's Department of Surgery, the University of Minnesota Medical School, and Organ Preservation Alliance co-founders Jedediah Lewis and Dr. Sebastian Giwa.

About the Institute for Engineering in Medicine

The University of Minnesota's Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) promotes innovative, collaborative research between health scientists, clinicians, physical scientists and engineers, and members of the local biomedical industry to forge new discoveries and improve human health. IEM-sponsored research and educational programs cover basic scientific discovery, translational research, initial patient care research, commercialization, and widespread application.
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin is shown in a combination of police booking photos after a jury found him guilty on all counts in his trial for second-degree murder, (Photo : Minnesota Department of Corrections/Handout via REUTERS)

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a sweeping civil investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis following a jury's verdict that former city police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd.



The probe is the first major action of Attorney General Merrick Garland, after President Joe Biden vowed to address systemic racism in the United States. It will consider whether the department engages "in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests," he said.



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He added it will also examine whether the department "engages in discriminatory conduct and whether its treatment of those with behavioral health disabilities is unlawful."



Chauvin's conviction was a milestone in the fraught racial history of the United States and a rebuke of law enforcement's treatment of Black Americans. Floyd's death was one in a long list of police killings that prompted nationwide protests.



"I know such wounds have deep roots. That too many communities have experienced those wounds firsthand. Yesterday's verdict in the state criminal trial does not address potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis," Garland said.



Garland has previously said he will make cracking down on police misconduct a priority.



A separate criminal Justice Department investigation into whether the officers involved in Floyd's death violated his civil rights continues, Garland said.



The Minnesota Department of Human Rights is also conducting its own investigation into the police department there.



In separate statements, both the city attorney and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said they welcomed the federal investigation, and pledged to cooperate.



The Minneapolis City Council also signaled its support for the probe, saying it welcomed "the opportunity for the Department of Justice to use the full weight of its authority to hold the Minneapolis Police Department accountable for any and all abuses of power."



The decision to open a probe into systemic policing problems marks a sharp contrast from the administration of former President Donald Trump, which sharply curtailed the use of court-enforcement agreements to prevent police departments from violating peoples' civil rights.



Garland rescinded that policy on Friday, saying the department would be returning to its traditional practices of investigating state and local police departments and allowing unit heads to approve most settlements and consent decrees.



On Wednesday, Garland said Justice Department officials had already started to reach out to community groups in Minneapolis to ask about their experiences with law enforcement and they also plan to speak with police officers there about the training and support they receive.



If a finding of misconduct is uncovered, Garland said the Justice Department would issue a public report, and it could also potentially file a civil lawsuit so that it could seek relief from a judge.



Lisa Bender, the Minneapolis City Council president, told Reuters in an interview that Justice Department officials informed the city of its decision to open the investigation on Wednesday morning shortly before it became public.



Bender said she was not surprised by the news, noting that communities of color there have been long complaining about problems with overpolicing.



"Even just our publicly available data shows disparate outcomes on who is being pulled over in traffic stops," she said, adding that she and her colleagues "welcome any opportunity to understand what is contributing to those disparate outcomes and looking at ways we can improve."



Currently, the Justice Department has four police practice probes open in addition to the one in Minneapolis. The others, which were opened prior to Garland's tenure, are focused on the Orange County, Ca. district attorney and sheriff's offices, as well as the police department in Springfield, Mass.



It is also currently enforcing a total of 16 settlements with law enforcement agencies across the country.



The jury on Tuesday found Chauvin, 45, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts.



In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin, a white veteran of the police force, pushed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in handcuffs, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.



The conviction triggered a wave of relief and reflection not only across the United States but in countries around the world.



Even as crowds celebrated the verdict, protesters called for justice in the case of Daunte Wright, a Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer after a routine traffic stop on April 11, just a few miles from where Chauvin stood trial. Kimberly Potter, who has turned in her badge, has been charged with manslaughter in that case.



As the country focused on the guilty verdict in Minneapolis, police in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a Black teenage girl they confronted as she lunged at two people with a knife, as seen in police video footage of the encounter, authorities said. The incident sparked street protests in Ohio.


Enzymedica's Digest Spectrum is WholeFoods Magazines 2021 Natural Choice Award winner as the #1 Digestive Health Supplement in America. Were thrilled and honored that natural products retailers nationwide have voted Digest Spectrum as the #1 digestive health supplement in the U.S., said Scott Sensenbrenner, President & CEO of Enzymedica.

Enzymedica, a leading digestive health and wellness company that produces natural supplements, announced today that its best-selling Digest Spectrum is WholeFoods Magazines 2021 Natural Choice Award winner as the #1 Digestive Health Supplement in America. Selected annually by natural products retailers nationwide, the Natural Choice Awards honor products that have made the greatest impact on their business for the year and recognizes companies working to greatly improve lives through wellness.

Digest Spectrum is uniquely formulated with a broad range of 13 diverse digestive enzymes to help address several major food intolerances, including gluten, dairy, fats, beans and vegetables. * Food intolerances occur when a person has problems digesting a specific food group due to enzyme deficiencies which may be at the root of digestive distress. Food intolerances are a very real problem for many people, and often, they stop eating foods they enjoy. Digest Spectrum offers a unique solution to help alleviate issues such as occasional indigestion, bloating, gas and digestive discomfort.* Cross-contamination during food preparation, whether at home or eating out, is also a concern for many. The targeted enzymes in Digest Spectrum are able to break down problematic foods and provide peace of mind from cross-contamination for those who choose to avoid foods that create occasional digestive issues.*

Were thrilled and honored that natural products retailers nationwide have voted Digest Spectrum as the #1 digestive health supplement in the U.S., said Scott Sensenbrenner, President & CEO of Enzymedica. We launched this top-selling product over a decade ago to help those with food intolerances, and its a true testament to the products quality and efficacy that it continues to be a best seller and is highly recommended by retailers. At Enzymedica, good health and nutrition are at the core of who we are, and retailers recognize this. Every day, we are steadfastly committed to creating the highest quality products that help improve peoples lives. This is why Digest Spectrum continues to be a best seller year-after-year, as it provides true health support for so many.

Digest Spectrum is a targeted formula to support food intolerances and features enzymes such as the DPP-IV protease enzyme which helps digest foods containing gluten and casein, lactase which breaks down breaks down dairy sugar, and xylanase which breaks down difficult to digest fibers.* Additionally, Enzymedicas Thera-blend formula contains amylase for breaking down starch and carbohydrates into smaller sugars, lipase to help the body break down fats and broad-spectrum protease to help break down proteins.*

Digest Spectrums unique Thera-blend enzyme formula with 13 diverse digestive enzymes delivers superior results because each of the enzymes achieve optimal performance within the varying pH levels of the digestive system.* pH ranges naturally fluctuate throughout the digestive process; from the very acidic lower stomach where food is broken down by stomach acid, all the way to the more neutral pH of the intestines where nutrient absorption occurs and the microbiome resides. Each phase of digestion is vital to health and vitality, and Thera-blend was formulated to contain pH specific enzymes to ensure optimal digestion during each phase. *

About WholeFoods Magazine

WholeFoods Magazine, a family-owned media company based in South Plainfield, NJ, has been publishing for over 35 years with a mission to inform and educate all in the Natural Products Industry. The BPA-audited publication provides content on all products sold in the Natural Products area. Digital products include wholefoodsmagazine.com, In the Know e-newsletters, and naturalproductfinder.com, as well as a social presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Podbean.

About Enzymedica

Enzymedica is a Florida-based, natural digestive health company since 1998 that sells to over 30,000 stores worldwide and online. Its top-selling enzyme brand is No. 1 in America. In addition to high quality products, Enzymedica also is dedicated to its People & Planet initiative, which is a core pillar within the companys mission - to leave a legacy that will make the world a better place. The company has received more than 90 industry awards including multiple Better Nutrition Magazines People's Choice Awards, many Best of Supplements Awards and numerous VITY and Nexty Awards. Visit https://enzymedica.com/ for more information.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Media Contact

Ria Romano, Partner

RPR Public Relations, Inc.

Tel. 786-290-6413


A KRI Nanggala-402 submarine owned by Indonesia, the same model as the one that went missing Wednesday. Alex Widojo/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The KRI Nanggala-402 went missing near the island of Bali early Wednesday with 53 people aboard.

Indonesia's navy said Thursday that the ship might have sunk 700 meters below sea level.

Experts say the submarine is unlikely to survive that far down, and rescue crews can't operate past 600 meters.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A missing Indonesian submarine may be too deep to rescue successfully, the country's navy has said.

The navy has been searching for the KRI Nanggala-402 in waters north of the island of Bali since it missed a scheduled check-in on Wednesday morning. Fifty-three people, more than the roughly three dozen the sub was built to carry, are aboard the boat.

Indonesia's navy now believes the submarine could have sunk to a depth of 700 meters, or 2,297 feet, the Associated Press reported.

A navy spokesman, Julius Widjojono, told a local TV network that the submarine could survive up to a depth of 500 meters but that the vessel's hull would be in danger of collapsing beyond that.

"Anything more than that can be pretty fatal, dangerous," he said, according to Reuters.

Speaking with Agence France-Presse, Vice Adm. Antoine Beaussant of the French navy said of the submarine: "If it went down to rest at 700 meters, the likelihood is it would have broken up."

The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine. M. Risyal Hidayat/Antara Foto via Reuters

'It is unlikely to survive'

Bryan Clark, a former US Navy submarine officer and current defense expert at the Hudson Institute, told Insider that "if a small diesel submarine like the Indonesian one goes down in 2,000 feet of water, it is unlikely to survive" given that it is well beyond the vessel's maximum depth.

Rescue crews also can't operate properly below a depth of 600 meters, experts said.

"Most rescue systems are really only rated to about 600 meters," Frank Owen, the secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, told the AP.

"They can go deeper than that because they will have a safety margin built into the design, but the pumps and other systems that are associated with that may not have the capacity to operate. So they can survive at that depth, but not necessarily operate."

Story continues

The cause of the submarine's disappearance is not yet clear.

Clark explained to Insider that flooding is a big problem for submarines, but "it is unusual for an accident to sink a submarine, since they have many safety systems designed to prevent water from coming into the ship and emergency blow systems to come back up to the surface if flooding does occur."

Onboard safety systems can also be used to respond to other contingencies that could result in a loss of neutral buoyancy, but while there are such systems in place, mechanical failures could render them ineffective, he said.

What caused the disappearance?

The Indonesian navy said Wednesday that a power failure might have occurred.

"It is possible that during static diving, a blackout occurred so control was lost and emergency procedures cannot be carried out and the ship fell to a depth of 600 to 700 meters," the navy said in a statement published by Reuters.

Indonesian ships arriving at the naval base in Banyuwangi on Thursday to join in the search for the submarine. (AFP via Getty Images)

The navy added that during rescue attempts it had discovered an oil spill on the surface of the ocean, which could mean the submarine's fuel tank was damaged.

Time is running out

In an update Thursday, the navy said it had not found any other sign of the submarine, according to Reuters.

Authorities added that the submarine's crew had enough oxygen to last until 3 a.m. local time Saturday.

The KRI Nanggala-402 is old by naval standards. The 1,400-ton vessel was made by Germany in the late 1970s, and a two-year refurbishment was completed in 2012 in South Korea, the BBC said.

The Indonesian navy told the BBC it was the first time one of its submarines had gone missing.

Read the original article on Insider
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Thunderstorms, accompanied by locally heavy rainfall at times. High around 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
The Turkish authorities have imposed a three-day curfew from April 23 as on Friday it marks National Sovereignty and Children's Day.

The week the curfew will be in effect from 7 pm on April 22 up to 5 am on April 26, the Turkish Interior Ministry's circular says.

During the curfew, residents of Turkey can go outside only to the grocery stores and pharmacies from 10 am up to 7 pm, as well as to visit doctors and for walking pets.

The COIVD-19 was first detected in Turkey on March 10. The total number of infected people in the country to date has exceeded 4.446 million, 36,975 people have died, and 3.844 million patients have recovered.
Aman Verma's Mother Passes Away, Actor Shares Heartfelt Note And Asks All To Send Condolences Virtually

Raaz actor Aman Yatan Verma's mother, Kailash Verma is no more. She passes away at the age of 79 on the 28th of April. The actor took to his social media to share the news, and also penned a heartfelt note.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by aman yatan verma (@amanyatanverma)

In his Instagram account, Aman shared a memorial and wrote, "Life comes around in a complete circle.

With a heavy heart, I let all of u know that my mother #kailashverma left for her heavenly abode. Please keep her in your prayers and wishes.

All condolences on the cell via msgs and calls, looking at the present COVID19 situation.

GOD BLESS"

The memorial read, "With profound grief we regret to inform you the sad demise of our beloved mother Mrs, Kailash Verma as she left for her heavenly abode."

See the post here:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by aman yatan verma (@amanyatanverma)

Many of Aman's friends from the industry, including Vindu Dara Singh, Delnaz Irani, Jaswir Kaur, Shivani Gosain, Shweta Gulati expressed their heartfelt condolences. We pray that the departed soul rests in peace and that the family gets the strength to deal with this loss. Aman is currently busy with web shows. Aman is a popular face on TV who has been a part of shows like Shanti, CID, Aurat, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kumkum.
Dhaka, April 23 : Amid global crisis of vaccine, India will cooperate Bangladesh to continue its current vaccination drive by trying its best to supply Covid-19 vaccines, said Indian envoy in Dhaka Vikram Doraiswami.

The Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka said this at Akhaura Land Port in Brahmanbaria of Bangladesh on Thursday morning while returning from India by road after a five-day vacation. He left for India through the Akhaura land port on April 18.

Talking about India-Bangladesh relations, Doraiswami said the two countries have very special relationship and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh braving the second wave of Coronavirus.

The Indian High Commissioner also mentioned that India has provided vaccine to several countries and Bangladesh is the highest recipients among all the countries.

"We have said we would do our best to meet everyone's needs, subject to limits of production, domestic demands, and other obligations. We will continue to do our best to support the vaccine rollout in our neighbourhood countries, but it is important to bear in mind that there is a huge wave of the pandemic underway in India." Doraiswami also said that there is limitation in the agreement signed between the original owners of the vaccine and manufacturing countries, including India. Now both, the owners of the vaccine formula and manufacturing countries, are working together to enhance production and supply of vaccine.

"We can assure Bangladesh that we will do our best to ensure that within the limit of physical production we will share whatever we can," Doraiswami said.

Bangladesh has received more than 10.3 million vaccine doses, including 3.3 million as gift while rest as part of a commercial deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII), from India.

Beximco Pharma of Bangladesh signed a deal on November 5, 2020 with the SII to buy 30 million doses of a potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by British drug company AstraZeneca. As per the deal, India will supply five million doses of vaccine per month.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
WASHINGTON  Legislation aimed at quelling a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the coronavirus pandemic easily passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday, with both of Texas Republican senators backing the Democratic bill.

The nearly unanimous vote comes as the number of hate crimes Asian Americans reported nationally skyrocketed over the last year, with Texans reporting the fourth-most in the nation in 2020, according to one recent study. The bill would create a position at the Justice Department to oversee prosecution of hate crimes related to the pandemic and expand avenues to report such incidents.

Even U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz  who was one of just six senators to vote against advancing the legislation in a procedural vote earlier this month  supported it on Thursday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, cast the lone dissenting vote.

A Pew Research Center survey this week found a third of Asian Americans fear someone might threaten or physically attack them. Incidents reported in 2020 included racial slurs and people spitting on them or coughing on them.

WERE EASILY SCAPEGOATED: Houstons Asian Americans share stories from a year of fear

These unprovoked, random attacks and incidents are happening in supermarkets, on our streets and takeout restaurants  basically wherever we are, said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat who authored the legislation. These disturbing and horrifying attacks are in many ways a foreseeable and predictable consequence of the use of racist and inflammatory language, like the Chinese virus or kung flu, to describe the pandemic.

Stop AAPI Hate, a group tracking hate crimes against Asian Americans, received reports of 3,795 such incidents from March 2020 through the end of February. The vast majority of those reports came from California and New York, but the group received 103 reports from Texas, the fourth-most behind Washington.

The Texas incidents included a report from a Dallas mall in which a woman coughed and told a Pacific Islander, You and your people are the reason why we have corona. She then said, Go sail a boat back to your island. In another incident, a group of white males yelled a racial slur and then spit at someone in College Station.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, found hate crimes against Asian Americans nationally surged by nearly 150 percent last year, even as reports of hate crimes overall dropped 7 percent. That study, which tracked incidents in the nations largest cities, reported three such incidents in Houston and six in Dallas in 2020, up from zero in each city the year before.

Hirono, who was the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate, said the reported incidents are likely only a small subset of what Asian Americans face, as hate incidents are historically underreported.

Cruz amendment rejected as a cynical attack

While officials in the Houston area reported no increase in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans by last month, community leaders have said Anti-Asian American sentiment has soared during the pandemic, describing stories of online attacks, racist remarks and verbal harassment. National incidents, including horrific attacks against Asian American seniors in San Francisco and New York, have stoked fear, as well, they have said.

After a gunman killed eight people in three Atlanta-area spas, six of them Asian women, the Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriffs Office increased patrols in Asian American neighborhoods.

The legislation, deemed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, now heads to the Democratic controlled House, where it is expected to pass with ease. President Joe Biden has said he will sign it.

The bill sets up new state-run hate crime hotlines and offers grants for law enforcement agencies to train officers to identify hate crimes. It also requires DOJ to issue guidance for state and local law enforcement agencies on how to establish online hate crime reporting processes in multiple languages and how to expand culturally competent education campaigns.

Before the final vote, Democrats rejected an amendment Cruz offered focused on anti-Asian bias in college admissions, which Republicans have pointed to as they oppose affirmative action policies.

Democrats called it a transparent and cynical attack on policies that courts have repeatedly upheld. It was one of a handful of Republican amendments they rejected before passing the bill.

Hirono, who led debate against the amendment, said Cruzs amendment sought to undermine efforts to increase diversity and provide opportunities to students of color. Hirono said it would threaten funding to colleges using race-based admissions policies that have been upheld by courts repeatedly.

Despite their calls to end racism, it is clear Democrats are only paying lip service to fighting discrimination against Asian Americans and will allow targeted discrimination against them to continue at Americas universities and colleges, Cruz said in a statement.

Cruzs effort came as the Biden administration dropped a Trump-era Department of Justice lawsuit against Yale University, which alleged the college was discriminating against Asian American and white applicants.

The Trump administration had also supported a separate lawsuit with similar allegations against Harvard University, which has made its way to the Supreme Court, though justices have yet to say whether they will take it up.

That lawsuit is backed by Edward Blum, a Texan who has spent years fighting affirmative action in court, including through a failed lawsuit against the University of Texas at Austin. The Supreme Court upheld race-based admissions in that case in 2016.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Pantami needs to step aside, and undergo therapy, if we were an objective, forward-thinking country. Perhaps he could be helped. The idea that God has put us in this world to fight each other because we believe differently, is totally stupid. No one can believe such baloney and then claim to be a computer whizkid.

I dont know who is behind Pantamis current travails (which would most likely amount to nothing under a Buhari government), and I wonder why they waited this long. The man was appointed into office as the Director General (DG) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and his profile was seriously hyped back then in 2016, as one of the smartest people in information technology in Nigeria. I had cause to listen to some of his engagements on social media and wondered why he availed himself to such controversial religious discourses. I came off with the impression that he wasnt as smart as purported and I have held him in suspicion ever since. Yes, he possesses a PhD, but that only makes him a beneficiary of Nigerias grossly inefficient and unfair scholarship systems, where only the connected get ahead. I aver that people who struggle to get their academic qualifications on their own or through family sources, are often more measured and circumspect. Education is expensive and I am a living witness, having struggled so far. But I digress.

Now, Pantami is having to explain himself to everyone who will listen  and even the uninterested  that he is not a bigot. I told a northern Muslim friend earlier in the day that the newspaper which published his alleged inclusion in some terror watchlist had more dope on him. The sound-and-fury approach did not help Pantami and he later soft-pedaled, expressing remorse for his past opinions, especially as it concerns this oft-misguided contention for supremacy between the Abrahamic religions. Even at that, it is easy to see through this man, who is a thoroughly indoctrinated religious soldier who needs to be reined in immediately. I say the man is unfit for public office in Nigeria specifically for the following reasons:

1. Public office demands being open-minded. We have enough people who can occupy public offices in Nigeria today if only leaders who appoint or select people to positions themselves try to be a bit objective. Public positions are spaces of big trust and, as such, anyone appointed into public office in Nigeria should be trustworthy to ALL citizens of the country. If they have displayed any level of religious or ethnic extremism  or indeed any type of extremism  in the past, this takes away from that trust. Extremism in this instance could be defined as any call to harm others who are not like you, or support for those who profess such opinions. Yes, what you did in the past matters.

2. The Department of State Services (DSS) ought to have screened such a person with such divisive opinions out of the appointment process in the first place, if indeed they do good, straightforward work. We have heard in the past how people can slot in damaging information into ones files in their office, or remove such on the basis of less than patriotic considerations. Is this what happened in the case of Pantami? The expression of extremist views in ones past, bordering on support for globally-feared extremists who have taken hundreds of human lives just because they choose to remain mentally in the 17th Century, should be enough cause to flag Pantami from occupying one of the highest positions in the country. This may be difficult to understand for someone like our current president but there is no better time than today to begin to lay the foundations for tolerance, understanding and togetherness. And appointing such a man negates all tenets of tolerance. I recall that even as DG of NITDA, Pantami had starred in a number of those religious lectures, which got me wondering if he was really the techie they say he is, or some self-styled religious leader. The DSS dropped the ball.

I have often wondered what is going on in the mind of Pantami as this controversy rages. I know he will try to sit it out, even though on Monday, April 19, he commented on the Facebook post of some extremist who declared a Fatwa on Deji Adeyanju, circulating Dejis picture on several platforms as an Enemy of Islam! Pantami prayed for God to disgrace Dejis efforts

3. Nigeria needs all the unity she can get. Look at us today; a country literally torn into pieces. We hear people say all too often that they are not Nigerian but members of their ethnic nationalities. To millions of Nigerians, we have no nation. Yet, others believe that they are not Nigerians but members of a religion, sent into this world for the purpose of propagating that faith. Extreme religious devotees are really not concerned about making this world a better place; they have since written this one off, and are working hard towards the next  where only their co-adherences will occupy, while they watch and laugh at those who missed it as they burn in hell fire. This negates the necessary presence of mind that economic and social development requires, which is what we should all be striving at for Nigeria. Whereas I am not asking for anyone not to practice their religion, but Nigeria  if she must survive  does not need people who cannot understand the notion of live-and-let-live. There are not ifs or buts. There are no halfway houses here. Being born into a family is totally an accident of creation or however it is we got here. For one to be judged fit for death or any type of harm just because of that, makes no sense. For someone to support Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and to speak so passionately for Boko Haram, as early as a few years ago, weeping profusely as he delivered his highly alarming, emotionally rousing speech, which may have caused some of his listeners who are not as strong-willed, to take action against perceived enemies, is enough to leave such a person in the fringes of society, and under careful watch by security agencies.

4. Pantami has also expressed the desire in his past speeches, for the enthronement of a Taliban-type Islamic leadership in Nigeria, where people are judged straightaway against their adherence to Islamic tenets. He criticised women who dont wear the full burka  covering their entire bodies. Thin veils are not enough. Reading his speech, I was almost tempted to shave my almost white beard which I like, even though I am not a religious fanatic. From the kind of beliefs he has expressed, Pantami does not belong to modernity and I doubt if he could ever be converted into anything more moderate than the beliefs which have earned him fame, fanatical following, and even a ministerial position in such a sensitive, futuristic portfolio as Information Technology.

5. I have often wondered what is going on in the mind of Pantami as this controversy rages. I know he will try to sit it out, even though on Monday, April 19, he commented on the Facebook post of some extremist who declared a Fatwa on Deji Adeyanju, circulating Dejis picture on several platforms as an Enemy of Islam! Pantami prayed for God to disgrace Dejis efforts, garnering over 300 comments before deleting his own. However, does anyone think Pantami will change as a result of this saga? No way. He is too far gone. If my psychoanalysis is correct, he will be presently angry at whoever is trying to get him out of his position. He has been rightly described as a gradualist in his practice of extremism. This means his type could be a sleeper, who may activate at any point in future, or at best, he will remain an intellectual anchor point and guru for those who are bent on fighting this Muslim/Christian war that makes no sense. What should we expect from him? Certainly, no one is asking him to renounce Islam. There are at least 1.9 billion Muslims around the world who practice the religion so beautifully and by their practice alone, others are tempted to join the religion. The extremists are a tiny minority. With the past profile of Pantami, and the persona he has maintained, even while in office, it looks like Nigeria is feeding and arming, financially, someone who could get it into his head someday in the near future, that the time has come to fulfil Gods demand for the supremacy of his religion over others. I will not use any word here that suggests Islam is bad. I have studied Islam and it is not bad at all. Islam is a beautiful, dutiful, scientific religion. All my closest friends have somehow been Muslims till date.

With the mistake that is Pantami, many are now alleging that in his current position of trust, he can also deploy information to foster his pin-headed fantasies of some global religious war. The saving grace is that we see beautiful and peaceful nations abroad, that have confirmed to all of us that we dont even need religion to be close to God

There are verses in the Bible, which suggest that it is okay for believers  at least of Judaism which governs the Old Testament  to take the lives of non-believers. There are Christians who strongly believe in those aspects of the Old Testament but thankfully, over time, modern governance has dulled the edges of such extremism among Christians. There are, however, Christian extremists who believe in some sort of nihilism and pray for their enemies to die. There are those who preach hate and intolerance towards other religions. There are those who condemn practitioners of other religions to Hell Fire and what not. All of these are not acceptable in this modern age and with the peculiarities of Nigerias problems. This is a good point where events have conspired for us to root out hate and extremism of all types.

Pantami needs to step aside, and undergo therapy, if we were an objective, forward-thinking country. Perhaps he could be helped. The idea that God has put us in this world to fight each other because we believe differently, is totally stupid. No one can believe such baloney and then claim to be a computer whizkid. Or perhaps he respects the inventions of the non-believing white man to the extent that such inventions and knowledge are to be mastered and used at a latter date, to win the white man  and those who align with his religion  on Gods behalf. There is a certain sickness in the mind of anyone who believes in such baloney. Next time our leaders should search well for balanced people  who have been balanced since they were mere toddlers, and who will not wait to be outed on social media before they start scrambling to say the right things. With the mistake that is Pantami, many are now alleging that in his current position of trust, he can also deploy information to foster his pin-headed fantasies of some global religious war. The saving grace is that we see beautiful and peaceful nations abroad, that have confirmed to all of us that we dont even need religion to be close to God, that we dont need to pray for our enemies to die, or worst still, mount killing expeditions against those who believe differently from us.

More specifically, I want to lecture the Sheikh himself. Islamic scholars like AlKhwarizmi (Algorithm), AlJabr (Algebra), Ibn Cenna (Avi Cenna), and other all-time greats, who made great inventions and innovations in the field of mathematics, science and medicine, and who brought back the world from the brink of extinction after extremist Christians of the Inquisition Age (Torquemada and co) banned science and beheaded at will, did all they did not because they wanted to destroy non-believers. If the true mission of man on earth is to fight religious wars on behalf of God, we all will not be here today. The earth would have become barren and drowned in the blood of innocent human beings. Those scholars I mentioned above showed us, most eloquently, that every religion should be a force for good, for progress, and for making THIS WORLD, not the next, a better place. For those who dont know, the alphabets of today are Islamic, from zero to nine. Lets start from the basics. People like Pantami suffer from a malformed education. He is unfit to be a minister in this milieu.

Tope Fasua, an economist, author, blogger, entrepreneur, and recent presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), can be reached through topsyfash@yahoo.com.
ROME, N.Y.  Jason DAvolio, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of his wife, was sentenced in Oneida County Court today to the maximum sentence of 25 years to life, court officials said.

DAvolio, who was convicted of second-degree murder in November, also was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years on the charge of concealing a corpse, court officials said.

DAvolio, 48 at the time, was convicted of killing Kerrilee DAvolio, 32, his estranged wife and mother of his three children in July 2019. Prosecutors said he shot his wife in the back of the head and put her body in a Dumpster.

Her body was later found in a landfill.

During his trial in Judge Michael Dwyers courtroom in November, DAvolio said he didnt mean it when he recorded himself saying his estranged wife was gonna get a bullet tonight.

Kerrilee DAvolio was trying to break free of the relationship when she was killed, Kerrilees mother, Hope Wagner, has told Syracuse.com/The Post Standard.

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime at 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com
Is it fair or even patriotic to threaten states that do not conform to the Democratic Socialists' mandate to control the outcome of Free and Fair elections enacted by constitutionally guaranteed states' legislatures?

Yes, all elections must be federalized so that the whim of the majority political party can set the standard for all elections.

No, Our Founders purposefully decentralized elections by guaranteeing only states' legislatures the independent right to enact Free and Fair elections.
UPDATE: Derek Chauvin sentencing in George Floyd murder pushed back to June 25

Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis police officer found guilty Tuesday of murdering George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black father of five, will be sentenced on June 16.

Earlier this week, Judge Peter Cahill said Chauvin will be sentenced within eight weeks  nearly a year after the officer used his knee to pin down Floyd for more than 9 minutes during an arrest caught on video by 17-year-old Darnella Frazier.

Chauvin, who had 20 years of police work under his belt, is being held in the Administrative Control Unit (ACU) at the Minnesota Correctional Facility  Oak Park Heights, Minnesotas only maximum security prison. According to The New York Times, he remains in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day in an isolated prison wing due to fears for his safety, Sarah Fitzgerald, a state corrections system spokesperson, told the Times.

A source familiar with the matter told the Times that the court on Wednesday scheduled sentencing for June 16.

Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge. He faces up to 25 years for the third-degree murder charge and a decade in prison for manslaughter. Prosecutors have asked for a stiffer sentence than whats recommended by the states guidelines, which are at least 12 years in prison for each murder charge and nearly four years for manslaughter, CNN reported.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans agreed with the jurys verdict, according to an Ipsos/USA TODAY poll conducted Tuesday night.

Three other officers who did not intervene at the scene of Floyds murder are accused of aiding and abetting Chauvin.

Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane  all fired for their actions, or inactions, after Fraziers footage of Floyds death was shared worldwide in May of 2020, will stand trial beginning August 23.

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DANBURY  Democratic mayoral candidate Sedeaka Lawrence is facing an elections complaint after it was alleged he distributed a political mailer without the required disclaimer explaining who paid for it.

Lawrence said Thursday afternoon that he was not aware of the complaint and chuckled when learning about it.

People are so petty, said Lawrence, one of three Democratic candidates in the race. A Republican candidate has not been announced.

Danbury resident Tom Brown said he mailed the complaint to the State Elections Enforcement Commission a couple days ago and has not heard back. The commission will need to decide whether to investigate.

His complaint states he received campaign literature from Lawrence in the mail on March 24 and found one on the ground on April 10. The flyer did not include the legally required political advertising disclaimer for written and printed communications, the complaint says.

The material doesnt say who is behind it, said Brown, who filed the complaint and said he is not connected to any of the other candidates campaigns.

Connecticut state statutes requires candidates to include a paid for by disclaimer on printed communications. This is true for self-funded candidates, too, the State Elections Enforcement Commission said in a 2015 guide for municipal candidates.

Lawrence, who is a newcomer to Danbury politics, said he has spent about $6,000 to $7,000 of his own money on advertising through Facebook and printed materials. He eventually plans to raise money, he said.

He said the paid for by Sedeaka Lawrence disclaimer was not on the mailer.

Clearly...you can see its a political advertisement, he said.

Brown said he filed the complaint so that Lawrence would be aware of the rules.

All they need to do is warn this guy, he said.

Lawrence said he saw the complaint as an attempt to break his spirit, but that he plans to continue his campaign. He has sent out about 25,000 flyers to Danbury households and plans to mail out 25,000 to 30,000 more.

Let them file all the complaints they need, but that still wont deter me, Lawrence said.
Critically ill patients cannot be airlifted directly to the East of England's major trauma centre after a US military aircraft damaged its helipad during a training exercise.

A video shows parts of the helipad at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge blowing up from the ground as a United States Air Force (USAF) CV22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft took off from it on Wednesday.

Up to 800 people receive major traumatic injuries each year in the East of England, such as in a car crash, and patients are currently being flown to Cambridge City Airport instead.

The US Air Force Osprey, pictured, was taking part in a training exercise at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge when the surface of the helipad, right began it lift up

Even before the Osprey had left the ground, it was pulling up sections of the helipad

As the pilot opened the throttles of the powerful Rolls Royce engines, the downdraught ripped up the surface of the helipad

They have to complete the last part of their journey to the hospital by land ambulance with critical care staff on board.

Repair work on the helipad at Addenbrooke's Hospital, which is used by the region's three air ambulances, is under way.

A spokesperson for the three air ambulances, the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Magpas Air Ambulance and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, said it is hoped the helipad will be back in use 'soon'.

In a statement, the spokesperson said: 'Due to an incident at the Cambridge University Hospitals helipad involving a military aircraft on Wednesday April 21 the helipad is temporarily unavailable to air ambulances.

'The next closest helipad is at Cambridge City Airport, where one of the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) teams is based.

'It will be possible for the EAAA helipad to be used as an alternative landing site during this time and have patients transferred to Addenbrooke's from there by land ambulance, with critical care staff onboard.

'Addenbrooke's is the major trauma centre for the region, therefore quick and efficient transfer of critically ill or injured patients to the hospital is vital.

'Using the EAAA helipad is the best alternative while the CUH helipad is reinstated.

'The situation has been handled incredibly well by all parties involved and we are optimistic that the site will be back in use soon.'

Fortunately the Osprey made it safely into the air although the helipad is now out of operation until it undergoes emergency repairs

The USAF Osprey aircraft can take off, land and hover like a helicopter, and when the position of its rotors are tilted it has the long-range efficiency and speed of a turboprop aircraft.

Several of the aircraft are based at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.

Maj Keavy Rake, of USAF's 48th Fighter Wing, said: 'The area was surveyed according to our policies and procedures and some damage did occur.

'We are taking steps to rectify as soon as possible.

'Our units are continuously coordinating with our local partners to improve operations.

'We are greatly appreciative of the relationship and coordination we have with the UK.'

A spokesman for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust said: 'While our normal helipad is being repaired air ambulances will temporarily land at nearby Cambridge City Airport and patients are then transferred to the hospital in road ambulances with critical care staff on board, meaning we can continue to see and treat them as normal.'
Opening of Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highways is crucial for the supply of ammunition, food, fuel, essentials for Indian troops in Ladakh

New Delhi: The roads to Ladakh have opened after winter amidst the continued standoff with China. The ZojiLa Pass, which connects Kashmir to Ladakh, was opened on Wednesday and the Manali-Leh highway was opened some three weeks ago.

The opening of the Srinagar-Leh and Manali-Leh highways is crucial for the supply of ammunition, food, fuel and other essentials for the Indian troops who are deployed in Ladakh. The opening of these roads indicates that the Army has successfully managed the winter deployment of the additional troops who were rushed into Ladakh after the tensions soared with China. Last year the Indian Army had rushed supplies to Ladakh for some 50,000 troops which were to be stationed in the area during winter at sub-zero temperatures due to the tensions with China.

The strategic 428 km Manali-Leh highway was opened by the Border Roads Organisation more than one-and-a-half months ahead of schedule. However, due to the snowfall, movement on it has been getting affected. The strategically crucial mighty ZojiLa Pass on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road was opened Wednesday by the BRO, establishing road connectivity to Ladakh after four months. The pass closes every year in winter due to the heavy snowfall and opens only by the end of April the next year.

This year the ZojiLa Pass opened after a closure of 110 days, compared to an average of 150 days in previous years. Located at a height of 11,650 feet, ZojiLa is a strategic pass that provides a vital link between Kashmir Valley and Ladakh and is the key to the operational preparedness of the armed forces in the sector.

Due to the tensions with China and focus on infrastructure development, there was focus this time to keep ZojiLa Pass closure to the minimum.

This time the ZojiLa Pass was kept open till December 31, 2020. Also, the snow clearance operations to open the road began on February 7 by Projects Beacon and Vijayak of the BRO. The connectivity across ZojiLa was initially established on February 15 and it was planned to open the pass for the Army and civil traffic by the end of February or early March. However, continuous bad weather conditions, poor visibility and heavy snowfall, that triggered avalanches, had delayed the opening. Finally, after efforts by Projects Beacon and Vijayak of BRO, connectivity was re-established on April 21 and 10 civil trucks, carrying essential fresh supplies, moved across the ZojiLa Pass towards Kargil, bringing much needed relief to the people of Ladakh. Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary, the BRO director-general, said the ZojiLa Pass reopening will facilitate the availability of essential goods and supplies for the people of Ladakh and also enable the easier movement of Army convoys.
A veteran prosecutor known for his no-nonsense style is President Joe Bidens pick to be the next U.S. attorney in Baton Rouge, according to a source with knowledge of the nomination.

Ronald Gathe Jr., who has spent two decades working as a prosecutor for parish district attorneys, would become U.S. attorney if confirmed by the Senate.

Gathe, a graduate of Xavier University and Southern University Law Center, would be the first Black person nominated by a president for the position in the Middle District of Louisiana. The district was created in April 1972.

Gathe would succeed Brandon Fremin, who had been the Trump administrations appointee until he resigned at the end of February with the Biden administration planning to appoint a replacement. Ellison Travis has been serving as the interim.

The U.S. attorney for the Middle District essentially acts as the federal district attorney for a nine-parish area: East Baton Rouge, Ascension, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana. The office has 60 attorneys and support personnel.

+5 Brandon Fremin resigning as Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney in Baton Rouge Brandon Fremin's tenure as U.S. Attorney in Baton Rouge will come to a close at the end of the month after just three years, but on Thursday h

Gathe, 46, spent 19 years as an assistant district attorney in East Baton Rouge Parish and since January has been the chief of trials for the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office, which encompasses the parishes of Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge.

Gathe was prosecuting a murder trial Wednesday in West Baton Rouge Parish.

Hes one of the best litigators Ive ever seen, said Gathes boss, Tony Clayton, the 18th Judicial District attorney, adding that he is one of the most low-key human beings I have ever met. Hes the kind of guy Cassidy and Kennedy would love.

That last point is important because Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, under Senate traditions, have the right to veto the presidents nomination. Both are Republicans.

Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The next U.S. Attorney in Baton Rouge? This is a list of names to watch State Rep. Ted James headlines an early list of names circulating in the local legal community from which the region's next chief federal pros

Kennedy typically meets one-on-one with key federal appointees to Louisiana, while Cassidy generally has an outside committee vet the nominees.

Still ahead for Gathe is a formal nomination by the White House, confirmation by the Judiciary Committee and confirmation by the full Senate.

Hes a good choice, said Doug Moreau, who hired Gathe as a prosecutor when Moreau was the East Baton Rouge district attorney. Hes gained a lot of experience and gained a good reputation over the years. Hes well-liked.

Hillar Moore III, Moreaus successor, also spoke favorably of his former prosecutor.

Ron not only has the temperament that is needed for this very important job during this critical time, but he also has the legal knowledge and experience to lead his office, Moore said.

Gathe, an adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center, is vice president of membership for the National Black Prosecutors Association. He was previously the group's national treasurer and a regional director, and started the association's Louisiana chapter. He graduated from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge.

Others mentioned as possible candidates for the position were state Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, state Department of Transportation and Development executive counsel Deidre Deculus Robert; and Michael Adams, a law partner at DeCuir, Clark & Adams.

Brian Jackson, now a federal judge in Baton Rouge, and Stan Lemelle are Black men who served as U.S. Attorney in the Middle District without having been appointed by a president.
Editor's Note: These stories were originally published in 2017. The San Antonio Express-News spent much of the year following transgender San Antonians, documenting their transitions and their fight for rights. These are their stories.

Jackson Farner, 16

Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News

During his freshman year of high school, Jackson began experiencing gender dysphoria  an intense feeling that he was in the wrong body. "Its like this inner voice fighting you, almost," Jackson said. "Every time I would see a guy, I would just compare myself to him, and the ways that Im not like him or Id never be like him." Worried about his mental health, that school year he first told his friends that he was a boy, and his mom later on.

Now, a year later, Jackson has made major strides in his transition. He cut off his hair and started seeing a gender therapist. He changed his name to Jackson and started going by male pronouns. In April, he had his first testosterone shot, and this summer he will legally change his name and gender marker. "The transition is more how to be comfortable with yourself, how to be grateful for what you have versus comparing what you have to other people and naming everything thats wrong with your life," Jackson said. "Its just being comfortable in your own skin."

The next generation: Jackson Farner | Dec. 12th, 2017

Adam Snow, 18

Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News

For Adam, gender identity and gender expression are distinct from each other. Hes a transgender young man, but he also has created elaborate makeup looks and loves to dye his hair. "As soon as a trans guy wears makeup, theyd be like, Are you de-transitioning now? Huh? You want to be a girl again?" Adam said. "Its really annoying because you still have to confine to gender roles either way."

Last year, Adam dropped out of his high school, where he found acceptance from some but was still treated as a girl by others. Since then, he has been waiting until his family has enough money for him to get his GED, start taking hormones and legally change his name and gender marker.

The next generation: Adam Snow | Dec. 14th, 2017

Sasha Woollven, 19

Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News

Growing up in a military family, Sasha spent most of her childhood in San Antonio before moving to Germany when she was 16. By then, she identified as gender fluid, meaning she did not feel her gender was fixed. Previously, she had been out as gay. Over the course of a few years, she changed her name to Sasha and began using the pronouns "she" and "they" interchangeably.

Though she didnt always fit in with peers at school, Sashas family was immediately accepting of her. Her father is transgender, her mother is bisexual and her stepfather is queer, an umbrella term for those who do not identify as solely heterosexual. She went to Pride events essentially from birth. "I really come from an LGBT family," she said. "I think the hardest thing of coming out was just coming out to people who werent related to me."

Catizia Farris, 19

Carolyn Van Houten, Staff

For several years, Catizia cycled through multiple foster care homes, residential treatment centers and the streets as she sought acceptance as a transgender girl. All she wanted was to be able to wear makeup and the clothing she wanted, but tensions with her adoptive mother led to her running away repeatedly before being placed in the foster care system.

At 16, Catizia finally found a family who loved her for who she is, and a mother who is a transgender woman, too. In the process, she let go of much of the anger that used to plague her. "Its tough for a lot of trans people out there, to go through the exact same thing I go through," Catizia said. "I just always told myself that it gets better, and it did."

Part 1: The battle | May. 19th, 2017

Part 2: The mother and daughter | June. 1st, 2017

Mason Cantu, 18

Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News

Though he started taking hormones and dressed as a boy toward the end of his time at his Corpus Christi high school, Mason didnt formally come out to friends and family after graduation. "I feel like I wasnt put in either of the boxes," Mason said. "I was in my own little box." Now, after legally changing his name and gender marker, he just wants to be himself. "It doesnt control your entire life," he said.

For a while, his relationship with his father was rocky. And even though his mother, Belinda Trevino, came out at 35 as a gay woman, she still struggled at first with her sons transition. "Hes erasing  not to say it in a bad way  but erasing my baby girl," Belinda said. Realizing there were few resources for the parents of transgender youth, Belinda founded the support group Be Human, first in Corpus Christi and then in San Antonio when she moved, so parents could share their experiences with each other.

Jaime Merkert, 14

Carolyn Van Houten /San Antonio Express-News

Being transgender in a small town is not the same as it is in a large, diverse city. Jaime lives in Karnes City, where he is homeschooled. Before that, when Jaime attended public school, he was uncomfortable when he saw that girls were expected to wear dresses. "Why do you want to dress like that?" he would wonder.

Jaime has struggled with mental health issues and several suicide attempts, often exacerbated by his gender identity issues. Hes now in treatment, which has helped him to better cope, and recently started hormone therapy. Jaimes mother works in San Antonio, where he also attends Fiesta Youth, a LGBTQ peer support group. There, Jaime found supportive friends. "I came to the right place," he said.

The next generation: Jaime | Dec. 13th, 2017

Treci Vale, 14

Carolyn Van Houten, Staff

Treci did not originally come out as a transgender girl  initially, she identified as genderqueer  somewhere outside just male or female  and gay. But soon enough, she realized that she was a girl, and she began to publicly identify herself as such in 6th grade.

Though being trans is only a small part of who she is, Treci finds that people tend to emphasize it in many parts of her life, to a much larger degree than she thinks they should. She wished that people would also pay attention to the fact that shes artistic and aspires to be a cartoonist one day, or that she loves to read. "Being trans means to me just being myself and just existing as myself," Treci said. "Thats pretty much it. It just embodies who I am, as far as gender goes. But its not the most defining part about me."

Will, 15

Carolyn Van Houten, Staff

ill has been taking testosterone for some time, and he passes so well that most people cannot tell he was assigned female at birth. Some who knew him from elementary school still know him as a girl, while others know him as a boy based on his appearance. But he has felt uncomfortable about formally telling classmates and teachers, worried that his peers would make assumptions about him or think of him differently. "Im just not sure what will happen," Will said in the fall. "I guess Im afraid." For that reason, the Express-News is identifying him only by his first name. He decided to come out first at a church where he volunteers, changing his name tag to reflect his new name.

Sometimes at school, when Will hears others castigating the LGBTQ community, he tries to correct them. "You should just treat everybody with respect," Will said. "Thats basically what I tell them, because it shouldnt matter how they want to dress and stuff."

The next generation: Will | Dec. 11th, 2017

Ashleigh Brown, 54

Carolyn Van Houten, Staff

Growing up with a military dad, from a young age Ashleigh felt the pressure to act masculine. She served in the Army for four years, entered the rodeo circuit, married and had a daughter. But inside, she knew she was a woman. "I hid it for years," she said. "I hid it the best way I could." It took her years to come to terms with her gender identity.

Eventually, she told her wife and daughter. "I just let it out, and I didnt want to stop anymore," she said. She and her wife divorced, and her daughter struggled to understand, fighting with her frequently. Over time, Ashleigh reconciled with her daughter, before she died in a car accident. "It was devastating enough to lose her, but at least we were able to talk and we still had a relationship," she said.

Lauryn Farris, 60

Carolyn Van Houten, Staff

For years, Lauryn has been a fierce advocate within San Antonios LGBTQ community. She helped update the citys nondiscrimination ordinance to include gender identity, sexual orientation and veteran status. Shes has been involved with most of the LGBTQ groups in the city. Through her mentoring of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system, she adopted a transgender girl. And this legislative session, she regularly made the trip to Austin to testify against the bathroom bills and other legislation.

The work is taxing, but Lauryn signed up for it. As someone who began transitioning during an era when being transgender was rarely discussed, she wants things to be better for the next generation of transgender children.

"Having had the opportunity to be a parent of a younger transgender woman, its really opened my eyes to myself and to what I went through," Lauryn said. "Thats the reason we do it, is because its for the kids, its for the younger ones. So they can live as who they are, as soon as they know who they are."
Vindman added this stirring sentiment about his appearance before lawmakers: In Russia, my act of ... offering public testimony involving the president would surely cost me my life, he said. I am grateful for my fathers brave act of hope 40 years ago and for the privilege of being an American citizen and public servant, where I can live free of fear for my and my familys safety. Dad, my sitting here today, in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected officials, is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to United States of America in search of a better life for our family. Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth.
[April 22, 2021] UT Health East Texas Licenses TheraNow to Offer Remote Telehealth Physical Therapy to Patients

TYLER, Texas, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TheraNow, the leader in telehealth technology and platform for physical therapy and pain management, today announced that UT Health East Texas at Ardent Medical Services has licensed the TheraNow Platform to provide telemedicine and remote physical therapy treatment to patients throughout East Texas. Through this partnership, UT Health East Texas will provide patients with physical therapy and rehabilitation services at home using TheraNow's remote telehealth/telerehab platform. Using TheraNow, recovering patients can manage appointments for therapy sessions at home under the guidance of their physician or therapist. TheraNow provides personalized, prescribed one-on-one video therapy sessions with licensed therapists using their laptops or mobile device. The TheraNow app monitors the patient's progress with outcome tracking that helps the therapist to build an effective progressive rehabilitation program. According to Ms. Vicki Briggs, CEO UT Health Tyler at Ardent Health Services, "When I was initially introduced to TheraNow, I was very impressed with the capabilities to help patients prepare for joint replacement surgery to optimize their outcome and the opportunity to have post-procedure therapy at home through the telehealth platform. I am pleased that our orthopedic surgeons have embraced this technology and that UTHET Rehabilitation Services is also beginning to provide this option to their patients. I personally was able to take advantage of TheraNow after my hip replacement surgery. I had all of my physical therapy done in the comfort and privacy of my home by connecting with the therapist on my iPhone. He was able to instruct me on how to perform the exercises and monitor my progress several times a week. It was an added benefit to see videos of the exercises to refresh me on exactly how to do them when I was not online with the therapist. I was also much more motivated to stay on track with the schedule since I had to check in daily when I performed the exercises and note on the application hw I was doing. I was 100% pleased with this experience and had a great outcome."



Enthusiasm for the platform is also shared by the UT Health Rehabilitation Hospital administrator, Ms. Laurie Lenhof, who states, "UT Health Rehabilitation Hospital caregivers are excited to provide our first "tele-therapy" visit utilizing the Theranow platform. This innovative way to provide rehabilitation therapy to patients at home is a treatment option that we are thrilled to extend to our community. We can also reach beyond our usual service area as the distance becomes less of a barrier. Our rehabilitation leaders and therapists worked diligently to make this new project a reality and are eager to see it grow. We appreciate the collaborative relationship with Theranow that will help us improve our patients' access to UT Health rehabilitation services." In an era where zoom calls substitute as telemedicine, TheraNow stands in sharp contrast with a comprehensive app based musculoskeletal treatment program that envelops the patient with concierge level care and cutting edge technology.TheraNow is a leading telehealth service enabling healthcare providers nationwide to promote safer and quicker patient recovery at home. After just four years, TheraNow has become one of the primary telehealth providers specializing in proprietary technology in physical therapy and rehabilitation, making treatment more accessible for patients without visiting a healthcare facility or physical therapy office. The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine awarded TheraNow the "Most Innovative Technology."

"The new alliance with UT Health East Texas at Ardent Medical Services makes it easier for patients to receive treatment at home when they want," said Dr. Ashok Gupta, DPT, COO, and co-founder of TheraNow. Dr. Gupta, who is often credited as an early pioneer of TeleRehab, directed the several years-long development program with intense feedback from therapists, orthopedic surgeons, hospital administrators, and patients. In addition to UT Health East Texas, TheraNow has partnerships with other healthcare and service providers, including Ardent Health Services, Onsite Physio/Worker's Compensation, Indian Health Service, and K12 Education System. For more information about TheraNow telehealth PT services, visit www.theranow.com. About TheraNow TheraNow was recently named the Best Overall Physical Therapy Online and is a pioneer in telehealth rehabilitation and online physical therapy services providing convenient and reliable online access to pain management and physical therapy. Founded in 2017, TheraNow is a leader in providing software solutions for large institutions and healthcare systems. TheraNow's network of certified physical therapists and health experts offer personalized online sessions through TheraNow's proprietary mobile app platform to create a care plan including pain management, home exercise plan, and functional training. TheraNow strives to provide a brighter future for those suffering from chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders with therapy in the comfort of their own home. Learn more at https://www.theranow.com. Media contact:

Nicole Boyd

Firecracker PR

308195@email4pr.com

(888) 317-4687 ext. 711 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ut-health-east-texas-licenses-theranow-to-offer-remote-telehealth-physical-therapy-to-patients-301274743.html SOURCE TheraNow

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STORY: Greece Military Flypast - Military jets in flypast over Athens

LENGTH: 01:08

FIRST RUN: 1419

RESTRICTIONS:

TYPE: Natsound

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

STORY NUMBER: 4322201

DATELINE: 22 April 2021 - Athens

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Athens - 22 April 2021

1. Wide of ancient Acropolis

2. Wide panoramic view of Athens

3. Various of fighter jets in multinational military exercises flying over Athens

STORYLINE:

Military jets participating in an international exercise in Greece flew over the ancient Acropolis in Athens on Thursday.

Greece's annual Iniochos exercises opened to allied forces in 2015, with 2021's participation the largest so far, involving more than 60 overseas aircraft flying over 1,000 sorties.

The multinational military exercise includes fighter jets from the United States, France, Israel, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Canada also provided ground staff support, and Cyprus sent one helicopter while Austria, Egypt, Jordan, Romania and Slovenia sent observers.

Greek military officials said the exercises were broadly based on a hypothetical scenario of a regional conflict escalating into an international military confrontation.

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(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The cannabis industry is making strides in other ways as well. Since the November elections, several states, most recently New Mexico and Virginia, have taken steps to legalize marijuana sales for adult recreational use. Others, including New York, New Jersey and Arizona, have also gone that route. And more states are expected to follow suit.
The design, interpretation, and enforcement of county and municipal laws significantly affect local public health. But accessing those laws can be difficult. A study by Indiana University researchers found that unlike Indiana state laws, which are collected, catalogued by topic, and kept regularly updated in centralized, publicly available electronic databases, laws in about half of all Indiana counties were not online, or if they were online, they weren't necessarily up to date. This means that in Indiana, there is no comprehensive, up-to-date central source that can be used to study how different local governments respond to similar health-related concerns.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health is part of IU's Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge.

"We believe that, for the purposes of both research and access to and accountability of local government, it would be valuable for there to be some place in Indiana that has all of the state's local laws collected together," said study co-author Ross Silverman, professor of health policy and management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and professor of public health and law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. "Through our study, we were able to show what it takes to try to build a nearly comprehensive database of the local laws that have been passed in Indiana over the past 25 years or so."

Researchers examined the health-related laws covering the largest possible share of the state population in the least number of discrete jurisdictions by focusing on gathering all local laws from all of Indiana's counties and 20 largest municipalities (112 jurisdictions in total, with municipalities located across 15 counties).

They found that local laws from 77 (68 percent; 57 counties, 20 cities) of the 112 jurisdictions were available online. Forty-two jurisdictions (37 percent; 27 counties, 15 cities) contracted with a commercial enterprise to index and publish their laws and 37 jurisdictions (33 percent; 32 counties, 5 cities) published local laws on their local government websites, although there was variation in ease of access, organization, and completeness.

Of the 77 jurisdictions with information available online, 65 (84 percent; 45 counties, 20 cities) had their laws codified by topic, and 19 (24 percent; all counties) stored individual ordinances as discrete PDFs.

Researchers also found 35 jurisdictions (29 percent; all counties) did not have their laws available online. Researchers were able to contact county auditors to obtain ordinances for 27 of these counties. In the case of the other 18 counties, researchers acquired data on laws by visiting local county offices and scanning documents.

"Just to get the raw data that would allow us to start conducting research on our hypothesis, we accrued significant costs including hundreds of hours, thousands of miles traveled, and more than 25,000 pages of scanned documents to be sorted and filed," Silverman said. "In 2021, it is hard to believe that laws are this difficult to collect."

Additionally, Silverman said, how Indiana localities choose to store and organize their laws complicates surveillance. Currently, county governments can fulfill their obligation to publish, record, and maintain a permanent public record of local laws through keeping official copies in a book in their offices. Furthermore, unlike state statutes, most counties organize their laws chronologically by passage date as opposed to topically.

The study is important, Silverman said, because to assess the impact of law on public health, researchers must be able to obtain accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive data on local-level laws. While he was surprised by how difficult it was to collect the information, Silverman said Indiana is not unique in the varied ways local governments publish and store laws.

"For many counties, limited resources keep them from converting their files electronically," Silverman said. "We were able to load our scanned county files onto a flash drive which we provided them in an effort to help facilitate open government initiatives, easing residents' access to the laws that govern them."

The researchers said a concerted effort is needed to ensure that local laws of all kinds are stored online in organized, searchable, and open-access systems. Such an effort, they said, is vital to achieve the aspirational goals of policy surveillance at the intrastate level. They recommend that local laws of all kinds be online; that online systems be standardized across jurisdictions, organized, and searchable; and that online systems be freely and openly accessible.

These recommendations not only would assist researchers in examining the public health impact of laws but would facilitate transparency and accountability, Silverman said.

"A concerted effort to fund and implement such an approach to local legal publication will pay dividends in public health and democratic engagement with local government," he said.

###

Lindsey Sanner and Sean Grant, from the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI, and Heather Walter-McCabe, School of Social Work, are co-authors on the study.

Responding to the Addictions Crisis

The Responding to the Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge initiative engages a broad array of IU's world-class faculty, as well as IU's business, nonprofit and government partners. Working together, the groups are contributing to an initiative to implement a comprehensive plan to reduce deaths from addiction, ease the burden of drug addiction on Hoosier communities and improve health and economic outcomes. This initiative is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive state-based responses to the opioid addiction crisis -- and the largest led by a university.
Woolworths has revealed its plans for the City of Perths first full-line supermarket which is looking to capitalise on future growth opportunities in West Perth and the $227 million Subi East redevelopment.

Fabcot Pty Ltd, the development arm of the shopping giant, has submitted a development application to the capital city council for a $26.5 million four-storey plus basement complex in the old Princess Margaret Hospital carpark.

The Murray Street entrance to the proposed West Perth Woolworths complex. Credit:Woolworths

About a quarter of the 14,078 square metres of floor space will be devoted to the supermarket while the rest of the site will include retail and hospitality tenancies, basement carpark, a childcare centre, and a medical centre.

The development application prepared by Urbis says the building, located at the end of Murray Street, will fill a critical service gap for West Perth as the City aims to grow its population to 90,000 people by 2050.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 19:49:44|Editor: huaxia

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Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (C), Health Minister Hala Zayed (2nd L) and Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang (2nd R) pose for photos after a signing ceremony in Cairo, Egypt, April 21, 2021. Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed an agreement on Wednesday to manufacture Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the North African country. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

CAIRO, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA) and Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac signed an agreement on Wednesday to manufacture Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the North African country.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Health Minister Hala Zayed and Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang, who later held talks together and lauded the two countries' cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Madbouly expressed gratitude to Liao for China's valuable support to Egypt in dealing with the coronavirus, saying the deal is "very important" as it gives Egypt the opportunity to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines locally.

The prime minister said he looks forward to the implementation of the agreement and the local production of Sinovac vaccine as soon as possible.

For his part, Liao stressed China's appreciation of its strategic partnership with Egypt as well as the distinguished relations between the leaders of both countries.

The signing of this agreement is a new milestone in China-Egypt's anti-epidemic cooperation, and it will play an important role in helping Egypt and the Middle East as well as Africa combat the epidemic, the ambassador noted.

Egypt started in late January vaccinating medical staff of governmental hospitals with a COVID-19 vaccine made by another leading Chinese drugmaker, Sinopharm, the first-approved vaccine by the Egyptian Drug Authority.

In early March, the most populous Arab country began to vaccinate elderly people and patients with chronic diseases against the highly infectious coronavirus.

So far, Egypt has reported 218,902 COVID-19 cases, including 12,866 deaths and 164,803 recoveries. Enditem
WAYNE, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolve IP, a leading international service provider of Work Anywhere solutions, today announced that Simplify Corporation has joined its partner program. Based out of The Woodlands, Texas, Simplify has been helping large multi-location corporations simplify and optimize their communications life cycle management since 1997.



As part of the Evolve IP partner program Simplify will be bringing the following enterprise-grade solutions to market:

Microsoft Teams Direct Routing integrated with Cisco VoIP  Evolve IP's native integration of the world's #1 collaboration and communications services enables employees to work anywhere, on every connected device without 3 rd party bots, browser extensions, or additional software. Additionally, it delivers market-leading features like business SMS, call recording with AI speech recognition and sentiment, access via digital workspaces and enterprise features like contact center, receptionist clients, multi-level hunt groups and more.

integrated with Cisco VoIP  Evolve IP's native integration of the world's #1 collaboration and communications services enables employees to work anywhere, on every connected device without 3 party bots, browser extensions, or additional software. Additionally, it delivers market-leading features like business SMS, call recording with AI speech recognition and sentiment, access via digital workspaces and enterprise features like contact center, receptionist clients, multi-level hunt groups and more. Virtual Desktops / Digital Workspaces  Evolve IP's digital workspaces enable organizations to support a truly hybrid workforce with a powerful combination of integrated single-sign-on with multifactor authentication, virtual desktop / desktop-as-a-service, and hosted Windows applications. Noted by both Gartner and Frost & Sullivan, Evolve IP's award-winning solutions ensure employees can access all of their data and applications on virtually any device, anywhere, at any time.

/ Digital Workspaces  Evolve IP's digital workspaces enable organizations to support a truly hybrid workforce with a powerful combination of integrated single-sign-on with multifactor authentication, virtual desktop / desktop-as-a-service, and hosted Windows applications. Noted by both Gartner and Frost & Sullivan, Evolve IP's award-winning solutions ensure employees can access all of their data and applications on virtually any device, anywhere, at any time. Omnichannel Contact Center  Evolve IP's contact center software ensures agents can deliver a great customer experience and build lasting relationships. The solution includes all of the features needed to build a world-class contact center and costs 30-40% less than alternative solutions. Noted in the last four Gartner CCaaS magic quadrants, Evolve IP's solution can be integrated with Microsoft Teams and digital workspaces ensuring agents are not only connected to customers, they remain engaged with the rest of the business.

 Evolve IP's contact center software ensures agents can deliver a great customer experience and build lasting relationships. The solution includes all of the features needed to build a world-class contact center and costs 30-40% less than alternative solutions. Noted in the last four Gartner CCaaS magic quadrants, Evolve IP's solution can be integrated with Microsoft Teams and digital workspaces ensuring agents are not only connected to customers, they remain engaged with the rest of the business. Unified Communications  Evolve IP's UCaaS service from Cisco delivers award-winning collaboration (video, chat, conferencing and more), and crystal-clear voice services that integrate with the applications businesses are already deploying, on any connected device. With a proven history of 99.999% uptime, the solution provides enterprises with business continuity no matter where employees are working or what is happening inside or outside their offices.

"Simplify is a fantastic partner with a long history of providing the right solutions at the right time for their clients," said Tim Allen, Executive Vice President of Business Development of Evolve IP. "Now, with Evolve IP's integrated remote work solutions, Simplify can provide its clients with the capability to seamlessly transition from work from home to work from anywhere. We're excited to have Simplify in the Evolve IP family and driving revenue for both of our firms."



"Evolve IP's integrated product set enables employees to work anywhere productively and securely, a critical capability for enterprises as they begin moving to hybrid office scenarios," said Brent Saxon, Chief Operating Officer of Simplify. "By adding Evolve IP's solutions to the Simplify portfolio we are positioned better than ever to provide our clients with award-winning options for collaboration, communications, digital workspaces, and contact center."

Why Clients Choose Evolve IP



Evolve IP enables employees to Work Anywhere productively and securely. Our enterprise solutions seamlessly integrate collaboration & communications, digital workspaces and contact center  all delivered from a browser on any connected device. Evolve IP's technologies free IT to focus on business innovation, not systems and infrastructure, and enable their employees to contribute even more to the enterprise -- no matter where or when they are working. Businesses that choose Evolve IP have selected a true technology partner. A company that becomes an expert extension of their IT team, an organization that listens to their needs to tailor solutions just for their business, and is responsive and engaged in every interaction.

Follow Evolve IP on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12866903



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Evolve IP
Nguyen Duc Thuan, a disabled student at the Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted in the northern province of Bac Ninh, will be one of 15 Vietnamese contestants at the Asian Informatics Olympics, which will take place in late May 2021.

Thuan wins first prize at the National Young Informatics Contest.

School principal Mr. Nguyen Nho Hoa said that Thuan is one of three students from Bac Ninh who were selected to participate in the 2021 Asian Olympiads.

Thuan is a student with special circumstances. He was born with a disability, has difficulty in moving, but has a great will and energy. We, the teachers, are motivated and excited by his efforts."

Hoa said that when Thuan was an 11th grade student at Que Vo High School, he won third prize in informatics in the national excellent student competition. Realizing the great effort of Thuan and his mother, managers of Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted asked for the provincial Department of Education and Trainings approval to recruit Thuan.

The school arranged a room for Thuan and his mother in the school campus in order to facilitate Thuans studies. The teachers at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted were also willing to give Thuan free tutoring.

As a 12th grader, Thuan won second prize in informatics at the national contest for excellent students and also first prize in informatics at the National Youth Informatics Competition. He was selected to represent Vietnam at the Asian Informatics Olympiad this year.

Thuan and his mother.

Mrs. Do Thi Hoai San, Thuan's mother, said that Thuans success is thanks to his teachers assistance.

Thuans teacher at Bac Ninh High School for the Gifted gave 7 free tutoring sessions a week for Thuan. The teachers at the High School of Natural Sciences for the Gifted who took Thuan to Hanoi created favorable conditions for him to study with members of the schools selected team.

Earlier, when Thuan was a 2nd pupil, Thuan also received his teachers assistance. She was not rich but she borrowed money for cover Thuans leg operation.

Although there were times when she felt hopeless looking to the future, now with the grace of so many people and the efforts of her child, the mother has gained belief, hope and confidence.

Thuan is very brave. He rarely complained or was peevish. I learned a lot from my son, Mrs. San said.

Thuy Nga

Student overcomes adversity, joins national maths team Having parents with severe illnesses who could not pay to send their kids to tutoring did not lessen Thongs eagerness to learn and achieve.
Campus News

UBs message to students: Get vaccinated

With all adults now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and more doses available, UB administrators are urging all students to schedule their shots  for their own safety, as well as that of the greater community.

By CHARLES ANZALONE

Its a sigh of relief. I wanted to be protected and protect those around me. I know the science. I know vaccines arent dangerous, as some people believe.  Zack Farnam, senior biomedical engineering student

For UB freshman Zack Farnam, getting the COVID-19 vaccine was always a question of when, not if. The biomedical engineering student living in Governors Complex had an appointment in Syracuse for April 25. But he kept looking, eventually finding one on April 8 for a Pfizer shot at a local Walgreens. He knows by now he has 65% immunity, but his second dose is coming up quickly, on April 29, with full immunity two weeks later. Its a sigh of relief, says Farnam, who is also a member of the Buffalo Chips. I wanted to be protected and protect those around me. I know the science. I know vaccines arent dangerous, as some people believe. Farnams next question is a slam dunk: Would he recommend other students get vaccinated? Absolutely, he says. Get it as soon as you can. Its a step toward normalcy. My friends dont need any encouragement. We were all on the same page. Farnam has just the attitude and action UB administrators are hoping for. With all adults now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine  and more doses available  UB administrators are urging all students to schedule their shots, for their own safety as well as that of the greater community, UB and beyond. There are many vaccine appointments available, notes Christina Hernandez, interim vice-president for student life. We strongly recommend all students schedule a vaccine as soon as possible near UB or in their home communities, for their safety and peace of mind, and those around them. The nearly 3,000 students who are now fully vaccinated are a good start, UB officials say, but just that. UB expects that number to grow considerably over the next few months, leading up to the fall semester when the university plans to return to in-person classes and activities.

Where to get the shot

Public health officials say there are thousands of Moderna and Pfizer appointments opening up throughout Western New York this week and the remainder of the semester. Erie County announced hundreds of walk-in appointments are available at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo and at the ECC North Campus in Williamsville because of the vaccine surplus. For helpful information about where to book vaccinations, go to COVID-19: UB Planning and Response. UB Parking and Transportation will provide free shuttle service to vaccine clinics at the KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo or ECC North Campus in Williamsville for students unable to get there on their own. Theres also a state-operated vaccination clinic in Harriman Hall on the South Campus, with regular UB bus service between UB campuses. For more information, email transportation@buffalo.edu or call 716-645-3943. The universitys vaccinate now message echoes what UB experts have been advocating for months. If you get vaccinated, this is going to enable you to do all sorts of things, says Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and an expert on the pandemic who is quoted frequently in the news media worldwide. You can gather safely with other fully vaccinated friends, really the first step toward getting back to where we wanted to go before this whole pandemic descended upon us. Vaccination is great for you, and its great for our community.

One immune student at a time
PRAGUE -- The Czech Republic has said it wants more Russian diplomats to leave the country and neighboring Slovakia has decided to eject three Russian Embassy staff in solidarity, as tensions between Prague and Moscow escalate over Russia's alleged role in a deadly 2014 explosion at a Czech arms depot.



Newly appointed Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said on April 22 that Russia won't be allowed to have more diplomats in Prague than the Czechs currently have at their embassy in Moscow.



He did not say how many Russian Embassy staff members would be affected by the move, but in an interview with Lidovky.cz published late on April 21 he indicated that "about" 60 Russian embassy staff would be expelled if Moscow ignored a deadline to allow Czech diplomats, who were expelled recently in a retaliatory move, to return to work by noon on April 22. Moscow had called the ultimatum "unacceptable."



"We will cut the number of diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Prague to match the number of our staff at the embassy in Moscow," Kulhanek told a news briefing after the deadline had passed.



"The decision took effect today. Russia has been given until the end of May to recall their staff," he added.

In response, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said it had demanded that the Czech Embassy "reduce the number of its employees in Moscow taking into account the existing disparity when it comes to locally recruited staff."



"The [Czech] ambassador was told that we reserve the right to take other steps in the event the hysterical anti-Russian campaign spirals further," Zakharova said in a statement.



After Kulhanek's announcement, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced that "three representatives of the Russian diplomatic mission must end their activities in Slovakia and must leave the country within seven days."



Heger said Slovakia made the decision "following recent events in the Czech Republic and after having thoroughly evaluated information of our intelligence services that closely cooperate with the intelligence services of our allies."

The Russian Embassy in Bratislava called the decision "a step contradicting the historically friendly relations between our nations," and said the Slovak government would be informed of Russia's response "in the near future."

On April 19, 18 Russian diplomats identified by the Czechs as being intelligence operatives were expelled from their posts in Prague, prompting Moscow to retaliate with the expulsion of 20 Czech Embassy employees in Moscow.

The Czechs said they were surprised by the size of the Russian move, which they noted would severely hamper the operations of the embassy in Moscow.

"The aim is to bring the situation at the Russian Embassy in line with that at our embassy in Moscow at the moment," Kulhanek said in explaining the number of possible expulsions.

The tit-for-tat moves over the Czech allegations have triggered Prague's biggest dispute with Russia since the 1989 end of communist rule, putting the small Central European NATO member at the center of rising tensions between Moscow and the West.

The Czechs said in a statement before the announcement that the North Atlantic Council, NATO's principal political decision-making body, had been informed of the situation.



"The allies expressed deep concern over the destabilizing actions Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on Alliance territory, and stand in full solidarity with the Czech Republic," the April 22 statement said.

The Kremlin has rejected what it called Prague's "baseless accusations" and said the Czech moves were "unreasonable and harmful to bilateral relations."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Kulhanek's interview with Lidovky.cz, said that President Vladimir Putin in his annual state-of-the-nation address on April 21 "had talked about the futility of issuing demands" against Russia.

The Czech Foreign Ministry says the number of Czech diplomats in Moscow after the expulsions sits at five, plus 19 other staff. Russia's Embassy in Prague now has 27 diplomats and 67 other staff, according to the ministry. Both countries have additional staff at consulates in other cities.

As a result of the dispute, the Czech government has already decided to eliminate Russia's state-run corporation Rosatom from a multibillion-dollar tender to build a new unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant.

Interior Minister Jan Hamacek, who was acting foreign minister until Kulhanek's appointment, said that Prague would also no longer consider buying Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19.

Citing Czech intelligence, the government said that Russia's GRU military intelligence agency orchestrated the explosion in the eastern town of Vrbetice in 2014 in what the Foreign Ministry called "an unacceptable violation of the state sovereignty and national security of the Czech Republic."

The October 16 blast set off 50 metric tons of stored ammunition, killing two people. Two months later, another explosion of 13 tons of ammunition occurred at the same site.

In connection with the October blast, Czech police said they were seeking two suspected Russian agents also identified as suspects in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England.

However, the open-source investigation organization Bellingcat said the Russian operation that the Czech authorities had linked to the blast in Vrbetice involved at least six GRU operatives.

Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia nearly died after being exposed to what British authorities later concluded was Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent. A British woman who accidentally came into contact with the substance died.

Britain's NATO allies responded to the Skripal poisoning by imposing sanctions on Russia and expelling diplomats.

With reporting by Lidovky.cz, AFP, TASS, and Reuters
High Court proceedings brought by Vet Daniel McCarthy against the Veterinary Council of Ireland, over a finding of alleged professional misconduct against him, have been resolved.

The court heard that following discussions between lawyers for Bandon, Co Cork-based Mr McCarthy and the Veterinary Council, which regulates the profession in Ireland, it was agreed that the findings and recommendations against the vet, contained in a 2019 report, be quashed.

The report had concluded that Mr McCarthy had engaged in professional misconduct that rendered him unfit to practise as a vet, and the FTP committee recommended that his name be removed from the register of veterinary practitioners.

As part of the settlement the allegations against Mr McCarthy are to be remitted back for a fresh hearing before the council's Fitness to Practice Committee.

He had been the subject of a disciplinary hearing conducted by the committee over allegations including that between 2009 and 2011 he dispensed prescription only animal medication in respect of animals not under his care.

It was also alleged that he issued prescription-only medications without prescription and failed to produce documentation to an authorised official.

The disciplinary process, was initiated in 2012 was stayed pending the resolution of a criminal prosecution against Dr McCarthy concerning animal medicines, for which he was fined 2,500, until 2018.

In his action Mr McCarthy, represented by Mark Harty SC, with Eoin O'Shea Bl instructed by solicitor Barry Creed, claimed that the report of the council's Fitness to Practise Committee, was flawed and should be set aside.

He argued that the report contained a finding that he had dealt with a drug called Oxycontin in significant units.

This was an error and it was claimed that the report should have instead referred to a drug called Oxytocin, which is used as a relaxant during animal birth.

Mr McCarthy had never dealt with or prescribed Oxycontin, which is a highly addictive opioid used in the treatment of chronic pain in humans, including palliative care, it was submitted.

An allegation of dealing with oxycontin without prescription would be a matter of ultimate seriousness by any doctor, pharmacist or vet, to have engaged in, it was claimed.

It was also submitted that there was nothing in the report to show that the committee when reaching its conclusions was aware that the drug allegedly dispensed was oxytocin rather than oxycontin.

His lawyers argued that nowhere in the witness statements was there any mention of Oxycontin.

Mr McCarthy also argued that a finding by the committee that he provided prescription medication without a prescription on an industrial scale was wrong, unsafe and unsound

He further argued that the council had acted outside of its jurisdiction regarding the sanction it recommended.

Mr McCarthy's judicial review application was opposed. The council had claimed that the error had no material bearing on the recommended sanction.

The case opened before Mr Justice Garrett Simons on Tuesday, and was adjourned, following a recommendation by the judge, to allow discussions between the parties.

On Wednesday Eileen Barrington SC for the Council told the court that the talks had been productive.

It had been agreed that the findings in the report could be quashed, and that the matter was to be remitted back to a differently composed Fitness to Practice Committee for a fresh hearing.

That hearing is to be expedited, counsel said. The sides had also come to an arrangement regarding the legal costs of the action, the court also heard.

Mr Harty told the court his side were consenting to the settlement, and added that his client will comply with all agreed measures to ensure that the fresh hearing takes places as soon as possible.

The judge welcomed the settlement and praised the sides for the "pragmatic approach" they had taken in relation to the action.

He said that at the centre of the case was "an error" which he said could "happen to the best of us," adding that it was unfortunate that the legislation did not allow for such a mistake to be rectified.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 04:18:26|Editor: huaxia

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Members of the National Guard help drivers check at a COVID-19 vaccination site on the campus of California State University of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Feb. 22, 2021. (Xinhua)

U.S. President Joe Biden said the country is entering a new phase in its vaccination efforts as it starts to shift the focus from getting the vaccine to those most at risk to the general population.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 million shots of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

U.S. President Joe Biden also announced on Wednesday that the country has hit 200 million COVID-19 shots, a target he had set out to meet by the end of April.

Biden said the country is entering a new phase in its vaccination efforts as it starts to shift the focus from getting the vaccine to those most at risk to the general population.

"The time is now to open up a new phase of this historic vaccination effort," Biden said. "To put it simply, if you've been waiting for your turn, wait no longer. Now's the time for everyone over 16 years of age to get vaccinated."

About 215 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered by Wednesday, while more than 277 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, CDC data showed.

Currently there are about 87 million Americans fully vaccinated, accounting for 26.4 percent of the U.S. population, according to CDC data.

About 134 million Americans received at lease one COVID-19 shot, accounting for 40.5 percent of the population.

Among the fully vaccinated, 35 million are people 65 years of age or older, accounting for 65.6 percent, CDC data showed.

Members of the National Guard check people in at a COVID-19 vaccination site at the Javits Center in New York, United States, April 6, 2021. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)

The United States has been ramping up vaccine rollout since last December. There are three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the one developed by American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech, and another by American drugmaker Moderna, in December last year.

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use on Feb. 27, but it was halted for use last week after rare blood clotting cases emerged in six recipients.

According to CDC data, currently a total of 113 million Pfizer/BioNTech doses and 94 million Moderna doses have been administered in the United States, while 7.9 million Johnson & Johnson shots have been administered before its pause. 
Today the Supreme Judicial Council of Armenia, under the leadership of the Councils acting chairman Gagik Jhangiryan, received Minister of Justice Rustam Badasyan, his deputy and advisor.

As reported the Media and Public Relations Service of the Supreme Judicial Council, the aim of the meeting was to discuss the course of implementation of the reforms in the justice sector, the current state of implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy, the current issues and challenges in the judiciary and the strategic benchmarks for making the implementation of justice effective.

The interlocutors exchanged views on judicial-legal reforms, effectiveness of justice, the introduction of electronic justice systems, the digitization of archives, the procedures for selection of judge candidates, the improvement of mechanisms for assessment of judges, alternative mechanisms for settlement of disputes, etc.

At the end of the meeting, they reached an agreement to continue such discussions in order to provide legislative and practical solutions to the earmarked problems promptly and effectively.
Fullerton Advances Proposed Ban on Unoccupied Short-Term Rentals

Fullerton City Council is moving to tighten its existing short-term rental (STR) rules by forbidding the practice in cases where the homeowner is not present during the rental period.

During its April 20 meeting, the council moved to prohibit whole-house STRs with a 32 vote. It will conduct a second reading of the amended ordinance during its next meeting.

Its a bad day for property owners in Fullerton, Mayor Pro Tem Nick Dunlap, one of two dissenting votes, told The Epoch Times on April 21.

This is just a total infringement on property rights.

STRs are defined as rental properties of less than 30 days. They are often used for vacation purposes as an alternative to hotels.

Whole-house STRs dont require the owner to be on the premises of the property during the rental period.

The citys earlier short-term rental housing ordinance went into effect last December. It allowed up to 325 whole-house rental permits, and unlimited home-sharing permits. It required owners to register STRs and pay a permit fee to the city and a transient occupancy tax.

Soon after the ordinances effective date, a hotel and restaurants union threatened litigation, claiming the city didnt follow the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Many of the union members are hotel and restaurant workers, and the STRs provide competition for vacation rentals.

As a result of that legal threat, the city council directed staff to amend the ordinance to settle the legal challenge.

The amendments would prohibit whole-house STRs, as well as ensure the property owners presence to monitor the behavior of the renters and respond to neighborhood complaints. The ordinance continues to allow home-sharing STRs to operate.

The planning commission was presented with the recommended amendment during its March 31 meeting and rejected the proposal.

They were worried about restricting the property rights for people that wish to use their properties for whole-house short-term rentals, community and economic development director Matt Foulkes said during the April 20 council meeting.

They pointed to the fact that nearly 80 percent of the short-term rentals that are currently operating in the city are whole-house. Secondarily, they have some concerns about taking an action to amend the municipal code just to settle threat of legal action by an attorney firm thats representing a labor group.

If the amended ordinance is finalized, whole-house rentals currently operating within the city will have one year to either convert to a home-sharing STR, or cease their STR.

Councilmember Fred Jung said he approved getting rid of the whole-house STRs in order to promote quality of life.

Its just a fundamental belief that I have, that you should know your neighbor, Jung told The Epoch Times on April 21.

Rent it long-term to somebody that can be there and establish themselves in the community.

Jungs concern with whole-house STRs is the risk of them becoming a party house and causing the surrounding neighbors problems with parking and trash, since there is less accountability if someone rents short term.

Jung said he would have wanted to ban whole-house STRs regardless of the lawsuit.

The tactic that everybody has these days to stop development, to stop  ordinances [is] to file a lawsuit, Jung said. And as an elected official, we deal with a number of lawsuits, but that wasnt a consideration for me at all.

Long before I ever was elected to council, when I was stopped and asked about this, I opposed it, he said.

Jung said this is not government overreach, but an ordinance thats in the best interest of the public.

You dont have the capacity to do everything you want on your property just because its your property, he said. For instance, you cant build a patio on your property without getting a permit.

Dunlap said the original ordinance that allowed for whole-house STRs was in the works for five years, and was a balanced policy that could generate some revenue for the city.

Dunlap said the threat of lawsuit was a power move on part of the union to restrict Fullerton property rights.

The 325 whole-house STRs make up less than one percent of all of the citys available housing, he said.

He said the issues with quality of life were kept in check via a 24/7 app and hotline that was available to report issues with these whole-house STRs.

The reality is there was something robust in place that actually respected property rights and instead they got something that really infringes upon property rights, Dunlap said.

Mayor Bruce Whitaker said during the council meeting that he was opposed to the amended ordinance because the city has a low number of whole-house STRs.

If all those properties are sold as long-term residents for people, it would have such a negligible effect on property values, he said.

Whitaker said this is also an issue of restricting a modern economy and sends a message with unintended consequences.

It seems to me that when we foreclose options like that, what were doing is putting a wall around Fullerton and saying: Stay out. This is our place. If you dont belong here, keep away.
Kolkata: Stray incidents of violence were reported on Thursday (April 22) from various parts of Bengal where voting is underway in the sixth phase of assembly elections, but the overall poll situation was largely peaceful with 37.27 per cent turnout recorded till 11 am.

In Uttar Dinajpur's Chopra area, shots were reportedly fired after clashes broke out between activists of the TMC and the BJP over allegations of heckling by agents of a polling booth, according to news agency PTI.

Both the parties denied having used any firearm and blamed the opposition for the violence. The office of the CEO has sought a report on the incident from the local administration.

In Raiganj, sources in the TMC said one of the ruling party activists sustained serious injuries after he was allegedly stabbed by BJP workers. The saffron party, however, denied the allegations.

Sporadic violence was also reported from Bijpur constituency in North 24 Parganas, where TMC and BJP supporters clashed with each other outside polling booths.

Both the parties accused each other of trying to rig votes. Two supporters of the TMC and three of the BJP were reportedly injured in the clashes.

A huge contingent of security forces was rushed to the troubled areas to control the situation.

In the Halisahar area of Naihati constituency, the saffron party alleged that bombs were hurled at the residence of a local BJP leader. His mother and younger brother are known to have suffered injuries. The TMC and the BJP traded charges against each other.

Film director-turned-TMC candidate Raj Chakraborty was gheraoed in Barrackpore constituency by BJP supporters, who accused him of influencing voters.

Chakraborty denied the allegations. In Amdanga constituency, country-made crude bombs were recovered by police personnel.

Elections, which began at 7 am, are being held in 43 assembly seats, 17 in North 24 Parganas district, nine each in Nadia and Uttar Dinajpur, and eight in Purba Bardhaman.

Long queues were seen outside most of the polling booths with security personnel asking everyone to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols, amid the surge in infections everywhere

Over 1.03 crore voters are set to decide the political fate of 306 candidates in this phase.

As many as 1,071 companies of central forces have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling, officials said.

The voting exercise is underway in 14,480 polling stations of the 43 assembly segments.

(With agency inputs)

Live TV
A prop axe used by Jack Nicholson in horror film The Shining has gone on sale for a whopping 45,000.

In the classic 1980 movie the actor's character Jack Torrance slams the axe into a door and declares 'here's Johnny' after chasing his terrified wife Wendy.

And now fans of the cult classic have the chance to own a piece of cinema history as Bristol based dealer Paul Fraser Collectibles is flogging the 35-inch polyfoam item.

Up for grabs: A prop axe used by Jack Nicholson in horror film The Shining has gone on sale for a whopping 45,000

As well as the foam axe, buyers will also receive an authenticated signed photo of Jack Nicholson from the film.

The dealer's website explained: 'This prop stunt axe was substituted for the original wooden axe as a safety measure and for ease of use during filming.

'It would have been used in long shots and when two or more characters were on screen.'

And the item itself is described as having been painted to resemble wood grain for the handle and having silver tape as a stand-in for the metal surface.

Terrifying: In the classic 1980 movie the actor's character Jack Torrance slams the axe into a door and declares 'here's Johnny' after chasing his terrified wife Wendy

Although several axes were made by Warner Bros. for filming, this particular prop seems to have been used often.

The axe shows lots of marks and chips on it suggesting that Nicholson wielded this foam piece around dozens of times while perfecting his iconic scene.

Paul Fraser Collectibles also explained how there is only thought to be one of the wooden axes used on the films left, with it selling for 172,000 in 2019.

They also claimed that another foam prop, similar to the one now up for grabs, sold for a 41,600 ($57,600) that same year.

Specialist Daniel Wade said: 'It's a miracle this exists. In 1980, film memorabilia collecting was in its infancy. Props were props, to be thrown away after shooting.

Collectable: As well as the foam axe, buyers will also receive an authenticated signed photo of Jack Nicholson from the film

'In any case, The Shining was panned when it came out, so there would have been few people interested in owning one.'

It comes after reclusive movie star Shelley Duvall gave a very rare interview where she talked about her iconic role in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, revealing that she would spend days on set of the film crying.

Duvall, now 71, who was last seen during an appearance on Dr. Phil in 2016, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in Texas Hill Country near to where she resides, and discussed her grueling filming days with Kubrick, who was notorious for being a hard taskmaster, as well as looking back on her Hollywood career.

As she played the wife of Nicholson's character - who goes insane while inside a snowed-in resort hotel - in 1980's The Shining, Duvall explained that she constantly had to get her mind in a state of panic to get into character for the filmmaker.

Insight: It comes after Shelley Duvall gave a rare interview where she talked about her role of Wendy (pictured) in The Shining, revealing that she would spend days on set of the film crying

Duvall explained: '[Kubrick] doesn't print anything until at least the 35th take. Thirty-five takes, running and crying and carrying a little boy, it gets hard. And full performance from the first rehearsal. That's difficult.'

She said that she would put on a Sony Walkman and listen to sad songs or just think of unhappy memories to get into the proper head space to play Wendy Torrance.

'To wake up on a Monday morning, so early, and realize that you had to cry all day because it was scheduled  I would just start crying.

'I'd be like, 'Oh no, I can't, I can't.' And yet I did it. I don't know how I did it. Jack said that to me, too. He said, 'I don't know how you do it.''
Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Curb Theft of US Intellectual Property, Especially by China

Senators on Capitol Hill on April 21 announced the reintroduction of a bipartisan bill that would impose harsh penalties on companies and individuals found guilty of stealing U.S. intellectual property, with the lawmakers singling out China for its routine theft of U.S. trade secrets.

Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) reintroduced the bipartisan Protecting American Intellectual Property Act (pdf), which would require sanctions for people and firms that engage in, benefit from, or enable the significant and serial theft of U.S. intellectual property.

The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in December 2020, but ended up not referred for any floor action when passed back to the House in the waning days of the 116th Congress, which adjourned on Jan. 3.

We have to do more to protect American intellectual property from hackers and cheaters. Stealing our IP is routine for Chinas thievesgetting serious about combating their actions by using tough economic tools, like sanctions, is a good place for us to start. This bipartisan legislation is a no-brainer, Sasse said in a statement.

Van Hollen said in a statement: Many foreign companies, and especially those based in China, are working overtime to steal U.S. technologydamaging our economy, harming U.S. job creation, and threatening our national security in the process. The U.S. must act to ensure these companiesand the governments enabling themface meaningful consequences for their attempts to cheat the system.

This bill draws a line in the sandoutlining clear repercussions these bad actors will face if they steal vital, cutting-edge American technology.

Given the unanimous support our bill received last Congress, well be pushing to get this done quickly.

The Protecting American Intellectual Property Act requires an annual report to Congress that would identify individuals and firms engaged in, benefitting from, or otherwise supporting the significant theft of U.S. trade secrets. The report would also assess whether the theft amounts to a major threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy, economic health, or financial stability.

The bill calls on the president to punish guilty companies by imposing at least five sanctions from a menu consistent with the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, legislation adopted in 2017 that expanded and codified into law punitive measures that were previously imposed by executive orders.

The penalties include blocking property, prohibiting banking transactions, procurement sanctions, and prohibiting U.S. and international financial institutions from making loans to the violating firms.

Individuals identified in the congressional report would be punished by property blocking sanctions and prohibition of entry into the United States.

The penalties would be terminated if the president certified to Congress that the people or companies were no longer engaged in stealing U.S. trade secrets.

According to the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, intellectual property theft costs the U.S. economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and China is the worlds principal IP infringer.

In recent years, U.S. authorities have prosecuted cases of Chinese nationals working at U.S. universities who have stolen technology beneficial to the Chinese regime.
National Police investigations are continuing after the death of the DJ at an illegal party at a luxury villa in Marbella when he was hit by a bullet in the neck.

Within hours of the shooting on 29 March police arrested a 30-year-old German man who allegedly fired the shot, along with another man, in Malaga as they were planning to flee the country.

Initial investigations suggested that the DJ was hit in the neck by a stray bullet that pierced a plasterboard wall following an altercation in an adjoining room.

But now more details of investigations have been revealed.

Police say the event followed a pattern. Organisers would rent a luxury property and the party would be organised through messaging groups and flyers. Two DJs and an expensive sound system were booked, the location would be kept secret and the same venue would not be used twice. The business was hugely profitable and it is estimated that organisers raked in 20,000 euros per party.

According to police investigation the shooting happened during one of these secret parties at a luxury villa on the Guadalmina Alta residential development in Marbella.

Investigators claim the 30-year-old German suspect arrested for firing the fatal bullet is linked to the Hells Angels gang and, earlier in the evening, had threatened to kill the DJ JM Ares because, apparently, he did not like the music he was playing. However, police do not link these alleged threats with the shots fired and consider them more a bravado on the part of the German man.

At around midnight the suspect allegedly pulled a out a gun, which has not been found, and fired two shots at the ceiling but one armoured bullet ricocheted and hit the DJ in the neck. The DJ collapsed in the kitchen and the estimated 30 to 40 people at the party all fled taking away all evidence of the event - even the DJs laptop.

It has been difficult to get people to cooperate. There is a lot of fear

But one person felt remorse and called the police. Officers believe that if they hadnt and they had arrived at the crime scene later the body wouldnt have been there.

During investigations police have, so far, recovered a Hummer that was used as a getaway vehicle, an automatic firearm, and a Hells Angels jacket.

A further eight people have been detained in connection with the shooting including the party organisers, another DJ and three security staff.

Deputy Inspector Garzo admitted, It has been difficult to get people to cooperate. There is a lot of fear.

Police investigations are also continuing to identify attendees of the party for not complying with the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Bao Choy Yuk-Ling, a freelance journalist with RTHK, poses for pictures outside West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts as she arrives for charges of making a false statement to obtain data for a documentary on the police's handling of a mob attack, in Hong Kong, China, on April 22, 2021. (Pak Yiu/Reuters)

Hong Kong Journalist Improperly Accessed Public Records, Court Rules

HONG KONGA Hong Kong court found a journalist guilty on Thursday of making false statements to obtain data for a documentary on the police handling of a mob attack on pro-democracy protesters, reporters, and bystanders in 2019.

The case has fueled concern over a crackdown on press freedom in the Chinese-ruled city, which has become increasingly authoritarian after a sweeping national security law imposed last year.

Bao Choy, 37, an award-winning freelance producer with public broadcaster RTHK, was arrested last year over vehicle registrations she had used for her investigation.

The regulations are not intended to allow the public to obtain vehicle particulars without limitations, said the judge, Ivy Chui, who ordered Choy to pay a fine of HK$6,000 ($773) for violating a road traffic ordinance.

The goal was to find the car owners name and address for an interview, added Chui, a judge of the West Kowloon magistrates court in the Asian financial hub. Interviewing and reporting are not related to traffic and transport purposes.

Choy had pleaded not guilty. Supporters outside the court held banners reading Journalism is not a crime and Without fear or favour.

The court can find me guilty but I dont think I am, a tearful Choy told reporters after the trial. I dont think doing investigative reporting is a crime I wont give up my pursuit of journalism because of this case.

Hong Kong Journalists Association chief Chris Yeung, standing next to her, said it was a day of shame for the city, adding that criminalizing normal journalism work was recklessly destroying press freedom.

The July 2019 attack in the northern Yuen Long district, when more than 100 men in white T-shirts hit people with sticks and poles at a train station, struck a particularly sensitive nerve with many in Hong Kong.

Choy Yuk-ling, also known as Bao Choy, speaks to local media prior to her court hearing in Hong Kong, on Nov. 10, 2020. (Song Bilung/The Epoch Times)

The courts have yet to convict any of the attackers. Police have made 63 arrests over the attack, charging eight of the mob, media tallies show.

Police charged seven others present that night, including former democratic lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, with rioting. Lam was hospitalized after being wounded as he livestreamed the attack.

Officers were severely criticized for what pro-democracy activists and rights groups called a slack response, with some accusing them of colluding with triad gangsters.

Police have rejected the claims, blaming the slow response partly on protests elsewhere in the former British colony that had drained resources.

For the documentary, which was played in court as evidence, RTHK obtained data on the ownership of some cars seen in video footage on the night, in a bid to trace those behind the assault and highlight the alleged slow response of police.

The 7.21 Who Owns the Truth investigation won Hong Kongs Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award on Wednesday, RTHK said, citing a panel member as saying, The report raised important leads that the people in power refused to respond to.

RTHK did not accept the award, the broadcaster said.

The government has rejected criticism that Choys arrest, and an overhaul of RTHK led by a bureaucrat with no media experience, represented a crackdown on press freedom.

Hong Kongs powerful police commissioner, Chris Tang, is among those who have called for laws against fake news.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Hong Kong 80th among 180 countries in terms of press freedom, in freefall over the past decade.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of continued freedoms that pro-democracy activists say are being slowly whittled away by Beijing. China denies the accusation.

($1=7.7602 Hong Kong dollars)

By Jessie Pang
LafargeHolcim looks to divest Brazilian assets

ICR Newsroom By 22 April 2021

LafargeHolcim is reportedly exploring the sale of its Brazilian unit, which consists of 12 plants, according to people close to the matter.



The company has hired Banco Itau BBA to advise on the potential divestment, which could bring in as much as US$1.5bn. The divestment could be made to one buyer or assets could be split.



Under CEO Jan Jenisch, the company has been selling off assets that do not contribute to core operations as the company seeks to reduce debt levels. Earlier sell-off targets included assets in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Published under
Kazakhstan is on the cusp of imposing a permanent ban on the sale and lease of agricultural land to foreigners. It is a rare victory for grassroots campaigning, but may be a blow for a sector in sore need of outside investment and expertise. With the lower house of parliament having backed a ban earlier this month, it is left only to the Senate and the president to add their approval. And that is a formality, Eurasianet writes.

Bakyt Adilkhanuly, a horse-breeder in Almaty regions Kegen district, is elated and says that the authorities have finally listened to the people. I have always been worried that the Chinese would buy up all of our land, Adilkhanuly told Eurasianet. They will make a profit off our land, and the Kazakhs will work for them for a pittance. This must not be allowed.

Sentiments like this are widespread in Kazakhstan and they contributed greatly to the upswell of anger five years ago that led to this moment. In March 2016, National Economy Minister Yerbolat Dossayev unveiled plans to auction 17,000 square kilometers of farming land and make leasing a more appealing option. One provision included the extension of maximum lease periods of agricultural land to foreign investors from 10 years to 25 years.

The purpose of the reforms was to squeeze value out of the vast swathes of unused land across the country. At the time, the government estimated that around 1 million square kilometers  most of it non-irrigated pastureland  lay idle. That is an area roughly twice the size of France. Of that total, about 650 square kilometers were being leased to foreigners.

There had been some positive experiences with outside investors in the agricultural industry. One notable case was Inalca Eurasia, a company majority-controlled by Italian multinational Gruppo Cremonini, which had invested 100 million euros (more than $120 million) in a local meat processing plant with a capacity for turning out 7,200 tons annually. Given the legal constraints, however, work on the land itself was of limited appeal. And this was the issue that the government hoped to solve.

The authorities had previously bet on domestic money and talent. In 2003, the Land Code was overhauled, Soviet-style principles were ditched, and it became possible to transfer farming land into private ownership. This had limited success.

The government was counting on the idea that the introduction of private ownership of land would make land into a traded commodity. It was assumed that people, once they had become owners, would become good stewards of the land and do everything possible with it to make a profit, Maidan Suleimenov, director of the Center for Private Right, a think tank, wrote in a commentary at the time of the ill-fated 2016 reforms. But the land fell mainly into the hands of individuals who became latifundists [owners of large, almost feudal estates]. There was no massive turnover in the ownership of farming land.

More changes were brought in piecemeal. The provision extending land leases to foreigners to 25 years was introduced in 2014. Officials argued that long-term investments required time to generate return  at least 15 years on average  and that more generous lease periods were necessary. But it was the proposed selloff that sparked indignation. The protests snowballed organically and on a scale the authorities had not seen before. After one rally in Atyrau in April 2016, many others followed across Kazakhstan.

The China factor is perhaps most often cited in discussions of that protest season, but this is likely an oversimplification.

Maks Bokayev, the activist who spearheaded those rallies, appealed to more deep-seated anxieties. Bokayev cloaked the land question in the language of patriotism, saying that he did not trust Erbolat Dosayev, the minister responsible for pushing through the reforms, on those grounds.

Nationalist-tinged sentiments were only part of the story. Some analysts argued that the protest movement provided a rare outlet for frustrations that had accumulated over stagnant living conditions in the provinces.

Whatever the underlying causes of the protests, they worked. In May 2016, a spooked then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev cast the blame on officials for failing to properly explain what the government was proposing to do. They [the farmers] work all day in the field, on the farm, in the pastures. They do not sit in front of the TV waiting for your news, he said. On the same day he delivered that dressing-down, Nazarbayev slapped a one-year moratorium on the sale and lease of agricultural land to foreigners. The moratorium was later extended to the end 2021.

Nazarbayevs successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, went one further in February and proposed incorporating the prohibition into the legal code. To that end, he convened a land reform commission comprised of officials, farmers, public figures, journalists and businessmen. The result was a new-look Land Code that will make the Nazarbayev-era moratorium permanent. The government may hope this placates restive sections of the population, but not everybody is happy.

Kirill Pavlov, the Shymkent-based head of the Supreme Council of Farmers, a lobby group, describes the change in the law as a political gesture that will be economically harmful. The ban will deepen a difficult situation for the investment attractiveness of our agricultural sector, which is already not in the best of condition in light of other routine bans and restrictions, Pavlov said. This legislation once again shows how little the government understands the internal nuances of the agrarian sector. Pavlov said that many Kazakh investors may now redirect their energies to what he described as easier investment environments  Uzbekistan and Russia.

Then again, a form of accommodation and inertia may have made all this legislating a waste of time. During the moratorium, foreign investors just leased land on a subletting basis, and nobody checked who the ultimate leaseholder really was, Pavlov said. It is most likely that will continue to be the case.
Embattled San Francisco school board member Alison Collins and her husband, veteran real estate developer Chris Collins, violated city real estate laws when they merged two Russian Hill apartments to create a larger home, city officials ruled Wednesday.

The Collinses connected separate upper- and lower-level apartments without receiving proper city approval, according to a Planning Department letter sent on Wednesday and reviewed by The Chronicle.

The investigation was spurred by a 103-page anonymous complaint on April 4 that alleged the illegal merger and construction beyond the scope of permits, which the Department of Building Inspection is investigating separately. The complaint alleges that the city lost a housing unit, permit fees and property tax revenue.

A city planner who visited the property last week found a new sliding door that connects the two units and that the upper units full kitchen was replaced with a bathroom, according to the letter. Work appears to have exceeded the scope of approved plans, according to the letter.

They must now seek retroactive approval or restore the two separate units by blocking entryways between the apartments and restoring full kitchens in each unit.

Collins and her husband must respond to the letter and begin fixing the violations within 15 days or they face minimum fines of $1,504 plus up to $250 per day that the violation continues. Collins can appeal the violations to the zoning administrator, followed by the Board of Appeals.

Collins and her husband didnt respond to requests for comment by text, voicemail and email over the past week. The Chronicle is not publishing the address because of the risk of potential harassment.

The Collins family bought the two-unit apartment building in 2003 for $780,000, completed extensive renovations, and unsuccessfully listed it for sale as a single three-level home for $3.25 million in 2019, according to real estate records. It is no longer on the market.

The city requires property owners to obtain a conditional use authorization  a lengthy process that can take years  before removing a housing unit through a merger. The Planning Department confirmed that Collins and her husband never applied to merge the units at the property.

The anonymous person behind the complaint said he or she became aware of the alleged violations in March after seeing a 2019 sales listing for the building.

San Francisco Planning Department Complaint

The motivations behind the building complaint are unclear. The filing came two weeks after Collins 2016 racist tweets drew widespread criticism, making her a lightning rod on a school board that had already been slammed for its lack of reopening plan, removing merit-based admission to Lowell High, and a now-suspended effort to rename 44 schools that the board said honored people with links to racism and oppression. The school board later voted to remove her from committees and stripped her of the vice presidency for the remarks.

She responded with an $87 million lawsuit, alleging that the board and district violated her free speech rights and caused financial and emotional harm. Elected officials condemned the lawsuit, with Mayor London Breed calling it embarrassing and disgraceful.

A group of parents and school alumni, which uncovered the 2016 tweets, is organizing a potential recall against Collins and two other school board members.

Siva Raj, an organizer of the recall campaign, said the recall campaign had no connection to the complaint and had no knowledge of who filed it.

We would expect any elected official to follow the law, he said, declining to comment further.

Multiple veteran land use attorneys told The Chronicle the scale and detail of the complaint were highly unusual.

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Joseph Tobener, a San Francisco attorney who represents tenants and isnt involved in the complaint, said he had never seen one so long or detailed in two decades working in real estate law.

Typically you would just complain with a call or filling out an online form, Tobener said. It would be one line.

Its really unusual to see someone go to town on an owner by filing such lengthy allegations, he said.

Two other land use attorneys who didnt want to be identified because of the controversy surrounding Collins agreed that the complaint was far longer and more thorough than any other filing they have seen. They were granted anonymity to provide legal insight. The document was likely prepared by an experienced real estate professional, they said. For instance, the complaint includes sales data from the Multiple Listing Service, a real estate database available only to licensed brokers.

The Department of Building Inspection has received complaints that are a similar length, but the majority are substantially shorter, said Patrick Hannan, a department spokesman.

Anonymous complaints and allegations of unit merging are common, he said.

The Department of Building Inspections separate building permit investigation was opened on April 5, and the department unsuccessfully attempted to inspect the building by ringing the doorbell on April 12, city records show. The department mailed a letter requesting access the next day. On April 19, the department received a voicemail acknowledging the letter and is scheduled to inspect the property on Friday at noon. The department investigates all such complaints and requires an in-person inspection to close a case, said Hannan.

Property records show that Collins and her husband bought the property in 2003 for $780,000. A year later, they sold a partial ownership interest to another person, which the complaint reported as $560,000, citing Multiple Listing Service data. They bought the interest back in 2006 for $125,000, according to property records. The reason for the price discrepancy between 2004 and 2006 is unclear, the complaint said.

The city assessed the property at $1.24 million in 2019, and the complaint is calling for the Assessors Office to investigate whether it is properly assessed and if back taxes are owed. The Assessors Office didnt respond to a request for comment.

The complaint includes more than three dozen real estate listings photos from 2004 and 2019, alleging extensive renovations to a somewhat dated, classic San Francisco 1-bedroom flat with new bedrooms, bathrooms, flooring and a new exterior. Photos show a brown facade was changed to gray, wood floors were replaced and extended, walls were removed, and new doorways, closets and pipes were added, according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges a discrepancy between the pictures and approved building permits and calls on the building department to investigate whether work was done beyond what the city allowed.

The potential fine for working without a permit is nine times the permit fee based on construction costs of unauthorized work, plus the cost of the original permit fee. The fine for working beyond the scope of the permit is twice the permit fee based on the construction cost of work beyond the permit, plus the cost of the original permit fee, said Hannan, the building department spokesperson.

Since 2013, the largest building permits at the property include work valued at $13,000 to replace a staircase and work valued at $35,000 for a kitchen remodel and other construction. The Department of Building Inspection didnt have the total fee amount.

The complaint alleges that more construction money was spent based on the before and after photographs, which could leave the owners liable for additional penalties if the city finds violations.

Penalties for violations depend on the scope of the violation so its difficult to estimate until the investigation is complete, Hannan said.

The Collins family receives the majority of its income from real estate, according to city filings.

Chris Collins is a principal at Urban Pacific Development, whose projects include major towers including One Rincon Hill and the Parcel F development, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors last month. Urban Pacific owns 1% of the $1 billion Parcel F tower project, which is slated to become the citys fourth-tallest building, according to a public hearing last month.

Alison Collins annual school board member financial disclosures show that she is an owner of Falcon Pacific LLC, a consulting company that received income from Urban Pacific. Collins received a gross income over $100,000 for each of the past three years, according to the disclosures. Chris Collins is listed as a manager of Falcon Pacific LLC in a state registration filing.

The Russian Hill property has been subject to previous complaints.

A 2019 complaint alleged that construction hadnt made progress in around a year and there was garbage and debris stacked against the wall leading up to my unit, suggesting the person who filed the complaint lives next door.

That case was closed on March 31 after the Department of Building Inspection spoke with the complainant, according to city records.

Editors note: Due to incorrect information provided by the Department of Building Inspection, this story has been updated to reflect the correct fine calculations for work without a city permit or beyond the scope of permits.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
Jakarta, April 22 : The Indonesian Army detected underwater movement at 2.5 knots around the last location of the submarine Nanggala-402 missing during a torpedo firing exercise in waters north of Bali Island, according to an official source on Thursday.

"The contact then lost, so there is still not enough data to identify that it was a submarine," said the military spokesperson Achmad Riad.

A helicopter and two military vessels also found the oil spill and the smell of diesel fuel at several different locations, but it is not yet possible to conclude that this is submarine fuel, Riad added.

The authorities have deployed six military vessels and a helicopter to search in the last position of the submarine detected, including the underwater oceanographic vessel Rigel, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, the Singapore Swift Rescue vessel is expected to arrive in Bali waters on Saturday to assist the search and rescue operation, while the Rescue Mega Bakti Malaysia ship will arrive on April 26.

Offers of assistance also came from the US, Germany, France, Turkey, India, Russia, and Australia, added Riad.

The submarine Nanggala-402 lost contact in the waters north of Bali Island during a torpedo firing exercise in the early hours of Wednesday, with its last position at about 60 miles north of the tourist island.

Produced by Howaldtswerke Germany, the Nanggala-402 weighs 1,395 tonnes, 59.5 metres long, 6.3 metres high, and 5.5 metres wide with an arsenal of up to 14 Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes.

It joined the Indonesian Navy in 1981.
(@FahadShabbir)

The "red lines" that Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned in his address to the parliament are located at the borders of Russia's national interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained on Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The "red lines" that Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned in his address to the parliament are located at the borders of Russia's national interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained on Thursday.

Putin warned the West against crossing "red lines", stressing that any provocation would face a harsh response.

"The red line is Russia's national interests .. Russia's red lines are related to its national interests, they are also certainly related to bilateral relations with other nations, including Ukraine, and relations with different international alliances," Peskov told reporters.
The Board of Health reported more than 16,000 doses have been administered through the clinic at St. Elizabeth's Parish Hall.

North Adams Vaccine Clinic Passes 16,000 Doses Given

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  More than 16,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered through the Northern Berkshire vaccine clinic.

Board of Health Chairman John Meaney, who as general manager of Northern Berkshire EMS has been part of the group operating the clinic, said it wasn't clear how many North Adams residents that included.

As of last week, more than 5,000 residents in North Adams and Clarksburg had received at least one dose. The state tracks inoculations by ZIP code, which the city and town share, and may also include the town of Florida. The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is open to any Massachusetts residents and those who work or attend school here but reside in other states.

The clinic has been able to administer double the number of doses when it first opened, with more than 1,500 per clinic last week. But the number is dependent on the doses the collaborative gets from the state.

"We still are trying to advocate for additional first-dose vaccine, but that seems to be a struggle every week to make sure that we get an allotment," Meaney said at Wednesday's board meeting. "A lot of members are working with the Berkshire Collaborative to try to advocate for that and so I think we'll hopefully start seeing an increase so that we can

wrap this up."

Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to visit the collaborative's Pittsfield at Berkshire Community College on Thursday. He has in the past singled out the regional collaborative as model for vaccine distribution.

In other business, Health Director Heather Demarsico reported the city had 96 active cases in the last 14 days.

"But a majority of that is due to the Easter holiday, and people getting together," she said, adding that despite the numbers, hospitalizations are very low with a report of three patients at Berkshire Medical Center.

"We've had a few cases, you know locally at Walmart just recently, but aside from that, our restaurants are doing fairly well," Demarsico said. "We get one here and there but I don't see a huge increase in cases so it's been fairly quiet."

Demarsico reported the number of inspections she'd done since the last meeting, including five food service inspections, 13 housing complaint inspections, and two Title Five inspections.
If Massachusetts had enough COVID-19 vaccine doses, Darlene Rodowicz said each of the Berkshire Regional Collaboratives vaccination sites could inoculate as many as 2,000 people a day across three communities.

As we all know, theres not enough vaccine supply at the time to hit those numbers, said Rodowicz, executive vice president of Berkshire Health System and an organizer of the countys vaccine collaborative. But whenever they do free up, be sure to know you should come here and look for the vaccine because were going to be ready to get them into your arms.

The shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccines remained on pause Thursday as regulators determine whether the vaccine is linked to blood clotting that six women reported after getting their shots.

The state continues to receive a limited supply from the federal government. Johnson & Johnsons single-dose shots promised to accelerate the states efforts to vaccinate Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said, as Moderna and Pfizer require two shots three weeks apart.

Baker said he has repeatedly asked the federal government for more doses and offered to accept doses that any other state might turn away.

The simple truth of the matter is we can do two or three times as many doses here in the commonwealth on a daily basis as we actually have supply for, the Republican governor said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said the feds plan to announce by Friday whether J&J shipments will resume, CBS News reported.

But J&J doses might not be produced by Emergent BioSolutions, the company that runs the Baltimore plant where 15 million doses were spoiled in an accident. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday said an inspection revealed the plant was unsanitary, CNBC reported. The FDA asked Emergent BioSolutions to temporarily stop producing materials for the COVID-19 vaccines.

In Massachusetts, more than 2.1 million people are fully vaccinated, and 5.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered altogether, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Of those fully vaccinated, some 203,000 people received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot before the shipments were paused so regulators could determine if they were linked to blood clotting. Six women reported suffering severe blood clotting after taking the vaccine.

The Berkshire Regional Collaborative has administered more than 65,000 doses throughout the county, Rodowicz said.

Baker praised the efforts of regional collaboratives in Berkshire and Barnstable counties, though those collaboratives launched as they saw a dearth of vaccination sites in their communities at the start of the states rollout.

Five months in, Massachusetts vaccine rollout looks less bumpy, a term Baker used in the first months of the plan. Several regional collaboratives administer doses across Massachusetts, along with community health centers, retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities and the mass vaccination sites that are run by private vendors.

This week, Massachusetts received 348,000 first and second doses from the feds.

The largest amounts went to hospital systems, health care providers and the privately run mass vaccination sites. Health care providers and mass vaccination sites each received 122,000. Regional collaboratives and local boards of health received 76,000. Mobile clinics that support long-term facilities, congregate care, senior housing and in-home vaccination programs received 2,000.

Community health centers and retail pharmacies received some of the smallest allocations  22,000 and 4,500 doses, respectively  but Baker noted they receive additional doses directly from the federal government.

Despite the limited supply, Baker remains confident just about everyone who wants a vaccine will be inoculated by the end of June. If the state receives more doses, Baker believes Massachusetts could reach that milestone earlier in June.

During his visit to the Pittsfield vaccination site, Baker said Massachusetts has the lowest vaccine hesitancy rate across the nation, citing figures released by the Centers of Disease Control. Each county reported hesitancy rate below 10%.

If they have states that are turning away doses or not accepting doses, wed be perfectly happy to take them off their hands and make sure they get used quickly, he said, because we do have very little vaccine hesitancy ... and plenty of demand.

Related Content:
RTHK: Syrian missile explodes near Israeli nuclear site

A Syrian surface-to-air missile exploded in southern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, in an incident that triggered warning sirens in an area near the secretive Dimona nuclear reactor.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage in Israel.

The military said that in response to the launch, it attacked several missile batteries in Syria, including the one that fired the projectile that struck southern Israel.

Syria's state news agency said Syrian air defences intercepted the Israeli attack that targeted areas in the Damascus suburbs.

"Air defences intercepted the rockets and downed most of them," the agency said.

Israeli Army Radio said the Syrian missile had been fired at Israeli aircraft during an earlier strike and had overflown its target and reached the Dimona area.

A reporter about 90km north of Dimona heard the sound of an explosion minutes before the military tweeted that sirens had gone off in the region.

The errant Syrian missile was an SA-5, one of several fired at Israeli air force planes, according to an Israeli military spokesman. It did not hit the reactor, he added.

Israeli media have said for weeks that air defences around the Dimona reactor and the Red Sea port Eilat were being beefed up in anticipation of a possible long-range missile or drone attack by Iranian-backed forces  perhaps from as far away as Yemen.

Tensions are high between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme and a recent surge in sabotage attacks, some of which the arch-foes have blamed on each other. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The former Central Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Allotey Jacobs has watered down the underlining issues fueling the prevalent in-fighting at the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).



Ghanas power distribution company, ECG has been in the news for the past one week for all the wrong reasons. It would be recalled that a section of ECG staff leveled varied allegations bothering on procurement and corporate governance breaches against the Managing Director, Mr. Kwame Agyeman-Budu and called for his immediate removal from office.



In what seems to be a polarized staff front, another faction came out strongly to debunk those allegations, impugning ill motive and bad faith to the actions of those who made the said allegations.



Commenting on the issues on Ekosiisen on Asempa Fm, Allotey Jacobs who served as ECG Board Member in the erstwhile NDC administration, stated that the issues raised by the staff are not difficult to resolve.



With my experience, I find these issues to be the least difficult to ever confront ECG. There have been serious problems in time past that resulted in stalemate for months but got resolved eventually Allotey Jacobs added.



According to him, what has prolonged the impasse is the politics at ECG that has motivated the staff to take entrenched positions. What is at play is the usual work place politics. It happens in every organization, including privately owned firms Allotey Jacobs has said.



He explains that the issues are not damaging and scandalous to have even come to the public domain and that if personal interests were set aside and the issues attended to in all fairness and sincerity, the matter would have been resolved at the initial stages.



Allotey Jacobs has thus admonished all the parties to bury their differences and work in unison for the progress and efficient running of ECG, even as Ghanaians expect them to keep the lights on at all times.







Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A soldier who sexually assaulted two female Gunners aged 17 and 20 at an Army barracks after sharing seven bottles of gin and two crates of beer with friends has been jailed for two years.

Gunner Wiliame Mataitini attacked his victims at 4am after entering the wrong accommodation at Alanbrooke Barracks, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire.

A Fijian national who recently learned his grandfather was unwell back in Asia, he even told one of the young women he could 'sense they were scared', a court was told.

Gnr Mataitini was sent to military prison for two years and dismissed from the military after pleading guilty to four charges of battery and three charges of sexual assault at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire.

Gunner Wiliame Mataitini attacked his victims at 4am after entering the wrong accommodation at Alanbrooke Barracks, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire

Gnr Mataitini was sent to military prison for two years and dismissed from the military after pleading guilty to four charges of battery and three charges of sexual assault at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire

The 26-year-old, who was in 19th Royal Artillery regiment until his dismissal, saluted the board as he was also placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

Prosecutor Derek Reed told the court: 'The two women were the only people in the flat at the time. The older victim was awoken by her door swinging open and slamming shut.

'Gunner Mataitini stumbled into the room, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, pointed at her, stumbled over to her and collapsed on top of her.

'She asked him to get off her, the only response she got off him was a humming noise.'

Mr Reed said she managed to get away but was 'shaken' by the incident, so went into the younger woman's room but he then followed her in.

The court heard he grabbed the older victim's wrist and asked her whether she was scared, telling her he could 'sense they were scared'.

He then grabbed the younger victim by the wrist and took off his t-shirt and shorts, sitting on the bed in only his boxers.

Mr Reed said he wrapped his arm around the younger girl and 'his grip was so strong she couldn't move at all'.

Mataitini then tried to force his hand inside the 17 year old's shorts while constantly kissing the bottom of her back. The girl complained to her friend 'he's touching me up' and tried to push his hand away.

He again wrapped his hand around the younger victim and grabbed her breasts while whispering in her ear 'I want to lick you'.

The court, pictured, heard he grabbed the older victim's wrist and asked her whether she was scared, telling her he could 'sense they were scared'

She managed to elbow him in the face and get out of the room, before finding a Lance Bombardier who tried to intervene but was shoved away by Mataitini.

The 17 year old victim said in a statement that she still makes sure all the doors are locked because she is 'worried he might come in through the side windows and do it again'.

The older victim said she had sought mental health treatment and been prescribed sleeping tablets as a result, adding: 'I constantly lock my bedroom door, I have lost a bit of trust serving in the Army and I debated signing off.'

Reuben Scott, representing Gnr Mataitini, told the court he 'feels sorry for the two ladies who suffered as a result of his offending'.

He described the night of drinking as 'a misguided attempt by his mates' to take his mind off his ill grandfather and said he had subsequently stopped drinking alcohol completely.

Sentencing, Judge Advocate General Alan Large said: 'On the night you committed these offences you were drinking very heavily indeed.

'You may have been very drunk and you may have gone in to their block mistakenly. But by the stage you were at you knew very well you were in control of two frightened young women.

'You are a large, powerful man and you decided to sexually assault them both.'
Government steps in to fix COVID hotline woes

THAILAND: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered an increase in the capability of COVID-19 hotlines after people complained about not being able get through.

CoronavirusCOVID-19

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 22 April 2021, 08:17AM

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha leads an inspection of a field hospital at Erawan Hospital 2 in Bangkoks Nong Chok district yesterday (Apr 21). Many field hospitals are sprouting up across the city in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 infections. Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb.

Gen Prayut said he had someone call the COVID-19 hotlines but no one answered the calls. He has instructed the responsible agencies to solve this problem. I do not find fault with anyone but no one picked up the calls. What happened? Go fix it, he said.

The PM yesterday (Apr 21) went to Bangkok Arena in Nong Chok district to inspect the Erawan 2 field hospital there.

Gen Prayut also instructed the military to help transport patients by sending its ambulances to help, saying he had learned that private hospitals were reluctant to receive COVID-19 patients due to their limited bed capacity.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) Jadej Thammatacharee said the problem of beds for COVID-19 patients was mostly found in Bangkok and admitted that some patients had not yet had beds allocated. In other provinces, there were beds for all COVID-19 patients, he said.

The doctor said, however, that data showed there were enough beds but the problem was caused by a process that involved many parties. The NHSO was trying to solve the problem by helping coordinate three main health hotlines to find beds for COVID-19 patients as soon as possible, he said.

The doctor suggested that patients with mild symptoms stay at home while waiting for beds. They will be called every six hours to follow up on their symptoms and will be taken to the hospital immediately if the symptoms get worse.

He confirmed the number of patients with no bed assigned started to fall after hospitals managed to secure more beds for COVID-19 patients, he said. Asymptomatic patients will be sent to field hospitals or hospitals within 24 hours by health care workers, he said.

On criticism of field hospitals operated by the government, Dr Jadej said they fully complied with disease prevention standards and called on infected people to go there instead of finding beds themselves.

Assistant spokeswoman of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) Apisamai Srirangson urged those waiting for their COVID-19 test results to stay in quarantine and avoid going out. Once receiving the test results, Dr Apisamai suggested they contact the facility that administered their test for advice.

Hospitals would help categorise the infected peoples symptoms before they were assigned beds, she said.
Gurugram, April 22 : Four unidentified persons barged into a liquor shop near a toll plaza on the Gurugram-Faridabad road and looted Rs 1.25 lakh cash, two mobile phones and three liquor bottles at gunpoint in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Kaviraj, a resident of Delhi who was in-charge of the wine shop, lodged a complaint at DLF Phase-1 police station.

The complainant stated that in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday four armed men barged into the liquor shop and robbed Rs 1.25 lakh, two mobile phones and three liquor bottles from salesman Naresh and driver Sanjeev at gunpoint.

"The men held the driver hostage in their car and threw him in front of Bandhwari police station and fled from the spot," the complainant told the police.

"A team of DLF Phase-1 police station reached the spot for investigation. Police booked the four accused under relevant sections of the IPC including the Arms Act. A probe has been launched to identify and arrest the accused," Subhash Boken, spokesperson of the Gurugram police said.

In another incident, two unidentified armed men robbed Rs 4 lakh from a man in Khandsa village on Tuesday night.

The victim, Pawan Kumar, told the police that he worked for a bank on commission basis.

"At around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, I was sitting in my office at village Khandsa. The cash of about Rs 4 lakh was also kept in a bag in my office. During this time two men entered my office. One of them had a pistol in his hand and he fired a shot in my direction and then they fled with the cash," he said.

A case of robbery has been registered at Sector-37 police station in Gurugram.
,Psaki

The activist Cornel West said that Biden is, quote, one of the core architects of mass incarceration, and that, quote, I think that Biden is going to have to take responsibility and to acknowledge the contribution he made to mass incarceration. To what extent does President Biden acknowledge his own role in systemic racism, and how does that inform his current policy positions?

more details or full transcript can be found here

some user comments can be found here

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The has refused to stay an order by the Division Bench of the Telangana High Court, which called the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) circular on fraud classification arbitrary and illegal.

The has, however, allowed the parties to file replies and rejoinders and listed the matter on July 13. The SC was hearing an appeal filed against a small company that had defaulted on bank loans and its account was classified as fraud as per the circulars.

But as the Telangana court stated that the classification would impact other corporate accounts too, and moved the apex court.

The also directed that the minutes/order of the Joint Lenders Meeting dated February 2019 is not to be acted upon till further orders on this particular account.

This order would be a major relief to other parties who are similarly placed and affected by "fraud classification" by the lenders without applying the principles of natural justice, say legal sources. "The other side should be given an opportunity to explain what is the transaction was all about and then it can be declared a fraud," said a legal source

As per the circular on fraud classification, lenders are to file the complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the stipulated time. But this has to wait till SC gives its final judgement. The Telangana High Court had said the RBI circular did not follow the principals of natural justice and did not give an opportunity of personal hearing to the other side.

The apex court, in an earlier order, had asked to follow the principles of natural justice while seeking to classify an account as a "wilful defaulter".

Lenders generally regard an account as 'wilful defaulter' or 'fraud' based on a report of a forensic auditor appointed by the

However, there are currently no prescribed forensic standards that mandate or explain how an auditor is required to approach any particular set of transactions before it. In the case of DHFL, an auditing firm gave a clean chit to the company but later Grant Thornton detected worth 15,000 crore in the books.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is seeking to introduce a set of forensic accounting standards which would need to be applied to evaluate and investigate during forensic audits. The Supreme Court will also clarify on the fate of accounts which are already declared by
Michigan House leadership rolled out an array of proposed government ethics bills this week with buy-in from both parties and the group behind the states independent redistricting initiative.

In a Tuesday announcement, House Speaker Jason Wentworth and House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski announced a sweeping set of proposed changes that if signed into law would subject Michigan lawmakers and top state officers to financial disclosure, prohibit lawmakers from voting on conflicts of interest and prevent exiting lawmakers from stepping through the revolving door into lobbying for two years.

Another proposal included in the package would create a permanent bipartisan ethics committee in both chambers to enforce ethics and conflict of interest laws, issue advisory opinions and investigate complaints of lawmaker misconduct. Unlike the bulk of the House and Senates other committees, the ethics committees as proposed would be an equal party split and feature alternating co-chairs.

Michigan House leadership just unveiled a suite of proposed government ethics changes that have bipartisan support and buy-in from Voters Not Politicians, the group behind Michigan's redistricting changes that has since refocused on increasing government transparency. pic.twitter.com/tsXm9wX8XG  Lauren Gibbons (@LaurenMGibbons) April 20, 2021

When you get outside of the small Lansing and Capitol community and tell people back home how their state government operates, you really see how bizarre some of our rules are and why so many people are losing their faith in government, Wentworth said in a statement. We must do better and hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Lasinksi in a statement said the proposals represent meaningful, if incremental, steps that will help restore citizens faith in our government.

If signed, the bills would mark a significant shift in a state that consistently ranks among the worst in the country when it comes to government transparency and ethics laws.

One big reason for that distinction is Michigans lack of financial disclosure policies for elected officials. Michigan is one of two states  and the only one with a full-time legislature  with no requirement for state public officials to disclose basic financial information, including income sources, business investments, gifts and travel compensation.

Related: 50 states of financial disclosure: How Michigan stacks up

Many of the proposed changes, such as the two-year prohibition on lawmakers becoming lobbyists, have been proposed but have never seen broad support in a legislative chamber. The House package was developed in conjunction with Voters Not Politicians, the group behind Michigans redistricting changes that has since refocused on increasing government transparency.

In a statement, Voters Not Politicians Executive Director Nancy Wang called the legislation an important first step that puts Michigan on the right track for political accountability.

For too long, Michigan has lacked even basic laws that give voters the information we need to know how politicians make decisions and whether they are serving our interests, Wang said.

The legislation is expected to come up in committee as soon as next week. While the support of legislative leadership indicates the package will move quickly in the House, its unclear what the bills fate will be in the Senate, where government transparency legislation has historically struggled to gain traction.

This weeks legislation announcement comes roughly a month after the chamber unanimously passed bills that would subject the Legislature and governor to public records laws. Similar Senate bills have cleared the Senate Oversight Committee but have not yet been taken up for a floor vote.

Wentworth also proposed and passed out of the House a joint resolution that would require a two-thirds vote on any bill taken up after November general elections in even years. Known as lame duck, this period often results in long session days and dozens of bills flying through the House and Senate with little time for review. That resolution is currently before the Senate Government Operations Committee.

Related coverage:

Michigan Senate panel clears bills subjecting Legislature, governor to open records requirements

Michigan House unanimously votes to include governor, legislature in open records laws

New Michigan House Speaker names ethics reform as top priority

Michigan House Speaker requiring ethics training for lawmakers as part of government transparency push
DENVER (AP)  Colorado prosecutors have filed over 40 more felony charges against the man charged with killing 10 people at a Boulder supermarket last month  including allegations he used a large capacity magazine that had been banned by state lawmakers in 2013 in response to mass shootings.

The court document outlining the new charges also lists 19 new victims  including 11 law enforcement officers  that Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 21, is accused of trying to kill during the attack.

Some of the victims have more than one count of attempted first-degree murder associated with them, specifying two different theories for how Alissa allegedly tried to kill them, either intentionally or through extreme indifference to human life.

The Colorado lawmakers banned the sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds in response to the 2012 mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater and at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Despite that, an investigation by KUSA-TV found that some gun Colorado shops have skirted the law by selling the disassembled parts of high capacity magazines that buyers can then assemble.

Boulder investigators have said Alissa legally purchased the Ruger AR-556 pistol used in the attack, which resembles an AR-15 rifle with a slightly shorter stock. He bought it six days before the shooting after passing a background check.

This undated photo provided by the Boulder Police Department shows Colorado shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa. Alissa has been identified as the suspect in Monday, March 22, 2021 shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder.Boulder Police Department via AP

Alissas defense team has asked for time to evaluate what one of his lawyers cited his mental illness without offering any details about the condition. The suspect has not been asked to enter a plea yet and the public defenders who represent him are prohibited from talking to the media about the case under office policy.

Boulder Countys district attorney, Michael Dougherty, planned to speak with reporters Thursday about the investigation and the next steps in Alissas prosecution.
12:04 | New York (U.S.), Apr. 22.





The rating action considered the company's strong business profile, its favorable financial performance, and capitalization and leverage ratios aligned to Fitch guidelines for the current rating.

The rating also considers the insurance industry profile and operating environment (IPOE) in Peru, which has been strengthened by the implementation of international standards, but remains less sophisticated and developed than other markets in the region.

Key rating drivers

The evaluation of Pacifico's business profile remains within the most favorable range. This is supported by the size of its operation and the maintenance of a leadership position in the Peruvian industry, which has allowed it to maintain solid competitive advantages.

Fitch views the diversification of its business and the limited risk profile of its products favorably.

The company's competitive position also considers the modest geographic diversification with all business originated in Peru, with a higher concentration in Lima, Peru's capital city.

Despite the increase in reserves related to coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the debt and capitalization indicators remained strong and are favorable for the assigned rating. In 2020, the operating leverage ratio increased modestly to 0.5x.

The financial leverage ratio increased to 13.9% as a result of a new bond issue to finance growth projections. Overall, leverage indicators, while higher than the average of the past three years, are within rating expectations.

Fitch notes that Pacifico's financial performance indicators deteriorated somewhat in 2020 but remained within rating expectations.

The higher loss ratio in the traditional life insurance lines affected both operational indicators (operating ratio 78.5%) and net profitability (ROE 10.9%). The financial result was consistent with 2019.

Fitch expects financial performance to remain suppressed in 2021 as coronavirus continues to be a challenge in Peru.





Editor's note: Information provided by Fitch Ratings.





(END) NDP/MVB

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Pacifico Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A.'s (Pacifico) Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) at 'BBB+'. The outlook is stable.Published: 4/22/2021
The Paramount Chief of Assin Owirenkyi Traditional Area, Ehunabobrim Nana Prah Agyensaim VI and the Executive Director of the Salt and Light Ministry, Dr. Joyce Arye are to co-chair the fundraising committee for the Green Ghana Project.



This was made known by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, at the maiden meeting of the fundraising committee on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.



The Minister in his remarks thanked the two personalities for accepting his request to undertake this very important national assignment and charged the co-chairpersons as well as the committee to raise sufficient funds to enable the execution of the project.



He further called on Ghanaians, foreigners resident in Ghana, corporate Ghana and especially faith-based organizations to support this noble and godly national exercise.



The Green Ghana Project, a novel and ambitious project which is in accord with the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to green Ghana, was launched in March 2021.



The project seeks to plant five million trees on June 11, 2021, the Green Ghana Day.



On the day, President Akufo-Addo will plant a commemorative tree together with the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban S.K. Bagbin and the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah.



Other prominent citizens such as the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Yaa-Naa, Naa Abukari will be called upon to plant trees.



The Minister further stated that on June 11, all persons in Ghana will be expected to plant a tree, take a photo of it, post it and nurture it to maturity.



A chairperson of the committee, Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, speaking on behalf of the committee assured the commitment of the committee to support the patriotic venture saying this is indeed a call to national duty and service.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Opponents of the Chinatown Business Improvement District staged a rally in Chatham Square yesterday, urging members of the City Council to vote against the proposal. The Councils Finance Committee heard testimony May 26th, but will not vote for a few more weeks. The City Planning Commission has already signed off on the plan.

Among those attending yesterdays rally: members of the Civic Center Residents Coalition (CCRC), the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). They argued that the BID would destroy Chinatown by creating a new tax district and by accelerating the pace of gentrification in a neighborhood already under siege.

Speakers directed much of their ire at City Councilwoman Margaret Chin, who is a strong BID backer. They also were very critical of the Chinatown Partnership, which is leading the BID campaign and, utilizing federal funds, has been cleaning Chinatowns streets for the past few years.

The video clip below features remarks from property owner David Ng, Bethany Li of AALDEF and Jan Lee of CCRC. Ng and Lee, in particular, vowed to hold Chin accountable at election time:
European Commission unveils AI regulations

Xinhua) 08:27, April 22, 2021

BRUSSELS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission presented its first ever legal framework on artificial intelligence (AI) on Wednesday.

As part of the AI Package adopted by the executive of the European Union (EU), the AI legal framework aims to build trust into AI for the EU's population and ensure excellence, according to Margrethe Vestager, European Commission's executive vice-president responsible for competition.

According to their level of risk, the European Commission divided different types of AI applications into four categories: minimal, limited, high and unacceptable.

"The higher the risk that a specific use of AI may cause to our lives, the stricter the rule," explained Vestager during her presentation.

Minimal risk AI systems can be developed and used without any restrictions. These are the vast majority of currently used AI systems in the EU, like spam recognition software.

Limited risk AI systems will be subjected to transparency requirements to make sure that the user knows he interacts with a machine and not a human being, like the case with chatbots.

High risk AI systems are those which can interfere in a person's life in a significant way. These systems will be subjected to a series of strict obligations, including adequate risk assessment and mitigation system, high quality of data set, detailed documentation, appropriate human oversight, among others.

High risk AI systems cover critical infrastructures, educational or vocational training, safety components of products, employment, workers management and access to self-employment, and so on.

All those AI systems that are "considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods and rights of people" are unacceptable and thus banned. These include, for instance, toys encouraging dangerous behavior in minors through voice assistance.

Sanctions for manufacturers or users that do not comply with the requirements will first be asked to do so. Later on, the product might be withdrawn from the market. In case of repeated offenses, fines of six percent of their yearly global turnover will be applied.

The AI package presented by the European Commission also includes the New Machinery Regulation and an updated Coordinated Plan on AI.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
The jailed de facto leader of the giant Samsung group went on trial Thursday over a stock manipulation case that effectively puts South Korea's system of conglomerate control in the dock.

Samsung -- whose flagship subsidiary is among the world's biggest smartphone and computer chip makers -- is by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th-largest economy.

Chaebol families often have only a small ownership stake in their empires, but maintain control through complex webs of cross-shareholdings between units.

Lee Jae-yong, the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and the grandson of the group's founder, is accused of stock manipulation, breach of trust and other offences when two other subsidiaries, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, merged in 2015.

Lee -- who had emergency surgery for appendicitis last month, delaying the proceedings -- looked gaunt in court, reports said, and wore a dark suit with a white shirt.

Lee was the largest shareholder in Cheil Industries, and critics say Samsung sought to artificially lower the price of C&T to give him a bigger stake in the merged entity -- a key part of the Samsung structure -- consolidating his grip on the conglomerate ahead of his father's death last year.

His lawyers have previously said that everything he did in connection with the merger was legal.

Lee is already serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with the corruption scandal that brought down ex-South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

Samsung is crucial to South Korea's economic health, and is active in sectors ranging from construction to healthcare to insurance.

But Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo, told AFP: "The most problematic aspect is the attempted continuation of the unchallenged dynastic rule over a company which is responsible over 20 percent of South Korea's GDP.

Story continues

"Samsung's main stakeholders are its shareowners, including the minor ones, its workers and South Korean society as a whole," he said.

"It is too big to be a dynastic property."

Lee's father, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, died in October, leaving his heirs a vast fortune and an inheritance tax bill of around 13 trillion won ($11.7 billion), with the first instalment due by the end of this month.

Lee apologised last May for some governance issues at the group, pledging to ensure "there will be no more controversy over the succession" and that he would not allow his children to take over from him at the firm.

- Presidential pardons -

In the past, some chaebol leaders convicted of various offences have subsequently received presidential pardons in recognition of their economic roles.

Some scholars have said a leadership vacuum could hamper Samsung Electronics' decision-making on future large-scale investments, which have been key to its global rise.

And a business grouping whose members include the leaders of the second-biggest chaebol Hyundai Motor and steel firm POSCO, ranked sixth, last week called for a special pardon for Lee, saying his absence would bring "adverse effects to the South Korean economy and industry as a whole".

Seoul's finance minister Hong Nam-ki said he had passed the proposal to "those with authority", implying the presidential Blue House.

Despite Lee's absence, Samsung Electronics has flagged a leap of 44.2 percent in first-quarter operating profits, with robust sales of smartphones and the coronavirus-driven working from home boosting demand for devices powered by its chips.

A pardon for Lee would not be justified, Tikhonov said.

"The company's bureaucracy is fully capable of meeting day-to-day challenges even with the head boss being out of office," he said.

"We need to establish a precedent of the rule of the law equally applied to everybody, regardless of the size of their fortune. The pardon won't be conducive to this socially important goal."

cdl/slb/oho
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - It will now be up to Tennessee's Republican Gov. Bill Lee to decide whether some medical providers will be required to cremate or bury fetal remains from surgical abortions.

The proposal that received final legislative approval Wednesday in the GOP-supermajority Senate has sparked criticism among reproductive rights advocates, who argue such measures are unnecessary and would stigmatize a legally available procedure.

Supporters counter of the bill argue that it will protect human dignity. According to the bill, medical providers must dispose of fetal remains from surgical abortions by cremation or burial and cover the costs.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision upheld a similar Indiana law. At least 10 other states have enacted similar requirements, though legal challenges persist.
The Air Force is to court martial a general for the first time in its 74-year history after a decorated two-star leader allegedly sexually assaulted a civilian woman.

Major Gen. William Cooley, a father of three with a 20-plus-year career in the Air Force, was accused of forcibly kissing and touching the woman on Aug. 12, 2018 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

A court-martial is the military's highest level trial court that tries service members for the most serious crimes, and punishment for each offense is outlined in the 'Manual for Courts-Martial.'

It is military protocol for active duty service members accused of crimes to stand trial before military tribunals rather than civilian courts.

Air Force Material Command commander Gen. Arnold Bunch, who was the General Court-Martial Convening Authority in this case, said in a statement that had 'comprehensive review' of all of all evidence and came to this decision.

'I've informed Maj. Gen. Cooley of my decision to move his case to general court-martial,' Bunch said. 'I can assure you this was not a decision made lightly, but I believe it was the right decision.'

Air Force Major Gen. William Cooley, a decorated officer with more than 20 years in the military, becomes the first general to face court-martial in the military branch's 74-year history.

Major Gen. Cooley was awarded seven major accommodations for his military service.

Cooley's lawyer, Daniel Conway, said, "We are looking forward to proving his innocence using the alleged victim's own words."

The Air Force general was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal and Air Force Achievement Medal.

He joined the Air Force out of the ROTC in 1988 as a second lieutenant and entered active duty in January 1990 after completing a master's degree from the University of New Mexico.

Cooley climbed the ranks until the Air Force promoted him to major general in July 2018.

Despite the long, prestigious career, victim advocate groups like Protect Our Defenders, view this historic action is a major win because it shows no one is above the law.

Retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, which connected the victim with her pro bono attorney, put Wednesday's announcement into perspective.

"The overall prosecution rate of sexual assault among the Air Force is 4 percent, so that means 96 percent of the time, these cases don't even go to trial," he said. "Then add that he's a general."

But the Air Force's decision 'tells me that there's a strong case here,' Christensen told Military.com.

Christensen told Military.com that the Air Force's decision 'tells me that there's a strong case here.'

There is a possibility the trial may never happen if he offers a plea deal in exchange for a cap on his punishment or offers to retire, and it's accepted by the judge, Christensen said.

But this is going to be 'unique,' he said, and will likely take awhile to go to trial because the Air Force needs to find eight officers with seniority over Cooley who will be fair and impartial to serve as the jury, Christensen said.

He estimates that there are only about 100 Air Force officers with more seniority.

The sexual assault charge was brought against Cooley in November 2020, and an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury, was held on Feb. 8, 2021.

This is the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Cooley was relieved of his command of the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio in January 2020.

The trial of a court-martial is similar to a civilian criminal trial, but the major difference is the foundation that guides the trials.

A military criminal proceeding is guided by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which provides the foundation for military law in the United States, while civilian trials use rights and laws established in the Constitution.

Just as in civilian criminal proceedings, Cooley is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

Today

Cloudy this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
The United States will continue working to provide Ukraine with security and defense assistance, including lethal defensive systems.

Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Ned Price said this at a briefing on April 21, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

We will continue working to provide the security assistance that Ukraine needs to defend itself against Russian aggression, and that includes lethal defensive systems," the spokesperson said when asked if the U.S. is going to send more weapons, including Patriot missiles, to Ukraine.

Price recalled that the United States has committed more than USD 2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the Russian aggression in 2014.

As reported, the Russian armed forces have recently been building up troops near the state border of Ukraine in the north, east and south, as well as in occupied Crimea. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations by the armed formations of the Russian Federation in eastern Ukraine has increased; there are losses among the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian Federation is conducting a propaganda campaign to justify possible aggression against Ukraine.

ish
On Monday, April 26, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host an online press conference about the socio-political attitudes of the population according to the results of a sociological study entitled "How war and coronavirus affect the ratings of politicians" conducted by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future (UIF) with the assistance of New Image Marketing Groups, 2,400 respondents were interviewed. Participants include Doctor of Sociology Oleksandr Shulga, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future Vadym Denysenko (8/5a Reitarska Street). The press conference will be available on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine.

During the period the restrictive measures introduced in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic in Kyiv are in effect, the presence of media representatives is not allowed in the press center of the agency, only speakers are present in the hall. During the broadcast, it is possible to follow the event and ask questions to the speakers in the broadcast chat.
This article appears in the April 23, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

Virginia Abolishes Death Penalty: Now, Lets Abolish Genocide

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EIRNS

April 17The Virginia General Assembly and the states Governor made Virginia the first state of the old Confederacy to abolish the death penalty, in a signing ceremony March 24 at the Greensville Correctional Center near Jarratt, Virginia, where all the states executions had been carried out since 1991. The first execution in Virginia was carried out at Jamestown Colony in 1608 of a man convicted of spying for Spain, and the Commonwealth has executed more people than any other U.S. state. Since 1976, it has trailed only Texas in the number of executions.

Innumerable shady political careers have been built in the state by politicians enthusiastically demonstrating that they could hang, burn, fry, or lethally inject more defendants than anyone else, all too often through false testimony and concealment of evidence. This grisly history has been bipartisan; Terry McAuliffe, the previous Democratic governor of Virginia, signed off on all three death penalty cases which came before him in his four-year term.

Lyndon LaRouche was always known as a principled opponent of the death penalty, and this reversal of over four centuries of Virginia tradition represents a victory in his fight for the sanctity of every human life as in the living image of God. Importantly, it also demonstrates the success of LaRouches characteristic way of leading a political fight, boldly mobilizing the better angels of our nature, fighting to solve the question, as he put it, of whether society has the moral fitness to survive.

In 1997, Lyndon LaRouche personally intervened in the highly charged case of Joseph Roger ODell III, eventually executed in Virginia after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected ODells appeal in a 5-4 vote. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia cast the deciding vote, in the interest of what is called in Virginia law, finality.

LaRouche, a resident of Virginia and former Presidential candidate, wrote a letter to the Arlington Catholic Herald, urging that Scalias action be repudiated from the pulpit in Scalias parish church in Northern Virginia, St. Catherine of Siena. LaRouche wrote:

As long as his [Scalias] philosophy is given credence by leaders of the Church, it will mislead faithful Catholics that it is somehow coherent with their faith. If we forget the Christian appreciation of Genesis 1:26-28, we join the Social Darwinists in that return to paganism, in whose arena there is no moral distinction between man and the beasts, while the mob, acting with Scalias endorsement, delivers the verdict: thumbs up, or down. If we repudiate agape in matters of justice, as Scalia does, then, as the beloved I Corinthians 13 warns, we are as nothing.

The Highest Moral Issues

The case of ODell, who maintained his innocence in this trial for rape and murder and was trying to reform his life from having become a lost soul, was one of the highest profile moral issues in that time. European parliamentarians, including a hundred members of Italys parliament, appealed directly to President Clinton for clemency. Pope John Paul II also appealed to Clinton.

Mother Teresa in Calcutta, who worked with Nina Ogden representing the Schiller Institute, wrote and personally signedand also voice-recordeda dramatic personal appeal to Virginia Governor George Allen and Justice Scalia, in which she said:

I come before you to appeal for a manJoseph Roger ODell. I do not know what he has done to be condemned to death. All I know is that he too is a child of God, created for greater thingsto love and be loved. I pray that Joseph is at peace with God, that he has said sorry to God and to whomever he has hurt. Let us not take away his life. Let us bring hope into his life and into all our lives.

Mother Teresas voice recording of the appeal was played in Richmond, the state capital, on radio news broadcasts every hour throughout the day before the execution. But Governor Allen did not commute the sentence. Mother Teresas statement was also read to ODell just before his execution.

That evening, the Schiller Institute held a candlelight vigil in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. The Institute also organized a vigil at the Norfolk International Airport, attended by Father Tom Carraluzzi, the Episcopal Vicar of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond, and by ODells widow, Lori Urs ODell, who was sending ODells body to a gravesite in Palermo, Italy for burial. The grave was dedicated as a memorial to the fight against the death penalty, widely viewed in Italy as barbaric.

Father Carraluzzi led the vigil, and Nina Ogden read an Open Letter to the Nation of Italy, written by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, wife of Lyndon LaRouche and founder and Chairman of the international Schiller Institute. Zepp-LaRouche pledged that Roger ODells death would not be in vain. She vowed to continue the fight until the death penalty is ended in the United States. She also urged in the letter that President Clinton exonerate Lyndon LaRouche, falsely convicted and imprisoned by his political enemies. Only in this way, she wrote, will the barbarians in the Department of Justice and Supreme Court like Antonin Scalia, who believe in mob rule, be ousted.

Now, more than two decades later, the call for the moral fitness to survive must be raised anew by greater numbers, in greater urgency, so that our souls and consciences are not ruined and in failure and surrenderbecause we are confronting the fact that barbaric practices such as the mass genocide of millions of people in Syria are now happening, as the cynical and deliberate policy of the British and U.S. governmentsin our name! According to an international appeal by Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio to Syria, 90% of the population of Syria is at the brink of starvation because of war, and because of the continuing sanctions against that nation, the most cruel kind of war against a civilian population. The time is running out for international action for aid and reconstruction to begin.

A former prosecutor in Prince William County, Virginia, who almost single-handedly made that county number-one in the nation in death penalty convictions, retired as Commonwealths Attorney in 2018 after losing his last case, and told the Washington Post in an interview, People just arent as pro-death anymore.

If he is right, genocide, starvation, epidemics and war can be stopped, at this late hour.
A Dickson City man awaits sentencing after his conviction on drug and weapons charges in Lackawanna County Court.

Victor Alfonso Nieves-Crespo, 33, 721 Albert St., was found guilty Wednesday on possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and two firearms-related counts.

Jurors returned their verdict to Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle around 4 p.m. to conclude a three-day trial.

Dickson City police arrested Nieves-Crespo on the evening of July 3 during a traffic stop at Main and Mary streets.

At the time, officers were investigating a report of a man having pointed a gun at another person outside Main Street Bistro before fleeing in a vehicle police learned was registered to Nieves-Crespo.

During the traffic stop, Nieves-Crespo acknowledged there was a gun under the drivers seat of the vehicle, police said. When officers retrieved the weapon, a 45-caliber handgun, they also found a clear plastic bag containing several grams of cocaine under the seat.

Because of a prior felony conviction, Nieves-Crespo is barred from owning or possessing a gun, police said.

In addition to the drug charge, the jury convicted him of prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license.

Moyle set no date for sentencing.
Justice for George Floyd and Us All: The Measure and Meaning of the Verdict

In the midst of our rightful and deserved rejoicing and relief in hearing the guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin for his depraved public murder of George Floyd, it is also important to pause and reflect on the measure and meaning of this victory. We need not read more into this victory than is real or necessary, but it is important to mark the victory and reflect on how it was achieved, what it means in the larger scheme of things, and what it obligates us to do to expand this significant gain.

As always, let us give praise to our people and then to our allies. For it is always important to remember and reaffirm it is our lives at stake and our struggle. And if we dont stand up, our allies wont show up. Also, it is essential for us to remember the historical and current role we play as a moral and social vanguard in America whose victorious struggle will not only free us from oppression, but also expand the realm of human freedom and justice in this country and the world. This understanding is especially important when we discuss the meaning and measure of this victory and the need to continue, intensify and expand the struggle.

Our reflection, of necessity, leads us always to the historic and ongoing struggle for racial justice in this country. And the struggle for justice for George Floyd is part and parcel of the national struggle against police violence and larger systemic violence which has been imposed on us for centuries. Certainly, in more recent times, the Ferguson struggle for justice for Michael Brown is rightly seen as the spark that expanded the struggle and ignited a forest fire of resistance. It opened the road of resistance that led us across the country and to Minneapolis and the struggle for justice for George Floyd and in a larger sense, justice for us all. And it is the ongoing struggle for racial justice as a whole that is the context for the victory in Minneapolis. For without this ongoing struggle, which had a world-wide impact, this victory could not have been achieved. Indeed, the heightened and expanded consciousness, commitment and social activism created a climate more responsive to the defining video, the courageous witnesses, and the other factors that combined to achieve this victory.

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Clearly central, indeed indispensable, to achieving this guilty verdict was also the small group of people, among whom were four minors, who witnessed and testified to the slow, savage and depraved murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin. They are called bystanders, but that does not really describe them. They were courageous and deeply involved witnesses who wouldnt turn away, who called out and challenged the brutal and bestial killing of a fellow Black person and human being. Indeed, they offered in testimony the graphic evidence of film, fear, trauma and tragic narrative of the slow, savage and wanton murder of George Floyd and their agonizing inability to stop it. Darnella Frazier, who with courage and composure filmed the public murder of George Floyd, even while being traumatized by it all, should be raised up and praised always in the telling of this narrative of struggle for justice which spoke to the world. Strong too was the voice of her 9-year-old cousin who testified how she felt about watching the murder and said, I was mad and sad, reflecting the combination of trauma and righteous anger so many of us felt.

We also raise and praise the name of the Black men who challenged Chauvin and his crime partners for their savage behavior. There was Donald Williams who would not let Chauvins attorney label him too angry to be a trustworthy witness, noting he was angry because a human being was being killed by the police wantonly and without warrant. And there was Charles McMillion who was, as all the witnesses, concerned about what he might have done to intervene and save George Floyds life from a killer cop.

Also, contributive to the guilty verdict was the role of the Black police chief of Minneapolis, Medaria Arradondo. His decision, not only to quickly fire and distance his department from Chauvin and his police crime partners, but also to testify against his officers set a precedent and other officers followed. His actions, not only set a precedent of a chief testifying against his officers, but also, opened the possibility of a widening crack in the blue wall of silence and solidarity in abusive and deadly crime against our people. Whether he continues to hold this position and actualize his stated values and influence others to act likewise will depend on the strength and continued struggle of the Movement. For it is again the Movement that created the context to make this moment possible.

Important also was the decision and crucial move of Keith Ellison, the first African American attorney general of Minnesota, to take over of the prosecution from the local prosecutor after having been asked by the Floyd family to take control of the case and after his appointment by Governor Tim Walz. He realized, as an African American and a student and witness of history, that this was an extraordinary murder and historical moment and that he was morally compelled to accept the invitation that history had handed him. And, he said at his press conference after the verdict, I would not call todays verdict justice  because justice implies true restoration, but it is accountability which is the first step towards justice. He therefore called for continuing struggle for systematic societal change.

But in spite of this coming together of these factors to yield this important victory, lets not imagine its more than it is. It is a major victory, but a single victory. It is procedural justice, courtroom justice, but not substantive justice, racial and societal justice. Achieving racial justice involves radically reconceiving and reconstructing this system, and ending the varied forms of oppression based on race, class, gender and other categories of difference and vulnerability.

Especially must we not let the established order coopt this Movement and make this victory a result of the system rather than the struggle. For gains made are made through the righteous and relentless struggle of the people. As Frantz Fanon teaches, concessions are not made by the kindness, good will or change of heart of the oppressor. It simply shows he cannot delay granting concessions any longer. Thus, it is not really the system granting concessions or procedural justice, it the liberation struggle that extracts it. This means we must set aside any illusions about the verdict being a new beginning and rather see the struggle as promising and ensuring a new beginning. It is for us a question of life and death, of domination, deprivation and degradation, not only in one case against one officer, but a case against America itself. Indeed, even while the trial for justice for George Floyd continued, Duante Wright was murdered by police violence and on the day procedural justice and accountability was achieved, Makiyah Bryant, 16 years old, became one of the latest victims of police deadly force and violence.

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It is a question of different valuing of life in the dominant society. And as Ella Baker reminds us and teaches us until the killing of Black men, Black mothers sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mothers sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest. And we know this applies also to Black mothers daughters. This freedom is a freedom to live, be secure in our person and peoplehood in our houses, our churches, mosques and temples, secure in our cars, jogging or walking in the streets, and playing in the park and learning in school as children. And it is not only freedom from domination, deprivation and degradation in all their forms, but also freedom to live good and meaningful lives, flourish and come into the fullness of ourselves.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director, African American Cultural Center (Us); Creator of Kwanzaa; and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture and Essays on Struggle: Position and Analysis, www.AfricanAmericanCulturalCenter-LA.org; www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org ; www.MaulanaKarenga.org
James Dyson, who's worth $29bn (21bn) founded the company in 1993 in Bath. Photo: Franziska Krug/Getty Images

Sir James Dyson switched his main residency back to the UK from Singapore, according to new company filings revealed on Wednesday.

According to the documents for the firms Dyson controls including his family office Weybourne, he now primarily lives in Britain.

Dyson, a prominent Brexit supporter announced in 2019 he would move his technology company's global headquarters to Singapore.

The move garnered the businessman much criticism from UK lawmakers, at the time he had described the decision as a commercial decision unrelated to Brexit.

A company spokesperson said "nothing has changed" and that the "structure of the group and the business rationale underpinning it are unaltered."

"The UK remains a base for around a third of Dysons global workforce  the majority of whom are engineers and scientists  and is a key creative and inventive hub receiving significant investment in R&D [research and development]," the spokesperson added.

"Singapore is, and remains the global headquarters of Dyson, our leadership team is based here and it is the centre of our sales, engineering and manufacturing operations."

The company previously, said it intends to hire over 2,000 people in Southeast Asia over the coming years but announced in July it will cut 900 of its 14,000 global taskforce due to the pandemic.

The cuts hit UK workers the hardest, with 600 of the 4,000 jobs in the UK being axed.

Sir James, who's worth $29bn (21bn) founded the company in 1993 in Bath. It has since turned into one of the UKs most successful tech firms, with sales of over 5.4bn ($7.5bn) in 2019.

While the company is best known for its vacuum cleaners it also makes hairdryers and fans.

WATCH: Sir Keir Starmer accuses Tories of 'sleaze, sleaze, sleaze'

READ MORE: Credit Suisse raises $2bn after 'unacceptable' Archegos loss

The relocation follows revelations the billionaire exchanged private text messages with prime minister Boris Johnson over tax issues during the COVID pandemic.

Story continues

Dyson, agreed to make ventilators for the UK coronavirus efforts in 2020, and was messaging Johnson to ensure his staff would not pay extra tax if they came to work in Britain, the BBC reported.

A few weeks after the conversation the tax rules for non-residents coming to the country for COVID-related work were relaxed for a temporary three-month period.

According to the company, the ventilator project, cost the firm 20m, with staff from both the UK and Singapore working "around the clock" to make the ventilators. It said at the time that the company would fund the project itself, without the help from UK taxpayers' money.

WATCH: Boris Johnson says he makes 'absolutely no apology' over texts with Sir James Dyson
The Myanmar militarys coup and brutal crackdown on dissent have left it with few allies in the West. But a sophisticated corporate lobbying operation in Washington is trying to persuade the Biden administration not to impose broad sanctions against a state-owned oil and gas company helping to finance the junta.

Chevron, the second-largest oil and gas producer in the United States, has sent lobbyists  including some former federal officials, one of whom appears to have left the State Department just last month  to the State Department, other agencies and congressional offices, according to four people familiar with the lobbying.

The company says sanctions could endanger the long-term viability of a big Myanmar gas field in which it is a partner, worsen a humanitarian crisis for people who rely on the operation for power, and expose employees to criminal charges.

Chevron has a longstanding relationship with Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, or MOGE, which is closely connected to the military generals who seized power from elected leaders on Feb. 1. Since then, the military has killed an estimated 740 citizens of Myanmar and detained thousands more.
She revealed that she had relapsed after nearly four years of sobriety in a candid video shared on Monday.

But Kelly Osbourne was feeling positive as she shared a snap of her new long purple tresses on Thursday and insisted her hair change had given her a 'new outlook'.

The 36-year-old daughter of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne looked radiant in the picture uploaded to her Instagram as she debuted her perfectly styled glossy locks after a trip to the salon.

Back on track: Kelly Osbourne was feeling positive as she shared a snap off her new long purple tresses on Thursday and insisted her new hair had given her a 'new outlook'

Wow! The day before Kelly showed off her purple hair yet again but this time she wore it in a shorter style

Clearly feeling back on track she captioned the glowing snap: 'New hair!! New outlook!!'

She also took to her Instagram Story to show her getting the makeover at the salon and said: 'She's got her long hair today. Wow look at me I feel like a completely different person!

'I could be like you know one of them sexy girls. To think how fugly I used to be!'

New look: She also took to her Instagram Story to show her getting the makeover at the salon and said: 'She's got her long hair today'

It comes after on Monday Kelly revealed that she had relapsed after nearly four years of sobriety in a candid video.

She took to Instagram to admit she was 'not proud' over her decision but wanted to be 'honest' with fans.

Kelly insisted that she is now 'back on track' with her recovery and that she is just taking things one day at a time.

The TV personality went sober in 2017 and previously admitted that she never thought she would be alive at 35 after passing out every night from drugs and partying at the height of her battle.

Happy: She added: 'Wow look at me I feel like a completely different person! I could be like you know one of them sexy girls!'

Speaking in a video shared with her 1.3million followers, Kelly said: 'This is a little hard for me to talk about but I've always promised you I will be honest with you about where I'm at and what's going on on my road to recovery.

'I relapsed, not proud of it but I'm back on track and I will be doing a podcast this week where I tell everybody about what's going on and what happened.'

Kelly added that she is taking things just 'one day at a time' and wanted to tell her followers the truth as she never lies.

Honest: Referring to her recent relapse she captioned the snap 'She's back!!!!! Let's do this!!! #sobrietyrocks

She continued: 'I just want to let you know that I'm sober today and I'm going to be sober tomorrow but I've truly learned that it is just one day at a time and I wanted to tell you guys the truth cause I never ever want to lie to you.'

Thanking fans for their support at the end of her video, Kelly signed off with: 'Thank you so much for your support and love and you'll be hearing from me soon.'

In 2020, Kelly spoke about her past battle and said that she used to take so many drugs she 'embalmed' her body every night.

The former wild child said she doubted she would be alive at 35 after passing out every night from drugs and partying.

Kelly admitted that she regularly took a cocktail of amphetamines, tranquillisers and marijuana at the height of her battle.

The star told her friend DJ Fat Tony on his podcast, The Recovery: 'I never thought I'd be alive at 35 years old.

'A lot of my friends didn't make it and burying them was hard. I had survivor's guilt for a long time. I'm almost three years sober.'

Candid: It comes after on Monday Kelly revealed that she had relapsed after nearly four years of sobriety in a candid video

The reality star also revealed how she would convince her mum Sharon that she was sober by showing her stolen Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety chips.

She said: 'I never truly slept, I would pass out from whatever I drank or took and came to.

'I was in a haze of hangovers and withdrawals. I don't know how I did it for as long as I did. I embalmed my body.'

Kelly has been to rehab seven times and she was even locked in a padded cell to keep her off drugs.

Way back when: Kelly took to Instagram to admit she was 'not proud' over her decision but wanted to be 'honest' with fans (pictured in 2002)

She said she had her awakening in 2017 and decided she needed to change her ways.

Kelly revealed: 'I was so wasted the whole time. I hadn't been to a grocery store in three years or done normal things. I thought, "I don't want to live like this any more".

'I'd put blackout curtains in my house so I didn't know what time it was. I realised I wasn't going to make it. I'd be dead if I keep doing this.

'I picked up the phone and I was really drunk when I called my brother Jack.'

Kelly said that he arrived in minutes, even though his efforts to help before had resulted in Kelly being abusive to him.

Sobriety: The TV personality went sober in 2017 and previously admitted that she never thought she would be alive at 35 after passing out every night from drugs and partying at the height of her battle (pictured in 2007)

She said: 'I got into his car. I was wearing a T-shirt and underwear. I remember saying to him, crying, "I don't want to be a fat drunk loser any more. I want to be a skinny winner".'

Kelly then checked into a new facility with a renewed energy and the help from her family.

She said: 'I went to therapy for the first six months, for about six hours a day. I was like, "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to really do it".'

During the height of her battle, Kelly admitted that the longest she went off substances was a month.

She said: 'I've only ever had about 30 days of clean time, which is when I was in treatment, then I would come out and get high again.

'But I lied about it. I used to steal 60-day AA chips and give them to my mum so she would take me out for dinner.'

For help with similar issues call Narcotics Anonymous on 0300 999 1212 or Alcoholics Anonymous on 020 7407 0700.
SPRINGFIELD  Green has not just been the color of money at MGM Springfield, which celebrated its environmental stewardship on a brisk Thursday morning.

The casino complexs leaders and local officials greeted Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and others in a ceremony saluting its receipt of a prestigious award from the United States Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

In accepting the LEED New Construction Platinum certification, MGM Springfield President Chris Kelley pledged the casinos continuing commitment to sustainable energy practices. He also emphasized MGM Springfields relationship with the people of Greater Springfield.

We earned this honor together. MGM has not veered from its core values, Kelley said in a booming voice that referenced Springfields past as a guide to the future.

Kelley said those core values include commitment to the community and environmentally efficient practices. He spoke of the citys history as the location for the first federal arsenal, its early days as a hub of commerce, and its resiliency during challenging times that included the 2011 tornado and the coronavirus pandemic.

Prospects of better economic times were part of brief speeches by Baker and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who described a city and state emerging from the crisis.

To be here on Earth Day for this ceremony is a testament to MGMs respect for the environment, and not just (being concerned) about the bottom line, Sarno said.

We will defeat COVID in the not-too-distant future, and when we do, we will celebrate together, right here at the green MGM.

Baker echoed the sentiments that within the gaming industry in particular, MGM Springfield has been an environmental leader.

I congratulate the folks at MGM for their forward thinking, creativity and commitment to the community. This (complex) is just incredibly well-conceived. It just fits, Baker said.

MGM Springfields Platinum level certification is the worlds first for a gaming resort. The honor was first announced in 2019, less than a year after the casino had opened.

The propertys solar array, supplies renewable electricity, was one of several factors in the selection. Other considerations were the redevelopment of the tornado site, an array of methods to ensure efficiency with electricity, and proper diversion of construction and demolition waste.

The complex was also credited for its transparency about product ingredients, use of interior finishes such as paints, sealants, and other materials with little or no volatile organic chemicals or urea-formaldehyde, and an efficient rainwater harvesting system.

In addition to recognizing its construction, the ceremony highlighted MGM Springfields ongoing environmental efforts since 2019. U.S. Green Building Council CEO and President Mahesh Ramanujam spoke of the need to pursue green solutions, and praised MGM Springfield for doing so as he presented the award.

There is an inextricable link between environmental health and human health, and we have seen that the most vulnerable (people) are the most affected. We know that healthy people in healthy places equal a healthy economy, Ramanujam said.

Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Cathy Judd-Stein lauded MGM Springfields cooperation with state authorities since its opening.

The symbolism of holding the ceremony on Earth Day was noted by the speakers. Designed to bring attention to environmental issues and needs, Earth Day was first proposed in 1969. The following year, it took its present form, including the April 22 date and its globally recognized name.

Related content:
Paxton, IL (60957)

Today

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 68F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 15:49:35|Editor: huaxia

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NEW DELHI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- India's national carrier, Air India, has announced that all its scheduled flights between India and Britain from April 24 to 30 had been cancelled in the wake of the recent restrictions announced by Britain, officials said Thursday.

"Due to restrictions implemented by British authorities, flights scheduled between 24th to 30th April from India stands cancelled," Air India said.

The airline announced that two flights destined to Britain originating from Delhi and Mumbai on Friday too have been cancelled.

Britain has placed India on its travel "red list" over a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The national carrier said it was working to schedule once a week flight to Britain from Delhi and Mumbai during the interval of this restriction.

India on Thursday reported the world's biggest-ever daily surge with 314,835 new cases and 2,104 deaths in the past 24 hours.

India is presently witnessing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Enditem


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When Dr. Chandler Davidson entered his Rice University classroom one year, he did so dressed in Western garb  complete with a cowboy hat, boots and a big-bucket belt.

Little by little, as he lectured, he removed the cowboy getup to reveal business attire.

Sharon Plummer, Davidsons wife of 34 years, said the lauded voting rights expert and award-winning teacher was trying to drill home a message.

It was his way to encourage students to be open-minded and not make assumptions based on appearance, she said.

In many ways, this was a core mission of the sociologists life work.

Davidson, a leading voting rights scholar and a co-founder of Rices sociology department, died April 10 of massive brain inflammation at his Houston home, his wife said. He was 84.

He spent his life advocating for racial equality, social justice and voting rights, and was often sought out by legislators and lawyers for his expertise. Davidsons scholarly work was cited in several court opinions around the country.

In the early 1990s, Davidson teamed up with political scientist and University of California at Irvine professor Bernard Grofman on a project that assessed the effects of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the South. The initiative, which engaged nearly 30 political scientists, historians, sociologists and lawyers, gave way to Davidson and Grofmans award-winning book Quiet Revolution in the South.

In Texas, Davidson was a fixture at the state Capitol, often providing testimony for voting rights, said Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis.

I was just impressed with his photographic memory. He rarely had to look at his notes, said Ellis, who often saw Davidson at the Capitol when he was working as an intern. And when Ellis served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, he said the congressman would send him and his staff to Houston to meet with Davidson to prepare for their cases involving voting rights.

He was the most cited academic I know of who (wrote) about voting laws. Its a tremendous loss for the civil rights community, Ellis said.

In 2011, Davidson presented an affidavit to the U.S. Department of Justice detailing the history of racial discrimination in elections in Texas and challenged Texas law requiring a photo ID as a prerequisite to voting. In a case about whether the Voting Rights Act was still valid, Davidsons work was cited in Washingtons U.S. District Court nearly 30 times, and when decided by the court in 2012, Davidson and Grofmans book was cited by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Richard Murray, a retired University of Houston professor who knew and worked with Davidson for about 50 years, said they were optimistic that Texas was moving in the right direction when they worked on cases in the 1970s. But the two have been dismayed over the past 25 years to see some legislators and politicians being more aggressive toward Black and Latino interests, he said.

Chandler took his research and science and community activism very seriously, said Robert M. Stein, a fellow in Urban Politics at Rices Baker Institute for Public Policy. His story was one that was finely scripted, if not, like a woven tapestry.

Davidson was born May 13, 1936, to N. Franklin Davidson, a veteran who worked with U.S. Border Patrol, and Sarah Cook Davidson on a cattle ranch near the Davis Mountains. His family later relocated to Ysleta, near El Paso. He served in the U.S. Navy for two years before being honorably discharged in 1961, the same year he completed his bachelors in philosophy from the University of Texas. He later earned masters and doctoral degrees in sociology from Princeton University.

Described as a stellar teacher of an old generation, Stein said Davidson elevated Rices sociology department from an undergraduate teaching institution to a nationally-ranked doctorate program.

He wasnt always striving for excellence for himself. He was always doing it for the people around him. It was almost infectious, Stein said.

Many students have said Davidson awakened their social conscience, Plummer said.

Aside from his lifes work, Davidson was known for his deep and distinct laugh, and his penchant for cooking, which inspired him to scour cookbooks for new recipes and designate their home kitchen as his domain, Plummer said.

He also reveled in interacting with children, and once took on an eight-year-old neighbor as his sous chef in Rices annual pie competition. The two won second place that year for a pecan pie.

And even in retirement with progressing dementia, he took on new interests, including joining a club of retired men who had discussions while dining out and educating himself about the climate crisis.

Davidson is survived by his wife, his son Seth Davidson and his wife Yasuko; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son Ian Davidson.

Rice will host a celebration of Davidsons life on Nov. 1, 2021, the day that would have been the couples 35th wedding anniversary.

The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center or to Rices Chandler Davidson Undergraduate Research Fund in Sociology.

brittany.britto@chron.com
My father was getting so busy he asked her if she would let him out of the his contract with her because he was becoming more and more popular and busy. And she did. She released him from the contract and he went out on his own.
A jury in Minneapolis handed down the verdict the entire country has awaited for almost a year: that police officer Derek Chauvin is guilty of the murder of George Floyd. This conviction comes at the end of a year of memorials and protests and marches, not just all over the country but all over the world. This also is a day for all of us who belong to Jesus Christ to reflect on the meaning of it all.

Was Justice Accomplished?

First, we must recognize that ultimate justice was not accomplished, and never is this side of Judgment Day. No jury can resurrect George Floydor any of those who died as he didfrom the grave. George Floyd is still gone; his family still grieves. The fact that sentencing cannot ultimately answer our sense of the wrongness of what was done is itself a signpost. We are created for a different sort of cosmos than the one in which we live, where violence sometimes seems to create its own morality. Jesus taught us that our sense of justice is embedded in us precisely because we were created by a just God, a God before whom every one of us will one day give an account, where all the secrets of the heart will be revealed.

Earthly Justice

Second, we must recognize that the sort of justice we see herethe proximate justice of human courtsmatters greatly. What happens in our police forces and in our court systems is not a matter somehow distant from us. We are accountable, as a people and as a nation, to see that these structures do what is right and just. The Bible tells us, He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are alike an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 17:15). We are calledin our callings as citizens to whom our governments give accountto the kind of just temporal order that, as the Apostle Paul puts it, commends what is good and punishes those who do evil (Rom. 13:1-4). Today, at least in this case, the court offered justice. And so, the moment ought to prompt those of us who belong to Jesus Christ to express relief that a murder has not gone unpunished, even as we lament the fact that this trial was needed at all, that a man created in the image of God lost his life.

Right and Wrong Uses of Authority

Third, this should remind us of the rightand wronguses of authority. Any murder is a tragedy, but there is something even more jarring about this kind of murder. The now-convicted killer stood in a place of unique authority as an officer of the law. Authority is necessary and good. And yet, authoritylike every aspect of Gods creation ordercan be twisted into something awful. This too is not new. Pharaoh believed himself to be a god, as did Nebuchadnezzar, as did Caesar, as have countless others. When John the Baptist preached at the River Jordan, some who came to him seeking Gods mercy were those with authorityas soldiers and tax collectors for the Roman government. They asked, What now shall we do? John did not (nor did Jesus after that) call them to abandon their posts of authority, but instead to act within the limits of righteousness and justice and not out of arbitrary power or self-gain (Luke 13-14).

One of the reasons this trial has captured the attention of the world is that it is not an isolated incident. We have seen in our history the ways in which over and over again authority has been used not to provide justice but to deny it. The Jim Crow system was created for just this purposeto see to it that African American citizens were deprived of their God-given civil rights by day and terrorized with impunity by night. Nor have these issues gone away. History by itself cannot wipe away sin and injustice. Thus, we see instance after instance of especially African American men facing danger and sometimes deathoften without the endpoint of the sort of verdict this court has handed down. Our structures and systems, of course, belong to us. For them, we are accountable.

Justice for Every Human Life

We might not know how to fix everything, but we know where we can start. And we must. That will require a long and hard work in our callings as citizens, but also for the church of Jesus Christto bear one anothers burdens, with white Christians standing with their African American and other minority brothers and sisters. When one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all do. If we are, in fact, joined together as brothers and sisters, if we belong to one another, we should act like it.

We should expect the right use of authority precisely because we know that we have been created in the image of a God we can see in the face of Christ Jesus. God did not ignore the murder of Abel, but heard his blood crying from the ground (Gen. 4:8-11). God did not ignore the groanings of the enslaved Israelites under Pharaohs yoke, but heard their cries (Exod. 2:23-25). And we have seen Jesus himselfthe son of the living God and the anointed king of the cosmosact as one with authority (Mark 1:21), not to serve himself but as the kind of authority for which we longan authority anchored to righteousness and justice, an authority that hears the cries of the vulnerable, and an authority that comes not to kill and to destroy but to serve (Deut. 17:14-20; Ps. 72; Mark 10:20-28).

And, finally, we can remember that this verdict matters because George Floyd himself matters. He is not only a symbol of the quest for racial justice in this countryalthough he is certainly that. He is also a human being created in the image of God. His life matters to God, and should matter to us. Authorities and structures must be accountable for doing what is right not just for the sake of abstract integrity, but because these authorities and structures affect real human lives. And every human life is an awe-striking mystery, pointing us to the God that life reflects and images.

We can thank God for the accountability rendered in this case. We can work to see to it that justice is done in cases like this whenever and wherever they arise around us. We can see to it that no one else ever faces the awful killing experienced by George Floyd and countless others. And, as we do so, we can weep. Even as we are glad for justice done, we should weep for injustices still at work, and for a life that is still gone.

A version of this first appeared in my weekly newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox here.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stephen Maturen/Stringer

Russell Moore is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The ERLC is the moral and public policy entity of the nations largest Protestant denomination.
The Shyft Federation  the private, semi-permissioned blockchain designed to embed trust, validation and discoverability into public and private ecosystems  has announced the launch of the Shyft Network compliance protocol. As a part of the launch, through DeFi Technologies' Governance product, DeFi Technologies will be a validator on the network.

The Shyft Network protocol is an intraoperative, transformative solution that enables identity verification, validation and the sending of credentials and other data across multiple different blockchains and networks. The protocol was designed to help virtual asset service providers (VASPs), brokers, and Financial Institutions achieve full compliance with the Travel Rule, which was standardized globally by the Financial Action Task Force in 2019, and ease friction in the deployment of technical compliance solutions for virtual assets.

The Company is excited to become one of the main validators on the Shyft Network. By becoming a validator on the network, the Company will join the Shyft Network Federation.

The Shyft Federation will consist of 21 nodes. These nodes were chosen based on technical proficiency, physical installation of dedicated hardware on multiple Internet Service Provider (ISP) connections, with a dedicated battery back-up, security, and jurisdictional decentralization.

Furthermore, the Shyft Federation also selected nodes in a globally distributed manner, so as to bolster the geographic resilience of the Shyft Network across borders and to mitigate the risk of network outages. As a collective, Shyft Federation members work to promote the common interests and efforts of the Shyft Network.

The Company will generate revenue on every transaction it validates in the network. It will receive that revenue in the form of Shyft tokens which can be held or sold in the market.

Wouter Witvoet, CEO of DeFi Technologies said: "We are excited for the launch of the Shyft network and look forward to partaking in the governance protocol. As crypto further integrates into every jurisdiction in the world it will be important that there is a trusted network which helps companies be compliant with their operations and look forward to implementing Shyft into DeFi centric applications."

To track the performance of DeFi Technologies Shyft Network validator, interested parties can use this link: https://fedstats.shyft.network/. They can search for our validator node "DeFi Technologies".

About Shyft

Shyft Network is a public protocol designed to aggregate and embed trust, validation and discoverability into data stored on public and private ecosystems, and facilitate information transfer between permissioned and permissionless networks. By incentivizing individuals and enterprises to work together, Shyft Network allows for the layering of context on top of data, turning raw data into meaningful information.

To learn more: https://shyft.network/

About DeFi Technologies

DeFi Technologies Inc. is a Canadian company that carries on business with the objective of enhancing shareholder value through building and managing assets in the decentralized finance sector.

To learn more: https://defi.tech/

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Transaction, the strategic partnership with Shyft Network and the potential for synergies and growth as a result of the partnership; the pursuit by DeFi Technologies of business opportunities; and the merits or potential returns of any such opportunities. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

THE NEO STOCK EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE DeFi Technologies, Inc.
Press Release

April 22, 2021 'BAKIT ISUSUPLONG ANG TUMUTULONG?'

Hontiveros files resolution condemning harassment, red-tagging against community pantry organizers Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday filed a resolution condemning the acts of harassment, red-tagging and intimidation by national government officials and law enforcement authorities against private citizens conducting community pantries. According to the Resolution, "These heavy-handed tactics by State agents against community pantries are not just undemocratic, they also punish Filipinos who are already suffering because of the pandemic and who desperately need the lifeline extended by these community pantries." Proposed Senate Resolution No. 705 authored by Hontiveros also urges the executive branch to ensure the safety and protection of community pantry organizers inasmuch as they provide an invaluable service to communities in these times. "Instead of harassment and threats against community pantry organizers, they should be lauded for embodying all that is good and noble in the Filipino community especially during times of hardship and hunger," she said. "Bakit isusuplong ang tumutulong? Huwag naman nating patayin ang natitirang pag-asa ng ating mga kababayan. Pagtutulungan at pagdadamayan ang kailangan, hindi karahasan o pananakot," Hontiveros said. The senator underscored the role of community pantries in drawing from Filipinos' innate sense of bayanihan, particularly in times of crises and emergencies. "Community pantry is a response to the urgent needs of Filipinos for food. It creates a platform for civic-minded citizens to express solidarity with those in need," she said. Specifically, the resolution cited the admission of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., that they have profiled the organizers. Likewise, DILG Undersecretary Martin Dino said that organizers should seek permission from local governments before putting up community pantries. Furthermore, police officers have been paying visits and were asking for the names, numbers and social media accounts of the organizers. It was also recalled that Ana Patricia Non, organizer of the Maginahawa Community Pantry which started it all, has suspended operations due to safety concerns. "What the organizers need is support and protection from the government para mas mapalawak pa at mas marami pang kababayan nating nangangailangan ang maabutan ng tulong. We must nurture an environment where the bayanihan spirit of Filipinos can thrive and flourish. Ito ang kailangan natin para makatawid sa pandemya," Hontiveros concluded.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. and GUANGZHOU, China, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RNAimmune, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in discovery and development of mRNA-based therapeutics and vaccines, announced today execution of definitive agreements for a seed round financing of $10 million. RNAimmune is a spin-off entity from Sirnaomics, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics against cancer and fibrotic diseases. Smooth River and Hong Kong Hongrun led the investment, with participation from Shanghai Walga Biotechnology, High Forest Investment and Terra Magnum Sigma. Sirnaomics also increased its investment in RNAimmune. This financing will allow RNAimmune to accelerate its research and development into mRNA vaccine and drug discovery focused on infectious disease, cancer, and rare diseases.

Sirnaomics' Company Logo (PRNewsfoto/Siranomics, Inc.)

Since its founding in early 2020, RNAimmune has built up its mRNA vaccine and drug discovery and development platform to tackle high unmet medical needs in infectious diseases, cancer and rare diseases. The Company is now in the IND enabling stage for its lead candidate COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and plans to file an IND with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before the end of 2021. It is also advancing its RAS tumor vaccine program in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles. Headquartered in Maryland, United States, RNAimmune has set up its China R&D center in Guangzhou Bio-Island. Last August, the Company completed a seed financing round of $2.35 million.

"We are very pleased to see the exponential growth of RNAimmune, with completion of two rounds of financing in such a short time," said Patrick Lu, PhD, Chairman of the Board of RNAimmune. "The recent success of Moderna's and BioNTech's mRNA vaccines has demonstrated that mRNA technologies for development of novel therapeutics and vaccines are dramatically changing the landscape of the global pharmaceutical industry. RNAimmune has tremendous opportunities as a global mRNA innovating company."

Story continues

About RNAimmune, Inc.

RNAimmune is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in discovery and development of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines. The Company leverages mRNA as a data carrier to instruct the human body to produce its own proteins capable of fighting a wide range of diseases. RNAimmune is a spin-off venture from Sirnaomics, Inc. and has received a global exclusive right to the proprietary Polypeptide Lipid Nanoparticle (PLNP) technology for mRNA delivery from Sirnaomics. The Company has also developed a proprietary A.I. algorithm (ALEPVA) for antigen prediction and vaccine design. By integrating multiple established platform technologies, RNAimmune is aiming to develop a comprehensive mRNA drug discovery and development platform, from which the Company will enrich its therapeutic and vaccine product pipeline addressing tremendous unmet needs in treatments of viral infections, cancer and rare diseases. To learn more about RNAimmune, please visit the company website: www.rnaimmune.com.

About Sirnaomics, Inc.

Sirnaomics, Inc., a leading privately held biopharmaceutical company for discovery and development of RNAi therapeutics, is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, with subsidiaries in Suzhou and Guangzhou, China. The Company's mission is to develop novel therapeutics to alleviate human suffering and advance patient care in areas of high unmet medical need. The guiding principles of the company are: Innovation, Global Vision with a Patient Centered focus. Members of the senior management team have a great deal of combined experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, financial, clinical and business management in both the USA and China. The company is supported by funding from institutional investors and corporate partnerships. Sirnaomics has developed a strong portfolio of intellectual property with an enriched product pipeline. The therapeutic areas of focus include oncology and anti-fibrotic therapeutics. Learn more at www.sirnaomics.com.

Contact:

RNAimmune:

Stanley He, MBA

Email: stanley@rnaimmune.com

Investors:

Stephanie Carrington

Tel: +1 646 277 1282

Email : Stephanie.Carrington@westwicke.com

Media:

Mark Corbae

Tel: +1 203 682 8288

Email: Mark.Corbae@westwicke.com

Cision

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SOURCE Sirnaomics, Inc.
[April 22, 2021] Bitdefender Achieves Highest Detection Score in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations for Enterprise

BUCHAREST, Romania and SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bitdefender, a global cybersecurity leader, today announced it achieved the highest number of detections of the 29 participating cybersecurity vendors in MITRE Engenuity's recent independent ATT&CK Evaluations for enterprise cybersecurity solutions. Bitdefender also achieved strong results in key areas including enabling efficient security operations and reducing alert fatigue by providing analytics insights for 96 percent of all detections and detecting 100 percent of attack techniques against Linux systems. "This achievement further affirms Bidefender's superiority in detecting behaviors, malware and tactics used by advanced cybergangs and nation-state threat actors before they gain a foothold into an organization," said Dragos Gavrilut, director of cyber threat intelligence at Bitdefender. "Modern cybersecurity teams must first maximize preventing attacks, but also quickly detect and respond should a breach occur. As a security pioneer, Bitdefender has exceled for many years in providing organizations with solutions for all three critical capabilities." The ATT&CK Evaluations tested cybersecurity vendors for their ability to detect techniques and tactics of FIN7 and Carbanak, two well-known threat actors that have each demonstrated the ability to compromise financial service and hospitality organizations using advanced malware and stealth. Mapped against MITRE ATT&CK, a framework that has emerged as an industry gold standard for testing product effectiveness in detecting advanced adversaries, vendor participants were evaluated based on detection rates across 20 steps and 174 sub-steps in the framework's attack kill chain from initial compromise through final stage of payment data theft. Bitdefender results include: Highest number of detections -- Bitdefender GravityZone led the field of vendor solutions with the highest number of detections across all attack steps and sub-steps within the MITRE ATT&CK framework (a result of 10 more detections than the next closest solution and nearly 50 percent greater than the average number of detections for all vendors evaluaed).









-- Bitdefender GravityZone led the field of vendor solutions with the highest number of detections across all attack steps and sub-steps within the MITRE ATT&CK framework (a result of 10 more detections than the next closest solution and nearly 50 percent greater than the average number of detections for all vendors evaluaed). 100 percent visibility -- Achieved not only 100 percent visibility and context for the major attack steps, but also provided analytic context for 96 percent of the sub-steps detected by Bitdefender.





-- Achieved not only 100 percent visibility and context for the major attack steps, but also provided analytic context for 96 percent of the sub-steps detected by Bitdefender. Exceptional Linux protection -- Bitdefender detected 100 percent of attack techniques against Linux systems. "Independent tests are extremely valuable for organizations navigating a complex cybersecurity vendor landscape," said Steve Kelley, president and general manager of Bitdefender Business Solutions Group. "As attacks increase in both frequency and sophistication, in-depth frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK help guide decision-makers and technical evaluators since they are based on real-world cybersecurity scenarios that address not only the need for strong threat detection but other key challenges such as reducing alert fatigue and ensuring visibility across environments. We believe the MITRE ATT&CK results clearly demonstrate Bitdefender's value in these areas."

When considering all major MITRE ATT&CK 2021 test metrics (detection, analytics, telemetry, and visibility), Bitdefender provides a smart choice of platform and managed services to help organizations enhance cyber resilience with solutions that offer the highest rate of detection and actionable alerts. The company's achievement is the latest MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation where the company outperformed other vendors, previously having achieved a 100 percent detection rate of APT 29, one of the world's most formidable state-sponsored groups. Additionally, Bitdefender was recently recognized as a "Top Player" for endpoint security in the Radicati Market Quadrants for Endpoint Security, 2020 and earned a perfect score for threat prevention in AV Comparatives' Protection Test (Enhanced Real-World Test) for enterprise products. Read more information and full results of the MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations. About MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations

MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK evaluations are paid for by vendors and are intended to help vendors and end-users better understand a product's capabilities in relation to MITRE's publicly accessible ATT&CK framework. MITRE developed and maintains the ATT&CK knowledge base, which is based on real world reporting of adversary tactics and techniques. ATT&CK is freely available, and is widely used by defenders in industry and government to find gaps in visibility, defensive tools, and processes as they evaluate and select options to improve their network defense. MITRE Engenuity makes the methodology and resulting data publicly available so other organizations may benefit and conduct their own analysis and interpretation. The evaluations do not provide scores, ranks, or endorsements. About Bitdefender

Bitdefender is a cybersecurity leader delivering best-in-class threat prevention, detection, and response solutions worldwide. Guardian over millions of consumer, business, and government environments, Bitdefender is the industry's trusted expert* for eliminating threats, protecting privacy and data, and enabling cyber resiliency. With deep investments in research and development, Bitdefender Labs discovers 400 new threats each minute and validates 30 billion threat queries daily. The company has pioneered breakthrough innovations in antimalware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and artificial intelligence and its technology is licensed by more than 150 of the world's most recognized technology brands. Founded in 2001, Bitdefender has customers in 170 countries with offices around the world. For more information, visit https://www.bitdefender.com. *Bitdefender has ranked #1 in 54% of all tests by AV-Comparatives 2018-2021 for real-world protection, performance, malware protection & advanced threat protection. Contact:

Steve Fiore

Bitdefender

1-954-776-6262

sfiore@bitdefender.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bitdefender-achieves-highest-detection-score-in-mitre-attck-evaluations-for-enterprise-301275432.html SOURCE Bitdefender

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Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel / AP



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent his third congratulatory message to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel this week alone, expressing hope that relations between the two countries will "grow stronger," according to state media Thursday.



The latest message, delivered Tuesday to mark the Cuban leader's birthday, came after Kim already sent two congratulatory messages earlier this week on his recent election as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.



North Korea considers Cuba a traditional ally facing similar challenges from U.S.-led sanctions.



"The respected Comrade Kim Jong-un in the message offered the warmest congratulations and sincere comradely greetings to Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez on his birthday," the Korean Central News Agency said.



"The message also extended firm support and solidarity to the fraternal Cuban people who have achieved great successes in the struggle for victorious advance of the socialist cause, despite the vicious sanctions and blockade by the hostile forces," the KCNA added.



He expressed "conviction that the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two parties and peoples of the two countries established in the joint struggle for accomplishing the socialist cause would grow stronger in the future."



Kim also sent a floral basket to the Cuban leader through his ambassador in that country, according to the KCNA. His birthday message was also carried in the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party.

It is rare that Kim sends such congratulatory messages to a foreign leader multiple times in a week. This appears to be part of Pyongyang's efforts to maintain closer ties with its traditional socialist allies amid an impasse in nuclear negotiations with Washington.



At its party congress in January, North Korea said that it will strengthen solidarity with socialist countries. Last month, Kim sent several verbal messages to the leaders of China, Cuba, Vietnam and Laos. (Yonhap)


Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan has insisted a nonsense breach-of-bail offence sought by the Opposition did not really exist and did little to reduce crime, as his government passed a raft of sweeping changes to the states youth justice system.

A trial of tracking bracelets for 16- and 17-year-olds on bail for repeat offences and the police use of hand-held metal detectors to search for knives will now come into effect after the Queensland Parliament passed the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill on Thursday.

GPS tracking devices could increase vigilantism, the Queensland government has been warned.

The bill, which the Palaszczuk government announced as part of a crackdown on about 400 repeat offenders responsible for almost half of the states youth crime, will also create a presumption against bail for those charged with serious crimes, such as armed robbery and rape.

The LNP did not oppose the laws but had backed amendments to return breach of bail as an offence.
Japan share market finished session sharp higher on Thursday, 22 April 2021, as investors chased for bargain hunting after sharp losses during the previous two sessions and following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. However, concerns over Japan's plan to reintroduce coronavirus-related lockdown in major cities amid the continuing surge in coronavirus cases limiting the markets' upside.

At closing bell, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average surged 679.62 points, or 2.38%, to 29,188.17. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange spurted 32.32 points, or 1.82%, to 1,922.50.

Total 31 sub-indexes of the 33 sector sub-indexes on the Tokyo exchange traded higher, with Marine Transportation, Iron & Steel, Electric Appliances, Machinery, Precision Instruments, Pharmaceutical, and Chemicals issues being notable gainers.

Stocks bounced back as they fell too much during the previous two days and semiconductor issues supported the market" after U. S. and Dutch chip makers reported bullish earnings Wednesday.

Japan reported nationwide daily infections topped 5000 for the first time in three months. The Japanese government is considering issuing a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus for Tokyo and three western prefectures for a period from Sunday to May 11.

The government is expected to make a final decision on Friday on the emergency declaration set to cover Tokyo as well as Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures where coronavirus cases are surging. Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference that the government is considering details of the declaration, including its period. A government source said the emergency should be in place for about two weeks to implement restrictions intensively during the Golden Week holidays from late this month to early next month.

The major exporters were mostly higher, with Canon, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi Electric gained in-between 1% to 3%. Among the other major gainers, Mitsui OSK Lines and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha rose almost 5% each, while JFT Holdings and Olympus were up almost 4% each. Nippon Yusen, Sumco, Kikkoman, Nippon Steel, Rakuten, Chugai Pharmaceuticals and Terumo added more than 3% each.

SoftBank Group gained on following a news report that the investment and technology conglomerate reportedly plans to report record earnings next month, helped by an increase in the stock valuation of its tech-company investments.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Japanese yen traded at 107.96 per dollar, stronger than levels above 108.4 against the greenback seen earlier in the week

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Indonesia's Defense Ministry has deployed warship Rigel and mine-sweeper Rengat to search for the Nanggala-402 submarine which lost contact with the navy during a strategic weapons firing exercise in Bali Strait waters in the early hours of Wednesday, according to an official source.

"The Indonesian Navy has also sent distress to the International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison officer," said the Ministry's Public Relations Bureau in a press release.

So far, Singapore, Australian and Indian navies said they were ready to help, the bureau added.

The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 submarine was reportedly conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the resort island of Bali when losing contact early Wednesday.

It lost contact after requesting diving permission to fire the Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) Torpedo at 03:00 a.m. local time.

At the depth of about 700 meters, the submarine is feared to have sunk at about 60 miles off the northern coast of Bali Island, according to local media.

"Right after being given permission to dive, after being given the clearance, (the submarine) lost contact," Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto was quoted by Indonesia's daily newspaper Kompas as saying.

The ship contains 53 people, namely 49 crews, one commander, and three arsenal personnel.

At 07:00 a.m. local time, a helicopter involved in the search found an oil spill around the Nanggala-402 diving spot.
Jim Blau of Saginaw is using his new chance in life to better the lives of canines and pet owners in the region. Blau, formerly of Midland, recently opened his own business, Mid-Michigan K9 Academy in Saginaw.

Convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit assault with intent to commit murder in 1990, Blau was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. In 2012, he and a few other inmates in good standing were selected to participate in the Greyhound Inmate Experience (TGIE), a Michigan-based program that socializes and trains retired racing greyhounds. Blau explained that the greyhounds used in racing are only cared for if they win and are severely abused, even killed, if they lose.

It was a challenging program because they had a lot of fear and anxiety. The longer they were in those situations, the more messed up they would be, Blau stated.

Even though Blau had pets in the past, he had very little knowledge of how to train them. The dogs would spend 10 weeks in constant contact with the inmates, even sleeping in their cells. By the seventh or eighth week, Blau saw the dogs come out of their shells and begin to behave like normal pets. The hardest part was saying goodbye and the inmates would always ask the program coordinators for updates on how the greyhounds were settling in with their adoptive families.

It was a wonderful feeling knowing you could give this dog a new life, Blau said.

Blau participated in TGIE for two years, working with a total of 10 dogs. He also became part of Refurbished Pets of Southern Michigan which introduced him to canines of varying breeds and personal issues. Blau rose to the challenge, taking pride in his craft, learning about the different quirks of each dog and matching his training methods to fit each one.

Its fun to figure out the dog and outsmart them sometimes to change its behavior, Blau stated.

When Blau was released on parole last November, he discovered that beginning a new chapter of his life was going to be more difficult than planned. Although he studied and prepared for his future by earning a bachelors degree in business from Ohio University, no employers wanted to hire him.

When I got out, the white-collar world wasnt interested. I went through dozens of interviews and submitted hundreds of applications, Blau said.

Blau was determined not to take any assistance and to make it on his own. He began a dog training program as a side job to pay bills while he was looking for full-time work. Eventually he decided that his dog training business would work out better as it would allow him to meet more people and have a positive impact on their lives. On April 1 his dream became a reality when he officially opened the academy.

Building a successful business within five months of getting out of prison is the most gratifying thing I can imagine, Blau stated.

Blau offers two types of services at Mid-Michigan K9 Academy. The first program is a weeklong Board and Train, a doggie boot camp, where Blau works with just the dog to meet the specific lifestyle needs of the dog and its owner. During that week, Blau sends video updates to the owner and has posted a few on Facebook to help other owners that might be experiencing similar problems. The second option is six weeks of private, one-on-one lessons where the client is more involved and practices Blaus lessons at home.

After that six weeks, they should never need a dog trainer again, Blau said.

Both services are based on providing a balance of love and boundaries for the dog. Blau also focuses on creating a level of engagement between the dog and its owner, so the dog will pay more attention to the human instead of distractions. For Blau, the most rewarding aspect is gaining the trust of both the clients and their pets.

Fr. Rob Howe of Midland found Mid-Michigan K9 Academy when researching places to train his 2-year-old Lab mix who suffers from anxiety issues. Howe is currently going through the one-on-one sessions and is impressed with his dogs progress with Blau.

Its phenomenal. He has some good, solid techniques and my dogs been picking up on them pretty quickly, said Howe, who leads the Blessed Sacrament Parish Community.

In addition to covering basic commands such as sit and stay, in just one day, Blau got Howes dog to wait at his owners side instead of bolting out the door. Howe praised Blaus gentle way of handling his canine students.

I would trust my dogs with him, Howe said.

Blau believes he is living the American Dream and is thankful for the continued support of his clients as he expands his business.

Life doesnt always turn out the way you expect, but you have to be able to adapt and change and accept the blessings that God gives you, Blau said.

For more information about Mid-Michigan K9 Academy, visit mid-michigank9academy.com or call Blau at 989-395-5680.
SB 155 will uphold the rights of qualified organ transplant candidates who have a disability

ROCKVILLE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / The American Kidney Fund (AKF) applauds Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson for signing SB 155, also known as Lila's Law, into law. The law prohibits discrimination against potential organ transplant recipients based solely on their physical, developmental or intellectual disability.

AKF worked with bill sponsor Senator Breanne Davis (16th District) and is thankful for her commitment to end discriminatory practices that prevented Arkansans with disabilities from accessing lifesaving organ transplantation. Lila's Law will uphold and enforce rights established in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Discrimination for transplant candidates with disabilities can happen at any point during the transplant evaluation process, including when someone is first referred for evaluation at a transplant center and before they are listed as a candidate for transplant on the transplant waiting list.

"The American Kidney Fund believes that everyone who is qualified and healthy enough to receive an organ transplant should be able to access that treatment option-usually the best treatment option for people with kidney failure because it increases the chances of living a longer, healthier life," said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. "No one should be discriminated against because of their disability status when seeking an organ transplant. All patients who need to receive a kidney or other organ should have access to the same quality of treatment and care."

Lila's Law will ensure that a qualified individual's inability to independently comply with post-transplant medical requirements will not hinder their ability to access transplantation if they have the necessary support network to assist with compliance. Furthermore, this bill requires that health care providers make policies, practices and procedures accessible to qualified recipients with disabilities.

With an A grade on AKF's 2021 State of the States: Living Donor Protection Report Card, Arkansas is already a leader in the nation when it comes to making more organ transplants possible. AKF is grateful to Senator Davis and others in the Arkansas General Assembly for prioritizing transplant issues and providing protections for transplant recipients and living organ donors.

About Us

The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nation's leading kidney nonprofit. AKF works on behalf of the 37 million Americans living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease-from prevention through transplant. With programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy, no kidney organization impacts more lives than AKF. AKF is one of the nation's top-rated nonprofits, investing 97 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and holds the highest 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator and the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.

For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Contact:

Ben Shannon

11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852

Work: 202-559-2813

Mobile: 919-360-3039

AKF@jpa.com

KidneyFund.org

SOURCE: American Kidney Fund

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641789/American-Kidney-Fund-Commends-Arkansas-Governor-General-Assembly-for-Enacting-Lilas-Law
A Republican gubernatorial candidates appeal for public matching funds in the New Jerseys GOP primary  and a spot on the debate stage  was denied by election officials on Thursday.

Phil Rizzo, a Hoboken pastor, doesnt qualify because he missed the April 5 deadline on reporting campaign donations, as well as how those contributions would be spent, New Jerseys Election Law Enforcement Commission ruled in a 3-0 vote.

Candidates seeking matching funds were required to raise at least $490,000 and report to ELEC commitments on spending. Rizzos campaign filed its donations a day after the deadline and filings on how they planned to use the money trickled in over the next two weeks, ELEC Commissioner Stephen Holden said during a special meeting Thursday.

Rizzo had appealed ELECs original ruling that he didnt meet the requirements and was denied his appeal during the meeting. A campaign spokesperson didnt immediately respond to comment on whether Rizzos campaign planned to appeal to the courts.

We look to these issues as very important issues because the ability of candidates to run and the ability of elections to be fair and the ability of anybody who wants to be part of the process is essential, Holden said.

From D.C. to Trenton to your town, the N.J. Politics newsletter brings the news right to your inbox. Sign up with your email here:





Also essential has been the rules and regulations  to make sure that issues like contributions that are made and expenditures that are made meet a certain standard, he said. We have to be fair to the candidates that have complied with those statutes.

Former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and engineer Hirsh Singh both qualified for Republican primary matching funds earlier in the month. In addition to being eligible for two-for-one matching funds from the state, both candidates will have to square off in a pair of debates.

Ciattarelli is considered the partys favorite to clinch the nomination. Hes won support from GOP county organizations and has already focused his campaign on attacking Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

But hell have to first debate Singh, whos run several failed bids for elected office, which were mostly self-financed  including a 2017 gubernatorial attempt that included a $950,000 loan from his father.

Murphy, meanwhile, wont have to take the debate stage with any challengers in the primary after ELEC ruled two potential rivals failed to meet the criteria for matching funds.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Ma'Khia Bryant's military veteran neighbor has said his home security camera footage proves Columbus Police Officer Nicholas Reardon had no choice but to shoot the black 16-year-old because more people could have been killed if he hadn't acted.

Donavon Brinson told Fox News Thursday morning he believes Bryant could have fatally stabbed the young woman she was seen lunging at with a knife if the cop hadn't opened fire in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday afternoon.

'He could have either not fired and the young lady in pink could have been stabbed in the neck and brutally or fatally injured and then he could shot [Bryant] and we could have had two [young women] dead - or he could have responded in the way that he did and one young lady lost her life,' he said.

His comments come as a second neighbor said he believes police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode' and 'needed to be stopped' because a 'young lady's life was at stake'.

Reardon shot Bryant four times at around 4.45pm on Tuesday on the 3100 block of Legion Lane while responding to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing.

New footage has emerged from a security camera on the garage of Brinson's home across the street from the foster home where Bryant was staying and where the incident unfolded out front.

It captured a new angle of the shooting, giving a glimpse into the moments leading up to the fatal incident.

Home security footage has captured a new angle of the shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant as a neighbor said he believes more people could have been killed if the officer hadn't shot the 16-year-old black girl dead in Columbus, Ohio

The 26-second video shows the moments leading up to Tuesday's fatal incident as a girl - later identified as Bryant (pictured) - is seen walking down a driveway toward other people at the very same time that a police car pulls up outside the home

Neighbor Donavon Brinson (pictured) who handed the home security footage to police said, after viewing it, he believes more people could have died if the cop hadn't shot Bryant. The incident 'was violent and all just happened so fast', he said

The 26-second video shows a girl - now known to be Bryant - walking down a driveway toward other people at the very same moment that a police car pulls up outside the home.

Bryant then appears to suddenly charge at another person in the driveway. What happened next was caught on police body camera footage released Wednesday.

Questions continue to mount over the shooting and the events leading up to it, as cops released a 911 call thought to have been made by the 16-year-old minutes before she died, in which she asks the dispatcher to send a police officer 'now' as some girls are 'trying to stab us.'

Bryant's family say she made the 911 call after a group of other girls were threatening violence, but Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods told reporters 'we do not know yet' if it is the teen's voice on the call.

Columbus Police released three body camera videos in a press conference Wednesday as the cop who fired the four shots that killed the 16-year-old was identified.

Reardon had been on the force a little over a year, joining in December 2019 after serving in the Air National Guard as a military policeman.

In the bodycam footage, Bryant is seen holding a knife and charging at two other young women. She appeared to be lunging at the second woman with the knife when Reardon opened fire.

The killing of the black girl has sparked protests over police brutality and systematic racism, with Bryant's family, lawmakers and public figures questioning the use of force and saying her death was avoidable.

The teen's aunt Hazel Bryant said she was 'defending herself' from attack by the other women in the footage when she was shot while her mom's cousin asked why the officer did not de-escalate the situation instead of opening fire.

Several lawmakers have also slammed her death at the hands of law enforcement, with Rashida Tlaib hitting out that people trying to justify the shooting and 'strip away the fact that a child was killed.'

Bryant's killing came just minutes before white former cop Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd and as another Columbus cop is charged with murder for the December killing of another black man Andre Hill.

Military veteran Brinson told Fox News he believes Reardon was put in a 'bad spot' when he arrived on the scene and had just 'seconds' to respond with his 'best judgement'.

'He only had seconds to respond from my point of view,' he said.

New footage emerged from a security camera on the garage of Brinson's home across the street from the foster home where Bryant was staying. Bryant is seen walking down the driveway toward other people at the same time that a police car pulls up outside the home

Bryant appears to stop and stand still in the driveway facing some other young women before appearing to suddenly charge at one of the women as Officer Reardon nears the scene

Neighbor Ira Graham III (on right), said he believes the police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode' and 'needed to be stopped'

Hundreds of Ohio State students staged a sit-in at the union building and called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Police Department on Wednesday in the wake of the shooting

Demonstrators march through downtown Columbus on Wednesday night holding large signs reading 'All power to the people' in protest over Bryant's death

Columbus cop who fatally shot Ma'Khia Bryant, 16, is an expert marksman in the Air National Guard where he also serves as a military policeman The Columbus cop who fatally shot Ma'Khia Bryant is in the Air National Guard where he earned 'expert marksman' badge. Reardon, a graduate of Bishop Watterson Catholic school in Columbus, was a member of the school's wrestling team, Daily Beast reported. While he attended Air Force basic combat training, the school posted updates on his progress. The school indicated that Reardon graduated from basic combat training in August 2017 before attending the military's Security Forces Tech School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The Security Forces Academy teaches a 65-day course where students learn the basic functions of serving as military police. A photograph of Reardon in his uniform at the time indicated he completed training with a rank of Airman First Class. His alma mater's Twitter account said he earned the expert marksman badge for the M4A1 Carbine fully automatic assault rifle used by the military. Daily Beast also revealed that Reardon seems to be the son of retired police Sergeant Edward Reardon. The older Reardon worked with the Columbus Division of Police for 32 years and is also an Air Force veteran, according to the outlet. He served as the Columbus Police Academy's basic training sergeant. A Twitter account revealed in a post made in 2019 that Reardon's father was honored by an announcer during an Ohio State University football game. 'I am very proud of my friend Sgt. Ted Reardon who was recognized at today's Ohio State Football game. I have served with him in the USAF 1984-1987 nd @ColumbusPolice 1993-to present,' the account tweeted. 'May God bless him and his family!' The Columbus Police Department honored Edward Reardon when he retired last year in a tweet noting that he trained more than 700 recruits. 'Officers across Central Ohio will remember him for his [love] of Hallmark movies & his get in your face training,' the department tweeted. The department noted in a Facebook post at the time that 'one of his son's [sic] is currently a Columbus Police recruit.' The Columbus Dispatch noted that the younger Reardon joined the police department in December 2019. Advertisement

'Watching this unfortunately the whole scenario put [the officer] in a bad spot.'

The neighbor told the Columbus Dispatch he came to the conclusion that the cop had no choice but to shoot Bryant after he watched his home security footage of the altercation.

'It was violent and all just happened so fast,' he said.

The footage, which is from much further away than the bodycam footage released by police, shows a young woman dressed in pink and another dressed in dark clothing at the end of the driveway across the street next to a car.

A small group of people are also seen in the road and at least one person in dark clothing further up the driveway.

At this point, an individual in a light-colored top and dark pants is seen emerging from the home.

They appear to be lightly jogging at first before slowing to a walk as they come down the driveway.

This person is followed by Bryant who also walks down the driveway.

The young woman in pink and the person on the driveway are in front of them on the driveway.

Simultaneously, a police car is seen driving into view and pulling up by the side of the road.

An officer - now known to be Reardon - gets out of the vehicle and walks toward the group.

Bryant and the other person from the home appear to be standing still facing the other two people, while a few other people are stood around.

The woman in pink moves back toward the car in front of the driveway.

Bryant appears to suddenly charge at one of the women who then falls to the ground.

Reardon and the woman in pink rush toward the two women but Bryant moves away and then appears to push the woman in pink against the parked car.

It is not clear what led Bryant to charge at the girls at that point or what led to the altercation in the first place.

Brinson said he had witnessed the chaotic scene leading up to the shooting as he drove up to his driveway Tuesday afternoon.

He noticed a commotion going on outside the foster home across the street and initially thought 'it was just a girl fight,' he told the Dispatch.

Brinson said he wasn't concerned by what he saw at the time.

'They were calling each other the B-word, so I figured it was just a girl fight,' Brinson said.

He said the situation seemed to have escalated when he took his dog out soon after.

Brinson said he went inside and was in the home with his wife Rachel when the police arrived and they heard four gunshots.

He recounted his wife hitting the floor while he looked out the window of his laundry room and saw Bryant lying on the ground dying.

It was only when he watched his home security footage, which has been handed over to police, that he said he thought more people might have died had the officer not taken action.

He said neither he nor his father, who lived in the property for 14 years before he moved in in December, had seen anything like that happen before.

The woman who ran the foster home has taken in many children over the years and he does not know of any violent incidents prior to this, he said.

Officer Nicholas Reardon is seen standing on the scene after shooting and killing Bryant. He has been on the force since December 2019

The Columbus cop who fatally shot Ma'Khia Bryant has been identified as a member of the Air National Guard. Nicholas Reardon reportedly received the 'expert marksman' badge while in training

She told the Dispatch she was at work when the incident happened and did not want to comment.

The deadly shooting has divided opinion in the neighborhood and further afield with neighbor Ira Graham III, who has lived in the area for 19 years, telling the Dispatch he believes the police bodycam footage shows Bryant was in 'full attack mode.'

'I believe in truth and facts. Video doesn't lie. She was in full attack mode,' he said.

Bryant 'was literally aiming a knife at this young lady,' Graham said of the female in pink.

'She needed to be stopped at that point. That young lady's life was at stake.'

But Bryant's family have questioned why the officer did not try to de-escalate the situation and believe her death could have been avoided.

Don Bryant, a cousin of Bryant's mother, told NBC: 'I know there are de-escalation tactics that could have been used. You killed a teenage girl. That could have been avoided.

'I'm seriously asking the Columbus Police Department: What's going on? I'm a supporter of our police, but what's going on here? What's going on that we have to be so trigger-happy these days?

'And here's what I don't want... is this whole Blue Lives versus Black Lives Matter issue. Listen here, there's been a loss of life, bottom line, and you have a grieving mother who is just heartbroken.'

Columbus police on Wednesday released additional body camera video showing 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant lunging at another young woman with a knife before she is fatally shot by a police officer. One of the alleged victims is seen sitting on the ground as Bryant is shot

Officer Nicholas Reardon (blurred left) is seen holding his gun after shooting Bryant as people at the scene screamed at him

A second video from a responding officer showed people running off after the shooting

Bryant' family released a statement Thursday saying they were 'saddened by the tragic and unnecessary death of Ma'Khia' as they paid tribute to her as a 'good student, good person.'

'Ma'Khia was a good student, a good person, and did not deserve what happened to her. We want to remind everyone Ma'Khia was only a 16 year old teenage girl. We are deeply disturbed by the disproportionate and unjustified use of force in this situation,' the statement read.

'And while we remain encouraged by public support and all of the prayers shared with us; at the end of the day, we know nothing will bring back our beloved Ma'Khia. We respectfully request justice for Ma'Khia Bryant.'

Another neighbor agreed with the family, telling the Dispatch she didn't know why the cop who shot Bryant didn't use a taser instead of firing four bullets at her.

Kayla Cobb said she left flowers at the scene 'because she was a baby.'

Questions around the use of a firearm instead of a taser come as the family of Daunte Wright hold his funeral in Minneapolis Thursday.

The 20-year-old black man was shot dead by Police Officer Kimberly Potter on April 11 when she allegedly fired her gun instead of her taser.

Another local resident Tommy Taylor added to the Dispatch that Reardon 'should have told her to put down the knife.'

Interim Columbus Chief of Police Michael Woods released bodycam footage from three officers on the scene Wednesday as well as two 911 calls made minutes before the shooting.

In one 911 call, a young woman is heard frantically asking the dispatcher to send police to the address because people are 'trying to stab us.'

Bryant's family have said it was the 16-year-od herself who made the call.

Shouting and a commotion can be heard in the background throughout the call as the dispatcher repeatedly asks 'what's going on' and if the caller has seen any weapons.

The video also showed another officer arriving to the scene and preparing to render aid to Bryant who was sprawled out on the cement

As the officer tried to help Bryant, she is heard gasping for breath. The officer is seen trying to find the entry wounds of the bullets when the video ends

A third video shows the view from Reardon's body camera. He's seen arriving on the scene of the fight at 4.44pm on Tuesday, and encountering several people fighting outside (pictured)

A slowed-down version of the video from the body camera of the officer who shot Bryant shows the teen holding a knife in her right hand and raising it toward a woman in a neon track suit. Moments later, four gunshots ring out

The caller begins by giving the address before she stops speaking and inaudible shouting is heard in the background.

'What's going on?' asks the dispatcher.

The woman appears to say 'come up here' but the audio is not clear.

'We got girls out here [inaudible]... trying to fight us and trying to stab us, trying to put their hands on our grandma... [inaudible],' she says.

'Can you see any weapons?' the dispatcher asks, repeating: 'Ma'am do you see any weapons?'

The caller does not respond.

'We need a police officer over here now. We need a crisis officer over here now,' she says, before the line goes dead.

The call was made at 4:32 pm - around 15 minutes before Bryant was shot at 4:45 pm.

Another call was made by a different woman minutes later but the caller says the police are already arriving and hangs up.

Bryant's family told WBNS-TV that Bryant was the one who called the police for help, saying people were fighting outside her house.

The victim of the police shooting was identified by her mother as Ma'Khia Bryant on Facebook

Speaking to 10TV through tears, Paula Bryant said her daughter had called the police for protection and did not expect to be shot dead.

'This never should have happened,' she said. 'She's a loving girl.'

When asked Wednesday if the first 911 call was made by Bryant, Police Chief Woods said 'we do not know that' and that investigators are 'interviewing all the witnesses to determine who made those phone calls.'

He said no other 911 calls were made over the incident besides the two released Wednesday.

Police released three body camera recordings of the incident.

In one of the horrifying videos, a girl who Bryant allegedly tried to stab is seen getting off the ground as gun shots go off.

'I didn't do anything! She was trying to stab me!' the girl is heard screaming as other officers walked over to Bryant.

A second video from a responding officer showed him preparing to render aid to Bryant who was sprawled out on the cement.

As the officer tried to help Bryant, she is heard gasping for breath.

The officer is seen trying to find the entry wounds of the bullets as Bryant lies on the ground in a pool of blood.

A third video shows the view from Reardon's body camera. He's seen arriving on the scene of the fight at 4.44pm on Tuesday, and encountering several people fighting outside.

One of them, Bryant, is seen in the video swinging a knife at a young woman in shorts, who falls to the ground.

Questions continue to mount over the shooting and the events leading up to it, as cops released a 911 call Wednesday thought to have been made by the 16-year-old minutes before she died, in which she asks the dispatcher to send a police officer 'now'

The teen's aunt Hazel Bryant said she was 'defending herself' from attack by the other women in the footage when she was shot. Pictured Bryant

A slowed-down version of the video shows Bryant then turning her attention toward another woman in a neon tracksuit and pinning her against a parked car.

Officer Reardon pulls out his gun and repeatedly shouts: 'Get down! Get down!'

As Bryant raises her right hand clutching the knife and directs it at the woman in the tracksuit, who cowers to defend herself from the blow, Reardon fires four shots and Bryant collapses to the ground.

'You shot my baby!' a man cries out.

Faced with growing outrage from witnesses, Reardon says: 'She had a knife. She just went at her.'

The man who called Bryant his 'baby' screams at the cop: 'She's a f**king kid, man. Are you stupid?'

The police footage revealed a knife on the ground next to Bryant.

Bryant was rushed to Mount Carmel East Hospital, where she died from her injuries around 5:21pm.

'We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community,' Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told reporters during Wednesday's press conference.

Police initially released portions of Reardon's body camera video within hours of the shooting in an attempt to ease tensions as Black Lives Matter protesters gathered at the scene.

Authorities said they responded to a stabbing call at around 4.30pm. The shots fired call was made just 15 minutes later.

A Black Lives Matter activist holds a sign against passivity in reaction to the police shooting of MaKhia Bryant on Wednesday

The protesters marched behind signs which read 'the whole damn system is guilty as hell' on the streets of Columbus

The demonstrators were seen protesting down a street in Columbus holding signs that read ' Black Lives Matter ' and 'Power to the People'

More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant

A witness said Bryant got into an altercation with another resident of the home and was armed with the knife to defend herself when police arrived.

The shooting happened about 25 minutes before a judge read the verdict convicting former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the killing of Floyd.

More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio, for another night Wednesday to demonstrate against Bryant's death.

Protesters chanted 'Say her name. Ma'Khia Bryant' and held up signs reading 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Power to the People' as they marched through the street in Columbus.

Protests and a vigil also occurred earlier on Wednesday with groups gathering to march and pray for the Bryant family.

Hundreds of Ohio State students also staged a sit-in at the union building and called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Police Department in the wake of the shooting.

Many politicians and public figures have also condemned her shooting, which marks the latest in a long line of police killings of black people across America.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and said that Bryant's death shows police violence 'disproportionately impacts black and Latino people'

'The killing of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant by the Columbus police is tragic,' the White House press secretary said. 'She was a child.'

'We're thinking of her friends and family in the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss,' Psaki continued.

Protesters marched on the streets with signs reading 'say their names' and 'Black Lives Matter' as they joined hundreds in the demonstrations

Demonstrators take part in a protest in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night

The students sat on the floor of the Ohio Union and held signs saying 'stop killing us' to protest against the latest shooting

Bryant's shooting took place just months after another Columbus police officer shot dead Andre Hill in December

'We know that police violence disproportionately impacts black and Latino people in communities and that black women and girls, like black men and boys experience higher rates of police violence,' she added.

Psaki noted that Bryant's death came at a time when 'America was hopeful of a step forward after the traumatic and exhausting trial of Derek Chauvin and the verdict that was reached,' Psaki said.

'So our focus is on working to address systemic racism and implicit bias head on and, of course to passing laws and legislation that will put much needed reforms into place in police departments around the country,' the press secretary added.

Congresswoman Cori Bush slammed her killing saying she was a '16-year-old baby' as she called on police to 'stop killing us.'

'Ma'Khia Bryant was a 16-year-old baby. She was shot and killed by police yesterday,' Bush tweeted Wednesday, adding that it was proof that Chauvin's conviction has not brought justice to black people across the US.

'This is why no single verdict can deliver justice. Convictions don't save lives. Convictions don't end violent policing. Stop killing us and our babies. Stop,' she added.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted Thursday that it was 'maddening' that people were trying to justify the death of a child.

'Ma'Khia's TikTok videos show her childhood and joy,' the Michigan Democrat wrote.

'Her smile at the end of the videos just breaks me a little more. It's been maddening to see so many people strip away the fact that a child was killed.'

She added: 'We cannot be a society that justifies the killing of a child.'

NBA star Lebron James tweeted a post Wednesday picturing the officer and writing 'You're next. #ACCOUNTABILITY' - in a reference to the 'accountability' of Chauvin who was convicted for Floyd's murder that day.

In response to Bryant's death, James tweeted: 'You're next. #ACCOUNTABILITY'

On Wednesday evening, James responded to the backlash in two separate tweets. 'I'm so d*mn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate,' he wrote

Rep. Rashida Tlaib tweeted Thursday that it was 'maddening' that people were trying to justify the death of a child

He later deleted the tweet because it was 'being used to create more hate', after he was accused of inciting violence against police.

In a tweet that evening, James responded to the backlash and explained why he actually deleted the tweet.

'I'm so d*mn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn't about one officer. it's about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY,' he wrote.

In a separate tweet, he added: 'ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!'

The police shooting of Bryant took place less than five miles from where the funeral for Andre Hill, who was killed by another Columbus police officer in December, was held earlier this year.

The officer in Hill's case, Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, is now facing trial for murder, with the next hearing scheduled for April 28.

Less than three weeks before Hill was killed, a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr in Columbus. The case remains under federal investigation.

Last week, Columbus police shot and killed a man who was in a hospital emergency room with a gun on him. Officials are continuing an investigation into that shooting.
On the face of it, Heineken delivered a disappointing set of first-quarter results this week. In its major market, Europe, beer volumes dropped by 10% as on-premise performance cratered because of the coronavirus lockdown. In the UK, for example, on-premise volumes (and presumably sales, although Heineken doesnt disclose them in Q1 and Q3) dropped to near-zero.

For investors, however, the gloom in Europe didnt outweigh the shoots of growth witnessed elsewhere, and Heinekens share price today reached its highest point since February last year, before COVID-19 irrevocably changed the beer industry. A key takeaway from Q1 was that Heinekens volumes in Asia-Pacific were up 5% as markets such as China returned to normal. In Vietnam, which is fast becoming an increasingly important beer market, volumes jumped by mid-teens on the back of growth for the 4%-abv Heineken Silver.

Most importantly for investors, the results  including those in Europe  were not as bad as expected. After all, Heineken was the multinational brewer most affected by the coronavirus-impacted 2020 because of its exposure to Europe, and Q1 could have been so much worse.

Societe Generales Toby McCullagh called the results a welcome beat as Heinekens overall flat volumes topped a pre-release consensus prediction of a 5% drop. Even the Western Europe drag was softer than expected, McCullagh added, while Mexico, where Heineken in 2019 lost an exclusivity deal with the OXXO convenience store chain, proved resilient with a low-single-digit volumes rise. South Africa surprised positively and noises out of China continue to be reassuring, McCullagh continued.

The analyst warned, however, that Heineken still has much work to do to claw its way out of the struggles of last year and get back on track through EverGreen, its cost-cutting programme that has already accounted for heavy job cuts.



On a more positive note, Bernstein analyst Trevor Stirling said EverGreen will be part of a triple-whammy bounce on Heinekens bottom line this year as the programmes savings combine with improved volumes and better price/mix to accelerate the year. The brewer will also have the luxury of knowing that whatever happens in this years Q2 and Q4, it wont be anywhere near as bad as last year.

This remains a strong recovery play layered on top of a high-quality growth story, Stirling said.

For Barclays analyst Laurence Whyatt, Heinekens more positive year is set to be tempered by a fight with rival Anheuser-Busch in Latin America. Both brewers are adding capacity in the regions major markets, but A-B InBev seems to be having the better luck so far. In Brazil, Heinekens Q1 volumes dropped by mid-single digits compared to A-B InBev delivering 10% volumes growth in January and February. Meanwhile, although the loss of the OXXO deal doesnt appear to have harmed Heineken in Mexico yet, A-B InBev is, according to Whyatt, continuing to ramp up its footprint in the retail chain, adding its beers to about a third more stores since last year.

Expect a fight in LatAm, Whyatt warns. As the new breweries come online, Latin America may well play host to one of the more intriguing battles in global beer for decades.

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The battle for beer dominance in Vietnam  market data
When masks are needed outdoors

If you stop to have an extended conversation with someone who isnt vaccinated, masks are recommended. Even outdoors, your risk of breathing someone elses air increases the longer and closer you stand to them. One of the few documented cases of outdoor transmission happened in China early in the pandemic, when a 27-year-old man stopped to chat outside with a friend who had just returned from Wuhan, where the virus originated. Seven days later, he had his first symptoms of Covid-19.

And masks are still advised for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated if you find yourself in an outdoor crowd, according to the new C.D.C. guidelines. Standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers during an outdoor concert or a protest could increase risk, particularly for the unvaccinated.

Recently while hiking without a mask, Dr. Marr said she still made an effort to keep her distance from large groups when the trail got crowded.

If I was passing by a solo hiker it didnt concern me, said Dr. Marr. But if I passed by a group of 10 hikers in a row, I stepped further off the path. The risk is still low, but at some point there could be a large enough pack of people that the risk could become appreciable.

When outdoor risk is lowest

Walking your dog, riding a bike, hiking on a trail or picnicking with members of your household or vaccinated friends are all activities where the risk for virus exposure is negligible. The new C.D.C. guidelines say that both vaccinated and unvaccinated people dont need to mask up in these kinds of situations. But you should keep a mask on hand in your pocket, in case you find yourself in a crowd or need to go indoors.

I think its a bit too much to ask people to put the mask on when they go out for a walk or jogging or cycling, said Dr. Muge Cevik, a clinical lecturer of infectious disease and medical virology at the University of St. Andrews School of Medicine in Scotland, where outdoor masking has never been required. Were in a different stage of the pandemic. I think outdoor masks should not have been mandated at all. Its not where the infection and transmission occurs.

Let me go for my run, maskless. Mask in pocket, tweeted Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious diseases physician and the medical director of the special pathogens unit at Boston Medical Center. Given how conservative I have been on my opinions all year, this should tell you how low risk is, in general, for outdoors transmission for contact over short periods  and lower still after vaccination. Keep the masks on you for when you are stationary in a crowd and headed indoors.

To understand just how low the risk of outdoor transmission is, researchers in Italy used mathematical models to calculate the amount of time it would take for a person to become infected outdoors in Milan. They imagined a grim scenario in which 10 percent of the population was infected with the coronavirus. Their calculations showed that if a person avoided crowds, it would take, on average, 31.5 days of continuous outdoor exposure to inhale a dose of virus sufficient to transmit infection.

The results are that this risk is negligible in outdoor air if crowds and direct contact among people are avoided, said Daniele Contini, senior author of the study and an aerosol scientist at the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate in Lecce, Italy.

Even as more-infectious virus variants circulate, the physics of viral transmission outdoors havent changed, and the risk of getting infected outdoors is still low, say virus experts. Pay attention to the rates of infection in your community. If case counts are surging, your risk of encountering an infected person goes up.

When outdoor fun moves indoors

Dr. Cevik notes that debates about outdoor masking and articles showing photos of crowded beaches during the pandemic have left people with the wrong impression that parks and beaches are unsafe, and distracted from the much higher risks of indoor transmission. Often its the indoor activities associated with outdoor fun  like traveling unmasked in a subway or car to go hiking, or dropping into a pub after spending time at the beach  that pose the highest risk. People hold barbecues outdoors, but then they spend time indoors chatting in the kitchen, said Dr. Cevik.

As more people get vaccinated, decisions about going maskless outdoors will get easier. The C.D.C. guidelines were further relaxed for immunized people: They can take their masks off when they attend small outdoor gatherings with people who havent gotten their shots, and when they dine at a restaurant outside with people from multiple households.The C.D.C. still advises everyone, both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, to wear masks for indoor activities. While no vaccine offers 100 percent protection, the rate of breakthrough infections so far has been exceedingly low. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported just 5,800 cases of breakthrough infections among 75 million vaccinated people. And the C.D.C. has said vaccinated friends and family members can safely spend time together, indoors and outdoors, without masks.

But its OK to keep wearing your mask outdoors if you prefer it. After a year of taking pandemic precautions, it may be hard for people to adjust to less restrictive behaviors. Sarit A. Golub, a psychology professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York, said its important for both the media and public health officials to communicate the reasons people can modify some behaviors, like outdoor masking.

In the coming months, normal life will begin to become safer, but I worry that some people wont be willing or able to relax pandemic restrictions in ways that makes sense, Dr. Golub said. I worry that folks have internalized the fear messaging without understanding the reasons behind specific behavioral recommendations, and therefore, the reasons that they can be modified as circumstances change.

Gregg Gonsalves, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, said he recently was with a group of parents, including many vaccinated physicians, who met in a New Haven park to celebrate a childs first birthday. Were all just standing around, everybody was masked, and then we started asking, Whens the time we can be outside and take off our masks? Dr. Gonsalves said. If people are vaccinated and youre outdoors, masks are probably superfluous at this point.

But Dr. Gonsalves said he understands why some people may be reluctant to give up their masks outdoors. Some of this is Covid hangover, he said. Weve been so traumatized by all of this. I think we need to have a little bit of compassion for the people having trouble letting go.

Illustrations by Eden Weingart
The government on



Thursday decided to purchase 1 crore doses of Covishield vaccine at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

"The Chief Minister has approved the purchase of 1 crore doses of Covishield vaccine at a cost of Rs 400 crores, in the first phase.This will be used for vaccination of persons between 18 to 44 years," his office said in a statement.

Pune-based (SII) is the manufacturer of Covishield vaccine.

The central government had recently announced that vaccination for those above 18 years will begin across the country from May 1 as part of the third phase of the inoculation drive.

With government giving manufacturers and importers pricing freedom, SII has said that Covishield vaccine will be priced at Rs 400 per dose for state governments and Rs 600 for private hospitals.

Yediyurappa, on getting discharged from hospital earlier today, where he was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 for the last six days, said the pandemic situation had become "uncontrollable".

He chaired a meeting of Bengaluru ministers this evening to assess the situation in the city.

At the meeting, Health Minister K Sudhakar informed that the issue of shortage in oxygen supply and medicine in the city has been resolved, a CMO release said.

He also clarified that there was no shortage of vaccines, it said.

It was also decided at the meeting to strengthen fever clinics in the city, test those with fever and other symptoms, and to give them appropriate guidance, so that only those in need can be hospitalised.

The Chief Minister gave instructions to strengthen the helpline, aimed at immediately responding to issues faced by the people.

He also issued directions on giving priority to provide treatment and teleconsultation for those in home isolation and to keep vigil on them.

It was also directed to ensure that private hospitals reserve beds for COVID patients and Deputy Commissioner of Police for respective zones were instructed to visit hospitals in this regard.

Nodal officers have been made responsible for COVID management in their respective zones.

The Chief Minister also asked officials to take up morale-boosting measures among healthcare staff.

It was also decided to make necessary alternative arrangements for keeping bodies at crematoriums, as queuing of ambulances carrying them at crematoriums for hours has resulted in their shortage.

Help of volunteers for COVID management, wherever required, will be taken, according to the release.

(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.)
All EU member states ended 2020 with a government deficit, but the highest values were registered in Spain (11% of GDP), Malta (10.1% of GDP), Greece (9.7% of GDP), Italy (9.5% of GDP), Belgium (9.4% of GDP), France and Germany (both with a deficit of 9.2% of GDP), according to the preliminary data published on Thursday by Eurostat.

According to these numbers, based on the ESA methodology, Denmark was the only EU member country that had a government deficit lower than the 3% limit of the GDP, as provided for in the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).

At the level of the European Union, the government deficit has sky rocketed, to 6.9% of GDP in 2020, from a deficit of 0.5% of the GDP in 2019, while in the Euro zone there was a growth from 0.6% of the GDP to 7.2% of the GDP.

In Romania's case, the Eurostat data shows that the government deficit has doubled, rising from 46.243 billion RON (or 4.4% of the GDP) in 2019, to 97.632 billion RON (9.2% of the GDP) in 2020. This occurred a time when government spending increased from 36.2% of the GDP to 42.4% of the GDP, while income rose from 33.18% of the GDP to 33.1% of the GDP.

Furthermore, in 2020, when compared with 2019, there was a significant increase of government debt, from 77.5% of the GDP to 90.7% of the GDP in the case of the European Union and for the Euro Zone, from 83.9% of the GDP to 98% of the GDP. Half of the EU countries (14 out of 27 member states) had a government debt higher than 60% of the GPD, last year.

Regarding Romania, government debt went up from 373.497 billion RON, or 35.3% of the GDP, in 2019, to up to 499.153 billion RON, or 47.3% of the GDP, in 2020.

In the press release Eurostat highlights that it did not make any changes to the data sent by the member countries.
New Delhi, April 22 : Twitter on Thursday announced to appoint Yu Sasamoto as Vice President for Japan, South Korea and Asia Pacific (JAPAC) region from May 1.

Yu will succeed Maya Hari, who has been promoted to a global role as Twitter's Vice President of Global Strategy and Operations (GSO).

"I'm looking forward to bringing more people, communities, brands and partners to Twitter as we build on the incredible business momentum from Maya's leadership across the region," said Yu Sasamoto, VP of Japan and Asia Pacific, Twitter.

Yu has led Twitter Japan and South Korea for the past seven years and will now be responsible for Twitter's advertising business across the JAPAC region, including Australia, Greater China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

Hari will now lead a global team focused on customers and revenue product strategy, operations, innovation and automation to enable commercial and content partnerships efforts around the world.

"In my new role, I am excited to work with Yu and our other international leaders to grow our businesses around the world and find new opportunities for Twitter to serve the global public conversation," said Hari.

Prior to joining Twitter in 2014, Maya spent over 15 years in the digital media, mobile and eCommerce industries across the US and in Asia Pacific for brands such as Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Cisco.

Twitter on Tuesday announced to appoint Apurva Dalal as Director of Engineering in India, as the micro-blogging platform expands its engineering team in the country, a priority market and one of its fastest growing markets globally.
Scott Distler: Finding a way out of 'the cave'
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTHI) - Teacher groups across the state and the Wabash Valley are celebrating an education-funding increase. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb and state leaders just released the state's budget plan. Nearly $2 billion dollars will go toward improving education statewide and supporting teachers.

"Our two-year budget is a historic win for students, teachers, and families," Todd Huston, the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, said.

This is a record investment in education for the state. With this new budget plan in place, this is allowing for more Hoosiers to achieve valuable education opportunities.

"Education is the foundation of everything," Tonya Pfaff, Indiana House of Representatives member representing District 43, said. "The more people who are educated, the better jobs they can get and the better quality of life they have. I am a big advocate for education and I am so excited that the state is really putting some money into it."

Pfaff is not only a state representative, but she is also a high school math teacher at Terre Haute North Vigo High School. She says this is a big step toward investing more in local communities.

"We have money so we can finally take that extra step and really invest it in our children and education," she said. "I personally am really excited about it. I hope, at the very least, it attracts more people into education."

Additionally, state leaders are also placing a priority on teacher salaries. There's a new recommendation for schools across the state to have first-year teacher salaries start at $40,000. This is another step toward addressing the teacher shortage in Indiana.

"The state is finally investing in teacher salaries," Pfaff said. "For all those teachers out there, I think it's finally going to happen."

With the new budget in place, teachers say this will help the education system grow stronger for many more years to come.

"I find in education when you are putting more money into our education building, into our teachers, we become more creative, we don't have to worry about getting a second job, and we can really focus on what's important, which is students," she said. "I think it's a win-win for everyone."

We also reached out to the Vigo County Teachers Association's president, Heidi McDonald. She agrees with Pfaff and says this is great news for students and educators across the state.

"The increase in student funding will allow schools to provide more resources to our students and staff," McDonald said.

The new budget plan is up for final approval from lawmakers and is expected to be complete by tomorrow. To learn more about the proposed budget, the full report is linked here.
Indian passengers hang onto a train as it departs from a station on the outskirts of New Delhi on Feb. 28, 2017. According to a new report, India is going to double its contribution to the global GDP by 2040. (Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Pacton Gold Inc. (TSXV:PAC)(OTC PINK:PACXF)(FSE:2NKN) (the "Company" or "Pacton") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to vend the remaining 25% interest it holds in three of its properties within its Western Australian Pilbara portfolio. The Company has entered into an asset sale agreement (the "Agreement") with Pilbara Gold Corporation Pty Ltd ("PGC") and Raiden Resources Limited, whereby PGC agrees to purchase 25% of the Arrow, Yandicoogina and Boodalyerrie gold properties (the "Properties") (Figure 1).

Raiden Resources Limited, an Australian Stock Exchange listed company (ASX: RDN) ("Raiden"), recently acquired all the issued shares of PGC. Raiden will assume the consideration under the Agreement on behalf of PGC as the parent entity.

The Company completed the sale of a 75% interest in the Properties to the same parties in February 2021 (see Pacton news releases dated October 13, 2020 and February 16, 2021).

Consideration under the Agreement is as follows:

payment of A$200,000 to Pacton; and

issuance to Pacton of fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of Raiden valued at A$1,000,000, based on the volume weighted average price of Raiden's shares over 20 consecutive trading days from execution of the Agreement.

Nav Dhaliwal, Pacton's interim CEO commented, "As part of our increasing focus on our active projects in the Red Lake gold rush in Ontario, we have agreed to divest some of our Western Australia gold projects. As a substantial shareholder of Raiden Resources - the purchaser - Pacton will retain an indirect interest in all three projects, and we wish Raiden's team every success as they explore and advance these highly prospective properties."



Figure 1. Pacton Gold's Western Australia tenements highlighting the Arrow, Yandicoogina and Boodalyerrie properties.

About Pacton Gold

Pacton Gold is a Canadian exploration company with key strategic partners focused on the exploration and development of high-grade conglomerate and orogenic gold properties located in the district-scale Pilbara gold rush in Western Australia and the Red Lake District, Ontario.

About Raiden Resources

Raiden Resources Limited (ASX: RDN) is an ASX/DAX listed gold-copper focused exploration Company focused on the emerging prolific Tethyan metallogenic belt in Eastern Europe and has established a significant exploration footprint in Serbia and Bulgaria, and most recently in Western Australia.

On Behalf of the Board of Pacton Gold Inc.

Nav Dhaliwal

Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

For more information, please contact 1-(855)-584-0258 or info@pactongold.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange nor their Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain or refer to forward-looking information based on current expectations, including, but not limited to the Company achieving success in exploring its properties and the impact on the Company of these events, including the effect on its share price. Forward-looking information is subject to significant risks and uncertainties, as actual results may differ materially from forecasted results. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances.

Adjacent Properties Disclaimer

Under National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), results, information and mineralization from adjacent properties cannot be assured to or necessarily indicate it occurs on the Company's property. Where adjacent property information is mentioned, the reader is cautioned to distinguish information from an adjacent property and the Company's and that there is no implication the Company will obtain similar information from its own property. Adjacent property information herein is obtained from publicly available sources including the adjacent property owners' websites and/or the media.

SOURCE: Pacton Gold

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641832/Pacton-Vends-Remaining-25-in-Certain-Pilbara-Properties
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Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia joined tens of thousands of Russians at protests calling for the opposition leader's release on Wednesday, as police arrested more than 1,700 demonstrators.

Protests were organised by allies of the hunger-striking Kremlin critic over his failing health in jail.

His spokeswoman was jailed for 10 days, and another close ally detained, on Wednesday, the same day that President Vladimir Putin delivered a state-of-the-nation speech in which he told the West not to cross Russia's 'red lines' and pointedly made no mention of Navalny.

The US and France have warned Russia over consequences if Navalny is allowed to die in custody.

France's foreign minister told Russia on Thursday that the European Union would hold President Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities directly responsible if hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died and it would impose new sanctions

Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia joined tens of thousands of Russians at protests calling for the opposition leader's release on Wednesday, as police arrested more than 1,700 demonstrators

Navalny's wife Yulia joined the rally in the capital, where demonstrators chanted her name. Protests were organised by allies of the hunger-striking Kremlin critic over his failing health jail

Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets all across the country in a rare show of defiance to long-standing President Vladimir Putin

Supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny attend an unsanctioned rally calling for his release in Tverskaya Street, Moscow

The protests came after doctors warned Navalny's health was deteriorating after he went on hunger strike three weeks ago, on March 31

There are concerns Navalny is close to kidney failure or cardiac arrest as a result of his hunger strike, but doctors have been refused access to assess him (pictured, protesters rally in Kaliningrad)

Tens of thousands of Russian protesters called for Navalny's release on Wednesday night. France's foreign minister also told Russia on Thursday that the European Union would hold President Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities directly responsible if hunger-striking Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died while in custody

Police said 6,000 people protested illegally in Moscow, while Navalny's YouTube channel said turnout in the capital was up to 10 times higher

'This is one of the last gasps of a free Russia, as many are saying. We came out for Alexei ... against a war in Ukraine and the wild propaganda,' said Marina, a student at the Moscow protest.

OVD-Info, a group that monitors protests and detentions, said 1,782 people had been arrested, including 804 in St. Petersburg and 119 in the Urals city of Ufa.

Protesters in central Moscow chanted, 'Freedom to Navalny!' and 'Let the doctors in!'. Navalny's wife Yulia joined the rally in the capital, where demonstrators chanted her name.

The opposition had hoped the rallies would be the biggest in modern Russian history, and presented them as an attempt to save Navalny's life by persuading the authorities to allow his own doctors to treat him.

But turnout looked smaller than during protests earlier this year before Navalny was jailed for 2-1/2 years for parole violations related to what he said were politically motivated charges of embezzlement.

Police said 6,000 people protested illegally in Moscow, while Navalny's YouTube channel said turnout in the capital was up to 10 times higher.

Alexey Venediktov, a veteran journalist and head of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, said 10,000-15,000 people had rallied in Moscow and 7,000-9,000 in St Petersburg.

Navalny's wife Yulia attended Wednesday's protests, but turnout looked smaller than during demonstrationsearlier this year before Navalny was jailed for 2-1/2 years for parole violations related to what he said were politically motivated charges of embezzlement

A young man shouts his support for Navalny with hundreds of other demonstrators at a rally in Moscow on Wednesday

Protesters walked through the centre of Saint Petersburg during a demonstration in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Heavily-armoured police officer wielding batons drag two protesters from the crowd in St Petersburg on Wednesday

The opposition had hoped the rallies would be the biggest in modern Russian history, and presented them as an attempt to save Navalny's life by persuading the authorities to allow his own doctors to treat him

OVD-Info, a group that monitors protests and detentions, said 1,782 people had been arrested, including 804 in St. Petersburg and 119 in the Urals city of Ufa

Police stood guard as protesters turned on their phone flashlights as a show of defiance during a pro-Navalny rally in Moscow

Thousands of demonstrators flood through the streets of St Petersburg on Wednesday as another protest took place in Moscow

Thousands of protesters gathered in central Moscow called for opposition leader Alexei Navalny to receive proper medical care

Riot police were deployed to contain protests in cities across the country last night to quell the unrest (pictured, officers block a street during a rally in Moscow)

Riot police remove a protester from demonstrations against the detention of Navalny in St Petersburg last night

Thousands are seen in central Moscow last night to show solidarity with jailed opposition leader Navalny, despite the risk of arrest

A protester is seen being bundled into a police van during a rally in St Petersburg. Police detained over 1,700 protesters are events across the country

Navalny's allies said the protests were calling for the opposition leader, who survived a nerve agent attack last year, to receive medical treatment

A huge crowd turned out in support of Navalny in Moscow last night as the jailed opposition leader demands to see his own private doctor

Demonstrators on the streets of Moscow last night, some holding signs to denounce Putin, brave the elements and the risk of arrest to call for justice

State human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, said four doctors from outside the federal prison agency had visited Navalny on Tuesday and found no serious health problems, but protesters took to the streets in their thousands on Wednesday to demand the opposition leader receives proper medical treatment

A demonstrator bolts away from police officers during an unsanctioned demonstration in support of Navalny on Wednesday

The confrontation over Navalny's fate is a flashpoint in Moscow's dire relations with the West, already aggravated by economic sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and a Russian military buildup near Ukraine

The 44-year-old Navalny, who last year survived a nerve agent attack that Russian authorities denied carrying out, is thin and weak after starving himself for three weeks, and his allies say he risks kidney failure or cardiac arrest.

The state human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, said four doctors from outside the federal prison agency had visited Navalny on Tuesday and found no serious health problems.

Russia says he has been treated as would any other prisoner.

The confrontation over Navalny's fate is a flashpoint in Moscow's dire relations with the West, already aggravated by economic sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.

But, speaking to France 2 television, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he did not believe Russia wanted to launch a military operation in eastern Ukraine despite massing thousands of troops on the border.

Protesters held Russian flags as they came out in their tens of thousands to demonstrate in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

Thousands of Navalny supporters hold an unsanctioned protest in Moscow on Wednesday, risking arrest from state police

Police detain a man during a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg. At least 1,700 people were arrested at rallies across the country

People scuffled with police at a pro-Navalny demonstration in Saint Petersburg. Several people were arrested before the protests even began

A woman argues with a police officer using a megaphone during a protest in Ulan-Ude, near the Russian-Mongolian border, on Wednesday

A man holds a Russian flag during an opposition rally in Moscow. Police said 6,000 people protested illegally in Moscow, while Navalny's YouTube channel said turnout in the capital was up to 10 times higher

Russia says Navalny has been treated as would any other prisoner, but the opposition leader's doctors say differently, sparking the mass protests

Russian authorities warned protesters the demonstrations had not been authorised and warned against participating in them, but thousands still came out on Wednesday (pictured, a woman is arrested in Ulan-Ude)

Demonstrations took place across Russia on Wednesday, the same day as Putin's annual state-of-the-nation address (pictured, protesters in Omsk)

Russian opposition leader Navalny's team had called for protests across the country at 7pm, only hours after President Putin's annual state-of-the-nation speech (pictured, protesters in Lenina Square, Moscow)

UN human rights experts urged Moscow to let Navalny be medically evaluated abroad, though Russian officials claim there is nothing wrong with the opposition leader and that he should not get special treatment

Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, and an ally, Lyubov Sobol, were detained near their Moscow homes hours before the rally in the capital (pictured) on Wednesday

A similar police presence was seen in St Petersberg, where heavily armed officers guarded Palace Square as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets

A man and a woman are led away by riot police in St Petersburg last night during pro-Navalny demonstrations

UN human rights experts urged Moscow to let Navalny be medically evaluated abroad.

They said they believed his life was in danger as he was being held in 'conditions that could amount to torture'.

Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, and an ally, Lyubov Sobol, were detained near their Moscow homes hours before the rally in the capital on Wednesday.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs European Union summits, called their arrests 'deplorable'.

Yarmysh was later jailed for 10 days at a hearing for inciting people to protest. Sobol was released ahead of a hearing on Thursday.

Navalny aide Ruslan Shaveddinov tweeted: 'This is repression. This cannot be accepted. We need to fight this darkness.'

People attend a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow. Dozens of police vans were deployed to the centre of Moscow. The square where activists had hoped to gather was cordoned off with metal barriers

Opposition supporters attend a rally in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. His team called for demonstrations in more than 100 cities in Russia

A protester in St Petersberg holds a placard reading 'changes' at a rally in support of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Demonstrators march during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Saint Petersburg

Police detained at least 1,700 people at protests across Russia in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Wednesday, the OVD-Info protest monitoring group said (pictured, a women is detained at a demonstration in Ulan-Ude)

Thousands of Russians across the country took to the streets in support of the jailed Russian opposition leader, ignoring warnings from police to stay home (pictured, protesters in Vladivostok)

Dozens of police vans were deployed to the centre of Moscow. The square where activists had hoped to gather was cordoned off with metal barriers, as was Red Square.

Up to about 300 people protested in Vladivostok, some toting banners saying 'Freedom for political prisoners' and 'No war, repressions and torture!'

'Everyone realises the current authorities have nothing new to propose for the country. We need a new generation of politicians. I see Navalny as one of them,' said Ilya, a 19-year-old student in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

Elsewhere, riot police used force to make arrests. In Magadan, in Russia's far east, officers forced a man to the ground and pinned back his arms.

Navalny launched his hunger strike on March 31 over what he said was the refusal of the prison holding him to provide him with proper treatment for leg and back pain. The state prison service has said his condition is satisfactory.

Navalny's activist network faces mounting pressure. State prosecutors in Moscow began legal moves last week to ban his groups as extremist organisations.

US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the Russian government to provide Navalny with medical care and called for sanctions.

'This is barbarism playing out in real time, and we cannot be silent,' he said.

Navalny launched his hunger strike on March 31 over what he said was the refusal of the prison holding him to provide him with proper treatment for leg and back pain, sparking Wednesday's mass protests

Navalny's activist network faces mounting pressure. State prosecutors in Moscow began legal moves last week to ban his groups as extremist organisations, even as tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets in a show of support

Protesters turned on their phone lights during Wednesday night's rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Two judges who heard an appeal against an Athy man's murder conviction may have to step away from the case after they discovered that one of them prosecuted the killer while the other defended him on a previous murder charge.

Seamus Morgan (53) last week appealed to the three-judge Court of Appeal against his conviction for murdering dissident republican Larry 'Bomber' Keane. Morgan was previously found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for the killing of 29-year-old James Hand outside a Dublin pub in 2002.

This morning, Thursday, April 22, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said that as he read through details of Mr Hand's killing he realised that it seemed familiar. He said he is "pretty certain" that he defended Morgan in that trial and that his colleague on the appeal court panel, Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, prosecuted him.

He added: "If we are right, two members had an involvement when Mr Morgan was previously on trial for murder and was acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter, and we thought we should bring that to the attention of the parties. If either side has a qualm, neither of us would have any further involvement and the appeal would be reheard with a different panel."

Mr Justice Birmingham said the details hadn't struck him earlier because the previous trial related to matters in the north inner city of Dublin, whereas Keane was murdered in Kildare. Lawyers for Morgan and for the Director of Public Prosecutions thanked Mr Justice Birmingham and said they would take instructions before saying whether they would prefer to rehear the appeal with a different panel.

Morgan, of The Hollands, Athy, Co Kildare was jailed for life in 2016 for murdering Keane, a 56-year-old who himself served a prison term for possession of a bomb that was twice the size of the one used to kill 31 people, including unborn twins, in Omagh in August 1998. Gardai said at the time that the Real IRA intended to detonate the bomb at the Aintree Grand National.

Following a trial in 2005 in which he was defended by then senior counsel George Birmingham, Morgan was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter for killing James Hand on or between August 22 and September 5, 2002 at The Meeting Point pub on Dorset Street Upper in Dublin's north inner city.

At an appeal hearing last week Sean Gillane SC for Morgan said the murder conviction should be overturned because of a misleading suggestion that witnesses in the trial were intimidated by his client. Mr Gillane said he was unable to challenge the suggestion due to a ruling by the trial judge that if he introduced evidence of Keane's criminal background the prosecution would be allowed to introduce evidence of his client's previous conviction for manslaughter.

The court reserved judgement.
Los Angeles, CA, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The first #AIshowbiz Earth Day Powered by PORTL included Trailblazer talks by leading minds shaping the future on the topics of marine conservation, green NFTs, the Spatial Web, and sustainable holoportation. At the event, the Open Earth Foundation anounced its historic AI-powered Marine Biodiversity Program to establish a No-Take Zone for dolphins around Cocos Island National Park near Costa Rica. In celebration of Open Earths achievement, #AIshowbiz also introduced the first in its NFT Impact Artwork program by debuting the worlds first PORTL hologram NFT by Nicole Buffett. The full event is available to watch and embed via PORTL YouTube.

PORTL Inc. has invented a method of holoporting people to appear anywhere in the world and interact in volumetric 4K. It also can display prerecorded content and is in talks with a number of auction houses about holoporting priceless objects and presenting NFTs. The Tim Draper-backed startups ability to beam people around the world has been covered in the last week by The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Hypebeast and more.

The keynote speaker was Martin Wainstein, Founder and Executive Director of the Open Earth Foundation, who discussed how artists and creators can help fund social and environmental projects through NFTs. He also announced the Marine Biodiversity Program and No-take NFT Drop collection featuring Nicole Buffet's NFT. Open Earth Foundation's last NFT Drop, known as the CarbonDrop collection, included eight unique carbon negative NFTs inspired by the Earth and climate crisis and raised $6.6 million.

Also speaking were Michael E. Hayworth, author of the best seller, The Ultimate Non Fungible Token (NFT) Guidbook, who spoke about greening NFTs; Dan Mapes, Founder of Verses and author of The Spatial Web who spoke about the ways the Spatial Web makes the new token economy more sustainable; R. Scott Salandy-Defour, Founder of Liquidstar, described as Robinhood meets the Uber of electricity which also works to offset mining; and Molly Lavik, Founder of #AIshowbiz, shared her personal story on how she channeled her grief from her husband's passing into the world's first No-take NTF for the protection of dolphins powered by PORTL.

My husband Hans cared deeply as I do about the protection of dolphins, said Molly Lavik. Nicoles artwork was commissioned to commemorate his kind heart.

As an advisory board member for PORTL Lavik also explained how the company is vastly reducing carbon footprints while it brings people together across the Earth, and introduced PORTL Founder and Inventor David Nussbaum. Complete notes on speakers and topics are here.

Watch on PORTL YouTube now.

#TechforGOOD

#AIShowBiz Earth Day Powered by PORTL was also a pep rally for the event #AIShowBiz on NFTs which takes place on May the Fourth Be With You Day with headlining keynote by Tim Draper, Founder, Draper Associates. Tickets available HERE

For more information about PORTL Inc: PORTLhologram.com

For Interviews or more photos and video contact: owen@thoughtgangmedia.com

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (FSE: 3PG) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has executed a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of Cariboo Gold Producers Inc. ("Cariboo Gold"). Cariboo Gold controls the rights to the Mineral Hill silver property, located in Lander County, Nevada, south of the town of Carlin. The property consists of 9 patented claims, 160 acres of private homestead lands and 20 unpatented claims for a total of 540 acres.

According to a historic county geological report silver ore was first mined in 1868 at an initial reported grade of 140 ounces (4,350 gm) of silver per ton. Mining continued until 1939, with reported grades of 25 ounces (780 gm) per ton. Limited exploration was conducted by Union Carbide in the mid 1960's and Santa Fe Minerals in 1980-82. That exploration was largely on the unmineralized Vinini formation footwall of the mineral system. The property has laid idle since then because Nevada exploration companies focused on gold instead of bulk mineable silver.

The silver and low-grade gold at Mineral Hill occurs in silicified and brecciated limestone. The limestone host rocks are in fault contact with underlying black Vinini cherts and shales. This fault is likely part of the Roberts Mountain thrust. Mineralization occurs adjacent to the thrust and as karst replacement bodies in the limestone. Surface samples from bedrock exposures have returned values of silver ranging from 50 to 1,215 grams per ton and gold values ranging from 0.1 to 5.2 grams per ton.

The property has strong potential to host significant new ore bodies along the thrust fault zone, and potentially may host shallow bulk-tonnage resources amenable to modern open pit mining. Many large dumps from historic mining occur across the property. In 1968 Siskon Corporation conducted a detailed trenching and sampling program of the extensive dumps on the property. Their study reported that bulk values averaged more than 125 grams of silver per ton for the majority of the dump material. A program to validate these historic results and accurately measure the volume of the dumps will be undertaken. The Company believes just the dump material alone adds significant value to the property, and the new exploration potential is excellent.

Upcoming initial exploration work will focus on sampling and mapping the old workings and the extensions of the mineral system beyond the historic production areas.

The terms of the acquisition consist of issuing three million shares of Provenance for all the shares of Cariboo Gold and a one-time cash payment of $20,000. The Company is at arms-length from Cariboo Gold and each of its shareholders.

The underlying property agreement has progressive payments over six years, totaling a cumulative $195,000, plus escalating work commitments over eight years.

"We now have three excellent Nevada properties, and believe each has the potential to become a very significant new discovery. We are working swiftly to advance our properties, with Silver Bow having been initially drilled and awaiting assays, and initial drilling at White Rock planned to begin in May. We now need to get recognition of the Company and the high quality of our projects and are initiating that effort. This is a very exciting time for our company." stated Rauno Perttu, Provenance's CEO.

Rauno Perttu, P. Geo., a Qualified Person (as defined by National Instrument 43-101), and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this News Release.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver resources within North America. The Company currently holds interests in two properties in Nevada, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact rclark@provenancegold.com.

On behalf of the Board,

Provenance Gold Corp.

Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the intended development and exploration of the Mineral Hill silver property, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81361
With the second wave of COVID-19 gaining strength, Aadi Saikumar has appealed for a behavioural change among the people. He has urged them to display a positive attitude.

Its very important that we have a positive attitude because it impacts the way you fight the virus. I suggest that people maintain an active lifestyle and help spread positivity within the family and communities during the tough times, says Aadi, who is hitting the gym and playing badminton to beat the stress.

Its time people strictly followed COVID-19 guidelines to avoid a complete lockdown. Indians should show their character and self-discipline to collectively beat the virus, he says.

On the work front, Aadi has signed two new films  a rom-com and a thriller  under directors Bhaskar Bantupalli and Veerabhadram Chowdary respectively. While the actor will be seen as a B. Tech graduate in the former, he plays a cop in the latter. Shooting for contrasting characters simultaneously is always an interesting experience. In fact, thats what actors want to do  play different roles and flaunt versatility, he shares.
Washington, April 22 : More than 200 million shots of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

US President Joe Biden also announced on Wednesday that the country has hit 200 million Covid-19 shots, a target he had set out to meet by the end of April, Xinhua news agency reported.

Biden said the country is entering a new phase in its vaccination efforts as it starts to shift the focus from getting the vaccine to those most at risk to the general population.

"The time is now to open up a new phase of this historic vaccination effort," Biden said. "To put it simply, if you've been waiting for your turn, wait no longer. Now's the time for everyone over 16 years of age to get vaccinated." About 215 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered by Wednesday, while more than 277 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, CDC data showed.

Currently there are about 87 million Americans fully vaccinated, accounting for 26.4 per cent of the US population, according to CDC data.

About 134 million Americans received at lease one Covid-19 shot, accounting for 40.5 per cent of the population.

Among the fully vaccinated, 35 million are people 65 years of age or older, accounting for 65.6 per cent, CDC data showed.

The United States has been ramping up vaccine rollout since last December. There are three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the country.

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized the one developed by American drugmaker Pfizer in partnership with German company BioNTech, and another by American drugmaker Moderna, in December last year.

Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use on February 27, but it was halted for use last week after rare blood clotting cases emerged in six recipients.

According to CDC data, currently a total of 113 million Pfizer/BioNTech doses and 94 million Moderna doses have been administered in the United States, while 7.9 million Johnson & Johnson shots have been administered before its pause.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Every Wild West cowboy wanted to become a legend. Even if only slightly, there had to be some part of them that was mostly out there robbing trains and banks because it had already become so popular and romanticized that they thought they would join in on the fun. The problem was, by the time most of them got around to it, the whole thing had kind of been blown up, and there wasnt much room for any more.

Its kind of like someone trying to break into Twitch this late in the scene. Only, in this version, youve got four viewers (three devices in your own cowboy home pointed at your stream, and one dude in Romania just praying youll show your cowboy feet beneath them boots) sitting there spamming dogshit internet chat memes while you struggle to rob that damn bank. By the time any of these later-stage outlaws got around to any Wild West shenanigans, they were more likely to be shot dead and forgot about right there in the street.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

But one particularly forgettable outlaw broke through all the noise, and it all only really began in earnest after he was shot dead and forgot about. This is the story of Elmer McCurdy and the outlaw corpse that wouldnt die ...

Weekend at Elmers: The Prologue

Elmer McCurdy wasnt always dead; in fact, records show he actually had a prolonged period of what medical science calls being alive. Born in Maine in 1880, Elmer had a relatively standard early life for those times. Of course, my vision of standard in the late 1880s would be that young Elmer was tasked with the familys possum duty by three. I picture every kid in those times got possum duty. Where they had a nightly job of standing on the old wooden porch as waves upon waves of feisty, old-time possums came swarming the home, trying to raid and ravage it, and he had to stand his ground and wrestle and kick and bite the possums to death until there were no more possums coming around. Until tomorrow. Until the great possum swarm resumes.
News at 4Cs

4Cs Funeral Service Program Receives Accreditation from American Board of Funeral Service Education

Nearly three years after taking on the Funeral Service program from Mount Ida College after their sudden closing, Cape Cod Community College (4Cs) has received accreditation from the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE). This makes Cape Cod Community College the only public institution with an accredited Funeral Service Program in New England accredited by ABFSE, the premiere agency in the field.

On April 6, 2018, the leadership in the Funeral Service program at Mount Ida received the news that their college would be shuttering their doors, leaving the historic program with an uncertain future. Just four days later, Cape Cod Community College President John Cox and Dean Patrick Preston traveled to Mount Ida and started the process of building an academic teach out plan to make the existing students whole and bring the program to 4Cs.

Over the course of just a few months, Cape Cod Community College built out a one-of-a-kind Funeral Service laboratory and learning space on the campus of nearby Bridgewater State University (BSU), allowing students to live on campus so they could finish their degree in the teach-out program accredited by ABFSE. In January 2019, the displaced Mount Ida students were pinned as graduates of Cape Cod Community College. In Fall 2019, the first full cohort of new students started at 4Cs, taking their classes at BSU.

It really is staggering to think how fast we went from meeting with the students displaced from Mount Ida, to becoming the only accredited ABFSE Funeral Service program in a public college in New England, said President John Cox, We knew at the outset how important and historic this program is, and how critical it is to the communities we serve. Our Funeral Service practitioners play an immensely important role in our lives providing dignified death care experiences, and they need and deserve a world-class education. We are immensely proud of our Funeral Service students and graduates, our academic leadership in the program, and our program advisors from the Funeral Service and support professions who have helped us get here today.

The Funeral Service program at 4Cs has a storied history in New England. Originally starting with industry pioneer A. Johnson Dodge in 1907 in West Roxbury, MA, the program made its original home in Bostons Kenmore Square before moving to Mount Ida College in 1989. Historic materials and equipment from the Dodge family are still on display today at 4Cs Funeral Service lab space.

It is worth noting that going from teach out to full accreditation in less than three years is not a common occurrence, said Arlene Rodriguez, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs for Cape Cod Community College, This historic moment is thanks in large part to the academic leadership in Funeral Service Program Coordinator Dan Shea and Professor Jeff Megna. Dan and Jeff came to us from Mount Ida and their expertise, knowledge, and hard work have been critical to our success. We are grateful for bringing our program to prominence in New England. Our students are fortunate to have them.

The first full cohort of 4Cs Funeral Service students will be celebrating their graduation during next months Virtual Commencement ceremony on May 27, 2021. Registration is open now for the next cohort starting September 2021 on the Bridgewater State University campus. For more information about the Funeral Service program email Dan Shea at dshea@capecod.edu.
A Cumberland County man was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to drug possession and distribution charges in federal court, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey announced.

Oscar J. Gonzalez, 37, of Vineland pleaded to charges of conspiracy to distribute, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute at least 400 grams of fentanyl, authorities said.

In January 2020, Gonzalez conspired with others to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine, according to investigators. He agreed to purchase multiple kilos on Jan. 25 and traveled to Union County, bringing $24,000 in cash to buy one kilo.

After he was charged in that case and released, he made another deal to distribute five kilograms of fentanyl, prosecutors alleged. In April of last year, he arranged for someone to deliver the drug to a location in Monmouth County.

U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez imposed the sentenced via teleconference.

In addition to prison time, Gonzalez was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
All of those laws  have never once impacted a puppy mill, Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said at a hearing this month. What we (need to) do is have an aggressive pet sourcing policy that will work for everyone who brings an animal into this city, whether it is to be adopted out (from a rescue) or sold in a store. That is what we have oversight over.
It's time for farmers to start thinking about the first cut silage - time to plan the detail, the target dry matter, chop length and additive selection, silage experts at BIO-SIL say.

The dry matter achieved at harvest should dictate the chop length, the drier the silage the shorter it must be chopped to ensure good consolidation and good fermentation.

Longer chop lengths will increase the chances of aerobic instability and lead to massive increases in losses once the clamp is opened.

As with so many things, getting the dry matter right is a balancing act - on one hand, achieving high DM means leaving the mown grass for longer in the field, increasing the rain risk.

The cut grass is also respiring and burning up energy, and, unfortunately, getting silage in the clamp quickly doesnt solve the problem of losses.

Low dry matter silage will produce higher losses in effluent run off, slower fermentation and a resultant reduced forage intake by cattle.

So how can farmers get a higher dry matter silage without the risks and losses?

Respiration losses will start as soon as the grass is mown - do not stop once the grass goes through the chopper.

The crop continues to lose value until a stable, lactic acid fermentation is achieved, so by choosing the right inoculant farmers can improve the silage dry matter and reduce losses.

This is because not all inoculants are equal and the test results prove it.

In Germany the DLG certification process tests most of the leading inoculants and none out perform BIO-SIL when it comes to rapid pH drop and stable silage fermentation.

Achieving a stable fermentation at around pH 3.8-4.0 in just 48hrs after ensiling, BIO-SIL outperforms most inoculants by 1 to 2 days.

This ability means high dry matter silage can be produced with no increase in losses.

BIO-SIL is also certified for use on forage with dry matters right up to 35% so there is no risk of using the wrong inoculant if farmers are blessed with an unexpected heat wave whilst the grass is on the ground.

Higher dry matter brings a risk of aerobic instability but there are practical actions that are by far the most effective solution to this.

Getting the chop length and the consolidation right at ensiling and then moving through the silage at 2m per week once the clamp is open will control aerobic instability.

Some additive producers tackle the issue by including acetic acid producing, hetero-fermentative bacteria or adding potassium sorbate that may aid aerobic stability, but this comes at a cost.

Whilst acetic acid and potassium sorbate can inhibit the growth of moulds and yeasts associated with silage exposed to oxygen.

High levels of acetic acid can make silage unpalatable to livestock reducing forage intakes.

Adding potassium sorbate also risks killing the very bacteria required for a good fermentation so needs to be added separately from the inoculant.

In trials BIO-SIL inoculant is proven to aid aerobic stability without resorting to these unwanted side effects.

This is because the pH drop is so fast that the yeast and mould populations dont get a chance to become established in the initial fermentation of BIO-SIL treated silage.

If you want to discuss how BIO-SIL can help you make high dry matter, low loss silage  contact info@bio-sil.co.uk.
A police lieutenant in Virginia was fired this week after he contributed $25 to a legal-defense fund and expressed praise for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with killing two people last year during protests in Kenosha, Wis., officials said.

The lieutenant, William Kelly, a member of the Norfolk Police Department for nearly 19 years, was relieved of his duties on Tuesday by city officials, who said his conduct had violated the departments policies and undermined the publics faith in law enforcement.

The decision came just four days after Mr. Kelly was placed on administrative duty by the Police Department after the British newspaper The Guardian and other media outlets reported that he had given money last September to support Mr. Rittenhouses defense through GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding website that was breached by hackers.

Mr. Rittenhouse has become a cause celebre for some conservatives since he was charged with shooting three people, two of whom died, last summer as the streets of Kenosha erupted in protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by a police officer.
ST. LOUIS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA), the Nation's largest trade association representing the drug and alcohol testing industry, is pleased to announce its lineup of speakers and schedule of events for the Association's annual conference and trade show to be held May 25-27, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency in St, Louis, MO.

May 25-27, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency in St, Louis, MO.

The keynote speaker for the conference is Mr. Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society of Human Resource Management who will give remarks at the opening general session on Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Other notable industry leaders speaking at the conference include author, consultant and presidential advisor, Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., the President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and well-known journalist and writer Alex Berenson.

NDASA Chairman James A. Greer stated, "this year's conference will provide unlimited opportunities for those involved in the drug and alcohol testing industry on all levels. If you are an employer, drug testing provider, human resource professional, TPA, MRO, DER or laboratory, this conference is a must-attend event."

The conference will also include industry training classes, workshops, networking opportunities and a trade show which will showcase leading industry suppliers and services which are utilized by the Nation's drug and alcohol testing industry.

In addition to the live-in person conference, the Association is also providing a virtual attendance event which will be offered to those unable to attend in St. Louis.

The National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association's mission is to advocate for safe and drug-free workplaces and communities through legislative advocacy, education, training and excellence in drug and alcohol screening services.

To register for the conference or for additional information, go to www.NDASA.com or contact Jo McGuire, NDASA Executive Director at 719-290-0839.

Related Images

national-drug-and-alcohol.jpg

National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) National Conference

May 25-27, 2021, at the Hyatt Regency in St, Louis, MO.

SOURCE National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA)
New Delhi, April 22 : Healthcare and Industry federations came forward on Thursday to support the government's Covid vaccination strategy and to scale up last-mile delivery for the entire population.

In order to ramp up the coronavirus vaccination drive in the country, the Indian government on Monday announced a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of Covid-19 vaccination from May 1.

Everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible to get the Covid-19 vaccine, said the government.

The healthcare and industry federations in a meeting deliberated on a set of immediate recommendations for submission to the government for effectively executing the liberalised and accelerated phase three National Vaccination Strategy from May 1.

The recommendations were aligned with the main elements of the Phase-3 strategy -- procurement and administration of vaccines being made flexible -- all stakeholders being given the freedom to customise to local needs and dynamics.

They also recommended incentivising manufacturers to scale-up production and invite new national and international players; and manufacturers empowered to release vaccines in the open market at a pre-declared price and states authorised to purchase from private players.

Senior healthcare leaders from the private sector spanning all major healthcare federations -- CII, FICCI, AHPI, IMA, PHD Chamber of Commerce, ASSOCHAM, Indian Chamber of Commerce, AMC, ANEI, AHEI, FHA Karnataka and NATHEALTH -- participated in the meeting.

Lauding the government for the phase three inoculation drive, as it can enable the industry to come together, the Federations recommended that the private sector in India pool their demand for effective flexible procurement to ensure high quality and uninterrupted access of lifesaving vaccines.

Harsh Mahajan, President NATHEALTH said, "As the country is grappling with a sudden surge of Covid cases and different parts of the country facing various challenges related to healthcare infrastructure, ramping up vaccination drive by involving Indian and global organisations will prove to be beneficial in the longer run and will reduce the burden on the healthcare ecosystem that India is facing amidst these tough times." The private sector can assess emerging requirements from healthcare, telecom, retail, information technology, consumer, and other industry segments through rapid assessment. The private sector will also explore PPP's to share the national responsibility with central and state governments.

They will work collaboratively to tide over supply side challenges and join hands with the Government to scale up last mile delivery of vaccines, pandemic surveillance and hospitalization care.

The private sector will prioritise the rapid clinical trials for other critical, life-saving drugs, inhalers and therapies which are showing promising results for use in the treatment of Covid-19, apart from vaccines.

As an immediate short-term measure, as private healthcare sector reorganises its supply chains, there is an urgent need for Central and State governments to ensure continuity of supplies for the next 30-60 days, especially for existing eligible population and those eligible for second vaccination.

They requested the government to ensure that there is consistency in vaccine administration guidelines across states through standard operating guidelines for engagement with the private sector.

In this process, industry will be ready to engage immediately in right earnest.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Catholicos of All Armenians presides over Divine Liturgy in Stepanakert

Turkey airstrike kills at least 3 Kurdish refugees in Iraq

Trump demands billing China $10 trillion for coronavirus damage

Bright Armenia Party leader: We are on verge of civil war

Several explosions occur in Syria

Biden not seeking conflict with Russia

Armenia acting PM sends congratulatory message on Sweden National Day

Passenger flow at 2 Armenia international airports increase by 24% in May

37 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Apple employees are against returning to work in office

Person dies in Armenia town mountains

Kim Jong Un appears in public for first time since early May

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis fire at Gegharkunik Province village shepherd for about 30 minutes

Iraq may face severe water shortages

G7 countries sign deal to tax largest multinational companies

1st round of debates of presidential candidates takes place in Iran

6 die and 5 go missing in Sri Lankan flooding

Powerful blast thunders in Somalia capital

A body found in Artsakh

Nearly 100 people killed in Burkina Faso

Acting PM: It is necessary to create professional army in Armenia

UN demands investigation amid discovery of mass grave of children at Canada school

Acting PM: Armenia is a paradise for business

ICRC representatives visit 6 captured Armenian soldiers

Pashinyan: An absolute record for Armenia has been set for number of registered jobs

Civil Contract party holding fundraising evening

Nikol Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to Bashar al-Assad

South Korean air force chief resigns amid scandal over female sergeant suicide

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Acting PM announces interference of external forces in electoral processes in Armenia

Pashinyan conducts procession in Abovyan

MO: Azerbaijanis carry out engineering work on territories without crossing Armenian border

8 security officials killed in Taliban attack in Afghanistan

Philip T. Reeker's visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia

Biden gives prosecutors more freedom to terminate immigration cases

93 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Armenia per day

Total of 1,557 bodies found in territories not controlled by Artsakh

Twitter launches paid subscription Twitter Blue

Robert Kocharyan: We are able to find solutions

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Armenia ex-Ambassador to Vatican on Armenians' emigration and reasons

Catholicos of All Armenians takes remains of St. Gregory the Illuminator to Artsakh

Armenian ballet master Vilen Galstyan dies at 80

Putin shares expectations from upcoming meeting with Biden

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EU bans flights of Belarusian airline companies in its airspace

US deals blow to major Chinese companies

Armenia acting PM: 62% of weapons obtained were obtained between 2018 and 2020

Armenia acting PM: Meghri corridor issue and transfer of villages of Kazakh region were a topic in November 2020

Armenia ruling party MP drops mandate

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Armenia Ombudsman reminds PM's ex-chief of staff about shortcomings in activities during war

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Armenia MOD hosts consultation with deputy commanders and battalions' commanders

Armenia Ombudsman says acting PM's plan won't ensure restoration of Armenian citizens' rights

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijan's failure to return POWs is equivalent to war crime

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Armenia acting PM: Health insurance is inevitable

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Armenia legislature passes law to help ease requirements for future teachers

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Dollar loses value in Armenia

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China Daily: Water tribe prospers ashore in Fujian

China calls for closer security, economic cooperation with Afghanistan

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Queen Letizia of Spain and King Felipe were joined by their lookalike daughters Princesses Leonor and Sofia today, for the launching ceremony of a new submarine.

The mother-of-two, 48, looked elegant in a recycled grey wrap-dress, which she teamed with daring snake print shoes and a matching clutch.

She posed alongside her husband, 53, and her two daughters Leonor, Princess of Asturias, 15, and Infanta Sofia of Spain, 13.

The family were gathered together at Navantia, a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company in Madrid, to preside over the launching ceremony of the submarine S-81 Isaac Peral.

Queen Letizia of Spain and King Felipe were joined by their lookalike daughters Princesses Leonor and Sofia today, for the launching ceremony of a new submarine (pictured)

The mother-of-two (pictured with Princess Leonor), 48, looked elegant in a recycled grey wrap-dress, which she teamed with daring snake print shoes and a matching clutch

The Isaac Peral, named after a 19th century Spanish submarine designer, is one of four vessels that will enter service in the Spanish Navy in the coming years.

Following safety guidelines, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and their two daughters all wore face masks while attending the event.

Felipe sported his military uniform, while he wife looked elegant in a grey wrap-dress, teamed with eye-catching accessories, including snake print heels and a matching clutch.

Letizia (pictured) completed her ensemble with dazzling drop earrings, as well as a chic pinned back hairstyle and a smattering of glamorous makeup

Letizia posed alongside her husband, 53, and her two daughters Leonor, Princess of Asturias, 15, and Infanta Sofia of Spain (pictured)

Letizia completed her ensemble with dazzling drop earrings, as well as a chic pinned back hairstyle and a smattering of glamorous makeup.

Princess Leonor was just as sophisticated as her mother in a check frock, paired with a white jacket and bright red shoes.

Coordinating her outfit with her older sister's, Princess Sofia donned a vibrant red dress with long sleeves and white detailing.

She finished her stylish look with a pair of black shoes, while keeping her hair pulled back in a half-up, half-down 'do.

Princess Leonor (pictured left) was just as sophisticated as her mother in a check frock, paired with a white jacket and bright red shoes

Coordinating her outfit with her older sister's, Princess Sofia (pictured right) donned a vibrant red dress with long sleeves and white detailing

The family's outing comes after Letizia and Felipe penned a telegram addressed to 'Dear Aunt Lilibet' to mourn the passing of 'Dear Uncle Philip', who died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on April 9.

The familiarity between the British and Spanish royal households are thanks to Felipe's maternal great-grandfather, King Constantine I of Greece (1868-1923), also being uncle to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth II announced her husband's death at midday on April 9 as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace.

European royals were quick to offer their condolences, with Felipe sharing a touching and personal message to his 'Dear Aunt Lilibet', expressing 'all our love and affection'.

Felipe (pictured with Princess Leonor and Letizia) sported his military uniform, while he wife looked elegant in a grey wrap-dress

Following safety guidelines, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and their two daughters all wore face masks while attending the event (pictured)

It read: 'We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear Uncle Philip.

'At this painful time, we would like to convey to you our deepest condolences on behalf of the Spanish Government and the people and all our closeness and support.

'We will never forget the occasions we were able to share with him and the legacy of service and dedicated to the Crown and the United Kingdom that he always carried out at your side.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with Your Majesty and the whole family. With all our love and affection.'
Precautionary measures in place to protect public and staff

A number of measures to protect patients, service users and staff have been put in place in health and care settings following confirmation of a small number of unexplained cases of COVID-19.

These cover the use of PPE, social distancing, hospital visiting, GP practices, optical practices, dental practices providing NHS dental services, care homes and other residential facilities.

Changes that will be implemented with immediate effect are:

 Everyone entering a health or care facility will be required to wear a medical grade face covering which will be provided on entry to the facility, and all visitors are asked to use the hand sanitiser on entry and whenever there is an opportunity to gel hands



 Outpatient clinics will continue as planned, however arrangements will be made to implement social distancing within waiting rooms and face coverings should be worn  where social distancing is not possible, patients may be asked to queue outside the outpatient department in order to reduce the number of people in the waiting room



 The reopening of Learning Disability Day Services and recommencement of visiting within Learning Disability Community Houses will continue from 3 May as planned, unless the situation deteriorates



 The reopening of Older Persons Day Services and recommencement of visiting within Manx Care operated Residential and Dementia Support homes will now take place on the 3 May



Hospital visiting is suspended from 4pm this afternoon across Nobles, Ramsey Cottage Hospital and Manannan Court unless permission is given by the nurse or midwife in charge of the ward.

GP Practices, dental practices providing NHS services and opticians' practices will revert to their previous way of working during lockdown periods  including social distancing and the wearing of masks by patients and staff. This may also include patients being asked by their GP, dentist or optician to wait in their car until called for their appointment.

Patients will be offered remote appointments on the phone or by video link where appropriate, with face to face consultations provided where clinically necessary. Patients are advised they will be met at the door if they visit the surgery, for the time being.

Practices are implementing this agreed operational procedure at the request of Manx Care.

Manx Care CEO Teresa Cope said: These are precautionary measures which we hope will be short-term. They are proportionate to the current situation and designed to protect the most vulnerable patients and service users within our care, as well as our staff.

She added: Contact tracing is ongoing to identify the source of transmission of two current cases in the north of the Island, and we will review the situation every 48 hours, and retain or remove these precautions as the situation becomes clearer.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the next summit of NATO Heads of State will be held in Brussels on June 14.

He said this in a statement published on the NATO website.

I am pleased to announce that the next Summit of Allied leaders will take place on 14 June 2021 at NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium, Stoltenberg said.

According to him, the summit participants will take decisions on the NATO 2030 agenda to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow, namely: Russias aggressive actions, the threat of terrorism, cyber attacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, the security impact of climate change, and the rise of China.

This is a unique opportunity to reinforce NATO as the enduring embodiment of the bond between Europe and North America, the Secretary General said.

As reported, the previous NATO summit took place in London (UK) in December 2019. Last year, the Alliance summit was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

ish
DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today OUR&D released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to award a $50,000 grant for early stage research into sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

The RFP focuses on the need for SAFs, asking respondents for their innovative ideas which need proof of concept to develop further. Aviation is responsible for 2% of global carbon emissions. At the moment, there is no viable option for clean and sustainable aviation fuel, so OUR&D is asking for ideas that will solve this problem, and will fund the scientist with the most promising idea with enough financial support to take the idea through the proof of concept stage of development.

"We are pleased to be able to make this funding available to scientists who are working on one of the most important technological problems of our time," said Ethan Palay, President of OUR&D's Board of Directors. "The science is clear, we must eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, and there is no clear path for the aviation industry to accomplish this goal." Paley continued, "OUR&D was formed to solve climate-related technological issues, such as carbon-emitting aviation fuel, by supporting scientists who are creating proofs of concepts for new climate solutions."

Applicants may submit responses to the RFP found here on the OUR&D website (https://our-and-d.org/saf-apply). The RFP will be posted for eight weeks, with a stated deadline of June 10, 2021, and OUR&D expects it will take about six weeks to review the responses and choose the recipient of the $50,000 grant to help take their promising idea to the proof of concept level.

About OUR&D

OUR&D is a unique grassroots funding source for clean energy research. Founded by a group of clean energy scientists and experts, the 501(c)(3) was designed to fill the gap referred to as the "valley of death" that sits between good ideas and traditional funding sources. OUR&D works to fund as many ideas as possible to make sure that potentially world-changing innovations get far enough along to qualify for either government, academic, or industry funding. It can take years of research to bring a new technology to market, making it essential to fund promising ideas now. OUR&D empowers concerned citizens from all walks of life to participate first-hand in the development of clean energy technologies that are necessary to avert climate catastrophe.

For more information visit www.our-and-d.org.

Press Contact

Meredith Preston

+1 (970) 445-4758

[email protected]

SOURCE OUR&D

Related Links

http://www.our-and-d.org


(Natural News) Former presidential candidate and United States Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, is speaking out against the unlawful treatment and abuse of Capitol protesters who are reportedly being beaten, tortured, racially abused, locked in solitary confinement, and held indefinitely like terrorists by the Biden regime.

After earlier condemning the Capitol protestors as domestic terrorists, Warren has changed her tune and is now calling the situation cruel and psychologically damaging.

Several of those who were present on Jan. 6 at the insurrection false flag event in Washington, D.C., are being deprived of their constitutional rights and Warren is not okay with it.

Most of the 300-plus people who were arrested and charged with rioting have been released while they await trial. Several dozen of them, however, still cannot fly on commercial airlines or live at their own homes.

All of the protesters still being detained have been placed in restrictive housing, which the Biden regime claims is for their own safety. While detained, these inmates are isolated for up to 23 hours a day, even though they have not been convicted of any crimes and are still innocent until proven guilty.

Solitary confinement is a form of punishment that is cruel and psychologically damaging, Warren stated during an interview. And were talking about people who havent been convicted of anything yet.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has made similar statements opposing the situation, expressing surprise that all of those detained from the Jan. 6 false flag event are still being treated like this.

Warren says she worries that law enforcement officials are out to punish the detained or break them so that they will cooperate. This is the type of thing one would expect out of communist China, not the land of the free.

Dont forget, Trump supporters: Your leader threw you all under the bus

Chris Menahan from Information Liberation publicly thanked Warren for making these statements, even as both the GOP and Donald Trump himself have said and done nothing to stand up for those being shamelessly abused by the Biden police state.

Youve now said more to defend the rights of these poor folks than the entire GOP establishment  including Donald Trump who has shamelessly thrown his own die-hard supporters under the bus, Menahan writes.

Menahan certainly is not wrong, as Trump has done absolutely nothing to take a stand for those who thought he had their backs. Instead, Trump is keeping himself busy pushing people to get injected for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) while shaming those who refuse the jabs for embracing deranged pseudoscience.

According to Politico, which is also left-leaning just like Warren, one of the detainees, Ryan Samsel, was severely beaten by a D.C. correctional officer and is now blind in one eye and has a skull fracture and a detached retina.

Another defendant, 60-year-old Richard Bigo Barnett, is being held indefinitely for the crime of putting his feet up on the desk of Nancy Pelosi during the insurrection. Barnett was reportedly tackled to the ground by a racist D.C. corrections officer who told him that the entire department hate[s] all white people.

This is not normal, expressed Marty Tankleff, a defense attorney representing two detained defendants, Edward Lang and Dominic Pezzola. Its not normal to isolate people and make them eat on their floor.

Tankleff was himself imprisoned for nearly two decades on a murder conviction before his 2008 exoneration. He is now urging lawmakers who see the abuses taking place to contact him and work for justice on this important matter.

More related news about the police state tyranny that ensued after Trump abandoned his supporters at the Capitol can be found at PoliceState.news.

Sources for this article include:

InformationLiberation.com

BigLeaguePolitics.com

NaturalNews.com
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg warned U.S. lawmakers Thursday that history will hold them accountable for climate catastrophes if they do not stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry before it is too late.

Thunberg, 18, whose activism has inspired a global movement, testified virtually to a House of Representatives panel on the day President Joe Biden began a virtual two-day Earth Day summit pledging to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

'The simple fact, and uncomfortable fact, is that if we are to live up to our promises and commitments in Paris, we have to end fossil fuel subsidies ... now,' Thunberg said, referring to the international 2016 Paris Climate Change Agreement.

'The fact that ... we are still subsidizing fossil fuels directly or indirectly using taxpayer money is a disgrace,' she added.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed House Oversight Committee's environmental subcommittee on Thursday, marking Earth Day, shaming lawmakers for subsidizing the oil and gas industry

Thunberg's testimony came the same day President Joe Biden gathered world leaders for a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, where he addressed the group from the White House Thursday morning

The United States under Biden rejoined the Paris agreement in February, after former President Donald Trump pulled out.

Thunberg, whose activism began at age 15 when she started skipping school on Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament for climate change, voiced pessimism.

'I don't believe for a second that you will actually do this,' she lectured the lawmakers of the House Oversight Committee's environmental subcommittee.

'You still have time to do the right thing and to save your legacies, but that window of time is not going to last for long,' Thunberg said. 'We the young people are the ones who are going to write about you in the history books ... So my advice for you is to choose wisely.'

The subcommittee chairman, Representative Ro Khanna, is pressuring Biden, a fellow Democrat, to keep a campaign promise to end fossil fuel subsidies such as tax breaks and regulatory loopholes.

'We appreciate that President Biden ran on ending fossil fuel subsidies. But the details matter,' Khanna said in a statement released prior to the hearing.

Khanna asked Thunberg if it would be a 'gut punch' to the global environmental movement if fossil fuel subsidies are not eliminated in Biden's current $2.3 plan to overhaul U.S. infrastructure.

'Yes, pretty much, that's a good description,' Thunberg replied.

Boris Johnson, speaking at the virtual global Leaders Summit on Climate from Downing Street, urged the world's richest nations to embrace climate action for the sake of growth and jobs today - as he told them it was not just about 'bunny-hugging'. He has set the Mr Johnson has set out the target of cutting the UK's greenhouse gases by 78 per cent of 1990 levels by 2035

Russian president Vladimir Putin listens to other world leaders at the summit via videolink from his office in the Kremlin. He said Russia planned to carry out a 'large-scale campaign' of environmental modernisation and greater efficiency across all sectors of its economy, including the use of carbon capture and storage from all carbon sources

Chinese president Xi Jinping, addressing the summit, called for a 'people-centred' approach to the climate crisis

The senior Republican on the subcommittee, Ralph Norman, rejected 'doomsday scenarios' about climate.

He said children had been greatly affected by the fear of climate change, and asked Thunberg why she had said previously that she wanted people to 'panic' about it.

'By that I mean that I want people to step out of their comfort zones, and not just see the climate crisis as a distant threat, but rather as something that is impacting people already today,' Thunberg said.

Thunberg, who was Time magazine's person of the year in 2019 for her work on climate change, has denounced the 'madness' of government subsidies for fossil fuel use. She says pledges by various countries to halve greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade are insufficient.

Biden has called for replacing fossil fuel subsidies with incentives for clean energy production as part of his infrastructure plan, but the plan has not specified which tax breaks for fossil fuel companies would be targeted.

Khanna listed some tax breaks he wants repealed, including one called intangible drilling costs, which allows producers to deduct most costs from drilling new wells.
(Newser)  President Biden convened a virtual climate-change summit with other world leaders on Thursday and kicked things off with an ambitious pledge. Biden said the US would cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 when compared to 2005 levels. In a stark contrast to the views of predecessor Donald Trump, Biden called climate change the "existential crisis of our times," per the Washington Post.

Just how ambitious is Biden's goal? Axios notes one estimate that the US is currently on track to reduce emissions by 12% before the end of the decade, meaning substantial new policies would have to be enacted to reach his target of 50% to 52%. The shift from fossil fuels to newer forms of energy would have to be greatly accelerated.

story continues below

The president can expect friction from Republicans in Congress over the new goal. GOP Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming accused Biden of "unilaterally committing America to a drastic and damaging emissions pledge" that would damage the US economy, per the New York Times. However, Politico lays out how the Biden White House thinks it can achieve the goal even if Congress balks.

Other world leaders were supportive. Germany's Angela Merkel said she was "delighted" to see the US taking a leadership role again in the climate fight, per the Post. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Biden's position a "complete change" in attitude compared to Trump's. Canada and Japan were among the nations to join the US in substantially ramping up their goals on emissions.

China's Xi Jinping also spoke, and while he didn't increase his nation's goals, he restated China's pledge to max out on emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. "To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. It's as simple as that," Xi said, per the AP. Russia's Vladimir Putin similarly restated his country's promise to slash emissions by 2050, and he said the climate fight "should certainly unite the efforts of the international community as a whole." Neither leader mentioned ongoing diplomatic friction with the US.

While China's Xi was diplomatic, a government spokesman was more critical of the US return to the fold on climate issues, particularly the Paris Agreement. "Its return is by no means a glorious comeback but rather the student playing truant getting back to class," said Zhao Lijian, per USA Today. Biden, he added, still must provide details on how he plans "to make up for the lost four years."

While Biden can expect opposition from Republicans who think he's moving too far left on climate policies, a separate story in USA Today notes that liberals and progressives don't think he's being aggressive enough. "The urgency of this crisis demands action," said Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman of California, one of the co-sponsors of the Green New Deal. "Winning slowly is the same thing as losing."

(Read more climate change stories.)
ITAI
A Philippines Coast Guard member sails past ships believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia near Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, April 14, 2021.

The Philippines armed forces chief said Thursday the country was considering building structures in areas that Manila claims in the South China Sea, as he accused China of doing so, despite a 2002 agreement barring new or expanded construction in disputed waters.

The statement was the strongest yet from a Filipino military officer amid a fresh dispute with Beijing over the discovery of scores of Chinese ships in the countrys exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The reason we did not build structures in the past was an agreement that no one should build anything there. However, China violated that, Gen. Cirilito Sobejana told reporters in an online briefing.

He was referring to a 2002 non-binding pact between China and member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which the parties agreed to refrain from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands and other natural features of the contested waterway.

China has continued to expand facilities in islands it controls and build artificial islands, Sobejana said, adding the Philippines could do the same.

We are also entertaining the idea, of course, subject to the wisdom of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea, of us building structures in the area just as China is doing, Sobejana said.

Manila refers to its EEZ and claimed territory in the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea.

Outclassed and outnumbered by the Chinese military presence in the sea, the Philippine naval fleet would require significant upgrading and logistical support from the government, Sobejana said.

To construct structures on Philippine-held reefs and islets would help deter further encroachment from other claimants, he said, although he did not elaborate on what kinds of structures.

In late March, Sobejana announced at the time that Philippine patrols had found man-made structures that were built on some of the features, and that these were illegal.

It is unclear whether the structures he referred to were new, but China has the most advanced and expansive infrastructure network in the South China Sea among claimant governments that include the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Indonesia does not consider itself a party to the dispute, but China has claims that overlap with the Indonesian EEZ.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not respond immediately to a query from BenarNews on Thursday.

Dispute over Chinese ships

Manila and Beijing have traded barbs since March when the Philippine government called out the presence of about 200 Chinese ships gathered near Whitsun Reef in the Philippine EEZ but which Beijing claims as its territory, along with most of the South China Sea.

Manila has been filing daily diplomatic protests with Beijing over what it called Chinese maritime militia intruding in recent weeks, but Beijing repeatedly denied the accusation, saying the vessels were fishing boats in Chinese territory.

Beijing has called Manilas protests an unnecessary irritation.

On Thursday, Sobejana said he had summoned Beijings defense attache in Manila last week to discuss concerns about the Chinese ships.

We clearly told him that this area is our countrys territory because it is within our exclusive economic zone. On his part, he also presented a letter indicating that they own it, Sobejana said of the meeting with the unnamed Chinese official.

The incident at Whitsun prompted Manila to deploy military boats and aircraft on maritime patrols  10 naval ships were on the water as of Thursday, Sobejana said.

On Wednesday, the West Philippine Sea task force said four fisheries bureau ships and five Coast Guard ships and an aircraft were on a similar assignment.

These are no match to Beijings massive fleet, Sobejana acknowledged.

Its not enough, because the West Philippine Sea is quite vast. It would take a vessel on patrol there two to three months to cover the entire area, Sobejana said.

Beijing has reclaimed and built military outposts on seven major reefs in the South China Sea.

Observers from Washington and Manila have said these outposts enable Beijing to maintain a constant fleet in the disputed waters.

By contrast, the Philippines controls Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which is considered a municipality attached to the western province of Palawan.

Satellite photos from the Philippine-claimed Pag-asa taken in 2007 and 2019 show how construction has changed the face of the island over a dozen years, despite the 2002 agreement between China and ASEAN.

A few troops also rotate on Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas) aboard a rusting naval ship purposely grounded there.

War only the last option

President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, has been careful not to antagonize China, and has instead sought friendlier ties with Beijing rather than enforcing a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal thumbing down Chinas expansive claims to the sea.

This week, he said he was prepared to send naval assets to the sea region only if Beijing started oil and mineral exploration in the area. He had also rejected suggestions by critics to file a complaint against China with the United Nations.

Sobejana on Thursday said that increased Philippine patrols in the South China Sea would not escalate tensions with Beijing.

That will be a reaction coming from those who are going into our exclusive economic zone, particularly China, the countrys top general added.

Philippine patrols are only out to secure Filipino fishermen, protect marine resources from overfishing, and increase situational awareness of the area, he said.

Now as to how to resolve [the dispute]? Of course, anything may happen, but I should say that war, as you may perhaps be imagining, is only the last option, so we have to exert other means to resolve this problem in a diplomatic and peaceful manner, Sobejana said.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
"Sweet Home" Season 2 is among the highly anticipated series this year. The thing is, Netflix has not even renewed the show for another installment. However, given all the cliffhangers left behind by the first season, it would be weird for it not to have a sequel.

This is why there are now some reports claiming that the second season would be announced this year, and even shown as well.

'Sweet Home' Season 2 Release Date and Possible Cast

Based on speculations, if "Sweet Home" season 2 would be announced, it might happen in the middle of the year. The actual dropping of the show might not be until December 2021, if there is an urgent need for it to show within the same year since the first season was only shown in December of 2020.

Similar to most shows over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the shooting of films and dramas so much more difficult than normal.

If Netflix gives "Sweet Home" Season 2 the green light, it is likely that majority of the cast, who remained alive at the end of Season 1, would reprise their roles. Unless the plot involves a lot of flashbacks, there is a huge possibility that those actor with dead characters in the first installment would make their return.

Song Kang will likely return to portray as Cha Hyun-Soo, whom viewers can describe as the center of the show. Other casts would include Lae Jin-Wook, Lee Si-Young, and Kim Nam-Hee. Lee Do-Hyun might join the cast as well.

'Sweet Home' Season 2 Possible Plot

Unless there is a massive twist, "Sweet Home" Season 2 will have to continue where Season 1 left off, as reported by Looper. It can be remembered that, during the final moments of the first season finale, Chan Hyon-soo wakes up to find himself having survived the hellish conditions in the apartment where they were locked in fighting monsters.

He realizes that he's in an armored vehicle being driven by Pyeon Sang-wook. Viewers were later shown that Pyeon Sang-Wook is actually Ui-myeong and has just adopted Sang-wook's form.

Given that such a big cliffhanger happened at the end of Season 1, it would be quite disappointing if Season 2 does not happen.

In addition, there were unanswered questions that a season 2 can answer. First of all, what will happen to Sang-Wook?

Another question is whether Lee Eun-hyuk is dead or alive. He was seen buried under the rubble of the apartment block. Will the military save the remaining survivor from turning into monsters?

"Sweet Home" Season 2 is likely to mean a new setting since the old one is supposedly left behind already.

For starters, "Sweet Home" is described as a fantasy horror drama that is a great choice for those who love thrillers over comedy or drama. They are likely to be the fans too of titles such as "The Walking Dead," "Lovecraft Country" and "The Strain."

ALSO READ: Kim Woo Bin Career History Including All Films And Drama He Has Made

Owned by Kdramastars.

Written by Annie Dee
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President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the Northern Governors Forum of his commitment to end all forms of insecurity in the country.

The president gave the assurance when he met with governors from the region at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.

The meeting was attended by the Chair of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, governors of Kebbi, Atiku Bagudu; Kaduna, Nasir El-Rufai; Yobe, Mai Mala-Buni, Niger, Abubakar Bello; and Nasarawa, Abdullahi Sule.

Also in attendance was the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari.

In the meeting, the governors took turns to narrate their experiences, individual efforts at finding lasting solutions as well as expectations from the federal government.

The northern region is the most affected by insecurity in the country.

The various forms of insecurity range from insurgency in the North-east and banditry to kidnappings in the North-west and North-central states.

Mr Buhari assured that he would put an end to the menace and return the region and the country at large to its lost glories.

Assurance

Speaking to journalists after the meeting attended by most of the northern governors, Mr Lalong said the president was optimistic about putting an end to all forms of insecurity in the country.

He said the meeting was basically about the insecurity in many parts of the region.

Well, this meeting is in respect of some of the common features of insecurity that we have within our states. Youll recall that many of the states have some of the insecurities that are very similar.

So we put them together and see how to address some of those issues. And we felt that we must also meet Mr. President about it since it is about insecurity, Mr Lalong said.

Asked about the key takeaways from the meeting, the governor said he would not disclose security issues to the public but said the meeting was fruitful.

I think these are not to be disclosed because these are about security. But the take away I say is that the meeting with the President was very fruitful and we are also very committed, and we have seen a lot of commitment, so we are waiting for implementation.

The assurance I will give you is that based on this meeting, we will also wait to see the commitment, and Mr President has given us that assurance, he said.
Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin addresses the crowd during a rally opposing discrimination against Asian communities and to mourn the victims of those affected by the Atlanta shootings, in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday, March 28, 2021. "Mortal Kombat" may be based on a hit video-game franchise, but Lin says it serves as an "apt metaphor" for divisions in the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
.IE Digital Town Awards to recognise local community projects and everyday champions that demonstrate digital thinking and innovation for the betterment of local people, towns and communities

The awards will now accept applications until Friday, 30 April at 5.00pm

.IE comment: Based on the positive reaction across the country, we have decided to extend the deadline by another week to ensure that all groups and projects have had the chance to make their entries.

.IE, the company that manages and maintains Irelands country domain name, has issued a final call for Longford applicants in the inaugural .IE Digital Town Awards.

Longford community groups and projects are being invited to submit final entries for the .IE Digital Town Awards, following a decision to extend the application deadline by a week to facilitate the recent demand in submissions.

The awards, which opened for entries on 22 March, will now accept applications until Friday, 30 April at 5.00pm giving community groups and projects an additional week to submit their entries.

Commenting on the decision to extend the deadline, Oonagh McCutcheon, Corporate Communications Manager at .IE said, we are delighted to announce an extension to the deadline for applications to the .IE Digital Town Awards this year.

Since opening the application portal for the awards in March, we have received a wide variety of applications from community groups and local towns across Ireland.

We have been really impressed with the responses so far and based on the positive reaction across the country, we have decided to extend the deadline by another week to ensure that all groups and projects have had the chance to submit their entries.

For those who have already made an application, the online portal will remain open for any last-minute changes or additions that they might like to make to their submission. And for those who are just starting the process, we would encourage you to start your application early, so that it is ready and finalised ahead of the revised deadline.

The .IE Digital Town Awards

The .IE Digital Town Awards has a total prize fund of 100,000 across 14 categories, which have been designed to recognise local community initiatives, town projects and people that have shown how digital projects have contributed to enhancements in areas such as health, tourism, education, public services, employment opportunities, citizen empowerment, and social entrepreneurship.

Eleven of the awards will be shining a light on digital projects, with a further three special awards recognising a Digital Changemaker, Digital Rising Star, and a Digital Hero  all of which will be decided on by independent judging panel.

For the Digital Changemaker, the judges want to see a town that demonstrates that they have taken creative digital action to create change and new ways of doing things to effect positive impacts for the community.

For the Digital Rising Star, the judges will be looking for a town that is an emerging talent in digital and will demonstrate the potential to be a future digital leader.

The Digital Hero, meanwhile, will be someone in the community who is an unsung hero, working tirelessly on initiatives to promote the digital enhancement of the town or a group in the town.
Prior to voting, the NVUSD Board of Trustees has a responsibility to ask themselves these questions: Can I honestly say that I have been presented with enough information to rule out all other options? Do I truly believe that this is the only option, or is this just the only option that I am being allowed to consider?

The closure of two key schools without exploration of other options is frankly unacceptable. The messages that are being sent to the Harvest and the River communities with these actions are clear. Had there been a true opportunity for debate and an open and thoughtful exchange of ideas, the message might seem less harsh. But there was no room for thoughtful debate in the process. The narrative has been controlled by the school district and they have only responded to questions to which they have chosen to respond while ignoring questions that are difficult and inexpedient.

You cannot make good choices without having good choices. The Board of the Trustees is the voice of the people, and they have not been presented with good choices. Board of Trustees: Please do not allow yourselves and our community to be forced into this untenable choice without proper exploration. Please ask for more data, not just the data that supports the districts preferred plan.
The announcement of two degree courses for Thomastown will put the town on the map for creative industries.



The Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) recently announced a new partnership with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) that will see the creation of two new Kilkenny-based degree courses for students - Ceramics Skills & Design and Jewellery and Goldsmithing Skills & Design.



At the recent meeting of Callan Thomastown Municipal District the announcement was welcomed.

Director of Services, Mary Mulholland, said the courses, which will be based in the renovated Sessions House, are a huge achievement for Thomastown as a creative centre and will really put the town on the map in the creative industries.



Thomastown has a history of arts and crafts and it is truly fantastic to see a third level jewellery course coming to the town, Cllr Deirdre Cullen said.

Cllr Michael Doyle pointed out there had previously been a horticultural course in Thomastown, connected to Woodstock, and asked if there was any way of getting that going again.

Ms Mulholland said she will take that up with the Kilkenny Carlow Education and Training Board (ETB).
By Niu Hui and Yang Zaixin

HARBIN, Apr. 22 -- Chinese participants in the Sayan Range March Snowfield Combat and March Competition of the International Army Games (IAG) 2021 returned home by plane of the PLA Air Force on April 21. They were warmly welcomed by the representatives from the PLA 78th Group Army at the airport.

The Chinese team came back with fruitful results. During the competition held on April 15 and 16 in Russia, they topped five events out of ten individual competitions and ranked the second place in the overall evaluation.

To prepare for this event, the PLA 78th Group Army has selected dozens of service members for intensive training in early this year. Each of them has been required to march over 50km and ski on thick snowfields on a daily basis, bearing an average weight of 35kg. Such tough training had effectively honed their combat capability of maneuvering in deep snow on alpine regions. After multiple rounds of selection, seven participants (including one reserve) got the honor to participate the competition on behalf of China.

It is learnt that the PLA 78th Group Army plans to organize discussion and exchanges to further summarize the experience and lessons of the competition, which will be of referential value to improving the troops actual combat training in winter.
The RIDE Act holds the potential to eliminate drunk driving forever and it is one of the most important initiatives in MADDs 40-year history.

New bipartisan legislation introduced today by Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-New Mexico) and Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) would ultimately mandate drunk driving prevention technology as standard equipment in all new vehicles. The Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone (RIDE) Act would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to issue a rulemaking to make this lifesaving technology available in all new passenger vehicles.

The rulemaking would involve a variety of drunk driving prevention systems, including driver monitoring, which can detect signs of distracted, impaired or fatigued driving, and alcohol detection, which uses sensors to determine that a driver is under the influence of alcohol and then prevent the vehicle from moving.

The RIDE Act holds the potential to eliminate drunk driving forever and it is one of the most important initiatives in MADDs 40-year history, said MADD National President Alex Otte. Drunk driving is the leading killer on Americas roads, accounting for more than a quarter of all traffic deaths and injuring 300,000 people every year. On behalf of the nearly 1 million victims MADD has served, I thank Senator Lujan and Senator Scott for leading this effort in the Senate.

More than 9,400 drunk driving deaths could be prevented each year when drunk driving prevention technology is made standard on every new car, according to a study released last year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Drunk driving has brought pain into the homes of too many New Mexicans. Across the country, thousands of families mourn the loss of loved ones in drunk driving crashes that can be prevented with the deployment of cutting-edge technologies. This can change if Congress takes action, and thats what the RIDE Act sets out to do, said Senator Lujan. This bipartisan legislation is a major effort to end drunk driving, keep our highways safe, and prevent needless deaths.

It is heartbreaking that we have lost so many to the irresponsible actions of drunk drivers, and its time to take real, significant action to prevent any further loss, Senator Scott said. Im proud to continue leading this effort and promote the development of critical alcohol and impaired driving detection technology, which will be a huge step to protect our families and communities.

The RIDE Act is similar to a bipartisan bill introduced March 23 in the House by U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan), David McKinley (R-West Virginia) and Kathleen Rice (D-New York). The Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving (HALT) Act is named in memory of a Northville, Michigan family, Issam and Rima Abbas and their children Ali, Isabella, and Giselle, who were killed by a wrong-way drunk driver while driving home from a Florida vacation in January 2019.

Technology that exists today would have saved my family. Its time for the federal government and auto industry to act now to prevent other families from the unimaginable pain of losing loved ones to drunk driving, said Rana Abbas Taylor, sister of the late Rima Abbas. We have the ability and know-how to prevent these tragedies from happening and save thousands of lives a year.

Congresswoman Dingell introduced legislation immediately after the Abbas family was killed.

When a family from Michigan died senselessly because of a drunk driver, the young classmates of the children who passed asked me with tear in their eyes: If technology exists to prevent this, why arent we doing something about this in Washington? Ive never forgotten their tears or their question, said Representative Dingell. Im committed to continuing to work with advocacy groups, industry, and federal regulators so we can prevent the tragedy of the Abbas family from befalling yet another community.

Drunk driving continues to be one of the most preventable tragic occurrences in our nation. No more families should have to mourn the loss of their loved ones due to another individuals choice, said Representative McKinley. Im proud to see my colleagues in the Senate support the use of drunk driving prevention technology in vehicles, in so doing we can prevent any further tragedies.

During my tenure as Nassau County District Attorney on Long Island, and throughout my time in Congress, I have made combating drunk driving one of my top priorities, said Representative Kathleen Rice. Prosecution and law enforcement strategies are critically important in this effort, but the best way to prevent drunk driving fatalities is to stop anyone who is under the influence from getting behind the wheel in the first place. Thats why I am proud to co-lead the HALT Drunk Driving Act in the House with Representatives Dingell and McKinley, which will prevent drunk drivers from operating a vehicle by requiring drunk driving prevention technology in all new cars. I thank Senators Lujan and Scott for introducing their companion bill, the RIDE Act, in the Senate.

Americans support Congressional action to require drunk driving prevention technology as standard equipment in all new vehicles, according to a new nationwide poll conducted by Ipsos for MADD. The survey found that 9 of 10 Americans support technology that is integrated into a cars electronics to prevent drunk driving (89% say it is a good or very good idea ), while 3 of 4 (77%) back Congressional action to require this technology in all new vehicles. More broadly, 8 of 10 (83%) believe that new auto safety features should be standard in vehicles as they become available, not part of optional equipment packages.

Both the RIDE Act and HALT Act give the auto industry a reasonable period of time to include drunk driving prevention technologies as standard equipment in all new cars, said MADDs Otte. With 10,000 lives lost to drunk driving every year, this technology cannot be optional.

For more information about the RIDE Act and the HALT Act and vehicle technology to stop drunk driving, please visit madd.org/HALT/RIDEAct.

About Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Founded in 1980 by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is the nations largest nonprofit working to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. MADD has helped to save more than 400,000 lives, reduce drunk driving deaths by more than 50 percent and promote designating a non-drinking driver. MADDs Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving calls for law enforcement support, ignition interlocks for all offenders and advanced vehicle technology. MADD has provided supportive services to nearly one million drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge through local victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. Visit http://www.madd.org or call 1-877-ASK-MADD.

About The Survey

The poll was conducted March 5th to March 7th, 2021 by Ipsos using their KnowledgePanel. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,016 general population adults age 18 or older, with a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Organization Contact:

Becky Iannotta

MADD

202-600-2032

Becky.iannotta@madd.org

Media Contact:

Kathleen Silverstein

On The Marc Media

410-963-2345

kathleen@onthemarcmedia.com
ALBANY, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Pup Joint Market  Overview

The booming oil and gas and mining sectors are directly dependent on a large number of industry sectors for end-to-end operations. The extensive array of activities for oil and gas exploration requires a wide range of industrial, mechanical, and technical equipment of varying sizes, of which, albeit its simple and intermediate use, pup joint is one.

With the first recorded use of pup joint as early as in 1930, a pup joint is aptly an important component of equipment for almost any well in the oil and gas sector. Pup joints of varying lengths of tubing and casing are used to adjust the length of the production string as much as possible to the required value. Precisely, pup joints are used to bridge the distance gap between tubing and casing components. They are also used to adjust the bottom of downhole tools.

In fact, pup joints are mostly easy to handle and use thanks to their friendly design, and provide the same performance as tubing/casing drill pipes. With drill pipes being an integral component of oil drilling of the high value oil and gas sector, the seemingly trivial pup joint has emerged as a distinct industry sector. So much so, the pup joint industry sector directly witness gains with the demand for petroleum products mostly soaring world over for last few decades. In such a scenario, the pup joint market exhibits steadfast growth, which in the near future from 2019- 2027 is projected to expand at a healthy ~7% CAGR.

Download PDF Brochure  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=62757

Pup Joint Market  Key Findings of the Report

Focus of Savvy Players to offer Custom Products for Downhole Applications indicates bright future

With established use in the oil and gas sector, the demand for pup joints to optimize wireline activities remains consistent. Besides this, savvy players in the pup joints market are increasingly focusing on to offer customized products for downhole applications. Efforts to improve the quality of products, and to ensure they can withstand high-pressure environments and corrosion are also some pursuits keen players in the pup joints market are engaged in.

Explore 132 pages of superlative research, current market scenario, and extensive geographical projections. Gain insights into the Pup Joint Market (Product Type: Crossover Pup Joint, Drill Pipe Pup Joint, and Tubing Pup Joint; Technology: Hot Rolled and Cold Rolled; and End Use: Oil & Gas, Chemical Industry, Mining, Construction, and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2019 - 2027 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pup-joint-market.html

Investments by Governments, Business Alliances between Large Players to explore New Oil Reserves paints Strokes of Growth

The ever-increasing demand for petroleum products has necessitated exploration of new oil and gas reserves. Several governments either independently or in collaboration with large oil companies are undertaking initiatives to tap unexplored oil reserves. This indirectly favors growth in the pup joint market.

Fluctuations in Oil and Gas Sector due to Changing Energy Policies, Geopolitical Tensions dwindles Demand

In several parts of the world, extensive programs undertaken by governments and environmental agencies to promote the use of renewable and alternate sources of energy have directly hit the oil and gas sector. This, in turn, has negatively impacted revenues in several industry sectors that are closely associated with oil and gas exploration activities, including pup joints.

Analyze global pup joint market growth in 30+ countries including US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Benelux, Nordic, China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Request a sample of the study

Pup Joint Market  Growth Drivers

Committed demand from the high-value oil and gas sector primarily fuels the pup joint market.

Relentless applications in the mining sector, with consistent advancement in mining exploration techniques translates into swelling demand.

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Pup Joint Market Key Players

Anvil International

Dmh United Steel Industry Co. Ltd

National Oilwell Varco

Sledgehammer Oil Tools Pvt Ltd

Texas Pipe Works Inc.

AZZ Inc.

Forum Energy Technologies Inc.

Oil Country Tubular Limited

Stewart Tubular Products

TPS-Technitube Rohrenwerke GmbH.

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Haulage truck at the Rio Tinto West Angelas iron ore mine in the Pilbara region of West Australia July 9, 2014. (AAP Image/Alan Porritt)

Chinese Demand for Australian Iron Ore Still Booming Despite Trade Tensions

Australian iron ore exporters arent feeling any effects of Beijings ongoing economic sanctions against Australian exports, as Chinas colossal demand for the mineral drive prices up to a 10-year high.

Rio Tinto, an iron export giant, said their Australian iron ore assets had excellent operating performance in the first quarter of 2021.

In the report of the companys first-quarter production results (pdf), it showed their iron ore exports increased by seven percent compared to the same quarter of last year.

Chinas industrial economy continues with strong momentum, the report said. Steel prices in China finished the quarter at decade highs as construction activity and steel demand in the first quarter are at their highest since 2018.

However, it also said Chinas focus on reducing emissions would likely restrain production and affect the iron ore exports.

The price of the mineral, according to Market Index, is currently trading at around US$176 per tonne. Prices found on Fastmarkets revealed the ore had been traded at US$189.61 per tonne on Tuesday.

According to WorldSteel, China produced 83 million tonnes of crude steel in February alone, just under ten times the next highest producer, India.

This photo was taken on May 15, 2019, and shows a truck transferring imported iron ore at a port in Rizhao in Chinas eastern Shandong province. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Iron ore is Australias single biggest export and swamps the value of coal and agricultural exports, so its continuing price surge to levels well above most analysts expectations will see further upgrades to mining-company profit growth for this year, where the consensus expectation is already for a 70 percent rise in profits this financial year, AMP Capital Chief Economist Shane Oliver told Wall Street Journal.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) revealed that overall, year-on-year trade fell by only two percent despite Chinas ongoing economic intimidation.

However, if iron ore exports were excluded from those figures, Australia experienced a 40 percent drop in commodity exports, DFAT Chief Economist Jennifer Gordon revealed in a Senate hearing.

The comparable values for China are down 7.5 per cent from the second half of 2020, compared to the second half of 2019, Gordan said. Thats got a 20 per cent increase in iron ore exports by value. But if we strip out the iron ore exports, the decline is 40 per cent.

DFAT also revealed that coal, which Beijing has currently banned from entering China, experienced an 83 percent fall. Additionally, 40 ships filled with coal were currently stranded off the Chinese coast, some for several months.

In an address to West Australias Leadership matters breakfast, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said despite the current trade tensions, Chinas need for iron ore leaves him confident that the exports will continue to flow.

Thats because China is not only continuing to industrialise itself, but Chinas the number one steel exporter in the world, and that employs thousands and thousands of people across that country, he said.

Beijing began imposing punitive trade sanctions on a string of Australian exports after Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the CCP virus (novel coronavirus).

Diplomatic tensions with China were further inflamed yesterday after Payne used new federal oversight powers to cancel Victorias Belt and Road Initiative deals with China on the grounds of protecting national interest.
The MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI), the largest electronics systems research and development centre in Canada, has announced that they recently selected Honeywell for its new thermal screening and risk self-assessment process, at its Bromont, Quebec location, to better sustain operations and to help improve the well-being of building occupants and visitors.

Thermal cameras installed

C2MI is an internationally known micro-electronics research centre that requires 24/7 laboratory access for its team and collaborators. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged its standard operations and ability to provide laboratory access, while limiting potential virus exposure.

Honeywell worked with C2MI to install a thermal camera solution to screen elevated skin temperatures and risk self-assessment, in order to streamline building access control, without the need for human interaction.

Healthy Building Kiosk thermal sensors

Using AI, the Healthy Building Kiosk thermal sensor monitors for trends and leverages variables

Using artificial intelligence (AI), the Healthy Building Kiosk thermal sensor monitors for trends and leverages variables, such as the outdoor temperature to provide more accurate readings.

If an elevated skin temperature is detected, the staffer or visitor is referred for testing, before being authorised access to the centre. The solution allows C2MI security staff to focus on other critical tasks and gives building users shared accountability.

C2MI and Honeywell collaboration

C2MI and Honeywell are continuously working to refine the technology, in order to create a more efficient and safer access control. C2MI will see a return on investment in less than one year, when calculating the cost of a security personnel dedicated to managing staff access control.

Weve worked with C2MI to create a custom solution to improve the efficiency of building access and support a return to more normal operations, said Laura Laltrello, Vice President and General Manager of North America services for Honeywell Building Technologies.

24/7 operations simplified

Laura Laltrello adds, With the implementation of the new Healthy Building Kiosk at the entrance, C2MIs 24/7 operations are simplified, while allowing the security staff to focus on other critical tasks. Weve also deployed a continuous improvement process with C2MI to refine the solution to best suit its needs and manage issues such as queuing.

As a centre of collaboration and innovation, C2MI faced two challenges in the past year: the ability to sustain operations, while also taking steps to help make our staff and researchers safer, said Marie-Josee Turgeon, General Manager for C2MI.

Streamlining building access control

Our collaboration with Honeywell has allowed us to streamline building entry"

Marie-Josee Turgeon adds, Our collaboration with Honeywell has allowed us to streamline building entry and remove the semi-manual process of individuals skin temperature reading, to help provide a safer environment for our teams.

C2MI also implemented health protocols aligned with local guidelines and recommendations, such as a work-from-home (WFH) policy, limiting the number of people in the cafeteria and conference rooms, encouraging social distancing, optimising disinfecting and cleaning, as well as mandatory procedural mask wearing.

Honeywell Healthy Buildings solutions

Honeywells Healthy Building solutions are part of a comprehensive effort to quickly develop innovative solutions that will help critical sectors of the global economy to recover, without the need to replace existing infrastructure at high costs.

Honeywells Healthy Building solutions also provide a holistic view of a buildings health, based on the key factors, such as indoor air quality (IAQ), occupant flow, personal protective equipment (PPE) analytics, thermal screening, skin temperature monitoring, social distancing and sanitation efficacy.
Harare, April 23 : Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa tooko his second dose of the Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine in the town of Kwekwe, Midlands Province, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said.

She said this while presenting the post-cabinet media briefing, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Mnangagwa received his first shot of Sinovac vaccine from China in the resort town of Victoria Falls nearly a month ago.

Mutsvangwa said citizens are free to receive their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine anywhere in the country without prejudice.

To date, Zimbabwe has administered 288,229 first doses of vaccine and 36,778 second doses to its citizens since the vaccination program began on February 18.
China in Focus (April 21): Defense Department Leaders Underscore Rising Nuclear Threats

While Congress is divided on whether to modernize Americas nuclear forces, defense leaders say Americas biggest rivals are upping their nuclear game.

Suspected Chinese hackers have been spying on the U.S. defense industry for months, according to a cybersecurity firm.

Japan is beefing up its efforts to counter communist China in the South China Sea. A photo is drawing attention online, showing a Japanese warship cruising next to a Chinese aircraft carrier.

A Tesla owner protests against the companys quality issues on the first day of the Shanghai auto show. Some people say she was trying to defame the carmaker and that the Chinese regime is backing her up.

Beijing is lending Sri Lanka $500 million, as the country is struggling financially. But the loan may have strings attached.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
A South American social media personality seeks the reversal of a court ruling that orders her to take down a video posted online, expressing her Biblical stance on marriage.

Responding to a viewer's question in her "Ask Me Anything" YouTube video, Erika "Kika" Nieto from Colombia shared her Christian belief, as well as her consideration for others who believe otherwise.

"God created man and woman so that they could be with each other. I don't consider men being with men or women being with women to be good, but I tolerate that," she said in the video.

However, activists complained about the clip and they filed two cases against her. In one case, the country's Constitutional Court already ruled that Nieto's statement on marriage is protected by the constitution, Alliance Defending Freedom International wrote.

In the second case, another activist also claimed that the video was "offensive and discriminatory." A lower court sided with the complainant and ruled that the video contains "hate speech" and ordered its removal.

But Nieto believes that the lower court denied her with the right to freedom of expression, contending that everyone should have the freedom to express themselves without fear of censorship.

"Everyone should be free to share their beliefs in public. I want to be authentic with my followers without being censored or fearing criminal sanctions just for posting a video. I don't want others to be afraid to voice their beliefs. By speaking out, I hope to inspire more tolerance of different opinions," she said.

The social media star is currently asking the Colombian Constitutional Court to overturn the order.

Tomas Henriquez, ADF International's Director of Advocacy for Latin America and the Caribbean, supported her argument, stating that the Colombian Constitution protects her right for freedom of expression.

"Freedom of speech, and religious freedom, are fundamental human rights guaranteed by every major human rights treaty. If someone feels offended, the best response is debate, not censorship. Ultimately, it is every one of us, and democracy itself, that suffer when people are not able to speak freely," Henriquez added.

The Colombian NGO Nueva Democracia, a civil society organization that advocates for fundamental rights, is representing Nieto in court.

The organization is requesting the Constitutional Court that it would uphold fundamental freedoms by reversing the decision of the lower court. The decision whether the case will be accepted for review is reportedly set in May.

ADF International noted that cases such as Nieto's are becoming a global concern.

The organization revealed that it is also defending a politician in Finland who is facing a legal action for expressing her personal belief online.

Paivi Rasanen, a member of the Finnish Parliament and the country's former Minister of Interior, articulated her views on social media. She tweeted against the decision of her church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, questioning its partnership with an LGBT event in 2019.

But Rasanen was sued for her tweet, accusing her of "ethnic agitation", a crime that bears a maximum penalty of two-year imprisonment.

Robert Clarke, Deputy Director of ADF International, said that speech freedom is currently being targeted with the rise of "cancel culture". He also pointed out that the cases of Nieto and Rasanen only showed that this freedom must be "properly protected".

"Whether someone agrees or disagrees with certain views, censorship inevitably leads down a dangerous path. Censorship creates fear, freedom of speech fosters a vibrant civil society," Clarke further stated.
Brian Brooks. Source: occ.treas.gov

The former acting head of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Brian Brooks, has hinted that the crypto regulation storm may have passed, claiming that the size of the industry means governments and regulators will no longer be able to stamp it out.

Now that we're in a USD 2 trillion market cap in crypto, I think the fear that regulation will somehow vanish or suppress this [has] gone away. Its too late for that, Brooks  who is due to take over as the CEO of Binance.US  said in a televised interview with CNN.

But he added that applying traditional banking solutions to the sphere would result in failure, stating that money laundering risks and terrorism needed to be met with blockchain-native solutions, adding:

Banking regulations represent certain risks that dont exist in crypto.

He claimed that his move, as the acting Comptroller of the Currency, to charter crypto banks had been permanent and irreversible, and that those charters can never be taken away.

Brooks, also formerly of Coinbase, stated that crypto needed some channeling, and that thats what we tried to do in my last role (at the OCC).

He stated that tokens were not Cabbage Patch Kids, but claimed that dogecoin (DOGE) was a novelty item, and was unlike other tokens that really are changing the world.

Brooks added that the nature of exchanges would also soon be changing, opining that at the moment, exchanges are on-ramps that wont be necessary in their current form five years from now.

The idea of moving your fiat into your crypto wallet wont really have meaning anymore, he said, with network native solutions replacing the status quo.

Harvesting exchange fees from [customers] is not a sustainable business model for exchanges, the new CEO of the US branch of Binance added.

"Now that we're in a $2 trillion market cap in #crypto, I think the fear that regulation will somehow vanish or sup https://t.co/HuS3lUHRYR  Julia Chatterley (@jchatterleyCNN)

____

Learn more:

- Turkey Bans Crypto Payments

- Here Are the Ways Governments Could Attack Bitcoin  and None of them Sound Hot

- Latest Episode of Indias Crypto Ban Soap Draws Decidedly Mixed Reviews

- Can't Beat Crypto Regulators? Educate Them

- Regulators Ponder Strategy As Bitcoin & Co Are Too Large to Ignore
Authorities are asking for the publics help in locating a missing Glassboro man.

William B. Robinson, 57, was last seen April 11, according to borough police.

He is described as Black, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, with brown eyes and partially gray hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 856-881-1500 or text GLASSPD to 847411.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
A heavily tattooed man wanted by police in Victoria has appeared to brag about his new claim to fame online.

Victoria Police released a photo of Christopher Humm, 36, on Wednesday in a public appeal for information about his whereabouts.

The manhunt is in relation to two outstanding warrants in the Geelong area south-west of Melbourne.

'These warrants relate to driving while disqualified. It is believed Humm frequents the Belmont area,' the police Facebook post read.

'He is required to attend at his local police station in order to have these warrants dealt with.'

Victoria Police issued this mug shot of Christopher Humm, 36, wanted on two warrants for driving while disqualified

The police alert quickly went viral as a man named Chris Humm claiming to be the wanted man boasted about his new status after he was tagged in the post.

'Told ya Id make the big big FB (Facebook) screen one day,' he commented on the online post.

The user later shared the police mug shot to his Facebook timeline.

'Is there a reward?' a friend commented.

Victoria Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday afternoon Humm is still wanted by police and urged him to turn himself in.

The man claiming to be the Christopher Humm wanted by police seems to have similar tattoos

A man claiming to be the Christopher Humm police are looking for bragged about his new fame on the police Facebook for

'We encourage him to attend the nearest police station,' a spokesman said.

Many viewers who spotted the Facebook post saw the funny side.

'Hummm, don't know him,' one man wrote.

Another quipped: 'You could say that texta on his neck is a bit Ho Humm.'

Anyone with information in relation to Humm's whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
[April 22, 2021] KELA Unveils Major Updates to Industry-Leading Technology, DARKBEAST

KELA Announces Key Capability Improvements Implemented into DARKBEAST in Q1 TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- KELA, the global leader of actionable threat intelligence, announces today many of the recent major improvements applied to their cybercrime research and investigation technology, DARKBEAST, during Q1. KELA's DARKBEAST automatically penetrates the hardest-to-reach corners of the cybercrime underground to enable federal investigators, security practitioners, intelligence analysts, and threat hunters to safely and simply research through the darkest corners of the Internet. KELA's industry-leading technology helps expose underground digital dangers to its clients by collecting, analyzing, and storing data from numerous sources in the cybercrime underground and making it accessible for users to search through  saving them the time, risk, and complexity of needing to locate and access the sources themselves. Raveed Laeb, Product Manager at KELA, stated: "We launched DARKBEAST to support all types of security teams in their intelligence collection and analysis processes. From the very start of launching DARKBEAST, we noticed great market attention and interest in our technology and immediately saw a spike of success within short time of releasing it. We're proud to say that DARKBEAST is actively being used by federal investigation teams, MSSPs, and security professionals globally including fraud teams, cyber threat intelligenc teams, vulnerability management teams, and supply chain management teams."



Following the major changes, DARKBEAST users can now benefit from: - Visibility into network accesses being sold by initial access brokers  KELA regularly monitors initial access brokers  a specific tier of cybercriminal actors who facilitate network intrusions in the affiliate ransomware supply chain  allowing users to actively track, analyze, and neutralize initial access brokers before they cause harm.

- Searching through images posted in cybercrime forums, instant messaging groups, ransomware blogs & more  While penetrating the hardest-to-reach sources of the cybercrime underground, KELA not only collects text, but also images that criminal actors are posting. DARKBEAST allows users to search through images posted by threat actors by automatically identifying keywords searched within images, screenshots, or files  providing users with an additional capability to identify and defeat criminal actors attempting to cause harm. - Finished intelligence compiled by KELA's Cyber Intelligence Center  Users can now gain contextualized and actionable intelligence from research performed by KELA's Cyber Intelligence Center. Finished intelligence can be leveraged in two ways: either through directly searching through KELA's finished intelligence repository, or by viewing raw data within DARKBEAST and accessing KELA's additional insights on top of the raw data. - Subscriptions & real-time alerts on saved queries  Users can now subscribe to relevant queries in order to track new results over time and receive real-time notifications. - DARKBEAST API  With DARKBEAST's integration to RESTful API, users can now benefit from DARKBEAST-driven intelligence without the need to enter the DARKBEAST interface. The easy-to-implement API allows users to manage and operate their threat hunting and research processes from their existing tools and technologies. About KELA KELA takes away fear of the unknown cyber threats all organizations face. Trusted worldwide, KELA's industry-leading threat intelligence technology automatically penetrates the hardest-to-reach corners of the cybercrime underground to provide organizations with unique, contextualized and actionable insights at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. KELA analysts' deep expertise and customer-focus provide customers with tailored intelligence on strategic and tactical threats gathered from external network and deep, dark, and open-web monitoring. For more information, visit www.ke-la.com. Contact Information Sharon Bitton

+972-3-970-2720

Marketing@ke-la.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1094213/KELA_Logo.jpg

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The Eisner Brothers building at 75 Essex St. has been on and off the market in recent years. A tipster yesterday pointed us to a new listing for the property, which borders Site 1 of the Seward Park development project.

About three years ago, property owner Shalom Eisner was asking $18 million; the price then dropped to $17 million. The new pitch from broker Bond New York is for $21 million. What difference has three years made? Well, for starters the real estate market has rebounded in a big way. But more significantly, the building is adjacent to a city-owned parking lot that is destined to become part of Essex Crossing, the mixed-use project set to break ground sometime in the next 18 months.

Heres the rendering from Delancey Street Associates, the developer, depicting the proposed Andy Warhol Museum right next door to 75 Essex. The parcel has frontages on Broome and Ludlow streets but also wraps around the Eisner building to Essex. In addition to the museum, the developers plan residential units on Site 1, including condos. The development team has not indicated whether it would try to acquire the privately-owned property. According to the Bond listing, the building has about 12,400 square feet, and the property possesses nearly 32,000 square feet in air rights.

In January of this year, Friends of the Lower East Side, a preservation group, asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to protect 75 Essex, which was once home to the Eastern Dispensary. Heres part of the organizations plea to the commission:

We request that the Landmarks Preservation Commission consider for landmark designation the Former Good Samaritan/Eastern District Dispensary. Designation has taken on new urgency because the building is surrounded by Site 1 of the Seward Park Mixed-Use Development. While the building is not on the site, it could be damaged by work conducted around it or it could be diminished by inappropriate development surrounding it. The dispensary is eligible for the National Register and is mentioned in the Environmental Impact Statement for the Development Eastern District Dispensary was established on Grand Street in 1832, during a major cholera epidemic that claimed the lives of more than 3500 people, mainly destitute Irish immigrants crammed into filthy hovels in the fourth and sixth slum wards of downtown Manhattan When Eastern District and Good Samaritan Dispensaries consolidated and erected the building at 75 Essex Street in 1890, there were close to a dozen of these publicly financed neighborhood dispensaries operating in Manhattan After a law was passed in 1899 that only the indigent could be treated at city-operated dispensaries, visits became a source of shame and the number of patients declined. Dispensaries gradually phased out as hospitals opened outpatient clinics. After Good Samaritan/Eastern District Dispensary closed in the 1950s, the building was converted to store, office and storage space. It is currently occupied by Eisner Brothers, a sportswear retailer The dispensary was designed by architects Rose & Stone in the style of a freestanding Italianate palazzo with a symmetrical facade organized in a tripartite division. When erected on the northwest corner of Essex and Broome Streets, in a neighborhood composed mainly of rows of tenements, it stood as an example of municipal responsibility and philanthropic concern.

The group has not received any information as of yet as to whether the Landmarks Commission is inclined to consider the proposal.
Guest Column Myanmar Crisis Poses a Challenge to the ASEAN Way

A screengrab of Myanmar coup leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing attending the 18th ASEAN Chiefs of Defense Forces Meeting via video on March 18.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the leaders of ASEAN will hold a special leaders meeting this Saturday at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to discuss how to deal with the deteriorating situation in Myanmar and its repercussions on the region and beyond.

Along with the other leaders, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Administration Council of Myanmar (SAC), is also expected to attend the gathering. The summit is unprecedented in the 54-year history of the organization in that it is the first time that ASEAN will be meeting at the highest level to address principally a situation of concern in a fellow member state.

Indeed, there is grave concern on the part of ASEAN and the international community over the course of events unfolding in Myanmar. There appears to be no end in sight to the growing violence and hostilities. Each passing day brings more deaths and casualties as the crackdown by security forces becomes even harsher. The pro-democracy and civil disobedience movements have nevertheless remained undeterred and have widened their base of support by bringing on board various armed ethnic groups.

While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the NLD remain under detention, those leading the call for the return of democracy and opposition to military rule have sought to garner international support and legitimacy for their struggle, establishing a parallel civilian-led national unity government as the alternative to the military-led SAC. Meanwhile, the once booming economy of Myanmar, already hard hit by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, is in a free fall causing greater hardships for the people. The Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is called, appears bent on intensifying its violent campaign of suppression in defiance of world opinion. The fear is that the worst is yet to come and that Myanmar is heading towards civil strife and becoming a failed state.

In the face of such dire circumstances, the ASEAN special summit in Jakarta comes at a very crucial juncture. After much toing and froing, ASEAN has finally come to realize that the crisis in Myanmar has become ASEANs conundrum, challenging many of the old assumptions that the regional organization had operated on, namely the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of a member state, which has been one of the cardinal principles at the heart of the so-called ASEAN way.

It is obvious that the tragedy and the atrocities that we are witnessing in Myanmar have had far-reaching ramifications for the peace and stability of the region as a whole and for ASEANs own credibility and standing in the eyes of the international community.

In ASEAN, the principle of non-interference must be applied against the obligations under the ASEAN Charter which includes, among others, the principles of democracy, human rights, good governance and rule of law, as many have already noted. While it must be admitted that the ASEAN Charter also provides a leeway in how member states choose to pursue such principles, it is worth recalling that the first sentence in the preamble of the Charter begins with the phrase We the peoples, meaning that every ASEAN government is duty bound to represent its people and has the primary responsibility to protect and promote the interests and well-being of its people. There is no justification whatsoever for any government to allow its soldiers to turn their guns on their own citizens in flagrant violations of human rights.

In the case of Myanmar, if ASEAN fails to act, its community-building efforts, the on-going economic integration, the cooperative relations with many key dialogue partners and, significantly, the much-touted ASEAN centrality will certainly suffer irreparable setbacks. What is more, if ASEAN proves itself incapable of managing the affairs of its own region, the case could be made for those outside the region to intervene in advancing their agenda and interests. ASEAN then would be confronted with the very real possibility of Myanmar becoming an arena for major power contestations.

Unfortunately, ASEAN remains divided on how to act. On the one hand, some member states such as Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and, recently, the Philippines have been openly critical of the Myanmar military regime, calling for a more pro-active approach by ASEAN. On the other hand, the other member states, Thailand included, seem to be ambiguous in their position, preferring a more passive wait-and-see attitude. Up to now, there have been diplomatic initiatives led by Indonesia but very little in the way of joint efforts by ASEAN apart from the issuance of statements of concern by the ASEAN chair, Brunei, which has been rather measured and couched in diplomatic parlance.

For sure, in Jakarta, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing will be coming with the main objective of seeking the support and understanding of ASEAN. It is doubtful that he would be prepared to offer any real and substantive concessions. What is most essential is that ASEAN avoids what could be construed as accepting the situation in Myanmar as a fait accompli. The issue of recognition must be threaded carefully as it could become problematic, particularly in the light of the setting up of the parallel national unity government by the pro-democracy movements.

If the gathering in Jakarta is to make any headway, ASEAN leaders must be well-prepared to be on the same page and speak with one voice in impressing upon Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing that the tragic events in Myanmar are of grave concern to all of the ASEAN member states and that the entire region stands to be adversely affected if the situation is not urgently redressed.

The Myanmar military must respond positively to the concerns of ASEAN and the international community over the developments in the country. If the Tatmadaw continues to defy world opinion, it could only lead Myanmar down the path of further isolation to its own detriment and that of the region as a whole. Importantly, the ASEAN leaders must be forthright in addressing the key issues, namely an urgent halt to the violence, the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political detainees as well as reinforcing the call for the SAC to enter into constructive dialogue with all the Myanmar parties concerned.

Realistically, one should not expect any immediate positive response from the military junta. Many have expressed doubts over whether the Tatmadaw is really prepared to engage positively with ASEAN. Be that as it may, ASEAN must continue to pressure, probe and prod in pursuit of its efforts to help resolve the situation in Myanmar and to help the people of Myanmar. The special ASEAN summit must not be an end in itself, but the beginning of a process of diplomatic engagement on the part of ASEAN.

To this end, ASEAN should lay out a coherent, coordinated and creative diplomatic strategy for the way forward. Many ideas abound such as the appointment of a special envoy or a group of Friends of the Chair to serve as the focal point for coordination among ASEAN and dialogue partners. The dispatch of a humanitarian mission by the ASEAN Secretary-General, as was the case with the cyclone Nargis disaster and during the Rohingya crisis, could potentially provide the interface with the military regime in Naypyitaw to open up space for humanitarian and subsequently broader dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders.

ASEAN must also be creative in employing a multitrack approach whereby existing official channels of communication can be augmented and complemented by informal or behind-the-scene diplomacy involving private individuals or organizations having both the links and the impartiality to serve as the conduit to build up trust and confidence among the respective parties in Myanmar. The crisis in Myanmar is both a challenge and an opportunity to rethink and reinvigorate the ASEAN way for, ultimately, it is about We the peoples as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. And it is in that spirit that we must not fail the people of Myanmar.

Sihasak Phuangketkeow is former permanent secretary of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and secretary-general of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council.

This article was first published by The Bangkok Post.



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The Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) has announced the formation of the #GMIS2021 Organising Committee made up of senior members from the UAE government and industry experts from renowned UAE-based organisations.



Their diverse backgrounds and expertise in driving innovation across various sectors will strengthen the summits multistakeholder approach and provide strategic guidance on the themes and vision of the fourth edition of the Summit (#GMIS2021). The Organising Committee held its first meeting on Monday.



Co-chaired by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit provides a unique platform for governments, businesses, civil society organisations and academic institutions from across the world to explore and identify solutions to challenges faced by multiple industries  from sustainability and employment, to research, development and design.



Under the theme Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalisation for Prosperity, #GMIS2021 will emphasise the importance of data intelligence and connectivity, highlighting the evolving integration of humans and machines, reinventing businesses, repurposing capabilities, and rewiring societies.



Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Co-chair of GMIS, welcomed the #GMIS2021 Organising Committee saying: Despite the challenges faced over the last year, many opportunities have also surfaced, and the only way to ensure that these opportunities lead to transformational outcomes is to get stakeholders from governments, businesses, academia and civil society to come together to shape the future of industrial growth and find solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable industrial sector



 #GMIS2021 offers the opportunity to bring together diverse and experienced voices from across the world to create a shared vision for industry, society, and the environment. We are thrilled to announce the formation of the Organising Committee for #GMIS2021 that will play an important role in ensuring the success of the Summit in Dubai as the global manufacturing community looks to scale up business activity.



In line with the vision of the UAE leadership, the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology aims to enhance the role of the UAEs industrial sector, increasing its contribution to sustainable economic growth. We look forward to hosting the 4th GMIS. Underpinned by innovative, advanced technologies, we look forward to discussing the latest developments in the industrial sector, exploring opportunities for cooperation and supporting the global progress, he added.



#GMIS2021 is taking place at the cusp of major economic and technological transformations in the UAE. In March, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology launched its brand-new titled Operation 300bn industrial strategy, which aims to increase the UAE manufacturing sectors contribution from AED133 billion to AED300 billion. Focused primarily on accelerating economic growth underpinned by Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, the strategy also includes initiatives to promote innovation and investment across local manufacturing.



#GMIS2021 will be held from November 22-27, 2021 at Expos Dubai Exhibition Center and will take place across several formats including keynote addresses, panel discussions, fireside chats, and interviews with some of the industrys most prominent leaders.



The programme will dive into core technologies that are central to this transformation and will address key themes surrounding Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, and the fifth generation of wireless network technology (5G).



The Summit will also include working groups, interactive workshops, youth sessions, and activities related to the GMIS legacy initiatives, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity, and an exhibition showcasing innovative advanced manufacturing technologies to showcase UAE manufacturing capabilities.  TradeArabia News Service








Come be a beacon of hope to our patients at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center's Critical Care Unit (ICU) - Must be an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner! Position Objective: Provides emergent and urgent care to patients in critical condition, including, but not limited to, patients in, general surgery and surgical subspecialties, cardiology, and medical patients. This role serves as a liaison for all disciplines and services interfacing with the Critical Care Service. The NP /PA will be credentialed according to the medical staff regulations of the Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) and will be under the supervision of an appropriately credentialed Critical Care attending physician. The NP/PA is responsible ultimately to the Critical Care Medical Director and works collaboratively to ensure program adherence to evidence based medical standards, quality initiatives and reliable execution of intended ICU daily processes. Essential Job Duties: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions Clinical Responsibilities Evaluates critically ill patients in ICU/IMU, ED, recovery room and on medicine/surgical services.

Provides emergent and urgent care to patients in critical condition.

Performs history and physical examination of patients.

Writes orders and interprets laboratory data and radiological tests.

Monitors patient status and response to treatments.

Documents findings in the ICU medical record.

Recommends and initiates appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Consults with subspecialty services as appropriate.

Provides education and counseling for patients and families.

Performs procedures, such as but not limited to, intubation, central line placement, arterial line placement, lumbar puncture, chest tube insertion, and paracentesis.

Participates in daily team rounding, periodic M&M sessions and department conferences/teaching opportunities.

Holds a close working relationship with nursing and medical staff.

Participates in the continuing education programs and departmental quality assurance, risk management, and compliance efforts.

Involved in critical care research projects, as well as, renal replacement therapy.

Facilitates the transfer of critical care patients with other facilities.

Actively works toward improving the Critical Care team, referring team, nursing staff, patient and family satisfaction.

Participates in the assessment of patient and family educational needs and assists in the planning and implementation of the associated teaching plan.

Facilitates transfer of information among healthcare professionals in order to promote smooth patient transition between services and levels of care.

Acts as a role model to nursing staff by demonstrating clinical and theoretical expertise, critical thinking and innovation in patient management.

Ensures staff compliance with established standards of care and provides input to improve clinical practice.

Eagerly seeks and participates in teaching opportunities within the institution

Actively creates, initiates and participates in research and development.

Coordinates and implements financial strategies to maintain a cost effective environment.

Monitors and measures performance in order to identify opportunities for improvement.

Develops and manages process improvement activities.

Supervises RN, NP, PA, interns, residents, health science and medical students as appropriate. Organizational Responsibilities Understands and supports AAMC mission statement, vision, and values and guiding principles.

Carries out safety and infection control procedures to ensure patient, staff and visitor safety.

Responds to customers in a friendly, prompt, and caring manner, maintaining confidentiality and respect.

Demonstrates positive behaviors toward patients, families, physicians, and all co-workers.

Promotes mutual respect and professionalism.

Participates in Performance Improvement activities by identifying areas needing improvement and taking action to improve, trend, and report through PI process. Educational/Experience Requirements: Master's Degree from an accredited Nurse Practitioner Program.

Two (2) years of related clinical experience as a Nurse Practitioner. Required License/Certifications: Licensed as a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) by the Maryland Board of Nursing.

Current Maryland Attestation with the Maryland Board of Nursing.

Current American Heart Association Health Care Provider CPR certification is required.

Proven interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with patients, families, physicians and other health care team members

Demonstrated flexibility and dedication to team involvement.

Capable of accepting new challenges and developing programs from start to finish

Self-directed, with sound decision making, written and verbal communication skills

Able to maintain confidentiality Effective interpersonal skills with strong facilitation, conflict resolution and negotiating skills Working Conditions, Equipment, Physical Demands: There is a reasonable expectation that employees in this position will be exposed to blood-borne pathogens. Physical Demands - Medium work. Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. The physical demands and work environment that have been described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The above job description is an overview of the functions and requirements for this position. This document is not intended to be an exhaustive list encompassing every duty and requirement of this position; your supervisor may assign other duties as deemed necessary.


Former US president, Donald Trump has revealed he is looking 'very seriously' at running for president again in 2024. Speaking during his very first television interview since leaving office in January, Trump announced his Presidential ambitions. He also attacked Joe Biden for his handling of the southern border and then warned that Latin America was 'sending rapists' into the United States. 'I am looking at it very seriously,' he said. 'Beyond seriously.' Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity.



Trump invited Sean Hannity of Fox News into his Mar-a-Lago estate. He said he believed his high poll ratings - what he termed his 'tremendous numbers' was due to disappointment in Biden's rule. 'I've got tremendous numbers. Nobody has ever gotten the numbers I got. No sitting president has come even close. There is more popularity now the end there was the day before the election,' he said. Trump, now 74, said he is not ready to officially declare his candidacy.



'From a legal standpoint, I don't want to really talk about it yet,' he added. He singled out having reduced taxes, reduced the cost of prescription drugs, created Space Force, and built parts of a wall along the border with Mexico.

More than 170,000 migrants were taken into custody at the U.S.-Mexico border in March - the highest monthly total since at least 2006. Now Trump says Biden's undoing of his immigration policies was very bad. 'All he had to do was leave it alone,' said Trump, pointing out that tens of thousands of migrants are currently arriving, and claiming that they were criminals and drug traffickers.'They are sending us not their best people,' Trump said.'They are sending us people that in many cases - not in all cases - are murderers, drug dealers, human traffickers, rapists, really bad people.



'They are sending people from prisons.' 'It's a horrible situation,' he said. 'It could destroy our country. People are pouring in.'He told Hannity that he was looking forward to campaigning on behalf of Republican candidates for the 2022 election, and said they should embrace his policies 'if they want to win'.



'We've got to take back the house in '22,' he said. 'We have a real chance.'









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Australian actor Guy Pearce and his partner, Dutch actress Carice van Houten, welcomed their son Monte in 2016.

And while they keep details about their four-year-old's upbringing in Carice's home country of The Netherlands private, Guy has admitted that being a father in his 50s has its challenges.

He candidly told Who magazine on Thursday: 'Having a young child at the ripe old age of 53 is a lot.'

Fatherhood: Guy Pearce admitted this week that having a 'young child at the ripe old age of 53 is a lot.' The former Neighbours star is a doting father to a four-year-old son named Monte who he shares with his partner Dutch actress Carice van Houten, 44 (pictured)

'But I am focused on spending all the time I can with him and being the best dad I can be,' the Melbourne-raised star added.

Guy, who first rose to fame on Neighbours, added that he hopes to bring his boy Down Under in the future.

'He's seen some Australian animals in the zoo in Amsterdam, but it will be great to show him our wildlife back in Australia,' Guy said.

Family man: The Melbourne-raised star added: 'I am focused on spending all the time I can with him and being the best dad I can be'

Shock split: Guy and Carice started dating a few months after his split from Guy's ex-wife Kate Mestitz (pictured) in 2015. Back in 2018, Guy revealed Andrew Denton's Interview that it was Kate who decided to end their 18-year marriage when the couple split

Guy and Carice started dating a few months after his split from Guy's ex-wife Kate Mestitz in 2015.

Back in 2018, Guy revealed Andrew Denton's Interview that it was Kate who decided to end their 18-year marriage when the couple split.

He said he was heartbroken when fans labelled him a 'b*****d' for assuming he left his wife for Carice, when in fact they started dating months after his split.

The Priscilla, Queen of the Desert star admitted he was blindsided when Kate abruptly called it quits, but said he still loves and respects his ex-wife.

Hurtful words: He said he was heartbroken when fans labelled him a 'b*****d' for assuming he left his wife for Carice, when in fact they started dating months after his split

In the works: Guy was in his home city of Melbourne back in January, reprising his role as Jack Irish for the ABC crime drama's final season after a three-year hiatus. He has also lent his voice to a brand new multimillion dollar Netflix animated movie

Guy meanwhile, was in his home city of Melbourne back in January, reprising his role as Jack Irish for the ABC crime drama's final season after a three-year hiatus.

He has also lent his voice to a brand new multimillion dollar animated movie that will feature the voices of some of the country's biggest stars.

Netflix's new flick - titled 'Back To The Outback' - will also star the likes of Isla Fisher, Keith Urban, Eric Bana and Tim Minchin, and is described as a 'love letter' to the country.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the hit movie is the story of a group of animals who escape from Sydney Zoo, and embark on an adventure to find a home away from humans.

Star-studded cast! Guy will feature in the Netflix's flick - titled 'Back To The Outback' - alongside Isla Fisher (pictured), Keith Urban, Eric Bana and Tim Minchin, and is described as a 'love letter' to the country
New Delhi, April 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the people of West Bengal on April 23 after cancelling his visit for reviewing the prevailing Covid situation, a BJP leader said.

In a statement, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said: "The Prime Minister has had to cancel his visit to Bengal on April 23, in which he was scheduled to address four rallies across four districts and 56 Assembly constituencies." "BJP Bengal unit and the voters of West Bengal were looking forward to his visit but we realise the gravity of the situation and the rationale for him not being able to make it in person." "We have since requested the Prime Minister to address the entire constituency at one time through a virtual address and we are pleased to confirm that he has agreed to do so." According to Ghosh, the Prime Minister will be addressing voters, particularly of Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Kolkata, through a virtual medium at 5 p.m. on April 23.

"On behalf of the voters of West Bengal, we extend our gratitude to the Honourable Prime Minister for acceding to our request and look forward to his inspiring address," Ghosh said.

Earlier, announcing cancellation his visit to poll battleground West Bengal, Modi tweeted: "Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal." As per the plan, Modi was supposed to address four rallies in West Bengal.

"As per the original schedule, two of these rallies were supposed to take place, at Malda and Murshidabad on April 22 and the next two rallies in Bolpur and Kolkata on April 24. In view of the prevailing Covid situation, all four rallies of Modiji were rescheduled on April 23. Now, he will address these rallies virtually," a West Bengal BJP leader said.

On Monday, the BJP has decided not to hold big rallies in West Bengal, and instead announced holding small public meetings of not more than 500 people to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi and senior central leaders.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Five experts on the panel that will vote on whether to lift the pause - a committee of 15 - on Friday spoke with Business Insider. All five want Johnson & Johnson's one-dose shot to still be used in the U.S.

But several suggested it should come with a warning, advising young women of rare brain blood clots seen in at least nine people, including six women between ages 18 and 48 during the rollout.

Two U.S. officials told the Washington Post that the vaccine will likely carry some kind of a warning about rare, similar to one used in the EU.

Vaccinations with J&J's shot were paused last week after nine reports of a rare possible reaction to the vaccine involving blood clots. Seven of the reactions were in women under 60.

Regulators are unlikely to place an age limit on who can receive the vaccine in their recommendations, which is expected after their 11am-5pm meeting Friday.

An Oregon woman in her 50s died after developing a rare brain blood clot within two weeks of getting the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, state health officials said Thursday.

She received the shot just days before the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a nationwide pause on the J&J shot amid blood clot concerns that arose after six women under 50 developed the dangerous condition.

No doses made at the plant have been shipped in the U.S. and distribution of the shot is paused amid blood clot concerns

Weekly supply of J&J's shot was halted after the pause was placed on the vaccine last week. So far, just shy of eight million doses have been given, and 17.6 million have been distributed

'I think almost surely this is going to turn out to be related to the vaccine because of the clustering and because of the extraordinary, unusual presentation and findings of the patients who have it,' committee member Dr Sarah Long, a Drexel University professor of pediatrics told Business Insider.

A second committee member, Dr Wilbur Chen, a professor at the University of Maryland, told the outlet he hoped that now that more people are aware of the potential - though rare - for brain blood clots, cases would be more quickly identified and treated.

Proper treatment will be key, because the type of blood clots reported after vaccination with J&J's shot also involve low platelet counts.

For that reason, one of the most common treatments for clots, Heparin, won't work, and could even make matters worse.

Dr Long added that if the clots continued to disproportionately affect younger women, then perhaps the committee would recommend it only for men and older women.

But officials who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity said it was unlikely that they would recommend an age limit on who should receive the vaccine.

A third panelist, Dr Kevin Ault, a University of Kansas OBGYN, said that the committee hadn't seen additional data beyond the nine reports (six women under 50 outside the trial, one woman under 50 in the trial and one young man in the trial) identified as of last week.

Dr Wilbur Chen (left) told Business Insider he hopes that with broader awareness of the rare potential for blood clots after the J&J shot, people will get treated faster. Dr Sarah Long (right) says she thinks the vaccine should still be used, but is almost certain the rare clots are linked to it. Both sit on the CDC advisory committee meeting Friday

'I don't want to get ahead of the advisory committee tomorrow's meeting,' said CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky on the Today show Thursday (pictured)

Earlier this week, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky hinted that there had been some but not many additional reports of blood clots.

Now, the committee members have at least one more data point to consider after the death of the woman in her 50s.

Prior to new report out of Oregon, only one person had died of the brain blood clots, the man who took part in the trial.

That group, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), is meeting tomorrow to discuss data on blood clots linked to the vaccine.

Publicly, officials have punted and refused to give Americans an idea of when J&J vaccinations might resume, while the committee deliberates.

'I don't want to get ahead of the advisory committee tomorrow's meeting,' said CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky on the Today show Thursday.

The committee, she noted, will review data on additional cases of blood clots linked to the vaccine that may have come in since the initial report.

Officials, including Dr Walensky and those who spoke to the Post, have also refused to disclose how many additional cases there have been, but have hinted that the figure is low.

'We are encouraged that it hasn't been an overwhelming number of cases but we're looking and seeing what's come in,' said CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky during a press briefing on Monday.

If that remains the case, vaccinations will likely resume almost immediately, but if more cases suddenly flood in, health officials may reconsider their current leanings.

Last Tuesday, the CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint statement announcing a pause due to concerns over blood clots.

Initially, there were seven reports of a combination of clotting and a low platelet count condition known as thrombocytopenia.

One person in the J&J trial developed the condition and died. Since the rollout of the shot began in the U.S., six women between 18 and 48 developed the condition after vaccination. Some developed clots that prevent blood from draining from the brain, a life-threatening condition.

Since then, another two cases have been identified: Another woman who got J&J's shot during the rollout and another person in the clinical trial.

Dr Walensky's statement suggests there have been more cases reported sense, but not many.

Nearly eight million doses of J&J's shot have been administered to-date in the U.S.

That means that the chances of developing a blood clot after receiving the vaccine are about one in a million.

In the general population, these forms of blood clots strike about five out of every one million people.

You are about twice as likely to get struck by lightning in your lifetime as you are to develop a blood clot after getting J&J's shot, so far.

EU regulators placed a pause on J&J vaccinations as well, but said this week that it should carry a warning about clots, but its use should not be restricted.

A similar pause was placed on AstraZeneca's shot in the EU, due to blood clot concerns.

Rates were higher, however, and some countries have recommended an age limit, with Italy and the UK advising that people under 30 should get an alternative vaccine.

Yesterday, FDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions and a laundry list of problems that need to be fixed at the Baltimore Emergent BioSolutions facility meant to be producing J&J's vaccine (file)

J&J will undoubtedly be relived if and when the pause is lifted - as will states, which have not been able to give out the shot - but its woes aren't yet over.

Yesterday, FDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions and a laundry list of problems that need to be fixed at the Baltimore Emergent BioSolutions facility meant to be producing J&J's vaccine.

The facility has not yet been authorized to make the shots, and last month ruined 5 million doses due to an ingredient mix-up.

None of the doses distributed in the U.S. so far have come from the unauthorized plant and were instead shipped from a facility in The Netherlands.

But J&J is now behind its goal of providing 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of June.

And the Biden administration has already purchased another 100 million doses, so getting an additional facility on line could be a critical boon to the firm's production capacity.
04/22/2021

Photo (c) JJ Gouin - Getty Images Coronavirus (COVID-19) tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 31,871,390 (31,802,046)

Total U.S. deaths: 569,518 (568,572)

Total global cases: 144,025,288 (143,128,250)

Total global deaths: 3,062,087 (3,047,754)

Michigans surge in new cases finally slows

Despite some of the toughest coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in the country, Michigan has recorded a surge in new cases just as the national trend began to fall. Fortunately, the latest numbers suggest the rise may have peaked.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the seven-day average of new cases in the state fell from 551.8 per 100,000 people on April 14 to 483 per 100,000 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, health officials are trying to learn why the state has been hit so hard this spring.

In an interview with Scientific American, Dr. Benjamin Stix, an anesthesia critical care medicine fellow at the University of Michigan, said he thinks the surge was related to timing, not behavior. He said the state began to open up right as the U.K. variant became widespread.

There was, all of a sudden, all these people who were, right as the state was opening up, exposing themselves to the community more, essentially. And now were in a really bad, bad situation, Stix stated.

New jobless claims go down again

Despite an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the nation, the labor market continues to improve. The Labor Department reports that initial claims for unemployment benefits fell again, dropping more than most economists expected.

There were 549,000 new claims for benefits last week, 39,000 fewer than the week before and the lowest number since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Last weeks total is part of an improving trend. The four-week moving average was 651,000, a decrease of 27,750 from the previous week's revised average.

Cigna rolls out vaccination incentives

Cigna, a health services company, has introduced what it calls a broad range of new initiatives to encourage and expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations. As many other corporations have done, Cigna is offering paid time off to receive the vaccination.

The company is also offering an incentive award for employees who are fully vaccinated and transportation to vaccine appointments at no cost for most Medicare Advantage customers.

"Even as vaccination rates increase, we are in a race against more contagious variants, and we must remain vigilant," said Dr. Steve Miller, Cigna's chief clinical officer.

Survey shows 90% of nurses have been vaccinated

As the COVID-19 vaccine rolled out late last year, a surprising number of health care professionals expressed skepticism. A large number of nurses at a Houston hospital told pollsters they werent going to get the shots, giving a variety of reasons.

Attitudes appear to have softened. Feedtrail, a service provider to the health care industry, has released a national survey showing that 90% of nurses have already been vaccinated. Another 82% said they were willing to urge others to be vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the White House has announced that the Biden administration has reached its goal of having a total of 200 million Americans vaccinated before the end of April.

Pandemic-led camping trend may continue

With bars, restaurants, and movie theaters mostly off-limits over the last year, millions of Americans rediscovered the great outdoors. Sporting goods manufacturers and campgrounds reported a big increase in camping, and sales of recreational vehicles (RV) surged.

Now that the economy is reopening, a new survey suggests that camping enthusiasm may stick around through most of 2021. New research from Kampgrounds of America (KOA) shows a strong outlook for both the RV and camping industries, with more people identifying as RV campers, more people buying RVs, and a very strong increase in interest year-over-year.

"One of the most encouraging trends of this year's data is the continued growth of diverse communities engaging in camping for the first time and becoming even more engaged, like Black campers having the highest intent of all camper sub-groups to purchase an RV this year," said Toby ORoark, CEO of KOA.

Around the nation
President Joe Biden calls it the forever war, a conflict that has lasted longer than many Americans have been alive.

It has been our longest  and perhaps most complex  war. The enemy wears no uniforms, no insignia, to mark their allegiance. They are nearly invisible, amorphous, their malevolence apparent only when they attack.

The war in Afghanistan started almost 20 years ago, launched after the horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001  9/11. More than 2,300 American soldiers have died, and more than 20,000 have been wounded. Thousands of contractors have also perished.

Compounding these casualties is the sense there seems to be no end in sight, no expectation of victory, in months, years or, as astounding as it may sound, decades. Just an endless series of attacks, deaths and families with broken hearts. The forever war.

Biden thinks it is time for forever to end. He has called for an end to the war by Sept. 11. Afghanistan, according to intelligence reports, was harboring Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, but he was killed on May 2, 2011, shot during a raid by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan.

We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago, Biden said in the Treaty Room of the White House, where President George W. Bush announced the initial strikes against al-Qaida in that country. That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.

The rationale is sound, the motivation clear and logical. But this is the most consequential military decision the president has made during his four months in office, and it carries a risk that may outweigh the temporary relief Americans will feel when the troops come home. The greatest fear  and it is a reasonable one  is that a fresh wave of terrorism may arise in Afghanistan, just as it did in Iraq when our troops left in 2011.

Whats going to happen when we leave? Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., asked during an interview with NPR. And I think we all know. I think theres a recognition that the Afghan government is not in a place to hold. And it will more than likely fall or at least lead to much greater violence.

The result, he said, may be a massive tragedy that would force U.S. troops to return, just as our soldiers returned to Iraq in 2014.

I think it doesnt require much of our presence to help, you know, stabilize the country, former President George W. Bush, who launched the war, said.

Bush is right. Along with 1,000 special forces troops that were previously unreported, more than 2,500 troops remain in Afghanistan. The number is down from the peak of 110,000 in 2010, according to the New York Times. And Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military news outlet, reported in February that no U.S. troops had died in almost a year, a clear sign that U.S. presence has helped stabilize the country.

Thanks to the efforts of coalition and ally training, the Afghan security forces are better and more capable of securing their borders and protecting their fellow citizens, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a recent NATO meeting in Brussels. We will continue to support them in those efforts.

The continued training and support for Afghan security forces is imperative, but the ongoing presence of U.S. troops is equally crucial. The Taliban agreed to cut ties with other terrorist groups, including al-Qaida, as part of an agreement with the U.S. last year. But some officials, both Republicans and Democrats, are skeptical, and it remains unclear how long the Taliban will continue to honor the pact.

The question is, can we continue to suppress the terrorist threat without our troops being on the ground in Afghanistan? Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., asked during an interview with the New York Times.

It is a good question, one we cannot afford to get wrong.
(Natural News) There are some truly lousy human beings in America, and not a few call themselves journalists.

Heres a perfect example: If, as an American citizen whose freedom of political choice is supposedly protected under our Constitution, you happen to financially support the wrong person  that is, someone designated as wrong by the Marxist left  you will be punished. You will be outed, you will have your reputation attacked, your job will be targeted, and you will lose your livelihood and ability to earn a living.

All for having the wrong political opinion.

Case in point as noted by Breitbart News on Monday: A paramedic in Utah is now being victimized and subject to abuse by a media terror campaign because he dared to donate $10 to the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse, the young man who shot and killed two rioters while wounding a third (who was armed) as they attacked him during the riots in Kenosha, Wis., last summer.

The outlet reports:

It all began Friday when the far-left Guardian took advantage of a data breach at a Christian website to publish the names of private citizens who contributed to the fund. Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, is charged with shooting and killing two people during last years Black Lives Matter riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is pleading self-defense, and after video of him under attack was released online, many believe he is being unfairly scapegoated and prosecuted.

Using this hacked material, a monster journalist named Jason Nguyen from ABC4, Salt Lake Citys ABC-affiliate, decided to make a play for a CNNLOL gig by terrorizing this paramedic (whose name wont be published here).

https://twitter.com/FollowWIN/status/1383252307358277633

The reporter says he wanted to get the side of the story from the paramedic he named but he did so in a way that he was sure to reveal all kinds of personal, private information about him, including his private residence.

This fascist media monster, who obviously has a problem with the presumption of innocence and due process, also tried to get the paramedic fired by ratting him out to his employer. The city responded by releasing a statement that said it is conducting an investigation into the matter,' Breitbarts John Nolte writes. (Related: CNN admits to terrorizing America with fear-mongering and crisis programming.)

Mind you, another right Americans used to have until the garbage left rose to prominence in the Age of Obama was the right to a competent defense, which takes money. It was fine for then-Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris to raise money to bail out thugs and rioters who looted and burned businesses in Minnesota last summer but its not okay to donate to Kyle Rittenhouses defense.

The dirtbag reporter also was sure to try and gin up outrage at the paramedic by closing his story this way: NAME REDACTED] will not be placed on administrative leave during this investigation. Its not clear how long that will take.

Without making any pronouncements about whether Rittenhouse is guilty or innocent  he did, after all, shoot and kill two people but he was also under direct attack, being struck at one point over the head with a skateboard, making the case he feared for his life  the young man is definitely entitled to a defense.

And as Nolte points out, if ever there was a need for a GoFundMe type of crowdfunding effort, Rittenhouses case sure fits that bill because the case is complicated and its going to be expensive.

Meanwhile, the same trash who claim to be reporters have no similar interest in doxxing BLM and Antifa thugs who terrorize citizens, beat on police, and loot and burn businesses, some of which were owned by people who had nothing else in their lives.

This country needs a gigantic reset.

See more reporting like this at NewsFakes.com.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Biased.news

NaturalNews.com
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 09:31:29|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China's aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060 are hugely significant commitments and deserve to be commended, a renowned U.S. expert has said.

"They have helped inject energy and vitality back to global climate change talks, with other countries -- mostly in East Asia -- also following in China's wake and laying out ambitious climate change targets," Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

As a large developing country, meeting these steep targets will be "an arduous task" for China, Gupta said. "But seen through the lens of incentivizing and mainstreaming 'green' technologies within our everyday lives, it can also be seen as a huge commercial opportunity."

Going forward, the need now is to incentivize the switching to cleaner technologies and industrial processes in the short and medium term, Gupta said.

"Long-term targets are good, but one can only get there through a series of incremental -- and incrementally more ambitious -- steps which must begin right away," he said.

China's national carbon emission rights trading scheme, which is due to be launched in July, is an important step in this direction, the expert said.

On Sunday, the United States and China issued a joint statement after talks between China Special Envoy for Climate Change Xie Zhenhua and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in the Chinese city of Shanghai.

The statement, which contains commitments from China and the United States to cooperate and to strengthen implementation of the Paris Agreement, also said both countries look forward to the U.S.-hosted Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22.

At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver an important speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate in Beijing through videolink, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.

The U.S.-China cooperation on climate change and its memorializing in the recent joint statement is "a refreshing breath of fresh air," said Gupta.

By cooperating and leading together, the United States and China, along with the European Union, "set a good example of political will to their peers that a pressing global challenge can be tackled, and that the North-South divide in the process of doing so can also be bridged," said Gupta.

"Just as importantly, their cooperation on climate change shows that both the United States and China can rise above their differences and cooperate together in the better interests of all," he said. Enditem
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - OrganiMax Nutrient Corp. (TSXV: KMAX) (FSE: L3U) (OTC: BNJRF) ("OrganiMax" or "the Company") is pleased to welcome Guy Sande and Carson Sedun to the Company. Guy Sande will act as General Manager for the Company's Silver Valley Project (the "Project") and Carson Sedun will act in a Corporate Development role and as an advisor to the President and CEO of the Company.

Mr. Sande is a mining professional with over 35 years experience in exploration, development, mine planning and operations. Prior to taking root in the Coeur d'Alene District of Idaho, he brought the Soledad Mountain Project in Mojave, California from exploration in 1996 to final feasibility in 2000. Following that, he has spent the past 21 years working and residing in the Silver Valley, Idaho. Mr. Sande has had senior level positions for several of the most prominent mines in the Silver Valley in several different roles including Chief Engineer, Technical Services Director, Lands Manager, Mine Surveyor and Bankruptcy Director for the following companies: Coeur d'Alene Mines, U.S. Silver at the Galena Mine; Sterling Mining Company and Silver Opportunity Partners at the Sunshine Mine. Mr. Sande is an alumnus of the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology as well as a past Chair of the Coeur d'Alene Section of SME and an active committee member of the Coeur d'Alene District Mining Contest for over 20 years.

Mr. Sedun has 10 years of capital markets and mining industry experience, including 4 years in investment banking and capital markets roles at Canaccord Genuity and Dundee Capital Markets, successfully completing 35 transactions in equity financings and mergers & acquisitions totaling $1.5 billion in value. Mr. Sedun holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, where he was part of the world's mining-focused MBA program. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and a graduate certificate from the Norman Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia.

OrganiMax's President & CEO Brandon Rook commented, "We are extremely pleased to have Guy and Carson join the Company filling key management roles. Guy will be instrumental on the ground at the Company's Silver Valley Project with his extensive mining and exploration experience, particularly in the unique geological environment of the Silver Valley. His leadership will be instrumental in helping the Company grow into a significant participant in the district."

"Carson brings broad and diversified knowledge and experience to the Company that will greatly add to the Company's growth prospects, strategic direction and corporate identity. His skillset is a welcome addition to the group here at OrganiMax."

Lastly, the Company has granted an aggregate of 200,000 share purchase options with an exercise price of 25 cents per share and a term of five years. The new grant is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

About OrganiMax Nutrient Corporation:

Silver Valley, Idaho Project:

Key investment highlights of the Project include:

The Project comprises one property package of 403 acres of patented lode claims; 5 historic mines and highly prospective unexplored areas.

Two major silver mines (the Bunker Hill Mine and the Page Mine) located directly adjacent and contiguous to the Project at both the west and east boundaries historically mined into the Project's area.

The Page Mine sourced ore grade mill feed from the Project for 21 years but never mined deeper than 1,200 feet below elevation; notably, the Page Mine was developed to 3,400 feet.

All previously mined areas remain open at depth and along strike - the geology of the Silver Valley is known for vein structures trending deeply if not cut-off by faulting (the adjacent Bunker Hill Mine mined to 5,800 feet below surface and Hecla's Lucky Friday Mine is mining today 10,000+ feet below surface).

Modern systematic exploration and drilling has never been applied to the Project and there remains significant potential to unlock value from modern systematic exploration techniques, mapping, sampling, surveying and drilling.

The other 4 mines nearby produced ore from near surface to 200 feet below surface.

No Federal permitting required; permitting with the State of Idaho is straightforward with patented claims.

Idaho is an established top tier mining jurisdiction, ranking 1 st in the world under the Policy Perception Index (PPI) and ranked 9 th in the world under the Investment Attractiveness Index as part of the Fraser Institute's 2020 Annual Survey.

in the world under the Policy Perception Index (PPI) and ranked 9 in the world under the Investment Attractiveness Index as part of the Fraser Institute's 2020 Annual Survey. The Project has favourable infrastructure nearby, located 94km east of Spokane, Washington approximately 1km south of the Interstate 90 highway, including full access to power, water and full industrial infrastructure, which includes fabrication facilities and a highly experienced underground mining work force. Four flotation mills are located within 10km of the Project and can be utilized if and when need be. The Project is a four-hour drive to the Trail, BC smelter to process concentrate

No pre-existing royalties.

A 100-year detailed map folio from the Project, the Page Mine and Bunker Hill Mine will be incorporated into a 3-D geological model that will add significant value to future exploration and development of the Project.

Despite the Project being located between two prolific past producing mining properties, the Project has remained unavailable for exploration and development over the past 80 years due to claim boundary issues between Bunker Hill Mining (the Bunker Hill Mine) and ASARCO (the Page Mine), as well as the subsequent transfer of the property to the EPA and the closure of the area for mining in the late 1970's.

Lithium-Sulphate of Potash (SOP) project in Mexico:

OrganiMax Nutrient Corp has a 100%-owned lithium and potassium bearing salar complex of mineral concessions in the Central Mexican Plateau located in the states of Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosi. Regional geophysical work has indicated that the depths of the salar basins may be much greater than previously thought, making the salars highly prospective for large brine aquifers to be discovered at depth. The Company is targeting Sulfate of Potash (SOP) and Lithium Carbonate (LCE) and boron for both the domestic and international markets.

The Company has announced a maiden sediment mineral resource estimate (MRE) of both lithium and potassium at its three salars. Highlights include:

120 million tonnes (Mt) of Inferred Mineral Resources grading 4.6% potassium (K) and 380 ppm lithium (Li);

Continuous high-lithium portion of La Salada salar containing 7 Mt grading 1,490 ppm Li;

Contained 12.3 Mt of Sulfate of Potash (SOP) and 243,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE);

Sampling is restricted to 5 metre depths in most areas; therefore, there is good exploration potential to increase the Mineral Resource at depth and also extending the sampling to the edge of the salar basins where sampling has not taken place;

Geophysical surveys completed suggest there is potential for additional similar layers of potassium or lithium enriched material to be found under the current pitting/drilling;

Recent regional geophysical work has indicated that the depths of the salar basins may be much greater than previously thought, making the salars highly prospective for large brine aquifers to be discovered at depth.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of OrganiMax Nutrient Corp.,

"Brandon Rook"

Brandon Rook, President and Chief Executive Officer

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

For further information please contact us at:

604-800-4710 or

info@organimax.com

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81276
A New Jersey man admitted Wednesday he stole more than $481,000 from a government program intended to provide financial assistance to small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bernard Lopez, 40, of Sayreville, also admitted he altered a stolen U.S. Treasury check  changing the amount on the check from $1,886.87 to $211,886.87  and deposited into a bank account he set up for a sham business he created.

On Wednesday, Lopez pleaded guilty to one count each of bank fraud and theft of government funds, the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Jersey said in a statement. Lopez faces up to 30 years in federal prison for the bank fraud and 10 years for stealing government funds. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6.

Lopez established the fake company  Pezlo Management  in September 2014 and claimed it operated out of North Brunswick, according to charging documents. Then in October 2019, he opened a bank account in the name of the company. The following February, Lopez used a stolen social security number to obtain the check and changed the name of payee and amount, prosecutors said.

Lopez deposited the check into the account of the unnamed bank in Pennington. The check was originally made out to a company in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, court papers state.

Eight days later, he withdrew $5,000 from the account at the banks East Brunswick branch. He then transferred another $129,000 to other accounts he controlled, according to court papers.

Lopez also applied for a Paycheck Protection Plan loan from a bank  falsely claiming he had 25 employees, monthly payroll expenses of approximately $192,000 as well a lease and utility expenses. He was approved for the loan and received $481,502.

The loans can be entirely forgiven if the recipient spends the money on allowed expenses such as payroll, rent, utilities, and interest on mortgages.

Lopez was arrested July 6 in Florida before later being returned to New Jersey, authorities said.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
EV

Ingenlaths speech strikes a very special chord if you consider that today, April 22, is Earth Day. And what Earth needsand badly sois less pollution and less reliance on fossil fuels. Electric cars would solve that problem. If onlystartups actually focused on building them.Speaking about the current trend of startups without a single product being worth hundreds of millions on the stock market, Ingenlath said the focus needs to shift. Not for the investors, but for the people running these startups.What is at stake here is not how much financiers think a company is worth, but the chance to revolutionize the auto industry, turn it electric and at the same time make a huge contribution to protecting the climate, Ingenlath said at the event. Put against these important themes, a market valuation is a very insubstantial and meaningless marker of success. It frankly amazes me that there are companies out there that are worth billions of dollars and have never made a car.The electric revolution weve been hearing about for years needs to happen, but to do so, it has to be grounded in reality, not dreams. Or, as the rest of the world calls them, vaporware On a slightly more positive note, Ingenlath conceded that the automotive industry is at a tipping point, with only gains to be had on the other side. It is, according to the CEO, now in a position to make the most significant contribution to positive climate change in history.Polestar is a joint venture by Geely and Volvo and has produced two vehicles since 2017, when it was founded: the Polestar 1 , a hybrid, and the 2 , a fully electric sedan.
Vietnamese firms have chance to reach out to Halal market

Global demand for Halal product is increasing. (Photo: halalvietnam.vn)

Vietnamese food processors have opportunities to tap into the billion-USD Halal market when attending a hybrid exhibition on Halal products and processed food scheduled in late May in Singapore.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Vietnam estimated that the Halal market is growing rapidly, with Muslim consumers worldwide spending 1.4 trillion USD on Halal food, and the figure expected to be ten times higher in 2050.

As a leading agricultural exporter in the world, Vietnam has huge advantages to penetrate into the Halal market, experts said, adding it is necessary to study consumers demand and Halal markets standards.

Vietnamese authorities have joined hands with their partners in Singapore hold the hybrid event at Changi International Airport, aiming to help Vietnamese firms to engage in the promising Halal market.

Participants need to obtain Halal certificates, satisfy the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), and provide products instruction in English, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trades Trade Promotion Agency.

Joining the event, businesses will enjoy free-of-charge exhibition areas, transportation, and business-matching events. Along with communication work, they will receive support to sell their Halal products at Singaporean supermarkets.

This is Vietnams first Hybrid exhibition in a foreign country, aiming to pilot trade fair in combination with business matching through digital platforms.

The exhibition will last for one week with strict trade measures put in place to ensure safety for the participants.

It is estimated that demand among the Muslim community for products found in Vietnam is about 34 billion USD per year. But, in fact, Vietnams export of such products to this market has reached only 10.5 billion USD, meaning that more than two-thirds of consumer demand, worth 23.6 billion USD, has been missed.

Every year, about 50 Vietnamese companies are granted halal certifications mainly for seafood, beverages, canned foods, confectionery, vegetarian food and pharmaceuticals products./.

SBV orders circulation of denominations of currency at reasonable ratio

According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), recently, the Governor of SBV has issued a document directing its Transaction Center and branches to balance the structure ratio of all types of denominations of currency in circulation, ensuring the issuance rate of the VND500,000 notes in circulation following the regulations of SBV and increasing the issuance of small notes from VND10,000 downwards.

However, according to SBV, the ratio of VND500,000 notes put in circulation in some units remained high. The putting of small denominations into circulation in some units has not been done actively and thoroughly.

To continue to ensure a reasonable structure of the types of denominations of currency in circulation, SBV requires its branches in provinces and cities to monitor the progress of cash revenues and expenditures in the area, ensure to fully meet the cash demand for credit institutions and branches of foreign banks.

Steel producers post outstanding results in Q1

The surge in prices of steel since the beginning of 2021 helped many steel producers record good performance in the first quarter.

Rebar futures contracts, trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, increased sharply due to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most traded May rebar contract climbed 17.4 percent this year and traded at 5,101 yuan per tonne. The rebar price rose 51 percent compared to April 2020.

In its first quarter finance result, Hoa Sen Group (HSG) posted an increase of nearly 382 percent year-on-year in net revenue to 9.1 trillion VND, leading to a rise of 215.8 percent in profit after tax to 572 billion VND.

HSG said that the gain was mainly driven by increases in net revenue and falls in financial expenses, dropping nearly 30 per cent in the first quarter.

Ho Chi Minh City Metal Corporation (HMC) also witnessed strong growth in business results during this period with its revenue rising 40.4 percent over the same period of 2020 to over 1.1 trillion VND.

The company's profit after tax gained over 10 times compared to last year to 64.7 billion VND, marking the highest quarterly profit since it was founded.

In the financial report, HMC said that the main reasons for the company's outstanding performance were gains in sales and higher steel price.

The company will hold its annual general meeting on April 26. In a report prepared for the meeting, HMC set this year's target of 3.45 trillion VND in revenue, down 5 percent year-on-year, with profit after tax increasing 16 percent to 44 billion VND.

Another steel producer posting good results in the first quarter was Thu Duc Steel JSC (TDS).

The quarterly financial report showed that the company's net revenue rose 22.7 percent year-on-year to 601.6 billion VND. Its profit after tax also posted a gain of 45.5 percent to over 12.8 billion VND.

According to TDS, its steel consumption increased to over 1,760 tonnes in the last quarter while the steel price continued to rally.

The sharply decline in financial expenses also supported TDS' business results. The fees slid nearly 76 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

In 2021, TDS is expected to reach 20 billion VND in profit before tax.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), HSG and HMC closed higher on April 19, up 5.86 percent and 6.91 percent, respectively.

TDS, which trades on UPCOM, also opened the new week on a positive note. The TDS shares increased 14.62 percent to 24,300 VND./.

Vietnamese firms learning importance of branding: conference

The Vietnam Value Programme has brought home to businesses the importance of brands, which hold the key to increasing the value of products and enterprises, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

The number of Vietnamese enterprises with products recognised as national brand has risen from 30 in 2008 to 124 now and to 283 products," he told the opening ceremony of the Vietnam National Brand Week which is organised from May 19 to 25 in HCM City.

The Vietnam Value Programme, implemented since 2003, aims to build the image of Viet Nam as a country with high-quality goods and services and enhancing the prestige of its enterprises both at home and abroad.

According to Brand Finance, a leading global brand valuation and strategy consultancy, in 2020 Viet Nams national brand was valued at US$319 billion, up 29 per cent from 2019 and nine places to 33rd in the National Brands list of the worlds 100 most valuable brands, he said.

Samir Dixit, managing director of Brand Finance Asia-Pacific, said in his companys 2021 Global Soft Power Index Report, Viet Nam is the only country in Southeast Asia to improve its soft power ranking from 2020.

Its ranking moved up from 50th place out of 60 countries in 2020 to 47th place out of 105 in 2021.

According to Brand Finance, soft power is a nations ability to influence the preferences and behaviours of various actors in the international arena through attraction or persuasion rather than coercion.

Speaking at the National Brand Forum, held as part of the Vietnam National Brand Week, Nguyen Son Tra from the ministrys Multilateral Trade Policy Department said, Commitments under CPTPP and EVFTA have helped promote the Vietnamese brand in export markets.

To build their brands, besides focusing on product quality and prices, businesses also need to focus on factors like social responsibility, environmental protection and sustainable development, she added.

Pham S, vice chairman of the Lam Dong Province Peoples Committee, said, Branding is the golden key that helps firms open doors to new markets.

Vu Ba Phu, director general of the Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency, said his agancy and the ministry would continue to provide support to enterprises with products and services recognised as national brand to promote their exports.

They would also organise activities to increase awareness among consumers about the programme and Viet Nam Value products through various domestic and international media channels, he said.

The 2021 Viet Nam National Brand Week includes the Vietnam National Brand Forum, a seminar on how to leverage Vietnamese brands and activities to popularise the National Brand Programme.

The event is expected to help promote Viet Nam as a producer of high-quality goods and services, boost foreign trade and enhance national competitiveness while calling for concerted efforts from ministries and business community in developing national brands in Viet Nam.

Vietnam welcomes FDI in production of medical equipment: trade officer

Vietnam has rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors, including those from ASEAN member states, to land investment in the field of advanced medical equipment, said Counselor Nguyen Manh Hung at the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany.

At a virtual conference held by Ernst & Young (EY) Global Limited on April 20, Hung said that ASEAN has produced a wide range of medical equipment, and 5-7 percent of the global equipment exports are sourced from ASEAN countries.

Vietnam has huge demand for medical equipment due to its rapid aging population, he stressed, believing that a network between ASEAN member states should be established to enhance information exchange as well as cooperation in the field so as to ensure timely supply of medical equipment and pharmaceutical products.

At the event, which also aimed to promote trade and investment in consumer goods within the bloc, Hung highlighted the important role of Vietnams garment and footwear in both domestic and export markets.

Despite adverse impacts of COVID-19, Vietnams exports of consumer products topped 100.3 billion USD in 2020, a year-on-year rise of 2.4 percent. Particularly, shipments of garment and footwear products accounted for 20 percent of the nations total export revenue in 2019.

Currently, Vietnam is the fourth largest garment and textile exporter, and the second biggest source market of footwear. However, 80 percent of the leather shoes come from the FDI sector, Hung said.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the supply of materials for the two production sectors, while global demand has declined sharply, Vietnam is working to diversify its material supplies to reduce risks.

In a bid to enjoy tax preferences from free trade deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), brands and suppliers in Vietnam are using domestic materials.

According to Hai, with robust economic growth, ASEAN is both a large supplier of consumer products and a big market.

With increasing income, ASEAN consumers have preferred high-quality products, including garments and leather shoes; therefore, Vietnam is striving to branch out the two sectors through developing transport and logistics infrastructure, he added./.

Ministry targets 650 million USD from mango exports by 2030

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) expects that, by 2030, Vietnam will be home to about 140,000 ha of mango trees with output standing at 1.5 million tonnes, earning the country 650 million USD from exports of the fruit.

The mango growing area currently stands at some 87,000 ha, 48 percent of which is in the Mekong Delta.

Vietnam shipped over 180 million USD worth of mangoes abroad last year, accounting for only 1.15 percent of the worlds total.

China was the largest market of Vietnam, with nearly 152 million USD, or 83.9 percent of the total, followed by Russia, the US, the Republic of Korea, the EU, Australia, and Japan, according to MARDs Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.

To achieve the export target, Deputy Director of MARDs Plant Protection Department Nguyen Thi Thu Huong called on the ministry to upgrade her departments technical centres so as to carry out studies helping to remove technical barriers, seek new markets, and conduct pre-export checks.

She also recommended MARD digitalise its databases on farming zones, processing establishments, and packaging facilities.

While localities should enhance connectivity between cultivation areas and increase training for local staff in charge of farming techniques, businesses need to seriously comply with regulations from both importing countries and Vietnam, boost production cooperation, maintain constant monitoring to ensure sufficient supply and quality materials, and remain updated on export information, Huong added.

Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said having 48 percent of the mango growing area concentrated in the Mekong Delta is favourable in improving quality and meeting the requirements of importing markets.

However, as the area meeting VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards makes up just 3.8 percent of the Mekong Deltas mango growing area, it is necessary to boost the adoption of these standards, he noted.

Nam also urged provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta to work to improve quality in every step, from farming and harvesting to preservation, while strengthening links in mango sales.

In particular, they should identify target markets and work with enterprises and cooperatives to help farmers align cultivation practices with international standards./.

Vietnamese, US firms join hands to develop aviation infrastructure

More than 80 state-owned and private enterprises from Vietnam and the US discussed cooperative opportunities at a recent virtual conference as both sides are making preparations for the launch of direct flights between the two countries.

Leading US firms such as Autodesk, Boeing, Collins, Aerospace, Haskell, Honeywell, Mitre, Rapiscan, JBT Aerotech, Turner Construction and Tyco Security, among others, shared experience and solutions in airport development, as well as highlighted opportunities to boost the Vietnam-US collaboration in this field.

At the event, the US Federal Aviation Administration, the US Transportation Security Administration, the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Development Agency said they would work closely with the Vietnamese sides to develop a safe and effective air transportation system.

The US agencies are working to provide technical and financial support for the Vietnamese side.

Meanwhile, representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and Airport Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) shared information on Vietnams aviation infrastructure development plans.

Earlier, Bamboo Airways was licensed by the US Department of Transportation to carry passengers and cargo between Vietnam and the US. It will use wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to fly directly from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to international airports in the US.

Experts evaluated the market potential between the two countries is at about 700,000 passengers per year, while only 30,000  60,000 passengers per year are needed to open the direct flight.

In term of legal aspects, in 2003, Vietnam and the US signed an aviation agreement that allows carriers of the two countries to operate direct flights with a frequency of one flight per day or fly over to a transition country before departing from the US.

In 2010, the CAAV reviewed and reassessed the agreement, concluding there are no restrictions or obstacles on passengers, flight frequency to apply for permission to open flights connecting Vietnam and the US.

And after 10 years of efforts, in early 2019, the CAAV obtained the US CAT-1 certificate. This is a prerequisite for Vietnamese airlines to apply for permits to fly to the US and to codeshare with US airlines. The FAA will continue to evaluate the capacity of each Vietnamese carrier./.

Hanoi: Q1 exports fall slightly year on year

Hanoi earned 3.118 billion USD from exports in the first quarter of 2021, dropping 1 percent from the same period last year, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Of the total, more than 1.6 billion USD came from shipments by domestic businesses, down 9.3 percent, and over 1.15 billion USD from foreign invested firms, up 9.7 percent.

Some commodities posting export growth in Q1 included mobile phones and accessories (92.4 million USD, up 110 percent), footwear (77.6 million USD, up 24.6 percent), and glass and glassware products (83.7 million USD, up 17.8 percent).

Those with shrunken shipments were transport vehicles and spare parts (283.3 million USD, down 15.7 percent), agricultural products (141.3 million USD, down 30 percent), and petrol and oil (127.1 million USD, down 42.4 percent).

Meanwhile, the capital imported almost 6.99 billion USD worth of goods in the first three months, up 4 percent year on year, including 5.38 billion USD by domestic enterprises and 1.6 billion USD by foreign invested ones, up 4 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.

Explaining the export contraction in Q1, Acting Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Tran Thi Phuong Lan said complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the key export markets like the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia have continued to adversely impact exports, leading to a sharp decline the shipments of vehicles and spare parts, petrol, and oil./.

Vinamilk leaps six spots in worlds top 50 dairy producers

The Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has moved up six places from 42nd to 36th in the Top 50 by Total Sales in Dairy Product Processors (Global), according to the rankings announced by UK-based Plimsoll Publishing Ltd.

With total revenue of more than 59.7 trillion VND (nearly 2.6 billion USD) in 2020, Vinamilk was the only dairy producer in Southeast Asia to enter the Top 50.

Top 10 named businesses from the US, New Zealand, Europe and China.

The Vietnamese dairy firm entered the Top 50 for the first time in 2017. In 2020, thanks to its rational strategies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vinamilk posted robust business results, with earnings surging 5.9 percent from 2019, and 17 percent from 2017.

In the past time, an array of new products have been introduced to Vietnamese consumers, including high-grade Vinamilk Green Farm fresh milk  a product made of fresh milk sourced at Vinamilks Green Farm, Vinamilk UHT fresh milk with birds nest and Fruit Love.

Thanks to its high-quality products, Vinamilk has been among top three most chosen fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand owners in both urban and rural areas for the 8th consecutive year, according to the Kantar Worldpanels Asia Brand Footprint 2020.

Along with affirming its prestige in the domestic market, Vinamilk has won the taste of consumers in 56 countries and territories. To date, it has shipped more than 2.4 billion USD worth of dairy products abroad.

Vinamilk has invested heavily in its international-standard dairy farms. The firm is now owning 13 dairy farms in Vietnam, and an organic milch cow farming resort complex in Laos.

Earlier this year, Vinamilk introduced the first eco-farm system in Thanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, and Tay Ninh provinces, with tens of thousands of cows. At the farm, the natural groundwater is considered "the source of nourishing life" as it is the water supply source for plants, grasslands and corn, helping to create eco-detention basins and keeping the air cool and fresh./.

Vinh Long looks to step up industrial development

A surge in investments in the Mekong Deltas Vinh Long province is expected to be an opportunity for it to speed up its industrial development in the time to come.

Industrial parks in the province have attracted 69 investment projects to date, including 40 FDI projects, with total capital of nearly 4 trillion VND (173.8 million USD) and 766 million USD.

In 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19, investments in local industrial parks totalled 158 million USD, up 52 percent year-on-year.

Along with the main fields of farm produce processing, food, animal feed production, and footwear, the province also began attracting investment in supporting industries such as the production of automobile spare parts. This conforms with the provinces investment attraction orientation of improving capacity in industrial production.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Khac Nhu said that besides the efforts of businesses, State support through policies and mechanisms has made an important contribution to raising resources to invest in developing production and business.

Local departments and sectors have actively coordinated with businesses and localities over the years to help businesses deal with any difficulties, with a focus on simplifying administrative procedures.

Vinh Long is calling for investment in five key pillars: industry, agriculture, culture - tourism, urban development housing, and trade - services, with total investment of over 24 trillion VND.

Le Minh Tan, Director of the provinces investment promotion and enterprise support centre, said the province is inviting investment in 10 key projects in different fields, including the Binh Tan Industrial Park project worth some 2.9 trillion VND (125.8 million USD), an urban area development project worth 7.5 trillion VND, and an agricultural production and processing project worth 400 billion VND in Binh Minh town.

To improve the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment, it is working to attract strategic investors from potential markets such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), Singapore, and the EU.

The RoK now has 18 investment projects worth nearly 90 million USD in Vinh Long, Japan eight worth 102.5 million USD, and Taiwan (China) 11 worth some 239.2 million USD.

The province also targets major projects and those that have high added value and use advanced and environmentally-friendly technology, he said, especially agriculture-based industrial development, high-quality human resources training, and agricultural tourism.

Local authorities will constantly create optimal conditions for investors to access key projects and learn about incentives while helping them tackle obstacles in project implementation, he added.

Vinh Long last year granted in principle approval and investment certificates to 26 projects with total registered capital of nearly 4.35 trillion VND and over 104 million USD, including six FDI projects./.

Logistics firms encouraged to foster links to bolster performance

Fostering connectivity between logistics providers and between them and companies in other sectors will create more opportunities for mutual support, thus creating large enterprises to lead the market, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh.

Last year, when global trade was severely impacted by COVID-19, logistics activities in many countries came to a standstill, while logistics in service of e-commerce became quickly overloaded due to a surge in online orders, Khanh told a conference in Hanoi on April 20 discussing measures to develop the logistics market.

Without careful preparations, logistics providers as well as production and business enterprises will face major difficulties in adapting to the new circumstances, he believes.

He noted that the global logistics market was given a boost by the recovery in international trade flows in the second half of 2020. Moreover, post-pandemic trade facilitation and policies from governments to improve the economic climate were helpful in expanding the market.

According to a report from ResearchAndMarket.com, the size of the global logistics market was estimated at 3.31 trillion USD in 2021, up 17.6 percent compared to 2000 and showing that the sector still boasts substantial development potential.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), 95 percent of active logistics companies in Vietnam are Vietnamese, but mostly of small or medium scale and with poor links.

Many participants to the conference pointed out that their modest scale is one of the barriers facing domestic logistics firms in competing in the domestic market, not to mention the region and the world.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Quoc Phuong, Deputy General Director of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), said that international transport accounts for 80 percent of total transport in Vietnam. The market share in international transport held by domestic airlines is currently just 12 percent, with the remainder belonging to 75 foreign airlines.

Insiders said the Ministry of Industry and Trade should complete policies and legal regulations on logistics services.

At the same time, it is necessary to complete logistics infrastructure by continuing to review planning and investing in supporting businesses to build large warehouses in different localities.

Authorised agencies should also upgrade and connect transport infrastructure, cut fees, and allow the optimisation of resources through the re-distribution, sharing, and re-using of redundant capacity for the promotion of the logistics sector, they added./.

Vietnam beefs up engagements with German hospitals, businesses

The Online Business Mission  Medizintechnik conference took place in Hanoi on April 20 to discuss operation models in the health sector of Germany and Vietnam, opportunities for cooperation between their hospitals and businesses, and the importance of building their medical technical exchange networks.

Stefan Blechschmidt, director at the economic cooperation office under the German state Thuringia's international cooperation department, said he wants to support collaborative projects in the fields of life sciences and healthcare in Vietnam.

He hoped that the Hanoi IEC  the representative office of the state in Vietnam  can promote cooperation between German and Vietnamese hospitals, he added.

At the conference, businesses from Thuringia introduced their capacity in meeting the needs of the Vietnamese market.

A representative from the general hospital of Vietnams northern province of Yen Bai said the establishment looks for collaboration with Germany so that it can improve its professional and customer services capacity in such areas as neurosurgery, infection control, and human resources building.

After discussing the market for medical technical equipment in Vietnam, participating Vietnamese and German firms exchanged their views on networking opportunities for mutual development.



More events similar to the Online Business Mission  Medizintechnik conference will be held in the time to come./.

Vietnam AutoExpo 2021 to take place in August

The 17th International Exhibition on Automobile, Transportation and Supporting Industry (Vietnam AutoExpo 2021) will take place at the Vietnam National Convention Centre in Hanoi from August 19 to 22, gathering leading brands of commercial and specialised vehicles and motorcycles as well as supporting industries.

Vietnam AutoExpo 2021 will be co-organised by the Vietnam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy and Strategy, the Vietnam Association for Supporting Industries (VASI), the Vietnam Society of Automotive Engineers (VSAE), and the CIS Vietnam Advertising & Exhibition JSC.

The exhibition was originally slated for May 6 to 9, but given COVID-19 was rescheduled to ensure community safety.

Over the past 16 years, Vietnam AutoExpo has offered good opportunities to enterprises in relevant fields to approach potential customers, introduce their products, and exchange experience.

Open from 9am to 5.30pm, the expo is expected to attract more than 40,000 visitors.

Vietnam AutoExpo 2019 featured some 20 leading brands of automobiles, motorcycles, and specialised vehicles, 180 manufacturers and distributors of spare parts, supporting industry products, and banking and insurance products. The four-day exhibition attracted more than 38,000 visitors.

The 2020 event was not organised as scheduled due to the pandemic./.

HCM City continues to fight smuggling, trade fraud

HCM City is to step up effort in inspections to prevent trade fraud and smuggling after some of its inspections were suspended due to COVID-19, said deputy chairwoman of HCM City People's Committee Phan Thi Thang.

Government agencies worked closely last year to monitor the situation, verify information, conduct surprise inspections, and handle violations, it said.

A number of warehouses were fined for storing goods of unknown origin and counterfeits and those that infringed intellectual property rights, it added.

Some new scams have emerged in the city.

For instance, companies and individuals using State assets such as land, factories and warehouses illegally leased them out, and lessees used them to store prohibited goods and contraband, and those of unclear origin.

Many passengers and crew members were caught taking advantage of the relaxed entry and exit policies at the citys ports and Tan Son Nhat International Airport to smuggle in addictive substances, wild animals, gold, silver, foreign currencies, watches, phones, and banned and fake goods.

Smuggling and trade fraud have become increasingly sophisticated.

Truong Van Ba, director of the HCM City Market Surveillance Department, said last year 25,538 violations were discovered involving loss of tax revenues of VN5.8 trillion, and charges were filed in 113 cases.

Fighting smuggling, trade fraud and fake goods has been identified as a key task this year and needs to be done regularly to prevent them, he added.

According to the city police, city militia has been told to look out for dubious activities and crack down on the trade of prohibited, smuggled and counterfeit goods.

Drugs, weapons, illegal firecrackers, unsafe and violent toys, and cigarettes are in their sights.

The city border guard, the Southern Border Guard Soldiers' Department of Drug and Crime Prevention, naval squadron No 28, and border forces in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Tien Giang provinces will look out for possible violations at estuaries, seaports and maritime borders.

The city is also calling on businesses and consumers to join hands in the fight against smuggling and trade fraud.

Business environment improves despite challenges in disease

Measures to improve Vietnams business environment continued showing effectiveness despite the COVID-19 pandemic, but the speed of improvement slowed compared to previous years.

The statement was made by Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI's Legal Department, at a seminar in Hanoi on April 20 held to reveal the findings of the report on Vietnams business environment reform programme: Perspectives from enterprises".

According to the report, the criteria of business establishment and access to electricity were rated the highest, with 72.5 percent and 65.9 percent of businesses rated good or very good in improvement, respectively. Bankruptcy ranked last with 44.4 percent of businesses rated good or very good.

But the tendency of improvement seemed to be slowing down compared to previous years, Tuan said.

The improvement trend of fields was quite contradictory. The rate of improvement of fields with low scores such as bankruptcy, investor protection and import-export, went up, while rates of fields with high scores, such as business establishment, access to electricity, went down.

With regard to corporate finance, while credit access in 2020 was perceived to be more difficult than in 2019, tax procedures became much easier. Locally, the indicators were still more positive than in 2019, but the rate of improvement had slowed down, he said.

He said that the administrative procedures related to construction, although improved in recent years, had not really facilitated businesses. The most difficult procedures include land, site clearance, construction planning, urban planning, decisions on investment policy.

The report also showed that private and small-scale enterprises faced more difficulties in completing construction procedures than foreign-invested and large-scale enterprises.

Informal fees are now the biggest problem businesses are facing, particularly records handling officers and the legal regulations.

Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said there were still many obstacles for businesses such as complex regulation system and overlapping and unnecessary business conditions.

Specialised inspection activities moved slowly. The one-door customs mechanism had not yet been effective as businesses still had to submit paper copies. There was a lack of connection between ministries, and the information technology system was congested, she said.

Regarding judicial reform, the proportion of enterprises using courts to resolve disputes increased, but the judgment enforcement rates of enforcement agencies decreased, said Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc.

We have reduced the inequality between private and State-owned enterprises, between private and FDI enterprises. But there are still complaints about corruption and interest groups, he said.

The stability of our laws and policies has reduced market access conditions in many sectors and industries, creating very good conditions for small and medium enterprises to enter the market. However, in many areas that require large investment and prolonged capital recovery, the risk of policy changes is still worrying, hindering many large enterprises to invest money, he said./.

Vietnam welcomes FDI in production of medical equipment: trade officer



Vietnam has rolled out the red carpet for foreign investors, including those from ASEAN member states, to land investment in the field of advanced medical equipment, said Counselor Nguyen Manh Hung at the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany.



At a virtual conference held by Ernst & Young (EY) Global Limited on April 20, Hung said that ASEAN has produced a wide range of medical equipment, and 5%-7% of the global equipment exports are sourced from ASEAN countries.

Vietnam has huge demand for medical equipment due to its rapid aging population, he stressed, believing that a network between ASEAN member states should be established to enhance information exchange as well as cooperation in the field so as to ensure timely supply of medical equipment and pharmaceutical products.

At the event, which also aimed to promote trade and investment in consumer goods within the bloc, Hung highlighted the important role of Vietnams garment and footwear in both domestic and export markets.

Despite the adverse impact of COVID-19, Vietnams exports of consumer products topped US$100.3 billion in 2020, a year-on-year rise of 2.4%. Particularly, shipments of garment and footwear products accounted for 20% of the nations total export revenue in 2019.

Currently, Vietnam is the fourth largest garment and textile exporter, and the second biggest source market of footwear. However, 80% of the leather shoes come from the FDI sector, Hung said.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the supply of materials for the two production sectors, while global demand has declined sharply, Vietnam is working to diversify its material supplies to reduce risks.

In a bid to enjoy tax preferences from free trade deals such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), brands and suppliers in Vietnam are using domestic materials.

According to Hai, with robust economic growth, ASEAN is both a large supplier of consumer products and a big market.

With increasing income, ASEAN consumers have preferred high-quality products, including garments and leather shoes; therefore, Vietnam is striving to branch out the two sectors through developing transport and logistics infrastructure, he added.

Vegetable exports to Taiwan enjoy surge

The first months of this year saw Vietnamese vegetable exports to Taiwan (China) rise sharply, turning Vietnam into the largest vegetable supplier to this market.



Taiwan has increased the import of Vietnamese vegetables during the first months of 2021.

Taiwan imported 45,180 tonnes of vegetables worth US$45.1 million during the initial two months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 37.1% in volume and 37.7% in value, according to the Taiwan Customs Administration.

Of the total, 7,290 tonnes were shipped from Vietnam worth US$5.5 million, up 296.4% in volume and 197.8% in value over the same period from 2020.

As a result, Vietnam emerged as the largest supplier of vegetables to Taiwan, making up 16.1% of its total vegetable imports in the reviewed period.

Besides Vietnam, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and NewZealand were also other four large vegetable suppliers to the Taiwan market in the first two months of 2021.

RoK's fast-food chain expands investment in Vietnam



Lotteria, a subsidiary of the Republic of Koreas Lotte Group, will expand its investment in Vietnam through opening more 28 fast-food stores and building a new food material factory in Long Hau Industrial Park in the southern province of Long An.

A representative from Lotteria Vietnam confirmed this information with Hanoitimes and denied a recent report that it will close its fast-food chain in the country. He also said the report of the Koreatimes resulted from a misunderstanding.

According to the Republic of Korea's newspaper, the hamburger chains overseas are being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lotteria Indonesia, which operates more than 20 stores, is in the process of closing down due to its losses, mainly from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lotteria franchises in Vietnam have all stopped operations, the Koreatimes wrote, and its headquarters in Seoul is reviewing the possibility of closing down the business within 2021. It didnt make any profit last year.

The chain now has more than 260 stores including 100 under the franchise model across Vietnam since 1998.

The Vietnamese market is considered as potential market for the development of the food & beverage industry. With the desire to develop sustainably and consolidate its leading position in this vibrant market, Lotteria started franchising to co-develop with partners nationwide from October 2014.

As of April 2020, Lotteria was the leading fast food chain in Vietnam with 151 stores, followed by Jollibee with 115, according to Statista, a German market research firm.

Foreign firms hold 95% of Vietnamese electronics export value

Vietnams electronics exports have enjoyed robust growth in recent times, with foreign firms holding 95% of Vietnamese electronics export value, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Ministry revealed that the average growth rate of Vietnamese electronics exports throughout the 2010 to 2019 period hit over 50%, with exports in 2019 reaching more than US$87 billion.

By the end of the first quarter of the year, the electronics sector was ranked among the key industries with export turnover reaching over US$5 billion, of which the export of phones and components enjoyed an increase of 9% to US$14.1 billion on-year, while computer and component exports rose by 31% to US$12 billion.

Despite this, up to 95% of the export value of the electronics industry belonged to foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) during the reviewed period, with the export value of telephones and components accounting for over 99% of the total, while electronics, computers, and components made up 98%.

Experts indicate that these inadequacies can be attributed to the electronics industrys low localisation rate of between 5% and 10%, adding that the majority of electronic products within the Vietnamese market are CBU (complete built unit) imports, or alternatively assembled domestically from imported accessories with low technological content.

Furthermore, several reputable domestic electronics firms have been slowing down, with their brands gradually fading away recently, while emerging local brands such as Vsmart, Vietel, and Bphone are facing fierce competition from foreign brands.

Representatives from the Vietnam Industry Agency indicate that the capacity of domestic enterprises remains limited due to their product quality and designs not sufficiently meeting the markets high demand, while there remains weak connectivity between FDI enteprirses and multinational corporations.

Despite this, through a number of co-operative projects alongside FDI enterprises, domestic firms have shown great efforts in improving their product quality and competitiveness as they join the supply chains of FDI businesses.

For example, the number of Vietnamese first-tier suppliers for Samsung Vietnam recorded an increase to 35 within four years, according to experts from the agency.

At present, there are four Vietnamese enterprises which are participating in Panasonics supply chain, with its value accounting for approximately 10% of the groups production input value, while Canon Vietnam has continuously sought Vietnamese suppliers in order to increase its localisation rate.

The Vietnam Industry Agency proposed that the Government take measures to protect the electricity and consumer electronics market, fine-tune the legal framework on the rules of origin for Vietnamese goods, while simultaneously devising support policies for a number of promising domestic enterprises within the electronics sector.

Experts have therefore advised businesses to identify their core product segments whilst paying close attention to the general trends occurring globally in terms of consumption and technology development as they prepare to launch highly-competitive products in the future.

VPI, PVOIL partner in research on electric-vehicle battery, charging station



The Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) and the PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) have agreed to collaborate in the research on electric vehicle (EV)s battery and charging station.



Under the reached agreement, VPI is to assess the impact of energy transition tendency on Vietnams petroleum market, identify challenges and chances under the transition and the development of battery and charging station in the world, region and Vietnam.

It will afterward put forth recommendations for PVOILs stable and sustainable development against the backdrop of energy transition.

VPI will keep a close watch on the market and regularly update information for PVOILs leaders to make accurate decisions and prepare solutions, so as to cope with risks and make the best of chances amid energy transition.

PVOIL began its research on EV, the feasibility for EV to replace gasoline cars and possible scenarios three years ago.

The corporation will capitalise on its current infrastructure of over 600 petroleum stations nationwide and apply technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to devise new solutions to EV development, said its President and CEO Cao Hoai Duong.

Logistics firms encouraged to foster links to bolster performance

Fostering connectivity between logistics providers and companies in other sectors will create more opportunities for mutual support, allowing large enterprises to lead the market, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh.

When global trade was severely impacted by COVID-19 last year, logistics activities in many countries came to a standstill, while logistics in service of e-commerce became quickly overloaded due to a surge in online orders, Khanh told a conference in Ha Noi on Tuesday discussing measures to develop the logistics market.

Without careful preparations, logistics providers as well as production and business enterprises will face major difficulties adapting to the new normal, he believes.

He noted that the global logistics market was given a boost by the recovery in international trade flows in the second half of 2020. Post-pandemic trade facilitation and policies from governments to improve the economic climate were helpful in expanding the market.

According to a report from ResearchAndMarket.com, the size of the global logistics market was estimated at US$3.31 trillion in 2021, up 17.6 per cent compared to 2000 and showing that the sector still boasts substantial development potential.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), 95 per cent of active logistics companies in Viet Nam are Vietnamese, but mostly of small or medium scale and with poor links.

Many participants to the conference pointed out that their modest scale is one of the barriers facing domestic logistics firms in competing in the domestic market, not to mention the region and the world.

Nguyen Quoc Phuong, Deputy General Director of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), said that international transport accounts for 80 per cent of total transportation in Viet Nam. The market share in international transport held by domestic airlines is currently just 12 per cent, with the remainder belonging to 75 foreign airlines.

Insiders said the Ministry of Industry and Trade should complete policies and legal regulations on logistics services.

At the same time, it is necessary to complete logistics infrastructure by continuing to review planning and investing in supporting businesses to build large warehouses in different localities.

Authorised agencies should also upgrade and connect transport infrastructure, cut fees, and allow the optimisation of resources through the re-distribution, sharing, and re-using of redundant capacity for the promotion of the logistics sector, they added.

Online exhibition to promote Vietnamese construction products in Australia

The second virtual Vietnam Sourcing Expo on Build and Home Decor will be held by the Vietnamese trade office in Australia following the success of last year's event.

Vietnamese enterprises can register for free space in the expo via email at vntrade@bigpond.net.au. The office has also provided data on importers, tax lines, and conditions for imports on its business-matching mobile app Viet-Aus Trade.

The app also provides a platform for Vietnamese businesses operating in construction materials and exterior and interior decorations to advertise their products.

The office said that last year it worked with business associations in Australia and export companies in Viet Nam to organise the first exhibition of its kind as part of efforts to help Vietnamese enterprises make deeper inroads into the Australian market.

Australia is witnessing a boom in demand for construction materials and housing.

Viet Nams export turnover of construction-related products to the country has posted strong growth.

Despite COVID-19s impact on global trade, Viet Nams exports to Australia grew 62.08 per cent year-on-year in January to almost US$391 million.

Bilateral trade increased 39.92 per cent against January 2020 to approximately $873 million, according to the General Department of Viet Nam Customs.

The office said that there was a surge in the number of Australian businesses seeking Vietnamese partners via the trade office last year. Most highly value the quality of Vietnamese products and wish to expand their market and diversify supply sources.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes
The company has completed drilling at its Lady Ethleen Project in Queensland and sufficient samples have been sent to conduct Glyleach test-work at the MPS facility in Western Australia.

The GlyLeach process has significant benefits over traditional acid leaching including its environmentally-friendly state which is non-toxic.

( ) is pursuing the development of processing options for its copper, gold and cobalt assets in the prolific Mount Isa region of northwest Queensland.

The company believes this is an opportune time for investment in the development of new environmentally friendly processing technology for copper and other valuable metals.

Ethleen metallurgical test-work

Cyclone drilled eight holes at its Lady Ethleen project in Queensland to collect samples for the GlyLeach test-work program at the MPS (Mining and Process Solutions) facility in Perth, WA.

Only samples that were analysed to contain copper above a 0.5% cut-off were collected for the tests with the remainder discarded.

The samples have now arrived at the MPS lab facility in Perth and the metallurgical testing program has begun.

The program is anticipated to take between two and three months and will test the leaching efficiency that could be expected from the Lady Ethleen material in several different leaching environments.

GlyLeach technology

GlyLeach was originally developed and patented by Curtin University and is being commercialised globally by MPS.

The GlyLeach process, that involves the use of Glycine as a lixiviant under alkaline conditions, has a number of significant benefits over traditional acid leaching including:

Its' environmentally-friendly state which is non-toxic to humans and wildlife;

The ability to selectively leach valuable metals whilst leaving gangue minerals such as iron, manganese, silicates and carbonates in the leach residue;

The ability to leach ores of different oxidation states (depending on process type, temperature, residence time, particle size, etc); and

Being recyclable as the glycine is not chemically consumed in the overall process.

Potential for centralised processing hub

The GlyLeach test results are expected to demonstrate the best process to use for material types found in the Mount Isa/Cloncurry district.

A positive project outcome could unlock the possibility for the development of Lady Ethleen and a centralised processing hub in the district.

Within a 10-kilometre radius of Lady Ethleen there are numerous stranded projects that may be suitable candidates to supply feed to a future operation including Lady Jenny (1 kilometre), Wee MacGregor (3 kilometres), Rosebud (10 kilometres) and Inkerman (7.5 kilometres) as well as several more in the wider district.

Trading suspension

On October 16, 2020, Cyclones securities were suspended from official quotation on the basis that ASX had determined the companys operations are not adequate to warrant the continued quotation of securities and compliance with LR 12.1.

The company is currently liaising with ASX regarding compliance with LR 12.1.

Over the many years since Cyclones initial listing (more than 15 years) it has consistently communicated with ASX and shareholders its strategy that involves the acquisition and investment in undervalued and/or distressed mineral assets and companies.

Cyclone currently manages six major assets, being investments in listed companies ( ), Fe Ltd ( ), and ( ), the Marampa iron ore asset in Sierra Leone, the Lady Ethleen copper asset in Queensland and its rare earths project in Western Australia.

The market value of these assets is well over $20 million.

Cyclone is continuing to engage with ASX regarding this matter with a view to a resolution as soon as practicable.
Debenhams has today confirmed the closing date for 27 of its stores as the stalwart gets set to disappear from the High Street for good.

The department store had launched a post-lockdown fire sale before the collapsed chain shutters its stores, marking the end of a 243-year presence in Britain's towns and cities.

The closing down sale, at 97 of its shops in England and Wales, is selling off its last remaining stock after the firm went into liquidation last year.

By May 4, some 27 of its shops will close their doors as the brand moves online after being bought by fast fashion giant Boohoo.

The department store had launched a post-lockdown fire sale before the collapsed chain shutters its stores

The closing down sale, at 97 of its shops in England and Wales, is selling off its last remaining stock after the firm went into liquidation last year

Debenhams shutters stores for good Here are the 27 stores closing in the coming weeks; Debenhams stores closing on May 2; Carmarthen

Fareham

Gravesend

Hounslow

Ilford

Llandudno

Llanelli

Newbury

Oldham

Taunton

Walsall

Winchester

Workington

Worthing

Wrexham

York Monks Cross Debenhams stores closing on May 4; Bangor

Bedford

Bolton

Bradford

Bury

Cambridge

Hastings

Ipswich

Newport

Nottingham

Sutton Advertisement

Shoppers have been snapping up discounts of up to 70 per cent in its fashion and homeware department, and up to half off beauty products.

Debenhams today confirmed that 27 of its stores in England and Wales will close for the final time on May 2 and 4.

Debenhams has not confirmed exact closing dates for its remaining stores, but they are expected to trade until stock is fully cleared then shut permanently by May 15.

The chain's 15 Scottish stores and the flagship on London's Oxford Street will not reopen.

Debenhams' collapse into liquidation ended a 243-year history on the UK high street.

It tumbled over in the same week as Topshop owner Arcadia, with the two failures putting around 23,000 people out of work.

The appalling toll of job losses was on a par with the collapse of Woolworths in 2008, which cost 25,000 jobs.

The closure of the two mega-brands also left a gaping hole in the heart of towns up and down the country, where high streets are already in decline.

The online business of Debenhams, which was founded off Bond Street in London in 1778, and its brands was sold for 55million to online upstart Boohoo in January.

The website is expected to re-launch by May.

Although the pandemic sealed its fate, the department store's woes had built up over decades as it failed to keep up with changing trends and locked itself into long, expensive leases.

Debenhams said the closing down sale was the last chance for customers to say goodbye to their local shop 'before sadly our stores close for good'.

A spokesperson for Debenhams said: 'With such great bargains on offer, it's no wonder our stock is selling out incredibly fast.

'Time is running out for shoppers to take advantage of the incredible discounts being offered at these 27 stores.'

Debenhams stores across the UK will all shut permanently by May 15

The rise and fall of Debenhams: From modest female outfitters to star-studded fashion launches with Kim Kardashian and Gemma Atkinson... how 242-year-old retail chain met its demise in 2020

By Mark Duell for MailOnline

Debenhams has been a mainstay on UK high streets for 242 years, but is now set to shut its doors for good.

In 1778 William Clark opened a drapers store on 44 Wigmore Street in central London, selling expensive fabrics, bonnets, gloves and parasols.

The business had a modest start in life, with Mr Clark continuing to run the single store until meeting a potential investor.

William Debenham formed a partnership with the store owner in 1813, pumping funds into the business which then became Clark & Debenham.

Five years later it opened its first store outside the capital, in Cheltenham, and started to dramatically expand.

The business became Clark & Debenham, after William Clark opened a drapers store in 1778 on 44 Wigmore Street in London. Mr Clark had initially opened the shop selling expensive fabrics, bonnets, gloves and parasols, before it was renamed

Glamour model Gemma Atkinson launches an Ultimo store within Debenhams in Belfast in December 2007

Shoppers are seen charging through the doors of a Debenhams department store on the first day of the sales in 1977

Penny Lancaster models Ultimo lingerie at Debenhams on Oxford Street in October 2002 (left), while Kim Kardashian launches her 'True Reflection' fragrance range at a Debenhams store in London ten years later in May 2012

Shoppers browse for bargains at a Debenhams department store at the start of its sale on December 27, 1977

When Clement Freebody invested in the firm in 1851 it was renamed Debenham & Freebody, and continued to grow by snapping up smaller rivals and expanding its wholesale operations.

Acquisitions continued into the next century and in 1905 Debenhams Ltd was formed.

After the First World War ended, the retailer merged with Marshall & Snellgrove, and in 1920 purchased Knightsbridge retailer Harvey Nichols.

Seven years later the Debenham family exited the business as it was listed on the London Stock exchange.

By 1950, Debenhams was the largest department store group in the UK, owning 84 companies and 110 stores.

In 1985 Debenhams merged to become part of Burton Group, which soon rebranded as Arcadia, before splitting away 13 years later after a period of rapid store expansion and the launch of its first international franchise sites.

William Debenham (above) formed a partnership with drapers store owner William Clark in 1813, pumping funds into the business which then became Clark & Debenham. Five years later it opened its first store outside the capital, in Cheltenham

Crowds of shoppers pack into the Debenhams on London's Oxford Street for the post-Christmas sales in December 1982

Margot Perry, who was first in line, has her hair set while queuing for the start of the Debenhams sale in December 1977

Bargain hunters burst into Debenhams department store at 9am on December 27, 1977 for the start of the winter sales

Following demerger from the Burton Group, Debenhams was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2003, when it was acquired by Baroness Retail.

Baroness, backed by private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and Texas Pacific Group, started to strip the company's assets, including a 450 million sale and leaseback of 26 properties and internal cost-cutting.

Three years later, Baroness almost tripled its value as it was floated on the stock market, but the retail group was now weighed down by a portfolio hamstrung with expensive rental agreements.

Nevertheless, Debenhams continued to grow, acquiring nine stores from Roches in the Republic of Ireland in 2007 and Magasin du Nord, the leading department store chain in Denmark, two years after.

The company also had a partnerships with Michelle Mone's Ultimo bra company in the 2000s, which led to a series of photoshoots with glamour models inside its stores.

In 2014, after a decline in company profits, retail tycoon Mike Ashley bought 4.6 per cent of the company's shares.

People queue outside Debenhams on Oxford Street ahead of the sale opening on December 27, 1978

Sir Ralph Halpern is pictured in Debenhams Oxford Street in November 1985 after his latest acquisition for the Burton Group

A Debenhams store in Manchester is pictured in 1981. In 1985 Debenhams merged to become part of Burton Group, which soon rebranded as Arcadia, before splitting away 13 years later

Businessman Sir Ralph Halpern, pictured at Debenhams Oxford Street with store manager David Elliott, in November 1985

The Debenhams store at Luton in Bedfordshire is pictured in July 1987

He steadily increased his ownership of the department store business, expanding it to 29.7 per cent by 2018.

However, the business had now felt the full effect of difficult high street conditions and sky-high rents, resulting in a 491 million pre-tax loss in 2018.

By April of 2019, the retail giant entered administration and delisted from the stock market.

It undertook a major restructuring, designed to restore it to its former glory, but went into liquidation in 2020.

The 242-year-old department store chain said its administrators 'regretfully' decided to start winding down operations while continuing to seek offers 'for all or parts of the business'.

Michelle Mone opens the Ultimo lingerie brand's first concession at Debenhams in Liverpool in 2015

A Debenhams fashion campaign in 2010 featuring Shannon Murray who had been using a wheelchair since her teens

Lingerie designer Aliza Reger (centre) with models to launch the new lingerie department in the Oxford Street store in 2013

Debenhams chief executive Belinda Earl and finance director Matthew Roberts at their store in London's Oxford Street in 2002 ahead of annual results which saw the company's profits rise to 153.6million from the previous year's 146.1million

A person walks past a boarded up Debenhams on Oxford Street on April 16 during the first coronavirus lockdown of the year

It is understood that the collapse of rescue talks were partly linked to the administration of Arcadia Group, which is the biggest operator of concessions in Debenhams stores.

Debenhams had already axed 6,500 jobs across its operation due to heavy cost-cutting after it entered administration for the second time in 12 months.
Vanita Gupta delivers remarks after being nominated to be U.S. associate attorney general, in Wilmington, Delaware, on Jan. 7, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Senate Confirms Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General

WASHINGTONA divided U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Vanita Gupta to serve in the No. 3 job at the Justice Department, a role at the forefront of the departments renewed efforts to combat systemic racism in policing.

Gupta won confirmation as President Joe Bidens associate attorney general in a final vote of 51-49. Only one RepublicanLisa Murkowski of Alaskavoted to confirm her, saying she felt Gupta was personally committed to combating injustice.

I have looked at her record. I have had an extensive sit-down with her. Im impressed with not only her professional credentials  but the passion that she carries with her with the work that she performs, Murkowski said.

Gupta has faced a fraught confirmation process amid attacks by right-wing groups and Senate Republicans who have criticized her on everything from prior statements she has made on social media to her stock holdings in a company accused of selling a key ingredient used to make heroin in Mexico.

This nomination has revealed a lengthy trail of radical claims and hasty backtracks, the Senates top Republican, Mitch McConnell, said on Wednesday.

As associate attorney general at the Justice Department, Gupta will play a pivotal role in supervising the departments civil rights work, including an investigation announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday into policing practices in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd..

She will also be involved with overseeing the departments civil, antitrust and environment and natural resources divisions.

Gupta served as acting assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration, during which time she oversaw high-profile investigations into systemic abuses by police departments in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.

By Sarah N. Lynch
w artykuach eGospodarka.pl w poradach we wzorach dokumentow w ofertach pracy w przetargach w ofertach nieruchomosci w bazie adresowej firm w katalogu WWW w grupach dyskusyjnych
Written by Jess Lee

Apr 22, 2021

The grand Greco-Roman ruins of Jerash are one of Jordan's major tourist attractions, though the site tends to get overshadowed by Petra to the south.

This is one of the best places to visit in the eastern Mediterranean if you want to attempt to imagine what life was like in the Roman era, as Jerash's incredible state of preservation really allows you a peek behind the curtain to understand how a Roman city functioned.

There has been a settlement here since at least the Chalcolithic era, but Jerash as a town (Ancient Gerasa) was founded during the Hellenistic period.

The city's heyday began when the Romans took control of the wider region in 64 BC, and Jerash became part of the Roman Decapolis. This loose confederation of provincial towns - spread throughout modern-day Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian Territories and Syria - sat on the main trade routes and so gained commercial prominence in the region.

Nearly all the grand monuments on display throughout the site today date from the Roman period, particularly from between the 1st and 2nd century, when Jerash, now a prosperous center of trade, showcased its status with additions of colonnaded streets, grand plazas, theaters, and temples.

Jerash's prosperity continued into the Byzantine era, and several churches have been excavated here. The town's importance only faded in the 8th century after an earthquake left much of it in ruins.

Jerash is within easy day-tripping distance from Amman, making it one of the top things to do while staying in the capital.

To help you plan your Jerash trip, use our list of the top ruins and temples.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues.
Olivia Munn sent a message with her fashion as she left a Pilates workout in West Hollywood on Thursday.

The 40-year-old actress wore a baggy white sweatshirt and black leggings with a fanny pack strapped across her chest.

'Everybody vs. Racism' read the white lettering across The Predator star's black fanny pack.

Making a statement: Olivia Munn sent a message with her fashion as she left a Pilates workout in West Hollywood on Thursday

Olivia's trendy black and white sneakers matched her achromatic ensemble.

She completed her simple gym attire with a couple of delicate gold necklaces.

Her long brunette hair cascaded loosely down over her shoulders as she walked through the parking lot.

The Oklahoma native also wore a pair of large brown tortoiseshell sunglasses and covered her face with a black mask.

Read in black and white: The 40-year-old actress wore a baggy white sweatshirt and black leggings with a fanny pack strapped across her chest. 'Everybody vs. Racism' read the white lettering across The Predator star's black fanny pack

Speaking out: The actress, who is of Chinese-Vietnamese descent, recently took part in an anti-Asian racism PSA with Ken Jeong, Simu Liu and other stars

Calling for solidarity: On Thursday, the X-Men Apocalypse actress joined a panel titled Medias Role In Combating Hate and Violence Towards Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Munn has been vocal on many social issues, speaking out against racism, inequity and discrimination.

The actress, who is of Chinese-Vietnamese descent, recently took part in an anti-Asian racism PSA with Ken Jeong, Simu Liu and other stars.

Created as a response to the recent rise in anti-Asian violence, the three-minute video also served as a fundraiser for the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Community Fund.

In the video, Munn said, 'Anti-Asian violence is not new. It is part of our collective memory.'

On Thursday, the X-Men Apocalypse actress joined a panel titled Medias Role In Combating Hate and Violence Towards Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Held at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, the panel also included Jon M. Chu, Ken Jeong, Eddie Huang, Charles Yu, Susan Li and Jeremy Lin.
A Mexican drug cartel has reportedly used drones to drop explosives on police, hurting two officers in the western state of Michoacan on Tuesday. Officials believed that the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) was behind the attack.

According to a BBC News report, it was also believed that the drones were controlled in a similar way to the two drones found in the car boot of suspected Mexican cartel members. It can be recalled that two rigged drones were found in a car of suspected Jalisco cartel members in August.

The seized drones had containers taped to them that had been filled with ball bearings and plastic explosives. Officials said the drones, set up to be detonated remotely, could have brought destruction and damage.

The injured police officers were sent to the area to clear roads leading to Aguililla city in Michoacan state that the Jalisco cartel had blocked to impede the security forces' access.

Two Mexican drug cartels are reportedly fighting for control of El Aguaje, a small community in the Aguililla. The said drug cartels are the Jalisco cartel and the rival New Michoacan Family, or the Viagras.

The Jalisco cartel recently staged a series of attacks in the area. In October 2019, Jalisco cartel members ambushed and killed 14 state police officers in El Aguaje, the Associated Press reported.

Earlier this month, state police officers were deployed to restore order. The Mexican drug cartels responded by parking hijacked trucks across roads and blocking police convoys by digging deep trenches across roadways.

Authorities said on Tuesday that they had already used backhoes to fill in many of the trenches. The two police officers injured in the drone attack have already been treated and released from a hospital.

READ NEXT: Ex-Jalisco Cartel High-Ranking Member's Body Found Wrapped in Plastic on Park Bench

Jalisco Cartel

The Jalisco cartel started its operations after former Sinaloa Cartel capo Ignacio Coronel, alias "Nacho Coronel," was killed by Mexican authorities in July 2010.

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," the leader and founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, joined a Milenio Cartel bloc allied with "Nacho." The Milenio Cartel led by Oscar Orlando Nava Valencia, alias "El Lobo," moved drugs, managed finances, and acted as enforcers for the Sinaloa Cartel in the states of Jalisco and Colima, and later extended into Michoacan and Mexico City.

By the time of Nacho Coronel's death, El Lobo had been captured, and the Milenio Cartel had suffered internal divisions, according to Insight Crime. The Milenio cartel split into two factions, namely, "La Resistencia" and "Los Torcidos," with La Resistencia accusing Los Torcidos of giving up El Lobo to the authorities.

With Los Torcidos evolving into the now Jalisco cartel with El Mencho as a leader, these two cartels engaged in a battle for control over drug trafficking in Jalisco.

In 2015, the Jalisco cartel killed 15 Mexican police officers. It was marked as one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent Mexican history.

The Jalisco cartel had also shot down a military helicopter in May 2015. It has also tried to assassinate Luis Carlos Najera in May 2018. Najera is a former secretary of Jalisco. Last June, the cartel also tried to kill Omar Garcia Harfuch, Mexico City's public security secretary at the time.

Last year, around 2,000 bank accounts linked to the Jalisco cartel were frozen, and a few of the alleged group's companies used to launder money were shut down. These were done as part of the officials' efforts to go after the group's finances.

The U.S. has offered a reward of $10 million for information leading to El Mencho's capture. It was one of the highest ever offered by the U.S.

Meanwhile, Mexico has offered its own reward of 30 million pesos or $1.6 million. Other senior figures in the Jalisco cartel, such as Erick Valencia Salazar, have a bounty worth $5 million.

READ MORE: Video Shows Jalisco Cartel Parading' Narco-Tank' in Mexico's Street

WATCH: Mexico Cartel Used Explosive Drones to Attack Police - From Universal Information & Entertainment TV






Sexual violence reports across South Asia have steadily risen in recent years with rape victims facing stigma and further violence for coming forward, a new report has found.

Research by Equality Now, an NGO, which champions rights of women and girls, discovered rape laws in the region are insufficient, inconsistent, and poorly enforced which means women are in danger of experiencing sexual violence.

The study found the profoundly patriarchal view only chaste and moral women and girls can be raped is commonplace - with rape victims sexual history used against them and women routinely forced to provide highly discriminatory and invasive evidence.

Researchers, who analysed six nations spanning from Bangladesh to Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, warned rape survivors and their families are pushed into informal community mediation, as well as facing victim-blaming, threats, bribery, being sacked or evicted, or enduring yet more violence.

Over 60 per cent of victims in Bangladesh, India and Nepal polled said they had to deal with attempts to make them settle or compromise their case.

While researchers found rape victims are subjected to the two-finger test which campaigners describe as an unscientific, intrusive and re-traumatising vaginal examination conducted on the erroneous idea the procedure can decipher if a women or girls rape claims are true.

The report states the examinations, which are carried out in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and involves a health professional medical putting two fingers into the vagina, are often utilised to claim the woman is lying.

The report states: The test is often used to declare rape survivors as habituated to sex. Medical evidence of past intercourse is used to cast doubt on the rape allegation, either to suggest a survivor lied about the rape, to imply that the rape wasnt harmful or to suggest the moral impropriety of the survivor and therefore her lack of entitlement to justice.

If the hymen is still intact, the test is used to declare that rape could not have taken place, though it is scientifically proven that rape can take place without breaking the hymen.

From a human rights perspective, conducting a test on rape victims that has no probative value is a violation of the personal integrity of the women and girls and could cause further trauma to these rape survivors.

Lengthy delays in police investigations, medical examinations, prosecutions and trials were found to be a prevalent issue, while reports of police officers simply refusing to either record a complaint or investigate allegations are also commonplace.

In Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, people interviewed for the research warned individuals in the criminal justice system are open to bribery.

Divya Srinivasan, one of the reports authors, called for governments to carry out urgent action to give women and girls greater protection against rape and sexual assault and end widespread impunity for perpetrators.

The human rights lawyer, who is a legal advisor for Equality Now, said the bleak reality is in some cases the victim-blaming and discriminatory attitudes of justice system officials block victims from seeking justice.

She added: Men who commit sexual violence, especially those in from dominant communities, know they are unlikely to be punished because all levels of the system are weighted in their favour, and this impunity for crimes fosters an enabling environment that promotes further abuse.

Ms Srinivasan said they had heard of cases when police officers sought to convince victims to drop their complaints.

She added: Failure to criminalise marital rape in Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka is one of the major gaps in rape law protections in South Asia. Legally permitting impunity for rape within marriage treats wives as the property of their husbands and takes away womens rights over their own body.

In Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, laws explicitly permit the marital rape of children over certain ages, which not only deprives young girls of their right to sexual and bodily integrity merely on their marital status, but also implicitly encourages child marriages by providing special protection to child sexual abusers as long as they are married to their victims.

It comes after a damning United Nations report released last week found almost half of all women in developing nations are prevented from having autonomy over their bodies.

The study into 57 developing countries said denial of bodily autonomy includes being forced to have sex with their partners, as well as being prevented from using contraception, or seeking other types of healthcare.

Researchers discovered 20 countries or territories have marry-your-rapist laws that allow a man to evade prison or criminal prosecution if he gets married to the woman or girl he has raped.
The opposition is holding a rally near the statue of Aram Manukyan in Yerevan. Near the Investigative Committee today, former governor of Syunik Province Vahe Hakobyan declared that the authorities are illegally detaining Mayor of Meghri Mkhitar Zakaryan and added the following: Today at 6:30 p.m. we are holding a rally near the statue of Aram Manukyan where we will decide on our future actions.

Later, member of the Supreme Body of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party Ishkhan Saghatelyan also stated the following: With every action, the incumbent authorities are proving that their existence contradicts the vital interests of Armenia, and so, every citizen concerned about the future of Armenia must stand with the residents of Syunik Province and the homeland.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
A health worker takes a mouth swab sample of a woman to test for COVID-19 at a hospital in Hyderabad, India. (AP)

Hyderabad: Telangana reported 5,567 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the tally to over 3.73 lakh, while the toll rose to 1,899 with 23 more fatalities, the highest ever in a single day.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 989, followed by Rangareddy(437) and Medchal Malkajgiri (421), a government bulletin said on Thursday providing details as of 8 PM on April 21.

The total number of cumulative cases stood at 3,73,468 while with 2251 patients being cured, the total recoveries were at 3,21,788.

The state has 49,781 active cases and over 1.02 lakh samples were tested on Wednesday.

Cumulatively, over 1.21 crore samples have been tested.

The samples tested per million population was over 3.27 lakh, the bulletin said.

The case fatality rate in the state was 0.50 per cent, while it was 1.2 per cent at the national level.

The recovery rate in Telangana was 86.16 per cent, while it was 84.5 per cent in the country.

According to a separate release, over 29.73 lakh people in the state have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while over 4.18 lakh got their second shot also as of April 20.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 22:29:51|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Namibia launched the Deposit Guarantee Authority on Thursday aimed at providing protection to depositors against the loss of their deposits by providing compensation in an unlikely event of a commercial bank failure, Bank of Namibia said in a statement.

According to the authority head Emma Haihambo, this contributes to consumer protection while enhancing financial stability.

"The existence of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme ensures that depositors have access to all or part of their funds in the event of a bank failure. It also guards against panic withdrawals by assuring depositors of the safety of their deposits even in the event of a bank failure, thereby reducing the likelihood and scale of a financial systemic crisis," Haihambo said.

She said that all banking institutions registered in Namibia as well as branches of foreign banks and building societies are required to be members of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

"The scheme has a guarantee coverage limit currently set at 25,000 Namibian dollars (about 1,750 U.S. dollars) which covers 90 percent of the current depositors," she said. Enditem
OTTAWA, ON, April 22, 2021 /CNW/ -

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to create stress and anxiety for many Canadians, particularly those who do not have ready access to their regular support networks. Through the Wellness Together Canada online portal, people of all ages across the country can access immediate, free and confidential mental health and substance use supports, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Throughout the pandemic, volunteers across Canada have stepped up in so many ways, giving their time, talent and creativity to support the mental health and wellbeing of others. Last month, students from the Sacred Heart School of Montreal and Loyola High School came together to prepare nearly 150 care packages for Laval seniors. The packages included Passover or Easter cards and treats amongst other thoughtful surprises to help lift their spirits, letting them know that they are not forgotten. In Alberta, a community of quilters handcrafted and donated over 280 quilts to patients in hospital facing challenges with mental health in the Calgary Region, providing a source of comfort. These acts of kindness and generosity are a reminder of the powerful impact that our actions can have on the mental health and wellbeing of others. Let's continue to be united and show kindness to each other.

As COVID-19 activity continues in Canada, we are tracking a range of epidemiological indicators to monitor where the disease is most active, where it is spreading and how it is impacting the health of Canadians and public health, laboratory and healthcare capacity. At the same time, the Public Health Agency of Canada is providing Canadians with regular updates on COVID-19 vaccines administered, vaccination coverage and ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety across the country. The following is the latest summary on national numbers and trends, and the actions we all need to be taking to reduce infection rates, while vaccination programs expand for the protection of all Canadians.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 1,147,463 cases of COVID-19, including 89,167 active cases and 23,763 deaths reported in Canada; these cumulative numbers tell us about the overall burden of COVID-19 illness to date. They also tell us, together with results of serological studies, that a very large majority of Canadians remain susceptible to COVID-19. As vaccine delivery ramps up at an accelerated pace, there is cause for optimism that widespread and lasting immunity can be achieved through COVID-19 vaccination. We now have multiple safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines with unique advantages that are authorised for use in Canada. Vaccine coverage is increasing across Canada, with benefits being seen in prioritized high-risk populations. Ramp up of vaccine supply and acceleration of vaccination programs will return further benefits to protect more Canadians, over the coming weeks and months.

However, with elevated COVID-19 activity and a concerning rise in the proportion of cases that involve more contagious variants of concern, strong public health measures and individual precautions must be sustained where COVID-19 is circulating. The latest national-level data show a 7-day average of 8,616 new cases daily (Apr 15-21), a 2% increase compared to the previous seven days. Sustained high infection rates are also impacting COVID-19 severity indicators, particularly in areas with elevated disease activity. The rise in severe and critical illnesses is placing renewed strain on the health system and healthcare workforce. Provincial and territorial data indicate that an average of 4,058 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (Apr 15-21) representing a 22% increase over last week. This includes, on average 1,233 people who were being treated in intensive care units (ICU), which is 21% higher than the previous week. Mortality trends are also increasing, with a 7-day average of 45 deaths reported daily, which is 17% higher than the week prior.

While COVID-19 continues to impact people of all ages in Canada, infection rates are highest among those aged 20 to 39 years of age. As well, we are seeing an increased number of adults under the age of 60 years being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, including in ICUs. This is a reminder that serious illness can occur at any age and evidence indicates that variants of concern can be associated with more severe illness and increased risk of death. In addition, circulation of COVID-19 in younger, more mobile and socially-connected adults is an ongoing risk for spread into high-risk populations and settings. As of April 21, a total of 73,158 variant of concern cases have been reported across Canada, including 70,253 involving B.1.1.7 variants, 2,478 P.1 variants and 427 B.1.351 variants. These represent the tip of the iceberg, as there are many more COVID-19 cases that have screened positive for mutations indicative of a variant of concern. B.1.1.7 continues to account for the majority of variants of concern in Canada and has replaced the original virus as the dominant strain in several areas. At the same time, the continued rise in P.1 cases remains concerning, particularly with early evidence suggesting that the P.1 variant may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, making it even more important to control its spread.

Canadians are urged to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer: stay home/self-isolate if you have any symptoms, think about the risks and reduce non-essential activities and outings to a minimum, avoid all non-essential travel, and maintain individual protective practices of physical distancing, hand, cough and surface hygiene and wearing a well-fitted and properly worn face mask as appropriate (including in shared spaces, indoors or outdoors, with people from outside of your immediate household).

Canadians can also go the extra mile by sharing credible information on COVID-19 risks and prevention practices and measures to reduce COVID-19 in communities and by downloading the COVID Alert app to break the cycle of infection and help limit the spread of COVID-19. Read my backgrounder to access more COVID-19 Information and Resources on ways to reduce the risks and protect yourself and others, including information on COVID-19 vaccination.

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]
The on Thursday sought a "national plan" on oxygen supply, essential drugs and vaccination, issuing a notice to the central government as India recorded 314,835 cases and over 2,000 deaths in a day.

"We want to see the national plan on this issue," said Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, according to NDTV.com.

"We want to know. In regard to the four issues of supply of oxygen, supply of essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and we want to keep the power to declare lockout with the states," he said, according to the website.

Bobde said that at least six high courts are hearing matters pertaining to Covid-19 management, creating confusion and diversion, according to Hindustan Times.





"We wish to take suo motu cognisance of certain issues we find six High Courts - Delhi, Bombay, Sikkim Madhya Pradesh, Calcutta and Allahabad. Now they are exercising their jurisdiction in best interest. But what is happening is some kind of confusion and diversion of resources."

The Indian Express reported this morning top private hospitals in Delhi like Max, Fortis, Apollo, and Sir Ganga Ram reached out to the Delhi government regarding depleting oxygen supplies.
Image via Getty/wwing

A Washington, D.C. pastor could be facing a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars afteras alleged by federal investigatorsfraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds and using them to make personal purchases.

The Department of Justice announced earlier this month that 45-year-old Rudolph Brooks Jr. of Maryland was facing a federal charge of wire fraud. Warrants were also obtained authorizing the seizure of more than $2.2 million spread across multiple bank accounts, in addition to a 2018 Tesla Model 3. The complaint was filed in late March and unsealed earlier this month after Brooks was arrested.

Brookswhos elsewhere described as a pastor at Kingdom Tabernacle of Restoration in D.C.is also the owner of Cars Direct. The company was first incorporated with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation in October of 2010, though it was later forfeited in 2012. In May of last year, however, Cars Direct was revived.

That same month, according to the affidavit, Brooks allegedly applied for a PPP loan on behalf of Cars Direct in the amount of $1,556,589. In doing so, Brooks allegedly provided fraudulent tax forms, while the Maryland Department of Labor has no record of the company paying wages or of Brooks getting wages himself. And in an April EIDL loan application on behalf of the same company, Brooks allegedly submitted information and documents that later contradicted what was claimed in the PPP loan application.

The Cars Direct loan was approved on May 9 of last year, at which point the $1.5 million was deposited into a bank account listing Brooks as the sole signer. After the deposit, Brooks is accused of making numerous transfers of the PPP money into personal bank accounts. Federal investigators said Brooks then used PPP money for multiple personal expenditures including credit card bills, restaurant purchases, retail shopping, groceries, mortgage payments, and automotive auctioneers.

Story continues

Later, in May 2020, Brooks is alleged to have used PPP funds from the Cars Direct account and a personal account to buy 39 used cars. Brooks allegedly purchased a 2017 Mercedes Benz S Class, two 2017 Infinity Q50s, a 2015 Cadillac Escalade, a 2005 Bentley Continental, a 2018 Tesla Model 3, a 2014 GMC Yukon XL, and other older luxury cars. Per PPP loan terms, such buys are not considered an appropriate use of provided money.

The seizure of up to $2,296,136.86 from 11 different accounts and the Tesla, according to the DOJ press release, was put into motion due to the allegation that both the funds and the vehicle constitute or are derived from the proceeds traceable to false statements made on bank loan applications.

A recent piece from the Daily Beasts Blake Montgomery reported that Brooks had also allegedly submitted PPP loan applications for Kingdom Tabernacle ($1.8 million) and Madaro Celtic Bank ($200,000).

As mentioned up top, Brooks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison on the wire fraud charge, followed by an additional three-year period of supervised released. Sentences of this nature, however, are usually less than the maximum.

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By Rami Ayyub and Mohammed Salem

GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The sick and dying are rapidly pushing Gaza's hospitals close to capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the impoverished Palestinian territory, health officials said.

Palestinians fear a combination of poverty, medical shortages, vaccine scepticism, poor COVID-19 data and mass gatherings during Ramadan could accelerate the increase, which began before the start of the Muslim holy month on April 13.

Gaza health officials said around 70% of intensive care unit beds were occupied, up from 37% at the end of March. There were 86 deaths over the past six days, an increase of 43% over the week before.

"The hospitals are almost at full capacity. They're not quite there yet, but severe and critical cases have increased significantly in the last three weeks, which is a concern," said Dr Ayadil Saparbekov, head of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Team in the Palestinian Territories.

Gaza's daily positivity rate reached as high as 43% this week, although Saparbekov said that number could be inflated because a shortage of tests meant they were mostly given to people already showing symptoms.

Saparbekov also said Gaza does not have the capacity to identify highly infectious COVID-19 variants when testing, meaning there is little data on them.

'NO TRUCE'

Graveyards are also feeling the strain. In Gaza City, gravedigger Mohammad al-Haresh told Reuters he had been burying up to 10 COVID-19 victims per day, up from one or two a month ago.

"Wartime was difficult, but the coronavirus has been much harder for us," said Haresh, who dug graves throughout the 2014 Israel-Gaza war.

"In war, we would dig graves or bury the dead during a truce or ceasefire. With the coronavirus, there is no truce."

Densely populated and home to 2 million Palestinians, Gaza has for years had limited access to the outside world because of a blockade led by Israel and supported by Egypt.

Story continues

Both countries cite security concerns over Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, saying they want to stop money and weapons entering.

Palestinians say the blockade amounts to collective punishment and that it has crippled Gaza's economy and medical infrastructure, with shortages of critical supplies and equipment hampering their ability to tackle the pandemic.

The situation in Gaza is a stark contrast to Israel, where a world-beating vaccination rollout has led to more than 53% of Israelis being fully vaccinated.

RAMADAN LOCKDOWN

Amid growing concern, Hamas will on Thursday begin a week of nightly curfews, shutting down mosques that host hundreds of worshippers for Ramadan evening prayers.

But with around 49% of Gazans unemployed and parliamentary elections slated for May 22, Hamas has held back from more drastic measures that could further damage the economy.

"We may impose additional measures, but we do not expect at this phase to go into a full lockdown," Hamas spokesman Eyad Al-Bozom said.

Health officials say the factors that led to the current spike include the flouting of guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing and the opening in February of Gaza's border with Egypt, which may have allowed in new variants.

Suspicion of vaccines also runs deep. A majority of Gazans - 54.2% - said they would not take the vaccine, against 30.5% who said they would and 15.3% who were undecided, according to an April 21 survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center.

Just 34,287 people have been vaccinated, even though the enclave has received 109,600 doses since February donated by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the global COVAX programme.

"(The) reluctance of many, including medical staff, to be vaccinated remains a key concern," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an April 12 report.

One Palestinian eligible for Gaza's initial round of vaccines, Qasem Abdul Ghafoor, said he decided to get the jab to protect himself and his family.

"The situation here is horrific. We took it lightly before, but I assure you, it should not be taken lightly," he said.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Editing by Stephen Farrell and Mike Collett-White)
[April 22, 2021] US City Websites Need Improvements To Meet Resident Needs & Expectations

SAN DIEGO, KANSAS CITY, Mo. and ARLINGTON, Va., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Monsido, a leading web governance provider, and OpenCities, a leading website and form builder, in collaboration with CommonLook, a leading provider of software for document accessibility, have released a report that looked at the websites of more than 700 cities across the US. The report "Better Websites. For All." is a national benchmark that analyzes city websites based on their quality, performance and experience in meeting the needs of residents. "City websites have long been a vital asset for residents, but the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent restrictions have underscored the need for an equitable and accessible alternative to in-person services. Yet consistently delivering a great website experience is far from the reality of most US cities. We hope this report shines a light on the work that needs to be done and provides a helpful framework for building success going forward," said Jillian Als, Marketing Director at Monsido. The websites were analyzed for a variety of key performance indicators, including the presence of top tasks and mobile experience, website and document accessibility, and quality assurance issues, like broken links. "Delivering an equitable website experience requires the right people, process and technology. This benchmark takes a holistic approach to understanding what elements are working, and what areas need improvement," says Josh Ditthardt, Direcor of Sales at OpenCities.



Key findings indicate that city websites are successful with mobile-readiness, navigation, and quality assurance. However, they fall short of the industry averages for website performance and readability. Accessibility also continues to be a challenge. "Documents, especially PDFs on websites are often overlooked when it comes to digital accessibility. This limits the inclusivity of US City websites and can create a barrier for many residents, such as disabled or elderly individuals, to engage with the local city government. Documents need to be as accessible as website content," says Monir ElRayes, President & CEO at CommonLook.

View the full report here: https://monsi.do/3n40DJd About The Publishers This report was published by Monsido and OpenCities, in partnership with CommonLook. Monsido, OpenCities and CommonLook are leading providers of digital solutions and technology for modern governments. Monsido is a fast-growing SaaS company that provides a one-stop Web Governance solution designed to give website visitors a superior browsing experience. OpenCities, a GovTech 100 company, provides the website, portal and form functionality modern governments need to digitize each step of their customer journey. CommonLook has been a world-leading provider of software products and professional services enabling government agencies and corporations to meet their obligations for electronic document accessibility to achieve compliance with accessibility standards. For more information, visit our respective websites: www.monsido.com , www.opencities.com and www.commonlook.com . View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-city-websites-need-improvements-to-meet-resident-needs--expectations-301274640.html SOURCE Monsido

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What Jack Phillips would say differently to gay couple he refused to make wedding cake (interview)

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In July 2012, when the federal government and most states in the United States did not legally recognize gay marriages, a Colorado baker found himself the subject of an anti-discrimination case for refusing to make a same-sex wedding cake on religious grounds.

Years later, Jack Phillips found himself before the highest court in the land, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Phillips details experiences with the litigation, his upbringing and faith background in the book The Cost of My Faith: How a Decision in My Cake Shop Took Me to the Supreme Court, scheduled for release through Salem Books on May 18.

In the book, Phillips documents his multiple legal battles over his decisions not to make a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding or a cake celebrating a gender transition.

Even though Phillips eventually won his legal battle against the same-sex couple with a 2018 Supreme Court victory, he is still dealing with litigation surrounding his refusal to make a cake celebrating a gender transition for transgender attorney Autumn Scardina.

In March, Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones dropped one of the two charges leveled against Phillips, with the other being argued in trial court later that month; a decision is pending.

The Christian Post recently spoke with Phillips, covering topics such as why he wrote his book, the struggle to convey his beliefs to those who disagree with him and how he felt about one conservative activists efforts to sue bakeries that refused to make a cake with an anti-gay message. Below are excerpts from that interview.

CP: What led you to write this book?

Phillips: The first thing that came to my mind about writing this book was that I want my kids and my grandkids to know the true story of what happened back there in July 2012 and what's happened since, as its difficult to find all of those kind of facts on the internet, or at least factual facts.

CP: You mentioned in the book about wanting to go back to July 2012 to explain more to the same-sex couple about why you refused to make the gay wedding cake. What would have you said if you could have done it again?

Phillips: The same thing I've been saying to hundreds of people ever since  that I serve everybody who comes in my shop, but there are certain cakes that I can't create because of an inherent message or written message that the cake would contain and that I can't convey.

In their case, it was a cake that had a different view of marriage. I believe the biblical view of marriage. Its between a man and a woman. I would gladly serve these people, these two men, any other cake, other custom works or sell them anything out of my showcase. [I would tell them] that it was not them that I was not serving. I was just declining to create a cake that went against my core beliefs. But they were welcome in my shop.

That's what I would try and explain to them.

I tried to explain it to this attorney, Scardina, that is suing me this go-around. We had a face-to-face meeting, Scardina and myself, this attorney. And in that meeting, I tried to explain that there are just certain cakes that I couldn't create and that I would gladly create other custom work for this attorney. It was just the particular cake, in this case celebrating a gender transition, that I couldn't create.

CP: It seems like, again and again, many people are failing to see the nuances of your stance. You willingly serve same-sex couples, but you will not perform services that convey certain messages. You do not hate the members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, but you do oppose their actions against you. Why do you think it is so hard for many people to see these points, even though you have explained them over and over again?

Phillips: A lot of that, I believe, comes from the media's portrayal of me, and that's one of the reasons that I wanted to write the book. They portray me as somebody who's intolerant and somebody who won't serve different groups of society.

But, again, its just cakes. I also don't create cakes that celebrate Halloween or cakes with alcohol in them or cakes that denigrate other people, including the people who identify as LGBT.

CP: In the book, you described the experience of watching the oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in person. You talked about it being a very different environment. What would you say were the most surprising experiences of the arguments in person?

Phillips: Its just not traffic court. This is the United States Supreme Court. And just watching the nine justices file in, the reverence that everybody had, there are federal marshals making sure that there's no noise, that its a very solemn and sobering experience. It was really something that everybody should be able to watch.

To be able to observe and see how our Constitution is supposed to be played out in that regard.

CP: While you did not mention him by name in the book, I noticed that you talked about the actions of Bill Jack, a conservative Christian activist who sued multiple bakeries in Colorado that refused to make an anti-gay cake. What is your opinion of his complaint?

Phillips: With those three bakers, I would agree with their stance that they declined to create cakes that went against their messages because all Americans should be able to live and work freely according to their consciences, without fear of punishment from the government. And so, I agree that they should be able to say, that's a message I can't create, and I am not going to create it. And I would agree with them.

CP: Bill Jack told The Christian Post in an interview in 2018 that he agreed with the bakeries he filed complaints against. As he put it, "I believe those bakeries have every right to deny me service for whatever reason they wish. But if they're going to apply the law equitably, they should have applied it against everyone."

Do you believe that certain strategies like those of Bill Jack aimed at proving a point are necessary to help individuals like yourself since it did influence the Supreme Court's opinion?

Phillips: That's not necessarily a tactic that I would take. I just want to run a cake shop and create cakes for my customers, and get to know my customers, and have them come back again and again, and become friends and like family.

CP: What do you hope people take away from your book, especially readers who might disagree with your stance?

Phillips: I admit that there are still always going to be people who will not agree with my stance, and I just want the chance to explain what that stance is.

Its difficult for someone like me to put it in print, and we've done the best that we could. But like every interview that I have done, all of it has been an occasion to try and explain that I serve everybody, that I can't create every cake and that our Constitution protects that right.

Every American should be able to make those decisions and be able to create or not create things according to their conscience without fear of punishment from the government.
Greek hospital workers scuffled with police after marching through central Athens to the health ministry Thursday, demanding to meet the minister.

"We wanted to send a delegation to present our issues, and even though the minister was inside, he did not accept to speak with the heroes, as they call us, because we ruin the narrative," said Michalis Giannakos, the head of the public hospital employees federation.

Earlier, a few hundred health workers marched through the streets of Athens, holding banners and placards, on their way to the health ministry.

Hospital workers want more medical staff be hired as the country struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Despite lockdown measures, Greece has struggled to contain a flare-up in cases that started in late January, and its mortality rate remains above the European Union average.

The cumulative death toll reached 9,713 on Wednesday, and the country's hospitals are struggling to treat unprecedented numbers of intubated patients.

Restrictions, many of which have been in effect since early November, will remain in place over Orthodox Easter on May 2, but things will change quickly after that.

Greece says its tourism services will open on May 15 when a ban on travel between different regions of the country will also be lifted.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the announcement in a televised address Wednesday, adding that restaurants and cafes will be allowed to reopen outdoor areas starting on May 3.

After the Easter holiday, schools will reopen on May 10 for grades 1 through 9. Students in the final three grades returned to class on April 12.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
dPfizer Ltd share fell over 5% intra day in Thursday's trade after the pharma firm said it has offered Indian government a not-for-profit price for vaccine for its immunisation programme. The healthcare stock surged 3.64% intra day to Rs 5,680 on BSE.

After reports said that the pharma firm has offered its vaccine at not-for-profit price, the stock fell 5.53% intra day to Rs 5,177.5 on BSE. It closed 4.77% lower at Rs 5,219 on BSE.

Earlier, the share opened with a gain of 2% at Rs 5,590 on BSE.

The stock has fallen after 5 days of consecutive gain. Pfizer share is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has gained 25% in one year and risen 2.18% since the beginning of this year.

In December 2020, Pfizer India became the first pharmaceutical firm to seek from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) an emergency use authorisation for its COVID-19 vaccine in the country, after its parent company secured such clearance in the UK and Bahrain.

However, in February 2021, Pfizer said it has decided to withdraw its application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in India.

Pharma stocks scale fresh highs amid record rise in Covid-19 cases
This Earth Day, were celebrating just a few #BlackandGreen leaders whove made a mark on the climate movement.

Contrary to what we see in the mainstream, the climate movement is not predominantly white. Though a failure to tell a full history and a lack of racial representation within the organizational sphere, persists, the truth is, Black people have long been stewards for the planet.

In celebration of Earth Day, theGrio is highlighting just a few leaders whove made a lasting impact in conservation, to climate science, government administration and grassroots organizing.

Mavynee The Beach Lady Betsch

MaVynee Betsch was a great-granddaughter of insurance company founder and one of the first African American millionaires, Abraham Lincoln Lewis. As a resident of American Beach, Florida, which Lewis founded, Betsch spent her life protecting the historically Black vacation spot from developers and donated approximately $750,000 to environmental organizations over her lifetime.

Fun fact: Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole, the first Black woman to serve as president of Spelman College, is her sister.

Dr. Robert Bullard

Dr. Robert Bullard (Photo: drrobertbullard.com)

Aptly called the father of environmental justice, Dr. Robert Bullard began his research on environmental racism in the 1970s. His wife, attorney Linda McKeever Bullard had taken a case, now known as Bean vs. Southwestern Waste Corp on behalf of Black suburban residents who wanted to stop a landfill from moving into their neighborhood and it became the first of its kind.

Dr. Bullards initial study in Houston led to a lifetime of research and since then, he has written 18 books, served as Dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University, and is co-chair of the National Black Environmental Justice Network.

John Planet Walker Francis

John Planet Walker Francis (Photo: PlanetWalk.org)

In 1971, environmentalist and expert traveler John Francis was so disturbed by an oil spill he saw in San Francisco Bay that he vowed to stop using motor vehicles. Instead he walked everywhere for 22 years and travelled coast to coast through the United States. Overtime, Francis became known as the PlanetWalker and In 1991 he was appointed as the United Nations Environment Programs Goodwill Ambassador to the Worlds Grassroots Communities. He is also the founder of the organization Planetwalk.

Story continues

Read More: Whats In It For Us talks Black environmental concerns

Leah Thomas

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Shortly after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown, Florissant, Missouri native Leah Thomas coined the term intersectional environmentalism to address the connection between racial justice and climate. She is the creator of the eco-lifestyle blog Green Girl Leah and The Intersectional Environmentalist Platform, an online community advocating for environmental justice + inclusivity within environmental education + movements

Rue Mapp

Rue Mapp speaks at the National Park Foundations Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque event aboard the Creole Queen during Essence Festival weekend on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/Getty Images for National Park Foundation)

Rue Mapp is the founder of Outdoor Afro  a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire Black connections and leadership in nature. Mapp founded the organization in 2009 after initially starting a blog to cultivate a community of outdoor enthusiasts and now Outdoor Afro is a go-to resource for Black explorers with chapters in 42 cities across the country.

Leah Penniman

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With her 2018 award-winning book, Farming While Black, activist Leah Penniman unearthed centuries of injustices that Black farmers have endured in the U.S. As a farmer herself, Penniman cites the power of sustainably growing your own food as both a climate solution and liberation movement. The organization she co-founded, Soul Fire Farm aims to dismantle racism within the food industry through local food deliveries, activist farmer trainings, and policy agendas.

Jacqui Patterson

Jacqui Patterson (Photo: Twitter)

Jacqueline Patterson serves as the director of the NAACPs Environmental and Climate Justice program which focuses on reducing greenhouse emissions, creating access to clean energy, and building climate resiliency within communities of color. Patterson has also provided thought leadership on the intersections between womens rights and climate change and served as womens rights policy analyst for the NGO Actionaid International.

Michael S. Regan

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

This March, Michael S. Regan made history by becoming the first Black man to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Before his EPA appointment, Regan was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. In that position he negotiated a settlement alongside environmental justice group, Duke Energy, which resulted in the largest coal ash clean up in the nations history.

Read More: CBC applauds Biden-Harris noms as a step toward environmental justice

Warren M. Washington

Warren M. Washington (Photo: cgd.ucar.edu)

Trailblazing researcher Warren Morton Washington currently serves as a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and was appointed to the National Science Board in 2002. In 1975, Washington and fellow scientist and NCAR colleague Akira Kasahara created one of the first computer models of the earths climate that uses physics to predict atmospheric patterns.

Dr. Beverly Wright

Dr. Beverly Wright (Photo: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

Dr. Beverly Wright is the founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, co-chair of the National Black Environmental Justice Network, and a renowned scholar. Dr. Wright has led research on chemical pollution that disproportionately harms Black communities in the Louisiana and Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and developed an elementary school curriculum about climate. In March, she was appointed by President Joe Biden to the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Have you subscribed to theGrios new podcast Dear Culture? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post 10 Black climate leaders fighting for environmental and racial justice appeared first on TheGrio.
New figures reveal increase in number of emergency food parcels issued in Wrexham in last 12 months

Almost 7,000 emergency food parcels were given to people in need in Wrexham over the last 12 months.

New figures released by charity the Trussell Trust today show that across the UK between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 2.5 million emergency food parcels were distributed.

This is an increase of 33 per cent on the previous year.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been cited as one of the reasons why the figures have increased so sharply across many areas over the last 12 months.





In North Wales all but one of the six counties have seen an increase on April 2019-2020, with figures in Wrexham up from 5,817 to 6,976.

Figures released by the Trussell Trust show that this equates to emergency food parcels being given to 4,380 adults and 2,596 children.

This is an increase on 3,724 and 2,093 on the previous year.

The number of foodbanks locally has also risen from eight to 10.

Data for the other North Wales authorities includes:

Isle of Anglesey: 4,307 up from 3,303

Conwy: 2,080 up from 1,647

Denbighshire: 6,339 up from 4,299

Flintshire: 6,749 down from 8,072

Gwynedd: 4,590 up from 4,564

Across Wales the number of people seeking emergency food has also increased over the last 12 months, with 145,828 parcels issued compared to 134,892 in 2019/20.

However this figure has been growing year on since 2014/15, when the number stood at 87,935.

Looking forward the Trussell Trust say there is optimism for the next 12 months due to the vaccine rollout and the gradual return to more normality.

But tough times remain with months of reduced pay have cut down peoples savings to the bare bones putting them at risk of destitution, and unemployment is set to rise as the furlough scheme is wound down.

This is alongside the changes made to the social security system being wound down over the coming months.

Emma Revie, chief executive at the charity, said: No one should face the indignity of needing emergency food. Yet our network of food banks has given out record numbers of food parcels as more and more people struggle without enough money for the essentials.

This is not right but we know we can build a better future.

This pandemic has shown the unexpected can hit suddenly, but we know when we push for change, united by our desire for justice and compassion, the government has to listen and act.
(Natural News) Thanks to George Floyd and Black Lives Matter (BLM), it is now a serious crime to pump gas after curfew in Minneapolis.

Mayor Jacob Frey, who says white nationalists are responsible for Floyds death, imposed the curfew after the death of Daunte Wright, another black man, at the hands of police officers.

Two women who were caught pumping gas after dark in Minneapolis learned the hard way that when a government official orders you to do something, you do it obediently and unquestioningly  even if the order is against the law.

According to reports, the two women were filling up their car when heavily armed goons from the military and local police department swarmed the vehicle and ordered the women to get down on the ground.

With rifles pointed at their heads, the SWAT-like band of government thugs terrorized the two women, one of whom was wearing yoga pants. Neither of the women was armed or constituted any kind of threat.

The scene was akin to a raid on the Taliban in Kabul but happened in Minneapolis, and instead of the Taliban, it was innocent women in yoga pants, writes Matt Agorist for SHTFplan.com.

On Twitter, many expressed similar sentiments about the gross abuse of power on display that night. In what parallel universe is harassing and terrorizing innocent women going about their business acceptable in a country that claims to hinge upon freedom and liberty?

Whoever ordered this idiocy shld be unceremoniously & summarily removed from office, one person wrote. Arresting ppl at a MN gas station  pointing military grade assault rifles in their faces  is just outrageous. No elected official shld ever get away w this.

When there is widespread civil unrest, a state basically has 2 options: 1  make a few concessions to public demands, or 2  use tyrannical force to quell the unrest, wrote another. And its quite obvious the direction our ruling class wants to go as public anger and despair continues to grow.

Militarization of police and growing martial law is a bipartisan affair

Both political parties are guilty of bringing us to this point, by the way. Blaming Joe Biden or Donald Trump completely misses the point as police state tyranny has been burgeoning under the rule of both Democrats and Republicans for many decades.

It was here long before Trump and began ramping up under George W. Bush during antiwar protests and came to a head under Obama during the Ferguson unrest, Agorist explains.

Because this most recent incident in Minneapolis occurred under Biden as opposed to Trump, however, the heavily politicized mainstream media did not even pick up the story. This is noteworthy as there is still an agenda at play that seeks to either ignore or glamorize the police state under Democrats while amplifying its horrors under Republicans.

This is the return to normalcy people were wanting, someone on Twitter pointed out.

Because last year  whats happening in Minnesota, Portland, and Chicago right now would be on every news station and would be the top topics on Twitter. But now that the orange man is gone  we can talk about cats again.

Had this incident in Minneapolis occurred under Trump, it would have been broadcast nonstop for days on end as a means of vilification. However, because Biden is occupying the White House, the media is completely silent.

They allowed mass burning, looting, and senseless destruction repeatedly with almost zero police intervention last year, pointed out one SHTFplan.com commenter about the hypocrisy of how this latest incident was handled. Bravo, Minneapolis.

To keep up with the latest news about police state tyranny, be sure to check out PoliceState.news.

Sources for this article include:

SHTFplan.com

NaturalNews.com
L&T Construction has secured a significant contract to design and build one of the world's largest oil & gas supply bases.

The buildings & factories business of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Construction has secured a "significant" deal from Oilfields Supply Company Saudi owned by the Dubai-based Oilfields Supply Center to design & build oil & gas supply bases in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

The project involves the construction of industrial facilities of different sizes, an administration building, ancillary buildings, associated infrastructure and storage yards along with civil, structural, MEP and architectural works. The project is scheduled to be completed in 30 months.

M V Satish, the whole-time director and senior executive vice president (Buildings) of L&T, stated: "This project will act as a business incubator to support the oil and gas industry in the Kingdom and help accelerate industrial growth in the energy sector. It has strategic significance for L&T too, marking our future growth in such a potential-rich market like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

According to L&T's classification, the value of the said orders lies between Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore.

On a consolidated basis, L&T's net profit rose 5.4% to Rs 2,849.06 crore on 1.8% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 35,596.42 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

L&T is an Indian multinational engaged in engineering, procurement and construction projects, manufacturing, defence and services with over $21 billion in revenue.

Shares of L&T were down 1.19% to Rs 1,315.65 on BSE. The stock hovered in the range of Rs 1,310.25 to Rs 1,325 so far.

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KALAMAZOO, MI  When a student at Lakeside Academy was restrained by staff, the other students were told to look away.

But, they still saw parts of the 10-minute restraint that led to the death of 16-year-old Cornelius Fredricks on April 29, according to body camera footage from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety obtained by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette through a Freedom of Information Act request.

I turned around and I seen Corn or Cornelius throwing food and stuff at another student, said one student interviewed by police. Staff was telling him to stop doing it and he continued doing it. They tried to grab and restrain him and thats when they restrained him  I left the cafeteria because I was upset.

The video footage was blurred by KDPS because the students are minors.

It took 12 minutes before nurses and staff members began CPR and called 911. Fredricks was taken to a local hospital where he died from cardiac arrest on May 1. The Kalamazoo County Medical Examiners Office ruled his death was a homicide.

Three people have been charged in Fredricks death. Michael Mosley and Zachary Solis were both physically involved in the restraint and are charged with involuntary manslaughter and knowingly causing Fredericks harm by laying across his abdomen. They were also charged with second-degree child abuse and another count of second-degree child abuse for a childcare organization violation causing death.

Heather McLogan, a former nurse at the academy, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse.

Related: Nurse did nothing criminal in death of Lakeside Academy teen, defense attorney says

Fredricks was in a supine restraint, where the person is put on the ground and their legs and arms are held down, students told police in the videos captured by officers body cameras.

Supine is used when one staff member cant safely hold a student, so theyre placed on the ground for other staff to help. One staff member held Fredricks right leg with a hand on each side of his knee, according to video footage.

Thats a common restraint right there supine, a student told police. But Ive never seen anything happen like that  This time they had more staff on him. I dont think that was right  He was resisting the whole time, so I think they had to put more pressure on him.

Fredricks was put in the restraint after he threw a sandwich in the cafeteria. He had thrown food twice and had been told to stop but refused, Mosely said in the police footage.

I tried to wrap him up and we got to the ground and the struggle came and thats when the help happened, Mosely said. Hes a big boy, he tussle pretty good.

Students said they were ignoring Fredricks because throwing food and arguing was normal for him.

I wasnt paying attention because its just Corn being Corn, a student interviewed by police said. Hes not going to do anything  Hes not the type to attack you or anything, hes just going to run his mouth and throw you something.

It was just him being him and then boom, I turned around and seen staff  I dont know if they got irritated or what, but they just threw him on the ground, restraining him  He was sitting here, and the staff went like that, threw him off.

Related: Lakeside Academy was out of control prior to student death, police say

Some students said Fredricks was talking at the start of the restraint and others said he was silent the whole time.

It just looked like he couldnt breathe, a student said. He kept picking up his head  Corn is big. He wasnt screaming or anything  he had a constipated face. I dont know if he was trying to hold in the scream, not to look weak, I dont know. He just looked constipated.

Students were ushered out of the cafeteria during the restraint, but some students said they watched through windows.

He was talking for like a minute and then he shut up for a little bit and then one of the staff was like, Im going to let you go, a student interviewed by police said. They let him go and he didnt move.

After Fredricks stopped struggling, staff went to end the restraint, McLogan said in video footage.

They said were going to begin the release process so were going to come off your legs, which is per protocol, McLogan said. They came off his legs and they come off his arms and he just laid there. Initially we thought he was just faking. I could see his chest rise and fall so I just sat there and let it, waited.

Lakeside Academys license was suspended in June 2020, and later revoked, by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The property at 3921 Oakland Drive is vacant and still owned by Lakeside, per Kalamazoo property records.

They get mad every time I tell staff Now that you guys have finally killed one of us, you guys want to stop? In the past you guys would do this to us and make it seem like its OK, a student interviewed by police said. They just put this weird face. I dont know why they get mad when Im telling them the truth.

McLogan is scheduled for a motion hearing April 28. Solis is scheduled for a status conference May 27 and Mosely is scheduled for a status conference June 9.

22 Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo

More from MLive:

Investigations into Michigan juvenile facility found corporal punishment, documents show

Former Portage preschool employee pleads guilty to sexual assault of 5-year-old

Cancer center at expanded WMU business park set to open in September
Beirut, Lebanon -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2021 -- Eastwood International School is pleased to announce that they are now open for new registrations for 2021-22. The EIS campus is located in Mansourieh, a quaint suburb of Beirut. With an aim to offer world class education for everyone, they also offer financial aid programs and scholarships. The classrooms at EIS instill a sense of learning, inspiration and comfort. While most of the classrooms come with a scenic view of the inner courtyard and the Mediterranean Sea, all of them are equipped with cutting-edge technology to enhance the overall learning and teaching experience. Equipped with Apple TVs, high end speaker systems and projectors, these classrooms create a perfect learning environment for students across grades. The school also boasts of a newly outfitted and fully stocked laboratory with quality equipment, tools, substances, chemicals and safety equipment. Parents can now use the website for online registrations. All the details are mentioned on the website with step by step instructions. Parents can also call the admission representative during school hours for any clarifications.



People who think about "international school near me", visit https://www.eastwoodis.com/



About https://www.eastwoodis.com/

Eastwood International School based at Beirut, Lebanon is a leading experiential international Baccalaureate World School that offers IBDP, American and Lebanese Curricula. They are also fully online and remote school offering accredited academic programs and online courses starting from nursery to 12th grade.



Media Contact



Eastwood International School

Address: Sami Solh Street, Mansourieh el Metn, Beirut, Lebanon

Phone: +961-4-409307

Email: Gavin.khoury@eastwoodschools.com

Website: https://www.eastwoodis.com/
Trustees approved garbage fees for the first time in 2018, noting the village could no longer absorb the cost of trash collection. Trustee Jeff Lynam, who will be seated as village president next month, told the board at its Monday meeting that he opposed the garbage fee extension because the plan had been to sunset it after the first year.
AMHERST  Springfield-based nuForj, which is developing an advanced manufacturing incubator near the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says it has a deal in place to buy a commercial property on North Sunderland Road.

Its a complex, complicated endeavor, explains Rudy N. Vogel, founder and managing principal of nuForj and creator of the The Eruptor project. Its a world-class facility.

The incubator could take millions of dollars  he cant say how much  and will total 80,000 square feet of space, including a 10,000-square-foot tool hall with advanced manufacturing equipment and a 2,000-square-foot mixed-media workforce development and product realization center.

The remainder will contain offices, labs and meeting spaces to service researchers from UMass and businesses large and small, local and national and from around the world, Vogel said.

Construction would take 18 months to two years once it begins, Vogel says.

The idea is to get ideas from labs into the marketplace.

Smart people in academia and the private sector are going to be working together in that building to create new products and new ways to manufacture those products, says former state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, now a principal with nuForj. Its now finally coming together here in Amherst.

The name Eruptor is being used, according to Vogel, because he envisions technology coming out of the building like a volcano and flowing across the land.

Former state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, is working as a community and government liaison for The Eruptor. Greg Saulmon / The Republican file

Rosenberg is doing government liaison work for the project, meeting with the university, state and federal officials and with the town. The permitting process begins soon, he says.

The project will bring 75 jobs for technicians and others employed by The Eruptor, not counting researchers and others assigned to the building by employers making use of the facilities.

UMass Amherst and nuForj have in place a memorandum of understanding that establishes a framework to work together to identify and evaluate opportunities for research and development projects, including pursuit of external funding support, according to university spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.

Discussions are ongoing about possible joint projects. The university has no financial stake in development of The Eruptor, Blaguszewski says.

The university and nuForj have also signed a nonbinding letter of intent for UMass to lease 3,500 square feet of office-lab-manufacturing space in The Eruptor building for use by the Transportation Center, a unit within the College of Engineering.

On the state level, the project has $1 million from a state economic development bond bill that Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law in January. But according to the office of current state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, that provision has not been used yet to borrow or spend money.
[April 22, 2021] New Research By Velocity Smart Technology Reveals Almost Half Of Us Office Workers Scared To Return To Offices

NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 42% of US office workers have said catching Covid-19 as a direct result of being back in contact with colleagues is what worries them the most about returning to the office. Over a third of US office workers (39%) also said they were most fearful of contracting Covid-19 through contamination of shared office equipment, such as computers and keyboards. The ' Supporting Your Remote Workforce in 2021 and Beyond ' report, commissioned by Smart Locker Provider Velocity Smart Technology , showed that US employees have big concerns on returning to the office. Most surprising, considering a reluctance to mandatory mask wearing in some US states, almost three quarters of US office workers (70%) would welcome mandatory mask wearing to be in force. Anthony Lamoureux, CEO of Velocity Smart Technology, said, "Before the turn of the last decade, remote working was something that so-called 'cool' or youngbusinesses provided as a perk to attract rising talent. But one global pandemic later and things are very different.



"Business leaders and IT directors now need to understand exactly what the pandemic taught us about remote working, which in a nutshell is that it's here to stay. For a company to thrive in this new paradigm, it needs to evolve the support provided to remote employees and ensure they're equipped to give their all." Gartner research suggests 74% of businesses plan to permanently shift employees to remote work after the Covid-19 crisis ends, therefore it is unsurprising that 83% of US office workers surveyed in this research agree that flexible working is here to stay - suggesting that the office has changed forever.

About Velocity Smart Technology Velocity Smart Technology is designed from the ground up to deliver the most effective Smart Lockers and Smart Vending solution for Enterprise IT that integrates seamlessly to existing services, which is why the technology has been built on the ServiceNow platform. Velocity Smart Technology is the world's first ServiceNow fully integrated Smart Locker and Smart Vending solution that finally delivers on the promise to save business time, save businesses money and improve the IT support service. Smart Collect, Velocity Smart Locker, Velocity Smart Vending, are registered trademarks of Velocity Smart Technology Ltd. in the United Kingdom and/or other countries. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-research-by-velocity-smart-technology-reveals-almost-half-of-us-office-workers-scared-to-return-to-offices-301274819.html SOURCE Velocity Smart Technology

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LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To collectors of ancient art, scholarship and provenance are the two most important points to consider before making a purchase. It is no coincidence that those same criteria are the business cornerstones of Pax Romana, Britain's premier gallery and boutique auction house specializing in antiquities, cultural art and coins.

Pair of Chinese Tang Dynasty terracotta female polo players, circa 618-907 AD. Dimensions of artworks: 420mm x 410mm. Conveys with Ralf Kotalla (Germany) TL certificate and full report. Estimate 6,000-12,000 Huge Gandhara schist stone figure of standing Buddha dressed in flowing monastic robe. Kushan period, circa 75-451 AD, golden age of artistic production in the area. Dimensions: 1120mm x 365mm. Weight: 60+kg/132+lbs. Estimate 20,000-40,000

Headed by Dr Ivan Bonchev (PhD, University of Oxford), Pax Romana organizes each of its auction events as a virtual journey through the past, with rare and stunning artifacts as its mile markers. On Sunday, May 2, Pax Romana will take collectors on a virtual voyage through Asia, starting with museum-quality art and relics of Indus Valley civilizations and time-traveling forward to the Crusader era. TL-tested Chinese terracotta, exquisitely carved Gandharan statues, Greco-Bactrian silver and Sassanian bronze are among the leading categories in this sale, with each item authenticated and certified by Dr Bonchev.

An important, very early bronze piece, a Chinese Western Zhou "you," or ritual wine vessel with cover, dates to circa 1045-771 BC. To confirm its authenticity, it underwent an X-ray fluorescence analysis which showed the chemical composition to be consistent with the described period, with no modern trace elements detected. Following a long record of private British ownership, it comes to auction with a 20,000-40,000 estimate.

Three exceptional relics of the Chinese Warring States era (circa 475-221 BC), all XRF-tested for authenticity, will be offered on May 2nd. One of them is a silver and gold-inlaid cylindrical bronze box beautifully decorated with two highly prancing geometric griffins. Estimated at 10,000-20,000, it will convey to the new owner with its XRF testing certificate.

Leading the outstanding examples of Ganharan sculpture from the Kushan period is a huge (1120mm/44.1in) schist stone figure of a standing Buddha with a circular halo, dressed in a flowing monastic robe. Weight: 60+kg/132+lbs. Estimate: 20,000-40,000

An exciting selection of Chinese Tang Dynasty (circa 618-907) terracotta and ceramic figures includes subjects not often seen in the fine-art marketplace. Three lots, in particular, are worthy of special attention. All will convey with a Ralf Kotalla TL certificate and full report stating that their chemical composition is consistent with the period indicated in their respective catalogue descriptions. The largest of the group is a ceramic Bactrian (Mongolian) camel with rider, 700mm by 560mm. The well-detailed desert beast displays the mane, beard and stature characteristic of its species, and is shown with his head thrown back and mouth wide open, as though bellowing. Formerly in an old British collection, the duo is estimated at 10,000-20,000 estimate.

Arguably the finest ceramic in the sale is a magnificent Chinese Ming Dynasty cobalt blue and white wanli porcelain jar with a five-clawed-dragon motif continuously decorating the vessel. Its dimensions are 530mm by 430mm, and its line of provenance includes an old Somerset (England) collection. Estimate: 20,000-30,000

Pax Romana is a member of the British Numismatic Trading Association and the Art Loss Register. All items sold by Pax Romana convey with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Dr Ivan Bonchev. The company ships worldwide; packing is handled by white-glove specialists in-house.

View the fully illustrated auction catalogue and sign up to bid absentee or live online via LiveAuctioneers. Contact: tel. +44 7424 994167, email [email protected]. Online www.paxromana.auction.

Media Contact:

Dr. Ivan Bonchev

Tel. +44 7424 994167, [email protected]

SOURCE Pax Romana

Related Links

https://paxromana.auction/


Chennai, April 22 : Major opposition parties of Tamil Nadu, including the DMK, the AMMK, the MNM and the IUML, have come out strongly against the Central government and the AIADMK-led state government's handling of the Covid crisis.

DMK President M.K. Stalin said that the Central government had failed miserably in handling the Covid crisis and called upon it to provide vaccines to the states at Rs 150 per vaccine - the rate it gets them itself.

Stalin, in a statement, said: "Oxygen has been diverted from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Even though our brethren require Oxygen, the Union government should have at least checked with the Chief Secretary about the state's requirement." The DMK leader also said that the authorities have failed to give proper explanation regarding the wastage of 12.5 per cent of vaccines in Tamil Nadu even as there have been reports on the shortage of vaccines in the state.

MNM leader Kamal Haasan said that the Central government, state government and voluntary organisations must work as a single unit in fighting the Covid-19 disease.

AMMK General Secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran said that the Central government has failed totally in managing the crisis. In a statement, he said that the Central government did not bother to enquire with the state government before diverting oxygen to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national President K.M. Kader Mohideen, talking to IANS, said: "The Central government has to properly manage things to prevent the Covid surge in Tamil Nadu. The Central government did not even consult the Chief Secretary or the caretaker government before diverting Oxygen to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This is total mismanagement of things amidst the surge of cases due to Covid-19."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
While Companion Bakery has seen a decline in sales since the pandemic began, its owner says the St. Louis community has done a terrific job supporting the business.

Local restaurants, particularly independent ones, are some of the biggest casualties of the ongoing pandemic, given multiple shutdowns and continuing restrictions. According to Yelp, 60% of small businesses, including restaurants, have permanently closed because of the pandemic. Aside from limited indoor dining, local restaurants also must grapple with the exorbitant fees charged by delivery companies and changes in grocery shopping habits.

Given that the cost of living in the St. Louis area is fairly reasonable, the region has traditionally been a haven for independent restaurateurs. A highly supportive community helps to bolster creative individuals.

St. Louis really does a terrific job of supporting local restaurateurs, said Josh Allen, the Jewish founder and owner of Companion Bakery, which has two area locations.

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People here are curious about how their favorite places have done, how they are surviving, added former restaurateur and industry consultant Kent Hirschfelder.

Companion Bakery has a slightly different business model than a traditional establishment. Eighty percent of its business is wholesale, which means Companion sells its products to grocery stores and other restaurants. At the start of stay-at-home orders in March, many people began to change their grocery shopping habits, shopping only once per week or every couple of weeks.

We certainly have seen a negative impact on baguette sales and fresh hearth bread sales because thats just not the way folks are shopping right now, Allen said.

Even changes like working from home have impacted popular lunch spots and places where people gather as a focal point of their business model.

There was nobody working here and really it hasnt been a huge return of folks working, Allen added.

Now, almost a year after the pandemic broke out in America, business is still not nearly back to normal. Business lunches and casual cups of coffee with friends have moved online or become quick, outdoor affairs. While Companion hasnt been able to justify reopening its flagship Maryland Heights location, Allen credits the tight knit community of Ladue for supporting its location there via curbside pickup.

Its a very insulated community. Ladue is very supportive of their own businesses, Allen said.

Community and word-of-mouth are huge parts of supporting independent restaurants, especially during these times. For many people, delivery is the most attractive way to support a favorite restaurant. However, if done through an outside provider such as UberEats, Postmates or DoorDash, it can actually do more harm than good to the restaurant. Commissions that restaurants must pay for customers to order on these platforms can be more than 30%, an amount that is impossible for many restaurateurs to stomach.

We dont do delivery, said Allen. We cant manage it ourselves and we cant make the numbers work using DoorDash or Postmates or any of those things. They take too high a percentage of the sale.

Restaurants that previously had a large takeout or delivery business set up are doing better now.

For example, pizza places had an easy task because they were already heavy into delivery and pickup. They already had the technology and the knowledge, Hirschfelder said.

The Jewish community has played an important role in supporting Jewish-owned restaurants. Allen said still appreciates the supportive nature of the Jewish community.

The Jewish community is incredibly supportive of Jewish independent restaurants and Jewish owned businesses, Allen said.
Coronavirus case counts are surging to never-before seen highs across India even as lockdown measures are in place. So could we be doing more as individuals to curb transmission of the virus?

We spoke to Dr. Haryax Pathak, 24, from Pramukhswami Medical College in Gujarat's Karamsad, who shared his views on some of the COVID-19 mistakes that we are all still making.

Let's take a look:

"Don't wash your masks"

"The most common mistake is not wearing a mask properly. When wearing a mask in public, don't remove it while talking. Only remove it if you are consuming food or drinks. Ensure it has a good fit. If it doesn't fit well and has gaps, it won't serve the purpose," Dr. Haryax Pathak said.

Representational Image/AP

He added, "And most importantly, don't wash your mask, especially N95 and surgical mask. It becomes inefficient. If it gets dirty, let it dry it out in sun or heat dry it. Buy at least 2-3 masks and use them alternatively. Double masking is also very important. You see, prevention is better than cure."

"COVID doesn't mean death"

Dr. Pathak said, "Another thing, I want people to remember that don't panic. Even if you are looking for a bed or an oxygen cylinder. People are also recovering from COVID."

BCCL

"We have forgotten that if there is a mortality rate, there is also a recovery rate. Getting COVID is unfortunate but it doesn't mean death," Dr. Pathak said.

Emphasising on the need to keep basics right, Dr. Pathak said, "Just wear a mask, maintain social distancing, that's all. It's not complicated, its simple. People are worried about variants. Any virus would mutate. It's not in your control."

"Home remedies are not medical substitutes"

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"Steam, camphor potli or any other home remedies are not advisable. They are not a substitute for medical intervention. You can try it at home but it won't do anything," Dr. Pathak said.

He concluded by saying that three vaccines are already being rolled out in India and that there needs to be hope. He said, "The fight would be over if we believe it will."
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced or widowed were independently predictive of delirium in hospitalized patients in Zambia, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.

A collaborative team of researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Zambia Teaching Hospital published the risk factors as a follow-up look at the prevalence and impact of delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, in lower-resourced hospitals. Findings published in February showed delirium is widespread in patients admitted to the University Teaching Hospital, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge.

The studies represent novel research in lower-resourced hospitals, and the findings highlight the breadth of a serious health problem that has existed off the radar, said Kondwelani Mateyo, MBChB, MMed, the hospital's chief pulmonary and critical care physician.

The next step is to explore interventional therapies while raising awareness about the prevalence and risks of deliriumespecially given that nearly 50% of people had delirium upon admission to the hospital. In the U.S., for instance, delirium more often develops in patients after admission and while in the ICU.

"We have to start the conversation, and you can't do that with the absence of data or evidence. We are making people aware that delirium is here and it's a widespread problem that has, up to this point, not been quantified. With these data we're able to see it's in our city, and we think this is representative of hospitals in the country and our region. Delirium is a factor in mortality and cognitive impairment," said Mateyo.

The findings on risk factors coupled with the recent data on delirium prevalence is a critical step toward finding ways to screen for and treat patients at high risk for delirium in order to drive improvements in long-term survival and functional status, said Justin Banerdt, MD, MPH, internal medicine resident at Yale School of Medicine, and corresponding author who led the study on the ground in Zambia while an MD/MPH student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. For example, findings from the study suggest that widespread use of validated severity of illness scores may allow health care providers in low-income countries to triage patients at high risk of delirium for further assessment and care.

"One of the striking findings in our study is that nearly 50% of patients in this acutely ill non-ICU population had delirium at admission. Not only was severity of illness at admission a powerful, independent predictor of delirium, but there was also a substantial burden of critical illness at hospital presentation, suggesting that severe illness is a significant contributor to the high prevalence of delirium seen in this cohort. This speaks to how in the future we must endeavor to understand what is putting these patients at risk in the community before they even arrive at the hospital so that delirium and critical illness more generally can be identified earlier and managed more effectively across all levels of the health care system. This is an opportunity to look beyond the walls of the hospital to address inequities in a poor and very vulnerable population through health system strengthening and critical care capacity-building in Zambia," said Banerdt.

Delirium is an independent predictor of long-term mortality as well as cognitive and functional disability. Health care costs attributable to delirium have been estimated to range from $143 billion to $152 billion annually in the U.S.

"Dr. Mateyo is a path-breaker in Zambia and a huge advocate for his patients. Our team's results show that health systems need to be expanded and broadened. Since we found that people are coming to the hospital with delirium, we need to find ways to develop a higher consciousness in communities about what delirium is. Dr. Mateyo's expertise and leadership, and that of his colleagues at the University of Zambia and the Zambia Ministry of Health, will be key in showing the global public health community how to positively impact the lives of patients," said Douglas Heimburger, MD, MS, professor of Medicine and core faculty at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health. Heimburger leads projects with grant funding from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Explore further Researchers find delirium in hospitalized patients linked to mortality, disability

More information: Justin K. Banerdt et al, Risk factors for delirium among hospitalized patients in Zambia, PLOS ONE (2021). Journal information: PLoS ONE Justin K. Banerdt et al, Risk factors for delirium among hospitalized patients in Zambia,(2021). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249097
Ratlam : , April 22 (IANS) A police party was attacked when it asked people to stop the Ramlila which was taking place in violation of Covid protocols in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam.

The incident happened on Wednesday night under Alot police station of Ratlam district when the police party reached the spot and asked the people to end the event. Some people cut the electricity supply and started beating the policemen. Three of them received injuries in the incident.

There is a ban on the gathering of people due to rising Covid cases in the state. However, in Bardiya Rathore village, more than two hundred people had gathered to watch Ramlila. When the police came to know about this, the police personnel who reached the spot asked the people to stop the event. The villagers refused to stop it and when the police pressed, the people turned off the power supply and attacked members of the police team in the dark. Three policemen were injured in this attack, while the police vehicle was vandalized.

The injured police personnel have been admitted to a health centre in Alot. The police have registered a case against unidentified people.
A new study has found up to half of all children with language difficulties and mental and physical health problems have been exposed to intimate partner violence, prompting calls for health and social care services to provide more effective identification and early intervention.

The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and published in The BMJ, showed children exposed to intimate partner violence from infancy were twice as likely to have a psychiatric diagnosis, emotional and behavioral difficulties, and impaired language skills at age 10. They were also more likely to have asthma and sleep problems.

The study also found that children exposed to intimate partner violence in the year they turned 10 were two to three times more likely to experience poor mental health, elevated blood pressure and sleep difficulties.

But with the exception of language difficulties and asthma, child health outcomes at age 10 were not affected if their only exposure to intimate partner violence occurred before they turned five, highlighting the need for more effective early intervention.

The research involved 1507 first-time mothers and their first-born children. Women were recruited to the study from six public maternity hospitals in Melbourne. More than one in four women and children in the study were exposed to intimate partner violence during the first 10 years after the child's birth.

MCRI Professor Stephanie Brown said the findings showed the size of the burden of ill health carried by children growing up in households where intimate partner violence occurred.

Intimate partner is the most common form of violence against women and their children and is a global public health issue. It's not limited to physical and sexual violence and is often characterized by a pattern of psychological control and coercion. Children may pick up on this and experience constant fear or anxiety at home." Stephanie Brown, Professor, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

"The impact of COVID-19 has increased pressures on families and heightened the need for more effective intervention and support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse."

Professor Brown said that many women experiencing intimate partner violence were unsure about seeking support from family health and social care services.

"Services need to aware of the impact of intimate partner violence on children's health and wellbeing and work to overcome barriers that may get in the way of women seeking support for themselves and their children," she said.

"Barriers may include fear of judgement, the perception that health services can't help, the cost of GP appointments, limited availability of low cost psychological and other allied health services, and lack of services that take a holistic approach to women and children's health and wellbeing.

"If child health and social services do not recognize and respond to intimate partner violence as a potential contributing factor to poor child health outcomes, interventions to support children with health and developmental problems are likely to be less effective."

MCRI Dr Deirdre Gartland said some mothers and children experience good health and wellbeing despite their exposure to intimate partner violence.

"It is important to recognize that not all children exposed to intimate partner violence have poor physical and mental health," she said.

"Women are doing everything they can to protect and look after their children to give them the best possible outcomes despite the situations they are in."

Researchers from The University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, The Royal Women's Hospital, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University and Deakin University also contributed to the findings.
Photo taken on July 13, 2020 shows the Tasman Glacier at Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park consists of 19 peaks which are at least 3,000 meters above sea level, as well as the Tasman Glacier and many glacial lakes. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

BEIJING, April 21, 2021 (Xinhua) -- April 22 marks the annual Earth Day. The Earth is the shared and only home for human beings, and everyone has the obligation to protect our blue planet.

Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2020 shows a damaged bridge after a storm in Saint-Martin-Vesubie, near France's southern coastal city of Nice. (Photo by Syspeo.z/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2020 shows waves breaking over the harbour wall and lighthouse at the West Beach in Newhaven, Britain. Storm Francis brought strong gusts and heavy rains to Britain. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)

Downtown Toronto is seen through ice-covered land in Toronto, Canada, Feb. 13, 2016. Extreme cold weather warnings were in effect for Toronto, capital of Ontario province, Canada, and across southern Ontario, as dwellers in the biggest Canadian city woke up to minus 25 degrees, the record low temperatures. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

A woman wearing a face mask walks with a parasol at Ginza in Tokyo, Japan, on Aug. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

A man walks past a globe model at the conference hall of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, Dec. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2019 shows a destroyed eucalyptus plantation after fire in Humaita, the state of Amazonas, Brazil. (Gabriela Biro/Agencia Estado/Handout via Xinhua)

Photo taken on Feb. 1, 2020 shows an iceberg seen from China's polar icebreaker Xuelong 2, or Snow Dragon 2, which is heading to China's Zhongshan Station during China's 36th Antarctic expedition, on the Weddell Sea. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)

Photo taken on Nov. 11, 2019 shows the boats on the dried-up part of the Maharloo Lake in Fars Province, southern Iran. A large part of Maharloo Lake has almost disappeared over the past years due to drought. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

Photo taken on March 1, 2017, shows the carcass of a bull in Laikipia County, Kenya. Kenya was facing a severe drought and with it a rise in food insecurity. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

Photo taken on Nov. 16, 2020 shows the scene after Typhoon Vamco hit Rizal Province, the Philippines. Typhoon Vamco triggered severe flooding and landslides in many parts of the main island of Luzon. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

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Prince Harry today paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh's conservation work as he narrated a video for his wildlife charity to bang the drum for environmentalism.

To celebrate Earth Day, the Duke of Sussex recorded the voice-over for the African Parks NGO - which he has been President of since 2017.

In a statement to accompany the video he said: 'As we now begin to move towards an era of global recovery and regeneration, it's critical that we continue to look at strengthening and protecting of biodiversity, not just as a value we hold, but as a way of live.

'On this Earth Day, I reflect on generations of conservation champions, including my late grandfather, and feel proud and energised to continue doing my part in this legacy.

'This year especially, I join the African Parks team and communities around the world in shared dedication to our environment and collective wellbeing'.

The 1-minute 50-second video, called Hope Starts Here, was re-released with Harry's narration to mark the annual climate change awareness day.

The royal has worked with African Parks since 2016, when he visited Malawi to help translocate 500 elephants in Malawi. Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks, hailed his 'dedication and commitment'.

He and Meghan have been vocal in their support of the green agenda but were slammed in 2019 when it emerged they were using private jets.

Harry returned home to California from London on Tuesday, just 24 hours before his grandmother's birthday and two days after his grandfather's funeral.

He is said to have met the Queen privately 'at least twice' and spoke to his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William after the Duke of Edinburgh's emotional funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday, according to Harry and Meghan's friend Omid Scobie.

The Duke of Sussex recorded the voice-over for the African Parks charity he has been President of since 2017.

Prince Harry paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh's conservation work as he narrated a video for his wildlife charity to bang the drum for environmentalism

Harry returned home to California from London on Tuesday, just 24 hours before his grandmother's birthday and two days after his grandfather's funeral

The Duke of Edinburgh sits atop an elephant while visiting the Kanha Game Reserve today during his ten day tour of India with the Queen in 1983

How defiant Duke of Edinburgh fired back after Tory MP attacked him for preaching conservation while enjoying bloodsports One Right-wing Tory MP  an ardent monarchist at that  believes that Prince Philip represents a glaring contradiction. During a heated exchange at Westminster, Anthony Beaumont-Dark (Birmingham Selly Oak) demanded of the Prince: 'How can you stand there when you hunt and kill for pleasure and make an appeal for conservation?' The Duke of Edinburgh has two apparently irreconcilable images. On the one hand, the President of the World Wildlife Fund, passionately pleading on behalf of the panda. On the other, the master shot who downs hundreds of birds at Sandringham every year. It was these two conflicting roles that I put to the Prince during an exclusive interview as we sat in the Buckingham Palace Library, a room he designed with Sir Hugh Casson. 'What you've got to understand,' he told me, 'is that when you grow up in the countryside you learn the principle of conservation from farming. 'You learn you have to keep the seed corn for the following year. You know you can only take the surplus from your flocks or you won't have anything to breed from the following year. When I used to walk in the country with older relations, they would point out buzzards and eagles and my interest in conservation grew.' Advertisement

It came after the Queen was seen driving through Windsor on her way to take her dogs for a walk as she marked her 95th birthday without her 'strength and stay' of 73 years.

The monarch - who was recently gifted two new corgi puppies by Prince Andrew - was pictured leaving Windsor Castle in a green Jaguar Estate after the 'low-key' birthday celebrations, believed to have included several family members and her closest aides.

Earlier, in her first comments since Prince Philip's death, the monarch thanked well-wishers across the globe for the tributes paid to her husband which have 'deeply touched' the royal family.

The Queen said she and her family were in a 'period of great sadness' but were comforted by words of praise for Philip, who died peacefully at Windsor aged 99.

Her Majesty said in a statement: 'I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate.

'While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world.

'My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days.

'We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.'

Buckingham Palace shared a photo of the steadfast monarch at a royal engagement with a message wishing her happy birthday.

Instead of sharing their own posts, Prince Charles and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Instagram accounts re-posted the radiant photo of Her Majesty.

Celebrations were subdued this year with no traditional gun salutes while the Queen observes a two-week mourning period following the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99.

The Queen was expected to be visited by family on Wednesday but her grandson Prince Harry was not among them.

Meanwhile, William and Kate had earlier visited a RAF cadet base in east London, as the Duchess reconnected with her family's long history in aviation.

The monarch was pictured leaving Windsor Castle in a green Jaguar Estate after hosting a visit from family members during the 'low-key' celebrations

The Queen (seen in the driver's seat wearing a headscarf) marked her birthday with a small gathering believed to have included several family members and her closest aides

In her first comments since Prince Philip's death, the monarch thanked well-wishers across the globe for the tributes paid to her husband which have 'deeply touched' the royal family

Her Majesty leaving Windsor Castle as she went to walk her dogs on her 95th birthday - her first for many years without Philip

The photo, released on the official Royal Family Instagram account, shows the Queen smiling in a burgundy ensemble at a royal engagement

Prince Philip and the Queen pictured together in a photo released in 2007 to mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary

The Queen's full birthday statement thanking public for their 'kindness' 'I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate. 'While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world. 'My family and I would like to thank you for all the support and kindness shown to us in recent days. We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life.' Advertisement

In other royal news:

The Duchess of Cambridge had a go on a flight simulator cockpit on a visit to an air cadet centre with Prince William;

William, who learnt to fly with the RAF and piloted the service's search and rescue helicopters, joked 'this is going to be interesting' as he watched Kate, 39, take the controls;

A 'security scare' at Windsor which saw a woman walk into Prince Andrew's house after bungling guards were impressed by her 'polished appearance' was revealed;

Prince Andrew was named as the person behind a gift of two new corgi puppies to help the Queen cope when Prince Philip was ill in hospital;

The New Zealand Governor General described the Duke of Edinburgh as one of the 'unchanging stars of the sky' in a memorial service;

Research found the Queen is a bigger 'global brand' than Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, David and Victoria Beckham and Oprah Winfrey;

Philip's biographer Gyles Brandreth said Philip's 'only complaint' about the Queen during their 73-year marriage was that she was 'always on the phone';

Mike Tindall said Prince Philip's socially-distanced 'no-fuss' funeral was 'eerie' but 'how he would have liked it' as he praised the Queen for 'leading by example' by sitting alone

Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday lead tributes to the Queen, saying: 'I would like to send my warm wishes to Her Majesty The Queen on her 95th birthday.

Prince Harry met the Queen privately 'at least twice' while he was in UK Meghan Markle's friend Omid Scobie reported that Prince Harry met the Queen privately 'at least twice' and spoke to his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William after the Duke of Edinburgh's emotional funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday. MailOnline's Dan Wootton first revealed yesterday that Charles and William preferred to meet with the Duke of Sussex face-to-face together within the grounds of the castle after Prince Philip's funeral so that nobody's words could be misconstrued afterwards. That meeting came after the royal brothers had taken 'baby steps' towards healing their fraught relationship while walking back to the Queen's home from St George's Chapel after being pushed together by peacemaker Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge. Mr Scobie, co-author of the Finding Freedom biography about Harry and Meghan's bombshell decision to quit royal life and strike out on their own in California, reported that the duke met with Her Majesty after he flew to Britain for the funeral. It comes as the Duke of Sussex was photographed returning home to Montecito from London yesterday to reunite with his pregnant wife Meghan, missing his grandmother's 95th birthday as the monarch marks the day without her 'strength and stay' of 73 years. However, Mr Scobie reported that Harry had in fact been able to speak with Her Majesty 'at least twice' during his time back in the UK - which would be the first time the duke had spoken to his grandmother in person since his and Meghan's explosive Oprah interview. The Finding Freedom co-author quoted sources in Bazaar.com who said: 'The love and respect he [Harry] has for his grandmother will always be unwavering. 'This trip was to honour the life of his grandfather and support his grandmother and relatives. It was very much a family-focused period of time. Saturday broke the ice for future conversations but outstanding issues have not been addressed at any great length. The family simply put their issues to one side to focus on what mattered.' Advertisement

'I have always had the highest admiration for Her Majesty and her service to this country and the Commonwealth. I am proud to serve as her Prime Minister.'

The Duke of Sussex, 36, is understood to have flown into Los Angeles on an American Airlines flight from London Heathrow shortly after 1.30pm local time yesterday.

His chauffeur-driven MPV was seen leaving the private terminal at LAX, reserved for celebrities and the super-rich, and was spotted again arriving at the Sussexes' Montecito mansion at around 4pm.

After Saturday's emotional funeral William and Harry took 'baby steps' towards healing their relationship after they walked back to Windsor Castle from St George's Chapel together after being pushed together by peacemaker Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Later there was a face-to-face meeting within the grounds of the castle between the brothers and their father Prince Charles. But in an unprecedented development that lays bare the depth of their rift, Charles and William preferred to meet with Harry together so nobody's words could be misconstrued afterwards, MailOnline's Dan Wootton revealed this week.

Meanwhile Meghan's friend Omid Scobie reported Harry had met the Queen privately 'at least twice' and spoke to his father and brother Prince William after the Duke of Edinburgh's emotional funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday.

Mr Scobie, co-author of the Finding Freedom biography about Harry and Meghan's bombshell decision to quit royal life and strike out on their own in California, reported the duke met with Her Majesty after he flew to Britain for the funeral.

He quoted sources in Bazaar.com who said: 'The love and respect he [Harry] has for his grandmother will always be unwavering.

'This trip was to honour the life of his grandfather and support his grandmother and relatives. It was very much a family-focused period of time.

'Saturday broke the ice for future conversations but outstanding issues have not been addressed at any great length.

'The family simply put their issues to one side to focus on what mattered.'

Mr Scobie also confirmed Harry stayed at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle while he was in the country and saw a number of family members including Princess Eugenie and her newborn son.

In keeping with the pared back celebrations, the palace scrapped plans to release a new photo of the Queen to mark her birthday, as is customary.

Where 'he proposed to Meghan' and spent his gap year: Prince Harry's love of Africa Harry was rumoured to have proposed in Botswana, and Meghan's engagement ring includes a center diamond from Botswana, which is cushioned by two smaller diamonds from Princess Diana's collection. On Meghan's first ever wildlife safari, the couple watched the sun set behind a spectacular vista of acacia thorn trees and green-backed herons fishing in the river. Prince Harry also spent a gap year in Lesotho back in 2004. He once described it as his 'second home'. Advertisement

Instead, the palace released one from a previous royal engagement.

The Queen wore the outfit on a number of previous occasions including a visit to the MI5 headquarters last year and to the Commonwealth Day Service in 2018.

The simple caption read: 'Today is The Queen's 95th birthday.

'The Queen was born at 2.40am on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London.

She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

'This year Her Majesty remains at Windsor Castle, during a period of Royal Mourning following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh.'

Hours later the account posted a message thanking royal fans for their birthday messages and condolences following the Duke of Edinburgh's death.

In a bid to keep Her Majesty company, the family agreed a rota to visit the Queen over the coming days to ensure she is not left alone.

Princess Anne and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, were reportedly among the Queen's first visitors.

'The Queen will not be alone.

'She will have others who care about her deeply and want to be there to support her in her most pressing hour,' a source told The Mirror.

'In typical fashion the Queen has insisted she is coping and despite the suggestion she had prepared herself for this day to come, everyone is well aware there is nothing like the experience when it comes.'

During yesterday's visit to an air cadet centre Kate tried her hand at a flight simulator - a Grob Tutor used by the RAF for elementary flying training - while William held her handbag

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge laughed as they viewed a problem solving exercise during the visit

The Cambridges were both wearing black as a mark of respect following the recent death of the Duke of Edinburgh

The Cambridges first public engagement since Saturday's funeral at Windsor Castle. During the event, William took 'baby steps' towards healing his relationship with his brother, Prince Harry, as they walked back to Windsor Castle from St George's Chapel together after being pushed together by peacemaker Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge

Prince Harry's chauffeur-driven MPV was seen leaving the private terminal at LAX, reserved for celebrities and the super-rich, and was spotted again arriving at the Sussexes' Montecito mansion at around 4pm

Harry's car was seen arriving at his home in Montecito at around 4 pm to return to wife Meghan and son Archie

The royal, 36, is understood to have flown into LAX on an American Airlines flight that arrived in Los Angeles shortly after 1.30pm local time

Giving Wills a run for his money! Kate hops into flight simulator pilot seat - and follows in her parents' and grandfather's footsteps The Duchess of Cambridge reconnected with her family's long history in aviation yesterday as she tried her hand on a flight simulator during a visit to a cadet centre while Prince William held her handbag. William, who learnt to fly with the RAF and piloted the service's search and rescue helicopters, joked 'this is going to be interesting' as he watched Kate, 39, take the controls of the light aircraft simulator during a visit in east London. The prince, 38, said, 'I'll hold the handbag!' and then stood leaning against a wall with Kate's elegant clutch in his hand. Kate, wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana coat, struggled to fit her tall frame inside - particularly in her vertiginous heels - but managed to do it elegantly and was handed a headset to wear by Corporal Stephanie Andre, 16. Yesterday was the Cambridges first public engagement since Saturday's funeral at Windsor Castle. During the event, William took 'baby steps' towards healing his relationship with his brother, Prince Harry, as they walked back to Windsor Castle from St George's Chapel together after being pushed together by peacemaker Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. Later there was a face-to-face meeting within the grounds of the castle between the brothers and their father Prince Charles, but, in an unprecedented development that lays bare the depth of their rift, Charles and William preferred to meet with Harry together so that nobody's words could be misconstrued afterwards, MailOnline's Dan Wootton revealed yesterday. Kate's father, Michael, 71, worked as a commercial pilot and flight dispatcher British Airways while her mother Carole, 66, was a BA flight attendant. Meanwhile, in a striking coincidence, the Duchess of Cambridge's paternal grandfather, Peter, accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh during his royal flying tour of South America in 1962. One image from the time showed, Prince Philip, then 41, seen disembarking a plane at Heathrow Airport, while Peter, then 42, stands at the bottom of the plane stairs in RAF uniform. Advertisement

Typically the Queen's birthday is marked with a 21-gun salute fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from either Hyde Park or Green Park, followed by a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.

This year it did not take place, marking the second year in a row the monarch has eschewed the tradition.

The Queen last year decided the celebratory display of military firepower would not be 'appropriate' as the UK was in lockdown with thousands dead from the coronavirus outbreak.

Trooping the Colour, which is usually held in June to mark the Queen's 'official' birthday, also did not go ahead for the second year due to the Covid pandemic.

Instead, courtiers considered an 'alternative parade' in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle, similar to an event dubbed 'mini Trooping' that was held last summer.

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born at 2.40am on April 21 1926.

She was the first child of the then-Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was born by caesarean section at 17 Bruton Street, the Mayfair home of her mother's parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

The Queen never expected to be a monarch when she was born, but the abdication of her uncle Edward VIII in 1936 put her father on the throne, and changed her destiny.

She wed Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in 1947, and became Queen at the age of 25 when George VI died from lung cancer in 1952.

Elizabeth II, who has been monarch for more than 68 years, is Head of State, the Armed Forces and the Commonwealth.

She will celebrate her platinum jubilee of 70 years on the throne in 2022.

Harry had been widely reported to have been planning to stay for the Queen's birthday, although sources said he was 'conflicted' about the decision and wanted to get home to Meghan.

The Duke of Sussex had flown into the UK on an American Airlines flight just over a week ago and spent most of his British trip in quarantine at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

Father-of-one Harry will now begin a second 10-day quarantine  a requirement for international travellers journeying to the US, although it is not mandatory unlike in the UK.

CDC guidelines recommend travellers get a Covid-19 test prior to departure and self-isolate for 10 days after they return.

California also has its own travel advisory, with visitors and residents required to fill in a form that includes their contact details on arrival at LAX.

The LA guidelines also say travellers should quarantine, although that advice includes exemptions for those traveling for work or for urgent family matters.

Harry's brief visit to the UK for the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh was his first trip back to Britain in a year.

In 1962, the Duchess of Cambridge's paternal grandfather (on the left in the hat) accompanied the Duke of Edinburgh during his royal flying tour of South America

Celebrations will be a subdued affair this year with no traditional gun salutes, as the Queen remains in mourning for her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, who she has called her 'strength and stay'. Pictured, the couple in 2003

The Queen has worn the outfit on a number of occasions, including a 2020 visit to the MI5 headquarters (pictured) and the 2018 Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey

William had joint meeting with Harry because they were too scared to meet him individually Charles and William preferred to meet with Harry together at Windsor so that nobody's words could be misconstrued afterwards, MailOnline's Dan Wootton revealed. A senior royal insider said: 'Obviously after the worldwide fallout of the Oprah interview trust has to be rebuilt. 'There was no official wake after the funeral, but Charles, William and Harry took the opportunity to speak and catch-up face to face after many months apart. 'They were only able to spend a short time together outdoors given Covid restrictions and also without staff, including senior courtiers, overhearing what was being said. 'It was important to Charles and William that they were both there together. It means nothing spoken about can be misconstrued in the future.' Kate also attended parts of the talks, some of which took place at Frogmore Cottage, Harry's home within the grounds of Windsor Castle, according to The Sun. Given the tensions, sparked by claims of racism and uncaring behaviour by the Royal Family when Meghan says she was suffering from mental health issues, a full rapprochement did not occur. Another senior royal insider said: 'There is much pain and hurt on both sides, so this reconciliation will take place in baby steps. 'First, they need to decide on some ground rules as to how they conduct business going forward in a way that makes all parties feel safe and protected.' Crucially, Charles and William have the Queen's support to deal with the situation. The source explained: 'The Queen has made it clear to senior advisers that she is united with Charles and William, and was disappointed with aspects of Harry and Meghan's interview.' Advertisement

Pregnant Meghan, who is expecting a baby girl in the summer, was told not to travel with him but did send a handwritten note and a wreath.

The trip also marked the first time he has seen his family since making explosive allegations about royal racism during an interview with Oprah last month and claiming his father and brother are 'trapped in the system'.

Sources told the Mail on Sunday Harry received a frosty reception when he appeared at Philip's funeral on Saturday and was largely ignored by senior royals, among them Princess Anne and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

His presence also caused problems for courtiers  although the Duke of Edinburgh had wanted military uniform to be worn for his funeral, Harry is not entitled to wear it having given up his military roles as part of the Megxit deal.

Instead, the Queen decided to spare Harry's blushes by having the royal party wear morning suits to the funeral.

He reportedly texted with his father and brother beforehand but didn't see them in person until shortly before the service began.

Although William and Harry's interactions initially looked frosty, they were pictured chatting together after the service as they made their way back to the castle.

Prince Charles and his two sons are then reported to have spent three hours 'clearing the air' immediately after the funeral.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson lead tributes to the Queen, writing a message on Twitter

But Page Six and The Telegraph both reported that Harry and Charles did not have a one-on-one due to fears of a misunderstanding.

The pair were said to be unlikely to meet again before the Duke of Sussex headed back to the US, reported The Times.

Sources told the outlets that both Charles and William wanted each other present for any meeting for fear that a 'twisted version of events' would leak out from Harry's camp.

Harry is due to return to the UK again at the end of July for the unveiling of a memorial to his mother Princess Diana.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge reconnected with her family's long history in aviation as she tried her hand on a flight simulator during a visit to a cadet centre while Prince William held her handbag.

William, who learnt to fly with the RAF and piloted the service's search and rescue helicopters, joked 'this is going to be interesting' as he watched Kate, 39, take the controls of the light aircraft simulator during a visit in east London.

The prince, 38, said, 'I'll hold the handbag!' and then stood leaning against a wall with Kate's elegant clutch in his hand.

Kate, wearing a black Dolce & Gabbana coat, struggled to fit her tall frame inside - particularly in her vertiginous heels - but managed to do it elegantly and was handed a headset to wear by Corporal Stephanie Andre, 16.

It was the Cambridges first public engagement since Saturday's funeral at Windsor Castle.

Poignant images of Her Majesty bowing her head and watching the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin from behind a mask in St George's Chapel moved millions in Britain and around the world

During the event, William took 'baby steps' towards healing his relationship with his brother, Prince Harry, as they walked back to Windsor Castle from St George's Chapel together after being pushed together by peacemaker Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Later there was a face-to-face meeting within the grounds of the castle between the brothers and their father Prince Charles, but, in an unprecedented development that lays bare the depth of their rift, Charles and William preferred to meet with Harry together so that nobody's words could be misconstrued afterwards, MailOnline's Dan Wootton revealed yesterday.

Kate's father, Michael, 71, worked as a commercial pilot and flight dispatcher British Airways while her mother Carole, 66, was a BA flight attendant.

Meghan Markle and son Archie 'spoke to the Queen before Prince Philip's funeral' Meghan Markle and son Archie Mountbatten Windsor (pictured together in September 2019) spoke to the Queen before Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, a royal source told People magazine Meghan Markle and son Archie Mountbatten Windsor spoke to the Queen before Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, a royal source told People magazine. The Duchess of Sussex, 39, also spoke with her husband before his grandfather was laid to rest, and 'knows the trip to England has been difficult for him'. Prince Harry, 36, returned home to California from London yesterday, missing the Queen's 95th birthday on Wednesday and with the Windsors' family row unresolved after meeting only once with his father and Prince William following the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. His chauffeur-driven MPV was seen leaving the private terminal at LAX, reserved for celebrities and the super-rich, and was spotted again arriving at the Montecito mansion he shares with Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, at around 4pm. The source told the publication: 'Meghan and Harry have been in touch every day. She knows the trip to England has been difficult for Harry. He didn't want to leave Meghan and Archie alone. Meghan has insisted to him every day though that they are fine. She hasn't wanted him to worry.' They added: 'Meghan spoke with Harry before his grandfather's funeral. Meghan and Archie also spoke with the Queen earlier this week.' Harry previously revealed during an interview with James Corden that his grandparents 'do Zoom', adding: 'They've seen Archie running around.' A well-connected royal insider told People the past year has been a 'very difficult time' for the Royal Family, made all the more so by Prince Philip's passing on April 9, aged 99. 'The Duke was the head of the family, and if there were any time they were going to come together, it's now,' they said. After Saturday's emotional funeral William and Harry took 'baby steps' towards healing their relationship after they walked back to Windsor Castle from St George's Chapel together, having been pushed together by peacemaker Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. Advertisement

Security scare at Windsor: Woman, 44, who claimed to be engaged to Prince Andrew walks into his house after bungling guards impressed by her 'polished appearance' paid her cab fare then allowed her to wander around grounds for 20 minutes

By Emer Scully for MailOnline

A 44-year-old woman who claimed to be engaged to the Duke of York was let into his official Windsor residence by bungling security guards, it has been revealed.

Security officers were so taken in by the Spanish national's polished appearance they even paid her cab fare before waving her into the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park at 11am on Monday.

The woman, who has now been sectioned under the 1984 Mental Health Act, spent 20 minutes wandering the grounds before heading inside the Grade II listed building to ask a member of staff where the duke was, reported The Sun.

Security officers were so taken in by the Spanish national's polished appearance they even paid her cab fare before waving her into the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park at 11am on Monday

Prince Andrew's gift for the Queen: Royal 'was behind present of two new corgi puppies to help monarch cope when Philip was ill in hospital' Prince Andrew gifted his mother two puppies to help her cope when her late husband was in hospital, reports suggest. Her Majesty was given the dogs in February to keep her company in Windsor while the Duke of Edinburgh was recovering from heart surgery. The Queen named her new puppies Fergus and Muick after her war hero uncle and her favourite beauty spot in Balmoral. These two pooches were posted on the Pets4Home site and match the description and how much the Queen reportedly paid for one It has now emerged that the pups were 'bought by Prince Andrew' in a bid to cheer his 94-year-old mother up. This comes as royal experts predict the Duke of York is 'trying to rehabilitate himself' and get back into the royal fold - despite his brother Charles and Prince William pushing plans for a slimmed-down monarchy. The Queen has turned to her dogs for comfort in the aftermath of her husband's death. Advertisement

Police were called and she was held in the lobby after she told the staff member she was engaged to Prince Andrew, her name was Irene Windsor and she lived there with the duke.

In the woman's handbag maps of the Royal Lodge and other Royal Family residences were found, alongside a self-defence key ring in the shape of a cat that featured two sharp prongs.

She was originally arrested on suspicion of burglary before being sectioned and a security review has now been launched.

Prince Andrew's police protection was scaled back last year as part of cost-cutting measures as he withdrew from Royal duties because of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

He still has Met Police personal protection but his officers are no longer routinely armed.

Private Security at the Royal Lodge, which Andrew shares with his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, is provided by the Privy Purse, The Queen's private income.

It is understood the intruder flew into the UK from Spain on Saturday, the day of Prince Philip's funeral three miles away at Windsor Castle.

Despite security forces being on high alert for the funeral, the woman was allowed through the front gate to the Royal Lodge, apparently without being asked to show any proof of identification.

She claimed to have a lunch appointment with the duke, and demanded security officers pay her cab fare.

Police were called and she was held in the lobby after she told the staff member she was engaged to Prince Andrew, her name was Irene Windsor and she lived there with the duke. Pictured, houses on the Windsor estate

A source said: 'She was apparently very smartly dressed, in suit trousers, a yellow blouse and peach jacket, and had her hair done up and full make-up.

'She cut quite a glamorous figure and the guards were completely taken in by her.

'The woman demanded they pay her cab fare as she was a close friend of Prince Andrew, and they obliged before helpfully pointing her on her way towards the Royal Lodge.'

Prince Andrew and Fergie have lived at the Royal Lodge since 2004, two years after its former occupant, the Queen Mother, died.

Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who had their baby boy August in February, have also been living at Royal Lodge during lockdown.

Sources said Prince Andrew was home at the time of the intrusion, but it is not known if he was aware of it at the time.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'Thames Valley Police were called to the Royal Lodge at Windsor Great Park on Monday morning to reports of a female trespasser.

'The woman, aged 44, was intercepted and arrested. She was subsequently de-arrested and has been sectioned under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.

'The investigation into the incident continues, but there was no risk to any individual on the site. Due to the female being sectioned, we will not be commenting further at this time.'

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Oregons documented wolf population grew by 9.5% in 2020, but advocates are concerned by the number of poaching incidents logged by state wildlife biologists.

The annual wolf report, released Wednesday by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, put the number of wolves in the state at 173, up from 158 the previous year. The report noted, however, that the count reflects only the number of wolves documented by the state, so the actual number may be higher.

The state is home to 22 defined packs, according to the report, the same number as 2019. Of those, 17 packs reproduced in 2020 with at least two pups surviving through the end of the year.

Most of the states wolves remain in the northeast corner of the state, according to Roblyn Brown, wolf coordinator for the state, but the population in western Oregon grew by nearly a third, from 17 to 22 wolves.

While northeast Oregon continues to host the majority of states wolf population, dispersal to other parts of Oregon and adjacent states continues, Brown said in a statement. In 2020, two Oregon wolves dispersed to Idaho, one went to California and one wolf dispersed from California into Oregon.

Advocacy groups welcomed the news that no wolves had been killed by the state in 2020, the second consecutive year. But the population growth was far below the 30% increase expected from a species in the early stages of its recovery, said Amaroq Weiss of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Its great that for two years in a row now, the state didnt kill any wolves for conflicts with livestock, Weiss said in a statement. But its still deeply concerning that the overall population increased so little and that there was so much illegal killing of wolves.

The state documented nine wolf deaths in 2020, with seven caused by humans. One animal was hit by a car on Interstate 84, and another was apparently killed when hit by a boat while swimming across the Snake River, the state said in a statement. Another wolf was shot and killed by a rancher, the state said, under the caught in the act rule, which allows livestock producers to kill predators actively harming their animals.

Four of the nine wolves that died in the state last year were killed illegally. The breeding males from two packs  the Ruckel Ridge Pack in Umatilla County and the Cornucopia Pack in Baker County  were shot and killed in May and September, respectively. A subadult, believed to be from the Pine Creek Pack, was fatally shot in October.

The fourth wolf killed illegally was shot by a livestock owner in Union County in December. The rancher mistook the animal for a coyote, the state said, and reported the incident to the Oregon State Police. No charges were filed, and the rancher was let off with a warning.

Wolf attacks on livestock rose substantially last year, according to the report, jumping 94% from the previous year. More than half of the depredations, or 16 incidents, came from the Rogue Pack in the southwestern part of the state.

In Klamath Countys Wood River Valley, state and federal agencies partnered to try to haze wolves away from livestock pastures. Over four months, staff members used real-time data from collars and thermal imaging to track the wolves and scare them away from the livestock. In 99 nights of monitoring, they were able to successfully haze the wolves on some occasions, but not all.

Rodger Huffman of the Oregon Cattlemens Association said he believes wolf numbers in the state are much higher than the report indicated. He said he is looking forward to having lethal options to deal with wolves that cause chronic problems after the Trump administration lifted endangered species protections for the animals in the western half of Oregon.

Were looking forward to having better tools, he said. Youve got people out all night for months, and it still didnt stop them from depredating. Maybe that lethal removal for chronic offenders is the best way to deal with the situation.

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups have challenged the removal of protections for wolves, and some have pointed to other states where hundreds of of the animals have been killed since their status changed.

While we celebrate the largely good news for wolves in Oregon and the Pacific West, wolves are facing increasing threats in other areas including Wisconsin, Montana and Idaho, Bethany Cotton, conservation director with Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands, said in a statement. Wolves do not recognize arbitrary political boundaries like state lines, so it is critical that wolves retain federal protections grounded in sound science to help ensure recovery across their historic range.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
The Cuban sandwich has been a neighborhood staple for decades. While Cuban expats in Florida take credit for its creation, Puerto Rican and Dominican diners and luncheonettes have been the bastions of this delicacy here. Variations have even made it to upscale menus, commanding a price of $14 or more. Fortunately great examples can still be found for $5.

This is not a sandwich for calorie counters or the fat phobic. It is, like a cheeseburger, a brilliant, pedestrian indulgence. Start with a hero roll, preferably of Cuban style bread. Slather with mayo, or garlic mayo for even better effect. Stuff with sliced pernil (garlic and oregano scented roast pork shoulder), ham, Swiss cheese and dill pickle. Use a sandwich press to compact until the cheese has melted and its hot throughout. The result is heavy with salty meat, juicy with fat and bursting with flavor  the pickle valiantly struggling to be the foil for so much richness. Its enough to satisfy a serious appetite, or provide two modest meals (for those capable of exercising self-restraint).

Part of the fun of seeking out a good Cuban sandwich in the neighborhood is the places that make them: many are like walking back in time to a New York before gourmet coffee, $10+ cocktails and small plates restaurants. Order a cafe con leche, and theres a good chance itll be made with Cafe Bustelo. (You may want to have one while waiting, as a proper Cubano has to be pressed for the greater part of ten minutes before its ready). The air will be thick with the aroma of roast pork, roast chicken and the sound of Dominican-accented Spanish. Sometimes therell even be a jukebox playing Latino hits. And I will be transported straight back to my starving artist days as a young musician, rehearsing all day on Ave C before going out at night to play for free beer and a few bucks. A Cuban sandwich was nothing short of an affordable luxury then, and I still consider it such.

Where to go for one? I wouldnt recommend choosing at random just because Cuban sandwich is on the menu. The heart of a Cubano is the pernil  the roast pork shoulder. If pernil is not also on the menu you cant assume theres proper roast pork for the sandwiches. Let your nose be your guide: if you can smell garlic, oregano and pork fat youve found a contender. If that scent is noticeable from the sidewalk youre probably in good hands.

My top recommendation is El Castillo de Jagua (113 Rivington St). Theyve been turning out Dominican home cooking since before Rivington St was a nightlife destination. Though theyve been mentioned in upscale tour guides, a consequence of close proximity to THOR, they still make a very generous Cuban sandwich for $5. Its one of the best in the neighborhood, each ingredient in perfect balance contributing to the overall flavor. Their sister restaurant at 521 Grand St also turns out a decent example.

Another good Cubano can be found at Cibao Restaurant (72 Clinton St). Like El Castillo theyre an old-schooler now surrounded by fancy restaurants and nightlife establishments. And like El Castillo they remain steadfast, turning out solid Latino classics at diner prices. Cibaos Cubano is a little smaller than Castillos, but its also fifty cents cheaper. Here the juicy, flavorful pernil is the star of the show, with the other ingredients playing supporting roles. They also make a noteworthy pressed roast chicken sandwich using dark meat. If you go for that pass on adding cheese, as the orange American cheese they use undermines the greatness of their roast chicken.

You cant go wrong with those three. Clinton Restaurant used to be the fourth, but after a recent name and management change theyre no longer a sure bet. Have a favorite I didnt mention? Feel free to share it in the comments section.

JP Bowersock is a professional musician and music producer who has toured the world repeatedly, eating at top restaurants and hole-in-the-wall joints. He is a serious home cook with over two decades experience cooking for family, friends and fellow rock and rollers. Mr Bowersock keeps a toe in the wine business as well, consulting for the wine lists of several neighborhood establishments, including Clandestino, 35 Canal St. When not on tour or in the recording studio hes scouring the neighborhood for frugal food finds.

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With the holidays on the horizon its a good time to pick up a bottle or two of celebratory spirits. Seward Park Wines and Liquors just got in Puysegur Bas Armagnac ($26). It may be a non-vintage armagnac, but it is the real thing for a very reasonable price. A great way to stretch out the end of a meal with friends and loved ones. Its also an excuse to break out those snifters you never use.
The U.N. Special Envoy on Myanmar will be in Jakarta this weekend to talk to Southeast Asian leaders on the sidelines of a special summit on the turmoil in Myanmar, the world body said Wednesday.

But the meeting scheduled for Saturday has been dealt a blow, analysts say, because of Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-chas decision not to attend.

The Secretary-Generals Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, remains in the region and will be in Jakarta to engage ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of Saturdays meeting, focusing on a political solution, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for U.N. chief Antonio Guterres.

The secretary-general urges ASEAN leaders to help prevent an escalation of the crisis and possible grave humanitarian implications beyond Myanmars borders, Dujarric told a daily press briefing at the United Nations in New York, according to a transcript.

Schraner Burgener arrived in the region earlier this month for talks on Myanmar, but the Burmese military was not ready to receive her, she said on Twitter on April 9.

So far, leaders of six of the regional blocs 10 nations, including the head of Myanmars military regime, have committed to attending the in-person meeting.

But the absence of Prayuth, a former junta chief, has undermined the summits ability to pressure the Burmese junta to stop killing civilians and to restore democracy, analysts said.

I think the meeting should be accorded the importance of having the attendance of the member countries highest leaders to show a full force and full concern of ASEAN, said Azmi Hassan, a Malaysian political analyst.

If instead only second-echelon or third-echelon leaders attend the meeting, it would signal to the junta that ASEAN is not speaking as one voice. It is very critical for ASEAN to show that they speak as one voice regarding any decision taken on Myanmar, Azmi told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

More than 700 people  mostly anti-coup protesters  have been killed by Burmese security forces since the Feb. 1 coup, according to the latest statistics from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Myanmar human rights group based in Thailand.

Whos going

By Wednesday, the leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam had officially confirmed they would attend the meeting at the ASEAN secretariat in the Indonesian capital.

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will also go, the Vietnamese Embassy to the United States told BenarNews on Wednesday.

Thailand is sending Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. The Philippine foreign ministry said it would issue a statement on Thursday on whether President Rodrigo Duterte is attending. Dutertes office has been fending off speculation about his health.

There has been no official comment from Laos and Singapore about who will represent their governments at the special meeting.

But it is Prayuths non-attendance that is going to hurt the ASEAN meeting the most, said Syed Hamid Albar, a former Malaysian foreign minister.

Prayuth stated no reason for his decision to skip the meeting when he told reporters on Tuesday that his deputy was going to Jakarta in his place.

Prayuths absence is a drawback as Thailand is very close to the Tatmadaw, Hamid told the state-run Malaysian news service Bernama, referring to the Myanmars armed forces by their Burmese name.

In 2018, Thailand awarded Min Aung Hlaing the King Grand Cross of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, a royal decoration. At the time, the Myanmar army chief told the media that he was bestowed the honor because the relationship between the two armed forces is quite good, the Bangkok Post reported.

At the time Prayuth was in his fourth year as leader of the country, after he engineered a coup in 2014 as the army chief.

Burmese and Thai military leaders have a personal chemistry, that has pushed their relations to a new plateau, said a December 2015 article in Global Asia, a quarterly publication of the East Asia Foundation.

[Then] General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, the Thai prime minister, chose Myanmar as the first foreign country to visit following his seizure of power in a coup in May 2014, the article said.

Prayuths absence from the upcoming ASEAN meeting does not bode well for the groups leaders who want to send a strong message to the Myanmar junta, said Hunter Marston, a non-resident fellow at the Pacific Forum, a foreign policy research institute.

It is a big blow to any hope of ASEAN unity, which was already pretty thin, Marston said via Twitter.

In March, ASEAN foreign ministers couldnt reach a consensus about calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected Myanmar leaders detained by the military since the coup.

Skipping the summit is a clear message to Min Aung Hlaing that he stands with him.  [It is a] signal he [Prayuth] does not want to be involved in any strong message to Myanmar that ASEAN is against the coup, Marston said.

'Appeasement

As it is, ASEAN is facing criticism for having invited Min Aung Hlaing to the summit. The regional grouping has been tightlipped about who it has invited and who has accepted.

ASEAN chair Brunei has not said whether it has invited representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel government launched Friday and that comprises lawmakers who won seats in the November 2020 election, which the Myanmar military overturned by force.

Romeo Abad Arca, an assistant director of public relations at the ASEAN Secretariat, told BenarNews on Wednesday that he had no information about who would attend the summit.

Brunei and Indonesian officials did not immediately respond to emails from BenarNews.

Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said Min Aung Hlaing would probably not attend if NUG representatives were present.

NUG not being invited is perhaps so as not to upset the junta leader, as he would probably decline to attend if the NUG will be there as well, Oh told BenarNews.

So, ASEAN appears to be bending backward to accommodate the whims and wishes of the general and by extension, the junta. I think the traditional term for this is called appeasement.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Myanmar junta chief to attend shows hes confident enough of regime stability to leave [the] country and not fear a usurper, said Marston.

He wants legitimacy that [the] summit will give badly enough to take that risk, Marston said.

None of this comes as a surprise to Bridget Welsh, a political scientist with Nottingham University in Malaysia.

I dont expect much from the meeting as ASEAN is divided. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand are pro junta while Singapore is ambivalent as it enables the junta. This leaves a small group who are against, Welsh told BenarNews.

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, urged ASEAN to cancel the invitation to Myanmars junta chief for his role in military atrocities and the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
A Texas school district has ended a policy banning boys from wearing nail polish after a student said he was suspended.

The Clyde Consolidated Independent School District school board approved a new dress code policy for the upcoming school year that eliminates gender-specific rules, the Abilene Reporter-News reported.

The outgoing dress code policy has different rules for boys and girls, among them the ban on nail polish for male students.

Trevor Wilkinson, a Clyde High School senior, said he was punished with in-school suspension last year for wearing polish, according to a Change.org petition with more than 400,000 signatures that he created to change the policy.

I am very proud of my school for this, Wilkinson told KRBC. Im glad that we finally got to this point and I think that its inclusive for everyone.

The school board unanimously passed the new policy on Monday, KRBC reported.

Superintendent Kenny Berry said the district formed a committee of employees, parents and students to create the policy, the Abilene Reporter-News reported.

Different trends come up and changes come about, Berry told the newspaper. Moving forward each year, well utilize a type of committee ... to bring this recommendation to the board, just go over what we have and make sure that it still works and is still applicable.

The school district is east of Abilene.

Teacher investigated for staged photo of foot on Black students neck, Texas school says
Youre not doing yourself a favor by working long hours and depriving yourself of sleep. A new study indicates you may be setting yourself up for failure  brain failure, that is.

The new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found those with a sleep duration of six hours or less at age 50 and 60, showed a higher risk for dementia compared to those who slept seven hours a night. The study followed nearly 8,000 people for 25 years.

The study further found that between the ages of 50, 60 and 70, sustained short sleep duration was also associated with a 30% increased dementia risk, apart from sociodemographic, behavioural, cardiometabolic, and mental health factors.

CNN cited Tara Spires-Jones, deputy director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who noted in a statement the importance of sleep for normal brain function. Spires-Jones said it is also thought to be important for clearing toxic proteins that build up in dementias from the brain. Spires-Jones was not involved with the study.

Tom Dening, who heads the Centre for Dementia at the Institute of Mental Health at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said in a statement, evidence of sleep disturbance can occur a long time before the onset of other clinical evidence of dementia.

Denning was not involved in the study, but added that the findings cannot establish cause and effect, and that it simply could be a very early sign of the impending dementia. He suggested that its also quite likely that poor sleep is detrimental to the brain, leaving it vulnerable to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimers disease.

Other studies have examined the damage sleep deprivation may cause.

CNN noted a 2017 study that found the risk for developing dementia may be higher for people who get less REM, or dream-stage sleep, the fifth stage of sleep, when the eyes move, the body heats up, breathing and pulse quicken and the mind dreams.

Another study published in 2017 revealed that an abundance of beta amyloid plaques was produced by healthy middle-aged adults who had just one night of disturbed sleep. An accumulation of Beta amyloid, a sticky protein compound that disrupts communication between brain cells, will in time kill the cells, and is one of the indications of Alzheimers disease.

Additionally, the study reportedly found a week of disrupted sleep increased the amount of tau, another protein responsible for the tangles associated with Alzheimers and several other forms of dementia.

CNN cited yet another 2017 study where dementia markers in spinal fluid was compared against self-reported sleep problems. The findings indicated that subjects with sleep issues were more likely to show evidence of tau pathology, brain cell damage and inflammation, even after taking into account other factors like depression, body mass, cardiovascular disease and sleep medications.

The new study strengthens the evidence.

Elizabeth Coulthard, an associate professor in dementia neurology at the University of Bristol in the U.K., said in a statement that because the new study involved a large group of people over an extended period of time, It strengthens the evidence that poor sleep in middle age could cause or worsen dementia in later life.

Whats the best way to keep our brains healthy as we age?

Sara Imarisio heads strategic initiatives at Alzheimers Research UK. She reportedly said in a statement that the best evidence suggests to keep our brains healthy as we age, we should reduce our risk by not smoking, only drinking in moderation, staying mentally and physically active, eating a balanced diet, and keeping cholesterol and blood pressure levels in check.

READ MORE:
SOUTH BEND, Ind., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AM General, leading military-grade tactical vehicle and mobility systems provider, participated in a delivery ceremony today for three Bastion armored personnel carriers (APC) to the Kosovo Ministry of Interior (MOI) for use with their police special forces. This delivery further strengthens the long partnership that AM General has with Kosovo, including having delivered nearly 200 HUMVEE vehicles over the last three years in support of the country's security efforts. The ceremony also marked the first completed order stemming out of a partnership agreement with Arquus, a global defense manufacturer of military mobility solutions.

"We are honored to have been selected by the Kosovo Police Service to provide a critical mobility solution in support of their law enforcement mission, continuing our long-held relationship with the region" said Nguyen Trinh, AM General Executive Vice President of International Defense. "This delivery serves as an example of the importance of our strategic partnership with Arquus to meet the demands of our international customers."

Developed by Arquus, the Bastion is a 4x4, 12-ton personnel carrier that combines tactical performance, robust capability, high internal space and payload and simplified maintenance. It features an armored hull that provides protection against ballistic threats, mines, and IEDs. AM General recognized the strategic value that a vehicle like Bastion can have on the region and facilitated the sale of the vehicle to the Kosovo MOI. Having strong relationships in the region through the sale of its own battle-proven vehicles, the partnership with Arquus has given AM General's global customers access to an even wider range of defense products.

The Bastion will continue to augment the Kosovo MOI's strategic protection initiatives, adding to the various high-quality, robust HUMVEE vehicles delivered over the last three years including the HUMVEE 2-CT (M1152, 2-Door Cargo Truck), 4-CT (M1165, 4-Door Cargo Trucks) and 4-CT Fastback (M1151). The vehicles have various levels of armoring to support different army and police missions.

About AM General

AM General designs, engineers, manufactures, supplies, and supports specialized vehicles for military and commercial customers worldwide. Through its military business, the company is widely recognized as the world leader in design, engineering, manufacturing and logistics support of military grade tactical vehicles, having produced and sustained more than 300,000 vehicles in over 70 countries. AM General has extensive experience meeting the changing needs of the defense and automotive industries, supported by its employees at major facilities in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, and a strong supplier base that stretches across 43 states. Please see more information about AM General at www.amgeneral.com .

Media Contact: Deborah Reyes, Global Marketing and Communications Director / AM General

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE AM General

Related Links

https://www.amgeneral.com


Tehran, April 22 : Pakistan and Iran are making headways towards increasing bilateral cooperation with border security and establishment of trade markets along the borders.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is on a three-day visit to Iran, said that the relations between the two countries are moving towards positive cooperation.

"Fraternal relations between the two countries had deepened during the visit," he said.

"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged that bilateral relation between Pakistan and Iran had improved. Pakistan has signed MoU with Iran to open trade centres in border areas." On the other hand, Rouhani highlighted that border security remained as the prime point of concern for Pakistan and Iran, which he said "could be tackled through greater cooperation between the two neighbours".

"Security is a common concern for the two countries, and the development of relations in this regard is imperative," he said.

An MoU was also signed to open the third cross-border market at Mand-Pishin border crossing point to enhance bilateral trade.

But border security and cross-border movement of terrorists has been one of the prime issues of distrust between the two countries for some time.

The 909 km-long border between Pakistan and Iran is filled with operating terror groups, criminal gangs, human traffickers and drug traffickers.

Terror attacks targeted at locals on both sides along with attacks on security forces on both sides, have kept relations between the two countries stretched.

President Rouhani also offered support and cooperation to Pakistan in ensuring peace in Afghanistan, adding, "peace and stability could be ensured through regional mechanisms".

"Iran and Pakistan, as two most important and effective neighbouring countries to Afghanistan, should increase cooperation and interaction for the development of the peace process in the country," he said.

Qureshi stated that "Pakistan has vociferously expressed serious concern over the increasing trend of Islamophobia in the West, which was being fanned by certain extremist elements".

"Pakistan does not oppose the right to freedom of speech and expression, but this did not give anyone the right to hurt other's feelings. Certain incidents in the past regarding publications of blasphemous sketches and statements hurt the sentiments of the entire Muslim ummah, including Pakistani nation," he said.

Both countries have also expressed desire and intent to complete the unimplemented agreements, including the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, which has been pending for long.

Qureshi stated that both Pakistan and Iran realize the need to enhance bilateral relations and play progressive role in increasing people-to-people contact.
MINNEAPOLIS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lathrop GPM is proud to announce that Ben Peltier has joined the firm as a counsel in its Minneapolis office. Peltier will join the firm's Health Law practice group and focus his practice on a wide range of transactional matters, including health law regulatory advising, contracting, governance, compliance and mergers and acquisitions for health care clients.

"We are excited to welcome Ben to the firm," said Jennifer Reedstrom Bishop, chair of the Health Law practice. "His deep experience as in-house counsel for Minnesota's hospital association and a major health care system and knowledge of Minnesota's health care industry makes him a great fit for our practice. His insight and experience not only in health care advising, but also healthcare policy, will provide great value to our clients as they continue to navigate a rapidly changing regulatory environment and fast paced industry changes due to the coronavirus pandemic."

Peltier served as vice president and general counsel for the Minnesota Hospital Association for 10 years. During his time there, he oversaw the organization's compliance activities and provided legal guidance to the board of directors, association members, and MHA staff. He also managed litigation and key negotiations on behalf of the association and routinely advocated on its behalf with government policymakers.

"I've known the impressive team of attorneys in Lathrop GPM's Health Law practice for many years," said Peltier. "They are national experts in health care regulation, compliance and transactions and a trusted partner for all kinds of health care organizations. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to provide effective solutions for clients in Minnesota and across the firm's national footprint."

About Lathrop GPM LLP

Lathrop GPM is a full-service, Am Law 200 law firm with offices in Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Overland Park, St. Cloud, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. Our attorneys help businesses, organizations and individuals grow and succeed, anticipate trends, plan for challenges and bring their visions to life. For more information, visit www.lathropgpm.com.

Media Contacts:

Jasmine Trillos-Decarie, Chief Client Officer, Lathrop GPM

[email protected] | cell: 617.875.0364

SOURCE Lathrop GPM

Related Links

http://www.lathropgpm.com


Countries all over the world are scrambling to attract tourists by any means necessary as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic in a bid to kick start their economies.

The Maldives has launched a Visit, Vaccinate & Vacation scheme and offering tourists both Covid jabs while theyre on holiday, which means theyll have to stay for a few weeks.

Maldives Tourism Minister, Abdulla Mausoom, says people are taking the work from home trend of the pandemic one step further, extending their holidays and working from sunny destinations.

A negative PCR test taken within the previous 96 hours is required on arrival in the Maldives, unless travellers have had both coronavirus vaccines at least 14 days before travelling.

Malta has offered to pay tourists to visit, provided they booked into hotels on the island.

Several countries, including Barbados, Mauritius and Croatia are targeting remote workers by offering visas for extended stays of up to a year.

Sicily deals include a 50% refund on airfares, a free night in a hotel and free entry to museums and tourist sites

Cancun deals include a third night free in a hotel and partial air fare refund.

Japan is offering a wide range of deals provided tourists book through Japanese travel agencies or make reservations direct with hotels and inns.

Bulgaria will pay for sun loungers, sun bed and tables at the beach.

One Las Vegas hotel is offering 1,000 free flights to the city.

Cyprus will pay all your holiday expenses if you catch the virus when youre there.

Maybe its time Mallorca came up with a scheme of its own to boost tourism?
BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM) reported first quarter 2021 net revenue of $545.1 million, an increase of $214.5 million or 64.9% from the same period last year, mainly due to an increase in shipments of 60.1%. Net income for the first quarter was $65.6 million, an increase of $47.3 million or 259.6% from the same period last year. Earnings per diluted share were $5.26, an increase of $3.77 per diluted share, or 253.0% from the first quarter of 2020. This increase was primarily due to increased net revenue, partially offset by increases in operating expenses. In the first quarter of 2020, the Company recorded pre-tax COVID-19 related reductions in net revenue and increases in costs that totaled $10.0 million or $0.60 per diluted share.

In the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2020, the Company recorded a tax benefit of $0.69 per diluted share and $0.17 per diluted share, respectively, resulting from the Accounting Standard "Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" ("ASU 2016-09").

Highlights of this release include:

Depletions increased 48% from the 13-week comparable period in the prior year.

Full-year depletion and shipment growth is now estimated at between 40% and 50%, an increase from the previously communicated range of between 35% and 45%.

First quarter gross margin of 45.8% was 1.0 percentage point above the 2020 first quarter margin of 44.8%. Excluding the 2020 impact of COVID-19 returns and other related direct costs, first quarter 2021 gross margin of 45.8% was 1.0 percentage point below the COVID adjusted 2020 first quarter margin of 46.8%.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses in the first quarter increased $43.0 million or 43.9%.

or 43.9%. Based on current spending and investment plans, full-year 2021 Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share1, which excludes the impact of ASU 2016-09, is now estimated at between $22.00 and $26.00 , an increase from the previously communicated range of between $20.00 and $24.00 .

Jim Koch, Chairman and Founder of the Company, commented, "As the world slowly reopens and the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, our primary focus continues to be on operating our breweries and our business safely and working hard to continue to innovate and meet customer demand. Before I turn to our key first quarter operational achievements, I want to note that, working with the Greg Hill Foundation, our Samuel Adams Restaurant Strong Fund has raised $7.5 million thus far to support bar and restaurant workers who are experiencing hardships in the wake of COVID-19 and is committed to distributing 100% of its proceeds through grants to bar and restaurant workers across the country. We are thankful to our outstanding coworkers, distributors and retailers for their continued focus and diligence to continue to operate and help grow our business. The Company's depletions increased 48 percent in the first quarter and we achieved double digit volume growth for the twelfth consecutive quarter. Early in 2021, we launched Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer and during the second quarter we plan to launch Truly Punch Hard Seltzer. Both combine refreshing hard seltzer with bold flavors and we believe these new launches continue to demonstrate our innovation leadership within the Hard Seltzer category. We are making steady progress in improving our brand support and messaging for our beer and cider brands to position them for long-term sustainable growth in the face of the difficult on-premise environment. We are optimistic that our on-premise business will significantly improve in 2021 as restrictions are slowly lifted. We are excited about the response to the introduction in early 2021 of several new Samuel Adams beers, including Samuel Adams Wicked Hazy, Samuel Adams Wicked Easy and Samuel Adams Just the Haze, our first non-alcoholic beer, as well as the positive reaction to our Samuel Adams 'Your Cousin from Boston' advertising campaign. We are confident in our ability to innovate and build strong brands that complement our current portfolio and help support our mission of long-term profitable growth."

Dave Burwick, the Company's President and CEO stated, "We are happy with our strong start to the year and our record first quarter shipment and depletion volumes. First quarter shipments growth was significantly higher than depletions growth as we took active steps to ensure that our distributor inventory levels are adequate to support drinker demand during the peak summer months. Our depletions growth in the first quarter was the result of increases in our Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea brands, partly offset by decreases in our Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard and Dogfish Head brands. The recently launched Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer has accelerated Truly brand growth, which has more than doubled since last year. In the first quarter in measured off-premise channels, the Truly brand outgrew the hard seltzer category by nearly 2X or 50 percentage points, resulting in a share increase of 6.5 percentage points. The Truly brand has now reached a market share of over 28 percent, accounting for approximately 40 percent of all growth cases in the hard seltzer category, which is two times greater than the next largest growth brand. Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer has achieved a 4.3 percentage point market share in measured off-premise channels, well ahead of all other new entrants to the entire beer category. We expect the launch of Truly Punch Hard Seltzer during the second quarter to continue this positive momentum. We will invest heavily in the launch of Truly Punch Hard Seltzer and the Truly brand, evolve our brand communications, and further improve our position in the hard seltzer category as more competitors enter. Twisted Tea continues to generate double-digit volume growth rates that are significantly above full year 2020 trends. In the first quarter in measured off-premise channels, case growth in Twisted Tea brand products was almost three times higher than its closest competitor and we believe Twisted Tea is on its way to becoming the number one flavored malt beverage (FMB) by year's end. We see significant distribution and volume growth opportunities for our Truly and Twisted Tea brands and are looking to continue to expand distribution of our Dogfish Head brand. Pursuing these opportunities in 2021 remains a top priority. Our Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard and Dogfish Head brands were hit the most by COVID-19 and the related on-premise closures. We continue to work hard on returning these brands to growth and are optimistic that they will return to growth in 2021. Overall, given the trends for the first three months and our current view of the remainder of the year, we've adjusted our expectations for higher 2021 full-year volume and earnings growth, which is primarily driven by the strong performance of our Truly and Twisted Tea brands."

Mr. Burwick went on to say, "During the quarter, we have taken various steps to ensure we have capacity to support this accelerating growth. We continue to work hard on our comprehensive program to transform our supply chain with the goal of making our integrated supply chain more efficient, reduce costs, increase our flexibility to better react to mix changes, and allow us to scale up more efficiently. We expect to complete this transformation over the next two to three years. We will continue to invest in capacity to take advantage of the fast-growing hard seltzer category and deliver against the increased demand through a combination of internal capacity increases and higher usage of third-party breweries, although meeting these higher volumes through increased usage of third-party breweries has a negative impact on our gross margins. While we anticipate delivering margin improvements in 2021, our gross margins and gross margin expectations will continue to be impacted negatively until our volume growth stabilizes. While we are in a very competitive business, we are optimistic for continued growth of our current brand portfolio and innovations and we remain prepared to forsake short-term earnings as we invest to sustain long-term profitable growth, in line with the opportunities that we see."

COVID-19

The Company began seeing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business in early March 2020. The direct financial impact of the pandemic primarily included significantly reduced keg demand from the on-premise channel and higher labor and safety-related costs at the Company's breweries. In addition to these direct financial impacts, COVID-19 related safety measures resulted in a reduction of brewery productivity, which has shifted more volume to third-party breweries, and negatively impacted gross margins. In the 13-week period ended March 28, 2020, the Company recorded COVID-19 pre-tax related reductions in net revenue and increases in other costs of $10.0 million. This amount consists of a $5.8 million reduction in net revenue for estimated keg returns from distributors and retailers and $4.2 million of other COVID-19 related direct costs, of which $3.6 million are recorded in cost of goods sold and $0.6 million are recorded in operating expenses. In 2021 and going forward, the Company has chosen not to report COVID-19 related direct costs separately as they are viewed to be a normal part of operations. The Company will continue to assess and manage this situation and will provide a further update in each quarterly earnings release, to the extent that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are then known more clearly.

1st Quarter 2021 Summary of Results

Depletions increased 48% from the comparable 13-week period in the prior year. Shipment volume was approximately 2.3 million barrels, a 60.1% increase from the comparable 13-week period in the prior year.

Shipment volume for the quarter was significantly higher than depletions volume and resulted in significantly higher distributor inventory as of March 27, 2021 when compared to March 28, 2020. The Company believes distributor inventory as of March 27, 2021 averaged approximately 7 weeks on hand and was at an appropriate level based on the supply chain capacity constraints and inventory requirements to support the forecasted growth of Truly and Twisted Tea brands over the summer.

Gross margin at 45.8% increased from the 44.8% margin realized in the first quarter of 2020, primarily as a result of price increases, the absence of the COVID-19 related direct costs incurred in 2020 and cost saving initiatives at Company-owned breweries partially offset by higher processing costs due to increased production at third party breweries.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses increased $43.0 million compared to the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to increased brand investments of $21.0 million, primarily driven by higher media and production costs, higher salaries and benefits costs and increased freight to distributors of $21.9 million that was primarily due to higher volumes and rates.

General and administrative expenses increased by $4.9 million from the first quarter of 2020, primarily due to increases in salaries and benefits costs.

The Company's effective tax rate for the first quarter increased to 14.4% from 14.1% in the first quarter of 2020. The Company's effective tax rate for the first quarter, excluding the impact of ASU 2016-09, increased to 25.6% from 23.6% in the first quarter of 2020 primarily due to one-time state tax benefits related to capital investments in 2020.

The Company expects that its March 27, 2021 cash balance of $144.7 million, together with its future operating cash flows and the $150.0 million available under its line of credit, will be sufficient to fund future cash requirements.

Depletion estimates

Year-to-date depletions through the fifteen weeks ended April 10, 2021 are estimated by the Company to have increased approximately 49% from the comparable period in 2020.

2021 Outlook

The Company currently projects full year 2021 Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of between $22.00 and $26.00. This Non-GAAP projection excludes the impact of ASU 2016-09. The Company's actual 2021 earnings per share could vary significantly from the current projection. Underlying the Company's current 2021 projection are the following full-year estimates and targets:

Depletions and shipments percentage increase between 40% and 50%.

National price increases of between 1% and 3%, an increase from the previously communicated range of between 1% and 2%.

Gross margin of between 45% and 47%.

Increased investments in advertising, promotional and selling expenses of between $130 million and $150 million , an increase from the previously communicated range of between $120 million and $140 million . This does not include any changes in freight costs for the shipment of products to the Company's distributors.

and , an increase from the previously communicated range of between and . This does not include any changes in freight costs for the shipment of products to the Company's distributors. Non-GAAP effective tax rate of approximately 26.5%, excluding the impact of ASU 2016-09. This effective tax rate also excludes any potential future changes to current federal income tax rates and regulations.

Estimated capital spending of between $250 million and $350 million , a decrease from the previously communicated range of between $300 million and $400 million .

Non-GAAP effective tax rate and Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share are not defined terms under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for diluted earnings per share and effective tax rate data prepared in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to calculations of similarly titled measures by other companies. The Company's projection for its Non-GAAP effective tax rate and Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share exclude the impact of ASU 2016-09, which could be significant and will depend largely upon unpredictable future events outside the Company's control, including the timing and value realized upon exercise of stock options versus the fair value of those options when granted. Therefore, because of the uncertainty and variability of the impact of ASU 2016-09, the Company is unable to provide, without unreasonable effort, a reconciliation of these Non-GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis.

About the Company

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM) began in 1984 brewing Samuel Adams beer and the Samuel Adams brand is currently recognized as one of the largest and most respected craft beer brands. Our portfolio of brands also includes Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard Hard Cider and Dogfish Head Brewery as well as other craft beer brands such as Angel City Brewery and Coney Island Brewing. For more information, please visit our investor relations website at www.bostonbeer.com, which includes links to all of our respective brand websites.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release that state the Company's or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the Company's report on Form 10-K for the years ended December 26, 2020 and December 28, 2019. Copies of these documents may be found on the Company's website, www.bostonbeer.com, or obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except per share data)



(unaudited)



March 27,



March 28,



2021



2020

Barrels sold

2,278





1,423

Revenue $ 581,709



$ 352,225

Less excise taxes

36,629





21,660

Net revenue

545,080





330,565

Cost of goods sold

295,450





182,592

Gross profit

249,630





147,973

Operating expenses:













Advertising, promotional and selling expenses

140,859





97,891

General and administrative expenses

31,946





27,029

Impairment of assets

227





1,521

Total operating expenses

173,032





126,441

Operating income

76,598





21,532

Other (expense) income, net:













Interest (expense) income, net

(29)





63

Other (expense) income, net

(6)





(360)

Total other (expense) income, net

(35)





(297)

Income before income tax provision

76,563





21,235

Income tax provision

10,998





3,001

Net income $ 65,565



$ 18,234

















Net income per common share - basic $ 5.34



$ 1.50

Net income per common share - diluted $ 5.26



$ 1.49

















Weighted-average number of common shares - basic

12,271





12,157

Weighted-average number of common shares - diluted

12,457





12,186

















Net Income $ 65,565



$ 18,234

Other comprehensive income:













Foreign currency translation adjustment

20





(58)

Comprehensive income $ 65,585



$ 18,176



















THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share data)



(unaudited)



March 27,



December 26,



2021



2020

Assets





Current Assets:













Cash and cash equivalents $ 144,658



$ 163,282

Accounts receivable

105,042





78,358

Inventories

160,671





130,910

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

36,061





30,230

Income tax receivable

4,115





10,393

Total current assets

450,547





413,173

Property, plant and equipment, net

636,007





623,083

Operating right-of-use assets

56,518





58,483

Goodwill

112,529





112,529

Intangible assets

103,867





103,930

Third-party production prepayments

93,243





56,843

Other assets

11,459





10,784

Total assets $ 1,464,170



$ 1,378,825

















Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity





Current Liabilities:













Accounts payable $ 157,085



$ 121,647

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

106,361





129,544

Current operating lease liabilities

8,183





8,232

Total current liabilities

271,629





259,423

Deferred income taxes, net

97,284





92,665

Non-current operating lease liabilities

57,200





59,171

Other liabilities

9,333





10,599

Total liabilities $ 435,446



$ 421,858

Commitments and Contingencies













Stockholders' Equity:













Class A Common Stock, $.01 par value; 22,700,000 shares authorized; 10,052,711 and 10,004,681 issued and outstanding as of March 27, 2021 and December 26, 2020, respectively

101





100

Class B Common Stock, $.01 par value; 4,200,000 shares authorized; 2,177,983 and 2,177,983 issued and outstanding as of March 27, 2021 and December 26, 2020, respectively

22





22

Additional paid-in capital

605,962





599,737

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax

(232)





(252)

Retained earnings

422,871





357,360

Total stockholders' equity $ 1,028,724



$ 956,967

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,464,170



$ 1,378,825



















THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)



(unaudited)



Thirteen weeks ended



March 27,

2021



March 28,

2020

Cash flows provided by operating activities:













Net income $ 65,565



$ 18,234

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:













Depreciation and amortization

16,996





15,945

Impairment of assets

227





1,521

Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment

(36)







Change in right-of-use assets

1,965





1,807

Credit loss (recovery) expense

(48)





552

Stock-based compensation expense

4,957





2,566

Deferred income taxes

4,565





2,379

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:













Accounts receivable

(26,723)





(4,436)

Inventories

(30,581)





(23,856)

Prepaid expenses, income tax receivable and other current assets

(14,369)





(2,077)

Third-party production prepayments

(21,584)





1,234

Other assets







(41)

Accounts payable

36,912





14,264

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

(16,095)





(7,579)

Change in operating lease liabilities

(2,020)





(1,489)

Other liabilities

76





(100)

Net cash provided by operating activities

19,807





18,924

Cash flows used in investing activities:













Purchases of property, plant and equipment

(39,278)





(27,394)

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

320





35

Other investing activities

145





96

Net cash used in investing activities

(38,813)





(27,263)

Cash flows provided by financing activities:













Proceeds from exercise of stock options and sale of investment shares

6,768





2,941

Net cash paid on note payable and finance leases

(435)





(209)

Cash borrowed on line of credit







100,000

Payment of tax withholdings on stock-based payment awards and investment shares

(5,951)





(1,559)

Net cash provided by financing activities

382





101,173

Change in cash and cash equivalents

(18,624)





92,834

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

163,282





36,670

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 144,658



$ 129,504



















1 See "Outlook" below for additional information regarding non-GAAP forward-looking measures used in this press release.

SOURCE The Boston Beer Company, Inc.

Related Links

www.bostonbeer.com


Jury finds Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd

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A jury has found former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd. The decision was announced Tuesday afternoon after jurors spent just over eight hours in deliberation over two days.

Judge Peter Cahill said the sentencing phase will be held within the next eight weeks and bail was revoked, with Chauvin being remanded into custody immediately.

Chauvin faces up to 75 years in prison. He declined to testify in the trial.

On May 25, 2020, Chauvin had his knee on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for nine minutes and 26 seconds and he laid on the ground in the prone position. Floyd died in the process.

Floyd, 46, was arrested after a store clerk at Cup Foods called 911 to report that he had used a counterfeit bill to make a purchase and seemed to be under the influence of an unknown substance. After Floyd was handcuffed, he resisted being placed in the patrol vehicle, repeatedly saying that he's claustrophobic, has "anxiety," and was "going to die." As two officers were on the driver's side of the vehicle to get Floyd into the squad car, Chauvin went to the passenger side and pulled on Floyd, who fell onto the ground.

It was there that Chauvin and two other officers physically restrained Floyd around his torso and with the former kneeling into Floyds neck and back.

Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe and subsequently stopped breathing and was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.

Chauvin, 44, joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 2001. He and three other officers involved in the arrest of Floyd  Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and Alexander Kueng  were fired the day after the incident.

Thao, Lane and Kueng are scheduled to go on trial in August for charges of aiding and abetting murder.

Video footage of the fatal incident sparked demonstrations across the U.S. and worldwide, with some protests turning into deadly riots that led to the deaths of some 20 Americans nationwide and the vandalism and torching of over 1,000 buildings in Minneapolis.

Chauvin was charged last year with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, and was given a bail of $1 million. His trial began in late March.

Some of the expert witnesses who testified at Chauvin's trial said Floyd died from asphyxia, or lack of oxygen.

A healthy person subjected to what Mr. Floyd was subjected to would have died as a result of what he was subjected to, Dr. Martin Tobin, a lung specialist at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and Loyola Universitys medical school in Chicago, told the jurors.

Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, concluded that Floyds death was a homicide as a result of cardiopulmonary arrest after being restrained. The medical examiners office also found that the fentanyl and methamphetamines detected in Floyds body during the autopsy, in addition to his cardiovascular history, contributed to his death.

It was the stress of that interaction that tipped him over the edge given his underlying heart disease and his toxicological status, Baker told the court.

Many faith communities and leaders had strong reactions to Floyd's public death.

Last June, the Presbyterian Church (USA) held a moment of silence for victims of prejudice and racism that lasted eight minutes and 46 seconds as part of their virtual general assembly.

"This vigil is not simply to remember the tragic murder of George Floyd, but to remember all the injustice suffered by black, indigenous, and people of color due to systemic racism and white supremacy, PCUSA General Assembly Co-Moderator Elona Street-Stewart said last year.

The Rev. Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, denounced Chauvin's actions, saying in a Facebook post last October that the officer has done more damage to law enforcement than any other person in our nation.

The entire world watched as then-officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on the neck of George Floyd, who he knew and had worked with at the same club, and he kept it there until Mr. Floyd took his last breath. George Floyds death should have never happened, Graham wrote at the time.

Before the trial began in late March, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay the Floyd family $27 million as part of a settlement to resolve a wrongful death trial not connected to the Chauvin trial.
LONDON, April 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Modulaire Group, Europe and Asia Pacific's leading business services company specialising in modular services and infrastructure, is pleased to announce that it has joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative.

The UN Global Compact is a call to companies to align their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Launched in 2000, over 12,000 companies and 3,500 non-business signatories in more than 160 countries are part of the Network.

Sustainability and ESG is core to the operations of Modulaire Group and the value proposition of its products and services. Specific focus areas include:

Environment:

Leasing is a circular economy model; the Group's modular units are flexible and adaptable to individual customer requirements, can be reused up to 20 times and are up to 96% recyclable

The carbon footprint of a modular building is up to 50% lower compared with on-site construction

Modulaire has established a road map to Net Zero by 2050 with a detailed plan to remove embedded carbon from its operations and product range

Social:

The safety and wellbeing of colleagues is at the top of Modulaire's agenda. This is supported throughout the business by wellbeing and training programmes.

The company is also making good progress with its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion programme.

Governance:

Modulaire has a strong compliance focus and has embedded the UN Global Compact principles into its policies.

This includes a code of ethics and anti-bribery and corruption policies, and a global whistleblowing hotline.

Mark Higson, Chief Executive Officer, Modulaire Group, commented: "Sustainability has been integral to Modulaire Group, and a key differentiator for our customers, for many years. Joining the United Nations Global Compact is another important step for us as we strengthen our commitment to these ten principles and take action in support of the Sustainable Development Goals.

As a global framework, I look forward to working with my colleagues around the world as they participate in the sustainability areas that matter most in their local markets."

Steve Kenzie, Executive Director, UN Global Compact Network UK, commented: "The core of the United Nations Global Compact's mission is to support companies doing business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with ten universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. We also support business taking actions to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. We are delighted and encouraged by Modulaire's initiatives and their membership of the UNGC."

Modulaire Group has recently appointed its first Director of Sustainability and ESG, Inder Poonaji, who brings significant expertise as a sustainability professional including from roles at Nestle and Ramboll. The Group will publish its first Sustainability & ESG Report in Q2 2021.

About Modulaire Group

Modulaire Group is the leader in European modular services and infrastructure. We create smart spaces for people to live, work and learn. Our business is designed to help customers find the right space solution, no matter what their requirements. Modulaire Group has operations in 25 countries with approximately 259,000 modular space and portable storage units and 3,400 remote accommodations rooms. The company operates as Algeco in Europe and Scandinavia, Elliott, Advante and Carter in the United Kingdom, BUKO Huisvesting, BUKO Bouw & Winkels and BUKO Bouwsystemen in The Netherlands, Ausco in Australia, Portacom in New Zealand, and Algeco Chengdong in China.

For further information

Investor relations: Phil Vellacott

investorrelations@modulairegroup.com

07841 563541

Media enquiries:

Tulchan Communications

modulairegroup@tulchangroup.com

0207 353 4200

SOURCE Modulaire Group
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals are still seeing a low volume of patients coming in for potentially life-saving procedures like cancer screenings, a trend that has concerned physicians at UMass Memorial Health.

People have been putting off things like mammograms out of fear of getting the coronavirus at the hospital, or other factors like access to transportation, which has led doctors to see patients being diagnosed with later-stage disease.

Carolynn DeBenedectis, of the department of radiology division of breast imaging at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said its a trend being seen across the nation and in Europe.

People are still nervous to come back for screenings. Were definitely seeing more advanced breast cancers being diagnosed than before, she said.

Across the UMass Memorial system, there has been an upward trend in cancellation rates within 24 hours of an appointment through the pandemic. In March 2020, the cancellation rate was 11.9%. The rate hovered around 9 and 10% from the summer and into last fall, hit 13.9% in February 2021 and was at 9.5% in March 2021, according to data from UMass Memorial.

Here we are over a year into this pandemic, so people that were putting things off for a little bit, now theyve delayed it for a full year or more, said Jonathan Gerber, the medical director of the cancer center at UMass Memorial Health.

DeBenedectis said the prognosis for breast cancer is much better if caught during a screening. But now, the hospital is seeing fewer patients being screened and instead is finding patients who are coming in with palpable symptomatic cases and disease that already metastasized to the lymph nodes.

I think people, even once symptomatic, arent coming in as soon as they maybe would have in the past, DeBenedectis said. Maybe someone would feel a lump and come right in. Now because of the pandemic, theyre saying oh, pandemic, I dont want to go out and theyre waiting even longer.

DeBenedectis thinks this could lead to an increase in cancer deaths for years to come.

Gerber said some patients have become comfortable with telehealth visits, impacting what doctors may be able to catch during an in-person visit. When patients wait to get checked out, theres a chance that their disease may no longer be curable or that the chances of survival drop.

Theres no doubt that in some of these instances things where we perhaps could have intervened earlier we may have missed the window, Gerber said.

David McManus, the chair of the department of medicine at UMass Memorial Health and UMass Medical School, said screenings also remain lower than usual for patients with cardiovascular concerns.

Were packed to the gills with patients who are sicker than weve ever seen before, McManus said.

Patients are missing blood pressure screenings and management of diabetes, McManus said.

We want people to be proactive when theyre feeling OK, knowing that they can come in for an office visit to try to avoid having a heart attack and prevent it, McManus said. A lot of these are eminently preventable and were talking about people with known risk factors that are not getting the follow-up that they need. Theyre not coming in for a blood pressure check and they know theyve got hypertension. Theyre not coming in for their hemoglobin A1c and theyve got diabetes.

The pandemic has caused stress from isolation and its economic impact may affect peoples food choices, McManus said. People who are at home more may get less exercise. Those factors make an impact on cardiovascular disease.

The physicians worry that underrepresented populations already disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are being affected in this area as well. In the Worcester region, Black and Latino residents have tested positive for COVID at a higher rate than the areas white residents.

The reality is, if you combine high rates of disease or risk factors for disease with high impact of COVID, therefore driving people further away from the doctor, or the health care provider, thats a dangerous combination for disproportionately affecting those communities from complications of those risk factors like heart attack or stroke, McManus said.

For patients that already struggle with accessing transportation to get to the doctors office, the pandemic may add a hesitancy to take public transit, Gerber said.

Doctors have been urgently spreading the message that hospitals are a safe place. Gerber said the use of personal protective equipment could mean patients are even less likely to catch an illness than before.

One could make an argument that all of the measures that weve put in for COVID now have almost eliminated cases of influenza and many other respiratory viruses, Gerber said.

Gerber noted that health care professionals have been eligible for the COVID vaccine for months and those who got the shot have likely been fully immune for months. And older patients and cancer patients have also been eligible for vaccination for weeks.

I dont think its ever been this safe, honestly, DeBenedectis said. I would say come in because the risk of getting COVID, it is real in the outside world. But its very low [risk] to come get a mammogram [and] get COVID from it but the risk of having advanced-stage breast cancer from not getting screened is real.

Because the volume of patients is currently low, the time from diagnosis to surgery has been reduced, DeBenedectis added.

McManus said patients need to be their own advocates and make sure theyre getting checked out.

Get your rear end in here, get your care because otherwise, youre going to end up in bad shape, McManus said. I think its as simple as that.

Related Content:
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 20:08:37|Editor: huaxia

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ISLAMABAD -- China strongly condemned the terrorist attack Wednesday night in a hotel in Quetta in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, the Chinese embassy here said Thursday in a statement.

A car bomb hit Serena Hotel in Quetta causing many casualties, said the statement, adding that China expressed "condolences to the unfortunate victims and sympathy to the injured."

- - - -

KABUL -- At least 78 Taliban militants were killed in various operations conducted by Afghan government forces in the past 24 hours, according to Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense on Thursday.

"Forty-four Taliban militants were also wounded and eight others were arrested as a result of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) operations in Ghazni, Zabul, Herat, Paktika, Balkh, Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

- - - -

TRIPOLI -- The International Follow-up Committee on Libya on Wednesday welcomed Security Council resolutions 2570 (2021) and 2571 (2021), which extend the ban on the illicit export of petroleum and approve arrangements for a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned ceasefire monitoring mechanism.

"Participants welcomed the adoption of Security Council resolutions 2570 (2021) and 2571 (2021) that reflect their shared priorities and objectives and urge the Libyan authorities and institutions to implement them in full," said a statement issued by the United Nations (UN) Support Mission in Libya.

- - - -

JERUSALEM -- Israel's military said on Thursday that it struck targets in Syria after a Syrian anti-aircraft missile hit southern Israel earlier in the day.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in Israel.

"Surface-to-air missile fire was identified from Syria," an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the missile landed in the Negev Desert. Enditem
Mengo chief magistrates court has ordered Kampala Central MP candidate Fred Nyanzi to pay over Shs 38 million to his opponent MP Muhammad Nsereko as costs for his disallowed request for a vote count.

Chief magistrate Esther Nansambu read her taxation saying the Shs38.7 million is a sufficient amount to compensate Nsereko the loss he incurred while defending the application that Nyanzi filed way out of the stipulated time frame.

Nyanzi was further ordered to pay costs to the Electoral Commission, a bill that has not yet been taxed by the court.

Meanwhile, Nyanzi proceeded to file an election petition against Nsereko before the High court but he has since informed justice Phillip Odoki that he has failed to trace the latter for service of the petition.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - City View Green Holdings Inc. (CSE: CVGR) (OTCQB: CVGRF) ("City View" or the "Company"), trading through the facilities of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") under the symbol "CVGR" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "CVGRF" is pleased to provide an operational update related to the receipt of chocolate manufacturing equipment as previously announced on November 24, 2020 and January 14, 2021.

On April 21, 2021, City View's state of the art, scalable Selmi chocolate line arrived at our Brantford, Ontario production facility from Italy. Fit and installation will begin immediately, enabling City View to move to the next stage of edibles development and production planning with our licensed producer clients. Production will commence immediately upon receipt of a processing license from Health Canada under the Cannabis Act which is currently under review. City View is currently awaiting the arrival of gummy equipment as previously announced on January 14, 2021. City View is also pleased to announce that it will secure key bakery equipment to produce baked goods and pet snacks.

City View's management team is currently completing quality systems and operational procedures to produce the following edibles: filled and solid chocolates, gummies in blister packaging as well as baked goods such as cookies, protein and granola bars, and pet snacks. The anticipated launch of City View's white label chocolate, gummy and baked goods products remains on track during 2021.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Karl Wirtz as a Director of the Company. Mr. Karl Wirtz has been a professional entrepreneur and business owner for over 33 years. Mr. Wirtz built and presently manages a globally recognized bakery and co-packing business with world class food safety certifications carrying an "A" rating under the Global food safety initiative. Mr. Wirtz is currently servicing many household names in the CPG industry from all over the globe. Recently, Mr. Wirtz partnered with an Ontario based bakery and through this relationship he has built Canada's first cannabis infused bakery, contracted to Ontario's top licensed producer ("LP"). Mr. Wirtz created and managed the full concept and layout for an onsite cannabis packaging line and delivered excellent scores for that LP's order fulfilment upon the launch of the LP's recreational cannabis products.

"Once a processing license is granted by Health Canada, City View expects to commercialize product innovations to enter the Canadian adult recreational and wellness markets with our novel white label CBD and THC infused products for other licensed producers. Upon the receipt of a sales license from Health Canada, City View will produce its own branded chocolate, gummies, and baked goods for the Canadian market. City View's white label and branded strategy stands out from other companies and we believe these products represent the highest growth segments in the Canadian cannabis market. We are pleased to add Karl Wirtz to the Board of City View and the extensive experience and advice he will provide in consumer packaged goods manufacturing.", said Rob Fia, CEO and President.

For further information contact:

City View Green Holdings Inc.

Rob Fia, CEO & President

Email: rob@cityviewgreen.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulations services accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About City View

City View is a leading food company focused on the development of cannabis-infused edibles. Upon the anticipated receipt of its Cannabis Act processing and sales licences ("Cannabis Licences"), City View will incorporate cannabis-infused food production at its Brantford, Ontario high-capacity facility. In addition, City View owns a 27.5% stake in Budd Hutt Inc. ("Budd Hutt"), a retail-focused cannabis company with access to cannabis cultivation and production licences in Alberta and other retail opportunities across Canada. Through its relationship with Budd Hutt, the Company anticipates securing shelf space, product placement, and distribution opportunities for our white label partner products. For more information visit www.cityviewgreen.ca

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration is available.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81353
At least 400,000 residents of the temporarily occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions received Russian passports, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said.

"The statistics are constantly changing, they say one thing, we check and get another number. But there are at least 400,000 [people who received passports of the Russian Federation], it is true," the minister said in an interview with the Ukrayinska Pravda ezine, published on Thursday.

Reznikov said that at the same time, those who receive Russian passports in Donetsk and Luhansk regions do not have a permanent place of residence in the Russian Federation.

"The Russians, even in the negotiations in TCG (Trilateral Contact Group), in the Normandy format, everyone says - this is the ORDLO of Ukraine, Donetsk-Luhansk is Ukraine. [...]People who have received passports of the Russian Federation, they have no rights in the Russian Federation. If one arrives in Russia tomorrow with this passport, he will be kicked out. Except for the top Russia-occupation fighters, those who work for the occupation 'authorities.' They received registration, we saw the passports of those who came to talks in the TCG," Reznikov said.
Numerous restrictions and closures affected business in Carmila shopping centres in France, Spain and Italy; stores in Carmila centres were closed for an overall average of 1.1 months during the quarter

Gross rental income fell by 6.6%

Leasing activity remained robust during first-quarter 2021

Solid financial position with successful bond issue extending average debt maturity

Regulatory News:

Marie Cheval, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Carmila (Paris:CARM) commented:"The first quarter of 2021 was shaped by numerous government-enforced restrictions and closures. However, the commitment of our teams and the strengths of our centres ensured that leasing activity remained dynamic. Carmila is standing by to support retailers and to prepare for a highly-anticipated reopening."

1. Store closures and opening restrictions severely disrupted business at Carmila centres

During the first-quarter of 2021, government measures to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic led to store closures and restrictions in France, Spain and Italy.

The following measures are applicable to Carmila's 215 sites:

In France: government ordered additional restrictions were implemented country wide. As a result, shopping centres larger than 20,000 sq.m. were closed from 31 January 2021, those larger than 10,000 sq.m. from 6 March 2021, and store openings were restricted to essential businesses only from 3 April 2021.

In Spain: shopping centres remained open (except in Catalonia) with travel restrictions and curfews in place, depending on the region. In Catalonia, a decree led to the closure of seven shopping centres during January and February 2021 (excluding essential businesses).

In Italy: all shopping centres have been closed on weekends since 24 October 2020. As of 15 March 2021, seven out of eight shopping centres were closed (excluding essential businesses).

Closure periods were therefore longer overall than those imposed on Carmila shopping centres in the first quarter of 2020. In total, over the first quarter of 2021, shops in Carmila centres were closed for the equivalent of 1.1 months' weighted average rents (1.3 months in France, 0.7 months in Spain and 0.9 months in Italy), compared to 0.5 months in the first quarter of 2020.

To date, shopping centres in France are closed or restricted to essential businesses only. In Spain, all shopping centres are open, with restrictions on opening hours in certain regions. In Italy, shopping centres are closed on weekends (excluding essential businesses).

In the Group's three countries, closed shops in Carmila centres represent 63.2% of the total rental base.

Changes in footfall and retailers sales were severely impacted by health measures taken in the first quarter of 2021 and do not provide meaningful comparisons.

2. Gross rental income fell by 6.6%

In thousands of euros First-quarter

2021 First-quarter

2020 Year-on-year

change (%) Gross rental income 84,737 90,735 -6.6% Net rental income 70,221 82,651 -15.0% France 46,585 55,687 -16.3% Spain 18,490 21,465 -13.9% Italy 5,146 5,499 -6.4%

The 6.6% decline in gross rental income can be analysed as follows:

3.4% of the decline was attributable to rent waivers granted with concessions during the first wave of the health crisis in 2020 (IFRS 16);

1.0% reflected non-recurring income from variable rents recognised in Spain during the first quarter of 2020;

1.5% stemmed from the contraction in the rental base;

0.7% was attributable to Covid-19 rent waivers granted in Catalonia further to a local decree.

As a reminder, the first quarter of 2020 did not reflect the impacts of the health crisis, as rents for the period were invoiced and paid at the start of the quarter before the lockdown and store closure measures were enforced.

Net rental income was down 15.0%, including the impact of allowances in respect of first-quarter receivables for 7.1% and of unrecoverable expenses for 0.6%, with the balance reflecting the fall in gross rental Income. The French government is committed to putting in place a support package for retailers, enabling them to pay their rent during restricted periods. Any additional rent waivers in connection with first-quarter receivables will be recognised once these measures have been clarified.

Over the period, the average gross collection rate for 2020 rents improved to 81.7% (81.1% for France, 83.0% for Spain and 81.5% for Italy) compared to 80.3% reported on 17 February 2021.

The average gross collection rate for first-quarter 2021 rents was impacted by the health crisis, and came out at 71.4% (68.1% for France, 84.3% for Spain and 64.0% for Italy).

The collection rate was impacted by the delay in implementing support measures in France.

3. Sustained leasing momentum across all three countries

In the Group's three countries, leasing activity remained brisk with 252 leases signed during the period (up 67% compared to first-quarter 2020) for a total minimum guaranteed rent of 14.1 million.

The robust leasing performance helped Carmila expand the presence of leading retail brands in its centres. Accordingly, leases were signed with Bershka at Cite Europe, Action at Purpan, New Yorker at Calais Coquelles, Normal at Nice Lingostiere and Pitaya at Ormesson. In Spain, Bedland signed for new shop openings at Fan, Los Alfares and Rivas, adding to its existing 14 stores in Carmila centres.

The arrival of new retail brands underlines the appeal of Carmila shopping centres, with first-time signings in a wide variety of segments, including Starbucks, Bear Wolf, Eat Salad, Ecomiam, Happy Cash Eco, Project X Paris in France and Scalpers in Spain.

Lastly, Carmila pressed ahead with the development of its healthcare activities under the Vertuo brand, with the signing of dental practices in Nantes St Herblain and Tournefeuille.

As of 31 March 2021, financial occupancy remained robust and stable at 95.5% (95.2% in France, 95.2% in Spain and 96.7% in Italy) compared to 95.5% on 31 March 2020.

The number of lease terminations by retail brands in France, Spain and Italy was stable in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same prior-year period.

4. Healthy and solid financial position

On 25 March 2021, Carmila successfully issued 300 million in eight-year bonds with a coupon of 1.625%. This issuance enabled Carmila to optimise its debt profile at attractive conditions, and to pay down 300 million in bank debt maturing in June 2024.

This issuance is a further demonstration of Carmila's ability to access the debt markets at attractive conditions while extending the average maturity of its debt.

INVESTOR AGENDA

18 May 2021 (9:30 a.m. CET):Annual General Meeting

24 May 2021: Ex-dividend date

15 June 2021: Dividend payment date

28 July 2021 (after trading): 2021 Interim Results

29 July 2021 (2:30 p.m. CET): Investor and Analyst Meeting

ABOUT CARMILA

Carmila was founded by Carrefour and large institutional investors in order to develop the value of shopping centres anchored by Carrefour stores in France, Spain and Italy. As at 31 December 2020, it consists of 215 shopping centres in France, Spain and Italy, mostly leaders in their catchment areas, and was valued at 6.1 billion. Inspired by a genuine retail culture, Carmila's teams include all of the expertise dedicated to retail attractiveness: leasing, digital marketing, specialty leasing, shopping centre management and portfolio management.

Carmila is listed on Euronext-Paris Compartment A under the symbol CARM. It benefits from the tax regime for French real estate investment trusts ("SIIC").

Carmila became part of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate (EMEA Region) indices on 18 September 2017. Carmila became part of the Euronext CAC Small, CAC Mid Small and CAC All-tradable indices on 24 September 2018.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005800/en/

Contacts:

INVESTOR AND ANALYST CONTACT

Florence Lonis General Secretary

florence_lonis@carmila.com

+33 6 82 80 15 64

PRESS CONTACT

Morgan Lavielle Communications Director

morgan_lavielle@carmila.com

+33 6 87 77 48 80
Read more from Sarah

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Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado.
Ant Group agrees to invest in Brazil loyalty co Dotz

A sign of Ant Group is seen during the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, (Photo : REUTERS/Aly Song)

China's Ant Group has sealed a deal to acquire a 5% stake in the Brazilian loyalty program Dotz, according to a securities filing on Wednesday.



Dotz and Alibaba's payment affiliate Ant Group have also signed a business cooperation agreement, in which both companies explore, for instance, new opportunities for digital financial services in Brazil.



Advertisement

Dotz has just launched an initial public offering of roughly 815 million reais ($146.35 million) and plans to start trading on the Sao Paulo stock exchange on May 13.



Dotz set its price range between 16.20 reais and 21.40 reais per share. If it prices the IPO at the top of the range, Dotz may be valued at up to 3 billion reais.



The Brazilian company said the deal depends on the conclusion of the IPO.



According to the deal terms, Ant will appoint an executive to Dotz's board of directors, as well as the co-head of the company's committee of strategy.



Ant Group will also have an option to buy an additional 10% stake in Dotz in up to 24 months after the IPO.



Founded nearly 20 years ago, Dotz has 20 million active users. Besides a loyalty program, it is a marketplace and a financial startup.



BTG Pactual, Itau BBA, Credit Suisse and UBS BB are managing the IPO.



($1 = 5.5687 reais)


(CNN)  Indonesia's Navy is searching for a missing submarine with 53 people on board that went missing during a military exercise on Wednesday and is seeking help from neighboring Australia and Singapore in the hunt, Indonesian authorities say.

In a statement published Wednesday night, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense said the KRI Nanggala-402, a German-made submarine, lost contact during a torpedo drill in the Bali Strait -- a stretch of water between the islands of Java and Bali that connects to the Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea.

The submarine asked for permission to dive, or submerge, at 3 a.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) before losing contact, it said. The statement added that an oil spill was seen in aerial surveillance near the dive point, around 7 a.m. local time.

The oil spill is "highly suspected" to have come from the vessel, Indonesian Navy spokesman Colonel Julius Widjojono told local media on Wednesday night.

He said the submarine has the capability to dive 500 meters below sea level, but added they now fear it went 200 meters below that depth. "Let's pray for them so they can survive," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters that they were "searching in the waters of Bali, 60 miles (96 km) from Bali, (for) 53 people."

The search is currently being carried out by two Indonesian warships equipped with side-scan sonar, a tool used for mapping the seafloor, according to the Ministry of Defense. The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), an organization that facilitates an international response for distressed submarines, is also providing assistance, it said.

Several countries, including Australia, India and Singapore have offered to provide assistance.

The 1,395-ton KRI Nanggala-402 was built in 1977 by the German shipbuilding company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and joined the ranks of the Indonesian Navy in 1981, according to the Ministry of Defense statement.

The submarine underwent a two-year refit in South Korea that was completed in 2012, according to the Indonesian cabinet secretariat's website.

Indonesia in the past operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its sprawling archipelago.

But now it has a fleet of only five including two German-built Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean vessels.

Indonesia has been seeking to upgrade its defense capabilities, but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been deadly accidents involving in particular ageing military transport planes in recent years.
April 22, 2021 The Ukraine Crisis Recedes - But A False Narrative Of It Leads To Bad Conclusions Some two month ago we discussed how the U.S. focus on narratives will let it collide with reality. It is certainly not only the U.S. government that creates narratives, comes to believe in them, and then fails when it is confronted with reality. Carried by think tanks and media the narrative mold has grown throughout the wider 'western' world. On the danger of this development the above piece quoted Alastair Crooke who wrote: [B]eing so invested, so immersed, in one particular reality, others truths then will not  cannot  be heard. They do not stand out proud above the endless flat plain of consensual discourse. They cannot penetrate the hardened shell of a prevailing narrative bubble, or claim the attention of elites so invested in managing their own version of reality. The Big Weakness? The elites come to believe their own narratives  forgetting that the narrative was conceived as an illusion, one among others, created to capture the imagination within their society (not others). They lose the ability to stand apart, and see themselves  as others see them. They become so enraptured by the virtue of their version of the world, that they lose all ability to empathise or accept others truths. They cannot hear the signals. The point here, is that in that talking past (and not listening) to other states, the latters motives and intentions will be mis-construed  sometimes tragically so. Over the last weeks we passed through a crisis that easily could have had a tragic ending. Since February the Ukraine built up a force to retake the renegade Donbas region in east-Ukraine by military force. After waiting several week to see the situation more clearly Russia started to assemble a counterforce backed up by statements that were sufficiently strong to deter the Ukraine from continuing its plans. The danger of a Ukrainian assault has now receded. Today the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave orders for the troops to return to their bases. Much of the equipment though will stay on training grounds near Ukraine until the regular fall maneuvers later this year take place. That minimizes transport costs and gives a little time advantage should someone in the Ukraine again have silly ideas. Russia has clearly won this round. But that is not how it looks when seen from the 'western' narrative. In that version the Ukrainian plans and its assembling of heavy weapons and troops near the Donbas border never happened. The narrative says that the whole incident started as a 'Russian aggression' when Russia very publicly showed its potential force. Only a few analysts on the 'western' side have rejected that narrative and stuck to reality. Dmitri Trenin of Carnegie's Moscow Center is one who got it right: In February, Zelensky ordered troops (as part of the rotation process) and heavy weapons (as a show of force) to go near to the conflict zone in Donbas. He did not venture out as far as Poroshenko, who dispatched small Ukrainian naval vessels through the Russian-controlled waters near the Kerch Strait in late 2018, but it was enough to get him noticed in Moscow. The fact of the matter is that even if Ukraine cannot seriously hope to win the war in Donbas, it can successfully provoke Russia into action. This, in turn, would produce a knee-jerk reaction from Ukraines Western supporters and further aggravate Moscows relations, particularly with Europe. One way or another, the fate of Nord Stream II will directly affect Ukraines interests. Being seen as a victim of Russian aggression and presenting itself as a frontline state checking Russias further advance toward Europe is a major asset of Kyivs foreign policy. Russia intentionally over reacted to Kiev's opening move. It demonstrated its overkill capability and made it clear to Zelensky's western sponsors that any further provocations would have extremely harsh consequences. As Putin said yesterday: Those behind provocations that threaten the core interests of our security will regret what they have done in a way they have not regretted anything for a long time. Zelensky's plan did not work out. While he did get verbal statements of support from Biden and NATO everyone knew that those were empty promises. But for people who have fallen for the false narrative the situation looks different. Consider this reaction to Shoigu's return-to-barracks order today from a member of the European Council On Foreign Relations (a U.S. lobby shop in Europe): Gustav C. Gressel @GresselGustav - 13:15 UTC  Apr 22, 2021 I have to congratulate (Flag of United States) @JoeBiden to deterence success and crisis management. The right warnings were sent to Moscow, the right intelligence to Ukraine. (Flag of Russia) could not extort concessions, could not provoke. Let's see w. these forces aren't just redeployed to (Flag of Belarus). Indeed Biden's order last week to pull back two war ships that were supposed to go into the Black Sea to support Ukraine was really great deterrence. But that was not a warning to Moscow. It did not deter Russia from doing anything. But it did end Zelensky's illusions of U.S. support. But for Gressel, who like others is stuck to the 'western' narrative, the sense is different. He really seems to believe that the U.S. deterred Russia from some nefarious plans which it never had. He ignores that Russia reacted to a Ukrainian provocation in a way that, in the end, has made NATO and the U.S. look weak. The danger is that Gressel, and other 'political scientists' like him, may once take up government positions and use their learned illusions to handle the next crisis. Stuck in the idea that Russia will retreat if only 'deterred' enough they will lean to measures that are outright hostile to Russia and may have indeed very tragic consequences. To repeat Crooke's warning: The point here, is that in that talking past (and not listening) to other states, the latters motives and intentions will be mis-construed  sometimes tragically so. Posted by b on April 22, 2021 at 17:25 UTC | Permalink Comments
Fewer than 2 per cent of people treated in hospital for Covid after being vaccinated developed symptoms three weeks after a jab, a study found.

Just 32 out of 2,000 who needed hospital treatment for coronavirus following a first dose are thought to have caught it once maximum immunity kicked in.

The remaining patients are likely to have developed symptoms before or after being vaccinated.

Researchers from the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium looked at more than 74,000 hospital admissions between September and early March.

Fewer than 2 per cent of people treated in hospital for Covid after being vaccinated developed symptoms three weeks after a jab, a study found. Pictured: A man receives a Covid-19 vaccine in London [File photo]

Some 33,139,742 first doses and 10,775,817 second doses have been given in the UK, meaning around one in five adults have been fully vaccinated [File photo]

Of the just under 2,000 who had received the vaccine, they analysed how many days there were between getting the jab and Covid symptoms.

Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Sage advisory group who worked on the paper, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'This is really good real world data showing that this vaccine works really well.'

Just 2,004 Covid patients are now being treated by the NHS - down from a peak of almost 40,000 in January.

Admissions have dropped to around 200 a day.

Some 33,139,742 first doses and 10,775,817 second doses have been given in the UK, meaning around one in five adults have been fully vaccinated.
On Thursday, Earth Day, President Klaus Iohannis visited the Vacaresti Natural Park, a wetland area within the limits of Bucharest City, saying that he would extend his protection and high patronage to the park, and that a working group would be set up for the development of the area, agerpres.ro confirms.

"I came today because today is Earth Day and I thought a visit to the Vacaresti Natural Park is exactly right for this Earth Day. I don't think I'm telling a secret if I say that the Earth needs a lot of protection and that involves countless things. This area has appeared rather by chance: it was discovered by some enthusiasts who set up an association and I take this opportunity to congratulate those enthusiasts I met here today and the other members of the association, the rangers I talked to, because they take care of this area; it has become a very well-known area in the whole country. The Vacaresti Natural Park is a wild park; it is an area where anyone who wants to get in touch with nature can do it very easily. Wild parks have existed for a long time in many cities in the world. Ours are still little explored areas and, therefore, I am glad that the example of the Vacaresti Natural Park goes further," he said after the visit.

He mentioned that there is an interest of several cities in setting up such parks, adding that he will extend his protection to the Vacaresti National Park to emphasise its importance.

"In order to emphasise the importance of such a park, of this park and of the concept, I will extend my protection and high patronage to this park. I hope that the example will be a positive one and that we will have increasingly more green areas of such quasi-wild type. Virtually in all big cities in Romania there is a deficit of green areas; we have innumerable blocks, concrete alleys, and very few green areas and in the last decades it has been studied and found that they are vital for a balanced community. In that regard, I have discussed with the minister, together with the association, with those interested here, I think we need to step in little bit in the legislation, we need to pay more attention to this area and I think everyone realises that this is in fact a small part of the attention we need to pay to the environment and nature so that we all live in a more pleasant and healthier area that is also better for future generations," the head of state added.

Iohannis went on to say that a working group will be set up for the development of this area.

"In my opinion, a working group is needed and already, I have agreed with the minister to set up this working group, to take a look, to modernise the legislation in the field. Because my opinion is that it was wrong when in 2018 NGOs were taken out of protected areas, because the associations are the ones who come up with the most interested people and the most eager to get involved in projects from which they do not earn anything. So, it is a civic involvement of a very, very good and important quality. On the other hand, we have the state bodies that must be aware that they have a role to play here, including in securing funding. Nothing is maintained on its own. This area must be protected. (...) Together with the minister, we will make sure that this working group will manage a modernisation of the legislation and create the specific tools to intervene concretely and positively in these areas of urban natural parks," added Iohannis.
New, relaxed regulations as well as steps taken to attract multinational companies are likely to positively impact demand for commercial office space in the medium-to-long term, according to leading property expert JLL.

Earlier this year, the Royal Commission for Riyadh announced a target to attract up to 500 multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters in Riyadh over the next 10 years, stated JLL in its latest KSA Real Estate Market Performance report.

This is in addition to the new sponsorship system's announcement, as part of which expatriate workers will be able to have job mobility and the freedom to enter and exit the Kingdom without the need for an employers permission, it added.

Going forward, these initiatives are bound to increase foreign talent, accelerate economic recovery and create more opportunities, setting the Kingdom on a sustainable growth trajectory. We expect to see it positively drive demand in the office sector in the long run, said Dana Salbak, the head of research at JLL Mena.

During the first quarter of 2021, the office sector saw the completion of two corporate office projects in Riyadh, increasing the total stock by around 50,000 sq m to 4.4 million sq m of GLA. Meanwhile, Jeddah saw two smaller, new deliveries keeping the stock stable at 1.1 million sq m.

The residential sector witnessed increased demand in the first quarter of the year backed by strong government support.

Residential new mortgage loans for individuals registered a recent historical performance, increasing 33,000 contracts in January 2021. The total value of mortgages raised to SAR 16.4 billion, according to the Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency (SAMA).

From a supply perspective, the first quarter recorded an increase in construction activity with around 7,700 and 2,000 units handed over in Riyadh and Jeddah, respectively.

Meanwhile, retail rents in Riyadh remained under downward pressure, as average rents for super-regional malls registered annual declines of 9% in Q1 2021.

Regional centres dropped at a slower rate of 3% over the same period. Similarly, retail rents in Jeddah recorded an annual decline of 3% for super-regional retail centres and a 1% decrease for regional centres.

Significant retail developments are likely to continue offering tenants incentives to maintain occupancies and attract new retailers to add variety and increase footfall, said Salbak.

"The Ministry of Tourisms recently announced amended regulations to boost tourism accommodation facilities in line with the general strategy to develop national tourism may serve as an opportunity for investors and new market entrants to consider the hospitality sector's significant potential in Saudi Arabia," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
[April 22, 2021] Hunters Recognized as a Microsoft Security 20/20 Partner Awards Finalist for Emerging Security ISV Disruptor

NEWTON, Mass. and TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hunters today announced it has been named a finalist for the Microsoft Security 20/20 Emerging Security Independent Software Vendors (ISV) Disruptor award. The company was honored among a global field of industry leaders for demonstrating excellence in innovation, integration and customer implementation with Microsoft technology.

We are honored to be recognized by Microsoft for our Open XDR solution, said Uri May, co-founder and CEO of Hunters. Our mission at Hunters is to radically improve the ability of organizations around the world to detect, investigate and respond to security threats and increase the effectiveness of their security operations. As we grow our customer base with the worlds largest organizations, the recognition from Microsoft serves as humbling validation for us in our efforts to work towards this mission. At the second annual Microsoft Security 20/20 awards to be held May 12, 2021, we will celebrate finalists in 18 categories spanning securty, compliance, and identity. Hunters has been nominated as a finalist for Emerging Security ISV Disruptor.



The pandemic has forever changed our perspective on the world, the role of technology, and how we work, learn, and live, said Rani Lofstrom, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft Global Security Partnerships. In recognition of our new reality, the theme for the Microsoft Security 20/20 Awards this year is PerspectiveThrough the Looking Glass. The awards ceremony this year will honor our security partners who have gone above and beyond during an unprecedented time of change to support, secure, and protect remote workers everywhere. The Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) was established to help further the security ecosystem, fostering an environment where solution providers can collaborate to create a future thats safer for people and organizations alike. This year, the industry veterans in MISA will vote to select the winners of the Microsoft Security 20/20 awards, providing an opportunity for colleagues to honor their peers for delivering exceptional work to our shared customers.

Visit Hunters virtual booth at RSAC 2021 at the Early Stage Expo. About Hunters

Hunters  Security Made Better. The Hunters XDR platform scales threat detection and response across the attack surface, helping companies maximize value from their security investments, boosting SOC impact, and enabling analysts to focus on what matters. Hunters flexibly integrates with security tools such as EDR, cloud, identity, network, and others, connecting all telemetry using a proprietary knowledge graph, and automatically contextualizing, correlating and investigating threat signals, turning them into actionable findings. Coupled with data lake technology, Hunters offers a modern SIEM alternative that is agile and scales with your organizational needs. Learn more at Hunters.AI. Media Contact

Deb Montner

Montner Tech PR

dmontner@montner.com



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Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the LDPE market. The report also aids buyers with relevant LDPE pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as volume-based pricing, spot pricing, and cost-plus pricing and category management strategies and best practices to fulfill their category objectives.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers.

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors. During the forecast period, the market expects a change of 4.00%-9.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in LDPE TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

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This LDPE procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

BASF SE

ExxonMobil Corp.

LyondellBasell Industries NV

Royal Dutch Shell Plc

Chevron Corp.

PetroChina Co. Ltd.

DuPont de Nemours Inc.

LG Chem Ltd.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

INEOS Group Holdings SA

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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On Friday, a 39-year-old man married the love of his life at Harare Magistrates Court.

Many other couples wedded the same day but all the attention was on Phillip Marufu and his wife, Esnath Gwenzi, 38.

Their height deficiency, which saw Phillip grow to 1.36m and Esnath 1.26m, made them stand out and reminded many of Nigerias Nollywood stars popularly known as Tom and Jerry.

The Marufus say life as short people is not easy as the Zimbabwean society is discriminatory but they have since developed thick skin. The two met via a WhatsApp group called Little People administered by Laura.

We got to know of this group when Laura was interviewed on Star FM. That is when we got the number and joined. The group was so small as there are very few short people in Zimbabwe. That is where I met Phillip in 2017 and we became friends, said Esnath.

Six months later, they started dating and their love life blossomed leading to their wedding on April 16 2021.

I paid lobola for Esnath in May 2019. Before our wedding on Friday, we were living together. We did not have a honeymoon after our wedding, we came back home but we are happy we are legally married, said Phillip.

Phillip is an established designer and tailor who grew famous when he made suits for Phillip Chiyangwa. He also designed and tailored his wedding suit.

I made about five suits for Dr Chiyangwa in 2016. I have also done shirts and ghurka pants for Freeman and he used them on his video featuring Gemma last year.

I get orders for suits mostly and per week I can do about three suits, he said. Esnath is into craft art.

I used to work at Bindi Trust Arts run by a lady called Belinda Clowes in Eastlea. I was her manager for seven years before I left after getting married, said Esnath.

After their customary wedding in 2019, the couple left for South Africa where they spent a year before coming back to Zimbabwe for their wedding.

We came back to Harare because of the plans we have about life and business. Esnath bought machines in SA to do her craft work business. I hope to raise enough money to also get machines to venture into designing and production of leather shoes for both events and casual, said Phillip, who comes from a family of six children.

We are three boys and three girls in my family and I am the only short one. However, I think it is hereditary because my great, great grandfather was a short person.

In my family we are eight children and Im the seventh born and the only one who is short. We are four boys and four girls and Im the youngest of the girls. I am the first short person known in my familys lineage, said Esnath.

But would they mind giving birth to short people like them? Yes we would mind! they said in unison.

In fact. I have been praying about this all my life and I want to give birth to giants, added Esnath. The amount of discrimination especially here in Zimbabwe is absurd. As you walk in public people sneer and make funny comments. You hear them saying Kamukadzi here? Kagogo here? Kamwana kadiki here? (Is she a grown woman, granny or child?)

In SA people are not like that. If they dont know you they refer to you as aunty and are so respectful. People in Zimbabwe need to be educated about short people.

We once got a house through an agent. We wanted to rent two rooms after we got married and the landlord said yes we have two rooms come and view. But when she saw us she changed her mind and said hapana imba.





Then as we left, we overheard her talking to the agent saying if you keep bringing these type of people I cant work with you, said Esnath.

Just how much does such stigmatization affect them? We do not care anymore, they said in unison.

We walk in public despite their negative comments. We hear them call us Tom and Jerry and we do not care. Difficulties in finding accommodation only encourage us to work harder and get our own space. Right now we are lucky we stay in the Avenues and there is no landlord, added Phillip.

However, our fellow short people are negatively affected by this stigma and we hope our story and the media helps to discourage stigma and discrimination against short people. Most of our short friends in Zimbabwe never get pictures taken or leave their houses and that is really bad, he added.

The couple said most of their friends are tall and their witnesses at their wedding were Cline Magirazi and Precious Garimoto  Esnaths best friend. Esnath hopes to give birth to triplets.

I want one or two kids, said Phillip. H Metro
With Russia and US-allied Ukraine on the brink of war, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in his annual address to the nation on Wednesday that the organizers of any provocations that threaten the fundamental interests of our security will regret what they have done in a way that they have not regretted for a long time.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his annual state of the nation address in Manezh, Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Putin's state-of-the-nation speech comes amid a new surge in tensions with the West over a Russian troop buildup near the border with Ukraine and a hunger strike by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny protesting a lack of adequate medical treatment in prison. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Stating that thus far Moscow has tempered its response to unfriendly actions by foreign nations and continues to seek healthy relations with these powers, Putin added, We really do not want to burn bridges. But if someone interprets our good intentions as indifference or weakness and they themselves intend to burn or even blow up these bridges, they must know that Russias response will be asymmetric, rapid, and tough.

For years the United States, backed by its NATO allies, has led a ferociously anti-Russian campaign involving the installation of governments loyal to Washington in the former Soviet sphere, the expansion of NATO to Russias borders, the imposition of sanctions intended to cripple the countrys economy, and endless accusations that Vladimir Putin is responsible for everything from meddling in American elections to attempted cyber-attacks on US infrastructure to murder.

Currently, the government in Ukraine, armed to the hilt by Washington, has escalated attacks on Russian-allied forces in the countrys breakaway eastern republics and declared its intention to retake Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a coup brought to power a far-right, anti-Russian government. The population of Crimea overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation.

As Putin was speaking to the nation on Wednesday, press reports emerged that Kiev is moving tank divisions and military brigades towards the Crimean border. The dangers involved in such actions are made clear by Putins speech. I hope that no one gets into their head the idea of crossing, as they say, a red line in their relationship with Russia. Where this red line is, we will determine ourselves in every concrete instance, stated the Russian president.

Putin denounced efforts to overthrow the Russian-allied government of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus and kill the head of state and his family. Minsk just announced the arrest in Moscow of conspirators accused of plotting against President Lukashenkos and his childrens lives. Putin described these methods as beyond the pale and compared them to the US-orchestrated ousting of Viktor Yanukovich in Ukraine and attempt to kill Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. The American ties of Maduros attempted assassins have been definitively proven.

Nonetheless, the head of the Kremlin made no mention of the breaking developments in Ukraine in his speech. And later in the day, government spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated Putin would review Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys statement that afternoon that he is willing to hold talks with Russia. Despite staging a show of force by amassing troops on its Ukrainian border, the Kremlin is aware that the situation could totally spin out of control and its military prove incapable of handling a situation that will draw in the imperialist powers, above all the US and Germany, becoming a bloodbath and vipers den of competing interests.

In yesterdays remarks, Putin also made no mention of Alexei Navalnythe far-right, anti-immigration chauvinist turned democrat, anti-corruption crusader, and freedom fighter who has been turned into a cause celebre by Washington, Berlin and the bourgeois media in the West. Nationwide protests called by Navalnys supporters to coincide with the Russian presidents address drew only small crowds yesterday. The government arrested numerous demonstration organizers for holding unauthorized meetings.

Even as he confronts a serious geopolitical crisis to Russias west, the Russian president devoted more than eighty percent of his speech to domestic issues, in particular the coronavirus and the economy.

He promised one-time payments of 10,000 rubles ($130) for each school-age child in every Russian family, monthly stipends of 5,650 rubles ($73) for single-parent households and 6,350 ($83) for poor, pregnant women, and 100 percent wage coverage for parents who leave work to take care of a sick child under the age of seven.

Highways are to be extended, partial reimbursements for the costs of going to health resorts and sanitoriums continued, financial aid and debt relief granted to the regions. The crisis in the labor market, which has resulted in mass layoffs, will supposedly be resolved by the end of the year. By 2030, Russias average life span will rise to 78. Doctors, nurses, and scientists battling COVID-19 received their thanks and citizens were urged to get vaccinated. Putin has made similar limited social promises countless times before, and almost none of them were ever fulfilled.

Moreover, when considering the state of Russian society, all of this amounts to very little. While the initiation of mass vaccination has brought down coronavirus daily cases from their peak of over 10,000 earlier this year, Russias agency for consumer rights and human well-being just declared the COVID-19 situation in the country unstable, with new infections continuing to hover around 8,000 to 9,000 a day. The official death toll of over 105,000 is widely believed to be a gross underestimate. Furthermore, despite major efforts, vaccine hesitancyan expression of the lack of confidence in the Putin governmentremains a problem and the country has administered just over 16.5 million vaccine doses, enough to cover only 5.7 percent of the population with a two-dose regimen.

Families have still not recovered from a 4.8 percent official drop in real incomes in 2020. The average monthly wage of 51,100 rubles ($667) is not adequate to meet basic expenses or cover the costs of rising prices for basic goods, so household debt has risen. Experts predict personal bankruptcies will rise to 178,500 by the end of 2021, as compared to 119,000 in 2020. And, while COVID-19-related stimulus payments prevented some families with children from slipping into poverty in 2020, the poverty rate among childless households doubled since the onset of the pandemic.

Last week, Gazeta.Ru published a report detailing the income of government officials. Prime Minister Mishustin officially made $260,800 (20 million rubles) and his wife an additional $834,560 (64 million rubles). The Minister of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov, saw a 27 percent rise in his income to almost $2 million (154 million rubles). This is still almost nothing compared to the riches controlled by the oligarchs. The ten richest Russians owned a combined wealth of $151.6 billion in 2020.
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RADWIN (www.radwin.com), a leading global wireless broadband solutions provider, today announced the successful completion of its first technical certification training using a newly launched remote lab. Providing comprehensive hands-on-training for South American and African partners, the Remote Lab paves the way for additional training for all RADWIN's global partners.

Sparked by the pandemic last year, RADWIN's customers worldwide were faced with travel and social distancing restrictions. They weren't alone: According to McKinsey management and consultant company, approximately 50% of in-house programs in North America and close to 100% of those in parts of Asia and Europe were cancelled in Q2, 2020.

As hands-on training is a mandatory part of RADWIN Academy certification training, cancellation is not an option. Logistics in setting up classroom training are complex under regular conditions, but even more critical in the aftermath of COVID-19. To overcome these challenges, RADWIN's Professional Services established a Remote Lab at its headquarters in Tel Aviv. Initial live sessions were held in March, with attendees from over 16 countries, spanning Mexico, central America, Brazil and South Africa.

"It was great to be able to work with equipment from the recent series," said Abraham Cancino, from Projects and Special Sales division of Maya Quetzal in (Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico) "The instructors were very good. {During} the practical course, it was great to have {RADWIN's} help all the time, especially as it was the first time that I had interacted with RADWIN's equipment."

"Innovation and adapting to evolving needs have always been a top priority for our Professional Services Program, so we weren't going to let the pandemic prevent us from training our clients," said Dan Weitzman, Vice President, Global Professional Services. "Despite COVID-19 restrictions, we quickly adapted to the new environment and the needs of our partners for physical practice of RADWIN's equipment".

As of April, 2021, the Remote Lab's real equipment includes a variety of Point-to-Point (PtP) and Point-to-Multipoint ( PtMP) setups and IDU-S units. Now students can remotely connect to the lab and practice with RADWIN's extensive range of radio systems and operational support systems (OSS). The trainer can supervise sessions over dedicated class management software. In addition, instructors can even demonstrate WINTouch mobile application installation and configuration processes using a connected phone mirrored to the desktop.

"RADWIN's practical training allowed us to clarify many of the technical foundations for PtP to PtMP families theoretically and verify them in a practical laboratory," stated Jorge Saldua, of Bogota, Colombia, Pre-Sales Manager at Winncom. "The great logistics and laboratory infrastructure allowed me to consolidate without fear of errors. With labs, you can carry out different practices and topologies and to know and reinforce what is seen in theory."

Following the success of its launch, RADWIN continues to offer supervised remote hands-on training as an efficient and viable certification option.

If you are interested in partnering with RADWIN and would like to learn more about our WINClub Partner Program, click here.

About RADWIN:

RADWIN is the global provider of broadband wireless solutions that deliver blazing-fast broadband with unparalleled reliability. Incorporating cutting-edge technologies, RADWIN's solutions are equipped with powerful OSS tools that support all operational aspects of the network lifecycle and enable operation in the toughest conditions including interference and nLOS. Deployed in over 170 countries, RADWIN's solutions power applications including backhaul, access, private network connectivity, and broadband on the move for rail and metro trains.

RADWIN Sales

HQ: +972-3-769-2820

US: +1-201-252-4224

Email: [email protected]

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Amanda Azran

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Priti Patel is reportedly drawing up plans for police league tables to measure the success of forces in cutting serious crime.

Police forces across England and Wales could soon be compared using figures for crimes such as murder, serious violence and online crime, according to the Times.

Ministers are reportedly keen to see the result of the Government's pledge to hire 20,000 police officers across the country.

Home Office bosses are said to believe league tables will spur on 'competitive' police chiefs and could lead to greater accountability from local crime commissioners.

But senior officers have today warned that league tables risk a return to the type of 'target culture' which once led forces - most notably Scotland Yard - to divert some of their focus away from crimes such as child abuse.

Priti Patel (pictured) is reportedly drawing up plans for police league tables to measure the success of forces in slashing serious crime

Forces could soon be compared using tables for key areas such as murder, serious violence and online crime, according to the Times. Pictured: Officers from the Met Police keep watching during protests in Clapham Common in January

According to the Times, the plan would see the Home Office compare the performance of individual police forces against a national benchmark.

These would be in the key areas of homicide, serious violence, drug supply, neighbourhood violence and cyber crime.

The benchmarks, which would be reviewed by the National Policing Board roughly every three months, would be based on traditional data, such as recorded crime.

Other measures, such as the number of police referrals into drug treatment program and hospital admissions for youth stabbings could also be included, reports the Times.

It is not planned for the data to be published nationally. But elected local Police and Crime Commissioners - whose seats will be up for election in May - will be required to inform the public how their area's force is performing.

However the plans have come under fire from senior police sources. A source told the Times: 'These targets will drive perverse behaviour in policing.'

Last night a government source hit back at criticism, saying: 'I wouldn't classify them as targets.

'It's about tracking progress. We're giving forces extra officers and now we want to see outcomes.'

Meanwhile policing minister, Kit Malthouse, said in a letter seen by the Times, that a league table policy would help create 'national accountability and collective responsibility'.

Policing minister, Kit Malthouse, said in a letter, seen by the Times, that the policy would help create 'national accountability and collective responsibility'

Ministers are reportedly keen to see the result of the Government's decision to hire 20,000 police officers across the country. Pictured: Home Secretary Priti Patel

However the Conservative MP, who served as Boris Johnson's deputy mayor for policing during his time as London Mayor, is said to have conceded that it would not be appropriate to set targets for crimes such as sexual offences and child abuse - due to their sensitive nature.

It is likely to raise fears among campaigners that such cases could, once again, be sidelined as police chase priority targets.

Crime targets used during Mr Johnson's era as London mayor were slammed by a 2016 report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.

The report strongly rebuked the Met Police over its handling of child sex abuse cases and for delays in investigating fears about adults who attack and exploit the young.

Crime targets used during Mr Johnson's era as London mayor were slammed by a 2016 report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

It found that 75 per cent of sampled child risk cases had revealed serious police errors.

Crime targets were specifically mentioned, and criticised, in the report.

It said: 'We were told in interviews that the focus was on these crimes as opposed to child protection. This requires urgent correction.'

A separate report, in 2015, found South Yorkshire Police had chased high-volume minor offences that would earn bonuses for senior staff and subsequently neglected the cases of hundreds of girls alleging sexual abuse.

Police targets were scaled back nationally by David Cameron and Theresa May's government amid criticism.

But earlier this year police union chiefs raised fears over a possible return to targets in the wake of the Government's plans to recruit 20,000 new police officers across England and Wales.

The 400million plans, announced in 2019, have so far seen 6,000 officers hired across England and Wales, with the Home Office aiming to take on a similar number this year.

But Kent Police Federation Chairman Neil Mennie earlier this year said he thought the Government would want 'bang for its buck' and that he feared this could come in the form of targets.

He said: 'It's important that the force (Kent Police) is able to demonstrate good works and what it's doing.

Police targets were scaled back nationally by David Cameron and Theresa May's governments

'However, the danger is that there's a risk of returning to a target culture, and Kent was one of the first forces to do away with that.

'So there's no problem around gathering data to see how the force is performing, but we don't want to see a return to officers, particularly Sergeants and Constables, having to fill in tick box forms again  how many arrests they've had, how many stops and searches they've done  because then that starts to skew the activity at the front end.

'I know our Chief Constable is dead-set against any return to the type of culture that we used to have in Kent, and that he will push quite hard against the Home Office to prevent that happening.'

He added: 'At a time when officers have high workloads, the last thing we as a Federation want to see is them also having to go around ticking boxes, because that's going to be a perfect storm. It'll start to affect their wellbeing and their health.'

Earlier this year, Bill Skelly, the chief constable of Lincolnshire police, who is involved in negotiations with the Home Office, also warned that the Government was 'going down the road of targets'.

He warned such a step would create 'unintended or perverse consequences'.
Fans who follow the Netflix Queue Twitter account were given quite the surprise on Wednesday, when it was confirmed that Master of None is returning in May.

The show, created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, debuted in 2015 to acclaim from fans and critics alike, following Ansari's character Dev, a stand-up comedian from New York City.

The second season didn't arrive on Netflix until 2017, though the third season is said to focus on Lena Waithe's character Denise, according to Variety.

Surprise: Fans who follow the Netflix Queue Twitter account were given quite the surprise on Wednesday, when it was confirmed that Master of None is returning in May

Denise: The second season didn't arrive on Netflix until 2017, though the third season is said to focus on Lena Waithe's character Denise, according to Variety

Netflix didn't unveil a specific premiere date, but Master of None was listed in an infographic posted to Netflix Queue Twitter, revealing what's coming in May.

Netflix has yet to confirm any story details at this time, or if the new season does focus more on Denise, rather than Dev.

However, it was reported in early January by Chortle that the third season will feature Ansari, and it will be filmed in London, where Ansari now lives.

No date: Netflix didn't unveil a specific premiere date, but Master of None was listed in an infographic posted to Netflix Queue Twitter , revealing what's coming in May

That report also claimed that British actress Naomi Ackie (The End of the F***ing World, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) has signed on for an unspecified role.

Production had actually started in London last year, though it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though it's unclear when filming started back up again.

When asked about a third season in May, Ansari coyly suggested a new season was happening, stating, 'If I'm not writing something now [during lockdown], it's pretty lazy right?'

New season: When asked about a third season in May, Ansari coyly suggested a new season was happening, stating, 'If I'm not writing something now [during lockdown], it's pretty lazy right?'

Back in 2017, Ansari suggested he would need a long break after Season 2, if he ever wanted to do a third season.

'I don't know if we're going to do a season three. I wouldn't be surprised if I needed a looonng break before I could come back to it,' he told Vulture.

'I've got to become a different guy before I write a third season, is my personal thought, I've got to get married or have a kid or something. I don't have anything else to say about being a young guy being single in New York eating food around town all the time,' he joked.

Long break: Back in 2017, Ansari suggested he would need a long break after Season 2, if he ever wanted to do a third season

Different guy: 'I've got to become a different guy before I write a third season, is my personal thought, I've got to get married or have a kid or something. I don't have anything else to say about being a young guy being single in New York eating food around town all the time,' he joked

Ansari made headlines in 2018, a year after Season 2 debuted, when a woman shared an account from a date with Ansari, claiming he was aggressive and he pressured her into sex.

The story went viral and set off a controversy of its own, with some claiming it was just a bad date and others criticizing the comedian for his behavior.

Ansari ultimately moved to London in 2018 and briefly addressed the sexual misconduct controversy in his 2019 Netflix special Right Now.

'Theres times I felt scared. Theres times I felt humiliated. Theres times I felt embarrassed. And ultimately, I just felt terrible that this person felt this way,' he said.

Headlines: Ansari made headlines in 2018, a year after Season 2 debuted, when a woman shared an account from a date with Ansari, claiming he was aggressive and he pressured her into sex
When Darmon Richter and three friends headed into the closed wilderness around Chernobyl in the summer of 2018, they took two essential items: A Soviet-era map that listed all of the areas World War II memorials, and a chainsaw. Richter, a British-born photographer and writer, explained to RFE/RL that many of the roads on that map were no longer there, having been blocked or eroded away over the years. There was one village where fallen trees had completely barred the road going in.

After firing up the chainsaw, the group was able to buzz a path to the long-abandoned settlement. Near the village, Richter was able to capture one of the scores of World War II memorials that remain in Ukraine and Belarus's radiation-tainted exclusion zone. The adventurer has made it his mission over the past eight years to photograph and research the poignant monuments. He agreed to share several of his images with RFE/RL.

Richter says in many areas of the exclusion zone Ukrainian authorities allow former residents to visit their lost villages once every year. In the weekend after Easter, these people drive back to their former homes to visit their monuments, churches, and the graves of loved ones. So often theyll use this opportunity to maintain graves and memorials, leaving plastic flowers there, too.

The Briton describes a strange but somehow beautiful sight to drive through a completely derelict village, all the houses in the process of collapsing, then at its center find a war memorial with mown grass around it and colorful flowers strewn at its feet.

Richter says several monuments on the historic map he used have disappeared from their plinths. Many areas of the exclusion zone were heavily looted in the wake of the 1986 nuclear explosion and some of the regions war memorials were made out of valuable metals.

The pilots identity was apparently later discovered. A more recent plaque at the site adds: Junior Lieutenant Safar Abutalybogly Kurbanov: 1923-1943.

Pasha Osidach served as a messenger for bands of partisans during the Nazi occupation of the area around Chernobyl. Pasha reportedly hid the vital communications in the braids of her long hair. In 1943, Nazi forces discovered her with such messages and they tortured her before reportedly burying her alive, aged 21.

Not all of the monuments in the exclusion zone are well maintained, sometimes for obvious reasons.

Today this spot remains one of the most radioactive places on Earth.

In 2005, the Ukrainian poet Lina Kostenko wrote about this statue: In Tovstyy Lis theres a young boy between two trees. When there was a fire, the trees were on fire, too, and the monument got so hot its chest cracked openlike in a war. We found an old can, filled it with water, plucked some small white flowers, and left them for the soldier.

Richter told RFE/RL his expeditions to find such memorials was a powerful reminder of the layers of history in the forests around Chernobyl. This region lost more people to the war than it did to the Chernobyl disaster -- I think a lot of outsiders tend to forget the historic hardships of this place. They hear Chernobyl and all they picture is the disaster in 1986. But spending time with these monuments was a sobering reminder of how much these communities had already been through before that point.

While Richter was photographing this memorial, two elderly women who had returned to the village after the 1986 evacuation heard Richters car arrive and went to investigate. The photographer says they noticed my interest in the monument and immediately began sharing their personal recollections of the events the monument described. They were both young girls when the Nazis occupied their village.

Most of the places in Richter's images are accessible in a guided tour, but there is a simple reason why so few sites such as these have been documented. Chernobyl is the size of a country, and most tourists who go spend only one or two days there, the photographer says. So of course they visit the big, iconic locations -- the power plant, the cooling towers.... Meanwhile, all around, there are dozens of villages spread over a vast area that rarely gets visited by anyone. Its not that you cant go to them, but tour companies generally assume that these places wont be interesting for foreigners, and foreigners arent going to ask to visit a place if they dont know it exists!
Russian national suspected of treason arrested in Sevastopol

 flickr.com/ Vyacheslav Argenberg

11:02 22/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  Officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) have arrested a citizen of Russia suspected of treason in Sevastopol, the FSB press service reports.

According to the statement, he intentionally collected and transferred information containing state secrets about the Black Sea Fleets activity to Ukraines intelligence.

The leak of classified data abroad could cause damage to Russias national defence capability, the statement reads.




Barclaycard has spectacularly shot itself in the foot.

For some unexplained reason  and I say this because the reasons it has given dont make sense  the credit card company decided to go on a brutal cull of customers credit limits.

Many have been customers for years, say they have never missed a payment and have steady finances, but have seen their limits cut by 90 per cent or more.

A steady stream of Barclaycard customers have complained to us that these new limits are so low as to be almost useless to them when it comes to big purchases or booking holidays  the kind of spending many use a credit card for.

Unsurprisingly, the fight back has been fierce. Angry Barclaycard customers have contacted us in their droves since we first reported on the story a week ago.

A steady stream of Barclaycard customers have complained to us about credit limit cuts

Declaring my interest, I have felt this customer service disaster personally, as Im one of those affected.

My credit limit has been cut from 8,500 to 1,000 for no discernible reason.

Its gone from being higher than I would ever need, to barely enough to book school holiday flights for my family of four.

What makes the scenario even more galling is that Barclaycard had previously spent years ratcheting up my credit limit without being asked  500 here, 1,000 there - and asking me to opt out rather than opt in for increased credit.

Ive also been told that I cannot ask for the credit limit to be raised from its new lowly 1,000 level for at least four months, as I missed a supposed deadline to contact Barclaycard after the letter went to my old address.

I had updated my address on 15 February and the letter sent out simply says February 2021, with no specific date, so presumably the two events crossed.

It told me that I had to contact Barclaycard, or had until 31 March to spend some money to keep my old credit limit.

Barclaycard admitted there had been a mix-up on the address, but when I asked if my limit could be retained I was told that couldnt happen and I would have to wait four months and then make an application for a new higher limit.

I asked why my limit had been cut and the customer services assistant told me it was due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on finances.

However, when quizzed she admitted that Barclaycard had no idea whether my finances had been affected and nor did it have any information on file about my earnings.

In fact, in my more than 20 years as a Barclaycard customer, I dont recall it ever asking for any information about my finances.

I opened the card at the age of 18, just before I went to work in the French Alps as a barman earning the princely sum of 80 a week, plus board, lodgings and a season ski pass, and I think my limit now is roughly back to what it was then.

When I called Barclaycard it told me that my credit limit was being reduced due to the impact of coronavirus on people's finances... yet, illogically, if I spent more money by a deadline I could have kept my old limit

My experience echoes that of the hundreds of readers who have emailed us to tell us about their Barclaycard woes.

A common thread running through the stories is that Barclaycard has blamed the economic impact of coronavirus, but not actually checked up on individuals finances.

Illogically, while Barclaycard has claimed that reductions are due to the potential effects of the pandemic on peoples finances, it has then told them that if they spend some money their limit wont be cut.

Barclaycard has blamed the economic impact of coronavirus, but not actually checked up on individuals finances

Barclaycard denies this is a cull of unprofitable customers - the type who dont borrow too much and pay off bills in full - but as one of those affected it certainly feels like one.

In light of the meltdown, This is Money is calling on Barclaycard to come to its senses and reverse the cuts for those whose finances havent changed and want to keep their old limits.

So far, it is sticking to its guns  and you can read more and get Barclaycards side of the story here.

Someone, somewhere at Barclaycard decided this was a good idea. Maybe they thought if people complained it wouldnt matter too much, as certainly the profile of those weve heard from doesnt fit with that of profitable credit card customers.

Yet even if it does reverse the cuts, the damage is done. You upset loyal customers at your peril, as the very vocal backlash against Barclaycard shows.
Derek Chauvin had worked for almost two decades at the Minneapolis Police Department, amassing a history riddled with accusations of abuse, before he murdered George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

As demonstrators flooded the streets of Minneapolis after Floyds killing, they said they were driven by outrage but not surprise  Minneapoliss Black community has almost never had a trusting relationship with its police force, in a dynamic thats common across the country.

So, with the protest movement setting records last spring, the Minneapolis City Council got behind a motion to unwind the police force entirely and replace it with a new entity. Demonstrators calls to end policing as we know it represented a mantra to meet the citys pain, as the Times reporter Astead W. Herndon put it at the time, and it seemed that  at least on the city level  lawmakers were about to go beyond small reforms.

But that effort quickly stalled out. Within weeks, some city legislators walked back their commitment to abolishing the department, saying they supported rethinking policing but not replacing the police force outright. Since then, local efforts at police reform have foundered, partly because of pushback from the citys powerful police officers union.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was on Thursday discharged from a private hospital here where he was undergoing treatment for COVID-19.

The Chief Minister has called a meeting of his cabinet colleagues Thursday at 4 PM to discuss the pandemic sutation.

Yediyurappa was discharged from the city's Manipal Hospital, where he was admitted for the last six days, his office said.

Speaking to reporters after being discharged, the Chief Minister said he has come out healthy.

"Instructions are being given to Ministers to go to their respective districts and take necessary steps to control COVID. I had been in constant touch with Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar and Law Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) for the last four days, we will discuss enforcing strict containment measures announced," he added.

Stating that the corona situation is getting aggravated day-by-day and we have come to a situation where we are unable to control it, he said, "two to three people are getting infected in a house...wearing masks, sanitizing and maintaining distance is the only solution to control the spread. I appeal to the people not to venture out of home, unnecessarily."



"Strict measures are being taken, don't give room for the police to collect fines for not wearing masks or to punish for flouting rules, and cooperate in the public interest," he appealed.

The 78-year old leader was hospitalised on April 16, after he tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in eight months.

He had held meetings with officials and experts, also with MPs, MLAs and Ministers from Bengaluru city and had attended the all-party meeting called by the Governor to assess the COVID-19 situation in the state, from the hospital itself.

The Chief Minister was earlier hospitalised on August 2, 2020 after he tested positive for coronavirus, and was discharged on recovery after nine days.

He had got himself inoculated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine on March 12, and was administered Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.

Yediyurappa, who had been campaigning for April 17 bypolls to Belgaum Lok Sabha, and Maski and Basavakalyan assembly segments had developed fever while campaigning in Belagavi (Belgaum LS), but had tested negative, however during a subsequent test on April 16 he tested positive and was hospitalised.
(Nikkei Asia)  Halodoc, one of Indonesias largest health-tech startup, has received funding totaling $80 million from new investors including Indonesian conglomerate Astra International and Singapores state investor Temasek, the company said on Wednesday.

Astras venture capital arm Astra Digital Internasional led the startups Series C funding round, Halodoc said in a news release. It marked the first time that Astra and Temasek are investing in the company. Astra said in a separate release on its first quarter financial results Wednesday that it had invested around $35 million in Halodoc.

Other first-time investors taking part include the likes of Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi, the venture capital arm of Indonesian state-owned mobile operator Telkomsel, as well as Bangkok Bank. Existing investors, including venture capital Openspace Ventures and UOB Venture Management, also took part in the round.

Other existing investors in Halodoc include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as Gojek, Indonesias most valuable tech startup.

Halodoc, founded in 2016, offers teleconsultation with doctors and an online drug delivery service on its app. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it has also started to offer a platform helping patients book Covid-19 tests and hospital appointments. The company says it has 20 million monthly active users and more than 20,000 registered doctors.

Health tech startups like Halodoc were expected to receive a windfall from the Covid-19 pandemic due to expected increases in demand for services like online medical consultations. DealStreet Asia reported in early April, however, that Halodoc had shut down one of its business units and the companys revenue in the third quarter of 2020 dropped by more than 50% from the previous three-month period.

Halodoc did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Nevertheless, funding from big name investors like Astra, one of the largest conglomerates in Indonesia, and Temasek indicates that growth expectations for the health tech sector are still high in a country that continues to grapple with a fractured medical system.

Indonesias sparse island geography means it is difficult for many people, especially in rural areas, to gain access to health care. Doctors are in short supply too: According to the World Health Organization, Indonesia had 4.65 medical doctors per 10,000 people in 2019, a figure far lower than regional peers such as Thailand, which had 9.19 doctors per 10,000.

Halodoc competes with the likes of Alodokter, which is backed by SoftBank Ventures Asia, the venture capital arm of Japans SoftBank Group, and Singapore-based Doctor Anywhere, backed by Malaysian hospital operator IHH Healthcare.

The investment from Astra also shows that the automobiles-to-agribusiness conglomerate is speeding up its strategy of diversifying into digital and technology. In a recent interview with Nikkei Asia, Astra President Director Djony Bunarto Tjondro said the company was exploring many other businesses, new pillars for Astra and that it is very keen on digital investment.

In a statement on the Halodoc investment, Tjondro said Astras participation in the fundraising demonstrated our confidence in Halodocs vision and commitment to alleviate challenges around health care access in Indonesia.

In its earnings press release, Astra also disclosed an investment in Sayurbox, a fresh grocery shopping and delivery startup, confirming an earlier report by Nikkei Asia. The company said it invested around $5 million.

This article was originally published by Nikkei Asia

Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

Download our app to receive breaking news alerts and read the news on the go.

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[April 22, 2021] Plaintiffs' Counsel and Kaiser Permanente Announce $11.5 Million Equal Pay & Promotion Race Discrimination Class Action Settlement: The Settlement Provides Money Benefits and New Workplace Programs for African American Employees

Prominent Plaintiffs' law firms Medina Orthwein LLP and Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP announced today that Plaintiffs have reached an agreement with Defendants Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, The Permanente Medical Group, Inc., and the Southern California Permanente Medical Group (collectively, "Kaiser Permanente"), in which Kaiser Permanente will pay $11.5 million to settle a class action race discrimination lawsuit. The settlement covers approximately 2,225 African American employees in two job families (Administrative Support and Consulting Services) at each of the Kaiser Permanente entities. In addition to monetary relief, Kaiser Permanente agrees to institute comprehensive workplace programs to ensure that African American employees' compensation and opportunities for advancement are fair and equitable. The changes build upon work that Kaiser Permanente announced in 2020 to strengthen its efforts to ensure a racially inclusive workplace. The Agreement between the parties was reached after more than two years of negotiations, and it settles the case, Stewart et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, et al., filed today, in the San Francisco County Superior Court in San Francisco, California. Going forward, Kaiser Permanente will retain an independent consultant, agreed upon by all parties, to develop and manage a thorough job analysis review to be completed within one year. This review will be used to create additional equitable opportunities for African American employees, including career development guides and developmental resource guides for roles within the job families. Kaiser Permanente has also agreed to conduct an annual pay analysis for employees in the defined job classifications performed by an independent consultant for three years, wherein base pay, incentive pay, and promotions will be reviewed with an eye toward equity and swift remediation of any existing disparities. Additionally, Kaiser Permanente will continue annual pay reviews and appoint an internal Compliance officer to oversee the implementation of these policies and continued compliance with the settlement agreement. With the guidance of the findings and input and oversight by Plaintiffs' counsel, Kaiser Permanente will make several enduring structural changes, including: investing in more leadership development initiatives for historically underrepresented groups; and additional training for employees and management on racial bias and equity, including Upstander Intervention and racial equity trainings, and debiasing programs for those engaged in enforcing company policy on equal employment opportunity. Kaiser Permanente has also agreed to appoint an internal compliance officer to oversee the implementation of these practices, continued compliance with the settlement agreement and to meet with Plaintiffs' Counsel twice each year for a 3-year compliance period to report on implementation of the terms of the Settlement. Plaintiffs: The Named Plaintiffs are Shelby Stewart, Charleta Dabrowski, Benedict Johnson, and Kenya Mayfield. All of the Plaintiffs are African American and are either current, or recently departed former, long-term employees. Their backgrounds: Lead Plaintiff Shelby Stewart worked at Kaiser for over 14 years, departing the company with the title of Senior Manager. Plaintiff Charleta Dabrowski is a current employee who has worked for Kaiser for approximately 15 years. She holds the current title of Operations SpecialistII.



Plaintiff Benedict Johnson is a current employee who has worked for Kaiser for approximately 14 years. He holds the current title of Operations Specialist II. Plaintiff Kenya Mayfield worked for Kaiser for over 31 years, until retiring from the company with the title of Contracts Manager I.

Next Steps: The court will set a hearing date for preliminary settlement approval, which if approved will result in the third-party administrator issuing notice to the 2,225 class members. If the court later grants final settlement approval, the third-party administrator will allocate settlement amounts based on an objective formula to each qualifying class member. More information is available at the website: www.kaiserracebiascase.com. Statements on the Settlement: "As an African American current employee, I have come forward to raise issues of racial equity to make our workplace stronger," said Plaintiff Charleta Dabrowski. "I support new programs dedicated to ensuring equal pay and fair opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color at Kaiser Permanente." Plaintiffs' counsel Felicia Medina, founding partner of Medina Orthwein LLP stated, "This settlement is a tribute to the fortitude and resilience the Plaintiffs exercised throughout this lengthy, hard process where, for the good of the class, they told their truths and demanded change. The settlement reflects Kaiser Permanente's willingness to listen to its employees, and should serve as a model for other corporations that truly desire to reckon with this country's racially unjust past and ongoing systemic issues." "Plaintiffs embrace the innovative changes advancing racial equity that are promoted by the settlement," said Plaintiffs' counsel Kelly Dermody of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. "Kaiser Permanente will be stronger for the efforts of Shelby, Charleta, Ben, and Kenya." "As a mission-driven organization, we hold ourselves accountable for living our values by strengthening our inclusive culture and expanding our work to address any disparities and their root causes. That is why we invited Plaintiffs to participate in a negotiation process that led to this settlement," said Christian Meisner, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, speaking on behalf of the Kaiser Defendants. "Across Kaiser Permanente we are increasing our efforts to advocate for fair and just treatment, opportunity, and advancement as well as embedding accountability for equity at all levels of the organization. We will continue to promote positive change, equity, and total health for all - inside our organization and within our communities." "With this settlement, our clients are giving real-world meaning to the promise of the California Equal Pay Act and sparking action to address racial wage gaps. Kaiser Permanente is not only providing relief for the wages we believe Black employees should have been paid in the past, but also ensuring meaningful pay equity for the future," said Plaintiff's counsel Kevin Love Hubbard of Medina Orthwein LLP. Information about Plaintiffs' Counsel: Medina Orthwein LLP: Medina Orthwein is a queer-owned plaintiff-side employment and civil rights law firm located in Oakland, California. The firm ensures that the voices and rights of those most impacted by inequity are heard and can fight power with power. Using an intersectional approach to practice, Medina Orthwein effectively leverages its extensive trial, litigation, and negotiations expertise to enforce and expand protections for people most impacted by systemic discrimination. The firm specializes in individual and class action employment and civil rights disputes. MO is currently litigating a race discrimination class action against the City of San Francisco (Robinson-Luqman et al. v. City and County of San Francisco, No. CGC-20- 588012 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco)) and previously settled a case against AC Transit on behalf of pregnant or lactating bus drivers (McNaulty et al. v. AC Transit, No. RG18933966 (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda, 2018)). Founding Partner Felicia Medina has obtained cutting edge pre-suit class action discrimination settlements on three other occasions since 2016, Chen v. Western Digital, No. 8:19-cv-00909 (C.D. Cal., 2020), Pan v. Qualcomm (News - Alert), No. 3:16-cv-01885 (S.D. Cal., 2016), and Branner et al v. Covenant et al., No. 20-CIV-03164 (Cal. Super. Ct., San Mateo, 2020). Felicia is a current board member Public Justice, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and the Chicana Latina Foundation (CLF). She has been honored as a Law 360 Minority Power Broker and received the SF Business Times OUTstanding Voices Award. Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP: Lieff Cabraser is one of the country's largest and most successful firms exclusively representing plaintiffs in civil litigation, having secured verdicts or settlements worth over $124 billion for clients nationwide. With over 100 attorneys, the firm has led some of the most significant litigation of the last decade, including the recent CARES Act litigation on behalf of incarcerated individuals and their families resulting in over $1.5 billion in cash benefits (Scholl v. Mnuchin, 4:20-cv-05309-PJH (Northern District of California federal court)); the VW clean diesel emissions case, which resulted in over $15 billion for VW owners (In re: Volkswagen 'Clean Diesel' Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2672 (Northern District of California federal court)); and the high- tech cold-calling wage conspiracy case alleging an agreement among prominent technology companies to not poach each other's employees, which resulted in settlements totaling $435 million (In re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-cv-2509-LJK (Northern District of California federal court)). Partner Kelly Dermody, co-lead counsel here, led both Scholl and High-Tech for her firm. She is currently Chair-Elect of the Section of Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association, and Managing Partner of the San Francisco Office of Lieff Cabraser. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005916/en/

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Huntsville Hospital system is looking for registered nurses to hire.

Executive Director of Human Resources at Athens Limestone Hospital, Amanda Clardy, said, "I think hospitals all over the country have been struggling to recruit nurses."

The system is offering a $5,000 bonus to full-time hires. Each hospital in Huntsville Hospital's system is looking for different types of nurses.

Athens Limestone Hospital is specifically looking for ICU and MedSurge nurses. Clardy said Huntsville Hospital system is offering a signing bonus because they have to compete with the market of other nearby hospitals.

John Ziegler, Executive Director of the Alabama Nurses Association, said during the pandemic, some nurses looked at other opportunities.

"You did have some percentages of nurses who became travel nurses," said Ziegler. "So, now the system is re-booting if you will."

Clardy said even with less nurses working in the hospitals, patients are treated for the same. The pressure lands on current nurses who may be seeing more patients at once.

The hospital to patient ratio is usually one nurse to every five patients, but that's not always doable.

"Any nurse will tell you that staffing and having the right staffing combination is a critical matter for good patient outcome," said Ziegler.

Huntsville Hospital system is not alone in their search for registered nurses. According to data from the Alabama Department of Labor, the top online advertisement is for registered nurses. Since last March, online "help wanted" ads increased by 65%.

Ziegler said hospitals should see more nurses apply around May.

"We are hoping the amount of staffing will equal itself out in the next few months. We do have new grads coming online obviously in May," said Ziegler.
Heather Hutt: An Experienced Leader who will Fight for Working Families, Community Recovery, and for the People of the 54th Assembly District

With our community facing a myriad of challenges as we begin the process of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles needs elected representatives who have both the lived experience and professional background to get desperately-needed resources into the hands of Angelenos as quickly as possible. Heather Hutt is the only candidate running for Assembly District 54 that can meet this dire need. With her years of experience as a small business owner and parent in the community, paired with solving thousands of constituents needs in former Senator Halls office, and as former Vice President Kamala Harris State District Director during Harris tenure as Senator, Heather has the intimate community knowledge necessary to uplift us.

Heather understands the many challenges facing our community right now because she has lived them. As a single mother of three Black sons, She left her then-husband with just $35 dollars in her bank account and fought hard to give her kids the best life she could. Coming from a working-class family in the Leimert Park neighborhood, Heather eventually started her own business and has continued to lift up Black women-owned businesses.

Now, shes dedicated to giving back to our community in Sacramento as Assemblymember Hutt. With Senator Kamlager leaving the Assembly, theres only one Black woman left representing California. We need Heathers lived experiences, firsthand community knowledge, and perspective as a Black woman in the State Assembly.

The issues facing District 54 are serious. Heathers intimate policy knowledge and vision for addressing the needs of District 54 are powerful  she uniquely understands the most tenable ways in which we can get resources to help us prosper quickly. Heather has worked on critical issues facing our community for years  including Black maternity health, supporting DACA recipients, protecting our environment, empowering Black-owned small businesses, and protecting our rights in the workplace.

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Angelenos are facing rampant housing insecurity and homelessness, and need an advocate for affordable housing to address these issues. Heather understands, from her own personal experience, that homelessness is a multifaceted issue, and requires an intersectional approach. Heather has personal experience with homelessness and the intersectional methods needed get Angelenos housed. She believes that if we prioritize accessible mental health care, we can have a stronger, better society in every way. Heather will fight to get Angelenos across the county access to housing that is actually affordable for working class families. These are exactly the types of real reforms that Angelenos desperately need  now. We cant wait for far off, pipeline dreams that wont be able to pass with enough support in Sacramento.

Heather also has an impressively long list of support from organizations representing working families behind her campaign, including the International Union of Operating Engineers (I.U.O.E.) Local 12, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 18, the Ironworkers Local 433, the United Association Local 761 Plumbers and Steamfitters, LiUNA Local 300 and the United Association Local 250 Refrigeration Fitters and Steamfitters. These unions stand with Heather because she has been a tireless advocate and champion time and time again for working men and women throughout her career. Heather has critical expertise to continue protecting our rights in the workplace. Additionally, Heather earned the endorsement of prominent group Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA). In their support of her, the organization said:

We are excited to endorse Heather Hutt for State Assembly, because she has shown time and time again that her heart and soul is dedicated to the success of our community. Heather has been a relentless fighter uplifting our California values and is deeply knowledgeable about the ins and outs of passing and implementing big legislation. Heather is the clear choice for the 54th Assembly District, and we look forward to helping her get elected.

Heather also has firsthand experience on why we need substantial criminal justice reform now. As a mother who had all three of her sons fall victim to senseless gun violence while in college, Heather is also intimately familiar with the ills and complexities of the criminal justice system, which is why she is refusing to take a dime from law enforcement unions and will fight to get rid of Californias misguided gang database.

With so much support behind her, Heather demonstrates a connection to the community like no other candidate.

We need Heather Hutt in the State Assembly, an effective and forward-thinking leader. Her background is expansive, including deep experience in public service, running a small business, being a mom and a public advocate. I know that this experience gives her the wide-ranging perspective needed to be an effective representative, and I look forward to helping her get elected, said Assemblymember Autumn Burke in her endorsement quote of support.

Im excited to endorse Heather Hutt for State Assembly because she is the embodiment of the values our members hold dear and is the type of leader we need in Sacramento. Shes tough, smart and deeply knowledgeable about the issues affecting everyday Californians. I know Heather has the drive and policy savvy to tackle Californias biggest challenges. Im proud to endorse her, wrote Los Angeles African American Women PAC President Ingrid Palmer. In addition to these endorsements, she is supported by LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, and former Congresswoman and LA County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, among many others.

In addition to the broad, widespread support behind her campaign, her lifelong dedication to effective, progressive policy-making, and her own lived experience as a lifelong resident of Assembly District 54, Heather has also devoted hundreds of hours to critical volunteer efforts across our community. She can be regularly found at the Urban League, at the Democratic Party, or assisting with vaccinations at Mothers in Action. Her dedication to the people of District 54 is unmatched, highlighted recently by her standing with the workers of Ralphs to protest the closure of Crenshaws store. She is who we must elect to Sacramento.

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Lets not forget  Heather Hutt was then-Senator Kamala Harris California Statewide District Director, effectively the liaison between Vice President Harris and the constituents of California. Heather has been an unrelenting advocate in public service for years  we need her continuing her work, passing legislation to protect her public service from Sacramento. The LA Sentinel is proud to endorse Heather Hutt for Assembly District 54, she is the candidate for a better Los Angeles.


Decode Your Future with an Online Computer Science Degree from Drexel

Drexel University's online computer science programs are designed to prepare you for work on the cutting edge of technology. The curriculum is designed for students with any level of experience or previous knowledge. Choose the program thats right for you. Learn More.

If you are a vendor and sell your wares online -- how could you not be tapping into e-commerce today? It's time to take a fresh look at your search engine optimization strategy. You might need to tweak your SEO process to drive more customer traffic to your website.

Once you broaden your understanding of SEO, you will be able to improve your search engine rankings. Software tools are available to provide data and alerts about the overall health and success of your website.

Using SEO tools can help uncover areas of opportunity and identify weaknesses or issues that prevent you from ranking and gain better visibility in search engine results pages, or SERPs.

These are how Google displays Internet users' search query results when they visit your web site. SERPs generally include organic search results, paid Google Ads results, Knowledge Graphs, featured snippets and video results. In today's continuing dominance of online shopping, some traditional marketing methods are becoming obsolete. But the effectiveness of your SEO ranking remains a vital part of your marketing strategy.

SEO for Marketing

Search engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies you can apply. It becomes a magnet to attract consumers actively looking for your products and services online.

SEO is more important than ever. More consumers are leaning on the Internet for products and services they may have historically shopped for offline pre-pandemic, according to Steve Wiideman, president and CEO of Wiideman Consulting Group.

"Restaurants, in particular, have survived either by partnering with delivery services such as Doordash, Postmates, Uber Eats, Grubhub, or by developing keyword-rich pages on their websites. Keywords address off-premises searches customers use to find delivery, takeout, carside, curbside, or outdoor dining near them," he told the E-Commerce Times.

A case in point is Applebee's, which saw a 37 percent lift in organic visits in 2020 versus 2019 with over 167 percent lift in online orders. Even with traffic from Google Maps decreasing by 23 percent due to fewer customers needing directions, online orders from Maps and "3-Pack" map listings in organic results were up by over 27 percent, he noted.

"Customers have changed their buying habits, some indefinitely. These new online ordering customers have discovered the convenience of ordering online and will likely continue the new routine even after the pandemic comes to an end," said Wiideman.

The E-Commerce Times discussed with Steve Wiideman the essentials of how to build an SEO strategy for 2021. He is an SEO expert and has worked with brands that include Applebee's, Public Storage, IHOP, Skechers, Blake Pizza, Technicolor, Bosley, Belkin, Linksys, Homes.com, FIDM, Essentia Health, and Grand Seiko.

Steve Wiideman, President

Wiideman Consulting Group

Wiideman designed and teaches the Website Optimization and Strategic Search Engine Marketing online course for California State University Fullerton and the SEO Tools and Analytics course at University of California San Diego. He is an adjunct professor at the University of California San Diego, California State University Fullerton, and Fullerton College -- and recently was commissioned to write a textbook for a popular online learning service for colleges.

E-Commerce Times: Is SEO's impact more critical for commerce in general or e-commerce? Why?

Steve Wiideman: E-commerce is likely the most critical marketing tactic for businesses today for several reasons. It is much easier to track ROI on marketing efforts when a transaction can be tied to a specific medium, such as search, social, email, referral, or other marketing.

Secondly, many users save their information or register for an account when making a purchase, allowing advertisers to use remarketing strategies, newsletters, and loyalty programs, all of which reduce more expensive advertising mediums such as bidding on keywords in the Google Search Network.

What does successful SEO look like?

Wiideman: Successful SEO is measured through the use of simple key performance indicators, or KPI. The most important to many advertisers include the following:

a. YoY and MoM growth in revenue sourced from organic

b. YoY and MoM growth in revenue from maps and 3-Pack listings

Other KPI's that the various SEO team members might be monitoring, include:

a. Percentage improvement in technical site issues

b. Percentage improvement in mobile page speeds/load times

c. Average keyword position of keywords tracked and monitored (often segmented by category or business objectives)

d. Number of new inbound links earned through upper funnel/informational content (such as FAQ's)

A successful campaign will have initial KPI goals that are met and exceeded over the course of 12 months. Here is a link to a template we use with several of our restaurant chain clients. This template has evolved into a Google Data Studio dashboard over time but remains as relevant today as it ever did.

How can companies build an effective SEO strategy for 2021?

Wiideman: Companies can build an effective SEO strategy by dedicating one to three months toward research and planning, with the following deliverables from an experienced strategist:

a. Technical SEO Audit

b. Competitive "Baseline" Report

c. Link Audit and Strategy

d. Extensive Keyword Research (existing data and competitive insights)

e. Website Taxonomy and Information Architecture Plan (based on keyword research)

f. Local and/or E-commerce SEO Strategy

Once completed, the action items from the research are organized into a project management system such as Monday.com, Basecamp, Jira, or (our favorite) Smartsheets. Tasks are assigned, prioritized, and due dates are added to ensure accountability.

How has the COVID-19 global pandemic affected what and how people search the Internet?

Wiideman: The biggest shift we have seen in how users behave in search engines includes the use of the phrases "near me" and "online." With fewer shoppers going out to buy, online shopping is more important than ever. Having a mobile shopping experience built to require a visitor's thumb throughout the experience with no keyboard required is how businesses are maximizing visit-to-sale (conversion) rates.

As mentioned earlier, for the restaurant industry, addressing keywords by improving content can keep the kitchen lights on.

How can online merchants avoid SEO scams?

Wiideman: SEO today is starting to become more transparent. Business owners are not falling for the "we can rank you #1 in Google" spam calls as often. Instead, they are up late educating themselves as part of their survival strategy.

This is why we created our free SEO Masterclass to equip business owners with the education and training they need to manage SEO in-house and to prevent being taken advantage of by shrewd cold-callers.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.


Australian skincare brand Sand & Sky has unveiled a new product following the popularity of the Purifying Pink Clay Mask, which sells around the country every ten seconds.

The new Australian Pink Clay Deep Pore Cleanser priced at $45.90 has a unique 4-in-1 gel formula to remove makeup, clear congestion, tighten pores and exfoliate the skin.

When used consistently every day the mineral-rich product will leave skin feeling fresh and clean, without stripping away natural moisture.

The cleanser is the fourth product part of the brand's Australian Pink Clay range.

The new Australian Pink Clay Deep Pore Cleanser priced at $45.90 has a unique 4-in-1 gel formula to remove makeup, clear congestion, tighten pores and exfoliate the skin

When used consistently every day the mineral-rich product will leave skin feeling fresh and clean, without stripping away natural moisture

The cleanser is the fourth product part of the brand's Australian Pink Clay range and has already received five-star ratings online

The four key ingredients of Australian pink clay, Australian finger lime and luffa plant extracts, witch hazel and macadamia oil work together to unclog pores and brighten the skin to leave a dewy shine.

The macadamia oil also contains essential fatty acids to assist with pre-mature aging, while the witch hazel is key for tightening pores.

Sand & Sky co-founder Sarah Hamilton said a clay cleanser has been the 'number one product' requested by customers.

'By tapping a blend of clarifying and nourishing ingredients it thoroughly cleanses skin without over-drying,' she said.

'Suitable for almost everyone, it's the perfect first step in a routine. I've been using it twice daily and my skin has never looked smoother or clearer.'

The four key ingredients of Australian pink clay, Australian finger lime and luffa plant extracts, witch hazel and macadamia oil work together to unclog pores and brighten the skin to leave a dewy shine

Customers have been sharing before and after images online to show how the product works at leaving a natural glow

It's recommended to use the product daily every morning and night and is suitable to most skin types.

Follow the cleanser with a serum and moisturiser to boost the longevity of the product and lock-in the list of benefits.

While the new buy was only released in mid-April, it has already received several five star reviews online from happy customers.

Twins Sarah and Emily Hamilton launched the business in April 2017 despite having no experience in the cosmetic industry.

The brand now sell 8,000 products a day and women all over the world have been using the first-ever Australian pink clay mask to brighten and clear their complexions.

Women all over the world have been using Sand & Sky's pink clay mask to brighten and clear their complexions since it was brought to market by Melbourne twins sisters in April 2017

The Melbourne sisters worked in media in London and New York before building their booming beauty empire Sand & Sky, which operates with a near-constant waitlist of 20,000 women desperate to buy its best-selling face mask.

Early entrepreneurial inspiration came from Birch Box, a New York City subscription service founded in September 2010 that ships boxes of beauty and skincare samples to customers across the US once a month.

Nothing like that existed in Australia at the time, so the twins created their own.

Running Bella Box from late 2011 taught the Hamiltons how to market other brand's beauty products, which led them to wonder why they couldn't just sell their own.

And so Sand & Sky was born.

Twin sisters and business partners Sarah and Emily Hamilton, 43, have built a booming business by making beauty products laced with Australia's native flora and fauna

After a year of research and development, Sand & Sky's Skin Purifying Pink Clay Mask was born

In their first weeks of trading, the twins shipped out more than 60,000 masks.

They sold out six or seven times before switching to larger orders from their manufacturer.

Such was the scale of the sales, it was two years before they got around to launching a second product.

'It was so out of control we considered being a one product brand,' Sarah told Daily Mail Australia.

Almost four years later, the pink clay mask remains the top-seller on the website.

On the back of its incredible success, it's since been joined by $74.90 Dreamy Glow Drops and the $93.90 Super Bounce Mask infused with Australian Emu Apple, a native plant packed with 'healing' antioxidants and vitamin C.

Packed with three times more antioxidants than blueberry - renowned for its fortifying 'superfood' status - Emu Apple is one of Australia's 'best kept secrets', the Hamiltons claim

Every product compliments another - the pink clay range detoxifies skin, clearing impurities, while the emu apple range hydrates and enhances natural radiance

Every product compliments another - the pink clay range detoxifies skin, clearing impurities, while the emu apple range hydrates and enhances natural radiance.

Packed with three times more antioxidants than blueberry - renowned for its fortifying 'superfood' status - Emu Apple is one of Australia's 'best kept secrets', according to the duo, who claim it 'brightens, plumps and protects' almost instantly.

'We want our products to be cult products,' Sarah said.

'To be easily understood, fast acting and fun. Quintessentially Australian.'

The products, primarily manufactured in Australia and supporting facilities in Switzerland and Italy, are all made with natural ingredients sourced from flora and fauna native to the Land Down Under.

Sand & Sky products are made with natural ingredients sourced from flora and fauna native to the Land Down Under

Feedback and customer transformation photos on the brand's website stands testament to the results of Sand & Sky creations

Skin benefits of Australian pink clay - Absorbs dirt and impurities - Draws out toxins and combats pollution - Restores the skin's natural defence shield - Tightens & refines pores - Gentle enough for sensitive skin - Clear complexion and youthful glow Advertisement

Feedback from customers on the brand's website stands testament to the results of Sand & Sky creations.

'I am absolutely in love with the new Dreamy Glow Drops. I replaced my daily vitamin E serum with these drops and the difference is phenomenal,' one woman wrote.

'I used this mask twice a week for two weeks and my skin really felt like it got that extra boost of hydration,' added another.

A third said: 'The mask showed results after just two applications. It reduced the redness on my cheeks so much.'

Makeup artists have even recommended using the face masks as a 'base for foundation, and Sarah believes there's a direct link between these type of endorsements and continuously skyrocketing sales.

She feels the growing trend for wearing less makeup is driving sales of skincare products, as women prioritise their complexions over what they'd normally cover it with.

'Getting feedback from our customers is the most exciting part of the job,' Sarah said.

That seems to be where demand is driven from, with sales spiking with every genuine customer review and transformation photo uploaded online.

As Sarah says, 'the results speak for themselves'.

Sales spike with every genuine customer review and transformation photo uploaded online

Sarah believes the growing trend for wearing less makeup is driving sales of skincare products, as women prioritise their complexions over what they'd normally cover it with

Still, 2020 was not without stress for the twins turned business partners.

Retailers in their droves pulled out of purchase orders as coronavirus swept from Asia to Europe in late February, leaving the Hamiltons desperately concerned about the impact on their still relatively fledgling business.

'We were freaking out,' Sarah recalled.

But once lockdown shuttered bars, restaurants and gyms across Australia on March 23, something unexpected happened - sales started to soar.

'It just went crazy,' Sarah said.

As nation after nation downed tools like dominoes, profits for beauty and skincare companies went sky high as millions retreated into isolation.

'Italy locked down first, and Amazon went nuts from there, then France and the same happened there and so on,' Sarah said.

'It was so interesting to see that happen and great to see people turn to self-care treatments during the crisis.'

The Hamilton twins tips for success 1. Be determined and 'just for go for it' 2. Plan, but never over plan - be prepared to adapt to change at a moment's notice to cope with logistical difficulties and industry crashes 3. Dedicate time - business is a commitment and you need to be 'all in' if you want to succeed 4. Put the customer at the heart of everything you do 5. Think outside the box - find creative ways to connect with consumers to standout in a crowded marketplace Advertisement

A network of warehouses across the US, Canada, Singapore and Australia allowed the twins to fulfill international orders even at the height of the pandemic

Sand & Sky sales peaked at 8,000 a day during the first coronavirus lockdown, which lasted until late May across most Australian states.

Sarah said she 'definitely cried' on multiple occasions from the stress of the shutdown.

But a network of warehouses across the US, Canada, Singapore and Australia allowed the twins to fulfill international orders even at the height of the pandemic, when other businesses buckled under the pressure of logistical nightmares.

New products are slated to launch towards the end of 2021, all 'complimentary' to the existing skincare collection.

And if past form is anything to go by, they're sure to sell out in minutes.
By Andrew Hammond





With Queen Elizabeth II turning 95 this week, the passing of her husband Prince Philip, whose funeral was Saturday, has highlighted the uncertain future of the U.K. monarchy, and indeed wider United Kingdom, in the post-Elizabethan age to come.



For more than seven decades, Elizabeth and Philip have represented remarkable figures of stability and reassurance for many U.K. and international publics. When she assumed the throne in the 1950s, Winston Churchill was U.K. prime minister, Joseph Stalin was leader of the Soviet Union, Harry Truman was U.S. president, and Mao Zedong was the Chinese Communist leader.



Then the world's population was only around 2.6 billion people; the Korean War was still underway; the People's Republic of China (PRC) was only two years old; and the U.K. was just about to join the United States and Soviet Union as a nuclear weapons power.



Today, the world is vastly different, and the U.K. has transitioned to "middle power" status. Much of the nation's former empire is now part of the 54-member, 2.4 billion population, Commonwealth which the Queen and Philip have done much to champion.



Amidst the high esteem that she, Philip, and some other members of the royal family are now held, what is sometimes forgotten is that they have enjoyed bouts of significantly lower popularity. The 1990s were particularly troubled in this respect, with 1992 becoming the Queen's self-described "annus horribilis" when the marriages of three of her children, including her heir Charles, disintegrated, and Windsor Castle was nearly destroyed by fire.



Yet, the public response to Philip's sad passing underlines that, by and large, some three decades on from those high-profile problems, the royal family has largely recovered from the troubles of her reign. Less than a quarter of the U.K. population wants a republic with many believing that it is better to have a non-divisive, non-political head of state.



Whether the royal family can continue to enjoy this popularity is uncertain, however, and this has implications not just for the institution's future, but also potentially for that of the U.K. For it is not just the monarchy, but also the continued union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which could suffer from a potentially significantly less popular future U.K. head of state.



Already, despite the unifying force that the monarch exerts, the U.K. is increasingly divided on geographic lines, including growing post-Brexit pressure for a second Scottish independence referendum. While the Queen hopefully still has years of life ahead of her, and appears unlikely to abdicate before she dies, there are already concerns held by royalists and unionists about what the post-Elizabeth II era may hold.



The next in line to the throne, Charles, is of an age (72) when many people are retired, and the longest-waiting and oldest heir to the throne in U.K. history. Moreover, his own popularity is neither as high as his mother's, nor that of his son Prince William.



Indeed, it is the Queen, Philip, William and Prince Harry who have helped power the ruling clan's popularity ratings in recent years. Aside from the Queen and Philip, polls tend to show that William is regarded as having made the strongest contribution to the royal family, followed by his wife Kate, and Harry (although the popularity of Harry with the U.K. public may now be chequered by his rift with his family).



While the Queen is widely perceived as a force for stability, the role of the U.K. monarch has actually changed significantly during her reign. Amongst key reforms she has helped oversee include ending the rule of male primogeniture on the throne which means girls now born to members of the royal family have equal rights with boys in the succession to the throne; and ending the prohibition on her successors marrying a Catholic.



Another change concerns the monarch's finances which are now more transparent with the Queen paying income and capital gains tax, and her official residences opened to the public to help pay for their upkeep. Moreover, as of 2013, she no longer receives a fixed amount of money through the Civil List (as had her predecessors for some 250 years), and instead receives a portion of revenue from the Crown Estate property portfolio.



This trick of being a reformer, while being seen as a force for continuity and stability, is one that Charles would do well to learn as the royal family continues to evolve to meet the changing contours of the twenty-first century. For while U.K. support for the monarchy is currently high, significant uncertainties remain about the post-Elizabeth II period, and the skill and popularity Charles demonstrates as her successor will therefore potentially have key implications not just for the institution he will head, but also the wider U.K. union.



Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics
[April 22, 2021] Theme of 5th World Intelligence Congress unveiled

TIANJIN, China, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 5th World Intelligence Congress scheduled in Tianjin from May 20 to 23 will be themed "New Era of Intelligence: Empowering New Development, Fostering New Pattern," according to the organizing committee of the event. The event will provide opportunities for the participants to share their expertise and seek win-win cooperation to jointly promote sound development of new-generation artificial intelligence for the benefit of global people. It reportedly will consist of 18 summit meetings plus 12 theme forums. Revolving around AI, intelligent manufacturing, digital economy and smart cities, the summit meetings and forums will focus on a series of hot topics such as those on prospect of intelligent technology industry, application and sharing of intelligent technologies, and cooperation in related fields. Below are five highlights: The first highlight is a number of summit meetings in line with national development strategies, including: the China AI Innovation and Development Summit cum Ranking Unveiling to be held in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China; the International Summit on Digital Economy and New Development Pattern to beheld in collaboration with China Association for Science and Technology; the Summit on Urban Energy Revolution to be held in collaboration with the National Energy Administration; the Summit on Industrial Internet: Internet of Vehicles for Coordinated and Innovative Industrial, Urban and Cultural Development to be held in collaboration with China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.



The second highlight is the participation of more ministries and commissions under the State Council. The summit meetings to be held by the ministries and commissions will account for 60% of the total. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Health Commission and China Association for Science and Technology will hold forums on industrial Internet, machine tools, intelligent agriculture, intelligent health and medical services and intelligent civil aviation services, aiming to promote application and sharing of new technologies in different fields. The third highlight is the cutting-edge academic achievements. Several top-class Chinese universities including Peking University, Nankai University and Tianjin University will hold four summit meetings revolving around digital economy and AI, AI and Education and other themes. The Summit on Digital Economy and AI Education to be held by Peking University will gather a host of big names from the domestic and international academic circles, including Edmund Phelps, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics, and John Edward Hopcroft, co-winner of the 1986 A.M. Turing Award.

The fourth highlight is more participants from overseas. China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city and the Ministry of National Development of Singapore will jointly hold the Summit on New Economy and Building of Smart Cities; the China-Japan Forum on Development of Smart Health and Medical Services will gather 50 Japanese enterprises and is expected to help expand China-Japan exchanges and cooperation. Besides, guests and enterprise representatives from 13 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Australia and Switzerland will participate. The fifth highlight is more substantial results. A total of 16 achievements including the "2021 Report on Development of China's Digital Economy" and the "List of High Performers in Competitiveness in Digital Finance in China" will be released. Apart from that, 12 theme forums will be held in collaboration with China Unicom, China Mobile, China Hualu Group, Qihoo 360, JD.com and other organizations. The participants will brainstorm strategies for Tianjin to develop into a frontrunner in AI development. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1479542/World_Intelligence_Congress_Logo.jpg Contact:

Fan Yingming

+86-13702005832

fym@wicongress.org

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Auckland, April 22 : Auckland Zoo, the biggest zoo in New Zealand, on Thursday decided to move the country's only two elephants to Australia to give them both the family herd they need for their long-term wellbeing.

The two female Asian elephants, Anjalee (14) and Burma (38), will be moving to new homes at welfare accredited zoos in Australia later this year, Xinhua news agency quoted the Zoo as saying.

Anjalee will join the herd at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo and Burma will head to Australia Zoo to join their all-female herd.

"We will always put the welfare of animals first, and these moves are all about meeting the needs and ensuring the best long-term outcomes for Anjalee and Burma - two very different elephants at different life stages, with different needs. This includes giving Anjalee, whose biological clock is ticking, every opportunity to breed," said Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley.

"We've been working hard with our Australian colleagues and the Asian elephant breeding program to ensure the needs of both animals are met now and in the future. It's because those needs are very different for each elephant that our own elephant specialists and vets have chosen separate homes for Anjalee and Burma." At Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Anjalee will be integrated into a family herd of two cows and one calf, and three bulls, giving her the very best opportunity to breed, which is important to her long-term reproductive health and wellbeing.

Meanwhile Burma, who at 38 can no longer breed, will join the herd of four females at Australia Zoo (Queensland) where she will have the opportunity to play her natural role of 'aunty' to the herd's younger females.

To make the process of integration easier for Anjalee and Burma, Auckland Zoo vets and staff will travel with them.

The elephant keepers, all of whom have years of experience and close relationships with both elephants, will share staying on at Taronga Western Plains and Australia Zoo respectively, providing Anjalee and Burma with that reassuringly familiar presence as they work with their Australian colleagues to fully settle the two elephants in.

"We are still devastated by the reality that we will no longer have elephants in New Zealand, and we know many in our community are feeling the same. Burma and Anjalee are extraordinary animals that have helped inspire millions of people to care about and act for wildlife and the environment," said Buley.

"However, as always, we must put the needs of the animals first, and we are both relieved and excited to have secured such wonderful new homes for both elephants that will ensure they will have the very best long-term futures."
Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, Chads former president, Idriss Deby, survived many coup attempts, including one that reached his doorstep before his blushes were spared by French troops.

But the strongman, who ruled Chad for over 30 years and was known as the Great Survivor, was not lucky this time. He died from injuries sustained in fighting with rebel groups Tuesday, a day after he won sixth term reelection, an army spokesperson said.

Yet the rebels are not backing down. They have threatened to press their offensive into the capital NDjamena, leaving neighbouring countries like Nigeria reeling in uncertainty over the security of the Sahel region.

This has startled world leaders who have been careful not to call the military takeover of government a coup even though the Chadian military announced immediately that it had formed a transition government headed by Mr Debys 37-year-old son, Mahamat, an army general popularly called Kaka.

Like his father, Kaka is highly ranked in the military. He is a decorated general and would serve as the interim head of state for the next 18 months.

Theres not much constitutional democracy in Chad, said Femi Mimiko, a professor of political science. They just paid lip service to democracy but what they had effectively in place was a military regime.

He said that is why it was not difficult for the country to transit to a full-fledged military government after Mr Debys demise.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the militarys decision conflicts with the Chadian Constitution, which provides that, on the death of a president, an election should be held within 90 days.

Based on the Chadian constitution, the speaker of the parliament should assume power for an interim period of 40 days following the death of a sitting president.

Chads transition process is an unfortunate coup detat, as it violates the African Unions Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the Constitution of Chad, the Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, told this newspaper.

She said the situation had further exposed the deterioration of governance on the continent.

Fragile African Democracies

For years, there has been mounting concern in Africa about the increasing trend of hard-won democratic rights being reversed.

One way this is being done is through presidential term limits being abandoned or extended, and disregard for transitional governments. This in turn is leading to a reemergence of authoritarian politics, and political violence.

Burundi is a case in point on this. A bill was approved to amend the constitution and extend presidential term limits from five to seven years. Incumbency would be restricted to two consecutive terms.

But since the amendment doesnt apply retroactively, it means that President Pierre Nkurunziza could possibly remain in office until 2034.

Burundi is far from alone in this course. Rwanda, Togo, Gabon, Uganda, Chad, Cameroon, Djibouti, Republic of Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have all fiddled with term limits. Theyve done this by abolishing, amending or ignoring them, or by simply not holding elections.

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Many African countries made little progress towards democracy. In some cases, countries became more repressive.

Citizens showing their disapproval of authoritarianism have been met with repression and violence in countries like Uganda and Sudan.

In many such cases, the African Union and sub-regional bodies have not been able to put their feet down firmly in support of democracy and human rights.

Ms Hassan said the assumption of power by Kaka has placed a difficult burden on Africa especially on the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which Chad is a member of.

We do not expect anything from ECCAS, because the regional economic commission in Central Africa has never been effective but we do expect a lot from the African Union, she said.

Nigeria, Chads large and influential neighbour, has also refused to describe the latest actions of the military in Chad as a coup and has failed to condemn it.

Solomon Usman, a foreign policy expert, kicked against the militarys action in Chad, saying it is not too good for ECOWAS protocol on good governance and democratic principles.

Because of the historical links and cultural affinities that Nigeria shares with Chad, whatever happens there should be of interest to Nigeria, he said.

This is a litmus test for Nigeria to defend democracy and constitutionalism in Africa as it did in other African countries such as Gambia, Niger and Guinea in the past, he said.

War on Terror

Analysts believe that the death of Mr Deby could open a large vacuum in the fight against terror and could potentially open the lid for a bloody battle for political control of the oil-producing country that borders Nigerias volatile North-east region.

The bad guys everywhere on the continent are going to be emboldened thereby and seek maximum damage, Mr Mimiko noted. Hardly the best of times for the Sahel in particular, and the African continent in general.

A complete takeover of Chad, Nigerias north-eastern neighbour, by insurgents, is scary to contemplate. Yet, something tells me this is not a scenario that should be completely ruled out, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Chads military has arguably had some of the best successes against Boko Haram and that was largely due to Mr Debys battle-ready leadership.

Now under the control of his son, an experienced military officer but a leadership rookie, experts fear he may not be able to achieve as much success militarily as his father against the insurgents.

I doubt if the son will have the dexterity of his father to be able to hold that permanently fractious country together, Mr Mimiko added.

Uncertainty

Western countries, especially France, had counted on Mr Deby as an ally in the fight against militants, including Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin and other terrorist groups in the Sahel. France, on Thursday, based its support for the armys coup on security concerns.

The country has a volatile neighbourhood, and incursions into the country from beyond its borders are frequent.

Some analysts believe the Chadian military is overstretched with both its regional role and facing down frequent revolts at home.

The rebel forces threatening to take over the country predated Mr Debys emergence as the leader of Chad. The build up to last weeks election, and the subsequent uptick in rebel activities, only put things more on the edge.

But the country has suffered even more economic downturn with attendant disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

SBM, a research firm, in its report published Tuesday, referenced a March 2020 incident when jihadist fighters succeeded in launching their deadliest ever attack on Chadian troops in the Lake Chad region.

This led to an offensive that had a negative effect on the countrys treasury amidst a drop in oil revenue and a global recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report noted that popular discontent has been growing in Chad as the cost of living has been on the rise, and per capita income has fallen steadily since 2014.

After a small economic improvement in 2019, per capita income currently stands at $710, higher than only the Niger Republic in the Sahel region, the SBM report noted.

Wheres Nigeria in all this?

Mr Deby was a key ally for Nigeria in its decade-old fight against Boko Haram.

Chad is Nigerias neighbour to the North-east where the decade-long war against Boko Haram has not abated and Mr Debys passing could derail the limited successes achieved against the terror group.

This fact is not lost on President Buhari who said Mr Debys death would create a big vacuum in efforts to fight Boko Haram terrorists in the region.

His death could mean that the insurgents will have no worries about their flanks and can attack the Nigerian army at will, SBM noted

This will likely mean the consolidation of the Lake Chad Basin as a staging area for the insurgents from where to launch attacks on towns and military bases.

The report added that his passing has left a big gap in a neighbouring country that is likely to have a profound impact on Nigerias security.

Nigeria is still reeling from the southward flow of jihadists and ammunition in the wake of Muammar Gaddafis death in 2011. The upheaval in Chad is much closer to home and thus potentially much more significant, SBM wrote.

With Chad on the edge and Niger Republic, the countrys neighbour to the northeast, only recently surviving a coup attempt, Nigeria is flanked by countries with fragile peace.

Likewise, Benin Republic to Nigerias west, following President Patrice Talons re-election, has been experiencing clampdown on the civic space.

Protesters who blocked major roads, cutting off traffic from the south to the north, were dislodged by the security forces using tear gas and then live ammunition.

If anything, Nigeria needs to watch it. The limited gains against Boko haram are just about to be tested.
Indonesian submarine with over 50 aboard feared sunken: local media

Xinhua) 08:51, April 22, 2021

File photo shows Indonesian submarine KRI Nanggala-402 during a ceremony honoring the 72nd anniversary of the country's Armed Forces Day at Cilegon, Banten province, Indonesia, Oct. 5, 2017. (Xinhua/Zulkarnain)

At the depth of about 700 meters, the submarine with 53 people aboard is feared to have sunk about 60 miles off the northern coast of Indonesia's Bali Island after losing contact.

JAKARTA, April 21 (Xinhua) -- An Indonesian submarine with 53 people aboard lost contact with the navy after a training drill near the sea in Bali, a navy spokesman told the media on Wednesday.

The Indonesian military, quoted by the media, said it has sought help from Singapore and Australia in the search mission.

The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 submarine was reportedly conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the resort island of Bali when losing contact early Wednesday.

At the depth of about 700 meters, the submarine is feared to have sunk about 60 miles off the northern coast of Bali Island on early Wednesday after losing contact, according to local media.

The submarine, which was built in Germany in 1979, reportedly lost contact at around 3:00 a.m. local time.

"Right after being given permission to dive, after being given the clearance, (the submarine) lost contact," Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto was quoted by Indonesia's daily newspaper Kompas as saying.

The Indonesian military is deploying a number of warships to the site where the submarine was thought to have lost contact, he said.

The military chief said he would tour the location on Thursday.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
Emory faculty members elected this year to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences include (clockwise from top left) Carol Anderson, Sanjay Gupta, Rafi Ahmed, Jericho Brown and Vanessa Siddle Walker.

Five Emory University faculty members have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nations oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research.

Elected this year are:

Rafi Ahmed, director, Emory Vaccine Center, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Vaccine Research, and Charles Howard Candler Professor, Emory School of Medicine

Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair, Department of African American Studies

Jericho Brown, Winship Distinguished Research Professor in Creative Writing and Director, Creative Writing Program

Sanjay Gupta, associate professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Emory School of Medicine, and associate chief of neurosurgery, Grady Memorial Hospital

Vanessa Siddle Walker, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of African American and Educational Studies

Emory is honored to have five of our outstanding faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the most the university has ever had in a single year, says President Gregory L. Fenves. From the humanities to the sciences, these five extraordinary scholars highlight the depth and breadth of Emorys strengths as a leading research university grounded in the liberal arts.

The Emory professors are among 252 newly-elected members of the American Academy, which was founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and others who believed the new republic should honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good. The academys dual mission remains essentially the same 239 years later with honorees from increasingly diverse fields and with work focused on the arts, democracy, education, global affairs and science.

We are honoring the excellence of these individuals, celebrating what they have achieved so far, and imagining what they will continue to accomplish, says David Oxtoby, president of the American Academy. The past year has been replete with evidence of how things can get worse; this is an opportunity to illuminate the importance of art, ideas, knowledge, and leadership that can make a better world.

Rafi Ahmad

Ahmed, a world-renowned virologist and immunologist, has been highly influential in shaping current understanding of immune memory, with the long-term goal of developing new vaccines and other strategies for prevention and treatment of disease. His research has led to a total of 143 issued patents worldwide and 81 patent applications pending.

His work in antigen-specific immunity, including the mechanisms underlying T cell exhaustion in chronic viral infections, has been game changing in advancing research and clinical care. His pivotal 2006 paper in Nature, cited nearly 4,000 times in the medical literature, described the identification of the inhibitory receptor PD-1 as the key regulator of T cell exhaustion, a kind of brake on the immune system, launching a revolution in treating chronic viral infections and cancer.

Ahmed, who is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, was instrumental in establishing the Emory Vaccine Center in 1995 and securing funding for its development and continued success. Under his leadership the Emory Vaccine Center is the largest academic vaccine research center in the world and includes more than 40 faculty members and 300 staff, and has secured nearly $1 billion in research funding since its founding. Originally best known for its extraordinary contributions related to the development of vaccines for HIV/AIDS, the Emory Vaccine Center is now recognized for additional strengths in vaccines against hepatitis, malaria, tuberculosis and influenza.

Ahmed is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, American Academy of Microbiology, and Foreign Member, Indian National Academy of Sciences.

Carol Anderson

Anderson is a nationally recognized historian, educator and author whose research and teaching focus on the ways that policy is made and unmade, how racial inequality and racism affect that process and outcome, and how those who have taken the brunt of those laws, executive orders and directives have worked to shape, counter, undermine, reframe, and, when necessary, dismantle the legal and political edifice used to limit their rights and humanity.

Anderson is the author of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy, which was long-listed for the National Book Award and a finalist for the PEN/Galbraith Award in nonfiction. Her other books include White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Nations Divide, a New York Times bestseller, Washington Post Notable Book of 2016 and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner; Eyes Off the Prize: The United Nations and the African American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955, and Bourgeois Radicals: The NAACP and the Struggle for Colonial Liberation, 1941-1960.

Anderson is the recipient of grants and fellowships sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Ford Foundation, the National Humanities Center, Harvard Universitys Charles Warren Center, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. She was awarded a 2018 fellowship in Constitutional Studies by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Her work as a public scholar includes serving on working groups dealing with race, minority rights and criminal justice at Stanfords Center for Applied Science and Behavioral Studies, the Aspen Institute, the United Nations, and as a member of the U.S. State Departments Historical Advisory Committee. She also is on the advisory board of Partners for Dignity and Human Rights.

Jericho Brown

Brown is the author of The Tradition, for which he won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The book was also a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Browns work invokes several traditions of poetic expression, from African-American lyric to the confessional stance of Sylvia Plath and Robert Lowell, from the formal elegance of the metaphysical poets to the free verse of Walt Whitman. His work is rich with urgent themes of violence, sexuality, illness and social precarity. Brown has invented a new poetic form, the duplex, which mixes elements of the sonnet, the ghazal and the blues lyric.

Brown is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the Krakow Poetry Seminar in Poland, and USA Artists. He also is the winner of the Whiting Writers Award. His first book, Please, won the American Book Award, and his second, The New Testament, won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. He was recently named to the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

Browns poems have appeared in The Bennington Review, Buzzfeed, Fence, jubilat, The New Republic, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, TIME magazine, and several volumes of The Best American Poetry.

Sanjay Gupta

Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, is chief medical correspondent at CNN, where he covers important health stories in the U.S. and around the world and has won multiple Emmy Awards.

Gupta, associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery and a diplomate of the American Board of Neurosurgery.

Gupta has published on topics that include spinal surgery, craniofacial disorders, neurosurgical trauma, transplant immunology and battlefield injuries.

Gupta is the author of four best-selling books: Chasing Life, Cheating Death, Monday Mornings, and Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age. He is also a contributor to CBS News 60 Mimnutes and the HBO documentary unit.

Vanessa Siddle Walker

Walker is one of the nations foremost experts on segregation in American public schools, equity and the pursuit of justice for African American schoolchildren. She has explored the climate that permeated the schools, the network of professional collaborations, and the hidden systems of advocacy that sought equality and justice.

Her latest book, The Lost Education of Horace Tate: Uncovering the Hidden Heroes Who Fought for Justice in Schools, won the 2019 Lillian Smith Book Award and was cited as one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 by Publishers Weekly.

Her other books include Their Highest Potential: An African American School Community in the Segregated South, Facing Racism in Education, Race-ing Moral Formation, Hello Professor: A Black Principal and Professional Leadership in a Segregated Community, and Living the Legacy: The Historical African American Professional Network as a Model for University and School Collaborations.

For her body of work, Walker received the Grawmeyer Award for Education and four awards from the American Educational Research Association (AERA): The AERA Early Career Award, the Best New Female Scholar Award, Best New Book, and the Outstanding Book Award. Walker is a former National Academy of Education Fellow, a Fellow of AERA, and served as president of AERA for 2019-2020.

Walkers work has appeared in the four-part PBS documentary SCHOOL and she is a frequent consultant on issues concerning Brown v. Board of Education and its implementation.
Irvine, Calif., April 22, 2021 -- California's wildfire problem, fueled by a concurrence of climate change and a heightened risk of human-caused ignitions in once uninhabited areas, has been getting worse with each passing year of the 21st century.

Researchers in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine have conducted a thorough analysis of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection wildfire statistics from 2000 to 2019, comparing them with data from 1920 to 1999. They learned that the annual burn season has lengthened in the past two decades and that the yearly peak has shifted from August to July. The team's findings are the subject of a study published today in the open-access journal Scientific Reports.

The study is a focused examination of fire frequency, burned area and myriad drivers of the catastrophically destructive events. The team found that the number of hot spots - places with severe fire risk - has grown significantly in recent years, fueled by higher annual mean temperatures, greater vapor pressure deficit (lack of air moisture), drought, and an elevated chance of blazes being sparked through such human causes as power line disruptions, construction, transportation, campfires, discarded cigarettes and fireworks.

"CALFIRE data show that each new year of the 21st century has been a record breaker in terms of wildfire damage in California," said co-author Tirtha Banerjee, UCI assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering. "We also have seen that about 80 percent of the total number of the state's wildfires over the past few decades have been small, measuring less that 500 acres. But when fires get large, their deadliness greatly increases."

Banerjee said that to gain a proper understanding of the growth of fire risk in California, it's important to put large and small incidents into separate buckets. By doing this, the team learned that 1,247 out of 6,336 wildfires, about 20 percent, accounted for 97 percent of the total burned area in the 2000 to 2020 period.

"And more than nine-tenths of the casualties and property losses can be attributed to fires exceeding the 500-acre threshold," Banerjee said.

He added that over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in "extreme" wildfires scorching more that 10,000 acres. Coinciding with that has been a rapid uptick in the frequency of small, human-caused blazes.

One of the most alarming findings of the study, according to lead-author Shu Li, a Ph.D. student in Banerjee's laboratory, is the substantial spatial growth of fire risk throughout the state. From 1920 to 1999, California's only hot spot with "very high wildfire density" was Los Angeles County. In the past 20 years, that designation has expanded greatly in Southern California to include Ventura County, and portions of Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino Counties.

Even in northern California, areas known by fire managers as the Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit and the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit are newly emerged as high-density wildfire regions.

"Before 2000, there were almost no human-caused wildfires along California's Pacific coastline, but now nearly every coastal county is experiencing increased risk, and the San Benito-Monterey Unit and the San Luis Obispo Unit have even become new hot spots," said Li.

Many of the major fires in the northern part of the state are naturally occurring, predominantly ignited by lightning. But the majority of the increase in fire probability in recent years can be blamed on an expansion of the wilderness-urban interface. As people move into previously unpopulated areas, they bring their bad fire management habits with them.

"The concurrence of human-caused climate change, which is drying out our forests and grasslands and creating longer stretches of hot weather, and a steady influx of people into remote areas is creating conditions for the perfect fire storm," said Banerjee. "But there is some good news in all of this; human-caused fire risk can be mitigated by better fire management practices by humans."

He said he hoped the study and the near real-time analysis of fire risks in California's natural environment it provides can be used by government agencies and public policy officials to both prevent and combat costly blazes.

###

Funding for this research project was provided by the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UCI and the UC Office of the President.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation's top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UCI, visit http://www. uci. edu .

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
[April 22, 2021] Ethereum Mining and Blockchain Company TTM Digital Assets & Technologies Explains Potential Opportunities With Sysorex Government Services

Herndon, VA, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Sysorex (OTCQB: SYSX or the Company), following its reverse triangular merger with TTM Digital Assets & Technologies, Inc. (TTM), a data center owner and operator and the largest U.S.-based, publicly traded Ethereum mining and blockchain technology company, and now the principal operating business of Sysorex, announced potential strategies pertaining to the Ethereum blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in connection with the Companys wholly-owned subsidiary, Sysorex Government Services, Inc. (SGS).

Following its acquisition of more than 80% of the total issued and outstanding common stock of Sysorex, by design, TTM intends to support SGS, which has historically provided secure wireless networking and cybersecurity products to the U.S. Government. SGS plans to pursue government contracts implementing blockchain technology for the improvement of U.S. Government systems platforms utilized by Government agencies that are currently contract partners of SGS, and SGS is also considering blockchain opportunities within the state, local and education segments (SLED). Weve been following closely the systemic approach of the World Economic Forum as it relates to trust in the governance of blockchain, and with the interests of the U.S. Government agencies we serve at the top-of-mind, we are exploring revolutionary ways to incorporate this technology across a variety of important sectors ranging from food safety to citizen engagement, said Zaman Khan, President of SGS and a member of Sysorexs Board of Directors. In particular, with the deep understanding of Ethereum and the vast Ethereum blockchain experience that TTM and its management have brought to Sysorex, we are working to advance smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, which might be programmed, for instance, to automatically disperse funds from buyer to seller upon receipt of goods or services. Mr. Khan continued, Grant opportunities have started to be introduced through the U.S. Governments Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and we have already seen the U.S. Air Force award a grant similar in form to an SBIR to Constellation Network, Inc., to utilize blockchain technology for big data cybersecurity. The U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation (FIT) has undertaken several projects including one in partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF), which determined that blockchain technology could improve grant payment processing. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that Accelerate, the first blockchain-based program of the U.S. Government to get an authority-to-operate, will save the Department $30 million over the next five years by reducing reporting burden, increasing the Departments bulk purchasing powerand improving its record keeping.



SGS is an approved General Services Administration (GSA) contactor, and the GSA, which oversees more than $65 billion of procurement annually, has initiated several exploratory programs regarding application of blockchain technology for its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), which is a long-term government-wide contract with commercial firms such as SGS. GSAs MAS provides federal, state and local government buyers with access to more than 11 million products including those offered by SGS. Along with our advisors, we are exploring elements of the $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan where the Ethereum blockchain could vastly improve transactions and costs, including:  Citizen and Government Transactions

 Business and Government Transactions  Healthcare  Pharmaceuticals  Banking and Finance (Decentralized Finance DeFi)  Securities Trading  Patents and Trademarks  Supply Chain  Public Records, Titles and Registries  Cloud Computing  Voting This is already taking place; for example, H.R. 6395, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 includes a provision for reforming the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to make it clear that cryptocurrency and other digital assets are within the scope of the regulatory requirements of the BSA. This is relevant to the anti-money laundering and countering the finance of terrorism provisions [NDAA 6201(d), 6202(a)(3)]. These provisions are in line with guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The U.S. Congress reintroduced H.R. 1628, which amends federal securities laws to exempt certain virtual currencies, as well as update laws related to taxation of virtual currencies. The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) has recorded 25 states with pending legislation regarding cryptocurrency. Regulatory compliance and adaptation are underway. In February 2021, the Federal Reserve published Preconditions for a general-purpose central bank digital currency, which detailed that the next step would be broadly engaging the public regarding the pros and cons of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). Potentially relevant to Ethereum in particular, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has announced that it will work with researchers from MITs Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) on a multi-year collaboration to build and test an open-source central bank digital currency platform. Commenting on the opportunity set with SGS, Wayne Wasserberg, CEO of TTM, said, Blockchain and cryptocurrency utilization by the U.S. Government will increase exponentially in the foreseeable future. Our acquisition of Sysorex and our collaborative efforts with SGS and in particular, three contracts that have been awarded to SGS, GSA Federal Supply Schedule IT 70, NASA SEWP V GWAC, and NIH CIO-CS GWAC, may provide an ideal platform to launch initiatives that may benefit from the security and flexibility of the Ethereum blockchain across the three branches of the U.S. Government and within the intelligence community and large government systems integrators. Please visit our TTM Website for more information. We will retain the SYSX stock ticker symbol until further notice. For more information: Company  info@ttmdigitalassets.com Investor Relations  ir@ttmdigitalassets.com Jimmy Caplan, Market Makers Public Relations  pr@ttmdigitalassets.com Rick Eisenberg, Eisenberg Communications Safe Harbor Statement All statements in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the control of Sysorex, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which could cause actual results to materially differ from such statements. Such risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, but are not limited to, the fluctuation of economic conditions, the impact of COVID-19 on Sysorex's results of operations, Sysorexs ability to integrate the products and business from recent acquisitions into its existing business, the performance of management and employees, the regulatory landscape as it relates to privacy regulations and their applicability to Sysorexs technology. Other factors that are detailed in Sysorex's periodic and current reports available for review at sec.gov. Furthermore, Sysorex operates in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment where new and unanticipated risks may arise. Accordingly, investors should not place any reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Sysorex disclaims any intention to, and undertakes no obligation to, update or revise forward-looking statements.



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Vaccinations keep climbing, and restaurants are ready to roar back this summer. But eateries from Miami to Marthas Vineyard to Los Angeles are facing the same problem: not enough workers.

The big picture: Millions of restaurants are hiring all at once and, after a deadly pandemic, the jobs of waiters, cooks, and hosts seem more dangerous than they ever have before. All of this is contributing to a nationwide hospitality worker shortage as the economy opens back up.

By the numbers: The pandemic wiped out 2.5 million restaurant jobs and forced more than 100,000 eateries to shutter. And now the ones that made it through 2020 can't find staffers.

According to Census survey data from early April, a whopping 37% of small businesses in the hospitality and food sectors say their operating ability was affected by worker availability. When looking at all small businesses, the statistic was just 16%.

Main Streets nationwide are feeling the shortage.

"After a whole year of waiting, guests are clamoring to come back. And restaurants have invested in these expanded outdoor areas, and they need people right now," says Alice Cheng, founder of Culinary Agents, a hospitality job search site. "But theyre not finding them."

Charlotte, North Carolina restauranteur Jon Dressler remembers being short one part-time dishwasher before the pandemic, and now he's looking for four kitchen workers and 10 servers, Axios Charlotte's Katie Peralta Soloff reports.

As travel starts up again, advance vacation bookings are spiking on Martha's Vineyard, but restaurant and hotel owners are struggling to hire enough employees, per the Martha's Vineyard Times.

One McDonald's in Tampa Bay, Florida is offering applicants $50 just to show up for an interview, Business Insider reports. In fact, according to a recent survey of employers by Culinary Agents, the top reason roles aren't getting filled is no-shows at interviews.

What's happening: The hospitality industry was among the hardest hit during the pandemic, and that's making its recovery even tougher.

"Everybody is reopening at the same time" and that means everybody is hiring at the same time, which makes it harder to find workers, says Cheng.

On top of that, restaurant work  especially customer-facing roles like server and host  is still seen as hazardous. "Some people are still concerned about getting the virus at an in-person job," says Jed Kolko, chief economist at the jobs site Indeed.

And many Americans who worked in hospitality have simply left the industry amid the pandemic. Anecdotally, there are plenty of servers and bartenders joining training programs to get new jobs in tech or finance.

There's also a shortage of foreign workers, due to former President Donald Trump's ban on temporary foreign workers and pandemic travel restrictions. The Trump ban lapsed on March 31, but employers fear there's not enough time to fill jobs by the busy summer.

Some employers are saying they can't compete with unemployment insurance checks and that workers would rather collect benefits than go back to work. But a 2020 study by Yale economists found that unemployment benefits don't create a disincentive for job seekers.

Silver linings: Service employees have long been treated as disposable workers. Now, with restaurants desperate to hire, the power is finally in the hands of workers  and that's a good thing, Cheng says.

Restaurants are already starting to offer referral and retention bonuses to attract talent. And workers can be pickier and seek out more pay or robust health benefits, she says.

What to watch: The latest COVID-19 relief package includes a $28.6 billion fund to help restaurants get back up and running.
Late last year Comcast notched a cable modem breakthrough by running a test that hit 1.25Gbps up and downstream on their live network, and now it's tested a Broadcom device designed for the DOCSIS 4.0 Full Duplex standard. According to the company, this live lab test "will pave the way for Comcast to deliver multigigabit upload and download speeds over its hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) network," after it showed speeds of up to 4Gbps up and down.

While speeds like that would tear through current bandwidth caps in record time, it represents what cable companies expect from the new standard released by CableLabs last year. Comcast's full duplex setup relies on a hybrid fiber/cable strategy to deliver "ultra-fast speeds." While fiber networks have already established bidirectional gigabit speeds, until now most cable connections are extremely limited in upload capacity, even in places where gigabit download speeds are possible.

With more people logging in for work, school or creating content at home, being able to send information at high speeds is ever more useful, and Comcast's pitch is that it can be done without laying new wires by using new digital nodes. According to Comcast exec Charlie Herrin "This milestone is particularly exciting, because this technology is an important step forward toward unlocking multigigabit upload and download speeds for hundreds of millions of people worldwide, not just a select few."
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then mainly cloudy during the afternoon with thunderstorms likely. High 81F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Showers this evening then thundershowers developing overnight. Low 68F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
[April 22, 2021]

Greentown Labs Opens its Houston Incubator on Earth Day

SOMERVILLE, Mass. and HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Exactly one year after releasing its first-ever Climate Action Plan, today the City of Houston is ushering in a new chapter for the energy transition with the official opening of Greentown Labs Houston , the city's first-ever climatetech startup incubator. At a celebratory event alongside Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Greater Houston Partnership, and energy leaders from around the region, Greentown Houston today will open its incubator facility, introduce its 30 inaugural startup member companies, and announce the newest additions to its growing network of partners, including bp , Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) , Intel Corporation , Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , White Deer Energy , Ara Partners , and Bechtel Corporation .

Greentown Labs Opens its Houston Incubator on Earth Day 2021the city's first climatetech startup incubator

In light of COVID-19, Greentown Houston is restricting in-person attendance at the Grand Opening but interested parties can view the livestream of the event here .

Located at 4200 San Jacinto St. in the innovation district being developed by Rice Management Company, Greentown Houston provides more than 40,000 sq. ft. of prototyping lab, office, and event space for its growing community of startup companies with room for about 300 employees.

This is Greentown Labs' second location and first expansion outside of Massachusetts, and will serve as an on-the-ground catalyst for the energy transition in Houston. Greentown Houston will bring together civic and business leaders, entrepreneurs, students, and other stakeholders who have already begun the transition and raise awareness of the opportunity for those who have yet to engage.

"This is a tremendous, tangible milestone not only for Greentown Labs but also for the City of Houston and the energy transition," said Dr. Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs. "Five years ago, climate change wasn't a topic among many conversations in Houston. Things have changed. Today, we are so proud to open our second-ever location in the energy capital of the world and we're eager to accelerate the energy transition over the next 10 years. Houston is buzzing with incredible climatetech startups, world-leading energy organizations, and a thriving investment community. At Greentown Houston, we aim to bring the ecosystem together and collaborate toward our decarbonized future."

Greentown Houston has received an incredibly warm welcome from the Houston energy innovation community since it announced its expansion plans in June 2020. Thanks to Mayor Sylvester Turner's leadership , Houston has doubled down on its efforts to lead the global energy transition and Greentown Houston is eager to partner with the city on these activities. Mayor Turner chairs Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of almost 450 U.S. mayors demonstrating leadership on climate action.

"There's no better way to celebrate the first anniversary of the Houston Climate Action Plan than to open Greentown Labs Houston," said Mayor Sylvester Turner. "Attracting and nurturing the next generation of energy companies is a critical piece of our city's ambition to lead the global energy transition. The Climate Action Plan calls for creating 50 Energy 2.0 companies, and thanks to Greentown Labs, we are already halfway there. We are grateful for Greentown Labs and their partners for helping Houston meet our climate goals and become the energy capital of the future."

Greentown Houston is a proud member of the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and is actively involved in the organization's economic development efforts to help Houston lead the global energy transition. GHP was an early champion and advocate for Greentown Houston and has played a critical role in helping bring it to fruition.

"We are thrilled Greentown Labs Houston has officially opened its doors in the Energy Capital of the World, further positioning Houston as the leader of the global energy transition," said Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. "Today is a major milestone in Houston's broader efforts to build a more efficient and more sustainable low-carbon future. Greentown Labs and its members are a critical part of that effort, and I look forward to the collaborations and partnerships they'll form with other key players in Houston's energy community in the years to come."

Rice Management Company (RMC) is responsible for stewardship of Rice University's endowment, and has been a supportive partner of Greentown Houston since its team first began searching for the right location for the incubator. Rice University serves its mission by cultivating a diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor.

"Rice University enthusiastically welcomes Greentown Labs to Houston and the Ion District," said David Leebron, President of Rice University. "Rice University is committed to helping empower the city's innovation and entrepreneurial efforts, and we're eager to foster a strong partnership between our recently launched Clean Energy Accelerator and Greentown Houston. We're confident Houston's growing climatetech innovation ecosystem will help accelerate the city's leading role in the energy transition."

Accelerating the energy transition with partnership and collaboration

Greentown Houston is made possible by a network of civic and business leaders that represent a broad community of energy organizations, renewable energy experts, and organizations committed to supporting and growing the ecosystem of early-stage climate and climatetech startups.

Chevron , a longtime partner of Greentown Labs, has made public commitments to help enable the energy transition and was an early advocate of Greentown Labs' expansion to Houston.

"Houston is home to Chevron's largest employee base in the world, and we are committed to sustaining the region as the energy capital of the world and establishing Houston as the energy transition capital of the world," said Barbara Burger, Vice President of Innovation and President of Technology Ventures at Chevron. "As a longtime partner of Greentown Labs in Boston, we were excited to be the first Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston and to work with the Greentown community as we support the development of innovation solutions to enable more affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy for all."

Shell , a Greentown Labs partner since 2013, is an active participant and thought leader in the energy transition and has announced its intentions to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050.

"At Shell, we see the energy transition as a collaborative effort that requires innovation, investment, and partnership across sectors, industries, and society. Shell is proud to be a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston," said Gretchen Watkins, President of Shell Oil Company. "We are excited to support Greentown's entrepreneurs and startup companies and to work together to foster a sustainable, progressive ecosystem in the energy capital of the world."

NRG Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, brings the power of energy to millions of customers across the U.S. and Canada, including 100 percent renewable power to the City of Houston, and has supported Greentown Labs' expansion to Houston from the beginning. Reliant, an NRG company, is one of the largest electricity providers in Texas and is trusted to deliver innovative and reliable energy solutions to residents and businesses across the state.

"As we collectively work to create a more sustainable future and ensure Houston remains the Energy Capital of the World while becoming the Energy Transition Capital of the World, NRG and Reliant are thrilledto officially welcome Greentown Labs to Houston," said Elizabeth Killinger, Executive Vice President, NRG Home; President, Reliant; and Chair, Greater Houston Partnership Energy 2.0 Committee. "As a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs Houston, we're eager to support and encourage the innovations that will launch through this thriving startup community."







Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. A Greentown Labs partner since 2020, Microsoft has put a powerful set of climate commitments into motion, including making its energy supply 100 percent renewable for all its operations by 2025, becoming carbon negative by 2030, removing its historical carbon emissions by 2050, and establishing a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund.

"The innovation to come from Greentown Labs Houston will be pivotal in creating new ways to advance our clean energy goals," said Darry Willis, Corporate Vice President, Energy Industry, Microsoft. "At Microsoft, accelerating the transition to a global, net-zero future is a top priority and I'm very encouraged by the work we, our partners, and participating energy organizations are driving."

BHP , a Founding Partner of Greentown Labs, is a leading global resources organization with operations in mining and oil and gas. BHP has been active in addressing climate risks for more than two decades and is committed to continuing to reduce emissions in their operations and to their goal of achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2050. BHP's climate action plan also includes a $400 million Climate Investment Program to develop technologies to reduce emissions from its own operations and those from the use of its resources.

"We have long recognized the importance of taking action to reduce emissions across our full value chain, which requires collaboration with others and innovative partnerships to meet our goals," said Tim Ong, Head of Innovation at BHP Petroleum. "We're proud to partner with Greentown Labs and to be a part of this cleantech community as we collectively explore inventive solutions for the energy transition."

Saint-Gobain , which operates in 70 countries, is one of the world's largest building materials companies focused on design, manufacturing, and distribution of materials and solutions that are key ingredients in the wellbeing and future of all. A committed Greentown Labs partner since 2014, Saint-Gobain was integral to the opening of Greentown Labs' headquarters, donating over $1 million worth of products and becoming the presenting partner of the building's event space.

"As a Founding Partner for Greentown Houston, Saint-Gobain congratulates Greentown Labs on their grand opening in Houston," said Minas Apelian, Vice President, Internal and External Venturing, Saint-Gobain. "We are excited to engage with entrepreneurs in Houston who are developing climate innovations and technology to make our world a better home. It's also wonderful to see how our donated, sustainable building materials helped transform Greentown Houston by providing better indoor air quality, thermal efficiency, and improved acoustical experiences."

This Earth Day, Greentown Houston is proud to announce its seven newest partners that are actively participating in and supporting the energy transition.

bp 's purpose is to reimagine energy for people and the planet. bp has set an ambition to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner, and help the world get to net-zero, and last year bp announced its strategy for delivering on that ambition. Partnering with countries, cities, and corporations to provide innovative energy, mobility, and decarbonization solutions as they shape their paths to net-zero is a core part of bp's long-term strategy. bp serves as the City of Houston's strategic and technical planning advisor on the Climate Action Plan, bringing expertise across the energy spectrum to help the city build a more sustainable and resilient future.

"bp is thrilled to partner with Greentown Labs," said Al Vickers, CEO of bp Wind Energy. "This is an important step in making Houston not only a hub for new cleantech innovation, but a leader in the global energy transition. Projects like Greentown Labs underscore our commitment to helping the City of Houston advance its Climate Action Plan and get to net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. As an incoming member of the Advisory Board, I welcome Greentown Labs to the Energy Capital of the Worldand look forward to getting to work."

Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas) ("MCA"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), is a global integrated business enterprise with 10 business groups that operate across virtually every industry. These include natural gas, industrial materials, petroleum & chemicals, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, automotive & mobility, food industry, consumer industry, power solution, and urban development. MC's business strategy involves leveraging its knowledge of industries and markets around the world to create new, sustainable businesses.

"We see Greentown Labs Houston playing a major role in accelerating our efforts to advance technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive the transition to a low-carbon society," said Minoru Aizawa, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MCA's Houston Branch. "Our company recognizes the importance of staying attuned to changes within the global environment and society, and we aim to generate societal and environmental value by addressing key sustainability issues through our business activities."

Intel Corporation is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. As the largest U.S.-owned semiconductor manufacturer, Intel aims to achieve 100 percent renewable energy use across its global manufacturing operations by 2030.

"Intel is proud to support Greentown Houston and we are looking forward to all that the startup member companies will accomplish," said Werner Schaefer, Intel Vice President, General Manager of Network & Communications Sales, Intel Houston Site Leader. "Shared corporate responsibility is key for usour world is facing challenges that are too big to be tackled alone. As we develop world-changing technology that enriches the lives of every person on Earth, we will offer our technical expertise to help the passionate and innovative startups build a healthier planet by leveraging the power of data."

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is one of the world's leading industrial groups, spanning energy, logistics & infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace, and defense. MHI combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon-neutral world, improve the quality of life, and ensure a safer world.

"Identifying the most promising technologies and bringing them to scale is critical as we look down the path to decarbonization," said Ricky Sakai, Vice President of New Business Development for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America. "We are excited to partner with Greentown Labs and look forward to the collaboration between various stakeholders to advance climatetech innovations."

White Deer Energy invests in energy and industrial service and equipment companies and midstream infrastructure, and targets businesses that are embracing the rapidly evolving energy transition landscape. The firm targets equity investments of $25 to $100 million, principally in North America with control or co-control. White Deer seeks to provide capital to companies with strong management teams and significant growth potential. The firm works closely with management to pursue continual operational improvement and drive organic growth as well as growth through acquisitions. Since its founding in 2008, White Deer has raised capital in excess of $2.7 billion.

"Houston has long been the oil and gas capital of the world, but it is important to transition that title to the energy capital of the world," said Joe Bob Edwards, a Managing Partner of White Deer Energy. "With the opening of Greentown Labs in our great city, we are well on our way to effecting that transition. One of White Deer's visions is to encourage the collaboration between oil and gas companies and new energy companies to create a more sustainable world that has access to reliable and clean energy. That vision becomes infinitely more attainable with the right partnerships. We are excited and honored to support Greentown Labs and look forward to working with them and their other partners."

Ara Partners is a global private equity firm building companies that are decarbonizing the economy in immediate and tangible ways. Ara Partners invests in the industrial & manufacturing, chemicals & materials, energy efficiency & green fuels, and food & agriculture sectors, seeking to build businesses that are focused on sustainability and ESG principles.

"We are excited to welcome Greentown Labs to Houston," said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner of Ara Partners. "The journey to net-zero emissions requires the best and brightest entrepreneurs, engineers, and business builders. We are working hard to be part of the solution, alongside Greentown Labs, that will harness the talent, enthusiasm, and spirit of Houston to make progress for our city and the world."

Bechtel Corporation is a trusted engineering, construction, and project management partner to industry and government. Since 1898, Bechtel has helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs; grown economies; improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure; increased access to energy, resources, and vital services; and made the world a safer, cleaner place.

"Our customers in the energy sector are key to the successful transition to a lower-carbon future and we have a fundamentally important role in supporting them to reach their global emission-reduction targets," said Paul Marsden, President of Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals. "It's through collaboration with our customers and partnerships with next-generation innovators like Greentown Labs that we are able to find solutions to the environmental challenges that we're facing so that we can shape the future of energy."

These seven new partners join an impressive group of corporates that are committed to climate action. Since announcing its expansion to Houston in 2020, Greentown Labs has welcomed 17 Houston Founding Partners: Chevron , NRG Energy and Reliant Energy , Shell , BHP , Vinson & Elkins , Microsoft , ENGIE North America Inc. , Rice Management Company, Saint-Gobain , Sunnova Energy International Inc ., The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact , SCF Partners , Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co ., Direct Energy , CenterPoint Energy, Gexa Energy , and Wells Fargo . Greentown Labs also announced its four Grand Opening Partners, including Naturgy , FCC Environmental Services (FCC) , EIV Capital , and Williams .

Greentown Houston is actively welcoming new startup members to its incubator. To learn more about Greentown Houston, visit www.greentownlabs.com or attend the virtual Grand Opening celebration with Mayor Turner on April 22 at 2:00 p.m. CT / 3:00 p.m. ET. Tune in here to view the livestream.

About Greentown Labs

Greentown Labs is a community of climate action pioneers working to design a more sustainable world. As the largest climatetech startup incubator in North America, Greentown Labs brings together startups, corporates, investors, policymakers, and many others with a focus on scaling climate solutions. Driven by the mission of providing startups the resources, knowledge, connections, and equipment they need to thrive, Greentown Labs offers lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, an electronics lab, software and business resources, and a large network of corporate customers, investors, and more. With its headquarters in Somerville, Mass. and a recently opened incubator in Houston, Texas, Greentown Labs is home to more than 140 startups and has supported more than 330 startups since the incubator's founding in 2011. These startups have collectively created more than 6,500 direct jobs and have raised more than $1.2 billion in funding. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or Twitter , Facebook , and LinkedIn .

Greentown Labs Media Contact:

Julia Travaglini

VP of Marketing & Communications

julia@greentownlabs.com

603-867-3657

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greentown-labs-opens-its-houston-incubator-on-earth-day-301274881.html

SOURCE Greentown Labs
Like many parents with young kids, we are looking to get settled longer term in a home, new homeowner Amy Gerberry said, following years of living in and around New York City.

Gerberry just found a place in Westport with her husband and two young boys, but said it was a challenge. The best-and-final offer situation is pretty hard to tolerate bid after bid, she said. Surprisingly, there has been a decent supply of houses in Westport, but the good houses are subject to fierce bidding wars.

These fierce bidding wars and competition with all-cash offers, coupled with lightning-fast sales are the challenges that young, first-time homebuyers looking for starter homes in Connecticut are facing.

Action in the Connecticut real estate market has been profound this past year thanks to intense demand generated by the pandemic. In particular, city dwellers have sought new digs throughout the adjacent suburbs  subsequently ramping up prices, speeding out inventory and making traditional mortgage deals much harder to come by, especially for first-time homebuyers who likely are not able to make cash offers.

This market is very challenging for inexperienced young buyers, said Danna Rogers, a longtime local realtor with Higgins Group, who focuses her work in Fairfield, Weston and Westport.

A home comes on the market on a Tuesday and will have multiple bids by Sunday evening, she said, with most of them even higher than the listing price.

In fact, after enduring the discouragement of losing three different houses that they had bid on  despite bidding above the asking price  one of Rogers clients went $150,000 over the asking price for a home in order to beat out 12 other simultaneous offers.

This market may seem like a dream for realtors, but it is very hard for us to counsel our clients in multiple-bid situations, Rogers said. There is an emotional toll on clients who feel defeated and rushed.

Houses are selling so fast and its very hard for the young millennials, unless theyre making a lot of money, explained Richard Higgins, CEO of the Higgins Group, which has offices throughout Fairfield County. We did over a billion dollars last year, he said. It was our best year ever. Every time I turned around, we were selling a $5-million house, an $8-million house.

Traditionally, he said, buyers come in and will put down up to 20 or even 30 percent of the purchase price, borrowing the difference with their mortgage. But now, more and more people are coming out with all cash, he said. Sellers dont want to hear about mortgage contingencies for the most part.

Chris Raveis, president of residential sales with William Raveis Real Estate, said he is seeing a lot of parental support with first-time homebuyers. Parents are helping their kids put down larger down payments so their bid will win.

The supply of inventory is so low that homes will come on the market and have 10-plus competitive offers; [buyers are] waiving contingencies and bidding over ask for a chance to win the listing, he said.

Raveis said some realtors are trying to drum up inventory on their own.

I was talking to one of our top producers last week and he told me that he was spending most of his time trying to play matchmaker for his buyer customers by approaching off-market listings to see if they would be interested in selling, he said.

And when they do put a house on the market, sellers are so confident, Higgins said, that at times theyre even listing houses with short deadlines for submitting bids within a week. If you did that before they would have all laughed at you, he said, but now the market is bearing results.

New buyers used to be able to see a home a few times before making a decision, and bring family for advice and support, Rogers said. They now have to make very quick decisions without seeing other options.




A pharmacist volunteer prepares doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a pop-up clinic in Detroit, Mich., on April 12, 2021. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Effective, Even Against Variants: Trial

Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against moderate to severe illness, newly published clinical trial results show.

The jab was 67 percent effective in protecting against moderate to severe COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, at 14 days after vaccination, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers also found that there was 66 percent efficacy at 28 days post-vaccination and prevention against hospitalization and death across all 44,325 participants.

Johnson & Johnsons shot was authorized for emergency use in February but is currently on pause because of cases where people who were vaccinated developed blood clots in combination with low blood platelet levels, even as the United States battles a variety of virus variants.

Variants in the ongoing clinical trial, known as the ENSEMBLE study, included the so-called South African variant and a variant believed to have originated in Brazil.

Efficacy for the vaccine was 64 percent against moderate to severe disease from the South African variant and 68.1 percent against the other.

The data demonstrate that, with a single shot, our vaccine offers a high level of activity across all variants and regions studied, said Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of research and development at Janssen, in a statement. We believe these data support the important role our COVID-19 vaccine can play in helping to address the global pandemic that continues to threaten people and health care systems around the world.

Janssen is the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson that developed the COVID-19 vaccine, which is also known as Ad26.COV2.S.

The trial showed the efficacy of a single dose of the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine in preventing COVID-19, researchers wrote in the journal article.

Doses of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine are seen in a refrigerator in an April 8, 2021 file photograph. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The randomized, double-blind trial to study the adenovirus vector vaccine is being carried out in multiple countries, including the United States, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico. The trial is being carried out by Janssen and Operation Warp Speed, a federal government initiative started last year under former President Donald Trump.

Of the trial participants, about half received the jab and about half received a placebo. Of those who got the shot, approximately 10 percent contracted the CCP virus, versus 9.4 percent of those who received the placebo.

The number of moderate to severe COVID-19 cases 14 days after vaccination among the placebo group, 348, was higher than the number in the group that got the shot, 116. Three other people in the former group had symptomatic COVID-19, along with one other person in the latter set.

The new results come after an interim report in January showed the jab was 66 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe disease.

U.S. officials are probing at least seven cases where patients who got Johnson & Johnsons shot developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare blood clot, in conjunction with low levels of blood platelets. One of the patients died.

While these events are very rare, were recommending a pause in the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine in order to prepare the health care system, to recognize and treat patients appropriately, and to report severe events they may be seeing in people whove received the J&J vaccine, Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters on a call last week.

European regulators on Tuesday concluded there is a possible link between the jab and the blood clots, but Johnson & Johnson scientists have challenged the idea that the way the vaccine is designed may explain the post-vaccination clots.

The pause could be lifted as soon as this week. The CDCs vaccine advisory committee on April 14 opted to recommend the pause remain in place until it reviewed the data further. The panel is meeting again on April 23.
Indian multinational conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged a 'significant' contract to build "one of the world's largest oil and gas supply bases" in Saudi Arabia.

The project involves constructing industrial facilities of different sizes, an administration building, ancillary buildings, associated infrastructure and storage yards along with Civil, Structural, MEP and Architectural works. The project is scheduled to be completed in 30 months.

Though the company did not give the value of the contract, its significant nature suggests it to be within the range of Rs 1,000 - Rs 2,500 crore.

"We thank our client, for reposing confidence in our capability to build a project of such size and scale," said M.V. Satish, Whole Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Buildings), L&T.

Elaborating on its significance, he added: "This project will act as a business incubator to support the oil and gas industry in the Kingdom and help accelerate industrial growth in the energy sector. It has strategic significance for L&T too, marking our future growth in such a potential-rich market like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." Larsen & Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC Projects, Hi-Tech Manufacturing and Services with over $ 21 billion in revenue. It operates in over 30 countries worldwide.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro Limited on Thursday closed at Rs. 1,339.50, up by Rs.8 as compared to the previous closing of Rs 1,331.50 on the National Stock Exchange.

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The Government's goal of vaccinating 80% of adults by June still stands, the Taoiseach has said, telling the Dail: "The target is still the target."

It comes after the HSE's national director responsible for the vaccine rollout, Damien McCallion, told the Oireachtas Health Committee he is "not in a position" to confirm if the target will be reached.

Issues with supplies have created numerous setbacks for the vaccination programme, with news on Tuesday that a delivery of AstraZeneca jabs this week had fallen from an expected 45,000 to just 9,000.

Labour leader Alan Kelly raised the issue at Leaders' Questions on Wednesday, asking the Taoiseach if there are changes to the vaccine rollout.

Micheal Martin responded: "The target is still the target, I'm not confirming any changes whatsoever."

He highlighted the challenges presented by decisions taken by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) around the safety of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

The NIAC has advised that the AZ jab should only be given to people over 60, and will meet this week to discuss use of the J&J vaccine after an EMA review over rare blood clotting concerns found the benefits outweigh the risks.

The Taoiseach said: "The key issue, yet to be determined, is the issue of the interval between doses, which has been examined again by NIAC in consultation with the chief medical officer."

AstraZeneca has indicated that its supply capacity could increase significantly if it is given certain authorisations around manufacturing, Mr Martin said.

He added: "Depending on the outcomes of a lot of that, the situation can improve significantly.

"You could potentially, if Johnson & Johnson is to be made available... that's another 600,000 that will be available in quarter two.

"The issue then will be the administration of vaccines in Q2."

Mr Martin did not respond to a question around goals to administer 250,000 vaccinations per week by April - a target Mr McCallion said on Tuesday would not be met.

Mr Kelly said: "For the record, for the public watching, the Taoiseach of Ireland has said at this moment in time there's no change as regards the 82% by June and 250,000 by next week.

"You said there was no change and that is the effect of saying there is no change."

Mr Kelly also suggested that a new vaccine oversight group in the Taoiseach's department had been established because of Health Minister Stephen Donnelly's performance.

Mr Martin responded angrily, saying: "Absolutely not - it's nothing to do with Minister Donnelly's performance.

"I wonder what your agenda is, quite frankly. You should be supporting the vaccination programme, not trying to undermine it, not trying to get 'getcha moments'.

"'We've just heard the Taoiseach say X or Y.' I'm not interested in that kind of infantile politics or juvenile politics."

Mr Kelly shouted over the Taoiseach: "That's diversion tactics is all it is. Answer the question for the people of Ireland, the people deserve to know."

Mr Martin said: "The group that has been established, that you've asked about, is a group that involves the HSE, that involves NIAC, because there is a relationship between advice and the operationalisation of that advice in terms of the administration of vaccines.

"That to me is a simple, positive thing to do."
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Rescuers searching for an Indonesian submarine have found an unidentified object with high magnetism at a depth of 165 to 330ft (50 to 100 metres) that officials hope is the missing vessel.

Indonesian navy ships were today continuing to scour the seas off Bali amid fears the sub may have sunk too deep to save after it went missing in 2,300ft waters on Wednesday.

Authorities said oxygen in the submarine would run out by early Saturday, making it a race against time to find the 53 sailors on board.

The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 was conducting a torpedo drill in waters 60 miles north of the island of Bali but failed to relay the results as expected, prompting an international search operation.

Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono has said the sailors have enough oxygen to last them until 3am on Saturday.

'The submarine's oxygen reserve capacity in a blackout is 72 hours', Margono told reporters. 'There's time until Saturday around 3am. Let's hope we can find them before then.'

But a glimmer of hope had emerged, he said, after authorities found an item with 'high magnetic force' floating at a depth of 165 to 330ft.

The military said more than 20 navy ships, two submarines and five aircraft were searching the area where the submarine was last detected.

Indonesian rescue workers (above) search for the missing submarine as Navy chiefs fear the worst.

The German-made KRI Nanggala-402 submarine (file photo of the submarine) is missing with 53 sailors on board

Indonesian marines are out in full force to track down the submarine that has sparked an international rescue operation

A hydro-oceanographic survey ship equipped with underwater detection capabilities also was on its way to the torpedo drilling site, where an oil slick was found.

Margono said the oil slick may have been caused by a crack in the submarine's tank after the vessel sank.

Indonesia's navy said it was possible an electrical failure occurred during the dive, causing the submarine to lose control and become unable to undertake emergency procedures that would have allowed it to resurface.

French navy vice admiral Antoine Beaussant has warned that the submarine was not built to withstand such a depth.

'If it went down to rest at 700 metres the likelihood is it would have broken up,' he said. 700 metres is around 2,296ft. The submarine is only built to withstand depths of up to 820ft below sea-level.

Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing Navy submarine have found an oil spill near the vessel's dive location in the waters off Bali.

Officials fear the vessel sank to the bottom of a trough with a depth of 2,300ft during a torpedo military exercise. The navy has deployed a number of warships to search for the missing crew.

Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, also said the submarine could be at too great a depth for a rescue team to operate.

'Most rescue systems are really only rated to about 1,970ft (600m),' he said. 'They can go deeper than that because they will have a safety margin built into the design, but the pumps and other systems that are associated with that may not have the capacity to operate. So they can survive at that depth, but not necessarily operate.'

Owen, a former submariner who developed an Australian submarine rescue system, said the Indonesian vessel was not fitted with a rescue seat around an escape hatch designed for underwater rescues.

He said a rescue submarine would make a waterproof connection to a disabled submarine with a so-called skirt fitted over the rescue seat so that the hatch can be opened without the disabled submarine filling with water.

Owen said the submarine could be recovered from 1,640ft (500m) without any damage but couldn't say if it would have imploded at 2,300ft (700m).

Indonesia Navy submarine KRI Alugoro takes part in the search for KRI Nanggala, another submarine that went missing on Wednesday

The Malaysian Navy have provided a submarine rescue ship, the MV Mega Bakti, to help find the KRI Nanggala near the island of Bali

Indonesian warship Suharso prepares the join the search for the missing submarine, over 24 hours after it went missing, as fears mount for the 53 sailors on board

Navy spokesman Julius Widjojono said on Thursday that search teams were focused on an area around the oil slick, but that the exact location of the vessel had yet to be pinpointed.

'It has not been found yet,' Widjojono said. 'But we've detected the area...Today, around 400 personnel have been deployed.'

Six warships and a helicopter have been sent out to look for the sub, the navy said.

'We are obviously very concerned about these reports. It's very distressing for families and particularly for the Indonesian navy,' Australian foreign minister Marise Payne told broadcaster ABC.

'We've indicated that we will help in any way we can.'

Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked all of the country's people to pray that the submarine and crew could be found.

'Our main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members,' Widodo said in a televised address. 'To the families of the crew members, I can understand your feelings and we are doing our best to save all of the crew members on board.'

The marines (above) patrolling the waters will be supported by ships from Singapore and Malaya

The Indonesian Rescue Agency are part of the hunt for the vanished submarine

The 44-year-old submarine had asked for permission to dive to conduct the live torpedo exercises.

'After permission was given according to the procedure, the submarine lost contact and could not be reached,' Indonesia's Defence Ministry said.

An aerial search by a helicopter later found an oil spill in waters where the submarine was thought to have submerged. The navy deployed two vessels with sonar capability to assist the hunt, the ministry said.

The navy requested help from other nations with submarine rescue vessels and Australia, Singapore and India have responded, the ministry said in a statement.

Rescue ships from Singapore and Malaysia are expected to arrive between Saturday and Monday. The Indonesian military said Australia, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, India and Turkey have also offered assistance. South Korea said it has also offered help.

'The news of the missing submarine is deeply concerning,' Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said during a visit to New Zealand. 'We will provide any assistance that we can. There's no question that submarine search and rescues are very complex.'

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton called the incident 'a terrible tragedy.' He told Sydney Radio 2GB that the fact that the submarine is 'in a very deep part of waters' makes it 'very difficult for the recovery or for location.'

'Our fervent prayers and hopes go out to the crew of KRI Nanggala, for their safety and resilience,' Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen wrote on Facebook.

There are fears the submarine is not able to withstand depths as low as 2,296ft without 'breaking up'

The hunt for Nanggala-402: Rescuers prepare to set off from Bali on a search mission with 53 submarine crew members missing

The submarine was conducting a torpedo drill in waters 60 miles north of the island of Bali

TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said contact with the submarine was lost at around 4.30am local time on Wednesday morning.

'We are still searching in the waters of Bali, 60 miles from Bali, (for) 53 people,' military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters in a text message.

He added: 'Tomorrow I will immediately go to the location.'

The military chief confirmed that assistance in the search for the submarine and missing crew members had been sought from Australia and Singapore.

Representatives of the defence departments of the two countries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Commander Marshal Tjahjanto will hold a media briefing to share further information about the search on Thursday from Bali, a spokesman said.

An oil spill in the area of the submarine could be responsible for the disappearance, as marines continue the hunt

Indonesian marine police (above) preparing to join the search for the missing submarine

Missing Naggala 402 Age: 44 years after being built in 1977 Top speed: 25 knots (46 km/hr) Range: 8,200 nautical miles (15,200 km) Maximum diving depth: 843ft Weight: 1,395 tons Length: 65 yards Fuel: Powered by four electric deisel engines Armaments: 14 torpedos located in eight tubes. It is also equipped with a CSU-3-2 suite type sonar Built in: Lubeck, Germany Advertisement

Military analyst Soleman Ponto said it is too early to determine the fate of the submarine conclusively.

'We don't know yet whether the communication equipments were broken or the submarine has sunken. We have to wait for at least three days,' he said.

The 1,395-tonne KRI Nanggala-402 was built in Germany in 1977, according to the defense ministry, and joined Indonesian fleet in 1981. It underwent a two-year refit in South Korea that was completed in 2012.

Indonesia in the past operated a fleet of 12 submarines purchased from the Soviet Union to patrol the waters of its sprawling archipelago.

But now it has a fleet of only five including two German-built Type 209 submarines and three newer South Korean vessels.

Indonesia has been seeking to modernise its defence capabilities but some of its equipment still in service is old and there have been deadly accidents in recent years.

In 2016, an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed into a mountain, killing all 13 people board, during a training exercise in the remote region of Papua.

In 2015, an Indonesian military transport plane crashed into a northern residential area two minutes after takeoff, killing more than 100 people.

While the Southeast Asian archipelago has not previously suffered a major submarine disaster, other countries have been struck by accidents in the past.

Among them was the horrific sinking in 2000 of the Kursk, the pride of Russia's Northern Fleet.

The submarine was on manoeuvres in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000 when it sank with the loss of all 118 aboard. An inquiry found a torpedo had exploded, detonating all the others.

The fate of the 53 sailors hangs in the balance as Indonesian marines search for the missing submarine

An aerial search by a helicopter found an oil spill in waters where the submarine (file photo) was thought to have submerged

In 2018, authorities found the wreckage of a missing Argentine submarine that had gone missing a year earlier.

Crushed from an implosion, the ARA San Juan was located at a depth of more than 900 metres (3,000 feet) in a desolate area of undersea craters and canyons 400 kilometres (250 miles) off the coast of Argentina.

The accident took the lives of 44 sailors.

Then, in 2019, a French submarine that went missing in the western Mediterranean over 50 years ago was found.

The diesel-electric Minerve submarine was lost off France's southern coast with 52 sailors on board on January 27, 1968.

The Minerve was on a training mission in bad weather when it went down while returning to its base in Toulon, France's main Mediterranean naval port.

Experts have speculated that the disaster was caused by a problem with the Minerve's rudder, a collision with another boat, the explosion of a missile or torpedo, or a fault with its oxygen supply systems.
Two years ago, Nexford University, an online university based in Washington DC, announced that it would be planting a tree in India and Africa for every learner enrolled.

As of February, the school has planted over 2,339 trees in its Plant a Tree Initiative.

In commemoration of the Earth Day on April 22, PREMIUM TIMES spoke with the founder of the school, Fadl Al Tarzi, on the initiative.

Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Several agencies and organisations celebrate the day by holding special events to spread awareness about climate change and global warming.

This theme for this years celebration is Restore our Earth.

While celebrating the second anniversary of its initiative, Nexford University explained that tree planting is the need of the hour as trees have an enormous ecological presence and are crucial to combat global warming.

A single tree can produce more than 110kg of oxygen annually. The world emits about 43 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. Energy consumption is the largest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, and every tree counts in protecting the environment. Nexford University is not just building a sustainable learning environment but also making the world a better place to live.

Deforestation continues to take place at alarming rates, and over 80 per cent of the Earths original forests have been destroyed. Nexford University has pledged to work towards reforestation on its second anniversary. The environmentally friendly team at Nexford has found a unique way to celebrate its anniversary and started the Plant a Tree Initiative. It will be planting a tree in India and Africa for every learner enrolled at Nexford to combat climate change, a statement issued by the school read.

She further stated that in actualisation of its initiative, the university has partnered with Tree-nation.

The learners have to register on Tree-nation, track the tree, see where it is grown, and download a tree certificate, she said.

Planting more trees benefits our physical as well as our mental health. Stress and depression levels can be significantly reduced if trees surround us. Nexford has already planted 2339 trees for its current and graduated students. Learners across the world are gearing up to plant a tree with Nexford and contribute to a healthier Earth.

Why we are not planting in Nigeria yet  Founder

Mr Tarzi told PREMIUM TIMES that although there are plans to plant trees in Nigeria, the planting has only been done in Tanzania.

We partnered with an organisation called Tree-nation. Now we planted trees through them. We are going to be looking at different locations to plant trees around the world but were mainly focused on sub-Saharan Africa and the next stage will be with me because I think to plant trees in India. So far, we have planted trees primarily in Tanzania. We are considering Nigeria and we would be happy to plant in Nigeria.

Speaking further on why the planting has not kicked off in Nigeria, the university founder said there are no listings and tree planting opportunities in the country.

The last time I checked I am not sure whether we actually found any listings in Nigeria. When we looked, I believe we didnt find any in Nigeria specifically. But if we do we will definitely do it because Nigeria is a big market for us. It is one of our biggest markets. On the contrary, we actually have hundreds of students from Nigeria. Probably have over a thousand students from Nigeria and we didnt find any tree planting opportunities in Nigeria through our partners.

Mr Tarzi said the target of the organisation was to plant over a million trees in the next 10 years, under the initiative.

When asked about the challenges faced, Mr Tarzi explained that it is tasking calculating the carbon footprint of the organisation.

Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organisation or community.

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So it is often challenging to calculate exactly our footprint because we use a lot of technology all over the world and through partners. So it is often challenging to calculate accurately what our carbon footprint is.

He added that in a bid to solve the problem, the organisation took a decision nearly two years ago to become a completely paperless company.

So we dont actually print any paper within the organisation and we dont require physical documents like our contracts and other documents.
Demi Lovato says haircut enabled her to break free of southern Christian gender, sexuality norms

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Pop star Demi Lovato, who just last year said she was attending church again and then came out as a pansexual, has revealed that her short haircut is her way of breaking free of the gender and sexuality norms imposed on her by southern Christian culture.

Lovato shared her thoughts about hair and Christian culture in the South while on the The Drew Barrymore Show."

She explained that she chose to cut her hair really short after she grew weary of trying to be the stereotypical sexy feminine pop star and the models she said were placed on her as a Christian in the South.

And when I cut my hair, Lovato explained, I felt so liberated because I wasnt subscribing to an ideal or a belief placed upon me to be something that Im not.

The interview promoted Lovatos new YouTube series and latest record, both titled Dancing with the Devil.

The expression is her description of her journey with and recovery from drug addiction.

I was dancing with the devil, out of control / almost made it to heaven / it was closer than you know / playing with the enemy, gambling with my soul / its so hard to say no / when youre dancing with the devil, the former Disney star sings in the chorus of the song. Praying for better days to come and wash this pain away / Could you please forgive me? / Lord, Im sorry for dancing with the devil.

In the interview with Barrymore, Lovato revealed she was the happiest she has ever been.

If you dont like it, fine, she maintained. But if this provokes a conversation and raises awareness, takes away the stigma about the topics Im talking about, then thats what I want, is to just open peoples perspectives and to change the conversation around recovery, too.

In early 2020, Lovato announced that she was attending church and growing her relationship with God since she nearly died from an overdose in July 2018.

The 28-year-old was also baptized in 2019 in the Jordan River and celebrated her experience on Instagram.

There is something absolutely magical about Israel. Ive never felt such a sense of spirituality or connection to God  something Ive been missing for a few years now, Lovato wrote. To be baptized in the Jordan river  the same place Jesus was baptized  Ive never felt more renewed in my life.

In a recent appearance on Joe Rogans podcast, she came out as a pansexual who is attracted to anything, really." She said she hid this identity for many years because of her Christian upbringing.

I felt a lot of shame because growing up in Texas as a Christian, thats very frowned upon, she said, referring to her sexual attraction to women. Any attraction that I ever had toward a female at a young age, I shut it down before I even let myself process what I was feeling.

Lovato, who broke off an engagement in 2020, told Rogan that she is now too gay to marry a man and is unsure if that will change.
South Carolinas governor is pushing state lawmakers to approve a bill that would prevent people who contract COVID-19 from suing businesses and other groups that have followed federal and state health guidelines.

In a letter sent Monday to House members and provided to The Associated Press, Gov. Henry McMaster wrote that the states businesses should not be placed at future risk for following the recommended safety protocols which allowed them to operate and employ people during the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee was slated to take up the measure, which has already passed the Senate. Dozens of other states have passed similar laws protecting businesses that follow all recommended steps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections.

Opponents of the bill have said existing laws could handle the problem, pointing out earlier this year there was just one lawsuit pending in state court where someone blames a business for their illness.

In a statement to AP, South Carolina Association for Justice, a group that represents the states trial lawyers, said it is deeply concerned, adding there is simply no need for the legislation.

Businesses should never be given far-reaching immunity from being held responsible for risky or reckless behavior, said Richards McRae, association president. It is dangerous to everyone if that happens.

But various interest groups also want liability protection: In a letter assembled by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, more than 40 trade organizations  including business groups and food service associations  urged passage of the bill, writing that it provides necessary, targeted, and temporary liability relief for businesses, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and other entities who have followed and continue to follow public health guidance during the pandemic.

According to the Alliance, 39 states and almost all of our Southeastern neighbors and competitors have adopted some type of COVID-19 liability protections either by legislation or executive order.

In its own letter, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce wrote on behalf of more than 250 local chambers, businesses and institutions of higher learning that the bill is crucial to the states effort to rebuild our businesses and adapt to evolving public health guidance in recovery from the pandemic.

In his letter, McMaster  who throughout the pandemic has promoted the states businesses as necessary drivers to keep the economy thriving  said that 10% of the states businesses have been forced to closed permanently, and that 70% of those still open cite the lack of liability coverage as the greatest threat to their future.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics COVID-19 South Carolina
The change comes as demand for vaccine, which has been acute in the Chicago area during the first few months of its rollout, has winded down and more of the eligible population in suburban Cook County  about one in two  has gotten at least the first dose, Rocha said. Tuesdays release of appointments at the countys mass vaccination sites took a few hours to fill up versus a few minutes, which was how long it took a week earlier, Rocha said.
Beijing: After three years of ban on fasting during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Uyghur Muslims from Xinjiang refrain fasting during Ramadan despite easing of restrictions this year, due to lingering fear of being branded an "extremist" and marked for detention.

Shohret Hoshur, in an article in Radio Free Asia (RFA), wrote that Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the XUAR for years have been prohibited from fully observing Ramadan due to religious persecution and restrictions imposed by the Chinese government, which has in many cases banned civil servants, students and teachers from fasting during the holy month.

In certain areas of the region, access to mosques is more tightly controlled and restaurants are ordered to remain open, while Uyghur retirees are often forced to pledge ahead of Ramadan that they won`t fast or pray to set an example for the wider community and to assume responsibility for ensuring others also refrain.

During last year`s April 23 to May 23 Ramadan, RFA learned that authorities in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture`s Makit (Maigaiti)--a county in which some 83 per cent of the population is Uyghur--had informed residents that they were required to turn in any friends or relatives who took part in fasting.

Residents were told that that they could face punishment for fasting, including being sent to one of the XUAR`s vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017, wrote Hoshur.RFA also spoke with an official in Kashgar`s Peyziwat (Jiashi) county at the time who said his township had instituted mandatory attendance at a daily dawn flag-raising ceremony, as well as evening political studies, as part of a bid to prevent residents from fasting because those are the only times of the day that they are allowed to eat, according to Muslim tradition.

While investigating the situation in the region during this year`s Ramadan, observed between April 12 to May 12, RFA spoke with representatives of government offices, including religious affairs and United Front offices--many of whom, as in previous years, refused to answer questions related to restrictions.

However, RFA recently contacted a police officer in Toqquzaq (Tuokezhake) township, in Kashgar`s Kona Sheher (Shufu) county, who said that restrictions on fasting had "eased" in his region since 2020, after having been strictly banned for three consecutive years. Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, he said that meetings about Ramadan are "always being held" at his police station, with authorities informing the public to "stay far away from religious extremism" and "not to believe rumours but to trust in the party and government.

"But amid the propaganda work, he said, residents were being told that "people can fast if they want to," while those who prefer not to "don`t have a religious responsibility to do so," suggesting that they have been given a choice.

But despite his claim that restrictions had eased beginning in 2020, the same police officer noted that he has yet to see anyone fasting in his region since then, suggesting that Uyghurs continue to live in an environment of fear.

"I haven't sensed that [people are fasting] at all ... I haven't come across a single person that I`ve thought is fasting," he said."Many people have become very disgusted by religious extremism ... and they worry about being seen and counted as an extremist."

A resident of Kashgar's neighbouring Yengisheher (Shule) county seemed to confirm that Uyghurs didn`t dare fast this year for fear of drawing the attention of authorities, adding that he and his relatives were unaware of when Ramadan would even be observed in 2021, reported RFA.

"Oh, no--there`s no such thing now," said the resident, who also declined to be named, when asked if he was fasting for Ramadan."I know neither when Ramadan is starting nor when it ends. I'm going to and from work in the early mornings, so I'm completely unaware, OK?"Observers have noted that when Chinese authorities find themselves under heavy pressure from the global community over abuses in the XUAR, they often attempt to avoid criticism by temporarily lifting and easing some restrictions in the region.

Such measures are used to set an artificial stage--particularly prior to the arrival of international observers and investigators to the XUAR.

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MONTREAL, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Quebec-based AMD Medicom Inc. ("Medicom"), one of the world's leading manufacturers of procedure and respiratory masks, announced that in honour of Earth Day, whose theme this year is "Restore Our Earth", they will plant 10,000 trees in Canada. To do so, Medicom will collaborate with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization whose mission is focused on global reforestation.

This initiative is part of a voluntary environmental offset program for the mask boxes used at the new Montreal manufacturing facility and is part of a long-term corporate sustainability commitment that the company has undertaken. The 10,000 trees will be planted over the next few months.

"Medicom is seriously committed to doing our part in terms of sustainable development. As a Canadian company that has been protecting the health of caregivers and their patients for over 30 years, we also want to contribute to protecting the health of our planet. No gesture is too small when it comes to preserving the environment. Today, we are taking a small step that will have a big impact. In the coming months and years, we will take more steps for the sake of future generations," commented Guillaume Laverdure, Chief Operating Officer at Medicom.

One Tree Planted is an environmental non-profit dedicated to global reforestation. In 2020 alone, they planted over 10 million trees in 28 countries, reforesting nearly 16,000 hectares of land.

"We are proud to partner with One Tree Planted to lead our voluntary sustainability initiative related to mask packaging produced in Montreal. This non-profit organization has proven itself over the past few years to be one of the most effective in terms of global reforestation. In addition, the wonderful thing about this initiative is that it also allows our employees to participate in the collective effort by contributing individually to reforestation," added John Tourlas, Medicom President, North America.

Planting trees is one of the best ways to combat the negative effects of climate change. Trees help clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink and provide habitat for more than 80 percent of the world's terrestrial biodiversity. Trees also have a significant social impact by providing jobs for more than 1.6 billion people, empowering women in underdeveloped countries and supporting communities devastated by environmental damage. In addition, the trees planted through this initiative will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Earlier this year, Medicom also contributed $18,000 to the Jewish National Fund's Climate Solutions Prize. This award is given to encourage and motivate the best and brightest researchers and/or non-profit organizations in Israel by providing them with funds to address the climate crisis.

About the Medicom Group

The Medicom Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of high-quality, single-use, preventive and infection control products for the medical, dental, industrial, animal health, laboratory, retail and health and wellness markets. Medicom distributes infection control products under the Medicom, Ritmed, Kolmi, Hopen, Ocean Pacific and Hedy brands. Medicom subsidiaries include Kolmi-Hopen in France, Medicom Asia in Hong Kong, United Medical Enterprise in the U.S.A., KHM Engineering in Singapore and Medicom HealthPro Limited in the U.K.

Medicom has extensive experience in responding to the demand for personal protective equipment in the event of a pandemic. Medicom was founded in 1988 in response to the urgent need for medical gloves for healthcare professionals during the global HIV crisis. Since then, the company has been a reliable supplier of infection control solutions during multiple epidemics, including avian flu, SARS, H1N1 and Ebola, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information about Medicom and their comprehensive portfolio of infection control solutions, including an extensive range of medical face masks, please visit Medicom.com, follow us on Twitter @MedicomNA or visit pages on Facebook or LinkedIn.



About One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to enable everyone to help protect the environment by planting trees. Its projects span the globe and are carried out in partnership with local communities and skilled experts to create an impact on nature, people and wildlife. Reforestation helps rebuild forests after fires and floods, creates jobs with social impact and restores biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping goals, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit onetreeplanted.org.

SOURCE AMD Medicom Inc.

Related Links

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Unexpected debt brought about by the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could leave the MTA billions of dollars short for its 2020-2024 capital program, according to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

On Tuesday, DiNapoli released an annual report evaluating the MTAs outstanding debt, claiming that the agency may not have the necessary funds to complete its historic $54.8 billion plan.

The MTA and its riders face difficult years ahead, despite recent federal relief that helped avoid drastic short-term budget cuts, DiNapoli said. The MTAs mounting debts and devastated revenue make it unlikely that it can afford all the work it planned. The numbers just dont add up.

Last year, the MTA borrowed $2.9 billion from the Federal Reserves Municipal Liquidity Fund to cover operating expenses during the pandemic.

As a result, the agency may no longer be able to fully fund all the projects that are included in the capital plan, according to the report.

The MTA committed to pay $9.8 billion for the transit and commuter railroad portions of the capital program but now suggests it can only afford to pay $6.9 billion because the remaining debt capacity was used to issue $2.9 billion for operating purposes, the report states.

DiNapoli said that the agency will need ridership to rebound more quickly than anticipated, or will need to identify new revenue streams, in order to maintain the capital plan in its current capacity.

If revenues do not return to pre-pandemic levels or additional financial support is not secured, the MTA may be forced to cut the program by $2.9 billion or more, according to the report.

The MTA has noted that the $2.9 billion borrowed to cover operating expenses is not due back until December 2023, and that it is too early to tell whether the agency will need to take out additional loans to complete the capital plan.

The MTA is getting capital projects done faster and less expensively through its new Construction & Development agency that is cutting past forms of red tape, using new contracting methods that create incentives for contractors to cut schedules and bundling projects, among other innovations, said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.

We have worked safely to continue the capital program through the pandemic, bringing real progress on station accessibility, subway resignaling, major marquee projects like the L Project and LIRR Third Track, and projects to bring the system into a state of good repair, Donovan added.

The historic 2020-2024 capital plan includes over $40 billion to be invested solely in the New York City Transit Authority to improve bus and subway service throughout the city.

The $37.3 billion investment in the citys subway system will continue to build upon the agencys Subway Action Plan, with the money being used primarily to fund signal modernization, improved station accessibility, new subway cars, new escalators, new tracks and Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway project.

The $3.5 billion investment in the citys bus system is being used toward the replacement of over 2,200 of the agencys oldest buses, the purchase of 500 all-electric buses, the renovation of existing bus depots and the installation of onboard digital information screens and bus lane cameras.
Farming organisations have said they are stunned and disappointed by the details of the Results-Based Environment Agri Pilot Programme (REAP) while others have described the pilot as a damp squib.

Speaking after a meeting with the Department of Agriculture last week, IFA rural development chairperson, Michael Biggins said the details of REAP are a damp squib.

He said that after the all the hype, the Department confirmed that the budget for the new scheme for 2021 will only be 10m, out of the 79m for new agri-environment and other farm support measures announced in the Budget.

Of this 79m, 56m was EU funding and 23m from the carbon tax.

We know that 10m of the 79m has gone for the Straw Incorporation Measure. The Minister needs to clarify where the rest of the money has gone, said Mr Biggins.

The real concern for farmers is what this means for the Programme for Government commitment that 1.5bn from the carbon tax would be committed for a REPS 2 type scheme over the next 10 years. The clear commitment is that this money is to be on top of CAP Pillar II funds. This must be honoured in full, he said.

On the scheme itself, Mr Biggins said that payment rates are far too low. The Minister has also conceded that there will be significant participation costs for farmers.

Applications are limited to ten per planner which is totally unacceptable. Planners should not have to choose which ten farmers are put forward for the scheme. Overall, its a major disappointment, he said.

IFA hill committee chairperson, Flor McCarthy added, its an absolute disgrace that commonage lands and lands containing heather are excluded from the Pilot Programme.

The exclusion of all land featuring heather fundamentally excludes the majority of designated lands, which is totally unacceptable to IFA. All hills, both commonage and privately owned land, should be provided for in the scheme and designated lands must be given priority access to the scheme, he said.

The officers of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) agreed saying they were stunned by the proposals in REAP to exclude commonages and land containing heather from the scheme.

INHFA president, Colm ODonnell, said it is shocking that an agri-environmental programme supported by the Irish State and the European Union, ignores the most valuable lands in the country with a high percentage of these lands forming part of the Natura 2000 network.

In making the call to exclude these lands, it does, he added, increase our suspicion that the habitats and biodiversity is of secondary importance to the carbon asset that many believe and hope these lands can deliver. Similar to what is happening in the CAP negotiations under GAEC 2 where prescribed actions could make peat soils ineligible, this pilot has also identified large areas of peat soils for exclusion.

He noted, as this is a pilot it will be instrumental in forming the basis for the next agri-environmental scheme in the new CAP and questioned if commonage and hill land where heather dominates will even get access to any such scheme.

Mr O'Donnell was also critical of the proposed budget for REAP.

ICMSA representatives were also unhappy with the proposed budget and structure of the scheme.

Speaking following a meeting with Department the chairperson of ICMSAs farm and rural affairs committee, Denis Drennan said that farmers will be hugely disappointed adding it is very far cry from the version that had been spun and hyped by official sources.

Mr Drennan said that with a budget of 10m only approximately 2,200 farmers will be able to participate in the scheme with a maximum payment of approximately 5,000 per participant.

Yet again farmers find themselves in a position where they are willing to invest in environmental initiatives, but our Government and the EU have failed to put up the necessary funding despite launching multiple environmental strategies at this stage. The old adage is that actions speak louder than words and its absolutely obvious that there is an unwillingness to invest in environmental public good - despite all the rhetoric. This disconnect between aspirations and investment simply has to be addressed, said Mr Drennan.

While acknowledging that some measures may be of relevance to some commercial farmers, he said the overwhelming disappointment is the limited options available for all farmers

The good work that farmers are already doing is not being acknowledged and, given the budget, the national impact of the scheme will be very limited, he added.
By James R. Kern III

It is hard to believe that I am starting my third year in office on the Warren County Board of Commissioners. So much has changed in this short period of time since first announcing my run for county office. Regional planning and the importance of smart growth have been highlighted significantly over the last few years. The global COVID-19 pandemic has increased this subject with a demand for housing, shopping habits turning to e-commerce, and the proliferation of warehousing.

While there have certainly been some bumps in the road, the work done by grassroots organizations, local municipal leadership, and the public by raising awareness have led to some major changes. Towns are becoming more aware of outdated zoning and residents are seeing what organized pressure can do.

There is more that the county can and will do. I advised my colleagues at our last public meeting that I will be inviting the Highlands Council to an upcoming commissioner meetings to discuss and consider planned conformance. As is the case with many northwest New Jersey communities, our relationship with the Highlands Council and the Act has been complicated.

The loss of land value and equity to farmers and property owners is considerable. The state must continue to keep this in mind but when we read what the act is trying to accomplish, much of our vision aligns. The agencys goal is to encourage a comprehensive regional approach to implementing the 2004  act and adoption of a regional master plan to protect and enhance the natural resources with the New Jersey Highlands. If the past three years have shown us anything, its that regional planning and more state leadership is so desperately needed.

Most of Warren Countys municipalities have already opted into the Highlands planning area and recently our southern neighbor, Hunterdon County, has done so as well. The Highlands can help protect our quality of life and the local environment but also, notably, assist with smart economic growth. The council can provide grants to help cash-strapped governments. Recently, the Highlands awarded Warren County a significant grant to perform a light industrial impact study on County Road 519.

In addition to conformance with the Highlands Act, I will be also proposing the creation of a new county board: the environmental advisory committee. This committee will replace the dormant and defunct environmental commission; which hasnt met in decades. The county must lead in coordinating environmental policy and planning with our local and state partners. As mayor of Pohatcong Township, I witnessed firsthand how effective an environmental committee can be. This group will be able to assist with Highlands Conformance, updating our environmental inventory study, and incorporating green technologies within county government like electric vehicles and green buildings.

While preservation of lands is crucial, the county must be a partner with our significant population centers of Hackettstown, Phillipsburg, and Washington. The county should seriously begin to consider a development authority to offer more assistance to these downtown communities. Our county is incredibly diverse and we must be able to differentiate the historical charm of villages like Hope, the wooded beauty of Hardwick, and industrial legacy of Phillipsburg. One size fits all will not work.

Each year when we celebrate Earth Day, we try to find a way we can help our environment in a positive matter. I hope that todays announcement will not just lead to strong action today but for years to come.

James R. Kern III is the director of the Warren County Board of Commissioners and a Republican.
The principal of a new-age state school which allowed students to make Black Lives Matters posters calling officers 'pigs' has explained the controversial posters were part of a teaching exercise about the news.

Students in Years 5 and 6 at Lindfield Learning Village on Sydney's North Shore made placards with the words 'stop killer cops' and 'pigs out of the country', slogans which have featured heavily in the BLM movement in the US.

Others read: 'white lives matter too much' and 'you can't silence the speechless'.

Principal Stephanie McConnell sent a letter to parents on Wednesday recognising the school had made a mistake, and explaining they were made as part of a class where children wrote down what they saw in the news.

'I am sorry for the offence this poster has caused people,' the note reads.

'We will be working with the Department to make sure something like this does not happen again.'

Lindfield Learning Village (pictured) on Sydney's North Shore has no uniform and a series of alternative learning techniques

This was one of the posters made by the students at Lindfield Learning Village in Sydney's north

One of the offensive posters made by the students read 'stop killer cops'

The posters were part of an exercise for Year 5 and 6 students in Aboriginal history, with students asked to identify 'issues they have heard from the mainstream news, other information sources or commentary'.

Principal McConnell says the slogans were not taught to the students, but were what the children has seen in the media.

'On reflection, the pre-learning exercise should have been handled differently,' she said in the letter.

The posters had been made and displayed from the ceiling from February this year and had been up for several months.

Teachers at the school (pictured) are required to maintain 'a balance between the explicit teaching of new learning and supporting students as independent learners'

Radio host Ben Fordham said the teacher should be sacked and Police Minister David Elliott said: 'That's right'. Pictured: One of the posters

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell launched a review into how the incident happened and warned her department was considering 'disciplinary action'.

'The comments on the poster are in no way endorsed by the department or represent the department's view of police, who do an indispensable job of keeping the community safe and secure,' NSW Education said.

'The school has been reminded of the controversial issues in schools policy.'

Lindfield Learning Village, which opened in January 2019, is an alternative state school that has no uniform and accepts children from kindergarten to year 12.

It follows a 'human-centred learning' method which 'enables the student to direct their own learning journey.'

Teachers are required to maintain 'a balance between the explicit teaching of new learning and supporting students as independent learners,' the school's website reads.

NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham slammed the school as a 'sinkhole for leftist ideological teaching'.

'I'm told the school has three types of toilets for five-year-olds: a boys toilet, a girls toilet, and a gender-neutral toilet,' he told Ray Hadley on radio 2GB.

Earlier NSW police minister David Elliott called for the teacher involved to be stood down for demonising police officers.

Lindfield Learning Village, which opened in January 2019, accepts children from kindergarten to year 12

'The headmistress should be fronting the media today to explain why taxpayers' dollars are being spent to educate children in this manner,' he told 2GB radio on Wednesday morning.

'They have completely let their student body down by indoctrinating and brainwashing them.

'We are supposed to be telling our kids that if you wear a uniform you're a hero and teaching these kids the history of Australia is one of tolerance and sacrifice and courage and then we get this crap stuck to us.

'If my kid was at this school I'd want my money back and I'd be getting my kid out of there.'

Mr Elliott apologised to the parents of police officers.

'We don't think that your children are pigs, we think your children are fantastic,' he said.

'Police haven't done anything wrong, they are the pillar of our society. This sort of mentality has no place in Australia.'

Host Ben Fordham said the teacher should be sacked and Mr Elliot said: 'That's right.'

NSW police minister David Elliott called for the teacher involved to be stood down for demonising police officers. Pictured: The school

Mr Elliott later spoke about the incident on Nine's Today show where he slammed 'ideologues that work in the education department'.

'Children don't need the police built up as some sort of bogey man which is what we're seeing with this indoctrination,' he said.

Images of the posters were shared on social media and featured in the Daily Telegraph.

Black Lives Matter is a movement founded in the US in 2013 to protest about some high-profile incidents of black men being killed by police.

It came back to prominence after George Floyd was killed by a police officer who in Minneapolis, Minnesota last year.

That officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on Wednesday morning Australian time of murdering Mr Floyd by leaning on his neck for nine and a half minutes on May 25.

The BLM movement spread to Australia where Indigenous rights activists held marches in major cities last winter.

One Nation's NSW Legislative Council MP Mark Latham backed calls for the teacher to be sacked, and said the principal should also be dismissed.

'For a student to be saying 'white lives matter too much' and for the teacher to display it in the classroom is appalling,' Mr Latham said.

'It is not education it is indoctrination, they're polluting the minds of little kids. It is not humanity, it is not compassion, it is a warped mutant ideology shoved down the throats of little kids.'

Derek Chauvin was handcuffed and led away on Tuesday to be held in jail before sentencing

Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes on May 25 outside Cup Foods

Lindfield Learning Village was established in 2019, with children not required to wear uniforms, and with no structured lessons or classrooms but instead using open-learning spaces.

The Learning Village said its education model was based on 'three archetypal learning spaces  the campfire, cave, and watering hole  that schools can use as physical spaces and virtual spaces for student learning.

'Our approach is designed to create independent, resilient learners who possess the learning dispositions required for success in their life within and beyond school.'

The school's stated 'Code of Collaboration' vows to 'listen actively and challenge each other's ideas to help them grow'.

'We will notice what is not being said and enable all voices,' the code reads.

The controversy came just a month after the school held Harmony Day 2021 in which students and staff were encouraged to wear orange or 'cultural dress' and to make donations to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's Feast for Freedom.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China's economy grew 18.3% year on year in Q1 of 2021. The recovery has begun in the second half of 2020, and China became one of the earliest countries to recover from the pandemic. During the COVID-19 time, Drapper Scott from the United Kingdom was in China. In the second half of 2020, he began to travel in southwest China. Produced by People's Daily Online West USA Inc., the docuseries " Viewing China from Afar " was released online recently, among which the episode "The Hidden City of Mountains: 8D Chongqing" documented Drapper Scott's travel in Chongqing in 2020, showcasing the colorful and dynamic Chongqing in various aspects.

People's Daily Online West USA Inc.

How does the China-Europe freight train reach Germany from Chongqing? How does the monorail go through the building? How exciting is it to ride the Airbus? How special is the cave hot pot? Under the guidance of Chongqing's internet celebrity Shuai, Scott visits the famous attractions of Chongqing to learn about its history and feel the charm of this "magical 8D city".

In the distance, it appears to be a mountain. From a closer look, it is a city. This is Chongqing, a city on the mountain and a mountain within the city. You think that you are taking the elevator on the first floor to go upstairs, but after going up a dozen floors, you realize that you have then arrived at the first floor; the taxi app shows that the driver is 1.5 kilometers away from you, but it takes him half an hour to get to you; you think that the movie Spirited Away is just a fairytale, but the dreamlike Hongya Cave is a real existence; you think Chongqing is hidden in the mountains of southwest China, but Chongqing's freight trains can travel directly to Europe. Chongqing is a modernized city and a city on a river. Chongqing is also a city of noodles and hot pot, a maze, a river flowing out of the mountains, and a magical 8D city.

In the story, Scott and Shuai taste the 400-year-old authentic Chongqing noodle dish and cave hotpot. They visit the famous scenic spots of Shibati, Liziba and Chaotian Gate, which show the "old memory" of Chongqing. They also enjoy the night scene of this mountain city, which is known as one of the top three nights skylines in China. As Scott exclaims at the end of the episode: Chongqing is a magical city, a city of the future.

CONTACT:

Wei Deng

Phone: 650.680.6790

Email: [email protected]

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Related Video

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SOURCE People's Daily Online West USA Inc.
House Democrats pass No Ban Act to prevent future presidents from instituting a 'Muslim ban'

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The Democrat-led House of Representatives passed two bills in response to former President Donald Trumps efforts to stem illegal immigration and limit travel from countries tied to terrorist activity, the latter of which was pejoratively called a "Muslim ban."

Even though President Joe Biden lifted Trump's travel ban by executive order in January, the House passed the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act, also called the NO BAN Act or H.R. 1333, by a vote of 218-208 Wednesday.

This bill imposes limitations on the President's authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States, noted the bill's official summary. It also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, unless there is a statutory basis for such discrimination.

In 2017, Trump signed an executive order that limited immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries where individuals were deemed to pose a terror threat to the United States.

The countries that were affected by the travel ban before Biden's revocation included: Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen.

The travel ban was first set in motion by former President Barack Obama, who in December 2015 signed into law the Visa Waiver Improvement Program and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act, which designated Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia as countries of concern.

While Biden lifted Trump's travel ban on Jan. 20, five days later he imposed his own travel ban on non-U.S. citizens from South Africa, Brazil, Europe and the U.K. in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A week earlier, Trump had rescinded the entry bans on non-U.S. citizens who had been in the U.K., Brazil and many countries in Europe, but the Biden administration reversed it and added South Africa.

The House also passed the Access to Counsel Act, also known as H.R. 1573, by a vote of 217-207. The bill guarantees that individuals seeking to legally enter the U.S. can contact a family member or adviser if in custody for an extended time period.

Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a supporter of both bills, said in her speech before the House voted on the NO BAN Act that it made sure that no president or administration can ever again abuse its authority by waging discrimination on the basis of religion.

The NO BAN Act strengthens the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion. And it restores the separation of powers by limiting overly broad executive action to [issue] future religious bans, which are fundamentally un-American, said Pelosi.

Passage of these bills, that both are on the floor  the NO BAN bill and the Access to Counsel bill  should not be controversial. Over 400 immigrants rights organizations, faith based organizations, business groups and civil rights organizations support the NO BAN Act. And many more support the Access to Counsel Act.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., opposed the Act, noting in a speech before the House that the measure hindered national security and anti-terrorism efforts.

Ronald Reagan and George Bush used this authority to protect our country. So too did Barack Obama and even Joe Biden as recently as January 25th, he said.

The Presidents ability to protect against threats, negotiate security protocols and when necessary to retaliate against discriminatory actions by other countries depends on having this power at his immediate disposal.

Trump garnered controversy and litigation when he instituted a travel ban in 2017.

In June 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Trump v. Hawaii that the president could in fact issue a travel ban for the sake of national security concerns.

Then Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy authored a two-page concurring opinion to the slim majority, warning that such travel bans should be respectful of religious freedom issues.

[It] is an urgent necessity that officials adhere to these constitutional guarantees and mandates in all their actions, even in the sphere of foreign affairs, wrote Kennedy.

An anxious world must know that our Government remains committed always to the liberties the Constitution seeks to preserve and protect, so that freedom extends outward, and lasts.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Kelvin Richards has served as a public defender with the Staten Island Legal Aid Society since 2013, and he wants to be the North Shores next City Council person.

A refugee of the Liberian Civil War, Richards, 38, is a graduate of the College of Staten Island, and current New Brighton resident. The United Auto Workers Region 9A announced their endorsement of him earlier this month.

As we face the many challenges ahead, we know Kelvin will continue to be a strong advocate for good-paying jobs, worker protections, healthcare access for all, and an economic recovery from this pandemic that prioritizes the needs of working families, the unions regional director, Beverly Brakeman, said.

Richards if one of 13 Democratic candidates set to take part in the June primary for City Councilwoman Debi Roses seat, which has been held by a Democrat since its creation in the 1990s.

Richards is also one of seven candidates to have raised enough money to qualify for the citys matching public funds program.

Given the crowded fields in this years races, the Advance/SILive.com opted to send questionnaires to each of the candidates in this years Mid-Island and North Shore City Council races.

Here are Richards unedited responses:



What will you do to ensure your district fully recovers from the pandemic?

Our next Council Member needs to be focused on tackling the issues were facing in the aftermath of COVID-19 and winning real relief for our families, small businesses, seniors, immigrants, and the most vulnerable among us. Im committed to addressing the longstanding inequities that have been brought to light while fighting for immediate relief for working families, frontline workers, seniors, and hard-hit communities. I will fight for real investment in our healthcare system, schools, and community programs.

Bringing our economy back to life after this pandemic is going to be one of the biggest challenges the next Council faces. Im committed to bringing good-paying jobs to the North Shore, supporting stronger worker protections, and creating a sustainable future for all our working families. We also need to support vocational training, local hiring, and workforce development programs to get New Yorkers back to work. And we need to be looking to the future by investing in infrastructure jobs in the green energy industry.

Local businesses are the backbone of our local economy here on the North Shore and across our City, and its critical that we help them get back on their feet. When Im on the City Council, I will fight to ensure that small business owners get the relief they need, through direct support, tax relief measures, commercial rent control, and efforts to encourage New Yorkers to shop local. I will also work to develop programs for small businesses to help them combat the red tape, ticketing and fines, and archaic rules and regulations that can hamper their growth.

What is your top priority outside pandemic recovery?

Ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to truly affordable housing was one of the most pressing issues facing our communities long before this pandemic started  and now were at our breaking point. To start tackling this issue, we need to lower the AMI (area median income) to reflect what is actually affordable for our working families. Any new development projects that come to the North Shore need to be affordable to the families who actually live here. I lived in public housing while I was in college and I know how important it is to have access to affordable, reliable housing, especially for our working and middle-class New Yorkers. Im committed to fighting for full funding for our NYCHA developments to address the long backlog of capital improvements and repairs  our NYCHA residents have been neglected and ignored for far too long.

What do you see as the future of policing in New York City? What is your position on the City Councils reform package announced Jan. 29?

As someone who was repeatedly and unconstitutionally stopped and frisked in this community as a young man and now, as a public defender, I am deeply familiar with the ways that our criminal justice system is broken and disproportionately discriminates against people of color. I fully support the Councils reform package from earlier this year, and we need to continue building on this progress and support alternatives to incarceration, while getting the guns off our streets and keeping our communities safe.

An NYPD shield. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

I support efforts to invest in community programs, including social services, mental health services, after-school programs, and violence interruption programs. I have worked hard to form partnerships with those police officers who volunteer their time working with the youth in our communities to foster good relations.

What efforts started by Councilwoman Rose would you like to continue and what would you like to do differently?

The North Shore is a diverse community with many needs. I will fight hard for the resources we need to ensure we have the mixed-income housing, good jobs, and great schools our families deserve. Ill also work to get a public hospital built on the Island to ensure more equitable health outcomes, and will work to ensure our residents and businesses are protected from the impacts of climate change. Debi Rose fought to save funding for youth programs and summer work. I will continue that fight for our youths as they help build the skills necessary for employment and personal growth.

How has your prior work experience prepared you for this position?

As a public defender here in Staten Island, I have spent almost a decade fighting for justice and standing up for those without a voice. I have a deep understanding of the injustices and inequities of our criminal justice system and Im ready to fight for real reform. As a father, longtime community advocate, and youth mentor, Im familiar with the needs of our education system and am committed to investing in community programs and building a stronger future for our youth.

Kelvin Richards speaks during an event. (Victoria A. Ifatusin/Staten Island Advance)

I have also served as the Staten Island Liberian Communitys (SILCA) youngest Vice President. I am currently the General Counsel for the African Community Association of Staten Island (ACASI). I am also serving on the board of Modest Community Association Services Inc. Lastly, I am a committee co-chair for New York State Bar Associations Task Force for Racial Injustice and Police Reform. My wealth of diverse experiences gives me a unique perspective.

Do you support any of the current mayoral candidates? If so, which one and why?

Its a crowded race, and at the end of the day, Im going to support the candidate who I believe will ensure a stronger future for our communities on the North Shore.

How would you like to see transit improved on the North Shore?

I will fight to improve our mass transit system and increase the safety and ease of walking and biking across the North Shore. As our boroughs population increases, we cannot ignore the need to have safer streets, more connected walking paths, expansion for bikes and pedestrians, safer sidewalks, and expanded bus lanes that reach everyone living on the North Shore. We also must address the steep increase in pedestrian fatalities on SI by ensuring motorists are adhering to the speed limit, increasing the number of speed bumps, and implementing daylighting at intersections to improve sightlines in congested intersections.

This past year highlighted the need for open, walkable streets. I fully support Open Streets and will look for opportunities to implement them in coordination with our small business districts and neighborhood civic associations. Looking to the future, I would gladly support a light rail system that connects our neighborhoods to main commerce locations, transit hubs, and the waterfront developments such as the Stadium, Empire Outlets and the ferry.

How will you hope to ensure responsible development on the North Shore with a focus on addressing the areas infrastructure needs?

Development on the North Shore has the potential to create good jobs, but we need to ensure that new development projects prioritize the needs of working families on the North Shore, expand our number of affordable housing units, and support both a unionized workforce and local hiring.



Any new projects that come to the North Shore need to be affordable to the families who actually live here; thats why I will fight to lower the AMI to reflect what is actually affordable in our community and push for the creation of more apartments that make sense for our families, with two bedrooms or more. We need to continue to improve our sewer and drainage systems to avoid flooding of commerce districts and be more diligent with repair and upkeep of sidewalks and road maintenance.

Do you hope to reinvigorate some of the more tourist-focused development? If so, how would you hope to do that?

While my first priority on the Council will be to ensure an equitable recovery from this pandemic, I would support efforts to reinvigorate stalled development projects like the NY Wheel and Empire Outlets.

What is your position on a public hospital for Staten Island?

Staten Island was facing steep healthcare disparities before this pandemic hit, and now the situation is dire, especially for immigrants and communities of color. As the only borough without a full-service public hospital, we urgently need to take action to invest in our healthcare system, support our healthcare workers who are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and prepare for the next crisis. I support bringing a public hospital to Staten Island and expanding the number of community-based clinics to provide much-needed services in the meantime. Healthcare is a human right, and I will fight to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to high-quality, affordable healthcare  regardless of their zip code.

What is your position on the 44 Victory homeless shelter?

We need to stop using bandaids to deal with the homelessness crisis and start providing permanent, affordable housing, with wraparound services for those in need. The shelter system doesnt help end housing insecurity and homelessness and were facing a looming eviction and foreclosure crisis once this pandemic ends. It is more cost effective and more humane to provide permanent housing, job training, and mental health and substance use services to help North Shore residents find stability in their housing situation.

Where would you like to see funds directed and what steps would you like to see the city take to address drug addiction on the Island?

Addiction and drug overdose deaths have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as people are isolated and struggling, and we need to take action to reduce this issue and protect New Yorkers. First and foremost, we need more funding for healthcare services, addiction treatment services, and community outreach programs. I support the promotion of harm reduction services and increasing transparency in overdose death data.
Eivor and his clan will travel from Norway to England early in the storey, establishing Ravensthorpe as a settlement. This will serve as a base of operations for you and your clan, and by investing in the settlement, you will be able to expand many of the features and unlock new game elements. The majority of your settlement will begin in primitive tents, but by allocating resources and materials obtained from raiding the countryside, you can expand and unlock the potential of certain areas. Continue reading the article to know about the Fowl farm as of the latest AC Valhalla update.

AC Valhalla Fowl Farm

Fowl Farm

Building this farm will cost you 800 Supplies and 60 Raw Materials

Building a Fowl Farm boosts food production in your village, allowing you to host more feasts. To the bonuses given at a feast, the Fowl Farm will add additional Melee Damage.

Other than the Fowl Farm, there are two other cattle type of farms that you can build. These are cattle farm and grain farm. The cost is similar to the fowl farm.

Cattle Farm Building this farm will cost you 800 Supplies, 60 Raw Materials Building a Cattle Farm boosts food production in your settlement, allowing you to host more feasts. In addition to the bonuses offered by a feast, the Cattle Farm can add additional Ranged Damage.

Grain Farm Building this farm will cost you 800 Supplies, 60 Raw Materials Building a Grain Farm boosts food production in your settlement, allowing you to host more feasts. The Armor given by the Grain Farm will be added to the bonuses provided at a feast.



A new seasonal update has just been released for AC Valhalla. This seasonal update takes the Yule festival to AC Valhalla, as well as a number of side events. Along with Yule Brawl and Building a Brewery, Build Cattle Farm is one of the many side quests that have been added to AC Valhalla. The player's cows will vanish once they build a cattle farm in their settlements.

They must locate these cows, which is a simple task because all positions have been marked with quest markers, and if all else fails, the players can rely on raven sight for assistance. The players will earn 140 Yule Tokens after capturing and slaughtering all of the cows, which can be used to make limited-time purchases.

Image Source: Ubisoft Montreal
New Delhi: Music Composer Shravan Rathod, of famous music director duo Nadeem-Shravan, passed away on Thursday (April 22) due to COVID-19 related complications.

He was admitted to SL Raheja hospital in Mumbai in a "critical" condition after testing positive for COVID-19. He breathed his last in the hospital.

"He passed away around 10:15 PM tonight. Please pray for his soul," his son, musician Sanjeev Rathod, told PTI.

Popular music composer, Shravan Rathod of Nadeem-Shravan duo fame tested COVID-19 positive and was admitted to a city hospital in Mumbai after serious complications. Sanjeev had informed that the veteran composer was 'critical'.

"He had tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to SL Raheja hospital in Mahim. He is extremely critical right now. He has other comorbidities also. Doctors have said they would keep him under observation for the next 24 hours. Please pray for his recovery," Sanjeev Rathod had said.

Nadeem-Shravan composed super hit music in Bollywood during the 90s golden era. From Aashiqui, Saajan, Parde to Raja Hindustani - the duo made some classics. Post their split, Nadeem and Shravan collaborated one more time for David Dhawan's Do Knot Disturb in 2009.
MDOT shifting eastbound I-94 traffic in Jackson on April 23

Aaron Jenkins, MDOT Office of Communications, 517-243-9075 Transportation

COUNTY:

Jackson

HIGHWAY:

I-94

CLOSEST CITY:

Jackson

ESTIMATED START DATE:

9 p.m.

Friday, April 23, 2021

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE:

12 p.m.

Saturday, April 24, 2021

OVERALL I-94 PROJECT COMPLETION DATE:

June 2023

PROJECT:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will close the right lane on eastbound I-94 from Airport Road to Elm Avenue to shift eastbound I-94 traffic onto the shoulder. This shift will include short-term ramp closures at the Airport Road on ramp to eastbound I-94, the eastbound off ramp from West Avenue, and the eastbound on and off ramps from Cooper Avenue.

This work is part of MDOT's ongoing $120 million investment to rebuild and widen I-94 near the Airport Road interchange to just west of the east US-127/I-94 interchange in Blackman and Leoni Township. The I-94 project involves upgrading the US-127/M-50 (West Avenue)/I-94 interchange to a diverging diamond interchange, the Elm Road interchange with roundabouts, and the Lansing Avenue bridge over I-94.

Funding for this project is made possible by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to the state's economy and carry the most traffic. The investment strategy is aimed at fixes that result in longer useful lives and improves the condition of the state's infrastructure.

TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS:

All lanes and ramps will be open by 12 p.m. April 24. Motorists are advised to seek alternate routes.

SAFETY BENEFITS:

This traffic configuration will increase safety for workers and motorists through this work zone. These improvements will provide increased safety and mobility in this area of I-94, which is a significant local and national trade corridor.
New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday informed his son Ashish died of COVID-19 in the morning. Ashish, a journalist by profession who would have celebrated his 35th birthday on June 9, was recovering well at Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital, people close to the family added.

They described his sudden death at 5.30 AM after a two-week battle with the disease as a shock.

"It is with great sadness that I have to inform that I lost my elder son, Ashish Yechury to COVID-19 this morning. I want to thank all those who gave us hope and who treated him - doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, sanitation workers and innumerable others who stood by us," Yechury said on Twitter.

It is with great sadness that I have to inform that I lost my elder son, Ashish Yechury to COVID-19 this morning. I want to thank all those who gave us hope and who treated him - doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, sanitation workers and innumerable others who stood by us.  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 22, 2021

Ashish, who studied at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, worked in several publications, including The Times of India in Delhi, before moving to Pune.

Journalists who worked with him remembered him as a mild-mannered and warm professional who was knowledgeable and well-read.

The CPI(M) Politburo issued a statement announcing the death and offering its condolences to the family.

"We are deeply sorry to announce the passing away this morning (22 April) of Ashish Yechury, son of Sitaram Yechury and Indrani Mazumdar. He died of Covid related complications. He was 35 years old.

"The Polit Bureau conveys it deepest condolences to Sitaram and Indrani, his wife Swati, his sister Akhila and all other members of the bereaved family," the statement said.

Condolences for the family also poured in on social media as news broke of his death.

"Deeply saddened and pained to hear about the loss of Ashish Yechury. I offer my heartfelt condolences to Comrade @SitaramYechury, his family and friends at this difficult time," tweeted DMK leader MK Stalin.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was devastated by the news. There is no greater loss for a parent to endure. May you find the strength to bear the inexpressible grief of your loss. My heart goes out to you at this painful time."

TMC MP Derek O'Brien also offered his condolences.

Live TV
This Wednesday, April 21, the Netflix Roadshow 2021 was held in Mexico in which the world's largest streaming company unveiled some of the titles that it will premiere this year and with which it expects to continue growing in the Spanish-speaking market.

"How big is the region for us? Well today, we entertain more than 37 million households in Latin America and we produce series and movies in countries like Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Mexico," he said in a video Francisco Ramos, Vice President of Content for Latin America.
WASHINGTON  House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., doubled down Thursday on his warning that White House dawdling on its budget submission to Congress will create a crisis.

Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute event, Smith reiterated his admonition from last week: Without a submission by May 10, Congress wont have enough time to complete the legislative process before the end of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1. That virtually guarantees the need for a stopgap continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.

It has not been made clear to me that that folks [in the White House] understand this: If we dont get the budget by a certain timeframe, we cant mark up the appropriations bills, and the defense bill, Smith said. If we slip past the middle of May, my staff tells me, we will not be able to do any of those things before August.

The veteran lawmaker said he would be surprised if Congress cancelled its August recess, which means lawmakers would have only three weeks in September to do a job that typically takes all summer.

From a White House perspective, well we dont need to pass the budget until Oct. 1, so whats the rush? he said. There are a couple of things that happen between when you submit it to us and we send it back to you.

Congress rarely, if ever, leaves a presidents budget untouched, and Smith suggested the White House could submit one for lawmakers to fix.

I would try to be respectful, and not hurting anyones feelings, but the White House budget doesnt have to be perfect, Smith said, adding: We will make changes. So if theres something in there that you dont like, it isnt exactly the way you want it, there is time to fix it.

Bidens defense budget will meet traffic jam in Congress

This was the second time Smith has publicly chastised the White House on the issue and accused it of dysfunction. Last week at the Ronald Reagan Institute, Smith said that White House budget officials have been left hanging by White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and the Cabinet.

Story continues

New administrations often roll out their budget requests late in their first year, but this years planning has been particularly difficult for Biden administration officials, they have said, because the Trump administration blocked the incoming administration from accessing budget documents until just before the inauguration.

Continuing resolutions have become the norm, but theyre unpopular with the Pentagon and defense industry because they ban new-start defense programs, hinder planning and increase costs.

The surprising spat comes as the White House delayed releasing President Joe Bidens detailed request until later in the spring. Bidens fiscal 2022 top-line request earlier this month had $753 billion for national defense, a 1.6 percent increase thats met with some partisan push and pull.

I think the number they picked is absolutely right, very well thought out. Theyve got a great plan a great strategy, Smith said. And if we in Congress waste an enormous amount of time fighting over whether or not we add a few more dollars or cut a few more dollars, were really missing the boat.
President Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that Romania is calling for "increased attention" from NATO to the Black Sea area, adding that the area needs NATO and European co-operation, and "increased attention from all to the eastern flank."

"These issues exist all over Europe. We are all concerned, but to us in Romania, it is extremely important to be attentive and we are attentive. But we are calling - and I have seen lately that we are succeeding better and better - for increased NATO attention to the Black Sea. At the 2016 summit, I managed to focus NATO's attention on the Black Sea. Since then, there has been a NATO Black Sea strategy. I want to move forward with them. We are setting up resilience, cybersecurity centres in Romania, and we obviously have our specialist bodies that deal with these issues, but what I want at this stage is for us to be aware that there is a need for both NATO and European co-operation, and more attention is needed to the eastern flank, "Iohannis said when asked if Romania would call on NATO for a more intense presence in the Black Sea basin and in the area close to the border with Ukraine, agerpres.ro confirms.

He added that "the eastern flank is an issue that requires the full attention of NATO" from a military point of view.

"And it is an area that needs the attention of the European Union, because on the eastern flank there are new members whose economies still cannot be compared with those in Western Europe, who have critical infrastructures that require very, very much investment until they reach the level of critical infrastructure in Western Europe. And we present these things, on the one hand in the NATO military-security area, in the area of critical infrastructure and civilian infrastructure in the European Union. In the end it is vital to us, and the European Union to reach in a reasonable time the same level, not only of living, but also of development of security zones and infrastructure, and for that we obviously need the European funds," Iohannis mentioned.

Iohannis announced that a meeting of Romania's Supreme Council for National Defence will be convened next week to discuss the situation in the Black Sea area. He described the situation in the area as "worrying".
New Delhi: A bride in Punjabs capital city Chandigarh was fined by police for not wearing a mask while travelling in her car towards the wedding venue.

According to multiple news reports, the bride was travelling to sector 8 gurdwara and the police spotted her car at the Sector 8-9 traffic lights and stopped it as the bride was not wearing a mask.

Once the car was stopped she along with her family members insisted that wearing a mask will spoil her expensive make-up.

As reported by News18, a police personnel present at the site shared, The bride came up with a bizarre defense saying that the mask would have ruined her expensive makeup. Even the family members supported her.

The police however did not listen to the bride's explanation and fined her 1000 rupees.

India is witnessing a second wave of Coronavirus in the country which has wreaked havoc and affected millions of people.

On Thursday (April 22), India reported 3.14 lakh new COVID cases, making it the highest single day spike recorded in any country in the world.
Black and Hispanic people are more likely to be stopped and searched by police in Berkeley than white and Asian people, according to a city audit of the Berkeley Police Department released Thursday.

The audit also found that searches of Black and Hispanic residents are less likely to result in an arrest than searches of white and Asian residents.

Over a five-year period, Black people were stopped at significantly higher rates than their share of the population. The audit did not track city of residence for people being pulled over.

The findings mirror data from the Center for Policing Equity from 2012 to 2016. That report found that Black motorists were 6.5 times more likely to be stopped by Berkeley police than white motorists, and 4.5 times more likely to be stopped while on foot.

Advocates say that the new audits findings are concerning.

The Berkeley Police Department has made pretty much zero progress in addressing racial disparity in policing, racial bias in policing in the last 10 years, said Maria Yates, a volunteer with Berkeley Copwatch, a community organization dedicated to monitoring police actions.

The 80-page report analyzed data from 2015 to 2019 and concluded that police pulled over Black people in 34% of stops even though they only made up 8% of the city population.

Other cities have reported similar issues with their police departments. In 2016, Stanford released a report that analyzed 28,000 stops by Oakland police, and found that Oakland are more likely to stop and search Black drivers or pedestrians. Oakland police now decline to pull people over in most low-level cases. In San Francisco, Black residents are also more likely to be searched, stopped and made up nearly half of all use-of-force cases in 2019 than any other race.

Our analysis reflects a continuing troubling trend of Black individuals being stopped at rates that far exceed their representation in the population, while Black and Hispanic individuals are searched at higher rates than White and Asian individuals, said Auditor Jenny Wong in a statement. Time will tell as to the impacts of recent reforms, but addressing this issue and tracking the impact of policy changes should continue to be a priority.

The audit comes as Berkeley embarks on potential police reforms and the City Council asked for this data to inform its decisions in the wake of the protests last year over police brutality and the murder of George Floyd. Berkeley officials are moving to deprioritizing traffic stops by police for low-level offenses, such as failing to wear a seat belt or driving with expired license plate tags, and instead have officers focus on traffic safety.

Wong said the report was fast-tracked to help inform policy decisions.

It is intended to provide the Council, the Department, and the public with data and analysis to help inform the public safety reimagining process currently underway, she said. Transparency is critical to both good decision making and fair and effective policing.

Councilman Ben Bartlett said he requested the audit last year to better inform the citys efforts on reimagining police.

We want to avoid the situation of these unstable dangerous situations that are fraught with bias and fear and pressure, he said. We want to deescalate that on the institutional level.

The audit looked at 360,242 events that resulted in a police response from 2015 to 2019. The city averaged more than 74,000 events per year  about 73% of those were traffic-related, disturbing the peace, trespassing, suspicious circumstance, theft, parking violations and more.

During that period, 55% of police stops were made in response to calls to the citys non-emergency dispatch center, 27% were initiated by police when they saw something and 18% resulted from calls to the 911 emergency line.

The audit looked at 56,070 officer-initiated stops of individuals  78% of these stops were vehicle stops. Other stops included bike, pedestrian and suspicious vehicle stops. Most police stops occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight.

A majority of the stops didnt lead to a search and most often led to a warning. Twenty-four percent of overall police patrol time is spent on traffic-related events. Traffic stops accounted for the most stops initiated by police, the audit found.

White residents, which make up 53% of the citys population, accounted for the most traffic stops at 35%. Black residents were the second highest to be pulled over at 34%, while having the least representation in the city than any other race at 8%.

Hispanic residents accounted for 13% of the officer-initiated stops while making up 11% of the population.

Sixty percent of the officer-initiated stops ended with a warning, 34% resulted in a citation, 4% led to arrest and 2% resulted in no enforcement.

Bartlett said if police time was spent on serious crimes, the city would be served better and it would address the distress people of color are feeling on the streets.

People would see a difference on the streets, he said.

Auditors said there is insufficient data on how police respond to calls involving unhoused people and those dealing with mental health issues. They recommend that Berkeley police identify all calls for service when it is clear that it is a mental health call or involves someone homeless.

In response, the departments management wrote in the audit it would take up to six months to implement changes  which includes training that better defines when these codes should be included  and develop tools to accurately capture the information.

Auditors also recommended that Berkeley police make calls for service data available on the citys open data portal and update it regularly to boost transparency.

The departments management agreed with the recommendation and said it would take up to six months if the city stays with its current vendor. It would take up to a year to upgrade the open portal system if the city decides to use a new vendor.

The audit will be presented to the City Council on May 11.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
By Michael Shields

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss President Guy Parmelin heads to Brussels on Friday for a summit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over a stalled treaty that threatens to put ties between Switzerland and its biggest trading partner into a deep freeze.

Many Swiss business leaders who are keen on continued smooth access to the EU market want a treaty, but political resistance to the agreement gives Parmelin little leeway to clinch a deal after years of foot-dragging in Bern.

That could leave Parmelin, a member of the eurosceptic Swiss People's Party, the biggest in parliament, in damage-control mode when he meets von der Leyen, who has urged Bern finally to embrace the draft accord negotiated in 2018.

The Swiss cabinet has said it wants clarifications on some open points before endorsing the pact, and officials in Brussels want concrete suggestions from Parmelin, one source familiar with the talks said.

Parmelin said in a weekend newspaper interview he would seek to move the discussion forward without bombast.

"I am not going to play Boris Johnson," he said, referring to the British leader's blustering stance toward EU ties during Britain's exit from the bloc.

The treaty would have non-EU member Switzerland routinely adopt single market rules and provide a more effective way to resolve disputes. Critics say it infringes Swiss sovereignty so much that it would never survive a binding referendum. [L8N2MD5I1]

Failure to strike a deal would leave in place a patchwork of sectoral accords that govern bilateral ties, but block Switzerland from any new access to the single market, dashing plans for an electricity union, for example.

Even the existing accords will erode over time. A deal that eases cross-border trade in medical technology products lapses in May, for instance, and Swiss scientists worry they may be frozen out of the EU's Horizon research programme.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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The global Radar Sensor Market is anticipated to reach USD 44.4 billion by 2026 according to a new research published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the non-imaging radar sensor segment accounted for the highest Radar Sensor market share in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global Radar Sensor market revenue in 2017.

The growing military expenditure in countries such as China, U.S, and others have resulted in radar sensor market growth. The advancements in technologies and increasing need for national security would further lead to radar sensor market growth. Increasing demand for high range and enhanced radar accuracy, along with stringent security regulations supplement the growth of radar sensors market. Growing adoption of radar sensors in developing nations provide growth opportunities for the market. Features of radar sensors such as increased discrimination accuracy, enhanced sustainability, greater detection ranges and high reliability are propelling the growth of global radar sensor market. Furthermore, viewing the real-time data with the help of Radar through interfaces such as internet is opportunistic for the market expansion. Increasing cases of road accidents and stringent vehicle safety regulations supplement the market growth. Increasing development of self-driving and autonomous vehicles provide growth opportunities for radar sensor industry.

Download Sample Copy : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/radar-sensor-market/request-for-sample

North America generated the highest Radar Sensor market share in terms of revenue in 2018, and is expected to lead the global Radar Sensor industry throughout the forecast period. The adoption of radar sensors is expected to increase significantly in this region owing to increasing need to offer safety and security. The increasing demand for surveillance and border monitoring also drives the radar sensor market across various countries. Market players in the global radar sensor industry are introducing highly efficient and low-cost radar sensors to cater to the growing consumer needs. These market players are also integrating advanced technologies to improve the radar systems to cater to wider audiences. Increasing safety concerns, growing military expenditure, and development of autonomous vehicles are factors encouraging market players to launch efficient radar sensors across the globe.

Leading global players are expanding their presence in developing nations of India, China, and Japan to tap the growth opportunities offered by these countries. For instance Continental AG, a German automotive manufacturer company on November 2017 incorporated their extensive, long standing expertise in vehicle surrounding sensors into fifth generation of short and long range radar sensors. This resulted in more accurate detection of smaller objects such as a lost spare wheel or an exhaust that has fallen off. Long range radar, has maximum range of 300 m and an opening angle of 60 depending on required performance. The series production of the same will start in 2019.

Do you have questions or special requirements? Ask our industry experts : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/radar-sensor-market/speak-to-analyst

The well-known companies profiled in the Radar Sensor market report include Delphi Automotive LLP, Autoliv Inc., Robert Bosch GmbH, NXP Semiconductors N.V., Continental AG, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Denso Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., and Smart Microwave Sensors GmbH. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 22) chaired a high-level meeting to review oxygen supply across the country and discuss the ways and means to boost its availability, according to Prime Minister's Office. It was noted that in the last few days, availability of Liquid Medical Oxygen has increased by 3,300 MT/day with contributions from private and public steel plants, industries, oxygen manufacturers as well as through prohibition of O2 supply for non-essential industries.

It said, "PM directed the officials to ensure that oxygen supply to various states happens in a smooth, unhindered manner. He spoke about the need to fix responsibility with the local administration in cases of obstruction. He also asked ministries to explore various innovative ways to increase production & supply of oxygen."

Modi said states should come down heavily on hoarding and stressed the need to ensure faster transportation of oxygen. The statement said railways is being used for rapid and non-stop long-distance transport of tankers. The first rake has reached from Mumbai to Vizag to transport 105 MT of liquid medical oxygen. Similarly, empty oxygen tankers are also being air-lifted to oxygen suppliers to reduce one-way journey time in oxygen supply.

It was also discussed that the Railways is used for non-stop long-distance transportation of tankers. The first rake reached Vizag from Mumbai with 105 MT LMO. Empty tankers being airlifted to suppliers to reduce one-way journey time, it added.

The meeting also discussed ways and means to boost oxygen availability amid demands from many states for an increase in its supply, Modi was told that the supply of life-saving gas to states has been steadily increasing.

Representatives from the medical community also spoke about the need for judicious use of O2 and how audit in some states has decreased O2 demand without affecting patients' condition. PM stressed that states should come down heavily on hoarding.

The officers informed PM that they're working together with states to operationalize sanctioned PSA oxygen plants as soon as possible. PM directed officials to ensure that O2 supply to states happens in a smooth, unhindered manner, said the statement.

The meeting was attended by Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to PM, Home Secretary, Health Secretary & Officials from Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Road Transport, Pharmaceuticals, NITI Aayog. The officials briefed the Prime Minister on efforts undertaken in the last few weeks to improve oxygen supply, the PMO statement added.

Live TV
Gold price on Thursday jumped to Rs 50,810 for 10 gm from Rs 50,520 and the silver price is trending at Rs 68,800 per kg, according to the Good Returns website.

Gold jewellery price varies across India, the second-largest consumer of the metal, due to excise duty, state taxes, and making charges.

In New Delhi, the price of 22-carat gold is at Rs 46,590 per 10 gm, while in Chennai it fell to Rs 45,060. The rate in Mumbai was Rs 45,200 according to the website. The price of 24-carat gold in Chennai was Rs 49,160 per 10 gm.

Gold imports, which have a bearing on the country's current account deficit (CAD), rose by 22.58 per cent to $34.6 billion (about Rs 2.54 trillion) during 2020-21 due to increased domestic demand, according to the Commerce Ministry data.

Silver imports during the last fiscal, however, dipped by 71 per cent to about $791 million. Imports of the yellow metal stood at $8.23 billion (about Rs 2 trillion) in 2019-20, the data showed.

Despite growth in gold imports, the country's trade deficit narrowed to $98.56 billion during 2020-21 as against $161.3 billion in 2019-20. Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Chairman Colin Shah said that increasing domestic demand is pushing up imports of gold.

The demand for gold would further increase on account of forthcoming auspicious Akshaya Tritiya and marriage season which could increase the CAD.

In the international market, Gold jumped 1% on Wednesday propelled by sliding US Treasury yields, while bets for supply shortfalls powered auto-catalyst metal palladium to a record high.

Spot gold had risen 0.8% to $1,791.51 per ounce by 11:10 a.m EDT (1510 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since Feb. 25 at $1,797.41. U.S. gold futures gained 0.7% to $1,790.40.

"Gold's pain over the last couple of months has been the rising Treasury yields and now that has pretty much been alleviated," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

"The current outlook for the global economy is still mixed... You're going to see a much more cautious approach in the next quarter and that's probably going to see gold start to see some safe haven flows," Moya added. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields languished below 1.6%, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing gold.
SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine -- A Russian national suspected of spying for Ukraine has been arrested in the Russian-occupied region of Crimea.

The Lenin district court in the city of Sevastopol said on April 22 that "a Russian citizen born in 1998" suspected of high treason had been placed under pretrial arrest until at least June 19.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said its officers had detained a person who "passed classified information about Russia's Black Sea Fleet to Ukrainian military intelligence."

No further details of the case were made public.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests.

Since then, Russia has arrested dozens of people in Crimea on charges including extremism, terrorism, and espionage.

Rights groups have said that after imposing its control over the region, Moscow aggressively moved to prosecute Ukrainian activists and anyone who questions the annexation.

Russia also backs separatists in a war against Ukrainian government forces that has killed more than 13,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
ROME, APR 22 - The infiltration of Italy's various mafias into the lucrative tourism sector is worth some 2.2 billion euros, almost 40% of it concentrated in the Mezzogiorno where they are based, according to a Demoskopika report of which ANSA has seen an advance copy. Italy's leading mafia, the Calabria-based 'Ndrangheta, has a 40% slice of the lucrative cake, the report said. Some 4,500 tourism companies are at risk of being used for money laundering due to the COVID-19 emergency, the survey said. "A tourism sector on its knees is an appetizing prospect for criminal syndicates", said Demoskopika President Raffaele Rio. Six regional tourism sectors present the highest risk of criminal infiltration by 'Ndrangheta, Sicily's Cosa Nostra and the Campania-based Camorra, as well as the smaller Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia, the report said: Campania, Sicily, Lazio, Calabria, Lombardy, and Puglia. Four regions show the lowest risk: Marche, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige. Tourism MInister Massimo Garavaglia told ANSA: "the Demoskopika probe on mafia infiltration in tourism is concerning. "It is a phenomenon that heavily damages a sector which is composed of serious business people, who have been hurt by the pandemic. "And who are suffering twice from COVID, in their business and in the mafia competition. "The government is elaborating formulas for transparent financing able to support the operators hit by the economic impact of the virus, in order to make them impermeable to mafia contamination. "(Interior) Minister (Luciana) Lamorgese has a clear grasp of the situation and I think she is already adopting initiatives aimed at putting the brakes on this kind of infiltrations". (ANSA).
[April 22, 2021] Razer Establishes USD $50 Million 'Razer Green Fund' to Support Sustainability Startups

Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers (Hong Kong Stock Code: 1337), today announced the launch of its new USD $50 million Razer Green Fund and a seed investment into The Nurturing Co. Pte. Ltd. ("The Nurturing Co"), an award-winning sustainable products startup. The organization is most notable for creating BAMBOOLOO, one of the world's first single-use plastic-free, bamboo toilet paper and home care brands. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005849/en/ Razer zVentures makes its first investment from the Razer Green Fund to BAMBOOLOO. (Graphic: Business Wire) In March 2021, Razer outlined a 10-year sustainability roadmap as part of its #GoGreenWithRazer initiative, which detailed four key verticals of Razer's commitment to preserve nature and protect the environment, including using 100% Renewable Energy by 2025 and achieving 100% Carbon Neutrality by 2030. Within this 10-year plan, Razer also announced multiple initiatives under the Green Community vertical, to educate and rally gamers worldwide to contribute to green causes. This includes the hugely successful Sneki Snek Campaign in partnership with Conservation International to protect 1 million trees, and the limited-edition Kanagawa Wave Apparel Collection made from recovered marine plastics. Supporting sustainability startups through the Razer Green Fund In celebration of Earth Day, and in line with Razer's 10-year sustainability roadmap, Razer has set aside a USD $50 million war chest to support and invest in environmental and sustainability startups. The Razer Green Fund will be managed by zVentures, Razer's corporate ventures arm, and will be an integral part of Razer's strategic investment activities. Falling under the Green Investments vertical, the Razer Green Fund will seek t foster a green mindset amongst Razer's community of youth, millennials, and Gen Z via selective strategic investments. These investments aim to accelerate sustainability companies, with a focus on renewable energy, carbon and plastic management. Through the Razer Green Fund, startups can confidently deliver innovative technology that would help shape the world for future generations.



"Since the announcement of our 10-year sustainability roadmap, Razer has been inundated with requests on how startups can accelerate their own green initiatives," said Patricia Liu, Chief of Staff at Razer. "The Razer Green Fund was set up to empower start-ups with positive intentions to further their ambitions." Razer partners with BAMBOOLOO

To kick off its new Green Fund initiative, Razer has completed a seed investment into The Nurturing Co. through zVentures. The partnership will enable BAMBOOLOO (The Nurturing Co.'s sustainable toilet paper brand) to implement and supply bamboo toilet paper in some of Razer's global offices, including the new, soon to open Southeast Asian Headquarters and Malaysia office, as part of Razer's Green Organization plan to ensure that all of Razer's office operations will be 100% carbon neutral. Bamboo pulp has proven to be the sustainable choice for toilet papers. In addition to its growth speed, bamboo pulp requires 90% less water and 70% less carbon to produce as compared to wood pulp. By shifting to bamboo toilet paper, a family of four can save over 30,000 liters of water in a year. BAMBOOLOO helps consumers switch out of wood pulp paper products by offering bamboo-based toilet papers and other home care products. "BAMBOOLOO truly embodies our mission to preserve the earth for future generations," said Liu. "We are confident that this investment will set a strong precedence for budding conservation startups to follow." "The Nurturing Co. is excited to welcome Razer as a strategic investor. The immediate matching of possibilities and a desire to help make a positive impact around the world is encouraging and we are excited to have Razer onboarded," said David Ward, CEO and Founder at The Nurturing Co. "Together with Razer, The Nurturing Co. will bring our BAMBOOLOO range of sustainable, less impacting products to an even wider number of consumers across the world." Razer will continue working together with The Nurturing Co. to leverage Razer's ecosystem and scale up their businesses. Razer will also continue investing in other promising sustainability startups with a focus on renewable energy, carbon, plastic management, and sustainable forestry. Interested parties can reach out via https://www.zvntrs.com/#contact. For more information on zVentures, please visit https://www.zvntrs.com. For more information on BAMBOOLOO, please visit http://www.lovebambooloo.com. For more information on Razer's #GoGreenWithRazer initiative, please visit https://www.razer.com/go-green. MEDIA ASSETS Download images here ABOUT RAZER Razer is the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers. The triple-headed snake trademark of Razer is one of the most recognized logos in the global gaming and esports communities. With a fan base that spans every continent, the company has designed and built the world's largest gamer-focused ecosystem of hardware, software and services. Razer's award-winning hardware includes high-performance gaming peripherals and Blade gaming laptops. Razer's software platform, with over 125 million users, includes Razer Synapse (an Internet of Things platform), Razer Chroma RGB (a proprietary RGB lighting technology system supporting thousands of devices and hundreds of games/apps), and Razer Cortex (a game optimizer and launcher). Razer also offers payment services for gamers, youth, millennials and Gen Z. Razer Gold is one of the world's largest game payment services, and Razer Fintech provides fintech services in emerging markets. Founded in 2005 and dual-headquartered in Irvine (California) and Singapore, Razer has 17 offices worldwide and is recognized as the leading brand for gamers in the USA, Europe and China. Razer is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 1337). Razer - For Gamers. By Gamers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005849/en/

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As a female veteran observing reports of sexual misconduct among senior Canadian Armed Forces officers, I have been forced to make sense of my own experience.

Opinion

As a female veteran observing reports of sexual misconduct among senior Canadian Armed Forces officers, I have been forced to make sense of my own experience.

Over the years, I witnessed firsthand the culture of secrecy and adultery that isnt spoken of outside military circles. Everyone knows it happens, yet everyone remains quiet. The "no fraternization" policy is treated as a suggestion and rarely enforced. It is widely understood that "what happens in deployment, exercise or training, stays there."

Something is wrong with Canadas military. From the recent testimony given in parliamentary committee on the handling of the Gen. Jonathan Vance investigation, to a senior military commander being under investigation after being accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate, and the Liberal governments recent shutdown of the probe into sexual misconduct. My doctoral research since leaving the military has led me to conclude that the military unconsciously fosters a culture of sexual misconduct, abuse of power, adultery and secrecy.

Consequences and failed regulations

Both women and men participate in these behaviours. It feels as though its widely accepted, so much so it borders on being encouraged. The accepted sexual behaviours in the Forces can have severe consequences beyond harassment. And like everyone else, I went along with it. I entered a "pact of secrecy" and became part of the problem by being a bystander.

In 2015, following a Supreme Court Justice report on sexual misconduct in the military, Operation HONOUR was established to "eliminate harmful and inappropriate sexual behaviours," within the Forces, including LGBTTQ+ discrimination.

Six years later, Operation HONOUR has ended despite multiple high-ranking officers facing accusations of sexual misconduct.

There is an undeniable need for a culture change. However, the problem will not be fixed through the force-feeding approach of continuously creating regulations and policies to establish the desired culture  that has proven to be ineffective.

A different approach

The literature is scarce when examining the military outside of mechanistic and cultural perspectives.

A theoretical approach to understanding the military is to adopt organizational theorist Gareth Morgans psychic prison metaphor. This idea implies an unconscious power structure acts as a control measure.

Morgan says, "powerful visions of the future can lead to blind spots," and strong groupthink can lead to organizational pathology, which addresses internal aspects of an organization that has become dysfunctional, counterproductive, inefficient, disruptive or destabilizing.

Morgans psychic prison metaphor tells us that cultural structures, rules, behaviours and beliefs define the organization and are "personal in the most profound sense." By using the psychic prison metaphor to understand military organization, we might be able to better understand the military culture and its taken-for-granted assumptions, and determine a better way to address the needed change. It "encourages us to recognize that rationality is often irrationality in disguise" and "plays a powerful role in drawing attention to the ethical dimension of organization."

When I was a new junior officer, I filed my first complaint of misconduct, which led to five other individuals coming forward. As punishment, the person the complaints were against was asked to write an apology letter. Years later, he bragged about the paper trail being removed before his posting. I took this information up my chain of command and was told that it was in the past.

Despite this misconduct reoccurring with other members, nothing was ever done.

That instance made me lose faith in the system. I never filed another complaint of misconduct again, and kept telling myself it was either "not bad enough," that "I could handle it," or I would deem it "OK, it was the alcohol." I had become a prisoner of the psychic prison.

In an interview with Global News, Navy Lt. Heather Macdonald (who alleges misconduct against Canadas defence chief) says she is bothered that someone in a "trusted position" has such "weak ethics and values" to leak her allegations to the press. She believes "that what process we have needs to remain fair, and everybody including me should have due process."

In saying that, Lt. Macdonald is unconsciously protecting the institution as I did. She believes that the leak will affect the due process but its the same process that has failed time and time again.

The psychic prison, while not visible, manifests itself through our actions. Our silence perpetuates the issue. In the Forces, we are taught to protect the mission and the institution, before self. The psychic prison unconsciously traps us all: victims are afraid to speak out, aggressors face little retribution and bystanders simply turn a blind eye.

Toward a culture change

The bulk of Canadian Armed Forces research focuses on the measurable and the visible, but only scratches the surface of what the military culture truly is. I believe there are deeper levels of understanding to be reached, and the psychic prison offers a new approach for understanding the embedded inequalities and misconducts.

Undoubtedly, the first step is to identify and acknowledge the presence of such a strong power structure. But a permanent change will only be possible once we understand the unconscious level and the invisible forces imposed on members.

Acting Chief of Defence Staff Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre is on the right track when he said "the gaps are becoming apparent, such as power dynamics and understanding the use and abuse of power in a hierarchy like our own." But until he sees how everyone colludes consciously and unconsciously in perpetuating these dynamics, nothing will change.

Karyne Gelinas is a PhD student in business administration at Saint Marys University.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
Plans to build one of the world's longest tunnels under a iconic mountain range have been scrapped because the cost of the project was too expensive.

At 50km long, the tunnel connecting Sydney and western New South Wales would have been the fifth longest in the world.

The multi-billion-dollar tunnel would have bypassed the nearly 200-year-old Victoria Pass - a dual carriageway prone to heavy congestion during peak periods - on the range's western side.

A 50km tunnel (plan pictured) connecting Sydney and western parts of New South Wales has been scrapped because of concerns over how much it would cost

Two shorter tunnels will instead bypass the dual carriageway (pictured) running through the Blue Mountains, which is prone to heavy congestion during peak periods

World's longest tunnels Gothard Base Tunnel, Switzerland - 57.5km Seikan Tunnel, Japan - 53.9km Eurotunnel, France - 50.5km Yulhyeon Tunnel, South Korea - 50.3km Lotschberg Base Tunnel, Switzerland - 34.6km Advertisement

The NSW Government though has now ruled out the proposal - saying a tunnel of that length would be 'prohibitively expensive'.

NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said plans would go ahead instead for two shorter tunnels in the region at a cost of $2.5 billion.

The 4km and 4.5km tunnels at Blackheath and Mount Victoria will form part of the Great Western Highway duplication project to reduce the notorious levels of traffic that run through the Blue Mountains.

'We know there is heavy congestion [in those areas] on a Sunday evening, school holiday periods and after long weekends,' Mr Toole told ABC News.

During the Easter period, he said motorists took two hours longer to drive through the Blue Mountains because of heavy traffic.

He said large drilling machines are already boring holes into the ground near the highway to find suitable entry points for the tunnels.

Victoria Pass pictured circa 1910. The track was opened in 1832 after being built by convict labour but is well-known for being the site of traffic bottlenecks

An historic painting of Victoria Pass. The road connects Sydney with western parts of New South Wales

Residents of Medlow Bath have called for the tunnel to be even longer, stretching from the popular tourist town of Katoomba to Hartley.

Victoria Pass was opened in 1832 after being built by convict labour but is well-known in recent years for being the site of traffic bottlenecks.

Construction on the two separate tunnels is expected to start in 2022.

The road between Katoomba and Lithgow will also be duplicated to create a four-five lane highway.
Berlin, April 22 : Germany's Bundestag or the lower house of Parliament has agreed on nationwide binding rules for stricter measures in the fight against the third Covid-19 wave and high infection rates.

The so-called "emergency brake" now automatically applies if new local infections per 100,000 inhabitants within seven days exceed 100 for more than three days, reports Xinhua news agency.

The new rules include night-time curfews, school closures and stricter opening regulations for shops.

A higher incidence threshold was agreed to trigger the full closure of educational institutions.

Schools in Germany would only have to stop face-to-face teaching when the incidence reaches 165.

The amendments to the country's Infection Protection Act still require formal approval by the Bundesrat, Parliament's upper house.

To date, Germany's Covid-19 response has been characterized by regional differences as the ultimate legal power rested with the country's federal states.

Although Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state governments already agreed on the emergency brake earlier, not all states reacted accordingly in recent weeks.

In the Bundestag, a long debate preceded the decision on Wednesday.

Minister of Health Jens Spahn defended the measures as "appropriate, proportionate and suitable".

"What we need is clarity and consistency," said Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

It is necessary to become active on a national level if the already high infection rates increase further in certain parts of the country, he said.

German media reported that over 8,000 people protested against the new measures near the Reichstag building in Berlin.

Due to massive violations of health rules, such as not wearing face masks and ignoring the contact restrictions, the police disbanded the protest.

Despite the ongoing lockdown and the country's accelerating vaccination campaign, Germany recorded 24,884 new cases on Wednesday, around 3,200 more than one week ago, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The seven-day incidence in Germany stood at 160.1 per 10,000 inhabitants.

To date, Germany has reported 3,205,939 confirmed coronavirus cases and 80,793 deaths.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Since the peak of Californias harrowing winter COVID-19 surge, not only has the state managed to flatten its coronavirus curve, but it now has the lowest case rate in the continental U.S. at just 6 per 100,000 people. Only Hawaii has a lower rate among U.S. states.

Meanwhile, the worst-case scenario  a repeat of the winter surge  is unfolding in Michigan, which has a case rate of 64 per 100,000 people, according to the New York Times COVID tracker. Thats the highest rate in the U.S. by far, almost twice that of New Jersey, with the second-highest case rate of 38 per 100,000.

So what is fueling Michigans surge? And does it present any red flags for California, which has been unable to fend off previous waves that started elsewhere in the country?

In an interview with Scientific American, Benjamin Stix, anesthesia critical care medicine fellow at the University of Michigan, said the situation is due to bad timing. The state began reopening while COVID-19 vaccinations had rolled out to only the 65-and-older age group and health care workers, he said. As a result, a large portion of the new crop of cases is occurring among the large still-unvaccinated population, from children to people in their 50s and 60s.

There was, all of a sudden, all these people who were, right as the state was opening up, exposing themselves to the community more, essentially, he told the publication. And now were in a really bad, bad situation.

John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley, said the most likely explanation for Michigans surge is the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant. Now the dominant strain in the U.S., it is 50% more transmissible than the original virus.

In California, the variants bred in the state known as B.1.427 and B.1.429 became the dominant source of infection as of Jan. 31, and by comparison are 20% more transmissible.

Swartzberg said politics could also be playing a role. While Michigan has a Democratic governor, the judiciary and Legislature are controlled by Republicans, which Swartzberg said has led to a very divisive state.

Culturally and politically, Michigan is a very different state, he said. A large swath of the population is very opposed to any public health guidance, and I think thats a major player in the state.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has received backlash for previous shutdowns, and the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in October to remove her emergency health orders. During this latest surge, she asked the federal government in late March to rush vaccine doses to hard-hit areas, but was turned down. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that instead of pushing for more vaccine supply, Michigan should impose more health restrictions to stem the virus spread.

Whitmer has declined to roll back reopening. Michigan has maintained some restrictions, including a statewide mask mandate and limits on indoor dining, businesses, and residential and non-residential gatherings. In a recent appearance on Meet the Press, Whitmer said the state has strong mitigation measures and is working to get people vaccinated quickly.

The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations doesnt appear to be a major factor in two states differing case rates. According to Californias vaccine dashboard, 33.9% of the population is fully vaccinated, while Michigans vaccine tracker reports 32.2% of residents are fully vaccinated.

In addition to a different, less infectious dominant strain in California, Swartzberg said immunity may be helping the state.

Its important to remember that Southern California drives the numbers, and the population is so much greater than Northern California, he said. Southern California was so beaten up in December and January, and now there are large swaths of Los Angeles County where you have 50% of people who are immune, and thats in large part because of surviving COVID.

Earlier last month, the California Department of Public Health reported that about 38% of Californians had antibodies against coronavirus, with Los Angeles County showing the highest virus immunity at 45%.

Swartzberg said despite the good news, there are some warning signs for California. One is that coronavirus numbers are leveling off statewide, and some Bay Area counties have seen slight increases.

Im not particularly worried, but its not an encouraging sign, he said. An encouraging sign would be further decline.

Swartzberg said without a way to prevent people from coming into the largest state in the country, people who are infected from many other parts of the country with high case rates could contribute to more spread. But he doesnt imagine it would get as bad as Michigan.

Its highly unlikely that California is going to explode like Michigan has, he said. We are making continuous progress with vaccinations. My worst-case scenario is well have a swell of cases, not a surge. We wont see what we saw in November and December. But theres a good possibility California will continue to do well. Somewhere between those two is where I am.

Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang
Within days of the deadly winter storm in February, Mayor Ron Nirenberg pulled together a panel to investigate CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System service outages during the disaster.

With temperatures stuck well below freezing, hundreds of thousands of San Antonians were stranded for long stretches without power. Many also went without running water.

The Committee on Emergency Preparedness is also looking into the citys response to the crisis.

But more than seven weeks since the committees first meeting on March 5, the group has shared few, if any, answers to the vast majority of questions forwarded in March to CPS Energy, SAWS and the city of San Antonio.

Nirenberg created the committee to report to the community how our emergency response operations and public utilities got in this situation and what can be done to be better prepared for the future.

The seven-member committee includes four City Council members and three community members.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio mayors panel wants answers to tough questions about city, utility readiness for winter storms - or lack thereof

CPS said it has answered 11 of the committees 24 questions, though none has been posted online. The remaining answers are under development or under internal review, the utility said.

Committee members said SAWS has also responded to questions, and theyre vetting the answers before posting.

We are still looking for the answers (about) the citys response, said District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, a member of the committee.

She said this week the committee was expecting responses to questions sent to the citys Emergency Operations Center.

Were getting the answers now, and the analysis of the answers and then the recommendation is going to be critical, Rocha Garcia said.

After reviewing answers from the three entities  CPS, SAWS and the Emergency Operations Center  the committee will compile a report for the public, according to the Southwest Side councilwoman.

I would anticipate were going to get done in the next couple of months, she said. Theres going to be a report sooner than later.

Still, the group has released little information. And the committee has only rarely discussed the causes of the power and water crisis or how to prevent a future disaster.

The hourlong meetings held every Friday morning have largely centered on figuring out which questions to send the two city-owned utilities, as well as how to publicly communicate the committees findings  whenever theyre made.

While were spending what some people would think is an inordinate amount of time on communicating, if I understand the purpose of this committee, it is to communicate with the public, said Reed Williams, a former North Side councilman who Nirenberg tapped to chair the committee. If we do that, well succeed, even if we dont get all the answers we want. If we dont communicate with the public and get all the answers we want, weve not succeeded.

Most of the questions posed to the utilities focus on data, such as the quantity of natural gas CPS purchased ahead of the storm, or on decision-making and communications during the deep freeze.

While virtually no information from CPS has been posted, Williams said the city-owned utility has provided data detailing the historical monthly performance of each of its power plants and solar and wind farms.

But CPS sent that data in a PDF document format, not an Excel spreadsheet document, so the committee could not properly analyze the numbers, Williams said.

Its important that we get this storyline down, he said. That means weve got challenges with how we get things posted and how we livestream the meetings.

A CPS spokesperson said sending documents in PDF format is typical for utilities. The utility will resend the data in Excel format, the spokesperson said, though its unclear when.

PDFs are not the friendliest type of document, Rocha Garcia said. Make it as easy as possible for (the public) to sort through answers.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Water System decided not to take some advice 5 years ago: Buy emergency pump generators

In a recent meeting, she raised a question for the committee members: Had they heard of the citys Hazard Mitigation Action Plan?

None responded.

The plan, which the city paid to have completed in 2015, lays out hundreds of risks facing the city. The document labels each potential hazard by importance and proposes ways to address each risk.

The plan recommended the city take steps such as buying backup power generators for SAWS main water pumping stations throughout the city.

During the winter storm, when the states grid operator told CPS to initiate rolling power outages, the utility cut electricity to the SAWS pumps that push water throughout San Antonio.

The loss of the water pumps caused water pressure to fall citywide, forcing residents to boil water before drinking. The boil requirement, however, came as many San Antonians had no running water or electricity for boiling water.

Even with a report in hand detailing potential hazards and how to prevent them, city leaders were apparently unaware of the 5-year-old risk mitigation plan, Rocha Garcia said.

When I saw that, I was thinking, This is something that actually wouldve been helpful, she said. It was literally there, spelled out for us. All we had to was execute.

When council members and city staff set the citys budget each year, Rocha Garcia said, theyre supposed to review the risk mitigation plan to consider funding preventive projects  for example, backup generators for pump stations.

Since Rocha Garcia entered office in 2019, however, she said, the city hasnt considered recommendations from the report.

Every time we pay X amount for a plan  whos really responsible for it? Whose job duties does it become to make sure thats fully executed? Rocha Garcia said. There was, obviously, a lot of opportunities that were missed.

Williams said the committees report will include a summary of the power crisis with footnotes leading to more in-depth explanations of issues related to the power outages in February. The report also will include a list of recommendations to prevent another such calamity during a winter storm in San Antonio.

One of the recommendations Rocha Garcia said shes likely to make: Ensure the list of recommendations doesnt get left on the shelf again.

That was approved by City Council in 2015, Rocha Garcia said of the Hazard Mitigation Plan. So I would hope that as we approve these plans as we go forward, that somebody on council right now remembers that this plan was approved.

diego.mendoza-moyers@express-news.net
Kyle Marian Viterbo had made it a point to get regularly tested for the coronavirus, even after getting vaccinated. Thats how, a little more than a month after her first Moderna jab, she discovered she had COVID-19. She traced it back to an uncomfortably crowded outdoor comedy show shed attended the week before testing positive.

Viterbo, a science communicator, understood this was possible given that the Moderna vaccine is 94 percent effective around two weeks after the second shot and is around 80 percent after the first shot, though experts have cautioned that its not clear how long protection from the first shot lasts. Still, she said, it was hard to think what all those percentages mean for everyday life, especially for the consequences beyond my own body. It felt like a gut punch. Fearing for the elderly relatives she lived with, she checked into a New York City COVID isolation hotel, where she rode out her asymptomatic infection and shared her experience on TikTok.

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Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 5,800 out of 75 million fully vaccinated people in the U.S. have been infected with COVID-19. Of these breakthrough cases, 396 were hospitalized and 74 people died. The CDC defines a breakthrough case as someone who gets sick, either symptomatically or asymptomatically, 14 or more days after full vaccination. A few headlines about the report implied, rather irresponsibly, that the breakthroughs happened because the vaccines didnt work. CNN, for instance, put it this way: So far, 5,800 fully vaccinated people have caught Covid anyway in US, CDC says.

The reality is that breakthrough cases are normal and expected after vaccination. Thats because none of the three vaccines available in the U.S. (or, indeed, anywhere else) is 100 percent effective at preventing disease from COVID-19. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, for instance, is 95 percent effective. Thats impressively high, but a few breakthrough infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are still expected to occur in people who get the vaccine. (One slightly confusing thing about investigating breakthrough infections is that research is using the term differently. Theres the CDCs definition of an infection two weeks after full vaccination. But some studies have also investigated breakthrough infections in people who have received only one vaccine dose, like Viterbo. Other research addressing infections after vaccination doesnt use the term breakthrough at all.)

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If it were 95 percent protection, you would expect 5 percent of the [75] million people whove been vaccinated not to be protected, said Barry Bloom, a professor of public health and an immunologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health on a press call on Friday. (This is a little bit of a simplificationepidemiologists like to point out that 95 percent efficacy technically means that after youre fully vaccinated, youre 95 percent less likely to be infected compared to an unvaccinated person.) The same logic applies to the Moderna vaccine, which is 94 percent effective, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was 72 percent effective in a U.S. trial. In fact, the number of breakthrough COVID cases was less than I expect, said Bloom. Far less. Of the 75 million vaccinated people in the U.S., the 5,800 breakthrough cases represent just 0.0075 percent.

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When you take these percentages into account, its easier to see that the proportion of breakthrough cases is very low, according to Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist and senior director of the special pathogens program at New York City Health and Hospitals.

The numbers are not concerning to me at all, she said. Much of the media coverage has needlessly raised alarm because it lacked this context, she added.

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Its comforting to remember that breakthrough cases regularly happen with other common vaccines. The annual flu shot, for example, is usually only 40 percent to 60 percent effective, which means that up to 40 percent to 60 percent of vaccinated people may still get the flu if exposed to it. Despite this, said Madad, the flu shot prevented an estimated 7.5 million cases of flu in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020. The COVID-19 vaccines, which are much more effective, will protect many more people.

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However, Stephen Kissler, an immunology and infectious disease expert at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, cautioned that the vaccines impressive efficacy isnt the only reason the proportion of people with breakthrough infections is so small.

For one thing, breakthrough cases can only happen when vaccinated people are exposed to COVID-19, and since most people were vaccinated recently, they havent had much time to be exposed. Another factor driving the number down may be that vaccinated people who have symptomatic breakthrough infections might not get tested because they assume they cant be sick with COVID-19.

For these reasons, the proportion of breakthrough cases were seeing now may increase past 0.0075 percent. But Kissler doesnt think itll change too much, just because of how effective the vaccine is, both at preventing disease and reducing transmission.

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Experts still dont know why some people arent completely protected by the vaccines. According to Bloom, early unpublished research suggests that some people respond to them by making the wrong kind of antibody. Instead of making antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteinwhich is whats supposed to happensome people appear to make antibodies against the nucleocapsid protein, and those antibodies dont have the same protective effect. Other early research, he said, shows some people dont make antibodies in response to the vaccines at all.

Still, the proportion of these people is infinitesimala thousandth of a percentand they just have some hang-up, genetic or otherwise, where they dont see the antigens on the spike protein, Bloom said.

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Now, the CDC is collecting data on breakthrough infections that lead to hospitalizations and deaths, looking for patterns related to age, underlying medical conditions, vaccine type, COVID-19 variant, and other factors. This data can help experts determine any instances in which deaths or hospitalizations that were chalked up to COVID-19 were actually driven by other factors, health-related or otherwise. While they may have gotten vaccinated and theyre post two weeks out and theyve passed away, it may not directly be related to COVID-19, Madad said.

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Itll also help experts figure out what role variants play in breakthrough cases. Right now, its still not clear. Thats the big question that even a lot of our clinicians and providers often have, she said.

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A small recent study of 149 people in Israel, which hasnt yet been peer reviewed, suggested that the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants (first identified in the U.K. and South Africa, respectively) caused more breakthrough cases in people who had received their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. A week after the second dose, the B.1.351 variant was driving more cases. These findings, however, come with two big caveats: There werent any B.1.351-linked breakthrough cases two weeks after the second dose, which may mean that the vaccines reduced effectiveness is short-lived, lead author Adi Stern tweeted. Second, even though the B.1.351 variant has caused some breakthrough cases, it isnt spreading in Israel, so these cases may not be worth worrying about.

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All of the approved vaccines provide protection against the known variants circulating in the U.S. That said, its still important to keep your guard up even after youre fully vaccinated, especially if theres high community transmission where you live (right now, thats most places in the U.S.). Youve heard it before, but it bears repeating: Keep wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding large gatheringswhether indoors or outdoors.

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Viterbo learned that the hard way, at a backyard gathering packed with unmasked people eating and drinking. Continue to get tested for COVID especially if youre in contact with people who havent been fully vaccinated yet or havent contracted COVID before, said Viterbo. Get tested when youve spent time unmasked in a poorly ventilated areaand yes, that includes dining indoors.

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Breakthrough cases will happen, and they can be a nasty surprise. But take comfort in knowing that a growing body of evidence shows that most fully vaccinated people who do get infected have mild symptoms, and the real-world data on the frequency of breakthrough cases is actually quite reassuring.

I think, overall, I am completely surprised that the breakthrough numbers of people in the States is as low as it is, said Bloom. And we should be grateful for that.

Update, April 23, 2021: This article has been updated to clarify what it means for a vaccine to be 95 percent effective.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne receives a hongi from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta during a Mihi Whakatau, or welcome speech, at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on April 22, 2021. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

ANZ Foreign Ministers Discuss Five Eyes at First In-Person Meeting

The foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand (NZ) met in person for the first time in Wellington on Thursday for their biannual consultations to discuss ways to strengthen trans-Tasman ties.

The meeting came days after NZ Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the Ardern government was uncomfortable with the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance expanding to the human rights space.

Following the meeting, Australias Foreign Minister Marise Payne gave no public indication about those comments, choosing instead to praise the enduring and continuing relationship between the nations.

However, the pair did clarify their stance on the Five Eyes to reporters.

Payne said that all Five Eyes members share the view that it is a vital strategic alliance that is key to each countrys security and intelligence interests.

A lot of issues with which we deal are dealt with in the shadows, but not all, and some have been able to be dealt with openly and publicly through the Five Eyes process, Payne said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speak to media during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on April 22, 2021. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Mahuta clarified her comments to reporters from earlier in the week at the New Zealand China Council, suggesting that the Five Eyes arrangement should be limited to a security and intelligence framework, not branching into areas that involve human rights.

Its not necessary all the time on every issue to invoke Five Eyes as your first port of call, in terms of creating a coalition of support around particular issues in the human rights space, she said.

Before the meeting, Payne told ABC radio that Australia would continue to emphasise the importance of the group.

In terms of the Five Eyes, what I have found in the last year in particular and certainly in the last little while, is a very significant level of engagement across counterparts, she said prior to meeting with Mahuta.

The Five Eyes alliancewhich comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United Stateswas formed in the 1940s as an intelligence-sharing network.

However, in recent years the network has been leveraged to discuss and align on other pressing issues, including the economy, defence, Big Tech regulation, and foreign relations.

The Five Eyes most notably issued a joint statement condemning Beijing on its takeover of Hong Kong.

Alexander Gillespie, professor of international law at the NZ University of Waikato, said the group was critical as geopolitical tensions continue to rise.

It is a multi-generational arrangement that is larger than any one political party, he told The Epoch Times. Moreover, while it grew into current form with the first Cold War, if current trajectories with China continue, it will be more necessary than ever, with a second Cold War.

The bilateral foreign minister-level talks were held a day after Payne terminated four agreements between the Victorian government and foreign countries, including Iran, Syria, and China.

Two of those agreements were signed between Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Beijings National Development and Reform Commission under the auspices of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In cancelling the arrangements, Payne said they were inconsistent with Australias foreign policy.

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said the decision to enter the agreements with Beijing was foolhardy and would be leveraged as a form of economic coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Victorias arrangements with the CCP to establish a BRI in Australia should never have occurred, and Australia must do everything in its power to prevent such overt forms of foreign interference from ever being considered in this country ever again, he told The Epoch Times.

Foreign interference is a major issue for both Australia and NZ, and our nations cooperate where necessary to preserve national and international security.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten, who previously supported the Victorian premier signing up to the BRI, now agreed the Morrison government had made the right decision.

We wouldnt have signed the arrangements either if we were in government, Shorten told Nines Today show on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Michael Shoebridge of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has warned that NZ will struggle to walk the geopolitical tightrope between democratic allies and Beijing.

They will find that their policy framework collides with their values and interests, even if its purpose is to protect NZs China trade, he told The Epoch Times.

Quietly assuring Five Eyes partners everything is fine, while also assuring Beijing of the same thing, is not sustainable unless China radically changes direction under Chinese leader Xi.

Last year, Chinese Global Television Network (CGTN) reported that the NZ government planned to upgrade its free trade agreement with China via the BRI framework.

Gao Feng, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, reportedly announced the news at the virtual ChinaNew Zealand Joint Committee of Trade and Economy meeting on September 2020.

The upgrade aimed to deepen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism, Gao said. CGTN reported that New Zealand and China would also maintain communication on research, medicine, and vaccine development.
Two researchers are conducting a study to see whether there is a correlation between the abnormal menstrual cycle and the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Katherine Lee, a postdoctoral scholar in the public health sciences division at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Dr.Kathryn Clancy, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, got their shots earlier this year.

Does receiving the COVID-19 vaccine change the menstrual cycle?

Aside from the expected side effects, such as discomfort at the injection site, both women experienced temporary changes in their menstrual periods. Their menstrual cycles had started longer than usual, felt heavier, or seemed to be irregular.

Clancy and Lee are now gathering data on post-vaccination menstrual changes to see whether there is a connection between the two. Clancy first revealed her abnormal period in late February in a tweet after getting the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. "I'm wondering if any menstruators have witnessed any changes as well," she asked.

The tweet earned over 1,200 likes, and she collected hundreds of responses from other women and menstruating individuals, all of whom recorded their unusual shifts. Clancy and Lee were encouraged by the feedback to perform a formal study.

Why Brazil's COVID-19 Deaths Terrifyingly Increase Among Babies, Children

Clancy tweeted about the study on April 7 and included a link to a survey to record their menstrual experiences after getting the vaccine. According to the Chicago Tribune, more than 25,000 people had completed the survey as of Monday.

There is currently little to no research about how vaccinations can impact menstrual cycles, as per Daily Mail. But some speculate that because immunizations weaken the immune system, a person's menstrual cycle can react.

Experts claim that none of the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, recorded any changes in menstrual cycles during clinical trials. They go on to say that there is no excuse to avoid receiving the COVID-19 vaccine right now.

Simple Oral Hygiene Can Help Save Lives as Researchers Find Links Between COVID-19, Gum Disease

COVID-19 vaccine might cause a heavy menstrual period

If more patients are vaccinated, the number of people experiencing side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine will increase. Previously, several patients experienced fever and fatigue many hours after being inoculated. Some women reported pain and swelling at the injection site, but it turns out that they are also dealing with a difference in their menstrual cycle.

Again, signs vary. Some people have observed more bleeding than usual, while others have noticed specific abnormalities.

According to experts, the menstrual cycle is responsive and refers to various factors, such as fatigue, emotional or physical changes, or something related to immunity. Its ability enables it to adapt and show itself in a variety of ways.

Furthermore, there may be a connection between the nanoparticles used in the COVID-19 vaccines and the changes in bleeding partners. Since nanoparticles can induce a transient immune response, destroying platelets, this is a concern. Although they may not take long to recover, it can be difficult, mainly if anyone is on their period after receiving a shot, per Health Shots via MSN.

However, the more key concern is whether there is a connection between COVID-19 and menstruation. While there is not enough evidence to prove that changes in menstrual cycles are a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, the fact that women are involved in clinical trials could be a warning sign. On the web, myths and misconceptions abound, but it is crucial to remember that they do not reflect all people. Several biological and cultural factors are considered to assess the effectiveness of vaccination on the menstrual cycle.

Vaccine Protection Stronger Among Those Previously Infected by COVID-19, Study Reveals

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A white North Carolina official has been kicked off a city Zoning Commission after he repeatedly ignored a black woman's request to be addressed by her doctoral title during a virtual public meeting.

The Greensboro City Council unanimously voted to remove Tony Collins from the commission after his tense exchange with Dr. Carrie Rosario, an associate professor at UNC-Greensboro who holds a doctorate in public health, according to the Charlotte Observer.

At the end of the meeting, Rosario raised an issue about a development near her house, which started a cringeworthy back and forth between the two.

Collins, a white man, called on Rosario and referred to her as 'Mrs. Rosario.'

'It's Dr. Rosario, thank you, sir,' she said in response.

Collins continued to refer to Rosario as, 'Mrs. Rosario' or 'Carrie' several more times. Each time, Rosario corrected him.

'It doesn't really matter,' Collins said towards the end of the exchange.

Scroll down to watch the video.

Tony Collins was removed from his position on the Greensboro zoning commission after refusing to address Dr. Carrie Rosario by her doctoral title during a public meeting

City Councilwoman Sharon Hightower called for the vote to remove Collins from the commission.

'It was a very disrespectful exchange between an important commissioner and a public citizen,' Hightower told the Charlotte Observer. 'That should never happen.'

Hightower said Collins was exercising his 'white privilege' by not addressing Dr. Rosario by her proper title.

Collins (TC)/Rosario (CR) exchange Collins started the exchange by addressing Rosario as 'Mrs. Rosario.' CR: 'It's Dr. Rosario, thank you, sir.' TC: 'If Mrs. Rosario has something.' CR: 'Dr. Rosario.' TC: 'Well, you know, I'm sorry. Your name says on here 'Carrie Rosario.' Hey, Carrie.' CR: 'It's Dr. Rosario.' I wouldn't call you Tony, so please, sir, call me as I would like to be called.' TC: 'It doesn't really matter.' CR: 'It matters to me. And out of respect, I would like you to call me by the name that I'm asking you to call me by.' TC: 'Your screen says Carrie Rosario.' CR: 'I'm verbalizing my name is Dr. Carrie Rosario. And it really speaks very negatively of you as a commissioner to be disrespectful.' Advertisement

She added: 'It is not going to be tolerated. As a black female, I am not going to see another black female treated in this manner.'

Greensboro Councilwoman Goldie Wells, who is black and holds a Ph.D. degree, said highly educated black women are often not afforded the advantages that white women with only high school degrees get, the Greensboro News and Record reported.

Collins' term was not due to end until 2023.

Earlier in the meeting, Rosario corrected a different zoning commissioner, who immediately apologized and said, 'I really don't want to offend you in that regard, so, Dr. Rosario, I do apologize for that,' according to the Charlotte Observer.

In that instance, it appeared to be an honest mistake that that was quickly corrected, but made the situation with Collins feel like a personal attack, Rosario said.

'I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt at first and corrected him, but as the exchange unfolded it was clear that he was intent on disrespecting me,' she told the Charlotte Observer.

'I was hurt, upset, angry  because this was a public forum  and the public should feel safe to be themselves, to present their concerns, and feel respected in the process.'

The Greensboro exchange is similar to one that happened two weeks ago in the town of Hamden, Connecticut, except in that case it was a white woman who corrected a black man.

Dr. Valerie Horsley, a white town board member and Yale professor, and Justin Farmer, a black councilman, were discussing an ice rink during a virtual meeting with other local officials.

Farmer asked the town's Director of Finance a question about the financing of it.

Horsely interjected: 'Point of order, point of order, is there ever an instance where public comment is addressed by a commissioner or someone in the administration? This is a public comment, am I mistaken?'

Farmer replied: 'That is well taken, councilwoman Horsley.'

She shot back: 'Dr. Horsley, thank you,' then mouthed the F-word and shook her head.

Dr. Valerie Horsley (right), a Yale professor and town of Camden, Connecticut councilwoman, demanded fellow councilmember Justin Farmer refer to her as 'Dr. Horsley' and mouthed the F-word and shook her head. The community called her a racist and demanded she resign.

The exchange sparked outrage in the community, with some calling Horsley a racist and comparing how she spoke to Farmer to how Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck.

Activists started a petition demanding her resignation, saying: 'Last night, the town of Hamden watched while white council member Horsley put her knee on Black council member Farmer's neck for 41s.'

Horsely later apologized to Farmer, who said he accepted her apology and wanted to move on.

But activists continue to demand her resignation.

'We are asking for a public apology from the town and council, the immediate removal of Yale faculty and council member Horsley and for the town of Hamden to demonstrate their recognition of equity and inclusivity as leaders by publicly declaring racism a public health crisis,' the Change.org petition says.

They also wrote an open letter to Yale.

Yale has not commented on the row, and the town council has not indicated whether or not to fire her.
Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 22 2021

Equitable access to the vaccine remains a priority."

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran held a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination event recently in Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Public Library. The vaccination day, in partnership with Northwell Health, aims to vaccinate 500 eligible members of the Roosevelt community as a part of the Countys ongoing effort to ensure an equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Equitable access to the vaccine remains a priority and todays Roosevelt pop-up is another way Nassau County is making sure every resident has their shot at getting the shot. As eligibility has opened to all residents 16 and older, it is more important than ever to continue to expand vaccine access and get doses of this lifesaving vaccine into arms. Thank you to Northwell Health for joining with us again to hold this weeks event and upcoming events as we continue to work together to bring the COVID-19 vaccine to our communities. With our partners we have vaccinated more than 46% of Nassaus residents and I am committed to keeping up the pace so we can beat this pandemic once and for all. We can do it, Nassau! said Nassau County Executive Laura Curran.
Neighbors on Thursday described a chaotic scene of North Carolina deputies trying to serve a warrant, a car pulling away and shots fired -- leaving one man dead.

The shooting took place Wednesday morning in a working-class neighborhood of Elizabeth City in the northeastern corner of the state.

The Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office said Thursday in a video statement that its special operations and tactical team was attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Andrew Brown Jr. when the shooting occurred.

'Our deputies attempted to serve the arrest warrant. They fired the shots. They've been put on administrative leave until we know all the facts,' Sheriff Tommy Wooten said.

Chief Deputy Daniel Fogg said the arrest warrant was for felony drug charges, and that Brown had a history of resisting arrest. CNN could not immediately verify any previous resisting arrest charges against Brown, 42.

Deputies from another agency assisted in serving the warrant, Fogg said.

Neighbors told CNN that deputies opened fire on the vehicle that Brown was driving, though it was unclear if the deputies started to fire before or after the car was in motion.

Demetria Williams, who lives just down the road, said she initially heard one shot, and then ran outside to look.

'By the time I got (outside), they was standing behind his car. He was trying to get away,' Williams said.

'And they stood behind him,' said Williams. 'I couldn't tell you what, who shot him. I couldn't do that. But one of the officers or maybe a couple shot him.'

Williams said Brown was driving, causing mud to splatter on the side of a home. A neighbor who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity gave the same account. The mud on the home and a deep tire mark were still visible on Thursday when CNN visited.

'It is a horrible thing to witness,' the neighbor who spoke on condition of anonymity told CNN. She said she heard a shot, went to get her phone, and then heard more gunshots, describing them as 'rapid fire.' Neither this neighbor nor Williams said how much time elapsed between the first shot and the rest.

Both Williams and the witness who asked for anonymity said the vehicle, after driving through an open lot, crossed another street, struck a tree and came to rest. Two neighbors tell CNN that deputies pulled Brown out and attempted lifesaving medical intervention.

A man who lives at the home where the vehicle came to rest said authorities had recovered a bullet from his home. The entry point just to the right of his front door was still visible.

Fogg said at issue is whether the deputies had reason to believe Brown's actions put them at risk of serious injury or death.

Wooten said, 'If evidence shows that any of my deputies violated the law or policies, they will be held accountable.'

Thursday brought a second day of protests. A few hundred people were marching through the streets of the city, passing the sheriff's office and the site of the shooting before heading toward a business area.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the sheriff office declined to comment further and said the matter was being investigated by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

Officials with the agency said in a statement that investigators are working quickly and thoroughly.

'We understand the need for transparency and will release what information we can when we're able to release it,' SBI officials said.

While authorities have not given information on what led up to the incident, and specifically, whether Brown was armed, his family says he 'never carried a gun.'

'That's my favorite nephew. He never carried a gun. He didn't own a gun,' Pete Brown told CNN.

The deputy involved in the shooting is on leave, according to the sheriff.

Wooten told reporters at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that deputies wore body cameras and they were activated. The footage has not been released.

The SBI said in its statement that it takes a court order in North Carolina to get body camera footage released.

'Any requests as it relates to the release of such video should be directed to the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office or the District Attorney's Office,' the statement said.

Andrew Womble, district attorney for the First Prosecutorial District, and Pasquotank County Attorney R. Michael Cox said, 'The law does allow a private viewing by the family of Mr. Brown (and) we are working with their attorney to arrange that.'

The North Carolina NAACP issued a statement calling for an 'immediate review of the body cameras,' as well as a thorough investigation of the sheriff's department.

'Here we are again outraged to hear of yet another Black man dead, allegedly at the hands of those who are supposed to protect and serve. The murder of Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City, NC, Black man ... and a father of 10 on the morning after the guilty on every count verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin screams for increased scrutiny of the policing system,' officials with the NC NAACP said, adding they 'will not stand idly by and watch North Carolina become another Minnesota.'

Brown's aunt Clarissa Gibson said she initially heard about the shooting on the news before finding out it was in fact her nephew who was shot and killed. Gibson told CNN on Wednesday she believes Brown was unarmed at the time of the shooting because he didn't typically carry a gun.

Brown's former girlfriend Patrice Revelle, who said she shares five children with Brown, told CNN that 'Drew didn't own a gun. He didn't carry a gun.'

Revelle, who was not present at the time of the shooting, was adamant Brown would not have been armed.

Wooten said he will not comment on the number of shots fired because an investigation will reveal those details.

Gov. Roy Cooper told CNN in a statement that he 'is aware of the incident and believes that there should be a full investigation.'

'We must continue to work toward accountability and justice in communities across our state,' the governor said in a statement.

The City Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday evening to discuss the shooting but the city manager said he was not going to impose a curfew.

After the meeting, several members spoke to an angry crowd gathered outside.

Council member Darius Horton drew cheers when he told the protesters that he was calling for authorities to release immediately the deputy's body camera footage.

'I do believe in the coming days or coming hours that footage must be released,' he told CNN. 'Because that's the only way these people are going to calm down.

Elizabeth City has about 18,000 residents and is just west of North Carolina's Outer Banks and about a 45-mile drive south of Norfolk, Virginia.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Andrew Brown's age. He was 42.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 18:26:32|Editor: huaxia

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TASHKENT -- A compressed methane gas tank installed in a car has exploded, killing a man and injuring another at a gas station in southern Uzbekistan's Qashqadaryo Region, the Uzbek Emergency Ministry said Thursday.

The incident occurred as the car was being refueled, and the injured man, an employee of the station, was hospitalized immediately, the ministry said. (Uzbekistan-Car Blast)

- - - -

GHAZNI, Afghanistan -- A district police chief was killed during a fighting with Taliban militants in Afghanistan's eastern province of Ghazni Wednesday night, a local government spokesman confirmed on Thursday.

"Acting police chief of Dih Yak district, Jawid Panjshiri, was martyred during a clash with armed militants in Dih Yak district, in the east of provincial capital Ghazni on Wednesday night," spokesman Wahidullah Jumazada told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Ghanzi-Fighting)

- - - -

ULAN BATOR -- A boat capsized in a river in the northern Mongolian province of Khuvsgul, killing seven people, including two children, the country's National Emergency Management Agency said Thursday.

The accident happened in the Selenge River in the province's Tosontsengel soum territory on Wednesday evening, the emergency agency said in a statement. (Mongolia-Boat-Deaths)

- - - -

NEW DELHI -- India's national carrier, Air India, has announced that all its scheduled flights between India and Britain from April 24 to 30 had been cancelled in the wake of the recent restrictions announced by Britain, officials said Thursday.

"Due to restrictions implemented by British authorities, flights scheduled between 24th to 30th April from India stands cancelled," Air India said. (India-Air India-Flights) Enditem
LANSING, MI - One month ago, Michigan Senate Republicans debuted their plan to overhaul the states election laws.

The ensuing weeks brought criticism, protests and press conferences from Democratic officials and liberal activists calling the package everything from racist to voter suppression. Much of the pushback focused on one portion of the package that would tighten control and adds steps to the absentee ballot process.

Read more: Detroit NAACP says Michigan Senate GOP voting bills place democracy on a ventilator

This week, Republican lawmakers got their first chance to respond and commence negotiations on the 39 bills, and frankly, theyre starting slowly.

Three less controversial bills addressing voter rolls and clerk training, as well as fixes recommended by the Auditor General in 2019, were the subjects of a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Elections Committee.

The whole package will transform throughout the process and many of the bills will look different than they do today, said Senate Elections Committee Chair Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly.

Were going to take them one-by-one, the former secretary of state told MLive. Nothing is pre-determined. We get input from all the stakeholders, and I think the package that will get done will make sure that we have secure and fair elections.

Johnsons successor finds that last claim redundant. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pointed to her offices post-election audit that found no widespread fraud or disenfranchisement despite record turnout. She said the Republican bills are really about restricting Michigan citizens hard-fought freedoms to vote.

Read more: Michigan completes general election audits, no foul play found

This is a hard-earned achievement that we should be celebrating or working to replicate, she said at an April 21 press conference, but a number of these bills do just the opposite, making it impossible for our clerks to repeat that success in future elections.

Whereas Democrats want to continue beating the drum of voter suppression on the package, Republicans are leading with the more anodyne chunks of the package. Heres what they discussed out of the gate.

Minor reforms? Window dressing?

The three bills from the package discussed in Wednesdays election committee hearing were Senate Bills 277, 281 and 306. The first, sponsored by Sen. Michael McDonald, R-Macomb Township, would require direct email communication between county clerks and local clerks when trying to remove recently deceased voters from the Qualified Voter File, the electronic system that manages individual election records.

Currently, death records are handled by county clerks, who must contact local clerks to remove voters from the Qualified Voter File once a month. Senate Bill 277 would constrict that to every two weeks, but require electronic communication.

According to a 2019 Auditor General report, there were 230 registered voters that reported an age of more than 122. MacDonalds bill, as well as one of the House bills also discussed Wednesday, would seek to limit that number.

Senate Bill 281, sponsored by Sen. Kim LaSata, R-Bainbridge Twp., would require the secretary of state to coordinate with election bureaus in other states to verify voters are not doubly registered in multiple states.

This bill came about after conversations with local clerks in my district beginning last summer, LaSata said at the hearing. Many of them expressed concerns about the difficult task of determining if an individual registering to vote in their jurisdiction is registered in another state.

Johnson said that as secretary of state, she had to remove 1.1 million people from voter rolls because they had moved or died.

One of the biggest problems we have when somebody says we use the QVF (is) its simply full of people that are not qualified, Johnson said.

The measures created by MacDonald and LaSata are either redundant or open up the possibility for wrongful removal from the Qualified Voter File, Benson argued in a breakdown of her opposition to each Senate bill in the package. Her critiques included:

For SB 277: Requires deceased voter registration cancellation but without clear matching criteria and protections against wrongful removal.

For SB 281: Requires the voter registration database to be updated based on multistate records, which is already done, and to post numbers of registrations cancelled for these reasons, which is not funded and already available by FOIA.

On their own, these criticisms are small, Benson said Wednesday. They shouldnt distract from the bulk of the pernicious Senate voting package, she said.

It seems like a lot of window dressing, she said. In my view, it seems like a way for (Republicans) to say Look, were being very reasonable here and promoting these policies today that the Secretary has agreed on in the past. All of that is fine, but it shouldnt be used to distract or cover up the fact that the vast majority of these bills... gets into the pernicious effort to undermine our voters will and make our democracy less accessible.

Senate Bill 306, sponsored by Sen. Roger Victory, requires the secretary of state to report to the Legislature on the status of required election training by county, city and township clerks. Benson takes issue with the 45-day timeline outlined in the bill, saying many clerks just taking office wont be able to comply.

None of the bills saw votes in Wednesdays committee hearing, which was reserved for discussion. Other than a few clarifying questions from Sen. Paul Wojno, D-Warren, there was little open negotiation.

How are these partisan? Johnson rhetorically asked.

LEFT: Sen. Ruth Johnson, R-Holly. Neil Blake | MLive.com RIGHT: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Lauren Gibbons | MLive.comNeil Blake | MLive.com

Eyes on future battles

Benson on Wednesday targeted the bills seeking to alter the absentee ballot process. Widespread criticism from liberals has been leveled at Senate Bill 285, which would require a photocopy of a persons ID stapled to absentee applications returned in the mail.

It would limit voting by mail to those fortunate enough to own or have access to a copy machine, she said. Johnson acknowledged that bill is an example of a measure that will probably need to change.

I do believe that were going to have to make some changes to it so that somebody doesnt have to photocopy, Johnson said. Ive received some ideas that well be exploring such as writing your drivers license or state ID number on that form rather than getting a photocopy. These are all things that can be worked out.

Johnson added that she recognizes that if many of these bills remain in their current form, theres no way they get a signature from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law. Whitmer said she would veto any bill that would make it harder for people to vote during a CNN interview earlier this month.

Johnson wont budge on other bills, though, including one she sponsored that would require state and county certification of absentee ballot drop boxes.

Senate Bill 273 would require the secretary of state and a county canvassing board to approve any new ballot drop boxes, Johnson said. Drop boxes installed before 2020 would also have to be approved by Oct. 1.

My bill would simply say you also have the responsibility to put minimal requirements on a drop box, so I dont know why its so controversial, she said.

Boxes would need proper lighting, near HD-level video quality surveillance and labeling. These could be cost prohibitive for lower-income areas, said Barb Byrum, the Democratic clerk of Ingham County.

(The video requirement) is of such a level that even the Senate cant offer that for viewers for citizens of Michigan who want to watch Senate committee or Senate session, she said. The requirements are cost prohibitive for many local, city and township clerks.

Another of Johnsons bills -- Senate Bill 310 -- would require absentee ballot applications to only be sent to voters who request them, and would prohibit the secretary of state from sharing an online link to an application page.

This is an extension of one of Johnsons criticisms of Benson last year.

Benson pointed out that since canvassing boards are evenly split by Republicans and Democrats, its possible partisan board members will simply block any drop box installations, which would require a majority vote.

Regarding a separate bill to expand canvassing boards to six or eight members based on population, Benson falsely stated that installations or election certifications would now require super majorities. The bill doesnt change the simple majority vote needed by county or the state board.

Democrats will likely continue to hammer those bills, as well as those that would prohibit pre-paying postage on absentee application return envelopes or banning the use of a sworn affidavit to vote when someone doesnt have an ID.

As Wednesdays hearing highlighted, in-chamber fights are on the horizon, and the Republican majority is setting a tone where they can build up to those battles.

For Johnson, who first served in the Legislature as a House representative in 1999, this is all part of the normal legislative process.

I dont know if theres any strategy, she said. Were just calling sponsors one-by-one, having the stakeholders come in and give their input and... its just part of the process.

Read more from MLive:

Michigan Senate GOP debuts election reforms critical of Secretary of States handling of November election

Whitmer, Gilchrist & liberal activists prepping to fight Republican voting bills, potential petitions

Election hearings are back as lawmakers look to clear up confusion, initiate reform

Michigan senate passes resolution to oppose federal election reform bill

Michigan completes general election audits, no foul play found

Auditor-recommended election reforms approved in Michigan House
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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.

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has cancelled two Chinese Belt and Road infrastructure building initiative deals with a state government, provoking an angry response from

The bilateral deals with Victoria state were among four vetoed under new laws that give the federal government power to overrule agreements by lower-level administrations that violate the national interest, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said late Wednesday.

The Belt and Road deals struck with in 2018 and 2019 triggered the legislative response.

Victoria Education Department pacts signed with Syria in 1999 and Iran in 2004 were also cancelled.

I consider these four arrangements to be inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations, Payne said.

The Chinese Embassy in said in a statement the decision further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China- relations.

It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself, the embassy said on Thursday, referring to the Australian government.

Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party's English-language mouthpiece, said in a headline: Australia faces serious consequences for unreasonable provocation against

The move marks a significant escalation that could push icy bilateral relations into an abyss, the newspaper added.

Australia's bilateral relations with its most important trading partner are at their lowest point in decades.

Chinese government ministers refuse to take phone calls from their Australian counterparts, and trade disruptions are widely seen as imposing economic punishment.

But Payne said on Thursday she did not expect would retaliate.

Australia is operating in our national interests. We are very careful and very considered in that approach, Payne told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

It's about ensuring that we have a consistent approach to foreign policy across all levels of government, and it isn't about any one country, she said.

It is most certainly not intended to harm Australia's relationships with any countries.

(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.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio - In the continuing search for dark matter in our universe, scientists believe they have found a unique and powerful detector: exoplanets.

In a new paper, two astrophysicists suggest dark matter could be detected by measuring the effect it has on the temperature of exoplanets, which are planets outside our solar system.

This could provide new insights into dark matter, the mysterious substance that can't be directly observed, but which makes up roughly 80% of the mass of the universe.

"We believe there should be about 300 billion exoplanets that are waiting to be discovered," said Juri Smirnov, a fellow at The Ohio State University's Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

"Even finding and studying a small number of them could give us a great deal of information about dark matter that we don't know now."

Smirnov co-authored the paper with Rebecca Leane, a postdoctoral researcher at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University. It was published today (April 22, 2021) in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Smirnov said that when the gravity of exoplanets captures dark matter, the dark matter travels to the planetary core where it "annihilates" and releases its energy as heat. The more dark matter that is captured, the more it should heat up the exoplanet.

This heating could be measured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared telescope scheduled to launch in October that will be able to measure the temperature of distant exoplanets.

"If exoplanets have this anomalous heating associated with dark matter, we should be able to pick it up," Smirnov said.

Exoplanets may be particularly useful in detecting light dark matter, Smirnov said, which is dark matter with a lower mass. Researchers have not yet probed light dark matter by direct detection or other experiments.

Scientists believe that dark matter density increases toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. If that is true, researchers should find that the closer planets are to the galactic center, the more their temperatures should rise.

"If we would find something like that, it would be amazing. Clearly, we would have found dark matter," Smirnov said.

Smirnov and Leane propose one type of search that would involve looking close to Earth at gas giants - so called "Super Jupiters" - and brown dwarfs for evidence of heating caused by dark matter. One advantage of using planets like this as dark matter detectors is that they don't have nuclear fusion, like stars do, so there is less "background heat" that would make it hard to find a dark matter signal.

In addition to this local search, the researchers suggest a search for distant rogue exoplanets that are no longer orbiting a star. The lack of radiation from a star would again cut down on interference that could obscure a signal from dark matter.

One of the best parts of using exoplanets as dark matter detectors is that it doesn't require any new types of instrumentation such as telescopes, or searches that aren't already being done, Smirnov said.

As of now, researchers have identified more than 4,300 confirmed exoplanets and an additional 5,695 candidates are currently under investigation. Gaia, a space observatory of the European Space Agency, is expected to identify tens of thousands more potential candidates in the next few years.

"With so many exoplanets being studied, we will have a tremendous opportunity to learn more than ever before about dark matter," Smirnov said.

###

Contact: Juri Smirnov, Smirnov.9@osu.edu

Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said his elder son Ashish Yechury died due to coronavirus on Thursday. Ashish who would have turned 35 on June 9, passed away at 5:30 am after a two-week battle with the Covid-19 infection.

Ashish was under treatment at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. Initially, he was hospitalised at Holy Family Hospital and was later shifted to the Gurugram hospital.

Sitaram Yechury wrote on Twitter about his son's death. The politician thanked all doctors, nurses, and sanitation workers who looked after his son.





It is with great sadness that I have to inform that I lost my elder son, Ashish Yechury to COVID-19 this morning. I want to thank all those who gave us hope and who treated him - doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, sanitation workers and innumerable others who stood by us.  Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 22, 2021

Yechury is reportedly under isolation at his home.

Condolences have started pouring with politicians mourning Ashish Yechury's sudden death.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote, "Devastated by the news. There is no greater loss for a parent to endure. May you find the strength to bear the inexpressible grief of your loss. My heart goes out to you at this painful time".

Devastated by the news @SitaramYechury@seemay. There is no greater loss for a parent to endure. May you find the strength to bear the inexpressible grief of your loss. My heart goes out to you at this painful time.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 22, 2021

Union cabinet minister Smriti Irani wrote, "Condolences Sir".
New Delhi: In a movie-like turn of events, a thief, who pillaged the government hospital in Haryana ended up returning the looted items after realising they were COVID-19 vaccine vials.

As soon as the thief became aware of the importance of the stolen items, he left the vials at a tea stall outside a police station with a note, IANS reported.

The apology note read, Sorry, did not know it had COVID-19 vaccine.

Over 1,700 doses of coronavirus vaccine were stolen from the Civil hospital in Haryana's Jind, PTI quoted a police official as saying on Thursday. A total of 1,270 doses of Covishield and 440 of Covaxin were stolen from the hospital, SHO of Civil Lines police station Rajender Singh said.

"The accused did not touch any other vaccine, medicine, cash, etc. Lying in the store," he added. The incident had taken place on Wednesday night.

The matter came to light when a sanitation worker found the locks of the store and deep freezer broken on Thursday morning.

The SHO had said a case was registered in connection with the incident and police were investigating the matter.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Days shy of the one-year anniversary of Vanessa Guillens death, Fort Hood is honoring the former soldier and murder victim in a new way.

On Monday, April 19, officials at the Army base dedicated a gate renamed in Guillens memory, according to an Express-News report. Previously named the Access Control Point 2 Alpha, the gate leads to the area where Guillen served on base. It is used by civilians, soldiers, and their families every day.

OPINION: The Chauvin verdict makes it clear that abolition is mandatory

Guillen went missing in April 2020, setting off a statewide search and attracting headlines across the nation. Though her body was not found until June 30, officials determined she was bludgeoned to death on April 22 by a fellow soldier.

Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen Pat White said the renaming of the gate, as well as a new plaque adorned with Guillens photo, is a way of acknowledging that the assault and death of the 20-year-old woman is part of the bases history. White said the gate will ensure that in two, three, four years we havent forgotten what this is all about.

Natalie Khawam, the Guillen familys lawyer, said history was being made through the gate dedication.

God makes examples out of everyone, and God chose Vanessa Guillen for a better future for every soldier in our country, she said.

Steve Gonzales / Staff photographer

Houston-born Guillen became a household name across the U.S. as social media users shared her name and image in hopes of finding the soldier, who was missing for more than two months before her body was found buried along the banks of the Leon River.

The sexual harassment and murder of a woman in the armed forces led to national outrage and calls for military leaders to be held accountable. Last December, numerous Fort Hood soldiers were either suspended or removed following an external investigation that determined there was a climate of sexual harassment and sexual assault on base.

Fort Hood has one of the highest crime rates within all Army bases, according to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy.

Also this week, Texas legislators announced bills related to the renaming of a highway in the Houston area after Guillen as well as September 30, Guillens birthday, being named Vanessa Guillen Day.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The Indian American former diplomat says she will back former President Donald Trump if he were to run for office in 2024. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images photo)
Governor Gavin Newsom View Photo

Sacramento, CA  California Governor Gavin Newsom says the state will be taking steps to bolster drought resilience efforts as the state is in the midst of another dry year.

He says, We recognize that the world that persisted and existed a century ago, no longer persists and exists today. The hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting drier, and with atmospheric rivers the wets are getting wetter. As a consequence, we need to disenthrall ourselves with the old ways of managing water supply and distribution.

He says state agencies will accelerate funding for water supply enhancement, and conservation, projects. Unspent state funds will also be reallocated to help projects that address drought impacts and ecosystems.

Newsom also declared a localized state of emergency yesterday for the Russian River watershed in Sonoma and Mendocino counties where he says reservoirs are already at record lows.

The entire state was not included in the declaration, and this drew criticism from Republican Senator Scott Wilk, who argued, While the overwhelming majority of the state is experiencing extreme drought conditions, Governor Newsom has chosen to only serve his French Laundry wine and cheese crowd. The Biden Administration has declared an emergency drought in nearly all California counties, what more does the governor need to get on board with this? Is the threat of a recall holding him back from helping our food producers and the rest of the state? Californians deserve action now, not this unsteady leadership.
Several shops and business establishments were allegedly forcibly shut by the administration due to a revised order by the government on Wednesday that business establishments other than grocery and hardware will not open till May 4 as part of steps to contain the surge in

The closure of shops led to chaos in the market on Thursday, prompting traders to call it 'partial lockdown'.

The government has already announced night curfew from 9 pm to 6 am everyday and week-end curfew till May 4.

Accordiing to the modified order, ration shops, grocery shops, wholesale vegetable markets, restaurants and hotels to sell takeaway products, standalone liquor shops and bars, food processing related industries, banks and insurance companies, delivery of e-commerce and barber and salon shops are permitted to operate with strict adherence to the COVID protocol.

Rest will remain shut, the order said.

The revised order permitted shops and establishments dealing with construction materials to operate.

There was confusion throughout the day among traders who were of the view that the order was related to the weekend curfew.

However, as the traders opened their shops, the police and senior municipal and district-level officers reached there asking them to close following revised guidelines, some shop owners said.

The bustling Chickpet, Balepet, Chamarajpet, Cottonpet and neighbouring trade centres fell silent following this.

A few of the traders PTI spoke to termed the closure of shops as 'partial lockdown', which would deal a severe blow to their businesses, which is already in doldrums for the past three to four years.

"The GST and last year's lockdown had broken our back and now this is going to ruin whatever is left with us. We are not sure whether this phase will end on May 4 or would be extended further," Mangilal, a textile dealer, told PTI.

Trade activist Sajjanraj Mehta said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that there would be no lockdown.

Yet, the shops are being closed, Mehta said.

Meanwhile, the Hosiery and Garment Association wrote to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa to implement the order uniformly and not restrict it to Chickpet and Gandhinagar areas in Bengaluru.
Oil was down yesterday as virus numbers again escalated in India and Japan added themselves to the danger list. The EIA inventory stats were pretty mixed, a small rise could have been better but with no change in refinery runs the gasoline number was a tiny rise although as I have been saying lately the gasoline supply numbers are increasing.

WTI $61.35 -$1.32, Brent $65.32 -$1.25, Diff -$3.97 +7c, NG $2.69 -4c, UKNG 53.25p +0.43p

Oil price

Oil was down yesterday as virus numbers again escalated in India and Japan added themselves to the danger list. The EIA inventory stats were pretty mixed, a small rise could have been better but with no change in refinery runs the gasoline number was a tiny rise although as I have been saying lately the gasoline supply numbers are increasing. The EIA also flagged a rise in air travel a leading barometer for jet fuel demand. Distillates drew another 1.1m barrels which is more than I would expect at this time of the year.

PetroTal Corp

2020 results for PTAL this morning but as is always the case it is historic news, no more so than for the company who has put a lot behind it recently with important announcements. These include restructuring the contingent derivative liability with Petroperu which was paid for from the $100m bond and allowed the company to put in place hedges to protect its balance sheet in more difficult times. The bond also gives PTAL scope to finance potential acquisitions and development of the Bretana oilfield.

Also in Q1 another shipment of 225,000 barrels of oil was sent through Brazil for export into the Atlantic region, this gives the company flexibility in geographical destinations as well as timing and price of its cargoes.

Manuel Pablo Zuniga-Pflucker, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented

2020 was an extremely challenging year for the global economy and PetroTal emerged from the downturn in a position of strength, a testament to our teams dedication and resolve. Although our 2020 results were impacted by many one-time events, the Companys announcements over the last six months have been overwhelmingly positive and will underpin our growth through 2021 and beyond. I am excited to continue to deliver on our 2021 capital program, which we anticipate will generate value for our equity, debt, and ESG stakeholders.

I would like to thank PetroTals shareholders, directors, employees, and contractors for their continued support and I look forward to keeping all our stakeholders updated on the Companys progress throughout the remainder of 2021.

With such a positive outlook in terms of production, investment in facilities, hedging and flexibility in sales destinations PetroTal is in a strong position, indeed now fully financed by the $100m bond it has a balance sheet to be proud of. My 50p target price remains firmly intact and gives plenty of upside which I am convinced can be achieved.

Jadestone Energy

Again 2020 was not a year to want to revisit, Jadestone produced 11,438 b/d down 15% and in addition hit by lower oil prices but in line with revised guidance which just about excuses it. The company went into full lockdown mode deferring $160m of capex which has now been mostly reinstated. Unsurprisingly opex fell to $23.10/b and this years estimate is between $25.50-29.50 which is wide enough.

This has all led to a very strong financial position, the company has $82.1m of cash which has doubled in the year and is debt free which is a good achievement under the circumstances. It has also meant that the dividend has been able to have been paid, added to the original $2.5m today they announced another $5m making a pay-out of $1.08 per share.

Production guidance for this year is 11,500-13,500 and with the company remaining so cash generative, even at low $40s Brent it remains profitable. This guidance depends on the successful drilling of the H6 well at Montara two Skua well workovers and the completion of the Groups acquisition of a 69% operated interest in Maari at the end of H1 2021. Maaris contribution to the full year production guidance range is assumed to be 1,500 bbls/d on an annualised basis (i.e. 3,000 bbls/d average production in H2 2021), and with the completion of Maaris MR6 well workover in early May, there is scope for additional production upside.

Paul Blakeley, President and CEO commented:

In 2020, the Jadestone business delivered strong operating cash flow, declared its maiden dividend, acquired a near-term gas development asset in Indonesia, and exited the year with double the net cash it had at the beginning of January.

This was accomplished against an external environment that tested the resilience of our business model, and indeed for some of our peers in the industry, challenged their very existence. Through a mix of well-timed hedging gains, rapid adjustments to our spending plans and a hard interrogation of our cost base, we successfully protected our balance sheet while rephasing production growth to coincide with a higher price environment. At the same time, we maintained our steadfast commitment to our principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and high governance standards, and have recorded no major incidents on any of these fronts.

Our balance sheet has grown stronger still in 2021. We are generating higher unit cash flows as benchmark oil prices have recovered and pricing premiums remain strong. Also, as planned, we have now fully repaid our reserves based loan, being completely debt free as of the end of Q1 2021. We are continuing in our pursuit of constant improvement across the business, and continue to find opportunities for greater efficiency in addition to having locked in 25% of the cash flow savings we implemented in 2020 through Project Clover.

Our commitment to ongoing shareholder returns remains intact too, and I am pleased to announce the final portion of our 2020 dividend today, as well as re-affirming our dividend policy for 2021 and beyond. We are constantly focussed on delivering value for shareholders and see both organic, and inorganic growth, as well as direct shareholder returns as key components.

I would also like to take the opportunity to offer my thanks to the entire Jadestone team, and to their families for remaining strong and resilient through what has been a very challenging year. The performance we delivered in 2020 is a testament to the high calibre of our workforce, and with their unwavering support for the business, we are well positioned to continue delivering value for shareholders in 2021 and beyond.

Jadestones share price has meandered around during the year including two very strong rallies and it looks like a text book chart which it should break out on the upside at around 76p. If all the planned projects scheduled for this year kick in I see no reason why it shouldnt do much better than that, after all it was the poster boy of the sector before the price, the quality play of the sector can rise again.

Providence Resources

If I had a pound only for every time I had seen the headline Barryroe terminated I would have retired by now, but yet again PVR shareholders are being put through the mill. The farm-out with SpotOn Energy has been terminated and the company is progressing arrangements for an alternative funding package to finance 100% of the costs of the early development scheme for the Barryroe licence.

The Barryroe partners are pursuing a similar development approach, including payment deferrals by individual service providers on equivalent or better terms and a Nordic bond issue. This revised approach will enable Providence to participate in a much greater share of the value of the Barryroe asset than was proposed under the SpotOn structure. Speaking with Alan Linn the best that can be taken from this is that they have inherited the farm-out process and effectively in charge of the process, some win eh?

It wont come as a great surprise to know that Providence is not awash with cash, so that in order to maintain development pace and demonstrate their continuing and material support for the project, Pageant Holdings, a substantial shareholder, has made an offer to underwrite a capital raise for US$2.5m at 3p per share. The offer includes a one for one warrant which would potentially raise a similar amount. There is also an old outstanding warrant at 3p that may come in handy.

Now in my view there is, as is often the case, a good news bad news story. The good news is that according to legend the Barryroe EDS has the potential to deliver exceptional value for Providence. Internal modelling forecasts a project NPV (10) valuation of $560m to Providence at US$60 per barrel based upon recovering 48m barrels of oil, equivalent to c. 16% of the estimated recoverable resource within the SEL 1/11 Barryroe license area.

Now the bad news, firstly funding, whilst todays raise is by no means an emergency one, current cash and warrants will keep the lights on until the end of the year and keep the working capital secure. On the plus side the service providers, their partners, should help with the bills and of course the Nordic bond would come in handy.

Theres more bad news, its all about timing and there is quite a long lead until that NPV of $560m can be accessed. Assuming the site survey can be done in 3Q 2021 that puts the rig timetable for late 2022/23 and production for late 2023, all of these of course subject to funding.

Providence CEO Alan Linn commented:

Having actively supported SpotOn over the past year it is disappointing that its become necessary to terminate the farm-out process with them. However, we are looking forward and actively building a revised development partnership with key service providers and a financing package designed to meet the needs of the project. We have been encouraged by the support we are receiving from service providers and banks and the commitments being offered to work with us in progressing the project. We are currently working with key service providers to structure direct long-term partnerships on a risk/ reward basis and we are also in discussions with brokers to raise a Nordic bond. The interim funding offer from Pageant Holdings is very welcome and a confirmation of their continuing support for the value potential of the development.

The Barryroe early development scheme is an attractive investment which offers excellent returns, even in a low oil price environment. We look forward to completing the funding process and appreciate the support and patience of shareholders. The early development scheme will be of considerable benefit to the local economy and contribute to Irelands energy security as we move towards a low carbon economy.

I think that the positive way that CEO Alan is handling this is a credit and he is quite rightly saying that it is right that the partners are taking control of the project. I have listed above both the concerns and potential bonuses that could occur over the next 3 years for Providence and their shareholders, although it may take its time it would be a shame if this important asset wasnt eventually brought to market. Also what would we all do if every year Barryroe wasnt terminated.

Getech Group has announced it has successfully agreed software licence renewals with existing customers with a combined value of c.375,000. The licenses expand on Getechs strategy to apply its skills to fast-developing energy transition markets.

On top of its baseline of monthly orderbook revenue, Getech has recently successfully closed software renewals totalling c375,000, data sales and new service projects totalling c350,000. These software renewals extend their recurring revenue and include annual and multi-year contracts. In addition, data and service project wins span the petroleum and geothermal sectors which broadens the offering. Together, these new sales are expected to deliver c537,000 of revenue in FY2021.

Getechs Chief Executive Office, Jonathan Copus, commented:

I am encouraged to see our core business activity in the oil and gas exploration and production sector regaining momentum and that our existing customers are renewing their software licences, which results in recurring revenue.

I am also excited that we are winning new business in the geothermal sector. It is Getechs strategy to apply our extensive geoscience and geospatial skills to fast-developing energy transition markets, in particular hydrogen, CCUS, geothermal and locating rare-earth and battery metals.

We believe that the geothermal industry is poised for substantial growth as developers scale up projects to produce green baseload power to help balance the exposure of electricity grids to intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. At Getech we have unique skills and software workflows that can help operators locate heat assets that are economic to develop and to de-risk their development and management.

Far Limited- A FARce starring Remus

Fasten your seatbelts as this story takes a fair bit of believing, Im not planning to go through the history as its been in the blog a fair bit recently but this should be the end of Remus as a suitor for anything with its reputation in tatters.

The bid for Far from Remus had led to a meeting last week at which shareholders had to decide the future of the company, with 20:20 hindsight the fact that Remus got so close and embarrassed Far is little short of a disgrace.

FAR refers to its ASX announcement dated 14 April 2021 which attached a letter from Remus Horizons PCC Limited as requested by it advising its intention to make a takeover offer for FAR shares at 2.1 cents per share.

Remus stated in that letter that Remus was proceeding to finalise its Bidders Statement so that it would be lodged by no later than 28 April 2021. An adjournment of the shareholder meeting until 10am on 28 April 2021 was proposed and supported by FAR shareholders in order to give Remus time to lodge its Bidders Statement.

Overnight, FAR has received 2 further letters from Remus:

1. In the first further letter from Remus, Remus states that it is unable to lodge its Bidders Statement over coming days. Remus states that this is because it has recently had its registration as a private investment fund suspended by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

2. In the second further letter authored by a different Remus signatory, Remus states that the intended takeover offer was not properly authorised by Remus, that Remus does not have the funding to complete the takeover offer, that the takeover offer intention letter issued by Remus contained a number of factual inaccuracies, and that the Remus Board would not approve a Bidders Statement.

In these circumstances, it seems clear that the proposed Remus takeover offer wont be proceeding.

This shows that the Far management had tried to do everything that they could to put up with what was clearly a company not entirely in control of what it was saying to Far or the market.

This of course wont come as a surprise to blog readers as we had quite a scoop published only last week in which we broke the news that the Remus fund had been de-registered by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission and therefore wasnt able to make a bid. This would corroborate point 1. above re the GFSC and someone at Remus wrote to Far to tell them.

But then who wrote the second letter? Given that after the departure of most of the Remus staff (Ive heard at least 15 out of 20) there arent many names to point to and it was someone who was prepared to own up to having insufficient funding, the takeover offer intention letter contained a number of factual inaccuracies and would not be approved by the board. So what on earth is going on behind the scenes at Remus, maybe we should be told? Maybe the letter came from a less than gruntled former contractor who was peeved that they could be run roughshod over..?

Now Ive been in this market for over 40 years and seen plenty of marginal bid situations in that time. I think I would have remembered if something this strange had happened and given what I understand of the 15 staff who have recently left without pay and rations we have more to hear from this tawdry episode

Empyrean Energy

Empyrean has announced that it has received $357,702 from the US IRS in payment for a tax rebate. I know that there a number of people waiting on my comments following a virtual meeting with Tom Kelly. Whilst this has been delayed a number of times but he has emailed today and I expect that meeting to happen soon.

And finally

Last night in the Prem, Spurs beat the Saints 2-1 whilst the Noisy Neighbours beat Villa at the Park 1-2. Tonight its the Foxes hosting the Baggies.

The debacle of the European Super League just about continues as Real Madrid President Florentino Perez claims that the remaining clubs are on standby for the start. With Juve looking like it is about to withdraw that leaves just Real and Barca left in the pot.

As we now know the consortium (we can only just call it that while there are two left) has been advised by JP Morgan of Wall Street notoriety who have raised some 4bn to get the League under way. So we have an unholy alliance of allies in the den of thieves who remain.

But Lo! what did I spot only today, it is that former Labour Party leadership wannabe Chuka Umunna is also on the case as he has turned up in civilian life with a new job and his title is Head of ESG across Europe, the Middle East and Africa or Head of doing the right thing at guess whoYup its only JP Morgan. His backing of the League shows that his reading of the runes didnt get any better after leaving all the political parties that he had joined lately.
(Natural News) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made an appearance the other day on Tucker Carlson Today, during which he had a few choice words for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head Anthony Fauci.

DeSantis stated that despite massive pressure from Fauci and other deep state trolls to keep Florida locked down and masked forever, DeSantis instead chose to side with common sense and freedom, which has made him a target of the left.

DeSantis insists that he never lost his ability to use common sense throughout the plandemic, even when others were pushing him to conform to the official government narrative.

If I had more data, I would have had the ability to say, Wait a minute. Why would we need to close a gym for two weeks?' DeSantis told host Tucker Carlson. These are younger people going to work out. If youre healthy, youre going to end up dealing with the virus better.

And so, I think that it took me a few weeks, March and into April, to get enough data to say, Okay, were not doing Faucism, were going to make sure our states open.'

DeSantis notoriously opened back up the schools, ended the statewide mask mandates and even prohibited local municipalities from trying to reimpose or maintain such restrictions against his order that the state reopen completely as it was prior to the plandemic.

Its time to return back to the old normal, America

As time went on, it became clear to DeSantis that the entire thing was a scam. As he realized more and more about what was truly going on, DeSantis took an even bolder stand while encouraging other states to do the same.

The result of DeSantis bravery is that Florida not only reopened back to normal in many areas, but Americans from other locked-down states increasingly traveled there to escape the hell of their own locales.

Some of these states like Minnesota, California  I think the fact that they were locked down and had the opportunity [in Florida] to go out and do stuff  added fuel to the fire, DeSantis added.

Since coming out against the plandemic lies, DeSantis has incurred the wrath of the fake news media. 60 Minutes, for instance, ran a hit segment against him that was later debunked as manufactured false news.

They cut out everything that showed that their narrative was a piece of horse manure, and it shows how dishonest  these are smear merchants  and thats why nobody trusts corporate media, DeSantis commented about what 60 Minutes did to him. They are a disaster in what they are doing.

Now that the fake news has no credibility whatsoever, it seems that some outlets are throwing in the towel when it comes to even pretending as though the things they report are actually real. Some of them would seem to be aware of the fact that it is only a matter of time before they completely implode.

I know corporate media thinks they can run over people. Well, ya aint running over this governor, DeSantis says. Im punching back, and Im going to continue to do it until these smear merchants are held accountable.

At the same time, DeSantis is still pushing Chinese virus injections, which he calls vaccines, claiming that their administration among the elderly in particular is saving lives.

This is the same false narrative being perpetuated by Donald Trump, who apparently wants America to believe that getting injected is a good thing that will save us all from getting infected.

To keep up with the latest news about the collapse of the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) plandemic narrative, be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

BigLeaguePolitics.com

NaturalNews.com
Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms this morning, then partly cloudy during the afternoon hours. High near 85F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 80F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph.
When John Kerry touched down in Shanghai last week, few would have begrudged him for feeling slightly anxious as he prepared to meet with China's special envoy on climate change Xie Zhenhua.

This was after all, effectively the morning after the night before  the first time the two countries had met since their explosive meeting in Alaska last month, a meeting that turned into a less-than diplomatic ding-dong in front of the world's press.

In the month since that now infamous summit, relations between China and the United States have continued to become fraught, with tensions rising over a number of issues including trade, technology, human rights and Taiwan.

Climate change is however a different proposition. Both countries have invested significant political capital into their climate change plans; Chinese President Xi Jinping by committing China to reaching carbon emissions peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060; U.S. President Joe Biden by promising green infrastructure and re-signing the Paris Agreement, offering confidence that the two might be able to cool relations to deal with this problem.

Climate protection a number one priority

Given what was at stake, Xie and Kerry's meeting was thankfully a much more positive affair, with their two-day summit ending with a strong commitment from both sides to cooperate on reducing carbon emissions  much to the relief of many an environmentalist.

"China and the United States are committed to cooperating with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands," a joint statement released at the end of two-day summit stated.

Both sides also agreed to eight areas for continued discussion, including increasing cooperation for the upcoming COP26 meeting in Glasgow this year, as well as taking further steps to implement the Paris Agreement and establish immediate short-term action to address the climate crisis.

Key to the formation of the joint statement was not only to the seriousness in which both countries now take climate action, but also the excellent working relationship of Xie and Kerry. In stark contrast to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's most senior foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi's fraught exchanges last month, Xie and Kerry's discussions were more cordial and friendly, seemingly stemming from their positive experience working together in the lead up to the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The U.S. tone was also markedly less aggressive than the meeting in Alaska, and although concerns were raised by the U.S. about plans in China to build more coal power stations, Kerry's words were far less antagonistic, stating in a press conference after the summit with regards to China: "We're not seeking to force anybody. We're seeking cooperation."

A catalyst for change?

To what extent this cooperation can stretch to other areas of the China-U.S. relationship is the next big question. Because while the two-day summit may have ended on an upbeat note, there is no hiding the fact that, climate aside, there is little in which China and the U.S. currently see eye-to-eye on.

Some of those disagreements were during Xie and Kerry's summit, although not in the city of Shanghai.

Around 800 kilometres south of the Chinese municipality, another American delegation were holding their own conference with Tsai Ing-wen and her party in Taiwan  a move that drew a sharp response from the Chinese foreign ministry, while in the U.S., President Biden was hosting Japanese prime minster Yoshihide Suga and using it as an opportunity to once again bring up issues such as the South China Sea, Diaoyu Island, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

Yet these two events should not distract from the potentially symbolic development of a positive China-U.S. climate summit. It has been a very long time since representatives from the two sides have been able to hold constructive talks and agree to a joint statement, while the ease in which the statement was agreed upon and the lack of controversy during Kerry's two-day visit proves that when push comes to shove, there is an appetite from both sides for a constructive working relationship.

While some might be willing to cast this off as small-fry given the bigger issues facing the two countries, the state of current China-U.S. relations means any positive gains are significantly better than no gains at all.

An end to all or nothing diplomacy

That some are so quick to dismiss gradual improvements is a significant problem running through the current China-U.S. relationship, in part fueled by the "all or nothing" approach that characterized the previous U.S. administration's dealings with China.

Under the tutelage of former President Donald Trump and his band of hardliners, diplomatic efforts with China were conducted like hostile business meetings  incredibly aggressive and with little regard for diplomatic norms. Mega-deals and a "winner-takes all" attitude symbolised their approach to China, and it appears that many still measure the two countries relationship through this particular position.

Politics however is not so simple, requiring countries to work together even when they would rather not. Germany and the EU, for example, are currently engaged in a fraught diplomatic stand-off with Russia over a number of issues including the treatment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Yet they are still able to compartmentalize their disagreements to cooperate on the construction of the Nord Stream Two pipeline, a key piece of infrastructure that will help solve the continent's energy concerns.

New Zealand and China also do not see eye-to-eye on every issue, yet that has not stopped Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern taking to the (virtual) stage at the Boao Forum in Hainan and looking to increase trade and cultural relations with China  in spite of very heavy pressure from some western countries not to do so.

Get rid of the negativity

At some point, the U.S. and China need to do the same, stripping away the negativity that has engulfed their relationship, and finding common ground from which to start afresh.

Climate change has the potential to be that point of rapprochement, and from what was witnessed in Shanghai last week  cooperating where cooperation could be found and dealing with each other on the basis of equal status and respect  there are positive signs going forward.

To what extent this momentum continues depends how full you find your glass, but at the very least, Xie and Kerry's summit shows that China and the U.S. can still work together, a factor that has been sorely missing over the past few years.

Thomas Scott-Bell is a columnist for China Focus.




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Squadron leader Andrei Criste, the pilot of an MIG 21 LanceR airplane that crashed in Mures County, underwent surgery on Wednesday at the Carol Davila Military Hospital in Bucharest, with the surgery reportedly going on well, without events or complications during or after surgery that would have endanger the life or physical integrity of the pilot.

According to a press statement from the hospital, the man is examined daily by a multidisciplinary team, agerpres.ro confirms.

"Squadron leader Andrei Criste was operated on yesterday at the Operating Room of the Neurosurgery Department. The surgery went well, without events or complications before or after surgery that would have endangered the life or physical integrity of the pilot. The patient is conscious, cooperating, displaying time and space orientation oriented, stable hemodynamic and respiratory, being examined daily by a multidisciplinary team consisting of specialists in neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, intensive care anesthesia, laboratory medicine and medical imaging to establish treatment," reads the release.

The pilot is also being given specialist psychological counselling and the medical team is in permanent contact with his family.

On Tuesday, a MiG 21 LanceR aircraft from the 71st Cimpia Turzii Air Base piloted by squadron leader Andrei Criste, crashed near Dedrad, Mures County.

The aircraft that crashed had taken off at around 14:00hrs from the air base at Cimpia Turzii for a training flight jointly with two other aircraft of the same type.

During the performance of the mission, the pilot reported an emergency and ejected himself as the aircraft came crashing down in the area of Dedrad, Mures County, outside the inhabited areas. The other two aircraft returned to base safely around 15:00hrs, according to the Defence Ministry (MApN).

Initially, the pilot was admitted at the Targu Mures County Emergency Clinical Hospital, where he was examined by a medical team who found that his life was not in danger and authorised the transfer of the patient to the Dr Carol Davila Hospital in Bucharest, for specialist treatment and recovery.
Even as acute oxygen shortage continues to put patients' lives at risk, an oxygen tanker was kept waiting outside the Air Liquide Panipat plant at IOCL by the Haryana police. The Joint Director of Apollo Hospitals and former FICCI chairperson Dr. Sangita Reddy sought urgent help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, office of the Haryana Chief Minister and Union Health Ministry in the matter.

Dr. Reddy tweeted, "As I tweet, an oxygen tanker is outside the gate of Air Liquide Panipat plant at IOCL and he is not being allowed inside. Haryana police are stopping it and not letting the oxygen out of Haryana. Need urgent intervention!! "





As I tweet, an oxygen tanker is outside the gate of Air Liquide Panipat plant at IOCL and he is not being allowed inside

Haryana police are stopping it & not letting the oxygen out of Haryana. Need urgent intervention!!@PMOIndia@rajnathsingh@PiyushGoyal@cmohry@MoHFW_INDIA  Dr. Sangita Reddy (@drsangitareddy) April 22, 2021

After this, the driver was allowed inside the plant and oxygen will be sent out soon. Dr Reddy has appealed to the Centre to classify oxygen tanks as ambulances and enable quick green corridor movement.

The Apollo Hospitals' Joint Director tweeted, "Update: The driver has just been allowed inside and hopefully the oxygen will be sent out soon. Further to my earlier tweet an appeal once again to the government to please tag oxygen tanker as ambulances and enable quick green corridor movement."

Update: The driver has just been allowed inside & hopefully the oxygen will be sent out soon.

Further to my earlier tweet an appeal once again to the Govt to please tag oxygen tank as ambulances & enable quick green corridor movement@PMOIndia@PiyushGoyal@rajnathsinghhttps://t.co/5kaaPFA9va  Dr. Sangita Reddy (@drsangitareddy) April 22, 2021

This comes on the back of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's press conference wherein he accused a Haryana government official of stopping oxygen supply to Delhi from a plant in Faridabad. The Delhi government said, "If the oxygen quota gets depleted in these hospitals, Delhi is staring at a catastrophe waiting to unfold."

The statement further noted, "It is unfortunate that states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are curtailing supply of life-saving oxygen to Delhi. Just as the Haryana government, the Uttar Pradesh government has illegally captured the oxygen production plants, depriving Delhi of oxygen."

Various Delhi hospitals have also said that due to the non-cooperation of the Haryana government, they have limited stock of oxygen left as the lives of many COVID-19 patients continue to be at risk.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: COVID-19 crisis: Centre hikes Delhi's oxygen quota from 378 MT to 480 MT

Also read: Registration for vaccination of 18 yrs and above from Apr 24; here's how to register on CoWin

Also read: Fourth COVID-19 vaccine soon; Biological E's shot likely to hit markets in August
An Australian mum has revealed how she transformed her rusty-looking drain hole cover into a finely-polished piece of silverware.

The mum-of-two posted incredible before and after photos on Facebook after cleaning the dirty drain cover with Bar Keepers Friend.

The $8 American product has amassed a cult-like following in Australia, becoming a go-to for cleaners and house-proud mums over the last year.

An Australian mum has revealed how she transformed her rusty-looking, unattractive drain hole into a finely-polished piece of silverware

The drain took a few rounds of scrubbing to get clean - but it was worth it according to the mum

The drain, while not perfect, is completely transformed after using the product

The woman who posted her drain transformation online said she had cringed every time she had looked at her rusty looking drain for years.

'Got corroded after the cleaner that was brought in after a renovation must have used a bleach-based product, and I just assumed it was done for,' she said.

'Ten minutes of attention with BKF and the transformation is amazing,' she gloated.

And other mums raced out to try the product - adding pictures of their own to the thread.

'I am off to find it now,' announced one woman after seeing the post.

'Oh, this might work for me I have BKF and I am going to try it, thankyou for sharing,' said another.

The original poster wasn't alone in thinking the drain pictured in her before photo was 'done for'.

Another mum showed off her incredible before and afters - also proud of the amazing transformation

'Had you posted the before photo asking for advice I would have said it was unsalvagable, that's amazing,' one mum said.

She went on to explain exactly how she cleaned the drain - after being asked for specifics from mums wanting to transform their own bathrooms.

'Wet the area, sprinkle BKF over it, dab with a damp sponge and then wipe it down,' she said.

She then went on to explain the grate section took 'a few rounds and lots of scrubbing with a toothbrush' to get right.

And the product isn't just transforming drains across the country - mums have revealed it is also helping them polish their shower screens as well.

Tamika, from Brisbane, previously tried everything including toothpaste and dishwashing liquid to banish soap scum, but nothing seemed to work until she discovered Bar Keepers Friend Cleaning Polish.

Posting to a popular cleaning Facebook group, Tamika said she 'nearly cried' after the popular cleaning polish left the glass screens streak-free and clean without heavy scrubbing.

An Australian mum previously tried everything from toothpaste to dishwashing liquid to clean her shower screen, but nothing seemed to work until she used Bar Keepers Friend

'Over the last three years I have tried gumption, mentholated spirits, Windex, toothpaste, dish washing liquid, magic erasers, boiling water, mould remover, bleach [and] major elbow grease with minimal result,' she wrote.

'Late last night was scrolling and [saw] someone post about Bar Keepers Friend.'

Tamika said whenever she tried to wash the glass it would appear to be clean until it dried, but after using the product the screen became 'spotless'.

To clean the shower screen, Tamika sprinkled the powder directly onto a wet scourer pad and applied to the glass

To clean the shower screen, Tamika sprinkled the powder directly onto a wet scourer pad and applied to it the glass in a circular motion.

She left the product on for a couple minutes before wiping it off using a sponge and water followed by a hand towel.

Tamika said she completed this application twice to ensure she didn't miss any areas.

Since publishing the post on Facebook, other mums were delighted and said they would give it a go too.

'I think I'm excited to go and clean,' one woman said.

'It's a brilliant product, would recommend Bar Keepers Friend. Great on stainless steel,' another added.

A third said: 'Bar Keepers Friend is really spectacular! I use it everywhere in the house.'

'I've tried it before and it didn't work but you've inspired me to have another go,' another added.

The product can be bought from both Woolworths and Coles supermarkets across Australia.
Drug maker Pfizer has offered to supply its COVID-19 vaccine at a 'not-for-profit' rate to the Indian government for its vaccination programme amidst the increasing COVID1-19 cases in the country.

"For India, Pfizer has offered a not-for-profit price for its vaccine for the government immunisation programme. We continue to be in discussions with the government and remain committed to make our vaccine available for deployment in India's immunisation programme," a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement.

The company issued the statement to dismiss a recent report about the rate of the American company's COVID-19 vaccine in India.

Pfizer said it has adopted a distinct pricing structure for high, middle, and low/lower-middle-income countries, which is consistent with the company's commitment to work towards equitable and affordable access for its COVID-19 vaccine for people across the world.

"During the current pandemic situation worldwide, Pfizer has maintained that its priority would be to exclusively support governments through the supply of its vaccine only to governments for their immunisation programmes. This would be our approach in India as well," it said.

In order to speed up the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre had last week fast-tracked approval process for foreign vaccines which have been approved by the drug regulators in US, Europe, UK and Japan. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are reportedly in discussions with the government for emergency use approval for their COVID-19 vaccines.

Pfizer is currently charging $19.5 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. In the European Union, the company recently hiked the price of its vaccine to 15.5 euros per dose and then to 19.5 euros per dose for orders scheduled to be delivered in 2022-23.

From May 1, all Indians above the age of 18 years would be eligible to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. The Centre has permitted vaccine manufacturers to release up to 50 per cent of their supply to state governments and in the open market at a pre-declared price.

States have also been empowered to procure additional vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers, as well as open up vaccination to any category of people above the age of 18 years for the same.

Also read: COVID-19 crisis: Centre hikes Delhi's oxygen quota from 378 MT to 480 MT

Also read: Registration for vaccination of 18 yrs and above from Apr 24; here's how to register on CoWin

Also read: Fourth COVID-19 vaccine soon; Biological E's shot likely to hit markets in August
Advertisement

A car bomb blast late on Wednesday ripped through a luxury hotel's parking area in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing four people and wounding 11, officials said.

China's ambassador to Pakistan was staying at the hotel, but was not there when the bomb exploded, said Pakistan's interior Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmad.

Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Lango said the envoy was fine.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on a Pakistani hotel which killed four people and injured 11

The blast hit the car park of the Serena Hotel in the city of Quetta. The Chinese ambassador was staying in the hotel at the time of the blast

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong had earlier in the day met provincial Chief Minister Jam Kamal in the city. The ambassador was not injured in the blast

The hotel is in Quetta near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and is of interest to Chinese investors

'An explosion has rocked the parking area of the Serena Hotel,' police official Nasir Malik told Reuters, saying 11 people had been wounded. An official at a local civil hospital, Waseem Baig, said four people had died, and 'several others are in critical condition.'

'A car that was full of explosives exploded in the hotel,' Ahmad told local ARY News TV.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing.

'It was a suicide attack in which our suicide bomber used his explosives-filled car in the hotel,' a spokesman for the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) wrote in a text message to a Reuters reporter.

Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong had earlier in the day met provincial Chief Minister Jam Kamal in the city, according to a tweet from the provincial government spokesman, Liaquat Shahwani.

The well-fortified hotel is next to the Iranian Consulate and the provincial parliament building

The province is home to the newly expanded Gwadar deepwater port that is key to a planned $65 billion investment in China's Belt and Road Initiative economic corridor

Injured people were rushed to hospital for emergency treatment following the deadly suicide car bombing

The hotel complex is surrounded by high walls and is protected by security gates which

Lango told reporters: 'I just met him. He is in high spirits,' adding the envoy would complete his visit to Quetta on Thursday.

The Chinese Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

The well-fortified hotel is next to the Iranian Consulate and the provincial parliament building. Quetta is the capital of the mineral-rich southwestern Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, which has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by local nationalists, who want more of a share in the regional resources.

The province is home to the newly expanded Gwadar deepwater port that is key to a planned $65 billion investment in China's Belt and Road Initiative economic corridor.

It was not clear whether the envoy or members of his delegation were a target of the attack, but Chinese nationals and their interests in the region have been attacked before by Taliban militants and nationalist insurgents.
80 dB Communications, an integrated reputation management advisory, has been awarded the PR mandate for Dixcy Textiles and Gokaldas Intimatewear. 80 dB will manage the overall communications strategy with the aim to raise the corporate profile and awareness about its portfolio of products.

Backed by Advent International, a private equity firm, Dixcy Textiles Private Limited and Gokaldas Intimatewear Pvt Ltd are market leaders in innerwear with brands including Dixcys - Scott, Josh, Uno and Slimz and Gokaldass lingerie brand Enamor.

We are delighted to bring on board 80 dB to help drive our communications strategy and make our brands more engaging and relevant to all our stakeholders. 80dB Communications presented a PR strategy that showed depth of strategic thought and creativity that was in sync with our goals. We are sure that this partnership will help in meeting our ambitious targets. We welcome 80 dB onboard and look forward to working with them, said Sunil Sethi, Executive Chairman, Dixcy Textiles and Gokaldas Intimatewear.

We are honoured and delighted that Dixcy Textiles and Gokaldas Intimatewear have chosen us to partner them in managing the strategic communications of their corporate brand as well as their strong portfolio of brands in the country. We look forward to designing and driving memorable, relevant, clear and consistent communications to help meet the brand objectives. With our committed team and domain knowledge and experience, we are confident that we will drive the desired impact and outcome for Dixcy and Gokaldas Intimatewear, said Kiran Ray Chaudhury, Co-Founder and Joint Managing Director, 80 dB Communications.

About Dixcy Textiles Pvt Ltd and Gokaldas Intimatewear Private Limited:

Dixcy Textiles Private Limited is an Apparel Manufacturer headquartered in Bangalore, India and having ancillary production units in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. Over the past 3 decades, Dixcy has branched out to become one of the leading clothing manufacturers in India for Men, Women, Boys, and Girls. Since 2017, Dixcy has been backed by Advent International, a US based private equity firm and in 2019 Advent further invested for a 100% stake in the business.

Founded in 1982, Dixcy is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of several leading innerwear brands, including Dixcy Scott, Dixcy Slimz, Dixcy Josh and Dixcy Uno. The company also sells a premium range of products including casual wear such as track pants, shorts and polo t-shirts. With over 420 products, distributed across 120,000+ stores through 1200+ distributors, the company employs 3,000+ people. Dixcy has also taken the license for manufacturing and distributing Levis innerwear in India and is steadily increasing their footprint.

Gokaldas Intimatewear Private Limited is a market leader in womens premium innerwear in India. Their brand Enamor was founded in 2001 as a joint venture, with Barbara of Paris, France. It enjoys a leadership status across leading National Chain stores and top Multi brand outlets. It has a national footprint of 5000+ Retail stores and 27 Exclusive Brand outlets. It offers a premium portfolio that ranges from bras, panties, shapewear, loungewear and Athleisure to a discerning emerging modern Indian woman.

Enamor is a brand loved by customers for its design and quality. The only innerwear brand to have won the Superbrands award for brand excellence three times in a row, a powerful endorsement by its customers.

For more information, visit www.dixcy.co.in and www.enamor.co.in
Indonesia Looking for Submarine That May Be Too Deep to Help

JAKARTA, IndonesiaIndonesian navy ships searched Thursday for a submarine that likely sank too deep to retrieve, making survival chances for the 53 people on board slim. Authorities said oxygen in the submarine would run out by early Saturday.

The diesel-powered KRI Nanggala 402 was participating in a training exercise Wednesday when it missed a scheduled reporting call. Officials reported an oil slick and the smell of diesel fuel near the starting position of its last dive, about 60 miles north of the resort island of Bali, though there was no conclusive evidence that they were linked to the submarine.

Hopefully we can rescue them before the oxygen has run out at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Indonesias navy chief of staff, Adm. Yudo Margono, told reporters.

He said rescuers found an unidentified object with high magnetism at a depth of 50 to 100 meters (165 to 330 feet) and that officials hope its the submarine.

The navy believes the submarine sank to a depth of 600-700 meters (2,000-2,300 feet), much deeper than its estimated collapse depth.

Ahn Guk-hyeon, an official from South Koreas Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, which refitted the vessel in 2009-2012, said the submarine would collapse if it goes deeper than around 200 meters (655 feet) because of pressure. He said his company upgraded much of the submarines internal structures and systems but lacks recent information about the vessel.

Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, also said the submarine could be at too great a depth for a rescue team to operate.

Most rescue systems are really only rated to about 600 meters (1,970 feet), he said. They can go deeper than that because they will have a safety margin built into the design, but the pumps and other systems that are associated with that may not have the capacity to operate. So they can survive at that depth, but not necessarily operate.

Owen, a former submariner who developed an Australian submarine rescue system, said the Indonesian vessel was not fitted with a rescue seat around an escape hatch designed for underwater rescues. He said a rescue submarine would make a waterproof connection to a disabled submarine with a so-called skirt fitted over the recue seat so that the hatch can be opened without the disabled submarine filling with water.

Owen said the submarine could be recovered from 500 meters (1,640 feet) without any damage but couldnt say if it would have imploded at 700 meters (2,300 feet).

In November 2017, an Argentine submarine went missing with 44 crew members in the South Atlantic, almost a year before its wreckage was found at a depth of 800 meters (2,625 feet). In 2019, a fire broke out on one of the Russian navys deep-sea research submersibles, killing 14 sailors.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked all of the countrys people to pray that the submarine and crew could be found.

Our main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members, Widodo said in a televised address. To the families of the crew members, I can understand your feelings and we are doing our best to save all of the crew members on board.

The Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Nanggala takes part in a drill off Cilegon, Indonesia, in this Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 photo. (AP Photo)

The military said more than 20 navy ships, two submarines and five aircraft were searching the area where the submarine was last detected. A hydro-oceanographic survey ship equipped with underwater detection capabilities also was on its way to the site around the oil spills.

Margono said the oil slick may have been caused by a crack in the submarines tank after the vessel sank.

Neighboring countries are rushing to join the complex operation.

Rescue ships from Singapore and Malaysia are expected to arrive between Saturday and Monday. The Indonesian military said Australia, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, India and Turkey have also offered assistance. South Korea said it has also offered help.

The news of the missing submarine is deeply concerning, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said during a visit to New Zealand. We will provide any assistance that we can. Theres no question that submarine search and rescues are very complex.

Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton called the incident a terrible tragedy. He told Sydney Radio 2GB that the fact that the submarine is in a very deep part of waters makes it very difficult for the recovery or for location.

Our fervent prayers and hopes go out to the crew of KRI Nanggala, for their safety and resilience, Singapores Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen wrote on Facebook.

Indonesias navy said an electrical failure may have occurred during the dive, causing the submarine to lose control and become unable to undertake emergency procedures that would have allowed it to resurface. It was rehearsing for a missile-firing exercise on Thursday, which was eventually canceled.

The German-built submarine, which has been in service in Indonesia since 1981, was carrying 49 crew members, its commander and three gunners, the Indonesian Defense Ministry said. It had been maintained and overhauled in Germany, Indonesia, and most recently in South Korea.

More than 60 of the Type 209 class submarines have been sold and have served in 14 navies around the world, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems spokesperson Eugen Witte said.

Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands, has faced growing challenges to its maritime claims in recent years, including numerous incidents involving Chinese vessels near the Natuna islands.

Last year, President Widodo reaffirmed the countrys sovereignty during a visit to the islands at the edge of the South China Sea, one of the busiest sea lanes where China is embroiled in territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors.

By Niniek Karmini
The Drug Enforcement Administration is hosting the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.

The DEA is encouraging people to make their homes safer by getting rid of unused and expired prescription medications.

Law enforcement agencies will set up collection sites where the medications and be disposed.

Find the one closest to you HERE
Representative image

New Delhi [India], April 22 (ANI): Indian Navy dispatched its Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) on to assist Indonesian Navy in search and rescue efforts for the Indonesian Submarine which was reported missing on Wednesday.

According to an official release, on 21 April, an alert was received by the Indian Navy regarding the missing Indonesian submarine. The submarine was reportedly exercising in a location 25 miles North of Bali with a crew of 53 personnel.

Submarine rescue is required to be undertaken when a submarine is reported to be missing or sunk and specialised equipment is required for underwater search to locate the disabled submarine and rescue the personnel who are trapped inside the submarine, the release said.

"India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking Search and Rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV. Indian Navy's DSRV system can locate a submarine upto 1000 m depth utilising its state of the art Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)," the release added.

Under the framework of comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Indonesia, the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy share a strong partnership of operational cooperation.

The two navies have been exercising regularly in the past and have developed synergy and interoperability which is considered important for the present mission. (ANI)
HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CITGO Petroleum Corporation announced the appointment of Steven Scarpino as the company's new Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer, overseeing all facets of the company's existing compliance and ethics program. This position was previously part of the responsibilities of Jack Lynch, the Company's Vice President Legal and Government Affairs.

"CITGO is committed to the highest standards of ethics, integrity and compliance  just as we are committed to excellence in operational performance," said Carlos Jorda, President and Chief Executive Officer of CITGO. "Steven brings nearly two decades of leadership in corporate ethics and compliance, and we welcome him to this vitally important position at CITGO."

Scarpino's appointment marks the latest step in a company-wide effort to strengthen ethics and corporate governance at CITGO. The company recently updated its Code of Business Conduct & Ethics, and in late 2020 released its first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, A Clear Direction Forward. In his new role, Scarpino will continue promoting regulatory and legal compliance as well as the speak-up, listen-up, follow-up culture throughout the company.

Scarpino comes to CITGO from BP, where he served as Director, Ethics and Compliance, Global Programs from 2009 to 2021. Prior to BP, he held roles at NCR Corporation, AT&T GIS, and Greyhound Lines, Inc.

"The board of directors has put strong corporate governance at the center of our strategic priorities," said CITGO Petroleum Corporation Board Chair Jose R. Pocaterra. "Mr. Scarpino will help ensure the Company follows best practices and upholds the highest ethical standards throughout our business."

Scarpino will report directly to CITGO President and CEO Carlos Jorda and with direct reporting access to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

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 Lake Charles, La; Lemont, Ill. and Corpus Christi, Texas, and combined with its parent CITGO Holding, wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine 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 4,500 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and the District of Columbia. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com .

SOURCE CITGO Corporation

Related Links

www.citgo.com


Becoming a Conexxus Diamond Sponsor is a strong endorsement of a petroleum industry group that we very much value being a part of.

Mako Networks has committed to Conexxus as a Diamond Sponsor for 2021, bolstering its participation in the Petroleum/C-Store industrys leading non-profit standards body. The Petroleum/C-Store industry comprises an important part of Makos business, particularly in the US, with Mako-managed secure network solutions in use at tens of thousands of petroleum retail locations across the country.

Since 2016, Mako has increased its engagement with Conexxus, adding Diamond-level sponsorship for this year in addition to its Gold-level membership status. The steady progression of support over the years demonstrates Mako Networks appreciation of the work being done by Conexxus in support of innovation in the Petroleum/C-Store industry and recognizes Conexxus role as a leader in the promotion of secure networking for C-Store and Petroleum operators and customers in the US.

Becoming a Conexxus Diamond Sponsor is a strong endorsement of a petroleum industry group that we very much value being a part of, said Mako Networks President Simon Gamble. Their ecosystem of suppliers, vendors, brands and dealers working together to devise standards and promote innovative technology thats easier to deploy and support in the C-Store environment is very much aligned with our mission in the space.

Were grateful for the support of our annual Diamond Sponsors, including Mako Networks, said Linda Toth, Managing Director of Conexxus. Their generosity allows us to continue the work we do on behalf of the C-Store and Retail Fuels industries.

Originally launched in 1995 as the NACS Technology Standards Project, Conexxus is committed to providing a cooperative, collaborative forum with a level playing field for member companies of all sizes to have equal opportunities to have a voice in the organization. The nonprofits popular conference is always among the highlights of the year for the Petroleum/C-Store industry.

This years Conexxus Virtual Annual Conference is slated for April 26-30. The spring committee meetings will showcase technology thought leadership presenting key trends and issues in consumer and retail technology. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the conference will be held virtually for the second consecutive year.

In addition to online committee meetings, there will be a reception honoring the 2021 Conexxus Technology Hall of Fame inductee. Conexxus is looking forward to doing a fall event in late August that will be an in-person experience or possibly a hybrid of face-to-face and virtual, added Toth.

To inquire about Mako products and services for your distributed enterprise, please contact Mako Networks at sales@makonetworks.com or +1 800-851-4691.

About Conexxus

Conexxus is a nonprofit, member-driven technology organization dedicated to the development and implementation of standards, technologies innovation and advocacy for the convenience store and fuel market. The Virginia-based retail organizations work and social events bring industry experts together to identify and resolve technology challenges. Conexxus offers the ability for vendors and customers to work side by side, on equal footing and without regard to company size or share. For more information, visit conexxus.org.

About Mako Networks

Mako Networks provides simple, secure, PCI-certified networks for distributed enterprises. Operating internationally from offices in the US, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, Mako integrates centralized cloud management and reporting, true SD-WAN, secure Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HA Fast Failover, Mako VPN Cloud, next-generation firewalls and end-to-end PCI DSS certification in one, easy-to-manage system. For more information, visit makonetworks.com.
In brief: Intel has won the second patent trial against VLSI, dodging a massive $3 billion blow to its finances. Intel proved it didn't employ either of the two NXP semiconductors patented technologies VLSI accused it of using to develop its processors.

In Intel's first legal battle with VLSI Technology LLC, a Waco, Texas jury ruled that Intel should pay a total of $2.2 billion for infringement of two patents. That decision is awaiting appeal.

In this second separate lawsuit, VLSI claimed damages of $3 billion, alleging that the chipmaker infringed on two other patents it purchased from NXP Semiconductors NV. The patents pertain to technologies used in MP3 players from two decades ago. One of the patents expired last November and the other is set to expire next month. Bloomberg notes that because of the alleged damage caused by Intel's use of the technologies, VLSI claimed it was owed $3 billion.

According to Intel's lawyers, that's about 3,000 times more than the patent's value at the time of past acquisitions. Intel defended itself, stating that its engineering teams have been developing processors for all kinds of devices for decades. Furthermore, the patents in question didn't even cover new concepts when they were issued 20 years ago.

Intel is pleased to know that the jury "rejected VLSI's meritless claims that Intel's cutting-edge processors infringe expired patents on MP3 player technology."

Despite being a semiconductor manufacturer, VLSI does not have other sources of revenue besides the lawsuits against Intel. The company is owned by Fortress Investment Group, which Intel and Apple sued for deploying "patents in waves of lawsuits against their targets without regard for the merits of the claims." The court dismissed the case, but Apple and Intel amended it one week after VLSI won the first trial against Intel.

The third "wave" of the lawsuits is scheduled for a hearing in the same Waco federal court next month.

Image credit: JHVEPhoto
The NRL has launched an investigation into an alleged drunken altercation involving Brisbane Broncos star Kotoni Staggs.

The league is probing the alleged clash between Staggs, 22, and another patron at the Eatons Hill Hotel in Brisbane's north over the Easter weekend.

Staggs allegedly put his arm around a woman - who did not want to be touched - before security kicked him out when the confrontation became heated.

Video evidence will form part of the investigation, in yet another of-field scandal for the league.

Just a day ago, video appeared on social media allegedly showing a Parramatta Eels player having sex with a woman in a public toilet.

The Gold Coast Titans on Thursday also pulled a three-year $2.1million deal to Staggs hours before news of his drunken escapade, with the young gun expected to sign a $2.8million off-contract extension with the Broncos instead.

NRL star forward Kotoni Staggs. The league has launched an investigation into the alleged drunken off-field behaviour of the Brisbane Broncos player

NRL officials are still searching for CCTV footage of the alleged pub confrontation - which may have involved a woman, News Corp reported.

No criminal charges have been laid against Staggs.

This is the third off-field drama for Staggs after a teenage girl leaked a sex tape of the pair after he allegedly rejected her proposal of a threesome.

McKenzie Lorraine Robinson, 18, was fined $600 after pleading guilty to sharing the 'first person' footage of herself engaged in an intimate act with Staggs between June 14 and August 5 without his consent.

The court heard Ms Robinson sent the video to one person, who was at least double her own age, and that person then distributed it further.

Staggs last year opened up about learning the tape had been released and that having to tell his tight-knit family about what had happened was his worst nightmare.

The 21-year-old said he was 'shattered' that his private life was thrust into the public domain.

'I was embarrassed it came out. I didn't want my family to see it, that was the one thing that I was worried about,' he told The Courier Mail.

'They had my back through it all. I was surprised by how well they took it and that made me feel a bit better.'

The league is probing the alleged drunken clash between Staggs, 22, (pictured) and another patron at the Easter Hill Hotel in Brisbane

The Gold Coast Titans on Thursday pulled a three-year $2.1million deal for Staggs - with the NRL star expected to stay with the Brisbane Broncos

McKenzie Lorraine Robinson, 18, last year leaked a sex tape of herself with Staggs, 22, after he allegedly rejected her proposal of a threesome

Despite the embarrassment for the up-and-coming Bronco, Staggs was cleared of any wrongdoing by the NRL's integrity unit after the video was released.

'It wasn't my fault but I was still involved... there's always ups and downs. You learn from your mistakes,' he said.

Staggs was also served with a breach notice by the NRL following an altercation at a pub in Dubbo in November.

The breach notice said Staggs was required to complete appropriate education after he allegedly provoked the altercation by using a homophobic slur when asked for a photo by a patron at the venue.

'I'm in the progress of doing that now with the welfare officer,' Staggs said about the proposed meeting with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo.

'What I did is in the past now. I've got nothing against the bloke it happened to.'

On Wednesday, the video of the Parramatta Eels player emerged online after it was filmed over the toilet door by a bystander for five seconds.

A high-profile rugby league player is at the centre of a newly leaked sex tape, which the Parramatta Eels claim was filmed without his consent (pictured, an image from the video)

The Parramatta Eels on Wednesday confirmed the video involved one of their players.

'We understand that those on the video have been illegally filmed by another person without consent and that an attempt has been made to distribute the video to media outlet and on social media platforms,' the club said.

The club said they contacted the NRL Integrity Unit, who are investigating.

Both the Eels and the NRL Integrity Unit are taking the matter 'very seriously' as the video is a 'potential invasion of privacy of those involved'.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 22, 2021 - 22:33 | All, World, Japan

Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 46 percent by 2030 compared with fiscal 2013 levels, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday, a significant increase from its previous commitment for a 26 percent cut.

By setting the "ambitious" target, Japan is "ready to demonstrate its leadership for worldwide decarbonization," Suga said at a virtual summit on climate change hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Japan had been reviewing its emissions reduction goal to be more in line with Suga's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, looking to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and shift to renewable energy such as wind and solar.

Vowing to create a "virtuous cycle" of economic growth and protecting the environment, Suga said that in the longer term the country will work toward slashing emissions by 50 percent.

Suga and Biden agreed at a meeting last Friday in Washington to cooperate on climate change by implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks to keep the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, promoting clean energy, and supporting decarbonization in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan has been under pressure not to fall behind other advanced countries in addressing the issue, particularly ahead of key international gatherings to be hosted this year by Britain -- a Group of Seven summit in June in Cornwall and a U.N. climate change conference, also known as COP26, in November in Glasgow.

The United States said Thursday it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, nearly double its previous target.

Britain on Tuesday unveiled a new goal of slashing emissions by 78 percent by 2035 from the 1990 levels, up from a 68 percent cut by 2030, while the European Union decided last year to aim for a 55 percent cut in 2030 from the 1990 levels, up from the previous 40 percent reduction.

Japan has increasingly turned to fossil fuels such as oil, coal and liquefied natural gas as most of its nuclear reactors were taken offline following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, relying on them for about 85 percent of its energy needs.

Under its Strategic Energy Plan, the country seeks to increase its share of renewable energy from around 17 percent in fiscal 2018 to between 22 and 24 percent by fiscal 2030. Japan's fiscal year begins in April.

Related coverage:

FOCUS: Japan gov't under pressure to target deep CO2 cut in 2030

Japan looks to raise 2030 emissions reduction goal to at least 40%
With Covid-19 cases spiking in India, there has been an increased demand for oxygen cylinders and Remdesivir injections. Both have become elixirs amid the pandemic, and in their search, people are flocking to Google.

According to Google and third-party social media analytics platforms data sourced by Indian Express, searches for Covid-19 essentials, including Remdesivir injections, RT-PCR tests, oxygen cylinders and hospital beds have surged in recent times.

Figures show that the interest for some of the Covid-19 essentials skyrocketed during the week that ended on April 17. This is the same time when Covid-19 cases across the country started picking up amid the second wave of the coronavirus that is far more ruthless than the first one. As of Thursday 5 Pm, India had over 22 lakh active Covid-19 cases. The country had recorded over 315,000 cases on Wednesday.

To review oxygen supply across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also chaired a high-level meeting. He discussed the ways and means to boost its availability, according to Prime Minister's Office.

Meanwhile, the Centre has issued fresh orders directing the free movement of vehicles transporting oxygen between states. No restriction shall be imposed on the movement of Medical Oxygen between the state and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles, an order by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Taking note of the grim situation, the Supreme Court has told the Centre that it wants a national plan on issues including the supply of oxygen and essential drugs for the treatment of patients infected with the virus.
Progressive lawmakers on Wednesday introduced the latest version of legislation to make four years of college or university free for most families in the country, paid for by new taxes on stock and bond transactions.

The legislation, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., would also double the maximum Pell Grant award to nearly $13,000 and spend billions more on historically Black colleges and universities and programs for disadvantaged students.

It is absolutely unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of bright young Americans do not get a higher education each year, not because they are unqualified, but because their family does not have enough money, Sanders said in an announcement.

The bill would guarantee tuition-free community college for all students and allow students from families earning less than $125,000 to attend a public college or university for free. Sponsors said leveraging speculation on Wall Street would fund the education plan. A separate bill unveiled Wednesday would place a 0.5 percent tax on stock transactions, a 0.1 tax on bond transactions and a 0.005 percent tax on derivatives.

While President Biden can and should immediately cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, Congress must ensure that working families never have to take out these crushing loans to receive a higher education in the first place, Jayapal said in the announcement.

Sanders and Jayapal have introduced similar legislation before, including last Congress, but its the first time they have introduced the measure with Democratic control of the Senate. President Joe Biden endorsed part of the 2017 version of the bill during his presidential campaign, but the legislation unveiled Wednesday goes further than that.

The Biden campaign promised to make two years of community college tuition free and provide tuition- free four-year college. The campaign did not mention expanding some programs, such as federal TRIO Programs for disadvantaged students, that target low-income or first-generation college students. It also didnt include the funding mechanism that would tax stock and bond transactions.

Sanders, Jayapal and other progressives also have pushed the Biden administration to forgive up to $50,000 in student loan debt without the need for legislation.

Bidens first budget proposal, released earlier this month, proposed a much smaller increase in Pell Grant awards, up to $6,895, as part of a record proposed increase in Department of Education funding. The current maximum for the 2021-22 school year is $6,495.

Expanding federal support for college education has bubbled up in Democratic politics for years  President Barack Obama spotlighted it in his 2015 State of the Union address  but it has not taken off.

The tuition-free college push from progressives may factor into any further talks over a broader bill on higher education. Talks have been on the back burner since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2019, the House Education and Labor Committee took up a Higher Education Act reauthorization, but it did not pass the chamber. Former Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee led the Republican side on efforts to renew the bill before his retirement at the end of last Congress.

___

(c)2021 CQ Roll Call

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
Leantha Chavez nestled a fresh bouquet into a ditch near the spot Houston police officers shot her son upward of 20 times as he suffered a mental crisis.

It had been a hard day for the grieving mother. It had been a hard year  exactly.

Even after the hopefulness that many Americans of color felt on Tuesday with a conviction in George Floyds murder, Chavez said she felt mostly angry on Wednesday, the anniversary of her son Nicolas death. The four officers who were fired months after the east Houston shooting have not been charged in the case.

Were sitting here, and were dead in the water, Chavez said. Theres no movement, nothing.

She lit a cigarette under a tent near the Denver Harbor memorial site on Gazin Road, next to a taqueria and facing the East Freeway feeder road. Friends, family and supporters celebrated 27-year-old Nicolas Chavezs life at a cookout by the ditch, but Chavez was exhausted after hustling from news camera to news camera, trying to get the community to listen or care.

She constantly wonders when the Harris County District Attorneys Office will bring the case before a grand jury. She was happy to see the guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin in Floyds death, but she and others on Wednesday noted that the former Houstonian was killed in May, a month after Chavez. Chauvin received a conviction before the Houston police officers could be indicted, if they will be indicted at all.

More community support is needed in Houston to push the needle for Nicolas, especially among Hispanics, Chavez said.

District Attorney Kim Ogg has met with the parents and widow of Nicolas Chavez and assured them that our Civil Rights Division prosecutors are conducting a thorough, independent review of his death. Their work continues, DAs office spokesman Dane Schiller said in a statement.

All evidence will be presented to a grand jury, so that our community can determine whether criminal charges are proper. This is the same division that reviews all allegations of excessive force, in-custody deaths, and officer-involved shootings.

Officers found Chavez on April 21, 2020, huddled under an east Houston streetlight, and at least four shot him to death when he picked up a used Taser at the end of a lengthy effort to help him, according to police.

Floyds death played a distinct role in Chavezs case. Months after the shooting, advocates took the intensifying national movement against police brutality to amplify calls that Houston police release video in the encounter with Chavez. HPD released the footage in September, also announcing the officers firings the same day.

Its not out-of-the-ordinary that Chavezs case hasnt gone before a grand jury, as officer indictments are historically difficult to obtain, said John Fullinwider, co-founder of the Texas advocacy group Mothers Against Police Brutality. But Chauvins conviction could bring new momentum to Chavezs family, he said.

This case is landing in a moment where there is a heightened demand from the public for accountability, he said.

Many of Chavezs family members say they dont believe race was the main issue in the shooting  three of the officers involved, like Chavez, were Hispanic. But instead they say different use-of-force policies as well as methods in dealing with people with mental illnesses could have prevented the ultimate outcome.

HPD updated its use-of-force policy after Floyds death, expanding de-escalation techniques to reduce or minimize the use of physical force.

The Chavez family has made HPD policy the central issue in a recent $100 million federal lawsuit, in which they contend police guidelines permitted its officers to shoot and kill Chavez.

Its unclear whether any HPD policy allowed for the shooting, as the family alleges. Use-of-force policies from 2015 and 2020 make no reference to the type of scenario described and HPD union leaders have disputed existence of such a policy.

Then-Police Chief Art Acevedo dismissed the four officers who shot Chavez  Benjamin LeBlanc, Luis Alvarado, Omar Tapia and Patrick Rubio  saying they displayed a not reasonable response to the situation, but he didnt reference any specific policy violation. The familys lawsuit also names a fifth officer, Kevin Nguyen, who was not fired.

The civil case is something to keep the family going, but its not enough to quell the pain they feel, said Joaquin Chavez, Nicolas father.

Nicolas was a father to a young boy, and he had a girlfriend and an extended family who loved him. He struggled with mental health issues, but he was trying to go the right way, Joaquin Chavez said. At the time of his death, he was working a job installing pools.

Nothing can justify the way he died, his father said.

Aside from any other thing that might have gone on that night, those last 10 seconds of his life shouldnt have happened, he said, referring to the crisis that led police to the scene.

Concerned 911 calls had warned officers of a man jumping fences and threatening bystanders, police said at the time. The officers said Chavez charged at them with a pointy object, later identified to be a piece of rebar. They fired a Taser and beanbag projectiles at him, police said, but Chavez picked up an officers already used Taser and pointed it at them. Then came the barrage of bullets.

Chavez was among nine people  all men of color  killed by Houston police officers in 2020, six of whom died during a monthlong stretch from April to May.

While frustrated with the wait, Leantha Chavez said she remains hopeful for action in the criminal courts.

She watches TV every day to see if anything comes on the news about Nicolas. So far, she said she has heard nothing.

I want policy, she said. I want the street named after him. And I dont want this community to forget it was wrong what they did.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
Knoxville District Attorney General Charme Allen said on Wednesday that officers will not be charged in the shooting death of Anthony Thompson Jr.

Thompson, a 17-year-old black student, was a junior at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, when he was shot to death by police on April 12.

Cops had been responding to a domestic violence complaint made by Thompson's ex-girlfriend's mother when they pursued him at the school. The mother, Regina Perkins, claims Thompson had been violent with her daughter.

He was shot dead in a bathroom stall after a brief struggle with police, who say the teen had a gun.

Allen said during a news conference that the teen's family had begged her not to release the tapes today but she had promised the public she would release them after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation gave two different versions of the killing.

The TBI had said in the aftermath of the shooting that Thompson had fired at police first and was killed when they returned fire. Then the agency said, two days later, that Thompson's gun did not fire the bullet that struck a police officer.

'This is a self-defense case. At the end of the day, we have found the shooting by Officer Clabough was justified,' Allen said.

Scroll down for videos

Anthony Thompson Jr., 17, was shot to death by police officers at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 12

He was shot dead in a bathroom stall after a brief struggle with police, who say the teen had a gun

The incident started after Thompson was accused of domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend at the school

'I have just spent four hours with this family and I will tell you that was a painful long agonizing four hours for that family, but we talked about the death of their 17-year-old son, and one thing that family asked me not to do was release those tapes today,' Allen said.

'But because I had made a promise that once I completed the file and once I talked to the family I would release the tapes.'

Allen defended her office's decision not to immediately release the tapes as demands for them grew in the aftermath of the shooting while giving reasoning for the 'quick and thorough turnaround' of the investigation.

'Everybody has demanded those answers right now. And so I don't think my correct response would have been to immediately release only part of the evidence in this case that would have potentially tainted the criminal prosecution,' she said.

'And not only that, I think it would have allowed the community to make rush decisions without all the evidence. Because you know what? Those videos are not the only evidence in this case.'

Allen added that she is 'not at odds' with the media, politicians and advocacy groups that have demanded the release of the tapes.

'We're on the same side, because the side that we're all on is that we want the truth of what happened, we all want justice to be served, and we want all of our kids to feel safe at all of our schools.'

Allen called on changing laws that she said prohibit prosecutors from releasing tapes during an investigation.

Newly released video footage shows Knoxville Police Department officers preparing to arrest Thompson on a complaint of domestic violence

Thompson was seen scuffling with officers over a gun in his sweatshirt pocket in a school bathroom

A body camera video shows a gun inside the student's pocket before he was shot

Footage shows a school resource officer on the ground who had also been shot by another officer

She then walked through the events of the day that caused Thompson to lose his life.

At about 12.30pm at Austin-East Magnet High School, Thompson got into a 'domestic incident' with another student, Allen said. The two got into another domestic incident at 12.48pm.

'These two domestic assaults ... are the impetus to this whole day's trajectory,' Allen said, before noting that she would not show the footage of the fights which were released to local news outlets.

Regina Perkins, the mother of Thompson's girlfriend, sent him text messages at 1.16pm. Allen showed those texts to media present during the news conference.

'U better stop what ur doing now ur disrespectful asf and I've called the police! I'm done with ur threats to my daughter and u putting ur gd hands on her. U step foot on my property and u will go to jail period,' Perkins had texted Thompson. 'U will be blocked and goodbye.'

Thompson then responded with 'get off my phone girl.'

The mom then shot back: 'F*** you lil boy.'

The conversation continues before the mom notifies Thompson that she is on the phone with 'Officer Carlos.'

'This is the first notice that Anthony Thompson had that the police were involved or that they were coming. This is what sets the whole trajectory in motion,' Allen said.

Perkins has told the Knoxville News Sentinel that she regrets calling police officers.

Allen then showed security footage from the high school starting at 1.17pm just after Perkins texted Thompson.

'You're going to see him walking around the halls in this video and then you're going to see his response as soon as he receives the text from Regina Perkins,' Allen said.

Knoxville District Attorney General Charme Allen said on Wednesday that officers will not be charged in the shooting death

In a two-hour news conference, Allen walked through the events of April 12 and why the police shooting was justified as officers feared for their lives

Thompson is then seen running through the halls of the school and out a door to the outside of the school.

Surveillance footage shows Thompson run across the school parking lot before making his way back toward the building and ultimately re-enters the school around 1.24pm. Another student sitting on the stairwell lets him back into the building.

Thompson is seen hanging out near that exit again until around 1.39pm when he exits the building again and paces in front of the school while talking on the phone.

He enters the school again at 1.51pm and again hangs out in the same area then sits on the stairs, and is seen again on his phone at 1.59pm.

At that same time, Perkins makes her 911 call about Thompson - which was played during the press conference.

'My daughter got into an altercation at school today with an ex-boyfriend  He keeps getting his hands on my daughter, and that happened again today,' Perkins says in the call.

She adds: 'I think her feelings are hurt more than she actually is.'

Perkins explains to officers that Thompson has previously threatened her daughter with a 9mm pistol.

Knoxville Police Department officer Jonathon Clabough, the officer who later fires the shot which killed Thompson, responds to the Perkins address for the 911 call around 2.15pm to 'take the domestic violence report.'

'Something has to be done to stop this,' the concerned mother tells cops in body camera footage.

Regina Perkins, the white mom of Thompson's ex-girlfriend, has addressed her calling of the police

The girl then tells cops that the two had gotten into an argument stemming from the weekend when she ignored him, 'which frustrated him.'

'I'm tired of the threats, I'm tired of the fights, I'm tired of being scared,' she tells cops while crying.

Officer Clabough then calls the school Security Resource Officer Willson for more information on Thompson - who confirms to Clabough that there had been a domestic assault incident at the school.

Officer Willson later added that he witnessed the domestic incident.

'Officer Willson tells Officer Clabough that there is some history with Anthony Thompson, that he resists or runs when confronted,' Allen said in the press conference.

Officer Clabough tells Perkins he's 'going to go and hook him and if he's gone, I'm going to put warrants on him.'

'Thank you,' the mom says in the body camera footage.

'I'd say that based on speaking with the officer down there at the school, with him going to jail and committing the offense on school property, he's probably done. They'll expel him,' the officer says.

The officer then speaks again with the girl, and tells her that she should get an order of protection and that Thompson 'will go to jail.' Clabough leaves the home around 2.35pm.

While the officers were responding to the home, Thompson entered the restroom where the shooting takes place around 2.16pm and he does not ever leave that restroom again.

At 2.23pm, Thompson texts Perkins and she shoots back a picture of the police car parked outside her home.

'You know I didn't hit her, right?' Thompson texted her back.

At 2.51pm, Thompson receives another text message from Perkins and also got another text message from another student notifying him police were coming.

Clabough then puts out a call to Officer Baldwin who was nearby under police department policy for the two to arrest Thompson. Lieutenant Cash all plan to go to the school together to arrest him on a domestic violence charge.

The three officers enter from the back of the school under the advisement of Officer Willson and body camera footage shows Officer Baldwin entering the school at 2.53pm.

Allen said during the press conference that officers did not know Thompson had a gun with him - adding 'this isn't really a gun call at all.' She noted that police officers were responding to a domestic violence complaint.

'They have to go in and find him, it takes a while to find him,' Allen said.

In body camera footage, Willson tells Clabough that the school 'followed him on camera' but believed he was still in the building because he hadn't left the school.

The officers then review video footage in an attempt to find Thompson at 3pm. A school security officer then assists the police officers in locating him, noting that Thompson is known to hang out in the bathroom where he was shot.

Allen then played the graphic body camera footage from all for Knoxville Police Department employees, including the school resource officer, from the time that they confront Thompson.

When officers enter the restroom, Thompson is sitting on a toilet in a stall with the door open. Cops direct him to stand and put his hands up.

When Thompson stands, cops are seen grabbing his arms and trying to secure them behind his back while one of the officers reaches into Thompson's sweatshirt pocket to get hold of a gun seen poking out of the 'kangaroo pouch.'

The video shows Clabough shoot Thompson in the back while his arms are being secured by the other officers.

'He put both hands in his pocket. That's when they yell at him to get his hands out of his pocket. Since then he has kept his right hand in his pocket,' Allen said.

One of the officer's body cameras shows Thompson's gun falling out into the stall, and Allen said one shot had been fired from his gun, which hit a trash can.

Thompson then falls to the ground face down while Clabough fires his weapon twice, hitting Thompson - and Officer Willson in the leg, who falls on top of the student.

Another student in the restroom at the time of the shooting is ordered down to the ground at gunpoint. That student is then also put into handcuffs while screaming at cops that Thompson is bleeding.

An officer is then seen washing blood off his hands in the school bathroom's sink.

'We have an officer down,' cops say into their radio.

'They all believed they were wrestling with the gun to get it away from him and none of the officers saw the gun come out of his pocket. But through this fight, which lasted 11 seconds, none of the officers realized the gun was gone,' Allen said.

Allen concluded that 'it is reasonable to believe his life was in danger.'

Thompson's family is being represented by civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who posted about the shooting before the press conference on Wednesday.

'Regina Perkins didn't approve of her daughter's relationship with 17yo Black teen Anthony Thompson Jr, so she called 911. And what did Knoxville Police Department - TN do? They swarmed Anthony's high school and fatally shot him in the bathroom!' Crump wrote.

'Now Regina says she regrets her 911 call. CLEARLY. Another call to police leading to excessive force and another dead Black teen... this was CLEARLY PREVENTABLE.'

Perkins told the Knoxville News Sentinel that the relationship between Thompson and her daughter was unhealthy but that she regrets calling the police.

'Alexus told me that she was grabbed and that her hair was pulled, and that is really what led me to feel that I needed to do more,' she said.

Perkins told the outlet she tried to contact Anthony's mother before calling police, but was unsuccessful

'I am so sorry and I never meant for anything to happen to him,' Perkins said.

'We are mourning. My daughter is grieving the loss of her first love and we also want answers and justice in this case.'

Perkins said that her daughter 'loved him' and called him a 'good kid.'

'He was a good kid. He had dreams and goals, but he had some struggles. They both have gone through a lot of things and, as a parent, I felt it was necessary to protect her after I saw things were heading in the wrong direction the last few months,' she said.

She added: 'That child should not be dead. We all want justice for Anthony. He should still be here.'

Attorneys who represent three of the officers issued a statement on Wednesday praising Allen for her decision, according to the outlet.

'We look forward to returning to our duties and serving the city of Knoxville once again,' the statement reads. The officers have been on paid leave since the shooting.
[April 22, 2021] Harris Williams Advises Canadian Hospital Specialties, Ltd. on its Sale to Flexpoint Ford, LLC

Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised Canadian Hospital Specialties, Ltd. (CHS), a portfolio company of Cortec Group Fund V, L.P. (Cortec), on its sale to Flexpoint Ford (News - Alert) , LLC (Flexpoint Ford). CHS is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of single-use and other medical products to Canadian healthcare facilities. The transaction was led by Paul Hepper, Cheairs Porter, Charles Busch and Bethel Hailemichael of the Harris Williams Healthcare & Life Sciences (HCLS) Group and Graham Gillam of the firm's Specialty Distribution Group. "CHS is a critical link in Canada's healthcare supply chain. The company provides its global vendor partners with unmatched access across the Canadian healthcare market and delivers solutions for complex healthcare challenges faced by clinical end users," said Cheairs Porter, a managing director at Harris Williams. "CHS has thrived under Cortec's ownership and we ook forward to seeing what CHS accomplishes in partnership with Flexpoint Ford."



"We continue to see very strong investment activity in the healthcare distribution sector, especially for businesses that have played essential roles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, further validating the role of world-class distributors in complex ecosystems and their value propositions," said Graham Gillam, a director at Harris Williams. "Market leaders that provide value-added solutions, like CHS, will continue to attract significant interest from investors that are looking for truly differentiated business models." "We chose Harris Williams for its deep sector knowledge across both healthcare and distribution. The Harris Williams team's experience, ability to articulate the CHS story and exemplary work ethic resulted in a superior outcome for the company's shareholders. Harris Williams exceeded our very high expectations," said Michael Najjar, a Managing Partner at Cortec.

CHS, established in 1967, is a privately held company located in Oakville, Ontario that serves customers in the acute hospital and non-acute healthcare space in Canada and internationally. CHS provides self-manufactured products (Med-RX brand) and third-party represented products across categories including respiratory, anesthesia, perfusion, interventional, biopsy, drainage, diagnostic imaging, pharmacy and general medical. The Med-RX line is produced in Oakville, Ontario and is predominantly single use, disposable trays and kits used in a variety of procedures such as IV starts, feeding, biopsy and thoracic drainage. All products are serviced out of three distribution facilities located in Oakville, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1984, Cortec invests in market-leading, middle market specialty consumer, distribution, healthcare, and specialty services and products businesses in partnership with entrepreneurs, families and management teams who want to work with Cortec to drive growth and improve business fundamentals. Flexpoint Ford is a private equity investment firm that has raised more than $4.3 billion in capital and specializes in privately negotiated investments in the financial services and healthcare industries. Since the firm's formation in 2005, Flexpoint Ford has completed investments in more than 30 companies across a broad range of investment sizes, structures and asset classes. Flexpoint Ford is headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in New York. Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC (News - Alert) Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). The Harris Williams HCLS Group has experience across a broad range of sectors, including healthcare providers; payors and payor services; outsourced pharmaceutical services; medical device supply chain; healthcare IT; and pharmacy. For more information on the HCLS Group and other recent transactions, visit the HCLS Group's section of the Harris Williams website. Harris Williams' Specialty Distribution Group has experience across a variety of sectors, including automotive and heavy duty aftermarket; building products; consumer; electrical and communications; foodservice; healthcare; industrial; and technology. For more information on the firm's Specialty Distribution Group, visit the Specialty Distribution Group's section of the Harris Williams website. Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschaftsfuhrer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422006095/en/

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A clinic worker in southeast Brazil somehow forgot to inject the COVID-19 vaccine into the arm of a 71-year-old grandmother, and instead just punctured her with a needle.

Local media reported that Zelia Nascimento had been slated to receive the second dose of the immunization shot Tuesday in Vitoria, Espirito Santo.

The retiree was accompanied by her granddaughter, 23-year-old Amanda Nascimento, who used her own phone to record the shocking mishap.

Video shared by Nascimento shows the moment a clinic worker pushes the needle into her grandmother's right arm - but fails to depress the syringe's plunger to inject the dose.

The health worker subsequently removes the needle from Zelia Nascimento and places a bandaid on her arm.

Zelia Nascimento learned the health worker at a clinic in Vitoria, Brazil, failed to properly apply the second dose of her COVID-19 vaccine during her appointment Wednesday. They discovered the worker had forgotten to press the syringe's plunger

A health worker at a clinic in Brazil forgot to press the syringe's plunger, which would have released the COVID-19 vaccine dose into the arm of Zelia Nascimento

But when the Nascimentos arrived home, the granddaughter watched the recording and noticed that the clinic staffer had failed to correctly inject the dose.

Amanda Nascimento told TV Tribuna that she returned to the vaccination site with her grandmother and found the needle with the full dose in the garbage.

The clinic worker said he thought he had properly vaccinated Nascimento. She was then taken to a room and got the second dose from a different staffer.

Zelia Nascimento is jabbed with a needle during her appointment for her second coronavirus vaccine dose Wednesday in Brazil. But the 71-year-old woman later found out that the vaccine was not properly applied by the health worker

A health worker places a bandaid over the arm of Zelia Nascimento after he punctured her with a needle and did not press the syringe plunger to apply to COVID-19 dose

Amanda Nascimento, who previously had the ravaging virus, knew similar errors had occurred in the past, but never expected it would happen to her grandmother.

'We watch it on television and never imagine it will happen to us,' she said.

'I keep thinking, 'what if I hadn't gone there and recorded it?' 'If I had not had this perception that my grandmother had been without the second dose, unfortunately, she could catch the virus, as I and other people here at home have already, and she could die.'

According to the Vitoria health department, the worker was suspended as part of the investigation.
Actor/comedian Eric Andre said he was racially profiled while in line to depart for a plane at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday, by a pair of police officers with the Clayton County Police Department.

The 38-year-old actor said he was in line for his flight when the officers asked for his consent to search his person, which he declined.

The Boca Raton, Florida native took to Twitter to detail the harrowing experience, eventually alerting Vice President Kamala Harris and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to what had happened to him.

The latest: Actor/comedian Eric Andre said he was racially profiled while in line to depart for a plane at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday, by a pair of police officers with the Clayton County Police Department.

'I was just racially profiled by two plain clothes Atlanta PD police in @Delta terminal T3 at the Atlanta airport,' he wrote, tagging Atlanta Police. 'They stopped me on the way down the bridge to the plane for a "random" search and asked they could search me for drugs. I told them no. Be careful.'

Andre said that he was the only 'person of color' who had been in the airport line when he was confronted.

The Bad Trip actor wrote: 'They let me go. Im on the plane in the air. Im fine now but I want this reported. Please any Atlanta lawyer reach out to me. @KeishaBottoms #racialprofiling #jimcrowgeorgia terminal T3 Atlanta airport.'

Bottoms replied to Andre's tweet, informing him that the incident had not taken place in the purview of the Atlanta police.

Andre said the incident took place at a terminal in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; the airport was snapped in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown

Details: The actor alerted Vice President Kamala Harris and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to what had happened to him

Andre said that he was the only 'person of color' who had been in the airport line when he was confronted

The actor searched for which agency was responsible for the incident

'Sorry to hear about your experience,' the mayor wrote. 'Its my understanding that this was not APD, but another one of the many agencies working in the airport. We are working to confirm.'

The Atlanta Police Department said on social media that it was not the agency that was involved in the incident with the actor-comic.

'The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is somewhat unique in that multiple law enforcement agencies operate there,' the department said. 'It appears this incident involved members of another agency. Additionally, members of APDs Airport Drug Interdiction Unit do not randomly approach travelers and ask to search them.

'Searches are conducted based on some type of evidence or indication of criminal activity.'

Response: Andre called the Clayton County Police Department's statement 'sad and full of misinformation' and denied that he gave officers consent to search him and said he was 'detained ... with no probable cause except for racism'

Andre denied that he had volunteered to be searched in the incident

The Clayton County Police Department subsequently issued a statement acknowledging it was their agency that had stopped Andre, claiming he had consented to speak with the officers and let them search his belongings.

'On April 21, 2021, the Clayton County Police Department made a consensual encounter with a male traveler, later identified as Eric Andre, as he was preparing to fly to California from the Atlanta Airport,' the statement read. 'Mr. Andre chose to speak with investigators during the initial encounter. During the encounter, Mr. Andre voluntarily provided the investigators information as to his travel plans.

Clayton County officials continued, 'Mr. Andre also voluntarily consented to a search of his luggage but the investigators chose not to do so. Investigators identified that there was no reason to continue a conversation and therefore terminated the encounter.

'Mr. Andre boarded the plane without being detained and continued on his travels. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Atlanta Police Department did not assist in this consensual encounter.'

On the red carpet: Andre was snapped at The Lion King premiere in LA in July 2019

Response: The airport explained in a statement on social media that multiple agencies operate at the travel hub

Andre enlisted the ACLU for assistance in connection with the incident

Andre called the statement 'sad and full of misinformation' and denied that he gave officers consent to search him and said he was 'detained ... with no probable cause except for racism.'

'I did NOT volunteer to a search and I did not volunteer to talk,' Andre said on Twitter. 'You guys flashed your badge and detained me with no probable cause except for racism. This is JIM CROW RACISM @ClaytonCountyPD I DID NOT VOLUNTEER TO A SEARCH. YOU ARE HARASSING ME. THIS IS RACISM! @KeishaBottoms.'

A spokesman for the airport said in a statement that officials with the state of Georgia and Atlanta Police Department were 'scheduled to meet with Clayton County law enforcement officers next week to review procedures,' Page Six reported.
Update: The freeway reopened at 10:27 a.m. Thursday, April 22, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office

MILAN, MI  A semitrailer full of hay caught fire Thursday morning, leading to northbound U.S. 23 near Milan being shut down.

The trailer fire, reported at 8:17 a.m. April 22, occurred on U.S. 23 north of the Carpenter Road entrance ramp outside Milan, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The truck hauling the hay detached from the trailer and there are no reported injuries.

Fire crews are on scene extinguishing the fire which is currently contained to the trailer. The ramp to northbound U.S. 23 at Carpenter Road remains closed, officials said.

Motorists are asked to avoid the area while crews are on scene. It is unknown when the freeway will be reopened.

More from MLive:

Detroit email destruction probe yields no criminal charges

Michigan marijuana sales break $1 billion pace; insiders expect record-breaking April

Oh deer! Police officer helps free young buck stuck on fence along U.S. 23
Remember Nityananda, the meme-fame self-styled godman who is a wanted criminal in India, but fled the country and set up his own independent country?

Well, he is back in the news again, and as always it is for some nonsense.

It has now emerged that Kailasa, his supposed country has banned the entry of Indians there due to the ongoing pandemic situation.

Facebook

The executive order was issued on Tuesday and it said that not just Indians but also travellers from Brazil, European Union and Malaysia who were banned from entering the island due to the second and third wave of COVID-19 there.

What the order said

The executive order also said that "All Kailasians, Ekailasians, volunteers associated with these de facto embassies of Kailasa are to quarantine themselves and adhere to the precautionary measures advised by the local laws."

Nithyananda, who is a wanted criminal in India on several charges including sexual assault had fled the country in 2019 to evade arrest.

Facebook

Even while the investigative agencies were trying to find him, Nithyananda, reemerged online with an absurd claim that he has set up an independent country called Kailasa.

More absurdity followed in the coming days including his own Reserve Bank, Currency and government of Kailasa.

Facebook

Though the exact location of his country is yet unknown, it is believed to be some island located off the coast of Ecuador, which he supposedly bought.

Last year he had also announced flights for people to visit Kailasa, which according to its official website is the world's greatest Hindu nation.
We know the threat of COVID-19 will not completely disappear before we convene in the fall, University President A. Gabriel Esteban said. We also know the COVID-19 vaccines have been proven effective at greatly reducing the spread of the virus, as well as preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19.
San Antonio, mark your calendars for some festivals that will focus on the foods we love to eat.

The same organizer behind the free San Antonio Roasted Corn Festival is preparing for three more this year  the Enchiladas Fest in June, Flautas Fest in September, and Tamale Fest in December.
A recently discovered gold ring may have been created to commemorate a British aristocrat, nicknamed 'Lord Strange,' executed in the 17th century.

The ring, found on the Island of Man in December, is in the style of a Stuart Period mourning ring and bears the initials 'JD.'

It was likely crafted in 1650s as a memento after the death of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, whose family ruled the island for centuries.

Lord Stanley, who signed his letters 'J. Derby,' was a supporter of King Charles I and was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell's forces after Charles' defeat.

The ornate gold-and-crystal ring was found on the Isle of Man by a metal detectorist in December. Experts believe it was made in the 1650s to commemorate James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby, after his execution

The ornate ring was discovered in December 2020 by metal detector hobbyist Lee Morgan.

It's 21.5mm in diameter with a 12mm crystal stone covered with gold-leaf lettering of the initials 'J.D.'

Its sides are adorned with engravings of leaves inlaid with black enamel.

Morgan found the ring on the south side of the island, although its exact location is being kept secret to protect the integrity of the site.

It dates to the mid-to-late 1600s, according to Manx National Heritage archaeology curator Allison Fox, and is in the style of a Stuart Period mourning ring.

Stanley (pictured) was a commander in the military of Charles I during the English Civil Wars. The ring bears the initials 'JD' and Stanley is known to have signed his name 'J. Derby'

These were mementos given out during funerals to commemorate the deceased, usually bearing their initials.

'The ring is small and quite delicate in form, but of a high quality and intact,' Fox said. 'The quality suggests that it was made for, or on behalf of, an individual of high status.'

The initials 'JD' suggest the ring was made to honor James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby and Lord of Man.

Stanley was a commander in the military of Charles I during the English Civil Wars, which pitted supporters of the monarchy against Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary forces.

Letters and documents from the time show that Stanley signed his name 'J. Derby.'

Stanley was found guilty of treason and beheaded on October 15, 1651 at the intersection outside the Man and Scythe Inn in Bolton, Manchester, which was owned at the time by his family.

Stanley (right) was found guilty of treason and beheaded on October 15, 1651 at the intersection outside the Man and Scythe Inn in Bolton, Manchester. His widow, Charlotte (left), was determined that he wouldn't be forgotten

A marker commemorates his death and a chair in the Inn bears the inscription '15 October 1651: In this chair James, 7th Earl of Derby sat at the Man and Scythe Inn, Churchgate, Bolton, immediately prior to his execution.'

According to Fox, Stanley's widow, Charlotte, was determined that he wouldn't be forgotten.

'It is unlikely that we will be able to establish for certain who owned the ring or whom it commemorated, but there is a possibility that it may have been associated with the Stanley family, previously Lords of Man,' Fox said.

Jayne Hughes, coroner of inquests for the Isle of Man, declared the mourning ring treasure under the UK's Treasure Act of 1996, meaning Morgan was entitled to a financial reward.

It's not clear how much Morgan received, but this is the third discovery he's made on the island: In 2013, he uncovered a hoard of silver coins dating to around 1320.

Six years later, he discovered a silver ingot dating to between 950 and 1075.

'Public finds, such as those found by metal-detectorists, walkers and farmers make an immense contribution to our knowledge of the archaeology and history of the Isle of Man,' Fox said.

She thanked Morgan and the landowner for coming to officials with the unique find.

The ring will go on display at the Manx Museum before being sent to the British Museum for further study.

According to the website of the Tynwald, the Island of Man legislature, King Henry IV gave the Isle of Man to Sir John Stanley in 1405.

He and his descendants ruled the area for over 300 years during a period of 'relative stability.'

In exchange, the Stanley's were expected to send two falcons to all future kings of England when they were crowned.

They did not visit the island often, though, typically appointing a governor to look after their interests.
Garry Kasparov

The Pollack Group is working with Vivendi and its subsidiary Keysquare on the launch of Kasparovchess.com, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparovs interactive community and content platform. The site will feature such content as documentaries, chess lessons, matches and a MasterClass with Kasparov. It is built as a way for casual chess players to become more confident while also providing top-tier content for pros looking to perfect their game. The platform is designed to make chess accessible and life-changing in a way that only Garry Kasparov can, by giving audiences unparalleled access to the world of chess, said The Pollack Group president Stefan Pollack, president of The Pollack Group.

jacobstahl has been selected to represent Project Accessible Oral Health and Berlin-Chemie. PAOH is a global public-private partnership that assembles and connects dental and medical professionals, corporations, organizations, policymakers, educators, people with disabilities, caregivers and other stakeholders in pursuit of equal access for people with disabilities to oral healthcare. The campaign for PAOH is supported by major sponsors, including Delta Dental, Colgate and Henry Schein. For pharmaceutical company Berlin-Chemie, the agency will support the company's business in Eastern Europe and the CIS region. Both accounts will be led by jacobstahl co-founders Sandra Stahl and Jeremy Jacob,

Affect signs up Slync.io, Intersection and TrustSwap as clients. The agency will provide strategic media relations efforts to position Slync.io as a leader in global supply chain solutions and services through ongoing thought leadership and content creation. Affects strategic program for smart cities media and technology company Intersection focuses on content creation, media relations and thought leadership. For digital asset ecosystem TrustSwap, Affect will execute media relations, content development and proactive storytelling to raise the companys position in the cryptocurrency space.
Kiev, April 22 : Ukraine and the UK have reached an agreement on expanding the Orbital training mission and working on strengthening the Ukrainian Navy.

This agreement was reached during the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak to the UK on April 19-20 and his meeting with the British Chief of the General Staff, General Nick Carter, reports Xinhua news agency.

Khomchak thanked the UK for its assistance in increasing the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their compatibility with NATO troops.

Carter, in turn, said the British Armed Forces had trained over 20,000 Ukrainian servicemen as part of bilateral military cooperation.

He also said the British side leads the initiative to train the Ukrainian Navy and supports defense reform in Ukraine.

Britain-led Operation Orbital, a training program for the Ukrainian armed forces, was established in 2015 following the request of the Ukrainian authorities.
The more you think about it, we dont require our employees to get a flu shot. Measles, we dont even check for that stuff, he said. Is it legal to even ask? Is it a violation of HIPAA? Weve been thinking about (the implications).
The Accra Circuit Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of a contractor Swanzy Joe Nartey for allegedly stealing a hydraulic drilling machine worth GH1,695,216.



In a public announcement published in the Wednesday, April 21, 2021 edition of the Daily Graphic newspaper, the Head of Public Affairs Unit/CID, Deputy Superintendent Ms Juliana Obeng said the 27-year-old suspect is wanted for the offence of stealing which is contrary to section 124 (1) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, Act 29/60.



"The Circuit Court, Accra has issued a warrant of arrest no. 32/2020B dated 23rd November 2020 for the immediate arrest of suspect Swanzy Joe Nartey for the offence of Stealing contrary to section 124 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29/60," the announcement said.



According to the announcement, the suspect in the month of August 2014 collected a hydraulic drilling machine from the complainant on a work and pay system.



He has since gone into hiding and the Police says all efforts made to trace him have proved futile.



Suspect



Nartey is 5.4 feet tall, dark in complexion with black hair and medium eyes.



He was last seen at Takoradi and is believed to be hiding in Elubo, Takoradi, Half Assin or its environs.



The statement directed persons with information that would lead to his arrest to contact the Director of Documentation and Visa Fraud Unit, CID Headquarters on the following phone numbers 0244140214, 0244636521 or call the Police command centre Nos' 191 (all network), 18555 (MTN and Vodafone networks) or report to the nearest Police Station.











Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
MIDDLETOWN, Conn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PursueCare (pursuecare.com), a leader in telehealth addiction treatment, today announced an oversubscribed $7 million Series A2 capital raise, bringing its total Series A round to north of $11 million. The round was led by OCA Ventures, Seyen Capital, Wasabi Investors, and a syndicate of experienced healthcare investors.

The company, founded in 2019, has generated unprecedented demand for its virtual Medication-assisted Treatment (MAT) programs for opioids and other substance use disorders (SUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will help PursueCare continue implementing integrated programs with health systems, hospitals, community health centers, employers, and universities while enhancing the patient virtual care experience.

The technology-enabled solution rapidly transitions individuals into evidence-based treatment through a smartphone app, reducing common barriers like work, childcare, inconvenient clinic hours, long wait times, and fragmented offerings. Patients receive immediate access to a team of addiction specialists, including physicians, psychiatric providers, and counselors, often on the same day as referral. PursueCare also offers delivery pharmacy services, which have proven particularly beneficial for patients experiencing stigma and lack of access to appropriate medications for SUD treatment.

According to recent CDC data, drug overdose deaths surged by 29% from October 2019 through September 2020  the most recent data available  compared with the prior 12-month period. It is expected that SUD-related numbers have increased further as the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed. The trend, coupled with further reduction in access and capacity, particularly in rural regions, has put a strain on EDs to adequately triage SUD and find local referral sources. PursueCare helps to solve this by integrating through a customized digital portal to promote rapid referral and access to on-demand live video treatment that starts at the bedside and continues at home.

"The bottom line is that our healthcare infrastructure is significantly struggling when it comes to providing timely access to evidence-based substance use treatment," said PursueCare CEO and Co-Founder Nick Mercadante. "With this latest investment, we are now positioned to expand our low-barrier services to more patients, whether they are in need of transition from settings that don't traditionally present solutions for long-term recovery, or just need a way to privately access care at home on their own time. There is strong evidence to support telehealth improving outcomes for individuals living with substance use disorder. We are hyper-focused on continuing to partner with healthcare organizations, employers, and universities across the country to help accelerate expanding access to this game-changing approach."

About PursueCare:

PursueCare is a Connecticut-based telehealth addiction recovery and mental health services company launched in 2019 that aims to change the way people access care by removing the prevalent obstacles historically associated with substance use disorder treatment. PursueCare delivers comprehensive digital care for opioid, alcohol, and other substance use disorders, through a smartphone app. Patients have access to a care team consisting of licensed psychiatric providers, counselors, care coordinators, and physicians who can prescribe medications like Suboxone. Its Joint Commission-accredited pharmacy can ship medications directly to patients' homes. By partnering with health systems, community health centers, employers, and health plans, PursueCare offers a transitional digital addiction treatment program for patients that often cannot get timely and effective care in those settings. Patients can also seek treatment without a referral by visiting PursueCare's website or downloading the app on Google Play and the

Apple Store. PursueCare accepts most insurances and offers low-cost self-pay programs for patients in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Maine, and New Jersey. For more information: https://www.pursuecare.com

SOURCE PursueCare

Related Links

https://www.pursuecare.com


Photo: The Canadian Press Abraham Natanine, who was shot and killed by police in May 2020 at the age of 31, sits with his daughter in Clyde River, Nunavut in this undated handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Michelle Illauq *MANDATORY CREDIT*

The spouse of a Nunavut man shot and killed by RCMP last year says she wants to see the report on the investigation into his death.

The Ottawa Police Service issued a statement earlier this month on its independent investigation into the shooting, which found the officers involved not criminally responsible for Abraham Natanines death.

Natanine, 31, was shot after two officers responded to a domestic disturbance at his home in Clyde River on the night of May 5, RCMP said.

Michelle Illauq, Natanine's spouse and the mother of his two children, was there that night.

In a statement through her lawyer, Qajaq Robinson, Illauq said she remembers the situation differently than the RCMP.

"What they said happened isn't what I remember," she said in the statement, which didn't provide any details about the night.

Illauq said she also has not seen the investigation's report and only found out about its conclusion through the news.

"I want to see the reports and the statements. When they killed him, it shattered so many lives," she said.

"It's impossible to find peace without answers."

Nunavut Mounties have given few details on the circumstances around Natanine's death. A release from the RCMP issued a week after the statement from Ottawa police said the situation "escalated" when Natanine went to retrieve a weapon, but the RCMP has not said what that weapon was.

Nunavut RCMP currently has an agreement with Ottawa and Calgary police to investigate serious incidents involving officers. That agreement does not require their reports to be made public.

"We're continuing to pursue access to the reports," Robinson said.

Since Jan. 1, 2020, there have been six serious encounters involving police in Nunavut, including the shooting deaths of Natanine and Attachie Ashoona in the hamlet of Kinngait.

Earlier this year, Ottawa police cleared the officer who shot and killed Ashoona as well as the officer who knocked down a Kinngait man with a truck door during an arrest.

Nunavut RCMP said they wont comment further on Natinine's shooting because they anticipate there may be other reviews.

In December, Nunavuts justice minister introduced a bill that would open the door for civilian oversight of RCMP in Nunavut. The bill, as it stands, still leaves the option open for police forces to conduct third-party investigations.

The bill has passed second reading and is being reviewed by Nunavuts standing committee on legislation.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo on Thursday (April 22) promised free COVID-19 vaccination for all adults after May 5.

The result of the West Bengal assembly polls will come on May 2. We will provide free COVID vaccination to all above the 18 years in Bengal after May 5, CM Banerjee announced during a public meeting in Tapan, West Bengal.

The TMC supremo also cancelled all her upcoming meetings and will now hold virtual interactions.

In the wake of upsurge in #COVID19 cases across the country and the ECI Order dated 22nd April, 2021, I am cancelling all my pre scheduled meetings and we will reach out to the people virtually. We will be sharing the updated schedule of the virtual meetings shortly, Mamata Banerjee wrote on microblogging site Twitter.

In the wake of upsurge in #COVID19 cases across the country and the ECI Order dated 22nd April, 2021, I am cancelling all my prescheduled meetings and we will reach out to the people virtually. We will be sharing the updated schedule of the virtual meetings shortly.  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 22, 2021

Meanwhile, Election Commission on Thursday banned roadshows and vehicle rallies in the state with immediate effect and said no public meeting with more than 500 people would be allowed, in view of the COVID safety norms being flouted during the poll campaign in West Bengal. The EC orders will come into force from 7 pm on Thursday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 22) called off his visit to poll-bound West Bengal and said that he will chair high-level meetings to review deteriorating COVID-19 situation.

On April 18, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had suspended his public rallies in West Bengal due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation. "In view of the Covid situation, I am suspending all my public rallies in West Bengal," he tweeted.

"I would advise all political leaders to think deeply about the consequences of holding large public rallies under the current circumstances," Gandhi added.

West Bengal concluded its sixth phase of voting on April 22. The last two phases will be held on April 26 and April 29, while the results will be declared on May 2.

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The Statue of Peace, representing victims of wartime sex slavery by the Japanese Empire, is seen in front of the former site of the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul, Wednesday, the day the Seoul Central District Court dismissed a claim for compensation filed by 20 surviving South Korean victims of sex slavery against the Japanese government. Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



A local court's dismissal, Wednesday, of a claim for compensation filed by 20 surviving South Korean victims of sex slavery against the Japanese government will not bring significant changes to relations between Korean and Japan, but it can offer a starting point to find a middle ground, according to diplomatic experts, Thursday.



They think that the decision by the Seoul Central District Court, which recognized Japan's "sovereign immunity," has offered leeway for Seoul to find a diplomatic solution by seeking a domestic consensus on the thorny diplomatic issue.



The Wednesday ruling surprised many people here by contradicting a previous verdict in January on a separate claim by 12 other plaintiffs, in which a different judge at the same district court held Japan accountable for their suffering.



Experts said not to expect dramatic changes in Seoul-Tokyo ties, which have plummeted to the lowest level over a series of historical issues, including the sex slaves and forced laborers exploited by the imperial Japanese military before and during World War II. But the Wednesday ruling has certainly offered room for the Korean government to resolve the thorny issues through diplomacy.



"It came as a surprise that Wednesday's ruling contradicted an earlier verdict, but in fact, court rulings can be different as each judge has different standards in interpreting the law," said Yang Ki-ho, a professor at Sungkonghoe University.



"But I think the Korean government's stance after the January ruling that it recognizes as an official agreement the 2015 deal between Seoul and Tokyo over compensating the comfort women could have affected the latest court ruling. President Moon Jae-in had said after the earlier ruling that he was puzzled by it."



Comfort women is a Japanese euphemism used to refer to the women, mostly Korean, who were forced to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers from the early 1930s until the end of World War II.



Yang said the latest court decision has offered another opportunity for the Korean government to resume diplomatic negotiations with the Japanese government, with the ruling recognizing the 2015 deal between the two sides.



"The January ruling saw that the 2015 deal was a political agreement without legal binding force, so it could not restrict an individual's right to demand compensation. But the latest ruling saw the 2015 deal as still being in effect and that some victims accepted money offered by the now-disbanded Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, established in 2016 by the Japanese government."



Experts also said it will take several more years for the final legal decision over the dispute to be made by the Supreme Court. They said the Korean government should make diplomatic efforts with the Japanese government in the meantime, but each government should first reach a domestic consensus on how to deal with the matter from a forward-looking perspective.



"The Korean government has said that it will deal with the comfort women issue with a victim-oriented attitude, but it has not been properly communicating with the victims, which was the very reason for the unsuccessful results of the 2015 deal," Yang said.



After the 2015 deal, many of the surviving victims protested against the South Korean government saying the deal was made against their will, and the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, established in 2016 by the Japanese government based on the 2015 deal, was disbanded in July 2019.



Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University's Department of North Korea Studies, said the Supreme Court's ruling offers a key moment for Seoul and Tokyo.



"If the Supreme Court does not recognize the compensation claims by the victims, the countries would be able to start from there to restore damaged relations," Park said. "But the final decision is in the hands of the President when negotiations with the Japanese government are meaningless at this point as the two sides already know each other's stance on the matter. The President and the ruling party should make a forward-looking decision."


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The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the delay in the renewal of Seaports concession agreements.

The House mandated its committees on Committees on Ports and Harbour and Privatisation and Commercialisation to interface with concerned parties on the agreement.

The resolution was a sequel to a motion moved by Shehu Koko (APC, Kebbi) on Wednesday during plenary.

Apapa, Tincan Island, Port Harcourt, Onne, Calabar, Koko and Warri Ports are the affected seaports.

According to Mr Koko, the intervention of the House will help forestall losses of hundreds of millions of dollars revenues accruable to the government.

He explained that the concession agreements for some of the ports have expired while others are going to end in May.

He noted further that non-renewal of the agreements could mean automatic extension without the benefit of renegotiation of the terms of agreements.

The Concession Agreements that have expired are deemed to have been automatically renewed without the benefit of full renegotiation, provided that concessionaires served the lessor requisite notice of intent to renew in line with the provisions of the Agreements, he explained.

The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, opposed a motion for an amendment moved by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta), for the inclusion of the Committee on Treaties and Agreement for the investigation.

He argued that Committee on Treaties and Agreement has the mandate on international agreements that requires ratification by the Parliament.

Consequently, the Committees on Ports and Harbour and, Privatisation and Commercialisation were given four weeks to report to the House for further legislative action.

Meanwhile, the House has given all ad hoc committees of the House till the April 30 to submit their reports.

Mr Gbajabiamila also cautioned members to desist from lobbying for appointments into committees.

The visibly angry Mr Gbajabiamila expressed disapproval over the issue.

The House currently has over 100 committees. There are however vacancies in some committees due to the death of some members.

Also, some new members are coming to the parliament due to court pronouncement or bye-elections.
With Earth Day here like the wrath of climate change itself, the gold standard store for recycling second-hand goods is cutting their customers an Earth Day deal.

To incentivize secondhand shopping this holiday, Goodwill San Antonio is offering a 10 percent off coupon for any product purchased from the Goodwill Electronics Store, usable from now through May 14, when patrons donate computers, tablets, and flat screen televisions this April.

Its a hand of cards mother nature would bet on  you prevent usable technology from wasting away in a landfill, and then you receive a seasonally sweet deal on your next gadget.

If you dont already love thrift shopping, a celebratory, environmentally conscious pivot may be a good place to start. Of course, buying second-hand wont solve the climate crisis, but it certainly helps by curbing emissions, cutting water-use during production, and avoiding the development of new mass produced materials.

READ MORE: San Antonio's neighborhoods are going to be a lot uglier thanks to the winter storm

A 2017 study in an the peer-reviewed Journal of Cleaner Production conducted clothing life-cycle studies on various garments and found that quadrupling the average lifespan of clothes resulted in a 75 percent savings in freshwater  showing thrifting can be a tool to prolong a garments run and conserve resources. Taking the time to purchase or donate second-hand technological treasures can be similarly beneficial to the planet's landfills  and the local community.

In 2020, Goodwill San Antonio collected nearly 1,000 used computers to help decrease the digital divide in the city through their Technology Access Program, additionally, the company recycled nearly 2.3 million pounds of electronics the same year.

Goodwills Technology Store branch, where customers can cut their coupons, is located on 5722 Walzem Road.

Camille Sauers is a freelance writer based in San Antonio. Follow her on twitter @camillesaccount. Send her emails to camillefrancissauers@gmail.com.
US drugmaker Pfizer on Wednesday confirmed that suspect doses of its coronavirus vaccine that were seized in Mexico and Poland were indeed fake, with doses going for as much as $1,000 a shot, according to US media.

At a clinic in Mexico some 80 people received bogus doses of the drug, which appeared to have been physically harmless, though offering no protection against the potentially deadly disease ravaging the country, a report in the Wall Street Journal said.

The vials were found in beer coolers and were initially identified by fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates, Mexican officials said.

The liquid in the confiscated vials in Poland was a cosmetic substance, thought to be anti-wrinkle cream, the company said.

"We are cognizant that in this type of environment -- fueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the internet -- there will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19," a Pfizer spokesperson told ABC News.

In February, health authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon warned about "clandestine" sales of "alleged Covid vaccines" and urged people not to take them.

In March, the World Health Organization also warned of "falsified" Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots "may still be in circulation in the region."

Pfizer tested the bogus vials and found they did not contain the two-shot vaccine it developed with BioNTech.

Lev Kubiak, Pfizer's head of global security, said the desperate need and the shortfall in vaccines had led to the scams.

"We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals," he told the Wall Street Journal.

Mexico is also examining a shipment of 6,000 doses of what is claimed to be the Russian vaccine Sputnik that were seized on a private plane headed for Honduras last month, the newspaper said.





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(Alliance News) - Taylor Wimpey PLC said Thursday its sales and orders were up and that trading remained in line with full-year expectations for 2021.

The housebuilder credited a "resilient" housing market for positive trading results and said that as of April 18 its order book was up 5.2% to GBP2.81 billion from GBP2.67 billion a year previous.

The FTSE 100 firm said net private sales for the year to April 18 had risen to 1.00 per outlet let per week on average compared to 0.90 a year ago. It confirmed that sale prices were also higher than at the end of last year.

Taylor Wimpey said it had made "good early progress" with achieving its aim of reaching an operating profit margin of between 21% and 22% in the medium term.

Tayloy Wimpey's pretax profit dropped to GBP264.4 million in 2020 from GBP835.9 million in 2019, as revenue sank 35% to GBP2.79 billion from GBP4.31 billion

"The UK housing market continues to be resilient, and we are trading in line with our full year expectations," said Chief Executive Pete Redfern.

"With strong market fundamentals, customer demand for our high-quality homes remains robust and we are achieving a strong sales rate and building a healthy forward order book.

"We are a cash generative business with a strong balance sheet and remain focused on our strategic priorities to drive operating profit margin while creating long term value for our customers and shareholders."

Taylor Wimpey confirmed it intends to pay a 2020 dividend of 4.14 pence per share on May 14 after it chose to not make a payment last year. An interim dividend of 4.14 pence per share also likely will be paid in November. No special dividend will be paid in 2021, the company said, though one will be considered in 2022.

Taylor Wimpey's annual general meeting will be held on Thursday morning.

Shares were trading 0.3% lower at 182.77 pence in London.

By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
This past summer, I decided to take my own advice. Well, not my advice exactly.



I decided to take the advice that has been shared on the web site I work at, entrepreneur.com, by the likes of Tim Ferriss, Richard Branson and countless others:



If youre feeling burnt out and in need of inspiration, shut down, get up and change your scenery.



Like many of you out there working full-time jobs and side hustles and managing home life and desperately trying to catch up on Game of Thrones before you fall dead asleep on the train all at the same time, I needed a little break in the action. I needed a moment to catch my breath, recharge my batteries and refocus on my goals and my strategy for achieving them.

Related: 3 Important Changes That Can Save Yourself From Burnout



To combat burnout, many wellness experts champion the idea of stepping away from our desks and getting out into nature. And while some may scoff at the notion that watching a pretty sunset could have anything to do with finding business success, science agrees. Experts including Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., co-director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC-Berkeley, have researched the mental and physical benefits of experiencing awedefined as witnessing something that is vast, difficult to even comprehend, and, well, awesome. Research has found that being around something that brings on awe leads to a reduction in stress, an increase in open-mindedness, and a sense of being a part of something bigger and greater than ourselves.

All of those things tend to wrap us up in a big ball of happiness, and in my experience, happiness opens up the floodgates of creativity and lets do this-ness, and so this summer, the family and I decided to skip the cotton candy and long lines of theme parks and hit the road in search of awe.

Related: Feeling Stuck? Here Are 15 Quotes on Creativity from the World's Most Inspiring Leaders

So where to go? The first place that sprung to mind when considering vastness in nature was the Grand Canyondoesnt get vaster than that, right? Some internet browsing introduced us to the nearby towering Red Rocks of Sedona, which led us to book a stay at the nearby Enchantment Resort. (There are a ton of other hotels in the area at all different price points listed here.)

Heres a view from Enchantment's pool, which should immediately answer the question of whether or not we found the awe I was after.



The resort sits in the Boynton Canyon, surrounded by insanely beautiful rock formations  buttes, spires, mesas and many other words I was suddenly remembering from 8th-grade geology. I grew up on flatter-than-flat Long Island so I can say without question that Ive never seen anything like it in my life. Shortly after unpacking, I found myself hiking and biking the canyon trails, while the rest of my family took a more gentle approach to experiencing awe (i.e. hanging out by the pool sipping virgin pina coladas and playing an occasional game of tennis).

Sunset, wherever you stand in the Red Rocks, is crazy gorgeous, but our favorite view came while we took a Pink Jeep Tour. Pink Jeep tours are just what they sound like, an experienced guide drives you through the back roads of the canyons in a pink Jeep, explains what youre looking at an,d if you time it right, stops to cut some ripe cactus fruit off the wild plants for a mid-excursion snack.

(Cool side note: the founder of the Pink Jeep company, Don Pratt, was a real estate agent who would drive prospective real-estate buyers around in Jeeps back in the 1960s. He quickly realized that the people had more interest in his off-road rides than the real estate, so he pivoted and started charging for them. And thus, a company was born.)

Related: 14 Inspirational Influencers You Should Follow on Instagram

We were able to tear ourselves away from the stunning sites and delicious meals at Enchantment and hit the road for a day trip to the epicenter of awe: The Grand Canyon. As we walked through a short trail from the parking lot to the South Rim edge, I was reminded of my niece Tara's observation when she came here 10 years earlier, "That's a big hole!"

Credit: Alan Majchrowicz/Getty Images



Tara was right. Like the breadsticks at Olive Garden, it's bottomless. Or at least feels like it. I'm not going to try to describe the feelings you get when looking into something that geologists believe the Colorado River began forming 5 million years ago. I'll just say that that data overage bill sitting on your kitchen table back home suddenly seems incredibly small and not so meaningful in the grand scheme of life.

Related: This Former Math Teacher Now Gets Paid to Travel the World and Take Pictures of Her Meals

Alas, our time at the Grand Canyon and Sedona sadly came to end. But, as the awe research suggests, that sense of jaw-dropping awe we experienced stayed with me long after stepping off the plane back in New York. As did the smiles on my family's faces. I'm recharged, renewed and ready to go. So whether it is in the Red Rocks of Arizona or a park down the street from you, I encourage you all to unplug, get outside and put a little awe in your life. The ideas and energy that fuel your passion will follow you home.

Related video: Richard Branson on Discovering Brilliance

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
YEREVAN.  I believe his visit was not pre-election, but was connected with the changes in Syunik, which he has not yet managed to make in favor of Azerbaijan. Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate for the post of Prime Minister of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement of Armenia, told this to reporters, referring to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Syunik Province.

"He [Pashinyan] was scaring the people with the war. I have the impression that he did not stop the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war; he gave a lot of casualties so that the people would be afraid of the war. He frightens with war the people who in the first days of the war stood in line at the military commissariats to go to the front. He must be driven away by all means. I have said that if the capturing of Artsakh was a matter of prestige for Azerbaijan, then Syunik is a strategic task for it. Syunik worries our neighbors, Iran, China more than the Artsakh issue. I have not seen any benefit in his almost three years of rule to bring Armenia, but only to Azerbaijan," Manukyan said.

In response to the question about the reports on the arrests of Syunik community leaders, Manukyan said that welcoming Pashinyan in that way is the natural anger of the people, not an organized action. "If he tries to arrest people, he will get the answer in Yerevan," added Manukyan.

Comparing the state with a military tank, Manukyan said that by putting a very weak person at the helm of the tank, he is destroying the country, not defending it. "I would not have imagined that such a person could be a leader in Armenia, or in any country. We [Armenians] have not had such a leader for millennia. A traitor is not replaced by elections, he is removed [from power] by force," Vazgen Manukyan added.
April 22, 2021





Singapore is a busy and vibrant sovereign island city-state in Southeast Asia. Its clean air, low crime rate, and outstanding education system make it one of the most desirable places for expatriates.

If you are a young tech entrepreneur, though, the reasons to move to Singapore are tenfold. Its location, government funding, and robust economy make it the perfect place to start your business or expand it.

Check out our list to see why businesses are looking to Singapore for expanding their ventures. The reasons below may even convince you to relocate your company and immigrate to Singapore with an application for PR.







It Is a Prime Location for Business

Singapore is in a prime location that remains extremely well-connected in the business world. It is at the heart of the East-West crossroad in Southeast Asia and is a particularly efficient location to access Asian economies and the region's rapidly expanding markets.

Not only that, its strong transport links make it one of the world's top transportation hubs. Changi International Airport has links to 300 cities in 700 countries, with more than 6,500 weekly flights. The prime location, cultural overlaps, and linguistic connections make it the perfect place for the global business community.

There Is High Investment in Tech

In 2019, the Singapore government pledged to invest $19 billion into scientific and technological research as part of its Research and Innovation 2020 plan. In June of the same year, it announced that the government had set aside $29.3 million to support 5G research and innovation.

It is already the regional base for many of the world's top technology companies such as Microsoft (News - Alert) , Amazon Web Services, and Google. Singapore is also well-known for being incredibly open to global talent. Whether you are looking to slot into a company already there or create an international technology startup, Singapore is the place to be.

It Has Robust Business Infrastructure

Singapore's business landscape helps businesses thrive and build a robust economy. Its headline corporate tax rate is a flat 17%, which is very enticing for investors. Plus, multiple tax exemptions can lower the percentage of tax you have to pay as a business.

Singapore's triple-A-rated economy makes it a stable place for business investment and expansion. The government itself also actively supports newer businesses. One of its initiatives, Startup SG, is a launchpad for entrepreneurs. It provides a platform to engage with local support systems and connect to Singapore's global network.

It's a Greener Place To Live

Odds are, Singapore is a more environmentally-friendly place to live than wherever you are operating right now. Singapore's government has poured money into integrating the city into nature without having a negative impact.

The investment in green means that different technology is under development to imagine a sustainable future. Companies such as Hewlett Packard have partnered with the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources to create energy-efficient systems.

Singapore's government doesn't plan on stopping there. PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency, is planning to increase water sustainability. It is pumping money into energy efficiency through solar panels, and the city's ambition is to have 80% of its buildings achieve Green Mark Certification by 2030.

Singapore views green technology as integral to its future, so it's full of opportunities to ride the wave and make your business a part of its plans.

Have You Decided Yet?

It's easy to see why Singapore is such an attractive place for some, particularly for the tech community. From the location to the business opportunities to the environment, Singapore has it all.
River School is the only public middle school in Napa that is filled to capacity. Our 2021-2022 enrollment was capped by the district at 525 students, although, we have the capacity for 540 students. River continues to be in high demand and has a waitlist of interested families. To disband the thriving River program in favor of building a new language academy without evidence of demand is fiscally irresponsible and a poor use of district facilities and resources. This idea has not been properly vetted and a closure vote in support of this recommendation is premature.

There is an unfortunate perception that River School lacks equity and diversity. The lottery enrollment process used for River School is considered the gold standard in equitable admissions. This lottery ensures equal access to a high-quality educational experience for all Napa middle school students. Shifting to demographics, the River School student body identifies as 51% white, 38% Latinx, and 10% other races plus 1% unspecified.

According to the city of Napa 2020 data and demographics, River School closely mirrors the demographics of our broader community, which are stated as 53% white, 41% Hispanic, and 6% other races.
When Nepal welcomed foreign climbers back to Mount Everest for the spring climbing season, many feared it was only a matter of time before the coronavirus made its way to the world's highest peak.

Sure enough, just weeks into the season, symptoms of the virus have been found at Everest's base camp, sparking a renewed debate about whether Nepal's reliance on the mountain as a source of revenue is getting in the way of safety.

On Wednesday, Outside magazine first reported a climber at base camp had been evacuated by helicopter for what was believed to be high-altitude pulmonary edema and tested positive for the coronavirus upon arriving at a hospital in Kathmandu last week. The New York Times subsequently revealed that in fact there had been multiple climbers who tested positive after being flown out of base camp.

The exact number of cases is unknown, and Nepal's tourism ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

"We can be almost sure there have been other cases already this year that were misdiagnosed or hidden, and that there will be more," said Adrian Ballinger, the founder of Alpenglow Expeditions, which chose to cancel its Everest treks this spring. With infections rising in Nepal as neighboring India grapples with an out-of-control outbreak that is driving a global surge, the crowded camps and their rotating crew of porters and yak drivers provide "the perfect setup for a superspreader event," Ballinger said.

Making matters even worse, many common coronavirus symptoms bear a close resemblance to the symptoms of altitude sickness and the "Khumbu cough" that often plagues climbers at high altitudes.

As of Wednesday, Nepal's tourism department had issued 377 climbing permits to foreign climbers attempting to scale Everest this year - close to the same number issued in 2019, when 11 people died on the peak and numerous fatalities were blamed on the long wait to descend from the summit to base camp.

As one of the poorest countries in Asia, Nepal is heavily dependent on foreign tourists, some who see Everest as the culmination of a lifelong dream. The government has already collected more than $3.8 million in fees from climbing permits this year, and the amount of money that climbers spend while in the country typically accounts for an estimated $300 million in revenue.

Last year, that income source vanished as the pandemic hit and Nepal closed its borders, canceling climbing expeditions. Nepali mountain guides - including some of the best climbers in the world - suddenly found themselves in poverty, forced to rely on growing rye and potatoes for sustenance.

In the wake of a rough year, Nepal has welcomed climbers back for the popular spring season, even though the pandemic is nowhere near over. Though a number of international trekking companies canceled their Everest expeditions, the ExplorersWeb blog noted, "local companies themselves have been happy to welcome whoever signs up."

So far, the possibility of a coronavirus outbreak at base camp hasn't put a damper on plans, either. Climbing teams continue to make daily expeditions in preparation for summiting Everest once the weather permits, and to hold group dinners in crowded tents.

"All is good here," said Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the founder of Apex Nepal Treks & Tours, adding that there had been no coronavirus cases detected among his clients.

Furtenbach Expeditions, a California-based outfitter that has one team at base camp and another on the way, also has no intention of turning back. The company already required climbers to be tested regularly and bans them from interacting with anyone outside their immediate "bubble" and will stick with that strategy.

"That said I am really concerned," owner Lukas Furtenbach wrote in an email to The Washington Post. "I do hope that there is no bigger outbreak in basecamp."

Some teams seem to be taking a lax attitude toward safety protocols, added Furtenbach, who is on his way to the camp: "I can see that there are still teams inviting everyone at basecamp for party via social media."

Nepal has also gradually eased its own restrictions for Everest trekkers: After initially mandating all foreign climbers to obtain additional insurance that would cover the costs of coronavirus treatment, it quickly relaxed that requirement. Climbers must test negative for coronavirus infection before boarding a plane to Kathmandu, but in late March the government announced that a seven-day quarantine period would no longer be mandatory as long as a second coronavirus test came back negative.

"We expect that climbers and trekkers who were postponing expeditions or trips due to tough rules will be coming to Nepal after this decision," Mira Acharya, director at the country's tourism department, told AFP at the time.

Meanwhile, masks and social distancing are not in wide use in the Everest area In Nepal's Khumbu Valley, which trekkers hike through on the way to base camp. People have been "living life effectively normally," Ballinger told The Post last month. "That's worked thus far because there hasn't been an introduction of lots of covid to the valley."

Alpenglow Expeditions made the decision to cancel Everest excursions this spring after coming to the conclusion that "there was no way we could avoid covid cases and no way we could treat covid cases," Ballinger said. Having 300 climbers on the mountain means bringing in roughly 500 Nepali support staff who work as porters and assistants, often for multiple teams at the same time. Yak drivers deliver food every few days.

"It's just not practical to think we're going to be able to keep all those staff people completely isolated," Ballinger said.

Fearful of adding to Nepal's already overburdened health system, Ballinger also worried that climbers who develop the coronavirus might mistake their symptoms for altitude sickness and insist on staying on the mountain. He noted that many higher-end companies canceled their treks this spring while lower-budget operators insisted on forging ahead, potentially leading to a dangerous mix of inexperience and overcrowding on the mountain.

Crowding was a major concern even before the pandemic, and Nepal pledged to enact stricter permitting rules for Everest after mountaineers recounted stepping over dead bodies on their way to the summit. So far, however, the only new rule that has gone into effect is one banning photographs - which many view as an attempt to limit negative publicity.

Everest is a typical case of the coronavirus bringing a societal issue that already existed into sharper relief, Ballinger said: "The problem is there's zero enforcement on the mountain."
Several Republican lawmakers are planning to snub President Joe Biden's first address to Congress on Wednesday as the joint session is limited to 200 attendees in the midst of the pandemic.

'I don't think I'll probably attend,' Iowa Senator Joni Ernst told Punchbowl News.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a staunch Trump ally, said: 'I haven't decided I don't know if I'll go to this one or not. We'll see.'

When Senator. Tom Cotton of Arkansas was asked the same thing, he laughed and said: 'No comment.'

Biden's speech falls around his 100th day in office, and occurs while the Senate is in session but the House is not.

Republicans are planning to snub President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday

The House is out of session next week, but even Republican senators say they don't plan to attend. 'I don't think I'll probably attend,' Iowa Senator Joni Ernst (left) said. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (right) said: 'I don't know if I'll go to this one or not'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in charge of the logistics, and a group of GOP members sent her a letter requesting she change the date to a time when they are in session.

The group, led by Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York, also requested Pelosi open the speech to all members.

'In our nation's history, it is unprecedented to convene a joint session of Congress such as this without extending an invitation to all Members of Congress,' Tenney wrote.

'We understand the need to prioritize the safety of Members and believe strongly that with the right precautions and social distancing measures a space designed to accommodate almost 1,000 individuals can operate at about 50 percent capacity to safely accommodate all members of the House and Senate who attend,' she continued.

During the January 3 Capitol swearing in ceremony, all members of both chambers were allowed to be there. Tenney noted that in her letter.

It does not appear Pelosi has responded yet to the letter.

Ohio Representative Jim Jordan said he wants to attend Biden's address and hopes the invitation gets extended to the whole of Congress.

'I would frankly prefer to go. I think the whole House should be there,' Jordan told Punchbowl. 'He's supposed to be talking to Congress.'

Ticket allotment has not been revealed, but it will be divided in some way among House Democrats, House Republicans, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans. Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be in charge of deciding which of their respective members will receive the limited number of tickets.

Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York led a group of GOP lawmakers demanding Pelosi change the date to when they are in session and open the speech to all members

Texas Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois said: 'I'm not going to go.'

'They announced it late and we already have plans for our week not being here,' he continued, referencing plans he made knowing the House won't be in session next week.

'I am not [going],' former Vice President Mike Pence's brother Representative Greg Pence said. 'I have a Lincoln Day dinner back at home.'

South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace said: 'That's an in-district week, so I'll be in the district.'

The whole event won't just be filled with Democrats, though.

Despite several Republicans claiming they won't attend  even if given an invitation  there are some who say they would prefer to go.

Tennessee Senator Masha Blackburn said: 'I imagine we'll attend.'

'I'm planning on it,' said centrist Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he'll attend if invited. 'I don't agree with his policies but he's a fine man,' he said.

Biden's first address to the body where he served for 36 years will be a scaled-down affair due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Behind the president for the amended joint session will sit Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris.
When the lights go down at Sari-Sari Thursday night, Buddhafull Belly, San Antonio's new late night Chinese food spot, will awaken to become a cherry beacon for the after-hours stragglers.

Owners Adrian and Camille De Los Reyes are extending their brand to include a Chinese food menu served exclusively from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Popular local foodie influencer Alex Serna, known to his nearly 40,000 followers as "@sanantoniomunchies" is partnering with them on the new concept.
It seems like a smooth slab of stainless steel, but look a little closer, and you'll see a simplified cross-section of the Los Angeles sedimentary basin.

Caltech researcher Sunyoung Park and her colleagues are printing 3D models like the metal Los Angeles proxy to provide a novel platform for seismic experiments. By printing a model that replicates a basin's edge or the rise and fall of a topographic feature and directing laser light at it, Park can simulate and record how seismic waves might pass through the real Earth.

In her presentation at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2021 Annual Meeting, Park explained why these physical models can address some of the drawbacks of numerical modeling of ground motion in some cases.

Small-scale, complex structures in a landscape can amplify and alter ground motion after an earthquake, but seismologists have a difficult time modeling these impacts, said Park. "Even though we know that these things are very important to ground shaking, the effects of topography, interfaces and edges are hard problems to study numerically."

Incorporating these features in ground motion simulations requires a lot of computational power, and it can be hard to verify these numerical calculations, she added.

To address these challenges, Park began creating 3D models of simple topographical and basin features to explore these effects on ground shaking. Metal is her preferred printing material, "because it can be as rigid as the conditions at the Earth's lower crust," she said.

By controlling the printing parameters, Park can also control the density of the metal as it is laid down by the printer, creating a material with different seismic velocities. The result, in the case of the Los Angeles basin example that she showed at the meeting, is a 20 by 4-centimeter model that represents a 50-kilometer cross-section through the basin.

At a scale of about 1:250,000 for the printed landscape, Park needed to scale down the wavelengths that she used to simulate seismic waves as well, which is where the laser-based source and receiver system comes in. A laser shot at the model mimics a seismic source event, and laser doppler receivers sense the resulting vibrations as the seismic waves interact with the model's features.

Experiments with the models have yielded some intriguing findings. With a shallow basin cross-section, for instance, Park found that some of the high-frequency waves were blocked from traveling across the basin.

"We know that basins are usually amplifying ground motions," she said, "but this suggests we should be thinking about that in terms of different frequency contents as well."

Park said the models might also be useful for studying wave propagation through other seismologically complex features, such as highly damaged rock near a fault, rock layers injected with fluids and gases during oil and gas extraction or carbon sequestration, and features in the deep Earth.

Park will join the Department of Geophysical Sciences at The University of Chicago in June 2021.

###
Younger star Hilary Duff and her daughter Banks Violet indulged in vanilla cupcakes from Studio City bakery SusieCakes on Wednesday.

'Are we having a cupcake party?' the 33-year-old mother-of-three - who was on 'cloud 10' - asked via Instastory.

'Why are we celebrating? Mommy's job!'

Sugar rush! Younger star Hilary Duff and her daughter Banks Violet indulged in vanilla cupcakes from Studio City bakery SusieCakes on Wednesday

The 33-year-old mother-of-three - who was on 'cloud 10' - asked via Instastory: 'Are we having a cupcake party? Why are we celebrating? Mommy's job!'

The adorable two-year-old gladly assisted her famous mother in the festivities in honor of her producing and starring in Hulu's upcoming spin-off How I Met Your Father.

It was a gloomy day in Los Angeles on Wednesday and Hilary bundled up in a marbled grey winter coat over a white top and light-grey sweatpants.

Duff - who just completed her COVID-19 vaccination - was still wearing a pink face mask to protect herself and others from the virus.

When the former Disney Channel star got home, she Instastoried a sweet snap of her month-old newborn daughter Mae James captioned: 'Mae is the most excited about the news!'

New gig! The adorable two-year-old gladly assisted her famous mother in the festivities in honor of her producing and starring in Hulu's upcoming spin-off How I Met Your Father

Overcast: It was a gloomy day in Los Angeles on Wednesday and Hilary bundled up in a marbled grey winter coat over a white top and light-grey sweatpants

Mandatory: Duff - who just completed her COVID-19 vaccination - was still wearing a pink face mask to protect herself and others from the virus

'Where's your suit? Suit up! I'm excited about my job if you can't tell, you guys,' Hilary - who boasts 34.2M social media followers - gushed.

'Today's the day the news came out that I am going to be shooting How I Met Your Father and playing the role of Sophie. I'm really excited to dig in and find out who Sophie is going to be and the new onscreen family that I'm going to have, super exciting!

'So really looking forward to being part of the Hulu and 20th Century family and working with the amazing writers and producers that are heading this project. I truly feel blessed and I can't wait, so I hope you're excited just like me.'

When the former Disney Channel star got home, she Instastoried a sweet snap of her month-old newborn daughter Mae James captioned: 'Mae is the most excited about the news!'

Hilary - who boasts 34.2M social media followers - gushed: 'I am going to be shooting How I Met Your Father and playing the role of Sophie. I'm really excited to dig in and find out who Sophie is going to be and the new onscreen family that I'm going to have, super exciting!'

Continuation? It's unclear if and how the Hulu show will connect to the original CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which ran for nine seasons spanning 2005-2014

'Today is a good day': Duff's post received congratulatory comments from her celeb pals and colleagues Meghan Trainor, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Debi Mazar, Alanna Masterson, and Mandy Moore

It's unclear if and how the Hulu show will connect to the original CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which ran for nine seasons spanning 2005-2014.

Duff's post received congratulatory comments from her celeb pals and colleagues Meghan Trainor, Jamie Lynn Sigler, Debi Mazar, Alanna Masterson, and Mandy Moore.

The blonde Texan currently stars as Millennial Print publisher Kelsey Peters in the 12-episode seventh (and final) season of Darren Star dramedy Younger, which airs Thursdays on Paramount+.
Warning: This story may distress readers.

A South Australian father with a history of domestic violence is suspected of intentionally taking his baby daughters life when he jumped off a dam wall in the Barossa Valley.

Police were called to a popular sightseeing spot late Wednesday afternoon after witnesses saw the man, believed to be Henry Shepherdson, 38, jump off the 36-metre wall with his daughter in a carrier.

Nine-month old Kobi Shepherdson died in what is suspected to be a murder-suicide in South Australia on Wednesday. Credit:South Australia Police

When emergency services arrived, they found the man deceased and the nine-month-old baby, believed to be Kobi Shepherdson, unresponsive and being given CPR by bystanders.
NORCROSS, Ga., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) welcomes Apple CEO Tim Cook to its virtual Annual Conference & Expo to receive the Captains of Industry Award. The award is the Institute's highest honor that is bestowed solely on business, industry and government leaders.



Cook has ties with the Institute that go back to his student days and holds a degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University where he was a student member of IISE (then IIE  Institute of Industrial Engineers) at the time.



"On behalf of our leaders and members within the Institute and the profession, IISE is thrilled to recognize such a world-renowned business leader at this year's Annual Conference," said Don Greene, IISE CEO and Fellow. "Tim Cook is at the helm of a company whose products have helped to change so many lives around the world. He is an inspiration to industrial engineers everywhere, demonstrating the awesome power that our field has to make the world a better place."



Greene added that in addition to receiving IISE's prestigious award during the conference, Cook will engage in a Question and Answer session at a Captains of Industry Forum from 3 to 3:40 p.m. ET on May 24 with IISE's Auburn Student Chapter President Annie Dorsey.



"We are honored to have a leader like Tim join us to share his unique insights and perspectives with the industrial and systems engineering community," added Greene. "For attendees at the beginning of their career journey or well along its course, this discussion will undoubtedly provide valuable insights on his life of leadership in the field, in business and in living his values."



Cook was nominated for the award by author and IISE Fellow Alice E. Smith, the Joe W. Forehand/Accenture Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Joint Appointment Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University.



"It's an honor to receive this award from IISE, and I'm looking forward to joining many leaders, visionaries and friends at this year's virtual conference," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "My Auburn degree in industrial engineering helped to prepare me for everything my career had in store for me, and it is especially meaningful to be nominated by Auburn Professor Alice Smith."



More than 700-plus sessions are planned at IISE's virtual Annual Conference & Expo May 22-25, including dozens of COVID-era solutions, ample networking opportunities, and an honors and awards reception. The event features keynote speakers Walt Ehmer, president and CEO of Waffle House Inc., Nadine Sarter, professor of cognitive ergonomics and organizational safety at the University of Michigan, and Andres Medaglia, professor of industrial engineering at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogota and director of the research center Centro para la Optimizacion y Probabilidad Aplicada (COPA), or Center for Applied Optimization and Probability. See the schedule and register by May 3 for early bird savings at www.iise.org/Annual.

About IISE: The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers is the world's largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IISE is an international, nonprofit association that provides knowledge, training, networking opportunities and recognition to enhance the skills and effectiveness of its members, customers and the profession. Visit www.iise.org for more information.



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12866877



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE IISE
HUHTAMAKI OYJ STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 22.4.2021 AT 12:45

Resolutions of Huhtamaki Oyj's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

Huhtamaki Oyj's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders was held on April 22, 2021 in Espoo. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent uncertainty on the ability to arrange a physical Annual General Meeting, shareholders and their proxy representatives could not be present at the venue of the meeting. Shareholders and their proxy representatives could, however, participate in the meeting and exercise shareholder rights through voting in advance as well as by making counterproposals and presenting questions in advance. A total of 723 shareholders representing 59,154,125 shares and votes were represented at the meeting.

The meeting adopted the Annual Accounts including the Consolidated Annual Accounts for 2020, discharged the members of the Company's Board of Directors and the CEO from liability, and approved all proposals made to the Annual General Meeting by the Board of Directors and the Shareholders' Nomination Board. The Annual General Meeting also approved the Remuneration Report for the Company's Governing Bodies presented to it.

Dividend

The Annual General Meeting resolved that an aggregate dividend of EUR 0.92 per share be paid based on the balance sheet adopted for the financial period ended on December 31, 2020. The dividend will be paid in two instalments. The first dividend instalment, EUR 0.46 per share, will be paid to shareholders registered in the Company's shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date for the first dividend instalment April 26, 2021. The payment date for the first dividend instalment will be May 3, 2021. The second dividend instalment, EUR 0.46 per share, will be paid to shareholders registered in the Company's shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date for the second dividend instalment October 1, 2021. The payment date for the second dividend instalment will be October 8, 2021.

In addition, the Annual General Meeting authorized the Board of Directors to decide, if necessary, on a new record date and a new payment date for the second dividend instalment if regulations applicable to the Finnish book-entry system change or otherwise so require.

Composition of the Board of Directors

The number of members of the Board of Directors was confirmed to as seven (7). Mr. Pekka Ala-Pietila, Mr. Doug Baillie, Mr. William R. Barker, Ms. Anja Korhonen, Ms. Kerttu Tuomas, Ms. Sandra Turner and Mr. Ralf K. Wunderlich were re-elected as members of the Board of Directors for a term ending at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.

The Annual General Meeting re-elected Mr. Pekka Ala-Pietila as the Chairman of the Board and Ms. Kerttu Tuomas as the Vice-Chairman of the Board.

Remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors

The Annual General Meeting resolved that the annual remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors will be paid as follows: to the Chairman of the Board EUR 140,000, to the Vice-Chairman EUR 75,000 and to the other members EUR 62,000 each. In addition, the Annual General Meeting resolved that the annual remuneration to the Chairman and members of the Board Committees will be paid as follows: to the Chairman of the Audit Committee EUR 15,000 and to the other members of the Audit Committee EUR 5,000 as well as to the Chairman of the Human Resources Committee EUR 5,000 and to the other members of the Human Resources Committee EUR 2,500. In addition, the Annual General Meeting resolved that EUR 1,500 will be paid for each Board and Committee meeting attended. Traveling expenses of the Board members will be compensated in accordance with the Company policy.

Auditor

KPMG Oy Ab, a firm of authorized public accountants, was re-elected as Auditor of the Company for the financial year January 1 - December 31, 2021. Mr. Henrik Holmbom, APA, will continue to act as the Auditor with principal responsibility.

The Auditor's remuneration is paid against an invoice approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

Authorization for the Board of Directors to resolve on the repurchase of the Company's own shares

The Annual General Meeting authorized the Board of Directors to resolve on the repurchase of an aggregate maximum of 10,776,038 of the Company's own shares. Own shares may be repurchased at a price formed in public trading on the date of the repurchase or otherwise at a price formed on the market. The authorization covers also directed repurchases of the Company's own shares. The authorization remains in force until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, however, no later than June 30, 2022.

Authorization for the Board of Directors to resolve on the issuance of shares and the issuance of special rights entitling to shares

The Annual General Meeting authorized the Board of Directors to resolve on the issuance of shares and the issuance of special rights entitling to shares. The aggregate number of new shares to be issued may not exceed 10,000,000 shares which corresponds to approximately 9.3 percent of the current shares of the Company, and the aggregate number of own treasury shares to be transferred may not exceed 4,000,000 shares which corresponds to approximately 3.7 percent of the current shares of the Company. The authorization covers also directed issuances of shares. The authorization remains in force until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, however, no later than June 30, 2022.

Mr. Seppo Kymalainen, Attorney-at-Law, chaired the meeting.

The minutes of the Annual General Meeting will be available on the website of Huhtamaki Oyj at www.huhtamaki.comas of May 6, 2021 at the latest.

For further information, please contact:

Sami Pauni, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Legal, Group General Counsel, tel. +358 (0)10 686 7872

About Huhtamaki

Huhtamaki is a key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions for consumers around the world, enabling wellbeing and convenience. Our innovative products protect on-the-go and on-the-shelf food and beverages, ensuring hygiene and safety, and help prevent food waste. We embed sustainability in everything we do. We are committed to achieving carbon neutral production and designing all our products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030.

We are a participant in the UN Global Compact and as of 2020, we received an MSCI ESG Rating of A, on a scale of AAA - CCC. To play our part in managing climate change, we have committed to set science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative. Huhtamaki has been awarded the Silver medal by EcoVadis for performance in sustainability.

With 100 years of history and a strong Nordic heritage we operate in 36 countries and 81 sites around the world. Our values Care Dare Deliver guide our decisions and help our team of 18,100 employees make a difference where it matters. Our 2020 net sales totaled EUR 3.3 billion. Huhtamaki Group is headquartered in Espoo, Finland and our parent company, Huhtamaki Oyj, is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. Find out more about how we are protecting food, people and the planet on www.huhtamaki.com.
LEE  Ipse dixit. Thats the Latin phrase lawyers for a group of elected officials use to rebut claims that Berkshires residents overwhelmingly oppose a proposed PCB landfill in Lee.

It means dogmatic and unproven.

Quote As briefs begin to stack up at the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C., the legal players are front-loading their arguments.

And so begins the latest court fight over the Environmental Protection Agencys planned cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls  PCBs  spewed for years into the Housatonic River by the General Electric Co.

As briefs begin to stack up at the Environmental Appeals Board in Washington, D.C., the legal players are front-loading their arguments. In recent filings, the EPA, in a move backed by GE, wants the courts justices to strike 10 of the 18 attachments that two environmental groups filed with their appeal this year. The agency and company claim that the added material  562 pages in all  should be removed from consideration because it isnt part of the administrative record.

The 10 attachments include a range of topics that lawyers for the Housatonic River Initiative (HRI) and the Housatonic Environmental Action League (HEAL) submitted to bolster grounds for their appeal of a Rest of River cleanup that now includes a proposed Upland Disposal Facility of PCBs on an old quarry site in Lee. That appeal, detailed in documents filed last month, faults the EPA for backing a local dump it refused to endorse in an earlier permit in 2016.

boat ramp Housatonic River The Decker Boat Ramp in Lenox along the Housatonic River. A court filing this week defends the decision by the Housatonic Rest of River Munici

As of Wednesday, the EAB case docket had 14 filings since Jan. 14, including a friend-of-court brief from three groups in support of the appeal. The groups are Citizens Against the PCB Dump, the Berkshire-Litchfield Environmental Council and the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe of Kent, all represented by Great Barrington attorney Judith C. Knight. Separately, Knight represents the first group in a Berkshire Superior Court lawsuit filed in late March against the town of Lee and members of its Select Board.

That brief calls on the Superior Court to order that the latest cleanup plan be sent back to the EPA with instructions to require shipment of all untreated PCBs out of the state. It also asks that the agency outline a cleanup for reaches of the Connecticut River that will actually protect human health and the environment.

The big why

The newest filing with the EAB, the nations top environmental court, answers a question much on the minds of people who dont want to see up to a million cubic yards of sediments containing lower levels of PCBs buried on a hill near the river below Woods Pond.

A 15-page brief filed Monday seeks to explain why the Housatonic Rest of River Municipal Committee  made up of elected officials and appointees from Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Sheffield, and Stockbridge  agreed to allow GE to bury PCBs on that Lee hillside.

near Woods Pond / Housatonic River A stretch of the Housatonic River near Woods Pond in Lee. The planned Upland Disposal Facility that would receive sediments with lower levels 

The reasons echo what those officials said a year ago, when the EPA dropped its opposition to local PCB burial. The brief, by lawyers Matthew F. Pawa and Benjamin A. Krass, says public health demands the cleanup begin. The latest EPA permit calls for GE to engage in about $576 million worth of work over 13 years. The option of local disposal will save the company as much as $146 million, according to the new filing.

There already is a local PCBs disposal facility of sorts that already presents an unacceptable condition, the friend-of-court brief says. [T]he Housatonic River. Although the Committee sympathizes with HRIs concerns, it is well past time to clean up the River and isolate the PCBs in properly designed facilities where they belong.

Members of the five-town panel wanted to get that cleanup underway, their lawyers say, a claim also made a year ago by EPA officials and other groups that backed the agreement, including the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Massachusetts Audubon.

Other familiar arguments: One dump is better than three originally proposed by GE. The heaviest concentrations of tainted soils will still go out of state. The cleanup will expand. People in the region will have more input into logistics on moving the sediments.

In their appeal, HRI and HEAL argue that the dump site is unsuitable and that landfill liners can eventually leak.

The committees lawyers grant that point, but argue that safeguards would be in place. The EPA has said liners last for 400 to 800 years. HRI says liners eventually fail, but even if this is true, in this case eventually means really far into the future, the brief says. But, they claim, for a landfill to leak, water has to get into the structure and then leach out.

In its deliberations, the municipal panel decided public health can be protected. The brief cites an EPA finding that PCBs move up to 3,000 times more slowly than the groundwater itself moves.  So even if the cap and both liners fail, PCBs will not reach the River for a very long time, if ever, with the toxins clinging to material in the landfill.

Whos right about that? The justices on the EAB will have to weigh these arguments in deciding whether to grant the appeal from HRI and HEAL.

Back to ipse dixit  and to the briefs claim that the appeal overstates local opposition.

The filing acknowledges that the EPA has pointed to some community opposition, as well as some community support. It notes that the five towns, along with Pittsfield, agreed to the settlement.

This mixed assessment of community sentiment was, if anything, generous to the opponents, the brief says. While HRI says the overwhelming public sentiment about the selected remedy is one of horror, this is pure ipse dixit. The record tells a different story: the Select Boards of the five Rest of River towns voted unanimously to sign the Settlement Agreement, and these boards are the duly elected representatives of the public.

Motion to strike

If the justices agree to calls by the EPA and GE to thin the submitted material, heres whats coming out:

Quote In arguing that certain filings be struck from the record, the EPA says lawyers for HRI and HEAL are attempting to get around word limits by including arguments presented in the attachments.

 Comments from two real estate brokers, Audrey Cole and Janice Braim, on the dumps likely effect on property values.

 A 2011 article by David Scribner on behind-the-scenes work by GE to cultivate opposition to a full cleanup with dredging.

 An expert opinion, from David J. DeSimone, on the geology of the landfill location.

 Descriptions from two businesses, Biotech Restoration and TerraTherm, on alternative cleanup methods for PCBs, which are a probable carcinogen.

 A document related to the Hudson River PCB cleanup.

 A journal article by David O. Carpenter on the health effects of exposure to volatile PCBs.

 Two EPA documents that related to the cleanup approach known as monitored natural attenuation.

In arguing that the attachments be struck, the EPA says lawyers for HRI and HEAL are attempting to get around word limits on court filings by including arguments presented in the attachments.
Gandhi Hospital, the nodal Covid-19 care centre in the state, is out of ICU beds, including those with ventilators and continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machines. (DC file photo)

Hyderabad: Gandhi Hospital, the nodal Covid-19 care centre in the state, is out of ICU beds, including those with ventilators and continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machines, health minister Etala Rajendar said on Thursday.

While the hospital has beds equipped with oxygen lines vacant, the ICU beds were all filled up, the minister told a news conference here on Thursday.

Explaining the reasons for the current state of affairs, Rajendar said that though the actual percentage of people requiring critical care remains at less than 5 per cent of all cases, their number is still high enough because of the overall high number of Covid-19 cases emerging in the state.

He also held private and corporate hospitals responsible for the situation in Gandhi Hospital saying that they were continuing to send patients who reach a critical stage to Gandhi Hospitals despite his appeals not to do so.

In many cases we know that the patient might just survive for another hour. But we will not turn anyone back and we will give all possible care and treatment till the very end. It is for the private hospitals to behave responsibly and not send away patients when they turn critical, he added.

Asked what the hospital was doing to find ventilator or CPAP beds for patients who need these, Rajendar said the government had taken over some beds in private medical colleges and was trying to accommodate such patients in those facilities.
DUSHANBE -- An imam at a Dushanbe mosque has been detained on extremism charges after he called a late Islamic cleric "one of great leaders of the country."

State media outlets reported on April 22 that 44-year-old Imam-hatib Abdulhaq Obidov (aka Makhsumi Abdulhaq) from a mosque in Dushanbe's Shohmansur district had been detained on suspicion of being a follower of the Salafi branch of Islam, which has been labeled as extremist and banned in the Central Asian country.

The State Committee for National Security said on April 22 that Obidov was detained along with four other men on unspecified criminal charges.

The day before, the website Bomdod reported that Obidov was detained after a speech he delivered last week at the burial ceremony of well-known Islamic cleric Domullo Hikmatullo Tojikobodi, during which he called him a great leader of Tajikistan.

Bomdod cited sources in Tajikistan's law enforcement structures as saying that authorities considered Obidov's statement as questioning the official title of authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon, who, in accordance with a 2016 law, is officially known as the leader of the nation.

Rahmon, who has ruled Tajikistan since 1992, also enjoys special powers following a May 2016 referendum, including the right to seek as many terms in office as he wants.

Rahmon has been criticized by international human rights groups for years over his disregard for religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

The State Committee on Religious Issues, Traditions, and Rites said in a statement that Obidov's detention had nothing to do with his speech at the funeral and called on media "to stay away from spreading rumors."

Tajikistan banned the Salafi branch of Islam in 2009 as extremist.

Salafists follow a strict form of Sunni Islam and do not recognize other branches of Islam, such as Shi'a Islam and Sufism.

The majority of Muslims in Central Asia are followers of Hanafi, a more moderate branch of Sunni Islam.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 01:09:07|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has beefed up security around its borders to avoid an inrush by Chadians following the recent security situation in that country, the Minister of Defense Bashir Salihi Magashi said on Thursday.

Former Chadian President Idriss Deby died earlier this week from bullet injuries sustained while in a battle against rebels in the northern part of the country -- a development that has caused a gloomy security situation.

"When we heard of this unfortunate killing of the Chadian president, we knew that problem is bound to be created among neighboring countries, and Nigeria will be most-hit by his absence. If there is insecurity in Chad, there will be a problem," Magashi told reporters in Abuja.

Nigeria quickly responded by beefing up security around the borders to push back bandits and other criminal gangs, while a lasting solution is being sought to the problem of Chad, the defense minister said.

However, Nigerians willing to return home due to the security situation in Chad could be screened and allowed, he explained.

"The problem of Chad is now going to be aggravated because we are not sure the direction in which that country is going to face, but I assure you that we are mindful of borders, and we are mindful of the development; and politically, the government is putting its heads together to see how best they can restore the peace in that country," the official said.

According to him, as regards the issues of weapons and arms proliferation, Chad has been the buffer stopping all the infiltration of weapons and small arms into Nigeria.

"Right from Libya down to Nigeria, it is very easy now because of the absence of the influence of Chad in that route. We also have to take care of that and prepare our minds for it," Magashi said.

He said the Nigerian government is on top of the situation, urging other African countries to find a solution to the situation in Chad. Enditem
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Kamala Harris convened philanthropists Thursday in D.C. to learn more about problems facing Northern Triangle countries as she holds her second meeting related to the migration crisis without visiting the border.

She insisted that Central American migrants don't actually want to leave their home countries and flee to the U.S.

'The way I look at it, people don't want to leave home,' Harris told press ahead of her meeting with the leaders of major philanthropist organizations. 'They don't want to leave their grandparents, they don't want to leave the culture.'

Harris did not take any questions from the press as she was surrounded by her guests in the Ceremonial Office of the Vice President at Eisenhower Executive Office Building  only one participant joined virtually.

Last month, the White House announced Harris as its border 'czar', claiming she would lead the administration's response to the crisis. In her 29 days as point person, Harris has not visited the border nor held any significant press conferences on the issue.

Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that migrants from Central American don't want to leave their home countries. 'The way I look at it, people don't want to leave home,' Harris said

Harris was holding a meeting Thursday with leaders of philanthropic organizations to talk about 'root causes' of the southern border mass migration crisis

The meeting was held in D.C., nearly 1,800 miles from the Rio Grande River, where migrants are crossing every day and night into the Texas from Mexico

Harris has faced a slew of backlash for not visiting the border despite being named border 'czar' in charge of addressing the immigration crisis. She has taken several other trips, however, since being put in that post last month

Asylum-seeking migrant families disembark an inflatable raft after crossing the Rio Grande River into Roma, Texas on April 22, 2021

Migrants help each other walk to turn themselves into Border Patrol agents after crossing into the U.S. illegally

She announced last week she would be visiting Guatemala and Mexico 'soon,' and a White House official said Wednesday, according to Reuters, the trip would come in June.

Harris will also hold a virtual meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday, the official said, to discuss solutions.

'We have to give people a sense of hope, a sense of hope that help is on the way, a sense of hope that if they stay, things will get better,' the vice president continued in short remarks before her Thursday meeting.

'This is an issue that has been a long standing issue. It is complex. If it was easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.'

Border state Senators John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, and Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, are proposing a piece of bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the border crisis.

Harris mentioned several reasons Thursday as to why there is a mass migration from Northern Triangle countries to the U.S. by way of Mexico, which is creating a growing border crisis and overwhelmed immigration system. She cited hurricane damage, food insecurity, violence and poverty as issues she is looking to address in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

'The bottom line is that this initiative, from my perspective, must be effective and relevant to the underlying issue, which is addressing the acute and the root causes of migration away from that region,' Harris said.

'I've asked the leaders of major philanthropic organizations  not only nationally but globally  I've asked you to come together so I can learn from you, so I can hear from you,' she added. 'Many of you have been investing for years, like I said, in the region. I want to hear from you to know what works, what has worked, what has not worked. So that will help inform our strategy going forward.'

Asylum-seeking migrants wait to be transported by CBP to a processing facility on April 22

Migrant parents hold their children as they wait in line to be bused to one of the overflowing border facilities

Asylum seekers take the trek to from the border to surrender to CBP agents in Roma, Texas

Meeting participants on Thursday include Rockefeller Brothers Fund director Arturo Aguilar and President and CEO Stephen Heinz. Also there in-person are Foundation for a Just Society CEO Nicky McIntyre, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Seattle International Foundation Eric Olson and Ford Foundation President Darren Walker.

Open Societies Foundation President Mark Malloch Brown attended virtually.

'So the question has to be 'Why do people leave home?' And often it is the case that people leave home when they don't want to either because they are fleeing sometimes, or because they are unable to satisfy their basic needs and the needs of taking care of their family,' Harris told press in front of meeting participants. 'Because the resources and opportunities are not there. And so they have to go elsewhere.'

'I don't need to tell this group of experts that this is an issue that has been a long standing issue, it is complex,' she continued. 'If it were easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.'

'We also know that the work that we can do there together, and the potential for the work that we can do together, will not be accomplished overnight.'

Thousands of migrants continued to cross into the U.S., with pictures emerging nearly every night of illegal crossers being taken into custody in Texas after crossing the Rio Grande River.

Senators Cornyn and Sinema sent a letter to President Joe Biden last month urging hum to use his 'full authorities' to respond to the migrant surge. They demand this include 'immediate action' in making sure there are enough 'resources and facilities' along the border and improving the asylum process.

Biden promised last week to increase the cap on asylum seekers.

Border state Senators John Cornyn a Republican from Texas and Kyrsten Sinema a Democrat from Arizona are introducing legislation to address the immigration crisis, including looking at protecting unaccompanied migrant kids

After no solutions were achieved in a 'timely manner', Cornyn, Sinema along with a group of bipartisan lawmakers are going forward with introducing legislation to tackle the issue.

Cornyn's office said the bill would seek to deter those unlikely to be approved for asylum from traveling to the U.S. in the first place. It also aims to 'protect unaccompanied migrant children.'

The bipartisan group met Wednesday to discuss immigration reform as Congress has failed for years to reach a deal on immigration reform as it becomes an increasingly partisan issue.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin is leading the effort and said the group is looking at border security as well as addressing what to do about so-called 'Dreamers' and immigrant agricultural workers.

'Most of these we've been through before. We got to sit down. We agree  I think we agree  on a bipartisan basis that we got to reform the system, as far as we can take it,' Durbin said.
On a day when the Union government stepped in to prevent states from hindering the movement of liquid medical (LMO) to other states, India also placed four orders with foreign suppliers for 2,500 tonnes of the essential commodity. Additionally, from Friday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will airlift empty tankers and reach them to industrial units that have switched to producing medical grade

While one C17 aircraft of the IAF, used for strategic airlift missions and transportation of troops and cargo, would fly from Delhi to Durgapur in West Bengal with empty tankers, the other would transport oxygen tanks between Hyderabad in Telangana and Angul in Odisha. The filled-up tankers would return by road since they cannot be airlifted.

Prime Minister held a high level meeting on oxygen availability on Thursday, following rising instances of Covid-19 patients dying due to the lack of oxygen and leading hospital chains like Max Hospital going to court to seek its timely replenishment. Domestic production of oxygen as of today is not short, but we are tying up imports to meet any contingency, said an official.

India has floated a global tender for procuring 50,000 tonnes of oxygen. The first imports would be coming from Singapore, China and the Gulf countries since they are the nearest geographically, the official added. The immediate concern, however, is the availability of empty cryogenic tankers, especially for imports from China. These tankers, which maintain a temperature of minus 183 degree Celsius, would be transported by sea to India.

The ministry of external affairs has been tasked with arranging the tankers.

During the meeting, Modi was informed that the states have been asked to specify their demand for oxygen so that adequate supply can be ensured. As against the current demand of 6,785 tonnes per day (tpa) of LMO from 20 states, the Centre has allocated 6,822 tpa as of April 21, according to a government press release issued after the meeting. In the last few days, the availability of LMO has increased by about 3,300 tpa, with contributions from private and public steel plants, oxygen manufacturers, other industries, as well as by prohibiting the supply of oxygen to non-essential industry, the release said.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister directed that oxygen supply to various states should be unhindered and local administrations held responsible for instances of obstruction.

In his order on Thursday, Union home secretary AK Bhalla said, No restriction shall be imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between the states and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen carrying vehicles. The instruction followed reports that the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh administrations were preventing the movement of oxygen tankers to Delhi.

Besides, states and union territories would have to abide by the supply plan of medical oxygen prepared by the empowered group (EG) II.

The Indian Railways has also been pressed into service to transport LMO tankers. One rake is slated to transport 105 tonnes of LMO from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra. A similar movement of tankers will take place from Bokaro in Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh. A 270km Lucknow to Varanasi 'green corridor', where trains carrying oxygen tankers have first right of way, was created earlier.
Pfizer Inc has said that it has identified instances in Mexico and Poland where the counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with BioNTech SE, reported Wall Street Journal marking the latest attempt by criminals trying to exploit the worldwide vaccination campaign amid pandemic. As per the report, vials have been seized by the authorities in separate investigations in both nations that were then tested by the company and confirmed to contain the fake vaccine. Reportedly the vials seized from Mexico had bogus labelling and the substance inside coronavirus vaccines in Poland was likely an anti-wrinkle treatment.

In the major fraud as most nations are ramping up vaccinations to stem the second wave of the pandemic, reportedly at least 80 people at a clinic in Mexico received Pfizers fake COVID-19 vaccine at a groundbreaking price of $1,000 per dose. Moreover, the bogus vaccines did not appear to be harmed physically. As per the media publication, Dr. Manuel de la O, the health secretary of Nuevo Leon state said that the vials that were found in beach-style beer coolers had different lot numbers than the ones originally sent to the state with an incorrect expiration date.

No one received fake vaccine in Poland

Reportedly, polish authorities have confirmed that no citizen was administered with the fake COVID-19 vaccine that informed that the vials were seized at a mans apartment. The findings from Mexico and Poland are also the latest effort between police authorities and vaccine makers such as Pfizer, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson to tackle the criminal activity around immunisation campaigns of various nations.

Pfizers world head of security, Lev Kubiak reportedly noted that everybody needs the COVID-19 vaccine and many are desperate for it which is the perfect opportunity for criminals. He said, We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals."

Several nations including the United States and Mexico have taken down and seized dozens of websites that fraudulently claimed to be selling vaccines or affiliations with the drugmakers. Government and industry officials have reportedly also said that these fake websites appeared to be seeking consumers personal information to be used in identity fraud schemes.

Image credits: AP/PTI
Chinese FM attends reception marking 60th anniversary of China-Laos ties

Xinhua) 09:37, April 22, 2021

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at a reception marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Laos in Beijing, capital of China, April 21, 2021. The reception was jointly organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Lao embassy in China. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday attended a reception marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Laos.

Wang said facing the new era, new opportunities and new changes, the two sides should follow the consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries to implement the action plan on the China-Laos community with a shared future, consolidate solidarity and mutual trust, step up exchanges on governance, firmly adhere to the socialist direction and safeguard common strategic interests.

The two sides should further synergize development strategies, overcome the disruption of the epidemic, continue to jointly build the Belt and Road (BRI) in a high-quality manner and upgrade pragmatic cooperation, Wang said.

"We should always be good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners. We should firmly support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, jointly uphold true multilateralism, set an example in carrying forward and implementing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and encourage the international community to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind," Wang added.

Lao ambassador to China Khamphao Ernthavanh said Laos attaches great importance to developing relations with China and is ready to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and countries, implement the action plan on the Laos-China community with a shared future, strengthen BRI cooperation, accelerate the construction of the economic corridor and further enrich the connotation of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The reception was jointly organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Lao embassy in China.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
TOKYO (Reuters) - Three prefectures neighbouring Tokyo will request a renewed state of emergency to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.

The governors of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures will request the same emergency measures being asked for by the capital, Nikkei reported.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Rocky Swift; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Home Department has ordered an inquiry against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in connection with the allegations of corruption levelled against him by an inspector, sources said on Thursday.

As per the orders, Maharashtra DGP Sanjay Pandey has been asked to probe the allegations against Singh, they said.

The allegations were made by police inspector Anup Dange, who was suspended last year and reinstated in the force recently.

As per Dange's claims, Singh had demanded Rs two crore from him to revoke his suspension. The inspector had written a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) about Singh's demand.

Singh had, however, denied the allegations levelled by the inspector.

Based on the complaint, the home department ordered an inquiry into the charges against Singh, the sources said.

Maharashtra DGP was not available for his comment on the issue.

This is a second inquiry that the state government has ordered against Singh.

The home department had earlier asked the DGP to conduct an inquiry against Singh for alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the probe into the recovery of an explosives-laden vehicle near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai on February 25.

Param Bir Singh, who was under flak for the handling of the case, was unceremoniously transferred from the prestigious post of Mumbai police chief on March 17.

On March 20, Singh had written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had indulged in "malpractices" and asked suspended police officer Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month from bars and hotels.

Deshmukh later resigned as a minister after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe into the allegations made by Singh.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Fjordland Exploration Inc. (TSXV: FEX) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mark T. Brown as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of the Company.

Mr. Mark T. Brown, B.Comm., CPA, C.A., is the President of Pacific Opportunity Capital Ltd., located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Brown has played key roles in the success of several companies listed on the TSX-V, the TSX and the NYSE Market Exchanges. His corporate focus is merger and acquisition transactions, financing, strategic corporate planning, and corporate development. Prior to joining Pacific Opportunity, Mr. Brown managed the financial departments of two TSE 300 companies, Miramar Mining Corp., and Eldorado Gold Ltd. Mr. Brown has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993, while working with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Vancouver. Mr. Brown is married and has two sons. He lives in Vancouver and is very active in his community.

Mr. Brown was a founder of Rare Element Resources in 2001 and contributed to it becoming a $500 million market capitalization company by 2012. Rare Element outlined a deposit of rare earth elements, the other part of the nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in electric vehicles and other modern battery applications.

James Tuer, Fjordland's President commented, "I've known Mark for well over a decade and am very pleased that he's accepted the role of CFO upon the retirement of Patricia Tanaka. He brings a wealth of experience on all aspects of junior resource company operations and I welcome him to the growing team at Fjordland. We'll miss Pat who has been the company's accountant since inception 25 years ago. I wish her well in her retirement. Mark's firm, Pacific Opportunity, is taking over all accounting responsibilities and the transition is moving along smoothly."

Stock Option Grants

The board of directors reports it has accepted the recommendations of the Compensation Committee and has granted a total of 1,150,000 incentive stock options to officers, directors and consultants under the Company's stock option plan, in accordance with the Company's compensation policy. The options are exercisable for five years at a price of $0.125 per share and are subject to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Fjordland Exploration Inc.

Fjordland Exploration Inc. is a mineral exploration company that is focused on the discovery of large-scale economic deposits located in Canada. Fjordland is actively exploring three high quality nickel projects.

In collaboration with HPX and Commander Resources, Fjordland is exploring the South Voisey's Bay "Pants Lake Intrusive" target which is a Ni-Cu-Co deposit analogous to the nearby Voisey's Bay deposit located approximately 80 km to the north.

Fjordland has been granted an option by CanAlaska Uranium to earn an initial 49% interest in the North Thompson Nickel Belt project, situated 20 km. north of Vale's long-life Thompson mine located in northern Manitoba. The project is considered prospective for Ni-Cu-Co-PGE magmatic sulphide mineralization analogous to the deposits hosting the historic mine.

Fjordland has an agreement to acquire 100% of the Renzy nickel copper project located near Maniwaki Quebec by spending $1.0 million over 5 years. The project encompasses the former Renzy Mine where during the period from 1969 to 1972, 716,000 short tons were mined with average grades of 0.70 % Nickel and 0.72 % Copper. The location of the Renzy Shear zone and the overall quantity of the mafic/ultramafic rocks in the area that carry sulfides with elevated concentration of Ni, Cu, and PGM's bodes well for finding additional deposits.

Robert Cameron, P. Geo., a technical advisor to the Company, is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 and has read and takes responsibility for the technical aspects of this release. For further technical information please visit Fjordland's website at www.fjordlandex.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"James Tuer"

James Tuer, CEO

For further information:

James Tuer

Ph: 604-688-3415

tuer@fjordlandex.com

www.fjordlandex.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the private placement, and other future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include market prices, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81439
When US President Joe Biden called British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in March he put forward a novel idea. Democratically-minded countries like the US and Britain should help fund infrastructure projects in less wealthy countries.

The proposal from Washington came eight years after Chinas President Xi Jinping travelled to Kazakhstan to announce Beijing would embark on the worlds largest infrastructure project - the $1.5 trillion Belt and Road Initiative. It was then called the Silk Road Economic Belt and it would span Asia, the Pacific and the borders of Europe.

The first signs of a competitor to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative are emerging: The Japan-US backed Free and Open Indo Pacific. Credit:Joe Benke

I suggested we should have, essentially, a similar initiative, pulling from the democratic states, helping those communities around the world that, in fact, need help, Biden said on March 26.

China, for all of its false starts, debt traps and bungled projects, had outplayed a myopic West with its overall vision. The one-party state had been able to achieve what a cornucopia of western democratic states could not - unity of purpose.
Work to unload 250,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from a UPS cargo plane is under way at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap









By Kang Seung-woo







As a "swap" deal with the United States is emerging as a temporary fix to address Korea's shortage of COVID-19 vaccine, Seoul will find itself in the position of looking at how to return Washington's favor diplomatically, according to diplomatic observers, Thursday.







With a mere 3.41 percent of the country's 52 million population having received shots since the government began its vaccination campaign Feb. 26, due to the shortage, Korea has turned to its long-time ally for help as the U.S. has enough vaccine for every single American, according to President Joseph Biden.







The possibility of such a swap was made public Tuesday when Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong disclosed the ongoing negotiations between the two sides. Under the envisioned deal, the U.S. would give Korea vaccines from its stockpile that would be paid back later.







According to the foreign ministry, the U.S. administration has yet to approve the request due to its goal of first achieving herd immunity. In addition, President Biden said Wednesday (local time) inoculation of American's was the priority, although he added that the U.S. intended to help doses get to other countries.







The U.S. reportedly has a stockpile of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine expected to reach 30 million doses by the end of the month, and has already provided 2.5 million doses of this to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada in the form of "loans."







"We've done a little bit of that already. We're looking at what is going to be done with some of the vaccines that we are not using," Biden said after a half-hour telephone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.







"We're going to make sure they are safe to be sent. And we hope to be able to be of some help and value to countries around the world."







Some experts here believe that the Biden administration will eventually endorse supplying Korea with the vaccine if the Moon Jae-in administration shows its value as a key ally focused on "comprehensively" strengthening their alliance.







Calls grow for faster compensation for COVID-19 vaccine side effects About 2 million, 3.66% of Korea's population, vaccinated New virus cases in 700s for 2nd day "I think vaccine cooperation between Korea and the U.S. will take place in the context of a stronger Korea-U.S. alliance," said Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Diplomacy and Security at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy.



"If Korea increases its efforts toward a comprehensively stronger alliance  whether these are in regard to China issues or in advanced technical cooperation  the U.S. is likely to view this positively and do Korea a favor."



The foreign minister also told a forum, Wednesday, that there were many areas in which the two countries can cooperate, not only at the government level but in the private sector, such as the semiconductor and electric vehicle battery sectors that the U.S. is interested in, and in which Korean companies have an edge.



"As a result, Korea would be able to incentivize the U.S. executive branch, a key presence in U.S. decision making, as evidenced by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who had a phone call with the Pfizer CEO following his summit with Biden last week and secured enough vaccines for all Japanese people to get a shot by September," Shin said.



Since the inauguration of the Biden administration, the Suga Cabinet has been a strong advocate of the U.S. policy toward China, focused on gathering allies to counter Beijing, compared with Korea's reluctance to take a side in the Washington-Beijing rivalry due to China being Seoul's largest-trading partner.



U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Biden announced that the U.S. will achieve its goal on Thursday of giving 200 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office, while pivoting to a new phase of the campaign by urging businesses to make vaccination as accessible as possible. UPI-Yonhap

Kim Yeoul-soo, chief of the Security Strategy Office at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, believes that U.S. demands would go beyond technical cooperation.



"Although there is speculation that the government can use a $17-billion (19 trillion won) expansion of Samsung Electronics' chip-making facility in the U.S. as a bargaining chip for the vaccine swap, I do not believe that the U.S.'s demands will stop there," Kim said.



The speculation comes after Biden invited top executive officers of 19 global firms, including Samsung, to a virtual meeting, last week, to discuss ways to address the ongoing shortage of semiconductors.



"Whether the U.S. will supply vaccines will be decided by Korea's diplomatic rewards whose core issue would boil down to Korea's participation in the Quad Plus," Kim added.



The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) is a four-way strategic forum aimed at containing China and is comprised of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. Washington wants to develop it into an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by inviting New Zealand, Vietnam and Korea into a so-called Quad Plus.



The experts advised that the Korean government should remain flexible on the Quad.



"The Quad is a comprehensive mechanism that also focuses on a variety of issues including the economy and public healthcare as well as diplomatic issues, as evidenced by its first summit in March where the leaders discussed chips," Kim said.



"It is important what position the government will take on the Quad."




HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodrich Petroleum Corporation (NYSE American: GDP) (the "Company") today announced that it will hold a conference call on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 10:00 am central time to discuss first quarter 2021 financial results.

To access the conference call, domestic participants should dial as follows:

PARTICIPANT DIAL IN (TOLL FREE): 1-888-317-6003



PARTICIPANT INTERNATIONAL DIAL IN: 1-412-317-6061



Canada Toll Free 1-866-284-3684



Participant Elite Entry Number: 0945541 Participants will need this Elite Entry number in order to join the conference. The Company encourages participants to dial in 10-15 minutes early to join the conference. The Company will also post a slide deck on its first quarter financial results on its website at www.goodrichpetroleum.com. Participants may also access the live audio webcast of the conference call through the following web link: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/937/40711 or by accessing the webcast through the investor relations section of the Company's website.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available approximately one hour after the end of the conference call. Domestic participants accessing the telephonic replay should dial (877) 344-7529 and international participants should dial (412) 317-0088. The replay access code will be 10154420.

SOURCE Goodrich Petroleum Corporation

Related Links

http://www.goodrichpetroleum.com


WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTS

If you entered into a Mexican Government Bond Transaction from January 1, 2006 through and including April 19, 2017 ("Class Period"), your rights may be affected by pending class action settlements and you may be entitled to a portion of the settlement fund.

This Summary Notice is to alert you to proposed settlements totaling $20,700,000.00 reached with Barclays PLC, Barclays Bank PLC, Barclays Capital Inc., Barclays Capital Securities Limited, Barclays Bank Mexico, S.A., Institucion de Banca Multiple, Grupo Financiero Barclays Mexico, and Grupo Financiero Barclays Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (collectively "Barclays") and JPMorgan Chase & Co., J.P. Morgan Broker-Dealer Holdings Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Banco J.P. Morgan, S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, J.P. Morgan Grupo Financiero, and J.P. Morgan Securities plc (collectively "JPMorgan," and with Barclays, the "Settling Defendants"). Barclays and JPMorgan deny any liability, fault, or wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the allegations in the Action.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Court") authorized this Notice. The Court has appointed the lawyers listed below to represent the Settlement Class in this Action:

Vincent Briganti

Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.

44 South Broadway, Suite 1100

White Plains, NY 10601

Telephone: (914) 733-7221

[email protected]

Who Is a Member of the Settlement Class?

Subject to certain exceptions, the proposed Settlement Class consists of all Persons that entered into a Mexican Government Bond Transaction at any time between at least January 1, 2006 and April 19, 2017, where such persons were either domiciled in the United States or its territories or, if domiciled outside the United States or its territories, transacted in the United States or its territories.

"Mexican Government Bond Transaction" means any purchase, sale, or exchange of Mexican Government Bonds, whether in the primary, secondary, or any other market. "Mexican Government Bonds" means any debt securities issued by the United Mexican States ("Mexico"), that are Mexican Peso-denominated, including, but not limited to, CETES, Bondes D, UDIBONOS, and BONOS.

The other capitalized terms used in this Summary Notice are defined in the detailed Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlements, September 13, 2021 Fairness Hearing Thereon and Class Members' Rights ("Notice") and the Settlement Agreements, which are available at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com.

If you are not sure if you are included in the Settlement Class, you can get more information, including the detailed Notice, at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com or by calling toll-free 1-877-829-2941 (if calling from outside the United States or Canada, call 1-414-961-6592).

What Is This Lawsuit About and What Do the Settlements Provide?

Plaintiffs allege that each Defendant, including Barclays and JPMorgan, conspired during the Class Period to fix the prices for Mexican Government Bonds ("MGBs"). Defendants allegedly rigged MGB primary market auctions to buy large volumes of newly issued MGBs at artificially low prices. Each Defendant then allegedly sold these newly issued MGBs into the secondary market at artificially high, price-fixed terms to uninformed market participants like Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class. Defendants also allegedly agreed to fix the "bid-ask spread," suppressing the price at which Defendants offered to buy MGBs from market participants and increasing the price at which Defendants offered to sell MGBs to market participants. Plaintiffs have asserted legal claims under the federal antitrust law and the common law. Barclays and JPMorgan deny each and every allegation and claim asserted by Plaintiffs in this lawsuit and believe they would have prevailed if the case were to proceed against them.

To settle the claims in this lawsuit, Barclays has agreed to pay a total of $5.7 million and JPMorgan has agreed to pay a total of $15 million (the "Settlement Funds") in cash for the benefit of the proposed Settlement Class. If the Settlements are approved, the Settlement Funds, plus interest earned from the date it was established, less any Taxes, any Notice and Administration Costs, any Court-awarded attorneys' fees, payment of litigation costs and expenses, and service awards for Plaintiffs, and any other costs or fees approved by the Court (the "Net Settlement Fund") will be divided among all Settlement Class Members who file valid Proofs of Claim and Release.

Will I Get a Payment?

If you are a member of the Settlement Class and do not opt out, you will be eligible for a payment under the Settlements if you file a Proof of Claim and Release ("Claim Form"). You also may obtain more information at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com or by calling toll-free 1-877-829-2941 (if calling from outside the United States or Canada, call 1-414-961-6592).

Claim Forms must be submitted online at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on October 13, 2021 OR mailed and postmarked by October 13, 2021.

What Are My Rights?

If you are a member of the Settlement Class and do not opt out, you will release certain legal rights against Settling Defendants and the other Released Parties, as explained in the detailed Notice and Settlement Agreements, which are available at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com. If you do not want to take part in these Settlements, you must opt out by August 9, 2021. You may object to these Settlements, Distribution Plan, and/or application for an award of attorneys' fees, payment of litigation costs and expenses, and/or service awards for Plaintiffs. If you want to object, you must do so by August 9, 2021. Information on how to opt out or object is contained in the detailed Notice, which is available at www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com.

When Is the Fairness Hearing?

The Court will hold a hearing at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, Courtroom 706, New York, NY 10007, on September 13 at 3 P.M. to consider whether to finally approve these Settlements, Distribution Plan, and application for an award of attorneys' fees, payment of litigation costs and expenses, and any service awards for Plaintiffs. You or your lawyer may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at your own expense, but you do not have to.

For more information, call toll-free 1-877-829-2941 (if calling from outside the United States or Canada, call 1-414-961-6592) or visit www.MGBAntitrustSettlement.com.

**** Please do not call the Court or the Clerk of the Court for information about the Settlements. ****

Dated: April 23, 2021

Source: LOWEY DANNENBERG, P.C.

SOURCE Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.

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(Newser)  Derek Chauvin became a convicted murderer Tuesdaybut somebody at a Massachusetts police department still held him up as a model of good behavior the next day. The Facebook page of the Fall River Police Department shared a screenshot Wednesday of a tweet that said, "Chauvin immediately stood and calmly placed his hands behind his back. Imagine where we'd be if George had done the same," the Herald News reports. The department apologized and said the post was made by "personnel who inadvertently re-posted an opinion that was meant for their own personal account," reports WCVB. The department said the incident is being investigated and the officer involved could be disciplined.

story continues below

Mayor Paul Coogan said the "unacceptable" post "contains beliefs completely incompatible" with his hopes for the department and he has spoken to Chief of Police Jeffrey Cardoza about it. Cardoza tells the Fall River Reporter that the officer involved is "extremely remorseful, but it's a little bigger than that." "These are the kinds of attitudes that we don't want to have going on in this building," the chief says. "Every time I watch that video involving George Floyd I'm sick to my stomach, and I'm sure the vast majority of the men and women that work here feel the same way," Cardoza says. (Read more Derek Chauvin stories.)
Christina Miranda of Alexandria Township will have the funding to further her effort to help others combat eating disorders after she graduates from the University of Pennsylvania next month. She and Penn classmate Amanda Moreno have won a Presidents Engagement Prize.

It will provide $100,000 for Be Body Positive Philly, a program designed to steer high school students away from eating disorders. The two women will each receive $50,000 for living expenses during the yearlong project.

Miranda struggled with anorexia while attending Alexandria Middle School and in her early days at Delaware Valley Regional High School. She has been striving ever since to help other teens make a similar recovery.

We have reached 18 students so far with our pilot program, and now will reach over 300 more students next year. Workshops will be facilitated by incredible undergrad students at Penn, who will serve as near-peer mentors. My heart is filled with so much gratitude to Penn for funding projects like this that are quite literally changing lives, she said.

In announcing the winners, university president Amy Gutmann said, This years prize-winning projects are inspiring and are important examples of putting a Penn education to work to meet urgent and important human needs  from addressing eating-disorder risk among our citys youth, to improving the experiences of patients and frontline healthcare workers, to aiding in the global refugee crisis through clean water and agricultural training. The recipients embody Penns core commitment to leadership through service, a most vital and urgent calling during these challenging times.

At Del Val Miranda organized events to raise awareness of eating disorders and raised money for the National Eating Disorder Association. In college she is president and co-founder of the Penn chapter of Project Heal, which addresses eating disorders.
Azerbaijani lawmakers thanked Turkeys support against Armenian black propaganda during the 44-daylong Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, as they said it was crucial to change the global perspective about the conflict, Daily Sabah writes. The New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) lawmaker Dr. Hikmet Babaoglu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan in the media sector has been vital.

The creation of a Joint Media Platform between brotherly nations Turkey and Azerbaijan is a revolutionary incident in our media history, Dr. Babaoglu said, adding that media serves as a tool of soft power. He continued by thanking the Presidential Communications Directorate and Communications Director Fahrettin Altun for their work in this regard. He noted that Altun played a critical role in terms of fighting against the Armenian disinformation campaign and conveying the truth to the world.

Babaoglu also said they now aim to establish a joint media center with the participation of Turkic Council member states, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Hungary, following a meeting held in Baku on April 9, as he highlighted Altuns and Azerbaijani Vice President Hikmet Hajiyevs roles in the initiative.



Another lawmaker, Sevil Mikayilova, also hailed Turkeys unmatched role in the fight against Armenia's disinformation, saying that it was one of the means Azerbaijan was able to defeat Armenia. Turkeys practical support was especially important as it facilitated the formation of an objective opinion regarding the conflict, she said.



Yerevan first lied that Turkey transferred mercenaries from Syria to Nagorno-Karabakh to fight alongside Azerbaijan. By doing so, Armenia aimed to delegitimize Turkeys open support for Azerbaijan and attempted to divert attention from the fact that it receives military and logistical backing from France, Russia and Iran.



Armenia also tried to hide that it put into action a plan to occupy Nagorno-Karabakh through Armenian-origin factions  the Nubar Ozanyan Brigade which operates in Syria and is a part of the PKKs Syrian branch YPG  within the PKK and ASALA terrorist organizations. Another piece of disinformation spread by Armenia claimed that a Turkish F-16 downed a Russian-made Su-25 fighter jet. Turkey without delay denied the claims.



Clashes between Baku and Yerevan erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian Army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation. The two countries signed a Russia-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. A joint Turkish-Russian center with peacekeepers from both countries has been established to monitor the truce. The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.
POTTSVILLE  Voters in seven Schuylkill County precincts will cast their ballots at a new site after the election board decided Wednesday to change their polling places.

Two Pottsville precincts, 5-1 and 6, are affected, along with one each in Mahanoy City, McAdoo, Minersville, North Manheim Township and Port Carbon.

The commissioners, who comprise the election board except in years when they are on the ballot, approved all the changes, and authorized county Election Bureau Director Albert L. Gricoski to decide the final location of the North Manheim Township 3 polling place.

All changes go into effect immediately, and will be in time for the May 18 primary election.

Four fire companies  one each in Mahanoy City, McAdoo, Minersville and Port Carbon  no longer will be polling sites.

Mahanoy City 1 is moving to the Schuylkill Regional Resource Center, 138 W. Centre St., from West End Fire Company.

McAdoo 1 is moving to the Strand, 110 W. Blaine St., from Keystone Fire Company No. 1. Gricoski said the Strand is a roller skating rink.

Minersville 1 is moving to Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 4 Lewis St., from Mountaineer Hose Company. Gricoski said that move is pending inspection of the site and should be convenient for everyone.

Its only half a block from the original site, he said.

Port Carbon 2 voters will cast their ballots at First United Methodist Church, 211 Washington St., instead of Good Will Hose Company. Gricoski said this actually is a move back to a former polling place.

Instead of the Roundhouse Building, voters in Pottsville 5-1 now will cast ballots at the Salvation Army Pottsville Corps, 400 Sanderson St. There is a lease agreement with the Salvation Army, Gricoski said.

Pottsville 6 citizens will cast their ballots at the Peacock Street Development Community Room instead of the county Children & Youth building.

The site for the seventh precinct voting, North Manheim Township 3, has not yet been selected. The commissioners authorized Gricoski to pick the site. Places being considered include the Schuylkill Country Club and the Schuylkill Racket Club.

Gricoski said he would be meeting with racket club officials after Wednesdays meeting.

Commissioner Gary J. Hess said the old site, Blue Mountain High School, is unavailable because the gym is being used as the cafeteria due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In other business, the board approved a $10 increase in pay for each poll worker, meaning a $7,500 spending increase.

I think its needed, Hess said. Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. said the money will come from the countys contingency fund.

In other business, the board:

 Hired Edward D. Barket, Renee Buchanan, George Moyer and Michael Vigoda as members of the Resolution Board to work the night of the primary.

 Hired Ron Coleman, Carol Cooney-Syzdek, John Handler, Gary Keefer, Joe Matz, Marybeth Matz, Delmar Phillips, Daniel Wachter, Paula Warmkessel, Tim Wood and Julia Zangari to work as election rovers. They will be paid $10 per hour plus 57.5 cents per mile. The board is seeking three more rovers.

 Hired Mary Ann Lindner, Kathy Manning, Phillips, Jacob A. Sobel, Jay Tobias and Mary Ann Yanchulis as per diem employees. Board members also said they would hire three more per diem employees as needed.

 Hired Steven Davis, Katie Dinger, Kenneth Eichenberg, Gary Keifer, William Klinger, Thomas Kurtek, Rory Reiley, Denise Wallace and James Zerbe as machine delivery drivers. Three more will be hired, according to the board.

 Hired Frank Barone, Sharon Chiao, Joanne Dower, Rose Kern, Susan Kester, James Klock Lindner and Joann Myers to work on the Computing Board beginning at 9 a.m. May 21 at $70 per day to start the computation and canvassing of the election returns.

Scheduled poll worker training sessions for 1 and 6 p.m. May 3-7. Sessions will be held at the Frackville Borough Building on May 3; Tremont Fire Company on May 4; Landingville Fire Company on May 5; Hometown Fire Company on May 6; and Life Centre Foursquare Gospel Church Pottsville on May 7.

 Authorized the bureau to use overtime for full-time employees and per diem workers as needed to get mailings out.

 Hired Christian Kimmel as the new IT coordinator.
Bengaluru, April 22 : With Karnataka tweaking its order to enforce night curfew till May 4 on Thursday, Karnataka Police swooped across the state to forcefully shut down shops which are not dealing with essential services including bakeries and fruit juice shops.

Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar on Wednesday night had issued guidelines on enforcing night curfew and weekend curfew, but on Thursday again, it was tweaked to include a sentence that stated shops and establishments other than those listed in the order will remain closed.

According to shopkeepers, this "ambiguous sentence" has given sweeping powers to policemen, who are acting in a high-handed manner and closing down shutters of bakeries and fruit juice shops as well, while last year, these shops were allowed to carry out their businesses normally.

In the capital's Yelahanka suburb, the police made bookshops, jewellery shops, novelty and gift centres, tool shops, hardware shops, textile shops, hosiery shops and even bakeries shut down.

Srinivasalu, owner of Sri Venkateshwara bakery in Yelahanka, told IANS that he was surprised when police asked him to shut his shop. "Last time my shop was allowed to function but this time they asked me to shut my shop too without prior intimation. I had invested heavily on producing biscuits, toasts and bread, keeping a long weekend curfew in mind. Now all of a sudden, police have come down forcefully shut my shop," he rued.

Fruit juice shop owner, Narayan told IANS that he did not foresee such a closure. "I wonder whether this is a lockdown or just a curfew as the government puts it. The police action has put me at a loss, I had purchased a large quantity of fruits thinking of the long weekend. Going by the police action, it appears that this is going to be another round of forced lockdown," he said.

In Yelahanka, a grocery shop owner, on the condition of anonymity, said that he had been asked to open his shop only for four to five hours in morning from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and close his shop for the rest of the day. "How can we survive with this kind of forced shutdown," the shopkeeper rued.

Even traders in Bengaluru's biggest wholesale market in Chickpet and Shivajinagar had complained in a similar manner alleging that the police is unrelenting and forcefully asking cloth traders to shut their shops. "This being month Ramazan and one of the biggest festivals, cloth sales go up. Last year too, we did not have a good business and this year, if the same continues, we will be ruined," a cloth merchant from Chickpet told news channels.

A policeman in Hoysala who was making announcements, told IANS that he does not know anything but he was complying orders from his higher-ups. "I don't know anything, my senior officer told me to ensure shops are shut before evening... I am busy following those orders," he said.

According to the new guidelines, shops, including ration shops (PDS), dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, meat and fish, animal fodder are permitted.

It also says that restaurants, liquor shops and bars can only do take-aways.

All food processing and related industries, banks, insurance offices, ATMs, cold storage and warehousing services, construction material shops and delivery of all items through e-commerce is permitted. The order also says that barber shops, salons and beauty parlours can function adhering to Covid-19 restrictions.

The order says that all industries, industrial establishments and production units can also function adhering to restrictions. Private offices have been asked to work with minimum staff, while 50 percent staff is allowed in government offices. Since the order clearly says that all other shops and commercial establishments other than the list mentioned above are not allowed, police have started shutting them down.

A video from Raichur which is circulating on social media shows the District Collector and the police ushering people on to the roads and asking them to shutter their establishments, if they did not fall under the essential items category. This means that non-essential shops like footwear, mobile, hardware, clothes etc will not be allowed to function till May 4.

Strongly defending the government's moves, BJP national General Secretary, C. T. Ravi told reporters that tough times like these demand tough actions. "The government can not keep on changing its decisions like it did fortnight ago, when film stars came in hordes and demanded to allow theatres to run in full capacity. People are dying, we do not place to cremate people at least, now people should stop talking about the economy," he said.

The government has not restricted movement of citizens, but has said that unnecessary travel in private vehicles should be avoided.

According to sources, the police have cracked down on commercial establishments in Bengaluru, Hubballi, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Mysuru, among other districts.

Two police officers on the condition of anonymity spoke to IANS confirmed that they were shutting down non-essential shops as the order mandated so. In districts like Shivamogga, shopkeepers were told to shut their establishments by 3.30 p.m.
New Delhi, April 22 : India's largest industrial and medical gases major Inox Air Products has reached the maximum production capacity of medical grade oxygen during these trying times for the country, a senior company official told IANS.

Accordingly, the company is currently producing a total of 2,000 tonnes of medical oxygen per day.

"We are producing a total of 2,000 tonnes per day of liquid medical oxygen, which is almost two-thirds of the country's total requirement," Siddharth Jain, Director - INOX Air Products told IANS.

Lately, Covid resurgence has led to a massive demand surge for medical grade oxygen around the country.

The normal pre-Covid demand for liquid medical oxygen was 700 TPD across the country.

During the first wave of the pandemic last year, the demand of LMO increased by up to four times to 2,800 TPD.

Furthermore, with the resurgence of the second wave, the demand has gone up seven folds of the pre-Covid levels up to 5,000 TPD.

"While, we hope that the spike in cases is arrested, the success of oxygen therapy in Covid treatment would mean that there will be a sustained demand of LMO in the months to come," he said.

However, despite high production, the real issue in the availability of LMO to hospitals was due to transportation bottlenecks such as limited fleet of cryogenic trucks.

Notably, cryogenic trucks are specially designed transportation vehicle to ferry industrial gases in a semi incubated environment.

"We are trying to remove as many bottlenecks as possible." "We have recently joined the railway's initiative - Oxygen Express - that allows for movement of medical

oxygen tankers via freight trains to save time." On the future growth prospects of the company, he said: "The growth in demand for industrial gases is directly in proportion to the manufacturing activities, and thus we see encouraging prospects in the industrial gases sectors in the near term as well as long term future." "With an increase in our liquid manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent in the next 3 years, we will look to serve more business in the Manufacturing, Infrastructure and the Healthcare sector and be a part of the country's journey to self-reliance." Recently, the company announced Rs 2,000 crore worth of greenfield investment in the industrial gases sector.

This investment plan of Rs 2,000 crore will follow a strategically comprehensive three year roadmap, through which we will set up eight 'Air Separation Units' in high industrial growth corridors in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

"The first ASU in this expansion plan should get commissioned in Gujarat in a record time by April next year. Looking at the overall economic significance, we are focusing on this expansion at the moment." In addition, the company sees high demand for industrial gases like 'Nitrogen, Argon, Helium and Oxygen' in the near future.

Industrial gases are critical utility to sectors like healthcare, automotive, iron and steel, metal, glass, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food processing and semiconductors.

(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) -IANS

rv/skp/

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - 64858 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States on Monday, taking the national total to 31885049. This is higher than the 7-day average of 62968.



879 new deaths were reported in the country on the same day. With this, the COVID death toll in the U.S. increased to 568962. The 7-day average of COVID deaths is 721.



Texas recorded a rapid rise in COVID fatalities (127) and daily cases (6139) Wednesday.



Michigan, which had been the worst COVID hot spot in the country for weeks, recorded relatively lower tolls in both COVID metrics.



Case numbers nationwide have been largely stagnant for the last month. Around 67,000 new infections are being identified each day, down from about 250,000 daily at the January peak.



Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that his administration achieved the goal of 200 million vaccine shots administered in 100 days. He said the target was reached on his 92nd day in office. He quoted some experts as saying that the rapid vaccination effort has already saved tens of thousands of American lives.



'Now that we've reached this milestone, we're entering a new phase of our vaccination effort. As of Monday, at my direction, with the support of 50 governors - Democrats and Republicans, alike - everyone over the age of 16 will be eligible to get vaccinated,' Biden said at a White House update on his government's fight against the pandemic and the State of Vaccinations.



'Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, if you are 16 or older, you are now eligible for a free COVID vaccine shot, and we have the vaccine to deliver,' he added.



Biden announced that 80 percent of American seniors have received their first shot. 'It will be another month or so before we see the full benefits of this effort, as many seniors still need the second shot plus the two weeks to gain that protection after the second shot'.



He noted that the country witnessed a dramatic decline in deaths among people over the age of 65 - an 80 percent reduction in deaths of people in this age group.



Biden also cited 'great progress' made with another target group. Within a month, 80 percent of educators, school staff, bus drivers, and child care workers had received at least one shot, and schools and child care centers all over the country are reopening.



The President said he is calling on 'every employer, large and small, in every state, to give employees the time off they need, with pay, to get vaccinated and any time they need, with pay, to recover if they are feeling under the weather after the shot.'



Biden noted that the grocery store Krogers offered employees $100 to get vaccinated, which helped push vaccination rates from 50 percent to 75 percent among their associates.



To make sure this policy comes at no cost to small or medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees, the IRS is posting instructions for how employers can get reimbursed for the cost of providing paid leave for their employees to get vaccinated.



In the worst COVID situation outside the U.S., on Wednesday, India recorded the highest number of daily cases in any country in the world. A total of 314,835 new coronavirus cases and 2,104 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Both the metrics are the highest recorded in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic more than a year ago.



Reports are coming from many parts of the country where people are dying without getting the treatment they need or due to shortage of oxygen. The Delhi High court, in the capital city, criticized the central government for its handling of the oxygen crisis. Many hospitals in the country have ran out of capacity under the pressure of the coronavirus second wave.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Los Angeles, April 22 : Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones found it lovely to have her family at home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, because she found it comforting to be with her closed ones.

She said: "I must say, personally, it was lovely when we were in a vulnerable and unknowing time to have my peeps, my loved ones around. I had my son home from college and my daughter home from school -- she goes to school in Switzerland -- so we were all back in our bubble." "Supposedly, speaking to my son, we fared better than many families. He's like, 'Mom, you don't understand. People aren't talking to each other.' So, we played lots of games," Zeta-Jones added, femalefirst.co.uk reported.

The actress is married to Hollywood star Michael Douglas and they have two children -- 20-year-old Dylan and Carys,18.

The 51-year-old actress also praised her children for how they handled the global health crisis, on the "Late Night with Seth Meyers".

She added: "My kids -- and I must say, kudos to them -- I thought for sure, you know, they're all back, not just them, but all their other friends from high school, [who] all live down our street ... And I thought it was going to be party central, all these kids coming back from college." Now the things are starting to improve following the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination, Zeta-Jones said her kids are "looking forward" to being able to spend the summer with their friends.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Centre is planning to rope in Indian Air Force (IAF) for flying in containers and equipment from abroad that can be used for carrying oxygen. It is one of the measures to enhance capacity and supply of oxygen across the country amid severe shortage due to the second wave of COVID-19.

Ample oxygen is available in the country but transportation is a problem due to an acute deficiency of containers required to carry it, India Today reported while quoting government sources. Availability of containers and equipment to transport oxygen will help iron out the kinks in nationwide supply of oxygen to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Indian Air Force has already been operating on war footing to help with the COVID relief operations. In the initial days of COVID-19 outbreak, IAF ran several sorties to deliver medicines, medical and other essentials, and other paraphernalia required to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as well as brought back expats stuck abroad.

The Indian Air Force has swung into action carrying out sorties from various parts of the country to airlift oxygen containers, cylinders, essential medicine, equipment and medical personnel in the battle against the fresh surge of COVID-19 cases.

Air Force officials said doctors and nursing staff from Kochi, Mumbai, Vizag and Bangalore were flown to Delhi towards setting up of COVID-19 hospital set up by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Delhi.
On April 20, 2021, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Development received an official notification from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the French Republic on Ukraine's acquisition of full membership in the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) on April 3, 2021, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Ukrainian ministrys press service.

"Full membership will allow national measuring instruments manufacturers to supply their products to the markets of member states of the organization without additional procedures for their evaluation. In addition, acquisition of Ukraine's full membership in OIML is important for implementing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, as well as a significant step towards industrial visa-free travel," said Ukrainian Minister of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Development Ihor Petrashko.

According to Petrashko, the acquisition of full membership will allow Ukraine to vote in all meetings of the organization and participate in the work of technical committees, development of new documents, as well as make proposals to the Strategy of the organization

Ukraine will also be able to participate in the OIML certification system. Certificates are recognized by all member states of the organization, in particular, EU member states, countries of North and South America, Africa and Asia.

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Tesla came under renewed scrutiny Thursday following a report its cars could be fooled into driving with no one behind the wheel and as two senators demanded a federal probe of a recent crash.

Engineers from Consumer Reports "easily tricked" Tesla's Autopilot to drive without anyone in the driver's seat, "a scenario that would present extreme danger if it were repeated on public roads," the magazine said on its website.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts urged US auto safety regulators to forcefully respond to fatal car crash in Texas last weekend involving a Tesla that apparently had no one behind the wheel.

"We implore you to conduct a thorough investigation of the accident and request that your reports include recommendations on corrective actions that can be implemented to prevent future such accidents from occurring," the Senators said in a letter to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acting chief Steven Cliff.

The senators applauded NHTSA's prior announcement that it, along with the National Transportation Safety Board, were investigating the crash.

The accident, which led to two fatalities, involved a Tesla Model S that caught fire after hitting a tree late Saturday night near Houston.

Harris County police official Mark Herman told local media the initial investigation found no one was in the driver's seat of the vehicle. One of the victims was discovered in the passenger seat, and the other in the back seat.

The circumstances of the accident have revived debate on the electric car's existing semi-autonomous capabilities, such as Autopilot, which allows the car to park on its own or navigate on the highway.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said data logs show Autopilot was not engaged during the crash. The automaker warns that its driver assistance systems do not make the vehicles autonomous, and active supervision is still required.

Story continues

In its test, a Consumer Reports placed a weight on the steering wheel and maneuvered over to the passenger seat without undoing the seat belt.

"There were no warnings that no one was sitting in the seat, no one was holding the steering wheel and no one was looking at the road," Consumer Reports' Jake Fisher said of the test on a Tesla Model Y SUV, which was videotaped.

"It continued to drive with no warnings to the driver to stay engaged. We were surprised how easy it was to defeat the insufficient safeguards."

The magazine contrasted Tesla with cars made by General Motors, Subaru and other automakers which use camera-based systems to track the movements of a driver's eyes and ensure the vehicles are not unmanned.

jmb/hs
What is the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test?

It is a military entrance exam that is given to determine enlistment eligibility and job training eligibility. This test is administered to all students in grades ten through twelve.

What is the ASVAB Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score?

The ASVAB administered at high schools contains eight sections. The AFQT is a subset of the test and is based on the following four sections:

Word Knowledge

Paragraph Comprehension

Arithmetic Reasoning

Mathematics Knowledge

Note that only the AFQT score is being collected (i.e., the results for all sections are not being collected).

Why is this being collected?

For the past several years, the California Department of Education (CDE) has been continuing its efforts to meet the State Board of Educations (SBEs) directive to expand the College/Career Indicator (CCI) with more career measures. Because the ASVAB AFQT was one data element that was recommended by the CCI Work Group and the Alternative Schools Task Force, this data is being collected for the first time this year to determine if it should be included in the CCI.

Is administering the ASVAB mandatory?

No. Each school has the option of administering the ASVAB to their students.

What grade levels are being collected?

The ASVAB test is available for high school students in grades 10, 11, and 12. Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) are asked to report AFQT scores for these grade levels.

Does collecting the ASVAB AFQT score mean that it will automatically be included in the College/Career Indicator (CCI)?

No. Once the ASVAB AFQT data has been collected statewide, it will be analyzed with the CCI Work Group, Alternative Schools Task Force, California Practitioners Advisory Group, and the Technical Design Group. These groups will make recommendations as to whether to include this measure into the CCI and what AFQT score will place a student in Prepared versus Approaching Prepared. These recommendations will then be provided to the SBE, and the SBE will make a final decision on this measure.

Is the ASVAB AFQT score being collected through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS)?

No. At this time, this data is being collected through a web application called the ASVAB Reporting System that is maintained by the CALPADS Operations Office.

Will students be automatically contacted by a military recruiter when they take the ASVAB?

No. Schools can elect whether to release the ASVAB scores to the military. However, students who wish to participate in the ASVAB but not be contacted by a military recruiter can opt out from being contacted. Schools can download the opt out form (posted under the Educators tab on the ASVAB Career Exploration Program web page) to distribute to students. Schools should also work with the military Test Coordinator to ensure that these opt out forms are processed.

Note: If a school decides to not release the ASVAB scores to the military and opts out all of their students, this will not prevent individual students from using their AFQT score to qualify for military accession.

If a student opts out from being contacted by a recruiter, are the ASVAB results still provided to the school and the student?

Yes. Keep in mind that the opt out is opting out from being contacted by a military recruiter. It is not opting out from taking the test, as the ASVAB is not a mandatory test. Therefore, any student who wishes not to be contacted by a military recruiter will still receive their ASVAB results and will have access to the Career Exploratory Program. The ASVAB results for these students will also be provided to the school.



What if our schools do not give the ASVAB and we have no results to submit?

Schools that do not offer the ASVAB to their students are not required to submit any results.

Ive heard that students who take the ASVAB are provided access to a career exploratory program. Is this true?

Yes. When students receive their ASVAB Summary Results, they are provided an access code to participate in the Career Exploration Program that has been developed around the ASVAB test. It provides students access to labor market and occupational information, such as occupation, education, and skill requirements; average earnings; and expected growth in a particular industry/business. It also encourages students to explore a wide variety of careers, including military and non-military occupations. Furthermore, this program can be easily integrated into the high school curriculum.

Note: While grade ten results do not count for military recruiting purposes, these students can still access the Career Exploration Program.

If grade ten results do not count towards military enlistment, should we still report grade ten results?

Yes. Grade ten ASVAB AFQT scores should be reported into the ASVAB Reporting System.

What is the status of administrating the ASVAB during the pandemic?

Last year in 20192020, ASVAB testing was suspended on March 15, 2020. The ASVAB has resumed testing for 2020  2021 for those schools that have been able to accommodate arrangements within COVID guidance. The Military Entrance Processing Stations are working with schools to schedule test dates through the end of the school year.

Who usually receives ASVAB results at the schools?

The ASVAB results, which include the AFQT score, are usually sent to the staff who coordinated the administration of the ASVAB with the Military Entrance Processing Command. This could be the head school counselor, principal, or learning director. We encourage Accountability and Dashboard coordinators to confer with the appropriate individual so that these results are submitted accurately and in a timely manner into the ASVAB Reporting System.

Do LEAs receive ASVAB results?

No. Based on federal restrictions, the Military Entrance Processing Command can only send the test results to schools, and cannot send the results directly to the district or the CDE. The CDE administrates the ASVAB Reporting System to collect the AFQT score.

Can a student take the ASVAB outside of school? And if so, would the school receive this students results?

A student can take the ASVAB at a Military Entrance Processing Station for enlistment purposes. While the student will be provided with their AFQT score, it will not be sent to the students school. Because the school did not administer the test to the student, the school does not need to request the results from the student and report the results to the CDE ASVAB Reporting System.

Our school currently does not offer the ASVAB but we would like to in the future. How do we go about contacting the military?

One option is to go to the ASVAB Program web page. On this page, select the link Bring the ASVAB CEP to Your School. This will alert respective Military Entrance Processing Station testing staff who will then contact the school.

Another option is to connect directly with your local Military Entrance Processing Station (or MEPS). There are four MEPS across the state (Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego) that provide services to specific counties. You can call the ASVAB CEP Hotline at 1-800-323-0513, which will take the caller to the respective MEPS.

At each MEPS, the Education Services Specialist can assist with overall program questions; school counselor ASVAB CEP briefs, trainings, planning meetings, and promotional/marketing presentations; and the Test Coordinator can assist with scheduling the ASVAB, data requests, and logistics.



When is the test usually given? And when does the school receive the test results?

The test can be administered at any time during the year, and the schools are given flexibility in scheduling when to give the ASVAB. Once the test is given, the results are sent to the Military Entrance Processing Station where they are scored. The results are then printed and Fed Exd to the participating high school within ten days. Note that schools can also work with the Military Entrance Processing Station to request an electronic file of the results.

My school cannot afford to establish all of the new measures that are being added to the CCI. This is going to hurt my schools CCI score. Why are more measures being added?

Schools are not being asked to implement new programs. Keep in mind that there are multiple ways in the CCI that schools can demonstrate how they are preparing students for success after high school. The addition of this new measure allows the CDE to potentially provide credit to schools that already administer the ASVAB to their students.

This is the first time I have heard about collecting ASVAB scores. Has this been communicated before?

Yes. Over the past year, several presentations to various stakeholder groups have been made to indicate the intent collect this measure, including other career measures such as student internships, student led enterprise, and simulated work-based learning. The data collection of these four measures were included in the 2019 Dashboard Technical Guide.

Can a student in grade nine take the ASVAB?

No. Federal law does not allow ninth graders to take the test. Only students in grades ten through twelve can be administered the test.

Can the Military Entrance Processing Station provide historical ASVAB data from prior test administrations?

Yes. All ASVAB test data is kept on file for two years. Schools can request testing data for the current school year and the previous school year only.

Can a student take the ASVAB at another school? If so, are we required to obtain the ASVAB results from the other school?

High schools within the same district can work together to have one school host the test. However, this is a rare occurrence. When it does occur, the high school counselors at all the sites and the military test coordinator should be aware of this situation. Because the site that tested the students will receive all of the results, this school should work with the other schools to ensure that all the schools receive their students results.

It is my understanding that a students test results are only made available to schools if the student gives permission to do so. Is this accurate? If so, will my files from the Military Entrance Processing Station only include those that gave permission?

No. This is not accurate. Student do not need to give permission to the school to see ASVAB results as all the results are returned to the school.

If a parent does not wish to have their childs results reported to the ASVAB Reporting System, can these results be excluded?

This is a local decision. The district/school can decide if they wish to report the ASVAB AFQT score based on parents requests.

Is this test usually administered to all students or just those thinking of going into the military?

This test can be administered to all students (not just those entering into the military). All high school students can benefit from being able to access the Career Exploration Program.

If a school gave the test earlier this year and did not request an electronic file at that time, can they still request a file from the Military Entrance Processing Station?

Yes. The school should reach out to their point of contact at the Military Entrance Processing Station. If the school tests more than once in a given year, they may choose to wait until the last ASVAB test is given to receive the electronic file containing testing data for the whole school year.

Can the Military Entrance Processing Stations provide the ASVAB data in electronic format to district offices to reduce the number of requests from individual high schools?

No. Because federal law only allows the Military Entrance Processing Stations to provide test results directly to schools, LEAs will have to go through their schools to obtain the AFQT scores.

Should we report student self-reported scores not provided by the military?

No. LEAs should only report data that are received directly from the military.

We only had five students who took the ASVAB this year. Should we report these scores or is there a minimum number of students that can be reported in the ASVAB Reporting System?

There is no minimum. Even if only one student took the ASVAB, the students ASVAB AFQT score may be reported.

Can students take the ASVAB only once in high school or can they take it multiple times in grades ten through twelve? And if they can take it multiple times, do I report all the scores?

Students can take the ASVAB in each grade, and LEAs should report the students results each year.

Note: Students who are considering a military career may especially wish to take the ASVAB each year as higher AFQT scores translates to higher level training and also bonuses in specialized areas.

If a student takes the test a second time in one academic year, do you submit both AFQT scores, or the most recent, or the highest?

If a student takes the test more than once in a given year, only the highest AFQT score should be submitted.

Should we report ASVAB results for tests administered this year only? Or can we upload multiple years of ASVAB data?

In this first year (202021) of collection, LEAs may submit separately the last two years of AFQT scores (201920 and 202021). Beginning next year, the data will be submitted annually and only the AFQT scores earned by the students in that year will be collected. Due date for data submission during the current academic year is June 30.

Does the deadline to submit data into the ASVAB Reporting System coincide with the CALPADS End-of-Year (EOY) deadline?

No. While the CALPADS EOY amendment window closes typically at the end of August, the deadline for the ASVAB Reporting System is June 30.

Will the ASVAB results that the school receives from the military contain Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs)?

No. The results from the military will not contain County-District-School (CDS) codes nor SSIDs. Therefore, it will be up to each school/LEA to match the test records received from the military to those in their local student information systems.



Can the military return the date of birth of each tested student to help us match students who have similar names?

Yes. Based on the information that students provide when they take the ASVAB, the military can provide the following data that will help schools/LEAs distinguish between students with similar names:

First Name, Last Name, Middle Initial

Grade Level

Sex/Gender

Date of Birth

If I have ASVAB data for more than one school, can I upload each schools file separately? Or, do I have to consolidate all of the school files and upload only one file?

Because the system allows only one file to be imported, LEAs must compile the data for all of their schools and submit that one file into the ASVAB Reporting System.

I have already uploaded a file in the ASVAB Reporting System, but I need to add more student records. Do I need to upload a full revised file or can I just submit the new student records?

Any re-submission of files into the ASVAB Reporting System will fully replace the prior file that was imported into the system and overwrite the file. Therefore, please upload a full revised file that contains all student records.

I have more questions about the ASVAB Reporting System and the data collection process. Where can I find information on this?

For more information, please view the CDE CALPADS Update Flash #204 and the CDE ASVAB Reporting System Instructions for Data Collection and File Upload.



Last Reviewed: Monday, May 24, 2021
New Delhi, April 22 : Google has announced to introduce new innovations in its Meet app like a refreshed user interface (UI), autozoom, enhanced reliability features powered by the latest Google AI and tools that make meetings more engaging.

Beginning next month, desktop and laptop users will see a new, richer user interface with an array of easy-to-access features that make meetings more productive and inclusive.

The new Meet for web encompasses updates to video feeds, the viewing and presenting experience, and the bottom bar.

"In an effort to reduce meeting fatigue, we're giving you more control over how you view yourself in meetings," the company said in a statement late on Wednesday.

You can choose to have your video feed be a tile in the grid or a floating picture, which can be resized and repositioned.

If you prefer not to see yourself at all, you can easily minimise your feed and hide it from your own view entirely.

"We'll also be adding a setting to enable you to turn off your self-feed across all Google Meet calls," the company said.

To boost presenter confidence during meetings, Google has also improved the pinning and unpinning of content.

When unpinned, the presentation tile becomes the same size as other participant tiles, allowing you to see more people on the call and better gauge reactions.

"Similarly, in the coming months we'll deliver options for customising your view in Google Meet, including the ability to pin multiple video feeds. This will provide greater flexibility in how you combine people and content, adjusting for whatever you care about most in the moment," Google said.

In addition, Google introduced another AI-powered feature to keep the focus on people during meetings.

Autozoom helps other people see you more clearly by using AI to zoom in and position you squarely in front of your camera.

"If you move, Autozoom intelligently readjusts, so everyone in your team can stay focused on what matters. Autozoom will be available to Google Workspace (paid) subscribers in the coming months," the company said.

The company has also updated the bottom bar in Meet app to make meetings easier to navigate.

In the coming weeks, Google will also add the ability to replace your background with a video.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) speaks during a press conference on the House vote on D.C. statehood, in Washington on April 21, 2021. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

House Approves Legislation That Would Make DC a State

The House of Representatives narrowly passed a measure on April 22 that would make the District of Columbia a state.

In a 216208 party-line vote, the House approved the legislation, which would give the district two senators, one voting member of the House, and a governor if its also passed by the Senate and signed into law.

All Democrats backed the bill, while all Republicans voted against it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the House floor before the vote that the chamber was poised to right an [sic] historic injustice by passing legislation to finally grant Washington D.C. statehood.

D.C. residents have been fighting for voting rights and autonomy for 220 years, with a full 86 percent recently voting for statehood. And it is well past the time to grant them the rights that they have been fighting for and that they deserve, she added.

H.R. 51, named to reflect that the District of Columbia would become the nations 51st state, was introduced by House Delegate Eleanor Norton Holmes, a Democrat. The district currently has three electoral votes, but Norton cant vote on legislation.

This country was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed. But D.C. Residents are taxed without representation and cannot consent to the laws under which they, as American citizens, must live, Holmes told colleagues in Washington.

Republicans said granting statehood to Washington runs counter to the Constitution.

Every Justice Department from President Kennedys to President Obamas has been consistent that a constitutional amendment is needed to grant the district statehood, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said on the House floor.

One study (pdf) by the Department of Justice during that time period found that an amendment to the Constitution would be required before the District of Columbia may be admitted to the Union as a state.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 30, 2020. (Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images)

Comer noted that the 23rd Amendment grants the District of Columbia electors as if it were a state. Additionally, Congress in 1970 authorized residents of the District of Columbia to elect a non-voting delegate to the House.

Democrats want to rewrite the Constitution without going through the proper process of doing so, he said, adding that he proposed a change to the bill that would first repeal the 23rd Amendment but that proposal was rejected.

The upper chamber is currently divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats, including two nominal independents who virtually always vote with Democrats. Its widely considered unlikely that the Senate will pass H.R. 51, which would need at least 60 votes to advance.

President Joe Biden supports the legislation.

House Democrats passed a District of Columbia statehood bill in the last Congress; the measure wasnt voted on in the then-Republican-controlled Senate.

Republicans have asserted that Democratic support for District of Columbia statehood is partially motivated by the fact it would virtually guarantee two additional Democratic senators and more Democrats in the House. The District of Columbia overwhelmingly votes Democratic in elections.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on April 22 accused detractors of H.R. 51 of being racist because the racial makeup of the district is 47 percent black.

I shouldnt have to remind my colleagues that its shockingly inappropriate to imply that the lives and occupations and rights of D.C. residents are somehow less than their fellow citizens in other more real, and almost always more white, parts of the country, he said.
CluedIn 'data fabric' allows for faster, more effective data integration



Substantial recognition of product by Microsoft 'recommended architecture' and Gartner 'cool vendor'

Global customers include Pfizer, SAP and Coca Cola

Company remote first since inception, with a team of over 30 across Denmark, the UK, Belgium and Australia

COPENHAGEN and LONDON, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CluedIn, the revolutionary Master Data Management Platform (MDM), today announces a $15m Series A funding round.

The investment round was led by Dawn Capital. Also participating was Stijn Christiaens, Co-founder and CTO of Collibra as a strategic angel investor, and existing investors Nordic Makers. The capital will be used to continue building out CluedIn's product, make key hires in sales, marketing and partnerships and drive further global expansion, particularly in the US.

Founded in 2015 by CEO Tim Ward, CTO Martin Hyldahl, and CPO Pierre Derval, CluedIn streamlines the process of making data ready for insights, without compromising its fidelity or flexibility. CluedIn's 'data fabric' sits between data source systems and applications to solve common pain points in data integration, governance, and management. According to Gartner, data integration (49%) and data preparation (37%) are among the top three technologies that organisations seek to automate by the end of 20221.

CluedIn has cracked one of the key complexities that has long plagued big data, enabling companies to realise its full, transformational power. Other data management providers ask customers to manually wire systems together into a predetermined schema. By contrast, CluedIn's platform uses a graph database to automatically infer connectivity straight from the data source. This means that instead of spending months designing a schema of how data should fit together, customers can plug their desired data sources into the platform and immediately get a view of how the data fits together alongside a workflow to start drawing insights from it.

Time to value is much quicker, eliminating the need for extensive planning. Scalability of the number of data sources is endless and, as the customer grows and brings on more data sources, the complexity of integration does not grow, with integrating source one as simple as source 1001. While 85% of data projects fail, CluedIn has a 100% success rate for customers.

Cluedin has received substantial recognition of its product by Microsoft and is listed as a 'Recommended Architecture' for data management on Microsoft Azure, plugging a critical gap for its enterprise clients. CluedIn was also named a Gartner 'Cool Vendor' in 2020, featuring as its fourth most searched-for MDM vendor and acknowledged for the way in which it has revolutionised data integration with a new and modern integration pattern.

The CluedIn platform is suitable for any large enterprise data integration use case. The business already has strong traction with tier one customers with extensive, complex data integration needs across sectors, for which it has formed deep integrations with providers including Snowflake, Amazon and Google. It has obvious application to industries under high levels of regulatory pressure such as financial services, where clients include Nordea and Saxo Bank. It also offers a compelling opportunity to industries which increasingly rely on a 360-degree view of the customer for product development, marketing or sales. Such clients include Pfizer in healthcare, SAP in software and Coca Cola in consumer industries, for which CluedIn powers all customer insights analytics.

CluedIn has been remote first since inception, with offices in Copenhagen, London, Brussels and Brisbane should its team wish to use them and best-in-class systems and tools in place to allow high quality collaborative work from anywhere. The company's success to date, including its highly international customer base, is illustrative of technology companies' potential to grow beyond borders before, during and after the pandemic.

Tim Ward, CEO and Co-founder, CluedIn, said:

"It's been a fantastic journey so far. We're delighted to have gained the recognition of leading industry authorities and partners, and the endorsement of some of the most forward-thinking global customers. We can't wait to use these funds to take CluedIn to the next level and to more customers globally who are looking for ways to unlock the value of first and third party data."

Mina Mutafchieva, Senior Principal, Dawn Capital, said:

"The founding team at CluedIn has achieved something remarkable. Its incredibly strong tech team has developed a completely new approach to Master Data Management and the opportunity is vast, driven by the accelerating shift to cloud and ever increasing pressure for enterprises to deliver faster and better data access and insights. We're looking forward to supporting Tim, Martin and Pierre as well as the wider team as they build on the exceptional impact they've already made on improving how businesses realise the value of data."

Anne Marie Kindberg, COO & CMO, Microsoft Denmark, said:

"Perhaps it should come as no surprise given its area of expertise that CluedIn has integrated so well into working with us and our enterprise customers. The platform fits brilliantly within our offering and we're excited by the level of demand we're already seeing from all over the world. Data management is one of the key prerequisites for success in innovation in the coming years."

Case studies are available from Powerscourt and a product demonstration is accessible here .

1 Gartner report by Mark Beyer, Ehtisham Zaidi, Donald Feinberg, Henry Cook, Jacob Orup Lund, Rita Sallam, Robert Thanaraj, 16 February 2021.

Enquiries to:

Powerscourt Elly Williamson +44 (0)7970 246 725 Harold Amoo +44 (0)7864 607 220

About CluedIn

CluedIn brings all of your organisation's knowledge to your fingertips, allowing users to make more educated decisions with their day to day work. We connect your tools, people and everything in your organisation to keep you "clued-in"? to what is happening around you. For more, visit www.cluedin.com .
The Ho Central Prison infirmary has been upgraded to a health centre to properly serve the health needs of inmates and officers of the prison.



To enable the centre operate effectively some members of Parliament, especially from the Volta Region, have presented medical equipment worth GH65,780 to the prison.



The medical equipment, including beds, thermometers, stretchers, stethoscopes, sterilisers and computers were purchased from donations of the members of Parliament from both political divides, led by the Member of Parliament for Afadjato South, Ms Angela Alorwu-Tay.



Health care needs



Speaking during the presentation, the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr Patrick Darko Missah, said the health care needs of inmates were important to the government.



It was for this reason that inmates were enrolled on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for free medical care.



Over the years the prisons service, he said, had been striving towards the attainment of the globally accepted standard of healthcare management of patients but could not do it alone without support.



He commended the members of Parliament for providing the support to enable the Ho prison to provide quality health care to officers and inmates, indicating that the support would go a long way to reduce the risk officers went through in seeking medical care for inmates.



Dwindling subventions



The Volta Regional Prisons Commander, Deputy Director of Prisons, Mr Andrews Dzokoto, stated that health care provision to inmates had been saddled with challenges as government subvention had dwindled over time, hence funds needed to purchase drugs had become a challenge.



Although the NHIS played an important role in mitigating the cost of treatment to inmates, the management of Ho prison, with the urge to step up its health care provision capacity, decided to upgrade the infirmary to a health centre.



With support from the Ghana Health Service and Ho Teaching Hospital, the health centre would provide improved health care to inmates and officers and their dependents through the use of the NHIS card.



In her speech, Ms Alorwu-Tay said the equipment were valuable because there were even bigger health institutions which lacked them. She called on the management of the prison to take good care of the equipment to serve their purpose, promising she would liaise with pharmaceutical companies to support the prison with medication.



For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ho Teaching Hospital, Dr John Tampuori, promised to support the health centre with doctors to enable it to function effectively. He stated that if the centre was managed properly, it would support the finances of the prison as it offered health care to the public as well.



Background



The Ho Central Prison was originally built to accommodate 150 inmates but currently it has 332 inmates made up of 280 convict prisoners with 52 on remand. The female prison also has seven inmates.



With a staff strength of 248 officers, the management of the prison has embarked on reformation and rehabilitation programmes such as carpentry, masonry, tailoring and weaving, among others, to enable inmates start a living after their release.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Rapper Lil Mosey has been charged with rape and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

The 19-year-old is wanted in Washington state after failing to appear in court for a scheduled hearing, TMZ reported Thursday.

He had been ordered to attend a hearing on Wednesday after being charged several weeks ago with second-degree rape, the outlet said.

Rapper Lil Mosey, 19, has been charged with rape and a warrant has been issued for his arrest after he failed to show up to a scheduled court hearing in Washington state on Wednesday

According to TMZ, a woman claimed in January to have been sexually assaulted by Lil Mosey and a second man after she went with a female friend to see the rapper.

She told authorities she had consented to have sex with Lil Mosey in a vehicle but later, when in a cabin together, she had blacked out after drinking White Claw and champagne.

The woman alleged, according to TMZ, that she came round to found him on top of her and having sex with her. She blacked out a second time and awoke to find another man having sex with her.

According to TMZ, a woman claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Lil Mosey and a second man after she went with a female friend to see the rapper, pictured in Florida last week

In an affidavit seen by TMZ, the victim stated she had blacked out due to drinking White Claw and champagne and suffered injuries including bruising on her arm, neck and inner knee (pictured 2019)

In an affidavit seen by TMZ, the victim stated she suffered injuries including bruising on her arm, neck and inner knee.

If convicted of second-degree rape, Lil Mosey faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The Washington native found fame with his 2017 single Pull Up and last year he made it to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Blueberry Faygo.
Pressure is growing on the government to review curfew hours in the COVID-zoned area of Nairobi, Nakuru, Kajiado, Kiambu, and Machakos counties.

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja and the National Council of NGOs on Wednesday joined the growing calls to President Uhuru Kenyatta to extend the starting time of the dusk to dawn to curfew.

In a statement to newsrooms, NGO Council Chairman Stephen K. Cheboi said the current 8 pm curfew time has proved challenging for many Kenyans as they struggle to make a living and return home in time.

What was witnessed in Thika Road in recent days and also in other places in some parts of the country where law enforces clashes with citizens or people arrested for not adhering to COVID19 regulations is not pleasing and thus the need for all of us to be responsible in one way or another, he said.

The Council wants the curfew time pushed to 9 pm.

Sakaja on the other hand implored the President to review the curfew hours from 8 pm to 10 pm to relieve commuters of the difficulties they face in the public transport sector.

The Senator noted that the major infrastructural projects happening in the city centre with the JKIA-Westlands Expressway were causing a lot of traffic snarl-ups in the city.

I hold that the 8 pm curfew imposed in Nairobi be reviewed upwards to earliest 10 pm due to the nature of our public transport as well as livelihoods, he said.

At the same time, Sakaja said it was unfortunate that Form Four students were caught up in the curfew, forcing them to spend the night in the cold as there were no matatus to take them home.

As a parent, it was very hurtful to see school children who are just from finishing their exams spending the night in the cold as a result of the 8 pm curfew, he said.

Many innocent people are caught out with the curfew and as the Senator of Nairobi I can only plead with the President to kindly revise the curfew time, he added.
The Pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has identified counterfeit COVID vaccines in Mexico and Poland. It was not unexpected, as demand for the cure is overwhelming.

Counterfeit COVID Vaccines

The Pharma company remarked that they are aware that because of the comfort and efficiency of e-commerce and the anonymity offered by the internet, there will be an increase in the proliferation of fraud, fake, and other fraudulent practices concerning COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, said Fox news.

Places offered these fake vaccines were in Mexico and Poland, where they were delivered via online sources, as reported by Newsmax.

Joe Biden's Policies to Blame for Sending Children to U.S. Border

The fake cures were intercepted and captured by officials in these countries; samples were subjected to tests by Pfizer to investigate the bootleg vaccines in several methods. These are microscopic tools and a special light to check the samples. Most notable is that vials had been identified as bootleg by investigators.

Reports said that the Mexican bootleg vaccine had fake labels, and the ones in Poland had an anti-wrinkle treatment, noted Pfizer in the Fox News release.

In Mexico, the price in one clinic which sold the bootleg vaccines at $1000 per pose. The clinic sold it to 80 people who were fooled into thinking it was legit; none suffered any injuries. In many cases, the vaccine was only distilled water, said the health secretary to the Journal.

Sources say that the counterfeit COVID vaccines were suspiciously stored in beach-style beer coolers, with mismatched lot numbers and expiration dates that weren't in the state records, said Dr. Manuel de la O Cavazos, health secretary Nuevo Leon state, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Guatemala: Biden Administration Lied About Increased Border Security Deal

There were six doctors caught dispensing the bootleg vaccines in a February raid at a Mexican Clinic.

After an unknown quantity of Pfizer vaccine was found in his flat, a suspect in Poland is charged with fraud. The fake vaccine was not offered to anybody and contained hyaluronic acid; a skin-care ingredient used to combat aging.

Data in the United States show that Pfizer has given 142,177,425 doses for use, 113,104,771 Pfizer doses have been administered, and 43,276,992 are already jabbed anti-covid vaccines.

US Border Officials Say Among All the Migrants, 861+ are Criminals

During a news conference last Wednesday, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa Etienne expressed concern about vaccine apprehension. She said that disinformation is a problem that is muddling the vaccination efforts.

She reported that PAHO was working with tech companies to counter misinformation that has quickly spread throughout the internet and social media platforms.

One of the biggest concerns said Carissa Etienne, that has driven the sale of fake vaccines is the increase of COVID in the Americas that is overcoming the supply in countries like Mexico.

Etienne stressed that Latin America has many causes and not enough doses for its people, noting it should be given a supply in the distribution of vaccines.

She stated that half of the deaths due to covid were in the Americas, and all Central American countries have more cases than most. One example is Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic that is raking it in.

It's no wonder the increase of Fake Pfizer counterfeit COVID vaccines is on the rise, as Mexico

is one of the places affected by the shortage of vaccines.

Biden Administration to Use Taxpayers' Money to Pay for Migrants' Hotel Accommodations

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[April 22, 2021] Gemspring Capital Completes Acquisition of Outform and Merges It with Rapid Displays

WESTPORT, Conn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gemspring Capital, a private equity firm focused on partnering with middle market companies, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Outform, Inc., a global retail innovation agency, and merged it with Rapid Displays, an existing portfolio company that provides custom merchandising display solutions. The combined company will be a global market leader with a full suite of design and execution capabilities to serve marquee brands and retailers. Gemspring's investment is in partnership with Ariel Haroush, Outform's Founder & CEO, who will remain in an executive leadership role and maintain a significant ownership interest. Outform is a leading provider of custom merchandising solutions, including agency, display production, and distribution services, for global brands and retailers. Outform's services span the full merchandising execution lifecycle  from initial concept and creative design, engineering, and prototyping to global production and execution. The company differentiates itself with best-in-class creative and technology delivery capabilities and unique, data-driven shopper insights. Outform is headquartered in Miami and serves retailers and consumer brands around the globe through its operations in the US, Europe, Israel and China. The merger of Rapid Displays and Outform will create one of the world's largest retail marketing companies and will better serve customers through enhanced product and service offerings and one-stop global execution. Outform and Rapid Displays will continue to operate through their respective brands but offer customers the enhanced scale and offering of the combined business. Outform's Founder & CEO, Ariel Haroush, commented, "At Outform, we have been on a mission to lea the retail marketing industry and deliver for our customers globally. This merger allows us to help shape the future of retail with our customers at the forefront. I have long admired Rapid Displays' capabilities, and I am excited to be joining forces. Our respective clients will benefit from the expanded range of our combined in-house services, which will be available on a global scale."



Charles Fraas, Managing Director at Gemspring, added, "We are delighted to bring together two companies that have a tremendous reputation for supporting blue-chip brands executing at retail. The combined creative, technological, and execution capabilities of Rapid and Outform will offer customers a top quality, end-to-end, global solution for their retail marketing and merchandising needs. We look forward to supplementing and supporting the new management team that will drive the next stage of the combined company's growth." About Rapid Displays

Rapid Displays offers custom retail displays, store fixtures, kiosk merchandising, and more for an end-to-end visual merchandising solution. With over eight decades of experience, over 500 employees and 1 million square feet of working space, Rapid is a one-stop shop for retail merchandising solutions. One integrated team of retail experts, designers, advisors and project managers results in a tailored and seamless experience for each customer. For more information, visit www.rapiddisplays.com.

About Outform, Inc.

Outform has taken the global retail industry by storm over the last few years, specifically in the consumer electronics space, providing technology infused solutions via a strategic process that is unmatched in the industry. Outform specializes in creating tangible consumer engagements that elevate, connect and humanize brand experiences. Outform unites leading experts in research, strategy, design, innovation and manufacturing, who work together to create unforgettable brand experiences. Interdisciplinary teams work in close collaboration with clients, helping to provide innovative solutions and elevate brands. Outform's user-centric, data-driven approach focuses on creating a seamless experience across different environments. For more information, visit www.outform.com About Gemspring Capital

Gemspring Capital, a Westport, Connecticut-based private equity firm with $1.1 billion of capital under management, provides flexible capital solutions to lower middle market companies. Gemspring partners with talented management teams and takes a partnership approach to helping drive revenue growth and value creation. Target companies have up to $500 million in revenue and are in the aerospace & defense, business services, consumer services, financial and insurance services, healthcare services, industrial services, software and tech-enabled services, or specialty manufacturing sectors. For more information, visit www.gemspring.com CONTACT: Charles Fraas, charles@gemspring.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gemspring-capital-completes-acquisition-of-outform-and-merges-it-with-rapid-displays-301275082.html SOURCE Gemspring Capital

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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) offers investment projects and is interested in a predictable partner that links BRI with European Union and Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS) markets.



Belarus is a good choice that can offer China not only the linking transport gateway with the EU and the CIS countries, favorable conditions for infrastructure investments through Eurasian Economic Union, the Customs Union and the Common Free Market Zone with capacity of 170 million people, but also due to the current political events in Belarus, is able to preserve peace and economic advantages for investors and tackle negative external influence.

The support of Russia gives hope of deeper integration within the Union which will provide even more advantageous conditions for BRI such as the complete removal of legal obstacles to free movement of people and goods and growth of benefits from better infrastructure, technology transfer, cheaper consumer goods and industrial inputs. Currently more than 100 million tons of goods transit through Belarus every year, which supports a large transport sector accounting for 6 percent of its GDP.

Cooperation between China and Belarus is diversified, ranging from economy  with the launching of a large industrial park "The Great Stone", to defense and humanitarian sphere: education and culture. There are also smaller initiatives, for example the opening of traditional Chinese medical centers and restaurants aimed at support of Chinese citizens living in Belarus.

The Belt and Road Initiative creates the strong platform for further bilateral cooperation of China and Belarus in culture. Successful development of cooperation can be noted in museum and librarian business and education.

Close cooperation of Belarusian and Chinese education institutions has resulted in over 20 joint university education programs and over 10 post-graduation university education programs. Belarusian and Chinese universities have signed over 400 agreements on cooperation, with 32 agreements signed in 2019. The legal base of cooperation was expanded with an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of academic certificates and academic degrees.

There is great demand for technical specialists not only with excellent expertise in their field but with fluent Chinese.

Belarusian students are interested in joint education programs, such as Digital economy, Commerce, Big Data management, Technological innovations: Robotics, IT, Petroleum engineering, International communications: Chinese business, tourism management, Journalism and communications.

The two countries are planning to establish the Silk Road Academy, a center of knowledge about China in Belarus. Belarusian National Technical University in association with the Confucius Institute on Science and Technology operating at the university's premises has implemented an ambitious project to compile a Russian-Chinese-English dictionary of technical terms during the Year of Education of Belarus in China.

Besides the establishing six Confucius Institutes in Minsk, Brest and Gomel, China makes profound effort to introduce Belarusian citizens to ancient and diverse Chinese culture.

Due to the agreements signed with Belarusian state entities was set the successful work on consolidation of direct contacts among organizations of the two countries, development of interaction between the national libraries, the national museums of art, education establishments in the field of arts and humanities. On permanent basis is organized the exchange of museum expositions and exhibitions dedicated to modern fine art, as well as handover of books on art and science.

Chinese audience also has the opportunity to appreciate high professional skills of Belarusian artists including the Honored Dance Ensemble of Belarus, actors of the National Academic Bolshoi Theater of Opera of the Republic of Belarus, the Belarusian State Honored Choreographic Ensemble "Khoroshki", The National Academic Folk Orchestra named after I. Zhinovich, etc.

Citizens of two states welcome the annual festivals  Days of National Culture  are a most interesting form of cultural cooperation between Belarus and China which are held twice a year and have become traditional and significant events in the cultural life of Belarus and China.

China and Belarus through festivals, Years of education and tourism not only develop cooperation between museum, theatric, education and academic entities but also resolve issues of further economic cooperation.

It is also important to use soft power to popularize the vision of China that stands for the values of peace, mutual development and cooperation. It is very important now to address to young Belarusian citizens that perceive the reality through modern rock music, sport, ecological issues and creative approach where they could reveal their personality, show others their strong public attitude. The best way is to support Belorussian public complex initiatives that include art, sport, ecology and history.

We should also not forget schoolchildren and students motivating them to study by urging them to participate in contests in mathematics, exact Sciences and Olympiads on programming.

Sergei Lusch is head of Association of Integration Assistance and International Sociocultural and Business cooperation, Belarus.
The European Union has blasted Moscows reaction to Pragues decision to expel Russian diplomats from the country as disproportionate and vowed to back all the next steps taken by the Czech Republic, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said in a statement issued in Brussels Wednesday.

"The European Union expresses full solidarity with the Czech Republic, supports the actions taken by its authorities so far and stands ready to support its further efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The EU condemns the disproportionate reaction and subsequent threats of Russian Federation towards the Czech Republic," TASS cited the statement as saying.

According to Borrell, "The EU takes extremely seriously the conclusions by the Czech authorities, based on extensive investigations, that officers of the Russian military intelligence GRU perpetrated these actions." "The European Union is deeply concerned by any gross violation of international law and sovereignty of the Czech Republic, as well as any such action targeting any other EU Member State. Russia must desist from activities that threaten security and stability in Europe and run counter to Russias international obligations," Borrell noted in the statement.

The chief EU diplomat added, "Disruptive actions of Russian intelligence services against the interests and security of the EU and its member states will continue to be met with the staunchest resolve, including at the level of the European Union, as appropriate."

On April 17, Czech authorities announced the expulsion of 18 employees of the Russian Embassy in Prague, who, according to the Czech authorities, are "officers of Russias SVR and GRU intelligence agencies." The Czech Republic claimed that the so-called newly-discovered circumstances related to the 2014 Vrbetice explosion were the reason behind the move. The Russian Foreign Ministry protested the step that Prague had taken "under false pretenses," and declared 20 employees of the Czech Embassy in Moscow personae non grata in response.
Chris Parrino Chris will be a wonderful resource in sharing this new [Humana] offering, and then some, with business owners across the area.

SynchronyHR, a full-service, national professional employment organization (PEO) and human resources (HR) outsourcing firm, has announced the addition of Chris Parrino to their growing team of Business Development Managers in the Kentucky market.

In his new role, Parrino will be working with business owners, and their potential advisors, to identify challenges that may be negatively impacting their development and success. By arming them with solutions from SynchronyHRs current list of HR outsourcing services, which includes support with employment law and the administration of payroll and benefits, Parrino hopes to alleviate these challenges for business owners and provide them the tools they need to grow.

While a majority of SynchronyHRs sales force works with business owners in the Kansas City and St. Louis area in which SynchronyHR is based, Parrino will be the first member of the team to live and operate in the state of Kentucky.

Not only are we thrilled to welcome Chris to the team, but we are also excited to increase our presence in the great state of Kentucky, said Kyle Kelly, CEO of SynchronyHR. We have some exciting benefit offerings emerging in the state, thanks to a new partnership with Humana, that will be a great help to clients new and old. Chris will be a wonderful resource in sharing this new offering, and then some, with business owners across the area.

Prior to joining the SynchronyHR team, Parrino spent over ten years helping businesses navigate challenges related to technology, talent acquisition, payroll, risk management, and more.

About SynchronyHR

SynchronyHR is a human resource outsourcing firm, often referred to as a professional employer organization (PEO), based out of St. Louis, MO. From payroll and HR to benefits and risk management, our professional services have helped hundreds of business owners create efficiencies, cut down on costs, strengthen their internal teams, and avoid tedious tasks and employer-related headaches. By delivering the right solutions at the right time, SynchronyHR is truly in sync with the needs of your business. Learn more at http://www.synchronyhr.com.
CLIFTON PARK -- Damage to an overpass across the Northway caused by "an illegally sized commercial vehicle" has required that a section of the bridge be taken down, state officials said Wednesday.

It will mean detours at Exit 9 southbound and, eventually, a temporary and then permanent bridge, Department of Transportation Region 1 Director Patrick Barnes said in a statement.

The DOT said it has completed its assessment of damage to the Sitterly Road overpass on the Northway, which was struck by a boom lift being carried by a truck's trailer in the southbound lanes in the early morning of April 14. All three lanes in that direction were closed for several hours so experts could study the damage and traffic could be detoured out of safety concerns.



Given the extensive structural damage, the DOT said it will begin removing the segment of the bridge that carries Sitterly Road over the southbound lanes starting Saturday night. That is meant to facilitate the safe restoration of three lanes of travel.

It means southbound lanes of the Northway will be closed between Exit 9 and Exit 8A from 8 p.m. Saturday through about noon Sunday, April 25, weather permitting. The southbound Exit 9 on-ramps in Clifton Park will also be closed during those hours.



During the closure, southbound Northway traffic will be detoured at Exit 9 for eastbound Route 146. From there, the detour will direct motorists to southbound Route 9 and then to westbound Grooms Road (Saratoga County Route 91) where motorists can re-enter the southbound Northway.



A temporary bridge will be installed over the southbound lanes at a date to be announced in the near future until a more permanent structure can be constructed, the DOT said.

In the meantime, Sitterly Road will remain closed to traffic and motorists should continue to follow the existing posted detour. The state agency said it will continue to keep the public apprised of any potential travel impacts.

State Police last Thursday ticketed the Colonie man, 56, who was driving the Admar Construction Equipment & Supplies truck involved in the crash. The driver was southbound on the Northway when the boom lift on the truck's trailer hit the overpass, knocking the lift onto the highway. All three southbound lanes of the were blocked between exits 9A and 8A.

State Police won't release the violations the driver was cited for, citing new disclosure laws tied to criminal justice reforms.

The Rochester-based company has a location near the Albany County International Airport in Colonie.

DOT spokesman Joe Morrissey told the Times Union last week that "like any damage sustained to our system, we fully intend to seek restitution for all costs incurred by the state resulting from this crash. It is too early to say what that amount would be."






Georgian Ambassador Teimuraz Sharashenidze has returned to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.

"Georgian Ambassador to Ukraine Teimuraz Sharashenidze returned to Kyiv after a long hiatus. This was the result of agreements reached during a phone call between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili on April 15, 2021," the report reads.

On Thursday, April 22, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar had a meeting with the Georgian ambassador during which both parties emphasized their desire to intensify the development of Ukrainian-Georgian relations and bilateral and multilateral cooperation with a view to strengthening security in the region.

Bodnar spoke in detail about the escalation of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and the Azov-Black Sea region, which is linked to Russia's provocative and destabilizing actions. He drew attention to Russia's reluctance to comply with the ceasefire regime and pointed to the active massing of Russian troops along the Ukrainian-Russian border and in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Sharashenidze expressed solidarity with Ukraine and reaffirmed Georgia's continued support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

Both parties also discussed the schedule of contacts at the high and highest levels this year.

On April 9, Zourabichvili stressed the need to bring back to Kyiv the Georgian ambassador to Ukraine, who was recalled for consultations on May 8 last year after former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was appointed chairman of Ukraine's National Reform Council.

The Tbilisi City Court in January 2018 found Saakashvili guilty of abuse of office and sentenced him to three years in prison. The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the verdict in May 2019.

op
Opera North has unveiled its 2021 autumn and winter plans.

Before the autumn season commences, the company will present its eagerly anticipated production of A Little Night Music, which will run at Leeds Playhouse this summer, with dates to be revealed. There will also be a tour of Fidelio.

The company will originally present Bizet's Carmen at Leeds Grand Theatre, conducted by Garry Walker and directed by Edward Dick. It will star Chrystal E Williams in the title role alongside Antoine Belanger as Don Jose.

There will also be a double-bill of Bernstein works played in one evening  a production of one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti as well as a staging of a brand-new dance piece West Side Story Symphonic Dances choreographed by Dane Hurst, with the company working in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre to reinterpret the classic piece in a new light. Antony Hermus will conduct the majority of performances.

Across the winter, Carmen will be joined by a new production of Verdi's Rigoletto, directed by the award-winning Femi Elufowoju Jr in his operatic debut, with Garry Walker conducting the piece and Eric Greene in the title role, joined by Willard White and Roman Arndt.

Opera North's first environmentally sustainable production, a revival of Handel's Alcina, conducted by Laurence Cummings and directed by Tim Albery, with Maire Flavin as Alcina and Patrick Terry as Ruggiero.

The final production is a rescheduled tour of Wagner's Parsifal, which will open at Leeds Grand Theatre before touring to concert halls across the country. A London venue is to be revealed.

Carmen, the Bernstein double bill, Rigoletto and Alcina will also visit venues including The Lowry, Theatre Royal Nottingham, Theatre Royal Newcastle, Hull New Theatre

The venue will finally reopen the 300-seat Howard Assembly Room, a performance venue set to host international talent featuring the likes of award-winning pianist Zoe Rahman, Cuban pianist Omar Sosa with Senegalese kora master Seckou Keita, Leveret, and Richard Dawson. The company's Howard Opera Centre home will also enter its final stages of redevelopment.
Yasuke is a six-episode Netflix anime series created by LeSean Thomas, set in alternate fantastical Japan during the feudal era.

The story is about a samurai warrior of African descent who must return to his life of sword and violence in order to protect a mysterious girl from the dark forces.

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords. The story of Yasuke, the first African samurai who actually served the legendary Oda Nobunaga, will be released to the world.

Thursday 29 April on Netflix.

Related
London, April 22 : Another 2,396 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,395,703, according to official figures.

The country also reported another 22 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,327. These figures released on Wednesday only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 33.1 million people have been given the first coronavirus vaccine jab, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier Wednesday, a government advisory scientist warned that Britain is likely to see a "summer surge" in coronavirus cases as many adults are not immunized.

Prof. Adam Finn of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee that advises Britain's health departments on immunization, said modelling shows coronavirus cases will rise in the summer as lockdown is relaxed.

"The models that we've seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population who've not been immunized," he told the BBC.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that as Britain continues to make progress in the fight against coronavirus, "we cannot delude ourselves" that the virus has gone away.

He noted that the majority of scientific experts are of the view that there will be another wave at some stage this year and Britons must learn to live with the virus.

However, he said there was nothing in scientific data to suggest Britain would have to deviate from the roadmap out of lockdown.

In England, all shops reopened from April 12 as lockdown eases, 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 centres can all open.

On May 17, restaurants and pubs are supposed be allowed to resume indoor service and see most rules on gathering outdoors lifted.

The British government's four-step plan is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Focused on lead anti-inflammatory drug FSD-201

Launched Phase 2 study of drug known as micro PEA in December 2020

Developing drugs to treat gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and cats

What does:

Inc ( ) ( ) is a publicly-traded holding company that owns subsidiary BioSciences Inc, a specialty biotech pharmaceutical R&D firm focused on developing multiple applications of its lead anti-inflammatory drug FSD-201.

The drug is now one of several therapeutics being advanced that could help reduce severe and deadly lung infection in coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

Known as ultra-micronized PEA, the drug is a naturally occurring fatty acid similar to an endocannabinoid, one of a suite of molecules found in cannabis that targets endocannabinoid (CB2) receptors in the human body. The company holds exclusive worldwide rights to the drug that has been used for 40 years to fight respiratory infections - except in Italy and Spain, where PEA is prescribed as a medical-food supplement to treat chronic inflammation.

FSD-201 works by reducing lung inflammation caused by small proteins called cytokines that are central to the cytokine storm phenomenon, where the body attacks its own cells rather than just fighting off the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This so-called storm of an "over-exuberant" inflammatory response causes acute lung injury in hospitalized patients and is a leading cause of death for those infected.

Toronto-based FSD Pharma, which in 2020 began liquidating its cannabis-production operations in Canada to focus all its energies and resources on developing FSD-201, has had several successes in advancing the drug toward potential commercialization.

In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the initiation of a Phase 2 study of FSD-201 on COVID-19 patients. The company has also successfully completed a Phase 1 first-in-human safety and tolerability study for FSD201 in Australia.

How is it doing:

FSD Pharma has launched its Phase 2 clinical trial of FSD201 for the treatment of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 after building up a capital runway of C$56.2 million.

The trial, which started in December 2020, is a randomized, controlled, double-blind, multicenter study with 352 patients to assess the effectiveness and safety of the drug. Patients are dosed at 600 milligrams (mg) or 1,200 mg twice daily, together with the standard of care (SOC), versus SOC alone in hospitalized patients with documented COVID-19. Patients in the study have symptoms consistent with influenza and/or coronavirus signs like fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing.

The primary objective of the trial is to determine whether FSD-201 plus SOC provides a significant improvement in the clinical status of patients which includes shorter time to symptom relief.

Secondary objectives include determining whether FSD-201 plus SOC demonstrates additional benefit in terms of safety, help in bringing down fever, length of time to improve oxygen saturation, and length of time to clinical progression, including time to mechanical ventilation or hospitalization, and length of hospital stay.

The company said the endpoint is "cytokine clearance" as measured by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, or ELISA test. The treatment period for patients in the FSD-201 trial is 14 days and the primary endpoint will be determined at 28 days.

Meanwhile, the company on March 17, 2021, entered into a license agreement with Innovet Italia SRL to develop FDA-approved veterinary drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in dogs and cats.

The agreement grants FSD Pharm an exclusive, worldwide license (excluding Italy and subject to a first refusal right maintained by Innovet) to research, manufacture, and commercialize products using certain proprietary formulations of ultra-micro PEA to treat the animals. FSD Pharma will develop the licensed products with a view to submitting an Investigational Animal Drug Application with the FDA within 36 months of the date of the agreement and will submit a New Animal Drug Application within 60 months of the effective date of the agreement.

In addition, FSD Pharma will pay Innovet US $750,000 during the first year of the agreement. And within 30 business days of the first notification of approval of a New Animal Drug Application by the FDA of the first licensed product to receive such approval in the US, FSD Pharma will pay an additional non-refundable sum of US$750,000 to Innovet.

The agreement also specifies certain royalty payments. FSD Pharma is required to pay Innovet 14% of any one-off lump-sum payments it receives as consideration for granting a sub-license to a third party with respect to a licensed product. In addition, the company is required to pay 5% of net sales of the licensed products.

Inflection points:

Release results of Phase 2 study of FSD-201

Further study of drug to treat osteoarthritis in the knee, endometriosis, and chronic pain (non-opioid)

Exploring M&A and licensing opportunities to expand drug development pipeline

What the boss says:

Commencing a phase 2 clinical trial to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients is a major milestone achieved by our pharmaceutical team led by Dr Edward Brennan and a huge step forward for FSD Pharma, the company's CEO Dr Raza Bokhari said in a recent statement.

"We are joining the global fight against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus with a hope to demonstrate down-regulation of the over-expressed immune response in COVID-19 patients leading to better treatment outcome. FSD201 is formulated as a tablet for oral dosing and is a safe compound with no known serious adverse side effects. Numerous studies over the past 40 years have validated micronized PEA for its efficacy and safety in the treatment of, and prophylactic effects with respect to, other respiratory infections.

Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham
Normandy Reservoir is a 3,048-acre impoundment located in south-central Tennessee with a major portion in Coffee County. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) owns and operates Normandy Reservoir. Dam completion occurred in 1976. Full pool elevation is 875 feet  mean sea level and winter pool elevation is 864 feet  mean sea level. Daily water levels can be tracked on the TVA Lake information website (link) or the TVA app.



Four public boat access sites are available for use with no fees. These sites include Wards Chapel, Barton Springs, Boyds Branch, and Normandy Dam. Locations and descriptions of these access sites are listed on the TWRA website in the Where to Fish section (link).

Two public fishing piers are available at the Barton Springs boat access site. Bank fishing access is available at the Normandy Dam boat access site.

Barton Springs and Cedar Point campgrounds are managed by the TVA with opportunities described on their website (link).

Fish attractor data for Normandy Reservoir is available for you to upload into your fishfinder or other GPS devices, or view in free or online mapping applications (link). Thirty-five fish attractor sites are maintained on Normandy Reservoir by TWRA.

The best fishing opportunities are for:

Largemouth Bass

Spotted Bass

Blacknose Black Crappie

Walleye

Channel Catfish

Species Overviews with Techniques and Fishing Locations

Black Bass



Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Bass all contribute to the Normandy Reservoir black bass fishery. The black bass fishery is the most popular, accounting for 60 percent of the annual targeted angler effort. Largemouth Bass are the most abundant of these three species. Largemouth Bass abundance, size structure and condition are all indicative of a population providing good fishing opportunities. The 2019 spring electrofishing catch rate of harvestable size ( 15 inches) Largemouth Bass was high (28/hour) indicative of high relative abundance.

The creel limit for Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass and Smallmouth Bass is 5 per day in combination. Size restrictions include a 15-inch minimum length limit for Largemouth Bass and an 18-inch minimum length limit for Smallmouth Bass. No size restrictions apply to Spotted Bass harvested from Normandy Reservoir.

Early spring, particularly April, is a great time to bass fish on Normandy Reservoir. Largemouth Bass have moved shallow and can be caught lake-wide on gently sloping banks with shallow running crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics. During the summer months, Ned rigs, shaky heads, and wacky-rigged senkos on steep bluff walls can be productive. Fishing with live bait has also been a productive method for bass anglers on Normandy Reservoir. Live bait regulations are addressed in the Tennessee Fishing Guide (link).

Popular and productive fishing areas for Largemouth Bass include the back of the Riley Creek embayment, the long point at the mouth of Eoff Branch, and the point directly across from the river channel at the 4-mile marker. The many fish attractor sites maintained by the TWRA are also very productive spots for catching Largemouth Bass. Largemouth Bass use TWRA fish attractors year-round but especially from late November through April in 6-15 feet of water. One of the most popular is located approximately  mile upstream of the Bartons Spring Bridge on the right ascending bank. The Normandy Reservoir fish attractor sites can be viewed on the TWRA website (link).

Spotted Bass contribute significantly to Normandys black bass fishery. Fishing techniques for Spotted Bass are similar to those used for Largemouth Bass. Live bait, particularly crayfish, is extremely productive for Spotted Bass. Regulations for using crayfish as bait are addressed in the Tennessee Fishing Guide in the Live Bait section (link).

Popular and productive fishing areas for Spotted Bass include the Barton Springs and Wards Chapel Bridge abutments, the point directly across from the river channel at the 4-mile marker, and the flats encircling the islands near the water treatment plants intake structure.

Crappie

Crappie fishing is the second most popular fishery on Normandy Reservoir accounting for 25 percent of the annual targeted angler effort. Blacknose Black Crappie accounts for 98 percent of the crappie catch. Both angler catch rates and average weights of harvested crappie are high. The average weight of Blacknose Black Crappie harvested from Normandy Reservoir is 1.0 pounds. Catches exceeding 2 pounds are not uncommon. Normandy Hatchery stocks Blacknose Black Crappie fingerlings annually at a high rate to maintain this consistently good fishery. Regulations for crappie are 15 per day in combination and a 10-inch minimum size limit.

Crappie fishing techniques utilize lead head jigs tipped with soft plastics, as well as live bait. Using the lightest jig possible to provide the slowest descent is a very productive presentation. Live bait rigs include slip floats that enable easier casting and fewer hang-ups. Fathead Minnows and Stonerollers are common live bait species (Link to the Tennessee Fishing Guide and the Live Bait section).

During the winter months, the most popular and productive fishing area for crappie is the lower reservoir section from Carroll Creek downstream to the dam. Crappie are caught at depths of 20 to 25 feet during this season. A shift occurs during the spring to the upper reservoir section from Wards Chapel Boat Access and upstream to the 7-mile marker. Crappie are caught at shallower depths during the spring season particularly once they begin to spawn. Crappie are distributed throughout the entire reservoir during the summer months. During the summer, many anglers will fish at night under a light source directed into the water to attract baitfish. A popular site is under the Barton Springs Bridge on the south side closest to the main river channel.

Crappie tend to orient to some type of underwater structure during each of these seasonal periods. TWRA fish attractor sites which include stake beds are also very productive fishing spots for crappie (link). Fish attractors are most productive for crappie from October through May in 6-12 feet of water.

Walleye

Walleye fingerlings are stocked annually by Normandy Hatchery to provide a fishery. The walleye fishery accounts for 5 percent of the annual targeted angler effort on Normandy Reservoir. Growth rates are extremely fast reaching 16 inches during Age-1 and averaging 21 inches at Age-3. Regulations include a creel limit of 5 walleye per day, and the size restriction is a 16-inch minimum length limit.

Fishing methods for Walleye include trolling the traditional spinner worm harnesses, as well as jigging spoons. The summer months, when Normandy Reservoir has stratified, provide the most productive fishing period. Walleye will orient to the bottom of the thermocline (metalimnion) which provides the coolest water with acceptable concentrations of dissolved oxygen. This depth range usually occurs between 12 and 15 feet from the dam upstream to Barton Springs Bridge and ranges from 10 to 12 feet from Wards Chapel Boat Access and upstream. Another popular and productive method during the summer involves fishing at night. Lights are used to attract baitfish while fishing over the main river channel in the lower half of the reservoir with live bait such as Threadfin Shad and Gizzard Shad. A popular spot is under the Barton Springs Bridge on the south side closest to the main river channel. The walleye will be suspended at the 12 to 15 feet range.

Catfish

Channel and Flathead Catfish are abundant in Normandy Reservoir and account for 5 percent of the annual targeted angler effort. The summer months are the most productive for fishermen. Like walleye, they occupy the summer thermocline at depths down to 15 feet in the lower reservoir section and down to 12 feet in the upper reservoir section. Distributing jugs or noodles with live or cut bait is a popular method. Each jug or noodle must be tagged with the owners name and address, or TWRA identification number. Sport anglers are limited to 50 jugs or noodles and each with only one hook (TN Fishing Guide link, page 20). There is no daily creel limit for catfish 34 inches and less in length, but only one catfish over 34 inches in length may be harvested per day.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 05:07:07|Editor: huaxia

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A policeman checks the license and ID card of a motorcycle driver at a checkpoint in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, April 22, 2021. Four people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded inside the parking of Serena hotel in Quetta, capital city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, the country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said. There was a threat alert in Quetta and other major cities after some suspicious calls were intercepted, and security was on high alert including cities in Balochistan, Rasheed told Xinhua. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded inside the parking of Serena hotel in Quetta, capital city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, the country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said.

There was a threat alert in Quetta and other major cities after some suspicious calls were intercepted, and security was on high alert including cities in Balochistan, Rasheed told Xinhua.

He said that despite the security measures, the vehicle carrying explosives managed to enter the parking lot from the main gate of the hotel, which is a matter of big concern and the responsible people will be taken to task for creating security lapse which gave terrorists a chance to carry out the attack.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal hinted at involvement of some "foreign hand" in the attack and said that the elements which do not want to see Pakistan prospering are in search of a loophole in the security of the province, and launch attacks when they succeed in finding any.

Proscribed organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack in a text message to journalists saying a suicide bomber launched the attack targeting locals and foreigners, but the claim has not yet been officially confirmed.

The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital whose spokesman Waseem Baig told Xinhua that two of the injured people are in critical condition and a state of emergency has been declared at the hospital by the provincial government.

Intelligence sources from Quetta told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that one security guard was killed and two policemen were injured in the attack.

Soon after the blast, the hotel's parking area located in its premises was sealed by the counter terrorism department of police who also restricted media to access the site for reporting, Inspector General Police of Balochistan Muhammad Tahir Rai said.

Home minister of Balochistan told media that a bomb disposal squad reached the blast site to investigate into the incident, and according to initial investigation, some 40 kg of explosives were used in the attack.

Fire erupted in several vehicles following the blast, badly destroying five to seven of them, he added.

Talking to Xinhua, intelligence sources, who were close to the hotel when the incident happened, said that the loud blast was heard many miles away from the blast site and fire erupted in the hotel's parking following the explosion.

Security has been beefed up in other cities including Islamabad following the blast and all sensitive government buildings and installations are being guarded, according to local reports. Enditem
PHILADELPHIA--When researchers from Penn Medicine found that many patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated with the investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy targeting the CD22 antigen didn't respond, they went back to the drawing board to determine why. They discovered that less is more when it comes to the length of what is known as the single-chain variable fragment -- the linker that bridges the two halves of the receptor that allows CAR T cells to latch onto tumor cells and attack them.

The findings are reported online today in Nature Medicine.

"A little difference of a few amino acids can make a huge difference for patients," said co-senior author Marco Ruella, MD, an assistant professor of Medicine in the division of Hematology-Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and scientific director of the Lymphoma Program. "When we snipped 15 amino acids off the linker, the two halves of the CAR plastered together and pre-activated the CAR T cells."

Developed at Penn Medicine in collaboration with Novartis, the anti-CD19-CAR T cell (Kymriah) is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of pediatric and young adults with relapsed/refractory ALL; however, long-term follow up shows a significant fraction of patients who achieve remission ultimately relapse, often when the leukemia cells lose expression of the CD19 antigen and elude the new immune system. Researchers at Penn and elsewhere have developed a second approach for this group of patients: CAR T cells that target the CD22 antigen, also found on B cells.

Two clinical pilot studies conducted at Penn and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with CAR-22 T cell therapy in six children and three adult patients with refractory/relapsed ALL showed overall poor clinical responses. Strikingly, those findings didn't align with the positive results from a similar trial at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). So, the team investigated further and found the only difference between the two treatments was the length of the single-chain variable fragment. The NCI CAR was five amino acids in length, while the Penn/CHOP trial CAR was 20 amino acids in length.

The Penn team in collaboration with Novartis then built a new 41BB-based CAR-22 T cell with a shorter linker and compared it to the previous CAR in both mouse and human cell studies. 41BB is a different co-stimulatory signal, along with CD28, needed for CAR T cell activation and survival. They showed that the shorter linker on the CAR construct was, in fact, more successful at pre-activating CAR T cells so that their response to B cells and subsequent anti-tumor activity improved. Researchers have generally assumed that when T cells are pre-activated prior to seeing their target they become easily exhausted.

"This finding really turns the current dogma on its head," said Saar I. Gill, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Hematology-Oncology at Penn, who serves as co-senior author. "These days, most CARs come with one of two built-in turbo-charge systems: CD28 or 41BB. It turns out that the assumption was true only for CD28-stimulated CARs but not for the more commonly used 41BB-stimulated CARs. In fact, here we showed that the opposite is true."

Nathan Singh, MD, who conducted the study while at Penn and is now an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the first author.

"These findings were rather unexpected, given what's been shown previously in the field," Singh said. "They highlight that even small molecular changes can have dramatic impact on the function of these synthetic molecules. Most exciting is that these data reveal a previously hidden path to improve CAR T cell function in a methodical manner."

The results from these studies have led to a new, ongoing clinical trial at Penn and CHOP in collaboration with Novartis for adult and pediatric patients with refractory/relapsed ALL investigating the shorter linker CAR. Additional studies are underway to determine if the length of linkers is important in other CAR T cells.

"Every CAR construct is different," Gill said. "But these findings suggest we need to modify the length of the linker when we test a new CAR to make sure we are generating the best version of it."

###

Editor's Note: The University of Pennsylvania has licensed some technologies involved in these studies to Novartis. Some of the scientists involved in these trials are inventors of these technologies. As a result of the licensing relationship with Novartis, the University of Pennsylvania receives significant financial benefit, and some of these inventors have benefitted financially and/or may benefit financially in the future.
Tommy Robinson has told the High Court he is 'not racist and not anti-Muslin' as he fights a libel claim by a Syrian teenager he claimed attacked girls.

The English Defence League founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being sued by schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, 17.

The teenager was filmed as he was beaten up at his Huddersfield school in October 2018.

Shortly after the video went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Mr Hijazi was 'not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school'.

Robinson, who is representing himself at the trial, is defending his comments on the basis they are substantially true.

Tommy Robinson (pictured), the English Defence League founder whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is being sued by schoolboy Jamal Hijazi, 17

In his written arguments, Robinson claimed to have 'uncovered dozens of accounts of aggressive, abusive and deceitful behaviour' by Mr Hijazi.

He said that with people donating nearly 160,000 to a GoFundMe page set up for the claimant, he believed it was important for people to be given a 'balanced view'.

Starting his case on Thursday, Robinson told the High Court Mr Hijazi's lawyers had mischaracterised him and the EDL.

Robinson said: 'Their opening statement, which was a blatant attack on my character, is boringly predictable.'

The 38-year-old told the court the EDL had been classed as a centrist group and he had worked with an anti-extremism group for five years.

'For what it's worth, I am not racist, and I am certainly not anti-Muslim,' he said.

Mr Hijazi (pictured) was filmed as he was beaten up at his Huddersfield school in October 2018. Shortly after the video went viral, Robinson claimed in two Facebook videos that Mr Hijazi was 'not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school'

Robinson later said the media had been in a 'frenzy' over the incident with Mr Hijazi and had not reported 'the other side'.

He added: 'I only reported what I was told. That is all I'm doing here in this court, looking for the truth.'

In the Facebook videos, viewed by nearly a million people, Robinson made claims including that Mr Hijazi 'beat a girl black and blue', which the teenager denies.

On Thursday, the High Court heard evidence from Bailey McLaren, the boy shown pushing Mr Hijazi to the ground and pouring water over him in the widely shared video.

Mr Hijazi (pictured) arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, where he is suing Tommy Robinson

A video showing Jamal, 16, being pushed to the ground and 'waterboarded' in the playground at his school in Huddersfield was shared nationwide in November 2018

SCHOOLBOY TAUNTED WITH RACIST ABUSE AT SCHOOL IN 'CAMPAIGN OF BULLYING' In his witness statement, Jamal Hijazi said he joined Almondbury Community School in the city at the age of 13, with very poor English, and was met with hostility from some other pupils. He wrote: 'I faced a lot of issues when I was at the school, including a campaign of bullying and attempts by other students to make me unhappy, so I would go home. 'I was called names which at first I did not understand. 'My Syrian friend explained to me what these words meant and suggested I should report these incidents to a teacher because the names were racist. 'I refer below to a gang of students who regularly bullied me. They often called me "P**i", "Syrian" or "immigrant" in an aggressive way.' Jamal said the attack in the viral video was not isolated and detailed other incidents, including being threatened with a knife in November 2017. He said his sister Fariha was also bullied, referencing an incident where her hijab was deliberately removed by another student. Jamal also said in his statement he had 'no idea' about Robinson before the Facebook videos were made. He added: 'His job has been explained to me by both my litigation friend and my solicitors, but I still do not fully understand what he does. 'I understand that a part of what he does is to make content and that the more attention it gets, the more money and support he can gain.' Advertisement

Mr McLaren, who is now 18 and was a student at Almondbury Community School with Mr Hijazi, told the court he had been in trouble at school but was not a bully.

He said: 'I would say that if I was physical, I would have to be provoked into it. There would have to be a reason and it would have to be a strong reason.'

Robinson asked: 'Looking at your school record, were you a bully?'

The teenager replied: 'No. I can't stand bullying - from a young age I was affected by it. The mainstream media painted it out that I was a bully.'

'Are you a racist?' Robinson asked.

Mr McLaren replied: 'Not at all. The incident with Mr Hijazi had nothing to do with race.'

In his witness statement, Mr McLaren claimed Mr Hijazi was 'a strange boy'.

He wrote: 'Pupils and staff alike were fully aware that Mr Hijazi had a real problem with girls and even with female staff and that he was abusive towards them. You would hear from time to time that Jamal was bullying young girls and stuff.'

On the day of the incident in October 2018, Mr McLaren told the court there had been a confrontation between him and Mr Hijazi, adding: 'He told me to 'f*** off, you white bastard'.'

Mr McLaren also said he was told by another student that Mr Hijazi had threatened to stab him, which is denied.

On Wednesday, Mr Hijazi's barrister Catrin Evans QC described Robinson's defence as 'a cobbled-together mix of generalised smears of Jamal's character', saying 'there is simply no merit to the defendant's defence of truth'.

In cross-examination on Thursday afternoon, Ms Evans said Mr McLaren was 'regularly in trouble' for serious bullying including intimidation and physical assaults.

Mr McLaren said: 'I'm not trying to claim I'm an angel, I had incidents in school. I do agree that I'm quite hot-headed, but I've changed.'

The court heard he was permanently excluded and accepted a police caution for assaulting Mr Hijazi.

Ms Evans suggested Mr McLaren was part of a gang of students who often targeted Mr Hijazi.

She said: 'Jamal was one of your regular victims of bullying and you were the ringleader of the group that bullied him.'

Mr McLaren said: 'I think if anyone was the bully, it was Jamal.'

The trial continues.
Growing demand for single-use bioprocess systems due to their advantages of lesser cross-contamination chances provides a strong foothold for their use in the biopharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are looking forward to continuous manufacturing of pharma products with optimizing speed and sterility assurance, which is expected to surge demand for single-use bioprocess systems. Use of disposable products for bioprocessing application enhances upstream and downstream processes with better safety, sterility, and reliability. Besides, continuous focus by key players to manufacture high quality and technologically-advanced disposable bioprocess systems is also expected to accelerate market growth.

Increasing investments toward manufacturing plant expansion and rising emphasis on low-cost disposable bioprocess product development by key market players are other major factors expected to aid market growth. The global single-use bioprocess systems market was valued at US$ 4.4 Bn in 2020, and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of close to 20% over the forecast period (2020  2030).

Get Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12142

Companies covered in Single Use Bioprocess System Market Report

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech

Danaher Corporation

Merck Millipore

Eppendorf AG

Celltainer Biotech B.V.

Applikon Biotechnology

Cellexus Ltd.

Parker Hannifin Corp

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.

Get To Know Methodology of Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/12142

Key Takeaways from Single-use Bioprocess Systems Market Study

The bioreactor segment by component held maximum value, owing to growing use of single-use bioreactors for cell culture and fermentation processes.

By application, GMP and commercial production captured a notable revenue share of more than 71%.

Increasing adoption of single-use bioprocess systems in biopharmaceutical companies is expected to result in remarkable revenue share of this segment.

North America is a most lucrative market with a revenue of around 34% in 2020; however, it will lose some of its market share over the next ten years.

Growing healthcare expenditure and increasing demand for low-cost biologics in Asian countries are expected to propel market growth in the region to more than one-third of the global share by 2030.

The markets in Russia, China, and Spain are anticipated to expand at CAGRs of 16%, 18.4%, and 17%, respectively, through 2030.

Growing demand for disposable bioprocess systems to improve the manufacturing speed and efficacy of biologics at low cost is expected to flourish market growth and provide a competitive advantage to players, says a Persistence Market Research analyst.

Access Full Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/12142

Expansion of Manufacturing Capacity  Imperative Strategy for Market Players

Key market players in the single-use bioprocess systems market are looking forward to expanding their manufacturing capacities by establishing new bioprocess facilities to meet global demand. Leading companies are also opening new product distribution facilities across regions.

For instance, in June 2017, Parker Hannifin opened a new parker bioscience filtration division in Birtley, the U.K., and Oxnard, California, in the U.S., to deliver international bioprocessing, food and beverage, and healthcare solutions.

What else is in the report?

Persistence Market Research offers actionable insights and unique perspective on the single-use bioprocess systems market in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2015  2019 and projections for 20202030, based on component (bioreactors, mixers, bioprocess containers, transfer and storage bags, sampling systems, filtration systems, chromatography columns, probes & sensors, tubing assemblies, connectors & clamps, and filling systems), application (research & development (R&D) and GMP and commercial production), and end user (biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations, and research institutes), across seven key regions of the world.
(Nikkei Asia)  Chinas securities regulator has fined Huachen Automotive Group Holdings and a group of current and former executives almost $9 million over false and incomplete disclosures made during bond sales by the bankrupt corporate parent of BMWs local joint venture partner.

Last week, Brilliance China Automotive, BMWs Hong Kong-listed partner, revealed that it had discovered that subsidiaries had guaranteed 5.89 billion yuan ($905.91 million) in Huachen bank borrowings without authorization.

The latest disclosures involve two Shanghai-listed units of Huachen, car parts maker Shenyang Jinbei Automotive and Liaoning Shenhua Holdings, an auto distributor and retailer.

In separate filings, the two said that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) had found that Huachen had inflated its profits for 2017 and 2018 by recording investment income from the sale of shares in certain subsidiaries even though the sales were not completed.

The inflated results, which obscured falling sales for Huachens proprietary car brands, were used as the basis for raising 12.9 billion yuan in 11 bond issues on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the countrys interbank market.

According to the two units disclosures, the CSRC found that Huachen had also failed to make timely and proper disclosures of changes in its credit rating, missed payment deadlines, litigation and arbitration cases and other matters which could have affected its solvency or value of its bonds.

The CSRC slapped a fine of 53.6 million yuan on Huachen, with another 2.98 million yuan in penalties levied against 12 former and current executives.

Former Chairman Qi Yumin drew the biggest such fine. He has been under investigation since December by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Chinas most powerful graft buster.

The agency alleged Qi was involved in serious violation of discipline and law, which usually implies that the case is related to some form of corruption but no further details of the allegations have been released.

Until recently, foreign automakers were restricted to 50/50 joint ventures with local state-owned partners if they wanted to build cars in China.

As with its peers, Huachens BMW partnership has been a lucrative source of profit but it has long sought to develop its own brands, including Zhonghua, Jinbei and Huasong.

Falling sales of these brands has kept Huachen in the red since 2017, eventually leading to its filing for bankruptcy protection last November after it defaulted on domestic bonds.

As part of the bankruptcy process, the groups creditors met for the first time on Tuesday. According to local media reports, court-appointed receivers tallied 54.34 billion yuan in claims from 5,950 creditors.

Liaoning Shenhua said in its annual results filing on Monday that its sales of locally branded vehicles fell 48% last year to 6,064 cars, inflating its annual net loss to 755.59 million yuan from 252.73 million yuan a year before.

Shenhua said it had written off 126 million yuan last year in accounts receivable owed by Huachen and its affiliates. It also revealed that Huachen and its affiliates had funneled out 940 million yuan in cash in 2018 through various financial arrangements and another 345 million yuan the next year.

Shenhua said those arrangements have been resolved but that the Shanghai exchange had penalized the company, Huachen and seven of their executives for mismanagement of the listed companys funds.

The company was known until December as Shanghai Shenhua Holdings, a name well-recognized in Chinese securities circle as one of the original eight stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange when it reopened in 1990 for the first time since the Communist revolution.

Shenyang Jinbei also reported that Huachens bankruptcy had led to a sharp increase in its impairment charges, especially for receivables, inventories and fixed assets. The company swung to a net loss of 454.75 million yuan last year from a net profit of 60.65 million yuan a year earlier.

Jochen Goller, BMWs China chief, told reporters on Monday at the Shanghai auto show that issues regarding Huachen and Brilliance China would not impact its joint-venture operations in China.

Analysts are not so sure.

Kelvin Lau of Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong last week cut his rating on Brilliance China directly from buy to sell  a four-notch drop by the companys scale  due to our concern about the corporate governance issue in the long run.

Jefferies Alexious Lee trimmed his rating on Brilliance China to underperform from hold on Tuesday, citing similar worries over corporate governance among other issues.

Brilliance China shares were suspended from trading last month when the company said it would fail to file its annual results by a March 31 exchange deadline. Shares of Liaoning Shenhua and Shenyang Jinbei, which have both been hit by Huachens bankruptcy, each slipped around 2% further on Wednesday.

This article was originally published by Nikkei Asia

Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@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.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in an order issued on Thursday lifted all restrictions imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between states. According to the MHA order, transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles.

The MHA in its order stated that medical oxygen is an essential public health commodity and any impediment in the supplies of medical oxygen in the country may critically impact the management of patients who are suffering from COVID-19. The MHA has mandated the Empowered Group-II to coordinate medical logistics including medical oxygen.

The MHA added that no restrictions will be imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit the oxygen supplies only to the hospitals of the state/UT in which they are located. "There shall be free movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inner-city supply without any restriction," read the MHA's order.

"No authority shall attach the oxygen-carrying vehicles passing through the district or areas for making supplies specific to any particular district(s) or area," added the MHA order.

The Home Ministry has also prohibited the supply of oxygen for industrial purposes, except those exempted by the government, from April 22 till further notice.

The Home Ministry has directed that States/UTs should strictly abide by the supply plan of medical oxygen prepared by EG-II which has been revised from time to time.

MHA has made District Magistrates, Deputy Commissioners, Senior Superintendents of Police, Superintendents of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police personally responsible for the implementation of these directions.

(Edited by Mohammad Haaris Beg)

Also read: COVID-19 crisis: Centre hikes Delhi's oxygen quota from 378 MT to 480 MT

Also read: Registration for vaccination of 18 yrs and above from Apr 24; here's how to register on CoWin

Also read: Fourth COVID-19 vaccine soon; Biological E's shot likely to hit markets in August
Today is Earth Day, a time set aside to celebrate the Earth and learn more about the environment.

The celebration is held each April 22, a date chosen for a unique reason.

In 1970, Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, inspired by what he had seen following a California oil spill, planned a grassroots demonstration aimed at protecting the environment. In the mode of student demonstrations, Nelson decided to hold a teach-in on the environment. Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman, was drafted as co-chair and Harvard professor Denis Hayes was tapped as national coordinator. Hayes picked April 22 for the first Earth Day since it fell between Spring Break and final exams and students were available to participate.

The idea spread quickly. By the time April 22, 1970 came, more than 20 million Americans took part in Earth Day events, eventually leading to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The events next big day came in 1990 when Hayes organized another Earth Day campaign. That year, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day events. By 2000, the number of countries with Earth Day activities topped 184 countries with 500 million people taking part. Today, as many as a billion people in 190 countries are believed to mark the day through rallies, tree plantings, clean-up projects or other events.

Heres some more info on Earth Day:

Earth Day was first recognized worldwide in 1990.

In 2009, Earth Day was officially renamed by the UN to International Mother Earth Day.

On Earth Day 2012, more than 100,000 people rode bikes in China to reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel.

Organizers hope to plant 7.8 billion trees during this years Earth Day activities.

Earth Day has its own flag. It features a picture of the Earth taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon.

You can go here to find an Earth Day event near you.
A French astronaut who leaves Earth these days does not leave French food behind.

Here are some of the foods that Thomas Pesquet, a French astronaut who launched on a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station on Friday, will enjoy during his six-month stay in orbit: lobster, beef bourguignon, cod with black rice, potato cakes with wild mushrooms and almond tarts with caramelized pears.

Theres a lot of expectations when you send a Frenchman into space, Mr. Pesquet said during a European Space Agency news conference last month. Im a terrible cook myself, but its OK if people are doing it for me.

Space cuisine has come a long way since Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet astronaut who in 1961 was the first to reach space, squeezed pureed beef and chocolate sauce from toothpaste-like tubes. The food for John Glenn, who 10 months later became the first American in orbit, was not any tastier. He swallowed some apple sauce.

Nowadays, astronauts get to share the culinary creations of their countries, and the worlds space agencies are showing that while life in space is hectic, an astronaut should at least be able to enjoy a quality meal now and then.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 21:05:16|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on Aug. 19, 2020 shows wind turbines in Jiucaiping scenic spot in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for unprecedented ambition and action to build a community of life for man and nature.

Xi made the remarks while addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing. 
(Newser)  How exactly did the photo of a naked Canadian lawmaker on a computer screen get released, seeing as the Zoom mishap wasn't viewable by the public when it took place? Well, a fellow Canadian lawmaker took it, and is now apologizing. The shot of MP William Amos, who was changing into work clothes during a virtual parliamentary session in front of his camerawhich he didn't realize was onquickly went viral. But since Amos wasn't speaking at the time, the video of him had not been streamed publicly. "This photo came from a video feed that only MPs or a very small number of staff had access to," Amos said in a statement last week. On Wednesday, a member of Canada's House of Commons admitted he was the culprit, though he said he has no clue how the photo he took made its way onto social media, the New York Times reports.

story continues below

"I would like to present my apologies to the House for breaching the standing orders by taking a picture of a member on April 14," MP Sebastien Lemire said in a statement addressing the House. "I personally apologized to him, but I also wanted to do so publicly, to him personally, to his family, to his colleagues and anyone I may have offended." It's not clear whether any action will be taken as a result. Amos told Global News he had no comment on the new development because the House Speaker is considering an investigation. Chief Government Whip Mark Holland, meanwhile, said Wednesday that while he appreciates the apology, he wants to know with whom Lemire shared the photoand who then made it public. Whoever shared the photo may have committed a criminal act and must be held accountable, he said, per the CBC. He said he will bring up the issue at a meeting of the Board of Internal Economy. (Read more Canada stories.)
[April 22, 2021] Lerch Bates and eMCP Form Exclusive Partnership

DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lerch Bates Inc., headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, has entered an exclusive partnership with eMCP, LLC to deliver advanced vertical transportation maintenance tasking and tracking technology support for the global building industry. Principals of Lerch Bates and eMCP have entered into this exclusivity agreement with the intent to positively influence the service segment of the Vertical Transportation Industry with an eye toward future market segment opportunities. The two firms recognize there is a need for transparent, code compliant, quality vertical transportation maintenance tasking and tracking. This service will provide clients with safe, highly reliable vertical transportation equipment operation, while intelligently overseeing capital asset expenditures. The combined service will be available to developers, building investors, owners, and managers through Lerch Bates Solutions. Lerch Bates Solutions was developed to assist the global building industry with advanced, proactive maintenance programs for elevators, escalators, and moving walks of all varieties and types. Lerch Bates Solutions provides comprehensive maintenance oversight designed to ensure the highest levels of contractor performance, operating expense control and key performance tracking. The program is structured as a multi-tiered collaboration between Building Owners/Operators, Lerch Bates, eMCP and vertical transportation industry partners. Lerch Bates Solutions produces a detailed and highly prescriptive means to complete maintenance activities while delivering full transparency in reporting and recording code compliant maintenance activities. The collaboration between Lerch Bates and eMCP will blend the innovative technology developed by eMCP with Lerch Bates Solutions and the marketing and consulting channels of Lerch Bates' more than 200 global Consultants. This enables both organizations to highlight their strengths and enhance their areas of focus. Both organizations have found success independently and believe together they will provide their clients with a transformative approach to Vertical Transportation maintenance. About Lerch Bates Lerch Bates was founded in 1947 and are considered global leaders in technical consulting for the built environment. For more than 74 years, with elevator consulting as its cornerstone, Lerch Bates has advised architects, developers, building investors, owners and managers on the design, sustainability and continuous use of a wide spectrum of Building Systems (elevators, escalators, facade access equipment and building logistics processes & equipment) for any size or type of building. Additionally, Lerch Bates is a leading global provider of a comprehensive and diverse range of Building Enclosure engineering, rehabilitative design, consulting, enclosure commissioning (BECx), construction management, and field performance testing services. Lerch Bates, headquartered in metropolitan Denver, is an international consulting services firm with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and India. Lerch Bates operates Lerch Bates Asia Pacific Limited, a holding company in Hong Kong, Lerch Bates (China) Limited, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai, Dewar Partnership in the United Kingdom and PIE Consulting & Engineering. For more information, visit www.lerchbates.com. About eMCP, LLC eMCP, LLC was formed in 2015 to produce a more proactive, accountable, and transparent management approach for vertical transportation maintenance. eMCP is an electronic Maintenance Control Program required by and providing full compliance to the A17.1/B44 Safety Code for Elevators, Escalators, Moving Walks, and Dumbwaiters in the United States and Canada and any Standard or Norm in the rest of the world. The patent pending eMCP technology is used to generate the maintenance control program, then provide secured recording of task completion of vertical transportation maintenance tasks, testing, repair, replacement, alteration and other required records. This provides asset owners, consultants and contractors with many new capabilities; the ability to monitor equipment maintenance status in real time, for the first time have access to owner-centric key performance indicators and generate many reports for direct management use. Since 2015, eMCP has been used by Building Owners, Universities, Governments, and Contractors which has led to improved bidding processes, superior maintenance with significant reductions of service calls (callbacks), and real accountability for all parties. For more information, visit www.e-mcp.com.







Contact





Lerch Bates Inc. eMCP, LLC Johanna Hillgrove, 303-795-7956 John W. Koshak, 619-726-1419 johanna.hillgrove@lerchbates.com john@e-mcp.com www.lerchbates.com www.e-mcp.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lerch-bates-and-emcp-form-exclusive-partnership-301275324.html SOURCE Lerch Bates

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Olfattology: Fragrant Waters of Six Continents

New Fragrances

After a brief period of silence, during which all previous fragrances were discontinued, the Florentine brand Olfattology is re-launched under the auspices of the Arnoway company (BOIS 1920, Profumo di Firenze).

The Olfattology collection now includes six brand new fragrances, named Evros, Zambesi, Jurua, Hotan, Tekapo, and Yosemite, each in Extrait de Parfum concentration and developed with the emphasis on fragrance longevity. Judging by the names of the fragrances, one can assume some kind of connection with water, since they speak of rivers, lakes, and waterfalls. In addition, the collection unites six continents of our planet, selecting the hydronyms of their perfumes' names from different countries and continents. So our review will be not only fragrant but also geographic.





Olfattology pays homage to the vital force of water, using its incessant, energetic and mystical flow as a metaphor for our lives, able to strongly go beyond unexpected obstacles. Scent is like water, free fleeting entities, hard to stem.



An exclusive collection, six fragrances dedicated to unforgettable rivers, evocative waterfalls, and lakes. Creations that involve the soul, olfactory memories imbued with emotions.



Rediscover the tranquility of the river. Remember the contemplation of the lake mirror. Let yourself be lulled by the murmur of a stream or the sound of a waterfall. Memories of the places we visited flow like water.



pays homage to the vital force of water, using its incessant, energetic and mystical flow as a metaphor for our lives, able to strongly go beyond unexpected obstacles. Scent is like water, free fleeting entities, hard to stem.An exclusive collection, six fragrances dedicated to unforgettable rivers, evocative waterfalls, and lakes. Creations that involve the soul, olfactory memories imbued with emotions.Rediscover the tranquility of the river. Remember the contemplation of the lake mirror. Let yourself be lulled by the murmur of a stream or the sound of a waterfall. Memories of the places we visited flow like water.





Evros

This wonderful composition is dedicated to the river that begins in the Bulgarian Rila mountains and flows through Turkey and Greece, serving as the border of these countries and flowing into the Aegean Sea. In Bulgaria, it is called Maritsa, in Turkey - Merits, and in Greece - Evros, and it is believed that the name of the European continent comes from the Thracian name of this river ( - broad).

In Bulgaria, the main aromatic heroine is the Bulgarian rose, exquisite and beautiful. She is also the protagonist in this fragrance, a gorgeous and intense rose perfume with a precisely adjusted balmy sillage. The berry-fresh, green, and powdery cloud at the start of Evros is like the cold headwaters of a river surrounded by green forests. The heart is dominated by powdery, floral, and spicy facets of flowers - it is impossible not to recognize a light and slightly warm rose. Despite its distinct earthy-woody sillage (patchouli and oud), the scent remains a rather light and pleasant rose chypre.



Evros Olfattology

Top notes: Bigarade, Neroli, Raspberry;

Middle notes: Moroccan rose, Turkish rose, Ylang-ylang, Nagarmotha;

Base notes: Oud, Patchouli, Frankincense, Tolu Balm, Vanilla, Musk.

Zambesi

This warm, enveloping, warmly-sweet composition is dedicated to the African Zambezi River, famous for its waterfalls (the most famous is Victoria Falls, twice the size of Niagara). Unlike Evros, there is no direct connection between the geography and the perfume's raw materials. It's possible you sense in the gourmand vanilla-amber heart of Zambesi a creamy vanilla accord and mistake it for chocolate or praline, why not, but the cocoa production is more typical of western Africa, not the eastern part where the Zambezi river flows. The glowing, warm-spicy perfume tries to charm from the first notes: creamy and silky, it combines vanilla and cinnamon, tonka bean, and sandalwood. A light haze of an amber accord (patchouli, vanilla, labdanum) smoothly completes the flow of Zambesi.

Zambesi Olfattology

Top notes: Bergamot, Tangerine, Magnolia;

Middle notes: Jasmine absolute, Cinnamon, Labdanum, Vanilla, Tonka bean;

Base notes: Ambergris, Peru balm, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cedar, Musk.

Jurua

The Rio Jurua, a right-hand tributary river of the Amazon, begins in the Peruvian Andes and mainly flows in Brazil - a geographical fact that gave the perfumers a reason to include the note of coffee in this rose-based scent. The coffee in Jurua is just a subtle, beautiful nuance; a smoky roughness to complete the balsamic vanilla sweetness, opposed to a full floral accord of rose and sweet jasmine. The smooth base is even more glamorous and warm, thanks to the amber and musk rounding the scent off. An extremely persistent and deceptively docile scent.

Jurua Olfattology

Top notes: Citrus flowers, Damask rose;

Middle notes: Coffee, Red rose, Jasmine;

Base notes: Vanilla, Musk, Ambergris, Cedar.

Hotan

And again, we dive into geography first. Hotan is a river in China that flows from the Kunlun Mountains through Taklamakan during the hot summers. In cold weather, the river dries up, becoming a road and a place for collecting jade. The Hotan oasis was part of the Great Silk Road - silk is still woven here in the old way, and boulders of jade are collected in the bed of the dry river.

The Hotan fragrance is surprisingly elegant and also dedicated to the rose - here it is combined with soft chamomile greens in a pleasant soothing potion. There's freshness coming from the mint, and the ringing of lily of the valley, creating the image of cold mountain water from melting snow peaks. I also smell an aromatic rose scent, pink and white. The base is familiar but soothing, with clean sandalwood. This is my favorite fragrance in the new Olfattology collection.

Hotan Olfattology

Top notes: Carnation, Chamomile, Mint;

Middle notes: Rose, Sandalwood, Lily of the Valley;

Base notes: White musk, Ambergris.

Tekapo

Tekapo is dedicated to the lake of the same name in New Zealand, whose name in the Maori language means "Hastily leave at night." The lake is known for its nearby hot springs and the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. Instead of a single fragrant material, the clear sky over the lake in Tekapo embodies an incredibly persistent accord of saffron, caramel, ambergris, and the synthetic oakmoss material Evernil - bitter and sweet, long-lasting and well recognizable. Lovers and haters of Baccarat Rouge 540 will recognize their love and hate from the first breath - despite some thoughtful deviations made to its structure.

Tekapo Olfattology

Top notes: Bigarade, Marigold, Blackcurrant, Saffron;

Middle notes: Jasmine;

Base notes: Ambergris, Caramel, Sandalwood.

Yosemite

A luminous scent, as fresh as the water of Yosemite Falls in California, the highest falls in the United States. It starts with a bright citrusy opening with a pungent herbal lavender and some pink pepper - quite sweet and transparent, yet different from Aventus. It is sharper and rougher - the pepper and patchouli play their parts to make this happen. In its glossy musky leather base, Yosemite is very close to the very popular Creed - it seems that no modern brand dreaming of success can escape this modern perfume standard.

Yosemite Olfattology

Top notes: Bergamot, Orange, Bigarade, Grapefruit, Lavender;

Middle notes: Jasmine, Patchouli, Pink pepper;

Base notes: Cedar, Ambergris, White Musk, Leather.

***

The sleek, streamlined shapes of the Olfattology bottles and stoppers were borrowed from nature - they are smooth like river pebbles, polished over millions of years by water, sand, and other stones. However, I can assure you that the fragrances themselves do not belong to the aquatic family - on the contrary, I would say they are mostly floral and ambery.

All Olfattology fragrances are available in Extrait de Parfum concentration at a price of 130 EUR per 100 ml, through the brand's official website. A set of samples costs 30 EUR.
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NASA has shared a number of images showing what its upcoming Lunar Gateway space station will look like when it launches for the moon in 2024.

The agency said the orbiting laboratory would provide astronauts with a 'home away from home' during trips to the moon, and a staging post for lunar landings.

The orbiting lab will have a four person capacity and will see NASA work with some existing International Space Station partners including Europe, Japan and Canada.

Large parts of the station will be built by commercial partners and will have a docking port for the SpaceX Starship lunar lander that will ferry astronauts between the orbiting base and the surface of the moon.

NASA also confirmed that the platform will help address one of the biggest concerns for space travel beyond Earth's orbit by measuring radiation levels.

The radiation-detecting suite of research instruments is planned to launch inside the first module of the multipurpose international outpost, which will be in a highly elliptical seven-day orbit around the Moon.

NASA has shared a number of images showing what its upcoming Lunar Gateway space station will look like when it launches for the moon in 2024

The agency said the orbiting laboratory would provide astronauts with a 'home away from home' during trips to the moon, and a staging post for lunar landings

The orbiting lab will have a four person capacity and will see NASA work with some existing International Space Station partners including Europe, Japan and Canada

LUNAR GATEWAY: A SPACE STATION AROUND THE MOON International space-faring countries involved in the International Space Station have their sights set on the Moon for the next space station. The NASA-led project will see the Lunar Gateway built in orbit around the Moon as part of the Artemis mission. International space-faring countries involved in the International Space Station have their sights set on the Moon for the next space station. The agreement, signed in September 2017, is part of a long-term project to send humans to Mars. The crew-tended spaceport will orbit the moon and serve as a 'gateway to deep space and the lunar surface,' NASA has said. The first modules of the station could be completed as soon as 2024. Europe, Japan and Russia are also involved in the Gateway. The European Space Agency will build its own service and habitation modules. Advertisement

Lunar Gateway forms a core part of the Artemis missions, which will see NASA put the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024, although it could be delayed.

The bulk of the Artemis mission, including the Lunar Gateway, will be sent to the moon using NASA's new massive Space Launch System rocket.

Development on the rocket is nearly finished, with the first test flight - which will send the Orion spaceship around the moon without a crew - due to happen late this year or early next year.

However, NASA announced in February they would begin construction of Gateway using the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.

Elon Musk's space firm will launch the foundational elements of the Gateway to lunar orbit.

This includes the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO).

They are expected to launch for the moon in May 2024 at the earliest, but could be as late as October 2024.

SpaceX also won the contract to land astronauts on the surface of the moon.

The contract, worth $2.9 billion, involves the prototype Starship spacecraft that is being tested at SpaceX's south Texas facility.

SpaceX beat out Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and defence contractor Dynetics to be the sole provider for the system.

This was a surprising break from the past when NASA has chosen multiple companies in case one fails.

Industry analysts said the decision underscores the fact that SpaceX, founded by Musk in 2002 with the goal of colonising Mars, is now seen as NASA's most trusted private sector partner.

Under the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon, NASA wants to use the Space Launch System rocket to launch four astronauts on board an Orion crew capsule, which will then dock with a lunar space station called Gateway.

The first crewed mission will be called Artemis 3, taking up to four astronauts to lunar orbit in the Orion capsule, where, if it is ready they will dock with the Gateway.

Starship will be waiting, docked with the Gateway, to receive two crew members for the final leg of the journey to the surface of the moon.

A view of the two elements of Gateway - power and propulsion element (PPE) and the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO)

A view of Gateway's two elements - power and propulsion element (PPE) and the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO). The two elements will be launched together in 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy

The two modules are being built for NASA and will act as a staging post for trips to the lunar surface

The idea is for Gateway to be the go-between but for the initial mission Orion might dock directly with Starship - if Gateway isn't ready.

The astronauts would then spend a week on the Moon before boarding Starship to return to lunar orbit, then take Orion back to Earth.

When it launches in 2024 the Gateway will have capacity for up to four people, but over time it is expected that the facility will grow, with new modules attached.

This is similar to the growth of the International Space Station, which currently has a nominal crew size of seven, which gradually increased since its launch in the late 1990s from between three and six.

The ISS will have a total of 11 people on board for a few days over the next week when the Crew-2 mission launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Orion spaceship (left) will dock with the Gateway after travelling with astronauts from Earth and take astronauts back to the Earth from the Gateway after they've landed on the Moon

GATEWAY TIMELINE May 2024: Launch of the power and habitation modules on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket October 2024: Artemis 3, the first crewed lunar landing mission since Apollo 17 in 1972 March 2026: Artemis 4 will be the second landing of the Artemis program 2026: Delivery of the International Habitation Module to the Gateway station 2027: Delivery of the ESPRIT refuelling module There are projected to be at least one Artemis flight per year up to 2028 when the station will be opened up for international astronauts. Advertisement

One day, as new modules launch for the Lunar Gateway, it could expand to become a science and exploration hub away from Earth's close orbit.

There will be four core modules at launch, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) , which started life as part of an Asteroid Redirection Mission, which has since been cancelled by the NASA JPL team.

It will serve as the command and communication centre for Gateway, as well as power the wider station. It is being built by Maxar Technologies who were awarded a $375 million contract by NASA.

The second primary module, being launched by SpaceX in 2024 is the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), being built by Northrop Grumman and based ona. Cygnus Cargo resupply module.

It will have docking ports, batteries and communications antennae and a fully pressurised cabin for command, control and data handling capabilities.

The third module is being built by the European Space Agency and is called the European System Providing Refuelling, Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT) module, also due to launch in 2024.

It will provide additional power, communications, airlock and science capabilities to the other two core modules. It is being built by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space.

SpaceX will operate flights between the Gateway and the lunar surface for NASA using a version of their Starship rocket

Other aspects of the module have been sub contracted to other European firms including some in the UK, with a further part of ESPRIT, the Refuelling Module, due to launch in 2027 with pressurised fuel tanks, a habitation corridor and docking ports.

The final of the first four modules s the International Habitation Module (I-HAB) being built by ESA and JAXA to provide further habitation space. the contract was given to Thales Alenia Space to launch in 2026.

ESA is funding the primary construction, with a life support system from JAXA, avionics from NASA and robotics from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Future modules will include a logistics module, an airlock module, and a robotic manipulator arm to aid with repair work and docking spaceships.

The version of Starship being developed by SpaceX for lunar landings is adapted from the large rocket as it only has to operate in space and on the low gravity lunar surface

Humanity last stepped foot on the Moon in 1972 during the Apollo program.

NASA wants to go back and establish a sustainable presence, complete with a lunar space station, in order to test new technologies that will pave the way for a crewed mission to Mars.

The Artemis mission, including the Lunar Gateway, commits NASA to working with industry and international partners on sustainable lunar exploration, ahead of a crewed Mars mission in the 2030s.

Part of the work with international partners, including the European Space Agency, will see firms around the world, including in the UK, bid to build technology that will be used on or around the Moon.

When it first launches the Gateway will only have habitation and power modules with a maximum occupancy of four

Close-up of the two elements of Gateway - Power and propulsion element (PPE) and habitation and logistics outpost (HALO

The Gateway station will be movable to allow for astronauts to land on different parts of the surface of the moon

British firms will build parts of the new Lunar Gateway space station British firms will build parts of the Lunar Gateway space station set to orbit the Moon as part of NASA's Artemis mission to return humanity to the lunar surface by 2024. The UK Space Agency has signed the 'Artemis Accords' with NASA and other nations on the future of space exploration, including cooperation over lunar exploration. UK companies will be able to bid for contracts worth at least 18 million to construct aspects of the new station. UK firms will be able to bid to build all or parts of the European Space Agency habitation and service modules. NASA will also have its own habitation and service modules built by American manufacturers. Advertisement

NASA had originally planned to work with Russia on the Gateway, another major partner in the International Space Station, but Russia announced it would partner with China instead.

Russia and China are working on their own accord, that will see them construct either a lunar space station or base on the surface of the moon.

Exact details of the partnership haven't been revealed, but a memorandum of understanding signed by the two nations suggest a complex of experimental and research facilities will be constructed.

The base, it continued, would be 'designed to conduct multidisciplinary and multipurpose research work.'

Russia has also announced it is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station project from 2025, citing concerns over the safety of the ageing facility.

A top Kremlin official warned that 'disaster' was looming for the ISS, putting the lives of crew members at risk due to its age - by 2025 is will be 27 years old and was originally designed to last between 15 and 30 years, according to NASA.

Russia says the first module that will make up a core part of its new hi-tech orbital base is already under construction.

The final orbiting laboratory will include a module designed to act as a tourist hotel, with room for four passengers at any time.

The International Space Station is also increasingly being opened up for tourist opportunities, with Tom Cruise working on a film project to shoot on the station in 2022.
Industry Giant, Fransmart, Now Becomes Kisses From Italy's Exclusive Global Franchise Developer and Representative

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Kisses from Italy Inc. (OTCQB:KITL), a publicly listed U.S.-based company, restaurant chain operator, franchisor, and product distributor (the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exclusive global agreement with Fransmart, an industry leader in the global franchise development market.

Fransmart has a solid reputation as a global leader in franchise development and franchising opportunities, with a track record of turning emerging restaurant concepts into national and global brands. They have sold over 5,000 franchises worldwide and launched franchising for "Five Guys Burgers & Fries", "Qdoba Mexican Grill", "The Halal Guys", and have enabled many other new, emerging brands to grow rapidly into dominant chains.

On February 18, 2021, an article published by Forbes titled "11 Fast Casual Restaurant Chains That Should Be On Your Radar in 2021", an astounding 10 out of 11 brands mentioned on the list by Forbes are part of Fransmart's product stable. Also in February of 2021, Dan Rowe, Fransmart's renowned founder and CEO was recognized as 'One of the Most Influential Solutions Provider and Operators in the Country' by Nation's Restaurant News.

Claudio Ferri, co-CEO, CIO and co-founder of Kisses from Italy commented, "Getting to know Fransmart and putting this agreement together with Dan Rowe, Fransmart's founder and CEO and his team has been an absolute pleasure and an incredible privilege for us. We are excited to begin working with Dan and his team of experts. Without a doubt, this opportunity to potentially join the notable brands represented by Fransmart is a huge one for our Company and one that we intend to fully capitalize on, for the benefit of our shareholders. Being given this amazing opportunity to keep learning, progressing and evolving is what really has all of us thrilled here at Kisses From Italy. We believe this is a transformational transaction and a significant milestone for our Company to build toward the future. The consulting agreement we have signed is not only intended to grow our brand but to also welcome Dan Rowe and Fransmart as a critical business partner."

Dan Rowe, founder and CEO of Fransmart stated, "Given the time we took to get to know the team at Kisses From Italy in the last few months, I believe Kisses From Italy has created a platform to launch authentic Italian brands and products, and build the proprietary supply lines for our franchisees and consumer packaged goods, etc. In reviewing the company's structure our team believes this can be potentially accomplished by rolling 4 to 5 different Italian concepts within Kisses From Italy and leveraging the supply lines across each chain. It is not too dissimilar to what is currently being done in the market by larger players in the same segment, except this would definitely have an "Italian" twist to it."

Michele Di Turi, President, co-CEO and co-founder of Kisses from Italy stated, "Having been able to reach a few important milestones in the last few years has been personally and professionally rewarding to us, but we believe that being given the opportunity to work with Fransmart in continuing to develop Kisses From Italy, will definitely be one of the historical milestones in the Kisses From Italy storybook. In addition to the signing of this agreement, we are pleased to report that our stores have remained viable during the pandemic and that the cost-cutting measures we instituted as a result of Covid-19 have enabled us to survive an extremely difficult period in our history. We are now seeing a significant increase in foot traffic at all of our domestic stores.

Di Turi added, "our retail branded products initiative is starting to take flight as we are now in 26 stores in less than 6 months since we launched our products. We are also excited about the imminent opening of our first Franchise in the State of California, which is in the city of Chino and we are making some significant progress in establishing the first Kisses From Italy store location in Canada with our Canadian Master Franchisee, Demasar Management.

About Fransmart

Fransmart is a global leader in franchise development, selling over 5,000 franchises worldwide and turning emerging restaurant concepts into national and global brands for 20 years. Company founder Dan Rowe identified and grew brands like Five Guys Burgers & Fries, QDOBA Mexican Grill, and The Halal Guys from 1-5 unit businesses to the powerhouse chains they are today. Fransmart's current and past franchise development portfolio brands have opened thousands of restaurants globally. Fransmart and their partner brands are committed to franchise development growth. For more information, visit www.fransmart.com.

About Kisses from Italy Inc.

Kisses from Italy Inc. is a U.S.-based restaurant chain operator, franchisor and product distributor with locations in North America and Europe. The Company offers a quick-service menu and a unique take on traditional Italian delicacies with an All-American flair. Kisses from Italy offerings include sandwiches, salads, Italian roasted coffee, coffee-related beverage and an array of other products. The Company currently operates four corporate-owned stores. It successfully commenced operations in May 2015 with the opening of its flagship location in Ft. Lauderdale at 3146 NE 9th St. This was followed by three additional sites across the greater Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area. The Company recently opened its inaugural European location in Ceglie del Campo, Bari, Italy in October of 2019. In September of 2019, Kisses from Italy Inc. was given the approval by FINRA to trade its common stock and was approved for up-listing by the OTC Markets Group to the OTCQB in mid-October 2019 under the ticker symbol KITL. In November of 2020, Kisses From Italy launched its retail branded products for distribution stores across North America.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings which are available at www.sec.gov as well as the Company's website at www.kissesfromitaly.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

For more information, please visit www.kissesfromitaly.com

Contact Information:

Kisses from Italy Inc.

305-423-7129

info@kissesfromitaly.com

SOURCE: Kisses from Italy Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641863/Kisses-From-Italy-Signs-Exclusive-Agreement-with-Fransmart-a-Global-Leader-in-Franchise-Development
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Apr, 2021) The National Committee for International Humanitarian Law recently launched its action plan for 2021-2022 at a meeting held in the presence of representatives of official bodies and committee members.

Khalifa Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State, stressed the importance of the committee's role in reinforcing the principles of international humanitarian law in the UAE, noting that the action plan for 2021-2022 includes a range of activities, plans, and events targeting key sectors of the country, including law enforcement and civil society institutions.

The plan aims to increase cooperation and knowledge exchange with organisations working in the field of international humanitarian law.

Almarar added, "The committee seeks to strengthen cooperation and ensure the implementation and activation of the provisions of international humanitarian law by enhancing coordination between the competent authorities, reviewing legislation related to international humanitarian law, and making the necessary recommendations to the concerned parties in this regard."

As part of its plan, the committee has developed several training courses and workshops introducing international humanitarian law with the participation of members of the diplomatic and judicial corps, as well as members of the armed forces. Furthermore, it will hold training courses on international humanitarian law with the aim of preparing internationally accredited national officers through training on the provisions of international humanitarian law.

The committee will also host the third conference on international humanitarian law, which includes a number of national committees and stakeholders interested in international humanitarian law. This will contribute to highlight the UAEs role in the field of international humanitarian law, exchange experiences and information on the latest developments in this area with other national committees, and target students in schools, universities, military and police colleges, and judicial institutes.

Specialised courses will be developed in coordination with the relevant authorities.

The National Committee for International Humanitarian Law was established in 2004 as part of the UAE's efforts to strengthen international humanitarian law in order to meet its international humanitarian obligations. It was the first national committee of its kind to be formed in a Gulf Cooperation Council country.

The committee includes representatives from ten different entities in the UAE, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Federal National Council, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of education, the Armed Forces General Command, United Arab Emirates University, the Institute of Training and Judicial Studies, and the Red Crescent Society.
Minister of Mines and Geology, Murugesh R Nirani on Wednesday said that he has instructed the steel companies operating in the state to ramp up their efforts to produce and supply them to hospitals here on priority basis.

Addressing to media in Vikasa Soudha, the minister said state government has been taking all possible steps to tackle the public health emergency caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are leaving no stone unturned and making all the efforts to deal with the extraordinary situation the state is facing due to COVID-19. Steps are being taken to augment the supply of to hospitals," Nirani said in a statement.

Briefing on his meeting with the representatives of steel companies, Nirani expressed hope that the efforts of steel companies in the supply of would ease the pressure on the public health system which is almost choked due to tremendous number of cases.

"We have instructed the steel companies which have been producing liquefied oxygen in their plants for their use in steel production, to increase the production and supply them to hospitals in the state on priority basis. The steel companies have extended cooperation and agreed to increase production and supply of oxygen. This will help save many patients who are in dire need of oxygen in the ICUs," he added.

Replying on the quantity of oxygen needed in state, Minister said he would hold talks with Health Minister Dr Sudhakar and find out the exact quantity of oxygen needed to address the current health crisis.

"We will take steps accordingly to meet the demand. Everybody should join hands with the government in the fight against this pandemic," Nirani contended.

The Mines and Geology Minister had convened a meeting with the representatives of steel companies in Bengaluru on Tuesday and urged them to supply oxygen to hospitals in the state which have been facing shortage following heavy surge in COVID-19 cases. JSW Steel had earlier agreed to supply 400 metric tonnes of liquefied oxygen per day to help the state cope with the challenge amid worsening situation.

(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.)
Deregulation, innovation key to improving competitiveness



When a country's economy advances, its services industry also develops. As this sector's share in the national economy grows, it creates numerous jobs. Korea is a global manufacturing powerhouse, but the number of manufacturing workers stood at 4.41 million as of March 31, accounting for only 16 percent of the total 26.92 million employees. Manufacturing has a limited capacity for job creation as robots and artificial intelligence replace humans, but the services sector has a far greater potential to boost employment.



A recent report by the Federation of Korean Industries that the local services industry's competitiveness ranks among the lowest among OECD countries is more than disappointing in this regard. Korea's labor productivity per worker in the sector remained at $62,948 in 2018, equivalent to 70 percent of the OECD average to be ranked 28th among the 33 member nations. The nation was ranked lower than Greece (24th) and Slovenia (27th) while slightly higher than Lithuania (29th).



There might be a combination of factors for the industry's lagging competitiveness. As the FKI report pointed out, however, the single most important reason is regulation. In Korea, it is hard to expect bold corporate change, such as Tesla's transformation into a software company and Sony becoming a content provider, because of widespread "regulatory risks" in the administrative and legislative branches.



Both the government and the ruling party have loudly trumpeted regulatory reform and proposed plans to develop the services industry. Politicians and bureaucrats have talked about a sharing economy, while at the same time enacting a law banning ride-sharing businesses. Or, they often discussed measures to sharpen the distribution industry's competitive edge, but failed to push for deregulation. The Framework Act on the Services Industry Development remains what it was a decade ago, making it difficult to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.



If Korea keeps neglecting its services industry, the nation cannot become an advanced economy. The importance of the sector will grow further in the contactless economy driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. There should be no partisan differences in laying the foundation for developing the industry as preparation for the future. Now is the time to reinvigorate the private sector's creativity and market vitality through bold deregulation. It will also be of great help in resolving the high youth unemployment rate.


Series-A complements non-dilutive grant from French state innovation fund (FUI)

PARIS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PEP-Therapy, a biotechnology company developing cell penetrating peptides as targeted therapies for the treatment of cancers, announces it has raised a 2.75 million in a Series A financing round. The financing was led by Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), with participation from Doorway, Magna Capital Partner (MCP) and Business Angels des Grandes Ecoles (BADGE) as well as existing investors Seventure Partners (Quadrivium 1 Seed Fund) and Dr. Bernard Majoie (former Chairman and CEO of Laboratoires Fournier).

The financing round is complemented by a 2.9 million grant from the French state innovation fund - Fonds Unique Interministeriel (FUI)  previously received by PEP-Therapy, Institut Curie and Gustave Roussy to develop PEP-010 up to the end of Phase Ia/b clinical trials.

PEP-Therapy will use the funds to progress the clinical development of PEP-010, PEP-Therapy's lead Cell Penetrating & Interfering Peptide (CP&IP), for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. With this Series A funding, PEP-Therapy expects to generate promising Phase Ia/b clinical data in two indications where patients have a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic alternatives: triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the platinum resistant ovarian cancer (OC).

Antoine Prestat, CEO and co-founder of PEP-Therapy said: "We are pleased to have raised these new funds from a syndicate of high-quality and international investors, as well as from our historic shareholders, who all share our ambition, commitment, and vision for PEP-Therapy's development. We are preparing for the first-in-human trials with PEP-010 and look forward to generating the clinical results that we hope will confirm the very promising results seen in preclinical studies."

Michele Marzola, Life Sciences Lead Investor at IAG, said: "The investment in PEP-Therapy fulfils our objective of supporting innovative companies that will make a difference in the clinic as well as have an impact on society. We have been impressed by the excellent preclinical data that we have seen, and we expect the Company to demonstrate that PEP-010 can address unmet medical needs in difficult to treat ovarian cancer and triple negative breast cancer in the upcoming clinical studies."

Philippe Tramoy, Partner at Quadrivium 1 Seed Fund  Seventure Partners, said "We look forward to working alongside the company's new investors to support PEP-Therapy in leveraging its CP&IP platform to generate a pipeline of best-in-class peptides, which promises to improve the treatment of aggressive cancers."

PEP-010 is the first of a new class of therapeutic peptides based on PEP-Therapy's innovative CP&IP technology. These innovative molecules penetrate cells and specifically block relevant intracellular protein-protein interactions, leading to the inhibition of key pathological mechanisms, without altering physiological mechanisms.

PEP-Therapy and Institut Curie, France's leading cancer center, have recently been granted approval from the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) to start first-in-human clinical trial of PEP-010.

About PEP-Therapy

PEP-Therapy is a French biotechnology company developing first-in-class peptides as targeted therapies in oncology based on the Company's innovative Cell Penetrating and Interfering Peptides (CP&IP) technology. These innovative molecules penetrate cells and specifically block relevant intracellular protein-protein interactions, leading to the inhibition of key pathological mechanisms without altering physiological mechanisms.

PEP-Therapy, which was founded in 2014 and builds on research from Sorbonne University and Institut Curie, is backed by international investors: Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), Doorway, Magna Capital Partner (MCP), Business Angels des Grandes Ecoles (BADGE), Seventure Partners (Quadrivium 1 Seed Fund), and Dr. Bernard Majoie (former Chairman and CEO of Laboratoires Fournier, Founding Chairman of Fournier-Majoie Foundation for Innovation).

For more information, please visit www.pep-therapy.com

About Italian Angels for Growth (IAG)

Founded in 2007, it is the largest business angel network in Italy: more than 250 players in the business, financial and industrial world who invest time, skills and capital for the growth of innovative startups. In more than ten years of activity, Italian Angels for Growth has analyzed over 6,000 startups and its partners have made over 100 investments, for a total of 250 million euros invested by IAG members and its co-investors. IAG's business angels financially support innovative projects by investing their capital, but at the same time, thanks to the members' mix of skills, they support the startup founder in the definition of the business model in all its aspects.

About Doorway

Doorway is a Fintech platform - leader in online Equity Investing for the professional, qualified and corporate investor market - which presents a highly selected portfolio of startups and innovative SMEs validated through a thorough due diligence process based on the same criteria used by Venture Capital. Thanks to the collaboration with IR Top Consulting, which acts as financial advisor on AIM  Milan Stock Exchange, Doorway stands out as a unique alternative finance hub in Italy that can support companies from the startup phase to the listing.

About BADGE

Business Angels des Grandes Ecoles (BADGE), created in 2004, is a leading French Business Angels association with more than 280 members, and having participated in 21 fundraisings in 2020 of a combined value of over 5.3 million.

Its members are recognized leaders in all sectors of the industry and are willing to finance and support young innovative companies with high growth potential.

BADGE aims to:

Identify and review promising innovative projects

Conduct fund-raising for the most promising ones

Support the entrepreneurs with individualized business advice and key contacts

Provide training and methodological support to its members

BADGE has thus financed more than 185 young companies since its creation.

Find more on: www.business-angels.info

About MCP

Founded by a group of experienced business owners and close friends, MCP Magna Capital Partners Ltd. invests in bold teams building the future through technology. We invest in seed and Series A stage technology companies across the digital health, medical device, bio/healthcare, and enterprise software spaces. We proudly invested in Rewalk ($RWLK), Urogen Pharma ($URGN) and Yotpo.

About Seventure Partners

With 850m net commitments under management as of the end of 2020, Seventure Partners is a leading venture capital firm in Europe. Since 1997, Seventure Partners has been investing in innovative businesses with high growth potential in two fields: Life sciences across Europe, Israel, Asia and North America and Digital technologies in France and Northern Europe. Investments can range between 500k and 10 million per round, or up to 20 million per company, from early to late stage, growth and pre-IPO.

For more details: http://www.seventure.fr/en Twitter: @seventurep

Contacts

PEP-Therapy Antoine Prestat, CEO & co-founder [email protected] +33 1 81 70 76 82 Citigate Dewe Rogerson Sylvie Berrebi, Nathaniel Dahan [email protected] +44 (0)7714 306525



SOURCE PEP-Therapy

Related Links

http://www.pep-therapy.com


MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday for talks in which opponents fear he could trade off chunks of national sovereignty in return for Russian support.

Lukashenko said at the weekend an alleged coup plot against him had been thwarted and stoked speculation about the significance of the talks by saying he was about to take one of the most fundamental decisions of his nearly 27-year rule.

The comment prompted opposition fears that he might agree to let Russia establish a military base in Belarus, or to abandon the national currency in favour of the rouble.

"We need to understand that the sovereignty of Belarus is today under threat," opposition politician Pavel Latushko said.

Kremlin backing helped Lukashenko weather the biggest challenge to his nearly 27-year rule when Belarus was rocked by months of mass protests after a presidential election last August that the opposition said was rigged in his favour.

The rallies subsided after a harsh crackdown and thousands of arrest. Some opposition leaders were jailed, others went into exile abroad.

Russia's FSB security service said on Saturday it had detained two Belarusian citizens in Russia for what it said was an attempted coup and assassination attempt against Lukashenko.

Belarus has charged four people there with conspiracy to seize power in the country.

Lukashenko has said the plotters intended to murder him, kidnap members of his family and shut down the country's electricity system, and has pointed the finger at U.S. intelligence, without providing evidence.

Putin highlighted the alleged plot in a speech on Wednesday, describing it as evidence that the West was undermining stability in Russia and its former Soviet neighbours.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Cambodian PM to attend ASEAN summit in Indonesia this week

Xinhua) 11:29, April 22, 2021

PHNOM PENH, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Wednesday that he will take part in an ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders' meeting in Indonesia on Saturday.

"Due to health measures required by Indonesia, the host of the ASEAN Summit, I decided to leave for Jakarta on April 23 at 13:00 (local time)," he wrote on his official Facebook page.

He said he will have his samples taken for COVID-19 testing on Thursday in Cambodia, and upon his arrival in Jakarta on Friday, he will take a second test administered by the Indonesian health authority.

"To ensure safety, all leaders, including the Indonesian president, are required to undergo testing prior to the meeting," he said.

The Cambodian prime minister said that on his return, he will go into a 14-day self-quarantine at his residence and take between two and three more COVID-19 tests.

Cambodia's foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday, confirming Hun Sen's presence in the upcoming summit.

The statement said during the meeting, the ASEAN leaders are expected to focus on three main topics, namely the advancement of the ASEAN community building process, the initiatives on COVID-19 response and socio-economic recovery efforts, ASEAN external relations, international and regional developments of common interests and concern.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  Amy Lee Black, one of Michigans 10 female juvenile lifers, has asked a judge to reduce her life sentence in what has been called a despicable, horrific killing.

Black, 46, and her boyfriend, Jeffery Abrahamson, 50, were convicted of first-degree murder in the Dec. 7, 1990, killing of Dave VanBogelen, 34.

His body was left on a two-track road after he was bludgeoned and repeatedly stabbed.

VanBogelen was a married father of two.

Both Black and Abrahamson were sentenced to mandatory terms of life in prison without parole. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the mandatory sentence was cruel and unusual punishment for a juvenile.

Black, a resident of the Womens Huron Valley Correctional Facility near Ypsilanti, was 16 years, 6 months old when she took part in the robbery and killing.

In the early morning, she and Abrahamson met an intoxicated VanBogelen at a Muskegon Heights restaurant.

The victim went to Black and Abrahamsons nearby apartment. There, she struck him in the head with a heavy, square-sided whiskey bottle. Bleeding and disoriented, the victim was led down the stairs to his pickup truck.

Abrahamson got behind the wheel. When cars went by, Black pushed VanBogelens head down so no one would see him. They stopped in a secluded area near Brooks and Ellis roads in Fruitport Township where Abrahamson repeatedly stabbed him.

Black went back, cleaned up blood at their apartment and disposed of a bloody sofa.

They took $1,500 from the victim.

Attorney Kimberly Stout, representing Black, told Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks on Wednesday, April 21, that psychologists who examined Black have determined that she is not one of the rare juveniles envisioned by the Supreme Court who could not be rehabilitated.

Even a prosecution-hired psychologist agreed that Black did not fit in that group of incorrigible killers.

Stout said her client has worked hard in prison and has set goals, including plans to stay at a residential center to help adjust to living in society. Black had a difficult childhood. She was a victim of sexual assault and latched onto older men when she left her mothers Kalamazoo home at 14, she said.

She said she was sexually abused by a corrections officer and shared in a 2009 settlement in a class-action lawsuit by female inmates who had suffered sexual abuse in the 1990s.

Stout said Black has been rehabilitated and would not pose a risk to others. One of her experts said she would not be worried if Black moved into her neighborhood.

Stout said her client was young and impulsive. Her brain was not fully developed at the time of the killing.

Black has taken responsibility for her actions, she said.

Joseph Auffrey, a Spring Lake psychologist and prosecution witness, said Black had psychopathic, anti-social features to her personality when he examined her shortly after the killing. He examined her again in 2019.

I think she had a personality with anti-social features, he testified. I dont have any evidence shes changed.

When the judge asked if she was among those rare defendants who could not be rehabilitated, he said no.

Amol Huprikar, an assistant Muskegon County prosecutor, said that Black did not stab the victim but she put the crime in motion. He said it was planned, not an impetuous act.

After Black hit VanBogelen with the whiskey bottle, she tied his wrists with bed sheets  making sure she did not soil her new sheets. He said she pushed his head down when other vehicles went past.

Thats not juvenile conduct, Huprikar said. Thats predatory conduct.

Both sides have nine days to file briefs before Hicks prepares a written ruling. He could uphold the life sentence or re-sentence her to a term of years: a minimum ranging from 25 to 40 years, with a maximum of 60.

The victims widow, Barb VanBogelen, watched court proceedings virtually through Zoom.

The judge asked that she share photos of him.

Read more:

Survivors story: Life after death for family of murder victim David VanBogelen

Juvenile lifer Amy Lee Black: Troubled teen girlfriend or sociopathic killer?

Midland juvenile lifer to keep serving life without parole in 1983 murder of jogger
It seems that the 'pandemic' will be used as harbinger for the "Universal Basic Income" programs in the United States, a report reveals.

The COVID pandemic had reportedly crippled the city of Chelsea, Massachusetts "in terms of infection rates and unemployment."

"We have lots of undocumented workers here so many of them lost their hours, lost their jobs and they were not entitled to any kind of government assistance," City Manager, Tom Ambrosino, told CBN News.

The report went on that the city attempted to run a food pantry for needy residents, but soon realized that it wouldn't be enough. The city leaders then launched "Chelsea Eats" which is hoped to become "a guaranteed income pilot program."

Done through a lottery, 2,074 low-income families were said to have been selected to receive a Visa debit card loaded with $200 to $400 a month. The amount will depend on the size of the family.

"It really is intended for food and necessities, but it is a basic income program," explained Ambrosino. "The card can be used anywhere that Visa is accepted in the entire world. There are no restrictions on the use of the money."

Also according to CBN's report, Chelsea is not the first city to implement this kind of program, and that there are more than 20 city mayors across the country that are running similar pilots. Their coalition is called "Mayors for a Guaranteed Income."

"We strongly believe that just because someone is poor does not mean they're irresponsible, and the data bears that out. 99 plus percent of the expenditures on these cards are for food and necessities. There's very little frivolous spending," said Ambrosino.

These pilot programs are still in their experimental stage, and are reportedly under the scrutiny of researchers from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania to determine if these could lead to federal policy.

Matt Weidinger, a research fellow in poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Brandon Arnold, Exec. VP of the National Taxpayers Union both agree that the program's focus should be on people who need financial assistance. Democrats, however, had something else in mind.

Democrats experimented on providing universal checks to parents, an initiative which CBN states as the concept of a Universal Basic Income (UBI).

"Universal Basic Income is essentially a program where the government is providing a basic level of income to each and every citizen in the country," explained Arnold.

Another form in which UBI is promoted is through the "new child tax credit," the report continues.

"It is a guaranteed check regardless of whether parents are working or not and that's quite different from the make work pay system that has evolved over the past generation or so," said Weidinger.

According to PEW, basic income programs and related policies have surfaced everywhere "from Capitol Hill to community Zoom meetings in cities like Hudson."

Officials who may potentially support the prospect of UBI are Vice President Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang, who is currently running for New York mayor.

Last year, then senator Harris introduced "pandemic payments" which would amount to $2,000 for each adult and up to three children in a household. On another occasion, Yang reportedly proposed $1,000 monthly checks for every American adult regardless of their income.
President Joe Biden on Thursday kicked off a virtual climate summit attended by 40 other world leaders by announcing an ambitious cut in greenhouse gas emissions as he looks to put the US back at the center of the global effort to address the climate crisis and curb carbon emissions.

At the White House summit, which is taking place on Thursday and Friday, Biden committed the United States to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% below its 2005 emissions levels by 2030. While the goals are a part of the Paris climate agreement that Biden rejoined upon taking office, they are non-binding and the administration has not rolled out a plan on how the US will meet them. Officials said Biden and his team arrived at the final number in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday morning.

In an address opening the summit, Biden laid out his vision for a greener economy in which climate change is taken seriously across all sectors and results in more jobs for the blue-collar workers he has focused on throughout his career.

'That's where we're headed as a nation, and that's what we can do if we take action to build an economy that's not only more prosperous but healthier, fairer and cleaner for the entire planet,' Biden said.

'These steps will set America's economy to net-zero emissions by no later than 2050,' he added.

Biden called on the world leaders gathered at the summit, particularly those who represent the world's largest economies, to take action within their own countries to curb emissions.

'No nation can solve this crisis on our own,' Biden said. 'We have to step up,' he added.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who introduced Biden at the start of the summit, pointed to the extreme weather the US has been battered by in recent years, including the wildfires in her home state of California.

'As a global community, it is imperative that we act quickly and together to confront this crisis and this will require innovation and collaboration around the world,' the vice president said.

The Biden administration's target to cut emissions was struck after lengthy consultations with government agencies, scientists, industry representatives, governors, mayors and environmental researchers. The move underscores the President's commitment to addressing the climate crisis and follows on his pledge to work with other countries to find joint solutions to global issues.

RELATED: Biden aims to cement US credibility on climate and galvanize world leaders at virtual summit

When then-President Barack Obama first joined the Paris climate agreement in 2015, he pledged to cut emissions by a range -- 26% to 28% -- by 2025, making the new 50%-52% cut a major jump. A second official said the higher target would give the US 'significant leverage' in convincing other countries to raise their ambitions ahead of a climate summit in Glasgow later this year.

What the President will not unveil, at least right now, is a specific road map for how the United States will reach those targets, which are being described as 'economy-wide.' Officials described 'multiple pathways' for the US to arrive at the goal, and said the President's climate task force would release sector-by-sector recommendations later this year on achieving the necessary cuts.

Biden sought to make the case that taking steps to address the climate crisis would make economies more resilient and competitive.

'When people talk about climate, I think jobs,' Biden said. 'Within our climate response lies an extraordinary engine of job creation and economic opportunity ready to be fired up.'

He said: 'Countries that take decisive action now to create the industries of the future will be the ones that reap the economic benefits of the clean energy boom that's coming.'

Several members in Biden's Cabinet are playing a role at the summit, including hosting sessions, speaking at sessions and discussing how their role or department or agency pertains to issues surrounding the climate crisis, a separate administration official said earlier this week.

A virtual call to action

The summit focuses on mobilizing public and private sector finance to reach net-zero emissions and 'build a resilient future,' according to the official. The US plans to discuss investing in innovation, which the administration argues is critical to creating transformational technologies to reduce emissions and at the same time creates new economic opportunities.

It's hoped that other countries will follow the US' lead with additional announcements of new goals to tackle the crisis, the administration official said.

'There is a significant sign that we expect action at this meeting. We're looking for people to make announcements, to raise their ambition, to indicate next steps that they intend to be taking to help solve the climate problem,' the official said.

While some countries reiterated that they were working toward their initial goals from the Paris climate agreement, Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau said his country would up its goal to cut carbon emissions. The US' neighbor to the north will now aim to cut emissions by 40 to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030, more advanced than the previous goal of 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are two notable leaders attending the summit, underscoring the wide range of leaders attending. Many allies of the US are also in attendance, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Xi pledged his country's commitment to a 'green development,' reaffirming China would achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak carbon emissions by 2030. Speaking about the need for global cooperation on climate, Xi said, 'Not long ago the Chinese and US sides released a joint statement addressing the climate crisis. China looks forward to working with the international community including the US to jointly advance global environmental governance.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was committed to carrying out a 'large-scale campaign for environmental modernization and greater energy efficiency across all economic sectors.'

Putin said when he gave a speech to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Wednesday he listed 'significantly reducing the net accumulated emissions in our country by 2050' as a priority.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in put forward new pledges to achieve carbon neutrality, including ending all public financing for new overseas coal-fired power plants. He said South Korea has stopped issuing new permits for domestic coal power plants and has drastically reduced its reliance on coal.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country wanted to have at least 55% less emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. She said addressing the global climate crisis is a 'herculean task' and said it would involve 'nothing short of a complete transformation' of the way the world conducts business.

French President Emmanuel Macron called on leaders to move more quickly on innovative and disruptive technologies. 'Basically, 2030 is the new 2050,' he said.

Macron said the world needed to 'completely transform our financial system' in order to achieve carbon emissions goals. 'If we don't set a price for carbon, there will be no transmission,' Macron said.

A departure from the Trump-era

The summit is a stark departure from how climate was approached for the past four years under former President Donald Trump. The former President repeatedly denied the scientific reality of the climate crisis and his administration systematically rolled back environmental policies.

Trump withdrew from the Paris agreement, but Biden administration officials said work on reducing carbon emissions proceeded anyway at the state and local level, which prevented the US from losing too much ground.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told 'The Axe Files with David Axelrod' that although Trump was rolling back environmental policies during the past four years, 'our private sector didn't turn back the clock and our state governments didn't turn back, and the American people broadly didn't turn it back.'

'It's incumbent upon us to continue to build on what we're doing during these four years so that it's harder for a different administration to turn things around as quickly,' Thomas-Greenfield told Axelrod, who is a CNN senior political commentator.

Since taking office in January, Biden has elevated climate change as an essential element of US foreign policy and national security. The US reentered the Paris climate accord, the landmark international agreement signed in 2015 to limit global warming, which Trump pulled the US out of.

Biden appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry as his special presidential envoy for climate, a Cabinet-level position that sits on the National Security Council. The President also named Gina McCarthy, a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as his White House climate czar to lead his newly formed Office of Domestic Climate Policy.

Climate is a big focus of the President's roughly $2 trillion infrastructure proposal. He has said his proposal would create hundreds of thousands of jobs while tackling the climate crisis, reducing emissions and building a 'modern, resilient and fully clean grid.'

Biden focused heavily on the potential economic boon that fighting climate change could present. His critics have described attempts to move the country away from fossil fuel as job-killers. But Biden hopes to highlight the opportunities that would come along with overhauling technology to make it cleaner.

'There is only one playbook that works in this moment and that playbook is you chase after the economic opportunity that tacking the climate crisis presents and we're doing that,' the senior administration official said.

Officials said they conducted a 'techno-economic' analysis across various sectors -- including electricity, transportation, buildings, industry, lands and oceans -- to identify various pathways for reducing emissions in each one. That included the potential for new standards and incentives that would limit greenhouse gasses.

'The 2030 target is a target we believe we can meet,' the senior administration official said.

As a presidential candidate, Biden put forward a plan to end carbon emissions from power plants by 2035 and proposed broader public investment in green infrastructure, including $2 trillion for clean energy projects.

This story has been updated with additional developments on Thursday.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Voleo Trading Systems Inc. (TSXV: TRAD) ("Voleo") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement dated April 20, 2021 (the "Option Agreement") with New Empire Exploration LLC (the "Vendor") to acquire a 100% in interest in the Tombstone South Property (the "Property") located in Arizona (the "Transaction"). In connection with the Transaction, Voleo will change its name to Intrepid Metals Corp. The Transaction is a Change of Business transaction under the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and is subject to the approval of the Exchange and other conditions customary for a transaction of this nature.



Tombstone Property

The Property is located 5.6 kilometers southwest of the town of Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona, USA. The Property is easily accessible via two hours of driving on paved highway from Tucson, Arizona. This Property totals 1336 hectares and consists of federal mining claims and Arizona State Prospecting Permits and is held 100% by the Vendor.

The Property is an exploration stage opportunity with potential to discover substantial, high-grade, silver/ lead/zinc veins and carbonate replacement deposits similar to those mined in the Tombstone District. The Tombstone mines produced 32 million ounces of silver in the 1880s.

The target concept on the Property, in addition to the Tombstone style silver mineralization in the Bisbee Group, will be to test the Cretaceous-Paleozoic contact. This stratigraphic horizon hosts the Taylor silver/lead/zinc deposit in southern Arizona, now owned by South 32. The Cretaceous-Paleozoic contact zone on the Property, including its proximity to low grade porphyry copper deposits and high grade silver deposits, presents a very favorable setting for Taylor deposit style mineralization.

Details of the Option Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement, Vendor has granted Voleo the option acquire a 100% direct interest in the Property through the direct acquisition of the Property by making following cash and Purchaser share payments, and incurring the following minimum work commitments (all dollar amounts are United States dollars):

Year Cash Consideration Share Consideration

Minimum Work Commitment Closing $10,000 80,000

1st Anniversary $30,000 100,000 $175,000 2nd Anniversary $100,000 200,000 $500,000 3rd Anniversary $100,000 300,000 $1,000,000 4th Anniversary $100,000 300,000 $1,500,000 5th Anniversary $500,000



TOTAL $840,000 980,000 $3,175,000

Voleo shall also grant the Vendor a 1.5% Net Smelter Royalty over the Property. One third of the Net Smelter Royalty may be repurchased by Voleo for a cash payment of $500,000. Voleo shall have a right of first refusal on the sale of the Net Smelter Royalty by Vendor.

No finder's fees are payable in connection with the Transaction.

Financing

In conjunction with the Transaction, Voleo intends to undertake a non-brokered private placement to raise up to a total of C$2,000,000 consisting of 8,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.25 per Unit (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one common share for a period of 24 months at an exercise price equal to C$0.40.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to continue to evaluate and explore the Property and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

The Offering will be non-brokered; however, the Company may pay finder's fees in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Offering is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

This news release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the Unites States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements.

Additional Information

Full details of the Transaction will be included in the disclosure document that will be completed with respect to the Transaction. The Transaction is being conducted at arm's length. The name of the Resulting Issuer will be "Intrepid Metals Corp." The Company will not be completing a share consolidation in connection with the Transaction. The Company also does not intend to make any changes to its existing directors and officers in connection with the Transaction. Voleo anticipates applying for a waiver of the sponsorship requirement.

The Company intends to seek a waiver of the shareholder approval requirement for the Transaction on the basis that it is without active operations as set out in Section 4.1(b)(iii) of Exchange Policy 5.2. In April 2020, the Company announced that its technology platform would not reach profitability in 2020 and was implementing cost savings measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020 the Company announced that due to continued global uncertainty resulting from COVID-19, it was shutting down its US client operations. The intention of Voleo was to cease operations, cut all possible costs, but retain its intellectual property and evaluate strategic opportunities including partnership or sale. The Company has closed its US broker dealer, terminated its FINRA membership and ceased operations. Based on the state of the market and the Company's current financial situation, it does not anticipate returning to active operations based on its existing technology. If the Transaction is completed, the Company intends to divest its technology and focus exclusively on the exploration and development of the Property.

The Company confirms that it is not and will not be subject to a cease trade order and will not otherwise be suspended from trading on completion of the Transaction. In addition, Company shareholder approval of the Transaction is not required under applicable corporate laws and is not required under applicable Securities Laws. Any waiver of the shareholder approval requirement is subject to approval by the Exchange. The Company will confirm whether a waiver has been received in a subsequent news release.

Additional information as required by Exchange Policy 5.2 will be provided by way of a subsequent news release. Trading in the common shares of the Company on the Exchange will remain halted until such times as the requirements of the Exchange are met.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable, disinterested 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 Voleo Resources Ltd. 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 news release.

Qualified Person

Dr. Chris Osterman, P. Geo, a consultant of Voleo, is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Dr. Osterman has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information disclosed in this press release.

About Voleo Trading Systems Inc.

For more information on Voleo please visit ir.myvoleo.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE VOLEO BOARD

"Mark Morabito"

Executive Chairman

For further information please contact:

Voleo Investor Relations

+1-604-681-8030

investor.relations@myvoleo.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking statements relate to: (i) future events or Voleo's future performance and future use of its technology; (ii) Voleo's business objectives, operational timelines, and investment requirements; (iii) removal of conditions relating to the completion of the Transaction; (iv) future exploration work on the Property and its potential to host mineralization; (v) completion of any concurrent financing; (vi) receipt of TSXV, regulatory and, if applicable, shareholder approvals of the Transaction; and (vii) waiver of the sponsorship requirements.

All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "may", "will", "project", "potential", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Voleo believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this release should not be unduly relied upon. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, or as of the date specified in the documents incorporated by reference into this release, as the case may be.

With respect to forward-looking statements contained in this release, Voleo has made assumptions regarding, among other thing: the accuracy, reliability and applicability of Voleo's business model; the impact of COVID-19 on Voleo's operations; the ability of Voleo to implement its business plan as intended; the legislative and regulatory environments of the jurisdictions where Voleo carries on business; the impact of competition; and the availability of financing to execute the business plan. Voleo has included the above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-looking statements provided in this release in order to provide investors with a more complete perspective on Voleo's current and future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists of factors are not exhaustive and it would be unreasonable to rely on any such forward-looking statements and information as creating any legal rights, that the statements and information are not guarantees and may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ (and may differ materially) and objectives and strategies may differ or change from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements or information as a result of various factors. Except as required by applicable securities laws, Voleo is not under any duty and do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR RELEASE TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81425
A Roman Catholic priest from St. Boniface has been stripped of his ordination by the Pope, six years after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused young men he was counselling.

A Roman Catholic priest from St. Boniface has been stripped of his ordination by the Pope, six years after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused young men he was counselling.

Archbishop Albert LeGatt of the Archdiocese of St. Boniface announced in a letter to clergy dated April 19 that Fred Olds, former priest at St. Timothy and St. Bernadette parishes, was dismissed from the clerical state by Pope Francis and also removed from all priestly obligations, including celibacy.

The announcement comes two months after the decision was handed down by the Vaticans Congregation of the Clergy on Feb. 27, 2021, which stated Olds, 73, has no possibility of appeal or other recourse regarding the decision.

"There is established a clear pattern of grooming young men, struggling with addictions, to eventually engage in sexual behaviour," the statement reads.

In November 2016, Archbishop LeGatt placed Olds on administrative leave from St. Timothy Roman Catholic Parish and restricted him from public ministry after allegations surfaced about repeated and ongoing acts of sexual abuse of young men during counselling. Olds was a priest at St. Bernadette from 1992 to 2015.

LeGatt said none of the victims was a minor at the time of the abuse and he did not say how many victims were involved.

After the allegations came to light, LeGatt appointed a psychologist to investigate, and then undertook a formal canonical trial involving 15 witnesses, which wrapped up in 2018. Olds chose not to be interviewed or to name any witnesses during the process, the letter said.

The process was delayed when the Vatican asked for more information in 2019.

Archbishop LeGatt was not available for comment on Wednesday but wrote in his letter to clergy that he is committed to protecting vulnerable people and ensuring safety within parishes.

"Abuse and harassment of any kind have no place in the life of our church," LeGatt wrote.

The archbishop also promised members of the two parishes involved that he would meet with them virtually to answer any questions about the process, but no date has been set, said Rev. Brian Trueman, the new priest at St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church on John Forsyth Road.

"The bishop is going to meet with some of my parishioners to follow up on that process, so were having an online Zoom meeting," said Trueman.

Ordained to the priesthood in Winnipeg in 1975, Olds has returned to his hometown of Hamilton.

His previous parish of St. Bernadette made headlines in 2017 when former church administrator Leo McCaughan pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 after stealing more than $357,000 from parish coffers.

McCaughan claimed at his sentencing trial that previous sexual exploitation by an unnamed priest contributed to his actions, but the judge found no evidence to support that claim.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
has slammed Australias decision to cancel agreements between the and the Victoria state government, signaling a worsening of ties between the nations.

The Australian federal government scrapped both the memorandum of understanding and framework agreement signed between Victoria and Chinas National Development and Reform Commission, Beijings top economic planning body, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in an emailed statement Wednesday. She described the deals as inconsistent with Australias foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations.

The step is another unreasonable and provocative move taken by the Australian side against China, the Chinese embassy in Canberra said in an emailed statement. It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China- relations -- it is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself.

basically fired the first major shot against in trade and investment conflicts, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East Normal University in Shanghai, told the Communist Party-backed Global Times. China will surely respond accordingly.

China has lodged stern representations with over the issue and reserved the right to take more action, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing Thursday in Beijing.

Relations between Australia and its largest trading partner have been in freefall for a year after the government called for an independent probe into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing has since inflicted a range of trade reprisals, including imposing crippling tariffs on Australian barley and wine while blocking coal shipments.

What we have to wait for now is how Beijing will react materially to Paynes move, Clive Hamilton, a professor at the Charles Sturt University, said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Thursday. The Belt and Road is Beijings strategic tool to advance Beijings influence around the world.

The bans are the first under laws passed by the national parliament in December that give the foreign minister the ability to stop new and previously signed agreements between overseas governments and Australias eight states and territories, and also with bodies such as local authorities and universities.

No Thaw

Paynes announcement, which included bans on two other deals between Victoria and the governments of Iran and Syria, came the same day a Chinese diplomat indicated that there will be no immediate thaw in ties between Beijing and Canberra.

We have done nothing intentionally to hurt this relationship, and we have seen too many incidents over the past few years in which Chinas interest has been hurt, Wang Xining, the Chinese Embassys deputy head of mission, told reporters in Canberra.

The BRI deals with Victoria, the nations second-most populous state, aimed to increase Chinese participation in new infrastructure projects. They were signed between October 2018 and a year later.

Research Partnerships

The laws allow Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government to block or curtail foreign involvement in a broad range of sectors such as infrastructure, trade cooperation, tourism, cultural collaboration, science, health and education, including university research partnerships.

Payne said Wednesday she had been alerted to more than 1,000 arrangements between foreign governments and Australias states and territories, local governments and public universities since the laws were enacted.

The law may still allow the federal government to review and overturn memorandums of understanding between Beijing and the state governments of Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania in sectors ranging from investment, science cooperation and access to the Antarctic.

I will continue to consider foreign arrangements, Payne said. I expect the overwhelming majority of them to remain unaffected.

Wang Huiyao, an adviser to Chinas cabinet and founder of the Center for China and Globalization, described Australias move as unwise.

Victorias participation in the was a huge benefit for Australia, and if they abandon that, its going to take more time for China-Australia relations to recover, he said.
HINSDALE  Hinsdale officials heard Wednesday what some residents think should become of a landmark building. They now want more views.

A nonbinding question might go on a town ballot as early as June, asking whether voters support having the town seek proposals for new uses of the Old Town Hall on Maple Street, including its possible transition to private ownership.

The vote result would guide the Select Board, said Town Administrator Robert Graves. The board expects to vote next week to place a question on the June ballot, then work out wording of the question with town counsel. Any move to approve a sale would be presented at an annual town meeting, perhaps in 2022.

They want to be sure they have the most input from the most residents, Graves said of the board.

Not on the table: Demolishing the 1849 Greek Revival-style structure, even though it seldom is used and has cost Hinsdale more than $143,000 in maintenance and other costs during the past seven years.

There is no one here who wishes to see the building torn down, contrary to rumors, said Richard Scialabba, the Select Board chair.

This building has graced Hinsdale since 1849. Will it see 2049? HINSDALE  One of the most handsome and historic buildings in Hinsdale is, today, a square peg in a time of round holes.

Early in Wednesdays public forum, Richard Eastland asked town leaders to explain the goal of the session. Eastland is a member of the committee that cares for the building, also known as the Community Center.

The answer: Rather than let the issue of the buildings use and expense drift, town officials say they want the community to clarify what the structure means to the town, find its best uses and perhaps seek a private-sector solution that would preserve its historic nature. The ballot question will ask voters whether the support the idea of seeking proposals from developers for the building; any future use would have to preserve the structures facade.

We have a Gordian knot, said Vivian Mason, a Select Board member, using a term for a complex problem. What we need to do as a town is decide what we want to do with it. Its a big nut to crack.

In the course of an hour, the idea arose of putting a question to residents on a town ballot. The relatively small group of residents who joined the forum  fewer than two dozen in person and by videoconference  spoke of the buildings importance to the town.

Other ideas presented: Create a trust fund that can seek donations to offset the buildings costs. Put out requests for proposals and see what comes back. Get the towns Historical Commission more involved.

sky and columns Old Town Hall4.JPG The Greek Revival-style Old Town Hall in Hinsdale, originally known as the Hinsdale Academy, occupies a place of civic prominence on a rise ov

Were talking about preserving this building for the next 100 years, one resident said. Another expressed doubt that a new private owner, if the town goes that route, could be trusted to safeguard the buildings architectural legacy.

Resident Susan Sauve, who phoned in her comments, said Hinsdale must look at viable options.

I think it is a building that is important for our town, she said.

Mason, of the Select Board, said the town needs to decide how much expense it is willing to bear to keep the building in decent shape. Graves, the town administrator, briefed the forum on how much the town has put into care of the building in recent fiscal years: $20,000 in 2014, $13,000 in 2015, $33,000 in 2016, $14,000 in 2017, $21,000 in 2018, $25,000 in 2019 and $17,000 in 2020.

If people want to spend $10,000 to $15,000 a year to preserve a historical building, thats fine, Mason said. If people think thats a good use of their tax money, by all means, lets do it.

side view Old Town Hall1.JPG Richard J. Eastland, a Hinsdale resident who helps to keep the Old Town Hall in shape and is one of the buildings most loyal backers, support

But, the issue should be confronted, Mason said, not put off, as has been the custom.

What were trying to do is resolve an ongoing issue, she said. This is going to be a huge project, no matter what we do with it.

Eastland, one of the buildings most loyal backers, supported the idea of a ballot question.

Lets get the most people to weigh in on this and go from there, he said.

Scialabba sought to assure residents that the question will be handled carefully. He called the forum a key step and said it represented more progress than anything seen in recent years.

Were not rushing into anything, thats not the objective, Scialabba said. Were just trying to get things started because it is a drain on funds. There are a lot of competing needs for funding in this town and a lot of priorities.

Theres been a good discussion here, and weve gotten a flavor about what people think, he said.

Graves said residents are invited to email questions and comments to the Select Boards attention. He can be reached at town.administrator@hinsdalema.gov.
Covid: births drop due to lockdown, down 20% in Spain Study shows drop in countries hit hardest by pandemic, Italy -8%

(ANSAmed) - BOLZANO, 22 APR - The lockdown in spring 2020 caused a drop in births, above all in the countries hardest hit by the Covid pandemic, such as Italy and Spain, according to a study by Austrian demographer Tomas Sobotka of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW).



Birth rates did not increase in any of the over 30 countries examined worldwide in the nine months after the start of the pandemic through the beginning of 2021, and in some cases there were significant decreases.



Spain saw a 20% drop in births, while in Italy the decrease was 8%, according to the most recent data available from November 2020.



In both countries, births were already on the decline before the pandemic, but not to this degree.



Sobotka and his team are developing a database on fertility trends worldwide.



For the study, which was conducted with the participation of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock and the Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital in Vienna, birth data was examined from around the world, including from 15 EU countries as well as Switzerland, the US, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Norway and Ukraine. (ANSAmed).




The headmaster of Grace Church School who was secretly recorded saying that 'we're demonizing white people for being born' has issued an apology to staff, declaring he'd been 'trapped' by a disgruntled teacher and didn't mean what he said.

In a letter obtained by DailyMail.com, George Davison claims his remarks were was taken out of context and doesn't actually believe the school is demonizing white students. He suggested math teacher Paul Rossi had an axe to grind when he recorded their conversation and then released the audio on Twitter on Tuesday.

Rossi was pulled from his classes last week after criticizing the school's anti-racism policies.

Davison wrote to colleagues at the Manhattan private school on Tuesday after his comments were posted:

'Dear All,

Paul recorded our conversation, without telling me, during our Zoom meeting when I was informing him of being placed on warning and the conditions of his contract. He got into his talking points and out of context it sounds as if I support his contention that we demonize white students. I do not and have not supported that contention. I apologize to all of you for being trapped by him. I am very careful, but this time I was not successful.'

George

The school's Board of Trustees posted its own message to the school community on Thursday, distancing itself from Davison's controversial remarks.

'These were incomplete excerpts of a difficult conversation with a disgruntled member of the faculty with whom George has deep disagreementsbut with whom he was nonetheless trying to engage in dialogue,' the Trustees write. 'George recognizes the hurt and confusion these excerpts have caused within our community, and he takes responsibility for the impact of his words. He, and we, remain steadfast in our school's commitment to antiracism.'

George P. Davison (right) the head of the Grace Church High School in Manhattan is heard in a taped telephone conversation agreeing that 'we're demonizing white people'

Paul Rossi released the audio on Twitter Tuesday morning and said the phone conversation occurred March 2. The two are apparently talking about the whole woke movement in schools and how authority figures are making white students feel inherently racist.

'Let me ask you something, George, because I think there's something very different about having a single experience where you make sense of it, right, and having a teacher, an authority figure, talk to you endlessly, every year, telling you, that because you have whiteness you are associated with evils, all these different evils,' Rossi tells him on the excerpt he released.

'These are moral evils, it's not the same as taking a physical thing, because it doesn't affect your moral value. That's the problem.'

Davison replies, 'The fact is that I'm agreeing with you that there has been a demonization that we need to get our hands around, in the way in which people are doing this understanding.'

Paul Rossi, the teacher, released the audio on Twitter Monday morning of a phone conversation with George Davison that he said occurred March 2. The two are apparently talking about the whole woke movement in schools and how authority figures are making white students feel inherently racist

'So you agree that we're demonizing kids,' Rossi states.

'We're demonizing ki,' Davison says before cutting himself off. Then he adds, 'We're demonizing white people, for being born.'

'And are some of our students white people?' Rossi asks.

' Yes,' the head of school replies.

'Okay, so we're demonizing white kids,' Rossi says. 'Why don't you just say it?'

Davison replies, 'We are using language that makes them feel less than, for nothing that they are personally responsible for.'

Rossi said that despite being forced out of the classroom, several people at the school have offered him words of support.

'There are many who were privately sympathetic with my concerns,' he told DailyMail.com shortly after releasing the audio.

'And I don't blame them for not doing even close to what I did. I understand the reality of mortgages and kids. People have a duty to the truth and they also have a duty to their families, and everyone must weigh those priorities for themselves.'

Topher Nichols, the school's director of communications, did not challenge the authenticity of the tape. 'At this point, we don't have a comment,' he told DailyMail.com.

Last night, a former parent at the $57,000-a-year New York City school that banned math teacher who spoke out against its woke curriculum has claimed pupils spend a week every month learning Critical Race Theory.

Grace Church School teacher Paul Rossi was ousted from the classroom Monday after he accused the school of 'indoctrinating' students with antiracist lessons 'at the cost of students' psychological and intellectual development'.

In an essay shared on former New York Times editor Bari Weiss's Substack, Rossi said he could no longer stay silent while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that the curriculum has on children.

A former parent of the school, who identified himself as C Bell, commented on his essay that students are being forced to undertake controversial lessons focused on 'antiracism, equity and belonging'.

He said: 'I'm a former parent. My son had Paul Rossi. Sadly, Mr. Rossi's account is not hyperbole.

'One week out of the month is now fully devoted to CRT (not academics).

'Grace was in the news earlier this year as well for it's language guide, which suggested (among other things) that students and teachers say folks or parents or family and not specifically mom and dad because not all kids have mom and dads and such a person might be offended if you ask about their mom and dad.

'The goal of education cannot be to eliminate all possibility of offense.'

Topher Nichols, the school spokesman, confirmed to DailyMail.com Monday: 'I can confirm that Paul was relieved of his teaching duties'

Before the Rossi scandal, it was revealed last month that the Grace Church School issued a glossary of terms they claim will make the facility a more 'inclusive' place.

It offered a 12-page guide to staff, students and parents that encourages them to stop using 'mom' and 'dad', to stop asking classmates where they may have gone on vacation and urges them not to wish anyone a 'Merry Christmas' - or even a 'Happy Holidays'.

The school's website also has a page devoted to antiracism where it outlines the programs offered to pupils and parents.

Among the upcoming events are Zoom meetings for parents of white backgrounds where they can discuss how to better tackle racism.

Rossi claimed that the school's headmaster, George P. Davison, privately agreed the school is 'demonizing white people for being born'. That accusation came Monday in response to a letter by Davison said to have been shared with staff Sunday.

That note from Davison is said to have read: 'You should know that Paul has declined his contract so will not be returning in the fall.

'The wellbeing of our community is our first priority, and we take it seriously whenever students raise concerns about the professionalism of a teacher.

Rossi responded, claiming head George P. Davison privately agreed the school is now 'demonizing white people for being born'

'It is clear to me that Paul cannot be effective as a teacher at Grace any more. I have informed him that he is relieved of his teaching duties, and we've asked two support teachers to take over his math classes for the final quarter.

'He has been asked to not come into the building without prior coordination.'

Topher Nichols, the school spokesman, told DailyMail.com Monday: 'I can confirm that Paul was relieved of his teaching duties.

'He has been invited to spend the remainder of his contract with the school contributing to a new task force that will review best practices nationwide around belonging.'

Candace Owens says parents must SUE woke schools who want to cancel conservative thinking and blasts 'meaningless' degrees like gender studies Candace Owens is pictured Candace Owens has said parents need to start suing woke schools who want to cancel conservative thinking. The conservative commentator said: 'Parents have to start speaking out, not just speaking out, but suing. You have to start suing the schools because they're ruining the lives of young children.' She was joined on Fox News by Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk, who added: 'Where are the adults that are going to start to stand up and realize that the next generation that's standing up for freedom in our country is worthy of protection, in this situation? 'It takes courage to be a young conservative. It's time for adults to start to protect young people's right to organize and speak their mind.' Owens added: 'This thought process that we keep seeing that conservatives are not allowed to exist, that being conservative is backwards and it's wrong, and especially when it comes to the education system taking part in this, right? 'Smearing and labeling their own students, these students having to transfer out of schools. This is systematic bullying that's happening, but worse than that, it's propagandist.' She later praised Andrew Gutmann, 45, who pulled his daughter from $54,000 a year Brearley school as 'an absolute hero' before blasting 'meaningless' degrees like gender studies. Responding to one student's claims that they were punished for studying her in black history month, Owens said: 'This young girl you brought up...picked me, a black person, for Black History Month, and she was accused of being a racist. 'I mean, that is so twisted and perverted and wrong. It would be funny if it wasn't so cruel that led to her actually having to transfer out of this school.' Advertisement

Nichols elaborated on why Rossi was 'relieved of his teaching duties,' saying it was because 'numerous students requested to be removed from his class because of his unprofessional conduct and because he demeaned them in the press.'

The school had told DailyMail.com Thursday that Rossi wouldn't be fired or face discipline over his post.

Rossi then said he received an email from school Principal Davison saying he should stay home until further notice for 'security concerns.'

He is said to have been asked to stay home after another colleague threatened him in the wake of his complaints being published.

By Monday he had been 'relieved of his duties'.

Candace Owens said Sunday that parents need to start suing woke schools who want to cancel conservative thinking.

She told Fox News: 'Parents have to start speaking out, not just speaking out, but suing. You have to start suing the schools because they're ruining the lives of young children.'

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk added: 'Where are the adults that are going to start to stand up and realize that the next generation that's standing up for freedom in our country is worthy of protection, in this situation?

'It takes courage to be a young conservative. It's time for adults to start to protect young people's right to organize and speak their mind.'

Her comments came in the wake of a second controversy that impacted another elite New York City prep schools where a parent complained his child was being brainwashed with anti-racism ideology.

Andrew Gutmann, 45, had announced in an April 13 letter shared by journalist Bari Weiss this week that he has chosen not to reenroll his daughter in the all-girls school where annual tuition is $54,000.

He pulled his daughter from the school over its woke antiracism 'obsession.' He accused the school of 'teaching what to think not how to think.'

The school responded by slamming him for being 'offensive.'

On Monday Woke, Inc author Vivek Ramaswamy also blasted what he calls a culture of 'indoctrination'.

He said American schools are 'going down the tubes' because they have been 'infected' with 'woke culture' that has 'sacrificed the idea of excellence' by 'indoctrinating' students.

Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and the author of Woke, Inc, compared the wave of 'wokeness' in schools to China's Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s, when its people were indoctrinated with Maoism by the Communist Party.

Ramaswamy told Fox News that these incidents illustrate the extent to which American children are being brainwashed.

'I think it's going to be really damaging, poisoning the minds of our next generation,' he told Fox News.

'The thing about America as a country is that we are not like many other countries throughout history - defined on the basis of a single ethnicity, or a single language, or a single monarch.

'America is an idea, and part of being an idea as a country means this.

'The way we describe America affects that America actually works, that's why we call it the American dream.

'It's what we aspire to. E pluribus unum (out of many, one). That's what we should be aspiring to, ideas that bind us together.

Rossi on Tuesday came forward with allegations in a blog post that he published on Substack

Grace Church High School is a $57,000-a-year private school whose famous alumni include actor David Duchovny and New York Times columnist David Brooks

Vivek Ramaswamy (above) spoke out in response to two separate controversies that impacted elite New York City prep schools where parents complained their children were being brainwashed with anti-racism ideology

HEAD OF DALTON RESIGNS AMID ROW OVER WOKE POLICIES 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 Dalton's intellectually engaging curriculum,' it read. Advertisement

He added: 'Instead we have been obsessing over diversity, our differences, for a decade now forgetting all of the ways in which we are actually the same, and now that's getting transmitted to the next generation.

'I think the way we describe this country to them will affect the way it works in the next generation, and that's something to be really frightened of.'

Gutmann, who runs his family's chemical business, told the New York Post on Saturday that he penned the 1,700-word letter he mailed to 650 different families because 'someone had to speak out.' He said he does not regret sending the letter.

'She hasn't been brainwashed yet by the school - but she's had me at home. I'm not so sure that's true of the other kids,' Gutmann told the outlet, referring to his daughter.

'Someone had to do it. Someone had to light the match. Everyone's so afraid of cancel culture. We're going to destroy the city, we're going to destroy the country.'

Gutmann said he refused to sign the school's anti-racism pledge in October.

The school had started the required pledge after black alumnae accused the school of racism in posts made to the Instagram account account 'Black at Brearley,' according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The school's antiracism and diversity plans are extensively described on its website.

'I thought they were going to kick my daughter out then,' Gutmann said.

'They didn't, but next year they have the pledge built into the yearly school contract.'

The concerned dad claimed that the school's 'once-rigorous curriculum' completely changed after administrators 'managed to sneak' in an increased emphasis on race during the pandemic 'when everyone was distracted,' the New York Post reported.

'I don't know who's really driving this and nobody does,' he told the outlet.

Gutmann said the thing he resented the most about Brearley is that the school 'has begun to teach what to think, instead of how to think.'

Jane Fried, Brearley's head of school, sent a message to the school's families on Friday in which she slammed Gutmann's letter as 'deeply offensive and harmful.'
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that judges need not determine that juvenile offenders are beyond hope of rehabilitation before sentencing them to die in prison. The decision, concerning a teenager who killed his grandfather, appeared to signal the end of a trend that had limited the availability of severe punishments for youths who commit crimes before they turn 18.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for the majority in the 6-to-3 ruling, said it was enough that the sentencing judge exercised discretion rather than automatically imposing a sentence of life without parole.

In a case involving an individual who was under 18 when he or she committed a homicide, he wrote, a states discretionary sentencing system is both constitutionally necessary and constitutionally sufficient.

No specific finding concerning the defendants maturity or capacity for change was required, he wrote.
Posted by Jay on at 09:01 AM CST

Marvel has sent out solicitations for their July 2021 titles, including 7comics and two trade paperbacks!ETHAN SACKS (W)  PAOLO VILLANELLI (A)COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLIHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLILUCASFILM 50TH VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSETHE FOLLOWING Hunted by the mysterious assassin DEATHSTICK, a wounded VALANCE and his reluctant partner DENGAR are running out of options! TONGA is outgunned and outnumbered... but she does have one last surprise up her sleeve! And the shadowy force behind all of the danger makes its move!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99ALYSSA WONG (W)  MINKYU JUNG (A)COVER BY SARA PICHELLIHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLILUCASFILM 50TH VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSEPARTY TRICKS A MYSTERIOUS INVITATION leads DOCTOR APHRA and SANA STARROS to an exclusive party... teeming with scum and villainy! Will Aphra and Sana be able to survive the underworld social event of the century? Or will their cover be blown by A FAMILIAR FACE with an agenda of their own?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99(of 5)Charles Soule (W)  LUKE ROSS (A)  Cover by STEVE MCNIVENHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLITRADING CARD VARIANT COVER BY JOHN CASSADAYACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERVARIANT COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTOTHE BIGGEST COMC EVENT OF THE STAR WARS GALAXY CONTINUES! Notorious bounty hunter BOBA FETT has tracked his missing prize  heroic smuggler HAN SOLO, frozen in carbonite  to the remote, frozen world of JEKARA. But representatives from many of the galaxys most powerful factions have gathered, and they all want the same thing  Solo. Things go from bad to worse, as Boba Fett realizes that he himself has become almost as valuable to the galaxys hunters as Han Solo, and he must turn to the least trustworthy person in the galaxy for help...DOCTOR APHRA32 PGS./Rated T $3.99GREG PAK (W)  RAFFAELE IENCO (A)  Cover by AARON KUDERHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLILUCASFILM 50TH VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSETHE BLADE BEHIND THE CURTAIN For decades, no figure has stood as close to the EMPEROR with so much mystery surrounding her. Who is the UMBARAN? What is her role within the EMPIRE and in the WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS? And what happens when she emerges from the darkness to challenge Darth Vader himself? Featuring an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the Emperors inner circle  and the return of IG-88!32 PGS./Rated T $3.99JUSTINA IRELAND (W)  LUCA PIZZARI & MORE (A)  Cover by Mahmud AsrarHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLIVARIANT BY AARON KUDERVARIANT COVER BY TBAJABBA NEVER FORGIVES! JABBA NEVER FORGETS!JABBA THE HUTT is one of the most powerful and ruthless gangsters in the galaxyand BOBA FETT, his most trusted bounty hunter, has failed him. How will Jabba deal with betrayal? VIOLENTLY. And what does this have to do with a bounty hunter with ties to the HIGH REPUBLIC? Justina Ireland and Luca Pizzaris hutt-sized spectacular is the first of four action-packed War of the Bounty Hunters tie-ins about the criminal underworlds most notorious hunters and scoundrels, all told by the best Star Wars writers and illustrators in the galaxy.40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T $4.99CHARLES SOULE (W)  RAMON ROSANAS (A)  Cover by CARLO PAGULAYANHEADSHOT VARIANT COVER BY GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLILUCASFILM 50TH VARIANT COVER BY CHRIS SPROUSEVARIANT COVER BY PAUL RENAUDFRIENDS AND ENEMIES LUKE SKYWALKER embarks upon an epic mission with WEDGE ANTILLES and the brave pilots of STARLIGHT SQUADRON to rescue a lost division of the REBEL FLEET. LEIA ORGANA, CHEWBACCA and LANDO CALRISSIAN attempt to save HAN SOLO from the evil clutches of BOBA FETT. But what hidden vision will the Force send to Luke about the troubles to come?32 PGS./Rated T $3.99CAVAN SCOTT (W)  GEORGES JEANTY (A)  Cover by PHIL NOTOVARIANT COVER BY RAY-ANTHONY HEIGHTACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVEr BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERA JEDI FACES THE DARKNESS! KEEVE TRENNIS has put everything on the line to save her former master, but the scars run deep. As AVAR KRISS summons a task force to deal with the DRENGIR THREAT, a desperate NIHIL REMNANT attacks a distant outpost. Can Keeve fight back the shadows long enough to stand for light and life? Guest-starring ORLA JARENI, Jedi Wayseeker.32 PGS./Rated T $3.99Written by JO DUFFY, BOB LAYTON, DAVID MICHELINIE, LINDA GRANT, ROY RICHARDSON,RANDY STRADLEY & ARCHIE GOODWINPenciled by RON FRENZ, LUKE MCDONNELL, BOB MCLEOD, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, TOM PALMER,KLAUS JANSON & AL WILLIAMSONCover by TOM PALMERThe search for Han Solo! Determined to rescue their friend from his carbonite prison, the heroes of the Rebel Alliance undertake mission after mission to track him down  while staying one step ahead of the Empire! But Darth Vader remains equally determined to capture Luke Skywalker, and  with the evil Emperor Palpatine  prepares one final trap to reunite father and son. It all culminates in a gorgeous comic book adaptation of Return of the Jedi  but the story doesnt end there! The rebels have one final mission: to defeat the last remnants of the Empire and create a New Republic to unify the galaxy once more. But another Dark Lord is waiting in the wings! Collecting STAR WARS (1977) #74-88, STAR WARS ANNUAL (1979) #3 and STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI #1-4.496 PGS./Rated T $39.99ISBN: 978-1-302-92989-3Trim size: 6-5/8 x 10-3/16Written by CAVAN SCOTTPenciled by ARIO ANINDITOCover by PHIL NOTOA new era of Star Wars storytelling begins! Journey back to the High Republic  the golden age of the Jedi! Centuries before the Empire and the Skywalker saga, the Jedi are at their height, protecting the galaxy as Republic pioneers push out into new territories. But as the frontier prepares for the dedication of the majestic Starlight Beacon, the Padawan named Keeve Trennis faces the ultimate choice: Will she complete her Jedi trials, or rescue the innocent from disaster? And can she trust her closest ally? Hutts, Rancors, Gamorreans and far less familiar faces await in a tale of belonging and betrayal set in a rich and vast world of new Jedi! Prepare to experience new worlds! New ships! And new evils to fight  including the terrifying Nihil and a creeping alien horror! Collecting STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC #1-5.120 PGS./Rated T $15.99ISBN: 978-1-302-92753-0Trim size: 6-5/8 x 10-3/16
A requirement to return a portion of the Air Force bomber fleet to alert status ultimately would deteriorate and exhaust the force, a key general said Thursday.

While the Air Force routinely trains to deploy bombers at a moment's notice and conduct a nuclear strike anywhere in the world, returning to a full-time alert status could not "be done forever," Lt. Gen. James Dawkins, the service's deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, said this week at a Mitchell Institute virtual event.

Such a mission would require a substantial increase in resources, Dawkins said.

"You're going to need more aviators, you're going to need more Security Forces [personnel], more maintainers ... more bombers ... infrastructure improvements at the [alert] facilities, and you're going to need more tankers," Dawkins said. More refueling tankers from the service's KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-10 Extender and KC-46 Pegasus fleets would need to be "sectioned off" just for the mission to ensure bombers are refueled sufficiently while in flight, he added.

Read Next: Navy Beating Other Services in Race to 100% Vaccination

Dawkins was responding to comments made by Adm. Charles Richard, the head of U.S. Strategic Command. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing earlier this week, Richard said that if the Defense Department got rid of its land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, submarines and bombers would need to increase their operations.

The U.S. military's nuclear triad, operated by the Air Force and Navy, consists of lCBMs, strategic bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, or SLBMs.

"If you don't have intercontinental ballistic missiles -- you are completely dependent on the submarine leg," Richard said during the hearing. "I've already told the secretary of defense that under those conditions, I would request to re-alert the bombers."

The Air Force bomber fleet hasn't been on full-time alert since the Cold War. President George H. W. Bush ended the alert status in 1991, Dawkins said.

Of the Air Force's three bombers, only the B-52 Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit are capable of carrying and launching nuclear weapons. The B-21 Raider, which also will be nuclear-capable, is not scheduled to join the fleet until the mid-2020s.

Of the Air Force's 76 B-52s, 46 are nuclear-capable, according to the Congressional Research Service. The service also has 20 nuclear B-2s in its inventory.

Dawkins said moving bombers to alert status also would limit the conventional missions they take on.

Through the Bomber Task Force, or BTF, part of the Pentagon's larger "dynamic force employment" strategy, the Air Force dispatches two to four bombers at a time to units around the globe, in an effort to improve mobility and unpredictability. This initiative also has made Air Force bomber fleets more visible.

"So while it sounds real simple, 'Hey, let's just put our bombers back on alert,' it's not so simple," Dawkins said Thursday. He added, though, that a move to revive the alert mission would shore up an Air Force case for buying more B-21s.

The Pentagon is facing increased scrutiny about developing the next-generation intercontinental ballistic missiles to replace the U.S's aging Minuteman III ICBMs.

Experts estimate the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, or GBSD, program could cost between $85 billion to $100 billion for ICBM infrastructure alone.

Modernizing the entire nuclear arsenal -- including equipment within each leg of the triad, plus crucial communications, the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years. Some progressive lawmakers have suggested turning solely to submarines and bombers as a result to act as America's nuclear deterrent, according to a report from Defense News.

Facing rising threats from North Korea, DefenseOne reported in 2017 that the Air Force had been preparing to put bombers back on 24-hour alert status in part by upgrading facilities for hundreds of airmen to support the potential mission.

"Bombers are always prepared to go on alert," Gen. David Goldfein, then-Air Force chief of staff, told Military.com last year prior to his retirement. "And they stay in readiness status that we track on behalf of the U.S. Strategic Command commander."

"They're prepared at any given time, should he call for them to go into an alert status," Goldfein said. "They don't sit alert day to day, but we do exercise that pretty robustly, [such as] the command-and-control communications, [and more]."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.

Read Next: With B-1 Aging and B-21 Still Years Out, Air Force May Soon Have No Go-To Bomber
Press Release

April 22, 2021 Hontiveros urges PhilHealth to upgrade dialysis coverage to 144 sessions amid pandemic Senator Risa Hontiveros has backed the call of advocacy groups urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to increase the free dialysis coverage for all patients while the country is still in a state of emergency. Hontiveros said the agency should upgrade its benefit package from 90 free dialysis sessions to 144 while the country suffers from the pandemic because of the 'unjust' burden it puts on Filipinos. The senator stressed that the coverage should also include personal protective equipment (PPEs), the COVID-19 testing required before their sessions, as well as other supply costs being passed on to patients. "P12,000 weekly for dialysis sessions, not including transportation, medicine, food, and other daily needs of their family. Ngayon hindi sila maka-access ng life-saving dialysis nila dahil puno na ang mga ospital. Karamihan ay nawalan pa ng trabaho, parang wala ng natitira sa kanila. This is a nightmare beyond comprehension," she added. "I ask PhilHealth to consider the full horror story of hospitals these days while improving their policies. Hindi lang COVID ang pumapatay sa mga Pilipino ngayon. Marami sa mga kababayan natin ang naiiwan, at sa tuluyan, ay namamatay dahil puno na ang mga ospital," she said. According to the Senator, advocates from Dialysis PH, a support group for dialysis patients, said that they were forced onto waitlists because the few hospitals that offered dialysis services were already overflowing with patients. It is even more difficult, they said, that dialysis centers shut down completely when the staff needs to quarantine or turn the patients away when they exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. "Marami ang pumapanaw habang nasa waitlist. Hindi sila makakahintay dahil lifeline nila ang mga treatments na ito. These deaths, although not included in the numbers reported, are also caused by the circumstances exacerbated by the pandemic. That is why we have to help as many people as we can by judiciously updating our policies and programs to meet the urgent needs of all Filipinos," she said. Hontiveros also said she will file a bill when session resumes to permanently increase the free dialysis sessions covered by PhilHealth to 144 sessions to 'help ease the burden' while waiting for an organ donor match. She said she will be sure to remember these issues during the upcoming budget deliberations at the Senate. "Oportunidad talaga ito para patibayin ang ating health care system. Nararamdaman na natin ang mga epekto ng pagkaltas ng budget mula sa Health Department sa gitna ng health crisis. Sana matuto tayo para sa next budget season because the price of our wrong priorities is too steep to pay," she said. "Ang mga dialysis patients mismo ang nagsabi, parang ginagawa silang sacrificial lambs. Dapat lahat makabangon sa pandemyang ito. No one should get left behind by our pandemic response," Hontiveros concluded.
Singapore probes 'reinfection' in migrant dorms

A migrant worker dons a government-issued mask after an earlier outbreak in Singapore. File image: Shutterstock

Singapore's manpower ministry said authorities were investigating the possibility of Covid-19 reinfections among residents in a migrant workers' dormitory, after finding more positive cases in the facility.



Authorities had conducted Covid-19 tests on all residents at Westlite Woodlands Dormitory after a 35-year-old worker was found positive on April 20 as part of routine testing.



The worker had completed his second vaccination dose on April 13. His room-mate also tested positive.



To date, 10 workers who previously showed a positive serology test result were found to be Covid-19 positive. Serology tests indicate past infection.



"These cases were immediately isolated and conveyed to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases to investigate for possible reinfection," the manpower ministry said in a statement issued late on Wednesday.



The Straits Times newspaper reported, without citing sources, that plans were now being made to move hundreds of workers to a quarantine facility.



Singapore last reported more than 10 cases among dormitory residents in September, with barely any new infections over the last few months. (Reuters)
Photo: NBC News/YouTube

When Derek Chauvin was led out of the Hennepin County Courthouse in handcuffs after being convicted of all three counts in the murder of George Floyd, the former cop was taken to Minnesotas only maximum-security prison to await sentencing. Shortly after arriving at the Minnesota Correctional FacilityOak Park Heights at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, he was placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

The restricted housing wing in which Chauvin is held is called the Administrative Control Unit, where prisoners are only allowed one hour per day outside their cells for exercise. The ACU is the states most secure unit, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections told HuffPost in an email. Administrative segregation is used when someones presence in the general population is a safety concern. Its unknown how long he will be there. While the wing houses those who are not considered safe in the general population, it is also reserved for inmates punished by the state DOC for bad behavior. As of Wednesday, just over 10 percent of the Oak Park Heights facilitys population of 349 were held in the ACU, where cells include little more than a bench with a mattress pad, a shower stall, and a combination toilet and sink. Correctional officers are tasked with checking in on each prisoner in solitary every 30 minutes.

According to the New York Times, the court set June 16 as the date for Chauvins sentencing. State law dictates that second-degree murder carries a max sentence of 40 years in prison; third-degree murder carries a 25-year max; and second-degree manslaughter carries a 10-year max. Because the charges stem from the same crime, the sentences are expected to be served concurrently. The minimum amount of time Chauvin is facing is 12 years, for the second-degree murder charge.

While Judge Peter Cahill said on Monday that Representative Maxine Waterss public comments in the case could result in an overturned verdict on appeal, Politico reports that the convicted murderer doesnt have a lot of viable options to do so, in part because of the significant number of witnesses prosecutors called during the trial.
FRISCO, Texas, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Careington International Corporation celebrated the completion of its new corporate campus located in Frisco, Texas. This facility is an addition to Careington's headquarters, which includes two buildings also located in Frisco. This new campus was developed to address the expansion and growth of Careington and telemedicine affiliate DialCare. It will house a U.S.-based customer service call center, sales unit and several other departments.

Since its founding in 1979, Careington has grown to nearly 500 employees, all of whom support the products and services the company provides to national clients and members. The new facility features an open-space design, lounge areas, indoor and outdoor dining areas and custom wall graphics that showcase Careington's corporate history. The location also features a large, multi-use space to be used for various events.

"We are delighted to strengthen our presence in Frisco, a community composed of many talented, hard-working citizens and businesses through the completion of our second Frisco-based corporate campus," said Barbara Fasola, Careington CEO and FEDC board member. "Our world-class facility will provide a creative and team-oriented work environment for employees and a welcoming atmosphere for our valued clients and partners. We look forward to many years to come as part of the ever-growing Frisco business community."

Careington's cutting-edge three-story, 75,000 square-foot building is located at 6435 Flyers Way.

"We are thrilled to announce the completion of our state-of-the art facility," said Matthew Rinker, Careington co-owner. "We have a true need to expand beyond our current campus, due to our company's robust and continuing growth. We are excited to open the doors to our new location, and pleased to continue our success in the amazing city of Frisco."

Careington partnered with Buckman Partnership, LTD., Merriman Anderson Architects, Kimley-Horn, First Citizens Bank and MYCON General Contractors for the development.

About Careington

Careington International Corporation is a nationally recognized product aggregator and full-service administrator. Careington serves more than 20 million members across all Careington companies, brands, products and services. Dedicated to promoting individual health and well-being by providing affordable access to care, Careington's national dental networks and discount plans, along with other health, wellness and lifestyle products, deliver consumer cost savings across a spectrum of life needs. For information on Careington's products and services, administration and marketing solutions, visit www.careington.com.

Jamie Saunders

VP of Marketing and Communications

[email protected]

(800) 441-0380 ext. 2902

SOURCE Careington International Corporation

Related Links

www.careington.com


Boris Johnson has accused his former top aide Dominic Cummings of being the 'Chatty Rat' who leaked his private texts, reports say.

The Prime Minister is said to have pointed the finger at the Vote Leave mastermind, who quit Downing Street in November after a power struggle.

Mr Johnson reportedly thinks Mr Cummings was 'bitter' following his exit from No 10 - but was 'saddened' about the messages being dished out to reporters.

Three national newspapers all published comments from insiders naming the Brexit supremo as the 'Chatty Rat'.

An internal inquiry has been launched into how messages between the Prime Minister and billionaire Sir James Dyson were leaked to journalists.

An internal inquiry has been launched into how messages between the Prime Minister (pictured on Thursday) and billionaire Sir James Dyson were leaked to journalists

The Prime Minister is said to have pointed the finger at the Vote Leave mastermind, who quit Downing Street in November after a power struggle (pictured)

A No 10 source told the Sun Mr Johnson 'fears Dom was responsible for the text message leaks about James Dyson and Mohammed bin Salman'

No10 launches official probe into leak of Boris Johnson's private texts to Sir James Dyson Downing Street today declared that a formal leak inquiry is under way after Boris Johnson's private texts to James Dyson emerged. After stopping short of ordering an investigation yesterday, the PM's spokesman said the Cabinet Office will now be looking into how the messages were made public. The move comes amid Tory fears of a civil service mole trying to sabotage the government. The BBC revealed that Mr Johnson promised billionaire inventor Sir James he would 'fix' a tax rule so his staff could help make ventilators for the NHS. The PM's spokesman said: 'I can confirm that yes, we have instructed the Cabinet Office to look into this. The position has changed from yesterday.' He refused to say what had sparked the shift, saying: 'As you would expect we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure that we have this internal inquiry. So the Cabinet Office will be getting that under way. 'It is to get into the source of leaks of private communication of the Prime Minister ... as it relates to this issue with Dyson. It is limited to that.' Advertisement

A source told the Times: 'Dominic is engaged in systematic leaking. We are disappointed about that.

'We are concerned about messages from private WhatsApp groups which have very limited circulation.'

The source suggested the Prime Minister was 'saddened' and Mr Cummings was 'bitter' after his exit from No 10.

The texts to Sir James, where the PM promised he would 'fix' a tax issue for staff developing ventilators, was not the first time his messages have been made public.

Mr Johnson was sent a text message by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a bid to buy Newcastle United ran into difficulties last June

A No 10 source told the Sun Mr Johnson 'fears Dom was responsible for the text message leaks about James Dyson and Mohammed bin Salman'.

The Telegraph said it is understood Mr Cummings would have had legitimate access to the messages while he worked at No 10.

A source told the newspaper: 'If you join the dots it looks like it's coming from Dom.'

Another leak being blamed on the 49-year-old was the revelation a second lockdown was being planned last autumn.

Leaks have continued into this year, including claims Mr Johnson asked Tory party chiefs to pay for Miss Symonds' costly makeover of the couple's Downing Street flat.

Mr Cummings has not replied to the accusations. Since leaving No 10 he has made only one major intervention  before the science select committee last month.

He attacked 'horrific' Whitehall bureaucracy and branded the Department of Health a 'smoking ruin' when Covid struck.

The source suggested the Prime Minister was 'saddened' and Mr Cummings was 'bitter' after his exit from No 10. They are pictured together in 2019

Mr Johnson was sent a text message by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a bid to buy Newcastle United ran into difficulties last June. Pictured: 2018

Whitehall's most senior mandarin is probing row over PM's No 11 flat makeover The row over the makeover of Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat escalated last night after it emerged Whitehall's most senior mandarin is now investigating the matter. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has reportedly intervened in the claims that the Tory Party secretly paid 58,000 towards the bill  and then tried to cover it up. The dramatic development comes two days after the Daily Mail published leaked emails from Conservative donor Lord Brownlow to Tory Party co-chairman Ben Elliot. The emails showed that Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot last October that he had paid 58,000 to Tory HQ to cover the same amount spent by the party months earlier on the flat refit. The 58,000 was to be attributed as having come not from Lord Brownlow or the Tory Party but from a 'soon to be formed Downing St Trust' that had not yet been formed  and still does not exist, officially. Well-placed sources said it was proof of an attempt to cover up the way party funds were secretly used to help pay for the refurbishment of Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds' Number 11 Downing Street official flat. The makeover, which included expensive wallpaper, by interior designer Lulu Lytle reportedly cost a six-figure sum. It came as Labour wrote to the elections watchdog to demand an investigation into the refit, which has been dubbed Wallpaper-gate. Senior figures have questioned why such a powerful individual as Mr Case was getting involved in the affair. Whitehall sources told Sky News they were concerned it could be a distraction from key priorities such as Covid and Brexit. Advertisement

The former Vote Leave mastermind worked closely with Mr Johnson on the Brexit campaign and was a major figure in No 10 after the Prime Minister took office.

The PM stood by him after Mr Cummings found himself in the eye of a media storm after driving his family to County Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

But Mr Cummings was later ousted from No 10 amid the fallout from an internal power struggle with the Prime Minister's fiancee Carrie Symonds.

No 10 had initially said there would not be a probe into how the exchange with Sir James was made public.

But a change of course was announced on Thursday as it said an internal inquiry will be led by the Cabinet Office.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: 'I can confirm that, yes, we have instructed the Cabinet Office to look into this.

'The position has changed from yesterday - it was correct at the time yesterday but, as usual, we keep things under review and we have now decided to undertake this internal inquiry.

'As you would expect, we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure we have this internal inquiry into that.'

The spokesman confirmed the inquiry will examine the source of leaks of Mr Johnson's private communication 'as related to this issue of Dyson'.

The BBC reported the messages between Mr Johnson and Sir James were exchanged in March last year after the businessman was unable to get the assurances he was seeking from the Treasury.

Sir James, who has changed his main address in business filings to the UK from Singapore, wrote to the Treasury requesting his staff would not have to pay additional tax if they came to the UK to work on the ventilator project.

But when he failed to receive a reply, Sir James reportedly took up the matter directly with the Prime Minister.

He said in a text the firm was ready but 'sadly' it seemed no-one wanted them to proceed. Mr Johnson replied: 'I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic.'

The Prime Minister then texted him again saying: '(Chancellor) Rishi (Sunak) says it is fixed!! We need you here.'

Mr Cummings was later ousted from No 10 amid the fallout from an internal power struggle with the Prime Minister's fiancee Carrie Symonds (pictured with her dog in 2019)

Sir James, who has changed his main address in business filings to the UK from Singapore, wrote to the Treasury (pictured, Chancellor Rishi Sunak) requesting his staff would not have to pay additional tax if they came to the UK to work on the ventilator project

Text exchange between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson over the tax status of his employees Dyson: 'We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James' Johnson: 'I will fix it tomo! We need you. It looks fantastic' Johnson: 'Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here' Dyson: 'Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all. James' Dyson: 'Dear Boris, I'm afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please? We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) - now. Or to make the position clear. Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days. The former is now covered under an 'Exceptional Circumstances' umbrella, Work Days are not. So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency.' Johnson: 'James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.' Just two weeks later, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status. Advertisement

Two weeks later, Mr Sunak told the Commons Treasury Committee the tax status of people who came to the UK to provide specific help during the pandemic would not be affected.

Downing Street said it will publish correspondence between Mr Johnson and Sir James 'shortly'.

Tories yesterday thought the messages could only have come from civil servants who would have been shown records under government rules.

But others suggested Mr Johnson circulates similar kinds of private messages quite freely among aides.

A government source stressed the way the leaks had emerged might not be straightforward.

The source said: 'It could be several places not just the obvious one.'

MPs also raised the alarm about civil service sabotage.

One former ministers said the PM would have been obliged to disclose the messages to officials, and highlighted the slew of recent leaks over alleged cronyism and the Greensill lobbying row.

Another MP told MailOnline: 'There is a horrible leaker in the Cabinet Office or No10.'

The Prime Minister earlier told the Commons he was 'happy to share all the details' of the exchanges.

The PM's official spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister said in the House he's happy to share all the details with the House, as he shared them with his officials.

'That's what we're working on, we're pulling together that information, it will be published shortly.'

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said Mr Johnson 'averted an even greater crisis' on ventilators last spring with his text exchanges with Sir James.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured) said Mr Johnson 'averted an even greater crisis' on ventilators last spring with his text exchanges with Sir James

Ex-Tory minister who worked for PPE firm without permission is rebuked for taking on roles without approval A former Tory minister who worked for a PPE firm without permission has been rebuked for failing to ask for approval before taking on a string of other appointments. George Freeman, life sciences minister under David Cameron and a transport minister until last year, broke government rules when he was paid 5,000 as a consultant to Aerosol Shield without seeking permission from Whitehall's 'revolving door' watchdog. Now he has admitted to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) that he failed to seek advice for four other roles he had begun recently. Mr Freeman has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by Acoba chairman Lord Pickles, which could see him denied a future honour. The watchdog's letter to Mr Gove, published this week, stated: 'The failure to seek advice is a breach of the Government's rules and the requirement as set out in the Ministerial Code. 'It is now a matter for you to decide what appropriate action to take.' After his first breach last year, Mid Norfolk MP Mr Freeman was asked by Acoba what other roles he had taken up without seeking approval. He listed seven, of which three had begun when he was a minister so did not require approval, leaving four for which he failed to seek permission. One was to become chairman of blood cancer research start-up Haemcro, which will eventually become a paid job if it can secure funding. Mr Freeman had provided advice to the founders for nine months before mentioning it to Acoba. A second unpaid role was for a 'public health policy advocacy commission' that he had helped set up, called Reform for Resilience. Mr Freeman had also invoiced a hydrogen fuel company called Ryse once for providing 'strategic advice' last year  but gave the money back after realising he should have sought Acoba approval first. He told the committee he had 'cancelled the contract and ceased all work for Ryse, with a view to seeking Acoba approval'. Since December, Mr Freeman had also been offering unpaid advice to a recruitment charity called the Resume Foundation and wanted to become chairman of its advisory board. Again he was told he should have sought approval before starting the role, even though there was no conflict with his ministerial work. Mr Freeman wrote to Lord Pickles last month, saying: 'I wanted to apologise again for my misunderstanding of the Acoba process and to reiterate that I genuinely didn't understand that Acoba guidance was needed for any/all work embarked upon by former ministers. I thought it only applied to commercial work which might have any connection with my former ministerial portfolio.' Advertisement

He told Sky News: 'I don't think it's unfair in the sense that people are trying to lobby ministers, lobby MPs, all the time. In this particular instance, I think we're trying to create a story where there isn't one.

'The Prime Minister was very clear yesterday that he would have done exactly the same thing again, he had a duty, as far as he was concerned, to make sure that we got ventilators made here in the UK.

'At the time, as you will remember, there was a huge crisis in Italy precisely because they hadn't produced enough ventilators, and that was the thing that we had to do.

'He moved, in his words, the Prime Minister said, he moved heaven and earth to try and make sure we got ventilators made here in the UK.'

He added: 'That's what happened  it averted an even greater crisis and it saved lives.'

Mr Kwarteng said it was 'very good' that business leaders and constituents had 'direct access' to ministers and those making decisions in Whitehall.

He told Sky: 'I think that in the real world, in reality, people are contacting ministers, contacting MPs, all the time.

'Business people are contacting MPs all the time, constituents also contact me on my phone.

'I think that in a modern democracy it's very good that people actually can have direct access to ministers and people who are taking responsibility.'

Meanwhile, the PM's spokesman did not deny reports Cabinet Secretary Simon Case advised Mr Johnson to change his phone number over concerns about the ease with which lobbyists and business leaders were able to contact him.

The spokesman said: 'We don't get into details of the advice provided between a Cabinet Secretary and a Prime Minister, and so I'm not going to do that in this instance.'

Mr Case, Whitehall's most senior mandarin, is also investigating the makeover of Mr Johnson's Downing Street flat.

He has reportedly intervened in the claims the Tory Party secretly paid 58,000 towards the bill  and then tried to cover it up.

The dramatic development comes two days after the Daily Mail published leaked emails from Conservative donor Lord Brownlow to Tory Party co-chairman Ben Elliot.

The emails showed Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot last October he had paid 58,000 to Tory HQ to cover the same amount spent by the party months earlier on the flat refit.

The 58,000 was to be attributed as having come not from Lord Brownlow or the Tory Party but from a 'soon to be formed Downing St Trust' that had not yet been formed  and still does not exist, officially.

Well-placed sources said it was proof of an attempt to cover up the way party funds were secretly used to help pay for the refurbishment of Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds' Number 11 Downing Street official flat.

The makeover, which included expensive wallpaper, by interior designer Lulu Lytle reportedly cost a six-figure sum.

Meanwhile, the PM's spokesman did not deny reports Cabinet Secretary Simon Case (pictured) advised Mr Johnson to change his phone number over concerns about the ease with which lobbyists and business leaders were able to contact him

It is claimed Tory donor Lord Brownlow covered 58,000 of the costs for the makeover which included expensive wallpaper by interior designer Lulu Lytle, pictured an example of the designer's work

The Labour Party has written to the elections watchdog to demand an investigation into the refit, which has been dubbed Wallpaper-gate

Lulu Lytle's work his highly sought after in certain circles, pictured an example of her work

A mole or a 'Chatty Rat'? How the leaks continued after Hallowe'en October 31, 2020 November 13, 2020 February 27, 2021 March 2, 2021 April 13, 2021 April 21, 2021 April 22, 2021 Advertisement

It came as Labour wrote to the elections watchdog to demand an investigation into the refit, which has been dubbed Wallpaper-gate.

Senior figures have questioned why such a powerful individual as Mr Case was getting involved in the affair.

Whitehall sources told Sky News they were concerned it could be a distraction from key priorities such as Covid and Brexit.

One member of Government said: 'I'm astonished that Simon has got involved in this himself. It has so much potential to go wrong.'

Labour's Cabinet Office spokesman Fleur Anderson said it was 'strange' the Cabinet Secretary has intervened with this when there are 'far more pressing issues to deal with'.

The 58,000 donation was not reported to the Electoral Commission and the watchdog has yet to start a formal investigation.

But shadow minister Cat Smith told the commission that after the Mail's latest email revelation, a full probe is necessary.

This newspaper disclosed last month that Tory funds were used to help pay for decor for the flat and Mr Johnson's advisers planned to set up a 'Downing St Trust' with the publicly stated aim of 'preserving Downing St for the nation'.

No 10 sources admitted it was partly intended to hide the fact Tory funds intended to fund campaigns were used to pay for the flat  as well as recoup the cash.

A Conservative spokesman said: 'All reportable donations to the Conservative Party are correctly declared to the Electoral Commission...

'Gifts and benefits received in a ministerial capacity are, and will continue to be, declared in Government transparency returns.'

The Electoral Commission said it is determining whether the sums relating to the refit 'fall within the regime regulated by the commission'.

The Dyson texts row is the latest in a string of cronyism and lobbying questions facing the Conservative Party.

Accusations emerged saying David Cameron used his influence and contacts to lobby ministers and officials behalf of his financier boss Lex Greensill.

This included texting Chancellor Rishi Sunak in an unsuccessful effort to secure coronavirus loans.

Last month WhatsApp messages between Matt Hancock and a former neighbour who supplied the NHS with test tubes emerged.

David Cameron lobbied Bank of England chief: Fresh emails show how the former PM wrote to deputy governor to plead for failed Greensill

The lobbying scandal dramatically deepened yesterday as it emerged that David Cameron repeatedly contacted one of the most senior figures in the Bank of England on behalf of Greensill Capital.

The former prime minister also texted the Treasury's top civil servant as part of a 'persistent' campaign by the finance firm, for which he was an adviser, to get access to huge Covid loans, it was revealed.

Mr Cameron contacted Bank of England officials at least six times. He sent multiple emails to deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, spoke to him by phone and arranged for him to talk to Greensill founder Lex Greensill.

At first he boasted that Greensill Capital  which went bust last month  was the 'world leader' in an early payment system called supply chain financing and had 'the mandate for the UK Government'.

But he later pleaded with the deputy governor for help after admitting he had 'failed to get anywhere' with the Treasury as the firm unsuccessfully sought access to the Covid support scheme.

Mr Cameron has been facing a storm for weeks over his lobbying on behalf of Greensill Capital, which collapsed into administration last month

The Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, arrives at a treasury select committee meeting at Portcullis House on March 8, 2016

In another message last April, Mr Cameron complained it was 'incredibly frustrating' that Greensill was not being allowed to join the Bank's Covid Corporate Financing Facility so it could lend money to small businesses.

He begged Sir Jon  who had previously been Mr Cameron's envoy to the EU  to have another briefing from Mr Greensill.

Correspondence published by the Bank yesterday also revealed how Mr Greensill told Sir Jon his firm had 'agreed to pay all NHS employees and contractors daily', although in fact scarcely any health workers joined his payroll scheme.

The Australian financier also urged the Bank to set up a 20billion facility to buy up bonds and short-term debt issued by lenders such as Greensill as the pandemic struck last March.

Last night the Treasury released 34 pages of documents revealing the extent of Greensill's efforts to lobby officials. The financier makes reference in the messages to the then Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill and NHS England chairman David Prior.

Details of Mr Cameron's lobbying of the Bank emerged after Treasury Permanent Secretary Sir Tom Scholar admitted the former prime minister had messaged and called him on his mobile phone as part of a 'persistent' campaign by Greensill.

In the first of a series of parliamentary hearings that will examine the close links between the firm and senior figures in Government and Whitehall, Sir Tom was asked by MPs on the Treasury Committee what contact he had had with Greensill a year ago.

Sir Tom Scholar (right) said David Cameron contacted him repeatedly in March and April last year. Charles Roxburgh (left), second permanent secretary at the Treasury, told the hearing he had nine meetings with Greensill

He replied: 'No physical meetings at all. I took part in one conference call, which was on April 7, 2020.

'Mr Cameron spoke to me on the telephone and sent me some text messages around about the same time, this is end of March, beginning of April, 2020.'

He said Mr Cameron contacted him on his 'official' mobile phone as he was working from home at the time, and had the number because 'I used to work for him'. Sir Tom had been Mr Cameron's adviser on European and global issues in Downing Street.

Asked if he had taken Mr Cameron's call more readily because of his former position, Sir Tom replied: 'If a former minister that I've worked with asks to talk to me, I will always do that.'

Bank of England reveals David Cameron's lobbying efforts Documents released by the Bank of England have shown David Cameron's lobbying in support of Greensill Capital, the now collapsed financial firm which employed him. Mr Cameron emailed Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Bank's deputy governor, on March 5 2020, the first in a series of emails and calls disclosed between the former prime minister, Mr Greensill and Threadneedle Street. On March 17 Mr Greensill and Mr Cameron held a call with Bank officials to explain Greensill Capital's supply chain finance operation. The minutes of the call note that Greensill Capital 'explained that they were coming under significant pressure in current market conditions' and called for a re-establishment of the secured commercial paper facility scheme used in the 2009 financial crisis to 'ease market conditions and protect the supply of working capital to the real economy'. In April 2020 the correspondence covered Greensill's attempts to access the Covid Corporate Finance Facility (CCFF) . On April 3 2020 Mr Cameron wrote to deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe 'to ask for your help', claiming Greensill had numerous conversations with the Treasury but 'have failed to get anywhere'. He said: 'The request is simple  please include in the CCFF the ability to purchase bonds issued in respect of supply chain finance.' Mr Cameron claimed this would allow Greensill to 'pump billions' into small firms, including every pharmacy working with the NHS. As his efforts failed to make progress, Mr Cameron wrote on April 22 2020, telling Sir Jon it was 'incredibly frustrating'. 'Even a small participation of SCF (supply chain finance  Greensill's area of activity) in the CCFF would make a big difference in catalysing the market,' he said. Advertisement

He added: 'We were approached quite persistently by this company, and we listened to what they said, we analysed it, we tested it. And in the end, despite them submitting a series of successive proposals, we decided to reject them all.'

Sir Tom said the call he had from Mr Cameron had not been a 'substantive' discussion of Greensill's proposal and he merely told him 'thank you very much, this is something that we're looking at' and added that his deputy Charles Roxburgh was dealing with it.

Mr Roxburgh told the committee he had nine separate meetings with Greensill between March and June last year, as the company put forward three separate proposals including to be allowed to join the Bank of England's massive Covid Corporate Financing Facility, which was not open to financial firms.

He had discussions with Mr Greensill, who had been a Downing Street adviser under Mr Cameron, and director Bill Crothers, who had been allowed to advise the Greensill board while still working as the Government's procurement chief. Asked why the firm had so much access to top officials, Mr Roxburgh said: 'During this period, I was talking to a lot of companies about the situations facing them, the crisis and how to respond.'

In one of the phone calls, the Greensill executives told him the firm had been approved by the British Business Bank to loan up to 50million under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, to which it had been accredited, but 'they wanted to be given the extended level of authorisation to lend up to 200million'.

He insisted he was not leaned on by the Treasury ministers whom Mr Cameron lobbied on behalf of Greensill.

Last night the Treasury published a fresh tranche of emails, mostly from Mr Greensill to the top civil servants but also including internal discussions about Mr Cameron's lobbying.

On March 28 last year, Sir Tom told his deputy Mr Roxburgh about the texts he had received from the ex-PM, saying: 'Had some incoming from my old boss.' Three days later he wrote that Mr Cameron 'has some advisory role at Greensill'. Sir Tom said he had been 'non-committal' about Greensill's proposal but 'when pressed' by the former PM promised he would discuss it further.

Mr Cameron texted him again on April 7  but the messages were redacted by the Treasury.

An email to Mr Roxburgh from an unnamed official also revealed doubts about Mr Greensill's plans after he had given the Treasury a briefing. It suggested they 'ought to press' the financier about where his suppliers were based, and that it was worth 'seeking clarity' about who his largest investors were.

The civil servant also suggested they ask NHS England chairman David Prior about Greensill's 'importance to the NHS', after Mr Greensill raised it.

In a message on March 21, 2020, Mr Greensill mentioned that he had been in touch with Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill.

He wrote to Sir Tom: 'By way of follow-up, Mark Sedwill connected us with Charles Roxburgh (copied). We had a productive call with Charles and his colleagues early this evening  and we have followed up with them subsequently

'Hopefully we can make swift progress given the disruption we are experiencing in the markets and the materiality of the credit we provide daily to the UK economy, its supply chains and employees.'
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul / Korea Times file



The foreign ministry called for the Belgian Embassy in Seoul to cooperate with a police investigation into the assault incident involving the ambassador's wife, officials said Wednesday.



Police are looking into allegations that the wife of Ambassador Peter Lescouhier assaulted two employees at a clothing shop in Seoul early this month.



She is reportedly in a hospital for treatment for an unknown condition.






Sir Iain Duncan Smith said he believes Parliament will today declare that Chinas treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang amounts to genocide.

The former Tory leader and two other MPs joined around 30 protesters gathered in central London ahead of a House of Commons debate about the issue on Thursday afternoon.

Sir Iain said the Chinese government had to be called to account over its treatment of the Uighur people, Tibetans and other minority groups.

MPs are due to debate a motion  put forward by Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani  that Uighur people and other religious minorities in the Xinjiang province are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide.

The debate is due to finish at 5pm.

Speaking to protesters at Parliament Square Gardens, Sir Iain said: We are determined that Parliament today will set a historic moment in calling out what I believe is genocide and which I believe Parliament will decree today is genocide.

Even though the Government has said only a court can declare genocide, Parliament is independent and can declare it as it wishes.

And I hope today at the end of the debate it will be clear that nobody in Parliament disagrees, and therefore Parliament agrees that what is happening to the Uighur people is genocide.

The UK Government has said survivor testimonies indicate more than a million people have been detained without trial in Xinjiang, with widespread claims of torture, rape and sterilisations in internment camps.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab previously said the abuse of the Uighur people in Xinjiang was one of the worst human rights crises of our time and the international community cannot simply look the other way.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton at the demonstration (Yui Mok/PA)

He set out a package of travel bans and asset freezes against four senior officials and the state-run Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Public Security Bureau, in an internationally co-ordinated move with the US, Canada and European Union.

Beijing, which has rejected the reports, has since banned at least nine UK critics of the Chinese state, including Sir Iain, Tory MPs Ms Ghani, Tom Tugendhat and Neil OBrien, as well as barrister Geoffrey Nice and academic Joanne Nicola Smith.

Sir Iain, who was joined by Conservative MPs Tim Loughton and Ms Ghani at the Parliament Square event, said: Genocide is the crime of all crimes and nobody and no state should ever commit it.

He added: The Chinese government has to be called to account for its treatment of the Uighur people, the Tibetans and many other minority groups.

Its not good enough, just because it is a big and wealthy country, to allow it to dodge the normal rules that police the rest of us.
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
New Delhi: Megastar Rajinikanth who is busy shooting for his upcoming flick Annaathe received a pleasant surprise from a young artist and fan. Advaidh Manazhy, a 9th-grade student from Kochi had made a portrait of the veteran actor using 300 Rubiks cubes, where the actor is seen in his look from the film Kaala.

It was on Tuesday that Advaidh shared the time-lapse making video of his artwork, tagging the actor on Twitter, hoping that Rajinikanth would like the portrait.

@ThalaivarEFans @megastarrajini

@Rajni_FC@Rajni_FC

A Rubiks Cube mosaic/ portrait of Rajinikanth Sir! Feel happy and blessed to be able to Portrait the Evergreen actor with my 300 Cubes. I am Advaidh Manazhy,a 9th standard student of Bhavan's Adarsha Vidyalaya,Kochi, Kerala! pic.twitter.com/NyDglwk08s  Advaidh M (@MAdvaidh) April 20, 2021

The superstar, who has recently conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his contribution to Indian cinema is busy shuttling between Chennai and Hyderabad for his films shooting. The video which has been doing the rounds on social media over the last few days has won the praise of Rajini fans and art lovers alike.

However, in a surprise for the young lad, the actor had a special message for him. Superb, creative work Adhvaidh. God bless, love you Rajini is heard saying in the audio message tweeted out by the boy.

Adhvaidhs Twitter handle is replete with Rubiks cube portraits of leading actors such as Mohanlal, Mammootty, Suresh Gopi, Salman Khan among others. He has also received recognition from the Arabian Book of world records for having made a Rubiks cube portrait of Rashid Al Maktoum the ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the UAE, all in under an hour.

@ThalaivarEFans @megastarrajini

@Rajni_FC@Rajni_FC

A Rubiks Cube mosaic/ portrait of Rajinikanth Sir! Feel happy and blessed to be able to Portrait the Evergreen actor with my 300 Cubes. I am Advaidh Manazhy,a 9th standard student of Bhavan's Adarsha Vidyalaya,Kochi, Kerala! pic.twitter.com/NyDglwk08s  Advaidh M (@MAdvaidh) April 20, 2021

The young lad has been cubing since the age of 7 and has gained the skills and perfection to solve a 3*3 cube in under 2 seconds. It was after coming across a YouTube video that he got interested in making mosaic portraits using Rubiks cubes. Spending nearly six hours, he first replicated his parents wedding photo, following which he developed a knack for it and started doing the portraits in less than an hour.

Advaidh is said to have won competitive cubing events, following which his parents got him the several hundred cubes to practice his art and hone his talents by cubing non-stop.
Actor Nicolas Cage has made millions starring in films such as Adaptation (2002) and National Treasure (2004). Though Cage became one of the most notable actors of the 1990s and early 2000s, his mega fortune didnt last forever. It turns out Nicolas Cages spending habits got the best of him in only a few years time.

Actor Nicolas Cage in Hollywood in 2011 | Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Nicolas Cage has earned various awards and nominations for his acting

Cages acting career started back in 1982 when he earned a small role in the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Cages uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, helped get him into acting, though Cage intentionally changed his name to try and avoid being called out for nepotism. Cage didnt land all the roles in Coppolas films, though he did appear in Rumble Fish and Peggy Sue Got Married.

Cage went on to score other important roles, including in the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, which won him a Golden Globe, Academy Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Those in the younger generation might remember him for his role in National Treasure (2004), a film during which Cages character stole the Declaration of Independence. The film spawned a sequel, which was released in 2007.

Nicolas Cage in Germany in 2016 | Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images

RELATED: Nicolas Cage Proposed to 26-Year-Old Riko Shibata On FaceTime and Sent Her Black Engagement Ring FedEx

Cage once blew through his entire fortune  mostly thanks to his real estate obsession

At one time, Cage was unstoppable. He was landing movie roles left and right, and his net worth sat at more than $150 million. But according to CNBC, he got a bit out of control with his spending. Cage owned 15 homes, including a $25 million mansion in his hometown of Newport Beach, California. He owned real estate in Las Vegas, Rhode Island, and New Orleans as well, just to name a few. Cage also purchased a private island in the Bahamas.

Though the money seemed endless, it wasnt. In a matter of years, Cage blew through almost his entire fortune. He was dropping money on homes, cars, vintage comic books  and he even owned a $10 million castle in Europe at one point.

Over time, the spending caught up with him. And things got real when it was revealed that Cage owed serious money to the IRS.

Nicolas Cage in New York City in 2014 | Noam Galai/WireImage

Cage once owed the IRS $6.3 million

Cage lived his best life for a while, but it didnt last forever. According to The Street, Cage invested in real estate at the wrong time. This forced many of his properties to either fold in foreclosure or sell for huge losses when the housing market crashed back in 2008.

Beyond not paying off his homes, Cage also owed the IRS $6.3 million in back taxes  meaning he was in debt in more ways than one. According to CNBC, Cage has slowly regrown his net worth and is worth approximately $25 million today  a far cry from the vast fortune to which he was once accustomed.

[Correction: An earlier version erroneously said Cage filed for bankruptcy. He neither filed nor was declared bankrupt.]
A coalition of environmental groups has threatened the federal government with a lawsuit over cross-country plans to produce plutonium pits, the cores at the heart of modern nuclear weapons.

In a Tuesday letter to the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration, the S.C. Environmental Law Project said additional environmental reviews were needed before officials decide where the key warhead components will be forged for years to come.

If your agencies continue to refuse to undertake this statutorily required task of preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement, we will have no choice but to file the action, wrote Leslie Lenhardt, a SCELP staff attorney. A related announcement described the legal action as impending.

The S.C. Environmental Law Project, a nonprofit, is representing the coalition, which includes Savannah River Site Watch (Columbia), Nuclear Watch New Mexico (Santa Fe, New Mexico) and Tri-Valley CAREs (Livermore, California).

Federal law mandates the production of 80 pits per year by 2030  a difficult feat, given the tight timeline, the required funding and the regulatory hurdles that need clearing, among other things.

Adm. Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, in congressional testimony Tuesday described plutonium pit production as the nation's biggest stockpile modernization issue.

If we fail to recapitalize plutonium pit production now, he stated, we risk catastrophic failures given an infrastructure incapable of responding in a timely manner.

Expanding pit production capabilities in New Mexico, at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and establishing them in South Carolina, at the Savannah River Site, as was recommended in 2018, would saddle the already-burdened communities represented by these groups with a significant amount of nuclear waste and pollution, Lenhardt argued in her the letter. The National Nuclear Security Administration has considered wastes generated by pit production  radioactive, among them  in its prior evaluations.

SRS Watch, Nuclear Watch New Mexico and Tri-Valley CAREs have for years pushed back on plans to reinvigorate U.S. pit production. The trio in February sent a letter, with supporting documents, to the Energy Department outlining grave environmental concerns and allegations of cut corners.

The packet was received, a March response from the National Nuclear Security Administration shows. The same response cements the governments view: environmental review for pit production is complete and the Department has no current plans to revisit the matter.

The federal government appears ready to embark on this significant change in U.S. nuclear policy without studying the cross-country risks and environmental justice impacts, Lenhardt said, which indicates that the health and safety of workers and downwind and downriver communities are not worth the consideration or protection they deserve.

Conceptual design plans for plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site  utilizing a failed nuclear fuel plant, the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility  were submitted to the federal government earlier this year.

Part of what we delivered to the Energy Department in January was 4,500 documents, tens of thousands of pages of information for them to review and make a decision, along with a cost estimate and schedule for us to start doing the pit production, said Dave Olson, the executive vice president for NNSA capital projects at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.

The potential pit factory at SRS, about 30 minutes south of Aiken, has been dubbed the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility, or SRPPF.

The last place the plutonium cores were made at scale, the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado, was scuttled following an environmental investigation and raid.
1. Yes. Its important to keep my child as safe as possible. We plan to take advantage.

2. Yes. With the school district dropping its mask mandate, its a necessary step.

3. No. Local COVID cases are dropping. There is no good reason to vaccinate my child.

4. No. There hasnt been enough data on vaccinated children. I think Ill hold off.

5. Unsure. I havent decided yet whether to take part in the vaccine clinics.

Vote

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The Ohio State University students called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Division of Police (CPD) after the fatal shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant.

Students gathered on Wednesday in the Ohio Union, which houses student services, dining areas, and other university offices, to demand the school cut ties with the CPD. According to Fox News, some people made speeches, but there were no reports of vandalism or inappropriate behavior.

A university spokesman said that the school supports its students, faculty, and staff to peacefully express or state their views and speak out on issues that matter to them.

"Freedom of speech and civic engagement are central to our values as an institution of higher education," the spokesman said in the report.

The university had its own police force dealing with campus security. But they tapped the Columbus police for certain services, such as traffic control and sporting events, Independent reported.

READ NEXT: Colorado Shooting Suspect Was Bullied and Anti-Social, Brother Says

Ma'Khia Bryant Shooting

A Columbus police officer has fatally shot the 16-year-old Black girl on Tuesday. Ma'Khia Bryant was said to have lunged at two people with a knife, as seen in police video footage.

The incident took place on the same day that former white cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a Black man.

Authorities initially said that Ma'Khia Bryant was 15 years old. However, her family confirmed that she was already 16.

Columbus police chief Michael Woods said the police officer involved in the shooting would be taken off the street while awaiting investigation.

Woods said the officers responded to a 911 call from someone who called about an attempted stabbing at a home on Legion Lane.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers were said to have seen Bryant brandishing a knife and charging toward a person who falls back.

She also lunged at another person who stumbled backward against a car parked in the driveway, and when Bryant raised the knife as if about to stab her, an officer opens fire, Reuters reported.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) had already opened a probe into the case, according to Woods.

The city's public safety director, Ned Pettus, Jr., noted that fast answers could not come at the cost of accurate answers as he appealed for the public to remain calm.

"BCI will conduct a fully independent investigation, which will be made public. If an officer has violated policy or the law, if they have, they will be held accountable," Pettus said.

Bryant's aunt, Hazel, earlier said that the girl was living in a foster home and became involved in a fight with someone at the residence.

Paula Bryant, the Ohio teenager's mother, said that her daughter was an honor roll student, and her daughter had called 911 herself because people were threatening her. Police have yet to publicly identify the caller, who called 911.

Demonstrations erupted in Columbus, Ohio following Ma'Khia Bryant's death. There was a crowd that gathered at the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday night.

It can be recalled that last December, former Columbus, Ohio police officer Adam Coy killed Andre Hill, 47, as he went out from a garage with a cellphone.

Coy, who is white, and another officer, responded to a 311 non-emergency call for a noise complaint. Footage shows Coy firing shots just seconds after Hill, a 47-year-old Black man, turned around to face officers with a cellphone in his hand.

Coy was removed from law enforcement and was charged with murder and other charges. The former police officer has pleaded not guilty.

On Mar. 5, Columbus police officer John Kifer and Franklin County Sheriff's Office deputy Michael Severance got involved in the shooting that killed Andrew Teague.

The 43-year-old Black man had been wanted on a felonious assault charge for a Feb. 2 shooting. He reportedly exchanged gunfire with Kifer and Severance after a chase and crash incident. Teague was fatally shot and died at the scene.

READ MORE: Colorado Shooting Leaves 10 Dead, Including a Police Officer

WATCH: Mother of Ma'Khia Bryant, 16-Year-Old Fatally Shot by Columbus Police, Wants Answers - From WBNS 10TV






The Global War on Terror got around this limitation with excessively broad interpretations of what Congress had approved. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress passed two authorizations, one to target those who planned or assisted in the attacks, and the second for use of force in Iraq specifically. As of 2020, those two authorizations were the basis of U.S. combat operations in 12 countries, airstrikes or drone strikes in seven, and training and assisting foreign militaries in at least 79, with minimal public scrutiny of any of these activities.
HONG KONG, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CNOOC Limited (the "Company", SEHK: 00883,NYSE: CEO, TSX: CNU) today announced its key operational statistics for the first quarter of 2021.

The Company achieved a total net production of 137.7 million barrels of oil equivalent ("BOE") for the first quarter of 2021, representing an increase of 4.7% year-over-year ("YoY"). Among which, it was mainly attributable to production growth from the commencement of new projects, such as Liuhua16-2/20-2 and Lvda16-3/21-2, net production from China increased by 8.7% YoY to 94.7 million BOE. For the new projects planned this year, Caofeidian 6-4 oilfield has commenced production, and other projects progressed as scheduled.

During the period, the Company made two new discoveries and drilled 18 successful appraisal wells. Kenli 10-2 and Wenchang 9-7 oil and gas bearing structure were successfully appraised in offshore China. Kenli 10-2 is expected to be a mid-to-large sized oilfield, which indicates a broad exploration prospect for shallow lithology oil and gas reservoirs in Bohai while Wenchang 9-7 is expected to be a mid-sized oilfield.

For the first quarter of 2021, the Company's average realised oil price increased by 20.5% YoY to US$59.07 per barrel, which was in line with the changes of international oil prices. The Company's average realised gas price was US$6.71 per thousand cubic feet, representing an increase of 5.3% YoY, primarily due to the rising gas price in North America. The unaudited oil and gas sales revenue of the Company reached approximately RMB 48.34 billion during the period, surged 21.0% YoY mainly due to the combined effects of rising oil price and increased oil and gas sales volume.

During the period, the Company's capital expenditure decreased by 5.1% YoY to approximately RMB 16.04 billion as a result of the planned schedule of development projects.

Mr. Xu Keqiang, CEO of the Company, said, "In the first quarter of 2021, the Company efficiently progressed in increasing the reserves and production and has achieved a better-than-expected production and operation results. Going ahead, in the premise of guaranteeing a safe production environment, the Company will further explore the internal and external potentials, continuously carry out work related to cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, organize and advance various works in an orderly way and therefore strive to complete the annual production and business target."

Notes to Editors:

More information about the Company is available at http://www.cnoocltd.com

*** *** *** ***

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expected future events, business prospectus or financial results. The words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors the Company believes are appropriate under the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will meet the expectations and predictions of the Company depends on a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results, performance and financial condition to differ materially from the Company's expectations, including but not limited to those associated with fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas prices, macro-political and economic factors, changes in the tax and fiscal regimes of the host countries in which we operate, the highly competitive nature of the oil and natural gas industry, the exploration and development activities, mergers, acquisitions and divestments activities, environmental responsibility and compliance requirements, foreign operations and cyber system attacks. For a description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please see the documents the Company files from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 20-F filed in April of the latest fiscal year.

Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company cannot assure that the results or developments anticipated will be realised or, even if substantially realised, that they will have the expected effect on the Company, its business or operations.

*** *** *** ***

For further enquiries, please contact:

Ms. Jing Liu

Manager, Media & Public Relations

CNOOC Limited

Tel: +86-10-8452-3404

Fax: +86-10-8452-1441

E-mail: [email protected]

Bunny Lee

Porda Havas International Finance Communications Group

Tel: +852-3150-6707

Fax: +852-3150-6728

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE CNOOC Limited

Related Links

http://www.cnoocltd.com


Joe Biden wants a more ambitious commitment from Beijing. Xi is ready to work with Washington. China is accused of still building coal-fired power plants. A trade war could break over electric cars and renewable energy technology.

Washington (AsiaNews)  China is committed to carbon neutrality by 2060, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the virtual climate summit organised by US President Joe Biden, which saw the participation of 40 heads of state or government.

The Chinese leader stressed that his country is ready to cooperate with the international community and the United States to counter climate change.

The United States wants however a more ambitious commitment from China. Biden is pressing Beijing to bring forward the date for its peak emissions to 2025. Xi set the target at 2030.

China accounts for 28 per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Xi pledged to reduce Chinas carbon intensity by more than 65 per cent by 2030, from 2005 levels.

In the next nine years, Beijing wants to increase the share of alternative energy sources to 25 per cent: up from its previous target of 20 per cent.

Washington and environmental groups are also urging China to stop building new coal-fired power plants at home and abroad. They are asking Beijing to invest more abroad in renewable energy plants.

According to experts, China's targets for the coming years are too low to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. For example, the US plans to cut 50 per cent of total harmful emissions by 2030.

Some observers point out that the energy transition could open a new front in the trade row between Washington and Beijing.

The Chinese are leaders in electric cars and renewable energy technology, but in the event of a crisis, the US could take anti-dumping measures to protect its own manufacturers from Chinese competitors.
Yves here. Richard Murphy is writing from a UK vantage, where the lockdowns have been harder and longer-lived than in the US, stimulus has been less lavish, but the UK is also further along in getting citizens vaccinated (although the US ranks better on the proportion fully vaccinated, at 26%, versus 19% for the UK):

Another factor in the UKs favor is as far as I can tell, vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax sentiment is lower than the US, so they dont appear to be approaching vaccination stall speed, as we are here. So in the UK, it might be true that managing the reopening id the trickier problem now than managing Covid, particularly with Brexit and poor conditions in Europe as additional headwinds (both their Covid surges and their insufficient support spending). But the proximity to Europe also increases the odds of yet another contagion landing, particularly one that can do a decent job of escaping the vaccines (a variant of concern in India has two mutations on the spike protein which make it particularly hazardous-looking).

On our side of the pond, despite very peppy retail sales figures in the US, and the hope that the spending surge will fuel a strong, sustained recovery here, the fat lady hasnt sung yet. Our spring boomlet could still fizzle by the early summer. While the plural of anecdote is not data, I see our aides making big one-time purchases (used cars!) that were necessities, and saying that their budgets remain tight. How many who are on the bottom of the K-shaped recovery are in similar straits?

We still have a lot of known unknowns:

Even though the stimulus kept business closures to a far lower level than expected, many retail businesses are getting by due to rent moratoriums. Some, but no one now seems to have a good fix on how many, may not get enough profits in the door to cut a deal on their arrearages with their landlords. Indeed, perversely, a better-seeming economy (see Wolf Richter on the boom in new business formations) may make landlords less willing to cut tenants who cant make up all the past due rent much of a break We dont know how close we are to a vaccination top-out. 65% of the population? 75%? Add to that that many people are resistant to an annual booster.so what happens if another shot is necessary sooner than that, either due to immunity not lasting a full year or nasty variants requiring another jab tailored to them? Infection rates are rising alarmingly in Michigan and are moving up in other states. As Lambert keeps pointing out, school reopenings look to be a significant contributing factor. But many parents are at their wits end with remote schooling and the Biden Administration has thrown its weight behind getting classes back in session without doing much of anything to make schools safer. Adding insult to injury, the CDCs Rochelle Walensky told Michigan to lock down rather than allocate more vaccines. I dont see states outside the Northeast and the West Coast having any stomach for that, should it prove necessary The US has also been unwilling to enforce hard quarantines for entrants from overseas. Yet Brazil and India are spawning all sorts of new variants

So despite Covid conditions looking better, its premature to declare victory.

By Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant and a political economist. He has been described by the Guardian newspaper as an anti-poverty campaigner and tax expert. He is Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London and Director of Tax Research UK. He is a non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics. He is a member of the Progressive Economy Forum. Originally published at Tax Research UK

I have long suggested that the big issue for the economy when facing the challenge of coronavirus was not surviving the lockdowns  we now know how to do that  but in managing the recovery. At that point, I have always argued, the real problems will be revealed.

Most especially, companies deprived of working capital (cash, in common parlance) as a result of losses incurred not made good by loans, and by a combination of lost skills (whether through simple lack of practice or significant staff turnover) will face the crisis of trying to get back to trading at the scale that they were working at pre-March 2020 and will discover that the thinned out resources at their command will fail, and they will too. To put this in the language of business, the effort to be what they once were will represent for them what is described as over-trading, which is the phenomenon of stretching available resources too thinly with the risk that the whole edifice then fails.

I fear that the evidence to support this prediction is growing. In the FT this morning this is noted:

The number of companies in significant financial distress has risen at the fastest rate in more than seven years, sparking warnings that the dam of zombie businesses could be about to break when government Covid-19 support comes to an end in the summer.

The report comes from insolvency firm Bebies Traynor, which has been using a consistent measure of such stress since 2014. Basically measuring the number of firms revealing stress in their credit status, plus those suffering court orders against them, they now think 720,000 businesses are in distress. Thats a 100,000 increase in a quarter. Its also a significant proportion of the number of firms that they must be monitoring in the UK.

Of course, some firms are always in such distress. Business failure is normal. But this trend is not. If the data does reflect likely forthcoming failure  as this firm clearly thinks that it does  then this indicates real problems to come, just as I predicted there would be at this stage of the recovery cycle.

This poses a real challenge for the government. Not only does this create the real risk of substantial losses on the loan facilities that it made available  many of which will not be repaid if this rate of failure happens  but such a loss of capacity could be severely disruptive to the economy over the year or more ahead.

It has to be admitted that new companies might rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes of many of these failures. But that ignores another issue, and that is the multiplier effect within business failure. The shareholders of many companies may well have a perverse incentive to shut up the old shop and reopen as a new one over the coming year or so, shedding liabilities for loans that will prove extremely burdensome to repay if they do just that. And lets be clear, they can often walk away from their debts at present, precisely because limited liability provides them with that opportunity. But it is not only the government to whom they will owe money. They will also owe their suppliers and if the knock-on effect of failure is big  and it may well be so  then the moral hazard implicit within all limited liability structure may well create a real risk to companies that as yet are showing no stress at all.

Even if we avoid another lockdown (and I think the chance that we will avoid such an event very low indeed) the risk to business at present is exceptionally high. Those who predict sunny days ahead really cant read the runes of cash flow. And cash flow is king. Its just that most economists have never run a business and so they really do not know that.
South Africa: Premier Mokgoro calls for calm amid SABC property auction

North West Premier Job Mokgoro has called for calm as the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is set to continue its plan to auction off property in Mahikeng.

This as the provincial government has taken note of recent developments within the SABC which relate to the ownership, rental and planned disposal of its non-core assets through an auction.

The non-core assets include a number of houses and the residential units known as Bop Flats.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mokgoro said the provincial government is also aware of the public discontent over the SABCs decision, which is part of its turnaround strategy.

The North West provincial government wishes to state that the SABC has been the lawful owners of properties owned by the erstwhile Bop Broadcasting Corporation since the advent of democracy; this following the transfer of mandates, staff and assets to the relevant state owned entities operating in the provincial and national government.

The provincial government is currently pursuing engagements with the Ministry of Communication and Digital Technology and the SABC board; this in an effort to explore the possibility of alleviating the social challenges that may emerge as a result of this planned auction, Mokgoro said.

While the provincial government is aware that affected tenants have taken the matter to court, Mokgoro appealed to all citizens to allow judicial process to unfold without any form of disruption.

We call on all to also avoid disruptions and illegal acts such as forced occupation of these properties, and that in the event of such illegal acts, the provincial government will have no choice but to deploy the law enforcement agencies to bring about order, the Premier said.

Mokgoro and the leadership of the provincial government are sympathetic to the plight of the affected tenants, and has committed to do whatever it can to provide the necessary support, should the need arise.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Higharc, the all-in-one homebuilding platform for design, sales, and construction, announced today that it has raised $21 million in Series A funding, led by Spark Capital. New investors include MetaProp, Montage Ventures, Tectonic Capital, PlanGrid Co-Founder Ralph Gootee, Built Technologies Founder Chase Gilbert and Carta CTO Jerry Talton. Existing investors Pillar Ventures, Javelin Venture Partners, Lux Capital and Vertex Ventures also participated in the round. Higharc will use the capital to expand and scale its current offering to meet the growing demand for solution-based software in the industry. Additionally, funding will support expansion of its sales, customer success and engineering teams.

"Higharc's advanced software is tackling the massive and growing residential construction market by allowing builders to optimize the architecture, design, sales, and construction processes," said Alex Finkelstein, General Partner at Spark Capital. "I am thrilled to join the Higharc board and help this team bring personalized design and cost efficiency to the industry."

As the most advanced software solution on the market today, Higharc is providing the first systematic way for homebuilders to productize their library of homes and completely remove the need for manual drawings. Higharc's system digitally translates ideas into blueprints in a fraction of the traditional time and cost, allowing a homebuilder to quickly define a model of a home and instantly generate everything needed to build it. Adapting best practices from manufacturing - down to the ability to integrate real materials and pricing from suppliers into plans - Higharc is fundamentally changing how homes are designed and built.

"We're proud to bring a new vision for software-powered home design and construction to market," said Higharc CEO Marc Minor. "While manufacturers have powerful tools for integrated design and product lifecycle management, homebuilding has struggled to move beyond the proverbial paper and pen. As we grow, we're looking for curious people across the US to help us reinvent the homebuilding industry and, ultimately, to improve the vitality of our communities.

The latest round of funding brings Higharc's total capital raised to $25.8 million.

About Higharc

Higharc is radically simplifying the way we design, build and shop for homes, starting with solving for the constraints that builders face today. Higharc's software solution seamlessly creates and integrates everything needed to design a home, sell it (in 3-D) and begin building. Most importantly, Higharc's platform automates every step of the homebuilding process to eliminate material waste and costly errors that improve customer experience and ultimately deliver better built homes.

For more information on Higharc, please visit https://www.higharc.com

About Spark Capital

We are Spark Capital, investors in products we love by creators we admire, including Affirm, Carta, Cruise, Discord, Oculus, Plaid, Postmates, Slack, Twitter, and Wayfair. We know there are no playbooks or formulas for success and are here to help founders win their own way. We invest across all sectors and stages, and work out of San Francisco, Boston, and New York City.

SOURCE Higharc

Related Links

http://www.higharc.com


The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) is assessing the potential impact of the export of cocoa beans by China on the local cocoa industry.



Relatedly, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) has intimated that Chinas entry into the production and export of cocoa beans must not in any way hurt Ghanas industry.



The two entities were sharing their thoughts on the potential impact of Chinas export of cocoa beans to the global market.



China exports



The Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) recently reported that South China's island province of Hainan had exported cocoa beans to Belgium for the first time.



The China Daily newspaper quoted Hao Zhaoyun, a researcher with CATAS. as saying: The first batch of 500kg of cocoa beans, worth $3,600, was produced in Xinglong, a township of Hainan with a tropical climate.



Apprehension



Although China currently does not appear in the 45 top cocoa-producing countries in the world, many experts have opined that its full entry into the cocoa export space is a potential threat to the fortunes of the two biggest cocoa-producing countries, Cote dIvoire and Ghana.



Their apprehension is bolstered by the application of technology in cocoa production in China.



Put together, Ghana and Cote dIvoire produce about 60 per cent of the worlds cocoa beans.





In the 2020 cocoa season, 4.8 million metric tonnes of cocoa was produced worldwide, with Cote d'Ivoire, the worlds biggest producer, accounting for 2,034,000 tonnes, while Ghana, the second-biggest producer, did 883,652, with Indonesia, the third-largest producer, making 659,776 tonnes.



COCOBOD perspective



Although COCOBOD expressed concern about the development, it nevertheless said it was too early for the country to panic.



We are concerned, but it is too early for anyone to start panicking because if you look at the quantity of cocoa that has been exported by China, it is quite small and less than one tonne.



We are concerned due to the fact that if production is increasing at a time when consumption in the world is not increasing, then obviously it will have an effect on the price, the Senior Public Relations Officer (PRO) of COCOBOD, Mr Fiifi Boafo, told the Daily Graphic in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting between COCOBOD and some local cocoa processing companies in the country in Accra yesterday.



Use of technology



Mr Boafo said it was necessary to assess what exactly China was doing in order to determine whether it was a major threat or not.



It has been proven scientifically that in order to grow cocoa in commercial quantities, the land has to be between 10 degrees north and 10 degrees south of the Equator, with the climate ranging between 18 and 32 degrees celsius and annual rainfall of about 1,500mm and 2,000 mm.



So if you consider China, it does not have that weather pattern, which means it requires some technology to do so, he said.



The questions we should ask ourselves are: how much will that technology cost China? And if you look at the world market price of cocoa, will the employment of that technology be able to produce cocoa at a commercial level and break even and make profit?



He said while China had proved that it had the capacity to create things that had not been in existence and to bring out initiatives, as things stood now, there was no need to panic.



MoFA plays down fears



Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, said Ghana is not only the second-largest producer of cocoa beans in the world but also produces the best premium cocoa beans, which is the envy of other countries.



He said the extraordinary cocoa liquor flavour of Ghanas cocoa beans made the beans the first choice consumers and processors craved for.



You cannot substitute the flavour of our cocoa with any cocoa anywhere in the world. This the country is not ready to surrender to any country, he stated.



Dr Akoto said Chinas current production was very minimal and posed no threat to Ghana, adding that even if the entire Hainan province produced cocoa, it would not come as a threat to Ghana.



Its a little island and so if they use the whole island to produce, it cannot meet our production, he said.



Another advantage for Ghana, he said, was Chinas growing taste for cocoa products.



The Asian giants chocolate consumption, which used to be very low, has seen systematic growth in recent years.



In Dr Akotos view, Ghana could capitalise on the increasing demand for cocoa products by the Chinese to increase cocoa exports to that country.



In 2019, Ghanas exports of cocoa and cocoa preparations to China amounted to $128.71 million, according to the United Nations International Trade Statistics Database.



Adding value to cocoa



Earlier, speaking at the meeting with the cocoa processors, the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, had said Ghana was earning less than six per cent of the entire cocoa value chain of about $110 billion.



That was because the country still exported majority of its cocoa beans in the raw state, he said.



With the entire value chain expected to increase to about $140 billion by 2024, he said, Ghana could not continue to export cocoa in its raw form and, therefore, urged the local processors to make it a point to process all the cocoa beans produced in the country.



The Managing Director of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC), Nana Agyenim Boateng, for his part, urged players in the industry to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to promote cocoa consumption in the region.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
by Mathias Hariyadi

KRI Nanggala 402 was conducting a missile drill. The hull could be 600-700 meters deep: little hope for the crew of 53. Aid from other countries. Jakarta is trying to fence China's ambitions in the waters around the Natuna Islands.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The search for an Indonesian submarine that disappeared yesterday off the island of Bali continues. With 53 people on board, KRI Nanggala 402 was conducting a missile drill in the area.

The Indonesian navy found an oil spot near the dive site. Two sonar ships are engaged in recovery attempts. According to Jakarta, the submarine may have had an electrical blackout during the dive that left it sinking out of control to a depth of 600-700 meters. The problem is that the hull is built to withstand pressure at a maximum depth of 250 meters.

Singapore and Malaysia have sent their own naval units to support Indonesian ones in the rescue. Offers of help have also arrived from the USA, Germany, France, Turkey, India, Russia and Australia.

KRI Nanggala 402 is one of five submarines in force in the Indonesian navy. German-made, it was launched in 1977. The Indonesian fleet put it into operation in 1981; in 2012 it was modernized on a South Korean construction site.

The country is investing heavily in boosting its Naval power in an attempt to tackle Chinas activism in the waters around the Natuna Islands. The Chinese are not making territorial claims on this Indonesian archipelago of 272 islands, but are claiming the right to exploit its fish-rich waters, a fact that is met with strong opposition from Jakarta.

The Natuna are located on the southwestern edge of the South China Sea, 90% of which Beijing claims for itself. Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, with the support of the United States, oppose China's territorial claims.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will appear at President Biden's climate summit on Thursday with a colossal reputation as a climate change champion.

However, one aspect of Canada's economy complicates his record: the country's insistence on increasing oil sands production.

Increase in emission

According to government figures published last week, between Mr. Trudeau's election in 2015 and 2019, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1%, amid reductions in other wealthy countries over the same time. Canada is the only member of the Group of Seven whose emissions have increased since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed six years ago.

Officials in Canada insist that Mr. Trudeau's reforms actually need some time to bear fruit. On the other hand, environmentalists argue that Canada can't cut emissions without cutting oil demand from the tar sands.

Despite the number of resources used to produce it, the oil sands, one of the world's biggest oil deposits, are also one of the most polluting. Mr. Trudeau, on the other hand, is unlikely to stop development there.

Related Article: Environmental Justice Goes Mainstream with Governmental Support



Oil Sands

The oil sands are vital to the economy of Alberta's western province. The electoral reaction would be immense if Mr. Trudeau or some other Canadian politician made them redundant.

"There is a gap, at least on the international level, between Canada's climate image and the realities of policy on the ground," said Catherine Abreu, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, a consortium of around 100 labor, Indigenous, environmental, and religious organizations. "We have to avoid selling ourselves the perhaps comforting, albeit risky, lie that the oil sands will be viable in the future."

According to Tim McMillan, president, and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, which serves oil companies, average emissions per barrel of oil from the oil sands have decreased by 21% since 2009 and are expected to continue to decrease.

Trudeau's Climate Action

Mr. Trudeau's contribution to combating climate change is widely acknowledged. This month, Canada raised its carbon price, which provinces would follow or have levied by the federal government, to 40 Canadian dollars per metric ton, with a goal of 170 dollars by the end of the decade. The government has already taken steps toward establishing renewable fuel requirements and reducing methane leaks, a potent climate change gas, and other initiatives.

Canada announced on Monday that it is on target to cut emissions by 36% by 2030, relative to 2005 levels.

Mr. Trudeau's decisions stood in sharp contrast to those of President Donald J. Trump of the United States, who ignored climate change and reversed American efforts to fight it.

Biden's Climate Plan

Mr. Biden has already declared climate change a priority for his government. He is likely to announce at the summit that the US will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about half by 2030, relative to 2005 levels.

Mr. Trudeau is set to propose a new reduction goal for the same time frame, but few analysts believe he can equal Mr. Biden's reduction.

According to Dale Beugin, vice president of science and analysis at the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, a nonpartisan research organization, the timing could put Canada in a bind.

Also Read: US and China willing to Cooperate with Each Other to Combat Climate Crisis!

For more Environmental Action news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
A Perth school principal is speaking out about cyber safety after a fake Instagram account impersonating her attempted to follow 50 students, sending inappropriate messages to one.

Perth College principal Helen Aguiar told Radio 6PR the incident occurred over the Easter school holidays and was reported to police on Wednesday.

I had a student over the holidays who obviously accepted a friend request from Instagram  which I would never send to students  and started a conversation thinking it was me, she said.

[The messages] started quite general, Hi, how are you going, how are your holidays, and the last question was, Where are you now? and thats when the student thought, this is not the principal and ... reported it to her teacher on the first day of school this term.
Students attend a class at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, May 2020. Photo courtesy of the university.

Three universities in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City have broken into the Impact Ranking 2021 released by The Times Higher Education on Wednesday.

Of them, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and Ton Duc Thang University in HCMC are ranked in the group of 401-600 while Hanoi University of Science and Technology is ranked 601-800 and Phenikaa University 801-1,000 of the 2021 Impact Rankings, which evaluates 1,115 universities from 94 countries/regions.

This is the third year Times Higher Education (THE) released the ranking to assess universities against the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations to call for global action with the goal of building a peaceful, fair and prosperous society as it measures the impacts and contribution of educational institutions to social development, human development, and environmental protection.

The 17 goals are no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; partnerships for goals.

Compared to two years ago, the number of Vietnamese entries is higher but their rankings have dropped. Last year, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and Ton Duc Thang made it to the 301-400 rank while in 2019, Ton Duc Thang was the only Vietnamese representative when it broke into the rank of 101-200.

The overall ranking is led by a U.K. university for the first time, the University of Manchester. Three Australian institutions complete the top four: the University of Sydney, RMIT University and La Trobe University.

The top institution from an emerging economy is Thailands Chulalongkorn University at joint 23rd place.

Russia is the most-represented nation in the table with 75 institutions, followed by Japan with 73.
Gardai have made an appeal directly to 14-year-old Svetlana Murphy to contact them to let them know she is safe.

There is a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) Alert for Svetlana who is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18.

The teenager been missing from her home in Blackrock in Dundalk since Monday at 4pm and has not contacted anyone since then.

Gardai have appealed to the teenager missing from her Dundalk home for three days to contact them to let them so they can reunite her with her family.

Gardai are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of the 14-year-old who is missing from Blackrock in Dundalk since Monday.

Following investigations gardai now have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana.

At approximately 4pm on Monday, 19th April 2021 Svetlana left her home on Coast Road, Blackrock, Co. Louth.

She is described as 5 foot 1 inch in height with a slim build.

She has brown hair and brown eyes.

At the time she went missing, Svetlana was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top and black runners.

Svetlana is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18 years old.

Nojus is described as being 6 foot in height with a slim build.

He has dark brown hair and he is clean shaven. He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top.

He may also have been wearing a khaki green hoody, and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Nojus are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

Gardai are satisfied that Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock, Co. Louth to Newry, Co. Down on Monday, 19th April 2021, and were sighted in Newry at approximately 7pm.

Gardai are satisfied the Hyundai Veloster car was in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday evening, Wednesday 21st April 2021.

An Garda Siochana is not aware of Svetlanas and Nojus whereabouts at this time.

It is believed they are still on the island of Ireland and gardai are working closely with the PSNI to trace the missing girl.

There are currently signs on motorways across the country seeking information on the 14-year-old.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gardai on 999 or 112.

Please do not approach those involved, instead immediately contact 999 / 112 or your local Garda Station providing as much information as possible.
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Disturbed by the public outrage over its Wednesdays deliberation on the embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami, the House of Representatives has said it did not stop the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, from bringing a motion on the matter.

The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, explained on Thursday that contrary to some media reports that Mr Elumelu was not allowed to move a motion on Mr Pantami alleged links with extremists, he (Elumelu) raised a Point of Order on the matter.

The speaker made the clarification while reacting to a point of order moved by Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) complaining about some media reports on the matter.

Mr Pantami has been in the eyes of the storm over his alleged links with terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Taliban.

In his point of order, Mr Jaha said the reportage of the Houses discussion on the matter during its plenary by some media organisations was erroneous and misleading.

This morning (Thursday), I saw some reports that this House took a position, that we stopped the Minority leader from moving a motion, the lawmaker said.

As a member of this House, from my understanding, this House did not stop the minority leader from moving a motion. The speaker informed the minority leader that he should come under a proper order.

I was receiving calls from my constituents that we stopped the minority leader from moving his motion. Nobody stopped him from raising his point of order, he said.

In his response, Mr Gbajabiamila said, As you (Jaha) have rightfully observed, Elumelu came under Order 6  Matters of privilege. Privileges are not motions and are not debated or even require seconding. There was no motion here yesterday.

However, a member, Uzoma Abonta (PDP, Abia), urged the House to raise a motion on Mr Pantami.

He said Nigerians were looking up to the lawmakers to discuss the allegations against the minister.

Responding, the speaker said anyone with a bill on Mr Pantami should follow the process and bring a motion if he so desired.

On Wednesday, Mr Elumelu, citing Order 6 rules 1 and 2, raised a point of Order on (privilege) which called for the resignation or suspension of Mr Pantami for alleged links to extremists.

His point of order was noted as the Speaker said he came under a wrong order.

You have come under the wrong order But your point has been noted, Mr Gbajabiamila had told the minority leader.

The reports of shutdown of Mr Elumelus motion caused outrage on social media, as several Nigerians on social media accused the House of cover up.

Nigerians on social media have been outraged in the past weeks over reports of Mr Pantami having affiliation to extremists.
OAK BROOK, IL / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Affluence Corporation (OTC PINK:AFFU), a diversified technology company focusing on innovative IoT and 5G enhancing technologies announced today that the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ISLP Technologies, India enabling entry into the exploding Indian 5G and telecom market.

ISLP Technologies is a premier IT & Telecom services company incubated at "Technology Incubation Unit" at IIT Delhi, India and brings multiple large contracts that will utilize the Affluence product suite.

"The acquisition of ISLP will allow us to continue to build on our strategy of developing a global footprint and is a direct response to multiple opportunities in our sales pipeline in the Indian market that is growing exponentially," said James E. Honan, Jr., Affluence's Global CEO. "The first high-profile large value project ISLP delivers under the Affluence banner is with one of the largest telecom companies in India where we will deploy solutions from our portfolio of Technologies enabling this large telecom company to offer additional products and capabilities to its large existing customer base. In addition to the professional services, the project will also prominently feature OneMind Smart City Solutions. We expect to make a joint announcement with the Indian telecom company in the next 30 days," said Mr. Honan.

"The acquisition of ISLP will uniquely position Affluence for multiple opportunities in the Indian market. ISLP has a pipeline of additional projects in the growing multi-dimensional landscape of Technologies, Products and Services which includes initiatives on "Digitalization" of various businesses and processes in India as well as 5G and IoT enabling technologies said Avinash Bector, President & CEO, Affluence Corp for Asia & Africa markets. "Being part of Affluence Corp, ISLP will have access to various Technologies from the ever-increasing portfolio to up-sell/cross-sell to its existing and future Customers, Access to Global markets through other group companies and finance for expansion of its business activities," said Mr. Bector.

About Affluence Corporation

Affluence Corporation (AFFU.PK) is a diversified technology company focused on innovative cloud solutions that capitalize on IoT, AI and 5G technologies. We are investing in mid-market businesses to create a cohesive unit which brings together technology for the next generation of internet.

About OneMind Technologies SL

OneMind Technologies SL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Affluence Corporation. The OneMind Intelligent IoT solution builder is used to create applications for smart construction and smart city operations. Functioning as systems of systems, OneMind connects data sources to one single point of insight to provide real-time information on operational processes. It is a key component in the enterprise solutions currently being offered by several Fortune 50 companies that resell, distribute and integrate smart city enterprise solutions. https://wwwonemindtechnologies.com.

About ISLP Technologies

ISLP is a diversified technology company focused on telecom services and technologies. ISLP is one of the many success stories from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Incubator in Delhi. ISLP builds customized digital solutions utilizing block chain, AI and Machine Learning, IoT and BI and Data Science.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements, including: general economic business conditions, competitive and technological factors, markets, services, products and prices, availability and the cost of capital, success of growth initiatives, limited operating history and other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commissions. Additionally, this release may not be considered as legal, accounting, or investment advice, and is not, and may not be considered, a solicitation for the purchase of any securities issued by Affluence Corporation.

For further information, contact Affluence Corporation Investor Relations at 720-295-6409.

SOURCE: Affluence Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641776/Affluence-Corporation-Announces-Entry-Into-Indian-Market-Through-Acquisition-of-ISLP-Technologies
CINCINNATI, Ohio  A 13-year-old girl has been charged with murder after police say she stabbed another 13-year-old to death during a fight.

WLWT Channel 5 reports the teen suspect wept Wednesday during her first court appearance. She is accused of killing Nyaira Givens, 13, on Monday, and is facing two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault, Fox 19 reports.

Police tell the Cincinnati Enquirer that officers were called to a residence in the Winton Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati just after 9 p.m. Monday. The stabbing occurred in a green space between two homes, the Enquirer reports.

The two girls reportedly got into a fight and the suspect is accused of pulling out a pocket knife and cutting the side of the Givens neck. Givens was taken to Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center but died of her wounds.

Both girls were seventh-graders at the same school, Local 12 reports, and knew each other before the stabbing.

During Wednesdays court appearance, a lawyer for the suspect argued that she be released to her mother. However, the magistrate ordered she remain in custody, Local 12 reports.

More:

10 months after Amish woman Linda Stoltzfoos disappeared, human remains found in rural Lancaster County

Wawa gunman was under stress but gave no sign of violence, says longtime friend
WOOD RIVER  The Metro East unemployment rate remained steady as the state rate dropped slightly between February and March.

However, Director Tony Fuhrmann of Madison County Employment and Training (MCET), said the figures are misleading.

There isnt an employment issue, theres an employee issue, he said, explaining people are simply not interested in finding work yet.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) released local March unemployment figures Thursday.

According to IDES data, the unemployment rate for the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties, remained at 5.6%. The state rate dropped to 7.1% in March from 7.8% the previous month.

Both rates are still several points above last years rates, 3.4% and 4%, respectively. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic did not start to show up until April 2020 figures.

While rates remained stable, the number of jobs decreased across the state over the past year.

Statewide there are 5,661,500 jobs in March, down 358,800 from the previous year. In the Metro East that number is 227,000, down 11,000 from March 2020.

As the state moves through pandemic recovery and the economy begins to heal itself, the major focus remains on assisting claimants and providing support to those still impacted, said Illinois Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes. IDES remains committed to administering benefits and providing job-matching services to individuals dislocated from their jobs as a result of the pandemic and eager to jump back into the workforce.

Locally, unemployment rates by county ranged from 3.3% in Monroe County to 6.7% in St. Clair County.

Madison County showed a slight increase to 5.4% from 5.3% the previous month. Jersey (4.7%), Calhoun (5.2%), Macoupin (5%), Greene (5%) and Bond (4.9%) and Clinton (3.7%) counties all saw decreases; while Clinton County was up slightly to 3.7%.

Fuhrmann said increased and extended unemployment benefits, including paying for health insurance, has lead many people to make informed choices not to go back to work yet.

Weve seen numerous businesses reaching out to us looking for employees, he said.

He noted that 175 job openings have been posted with MCET in the first two weeks of April.

He also said it is not a local issue, but statewide and national. Fuhrmann said a recent news article came out about the owner of McDonalds franchises in Florida paying people $50 just to come in for an interview.

Fuhrmann said there are many openings in food and hospitality, as well as supply chain and logistics.

Its all across the board, he said. We had a couple of unions approach us about advertising for apprenticeship programs.

He noted that several manufacturing jobs were posted and shared hundreds of times.

We say people arent looking, but they are looking if its a good enough opportunity.

But, he noted that the benefits are set to end in late September, and this is the perfect time for people interested in switching careers to start looking or begin training.

He noted that MCET has a great deal of money for training, ranging from 6- to 12-week programs to up to two years of college, including helping pay for the last two years of a bachelors degree.

Fuhrmann also noted that for those getting unemployment, they can participate in training programs and still maintain those benefits.

We have lots of money available for people looking for any type of training, he said. This would be the time when people are looking to switch careers and are receiving unemployment, should come see us.

In addition to job training and postings, they can also help people update resumes and with job searches.

He noted that because most applications are now online, looking for a job is very different than in the past. Instead of a human resources person or supervisor weeding through resumes, the initial search is now done via computer program. By knowing how to write resumes and cover letters with the right keywords, he said job-seekers can have a better chance of getting in the door.

For information call 618-296-4301, visit the Madison County website at https://www.co.madison.il.us/ or visit the departments Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MCETD.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-21 23:40:12|Editor: huaxia

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative would further complement the revitalization of economies, said Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah during a special speech via recorded video at the Opening Plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 in Boao, China.

According to local media reports on Wednesday, the Sultan was invited by Secretary General of the BFA Li Baodong to deliver the speech as the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2021.

During his speech on Tuesday, the Sultan said that the Belt and Road Initiative is a significant plan that would contribute to regional connectivity and further enhance the economic landscape, which could also present opportunities to work together in many areas and through sub-regional fora such as BIMP-EAGA (The Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area).

He said that this year is another milestone in the history of relations with China as this year marks the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations as well as the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brunei and China.

The Sultan said that during this difficult time, ASEAN countries have shown solidarity and joined hands to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, without losing sight of the integration efforts.

He also said that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement last year not only demonstrated the concerted efforts of its member countries towards advancing international trade cooperation, but it will also help to strengthen regional recovery efforts.

Before concluding the speech, the Sultan looked forward to the continuous strengthening of ASEAN-China cooperation to maximize the prospects and efforts towards achieving regional sustainable economic growth.

The BFA Annual Conference 2021 was held on April 18-21 and coincided with the 20th anniversary of the forum. This year's forum is themed "A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation". Enditem
A health official receives a dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, at Infectious Diseases Hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Jan. 29, 2021. (Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

Sri Lanka Reports 6 Cases of Blood Clots Among 925,000 AstraZeneca Vaccine Recipients, 3 Dead

NEW DELHISri Lanka has found six cases of blood clots among recipients of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, three of whom have died, Health Minister Pavithra Waniarachchi told parliament on Wednesday.

Nearly a million people, 925,000 of the countrys 21 million population, have been given the first dose of the Indian-made vaccine in the country. No announcement of any halt to the vaccination program has been made.

Waniarachchi has received the vaccine, which were donated by the Indian government.

By Waruna Karunatilake. The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
TORONTO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (Revive or the Company) (CSE: RVV, USA: RVVTF), a specialty life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for medical needs and rare disorders, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the research results and filing of a U.S. provisional patent application with The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on an oral thin-film (OTF) delivery system with psilocybin developed under a research partnership agreement (Research study) with Reed Research Group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This novel OTF offers a unique delivery of psilocybin as a potential treatment option for mental illness, neurological and substance abuse disorders.

The objective of the Research study determined that psilocybin could be incorporated into chitosan-tannin composite hydrogel solutions, cast into molds, form stable flexible thin films after drying, and release psilocybin upon dissolution in water. University of Wisconsin-Madisons Reed Research Group successfully demonstrated that psilocybin (dissolved in water or ethanol) can be incorporated into chitosan-tannin hydrogel solutions, cast into molds, and dried to create a flexible thin film. The OTF psilocybin product dissolved in water (

Revive is in discussion with a leading OTF contract manufacturer to assist in the clinical scale-up and manufacturing of the OTF psilocybin product. Future studies with the OTF psilocybin product will include evaluation in humans under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Phase I and II clinical studies as a potential treatment in various mental illness, neurological and substance abuse disorders.

As a result of the Research study, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the technology transfer office for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, submitted a provisional patent application to the UPTSO, entitled Composite Chitosan-Tannin-Active Agent Compositions and Methods of Making and Using Same. At a high level, the provisional patent application describes tannin-chitosan composite OTF incorporating active pharmaceutical ingredients, such as psilocybin.

There are a number of advantages and benefits of an orally dissolvable psilocybin thin film such as the rapid dissolving and onset of action to the bloodstream, the ease and convenience for patients to administer without the need of water, chewing or swallowing, the potential of improved therapeutic outcomes and efficacy for underserved diseases and disorders including the flexibility to create accurate dosing and tasteful options.

Michael Frank, CEO of Revive commented: We are pleased with the final conclusion of the Research work and its successful results as it validates our drug delivery technology in delivering psychedelic pharmaceuticals and positions our oral thin film psilocybin product to become a potential novel treatment solution for various mental illness, neurological and substance abuse disorders. We continue to focus on building our intellectual property portfolio, advancing our psychedelics-based product pipeline to clinical trials and partnering with leading institutions, such as University of Wisconsin-Madison, which recently pioneered the only masters program of its kind in the U.S. in therapeutic use of psychoactive drugs.

The Company cautions that psilocybin is still under early-stage research and development and is not making any express or implied claims as to their success in the treatment of mental illness, neurological and substance abuse disorders or commercial viability.

About Revive Therapeutics Ltd.

Revive is a life sciences company focused on the research and development of therapeutics for infectious diseases and rare disorders, and it is prioritizing drug development efforts to take advantage of several regulatory incentives awarded by the FDA such as Orphan Drug, Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy and Rare Pediatric Disease designations. Currently, the Company is exploring the use of Bucillamine for the potential treatment of infectious diseases, with an initial focus on severe influenza and COVID-19. With its acquisition of Psilocin Pharma Corp., Revive is advancing the development of Psilocybin-based therapeutics in various diseases and disorders. Revives cannabinoid pharmaceutical portfolio focuses on rare inflammatory diseases and the company was granted FDA orphan drug status designation for the use of Cannabidiol (CBD) to treat autoimmune hepatitis (liver disease) and to treat ischemia and reperfusion injury from organ transplantation. For more information, visit www.ReviveThera.com.

For more information, please contact:

Michael FrankChief Executive OfficerRevive Therapeutics Ltd.Tel: 1 888 901 0036Email: mfrank@revivethera.comWebsite: www.revivethera.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Revives current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Forward looking information in this press release includes information with respect to the the Companys cannabinoids, psychedelics and infectious diseases programs. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by Revive at the date of the information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date hereof, and Revive is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. Reference is made to the risk factors disclosed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual MD&A for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, which has been filed on SEDAR and is available under the Companys profile at www.sedar.com.

Source: Revive Therapeutics Ltd.
[April 22, 2021] Cannabis Agriculture Technology Company, Segra International, Closes Additional Equity Funding of $6.0MM CAD

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Segra International Corp, a Canadian agriculture technology company and a global leader in Cannabis plant tissue culture, is pleased to announce the closing of $6.0MM CAD in equity financing. The company intends to use the proceeds of the financing to drive continued innovation in plant tissue culture for the cannabis industry and to continue aggressive expansion of its sales networks across Canada and around the globe. "This additional investment is a testament to our success in Segra's first eighteen months as a licensed operator, generating revenue through our suite of products. With one of the largest libraries of Cannabis cultivars in tissue culture globally, our customers look to us for access to true-to-type, Verified Clean Stock plantlets to mitigate the risks and challenges of large-scale cultivation and to meet evolving consumer demands. Segra has signed 50 agreements with Canadian and international cannabis companies since the start of 2020, all while our unparalleled research team continues to drive its innovation pipeline. This newest round of investment will allow Segra not only to continue to grow as a company but also to drive forward the future of how Cannabis is cultivated," says Jamie Blundell, Chief Executive Officer, Segra International. About Segra:





For Further Information:

Carson Otto  Segra International

Carson.otto@segra-intl.com

Forward-Looking Information:

This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "continue," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "will," "potential," "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.





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A tidal wave of fly-tipping has engulfed England after the environmental menace soared almost 20 per cent in a decade.

The number of reported rubbish dumping incidents across streets, parks and the countryside now stands at nearly 1million a year.

The fly-tipping blight has left cities, towns and villages coping with items like discarded fridges, mattresses and even hazardous waste.

The three men were caught red-handed as they emptied the debris and materials down a quiet country lane on the Ugbrooke estate by a neighbour who was putting her chickens away

The cost to struggling local authorities of cleaning up the mess over the past ten years has hit at least 250million.

Shockingly, fly-tipping involving asbestos and clinical waste is at a four-year high.

The Mail has long campaigned against the menace of litter and backs the annual Great British Spring Clean campaign.

The fly-tipping figures were uncovered by Labour, which said the number of incidents recorded since the Conservatives took office in 2010 stands at more than 9million.

In the first year of David Camerons Coalition Government in 2010-11, the total of reported incidents was 819,571. This soared to 975,631 by 2019-20  up 19 per cent. Over the decade, the total number reached 9,040,687.

Separate figures show how much councils have had to pay for clean-ups. In 2012-13, 36.6million was spent, rising to 58million in 2016-17  a total of 240.7million over the period.

Since that date figures have not been collected, but, assuming that clean-up costs stayed at 58million a year, the total over the decade has exceeded 400million.

Labour local government spokesman Kate Hollern said: Under the Conservatives, 9million fly-tips have blighted our streets since theyve been in power.

She insisted that Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has broken the promise he made to stand behind councils and instead he is standing back while a tidal wave of fly-tips, including fridges, mattresses and hazardous waste, will be left to rot whilst offenders go unpunished.

The Conservatives have hollowed out council finances and weakened our countrys foundations. A vote for Labour [in elections] this May is a vote to rebuild the foundations of our economy and restore pride to our towns.

Labour said councils are struggling to meet the rising costs after a decade of austerity and the effects of the pandemic. The party said there was a 13million funding gap in waste budgets and 37million in enforcement costs in the last financial year alone.

It warned this funding gap could leave councils without the resources to tackle fly-tipping for up to two years as they are forced to scale back on their services.

Labour said additional expenditure of 119million a year is required to enforce existing fly-tipping rules and issue penalties.

Last night a Tory spokesman said: The fact is the last Labour Government did nothing to tackle the problems of fly-tipping and it is this Conservative Government that has increased enforcement powers and created new offences to help councils tackle the problem.

Labours research conveniently omits that the areas of the country with the highest incidents of fly-tipping are all Labour-run councils.

This years Great British Spring Clean, organised by Keep Britain Tidy and supported by the Mail, starts on May 28 and runs until June 13.

Moment woman confronts three fly-tippers caught dumping building waste at Devon beauty spot and shames them into loading it back onto their lorry

Three men were caught red-handed emptying debris down a quiet country lane

Neighbour Ella 'ran through them' filming and taking pictures of the suspects

She also grabbed the keys to their van, threatening to call the police on them

This is the moment a quick-thinking woman confronts three fly-tippers dumping building waste at a Devon beauty spot, before forcing them to load it back onto their lorry.

The men were caught red-handed as they emptied the debris and materials down a quiet country lane on the Ugbrooke estate by a neighbour who was putting her chickens away.

Ella, 29, who did not to give her surname, said she 'ran through them' filming and taking pictures and said they were so shocked they didn't know what to do.

In the footage, Ella can be heard telling the group 'you lads better be picking that up' before taking the keys out of their truck and threatening to call the police.

She said: 'I was just shutting my chickens away when I could hear a commotion and gravel being poured away. I thought no one on the estate would be working 7pm at night?

'I ran round and saw them tipping everything out, so I got my phone out and ran up and started filming them and their faces.

'There was all this rubbish everywhere - they must have unhitched the trailer to use the van to tip out all the rubbish. I then grabbed their car keys which seem like a sensible thing to do at the time.

'It was a bit stupid - one girl and three guys.

'We get so much rubbish dumped there because it's quick access off the motorway. We get all sorts - random washing machines, all sorts of stuff.'

Ella said: 'There was all this rubbish everywhere - they must have unhitched the trailer to use the van to tip out all the rubbish'

Ella called her boyfriend, who quickly arrived on the scene with some of his friends. The police were also called and arrived a short time later.

She spoke to the men who were leaving the items, who insisted they had tried to dump the waste at a local tip only to find it was closed.

They said they planned to return the following day and collect the rubbish again.

Despite being on her own, Ella said she was determined to capture the incident on camera as fly-tipping had become such a big problem in the area.

She added: 'My grandad was a policeman so I think I must take after him. I wasn't worried at the time - I was so mad I didn't think.

'When I look back, I was lucky as they were fiery and didn't do anything to me.

'They were completely shocked - I just ran through them and filmed them all and they didn't know what to do.

'They weren't nasty - they were apologetic. They were picking it all up as soon as they saw me.'

Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'Police responded to reports of three men fly-tipping at a site near Chudleigh soon after 8pm, on Thursday 15 April. Three men have been reported for the incident'

Police told Ella it's unlikely the men would face prosecution - despite being caught red-handed on camera.

'The police told me its highly likely it won't get to court,' she added.

'They were saying in the eyes of the law - a policeman has to see them actually doing the offence. They can just say they were just picking up the rubbish.

'But you think I've basically caught them red handed it doesn't make sense.

'I said I've got it on film - it's annoying because I can see its jot going to get far without getting the ball rolling myself.'

Devon and Cornwall Police said: 'Police responded to reports of three men fly-tipping at a site near Chudleigh soon after 8pm, on Thursday 15 April.

'Three men have been reported for the incident.'
New Delhi: India recorded over 3 lakh covid cases on Thursday (April 22) and registered 2,104 deaths in a day. Many states in the nation are currently facing a critical shortage of oxygen and black marketing of medicines and essential equipment. The judiciary also entered into the matter, slams the central government for not acting responsibly and letting people die due to a lack of oxygen supply.

Delhi High Court has said that "if the centre wishes, the supply of oxygen to the industries like petroleum and steel can be diverted for the patients. The lives of people struggling with the shortage of oxygen should be saved."

Delhi High Court said that Patparganj Max Hospital will get oxygen soon, but there are many hospitals where there is a lack of oxygen. The court further said that no industry has denied supplying the oxygen and in such a scenario the government should take over the situation.

Meanwhile, the court is informed that there is only 8 hours of oxygen left in Max Hospitals at Vaishali and Gurgaon which will not be able to last till the next morning. The court told the lawyer of the central government that the government will have to make a decision soon.

The court told the central government that we did not say that you are discriminating or not working or taking steps. We are telling you that in this environment we have to explore more options, you have unlimited powers, no industry can refuse you, you have to keep all options open.

During the ongoing hearing in the Delhi High Court, the Joint Secretary of the concerned department in the Central Government told the court that the total production of oxygen in the country can be only 7200 MT maximum while the requirement has reached 8,000 MT at present.

The Supreme Court on Thursday took suo moto cognisance of Covid management -- the supply of oxygen, essential drugs supply, method and manner of vaccination and judicial power to declare lockdown.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde also appointed senior advocate Harish Salve as amicus curiae in the matter. The bench noted that six High Courts -- Delhi, Bombay Sikkim, MP, Calcutta and Allahabad -- were dealing with issues related to COVID management and it was creating confusion. The court said: "We as a court wish to take suo moto cognizance of certain issues. They (High Courts) are exercising jurisdiction in their best interest. But it is creating confusion and diversion of resources."

The top court was hearing an application by Vedanta seeking to carry some repair work and re-start the oxygen plant at the Tuticorin, which can manufacture a thousand tonnes of oxygen for COVID-19 patients. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the country is in dire need of oxygen. The plant has been shut since 2018 over environmental violations.

The top court also asked the Centre to present a national plan. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on Friday (April 23).

Live TV
Regulatory News:

Teleperformance SE's (Paris:TEP) Combined General Meeting was held on April 22, 2021 in Paris under the chairmanship of Olivier Rigaudy, deputy CEO of the group.

Shareholders adopted all the resolutions submitted to their vote.

The shareholders notably approved:

the 2020 parent company and consolidated financial statements;

the proposed dividend of 2.40 per share, unchanged compared with the previous year: the ex-dividend date is April 27, 2021 and the payment date is April 29, 2021;

the renewal of the terms of office of five directors: Emily Abrera, Daniel Julien, Alain Boulet, Robert Paszczak and Stephen Winningham. These renewals will maintain the balanced representation of men and women on the Board, as well as the requisite diversity in terms of experience, expertise, and nationalities. The board of Directors renewed Daniel Julien as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer;

the information on remuneration for directors and corporate officers as well as their remuneration policy, described in the corporate governance report included in the 2020 Universal registration document.

The breakdown of the voting results by resolution is available on Teleperformance's corporate website (www.teleperformance.com Investor relations Shareholders General Meetings section).

About Teleperformance Group

Teleperformance (TEP ISIN: FR0000051807 Reuters: TEPRF.PA Bloomberg: TEP FP), a leading global group in digitally integrated business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world's largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model combining three wide, high-value solution families: customer experience management, back-office services and business process knowledge services. These end-to-end digital solutions guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high tech, high touch approach. The Group's 380,000+ employees, based in 83 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 265 languages and over 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the "Simpler, Faster, Safer" process.This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry's highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2020, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 5,732 million (US$6.5 billion, based on 1 $1.14) and net profit of 324 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, CAC Support Services, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350 and MSCI Global Standard. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the CAC 40 ESG index, the Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120 index, the FTSE4Good index and the Solactive Europe Corporate Social Responsibility index (formerly Ethibel Sustainability Excellence Europe index).

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(Reuters) - Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd will close its Canadian pilot base and has proposed to also shut its pilot bases in Australia and New Zealand, the airline said on Thursday.

No decisions have been made on the fate of its pilots based in Europe and the United States, the airline said in a statement that noted all passenger fleet pilots on overseas bases had been stood down since May 2020.

The decision to close the Canadian base is final, while Australia and New Zealand is a proposal at this stage and will involve a good-faith consultation process with employees, Cathay said.

In Australia and New Zealand, employers must consult with staff before redundancies as part of union agreements but it is rare for publicly announced decisions to be reversed.

Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand Ltd made similar announcements last year about consultations before proceeding with their planned staff cuts.

Cathay's proposed closures were first reported by the South China Morning Post.

Cathay had already closed overseas cabin crew bases and shut its regional airline Cathay Dragon to help it conserve cash during the pandemic, resulting in the loss of more than 5,900 jobs.

The remaining Hong Kong-based pilots and cabin crew had to agree to permanent pay cuts to keep their jobs.

Cathay, which lacks a domestic market at a time when international borders are largely shut, last month reported a record annual loss of HK$21.65 billion ($2.8 billion).

It has been burning through as much as HK$1.9 billion of cash a month, though the carrier said last week that figure would begin to reduce slightly due to an easing of cargo crew quarantine requirements.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)
Rain is a common phenomenon on Earth. There is a similar phenomenon on the Sun, called coronal rain. It is related to the coronal heating and magnetic field, and plays a fundamental role in the mass cycle between the hot, tenuous corona and the cool, dense chromosphere.

Coronal rain usually takes place in post-flare loops and the non-flaring active region coronal loops. It is generally classified into two categories: flare-driven and quiescent coronal rain, depending on its relation to the flare. Both kinds of coronal rain form along structures that are magnetically closed.

Recently, a research team led by Dr. LI Leping from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) found a new type of coronal rain forming along open magnetic structures, away from the magnetically closed region.

A series of studies has been issued since 2018, among which the latest paper was published in The Astrophysical Journal on April 1.

The researchers proposed a new formation mechanism for coronal rain along open magnetic structures facilitated by interchange magnetic reconnection between open and closed magnetic structures.

In this formation mechanism, the higher-lying open structures reconnect with the lower-lying closed loops, forming a magnetic dip in the former. The plasma, surrounding the dip, converges into the dip, resulting in the enhancement of plasma density in the dip. The density enhancement triggers thermal instability. Cooling and condensation of hot coronal plasma in the dip thus occurs. The cool condensation falls toward the solar surface as coronal rain.

No flare was detected during the reconnection and condensation process. The new type of coronal rain thus belongs to the category of quiescent coronal rain.

"The quiescent coronal rain forming along the open structures is quite different from the flare-driven coronal rain in post-flare loops and the quiescent coronal rain in non-flaring active region loops that occur in the closed loops," said Dr. LI Leping, the first author of the series of studies.

All the reconnection and condensation events investigated before took place above the limb.

"Whether the condensation facilitated by reconnection can still be observed on the disk, and how it performs, are open questions," said Prof. Hardi Peter from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), a co-author of the series of studies.

The researchers found that the reconnection condensation events from September 2010 - September 2011, observed above the eastern (western) limb of the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO A (B)), occurred on the disk of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO).

"The event presented is important for understanding the global picture of condensation formation in the solar atmosphere and the combined observations bring a very interesting means to analyze this type of coronal condensation events," the reviewer of the paper commented.

Above the limb, the bright condensations and the subsequent coronal rain, facilitated by reconnection between open and closed structures, were clearly detected. However, on the disk, the reconnection structures were difficult to observe. Moreover, dark condensations appeared and moved to the surface as on-disk coronal rain.

"If only the on-disk observations are available, the relation between the condensations and reconnection, shown clearly by the off-limb observations, could not be identified," said Dr. LI. "We propose that some on-disk condensation events seen in the transition region and chromospheric lines could be facilitated by interchange reconnection."

###
On Thursday, a Hong Kong court found that Ms. Choy, a freelance producer, had broken the law when she used a public database of license plate records as part of an investigation into a July 2019 mob attack at a train station, in which 45 people were injured. Activists have accused the police of turning a blind eye to the violence.

The journalist, who also goes by the name Bao Choy, helped to produce fine-grained documentaries for RTHK that examined who was behind the attacks and why the police were slow to respond. She was arrested in November and charged with making false statements about why she had used the publicly accessible database.

Ms. Choy said her case showed how the authorities were trying to crack down on the news media and restrict access to information that was once publicly available.

I realized since my arrest its not my individual issue, she said in an interview. Its a bigger issue of press freedom in Hong Kong.

Press freedom groups have denounced Ms. Choys arrest and described it as part of a campaign of harassment. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the governments case an absurdly disproportionate action that amounts to an assault on press freedom.

The case against Ms. Choy is the latest move against RTHK, Hong Kongs leading public radio and television network, which for years offered hard-hitting reports critical of the government. The outlets charter grants it editorial independence, but as a government entity, it has little protection from officials who want to see it brought under stricter control. Regina Ip, a pro-Beijing lawmaker, said last week that the government should consider closing it altogether.

Just months after the national security law was passed, the Hong Kong government called for RTHK to be more tightly supervised by government-appointed advisers.
They famously rubbed shoulders together back in the early 2000s, when a relatively unknown Kim Kardashian worked for a then-red hot Paris Hilton as her assistant and sometimes stylist.

But on an upcoming episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the tables have turned for the stars as Paris comes to greet Kim, now a megastar, to work together on a TikTok campaign for the billionaire's SKIMS brand, dressed in velour tracksuits.

Although Kim is now arguably the more powerful celebrity, Paris, 40, still plays it incredibly cool and aloof, as she casually admits to not receiving a text message from Kim, also 40.

'Hi! How are you? I text you earlier, I think I have the wrong number,' Kim is heard saying, to which Paris replies in her deadpan tone, 'I have like five phones, so it might be one of those.'

Reunited! Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton laugh about their early 2000s past in new KUWTK clip, which Kim posted to her Instagram Stories on Thursday

'The TikTok campaign wasn't really authentic to me, but then I thought, OMG, me, Paris, like that is everything,' Kim says in a confessional about the idea to shoot them together.

The pair then begin to chat about their friendship back in the day, and how a fame-hungry Kim - who has since appeared on American Vogue - wanted to appear on magazine covers 'so badly.'

'I wanted to be on the cover of a magazine so badly that there was a dog magazine, and I hated dogs. I didn't even have a dog, they were like, 'would you be on the cover?' and I was like, 'whose dog can I borrow?'

That's hot: Kim enlisted her pal Paris to help with a TikTok fashion campaign

Old buddies: Kim, 40, used to work as an assistant for her pal Paris, also 40

Fame hungry: Kim admits she was so desperate to be on magazine covers, she posed for a dog title even though she did not own one, and ended up borrowing a pooch from Nicole Richie

Catching up: Hilariously, Paris told Kim she has 'like five phones' after the KUWTK had tried to text her and failed to get a response

Throwback vibes: Kim posed in a velour tracksuit for a campaign connected to her SKIMS line

Kim then reveals that she believed she ended up borrowing Nicole Richie's dog.

The clip then sees the girls re-living their Juicy Couture days as they model together by a car in a shoot that has been previously revealed.

Elsewhere in the KUWTK clip, Kim is seen discussing her much-talked about 'sixth-toe' which she puts down to how she shoves her feet in her shoes.

Kim had been trolled online about her supposed sixth-toe because of the way her feet looked in photographs of the star, which she is seen discussing in the upcoming episode.

KUWTK will end with its 2021 season, with the Kardashian family announcing at the time: 'It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to Keeping Up with the Kardashians.'

However Kim, who is divorcing husband Kanye West, is set to join her famous family at their new home on streaming giant Hulu later this year.
New York, April 22 : A novel system of chilled panels that can replace air conditioning can also help reduce the risk of indoor disease transmission, suggests a new research.

A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) computed air conditioning requirements in 60 of the world's most populous cities -- with the additional ventilation required due to Covid-19. Then, they compared the energy costs with their cooling method, using the chilled panels and natural ventilation.

The results, published in the Covid-19 edition of Applied Energy, showed that the alternative solution can save up to 45 per cent of the required energy, while ensuring building occupants are comfortable and rooms are adequately refreshed.

Many public health guidelines, as well as building industry bodies, recommend increasing the flow of fresh, outdoor air into buildings in order to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 and other diseases, said Adam Rysanek, Professor in the school of architecture and landscape architecture at UBC.

"However, if we continue to rely on conventional HVAC systems to increase indoor fresh air rates, we may actually double energy consumption. That's the nature of conventional HVAC," Rysanek said.

The new types of radiant cooling systems allow people to keep their windows open even when it's hot outside. These alternative systems can provide a sufficient level of thermal comfort, increase protection against disease while lessening the impact on the environment.

The team demonstrated their cooling system in the hot and humid climate of Singapore. They built a public pavilion featuring a system of chilled tubes enclosed within a condensation-preventing membrane. This allowed occupants to feel comfortable, and even cold, without changing the air temperature surrounding the human body.

The experiment will be conducted in Toronto, Beijing, Miami, Mumbai, New York and Paris -- regions where peak summer temperatures soar past 35 degrees Celsius.

Though chilled panel systems have been around for decades, adding the special membrane devised by the research team could be the key to making it a commercially viable alternative to traditional HVAC systems in all climates, Rysanek noted.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Minneapolis: Daunte Wright, the young black man shot by an officer during a traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis, was not just some kid with an air freshener, but a prince whose life ended too soon at the hands of police, the Reverend Al Sharpton said on Thursday during an emotional funeral.

Hundreds of people wearing COVID-19 masks packed into Shiloh Temple International Ministries to remember Wright, a 20-year-old father of one who was shot by a white police officer on April 11 in the small city of Brooklyn Center.

Reverend Al Sharpton eulogies Daunte Wright during funeral services at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis. Credit:AP

The funeral was held just two days after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the death of George Floyd and amid a national reckoning on racism and policing.

The absence of justice is the absence of peace, Sharpton said. You cant tell us to shut up and suffer. We must speak up when there is an injustice.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 16:37:44|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Philippine fisherfolk and environmental activists on Thursday condemned Japan's plan to dump more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific ocean.

"We oppose any activity that will destroy the marine environment. We join the Japanese people and other countries in opposing the plan to dump radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean," Fernando Hicap, the leader of the national federation of small fishers in the Philippines, said in a statement.

Hicap also urged the Philippine government "to study the potential impact of (Japan's plan) to the country's fishing grounds."

Loren Legarda, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, stressed the need to conduct "an environmental impact assessment" by an international panel of experts to check the toxicity of the water.

"I think a rational environment impact assessment is in order (because) we need to understand if these fears are based on simply fears or if these are based on science," Legarda said in an online forum.

She said the panel should include experts from neighboring countries that will be affected.

"It is important for us and neighboring countries to have a resource accounting (that) would include our waters and the life of our waters, the sanctity of our waters," Legarda added.

Environmental activist Antonio Oposa said that Japan's plan is "illegal", calling the move "marine pollution from land sources covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea."

"The nuclear water is poison. I urged the people in the government to do something about it," Oposa said in the forum. Enditem
Ileana D'Cruz On Unfair And Lovely: "It Is An Entertaining Fun Story That Touches Upon A Very Sensitive Topic"

Ileana D'Cruz says her upcoming film Unfair & Lovely, which deals with the obsession with fair skin in the country, is a beautifully written story that deals with the issue in a sensitive manner. Set in Haryana, the film, also starring Randeep Hooda, chronicles the story of a dusky woman who faces social prejudice and how she deals with it.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ileana D'Cruz (@ileana_official)

The film marks the directorial debut of Balwinder Singh Janjua, who has served as a screenplay writer on films like Taapsee Pannu-Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Saand Ki Aankh , Mubarakan starring Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. In the film, D'Cruz plays the titular role of Lovely and she says the film will strike a chord with the audience and will hopefully change the conservative mindset of people with regards to beauty.

"This story is beautifully written. It is not overtly in your face preachy. It is an entertaining fun story that touches upon a very sensitive topic. It gives you the most human perspective to it. People will relate to it and it will also open up their mind a little more and not be narrow-minded when it comes to color in this country", D'Cruz told PTI.

The 33-year-old actor finds the obsession with fair skin bizarre. "Colour doesn't define beauty. It is like saying, the sky is not beautiful at night but it is as you get to see stars", she added.

Backed by Sony Pictures Films India in association with Movie Tunnel Productions, Unfair & Lovely is slated to release this year. Asked whether the film industry sets fuels society's obsession for a certain standard of beauty, D'Cruz said Bollywood had all sorts of women who are equally "loved and are successful".

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ileana D'Cruz (@ileana_official)

"With this story, I take pride that we have different and unconventional-looking women in our industry. We have all sorts of women in Bollywood who are equally loved and are successful. There is this obsession not in the film industry but more so in the country. I don't know if the film industry has to be blamed for it because we idolise women", she added.

D'Cruz recently featured in The Big Bull where she played the role of a journalist, Meera Rao. Produced by Devgn and Anand Pandit with Kumar Mangat Pathak and Vikrant Sharma attached as co-producers, the movie, also starring Abhishek Bachchan, Ram Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Saurabh Shukla, Nikita Dutta and Soham Shah, released on Disney+ Hotstar on April 8.
In December last year, Mahuta offered to mediate a truce between Australia and China and said both parties needed to concede in some areas where they are currently not seeing eye to eye. Months later, New Zealands new Trade Minister Damien OConnor suggested Australia should speak with more respect and diplomacy towards China. Senior officials in the Australian government repeatedly put these interventions down to rookie ministers still learning their brief, and did not necessarily see them as the views of Ardern. However, the latest comments from Mahuta are different. Australian officials were put off by the suggestion that New Zealand was charting a more independent course; they believe theres nothing independent about using your trade relationship with China as a justification for not criticising Beijing. It is Australia, they argue, who has been the one standing on its two feet: the first to ban Chinese telecom giant Huawei from next-generation networks, first to enact foreign interference laws and ahead of the curve on blocking foreign investment in critical national infrastructure. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern played down a rift over the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Credit:Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images Some Australian officials also dispute Wellingtons assertion that there has been a significant expansion of Five Eyes, saying it has always been a diplomatic grouping.

But there is also sympathy for Wellingtons position in Canberra. New Zealand has not yet faced the economic coercion, or the widespread espionage and foreign interference activity, that Australia has endured. Wellington is at least three years behind where Canberra is at and may only just be waking up to the threat. While Ardern spoke with a more conciliatory tone on Wednesday, she backed in her foreign minister by suggesting that Five Eyes was not the most appropriate forum for issuing joint statements criticising China. She said the statements could be issued by wider groupings of countries or could be as narrow as Australia and New Zealand. Loading Is that best done under the banner of a grouping of countries around a security intelligence platform, or is it best done around a group of countries with shared values  some of which might not belong to that five eyes partnership? Ardern said. Rory Medcalf, the head of the National Security College at the Australian National University, says Five Eyes was an extremely trusted and long-serving intelligence-sharing arrangement and that was always going to translate into co-ordinating policy as well.

If you trust countries enough to share your most sensitive secrets with them, then surely you are going to often co-ordinate with them on areas of shared interest, he says. The point that Mahuta made, and Ardern has reinforced, is that New Zealand would look at other arrangements for co-ordinating policy arrangements. Well of course thats the case, and Australia has been doing the same thing, whether its through the QUAD, bilaterals, trilaterals, etc. If thats New Zealands position then thats not so gravely at odds with Australias position or anyone elses. New Zealands bid to contain the Five Eyes goes against the grain of where the group is headed. Not only is the grouping being expanded into a strategic and economic partnership to counter China, but countries including Japan want to join it. Medcalf says an ideal future arrangement would be Five Eyes-plus whereby other countries such as Japan and France are incrementally brought into the intelligence-sharing arrangement but cautioned you cant substitute for 70 years of trust overnight. Although Japan is a logical place to look, you have 70 years of institutionalised and highly personalised trust among intelligence and security agencies in the existing Five Eyes countries, he says. Our intelligence and security agencies trust the agencies of their Five Eyes partners almost as much as they trust themselves.

Jonathan Pryke, director of the Lowy Institutes Pacific Islands Program, says New Zealand has been more insulated to some of the more serious threats of Chinas growing assertiveness than other Fives Eyes nations. Loading He says there are clearly tensions in the relationship between Australia and New Zealand and he hopes face-to-face meetings between ministers and prime ministers could sort out the differences. Maybe these are strongly held convictions from the New Zealanders and it may reflect the start of a growing schism in the Five Eyes community, he says. For the time being, Canberra wants to ensure that does not eventuate.
The story of how my life changed involves two cars: a Pathfinder Jeep, and a Toyota Avalon, and SARS.

Before I tell you this story, I should introduce myself.

My name is Emeka Kennedy, and before this SARS wahala, I was a 35-year-old employee of the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN), a non-governmental organisation that checks all forms of illegal importation, including small arms and goods.

Everything changed on April 12, 2018, when I returned to Lagos from Anambra State where I had gone to drop a car (the Toyota Avalon) for my uncle.

My own car, a Pathfinder Jeep, was not where I left it, at the Trade Fair Complex on Lagos-Badagry expressway.

I asked the security man at the office where my car was. He said some men from Trade Fair Police Station had come to tow it. So I went to the police station.

Detained

There, I met the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) who said the officers that towed my car had left instructions: Anybody who came in search of the car should be detained. For what? I asked. The DCO did not answer.

Instead, I was immediately detained.

A few hours later, four heavy-looking men entered the station. They wore vests with the words Intelligence Response Team (IRT). Later, I learned that the IRT was collaborating with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The IRT said they understood I had a Toyota Avalon in my possession.

Ah.

The Toyota in question had come through Cotonou and belonged to my uncle, Ozor Kenneth. All I did was drive it to Anambra State, where I parked it for him to collect. I told the officers this, even stating that the car had a number plate and all of its documents were intact.

They ignored me.

Denied food, water and tortured

From Trade Fair Police Station, I was transferred to the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja where the Commanding Officer of SARS, Superintendent Philip, was powerful.

At the Lagos State Police Command, I wrote a statement, telling the officers everything I knew about the car, and that I was innocent, but they did not believe me.

They locked me up in a cell, where for one week, they did not give me food or water.

Later, the officers took me to the stations backyard, where they tied my hands and legs and hung me in the air for several hours. After they brought me down, I was so weak that I could not stand.

The officers had taken away my phone and switched it off. This meant my family did not know where I was or what was happening to me.

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All the officers kept saying was that they would kill me.

Five days later, they took me back to the backyard and hung me in the air again.

The next few days felt like I was in a coma.

When I regained a bit of my strength and the officers saw that I could raise my hand, they took me to the backyard and hung me again.

This was our routine for about two weeks. Starve, hang, repeat.

Taken from Lagos to Anambra and back to Lagos

Then, the four officers who had picked me up from the Trade Fair Police Station put me in their vehicle and drove all the way to Anambra State.

There, the officers went to Awka Police Station, in the capital city of Anambra, to announce their arrival.

I took the officers to the house in Oko town where I had parked the Toyota Avalon. After that, the officers drove back to Badagry, Lagos, where I live.

It felt like I had been kidnapped, tortured, and my brutalised body was now being taken on a tour of Nigeria.

In Badagry, the officers, already armed with a search warrant, swept through my house. There was no one at home. My wife had travelled with our child to her parents in Lagos because of how uncertain things had become. The officers took everything they could find  shoes, clothes, belts, etc.

Frivolous charges

I spent a month and ten days in detention.

May 22, 2018, was the memorable mark of that dark period.

In the third week of this terrible experience, the officers asked me to call my relatives. I called my father-in-law, who came to my rescue.

My father-in-law and the officers started negotiating my release. Initially, the officers wanted 5 million naira, but they later dropped the price to 2 million. My father-in-law was still unable to raise that amount of money.

Later, I discovered that my wife usually came to see me, but the officers, especially the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Sergeant Ermond, would send her away because she did not come with any money.

The cost of transportation from Badagry to Ikeja was 800 naira and, due to Lagos notorious traffic jams, the journey could linger for several hours.

My sister, who is a lecturer in the Federal Polytechnic in my hometown Oko, got tired of the officers shenanigans and, on May 22, 2018, wrote a petition to the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, in Abuja.

The IGP ordered the officers to transfer my case to Abuja with all the files and everyone who was involved in the case.

Instead of obeying the IGPs order, the officers took me to the Samuel Ilori Magistrate Court in the Ogba suburb of Lagos and slapped me with all manner of charges, including forgery.

The magistrate, suspecting foul play, refused to proceed with the case. She asked them to go and change the charges.

But the officers did not want to change the charges. Later, the IPO came to me and said they would give me bail. All I had to do was to call my people and the matter would go away.

Remanded in prison then freedom came

I was asked to bring two sureties, one relative and a non-relative, who were senior-level civil servants, and could deposit 400,000 naira. I was able to get one relative but could not get a non-relative. So, I remained imprisoned.

I was remanded in Kirikiri Medium Prison in Lagos. During my time at Kirikiri, somebody inside the prison advised that I go to the High Court because the officers were afraid of it.

My lawyer and I took my case to the Lagos High Court in Igbosere on Lagos Island. We earned a favourable verdict and I finally became a free man on November 28, 2018.

Over six months after I was first kidnapped by the Nigerian police.

SARS finished me

I thought my troubles had ended. For where?

When I returned home, my landlord, with whom I had never previously had any issues, asked me to vacate his property. He did not want to rent his house to an ex-convict.

Me, my wife, and our eight-month-old baby left Lagos on December 15, 2018.

We now live in Nkpor, a small town in Anambra.

SARS finished me. I lost my friends, my job and myself.

I lost my home. You see, I started living in Lagos when I was 13. I went to secondary school and university in Lagos. Lagos was home. Here in my new life in Anambra, there is nothing. If we see food, we eat.

I am currently unemployed. My last job was driving passengers around in a bus, but the bus broke down.

Dont even ask about the police case. That one has gone cold.

When my uncle went to the officers concerning the vehicle, they kept toying with him. The officers asked him to go and visit me in jail. They did not believe I had been set free, given the weighty charges they had levelled against me.

SARS finished me.

Im not even asking for justice. The only thing that concerns me right now is finding a bus to drive so that I can feed my family.

That will happen soon by Gods grace.

_____

This story is part of a multimedia project by Tiger Eye Foundation and media partners across Nigeria, documenting police brutality in Nigeria, and advocating for police reform.


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The New York Times Company said on Thursday that it would not voluntarily recognize a newly formed union of tech and digital employees, instructing the group to put the matter to a formal vote through the National Labor Relations Board.

The Times Tech Guild, a group affiliated with the NewsGuild of New York, had asked the company for recognition on April 13, when it announced that a majority of tech workers had formed a union. The group includes software engineers, data analysts, designers and product managers.

In an email to staff on Thursday, the Times chief executive, Meredith Kopit Levien, wrote that, since the union was formed, we have heard questions and concerns from many of our colleagues about what this would really mean for their careers.

As a result, this morning, we advised the NewsGuild that we believe the right next step is a democratic process that surfaces all the facts, answers questions from employees and managers, and then lets employees decide via an election, the note continued.
Chennai, April 22 : With the surge in Covid infections and the daily cases in the state touching around 11,500 the political parties have called upon their cadres to become health volunteers. While the BJP has a miniscule presence in Tamil Nadu, the RSS has a strong cadre and has deputed them to create awareness among the public and in emergency situations to transport patients to the hospitals and even the bodies to the crematoriums.

Mahesh Krishnamoorthy, Tamil Nadu state secretary of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the think tank of the RSS, while speaking to IANS said "We have always been in the forefront in service and our cadres in every emergency situation are for the people round the clock. We are taking all precautions in maintaining Covid protocols and are ready for service." The mainstream political parties of Tamil Nadu, the DMK and the AIADMK have directed their cadres to be available to the public during tough times. The DMK has opened a 24-hour helpline to take note of the people's issues and then depute medical professionals to the areas that need attention.

The helpline is supporting people to get connected with doctors and providing replies to the queries regarding the health conditions and the ways to be on guard against the disease. While the state health department is providing round the clock service regarding Covid information, the DMK helpline is also flooded with calls from the public.

The AIADMK is coordinating closely with the health department and the respective civic bodies and reaching out to people who are in need of assistance. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam is in charge of the AIADMK team which is handling the Covid emergency with doctors and other medical professionals heading the team.

Superstar-turned-political leader Kamal Haasan has called upon his cadres to be active in the field and to be always supportive of the people in the trying time of Covid. In a social media appeal to the general public, the South Indian superstar called upon the people to wear masks and to keep social distancing from one another and to totally reduce social gatherings.

The Indian Union Muslim League has also called upon its cadres in their strongholds to volunteer to create awareness as well as to directly extend support to those in need. Party national president Kader Mohideen while speaking to IANS said, "We have directed our party cadres to be supportive of those in need and to provide direct help to those suffering from the disease by providing food and other essentials." DMK cadres have also started distributing food packets among the guest workers in Coimbatore after several industrial units shut shop.

K Thamarakannu, DMK leader from Coimbatore South while speaking to IANS said, "We are distributing food packets and packaged drinking water among the guest workers who are in large numbers."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Jeeps Belvidere assembly plant was one of five Stellantis facilities in North America shut down due to the chip shortage on March 29. The plant, which normally has about 3,600 employees working two shifts making the Jeep Cherokee SUV, will remain closed through the end of April, but there is no extension of the shutdown at this time, Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) highlights the fast-rising worldwide persecution of Christians in a new report.

"For a very small budget, every year the United States government drops this bomb in the human rights community that reverberates on every corner of the globe," Johnnie Moore, a commissioner for USCIRF, told CBN News.

The following facts, from the 2021 USCIRF report released on Wednesday, indicate that Christians are facing increased persecution in various countries:

50,000 Christians held in North Korean prison camps

Some 3,000 Yazidi girls and women missing in Iraq

130,000 Muslims in internment camps in Burma

As many as 3 million Uighur Muslims in Chinese concentration camps

Moore went on to say that 22 years ago, they have raised concern in their first report about the inhumane treatment of the Chinese Communist Party toward the Uyghur community. It only received minimal international attention and was quickly forgotten.

To date, several other reports detail more abuses by the communist regime including rape, torture, and organ harvesting.

USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel, a Uighur Muslim who was one of the victims of CCP's persecution, said that the regime is "even promoting and marketing the Uighur organs to Muslim majority countries."

"They find two religions: Islam and Christianity particularly problematic for the survival and existence of the communist party," Turkel also noted during a press conference.

The report also identified "countries of particular concern" or CPC where human abuses were the most severe.

In addition to Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan which were already tagged by the State Department, the USCIRF also named India, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.

On the Special Watch List (SWL), the report listed Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Turkey, Uzbekistan.

"We're not letting them sleep one night without screaming at the top of our lungs in a bipartisan way Republican and Democrat to make sure they can do what they chose to do but they're not going to do it in the shadows," said Moore.

He continued that the pandemic compounded the burden because many religious minorities were accused of causing the spread of the virus.

Also an evangelical Christian, Moore said that "it's time for Christians to do what the Apostle Paul called them to do which is to pray for those who are in prison as if they were there with them."

Moore is one of the nine bipartisan commissioners for USCIRF. CBN reports that the commissioners are working to encourage the Biden administration to "fill a number of vacant positions dedicated to putting pressure on the countries that persecute their people."

In another news segment, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was asked about the commissioners' unanimous condemning of China.

"Certainly, China is on top of the list...The big concern that we have about China is the exportation of their repressive techniques and even their technology that they use to do that, "he said.

Perkins also noted that many big corporations are working in concert with China.

"Some of these American companies are benefiting from that force labor while at the same time preaching social justice here in the United States. The hypocrisy (is) pretty strong."
More than 50 fairy godmothers came together to create a magical quinceanera party for a homeless Miami teenager.

Each month, a group of volunteers celebrates the birthdays of children living at the Miami Rescue Mission homeless shelter.

When they heard Adriana Palma was turning 15, a milestone birthday in Hispanic culture, they decided to go all-out with a Parisian theme.

Some paid for decorations, while a make-up artist, hair stylist and photographer all donated their services.

Dont worry. Today, we are all your godmothers Volunteer to Adriana Palma

Two dozen volunteers attended the event, filling a table with presents, beaming as the teenager danced with her father in a pink gown and sparkling tiara fit for a princess.

Entering her magical quinceanera on her fathers arm, her tiara sparkling and her fuchsia ballgown trimmed with ruffles to perfectly match her cake, Adriana scanned the crowd for familiar faces.

Most of the guests were strangers.

But they would soon become like family  without them, this Parisian pink fairy tale of a 15th birthday party would never have come to life.

At least one very important person was missing  Adrianas grandmother, who according to custom would have imparted wisdom and a special gift.

She remained in Mexico.

Adriana Palma wears a tiara and ballgown as she dances with her father, Noe Ramirez Huerta, on her quinceanera, her 15th birthday celebration (Caring Place@ Miami Rescue Mission via AP)

Dont worry, a volunteer at the homeless shelter told Adriana before the February celebration.

Today, we are all your godmothers.

When the teenager left Mexico in early 2020, she looked forward to a new life in Miami with her parents and three younger brothers.

But when the pandemic hit, her fathers job disappeared.

Alone and impoverished, they spent four months living in their SUV.

Adriana and her brothers  hungry and unfamiliar with English  crammed in homework assignments whenever they could find wifi.

The Miami Rescue Mission had been inundated with housing requests after the pandemic, but in June they found a small apartment for the Palmas.

The family slowly adapted to new routines.

We will be together as a family. That will be my gift to you Itzel Palma, Adriana Palma's mother

But Adrianas 15th birthday was coming, a day she had dreamt of since she was a little girl.

Quinceaneras are revered in Hispanic culture and celebrated with all the gusto of a wedding.

But after her father lost his job, Adriana said: I lost all hope of having one.

Itzel Palma tried to console her daughter.

We will be together as a family, she told her.

That will be my gift to you.

Lian Navarro, a community development associate at Miami Rescue Mission, asks caseworkers every month for the names of children celebrating a birthday at the shelter.

Her nearly 60 volunteer Cover Girls, named after the protective covering of an umbrella, bring buns, balloons and small toys to ensure children are not overlooked.

We want them to have these memories. They have to believe they are worth all that because they are Tadia Silva, longtime 'Cover Girl'

When Ms Navarro, a Cuban American, heard of Adrianas upcoming 15th birthday, she knew the importance of the occasion.

And she resolved to make the quinceanera happen.

Elle Montero and Tadia Silva, Miami estate agents and longtime Cover Girls, were used to pulling off events with scarce resources.

But as they scanned the bare room of a Miami church filled with nothing but a tree and a few tables, they thought: This is impossible.

Then they set out to do the impossible.

They had already settled on a Parisian theme, something feminine and floral, and remembered some vintage trunks with big brass buckles that Ms Silva had in storage.

They found small gold Eiffel towers, placed buns in delicate floral teacups, filled elegant glass jars with pastel macarons and sweet madeleines, and finished each table with pink floral centrepieces.

Nearly 50 Cover Girls joined in.

I felt like a princess Adriana Palma

Some gave money, others donated food or services.

A make-up artist gave Adriana her very first make-up lesson, a hair stylist put her glossy, dark locks in soft curls and a professional photographer spent three hours capturing the event.

We want them to have these memories. They have to believe they are worth all that because they are, said Ms Silva.

Some people dont excel because they think they cant do better because theyve been conditioned that this is their fate, but little by little they get back on their feet.

The Cover Girls stacked Adrianas table with everything on her wish list, bracelets and purses, pyjamas and gift cards, laughing like proud aunties as she peeled off the wrapping paper.

She danced with her father, swaying under the palm trees to Ed Sheerans Photograph as many of her new godmothers wept with joy.

As the party was about to end, Adriana tucked handwritten notes into each hand; in her halting English, she thanked her godmothers for the magical memories.

I felt like a princess, she said.
RTHK: Don't cut ties with China, German FM warns EU

The European Union needs to engage with China despite many differences instead of opting for a more isolationist approach, Germany said on Wednesday.

"In the EU, we have been describing China as a partner, competitor and systemic rival at the same time," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said ahead of a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"In all these three dimensions we need strong, sustainable communication channels with Beijing. De-coupling is the wrong way to go."

Berlin's warning against de-coupling is in line with Beijing's long-held position against disengagement among nations, including with China, despite mutual differences.

Last month, China was hit by a round of coordinated sanctions from the United States, European Union, Britain and Canada over reports of forced labour in the far western region of Xinjiang, accusations that Beijing rejects.

Ties between China and Germany have generally remained stable since last year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said later in his meeting with Mass.

Wang also said major economies like China and Germany should jointly resist any de-coupling, and instead seek to uphold the stability of global industrial and supply chains, according to a statement from the foreign ministry in Beijing.

At the same time, China does not approve of any re-drawing of ideological lines, and is even more opposed to engaging in "small cliques", and even arbitrarily imposing unilateral sanctions based on false information, Wang said. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
 Flash

Another 2,396 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,395,703, according to official figures released Wednesday.

The country also reported another 22 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,327. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 33.1 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Earlier Wednesday, a British government advisory scientist warned that Britain is likely to see a "summer surge" in coronavirus cases as many adults are not immunized.

Prof Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee that advises Britain's health departments on immunisation, said modelling shows coronavirus cases will rise in the summer as lockdown is relaxed.

"The models that we've seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population who've not been immunized," he told the BBC.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that as Britain continues to make progress in the fight against coronavirus, "we cannot delude ourselves" that the virus has gone away.

He noted that the majority of scientific experts are of the view that there will be another wave at some stage this year and Britons must learn to live with the virus.

However, he said there was nothing in scientific data to suggest Britain would have to deviate from the roadmap out of lockdown.

In England, all shops reopened from April 12 as lockdown eases, 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.

On May 17, restaurants and pubs are supposed be allowed to resume indoor service and see most rules on gathering outdoors lifted.

The British government's four-step plan is expected to see all legal restrictions in England being removed by mid-June.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

French-Austrian vaccine developer Valneva on Wednesday announced that it had launched a Phase 3 trial of its candidate vaccine against COVID-19the last testing stage before seeking regulatory approval.

The study, which has been dubbed "Cov-Compare", will compare how participants' immune systems respond to Valneva's VLA2001 vaccine with how they respond to AstraZeneca's coronavirus shot.

"Approximately 4,000 participants will receive two doses of either vaccine," said Valneva, adding that the study would be carried out at around 25 sites in the United Kingdom.

The main objective of the study is to show the superiority of VLA2001 compared to the AstraZeneca shot two weeks after vaccination, in terms of the level of antibodies that fight the coronavirus, the company added.

If the results of the trial are positive, "Valneva aims to make regulatory submissions for initial approval in the autumn of 2021."

Unlike most high-profile coronavirus shots, which use various methods to prime the immune system to fight the coronavirus, Valneva's version is based on an "inactivated" version of the coronavirus itself.

The company said earlier Wednesday that it would "deprioritise" centralised talks with the European Commission to supply its coronavirus shot across the 27-nation EU, switching instead to "a country by country basis".

Chief executive Thomas Lingelbach complained of a lack of "meaningful progress" in talks with the European Commission.

The company said it would instead focus on "those European Union member states and interested parties outside the EU" that expressed interest.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
EBRD, OPEC Fund, AFDB, GCF and the Arab Bank to finance the 200 MW solar plant in Egypt

Kom Ombo solar plant to be developed, constructed and operated by ACWA Power

Financing package to increase renewable energy in Egypt

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD), the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Arab Bank today signed a US$ 114 million financing package with ACWA Power for the construction of the largest private solar plant in Egypt.

The development of the Kom Ombo solar plant will add 200 MW of energy capacity, increasing the share of renewable energy in Egypts energy mix and further promoting private-sector participation in the Egyptian power sector.

The package comprises loans of up to US$ 36 million from the EBRD, US$ 18 million from the OPEC Fund, US$ 17.8 million from the AfDB, US$ 23.8 million from the GCF and US$ 18 million from Arab Bank. This is in addition to equity bridge loans of up to US$ 14 million from EBRD and US$ 33.5 million from Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).

The new Kom Ombo plant will be located less than 20 km from Africas biggest solar park, the 1.8 GW Benban complex. Once operational, the new utility-scale plant will serve 130,000 households.

ACWA Power submitted the lowest tariff in what was the first solar photovoltaic (PV) tender in Egypt. The provision of solar energy through a public tendering process aims to achieve a competitive tariff and promote the growth of solar energy as an affordable alternative to conventional energy sources.

Private-sector participation in the Kom Ombo project is the result of successful policy dialogue with the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC), as well as a US$ 3.6 million technical assistance programme, co-funded by the EBRD and the GCF, to support the EETC in administering competitive renewable energy tenders. In addition, the project has also benefitted from broader energy-sector reforms supported by the AfDB in recent years to scale up the involvement of the private sector.

EBRD President Odile Renaud Basso said: We are very happy to team up again with ACWA Power in Egypt, after our successful partnership in Benban, to promote renewable energy in Egypt. Increasing the production of clean energy is an important step to reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. This is in line with the EBRDs strategy to become a majority green bank by 2025. This project also marks the EBRDs first co-financing project with the AfDB and the OPEC Fund in Egypt and we look forward to future joint investment opportunities for our institutions across Africa.

OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: "We are pleased to contribute to Egypts efforts and strategy to expand its generation capacity in the renewable energy space. We have been at the forefront of advocating for access to affordable clean energy for many years. Kom Ombo will be our third project with ACWA Power and it exemplifies great cooperation between government, development finance and private-sector actors.

"The Kom Ombo solar project is a truly remarkable transaction. It not only clearly demonstrates the indisputable competitiveness of solar PV vis-a-vis conventional sources of generation, but it also contributes directly to the realisation of Egypt's ambitious renewable energy targets, in addition to being an excellent example of what stakeholders driven by a shared objective can achieve, said AfDB Vice President of Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Kevin Kariuki.

Paddy Padmanathan, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, said: ACWA Power is privileged and proud to lead the realisation of the Kom Ombo PV project. The financing package signed today brings us closer to not only the people and the government of Egypt, but also to our finance partners, the EBRD, AfDB, the OPEC Fund, the GCF, Arab Bank, and APICORP reflecting our shared objective of supporting the energy transition to address the threat of climate change. Kom Ombo PV is the fourth project in ACWA Powers Egyptian portfolio and the conclusion of this financing demonstrates the confidence in the Egyptian governments ambitious renewable energy plans, being implemented through private-sector participation.

Yannick Glemarec, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, said: The GCF is proud to support implementation of Egypts ambitious renewable energy financing framework. US$ 154.7 million in GCF resources, including US$ 23.8 million for the Kom Ombo plant, catalyses over US$ 850 million in co-financing and unleashes the first wave of private renewable energy projects in Egypt. The GCF looks forward to continuing to support the government of Egypt in delivering on its ambitious climate targets through innovative partnerships with the private sector.

Nemeh Sabbagh, CEO of Arab Bank, said: We are proud to capitalize on our long experience in this sector and partner again with EBRD to provide debt financing and related banking services to another renewable energy project in Egypt for our client ACWA. Green financing is one of our strategic focus areas and Egypt is a core market for Arab Bank Group, where we have been operating since 1944.

The Kom Ombo plant will contribute to the Egyptian governments target to generate 42 per cent of the countrys electricity from renewable energy sources by 2035 while delivering one of the lowest generation tariffs on the continent.
Investment platforms are experiencing a boom in younger users - how do they manage their portfolios?

While just ten years ago teenage traders may have been a rarity, cryptocurrency platforms and the various apps have made investing more accessible to people of all ages.

On Thursday, ( ) said growing numbers of younger people are joining the platform to open pensions and ISAs, just a few weeks after competitor ( ) noted the average age of its clients fell to 37 from 45 in eight years.

Fellow investment service interactive investor said that younger investors outperformed older investors for the whole of 2020, but the roles have reversed in the first quarter of 2021.

Yet our youngest adult customers are still outperforming all other generations over the past year, and the past fifteen months too, commented chief executive Richard Wilson.

They were perhaps boosted, for now at least, by having the highest investment trust exposure, which represented 35% of the median average portfolio amongst 1824-year-olds. While diversified technology holdings were popular, individual tech stocks were hard to find amongst this age group, at least amongst top ranked holdings, this illustrates how difficult it is to generalise about investors.

Clash of generations

But different generations often come together when discussing investments and exchanging opinions  which can be fruitful for some.

My most profitable trade to date happened because my 13-year-old brother kept talking about a video game he and every kid at his school were obsessed with, Conor Houlihan, a 29-year-old living in Brighton, told Proactive.

This keen interest meant I looked into the company responsible for creating it and found that no analyst was factoring in the success of this game into their earnings forecasts. As a result I invested heavily in the stock and then it jumped 20% after earnings. I brought my brother an HTC Vive to say thanks!

Houlihan works in recruitment but is also a Popular Investor on trading app eToro, through a programme where successful users share their expertise, and seemingly in his family.

My mum listened to me and a few years ago bought bitcoin on my recommendation  which has turned out to be a very profitable decision. As a result, she trusts my outlook on societal trends, and regularly calls me to discuss investment ideas  such as space exploration or driverless vehicles, he added.

It is commonplace for families of retail investors to exchange views and potentially influence each other.

I talk to my kids and discuss investments and the economy with both my parents, Alexandra Wolff, a 48-year-old self-employed Colorado resident, told Proactive.

My dad wanted me to take over investing for him, but I don't want the responsibility - if I lose my own money, that's one thing, but I don't want to double the loss.

Since [my mum] is a realtor, we're always watching the real estate market. I tell both of them what I'm learning, which is where our discussions start. We might disagree on some things, but are generally on the same page. I'm teaching them about the economy, which is the number one thing to understand, Wolff added. Both her parents are 74.

Mind the risks

Education is key, experts say, after a recent report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) showed that new younger, more diverse group of consumers are getting involved in higher-risk investments, potentially due to the accessibility offered by new investment apps.

The research found that for many investors, emotions and feelings such as enjoying the thrill of investing, and social factors like the status that comes from a sense of ownership in the companies they invest in, were key reasons behind their decisions to invest.

We are worried that some investors are being tempted - often through online adverts or high-pressure sales tactics - into buying higher-risk products that are very unlikely to be suitable for them, said Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumer and competition at the FCA.

We want to make sure that we encourage the ability to save and invest for lifetime events, particularly for younger generations, but it is imperative that consumers do so with savings and investment products that have a suitable level of risk for their needs. Investors need to be mindful of their overall risk appetite, diversifying their investments and only investing money they can afford to lose in high-risk products.
The Biden administration's recent decision to reverse its efforts to lift the immigration rate enraged both refugee advocates and Democrats, who accused the president of breaking his pledge.

Sen. Richard Durbin responded to the reports via Twitter on Friday, saying, "President Joe, say it ain't so. This is completely inappropriate." Raising the migrant quotas is one of at least five pledges on immigration made by President Joe Biden during his campaign, which he reiterated as president-elect. These promises have yet to be met as Biden's first 100 days draw close. Here are five major immigration promises Biden made, as per the NBC News:

What are the immigration pledges Biden has not fulfilled yet

Reunite separated migrant families: Biden was asked during the final presidential debate what he will do to reunite 545 children with their parents after the Trump administration separated them in 2017 and 2018. Biden promised to form a task force to get them together. According to attorneys for the family, despite the task force's formation and commitment to reunite deported parents with their children, none of the deported parents have been reunited with their children. Increase refugee rate: As a leader, Biden pledged to increase the annual refugee resettlement quota from the Trump administration's record lows to 125,000. After taking office, the Biden administration stated that the target will be met in 2022, starting in October and that 62,500 people will be accepted this fiscal year. End migrant family detentions: "Children should be freed from ICE custody with their parents immediately," Biden tweeted during his presidential campaign. "A detention facility is not where a family belongs," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in March when asked if he agreed. Shortly after, the Biden administration announced in a court filing that it would stop the practice of detaining migrant parents and children seeking asylum. Still, as a senior official told NBC News, ICE later walked it back "We are not going to abolish family detention. The family detention facilities will not be closed." Hold previous administration accountable: Biden dubbed the Trump administration's method of separating migrant families "criminal" during his time as a presidential candidate. "There will be a systematic, thorough investigation into who is responsible and whether or not the responsibility is illegal," he said after the presidential transition. If it has been completed, the Attorney General will render the decision. However, no such review has been initiated to date. Stop building the border wall: Biden halted border wall building and land acquisition at the start of his administration to allow for a 60-day review of Trump's border wall. The reviews were given to determine how the money set aside for the wall should be diverted. More than 30 days have passed since the 60-day mark was reached with no results.

Biden Administration Backpedals, Says 'Crisis' Referred to Central America Problems, Not US Border

Biden's unforced immigration errors loom large

President Joe Biden likes to blame former President Donald Trump for exacerbating border conflicts, but his most recent troubles are entirely his and his team's fault, Washington Examiner reported. Last week, liberal Democrats chastised Biden for seeming to backtrack on a campaign pledge to accept more refugees.

Hours later, he seemed to give in to political criticism from the left, but a key White House spokesperson denied Biden caved, claiming opponents misunderstood the White House's plans. On Saturday, Biden undermined his closest officials by referring to the migrant problem at the southern border as a "crisis," a term his administration had tried to restrain. As Biden reaches his 100th day in office, his presidency will be judged for its haphazard approach to the immigration crisis, including a slew of unforced errors.

Joe Biden Celebrates As US Achieves 200 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

President Biden's decision to restart border wall construction, as demonstrated by the latest acquisition of a family's property for construction, contradicts his election promise to voters. Also, it seeks to undermine immigration legislation by succumbing to nativists' framing of the issue, which characterizes immigration with crime and immigration compliance with public safety.

The wall is a powerful image that shapes collective perceptions of the border and the stories we tell about it. Former President Trump used it to inflame anti-immigrant feelings, and Democrats initially used it to oppose him. Most Democrats, though, have returned to their long-standing support for the wall, as per the LA Times.

Kamala Harris' Stance Before Joe Biden Puts Her In-Charge of Migrant Influx on US-Mexico Border

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The service members are busy checking and signing one by one according to the acceptance criteria of each type of food raw materials.

By Guo Fengkuan, Nie Hongjie, Yang Mingyue and Xu Liye

BEIJING, Apr. 22 -- On the morning of April 17, boxes of fresh vegetables, fruits and meat were delivered to a brigade stationed in Tibet directly from a warehouse in the suburbs of Lhasa, capital city of China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Quartermaster Zeng Wang, together with his assistants, signed and received the raw food according to the acceptance criteria of each type.

Most of the meat we ate before was frozen meat. Now, what we have is cold fresh products, much better in quality, except for seafood, said Zeng Wang, who has stationed on the plateau for 14 years and witnessed the development and changes in the supply of non-staple food for plateau troops.

In the past, most of the non-staple food to the troops on the plateau were supplied in a point-to-point mode between relatively independent troops and suppliers from plain areas, featuring long supply cycle, substantial loss during long-distance transportation, and monotony in variety due to the constraints of various conditions. The troops had few choices as a result.

In recent years, the Logistic Support Department of Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC) has been committed to exploring the reform of the logistic support mode. They broke the limitations of the organizational system, concentrated the demand for non-staple food of all units in the same region, and organized the purchasement in a unified manner as one procurement entity.

At the same time, the CMC Logistic Support Department has adopted an APP named Plateau Express Delivery, through which the suppliers can put 11 categories (including fruits, vegetables, meat, aquatic products, seafood, dairy products, etc.) in a total of more than 530 types of non-staple food on the platform online.

The troops on the plateau can submit orders and demands online, and the supply platform would gather the orders in real-time, followed by the preparation and delivery to a distribution center by suppliers offline. At last, the distribution center acts to test quality and reserve samples, classify, pack and transport products via cold chain to ensure that fresh raw food can reach the plateau directly from the plain areas as soon as possible.

According to Zhao Yawei, director of the material supply division under the Logistic Support Department of the PLA Tibet Military Command, fresh pork from inland of China can be served for plateau troops within three days.
A man was hospitalized Tuesday after his SUV slammed through a guardrail and fence and plunged down a steep cliff in Carlsbad, falling into the ocean, authorities say.

The crash was reported shortly after 5:15 p.m. when the Subaru went off the road at Palomar Airport Road and Carlsbad Boulevard.

Kevin Lynds, a Carlsbad Fire Battalion chief, told 10News that a former Marine corpsman was among those who came to the driver's aid and pulled him out of the vehicle, which landed on its side in the water. Video shot by 10News showed the man being loaded onto a stretcher and helped by firefighters up the cliff to a waiting ambulance.

The driver reportedly didn't brake before going through the guardrail and fencing and plunging more than 150 feet to the state beach property.

The man told rescuers he swerved to miss an animal before going off the road, said Carlsbad Battalion Chief Ben Rosenthal. He was the sole occupant of the SUV.

The driver suffered minor injuries in the crash and remained hospitalized Wednesday, said Jorge Moreno, a spokesman for state parks. He said state parks officials will be investigating the crash.

This article is written by Karen Kucher from The San Diego Union-Tribune and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
Skye Wheatley is about to give birth to her second child.

In the early hours of Friday morning, the former Big Brother star turned influencer revealed that she had officially gone into labour and was having painful contractions.

Skye, 27, shared a video from her home, informing her fans she was about to head to hospital after doing a live stream from her bedroom.

'I cannot with the pain!' Heavily pregnant Big Brother star Skye Wheatley revealed on Friday that she's gone into labour

'Hey guys, so to anyone who missed the live, just letting you know I'm in labour and my contractions are hurting really badly,' Skye said.

'I wish I went to the hospital way earlier because oh my God, I cannot with the pain.'

Skye said her partner Lachlan Waugh's mother was on her way to their Gold Coast home to look after the couple's son Forest, two.

Important update: Skye, 27, shared a video from her home, informing her fans she was about to head to hospital after doing a live stream from her bedroom

'Hey guys, so to anyone who missed the live, just letting you know I'm in labour and my contractions are hurting really badly,' Skye said

The waiting game: She then shared a picture of Lachlan relaxing in their birthing suite, with a waterbirth set up in the background and said she was '9cm dilated'

She then shared a picture of Lachlan relaxing in their birthing suite, with a waterbirth set up in the background and said she was '9cm dilated.'

Earlier, Skye asked her followers to put on their notifications for her live stream.

'Guys put your notifications on for me, I'm going to do a live when I leave to go [to the] hospital for regular updates hahahaha,' she wrote on her Instagram stories.

'This could be my last night of pregnancy': Earlier in the evening, she showed off her baby bump in a white bikini

Earlier in the evening, she showed off her baby bump in a white bikini.

'This could be my last night of pregnancy and I'm heartbroken,' Skye captioned the post.

'Ready to meet our little miracle of course, looks like we're looking good for the 24th guys!'

Skye rose to fame on Big Brother Australia back in 2014. She debuted her relationship with tradesman Lachlan in November 2017.
DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Portable Generator Market by Fuel (Gasoline, Diesel, Natural Gas, Others), Application (Emergency, Prime/Continuous), Power Rating (below 5 kW, 5-10 kW, 10-20 kW), End User (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Region - Global Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The portable generator market is projected to reach USD 2.5 billion by 2026 from an estimated USD 1.8 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period.

Frequent power outages due to weather and aging grids are the main drivers for the portable generator market. Increasing adoption of dual fuel and inverter portable generators are expected to offer lucrative opportunities for the portable generator market during the forecast period. However, limited power generation capacity of portable generators acts as a restraint for the product.

The prime/continuous, by application, is expected to be the fastest-growing market from 2021 to 2026.

The prime/continuous segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2021-2026. The growth of this segment is driven by increasing demand for reliable power. Prime power generators are accessible for a limited number of hours in non-variable load situations, whereas continuous power generators are used in applications at a constant 100% load for an unlimited number of hours. Prime generators can accommodate varying loads on an unlimited basis throughout the year. However, the average load factor cannot exceed 70% of the prime rating, whereas the average output of a continuous power genset is 70-100% of the rating and is designed to provide 100% power for every operating hour during the year.

The gasoline (petrol) segment, by fuel, is expected to be the largest market from 2021 to 2026.

The report segments the portable generator market, by fuel, into gasoline (petrol), diesel, natural gas, and others. The market for gasoline (petrol) is expected to hold the highest market share during the forecast period. Gasoline portable generators have a major advantage as gasoline fuel stations are available everywhere and are comparatively less expensive if used for running portable generators for a shorter period of time, which is likely to increase their demand in the portable generator market globally. Gasoline portable generators are majorly used for temporary, intermittent, or low-load applications.

Asia Pacific: The fastest growing region in the portable generator market.

Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Asia Pacific region has been segmented, by country, into China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Rest of Asia Pacific includes Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand. China dominated the portable generator market in Asia Pacific followed by India during the forecast period. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the region's share of global energy consumption is expected to increase to 56% by 2035 from 34% in 2010. The industrial sector in China contributed more than 37% of its GDP in 2020. The growth of the industrial sector has tremendously increased power production and consumption in China. These factors have made China one of the most lucrative markets for the power industry.

In India, Government initiatives such as foreign direct investments in many sectors and the Make in India project are expected to create growth opportunities for the industrial sector. Furthermore, growing population and increasing per capita income are the key drivers behind the growing demand for energy in the Asia Pacific region. All these factors are creating a demand for power in the country, consequently resulting in the demand for portable generators.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction

2 Research Methodology

3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Opportunities in Portable Generator Market

4.2 Portable Generator Market, by Region

4.3 Portable Generator Market in North America, by End-user & Country

4.4 Portable Generator Market, by Application

4.5 Portable Generator Market, by Fuel

4.6 Portable Generator Market, by Power Rating

4.7 Portable Generator Market, by End-user

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 COVID-19 Health Assessment

5.3 Road to Recovery

5.4 COVID-19 Economic Assessment

5.5 Market Dynamics

5.5.1 Drivers

5.5.1.1 Growing Demand for Continuous and Reliable Power Supply During Blackouts

5.5.1.2 Increasing Instances of Power Outages Owing to Aging Grid Infrastructure and Extreme Weather Conditions

5.5.2 Restraints

5.5.2.1 Limited Power Generation Capacity of Portable Generators

5.5.3 Opportunities

5.5.3.1 Increasing Adoption of Dual Fuel and Inverter Portable Generators

5.5.4 Challenges

5.5.4.1 Stringent Government Regulations Pertaining to Emissions from Diesel Engines

5.5.4.2 Adoption of Energy Storage Technologies Due to Price Drop

5.5.4.3 Impact of COVID-19 on Portable Generator Market

5.6 Trends

5.6.1 Revenue Shift & New Revenue Pockets for Portable Generator Manufacturers

5.7 Market Map

5.8 Average Pricing of Portable Generators

5.9 Trade Statistics

5.10 Value Chain Analysis

5.10.1 Raw Material Providers/Suppliers

5.10.2 Component Manufacturers

5.10.3 Portable Generator Manufacturers/Assemblers

5.10.4 End-users

5.10.5 Post-Sales Services

5.11 Technology Analysis

5.11.1 Safety Technology for Portable Generators

5.11.2 Hybrid Generators

5.12 Tariff and Regulatory Landscape

5.13 Portable Generator: Patent Analysis

5.13.1 Innovations & Patent Registration

5.14 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.14.1 Threat of New Entrants

5.14.2 Threat of Substitutes

5.14.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers

5.14.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers

5.14.5 Rivalry Among Existing Competitors

6 Portable Generator Market, by Application

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Emergency

6.2.1 Increasing Weather-Related Power Outages Driving Market Growth

6.3 Prime/ContinuoUS

6.3.1 Increasing Demand for Reliable Power from Small Commercial Establishments Located in Remote Locations

7 Portable Generator Market, by Fuel

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Gasoline (Petrol)

7.2.1 Easy Availability of Gasoline to Generate Demand in Portable Generator Market

7.3 Diesel

7.3.1 Better Fuel Efficiency and Low Maintenance Requirements Driving Diesel-Powered Portable Generators

7.4 Natural Gas

7.4.1 Growing Demand for Clean Energy to Drive Market

7.5 Others

8 Portable Generator Market, by Power Rating

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Below 5 Kw

8.2.1 Light Weight and High Fuel Efficiency Drive Market Growth

8.3 5-10 Kw

8.3.1 Frequent Power Outages to Boost Demand

8.4 10-20 Kw

8.4.1 Need for Reliable Power Supply in Industrial and Commercial Businesses Drives Market Growth

9 Portable Generator Market, by End-user

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Residential

9.2.1 Frequent Blackouts Owing to Aging Grid Infrastructure Driving Market Growth

9.3 Commercial

9.3.1 Increasing Demand for Reliable Power from Small Commercial Establishments

9.4 Industrial

9.4.1 Rise in Adoption of Portable Generators in Construction Activities Driving Market

10 Geographic Analysis

10.1 Introduction

10.2 North America

10.3 Asia-Pacific

10.4 Europe

10.5 Middle East & Africa

10.6 South America

11 Competitive Landscape

11.1 Key Players Strategies

11.2 Market Share Analysis of Top Five Players

11.3 Market Evaluation Framework

11.4 Revenue Analysis of Top Five Market Players

11.5 Company Evaluation Quadrant

11.5.1 Stars

11.5.2 Emerging Leaders

11.5.3 Pervasive

11.5.4 Participants

11.6 Competitive Leadership Mapping of Start-Ups

11.6.1 Progressive Company

11.6.2 Responsive Company

11.6.3 Starting Block

11.6.4 Dynamic Company

11.7 Competitive Scenario

12 Company Profiles

12.1 Major Players

12.1.1 Atlas Copco

12.1.2 Briggs & Stratton

12.1.3 Generac

12.1.4 Honda

12.1.5 Yamaha

12.1.6 Caterpillar

12.1.7 Cummins

12.1.8 Eaton

12.1.9 Honeywell

12.1.10 Siemens

12.1.11 Wacker Neuson

12.1.12 Kubota

12.1.13 Kohler

12.1.14 Champion

12.1.15 Inmesol

12.1.16 Himoinsa

12.1.17 Duromax

12.1.18 Loncin

12.1.19 Wen Products

12.1.20 Pulsar Products

12.2 Startup/SME Players

12.2.1 Serenelife

12.2.2 Ecoflow Tech

12.2.3 Mesa Natural Gas Solutions

12.2.4 Poweroak Newener

12.2.5 Sichuan Leton

12.2.6 Fujian Epos Electric Machinery

13 Appendix

13.1 Insights of Industry Experts

13.2 Discussion Guide

13.3 Knowledge Store: The Subscription Portal

13.4 Available Customizations

13.5 Related Reports

13.6 Author Details

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/elx53j



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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A man who killed himself along with his nine-month-old daughter Kobi, who was strapped to his body in a baby carrier, was a known domestic violence offender.

Paramedics were called to the famous Whispering Wall dam walkway in South Australia's Barossa Valley at 4.30pm on Wednesday to respond to a psychiatric incident.

On arrival, they found 38-year-old Henry Shepherdson and Kobi at the base of the dam below in what police are now calling a tragic murder suicide.

Witnesses had desperately tried to talk him down from the safety barrier, Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott said on Thursday, and battled to save the baby girl.

Shepherdson was already dead as members of the public performed CPR on little Kobi.

Emergency services took over but she was declared dead about 15 minutes later, and by 4.48pm the mission had changed to a body retrieval.

Emergency services worked on the little girl (pictured) for about 15 minutes before she, too, was declared dead at the scene

Shepherdson was legally entitled to see Kobi, despite earlier suggestions she had been kidnapped

Paramedics were called to the Whispering Wall dam in the Barossa Valley about 4.30pm to respond to what was described as a psychiatric incident

Assistant Commissioner Parrott confirmed on Thursday the matter was being treated as a murder suicide.

Shepherdson was legally entitled to see Kobi, despite earlier suggestions she had been kidnapped, police explained.

But Mr Parrott said there was a lengthy history of domestic violence within the family and that Shepherdson was known to police.

While not at a liberty to discuss the details of the previous offences, he did say they occurred between Shepherdson and Kobi's mother.

Daily Mail Australia understands Shepherdson had previously threatened to kill both Kobi and her mother, and had faced court for breaching a restraining order.

He most recently fronted a South Australian court on March 19 for contravening the intervention order.

Two weeks prior to that on March 4, he appeared on several charges including threatening to kill, committing assault against own child/spouse and false imprisonment.

'We have been involved on some domestic violence incidents in the past and there are court orders in place in relation to the family,' Mr Parrott said.

'It's resulted in this absolutely tragic outcome.'

Kobi's face will be 'the face of domestic violence moving forward', Mr Parrot said, urging the public to 'remember her beautiful face' through photos that her heartbroken mother has supplied to the police

Kobi (pictured) was killed after her father plunged from the Whispering Wall in South Australia

Kobi's heartbroken mother shared a selection of adorable pictures of her happy baby with the hope that she will be remembered for how much joy she brought her family.

Mr Parrot said it was likely her smiley face will become 'the face of domestic violence' moving forward.

A formal identification process is yet to take place, and the investigation will continue.

Late on Wednesday, a chilling dispatch log uncovered by Daily Mail Australia revealed the chaotic moments that unfolded as ambulances, police crews and rescue teams raced to the tourist spot, where they found stunned tourists watching on in horror.

Mr Parrott said several witnesses had tried to stop him from jumping and talk him off the ledge.

The callout was listed as 'psychiatric' on an emergency services scanner; a term used for an incident involving mental illness or a suicide attempt.

Henry Shepherdson and Kobi plunged to their deaths from the 'Whispering Wall' dam (pictured)

The dad (not pictured) was already dead when emergency services found him at the bottom of the wall after 4.30pm. Paramedics tried to revive the baby but she also died at the scene

Timeline of emergency response 4:30pm - Ambulance from Hamley Bridge station is sent out to respond to a 'psychiatric' incident 4:32pm - SA Ambulance Service send out another unit from Hamley Bridge for an 'emergency' callout 4:32pm - Dispatch send out another unit from Playford ambulance station - which is closer to the dam - for the same 'emergency' 4:32pm - A third ambulance is sent from nearby Oakden station 4:36pm - An urgent call is made for a MEDSTAR (Medical Shock Trauma/Acute Resuscitation) helicopter 4:40pm - Call placed to the SAAS Special Operations Team - a team of highly-trained rescue paramedics. 4.42pm - Emergency crews request permission for the helicopter to land 4.48pm - Mission changes to a body retrieval Advertisement

Two minutes later, a call for help was placed to teams from the Playford and Oakden ambulance stations for an 'emergency' situation that was unfolding.

Things escalated as units arrived at the dam, with the MEDSTAR (Medical Shock Trauma/Acute Resuscitation) helicopter sent at 4.36pm.

Just minutes after that team was called, emergency services sent out its Special Operations Team - a crew of paramedics who specialise in high-risk search and rescue procedures usually involving water and cliff rescues.

One mother, who claims she was at the popular lookout with her children, took to social media to describe the horror she witnessed.

'So painful having to see what happened with my babies,' she said.

Local MP Stephan Knoll vowed to investigate the safety of the region if a coronial inquest found it was lacking.

'It is a very popular tourist attraction and something that young people and kids of generations have been going to visit and not before have we heard or seen of an incident like this,' he said.

'But, having said that, if things need to be done to modify the structure, then that's something we need to look at.

'It is just heartbreaking... it does hit everybody hard... and we all do need to band together,' Knoll told ABC Radio Adelaide.

Police said they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the deaths at this stage.

Detectives from Barossa CIB, forensic investigators and the Major Crime Branch remained on the scene on Wednesday evening looking into what caused the tragedy.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

A chilling dispatch log (above) shows how the first team of paramedics from Hamley Bridge station were sent to a suspected psychiatric incident

As more crews arrived the mission changed to a rescue mission and then body retrieval

The Whispering Wall is the retaining wall of the Barossa Reservoir, and in recent years has become a tourist attraction for carrying sound from one side to the other.

'What draws visitors to the Whispering Wall is its unique acoustic effects: words whispered at one side can be clearly heard at the other, more than 100 metres away. Children in particular love visiting the wall and testing its abilities,' the Barossa website says.

'Children in particular love visiting the wall and testing its abilities.'

Built between 1899 and 1903, the dam was a revolutionary engineering feat for its day and has attracted tourists from all over the world.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

DV Crisis Line 1800 800 098
LAFAYETTE, La., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ragin' Cajun Foods has released their newly redesigned packaging that can be found on shelves Summer 2021. The bold, new design and identity brings "Ragin' Cajun" front and center with a clear and identifiable presence.



"People all over the country love great-tasting, authentic Cajun food. Ragin' Cajun brings the most authentic, high-quality Cajun food into consumers' kitchens regardless of where you live", says Ryan Schemmel, Chief Commercial Officer for Ragin' Cajun Foods.



As a nod to the brand's 35-year history that is steeped in Cajun culture, the packaging also includes the phrase, "C'est Bon!", which means "It's Good!"



"Most people know our brand name and have a story of where and when they have tasted Ragin' Cajun food," said Schemmel. "We are always proud to tell them that we create and produce all our products in-house right here in Acadiana, with proprietary blends and authentic Cajun recipes. The truth is, we are as authentic as it gets, and we never take shortcuts. This is our biggest advantage and point of difference as a brand."



The brand and company gained new leadership over the last year. CEO Paul Leleux (who is a local Cajun himself) said, "We are currently enjoying rapid growth thanks to our customers  both new and old - who are finding, buying, and loving the authentic flavors and quality of our products. We believe our updated branding and packaging will significantly further this growth and we are investing significant resources and capital to grow our brands and expand our reach to retailers and consumers throughout the United States."



Following a national search, Ragin Cajun Foods partnered with brandRUSSO in Lafayette, Louisiana on the brand and packaging redesign. "We are committed to remaining authentic to our Cajun core and brandRUSSO's expertise and first-hand knowledge of the local culture has proven invaluable throughout the process. We couldn't be happier with the outcome and hope you agree", says Paul.

About Ragin' Cajun Foods & Acadian Kitchens LLC:



At Acadian Kitchens, we carefully fuse the authentic and diverse tastes of Louisiana's Creole and Cajun cultures to bring you traditional, bold, hand-crafted flavors in our flagship brands and products from the heart of Acadiana: Acadian Kitchens, Ragin' Cajun Foods & Cajun's Choice.



Acadian Kitchens LLC of Lafayette, Louisiana has a long and rich tradition of manufacturing and marketing the best tasting and highest quality seasonings, sauces, box dinners, bean products and other specialty foods of Acadiana. The company is owned and operated by management and a team of veteran food industry investors at Evanston Partners LLC.



Our brands and products are sold nationally in Grocery Stores, on Amazon & www.AcadianKitchens.com

Media Contact:

Ryan Schemmel, Acadian Kitchens

[email protected]



Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12866784



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Acadian Kitchens
HARTFORD  The future of insurance giant The Hartford remains uncertain after the company announced Thursday that it had turned down two more acquisition offers from insurance multinational Chubb Ltd., which has proposed making Connecticuts capital city a focal point of its operations.

Chubb launched its pursuit of The Hartford with a March 11 offer that valued The Hartford at $65 per share, or about $23 billion. After being rebuffed, Chubb then sent a March 30 letter in which its CEO and chairman, Evan Greenberg, said that his firm was prepared to offer in excess of $67 per share. A follow-up letter from Greenberg, on April 14, outlined Chubbs willingness to increase its offer to $70 per share, comprising the top end of our range, which would value The Hartford at about $25 billion.

The Hartfords board of directors, along with its financial and legal advisors, has fully and carefully evaluated the proposal set forth in Chubb Ltd.s most recent letter of April 14, 2021, Christopher Swift, The Hartfords CEO and chairman, said in a letter Thursday to Greenberg. The board unanimously determined to reject the proposal, confirming its prior determination that entering into discussions regarding a strategic transaction would not be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. The board also unanimously reaffirmed its conviction and confidence in The Hartfords strategic business plan.

Chubbs initial offer alarmed many state legislators, who expressed misgivings about its potential impact on the Connecticut operations of the 1810-founded The Hartford. Ranking No. 160 on last years Fortune 500 list, The Hartford employs about 6,100 in its home state.

In the April 14 letter, Chubb sought to allay concerns with a community commitment section. In that part, it pledged to make Hartford a major technology and operations center, relocate personnel to the city to minimize net job reductions and make significant new investment to revitalize Hartford and enhance attractiveness of Connecticut for skills-based jobs, including both tech and non-tech related.

Chubb also said in the letter that Hartford would become a center for excellence for group benefits, workers compensation and small commercial and AARP businesses.

It also promised to have Swift become a key member of its executive management team and add two to three of The Hartfords board members to its own board.

In response to an investment analysts question on The Hartfords earnings call Thursday, Swift said that he had not met with Greenberg and that the firms had interacted through mostly a letter correspondence.

I would just share with you were still in a pandemic, so that (in-person meeting) did not happen, Swift said. If you really look at our statements and messages that the board has put out, its pretty clear that we had no interest in doing it because of ultimately the conviction and commitment around executing our business plan.

A member of the S&P 500 index, Chubb describes itself as the worlds largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. Operating in 54 countries and territories, it employs approximately 31,000 people, with executive offices in cities including New York, London, Paris and Zurich.

In Connecticut, Chubb has locations in Cromwell, Ledyard, New Haven, Simsbury, Stamford and Windsor.

The path to a transaction would have been engagement coming from The Hartford on the terms of our last proposal, Chubb said in a statement Thursday. Although we are disappointed, we want to repeat that our shareholders demand of us, and we demand of ourselves, that we remain a disciplined acquiror. Chubb is well positioned. Our organization has been and remains totally focused, capitalizing on excellent (property and casualty) market conditions and executing our longer-term operating strategies.

State legislators remain wary of a prospective merger of Chubb and The Hartford. The Democratic chairpersons of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee have said that they plan to schedule oversight hearings to examine how a potential acquisition would affect The Hartfords policyholders and the general public.

My concerns from before remain, state Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, co-chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said in an interview Thursday. Were going to make sure we scrutinize the proposed impact on our community with a magnifying glass because its potentially very serious. Im not going to get in the middle of two boards of directors, but I am going to look at the impact of any (potential) merger on the folks I was elected to represent.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is also tracking the situation.

The Hartford has been an incredibly important partner to the city of Hartford and to our community, Bronin said in a statement. Im encouraged that The Hartford has continued to reject deals that I fear would not be in the public interest.

The Hartfords main offices are located at One Hartford Plaza, near Union Station and a few blocks west of the downtown.

Earnings drop, stock buybacks increased

The Hartford also reported Thursday its first-quarter final results, which included a 9 percent year-over-over decline in its earnings, to $244 million.

Those numbers factored in the impact of the $650 million settlement that the company announced last week with the Boy Scouts of America; $214 million in catastrophe losses, which were mainly due to winter storms in areas including Texas; and $185 million in COVID-19-related excess mortality losses in group benefits.

The Hartfords payment would help settle sexual abuse claims against the bankrupt Boy Scouts of America, with those claims related to policies mostly issued in the 1970s. Its payout would go into a proposed settlement trust to compensate abuse survivors, supplementing contributions from a number of other parties.

Boy Scouts is just a very unique situation, Swift said. Weve been in lengthy and meaningful discussions and intense negotiations with them that ultimately culminated in what I thought was a fair settlement for all parties.

If you think in terms of the nature of the industry, (it) being sexual molestation (claims), theyre not good facts there. On the other hand, we thought we had prudent defenses and legal postures to ultimately defend ourselves, but that would have been costly, that would have been lengthy. As Boy Scouts of America are trying to emerge from bankruptcy, there was an opportunity, and we seized it to work with them and develop the settlement that we did.

Also Thursday, The Hartford announced that it would increase its share buyback program from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion. It intends to repurchase about $1.5 billion of shares in 2021 and an additional $1 billion in 2022.

The Hartfords shares closed Thursday at nearly $67, down 1 percent from Wednesday. They have hit a 52-week high of approximately $70 and a 52-week low of around $30.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott
NEW DELHI, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

"Global Peptide Cancer Vaccine Market & Clinical Trials Insight 2026" Report Highlights:

Global Peptide Cancer Vaccine Market Trends Insight

Approved Peptide Cancer Vaccine: 1 (LucaVax , South Korea )

) Global Peptide Cancer Drugs Market Opportunity: > USD 20 Billion

Global Peptide Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trials Insight By Company, Indication & Phase

Number Of Peptide Vaccines In Pipeline: >90

Application of Peptide Cancer Vaccine Against Major Cancer

Download Report:

https://www.kuickresearch.com/report-global-peptide-cancer-vaccine-b-cell-epitope-peptide-cancer-vaccines-cancer-oncology-vaccine-clinical-trials-research

"Global Peptide Cancer Vaccine Market & Clinical Trials Insight 2026" provides comprehensive insight on clinical and non-clinical factors that are driving the global Peptide Cancer Vaccine market and its impact on the global pharmaceutical market landscape. The report has been prepared in a view to deeply profile the current market trends along with the insight on only single commercially available Peptide Cancer Vaccine with clinical profile.

In recent years, peptides have gained considerable momentum in the therapeutic field owing to their small size, low cost and relative safe tolerability in humans. The extensive effort by research institutions and pharmaceutical companies has led to the development of several peptide based vaccines which are present in preclinical and clinical studies. Currently, GV10001 is the only peptide based vaccine approved in Korea for the management of pancreatic cancer. However, several others are present in clinical trials and are expected to enter the market in next few years.

Currently designed peptide based vaccines generally target the tumor associated antigens which are over expressed on cancer cells and have low concentration on normal cells. The administration of tumor associated antigen targeting peptides in conjugation with adjuvant helps in eliciting T cell response against the specific tumor cells. However, the advancement in the field of science and genomics has enabled the identification of tumor specific antigens or neoantigens, which are specific to tumor cells. Researchers are trying to developed neoantigen targeting peptides to be utilized in designing personalized cancer vaccines.

The global peptide cancer market is currently at a very dormant stage due to approval of single product but it is expected that the coming years will witness high growth rate. It is further analyzed that the market will surpass US$ 20 Billion by 2026, thus occupying a major segment in the cancer therapeutics market. The high growth rate is mainly attributed to the high prevalence of cancer, robust clinical pipeline of vaccines and the safety and cost-efficacy of peptide based vaccines.

In terms of geography, it is expected that North America will dominate the global peptide cancer vaccine market landscape after the commercial launch of first peptide cancer vaccine in the region. This is mainly attributed to the region's potency in healthcare and a strong presence of various peptide based cancer therapeutic drug manufacturers is supporting the growth of the market in North America. Moreover, the presence of top key players such as Novartis, AstraZeneca, Teva Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer also favors the growth of this region. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is expected to register considerable growth over the forecast period owing to high untapped opportunities, low cost of raw material, growing base of companies providing outsourcing services, flourishing biotech industry, and increasing investments in the R&D sector.

Despite several challenges, it is suggested that peptide based cancer vaccines have bright future as it offers novel solutions to several limitations of the already approved cancer therapies. In coming years, the market will witness rapid approval of several peptide based cancer vaccines which will boost the growth of market. Moreover, the rising investment in research and development activities by government as private sectors along with progress in science and technology will also propel the growth of market.

Contact:

Neeraj Chawla

Research Head

+91-981410366

[email protected]

https://www.kuickresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1245952/Kuick_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Kuick Research
Japan raises emissions reduction target to 46% by 2030 View Photo

TOKYO (AP)  Japans prime minister announced on Thursday an ambitious new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, hours before he was to join a virtual climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Japan will strive by 2030 to cut its emissions by 46% from 2013 levels, up from its earlier goal of 26%, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, a target he announced in October. He said Japan would further try to push the reduction as high as 50%.

It will not be easy, Suga said. In order to achieve the target, we will firmly implement concrete measures, while aiming to create a positive cycle that links the economy and environment and achieve strong growth.

Japans target of no net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 brought it into line with the European Union, which last year set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by the same date. China in September pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060.

Japan, one of the worlds biggest carbon emitters, has been under pressure from environmental groups and European countries to do more than its earlier 26% reduction target. Britain has pledged a 78% reduction by 2035.

Japan initially was to release its new 2030 target in time for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in November in Britain, and Thursdays announcement was apparently to show its commitment to taking an active role in the global effort as an important U.S. ally.

Experts say Japan is under pressure to play a greater role as part of a multilateral effort led by the United States in environment and climate issues, where China is also expanding its influence.

Suga, during a visit to Washington last week, agreed to cooperate in leading global efforts to reduce carbon emissions by promoting clean energy technologies and implementing the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Progress toward reducing reliance on fossil fuels in Japan has been hindered by the prolonged closures of most of its nuclear plants after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011.

Japans current energy plan, set in 2018, calls for 22-24% of its energy to come from renewables, 20-22% from nuclear power and 56% from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas.

Energy experts are discussing revisions to the plan for 2030 and 2050. The 2050 emissions-free target would require drastic changes and likely prompt calls for more nuclear plant restarts.

About 40% of Japans carbon emissions come from power companies, and they must use more renewable sources of energy while stepping up development of technologies using hydrogen, ammonia and other carbon-free resources, experts say.

Suga said he will maximize the use of renewables and other non-carbon power sources, provide support for local decarbonizing efforts and encourage investment.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Associated Press
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2021 -- Stay up-to-date and exploit latest trends of Trip Cancellation Insurance Market with latest edition released by AMA.

Trip Cancellation Insurance Market Comprehensive Study is an expert and top to bottom investigation on the momentum condition of the worldwide Trip Cancellation Insurance industry with an attention on the Global market. The report gives key insights available status of the Trip Cancellation Insurance producers and is an important wellspring of direction and course for organizations and people keen on the business. By and large, the report gives an inside and out understanding of 2021-2026 worldwide Trip Cancellation Insurance Market covering extremely significant parameters.



Key Players in This Report Include,

Allianz SE (Germany), Manulife (Canada), The Canada Life Assurance Company (Canada), CIBC Insurance (Canada), CUMIS Services Incorporated (Canada), Desjardins Insurance (Canada), National Bank Insurance (Canada), RBC Insurance (Canada), ScotiaLife Financial (Canada) and Sun Life (Canada)



Free Sample Report + All Related Graphs & Charts @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/169004-global-trip-cancellation-insurance-market



Brief Summary of Trip Cancellation Insurance:

Trip cancellation insurance is designed for travelers who are concerned about safeguarding the money spent on a trip based on unforeseen events such as natural disasters, an uncertain employment situation, or a health condition. This policy reimburses prepaid, forfeited, and non-refundable costs (airline, cruise, train, or hotel). Depending on the plan, the policy will help cover costs up to the time and date of scheduled departure. Trip cancellations are generally made for sickness, injury, or death in the family. Trip cancellation insurance protects both business and leisure trips, organized or independent.



Market Drivers

- Demand for Trip Cancellation Insurance Owing to Increased Global Tourism

- Travel Rules and Regulations by Governments



Market Trend

- "Cancel for Any Reason" as Optional Coverage



Restraints

- Dependence of Cost on Age of Travellers, or Trip Expense

- Lack of Consumer Experiences in Terms of its Coverage



The Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market segments and Market Data Break Down are illuminated below:

by Type (Standalone, Comprehensive), End-User (Individual, Businesses), Sales Channel (Offline (Banks, Credit Card Unions, Travel Insurance Companies, Insurance Brokers, Trip Aggregators), Online), Coverage (Unforeseen Disease/Injury/Death, Natural Disasters, Airline Bankruptcies, Employment Termination, Others (Flight Delays, Airline Cancellation, Lost Luggage, and Lost Hotel Reservations)), Plan Type (Single Trip, Annual)



This research report represents a 360-degree overview of the competitive landscape of the Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market. Furthermore, it offers massive data relating to recent trends, technological, advancements, tools, and methodologies. The research report analyzes the Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market in a detailed and concise manner for better insights into the businesses.



Regions Covered in the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market:

- The Middle East and Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Egypt, etc.)

- North America (United States, Mexico & Canada)

- South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, etc.)

- Europe (Turkey, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.)

- Asia-Pacific (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia).



Enquire for customization in Report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/169004-global-trip-cancellation-insurance-market



The research study has taken the help of graphical presentation techniques such as infographics, charts, tables, and pictures. It provides guidelines for both established players and new entrants in the Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market.



The detailed elaboration of the Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market has been provided by applying industry analysis techniques such as SWOT and Porter's five-technique. Collectively, this research report offers a reliable evaluation of the global market to present the overall framework of businesses.



Attractions of the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market Report:

- The report provides granular level information about the market size, regional market share, historic market (2014-2018) and forecast (2019-2025)

- The report covers in-detail insights about the competitor's overview, company share analysis, key market developments, and their key strategies

- The report outlines drivers, restraints, unmet needs, and trends that are currently affecting the market

- The report tracks recent innovations, key developments and start-up's details that are actively working in the market

- The report provides plethora of information about market entry strategies, regulatory framework and reimbursement scenario



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Key Points Covered in the Table of Content:

Chapter 1 to explain Introduction, market review, market risk and opportunities, market driving force, product scope of Trip Cancellation Insurance Market;

Chapter 2 to inspect the leading manufacturers (Cost Structure, Raw Material) with sales Analysis, revenue Analysis, and price Analysis of Trip Cancellation Insurance Market;

Chapter 3 to show the focused circumstance among the best producers, with deals, income, and Trip Cancellation Insurance market share 2020;

Chapter 4 to display the regional analysis of Global Trip Cancellation Insurance Market with revenue and sales of an industry, from 2020 to 2022;

Chapter 5, 6, 7 to analyze the key countries (United States, China, Europe, Japan, Korea & Taiwan), with sales, revenue and market share in key regions;

Chapter 8 and 9 to exhibit International and Regional Marketing Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis, Trade Type Analysis;

Chapter 10 and 11 to analyze the market by product type and application/end users (industry sales, share, and growth rate) from 2020 to 2026

Chapter 12 to show Trip Cancellation Insurance Market forecast by regions, forecast by type and forecast by application with revenue and sales, from 2020 to 2025;

Chapter 13, 14 & 15 to specify Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source of Trip Cancellation Insurance market buyers, merchants, dealers, sales channel.



Browse for Full Report at @: https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/169004-global-trip-cancellation-insurance-market



Trip Cancellation Insurance Market research provides answers to the following key questions:

? What is the expected growth rate of the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market?

? What will be the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market size for the forecast period, 2020  2026?

? What are the main driving forces responsible for changing the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market trajectory?

? Who are the big suppliers that dominate the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market across different regions? Which are their wins to stay ahead in the competition?

? What are the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market trends business owners can rely upon in the coming years?

? What are the threats and challenges expected to restrict the progress of the Trip Cancellation Insurance Market across different countries?



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The University of Sydney has posted a slim $2.2 million loss for 2020 after clawing back more than $250 million through cost-cutting and enrolling more international students than expected.

The result is far stronger than the $470 million shortfall the university forecast in the early months of the pandemic and the $184 million loss it was still expecting in September.

University of Sydney acting vice-chancellor Stephen Garton said the institution had in effect broken even in 2020. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The university also forecast it would have $202 million more in revenue in 2021 than it had budgeted for, partly driven by an 18 per cent jump in international enrolments for semester one compared with the same period last year.

In a note to staff on Thursday afternoon, acting vice-chancellor Stephen Garton said the underlying net loss of $2.2 million for 2020 was a remarkable outcome in a challenging and highly unpredictable year.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday announced a reduction in flights from high-risk COVID-19 nations, like India, following an alarming rise in coronavirus cases across the world.

After a national Cabinet meeting in Canberra, Morrison said: "What we have agreed to -- and this particularly relates to the chartered services we're running into the Northern Territory -- we will be reducing by some 30 per cent the numbers coming through our chartered services in the months ahead."

While the list of high-risk countries was still being finalised, Morrison said the announcement was made keeping in view India's worsening second wave of the coronavirus. India registered over 3.14 lakh new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest-ever single-day count recorded in any country, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,59,30,965.

"We will also be limiting the departure exceptions for Australians travelling to high-risk countries to India. As time goes on, and the pandemic continues to rage, there are countries that are frankly of greater risk than others," Morrison said. "The Chief Medical Officer, working with others and the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade), will be seeking to put a list of high-risk countries in place," he said, adding that the list would be similar to that of the UK's COVID-19 travel "red list".

Morrison further said new rules to return to Australia would now be applied for those coming from such high-risk nations. If you have been in a high-risk country in the previous 14 days, before getting on your last point of embarkation to Australia, then you would need to have had a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test 72 hours before leaving that last point of embarkation, Morrison said.

Morrison said these new steps reflect that this is a global pandemic which is raging. Australians are living like few others anywhere else in the world. We take those border arrangements very seriously. This is a way of matching that risk, the prime minister said, explaining how strict border controls has led to fewer cases in Australia.

"We have been working hard to get Australians home, particularly since last September. And there will continue to be the opportunity for those to return from places like India, but in very controlled circumstances," he said. Earlier on Thursday, Western Australian (WA) Premier Mark McGowan sought travel suspension from India after an outbreak in a quarantine hotel in Perth.

McGowan said on April 3, a family of three returned to Perth from the UK and on April 10, a couple returned from India and tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later. Gowan said genome sequencing linked the strain the two families were now suffering from. He said somehow there was transmission between two rooms with closed doors.

There were another 18 guests on that floor at the time of transmission. Since the 10th of April, there have been 13 security guards, 31 various hotel staff, one doctor, and two CCTV installers, on that floor. All of these people will be re-tested as soon as possible," he said. Health authorities are investigating how the transmission occurred. The coronavirus has so far claimed 910 lives, along with 29,603 confirmed infections, in Australia, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Also read: COVID-19 second wave: France to impose entry restrictions on travellers coming from India

Also read: UK's Heathrow Airport refuses to allow extra flights from India amid surge in COVID-19 cases
Click here to read the full article.

On the release of what was to be the late Monte Hellmans final feature film in 2011, critic Steve Erickson noted Monte Hellman is the ultimate outlaw filmmaker.

A decade earlier, filmmaker-critic Kent Jones wrote that anything written in America about Monte Hellman  cinemas most under-appreciated great director  must be a defense.

Decades before Jones astute assessment, film critic David Thomson had noted, No system could digest the willful arbitrariness of Monte Hellmans best films, which is probably as clear an explanation of why Hellman made only one Hollywood Studio film in a directing career that stretched from 1959 to 2011 and included stints as Jack Nicholsons filmmaking partner and Quentin Tarantinos directorial debut enabler-producer.

That assessment of Hellmans importance, that notion that a defensive posture is the inevitable position of the Hellman fan and the idea that Hellmans Hollywood Failure was his greatest success, all hold up quite well as we say farewell to Monte Hellman, aka King of the Road Movie, who died April 19.

While still in his 30s, Hellman, Nicholson and future Oscar-winning producer Fred Roos journeyed to the Philippines to make two low-budget actioners that were instrumental to Hellmans growth as a filmmaker.

Next, Hellman and Nicholson journeyed to Utah where they made two strikingly original Westerns, The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind (1966) for indie producing legend Roger Corman. Made for a total of only $150,000, the reward for their creativity and ingenuity was Cormans dismay at their artiness and a complete absence of virtually any place in the theatrical landscape.

That one studio film on Hellmans resume, Two Lane Blacktop (1971) might have turned on a lot of European critics, but it turned off Lew Wasserman, the studio chief of Universal, where the film was produced.

Bad enemy for an outlaw to make.

For the next 40 years, Hellman toiled in the wilderness of uber independent filmmaking, scratching out a living making a small number of his little existential parables from the scraps of late spaghetti westerns, horror films, a kinky pirate tale and an exploitation actioner born from the misbegotten marketing notion that the millions of people around the world who bet on illegal cockfights were just dying to see a big-screen depiction of their favorite bloody pastime.

It was 50 years ago this summer that I first met Hellman, who was grappling with the fact that his road movie, Blacktop, was not going to be the next Easy Rider as Universal Pictures had hoped.

If you were to see a double bill of the two films today, youd probably be startled by the way Hellman seemed to take every opportunity at hand to replace one recent mega-hits emotional peaks with his own land and brand of laconic European art film existential valleys. When we met, I was on my way to an ill-fated attempt at film studies at California Institute of the Arts and Hellman was beginning his lonely road to  somewhere.

We didnt see a lot of each other until I got the chance to work as a driver and all-around fix-it boy on Cockfighter in 1974, which might have been filmed in the real chicken fighting barns and farms of Georgia but was in fact Hollywoods version of Gulag Exile for an unrepentant auteur. That it was shot by Oscar-winning DP Nestor Almendros makes the tale only stranger and more emblematic of Hellmans high-minded creative ideals in the service of low-rent helming chores.

By 1978, I was busy starting my own sound recording business, so I missed the chance to travel to Almeria, Spain, the famed spaghetti western locale where Hellman made China 9, Liberty 37, a beautiful film that received even less theatrical exposure than Cockfighter. Shot by Giuseppe Rotunno, China is mythic and deeply romantic and my vote for Hellmans most underrated work.

It took Hellman another 10 years without a directing assignment to pick up that kinky pirate pic gig, Iguana (1988), which I helped write and was spared the tortuous shoot that Hellman endured in the Canary Islands with a Euro producer best known for keeping actors profits hidden from the tax authorities. At this point in life, Hellman was struggling financially, about to turn 60, battling a penurious amateur producer who would cut a day of shooting from the schedule to save $100 on batteries.

In 1991, when Hellman found the money for Quentin Tarantino to make his directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs, Quentin told me,  Iguana should have made Monte Hellman a household name. Hmmmm. I love the film but watch it and you tell me if QTs ebullience was charming in its youthful naivete.

On the back of Iguanas failure to secure distribution, Hellman garnered a job making a straight to video horror film, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3 (1989), as disreputable a directing berth as one can imagine, funded strictly for folks who couldnt get enough variations of murderous Santa Claus tales. On this Hellman escapade, I wrote all the jokes, including this one:

What do you call it when you get deja vu twice?

What?

Stupid.

You might not be laughing, but that joke did get me into Cahiers du Cinema, whose critic noticed that Hellman and his merry henchmen were trying to have their Claus and detached, self-reflective irony too. The film should be noted for the beginning of a beautiful creative friendship between Hellman and the brilliant Catalan DP, Josep M. Civit, who said of Hellman this week, Monte Hellman was a director who was incapable of shooting anything that was not the truth. He was, as a filmmaker, incapable of lying.

Nice attribute for an artist, not so nice for a guy trying to work the mean streets of Hollywood.

Flash forward almost 20 years and Hellman, now in his mid 70s, had two more bullets in the chamber. The horror omnibus film Trapped Ashes (2006) gave Hellman a chance to revisit his Cormanesque roots when he was one of the Poe boys, working behind the scenes on chillers including the Jack Nicholson-starrer The Terror.

Hellmans segment, Stanleys Girlfriend, riffed on an inside Hollywood tale involving Stanley Kubrick and a particularly fatal attraction that led him to flee Hollywood and hide in England from some very real personal demons.

Stanleys fate was not to be Hellmans typical total obscurity, but an invitation to the Cannes Film Festival as an Official Selection. I believe it was seeing Monte at the top of Palais steps getting what he really deserved, applause and acclaim, that emboldened my thinking that my outlaw pal might have one more heist in him.

So Montes daughter, Melissa, and I found the money in 2009 to make the last Monte Hellman film, Road to Nowhere (2010), based on a screenplay I had just written.

If you go back to idea that anything written in America about Monte Hellman must be a defense, let me add that anything written for Monte Hellman must be a defense. So, two of the main characters in the film within a film within a film and so on, were originally named Monte Hellman and Steven Gaydos.

We used a crime thriller about a filmmaker under the spell of a mysterious femme fatale to sketch out all of Montes quirkiest, most personal and absolutely essential feelings and thoughts about life, love, cinema, dogs, margaritas, illusions, crime yarns and of course The Void.

Paul Simon might have written Hello darkness, my old friend, but Monte Hellman was on a first-name basis with darkness. Every single film he made turned out to co-star, as he once noted in an interview, beauty and terror. Some critics noted that Nowhere made Bergman look like Mr. Rogers and French philosopher/cultural historian Jacques Ranciere compared the film to Hitchcocks Vertigo, only bleaker.

The relationship between reality, fiction and fiction in fiction becomes entirely undecidable at the cost of making the film an unidentifiable object for the Hollywood industry or  which amounts to the same thing  the manifesto of a director excluded from a system based on a balanced relationship between the prestige of appearance and the story that dispels them.

Monte turned 80 on our first day of shooting in North Carolina. In 2011, Monte had his first-ever major international festival feature film competition premiere at Venice. By the end of the fest, Hellman was proudly cradling a Golden Lion for artistic achievement, his first ever major festival honor.

Cut to today: Monte Hellman and Lew Wasserman are both in the same place, which Hellman assumed would be the Void.

But Im here in defense of the notion that his final resting place is on a cloud next to his good friend, Mr. Jordan, way up in Movie Heaven.

The Shooting, Ride in the Whirlwind, Two Lane Blacktop, Cockfighter, China 9, Liberty 37, Iguana and Road to Nowhere constitute more than half of his directorial filmography. In my opinion, theyre all the Outlaw Monte Hellmans best crimes and all worth your precious time.

Hollywood never stopped him from creating and the people who tried are gone, while cinema-loving people from Paris to Portugal, Budapest to Brazil are still watching Montes strange little films. I know, because I keep Monte Hellman on Google Alerts so I get pinged when a film club kid in Lisbon is raving about his discovery of Mrs. Himmelbaums son.

And heres the deal for me. From the first time we met, this was clear:

Monte Hellman never wanted to become them.

He never became them.

And he never became bitter about what that cost him because he knew, if you want to be a film artist, youd better be ready for Lew Wasserman to dump your film on the bottom half of drive-in double bills.

He wanted to show that filmmakers such as Victor Erice, Ermanno Olmi, Yasujiro Ozu, Alain Resnais, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Tsai Ming-liang et al could have an American friend.

He wanted to prove that American film artists including John Huston and George Stevens need not be bright filmmaking lights in our rear-view mirrors.

He wanted you to be as excited by Carnes Port of Shadows as he was, 60 years after the first time he saw it.

The glass is, Im here to argue in Monte Hellmans defense, half-full, with Hellmans favorite, Patron tequila, fresh lime juice and Cointreau.

Heres to Monte Hellman, the man who lost his fight with Hollywood and beat the devil at his own game.

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The UK's Houses of Parliament in London on Dec. 31, 2020. (Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Parliament Unanimously Declares Chinese Regime Committing Genocide in Xinjiang

The UK Parliament on April 22 unanimously passed a non-binding motion declaring that Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic and religious minorities in Chinas Xinjiang region are suffering crimes against humanity and genocide, and called on the UK government to use international law to bring it to an end.

This makes the UK Parliament the third legislature in the worldfollowing Canada and the Netherlandsto approve motions referring to the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang as genocide.

The U.S. government in January also declared that the Chinese regime had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, and the U.S. House of Representatives on April 15 introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the Chinese Communist Partys genocide against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

Members of Parliament cited evidence, including testimony, about detention camps, mass surveillance, rape, forced sterilization, and organ harvesting, and said it is time for the UK to act.

The motion calls upon the UK government to act to fulfill their obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and all relevant instruments of international law, to bring it to an end.

Garnett Genuis, a Canadian member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), called the motion a milestone.

Todays vote is another milestone in the long road for justice for the Uyghur people. One by one, democratic parliaments around the world are beginning to recognise that the suffering of the Uyghurs is nothing short of genocide, IPAC quoted Genuis as saying, on Twitter.

#IPAC  Co-Chair @GarnettGenuis MP: Todays vote is another milestone in the long road for justice for the Uyghur people. One by one democratic parliaments around the world are beginning to recognise that the suffering of the Uyghurs is nothing short of genocide.  Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (@ipacglobal) April 22, 2021

Benedict Rogers, the co-founder of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, called it a truly historic day.

A truly historic day. UK Parliament has done absolutely the right thing and recognised that the Chinese regime is committing #Genocide against #Uyghurs Thank you @Nus_Ghani @MPIainDS @YasminQureshiMP @SKinnock @amcarmichaelMP & every MP who has led or supported this campaign/ https://t.co/wgzlc4O1Bb  Benedict Rogers  (@benedictrogers) April 22, 2021

Nusrat Ghani, the British lawmaker who proposed the motion, is one of five British MPs who have been sanctioned by the Chinese regime for being outspoken about human rights abuses against the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.

During the debate, MP Sir Charles Walker said that all members of Parliament need to take a stand.

When a national government sanctions one member of Parliament in this place, that government, that national government is actually sanctioning all members of Parliament in this place, and it is incumbent on all of us, all 650 of us to stand as one at this moment, Walker told MPs.

Ghani replied by saying she believed that the sanctions imposed by Beijing are sanctioning this house and asking it to stop raising human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the fact that were here today and having this debate shows that the sanctions just havent worked.

On the same day, the Lithuanian Parliament also convened to hear the evidence on human rights abuses taking place in Xinjiang.

Isabel van Brugen contributed to this report.
SASKATOON - Nazeem Muhajarine says he feels a sense of relief after receiving his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine last week at a centre in Saskatoon.

Volunteers put on their personal protective equipment at a vaccination clinic run by the Saskatoon Tribal Council inside SaskTel centre in Saskatoon on Thursday, April 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kayle Neis

SASKATOON - Nazeem Muhajarine says he feels a sense of relief after receiving his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine last week at a centre in Saskatoon.

"It was just so well-organized and run. I felt completely safe," Muhajarine said in an interview.

The professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan said the province is making great strides quickly getting shots into arms, but he's concerned some people are being left behind.

Premier Scott Moe touted during question period Wednesday that Saskatchewan is leading the country when it comes to administering first vaccinations.

"Our way through this pandemic, everyone's plan to get through this pandemic, is to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible," Moe said.

More than 365,000 doses of vaccine have been given in Saskatchewan. Health officials say 53 per cent of residents over the age of 40 have received their first shot.

It puts Saskatchewan  with a population of just under 1.18 million  ahead of other provinces when it comes to doses delivered per capita. Data from a COVID-19 vaccination tracker, run by University of Saskatchewan students using federal and provincial data, suggests the province in outpacing Ontario and Quebec.

Moe credits his Saskatchewan Partys "robust vaccination plan," which he says will be augmented in the coming days.Eligibility for all vaccines was lowered to 44 on Thursday, except for in the north where it went down to 40. Its expected to drop to 40 for the general population by Wednesday.

Muhajarine said there's much to applaud about the vaccine rollout. The choice, initially, to use age-based eligibility meant it was easy to understand and targeted those who were more likely to experience severe outcomes if infected, he said.

Drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics have also been successful, said Muhajarine. One providing mass immunizations in Regina as the capital has became a hot spot for variants has expecially worked well.

Muhajarine said his own experience shows that organization at larger mass vaccination sites is also commendable.

However, the professor said now that vulnerable senior populations are immunized and there are highly contagious new strains, the province may be missing the mark.

Getting the most vaccinations out fastest is just part of a good public health response, he said, but surging infections and hospitalizations mean the response should now be targeted to those most affected.

"Workplace spreads and outbreaks have been quite prevalent," Muhajarine said. "That's been a huge contributor in Regina and has been a contributor in Saskatoon as well."

There were 254 new cases in Saskatchewan on Thursday and one additional death. There were 177 people in hospital, including 48 in intensive care.

Provincial public health orders were tightened recently as officials warned the more transmissible variant strains were becoming dominant.

Muhajarine said the recent deaths of influential Cree teacher Victor Thunderchild, 55, in Prince Albert and well-known chef Warren Montgomery, 42, in Regina are examples of people in high-risk work environments who werent able to get vaccinations under the age-eligibility plan.

He said Saskatchewan should consider following Ontario and Manitoba, which are pivoting vaccination plans to target neighbourhoods where people have a higher risk of contracting the virus.

It should also consider socio-economic factors, including how many residents are in a household and the type of jobs people have, he added.

One example would be neighbourhoods with multi-generational households and where many people work service jobs facing the public. Congregate living facilities such as shelters and correctional centres would be another, he said.

Muhajarine said teachers and other essential workers should also get priority.

Every region in the country is seeing benefits to targeting areas and occupations where the pandemic's third wave has taken hold, he suggested

"That is not something to be trivialized in this kind of complex and mass undertaking."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2021.

 By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg
Earlier this month, the Netflix series Pieces of Her was filming in the Blue Mountains.

But on Wednesday, shooting for the forthcoming Toni Collette-starring drama moved to the inner west suburb of Camperdown.

The 48-year-old Muriel's Wedding star filmed a scene alongside her fellow Aussie actor, Colin Friels.

San Francisco, Australia: On Wednesday, shooting for the forthcoming Toni Collette [pictured] starring drama moved to the inner west suburb of Camperdown

During the scene, the Sixth Sense actress stepped out of a car wearing skinny, dark jeans.

Collette's Chevrolet sedan bore California license plates, appropriate given the scene's San Francisco setting.

The Oscar nominated star paired the pants with a dark blouse, over which she wore a white leather jacket.

The look: During the scene, the Sixth Sense actress stepped out of a car wearing skinny, dark jeans

Location: Collette's Chevrolet sedan bore California license plates, appropriate given the scene's San Francisco setting

A study in contrasts: The Oscar nominated star paired the pants with a dark blouse, over which she wore a white leather jacket

On her feet, Toni wore a pair of tan leather boots as she strode over to Friels for what appeared to be a tense scene.

Her straight blonde tresses were worn tied back and she carried just a purse and her car keys.

Mystery Road star Friels was dressed in black trousers and a dark jacket for the two-hander with Collette.

Accessories: Her straight blonde tresses were worn tied back and she carried just a purse and her car keys

Plot: Pieces of Her is based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter, and is about a young woman named Andrea who is caught up in a mass shooting at a diner

Co-star: Mystery Road star Friels was dressed in black trousers and a dark jacket for the two-hander with Collette

The veteran Australian actors haven't shared the screen since the 1996 film, Cosi, co-starring Ben Mendelsohn.

Pieces of Her is based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter, and is about a young woman named Andrea who is caught up in a mass shooting at a diner.

It was originally supposed to be filmed in British Columbia, Canada, last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the shoot delayed and production moved to Australia.

According to What's On Netflix, Toni will portray Laura Oliver, who is a mother with a mysterious past life.

Reunion: The veteran Australian actors haven't shared the screen since the 1996 film, Cosi, co-starring Ben Mendelsohn

Change of plans: The series was originally supposed to be filmed in British Columbia, Canada, last year, but the Covid-19 pandemic saw the shoot delayed and production moved to Australia

Backstory: According to What's On Netflix, Toni will portray Laura Oliver, who is a mother with a mysterious past life

Development: On the surface, Laura is described as 'seemingly the perfect Southern woman, devoted to her work as a speech pathologist and to her disaffected daughter, Andy'

All star cast: The website also states that Bella Heathcote and Lord of the Rings star David Wenham will appear

On the surface, Laura is described as 'seemingly the perfect Southern woman, devoted to her work as a speech pathologist and to her disaffected daughter, Andy'.

The website also states that Bella Heathcote and Lord of the Rings star David Wenham will appear.

Bella will play Laura's daughter, who goes on a journey to discover her mother's secrets. David will play Jasper Queller, a man from Laura's past life.

The series is getting plenty of buzz as it's being produced by the same company behind HBO's The Undoing and Netflix's Anatomy of a Scandal.
Law, science, engineering, arts and architecture students will be offered a new course in innovation and entrepreneurship at the University of Sydney from next year.

The universitys Professor Leanne Cutcher said the new course would be led by the business school and offered to undergraduates across five other faculties to help them develop their business ideas.

Weve developed the first cross-faculty innovation and entrepreneurship major which means students across six different faculties will be able to learn about how to be innovative and entrepreneurial, she said.

Livia Wang launched a start-up that markets Australian products to China. Credit:Louie Douvis

Professor Cutcher said the program would help undergraduates develop a business idea.
New Delhi: India reported 3,14,835 fresh coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,59,30,965 on Thursday (April 22), as per data by health ministry .

The country's total COVID-19 caseload has now increased to 1.59 crore (1,59,30,965), of which, 22.91 lakh (22,91,428) are active cases. India has also witnessed 1.84 lakh (1,84,657) coronavirus-related deaths.

The five most affected states by the total COVID-19 cases are Maharashtra (4,027,827), Kerala (1,197,301), Karnataka (1,109,650), Tamil Nadu (962,935), and Andhra Pradesh (942,135).

The ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government had indicated the day before that a new lockdown was imminent. Maharashtra will implement fresh new restrictions on Thursday (April 22) amid the rising COVID-19 caseloads in the state.

These rules will come into effect from tonight and stay in place till 7 am May 1. The state on Wednesday recorded 67,468 new coronavirus cases with 568 more deaths.

Additionally, Delhi reported 24,638 new infections, while over 249 more people succumbed to the disease. The Delhi high court while lashing out at the Centre for depleting supply of oxygen at many private hospitals in the city yesterday said, "We don't care, beg, borrow, steal or requisition new plants if you want."

Live TV
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 11:36:00|Editor: huaxia

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SYDNEY, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Ocean warming and common practices by the world's fishing industries are likely to have a disastrous impact on the world's stock of wild fish unless changes are quickly made, according to Australian researchers.

Scientists from the University of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, and the University of Tasmania, believed their report is the first of its kind to consider the dual threat posed by climate change and overfishing, in particular the pursuit of big fish.

"Wild fisheries provide food for billions of people worldwide, particularly in the Pacific region where fish is the major source of animal-based protein," said researcher John Morrongiello.

"Past fishing practices have caused spectacular fishery crashes, so it is important that we adopt management approaches that will ensure our oceans continue to maintain sustainable fisheries."

The research involved setting up a series of fish populations in a laboratory where the fish lived in water of varying temperatures.

Researchers then followed the fate of each population for three years, which represented about seven fish generations.

"Most experimental research on climate change impacts is done on relatively short timescales, where fish are studied for two or three generations," said another researcher Asta Audzijonyte.

"We found that strong negative impacts of warming only became apparent after four generations. This suggests people might be underestimating the possible impacts of climate change on fisheries stocks."

One of their main findings was that the fishing industry needed to stop targeting big fish.

"Our findings clearly show that protecting fish size diversity and large fish can increase their (fish population) resilience to climate change," Audzijonyte said.

"While reversing climate change is hard, restoring and protecting fish size diversity is one thing we certainly can do, and we need to do it fast."

The research was published this week in the scientific journal PNAS. Enditem
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India will soon start enforcing a range of new labor codes, and companies are taking steps to prepare for them. The primary change is that the federal government has consolidated 29 existing federal labor laws into four codes in order to make it easier to do business in India.

"The intent is to reduce the multiplicity of laws and make them more uniform," said Ajay Singh Solanki, Mumbai-based leader of the labor and employment practice at law firm Nishith Desai Associates.

While there is still some work to be done by the federal and state governments before these codes can be implemented, legal experts say companies should not wait.

"Start taking measures to align practices with the codes," said Atul Gupta, Bengaluru-based partner and part of the employment and corporate practice group at law firm Trilegal.

Across all of the codes, the number of regulations have been reduced, and many have been made electronic. However, penalties for noncompliance will be higher than they were previously.

"In some cases, they have been raised up to 20 times the previous fines," Solanki said.

Here are the four codes and key changes to note:

Code on Wages

1. New definition of wages. The new code defines wages to be at least 50 percent of the total gross remuneration of an employee. At the moment, companies provide between 25 percent to 50 percent of gross pay as basic wage, and the rest is allowances. This helps companies save on gratuities and provident fund contributions, which are calculated as a percentage of basic wage.

A higher wage would raise the bill on some of these payments. Many companies may overhaul their compensation structures to accommodate the new wage definition.

2. Fewer minimum wages. India has hundreds of minimum wages because each state sets a different wage for distinct criteria, such as the job, the industry, the worker's skill and more.

To keep track of these rules "is a hugely complicated exercise for organizations with operations throughout the country," Gupta said. The Wages Code has shrunk the list of minimum wages, and it introduces the concept of "floor wages" to be set by the federal government. States won't be able to set a minimum wage below this floor.

The result of this new approach is that it will assure a basic income to workers nationally and could ease migration. "The incentive to migrate to Delhi or Mumbai to get larger wages will eventually reduce if [workers] can be assured of similar wages in their own towns," Gupta said.

3. Gender neutrality. The Equal Remuneration Act has provisions for equal pay for men and women for the same or similar amount of work. The new code extends this equality to a person of any gender, thus including transgender employees. However, providing this equality practically will be tricky.

Solanki noted that some countries, such as the U.S. and the U.K., ask companies to publish information about the salaries they pay to men and women, and thus have been able to bring some parity. "India is lagging on that front," he said.

Industrial Relations Code

1. Hiring fixed-term workers. Until now, labor laws did not specifically address fixed-term workers, so typically companies use third-party vendors to hire workers for a fixed or project period.

The new code recognizes fixed-term workers and mandates that they will be eligible for employee benefits, including gratuity payments on a pro rata basis. The code may encourage companies to hire more fixed-term workers, as they can exercise more control on these workers than those hired through third parties.

"This will lead to some amount of workforce restructuring," Solanki said.

2. Standing orders. Standing orders are certain terms and conditions of employment issued by the government that must be followed by employers. Previously, these orders had to be followed only by factories, mines and plantations, but the code expands them to cover all companies that have more than 300 workers. In addition, any exception would require government approval.

"Process under the law is very, very cumbersome to create and revise," Gupta noted. That said, many companies in the IT sector in Bengaluru are hoping that the state government will exempt them from these orders, he said.

3. Grievance redressal committee. The new code requires that any company with at least 20 workers must create a committee to address any grievances. "This is essentially being seen as a call to unionization, as they require worker representation," Gupta said.

4. Threshold for terminating workers. Under the existing law, any factory, mine or plantation with more than 100 employees needs government permission to terminate workers. The new code requires only companies with more than 300 workers to seek permission.

"For smaller industries, this will make it easier to manage employees," Solanki said.

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code

1. Night shift for women. This code allows companies to hire women to work at night between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., so long as the companies fulfill certain conditions of safety and security for these workers.

"You provide for transportation to and from [the worksite] for women employees, and you also provide them safety while they are working at night," Solanki said.

Until now, companies have had to navigate a plethora of federal and state rules on women working at nightsome states prohibit it, while others allow it under certain conditions. The new code especially impacts the outsourcing and call center industry, which employs many women who work night shifts.

2. Changing contract labor regime. For the first time, a federal law now defines what is a "core" activity of an organization. Currently many companies, such as those in the auto and IT sectors, hire contract laborers for their core work to whom they don't have to pay benefits. The code reiterates the earlier law that prohibits companies from hiring contract labor for its core activities, but it now includes a range of exceptions.

The new code is "turning the entire contract labor regime significantly," Gupta said.

3. Leave encashment. Previously, company policies required workers to preserve their unused leaves until the end of their employment. The new code allows employees to ask for encashment at the end of any year. That change will create a new financial burden for many companies, said Solanki, that must be accounted for in their annual budgets.

As a result, he expects that many companies will revise their policies in ways to encourage workers to exhaust their leaves before year end.

Code on Social Security

1. Recognizing gig and platform workers. For the first time, the code on social security defines gig and independent workers, such as those who work for companies like ride-sharing service Uber.

"They have specifically said that these are not traditional employer-employee relationships," Solanki said. In other words, companies won't have the same liabilities toward these workers as they do for their full-time employees. However, companies will need to contribute to a social security fund for these workers, which the government will create.

"How it will be implemented remains to be seen," Solanki said.

2. Limit to Provident Fund compliance checks. Until now, there was no limitation on how far back authorities can look to check if a company is compliant with all rules relating to the Employees' Provident Fund, India's version of social security. And once an investigation was launched, it could take years for it to be completed.

"It was a nuisance value for companies," Solanki said. The code now limits authorities to looking back only five years to check compliance. It also requires that all investigations must be completed within two years.

"This is a sigh of relief for companies," Solanki said.

Shefali Anand is a New Delhi-based journalist and former correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. You can follow her on Twitter.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 21:03:01|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police have seized more than 700 suspects in over 600 cases involving pornography and illegal publications since the start of the year, said the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday.

Through a number of related operations, the police have effectively cracked down on illegal information and publications with content related to pornography, violence and superstition, the ministry said.

Officers have responded rapidly to reports of child pornography, conducting thorough investigations, in order to effectively protect the physical and mental health of teenagers and children.

Public security organs will give full play to their functions to crack down on illegal and harmful publishing activities in accordance with the law, police authorities said. Enditem
It is a wake-up call: A news release, issued on Thursday by the Staatsballett Berlin, uses those words in bold in announcing that a settlement has been reached in the German Labor Court for stage employees with a Black corps de ballet member who brought complaints of racism against the company last year.

The dancer, Chloe Lopes Gomes, spoke out after her yearly contract was not renewed.

Ms. Lopes Gomes, the only Black female member of the company, will remain with the Staatsballett until the end of the 2021-22 season, and will receive financial compensation of 16,000 euros (about $19,200) as part of the settlement reached during arbitration.

In an interview with The New York Times in December, Ms. Lopes Gomes said that she had experienced a number of racially insensitive incidents, but had been too afraid of losing her job to speak out. After being told in September that her contract would not be renewed, she made her accusations public. The incidents included being obliged to whiten her skin in corps de ballet roles, and being told during rehearsals that any mistakes she made were more noticeable because she was Black.

In the statement, the Staatsballetts provisional artistic director, Christiane Theobald, said that she regretted Ms. Lopes Gomess experiences, which the company was currently processing in depth. She added, A great opportunity to change lies in the current situation.
The British Pound to Dollar (GBP/USD) is forecast is trading with modest losses this morning as a risk-off mood sees investors favour the safe-haven Greenback.

US Dollar (USD) Firms as Risk-Off Mood Offsets Falling Treasury Yields

The US Dollar (USD) is trending higher against the Pound (GBP) and the majority of its other peers this morning as the US currency continues to benefit from a prevailing risk-off mood.

This comes as investors express concerns over a recent rise in global coronavirus cases, with traders particularly spooked by the situation in India as it reported a global record of 314,835 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, which threatens to overwhelm the countrys healthcare system.

In comparison falling cases numbers in the US as well as the countrys impressive vaccine rollout, which has now reached 40 of its population is further helping to bolster the appeal of the US Dollar.

Capping the US Dollars gains this morning have been a recent drop in US Treasury yields, which continue to drift further away from their recent highs.

However, the US Dollar still remains well positioned to rally later this afternoon, if last weeks initial jobless claims, report that new claims continued to fall, after having struck a post-pandemic low in the first week of April.

Pound (GBP) Muted as Experts Warn of UK Third Wave Over the Summer

Meanwhile, the Pound (GBP) remains subdued this morning, amidst concerns that the UK may face another wave of coronavirus cases in the coming months as the UK starts to lift more restrictions.

Health experts have warned of a summer surge as the UKs vaccine rollout will not have reached enough people by the time the government wants to reopen the rest of the economy.

Prof Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, told the BBC: The models that we've seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population who've not been immunised. If people move too far forward with that too fast, we'll see things start to come up earlier. The sense that the problem is all over, I'm afraid is a flawed one, we're still in a vulnerable situation, and there are still significant numbers of people who potentially could be harmed by this infection if this happens.

GBP investors fear this could lead to restrictions having to be reimposed later in the year, undoing some of the gains made by reopening the economy.

Pound Dollar Forecast

Looking ahead to the end of this weeks session, the main catalyst in the Pound to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is likely to be the publication of the UKs latest PMI releases.

Aprils preliminary figures are expected to report that activity in the UKs manufacturing and service sectors accelerated as a large part of the economy was reopened, with a strong services PMI reading likely to be particularly supporting of Sterling sentiment.

Also influencing GBP exchange rates will be the publication of the UKs latest retail sales figures, with another robust expansion of sales growth in March also likely to reflect well on the Pound.

The focus for USD investors tomorrow will be the release of the US own PMI figures. While the Markit release is not as influential as the ISM figures a strong showing from the services sectors could lend some support to the US Dollar tomorrow afternoon.
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington December 8, 2015. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday said 106 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes have been grounded worldwide by an electrical issue and said the U.S. planemaker is still working on a fix.

Boeing disclosed an electrical power system issue on April 7 and recommended operators temporarily remove these airplanes from service.

The problem involved the electrical grounding - or connections designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge of voltage - inside a backup power control system. The FAA said Thursday "subsequent analysis and testing showed the issue could involve additional systems."

The FAA said in a formal notice to international air regulators that 106 airplanes are covered, including 71 registered in the United States. "All of these airplanes remain on the ground while Boeing continues to develop a proposed fix," the agency added.

The FAA said Boeing's investigation showed the issue could impact the standby power control unit, a circuit breaker panel and main instrument panel.

The notice said the "FAA expects to issue an airworthiness directive mandating corrective action before further flight for all affected airplanes."

Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said "we concur with the FAA notice and continue to work closely with the regulator and our customers to address the issue."

The top three U.S. 737 MAX operators - Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines - removed more than 60 jets from service following the notice from Boeing.

U.S. carriers said they expect the issue will be resolved soon, potentially in the next week or two. American Airlines President Robert Isom said "we have a pretty good idea of exactly what the issue is and the remedies that need to be attended to."

The FAA said other carriers impacted include Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, GOL Linhas Aereas, Iceland Air, Minsheng Leasing, Neos Air, Shanding Airlines, SilkAir, Spice Jet, Sunwing Airlines, TUI, Turkish Airlines, Valla Jets Limited, WestJet Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

The FAA said it "verified all operators with affected airplanes have voluntarily taken those aircraft out of service."

The FAA said the production issue "is not related to recertification of the flight control system on the 737 MAX, ungrounding of the aircraft, or its return to service." Boeing has delivered more than 450 MAX airplanes.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Chizu Nomiyama, Kirsten Donovan and David Gregorio)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Advance Ohio wants to help Ohioans beef up their financial health with a free virtual seminar.

Advance Ohio, which handles advertising for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, will use the virtual event to give people the chance to learn money management skills, to help them retire comfortably, or own a home.

The virtual event will take place on May 25, 2021, at 4:30 pm. Tickets can be reserved at https://www.advance-ohio.com/navigating-finances/.

The events goal is to provide the local community with the knowledge and guidance they need to increase their financial health and reach financial freedom, said Beate Blaich-Smith, of Advance Ohio.

The event is for everyone who is interested in advancing their personal finances, Blaich-Smith said.

Moderated by cleveland.coms financial expert, Rich Exner, Navigating Finances will feature former Browns star Bernie Kosar and Brandon Chrostowski, founder, and owner of Edwins Leadership & Restaurant.

Attendees can learn through live Q&As with financial experts from PNC Bank, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Liberty Home Mortgage, and Chestnut Hill Realty.

Blaich-Smith said the financial experts will be available afterward for small group expert sessions to answer the attendees specific questions.

Coming out of 2020, most of us are taking a closer look at our finances to evaluate where we are and where to go from here. Navigating Finances is a great way to get input from industry experts and cleveland.coms financial expert Rich Exner to take the next step into financial freedom, Blaich-Smith said.
Travellers arrive at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Feb. 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

MPs Adopt Motion Calling for Flights From COVID-19 Hot Spots to Stop

OTTAWAMPs unanimously agreed Canada should suspend international flights from countries where COIVD-19 outbreaks are raging just a few hours before the federal government is expected to announce new restrictions on incoming travel.

The House of Commons adopted a motion from the Bloc Quebecois this afternoon calling for flights carrying non-essential travellers from certain countries, such as India and Brazil, to be barred.

Health Canada data shows 112 international flights arrived in Canada in the last two weeks carrying at least one passenger who later tested positive for COVID-19.

That includes 32 flights from India, 20 from the United States, and 10 each from France and the United Arab Emirates.

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Howard Njoo said at a briefing this afternoon that ministers were looking at data about incoming flights, testing and variants of concern, including metrics that show an increase in cases coming in on flights from India.

By Mia Rabson
Lindsay Lohan recently enjoyed a lavish getaway to the Maldives, which she happily shared with her fans on social media.

But the 34-year-old actress appeared to be back to work on Thursday as she uploaded photos from the set of an upcoming project to Instagram.

'Into the groove,' captioned Lohan, followed by a film camera emoji - suggesting the star may be working on a video shoot of some kind.

Action! Lindsay Lohan appeared to be back to work on Thursday as she uploaded photos from the set of an upcoming project to Instagram

For one behind-the-scenes shot, the Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen star posed before a well lit vanity mirror with her cellphone in hand.

Lindsay radiated joy as she smirked for the camera, while rocking a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of high-waisted trousers.

Her signature auburn hair was parted down the middle and styled in straight strands that flowed down her back and chest.

To take her chic ensemble to the next level, Lohan sported a silver watch and a few bracelets on her wrists, as well as a single ring on her right hand.

In front of the camera: 'Into the groove,' captioned Lohan, followed by a film camera emoji - suggesting the star may be working on a video shoot of some kind

Hot set: Along with a portrait from her dressing room, Lindsay also snapped a few photos of the camera equipment and backdrop set-up for the day's shoot

Resting in the background of her on set selfie was a clothing rack filled with empty wooden hangers.

Along with a portrait from her dressing room, Lindsay also snapped a few photos of the camera equipment and backdrop set-up for the day's shoot.

A single chair was positioned in front of the camera and surrounded by strategically placed lights, reflectors, and a boom mic.

Relaxation station: Lohan recently enjoyed a lavish getaway to the Maldives, which she happily shared with her fans on social media

Lindsay  who traded in the bustle of Hollywood for life in Dubai a few years ago  has been bombarding her 8.8million followers with vacation photos in recent weeks as she recharged in the Maldives.

Most notably, the Parent Trap star uploaded a blissful looking portrait last week that showed her donning a backless maxi dress as she watched the sunset on a yacht.

She hid her slender frame underneath a patterned red and black frock with silver accents.

At sea: Lindsay Lohan, 34, shares more snaps from her luxury vacation in the Maldives as she watches the sunset on a yacht in a backless maxi dress

She threw her famed red locks back in an elegant low bun and sported a pair of round sunglasses as she traded in her post at the W Hotel for some time at sea.

Lindsay seemed to radiate with joy in her photo series, smiling against the ocean waves in one shot before getting playful with a dancing boomerang in another.

In another snap she showed off her wingspan at the bow of the grand boat while the sun set against waves.

Free as a bird: The Parent Trap star showed off her wingspan at the bow of the grand boat while the sun set against waves

Blissful: Lindsay seemed to radiate with joy in her photo series, smiling against the ocean waves in one shot before getting playful with a dancing boomerang in another

Fresh start: The reformed party girl settled into life in Dubai for a 'fresh start,' but had announced plans nearly to move back to the United States just two months before the pandemic hit

The actress had taken a step back from the spotlight in recent years to pursue a quieter entrepreneurial lifestyle overseas.

She had opened a luxury VIP beach club on the Greek island of Mykonos in 2018 dubbed the Lohan Beach House.

Though it was reported to have closed in 2019, the seaside restaurant and bar seems to be back in business per their Instagram page and website.

The reformed party girl settled into life in Dubai for a 'fresh start,' adding that she loved the calmness that came with a life free from media scrutiny.

Beach life: She had opened a luxury VIP beach club on the Greek island of Mykonos in 2018 dubbed the Lohan Beach House; pictured April 15

Selfie: The child star announced plans to move back to the United States just months before the pandemic hit; pictured April 14

'Moving here was a fresh start. You hear more about real current events rather than celebrity gossip, which I really appreciate,' she told Emirates Woman.

Additionally she revealed a newfound preference for anonymity. 'I don't have to be publicly seen all the time, or discuss what I'm doing,' she told the publication.

However, Lindsay had slowly been trying to make her way back to Hollywood and re-enter into acting and music, penning an electronic song called 'Back to Me.'

And she had announced plans to move back to the United States just two months before the pandemic hit.

Back to work: The Mean Girls actress had announced plans to move back to the United States just two months before the pandemic hit in the hopes of returning to acting and music; pictured November 2019

'I want to really focus on me and everything that I can do in my life and come back to America and start filming again, which I'm doing some time soon in this new year,' she told Anderson Cooper in virtual conversation at the 2020 ball drop.

'And, you know, just taking back the life I've worked so hard for and sharing it with my family and you guys,' she added.

But the COVID-19 pandemic derailed her plans. Lohan detailed what lockdown in the United Arab Emirates looked like while speaking to comedian David Spade on his Lights Out series.

'It's very strict in Dubai. You are not allowed outside, they take it very seriously. If you don't have a reason for a permit to go to the grocery store and you are found without gloves or a maskyou are fined.'

At this time it is unknown if she still has plans to move back to the US now that the world is slowly opening back up.
Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, whose ward includes parts of the north end of downtown, agreed making more arrests might have been better. I think that when you have people committing assaults, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass to property when theyre entering the parks after theyre closed for the night, we need to take another look at the tactics and consider making more arrests  I think the pendulum has swung a little too far in the direction of leniency.
Under President Donald J. Trump, Republicans had largely abandoned their zeal for austerity and endorsed a series of spending increases. But with a Democratic president in the White House, Senate Republicans are trying to reclaim the mantle of fiscal conservatism by adopting multiple symbolic resolutions aimed at curbing federal spending.

In an internal party vote on Wednesday, the Senate Republican Conference agreed that limitations on the governments ability to borrow should be paired with either spending cuts or reductions of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. In 2019, lawmakers had agreed to suspend the statutory debt ceiling for two years without either caveat, with support from the Trump administration.

Senate Republicans also affirmed an existing, decade-old ban on earmarks, even as the House is poised to revived the practice of allowing individual lawmakers to direct spending to specific projects for their districts and states in legislation. House Republicans last month voted to overturn a similar ban in their conference, as Democrats have said they plan to bring back earmarks with strict new transparency requirements.

The rules that govern the Republican conference are nonbinding and largely symbolic, but they are an indication of Republican priorities.
FOLKSTON, Ga. (AP)  Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday he's not wading into the debate over whether a mining company should be allowed to dig for minerals near the edge of the vast wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp.

For the past two years, Twin Pines Minerals, an Alabama-based company, has been seeking permits to mine for titanium dioxide less than 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the swamp that's home of the largest U.S. wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River.

The promise of new jobs has won supporters on the refuge's doorstep in Charlton County, home to about 13,000 near the Georgia-Florida line. But conservationists worry mining could cause irreparable harm to a fragile ecosystem that serves as a habitat for alligators, bald eagles and other protected species.

After meeting Thursday morning with local leaders and business owners in the county seat of Folkston, Kemp declined to take sides on the proposed mine. Permits are still pending before Georgia's Environmental Protection Division.

Im going to let the process play out," Kemp told reporters. "I know you want me to say more, but thats really about all I have on that.

A rollback of federal environmental rules under President Donald Trump left the state agency with an outsized role in whether the mine moves forward.

Initially, Twin Pines had also sought a federal permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. But that agency said in October that it no longer has jurisdiction over wetlands that would be drained or otherwise affected by the project. That's because the Trump administration limited the types of waterways that qualify for federal protection under the half-century-old Clean Water Act.

Twin Pines still has five applications pending with Georgia's environmental agency, including three that deal with regulation of state waters. Agency Director Richard Dunn in January promised a substantive review of the project with a chance for the public to comment before a decision is made. He did not say how long that could take.

Story continues

Though he generally casts himself as a pro-business Republican who favors cutting regulations, Kemp in 2019 came out in opposition of oil drilling off Georgia coast citing military concerns, tourism concerns. He supported drilling elsewhere off the U.S. coast.

Kemp said he doesn't see parallels between his concerns about drilling off Georgia and the proposed mine near the Okefenokee.

Theres a lot of differences in those two things, the governor said. "Youre talking about a specific project thats under review versus an idea that never went anywhere.

Nobody in the crowd of about 50 people who showed up for Kemp's roundtable with the local chamber of commerce asked him about the mining proposal.

Michael Lusk, who manages the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, told Kemp the refuge attracts about 600,000 tourists per year and invited the governor to pay a visit. He didn't mention the mining plan.

Twin Pines President Steve Ingle, who has long insisted his mine would have a negligible impact on the swamp, sat quietly in a back corner.
Tehran, April 22 : South Korea has released a small portion of Iranian funds in its banks for its purchase of medicine and vaccine, a senior businessman said in Tehran.

"Only $30 million of Iranian funds in South Korea have been released for purchase of coronavirus vaccines and other medications," Hossein Tanhayi, head of Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce, said on Wednesday.

In February, South Korea agreed to help release at least $1 billion out of the around $7 billion of funds that have remained blocked in two Seoul banks since 2018, said Tanhayi.

"However, the agreement has not been implemented yet," he added.

Iran has announced that South Korea was in arrears with payment of about $7 billion for oil from Tehran, which have been frozen in the South Korean banks because of American pressures of sanctioning the Islamic Republic.
Zubke joins the Tucker-based electric transmission cooperative after serving as CFO of East River Electric Power Cooperative in Madison, South Dakota. The generation and transmission cooperative delivers power to 25 member systems, serving consumers throughout eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Prior to his time at East River, Zubke held various positions of increasing responsibility at CoBank, one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy. The cooperative bank provides financial services to agribusiness, rural infrastructure and Farm Credit customers in all 50 states.

At Georgia Transmission, Zubke will provide leadership and strategic oversight to the cooperative's finances, including a 2021 capital budget of $226.1 million. Additionally, he will serve on the cooperative's leadership team.

"We are excited to welcome Dustin to Georgia Transmission," said President and CEO Barbara Hampton. "You always want to hire people that you feel will be better in the job than you were, and I feel that we've accomplished that with the selection of Dustin. I look forward to the contribution that his experience and insight will bring to our team."

Zubke earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Denver.

About Georgia Transmission

Georgia Transmission Corp., a not-for-profit cooperative owned by 38 Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), owns more than 3,500 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and more than 760 substations. These facilities deliver power to Georgia's EMCs, providing electricity to more than 4.3 million Georgians. For more information, visit gatrans.com.

SOURCE Georgia Transmission Corporation
New York, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Cleaning Robot Market By Type, By Product, By Application, By Region, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06064793/?utm_source=GNW

Using cleaning robots, we can manage various tasks such as UV sterilization, mopping, and other purposes in household and industrial applications. With the help of cleaning robots, we can reduce human efforts & saves valuable time, money and electricity. Cleaning robots can be a good choice for Disable people as an option for costly housekeeping services. Various technological developments have made robots smarter and they become capable of identifying the varying degree of dirt at several places.



The global cleaning robot market would be fueled by the increasing number of technological advancements & modernization in the domain of robotics, rising demand, and a smaller size of cleaning robots in comparison to conventional robots. On the other hand, some of the obstacles to the market growth are the absence of durable robotic vacuum cleaners and poor battery life. Though, the market would witness attractive growth opportunities with the creation of small and user-friendly robots.



Cleaning robots can handle customer requirements as they have been designed as an outcome of the robotic development and shift in approach towards household cleaning and maintenance. Public safety organizations like the European Commission (EU) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have formulated the norms for these chemicals against the increasing safety concern for the utilization of harmful chemicals by cleaning personnel. For example, the EU commission ratified the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that restricts the utilization of specific chemicals by cleaning personnel in industrial and commercial applications. These aspects would fuel the demand for robotics vacuums throughout the forecast period.



Type Outlook



Based on Type, the market is segmented into Personal Cleaning Robot and Professional Cleaning Robot. The personal cleaning robots segment would lead the cleaning robot market during the forecast period. The rising popularity of smart homes is one of the primary trends behind the development of this market. Products like robotic vacuum cleaners are also observing a surge in deployment, which, along with hectic lifestyles and busy schedules, have pushed the consumers searching for convenient cleaning and mopping ways. These are some of the major reasons boosting the market demand for personal cleaning robots.



Product Outlook



Based on Product, the market is segmented into Floor Cleaning Robot, Lawn Cleaning Robot, Pool Cleaning Robot, Window Cleaning Robot and Others. The window-cleaning robot segment would exhibit prominent growth rate during the forecast period. Tall windows are hard to clean and need specialized equipment. Additionally, it is very costly to hire professional window cleaners. The increasing AI technology-related developments are further propelling the growth. Moreover, window-cleaning robots are also achieving popularity in commercial applications as they cut down the need for human labor, hence decreasing the operating costs of companies.



Application Outlook



Based on Application, the market is segmented into Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Healthcare, and Others. The professional cleaning segment would exhibit a promising growth rate during the forecast period. The process of manual cleaning of carpets and floors in commercial spaces, like shopping malls and corporate offices, is a very time-taking task. This has encouraged the operators of the commercial spaces to choose an automated cleaning system. COVID-19 has further encouraged commercial space operators to minimize human contact and follow social distancing regulations while also performing cleaning processes on the premises.



Regional Outlook



Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The European region would display considerable growth during the forecast period due to the rising adoption of robotic vacuums in several industries and sectors like automotive, logistics and transportation, retail, and healthcare. The growth of the regional market is augmented by the rising popularity of Robot as a Service (RaaS) through which leading players like Avidbots provide rental services for offering mopping solutions.



The major strategies followed by the market participants are Product Launches. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is the major forerunner in the Cleaning Robot Market. Companies such as iRobot Corporation, Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, Nilfisk Holding A/S, LG Electronics, Inc. are some of the key innovators in the market.



The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation), Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group), Pentair PLC, iRobot Corporation, Haier Group Corporation, Xiaomi Corporation, Vorwerk & Co. KG (Neato Robotics, Inc.), Nilfisk Holding A/S, and Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd.



Recent strategies deployed in Cleaning Robot Market



Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements:



Dec-2020: Ecovacs Robotics signed a partnership with Aurora Mobile Limited, a leading mobile development service provider in China. In this partnership, Aurora Mobiles industry-leading artificial intelligence-driven push technical offerings would assist Ecovacs Robotics more precisely understand their customers requirements, integrate digital operations & enhance operational and service delivery effectiveness.



Jun-2020: LG Electronics signed an agreement with Miele & Cie, a German manufacturer of high-end domestic appliances and commercial equipment. In this agreement, Miele manufactures and sells robot vacuum cleaners by utilizing patented technologies developed by LG R&D. This agreement also includes the usage of LGs patented induction signal guide and infrared-induced signals to allow robot cleaners to precisely and accurately return to their docking stations for charging.



Mar-2019: Nilfisk partnered with Brain Corp, a San Diego-based artificial intelligence and robotics technology company. Under this partnership, Nilfisk would license Brain Corps BrainOS technology, the leading AI platform for the production, support, and deployment of autonomous mobile robots. This partnership also enables Nilfisk to further escalate the development of a leading portfolio of connected autonomous cleaning solutions.



Acquisition and Mergers:



Jun-2019: iRobot took over Root Robotics, an education robot for coding. Through this acquisition, iRobot added the Root coding robot to its product portfolio. The acquisition complements iRobots plans to widen its educational robot product capabilities further showcasing its commitment for making robotic technology more available to students, educators, and parents.



Oct-2017: iRobot completed the acquisition of Robopolis, a French company. The acquisition expanded their overseas control of market activities that includes constant global messaging, which would help lead to greater adoption of robotic vacuum cleaners and strengthen iRobots market position.



Product Launches and Product Expansions:



Jan-2021: Samsung Electronics unveiled innovative new home appliances that help in automating daily tasks. The JetBot 90 AI+ features smart technologies that maximize the cleaning route and react to its environment. Samsungs new Smart Dial Front Load washers and dryers utilize artificial intelligence to train customers preferences and recommend optimal washing and drying cycles. The JetBot 90 AI+ is the worlds first smart robotic vacuum, powered by Intel AI provides the floors with an amazing clean with the least effort.



Dec-2020: LG Electronics unveiled the new LG CordZero Stick vacuum. It provides powerful and convenient cleaning options for every lifestyle. This launch gives complete cleaning in range with higher suction and a new Power Mop that delivers hard floors a perfect finish. For hands-free housework, the LG CordZero ThinQ Robotic Vacuum offers a deep cleaning with greater suction, building strong enough to be the customers primary vacuum.



Dec-2020: Xiaomi introduced its Mi Robot Vacuum Mop-P in India. This robot is a smart all-in-one cleaning solution for homes. It also features 2-in-1 sweeping and mopping capabilities coupled with control through a smart app.



Sep-2020: iRobot launched the Roomba i3+, a stylish new Roomba vacuum packed with advanced features. Through this launch, the company expanded its Roomba robot vacuum lineup. The Roomba i3+ provides intelligent navigation, self-emptying capability with Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, and an increased range of customized cleaning features powered by the newly introduced iRobot Genius Home Intelligence.



Sep-2020: Neato Robotics introduced its premium lineup, the Neato D10, D9, and D8. The Neato robot vacuums are a great partner in clean that features the best-in-class technology, easy setup, and built-to-last hardware.



Sep-2020: Nilfisk unveiled two high-performance additions to its portfolio of autonomous solutions. This launch includes the Nilfisk Liberty SC60, which is a robotic floor scrubber powered by Brain Corps BrainOS AI software platform; and a UV-C light-based solution for Nilfisks prevailing robotic floor scrubber, the Nilfisk Liberty SC50, to aim viruses and other pathogens. The high-performance machine is equipped with the biggest scrub deck in the autonomy ride-on category and boosts best-in-class usage and substantial operating capacity, to make it increased the cleaning effectiveness in huge indoor spaces.



Aug-2020: iRobot released iRobot Genius Home Intelligence. The new system is a powerful new robot platform that unlocks a wide range of digital features and experiences for the companys portfolio of Wi-Fi-connected products that includes the Roomba robot vacuum and Braava jet robot mop. iRobot Genius offers customers a whole new level of customization and control over their cleaning robots.



May-2020: Haier launched a new vacuum cleaner/mop for crowdfunding on Indiegogo, HiaerTAB Tabot Robot Vacuum/mop. This robot is a 2-in1 device because it integrates vacuuming and mop functions in one. It can even expand beyond as it is a handheld vacuum cleaner, which could be detached and utilized on surfaces where the robot cannot be utilized like sofas.



Mar-2020: Ecovacs introduced DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI, an advanced AI-driven floor cleaning robot. This robot features simultaneous vacuuming and mopping with advanced laser-based home mapping, object recognition & negligence, and remote tracking that brings peace of mind to homeowners.



Scope of the Study



Market Segments covered in the Report:



By Type



 Personal Cleaning Robot



 Professional Cleaning Robot



By Product



 Floor Cleaning Robot



 Lawn Cleaning Robot



 Pool Cleaning Robot



 Window Cleaning Robot



 Others



By Application



 Residential



 Industrial



 Commercial



 Healthcare



 Others



By Geography



 North America



o US



o Canada



o Mexico



o Rest of North America



 Europe



o Germany



o UK



o France



o Russia



o Spain



o Italy



o Rest of Europe



 Asia Pacific



o China



o Japan



o India



o South Korea



o Singapore



o Malaysia



o Rest of Asia Pacific



 LAMEA



o Brazil



o Argentina



o UAE



o Saudi Arabia



o South Africa



o Nigeria



o Rest of LAMEA



Companies Profiled



 LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)



 Panasonic Corporation



 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group)



 Pentair PLC



 iRobot Corporation



 Haier Group Corporation



 Xiaomi Corporation



 Vorwerk & Co. KG (Neato Robotics, Inc.)



 Nilfisk Holding A/S



 Ecovacs Robotics Co., Ltd.



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__________________________
WALLDORF, Germany, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --

Cloud Revenue

in  millions Total Revenue

in  millions





IFRS Non-IFRS IFRS Non-IFRS 2,145 2,147 6,348 6,350  +7%  +7% (+13% cc) -3% -3% (+2% cc)

The share of more predictable revenue reached 78% in the first quarter 2021 (+2 percentage points)

Cloud & Software Revenue

in  millions Operating Profit

in  millions





IFRS Non-IFRS IFRS Non-IFRS 5,428 5,431 960 1,741  +1% +1% (+6% cc) -21% +17% (+24% cc)

" We are seeing very strong order entry growth across our applications portfolio. And we are just getting started. Our new offering 'RISE with SAP' is rapidly becoming a massive accelerator to our customers' business transformations with our platform at the center. Together with our unique ecosystem of more than 22,000 partners and with a strong innovation pipeline for the year, we are well on track with our strategy to deliver robust cloud growth."

Christian Klein, CEO

The first quarter of 2021 was unique in many ways. We had the highest order entry growth across cloud and software in five years while posting the strongest increase in Non-IFRS operating profit and margin in a decade. Free cash flow was up double-digit compared to a record prior year. In the mid term SAP's expedited shift to the cloud will accelerate topline growth and significantly increase the resiliency and predictability of our business."

Luka Mucic, CFO

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

Business Update First Quarter 2021

SAP saw a sharp acceleration in new cloud business across its cloud portfolio including Qualtrics, Human Experience Management, Procurement, Customer Experience, Business Technology Platform, as well as a strong start for 'RISE with SAP' which is driving customers' business transformations in the cloud. Software licenses were up 7% (IFRS) and had strong, double-digit growth of 11% (Non-IFRS at constant currencies). SAP had significant competitive wins in ERP, digital supply chain and across its broader cloud solution portfolio.

Despite the continued impact of global travel restrictions on Concur's business, SAP's cloud revenue growth was resilient in the first quarter, up 7% (IFRS) and up 13% (Non-IFRS at constant currencies). SaaS/PaaS cloud revenue outside the Intelligent Spend business was up 17% (IFRS) and up 24% (Non-IFRS at constant currencies). Looking forward, SAP's strong new cloud business performance is expected to reaccelerate cloud revenue growth.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, SAP continues to serve its customers effectively with an embedded virtual sales and remote implementation strategy. The company retains a disciplined approach to hiring and discretionary spend while capturing natural savings e.g. from lower travel, facility-related costs and virtual events. The prior year included a cost of approximately 36 million in relation to the cancellation of its in-person annual SAPPHIRE NOW and other customer events, as well as normal travel behavior.

Highlights

Key customer wins included: Unilever, BioNTech, IKEA, Nippon Express, BMW, Yamaha Motor Company, Toshiba Corporation, AstraZeneca, Zalando, Deichmann, B. Braun, and Clemson University . AkzoNobel, CONA Services, Daikin Chemicals, Olam International, Google, Bosch Siemens Hausgerate, Douglas, LIVEKINDLY Collective, Peloton, and Chobani went live on SAP solutions.

. AkzoNobel, CONA Services, Daikin Chemicals, Olam International, Google, Bosch Siemens Hausgerate, Douglas, LIVEKINDLY Collective, Peloton, and Chobani went live on SAP solutions. SAP launched "RISE with SAP" on January 27 , a simplified pathway for customers to transform their business in the cloud. In the first quarter alone, SAP closed more than 100 transactions. Customers such as Carrefour Brazil, Sono Motors, KIA Chile, Hillrom, and Grupo Feromax chose "RISE with SAP" in the first quarter.

, a simplified pathway for customers to transform their business in the cloud. In the first quarter alone, SAP closed more than 100 transactions. Customers such as Carrefour Brazil, Sono Motors, KIA Chile, Hillrom, and Grupo Feromax chose "RISE with SAP" in the first quarter. In total, more than 400 S/4HANA customers were added in the quarter, taking total adoption to more than 16,400 customers, up more than 16% year over year, of which more than 9,600 are live. In the first quarter, more than 50% of the additional S/4HANA customers were net new.

The acquisition of Signavio was completed on March 5 , significantly deepening SAP's business process intelligence capabilities.

, significantly deepening SAP's business process intelligence capabilities. SAP closed the acquisition on AppGyver, a no-code development pioneer. AppGyver's solutions will become part of the SAP Business Technology Platform.

SAP announced a strategic partnership with Dediq to jointly expand SAP's financial services portfolio with a significant investment in developing new solutions to better serve the rapidly changing banking and insurance industry. The new solutions will be built as part of SAP's industry cloud solutions. SAP and Dediq intend to form a dedicated Financial Services Industry (FSI) Unit, which will be jointly owned by the two companies. Pending regulatory approval, the new FSI Unit is expected to be established in September 2021 .

. SAP proposed a dividend of 1.85 per share for fiscal year 2020 representing a year-over-year increase of 0.27 or 17%. The dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming AGM to be held on May 12, 2021 .

Financial Performance First Quarter 20211

Current cloud backlog was up 15% to 7.63 billion and up 19% (at constant currencies). Cloud revenue was up 7% year over year to 2.14 billion (IFRS), up 7% to 2.15 billion (non-IFRS) and up 13% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Software licenses revenue was up 7% year over year to 0.48 billion (IFRS and non-IFRS) and up 11% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Cloud and software revenue was up 1% to 5.43 billion (IFRS and non-IFRS) and up 6% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Services revenue was down 18% year over year to 0.9 billion (IFRS and non-IFRS) and down 14% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). This revenue decline reflects the November 2020 divestiture of SAP Digital Interconnect, which contributed approximately 90 million of services revenue (IFRS and non-IFRS) in the first quarter of 2020. Total revenue was down 3% year over year to 6.35 billion (IFRS and non-IFRS) and up 2% (non-IFRS at constant currencies).

The share of more predictable revenue2 grew by approximately 2 percentage points year over year to approximately 78% in the first quarter.

IFRS operating profit decreased 21% to 0.96 billion and IFRS operating margin decreased by 3.4 percentage points to 15.1% due to higher share-based compensation expenses (primarily related to Qualtrics IPO awards) and restructuring expenses related to the accelerated harmonization of SAP's cloud delivery infrastructure. Non-IFRS operating profit increased 17% to 1.74 billion, up 24% (non-IFRS at constant currencies) and operating margin increased by 4.7 percentage points to 27.4%, up 4.9 percentage points (non-IFRS at constant currencies).

Earnings per share increased 29% to 0.88 (IFRS) and increased 63% to 1.40 (non-IFRS) reflecting another strong contribution from Sapphire Ventures.

Operating cash flow for the first quarter was 3.09 billion. Free cash flow increased 10% year over year to 2.85 billion. Cash flow was positively impacted by lower share-based and restructuring payments. Free cash flow was further supported by a decline in capex. At quarter end, net debt was 2.66 billion.

Expanded Financial Disclosure  SAP's Accelerated Cloud Transition

Starting with the first quarter 2021, SAP is expanding its financial disclosure to provide investors with transparency on the transition of its core ERP business to the cloud. Specifically, the Company is disclosing current cloud backlog and cloud revenue contributed by SAP S/4HANA Cloud, along with nominal and constant currencies year-over-year growth rates.

In the first quarter S/4HANA current cloud backlog was up 39% to 1.04 billion and up 43% (at constant currencies). S/4HANA cloud revenue was up 36% to 227 million (IFRS and non-IFRS) and up 43% (at constant currencies).

SAP S/4HANA Cloud represents SAP's cloud offering for core ERP processes. It mainly includes cloud solutions for financial management, supply chain management, engineering and manufacturing, order management and asset management, as well as associated data management, analytics, development and integration capabilities.

"RISE with SAP ", SAP's holistic offering for business transformation in the cloud, is an important driver of S/4HANA Cloud and Business Technology Platform adoption.

Segment Performance First Quarter 2021

SAP's three reportable segments "Applications, Technology & Support", "Qualtrics" and "Services" showed the following performance:

Applications, Technology & Support (AT&S)

Segment revenue in AT&S was down 1% to 5.31 billion year over year (up 4% at constant currencies). Segment performance was driven by strong double-digit cloud revenue growth in S/4HANA Cloud, Digital Supply Chain, Business Technology Platform, and Customer Experience, in particular ecommerce. Software licenses revenue grew sharply driven by a significant number of ERP and supply chain competitive wins against peers. Segment support revenues were flat at constant currencies (year over year) reflecting high retention rates coupled with the shift of some support revenue to cloud.

Qualtrics

Qualtrics segment revenue was up 25% to 202 million year over year (up 37% at constant currencies). The strong growth was driven by companies using Qualtrics experience data and insights to drive employee retention and engagement, to find new customers and strengthen relationships to keep the ones they already have. LIXIL, Singapore Post, Bank of Montreal, Los Angeles County Public Health, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Royal Caribbean International, and many others selected Qualtrics Experience Management Solutions.

Services

Services segment revenue was down 12% to 800 million year over year (down 8% at constant currencies). The services implementation business continues to demonstrate its resilience and flexibility with SAP's shift to remote delivery, and SAP's premium services remain in high demand. However, SAP's training business continues to be impacted due to delays in re-opening of global training centers.

Segment Results at a Glance

First Quarter 2021



Applications, Technology & Support Qualtrics Services  million, unless otherwise stated (Non-IFRS) Actual Currency  in %  in % const. curr. Actual Currency  in %  in % const.

curr. Actual Currency  in %  in % const. curr. Cloud revenue 1,958 4 10 160 33 45 0 NA NA Segment revenue 5,314 1 4 202 25 37 800 12 8 Segment profit (loss) 2,127 8 13 13 <-100 <-100 170 26 33 Cloud gross margin (in %) 68.8 0.1pp 0.2pp 92.2 1.4pp 1.5pp NM1) NM1) NM1) Segment margin (in %) 40.0 3.1pp 3.2pp 6.4 16.5pp 15.6pp 21.2 6.4pp 6.5pp



1) NM = not meaningful

Regional Revenue Performance First Quarter 2021

SAP had a strong performance across all of its regions.

In the EMEA region, cloud and software revenue increased 5% (IFRS) and 7% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Cloud revenue increased 21% (IFRS) and 24% (non-IFRS at constant currencies) with Germany and Switzerland being highlights.

In the Americas region, cloud and software revenue decreased 6% (IFRS) and was up 3% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Cloud revenue decreased 2% (IFRS) and was up 7% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Canada and Mexico had a robust performance.

In the APJ region, cloud and software revenue increased 7% (IFRS) and 11% (non-IFRS at constant currencies). Cloud revenue increased 14% (IFRS) and 18% (non-IFRS at constant currencies) with Japan, Australia and Singapore being highlights.

Financial Results at a Glance

First Quarter 2021



IFRS Non-IFRS1)  million, unless otherwise stated Q1 2021 Q1 2020  in % Q1 2021 Q1 2020  in %  in %

const. curr. Current cloud backlog2) NA NA NA 7,628 6,634 15 19 Cloud revenue 2,145 2,011 7 2,147 2,012 7 13 Software licenses and support revenue 3,283 3,386 3 3,283 3,386 3 1 Cloud and software revenue 5,428 5,397 1 5,431 5,398 1 6 Total revenue 6,348 6,521 3 6,350 6,522 3 2 Share of more predictable revenue (in %) 78 76 2pp 78 76 2pp

Operating profit (loss) 960 1,210 21 1,741 1,482 17 24 Profit (loss) after tax 1,070 811 32 1,722 1,015 70

Basic earnings per share (in ) 0.88 0.68 29 1.40 0.85 63

Number of employees (FTE, March 31) 103,142 101,150 2 NA NA NA NA



1) For a breakdown of the individual adjustments see table "Non-IFRS Adjustments by Functional Areas" in this Quarterly Statement. 2) As this is an order entry metric, there is no IFRS equivalent. Due to rounding, numbers may not add up precisely.

Business Outlook 2021

SAP raised its full-year 2021 outlook on April 13 reflecting the strong new cloud business performance which is expected to reaccelerate cloud revenue growth. The Company continues to expect a software licenses revenue decline for the full year as more customers turn to the "RISE with SAP" subscription offering for their mission-critical core processes. This outlook also continues to assume the COVID-19 crisis will begin to recede as vaccine programs roll out globally, leading to a gradually improving global demand environment in the second half of 2021.

SAP expects:

9.2  9.5 billion non-IFRS cloud revenue at constant currencies (2020: 8.09 billion), up 14% to 18% at constant currencies. The previous range was 9.1  9.5 billion at constant currencies.

23.4  23.8 billion non-IFRS cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2020: 23.23 billion), up 1% to 2% at constant currencies. The previous range was 23.3  23.8 billion at constant currencies.

7.8  8.2 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2020: 8.28 billion), down 1% to 6% at constant currencies.

The share of more predictable revenue (defined as the total of cloud revenue and software support revenue) to reach approximately 75% (2020: 72%).

The Company continues to expect operating cash flow of approximately 6.0 billion (2020 7.2 billion) primarily reflecting moderately lower profit, higher expected income tax payments and adverse currency exchange movements. Free cash flow is expected above 4.5 billion (2020 6.0 billion), also impacted by a modest increase in capex.

While SAP's full-year 2021 business outlook is at constant currencies, actual currency reported figures are expected to be impacted by currency exchange rate fluctuations as the Company progresses through the year. See the table below for the Q2 and FY 2021 expected currency impacts.

Expected Currency Impact Based on March 2021 Level for the Rest of the Year In percentage points Q2 FY Cloud revenue -6pp to -4pp -4pp to -2pp Cloud and software revenue -5pp to -3pp -3pp to -1pp Operating profit -5pp to -3pp -3pp to -1pp

SAP focuses on three non-financial targets for 2021: customer loyalty, employee engagement, and carbon emissions. SAP continues to aim for:

a Customer Net Promoter Score of 5 to 10 in 2021,

an Employee Engagement Index in a range of 84% to 86%, and

net greenhouse gas emissions of 145 kt in 2021.

The full Q1 2021 Quarterly Statement can be downloaded from http://www.sap.com/investors/sap-2021-q1-statement.

Additional Information

This Quarterly Statement and all information therein is unaudited.

Definition of key growth metrics

Current cloud backlog (CCB) is the contractually committed cloud revenue we expect to recognize over the upcoming 12 months as of a specific key date. Thus, it is a subcomponent of our overall remaining performance obligations following IFRS 15.120. For CCB, we take into consideration committed deals only. CCB can be regarded as a lower boundary for cloud revenue to be recognized over the next 12 months, as it excludes utilization-based models without pre-commitments and committed deals, both new and renewal, closed after the key date. For our committed cloud business, we believe the CCB is a valuable indicator of go-to-market success, as it reflects both new contracts closed as well as existing contracts renewed.

Share of more predictable revenue is the total of non-IFRS cloud revenue and non-IFRS software support revenue as a percentage of total revenue.

For explanations on other key growth metrics please refer to the performance management section of SAP's Integrated Report 2020, which can be found at www.sap.com/investor.

Webcast

SAP senior management will host a financial analyst conference call on Thursday, April 22, at 2:00 PM (CEST) / 1:00 PM (BST) / 8:00 AM (Eastern) / 5:00 AM (Pacific), The conference will be webcast live on the Company's website at www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay. Supplementary financial information pertaining to the first quarter results can be found at www.sap.com/investor.

Financial Analyst and Investor Conference

SAP will hold a virtual financial analyst event on Tuesday, June 15, in conjunction with its annual SAPPHIRE NOW conference kicking off on June 2nd https://events.sap.com/sapandasug/en/home.

About SAP

SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps to give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want  without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit http://www.sap.com.

Follow SAP Investor Relations on Twitter at @sapinvestor.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: +1 (800) 872-1SAP (+1-800-872-1727)

Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

 2021 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for any purpose without the express permission of SAP SE. The information contained herein may be changed without prior notice.

Some software products marketed by SAP SE and its distributors contain proprietary software components of other software vendors. National product specifications may vary.

These materials are provided by SAP SE and its affiliated companies ("SAP Group") for informational purposes only, without representation or warranty of any kind, and SAP Group shall not be liable for errors or omissions with respect to the materials. The only warranties for SAP Group products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services, if any. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE (or an SAP affiliate company) in Germany and other countries. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies. Please see www.sap.com/about/legal/copyright.html for additional trademark information and notice.

____________________ 1 The Q1 2021 results were also impacted by other effects. For details please refer to the disclosures on page 24 of this document. 2 Share of more predictable revenue is the total of non-IFRS cloud revenue and non-IFRS software support revenue as a percentage of total revenue.

SOURCE SAP SE

Related Links

http://www.sap.com/


Throughout a harness racing career that has spanned nearly five decades, Scott Ehrlich finds himself back where it all started: behind the microphone calling the action in southern Maine.

Tapped as the new voice of First Tracks Cumberland, the self-taught handicapper and racing enthusiast said, Things are looking up when I am looking down from high atop the grandstand. Its where I have always loved to be.

Somewhat of a familiar tone around the state of Maine, Ehrlich has been the backup announcer at the popular Fryeburg Fair for the last 10 years.

But Ehrlich is no stranger to the announcers booth having been the primary race caller over the years at Cal-Expo, Balmoral and Maywood.

Much of my early success I owe to Phil Langley, who advocated for me with Billy Johnston and got me into his tracks to announce full time, Ehrlich remembers fondly. I grew up in Chicago, so it was a great honour work at these prestigious raceways.

He has also provided backup at tracks throughout the Northeast and Midwest.

It was at Quad City Downs where he got his first big break, calling those races from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.

The knowledgeable and affable Ehrlich will also provide live pre-race analysis as well as racing recap publicity for this new era in Maine harness competition.

While Scott is looking forward to his role as the on-air handicapper, he exclaims that he is no average Joe, I like to provide insight that you wont see in the program ... trip notes, time adjustments, etc.

From me, you wont see the generic stuff. Not only will you get my picks, but you get why.

Ehrlich calls upon his wide range of experiences when working in the industry. Not only are his tip sheets sought after, but in some instances, he has outfitted the horses that he picks!

I realized that a niche needed to be filled, so I started and now am proud to be in my fifth year as owner/operator of Expo Tack shop, serving horsemen and women with horse equipment on the backstretch of Cal-Expo, stated Ehrlich.

In addition, he also owns a few horses. Scott says that, Since I watched and called what seems like a million races, you get to know what each horse likes or dislikes. Additionally, you become well aware of the trainers and their abilities, not to mention the drivers, as well as little things like current race-bikes, to not so current.

And when a horse I see might be racing for a low-percentage trainer and/or driver, and perhaps on a smaller track that doesn't fit their style, that's when I'll buy or claim a horse, who almost assuredly is a closer. You'll never see me acquire a horse from a top stable that uses a high-percentage driver. What advantage is that? I've always tried to buy them fairly cheap and turn them into something good. I'm lucky that it has happened a few times.

So what else does a guy do that wears several hats in an industry that is spread out from coast to coast?

Time with family, of course, Ehrlich adds. When I am not working I enjoy spending time with my wife, Lisa, of 25 years, my three children and two grandchildren.

To listen to one of Scott Ehrlichs favourite race calls, the 2004 Dan Patch from Balmoral Park, click below.

(First Tracks Cumberland)
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Among the most affected populations from Covid are young children 0 to 8 years of age whose developing brains are most vulnerable. Children who can't read proficiently by the end of third grade are more likely to experience poor health, have discipline problems and become teen parents. They are also more likely to drop out of high school. As adults, they are more likely to spend time in prison, struggle with unemployment and face shorter life expectancies. Children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out. Of adults with the lowest literacy levels, 43 percent live in poverty, and 70% of adult welfare recipients have low literacy levels.

Breaking Barriers by 8

Breaking Barriers by 8 (BB8) Co-Chair Steve Carnevale and founder of the UCSF Dyslexia Center, declares, "This is a call to action for all California districts and charter schools to commit at least 10% of their stimulus funding targeted to addressing early literacy." Carnevale explains, "2021 is a unique moment in time with extraordinary funding to address learning loss. We must take advantage of this opportunity to improve 3rd grade literacy rates that are at a low of 32% and likely even worse due to Covid. However, there are proof points in California and nationwide that exemplify what can be accomplished with committed leadership, the right resources, and effective teaching methodologies. We can achieve 100% literacy for ALL children in California."

Elizabeth Estes, Co-Chair of BB8 with Carnevale, and founder of Breaking Barriers, which has been working over the past decade to promote the need for a truly integrated system of care for children and families, explains, "I believe 100% literacy is possible if we are truly committed to addressing all the social, emotional, educational, and behavioral well-being of our youngest children. Children will continue to struggle to learn until all these needs are addressed." Estes challenges the State, "Children will be in a better place to read If California uses this stimulus money to create an integrated community of care across all state functions, with cross-system goals, coordination, and collaboration."

The funding to schools resulting from the American Rescue Plan creates a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to jumpstart literacy for every child. "We believe literacy for all is critical to achieving justice for all," said Patrick Brennan who serves on the BB8 Board and leads its policy initiatives. "If superintendents and school leaders across the State of California commit just 10% of federal stimulus dollars to improving literacy outcomes for California's young children, we can empower, equip and support our teaching force to ensure struggling learners become proficient readers."

Teaching all children how to read is a direct investment in California's future and will impact California's economy for decades to come. According to a 2020 study by the Boston Consulting Group, not meaningfully addressing dyslexia alone will cost California more than $1T dollars over the life of the current children. According to BCG Managing Director/Partner and BB8 board member Matthew Kropp, "In addition to the budget savings, California will miss out on nearly $340 billion in GDP due to unemployment caused by illiteracy over the next 60 years. In relation to today's GDP, this is a 0.3% GDP boost if the barriers to literacy are properly addressed."

BB8 acknowledges that money alone will not improve literacy outcomes. To assist in these efforts BB8 has formed a collaborative of national experts who will work with local educational agencies to contribute their expertise from the fields of neuroscience, behavioral science and structured literacy, to provide a clearinghouse and a community of practice. BB8 endorses research and evidence-based teaching practices and methods that reflect the neuro-translation of young developing brains into the classroom. These include early universal screening, research-based structured literacy teaching practices and meeting the social-emotional needs of students. The 10 for 100 Literacy Pledge is the outgrowth the California Dyslexia Initiative.

BB8 believes literacy is a right, not a privilege. BB8 also believes solving illiteracy is a moral imperative. With collective commitment, resources, and leadership, we can realize generational change and help break the cycle of poverty, homelessness, and incarceration that results from a lack of access to basic information. This vision of 100% literacy is achievable with COVID one-time opportunity. Join us in the "10 for 100 Literacy Pledge" to commit Stimulus Funds to Early Literacy. We stand in partnership to help accomplish this goal of Literacy for All.

Breaking Barriers by 8 (BB8) is a newly formed not-for-profit entity organized to support increasing literacy in the state of California. Through a public private partnership, BB8 is working with California policy makers, local educational agency leaders, equity and diversity leads, youth-serving agencies, corporate sponsors, philanthropists, UCSF Center for Dyslexia, and state and national reading experts. BB8 is a catalytic backbone organization that advocates for and supports systems change. BB8 is committed to providing some of the connective tissue between research, policy, and practice.

Learn more: https://www.breakingbarriersbyeight.org/

Contact Karen Rosenquist Executive Director  (310) 666-2730

Guiding Principles of BB8

Literacy is an equity issue. The role of basic literacy education in the broader framework of the U.S. Constitution suggests that it is essential to the exercise of other fundamental human rights.

Neuroscience research of a developing brain should inform pedagogical methods because learning is both a cognitive and an emotional process.

Structured literacy training for teachers, TK through grade 3, will lead to improved reading and writing skills for all students.

Well-being and physical health are key influencers on a child's ability to read and to write to their fullest capability.

Universal screening for language-based learning differences and psychometric data is key to achieving 100% literacy and should be free to all.

Private corporations have a stake in supporting the development of a vital, more diverse workforce and a better quality of life for our communities.

Research and data informed decision making are critical to effective education.

Technology innovations to assist teachers are part of the solution.

Media Contact: Karen Rosenquist (310) 666-2730

School Contact: Patrick Brennan (202) 738-7722

Learning Ally Media Contact: Valerie Chernek (410) 960-4060

SOURCE Learning Ally
Samsung chief faces stock manipulation trial

Samsung's head office in South Korea's Suwon city. The group is the country's biggest family-run conflomerate, or chaebol. File image: Shutterstock

The jailed de facto leader of the giant Samsung group went on trial on Thursday over an allegedly manipulated takeover in proceedings that effectively put South Korea's system of conglomerate control in the dock.



Samsung  whose flagship subsidiary is among the world's biggest smartphone and computer chip makers  is by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world's 12th-largest economy.



Chaebol families often have only a small ownership stake in their empires, but maintain control through complex webs of cross-shareholdings between units.



Lee Jae-yong, the vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics and the grandson of the group's founder, is accused of stock manipulation, breach of trust and other offences when two other subsidiaries, Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, merged in 2015.



A court spokesman confirmed that Lee was present in court.



Lee was the largest shareholder in Cheil Industries, and critics say Samsung sought to artificially lower the price of C&T to give him a bigger stake in the merged entity  a key part of the Samsung structure  consolidating his grip on the conglomerate ahead of his father's death last year.



He is already serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement and other offences in connection with the corruption scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-hye.



Lee's father, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, died in October, leaving his heirs a vast fortune and an inheritance tax bill of around 13 trillion won (US$11.7 billion), with the first instalment due by the end of this month.



Samsung is crucial to South Korea's economic health, and is active in sectors ranging from construction to healthcare to insurance.



But Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo, said: "The most problematic aspect is the attempted continuation of the unchallenged dynastic rule over a company which is responsible over 20 percent of South Korea's GDP." (AFP)
COVID-19 restrictions 'harmed' religious minorities, violated freedom to practice faith: USCIRF report

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warned Wednesday that some countries have used COVID-19 restrictions to discriminate against religious minorities or blame them for the spread of the virus.

USCIRF, a bipartisan commission tasked with informing Congress and the federal government about global religious freedom concerns, released its 2021 annual report detailing the international religious freedom conditions in a year plagued by a pandemic.

The cover of this years report, which details where religious freedom is improving or in peril, features a globe shrouded in a face mask, showing the worldwide implications the pandemic had.

USCIRF Chair Gayle Manchin said at a press conference that though public health measures in most countries to slow the spread of COVID-19 complied with international human rights standards, some countries used these measures to discriminate against religious minorities.

Unfortunately, it had a negative impact in many ways , she said. What we found to be unacceptable were where minorities were targeted in much stricter fashion, and their activities were restricted much more harshly than other religions across the country, and thats where the problem arose.

Also, there were countries that literally blamed the COVID-19 virus on a particular religion, [claiming] that they were responsible for the spread of that virus across their country, she continued.

Some countries used the pandemic as an excuse to punish and penalize minority religious groups.

While many of these restrictions were justifiable under public health exceptions defined in international law, some restrictions harmed religious minorities or otherwise violated freedom of religion or belief, the report reads.

Where certain religions were targeted or blamed for causing the spread of the virus, there was a greater risk of being arrested and placed in prison or deplorable conditions.

As the restrictions are lifted, we will be watching very closely to make sure that those restrictions are being lifted fairly across the country to all religions, Manchin said.

One example is Malaysia, where non-Muslim houses of worship, including Hindu temples and Christian churches, were not prioritized for reopening and faced different reopening times than mosques. Additionally, the country banned refugees and migrants from entering mosques.

In Turkey, an individual attempted to set fire to an Armenian church for bringing the coronavirus.

USCIRF noted that in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, government authorities indicated Shia religious communities were responsible for the spread of coronavirus and subjected some neighborhoods and localities to stricter lockdown measures.

In Pakistan, Sunni extremist groups blamed Shia Muslims for bringing coronavirus to Pakistan, calling it the Shia virus. According to the report, these extremists were egged on by government and media claims that the virus came from pilgrims returning from Iran.

USCIRF also reported that Muslims in India and Cambodia faced increased stigmatization because some of the earliest patients to test positive for COVID-19 in those countries came from these communities. In India, Muslims were accused of spreading COVID-19, leading to a reported increase in attacks on members of the community.

In Sri Lanka, authorities insisted on the cremation of those who died from COVID-19, including Muslims for whom the practice is religiously prohibited, the report notes. However, the World Health Organization cites a lack of evidence that cremation of COVID-19 victims is necessary for public health reasons. USCIRF expressed concern about this requirement, and welcomed its lifting in early 2021.

The commission reported that the pandemic also fostered a wave of misinformation targeting religious minorities.

The annual report assesses the religious liberty standards in 26 countries to provide policy recommendations to the U.S. government.

USCIRF recommended that the U.S. State Department recognize over half of the countries analyzed as countries of particular concern. The CPC designation is for the worst of the worst countries whose governments engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The designation carries with it the possibility of sanctions.

USCIRF named 14 countries to be designated CPCs. These include 10 countries already recognized by the State Department as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

The remaining four of the commissions CPC list include India, Russia, Syria and Vietnam, which are designated as CPCs by the U.S. State Department.

The Indian government and its allies have reportedly pressured USCIRF to reverse its recommendation to label India as a CPC.

The commission also noted how China continues to be an egregious violator of human rights, specifically toward Christians and Uyghur Muslims.

Tony Perkins, USCIRF vice chair and president of the conservative Christian organization Family Research Council, said China was one of the most troubling developments in this years report.

China is engaged in mass internment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Province, which was declared a genocide and crime against humanity by the U.S. government under the Trump administration in January.

The U.S. was the first country to adopt such terms to describe the CCPs human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims.

USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore noted that the USCIRF first highlighted Uyghur persecution in its first report 25 years ago. But he said the world largely ignored the situation. Over two decades later, the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China has only exacerbated.

This is not the time to give the Chinese Communist Party one inch. , Moore, an evangelical author and public relations executive, said. This issue is an issue that sits alone in its severity and its impact, and we speak with one concerted voice on it.

North Korea, another CPC, is an oppressive abuser of human rights and forbids all competing ideologies outside of the deification of its leaders, USCIRF Commissioner Frederick Davie shared.

North Korea treats religion as an existential threat, considering religious believers as hostile enemies of the state, resulting in intense persecution, Davie added.

Nigeria, a CPC, is plagued with Islamic extremist violence in the northeast, communal violence in the Middle Belt and mass kidnappings. James Carr, a USCIRF commissioner, called Nigeria Africas "diamond in the rough."

Nigeria is a country of 200 million-plus citizens, a standing military of 300,000, and reserves of 100,000, and they tell us they cant stop the kidnappings, the rapes, the murders of schoolchildren as well as adults? Let me quote President Biden, Give me a break, man, Carr said.

Another development in this years report the committee raised is the rise of anti-Semitism globally.

USCIRF released a report earlier this month on the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, which focused on findings in 11 European countries.

We saw, all over the world, the Jewish community, in particular, targeted every way you can imagine as the virus spread, including the appropriation of some of the most obvious, egregious, unconscionable anti-Semitic tropes that should be relegated to the ash heap of history, yet they were almost ever-present in parts of Europe and in other places around the world as COVID-19 spread, Moore explained.

Despite the pandemic and the overall worsening of religious freedom worldwide, the commission noted improvement of religious freedom conditions in some countries over the past year, which led to the removal of three countries from the USCIRF Special Watch List.

Bahrain, Central African Republic and Sudan are no longer recommended for the SWL designation since their conditions had improved and no longer met the requirements for that second-tier State Department classification.

Religious liberty in Sudan began improving after its dictator was ousted in 2019, a new constitutional declaration was issued and the transitional government took steps to improve freedom and human rights.

Bahrain, a small Muslim-majority country, has improved by becoming increasingly tolerant of minority religions in recent years.

Perkins said another positive that came from the past year was religious liberty prioritization in U.S. foreign policy.

In June 2020, the Trump administration administered an executive order on advancing international religious freedom, which established religious freedom worldwide as a political priority of the United States."

The USCIRF report includes recommendations for how the U.S. government should respond to religious freedom grievances for each country included in the report.

The report also included a new section detailing how USCIRF recommendations were implemented in 2020 and early 2021, following the release of last year's report.
The White House called the police killing of a Black teenage girl in Ohio, which occurred moments before a guilty verdict was announced in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd, a tragedy.

The killing of 16-year-old MaKhia Bryant by the Columbus police is tragic, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday. She was a child. Were thinking of her friends and family in the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss.

She added that police violence disproportionately impacts Black and Latino people, and that Black women and girls, like Black men and boys, experience higher rates of police violence.

Ms Psaki said the White House also acknowledges vulnerabilities facing children in foster care, like MaKhia.

Her death came just as America was hopeful for a step forward after the traumatic trial for the murder of Mr Floyd, she added.

Our focus is on addressing systemic racism and implicit bias head on and of course to pass laws and legislation that will put much needed reform in police departments across the country, she said.

Police bodycam footage released after Tuesdays shooting showed an officer in Columbus, Ohio fatally shooting MaKhia with seconds of approaching a group of people in a homes driveway.

The officer yelled out to get down as a person moved into view with what appeared to be a knife and pressed another person against a car. The officer then fired four shots.

Interim Columbus police chief Michael Woods told reporters on Tuesday that officers were responding to an emergency 911 call from someone who reported an attempted stabbing.

Mr Biden has sought to place racial equity at the centre of his agenda, including a proposed overhaul of American law enforcement.

In a national address on Tuesday evening, president Biden called Mr Floyds death a murder in full light of day that ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the scope of systemic racism in the US, after his murder galvanised an international call for accountability and justice for the police killings of Black Americans.

For so many, it feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver just basic accountability, he said of the verdict.

After quietly abandoning plans for a White House-led national commission on police oversight, the president is putting political capital behind the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which faces an uncertain path in an evenly divided Senate after clearing the Democrat-controlled House.

Mr Biden has appointed civil rights attorneys Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke to lead critical civil rights roles within the Justice Department, and the agency  which has lifted a Trump-era policy effectively blocking federal consent decrees into local law enforcement  will probe the Minneapolis Police Department.

A federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Mr Floyd is ongoing, US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Tuesday.
TORONTO (AP)  Canada on Thursday said it is banning all flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days due to the growing wave of COVID-19 cases in that region.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the ban would start late Thursday, speaking hours after India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections in the previous 24-hours. Cargo flights from India and Pakistan will continue.

Health Minister Minister Patty Hajdu said half the people who are testing positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Canada by airplane came from India. Flights from India account for about one fifth of the country's air traffic.

There also a disproportionate higher number of positive cases among those travelling on flights from Pakistan, she said.

It makes sense to pause travel from that region while our scientists and researchers better understand the variants of interest," Hajdu said.

There are than 1 million people who live in Canada who have Indian descent. There are 100,000 Canadians who have Pakistani ancestry.

Canada does not have any direct flights from Brazil where cases are also surging.

Vaccinations have ramped up in Canada, but health experts say more-contagious variants and a failure to take the right measures against the virus have led to a third wave of infections in Ontario. The premiers of Ontario and Quebec asked the federal government to further restrict people from entering.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, meanwhile, apologized Thursday for a failed attempt to close playgrounds and allow police to stop and question people who were not in their homes  measures that created a backlash from police forces, health officials and the public.

The leader of Canadas most populous province, in his first public appearance since announcing the restrictions, said his government had moved too fast with the measures.

"They left a lot of people angry and upset. I know we got it wrong. I know we made a mistake and for that Im sorry and sincerely apologize, said Ford, who appeared to choke back tears at one point.

Story continues

But Ford said he wont resign despite widespread calls for him to do so.

He also suggested his government will offer province-paid paid sick leave for COVID-19 patients, but announced no details. The lack of such a program has led to widespread complaints.

The pandemic restrictions Ford's government announced last Friday immediately ran into opposition. Police departments insisted they wouldnt use new powers to randomly stop pedestrians or motorists and doctors complained the rules focused on outdoor activities like playgrounds and golf rather than more dangerous indoor settings.

Restaurants, gyms and classrooms across the province already had been closed. Most nonessential workers are working from home.

On Saturday, Ford retracted the ban on playgrounds, though outdoor recreation activities such as golf remain forbidden in Ontario, the only jurisdiction in North America that now bans it.

Ontario has been reporting more than 4,000 new cases a day in recent days.

Ford himself is isolating after a staff member tested positive.

Doug Ford knows he's spiraling and that Ontario voters have lost confidence in his ability to manage this emergency. But Sorry, folks" won't cut it," Opposition Liberal leader Steven Del Duca tweeted. His cold hearted refusal to introduce paid sick days for more than a year has already cost lives.
News_release

A study of almost 5 million live births in California by researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at University of California San Diego reports that babies born to mothers diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were more likely to experience negative health outcomes, such as preterm birth and low birth weight, than babies born to mothers without a cannabis use disorder diagnosis.

The findings are published online in the April 22, 2021 issue of the journal Addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the study.

Cannabis use disorder is a diagnostic term with specific criteria that defines continued cannabis use despite consequent, clinically significant impairments. The research team, led by first author Yuyan Shi, PhD, associate professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, conducted a retrospective cohort study of 4.83 million mothers who delivered live, single births in California from 2001 to 2012.

They identified 20,237 women who were discharged after delivery with a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder. Not all people who use cannabis meet the criteria for cannabis use disorder. The study authors stated the actual incidence of cannabis use disorder is likely higher than reported numbers.

The researchers found that diagnoses of cannabis use disorder, based on medical records at time of delivery, rose from 2.8 to 6.9 per 1000 deliveries from 2002 to 2012. Compared to a matched control group of 40,474 mother-infant pairs, infants born to women with cannabis use disorder were more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight and be small for their gestational age  all factors that can require greater or more intense medical care or presage later health issues.

Additionally, researchers found that, though rare overall (less than 1 percent), the risk of infant mortality was greater for infants born to women with cannabis use disorder. These infants were 35 percent more likely to die within a year of birth than infants in the control group. Conversely, these infants were also less likely to be hospitalized within the first year of life than control group infants.

Because we are looking only at medical records, there is a lot we dont know about the mothers and infants in this study, said first author Shi, but our analysis supports the recommendation that health professionals screen for and address cannabis use disorders in their pregnant clients  to protect both their health and potentially the health of their infants.

Currently, screening for cannabis use or related disorders is not standard practice during pregnancy health care, though marijuana is the illicit drug most commonly used by pregnant women, typically to self-treat depression, anxiety, stress, pain, nausea and vomiting, often during the first trimester. It is also not standard of care to provide counsel on the lack of safety data around cannabis use during pregnancy. Both strategies may be helpful, as well as encouraging patients to discontinue use of cannabis during pregnancy and while breastfeeding and referring to treatment when appropriate.

According to a 2018 published study, approximately 7 percent of pregnant women self-reported marijuana use, with rates as high as 10 percent among women ages 18 to 25. Rates based on urine toxicology were even higher, with 19 percent of pregnant women ages 18 to 25 screening positive for marijuana use.

Previous research has found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis, can reach fetuses and infants through the placenta and breastmilk, respectively. THC disrupts the normal function of the endocannabinoid system, which has been shown to play a key role in pregnancy, including implantation of the embryo in the uterus and maintenance of the placenta.

Co-authors include: Bin Zhu, UC San Diego; and Di Liang, UC San Diego and Fudan University, China.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant R01DA042290).
Golden Minerals Company (NYSEAMERICAN:AUMN) (TSX:AUMN) has now made the transition from developer to producer, and is currently ramping up production levels at its open-pit Rodeo Gold-Silver Mine, located in Durango State, Mexico.

At present Rodeo has a short mine life, of 2.5 years, but with a 2,000-metre drill programme currently underway, testing near-surface targets located immediately adjacent to the current open pit, Golden Minerals is confident that the mine life will be expanded.

Despite Rodeo's current short mine life, Golden Minerals expects the cash flow it generates to play an important role in its business' growth. Rodeo's 2021 after-tax cash flow is estimated by Golden Minerals to be between US$9.0mln to US$10.5mln, which should enable the company to fund the initial start-up of silver-lead-zinc operations at its Velardena Project, and potentially cover the cost of a bio-oxidation circuit to process the gold-bearing pyrite/arsenopyrite concentrates at Velardena.

Velardena would be a significantly larger operation generating on average US$20mln after-tax net cash flow per annum for ten years, totalling US$197mln, based on metal prices of US$1,800/oz Au, US$25/oz Ag, US$0.90/lb Pb, and US$1.25/lb Zn.

Alongside its production assets, Golden Minerals has a strong pipeline of exploration projects that it will advance using the cash flow generated from its Rodeo and Velardena operations.

At the Yoquivo Gold-Silver Project, Golden Minerals plans to build on the success of its initial drill programme, which returned intersections of high-grade gold-silver mineralisation. Golden Minerals plans to commence its Phase 2 drilling programme in Q2 '21.

At the district scale El Quevar Silver-Gold Project, Golden Minerals has partnered with mining major Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:ABX) (TSE:ABX) to target large high sulfidation epithermal gold systems at the project.

Under the terms of the earn-in agreement, Barrick must invest US$10mln on exploration and produce a pre-feasibility study with a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate of over 2moz of Au eq, over an 8-year period to earn a 70%-interest in the project.
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Beijing [China], April 22 (ANI): After three years of ban on fasting during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), Uyghur Muslims from Xinjiang refrain fasting during Ramadan despite easing of restrictions this year, due to lingering fear of being branded an "extremist" and marked for detention.

Shohret Hoshur, in an article in Radio Free Asia (RFA), wrote that Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in the XUAR for years have been prohibited from fully observing Ramadan due to religious persecution and restrictions imposed by the Chinese government, which has in many cases banned civil servants, students and teachers from fasting during the holy month.

In certain areas of the region, access to mosques is more tightly controlled and restaurants are ordered to remain open, while Uyghur retirees are often forced to pledge ahead of Ramadan that they won't fast or pray to set an example for the wider community and to assume responsibility for ensuring others also refrain.

During last year's April 23 to May 23 Ramadan, RFA learned that authorities in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture's Makit (Maigaiti)--a county in which some 83 per cent of the population is Uyghur--had informed residents that they were required to turn in any friends or relatives who took part in fasting.

Residents were told that that they could face punishment for fasting, including being sent to one of the XUAR's vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities since April 2017, wrote Hoshur.

RFA also spoke with an official in Kashgar's Peyziwat (Jiashi) county at the time who said his township had instituted mandatory attendance at a daily dawn flag raising ceremony, as well as evening political studies, as part of a bid to prevent residents from fasting because those are the only times of the day that they are allowed to eat, according to Muslim tradition.

Story continues

While investigating the situation in the region during this year's Ramadan, observed between April 12 to May 12, RFA spoke with representatives of government offices, including religious affairs and United Front offices--many of whom, as in previous years, refused to answer questions related to restrictions.

However, RFA recently contacted a police officer in Toqquzaq (Tuokezhake) township, in Kashgar's Kona Sheher (Shufu) county, who said that restrictions on fasting had "eased" in his region since 2020, after having been strictly banned for three consecutive years.

Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, he said that meetings about Ramadan are "always being held" at his police station, with authorities informing the public to "stay far away from religious extremism" and "not to believe rumours but to trust in the party and government."

But amid the propaganda work, he said, residents were being told that "people can fast if they want to," while those who prefer not to "don't have a religious responsibility to do so," suggesting that they have been given a choice.

But despite his claim that restrictions had eased beginning in 2020, the same police officer noted that he has yet to see anyone fasting in his region since then, suggesting that Uyghurs continue to live in an environment of fear.

"I haven't sensed that [people are fasting] at all ... I haven't come across a single person that I've thought is fasting," he said.

"Many people have become very disgusted by religious extremism ... and they worry about being seen and counted as an extremist."

A resident of Kashgar's neighboring Yengisheher (Shule) county seemed to confirm that Uyghurs didn't dare fast this year for fear of drawing the attention of authorities, adding that he and his relatives were unaware of when Ramadan would even be observed in 2021, reported RFA.

"Oh, no--there's no such thing now," said the resident, who also declined to be named, when asked if he was fasting for Ramadan.

"I know neither when Ramadan is starting nor when it ends. I'm going to and from work in the early mornings, so I'm completely unaware, OK?"

Observers have noted that when Chinese authorities find themselves under heavy pressure from the global community over abuses in the XUAR, they often attempt to avoid criticism by temporarily lifting and easing some restrictions in the region.

Such measures are used to set an artificial stage--particularly prior to the arrival of international observers and investigators to the XUAR.(ANI)
WINSTED  Th Laurel Festival is coming back, but without the parade and family day.

Laurel Commission member and Selectwoman Melissa Bird, however, is determined to make the 86th festival special, in spite of the pandemics restrictions.

The Laurel Festival traditionally runs from Friday to Sunday, with a Friday night party, followed on Saturday by a parade and family fun day and the Laurel Ball, and a ceremony on Sunday and crowning the Laurel King and Queen. Junior and senior high school students vie for the crowns and scholarship money by writing an essay and sharing their achievements at school, and are chosen by a juror.

Last year, the festival was condensed to a king and queen crowning party at Little Red Barn Brewers on Lake Street. About a dozen students from the Gilbert School and Oliver Wolcott Tech applied for the honor and the awards.

This year the festival will likely follow last years activities, according to Bird.

Im a little late doing everything, and because of COVID-19, I was waiting to make any sort of announcement, Bird said. But were doing the scholarships again; Ive stretched out the deadline, and they dont have to turn the packets in until May 22.

The judging process is going through Dr. Michael Rooke from Northwestern CT Community College, and well get the names back in early June. Dr. Rooke is very busy, but he always carves out a little bit of time to do that, because he thinks its important for the community and the students.

Bird anticipates holding a Laurel Festival celebration sometime in July.

It wont be a full-on festival. It will be something like last year, she said. Maybe now that things are settling down a little, now that people are getting the vaccine, that will help.

Were also supposed to be celebrating Winsteds 250th anniversary this year too, but weve put that off until next year, Bird said. Im hoping next year well do something really big, and include the last two years of Laurel King and Queen winners.

As Laurel candidates, students are usually required to find a business sponsor, which helps pay for their float in the annual parade.

I have to change things up, because of the weird situations were in, Bird said. This year Im not going to require the kids to have individual sponsors. Its hard to ask people to come up with extra money these days. But businesses and other entities want to be part of it, and so theyre sponsoring the scholarships.

According to Bird, who researched the history of the festival at the Beardsley and Memorial Library in Winsted, the annual Laurel Festival Scholarship Program has been a tradition for more than 85 years.

The contest was suspended between 1941 and 1949 because of World War II, according to Bird. The community of Winchester typically celebrates with its abundant Mountain Laurel, the native state flower of Connecticut.

In 2018, Winsted invited former Laurel Queens to attend the events and honored them with their own ceremony and a luncheon.

Bird doesnt want to lose momentum because of COVID-19.

Weve come so far with it, she said. It was really having a revival, and I dont want to have any blips, where it doesnt happen. Most of all Iwant to make sure if the money is there, that the kids receive scholarships.

The festival is a nice way to show people what good kids we have in town, she said.

The link for applications is available at https://www.townofwinchester.org/. For information, email Melissa Bird at melissa.oiseau@gmail.com
Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the government made no excuses for strongly protecting the national interest. Loading It is the federal government that decides the foreign policy settings of our country and determines whats in our national interests in terms of bilateral partnerships with other countries, she said. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said cancelling the agreement was the right move, but the Morrison government now needed to manage the fallout with Beijing and deliver on diversifying Australias trade and economy. The Victorian government has accepted this veto decision and thats a good thing, she said. The Morrison government should now engage constructively with states to manage the impacts of these new laws.

The move leaves key Australian exports vulnerable to further strikes from China after trade sanctions on $20 billion worth of products over the past year. By using this domestic law, Australia basically fired the first major shot against China in trade and investment, Chen Hong, a director of the Australian Studies Centre at the East China Normal University, told state media outlet the Global Times on Thursday. China will surely respond accordingly. Perth USAsia Centre trade expert Jeffrey Wilson said China could not be angrier. But they have got themselves into a bit of a problem with all the trade sanctions. There is not much they can do to Australia anymore, he said. Once youve thrown the kitchen sink at someone, in a tactical sense the Australian government is liberated to do whatever the hell it wants. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video

But Mr Wilson said the long-term economic prospects from an extended fallout were ominous and education remained vulnerable once borders re-open. You do need an exit visa to get out of China to go and study overseas, he said. So they could basically deny them. Its certainly not on the table today, but there is a different environment in the future where there would be new options for them._ Up to 60 per cent of Australias international $5 billion-a-year student intake is from China. Senator Payne said Australias agriculture sector had shown it was able to diversify its customer base after multiple trade strikes last year over human rights and national security disputes. Australias largest export, iron ore, worth $80 billion a year, remains untouched by Chinese trade sanctions. China, the worlds largest steelmaker also benefits greatly from the quality and the quantity of our iron ore, she said. Im confident that that relationship, despite the challenges we have today, will continue to promote job creation in our country.

Loading Michael Shoebridge, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes defence program, said Australia now had a more coherent national policy on economic engagement with China. He said the BRI decision recognised it was not in Australias interest to help the Chinese government create a more Sino-centred global economic order where it has more economic leverage over others including us. The BRI was President Xis signature policy to creating that Sino-centred global economy, and not helping implement that dream of global economic power is a good thing, he said._ Politically it helps Daniel Andrews because this was a running sore for him because he was out of step with the public and the federal government. This gives him an out. This decision is a graphic illustration of the fact that security and diplomatic interests are now intertwined with economic interests, and any decision that misses that point leads to really bad decisions like Victorias two BRI agreements._ James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, said the Morrison government was right to be annoyed with Beijing for striking the deal with a state government, but said it could have just waited for the deal to expire instead of striking it out. He said the decision has come after several months of relative restraint from both sides following relations between the two countries last year deteriorating to their worse level in decades._
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Coleman Insights revealed findings today from its third annual Contemporary Music SuperStudy, which examined the appetites for contemporary music among 1,000 12- to 54-year-olds across the United States and Canada. The benchmark study evaluated the most consumed songs of the previous year to provide the most comprehensive assessment of consumers' appetites for new music available to audio-based media companies. The initial findings were announced at the virtual All Access Audio Summit.

Contemporary Music SuperStudy 3 demonstrated how contemporary music tastes were impacted in 2020, a year in which the normal rhythms of life were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. In many ways, tastes were frozen in time. The best-testing song, "Shape Of You" by Ed Sheeran, was also last year's best-testing song. "Baby Shark" by Pinkfong was again the least liked song. Six of the Top 10 songs were in last year's Top 10. Post Malone remained the most prolific artist with the most songs (six) in the Top 100.

"I felt a bit like Phil Connors in Groundhog Day when analyzing this year's study," said Executive Vice President/Senior Consultant John Boyne, who led the project for Coleman Insights. "In many ways, the freezing of music tastes makes sense. There were fewer new releases, no concerts, and consumers craved familiar things." Boyne continued, "Even still, to have the same top and bottom songs one year and a thousand surveys later is quite remarkable. You could say 'Shape Of You' is this year's comfort food."

Contemporary Music SuperStudy 3 employed Coleman Insights' FACT360SM Strategic Music Test platform to gather listener evaluations of the most consumed songs of 2020via radio airplay, streaming and salesas measured by MRC Data.

Coleman Insights will release more findings over the next few weeks in its Tuesdays With Coleman blog, followed by the Contemporary Music SuperStudy 3 Deep Dive webinar on Thursday, May 13th at 2PM EDT/11AM PDT. The webinar will cover additional findings including how appetites for different genres of new music have shifted in the past year and how those appetites vary by age, gender, ethnicity, geography, and platform usage Registration is now open for the webinar here.

About Coleman Insights

Coleman Insights, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, with offices in Philadelphia and Hamburg, Germany, is a firm that has helped media properties build strong brands and develop great content since 1978. Its clients include hundreds of media properties in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, including those owned by iHeartMedia, Spotify, Audacy, Bonneville International Corporation, Hubbard Radio, Radio Hamburg, Educational Media Foundation, Stingray Radio, SummitMedia, and Cumulus Media. Additional information about Coleman Insights is available at www.ColemanInsights.com.

Press/interview booking contact:

Jay Nachlis

Coleman Insights

(919) 226-0453

[email protected]

SOURCE Coleman Insights

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The meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) will take place on April 27, among the items on the agenda being the security situation in the Black Sea region and the implications for Romania, as well as the end of NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, informs the Presidential Administration.

In fact, on Thursday, President Klaus Iohannis announced that a CSAT meeting would be convened next week to discuss the situation in the Black Sea area, agerpres.ro confirms.

"I will convene next week a CSAT meeting dedicated especially to this area of tension in the Black Sea and the accumulation of troops on the eastern border of Ukraine. I do not want to go into too much military detail, but I want to assure Romanians that we stay vigilant," the head of state said.

He described the situation in the area as "worrying."
Xia Diya, Minister Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Argentina, Ji Xiaofeng, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Chile, Dong Wei, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Columbia and He Jun, Commercial Counselor of Chinese Consulate General in Sao Paulo, Brazil, together with representatives of 4 Latin American organizations attended the event online.

Mr. Chu Shijia, said that the 3 virtual sessions of Canton Fair have contributed to epidemic control and economic recovery, and stabilized global supply and industrial chain by building a bridge for friendly exchanges and cooperation on pandemic control between China and other countries.

"Canton Fair has always been dependent on the support of global businessmen and industrial organizations and chambers of commerce for its innovation-driven development. The signings mark a deepened economic and trade development powered by practical cooperation between Canton Fair and Latin American industrial and commercial institutions." Chu added.

According to Ms. Xia Diya, the online agreement-signing symbolized Canton Fair's innovation in its marketing mechanism and efforts to offer quality services for global buyers. New opportunities will be provided for Argentine companies to grow their business, and for Chinese and Latin American trading partners to deepen cooperation.

Mr. Jaime Suarez, Executive Director of Colombian Chinese Chamber of Investment and Commerce introduced that with close Sino-Columbia trade ties, Canton Fair has become the first choice for Columbian businessmen to find Chinese partners. The signing today will serve as a bond for both sides to pursue common development.

China and Latin American are both developing countries and emerging economies. Latin America has become Canton Fair's key buyer source region as the bilateral relations continue to grow. Till present, Canton Fair's already well-established network of 149 organizations in 82 countries and regions includes 23 Latin American agencies.

During the 129th Canton Fair, China Foreign Trade Centre also signed cooperation agreements with Kawan Lama Group, Lebanese Chinese Business Association, China General Chamber of Commerce Russia, Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan, Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce. By pooling resources and engaging in practical cooperation, CFTC will foster a full-fledged and multi-level marketing ecosystem.

For other events and latest products of Canton Fair, please register at https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/en/register/selectiveId

SOURCE Canton Fair

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The city of San Antonios effort to wiggle out of a more than $2 million legal tab owed to online travel booking companies went before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The city wants to overturn a May decision by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that affirmed a lower court ruling directing the city to pay the companies more than $2.2 million in costs.

The Supreme Court justices didnt immediately rule on the request. The court generally releases its decisions in mid-June.

The case started in 2006 when the city and 172 other Texas cities filed a class-action lawsuit against 11 companies  including Hotels.com, Hotwire Inc., Expedia Inc., Orbitz and Priceline.com  accused of underpaying hotel occupancy taxes, costing the cities million in revenue.

The lawsuit resulted in a $20.5 million jury verdict for the cities in 2009. The final judgment came to $84.1 million by 2016 because of added penalties and accumulated interest over the years.

In 2017, however, the federal appeals court reversed the lower court ruling and rendered a judgment in favor of the companies.

The companies then sought to have San Antonio pay almost $2.4 million in various costs associated with the case. About $2 million was related to the cost of bonds so the companies could appeal the jury verdict.

The city objected, arguing in a 2018 court filing that it would be grossly unfair to foist these costs on San Antonio taxpayers.

In a 2019 decision, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia awarded the companies about $2.2 million, or roughly 95 percent of what they wanted.

The city appealed, but the 5th Circuit ruled the lower court correctly recognized that it lacked discretion to deny or reduce the appeal bond costs to which the companies were entitled.

The city asked the entire 5th Circuit to reconsider the ruling, but the court denied the request by a 10-6 vote.

So the city asked the Supreme Court to take up the dispute. The court granted the request in January.

The question presented to the court Wednesday was an arcane one  whether district courts lack discretion to deny or reduce appellate costs deemed payable under a federal appellate rule.

Dallas attorney Daniel Geyser represented the city during oral arguments, telling the justices during a telephone conference that the rule authorizes district courts discretion in denying or reducing such costs. Other federal appeals courts have agreed, he added.

The 5th Circuits contrary position ignores the rules plain language, makes nonsense of its structure, invites a host of obvious practical problems and, if adopted here, would dramatically upset settled practices in every single jurisdiction nationwide, Geyser said, according to a transcript of the proceedings posted on the courts website.

Washington, D.C., attorney David Salmons, representing the companies, asked the justices to uphold the 5th Circuits ruling.

Permitting the recently reversed district court to entertain the citys meritless argument that it is unfair for a class representative to pay full costs will cause nothing but mischief and wasteful litigation, Salmons said.

All nine justices posed questions to both attorneys during oral arguments that lasted about 70 minutes. That included Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who in the past has gone years without breaking his silence on the bench.

pdanner@express-news.net
China to release 530 artificially bred alligators into the wild

Xinhua) 20:18, April 22, 2021

HEFEI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A nature reserve in east China's Anhui Province is planning to release 530 rare Yangtze alligators, also known as Chinese alligators, into the wild in May.

The Yangtze alligator, which has lived on Earth for over 200 million years, is a first-class protected animal endemic to China. This is the largest group of the captive-bred Yangtze alligators to be released.

Its population once encountered a sharp decline due to human activities and the changes in the natural habitat. China has since adopted multiple measures to revive its population.

In 1979, artificial breeding of the Yangtze alligator began in the city of Xuancheng, Anhui Province, the main habitat of the species.

"Systematic research and protection of the species, including reintroduction to the wild and habitat conservation, have been implemented to restore its population," said Wu Rong, director of the administration of the province's Chinese alligator national nature reserve.

Thanks to the efforts, the reserve currently boasts approximately 14,000 captive-born Yangtze alligators. It is also the world's largest breeding and research center for the species.

The nature reserve has begun reintroducing the endangered reptiles into the wild since 2003, and as of 2020, a total of 508 Chinese alligators have been released in 16 batches.

The reserve released 120 artificially bred Chinese alligators into the wild in 2019, and another 280 last year.

Preparations for this year's reintroduction work have broadly completed. DNA sequencing, gene comparison and other genetic analysis on the candidate alligators have been conducted to ensure that the genes of their wild population do not decay. Chips have been embedded and satellite trackers have been attached to some alligators for future inspection and scientific monitoring.

Monitoring data involving the released alligators have shown that the reptiles have adapted to the wild environment and successively reproduced.

According to Wu, the subsequent release of captive-born Chinese alligators will be reduced in the next two years to allow the species to "breed and revive naturally."

Meanwhile, the latest survey shows that the wild population of Chinese alligators has risen from about 120 at the lowest point to about 200 at present, completely bucking the declining trend.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Bianji)
The State Supreme Court in Montpelier, as seen last year. A bill passed by the Senate would prohibit the "panic defense" being used by persons accused of assaulting a person on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender.
Visakhapatnam, April 23 : Senior YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy said on Thursday that a proposed mega job fair in Andhra Pradesh has been postponed amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Get Outlook for Android Visakhapatnam, April 23 (IANS) Senior YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy said on Thursday that a proposed mega job fair in Andhra Pradesh has been postponed amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"On the directions of the authorities, after careful consideration, and in the light of the spread of coronavirus, we are postponing the mega job fair to a later date," the ruling party leader said.

Reddy said that a suitable future date would be announced soon and called on the job aspirants to continue registering at ysrcpjobmela.com.

"Prioritising public health and safety, as directed by the YSRCP leadership, the mega job mela has been postponed in the light of the ongoing rise in Covid cases," Reddy said.

According to the Rajya Sabha MP, as many as 15,000 attendees were expected to join the job fair.

"We will get back to you with more information on specific dates in the coming weeks. We assure that your registration will automatically be applicable in the rescheduled event," he added.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Stefano Domenicali says a current European race could be scrapped to make way for the new Miami GP next year.

However, the F1 CEO insists that the new race in the United States will not replace the country's existing event in Austin.

"A yes to Miami doesn't mean a no to Austin," Domenicali told Speed Week.

"That contract is about to expire, that's true, but we're working on it. We want to have both races."

But the Italian admits that another round may have to make way instead, so that the calendar does not expand beyond its current 23 races.

Spanish media speculate that it could be the Spanish GP, as the Circuit de Catalunya is yet to agree a new contract for 2022.

"It could be, because we have to remain realistic and we cannot organise 52 race weekends per year," said Domenicali when asked if a European race could go.

"But the good thing is that we get a lot of interest, allowing us to organise unique and interesting events," he added.

(GMM)
BLUE RIVER, Ore. -- Cascade Relief Team is set to finish cleaning up the damages from the Holiday Farm Fire in the coming days.

From there, they will move on to the Medford area to assist in recovery efforts from the Almeda Fire.

RELATED: TWO ORGANIZATIONS JOIN FORCES FOR BLUE RIVER CLEAN UP

The nonprofit organization joined forces with community members for the past 94 days to clean up the debris. They said the plan was to give the citizens a headstart before the government arrives to help.

CRT President Marc Brooks said they will begin to help the area find long-term solutions.

"Long-term relationships are all about that sense of community and helping out when needed," Brooks said, "Theres gonna be needs for years to come. This is something that just doesnt end overnight or just doesnt end with the cleanup."

According to him, this means helping with things like septics, installation of power lines, and new home foundations.

Melanie Stanley is the owner of Meyer's General Store, which was completely destroyed in the flames. She said the entire project has been an emotional rollercoaster.

"It still is hard sometimes to look around and not see anything, but it is also positive because now that I know that most of the site is clear. I can see what might be, or what could be next, so thats been helpful," Stanley said.
Acting Features Editor

Jennifer Huberdeau is the acting features editor. Prior to The Eagle, she worked at The North Adams Transcript. She is a 2020 New England First Amendment Institute Fellow and a 2010 BCBS Health Care Fellow.
What does a city sound like? Asked that question, do you think of the dull roar of traffic, the staccato yelp of a horn, the wobbling screech of an alarm? In other words, do you think of cars? Automobiles are such a fixture of the urban landscape that its easy to overlook just how much they dominate the soundscape, too.

But that changed when the coronavirus pandemic arrived a year ago. As workplaces went virtual and shopping shifted online, traffic largely vanished. The relative quietude delighted many urban residentsand not just humans. A study of Bay Area sparrows found that their birdsongs grew richer as the automotive din subsided.

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That tranquility proved to be fleeting. (And you might have missed it, spiked as that early-pandemic moment was with uncertainty and fear.) Traffic has made a steady recovery as far back as last summer, and it is poised to grow further as workplaces reopen. Even after a tough year, the acoustic part of the early lockdown is one aspect of the pandemic we should remember warmly: Our neighborhoods werent just more enjoyable without cars constantly rumbling by. The reduced noise made them healthier, too.

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Although no one likes being startled awake by a blaring car horn, auditory intrusions also come from a variety of other urban sources, such as helicopters, firetrucks, and jackhammers. But helicopters eventually fly away, firetrucks pass, and construction crews go home. Meanwhile traffics cacophony is endless if you live along a major thoroughfare. No other urban sound can be so unrelenting. And while there isnt much we can do about the annoyance of a sirenits loud for a reasonthere are a number of tools available to reduce the clamor of cars.

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Prolonged exposure to noise is deeply harmful to human health. A study of London residents found that those subjected to sustained, high levels of traffic noise were more likely to die, especially from strokes, and another from Sweden found increased risk of heart attacks. According to the World Health Organization, excessive noise can cause cardiovascular and psychophysiological effects, reduce performance and provoke annoyance responses and changes in social behavior.

Traffic noise can be damaging even if it goes unnoticed. Loud nocturnal sounds interrupt sleep, disrupting circadian rhythms and leading to hypertension. Noise leads people to toss and turn more, says Tara McAlexander, a professor of epidemiology and statistics at Drexel University. So even when people say theyre not bothered, there is something still happening below the surface.

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Although people may not fully appreciate the health risks, most still try to avoid living near busy roads. Noise is a part of the lack of quality of life in these environments, though the health impact is not directly tangible says Anne Moudon, a professor emerita at the University of Washingtons department of urban design and planning. Low-income, minority communities have a disproportionate share of major thoroughfares, making the decisions to route so many urban interstates through them during the 1950s and 1960s seem even more inequitable.

Looking to the future, one might hope that the growing popularity of electric vehicles could allow urban streets to grow quieter as drivers trade in their rumbling gas guzzlers. Bad news: Most traffic noise75 to 90 percent, according to Californias transportation departmentis caused not by internal combustion engines but by tires rubbing against asphalt.

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All of that being the case, can cities do something about the noiseespecially as workplaces begin to reopen to commuters?

Moudin points to slower streets as one potentially promising solution. Noise grows logarithmically with speed, she says, so slowing automobileswhether electric or otherwiseis very important. Conveniently, a push for reducing urban speed limits is already underway, spurred by cities Vision Zero campaigns to reduce traffic fatalities. Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado, are among cities that have set the default urban speed limit to 20 mph (the slogan is 20 is plenty). Another option is using quiet pavement with asphalt calibrated to soften sounds.

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But adjusting speed limits and asphalt mix wont stop a driver leaning on his horn to get a neighbors attention or a motorcycle owner whose favorite sound is his own revving engine. Such activities may not be as dangerous to health as the ongoing roar of traffic, but theyre still annoyingand they violate an implicit social contract by allowing the interests of a single person to trump those of a majority preferring peace and quiet. An intuitive policy solution is to impose a fine, such as New York Citys $350 penalty for unnecessary honking. Israel has taken a more aggressive approach, banning car alarms outright. But enforcing automobile noise violations can be tricky; the driver may be long gone by the time police respond to a complaint.

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Technology could offer a solution. In recent years muscle car owners have converged on the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea to show off their souped-up engines (some have even flew in custom vehicles from the Middle East). Facing increasingly disgruntled residents, last October the borough council installed two noise cameras which automatically photograph the license plates of vehicles exceeding the legal limit of 80 decibels. Violators receive a fine of 100 in the mail. Residents are thrilled, says Borough Councillor Johnny Thalassites, who has championed the program. For the first time in many years theyre sleeping a bit better.

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Thalassites says that the boroughs noise cameras have attracted inquiries from officials in France, Canada, and Australiabut not yet the United States. Could fresh memories of the pandemics quiet streets prompt American cities to take a stand against excessive automobile noise? One would hope soafter all, theyre starting to address the scourge of leaf blowers. Why not car alarms, which in addition to being punishingly loud are also useless?

Still, there are worse things than suffering the jolt of a car alarm. In lost sleep, higher blood pressure, and many other maladies, those living next to traffics constant din pay a far higher price for the intrusive ubiquity of urban car noise.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Arkansas Legislature passes bill banning Planned Parenthood from public schools

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Arkansas lawmakers have overwhelmingly passed a bill that would, if enacted, prohibit Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing resources to public schools.

Known as the Arkansas Student Protection Act, the bill passed the state Senate on Monday in a vote of 27-5, having previously passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 73-18.

Also known as House Bill 1592 and sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark Lowery, the legislation says that a public school or open-enrollment public charter school cannot knowingly enter into any type of transaction with an abortion provider.

Any school found to be violating the measure will appear before the state board to determine Why this subchapter and division rules were violated and How to prevent the violation of this subchapter and division rules in the future.

The bill has been sent to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, whose office has not yet indicated whether he will sign the bill, The Associated Press reports.

If Hutchinson were to reject the bill, the Arkansas Legislature would only need a simple majority to override the governors veto and make it law.

Jerry Cox of the Arkansas Family Council celebrated the vote, calling it a "good bill" that will help make sure Planned Parenthood and other abortionists dont access Arkansas public schools.

Gloria Pedro of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the regional body of the abortion provider that includes Arkansas, denounced the legislation in a statement.

Our students' basic education should not be jeopardized because of the Legislature's misguided political agenda, Pedro said.

In March, Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 6 into law, which bans abortions in nearly all circumstances, save in the event of a life-threatening medical emergency for the mother.

Hutchinson said at the time that he would have preferred the law to include exemptions for rape and incest, as such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I will sign SB6 because of overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions, the governor said at the time.

SB6 is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law.
"Therapy for a Vampire" doesn't have the comedic muscle of 2014's brilliant New Zealand import "What We Do in the Shadows," which is hands down the best vampire satire in decades. Yet its premise and stunning photography help make it a compelling entry in the genre.
People react after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site in a parking lot for Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., on Jan. 13, 2021. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Orange County Remains in Orange Tier for COVID-19

SANTA ANAOrange County continues to show encouraging signs of declining COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and a major healthcare provider has opened one of two new mass vaccination sites in the county.

The numbers are looking great in Orange County, Andrew Noymer, a University of CaliforniaIrvine professor of population health and disease prevention, told City News Service.

The county on April 21 reported 53 new COVID-19 cases, upping the cumulative total to 253,206, and logged two deaths, one of which occurred in January and the other in Decemberbringing the number of coronavirus fatalities in the region to 4,902.

The number of COVID patients in county hospitals fell from 127 on April 20 to 110, and the number of those in intensive care units decreased from 25 to 23.

The county has 36.2 percent of its intensive care unit beds available and 74 percent of its ventilators.

Noymer analyzed data from states across the country on April 21 and noted that while some may be struggling with upswings in cases, that is not the case in California.

We definitely dont seem to be going the way of Michigan, he said. New Jerseys not great, Rhode Islands not great, but Michigan is far and away the only Michigan. Im liking the numbers in Orange County today. California is doing the best of the lower 48.

Noymer added, I would really love to see those hospitalizations below 100 anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Providence, the national nonprofit healthcare provider, partnered with Edwards Lifesciences, an Orange County-based medical technology company, and the cities of Irvine, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, and Tustin to open two mass vaccination clinics.

One opened April 21 at the Edwards Lifesciences offices at 3009 Daimler St. in Santa Ana, and the other at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine will open on April 26 as a drive-thru clinic.

Noymer said it is probably time to turn over vaccinations to traditional healthcare providers like pharmacies.

Just do it through Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreens, he said. Just do it the way we do the flu vaccine, which works. The politicians have gotten their mileage out of the photo-op mega sites  Its not what we really need.

The pharmacies could do more vaccinations with more supply, Noymer said.

Mega sites are for the hyper motivated vaccine seekers, he said.

Soon, the focus will need to turn to reaching the residents who are more resistant to vaccines, Noymer said.

The hard-core anti-vaxxers will pay a fine before theyre vaccinated, he said. I think there are some people who claim they wont get it who are amenable to getting a shot.

Coronavirus daily case rates continue to decline, but not enough for Orange County to move into the less-restrictive yellow tier of the states Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

According to numbers released April 20, the countys weekly averages for adjusted daily case rate per 100,000 residents improved from 3 on April 13 to 2.8. The overall positivity rate improved from 1.6 percent to 1.4 percent.

The countys Health Equity Quartile rate, which measures positivity in hotspots in disadvantaged communities, improved from 1.8 percent to 1.7 percent. The countys positivity rates qualify for the least-restrictive yellow tier of the state system, but the case counts are still in the orange tier.

Graduation into the yellow tier requires that the case rate go below 2 per 100,000 population.

Another 13,473 COVID-19 tests were logged April 21 for a total of 3,568,067.

The two additional deaths logged Wednesday raised the death toll in December to 930 and 1,508 in January. Those were the deadliest months since the pandemic began.

The death toll so far in April is seven. The death toll for March stands at 169, and 569 for February.
Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. - Warren Buffett

Ithaca Wealth Management, an independent financial advisory firm that helps individuals compound their wealth, today announced the launch of its Evergreen Tree-Planting Initiative in celebration of Earth Day.

Someones sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.  Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Working with the Arbor Day Foundation, Ithaca Wealth Managements Evergreen Tree-Planting Initiative will plant five trees for every investment management account opened on its platform, both retroactively and going forward.

The trees will be planted in our nations forests that are most in need of reforestation efforts following the devastating effects of wildfires, including in Oregons Wallowa-Whitman and Umpqua National Forests.

At Ithaca Wealth Management, we never underestimate the mind-boggling power of compound interest, in both investing and in life. While this may seem like a small act on the surface, over time it can grow into something much bigger than all of us, Ithaca Wealth Management Founder and Wealth Advisor Matthew Fox said.

Additionally, Ithaca Wealth Management reiterated its commitment to sustainable investing, which enables its clients values to be fully aligned with their investments.

We take pride in building long-term investment portfolios that are fully aligned with your core values. Thats why our flexible model portfolios utilize individual stocks, giving us extreme flexibility in excluding carbon-heavy polluters found in the energy, mining, and chemical sectors that often leak into passive index ETFs and mutual funds, Fox said.

To learn more about Ithaca Wealth Management's sustainable investing practices, along with its $0 account minimums, innovative Auto-Pilot Pricing Platform, and fiduciary services, visit http://www.ithacawealth.com or call 607-882-1434.

About Ithaca Wealth Management

Ithaca Wealth Management is an independent, fee-only, financial advisory firm that offers investment management and financial planning services to individuals and small businesses in the States of New York and Tennessee. Ithaca Wealth Management is powered by Altruist, a fintech company on a mission to make financial advice better, more affordable, and more accessible to everyone. Their next-generation digital suite, built for independent financial advisors and their clients, combines software to manage an investment portfolio with a powerful brokerage platform to invest. This helps streamline operations and frees up time, so advisors can focus on serving their clients even better.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reportedly spoke with Queen Elizabeth II after Prince Philips funeral over the weekend.

The 39-year-old royal was unable to attend the service on Saturday (04.17.21) because her doctors deemed it too risky for her to travel whilst heavily pregnant with her second child with her husband Prince Harry.

And although she couldnt be there in person, Meghan and her 23-month-old son Archie reportedly called Queen Elizabeth earlier this week to make sure the monarch was okay following her 99-year-old husbands funeral.

A source told People magazine: "Meghan spoke with Harry before his grandfather's funeral. Meghan and Archie also spoke with the Queen earlier this week."

Harry, 36, attended his grandfathers funeral without his wife or their young son, which marked the first time he had met with several of his family members since deciding to step down as a senior royal and move to California.

The Duke of Sussex has reportedly returned to his Montecito home following the service, with his car seen leaving the private terminal at LAX airport just minutes after the plane landed on Tuesday (20.04.21).

Harry's return to the US means he will miss his grandmother Queen Elizabeth's 95th birthday on Wednesday (21.04.21), following previous reports he was "conflicted" as to whether to stay for the occasion or to get back to his spouse.

The Dukes visit to the UK also marked the first time he had seen his family since he and Meghan gave their bombshell tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey.

It has been claimed he spent three hours "clearing the air" with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, though he didn't have a one-on-one meeting with either due to concerns what they said could be misconstrued.

Harry is expected to return to the UK again at the end of July to join his brother for the unveiling of a memorial to their late mother, Princess Diana.
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms. High 81F. N winds shifting to SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
LAS VEGAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to upcoming changes to iOS 14 and Facebook data tracking, Madrivo has begun an exclusive partnership with PixelConnector to help social publishers easily and accurately track conversion events without a break in data.

The partnership between the two companies will offer Madrivo's network of social publishers exclusive access to PixelConnector, which seamlessly integrates with Facebook's Aggregated Events Measurement (AEM) tool to accurately track and report on conversion events. PixelConnector requires minimal setup and can be installed by social publishers within 15 minutes to create a seamless data transition when the iOS 14 and Facebook changes occur.

Madrivo's CEO Ronen Hamatian states, "Our partnership with PixelConnector offers a unique solution to our network of social publishers in the light of the critical changes from Facebook and Apple. Our publishers rely on us to provide simple-to-use solutions that give them the analytics they need to effectively optimize large-scale campaigns automatically  that is exactly what PixelConnector does. We're excited to say that PixelConnector is already being used by our sister company Adforia to great success as well."

PixelConnector CEO Cody Solomon is equally excited about the partnership saying, "The team at PixelConnector is thrilled to partner with industry-leader Madrivo, as their experience and reach in the affiliate marketing space is unparalleled. Together, we will be able to ensure that traffic and conversions will keep flowing back and forth from publishers to the huge selection of offers available on Madrivo, without any disruption  helping tens of thousands of marketers get the data they need to keep optimizing and scaling their campaigns effectively."

Social publishers not within the Madrivo network can apply to join Madrivo to use the PixelConnector tool for a free and seamless connection to accurate backend data and Facebook AEM.

About Madrivo

Madrivo is a performance-based marketing agency dedicated to multichannel customer acquisition solutions. Our unique services in email marketing, social, mobile, and more, feature an exclusive network of vetted traffic sources that respect your brand while delivering quality and high-converting consumers.

About PixelConnector

PixelConnector was developed in response to a fundamentally evolving digital marketing landscape with the accelerated depreciation of third-party cookie-based tracking methods catalyzed by the changes announced in Apple's iOS 14. Its technology allows marketers to utilize Facebook's Conversion API without the need to write code and manage infrastructure. Pixel Connector is the first product released as part of the Affiliamax marketing suite of purpose-built tools for affiliate marketers.

Press Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Madrivo
Absconding self-proclaimed godman Nithyananda on Thursday banned the entry of all Indians to his island nation 'Kailasa', amid rising cases of Coronavirus in the country. Issuing a video statement, Nithyananda also banned travellers from Brazil, European Union, and Malaysia which are also witnessing a second wave of the Coronavirus.

Last year, the rape-accused had begun issuing visas and passports inviting people to visit 'Kailasa'. He also initiated charter flight services called 'Garuda' for the same purpose. As per the official website of the godman, visitors were invited to stay for not more than three days during which they would be provided free of cost food, stay and other requirements needed.

The website of this purported nation explains, "Kailaasa is an apolitical Nation whose vision is enlightened living on all humanity. Towards this goal, it is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and revival of an enlightened culture and civilization based on authentic Hinduism that was once practised freely in over 56 nations across the continent from Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Burma, Sri Lanka, all the way to Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Indonesia, but is now facing extinction due to persecution over a millennium."

Charges against Nithyananda

Nithyananda is facing charges in several Indian states, primarily in Karnataka where he is booked under rape (376), unnatural sex (377) cheating (420), criminal abutment (114). In Gujarat, Nithyananda is booked under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) and Section 344 (wrongful confinement for ten or more days). He also faces multiple charges being tried in several courts in India apart from the French government which is investigating him for allegedly duping a devotee of nearly $400,000.
First summer open call announced

MoCA Westport announced its first Summer Open Call, a juried exhibition open to all emerging, mid-career and established visual artists over the age of 18.

Applications will be accepted on the art museums website at mocawestport.org.

The submission deadline is 5 p.m. May 21. Exhibiting artists will be announced May 28.

Max Teicher and Emily White of Gagosian Gallery, NYC, (New York City,) will be the distinguished jurists and curators.

All mediums will be considered, and there are no size limitations for the entries. Artists are required to submit digital image samples of five to 10 works of art, as well as a resume and brief artist statement.

In-person drop off is 9 a.m. to noon on June 13 and 14.

Contact Liz Leggett, director of exhibitions at the art museum, at liz@mocawestport.org, or 203-222-7070 for more information.

Westport Womans Club hosting annual art show

The Westport Womans Club is going to host its annual Art Show from 2 to 6 p.m. on May 22 and 23, indoors at the organizations clubhouse, located at 44 Imperial Ave, in Westport.

Admission to the show is free and open to the public. Masks will be required, and attendance will be limited amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The show is curated by Artist Miggs Burroughs, and features a variety of local artists. Event co-chairs are Jo Fuchs Luscombe, and Leah Scherzer. Participating artists will donate a portion of sales from their art to fund the clubs community service grants, scholarships and programs.

The artists for the show include: Nina Bentley, Amy Bock, Trace Burroughs, Susan Fehlinger, Judith Orseck Katz, Tom Kretsch, Susan Leggitt, Kerry Long, Michael Ledner, Carole McClintock, Bernard Perry, Jon Puzzuoli, Katherine Ross and Jo Titsworth. There artwork will be available for purcase. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted for purchases, as well as charitable donations to the Womans Club.

Sponsors for the show include: The Drew Friedman Community Art Center, and New York Artist JoMarie Dilorio who is donating an original piece of art titled: Sunflowers Basking, that will be given via a drawing to an Art Show attendee.

Visit Community Services on www.westportwomansclub.org for more information about the Westport Womans Club Community Service outreach.

Police department participating in prescription drug take back day

The Westport Police Department is participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will be held at the Westport Center for Senior Activites, at 21 Imperial Ave.

The collection site cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills, or patches. The service is free, and anonymous, no questions asked.

Vape pens where the batteries can be removed, can be disposed of at the event. Vape pens where batteries cannot be removed wont be accepted.

Visit https://takebackday.dea.gov/ for more information about the disposal of prescription drugs, or about the event.

A year-round collection bin is located in the lobby of the police departments headquarters, at 50 Jesup Road in Westport. Prescription drugs can be properly disposed in the bin at any time.

Domestic Violence Task Force collecting supplies

The Westport Domestic Violence Task Force is collecting supplies for the two Domestic Violence Crisis safehouses that serve area residents and DVCC clients in the community. The initiative began April 19 and ends April 25.

The DVCC is the only domestic violence agency serving Stamord, Norwalk, Westport, New Canaan, Darien, Wilton and Weston.

Contactless pickup arrangements can be made by emailing Task Force Co-Chair Jillian Cabana at wdvtf06880@gmail.com.

Along with providing a safe, and confidential shelter for victims of intimate partner violence, and their children, the DVCC aids with basic needs such as food, clothing, and personal items.

The safe houses need car seats in new or like new condition with tags still attached to check expiration date, strollers, diapers, wipes, lotions, baby wash and new bottles.

If a person, or someone that someone knows is in need of assistance, help can be reached via the 24 hour hotline, 1-888-774-2900 and additional information can be found on the DVCC website, www.dvccct.org.

Westport household hazardous waste day scheduled

Westports free and annual Household Hazardous Waste Day will be from 9 a.m. to noon on April 24 at the Greens Farm Railroad Station, Parking Lot #1 on New Creek Road.

The event is designed to provide residents with a safe option to keep household hazardous wastes out of municipal solid waste streams, and protect land, and water from potential contamination.

Visit the towns public works website for a list of accepted items, guidance on how to dispose it and more information. The department can also be reached at 203-341-1793.

Propane tanks, ammunition, flares, explosives, and commercial and hazardous waste arent accepted.

Antifreeze, motor oil, batteries of any type, fluorescent bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs, and electronics can also be recycled at the Westport Transfer Station, located at 300 Sherwood Island Connector, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon.
In 2016 influential political leaders, activists, and media outlets in Los Angeles said they had a simple solution to homelessness: build more housing. Echoing an argument heard across the country, they claimed that rising rents have thrown people onto the streets and that by directly providing free permanent supportive housing, cities can reduce the number of people on the streets and save costs on emergency services.

In response, 77% of Los Angeles voters approved a $1.2 billion bond for the construction of 10,000 units for the citys homeless. That commitment made Los Angeles the most significant testing ground for the Housing First approach that has become the dominant policy idea on homelessness for West Coast cities. Even before the passage of the bond, the concepts creator, Sam Tsemberis, was lavished with praise by the national media. In 2015, the Washington Post wrote that Tsemberis had all but solved chronic homelessness and that his research commands the support of most scholars.

In the years since, Housing First has taken even greater hold in California and the across the West. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently declared that we need to have an entitlement to housing. California Gov. Gavin Newsom went a step further, arguing that doctors should be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin or antibiotics.

Five years in, the project has been plagued by construction delays, massive cost overruns, and accusations of corruption. The Los Angeles city controller issued a scathing report, The High Cost of Homeless Housing, which shows that some studio and one-bedroom apartments were costing taxpayers more than $700,000 each, with 40% of total costs devoted to consultants, lawyers, fees, and permitting. The project is a boon for real estate developers and a constellation of nonprofits and service providers, but a boondoggle for taxpayers. The physical apartment units are bare-bones  small square footage, cheap flooring, vinyl surfaces  but have construction costs similar to luxury condos in the fashionable parts of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, unsheltered homelessness has increased 41%, vastly outpacing the construction of new supportive housing units. Los Angeles magazine, which initially supported the measure, now wonders whether it has become a historic public housing debacle.

Before completing a single housing unit, the city reduced its projected construction from 10,000 units to 5,873 units over 10 years, with the potential for further reductions in the future. But the long-term problem runs much deeper: Even if one accepts that permanent supportive housing is the solution, there are currently more than 66,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County. Under the best-case scenario, Proposition HHH will solve less than 10% of the problem over the course of a decade.

Despite Housing Firsts uncertainties, other West Coast cities desperate to solve homelessness, including Seattle and San Francisco, have been captured by its seductive messaging and promise of respite. As Los Angeles grapples with the unforeseen consequences of its big bet on Housing First, the federal, state, and local governments, especially in major metropolitan areas, are preparing to commit billions of dollars to the program, whose track record remains woefully underexamined.

Ever since clinical psychologist Tsemberis pioneered the model in New York City in the 1990s, political leaders, activists, and academics have insisted that Housing First is an evidence-based intervention that reduces homelessness, saves taxpayer money, and improves lives. Supporters frequently argue that the program reduced costs in a study of chronic alcoholics in Seattle, consistently demonstrates high retention rates in multiple academic surveys, and eliminated chronic homelessness in Utah. We're going to stem this crisis by building supportive housing in every neighborhood throughout Los Angeles, City Council member Herb Wesson recently claimed.

These studies, however, are not as persuasive as activists suggest. Although the study of chronic alcoholics in Seattle does show a net reduction in monthly social service costs of $2,449 per person, this figure does not include $11 million in capital and construction costs for the housing units themselves; in other words, Housing First saves money if the cost of housing is not included. Even on its own favorable terms, the studys purported savings arent as dramatic as they appear: While the Housing First participants showed a 63% reduction in service costs over six months, a wait-listed control group that was not provided housing showed a 42% reduction in service costs over the same time period, raising questions about the specific effectiveness of the intervention.

Claims that studies show one-year retention rates of roughly 80% for Housing First participants are open to question. In a meta-study of three best-in-class Housing First sites, researchers found that 43% remained in housing for the first 12 months, 41% were intermittent stayers who left and returned, and 16% abandoned the program or died within the first year. These findings challenge the argument that Housing First is a long-term solution to homelessness.

Finally, advocates and the media have long touted Utah as the gold standard of Housing First. The Daily Show called the states program mind-blowing, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2015 that Utah is winning the war on chronic homelessness, and dozens of media outlets announced that the state reduced chronic homelessness by 91%. These miraculous results, however, were not the result of Housing First policies, but apparently clerical manipulation by state officials. According to the Deseret News and economist Kevin Corinth, As much as 85% of Utah's touted reductions in chronic homelessness  may have been due to changes in how the homeless were counted. Its not that all of the chronically homeless were housed; they were simply transposed onto a new spreadsheet. Moreover, between 2016 and 2018, the number of unsheltered homeless in Utah nearly doubled  hardly the victory that Housing First activists had declared.

The recent debate surrounding Housing First has predominantly been focused on the physical and budgetary metrics of housing retention and cost reductions. But these surface-level concerns obscure a deeper question: What happens to the human beings in these programs? The results, according to the vast majority of studies, point to a grim conclusion: Housing First does not meaningfully improve human lives.

Although housing programs are often an effective solution for families experiencing a temporary loss of shelter, Housing First programs do not have a strong track record improving the lives of the unsheltered homeless  the people in tents, cars, and on the streets  who often suffer from more severe challenges. According to research by the California Policy Lab, 75% of the unsheltered homeless have substance abuse condition, 78% have mental health conditions, and 84% have physical health conditions. In theory, Housing First would address these problems. In every program, residents are offered a wide range of services. At the Pathways to Housing program in New York City, a flagship program founded by Sam Tsemberis himself, residents are served by an interdisciplinary team of professionals that includes social workers, nurses, psychiatrists, and vocational and substance abuse counselors who are available to assist consumers 7 days a week 24 hours a day. However, despite this massive intervention, the Pathways program shows no reduction in substance abuse or psychiatric symptoms over time  in fact, those conditions often worsened.

This basic finding is confirmed by a range of studies showing that residents of Housing First programs show no improvement regarding addiction and mental illness. They are housed but broken, wracked by the cruelest psychoses, compulsions, and torments  all under the guise of medical care.

A Housing First experiment in Ottawa, Canada, illustrates this paradoxical outcome in stark terms. Researchers divided the study into two populations: an intervention group that was provided Housing First and access to primary care, medically assisted treatment, social workers, and on-demand services; and a non-intervention control group that was not provided housing or services  they were simply left on the streets. To the shock of the researchers, after 24 months the non-intervention control group reported better results regarding substance abuse, mental health, quality of life, family relations, and mortality than the Housing First group. In other words, doing nothing resulted in superior human outcomes than providing Housing First with wraparound services.

One explanation may be that Housing First programs are deliberately not oriented toward recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal. They operate on the harm reduction model, which allows residents to continue using drugs such as alcohol, heroin, and methamphetamine, and does not require mental health treatment as a condition of residency. In theory, this permissive policy would help reduce harm to the individual; in practice, however, it may create a community-level effect that makes it hard for any individual to find recovery. Here is the basic chain of events: Homeless individuals with substance abuse and psychiatric disorders are placed together in a residential facility where they are allowed to continue the way of life they had on the streets. Despite the availability of services, there is no incentive to use those services and no disincentive to the problematic behavior associated with street homelessness. Consequently, widespread addiction often becomes the norm within Housing First programs.

Preferring Homelessness

This chain of events is not just a thought experiment. In Birmingham, Ala., researchers inadvertently created this exact problem when they put participants of two different programs  one recovery program and one harm reduction program  in the same apartment complex. Immediately after beginning the experiment, the recovery group began abandoning the provided housing, complaining that their proximity to persons not required to remain abstinent (i.e., the other trial group) was detrimental to their recovery. They claimed that they preferred to return to homelessness rather than live near drug users. The researchers quickly stopped and reorganized the trial, writing that this unexpected reaction shows one possible risk to housing persons with active addiction."

Still, Housing First advocates insist that their policy is working. When reached for comment, Tsemberis insisted that the Washington Post headline declaring that he had solved homelessness is true. The most effective way to end homelessness for people with mental health and addiction is to provide housing and wraparound support, Tsemberis said. He points towards rates of housing stability as the key metric, while conceding that Housing First does not provide a cure for mental illness and addiction. This is a suggestion that policymakers have solved homelessness simply by bringing people indoors, no matter their addictions, mental illnesses, and human torments.

Advocates portray Housing First as a science that transcends politics. The policy was first adopted by the George W. Bush administration and has gained support from Republicans and Democrats alike. As the Washington Post observed, it is a model so simple children could grasp it, so cost-effective fiscal hawks loved it, so socially progressive liberals praised it.

However, the real-world evidence from cities such as Los Angeles challenges this narrative. If Housing First has demonstrated anything, it is this: It provides a stable residential environment for the homeless to live out their pathologies, subsidized by the public and administered by the social-scientific sector. It does, not however, address addiction, mental illness and other factors that limit human potential and lead to homelessness.

In Los Angeles, despite the insistence that Housing First is the answer, some uncertainty is creeping in. Mayor Garcetti is now on the defensive, as homelessness in Los Angeles continues to increase despite billions in spending. After the federal government released a study questioning the premises of Housing First, Garcetti backed away from the unidimensional approach, telling reporters with irritation in his voice: Sometimes people parody Housing First as only housing. Nobody embraces only housing. Its got to be housing with services together.

In more bad news for public officials and supporters of Housing First, there is an emerging body of evidence that calls into question the cost savings of the program. A recent study in Massachusetts shows that Housing First does not reduce rehospitalization and service utilization, while another study in Chicago suggests that Housing First might increase overall costs. Furthermore, researchers have concluded that the purported cost savings in earlier Housing First studies would not apply to the 82% of the homeless population that is not chronically homeless.

In Los Angeles, this could spell disaster. In the most optimistic scenario laid out by the controllers office, the city will build 5,873 supportive housing units at an initial cost of $1.2 billion, plus an estimated $88 million in annual service costs associated with the Housing First model. The recipients of this housing will not meaningfully improve their lives in terms of addiction, mental illness, and spiritual well-being  and there will still be 60,000 people on the streets across Los Angeles County. In other words, even under its own theoretical assumptions, Proposition HHH is doomed to fail.

The City of Los Angeles did not return a request for comment.

The potential silver living might be that a reconsideration of the Housing First approach could lead to a wider reckoning for policymakers and political leaders. At the end of the Housing First experiment in Los Angeles, the city will be responsible for thousands of wards of the state with little hope for recovery, as well as tens of thousands of campers in its public spaces. A few curious citizens will read through the academic literature and find a vast discrepancy between the ideological promises of Housing First and its real-world outcomes. They might then conclude that proponents should have known better.

Christopher F. Rufo is a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute and contributing editor of City Journal. This article was adapted from research for the new book "No Way Home: The Crisis of Homelessness and How to Fix It with Intelligence and Humanity."
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu said on Wednesday evening that Romania is not directly threatened by the evolution of the situation on the Black Sea, but it must be de-escalated.

"It is a situation that preoccupies us and in relation to which we have expressed our concern (...) It is the largest Russian troop build-up since 2014, it is really, based on all the analyses, an unusual troop movement that has alerted NATO, naturally, it alerted the United States, the members of the European Union and we are concerned, because we want to identify the objectives of these maneuvers and, at the same time, to see what are the most appropriate measures to de-escalate this situation," Foreign Affairs ministers told private TV broadcaster Digi 24.

According to Aurescu, Romania is not directly threatened by these developments, but what is happening in the Black Sea also affects Euro-Atlantic security.

"We are equally concerned and affected by this situation as a North Atlantic alliance in its entirety, because everything that happens in the Black Sea also affects Euro-Atlantic security (...) and from this perspective we are very concerned about what what is happening in this area (...) Consequently, I think it is very important to see the exact features and parameters of these developments and not tire at any time to call for the withdrawal of these manifestations of force, these demonstrations of Russian authority in the Black Sea," he pointed out.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy mentioned that the situation at the Black Sea will be one of the topics on the agenda of the Romania-Poland-Turkey trilateral, which will take place starting on Thursday in Bucharest.

"We will have both Polish and Turkish foreign ministers here, with physical presence, and we are already starting the first working meeting tomorrow evening and then a plenary session on Friday, with the foreign ministers of Georgia and Ukraine joining us (...). So we practically have a regional mini-summit, with five foreign ministers, who will discuss the situation of regional security (...) What is important, at least for diplomats at the moment, is to find ways to de-escalate this situation This is one of the issues we will discuss at this trilateral meeting in Bucharest, because, after all, arguments are the diplomats' weapons and we must make sure that the situation does not reach a point when diplomacy has got nothing left to do," Aurescu specified.

The head of diplomacy also voiced his conviction that the talks that will take place in Bucharest will have an important impact.

"At NATO level, at the level of the European Union we are trying to find the most appropriate action measures to de-escalate such a situation, to give as strong signals as possible in support of the territorial integrity, the sovereignty of Ukraine, in this case, to counter human rights violations (...) I am very convinced that the discussions we will have these days in Bucharest will have an important impact, because they show the seriousness with which we treat the evolutions at regional level," Bogdan Aurescu also said.
I am in full agreement with the use of marijuana for medical reasons, treatment of PTSD, etc. However, the passing of New York's recreational marijuana law is going to bring a decline in the safety of all New Yorkers. If you read the negative results in states that have legalized marijuana you will find an increase in injury and death in automobile accidents while using. They have also found an increase in the number of adults under the influence driving with children in their vehicles, a disaster in the making. There is no good reason for the legalizing another substance that will lead to the decline of our health and safety other than to make money.

Our governor, who has spent New York into decline and mass exodus, was only too eager to sign the recreation use of marijuana into law for the money. Supporters say they can control its use by underage youth. How well have they done with alcohol, cigarettes and vaping? Not so good, just walk down the streets of any city. The article about our police chief's views on the subject was well written and informative, indicating what is going to happen: more accidents, crime, heartache and a gateway for our youth to other more powerful drugs. He also says he hopes marijuana users will be responsible by not driving; that's like hoping alcoholics won't drive if drinking and we know that doesn't happen. I hope you all noticed The Citizen's article on March 25, on the man arrested for a deadly car accident allegedly using a controlled substance and under that article online was the one on the man he killed. This scenario will occur more and more.
New Climate Economics Index stress-tests how climate change will impact 48 countries, representing 90% of world economy, and ranks their overall climate resilience

Expected global GDP impact by 2050 under different scenarios compared to a world without climate change:

-18% if no mitigating actions are taken (3.2C increase);

-14% if some mitigating actions are taken (2.6C increase);

-11% if further mitigating actions are taken (2C increase);

-4% if Paris Agreement targets are met (below 2C increase)

-18% if no mitigating actions are taken (3.2C increase); -14% if some mitigating actions are taken (2.6C increase); -11% if further mitigating actions are taken (2C increase); -4% if Paris Agreement targets are met (below 2C increase) Economies in Asia would be hardest hit, with China at risk of losing nearly 24% of its GDP in a severe scenario, while the world's biggest economy, the US, stands to lose close to 10%, and Europe almost 11%

Zurich, 22 April 2021 - Climate change poses the biggest long-term threat to the global economy. If no mitigating action is taken, global temperatures could rise by more than 3C and the world economy could shrink by 18% in the next 30 years. But the impact can be lessened if decisive action is taken to meet the targets set in the Paris Agreement, Swiss Re Institute's new Climate Economics Index shows. This will require more than what is pledged today; public and private sectors will play a crucial role in accelerating the transition to net zero.

Swiss Re Institute has conducted a stress test to examine how 48 economies would be impacted by the ongoing effects of climate change under four different temperature increase scenarios. As global warming makes the impact of weather-related natural disasters more severe, it can lead to substantial income and productivity losses over time. For example, rising sea levels result in loss of land that could have otherwise been used productively and heat stress can lead to crop failures. Emerging economies in equatorial regions would be most affected by rising temperatures.

Major economies could lose roughly 10% of GDP in 30 years

In a severe scenario of a 3.2C temperature increase, China stands to lose almost one quarter of its GDP (24%) by mid-century. The US, Canada and the UK would all see around a 10% loss. Europe would suffer slightly more (11%), while economies such as Finland or Switzerland are less exposed (6%) than, for example, France or Greece (13%).

Thierry Leger, Group Chief Underwriting Officer and Chairman of Swiss Re Institute, said: 'Climate risk affects every society, every company and every individual. By 2050, the world population will grow to almost 10 billion people, especially in regions most impacted by climate change. So, we must act now to mitigate the risks and to reach net-zero targets. Equally, as our recent biodiversity index shows, nature and ecosystem services provide huge economic benefits but are under intense threat. That's why climate change and biodiversity loss are twin challenges that we need to tackle as a global community to maintain a healthy economy and a sustainable future.'

Climate Economics Index ranks countries' resilience to climate change

Along with evaluating each country's expected economic impact from climate risks, Swiss Re Institute also ranked each country on its vulnerability to extreme dry and wet weather conditions. In addition, it looked at the country's capacity to cope with the effects of climate change. Put together, these findings generate a ranking of countries' resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The ranking displays a similar view to the GDP impact analysis: Countries most negatively impacted are often the ones with fewest resources to adapt to and mitigate the effects of rising global temperatures. The most vulnerable countries in this context are Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Philippines and Indonesia. Advanced economies in the northern hemisphere are the least vulnerable, including the US, Canada, Switzerland and Germany.

Public and private sectors play a crucial role in accelerating climate action

Given the consequences highlighted in Swiss Re Institute's analysis, the need for action is indisputable. Coordinated measures by the world's largest carbon emitters are crucial to meet climate targets. The public and private sectors can facilitate and accelerate the transition, particularly regarding sustainable infrastructure investments that are vital to remain below a 2C temperature increase. Given the long-term horizon of their liabilities and long-term capital to commit, institutional investors such as pension funds or insurance companies are also ideally positioned to play a strong role.

Jerome Haegeli, Swiss Re's Group Chief Economist, said: 'Climate change is a systemic risk and can only be addressed globally. So far, too little is being done. Transparency and disclosure of embedded net-zero efforts by governments and the private sector alike are crucial. Only if public and private sectors pull together will the transition to a low-carbon economy be possible. Global cooperation to facilitate financial flows to vulnerable economies is essential. We have an opportunity to correct the course now and construct a world that will be greener, more sustainable and more resilient.

Our analysis shows the benefit of investing in a net-zero economy. For example, adding just 10% to the USD 6.3 trillion of annual global infrastructure investments would limit the average temperature increase to below 2C. This is just a fraction of the loss in global GDP that we face if we don't take appropriate action.'

Mitigating climate change requires a whole menu of measures. More carbon- pricing policies combined with incentives for nature-based and carbon-offsetting solutions are needed, as well as international convergence on taxonomy for green and sustainable investments. As part of financial reporting, institutions should regularly disclose how they plan to achieve the Paris Agreement and net-zero emission targets. Re/insurers also play a role in providing risk transfer capacity, risk knowledge and long-term investment, using their understanding of risk to help households, companies and societies mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Notes to editors

Methodology of the report

The Swiss Re Institute scenario analysis uses insights gained from an existing model by Moody's Analytics, quantifying the gradual impacts of climate change over time, and from research by the World Bank, identifying so-called "impact channels", such as the effect of rising temperatures on productivity. Swiss Re Institute's analysis incorporates the uncertainties related to the potential economic impacts of climate change under different scenarios of global temperature increase and at different levels of severity. These uncertainties include additional and typically omitted impact channels, such as potential disruptions to supply chains and trade due to climate change, as well as respective economic sensitivities. A detailed description of the methodology can be found in the report.

Download the electronic version of Swiss Re Institute's report

"The economics of climate change: no action not an option" (English version):

https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/topics-and-risk-dialogues/climate-and-natural-catastrophe-risk/expertise-publication-economics-of-climate-change.html

Link to interactive tool

Full details and in-depth analyses from Swiss Re's Climate Economics Index are available in an interactive tool on swissre.com

Background on Swiss Re Institute's Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (BES) study:

A fifth of countries worldwide at risk from ecosystem collapse as biodiversity declines, reveals pioneering Swiss Re index | Swiss Re
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - NervGen Pharma Corp. (TSXV: NGEN) (OTCQX: NGENF) ("NervGen" or the "Company"), a biotech company dedicated to creating innovative solutions for the treatment of nerve damage and neurodegenerative diseases, is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Mikol, MD, PhD, as the Company's Chief Medical Officer, effective May 5th, 2021. Dr. Mikol, who currently holds the position of Executive Medical Director, Global Clinical Development at Amgen, will oversee NervGen's medical and clinical activities, with a primary focus on NervGen's lead product, NVG-291, which is initially being developed to treat multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury.

"We are thrilled to welcome Dan to NervGen," stated Paul Brennan, President & CEO of NervGen. "Dan's expertise in neurology and neuroscience research, and the clinical development of neuroscience products in the pharmaceutical industry will be an immeasurable benefit to NervGen as we start our clinical trials. Dan's experiences at Amgen, Biogen and Novartis in dealing directly with the FDA, European authorities (CHMP, ODD, and at country level), Health Canada, and Japan (PMDA) will be key to guiding the optimal clinical development for NVG-291. Furthermore, his proven track record in developing multiple sclerosis products at EMD Serono, Novartis and Biogen is particularly relevant to NVG-291."

"I am extremely excited to be joining NervGen at this critical time in the development of its lead product and its protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma inhibitor platform," said Dr. Mikol. "What has drawn me to NervGen is the large extent of scientific data supporting the importance of this target in inhibiting nerve repair and the opportunity to lead the clinical development of a program and platform that can be truly revolutionary for treating patients with nerve damage. The potential for NVG-291 to help patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury is truly inspiring, and I look forward to playing a lead role in making this happen."

Dr. Mikol is Board Certified Neurologist with 13 years of pharmaceutical industry experience focused on neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, Dr. Mikol holds the position of Executive Medical Director, Global Clinical Development at Amgen in Thousand Oaks, California where he is the global development therapeutic area head for neuroscience and nephrology, and head of the molecular genetic team for all therapeutic areas. At Amgen, Dr. Mikol was instrumental as a development lead in achieving regulatory approval of erenumab for migraine prevention. Prior to working at Amgen, Dr. Mikol was a Senior Medical Director at Biogen, where amongst other responsibilities, he was the clinical development lead for natalizumab (Tysabri) and helped Biogen in gaining their Japanese (PMDA) approval for relapsing multiple sclerosis. Dr. Mikol has also held positions at Novartis and EMD Serono where he worked with, amongst other therapies, fingolomid, cladribine and interferon--1a. Dr. Mikol was educated at the University of Chicago for both his MD and PhD, and was a Fulbright Scholar, Immunological Research, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany. He held a staff physician role treating patients for 12 years at The University of Michigan, Department of Neurology.

About NVG-291

NVG-291 is an inhibitor of protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma, a promising target for reducing the clinical effects of nerve damage, either as a result of trauma, such as in the case of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury or stroke, or neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer's disease. NervGen believes that inhibiting the activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma has the potential to promote nerve repair mechanisms such as nerve regeneration, remyelination and plasticity; promote autophagy, a cellular self-cleaning mechanism; and to promote a non-inflammatory phenotype in microglia cells, the innate immune cells of the brain.

About NervGen

NervGen is restoring life's potential by creating innovative solutions for the treatment of nerve damage and neurodegenerative diseases. The Company is developing drugs for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and Alzheimer's disease. NervGen's platform technology targets protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma , a neural receptor that impedes nerve repair. Inhibition of the protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma receptor has been shown to promote regeneration and remyelination of damaged nerves, as well as improvement of nerve function in animal models for various medical conditions.

For further information, please contact:

Huitt Tracey, Corporate Communications

htracey@nervgen.com

604.362.6209

Nancy Thompson, Vorticom Public Relations

nancyt@vorticom.com

212.532.2208

Follow NervGen on Twitter (@NervgenP) and LinkedIn (NervGen Pharma Corp.) for the latest news on the Company.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements and information herein include, but are not limited to, the Company's current and future plans, expectations and intentions, results, levels of activity, performance, goals or achievements, or any other future events or developments constitute forward-looking statements, and the words "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", "expect", "plan", "intend", "trend", "indication", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "likely" or "potential", or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to: the clinical development of NVG-291; the expected benefits from Dr. Mikol's experience in the clinical development of NVG-291; our belief that the NVG-291 program and platform can be truly revolutionary for treating patients with nerve damage; the potential for NVG-291 to help patients with multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and spinal cord injury; our belief that inhibiting the activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma is a promising target for reducing the clinical effects of nerve damage through multiple mechanisms; steps taken to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations; and the creation of innovative solutions for the treatment of nerve damage and neurodegenerative diseases.

Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by the Company in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. In making forward-looking statements, the Company has relied on various assumptions, including, but not limited to: the Company's ability to manage the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; the accuracy of the Company's financial projections; the Company obtaining positive results in its clinical and other trials; the Company obtaining necessary regulatory approvals; and general business, market and economic conditions.

Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, a lack of revenue, insufficient funding, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reliance upon key personnel, the uncertainty of the clinical development process, competition, and other factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form, Amended and Restated Prospectus Supplement, financial statements and Management Discussion and Analysis which can be found on SEDAR.com. All clinical development plans are subject to additional funding.

Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements made in this news release. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and we have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81231
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed pleas by social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, challenging India's competition regulator CCI's order directing a probe into WhatsApp's new privacy policy.

Justice Navin Chawla said that though it would have been "prudent" for the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to await the outcome of petitions in the Supreme Court and the Delhi HC against WhatsApp's new privacy policy, but not doing so would not make the regulator's order "perverse" or "wanting of jurisdiction".

Delhi High Court dismisses Facebook and WhatsApp's pleas challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order for an investigation into the messaging app's new privacy policy. pic.twitter.com/fWOIRkjhfN  ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

The court said it saw no merit in the petitions of Facebook and WhatsApp to interdict the investigation directed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

The high court had earlier reserved its verdict in the case and observed that the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) does not reflect an investigation into abuse of dominant position and rather appears to be concerned with privacy issues of consumers.

The observation had come in response to the CCI's stand that it was not examining the alleged violation of individuals' privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court. The CCI had argued before the court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and "stalking" of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is, therefore, alleged abuse of dominant position.

It further said, "There is no question of jurisdictional error," adding that WhatsApp and Facebook's pleas challenging its decision were "incompetent and misconceived".

CCI also told the court that only after the investigation can it be determined whether the data collection by WhatsApp and sharing it with Facebook would amount to an anti-competitive practice or abuse of dominant position.

It had also contended that the data collected, which would include an individual's location, the kind of device used, their internet service provider, and whom they are conversing with, would lead to the creation of a customer profile and preference which would be monetised by way of targeted advertising and all this amounts to "stalking".

WhatsApp and Facebook had challenged the CCI's March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy. The two social media platforms had contended that when the top court and the Delhi High Court were looking into the privacy policy, then CCI ought not to have "jumped the gun" and intervened in the issue.

They also said that the CCI's decision was an abuse of the commission's suo motu jurisdiction, claiming that the CCI in the instant case has "drifted far away" from the competition aspect and was looking into the privacy issue which was already being looked into by the apex court and the Delhi High Court.

They further contended that private conversations continued to be protected by end-to-end encryption and WhatsApp cannot read what people message each other. Most of the data generated belonged to WhatsApp as the only data provided by customers was their phone number which is required to register on the messaging platform, the added.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp spokesperson said, "We firmly believe in protecting the privacy of our users. We cannot see people's personal messages as they are protected by end-to-end encryption. We are updating our terms to provide users with more transparency about their choices to interact with businesses, if they require. Our users are at the heart of everything we do and we're focused on making sure our conviction on protecting people's privacy is clear."

Earlier in January this year, the CCI on its own decided to look into WhatsApp's new privacy policy on the basis of news reports regarding the same.

(With Agency Inputs)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will respond to his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelenskys proposal to meet in Donbass if he deems it necessary, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"The president will give a response himself if he deems it necessary," he said, adding that Putin had been informed of Zelenskys proposal.

When asked to comment on Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kulebas call on the West to consider banning Russia from the SWIFT global payments system, Peskov said that it was a question for the Russian Foreign Ministry, TASS reported.

The Ukrainian president in a video address on Tuesday called on the Russian leader to hold a meeting in Donbass.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

With the flowing fervour of sharing and caring during the Holy Month of Ramadan, the New Millennium School undertook a charity drive by gifting Al Eslah Society 25 boxes of grocery items for the needy families.

It is the schools culture every year to visit the needy families and hand over the Ramadan gift boxes. Due to the ongoing situation and to maintain social distancing norms during the COVID-19 pandemic, the same activity was conducted within the school campus.

Principal Arun Kuumar Sharma handed over the gift boxes to the official of Al Eslah Society and expressed his reverence and gratitude to its officials for the noble ventures, which the society undertakes.

The Chairman, Dr Ravi Pillai, and the Managing Director, Geetha Pillai, appreciated the efforts of the students for conducting various activities in order to contribute to the charity drives.
A health alert has been issued for residents living in two areas of Victoria after Covid fragments were found in sewage.

Viral fragments of the virus were detected in samples recently taken from wastewater treatment plants at Daylesford and Benalla, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed.

The detection comes despite a prolonged period of zero community transmission in Victoria - and an absence of local cases in the identified locations.

A health alert has been issued for residents living in two locations in Victoria as well as visitors to the regions after Covid fragments were found in sewage (stock)

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on Thursday confirmed viral fragments of the virus were detected in samples recently taken from wastewater treatment plants at Daylesford (pictured) and Benalla

It is likely a person or multiple people, who are not infectious, are shedding the virus.

'Victoria's wastewater testing program is designed to provide early warning of Covid-19, and the possibility that someone is in the early phase of the virus cannot be ruled out,' health authorities said in a statement.

Residents and anyone who visited the Daylesford area, north-west of Melbourne, from April 10 to 12 should monitor for coronavirus symptoms and get tested if they appear.

Health officials are also urging locals and visitors to the Benalla area, north-east of Melbourne, from April 10 to 15 to keep an eye out for symptoms.

The update comes after viral fragments were found in Moonee Ponds Main and Ringwood South Branch sewer catchments.
With infections crossing 300,000 a day, have decided to shorten branch hours and cut staff attendance to 50 per cent. The decision was taken by the Indian Banks Association in a meeting on Wednesday and the standard operating procedures have been communicated to in the wake of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic while observing the infection rate among bankers is alarming.

Bank branches will now work from 10 am to 2 pm, the bank body said in a communication to the lenders.

The four mandatory functions that will be provided by the are - accepting deposits, cash withdrawals, remittance and government businesses.

Working hours (business hours) of the banks could be restricted to 10am-2pm. Door step banking activities should be encouraged, the IBA letter to banks said.

Considering the fact that there is no nationwide lockdown this time and states are issuing relevant guidelines depending on the gravity of the situation in respective states, the MC [managing committee of IBA] has advised that  the State Level Bankers Committees (SLBC) could modify the SOPs as per the prevailing situation and needs in respective states, the letter which has been reviewed by Business Standard said.

The SOP said that the employees can be called on rotational basis or be allowed to work from home as the case may be depending on the nature of job. ideally 50 per cent of the employees may be called for in person duty and on rotation basis, it said. IBA has also urged employees to take vaccination for themselves as well as for family members.

The IBA directions come after the bank employees unions wrote a letter earlier this month requesting fresh SOPs in the wake of a surge in daily infections. Last year the pandemic claimed lives of 600 bankers, and data compiled by IBA showed the percentage of death in the banking industry is higher in comparison to the entire country.

The IBA has now asked the banks to also explore arrangements with hospitals to provide all emergency medical facilities required for the staff in the event of COVID infection and also for staff requiring intensive medical attention.

All SOPs regarding social distancing, management of the customers, health and sanitation, wearing masks and gloves etc which are highlighted in our previous SOPs should be strictly followed in all bank premises, the letter said.

The association said banking activities were in a reviving mode but with this sudden resurgence of the mutant coronavirus, banking and bank employees are facing the impact. Infection rates among the bank employees is quite alarming, it observed.

In a separate communication, the SLBC convenor bank of Maharashtra state, which is Bank of Maharashtra, has directed its member banks to function with only 15% of the total attendance or 5, whichever is higher. These directions were made in the wake of stringent measures announced by the Maharashtra government which has come into effect from today and will remain effective till 7 am, May 1.
New Delhi: As per the latest updates, Chhattisgarh CGBSE 10th Board Exam 2021 has been cancelled and Class 12 board exam has been postponed.

The official announcement was made by the state Education Minister, Dr Premsai Singh on Thursday (April 22) amid the rising COVID-19 cases in the state.

He also added that the decision on the revised exam dates of class 12 board will be taken later.

The candidates need to note that the Chhattisgarh Board is yet to release the notification on CGBSE 10th Board Exam 2021 cancellation and Class 12 board exam postponement on its website.

Details of evaluation criteria for Class 10th boards and revised exam dates for class 12th boards will be announced later by the states education officials.

Additionally, a special exam will be conducted for the students who are not satisfied with the score allotted to them in Chhattisgarh CGBSE 10th Board Exam 2021.

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This article appears in the April 23, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

Caesar Sanctions Are Killing Syrians:

They Must Be Overturned

[Print version of this article]

April 16Helga Zepp-LaRouche stated emphatically, This must stop, and the Caesar Sanctions must be lifted. And all the members of the U.S. Congress who do not lift these sanctions make themselves complicit in every death that occurs in the region.

The real intent of the Caesar Sanctions was stated by James Jeffrey, who served as the Special Representative for Syrian Engagement in the Trump administration. Jeffrey described his job as making Syria a quagmire for Russia. A former Ambassador to Iraq, appointed by Obama, he stated that the purpose of the Caesar Sanctions is to make it clear to anyone who wants to rebuild Assads Syria that that cannot happen without Caesar Sanctions, as they will become a target of sanctions. He admitted in a recent PBS interview that the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which controls much of Idlib Province, serves as a U.S. asset.

As sanctions have become a weapon of choice by regime changers, as part of a broad strategy of hybrid warfare, it is essential that the intent behind them be exposed. It is the height of evil hypocrisy to proclaim, as Secretary of State Blinken did, that the sanctions against Syria represent a humanitarian effort to protect the Syrian people. A policy of deliberate genocide was defined at the Nuremberg Tribunals at the end of World War II as a crime against humanity. If the cry Never Again is to retain any meaning, the Caesar Sanctions against Syria must be immediately lifted.

The Criminal Fraud

Having failed in efforts at regime change in Syria, which were launched by the Obama-Biden administration through their support of moderate rebels, who conducted a bloody civil war in the country, Trumps Secretary of State Pompeo mobilized international support for regime change through economic strangulation. To do this, a bill was passed in the Congress, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which imposed sanctions on Syria. It passed in June 2020.

It was called the Caesar Act, named after a mysterious figure who claimed to have been a photographer employed by the Syrian Ministry of Defense to take photographs of victims killed in the civil war. Described as a defector, he delivered more than 58,000 photographs to the Syrian National Movement (SNM), which is funded in part by Qatar, to oppose the Assad government. The SNM then turned the photos over to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which produced an 86-page report in 2015. The report titled, If the Dead Could Speak: Mass Deaths and Torture in Syrias Detention Facilities, was used to push the sanctions through the Congress.

In a detailed exposure of the fraud behind this report, How a U.S and Qatari Regime Change Deception Produced Caesar Sanctions Driving Syria Towards Famine, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal, writing for The Grayzone, outlines how the usual cast of characters from the human rights mafia were involved in using this falsified report for the purpose of regime change. Caesar was brought before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a private session in April 2014, and again in a public session in August of that year, to present the evidence of Syrian government murders. According to HRW, their investigators meticulously verified dozens of stories of civilians they claimed to have been tortured and murdered by Syrian government officials.

Yet, out of the 28,000 photos of more than 6,000 individuals, fewer than 30 were identified as civilians who were arrested by authorities. Nearly half of those pictured were Syrian soldiers killed by terrorists during the civil war; many others were civilians who were victims of terrorist attacks, including car bombs and assassinations; and others were foreign jihadis killed in battle by government forceshardly proof of mass genocide of civilians conducted by the government!

The Criminal Fraudsters

Blumenthal identifies former U.S. government officials, including David Crane, a former DIA operative with a military-intelligence background, as one of the people who worked with Caesar to push through the sanctions bill. Crane leads the Syrian Accountability Project. Another was Mouaz Moustafa, Director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which is funded by the U.S. State Department. Moustafa, who sat next to Caesar during his Congressional testimony, escorted Sen. John McCain on his fact-finding trip to Syria, during which he was photographed next to gun-toting jihadists and members of the CIA-backed Free Syrian Army. Another official who testified was Frederic Hof, of the pro-regime change Atlantic Councils Rafik Hariri Center. Hof called for more funds to go to anti-Assad groups in Syria.

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Left: U.S. Mission, Geneva/Eric Bridiers; right: Jamesfranklingresham

A former Obama official, Stephen Rapp, who served as ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, presented the Caesar file as an exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Now serving as a visiting fellow at the Museums Center for the Prevention of Genocide, Rapp oversees a project which claims to be pursuing justice and accountability in Syria.

Two British attorneys were identified by Blumenthal as having been involved in authenticating the photos. One is Sir Geoffrey Nice, the former lead prosecutor in the case against former Yugoslav President Milosevic; Sir Geoffrey is identified as an adviser to Qatar. The other, also on the Qatari payroll, is Desmond De Silva. British so-called experts frequently serve on the boards of many of the human rights groups, some funded directly by the UKs Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in promoting false-flag events. One such group is the White Helmets, which fraudulently claimed that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. Such charges were used to defend support for moderate rebels during the civil war, and to justify these murderous sanctions as a humanitarian response to the Assad government.
'Tainted Lemons Original' is an exciting new sustainable clothing company based in Ireland. Tainted Lemons Original comprises of two friends Emma Dolan from Banagher, Co. Offaly and Niamh Kenny, from Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

Both are determined young women with a keen eye for fashion  and a passion for vintage, sustainable and accessible clothing production.

Emma and Niamh were inspired when they realised just how dissatisfied they were with the existing sustainable clothing options available to them. They discovered the few companies that promoted sustainability for their fashion brand were either very expensive, lack exciting designs, or were made from unsustainable materials such as organic cotton - which can be just as unsustainable as normal cotton.

These two young ethical-entrepreneurs began researching the ethical materials and fabrics; with an eye for what would be best for the environment and for their sustainable ethos. When they set up the Tainted Lemons Brand, they had a clearly defined mission. First, they would use recycled materials which would not negatively affect the environment; second to produce more trendy, colourful, stylish options than were currently on offer and finally to produce sustainable clothing that is high quality  yet affordable for their customers.

The Tainted Lemons Original Entrepreneurs met some significant challenges along the way. Not least because locating a manufacturer that specialises in recycled material was extremely tough. However, it was their main priority because they believed recycled material is the best for the environment and was the only way to achieve their organisations mission of sustainability. The material they found ticked those ethical boxes because it was already produced and was on its way to landfill. Therefore, by using this material Tainted Lemons divert the products from ending up in landfill - and they end up expanding and diversifying the lifespan of the materials.

Tainted Lemons Original have therefore carefully considered the materials of their clothes; including not only where and how this is being produced, but also who is making the clothes - and what eco-friendly packaging they can use to send out to their customers. Their aim and mission remain consistent  they intend to be as sustainable as they possibly can, and offer a viable alternative to unsustainable and environmentally damaging fast fashion.

This new and dynamic female entrepreneur-led enterprise ticks all the right boxes; slow fashion, small batch production, ethically made clothing, sustainable material, and compostable/recyclable packaging.

Tainted Lemons Original are also working with the East Coast Tree Project to offset their carbon footprint. Every item purchased results in one tree planted. In addition to this they are implementing their own circular system which means customers can send back their items to the company when they no longer need them  and they will return them back to their manufacturers to reuse. This avoids any of their clothes ending up in landfill in the future.

Other exciting developments have been their recently launched Kickstarter Campaign (a crowdfunding website) to raise money to help fund their ethical and sustainable business idea. The Tainted Lemons Original Kickstarter is running from the 9th of April to the 10th of May, and here you can support this start up by purchasing a sweater made from 100% recycled material - or you can simply donate as little as 1 to this eco-sustainable project.

Follow them on Instagram @tainted_lemons_original and donate to their Kickstarter by clicking the link in their biography on their Instagram page. Or you can simply search Tainted Lemons Original on Kickstarter.
AHN surgical oncologist Howard Edington, MD, talks with patient Paul Kirsch prior to treatment with T-VEC Unlike other therapies for advanced melanoma, T-VEC is usually well tolerated and is suitable for many patients, including the elderly. It also has a bystander effect, killing nearby tiny lesions in addition to the primary tumor. - Howard Edington, MD, AHN surgical oncologist

AHN Cancer Institute Offers T-VEC Injections, Using Genetically Modified Virus, For Some Patients With Advanced Melanoma

Paul Kirsch of Greentree, Pa. has always been a leader and a go-getter.

Hes a retired U.S. Marine and Reservist, teacher and administrator in the Northgate and Keystone Oaks school districts, and a former Keystone Oaks School Board member. He had his first job in sixth grade and worked post-retirement until he was 80, teaching education classes at a local college.

Now at age 87, Mr. Kirschs upbeat attitude and enthusiasm for life hasnt waned.

So when Allegheny Health Network surgical oncologist Howard Edington MD suggested a new approach for treating Mr. Kirschs melanoma  using a genetically modified herpes (cold sore) virus that infects and kills cancer cells without damaging healthy cells, the ex-Marine/school principal didnt hesitate to say yes.

The oncolytic (cancer-killing) virus is called Imlygic or T-VEC and is injected directly into the tumor, where it works by replicating inside the cancer cells. It also works as an immunotherapy, prompting the bodys immune system to fight the cancer.

T-VEC is FDA approved for Stage IIIB, IIIC and IV melanomas that cannot be fully removed by surgery. It can be used for cancers that are in or under the skin, or in lymph nodes. Because it causes few, if any, side effects, its well-suited for elderly patients.

Dr. Edington first removed melanoma from the back of Mr. Kirschs neck two years ago. When it re-emerged last year in his armpit, Dr. Edington, in consultation with AHN medical oncologist Christie Hilton, MD, suggested attacking the tumor with T-VEC.

The injections are given every other week for six months, or longer if necessary to control the tumors growth. Mr. Kirsch said hes experienced no side effects, and feels only a small pinprick when he gets the shot. Better still, more than halfway through his treatment, Mr. Kirschs tumor has shrunk from the size of a large olive to the size of a nail on the little finger  so small that Dr. Edington says he has difficulty finding a spot for the injection.

Researchers have long considered how viruses might be used to fight cancer, and much research is ongoing in this area. T-VEC was the first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy, and Dr. Edington is one of only a few physicians in western Pennsylvania offering the treatment.

We are happy to offer T-VEC to our patients whose advanced melanoma cannot completely be removed with surgery and who have few remaining options for treatment. Dr. Edington said. Unlike other therapies for advanced melanoma, T-VEC is usually well tolerated and is suitable for many patients, including the elderly. It also has a bystander effect, killing nearby tiny lesions in addition to the primary tumor.

One study found that T-VEC completely shrunk melanomas in as many as 68 percent of patients, with response rates varying depending on the cancers stage

Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that is not as common as other types of skin cancer, but tends to spread more readily if it is not treated at an early stage. About 200,000 cases of melanoma are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, and about half of those will be invasive cancers. The five-year survival rate for melanoma that is detected early is 99 percent.

Early warning signs include any kind of new or changing mole, spot or lesion on the body.

We recommend regular self-checks of skin, head to toe. Because melanoma can spread so quickly, any mark that doesnt seem right should be checked by a physician, Dr. Edington said.

About Allegheny Health Network  and the AHN Cancer Institute

Allegheny Health Network, a Highmark Health Company, is a western Pennsylvania-based integrated healthcare system that serves patients from across a five-state region that includes western Pennsylvania and the adjacent regions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The Networks Cancer Institute employs more than 200 physicians and 500 oncology professionals who provide a complete spectrum of oncology care at 24 affiliated oncology clinics, including access to state-of-the-art technologies and new therapies being explored in hundreds of clinical cancer trials. The Cancer Institute has the only cancer program in the Pittsburgh region accredited as an Integrated Network Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and its radiation oncology program is the largest in the country accredited by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. AHN Cancer Institute is a Quality Oncology Practice Initiative certified practice, and is accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. AHN also has a formal affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, one of the nations 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, for research, medical education and clinical services.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 04:32:33|Editor: huaxia

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A migrant woman and her child are seen at the Eleonas refugee camp, in Athens, Greece, on April 21, 2021. Slovakia sees irregular migration as a European problem, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Ivan Korcok said here on Wednesday, supporting the Greek government's call for more fair burden-sharing among EU member countries to address the challenge. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia sees irregular migration as a European problem, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Ivan Korcok said here on Wednesday, supporting the Greek government's call for more fair burden-sharing among EU member countries to address the challenge.

After talks on bilateral and regional issues, Korcok visited Eleonas refugee camp in an Athens district with Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarachi.

"I wanted to use this opportunity to express our recognition and respect to Greece for what it is doing ... Greek people are carrying the burden of providing shelter and refuge to many people," he told Xinhua and other media.

Slovakia is ready to contribute one million euros (1.2 million U.S. dollars) to help mitigate some negative impacts of migration in Greece, he tweeted later.

"The need for more European solidarity in practice is clear," Mitarachi said.

Since the closure of borders along the Balkan route to central Europe in 2016, tens of thousands of refugees and migrants have been stranded in Greece. The temporary reception camps, in particular on five Greek islands, have been overflowing due to delays in the assessment of asylum claims and relocations to other states as well as returns.

Early last year, 92,000 people were hosted in such facilities across Greece, and in March 2021 the number had dropped below 60,000, according to data released by the Greek ministry recently. Enditem
The new New York State Rifle & Pistol Association case challenges the state law that limits most licenses to carry a gun outside the home to those applicants who can show that proper cause exists. The statute does not define proper cause, and judicial interpretations over the years have defined it narrowly to require something more than a generalized desire to have a gun at hand for self-defense; there has to be something that sets the individuals circumstances apart from the general public. (New York prohibits open carry, with licenses available only for carrying a concealed weapon.) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal of the lawsuit on the basis of its own longstanding precedent.

Paul Clement, who since his years as solicitor general during the George W. Bush administration has handled many gun rights cases, wrote in his petition to the court that the Second Amendment does not exist to protect only the rights of the happy few who distinguish themselves from the body of the people through some proper cause. Most federal appeals courts have ruled on similar laws as the Second Circuit has, but not all, and disagreement among the lower courts is usually a good predictor of the Supreme Courts willingness to take up an issue.

By the same token, unanimity in the lower courts is usually a deterrent to Supreme Court review. On Monday, the court turned down three cases challenging a federal law that imposes a lifetime ban on gun ownership on people who have been convicted of felonies and some misdemeanors. The cases were all brought by individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes who argued that the prohibition violated their Second Amendment rights. The cases were of more than usual interest because Justice Barrett, while still a federal appeals court judge, had weighed in on the same issue in an opinion dissenting from a decision that upheld the lifetime ban. The plaintiff in that case was a man convicted of Medicare fraud, a first-time offender with no history of violence.

In her opinion, Judge Barrett wrote that there is no virtue limitation to the Second Amendment. Quoting from an opinion by Justice Alito in a separate Second Amendment context, she added that applying a lifetime ban on gun ownership to such a person treats the Second Amendment as a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees. Her dissenting opinion in Kanter v. Barr is what has encouraged gun rights groups to suppose that they can count on Justice Barrett when the time comes.

The second-class right charge is popular among the conservative justices and the gun-rights community. Ive always been puzzled by the notion that any limitation on the Second Amendment converts it into some sort of second-class right. I cant think of a constitutional right that the Supreme Court has interpreted as absolutely unlimited  certainly not, for example, the Fourth Amendments protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, to which conservative judges have attached countless limitations over many years.

Thirteen years post-Heller, the decision itself has become more of a symbol and talking point than a legal opinion that people actually take the trouble to read.

If they did, they would see Heller as the limited decision that it was. Yes, it took the unprecedented step of interpreting the Second Amendment as conferring an individual right to own a gun, but the court applied that new right to the unusual circumstance of a District of Columbia law that prohibited private gun ownership. Only the District and Chicago had such a strict law. The court held only that individuals have a constitutional right to own a gun and to keep it at home for self-defense. For the vast majority of people in the country, Heller changed nothing as a practical matter; it constitutionalized a right that gun owners already enjoyed under state and local laws.

Whether the Second Amendment also protects a right to walk down the street, or onto a college campus, or into a supermarket, a warehouse, a State Capitol, or a 12-year-olds birthday party carrying a gun are questions that Heller did not answer. The current court can answer those questions in the affirmative if it so chooses. It has the votes. We will soon see whether it has the discipline and common sense to stay its hand.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
New Delhi, Apr 22 (UNI) A Delhi Court on Thursday sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on bail applications filed by British citizen Christian Michel, an accused in the AgustaWestland case related to the alleged Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper scam.

The Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar sought the response from the central probe agencies over the two bail pleas filed by Michel through counsels K Joseph, MS Vishnu Shankar, and Sriram Parakkat.

The Court listed the matter for further hearing on May 6.

The plea contended that Michel has undergone almost 600 hours of custodial interrogation by both agencies.

"As of today, the applicant has spent more than 2 years and 4 months in addition to the period which he spent in Dubai jail," it added.

He has also claimed that he raised the issue of his alleged illegal detention before the United Nations Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention which opined that his "deprivation of liberty" was in "contravention of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Michel, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, has been held in India since December 2018 after being extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He was living in Dubai when India sought his extradition for involvement in alleged irregularities in the 2010 deal to acquire 12 AgustaWestland helicopters worth 556.2 million euros for the transportation of VVIPs.

He is currently in Delhis Tihar Jail.

UNI JW SHK1815
Castor Maritime Inc. announces vessel acquisition

Castor Maritime Inc. (Castor, or the Company), a diversified global shipping company, announces that it entered, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, into an agreement to acquire a 2015 Chinese-built Kamsarmax dry bulk carrier from an unaffiliated third-party for a purchase price of $23.5 million.

The vessel will be delivered to the Company with a time charter contract attached with a reputable charterer, at a daily gross charter rate equal to 114% of the Baltic Panamax Index, and with an estimated remaining term of about 17 to 21 months. The acquisition is expected to be consummated by taking delivery of the vessel within the second quarter of this year and is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. Petros Panagiotidis, Chief Executive Officer of Castor, commented: We are pleased to announce our eleventh vessel acquisition in 2021 with the addition of another Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel, our sixth, to Castors fleet. Upon completion of all our announced acquisitions, our fleet will consist of seventeen vessels. With significant capital on hand, we continue to look for further opportunities to grow our fleet with the addition of high-quality tonnage.




As storied short seller David Einhorn would say, No matter how bad you think it is, its worse. The lawyers and banking experts Ive contacted thus far have never heard of a case like the latest from CalPERS, which is saying a lot.

As you can see from the embedded filing below, CalPERS is suing Gloria Najera, a former employee it says embezzled $685,000 from beneficiaries, including, Wells Fargo style, from a beneficiarys bank accounts.

The civil claim is sketchy on the timetable, but Najera was a clerical worker responsible for updating beneficiary addresses and bank direct deposit information. That apparently also gave her access to at least the last four digits in their Social Security numbers. Najera used this information to pilfer directly from the bank account of one beneficiary to the tune of nearly $69,000. For nine others, she diverted funds from dormant CalPERS accounts (where CalPERS had reason to think the beneficiary was still alive but had only out-of-date bank deposit information) to bank accounts controlled by Najera and co-conspirators.

Yet despite CalPERS allegedly informing the police about the theft back in January, the perp of this huge embezzlement of beneficiary trust funds hasnt even been arrested, much the less charged.

CalPERS instead is taking the virtually unheard of approach of merely filing a civil suit, rather than letting a prosecutor file criminal charges, even though California law requires that a criminal court order full restitution on behalf of CalPERS.

The lack of an arrest of and charges against the accused thief, Gloria Najera, screams that CalPERS is again, true to form, prioritizing covering up its own culpability rather than utilizing the enforcement authority of the state  a replay of their orchestrated cover-up of the serious conflict of interest violations of their departed Chief Investment Officer, Ben Meng. Anyone who engaged in similar abuses at a merely adequately functioning financial institution would be wearing an orange jumpsuit by now.

Given the CalPERS history of cover-ups, from CEO Marcie Frosts fabricated college education through the appointment of fabulist Charles Asubonten as CFO, one has to wonder whether Gloria Najeras blatant embezzling was an outlier in her unit, which handles the sensitive personal information of beneficiaries on a daily basis, or just the tip of a fraud iceberg.

In an open session at a CalPERS board meeting Tuesday, general counsel Matt Jacobs claimed that CalPERS had reported the theft to the California Highway Patrol in January, which is an eternity ago in criminal justice terms, particularly since CalPERS own filing presents Najera as still out and about in Sacramento.

The CHP is the first stop for California agencies to report criminal activity. Financial fraud is admittedly normally outside its wheelhouse, which is issuing traffic tickets. But what is it about theft that even the CHP does not understand?

CalPERS has also served up the cagey claim that it is working with law enforcement in the form of the California Attorney General.

Golly gee, the CalPERS complaint below has more than enough information to secure a grand jury indictment. So why has CalPERS been sitting on its hands?

CalPERS is complicit in this embezzlement. Anyone who is familiar with basic bank or securities firm security procedures can see in the filing that CalPERS had fundamentally deficient control procedures. The most glaring and indefensible failure was the absence of the most basic check, a separation of duties. Literally no one was minding Najeras illicit transfers, which date back to at least 2017. In addition, CalPERS evidently didnt even take notice when Victim 7 had put his benefits on hold due to possible fraud and investigate back then.

If you read the compliant carefully, it becomes clear that the investigation and the discovery of the extent of the theft came about because a bank through which Najera was stealing from a beneficiary account there notified CalPERS.1 CalPERS then found nine other beneficiary accounts where Najera took a different route, that of diverting funds that had not yet been transferred out of CalPERS to her accounts or those of co-conspirators, rather than the proper recipients.

Even more troubling is that in 2018, CalPERS rejected a proposal by highly qualified compliance manager Lawrence Wold to build a fraud prevention program. Bizarrely, Matt Jabobs and the Chief Compliance Officer, opposed it. Wold curiously left CalPERS apparently just after passing the probationary period to return to the state Department Justice in a senior position, and is now Accounting Controller at Covered California. CalPERS insiders believe that had the system Wold proposed been implemented, this fraud would have been stopped.

CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco appears to have admitted that CalPERS is not pressing charges when he went silent on laffaire Najera after promptly answering an initial query.2 As the lawyers like to say, qui tacet consentire videtur, or He who is silent is taken to agree. Pacheco would have every reason to confirm that CalPERS was pressing charges if that had actually happened.

Keep in mind that CalPERS General Counsel Matt Jacobs was a Federal prosecutor for nearly a decade. Even though CalPERS as a matter of procedure may have to first report a crime to the California Highway Patrol, and the CHP may then feel it has to go to the Attorney General, Jacobs would know full well that the Attorney General isnt set to pursue this sort of case, but its bread and butter business for the Sacramento County district attorneys. In fact, theyd probably be keen to take this case on, since it is straightfoward and would also garner press attention.

Given the considerable deference with which CalPERS is treated in Sacramento, it would not be hard for Jacobs to have gotten this matter in the right hands had he wanted to.

Theres another reason for Jacobs to have CalPERS present the canard that the Attorney General is on the case: it serves to obfuscate who the Attorney General is almost certainly protecting. And its not CalPERS beneficiaries.

For the entire time we have been dogging CalPERS, the Attorney General has rejected his duty of acting at the states chief law enforcement officer. He has instead seen his role as defending state agencies when they get in trouble, not matter how egregious their misconduct is, such as when CalPERS engaged in massive copyright theft.

CalPERS complaint points out that a foreign bank alerted it to what CalPERS depicts as Najeras fraud. But Najera was an employee of and supervised by CalPERS. Najeras conduct is CalPERS misconduct. Most banks wouldnt pursue CalPERS over such a relatively small bore matter, since the cost of pursing the case in hard dollar and managerial terms would be outsized relative to the recovery. But does this bank operate under a regulatory regime where it cant let this go easily?

This sorry incident provides yet more proof that Marcie Frost and Matt Jacobs are so self-interested as to be threats to beneficiaries. Frost has repeatedly made clear she is incompetent as an operational manager, which is the bulk of what happens at CalPERS. Frost makes matters worse by surrounding herself with toadies rather than officers who can make the trains run on time. Jacobs has succeeded in bullying the board, the one possible check on executive incompetence and misconduct, into deferring to him on utterly bogus legal and governance grounds rather than asking even the most basic questions.

California taxpayers: you have been warned. You are going to be asked to pony up far more than you should have due to the continued failure of the Governor or even the state Treasurer or Controller to make a stink and demand accountability. Only someone of that stature, or a heavyweight litigation machine, can stop this train from going off the cliff.

___

1From our bank systems/security expert Clive:

Basic control failures. These are employee supervision, monitoring and business process auditing 1-0-1 competencies for an organisation of any size, let alone one of CalPERS scale and sophistication. Theres a basic hierarchy of ensuring honest and ethical employee conduct: 1. Rules are defined and in place to govern employees actions while working in the enterprise

2. Employees are trained on what the rules are, what they mean and what to do if they are unsure of how to act in a particular situation

3. Systems (either automated such as threat modelling and detection via IT solutions which produce reports that are genuinely read and actioned by managers or internal auditors, or manual e.g. random or routine sampling by management, employees knowing that their work is reviewed effectively and in a timely manner) to verify the rules are being adhered to

4. An organisational culture which instils from the top down that we have rules or regulations, were accountable for our actions and that following the rules is how we do things round here. For the plain, vanilla fraud in the diversion of beneficiaries benefits (1) we can safely assume that the rules against this and the training on them were in place at CalPERS. If theyre not, that a straight 10 for how bad an incident it was. So what, assuming there are rules and employees know they shouldnt do this, failed was the monitoring and oversight. The business process for changing where beneficiaries funds are remitted to should be, because it involves handing a financial transaction, under dual control and also must be supported by a verified customer mandate instructing CalPERS to make the change. So how this should work is, one person receives a beneficiary mandate (to change the details of where funds are remitted to, here), the incoming mandate is recorded in CalPERS records, they verify against CalPERS records the mandate is genuine, this gets processed on the system which manages payment routing and then  this is the crucial part  another, different employee checks the change on the system to ensure it matches the beneficiary mandate. Obviously another vital part of the business process is that all beneficiary mandates which are received by CalPERS really do get actioned. Its this last requirement which seems to have not been in place  the felony was enabled by the fact that the felon was able to ignore either an internal CalPERS-originated instruction to terminate or redirect the payments being made to the beneficiary or (this point wasnt spelt-out in the filing) else similarly ignore an instruction which originated from the beneficiary themselves (or their guardian). Failing to reconcile beneficiary instructions that have been received by CalPERS to those instructions being, in reality, carried out is a 7 in financial institution control failure terms.

2 The key section of my e-mail to Pacheco before the start of business on Wednesday:

I see that in open session yesterday, Matt Jacobs stated that the CHP had been notified in January. He ducked the question posed by Margaret Brown. The bank regulators/fraud experts and prosecutors (plural) to whom I have spoken so far all have volunteered that it is highly irregular for a company and even more so for a financial institution/fiduciary not to press charges on a clear cut case of embezzlement. The information presented in the civil suit is more than enough to secure a grand jury indictment. Moreover, it is extraordinarily irregular to file a civil suit for this sort of misconduct as the first line of action. The norm is to pursue criminal charges (with discovery on the prosecutors dime) and then file a civil suit only if the prosecutor was somehow unable to surmount the beyond reasonable doubt standard of evidence. The only reasonable surmise from this fact set is that CalPERS has refused to press charges. Do you deny that?

Jacobs refusal to give a straight-up answer to Brown to her question of whether Najera had been arrested, and the Sacramento Bee taking up the question today of whether she would be charged might force CalPERS to change its position. And CalPERS being CalPERS, it would also engage in revisionist history, and act as it had never flip flopped on pressing charges.
News Around the Republic of Mexico



Prioritizing Vaccinations in Five Tourist Destinations



Secretary of Economy Tatiana Clouthier on Monday presented a plan to President Lopez Obrador that would see all adults in 5 summer vacation destinations that are popular amongst American tourists fully vaccinated. Mexico City - With the aim of promoting the reactivation of the tourism sector, Mexico's Secretary of Economy, Tatiana Clouthier, proposed a plan to vaccinate all adults in five summer vacation destinations that are popular amongst American tourists.



"I believe that this will be one of the fundamental initial measures [to reactivate tourism]," Clouthier said while addressing a virtual economic forum, after presenting the plan to President Lopez Obrador, on Monday. "The president thought it was a very good idea, and we are in the process of trying to determine which five destinations it will be," she said.



Clouthier explained that the five destinations chosen will be those whose local economies depend heavily on tourism and that have the capacity to attract international tourists. She added that the reactivation of domestic tourism has already begun in many areas.



The Secretary noted that, due to the pandemic, tourism in Mexico and the world has undergone a transformation. With travelers now preferring nature-oriented vacations, the government is focusing more on promoting ecotourism. "We are working with [social media] influencers to promote vacation destinations that offer greener, more ecological tourism options," she said.



Los Cabos, Cancun, and Puerto Vallarta are among the destinations that meet the criteria, so, although it has not yet been confirmed, there is a great possibility that these destinations will be among the five in which vaccinations could be applied to the general population, as a measure for the recovery of tourism.



Secretary Clouthier added that the government is advocating an increase in direct flights to tourism hotspots so that travelers don't have to transit through third cities to reach their final destination.



Air travel to Mexico from the United States - the No. 1 source country for international tourists - is expected to recover strongly this summer as many U.S. citizens have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 and are keen to go on vacation. The number of



Sources: El Universal - Milenio - Mexico News Daily - With the aim of promoting the reactivation of the tourism sector, Mexico's Secretary of Economy, Tatiana Clouthier, proposed a plan to vaccinate all adults in five summer vacation destinations that are popular amongst American tourists."I believe that this will be one of the fundamental initial measures [to reactivate tourism]," Clouthier said while addressing a virtual economic forum, after presenting the plan to President Lopez Obrador, on Monday. "The president thought it was a very good idea, and we are in the process of trying to determine which five destinations it will be," she said.Clouthier explained that the five destinations chosen will be those whose local economies depend heavily on tourism and that have the capacity to attract international tourists. She added that the reactivation of domestic tourism has already begun in many areas.The Secretary noted that, due to the pandemic, tourism in Mexico and the world has undergone a transformation. With travelers now preferring nature-oriented vacations, the government is focusing more on promoting ecotourism. "We are working with [social media] influencers to promote vacation destinations that offer greener, more ecological tourism options," she said.Los Cabos, Cancun, and Puerto Vallarta are among the destinations that meet the criteria, so, although it has not yet been confirmed, there is a great possibility that these destinations will be among the five in which vaccinations could be applied to the general population, as a measure for the recovery of tourism.Secretary Clouthier added that the government is advocating an increase in direct flights to tourism hotspots so that travelers don't have to transit through third cities to reach their final destination.Air travel to Mexico from the United States - the No. 1 source country for international tourists - is expected to recover strongly this summer as many U.S. citizens have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 and are keen to go on vacation. The number of flights that have been scheduled between the two countries for this summer is up 6% from 2019.



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HOUSTON - (April 22, 2021) - There's gold in them thar nanoparticles, and there used to be a lot of silver, too. But much of the silver has leached away, and researchers want to know how.

Gold-silver alloys are useful catalysts that degrade environmental pollutants, facilitate the production of plastics and chemicals and kill bacteria on surfaces, among other applications. In nanoparticle form, these alloys could be useful as optical sensors or to catalyze hydrogen evolution reactions.

But there's an issue: Silver doesn't always stay put.

A new study by scientists at Rice University and the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, reveals a two-step mechanism behind silver's dissipation, a discovery that could help industry fine-tune nanoparticle alloys for specific uses.

The team led by Rice chemists Christy Landes and Stephan Link and graduate student Alexander Al-Zubeidi and Duisburg-Essen chemist Stephan Barcikowski employed sophisticated microscopy to show how gold might retain enough silver to stabilize the nanoparticle.

Their study appears in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.

The researchers used a hyperspectral dark-field imaging microscope to study gold-silver alloy nanoparticles containing an excess of silver in an acidic solution. The technique allowed them to trigger plasmons, ripples of energy that flow across the surface of particles when lit. These plasmons scatter light that changes with the alloy's composition.

"The dependence of the plasmon on alloy composition allowed us to record silver ion leaching kinetics in real time," said Al-Zubeidi, lead author of the study.

Al-Zubeidi noted films of gold and silver alloy have been in use for decades, often as antibacterial coatings, because silver ions are toxic to bacteria. "I think the silver release mechanism has been implied from studies of alloy films, but it's never been proven in a quantitative way," he said.

Initially, silver ions leach quickly from nanoparticles, which literally shrink as a result. As the process continues, the gold lattice in most instances releases all the silver over time, but about 25% of particles behave differently and silver leaching is incomplete.

Al-Zubeidi said what they observed suggests gold could be manipulated to stabilize the alloy nanoparticles.

"Usually silver leaching would last about two hours under our conditions," he said. "Then in the second stage, the reaction no longer happens on the surface. Instead, as the gold lattice rearranges, the silver ions have to diffuse through this gold-rich lattice to reach the surface, where they can be oxidized. That slows the reaction rate a lot.

"At some point, the particles passivate and no more leaching can happen," Al-Zubeidi said. "The particles become stable. So far, we've only looked at particles with a silver content of 80%-90%, and we found that a lot of the particles stop leaching silver when they reach a silver content of about 50%.

"That could be an interesting composition for applications like catalysis and electrocatalysis," he said. "We'd like to find a sweet spot around 50%, where the particles are stable but still have a lot of their silver-like properties."

Understanding such reactions could help researchers build a library of gold-silver catalysts and electrocatalysts for various applications.

Link said the Rice team welcomed the opportunity to work with Barcikowski, a leader in the field of nanoparticle synthesis via laser ablation. "This makes it possible to create alloy nanoparticles with various compositions and free of stabilizing ligands," he said.

"From our end, we had the perfect technique to study the process of silver ion leaching from many single-alloy nanoparticles in parallel via hyperspectral imaging," Landes added. "Only a single-particle approach was able to resolve the intra- and interparticle geometry."

"This effort will enable a new approach to generate nanostructured catalysts and new materials with unique electrochemical, optical and electronic properties," said Robert Mantz, program manager for electrochemistry at the Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Command's Army Research Laboratory. "The ability to tailor catalysts is important to achieve the goal of reducing soldier-borne weight associated with power storage and generation and enable novel material synthesis."

###

Co-authors of the paper are Rice graduate students Charlotte Flatebo and Seyyed Ali Hosseini Jebeli and Duisburg-Essen graduate student Frederic Stein and researcher Christoph Rehbock. Link is a professor of chemistry and of electrical and computer engineering. Landes is a professor of chemistry and of electrical and computer engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering. Barcikowski is a professor of chemistry at the Technical Chemistry Institute and the Center for Nanointegration at Duisburg-Essen.

The Army Research Office, a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, the Robert A. Welch Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the German Research Foundation supported the study.

Read the abstract at https:/ / pubs. acs. org/ doi/ 10. 1021/ acsnano. 0c10150 .

This news release can be found online at https:/ / news. rice. edu/ 2021/ 04/ 22/ silver-ions-hurry-up-then-wait-as-they-disperse/ .

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Related materials:

'Soft' nanoparticles give plasmons new potential: http://news. rice. edu/ 2020/ 12/ 22/ soft-nanoparticles-give-plasmons-new-potential-2/

Landes Research Group: https:/ / lrg. rice. edu

Link Research Group: https:/ / slink. rice. edu

Stephan Barcikowski: https:/ / www. uni-due. de/ sfbtrr247/ people/ barcikowski. php

Department of Chemistry: https:/ / chemistry. rice. edu

Wiess School of Natural Sciences: https:/ / naturalsciences. rice. edu

Image for download:

https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2021/ 04/ 0426_SILVER-1-WEB. jpg

Chemists at Rice University and the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany quantified the release of silver ions from gold-silver nanoparticle alloys. At top, transmission electron microscope images show the change in color as silver (in blue) leaches out of a nanoparticle over several hours, leaving gold atoms behind. The bottom hyperspectral images show how much a nanoparticle of silver and gold shrank over four hours as the silver leached away. (Credit: Rice University)

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,978 undergraduates and 3,192 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 1 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
This additional funding from GODIVA will be used to further support cocoa farming communities and cultivate forest restoration in Cote d'Ivoire, the largest cocoa producing country in the world. This is part of an ongoing partnership between GODIVA and Earthworm Foundation that began last summer and strives to make long-term improvements to protect forests and enrich the lives of people who grow and harvest cocoa. One of their most recent collaborations is the launch of GODIVA's Responsible Cocoa Commitment earlier this year.

"Earthworm Foundation has more than 20 years of experience in finding solutions to the major social and environmental problems that our world is facing today," said Nurtac Ziyal Afridi, GODIVA's CEO. "Their expertise is a great resource to GODIVA in helping us execute on our commitment to foster responsibly sourced cocoa and make progress towards our vision for a sustainable and thriving cocoa industry."

"We are delighted to partner with GODIVA and believe that together we can help tackle some of the most pressing societal and environmental needs in West Africa," says Bastien Sachet, CEO of Earthworm Foundation. "We are happy to have their support as we work towards reducing deforestation, restoring forests and positively impacting farming communities in the Soubre region of Cote d'Ivoire."

To learn more about GODIVA's partnership with the Earthworm Foundation, as well as other efforts to support sustainably sourced cocoa and communities, visit GODIVA Cares. GODIVA is also a member of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and a signatory of their Cocoa & Forests Initiative.

About GODIVA Chocolatier: GODIVA is the global leader in premium, artisanal chocolate. The company was founded in Brussels in 1926 by Belgian Chocolatier, Pierre Draps. Nearly a century later, every piece of GODIVA is still bursting with quality, Belgian craftsmanship, and the world's finest ingredients.

GODIVA has distribution in more than 100 countries across the globe. Customers can experience the iconic brand at many fine retailers, on GODIVA.com, and in the chocolate aisle of supermarkets, drugstores, and club stores.

GODIVA is committed to innovative and delicious products that exceed consumer expectations and create wonderful moments. From its famous truffles and shell-moulded chocolate pieces to its European-style biscuits, individually wrapped chocolates, hot cocoa, soft serve and other indulgences, GODIVA is dedicated to bringing the ultimate chocolate experience to the world and making its products more accessible to everyone.

As a socially responsible business, GODIVA has global practices and programs designed to provide meaningful support to cocoa farmers, safeguard our environment, and empower the communities where we live and work. To learn more about these powerful initiatives, visit GODIVA Cares.

About the Earthworm Foundation: Earthworm Foundation is a non-profit organization driven by the desire to positively impact the relationship between people and nature. With most of our staff operating directly on the ground where the issues are, we work with our member companies and partners to make value chains an engine to drive positive economic, environmental and social impact.

Media contact:

GODIVA

Tara McTeague

Head of Global Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Earthworm

Mark Sanderson

Media Relations Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE GODIVA Chocolatier

Related Links

http://www.godiva.com


The late Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, who served as Indias Minister of Law and Justice during the Nehru Administration, married Dr. Sharda Kabir in New Delhi April 15, 1948. Ambedkar stood for an India and America where we respect the dignity of all, Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna tweeted after reintroducing a resolution honoring Ambedkar. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has deployed additional 1,000 personnel to check traffic robbery in the state.

The Commands Spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.

Mr Adejobi said the Command had given motorcycles to policemen which makes it easier for them to maneuver and track traffic robbers.

One chance as it is popularly called in Lagos state is one of the crimes we record, where passengers are robbed and pushed out of moving commercial vehicles, and the Command is mindful of this.

This is why we have intensified our intelligence and are taking proactive measures to make sure the perpetrators are caught in their hideouts before they strike.

What the CP has done again is to deploy additional 1,000 personnel to the traffic division of the state and they were given motorcycles to maneuver and keep traffic robbers in check, Adejobi said.

He added that the Command had deployed policemen to fortify security at flashpoints and along most of the major routes in the state.

Traffic robberies have recently become a recurrent feature across Lagos, with the criminals operating under the cover of darkness as well during the day.

Mr Adejobi explained that the traffic robbers usually operate on motorcycles or just trek to their victims in a hold up while one chance operators rob passengers inside vehicles.

He said most times commercial vehicles DaD with registration numbers that could be tracked were used to perpetuate the act.

He urged members of the public to assess vehicles properly before boarding and also take note of registration numbers whenever they were not certain.

One chance operators can easily be tracked as long as we have the vehicle registration number. This is what made it possible for LASTMA officers to intercept a vehicle at Aja recently.

All we just need is for people to be mindful of the buses they board. Be sure to assess the kind of people in the bus and dont just enter because you are in haste to get to your destination.

But we are mindful of the two incidents and their modus operandi. We have arrested many of the culprits and we will not relent, he said.

(NAN)
Bahrains high-end shopping destination Moda Mall has announced its Precious Month Ramadan campaign offering shoppers a chance to win a new 2021 Lotus Evora GT luxury car in partnership with Adamas Motors.

In addition to the Lotus car, shoppers can win their own customizable Precious Gift List where they will be given the choice to select their own prizes, to be chosen from a specially curated list of designer items from Bang & Olufsen Beosound Headphones & Speakers, Tag Heuer Aquarace Watches, Versace Medusa Belts, Bottega Veneta Leather Wallets, Tumi Luggage, S.T. Dupont Ballpoint Pen, Kooheji Jewellery Gold and Diamond Necklace, Khanna Jewellers 18kt White Gold Diamond Earrings, Projekt 8 W35 Watches and Atyab Perfumes Gift Boxes, said Moda Mall in its statement.

There will also be gift cards available from Asia Jewellers which will be drawn weekly, it added.

The top Bahraini retail hub said as part of the promotion, its shoppers can nominate one lucky friend or family member to receive a gift card from Asia Jewellers if they win the Precious Gift List.

"For every person nominated Moda Mall will drop a Symbolic Pearl into their custom-made 'Moda Precious Moments Well' located in the Fashion Court to demonstrate the kind deed," remarked Chris Gibson, Deputy General Manager of Bahrain World Trade Center and Moda Mall.

For every BD30 spent at the refined retail outlets, shoppers are given one entry into The Precious Gift List. Customers can enter online or within Moda Mall at Customer Service Desks.

The winners of the Gift Vouchers will be announced weekly with the Grand Prize draw for the Lotus Evora GT and The Precious Gift List taking place on May 18.

The reward ceremony will be overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Tourism (MOICT), stated Gibson.

"Were proud that Moda Mall leads the way in offering unique rewards, and this latest offer continues that tradition. It is also the first time that shoppers in Bahrain have the chance to win the truly remarkable piece of engineering embodied in the Lotus Evora GT. Ramadan is one of many themed opportunities we will give Moda Mall shoppers to win unique items from our boutiques, many of which cannot be found anywhere else on the island," he noted.

Adamas Motors CEO Karl Hamer said: "As part of our launch in Bahrain, 'The Precious Month' campaign is a great example of partnership between Adamas Motors and Moda Mall. We are confident that discerning Bahrain sportscar-lovers will embrace the Lotus brand, with our everyday sensible sportscars that we believe the people of Bahrain will love."

"Moda Mall showroom has been selected to be the first location worldwide showcasing the new corporate design. My team and I look forward to welcoming everyone to our beautiful showroom on the ground floor of high-end retail destination which is due to open," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference concluded Wednesday in southern China's island province of Hainan, with consensus built on joining hands to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening global governance.

The four-day conference in Boao, a coastal town in Hainan, attracted more than 2,600 attendees, including government officials, entrepreneurs and scholars, from over 60 countries and regions.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Boao Forum for Asia. With the theme -- A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation, this year's conference responded to the latest concerns of countries and regions in Asia and provided an important platform for various parties to discuss ways to improve global governance and cooperation.

BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said the meeting helped achieve positive results and build consensus on joining hands to fight the pandemic and strengthen global governance.

The conference also called for upholding multilateralism and strengthening communication and coordination, and explored ways to revive the world economy and promote common development, Li said.

The BFA, founded in 2001, is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization committed to promoting economic integration and sustainable development in Asia.
(Natural News) Derek Chauvin believed in the system. Now, hes paid with his life.

(Article republished from Revolver.news)

Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts of murder and manslaughter on Tuesday afternoon in the death of George Floyd last year.

The former Minneapolis police officer was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

When the verdict was announced by the Judge Peter A. Cahill, Chauvin looked on blankly from his chair. Each murder charge for a person with no criminal history carries a presumptive prison sentence of 12.5 years, according to Minnesota sentencing guidelines. The manslaughter charge for someone without a criminal record carries a presumptive prison sentence of four years. 

Less than an hour after jurors found Chauvin guilty on all charges, prosecutors thanked the jury for making what they called the right and decent choice to convict the former Minneapolis police officer in the murder of Floyd. 

I want to thank the jury for their service, for doing what was right and decent and correct and speaking truth and finding the right verdict in this case, Schleicher said. [Washington Post]

Barring a miracle in the appeals process, Chauvin will spend decades if not the rest of his life in prison. Its unfair and unjust, the greatest travesty of the criminal courts since O.J. Simpson went free two and a half decades ago.

Mob rule has taken over in America, which means that law and order is dead, and the Constitutional right to due process has been shredded beyond recognition. Its not so much that the left-wing mob knows that it can tamper with judges and juries with impunity. Rather, the mob is incited to tamper with juries and judges by the press arm of the Global American Empire, with the full weight and backing of the ruling class governing establishment of the Global American Empire.

If there is any bright spot to what happened today, it is this: Americans should be completely purged of the illusion that a fair and just system still exists that will protect them from the predations of the Globalist American Empire. There is no fair system of law and order in America. There is only the arbitrary application of power for political purposes.

Derek Chauvin was a humble police officer trying to protect his community from the drug addicts and dangerous predators who grow more common by the day. He responded to a call from a convenience store over a counterfeit bill, and ended up trying to restrain George Floyd, a man both high on drugs and much larger than him. Chauvin used his police training to restrain Floyd while a hostile crowd surrounded him.

No proof was ever offered that Chauvins knee killed George Floyd, because no such proof could ever be offered. The very notion was ridiculous. Floyd died from a lifetime of health-destroying decisions coupled with the lethal amount of drugs in his system. If Floyd hadnt died on camera, nothing would have happened. Instead, for political expediency, Chauvin was made into a human sacrifice. He was disowned by the state he served and the public he protected.

Chauvin was never going to receive a fair trial.

Trial judge Peter Cahill refused to sequester the jury pool. Every juror was free to see Minneapolis hit by its third wave of riots after the accidental shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center (in fact, one of the jurors lives in Brooklyn Center). Every juror could hear Rep. Maxine Waters demand a more confrontational approach from demonstrators if they gave the wrong verdict. Every juror could read The New York Times article profiling them, sending the unsubtle message that if they didnt convict, theyd be the next targets of the mob.

Against every principle of justice and legal fairness, Derek Chauvin was successfully tarred as a murderer. Now he will likely suffer a murderers fate.

Minnesotas criminal justice system spent millions to ensure Derek Chauvin was crushed, bringing in 11 ringer private attorneys to augment the states attorney. That same system sat pat while mobs destroyed downtown Minneapolis last summer and burned down a police station. Other states are doing the same. In Georgia, officer Garrett Rolfe is still being prosecuted for shooting Rayshard Brooks, who stole a taser and tried to use it on Rolfe.

Police will get the message: If they use any kind of force to stop a fleeing suspect or restrain one resisting arrest, the state will not protect them. It will side with the criminal. So the rational question is, why even be a police officer? Thousands of officers are asking themselves that, and giving the rational answer. In Minneapolis, nearly one-fourth of the force quit or went on leave in 2021. In New York, police retirements doubled.

Criminals have received the same message. They know that if they run from police, they will not be pursued. If they fight back, they will not be punished. Taxpayer funds will be spent to compensate injured criminals, while whats left will be used to pursue criminal charges against police. If criminals riot, the streets will be abandoned to let them plunder at will. Unsurprisingly, crime has exploded. Murders are up by a third. In cities like D.C., carjackings have quintupled compared to the same time last year.

Without police to protect them, it falls to individual citizens to protect themselves and their neighbors. But Americas rulers are determined to stamp that out as well. In neighboring Wisconsin, Kyle Rittenhouse will go on trial this November for defending himself from antifa attackers. The McCloskeys are still being terrorized by the state of Missouri (a red state!) for merely brandishing guns at rioters outside their home. Last year, Omaha bar owner Jake Gardner committed suicide after he lost his business and was criminally charged for defending himself from a looter.

The Globalist American Empire takes delight in all of this. Every ordinary citizen crushed is one step closer to the mob rule and anarcho-tyranny which they desire to foist on the world to their benefit. Ordo ab chao, after all.

America is entering a dark period. Not everything is lost. But the sooner Americans dispense with the illusion that they live in a rational, fair system that respects everyones rights, the better. Americans must realize the system is truly and wholly evil, ugly, dysfunctional, corrupt, and illegitimate before they are able to build back something far better in its place. You owe the globalists nothing.

Read more at: Revolver.news and Collapse.news.
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As the old adage goes, personnel is policy. Nearing his 100th day in office, President Biden has made it abundantly clear that he plans to implement a radically liberal social agenda in America, demonstrated by who he's nominated to run the federal government.

Biden has already filled his entire cabinet faster than both Presidents Trump and Obama did before him. He accomplished this despite his nominees being, arguably, the most pro-abortion in history, and working with a 50-50 Senate in which Democrats had little to no room for error. While some Republicans stood up admirably to Biden's extreme, unqualified nominees, too many of them failed to raise legitimate opposition. Indeed, many voted to confirm these nominees, providing Biden's nominees with more bipartisan support than President Trump's received.

Now, as Biden turns his attention to filling out deputy secretary and other assistant roles, the nominees he's put forward are even more radical than the secretaries they will work for  a far cry from the unifying positions Biden promised while campaigning.

Take, for example, Kristen Clarke and Vanita Gupta, two nominees to be assistant attorneys general at the Department of Justice. Clarke, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, has been hailed by NARAL pro-choice America, one of the largest abortion groups in the country, for her record leading efforts in the courts to block pro-life laws around the country. She's even gone so far as to call for defunding the police. Several senators pressed her on that radical record during last week's hearing: Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned her past comments that religion has been used as a pretext to challenge public health laws during the COVID pandemic. Her response to Hawley's question didn't instill any confidence that she would defend the First Amendment in Biden's DOJ.

Vanita Gupta, who holds similarly radical views on abortion and policing, was also exposed for her extremism during Senate hearings. But instead of working with Republicans to settle on an acceptable nominee, Democrats have simply skirted Senate procedures to move her nomination through. When Gupta's nomination came up for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee, several Republicans asked to continue the debate to vet her record. Instead of allowing unlimited time for debate as committee rules permit, Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) cut off Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in the middle of his remarks to rush Gupta's vote through committee. This is another sign that Democratic leadership in Congress does not have any intention of finding unifying nominees and policies, nor will they respect the process.

President Biden has moved forward with these types of nominees for assistant secretary roles in almost every department, especially those with direct influence over policies that affect abortion and religious freedom. This week, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to vet Andrea Joan Palm as deputy secretary of HHS, and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to be the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both nominees have ties to Planned Parenthood and will surely lead the administration's efforts to further erode federal pro-life laws.

Two nominees poised to work on international policies likewise are avid abortion proponents. Samantha Power, nominated to be USAID Administrator, sailed through committee with a unanimous vote despite a long record promoting abortion and the LGBT agenda as U.N. Ambassador under President Obama. And Wendy Sherman, Biden's pick to be the Assistant Secretary of State, was a former director of EMILY's list  the largest pro-abortion political action committee.

While Congress holds the power to legislate and create new federal laws, it has delegated much of its power to the executive branch. Those who have the power to interpret and enforce those laws under the direction of the president often have wide-ranging powers not visible to much of the public. The people Biden has picked to implement his agenda and enforce the law (often with much discretion) are Planned Parenthood darlings, EMILY's List executives, and a collection of former Obama appointees who've already been responsible for reshaping federal laws to promote abortion and anti-family policies in recent years.

The records of these nominees are widely known, yet not a single one of Biden's nominees has been successfully blocked over their radical social policies. Neera Tanden, Biden's nominee for OMB Director, withdrew her nomination after backlash over some old tweets  but that's been the extent of successful Republican opposition so far. Some senators are doing what they can to draw attention to the horrific records of these nominees, but no substantial effort has been made to successfully hold Biden's cabinet in check.

Despite the fact the Democrats are holding eliminating the legislative filibuster in the Senate over the heads of Republicans, it's time GOP senators start seriously offering advice and consent to the president on his nominees, rather than acting like a rubber stamp for every partisan appointee he taps. The alternative is four years of unfettered damage to life, family, and freedom as they aggressively erase the gains of the Trump administration.
Interview: China plays critical role in expanding global use of renewables, says IEA executive director

Xinhua) 17:04, April 21, 2021

PARIS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Demand for renewables is set to increase in all key sectors in 2021 and China, which "alone accounts for about half of the increase in global renewable electricity generation," plays a critical role, chief of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

"We expect this year the share of renewables in the world electricity generation comes to 30 percent, the highest in the history. This is mainly the result of the achievements in a few countries but China plays a critical role," Fatih Birol said in an interview with Xinhua.

In its Global Energy Review 2021 released Tuesday, the Paris-based global energy policy advisor noted that electricity generation from renewables is set to leap by more than 8 percent in 2021, accounting for more than half of the increase in overall electricity supply worldwide.

The biggest contribution to that growth comes from solar and wind, projected to rise by 18 percent and 17 percent respectively from last year, both on track for their largest annual rise in history.

"It is excellent news that the renewables are growing very strongly, driven by China, but also followed by United States, Europe and India," said the executive director.

With global economic recovery leading to a rebound in energy demand, the IEA noted that global energy demand is set to increase by 4.6 percent in 2021, led by emerging markets and developing economies.

"We are seeing significant growth of the economies," said Birol. "China is the first country where we have seen the lockdown measures lifted, and the first economy that started to run. Then we are seeing strong economic growth from China, highlighting the resilience of the Chinese economy."

"We expect this year the Chinese economy will increase about 9 percent, which is good for China, but also good for the rest of the world," he said.

Predicting a steady increase in global energy demand in coming years, the IEA chief stressed that clean energy technologies should be used as much as possible "in order to see economic growth, prosperity," and not do harm to "the environment."

As the largest developing country still in the stage of industrialization and urbanization, China has the right to development and also shoulders the responsibility of improving people's livelihood.

Meanwhile, as an important contributor to adopting the Paris Agreement, and an active participator in implementing it, China has the determination and ambition to tackle climate change. The country has vowed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The extensive shift would certainly pose a challenge to the country's customary economic development model. The IEA chief said: "China's success story in renewables, especially solar, wind and hydropower, is a critical and very important part of reaching Chinese climate targets."

Birol said that China takes the climate change as a serious challenge and is paying a lot of attention to international collaboration.

He welcomed the online summit of China, France, and Germany Friday, during which the leaders of the three countries highlighted the importance of working together.

The talks from Thursday to Friday between Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate change affairs and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry marked "a very good step in the right direction," he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to attend a virtual summit on climate change on April 22-23, and the IEA chief said he will be speaking at the summit.

"One of my messages (in the summit) will be the critical importance of international collaboration among countries, so that all the major economies can work effectively and closer together, to have innovation in clean energy sector," said Birol.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
A former Tory minister who worked for a PPE firm without permission has been rebuked for failing to ask for approval before taking on a string of other appointments.

George Freeman, life sciences minister under David Cameron and a transport minister until last year, broke government rules when he was paid 5,000 as a consultant to Aerosol Shield without seeking permission from Whitehall's 'revolving door' watchdog.

Now he has admitted to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) that he failed to seek advice for four other roles he had begun recently.

Mr Freeman has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by Acoba chairman Lord Pickles, which could see him denied a future honour.

George Freeman, life sciences minister under David Cameron and a transport minister until last year, broke government rules when he was paid 5,000 as a consultant to Aerosol Shield without seeking permission from Whitehall's 'revolving door' watchdog [File photo]

The watchdog's letter to Mr Gove, published this week, stated: 'The failure to seek advice is a breach of the Government's rules and the requirement as set out in the Ministerial Code.

'It is now a matter for you to decide what appropriate action to take.'

After his first breach last year, Mid Norfolk MP Mr Freeman was asked by Acoba what other roles he had taken up without seeking approval.

He listed seven, of which three had begun when he was a minister so did not require approval, leaving four for which he failed to seek permission.

One was to become chairman of blood cancer research start-up Haemcro, which will eventually become a paid job if it can secure funding.

Mr Freeman had provided advice to the founders for nine months before mentioning it to Acoba.

A second unpaid role was for a 'public health policy advocacy commission' that he had helped set up, called Reform for Resilience.

Mr Freeman had also invoiced a hydrogen fuel company called Ryse once for providing 'strategic advice' last year  but gave the money back after realising he should have sought Acoba approval first. He told the committee he had 'cancelled the contract and ceased all work for Ryse, with a view to seeking Acoba approval'.

The Conservative Party have come under increased scrutiny amid a lobbying scandal centred around former Prime Minister David Cameron

Since December, Mr Freeman had also been offering unpaid advice to a recruitment charity called the Resume Foundation and wanted to become chairman of its advisory board.

Again he was told he should have sought approval before starting the role, even though there was no conflict with his ministerial work.

Mr Freeman wrote to Lord Pickles last month, saying: 'I wanted to apologise again for my misunderstanding of the Acoba process and to reiterate that I genuinely didn't understand that Acoba guidance was needed for any/all work embarked upon by former ministers. I thought it only applied to commercial work which might have any connection with my former ministerial portfolio.'
By Tom Polansek and Karl Plume

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Biden administration hopes to convince farmers to set aside four million more of acres of land for conservation this year by raising payment rates in an environmental program, but farmers said surging crop prices make it a tougher sell.

The push to enroll more land into the 36-year-old Conservation Reserve Program is a part of the administration's campaign to counter climate change.

In the voluntary program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pays farmers a yearly rent not to grow crops on environmentally sensitive land for 10-15 years as a way to prevent soil erosion, sequester carbon, reduce nitrogen runoff and provide habitats for wildlife.

About 21 million acres are enrolled in the program, below the Congress-set limit of 25 million acres. The cap will gradually increase to 27 million acres by 2023.

To entice farmers to add 20% more acres in 2021, the USDA is expanding the number of incentivized environmental practices allowed under the program, along with raising payment rates, the agency said.

"There's always a balance, but it's critically important that we continue to create a multitude of ways for land to be productively used," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Thursday.

Apart from environmental goals, conservation land can also generate rural jobs in outdoor recreation or construction, he said.

"It gives farmers choices and I think that's important," he said.

Still, farmers said the potential for big profits from crop production will make them reluctant to take land out of production. U.S. corn and soy futures notched fresh multi-year highs on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday. [GRA/]

"Unless you've got some really tough soil like in southern Illinois - roll-y, rocky ground - you're going to have a hard time getting anybody to sign up anything for CRP," said Dave Kestel, who grows corn and soybeans in Manhattan, Illinois.

Story continues

The National Grain & Feed Association, which represents grain processors and exporters, warned the USDA not to try to enroll large tracts of productive farmland into the conservation program because the voracious international demand for commodities would simply lead farmers in competing exporting countries to increase plantings.

"Programs that drastically increase acreage idling in the United States send market signals to competitors to plant more acres, resulting in negative climate and environmental impacts," President Mike Seyfert said.

Vilsack denied that conserving more land in the U.S. would lead to deforestation in other countries. He said the program was aimed at preserving marginal acres, not the most productive U.S. farmland.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek and Karl Plume; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management has received a $3.5 million gift from Golub Capital to sponsor its Board Fellows program for five years and create a second Golub Capital Social Impact Lab. The gift is designed to enhance the existing Board Fellows program, facilitate more advanced social impact research and share the program's learnings and expertise with a broader network of leading business schools.

The Board Fellows program, to be named the Golub Capital Board Fellows Program, is a 20-month curriculum that prepares 100 top Kellogg MBA students annually for board service at Chicago-area nonprofits through a combination of academic coursework, board placement and strategic consulting.

The Golub Capital Social Impact Lab will recruit eight Golub Capital Postdoctoral Fellows to Kellogg over five years, creating a "think tank" that works with the MBA students in the Board Fellows program. Golub Capital Postdoctoral Fellows will also collaborate with faculty members across different Kellogg departments on a range of social impact-related research and help export the program to other business schools.

"For nearly 20 years, Kellogg students have meaningfully contributed to the missions of Chicago-area nonprofits through our Board Fellows program," said Dean Francesca Cornelli. "Golub Capital's generous gift will help us understand better how board members of nonprofits can provide even more value to these organizations and those served by them."

Golub Capital is a market-leading direct lender and credit asset manager with over $35 billion of capital under management. The firm employs more than 320 people in Chicago.

"Golub Capital is building a network of social impact labs at leading U.S. business schools. Our goal is to harness the power of these leading academic institutions to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofits," said David Golub, President of Golub Capital. "Kellogg's best-in-class program to teach MBAs and alumni how to be excellent nonprofit board members made for an ideal fit for our impact philanthropy effort."

Golub Capital also sponsored the launch of the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab at Stanford Graduate School of Business , which was established in 2019.

Angela Lee, the Mechthild Esser Nemmers Professor of Marketing, will serve as the faculty champion for the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab at Kellogg, working with the postdoctoral fellows to guide their research, facilitate faculty connections and intellectual exchange via workshops and conferences.

"This gift gives us a terrific opportunity to further enhance our existing program model by bridging research and practice," Lee said. "Not only will this allow us to build an even more effective program for MBA students, it will also promote and support new social impact research."

Since 2003, the Kellogg Board Fellows program has prepared 744 Board Fellows for civic leadership and served 223 unique Chicago-area nonprofits. Nonprofit partners include Chicago Cares, Howard Brown Health , The Night Ministry and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & NW Indiana .

With the creation of this Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, Kellogg students will have access to more advanced research and quantitative practices, enabling them to take on even more rigorous projects and deliver greater impact for nonprofit partners .

"Howard Brown Health has benefited for four years from the contributions of the exceptional MBA talent provided by the Kellogg Board Fellows program," said David Ernesto Munar, President and CEO of Howard Brown Health. "We are excited about how this new investment in the Board Fellows program can further enhance Howard Brown Health's work providing health and wellness support to the LGBTQ community."

From a student perspective, the chance to be a part of the Board Fellows program is more compelling than ever.

"The Board Fellows program is one of the primary reasons I came to Kellogg. To me, this program demonstrates Kellogg's commitment to developing civically-minded leaders who are equipped to drive positive change in their communities," said Dani Lubin-Levy, a current MBA student and president of the Board Fellows' student leadership team. "This gift will accelerate the impact the Board Fellows program is having on the organizations we serve."

The Golub Capital gift counts toward We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern. The funds raised through the "We Will" Campaign are helping realize the transformational vision set forth in Northwestern's strategic plan and solidifying the University's position among the world's leading research universities. More information on We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern is available at wewill.northwestern.edu .

About Golub Capital

Golub Capital is a market-leading, award-winning direct lender and credit asset manager, with over $35 billion of capital under management. Golub Capital specializes in delivering reliable, creative and compelling financing solutions to middle market companies backed by private equity sponsors. The firm's credit expertise also forms the foundation of its Late Stage Lending business and its Broadly Syndicated Loan investment program. Across its activities, Golub Capital nurtures long-term, win-win partnerships that inspire repeat business from its private equity sponsor clients and investors. Founded over 25 years ago, Golub Capital today has over 500 employees and lending offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit golubcapital.com .

SOURCE Golub Capital

Related Links

http://www.golubcapital.com/


Samsung Galaxy F52 5G is announced to be launched in June 2021 & will run on Android 11 OS. The Smartphone will be available only in one color i.e. Black & will also have a built in fingerprint sensor as the primary security feature, along with the host of connectivity options in terms of 3G, 4G, GPS, Wifi, NFC Bluetooth capabilities. The phone will come with 128 GB of internal storage.

The Smartphone will be powered by 2.4 GHz Octa-core core processor. A 8 GB of RAM will ensure phone runs smoothly even the most memory intensive applications & show no signs of lag. 128 GB oof internal storage will not be open for expansion at all.

The Phone will come with a powerful 4350 mAh battery to support it's 6.57 inch screen, having a resolution of 1080 x 2408.

Samsung Galaxy F52 5G will come with a 64 megapixel rear Camera and 8 megapixel front Camera. It will support high dynamic range(HDR) imaging.


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By Park Ji-won





Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul / Courtesy of Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul


Financial Review apology to N J (John) Karantzis

Melbourne, April 22, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Limited ( ASX:ISX ) ( FRA:TA8 ) is pleased to announce that the Australian Financial Review (www.afr.com) has today published the following apology on page 2 of its printed edition:"Apology to Nickolas John KarantzisOn 2 and 7 July 2020, The Australian Financial Review published articles entitled "Etherstack pump straight from iSignthis playbook" and "More alternative facts from iSignthis boss John Karantzis" which referred to you and your company ISignthis. We understand you considered the article suggested you were aware of or involved in money laundering. The Financial Review did not intend to make such an allegation and if any readers took the article to mean that it retracts them. The Financial Review unreservedly apologises to you for the hurt and distress caused by reason of the publication of the article and for any damage to your reputation."The apology also appears in the above referenced online articles on the AFR website.The apology arises from the settlement of Federal Court proceedings taken against the AFR and columnists Joe Aston and Miriam Robin by Mr Karantzis.Other terms of the settlement are confidential.The Company regards the apology as extremely significant, because it has faced adverse public comment arising from the implication of money laundering. At no stage in the court proceedings prior to the settlement did the AFR, Aston or Robin contend that there was truth in an implication of money laundering.About iSignthis Ltd

iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.
Stacey Dooley has admitted she won't tie the knot to thrice-married Kevin Clifton as she joked 'he'd divorce me in a heartbeat.

The presenter, 34, who has been in a relationship with the former Strictly star, 38, for over two years, insisted she's more interested in starting a family than walking down the aisle during a new episode of her W show, Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over.

'I don't want to find myself totally reliant on a man', the broadcaster said as she spoke to members of a community called Tradwives - women who ditch their careers in a bid to become traditional housewives.

He'd divorce me in a heartbeat!' Stacey Dooley has admitted she won't tie the knot to thrice-married Kevin Clifton (pictured in 2019)

The media personality - who was joined by Felipe and his spouse Lillian as they marked 10 years of marriage - detailed her stance on marriage, sharing: 'Kev and I have been together for two years. I don't think I want to get married.

'I think I'd be more interested in starting a family than getting married. I can't think of anything worse than being a Tradwife. I would be useless, completely and utterly useless. He'd divorce me in a heartbeat.'

According to The Sun, the host went on to highlight the differences between a Tradwife and a career-driven woman like herself.

The journalist added: 'Of course, I'm not going to become a Tradwife, I can't think of anything I would least rather do than obeying a man.

Last wife: The former Strictly star, 38, was married to fellow dancer Karen Hauer, 39, from 2015 until 2018 (pictured in 2017)

'I can do as I please!' 'I don't want to find myself totally reliant on a man', the broadcaster said as she spoke to members of a community called Tradwives (pictured in 2018)

'It makes you more vulnerable. I don't want to find myself totally reliant on a man because that means if I'm not happy and I don't feel fulfilled and complete, I might have to stick around.

'Whereas the life I've chosen, I can do as I please. I appreciate that probably sounds very selfish.'

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Stacey for further comment.

The couple went public with their romance in early 2019, just weeks after her split from her boyfriend of three years, Sam Tucknott.

In the past: The couple went public with their romance in early 2019, just weeks after her split from her boyfriend of three years, Sam Tucknott (pictured before their break-up)

Before the breakdown of his three-year marriage to fellow dancer Karen Hauer in 2018, Kevin was previously in a relationship with Clare Craze from 2005 until 2013.

The Grimsby-born performer wed his former Latin dance partner Anna Melnikova from 2003 - and it's not known when they split.

In February, dance expert Karen, 39, revealed she would 'never, never have let go of her marriage' to Kevin and wanted to fight to keep it going.

Past love: The choreographer was previously in a relationship with Clare Craze from 2005 until 2013 (pictured in 2009)

The Venezuelan beauty told The Divorce Club podcast with Samantha Baines that the couple split after 'things got really nasty overnight' after becoming jealous at not getting enough attention from her partner.

She said: 'Obviously, other things happen, there are other factors that happened, that really hurt us both. But I thought... I would have never let go of it. I wouldnt have never, never let go of it.

'I would have liked to have fought for it. It took me a year after we separated to actually let go of him.

Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over starts Monday 3rd May at 10pm on W.
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The Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has inaugurated the Osun Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) to tackle illegal mining activities in the state.

The governor, on Wednesday, said the appointment and inauguration of the Committee are in line with the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act 2007, which empowers the Committee to oversee the regulation of the entire mining operations in the state.

Mr Oyetola also said the committee would discuss and advise the Minister of Solid Minerals on matters affecting encroachment, trespass, security, social unrest, pollution and environmental degradation of any land on which any mineral is being extracted as it relates to all licence holders within the State.

The nine members of the committee include Omolade Binuyo (Chairman); the Federal Mining Officer, Abimbola Oyediran; Representative of State Office of Natural Resources, Alake Kolawole; Representative of State Ministry of Lands, Oluseyi Falope; Representative of Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, L. Olatunji; Representative of Ministry of Environment and Sanitation, Baderinwa Abideen; Representative of Federal Ministry of Environment, Adebisi Ayodele; Representative of Surveyor General, Surveyor Abioye Ayodele; and Representative of Federal Ministry of Mines, Isaac Ojo, who will serve as the Secretary of the Committee.

Mr Oyetola charged the members of the Committee to live up to their responsibilities of redefining the sector for the betterment of the State and the citizenry.

While we recognise that the exploration and exploitation of solid minerals are on the Exclusive Legislative list of the Federal Government, we must also note that we have been faced with the excruciating challenge of environmental degradation arising from lack of environmental and ecological literacy on the part of the local communities coupled with irresponsible and unprofessional mining by both licensed and illegal miners.

The starting point for remediating this situation is for you to educate and sensitise the people on ecological literacy through town hall and media interventions.

In achieving these tasks and ultimately setting Osun on the path of effective resource management, we have assembled men and women of character, relevant skills and experience.

Without any doubt whatsoever, the tasks before you as members of this Committee are onerous and sensitive as they are related to the security and welfare of Osun people, which the 1999 Constitution says are the primary purpose of Government.

As the eyes and the ears of government, I charge you to carry out your responsibilities, which are a call to duty, with the highest sense of purpose, responsibility and efficiency.

I implore you as experienced professionals and elders, to employ peace management, conflict resolution and diplomatic skills and competencies to manage the thorny issues arising from mineral exploitation.

You must sustain the standard set by our Administration during the town hall meetings with miners and community people to maintain peaceful coexistence.

The people of Osun look up to the members of this Committee to transform their challenges to fortune and to put their State on the map as the first State to get resource management right in the nation and on the continent, he added.

PREMIUM TIMES has written various reports on cases of illegal mining in Osun. After these reports, over 100 local and foreign illegal miners have been arrested by Operation Amotekun at different mining sites.
The Penthouse covergirl who renovated her way to TV celebrity before becoming an escort has been found not guilty of extorting money from a sex client.

Suzi Taylor, 47, and co-accused 'enforcer' Ali Ebrahimi have been cleared on extortion charges, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault for attacking the man at an apartment in an inner-city Brisbane suburb in the early hours of October 30, 2019.

The Block star could not hold back tears as the decision was handed down.

After four days of evidence and the sacking of Ebrahimi's legal team, the jury struggled for more than 10 hours before finally reaching a verdict on Thursday afternoon.

They twice sought direction from Judge Suzanne Sheridan before handing down their decision on Thursday afternoon.

Since winning almost $350,000 with partner Yvonne Cosier (right) on season 11 of the reality show, Taylor (left) has been embroiled in scandal and arrest

Suzi Taylor and co-accused 'enforcer' Ali Ebrahimi have been cleared on charges of extortion, deprivation of liberty, fraud and assault

The jury rejected key testimony from 'victim' David Butler, who admitted on the stand that he had lied to police and the court.

Outside the court, Taylor's lawyer Michael Gatenby was highly critical of the number of charges levelled against Taylor, questioning if her celebrity status was a factor.

'This has been a horrendous part of her life,' he said.

'Clearly, she was overcharged. I think it is absolutely disgraceful that this woman has been locked up for something as spurious as this outrageous complaint by the complainant.'

The Brisbane District Court jury heard the former Block contestant posed as an escort called Katie on the raunchy website Scarlet Blue when she agreed to meet Mr Butler.

The pair agreed to a sum of $250 for half an hour of Katie's time, and the hospitality worker texted Katie directly, urging her to 'dress sexy', preferably in something tight and black with high heels.

He arrived at the New Farm apartment armed with a bottle of champagne and red wine.

The Brisbane District Court jury heard the former Block contestant posed as an escort called Katie on the raunchy website Scarlet Blue when she agreed to meet Mr Butler

Taylor pleaded guilty to fraud and theft charges in May 2019 after being caught using a credit card stolen from a patient recovering at a Brisbane hospital to buy alcohol

The couple relaxed over drinks, but when the 30 minutes became an hour, then two, Taylor started getting text messages from Ebrahimi saying: 'Get paid if you haven't'.

Mr Butler claimed Taylor invited him into her bedroom, kissed him and took off her shirt before saying: 'If you want this to continue and go any further, you have to give me some money'.

The night ended with Mr Butler claiming he had tied up and held against his will, and Ebrahimi, 24, acting as an enforcer, the prosecution alleged.

Ebrahimi stormed into the bedroom, grabbed Mr Butler by the throat before punching and kicking him, he claimed.

Mr Butler's hands were fastened tightly behind his back, and he claimed to have been repeatedly assaulted by Taylor and Ebrahimi over several hours.

In key testimony, Mr Butler admitted lying to police and the court, claiming he didn't know Taylor was an escort, deleting messages and claiming he and the Block star had been chatting for weeks over a dating site.

The prosecution conceded Mr Butler was 'simply unwilling to be upfront and forthcoming that he went to pay for an escort service' because he was embarrassed and ashamed.

The verdict is the latest scandal to plague the bubbly contestant for the 2015 season of The Block.

Taylor also still has matters before the courts after being repeatedly arrested for breaching strict bail conditions

Taylor was named Penthouse Pet Of The Year 1991

Since winning almost $350,000 with partner Yvonne Cosier on season 11 of the reality show, Taylor has been embroiled in scandal and arrest.

Taylor pleaded guilty to fraud and theft charges in May 2019 after being caught using a credit card stolen from a patient recovering at a Brisbane hospital to buy alcohol.

She also still has matters before the courts after being repeatedly arrested for breaching strict bail conditions _ charges Mr Gatenby labelled excessive.

'I think it was gross overkill to charge her with in excess of 100 breaches - it is something I haven't seen in 20 years of professional life, and I very much hope not to see again.'
The final plans are being brought together for next week's Oscars ceremony, the 93rd edition of the Academy next week will have the look and feel of a movie, giving winners more time for speeches, while coronavirus masks will play a major role, producers of the show said on Saturday.

Oscars 2021: how things will be different

The coronavirus pandemic and a trio of new producers have led to a reinvention of the traditional show where the world's highest movie honors are handed out before a seated theater audience of more than 4,000 A-list stars and industry executives.

Much of the 25 April ceremony will instead be held at the Art Deco Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, where a stage is being built and where presenters will be doing more than opening an envelope with the winner's name.

"It's not going to be like anything that's been done before," director Steven Soderbergh, who is producing the show with Stacey Sher and Jesse Collins, told a news conference.

Soderbergh, who directed the 2011 movie "Contagion," said the pandemic had "opened up an opportunity to try something that hasn't been tried."

"We want the show to have a voice," he added.

Soderbergh said the ceremony would be shot like a movie, with presenters including Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Halle Berry "playing themselves, or at least a version of themselves."

Speeches by Oscar winners were previously limited to around 45 seconds. This year, Soderbergh said, "we're giving them space. We've encouraged them to tell a story, and to say something personal."

Covid-19 protocols for Oscars 2021

The producers said strict testing and covid protocols would be in place, much of them following standards developed last year to get movie and TV production running again.

They also have consulted extensively with epidemiologists who worked 10 years ago on "Contagion," which eerily foreshadowed the devastating effects of a virus on the world and which saw a bump in rentals and streaming last year.

Asked about masks at the ceremony, Soderbergh gave what he called a deliberately cryptic reply.

"Masks are going to play a very important role in the story," he said. "That topic is very central to the narrative."

Nominees unable to travel to Los Angeles for the ceremony will be able to take part via satellite hookups from venues around the world but there will be no Zoom appearances.

The ceremony will be preceded by a 90-minute pre-show that will include performances of the five original song contenders that were recorded in advance on the roof of the new Academy Museum in Los Angeles, and in Iceland.
As many as 23 people have been arrested in Egypt on charges of negligence and failure to observe laws and regulations while performing their jobs in connection with investigation into a train crash on Sunday that killed 23 people, Arab News reports.

The defendants include the director of the railway engineering department in the area of the accident, another engineer, train conductor, his assistant, the supervisor of the railway maintenance in the area where the accident occurred, the general director of track renovations, the general director of maintenance, mechanical engineers, and a group of workers and technicians specialized in the maintenance of train vehicles.

Their arrest came following an order from public prosecutor Hamada Al-Sawy who is leading the investigation into the tragedy that also caused injuries to 139 people.

The probe identified negligence in the maintenance of the trains, as well as forgery in official documents, following the interrogation of 29 Egyptian Railway Authority officials and after hearing the testimony of 104 of those injured in the accident.

A passenger train bound for Mansoura, left the capital Cairo at 1:20 p.m but crashed in the town of Toukh.

The Sunday tragedy was the third in a month.
Louise Erdrich was named winner of the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize for her novel, The Night Watchman. The story is based on the life of her grandfather, who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from North Dakota to Washington, D.C.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Read the latest coronavirus news from around the world, get updates on recent police shootings in Ohio and North Carolina and see more stories trending online today.

Top stories

Columbus police video shows teen charging others with knife before being shot by officer (AP)

North Carolina deputy fatally shoots Black man, but police release few details (USA Today)

After Chauvin verdict, Senate optimism grows around police reform named for George Floyd (NBC)

Advocates fear Minnesota, federal police reform efforts could lose momentum (Star Tribune)

Garland announces sweeping police probe after Chauvin verdict (AP)

Whats on the agenda for Bidens climate summit, and whos attending? (NY Times)

Biden to announce US will aim to cut carbon emissions by as much as 52% by 2030 at virtual climate summit (CNN)

Coronavirus news

U.S. sees unprecedented drop in vaccinations over past week (Washington Post)

Pfizer says phony COVID-19 vaccines are turning up outside the U.S. (CBS)

Experts weigh the potential harms of pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccinations (ABC News)

Michigan coronavirus cases, positivity rate starting to decline across state (Fox 2 Detroit)

Californias coronavirus case rate now the lowest in the continental U.S. (LA Times)

India sets world record for new Covid cases with 314k infections (NBC)

Other trending headlines

NASAs Perseverance rover makes oxygen on Mars for 1st time (Space.com)

Pelosi proposes equal number of Democrats and Republicans for Capitol riot commission (CBS)

Millions of Americans could be grounded from flying because of REAL ID deadline (ABC)

Report: Missing girl Kristin Smart was once buried in suspects fathers backyard (Yahoo)

Amazon bringing palm scanners to select Whole Foods locations (TechCrunch)

Aaron Rodgers boosted Jeopardy! TV ratings by 14%: report (Fox News)
A high-ranking prosecutor in Attorney General Jeff Landrys office wrote in his resignation letter this week that he reported, opposed and complained about the way that the office handled a child pornography case for a politically connected individual.

The reference to the child porn case against 22-year-old Gregory Campo Jr. of Lafayette was one of several complaints former Assistant Attorney General Matthew Derbes lodged against Landry in his resignation letter. Derbes has publicly identified himself as the whistleblower who reported sexual harassment last year by former criminal division director Pat Magee, a Landry ally who resigned last month after a second sexual harassment complaint.

Derbes alleged that Landry has retaliated against him ever since he complained about Magee. But Derbes said he was also troubled by how he was instructed to handle the child porn case; his letter did not name Campo but said the case involved preferential treatment afforded a politically connected individual facing 20 counts of child pornography charges involving juveniles under the age of 13 years old.

+17 Jeff Landry attacks credibility of those who reported sexual harassment by his top deputy Flanked by a cadre of women who work for him, state Attorney General Jeff Landry spent much of an hourlong news conference Tuesday trying to p

It's not clear what relationship, if any, Landry has to the Campos, the wealthy Lafayette family at the center of the matter. Landry has repeatedly refused to answer questions about how he knows them, or if he does, though he has said the case got no special treatment.

The familys attorney, meanwhile, has said they have no connections to Landry or to any other prosecutors in his office  familial, friendship, business or otherwise. While the Campo family has donated generously to other causes, campaign finance records do not show any contributions to Landrys campaigns.

Through his attorney, Jill Craft, Derbes declined to elaborate further on the allegation from his resignation letter or to explain the basis for his assertion that Gregory Campo was singled out for special treatment. Derbes has filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against Landry for retaliating against him, which is the first step toward filing retaliation and employment discrimination lawsuits.

Campo, who hails from Lafayette but was living in Baton Rouge, self-surrendered to police in January, and the Attorney Generals Office charged him with five counts of pornography involving juveniles.

The matter is still pending.

+2 Whistleblower in Attorney General Jeff Landry's office comes forward, alleges more misconduct Assistant Attorney General Matthew Derbes has resigned from Attorney General Jeff Landry's office after he said that Landry has targeted him f

Roughly a year passed between when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation  an arm of the AGs office  found evidence that Campo possessed child porn and when he was arrested. Court records show that the AGs office documented finding evidence of child porn in March 2019, and a Baton Rouge judge signed an arrest warrant for Campo on Jan. 8, 2020 for 20 counts of possession of child pornography.

In a statement, the Attorney Generals Office defended the delay of the arrest.

Early on in the case, it was brought to our attention that the defendant was in a long-term, out-of-state, residential treatment program, said Marty White, who replaced Magee as director of the AGs criminal division. This along with COVID-19 slowed the process of effectuating an arrest of the defendant.

Campo self-surrendered to authorities in January and was released on an $80,000 bond. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last month, and a trial date has not yet been set in his case.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The Campo family, the parents, do not know Jeff Landry, said attorney Bryan Fisher, who represents the Campo family. Theyve never met him. Theyve never spoken to him on the phone. They do not know him from Adam.

Fisher also said the delay in Campos arrest was because he was in treatment, and that he briefly left treatment to be arrested  which was negotiated with the Attorney Generals office  and returned to treatment afterward. John McLindon, the attorney representing Campo in the criminal case, also complimented the AGs office and said theyd handled the case very professionally.

Campos father, Gregory Campo Sr., owns a number of businesses in the Lafayette area, as does Landry. The elder Campo has been a prolific donor to some causes; for instance, he gave $100,000 to a recent capital campaign benefiting a private Lafayette high school.

But theres no evidence that Campo or any of his firms has donated to any of Landrys political campaigns.

Leon Cannizzaro is back: Former New Orleans DA now has top role under Attorney General Jeff Landry Former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro kept a low profile after bowing out of last years election amid growing voter discont

And asked at a news conference Tuesday about the assertions in the resignation letter, Landry didnt engage, instead questioning a reporter about how she had seen a copy of the resignation letter. He said that he did not recall seeing the allegations about a child-porn case being fumbled, though Derbes attorney said that the resignation letter was hand-delivered to Landry on Monday.

Landry often sends out news releases announcing arrests in child porn cases, and has sent out 11 since the start of the year. Campos name has not been included in any of them.

WAFB reported Wednesday that a Landry spokesman said such releases are generally issued in cases where the suspect is at large, but the station reported that was true in only three of the 28 news releases about child porn that Landrys office has sent out in the past year.

Crimes against children are intolerable offenses, Landry wrote in a recent news release. My office and I are committed to using every tool we have to aggressively pursue child predators.

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

White says the case has been handled like any other child-porn case.

During the course of the investigation and now prosecution, no preferential treatment was afforded to the defendant, White said.

He said the $80,000 bond was consistent with similar cases in the same jurisdiction.
For the second time this week, ethics complaints against Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner have been substantiated by investigators in the Attorney Generals Office.

Three former employees of the prosecutors office filed internal affairs complaints with the Attorney Generals Office of Public Integrity and Accountability in 2018. After years of investigation, the office found that there was evidence to support six of the 17 allegations against Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner, according to a letter the office sent to the former employees Monday that was provided to NJ Advance Media.

The letter says investigators found evidence that Tyner lied at a press conference in an attempt to win the publics trust, misrepresented how forfeiture funds were used, twice failed to recuse himself from conflicted cases, inappropriately acted as the supervisor of his brother, whom he hired, and played a role in a retaliatory move against a whistleblower within his office.

A request for comment was not returned by a spokeswoman for the prosecutor. The Attorney Generals Office declined to comment.

The letter said another claim, that Tyner and First Assistant Prosecutor Cary Shill had failed to respond to or report sexual harassment complaints, was unfounded. The investigators exonerated Tyner on two counts; first, that he and Shill intentionally withheld investigatory information in the criminal trial related to the murder of April Kaufman; and second, that he tampered with an investigation into the womens complaints by reaching out to witnesses involved in it.

There was not enough evidence to prove or disprove seven other allegations made against him, the letter said, including a central claim made by the three women that Tyner and Shill fostered an environment of gender discrimination. Investigators also found insufficient evidence for allegations Tyner hired politically-connected people, influenced prosecutions due to favoritism or personal connections, and that he leaked the suicide note and other documents in the April Kauffman murder case to 20/20.

The three women, who sued Tyner, Shill and the county in 2019 and maintain Tyner forced them out of their jobs, have called for Tyners removal. They said in a press release Wednesday that the Attorney General has removed other county prosecutors for far less transgressions.

Diane Ruberton, left, and Heather McManus, right, are seen at a press conference about their lawsuit against Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner and others in the prosecutor's office on Jan. 10, 2019.

They are Diane Ruberton, a former first assistant prosecutor who was fired by Tyner in 2018 after she complained about alleged misconduct; Heather McManus, a former detective lieutenant who retired in 2018 and Donna Fetzer, a chief assistant prosecutor who left the office in 2020. The lawsuit remains in court.

The letter came on the same day that the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability also decided that Tyner had violated ethics rules by failing to recuse himself from a criminal case in which he had bad blood with a victim and was friends with the defendants father.

In that decision, also found in a letter provided to NJ Advance Media, the office wrote that Tyner didnt appear to have acted to influence or impact the case. However, when the office responded to a complaint brought up by the three women about the same case, it noted that Tyner had previous knowledge of [the victim] and used that knowledge in a manner that could be perceived to influence the assistant prosecutor assigned to the case.

It also comes on the heels of the settlement between the county and Matthew Davidson, another former assistant prosecutor who complained that Tyner engaged in unethical behavior, including doing political favors and trying to bribe him to throw union negotiations. Records obtained from the county show the case settled for $230,000 in February and neither side admitted any wrongdoing.

Substantiated complaints

According to the letter sent Monday, investigators for the Attorney Generals Office found that Tyner essentially lied when he said at an event that some homicide investigative files had been marked NIM for non-important murder under previous prosecutors, eliciting shocked responses from the crowd, according to reporting by BreakingAC.com.

The comment was made in the context of reassuring residents of color that all homicide cases were now being carefully investigated, but the office came to the same conclusion BreakingAC did after investigating the claim: that Prosecutor Tyner had no firsthand knowledge that such files existed.

As to the allegation Tyner and Shill misused forfeiture funds, the office found that certain representations about the process of payments for expenditure were inaccurate but there was insufficient evidence to conclude this was done for a nefarious purpose.

The office also determined that there was evidence to support the claim that Tyner allowed Shill to drive around in a vehicle that was purchased with funds meant for the Victim Witness Unit and reserved for staff in that unit. When a staffer asked that this be investigated, Shill subsequently took action against an employee which could be perceived as retaliatory, the office wrote.

Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner speaks after the detention hearing of James Kauffman at the Atlantic County Courthouse, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. (Tim Hawk | For NJ.com)

The office also found that Tyner should have recused himself from two cases but did not. One was the criminal case where he knew the defendants father. Tyner also didnt recuse himself from the investigation into allegations a man wiretapped his ex-wifes computer, despite having been a judge in a previous domestic violence case involving the pair.

The office also referred another allegation regarding that case  that Tyner as a judge had inappropriately allowed a search warrant for the womans home  to a judicial conduct committee that found it was appropriate.

And while it isnt a violation for Tyner to have hired his brother, Michael Graham, to work as an agent in the prosecutors office, the AGs investigators did find that it violates county nepotism rules for Tyner to directly supervise his brother.

The letter did not include any information about whether Tyner or his office would face any sanctions or consequences.

It also didnt include a ruling on a claim by the three women that Tyner had engaged in mortgage fraud in 2006 when he and his wife sold their house to her father for $425,000, though it was only valued at $267,000. Seven months later, he sold it back to Tyner for $1. This allowed Tyner to pay off the first mortgage and secure a second, much bigger one as a kind of low-interest loan, the women alleged.

They also complained that Tyner had not disclosed, when he was being vetted and appointed as prosecutor, that his home was in foreclosure at the time.

Your allegations about Prosecutor Tyners financial issues were probed, however, this investigation did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that those issues impacted his decision making as prosecutor, the letter said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
[April 22, 2021] GBT Seeks GSA (General Services Administration) Approval Targeting Business with the US Government

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) ("GBT, or the Company) is seeking to conduct business with the US government agencies and has hired a consulting firm for general guidance with the GSA (General Services Administration) application process.

GSA approval status describes an organization that have been approved to sell to the United States Government through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The GSA is an independent agency of the United States Government that was established in 1949 to help manage, approve, and facilitate government contracts, products, bids and verify that product and services are properly sourced under the US Government guidelines. The GSA is the purchasing department of the U.S. Government and lists contracts or schedules that potential vendors can bid on to get government business. To become eligible to bid on a GSA schedule, it is required to complete several important steps, among them are registering in the government's SAM (System for Award Management), and providing previous customer contact information as a means for the GSA to perform a past performance evaluation. More information can be found on GSA web site at: Home (gsa.gov) The timing is right for GBT to start positioning its technology and solutions, seeking potential business with the US Government. Our company has accumulated vast knowledge, experience, and proven records in the domains of Artificial Intelligence, IoT, tracking, health and radio technologies and is ready to seek government business. We believe our IP, technologies and solutions can be an ideal fit for government-oriented contracts in the domains of emergency rescue, long range secured communication, and remote medicine. GBTs technologies may also have applications for military and security applications especially with its high level of privacy and cybersecurity. Our systems are empowered by advanced AIand include advanced tracking technologies which makes them effective solutions in wide variety of military, intelligence, and law enforcement domains. Our recent development in the field of health and its long-range radio support enable global telemedicine capabilities, and we believe can save lives at any location on Earth. As a proud US corporation, we are looking forward to becoming GSA approved, contributing to our national security, safety, and economy, said Mansour Khatib, the CEO of GBT Technologies Inc.



About Us GBT Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) (GBT) ( http://gbtti.com ) is a development stage company which considers itself a native of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Enabled Mobile Technology Platforms used to increase IC performance. GBT has assembled a team with extensive technology expertise and is building an intellectual property portfolio consisting of many patents. GBTs mission, to license the technology and IP to synergetic partners in the areas of hardware and software. Once commercialized, it is GBTs goal to have a suite of products including smart microchips, AI, encryption, Blockchain, IC design, mobile security applications, database management protocols, with tracking and supporting cloud software (without the need for GPS). GBT envisions this system as a creation of a global mesh network using advanced nodes and super performing new generation IC technology. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology; technology that can be installed in any mobile or fixed device worldwide. GBTs vision is to produce this system as a low cost, secure, private-mesh-network between any and all enabled devices. Thus, providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management and sharing while using these enhanced mobile features as an alternative to traditional carrier services.



Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov ). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, governmental and public policy changes, the Companys ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, the Companys successful development of its products and the integration into its existing products and the commercial acceptance of the Companys products. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Contact: Mansour Khatib, CEO

press@gopherprotocol.com



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The global phenolic resin market size is expected to reach USD 18.1 billion by 2026 growing at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. The report Phenolic Resin Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report By Product (Novolac, Resols), By Application (Wood Adhesives, Molding, Insulation, Laminates, Paper Impregnation, Coatings, Refractory Materials, Friction Material, Rubber & Tire, Electronics, and Abrasives); By End-Use (Building & Construction, Automotive, Electrical & Electronics, Furniture); By Regions, Segments & Forecast, 2020  2026 gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.

The market is projected to witness a significant growth over the forecast period. Phenolic resins exhibit favorable properties such as heat & chemical resistance, moisture resistance, superior mechanical strength among others. In addition, ability to customize these products into different grades has resulted in the further expansion of application portfolio of phenolic resins.

Get sample copy of this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/phenolic-resin-market/request-for-sample

Favorable versatility and diversity of phenolic resins also makes them suitable for innovative product designs with high aesthetic appeal, such as in architecture, aerospace structural components and others. Furthermore, product and application innovation in impregnated materials is likely to present lucrative opportunities for growth in this market over the forecast period.

Phenolic resins for molding compounds are anticipated to emerge as the fastest growing market segment over the forecast period. Phenolic resins in molding compounds lend high heat stability & lower the curing times required. Expansion of the aerospace and retail transportation sector in countries such as Mexico, India, Indonesia, and Thailand are encouraging the demand for large parts with higher mechanical strength, which in turn is driving phenolic resins consumption.

The R&D efforts in Europe by market participants are also expected to impact phenolic resins production and processing technologies in other regional markets of the globe. Recent innovations have led to the development of unique prepreg resins that completely eliminate the need for refrigerated shipping and storage, enable increased service temperatures and improve safety, while lowering residual stress as compared to conventional phenolic resins raw materials. This may lead to greater substitution of phenolic resins across the globe over the near future.

Complete Summary with TOC Available @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/phenolic-resin-market

Market participants are concentrating more on providing customized products to their clients. Companies strive to provide a one stop solution to all the client needs. To achieve this scenario, companies are considerably investing in R&D to develop novel products as product differentiation and ability to modify existing products are critical success factors in this market.

Some of the major players in the market participants include Owens Corning, Arclin Inc., Ashland Inc., DIC Corporation, Hexcel Corp., Momentive Specialty Chemicals, Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd, Olympic Panel Products LLC, BASF SE, SI Group Inc, Hexion, Asahi Kasei, GUN EI Chemical Industry, Kangnam Chemical Co. Ltd., Changchun group, DYNEA, Zhejiang Hangmo, Yushiju Chemical, Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd., and Red Avenue New Materials.

Polaris Market research has segmented the Phenolic Resins market report on the basis of product, application, end-use, and region

 Phenolic Resins Product Outlook (Volume, Kilotons, Revenue, USD Million, 2015  2026)

Novolac

Resol Liquid Solid

Others

 Phenolic Resins Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons, Revenue, USD Million, 2015  2026)

Wood Adhesives

Molding

Insulation

Laminates

Paper Impregnation

Coatings

Refractory Materials

Friction Material

Rubber & Tire

Electronics

Abrasives

 Phenolic Resins End-Use Outlook (Volume, Kilotons, Revenue, USD Million, 2015  2026)

Building & Construction

Automotive

Electrical & Electronics

Furniture

Others

 Phenolic Resins Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons, Revenue, USD Million, 2015  2026)

North America U.S. Canada

Europe France Germany UK Italy Spain Russia Turkey

Asia Pacific Japan China India Southeast Asia South Korea

Latin America Mexico Brazil

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia



Avail discount on this report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/phenolic-resin-market/request-for-discount-pricing

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(Newser)  Prostitution and unlicensed massage criminal cases will no longer be prosecuted in Manhattan, the district attorney announced Wednesday, joining a national trend. "Over the last decade we've learned from those with lived experience," Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement, "and from our own experience on the ground: Criminally prosecuting prostitution does not make us safer, and too often, achieves the opposite result by further marginalizing vulnerable New Yorkers." The policy change is effective immediately: Vance asked a judge Wednesday to drop 914 open cases involving prostitution and unlicensed massage, some of them dating from the 1970s, as well as 5,080 cases involving a charge of loitering for the purposes of prostitution.

story continues below

The office already was dropping prosecution once the defendant attended mandatory counseling sessions. "Now, we will decline to prosecute these arrests outright, providing services and supports solely on a voluntary basis," Vance said, per WNBC. The change will eliminate "collateral consequences" for people arrested, he said, per the Hill, and let people deal with police without fear of being arrested or deported. Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, are among those who have urged an end to criminal penalties for sex workers. McCray said, "Sex work is a means of survival" for some members of marginalized groups. Other related crimes, such as sex trafficking and patronizing sex workers, will still be prosecuted. One advocate welcomed Vance's announcement but said legislation is still needed to completely decriminalize sex work. (Read more prostitution stories.)
Can Afghan security forces hold off the Taliban without U.S. troops?

In recent months, Afghan security forces have abandoned dozens of checkpoints in the face of Taliban assaults. Military and police units have been hollowed out by desertions, low recruitment rates, poor morale and leadership and the theft of pay and materiel by commanders. They have suffered high casualty rates, which American commanders have said are not sustainable.

Security forces also have abandoned checkpoints on several major highways, allowing the Taliban to set up roadblocks and impose tolls and taxes on truckers and motorists, providing official receipts valid anywhere in the country. The militants also have set up checkpoints on the outskirts of major cities, raising fears that they will attempt to wrest control of cities from the government after international forces depart.

The United States has spent at least $4 billion a year on the Afghan military  $74 billion since the start of the war. The Biden administration has pledged to continue supporting Afghan forces after American troops depart.

A classified intelligence assessment presented to the Biden administration this spring said Afghanistan could fall largely under Taliban control within two to three years after the departure of international forces.

And the Taliban have given no indication they will abandon their annual spring offensive, when they typically ratchet up combat operations with the arrival of warmer weather.

The Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory, the threat assessment concluded.

The report added: The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Manitoba in March 2020, theres no doubt that November 2020 through January 2021 was the most challenging period for the province.

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Manitoba in March 2020, theres no doubt that November 2020 through January 2021 was the most challenging period for the province.

Hospitalized people with active COVID-19 reached a peak of 361 on Dec. 4. That same day, patients with active COVID-19 in the provinces intensive care units hit its own peak of 55.

Some of these active numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, as data processing backlogs made it appear as though cases were active longer than they actually were, but they still represent the worst situation hospitals have had to deal with during the pandemic.

At the beginning of November, approximately eight months into the pandemic, 65 Manitobans had died of COVID-19.

Over the next three months, the number of deaths connected to COVID-19 increased by more than 12 times that number. When January ended, the death toll had swollen to 825.

That was the impact of the second wave on Manitobas health-care system. According to the provinces leading health officials, the third wave has now started.

Visualized here are the total number of Manitobans hospitalized with active (contagious) COVID-19 cases as well as the number of patients in intensive care units with active cases every day since March 26, 2020, the first day a Manitoban was sent to hospital because of the virus. (Data courtesy Michael Pereira/Winnipeg Free Press, graphic by Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun)

On one hand, the province is starting the third wave worse off than it did with the second wave.

Daily case counts and active hospitalizations never dropped back to the low levels experienced before the second wave, which could mean the province may be starting off on worse footing.

As the graphs accompanying this article show, hospitalizations, ICU cases and the number of daily cases are trending upward.

But on the other hand, the rise in those figures is not nearly as sharp as they were when the second wave hit.

The curve is rising, but it is definitely bent compared to the last time things started to worsen.

This is especially noticeable when it comes to deaths. There were 760 deaths in the three months from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, but from the beginning of February to after the halfway point of April, only 129 deaths linked to COVID have been recorded.

Since the beginning of March, the number of people hospitalized with both active and inactive COVID has dropped from 184 to 137 as of Wednesday.

This graph shows the number of new daily cases of COVID-19 and the total number of deaths linked to the virus in Manitoba since March 1, 2020. (Data courtesy Michael Pereira/Winnipeg Free Press, graphic by Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun)

However, in the same amount of time, the number of people in ICU beds with both active and inactive COVID has risen from 25 to 34.

The Sun asked Shared Health for an interview with a medical official who could explain what shape the health-care system is in as the third wave ramps up. A Shared Health spokesperson said they were unable to accommodate an interview, but did send a statement outlining the situation.

"PPE supplies remain stable, sufficient medical equipment has been purchased and much of the space previously identified for repurposing to accommodate additional COVID patients remains available," a section of the statement reads.

"Additionally, Manitobans at highest risk of contracting the virus are actively being immunized, which is intended to reduce transmission rates amongst those populations and lower the number of critically ill COVID patients. Immunization efforts should also have a positive effect on sick time taken by health-care workers, which has been a significant human resources concern at multiple points during the pandemic."

During a vaccine technical briefing on Wednesday morning, vaccine implementation task force medical co-lead Dr. Joss Reimer was asked how the provinces vaccination efforts have helped reduce the number of deaths and hospitalizations.

"As weve had the vaccine rollout, weve also had the appearance of variants of concern and so having both of those happening at the same time makes it a bit more challenging for us to truly see what the positive impact the vaccines have made," she said.

"An example of where the vaccines have been extremely successful is in the personal care homes. We have seen the rate plummet in our PCHs. In Winnipeg, there is only one resident in a PCH who has the COVID infection."

 cslark@brandonsun.com, with files from Kimberly Kielley

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
A missile launched from Syria struck southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret nuclear reactor.

In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighbouring Syria.

The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement.

Iran, which has troops and proxies in Syria, accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabotage at its Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge.

A missile launched from Syria struck southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret nuclear reactor (pictured, file photo)

The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region and the air raid sirens were sounded in a village near Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located.

There was no word on whether anything had been struck, but explosions were reported across Israel. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

But on Saturday, Iran's hard-line Kayhan newspaper published an opinion piece by Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei.

It suggested Israel's Dimona facility be targeted after the attack on Natanz. Zarei cited the idea of 'an eye for an eye' in his remarks.

Action should be taken 'against the nuclear facility in Dimona,' he wrote. 'This is because no other action is at the same level as the Natanz incident.'

               pic.twitter.com/4YbL03AejC     (@paldf) April 21, 2021

While Kayhan is a small circulation newspaper, its editor-in-chief, Hossein Shariatmadari, was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Zarei has been described as an adviser to him in the past and has demanded retaliatory strikes on Israel in the past.

In November, he suggested Iran strike the Israeli port city of Haifa over Israel's suspected involvement in the killing of a scientist who founded Iran's military nuclear program decades earlier.

However, Iran did not retaliate then.

Video of the interception over the southern Negev earlier. Still unclear whats happening. pic.twitter.com/S1wEvCL3hB  Anna Ahronheim (@AAhronheim) April 21, 2021

Israel and Iran are arch-enemies. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and has opposed US-led efforts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran.

Israel's government says the deal will not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

It also says it does not address Iran's long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, and has noted that Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear weapons program in Dimona.

Israel neither confirms nor denies claims it has nuclear weapons.
Jersey City public school students will complete the 2020-21 year in the classroom after all.

Jersey City Superintendent Franklin Walker has reversed his decision to continue virtual learning until September by announcing a reopening plan that starts with students in kindergarten through third grade returning to school next week.

Walker said Wednesday night in an email that students will return in phases, starting April 29, three days after the district had been scheduled to reopen April 26. He said the district will bring back students in grades 4 through 12 on May 10.

When the district made the difficult decision to remain closed, that decision was guided by science and the realities of safely staffing a district of 30,000 students for in-person and remote learning simultaneously, Walker said. The increased concerns of parents, especially those with young children, have made us reconsider the decision.

Students will be in two groups, the all remote group, group A and group B, the in-person group. During their in-person week, student will attend classes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday will be remote for everyone, so school buildings could be cleaned.

The superintendent had drawn criticism from a vocal group of parents, some school board members, teachers union and Mayor Steve Fulop for his handling of the aborted reopening. Even Gov. Phil Murphy voiced his disappointment during Wednesdays daily coronavirus press briefing.

In a robocall to parents Sunday, Walker blamed a lack of teachers available to handle in-person learning, an assertion that was quickly rejected Jersey City Education Association President Ron Greco.

Walker said that between 400 and 500 of the 3,000-plus instructional staff requested to teach from home because of coronavirus-related issues.

Board of Education President Mussab Ali said he, Walker and the teachers union president sat down to come up with a plan for children to return to the schools.

We decided to work together to come to a solution that works together for Jersey City, Ali said. The board has helped to work alongside the unions to provide the resources necessary to revisit this decision.
Hong Kong: Vaccine recommendations updated

The two scientific committees under the Centre for Health Protection met today and discussed the possibility of easing quarantine measures for vaccinated close contacts and the use of mRNA vaccines in pregnant and lactating women.

Scientific Committee on Emerging & Zoonotic Diseases Chairman Prof David Hui told reporters after the meeting that they discussed whether close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases could be exempted from the existing quarantine measures if they are fully vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines.

Prof Hui said: For close contacts who have received two doses of vaccine, two weeks after the second dose, they will have enough antibodies, and the antibodies should be at a quite stable level.

At the same time, we would also check the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test (result) more than once, from day one and perhaps day three and day six. We may also supplement (this with) the antibody test, and we are still considering this.

They will spend seven days in quarantine centres. So we are not just relying on the vaccination record, we are also performing PCR testing and probably antibody testing as well.

The committees emphasised that in view of the limited data and concerns about emerging COVID-19 variants, it is considered that the current quarantine practice on close contacts should continue until more supporting evidence becomes available.

On the use of mRNA vaccines in pregnant and lactating women, Prof Hui said given there are no known risks associated with administering mRNA COVID-19 vaccines to lactating women, they are recommended to receive the mRNA vaccines as for the rest of the population.

For pregnancy and the vaccination, there are now more than 90,000 women who have received the mRNA vaccines and the safety profile actually has been very good - no abnormalities detected.

The antibody level acquired through the vaccination is even higher than those who underwent natural infection during pregnancy.

Researchers have also found a good antibody level in the (umbilical) cord blood and also in the breast milk, so that would confer protection of the baby.

So far, most of the data are actually based on the mRNA vaccines, be they BioNTech or Moderna.

On whether pregnant women should receive the Sinovac vaccine, Prof Hui noted that Mainland authorities have endorsed the use of inactivated vaccines in pregnancy.

However, in Hong Kong we have to wait for the company to actually apply to remove this contraindication, so that it can get through the Advisory Panel (on COVID-19 Vaccines) before we can actually change the contraindication.

Reports of extremely rare adverse events of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome following the AstraZeneca jab were also discussed during the meeting.

In view of the local epidemiological situation and the availability of alternative COVID-19 vaccines in Hong Kong, it is considered that there is no need for the introduction of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Hong Kong.

Centre for Health Protection Controller Dr Ronald Lam said at the same briefing that he looked forward to building up herd immunity to COVID-19 in the city.

It is critically important that our Hong Kong citizens, even after they have completed the full course of vaccination, to maintain so-called non-pharmaceutical measures, including proper mask use, very vigilant hand hygiene and maintaining good ventilation, etc.

The reason being that still, the vaccine coverage rate right now is not as high as what we have expected and we look forward to reasonable herd immunity build-up before the relaxation of other measures.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  President Rodrigo Duterte's latest stance on West Philippine Sea suggests a "cop-out," Sen. Richard Gordon laments, adding that the country has other ways to stress its sovereign rights over the disputed territory.

"We have to assert ourself. Im sorry Mr. President, I don't agree with you 100,000% here because youre supposed to protect and promote the sovereignty of the country," he told CNN Philippines' The Source on Thursday.

He added that Duterte should not say that the country cannot retake West Philippine Sea without any bloodshed, because the government has a duty to protect the country from any potential incursions in the first place.

"That is a cop-out. Thats like Chamberlain saying 'well have peace in our time.' The country has a constitutional provision that says the defense of the state is the prime duty of the government," Gordon said.

"If theres a war, wala tayong maagagawa. Kung susugurin ba tayo tatahimik lang tayo? Papayagan na lang ba nating tapak-tapakan tayo?" he added.

[Translation: If there's a war, we cannot do anything about it. If they attack us, do we just remain silent? Will we just let them trample on us?]

Gordon added that the country cannot show China that it is a "pushover" without exhausting other ways  building alliances with other countries like the United States and Japan which are ready to help, and directly telling the Chinese government that what they are doing is wrong.

On Wednesday, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon sided with President Rodrigo Duterte, claiming that retaking the West Philippine Sea "will be bloody" and "difficult."

Critics have repeatedly said no one was asking the Duterte administration to go to war, but they only want him to assert the country's claims.

A statement released by the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said more assets will be deployed in the disputed territory, including four Philippine Coast Guard vessels, a PCG aircraft, five Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels for WPS maritime patrols, and Philippine National Police - Maritime Group high speed tactical watercraft and rubber boats for maritime law enforcement in the coastal areas.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has previously summoned Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian over the lingering presence of China's maritime vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, also known as the Whitsun Reef. It reiterated its demand for the immediate departure of other Chinese vessels in other maritime zones of the Philippines.

The Philippine government already filed a series of diplomatic protests against China over the continued presence of more than 200 Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

Beijing continues to reject the landmark ruling of the arbitral tribunal in The Hague which recognized in 2016 the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
When Australians returning from overseas are released from hotel quarantine, many engage in a whirlwind of reunions with loved ones and other social activities, as they rediscover the relative freedoms life without community transmission affords.

But for 36 recently released travellers  and, at some point, four others still out of reach  it all came to a halt on Wednesday night, after it emerged two people staying on the 10th floor of George Streets Mercure hotel had developed COVID-19 infections with identical genomic sequencing results, prompting an investigation into whether the virus was spreading within the hotel.

People who were housed at the Mercure on George Street have been ordered back into isolation. Credit:Google Maps

It is the second instance of possible COVID-19 transmission within a Sydney quarantine hotel to be reported within a week, after a suspected transmission between two people staying in adjoining rooms at the Adina hotel prompted a similar health response.

Brooke Thompson received a call on Wednesday night that she and her partner would need to re-enter self-isolation, after they were released from their fortnight stay on level 10 of the Mercure on Sunday morning.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus M.Barysevich meets the Honorary Consul of Belarus in Baghdad

On April 22, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich met with Horary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in Baghdad Majid Al-Qaysi.

During the meeting the parties discussed plans to intensify trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Iraq as well as deepening interaction of the two countries in the fields of education and tourism.

The discussion was focused on expanding contacts between business circles of Belarus and Iraq and developing bilateral interdepartmental cooperation.

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[April 22, 2021] SKAEL Expands Leadership Team with Key Executive Hires

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SKAEL , the San Francisco-based technology company offering the leading hyperautomation platform for creating and deploying Digital Employees, announced today that Dr. Dana Nehoran has joined the company as Chief AI Officer and Caroline van Vloten has joined as Chief People Officer. Both of these experienced leaders will report directly to SKAEL founder and CEO Baba Nadimpalli. Dr. Nehoran will be heading the efforts to harness the power of the latest AI technologies to deliver state-of-the-art user-centric solutions to SKAEL's customers. Van Vloten will be responsible for building an innovative, inclusive, and collaborative culture to drive SKAEL in this phase of hypergrowth. "I am humbled and thrilled that we could attract these two incredible leaders to SKAEL" said Nadimpalli. "Continuing to push the barrier of what a proactive human-digital workforce should look like, while enabling sustainably strong work satisfaction by removal of the repetitive overload is fundamental to SKAEL. I couldn't be happier to have Dr. Nehoran join us to lead our current AI/ML capabilities and help us accelerate our vision of the future. Our worldwide team of SKAELers need to be engaged, motivated nd charging quickly towards a shared goal of building the future of work accessible to every business user. Caroline's background in strong team dynamics across geographies, languages and companies speaks for itself and I'm excited to see her laying the foundations of what will resonate with existing and new human employees."



Drawing on a quarter-century-long career that combines industry leadership positions at leading companies such as Intel, Yahoo! and CSR/Qualcomm with the academic world, Dr. Nehoran brings a wealth of experience in putting ultramodern technologies to work. She specializes in advanced analytics and AI/ML. Dr. Nehoran joins SKAEL from the University of the Pacific, where she headed advanced analytics projects and serves as a Professor of Practice for the MS in Data Science program. Van Vloten has over 25 years of global Human Resources leadership experience. She has an outstanding track record in the corporate world as a global HR executive and as an independent consultant. Most recently she was running her own consulting business, OQ Consulting, and prior to that was Vice President Human Resources for NTT Communications Cloud Infrastructure Services.

About SKAEL SKAEL's mission is to deliver better user-centric outcomes through intelligent cognitive automation, empowering a synergistic human digital workforce. The company's unique Digital Employee technology maps to any organization's existing processes, onboarding and completing tasks in minutes. The company has been headquartered in San Francisco since its founding in 2016 and is backed by leading firms including Bonfire Ventures, Daher Capital, Backend Capital, RIDE Ventures, StratMinds VC and Buffalo Ventures. To learn more about SKAEL, please visit www.skael.com or follow us on LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/skael-expands-leadership-team-with-key-executive-hires-301275265.html SOURCE SKAEL

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A sign alerting students to stay home if they are experiencing any symptoms of sickness is posted, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, outside of the LBJ Student Center.
The Chinese Communist Party is believed to be responsible for newly found hack attacks on the U.S. government, businesses and American infrastructure, cybersecurity company Mandiant said Wednesday.

Why it matters: This is the third major cybersecurity breach to hit the U.S. in recent months  including two in March blamed on hackers linked to China's government: one targeting 30,000 U.S. victims, including small businesses and local governments, the other hitting Microsoft.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Charles Carmakal, a senior vice president of Mandiant, told NBC News Wednesday, "We're starting to see a resurgence of espionage activity from the Chinese government."

Driving the news: The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement Tuesday that the breach was "affecting U.S. government agencies, critical infrastructure entities, and other private sector organizations."

Zoom in: Carmakal said in an emailed statement that Mandiant "recently responded to multiple security incidents involving the exploitation of Pulse Secure VPN appliances," which is used by businesses for remote work.

The breach affected "dozens of organizations including government agencies, financial entities, and defense companies" in the U.S. and Europe, he said.

"We suspect these intrusions align with data and intelligence collection objectives by China," Carmakal added.

Per Carmakal, the hackers bypassed the multifactor authentication on Pulse Secure devices to access the as-yet unnamed victims' networks, accessing these sites "for several months without being detected."

"We believe that multiple cyber espionage groups are using these exploits and tools, and there are some similarities between portions of this activity and a Chinese actor we call APT5. "

 Carmakal

Of note: President Biden took office a month after cybersecurity firm SolarWinds announced it was hacked in December, in a breach that was later discovered to be part of a massive cyberattack by suspected Russian hackers on multiple government agencies and U.S. firms.
Bidens ambitious U.S. emissions goal

President Biden will pledge today to cut U.S. emissions nearly in half by the end of the decade, a target that would require transformative change to the American economy and way of life.

The target is timed to a closely watched two-day summit meeting, beginning on Earth Day, that Mr. Biden is hosting to show that the U.S. is rejoining international efforts to combat climate change.

The leaders of nearly 40 other countries will also attend, including those of Brazil, China, India and Canada, the only Group of 7 nation whose greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the Paris agreement. Brazil is seeking billions from the international community to support its promise to end illegal deforestation by 2030, a pledge that has been met with skepticism.

Challenges: To meet the goal, which nearly doubles a prior pledge made by the Obama administration, significant actions across the U.S. economy would be required, particularly involving cars and power plants, the two biggest sources of emissions.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising Canada will slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent within the next decade.

The cut applies to 2005 emission levels.

The new target is higher than the 36 per cent reduction the government says it can achieve under existing measures by 2030, and the 30 per cent goal Canada initially agreed to under the Paris Agreement.

Trudeau announced the higher target during a virtual climate summit of world leaders convened by United States President Joe Biden, who pledged to cut his country's emissions by 50 to 52 per cent by 2030.

"If major economies in the room were to follow Canada's lead and adopt a rising price on pollution and commit to phase out coal plants, we would accelerate our global path for a safe, prosperous net-zero future," Trudeau said in a short address.

Canada's new target falls short of the minimum 50- 60 per cent reduction climate groups and opposition parties said was needed to limit global warming to 1.5 C degrees.

After more than five years in office, the Trudeau government is still incapable of proposing a target as ambitious as that of Joe Biden, who took office just three months ago," Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada said in a statement Thursday.

He added there was no commitment to transition away from fossil fuels as Canada remains heavily tied to the oil and gas industry.

Ahead of the summit, seven environmental groups released a report with modelling that said to limit global warming to 1.5 C degrees compared to pre-industrial levels, Canada should double the 30 per cent commitment it signed in the Paris Agreement.

Clean Prosperity, a climate policy organization, has said it could see Canada adopt a new target of between 40 to 50 per cent in recognition of the economic challenges around a clean energy transition and people employed in the fossil fuel sector.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh expressed concerns about the Liberals keeping their climate promises on Wednesday.

"I am concerned that the Liberals will set a target and not meet it, and that's why we've been saying we need better accountability," Singh said.

In a letter to Liberal Environment and Climate Change Minster Jonathan Wilkinson, Singh called for the government to adopt a 50 per cent goal, while the Greens say it should be 60.

Conservative environment critic Dan Albas touted his own party's new climate plan, which for the first time contains a consumer carbon price.

"The Liberal government has repeatedly announced new climate targets in the past six months without showing how they will actually reach them," Albas said in a statement. "Announcing targets is easy; showing how they will reach them is what matters."

The summit comes as parliamentarians debate Bill C-12 which, if passed, would mean the federal environment minister has to set rolling, five-year targets for cutting carbon emissions starting in 2030 and ending in 2050.
DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

"Europe Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market 2021" summarizes the key trends and projections of Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce market following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

This report covers cross-border B2C E-Commerce in Europe. It includes information about cross-border E-Commerce exports and imports, with a focus on cross-border imports and cross-border online shopper behavior.

The publication discloses that in 2020 the majority of online consumers preferred international online shopping over domestic websites due to a greater variety of products and reasonable prices.

Germany and Czechia were the only countries in Europe that experienced no change in cross-border online shopper penetration

The share of B2C E-Commerce products imported from EU and non-EU sellers to the 27 European Union countries fell from 45% in 2019 to 40% in 2020. With that, the cross-border online shopper penetration rates decreased for almost all countries of EU28, except for Germany and Czechia, where there was no change compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, the markets which suffered the most were Montenegro (-55 p.p.), Malta, Iceland, and Estonia (-18 p.p.), Bosnia and Herzegovina (-17 p.p.). With that, no market has seen an increase in share in 2020. Nevertheless, the future of cross-border B2C E-Commerce in the countries of Europe looks brighter in the near future: the share of cross-border online sales via global marketplaces was forecasted to increase from 60% in 2019 to 66% in 2025.

Cross-border B2C E-Commerce stays fragmented across the European countries

Germany's domestic online purchases prevailed international ones, namely, the share of online purchases from the countries outside and in Europe held 30-40%, while the in-country was approximately 70%. This was the case as well in Poland, Turkey and Russia. Unlike in these countries, in Italy, digital online sales from abroad outweighed (60%) the domestic (40%), whereas this was mainly because of the imports from European countries.

Report Structure

Information includes forecasts regarding cross-border B2C E-Commerce sales and their share of total B2C E-Commerce sales in Europe , cross-border online shopper penetration worldwide, drivers and barriers of cross-border online shopping according to consumers, a ranking of product categories purchased by cross-border online shoppers, information about payment and delivery in cross-border E-Commerce.

, cross-border online shopper penetration worldwide, drivers and barriers of cross-border online shopping according to consumers, a ranking of product categories purchased by cross-border online shoppers, information about payment and delivery in cross-border E-Commerce. The rest of the report is devoted to European countries. The countries are presented in alphabetical order.

Depending on data availability, the following types of market information are included: cross-border online shopper penetration, cross-border B2C E-Commerce sales (imports and/or exports), countries most purchased from by online shoppers in the country, countries most sold to by online merchants in the country, most purchased product categories, reasons for buying from out-of-country online sellers and barriers to cross-border E-Commerce. Not all the mentioned types of information are available for each of the countries covered. For the leading countries and selected regions, also a text chart with a qualitative overview of cross-border B2C E-Commerce is presented.

Global Developments

Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market Overview, February 2021

Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market Value, 2019 & 2026f

Breakdown of Top Products Categories Purchased Cross-Border, in Selected Countries, incl. Canada , France , Germany , the UK, and the US, by Product Categories, in % of Online Consumers, April 2020

, , , the UK, and the US, by Product Categories, in % of Online Consumers, Top Reasons for Cross-Border Online Shopping, in % of Online Consumers, incl. by Gender and by Demographic Preferences, March 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases Frequencies, by Domestic and Foreign Origins, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Average Share of Cross-Border Deliveries That Took Longer due to COVID-19, in %, and Breakdown of Respondents Who Felt Slow Delivery, by Country, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Consumers' Future Shopping Intentions to Buy Online from Domestic and Foreign Retailers, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Countries From Where the Most Recent Online Cross-Border Purchase was Made, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Top Online Platforms Used for Cross-Border Shopping, incl. Amazon, Alibaba/AliExpress, and eBay, in % of Consumers, and Top Online Platforms Usage in Selected Countries, October 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases, by Weight, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases, by Product Value, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Share of Online Shoppers Who Purchased Cross-Border At Least Once in 2020, in % of Consumers, December 2020

Top 3 Product Categories Purchased Online Cross-Border by Shoppers Aged 25 - 34, in % of Consumers, December 2020

Share of Consumers Who Spent More than USD 500 on Cross-Border E-Commerce Purchases in 2020, by Age Group, in % of Consumers, December 2020

on Cross-Border E-Commerce Purchases in 2020, by Age Group, in % of Consumers, Payment Revenues Estimations, COVID-19 Impact Adjusted, by Domestic and Cross-Border Payments, September 2020

Shares of Consumers Who Would Refuse Purchasing on a Website if it is not in their Local Language, in Selected Markets, incl. Australia , Canada , France , Japan , South Korea , UK, and USA , 2019

, , , , , UK, and , 2019 Top 10 Shopping Apps by Downloads, incl. Cross-Border E-Commerce Apps, by Total Downloads, App Store Downloads and Google Play Downloads, January 2020 & May 2020

Companies Mentioned

Alibaba/AliExpress

Amazon

ASOS

eBay

iHerb

Joom

lazada

Pinduoduo

Shein

shopee

Wish

Zalando

Zooplus

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5cgl36



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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While some have pushed the city to continue with the Humane Ordinance model, others at the city said Aurora might be able to create a new model that could regulate the sales to the point of regulating the industry, rather than just the sales.
GATINEAU, QC, April 21, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, spoke with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. The meeting built on a long history of cooperation on nature-related matters between Canada and the United States.

The two reaffirmed their commitment to work together and with others to increase the scale and speed of action to protect nature and wildlife, including through supporting Indigenous solutions, and ensuring that conservation plays a role in reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. They also noted their mutual commitment to protecting nature and combatting climate change in an ambitious and integrated way.

Minister Wilkinson highlighted Canada's recent commitments to nature  including the historic investments that it is making in nature protection, Indigenous-led conservation and nature-based solutions. The Minister noted Canada's $4.1B in Budget 2021 in nature protection overall earlier this week, which means it will be able to achieve its goal of protecting 25 percent of its lands and oceans by 2025 and be well set to meet its 30 percent by 2030 target. These new funds will, in part, support the creation of new national wildlife areas, Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and the expansion of Canada's Indigenous Guardians programs and build on commitments to protect species at risk and engage in ecological restoration to restore biodiversity and tackle climate change.

The Minister also noted that he is looking forward to participating in Secretary Haaland's nature-based climate solutions discussion at the U.S.-led Leaders Summit on Climate tomorrow to share Canada's perspective on the need to emphasize protecting intact nature in carbon-rich ecosystems as a primary strategy as well as to engage in ecological restoration such as planting trees and restoring wetlands and grasslands.

Associated Links

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

For further information: Moira Kelly, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-271-6218, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.ec.gc.ca


Click here to read the full article.

Since 1984, the Film Independent Spirit Awards have provided a counterpoint to the Hollywood establishments back-patting: a scrappy celebration staged in a tent on the beach, anointing future visionaries rather than formalizing the status of industry titans. But in a year, and an industry, that has itself been so disrupted from business as usual, the only challenge that Josh Welsh and the team at Film Independent faced bigger than reacting to the seismic changes in film and television distribution was deciding how to celebrate them responsibly  if at all.

On the one hand, you might say, with everything going on in the world, what could be more frivolous than an awards show? the Film Independent president acknowledges to Variety. But I really do believe that award shows have a special significance this year.

For one thing, they allow us to give shape to what feels like a really shapeless year. The regular press and cultural conversation around movies and TV has been so amorphous, even though what were watching is such a big part of our lives. And so I think its really important to have the awards to take a moment to say: these are the films of the year.

For the 36th Independent Spirit Awards, that year includes the first two months of 2021, to accommodate films whose release was delayed because of COVID-19. The organization additionally expanded its categories to include television productions and performances, reflecting a rapidly shifting landscape in which not only are films increasingly securing distribution on the small screen, but also independent storytellers are forging new territory on streaming platforms and via longform storytelling.

On April 24, Saturday Night Live cast member Melissa Villasenor will host a ceremony unlike any Film Independent has mounted before, and possibly unlike viewers have seen before, combining live and prerecorded segments to reflect the unconventional tone of the previous 14 months  and hopefully, minimize the technical glitches that plagued shows such as the Golden Globes earlier this year.

Initially, I have to admit, we were quite naive at the beginning of the pandemic, Welsh says. Right after the [ceremony] last year, when we saw what was happening, the Spirit Awards were supposed to take place in February of this year, and we thought, Well, everything will be fine by then. 

Welsh says figuring out what the show would look like required flexibility and nimbleness, even from a team comfortable working with one another after many years.

Its just been a constant series of pivots and adapting to new realities to figure out what were able to do safely, Welsh says.

The first thing that Welsh and the team decided was to not try and make the show look normal  to try and cheat it to look like guests and nominees are in a tent on the beach. He empathized with other organizations trying to retain the in-person glitz of an awards show while shifting to a largely virtual ceremony.

Theres a lot to figure out, but we watch them all, he says. But the main thing weve all been experiencing on our side is you have to be adaptable and flexible and ready to pivot on a moments notice. Its kind of exhilarating.

Throughout all of it, you want the show to be fun. And you also want it to reflect the spirit of the organization. Film Independent, we dont take ourselves too seriously  its fun, its irreverent  but we take the work really seriously. So as long as we capture that, and sort of the moment that were all living through, if that comes through in the show Ill be really happy.

Leaning into the possibilities of hosting an event in a virtual space, Film Independent decided to build out an online platform that would allow more people to view and participate in the awards ceremony, facilitating community building and fundraising, two historically essential aspects of the show.

At the same time the Spirit Awards are being broadcast, were going to have a virtual Spirit Awards taking place online, Welsh says. When we realized we couldnt do the physical event, we were like, Well, its great that we can do the broadcast, but weve lost all of that ability to support Film Independent year-round.

Historically, in real life, the way to attend the Spirit Awards is to buy a table at the show. And its a fundraiser, so tables tend to be pretty expensive. This year, were opening it up much wider for the very first time, he explains. So were selling tables. Were also selling high-level individual tickets that come with a special experience for people to buy at that level, but were also going to sell a very affordable ticket where anybody can come if they want to watch the show on the platform and have that enhanced community experience. People can be together, you can chat internally to the room, were going to have a DJ  theres going to be lots of elements happening where youre not just watching TV. I hope we have a much bigger audience than the usual 1,300 people who are in the tent on the beach.

If it was already tough to follow Aubrey Plazas back-to-back performances at the 34th and 35th Independent Spirit Awards, 2021 host Villasenor shoulders the additional responsibility of stitching together this years potentially unwieldy combination of live and prerecorded elements, both of which she appears in. Thankfully, her pedigree as a Saturday Night Live cast member, as well as her regular podcast and experience as a stand-up comedian, more than prepares her for the ceremonys unprecedented challenges.

Im comparing hosting to my stand-up, Villasenor says. Being solo up there on stage, Im comfy in that. And I think even on SNL when Im playing myself, like when I did Dolly Parton, I was still myself when I was speaking and everything  thats right in my favorite zone. I like meshing everything together. That said, she is mildly concerned about the absence of reactions from a crowd.

I think the only awkward thing will probably be I love to hear laughs  but thankfully I do laugh at myself, she says. Thats what my podcast is called, Laughing With Myself, because my goal is to make myself laugh and then usually my friends crack up too. So I think Ill be fine, but I would love to hear some chuckles. Hopefully I get the cameraman  that might be my goal.

With nominated films including Minari, Nomadland and Ma Raineys Black Bottom, not to mention fare such as I May Destroy You and Small Axe in the television categories, Villasenor acknowledges the challenge of trying to draw humor out of some extremely serious subject matter. But she says that her comedic sensibility has always gravitated toward making herself the punchline, not her inspiration.

I feel like a lot of the films are pretty emotional. Like Promising Young Woman, its hard to find the jokes because theres a lot of heavy stuff, she says. But theres definitely some good stuff that connects with the movies, and when parodying a movie scene or making a joke, its always placed on me. Ive always tried to do that with my comedy  versus making the joke about a film or a person.

As the Hollywood community  and the world at large  slowly returns to a semblance of normalcy, awards shows offer an opportunity not just to honor art that spoke to, and offered a reprieve from, the experiences of last year, but herald a larger sensation of connectivity and hope after a seemingly indefatigable season of isolation and loss.

As the ceremony approaches, Welsh says that the Spirit Awards happily shoulder both the challenge and opportunity of encapsulating the recent past, and celebrating an optimistic future.

Its been a year of such heightened emotions, the feeling of grief and rage and sadness, but also these weird moments of euphoria. And the thing that I want us to lean in on with the Spirit Awards is the element of joy, Welsh says. And I think it is totally appropriate to take a moment to celebrate the spirit of independent film  and that the creative spirit is undiminished here. And thats what youll see in the show.

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Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 : The Kasaba Police officials from Kozhikode district of Kerala on Thursday early morning took into custody Solar scam accused Saritha Nair from the state capital city for failing to appear before the court, despite warrants being issued to her.

The warrant was issued by the Kozhikode Chief Judicial Magistrate Court -3 in a case of cheating committed by her when she took money from a person but failed to deliver solar panels to him.

This court had earlier asked her to appear before them on February 25, but she failed to do so and the police later on Thursday will produce her before the court, as she is now being taken to Kozhikode.

Incidentally Saritha can take the credit for bringing down the 2011-16 Oommen Chandy government on account of the scams involving her and a few office members of the Chandy office, which the Left used widely in their election campaign in 2016.

This case in which she has been arrested was registered during the tenure of the Chandy government and according to reports there are around half a dozen similar cheating cases registered against her starting from 2012 at various police stations in Kerala.

At the fag end of the present Pinarayi Vijayan government she is creating heartbreaks to the present administration in an alleged fake appointment racket case, in which one person has already been arrested.

State Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan on Wednesday flatly denied having any dealings with Solar accused Saritha Nair.

In the fake appointment case, where money was collected from various people promising them a job at the state-run Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco), the police have already arrested a partner of Saritha Nair.

On Wednesday, an audio clip believed to be that of Saritha Nair surfaced wherein she is heard talking about the role of Ramakrishnan and the then MD of Bevco Sparjan Kumar -- a top IPS official.

Flatly denying having anything to do with the fake appointment case, Ramakrishnan said, "Never ever have I had anything to do with such people. Strict action will be taken against any foul play if it has happened in the appointments made," said the Minister.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Dorinda Medley and Carson looked chummy on Tuesday when they joined forces to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pro-marijuana holiday 420 in New York City.

The 56-year-old former Real Housewives Of New York City star kept her look sleek with a black tux jacket, while Carson, 51, pulled out all the stops with a busy candy-colored blazer.

The two pals were attending a celebration put on by the Massachusetts-based dispensary Rebelle to celebrate 50 years of the stoner holiday and the recent legalization of marijuana in New York state.

High time: Dorinda Medley, 56, and Carson Kressley, 51, beamed ear-to-ear as they joined Massachusetts-based dispensary Rebelle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 420 in NYC on Tuesday

Dorinda wore her black tuxedo jacket casually draped over her shoulders with a figure-hugging black tank top on underneath.

She tucked her slim top into a set of high-waisted silver sequined pants for some extra sparkle.

The former reality TV star stood tall in pointy black heels and carried a slim black clutch that matched her ensemble.

She lightened up the look with her blond pixie cut and she sported a pair of black circular earrings.

Sparkler: Dorinda wore a black tux jacket with a black tank top, silver sequined pants and black heels

Splash of color: Carson looked colorful in his blazer, which was covered in an eye-catching collage, as well as gray pants, a white shirt and long black loafers

Carson looked colorful in his blazer, which was covered in an eye-catching collage with bright reds and yellows and a royal blue.

He toned down the rest of his look with a tie-free white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, plus a shiny pair of black pants and long black loafers.

The two looked chummy on the red carpet, with Dorinda resting her head on the former Queer Eye For The Straight Guy star.

They were also spotted chatting at a table during the event.

Old pals: The two looked chummy on the red carpet, with Dorinda resting her head on the former Queer Eye For The Straight Guy star

Big fan: Dorinda has a personal connection to Rebelle, as she was spotted shopping at the Great Barrington, Massachusettsbased dispensary in February, according to Page Six

Dorinda has a personal connection to the Rebelle dispensary, as she was spotted shopping at the Great Barrington, Massachusettsbased location in February, according to Page Six.

She also posed for a photo with the dispensary's owner around the same time, so she's not a neophyte to the cannabis holiday.

According to KCRW, 420 originated in Northern California around 1971 as a codeword for high school students in the Northern Bay area.

Among a group of high school marijuana users, one student's father was a narcotics officer, so their friends started using codes similar to what police officers used to categorize crimes, and 420 stuck as a way of signaling to smoke marijuana at 4:20 p.m.

New York recently legalized marijuana possession and use, making this the first legal 420 celebration.

Old school: According to KCRW , 420 originated in Northern California around 1971 as a codeword for high school students in the Northern Bay area

Having a blast: Back in 2019, Dorinda hosted Carson for the weekend at her mansion in Great Barrington

On Instagram, Carson shared a photo of himself and Dorinda while tagging Rebelle dispensary.

Back in 2019, Dorinda and her boyfriend John Mahdessian hosted Carson for a weekend at her Great Barrington mansion.

Back in the fall, the RHONY fixture announced she wouldn't be returning for the long-running show's 13th season.

During an October appearance on her former costar Bethenny Frankel's podcast Just B with Bethenny Frankel, Dorinda admitted she was fired from the series.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass bipartisan legislation intended to curb hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Thursday, an issue that has spiked during the pandemic.

Written in part by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the legislation expedites review of hate crimes by the U.S. Department of Justice and bolster reporting mechanisms. It is expected to pass the House and be signed into law by President Joe Biden. Led by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, the bill would be the eighth signed into law by Biden.

The non-profit Stop AAPI Hate released a report saying nearly 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported over the course of a year during the pandemic, with verbal harassment and shunning comprising the majority of incidents, followed by physical assault.

Michael Keo, an activist in residence at the University of Connecticuts Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, helped launch the I am not a virus campaign, which has gathered stories of hate incidents and discrimination against Asian American and Pacific Islanders during the pandemic.

Earlier this month, a man in Milford was arrested for a hate crime for allegedly yelling go back to China and reversing his car toward another man walking in the street.

Keo said his group heard from other AAPI individuals, including a Waterbury firefighter was verbally harassed at the grocery store for 30 minutes and a Connecticut woman who was denied entry to a local shop, although white males were allowed to enter. Two AAPI people who went to grocery store in West Hartford and Bristol were sprayed with disinfectant while shopping, he said.

The reality is that every Asian American in our state has had their own personal experience or knows someone with an experience of color-related racism, said Keo, who is Cambodian American. That ... sticks with you.

Former President Donald Trump made headlines last spring by repeatedly calling the coronavirus the China virus and the kung flu because the coronavirus is believed to have originated in China. Those comments correlated with a rise in anti-Asian comments online, a study published in the American Journal of Public Health found.

The Senate voted 94 to 1 to pass legislation, with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., casting the lone no vote. Passage came after a more than a week of bipartisan negotiations to amend the original bill. A rare example of the upper chamber skirting partisan gridlock, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., hailed the Senates work as proof the Senate can work to solve important issues.

The legislation would establish online reporting systems for hate crimes and provide grants for states to establish and run hate crime hotlines.The bill would train law enforcement on using the National Incident-Based Reporting System on reporting hate crimes and provide support for law enforcement agencies that train officers or establish units to work on hate crimes.

It would also allow judges to require people convicted under federal hate crime laws to undergo community service and education on the communities they harmed. Finally, it would expand public awareness campaigns aimed at raising awareness about hate crimes and their victims.

Better hate crime reporting is critical to stopping this scourge, said Blumenthal, who partnered with Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, to author some of the bill. Law enforcement lacks the data to implement comprehensive, meaningful solutions. Local reporting systems are woefully underutilized because of systemic problems in identifying and recording hate crimes.

Keo called the bill a good first step but said he and other activists are working to implement Asian American and Pacific Islanders studies in schools.

Our Push for ethnic studies is about protecting our communities before this happens, Keo said. Our histories need to be taught together and not in separate silos.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Healthcare service provider Fortis Healthcare on Thursday took to Twitter to seek help from chief ministers of Rajasthan and Haryana and central ministers for allowing supply of an oxygen tanker from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan to its hospital in Haryana.

Fortis Healthcare said Fortis Hospital in Haryana has only 45 minutes of oxygen left and tagged Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal. In another tweet, it also tagged Prime Minister's Office for help.

This is an #SOS call from Fortis to allow oxygen tanker from Bhiwadi to reach our hospital #ASAP. (2/2) - Fortis Healthcare (@fortis_hospital) April 22, 2021

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalised patients because of the infection continue to rise, many states and hospitals have complained about scarcity of medical oxygen.

Also read: Oxygen tanker kept waiting amid shortage; Apollo director Sangita Reddy urges Centre to intervene

Earlier today, Sangita Reddy, joint director of Apollo Hospitals, had also taken to Twitter to seek help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers to allow movement of an oxygen tanker which wasn't being allowed to enter Air Liquide Panipat plant at IOCL by the Haryana Police.

She later tweeted, "The driver has just been allowed inside & hopefully the oxygen will be sent out soon."

The Ministry of Home Affaris today lifted all restrictions imposed on movement of medical oxygen between states. It called for free movement of oxygen-carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inner-city supply without any restriction.

The prime minister also held a high-level meeting to review oxygen supply across the country and discuss ways and means to boost its availability.

India reported 3,14,835 new COVID-19 cases and 2,104 deaths due to the infection in the preceding 24 hours as of Thursday morning.

Also read: COVID-19: PM Modi holds high-level meeting on oxygen supply, availability
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The Best Gift Ever: an enjoyable journey. The Best Gift Ever is the creation of published author, Bea Kwok, a dedicated child advocate.

Kwok writes, Have you been looking for a Christian book that tells the stories of the Bible in a fun and imaginative way? At last its here! The Best Gift Ever is a modern-day Christian book that appeals to our young audiences. Not only will this book capture the attention of every child, but it will also make a lasting impression. The Best Gift Ever is the first of a collection of adventures with TiTi Bee as she travels back into biblical times in her HoneyComb Time Machine!

In this book, you will join TiTi Bee as she buzzes around in her HoneyComb Time Machine and arrives just in time to witness the first Christmas! In The Best Gift Ever, TiTi Bee takes a young girl named Mandee on an amazing journey to help her understand that Christmas is more than just receiving material gifts. Christmas is a way of celebrating Jesuss birthday!

The Best Gift Ever offers a unique way of helping children understand the true meaning of Christmas. Buzzing back into time in the HoneyComb Time Machine is a creative way of not only keeping children engaged, but also encouraging them to remember one of the most important stories of the Bible.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Bea Kwoks new book is an entertaining addition to the childrens literature market.

Pairing an imaginative re-telling with even more intriguing illustrations, Kwoks story is certain to engage your young reader from the start.

View a synopsis of The Best Gift Ever on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase The Best Gift Ever at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about The Best Gift Ever, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
RBI Master Direction on export of goods and services states that ECGC claims are not treated as realisation and so, BRC cannot be issued. While writing off bills on the basis of ECGC claim and closing my shipping bill in EDPMS, the bank wants me to surrender export incentives, whereas HBP states that ECGC claims can be considered for claiming export incentives. Under which conditions can ECGC claims be considered for availing export incentives, so that I can get my shipping bill closed in the EDPMS without surrendering incentives?



Para C.24 of the RBI Master Direction no.16/2015-16 dated January 1, 2016 (as amended), deals with write-off in cases of payment of claims by ECGC and private insurance companies regulated by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. It clearly says that surrender of incentives, if any, in such cases will be as provided in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). So, your bankers must proceed in accordance with Para 2.85 of HBP and not demand surrender of incentives.

A foreign national of non-Indian origin, resident abroad, wants to purchase commercial properly in India and rent it out to a branch of a foreign company. Is this permitted?



Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) Regulations, 2018) does not specifically allow a foreign national of non-Indian origin to buy immovable property in India for any commercial purpose. Indeed, the Government of India through a press release dated February 1, 2019 has specifically cautioned against foreign nationals buying immovable property illegally in some parts of the country, particularly in Goa. Please see this link for further details: https://rbidocs.rbi. org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/07MIP0101168C51C4CB845342D09E8A4A613B1F1C6D.PDFI have not been able to locate any precise RBI instructions in this regard. However, CBIC Circular no.33/2019-Cus dated September 19, 2019, deals with the contention of exporters that short realisation of export sale proceeds due to bank charges deducted by foreign banks should be treated as full realisation of export proceeds. The Circular says that RBI has clarified that such deductions are enabled under notification No. FEMA 23(R) 2015-RB dealing with Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations 2015.

It also says that as per Para 2.52 of FTP 2015-20, free foreign exchange remitted by buyer after deduction of bank service charges are taken as full export realisation. Based on this, you may approach your bankers. If they still dont agree, you may approach RBI through your bankers, in accordance with Para C.23.10 and Para A.1(vi) of the Master Direction no. 16/2015-16 dated January 1, 2016 (as amended) on Export of Goods and Services.

Business Standard invites readers queries related to excise, and exim policy. You can write to us at smechat@bsmail.in
A former New Orleans FBI agent who was fired after speaking out about cases he handled is now objecting to one of President Joe Biden's key nominees.

The fired agent, Mike Zummer, has raised concerns for years about a case he investigated against former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel, who allegedly used his position as the parishs top prosecutor to give women leniency in exchange for sexual favors.

Morel ended up pleading guilty to a single count of obstruction of justice in 2016 and has already served the maximum three years in prison. Zummer argued the case he built warranted more serious racketeering, obstruction and fraud charges that could have landed Morel, then 73, in prison for the rest of his life.

Zummer was suspended more than four years ago after sending a letter to U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt alleging prosecutorial misconduct, but 17 of the letters 31 pages were blacked out by the FBI. After losing several appeals for back pay and his security clearance, Zummer was officially fired and granted permission to release the full letter.

Suspended FBI agent accuses bureau of retaliation, violating his rights in Harry Morel case A New Orleans-based FBI agent filed a federal lawsuit Monday claiming the bureau violated his First Amendment rights last year when it suspend

Zummer directed most of his ire at the former U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Louisiana, Kenneth Polite, complaining he abdicated key decisions in the Morel case to staff members who had conflicts of interest. And now that President Joe Biden has nominated Polite to lead the U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division, Zummer said Polite is not qualified for that top position.

But Polite points out the Morel case was on the trash heap when he arrived at the U.S. Attorneys Office, having been declined by his predecessor, interim U.S. Attorney Dana Boente. Polite actually met with Zummer soon after being appointed by President Barack Obama and revived the Morel case, against the wishes of some seasoned prosecutors in his office.

I made the decision, kind of risking my own political capital within the office, to reopen a case that a past administration had passed on, Polite told WWL-TV in 2017.

In 31-page letter, N.O. FBI agent accuses Justice Dept. of 'systemic corruption' A local FBI agent who investigated former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel told a judge last year that he has been hamstrung b

Polite said the case was difficult because the star witness had died. Danielle Keim, a woman Zummer had set up to wear a wire, succeeded in recording Morel agreeing to falsify some records for her in exchange for sex, but she overdosed before she could testify.

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

And yet, Polites office negotiated a plea deal with Morel in which he acknowledged he solicited sex from women who needed help with their or their loved-ones cases. At a news conference announcing Morels plea deal, the FBI special agent in charge at the time, Jeffrey Sallet, hailed the work of Zummer and other investigators who uncovered 20 victims spanning more than 20 years.

Zummer said the statements at the news conference were made to appease him, and what got into the federal court record of the case was watered down.

He also attacked Polite for allegedly letting an assistant U.S. attorney with longstanding ties to Morels defense team participate in the decision to strike a plea deal. Morels attorney Ralph Capitelli and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Harper had owned a condo in Alabama together since before Hurricane Katrina, and Zummer said he attended meetings in which Harper fought hard against pursuing the Morel case when Boente was acting U.S. attorney.

+2 U.S. senator asks whether ex-DA Harry Morel got sweetheart deal Did Harry Morel Jr., the former St. Charles Parish district attorney now imprisoned for obstructing justice, get a sweetheart deal because of 

Even though Harper sold his share in the property and a DOJ investigation found no conflict of interest for Harper, Polite said he went the extra mile and removed Harper as first assistant and also barred him from getting involved in any cases with Capitellis clients. But in a part of his letter to Engelhardt that was just released publicly, Zummer makes a third-hand allegation that Polite appeased his staff by letting them meet without him to decide how to handle the Morel case.

Zummer said a supervisor at the FBI told him she learned from an assistant U.S. attorney who attended those meetings that Harper participated and renewed his opposition to the case. The meeting allegedly led to the decision to resume plea negotiations rather than push toward a trial.

Polite really didn't have control and he really didn't have the backbone to stand up to people in his office who I think were engaged in malfeasance, Zummer said.

Zummer says prosecutors are often too cozy with white-collar criminal defense lawyers and failed to pursue several other important cases he investigated. But he pushed back against Capitellis contention that hes a disgruntled, rogue agent.

I wrote a letter to a judge and informed a court of prosecutorial misconduct, Zummer said. If that's what passes for being a rogue agent these days. You know, being a whistleblower, I'm proud of it.

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed interest in Zummer's claims four years ago. Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to decide whether to confirm Polite in May. Whether Grassley makes an issue of Zummer's claims remains to be seen.
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New climate pledges

President Biden kicked off a two-day climate summit on Thursday by announcing an ambitious plan to cut U.S. emissions at least in half from 2005 levels by 2030. Canada and Japan also announced new targets to reduce planet-warming gases.

Speaking at the virtual event, President Xi Jinping said that China  currently the worlds biggest greenhouse gas polluter  would strictly limit increasing coal consumption in the next five years and phase it down in the following five years.

Neither China nor India made new climate commitments, but Mr. Xi offered more specifics into Beijings plan to reach net carbon neutrality by 2060.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that, by 2030, Canada would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels. Canada is the only G7 nation whose greenhouse gas emissions have increased since the Paris Agreement.
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
NEW CANAAN  First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said interest in the COVID vaccine could be waning in town after 400 vaccines went unused during a clinic this week at the Lapham Center.

Moynihan said he was quite surprised when he was informed only 200 people were vaccinated during Wednesdays clinic, which had 600 doses available.

The first selectman said as many as 800 people had been vaccinated during previous weekly clinics.

Jenn Eielson, director of the New Canaan Health Department, could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

The clinic requires pre-registration online, but officials posted on Facebook, encouraging people to get the shot when attendance was low on Wednesday.

Moynihan could not explain the sudden decline in interest at this weeks clinic and only a little more than half of eligible New Canaan residents have received the first dose of the vaccine, according to the state Department of Public Health.

According to the states data, 10,792 New Canaan residents  53.3 percent of those eligible  had received a first dose of the vaccine as of Monday.

Moynihan said the unused vaccines will be allocated for a clinic scheduled for Monday targeting restaurant workers, store employees and others who work in downtown businesses. The town has already held clinics for teachers.

During his news conference on Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont encouraged more Connecticut residents to get vaccinated. About 39 percent of Connecticut residents 16 and older have been fully vaccinated and 60 percent have received a first dose.

Lamont recommended businesses conduct on-site clinics and encourage workers to get vaccinated by offering them the rest of the day off and a gift certificate.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High near 85F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
SURF CITY, N.C., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CAROLINA RETREATS, a high-end hospitality and vacation rental management company based in North Carolina, today announced that the firm has been selected as a new vacation rental property manager for Homes & Villas by Marriott International. Select rental properties exclusively managed by Carolina Retreats will now be available on Homes & Villas by Marriott International starting in April 2021.

Homes & Villas by Marriott International will eventually feature more than 200 Carolina Retreats vacation rental listings from Topsail Island, Carolina & Kure Beach, and Oak Island, consisting of homes, condos and waterfront cottages. Many of the properties selected will offer first-class amenities such as direct ocean and waterfront locations, elevators, gourmet kitchens, multiple bedrooms and sleeping areas for large families, as well as some with swimming pools or hot tubs, and all with convenient access to the finest local seafood and the best fishing, surfing and sightseeing the North Carolina coast have to offer.

"We are thrilled to have been selected by Homes & Villas by Marriott International as a preferred vacation rental property manager," commented Mike Harrington, CEO of Carolina Retreats. "With the reach of Marriott International's premium home rental offering including more than 145 million members of its travel program, Marriott Bonvoy, and their superb reputation for hospitality, combined with our extensive local knowledge, support, and years of trust, we feel this relationship will greatly benefit our selected and future property owner partners."

Hallmarks of Homes & Villas by Marriott service, which will be adopted by Carolina Retreats include:

Dedicated Homes & Villas by Marriott International representative

24/7 support and contactless check-in and check-out

High speed Wi-Fi

Premium bed linens and towels

Premium bath amenities

Child-friendly items upon request, such as highchairs and travel cribs

Before being added to the Homes & Villas by Marriott International portfolio, Carolina Retreats' properties were audited and reviewed by Marriott International to meet the company's high standards for regulation, design, safety and amenities. In addition, Carolina Retreats underwent a thorough vetting process to make sure the firm met or exceeded qualifications for inclusion by Home & Villas by Marriott International.

"We are excited to welcome Carolina Retreat's properties to our exclusive collection of 20,000 premium homes giving customers especially Marriott Bonvoy members even more choice on where to stay," said Jenny Hsieh, Vice President, Marriott Homes and Villas by Marriott International.

About Homes & Villas by Marriott International

Homes & Villas by Marriott International is an expertly curated, premium and luxury home rental offering from Marriott International. A leading expert in hospitality, Marriott International encompasses thousands of hotels across 30 brands and the Marriott Bonvoy travel program.

About Carolina Retreats

Carolina Retreats is a specialty lodging and vacation rental management company headquartered in Surf City, North Carolina. Through their local brands and affiliates, Carolina Retreats owns, operates, and provides third-party management services for high-end single family vacation rental homes and boutique hotels.

SOURCE Carolina Retreats Vacation Group
Azerbaijan has joined an initiative to create a single roaming space between the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

The Eastern Partnership is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union, its member states and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

With the support of the EU4Digital initiative, relevant work is underway to create a single roaming space between the Eastern Partnership countries.

EU4Digital aims to extend the European Unions Digital Single Market to the Eastern Partner states. Through the initiative, the EU supports a number of aims, among them the reduction of roaming tariffs.

According to TeleGeographys CommsUpdate the six-country Regional Roaming Agreement is expected to be signed in the autumn and to take effect on 1 January 2022, with roaming costs set to be reduced by 87 percent by 2026. However, the agreement apparently envisages that the adoption of legislative amendments will be necessary to achieve the set goals.

In the future, according to the eufordigital.eu website, favourable roaming services might also be extended between the Europe Union and the Eastern Partnership (EaP). A commitment to explore the possibility of a common international roaming space, including the economically sustainable reduction of roaming tariffs between the Eastern Partner countries and the EU member states, was confirmed in February 2019.

The site quotes Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Valizade as saying, The 87 percent reduction in international mobile roaming costs among Eastern Partnership countries means we will be closer to tariffs for the same services in Europe. This makes it possible to apply affordable tariffs for international roaming with EU countries in the near future.

He added that the decrease in roaming tariffs may seem unattractive to mobile operators, but that the increase in traffic should go some way to compensating for this in revenue terms.
London: Britains High Commissioner to Australia has alienated Australian government officials after she supported tough tactics in a UK news report criticising Trade Minister Dan Tehan and last year threatened to suspend security discussions between the UK and Australia.

In a sign of the souring relations between Vicki Treadell and key ministers in the Morrison government, the UKs High Commissioner has not tkaen part in free-trade talks underway in London.

Britain's High Commissioner to Australia, Vicki Treadell. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

British sources played this down and said that Treadell, a civil servant, had not been intending to attend the talks in the UK and remains in contact with Britains chief negotiator.

But Australian government sources, who were not authorised to speak on the record, contrasted Treadells absence from the negotiations to that of Australias High Commissioner to the UK, former Attorney-General George Brandis, who is a key player in the negotiations and is hosting a trade ministers dinner.
The Coast Guard will say goodbye Saturday to the last of its workhorse open-ocean cutters of the past 50 years, the 378-foot high endurance cutter Douglas Munro.

At 49 years of service, the Hamilton-class cutter Munro will be decommissioned in a ceremony at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, Alaska, heralding completion of Deepwater, a replacement effort for the service's long-haul vessels that began in the late 1990s.

"Saturday, April 24, marks the end of an era -- an era spanning a half-century where the Coast Guard fleet of 378-high endurance cutters plied the world's waters, modeling the maritime rules-based order," Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz said Wednesday. "Cutter Douglas Munro compiled a storied half-century record of significant at-sea rescues and law enforcement actions."

The first ship in the 12-cutter Hamilton Class was commissioned in March 1967; the Munro's keel was laid in February 1970, and it was commissioned Sept. 27, 1971. The Munro, named for the Coast Guard's only Medal of Honor recipient, Signalman First Class Douglas Munro, was first homeported in Boston. It would make subsequent stays in Seattle, Honolulu and Alameda, Calif., before moving to its final homeport in Kodiak in 2007.

Read Next: Navy Pulls Way Ahead of Other DoD Services in Race to 100% Vaccination

The Munro's accomplishments over the years include the search and recovery efforts for the passengers of Korean Airlines Flight 007, shot down by a Soviet aircraft in 1983; the rescue of all 27 crewmembers of the container ship Hyundai Seattle as it burned and lost power in heavy seas in December 1994; and the interception and seizure of dozens of vessels conducting illegal fishing and smuggling drugs and migrants.

In one of its highest-profile rescues, Munro responded to the sinking of the factory fishing vessel Alaska Ranger on Easter Sunday 2008. The ship, 100 nautical miles from Munro's position, had 47 crew members on board, caught fire and was taking on water.

In a heroic effort, the Munro's crew of 171, most of whom were in their first enlistment, rescued 45 of those 47 crew members from heavy seas and 32-degree water.

The gripping rescue was captured in a riveting speech on the Senate floor by Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski and in a longform article, "The Longest Night," which appeared in GQ magazine in 2008.

According to GQ, after a long flight from Saint Paul, the flight commander of Munro's MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, Brian McLaughlin, spotted a strobe light on a crew member's dry suit, and then another, and the race was on.

"From the back, [rescue swimmer O'Brien Starr] Hollow heard one of them gasp, say, 'What the hell'  Hollow saw all those lights, too, dozens of them, sparkling and scattered for more than a mile, hiding behind waves, then blinking back when the swells passed. There were too many to count ... Those lights were all people bobbing in very cold water."

Hollow and the crew of the Jayhawk managed to lift 12 survivors from the water. Munro's MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and its rescue swimmer, Abe Heller, plucked five from the sea before the smaller chopper needed to return to the ship. Heller stayed behind in a life raft with three other survivors waiting for the Jayhawk to return.

In all, the Munro rescued 20 and recovered one body; the remaining 22 survivors and three deceased crew members were picked up by Alaska Ranger's sister ship, Alaska Warrior. One crew member was never found.

Heller was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Munro received a Coast Guard Unit Commendation as well as citations from the Alaska legislature and Congress.

Munro's namesake had shown the same selflessness and daring during World War II. The signalman first class, in charge of two landing crafts and eight Higgins boats, was tasked with transporting Marines under the command of the legendary Lt. Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller to Guadalcanal to engage Japanese forces in September 1942.

But the Marines became encircled by the Japanese and were forced to fight their way back to the beach, where Munro's boats returned to extract them. Munro used his Higgins boat and its .30 caliber machine gun to move close to shore and protect the retreating Marines. He then used the boat to shield Marines as they returned to the other landing craft.

In his effort to save the Marines, Munro was fatally shot in the base of the neck. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on May 24, 1943, and he remains the only non-Marine whose name is on the National Museum of the Marine Corps' Wall of Heroes.

"Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro and those who sailed aboard her clearly embodied the heroism and bias for action of its namesake, Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro," Schultz told Military.com.

Munro's legacy does not disappear with the decommissioning of the high endurance cutter Munro, however. Since 2017, the service has had two ships named Munro: the National Security Cutter Munro, part of the Legend Class built to take on the missions of the retiring high-endurance cutters, was commissioned in April that year.

The service currently has nine national security cutters with two more under construction.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Very Difficult Environment, Coast Guard Offers Incentives to Entice Recruits
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 02:38:34|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany would extend the deployment of its troops in the west African country of Mali, which had been operated in cooperation with the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), the government announced on Wednesday.

"The threat of terrorism and organized crime not only affects Mali, but threatens to destabilize the whole of West Africa," the government said in a statement, adding that Germany's military involvement in Mali was still necessary to "sustainably support stability and peace in the Sahel region."

According to the German government, the operational area of EU Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) with the main purpose of training Malian armed forces would be expanded to Niger and Burkina Faso, with the number of German soldiers increasing from 450 to up to 600.

The participation of the Bundeswehr, the German Armed Forces, in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) would continue unchanged. According to the statement, the UN mission focused on "implementing the intra-Mali peace agreement and restoring statehood and political dialogue."

The extension of the Bundeswehr mandates for both missions for the time until May 2022 still needs formal approval by the parliament. Enditem
Even as more and more Laredoans get vaccinated against COVID-19, the number of active cases in Webb County has risen slightly in the last few days.

Officials announced in their second public update of the week that an additional 66 positives and two deaths have been added. There have now been 43,614 positives and 833 deaths historically since the pandemic began locally in March 2020.

Active cases have seen the biggest impact to the recent figures, up to 140 Wednesday. Although a far cry from the 2,000 active cases that rocked the city nearly daily in January, this is the highest number of active cases Laredo has had in three weeks. There have been fewer than 150 active cases every day since March 11, which the city has classified as a medium risk level. Higher risk is categorized as 150 to 250 active cases.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has also risen in the last week or so, reaching 25 on Tuesday and falling to 18 on Wednesday. The hospitalization rate on Tuesday was 5.4%, according to the Department of State Health Services. Thats the second-highest total reported behind only the previous days 5.5% dating back to March 14.

Because many of the state hospital workers have been demobilized in the last few months, there are currently fewer staffed hospital beds in Laredo than there were at the height of the pandemic. Council members worried this means Laredos hospitalization rate could more easily crest past the 15% threshold which previously was used statewide to identify when to close bars and reduce occupancy to 50%. If that becomes the case, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina could decide to limit business capacity once again.

Two more Laredoans died from COVID-19 on Tuesday, a man in his mid 40s and a man in his early 40s. April has still seen a noticeable drop in deaths with only 14 reported this month, well below the 39 from March and the record 148 from February.

In the last week, 163 people have tested positive for COVID-19 of the 4,163 people who were tested, a 3.9% seven-day rolling positivity rate. This number is also a bit elevated as it is tied for the second-highest figure reported since March 5.

Over the course of the pandemic, 43,614 Webb County residents tested positive for the virus of the 331,141 tests taken, a 13.2% cumulative positivity rate.

Laredo continues to provide COVID updates three times a week and one media briefing on Thursday. This is due to the city being at Level II in its Level of Communications criteria, possessing over 100 active cases and a hospitalization and rolling positivity rate of over 5%.

The area would need to fall under each of these benchmarks to fall to Level I, which is defined as over 50 active cases and a hospitalization and rolling positivity rate of over 2.5%. That would lead to one weekly update and two briefings each month. Laredo is still far off from Level III  updates every weekday and two briefings a week  which is defined as over 500 active cases and a hospitalization and rolling positivity rate of over 10%.

As of Wednesday, 130,546 Webb County residents have received one or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (65.7%), with 81,921 of whom are fully vaccinated (40.7%).

There are 196,916 residents age 16 and older in Webb County, so 41.6% of the countys eligible population is fully vaccinated. Of the population age 65 and older, 64% are fully vaccinated while 80.6% has one or two doses.

The City of Laredo concluded their Save Our Seniors program last week, having vaccinated everyone who called and requested they or a homebound family member be vaccinated at their home. In the end, this was 2,160 residents plus 1,200 seniors living in elderly housing.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
[April 22, 2021] RB Capital Increases Investment in Sunshine Biopharma

MONTREAL, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunshine Biopharma Inc. (OTC PINK: SBFM), a pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of oncology and antiviral drugs, today announced that RB Capital has injected an additional investment of $500,000 to augment the Companys Coronavirus drug development program. In addition, RB Capital has provided the Company with assurances that it will continue to provide funding over the next 30 days for the Companys other R&D activities, including Ada-27a anticancer drug. Sunshine Biopharmas CFO, Camille Sebaaly stated, We are very pleased to continue our relationship with RB Capital as long-term investor in the Company. They truly understand our vision and are prepared to help us reach our exciting drug development objectives. Deborah Braun of RB Capital Partners Inc. stated, Given their recent success with initial mice studies for their COVID-19 treatment, the tremendous progress with Adva-27a research and development, and the new e-commerce platform, we are happy to double our investment in Sunshine Biopharma. We understand that financial resources are required to reach the various milestones leadership has put into place for the Company and are pleased to support this growth and progress. With this added investment the Company has the resources necessary to bring these drugs to market faster than previously anticipated. About Sunshine Biopharmas Coronavirus (COVID-19) Treatment Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 3 million people worldwide since it first appeared in December 2019. There are currently no drugs that can effectively arrest replication of the virus in people who have contracted the illness. On May 22, 2020, Sunshine Biopharma filed a provisional patent application for several molecules which were designed by computer-aided modeling to inhibit the Coronavirus proteases, thus shutting down the ability of the virus to multiply. Sunshine Biopharma has since completed the synthesis of four such molecules and identified a lead compound, SBFM-PL4. On February 1, 2021,Sunshine Biopharma entered into an exclusive license agreement with the University of Georgia for two Anti-Coronavirus compounds which the University of Georgia had previously developed and patented. The Company is currently advancing the development of these two compounds in parallel with its own SBFM-PL4 by conducting a transgenic mice study in collaboration with the University of Georgia, College of Pharmacy. The mice being used in the study have been genetically engineered to express the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transmembrane protein in their lungs making them susceptible to lethal infection by SARS-CoV-2. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses the hACE2 receptor to gain entry into human cells to replicate. The goal of the study is to determine if these protease inhibitors will protect the hACE2-transgenic mice from disease progression and death following infection with SARS-CoV-2. Should these mice studies prove successful, Sunshine Biopharma plans to submit the results to the FDA for authorization to conduct testing on actual COVID-19 patient volunteers in a Phase I clinical trial setting.



About Adva-27a Anticancer Drug In addition, to working on the development of a treatment for COVID-19, Sunshine Biopharma is engaged in the development Adva-27a, a unique anticancer compound. Tests conducted to date have demonstrated the effectiveness of Adva-27a at destroying Multidrug Resistant Cancer Cells, including Pancreatic Cancer cells, Small-Cell Lung Cancer cells, Breast Cancer cells, and Uterine Sarcoma cells. Clinical trials for Pancreatic Cancer indication are planned to be conducted at McGill Universitys Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Canada. Sunshine Biopharma is owner of all patents and intellectual property pertaining to Adva-27a.

Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods. These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to general stock market conditions. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company's most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our expansion of our existing as well as new service lines noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. Additional service offerings may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s) based upon the various geopolitical locations we will be providing services in, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. For Additional Information Contact:

Camille Sebaaly, CFO

Sunshine Biopharma Inc.

Direct Line: 514-814-0464

camille.sebaaly@sunshinebiopharma.com

www.sunshinebiopharma.com



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This municipal election, San Antonio voters can change the city charter so the city can issue bonds that would support more kinds of projects than are presently eligible. This is Proposition A.

In subsequent elections, voters would decide on funding newly eligible projects on a case-by-case basis. The proposed charter change is not a blank check. Advocates for affordable housing have sought this change because it will open the door for voters to approve public spending to support constructing much-needed affordable homes.

The prospective charter change is a welcome development and an exciting opportunity to think creatively about housing in our city.

Considerable progress has been made since 2018, when key recommendations of the Mayors Housing Policy Task Force were implemented, including a $35 million increase in city spending on housing and the inclusion of housing in the brief of the assistant city manager.

The task force succeeded in making the case that housing should be considered a cornerstone of infrastructure  like roads, sidewalks and lighting  and that access to safe, decent, affordable housing was as essential to San Antonios economy and growth as those things we conventionally understand as infrastructure. Similarly, the San Antonio Housing Authority has recently changed course in its approach to new construction and its potential to displace low-income residents.

But much work remains. More than 50,000 families are on the waiting list for affordable housing. This is a chance to embrace a housing challenge with vigor and open minds.

In the U.S., most housing is supported by public and private money. Coordination between, and changes in, the private and public sectors can help address a shared challenge. Here are some ideas:

Reimagine where affordable housing is located: in the urban core and in the suburbs. Incentivize development and redevelopment inside Loop 410 through fee waivers to developers that underwrite construction costs and therefore make possible lower rents.

Review zoning regulations. What updates might make it more cost-effective to build affordable housing or an addition in a backyard? What can be learned from cities with different codes?

Tie housing development to transportation infrastructure so more people can get to work without having to drive.

Improve communication between those who need housing and those who can help provide it. Neighborhoods have different needs, and a one-size-fits-all approach to community consultation doesnt work.

Bring architects into the design process early; prioritize designs that acknowledge the distinctive patterns, forms, materials and needs of neighborhoods.

Continue the move away from the Public Facility Corp. model of mixed-income housing that gives substantial tax breaks to private companies. Encouragingly, the San Antonio Housing Authority has begun this shift.

Explore far-reaching structural alternatives, such as nonprofit housing cooperatives.

Make reuse and renovation of existing buildings a priority. Earmark funds for regular repair, maintenance and energy-efficient improvements.

Introduce free or low-cost classes for property owners on how to safely and effectively create self-build additions or renovations.

Consider new approaches to construction that might include off-site fabrication, as is being used to help bring down costs in San Francisco.

Solving the housing challenges in San Antonio requires multiple approaches, collaboration and a firm, shared commitment to better care for one another. We wont get it 100 percent right 100 percent of the time, but well never get any of it right if we dont try.

Proposition A opens the door to opportunities.

Kathryn ORourke is associate professor of art history at Trinity University and president of Design Forum. Richard Mogas, AIA, is founder and head of Richard Mogas Architecture and Community Design Studio. He chairs Design Forums Affordable Housing Task Force.
By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a 13-month low last week, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April as a re-opening economy unleashes pent-up demand.

While the labor market recovery is gaining speed, red flags are emerging in the housing market, the economy's star performer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of previously-owned homes tumbled to a seven-month low in March as prices jumped to a record high amid an acute shortage of houses, other data showed on Thursday. Realtors warned that expensive homes could become a permanent feature of the market, worsening inequality.

Even as the economy is booming and the labor market scars are healing thanks to massive public aid from the government and increased COVID-19 vaccinations, there are still 17.4 million people collecting unemployment checks.

"We are seeing claims drop across most states, which shows the jobs recovery has become more geographically broad-based," said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Virginia. "However, a growing number of Americans are out of work for longer, and it's those who are tougher to bring back into the labor force."

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 39,000 to a seasonally adjusted 547,000 for the week ended April 17, the lowest since mid-March 2020, the Labor Department said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 617,000 applications for the latest week.

It was the second straight week that claims were below the 700,000 level since March 2020 when mandatory shutdowns of non-essential businesses like restaurants and bars were enforced to slow the first wave of COVID-19 infections. There were large declines in filings in Texas and New York, as well as decreases in several other states.

Claims have remained elevated because of fraud, especially in California and Ohio. The enhancement of the unemployment benefits programs, including a weekly $300 subsidy, could also be encouraging some people to attempt to file a claim for assistance, though not every application is approved.

Story continues

The latest Labor Department data on first payments show only a fraction of claims were successful over the past months.

The weekly subsidy and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program will run through Sept. 6. Claims jumped to a record 6.149 million in early April 2020. In a healthy labor market, claims are normally in a range of 200,000 to 250,000.

Including the PUA program, 699,798 people filed claims last week, squeaking below 700,000 for the first time since the pandemic started.

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed. The dollar gained versus a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell.

For a graphic on A pandemic employment milestone:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/yzdpxbjbwpx/Pasted%20image%201619095394429.png

BROAD IMPROVEMENT

The United States has expanded COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to most American adults, and more than half that population has had at least one dose of a vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A third of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, as well as 26% of the population overall, it said.

That, together with the White House's $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue package, has allowed for broader economic re-engagement. The resulting surge in demand has left businesses scrambling for workers. Retail sales raced to a record high in March and factories are humming.

Last week's claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed business establishments for the nonfarm payrolls component of April's employment report. First-time filings have dropped from 765,000 in mid-March, boosting hopes for strong employment gains in April.

The economy created 916,000 jobs in March, the most in seven months. Employment, however, remains 8.4 million jobs below its peak in February 2020.

"Job growth in the spring of 2021 is receiving a boost as better weather allows for more outdoor activity," said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "Job growth will remain very strong throughout 2021 and into 2022 thanks to vaccination efforts and stimulus payments that are supporting consumer spending."

But the housing market is backpedaling. Existing home sales dropped 3.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.01 million units last month, the lowest level since August 2020, the National Association of Realtors said in a separate report on Thursday. The plunge reflected a supply squeeze, which boosted the median house price a record 17.2% from a year ago to an all-time high of $329,100.

Sales are skewed towards large and more expensive homes. The NAR reported intense bidding wars, which it said could lead to discrimination against some buyers.

"Without an increase in supply, the society wealth division will widen with homeowners enjoying sizable equity gains while renters will struggle to become homeowners," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR.

Still, housing remains supported by the recovering labor market. The claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid decreased 34,000 to 3.674 million in the week ended April 10.

The so-called continuing claims have declined from 23.1 million at the height of the crisis. Part of the drop is likely because of people finding work and exhausting their eligibility for benefits, which is limited to 26 weeks in most states.

For a graphic on Pandemic jobless relief rolls remain high:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/azgvoxyxopd/Pasted%20image%201619095828488.png

About 5.6 million people were on extended benefits during the week ended April 3. Another 492,999 were on a state program for those who have exhausted their initial six months of aid. There were 17.405 million people receiving benefits under all programs in early April.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)
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NEW YORK, April 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andela , the global talent network that helps companies build remote engineering teams, today announced the global expansion of their engineering talent. Expanding into new regions allows Andela clients to tap into regional expertise and nuances that can support their international growth. Andela has a proven track-record connecting remote engineers with opportunities from businesses across the globe, and is perfectly positioned to support global talent for businesses worldwide. With engineers from 37 countries across five continents, Andela clients have access to a truly global network of talented engineers.



Andela is a magnet for global engineering talent. Applications from qualified engineers outside of Africa have increased by more than 750% in the past six months. In March alone, more than 30% of Andela inbound engineer applications came from outside of Africa, half of which came from Latin America, creating significant increases in time-zone coverage for Andela clients. Even with the fast global growth, Africa is also expanding rapidly, with 500% growth in the past six months.

Andelas mission is to connect brilliance with opportunity. This expansion has always been part of our long term roadmap, and we're excited that the world is ready for it. When we began inviting developers from across Africa to apply last year, we more than doubled the number of countries represented. We're already seeing the same effects in new regions, and were excited to welcome new talent into our growing community, said Jeremy Johnson, CEO at Andela. The future of work is now, and this expansion continues our march towards bringing us all closer together.

Andelas global expansion provides clients with greater diversity, which McKinsey reported to be a major factor in delivering innovation and company growth. Andela clients will have more flexibility to build diverse teams across country borders, skill sets, time zones, and cultures. The future of remote work is global, and Andela provides the vital link to talent wherever it is found.

Dana Lawson, VP of Engineering at GitHub confirms, As a business in the developer tool space, a lot of us are trying to enter those areas of the world (Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa) where the emergent developers are coming so we can better understand their needs. Having a local presence there with amazing talent is super valuable to building a global product.

Weve seen exponential growth and interest from engineers from across Africa, who want to work with some of the worlds most exciting technology-focussed companies. Growing our network of talent from Africa, to include more markets, is a unique proposition and we continue to match talent with opportunity, beyond geographical boundaries. Our globalization will further increase our footprint, creating more opportunities for Andela to showcase the visibility into the capabilities of engineers from the continent, said Martin Chikilian, Head of Talent Operations at Andela.

About Andela

Andela is a global talent network that connects companies with vetted, remote engineers in emerging markets. Hundreds of leading companies like GitHub, Cloudflare, and ViacomCBS leverage Andela to scale their engineering teams quickly and cost effectively. A distributed organization spanning four continents, Andela is backed by investors including Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Spark Capital, and Google Ventures.
Having witnessed a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases in recent days, the government on Thursday announced several restrictions to control the spread, including closure of shops by 6 pm and a ban on all non-essential gatherings.

The restrictions will come into effect from Friday, state Home and Health Minister Anil Vij said.

"All shops will remain closed from 6 pm onward in from tomorrow, all non-essential gatherings are banned, anybody holding any function within prescribed limit will have to seek permission from concerned SDM (Sub Divisional Magistrate)," Vij said in a tweet.

The state government had recently capped the number of attendees in indoor events to 50 and that for open spaces to 200.

On April 21, recorded 9,623 new COVID-19 infections and 45 deaths, the state's highest single-day spike in both cases and fatalities so far.

(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)  The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Thursday intended to counter violence against Asian Americans, which has increased during the pandemic. Majority Leader Charles Schumer said passage sends a message to Asian Americans that the government is listening and reassures them that "hate crimes will not be tolerated." The bill passed 94-1, with Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri the only senator opposed; it goes to the House now. Hawley previously complained the bill was "hugely over broad," per the Hill. One university study found hate crimes against Asian Americans rose 149% last year in 16 cities. Republicans' objections had included calling the legislation unnecessary because of existing hate crime laws. Democrats agreed to allow votes on three GOP amendments, all of which were rejected, and the bill passed.

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Advocacy groups praised the legislation, including the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, though it also called for approaches outside of law enforcement, per Politico. The legislation would require a Justice Department official to review hate crimes tied to the coronavirus and help strengthen local hate crime reporting. The Biden administration has announced its own initiative at the Justice Department and devoted $50 million to helping Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who are victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The legislative effort was led by Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono, one of two Asian-American senators. The other, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, talked about her elderly mother being harassed while trying to buy grapes. "This bill will allow me to go home to my mom and say we did something," she said. (Demonstrations urged an end to the violence last month after an attack on Atlanta spas killed six Asian Americans.)
Analysis Myanmar Junta Leader Set to Embark on Regional Diplomatic Offensive

Myanmar coup leader Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing during the Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March.

The leader of Myanmars military coup, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is making his first foray abroad later this week to attend a special meeting of ASEAN leaders called to discuss the deteriorating situation in Myanmar. The government spokesman announced on Wednesday that the junta leader will attend the meeting in Jakarta on Saturday in person. His main mission is to try to shore up regional support, according to regional diplomats. But he is also expected to face heavy pressure from his counterparts to change course and ease the situation inside the country.

Amid growing fears of a pending civil war and increasing evidence that the country is rapidly becoming a failed state, international attention is focused on the meeting in the hope that the regional bloc may be able to convince the Myanmar military to stop the bloodshed, release all political prisoners and restore democracy to the country.

In the 12 weeks since the military seized power and annulled the election held last Novemberwhich was overwhelmingly won by the National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyithe security forces have killed nearly 750 unarmed civilians who have dared to defy the juntas leaders and openly demonstrate their opposition to the coup. Some 3,500 activists, politicians, doctorswho have been at the forefront of the civil disobedience campaignjournalists and young people have been detained, while more than 1,000 are in hiding with warrants issued for their arrest.

The ASEAN leaders are almost universally backed in their efforts to initiate a form of mediation that may end the violence and start a dialogue aimed and national reconciliation. In particular, Beijing and the UN are strongly supporting the regional initiative. China supports the special meeting of ASEAN leaders to jointly discuss an effective approach to de-escalate tension and resolve problems, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told The Irrawaddy in an email response to a series of questions.

China will maintain communication and coordination with all parties, and work with ASEAN to step up efforts to facilitate peace talks and exert an all-out effort to stabilize the situation in Myanmar at an early date, the ministry added.

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for leaders across Asia to increase their efforts at finding a peaceful solution to the bloody crisis in Myanmar.

Speaking during a Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations, he highlighted the relationship with ASEAN, underlining the blocs important role in diplomacy, conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Today, ASEANs role is more crucial than ever as the region faces an urgent crisis in Myanmar, Guterres said. I have repeatedly called on the international community to work, collectively and through bilateral channels, to help bring an end to the violence and the repression by the military.

He also insisted that the UN special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, stood ready to resume dialog with the military and others, and to contribute to a return of Myanmar to the democratic path, and to peace and stability.

The envoy arrived in Bangkok nearly two weeks ago as part of her latest efforts to explore potential paths to engage the Myanmar military leaders in dialog. Earlier attempts to visit Myanmar since the coup were rebuffed by the senior generals, after a conversation with the countrys number two, Vice Senior General Soe Win, who is actually in operational command of the security forces. So far Schraner Burgener has spent her compulsory seven days in quarantine and held talks with Thai Foreign Ministry officials.

She is expected to arrive in Jakarta on Thursday to hold talks with ASEAN foreign ministers on the sidelines of the special summit. According to diplomats in Jakarta, she is expected to meet the Brunei, Indonesian and Singaporean foreign ministers. But a request to meet Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing is not expected to be accepted. But it is unclear what role the envoy may be able to play in any possible future ASEAN-led mediationif any. There seems to be resistance within the bloc to having her heavily involved.

China, on the other hand, is keen to explore UN participation in any process that evolves out of the ASEAN meetingincluding a role for the envoy. China hopes that the special envoy of the secretary-general Christine Schraner Burgener will play a constructive role with realistic action, a Chinese Foreign Ministry official told The Irrawaddy.

The international community should step up diplomatic efforts and encourage the parties to narrow differences, so as to find a way out, on the basis of respecting Myanmars sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and national unity, the Chinese ministry added.

The hope is that this Saturdays special regional meeting may provide some initiatives to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. But despite ASEAN and Chinas declared commitment to finding a workable solution to the problems in Myanmar, everything hinges on Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaings openness and whether there is any room to maneuver. At a minimum, Southeast Asian diplomats involved in the planning expect this meeting to be the start of a process in which Myanmars military leaders commit themselves to engaging with ASEAN in a concerted and imaginative dialog.

So far there are no signs of Myanmars willingness to cooperate; in fact quite the opposite. And senior officials involved in organizing the summit are on tenterhooks. It seems certain that the regional leaders are not yet ready to read the riot act to the regime, but rather to listen to the juntas views, without endorsing them. Several suggested outcomes are still being discussed, according to officials involved.

The top idea seems to be the appointment of an ASEAN envoy, who would lead future contact with the junta and discuss a possible reconciliation roadmap that could lead to a meaningful dialog involving all parties. ASEAN and China have both stressed the need for this. But this can only be successful if the junta first commits to a sincere reduction in the bloodsheda prerequisite agreed by all interested parties, especially Beijing.

China is deeply concerned about the violence and bloodshed in Myanmar, which serves no partys interests and only brings suffering to the Myanmar people, said the Foreign Ministry. We hope relevant sides will put the peoples fundamental interests first, exercise restraint, and prevent the situation from escalating out of control.

Of course, if the appointment of an envoy is agreed at the forthcoming ASEAN meeting, then the next, more difficult question becomes who that should be. Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong has been heavily tipped, but two former foreign ministersThailands Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai and Indonesias Marty Natalegawaare also potential candidates.

Other suggestions being considered are the formation of a group of Friends of the ASEAN Chair to monitor, review and participate in any future dialog process. This would of course involve all ASEAN member countries but could be expanded to involve the key regional neighbors China, India, Japan and South Korea. It is understood that Beijing also favors this formula. This would fit in with their national interests, especially excluding the US from the process, according to Asian diplomats.

Other suggestions under consideration are arranging some sort of humanitarian mission, and a possible monitoring mission. Both would be ASEAN-led but with possible UN involvement. And senior Asian diplomats are also pushing hard for the setting up of track-two discussions perhaps mirroring the Friends of the Chair initiative.

Of course, the meeting could agree on several of the options currently under consideration. But whatever emerges from the summit, will necessitate the juntas agreement. This already has angered the opposition. The most important thing is that ASEAN doesnt recognize the military council, U Moe Zaw Oo, the deputy foreign affairs minister of the newly formed National Unity Government (NUG), told The Irrawaddy.

If ASEAN wants to help solve the Myanmar situation, they are not going to achieve anything without consulting and negotiating with the legitimate Myanmar government, which is supported by the people and truly represents the country, he said.

Individually, some countries in ASEANespecially Indonesiahave already talked to those representing the elected parliamentarians, and at least understand their point of view. China too has had contact with the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a body set up by elected NLD lawmakers that helped formed the NUG. Beijing also maintains regular contact with the ethnic armed groups and is well aware of their aspirations. So Beijing is well placed to understand that any talks about Myanmars future need to be inclusive.

China supports all parties in Myanmar in seeking a political settlement through dialog within the constitutional and legal framework, and the hard-won democratic transition process that suits Myanmars national conditions should be constantly advanced, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

But Dr. Sa Sa, the minister for international cooperation in the NUG, believes ASEAN should isolate and punish Myanmar for ignoring their concerns about avoiding bloodshed and not protecting its people.

ASEAN should not talk to the militarydont give them credibility, dont accept them, dont give these generals any legitimacy, he told The Irrawaddy in an interview. At the very least, he said, ASEAN should consider suspending Myanmar from the regional grouping, as the regime has not abided by the ASEAN charter.

We may be a family, but if someone misbehaves, they have to be punished. They cant be allowed to get away with impunity. More serious action is needed, he said, appealing to the leaders of the regional bloc. Likewise, if a family member gets sick, the whole family is affected. All the more, with the regions heavy interdependence and interconnectivityeconomically, socially, culturally and demographically, he said

If Myanmar is allowed to become a failed state, it will be catastrophic for the region as a whole, he added.



You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Crisis Poses a Challenge to the ASEAN Way

Dos and Donts for ASEAN to Avoid Complicity in the Myanmar Juntas Crimes

Myanmar Activists Launch Blue-Shirt Campaign to Demand Freedom for Detainees
Trainings Prepare Tennessee Teachers for Implementing Phonics-Based Approach when Teaching Students How to Read

Nashville, TNToday, the Tennessee Department of Education announced that $1,000 stipends for completion of the two-week Early Reading Training will now be available to fifth grade classroom teachers, special education teachers and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachersin addition to kindergarten through 4th grade classroom, special education, and ESL teachers expanding the number of teachers who are eligible to receive stipends for completing this critical reading training this summer.

Part of the states Reading 360 initiative to help boost strong reading skills amongst Tennessee students, the two-week Early Reading Training is a free and optional opportunity open to any educator supporting foundational literacy instruction in grades pre-K through 5. The goal of this training opportunity is to ensure that any Tennessee educator who helps young children learn how to read will have access to the latest research, implications for instruction, and practical tools to show them how to apply new learning.

"Becoming a strong reader by 3rd grade is a critical milestone in a students academic journey, and in Tennessee, we are focusing on ensuring students who are still developing reading skills have strong supports, including excellent reading instruction, said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. By providing kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and now 5th grade teachers a $1,000 stipend for completing the departments Early Reading Training, Tennessee teachers will be compensated for their professional development, and more students will benefit from strong phonics-based instruction when learning how to read.

While the training is provided by the department free of charge for any Tennessee teacher for grades pre-K through 5, teachers must register for the trainings through their district. Kindergarten through 5th grade teachers will be eligible for $1,000 stipends, and K through 2 teachers will also receive classroom kits of fun and engaging materials to utilize in their classrooms. The deadline to register for the trainings in ePlan is May 5.

Week one training will be available this month as an online, asynchronous learning experience through Best for All Central, and week two training will be offered in-person over the course of the summer. Click here for the Early Reading Training Course Overview.

As Director of Schools of a small system in East Tennessee, it is with pride and excitement that we received the news regarding our K-5 teachers being trained in literacy foundation, said Dr. Mike Frazier, Director of Schools, Etowah City Schools. This training will be this summer and all of our teachers will receive a stipend for their participation. We are appreciative to Commissioner Penny Schwinn and her cabinet members for hearing our voices as Directors and bringing to fruition the stipend for our K-5 teachers across this great State of Tennessee.

Reading 360 is a comprehensive statewide literacy initiative to provide optional grants and resources to help more Tennessee students develop strong phonics-based reading skills by supporting districts, teachers, and families.

To launch Reading 360 and invest in optional reading resources and supports at no cost to the state or districts, the state is leveraging approximately $60 million of one-time federal COVID-19 relief funding and $40 million in federal grant funding.

To access additional resources on Reading 360, click here.

For additional information on the departments COVID-19 and school reopening related resources, please visit https://www.tn.gov/education/health-and-safety/update-on-coronavirus/reopening-guidance.html. For additional information, For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.

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In the months between George Floyds death last May and Tuesdays murder conviction against former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin, New Jersey made significant changes to how local police do their jobs.

The use of body cameras has expanded, as has the publics access to information about violent encounters with police. There will soon be new limits on when cops can use physical force, and officers face stiff penalties if they illegally search a young person caught with marijuana.

More reforms may be on the horizon, even as some changes continue to be debated by lawmakers and judges.

We must seize this moment, when the nations focus has turned to how our communities are policed, to ensure something meaningful comes from a mans unnecessary death, and to continue with urgency the reforms we have begun to policing practices in New Jersey, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement shortly after Chauvins verdict was read.

During a briefing in Trenton, Gov. Phil Murphy commented on the Chauvin verdict and its potential impact on reform.

If theres an opportunity, as a result of this tragedy, to take steps that we have not yet been able to take? Count me in, Murphy said Wednesday.

Advocates say there should be changes on a range of issues.

Some civil rights and law enforcement organizations have called for police dogs to be banned during arrests, and Grewal has yet to make a final decision.

Dozens of people testified last month in support of a bill to create civilian complaint review boards statewide, which could review allegations of excessive force and compel police to turn over internal documents.

Many law enforcement leaders have long argued more civilian oversight could hurt a departments ability to effectively investigate its own, and the bill (A4656) has yet to be voted on by the full Legislature.

There is also a push for departments to release more information about internal investigations.

Unlike many states, New Jersey almost never discloses when cops are disciplined. One bill (S2656) would make internal disciplinary records public, but the proposal has stalled in committee.

At the same time, the state Supreme Court could rule any day on whether the attorney generals office can legally identify hundreds of troopers who were suspended after being found guilty of misconduct during the last two decades. Police unions have argued identifying those officers could both embarrass and endanger people who may have only made minor mistakes years ago.

All of the proposed reforms would come on top of changes that have already been enacted.

Many were in the works before Floyds death, including the re-write of the rules governing when cops can hit, tackle or shoot somebody.

Officials have said Floyds death informed the new policy, which takes effect at the end of this year. One section explicitly warns officers against putting sustained pressure on the neck or back for a prolonged period of time.

New Jersey also launched a new website earlier this month detailing every instance of physical force. That data already shows a small number of cops accounting for a large share of all combative encounters.

Furthermore, while Chauvins trial centered on footage of the arrest, there isnt always video of police force.

During a recent five-month period, New Jersey officers noted on nearly 1,000 use-of-force reports that there was no footage of any kind documenting the encounter, according to state data. That should change in coming months, since lawmakers set aside tens of millions of dollars to equip almost every officer in the state with a body camera.

The pace of change has led some to question whether New Jersey needs to pump the brakes.

During a recent budget hearing, state Sen. Steve Oroho, R-Sussex, raised concerns that some reforms might do more harm than good. Could cops lose trust in our leadership or in the public that they serve? he asked.

Police leaders have said morale is low. More cops have called helplines in recent months, and some local departments are struggling to recruit.

Lawmakers also continue to debate new limits on when and how officers can detain young people found with marijuana. Law enforcement leaders have described the restrictions as a gut punch that stops cops from doing their jobs, and Grewal has raised concerns that the law could lead to de-policing.

A bill (S3577) introduced last month would roll back some of the limits. It has not yet been heard in committee.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Blake Nelson may be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When Josephine Perry entered the Margaret River Wine Show in 2014, her Skinnie was met with confusion. Someone pulled it out and said this is faulty and I said, no, its an orange wine, Perry recalls. It is 100 per cent sav blanc but it is bright orange, fermented on skins in an amphora for up to five months, with no sulphur. It stumped them. They didnt have a category they could put my wines in. And so the competitions alternative styles and emerging varieties categories were born. That first year it was just my wine but now there are a few people, beautiful names down here, that are making those kind of styles because they can see its a style people want to drink. Perry is one of a new wave of winemakers in the Margaret River region who are turning the tide on tradition. Over the past decade, a thriving counterculture has emerged in a place primarily heralded for its chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. Machines and mass production have been traded for small batch and sustainability. There is a prevailing attitude of making wines accessible and drinkable, rather than award-winnable. And while they may cover a variety of shades on the winemaking spectrum, these producers all have one thing in common: they are making wine they want to drink, using the method they think is best. And what they are delivering is proving incredibly popular.

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From utilising ancient and natural winemaking methods to exploring lesser known grape varieties and experimenting with different combinations, the next generation of wines from the South West are different and delicious. Dylan Arvidson  LS Merchants, Cowaramup Try: the 2020 Vermentino. A zippy Italian white grown near the ocean in Margaret River. Dylan Arvidson is passionate about flavour. Everything the young winemaker does at LS Merchants comes back to whether the drop is delicious. Sure, he uses low intervention methods and works predominantly with organic growers, but they are part of his philosophy of packing as much natural flavour into his wine as he can. LS Merchants winemaker Dylan Arvidson with his dog Flash. Credit:Dion Robeson

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He makes picking decisions based on first tastes in the vineyard and bottling decisions on how the wine tastes in the tank or barrel. Nothings really done to a strict timeline or a strict analysis, it is just does it taste good, well then lets put it to bottle, he explains. Flavour has always been a driving force for me and wine is so subjective, everyone enjoys different things but I really think we shouldnt try to over-make wine. So many wineries really try and force these wines to be what they traditionally have been out of France, like cabernet out of Bordeaux or chardonnay out of Burgundy. You always look to those wines and they are the shining light I guess in terms of world wine, but at the same time, I want a local wine I can open and say man, thats delicious and it tastes like these grapes from this place. So we make wine by feel, try and work as sustainably as possible and, I guess most importantly, we pay a lot of attention to the right variety planted on the right soil in the right area. At the LS Merchants Cowaramup cellar door, visitors are greeted by a sign that reads taking the wank out of wine since 2015. For a boy from Geelong, inspired by the natural wine coming out of South Australia, Arvidson thinks WA is now leading the charge with interesting, well made, minimal intervention wines.

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Whereas some of the eastern states are a little bit more tied to that idea of natural wine, in WA we have said, were just going to do what we do. Wines are delicious, we make them with love, we make them by hand, we dont have to fit into this, you know, tight definition  were all doing something different because were sick of the standard so there is no right or wrong, it should just be about whats delicious. Sarah Morris and Iwo Jakimowicz  Si Vintners, Rosa Glen Try: the 2020 Sophie Rose. A light skin contact pinot noir rose matured in concrete eggs. Si Vintners Sarah Morris and Iwo Jakimowicz at their property in the Margaret River region. For partners Sarah Morris and Iwo Jakimowicz, its all about the land. At Si Vintners, they craft small-batch wines from estate-grown grapes in Rosa Glen, just east of the small town of Witchcliffe. Chickens and ducks roam the property and babydoll sheep are used to control grass among the vines and provide a natural fertiliser.

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Since buying the mature vineyard in 2010, they have used organic and bio-dynamic farming principles and gently produce wines that are naturally fermented in a range of vessels. When we started we knew we wanted to farm organically and we dont want to use any additives in winemaking, Jakimowicz says. Now this place has had 10 years of biodynamic love and its so much healthier and more resilient. The couple, who met while studying at Curtin University is really obsessed with acidity and work with chardonnay, cabernet and pinot noir grapes, among others, to produce bold, avant-garde wines. We love natural acidity and we love the tension that creates in a wine, Jakimowicz says. We spent a lot of time in Europe and love making wines that seek to compare to the French wines we drink. Morris says those wines are popular with city drinkers too. During the time we chat at the winery, one young couple roll through for a tasting and leave laden with cases. We are blown away by how well educated this younger crew are about food and wine. They are hungry for knowledge and so many of them know so much about our philosophy, its quite impressive, Morris says.

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The announcement of a Community Safety Fund, which will see the proceeds of crime staying within the community has been welcomed locally.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee announced that she and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath have agreed, in principle, to establish the fund, which will see proceeds of Garda and CAB raids to fund projects that the communities themselves know will improve their safety.

The announcement has been welcomed locally with Senator Micheal Carrigy stating that the fund will reflect the significant successes of An Garda Siochana and the Criminal Assets Bureau in disrupting criminal activity and seizing proceeds of crime by providing additional funding for investment in community safety projects.

"I'm delighted that the Minister McEntee has taken on board my proposal in relation to using monies seized by CAB to be returned to our communities. In 2019 CAB allowed for 3.9 million to be returned to the exchequer, with 65 million of assets frozen," said Senator Carrigy.

"The budget for the CAB has been increased to 9.1 million for 2020 to ensure that the funding is there to fully tackle these issues as they arise. Criminal gangs are becoming more sophisticated in how they conceal their assets and so this increase in funding will ensure that changes in how they are policed are possible.

In January 2021 Minister McEntee confirmed funding of 250k will be provided for a new pilot community safety partnership scheme in Longford. The partnership in Longford was one of the three launched by the government in an effort to develop more co-ordination and co-operation between various state agencies, communities and local authorities around policing and social issues.

Independent Councillor for Longford Municipal District Cllr Gerry Warnock has also expressed his delight at the prospect of a Community Safety Fund.

The local councillor previously submitted a motion calling on the Longford Joint Policing Committee and Longford County Council to write to Minister McEntee and Minister McGrath to "make provisions where monies confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime legislation be redirected from central coffers to a local fund where local groups involved in addiction services, youth activities and community initiatives can avail of much needed revenue options to help them in their work to counter the negative impact of criminality on the local stage".

"I'm absolutely delighted to see a positive outcome in relation to the Proceeds of Crime proposal with the Minister for Justice giving approval in principle for confiscated proceeds of crime to remain within the community," said Cllr Warnock.

"This issue was championed by Independent councillors through a national coordinated effort. Special mention for Cllr Paddy McQuillan from Louth County Council for proposing the concept through our Independent Grouping."

The establishment of new Community Safety Partnerships in every local authority area is a key element of wide ranging reforms under Minister McEntees Policing and Community Safety Bill, which will give effect to the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland.

Once established, the Community Safety Partnerships could seek funding to implement their community safety proposals. Each Community Safety Partnership will bring together residents, community representatives, business interests, councillors, local authorities and State services such as An Garda Siochana, Tusla and the HSE to devise and implement Local Community Safety Plans.

The plans will detail how best the community wants to prevent crime and will reflect community priorities and local safety issues. The goal is to make communities safer for families, residents and businesses.
Substitute teachers in Scranton will continue to earn $90 a day and not the $150 the district hoped to offer.

The school board approved the increase last month, contingent on being able to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay for it. With a statewide shortage of subs, the district hoped to entice subs to work in the city.

In reviewing allowable uses of the federal money, the district decided "out of an abundance of caution" to keep the daily pay at $90, board President Katie Gilmartin said Wednesday.
The Robert Kemper Award for Professionalism in Medicine is awarded annually to a recipient who has demonstrated altruism, compassion and empathy towards patients, as well as respect for patients, faculty, staff members and peers.

The award was created as part of the Medical Professionalism Course at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, directed by Eugenio M. Rothe, M.D. which teaches medical students how to practice, The Art of Medicine and is named in memory of Dr. Robert Kemper, who exemplified the highest qualities of medical professionalism until his life was cut short by Cancer.

In 2001, Bob and his wife, Rosa, opened their office in Key Biscayne and built a thriving practice and his commitment to family friends, patients, and the entire community of Key Biscayne was unwavering. Dr. Kemper exemplified all of the qualities that one would hope to find in their doctors.

Many of these qualities are exemplified by this years winner, David Dorcious, who earned a Doctor in Medicine degree from the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University, class of 2021. During his upbringing in Haiti, Dorcious saw first-hand how lack of access to healthcare can affect a persons health and decided to pursue a career in medicine.

IN. Tell us where you were born and raised, and briefly tell us about your family history.

DD. I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 2005, I immigrated to the US with my mother and sister. My father sacrificed and stayed in Haiti to help support us financially while my mother raised us in the states. My father is an engineer in Haiti and my mother is an Anesthesiologist . Currently, she is heading a community-based organization called Health Education, Prevention & Promotion (HEPP), which is committed to reducing health disparities and dedicated to changing and saving lives through education, screening and support.

My sister, also an alumnus of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University and my biggest pride, is following my mother's footsteps and is doing her residency in Anesthesiology in Ohio. Additionally, I'm pleased to say I am newly engaged to my best friend, so my core family is growing.

IN. Where did you go to school?

DD. I graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelors in Science in Biology, and I'm currently a 4th year medical student at Florida International University's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, class of 2021.

IN. What inspired you to study medicine?

DD. Growing up in Haiti, I saw firsthand how much a lack of access to healthcare can affect a patient's health outcomes. I wanted to be a part of the solution. Through my search for purpose in different service fields, I found no other work as fulfilling to me, as caring for others in their most vulnerable states through medicine.

IN. What specialty are you applying for?

DD. My residence specialty will be in Internal Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta.

IN. Any plans for the future (in your career)?

DD. I hope to work in a large, academic safety-net hospital that serves a diverse population. Ideally, I would have the chance to have a healthy balance between inpatient and outpatient medicine. Long term, I plan to open several health centers including dialysis centers in Haiti to provide affordable, quality care to an already marginalized society.

The Robert Kemper M.D., PhD. Award for Professionalism in Medicine is underwritten by the Key Biscayne Community Foundation and made possible by contributions from Dr. Kemper's grateful patients, friends and family.

To learn more about the Key Biscayne Community Foundation, visit kbcf.org
This news release constitutes a "designated news release" for the purposes of the Company's prospectus supplement dated April 9, 2021 to its short form base prospectus dated March 31, 2021.

Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Sona Nanotech Inc. (CSE: SONA) (OTCQB: SNANF) (the "Company" or "Sona") a developer of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests is pleased to announce that it has received research ethics board approval for its clinical trial of the Sona Saliva C-19 Rapid Test. The trial, which will seek to test up to 500 emergency room patients suspected of having COVID-19, is expected to commence next week. The Company will update the market with results from the trial upon completion.

As previously announced in the Company's news release dated April 12, 2021, the trial will occur in partnership with the Humber River Hospital in Toronto, with the objective to determine the clinical performance of the test when compared to RT-PCR, in symptomatic patients. After a successful completion of the study, third party analytical validation studies would be commissioned to generate the appropriate additional data to support any future regulatory submissions.

Clinical trial principal investigator, Dr. David Jacobs of Humber River Hospital, comments, "With the third wave now upon us, frequent rapid testing is crucial to identify COVID-19, limit spread, and decrease hospitalizations. This clinical trial is an important step in exploring the use of devices that are both more comfortable for the patient and safer for those administering the tests to ensure rapid and accurate diagnosis. Our primary concern will always be the proper care and treatment of our patients, and the safety of our front-line emergency room staff."

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product has the ability to eliminate, cure or contain the COVID-19 virus (or SARS-2 Coronavirus) at this time. Regulatory approvals for the product will be required before sales for clinical use may be permitted.

Investor Relations Contact:

Arlen Hansen

1 604 684 6730 | 1 866 684 6730

arlen@kincommunications.com

About Humber River Hospital

About Humber River Hospital Humber River Hospital (HRH) is North America's first digital hospital and the first hospital to implement a Command Centre with a focus on patient flow and patient safety. As one of Canada's largest acute care hospitals, HRH also operates one of the country's busiest emergency departments. Committed to compassionate, professional and respectful care Humber River Hospital serves a vibrant and culturally diverse community of more than 850,000 residents in the northwest Greater Toronto Area. HRH operates 722 acute inpatient beds with 3,400 staff, approximately 700 physicians, and over 1000 volunteers. The hospital has formal affiliations with medical schools at University of Toronto and Queen's University.

About Sona Nanotech Inc.

Sona Nanotech is a nanotechnology life sciences firm that has developed multiple proprietary methods for the manufacture of various types of gold nanoparticles. The principal business carried out and intended to be continued by Sona is the development and application of its proprietary technologies for use in multiplex diagnostic testing platforms that will improve performance over existing tests in the market. Sona Nanotech's gold nanorod particles are CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium) free, eliminating the toxicity risks associated with the use of other gold nanorod technologies in medical applications. It is expected that Sona Nanotech's gold nanotechnologies may be adapted for use in applications, as a safe and effective delivery system for multiple medical treatments, subject to the approval of various regulatory boards, including Health Canada and the FDA.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding Sona's development of a rapid antigen test for COVID-19 and plans to complete a clinical trial for this test. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including the risk of the failure of the Company to complete the clinical trial as proposed on a timely basis or at all, the failure of the Company to obtain confirmatory results in the clinical trial as compared to the Company's internal research and results to date, Sona may not be successful in obtaining additional data necessary for regulatory approvals, or in obtaining required approvals once additional data is available, that potential customers may not adopt its products, that Sona's saliva test technology may not prove to deliver the same level of testing accuracy and sensitivity as its nasopharyngeal swab-based test, that Sona may not re-submit to the FDA and Health Canada, and that regulatory requirements may change. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Sona disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81469
Felony charges were announced Wednesday against a Bay Area police officer who fatally shot a man more than two years ago, officials said. The same officer was placed on administrative leave last month after he shot a man who later died.

The officer, Andrew Hall, of the Danville Police Department in California, was charged with felony voluntary manslaughter and felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm in the shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda in 2018, the Contra Costa County District Attorneys Office said in a news release.

Officer Hall is a deputy with the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office and was assigned to the Police Department in Danville, whose police services have been provided through the sheriffs office since the town was incorporated in 1982.

During a news conference on Wednesday, the district attorney, Diana Becton, explained why charges were filed more than two years after the shooting: It took time due to the backlog of prior law enforcement-involved fatal incidents my office is investigating. I am doing everything that I can to end this backlog and to ensure our independent investigations conclude in an expeditious manner.
In 2020, Brenntag SE initiated Project Brenntag, the companys transformation program which has eventually led to the implementation of the new operating model in January 2021. These two Comparably awards are another confirmation that Brenntags employees are benefiting from the companys repositioning.

Brenntag North America was ranked in the top 50 for large companies, along with other globally known brands, for Best Company Outlook and Best Sales Team in 2021.

The awards for Best Company Outlook were based on anonymous employee ratings determined through a numerical value given to the following questions:



How confident are you about the future success of your company?

Are you typically excited about going to work each day?

How likely are you to recommend working at your company to a friend?

We are proud to be recognized as one of the Best Outlook companies in 2021. This is a direct reflection of the engagement and enthusiasm our employees have on the future of our company, said Donovan Mattole, Vice President Human Resources Brenntag Americas. We are committed to creating a best place to work for all, and knowing that our employees have anonymously and independently agreed to this speaks volumes to future development and growth opportunities within our organization during our transformation period.

The winners of the Best Sales Team award were determined based on employee feedback to a combination of workplace culture questions in categories including compensation, leadership, and co-workers to professional development opportunities, work-life balance, and perks and benefits.

I am extremely proud of our entire commercial team, as it is an honor to receive this award. Being in the top 50 large companies to win a Comparably award for Best Sales Team really speaks to the sales culture we have at Brenntag. This culture provides a platform of success that allows our sales teams to deliver superior experiences to our customers, setting us apart from the competition, said Scott Leibowitz, Regional President, Brenntag Essentials.

Lars Schneider, Regional President of Brenntag Specialties: Considering todays environment, these awards are an amazing confirmation of the excellence, commitment, and teamwork of every single employee within our company. We are proud of these accomplishments as they showcase our commitment to a safe and bright future for not only our organization but for our partners and customers as well.
A one-hour language class on the Dongba script, one of the pictographic writing systems still in use today, was held online on Tuesday as part of a series of events to mark the United Nations' annual Chinese Language Day.







The lecture titled "Mysterious Dongba Script," jointly hosted by the UNSRC Chinese Book Club and the Beijing Association of Dongba Culture and Arts (ADCA) is one of the three livestreamed events focusing on Chinese pictographs.





The Dongba script was developed and used by the Naxi people in China's Yunnan province. In 2003, UNESCO admitted the Naxi Dongba manuscripts into its Memory of the World Register.







The guest speakers briefed the audience about the history and present state of the Dongba script and taught a few basic examples of the intricate writing system.





"In ancient times, the Naxi people were a non-literate ethnic group who passed down their culture through oral inheritance. But after the Naxi settled down, these industrious people made paper from bark, pens from bamboo, and the ink from soot and then created a unique pictographic script based on the many forms of nature," said Zhang Xu, a Naxiologist and the head of the ADCA, a non-governmental organization working to protect, research, and revive Dongba culture.





"The Dongba shamans left more than 20,000 volumes of Dongba manuscripts in their mysterious pictographs, which are composed of approximately 1,400 individual characters," Zhang introduced.





However, many manuscripts were burned and very few Dongba shamans with a deep understanding of the script remain. According to Zhang, the ADCA spent years collecting, deciphering, and digitizing the remaining manuscripts scattered across the world.





"Hidden behind the mysterious Dongba script are traces of the thoughts of the Naxi ancestors. This kind of most primitive form of picture writing shines a light on and explores how human civilization emerged and evolved," Zhang said.





Duncan Poupard, assistant professor at the Department of Translation of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and whose research centers around the translation of Chinese minority texts, specifically those of the Naxi minority, taught some Naxi language dialogue and showed the audience examples of pictographs that can still be seen in Lijiang's Old Town, Yunnan province.





"If you enter from the main square of Lijiang, you will see a large multi-scriptural stone with Chinese, English, and Naxi Dongba," the professor described. "I think examples like this show language revitalization in action. The old Dongba shamans were dying out, but the pictographs are still alive in the town."









The lecture attracted over 100 participants with an interest in the ancient language of Dongba from countries across the world.





The UN Chinese Language Day was established by the UN Department of Public Information in 2010, seeking "to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization."







The date for the Chinese Language Day was chosen "to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who is said to have invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago."
Lahore: The Punjab police senior command seemed upset on Thursday (April 22) at what it calls `premature and unnecessary accord` between the Imran Khan government and the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), after many of its policemen were held hostages, including one of its Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Punjab brutally tortured by the religious organization during the three-day protest by TLP supporters.

Some senior officials said the decision of the government not only demoralized the police force but also gave a message to such groups that "the state may withdraw any step any time on any pressure", reported Dawn.

The police officers warned that the release of hundreds of activists of the proscribed TLP [without punishment] would be disastrous for the personnel who took part in the operation.

Commenting on the issue, police officers alleged that the accord "disgraced" the sacrifices of the force which has always been used as a `scapegoat.` They lamented that the successive rulers had been using police for political interests, reported Dawn.

"The police force is first launched and then abused", one of the senior police officers commented without mincing words while talking to this reporter in the wake of the TLP-government agreement.

He said the Punjab police`s senior command had shown [in many formal and informal meetings] strong resentment on the `deal` of the government to release activists."

The state, after an `illogical` deal, has thrown our police force in front of the extremists of a proscribed organization.

"Can there be anything crueler and more exploitative?", he said. He declared the accord an unprecedented decision and a step towards a failed state.

The reactions of the Punjab police officers came when Federal Interior Minister Shaikh Rasheed read out details of the accord and released a video statement in this regard.

In the video statement, the minister said the government has agreed to release all the activists who were placed in the old and new Fourth Schedule, reported Dawn.

Four policemen were killed, while around 1,000 others were injured during the protest led by TLP, demanding that the French ambassador be sent home and import of goods from France be banned over blasphemous caricatures published in French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

During the three days of countrywide protests, hundreds of protesters and police personnel were injured and thousands of TLP activists and supporters were arrested and booked for attacking law enforcement personnel and blocking main roads and highways in protest against the arrest of their leader Saad Hussain Rizvi.

Several police vehicles were torched, buildings were attacked and policemen were kidnapped and tortured by the activists of the TLP across the Punjab province.

The Punjab government on Tuesday (April 20) released 734 out of a total of 5,500 supporters, workers, activists, and leaders of the TLP who were arrested/detained from all over Punjab, reported Dawn.

Live TV
New Delhi: A series of high-level virtual meetings have been planned for the next fortnight as surging COVID-19 cases have made it difficult for physical engagement.

On Monday (April 26), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will interact even after the latter's visit to India got deferred due to rising COVID-19 cases in India.

Earlier this week, when the formal announcement of the visit being deferred was made, UK PM Boris said, "The relationship between the UK and India is of huge importance and I'll be talking to Prime Minister Modi on Monday, we'll be trying to do as much as we can virtually."

During the talks, both sides are set to agree on a Roadmap 2030 for future relations that aims to increase ties in every sector from trade to investment and technological collaboration.

In the month of March, UK published its Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign policy with a key focus on India as London focuses on its "tilt" to the Indo Pacific.

This is the 2nd time PM Boris's India visit was deferred. He was invited to be the chief guest for Republic Day as well in January but could not come due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in his country at that time.

On May 8, the India-EU Leaders Meeting, as PM Modi's scheduled visit to Portugal's Porto for the same was cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. For the first time, India-EU Leaders Meeting in the EU+27 format will be held virtually.

According to a release by the Ministry of external affairs the meet reflects the shared ambition of both sides to further deepen the Strategic Partnership.

PM Modi will also take part in US President Joe Biden's virtual climate summit that will take place on Thursday and Friday. PM will be speaking at the Leaders Session 1 that will take place tomorrow from 5.30 to 7.30 pm IST.

Ministry of External Affairs said in a release, "The Leaders will exchange views on climate change, enhancing climate actions, mobilising finance towards climate mitigation and adaptation, nature-based solutions, climate security as well as technological innovations for clean energy."

PM Modi is among 40 world leaders who have been invited to the virtual climate summit. From South Asia, along with Indian PM, Bhutanese and Bangladeshi PMs have been also invited.

The Summit is a part of a series of global meetings focusing on climate issues, being held in the run-up to COP26 that will take place in UK in November 2021.

Virtual diplomacy amid covid has gained currency. Indian Prime Ministers has held talks and bilateral summits from over 10 countries in the last one year--from Australia to Uzbekistan to Vietnam to Bangladesh to a large number of European countries like the Netherlands, Denmark.

A number of big ticket summits, like G20, BRICS, SCO and even Quad have taken place virtually with India's participation.

Live TV
Truffle Fairy Chocolatier from Thomastown and 5 Ormonde Street in Kilkenny recently held a giant Easter egg raffle, with all proceeds 1,590 going to Kilkenny Childrens Services, Enable Ireland, ONeill Centre, St Josephs Road in Kilkenny.



What an egg!

Cartoon Saloons multi-award nominated and winning feature film Wolfwalkers was the inspiration behind an 8kg hand painted chocolate egg. The lucky winner, Capri Parysek, from Patrick Street kindly donated her prize to the Paediatric ward in St Lukes Hospital.

The other lucky winners who all received a Truffle Fairy craft Easter egg were: Samuel Fleming, Cartoon Saloon, Stephen OKeeffe and Janey McHugh. Well done to all.



Presenting the cheque for 1,590 to Paula Rudkins, Service Manager, ONeill Centre, (on left) on last Friday were Mary Teehan, Managing Director, Truffle Fairy (centre) and Ann Mulrooney, Studios & Facilities Manager, Cartoon Saloon (right)
The Carnival Valor cruise ship is docked in New Orleans, March 9, 2020. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Armenias economy is sharply recovering. This is what Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan told reporters after todays government session.

Kerobyan expressed certainty that, based on his calculations, the country saw 7-7.5% economic growth in March. There are several investors and representatives of various businesses in Armenia. Currently, the government has a plan costing several hundreds of millions of dollars for construction of a center in Gyumri, he said.

The reporters reminded him that ex-Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan had undertook the initiative to implement this program, to which Kerobyan said the government has different programs and that it will implement programs that are reasonable.
Fifty years of collaborative science

If the past 15 months have taught us anything about science, it's that it is vital for researchers to work together to make progress on major challenges. Scientists from around the world will come together virtually to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a key piece of the infrastructure for sharing scientific knowledge: the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The event will be hosted by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on May 4-5, 2021.

The PDB is the global archive for biological structures. From its inception, the PDB has embraced a culture of open access, leading to its widespread use by the research community and public alike. Millions of users access the PDB data exploring fundamental biology, energy and biomedicine.

Structural biology archived in the PDB opens windows into biology. Through their structures, scientists not only can understand how biological molecules work but can design many of our modern medicines.

Structural biology has been seminal in understanding how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and is the foundation of our understanding of protein folding. In fact, more structural biologists have been awarded Nobel Prizes than those in any other field.

In 1971, Helen Berman, a co-founder of the PDB and now a professor emerita at Rutgers University, and colleagues realized that the research community would benefit from sharing structural biology data. The PDB archive that they started has grown into a global database managed by the Worldwide Protein Data Bank consortium (wwPDB) of partner sites in Asia, Europe and America.

"The PDB plays a seminal role in structure-based drug design, a mainstay of many of our current therapeutics... (and) has given rise to the entire field of structural bioinformatics," Berman said.

Most scientific journals require deposition of structural biology data in the PDB prior to publication. The PDB data are readily accessible to scientists, educators and nonscientists alike.

Leading structural biologists at the meeting from Caltech, Stanford University, Tsinghua University, Harvard Medical School and many other institutions will celebrate the history of the PDB archive. They will also present their current research on topics ranging from SARS-CoV-2 replication, cancer therapies based on antibodies conjugated to small molecules, and immunity and antiviral drugs.

Thousands of scientists have contributed and access the PDB archive regularly. The Journal of Biological Chemistry recently released a special issue on this theme, scientific advances enabled by the PDB.

The importance of sharing structural biology data for systems biology, protein design and drug discovery will continue to open our world into the intricacies biology.

###

Learn more about the upcoming meeting and review the agenda at https:/ / www. asbmb. org/ meetings-events/ pdb50 .

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
AN ONLINE fundraiser organised by Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey has raised over 20,000 for the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine in just three days.

Tadhg Hickey has created one of his well-known sketches and urged people to donate to the fundraiser for the Aida Palestinian Refugee Camp who he said: now, more than ever, desperately need our support.

As Palestine is facing its third strongest wave of the Pandemic, many hospitals in the West Bank have reached full capacity.

According to the online fundraiser, a health workers group was created by the AIDA Youth Centre and the local Popular Committee as a result of the rising cases of coronavirus in the (Bethlehem) governorate and specifically in the camp.

The group is made up of doctors, nurses, medical students and social workers and is run completely on a voluntary basis.

The goal for the group in the camp is to support and assist the existing healthcare system in the governorate, to give treatment to COVID-19 patients and to share information with people on how to deal with the crisis.

This fundraiser will greatly help the group to continue with this vital program."

Hickey's recent sketch was posted to social media and sees him take on the roles of Israel and Palestine, with brief appearances from Britain, the United States and 'Rest of the World'.

The video has received over 158,000 views on Twitter and like many of his other popular sketches, Hickey takes on the roles of different places using the setting of a house share in Cork.

Israel - Palestine, but it's a house share in Cork



Shot/Directed by @dominic_machale



If you enjoyed this sketch, PLEASE donate to my fundraiser for the Aida Palestinian Refugee Camp who now, more than ever, desperately need our support.

Link: https://t.co/Q7BGtjQ1wF  pic.twitter.com/TUvmmASGNo  Tadhg (@TadhgHickey) April 19, 2021

Hickeys video addressing the post-Brexit situation utilising a similar format recently went viral, receiving over one million views on Twitter alone in just 24 hours.

The video saw Hickey take on the roles of Northern Ireland loyalists, England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Donations to the Aida Refugee Camp fundraiser can be made here.
PHOENIX, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI), the nation's leading provider of transportation technician training, today announced that it plans to report results for the second quarter of fiscal 2021 ended March 31, 2021 on Thursday, May 6, 2021, after market close. Jerome Grant, chief executive officer, and Troy Anderson, chief financial officer, will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day to discuss the financial results and operating performance for the quarter.

To participate in the live call, investors are invited to dial (844) 881-0138 (domestic) or (412) 317-6790 (international). A live webcast of the call will be available via the Universal Technical Institute investor relations website at https://investor.uti.edu. Please go to the website at least 10 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The conference call webcast will be archived for fourteen days at https://investor.uti.edu or the telephone replay can be accessed through May 20, 2021, by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international) and entering passcode 10155360.

About Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

With more than 220,000 graduates in its 55-year history, Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE: UTI) is the nation's leading provider of technical training for automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle and marine technicians, and offers welding technology and computer numerical control (CNC) machining programs. The company has built partnerships with industry leaders, outfits its state-of-the-industry facilities with current technology, and delivers training that is aligned with employer needs. Through its network of 12 campuses nationwide, UTI offers post-secondary programs under the banner of several well-known brands, including Universal Technical Institute (UTI), Motorcycle Mechanics Institute and Marine Mechanics Institute (MMI) and NASCAR Technical Institute (NASCAR Tech). The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

For more information, visit www.uti.edu. Like UTI on www.facebook.com/UTI or follow UTI on Twitter @UTITweet, @MMITweet, and @NASCARTechUTI.

Media Contact:

Jody Kent

VP, Communications and Public Affairs

Universal Technical Institute

(623) 445-0872

Investor Relations Contact:

Robert Winters or Wyatt Turk

Alpha IR Group

(312) 445-2870

[email protected]

SOURCE Universal Technical Institute, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.uti.edu


Kolkata, Apr 22 (UNI) Barring some sporadic violence at Bijpur constituency in North 24 Parganas district, the sixth phase polling for 43 seats in West Bengal was peaceful with around 70.42 per cent turnout recorded till 1545 hours.

Official sources said Purba Bardhaman reported 75.20 pc, Uttar Dinajpur  72.10 pc, Nadia  74 pc and North 24 Parganas  65.13 pc votes was polled so far.

With polling underway for the sixth phase of West Bengal Assembly elections, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that she cannot surrender the state to the "two goons of Delhi".

Addresses a public rally in Dakshin Dinajpur district, Ms Banerjee said, "I am not a player, but I know how to play. I was the best player in the Lok Sabha earlier. We cannot surrender our Bengal to two goons of Delhi."

Several incidents of crude bombs explosions were reported in Barrackpore industrial belt in North 24 Parganas district during the sixth phase of West Bengal Assembly polls on Wednesday

Film director-turned-TMC candidate Raj Chakraborty was gheraoed in Barrackpore constituency by BJP supporters, who accused him of influencing voters. Chakraborty denied the allegations.

Sporadic violence was also reported from Bijpur constituency in North 24 Parganas, where TMC and BJP supporters clashed with each other outside polling booths. Two supporters of the TMC and three of the BJP were reportedly injured in the clashes. A huge contingent of security forces was rushed to the troubled areas to control the situation.

A clash took place between BJP and Trinamool at Lichubagan in Khardah. BJP claimed their camp office was allegedly ransacked at Titagarh by Trinamool around 12 noon.

In the Halisahar area of Naihati constituency in North 24 paraganas, BJP alleged that bombs were hurled at the residence of a local party leader, and that his mother and younger brother suffered injuries. ISF camp vandalised in Naihati,

In Amdanga constituency, country-made crude bombs were recovered by police personnel

In Raiganj, sources in the TMC said one of the ruling party activists sustained serious injuries after he was allegedly stabbed by BJP workers.

One BJP and one TMC agent beaten up at Mongolkot in Burdwan district.

A voter at a booth near Nandigram village, Katwa in Purba Bardhaman district was given first aid by the ITBP medic team during the sixth phase of polling.

BJP candidate at Labhpur in Birbhum district attacked during poll campaign on Thursday. Biswajit Mondal the candidate claimed his car was ransacked.

The sixth phase of polls is being held in the midst of an unprecedented Covid-19 surge. West Bengal registered its highest-ever single-day spike, with 9,819 people testing positive. A total of 2.95 lakh Covid cases 2,023 deaths were recorded in the country in the last 24 hours.

UNI BM AND
Just a couple of weeks ago, Sony Pictures closed a deal with Netflix over exclusive streaming rights for its theatrical streaming releases starting in 2022 as well as catalog titles and some new originals they will team up to produce. Now Disney has also announced a licensing deal with Sony Pictures for theatrical releases from 2022 - 2026, as well as number of its older catalog titles.

So what's going on? Netflix's deal secures exclusive US rights for the period after the movies are released theatrically and on Blu-ray / video on-demand, about nine months after they come out in theaters. Disney's deal kicks in after that, for the window where movies usually run on cable TV or broadcast networks with ads (as Deadline mentions, this deal follows up on a similar one Sony had with the now-Disney-owned network FX).

Other than new movies, the deal also secures streaming rights for older movies including Spider-Man movies that have been missing from the MCU set on Disney+ and even Into the Spider-Verse (after their exclusivity on Netflix expires). Other than Disney+ and the company's various cable networks, this also covers Hulu and a note in the press release it will add a "significant number of library titles" starting in June.

There's no word on how much money is changing hands, but Sony Pictures exec Keith Le Goy said in a statement that "This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy, which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners."
The sudden death of Chad President Idriss Deby has propelled his son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, to the helm of the central African nation.



He has a reputation for discretion and shunning the limelight, unlike some of his half-brothers. However, he is a battle-hardened soldier like his father.



Mahamat is 37 - the same age his father was when he took power in a coup in 1990.



He is known as "General Kaka" because he was brought up by his grandmother, or "Kaka" in Chadian Arabic.



Mahamat was, until his father's death, the head of the elite presidential guard.



He was one of several members of the late president's family who occupied senior positions in the government.



Mahamat was reportedly at the frontline with his father when the latter was injured in fighting with rebels in western Kanem Province.



He received military training in Chad in the mid-2000s, followed by three months at the Lycee-Militaire in Aix-en-Provence, France.



He took part in operations against Chadian rebel groups, helping to defeat some of them while fighting for his cousin Timane Erdimi in the eastern region in 2009.



Mahamat was rapidly promoted and became a general in 2010 when he took command of the presidential guard's armoured division.



In 2013, he was appointed deputy head of the Chadian forces in Mali, where he took part in operations alongside the French army at the start of the Islamist insurgency there.



A year later, he was appointed to the elite presidential guard.



Following the death of his father, he was appointed by the military to lead Chad for an 18-month transition period.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
UEFA has dropped Bilbao as a host city for Euro 2020 this summer, according to a statement published by the regional authorities on Wednesday.

The Bilbao committee in charge of the four games due to be held at San Mames stadium has criticised UEFA's "unilateral" decision and asked to be compensated for the money spent on organising the event.

Bilbao was named as one of the original 12 host cities but the chances of fans being allowed to attend games there appears slim, after the Basque government insisted on a number of strict health conditions being met, AFP reported.

The RFEF reacted angrily to those conditions, which it said would be "impossible to comply with". They included 60% of the region's population being vaccinated before June 14.

On Monday, UEFA gave Bilbao, Dublin and Munich until Friday to gather information but Bilbao organisers said on Wednesday they had received "official communication from UEFA in which, unilaterally, it has made the decision to withdraw the San Mames stadium from the hosting of Euro 2020".

In the statement, the Basque organisers expressed anger at the decision. "Euro 2020 will not be played in Bilbao. But we are not going to allow them to play games with Bilbao and the Basque institutions," it read. "We have not found a single reason, sporting, social or economic, and certainly not related to public health and measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in any of the UEFA communications."

The organisers said they are seeking legal advice. "The contract that unites us with UEFA and with the RFEF and the official communication of UEFA is already in the hands of the legal services of the so-called 'Bilbao Committee' for study and evaluation," the statement added. "And so that the compensation of the amounts invested to date in organising the event, which amounts to more than 1.2 million euros, as well as the possible damages caused by said decision can be evaluated."
PHILIPSBURG:--- In recognition of World Earth Day, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset partnered with the Interact Clubs of Milton Peters College and St. Dominic High School and planted two Manila Palm trees per school.

This initiative was spearheaded by Rotary Sunsets Disaster Relief Chair Antoine Flanders, his committee, Milton Peters College Senior Interactor Adante Pitter, and St. Dominic High School President Bishakha Khatri who expressed their excitement in partnering to carry out a much-needed initiative that advocates a green world. Along with the two Manila Palm trees planted, a sign highlighting the occasion was installed at both locations.

The Rotarians and Interactors believe that trees are engines for economic development, providing high nutrition foods for humans, animals, wildlife, and insects, sustainable building materials and fuel, canopies in urban areas to cool, reduce energy use, absorb pollution and increase property values. Trees also protect our environment and increase groundwater recharge, prevent runoff and loss of soil, create habitat for wildlife, produce oxygen, use carbon dioxide thus improving public health and slow global warming by storing carbon.

Rotary shares an interest in protecting our common legacy: the environment. 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 empower communities to access grants and other resources, embrace local solutions, and spur innovation in an effort to address the causes and reduce the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, Disaster Relief Chair, Antoine Flanders stated.

The clubs would like to thank Caribbean Palms for their guidance in selecting the Manila Palm Trees for this years planting initiative and delivering them to the schools. Special gratitude is extended to all Rotarians and Interactors who were present and to the management and staff of Milton Peters College and St. Dominic High School for allowing the clubs to plant the trees. The clubs would like to encourage the public to join the movement of preserving the environment for a better and healthier world.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets every second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Cole Bay at 7:30 pm. Due to COVID-19, the club currently meets via Zoom. The club can be contacted via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
New York, NY, April 21, 2021  Computing damages in business interruption cases requires thorough knowledge of the research and practices in diverse areas of expertise, such as general and forensic accounting, litigation economics, and business law. The third edition of Measuring Business Interruption Losses and Other Commercial Damages provides a detailed methodological framework for measuring lost profits for the purpose of determining damages in business interruption lawsuits and related types of commercial damages. Written by a leading expert in applying economics and finance to litigation, this authoritative volume examines every critical aspect of commercial damages analysis.

Designed for practical use, this volume enables you to quickly find information on a specific topic without needing to read the entire volumenor does it require that you complete preceding chapters to understand your selected reading. Divided into two parts, the book first provides deep coverage of business interruption damage analysis, including the lost-profits estimation process and time-value of money considerations. Part Two examines intellectual property, securities-related damages, antitrust damages, and various other types of common commercial damages.

Correctly measuring commercial damages involves a broad range of interdisciplinary knowledge. Accountants, for example, will find the books economic topics highly useful. Acknowledging that few readers are experts in every discipline, the author provides accessible overviews of specialized topics throughout the text. This book emphasized the important role that economics plays in damages calculations. Experts are given a thorough demonstration of the key roles that macroeconomics, microeconomics and finance plays in commercial damages analysis. This knowledge is invaluable for experts who testify in commercial lawsuits.

Measuring Business Interruption Losses and Other Commercial Damages: An Economic Approach, 3rd Edition is an indispensable resource for anyone working in the field of commercial damages, offering invaluable guidance on the vital economics issues that are relevant to so many different types of cases.

About Dr. Patrick A. Gaughan:

Dr. Patrick A. Gaughan is President of Economatrix Research Associates, Inc. He was formerly a tenured full professor of economics and finance, at the graduate level, at the College of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. He was also a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China. Dr. Gaughan has published extensively in the fields of economics and finance. He has authored and/or edited numerous books including the award-winning Mergers Acquisitions and Corporate Restructurings 7th edition (John Wiley & Sons, 2018). In addition, he has published numerous articles in journals such as the International Review of Law and Economics, Journal of Forensic Economics, Journal of Legal Economics and Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Gaughan has testified as an expert on damages and valuation numerous times in Federal and State courts.

About Economatrix Research Associates, Inc.:

Economatrix Research Associates, Inc. is an economic and financial consulting firm with a team of leading authorities in litigation and forensic economics and finance. Their highly credentialed experts are current and former professors in the fields of economics, finance, mergers and acquisitions and business valuations. They are prominent authorities in measuring business interruptions losses and have helped establish the proper methodologies in this field for the past 35 years.

For more information, please visit www.economatrix.com.

To purchase Measuring Business Interruption Losses and Other Commercial Damages: An Economic Approach please visit www.wiley.com.

Media Contact:

Economatrix Research Associates, Inc.

5 Penn Plaza, 19th Floor

New York, NY 10001

212-361-2600
Sen. Tim Scott will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden's joint address to Congress next week.

The announcement comes as negotiations over policing reform have taken center stage on Capitol Hill. The senator from South Carolina has been the lead negotiator for Republicans on policing reform -- working closely with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., on a possible bipartisan deal.

MORE: Key lawmakers work on policing reform compromise in wake of the Chauvin conviction

The White House has already made it clear that Biden plans to elevate the issue of police reform in his speech on Wednesday. And now all eyes will be on Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, for a response.

PHOTO: Sen. Tim Scott speaks at a Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing in Washington, June 10, 2020. (Al-Drago/Pool via Getty Images, FILE)

We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America. I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans optimistic vision for expanding opportunity and empowering working families," Scott said in a statement.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised Scott on Twitter soon after the announcement.

".@SenatorTimScott is not just one of the strongest leaders in the Senate. He is one of the most inspiring and unifying leaders in our nation. I'm glad hell be delivering the Republican Address following the Presidents remarks on Wednesday," McConnell wrote.

Sen. Tim Scott to deliver GOP response to Biden's joint address to Congress originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
It's apparent that the climate crisis demands bold and rapid action  as such, the Earth Day theme for 2021 is "Restore Our Earth." With time running out to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, UGG understands that we cannot simply protect  we must actively restore the Earth, its ecosystems, and the livelihood of its inhabitants. Through FEEL GOOD , the brand's journey towards a more sustainable future, UGG has committed to restoration across four focus areas.

WORKING TO RESTORE OUR LAND.

UGG is committed to regenerating 200,000 acres of land in 2021 and 1,000,000 acres by 2025. The brand is establishing a grant that will provide holistic solutions to promote soil health and biodiversity, with a goal of transitioning the Australian sheepskin industry to regenerative. This commitment is made in partnership with the Savory Institute, a globally recognized non-profit that facilitates the large-scale regeneration of the world's grasslands.

"We are delighted to be deepening our relationship with UGG," said Chris Kerston, Chief Commercial Officer at Savory Institute. "The brand's commendable work on traceability and now their leadership with supporting farmers on their individual journeys towards achieving regenerative environmental outcomes is incredible. This level of commitment is a win for farmers, consumers and for nature."

WORKING TO RESTORE UGG CLASSICS.

It is estimated that 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away each year; the responsible solution is to buy less but buy better. The brand has always believed in this approach, which is why UGG products are made to last. In 2021, UGG will introduce its first-ever repair program, restoring your favorite shoes to like-new condition.

WORKING TO RESTORE OUR FORESTS.

According to the UN, forest conservation could provide up to 30% of the solution to climate change. In efforts to protect the world's remaining Ancient and Endangered forests, UGG is committed to sourcing all of its wood-based products from 100% recycled fibre, FSC-certified forests, or from completely forest-free Next Generation alternatives by partnering with Canopy  an organization dedicated to responsible sourcing, forest protection, stewardship, and advocacy.

"Protecting forests is integral to ensuring a healthy planet so what better way to celebrate Earth Day than with the UGG brand's CanopyStyle and Pack4Good commitments," said Nicole Rycroft, Executive Director, Canopy. "This is great news for our climate, the world's most Ancient and Endangered forest ecosystems, and the animals that call them home. It's definitely put a spring in our step!"

WORKING TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY.

While the brand works toward positively impacting our planet, they are aware that change is only possible with a collaborative, transparent approach. To promote transparency in the fashion industry, UGG has joined the Apparel Transparency Pledge  demonstrating the brand's commitment to being open about where its products are made and by who. UGG will further that commitment through its partnership with Land to Market, a leader in regenerative supply chains, which provides the brand transparency of material sourcing back to the farm and is coupled with data on environmental impact.

Prior to Earth Day, UGG launched the all-gender Plant Power Collection to show its ongoing commitment to preserving the planet. Crafted with carbon-neutral, plant-based materials in an effort to address the issue of carbon emissions, the capsule is the brand's next step in achieving a more sustainable future. The Plant Power Collection is priced from $110-$140 and can be purchased on UGG.com.

For more information on the UGG brand's Earth Day commitments and ongoing commitment to saving the planet, please visit FeelGoodFuture.UGG.com / @ugg.

About UGG

Founded in 1978 by an Australian surfer on the coast of California, UGG is a global lifestyle brand renowned for its iconic Classic boot. First worn by Hollywood royalty, fashion editors and then the world, UGG designs and retails footwear, apparel, accessories, and homewares with an uncompromising attitude toward quality and craftsmanship. Delivering more than $1 billion in annual sales, UGG partners with the best retailers globally and owns over 130 concept and outlet stores worldwide in key markets including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing. For more information, please visit www.ugg.com @ugg #FEELGOOD.

Press Contacts:

UGG

Matty Magnin

PR Manager

Direct: (212) 247-8552 Ext. 2772

Mobile: (917) 842-2391

[email protected]

Eco-Age

Pe-Jae Brooks

Head of PR

Direct: +44 208 995 1070

Mobile: +44 7791970901

[email protected]

SOURCE UGG
The world premiere of a documentary about the journey of the loneliest elephant from captivity in Pakistan to freedom in Cambodia with the help of superstar Cher lands on Paramount+ on Earth Day, today, April 22.

Giant Stars. Giant Undertaking. Giant Rescue. The Smithsonian Channel follows the one and only Cher as she races to Pakistan to help save the worlds loneliest elephant, Kaavan.

The global superstar lends the power of her celebrity and her enormous drive to a cause that grew out of a global social media campaign, backed by expert wildlife veterinarians, animal aid groups and sanctuary owners. To succeed, the group would have to overcome a series of daunting challenges to move a four-ton elephant more than 2,300 miles in the midst of a global pandemic, said the Smithsonian Channel.

HOW TO WATCH: Plans on Plans on Paramount+ start at $5.99 a month. (Free seven-day trial)

It will premiere in the United States on The Smithsonian Channel at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 19.

I saw all the people being affected by it all over the world, said Cher in a news release, [she] first learned of Kaavans plight through online activists who sought her help. People want a happy ending. People dont want to see animals suffer. And I know people are suffering too, but this is a story that can brighten their lives.

Kaavan, a 4-ton, malnourished elephant who had spent nearly 20 years in chains, prodded to beg for tips while living in a tiny, dilapidated shed under the scorching Islamabad sun.

Dreadful living conditions led to equally dreadful health problems, including depression, angry psychosis and obesity. Then, tragically, Kaavans only mate died of neglect. Kaavan became the poster elephant for the plight of captive animals and ignited a social media uproar that soon caught Chers attention.

Cher co-founded Free The Wild with partners Mark Cowne, Gine Nelthorpe Cowne and Jennifer Ruiz and she recorded a song, Walls, to give further voice to the rising calls for Kaavans release.

According to the Smithsonian Channel, in May 2020, the Pakistani high court ordered that Kaavan be freed.

Working with an international rescue organization, Four Paws, and its extraordinary veterinarian, Dr. Amir Khalil, the team identified a potential new home for Kaavan in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

The stage had been set for an amazing rescue operation, but as logistical challenges piled up and Kaavan entered a testosterone-fueled, aggressive mating condition called musth, there were serious doubts whether the team could actually pull it off. In November 2020, Cher gave up her Thanksgiving holiday to fly halfway around the world to ensure that Kaavan would be saved, according to the Smithsonian Channel.

I was frightened, but then I thought, what do you want to do more? said Cher. You made a promise, and you have to go. I didnt see any other way to do it. I have a saying on my Twitter, Stand and be counted or sit and be nothing. And I wasnt going to sit and be nothing.

Its truly remarkable to witness what can happen when people come together to pursue a shared mission, said James Blue, Head of Smithsonian Channel & SVP MTV News and Docs.
Ola Electric, the ambitious foray into electric mobility by Bhavish Aggarwal, on Thursday announced it would set up a hypercharger network to support its upcoming two wheelers in the next few months. To begin with, Ola plans to set up over 5,000 charging points across 100 cities in the country, which would ultimately be ramped up to 400 cities and 1 lakh points.

These charging points would be a combination of high-speed Ola Hyperchargers that will be capable of charging its scooters to 50 per cent in just 18 minutes for a 75 km range, and the home-charger that will come bundled with the Ola Scooter. The company said the target of 5,000 charging points is for the first year itself, which it claims is more than double the existing charging infrastructure in the country. It did not give a timeline for when it intends to spread to 400 cities and 1 lakh charging points, nor did it specify the investment it is making towards this.

"Electric is the future of mobility and we are reimagining the entire user experience of owning an electric vehicle," said Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola. "Our plans to build a comprehensive charging network is a key piece of this. By creating the world's largest and densest 2-wheeler charging network, we will dramatically accelerate the customer adoption of electric vehicles and rapidly move the industry to electric."

The company's Hyperchargers will be widely deployed across cities -- in locations like city centers and dense business districts as stand alone towers, and malls, IT parks, office complexes, cafes and more. It is being built by Ola along with partners. Alongwith this the home charger that will come bundled with the scooter will require no installation. Ola said access to its hypercharger network would be restricted only to its customers.

Late last year, the company, which is backed by SoftBank, said it is investing Rs 2,400 crore in the world's largest electric scooter factory in Hosur in Tamil Nadu which will have an initial annual capacity of 2 million units. The factory will eventually churn out 10 million scooters every year. For the sake of context, India's two wheeler industry today comprises predominantly 15 million motorcycles and scooters that run on petrol. The biggest player in the market -- Hero MotoCorp, has an annual capacity to produce 11.6 million units. In fiscal 2021, electric two wheeler sales in comparison stood at only 143,837 units.

Aggarwal believes all of that will change once his scooters hit the roads. In the middle of last year, the company had acquired Dutch startup Etergo BV, which is believed to provide the basic platform for its products.

"Our scooters are tech-driven electric vehicles with industry leading range and speed. It will offer the customer best-in-class performance and experience," he says. "I cannot tell you the price right now. You have to wait for a few months for that. But we are very confident of our plans which are based on consumer feedback. Customers will love our end-to-end ownership experience," he added.

Ola has also hired a number of high profile executives to help shape its EV strategy. It includes mobility industry executive Julien Geffard, Hyundai Kia group veteran Yongsung Kim, former Hyundai India managing director BVR Subbu, General Motors veteran Jose Pinheiro and Roger Looney, former VP of Chinese firm Qoros Auto.
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As a young pastor of a booming church, I remember seeking the advice of countless mentors who had walked in my shoes. Wisdom was a resource I couldnt get enough of. For those of you who relate to that feeling and are looking for counsel and wisdom from experienced pastors who were once facing the same challenges as you, you wont want to miss the advice of my friend, Gordon MacDonald.

Gordon MacDonald grew up as the son of a Baptist pastor in New York and attended the University of Boulder and Denver Seminary. In the past 55 years, he has dedicated his life to various forms of ministry, such as serving as a pastor and an interim seminary president, as well as authoring multiple books. When Gordon turned 80 years old, he made a point to write down the top factors that he found to determine success or failure as a leader. I asked him to join me for a conversation to share these 15 life lessons and more.

The 15 Most Important Lessons Learned

1. Put the most significant people in your life first.

Your spouse, family, close friends, and mentors should be put into your calendar first.

2. Never stop growing; explore new ideas and fresh ways to increase your knowledge.

Sustain your physical and mental health, sharpen your skills, and increase your knowledge and spiritual life.

3. Be more of a priest and less of a preacher to people.

Bless people with powers of hope, grace, courage and love.

4. Always keep in mind you will have to relinquish your titles, privileges and at some point, slip into obscurity.

5. Prepare for occasions when you will suffer, fail, face conflict, or experience some sort of loss.

6. Be trustworthy and dependable.

Be a person who keeps their word. Dont make promises you cant keep.

7. Be a spiritual father or mother to teachable people who may someday inherit your responsibilities.

8. Live modestly.

Stay free of debt, be generous, develop a financial strategy, and always be wary of those who try to buy your favor.

9. Expect to reorganize your spiritual life every seven to ten years.

10. Receive compliments, criticism, and counsel with humility.

Avoid whining, complaining, and self-pity. Assume that there is at least a grain of truth in everything your critics say about you and your work.

11. Stay alert to all evil and temptations around you.

12. Be quick to say with sincerity, these five things: Thank you; Well done; I am sorry; I forgive you; How can I help you?

13. Always maintain a good relationship with a mentor.

14. Master the art of asking penetrating questions that will open someones heart.

Then listen carefully, with respect and discernment, to what is revealed.

15. Retreat to the Cross regularly.

Express gratitude for things youre thankful for, name your sins, pray for the world, and listen for Gods call to do things that are bigger than you are.

The Necessity for Personal Ministry

Preaching is good and beneficial, but lives are predominantly changed through one-on-one contact: sitting, asking questions, working through wisdom. That is where change occurs. After this pandemic, especially, the church will need a lot of relearning. Lives will not be changed through auditoriums hearing 30 minutes of advice, but through one-on-one counsel that helps someone grow intimacy with God, process their hurts and their wounds, siphon off their anger, and feel the anointing of Gods spirit. People crave a priest, someone who assures people of Gods presence more than someone who simply stands up and teaches.

Seeking and Maintaining Mentorship

Discerning the right mentor can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. When seeking a mentor, always ask the question, What sort of person do I need to tuck up under at this stage of my life? Do I need what this person has to offer?

Its also important to keep in mind that mentors have a relatively short half-life. Someone may only mentor you for a few years, through a certain stage of life when you need what they have to offer. Gordon spoke of the 9 great mentors hes had over 80 years for specific areas of life such as marriage, leadership, fatherhood and so on. Its okay for mentors to change as our seasons of life evolve. This is why we also need a few special, deeply close friends: people who we know will be around for a long time, who can speak honestly with you

Knowing When Its Time To Walk Away

As Gordon said in point number nine of his fifteen pieces of advice, its important to reevaluate your life and your direction every 7-10 years. When Gordon was 55 years old, he and his wife set a goal to get out of organizational life at the age of 60. This would allow for 20 years of good, healthy, vigorous activity, and they wanted to make sure this was something they prepared for rather than waiting until it was too late. He was confident that he could continue to make a living by continuing to write books and by speaking, and has spent the past 20 years feeling just as fulfilled and aligned with Gods will as when he was in organizational ministry. After spending time speaking in Germany, and being told repeatedly that he spoke personally with people like a father would, Gordon realized that his call for his next season would be to be a father to young men and women in leadership. This has been his calling ever since. It was this active choice to look around, reevaluate, and listen to the Lords voice that showed him when to move from one season into the next.

Ministry leadership can be a challenging calling, but the rewards of serving the body of Christ are incomparable. As you continue to develop as a Christian leader, I hope Gordons insight will serve as a powerful reminder of whats important and how to truly succeed in this space.
Stunning Portraits of 500 Women Around the World Celebrate Beauty of Our Differences

'Diversity is a treasure and not a trigger for conflicts and hate ... we are all part of the same family.'

Inspired by a trip to Ethiopia in 2013, a Romanian photographer spent the next four years traveling the globe in search of female beauty. The more she found, the more boundless her concept of beauty became.

Mihaela Noroc compiled 500 stunning, diverse portraits of women from 50 different countries in a 352-page book, The Atlas of Beauty.

Far from stumbling across a universal formula, the photographer concluded that true beauty has nothing to do with fashion, race, or social statusrather, beauty lies in our differences.

While traveling, I noticed that theres a lot of pressure on women to look and behave in a certain way, Noroc told My Modern Met.

In some environments, it is the pressure to look attractive. In others, on the contrary, it is the pressure to look modest.

But every woman should be free to explore her own beauty without feeling any pressure from marketing campaigns, trends, or social norms, she added.

Traveling freely as a tourist through many countries, in every continent beside Antarctica, Noroc also chose to explore countries isolated by conflict or politics, such as North Korea and Iran, according to the report.

In expanding the diversity of her catalogue, she found that Iranian women were among her most welcoming, willing subjects.

Always taking time to talk with her subjects, Noroc, a polyglot, makes sure to capture women in contextwhether at home, at work, at a festival, or in naturepreferring natural, makeup-free faces.

If our outsides are natural and authentic, our insides will be more visible, she told My Modern Met. We need to learn to be ourselves, but to do that we also have to learn to let other people be themselves.

Through my camera, I try to dive into their eyes, because their eyes will always say an interesting story, she told Insider.

Men are beautiful too, she clarifies, but she chose women as her subjects for simplicity and affinity: as a woman herself, she empathizes with both their dreams and their struggles.

As Norocs work gained in popularity, donations flooded in, allowing the photographer to start traveling full time. Yet as the project grew, so did Norocs sense of imperative.

I felt a lot of pressure but I also understood that I have to work harder, she told Insider, I have to capture more diversity, find more inspiring stories, and I can really send a message that will be heard.

Noroc has been taking pictures since the age of 16. Her sister and mother were her first subjects, and a love for capturing the candid beauty of women was born.

Discouraged from pursuing photography as a career by her teachers, it wasnt until Norocs 2013 trip to Ethiopia that she was reunited with her passion and calling, according to Insider.

Noroc showcases portraits from her Atlas of Beauty collection on her website, and on Instagram, where her globetrotting adventures continue.

These days, Noroc is accompanied by her baby daughter, Natalia.

Noroc maintains that real beauty comes from within and inspires serenity and humanity. She hopes that her book, her work, and her message will touch people around the world.

Diversity is a treasure and not a trigger for conflicts and hate, she told My Modern Met. We are very different, but at the same time we are all part of the same family.

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
RESAAS Services Inc (TSXV:RSS) ( ) CEO Tom Rossiter tells Proactive the Vancouver, Canada-based group has launched access for its member network to easily secure Paycheck Protection Program relief funds from the US Government. Rossiter says RESAAS Agents located in the US are eligible to apply for PPP forgivable loans of up to $50,000 on RESAASs platform, and since its recent launch, have seen thousands of applicants using its member network.
A new civic engagement group based primarily in the Washington, D.C. area, called Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians, held a protest in front of the U.S. State Department Tuesday, where several dozen gathered to urge the Biden administration to take action against the Ethiopian government for its indifference to and perpetration of acts of genocide against ethnic and religious groups.

Through their efforts, the group hopes to create public awareness about the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Amhara and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia.

They also called for an end to the illegal imprisonment without bail of leaders of Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia: Eskinder Nega, Sentayehu Chekol, Aster (Qeleb) Seyoum and Askale Demele who opposed (the ruling) OPDO-Prosperity Partys acts of human rights abuses in Ethiopia and its policy of complete marginalization of residents of the metropolitan Addis Ababa, the countrys capital and largest city. Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia is a registered political party in the country.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Yohannes Gethaun, the public relations officer for Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians, elaborated on why his organization decided to hold the protest event. We demand that Ethiopians shall be governed through a transient period led by technocrats, no politicians. Theyve failed us for the last 47 years so we prefer a government run by technocrats, which will have a term limit, those people, the technocrats, will arrange an election process, lead the transition period through a peaceful process.

Source:The Christian Post
Tesla, the electric vehicle maker founded by Elon Musk, is building a Chinese-only data centre in Shanghai. This centre allows Tesla to comply with Chinese cybersecurity law in regard to data collection and storage.

According to a Chinese newspaper, 21st Century Business Herald, the Elon Musks company plans to build a new facility by the end of June The Gigafactory is wholly owned by Tesla after China relaxed joint venture rules, but it is not clear if the data center is run with a partner.

The news was confirmed by Grace Tao, Teslas China head of communications and government affairs said the newspaper.

According to the SCMP report, Taos statement came just days after she told reporters that data collected from Teslas electric cars in China is stored in the country. This came after Chinas military banned Tesla vehicles from its facilities due to concerns about the cameras installed on the cars.

Tesla previously said it already stores local data in China to comply with the local cybersecurity laws, but this was presumably hosted in a third-party facility.

Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) this month unveiled draft regulations stipulating that personal information and important data collected and generated during operations within the country must stay within the territory, with a particular reference to smart vehicle makers such as Tesla.

However, Tesla China did not release any specifications or details about the project. Tesla China has not confirmed when the Shanghai Data Centre will be up and running, though the construction will be completed at the end of June 2021.

Foreign businesses in China are required to comply with the regulations if they want to access Chinese consumers. In early 2018, for example, Apple decided to host the iCloud accounts of Chinese users in a new Chinese data centre in Guizhou, said the SCMP report.
No single model of sustainability is the same, but the people behind Bordeaux wine share a collective commitment to proactively act to address climate change...

The Bordeaux wine region has reached new milestones in their commitment to sustainability efforts that encompass a wide spectrum of initiatives from vineyard and cellar management, preservation of natural habitats and resources to workplace safety and supply chain efficiency. Bordeaux is one of the first wine regions to have approved new grape varieties that can alleviate hydric stress associated with temperature increases and shorter growing cycles. More than 65% of the Bordeaux vineyards are certified environmental  a new benchmark for the region. Bordeaux also leads all French AOPs in volume of High Environmental Value (HVE) certifications for their wineries, having accomplished the top level of sustainable certification in France and a 30% increase in organic agriculture.

No single model of sustainability is the same, but the people behind Bordeaux wine share a collective commitment to proactively act to address climate change by preserving scarce water and energy resources; protecting fragile ecosystems; and championing biodiversity from best vineyard practices to alternative packaging. Bordeauxs vision is an expansive one that includes efforts to sustain the wine community by enhancing worker safety, job satisfaction and training and development for current and future generations.

To commemorate Earth Day this year, we are pleased to share the stories of 10 Earth Day Heroes from Bordeaux who exemplify sustainability in action. Our Earth Day Heroes showcase a full spectrum of choices to address todays significant environmental and societal agenda, including why certification matters; how to inspire their teams; the challenge of educating and engaging consumers; pioneer efforts to develop eco-friendly packaging and supply chain efficiency; and how sustainability and organic winemaking impact the taste and quality of their cuvees.

Meet our 2021 Earth Day Heroes and read their full profiles.



Chateau Guiraud (Sauternes): Pioneers in permaculture, Chateau Guiraud was the first Grand Cru Classe in Bordeaux to attain organic certification. The teams integrated approach has attracted more than 700 species of pollinators to the vineyard.

Chateau Jean Faure (Saint-Emilion): Certified organic and biodynamic, Jean Faure credits responsible agriculture for the freshness of the estate fruit and rising consumer demand.

Chateau Brown (Pessac-Leognan): A flower farm and orchard of fruit trees support Chateau Browns natural ecosystem where bees, insects and birds thrive with the vines. Eco-friendly packaging helps to preserve scarce resources and resonates with consumers.

Chateau Roquefort (Entre-deux-Mers): Chateau Roquefort balances space for vine cultivation with natural growth; Only 45% of the estate is for the vineyard, the rest is forest, woods and fields.

Vignobles Rousseau (Bordeaux Superieur): The team at Vignobles Rousseau has planted nearly 13,000 square feet of giant bamboo on their estate to act as a protective, natural barrier to block harmful emissions. They also endorse a vision of sustainability that encompasses equity for every employee and all visitors.

Groupe Grands Chais de France (multiple Bordeaux AOCs): Representing more than 20% of French wine exports, GCFs global reach allows the company to have significant impact with one of the most efficient logistics and supply chain centers in Europe and intensive employee training in CSR and sustainable management.

Le GDON (The Group for the Defense against Harmful Organisms of the Vine): Each year, seasonal employees from GDON walk 19,539 miles to monitor vineyards across Bordeaux for disease and drastically reduce the need for harmful pesticides.

Chateau Brillette (Moulis en Medoc): Conservation is paramount at Chateau Brillette. Oak barrels are delivered free of plastic wrappings and boxes, saving 1.5 containers of waste with each shipment.

Bordeaux Families: Affectionately known as Les Bee GIEEs, this grower cooperative farms organically and, as the name implies, the honeybee is central to their ambitious Bee Plan.

Jules Lebegue (Saint-Emilion, Lussac-Saint-Emilion, Medoc, Bordeaux): A negociant, Jules Lebegue partners with winegrowers to adopt environmentally friendly practices and attain HVE3 and organic certification.

ABOUT Bordeaux Wine Council (C.I.V.B.)

Bordeaux Wine Council (C.I.V.B.) was created by the French Law dated August 18, 1948. It unites representatives from the three families in the Bordeaux wine industry: winegrowers, merchants and traders. The CIVBs 4 missions:



Marketing mission: stimulate demand for Bordeaux wines, recruit new, younger consumers and ensure their loyalty to the brand. Provide education for the trade and strengthen relationships.

Technical mission: build knowledge, protect the quality of Bordeaux wines and anticipate new requirements related to environmental, CSR and food safety regulations.

Economic mission: provide intelligence on production, the market, the environment and sale of Bordeaux wines around the world.

The industrys general interests: protect the terroirs, fight counterfeiting, develop wine tourism.

To request samples or more information, please contact our press relations team.

MEDIA CONTACT  US

Helen Gregory (helen@gregoryvine.com)

Emma Mrkonic (emma@gregoryvine.com)

MEDIA CONTACT CIVB  INTERNATIONAL

Cecile Ha (cecile.ha@vins-bordeaux.fr)

# # #
AET recognised with SRS Ship Owner of the Year at the Singapore International Maritime Awards (IMA)

AET is delighted to announce that it has won the SRS (Singapore Registry of Ships) Ship Owner of the Year Award presented at the Singapore International Maritime Awards (IMA) ceremony held on Monday, 19 April 2021 as part of the Singapore Maritime Week.

The SRS Award recognises an outstanding owner of quality Singapore registered ships and takes account of fleet size, growth, operational excellence, sustainable contribution to human capital development both ashore and at sea. This year, special emphasis was placed on the owner who has been able to demonstrate resilience by adapting its business activities and operations even amidst the global pandemic challenges. The IMA ceremony was held as one of the key anchor events of the Singapore Maritime Week (19 - 24 April 2021) organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The biennial Singapore IMA seeks to recognise individuals and companies for their contributions to Singapore's development as a premier global port hub and an international maritime centre. Receiving the Award on behalf of AET, President & CEO, Capt Rajalingam Subramaniam said: Being named SRS Ship Owner of the Year for the first time is a great recognition for AET and the entire MISC Group. I would like to thank the MPA for its steadfast support to the maritime community and their distinguished panel of judges for recognising AET and the work that we do as a team. This Award reflects on our commitment and contributions to the entire maritime ecosystem as a global company with Asian roots and as a leading player of responsible and sustainable shipping. I am honoured to accept this Award on behalf of all my colleagues at AET and the MISC Group, at sea and ashore, and I thank them for their hard work and dedication particularly during these challenging times. I would also like to express our appreciation to all stakeholders of AET for their continued support as always.




Camp for young radio amateurs in the Americas is a go for this summer

The ARRL report the long-awaited inaugural Youth on the Air (YOTA) camp for young amateur radio operators in North, Central, and South America will go forward this July. The camp, set for July 11  16, will take place at the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township, Ohio, north of Cincinnati. The camp had to be postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The camp will comply with COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines as set by the state of Ohio and the Centers for Disease Control, such as requiring the use of masks, distancing, and sanitizing stations, said Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. Attendees may be asked to take a COVID-19 test and/or self-quarantine prior to arrival, depending on the guidelines in place in July. The entire staff of the camp are either fully vaccinated or will finish the vaccine series by the end of April. Most volunteers have also indicated that they are fully vaccinated. Rapp said some activities may need to be modified to work with the COVID-19 regime.

Rapp said that if the COVID-19 situation unexpectedly degrades in extreme fashion or the state declares that the camp is not safe to operate, the event will have to be postponed again, until 2022. Due to the volatility of the public COVID-19 response, attendees are highly encouraged to avoid non-refundable tickets for transportation to Cincinnati, he advised.

Twenty-eight campers from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Iceland have already signed up for the 30 available positions, but Youth on the Air will continue to accept applications through June 1. Rapp said a waitlist will be set up, if needed.

It costs nothing to apply. The camps cost of $100 is not due until the applicant has been accepted. Should a potential camper not be able to afford the $100 fee, he or she may apply for a scholarship. The Youth on the Air website has camp details.

This would mark the first camp ever for you radio amateurs in International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2. For additional information, contact Rapp.

The IARU Region 1 (Europe, Africa, the Mideast, and Northern Asia) Youth Working Group announced this week that its planned YOTA Summer Camp in Croatia had to be postponed again to 2022, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: ARRL

http://www.arrl.org/news/camp-for-young-radio-amateurs-in-the-americas-is-a-go-for-this-summer
Irans crude oil exports since the start of the month have averaged around 500,000 bpd, according to a Reuters report that cites estimates from tanker tracking companies. This is lower than March levels but much higher than a year ago, the report noted.

Exports have continued at these elevated levels longer than we expected, Reuters quoted the CEO of Petro-Logistics, Daniel Gerber, as saying. And with constructive talks occurring in Vienna, we may never see a return to the 2020 lows.

Calculating Iranian crude oil exports is difficult because of the cargo-masking and ship-to-ship transfers that Iran uses to circumvent U.S. sanctions that caused a slump in both its production and exports of oil. Yet, with the change of administration in Washington, hopes have returned that the United States could rejoin the Iran nuclear deal and lift sanctions.

Earlier this year, Tehran officials said that the country had started to ramp up oil production in anticipation of an agreement with the United States, which could see some 2 million bpd of Iranian oilor even 2.5 million bpdreturn to international markets. However, negotiations are still ongoing, and their success remains uncertain. Meanwhile, however, discount Iranian oil is getting on the nerves of some of its fellow OPEC members.

These sensitive barrels are hammering supplies from everywhere, as they are simply too cheap, one Chinese trader told Reuters earlier this month.

The recent jump in Iranian crude exports, notably to China, and crude going out of inventories are contributing to the weakness of the oil market, undermining OPEC+ efforts to limit supply and setting prices for a third weekly drop, Rystad Energy said in late March.

China is by far the biggest buyer of Iranian crude: its March imports of the discount crude could have reached 1 million bpd, according to a Reuters report citing analysts and commodity traders.

Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
BOULDER, Colo., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Land to Market , the world's first verified sourcing solution for regenerative agriculture surpassed its 50th brand member days before Earth Day. Incubated within the Savory Institute, the program's Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) protocol and Land to Market Verified seal has attracted some of the world's leading brands seeking to make an impact on the climate crisis by restoring the land via measurable outcomes.

"Business can be an incredible force for good and frankly humanity will struggle to hit the targets it needs to on things like climate change, biodiversity loss, and water shortages, without progressive action from the marketplace," said Chris Kerston, co-leader of Land to Market. "Business moves faster than any other sector of society. Both innovative brands and the capital markets are making the connection that regenerative agriculture and healthy soils are the answer to so many global-scale challenges. These companies, both large and small, have committed to being action-leaders, often reinventing the way business is done, in order to hit bold environmental targets."

World Economic Forum highlights the increasing threat that current agricultural practices have on land-use emission goals set by the Paris Agreement and experts predict that due to soil being lost 10 times faster than it can be replenished, there may be fewer than 60 harvests remaining for agriculture and food production.

Land to Market works with the Savory Global Network of hubs to verify the land for regenerative outcomes using the Savory Institute's Ecological Outcome Verification protocol. The Savory Institute has trained more than 12,000 farmers and ranchers in regenerative agriculture and measured the soil health, sequestered carbon, water infiltration rates and biodiversity of millions of acres of land to date. This has led to hundreds of products in markets around the world, from small brands, to multinational corporations, that feature the Land to Market verification seal.

Today's announcement comes off of the heels of the Timberland Greenstride Solar Wave EK+ Collection launch, joining several styles now featuring leather sourced from Land to Market verified regenerative ranches. Timberland, a global outdoor work and lifestyle brand, set a goal for all Timberland products to have a net positive impact on nature by 2030 and for 100% of its natural materials to be sourced from regenerative agriculture.

"The fashion industry has a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions, and we believe it's all of our responsibility to be a part of the solution," said Zack Angelini, senior manager of environmental stewardship for Timberland. "By sourcing leather from outcomes-based verified regenerative farms, we have an opportunity to go beyond minimizing our impact, to creating value by building a regenerative supply chain, which will have a net positive effect for the land and the farmers."

UGG , another Land to Market member, announced today a million acre commitment. "We recognize that we must actively restore the Earth, its ecosystems, and the livelihoods of its inhabitants. Expanding our partnership with Savory allows us to support regenerative outcomes to minimize our overall environmental impact and use our scale as a force for good," said Andrea O'Donnell, President, UGG & Koolaburra by UGG at Deckers Brands. "UGG is investing in the regeneration of 200,000 acres of land in 2021, with a goal of 1,000,000 acres by 2025. UGG is establishing a program that will provide holistic solutions and world-class implementation to promote soil health and biodiversity, with a goal of transitioning the Australian sheepskin industry to a regenerative one."

In February, Alexandre Family Farm brought dairy into the regenerative spotlight by becoming the first dairy farm verified by Land to Market and the first 100% A2/A2 regenerative organic milk to be distributed nationwide at Whole Foods Market, and at other retailers across the country such as Gelson's Markets, Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers and Central Market. In an April 8th Today Show feature - How One Family's Organic Farm is Helping the Earth - host, Gadi Schwarz, explained, "This is the Alexandre Family Farm, all organic and using what are called regenerative practices."

Another successful recent launch includes EPIC Provisions ' Beef Barbacoa-Inspired Bar, the first Land to Market Verified bar. With national distribution at Whole Foods Market, the regeneratively sourced bar is EPIC's highest selling beef product.

Land to Market's newest partnerships are with Pasturebird and Spot Farms , who are helping expand the regenerative-focused mission. Pasturebird chickens are raised on pasture in state-of-the-art, solar-powered mobile coops where animals are rotated with cattle to fresh grass on a daily basis, rebuilding healthy regenerative soils and grasslands. Spot Farms is a human-grade dog food brand that partners with farming families throughout the U.S. to source regionally grown, antibiotic-free chicken, turkey, and pork.

"Looking ahead, there are a number of new goals for Land to Market that will bring even more value to producers, brand members, consumers and our planet," said David Rizzo, co-leader of Land to Market. "As our work grows in connecting brands back to farmers, we will continue to drive the industry towards a new paradigm of high-resolution impact accounting - not only for carbon sequestration, but for water and biodiversity as well. We are driven to continue to bring new value streams and incentives to land stewards. The world is awakening to the fact that the soil is the solution to so many problems, but that makes farmers and ranchers the ambassadors of that solution. They must be supported in their journey and elevated in their role in society. When businesses drive that support, everyone wins."

About Land to Market

A leader in the regenerative agriculture movement, Land to Market, is the world's first outcomes-based verified regenerative sourcing solution. The program's Land to Market Verified seal has attracted some of the world's leading consumer packaged goods companies, apparel brands and retailers. Born within the Savory Institute, Land to Market uses a science-based approach working directly with raw material producers to enhance transparency and traceability mechanisms across the entire value chain. To see the full list of Land to Market members, visit http://landtomarket.global .

SOURCE Land to Market

Related Links

http://landtomarket.global


VF Corporation (NYSE: VFC), a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories, today announced that it has appointed Matt Puckett to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He will report to VFs CEO, Steve Rendle, and serve on the companys Executive Leadership Team.

Im very pleased to announce Matt as VFs next CFO, said Rendle. Matts VF career has given him a broad range of experience in all facets of financial management, and he deeply understands our company and financial model from his experience working within our brands, our business units, and across international markets. Matt is a clear example of VFs robust succession planning approach and theres no one more qualified than him to serve in the CFO position as we pursue the next phase of the VF growth strategy.

Puckett, 47, recently marked his 20th anniversary with VF. He joined the company in 2001 as a Senior Accountant in the finance organization. In the following years Puckett held a series of finance roles with increasing responsibility, including being appointed in 2009 as CFO of VFs Sportswear Coalition, which comprised the Nautica and Kipling brands.

Immediately following VFs 2011 acquisition of the Timberland brand, Puckett was appointed CFO of Timberland and was integral in helping to guide the brands successful integration into VF. In 2015, he was named CFO of VF International, a role that took him to VFs European headquarters in Stabio, Switzerland, where he was responsible for all aspects of financial management for VFs business across the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions. Puckett returned to the U.S. in 2019 and has been serving as VFs Vice President, Global Financial Planning & Analysis.

Puckett succeeds Scott Roe who announced his retirement from VF to pursue other opportunities. Roe spent 25 years with VF, the last six of which were in the CFO position.

Scott has had a tremendous career at VF and his impact on our organization has been significant, said Rendle. Scott was instrumental in helping to build our international platforms during his time as CFO of VF International. He has overseen a number of VFs acquisitions and divestitures and been a significant partner in helping to actively evolve our brand portfolio throughout his tenure. And importantly, Scott has enabled VF to consistently deliver on our commitments to shareholders and stakeholders, even during challenging times. Scott has worked closely with Matt over the last several years to ensure a smooth and natural transition. We will forever be grateful for his dedication and service.

Roe will remain with VF through the end of May to close out the companys fiscal year 2021. Puckett will assume the CFO position upon Roes departure from VF.
Lysa TerKeurst talks forgiveness, 'seeing beautiful again' after walking through heartache

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Lysa TerKeurst, head of Proverbs 31 Ministries, knows firsthand what it means to publicly walk through betrayal, pain and disappointment. Yet, in even the most heartbreaking of seasons, the bestselling author chooses to proclaim hope, forgiveness and grace.

In 2016, TerKeursts world was shattered when her husband of 25 years, Art, had an affair and revealed his struggle with addiction. That same year, she announced she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and would need to undergo a double mastectomy.

It was, she previously told The Christian Post, an excruciatingly painful time in her life. But after working to restore their marriage, the TerKeursts renewed their vows in a ceremony attended by friends and family.

The road to healing and restoration, TerKeurst readily admits, has been anything but easy  and she shares their journeys in her books, popular blog, and on social media, all with the intention of pointing her readers to Christ.

Her latest book, Seeing Beautiful Again: 50 Devotions to Find Redemption in Every Part of Your Story, offers the reminder that through Christ, life, no matter how painful, can be beautiful again.

The last several books I've written have been in the midst of pain, and Seeing Beautiful Again is no exception, TerKeurst told CP. I've been continuing on this hard journey, and sometimes I just want to go lay in my bed, pull the covers over my head, and just wallow in the hurt and the pain.

But, she added, I know that me opening up the conversation and bringing solid, therapeutic help and wisdom and solid theology and biblical history that really connects right where people are at  I know it helps. I know how desperately I need it. I want to be a light for not just other people, but I want to study this stuff so that I can heal too.

Instead of making much of the hurt" in her writing, TerKeurst said she strives to share the perspectives and life wisdom that shes gained along the way and highlight the evidence of God's faithfulness that shes experienced even in the midst of really deep heartbreak.

Thats a sign of healing, she said. I would just encourage anybody who's walking through stuff  there's someone else who needs to hear your story. ... I think everyone has life wisdom, evidence of God's faithfulness and experiences. ... And I think when we share our stories, if we focus on those things rather than the details of how we were hurt, that's where it becomes really helpful for other people.

Watch Lysa TerKeurst discuss her new book with The Christian Post

Before writing her latest book, TerKeurst invested more than 1,000 hours of biblical study on forgiveness and hundreds of hours in counseling  but it was really out of my own desperation that I did that, she said.

I did that because I was so resistant to forgiveness that it took me studying forgiveness in the Bible to finally get to a place where I was like, OK, I finally see that forgiveness isn't an unfair gift that we have to give to another person. Forgiveness is God's provision to help the hurting heart heal, TerKeurst said.



One life-changing truth she took away from her studies on forgiveness, she said, is that its not based on my determination.

Like, I've determined the other person is sorry, or I determined that they've suffered as much as they need to suffer for what they did, or I determined that they're not going to hurt me again, the North Carolina native explained.

If I wait to forgive until all those things are true, then I'm attaching my ability to heal to choices of another person that I don't have any say-so over. In essence, I'm allowing the same person that hurt me to hijack my ability to heal. I've to sever that source of suffering by detaching my ability to heal from the choices of another person and instead recognize that forgiveness is not based on my determination. Forgiveness is based on my cooperation with what Jesus has already done.

As I let God's forgiveness flow to me, I simply cooperate with it and let it flow through me to other people, she continued. Its really me putting a stake in the ground and saying, I've suffered enough because of what other people have done to me. And it's my choice to forgive so that I can heal and get on with learning to live again.

In Seeing Beautiful Again, TerKeurst encourages readers to decide that they are worthy and come honestly before God with their hurts and struggles. She addresses the damaging nature of bitterness  bitterness is a bad deal that makes big promises, she writes  and why the antidote to bitterness is establishing boundaries.

Staying in an abusive situation, she stressed, does not make you more holy  and boundaries arent meant to shove another person away, but to hold me together and to keep me in a healthy state.

A lot has been said on boundaries, but in the context of forgiveness, what we have to understand is that when Jesus said to Forgive 70 times seven, He didn't mean to stand close enough to that person who's hurt us or abused us. ... He doesn't say, Stay in close community with that person and allow them to abuse you over and over.

I believe Jesus is saying, Establish enough emotional distance to where it's safe enough, that, if this person never changes, and they keep doing what they're doing, you have enough boundaries in place, enough safety and emotional distance in place, that you can forgive that person 70 times seven without being destroyed in the process.

TerKeurst hopes Seeing Beautiful Again is not just going to be another message that people read, but rather something that they can sit with and feel like they have a friend sitting right there with them.

The devotion, designed for daily reflection, includes portions of her books Forgiving What You Cant Forgetand Its Not Supposed to Be This Way, along with content pulled straight from her personal journals.

I feel like that will help give that conversational aspect to the book where it really does feel like we're sitting together and we're processing finding beautiful in your story too, she said. My prayer is that someone reads this, sits with it, and they feel like they're not alone.

Forgiving What You Cant Forget, released last year, debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times bestsellers' list  an indication, the mother-of-five said, that so many of us, especially coming out of the pandemic, have really been living in some hurt.

I think a lot of people have felt very isolated and lonely and have been dancing with some relational dysfunction that busyness helped us cover up and navigate without having to address, she said.

I think people are desperate for healing and they just don't know how to do it. They don't know how to get there, and I think we're tired of knowing that, as Christians, we're supposed to forgive, but we don't know how to do it and it feels so impossible, it feels slippery.

Forgiveness is a process and journey that may take a long time, TerKeurst said  and its a two-part process. Part one, she said, is forgiving for the fact of what happened, and part two is forgiving for the impact that this wounding had.

Its going to be a process and it's going to take a long time, she said. I don't like it when I hear people say, Forgive, and then walk in that healing, because I think they're misunderstanding. Forgiveness doesn't create instant healing. Forgiveness starts that healing process.

TerKeurst encouraged those struggling to share their story, remember that theyre not alone, and focus on the evidence of God's beauty for their life, from the sunrise to the yellow flower growing in the grass.

I think that we will soon start to discover that even in the midst of hard circumstances, there is still evidence of beauty all around us, she said. The more that we dare to be a noticer of that, the more it'll start to build our confidence that God is with us.
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
Germanys Greens will participate in the federal election on 26 September with Annalena Baerbock as their candidate for chancellor. The partys two co-leaders, Baerbock and Robert Habeck, made the announcement at a joint press conference on Monday morning.

Annalena Baerbock

The decision had been awaited with anticipation. If the current trends in the polls persist, the Greens have a chance of nominating the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down after 16 years in power.

Baerbock and Habeck took the final decision in a one-on-one meeting, and concealed it from party committees, the party membership, and the public. What the Greens, who once upon a time swore by grassroots democracy, would have previously described as a rotten backroom deal, was praised by Baerbock as a new political culture in which everyone works together instead of against each other.

In reality, all political discussion was suppressed because the Greens are determined to continue the policies of the Merkel government, even though it is deeply despised. Since their poor election result in 2017, the Grand Coalition parties, the Social Democrats (SPD), Christian Democrats (CDU), and Christian Social Union (CSU), have lost a further 10 percentage points in support, leaving them with a combined support of less than 45 percent.

Revealingly, Baerbock and Habeck did not criticise the Grand Coalitions policies at their press conference. Instead, they promised a different style of politics, a different political culture and a new understanding of political leadership. In other words: the same policies packaged anew.

When Helmut Kohls 16 years as chancellor came to an end in 1998, things were very different. The SPD and Greens won the federal election because they promised more social and peaceful policiespromises which they transformed into their opposites as soon as they entered government. The Greens paved the way for the first foreign interventions by the armed forces and adopted with the SPD the Agenda 2010, the greatest social counter-revolution since the formation of the Federal Republic.

Following Merkels 16-year chancellorship, which deepened the militarist and anti-social policies of the Agenda 2010 and is responsible due to the profits before lives policy for over 80,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the Greens do not even pose as a political opposition.

Baerbock promised to unleash all forces to strengthen the country, prompting the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung to comment with satisfaction, She didnt just speak about core Green issues, but also about the competitiveness of German industry and mid-sized businesses. Spiegel editor Dirk Kurbjuweit enthused that after the CDU mismanaged the economy, the highly-disciplined Greens could be the next anchor of stability for the Federal Republic.

The 40-year-old Baerbock is well qualified as the Greens chancellor candidate because she embodies more than perhaps anyone else the partys rightward shift. She joined the Greens in 2005, when the SPD/Green government fell apart because workers abandoned the SPD in droves.

She studied political science, public law, and international law in Hamburg and at the London School of Economics and was active in various leadership functions for the Greens at the European, national, and state levels. She was elected to parliament in 2013 and as co-leader alongside Habeck in January 2018. This marked the first time that the right-wing so-called realo wing of the party nominated both co-leaders.

While the Greens were formally an opposition party at the federal level under Baerbock and Habeck, they were in reality the fourth wheel on the Grand Coalitions wagon. In 2017, they negotiated a coalition deal with the CDU, CSU, and Free Democrats (FDP) that only fell apart after the FDP balked at the last minute.

The Greens then supported the governments deadly coronavirus policy more fervently than some of the government parties own deputies. They also focused on attacking the government from the right on its militarism and foreign policy, especially towards Russia and China. For example, Baerbock rejected the building of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea.

At the state level, where the Greens are involved in 11 out of 16 governments, they collaborate with the CDU, SPD, FDP, and Left Party in all conceivable combinations. In Baden-Wurttemberg, where the Green politician Winfried Kretschmann is entering his third term as Minister President, he has long ago become a favourite of the auto industry.

In June 2020, the Greens published a new party programme that called for a massive build-up of the military and the domestic forces of state repression, and the pursuit of an aggressive European imperialist foreign policy. The EU must be able to manage world politics, it stated, and the armed forces must be equipped in line with its responsibilities and tasks.

At the party congress that adopted the programme in November, Baerbock made clear that the partys central issue, climate change, would be aimed at supporting German capital. Fear not, this climate change revolution is just about as crazy as a building loan contract. A new structuring of the economic system does not mean overturning it, but merely about protecting the world, she insisted.

Shortly thereafter, Baerbock spoke out explicitly in a lengthy interview with the Suddeutsche Z eitung in favour of a major rearmament programme and new military interventions. It was high time to respond to the proposals of French President Emmanuel Macron for a sovereign European defence policy, she said, And that also means talking about foreign interventions. That wont be easy. But we cant avoid the issue.

On refugee policy, Baerbock also supports the strategy of sealing borders pursued by the Grand Coalition and European Union (EU). She advocates building reception centres on Europes external borders, where refugees will be swiftly registered, given a security check, and have their data analysed. According to Baerbock, a humanitarian refugee policy can only work with a stricter policy of deportations.

Politically, Baerbock and Habeck agree on all issues. If the Greensundoubtedly following extensive consultations with influential sections of the ruling elitedecided Baerbock should be the chancellor candidate, this was not only because of her gender, as many media outlets are speculating. She is considered to be more hard-line, ruthless and able to impose her will than Habeck, who is 11 years her senior.

Baerbocks secret weapon is demanding more from herself and her party than is pain-free, wrote the Suddeutsche Zeitung. By contrast, Habeck belongs to a Green generation that once broke out of the parental household in search of freedom, including from the performance culture.

Baerbock is not merely a Merkel in Green with an instinct for high stakes gambling, but also a Margaret Thatcher. She represents those privileged elements of the middle classthe most important base of support for the Greenswhich has profited from the stock market boom over recent years and the impoverishment of the working class that has accompanied it. They are now responding with increased hostility to growing worker radicalisation.

The naming of Baerbock as chancellor candidate underscores that there is no electable alternative for the working class among the established parties. The SPD and Left Party govern with the Greens in several states and would immediately join a Green-led government at the federal level. They advocate the same right-wing policies.

The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality PartySGP) is the only party fighting for a socialist programme and representing the interests of the working class. Support the SGPs participation in the election with your signature and apply to join the party.
In these topsy-turvy times, U.S. businesses are actually asking government to regulate them.

In the run-up to President Biden's three-day climate summit opening on Earth Day (April 22), 408 companies and institutional investors signed an open letter to the Biden administration asking for more aggressive targets on climate. Signatories such as Apple, Ford, Amazon, and McDonald's called for the president to adopt a U.S. target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The president is widely expected to comply.

"To restore the standing of the U.S. as a global leader, we need to address the climate crisis at the pace and scale it demands," reads the letter. Specifically, business leaders are imploring the U.S. to adopt an emissions reduction target that will place the country on a credible path to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

Though the letter primarily focuses on encouraging the U.S. government to act, you can expect businesses large and small will need to step up.

To make the massive changes needed to contain global warming as outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which the Biden administration re-signed on January 20--his first day in office--companies will need to not only invest in sustainable equipment and practices, but also potentially be willing to accept lower profit margins. That is, getting products and materials from far away places might be cheaper, but the environmental toll may be far higher. That cost would need to factor in, if the U.S. stands a chance at countering the worst of what climate change might muster.

This will surely be a tough sell. With shareholders continuing to focus aggressively on quarterly profits, investments for the longer term are hard to make the case for, especially if competitors are skimping on such expenditures. But if transitioning to a clean economy is mandated by the government, accounting for things like emissions reduction, renewable energy purchases, clean tech research, and externalities, could become a lot easier, as it puts everyone on the same difficulty level.

There will be winners and losers in the decarbonization transition, and companies whose shareholders keep them trapped within short-term horizons could find themselves losers. Small businesses would also find it difficult to compete if more constraints are placed on them--particularly in the near term as so many are teetering on the edge as a result of the pandemic. It's possible there may be accommodations for the smallest businesses so they don't need to comply with stiffer regulations.

Even so, the concept that resources like air, water, and biodiverse forests are free or low-cost inputs to production is about to change. The Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Securities and Exchange Commission are all on the verge of incorporating natural capital and climate risk into the ways companies and banks do their accounting and disclosures. Here is a partial list of what to expect in the coming days, weeks, and months:

A climate summit featuring jockeying by the U.S. and China for leadership on the world stage, with aggressive announcements on climate

Outcomes of the climate summit to include massive deployment of private capital to help fund the transition to a cleaner economy, including announcements by big banks working to "green" their loan portfolios

More executive orders in specific areas, to push the transition along more quickly in the U.S.

Increased focus on climate justice, mitigating effects on the poor and disenfranchised

Final legislation on infrastructure with climate policy throughout, including incentives for clean tech research, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and a road map for a transition to electric vehicles

SEC rules mandating environmental, social, and governance disclosures for listed companies
New Delhi:

A brutal suicide and gun attack on a police training center in southeast Afghanistan killed 32 people while wounding more than 200, an official said.

"The hospital is overwhelmed and we call on people to donate blood," said Shir Mohammad Karimi, deputy health director in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack and victims of the attack have been mostly women, students and police.

At first a suicide bomber detonated a car filled with explosives near the training centre, making way for a number of attackers to start their assault, the interior ministry said in a statement.

A local official said two car bombs went off near the compound that also houses the provincial headquarters of the national police, border police and Afghan National Army.

The attack came hours after a US drone strike in Kurram Agency, part of which borders Paktia, killed at least 26 Haqqani militants, officials have said.

With PTI inputs

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[April 22, 2021] Huawei's Joy Tan to Discuss AI Climate Solutions at Foreign Policy's Virtual Climate Summit

PLANO, Texas, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei Technologies USA's Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Joy Tan, will be participating on a panel at Foreign Policy's upcoming Virtual Climate Summit. Taking place on April 27 and 28, the event will bring together top government officials, industry leaders, and issue experts to drive awareness to climate priorities and highlight innovative strategies for global solutions to urgent climate problems. John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, will be delivering the keynote address in an opening conversation with Ravi Agrawal, Editor in Chief of Foreign Policy. Virtual registration and the event agenda can be found here. Tan's virtual panel titled, "Harnessing AI Solutions to Save the Planet," will take place on Tuesday, April 27th at 11:20 a.m. ET. The discussion will begin with a video introduction from Topher White, CEO and Founder of Rainforest Connection, Huawei's partner in protecting rainforests from illegal logging and poachers.Following the introduction, Tan will be joined on the live panel discussion by Abhilasha Purwar, Founder and CEO of Blue Sky, and Janet Ranganathan, Vice President for Research, Data, and Innovation at the World Resource Institute. The panel will be moderated by Andrew Sollinger, Publisher of Foreign Policy.



Recent AI advances provide vital tools that can help officials make informed climate decisions, prepare for climate impacts, build resilience efforts, and determine promising ways to reverse the effects of climate change. From helping during the 2019 swine flu epidemic, to reducing deforestation and monitoring trees both inside and outside of forests, experts will be discussing climate-focused AI efforts, as well as ways AI technology can make global supply chains more environmentally friendly. Leaders at the intersection of climate science, advanced technology, and global climate policy will be sharing insights into how countries can leverage the potential of AI to best adapt their policies and economies for the changing planet. For more information and to register for Foreign Policy's Virtual Climate Summit and the panel on "Harnessing AI Solutions to Save the Planet," visit: https://foreignpolicy.com/events/climate-summit/

About Huawei Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains  telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services  we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei's end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes. At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 188,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees. For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on: http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei

http://www.twitter.com/Huawei

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http://www.youtube.com/Huawei Contact: Kimberlee Bradshaw Archibald / kbradsha@huawei.us View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huaweis-joy-tan-to-discuss-ai-climate-solutions-at-foreign-policys-virtual-climate-summit-301274923.html SOURCE Huawei Technologies USA

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Liberis expands global reach to seventh country with launch in Denmark, now offering revenue-based financing for 34,000 local SMEs

SMEs in Denmark can access pre-approved financing based on business revenues and transactions through Liberis partnership with the region's largest payments and ecommerce platforms

can access pre-approved financing based on business revenues and transactions through Liberis partnership with the region's largest payments and ecommerce platforms The company has funded SMEs globally with $700M through 40K transactions.

through transactions. As demand grows, Liberis also earns spot on coveted Tech Nation Future Fifty list of future tech leaders in the UK

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberis , a leading global embedded business finance provider, has today announced a shift in strategy: it will only fund SMEs through partnerships with ecommerce and payments companies, rather than direct to SMEs.

Rob Straathof, CEO Liberis: "Today, only 25% of SMEs that apply for funding through banks are successful. Liberis has proven that the businesses that get rejected by traditional banks are suitable for pre-approved financing.

"Until now, we have been offering SMEs revenue-based finance directly, as well as through partners. However, through our growing partner ecosystem we reach far more SMEs, and the economies of scale we can achieve enable us to pass on our savings to their users. By getting a different view of customers' businesses through revenue data, we can pre-approve personalised financing offers that work for everyone.

"This system works: we are seeing an 80% renewal rate from SMEs who are able to access the funds they need through the services they already use. Our partners are adding a new value stream to their customers, and everyone is happy."

International expansion

As part of the company's recent rapid growth spurt, it also announces today that it has expanded to Denmark, serving 34,000 local SMEs through partnerships with local companies. Liberis is now active in seven countries across three continents.

Pedram Tadayon, Chief Commercial Officer for Liberis: "As Denmark starts to emerge from lockdown, we are thrilled to be able to provide its owner-managed businesses cashflow support for staff, stock and utilities. We are excited to now be the largest revenue-based finance (merchant cash advance) provider in Denmark, offering a much-needed solution and new approach to help local businesses fund their growth."

With its new launch in Denmark, Liberis is now the largest provider of revenue-based financing options for Danish SMEs.

Tech Nation's Future Fifty and Liberis momentum

Liberis has been selected to Tech Nation's Future Fifty list of late-stage tech companies and future global leaders from the UK. Recognising the company's growth, team, industry leadership and potential, previous Future Fifty winners include Farfetch, Deliveroo, Zoopla and many more.

Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis, commented: "We are thrilled that Tech Nation has recognised the potential of revenue-based finance to drive the shift away from traditional channels with a new way to support the world's SMEs with fair, quick and easy funding."

Other notable company achievements include:

Over $700 million of funding already delivered to 17,000 businesses

of funding already delivered to 17,000 businesses Supported by the UK Government backed BBIA

The only embedded finance provider with a proven track record across 3 continents

30+ global partners including eCommerce platforms, payment processors, SaaS providers, online marketplaces and ISOs, including Worldpay from FIS and Global Payments, to reach 1m SMEs

SMEs Danish partners include the country's largest payment processors

A fresh new brand identity and website to better represent the company's leadership as the only global embedded business finance provider

For information on how to partner with Liberis or the company's international expansion plans, please visit www.liberis.com .

About Liberis

Liberis is the leading global embedded finance platform. Founded in 2007, it provides partners with the technology platforms and financial solutions for hyper-personalised, fair funding for their small business customers. Headquartered in the UK, Liberis empowers businesses and provides positive impact. It has financed more than 17,000 SMEs worldwide with more than $700m. Liberis is supported by British Business Investments, Paragon and SVB. Learn more at liberis.com .

Images are found here

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1493702/Liberis_Logo.jpg

Related Links

http://www.liberis.com



SOURCE Liberis
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When Nick Jonas announced the Oscar nominations alongside his wife, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, last month, he glistened in a gold silk Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo.

The awards shows, particularly the Oscars, feel like a long-awaited embrace weve all been waiting for, says his stylist Avo Yermagyan. Its a glimmer of what life was like before the world came to a screeching halt. So I wanted to be optimistic in my styling of that moment.

The sunny yellow look was his testament to the world coming alive again. Theres a sense of hopefulness weve all been filled with, says Yermagyan, whod tried to reflect the pandemics severity at the onset of virtual events.

Initially, we were all very cautious to be mindful of the tone of what we were doing, so being a little more reserved when it came to jewelry choices, etc. But to balance that, we also are giving people a bit of escapism, beauty and levity  which we all need. So I think as the awards season is progressing, people are opening up to taking bigger chances and bolder swings.

Yermagyan took a cue from One Night in Miami in dressing Leslie Odom Jr. I felt like the men were such changemakers in their time, so I didnt want to play it safe with the styling, he says.

For the Globes, Odom paired a chocolate-brown wool Valentino Haute Couture suit with a neon-green turtleneck. I tried to nod to the 60s with the cuts and colors of the suiting, but I still wanted to pack an unexpected punch with the underpinnings and accessories.

The striped Celine Homme suit and ruffle-collared shirt Odom wore to the Critics Choice Awards represented Yermagyans subtle nod to Hamilton.

It could have gone a little too literal or costumey, so I chose to offset it with those chunky layered chain necklaces, he says. The necklaces made the look less polite and more punk.

For the SAG Awards, Odom debuted a green and fuchsia Berluti suit that Yermagyan described on Instagram as a watermelon amuse-bouche.

All the rules of red-carpet dressing are being rewritten, says Yermagyan, whos embraced being able to stage photos and control the narrative of his looks. After a year of being at home, theres a new kind of creativity. All of us  from the actors to the stylists  were all being unleashed.

Elizabeth Stewart, who styles Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Amanda Seyfried, also appreciates the new creative freedom.

When you take out the context of an actual red carpet and actually having to leave the house, anything really goes, she says. Its been fun to see people in pajamas or fabulous headpieces.

With Davis, Stewarts taken a celebratory and happy approach. If we are going to do awards season, lets do it in the best possible way, especially by supporting the fashion industry and designers who have been so hard-hit by the pandemic, Stewart says.

For the Globes, Davis wore a brightly patterned Lavie by CK look, made with fabric from designer Claude Kamenis native Cameroon.

Viola wanted a designer that spoke to her specifically as a Black woman. She wanted to rethink red-carpet glamour in the age of more diversity and inclusivity.

Davis followed it up with a turquoise Greta Constantine gown for the Critics Choice Awards, a peppy floral Duro Olowu frock for the NAACP Image Awards and a winning electric-lime Louis Vuitton SAG Awards look.

In dressing Seyfried, Stewart took her surroundings into account. Amandas Globes look was influenced by the fact she was in Savannah, Georgia, says Stewart of the coral Oscar de la Renta gown. We envisioned the floral dress in that setting of cobblestone streets and moss trees.

While Stewart stays true to Seyfrieds personal style, she felt inspired by the high bar set by the Mank costume design.

Its fun to think, Would Marion Davies wear this if she was alive today?

Also cinematically inspired, stylist Law Roach intended Anya Taylor-Joys shimmering green Globes gown as a tiny nod to Anyas character Beth from The Queens Gambit.

I wanted it to feel like it could have been one of her costumes, says Roach of the retro look complete with cape, custom-designed by Dior. If you think about glamour and sophistication, Dior is probably one of the first couturiers you think of.

Taylor-Joy wore another Dior dress, in berry-toned tulle, for the Critics Choice Awards, and Roachs client Zendaya donned an orange-hot Valentino number.

The gigantic ball skirt with that white tank top was just so modern and young and really had cool-girl vibes, says Roach, whos styled the Malcolm & Marie star for 10 years and also designed costumes for the movie.

Roach strives for take-your-breath-away moments. For the SAG Awards, he styled Kerry Washington in an Etro patterned dress with matching cap and Aldis Hodge in a three-piece Dolce & Gabbana jacquard suit.

Its all about the way the clothes make me feel, and I pass that emotion on to the clients, he says.

Stylist Jason Bolden hopes his awards looks with Cynthia Erivo uplift. We really wanted to have fun and bring some joy and some fantasy back in the midst of everything weve been going through, he says.

When Bolden saw Valentinos spring 2021 couture collection with piercing hues and towering metallic platforms, he thought, This is a Cynthia collection. He secured two dresses  a pearl-embellished hooded design for her A Grammy Salute performance, and her neon-green futuristic Globes look. Erivo deemed the latter divine  and immediately tried on the shoes, exclaiming, They feel like sneakers!

It was the full look from the runway, says Bolden. It was fun, it was fantasy. It was also kind of an ode to her now, being a fairy in Pinocchio.

For the Grammys, Bolden was inspired by Erivos role of Aretha Franklin in NatGeos Genius.

What Aretha and Cynthia have in common is their love of fashion and being very out there when it came to choices of how they wanted to do things and being very bold, so that was an easy thing to lean into, he says.

The Grammy-nominated star was eager to dress up, so Bolden collaborated with Louis Vuitton on the magical gold-and-silver sequined showstopper. That was an ode to Aretha and also this play off of this Nubian princess.

With Yara Shahidi, Bolden always looks for the hardest dress to wear in a collection. The embroidered Dior Couture look she wore to the Critics Choice Awards was the only option

they considered.

It was super playful, it had this Cirque du Soleil vibe and was also an ode to her being Tinkerbell, he says. Again, everything goes back to bringing a little bit of calm to the chaos right now, giving some fantasy, and thats what that look was for Yara.

This awards season, Bolden believes people are taking fashion to the max.

Everybodys ready to celebrate themselves and have fun and sit in the chair and laugh with their glam teams, says Bolden, whos looking forward to some iconic glamour at the Oscars.

For me, I hope that people really create that Hollywood moment  the thing that we crave and that gets us excited and gives us hope and possibility.

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday informed about the rescue operations of missing crew members of ship Emerald Star which sank in Japan. There were 26 Indians on board the ship. So far, 16 have been rescued and 10 are still missing.

To rescue the missing Indians, Indian Navy P81 has reached Manila and joined the search and rescue operation.

"Indian Embassy in Japan has informed me that a helicopter and 2 patrol vessels of Japan Coast Guard are engaged in search and rescue operations. Indian Navy P81 has reached Manila and has also joined the search and rescue operation for missing Indians," said Sushma Swaraj.

Earlier on Friday, a cargo ship sank on Friday some 600 km south of Ishigaki island of Okinawa prefecture in Japan.

"At least 10 Indian crew members were missing after their cargo ship sank on Friday some 600 km south of Ishigaki island of Okinawa prefecture, southwestern Japan," the Chinese Consulate-General said.

Sixteen of the 26 Indian crew aboard the Hong Kong-registered vessel had been rescued, while 10 others were still missing, said the Consulate-General, quoting information from the Japanese side, Xinhua news agency reported.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Google Earth Day 2021 Doodle sends an important message to all people around the globe. Due to the increasing pollution and deterioration of the environment, individuals need to be more aware of what is happening around them.

For this year, the event will focus on the theme entitled "Restore Our Earth." Indeed, the ecosystem should be healed once again even in the middle of technological intervention and an endless series of innovations.

Google Earth Day 2021 Doodle Emphasizes Trees

CNET reported on Thursday, Apr. 22 that the California-based company has uploaded a new Doodle video for the Earth Day celebration. What the video wants to inform is simple: plant more trees to make the planet healthy and alive.

Google aims to tell all people that helping does not require big things. As the video suggested, returning the favor to nature could start in a single sapling.

Trees are a huge help in combating the ever-growing global climate change. By absorbing the carbon dioxide through their bark and leaves, trees could hinder the progress of the phenomena.

Read Also: Google Doodle Celebrates Earth Day 2016 With Five Different Biomes

Additionally, it could also give us an improved quality of the air. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, it contributes to the greenhouse effect wherein more thermal energy is clogged in the atmosphere which results in the unusual warming of the earth.

Specifically, the Earth Day 2021 Doodle toured us to a wide range of trees which could be useful in slowing down climate change.

In 2019, a study entitled "The global tree restoration potential" published in Science concluded that about 205 gigatons of carbon could be captured through planting over half a trillion trees.

This action could contribute to a 25% reduction of carbon in the air. This will also negate the huge emissions that have impacted humans since 1960.

For those who want to take part in this annual celebration, Earthday.org is launching a live stream this Thursday which will help people to be more mindful of the environment. In connection to the 2021 theme, there will be a series of workshops and discussions, as well as special numbers for the audience.

The live stream will begin at 9 am PT and you can have the chance to listen to the most prominent nature activists, artists, industry heads, and other persons who will take part in the program.

Google to be Carbon-Free by 2030

ZDNet reported that five Google data centers are currently aiming to be carbon-free by 2030. Using only electricity, it seems that the company is headed to the "Green '' thinking that it wants to achieve.

Google's senior VP of Cloud Infrastructure, Urs Holzle, stated that their company is now running over 50 projects which are all using renewable energy. This also translates to an approximate number of one million solar rooftops which could hold 5.5 gigawatts of electricity.

In conjunction with Earth Day, Google wants to awaken the public about the persisting problems in nature.

Since data centers are one of the contributors to CO2 emissions, the companies have been exploring ways on how to incorporate technology into the environment, while delivering less harm to the latter.

For Sundar Pichai, the tech giant's CEO, they are now ready to be completely carbon-free by 2030.

Related Article: Google Doodle For Earth Day 2018: Who Is Primatologist Jane Goodall?



This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
ALBANY  Lawmakers and advocacy groups are calling for restrictions on how New York uses future opioid settlement funds after discovering that millions of dollars from a recent settlement were placed into the states general fund.

Placing the money  around $21 million, according to one lawmaker  in that fund gives the state wide latitude on how to use the money. And while officials from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomos administration say they intend to use it all on addiction-related programming, treatment providers say they were informed last week that the money will simply replace existing state spending on those services  not increase it.

The move has angered those working on the front lines of the opioid crisis, especially as the coronavirus pandemic has fueled record drug overdose deaths. In response, advocates are pushing for lawmakers to pass legislation that would prevent similar financial maneuvers in the future.

We are extremely saddened by this, so we are calling on the Legislature to ensure this does not happen with any future opioid settlement funds, said Ashley Livingston, co-chair of Friends of Recovery Warren & Washington, a nonprofit providing addiction recovery support in the North Country.

We need the Senate and Assembly to pass legislation that will protect the future funds that will be coming into New York, she said. This money is not free money. This money has a human cost attached. The opioid manufacturers and distributors are settling because they know their unethical practices took the lives of our loved ones.

The settlement money comes from McKinsey and Company, a major consulting firm that advised Purdue Pharma in marketing and selling OxyContin, a prescription painkiller that helped kickstart the opioid crisis more than two decades ago. McKinsey was accused of helping to promote and profit from the drug while Purdue knowingly downplayed its addictive qualities.

In February, McKinsey struck a $573 million settlement deal with New York and 46 other states, as well as the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, who had all brought claims against the firm for their alleged role in the crisis.

New York is slated to receive upwards of $32 million from the settlement, which must be used for opioid prevention, treatment and recovery services. Its the first of several major opioid settlement funds to hit state coffers since states began to sue en masse. Additional settlements with other companies are expected in the near future.

"This is such a slap in the face to the families whove lost people, said state Sen. Peter Harckham, who chairs a committee on alcoholism and substance abuse. They at least had the consolation that their loved ones loss would not be in vain because this blood money would go to help future families. Now that the administration has scooped it into the general fund it could be filling potholes or building tramways to who knows where.

Harckham and others have likened the move to what happened after a master settlement agreement was reached with tobacco companies, when states used much of the funds to plug budget holes rather than on tobacco cessation services.

He said he is pushing for legislation that will create a lockbox for future opioid settlement money, with substance-use treatment providers and affected families being the sole beneficiaries. The Senate included language in its one-house budget proposal to do this, he said, but it never made it into the enacted budget.

The big worry now is that as we get really substantial money coming in from the (Johnson & Johnson) suit and other suits, that we really have an airtight lockbox so that no future administration can do this again, he said.

Cuomos office did not respond to questions about the settlement funds this week and referred comment to the state Division of the Budget.

Budget spokesperson Freeman Klopott said New York is slated to receive $28 million from the $32 million McKinsey settlement share during the current fiscal year. The rest will be distributed in $1.4 million annual allotments, he said.

New York state has fought hard to ensure those who prospered from the opioid crisis pay a price that offsets the costs of combating it and all $28 million the state will receive from this settlement in fiscal year 2022 is dedicated to combating addiction and save lives as approved by the Legislature in the budget they passed this month, he said.

Klopott said $11 million will be used to increase support for medication assisted treatment in state prisons and $1.25 million will be used to restore funding for syringe exchange programs and for the purchase of naloxone to combat overdoses.

The state also anticipates $105 million in federal funds toward the effort over the next two years, he said.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2021 -- The Activated Carbon market is projected to reach USD 19.28 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Reports and Data. The market is expected to be powered by an increased prevalence of infectious pathogens, as well as increasing pollution levels in urban areas. Many of the variables projected to drive change are also improved working standards, increased disposable earnings, and enhanced health literacy. The increasing need for air and water pollution control equipment to be introduced is expected to raise the demand for air purifiers to kill airborne diseases and water treatment plants for the rise in demand for clean drinking water, especially in emerging regions. Growing understanding of health expects to make a significant contribution to growth, particularly among urban youth.



The high demand for activated carbon is expected to grow because of the market for industrial air purification applications in mercury control technology. Many manufacturing plants would be needed to follow strict new environmental regulations for mercury and other harmful air contaminants, including coal-fired power plants, clinker cement plants, and other facilities running massive industrial boilers.



Companies considered and profiled in this market study:



The presence of both international and regional companies makes the competition diverse. Key players such as Donau Carbon GmbH; Activated Carbon Technologies; Calgon Carbon Corporation; Osaka Gas Chemicals Co. Ltd; Jacobi Carbons AB; Oxbow Activated Carbon; Kuraray Co., Ltd; Lenntech B.V.; Haycarb PLC; and Desotec Activated Carbon.



Receive a PDF Sample of "Activated Carbon Market" Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/sample-enquiry-form/3071



Market Drivers:



Activated carbon is used in water and sewage treatment due to its property to remove dissolved impurities and particulate. It also removes chlorine from water and eliminates some organic impurities. It is utilized in greenhouses and manufacturing sectors for air purification and to remove odors, toxic gases, and harmful dust particles. Medical and pharmaceutical, food and beverage processing, and automotive sectors are other application areas for the product.



Increasing levels of water and air pollution have prompted governments around the world to impose stringent water and air pollution controlling measures and waste treatment norms. The United States EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and government regulatory bodies have recommended activated carbon as a suitable material for removing chemical impurities like mercury, among others.



For the purpose of this study, Reports and Data have segmented the activated carbon market on the basis of product type, application, end-users, and region:



Product Type Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Million Tons; 2017-2027)



Granular

Powder

Pellets

Bead

Polymer Coated

Others



Application Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Million Tons; 2017-2027)



Liquid

Gaseous



Quick buy @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/checkout-form/3071



End-Users Outlook (Revenue: USD Billion; Volume: Million Tons; 2017-2027)



Air-Purification

Water-Purification

Pharmaceutical

Food & Beverages

Automotive

Others



Regional Landscape



In the APAC region, economies like India, China, and Japan are projected to lead the region in the coming years. Coconut shells are one of the most widely used and proven raw materials for manufacturing activated charcoal. Many of the Asian countries like the Philippines, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka have suitable tropical weather ideal for steady coconut cultivation, hence, making the Asia Pacific one of the prominent sources of raw material.



North America emerged as the second-largest market after Asia Pacific. Developed nations like North America and Europe are expected to show moderate growth due to the saturation of end-use industries and a weak economic scenario, particularly in Europe. Strict governmental regulations, increasing environmental concerns, and standards as well as government initiatives to safeguard the environment, are expected to fuel market growth during the forecast period.



Further key findings from the report suggest:



The market is being propelled by the increasing demand for water and air purification, mercury removal factories, and industrialization.



An air purifier from the company Blueair can prevent some airborne diseases by trapping and removing the flu viruses from the air. On account of the COVID-19 pandemic air purifiers that can palliate severe airborne contagions are expected to meet a substantial demand from the consumers, and many more product-based or consumer electronics companies would start investing in the R&D to invent newer technological breakthroughs.



Rising development and industrialization of government subsidies also propel the activated carbon market.



The growing competition in mercury control technology for industrial air purification applications is one of the main drivers for the market. Companies are embracing global development and advanced product manufacturing as their fundamental approach to competitiveness.Continued



Get Attractive Discount on "Activated Carbon Market" @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/discount-enquiry-form/3071



The report emphasizes the following key questions:



Q.1. What are the most lucrative and promising growth prospects for the market?

Q.2. Which sectors are expected to deliver a high growth rate and which industry aspects come into play in this advancement?

Q.3. Which geographies are estimated to exhibit the highest growth and the underlying causes?

Q.4. Which factors are impacting the future of the market and what are the driving factors?

Q.5. What are the hurdles and challenges curtailing the industry's growth in the forecast period?



Table of Content:



Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



1.1. Market Definition

1.2. Research Scope & Premise

1.3. Methodology

1.4. Market Estimation Technique



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



2.1. Summary Snapshot, 2019-2027



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



Chapter 4. Activated Carbon Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis



4.1. Activated Carbon Market Material Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers analysis



Continued



View Exhaustive Market Research Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/activated-carbon-market



Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.



Thank you for reading this article. You can also get chapter-wise sections or region-wise report coverage for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.
Bengaluru, April 22 : The Bengaluru zoo in the Bannerghatta Biological Park would remain shut during the weekend curfew on April 24-25 and May 1-2, to contain the virus spread, an official said on Thursday.

As the Karnataka government ordered weekend curfew in the state, due to the surge in Covid cases, the zoo in the park would remain closed for visitors on April 24-25 and May 1-2, said zoo Executive Director Vanashri Vipin Singh in a statement.

The zoo, however, will remain open on Tuesdays -- April 27 and May 4 though it is a weekly holiday.

In a related development, the South Western Railway also closed the Mysuru Rail Museum and Malgudi Museum at Arasalu railway station in Shivamogga from Thursday till further orders.

The reopening of both museums will be notified after assessing the situation on May 4.

According to the state health bulletin, a record 25,795 new cases were reported in a day, taking the state's Covid tally to 12,47,997, including 1,96,997 active cases till Thursday.
The Best of Nashville Hip-Hop Livestream Event "We're ecstatic to bring more visibility to the diverse music scene that is being cultivated here in Nashville." - Logan Crowell, Founder & President of H.O.M.E

In an effort to revitalize the economy for Hip-Hop artists in Nashville and share the talents of Music Citys best artists with a global audience, Helping Our Music Evolve (H.O.M.E.) in partnership with Nashville Is Not Just Country Music (NINJCM), presents The Best of Nashville Hip-Hop showcase. The virtual experience, professionally produced with the help of Underground Music Collective, will feature performances by 11 of Nashvilles top emerging Hip-Hop artists including Nate Rose, Byron Juane, Daisha McBride, Chuck Indigo and 2'Live Bre. The free livestream event, sponsored by BMI and BMG, will be broadcast via Facebook Live on Friday, April 30th at 6:15pm CST.

"We're ecstatic to bring more visibility to the diverse music scene that is being cultivated here in Nashville, said Logan Crowell, Founder & President of H.O.M.E. Our hope is that this event will provide an opportunity for music fans to discover their favorite new Hip-Hop artist as well as support the underground scene that's already generating so much buzz in Nashville and beyond.

The pandemic presented unique challenges for everyone, especially independent artists, and left them with few ways to generate a steady income. Host and Emcee of the evening, Derek Minor, the owner of Reflection Music Group and an established Hip-Hop Artist himself, will share the stage with some of Nashvilles finest independent Hip-Hop acts to send a message of unity to the world and shine a spotlight on the amazing talent base of creatives, artists, songwriters, and producers across all genres who need support right now. The beauty of Nashville Hip-Hop is that it encompasses the heart of the city and tells a story that resonates with all who hear it, said Minor. Its an honor to be able to continue to uplift that voice through this amazing experience.

Jamila Mimi McCarley and Thalia Muziqueen Ewing, have spent the better part of the last decade sewing invaluable resources and knowledge deep into Nashvilles Hip-Hop community through their organization Nashville Is Not Just Country Music (NINJCM). It is exciting to see music companies on Music Row, like BMG and BMI, investing in Nashville's Hip-Hop community, said McCarley. NINJCM is honored to partner with these like-minded organizations to continue to amplify the message to the world that, Nashville is not just country music.

RSVP and tune in to The Best of Nashville Hip-Hop Livestream Event on Friday, April 30th at 6:15pm CT here: https://www.livefromthe615.live/bestofnashville

H.O.M.E. is a creative incubator for artists, producers, and music industry professionals and Nashville's first and only 24/7 music & media production community.

NINJCM provides support to the Nashville based creative through music business education, networking, community & professional relationships and career advancing opportunities.

Media Contact:

Natalie Bailey

+1.615.955.1022

natalie@ladysavagemanagement.com
SANTA FE, N.M., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating the beauty and blessings of traditional First Peoples Ways, the third annual Indigenous Healing Festival is scheduled as a virtual event on May 8 and 9. IndigenousWays, the Santa Fe-based non-profit that promotes living in balance for diverse communities, hosts the Festival and will bring together key Indigenous thought leaders, artists and musicians to share wisdom, messages of resilience and lessons for thriving via Zoom.

The theme of this year's Festival is Survivance, the Native American term for the continuation of Indigenous Wisdom. The Festival is free to all attendees and registration is available at https://www.indigenousways.org/healing-festival.

"It's been a challenging year, witnessing so much suffering and loss during the pandemic. Our goal is to bring wisdom from the elders to help attendees find the inspiration to heal," said Festival co-founder, Tash Terry (Dine/Navajo Nation).

The Festival offers speakers and performers who celebrate the deep cultural wisdom that abounds in Santa Fe. Over two days, Festival attendees will participate in sacred talking and writing circles and experience storytellers, meditation, music, and art therapy. Each session of the Festival will have ASL (American Sign Language) interpreters fluent in English/ASL and traditional languages.

"Our goal is to break through walls of separation with compassion and love, making room for all," added Terry. "In past years, it has been a true blessing to see attendees of all ages experience the commonalities in all cultures."

Program speakers include: Buffy Sainte-Marie; Keith Secola and Precious G; Native/Deaf spiritual teacher, James Wooden Legs; and Wisdom-keepers Gilbert Pena, Elder Kathy Sanchez and Evelyn Naranjo.

IndigenousWays presents the Healing Festival in partnership with Tewa Women United, the Institute of American Indian Arts, and the Santa Fe Indian School. All programs cater to underserved Native American, Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and LGBTQIA2+ communities.

Festival hours are:

Saturday, May 8th - 11am-5pm

Sunday, May 9th - 11am-4.30pm

Sponsors of the Festival include:

City of Santa Fe Arts and Culture Department, RTM, New Mexico Arts, National Endowment of the Arts, Meow Wolf, NDN Collective, and the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

About IndigenousWays

IndigenousWays (IndigenousWays.org) is a non-profit organization based in Santa Fe which promotes living in balance for diverse communities through music, arts and outreach. IndigenousWays has a core mandate to reach Indigenous & LGBTQIA2+ communities.

For information, contact Elena Higgins [email protected]

Phone: 505-795-2543

SOURCE IndigenousWays.org
King Soopers shooting suspect Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa appears at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colo., on March 25, 2021. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Pool via Reuters)

Accused Colorado Mass Shooter Faces Additional Charges

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a 21-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket last month with nearly four dozen additional counts of attempted murder, assault, and weapons offenses, court documents showed.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was already charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder stemming from the March 22 shooting rampage at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, about 28 miles northwest of Denver.

Alissa surrendered to law enforcement officers at the crime scene, about two miles from the University of Colorados flagship campus, after he was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities said.

Witnesses and law enforcement officers said Alissa arrived at the store in the early afternoon and began opening fire on people outside before entering the building and continuing to shoot.

Ten people were killed in the massacre, including responding Boulder police officer Eric Talley and several supermarket employees. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the shootings. Colorados governor has said there is no tie to terrorism.

We too want to know why, why that King Soopers, why Boulder, why Monday. And unfortunately, at this time we still dont have those answers, Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold told reporters last month.

Prosecutors on Wednesday added 33 counts of attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, and 10 counts of possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, which is illegal under Colorado law.

Authorities earlier said Alissa legally purchased a semi-automatic Ruger AR-556 pistol that he used in the attack from a gun store in Arvada.

Alissa also possessed a 9 mm handgun but authorities do not think he fired any shots with it during the rampage.

The attempted murder charges name 18 victims, including many police officers, under different theories of extreme indifference and deliberation.

Alissa is being held without bond at an undisclosed lockup. He was transferred from the Boulder County jail due to safety concerns and threats, the sheriffs office has said.

If convicted of even one count of first-degree murder, Alissa faces a mandatory prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Alissa will not under any circumstance be executed, because Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, last year signed a bill to repeal the states death penalty.

The state public defenders office, which represents Alissa, does not publicly comment on its cases, but one of his lawyers requested at his initial hearing that Alissa undergo a mental health assessment.

Our position is that we cannot do anything until we are able to fully assess Mr. Alissas mental illness, defense lawyer Kathryn Herold told a judge last month.

The nature of the illness wasnt disclosed.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for the morning of May 25. The status hearing will see the judge determine the next steps in the case.

Prosecutors plan to hold a press conference on the case on Thursday.

Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty has cautioned against any expectations that the case will proceed quickly.

It will be a lengthy court process. In every murder prosecution, the process takes at least a year for us to complete. I anticipate that that will be the same in this case, he told a press conference on March 26.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is suing the publishers of a new book that portrays her as 'already guilty'.

The legal action against Vice Island - which appeared on French bookshelves last month - comes as the 59-year-old socialite awaits trial in New York while on remand.

She has been indicted for the sex trafficking of underage girls, and the enticement of minors, but the case has not been proved.

This is why she is suing Albin Michel, the Paris publishers, for gross violation of the presumption of innocence, and is demanding significant damages.

Alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is suing the publishers of a new book that portrays her as 'already guilty'. The legal action against Vice Island - which appeared on French bookshelves last month - comes as the 59-year-old socialite awaits trial in New York while on remand. Pictured: Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005

There was no immediate comment from Albin Michel after news of the writ broke on Thursday.

Their book, L'ile de tous les vices (Vice Island) is by the French writer Jean-Gabriel Fredet and focuses on Maxwell's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late multi-millionaire businessman who was found dead in his New York prison cell in August 2019.

The convicted paedophile was said to have been involved with Maxwell in running a global sex trafficking ring.

Maxwell, the daughter of the later publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, is half-French and was a frequent visitor to Epstein's 7million Paris property in Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triomphe. There have been allegations that young girls were regularly abused inside the apartment, and it is currently considered a crime scene by French prosecutors, who have opened an enquiry. Pictured: The Paris building where local media say Epstein's apartment was located

Maxwell denies all charges, after being arrested by the FBI in July 2020.

Vice Island focuses on Maxwell's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein

Her lawyer Olivier Laude said: 'The publication of this book by Albin Michel constitutes an unacceptable attack on the presumption of innocence of Ms. Maxwell.

'Given the imminence of her criminal trial, to present her as already guilty - which this book does - is as repugnant as it is irresponsible.'

Mr Laude said Vice Island ignored the fundamental right of the presumption of innocence, and this was why a writ was served on April 15.

Maxwell's legal team is calling for Paris judges to pulp all existing copies of Vice Island, and to order that any future copies state clearly that she is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

In addition, Maxwell is seeking financial damages for the prejudice suffered, Mr Laude added.

Maxwell, the daughter of the later publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, is half-French and was a frequent visitor to Epstein's 7million Paris property in Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triomphe.

Ghislaine Maxwell, far right, is pictured with Prince Andrew and Virginia Roberts Giuffre in Maxwell's London townhouse. Roberts Giuffre has told lawyers she was forced to sleep with the Duke after being trafficked to him at least three times when she was 17. Prince Andrew Denies this

There have been allegations that young girls were regularly abused inside the apartment, and it is currently considered a crime scene by French prosecutors, who have opened an enquiry.

It is claimed that the sex trafficking ring also included 12-year-old twin girls that had been 'recruited' in Paris.

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are pictured in 1995

Prince Andrew, who was a close personal friend of both Maxwell and Epstein, is believed to have visited the Avenue Foch apartment.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, an American woman, has told lawyers she was forced to sleep with the Duke after being trafficked to him at least three times when she was 17.

The claims have always been vehemently denied by Prince Andrew, but Ms Roberts Giuffre has said she is prepared to testify against him in court.

The Duke has not been to France since a judicial enquiry was launched into the sex ring in 2019.

In the United States, prosecutors have said they want to interview Prince Andrew, but he is yet to speak to them.
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The terror that blighted the final hours of Swapnil Rastogis father Raj is something his son will never forget.

That, and his own desperation as he drove around Lucknow, the capital of Indias populous Uttar Pradesh state, searching for a hospital bed.

Earlier, he had managed to source precious oxygen from a friend as his fathers coronavirus symptoms worsened. But it was not enough to save him: Raj, just 59, died in the back seat of Swapnils car, leaving his grief-stricken son bewildered and angry in equal measure.

Pictured: A view of a crematorium ground where mass cremation of victims who died due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at a crematorium in New Delhi on April 22, 2021

A mass cremation of victims who died of Covid-19 is seen at a crematorium ground in Delhi on Thursday, April 22, 2021

Relatives and family members carry the dead body of a Covid-19 victim for a cremation at Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium, on the banks of the Yamuna river in New Delhi in the early hours of Thursday

Relatives of a Covid-19 victim mourn during a cremation at Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium, on the banks of the Yamuna river in New Delhi in the early hour of April 22, 2021

It wasnt the virus that killed my father, it was the lack of treatment, he says. I ran around to a dozen hospitals but couldnt find a bed for him. The system has collapsed.

Few would dispute his words. Today Mr Rastogis anger is matched only by the sense of fear stalking Indias population of almost 1.4billion as a second wave of the pandemic overwhelms the countrys hospitals, leaves citizens dying on the streets and sees not only desperate families but even hospital managers appealing for oxygen supplies on social media.

Epidemiologists here are reporting virulent new variants driving this surge, including a double mutation variant B1617 that does not always show up in tests even in those patients with full-blown symptoms and whose CT scans show all the tell-tale signs of coronavirus damage.

There is even more frightening talk, too, of a triple mutation variant. Will vaccines be effective against such variants?

That would be more of a worry here, perhaps, if more people had been vaccinated  it stands at less than 10 per cent of the population so far.

It is no exaggeration to say that it feels near calamitous at times. Government and hospital helplines ring out unanswered while the streets of cities and small towns are thronged with panic-stricken daughters, sons, husbands and wives doing what Mr Rastogi did  driving for hours to find oxygen or a hospital bed.

Another 314,835 infections were reported on Thursday, the world record for a daily cases figure. Pictured: A graph showing India's 7-day-average daily new coronavirus infections

The health ministry said there were 2,074 fatalities on Thursday, a new record for the country, but believed to be vastly under-reported

A man pays his respects to his relative as he performs the last rights at a crematorium on the outskirts of New Delhi on Thursday

India 's Covid death toll could be ten times higher than is being officially reported, according to analysis of the numbers being burned in crematoriums. Pictured: A man walks past a burning funeral pyres of people who died from Covid-19 at a crematorium ground in New Delhi

Multiple funeral pyres of those patients who died of COVID-19 disease are seen burning at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Meanwhile, crematoria work through the night  contrary to Hindu custom which dictates that no bodies be burnt after sundown  to cope with the rising body count, the lines of funeral pyres sending black smoke into the horizon of every major city.

Even so, the backlog of bodies is such that families have to wait hours in the baking 35C heat before they can cremate their loved ones, huddled in groups alongside the makeshift platforms built to accommodate the shrouded corpses.

Such images are the devastating proof backed up by ever more startling statistics: in the last 24 hours India recorded 314,835 new coronavirus cases, while deaths rose by 2,104.

In the capital, New Delhi, one in three citizens are testing positive. These are the official figures. The unofficial ones are likely to be much higher, as several states are under reporting their real death toll.

Either way, it means India now has the highest rate of Covid-19 in the world  one which, at the current rate, could see the country recording half a million new cases daily within the next ten days.

It is this horrifying state of affairs that has led journalist Iram Hussein to label this nothing short of a holocaust. She had to beg for her parents  both critically ill with Covid  to be given a hospital bed only to find there were no facilities to treat them. They have got nothing to fight this. No medicines, no oxygen, Ms Hussein said. I am seeing biblical scenes.

They are scenes which are unfolding everywhere, from the most affluent corners of cities to the poorest rural communities, overwhelmed by both the savagery and speed of the virus.

And the fact that these tragedies are occurring in a country which, until as recently as a month ago, appeared to have weathered coronavirus better than many in the West, makes them all the more astonishing. Wind the clock back a year and epidemiologists were predicting that India, with its vast community of rural and urban poor, faced unprecedented challenges as the first wave of the pandemic rolled across the globe.

We were told people would die on the streets of our cities, while rural villages would have too many deaths to document. Yet none of this happened. While around 114,000 died up to September/October last year when the pandemic peaked, Indias vastly underfunded and fragile healthcare system coped.

Quite why India escaped relatively lightly remains the subject of mystery and conjecture among ordinary people and experts alike.

At its peak, the country was still reporting only 90,000 cases a day  a relative sliver of its vast population, and a number that had dropped to 20,000 by January.

Was it the relatively young demographic and low rate of obesity? Was it the BCG jab routinely given to Indian children to guard against deadly tuberculosis? Or perhaps the population had stronger immune systems developed to cope with the widespread lack of sanitation?

An aerial view of a crematorium ground in Delhi on Thursday shows the scale of the devastation caused by Covid-19 in India

Oxygen, hospital beds and vaccines are running low in India, where some patients have been turned away from hospital because of shortages. Pictured: A cemetery worker in PPE collects logs to be used in funeral pyres

Despite huge numbers of infections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said lockdowns are a last resort. Pictured: Funeral pyres blaze ar a crematorium ground in New Delhi

The reality is that, aside from a harsh but effective lockdown, nobody really knows. What is clear, however is that as January ticked into February and cases dipped for the thirtieth consecutive week, complacency set in among both the population and its leaders.

From January onwards, most restrictions were relaxed, and since then many Indians have been celebrating one Hindu festival after another, mingling in vast crowds with little in the way of social distancing.

In March, a crowd of 57,000 gathered at the Narendra Modi Stadium to watch India play England in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

From April 1 onwards, millions gathered on certain days at the annual Kumbh Mela festival, despite calls by doctors alarmed by an uptick in figures from early February for it to be called off.

Among them was Dr A Fathahudeen, a highly respected medic who is part of Kerala states Covid taskforce. I said in February that Covid had not gone anywhere and a tsunami would hit us if urgent actions were not taken, he said recently. Sadly, a tsunami has indeed hit us now.

It is a prediction that Indias prime minister, Narendra Modi, certainly chose to ignore. Lax, complacent, over-confident, and lulled into a false sense of security by Indias moderate first wave, he made few preparations for a second wave despite the overwhelming evidence from Europe and America that it would come.

Nor has he led by example: for the last two months he has been driving election campaigns for local state assemblies, which involve mass rallies attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

Funeral pyres of people who died from the coronavirus are seen at a crematorium ground in New Delhi on Thursday

India's healthcare system is buckling under the strain of a vicious second wave. Pictured: A cemetery worker pulls a cart of wooden logs to be used in funeral pyres on Thursday

An Indian boy carries an empty oxygen cylinder for filling at oxygen filling centre in Bangalore on Wednesday. There is a shortage of oxygen cylinders in certain COVID-19 affected areas but the Karnataka state government has said that it will do its best to make sure the distribution of liquid medical oxygen is smooth and there will be no shortage

Even so, the speed with which the latest wave has spread through the population has surprised everyone.

Against a backdrop of pictures of near-empty Covid wards, and news that the temporary hospitals and isolation centres hastily erected during the first wave had been decommissioned, we started meeting outdoors in cafes and parks again.

Yet a month later here we are, thousands are dying daily, and not just because of the virus alone but because they cannot get life-saving treatment. Indias healthcares system is on its knees, and the consequences have been heart-rending. People are dying on park benches, in car parks, and in ambulances outside hospitals.

For once, the rich are as helpless as the poor. In a country where money and connections could always ensure access to some of the best healthcare in the world, the second wave has come as a rude shock. Money has no currency now.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, some of the top private hospitals in New Delhi said they had only a couple of hours of oxygen left, after which its patients would start dying  those on ventilators within minutes and other patients within hours.

When a truck with oxygen cylinders arrived at one New Delhi hospital at 1.30am  half an hour before it was due to run out - doctors and nurses there wept with relief.

Its little wonder that people are palpably scared: if you call for an ambulance it will not come, and even if it does there is nowhere to take you.

Its a visceral fear I have succumbed to myself this week, having woken up yesterday with Covid symptoms that have confined me to my bed. As I am in my late fifties, Ive already had one Covid vaccination, and so far my symptoms are not severe, but I cannot shake off the lingering fear that should I deteriorate there is little that can be done. If I wake up at night struggling to breathe, I have no plan of action.

Nor are the young immune. While most serious cases and deaths have predominantly involved the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, younger people are also suffering.

Just this week, the 34-year-old son of a prominent Indian politician died from Covid.

The backlog of tests in laboratories  four days worth  does not help. Without the Covid-positive test, you cant be admitted to hospital even if you manage to find a bed, so people are dying while waiting for a test or the result.

Vaccination cannot be relied on either: while some 2.7million vaccine doses are given daily, less than 10 per cent of the population has been vaccinated so far  a number that must rise exponentially to make a difference.

A crematorium worker checks a burning pyre of a Covid-19 victim at Nigambodh Ghat Crematorium on the banks of the Yamuna river in New Delhi in the early hour of April 22, 2021

Funeral pyres at a makeshift crematorium in the capital Delhi on Wednesday, the city of 29 millions is rapidly running out of hospital beds for patients, oxygen supplies and even basic medication

Multiple funeral pyres of those patients who died of COVID-19 disease are seen burning at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium

President Modis response has been startlingly ineffectual. This week, as evening bulletins broadcast images of grieving and desperate citizens, his only real intervention has been to declare that oxygen supplies can no longer be used for industrial purposes but must be given to hospitals instead.

How much difference that will make remains to be seen, and at the moment it is social media that people have turned to for answers, with citizens tweeting links to hospitals they have heard may have a bed, and WhatsApp groups trying to source oxygen supplies or construct makeshift isolation units in empty houses.

On Twitter, anti-Modi hashtags are trending, along with the phrase: You are responsible Mr Modi. And beside herself with grief, one young woman, who cremated her mother on Tuesday, asked a question many are pondering this week: May I ask Modi and Amit Shah [the equivalent of the UK Home Secretary] why they are campaigning in West Bengal? Are they not seeing people dying here in the capital?

Incredibly, Mr Modi was due to visit West Bengal today for another political rally, instead of staying in the capital to monitor the scourge that has engulfed the country.

Belatedly, he cancelled it last night  but not before an impression of heartless indifference had been created.

No wonder a customised image of Mr Modis partys symbol, the orange lotus, is doing the rounds on Twitter. Instead of petals emerging from the leaves, it shows the blazing orange flames of a funeral pyre.
BAY CITY, MI - Sirens began blaring as ambulances, police vehicles, fire trucks and more drove down the road to Aaron Bovias home to welcome him back. Aaron, 12, arrived in a Michigan State Police vehicle and waved to those who participated in the welcome home drive-by celebration Wednesday, April 21.

Aaron underwent a heart transplant earlier this month due to being diagnosed with a rare condition called Tetralogy of Fallot at birth. Even though Aaron had visited the hospital regularly for procedures stemming from his heart issues, his father Earl Bovia said it wasnt on their radar he would need a heart transplant.

Related: 12-year-olds heart transplant inspires Bay City community, creates Aarons Army

Throughout the years, the Bay City community has continued to show their support for Aaron and the family, so they made sure to give him a grand gesture to come home to.

Im happy that Im finally home after all that happened at the hospital and Im happy that I have everyone here just to support me, Aaron said. It makes me feel better.

20 'It makes me feel better' 12-year-old says as Bay City supports his homecoming after heart transplant

He said his hospital stay was good even though he was ready to go home and hes looking forward to relaxing and not having to worry about much.

Earl said they had called people within the community and posted on Facebook that they would appreciate if those who wanted to would drive by to officially welcome Aaron home.

Its a great feeling after all weve been through for the last couple of months, to finally come home and finally have Aaron home and be back to Bay City again, Earl said.

The event lasted for about 30 minutes as family and friends handed balloons, toys and cards through their windows for Aaron.

Hes got a bright future with a new heart so thats just an amazing thing, Earl said. We just want to say thank you to the whole community because everybody has been so supportive. Cant say thank you enough.

Read more on MLive:

12-year-olds heart transplant inspires Bay City community, creates Aarons Army

Part of Bay Citys Wenona Street closing for first phase of reconstruction project

Kathy Dwan resigns from the Saginaw County Board of Commissioners

Timeless Bay City mansion on the market for $459k
BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Resources, Inc. (ERI) announces the launch of Therapies in the Schools Online Conference 7, an on-demand continuing education series that enables school-based therapists and professionals to learn the latest techniques from world-renowned faculty. Comprised of nine sessions, the online series provides a multitude of thought-provoking interventions and tools and the latest and most efficient methods to collaborate with fellow school-based professionals.

Therapies in the School Online Conference 7 was recorded at ERI's annual Therapies in the School Conference which took place in a virtual setting in November 2020. The virtual conference was attended by hundreds of therapists across the country with sessions taught by Suzanne Davis Bombria, Susan Cecere, Liliane Savard, Colleen Whiting, Angela Sterling-Orth, Kim Wiggins, and Kimberly Wynarczuk.

Conference attendees shared numerous positive experiences. Vicki Nephew, a New York based PT said, "This is an excellent resource for school-based therapy, which is often hard to find in continuing education. Sharing the latest research and strategies with presenters and other school-based therapists has been extremely helpful and affirming of what we are doing with our own kids."

The conference consists of nine sessions totaling 23 training hours:

School Based Best Practices

The Severely Involved child

Effective Push-In Services for Related Service Providers

Developing and Using Goals for Students' Meaningful Participation in School

Core Strengthening for Improved Academic Performance & School Participation for PT, OT & SLP

Implementation of Video Self Modeling for Children with Autism: Applications for Both School and Home

Using the iPad to Facilitate Service Delivery and Improve Student Outcomes and Engagement

Creating Motor Lab & Sensory Pathways: Incorporating Movement into Classrooms and Homes

Increasing Effectiveness Through Interprofessional Collaboration

Participants who purchase Therapies in the School Online Conference 7 series will receive the bonus 1  hour on-demand online course "Supporting Students with Sensory Processing Challenges in the Schools: Using the STAR Frame of Reference" with Colleen Whiting.

Therapies in the School Online Conference 7 is being offered for $399/person. Group rates are available. Register HERE, or email [email protected] for group rates.

About Education Resources, Inc.

Education Resources, Inc. (ERI) is an accredited provider of continuing education that helps PTs, OTs, and SLPs transform the lives of their patients. Visit www.educationresourcesinc.com.

CONTACT: Alyson Loria, 800-487-6530

SOURCE Education Resources, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.educationresourcesinc.com


Gangs targeting the homes of elderly and vulnerable people living in remote areas bring terror to innocent people, a judge said today as he jailed a getaway driver for such a crime for 12 years and banned him from driving for 20 years.

A jury unanimously found the getaway driver guilty of the highly planned burglary in North Cork in October 2019.

An elderly couple planning to attend evening Mass were informed of a plan to burgle their house when they were out and they gave permission to have six Garda officers in the house to catch them in an investigation called Operation Evening Mass.

Two men who were caught  one inside and one outside the house  pleaded guilty last year to their part in the crime and were sentenced to nine years, with the last two years suspended.

Today, Judge Sean O Donnabhain jailed John Faulkner, aged 38, of 4 Adelaide Place, St Lukes, Cork, and originally from Tralee, Co Kerry, for 12 years for being their getaway driver.

He had two previous burglary convictions, including one from June 2007  again occurring in North Cork and again at the home of elderly people living remotely.

Detective Superintendent Vincent OSullivan, who led the investigation, said Faulkner committed the 2007 offence with one of the two men jailed last year for the 2019 burglary.

He said gardai, who had Faulkner under surveillance, saw him in Dromcollogher village the previous day watching the elderly withdrawing their pensions.

'Accused was totally and completely involved'

Judge O Donnabhain said Faulkner took off from near the burgled house like a scalded cat. He did not accept the explanation put forward by defence barrister John Temple that Faulkner thought someone was chasing him in a feud.

The judge said: This is a significant case in which there was a gang involved in a planned and determined burglary in North Cork  a fair distance from the city where the accused lives.

"There was meticulous planning and significant determination. The accused was totally and completely involved.

No other type of offence causes more fear and misery than gangs going around committing burglaries. It has caused a lockdown in communities long before Covid, bringing terror to innocent people.

Despite the evidence that Faulkner's two accomplices went to the house while he waited in the getaway car, the judge said that in a very real sense, he was in that house every bit as much as the other two men.

They could not have got there without his active, conniving determination. The evidence against him was overwhelming, Judge O Donnabhain said.

Mr Temple cited the constitutional protection of the family in the context of Faulkner being away from his family when he is in custody. Mr Faulkner is a good man, a good father, a good son, and a good friend. His family love him and are concerned about his panic attacks and depression, he said.

The jury of seven men and five women at Cork Circuit Criminal Court unanimously found Faulkner guilty to charges of entering a house as a trespasser to commit a theft at Freemount, Charleville, Co Cork, on Saturday, October 19, 2019, and endangerment and dangerous driving.

Couple tell of 'awful fight'

The semi-retired farmer, aged in his mid-80s and who owned the house, said in a statement read in the course of the trial: Detective Sean told us they had information people were planning to rob our house. The guard asked me for permission to come to my house and catch the fellows when we go to Mass.

His wife said: I got an awful fright that people were calling to us. I just buried my sister last week If the guards did not come out to us, we might have nothing when we would come out of Mass.

Donal OSullivan, prosecuting, said, A car arrived in the course of the afternoon and two people got out of it Driving the car was John Faulkner. The car drives off. Later in the afternoon (the elderly couple) leave. They are going to Mass. As they leave and turn to the left in their driveway, a vehicle passed against them.

The car takes off and there follows a car chase. The car goes straight through Ballymaquirke Cross towards Banteer and goes around a bend, passing another vehicle on the inside. That  the prosecution says  is the endangerment but that is a matter for you (the jury).

At a certain point in time, a bag was thrown out the window. The bag was recovered. Another bag goes out the window later. One of those bags has a fob for a gym in Mayfield that belonged to [the man caught inside the house in Freemount].

The car goes through Banteer village at 150km/h. The speed limit in the village is obviously not quite that.

The dangerous driving charge consisted of speeding through the village.

Shorter concurrent sentences were imposed on Faulkner in respect of the driving charges.
Tempest Storm, one of the most celebrated strippers of midcentury burlesque, who continued plying her craft until she was in her 80s  not because she had to, but because she could  died on Tuesday at her home in Las Vegas. She was 93.

Harvey Robbins, her longtime manager, confirmed the death.

Routinely named in the same ardent breath as the great 20th-century ecdysiasts Lili St. Cyr, Blaze Starr and Gypsy Rose Lee, Storm was every inch as ecdysiastical as they, and for far longer. Almost certainly the last of her ilk, she was, at her height in the 1950s and early 60s, famous the world over, as celebrated for her flame-red tresses as for her vaunted 40-inch bust.

Everything you see, Storm proudly told an interviewer in 1975, is all mine.

Playing burlesque stages in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Bay Area, London and elsewhere, she was reported to earn $100,000 a year in the mid-1950s (the equivalent of about $950,000 today). Her breasts were said to be insured with Lloyds of London for $1 million. Tempest in a D-Cup, the headlines called her; The Girl Who Goes 3-D Two Better.

Visiting the University of Colorado in 1955, Storm precipitated a riot among eager male students that caused hundreds of dollars worth of damage  by doing nothing more than removing her mink coat.

She was seen by still wider audiences in midcentury burlesque performance films, including Striptease Girl (1952); Teaserama (1955), which also starred Bettie Page; and Buxom Beautease (1956).

More recently, she was featured in the documentaries Behind the Burly Q (2010) and Tempest Storm (2016).

AP (Associated Press)

Along the way she acquired four husbands and many lovers, among whom she said were John F. Kennedy (He was a great man in everything he did, she said) and Elvis Presley (He really was the King), while losing, night after night, her mink, gloves, gown, pearls and hat  though retaining her G-string and fishnet bra, and with them her virtue.

I think taking off all your clothes  and Ive never taken off all my clothes  is not only immoral but boring, Storm told The Wall Street Journal in 1969. There has to be something left to the imagination. If you take everything off, you please a few morons and chase all the nice people away.

She began her career in burlesques golden twilight, performing to a live band amid clouds of feathers and sequins, with elaborately staged production numbers featuring flocks of chorus girls and punctuated by winking asides from baggy-pants comics.

She continued through the waning of the genre, brought on in the 1960s by television; through its death rattle, sounded amid the feminist sensibilities of the 1970s; and  against all expectations except, perhaps, her own  on into the 21st century.

A vintage stripper, The New York Times was already calling Storm in 1973, when, as it turned out, she had more than 40 years to go.

Storm could scarcely have envisioned a career of such length  or, for that matter, a career in the field at all  when she was plain Annie Blanche Banks of Eastman, Georgia.

She was born there on Feb. 29, 1928, the daughter of poor sharecroppers soon to be made poorer by the Depression. Her parents marriage ended before she was born, and after her mother remarried, Annie became the family Cinderella.

I never knew my dad, she told The Daily News of New York in 1965 in her still-rich Georgia drawl. I had three stepsisters and two stepbrothers. And I did all the chores: cookin, cleanin and bed makin. All the while I wanted to be a movie star.

She left home at 14 but got only as far as Columbus, Georgia, where she held a variety of jobs, including inspector in a hosiery plant. She married a Marine soon afterward, though the marriage was annulled about a day later. In her midteens she wed a shoe salesman, though that marriage, too, was short-lived.

By the time she was in her late teens she had made her way to Los Angeles, where she found work as a cocktail waitress. A customer told her she ought to be in show business and asked whether she could perform a striptease.

I said, What is that? Storm recalled in a 2013 interview with The Quad-City Times. I was from a small town, I didnt know. He said it was just dancing, but you take your clothes off. I said: Oh, no, not me. My mother would disown me.

But the man arranged an audition with Lillian Hunt, the choreographer of the Follies Theater in downtown Los Angeles, who put her in the chorus at $40 a week.

A few weeks later, Hunt offered her a $20-a-week raise if she would strip. She nervously took the stage, wondering whether she could muster the nerve to part company with her gown.

The decision was taken out of her hands when the spotlight hit her and the gown, badly fastened, fell to the floor on its own.

That was when I learned the basic rule in this business, Storm told the film critic Roger Ebert in 1968. No matter what happens, keep moving.

For a stripper, the name Annie Blanche Banks lacked a certain je ne sais quoi, and Hunt gave her a choice of stage names: Sunny Day or Tempest Storm. She chose the more turbulent of the two, and made it her legal name in the late 1950s.

A third marriage, to the owner of a burlesque theater, ended in divorce, as did a fourth, to Herb Jeffries, who sang with Duke Ellington and starred in early Black westerns as a singing cowboy. Her marriage to Jeffries broke midcentury racial taboos, costing her work. But it was not for that reason, Storm made clear, that they divorced.

A guy marries a girl in this business and he thinks he can handle it, she told The Kansas City Star in 2014. They love you when youre engaged, but they cant handle it when youre married. All of a sudden they want you to wear dresses all the way up to your neck.

Storms survivors include a daughter, Patricia Jeffries, and a granddaughter.

Through all the years, Storm kept moving, through the occasional arrests for indecency, through the closing of one burlesque house after another, through a fall onstage in her early 80s in which she broke her hip, through audiences who left in the middle of her act because, in the age of cable TV and the internet, they found it too tame.

She persevered, appearing in Las Vegas nightclubs and at burlesque festivals and nostalgia nights  her figure as shapely, and her hair as red, as ever.

I guess Id miss it when they stopped looking, she told the British newspaper The Independent in 1996, when she was 68. So I make sure they do look.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Prime Minister Florin Citu said on Thursday that June 1 does not mean that "we are completely back to normal, but it is a first step, an important step" in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, he chaired the first meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Romania's return to normal on June 1, 2021, in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, agerpres.ro confirms.

"Today we had a meeting, the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Romania's return to normal on June 1. It is, in fact, the first step. (...) Today we can see how to get back to normal, that is why we have this inter-ministerial committee to prepare the first milestone, the first part. June 1 does not mean that we return to normal, but it means a first step, an important step. I have said that then we can do this, if we have almost 35% of the population that has to be immunised vaccinated, we will do that as it depends on us to do it. This was a meeting where the regulation was approved, a meeting where I told my colleagues how I think they should work: each ministry will come up with proposals that they discuss first with the sectors operating under their authority," Citu said at the Government House.
FRESNO, Calif., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun-Maid  the iconic brand that innovates and imagines everyday  and its leadership are shining as one of only three CPG companies, and 49 private business announced to the 2021 list of US Best Managed Companies. The Best Managed Companies program is sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. It features some of the country's most prominent and successful organizations from a wide range of industries with annual revenues of at least $250 million. Private companies across the country competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practicesstrategy, execution, culture and financials.

Sun-Maid showcased innovation and strong performance in 2020 with the addition of several products to its portfolio of whole fruit raisin snacks and increased shopper demand for shelf-stable, pandemic pantry snacks met by outstanding supply chain collaboration. The company invested in marketing with the launch of an integrated campaign called "Imagine That" and the launch of its first-ever, Board of Imagination, featuring kids who will help guide future decision-making with the company.

"What a standout year for the entire Sun-Maid organizationfrom the cooperative of multi-generational family farmers to the teams in all our facilities and corporate officeswe all came together to elevate the company with hard work and imagination," noted Harry Overly, President and CEO of Sun-Maid Growers of California. "This honor is further proof that Sun-Maid is on track for continued growth and we are proud of everyone here that is helping us make this a wonderful place to work and a successful brand for today's shoppers."

Sun-Maid continues to offer whole fruit raisins and dried fruits, as well as reimagine better-for-you snacks. Its portfolio of products includes new Bites made with oats, nuts and fruit, Sour Raisin Snacks and Yogurt-Covered Raisins in fun and indulgent varieties. Looking into the future, Sun-Maid announced an acquisition of Plum Organics, a leading premium, organic baby food and kids snack brand, from Campbell Soup Company. Plum offers a diverse portfolio of organic foods and snacks to meet the nutritional needs of babies, tots and kids.

For more updates on the brand, its products and promotional offers, follow Sun-Maid on Facebook (facebook.com/sunmaid), Twitter ( @Sun_Maid ) and Instagram ( @SunMaid ). For more information about US Best Managed Companies, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

About Sun-Maid Growers of California

Founded in 1912, Sun-Maid Growers of California is a farmers' cooperative of 750 grower families with vineyards in California's Central Valley. From childhood to adulthood and generation to generation, Sun-Maid snacks have grown up with you. And while some things change, our ingredients haven'tthey're real, minimally processed and consistently good. The timeless and trusted go-to snack that's simple, healthy and versatile, Sun-Maid fills each day with moments of sunshine, one little red box at a time. For more information about Sun-Maid, visit www.sunmaid.com.

About the Best Managed Companies Program

The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have annual revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practices  strategy, execution, culture and financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure.

SOURCE Sun-Maid
Dr. Frances Harley of Edmonton introduced pediatric nephrology into the care of Albertas infants and children suffering from kidney diseases, while teaching future physicians to continue this critically important work. She has dedicated her career to helping vulnerable and underserved groups, inspiring others to follow her lead.

You never do these things on your own. Your team is incredibly important. My career is really the result of being in the right place at the right time. The University of Albertas medical school  supported by the Government of Alberta  was committed to establishing and supporting subspecialty care for kids. They were willing to pay for the teams to support our young patients.

Frances Harley was born on April 30, 1940, in London, Ontario, the youngest of three girls. From an early age, her mother taught her the importance of helping those in need. Frances mother recognized the courage of refugees coming to Canada after the Second World War and often hosted strangers. At the request of a distressed mother in her church, Frances mother also started a school for cognitively impaired children, which was the forerunner of inclusive public education for these children.

After obtaining a BA from Smith College in the United States, Frances went on to complete her medical degree at the University of Western Ontario in 1965. While a student, she met and married Dr. Raul Urtasun, who had come to London from Argentina to study radiation oncology. Frances went on to complete her pediatric residency in Baltimore and Montreal, while Raul held faculty positions. The couple moved to Alberta in 1970 where Frances continued her training in nephrology, spending her time working with adults while she built the program for infants and children from the ground up.

Throughout her studies, Frances loved a challenge. The reason I went into nephrology was that I found kidney physiology really hard in med school, she laughs. The challenges didnt stop there. While adult patients provided Frances with hands-on experience, infants, growing children and youths required different care.

I learned the intricacies of infant and child hemodialysis by visiting centres like the University of California San Francisco while Raul was a visiting professor. I was welcomed to observe procedures, discussions, methodology and team performance. By attending U.S. and British meetings, I grew many helpful connections. I could pick up the phone and call for advice. Drawing on these international resources, the department of pediatrics was able to not only host visiting speakers, but also begin to build a nephrology program for children, explains Frances.

The sole pediatric nephrologist in Alberta for some years, Frances provided service in both Edmonton and Calgary, attending clinics and taking calls for the province. In time, her teams service expanded to include all of the Northwest Territories and parts of Yukon, Nunavut, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Frances championed live donor transplants for children at a time when the procedure was only performed at a few centres in North America. She partnered with the University of Minnesota, home of one of the most successful pediatric transplant programs in the world. Several young Alberta children received transplants there and returned to Alberta to receive ongoing care from Frances. She even accompanied some young patients to the U.S. for surgery. Her advocacy helped save lives.

Frances and a few other colleagues across the country defined pediatric nephrology in the 1970s and 1980s moulding it into the strong subspecialty it is today. Early on, she felt distanced in Alberta, so Frances and a colleague co-created the Canadian Association of Pediatric Nephrology to share information and provide up-to-date standards of care.

Frances was interested in finding innovative ways to improve childrens lives beyond hands-on care. She helped Alberta children on dialysis go to kidney camp in Alberta. She persuaded the University of Alberta Hospital to provide special after-school and night-time dialysis, so children could attend their neighbourhood schools, rather than being tied to a hospital school. One of her main goals was to help parents achieve normal developmental milestones for their children.

Frances was even instrumental in changing corporate policy regarding pediatric kidney care. For smaller patients on dialysis, smaller bags of dialysate fluid are needed. With persuasion, the factory was encouraged to produce bags as much as one-tenth the size regularly produced for adults. This was and continues to be a small market.

In addition to children with kidney disease, Frances also advanced medical care for children with cystic fibrosis and asthma in her role as the first director of the cystic fibrosis clinic at the University of Alberta. She joined forces with a medical school classmate to develop a clinical trial for cystic fibrosis, something rarely done at the time. And she teamed up with another colleague to introduce a trial using National Institutes of Health guidelines to standardize and improve care for asthmatic children in emergency rooms. She was also a member of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Clinic committee, which involved her visiting clinics across Canada and supporting clinic directors.

With the addition of new team members, Frances was able to take on increasing and sometimes demanding administrative roles at the University of Alberta. She became the first woman to chair the department of pediatrics in an acting capacity, twice, while the search for the new chair took place. She was asked to represent female medical school faculty members at Canadian and U.S. academic meetings, a position that allowed her to observe other systems treatment, support and advancement of women in faculty positions, both scientific and clinical.

But Frances didnt let her administrative duties keep her from continuing to traverse northern Canada to follow up with children receiving home dialysis. For me, and I think the whole team, the geography, cultural differences and weather challenges make pediatric nephrology practice and delivery of care so interesting and, when successful, so exciting and rewarding.

Her long road trips and flights into remote and often underserved areas awakened a passion that would follow Frances throughout the rest of her career: working with Indigenous Peoples. As a result, Frances volunteered to introduce a renal component to the existing diabetes clinic at Maskwacis and provided public health messaging on local radio. She specifically focused on ensuring the most vulnerable kids and adults and their families had equitable access to care.

Over 13 years, I visited monthly and was exposed to the effects of colonialism, residential schools, poverty, social issues, courage, resilience and honour in these Indigenous people. Their views of their relationship to the existing health care system were impactful.

This experience led Frances to help fund Indigenous leadership and management programs at Banff Centre through a scholarship for Indigenous women. Frances and Raul also fund The Raul Urtasun-Frances Harley Scholarship for Young Emerging Artists from Argentina. After being invited to attend the Banff Centres Summit on Truth and Reconciliation, Frances decided to support the Edmonton Public Schools Literacy Seed Kit. This book purchasing program helps urban Indigenous children and others, including teachers, see themselves in carefully selected books illustrating and honouring Indigenous culture. Looking forward, Frances is learning more about the barriers facing First Nations youth aging out of foster care.

Concern for children with disabilities hits close to home for Frances, whose daughter Gabriela is disabled. All parents of children with disabilities worry about their childs future financial security. I decided to call and email across Canada to see what other provinces have in place to support families like mine, she says. With support from informed and engaged parents like Frances, the Alberta government passed An Act to Strengthen Financial Security for Persons with Disabilities in 2018.

Recognizing that food insecurity can be a problem with renal disease and pediatrics, Frances became involved with food banks. She served first as a board member for Food Banks Canada and then Edmontons Food Bank, where she is still celebrated for her thoughtful and thought-provoking input that strengthened both boards. She consistently ensured that discussions focused on food security, compassion and health.

In 2005, Frances received the Alberta Centennial Medal for her meaningful contributions to the people of the province. The Alberta Medical Association recognized her lifetime of contributions with a Medal for Distinguished Service in 2019.

Many adults and children owe their lives to Frances compassion for the most vulnerable, as well as her innovation, her exceptional skill, and her wish to help kids grow up to be productive adults and make illness a tiny part of their lives. To Frances, though, it has always been a matter of doing what is needed and hopefully right. My favourite description of me has always been the word relentless. If you see the goal and you know what needs to be accomplished, you have to be relentless, she says.

Frances and Raul have three daughters  Gabriela, Adriana and Seabird  and six grandchildren.
Vaccinating all citizens above the age of 18 years against COVID-19 will cost Rs 67,193 crore, of which states together will incur Rs 46,323 crore, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said on Thursday.

As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the country with alarming speed and severity, the government has announced a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination. Under this scheme, all persons above 18 years of age will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccine doses from May 1.

"This means that the total size of the population that will now be eligible for vaccination would be 84.19 crore out of the total population of 133.26 crore," it said a note.

India Ratings calculated that this "may cost Rs 67,193 crore, of which the Union government will incur Rs 20,870 crore and state governments together will incur Rs 46,323 crore".

The government has made the pricing, procurement, eligibility and administration of vaccines flexible. While the vaccination drive will continue as before, providing free vaccination to priority populations such as healthcare workers, frontline workers and population above 45 years of age, states and Union territories have been allowed to procure additional COVID-19 vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers and open-up vaccination to people above the age of 18 years.

As a result, Indian vaccine manufacturers would now be supplying 50 per cent of their production to the central government and the balance 50 per cent would be available for procurement by the state governments and the open market (private hospitals).

Ind-Ra said the Union government has already spent Rs 5,090 crore on procuring 21.4 crore vaccines from Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech.

Assuming two doses of vaccines at Rs 400 per dose for new vaccine procurement and 5 per cent wastage, the cost for the central government will come to Rs 62,103 crore for 155.4 crore doses, it said.

The total of the two comes to Rs 67,193 crore which "works out to be just 0.36 per cent of GDP," it noted. "If we split it between the Union government and state governments, then the fiscal impact on the union budget would be 0.12 per cent of GDP and on the state budgets would 0.24 per cent of GDP".

The maximum impact is likely to be on Bihar (0.60 per cent of gross state domestic product or GSDP), followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.47 per cent), Jharkhand (0.37 per cent), Manipur (0.36 per cent), Assam (0.35 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (0.30 per cent) and Odisha (0.30 per cent).

"Since the antibodies generated by these vaccines are likely to last for 12-18 months, this expenditure would be a recurring expenditure on union and state budgets," it said. "However, many states such as Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have already announced that the government will bear the cost of vaccination. Vaccinations by large corporate groups will reduce pressure on the state/central budget."



Ind-Ra believes that given the magnitude of the problem and the economic cost the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic is likely to inflict on the economy, it is too small an amount.

"However, more than the money spent, the critical factor would be how soon the desired level of vaccination can be achieved.

"Therefore, the decision to allow the restricted emergency use of Russian vaccine Sputnik-V and other vaccines approved by the US, EU and WHO is another step in the right direction. This will only accelerate the vaccination effort in the country. The first batch of Sputnik V is expected to be delivered to India by April-end," it added.
Investigators exhumed another body from a Panama City cemetery Thursday in an attempt to identify the remains of some victims of the 1989 U.S. invasion that removed strongman Manuel Noriega from power. Over 30 sets of remains had previously been exhumed in an an effort that began in 2020.

The remains are being subjected to DNA testing in a program that has lifted the hopes of Panamanians who had relatives die or disappear and have lived with unanswered questions about their fate for 30 years. Some families are not sure where their relatives were buried or whether they were buried in the right graves.

The daughter of a lieutenant in Noriegas military said the family still has no answers about a coffin that they contend was mistakenly identified as containing his remains. Brenda Bethancourt, daughter of the fallen soldier, Braulio Bethancourt, said that her mother and sister were present during the exhumation of the mass graves in May 1990, five months after the invasion, and both of them stated the body was not that of her father.

The road to finding the fate of the victims of the invasion that ousted Noriega has been a full of stumbles and delays. A glimmer of hope emerged in early 2020, when judicial authorities reopened cases and ordered exhumations, but the coronavirus pandemic, confinement and delays in the delivery of funds delayed the work.

The body unearthed Thursday is among 31 others exhumed in 2020 that are being analyzed for identification by the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. According to official estimates, 514 Panamanians, both military and civilian, died during the U.S. invasion and 23 United States soldiers are reported to have died.

Image Credits: AP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law (emeritus), is probably right in remarking that the Derek Chauvin jury was intimidated into finding the Minneapolis ex-policeman guilty on all counts of homicide of George Floyd. But does that not apply, as well, to Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the trial?

Attention has been paid the jurist's denial of a mistrial, notwithstanding Congresswoman Maxine Waters's inflammatory remarks, warning that the matter will be taken to the streets if Chauvin is acquitted. Yet equal attention has been paid the judge's additional comment that the case might be overturned on appeal, citing the threats from Rep. Waters.

If the intimidating comments from the congresswoman could overturn the Chauvin verdict on appeal, why did Judge Cahill refuse to cite Waters in declaring a mistrial? Arguably, for the same reason the jury, relatively quickly, found the former cop guilty of murder counts as well as of manslaughter: the image of burning cities had to come to mind if either jury or judge did not satisfy the mob's demand that Chauvin be punished as severely as possible  without reference to the concept "due process of law."

Andrew McCarthy concluded his instant analysis on the Chauvin verdict by asking: how is it that the left demands due process for terrorists accused of murdering Americans, "but not when an American police officer is in the dock?" To this might be added: how is it that the judge presiding over the trial of a cop charged with murder (which when I went to law school was an intentional homicide) is willing to defer matters of due process to possible appellate review, rather than apply due process principles in his own court?

This explanation comes to the forefront: the jurist is unwilling to follow due process principles strictly at risk that he will sow chaos in his own city and elsewhere in the country as well  chaos that may well result in more deaths, not to mention innumerable acts of looting and arson. Better that an appellate court, months down the road, when the risks of mob violence have abated, discovers the due process problem of the Chauvin verdict. Such, likely, were the thoughts of Judge Cahill when asked to declare a mistrial.

And what does that due process problem come down to? Curiously, the critics of murder verdicts against Chauvin did not cite a literary reference that, likely, would have been cited in similar context years ago. Perhaps that is due to a lowering of the literary quotient in Cancel Culture America. I refer to the inescapable fact that the Chauvin conviction of various degrees of murder for the killing of George Floyd reflects Mme. Defarge justice  which is not justice at all, but the sheer bloodlust of a vengeful mob.

It is unfortunate that Judge Cahill was unwilling to act as a real-life Atticus Finch and, rather than give in to the mob, stand firm against it.

Meantime, we have still the examples of a congresswoman and the president acting, as racists of a hundred years ago, trashing the concepts of due process of law, trial by jury based on evidence  not emotion, and the Statue of Justice standing tall with blindfold covering her eyes, her scales held in even balance.

That statue currently has tears streaming down her cheeks.

Image via Public Domain Pictures.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The renewed surge in Covid-19 infections is threatening to further divide the world economy between the rich and poor, potentially damaging overall global growth if the fresh outbreaks spread or if key sources of demand falter.

More people were diagnosed with Covid-19 last week than any other since the pandemic began. The World Health Organization this week warned that new infections are increasing everywhere except Europe, led by rocketing numbers in India with cases also rising in Argentina, Turkey and Brazil.

Thats casting a shadow over a previously vigorous global economic rebound given that failure to control the virus or get vaccines distributed evenly risks driving new mutations, first in emerging markets and then on to developed nations that had been beating the pandemic back.

Even if that doesnt happen, a two-speed recovery will restrain even inoculated countries by limiting foreign demand for their goods and destabilizing supply chains. The International Monetary Fund said last month that the recovery will miss out on a $9 trillion bump by 2025 unless faster progress is made in ending the health crisis.

Global Rebound

Emerging and developing economies accounted for two thirds of global growth before the pandemic and around 86% of the worlds population. The World Bank told them just this week that they must prepare for the possibility of their recoveries losing steam. A nascent economic revival in India -- the worlds sixth largest economy -- is being threatened by renewed movement curbs across provinces to stem a new wave of infections that have topped 200,000 daily for the last week.

The new case spikes represent a reality check for the world economy as it is clear that the pandemic is nowhere close to being over, said Tuuli McCully, head of Asia Pacific economics at Scotiabank. Many lower-income economies continue to face severe Covid-19 related challenges and have a long road ahead before they are back to normalcy.



Healthcare workers prepare to administer Covid-19 vaccines to residents at a vaccination site in Richmond, California, on April 15.



More than 944 million vaccinations have been administered across 170 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg -- enough doses for 6.2% of the global population. But the distribution is lopsided with the highest income countries getting vaccinated about 25 times faster than those with the lowest.

I see it as a race between virus mutations and vaccine rollout, said Rob Subbaraman, head of global markets research at Nomura Holdings Inc. Many people are not aware that while the 1918 Spanish flu is believed to have started in the U.S. and then spread to Europe, in the end the countries that suffered most were in emerging markets. Its an ominous sign of history repeating itself.

Markets are showing signs of jitters. A gauge of stocks in Asia has lagged global peers this month, while the Indian rupee is this weeks worst-performing currency in the region. Investors have sought out traditional havens like the Japanese yen, and rewarded those with better track records of managing the outbreak such as the Israeli shekel, Taiwanese dollar and the British pound.

Companies most reliant on a reopening of the global economy are especially vulnerable and the latest infection surge is overshadowing a priced to perfection re-open trade, Stephen Innes, chief global market strategist at Axicorp Financial Services Pty Ltd. in Sydney, wrote in a note to clients.

Great Expectations

The glaring problem is that despite strenuous efforts by the medical community around the globe, we are not even close to calling it a day so that people can start again or continue with things more productively, according to Innes.

The spread of cases threatens whats forecast to be a V-shaped recovery for global growth, led by the U.S. and China. The IMF currently expects the world economy to grow 6% this year, the most in four decades of data. But it knows the longer the pandemic runs the harder it will be to meet that forecast.



The window of opportunity is closing fast, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. The longer it takes to speed up vaccine production and rollout, the harder it will be to achieve these gains.

The IMF modeled a downside scenario in which supply bottlenecks in vaccine supply and other logistical problems allow existing virus variants to become entrenched and new mutations to occur, leading to delays for reaching herd immunity of six months in advanced economies and nine months in emerging markets.

Under such a scenario -- with persistently high infection rates and deaths slowing the normalization of mobility -- global growth could be 1.5 percentage points less than in the base case scenario in 2021 and a further 1 percentage point below the baseline in 2022.

The pace of vaccinations over coming months and their ability to withstand new variants will dictate the recovery from here, according to Ben Emons, managing director of global macro strategy at Medley Global Advisors in New York.

It will take most of the second quarter to get visibility if the global roll out is truly succeeding against the variants, Emons said.
Table of Contents Enactments Contact Elections Team

The unprecedented attention on our election systems that began in 2020 has continued into 2021. Due to the pandemic, a smaller number of bills than average were introduced and enacted in 2020, but this year legislatures have been working hard to catch up.

All 50 states have introduced election-related bills so far this year. Many states have debated whether to make permanent policies that were temporary adjustments for 2020 and the most popular topics under consideration are increasing or limiting absentee and mail voting, ballot drop boxes and voter identification requirements.

This webpage tracks all election related enactments. For detailed information on pending election legislation, please see our database.

2021 Election Enactments

Alabama

HB 116 allows the secretary of state to conduct a post-election audit of the November 8, 2022 election in three counties. It provides that the expenses of these audits would be reimbursed from the Help America Vote Act federal funds.

HB 123 permits a registered voter or the spouse of a registered voter, who is a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer, to submit a signed affidavit requesting that the secretary of state omit all information except the name of the registered voter or the spouse of the registered voter.

HB 167 prohibits a voter from Alabama from also voting in another state. It makes voting more than once at any election held in other states a Class A misdemeanor or a Class C felony.

HB 285 prohibits curbside voting. It requires that all voting machines be installed or operated in an enclosed building designated as a voting place.

HB 287 establishes and sets the compensation of election officers, the return officer, and the inspector and clerks in Morgan County.

HB 312 requires precinct election officials to be registered voters in the county in which they serve but arent required to be registered at that precinct. Priority may be given to the poll workers and alternate poll workers who are registered voters at that precinct.

HB 314 revises the process to update the statewide voter registration database. The board of registrars, or the Secretary of State, will use change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service through the National Change of Address database and by at least one other voter registration database, including, but not limited to, the Electronic Registration Information Center or NVRA designated agency, to identify registered voters whose addresses may have changed.

HB 538 revises the timeframe for applying to vote by absentee ballot and certain procedures for processing absentee ballots. Applications returned by mail must be received not less than 10 days prior to the election. Applications returned by hand must be received not less than five days prior to the election.

SB 31 revises the date for runoff elections to be four weeks after the regular election for all runoff municipal elections and runoff special primary elections.

SB 119 revises the time frames for municipal run-off elections.

Arizona

HB 2054 requires the secretary of state to compare death records with the statewide voter registration database.

HB 2181 requires a write-in candidate running for an elective office in any election be a resident of that county or district for one hundred and twenty days before the date of the election, except if running for a city or town office.

HB 2307 requires a county board of supervisors to provide a written notice advising the voter if the voting equipment used for an election provides for the rejection of overvoted ballots or ballots that contain other irregularities. The notice informs the voter, who may overvote or override any other ballot irregularity, that the voters vote will not be counted.

HB 2359 requires any method of physical or electronic access to a voting machine or electronic pollbook to be secured to prevent unauthorized access and to verify security procedures before a voting machine or electronic pollbook is placed into service.

HB 2365 allows political candidates filing nomination papers and petitions to use a post office box or private mailbox address in place of the candidate's actual residence address to protect access by the public.

HB 2569 prohibits the state or other public body that administers elections, from receiving or expending private monies for the purpose of preparing, administering or conducting an election.

SB 1002 specifies that absentee ballot envelopes must not reveal the voters political party affiliation.

SB 1003 requires early voter instructions to state that the ballot will not be counted without the voter's signature on the return envelope. If a signature is missing from an early ballot return envelope, it requires the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections to make reasonable efforts to contact the voter and allow that voter to add their signature no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

SB 1485 requires a county recorder or other officer in charge of elections to remove a voter from the active early voting list if the voter fails to vote by early ballot in all regular primary or regular general elections for which there was a federal race on the ballot. And all city or town candidate primary or first elections or city or town candidate second, general or runoff elections for two consecutive election cycles. It requires counties to notify a voter prior to removing that voter from the list.

SB 1492 amends the statutory requirements for election ballots, dates, deadlines, election boards, nomination petitions, polling locations and recognition of new political parties on city, town or county ballots.

SB 1530 requires early ballots to be sent in an envelope with directions to mark the unopened envelope "return to sender" and deposit the envelope in the mail if the addressee does not reside at the address.

Arkansas

California

SB 29 extends the states temporary adoption of all-mail voting in 2020 through 2021.

Colorado

HB 1001 permits members of a state party central committee or state party executive committee to meet and cast votes remotely, e.g., via telephone, email, or internet. Also allows for the adoption of bylaws to implement remote participation to establish policy.

SB 160 makes updates and administrative clarifications to the local government election code and statutes pertaining to special districts. It allows special districts, by resolution, to establish director districts for their board of directors, or to consolidate into a single-district board structure.

SB 188 allows a voter with a disability to either print the ballot or return the ballot by electronic transmission if printing the ballot is not feasible. A ballot must include a signed affidavit or a copy of an acceptable form of identification and must be received by the election official in the applicable jurisdiction before the close of polls on election day. The bill also requires the secretary of state to establish an electronic transmission system through which a voter with a disability may request and return a ballot.

Florida

SB 90 makes changes to the election administration laws regarding vote by mail ballots, drop boxes and more. It requires an additional numeric identifier of a voter when a vote-by mail ballot is requested, and it applies to all requests. It requires drop boxes to be geographically located to provide all voters in the county with an equal opportunity to cast a ballot.

Georgia

HB 682 reestablishes the board of elections and registration for Pickens County.

HB 683 creates a board of elections and registration for Pickens County and provides for its powers and duties.

HB 684 creates create a board of elections and registration for Troup County and provides for its powers and duties.

SB 202 is an omnibus bill that makes several changes, including requiring ID to request and return absentee ballots, establishing guidelines for ballot drop boxes and giving the State Election Board more power over county election administration.

Hawaii

HB 199 requires the county clerk, not the chief election officer, to issue an election proclamation listing all voter service centers and drop boxes, including the days, location, and hours of operation for each.

Idaho

HB 198 requires precinct committeeman for each political party to be registered and reside in the voting precinct for a period of at least six months preceding the next election.

HB 231 amends the filing date for independent candidates for president and vice president to align with the filing date for independent candidates for federal, state, district, and county offices.

HB 290 clarifies the requirement that county clerks verify voter signatures of electors and petition signers. Also, it requires the secretary of state to provide training and guidance on how signatures are to be verified.

HB 299 clarifies that Idaho public universities or colleges will not offer extra credit to students to vote or not vote, or to influence a vote for or against a candidate or ballot measure.

SB 1062 requires that write-in candidates for President of the United States must provide their Vice-Presidential selection and their Presidential Electors for Idaho at the time they file their declaration of candidacy as a write-in candidate.

SB 1064 clarifies that when voters request a particular type of absentee ballot for a primary election, they can only request the issuance of a new ballot of the same type they originally requested.

SB 1067 makes numerous technical corrections to Idahos election laws, including making the county clerk the recipient of all but state recall petitions, eliminating the role of the city clerk.

SB 1168 requires that elections must be funded by only appropriations from federal, state, or local government entities.

Illinois

HB 1871 allows HAVA funds to be used for ballot drop boxes, adds provisions related to drop boxes, permits curbside voting, and requires ballots returned without postage to be accepted.

HB 3653 requires that the Department of Corrections provide information about voter registration to citizens when they are released from incarceration and allows the department to participate in the states automatic voter registration program.

Indiana

HB 1365 requires the entry of filing information concerning all candidates into the statewide voter registration system. Election certification documents will be filed only through the statewide voter registration system. Also, it clarifies the process by which an Indiana resident who has been imprisoned for conviction of a crime in another state is removed from the voter registration list.

HB 1479 allows the county election board to adopt a resolution authorizing the circuit court clerk to use the office of the circuit court clerk or establish a satellite office to permit voters to cast absentee ballots for at least four hours on the third Saturday preceding election day.

HB 1485 provides that an identification document issued by a Native American Indian tribe or band may be used as sufficient proof of identification for voting.

SB 260 allows 16- or 17-year-olds to serve as a precinct election officers without the written approval of the school principal if school is not in session on Election Day. Also, it provides that absentee ballots may be scanned, but not tabulated, not earlier than seven days before Election Day.

SB 398 provides that a political subdivision that administers an election may not receive or expend funds received from a person (other than from the state or the federal government) for preparing, administering, or conducting elections, including registering voters.

Iowa

SB 413 makes several changes, including reducing the early voting period from 29 days to 19 days, requiring that absentee ballots be received by the close of polls on Election Day and creating penalties for election officials who willfully fail to perform their duties.

Kansas

HB 2183 amends election law regarding mail ballots, registered voter information reporting, assistance with the return of advance ballots, advance ballot return deadlines, the authority of the Secretary of State, duties of election officials, electioneering, and election funding. It also creates the crime of false representation of an election official.

HB 2332 amends election law regarding addresses maintained for registered voters, solicitation of advance voting ballot applications, alteration of election laws, and the crime of election tampering. Also, it establishes a process for the handling of temporary vacancies created by officers or employees of the State or political subdivisions of the State due to military service.

Kentucky

HB 574 establishes three days of early voting, allows vote center polling places, creates an online absentee ballot request portal and allows voters to cure signatures on absentee ballots.

SB 1 limits the effective dates of executive orders issued by the governor to 30 days unless an extension is approved by the General Assembly and prohibits the governor from issuing a new executive order relating to the same emergency without the approval of the General Assembly.

Louisiana

HB 139 requires annual training of members of a parish board of election supervisors. The training is prepared by the secretary of state and approved by the attorney general.

HB 141 requires persons conducting exit polls in or near polling places to register with the secretary of state.

HB 214 requires a registrar of voters appointed after 2021 to complete orientation and training that is prepared by the secretary of state and the Registrar of Voters Association and approved by the attorney general. The orientation and training will be conducted by the secretary of state.

HB 285 changes the amount of time a voter may remain in the voting machine from no more than three minutes to no more than six minutes. Also, it allows election officials to allocate additional time in an equitable manner if the ballot is lengthy or complex.

Maine

HB 68 allows the processing of absentee ballots to begin seven days before Election Day.

Maryland

HB 738 alters the deadlines for a successor candidate, if a candidate for Governor or Lieutenant Governor dies, withdraws the candidacy, or becomes disqualified for a primary election. Also, the complete text for all constitutional amendments and questions must be posted or available to the public 65 days prior to the general election.

HB 745 increases the number of early voting centers in certain counties.

SB 683 allows for a voter to request permanent absentee ballot status and be placed on a permanent absentee ballot list. Also, it establishes provisions governing ballot drop box locations and requires that absentee ballot applications be sent to each eligible voter

Massachusetts

HB 73 extends temporary mail-in voting expansions passed in 2020 through June 2021.

Montana

HB 176 changes the deadline for voter registration from same day voter registration to close by noon on the day before the election.

HB 429 revises the Governor's power to suspend temporary election laws during emergencies without the consent of the legislature through a regular or special legislative session. If the legislature is out of session, the secretary of state will poll lawmakers within three days of the governors request.

HB 506 requires that an individual meet residence and age requirements before a ballot may be issued to the individual and the individual may cast a ballot.

HB 530 requires the secretary of state to adopt rules defining and governing election security. It requires the secretary of state and county election administrations to conduct election security assessments beginning January 1, 2023, and each year there after.

SB 15 requires election officials to provide accessible voting locations for disabled voters during elections conducted primarily by mail.

SB 93 requires at least one poll watcher from each political party be permitted at each drop box for a mail ballot election. Poll watchers must be allowed at each drop box during the days and times that the drop box is open.

SB 169 revises the identification requirements for voter registration, voting and provisional voting. To vote, a voter must present either a government issued photo ID or a Montana concealed carry permit. If not, the voter must present two forms of identification, at least one including a photo ID with the voter's name.

SB 170 requires voter list maintenance processes to be conducted annually, rather than every other year.

SB 196 allows election officials to reduce hours of operations in polling places if they expect fewer than 400 voters who intend to vote in person to noon to 8 p.m. All other polling places must be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

SB 350 revises the election law regarding minor parties. It states that after the certification of petitions by minor parties, shall nominate its candidates for public office by primary election.

SB 351 allows county election administrators to test vote tabulation machines before automatic tabulation begins.

Nebraska

LB 285 authorizes secure data-sharing with certain third parties by the Secretary of State to facilitate participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center and improve voter file accuracy. It restricts the posting, display, and internet distribution of voter lists abstained through public records requests.

Nevada

AB 21 authorizes a person for whom a fictitious address has been issued by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to request a county assessor or county recorder to maintain the personal information of the person contained in county records in a confidential manner without having to obtain a court order. The bill prohibits the secretary of state, a county, or a city clerk from making personal contact information available. It also authorizes any person with a fictitious address has been issued by DCFS to also request that the Department of Motor Vehicles display an alternate address on the persons drivers license, commercial drivers license, or identification card.

AB 390 requires that any notice of a contested election must be provided by the person contesting the election to the candidate whose election is being contested. If the contest is for a candidate for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, member of the Assembly or the state Senate, Supreme Court justice, or appeals courts judge, both the person contesting the election and the secretary of state must notify the candidate whose election is being contested.

SB 84 increases the maximum size of an election precinct from 3,000 to 5,000 registered voters.

New Hampshire

HB 273 proclaims May 13, 2021 as youth franchise and youth officeholder day in New Hampshire, in honor of the 50th anniversary of New Hampshires ratification of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

SB 43 authorizes an audit of the ballot counting machines and their memory cards and the hand tabulations of ballots regarding the general election on November 3, 2020 of the Rockingham County district 7 state representative race.

New Jersey

AB 5373 allows county boards of elections to determine the location of ballot drop boxes under certain circumstances.

SB 2973 permits a county of the fifth class to create the office of deputy superintendent of elections once the office of superintendent of elections has been established. The deputy superintendent of elections would be filled by a nominate of the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and cannot be from the same political party as the superintendent of elections.

SB 3203 requires counties to hold nine days of early in-person voting ending the Sunday before Election Day in November. Primaries will have fewer days of in-person voting: three for a non-presidential primary and five in a presidential election year.

New Mexico

HB 231 provides Native American polling place protections. A polling place located on an Indian nation or on tribal or pueblo land cannot be closed or consolidated with other polling locations without the written agreement of the Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo in the event of an emergency. At least one polling location within an Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo should be in operation if registered voters are unable to leave the Indian nation, tribe, or pueblo due to public health concerns.

SB 286 provides temporary procedures that would regulate special elections to fill vacancies for the office of U.S. representative during the Covid-19 pandemic. It would allow all polling locations to operate as voting convenience centers and any voter in the county could cast a vote at the center, regardless of the voters home precinct.

SB 304 requires the secretary of state to collect and make geographic information system (GIS) data available for each voting district. This information would be made available on the secretary of states website, free of charge, by January 1, 2022.

New York

AB 2574 adds the State University of New York as a designated voter registration agency for automatic voter registration.

AB 4686 decreases the number of signatures for independent nominating petitions of candidates for public office to two and one-half percent of the total number of votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial election.

AB 6478 authorizes a change of location of early voting polling places for certain special, primary and run-off primary elections when no voters of the municipality with the highest population within the county are eligible to vote.

SB 830 amends the election law regarding voting by formerly incarcerated individuals convicted of a felony. Any person convicted of a felony will be notified that his or her voting rights will be restored upon release.

SB 1310 allows Washington county to have at least one polling place designated for early voting.

North Dakota

HB1078 relates to presidential elections and the adoption of the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act.

HB1253 a voter to take up to thirty minutes to mark and cast the ballot after receiving the ballot from the election judge and requires that any dispute regarding a candidates residency may only be resolved by a court order.

HB1256 prohibits any state and political subdivisions from soliciting, accepting, or using any grants or donations from private persons for elections operations or administration.

SB 2142 revises the processing of absentee ballots by providing an earlier start date for verifying the signature on the application for an absent voter's ballot with the signature on the voter's affidavit.

SB2271 opposes the national popular vote interstate compact and urges Congress not to consent to the interstate compact and to oppose any efforts to seek a national popular election of a president other than through an amendment to the Constitution.

Oklahoma

HB 1752 sets a 30-day time limit for a county election board to remove deceased people from the central registry and voter registration list after receiving notice of a county resident death from the Secretary of the State Election Board.

HB 2564 amends the process of election recounts to require for recounts on statewide issue or question elections. The governor or the attorney general may request a recount of any state question. Subject to funding, the Secretary of the State Election Board will order an automatic recount of a state question if the margin of votes required for approval is one half of one percent or less of the total number of votes cast for or against a state question.

HB 2663 modifies days in which registered voters may apply for in person absentee ballot. Requests for absentee ballots must be received by the appropriate election officials no later than 5:00 p.m. on the third Monday preceding an election.

HB 2939 directs the secretary of the county election board to record a voters history to indicate how the voter casts a ballot. The voters method will not be disclosed to the public except for regularly scheduled federal or state election or a statewide special election for a state question.

SB 347 creates a new law that prohibits any county, school district, technology center school district, municipality, fire protection district or other political subdivision from scheduling an election conducted by a county election board on the second Tuesday of December 2021, the second Tuesday of January 2022 or the first Tuesday of March 2022.

SB 710 authorizes the State Election Board to participate in multistate voter list maintenance organizations such as the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and authorizes expenditures related to membership.

SB 712 authorizes the State Election Board to purchase any equipment and software necessary to implement an electronic precinct registry system (electronic poll books), dependent on the availability of funds.

SB 959 requires special elections for U.S. Senate vacancies to be held on the same dates as regular elections. A special candidate filing period will be on the same dates as the regular candidate filing period for those elections.

South Dakota

HB 1119 states that ballots for municipal elections will be available no later than seven days prior to a runoff election. Also, in any municipality, the person having the highest number of votes for any office will be declared elected. However, a municipality may, on or before October 1 in the year preceding, approve an ordinance requiring a runoff election.

HB 1124 requires that sample ballots and official ballots will be printed and in the possession of the county auditor not later than forty-eight days prior to a primary or general election.

HB1125 The members of the precinct election board or the counting board shall immediately proceed to count publicly the votes received at the polls and continue without leaving the site until the count is completed.

SB 25 removes an incorrect cross-reference in provisions regarding elections.

SB 102 allows voters to apply to the secretary of state to protect their voter record from public access under certain conditions.

SB 184 allows the county auditor to direct the county board of elections to meet on Election Day prior to the closing of the polls to review absentee voters' affidavits if the auditor deems this procedure necessary due to the number of absentee ballots received.

Tennessee

HB 722 prohibits a county election commissioner from qualifying as a candidate for public office and being a member of the commission. Also, a county election commissioner must abstain or be recused from the official duties of the commission for at least thirty days before an election in which a spouse, parent, sibling, or child is on the ballot for public office.

HB 1098 establishes that an independent living facility on the same property as a licensed nursing home, assisted care living facility, or home for the aged is considered a nursing home for the purpose of required absentee voting procedures.

HB 1178 requires a county election commission that has permanently established convenient voting centers to provide a report to the coordinator of elections including an evaluation of the centers, issues, and suggestions for improvements within 90 days after each general election.

HB 1611 changes the date to elect mayors and aldermen from the first Thursday in August to the Thursday after the first Monday in August for the city of Tullahoma.

SB 1315 creates the Tennessee Election Integrity Act. It prohibits any state election commission, state election officials and employees from accepting any funding or contributions, including in-kind contributions, for conducting an election unless the funding or contribution originates from the federal or state government.

SB 1534 prohibits any person from contributing, including in-kind contributions, donating, paying, or otherwise transfer money or equipment to the state election commission or the coordinator of elections for purposes of conducting state or local elections.

Texas

HB 1622 requires early voting clerks to post early voting turnouts in a timely manner. It creates a formal complaint process for clerks who fail to adhere to seeks to the requirements regarding the maintenance and availability of early voting rosters.

Utah

HB 12 requires that the names of deceased voters be removed from the voter rolls and that the lieutenant governor enforce these provisions.

HB 70 creates an online system for voters to track their mailed ballots and receive text or email status notifications.

HB 75 provides that each municipality chooses whether to participate in the Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project, which allows ranked-choice voting. It also removes the sunset date for a municipality entering a contract with a county to conduct an election.

HB 173 requires an election officer to report an estimate of the total number of ballots in the election official's custody that remain to be counted beginning on the day after election day and ending on the day before the canvass date.

HB 196 requires that the judicial retention section of a ballot includes a statement directing voters to the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission's website.

HB 197 specifies when a voter's designation or change of political party affiliation takes effect when the county clerk receives the signed form. In an even-numbered year, a form received after March 31 takes effect on the day after that year's regular primary election if the form changes a registered voter's political party affiliation.

HB 312 clarifies that there is a rebuttable presumption that a person's principal place of residence is in Utah and in the voting precinct claimed by the person if the person makes an oath or affirmation on a declaration of candidacy.

SB 92 provides that a regulated officeholder is not required to file a conflict-of-interest disclosure at the time of filing for reelection to office if they already filed a disclosure earlier the same year and indicates that the disclosure is accurate and up to date.

Virginia

HB 1810 provides that if a failure of the online voter registration system occurs prior to the close of registration, the governor has the authority to order the system to be available after the registration closing date for a period equal to the time the system was unavailable.

HB 1888 requires the establishment of ballot drop boxes and makes various changes to absentee ballot processing, including verifying the voter affirmation statement, and allows absentee voters to correct, or cure, the statement in certain circumstances.

HB 1968 permits localities to provide absentee voting in person in the office of the general registrar or voter satellite office on the first and second Sundays immediately preceding all elections.

HB 2020 revises nomination processes to ensure that qualified voters who are eligible but are unable to attend meetings because they are a servicemember on active duty; temporarily residing outside of the United States; a student attending school; a person with a disability; or a person who has a communicable disease can participate.

HB 2125 permits a person who is 16 years of age or older to preregister to vote.

HJR 555 provides that no person who has been convicted of a felony will be qualified to vote until the completion of his sentence. Once completed, the persons right to vote will be restored without further action required. A convicted felon may also have his civil rights restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority.

Every person who meets these qualifications will have the fundamental right to vote, except that no person who has been convicted of a felony can vote while imprisoned, and no person who lacks the capacity to understand voting may vote until his capacity has been reestablished by law . SJR 272 proposes a constitutional amendment regarding the qualifications of voters.

SB 1097 eliminates the requirement for a witness signature on absentee ballots during states of emergency.

SB 1111 removes the power of election officers to appoint a person who is not a law enforcement officer to have all the powers of a law enforcement officer within the polling place and the prohibited area.

SB 1148 changes the primary election date from the second Tuesday in June to the third Tuesday in June. It also changes candidate filing deadlines.

SB 1239 permits a general registrar to contract with a third party for the printing, assembly, and mailing of absentee ballots.

SB 1245 requires the establishment of a drop-off location for the return of marked absentee ballots at the office of the general registrar and each voter satellite office. Also, on Election Day, the bill requires a drop-off location be available at each polling place in operation.

SB 1281 removes the requirement that the general registrar of a locality be a resident of that locality or an adjacent locality.

SB 1331 requires the state to create a tool to allow voters with a visual impairment or print disability to electronically receive and mark absentee ballots.

Washington

HB 1068 exempts from disclosure, under the Public Records Act, election operation plans, security risk assessments, and other election security records. Also, it exempts information related to election security, operations, and infrastructure.

HB 1078 restores voting rights to citizens on parole.

SB 5015 Any misrepresentation of an unofficial ballot collection site or device as an official ballot drop box that has been established by the county auditor is punishable as a gross misdemeanor.

West Virginia

HB 2372 allows pre-candidacy papers to be filed the day after the general election to receive contributions or make expenditures in preparing to become a candidate.

Wisconsin

SB 102 allows a pupil enrolled in a home-based private educational program to serve as an election inspector.

SB 208 requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to post minutes within 48 hours after the meeting or hearing. The minutes must include a summary of every action the commission voted on, a record of each members vote for or against every action requiring a vote, a record of all motions and seconds, and a record of each members status as present or absent for any part of a meeting or hearing.

Wyoming
The Coca-Cola Company seems to be learning the hard way that signing up for the racialist agenda of the left has a downside. Bradley Gayton, senior vice president and general counsel of the Coca-Cola Company until yesterday, generated a firestorm with the release of this January 28, 2021 letter instructing the law firms that perform legal services for it to

commit that at least 30% of each of billed associate and partner time will be from diverse attorneys, and of such amounts at least half will be from Black attorneys.

The letter helpfully defined Persons of Diversity (PODs) as

American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Women, Hispanic/Latinx, LGBTQ+, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and Persons with Disabilities[.]



Bradley Gayton (photo source: Coca-Cola Company).

Many questioned the legality of such an order, given that anti-discrimination law forbids eliminating people from work based solely on race.

That was followed by another P.R. disaster in February, when it was revealed that mandatory diversity training at Coke instructed employees to "try to be less white."

Then, after Georgia passed an election integrity law that Democrats opposed, Coke's British CEO criticized it:

The Coca-Cola Company does not support this legislation, as it makes it harder for people to vote, not easier.

But the company now apparently has decided to ease away from the racialist agenda by accepting the "resignation" of Gayton and paying him off to the tune of many millions of dollars to go away quietly. Bloomberg Law reports:

The Coca-Cola Co. announced Wednesday that it is moving legal chief Bradley Gayton to a "strategic consultant" role less than a year after he joined the company (snip) Coca-Cola disclosed the details of Gayton's consulting agreement, which could be worth up to nearly $12 million, in a securities filing Wednesday. The deal gives Gayton a lump sum "make-whole payment" of $4 million, a waiver of "repayment obligations of certain benefits" related to his initial employment agreement with the company, and a nearly $670,000 monthly consulting fee starting in May 2021 and extending through April 2022. The payments are contingent on Gayton's "continued compliance with certain restrictive covenants contained in the consulting agreement," the filing said. Gayton received about $4.7 million in total compensation from Coca-Cola last year, according to an annual proxy statement filed by the company March 4. Gayton's pay package included nearly $3.5 million in stock awards, a $576,000 cash bonus, and roughly $253,300 in prorated base salary. He currently owns over $4 million in Coca-Cola stock and nearly $2.9 million in Ford Motor Co. stock, according to Bloomberg data. Coca-Cola hired Gayton last year from Ford, where he spent almost three decades in-house, the last four of which he served as the top lawyer for the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker.

Wow! The consulting contract alone pays him over $8 million for one year, 71% more than he earned in his first year working for the company, in addition to the $4 million that is being called a "make whole" agreement. I strongly suspect that the undisclosed "restrictive covenants" that Mr. Gayton agreed to include keeping his mouth shut.



Still from a vintage Coca-Cola promo when Coke sold a product, not politics.

Hat tip: Andrea Widburg.

Gayton has been replaced by Monica Howard Douglas, an in-house lawyer at Coke.



Photo via Business Wire.

Douglas is a 17-year veteran of the company who most recently served as chief compliance officer and associate general counsel for the North America operating unit. In her new role, Douglas will oversee the company's global legal function, reporting to Chairman and CEO James Quincey. Douglas joined Coca-Cola in 2004 as senior managing counsel. She went on to hold roles of increasing responsibility, including as legal director for Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa, before being named general counsel for Coca-Cola North America in 2018.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The hyperloop is ready for a breakthrough, and Zeleros is one of the concepts in the running. The Spanish start-up has created a unique technology thanks to their approach to their higher-pressure tubes. Credit: Zeleros hyperloop

The hyperloop is what you get when you take a magnetic levitation train and put it into an airless tube. The lack of resistance allows the train, in theory, to achieve unseen speeds, a concept that is edging closer and closer to realityand could provide a greener alternative to short-haul air travel.

In November of 2020 two people were shooting through an airless tube at 160 km/h in the desert outside of Las Vegas. This wasn't a ride invented by a casino or theme park; it was the first crewed ride of a hyperloop by the company Virgin Hyperloop. The ride only lasted 15 seconds, and the speeds they achieved were a far cry from the 1200 km/h they promise they will one day reach, but it represented a step forward.

The hyperloop might be the future of transportation for medium-length journeys. It could outcompete high-speed rail, and at the same time operate at speeds comparable to aviation, but at a fraction of its environmental and energy costs. It's a concept which start-ups and researchers have eagerly adopted, including several teams across Europe.

Open design

The idea originated with the US entrepreneur Elon Musk, associated with companies like SpaceX and Tesla. After he mentioned it several times in public, a team of SpaceX and Tesla engineers released an open concept in 2013. This initial idea then spawned a range of companies and even student teams, trying to design their own versions. Among them were several students in the Spanish city of Valencia.

"We started in 2015 after Elon Musk's announcement, when we were still students," said Juan Vicen Balaguer, co-founder and chief marketing officer of the hyperloop start-up Zeleros, which today employs more than 50 people and raised around 10 million in funding. "We've been working on this technology for five years, and it can be a real alternative mode of transportation."

Yet the idea behind the hyperloop is older than Elon Musk, and it's similar to an earlier idea called a vactrain or vacuum tube train. A comparable concept was already proposed by 19th century author Michel Verne, son of Jules, and has since then been periodically brought up by science-fiction writers and technologists. Now, however, the hyperloop seems to be getting ready for a breakthrough, and Zeleros is one of the concepts in the running.

With a speed of 1000 km/h, the hyperloop could be a greener and faster alternative to air travel. Credit: Horizon

Higher-pressure tube

What makes their technology unique is their approach to the tube. "Each company uses a different level of pressure," said Vicen. "Some are going for space pressure levels. Which means that the atmosphere in the tube is similar to space. It contains almost zero air."

This state would allow for very fast speeds, since the train would face almost no friction. Yet it comes with a range of practical issues. It's very difficult and expensive to achieve and maintain this level of pressure for long stretches of tube. Safety would also be an issue. if something happens to the hull of the train, passengers would be exposed to dangerous vacuum conditions.

That's why Zeleros is aiming for higher-pressure tubes. "It would be similar to the pressure seen in aviation," said Vicen. The pressure in the tubes proposed by Zeleros would extend to around 100 millibars. This, in turn, allows them to copy safety systems from aircraft, such as the oxygen masks that drop from overhead cabins. This design choice also makes their tubes cheaper to build, thereby reducing infrastructure costs. Yet it also means their trains face more air friction when they glide through the tube, which they have to compensate for in other ways.

"You need to remove the air from the front of the vehicle," said Vicen. "If not, the craft would stop. Which is why we use a compressor system at the front of the vehicle. If there was zero pressure, we wouldn't need this. But it's a balance between economics and efficiency."

At the front of the train is a compressor, which looks like the front of an airliner engine and which sucks in air and lets it out at the rear, providing propulsion for the craft. A so-called linear motor is also located at key parts of the track, like the start, to give the train its initial propulsion. From there it self-propels along the track, with magnets at the top of the vehicle attracting it to the top of the tube and making it levitate. This proposed craft would carry between 50 and 200 passengers, and would reach up to 1000 km/h. By comparison, the cruising speed of a short-haul passenger aircraft is about 800 km/h.

Outcompete air

But why do we need this in the first place? Shouldn't we just invest more in our regular, high-speed trains? It's more complicated than that, says Professor Maria Luisa Martinez Muneta from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, where she coordinates the HYPERNEX research project. HYPERNEX connects hyperloop start-ups, like Zeleros, with universities, railway companies and regulators, in order to accelerate the technology's development in Europe.

"Hyperloops face today's greatest transportation demands: reduction of travel time and of environmental impact," said Prof. Martinez Muneta.

"You need to remove the air from the front of the vehicle. If not, the craft would stop. Which is why we use a compressor system at the front of the vehicle," explained Juan Vicen Balaguer, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Zeleros. Credit: Zeleros hyperloop

Because of its limited speedgenerally around 300-350 km/hhigh-speed rail quickly becomes a bad choice for longer range travel if you want to get somewhere in a hurry. This gap is filled by short and medium-distance air travel, but aircraft emit a high volume of emissions compared to trains and are not always convenient, as airports can be located away from city centres.

A hyperloop could solve the problem. "This mode of transport is focused on covering routes between 400 and 1500 kilometres," said Prof. Martinez Muneta. In this way a hyperloop would replace most shorter aeroplane travel, with much less of an environmental impact. "The hyperloop produces zero direct emissions as it is 100% electrical, while achieving higher speeds and therefore shorter travel times," she said.

Labs and regulation

Bringing this vision into reality will likely take a decade. Vicen from Zeleros predicts that the first commercial passenger routes will come online around 2030, with hyperloops focused on cargo arriving a few years earlier, around 2025-2027.

One key issue in this timeframe is regulation. "The European Union is the first region that has a committee that promotes regulation and standardisation of hyperloops," said Vicen, referring to the 2020 founding of a joint technical committee on hyperloops by the European Committee for Standardization and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.

According to Zeleros, this is an important step if hyperloops want to become commercially viable. These craft would operate at hitherto unseen speeds, with new safety characteristics like airless tubes. This would in turn require new regulations and standardisations, for example on what to do if the capsule depressurised.

The technology also remains somewhat untested, although real-world experiments are happening more often. Vicen mentions how they have already tested their technology in computer simulations, where they can model things like aerodynamic conditions and electromagnetic dynamics. They also use so-called physical demonstrators or prototypes that test in laboratory conditions how magnetism is affected by high speeds, for example.

Nevertheless, they are aching to move from the lab to the field. Right now, they are planning to build a 3-km test track at a still-to-be-determined location in Spain, where by 2023 they hope to demonstrate their technology, and they are working with the Port of Valencia to study the use of hyperloops in transporting freight.

Hyperloops might still be a few years out, but we'll likely see more of them in the future.

Explore further Virgin's Hyperloop carries passengers for the first time
A Washington D.C. based coalition is calling out the Biden administration for failing to act against the Ethiopian government's human rights violations.

Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians, a civic engagement group based in Washington D.C., took to the U.S. State Department on Tuesday to call upon the Biden administration to condemn the acts of genocide that Ethiopia is committing against several ethnic and religious groups. The group gathered to raise "public awareness about the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Amhara and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia."

According to the Christian Post, the Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians coalition campaigned for the release of the leaders of Balderas for True Democracy in Ethiopia, who were illegally imprisoned without bail.

They are Eskinder Nega, Sentayehu Chekol, Aster (Qeleb) Seyoum and Askale Demele, who all condemned the ruling Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO)-Prosperity Party's "acts of human rights abuses in Ethiopia and its policy of complete marginalization of residents of the metropolitan Addis Ababa," which is Ethiopia's capital and largest city. The three led Balderas for True Democracy, a registered Ethiopian political party.

Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians' public relations officer Yohannes Gethaun spoke to CP, explaining that the reason why the civic organization held the protest is because they believe Ethiopia must be "governed through a transient period led by technocrats, no politicians," unlike what had been happening for 47 years now.

Gethaun also criticized Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, who is a member of the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization for failing to protect churches in Ethiopia.

Voice for the Voiceless Ethiopians Task Force Chairman Shimelis Legesse called Ali a "narcissist" in a press release announcing the rally on Tuesday. In it, the group outlined the "gross human rights violations" of Ali's government, including Ethiopia's genocide against over a million people in the southern part of the country, which includes members of the Amhara ethnic group and "scores of Orthodox Christians."

Gethaun expressed his dismay over the Biden administration's inaction against Ethiopia's genocide of Amhara and Orthodox Christians. He did, however, commend the Biden administration for continuing to halt aid to Ethiopian military after the Trump administration cut off "military and security aid to the existing regime."

In the same vein, Legesse wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to highlight their concerns on the "absence of due attention by the USA administration" regarding Ethiopia's genocide against Amhara and Orthodox Christians, as well as the "vengeful imprisonment" of Balderas for True Democracy leaders who were captured by authorities under Ali's regime. Legesse accused the Biden administration for failing to "show concern for the plight of Amhara and Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, who face genocide and ethnic cleansing."

Newsweek's Ramsen Shamon believes that the U.S. isn't doing enough to fight genocide around the globe today. He wrote, "It's time for President Joe Biden to stand up to those who would erase the history of Indigenous communities for their own advantage."

Shamon argued, "Governments must call genocide by its ugly name. Recognition is the first step in healing communities affected by genocide."
Everything on our planet -- the land, the water, the air, people -- is connected by the various chemical, physical and biological processes that make up what we call the Earth system.

One of the key components of that huge system is the cryosphere, or all of Earth's frozen water. This important "sphere" includes frozen soils in Alaska, the snow on top of the Himalayas, as well as all the ice in the polar regions.

Nowhere is the role of the cryosphere as evident as it is at high latitudes, where the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets cover most of the land, and where sea ice caps enormous sections of the polar waters. The vastness of that bright, white ice -- in addition to the huge areas covered by winter snow beyond polar regions -- helps control the global climate by reflecting some of the Sun's radiation back into space.

Because of the importance of the cryosphere, NASA is committed to studying Earth's ice extensively. With the recently decommissioned Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite mission, and its successor, GRACE Follow-On, scientists have studied changes in ice sheet mass balance. The missions have measured variations in Earth's gravitational pull in response to surface mass and water changes.

For more than a decade, Operation IceBridge took to the skies to survey the Arctic, Antarctica and Alaska. With more than 1,000 flights completed, scientists and engineers gathered data on the height, depth, thickness, and flow of sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets.

From 2009 to 2019, NASA's Operation IceBridge studied polar ice over the Arctic, Antarctic and Alaska. Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

IceBridge ended officially in 2021, but its legacy will live through the hundreds of terabytes of data on land and sea ice collected since 2009. The mission collected an array of data to bridge the data gap between NASA's two spaceborne laser altimeters built for studying the cryosphere, the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellites, or ICESat and ICESat-2.

Last year, scientists using ICESat-2 reported dramatic ice sheet losses in Greenland and Antarctica. Equipped with the most advanced laser altimeters ever flown in space, the spacecraft enabled scientists to create elevation maps to measure the loss of ice with unprecedented detail.

Between 2003 and 2019, the Greenland Ice Sheet lost an average of 200 gigatons of ice per year, the researchers concluded. Antarctica's ice sheet lost an average of 118 gigatons of ice per year. The combined ice losses caused sea levels to rise by 0.55 inches (14 millimeters) over those 16 years.

Using data from the ICESat and ICESat-2 laser altimeters, scientists precisely measured how much ice has been lost from ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland between 2003 and 2019. The Antarctic Peninsula, seen here, was one of the fastest changing regions of the continent.

Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/K. Ramsayer

By studying changes observed between the ICESat and ICESat-2 missions, scientists also reported substantial thinning of Greenland's coastal glaciers -- another important aspect of the cryosphere that NASA scientists investigate.

As part of NASA's Oceans Melting Greenland mission, which surveys glaciers with aircraft and ships, scientists want to gain a better understanding of how ocean warming affects coastal glaciers. Greenland's melting glaciers are a significant contributor to the rising sea levels that already pose concerns for coastal communities worldwide.

In 2020, the mission's scientists completed an extensive survey of Greenland's fjords and glaciers, shedding more light on the ways in which warming seas accelerate glacier retreat. Their research showed that warming ocean water in fjords erodes the base of glaciers, causing the ice above it to break away. Bigger glaciers melt faster because of that undercutting process, the scientists concluded.

Scientists expect climate change to amplify the ocean warming and the undercutting of those Greenlandic glaciers. But the interaction between the ocean and other types of polar ice extends beyond glaciers.

For example, last year NASA scientists found that rapid sea ice melt led to a more turbulent ocean current in the Arctic called the Beaufort Gyre. Like other currents in the world's oceans, the Beaufort Gyre plays an important role in regulating massive exchanges of water around the globe with different temperatures and salinity. Through this process, known as the thermohaline circulation, ocean currents interact with the many other components of the Earth system to control temperatures across the globe.

The NASA study, which included 12 years of satellite data, showed the gyre has gained a massive amount of cold fresh water since the 1990s. Because some of that freshwater is slowly picked up by another system of currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, the far-reaching effects of the changing currents could also influence the climate of Western Europe and North America.

Earth's Great Conveyor Belt, driven by thermohaline currents, pumps massive amounts of water with various temperatures and salinity around the planet. This animation shows some of the major regions where this pumping occurs. Credits: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Even though the polar regions hold most of Earth's ice, snowpacks and alpine glaciers at lower latitudes are important parts of ecosystems around the world. In mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada in California, snowpacks that release water gradually during warmer months serve as the primary source of drinking and irrigation water. This water also provides an important source of hydroelectric power.

Alpine snow can be difficult to study with satellites from space, as snow cover often hides under forest canopy and other types of complex terrains. To complement satellite observations of snow in Western U.S. states, NASA's SnowEx campaign has been surveying snowpacks since 2017. The campaign is an effort to characterize snow depth, density and other detailed properties of snow that scientists need to accurately estimate how much water will melt and flow into mountain streams, rivers and reservoirs.

In order to expand these local measurements to global observations, scientists need to perform some complex calculations to combine airborne and ground observations of snow with satellite data. NASA funds efforts that help determine the best ways to combine observations from various satellites and study snow depending on ground conditions.

Climate change can also influence the amount of freshwater available from melting winter snow. Where climate change results in less snow fall, droughts can follow in the warmer months. Additionally, changes in alpine glaciers and snow can also lead to natural hazards. As warming causes more precipitation in the form of rain instead of snow, water can overwhelm rivers and cause floods.

To study vulnerability to flooding, landslides and other types of natural hazards, NASA's High Mountain Asia Team is completing the most comprehensive ice and snow survey ever made of the region where mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush provide fresh water for millions of people. There, glacial melt and changes in precipitation patterns have become more common. As meltwater lakes form on top of these glaciers, the surrounding glaciers can become unstable and eventually lead to lake bursting, flooding and debris flows downstream.

By combining expertise about the cryosphere with field campaigns and an extensive fleet of operational and upcoming satellites, NASA and its partners can help communities worldwide to predict the effects of climate change and to potentially mitigate natural hazards and disasters that are deeply connected to our planet's cryosphere.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Michigan plans to pilot the Travel Points Testing program, which will offer quick coronavirus testing at welcome centers and airports.

In an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, testing locations are planned along highways and airports with high volumes of travel.

I encourage all Michiganders to continue masking up, socially distancing and hand washing to slow the spread, and if you re-enter or travel across the state, get tested at one of the new sites being set up at key points, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.

Whitmer also encouraged Michiganders to get vaccinated.

RELATED: Michigan surpasses 6M COVID-19 vaccines administered

The testing is cost-free and quick, with results available in about 15 minutes. Walk ups will be taken as available, however Michigan residents are encouraged to use the option of registering online.

Insurance is not required. Travelers can receive their testing results via text, email or their patient portal of choice.

Travel testing points are one part of the state looking to increase testing rates, which have been lower.

RELATED: Coronavirus testing is down in Michigan, but its no less important as cases surge

Two testing stations will open Friday, April 23, including the Dundee Welcome Center on US 23 mile marker eight and the Monroe Welcome Center on northbound I-75 at mile marker 10.

Another location part of the pilot, the Cherry Capital Airport located in Traverse City, has been open since April 7.

The program was created in a partnership between the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Our Welcome Centers are a gateway to thousands of travelers coming into the state each day, making them ideal locations to help prevent the spread of this horrible virus, Paul Ajegba, state travel director, said in a statement. Just look out for the COVID testing signs before the appropriate centers along the freeways.

Read more on MLive:

Obsessively cleaning surfaces for COVID-19 unnecessary and may do more harm than good, CDC says

Michigan crosses 17,000 coronavirus deaths, though daily case increase average declining

Is Michigan turning a corner on coronavirus surge? Too soon to tell, experts say
The current WSOP Main Event Champion, Damian "pampa27" Salas has taken down the 2021 PokerStars SCOOP-72-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max] for $263,023 after defeating Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph heads-up. The tournament attracted 120 entries to create a prize pool of $1,200,000 with the biggest prizes having been handed out today.

This is the biggest online cash for Salas to date on PokerStars as he won an NLHE tournament back in 2018 for $139,183 and the EPT Online 20: $1,050 NLHE [Last Chance], $500K Gtd last November for $117,475 but he has now almost doubled his previous personal best. But with over $ 2.5 million in cashes in live tournaments, the Argentinian is no stranger to success on the felt even though this is his first SCOOP title.

Besides Salas and Rudolph, Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker, Wiktor "Iimitless" Malinowski, Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet, Christoph "26071985" Vogelsang, Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi, Linus "LLinusLLove" Loeliger, and Bruno "great dant" Volkmann took a seat at the stacked final table.

SCOOP-72-H: $10,300 NLHE [8-Max] Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Damian "pampa27" Salas Argentina $263,023 2 Christian "WATnlos" Rudolph Germany $203,788 3 Thomas "WushuTM" Muehloecker Austria $157,893 4 Wiktor "Iimitless" Malinowski Poland $122,334 5 Jon "apestyles" Van Fleet United States $94,783 6 Christoph "26071985" Vogelsang Germany $73,437 7 Talal "raidalot" Shakerchi United Kingdom $56,899 8 Linus "LLinusLLove" Loeliger Switzerland $44,085 9 Bruno "great dant" Volkmann Brazil $34,931

Final Table Action

Even though Shakerchi came in as the shortest stack, he managed to grab two pay jumps as Volkmann and Loeliger both busted before him. Loeliger was left short when he doubled Salas up who then took out Volkmann with pocket aces. Loeliger then lost the remainder of his stack to Malinowski. Shakerchi managed to double up through Malinowski but then gave them all back to him when he ran his pocket kings into the ace-ten of his opponent. The ace on the turn meant that Shakerchi's hopes of a sixth SCOOP title were over.

Vogelsang was then shot down by Muehloecker as he held pocket sevens but Muehloecker had turned trips which held on the river. The chip lead went back and forth for a while between Salas and Rudolph while Day 1 chip leader Van Fleet was not doing too well. In the end, he got all his chips in on the turn with the open-ended straight draw but Muehloecker's top pair became trips on the river to send Van Fleet to the rail.

A special mention for Van Fleet who also streams on Twitch, he has pledged to donate 5% of his $10,300 and $2,100 SCOOP events to one of his mods, "Love2Write". She has an upcoming surgery related to her battle with cancer. He will also be donating 5% to The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Jon Van Fleet finished in fifth place for $94,783

Four-handed play lasted 100 minutes with Malinowski pulling the short straw when he bet-called the shove of Rudolph with two pair to see him bust as the German had hit his flush. Muehloecker was the shortest stack and doubled up once before being eliminated forty minutes later when he shoved his last ten big blinds in with ace-five. Salas had looked him up while holding king-jack and flopped top pair to get to the heads-up battle with a chip lead of around 20 big blinds.

The heads-up battle lasted ten minutes with most of the chips going to Salas. In the end, Rudolph three-bet preflop and check-raised on the nine-six-deuce flop to then shove when the king came on the turn. Rudolph had put his tournament life at risk with the flush draw but Salas had turned a set of kings and held when the board was completed.

This concludes the PokerNews coverage for this event but make sure to check out the live reporting hub to check the action in all the other events!
Collecting guide: Fausto Melotti

He tells a story in the simplest of ways, says Christies specialist Giulia Centonze of the shy Italian sculptor, who also revelled in design, mathematics, music and poetry

Who was Fausto Melotti? Fausto Melotti was one of the most inventive artists of the 20th century, says Christies specialist Giulia Centonze. He is a household name in Italy, where he played a central role in the countrys cultural renaissance in the mid-20th century, but he is less well known internationally. In recognition of his work as an artist, he won the 1974 Rembrandt Prize and was posthumously awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1986. One explanation of his low profile abroad is the sheer diversity of his output. Melotti was a polymath with a compulsion to experiment, and his muscular intellect led him to create an endless variety of artworks, from figurative drawings and pure geometric sculptures to lyrical cadences in brass and gold. These works were informed by folk tales, music, architecture, the ancient world and mathematical symmetry. Melotti was also a designer, a poet and a writer, contributing essays to Gio Pontis architecture magazine Domus, and publishing the poetry anthology Linee (meaning lines), for which he won the Diano Marina Prize in 1975. Centonze notes that, for all his whimsical brilliance, he was a reserved individual who kept out of the spotlight  unlike his contemporary Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), a master showman. Melotti was shy and serious-minded and rarely travelled, she says. Aside from a brief spell in Rome during the Second World War, he lived most of his life in Milan.

Melottis early life Born in Rovereto in 1901, Melotti studied physics and mathematics at the University of Pisa and graduated with a degree in electrotechnical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Milan. In 1928 he enrolled at the Accademia delle Belle Arte di Brera, where he trained under the Symbolist sculptor Adolfo Wildt (1868-1931). There he met Fontana, and they remained friends for the rest of their lives. Milan in the 1920s was the centre of Italys avant-garde and an intoxicating place for a young artist. It was here in 1909 that Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944) founded the revolutionary Futurist movement, publishing a scandalous manifesto that declared war on the old order with the words we want to deliver Italy from its gangrene of professors, archaeologists, tourist guides and antiquaries. Many Milanese artists were inspired by the Futurists, says Centonze. Their provocative actions and celebration of modernism were exciting. There was so much potential. Together with his cousin Carlo Belli (1903-1991)  the future theorist of Italian abstract art  Melotti became part of a lively group of young artists, musicians and architects including Gino Pollini (1903-1991), Luciano Baldessari (1896-1982) and Adalberto Libera (1903-1963). The northern metropolis was also becoming the centre of fashion, furniture and product design, with figures such as Ponti transforming the way Italians lived and thought about design. Melotti embraced this thrilling new world and began experimenting with abstraction, creating geometric works that reflected the sense of order in the universe.

The pursuit of purity There are two extremes to Melottis practice in the 1920s and 30s, explains Centonze. On the one hand, he is still a figurative artist, making marble busts and drawings that look like illustrations for fairy tales; and on the other, he is producing these cool, minimal sculptures with grids and lines that hark back to his education in maths and physics. To further his interest in geometric sculpture, Melotti joined the Abstraction-Creation movement founded in Paris in 1931 by Auguste Herbin (1882-1960) and Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965). He also befriended a circle of Rationalist architects in Milan known as Gruppo 7, who, like Melotti, were keen to find a middle way between classicism and hard-edged modernism. His friendship with Gruppo 7 and Gio Ponti, who promoted Melottis genius in Domus, inspired the artist to branch out into furniture and product design, creating a series of objects for the home such as the table pictured below, offered online at Christies until 6 May.

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986), Table, c. 1950. Glazed ceramic, brass and crystal. 76.5 x 154 x 45 cm (base). Sold for 93,750 on 6 May, Online

As far as we are aware, this is the only dining table he ever made, says Centonze. It has this amazing Baroque aesthetic, advocating the idea of decoration in modern design  something that was considered very provocative at the time. The table was one of a number of objects given to the present owners family by Melotti. It is one of the great delights of visiting houses in Milan, says the specialist. You find all these wonderful treasures from artists like Fontana, Melotti and Ponti. They were so experimental, and often gave their designs away as gifts to friends.

Melottis crisis of creativity This creative period came to a crashing halt in the 1940s with the outbreak of the Second World War, and the horrors Melotti witnessed had a profound impact on his work. I must confess that the war has caused me great inner pain and sickness, he wrote. One cannot make abstract art, one cannot even think about it, when the soul is full not of desperation, but of figures of desperation. In 1943 his studio in Milan was bombed and much of his work destroyed. The mathematical order and harmony he had applied to geometric abstraction did not reflect reality as he saw it, and he turned to ceramics, making sombre little figures and stage sets which he called teatrini.

Fausto Melotti (1901-1986), I gessetti, 1959. 18 x 12 x 5 in (46.3 x 32.4 x 13 cm). Sold for 320,750 on 2 October 2018 at Christies in London

A new freedom It was not until the late 1960s that Melotti returned to abstraction, merging the two sides of his practice in a series of light, threadlike, almost dematerialised constructions he called anti-sculpture. His 1973 work Il viaggio della luna (Journey to the Moon) is an exuberant example of this final phase. A delicate construction of gold and brass shapes and fine wires, it features a line of playful forms queuing beside a ladder to the moon. This metaphysical dream world offers a perfect balance between geometry and representation, abstraction and narrative.

The influence of music In his acceptance speech for the Rembrandt Prize, Melotti stated that it was his love of music that had helped him return to sculpture: Music has called me back, disciplining with its laws, distinctions and digressions in a balanced discourse. Melotti was an accomplished pianist, and the titles of his sculptures  including words such as variations, sequence, counterpoint and scale  often allude to musical theory. Some of his later works look like three-dimensional renderings of avant-garde scores, with looping curls, arabesques and repeated patterns. He once described his sculptures as a musical space structured in the building of harmony.

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New online support launched for people in North Wales with mental health problems

An online support service has been launched to help reduce the loneliness and isolation experienced by people with mental health problems and their carers across North Wales.

North Wales Space has been funded by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and delivered by Welsh mental health charity, Hafal.

The online peer support community, which is monitored 24/7, offers a safe space for people to talk about their mental health in a supportive environment, connect with others in similar situations, and receive useful information on services in all six counties of North Wales.

It is part of the Clic online platform established by Hafal in 2016 to provide better support for people with mental health problems and their carers in Wales.





Thanks to funding by Mental Health UK partners at Lloyds Banking Group, during the coronavirus pandemic Hafal were able to make Clic available to everyone living in the UK. It has been a vital lifeline to thousands of those struggling with loneliness and isolation during the pandemic.

North Wales Space is a dedicated microsite of Clic, enabling people to connect to like-minded people across the region and find information on local support services.

Mike Smith, Interim Director of Nursing for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services at BCUHB, said:

Were very pleased that with the support of Hafal, we are able to offer another useful tool to help people access mutual support and manage their mental health 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Online mutual support communities like Clic play an important role in helping to reduce the loneliness and isolation that many people with mental health problems can experience.

Through North Wales Space, people across the region can find great opportunities to make connections and talk about their mental health in a thoroughly supportive community.

Hafals Head of Communications Matt Pearce said: We are really pleased to be able to support BCUHB in creating a dedicated virtual space for people in North Wales which will provide really valuable opportunities for making friends, speaking openly about mental health and providing mutual support.

To access North Wales Space, visit: https://northwales.clic-uk.org/

For further information on mental health support available in North Wales, visit the Mental Health Hub on the BCUHB website: https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/health-advice/mental-health-hub/
The practice of allowing lawmakers to set aside funding in huge government funding bills for individual projects in their communities gave them the chance to reflect the needs of their constituents and a mechanism for leaders to finesse tough votes on legislation.

But they came to be seen as a symbol of self-dealing and waste in government, and they grew increasingly toxic as a wave of self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives washed into Congress. After a series of scandals  including one that led to the imprisonment of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff  Congress ultimately banned earmarks in 2011.

Under new guidelines outlined this year by House Democrats, they will be revived. Lawmakers will be required to disclose each project request on their congressional websites and certify that no one in their families stand to benefit. Only 1 percent of the money annually appropriated, outside of entitlement spending, will be available for earmarks, and each member will be allowed up to 10 requests. The Government Accountability Office will also audit some of the projects.

We should acknowledge that over the history of congressional earmarks, there were ones that were used for corrupt purposes, said Molly E. Reynolds, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. But by and large, thats not the circumstances under which they were used.

It has the potential to give legislators a sense of purpose and a reason for doing the work that they do, she added.

The loss of earmarks is seen by many as a factor behind the gridlock that has plagued Congress, giving rank-and-file lawmakers little motivation for supporting giant legislation largely drafted by party leaders and giving more power to the executive branch over how taxpayer dollars are spent.
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-21 23:55:29|Editor: huaxia

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In the China tour launched by Global Young Leaders Dialogue, young leaders from 8 countries and regions went to Guizhou Province to have a better understanding about China there. Watch the video to listen to what they say about the trip.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
has released a small portion of Iranian funds in its banks for its purchase of medicine and vaccine, a senior businessman said in Tehran.

"Only $30 million of Iranian funds in have been released for purchase of coronavirus vaccines and other medications," Hossein Tanhayi, head of Iran- Joint Chamber of Commerce, said on Wednesday.

In February, South Korea agreed to help release at least $1 billion out of the around $7 billion of funds that have remained blocked in two Seoul banks since 2018, said Tanhayi.

"However, the agreement has not been implemented yet," he added.

has announced that South Korea was in arrears with payment of about $7 billion for oil from Tehran, which have been frozen in the South Korean banks because of American pressures of sanctioning the Islamic Republic.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


AFR Apology to John Karantzis, Managing Director

Sydney, April 22, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - NSX Limited ( ASX:NSX ) is pleased to announce that the Australian Financial Review (www.afr.com) has today published the following apology on page 2 of its printed edition:"Apology to Nickolas John KarantzisAs you know, on 2 and 7 July 2020, The Australian Financial Review published articles entitled "Etherstack pump straight from iSignthis playbook" and "More alternative facts from iSignthis boss John Karantzis" which referred to you and your company ISignthis.We understand you considered the article suggested you were aware of or involved in money laundering. The Financial Review did not intend to make such an allegation and if any readers took the article to mean that it retracts them.The Financial Review unreservedly apologises to you for the hurt and distress caused by reason of the publication of the article and for any damage to your reputation."The apology also appears in the above referenced online articles on the AFR website.The apology arises from the settlement of Federal Court proceedings taken against the AFR and columnists Joe Aston and Miriam Robin by Mr Karantzis.Other terms of the settlement are confidential.The Company regards the apology as extremely significant, because it has faced adverse public comment arising from the implication of money laundering. At no stage in the court proceedings prior to the settlement did the AFR, Aston or Robin contend that there was truth in an implication of money laundering.About NSX Ltd

NSX Ltd (ASX:NSX) via its wholly owned subsidiary National Stock Exchange of Australia Limited (NSXA) operates the Tier 1 Licensed stock exchange facility for the listing of equity securities, corporate debt and investment scheme units. The company is also involved in trading and settlement activities.
In the last year, we have been bombarded, indeed continuously scolded, with information about which lives actually do matter. Interestingly, while no one seems willing to opine that some lives "don't matter," suggesting that every human life is of value ("all lives matter") draws outrage and charges of racism.

However, it seems the recent event in Columbus, OH brings some clarity. A young woman of 16 years died when shot by a police officer. All of the moral sages in our land  celebrities, activists who professionally determine which lives matter, media members, and politicians (of the correct brand only)  assure us that based on her ethnicity and tender years that her life really matters. We are told we should "say her name."

I agree; her life did matter  greatly. That said, I have also noted some things that clearly do not matter. One is the knife in her hand. It is irrelevant. Only wicked people, such as your humble scribe, would mention it. Nor is the use being made of the knife  a clear attempt to plunge it into the body of another human being, the girl in pink  important to them. Again, how dare anyone bring it up? Neanderthal.

Yet this brings me to a conundrum: the person that nearly received the knife blow from the "person whose life obviously matters" is also a young female of similar ethnic background. She shares all the characteristics that our moral priesthood says confer value, yet she is absent from their statements. I conclude that, to these paragons of righteous indignation, the life of this girl in pink does not matter.



Photo credit: Rumble video screen grab (cropped).

Enough of the tap-dancing around the issue; to these politicians, media personalities, activists, celebrities, and other People of Public Virtue (PoPV), this Black life of the girl in pink does not matter. There is no concern of any kind shown by the PoPV that, barring, the swift, accurate action of the police, if could have been her life that ended.

Her pink life matters. Full stop.

The fact is that, to the PoPV, Black lives do not matter. They matter only if the Black life ends in a way that is useful to the PoPV agenda. If the police had arrived one minute later and the girl in pink had been lying in a pool of her own blood, you would never have heard a word on the news. The PoPV, from BLM to the president, would be silent. We see this every week with the deaths of Black people in cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis. If a Black person is killed by another Black person, as is the case 90+ of the time, the PoPV do not care. Only Black deaths, not lives, matter, and only those Black deaths that are politically useful to the PoPV.

But somebody did care about the "pink life": a cop. Watch the horrible video here.

In the midst of a rapidly developing, chaotic scene, he correctly assessed the imminent danger to her life and, firing his gun with commendable precision (he got the assailant, not the girl in pink), rescued her. The cop cared enough to protect her. He had to know that doing so could destroy his career. The PoPV don't care. The outcome has value only as it supports their cause.

Girl in Pink, your life matters, and not because of your skin color. Clearly, those who proclaim "Black Lives Matter" do not care about you at all. Ignore them. We all should. You matter to God. He has preserved your life. He loves you. He has a plan for you.

Your Pink Life Matters.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
KABUL  Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar met with the President of the Republic of Estonia H.E. Kersti Kaljulaid in the presidential palace (ARG).

The two sides discussed and exchanged views on the prospects of achieving a political settlement, and continuation of political, economic, and security cooperation, particularly after withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.

Minister Atmar praised Estonias sacrifices and continued support for Afghanistan within the framework of EU, NATO, and UNSC.

Underscoring the important role of Estonia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in implementing the UNSC Resolution 2513, Minister Atmar stated that full realization of the resolution was crucial in securing ceasefire, success of the peace process, severing ties between the Taliban and terrorists, and maintaining the two decades joint achievements. The two sides discussed establishment of a mechanism for full and step-by-step implementation of UNSCR - 2513. They also assessed the prospects of continued bilateral and multilateral cooperation on combating terrorism and countering common threats.

Renewing her countrys commitments for cooperation with Afghanistan, the President of the Republic of Estonia stated that they will continue supporting Afghanistan in the new chapter of cooperation, but Afghanistan will be in the lead. H.E. Kaljulaid added that one of the main purposes of her visit was to assess future cooperation with Afghanistan.
"I hope that Biden will go down as a historic president that has achieved substantive and irreversible progress for the complete denuclearization and peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula," he added.

In an interview with the New York Times published Wednesday, Moon said, "The most important starting point for both governments is to have the will for dialogue and to sit down face to face at an early date."

President Moon Jae-in continued his increasingly forlorn campaign of diplomacy on behalf of North Korea this week by urging U.S. President Joe Biden to "engage now" with the reclusive regime.

He criticized Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, who he said "beat around the bush and failed to pull it through" after staging several photo ops with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. But he added, "I believe that if we build on what President Trump has left, we will see this effort come to fruition under Biden's leadership."

He warned that "it would be a mistake to kill the 2018 Singapore agreement" reached in Trump and Kims first summit, he urged both the U.S. and North Korea to "move in 'gradual and phased' steps toward denuclearization, exchanging concessions and incentives 'simultaneously' along the way."

The daily said Moon "appeared ready to step once again into the role of mediator between" the U.S. and North Korea ahead of his summit with Biden in Washington next month.

"Moon was proud of his deft diplomatic maneuvering in 2018, when he steered the two unpredictable leaders of North Korea and the United States to meet in person," it commented. "He was also pragmatic, tacitly acknowledging that his work to achieve denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula has since unraveled."

Moon "also urged the United States to cooperate with China on North Korea and other issues of global concern, including climate change," the daily added. "If tensions between the United States and China intensify, North Korea can take advantage of it and capitalize on it," it quoted him as saying.
The need for images is an exponential function of internet growth. Brands and eCommerce providers need to produce images at scale that are customized, of high quality and optimized for performance. Visual content is strategic in increasing engagement, offering choice and assortment, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction, brand loyalty and sales. No longer are images themselves sufficient, business intelligence and analytics are required to deliver results in online markets.

"As long-term partners to OCUS, we are delighted to accompany them in this important development phase, supporting their growth around the world and contributing to the creation of a global champion designing an exhilarating and entirely new category," said Geoffroy Bragadir and Thomas Marsal from Ring Capital.

With COVID accelerating digitization in global markets, OCUS leads the FoodTech/Delivery industry today and sees acceleration in eCommerce Marketplaces, Real Estate, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality. Focusing on enterprise clients, OCUS is the technology partner to Google, Radisson, Grubhub, Yemeksepeti and Foodpanda around the world in producing the most powerful images for their brands.

OCUS has developed a robust API-first platform augmented with machine learning and image recognition to deliver optimized images which automate and streamline operations for their clients. The result delivers intelligent images within hours or days. Combined with the OCUS Community of 30,000 global Image Creators in photography, videography, and drone, OCUS can service its clients in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

"OCUS is thrilled to have Expon and A/O PropTech join the board, along with Ring Capital and our historical investors Sofiouest, Evolem and Anaxago," said Thibaud Lemonnier, Co-founder and CEO. "Their confidence and support in OCUS enable us to continue designing the future of imagery in a fair and scalable way."

"We are excited to partner with OCUS and are impressed with their leading enterprise imagery platform delivering successes with FoodTech and Hospitality customers today. We believe OCUS has the technological strength to scale and service many other industries with state-of-the-art visual content." - Othmane Zrikem, Chief Data Officer, A/O Proptech

On this operation, OCUS has been advised by EKA Partners, Orrick and Velvet Avocats.

About OCUS

OCUS enables the world's largest companies to seize the power and performance of visual content to grow their businesses and delight their customers. OCUS combines its technology with its creative community of 30,000 to deliver brand imagery at scale.

About Ring Capital

Ring Capital is an investment ecosystem dedicated to fast growing tech and digital scale-ups. Ring Capital's first fund of  165M is positioned in the growth private equity segment. The team invests the funds by acquiring minority interests of  3 to 15M in tech and digital companies to help them grow and scale through internationalization and external growth. http://www.ringcp.com

About Expon Capital

Expon Capital is a privately-owned Venture Capital firm dedicated to the financing of big ideas with the potential for positive impact & exponential growth. Based in Luxembourg, the firm invests from an early stage in some of the most promising companies from Europe, the US and Israel. www.exponcapital.com

About A/O Proptech

A/O PropTech is Europe's largest Proptech venture capital firm investing in technology companies disrupting the real estate industry. A/O's mission is to transform real estate into a more digital, efficient, and accessible industry and to accelerate the decarbonization of the largest asset class in the world. A/O has recently become the first VC to join the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a member of its Global Innovators Community. www.aoproptech.com

About Evolem

Evolem Start is the venture capital arm of Evolem family office (850M in Asset Under Management). Evolem was founded by an entrepreneur (Bruno Rousset, founder of insurance group April) to help other entrepreneurs execute their vision. Evolem Start is sector agnostic and invests up to 3M in seed and series A round of french fast growing companies.

About Anaxago

Anaxago develops strong expertise in the field of capital investment in young innovative companies, particularly in the health, finance and "proptech" sectors.

About Sofiouest

Sofiouest is a private equity and real estate investment company, with a particular focus on late stage startups. For more information visit www.sofiouest.com

SOURCE OCUS

Related Links

https://www.ocus.com


New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday (April 22) thanked the Central government for raising the national capital's oxygen quota, while addressing the media in the national capital.

Centre has helped the government in the last two-three days and assured smooth supply of oxygen, said the Delhi Chief Minister.

The press conference comes minutes after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal held a meeting in the national capital. Delhi is facing oxygen crisis for the past few days. The Centre fixes Oxygen quota for all states. As per Delhi govt's estimate, the UT needs 700 tons/day, Centre had fixed it to 378 tons earlier & increased it to 480 tons y'day. We need more but we're thankful to them for this, added Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

During the lockdown, we are constantly working and reviewing minute to minute for 2 days. We are working 24 hours and have not slept, revealed Delhi Chief Minister.

Explaining why the national capital is facing the oxygen crisis, Delhi CM said, Centre also allotts companies that will supply oxygen to a particular state. Delhi doesn't produce Oxygen, supply here is done by other states...Some of the Govts, in whose states these companies are, had stopped the supply that was to come to Delhi from these companies.

Govts said that they'll use Oxygen in their states first, use Delhi's quota too & that they'll not let trucks come to Delhi. But I would like to thank the Centre & Delhi High Court that they helped us a lot in the last 2-3 days. Due to this, Oxygen has started reaching Delhi, Delhi CM said while expressing his gratitude.

Meanwhile, India reported 3,14,835 fresh coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative caseload to 1,59,30,965 on Thursday (April 22), as per data by health ministry.

Live TV
OTTAWA - A Bloc Quebecois MP apologized Wednesday for taking a screenshot of a Liberal colleague who inadvertently appeared nude during virtual proceedings in the House of Commons last week.

Bloc Quebecois MP Sebastien Lemire rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, March 12, 2021. A Bloc Quebecois MP has apologized for taking a screen shot of a Liberal MP who inadvertently appeared nude during virtual proceedings in the House of Commons last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - A Bloc Quebecois MP apologized Wednesday for taking a screenshot of a Liberal colleague who inadvertently appeared nude during virtual proceedings in the House of Commons last week.

Bloc MP Sebastien Lemire rose on a point of order to apologize for breaching parliamentary rules, which prohibit taking photos or video of proceedings.

He did not specifically name the MP involved  Liberal William Amos, a fellow Quebecer who represents the Pontiac riding.

"Today I would like to apologize to the House for breaking the rules by taking a photograph of a colleague during question period on April 14, Lemire said in French.

Lemire said he's already apologized personally to Amos but added: "I nevertheless want to reiterate it publicly, to him personally, to his family, to colleagues and to anyone I may have offended."

"I have no idea how that photo made its way into the media," he added.

Amos declined to comment on Lemire's apology.

But Liberal whip Mark Holland said the apology, while welcome, doesn't resolve the issue. He said the Bloc is so far refusing to reveal with whom Lemire shared the screenshot, frustrating attempts to find out who leaked it publicly.

"It's essential we know where Mr. Lemire sent this photo," Holland said in an interview. "We do not accept that he is not going to say where he sent this."

Passing it along to the media "was potentially a criminal action" and "a horrible violation of not only the member's privilege as it relates to the rules and bylaws of the House, but a horrible violation of human dignity," Holland added.

"This is an image that has been shared around the world, has become a joke, a punchline in late-night talk shows in other countries."

Lemire and the Bloc declined further comment Wednesday.

The government has asked House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota to investigate the matter. Asked if Liberals have also asked for a police investigation, Holland said "we're now reviewing all of our options."

Rota thanked Lemire for his apology Wednesday. He said he'll come back to the House later with his findings.

Amos has said he didn't realize his camera was on when he was changing his clothes after a jog.

The image of a naked Amos was beamed to MPs tuned in to the internal parliamentary feed for that day's question period, but it could not be seen on the public feed since Amos was not addressing the Commons at the time.

Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez called for the investigation last week, describing the incident as "mean-spirited and "life-changing" for Amos.

In an interview with The Canadian Press last week, Amos said the incident sends a "terrible signal" about the corrosive nature of politics in Canada and to young people about the propriety of sharing of embarrassing, intimate photos that last forever on the internet.

New Democrat MP Leah Gazan tweeted her disapproval of Lemire's actions.

"No words. Such a disrespectful and cruel action."

Holland said there was an "incredibly short" period of time between when the photo was taken and when it was publicly disseminated, suggesting only a few people would have been in a position to share it with the media.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2021.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Employees of the two main U.S. immigration enforcement agencies were directed Monday to stop referring to migrants as aliens, a dated term that many people consider offensive.

Memos issued by Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, tells employees to use the words non-citizen or migrant." The change reflects guidelines set by the Biden administration, which is reversing many of the anti-immigrant policies of former President Donald Trump.

IN TEXAS: Ted Cruz says Biden staffer stopped him from filming migrant facility in Texas

Instead of illegal aliens, which was still being used by some government officials in press releases and elsewhere, the employees of CBP and ICE should instead use undocumented noncitizen or undocumented individual, according to the memos.

Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said the directives were necessary to set a tone and example at an agency that includes the Border Patrol.

We enforce our nations laws while also maintaining the dignity of every individual with whom we interact, Miller said. The words we use matter and will serve to further confer that dignity to those in our custody.

Administration critics dismissed the new language guidelines.

We use the term illegal alien because theyre here illegally, said Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas. This kind of weakness and obsession with political correctness is why were having a crisis on the border in the first place.

As recently as last Thursday, CBP issued a press release out of Texas that described a Border Patrol operation in the Rio Grande Valley "resulting in the apprehension of ten illegal aliens.

But a release Monday seemed to comply with the memo, describing the rescue of a lost undocumented noncitizen near Ocotillo, California.

IN TEXAS: Abbott wants Freeman Coliseum shelter closed amid complaints children were allegedly abused

The change in language comes as the Biden administration deals with a record number of children and teens, mostly from Central America, seeking to enter the U.S. at the southwest border.

Under the new guidelines, unaccompanied alien children would be referred to as unaccompanied noncitizen children, according to the memos. Employees are also directed to describe the assimilation of refugees and immigrants as civic integration.

CBP is turning away most adult migrants attempting to enter the U.S. under a public health order issued at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Biden administration is allowing unaccompanied minors and some families to remain, at least temporarily, while authorities determine whether they can stay through the asylum process or under some other legal category.

Biden administration officials blame the rising number of migrants at the southwest border on a number of factors, including two recent hurricanes that struck Central America and the economic ravages of COVID-19 in the region.

Critics blame the administration's moves to reverse some of the hundreds of measures taken under President Donald Trump to curb both legal and illegal immigration and support for legislation that would enable some already in the country to remain.
Staff at the Petroleum Museum are busy setting up for the upcoming Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The dinner, scheduled for April 29, will be held at the Barbara and George H.W. Bush Convention Center and is expected to be attended by 350 people, according to Kathy Shannon, the museums executive director.

Its always exciting and wonderful to be able to share these stories, she told the Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview. You may know their names but not their stories.

As the Hall of Fame has grown since its founding in 1967, when Frank Pickrell, who was responsible for the Santa Rita No. 1 well, was the first inductee, its members have changed, she said.

They have evolved from what she called the wildcatters blazing new trails to those who have developed good practices, good insights and found ways to make the industry better.

Frank Late did deals with a handshake, probably the last one to do that. Paul Morris took the business side and excelled in managing people. Fred Newman invented things that made the industry safer, she said of the three new members joining the Hall of Fame.

The late Frank M. Late, an Arkansas native who came to West Texas in 1939 to open a car dealership in San Angelo, became one of the largest automobile dealers in the southwest from 1936-99. He began his involvement in the drilling business in 1944 by forming Cactus Drilling with George Banker in Hobbs, New Mexico. Late moved to Midland-Odessa when the Spraberry Trend play began, forming Cactus Drilling Corp. with Baker and Frank Garrett. While Cactus Drilling focused on shallow drilling, the newer sister company drilled deeper and had a wider geological footprint. By the time Cactus was sold in 1980, it was the largest US land-based contract drilling company. He also formed Cardinal Chemical with Baron Ulmer Kidd in the early 1960s, selling it to Dowell Chemical, and bought Republic Supply, now part of National Oilwell.

West Virginia native Paul L. Morris found his way into the energy industry by receiving a Hope Natural Gas Company scholarship to study engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He went to work for Columbia gas System Service Corp. in Columbus, Ohio, after graduation. He eventually became the companys vice president of exploration and production in 1976, moving to Houston. He came to Midland in 1981 as president and chief executive officer of Banner Energy, joining Wagner and Brown in 1988, becoming chief executive officer in 1994. He and Ed Jones launched Elk River Resources in 2013, where he served as part owner, president and chief executive officer until 2019 when he became senior advisor to the board.

After graduating from the University of Northwest Louisiana in 1965, Fred M. Newman joined Schlumberger as a field engineer, arriving in Midland in 1974. Rather than taking another transfer, he decided to go out on his own. He purchased several shallow oil and gas wells in New Mexico and participated in workovers, reentries and new drilling. He and Jim Pruett then formed Aztec Drilling. In the 1970s, he purchased several small drilling rigs and formed Fred M. Newman Inc., a drilling contractor business. In 1982 he formed Total Abandonment Plugging Service. He and three of his children formed Triple N Services in 1986, growing it to become one of the Permians leading plugging and abandonment contractors.
Google Doodle has been given a twist on Earth Day. On this Earth Day, the US-based tech giant transformed its doodle into a video doodle. The illustration leads users to a short film titled Earth Day 2021 Doodle on YouTube. Today's Google Doodle shows a small girl planting a sapling which later grows into a tall tree as the girl ages. After this, she inspires a young boy to plant a tree and the cycle continues. This video doodle talks about the importance of planting one tree per person.

According to Google's blog, "Today's video Doodle shows a variety of trees being planted within natural habitats, one of the many ways we can do our part to keep our Earth healthy for future generations." The blog further added that this Earth Day is all about encouraging "everyone to find one small act they can do to restore our Earth."

"Earth Day is special every year, but this year in particular I've grown to appreciate the grounding influence of trees. A big part of each day for me is looking out my window and admiring the variety of species-bronze loquat, bougainvillea, jacaranda, sweet michelia, wisteria and more-that make up the urban forest of the street I live on. As each year passes, I've looked forward to seeing them bloom, leaf out and grow a little bit taller," doodle designer Sophie Diao said on the importance of Earth Day.

Diao added that Earth Day is also an opportunity for people to take a step back from their daily lives and remember that they are a part of the nature. Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 21 to make efforts to protect the environment.





Also read: World Water Day 2021: Theme, wishes, messages, quotes, WhatsApp, and Facebook status

Also read: NASA releases pictures of stunning icy blue dunes on Mars' surface
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) will hold its annual shareholders meeting online on Thursday, May 6, at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Duke Energy Chair, President and CEO Lynn Good will provide an overview of the company's 2020 performance and strategy for the future.

Shareholders will be able to participate in the meeting, vote on company and shareholder proposals, and submit questions.

Questions will be answered either during the meeting or afterward through a web posting.

Information about how shareholders can access the meeting online or by phone is available in Duke Energy's proxy statement. Google Chrome is the recommended browser for online access.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy strategy to create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities  with goals of at least a 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a top U.S. renewable energy provider, on track to operate or purchase 16,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company also is investing in major electric grid upgrades and expanded battery storage, and exploring zero-emitting power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2021 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Neil Nissan

800.559.3853

Analysts contact: Jack Sullivan

980.373.3564

SOURCE Duke Energy

Related Links

http://www.duke-energy.com


RDIF and Minapharm will initially supply over 40 million doses per year. Production will take place in Minapharm's biotech facility in Cairo for global distribution.

Minapharm's German subsidiary, ProBioGen AG, aims to undertake efforts for process optimization to further increase the production scale, taking advantage of its expertise in viral vector technology and manufacturing process development for vaccines and gene therapy.

To date, Sputnik V has been registered in 61 countries globally covering a total population of over three billion people. Sputnik V vaccine demonstrated efficacy of 97.6%, based on the analysis of data on the infection rate of coronavirus among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of the vaccine.

Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, commented:

"Agreement with Minapharm marks our first partnership in the MENA region to produce Sputnik V. RDIF is in cooperation with the leading pharmaceutical producers globally as Sputnik V is registered in 61 countries. The Russian vaccine is highly efficient and trusted by regulators around the world and makes a huge contribution in the fight against coronavirus."

Wafik Bardissi, PhD, Chairman and CEO of Minapharm, added:

"This agreement is a natural expansion to Minapharm's regional leadership in biotechnologies, capitalizing on the vast international experience in cellular engineering and adenoviral vector technology of its wholly owned German subsidiary ProBioGen AG. We are pleased to join the RDIF in combatting the global COVID-19 pandemic."

Sputnik V has a number of key advantages:

Efficacy of Sputnik V is 97.6% based on the analysis of data on the coronavirus infection rate among those in Russia vaccinated with both components of Sputnik V from December 5, 2020 to March 31, 2021 .

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years.

Sputnik V uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

The safety, efficacy and lack of negative long-term effects of adenoviral vaccines have been proven by more than 250 clinical studies over two decades.

There are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

The storage temperature of Sputnik V at +2+8 C means it can be stored in a conventional refrigerator without any need to invest in additional cold-chain infrastructure.

The price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot, making it affordable around the world.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy. RDIF's management company is based in Moscow. Currently, RDIF has experience of the successful joint implementation of more than 80 projects with foreign partners totaling more than RUB1.9 tn and covering 95% of the regions of the Russian Federation. RDIF portfolio companies employ more than 800,000 people and generate revenues which equate to more than 6% of Russia's GDP. RDIF has established joint strategic partnerships with leading international co-investors from more than 18 countries that total more than $40 bn. Further information can be found at rdif.ru.

Minapharm Pharmaceuticals is a leading pharmaceutical company in Egypt and the Middle East and the premier biopharmaceutical company in Africa with over 20 years of experience in cellular and bioprocess engineering. Headquartered in Cairo, Minapharm commercializes over 100 life-saving and life-enhancing products ranging from small molecules to complex genetically-engineered proteins, with an impressive immunotherapy pipeline. Minapharm's wholly owned Berlin-based subsidiary, ProBioGen AG, is a world-renowned contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), a cell line-engineering specialist and a provider of proprietary protein and viral vector technologies to large pharma and the global biotech industry. Minapharm has established an integrated business model making it to-date the only gene-to-market biopharmaceutical company in the region. Minapharm employs a collective workforce of over 1400 and is listed on the Cairo and Alexandria stock exchange (symbol: MIPH). Further information can be found at www.minapharm.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1493091/Sputnik_V.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1492894/Minapharm_Pharmaceuticals_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1492895/RDIF_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Minapharm Pharmaceuticals; RDIF

Related Links

https://minapharm.com


People across the Pacific Northwest were awed on the evening of March 25 by an otherworldly formation of fireballs that streaked across the heavens, causing a social media sensation. Astronomers promptly demystified it as debris from a falling SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Though such wayward rockets generally burn up in the atmosphere, this time substantial chunks fell to earth in Eastern Washington. At least one came uncomfortably close to hitting people.

Yet neither SpaceX nor the various federal agencies with some role in tracking space junk -- the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and the U.S. Space Force -- investigated what happened on the ground.

That was left to a self-motivated trio of sleuths who brought to the task a combination of sophisticated scientific ingenuity, a passion for space and an Indiana Jones-style appetite for adventure.

Software coder and American Meteor Society operations manager Mike Hankey used an app he developed to collect eyewitness reports and triangulate their location data. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Ken Howard analyzed data from weather radars.

Together they pinned down the flight path of the fiery space junk and the expected location of some fallen pieces. Then meteorite hunter Robert Ward provided the boots on the ground to go find them.

He tracked down where three 200-pound cylindrical tanks fell to Earth near a bend in the Columbia River east of Yakima. One landed 50 feet from a trailer home, where the owner pulled a shotgun on the stranger searching for space junk.

Heavier rocket pieces, traveling with more momentum, likely hit the ground much farther east in the state, the trio believes.

Leading the Hunt

The falling debris that lit up the Pacific Northwest skies was from a rocket SpaceX launched March 4 to lift a batch of 60 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Those satellites, designed and built by SpaceX in Redmond, are part of CEO Elon Musk's plan to deploy a total of 12,000 satellites that will provide broadband Internet access worldwide. SpaceX currently has about 1,320 of the satellites in orbit, all launched on its Falcon 9 rockets.

Soon after the 45-foot-long, three-ton upper stage of the rocket delivered the 60 satellites into orbit, SpaceX was supposed to steer it to a controlled descent into the ocean. But something went wrong and instead it slowly spiraled down from orbit over three weeks, finally breaking up and burning as it reentered the atmosphere.

As the debris traveled eastward over the state, eventually the fiery glow went out, ending what scientists who study meteors call the "luminous flight path" as remaining chunks traveled on in a "dark flight" phase.

Federal officials seem to have lost interest when it left orbit. An FAA spokesperson said the launch license it grants SpaceX ended when SpaceX lost control of the rocket.

"Its subsequent uncontrolled, random reentry is not an FAA-licensed activity," the spokesperson said. "The agency is not investigating it."

A NASA spokesperson said the federal space agency does not track debris from "non-NASA missions" and directed inquiries to the 18th Space Control Squadron of the U.S. Space Force.

But that unit tracks only objects in orbit, said Space Force spokesperson Meaghan Dorroh, and "if they fall to the ground ... it's no longer the responsibility of Space Control to track them."

She said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be responsible for the recovery of such objects.

But at FEMA, a spokesperson said it "has not received a request for assistance from the state," adding, "FEMA does not recover debris."

SpaceX did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the incident.

Weather Radar and Software

Unlike SpaceX or the federal government, Howard, Hankey and Ward sprang into action.

Howard, 63, works for NOAA's Oklahoma-based National Severe Storms Laboratory. He analyzes the data from the nation's network of 160 Doppler weather radar stations, the same data that produces the animated weather forecast maps on local TV.

These radar receivers also are used to predict turbulent storms that could affect airplanes and to assess the spread of forest fires, forming "the critical backbone to this country's monitoring of weather and natural disasters," Howard said.

"And it just so happens that they also pick up birds, bugs, bats and objects falling from the sky," he added.

As part of his job at NOAA, Howard is studying how to discriminate on radar between storms and non-weather features like bird migrations or meteorites -- or space junk.

"As space becomes more crowded, obviously the odds go up of having more things reentering the atmosphere," he said. "My interest in all of this is, can these technologies that are used for weather help us with tracking space debris re-entering the atmosphere -- and then potentially issuing warnings of debris falls."

However, because vast quantities of real-time radar data are continuously logged, Howard can only process the data on a specific incident if he knows where and when it happened. For that, he needed Hankey's expertise.

Hankey, 49, is a software entrepreneur working out of his home in Monkton, Maryland.

An English major in college, he learned to program at a young age, and in the 1990s, he formed his own boutique software company. He sold it when the Internet boomed late in that decade, freeing him since then to spend time on pet projects.

About 10 years ago, Hankey said, "I stumbled into astronomy." Now he spends much of his time "meteorite hunting and tracking fireballs."

Working with the American Meteor Society, a nonprofit that promotes astronomical research, he developed a Web app that takes eyewitness reports of fireballs in the sky and cross-references them to pin down the trajectory of the object.

"We collect dozens, sometimes hundreds of reports from multiple people, and triangulate them and mathematically solve to get the location," he said. "We automated all that."

That's what Hankey did after the March 25 light show over Seattle and Portland, Oregon, using 68 distinct eyewitness reports. Then Howard used that trajectory to look at the weather radar data on that precise path at that precise time.

Sure enough, blips on the radar tracks indicated pieces of the space debris falling away from the rocket as it disintegrated, and arcing southward due to the wind. Those included what looked like four pieces with similar radar signatures falling near the Columbia River.

Searching Desert and Farmland

Briefed by Hankey, with whom he collaborates regularly, Ward booked a flight from his home in Prescott, Arizona, and arrived in Yakima three days after the skyfall.

Ward, 44, has no scientific credentials and says he's "largely self-taught" about meteors and space debris through working with experts over the years.

His family has money from land investments, so Ward doesn't need to make a living. He described himself as "a full-time planetary science field researcher" and said he has "found over 600 meteorites, on every continent except Antarctica."

He said he honed his field search skills "growing up on ranches, rockhounding and hunting fossils," and on annual visits to southern Africa where he hunted big game with his father.

At home in Arizona, Ward keeps a large private collection of meteorites in "one whole wing of the house, in a climate-controlled, high-security vault"; it's open to visits from collectors, scientists and enthusiasts. On a slick personal website, he showcases parts of his collection and describes his global meteor-hunting expeditions.

He said he donates some of his finds to interested institutions, such as Chicago's Field Museum and Arizona State University, and trades or buys from other collectors.

Following the trajectory map developed by Howard and Hankey, Ward drove from Yakima about 70 miles to an area just north of the Hanford Reach turn in the Columbia River.

The radar signatures suggested the objects that had fallen there were about the size of the cylindrical pressure tanks used in the Falcon 9 rocket propulsion system. These are filled with super-cold helium that is released to maintain pressure in the fuel tanks as their mix of oxygen and kerosene burns up.

The science got Ward to the general area, but he needed gossip to lead him further.

He asked around in one of the local hangouts -- the Carquest auto parts store in Mattawa. Showing locals a photo of one such helium tank that fell in Brazil in 2014, he handed out his card to start building a network of potential informants.

Bingo. Minutes after he drove away, he got a text -- with a photo -- saying one had landed in a yard on the outskirts of the town of Beverly.

By the time Ward got there, the Grant County sheriff had already come and taken the tank away. The Sheriff's Office did not respond to questions about what was done with it.

Ward did find a five-foot-long dent in the earth, four inches deep, where the tank had hit. A pickup was parked just 15 feet away.

The woman who lived there seemed unconcerned that this 200-pound tank might have hit her trailer home and worried only that her underground septic tank might be damaged. But their conversation was cut short, he said, when "her husband came unglued."

"I guess her husband was upset that people were on the property," Ward said. "He came out on the porch with a shotgun and told me to go back to my truck, and then in some very colorful language, to get in it and leave." Ward quickly complied.

The couple could not be reached. The Grant County Sheriff's Office in a tweet informed the media that "the property owner simply wants to be left alone."

In the following days Ward drove more than 100 miles northeast, and talked to people who had watched the fireball trail. Their accounts suggested to Ward that some heavier pieces might have fallen somewhere between the towns of Odessa and Reardan, in Lincoln County.

Denser parts such as engine cores may even have reached the mountains on the border between Montana and Canada.

Ward left his contact information with dozens of farmers and asked them to get in touch if they found anything.

Then he doubled back to the Beverly area. He knew the Falcon 9 carried four of those helium pressure tanks -- all the same size, shape and weight so they were likely to have fallen not too far apart.

Within a day, driving around in remote locations, with binoculars "and a really good eye," he found two more. One had fallen in sage brush where the desert met some irrigated fields. Another was across the river inside the Army's Yakima training range, where he got permission to roam in an area open to the public.

The tanks come wrapped in carbon fiber composite that partly shredded during the violent reentry. "It's a very nasty material," said Ward. "It's basically like fiberglass times 20. It gets in your fingers and it's like ants biting you."

Wearing protective gloves and mask, he manhandled both tanks onto his rented pickup.

Later, Ward changed the drop-off location for his rental truck and drove the tanks all the way back to Prescott, where he cleaned them and wrapped them in tarps for storage.

He's unsure what he'll do with them. Hankey sent a Facebook message to an acquaintance at SpaceX, but so far without response.

Hankey and Ward both say they are "pretty sure" the fourth tank is also on the military training range, but in an area closed to the public, "where they blow things up."

And they have a report of a piece of twisted metal, likely a part of the rocket's fuselage, that was found much further south than the tanks.

Monitoring the Danger

NOAA's Howard said the March 25 rocket reentry "should not be considered an isolated incident but rather a trend, given the vast amount of space craft and debris entering and exiting" orbit around the planet.

The U.S. estimates that nearly 1,800 rocket bodies are currently orbiting Earth among tens of thousands of smaller objects.

Howard believes the world needs to add more camera, radar and telescope monitoring for space junk or meteorites that may land in populated areas.

"We were lucky that none of those tanks Robert found landed on a structure or freeway or was encountered by a commercial aircraft," he said. "I'm all for commercial use of space because it furthers the scientific mission of what I do, but it has to be managed for the public's safety."

Hankey is doing his part: Working with the American Meteor Society, he's developed the hardware and software for a computer-linked network of high-resolution cameras to track meteors and anything else falling from the sky.

So far, he has Maryland covered and a few cameras scattered elsewhere. Nothing in the Pacific Northwest.

The FAA spokesperson said that agency is in the early stages of initiating rules "to address space debris and reentry risks."

Yet on this occasion, there was zero official reaction.

The pass-the-buck response from government agencies and silence from SpaceX brings to mind the Tom Lehrer song about Wernher von Braun -- the former Nazi rocketeer who, after the Second World War, led development of the U.S. missile and space rocket programs.

As the chorus goes, "'Once the rockets go up who cares where they come down, that's not my department,' says Wernher von Braun."

Hankey, Howard and Ward care.

This week, Ward is back in Eastern Washington to resume his hunt and encourage farmers there to pay close attention when they next plow their fields.

This article is written by Dominic Gates from Seattle Times and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
The Berejiklian government will consider making public transport to Sydneys Central Business District free on some days in a bid to reignite economic activity in the citys commercial hub.

State Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will also lobby his federal counterpart Josh Frydenberg to temporarily suspend fringe benefits tax on spending in the CBD to help hospitality businesses.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet and Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore at the Sydney CBD summit Credit:SMH

If we could bring back to the long lunch on Friday, what a great thing that would be, he said.

Economic activity in Sydneys CBD is still well down on pre-pandemic levels with commercial occupancy rates at around 50 per cent. The NSW government hosted a business summit on Thursday to canvass ways to revive the inner city economy. Proposals for free public transport to the CBD and fringe benefits tax relief were among the many suggestions made by summit participants.
New Delhi:

A day after BJP's riot-accused legislator Sangeet Som said that the Taj Mahal doesnt represent Indian culture, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath responding to the controversial comment said, Taj Mahal was built by blood and sweats of Indians.

Adityanath also added, It does not matter who built it and for what reason. It was built by the blood and sweat of Indian labourers.

The UP chief minister further said that he did not wanted to go into the depth of who built the Taj and why they made it.

He further added that monument was important to his government, especially toursim perspective.

It is our priority to provide facilities and safety to tourists there, added Adityanath.

The Chief Ministers officer told the media that Adityanath will be visiting Agra on October 26 to survey Taj Mahal and Agra Fort.

Soms comment during a rally on Monday had triggered controversy across the country. He had said, Taj Mahal was built by traitors.

Also read| Taj Mahal row: State government gets into damage control, says monument is cultural heritage



He had further said, Many people were worried that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of historical places in the UP tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? The man who built Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to massacre Hindus. If this is history, then it is very unfortunate and we will change this history, I guarantee you."

Also read: Will govt now tell tourists not to visit Taj Mahal: Owaisi on Som's remarks



Soon after Soms comment, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi questioned Taj Mahals place in history and asked if the government would tell tourists not to visit the monument.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
There were 91 new coronavirus cases and two additional deaths reported in the Upper Thumb by the state April 21.

According to the states report, Huron County saw an increase of 23 new coronavirus cases and one new COVID-related death, bringing the county to 2,852 confirmed cases and 66 deaths.

State testing data showed a statewide average test positivity rate April 20 of 12.3%, which lowest result since March 27, when the state surpassed 13% positivity for nearly a month.

Huron County saw its positivity rate increase April 20, from 11.3% to 18.8%, based on 19 positive tests out of 101 processed.

Tuscola County saw an increase of 39 new cases and one new death, bringing the county to 4,482 confirmed cases and 145 deaths.

Tuscola County saw an improvement in its positivity rate, decreasing from 27.9% to 24.7%, based on 60 positive tests out of 243 processed.

Sanilac County saw an increase of 29 new cases and no new deaths, bringing the county to 3,449 confirmed cases and 93 deaths.

Sanilac County also saw its positivity rate improve April 20, decreasing from 20.6% to 15%, based on 16 positive tests out of 107 processed.

Statewide there were 5,584 confirmed cases and 45 deaths reported. Since the start of the pandemic there has been nearly 805,000 confirmed cases and more than 17,000 Michiganders die from the virus.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data still ranks Michigan first in the nation for the most number of coronavirus cases reported in the last seven days with 48,238.

For more information on the coronavirus and vaccination efforts, visit www.michigansthumb.com/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-huron.
Former Officer Derek Chauvin Found Guilty

Faces 40 Years for the Death of George Floyd

Former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with the murder of George Floyd. The jurors of the historical trial reached a verdict almost a month before the anniversary of Floyds untimely end on May 25, 2020.

On Monday, April 19, closing remarks were left by Special Assistant Attorney General Steve Schleicher. f who gave closing remarks for almost two hours, followed by an additional three-hour response from defense attorney Eric Nelson.

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Swinging the gavel on the case was Judge Peter Cahill; he interrupted the assembly for a 30-minute intermission. Nelson finished his statement after the break. Judge Cahill prepared instructions for the Jurors on how to take in the extended arguments.

Schleicher left the jurors with sentiments of Floyds family, highlighting his mother, Larcenia Sissy Floyd. Images of different ages of Floyd filled the courtroom, ending with a picture of him face down on the pavement with the accused officers knee on his neck.

All it would have taken for Floyd to have survived that Memorial Day, was a little compassion and oxygentwo things that Chauvin deprived him of, reported by Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

The previously mentioned news source captured a statement from Schleicher, Nine minutes and 29 seconds. During this time, George Floyd struggled, desperate to breathe to make enough room in his chest to breathe.

He continued, But the force was too much. He was trapped by the unyielding pavement underneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down, pushing him with a knee to the neck, a knee to the back, twisting his fingers, holding his legs for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

There was a testimony from pulmonologist, Dr. Martin Tobin, who described the physical struggle that Floyd experienced to simply take in air. Schleicher went on to paint the scene for the jurors to deliberate on. George Floyd tried, he pushed his bare shoulder against the pavement to lift himself to give his chest and lungs enough room  the pavement tearing into his bare skin.

So desperate to breathe, he continued, that he pushed with his face to lift himself to open his chest. Although he fought hard for his life, Floyds strength ultimately gave out, said Schleicher this, whose statement was captured by MSR news.

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Schleicher protested that Floyd was a man, not superman, responding to the theory that Floyd was experiencing excited delirium which would lend one the ability to have superhuman strength.

The oath of an officer was brought up in court, Schleicher repeated Floyds last words, Please, I cant breathe. The special attorney general continued, to someone he did not know by name but knew by the uniform he wore and the badge he wore, and he called him Mr. Officer. He pleaded with Mr. Officer, said Schleicher. But that officer failed him and the oath he took to protect and serve.

The special attorney general appealed to the jurors beliefs and standards for law enforcement, pointing out the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and other departments spoke out against Chauvins actions.

The assumption on why Chauvin used that level of force was charged to the officers ego, according to Scleicher. The special attorney general broke down Chauvins body language and posture in court; it was about having a level of control in public view.

Bystanders on that day had to watch the last moments of Floyds life take place; they played a critical role in recording and highlighting this repeated transgression happening within the Black community. Through the recording of Floyds death, birthed a global social awakening and exposed the institutionalized racism that has affected the quality of life for Black communities.

Moving through the discussion in the courthouse, the defendants attorney, Nelson, did not discuss the use of force his client used or the amount of time Chauvins knee was pressed on Floyds throat. He did ask the jurors to consider the totality of the case.

USA Today reported a statement from Judge Cahill in regards to the judgement of the case, It is not necessary for the State to prove that the defendant intended to inflict substantial bodily harm, or knew that his actions would inflict substantial bodily harm, only that the defendant intended to commit the assault, and George Floyd sustained substantial bodily harm.

The jurors deliberated for 10 hours over a span of two days. On Tuesday, April 20, Officer Chauvin was found guilty of the death of George Floyd. According to USA Today, Chauvin will face a max of 40 years but the more realistic number is 12.5 years or 150 months in prison. However, the prosecution is requesting a longer sentence due to additional aggravating factors.

The case was a national highlight, and its verdict weighed heavily on the countrys mind. President Biden was recorded, stating the case is overwhelming. Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. President stressed what Floyds family might be feeling in regards to the case.

The Associated Press captured the president saying, Theyre a good family and theyre calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is, Biden said. Im praying the verdict is the right verdict. I think its overwhelming in my view. I wouldnt say that unless the jury was sequestered now.

Other politicians and community leaders have shared their thoughts on the trial as it was coming to a close. In retrospect of when the murder took place, the City of Los Angeles reacted in uprisings. County and City leaders shared their thoughts on the familiar topic of police brutality found within the law enforcement.

Pastor J. Edgar Boyd, Sr. minister and CEO First African Methodist Episcopal Church in L.A. said, Today, twelve courageous men and women stood tall, and took a bold step in turning the tide of justice in America.

The senior minister continued, Their verdict was not so much a statement on the guilt or innocence of Derek Chauvin, as it was a clear a revelation of the consciousness and of where this nation should be headed in welcoming the equitable participation of Blacks and people of color, in pursuit of the American Dream.

Attorney Ricky Ivie, managing partner of the Law Offices of Ivie, McNeill, Wyatt, Purcell and Diggs stated, I hope this verdict signals a binary shift in our social construct where justice for Black people is the rule and not the exception.

U.s Representative Karen Bass stated, Today, the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of the charges against him for the murder of George Floyd. A guilty verdict is only step one, because what we have seen in too many cases, is officers walking away from guilty verdicts with minimal sentences. Chauvin must be punished to the full extent of the law to ensure that justice is served.
(Newser)  A hospital employee in Italy has been paid a total of more than $600,000 since 2005, which is especially generous considering police say he hasn't actually gone to work in all that time. That could be a new national record, the Guardian reports. But time may have caught up with him. The 67-year-old civil servant, who theoretically works at Pugliese Ciaccio hospital in Catanzaro, faces charges of abuse of office, forgery, and aggravated extortion. The extortion charge stems from a police finding that he threatened the hospital boss not to file a disciplinary report about his absences in 2005. She retired, and no one else ever checked to make sure the man was showing up at work. Six managers at the hospital are being investigated for possible involvement in the scam, per the BBC.

story continues below

Police interviewed colleagues and examined attendance and salary records during their investigation. Absenteeism is widespread in Italy, and the government responded with legislation in 2016 after investigations drew attention to the issue in the public sector. In one, surveillance cameras showed 35 workers at the town hall in the city of Sanremo cheating for at least two years. The wives of two employees clocked in for their husbands. Other employees left to go canoeing or shopping after clocking in. Another investigation caught a traffic cop who worked in the same building he lived in clocking in while in his underwear before going back to bed. (Read more Italy stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:45:51|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday reiterated her pledge to restore investors' confidence in the east African nation by overhauling investment laws and offering incentive packages.

"We should offer incentives to strategic investors and dismantle hurdles that discourage investors from doing business in the country," she said in her maiden address to the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma.

In her address televised by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation, President Hassan said Tanzania has reached a stage where investors feel that the country's investment policies are unpredictable.

"There is bureaucracy in issuing relevant permits to prospective investors, there is red tape in providing land to investors. These malpractices should end forthwith," she said in her address that lasted for one and a half hours.

The president said the country's efforts to develop the economy could not be achieved if it sidelines investors.

"We need massive investments in manufacturing sector that will subsequently create jobs to majority of Tanzanians," she said, adding that her administration will also encourage the creation of industrial parks across the country.

The head of state added that her administration will also work toward improving sectors such as tourism, mining, agriculture, fisheries and livestock keeping.

Meanwhile, Hassan pledged to fight corruption, indiscipline and idleness within the public services. Enditem
By AFP

US drugmaker Pfizer on Wednesday confirmed that suspect doses of its coronavirus vaccine that were seized in Mexico and Poland were indeed fake, with doses going for as much as $1,000 a shot, according to US media.

At a clinic in Mexico some 80 people received bogus doses of the drug, which appeared to have been physically harmless, though offering no protection against the potentially deadly disease ravaging the country, a report in the Wall Street Journal said.

The vials were found in beer coolers and were initially identified by fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates, Mexican officials said.

The liquid in the confiscated vials in Poland was a cosmetic substance, thought to be anti-wrinkle cream, the company said.

We are cognizant that in this type of environment  fueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the internet  there will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for Covid-19, a Pfizer spokesperson told ABC News.

In February, health authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon warned about clandestine sales of alleged Covid vaccines and urged people not to take them.

In March, the World Health Organization also warned of falsified Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots may still be in circulation in the region.

Pfizer tested the bogus vials and found they did not contain the two-shot vaccine it developed with BioNTech.

Lev Kubiak, Pfizers head of global security, said the desperate need and the shortfall in vaccines had led to the scams.

We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals, he told the Wall Street Journal.

Mexico is also examining a shipment of 6,000 doses of what is claimed to be the Russian vaccine Sputnik that were seized on a private plane
A former Reaper drone pilot has opened up about his lasting psychological scarring after years of watching people be blown up in vivid detail.

The officer said he would 'play God' by firing missiles at ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria from specialist cockpits 2,200 miles away at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

But the high-definition cameras that captured the bloody aftermath meant it was like he was only a matter of metres away - and still haunts him.

'My nightmares are about watching people burn to death and watching women and children lying dead in the street,' the 43-year-old said.

The military man of two decades, known only as R for security reasons, believes some of the deaths - allegedly including civilians - were 'morally questionable'.

After being medically discharged last year with PTSD, he is now speaking out after being denied compensation on the basis he was 'not exposed to death'.

The officer said he would 'play God' by firing missiles at ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria from specialist cockpits 2,000 miles away at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire (file picture from 2017)

The Reaper, pictured here at Khandahar Airport in Afghanistan, can fly at 290mph at a maximum of 50,000 feet. It is armed here with a pair of 80,000 Hellfire missiles as well as two Paveway II laser guided bombs which cost 30,000 each

In an interview with The Times he said: 'When you are killing the enemy you see it in so much detail because you are watching them, sometimes for hours or even days on end, then lingering afterwards, watching the impact of what you have just done.

'Your brain can't tell the difference between 3,000 miles and 3ft.'

R joined 13 Squadron at RAF Waddington in 2014, the same year a US-led coalition including Britain began airstrikes in the region controlled by ISIS.

He was put in charge of the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper, equipped with four Hellcat missiles used by a three-person crew to remotely annihilate targets.

Upon joining the officer, who says he was already suffering anxiety after losing three fellow servicemen in an airplane crash previously, was told by colleagues 13 Squadron was known as 'the asylum' because of the mental toll the killing takes.

Indeed in 2019 Squadron Wing Commander Mark Jackson, the ranking officer, said being a drone pilot can be 'quite exhausting'.

Pilots operating the drones sit in their cockpits for eight-hour shifts monitoring potential targets

With the level of surveillance involved, 'you can't help but have some form of a relationship, mentally, with those you are looking at and observing', he said.

'But the key point is that everything we are doing is about protecting UK citizens and UK lives,' he added.

Yet R described watching US troops attack civilians in a market, and raised concerns that Syrian regime fighters were targeted, rather than ISIS extremists, during a mission in Deir Ezzor in September 2016.

He said he was demoted and posted to a different unit as a result, before being medically discharged.

R is among eight people who have submitted their testimonies as part of a dossier by Justice4Troops, which aims to launch an MP-led inquiry into the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

An MoD spokesman said: 'We do not recognise the language nor allegations made with respect to the working environment on our Reaper squadrons.'

He added: 'All allegations of civilian casualties are subject to extensive investigation. We continue to do everything we can to minimise the risk of civilian casualties through the rigorous targeting processes and the professionalism of our crews.'
The Kaneshie District Court has discharged the founder of International Gods Way Church (IGWC), Bishop Daniel Obinim and one other who were facing charges of forgery.



This was after the prosecution led by Detective Sergeant Richard Amoah had told the court presided by Ms Rosemond Agyiri that they wish to withdraw the charges leveled against the accused persons.



The court subsequently struck out the case as withdrawn and discharged Bishop Daniel Obinim and Kwabena Okyere who had been facing the charge in court for the past 11 months.



Innocent



Counsel for Obinim, Mr Louis Yiadom Boakye who held brief for Mr Dela Blagogee told the court that the defense had from the beginning maintained that Bishop Obinim was innocent and if the prosecution saw it fit to withdraw the case, they were not opposed to it.



Charges



Bishop Obinim and Kwabena Okyere were separately put before the Kaneshie District Court in Accra and jointly charged with publication of false news and forgery of document contrary to Section 159 (c) of 29, 1960.



The two, together with three others at large, were facing four counts of conspiracy to publish false news, conspiracy to forge other documents, publication of false news and forgery of documents.



The accused persons are alleged to have forged and published a police persons wanted form for the arrest of one Isaac Opoku, a resident of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.



Forgery



Bishop Obinim allegedly forged and published a Police Persons Wanted Form against a man in Kumasi without official endorsement, the prosecution said.



The said wanted person form bearing the details of the supposed fugitive called Isaac Opoku, according to court documents, was circulated on social media of certain individuals who are linked to Obinim including Mr. Okyere.



The alleged forgery of police documents by Bishop Obinim, according to the prosecution, resulted from some GH51,280 he reportedly deposited in Isaac Opokus bank account.





Source: graphiconline.com









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An HMM container ship / Courtesy of Hyundai Merchant Marine
We could stop many of these unnecessary killings if the good police officers could muster enough courage on their own do the right thing. The next best option is a law that makes it illegal to stand by and do nothing.
Gurugram, April 22 : Gurugram's Fortis hospital has appealed to the central, Haryana and Rajasthan governments to allow one of its oxygen tankers, that was stopped at Bhiwadi.

With the second wave of Covid-19 gripping the country, the demand for oxygen has increased drastically due to shortness of breath, which is a major symptom among Covid positive patients.

The pandemic has also resulted in shortage of vaccines and beds in the country.

"This is an SOS call from Fortis to allow oxygen tanker from Bhiwadi to reach our hospital," Fortis said in a Twitter post on Thursday.

"Fortis Hospital in #Haryana has only 45 minutes of oxygen left. Requesting @ashokgehlot51, @rajnathsingh, @piyushoffc, @mlkhattar and @amitshah to act immediately and help us to save patients' lives," the statement added.

"We are clarifying the situation and will soon release an official statement over the matter," Aniket, spokesperson of the Fortis hospital Gurugram said.
Cathay Pacific to close its Canadian pilot base

Cathay says the decision to close its Canadian pilot base is final. Image: Shutterstock

Priscilla Ng reports

Cathay Pacific will close its Canadian pilot base and has proposed to also shut its pilot bases in Australia and New Zealand, the airline said on Thursday.



No decisions have been made on the fate of its pilots based in Europe and the United States, the airline said in a statement that noted all passenger fleet pilots on overseas bases had been stood down since May 2020.



The decision to close the Canadian base is final, while Australia and New Zealand is a proposal at this stage and will involve a good-faith consultation process with employees, Cathay said.



In Australia and New Zealand, employers must consult with staff before redundancies as part of union agreements but it is rare for publicly announced decisions to be reversed.



Qantas and Air New Zealand made similar announcements last year about consultations before proceeding with their planned staff cuts.



Cathay had already closed overseas cabin crew bases and shut its regional airline Cathay Dragon to help it conserve cash during the pandemic, resulting in the loss of more than 5,900 jobs.



The remaining Hong Kong-based pilots and cabin crew had to agree to permanent pay cuts to keep their jobs.



Cathay, which lacks a domestic market at a time when international borders are largely shut, last month reported a record annual loss of HK$21.65 billion.



It has been burning through as much as HK$1.9 billion of cash a month, though the carrier said last week that figure would begin to reduce slightly due to an easing of cargo crew quarantine requirements. (Reuters)
The Lookout: Cal Bill Aims to End Homelessness; Make Housing a Basic Human Right

While some might debate if shelter is a basic human right, youd be hard pressed to find anyone who would argue that it isnt essential to an individuals quality of life. And in California, where just about every aspect of the nations housing crisis is on full display, housing laws become all the more consequential. Especially during a global pandemic.

In the California Legislature, there are a few bills being proposed to curtail  if not finally end  some of the most pressing housing issues over the course of the next few years.

For those in need of immediate shelter, Assembly Bill (AB) 1372 would require every city, or every county in the case of unincorporated areas, to provide every person who is homeless, as defined, with temporary shelter, mental health treatment, resources for job placement, and job training  until the person obtains permanent housing, if the person has actively sought temporary shelter in the jurisdiction for at least three consecutive days and has been unable to gain entry into all temporary shelters they sought for specified reasons, according to the language of the bill.

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AB 1372, which Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) introduced, has been submitted to both the Judiciary and the Human and Community Development committees for review. No hearing has been announced yet.

On March 25, a number of unhoused individuals were cleared out of Echo Park in Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) put a fence around the area where many of them had set up tents. The action by law enforcement was met with spirited protests from community members looking to protect the homeless population seeking shelter in the area.

The biggest pandemic in years actually turned out to be a blessing for us, the Echo Park Tent Community said in a statement. Without the constant LAPD and city harassment uprooting our lives weve been able to grow to come together as a community, not just unhoused but housed as well and work together for the mutual aid and benefit of each other.

AB 1372 will also require counties and cities to put forth a plan to temporarily shelter unhoused individuals.

This bill would require every city, county, and city and county to adopt a plan, subject to approval by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to provide for temporary shelter for persons who are homeless in its jurisdiction, as specified, the bill reads. By imposing additional duties on cities and counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Speaking of putting forth plans, another bill being proposed to tackle the states homelessness crisis is Assembly Bill (AB) 816. This legislation would require the state to put together an analysis in order to build a financial plan to meet certain annual benchmarks with the end goal of reducing homelessness by 90% by the year 2029.

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Proposed by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), this ambitious bill would, if passed, go into effect on or before Jan. 1, 2023. In February, the legislation was referred to the Assembly committee on Homelessness and Community Development for review.

We need everyone to pull their weight, Chiu told the Sacramento Bee. We want to make the system very clear that there is accountability.

According to a federal report by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development, California accounted for 51% of the entire nations homeless population in 2020. The study also found that almost 40% percent of the nations homeless population in January of 2020 were Black or African American.

AB 816 would also provide a governor-appointed homelessness inspector general.

Transitioning from homelessness to another housing-related issue, transportation, Assembly Bill (AB) 1401 would prohibit local governments from imposing or enforcing minimum parking requirements on residential developments if said development is within walking distance of public transit.

As it currently stands, there are cities where the law mandates there be a certain amount of parking spaces for housing units or other residential properties.

These parking space requirements take up space that some experts believe could be utilized for affordable housing.

For example, in San Diego, there must be at least one parking space per bedroom or housing unit by law, which could cost up to $90,000 per space. That was until the San Diego City Council voted to remove these parking requirements on March 4.

AB 1401, which Assemblymembers Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Alex Lee (D-San Jose), Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) co-sponsored, would take that mandate statewide.

In the upper house of the State Legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 15 would incentivize local governments, by way of grants, to rezone idle building sites intended for retail or commercial projects to instead be used for housing.

The bill also goes into detail about how cities would qualify for the grants.

In order to be eligible for a grant, the bill would require a local government, among other things, to apply to the department for an allocation of grant funds and provide documentation that it has met specified requirements, including certain labor-related requirements, the bill reads. The bill would make the allocation of these grants subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other statute.

There is no doubt that Californias housing crisis is dire, justifying these bills, and the many others, being presented to handle this behemoth. While a house is not always a home, a roof is always a blessing, and it is the hope of many that sweeping legislation might go a long way in securing that blessing for more Californians.
AMMAN, Jordan  Sixteen people accused of a plot to foment unrest in Jordan this month were released from custody on Thursday pending further investigation, a military judge announced, marking a new chapter in an unusually turbulent episode in the normally placid kingdom.

Jordan was roiled at the start of April when the government accused a former crown prince, Hamzah bin Hussein, of plotting to undermine state security along with 18 accomplices.

Two of the accused  the former head of the royal court, Bassem Awadallah, and a minor member of the royal family, Sharif Hassan bin Zeid  remained in custody on Thursday night because of the severity of the charges against them. The prince himself was never technically arrested, and the royal court has previously said that he remains at his palace, under the care of King Abdullah II, his older half brother.

The crisis has ruffled Jordans carefully crafted reputation as a rare beacon of stability in a turbulent region. King Abdullah is considered a critical Western ally in the Middle East, since he allows countries, including the United States, to use Jordanian soil as a base for military campaigns in the region. Jordan is also a key interlocutor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the host of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.
04/22/2021

Photo (c) JGI Jamie Grill - Getty Images Baby food manufacturer Beech-Nut Nutrition Company has been slapped with a lawsuit by Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine over claims that it misled customers about the health and safety of its products.

In the lawsuit, Racine alleges that Beech-Nuts slogan real food for babies is anything but. It reassures parents of the safety of its products through the use of words and phrases in its marketing and advertising such as natural, naturals, 100% natural, organics, just sweet potatoes (as an example), non-GMO project verified, and nothing artificial added.

However, the suit contends that Beech-Nut foods contain high levels of toxic heavy metals, contradicting Beech-Nuts vow that it conduct[s] over 20 rigorous tests on our purees, testing for up to 255 pesticides and heavy metals (like lead, cadmium, arsenic and other nasty stuff).

Racine went on to accuse Beech-Nut of speaking out of both sides of its mouth when it signaled to consumers that it is aware of no higher standards in the industry than the ones we employ, and that Just like you would, we send the produce back if its not good enough.

Parents across the District and the country trusted Beech-Nut when it advertised its baby food products as organic and safe. But the reality is much different, as parents unknowingly fed their babies food containing high levels of toxic metals which can lead to lifelong health complications, Racine stated.

No company should profit by illegally deceiving parents about products that actually jeopardize the health and safety of their children. We are seeking to put a stop to it and put other baby food companies on notice that they must provide truthful and complete information about their products. Additionally, federal regulators and Congress need to take action to help ensure baby food is safe.

Baby food lawsuits and congressional concerns are rolling in

Adding to Beech-Nuts woes is its inclusion in a class action lawsuit filed in February that claimed the company (and others) misrepresented the heavy metals in their baby food.

In fact, baby foods in general have had a rough year so far. AboutLawsuits reports that at least 38 proposed baby food class action lawsuits have been filed throughout the federal court system since February. All of the lawsuits involved allegations that popular baby food products contained high levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury.

The Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy in the U.S. House of Representatives also released a report in February called Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury. In that report, the Committee requested internal documents and test results from seven of the U.S. largest manufacturers of baby food, including:

Nurture, Inc., which sells Happy Family Organics, including baby food products under the brand name HappyBABY

Beech-Nut Nutrition Company

Hain Celestial Group, Inc., which sells baby food products under the brand name Earths Best Organic

Gerber

Campbell Soup Company, which sells baby food products under the brand name Plum Organics

Walmart Inc., which sells baby food products through its private brand Parents Choice

Sprout Foods, Inc.

Plaintiffs in 43 lawsuits over toxic metal contamination in baby foods filed a motion in March asking for the cases to be consolidated in New York federal court.

Consumers weigh in

When ConsumerAffairs took a look at past consumer sentiment regarding Beech-Nut baby food products, the company mustered slightly more than a one-star rating, coupled with a significant number of negative comments by reviewers.

One reviewer -- Heidi of Buckley, West Virginia -- said her mommy intuition kicked in when she noticed that no pop occurred when she opened a jar of Beech-Nut pineapple pear avocado. To check the taste I took the lid and licked the remaining product from it. While the flavor itself was suspicious, I was immediately aware that I had something crunchy in my mouth. I spit into my hand and found a small but very obvious shard of glass.

M. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, claimed that she found yellow fat floating on top of a new jar of Beech-Nut chicken. Consistency also was lumpy, like fine fibrous oatmeal. Can see coarse chicken fibers in it, that shouldn't be there in a first food, they said.

M said they called Beech-Nuts consumer relations but that a representative refused to apologize or offer to make it right.

---

Update

The Beech-Nut Nutrition Company has released the following statement to the media regarding its pending litigation:

"We want to assure parents and caregivers that Beech-Nut products are, and have always been, safe and nutritious. That said, we do not comment on specific, pending litigation. Beech-Nut Nutrition looks forward to continuing to work with the FDA, in partnership with the Baby Food Council, on science-based standards that food suppliers can implement across our industry. Beech-Nut is committed to continually refining its internal standards and testing processes as technology and knowledge develops. Beech-Nut has been, and will continue to be, a leader in providing high-quality baby food products.
Apple unveils AirTag, in this still image from the keynote video of a special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California (Photo : Apple Inc./via REUTERS.)

A panel of U.S. senators questioned officials from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google on Wednesday about the dominance of their mobile app stores and whether the companies abuse their power at the expense of smaller competitors.



Amy Klobuchar, the top Senate Democrat on antitrust issues, said Apple and Google can use their power to "exclude or suppress apps that compete with their own products" and "charge excessive fees that affect competition."



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App makers like music streaming service Spotify Technology SA and dating services giant Match Group, which owns the Tinder app, have long complained that mandatory revenue sharing for sales of digital goods and strict inclusion rules set by Apple's App Store for iPhones and iPads, along with Google's Play store for Android devices, amount to anticompetitive behavior.



Representatives for Apple and Google told senators the companies' tight control over their stores and the associated revenue-sharing requirements are needed to enforce and pay for security measures to protect consumers from harmful apps and practices.



But when asked by Senator Josh Hawley, Apple's Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer would not commit to spending all of the mandatory fees on security.



Explanations from Andeer and Google's Wilson White, senior director for government affairs, about why the companies' fees do not apply to Uber Technologies Inc and apps that sell physical goods also failed to satisfy senators.



"I feel like unfrozen caveman lawyer," Senator Mike Lee said. "I'm not grasping it."



Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed concern about a call Match said it received late on Tuesday from its business counterpart at Google.



Match's Chief Legal Officer Jared Sine said Google wanted to know why Sine's planned testimony, which had just been released, deviated from previous comments the dating company had made.



"It looks like a threat, it talks like a threat, it's a threat," Blumenthal said of the call, vowing to investigate Google's action further.



Google's White said the call reflected an effort to ask an honest question and the company would never threaten partners.



In his testimony, Match's Sine argued that Google and Apple both exact an onerous 30% of any digital transaction, raising prices for consumers.



Match pays nearly $500 million in fees to the app stores annually, the company's single largest expense, Sine said.



Spotify and Match said Apple's app review process was opaque. Sine said Apple blocked a safety update to the Tinder app meant to warn LGBTQ+ users if they were traveling to a country where it might be dangerous to expose their identity because Apple said the update violated the "spirit" of a new rule.



But Apple would not explain how to fix the issue, Sine said. He said that Apple approved the update two months later only after senior leaders at Match's parent company at the time, IAC/Interactivecorp, raised the issue with Apple's senior leaders.



The hearing came a day after Apple said it would begin selling AirTags - which can be attached to items like car keys to help users find them when they are lost - in direct competition with Tile, which has sold a similar tracking device for more than a decade.



Apple said its AirTags were an outgrowth of its "FindMy" app, which is used for locating lost Apple devices and to share user locations and was introduced in 2010, before Tile's founding. Apple last month opened its operating system up to alternative item trackers and said that Chipolo, a startup competing with Tile and AirTags, is using the system.



Tile General Counsel Kirsten Daru testified Apple's FindMy program is installed by default on Apple phones and cannot be deleted.



"Apple has once again exploited its market power and dominance to condition our customers' access to data on effectively breaking our user experience and directing our users to FindMy," she said.


Blake Bailey, the author of the much buzzed-about, 807-page Philip Roth biography published April 6, is facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

In light of the allegations, the books publisher, W.W. Norton, is freezing shipping and promotion of Philip Roth: The Biography, The New York Times reports.

Two women accuse Bailey of rape, the Times reports. Bailey, 57, is also accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior in the 90s, when he was a middle school teacher.

These allegations are serious, the publisher said in a statement, as reported by the Times. In light of them, we have decided to pause the shipping and promotion of Philip Roth: The Biography pending any further information that may emerge.

Baileys literary agency has also cut ties with him in the wake of the allegations.

The biographer, who lives in Virginia, denied the allegations, telling the Times they are categorically false and libelous.

Baileys Roth biography, which W.W. Norton describes as a definitive portrait of a literary titan, is already a New York Times bestseller.

Newark native and author Philip Roth in the Manhattan apartment in 2012, the same year he picked Blake Bailey to write his biography.Star-Ledger file photo

Roth, the acclaimed Newark author who died in 2018, when he was 85, chose Bailey to write his biography in 2012 after several attempts with other writers.

The well-known biographer has written books on Newark novelist Charles Jackson and authors John Cheever (which made him a Pulitzer finalist) and Richard Yates. He spent years conducting interviews with Roth as well as the Pulitzer Prize winners colleagues, former flames and friends.

ALSO READ: N.J. legend Philip Roths legacy hangs in the balance as biographer accused of rape

The most recent allegation against Bailey is from publishing executive Valentina Rice.

Rice, 47, alleges that Bailey raped her in 2015 when they were both overnight guests at the Frenchtown home of Dwight Garner, a New York Times book critic. Rice told the Times that Bailey went to her room and raped her as she repeatedly told him to stop.

Rice did not report the alleged rape to police, but as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, she did send an email using a pseudonym to the president of W.W. Norton, making an allegation of assault against Bailey. She told the publishing executive, Julia A. Reidhead, that she was prepared to confirm her allegation if she could be guaranteed anonymity. Reidhead did not respond to Rice. Instead, Rice received an email from Bailey. He said W.W. Norton had forwarded him her email.

Bailey, replying to the email, told Rice he never had non-consensual sex. (At the time, Rice had also sent a note about Bailey to the New York Times, but she didnt respond after a reporter got in touch.)

Some of Baileys former eighth grade students at New Orleans Lusher Middle School, where he worked as an English teacher in the 90s, also made claims that Bailey was grooming them. The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune reports that three former students described sexual encounters with Bailey and one said she ran away after he allegedly groped her. Baileys lawyer denied the allegations.

The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune and the Times report that Eve Peyton, one of Baileys former middle schools students, accused him of rape. At the time  2003  Peyton, 40, was engaged and a student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She had arranged to meet her old teacher for drinks when they were both in New Orleans, the Times reports.

Peyton alleges that Bailey raped her afterward and then told her he had wanted her since he met her when she was 12.

She shared two emails with the Times from 2003 and 2020 in which Bailey either apologizes or tries to explain his behavior that night.

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.
She is a member of one of Hollywood's most notable families.

And Scout Willis cut a casual figure as she visited her sister Rumer's house in Studio City, California on Wednesday.

The middle daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, 29, donned a white top and a matching pair of jeans as she carried her pet pooch to her sister's place.

Out and about: Scout Willis cut a casual figure as she visited her sister Rumer's house in Studio City, California on Wednesday

Scout also sported a pair of black cowgirl boots with a butterfly print along with a multi-coloured plaid jacket.

Putting safety first with a white face mask, she added to her outfit with a raffia bag.

Scout completed her look for the outing by letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders.

Actress Demi shares Rumer, 32, Scout and a 27-year-old daughter called Tallulah with Bruce whom she was married to from 1987 to 2000.

Outfit: Scout, 29, donned a white top and a matching pair of jeans as she carried her pet pooch to her sister's place

Bruce, 66, is now married to 42-year-old model Emma Heming with whom he has two more daughters - Mabel, six, and Evelyn, eight.

The blended family get along so well that earlier in lockdown Bruce was isolating in Idaho with Emma, Demi and all of his daughters.

Scout is currently dating musician Jake Miller with whom she celebrated her three-year anniversary near the end of 2020.

Meanwhile early last month Rumer fired up her Insta Stories and candidly told her fans about her issues with anxiety.

Casual: Scout also sported a pair of black cowgirl boots with a butterfly print along with a multi-coloured plaid jacket

Looking good: Scout completed her look for the outing by letting her brunette locks fall loose down her shoulders

'I have been dealing with bad anxiety since yesterday, but working on learning how to self soothe,' Rumer revealed on social media.

'It's really had when they get bad and sometimes I feel like I'm dying, I get nauseous and my heart won't show down.'

The showbiz legacy went on to note: 'But I realized the worst thing I can do is try to fight against it or be resistant to it.'

Rumer shared her process: 'I have to catch myself when I find myself focusing on just wishing it was somehow different.'
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - IM Exploration Inc. (CSE: IM) ("IM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of March 1, 2021, it has entered into an assignment and assumption agreement (the "Agreement") with Starcore International Mines Ltd. (TSX: SAM) ("Starcore") and Minquest Ltd. ("Minquest"), whereby the Company has assumed Starcore's obligations and rights to acquire a 100% interest (the "Transaction") in the Toiyabe Gold Project in Lander County, Nevada (the "Project") from Minquest Ltd.

Transaction Details

As consideration for the assignment of Starcore's right to acquire a 100% interest in the Project, the Company has issued Starcore 4,100,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Consideration Shares") at a price of $0.15 per Consideration Shares. The Consideration Shares will be subject to a contractual escrow period of twelve (12) months following the date of issuance, with 25% being released every three (3) months, with the first release occurring no later than 3 months after the closing of the Transaction and a cash payment paid to Starcore in the amount of US$150,000.

Upon closing of the transaction, the Company now has the option to exercise its right to earn a 100% ownership position in the Project by making the following cash payments to Minquest (for an aggregate total of US$760,000):

US$100,000 on May 31 st , 2021

, 2021 US$120,000 on October 15 th , 2021

, 2021 US$140,000 on October 15 th , 2022

, 2022 US$400,000 on October 15th, 2023

The Company will also be responsible for annual claim payments due to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which totalled US$27,225 in 2020. The Company cautions investors that the Company may not exercise their option to acquire ownership of the Project.

Raymond D. Harari, CEO & President of IM Exploration, stated: "We are excited to have an asset with an indicated resource in Nevada's Battle Mountain Trend, North America's most endowed gold belt. The closing of this transaction represents an important milestone for IM and its shareholders. Our next steps are to initiate drilling to further define this highly prospective resource, as well as incorporate more land packages to our portfolio to scale faster and more efficiently."

About IM Exploration Inc.

The Company is a mineral exploration company, currently exploring for graphite, gold, and other minerals at its early-stage Mulloy Project in Northern Ontario. From time to time the Company may also evaluate the acquisition of other mineral exploration assets and opportunities.

For further information contact:

Raymond D. Harari

President and Chief Executive Officer

IM Exploration Inc.

Tel: +507-6675-2221

About Starcore

Starcore International Mines is engaged in precious metals production with focus and experience in Mexico. This base of producing assets is complemented by exploration and developments projects throughout North America. Starcore is a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility and advocates value driven decisions that will increase long term shareholder value. You can find more information on their investor friendly website here: www.starcore.com.

For further information, contact:

Robert Eadie

Starcore International Mines Ltd.

Telephone: (604) 602-4935 x 205

Toll Free: 1-866-602-4935

Email: rob@starcore.com

Cautionary Statements

The Canadian Securities Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange have neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release, nor do they accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the timing of future exploration work or drilling, and the expansion of the mineralization. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of IM Exploration Inc., including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81277
The early divisions in vaccine rates by gender could largely be explained by demographics. Americans over 70 got the first sets of doses, and women make up a larger proportion of that age group. In many states, health care workers and schoolteachers were also given vaccine priority: Women account for three-quarters of full-time health care workers and over 75 percent of public schoolteachers in the United States are female.

The disparities show both where women do the paid and unpaid labor of life. For instance, women lost the majority of the earliest jobs in food services, retail businesses, health care and government jobs. The mothers among them have done most of the work in the shift to remote schooling and caring for parents and sick relatives.

The combination may have increased their vaccine motivation in two ways: They are seeking to protect the rest of their family and they are desperate to get back in the work force. Indeed, just as women drove the job losses last year, they are leading the economic recovery now; roughly half a million women joined the labor force in March, in part because in-person schooling has resumed across much of the country.

In addition to women being disproportionately represented in several essential jobs, said Pilar Gonalons-Pons, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in gender issues, they are also disproportionately represented as unpaid caregivers for older adults in their families and communities, and this can also be an additional motivation for getting the vaccine.

In many ways, the pattern with vaccines reflects longstanding gender differences when it comes to preventive health care. Women are on average more likely to get annual physicals than men, even when adjusted for pre-existing health conditions and other factors, and are more likely than men to get preventive care.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the new COVID-19 vaccine policy, terming it as arbitrary and discriminatory and urged him to intervene immediately to reverse it.

Why is the government allowing a policy that reeks of such "insensitivity", she said in the letter to the prime minister.

The Congress chief alleged that the new vaccine policy implies that the central government has abdicated its responsibility of providing free vaccine to all Indians between 18 and 45 years of age.

"This is complete abandonment of the Government's responsibility towards our youth," she said.

Noting that any reasonable person will agree on the benefit of a uniform price for vaccination, she said, "I would urge you to intervene immediately and reverse this ill-considered decision."



She said the nation's goal must be to ensure that everyone over 18 years is given the vaccine, regardless of their economic circumstances.

Gandhi said she is writing to him to convey the deep concern and sense of anguish that the new COVID-19 vaccination policy has caused amongst the people.

"It is surprising that despite the harsh lessons of last year and the pain inflicted on our citizens, the Government continues to follow an arbitrary and discriminatory policy, which promises to exacerbate existing challenges," she said in her letter.

The Congress president claimed that as a consequence of this policy, vaccine manufacturer - Serum Institute of India has announced a differential pricing mechanism - Rs 150 per dose for the Central Government, Rs 400 per dose for State Government and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

This means that citizens will be compelled to pay these high rates to be vaccinated, she alleged, adding that this will also bleed the finances of state governments.

"This begs the question, how can the same vaccine manufactured by the same company have three different prices? There is no rationale or justification that allows for such arbitrary distinction," she said.

"In these unprecedented times, how can the Government of India permit such brazen profiteering from people's misery? At a time when medical resources are scarce, hospital beds are unavailable, oxygen supply and availability of essential medicine is dwindling rapidly, why is your Government allowing a policy that reeks of such insensitivity.

"Even with regards to the fifty percent quota for vaccination available with the Central Government, the allocation must be transparent and equitable, in line with the spirit of cooperative federalism," Gandhi said.

The Centre on Monday announced a liberalised vaccine policy, making all adults above 18 years of age eligible for getting vaccination from May 1.

The Serum Institute of India on Wednesday announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
U.S. 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)

Senators Bill Would Block Foreign Adversaries From Purchasing Land Near Military Bases

Two Republican senators on Wednesday unveiled legislation that seeks to block China and other foreign adversaries from purchasing land near U.S. military bases.

The bill, named the Protecting Military Installations and Ranges Act of 2021 (pdf), is led by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). It would require the the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to probe whether buyers who purchase land near a military installation in the United States have ties to China or other adversaries.

Reps. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), and Pat Fallon (R-Texas) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill would amend part of the Defense Production Act of 1950, and seeks to prohibit adversaries from acquiring land near military bases, which they could use to monitor U.S. armed forces activities and put military installations at risk, a release states.

This legislation would restrict any effort by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea to buy U.S. land within 100 miles of a U.S. military installation, or 50 miles from military areas, it says.

The CFIUS would be required to review any purchase or lease of real estate near a military installation or military airspace in the United States by a foreign person connected to or subsidized by the Russian Federation, the Peoples Republic of China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the language of the legislation states.

If enacted, the bill would also allow the U.S. Department of Defense to prevent construction on any site under investigation.

Ranking member Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) questions witnesses during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 23, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chinese Communist Party and our other adversaries should not be able to purchase land close to our military bases, said Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. If the United States is going to get serious about combating China and other foreign adversaries, our government must prevent them from acquiring U.S. property without scrutiny.

Rubio, also a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, said in a statement that the bill would also address this national security threat by expanding government oversight and security around military installations.

It comes after experts voiced concerns in December 2020 that a proposed wind farm project in West Texas had become a potential national security issue due to its Chinese owner who has ties to the communist regime in Beijing and the Peoples Liberation Army.

A CFIUS panel chaired by the Treasury Department reviewed the acquisition and found that the wind farm didnt pose a national security threat. However, an expert familiar with the project in Texas told The Epoch Times that there are a number of potential national security concerns about the Chinese control over the land.

America will not tolerate espionage and is empowered to counter the widespread nefarious actions of adversarial regimes, Cruz said of the bill.

He added, I am proud to introduce this commonsense bill to defend our national security interests and ensure regimes that threaten the United Statessuch as the Chinese Communist Partydont have the ability to purchase land in order to intercept and disrupt military activities.

Emel Akan contributed to this report.
ANDERSON COUNTY, I-75 South near Mile Marker 118.6: On Sunday, April 25, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

ANDERSON COUNTY, SR 61 Bridge over Norfolk Southern Railway and Market Street in Clinton: SR 61 East is reduced to one lane through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this area.

ANDERSON COUNTY, US 25/SR 9 Bridge over Clinch River between SR 61 and Carden Farm Drive: SR 9 northbound is reduced to one lane approaching the bridge as crews continue work in this area. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this bridge construction project.

BLOUNT COUNTY, US 129 North and South between SR 35 Hall Road and Tyson Boulevard: Motorists should be alert for workers present, possible lane closures and brief stoppages of traffic through this roadway construction project. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-hall-road-to-tyson-blvd.html

BLOUNT COUNTY, SR 335 Hunt Road between Ambrose Street and Ramsay Street: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures at various times as crews install utilities through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present directing traffic and use extreme caution through this area.

BLOUNT COUNTY, SR 33 between Foothills Mall Drive and Henry Street: Motorists should be alert for possible nightly lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this intersection improvement construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changed conditions, and use extreme caution through this area.

BLOUNT COUNTY, US 321 between Jones Avenue and Lamar Street: Motorists should be alert for possible daily lane closures as crews perform roadside work through this project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 North and South between Mile Markers 135 and 142: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 North near Mile Marker 143: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning on Sundays through Thursdays through this project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 South between Mile Markers 153 and 150: On Tuesday, April 27, 2021 through Thursday, April 29, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. as crews perform roadway maintenance repairs. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, I-75 South near Mile Marker 154.4: On Thursday, April 22, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, SR 63 between Myers Lane and Frontier Road/Woodson Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and/or 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for slowed or stopped traffic, expect potential delays and use extreme caution through this area.

CARTER COUNTY, US 19E/SR 37 Bridge over the Doe River and Riverview Road: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area.

CLAIBORNE COUNTY, SR 63 between Old Town Creek and US 25E/SR 32: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect delays and use extreme caution through this area.

GREENE COUNTY, US 11E/SR 34 both directions between Blue Springs Parkway and Forest Road in Mosheim: Motorists should be alert for lane closures and lane shifts through this area for bridge repair operations. These lane closures will remain in place 24/7 until repairs are complete. Motorists should be alert for workers present, changing conditions, and use extreme caution in this area. This bridge repair project is estimated to be complete on or before October 31, 2021.

HAMBLEN COUNTY, SR 34 near Commerce Blvd.: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area.

HAMBLEN COUNTY, SR 160 near Commerce Blvd.: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, I-40 West near Mile Marker 415.2: On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, I-40 West near Mile Marker 413.5: On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, I-81 South near Mile Marker 5: On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

JOHNSON COUNTY, SR 167 at Log Mile 7.5: Motorists should be alert for single lane roadway with temporary traffic signal through this slide repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slowed traffic, and use extreme caution in this area.

KNOX COUNTY, I-40 East and West between Mile Markers 376 and 383: On Sunday, April 25, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible rolling roadblocks to occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. as utility crews perform overhead line work. Motorists should be alert for slow or stopped traffic, expect delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, I-40 West near Mile Marker 388.9: On Thursday, April 22, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, I-140 East near Mile Marker 0.1: On Sunday, April 25, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, I-640 East near Mile Marker 2.1: On Thursday, April 22, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, Various Interstates through Knoxville: On Thursday, April 22, 2021 and Monday, April 26, 2021 through Thursday, April 29, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible mobile lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform roadway maintenance activities. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, and use extreme caution in this area.

KNOX COUNTY, US 129/SR 115 Alcoa Highway between Topside Road and Maloney Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures and lane shifts as crews perform work through this project. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduce speed and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-little-river-to-maloney.html

KNOX COUNTY, US 129/SR 115 Alcoa Highway between Maloney Road and Woodson Drive: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures and lane shifts as crews perform work through this project. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduce speed and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-115-alcoa-highway-maloney-to-woodson.html

KNOX COUNTY, US 441 Broadway Viaduct between Jackson Avenue and Fifth Avenue: US 441 Broadway Viaduct over Norfolk Southern Railroad in downtown Knoxville is closed for bridge replacement. The Broadway Viaduct will be closed to all traffic for the duration of the project. During the closure, Broadway will be closed from the intersection of Oak Avenue, Worlds Fair Park, and Jackson Avenue to just north of the Depot Avenue intersection. Depot Avenue will also be closed. These closures will ensure the safety of workers and motorists as crews demolish the old bridge and reconstruct the new bridge. Primary and Local Detour Routes around the bridge closure will be in place. For detour routes and project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/broadway-viaduct.html

KNOX COUNTY, US 441/SR 71 Chapman Highway between Highland View Drive and Burnett Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/chapman-highway-evans-to-burnett.html

KNOX COUNTY, SR 62 Western Avenue between Copper Kettle and Texas Avenue: Motorists should be alert for possible nightly lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this resurfacing project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, SR 162 Pellissippi Parkway West at Hardin Valley Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area.

KNOX COUNTY, SR 332 Concord Road between Turkey Creek Road and Northshore: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and new traffic patterns through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area. For project information, go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/sr-332-proposed-widening.html

LOUDON COUNTY, I-75 North and South between Mile Markers 79 and 84: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this resurfacing project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, expect delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

LOUDON COUNTY, SR 2 between Loudon Middle School and Carter Street: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area.

ROANE COUNTY, I-40 West between Mile Markers 340 and 344: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures at various times through this slope stabilization project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, lane shifts, and use extreme caution through this area.

SCOTT COUNTY, US 27/SR 29 between Industrial Lane and Second Avenue: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area.

SEVIER COUNTY, I-40 East and West between Mile Markers 405 and 412: On Monday, April 26, 2021 through Thursday, April 29, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible nightly lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following morning as crews perform roadway maintenance activities. Motorists should be alert for workers present,

reduced speeds, expect possible delays, and use caution through this area.

SEVIER COUNTY, SR 71 between US 411 and Macon Lane: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, I-26 East near Mile Marker 7.7: On Monday, April 26, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following

morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, I-81 North & South between Mile Markers 57 and 63: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures nightly between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning through this bridge repair project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution in this area. This bridge repair project is estimated to be complete on or before May 31, 2021.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, I-81 North near Mile Marker 67.9: On Monday, April 26, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, SR 355 between Log Miles 1 and 3: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

UNICOI COUNTY, I-26 East and West near Mile Marker 33: Motorists should be alert for lane closures as I-26 will be reduced to one lane in each direction around the clock through this bridge repair project. Wide loads should follow signed detour routes. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area. This project is estimated to be complete on or before August 31, 2021.

UNICOI COUNTY, I-26 West near Mile Marker 35.3: On Friday, April 23, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

UNICOI COUNTY, SR 81 between Log Miles 0 and 1.8: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. through this resurfacing and safety project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

UNICOI COUNTY, SR 107 between 6th Street and SR 173: Motorists should be alert for possible lane closures daily between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. through this resurfacing and safety project. Motorists should be alert for workers and equipment present, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution through this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, I-26 East near Mile Marker 12.2: On Monday, April 26, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, I-26 East near Mile Marker 14.3: On Friday, April 23, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, I-26 East between Mile Markers 23 and 26: On Monday, April 26, 2021 and Tuesday, April 27, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. as crews perform roadway maintenance repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow or stopped traffic, expect potential delays, and use extreme caution in this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, I-81 South near Mile Marker 50.7: On Friday, April 23, 2021, motorists should be alert for possible lane closures between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning as crews perform guardrail repairs. Motorists should be alert for workers present, slow traffic, and use extreme caution through this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, SR 93 between Davis Road and Fire Hall Road: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this construction project. Motorists should be alert for workers present, reduced speeds, and use caution through this area.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, SR 354 Boones Creek Road at I-26: Motorists should be alert for possible temporary lane closures through this project. Motorists should be alert for new traffic patterns and follow new guide signs and pavement markings through this intersection. Motorists should be alert for workers present, expect delays and use extreme caution through this area.

For information on statewide interstate construction motorists can access the Tennessee Department of Transportation SmartWay website at https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic

TDOT is now on Twitter. For up to the minute traffic information in Knoxville and the Tri-Cities follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/knoxville511. For statewide travel information follow www.twitter.com/TN511
(Reuters) - Group had more than $20 billion of exposure to investments related to Archegos Capital Management and struggled to monitor them before the fund had to liquidate many large positions, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2PeVhye.

Parts of the bank had not fully implemented systems to keep pace with Archegos' fast growth when Archegos bets on a collection of stocks swelled leading up to its March collapse, the report said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein and Lara Warner, the bank's recently departed chief risk officer, became aware of the Archegos exposure in the days leading up to the forced liquidation of the fund, the report said. Neither Gottstein nor Warner had been aware of the fund as a major client before, it said.

declined to comment on the WSJ report.

Switzerland's second-biggest bank has been reeling from its exposure to the collapse first of British fund Greensill Capital and then U.S. investment fund Archegos within the course of one month.

Huge losses at Archegos last month prompted to replace its heads of investment banking and of compliance and risk after it said it would book a $4.7 billion first-quarter charge from exposure to the stricken firm.

(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) The latest batch of the government-purchased Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines arrived in the country on Thursday.

The additional 500,000 doses arrived from Beijing, China at 5:16 p.m. through a Philippine Airlines flight, the flag carrier confirmed.

The shipment was welcomed by some government officials, including vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Prior to the delivery, the country received initial shipments of procured Sinovac vaccines on March 29 and April 11.

The Philippines also earlier received two donated batches of the same brand from China.

Latest government data show that around 1.6 million doses have already been administered in the country.

This is a developing story.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Cross River Ventures Corp. (CSE: CRVC) (FSE: C6R) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a mineral property option agreement (the "Option Agreement"), dated April 13, 2021, pursuant to which it has been granted the option (the "Option") to acquire the Lower Manitou Gold Project (the "Project") from its existing owners (collectively, the "Vendors"). The Project consists of a series of mineral claims located in the Province of Ontario. The acquisition increases the Manitou property land package to a total of 6,570 hectares.

The claims comprising the Lower Manitou acquisition host 4 historic gold occurrences including numerous shafts and workings dating back to the late 1800s. Parts of the property have been explored sporadically since, including minor drilling by St Joes Canada Inc (1983), and prospecting, sampling, and stripping (Ivar J. Riives, 2003; Rubicon Minerals Corp, 2005; Manitou Gold, 2011).

The most notable mineralization has been found around the Reliance Prospect; a 2-km long NNE striking zone of well-defined sulfide bearing, quartz flooded shearing over a 20 ft width. The shear is exposed in at least 7 historic shafts, with recently reported rock samples containing up to 9.7 grams-per-tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") in sheared mafic volcanics (Manitou Gold, 2011), and nearby parallel structures containing up to 6 g/t Au (Riives, 2003). Limited drill testing in 1983 intersected 3.36 g/t Au over 1m, however the shear zone has not been tested at depth. The Reliance Prospect and nearby mineralized shears notably strike parallel to the >5 km long Queen Alexandria - Bird Island trend (containing rock samples to 78.1 g/t Au; MDI152F07NW00008), as discussed in Cross River's news release dated Feb. 25, 2021.

The addition of the Lower Manitou claims will allow Cross River to systematically explore these prospective shear zones over an 8km long strike-length to identify targets with the highest chance of significant endowment. Field crews are scheduled to begin prospecting and ground-truthing on the property in mid May, with an initial focus on assessing these mineralized structures and prospecting along these trends to extend mineralization potential.





Image 1: Additions (dark red) to the Manitou Gold Project, NW Ontario, Canada

To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7276/81348_1bd93e0b9407097f_002full.jpg

Terms

The Company can exercise the Option by completing a series of cash payments and share issuances to the Vendors over a two year period, of which $26,000 and 200,000 common shares are due and owing upon execution of the Option Agreement, with a further $26,000 and 200,000 common shares owing on the one year anniversary of the Option Agreement and a final payment of $26,000 owing on the two year anniversary of the Option Agreement. Following exercise of the Option the Company will own one-hundred percent of the Project, subject to a one-and-one-half percent royalty (the "Royalty") on commercial production from the Project payable to the Vendors. One-half percent of the Royalty may be purchased at any time by completing a cash payment of $500,000 to the Vendors.

The Company is at arms-length from each of the Vendors, and all securities issued in connection with the Option Agreement will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities laws. No finder's fee or commission is payable in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Option Agreement.

* Grab samples are selective by nature and may not represent the true grade or style of mineralization across the property

The technical content disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Rob Carpenter, P.Geo., Ph.D., a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Historical assay results contained in this press release were not verified by the Company, however, the historical reports referenced were authored by experienced geoscientists and copies of laboratory assay sheets were commonly inserted in the reports.

About the Company

Cross River is a gold exploration company that is focused on the development of top tier exploration properties in premier mining districts. The Company controls a multiple project portfolio in NW Ontario, Canada, with highly prospective ground in and among prolific, gold bearing greenstone belts. The Company also owns an option to acquire a 100% undivided interest in the Tahsis Property, an early-stage gold exploration property located on Vancouver Island, in the Nanaimo Mining Division, British Columbia. Cross River's common shares trade under the symbol "CRVC" on the CSE.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

CROSS RIVER VENTURES CORP.

Alex Klenman

CEO

604-227-6610

aklenman@crossriverventures.com

www.crossriverventures.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors discussed in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the Canadian Securities Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

References:

St Joes Canada Inc 1983:

http://www.geologyontario.mndmf.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/52F07NW0016/52F07NW0016.pdf

Ivar J. Riives 2003:

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/52F07SW2001/52F07SW2001.pdf

Rubicon Minerals Corp 2005:

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/20000001076/20001993.pdf

Manitou Gold Inc. 2011:

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/afri/data/imaging/20000006947/20009983.pdf

MDI: Queen Alexandria:

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/mdi/data/records/MDI52F07SW00008.html

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81348
BRUSSELS  The European Commission on Wednesday announced tough draft rules on the use of artificial intelligence, including a ban on most surveillance, in an attempt to set global standards for a key technology dominated by China and the United States.

Civil rights groups, however, warned that loopholes in the proposal, which envisage hefty fines for violations and set strict safeguards for high-risk applications, could leave room for abuse of the technology by repressive governments.

Related: EU Set to Ban Artificial Intelligence Used for Mass Surveillance, Ranking Social Behavior

On artificial intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice to have. With these landmark rules, the EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted, European tech chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

The Commission said AI applications that allow governments to do social scoring or exploit children will be banned.

High risk AI applications used in recruitment, critical infrastructure, credit scoring, migration and law enforcement will be subject to strict safeguards.

Companies breaching the rules face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover or 30 million euros ($36 million), whichever is the higher figure.

European industrial chief Thierry Breton said the rules are aimed at dispelling myths and misconceptions about AI.

Behind the term artificial intelligence, there are popular beliefs and fears that have long been conveyed by the film industry, Breton told a news conference.

It is true that the little robot (Walt Disney animated film character) WALL-E could unfortunately not make us forget the T-800 (robot) from Terminator. Therefore, we must navigate between all of this and not stigmatize technology, he said.

Tech lobbying group CCIA said the rules should not create more red tape for companies and users.

AI will be key for Europes economic recovery and future competitiveness. However, regulation alone will not make the EU a leader in AI, CCIA Vice President Christian Borggreen said.

European Digital Rights pointed to worrying gaps in the proposal.

The draft law does not prohibit the full extent of unacceptable uses of AI and in particular all forms of biometric mass surveillance. This leaves a worrying gap for discriminatory and surveillance technologies used by governments and companies, Sarah Chander at the lobbying group said.

Greens party lawmaker at the European Parliament Patrick Breyer was also scathing of the proposal.

Biometric and mass surveillance, profiling and behavioral prediction technology in our public spaces undermines our freedoms and threatens our open societies. The proposed procedural requirements are a mere smokescreen, he said.

The Commission will have to thrash out the details with EU national governments and the European Parliament before the rules can come into force.

That could take years marked by intense lobbying from companies and even foreign governments, said Patrick Van Eecke, partner and head of the European cyber practice at law firm Cooley.

($1 = 0.8333 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Clement Rossignol; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Gareth Jones)

BRUSSELS  The European Commission on Wednesday announced tough draft rules on the use of artificial intelligence, including a ban on most surveillance, as part of an attempt to set global standards for a technology seen as crucial to future economic growth.

The rules, which envisage hefty fines for violations and set strict safeguards for high-risk applications, could help the EU take the lead in regulating AI, which critics say has harmful social effects and can be exploited by repressive governments.

EU Set to Ban Artificial Intelligence Used for Mass Surveillance, Ranking Social Behavior

On artificial intelligence, trust is a must, not a nice to have. With these landmark rules, the EU is spearheading the development of new global norms to make sure AI can be trusted, European tech chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

The Commission said AI applications that allow governments to do social scoring or exploit children will be banned.

High risk AI applications used in recruitment, critical infrastructure, credit scoring, migration and law enforcement will be subject to strict safeguards.

Companies breaching the rules face fines up to 6% of their global turnover or 30 million euros ($36 million), whichever is the higher figure.

European industrial chief Thierry Breton said the rules would help the 27-nation European Union reap the benefits of the technology across the board.

This offers immense potential in areas as diverse as health, transport, energy, agriculture, tourism or cyber security, he said.

However, civil and digital rights want a blanket ban on biometric mass surveillance tools such as facial recognition systems, due to concerns about risks to privacy and fundamental rights and the possible abuse of AI by authoritarian regimes.

The Commission will have to thrash out the details with EU national governments and the European Parliament before the rules can come into force, in a process that can take more than year.

($1 = 0.8333 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Gareth Jones)

Topics Europe InsurTech Data Driven
Editor

Darren Marcy, a journalist since 1992, is the editor of the Manchester Journal. A New Mexico native, he previously worked for newspapers in the Land of Enchantment before moving to Vermont in 2004. He joined the Journal in October 2018.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a statement calling on Azerbaijan to immediately return the Armenian prisoners of war, Head of the Armenian Delegation to PACE Ruben Rubinyan said on Facebook.

The PACE Monitoring Committee has just adopted a statement, calling on Azerbaijan to immediately return the Armenian POWs, Rubinyan said.

The issue of the Armenian POWs, who are currently in the Azerbaijani captivity, has been discussed at the PACE political groups on the sidelines of the Committees spring session on April 19. The issue has also been discussed at the PACE plenary session on April 20.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
According to the county by county breakdown of daily figures from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) this evening, Longford recorded LESS THAN FIVE new cases of Covid-19.

Nationally, NPHET stated that it has been notified of 10 additional deaths related to Covid-19 and 617 new confirmed cases.

Longford's 14 day incidence rate has fallen back down to the 5th highest in the country (yesterday Longford was 4th).



The county's 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population is 173.7, which is above the national 14-day incidence rate of 118.1 per 100,000.

The incidence rate in Donegal is still the worst in the country and it is 256.9.

NPHET says there have been 71 positive Covid-19 cases in Longford in the 14 days from April 8 to April 21.

Longford's five day moving average of cases is 6 (yesterday it was 7).

According to the County Timeline of Confirmed Cases on Ireland's Covid-19 Data Hub the total number cases of Covid-19 in Longford since the pandemic began stands at 1,949 (as at Tuesday, April 20).

MORE BELOW TABLE

Nationally, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 10 additional deaths related to COVID-19. Seven deaths occurred in April, 1 in March, 1 in February and 1 in January. The median age of those who died was 82 years and the age range was 62 - 104 years.

There has been a total of 4,866 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Wednesday, April 21, the HPSC has been notified of 617 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There has now been a total of 245,310* confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland.



Of the cases notified today:

299 are men and 318 are women

70% are under 45 years of age

the median age is 33 years old

236 in Dublin, 84 in Donegal, 37 in Kildare, 34 in Tipperary, 30 in Offaly and the remaining 196 cases are spread across 20 other counties



As of 8am today, 176 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 48 are in ICU. There have been 19 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Update on Vaccines

As of Tuesday (April 20) there have been 1,240,965 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in Ireland:

878,823 people have received their first dose

362,142 people have received their second dose

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community including daily data on Irelands COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.
It has been 25 years since the National Stock Exchange (NSE) introduced its benchmark index, a gauge for the performance of the countrys 50 blue-chip stocks. The index was set up on April 22, 1996, less than two years after the exchange launched electronic screen-based trading.

Today, the 50 index is the most-traded derivatives index. It is also the most-tracked index by domestic exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with assets under management of $18 billion (Rs 1.35 trillion).

The complexion of the index has undergone a drastic change since its inception. Back in 1996, State Bank of India (SBI) had the highest weightage at nearly 8.6 per cent, followed by Tata Motors at 6.9 per cent.

While both the stocks continue to be part of the index, they are no longer in the top 10, both in terms of market cap as well as weightage. Reliance Industries is currently the highest weighted stock, followed by HDFC Bank.

Today, the index is dominated by banks and financial stocks. Back then, banking stocks were an important part of the index, but their combined weightage was below 20 per cent  half that of now.

Out of the 50 components, only 14 are common between 1996 and 2021; several manufacturing and old-economy stocks have been pushed out of the index over the years. HDFC Bank has generated the highest annualised returns in this period, at 32 per cent.

Indias real GDP has recorded 8 per cent CAGR between 1996 and 2021. The return of 11 per cent CAGR has also surpassed the gold return of over 9 per cent CAGR during the period, says Binod Modi, head of strategy at Reliance Securities.
Social media giant Facebook will make a number of technology tweaks to cope with the changes that Apple is introducing in iOS 14.5, with the update of the mobile operating system set to be released in the coming week.

Facebook said in a blog post on Wednesday US time that it would implement what it called new advertiser experiences and measurement protocols, including Apples SKAdNetwork API and Facebooks Aggregated Event Measurement.

Apple said on 7 April that it would include new privacy notifications in iOS 14.5, which would make it necessary for developers to obtain permission before tracking a user's activity across other firms' apps and websites for advertisement or data brokers.

On Tuesday, local digital marketing solution provider Localsearch warned small and medium-sized businesses about the update. claiming it would be "another whack" for SMBs who were running their own Facebook Ads.

In its anonymous post, Facebook said any business that was running advertisements on its site and also on Instagram would need to take a series of actions.

For app advertisers, it said they should update to Facebook SDK 8.0 or above which supported Apples SKAdNetwork API.

These advertisers were also told to set their conversion schema in Events Manager to optimise for App Events, Value and Mobile App Installs with Automated App Ads.

Additionally, they should plan to create iOS 14 app install campaigns "with one ad account per app, nine campaigns per app and five ad sets per campaign of the same optimisation type".

Advertisers using Web Events were asked to verify their domain in Facebook Business Manager, set up and prioritise up to eight Web events per domain in Events Manager and review the ads which would be paused, using the Resource Centre tab in Facebook Ads Manager, and update or replace them.

Businesses and individuals were warned that if these actions were not taken, then there could be disruptions in advertising on both Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook has outlined several other measures, all of which can be seen here.

The company also took a dig at Apple, saying: "We believe industry collaboration is critical to arriving at solutions that work for all stakeholders  not just a single company."

While Apple has touted the changes in iOS 14.5 as catering to users' privacy, the company has not yet done anything about a key privacy feature which it promised to implement in 2018. At that time, chief executive Tim Cook told Germany's Der Spiegel that his company would stop keeping copies of user's keys for iCloud back-ups, and thus make it impossible for the company to gain access to backed-up user data.

But Cook apparently did not give the green light for this to happen, with a Reuters report on 21 January 2020 saying that Apple had abandoned such plans.
HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcome Group, LLC has turned the old adage to "go west young man" on its head by heading east to acquire two commercial properties in Georgia. These two acquisitions mark Houston-based Welcome Group's first purchases outside the state of Texas.

In recent weeks, the Welcome Group closed on the purchases of:

The Shaw-Almex facility in Decatur, GA. This is a single-tenant industrial/office building that was built in 1984 and expanded upon in 1996. The property totals approximately 135,000 square feet on nearly 15 acres. Welcome Group purchased the 100%-leased Shaw-Almex property for a price of $8,900,000 ( $65.66 /SF).

This is a single-tenant industrial/office building that was built in 1984 and expanded upon in 1996. The property totals approximately 135,000 square feet on nearly 15 acres. Welcome Group purchased the 100%-leased Shaw-Almex property for a price of ( /SF). The Torsion Group facility in Tucker, GA. This is a single-tenant industrial/office building totaling approximately 49,700 square feet on 3.5 acres. The building is an industrial/office masonry facility with concrete tilt-up perimeter panels that was built in 1989. The purchase price was $3,900,000 ( $78.49 /SF). The property has five+ years remaining on a ten-year lease to Torsion Group Corp.

With these acquisitions, the Welcome Group now has more than 5.7 million square feet of industrial and office space within its commercial real estate portfolio.

"These first two out-of-state acquisitions mark an important milestone for our company," said Welcome Wilson, Jr., President, and CEO of Welcome Group. "We believe the greater Atlanta area offers tremendous potential for growth. We're also excited about the opportunity to further our expansion across the Southeast and move ever closer to our goal of acquiring 6 million square feet of commercial space by the end of 2021."

Welcome Group made nine additional acquisitions in 2020, comprising approximately 840,000 square feet of industrial warehouse and office space. This included the purchase of 23 acres for future development within Cedar Port Industrial Park in Baytown, TX, one of the largest industrial business parks in the United States.

In early 2020, Welcome Group purchased 14.89 acres of raw land to develop a 66,151 square foot facility for JDR Cable Systems' new U.S. Headquarters in Tomball, TX. The global subsea cable supplier and servicer company's new headquarters will bring additional jobs to the local area. This recently developed project has just been completed; the Grand Opening will be held at the new facility, May 7th, 2021.

Welcome Group continues to seek additional acquisition and development opportunities across the Southeastern United States. Ted Kakambouras is the Acquisitions Director of Southeast Region and can be contacted at [email protected]. "We are continuing to expand our footprint across the U.S. and are always interested in attractive new acquisition opportunities," said Welcome.

About Welcome Group

Welcome Group owns 116 single-tenant industrial properties in Texas and Georgia, comprising more than 5.7 million square feet. Welcome Group develops and acquires single-tenant commercial, distribution, lab, and manufacturing properties, as well as entire real estate portfolios.

The company offers build-to-suit and design-build services for interested firms. Welcome Group is actively seeking direct purchase and sale-leaseback opportunities throughout Texas and the southeast United States.

For more information visit welcomegroup.com.

SOURCE Welcome Group

Related Links

http://welcomegroup.com


A Syrian missile exploded in southern Israel on Thursday (April 22), according to the Israeli military, an incident that triggered warning sirens near the secretive Dimona nuclear reactor, as well an Israeli strike in Syria.

The standoff between Israel and Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has grown in recently, amid the renewed negotiations surrounding Tehran's nuclear program.

An Israeli military spokesman said a Syrian surface-to-air missile fired against Israeli aircraft missed its target and landed in the Dimona area, 125 miles south of the Syrian border, and 19 miles from the reactor.

Israel retaliated with further overnight attacks inside Syria, the spokesman said, targeting several missile batteries, including the one that fired into Israel.

Syria's state news agency said air-defense systems intercepted an Israeli strike in the suburbs of Damascus, downing most of the rockets. It said four soldiers were injured and there was some damage.

A Syrian military defector said the Israeli missiles struck near the town of Dumair, where Iranian-backed militias have a presence, and which Israel has attacked before.

Video Transcript

- A Syrian missile exploded in southern Israel on Thursday, according to the Israeli military, an incident that triggered warning sirens near the secretive Dimona nuclear reactor, as well as an Israeli strike in Syria. The standoff between Israel and Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has grown recently, amid the renewed negotiations surrounding Tehran's nuclear program. An Israeli military spokesman said, a Syrian surface-to-air missile fired against an Israeli aircraft, missed its target, and landed in the Dimona area, 125 miles south of the Syrian border, and 19 miles from the reactor.

Israel retaliated with further overnight attacks inside Syria, the spokesman said, targeting several missile batteries, including the one that fired into Israel. Syria's state news agency said, air-defense systems intercepted an Israeli strike in the suburbs of Damascus, downing most of the rockets. It said, four soldiers were injured and there was some damage. A Syrian military defector said, the Israeli missiles struck near the town of Dumair, where Iranian-backed militias have a presence, and which Israel has attacked before.
Sen. Murkowski, a Republican, broke from the GOP to confirm Biden'sBiden's nominee for associate attorney general. Vanita Gupta, a liberal, was approved with 51-49 votes; Murkowski made the difference.

Sen. Murkowski at odds with the GOP

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) justified her vote for Gupta, one of Biden'sBiden's nominees last Wednesday, saying that Gupta passed her assessment. She cited the nominees' professional credentials and how she pushes in her work, reported the Epoch Times.

Most Republicans were not approving the liberal nominee because she had extreme views on abortion, gun rights, law enforcement, and religious liberty.

In the eyes of the Republican senators, Gupta can weigh in on gun rights and law enforcement concerns in favor of the administration. Many of Biden'sBiden's nominees lack impartiality in many issues that can be a serious concern.

Instead of upholding the Constitution under attack by the Democrats on all fronts, Gupta'sGupta's confirmation will add to how the administration can ignore the rule of law.

In her introductory remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee in early March, Gupta said that she would uphold the Constitution rather than for any partisan agenda.

She was quoted on these statements before the committee.

"If appointed, I will strive tirelessly to ensure that the Justice Department is free of partisan influence."

"That freedom has a long history, and it is critical to the equal administration of justice and the preservation of the public interest in our legal system."

The Republicans questioned her very partisan comments, which contrasted with her words to the committee. Sen. Murkowski's decision to vote against the GOP was not unexpected.

Arizona AG Asks Democrat Senators to Deny Court-Packing

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made his thoughts clear on Gupta'sGupta's nomination in the statement.

"Her Twitter account has portrayed Republicans with a sweeping generalization, portraying our national convention last year as three nights of ''racism, xenophobia, and outrageous lies."

Grassley added that his tweets show partisan political advocacy, which might affect her decisions in the position, whether she'll decide for all Americans or allow influence later on.

Murkowski said that past statements by Gupta weren't proper and caused concern. She added." the benefit of the doubt to a woman who, in my opinion, has shown a deep, deep commitment to matters of justice during her professional career."

During President Barack Obama's second term, Gupta led the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) praised his fellow civil rights attorney, saying that lawyers can shift from partisanship to defending the law.

Kaine states his position, "Why can't somebody with a civil rights history is trusted to take an oath, obey the law, and fight for justice?" Kaine asked.

Murkowski said that Gupta talked about domestic violence among indigenous women in Alaska during the meeting, which she said is a subject that is very relevant to her.

The senator added that Gupta had ideas on issues that she considered essential to her, which convinced her to decide. She decided to vote for Gupta based on that point.

Sen. Murkowski is one of the GOP to vote for impeachment against Trump that did not go well.

Sen. Graham Says Attempts to Pack the Supreme Court Assaults Rule of Law

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cyprus' president meets Greek PM ahead of Geneva meeting

Xinhua) 09:39, April 22, 2021

ATHENS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Republic of Cyprus will be represented at the upcoming conference in Geneva convened by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres to find a way for the island's Greek and Turkish communities to feel safe, Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades said here on Wednesday.

The UN has scheduled a meeting for April 27-29 with the aim of restarting negotiations for a settlement of the long-standing Cyprus issue.

"Our effort is to find a way for both communities (on the island of Cyprus) to feel safe and for the human rights of both communities to be guaranteed," Anastasiades said during his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.

Ahead of the Geneva conference, Anastasiades visited Greece to coordinate their stance, according to an e-mailed press release from the Greek prime minister's office.

The leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, as well as the so-called guarantor powers -- Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom -- will participate in the Geneva meeting.

The UN hopes for the resumption of the Cyprus peace negotiations, which broke down in 2017, in order to find a solution for the island, which has been split since 1974 along ethnic lines.

The Greek Cypriots have said that they will negotiate along the lines of the UN resolutions for the reunification of the island based on a federal model, while the Turkish Cypriots said they will pursue a two-state solution.

"We always enter into dialogue with a good will to find a solution that will be fair, functional and viable and will benefit all Cypriots, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots," Mitsotakis said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Mydecine Innovations Group (NEO: MYCO) (OTCMKTS: MYCOF) Co-Founder and CEO Joshua Bartch tells Proactive the group has identified its first four novel drug candidates to potentially treat mental illnesses. Bartch explains how each drug, which include psychedelic compounds derived from psilocybin and MDMA, will be used within current and upcoming clinical trials in the US and in Canada. Bartch also talked about how the group's spinoff of its cannabis assets will help it to up-list in London and in New York.
An obsessed stalker bombarded a musician with thousands of abusive messages and accused him of sexually assaulting her after they slept together once, a court heard.

Reanne Phillips, 32, branded Franck Kouassi a rapist and a paedophile in an 'attempt to destroy his music career', jurors heard.

She breached orders preventing her from contacting him, turned up at his house and set up hundreds fake Instagram accounts to contact him including ones using pictures of his mother, it is claimed.

Mr Kouassi only met Phillips twice but she wrongly claimed he has fathered her child.

Prosecutor Michael Peters told the Old Bailey: 'It was a sustained attempt to destroy his music career.'

In a stream of messages Phillips said Mr Kouassi was a 'dirty stinking African' a 'cheater' and a 'fraud'.

Franck Kouassi only met Phillips twice but she wrongly claimed he has fathered her child

Mr Kouassi told the court he met Phillips in the street when he was on his way to a radio interview and he chatted her up because he was 'cheeky.'

They exchanged contact details on Snapchat and he suggested they went out for a drink in November 2018.

On the date they drove around Shoreditch before Phillips suggested going back to his home where they had sex.

Mr Kouassi said they had 'normal conversations' on social media afterwards but Phillips then became 'demanding and aggressive.'

'Sometimes she would send a lot of messages which I just had to ignore,' he told the court.

'Sometimes I was getting maybe 50 messages a day.'

Mr Kouassi blocked Phillips but she then attacked him on Instagram.

'I noticed a a few accounts on Instagram calling me a rapist and a paedophile,' he said.

He called Phillips but she told him a friend was responsible.

Mr Kouassi (pictured) told the court he met Phillips in the street when he was on his way to a radio interview and he chatted her up because he was 'cheeky.'

That Christmas Mr Kouassi returned to his native Ivory Coast to see his family and opened Instagram to find ten fake accounts had been created.

'Someone had used a picture of my mum and created a fake profile,' he said.

'All my friends and associates were also receiving abuse.'

Mr Kouassi said he spent the Christmas holiday blocking the fake accounts.

'Social media is my bread and butter as a musician,' he told the jury.

He first went to the police when Phillips started sending him voicemail messages.

One stated: 'I know where your mother is...it's now going to become a problem for you...better get ready.'

'I barely knew her,' Mr Kouassi said.

'I just didn't know why she was going to these extremes.

'I had done nothing to this individual. I had never disrespected her. I was clearly dealing with someone who was obsessed.'

Mr Kouassi said he has 4,000 abusive messages on his phone and Phillips set up at least 900 fake accounts to attack him.

She was given a harassment warning on February 12 but the following day she went to the police claiming the musician had strangled her.

Mr Kouassi was arrested but no further action was taken.

Phillips continued to harass him and on November 5, 2019 he want to the police again.

Mr Peters said: 'She send him a picture with a baby in a cot and said: "My baby daddy is a liar."

In fact Phillips has never had a child, the court heard.

On January 30 she allegedly sent him a message on Instagram describing him as 'a rapist' and a 'dirty stinking African.'

In another sinister messages he stated: 'You will not get away with this. You're going to get your head licked (hit) off.

'There was also a threat against Mr Kouassi's mother,' said Mr Peters.

In July 2020 Phillips claimed the musician had sexually assaulted her on the night they had sex 18 months before.

'The prosecution say this allegation was false and made to cause Mr Kouassi serious alarm and distress,' Mr Peters told the jury.

Phillips, of District Road, Wembley, denies stalking the musician between 1 December 2019 and 4 July 2020.

The trial continues.
The company said it is reviewing the agreement to make sure it is in accordance with all items negotiated and is expected to sign the deal by the end of the week

The telecom operator  a publicly-listed company  operates in several countries in South Asia and has a global mobile subscriber base of over 150 million subscribers

Ltd ( ) ( ) announced that it has received final approval from a telecommunications operator in South Asia for its Sekur email and messaging system.

The Toronto and New York-based company said it had reached an agreement with the telecom operator to distribute Sekur in the region.

GlobeX said it is reviewing the agreement to make sure it is in accordance with all items negotiated and is expected to sign the deal by the end of the week.

Following the signing, GlobeX said it expects the countersigned agreement to be received from the telecom operator within two weeks or less.

According to GlobeX, the telecom operator  a publicly-listed company  operates in several countries in South Asia and has a global mobile subscriber base of over 150 million subscribers. It told investors that the agreement would represent the second telecom conglomerate it would sign up in emerging markets, following its deal with Latin Americas America Movil.

SekurMessenger eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list, which would infect the contacts by default as well.

Instead, SekurMessenger issues each user a username and an SM number, which functions as the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other SM users to be added, the company said. The service comes with a self-destruct timer, as well as GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss-hosted encrypted servers, it added.

SekurMessenger also now comes with a proprietary feature called Chat by Invites, which allows a SekurMessenger user (SM user) invite a non-SM user or users to chat securely, without the recipient having to register or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator can remotely end the conversation and all traces of it are deleted from all users.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
A sex offender illegally present in the country was arrested in Zapata County, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Shortly after midnight Tuesday, the Zapata County Sheriffs Office requested assistance from agents assigned to the Zapata Station after apprehending several people at an RV park.
TeleDynamics and Ribbon Communications Extend Partnership with New Teams Solution

By Luke Bellos - Editor, Virtual PBX

Telecom equipment provider TeleDynamics has announced the company will be extending its partnership with cloud software company Ribbon Communications.

This week, the companies jointly announced the launch of TeleDynamics Ribbon Connect for MS Teams, which will allow business customers to easily integrate Microsoft Teams into existing IT and telecommunications infrastructure. Typical deployments usually take a number of days to fully integrate, and often can become a complex task with massive IT infrastructures. The new solution by TeleDynamics and Ribbon allows business customers to complete the same installation with the click of a single button, allowing MS deployments to run much more smoothly.

Along with a simplified deployment process, Ribbon Connect for MS Teams includes additional features that like direct routing to Public Switched Telephone Networks, as well as multi-vendor interoperability assurance. Customers will also be able to take advantage of VoIP security, streamlined architecture, and advanced call routing resources.

As a part of the announcement, TeleDynamics and Ribbon Communications will be offering a 30 minute webinar on May 6th, 2021 to explain to customers on how to deploy this solution without investing in additional infrastructure. To learn more about the benefits and capabilities of TeleDynamics Ribbon Connect for MS, click here to secure a spot for the live event.

Please enable JavaScript to view the

Edited by Maurice Nagle
6x6

What can I say about GEO-Cab ? Well, I can say quite a bit actually. This company may appear to be a young gun in the conversion game, but in fact, these amazing camper conversions have been available for a few years now, under the German brand GEHO-Cab.One reason you may not have heard of these guys is because they operate mostly on the European market. GEO-Cab, on the other hand, is the official North American partner of GEHO-Cab.Autoevolution recently sat down for a conversation with GEO-Cab's CEO, Gerhard Oertelt, about what the American market can expect from this brand . After our conversation, I was left in somewhat of a shock because, well, just keep reading.Just to get an idea, it all started with GEHO-Cab's first conversion of a VW Amarok, dubbed the Kora. From there, everything just snowballed, leading to another three conversion styles for any vehicle from the Amarok to a Mercedes-Benz G Class, Ford Bronco, new and old Defenders, Hilux Jeep Gladiators , Dodge Rams, and even Nissan Navara.For the North American market, GEO-Cab can cover an equally impressive range of vehicles. Under the name Badger ST, LT, LR, and Badger XT, the next evolutionary stage of the GEHO Kora, these four conversions can be based on a Wrangler, Bronco, Benz G-Class, every Ford from the F150-F550, Chevy Silverado, and Ram 1500-3500. Not to mention Nissan Frontier, Toyota HZJ, and Ford Rangers from 2019 and newer.Now, these are all just examples. In reality, the team at GEO will work with you to offer a product that fits even vehicles that are not listed on their website. How is this even possible? Well, its all done with one key feature in mind, a modular mold design that allows each customer to create and tune a cab specifically created for their vehicle and their needs.What sets these campers apart from others you may have run across is that they have a full carbon construction shell. A carbon fiber exterior with honeycomb structure and another layer of carbon fiber on the interior create a camper shell with really low weight; the lightest option is the ST with an average dry cab weight of 460 kg (1,014 lbs); thats it, just 1,014 pounds. The largest option, the XT, comes in with a weight of 750 kg (1,653 lbs).But these weights are not final as the team creates each camper specifically tuned to the customer's vehicle and needs; their final size and weight will differ. That brings me to my next topic, vehicle integration.One topic GEO-Cab currently explores is creating a camper that is fully integrated into the vehicle, or one that can be removed whenever the customer wishes. So far, it seems the team is considering offering both options because possible future customers seem to be split right down the middle regarding this preference.As for the interior of these campers, the furniture is laminated directly into the camper shell, leading to a more secure and stiff camper. Since the furniture is secured in this fashion, theres less of a chance of your vehicle falling apart after multiple uses. While furnishings are usually composed of fiberglass, customers can opt for carbon fiber furniture too.Again, a focus of this company is to offer full custom works designed for your needs, so to do that, youll sit down and identify your needs and wants, run through design suggestions, and optimize those designs.Youll then receive a vehicle and camper rendering to walk you through the interior and exterior, and only then, if you like what you see, will this team get to work. Once youve gotten your new camper weighing so little you can basically deadlift it if youre Eddie Hall, you should know that your relationship with GEO has only begun. Once you drive off the lot, 24/7 customer service and availability are a key focus for GEO, the company promises.Now, its rather difficult to gauge how much one of these puppies is going to run you because after all, its fully custom, so the only real limit isnt even the sky; its your bank account. Without vehicle integration , the TR shell will run you $160,000. Depending on the complexity of the project, you can face a $300,000 or more price range. Again, it all depends on the type of lifestyle you want.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. MP Elizabeth May from the Green Party of Canada, in her letter addressed to Hon. Marc Garneau, Foreign Minister of Canada, expressed her concern about the Armenian Prisoners of War who are still in Azerbaijani custody and called on Canada to support the Human Rights Watch recommendations and stand in solidarity with Armenian POWs, the Armenian Embassy in Canada reports.

I am writing to express my concern for Armenian prisoners of war held by Azerbaijan during and following the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh conflict. According to the report recently published by Human Rights Watch, Azerbaijani forces have subjected Armenian POWs to cruel and degrading treatment and torture, either when they were captured, during their transfer, or while in custody in detention facilities. The abuse and torture is abhorrent and it is a war crime, the MP said in her letter.

She called on the Canadian authorities to support the Human Rights Watch recommendations and stand in solidarity with Armenian POWs.
Trinny Woodall proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree on Thursday as she stepped out with her lookalike daughter in London.

The fashion stylist was joined by 17-year old Lyla, her only child with late husband Johnny Elichaoff, during a shopping trip in the city's trendy Notting Hill.

Sporting a sweeping cream coat over a typically elegant white co-ord, Trinny, 57, caught the eye as she walked alongside the teenager while browsing a string of boutiques.

Here they come: Trinny Woodall proved the apple doesn't fall far from the tree on Thursday as she stepped out with her lookalike daughter in London

Proving she's developed her own unique sense of style, Lyla opted for a distinctively patterned jacket over loose-fitting white cargo pants and matching trainers.

The appearance comes after Trinny discussed her recent hair loss, admitting it was caused by an unfortunate combination of COVID-19 and stress.

The stylist contracted the potentially deadly virus three-months-ago and revealed she is now taking supplements and seeking the advice of a trichologist to understand the link between hair loss and COVID.

Side by side: The fashion stylist was joined by 17-year old Lyla, her only child with late husband Johnny Elichaoff, during a shopping trip in the city's trendy Notting Hill

Looking good: Sporting a sweeping cream coat over a typically elegant white co-ord, Trinny, 57, caught the eye as she walked alongside the teenager while browsing a string of boutiques

Unique: Proving she's developed her own unique sense of style, Lyla opted for a distinctively patterned jacket over loose-fitting white cargo pants and matching trainers

Speaking to her Instagram followers this weekend in a candid video, she said: 'I thought we would have a little Sunday evening chat and I've had a lovely day with Lyla but I want to chat about hair loss.

'Because since I did the Lives on Facebook, and I did two Lives. I did a Live with Greg Williams about hair transplants and the following week I did a really nice Live with Shabir at Victoria Health and with Josh Wood.

'And this was pre-my hair starting to fall out, so it's very fortuitous, it's very odd and not like tempting fate, the opposite of that really.'

Opening up: The appearance comes after Trinny discussed her recent hair loss, admitting it was caused by an unfortunate combination of COVID-19 and stress

Help: The stylist contracted the potentially deadly virus three-months-ago and revealed she is now taking supplements and seeking the advice of a trichologist

Trinny, who was seen wearing a bright fuchsia shirt and dewy make-up, revealed her hair started falling out shortly after her discussions with the hair and health experts.

'About a week after I did both those Lives, I started to notice that whenever I did that...' she said as she ran her hand through her chestnut locks, pulling out a chunk of hair in the process.

Placing the strands in front of the camera, she continued: 'I started to get - I don't know if you can see here how much hair I'm getting each time I do that but like this.

'I'm just collecting my hair at the moment. There will probably be more hair in this then there is on my head soon.

'I'm being sarcastic because I don't want to get stressed by it but I do want to have an action plan and I want to chat to you about it and I just thought, what always eases my mind is sharing.'

Alopecia: Trinny recently pulled a clump of hair out of her scalp and stored it in a jar as she discussed her recent hair loss as a result of Covid-19 and stress

Container: The fashion stylist revealed she is now taking supplements and seeking the advice of a trichologist to understand the link between hair loss and COVID-19

Trinny then revealed the names of several trichologists recommended to her as she asserted her hair loss is due to coronavirus and stress, not because of the menopause.

Trichology is the study of diseases or problems related to the hair and scalp and was founded in 1902.

According to Sky News, nearly a quarter of Covid sufferers will experience hair loss within six months of contracting the illness, with women at a higher risk.

Research into long-term symptoms in Wuhan, China, discovered that 359 out of 1,655 hospital patients who had the virus suffered from hair loss.
WUXI, China, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- From April 21 to 23, the 2021 Taihu Bay Future Healthcare Conference was held in Wuxi, China. More than 160 experts including Hejie, Fan Chunhai and many other academicians carried out forward-looking, authoritative, and predictive exchanges and dialogues on topics such as industrial investment and cooperation, medical collaborative ecology, and intelligent medical trends, according to Wuxi Science and Technology Bureau.

This conference is a landmark event in the development of Wuxi's biomedical industry. Huang Qin, Secretary of Wuxi Municipal Committee of the CPC, said that Wuxi regards the biomedical industry as a strategic emerging industry that is key to its development, and strives to build a world-class industrial chain.

In recent years, Wuxi's biomedical industry has developed rapidly. This benefits from a good industrial foundation and historical endowment. It is also related to the local government's strategy and the pioneering spirit of the local people since the 1990s.

Du Xiaogang, Mayor of Wuxi personally serves as the "chain leader" of the biomedical industry chain. At present, Wuxi has gathered more than 1,000 biomedical companies such as AstraZeneca and WuXi AppTec. The scale of the industry has exceeded 100 billion yuan. The target is 250 billion yuan in 2025.

In 2019, Wuxi and AstraZeneca cooperated to build the "Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park" (I Campus). This innovative cooperation model based on enterprise leadership and market driving has injected new vitality into the in-depth construction of the industrial chain. There are 4 such biomedical industrial parks in Wuxi, with a professional platform of 860,000 square meters.

In the future, Wuxi will concentrate its efforts to increase R&D investment, create two international leading innovation centers for innovative drug discovery and health food, and build an innovation cluster for the three major industries of high-end medical equipment, precision medicine, and digital medicine.

With the gradual maturity of the "No. 1 Project" Taihu Bay Science and Technology Innovation Center built by Wuxi, an internationally influential biomedical industry cluster will emerge here.

SOURCE Wuxi Science and Technology Bureau
Havana-Cuban painter Flora Fong, a 71-year-old Chinese descendant who has been depicting life during the COVID-19 pandemic, is getting ready to participate in the Havana Biennial Art Exhibition scheduled for November.

"Every day, I find something new in the elements of the Chinese language and way of thinking," says Fong at her home in Havana, where she has produced works of art that will form part of an exhibition themed around "the Silk Road", which aims to explore the essence of Chinese culture and the country's people.

The paintings will also be on display at a gallery the artist plans to open in Havana's China Town by the second half of this year, if all goes as planned.

"Aside from works of art, the exhibition will include a silk clothing parade," Fong says.

Fong, born in the central province of Camaguey, was granted a scholarship to study at the National School of Arts in Havana in the late 1960s. She has garnered recognition and several awards during her career.

Over the past few decades, Fong's works of art have been exhibited in various cities around the world, including Beijing, Shanghai and New York.

In her paintings, she blends the spirit of her Caribbean environment with her Chinese roots, which she inherited from her father, who is originally from Guangdong province. She has visited China several times.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic spread to the island in March 2020, the artist has been portraying Cuban women wearing colorful face masks, as encouragement for people to respect the rules by wearing a mask, as well as serving as a memory of the battle against the virus.

Fong says that she wants to deliver a message through her work about the disruption of the lives of ordinary people caused by the global health crisis, as well as the importance of self-protection.

"I will continue painting all that I am feeling at the moment. The face masks are a testimony to current times, and part of a new artistic aesthetic," she says.
OTTAWA - Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the country needs a boost in the supply of housing to help make prices more affordable, but suggests there may be other steps governments can take.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA - Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the country needs a boost in the supply of housing to help make prices more affordable, but suggests there may be other steps governments can take.

Speaking at a virtual event on Thursday, Freeland said the federal government wants to work with lower levels of government on the issue, saying there is more that cities, provinces and Ottawa can do together.

Freeland didn't detail what other options could be out there during her hour-long talk with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

Monday's federal budget promised $2.4 billion over five years, beginning with nearly $1.8 billion this fiscal year, for affordable housing and pledged to tax foreigners who own vacant homes in Canada.

Freeland said the government would take into account concerns from places like Whistler, B.C., where a vacancy tax may be problematic for Americans who own vacation properties in the area.

While housing shouldn't be used by foreign buyers to store wealth offshore, Freeland said that affordability concerns are first and foremost an issue of supply.

"Something that we want to work with provinces, municipalities on is really finding more and more creative ways to increase housing supply in Canada," Freeland said during the event, one of several designed to promote budget measures.

"Having said that," she added a moment later, "I think it's also important to be sure that there are measures in place to discourage speculation, and in particular measures in place to ensure that houses in Canada don't become vehicles for storing offshore wealth. That's not their purpose. Houses in Canada are for Canadian families to live in."

The federal government has faced increasing pressure to intervene in Canada's hot housing market where the average sale price in March reached a record $717,000, a year-over-year increase of 32 per cent, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

High household debt was a key economic concern prior to the pandemic, and a research note this month from staff at the Bank of Canada pointed out that although mortgage rates are at all-time lows, highly indebted households remain financially vulnerable.

The research note, which the bank publishes but is not official policy, said the share of newly issued mortgages with loan-to-income ratios above 450 per cent has risen substantially since the start of the pandemic, hitting highs not seen since just before a stress test kicked in for uninsured mortgages.

Earlier this month, the federal banking regulator proposed tightening the stress test and setting the qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages at the contracted rate plus two percentage points or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions expressed concerns that current market conditions could put lenders at increased risk should economic conditions deteriorate. It was also concerned borrowers may have repayment problems if and when interest rates rise from their current rock-bottom levels.

Borrowers affected by the proposed floor could find themselves having to save more for a larger down payment, which OSFI noted would lower their mortgage amount, or opt for a cheaper house.

A spokesman for the regulator said its analysis of approved borrowers over the second half of 2020 suggested the change in qualifying rate would reduce mortgage loan amounts between two and four per cent, holding the amortization steady.

Freeland would have to decide on any changes to the stress test for insured mortgages. On Monday, Freeland would only say the government will closely follow OSFI's consultations.

On Wednesday, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem welcomed the move by OSFI to tighten its stress test. He also said that the federal budget's vacancy tax would also be helpful in tamping down speculation and encourage owners to rent out those homes to add supply to the market.

"The problem with that is that you purchase a home and you leave it vacant, you're taking housing stock effectively out of the market. Nobody can live in it," Macklem said.

"What we're seeing in the market is that demand is running ahead of supply. A big part of the solution is to get supply to catch up with demand."

Macklem said the central bank is keeping a close eye on developments in the housing market, and will have more to say next month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ) (OTCPK: MRZLF) (the Company or Mirasol) is pleased to announce that it has signed binding agreements with Patagonia Gold Corp. (Patagonia) for its Homenaje and Nico projects in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. Patagonia is an exploration and development company focused in southern Argentina and owns the Cap Oeste mine located adjacent to the Homenaje project and the Martha mill, located 45km south of the Nico project along a major highway.



Mirasols President, Tim Heenan, stated: We are pleased to have completed these two transactions with Patagonia, they are a great partner for both projects given to the proximity of their operations. We look forward to Patagonia advancing and testing both the exploration potential at the Homenaje project and the near surface production potential at Nico.

Terms of the Agreements

Homenaje Project



Mirasol has granted Patagonia the option to earn an undivided 75% interest in the project over six years by delivering, by the end of the option period, a positive Prefeasibility Study (as defined by NI 43-101) for a resource of no less than 300,000 oz of Au equivalent. In addition, Patagonia shall complete a minimum of US$ 2.55 million in staged exploration expenditures as scheduled below:

US$ 400,000 committed within the first 18 months, including 2,500m of drilling;

An additional US$ 750,000 within the first 30 months; and

A minimum of US$ 400,000 annually, or US$ 200,000 in any six-month period, thereafter.



Upon completion of the option, Mirasol and Patagonia will hold a 25% and 75% interest, respectively, in a participating joint venture company that will hold the project. If either partys equity interest is diluted below 10%, it will convert to a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty.

Nico Project



Mirasol has transferred its interest in the Nico property to Patagonia in return for a 1.5% NSR royalty. Mirasol has the right to regain full ownership of the property if production from the property has not commenced by the end of third year.

Figure 1: Location of the Nico and Homenaje Projects, Santa Cruz Province

Project Overview

Homenaje Project



The Homenaje project covers 10,056 ha and is located at the western margin of the Deseado Massif Au-Ag metallogenic province, just 3km south and southwest from the COSE and Cap Oeste mines operated by Pan American Silver and Patagonia Gold, respectively.

Exploration to date has been limited as more than 90% of the project area is covered by thin post-mineral rocks, including Tertiary plateau basalt and gravels. However, small erosional windows show Middle to Upper Jurassic tuffs assigned to La Matilde Formation, which hosts localized hydrothermal breccias, veinlets and stockworks of chalcedonic quartz.

Analysis and interpretation of outcropping alteration, mineralization, structural setting, magnetics and chargeability/resistivity gradient array responses have defined four northwest trending prospective structural trends, with similar geologic characteristics to those of the adjacent COSE and Cap Oeste mineralized areas.

Initial rock chip sampling of mineralized structures, discontinuously outcropping on a northwest trending corridor, identified in an area of 1,500m x 800m that returned anomalous Au, Ag, As, Sb, Mo, Cu and Pb (Figure 2). Anomalous samples are characterized by altered tuff with thin chalcedony veinlets.

Figure 2: Homenaje targets showing combined anomalies and Au and Ag rock chip samples results

Nico Project



The Nico project, located in the central part of the Deseado Massif, is traversed by a major highway and located 45km and 80km north of the Mina Martha and Manantial Espejo mines, operated by Patagonia Gold and Pan American Silver, respectively. Four prospects have been identified at the Nico project, all hosting intermediate sulfidation epithermal veins and breccia systems. While surface samples returned good geochemical results (see news release December 30, 2020), drilling only intercepting isolated mineralization between 50 and 130m below surface. Patagonia will assess the potential for near-surface high-grade oxidized mineralization, which could be mined and processed at their Martha mill.

About Mirasol Resources Ltd

Mirasol is a well-funded exploration company focused in Chile and Argentina. Mirasol has seven partner-funded projects, two with Newcrest Mining Ltd (Chile), and one each with First Quantum Minerals (Chile), Mine Discovery Fund (Chile), Mineria Activa (Chile), Silver Sands Resources (Argentina), and Patagonia Gold (Argentina). Mirasol is currently self-funding exploration at two projects, Inca Gold (Chile) and Sacha Marcelina (Argentina).

For further information, contact:

Tim Heenan, President

or

Jonathan Rosset, VP Corporate Development

Tel: +1 (604) 602-9989

Email: contact@mirasolresources.com

Website: www.mirasolresources.com

Qualified Person Statement: Mirasols disclosure of technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Tim Heenan (MAIG), the President for the Company, who serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry and to policies linked to pandemics, social and environmental related matters. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  Smart Communications, Inc. gave a sneak peek of what else fans can expect with its partnership with global superstars BTS.

Apart from the newly released commercial which had already gained the favor of many BTS fans across the country, Smart executives said supporters can also look forward to some merchandise such as photocards  a staple in the South Korean pop community.

Jane Basas, Smart SVP and head of Consumer Wireless Business, said the company may also release behind-the-scenes videos from the shooting of the ad which took place in Seoul, South Korea and featured BTS' big hits, "Life Goes On" and "Dynamite."

As for a visit to the Philippines, Smart said that would depend on the COVID-19 situation.

"It's a dream but right now with the situation we have, we can't commit to a date," said Miriam Choa, Smart FVP and head of Prepaid Business, during an exclusive virtual launch on Thursday.

In a recorded message to fans, members of the band also shared their hope of returning to the Philippines. The last time BTS was in the country was in 2017 during their "Wings" concert tour.

"Its been a while since we met with ARMY and everyone in the Philippines," BTS' leader and rapper RM told Filipino fans. "Lets meet soon after this long winter is over. I miss you a lot."

Choa said Smart subscribers can also enjoy double giga data in its digital platforms as the company will be offering the perk in line with the big-time partnership.

The Live Your Passion with Purpose campaign for Smart Prepaid is intended to encourage people, particularly the youth, to pursue their dreams amidst trying times, Smart shared. It was first announced in January.

Smart also recently launched a microsite where subscribers can access exclusive content related to the campaign.

"BTS won over the hearts of millions all over the world not just with their talent, but also with their messages of hope and inspiration," said Basas.

"We are very honored to have this partnership with BTS that encourages the Filipino youth to keep their faith and continue pursuing their passion and purpose no matter what challenges lie ahead," she added.
IRVINE, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbonne International, LLC (Arbonne) is proud to unveil their Annual Sustainability Report, built around the global wellness brand's commitment to be a purpose driven company, caring for people, planet, and profit. The report summarizes Arbonne's ambitious initiatives and performance.

Arbonne continues to make major strides to accomplish its sustainability goals. Key milestones for sustainability include recovering over 365,000 units of packaging through the ArbonneCycle program, converting Arbonne's UK office into their first location to run off of 100% renewable electricity + heating technologies and moving to non-toxic glass jar packaging with the launch of their AgeWell anti-aging skincare line.

In addition, through the generous support of the Independent Consultants and employees, the Flourish Arbonne Foundation continues to lead caring for people and raised over $1.5 million dollars to positively impact the mental wellbeing of youth, while donating nearly $3M in products to non-profits that share Arbonne's mission.

"Our Sustainability Report is our most transparent document to date covering all aspects of our social and environmental impact efforts," said Andrea Chase, Director of Corporate Responsibility & Social Impact at Arbonne. "We felt there was no better day than Earth Day to unveil Arbonne's sustainability accomplishments and forthcoming goals to ensure our mission and commitment to empowering people and assuring the planet flourishes and these efforts can be sustained for future generations."

This is just the beginning  by 2025, to assure a compelling and sustainable opportunity exists into the future, Arbonne plans now to have 100% Non-GMO verified nutrition products, be zero-waste across all locations globally and reduce plastic packaging by 50%. "I am extremely proud of the progress that we've made in the past year. We have more work to do and recognize that sustainability is a journey, but our employees and customers are right alongside us in this journey and are passionate about making a difference through our business opportunity, our products and our mission, To Empower People to Flourish Through Sustainable Healthy Living." said Fabienne Smolinski, Chief People and CSR Officer at Arbonne. "As a purpose driven company, together, we can strive to not just be the best company in the world."

This year also marks the brand's first anniversary year as a Certified B Corporation. B Corp certification is the only one of its kind, comprehensively measuring a company's social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Achieving B Corp certification strengthens Arbonne's commitment as a purpose-driven company.

For more information about Arbonne's Sustainability Report and the company's mission and values, please visit www.arbonne.com.

About Arbonne InternationalSince 1980 Arbonne International, LLC, has created personal care, beauty and wellness products crafted with premium plant-based ingredients grounded in science and clinical research. Arbonne's healthy living product philosophy and entrepreneurial business opportunity foster a positive mindset that helps individuals and communities flourish. The brand core values are empowerment, transparency, and sustainability, with the vision that everyone can flourish by being good to themselves, their community, and the planet. Arbonne products are available at arbonne.com or through an extensive network of Arbonne Independent Consultants across the world. Arbonne is a privately held company and is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. For more information, please visit www.arbonne.com.

Arbonne is a proud member of the Direct Selling Association. View the Code of Ethics by which Arbonne abides or contact the DSA directly.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arbonne-unveils-annual-sustainability-report-covering-major-environmental-and-community-milestones-and-plans-for-the-future-301275142.html

SOURCE Arbonne International, LLC
Trinidad and Tobago can see a reduction in the number of people dying from Covid-19 on a daily basis if the drugAzithromycinis immediately stopped, says Dr Ravi Ramjanak.

Ramjanak is a consultant in obstetrics gynaecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery.

It is my view based on the pharmacodynamics of Azithromycin that the death rate will fall if we stop using this drug in Covid-positive cases. Azithromycin has no effect on viruses, yeasts and fungi, said Ramjanak in an interview with the Sunday Express last week.
A look at the major movers on the London market on Thursday

PLC ( ) has gained ground after positive contract news and an increasing presence in green energy.

The company, which specialises in providing data, software and analytic products to the energy industry, said it had renewed software licences with existing customers with a combined value of around 375,000.

It has also won contracts for data and services with new and existing customers worth a total of 350,000, including work in new areas for the company in the petroleum and geothermal sectors.

The contracts should add around 537,000 to this year's revenues, meaning it continues to trade in line with current market expectations.

Chief executive Jonathan Copus said: "I am encouraged to see our core business activity in the oil and gas exploration and production sector regaining momentum and that our existing customers are renewing their software licences, which results in recurring revenue.

"I am also excited that we are winning new business in the geothermal sector. It is Getech's strategy to apply our extensive geoscience and geospatial skills to fast-developing energy transition markets, in particular hydrogen, CCUS, geothermal and locating rare-earth and battery metals.

"We believe that the geothermal industry is poised for substantial growth as developers scale up projects to produce 'green' baseload power to help balance the exposure of electricity grids to intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. At Getech we have unique skills and software workflows that can help operators locate heat assets that are economic to develop and to de-risk their development and management."

Getech shares are up 6.38% or 1.5p at 25p.

2.39pm: Real good rise

( ) has sold its Brighter Foods snack bar business for 43mln in cash.

The buyer is recently listed e-commerce business ( ), where Brighter already supplies its nutrition division.

Just over 15% of the business is owned by its managers so in total Real Good Food will receive cash proceeds of 35.64mln which will be used to reduce its net debt and make a contribution of 8.5mln to its pension scheme. In total it will make a 20.4mln gain on the value of the assets being sold.

Following the sale the remaining group will consist of its cake decorations business, being Renshaw and Rainbow Dust Colours.

In a trading update the company said trading had improved in both Brighter and the decorations business in the second half of its financial year as lockdown restrictions eased.

Real Good Food chairman Mike Holt said: "We are very pleased with the disposal which crystallises substantial value for the group and enables us to halve our debt burden at a stroke, whilst materially improve the funding of the pension scheme. It also provides a basis for further balance sheet restructuring, as we look to accelerate and maximise value within Renshaw and Rainbow Dust Colours."

THG boss Matthew Moulding said: "We are delighted to announce our first major acquisition within THG Nutricion in 2021. Nutritional bars are a high growth category for THG, with significant product extension opportunity across all our brands."

Real Good Food has risen 13.46% or 0.35p to 2.95p while THG is up 2.23% or 14p at 642p.

11.51am: Kidney disease specialist receives milestone order

Renalytix AI PLC ( ) is in focus after it announced a 10 year US government contract to supply kidney disease testing services.

Shares in the company have jumped 18.75% or 180p to 1140p on news of the order for its KidneyIntelX early-stage kidney disease tests.

The contract - a five year term with a five year extension option - covers laboratory testing services that can be provided through more than 140 US government departments, agencies and affiliates, including the US Veterans Administration and Department of Defense military branches.

It said the process for receiving such a contract "requires an application and rigorous review against specific criteria, including the status of the provider, the quality and dependability of the service provided, and the need for the testing service."

The company's president Tiom McLain said: "Achieving this contracting milestone allows us to make KidneyIntelX available to patients throughout the US. government healthcare system. Executing on our market access strategy represents a substantial commercial opportunity for RenalytixAI."

10.38am: Animal healthcare firm in demand

It's a dog's life for PLC ( ), and in a good way.

Shares in the animal health business have put on 5.17% or 14p to 285p after it received UK and European approval for its Daxocox tablets to treat pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis (or degenerative joint disease) in dogs.

It has also announced an agreement with French group Virbac to distribute Daxocox in the majority of European countries outside Animalcare's seven direct markets.

It plans to launch the treatment early in the second half of 2021, into a European market estimated to be in the region of 130mln.

Chief executive Jenny Winter said: "The approval of Daxocox represents an advance in the treatment of breakthrough pain associated with osteoarthritis. Veterinary professionals now have an effective and convenient new treatment option to help prevent episodes of osteoarthritis pain that can plague the quality of life for dogs, especially in middle-aged and older animals.

"This is also a milestone for our company and our growth ambitions.... We are excited at the prospects for Daxocox in what is a sizeable, fast-growing and competitive segment. By teaming up with Virbac, one of the world's biggest animal health companies, we are maximising the reach of Daxocox across Europe from day one."

9.11am: Gold miner shines after update

( ) - which last week had to pour cold water on the idea it was being taken over - now has some good news for investors.

The miner, which is a gold and zinc explorer in Ireland, said diamond drilling was due to begin next Monday at its Mine River project in Counties Wicklow and Wexford.

The move comes after a recent gold find there, and the drilling programme - expected to take 10 to 12 weeks - is fully funded.

Chairman John Teeling said: "Last year we had very good trenching results from the Tombreen area so we are eager to drill. The first 3 holes of 12 will target a new area 750 metres along strike from previous discoveries at Tombreen where we found visible gold in one trench. Visible gold is a very encouraging sign. The follow up drill holes will look to expand the Tombreen gold target along strike ."

The news has given its shares some lustre, up 14.29% or 0.13p at 1p.

SSP PLC ( ) is also on the way up.

The owner of brands such as Upper Crust and Ritazza prominent in stations has been suffering in the wake of the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

So much so that it asked shareholders for 475mln to beef up its balance sheet.

Now it has announced that it had received 98.05% acceptances for the rights issue, with the rump of the shares placed at 311.5p each.

In the market SSP has added 15.9p or 5.1% to 327.4p.

Proactive news headlines

( ) ( ) ( ) is acquiring MediCaNL Inc, an Israeli company providing specialist services worldwide to the pharmaceutical sector for the development of new medicines.

( ) has made its maiden non-fungible token investment by acquiring a stake in AEON International, a technology developer for the luxury fashion industry.

( ) said it has acquired UK video game development services provider Climax Studios in a move it says will bring significant additional scale to its largest service line.

( ) has been selected by the Canadian lottery to provide its Premier64 Integrity internal control system (ICS).

( ) said an unofficial five-day strike at its Vametco vanadium operation in South Africa has been resolved and workers have started safely returning to work.

( ) welcomed a 50% increase in indicated resources at 's ( ) Lake Rebecca gold project in Western Australia. Trident holds a 1.5% net smelter royalty over the project.

PLC ( ) ( ) said it has re-signed the s (UFCs) current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, as a brand ambassador for the company for another year.

( ) chief executive Dorian Gonsalves and chief financial officer Louise George will be presenting at a Mello event on Monday 26 April, starting at 6pm via a Zoom webinar. They will give a 10 minute introduction on 26 April and a one hour follow-up presentation the following day at 1pm before taking questions.

( ) will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020 on Thursday 29 April 2021.
President Klaus Iohannis cautioned on Thursday that June 1 is not the date when restrictions will be completely lifted, but said that he is optimistic that this goal will be achieved this summer.

"Please do not overestimate the June 1 milestone, it is the date when the government will present the assessments for a tentative lift of restrictions. Let us not mistakenly believe that June 1 is the date restrictions will be completely lifted, this won't happen. But I am very optimistic that we will get there this summer. Obviously, we still have so many weeks to go until then, during which we assess the course of the pandemic, looking if the number of infections falls considerably, if the number of seriously ill people plunges," Iohannis said.

The President visited on Thursday the Vacaresti Natural Park, on the occasion of Earth Day.
Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske found no 'evidentiary support' for GOP's voter fraud claims. Here she speaks at a press conference Oct. 2016

Nevada's Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske revealed Wednesday she found no evidence to support the state GOP's claim of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 general election.

'[W]hile the NVGOP [Nevada GOP] raises policy concerns about the integrity of mail-in voting, automatic voter registration, and same-day voter registration, these concerns do not amount to evidentiary support for the contention that the 2020 general election was plagued by widespread voter fraud,' she said in a letter addressed to the Nevada Republican Party.

Cegavske is the only Republican who holds a statewide office in Nevada.

Her findings are the latest blow to former President Donald Trump's claims that voter fraud in several swing states  including Nevada  were to blame for his loss against Joe Biden.

In the November 2020 general presidential election, Biden earned 50.1% of the vote over Trump's 47.7%. Nevada is one of the state's Trump's team and allies most vehemently denounced as engaging in some sort of voter fraud.

In the 2016 election, however, the state went blue for Hillary Clinton by nearly the same margin.

Nevada was one of the states in 2020 that sent out mail-in ballots to all registered voters to try and combat potential voting hesitancy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

States engaging in this practice led to Republican claims that it could make situations ripe for voter fraud, including people voting more than once or sending in ballots they automatically received that were not under their own name.

The new findings are the latest blow to Donald Trump's claims widespread voter fraud  especially in swing states like Nevada  was to blame for him losing to Joe Biden

Issues like change of address and deceased individuals voting became an issue.

In Cegavske's letter, she said of the 122,918 records submitted by Nevada's GOP, her office narrowed the list to 3,963 'Election Integrity Violation Reports'.

Some of the nearly 4,000 claims were already being investigated and an accompanying report found many complaints were unsubstantiated.

The state also determined it wasn't cost effective to track down those who live and out of state and voted in the Nevada election. Cegavske reasoned there are several ways those not living in the state may vote and still be qualified as a permanent resident  like college students.

Cegavske was censured earlier this month by the Nevada Republican Party.

They reasoned their censure was for 'disregard of her oath of office by failing to investigate election fraud, her dismissive public statements regarding election integrity concerns, and her failure to ensure compliance with Nevada and federal election law, these actions being at least partially causal in November 2020 election irregularities and fraud.'

She rebuked her censure in a statement claiming: 'My job is to carry out the duties of my office as enacted by the Nevada Legislature, not carry water for the state GOP or put my thumb on the scale of democracy.'

'Unfortunately, members of my own party continue to believe the 2020 general election was wrought with fraud  and that somehow I had a part in it  despite a complete lack of evidence to support that belief,' Cegavske continued.
Police have found human remains during a search for a missing Amish woman who disappeared in Pennsylvania last summer.



The remains were recovered from a rural area in the eastern part of Lancaster County as part of a search related to the disappearance of 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, the district attorney's office said Wednesday.

Stoltzfoos was last seen walking home from a church service in the Bird-in-Hand area of Lancasteron on June 21 last year. She never returned home.

Speaking about the find, Stoltzfoos's uncle told CBS 21: 'I'm still in shock and never ready for news like this.'

The county coroner's office will now make a formal identification and determine the cause and manner of death, prosecutors said.

The FBI, state police and East Lampeter Township police were at the scene while prosecutors noted that Wednesday marked exactly 10 months since Stoltzfoos disappeared.

Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, was last walking home from church in the Bird-in-Hand area of Lancasteron June 21 last year

Justo Smoker, 34, was charged with homicide in December

While there is yet to be formal identification of the remains, local resident Debbie Matteoda said: 'For the family I feel terrible because they keep all this hope all this time that maybe she will show up, but then again its a closure.'

'Its sad,' said Krista Hanna. 'I hope that the family feels peace a little bit and the search is over and they know now what happened.'

Last month, a county judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a homicide trial against Justo Smoker, 35, of Paradise, in the disappearance of Stoltzfoos.

Prosecutors have said friends and family report that Stoltzfoos was happy with her life and had never expressed any desire to leave. In fact, they say, she had made plans to join others in a church youth group that day.

Smoker was initially charged with felony kidnapping and misdemeanor false imprisonment.

But in December, he was charged with homicide, with prosecutors alleging that the passing of time, along with the complete cessation of all routine activities led to the inevitable conclusion that Linda was deceased and that Smoker caused her death.

Stoltzfoos was reported missing on the evening of Fathers Day by her father after she failed to return home from a youth group she had been set to attend. Investigators say Stoltzfoos never made it to the social gathering that night.

Surveillance footage observed by authorities captured Stoltzfoos walking alone on Beechdale Road, a route she typically took home after church. A red Kia Rio that matched Smokers vehicle registration number was also seen in the footage.

In a rural location in Ronks where they believe the victim might have been taken and where the vehicle was seen parked June 23, authorities found items of Stoltzfoos' clothing buried in a wooded area, prosecutors said.

Surveillance footage observed by authorities captured Stoltzfoos walking alone on Beechdale Road, a route she typically took home after church. A red Kia Rio that matched Smokers vehicle registration number was also seen in the footage

Stoltzfoos went missing on Beechdale Road on June 21. Two days later a car matching a description of one seen in the area at the time of her kidnapping was found on Harvest Drive

Smoker became a person of interest in the kidnapping after police received information about a red/orange vehicle seen in the Gap area on the afternoon of the abduction, the East Lampeter Township Police Department said in a press release in July last year.

Multiple witnesses in the area reported seeing an Amish female in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by a male. Witness descriptions of the driver and vehicle are consistent with Smoker and his vehicle.

A DNA profile 'attributable to Smoker' was found on one of her buried stockings, prosecutors have said.

The FBI offered a reward of $10,000 in July for information leading to her recovery.

Christopher Tallarico, the county's chief public defender, argued in March there was no proof that Stoltzfoos had ever gotten into Smoker's car, and he elicited testimony that her DNA wasn't found on samples taken from the car.

East Lampeter Township Detective Christopher Jones said DNA profiles recovered were insufficient to test.

Hundreds of volunteers showed up to search for Stoltzfoos, according to a Facebook page that details search efforts and includes photos and videos from the scene.

For hours, volunteers scoured fields and streams for Stoltzfoos. In the evening, 15 horses with riders were dispatched to help search for Stoltzfoos.

Members of the tight-knight religious community held a vigil on Wednesday to pray for Stoltzfoos' return.

Smoker has an extensive criminal history stretching back to 2005 and has spent the majority of his adult life behind bars.

Smoker has an extensive criminal history stretching back to 2005 and has spent the majority of his adult life behind bars

He had been a former high school wrestling all-star who had a 3.0 grade point average and earned a place on the Lancaster-Lebanon wrestling all-star team in 2003 before turning to a life of crime.

The 34-year-old was sentenced to serve 12-and-a-half years to 30 years in prison following a string of armed robberies in 2006.

Smoker pleaded guilty to the robberies, during which he and his brother, Victor, used a BB gun to rob four different businesses between Aug. 8 and Aug. 13, 2006.

During the trial, Smoker was revealed to have been adopted at age seven after he was found living on the street, just trying to survive, his defense attorney said.

They raised me better than this, Smoker told the judge of his adoptive parents. Im sorry for what I did and the people I hurt, including my family.

His adoptive father said Smoker had been trouble since we got him.

The judge told Smoker at the 2007 hearing that he could have imposed a sentence that would have kept him in prison for twice as long, if not the rest of his life, Lancaster Online reported.

But, the judge said he issued a sentence that ensures society is protected, but that you could still come out and lead a reasonable life.

Smoker ended up serving nearly the minimum on that sentence and was released on Feb. 28, 2019.

Bird-in-Hand is known for its large Amish population, and tourists come to visit the Amish Village heritage museum.

Pennsylvania and Ohio have the highest concentration of Amish communities, with 50 Amish groups in each state.

The Pennsylvania Amish are known to be private people who believe that God has called them to a simple life of faith, discipline, dedication and humility.

Shunning technology, they believe that the Amish religion should be practiced, not displayed, and translated into daily living rather than focused on tangible symbols or complicated religious rituals.

Stoltzfoos' disappearance came a month after a 21-year-old US Air Force airman was arrested for allegedly killing Mennonite Sunday school teacher Sasha Krause, 27, in Arizona.

Both the Amish and Mennonites belong to the Anabaptist denomination of Christianity and dress in similar garb, but unlike the Amish, the Mennonites allow the use of some modern technological advances in their daily lives.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Yes, Theyre Open is a web series highlighting local bars and restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery, pickup or dining during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Live streams from the featured restaurants are broadcast on the Advance Facebook page every weekday around 3 p.m.

On Wednesday, the Advance/SILive.com visited Baya Bar at 2381 Hylan Blvd. in New Dorp, one of its four Staten Island locations. The eatery is open for pickup and delivery from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For more information and a full list of Baya Bar locations, visit thebayabar.com.

Staten Island restaurant owners: If you would like your establishment featured for free as part of Yes, Theyre Open, email reporter Victoria Priola at vpriola@siadvance.com.

WANT MORE YES, THEYRE OPEN?

Check out the listings below or check out all of our previous coverage here.

Family Man Empanada Cart, Richmond and Nome avenues

Filled Cafe and Silogan, 701 Bay St.

Taste of India II, 287 New Dorp Lane

Il Sogno, 26 Jefferson Blvd.

Genki Sushi, 150 Greaves Lane

Beso, 11 Schuyler St.

Filoncino Cafe, 4569 Amboy Road

The Colonnade Diner, 2001 Hylan Blvd.
A commuter has been hit by a train at Martin Place in Sydney's CBD.

Sydney Trains said services between Central and Bondi Junction were suspended following the incident early on Thursday afternoon.

'Delays to some services due to a report of a person injured by a train at Martin Place,' they said in an update.

A commuter has been hit by a train at Martin Place in Sydney's CBD. Pictured: Emergency crews respond on Thursday

Commuters have been advised to allow extra travel time, check apps and listen to announcements.

'Services will be diverted via the City Circle. Use local bus routes or the light rail to complete your journey,' Sydney Trains said.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said the incident appeared to be an act of self harm.

The train station was evacuated as emergency services arrived at the scene at about 12.45pm.

Police were seen carrying a stretcher down to the platform.

If you or anyone you know is in need of mental health support you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Red letter days are fast becoming a routine occurence in Ballymahon with last Monday being no different as the south Longford town added a near 6m community social hub to its bow.

For a town already home to European meat processor Kepak and multi million euro giant Center Parcs, seven figure sums are nothing out of the ordinary.

Yet, for the small band of volunteers and local politicians who helped engineer the announcement, it was an investment which illustrated just how far the town as a destination for business and tourism has come.

It is a massive growth town, but growth has to be managed, said Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Paul Ross.

This new community services hub will do just that and ensure Ballymahon is one of the midlands leading towns in which to live and do business in.

Part of that commercial led drive will see the towns Bridgeways Family Resource Centre, Day Care Centre, Mens Shed and other locally based agencies operate under the same, purpose built roof inside its old school convent building.

Junior Housing Minister and Longford-Westmeath TD Peter Burke paid tribute to how both the local authority and community activists had worked in tandem to address the towns social, economic and physical needs.

Longford County Council chief executive Paddy Mahon said the investment was just the start in underpinning Ballymahons new found economic fortunes.

Through this and other government funds, Longford County Council is delighted to have attracted significant investment in the recent challenging months and we look forward now to delivering significantly for our communities and making Longford the place to be, he said.

They were soundings which were given further credence by Fianna Fail Longford-Westmeath TD Joe Flaherty.

The funding will aid the development of a state of the art family resource centre, enhanced day care centre facilities and a new youth club building and a dedicated base for the local Mens Shed, he said.

Today is about Pobal le Cheile and proof positive that community endeavour and old fashion Longford pride and enthusiasm will always win through.

Senator Micheal Carrigy said the sums set aside by Ms Humphreys would go a long way towards revitalising some of the towns older and more derelict buildings in order to provide vital community based services.

Local Cllr Pat OToole singled out the efforts made by Ballymahons Town Team members and Longford Co Councils regeneration unit in making the investment a distinct reality.

I am delighted to see the funding approved for a project that will be utterly transformative for Ballymahon and its community in the years to come, he said.

Senior Executive Officer with the Regeneration Team in Longford Co Co Terry Rooney said they are very excited about the announcement. This project is what regeneration is all about  'Pobal le Cheile' is going to bring three historic buildings in the town that served the community well in the past, back to life.

In spite of the euphoria which was felt in Ballymahon the overriding feeling was one of dismay at the opposite end of the county as Drumlish saw its attempts to secure 1.3m to refurbish its existing community centre come up short.

Both Mr Flaherty and Mr Carrigy have come out this week calling for the project to be included in a later round of funding which is due to be announced later in the year.
An illustration file photograph shows the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone and a laptop screen. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Apple and Google Grilled at Senate Hearing on App Store Competition

A panel of senators grilled representatives from Apple and Google at an anti-trust hearing Wednesday, with the companies pushing back against accusations of abusing market power to squash competition and of charging unjustified developer fees in their app stores.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust and Consumer Rights heard complaints from Spotify, Match, and other app store developers, who accused Apple and Google of anti-competitive practices, including selectively hitting certain companies with high developer fees and of strong-arming developers to do their bidding.

Apple abuses its dominant position as a gatekeeper of the App Store to insulate itself from competition and disadvantage rival services like Spotify, Horacio Gutierrez, head of global affairs and chief legal officer of Spotify Technology SPOT, said at the hearing. Apples anti-competitive conduct hurts consumers, with higher prices, less innovation, and less choice, he added.

Gutierrez said App Store fees forced Spotify to raise monthly prices to $12.99 from $9.99, shortly before Apple launched a competing music service for $9.99 a month.

Our market moves at Internet speed, and legislative action is urgently needed to give anti-trust enforcement agencies the tools they need to prevent gatekeeper platforms like Apple from abusing the power of their platform, Gutierrez said.

Unless decisive legislation and enforcement action is taken, other platforms will inevitably follow Apples example, leading to further concentration of power in the hands of a handful of digital sovereigns, he charged.

A representative for dating services giant Match Group, which owns the Tinder app, complained in his testimony that Google and Apple both exact an onerous 30 percent of any digital transaction, leading to higher prices for consumers.

Jared Sine, chief legal officer at Match Group, said that 30 percent commission fees to the App Store cost the online-dating service $500 million annually, the companys single biggest expense.

In November, Apple cut its fee to 15 percent on apps that bring in $1 million or less, with Google following suit in March with a similar reduction.

Sine also testified that Google contacted Match the day before the hearing and wanted to know why Sines planned testimony (pdf), which had just been released, deviated from previous comments the dating company had made.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) reacted to Sines remarks by suggesting the behavior amounted to bullying, saying, It looks like a threat, it talks like a threat, its a threat. Blumenthal vowed to investigate Googles action further.

Googles Wilson White, senior director of government affairs and public policy at the company, said the call reflected an effort to ask an honest question and the company would never threaten partners.

White, along with Apples Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer, both defended the app store policies as being competitive and helping to ensure data privacy and security.

Andeer said that Apples App Store truly revolutionized software distribution by providing developers with a cheaper and faster way to build apps and bring them to market.

The App Store isnt just a store. Its like a studio stocked with canvasses, brushes, and paintthe tools artists need to create their worksand its a gallery where they can display and sell their creations. And that is how the App Store empowers everyone to build apps, from elementary school kids to small businessesnot just the big guys, Andeer said.

Apple and Google told senators the companies tight control over their stores and the associated revenue-sharing requirements are needed to enforce and pay for security measures to protect consumers from harmful apps and practices.

But when asked by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Andeer would not commit to spending all of the mandatory fees on security.

Apple is happy to jerry-rig the rules to keep the gravy train running for profits, Hawley said.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), ranking member of the subcommittee, talked about the removal of Parler after the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. He questioned the power of Big Tech CEOs, calling them woke barons of Silicon Valley. He praised Apple for coming to a solution to let Parler return to its App Store, and said his focus is now on Amazon and Google to see whether they will follow suit.

The outsized influence of Big Tech over so many aspects of everyday life has become one of the biggest battlefronts in state legislatures, with scores of so-called techlash bills debated by lawmakers amid proposals relating to anti-trust, consumer privacy, app store fees, and free speech.

Reuters contributed to this report.
By Donald Kirk





WASHINGTON  The impending withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan carries significant implications for Korea. No one surrounding President Joe Biden is talking about pulling America's 28,500 troops from South Korea, or even cutting the numbers down somewhat, but you have to wonder if that thought is on their minds.







The reasoning is simple. Donald Trump during his presidency said he was ordering home the remaining American troops from Afghanistan. The Pentagon stood fast, saying they couldn't do it right away, but Biden is fulfilling Trump's demand. And, remember, it was Trump who often questioned the need for keeping any U.S. troops in South Korea. So how can we be sure Biden won't come around to the same line of reasoning?







No, Biden's not going to fall for this notion right away. The U.S., thank goodness, has come to terms with South Korea on how much Seoul should contribute to keeping U.S. forces on U.S. bases in the South. The Americans and Koreans finally agreed South Korea would contribute somewhat more than $1 billion this year, way down from Trump's absurd demand for the South to fork over $5 billion.







With the bases issue out of the way, American and Korean military people are back to their usual attempts at making sure the Koreans can stand on their own against North Korean attack while preparing for OPCON, that is, "operational control" of forces in the South. The most recent exercises were too brief, only nine days of computer games between U.S. and Korean commands, but OPCON remains the oft-stated, oft-postponed goal. Meanwhile, South Korea's military establishment is steadily modernizing, buying new weaponry, mostly from the U.S., and the South also is developing and producing missiles capable of annihilating targets in the North.







While the South emerges as a major military power, we may be sure voices will be heard asking, rhetorically speaking, why we have to keep more than a rather small advisory force in the country. The question will come up as the U.S. moves cagily, slowly, toward again negotiating with the North. We may be pretty sure these talks will be no more successful than all the other gabfests with the North, whether six-party or four-party or one-on-one at the level of summits between the American president and the North Korean chairman, supreme commander, party general secretary, Kim Jong Un, but the topic will come up. Why don't we sign a deal with the North for him to scale down his nuclear program, which of course he won't do, and bring the troops home?







Victor Cha, who served as Korea expert on the National Security Council during the presidency of George W. Bush and now runs Korean issues at the influential Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, had a ready answer to my questions: "Might Biden go for a peace treaty or end-of-war agreement with North Korea, pulling U.S. troops out of Korea  also as Trump talked about? Is Biden's decision on Afghanistan setting precedent for U.S. policy with its two Northeast Asia allies, Korea and Japan?"







Cha's response was unequivocal. "I don't think so," he emailed back. "The situations are not really comparable. I'm not worried about withdrawals because of the impact on the credibility of U.S. security commitments to our allies in the region."







In other words, concerns about South Korean defenses against North Korea are too inextricably bound to China's burgeoning presence and also to U.S. relations with Japan for the U.S. to consider bugging out. The attitude of the liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the conservative Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga may be quite different, and South Korea and Japan are not going to engage in real "trilateral cooperation" as long as contentious historical disputes remain unresolved, but leaders of both countries have to view U.S. troops as essential to maintaining peace in the region.







Over the next few years, however, the whole question of signing some piece of paper replacing the Korean War armistice is bound to come up repeatedly. Pro-Northers like to say the Korean War is "an endless war" even though it ended in July 1953 and now's the time for a peace treaty.







The U.S. is leaving Afghan forces to the mercies of the Taliban, and there's no telling if the Americans under Biden, or maybe his successor, won't do the same to the South Koreans. That's a disturbing prospect for a region on edge as China presses claims to the island province of Taiwan and both China and Russia stick up for North Korea as they did during the Korean War.







Donald Kirk,

, writes from Seoul as well as Washington.


(Natural News) The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating a potential link between blood clots and the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine made by American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J). The jab is the second vaccine to be linked to the same condition after AstraZenecas COVID-19 shot.

The EMA, the European Unions drug regulator, announced on April 9 that it was reviewing four serious cases of blood clots accompanied by low blood platelets in people who received the J&J vaccine. One case was reported in a clinical trial while the rest occurred in the United States during the vaccines rollout. The EMA confirmed that one of the cases resulted in death.

Thromboembolism, the name of the condition associated with the J&J vaccine, involves a blood clot forming in a blood vessel and breaking loose. The clot can travel along the bloodstream and clog another vessel elsewhere in the body. Depending on where that happens, the clot can lead to a limb problem, stroke or blockage in a lung artery, among others.

The EMAs Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) is currently investigating the four cases to determine whether the blood clots were really caused by the vaccine. The regulator will then decide if further regulatory action is necessary based on the committees findings.

Along with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the J&J jab is among the three COVID-19 shots used in the United States. Last month, the EMA authorized it for use in EU member countries but a rollout has yet to begin. The jab differs from other coronavirus shots in that it requires only a single dose. Others, such as the Moderna and Pfizer jabs, require two doses.

AstraZeneca vaccine potentially linked to another blood disorder

The EMA said in the same announcement that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot (Vaxzevria) remains under review over five reports of capillary leak syndrome developing in people who received the jab.

Capillary leak syndrome is a rare blood disorder that causes a sharp and potentially fatal drop in blood pressure. In people with the disorder, fluid leaks from small blood vessels called capillaries, causing tissues to swell and drastically reducing blood pressure. If left untreated, capillary leak syndrome can lead to organ failure and death.

The cases were first reported in EudraVigilance, a European database of suspected adverse reactions to medicines. The PRAC is now investigating if Vaxzevria can cause the condition. As with the J&J vaccine, the EMA will decide whether further action is necessary based on the committees recommendation.

Previously, the PRAC was reviewing blood clot cases tied to Vaxzevria. It determined that the condition accompanied with low levels of blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of the vaccine. The EMA warned that people could develop these conditions within two weeks of getting inoculated with the jab. (Related: Researchers confirm antibodies from the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine cause blood clots.)

This came after multiple blood clot reports prompted at least 18 countries to suspend the use of the vaccine. Denmark was the first to order a suspension after a person inoculated with the jab died from the condition. Other countries like Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Spain and France then followed suit.

Most of these countries eventually resumed the rollout of the vaccine but became more careful due to the reports. For instance, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the Netherlands started prohibiting the use of the jab in older people. Germany and France also recommended that people who had a first dose of the AstraZeneca jab receive a different vaccine for their follow-up shot.

Learn more about the dangers of the unproven COVID-19 vaccines at VaccineInjuryNews.com.

Sources include:

SlashGear.com

EMA.Europa.eu

MayoClinic.org

BusinessInsider.com

TheGuardian.com

FT.com
CHICO, Calif. - Chloe Brandi is ready to take center stage. She will be playing Christine Daae in the "Phantom of the Opera" at the Paradise Performing Arts Center.

"We open this weekend live in front of audiences for the first time in over a year," Brandi said.

And despite the phantom wearing a mask, it's not just the music of the night that Brandi is asking for.

"The students at Inspire (School of Arts & Sciences) are asking for a waiver to perform maskless this upcoming weekend," Brandi said.

When wearing masks during rehearsal, the students say they are unable to tell a full story if they are covered up on the opening night.

"When there's cloth being sucked into your mouth, there's bound to be a difference in vocal ability," Brandi said.

Not only that but careers could be on the line.

"We can't be properly looked at or recruited or scouted for anything if the people watching it cant see half of our facial expressions," Brandi said.

Brandi and others have sent several emails to Butte and State Public Health. So far, the students have no received a response.

So, Action News Now decided to reach out.

"(Butte County) Public Health does not oversee events and make recommendations or waivers," Lisa Almaguer with Butte County Public Health said.

It's ultimately the state who has control over guidance, BCPH said.

"It's very unlikely that the State is going to change its guidance," Almaguer said. "They would have to change their guidance statewide if they made an exception."

The California Department of Public Health replied to Action News Now Thursday afternoon.

"Information on the importance of proper mask wearing is available on our website. The states current guidance on gatherings, also includes specific warnings on singing, chanting, shouting, cheering and similar activities (section 9). Unfortunately, these activities significantly increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission because they increase the release of respiratory droplets and fine aerosols into the air.

We understand the sacrifices that have been made due to the pandemic: from business owners, to athletes and actors, as weve all had to adjust to the public health challenge before us. Tomorrow, it is likely California will eclipse the grim milestone of 60,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Furthermore, on April 9 at a White House briefing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke to the troubling trend of increasing reports of COVID-19 cases linked to youth sports.

While there have been signs of improvement, Californians should remain vigilant and take steps to limit the transmission of COVID-19, including wearing masks, washing their hands, avoiding congregating indoors, and signing up as soon as possible to get vaccinated. COVID-19 remains a deadly disease."

Brandi said her team puts safety first, even willing to get tested for a chance to perform mask-free.

"We're perfectly prepared to put the show on with masks, so either way we're completely ok," Brandi said.

Tickets are sold out for this weekend's performances, but people can get tickets for their virtual performance in May. CLICK HERE, for more information.
Alaska Airlines, in pledging to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, is transitioning to electric ground vehicles and equipment that service the airline.
The British are taking their obsession with the weather to new heights. Today, the UK announced it is advancing its project to build the world's most powerful climate and weather supercomputer with the help of Microsoft. The country's weather service, the Met Office, has struck a multimillion-pound agreement with the tech company on the project, which was previously earmarked to receive 1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) of government funding.

While the UK already boasts a weather supercomputer  which can perform 16,000 trillion calculations a second  the new machine will be twice as powerful. By gaining access to more detailed climate modeling, the UK is hoping to future-proof its city and transport infrastructure to protect them against extreme weather events. The system will be located in the South of the UK and will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy. It's expected the setup will save 7,415 tonnes of CO2 in the first year of operation.

Once it's up and running next summer, the supercomputer will also provide detailed simulations of local forecasts to help emergency services prepare for heavy rain and flooding. The new system could be a boon for rural communities, which were battered by storms last year, leading to calls for the government to create more sustainable drainage systems.

According to scientists in the Climate Coalition, England has experienced a major flood almost every year since 2007. The Met's existing Cray XC40 supercomputer partly relies on data submitted by the public to make weather predictions for more remote parts of the UK.

Naturally, Microsoft has been brought in because of its expertise in cloud and quantum computing. The company has invested $1 billion in startup Open AI's Azure-hosted "supercomputer," built to test large-scale artificial intelligence models. Featuring 285,000 CPU cores and 10,000 GPUs, Microsoft says the machine is equivalent to the top five fastest systems in the world. Currently, the title of the world's most powerful supercomputer belongs to Japan's Fugaku.
(CNN)  Russia ordered its top military brass to return troops to their permanent bases starting Friday, saying it had concluded a "snap inspection" of its forces in the country's east and west, near the Ukrainian border.

A build-up of Russian troops along the border in recent weeks has reignited tensions in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have battled Russian-backed separatists demanding independence from Kiev since 2014.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday said troops had successfully completed drills near Ukraine and would return to their permanent bases by May 1.

"I believe that the objectives of the snap drill have been fully achieved. The troops have demonstrated the ability to provide a reliable defense of the country," Shoigu said at a meeting in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Kiev in 2014.

Shoigu's announcement comes weeks after Moscow initiated the largest buildup of troops near the Ukrainian border since 2014. The European Union estimated Tuesday that more than 100,000 troops had amassed near the border and in Crimea.

It was unclear from Thursday's announcement how many Russian troops would remain in the region.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price acknowledged Russia's announcement, saying that the US would continue to closely monitor the situation with Ukrainian officials and other allies, but added that "what we'll be looking for is action."

"We have made clear in our engagement with the Russian government that it needs to refrain from escalatory actions and immediately cease all its aggressive activity in and around Ukraine, including its recent military buildup in occupied Crimea, and on Ukraine's border, and its intention to block specific vessels in the parts of the Black Sea," Price said at a briefing Thursday.

Some weapons from Russia's 41st army, which include tanks and heavy artillery, will be left behind until the joint Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2021 strategic military exercises take place in September, according to Russian state news agency TASS. That leaves Russia with more firepower on the Ukrainian border than it had previously.

Conflict Intelligence Team, a Russian open-source intelligence group that has been monitoring Russia's aggressive military build-up on the border, suggested Thursday that it was too early to judge whether the news amounted to a de-escalation.

"By our assessment, the forces remaining at Ukraine's border still present a danger of deployment into occupied Eastern Ukraine, while a large-scale invasion of government-controlled territory would certainly require moving more troops to the border," CIT said on Twitter.

On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that more than 20 ships had taken part in exercises in the Black Sea, which borders both countries.

"A unit of ships consisting of frigates "Admiral Makarov" and "Admiral Essen", small missile ships "Grayvoron" and "Vyshny Volochek", as well as missile boats, small anti-submarine ships and large amphibious ships conducted an exercise to repel air attack means of a simulated enemy using active electronic jamming and the conditional use of air defense means," a ministry statement read.

Shoigu, who oversaw the drills in annexed Crimea near Ukraine's southern border on Thursday, said Russia's military had to be ready to respond swiftly to any "unfavorable" development given NATO's ongoing Defender-Europe military exercises.

Defender-Europe is an annual, large-scale US Army-led multinational exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between the US and its NATO partner militaries. It was canceled last year over coronavirus concerns.

"Every year in Europe, the Alliance conducts up to 40 major operational training events with a clear anti-Russian focus. In the spring of this year, the combined armed forces of NATO began the most ambitious exercise in the past 30 years," Shoigu said.

He accused the military and political leadership of Ukraine of seeking to destabilize the situation in the Donbass conflict zone, and said the United States and NATO continued to conduct "provocative activities" in the airspace and waters of the Black Sea.

The NATO alliance has expressed deep concern over the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, described by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week as "part of a broader pattern of Russian aggressive action.

"Allies fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and we call on Russia to de-escalate immediately, stop its pattern of aggressive provocations and respect its international commitments," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday invited President Vladimir Putin to meet in the Donbass, urging his Russian counterpart to restore a ceasefire in the eastern region where he said "millions of lives" are at stake. Putin said Thursday he was willing to discuss bilateral relations with Zelensky in the Russian capital, TASS reported.

Ukraine has been trying to bolster international support in its deadlock with Moscow, and has urged its Western allies to pledge new sanctions to discourage the Kremlin from resorting to more military force.

In his speech on Tuesday, Zelensky called on Ukrainian citizens to unite in the face of the Russian military threat. "Ukraine and Russia, despite their common past, look to the future differently. We are we. You are you. But this is not necessarily a problem, it is an opportunity. At the very least -- an opportunity, before it's too late, to stop the deadly mathematics of future military losses."

He blamed Russia for refusing to support a "general statement" to restore a full ceasefire in the area, despite "the support of all parties."

In his annual address to the nation on Wednesday, Putin warned foreign powers not to cross Moscow's "red lines," but made no mention of the military buildup near Ukraine.

Last week, the Ukrainian President met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who joined via video link -- to discuss the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and the occupation of Ukrainian territories. The three leaders ended their meeting calling on Russia to withdraw extra troops amassed on the Ukrainian border.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Russia orders troops back to base after massive buildup near Ukraine border."
In an image from police bodycam video, a teenage girl, foreground, appears to wield a knife during an altercation before being shot by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, on April 20, 2021. (Columbus Police Department via WSYX-TV via AP)

Columbus Police Identifies Officer Who Fatally Shot 16-Year-Old MaKhia Bryant

The Columbus Division of Police in Ohio on Wednesday identified the officer who shot and killed a 16-year-old girl after she tried to stab two other females with a knife.

The officer is identified as Nicholas Reardon who has been with the division for one year. He has been taken off his Zone 2 Patrol assignment for the time being as the Ohios Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) conducts a review of the incident, following a recent agreement with the city.

The Columbus police released initial footage of the shooting Tuesday night just hours after the incident. MaKhia Bryant, 16, was identified as the teenager who died after she was shot by Reardon.

The body cam video shows Bryant charging at one young woman with a knife. Get down! Get down! Reardon can be heard saying. He later opens fire after Bryant tries to stab another young woman dressed in pink. Bryant falls to the ground after four consecutive gunshots are heard in the video. She drops a black-handled blade on the sidewalk.

Bryant was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead around 5:20 p.m. local time. The incident of the shooting occurred around 4:45 p.m.

At the time of her death, Bryant was in foster care with Franklin County Childrens Services. Her grandmother, Debra Wilcox, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that what she saw on the video was not how I know my MaKhia.

I dont know what happened there unless she was fearful for her life, Wilcox said.

Police had been dispatched just after 4:35 p.m. in response to a 911 call saying that females were trying to stab them and put their hands on them, according to Interim Police Chief Michael Woods. It remains unclear who called the police.

Investigators will determine whether police actions comply with state law that says deadly force can be used to protect yourself or the protection of a third person, Woods previously noted on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he said that Columbus Police will assist the Ohio BCI in its investigation but will not interfere or provide input.

[The Columbus Polices] role is to provide them the information that they request and do so in a timely manner, he said. At the conclusion of their investigation, that investigation is sent to the Franklin County Prosecutors Office, where it will be presented to a Franklin County grand jury, and eventually the packet will come to the Columbus Division of Police, and we will review that incident for policy compliance or violations.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther posed questions to reporters on Wednesday that are yet to be answered.

Bottom line, did MaKhia Bryant need to die yesterday? How did we get here? This is a failure on part of our community. Some are guilty but all of us are responsible, Ginther said. BCI will determine if the officer involved was wrong. And if he was, we will hold him accountable, as we have other officers who have committed wrongdoing criminally, or in violation of the policies and procedures of the Division of Police.

Transparency, accountability, absolutely critical to our community during this time of crisis. We have a bigger societal question. How do we, as a city and a community, come together to ensure that our kids never feel the need to resort to violence as a means of solving disputes or in order to protect themselves? We remain committed to ensuring accountability in all violent interactions between police and our neighbors. The BCI investigation is the first step in unraveling what led to the tragic death of yet another child in our community.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (R) speaks during a news conference as Columbus Public Safety Director Ned Pettus Jr. (L) and interim Police Chief Michael Woods (C) listen, in Columbus, Ohio, on April 21, 2021. (Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP Photo)

Ginther later noted that the city is undertaking significant reform efforts, from training to recruitment, to the types of officers assigned to patrol the streets, and what they are being equipped with. He said that reform is a top priority for the city in the near future.

The fact that we had a 16-year-old girl armed and involved with physical violence with other folks in that community, thats something for us to look in the mirror and to say, What are we doing or not doing? How can we better serve young people who are facing one of the greatest spikes in violence in this city and in cities across America? What else can we be doing?'

When Chief Woods was asked by a reporter about firearms training for officers, he said, Firearms training is, you fire it until the threat is over. So there were shots fired, but I cant assess what the officer is thinking. Thatll be through his statement. But training is, you fire to stop the threat.

Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods speaks during a news conference in Columbus, Ohio, on April 21, 2021. (Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP Photo)

Woods was also asked to comment on questions reportedly asked on social media about why couldnt the officer have shot the attacker in the leg or arms.

We dont train to shoot the leg, because thats a small target. We are trained to shoot center mass, what is available to stop that threat, he responded. There was a threat going on, a deadly force threat that was going on, so the officer is trained to shoot center mass, the largest part of a body that is available to them. When you try to start shooting legs or arms, rounds miss, and then they continue on, and there are people behind that that could be in danger that are not committing anything. So we try and minimize any danger to anyone else if we have to use our firearm.

He lamented over the situation. Its a tragedy. Theres no other way to say it. Its a 16-year-old girl. Im a father. Her family is grieving. Regardless of the circumstances associated with this, a 16-year-old girl lost her life yesterday. I sure as hell wish it hadnt happened.
Two towns in Nebraska have passed ordinances to become Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, or places where performing an abortion can be criminally punished.

Hayes Center and Blue Hill, both of which have fewer than 1,000 residents, joined several towns in Texas in approving such ordinances, doing so on April 6 and April 13, respectively.

It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska, reads the resolution approved by the village of Hayes Center Board of Trustees, as reported by The Hayes Center Times-Republican.

It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion that occurs in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska.

Source:The Christian Post
New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) completed two years in February this year.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2019, aims to provide income support to all landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land, subject to certain exclusions. Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs 6000 per year is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2000 each directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Who are eligible to get benefits under the PM-KISAN Scheme?

All landholding farmers' families, which have cultivable landholding in their names are eligible to get benefit under the scheme.

Who are excluded from the PM-KISAN Scheme?

The following categories of beneificiaries of higher economic status shall not be elligible for benefit under the scheme.

A. All Institutional Land holders.

B. Farmer families which belong to one or more of the following categories:

i) Former and present holders of constitutional posts

ii) Former and present Ministers/ State Ministers and former/present Members of LokSabha/ RajyaSabha/ State Legislative Assemblies/ State Legislative Councils,former and present Mayors of Municipal Corporations, former and present Chairpersons of District Panchayats.

iii) All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government Ministries /Offices/Departments and its field units Central or State PSEs and Attached offices /Autonomous Institutions under Government as well as regular employees of the Local Bodies

(Excluding Multi Tasking Staff /Class IV/Group D employees)

vi) All superannuated/retired pensioners whose monthly pension is Rs.10,000/-or more (Excluding Multi Tasking Staff / Class IV/Group D employees) of above category

v) All Persons who paid Income Tax in last assessment year

vi) Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects registered with Professional bodies and carrying out profession by undertaking practices.
FIXAR 007

FIXAR 007 is a vertical takeoff and landing, fixed wing commercial drone with primary application in the aerial mapping and survey (photogrammetry and LiDAR) in the mining, oil & gas, energy, and agricultural sectors.

FIXAR 007 is a vertical takeoff and landing, fixed wing commercial drone with primary application in the aerial mapping and survey (photogrammetry and LiDAR) in the mining, oil & gas, energy, and agricultural sectors.

TORONTO, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Volatus Aerospace, a fast-growing integrated provider of unmanned aircraft and drone services, will begin the manufacture of up to 1,200 units of the innovative FIXAR VTOL drone per year at its new facility at the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in Oro, Ontario.



Volatus contribution to the venture, including in-Canada production site set-up, business development and technical support is estimated to total approximately $1M.

Recently approved for flight by Transport Canada; this hybrid UAV is capable of transitioning between vertical and forward flight, taking advantage of the lifting power of an airfoil to fly forward with greater efficiency than a quadcopter or fixed-wing drones.

The clue is in its name, comments Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus Aerospace, FIXAR stands for Fixed Angle Rotors. That means the position of the motors does not change when the aircraft transitions. Its a patented design and allows the aircraft to seamlessly transition between vertical and forward flight. The increased range of the unit can be really useful when you want to inspect something longer  like a pipeline or road, for example.

In choosing Volatus Aerospace as its North American partner; Yulia Druzhnikova, FIXAR Director of Global Expansion said Volatus Aerospace offers everything that we require in a strategic partner. They are opening a first-class manufacture centre; they have depth of expertise for advanced and BVLOS pilot and operational training; they offer distribution coast-to-coast in Canada and have recently opened operations in the USA.

While demonstration flights and product are available immediately, the first of the product line to be manufactured in North America is the FIXAR 007. This configuration, in conjunction with its two-kilogram (4.4 lb) payload capacity and swappable payload module, makes the UAV ideal for a multitude of applications including mapping/photogrammetry, laser scanning (LiDAR), last-mile delivery, precision agriculture, critical infrastructure monitoring and more.

Story continues

About Volatus Aerospace:

Volatus Aerospace is a vertically integrated drone technologies company dedicated to driving the full potential of unmanned technologies throughout industries in the Americas. With locations in seven Canadian cities, as well as offices in Colombia, South America, and Albany, NY.; Volatus offers a comprehensive range of UAV solutions for both civilian and military applications. Activities include UAV design manufacturing, distribution, sales, service, and training.

About FIXAR:

FIXAR is a developer and manufacturer of integrated unmanned aerial solutions for industrial uses. The company was founded in 2018 by aviation engineer and European champion of drone combat games, Vasily Lukashov. FIXAR designs and builds innovative, solution-oriented commercial drones and proprietary embedded Autopilot and xGroundControl Station software.

The company sells its products in Europe, North America and Asia with 25 dealers all over the globe. It entered the Canadian and US markets in July 2020.

Video: how FIXAR works .

For more information:

Volatus Aerospace

Rob Walker, VP, Business Development

Phone: (514) 447-7986

Email: rob.walker@volatusaerospace.com

www.volatusaerospace.com

FIXAR

Julia Gifford, PR partner

Phone: +371 26100633

Email: julia@truesix.co

www.fixar.pro



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/76a25831-7165-43be-b906-4ecd4eba6387






Help India!



Bipartisan Federal Commission recommends Indias designation as Country of Particular Concern (CPC), urges US Congress, State Department to impose sanctions.

TCN News

Support TwoCircles



The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC  www.iamc.com), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding Indias pluralist and tolerant ethos has welcomed a report on religious freedom issued by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in which the US body has called on the State Department to place India in a list of countries of particular concern, for the second consecutive year, based on the sharp escalation in violations of human rights and religious freedom in India.

The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan US federal government commission. It makes policy recommendations based on its review of global religious freedom to the US President, the Secretary of State and the US Congress. Last year, USCIRF had placed India in CPC, which is the list of countries with the worst record of religious freedom violations.

It is saddening to see India, a land with a rich tradition of pluralism, lifted as an egregious violator of religious freedom. However, the worsening situation of minorities in India has made it clear that international visibility and recognition of the persecution of Dalits, Christians, Muslims and Sikhs in India is the need of the hour.

Designating India as one of the worlds worst violators of religious freedoms, while unfortunate, is expected and justified, said Rasheed Ahmed, Executive Director, IAMC. We hope the US Department of State will accept the USCIRFs recommendations and designate India as a CPC this year.

In its Annual International Religious Freedom Report released on Wednesday, USCIRF has made five key recommendations to the US Department of State and US Congress. It said the US should designate India as CPC engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).

The USCIRF report also recommended that the US Government impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals assets and/ or barring their entry into the United States.

The report further said the US Government must promote religious freedom and dignity and interfaith dialogue through bilateral and multilateral forums and agreements, such as the ministerial of the Quadrilateral and continue to raise religious freedom concerns in the U.S.-India bilateral relationship and highlight concerns through hearings, briefings, letters, and congressional delegations.

It also said that the US Government must condemn the ongoing religious freedom violations and support religious organizations and human rights groups being targeted for their advocacy of religious freedom.

The USCIRF Report has also highlighted the massacre of Muslims in Indias capital, New Delhi, last year in which 50 people died and hundreds were injured, mostly Muslims.

Mobs sympathetic to Hindu nationalism operated with impunity, using brutal force to single out Muslims, attack mosques, and destroy homes and businesses in majority-Muslim neighborhoods, the report said.

Along with several US-based rights organizations, IAMC had this month written to USCIRF urging it to retain its last years recommendations to designate India as CPC. That letter was co-signed by leading rights organizations, including International Christian Concern (ICC), Christian Solidarity Worldwide (UK), Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA), Justice For All, American Muslim Institution, American Sikh Council, Church of Scientology National Affairs Office and Just Law International.

Prominent individuals who signed the letter included Rev. Dr. Daniel L. Buttry, Genesis the Church; Nehemiah Christie, Co-Chair, Global Christian Ministers Federation; Peter Kovach, former Director, Office of Religious Freedom, of the US Department of State.

On the subject of the CAA and the NRC, both deeply repressive moves that caused convulsions across Indian society in the form of mass protests, the Commission noted that these were poised to put citizenship of millions into question, but could subject Muslims, in particular, to statelessness, deportation or prolonged detention. It also expressed concern over the crackdown on activists spearheading the peaceful protest movement against CAA and NRC.

Over the acquittal of all individuals accused of demolishing the Babri Masjid mosque, the report rightly says that government inaction to address religious violence contributed to a culture of impunity for those promulgating hate and violence toward religious minorities.

After Indias crackdown on Kashmir following the revocation of the regions special Constitutional status in August 2019; the legislation of the anti-Muslim law, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019; and the State-sponsored pogrom of Muslims in Delhi, Indias capital, in February 2020; IAMC had led a signature campaign in March 2020 before the USCIRF recommended India as CPC in its April 2020 report.

The USCIRF 2021 report also raised significant concerns over the passage of laws to prohibit interfaith marriages or relationships using the false narrative of forced conversion. These efforts targeting and de-legitimizing interfaith relationships have led to attacks and arrests of non-Hindus and to innuendo, suspicion, and violence toward any interfaith interaction, the report said.

The commission has also sharply rebuked the Indian government officials for disinformation and hateful rhetoric during COVID-19 pandemic targeted religious minorities.

The report also criticized the crackdown on Amnesty International and made mention of amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) that further stifles the work of various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working within the country.
LIVONIA, MICH.  Mary Meinzinger Urisko, J.D., director of Madonna Universitys paralegal studies program, has published the eighth edition of the textbook titled The Paralegal Today; an introduction to law and paralegal studies. Meinzinger Urisko, of West Bloomfield, originally coauthored the textbook with Roger Miller twenty-five years ago. A much-needed resource in 1995, it is still a key text for many paralegal instructors today.

Before publishing her book, Urisko found that many paralegal books were written by non-lawyers and sometimes contained legally inaccurate information. The paralegal profession was just over twenty years old when we started writing the book, said Meinzinger Urisko. There were very few textbooks for use by paralegal program instructors, and the introduction-to-law textbooks that existed did not cover substantive law subjects such as torts, contracts, or criminal law, she said.

Since its publication, The Paralegal Today has been updated to reflect the evolution in how legal services are provided. While more and more services are delivered online, Meinzinger Urisko points out that clients still generally prefer the assurance that comes from personal contact. In keeping with these developments, the books Eighth Edition, covers the traditional topics needed in paralegal education, and also features the many online tools now available. Meinzinger Urisko continues to use this textbook, which includes online supplements through Cengage Publishing, to teach introductory paralegal studies courses at Madonna University.

Madonnas paralegal courses are being offered online, in both live/synchronous, and asynchronous online formats. Students enjoy personal instruction in small classes with experienced instructors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects much faster than average employment growth for paralegals between 2019 and 2029. Program graduates are employed in local corporate legal departments, large and small law firms, and state and federal courts and government agencies.

Madonna Universitys paralegal studies program is approved by the American Bar Association and has maintained its status for more than 35 years. The program offers the only bachelor's degree in paralegal studies in Metro Detroit, along with an associate's degree and post baccalaureate certificate. Bachelors degree completion programs are offered through the Macomb and Henry Ford University Centers.

Some of Madonna Universitys Paralegal Studies Course Offerings:

Legal Research and Writing I introduces the basics of legal research and the preparation of basic legal documents, such as complaint, case brief, memorandum of law and motion, and brief for summary disposition.

introduces the basics of legal research and the preparation of basic legal documents, such as complaint, case brief, memorandum of law and motion, and brief for summary disposition. Law, Society and Politics examines the social, political, and historical contexts of laws as a social institution. Students will examine historical, political, and societal perspectives on why law is made, how it is made in legislatures and the courts, and how it shapes what individuals do on an everyday basis.

examines the social, political, and historical contexts of laws as a social institution. Students will examine historical, political, and societal perspectives on why law is made, how it is made in legislatures and the courts, and how it shapes what individuals do on an everyday basis. Legal Research on the Internet introduces basic concepts for performing legal and factual research on the Internet for use in legal applications. Federal legal research, as well as factual research such as locating individuals and businesses, obtaining records, and accessing websites will be covered.

introduces basic concepts for performing legal and factual research on the Internet for use in legal applications. Federal legal research, as well as factual research such as locating individuals and businesses, obtaining records, and accessing websites will be covered. Domestic Relations covers divorce law, including interviewing, counseling, investigation; drafting, serving and filing of legal papers, determination of jurisdiction, Friend of the Court Act and property settlements.

covers divorce law, including interviewing, counseling, investigation; drafting, serving and filing of legal papers, determination of jurisdiction, Friend of the Court Act and property settlements. Real Estate which includes the topics of interviewing and data collection, title work, mortgage work, taxation, drafting of purchase and sale agreements, closing, liability, insurance.

which includes the topics of interviewing and data collection, title work, mortgage work, taxation, drafting of purchase and sale agreements, closing, liability, insurance. Legal Research and Writing II offers additional research practice and focuses on federal legal sources, and provides the fundamentals of drafting various federal court documents.

offers additional research practice and focuses on federal legal sources, and provides the fundamentals of drafting various federal court documents. Law Office Economics and Technology focuses on law firm utilization of computers and specialized legal software to achieve the economic practice of law. Students will earn the National Society for Legal Technology Legal Tech certificate.

For more information, email Mary Urisko at murisko@madonna.edu .
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy with some showers after midnight. Low 71F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
SUMMIT, N.J., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Simplicity Group (Simplicity), in partnership with F&G, a leading provider of annuities and life insurance, is pleased to announce the launch of F&G ExecuDexSM ("ExecuDex"), a new Fixed Index Universal Life Insurance (FIUL) product that provides great consumer value and the opportunity to get immediate life insurance coverage. ExecuDex features real-time underwriting, which allows consumers to provide their families with instant peace of mind as F&G's newly launched InstApprovalSM can provide qualified applicants with an instantaneous coverage decision without additional underwriting required beyond the application process. ExecuDex was recently released and is exclusively available through Simplicity Group operating subsidiaries.

"The launch of ExecuDex marks an exciting time for consumers, our agents and advisors, and the entire Simplicity Group," stated Bruce Donaldson, Simplicity's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our mission is to deliver easy-to-understand and easy-to-access financial products that provide great consumer value. When our life insurance marketing team embarked on the journey of designing ExecuDex, they focused on addressing the needs of the client first and, with the addition of F&G's InstApproval(SM), we know ExecuDex will deliver great value immediately."

"ExecuDex virtually changed the issuance of life insurance overnight," said Brian Schneier, Executive Vice President of Life Marketing at Simplicity Group. "Through our partnership with F&G, we are actively advancing technologies and developing groundbreaking products so that our advisors, agents and their consumers get the value they deserve at the time when they need it most: immediately."

F&G will support ExecuDex with enhanced processing capabilities, allowing for increased efficiencies throughout the distribution channel from insurance carrier to end user. The product also provides a streamlined authorization process called InstApproval, which deploys an immediate coverage decision to the consumer-client, after the digital application and brief interview is completed. ExecuDex does not require a medical examination.

Todays consumer expects to be able to purchase products digitally and instantaneously. Historically, the life insurance purchase process has trailed significantly in meeting that demand, especially permanent insurance plans, said Steve Sanders, Senior Vice President of Life Distribution at F&G. With ExecuDex weve created the first instant decision process for fixed indexed universal life insurance where agents and clients will be able to obtain an immediate underwriting decision via the digital application without sacrificing long-term performance.

F&G ExecuDex is available to consumers through Simplicity operating subsidiaries' affiliated financial advisors and independent insurance agents.



About the Simplicity Group

Simplicity Group has acquired and owns 22 distribution businesses and is one of the nation's largest and fastest growing financial product distribution companies. Simplicity provides annuity, life insurance, and investment solutions to independent insurance professionals, financial advisors and their clients through its operating subsidiaries. For more information about Simplicity, please visit: www.simplicitygroup.com.

About F&G

F&G* is part of the FNF family of companies. F&G is committed to helping Americans turn their aspirations into reality. F&G is a leading provider of annuity and life insurance products and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. For more information, please visit: fglife.com.

*"F&G" is the marketing name for Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company issuing insurance in the United States outside of New York. Life insurance and annuities issued by Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, IA.

InstApprovalSM is an underwriting process and is not available to all applicants. Please contact Simplicity or F&G for more details.

MEDIA CONTACT

Alex Timeus, Director of Communications

Simplicity Group

P: 201-987-7176

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Simplicity Group

Related Links

http://www.simplicitygroup.com


With several private and government hospitals in Delhi running low on medical oxygen for COVID-19 patients, the Centre raised the national capital's oxygen quota from 378 metric tonnes to 480 metric tonnes on Wednesday. "Central govt has increased Delhi's quota of oxygen. We r very grateful to centre for this (sic)," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.

The Centre announced that it will supply 480 metric tonnes of oxygen to Delhi, which will come from Odisha, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, the city government said in a statement. "What remains a matter of grave concern is that of the 480 metric tonnes, 100 MT oxygen from Odisha (70 MT) and West Bengal (30 MT) will take almost 72 hours to reach Delhi. Our citizens, our hospitals, our city is running out of time," it said.

Meanwhile, the 140 metric tonnes of oxygen that Haryana has to supply was yet to leave for Delhi around 8 pm. On Monday and Tuesday, around 240 MT and 365 MT of oxygen was supplied to Delhi against the requirement of 700 MT per day, the statement said.

Since Delhi does not have its own source of oxygen, the capital's supply comes from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Hours before the announcement, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged at a press briefing that an official of the Haryana government stopped oxygen supply to Delhi from a plant in Faridabad.

The neighbouring state, however, denied the allegations. Several hospitals in Delhi also alleged that the Haryana government was not allowing vendors to supply oxygen to them and there is only a limited stock left as hundreds of coronavirus patients battled for their lives in these healthcare facilities.

"If the oxygen quota gets depleted in these hospitals, Delhi is staring at a catastrophe waiting to unfold," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government said in the statement. Suppliers are facing obstructions from the district authorities of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, it added.

"It is indeed unfortunate that states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are curtailing the supply of life-saving oxygen to Delhi. Just as the Haryana government, the Uttar Pradesh government has illegally captured the oxygen production plants, depriving Delhi of oxygen," the statement read.

Also read: Divert oxygen from industries to save lives, Delhi HC orders Centre
Quite a news day going on here.

First, golf ball-sized hail fell on parts of the county. Then, in Midlothian, a tornado snatched a child from his mother's arms.

Elsewhere in Houston, a "lovesick brunette" was seriously injured after leaping 20 feet from a ledge at St. Joseph Hospital. Not too far away, one youth from Clayton Homes drowned after falling into Buffalo Bayou from a railroad trestle.

And finally, the newspaper continued its ongoing series on Communism written by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover.

Click on the image below to enlarge.

(Click to enlarge)
The crew forms a six-person human chain to lift the weighty sacks of malt from the cargo hold of a 65-foot steel-hulled schooner onto the Ossining dock. Shes a sight, with her white sails bright against the blue sky. This scene could have taken place 200 years ago, but it was just one of the deliveries on the shipping route for the Schooner Apollonia last fall. Two thousand pounds of malt was unloaded onto a cargo trike and transported the final mile by pedal power to Sing Sing Kill Brewery to be transformed into pale ales and pilsners.

The Apollonia is a carbon-neutral merchant vessel transporting Hudson Valley products, from hot sauce to hemp, up and down the Hudson River, powered by the wind. It isnt a living history project, but a for-profit business, founded by captain and educator Sam Merrett. While its the only sail freight ship on the Hudson, the Schooner Apollonia is part of a growing international sail freight movement to develop emission-free trade routes around the world.

Currently docked at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, the Apollonia and her crew are preparing for their first full season of deliveries, starting mid-May.

To some, reviving sail freight might seem like a futile endeavor. For Merrett, the question is: why not grow a river-based economy that runs alongside a land-based counterpart? After all, the infrastructure already exists. The 18th-century river towns that line the Hudson were designed with waterfronts to receive and ship goods.

We have a proven track record that sail freight works here, Merrett said. Rewind to 1850 and there were 1,200 boats on the Hudson River sailing stuff around.

Merrett, a former mechanic who grew up in Rensselaer County, has a passion for the river. He works for the Hudson River Maritime Museum as the managing captain for the Solaris, a solar-powered passenger boat, and he cofounded the Hudson Sloop Club, dedicated to bringing the river back into the daily lives of the community through a program of activities, education and environmental stewardship.

His other passion is alternative fuel, starting a business straight out of college converting diesel engines to run on vegetable oil. When the Vermont Sail Freight Project sailed into Kingston in 2014  an early but short-lived endeavor to create emission-free river-based trade  Merrett saw how to marry his twin passions. He bought the Apollonia, a 1946 navy architect-designed ship, which had been in a backyard in Boston for 30 years, and after five years of restoration  a story in itself  he and his team were ready to set sail.

The movement to revive sail cargo began in the Netherlands in 2007 with Fairtransport, the worlds first modern climate-friendly shipping company. Since then, similar ventures have launched around the globe and grown in scale. The largest of these  Ceiba in Costa Rica  will soon ship 250 tons globally, far larger than the Apollonia, but insignificant when compared to the shipping giants which carry in excess of 200,000 tons of products around the globe, like the Evergreen Marine container ship that recently ran aground in the Suez Canal. Those same giants, however, are responsible for more than three percent of global carbon emissions, according to a study by the International Maritime Organisation. If the industry were a country, it would be the sixth largest polluter, after Germany.

Im not trying to replace Amazon, because obviously thats not possible, or the goal, Merrett said. But its important to me that people start realizing the impact of transportation.

Schooner Apollonia

And they are, albeit slowly. The shipping industry is under pressure to drastically reduce emissions. Wind-assisted technologies, such as spinning rotor sails, are proven to provide fuel savings of up to 30 percent on transatlantic tankers, and a new wind-powered cargo vessel, currently under development, aims to reduce carbon emissions by 90 percent.

Experts like the International Windship Association argue that wind power is essential for a carbon-neutral future  and ships the size of Apollonia are part of that vision, too.

For companies that value sustainability, transportation has long proven problematic. When Merrett approached the founders of Hudsons Poor Devil Pepper Company, the award-winning producers of fermented hot sauce, it was a no-brainer, according to co-founder Laura Webster. They source their peppers from local organic growers and go into production just once a year in order to avoid importing peppers from abroad. They are also planning to expand their Zero Waste line of products. Webster predicts 20 to 30 percent of their delivery business could be managed by sail freight during the shipping season.

Its a fun idea, but functional at the same time, she said. A lot of our retailers are likeminded. I envision stores picking up right there on the dock. Its this next level of sustainable meets collaborative.

Sailcargo Inc./YouTube

The added value of old-school shipping

Webster was concerned at first about how her hot sauces would fare aboard the ship because the product needs to be kept cool, but in collaborating with Merrett, she learned that the water acts as a natural emission-free refrigeration system for the cargo hull. This spring, Poor Devil Pepper Company aims to ferment 20 gallons of hot sauce on board the Apollonia for eight weeks.

Shipping by sail has other unexpected benefits. Spirits Lab Distilling in Newburgh has been aging a whiskey in oak barrels on board since October 2020, as the rocking of the boat and changes in humidity create a unique flavor profile. It will be unloaded in Newburgh ready to bottle at the end of this season.

It took the pandemic for Dennis Nesel of Hudson Valley Malt to recognize the potential of sail freight, which he first considered an inefficient method of delivering his malt to the breweries and distillers he supplies.

That got me to slow down for a second and look closer at it, Nesel said. These guys are doing something quite wonderful and Id like to be a part of it.

Hudson Valley Malt is a craft malthouse, using local organic grain to make malt the old-fashioned way, by hand rather than modern machinery  in parallel with the Apollonia. Their first Apollonia shipment took place in September, along with corn from Stone House Grain in Hudson and 10 handmade oak barrels from a cooperage in High Falls, all of which sailed to Van Brunt Stillhouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

The resulting sprit is the first bourbon produced from ingredients delivered entirely by sail freight in this century. In October of 2020, Hudson Valley Malt did a second run, delivering malt to Mill House Brewing in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh Brewing and, finally, that 2,000 pounds to Sing Sing Kill Brewery.

Sam Merrett

Every brewer Im working with loves it, Nesel said. Theyre making special beers on tap as a salute to what Sams doing. Strong Rope Brewery, for example, created the Sailing Squirrel, a blonde ale made with Nesels malt delivered by sail freight. The brewery, along with Mill House and Sing Sing Kill, have signed up for another season, as has Beacons Hudson Valley Brewing and Wild East in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

The first delivery run of 2021 in May will include 9,000 pounds of malt, 2,000 pounds of grain, CBD oil from Our Treaty, and hot sauce from Poor Devil Pepper Company, as well as, potentially, yarn, pillows, salt, maple syrup, and firewood. The ship will collect honey and coffee in Brooklyn and bring it back up river.

The Apollonia takes two to three days to complete a delivery, which Nesel said isnt so different from the trucks he loads up every day, but the latter involves no human interaction or community. Thats something Merrett values highly. He wants to create a regional movement weaving together producers and consumers  and, he hopes, other vessels, too.

Our work is in establishing trade routes, Merrett said. Trade is a connection between communities. This summer, Merrett plans on holding events at partners ports along their route, including Waterfront Wednesdays in Hudson and collaborations with the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston. While the Apollonia is not an educational vessel, outreach is important to raise awareness and grow the movement.

A river-based food economy doesnt have to be a throwback to a bygone era; it can be a demonstration of a more sustainable future.

Through our work we want to inspire others. People ask, How much can you really move on a boat? Thats not even relevant to me, Merrett said. If we can show this works, then another boat can join, and then another.
Howden, the London-based insurance broker, has announced the acquisition of ARTAI, Spains largest independent corporate insurance broker.

The transaction, which is pending approval from Spains Directorate General of Insurance (DGSFP), will see Howdens presence in the region grow considerably, managing more than 350 million ($422 million) in premiums, with a workforce of 600 employees across 30 offices in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

ARTAI was founded 28 years ago in Galicia and specializes in advising companies in the textile, marine, marine-fishing, logistics and fleet sectors, in addition to providing risk management for large accounts.

The acquisition comes at a time of continued growth for Howden Iberia, part of Howden Broking. The broker purchased Compensa Capital Humano in July 2020, and in early 2021 launched a new specialist Human Capital team led by Ana Matarranz.

The acquisition of ARTAI reflects our commitment to specialist expertise, local delivery and people as the basis of our company. The purchase brings us a team with expertise and specialist knowledge that will complement our business, and also share our vision: to offer clients choice and a credible alternative in a consolidating market, commented Salvador Marin, CEO, Howden Iberia.

A company of Howdens size, not only in Spain but worldwide, opens up an incredible range of possibilities and markets for both our employees and our customers, said Jaime Borras, president of ARTAI.

ARTAI has 17 offices located in Vigo, A Coruna, Alicante, Baleares, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Leon, Lugo, Madrid, Medina del Campo, Oviedo, Pamplona, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Vitoria. The company also has two offices in Morocco.

Jose Manuel Gonzalez, CEO of Howden Broking, said: This transaction is strongly aligned with Howden Brokings strategic plan for the next five years, of which one of the main aims is to support and drive forward Howdens growth in Europe.

About Howden Broking

Howden Broking, a leading independent provider of re/insurance brokerage, risk consulting and employee benefits advice, comprises owned businesses across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Established in 1994, Howden employs more than 6,500 people worldwide. Together with network partners, Howden operates in more than 90 territories.

Source: Howden Broking

Topics Mergers Agencies
New research by the University of New England's Palaeoscience Research Centre suggests juvenile tyrannosaurs were slenderer and relatively faster for their body size compared to their multi-tonne parents.

The research, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, analysed a collection of fossilised tyrannosaur footprints to learn more about the way these animals aged and how they moved.

UNE PhD student and study leader, Nathan Enriquez -- in international collaboration with the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, University of Alberta, Royal Ontario Museum, University of Bologna and the Grande Prairie Regional College -- believes the findings contribute a new line of evidence to previous findings based on bone anatomy and computer models of muscle masses.

"The results suggest that as some tyrannosaurs grew older and heavier, their feet also became comparably more bulky," Mr Enriquez said.

"Fully grown tyrannosaurs were believed to be more robust than younger individuals based on their relatively shorter hind limbs and more massive skulls, but nobody had explored this growth pattern using fossil footprints, which are unique in that they can provide a snapshot of the feet as they appeared in life, with outlines of the soft, fleshy parts of the foot that are rarely preserved as fossils.

Footprints can be ambiguous and hard to interpret correctly -- the shape of a footprint may be influenced by the type of ground surface that is stepped on and the motions of the animal making the footprints. In addition, the exact identity of the animal may not always be clear. These challenges have previously limited the use of fossil footprints in understanding dinosaur growth.

The answer lay in the Grande Prairie region of Northern Alberta, Canada, where the research team worked with well-preserved samples of footprints of different sizes that are suggested to belong to the same type of animal.

"We explored a remote dinosaur footprint site where we discovered a new set of large carnivorous dinosaur footprints within very similar rocks to those which have produced tyrannosaur tracks in the past," Mr Enriquez said.

"Based on the relatively close proximity between these discoveries and their nearly equivalent ages -- about 72.5 million years old -- we suggest they may indeed belong to the same species.

"We were also careful to assess the quality of preservation in each footprint, and only considered specimens which were likely to reflect the shape of the actual feet that produced them."

Once the team had a suitable sample, they analysed the outlines of each specimen using a method called geometric morphometrics. This process removes the effect of overall size differences between each footprint and shows what the most important differences in track shape are.

"The greatest difference in shape was found to be the relative width and surface area of the heel impression, which significantly increased in size between smaller and larger footprints," Mr Enriquez said.

"The smaller tracks are comparably slender, while the biggest tyrannosaur tracks are relatively broader and had much larger heel areas. This makes sense for an animal that is becoming larger and needs to support its rapidly increasing body weight. It also suggests the relative speed of these animals decreased with age.

"Increasingly bulky feet in the adults aligns with previous suggestions that juvenile tyrannosaurs would have been faster and more agile for their body size in comparison to their parents, and means that we can add footprints as another line of evidence in the debate over tyrannosaur growth.

"Lastly, it demonstrates the usefulness of footprints for investigating a potentially wider range of ideas about the lives of extinct species than has been considered previously."

###
The McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England, is one of the most iconic buildings in the entire industry. Built by architect Norman Foster, it was officially opened in 2003 and comprises several buildings that house the production center, a test wind tunnel, the McLaren car collection, and the McLaren office building, and countless artificial lakes and perfectly manicured greenery.The property is a gem even without the McLaren association, and, as of earlier this week, it is no longer the property of McLaren. Its been sold to U.S.-based company Global Net Lease, which will lease it back to McLaren for at least another 20 years. McLaren plans to stay there long-term, and the deal will be revisited after two decades. According to the press release sent out on the occasion, GNL bought the HQ for 170 million ($234 million), 30 million ($41.8 million) short of what McLaren was hoping to get for it.In May last year, rumors first started to circulate that things were so bad at McLaren it no longer had funds to continue operations. With most staff furloughed and the full lockdown in effect in the UK, it needed an urgent cash injection. The British government denied a request for a 150 million loan ($209 million), so McLaren was said to be considering selling or mortgaging the building and the McLaren collection inside, which, alone, is estimated at 250 million ($348 million).After raising capital from investors and securing a loan from the National Bank of Bahrain, McLaren decided to sell and leaseback the Woking HQ. Months after the announcement, it has finally been able to do so. The transaction will close in the second quarter of 2021.
(Natural News) Many Americans have heard the news account of Dr. Gregory Michael, a 56-year-old Florida physician who, after receiving his first dose of a Pfizer COVID vaccine on December 18 of last year, was hospitalized three days later. He had a total loss of his platelets  the little blood cells that stop bleeding. In spite of being treated by a team of physicians, he died two weeks later from a brain hemorrhage, and was reported to have had zero platelets. By February 10, 2021, 36 other similar cases were reported in the mainstream media. Pfizer, which along with its partner BioNTech made the vaccine the doctor received, said in a statement that it was aware of the death. Typically, they concluded, We are actively investigating this case, but we dont believe at this time that there is any direct connection to the vaccine.

(Article by Lee D. Merritt MD republished from TheNewAmerican.com)

Pfizer made this finding despite several unusual circumstances of the case. First, low-platelet disorders, known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), most commonly affect children, and generally follow a viral illness. Only 10 percent of ITP cases occur in adults, who usually present with a slow onset form of the disorder, referred to as chronic ITP. The disorder usually starts by someone noticing easy bleeding, such as slow oozing from gums or the nose, or bruises showing up without trauma. Rarely do platelets drop below 20,000, and generally treatment either reverses the disease or prolongs life for years in spite of the problem.

What happened to this physician and the others seems to be a new previously unseen problem related to vaccination  despite the manufacturers claims.

Increasingly, vaccine manufacturers and government officials are following the sarcastic maxim from Samuel Shems novel of medical residency entitled The House of God that if you dont take a temperature you cant find a fever. In other words, if we dont critically look at the actual recorded patient damage, we wont find our products to be defective. Now, major media are increasingly getting on board, condemning vaccine hesitancy and pushing everyone to get vaccinated for COVID, discounting any dangers. But in the practice of medicine, we are supposed to employ the precautionary principle  above all do no harm.

Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are experimental, employing a genetic technology never before used on humans. Ironically, many people who wouldnt purchase the first edition of a new car line are lining up to take an injection they know nothing about, that has never successfully passed animal trials, that could never meet the required safety level for a drug, and is unapproved for the prevention of COVID except as an emergency experiment.

Legally, those who get the vaccine are unnamed participants in a Stage IV FDA trial.

Moreover, a vaccine is supposed to prevent disease. By that definition, these agents are not even vaccines. They are more properly termed experimental unapproved genetic agents. By admission of the manufacturers themselves, both the Pfizer and Moderna products only lessen the symptoms of COVID; they dont prevent transmission.

Vaccination was first invented to treat smallpox, which had a a fatality rate of up to 60 percent. Then other diseases such as typhoid and polio were similarly addressed. But vaccination is not used when effective safe treatment is available. Although censorship has confused the public understanding, overwhelming evidence dating back to the 1970s shows that viruses can be treated with lysosomotropic agents. The truth is, hundreds of papers have shown that chloroquine, and its later version hydroxychloroquine, are very effective in treating this virus if given early. A worldwide open architecture online review of COVID survival (hcqtrial.com) showed that death rate was 78.7-percent lower in those countries where hydroxychloroquine was used early and often:

Multiple large studies done in outpatient settings show very excellent prevention and cure with these and other drugs such as Ivermectin. In Mumbai, India, a study was done of the city police force of 10,000 officers. No deaths were recorded in the 4,600 officers taking a small dose of hydroxychloroquine each week. All the deaths were in the untreated group. Using Worldometer statistics, COVID deaths per capita in New York State are 2,656 per million population; in New Jersey they are 2,821 per million population. In India the rate is 126 per million and in Uganda it is only seven per million. Neither India nor Uganda used social distancing in any real way. But they do use hydroxychloroquine. New York (except for Dr. Zev Zelenko and a few others) does not use the drug.

As to the claims of the efficacy of the drugs, the declaration of 95-percent effectiveness of the Pfizer product was shown to be bunkum by Dr. Peter Doshi, the associate editor of the British Medical Journal, writing in that publication. After doing an independent review of the data submitted to the FDA, Dr. Doshi reported that only 30 percent of test subjects, at best, experienced even the slightest benefit (symptom reduction). Absolute risk reduction  in other words stopping transmission  he estimated at less than one percent.

The limited benefit of taking the drugs is made worse by the relatively high death tolls from the new mRNA therapy. During the first two months of the rollout of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in 2021, 95 percent of deaths from vaccines recorded in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) were for those agents, meaning only five percent of reported deaths involved all the other vaccines put together. Compared to 2019, deaths in VAERS are up 6,000 percent. Thirty-six deaths were recorded in the first quarter of 2020 versus 1,754 in the first quarter of 2021.

In Israel, where the Pfizer mRNA product is being used exclusively and a major push is on to vaccinate the whole population, an independent review of government data after two months of the vaccine program was done by the Aix-Marseille University Faculty of Medicine Emerging Infectious and Tropical Diseases Units Dr. Herve Seligmann and engineer Haim Yativ. They showed that when 12.5 percent of Israelis were vaccinated, 51 percent of the deaths from COVID were in the vaccinated group. Additionally, in the over 65-year-olds, vaccination resulted in death from COVID 40 times more than in unvaccinated people. In other words, this is not protecting people from COVID but increasing fatalities from the disease  and this neglects the number of other side effects.

If the truth were known, most sane, thinking people would not likely take part in such an experiment. With the truth hidden and with threats of travel bans and an unwarranted fear of COVID, and with pressure from employers and the politicization of COVID in general, Americans have been throwing caution to the wind.

The Unknowns

To understand what is actually happening to people after receiving the mRNA agents, I reviewed data in VAERS  an open-source searchable database of possible vaccine side effects reported by both providers and patients. According to the CDC website:

VAERS is used to detect possible safety problems  called signals  that may be related to vaccination. If a vaccine safety signal is identified through VAERS, scientists may conduct further studies to find out if the signal represents an actual risk.

The main goals of VAERS are to:

 Detect new, unusual, or rare adverse events that happen after vaccination.  Monitor increases in known side effects, like arm soreness where a shot was given  Identify potential patient risk factors for particular types of health problems related to vaccines  Assess the safety of newly licensed vaccines  Watch for unexpected or unusual patterns in adverse event reports  Serve as a monitoring system in public health emergencies

The CDC acknowledges limitations of the system, including:

 Reports submitted to VAERS often lack details and sometimes contain errors. ? Serious adverse events are more likely to be reported than mild side effects. ? It is generally not possible to find out from VAERS data if a vaccine caused the adverse event.

I searched the VAERS database using keywords that would identify bleeding problems and thrombocytopenia (low or absent platelets). Entries are defined by age groups and sex with a narrative account of the injury.

In a two-and-a-half-month period from December 15, 2020 to March 12, 2021, 358 cases of unusual clotting or bleeding were identified, and it makes grim reading. There were 104 cases of frank thrombocytopenia (low platelets)  some including young people. However, the numbers alone do not adequately convey the problems. In one case about an 18-29 year-old female, the physician wrote this: Patient was seen in in my office on 1/19/21 with complaint of heavy vaginal bleeding. A CBC was obtained which revealed an H/H of 12.2/36.1 and a platelet count of 1 (not 1K, but 1 platelet!) This was confirmed on smear review. The surprise and horror the doctor experienced upon seeing the absence of platelets is clear when reading the report.

But the platelet problem may just be the most severe expression of a physical derangement that is producing bleeding of all sorts. As seen in the table below, there were 49 people with brain hemorrhages  nine fatal at the time of reporting. A number of other people arrived at Emergency Departments with bleeding from multiple sites, or internally, so massive that they could not be stabilized even to clearly define the sources of the bleeding.

Severe Thrombocytopenia 94 Various Spontaneous Skin bleeding 10 Mild Thrombocytopenia 11 Vein bleeding from temple 1 Thrombocytopenic Petechial rash/bruising 5 Prolonged surgical site bleeding 3 Severe Pancytopenia 2 Severe multifocal bleeding 5 Unknown Hematologic Problem 1 Severe internal bleeding 5 Multifocal or massive brain hemorrhage 20 Severe uncharacterized bleeding 3 Focal brain hemorrhage 29 Bleeding from cancer site liver 1 GI Bleed 34 Renal dialysis shunt 1 Severe Vaginal Bleeding 7 Hematuria 2 Vaginal Bleeding 21 Renal bleed 1 Bleeding in Pregnancy 6 Tonsillar bleed 1 Bleeding with Miscarriage 12 Acute Uterine Fibroid hemorrhage 1 Irreg Menses 4 Nosebleed 32 Oral bleeding 8 Spontaneous Splenic hemorrhage 1 Subconjunctival Hemorrhage 11 Injection Site Bleeding 21 Intraocular bleed 4 Arm Bruising 1

Most cases of severe problems were in people over the age of 50 years. But there were many younger people involved, especially in the less severe-but-unusual bleeding problems. Of the 36 reported nosebleeds, six were either unable to be stopped with usual measures, were recurrent, or were recorded as having significant blood loss or dubbed profuse. Many were associated with other symptoms: photophobia (eye sensitivity to light), headache, hives, sick in bed, brain fog, and face swelling. The youngest patient with a nosebleed was, sadly, a toddler requiring emergency care. Unusual skin bleeding was also reported. Four 65-plus-year-old males reported blood spontaneously oozing through the skin: one from the legs, one from the scalp, one from an old biopsy site, and one from an old healed boil site. Frank bleeding at the time of the inoculation occurred 14 times. Some bleeding was momentary, but often the bleeding was difficult to stop, recurrent, and/or persisted after the patient returned home. (How many times have you had an injection and bled at all, let alone bled off and on for hours?)

Perhaps the saddest were the bleeding episodes that preceded spontaneous miscarriages. Here are some direct entries in VAERS:

40-49 y.o. Female: The evening of my vaccination I began to feel feverish, weak and achy. During the night I woke with heavy bleeding and found out the following morning I had miscarried my otherwise healthy pregnancy. 39 y.o. Female: Internal brain bleeding 10 days after 1st dose Covid vaccine; brain damage, confused, suffering memory loss; This is a spontaneous report from a contactable physician (patient). 30-39 y.o. Female: 48 hours after injection developed micro-hemorrhages in her right eye. Symptoms resolved and 12/29 recurrence of bleeding to right eye slightly worse than before 65+ y.o. Male: Patient developed significant nose bleed after receiving vaccine. Required emergency department visits x 2 and hospitalization. 65+ y.o. Female: Vaccine administered 02/02/2021. By Thursday 2/11/2021 patient almost nonverbal, by Monday 2/15/2021 patient went to the hospital with bruising, sores on her stomach and clots reported as thrombocytopenia. Deceased by Friday, 2/19/20201. 40-49 y.o. Female: Bleeding, myalgia, tingling in the fingers of the right hand; fatigue immediately upon vaccination  bleeding at the injection site which the employee reports as filling the Band-Aid over the site. When she got home in the evening and took it off blood ran. 65+ y.o. Female: Within 15 min of the injection, the individual became aphasic and stroke like symptoms. She was taken to the ER where she was later diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away.

When such facts are presented, the standard retort from vaccine advocates is, We have given millions of vaccines, so a few deaths are to be expected. Besides the fact that a willingness to sacrifice individuals for the nebulous good of the masses represents a bankrupt moral order, simply calculating the numbers of deaths is inadequate. Experts need to take the time to read the narrative to open their eyes  and their hearts  to the suffering happening. There are over 25 pages of such stories printed from VAERS entries, and we must consider, How many of these people are now dead, and how many are going to die?

A second-year medical student armed with the facts should recognize looming disaster  where are the experts?

In truth, neither recipients nor their doctors know what is in these vaccines. Only a few people at the top of the Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca research groups really understand them. These mRNA injections produce a potentially deadly pathogen  the spike protein  in your cells. The Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer product says that it contains a nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) encoding the viral spike glycoprotein (S) of SARS-CoV-2. If your immune system is strong enough to withstand this onslaught and create some immunity, you may survive the first onslaught. But even if you dont die in the short term, mRNA is an epigenetic controller of DNA. Though this foreign synthetic mRNA doesnt actually become part of your DNA to make you a GMO human, as some people have been worrying about, it can control DNA in ways we have yet to completely understand. We literally have no idea whether this bodily additive is going to have a side effect of expressing cancer genes, or of repressing cancer protective genes, or thousands of other potentially deadly unknowns.

Additionally, the Pfizer vaccine includes all types of ingredients that may by themselves create ailments. The Pfizer shot contains lipids ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2- hexyldecanoate), 2-[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-distearoyl-snglycero-3-phosphocholine, and cholesterol), potassium chloride, monobasic potassium phosphate, sodium chloride, dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, and sucrose.

I insert this list just for completeness  dont expect to make sense of it. Your doctor cant either. I understand sucrose (sugar) and sodium chloride (salt), but who doesnt get lost in the hydroxybutyl and distearoyl lipid list?

After doing some sleuthing and having some inside knowledge to start from, I discovered that this lipid particle is an adjuvant called Matrix M. As described in scientific literature, Adjuvant Matrix-M is comprised of 40 nm nanoparticles composed of Quillaja saponins, cholesterol and phospholipid.

Matrix-M essentially wraps the mRNA in a lipid coating that allows it to move through cell walls and to linger in your system. Matrix-M is derived from plant chemicals called saponins, which have poorly understood properties in plant biology. They can be toxic to humans in some cases, and have been traditionally used by aboriginal tribesmen to poison fish. Should we consider that comforting?

The pharmacology industry has a long history of removing bad drugs from the market. Thalidomide is perhaps the most famous example of a pharmacologic disaster. The drug was released in 1957 for its sedative effects and was touted as being safe for everyone including pregnant women and children. In 1961, Dr. William McBride, an obstetrician, discovered that thalidomide was useful for morning sickness in pregnant women. Later he began to see unusual and devastating birth defects in babies born to women for whom he had prescribed the drug. Independently, Dr. Widuking Lenz, a pediatrician in Germany, also associated thalidomide with severe and unusual birth defects, such as the absence of limbs or parts of limbs. Sometimes an infants hands were attached at the shoulders, there being no connecting long bones at all. By 1962 the drug was taken off the market.

But unlike with our new, experimental agents, recognition of the thalidomide problem was made relatively easy by several factors. First among these was the uniqueness of the deformities. These were both profound and obvious, which stand in stark contrast to the current bleeding problems, which appear on the surface to be normal problems in clinical medicine  such as nosebleeds. Even now, doctors continue to call the loss of platelets ITP  even though what we are seeing is not the same as what we would expect to see under that diagnosis. ITP simply does not kill adult males in a few days.

Second, with thalidomide, the physician who first began using the drug for nausea in pregnancy was also the doctor who delivered the affected babies, so he could readily put two and two together. In the case of our COVID drugs, when your doctor tells you to get a vaccine, he doesnt administer it, doesnt witness the injection, and usually doesnt follow up to see how you fared. And if you were to suddenly develop a vision problem or bleeding from the bowel, you wouldnt be seen by your PCP; you would be in an Emergency Department  and they dont usually ask about your recent vaccine history.

Third, Dr. Lenz presciently recognized that, in the case of thalidomide, many less-severe deformities, when put into perspective, revealed gradations of the defect. Unfortunately in the present case, lesser degrees of clotting problems are indistinguishable from bleeding issues frequently encountered in an Emergency Room or doctors office. For example, if a 75-year-old hypertensive male  who has gotten a COVID shot  suffers a brain hemorrhage and dies, it would not likely be deemed unusual, and the relationship to vaccination may not even be explored.

Keeping that in mind, we should assume the worst when it comes to these new COVID shots. When any new drug problem starts, it begins slowly and unrecognized  like a snowball beginning to roll down a mountain. By the time the problem is generally acknowledged, the avalanche is well on its way. In the case of thalidomide, over 100,000 children were severely damaged before the drug was removed from use. Though VAERS has the potential to shorten recognition time of drug problems by trying to spot the unusual patterns, this requires that physicians be aware of the system, and take the time to enter any suspected side effects  not just the worst cases. It also requires that researchers care enough to look. This is not happening. A report previously submitted to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality revealed that fewer than one percent of adverse events get reported to VAERS.

In the past, testing done on mRNA technology revealed problems specifically involving the clotting system. Antibody-mediated platelet damage has been suspected. Yet today when these exact problems arise, the researchers are mum. Do the experts not study or know their own vaccine research history?

For those who are concerned about the risks, we need to advocate for ourselves, either through contacting legislators or simply refusing to take the shots. Its obvious that the pharmaceutical industry is willing to release untried technology upon the entire world population, and not be deterred by any inconvenience such as unexplained death.

We need to stop being a gullible population that forces our children to get vaccinated for trivial, non-fatal diseases such as mumps. We need to stop believing in the god-like status of medical technocrats who claim to be making the world safer. We need to reject the idea that vaccine deniers are anti-scientific troglodytes. We must reject the unspoken premise under which pharmaceutical companies and doctors operate  that all vaccines are always safe in all people all the time. It should not be considered unreasonable to require scientific transparency, honesty by drug manufacturers, and safety from vaccines.

Vaccines are only indicated for diseases with a high risk of death or morbidity, and for which there is no cure. After seeing the esteemed leaders in medicine denigrate hydroxychloroquine (even though it was a recognized treatment used successfully elsewhere for SARS, and mentioned favorably by Dr. Fauci for MERS), after watching three plants used in the production of hydroxychloroquine burn down in a year  two on the same day  after watching doctors lose their jobs and be censored for speaking truth and saving lives with old safe drugs that work, and now, after seeing experimental genetic agents being rolled out for use globally that have never passed animal testing and have only a few months human trials, perhaps it is time to address the 800-pound gorilla in the room and ask, Are they trying to kill us?

Read more at: TheNewAmerican.com
Fugitive self-styled godman Swami Nithyananda has banned devotees from India from entering 'Kailasa' island amid the rising coronavirus cases in India.

In a statement on Twitter, Nithyananda Paramashivam said that due to the second and third wave of coronavirus travellers from India will not be allowed to enter the island.

Travellers from Brazil, European Union and Malaysia have also been banned.

"All Kailasians, Ekailasians, volunteers associated with these de facto embassies of Kailasa are to quarantine themselves and adhere to the precautionary measures advised by the local laws," the statement said.

The self-styled godman fled India in 2019 after being accused of sexual assault and is said to be hiding in 'Kailasa' - his virtual island off the coast of Ecuador, South America.

Nithyananda has also appealed to the United Nations to declare Kailasa as a separate country. Besides its cabinet and prime minister, Kailasa island also has a dedicated website.

The island's website reads "Kailaasa is a nation without borders created by dispossessed Hindus from around the world who lost the right to practice Hinduism authentically in their own countries."

Nithyananda, in a video that went viral last year, is heard saying that he has begun operating charter flight services called 'Garuda' from Australia to his island nation.

He had also launched his very own 'Reserve Bank of Kailasa' in August 2020 and declared 'Kailashian dollars' as the official currency of the island.

(With input from agencies)

(Edited by Vivek Dubey)

Also Read: The lever India is NOT using against US arm-twisting of local vaccine makers

Also Read: COVID-19: Pfizer to supply coronavirus vaccine at 'not-for-profit' rate to Centre

Also Read: COVID-19: Indian Railways to transport oxygen to Maharashtra, UP
We are very concerned about it and are planning to embark on some targeted outreach among men, said Dr. Paul Simon, the chief science officer at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, who said that the disparities are of particular concern for Black and Latino men. Only 19% of Black males in Los Angeles County and 17% of Latino males have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 35% of Asian men and 32% of white men, according to the most recent data available from early this month.
So long as we think dugout canoes are the only possibility-all that is real or can be real-we will never see the ship, we will never feel the free wind blow. Sonia Johnson

Everyone must believe in something. I believe Ill go canoeing. Henry David Thoreau

The keel of the canoe softly scraped the shallow stone making the only sound in the early morning darkness. The paddles were virtually silent as we oozed into the blackness of the Tennessee River. Light to the east was so hard to come by that the horizon above the river edge was only faintly visible.

Crossing the river in the dimness of predawn made stumps and blowdowns invisible while a multitude of splashes indicated a good sized school of fish feeding somewhere in the dense gloom. We had been a little too eager to get this hunt started. It was still too early for birds on their roost to be greeting the day with any distinct vocalization.

Feeding fish seem to offer a conflicting dilemma this time of year. Should we fish or chase gobbling birds? This particular morning we flipped the coin and fish won the toss. The fish making all this noise sounded rather large and active as we sailed quietly downriver looking for obstacles in the dim light that presented the potential for a cold boat wreck and swim.

Sailing slowly adrift I tried to imagine how the river must have looked in 1809. Virgin timber, uninhabited, and probably a great deal more shallow in spots. Virgin timber blow downs must have littered this path after raging winter floods. Towering and numerous limestone bluffs were hidden in a dark, primeval forest in the early years of 1800.

1809 was the year Sam Houston ran away from home. I imagined that Sam left Maryville in a canoe probably dug out of a big stately poplar. No modern boat or paddle needed when you run from your family to live with the Cherokee at age 16.

Something in the back of my mind told me that Sam probably was a little more than impetuous at age 16 to spend time digging in an old poplar for a boat suitable to make this trip. I wondered if he borrowed someones boat back in Maryville. The logic of many a 16-year-old of that day may have been, Whos going to come deep into Indian country to find the missing hollowed out log that was once theirs?

I tried to calculate the distance of the trip and apply the nights Sam spent on the river bank alone with bears, cats and wolves lurking in the shadows. Time spent planning the arrival at Jollys Island where he would tell John Jolly, headman of the Cayuga town, that Sam needed to hang out for a while with the Cherokee while he was making a few changes in his life. I assumed Sam could speak the native language when he needed to empty out his heart.

We slipped under Garrison Bluff, a prominently large dome of limestone and scraggly cedars, named for the location of a Federal Army Garrison established a couple of years prior to1809. It wasnt like Sam had gone completely off grid as it pertains to European interlopers that were slowly but surely infiltrating their way into the Cherokees homeland.

Col. Return J. Meigs established himself and the Federal Army as US Indian Agent on this tall prominence above Jollys big island town in 1807. The Garrison was erected to be highly prominent on the highest ground overlooking the big island at the confluence of the Hiwassee River where it meets the Tennessee.

Col. Meigs and his bilingual interpreter Charles Renatus (Born Again) Hicks served as agents for more than two decades to the Cherokee in southeastern Tennessee and North Carolina. Hicks also acted as Treasurer for the Cherokee Nation. Hicks went on to become the first Cherokee of European ancestry to be named Principal Chief in 1827 after Pathkiller died.

The island was surely larger in 1809, long before dams flooded some of the best river bottom forest and farm land in this part of the state.

According to the Cherokee Nation website, Jolly was a wealthy merchant and planter. Jolly spoke no English, and dressed in buckskin with a hunting shirt, leggings and moccasins.

I tried to imagine Sam pulling his dugout on the banks of the island in 1809 when Jolly adopted him and acted as his father. Jolly must have taken to the teen as he benevolently honored Sam Houston with the name of Kalanu, meaning The Raven.

I pondered the life for the next three years on that island and questioned if word was ever sent back up river of Sams whereabouts. As we paddled around the island edge into the Hiwassee River my minds eyes tried vainly to visualize the island inhabitants daily life during particularly those years.

What was the fishing like? What did a winters firewood chore look like back then? Were the turkeys silent then like they were on this morning? Were there more deer then? Was there any sense of impending future doom from the coming of The Treaty of New Echota in 1836, or the Trail of Tears that would follow?

Did Sam ride William Blythes ferry when he established it on The Great Road from Knoxville to Chattanooga in 1809? Was that the thrill ride of the day? Did Blythe imagine that ferry being used to force march thousands of Indians west twenty years later? Before the ferry, particularly how was the The Great Road routed?

Was it possible that Sam could paddle up the Hiwassee to the Womankiller Ford on the Ocoee where Nancy Ward had established an inn before she died? Did Sam know her son Fivekiller? Was the river too shallow for a canoe in those days? How long would it take to make that trip on foot or by horseback? How would one get a horse on or off of an Island?

In 1812, a good many Cherokee warriors and Sam left for the war and that seems to be the end of his time on this particular island. Did Sam realize that Jolly would move west early and become a Principle Chief in 1819 in the Arkansas Territory. Did Sam get word that his adopted father left years before the forced march as he abandoned Cayuga avoiding the theft of his island along with the rest of the Cherokee land east of the Mississippi?

By 1827 Sam was the sixth governor of Tennessee. By 1859 he had been elected the seventh governor of Texas. I wondered how he looked back on his days on the island and how those years with the Cherokee affected his rise to frontier fame?

After no encounters with birds, we paddled both down the Hiwassee and up the Tennessee in a steady headwind and I was reminded of a saying my old man used to say when we paddled our first home-built canoe into a stiff breeze; You can sure get a lot of enjoyment out of this boat in a hurry!

Battling the breeze up river we could see the knoll where Col. Return J. Meigs is buried. I must admit that Ive visited his grave in Rhea County on more than one occasion. Im not sure why. The first time I found Garrison Cemetery, I was scouting for a good place to goose hunt and this knoll provides the perfect panoramic view of the two rivers and the island and the ferry. The grave site is unusually prominent and I guess it caught my eye. I was mildly astounded as I read the inscription on the tomb. This cemetery seems to me to be a fitting final resting place for a decorated Revolutionary War hero and a benevolent Indian agent.

They say Col. Meigs died in 1832 of pneumonia after giving up his house for a cold night in North Carolina to a visiting, honored Indian chief, by sleeping outside in a tent, as a gesture of respect. I wonder if he rolled over in his grave as he viewed the people he thought so much of, travel across Blythes Ferry on their long and deadly walk west?

Its an odd state of mind, shoulders and back that the canoe in a headwind inflicts. We paddled two rivers steeped in both dark and pristine history. Maybe thats one of the many ancillary benefits of paddling a boat; it takes you back to a simpler time and makes you question where you are really paddling on a day like today. The canoe pulls at you and makes you look back at how we may have forgotten the past, or islands that weve motored around without even really taking notice.

Apparently it was a good day to fish.
A rape survivor has forgiven the taxi driver who sexually assaulted her while she slept in a public spa, but said the ordeal has left her terrified to walk more than 15 metres from her front door.

Megan Bales, 30, was raped by Hayas Kardo after falling asleep in a spa at Adelaide Aquatic Centre in September 2018.

Kardo, who was found guilty last November, waited for Ms Bales to doze off before using the spa's bubbles to hide his heinous assault.

Ms Bales confronted Kardo in the District Court on Thursday to deliver a victim impact statement, saying she now struggles to leave her house out of fear.

Megan Bales, 30, said she was let go from her job, suffers from 'crippling' anxiety, nightmares and panic attacks, and later turned to alcohol to cope with her trauma

Kardo, who was found guilty last November, waited for Ms Bales to doze off before using the spa's bubbles to hide his heinous assault

'You will never begin to understand the impact your selfish and depraved act that day has affected me,' she told Kardo, who appeared unmoved, ABC reports.

'I have no room in my heart for hate, so today I choose to forgive you for what you've done because I deserve to be free of hate, feel free of fear and free of despair.'

Ms Bales said Kardo's actions have changed 'every aspect' of her as a person and revealed her mental health deteriorated after the attack.

The former chef said she was let go from her job while suffering from 'crippling' anxiety, nightmares and panic attacks - which she still endures to this day.

She later turned to alcohol to cope with her trauma, leading to numerous stints in hospital.

Megan Bales, 30, was raped by Hayas Kardo after falling asleep in a spa (pictured) at Adelaide Aquatic Centre in September 2018

'I can't walk more than 15 metres from my house without having a panic attack or thinking someone is behind me and for a long time I was scared of everyone.'

Ms Bales' said her relationship with her fiance also fell apart in the wake of the incident.

She also told the court that she can't bear to be alone, and has even locked herself inside her ensuite to feel 'some aspect of security and ride out the night'.

Kardo, who is in custody, will be sentenced later this year.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has sent letters to leaders of over 20 countries, international organizations, in particular the Presidents of France, Russia, the United States, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Lebanon, Greece, Pope Francis, the Kings of the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and others, ahead of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

In the letters the Armenian President thanked the aforementioned presidents, the parliaments, as well as the public, spiritual and academic circles for recognizing, condemning the Armenian Genocide at different formats, as well as for the solidarity to the Armenian people.

The recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the participation of the French President to the event in Yerevan dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, your decree on declaring April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day once again highlight Frances consistency and commitment to the universal values, the Armenian President said in the letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron.

In the letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Sarkissian says in particular: Armenia highly values Russias and in particular your efforts in the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. The recognition of the Genocide, the declaration acknowledging April 24 as the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, the State Dumas statement on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, your participation to the Genocides 100th anniversary event once again highlight Russias consistency and commitment to the universal values.

In the letter addressed to US President Joe Biden, the Armenian President highly appreciated the decision adopted by the two chambers of the US Congress in 2019. Armenia praised the adoption of the resolution by the US House of Representatives on recognizing the Armenian Genocide in 2019, which was followed by a unanimous decision by the US Senate, President Sarkissian said. According to him, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide means to recognize the crime committed against humanity. We are sure that one of the tools of preventing genocides and genocidal policy is their recognition and condemnation. We expect that you will reaffirm your commitment to pushing forward the historic justice and preventing new genocides.

In his letters the Armenian President expressed confidence that the process of international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide will contribute to the prevention of genocide and elimination of impunity around the world.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has moved his address to the UK, two years after relocating to Singapore.

Companies House records show that details for Weybourne Limited  parent company of Dyson  were updated on Tuesday and now list Sir James correspondence address as being in the UK. Dysons head office remains in Singapore despite Sir James personal relocation.

Sir James attracted criticism for his decision to move Dyson's head office from the UK to Singapore in January 2019. Negative commentary has accused him of hypocrisy for switching the British companys base to Asia while being a prominent supporter of Brexit.

The inventor has consistently said that the move had nothing to do with the UKs decision to leave the EU and made commercial sense because many of Dyson's future customers would be in Asia.

Last week he stated that Brexit had given the UK its freedom back. "We're a British company  I've put a lot into this country," he told the BBC.

In September he accepted a roughly 7m loss on what was reported to be Singapore's most expensive apartment when he had bought it just a year earlier.

On the latest news, a spokesperson for Dyson said: "We do not comment on private family matters and nothing has changed in respect of the company; the structure of the Group and the business rationale underpinning it are unaltered."

News of Sir James' change of residency came as he found himself drawn into controversy around lobbying in Westminster.

Boris Johnson personally told Sir James he would fix an issue over his companys tax status after he was contacted by the inventor about building ventilators during the height of the pandemic.

Sir James wrote to the Treasury asking for an assurance that his staff would not have to pay additional tax if they came to the UK to work on the ventilator project under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT).

When he did not receive assurance he contacted the prime minister directly by text message, the BBC reported. Labour accused the government of sleaze and called for an urgent investigation into Mr Johnsons conduct.

Responding to questions about the matter on Thursday, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that it was "very good" that business leaders and constituents had "direct access" to ministers and those making decisions in Whitehall.

"I think that in the real world, in reality, people are contacting ministers, contacting MPs, all the time," he told Sky News.

"Business people are contacting MPs all the time, constituents also contact me on my phone.

"I think that in a modern democracy it's very good that people actually can have direct access to ministers and people who are taking responsibility."
Princess Mary and Prince Frederik have moved out of their home in Copenhagen just in time to celebrate their eldest daughter Princess Isabella's 14th birthday.

The Crown Prince couple - who are also parents to Prince Christian, 15, and 10-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine - have relocated their royal brood to Fredensborg Palace, 40 minutes' drive north of the Danish capital, for the summer.

Mary, 49, and Fred, 52, marked Isabella's latest milestone by releasing three new portraits of the teenage princess, 'taken in the spring sun' at Chancellery House on the extensive grounds of Fredensborg Palace.

The photos were uploaded to the royal family's official Instagram account, Det Danske Kongehus, on Wednesday, April 21, in honour of the princess' special day.

The royal family marked Princess Isabella's 14th birthday by releasing three new portraits of the teenage princess (pictured), 'taken in the spring sun' at Chancellery House

Isabella is the eldest daughter of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary. The then seven-year-old princess is pictured with her Australian-born mother on April 8, 2015 in Aarhus, Denmark

Fans rushed to send well-wishes, with many remarking how Isabella has blossomed into a stunning young woman almost overnight.

'What a beautiful lady, congratulations,' one woman wrote.

'She is so beautiful, happy birthday Princess!' added another.

The post revealed Isabella would be celebrating her birthday 'privately' with her family at Fredensborg, the most-used of the Danish royal residences located on the island of Zealand.

Princess Isabella pulls a face for the camera as she leaves her home at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen on her first day at Tranegard school on August 13. 2013

Mary (left) shares four children - Prince Christian, 15, Princess Isabella, 14, and 10-year-old wins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine - with her husband, Crown Prince Frederik (right)

In accordance with tradition, the family-of-six will spend the warmer months at Chancellery House, which holds a special place in the hearts of Denmark's future king and queen.

It was the private home of Frederik's late grandmother, Queen Ingrid, before her death in 2000.

Frederik and Mary lived there as newlyweds after their 2004 wedding until renovations were completed at Amalienborg Palace in 2010.

Mary and Frederik (pictured on their wedding day at Copenhagen Cathedral on May 14, 2004) have enjoyed a love story that many have likened to a real life fairytale

Their wedding reception was also held on the grounds of Fredensborg Palace.

Princess Isabella's grandmother, Queen Margrethe, also marked her 81st birthday at Chancellery House on April 16.

The next event on the Danish royal agenda is Prince Christian's confirmation, scheduled for May 15 at Fredensborg Palace Church where his younger sister Isabella was christened 10 years earlier.
[April 22, 2021] Montfort transforms Mental Health into an Exact Science

BINYAMINA, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Montfort (Mon4T), an innovative medical startup specializing in neurological disorders, announces a new platform to help diagnose and treat psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. The development is based on 'Brain Profiler', a new science-based method that looks at mental disorders as brain disturbances, which can be accurately diagnosed in a clinical manner. Developed by Senior Psychiatrist Dr. Abraham Peled, who partnered with Israeli startup Montfort and their EncephaLog application, the approach aims to bridge between classical Psychiatry and computational neuroscience. Based on vast literature of computational neuroscience, the method could also allow effective intervention in the future, to fix disturbance, possibly resulting in a cure. "Psychiatry as a medical field is facing a major diagnostic challenge: today's psychiatric diagnosis is based on a descriptive approach, relying solely on the patient's description of their symptoms and the clinicians' observation of that patient," explains Dr. Abraham Peled, an expert in Psychiatry, Chair of Department in Shaar Menashe Psychiatric Hospital, and a lecturer in Technion  Israel Institute of technology. "Other medical fields, however, utilize an etiological diagnosis which clearly defines the pathology, or symptoms, of a specific place in the body. For example, Appendicitis is the infection (the pathology) of an organ in the body, the appendix. A psychiatric diagnosis such as 'Depression' does not correlate to a specific organ in the body, nor does it define any pathology." Montfort uses smartphone technology and AI in order to provide FDA-cleared digital neurological tests for patients with conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and more. So far, the company has focused on motor and cognitive test protocols, routnely used by neurologists around the world. As a result of the cooperation with Dr. Peled in the past year, Montfort added to its test protocol affective indicators assessing the patient's anxiety, depression and more.



Dr. Abraham Peled: "Having checked several possibilities to apply the method in recent years, I chose Montfort because of their app's demonstrated ability to bridge between classical Psychiatry and computational neuroscience. Montfort 'translates' the digital indicators it collects, to terms that psychiatrists are familiar with like: depression, anxiety, psychosis, and suggests an explanation in terms of neurological networks connectivity problems. As a next step, the diagnosed network disturbance will be demonstrated by EEG (electroencephalogram) a procedure that was previously very complicated to conduct, therefore available only in hospitals, but is now available to any patient at home." Dr. Ziv Yekutieli, Montfort CEO: "With the complexity of human brain in general, and psychiatric disorders in particular, psychiatrists have a hard time keeping up with advances in other medical fields. A practitioner has to take clinical decisions based on subjective and non-quantitative data, which is gathered at random, short clinical visits, that do not reflect the patient's actual status throughout his or her daily life. These difficulties limit the psychiatrist's ability to treat the patient optimally, and limit pharmaceutical companies' ability to develop new drugs."

According to the WHO, over 300 million people worldwide suffer from psychiatric disorders. Without optimal treatment, these individuals suffer severe consequences that affect their health, their families, and the entire society. Dr. Peled heads an international group of psychiatrists that support the method, applying it upon the upcoming launch of the new version on Montfort's platform. With more use, the database will increase and be analyzed in the cloud by Montfort tools. According to Peled and Yekutieli, building a large database is crucial to validation of computational neuroscience-based brain diagnosis, which can only be achieved through Digital Psychiatry. The new app on Montfort's platform will allow a self-collection of patient's indicators such as his movement, social interaction patterns, and many more. Part of these indicators are already collected by researchers and companies. For the first time, a comprehensive collection of all required indicators will be available, in parallel to collecting data by the psychiatrist at the clinic, and using the AI model to predict any brain connectivity disturbances, which could explain the disorder. "Not knowing the causes of psychiatric disorders has serious consequences for treatment," says Dr. Peled. "We cannot fix a system if we do not know exactly what is wrong with it. It is absolutely critical that we discover the causes of mental disorders if we ever hope to cure them." Peled spent many years treating severe patients, including schizophrenia. The frustration of not being able to truly cure them drove him to change his approaches and connect to the digital world and to algorithms, including Montfort's application. Media Contact:

Niv Keidar

niv@gopositive.co.il

+972-525-795-853 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/montfort-transforms-mental-health-into-an-exact-science-301274647.html SOURCE Montfort

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ARMONK, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it is working with Parle Products Pvt Ltd (Parle), the largest selling biscuit brand in India, to help it more quickly and effectively bring its products to market by leveraging IBM Cloud. Parle will leverage IBM's transformative hybrid cloud and AI capabilities, along with its leading security and industry expertise with IBM's business consulting and technology services. This will help Parle get its products, such as Parle-G, the world's top-selling biscuit by volume -- to market at the right time and in the right place.

By embracing a hybrid cloud-based approach, Parle expects to innovate more quickly  finding new ways to get its products into the homes of consumers, even as the global pandemic creates challenges in the supply chain and mandates that some employees work remotely. Through streamlining operations and achieving greater scalability to meet changing demands, Parle expects to witness business growth in India and beyond.

Ajay Chauhan, Executive Director, Parle Products, said, "As the largest biscuit brand provider in India, our priority is meeting the growing demands of Indian consumers. By working with IBM to accelerate our journey to the cloud and strengthen our security posture, we will work to uncover new ways to reduce time-to-market and streamline operations  a significant milestone for us."

Parle will leverage key IBM technologies and services across hybrid cloud and AI:

Cloud  By migrating its mission-critical SAP workloads, ERP, supply chain, and analytics applications to IBM Cloud, Parle can boost productivity across business functions such as finance, HR, and procurement. This can also help the company meet the evolving needs of its growing ecosystem of wholesalers and retailers.

 By migrating its mission-critical SAP workloads, ERP, supply chain, and analytics applications to IBM Cloud, Parle can boost productivity across business functions such as finance, HR, and procurement. This can also help the company meet the evolving needs of its growing ecosystem of wholesalers and retailers. AI- With the intelligent AI-based supply chain, IBM will help design a critical KPIs-based performance management framework using IBM Watson Studio to measure and monitor the health of Parle's business processes and their outcomes. Intelligent workflows will further fuel Parle's agenda on appropriate product mix, faster planning and scheduling, and optimized supply chain costs.

With the intelligent AI-based supply chain, IBM will help design a critical KPIs-based performance management framework using IBM Watson Studio to measure and monitor the health of Parle's business processes and their outcomes. Intelligent workflows will further fuel Parle's agenda on appropriate product mix, faster planning and scheduling, and optimized supply chain costs. Services  Parle will be leveraging IBM's deep industry expertise with IBM Global Business Services (GBS) and Global Technology Services (GTS) to host its workloads on IBM Cloud.

Parle will be leveraging IBM's deep industry expertise with IBM Global Business Services (GBS) and Global Technology Services (GTS) to host its workloads on IBM Cloud. Security - By leveraging IBM's Security Operations Center (SOC) to enhance its security posture, Parle will work with IBM to design, build, and manage a comprehensive security program designed to increase its resiliency and security. The organization will also leverage IBM X-Force Red's services to uncover vulnerabilities across applications and networks. X-Force Red will support Parle's security teams to identify and remediate security flaws across their entire digital ecosystem.

"The global pandemic has demanded businesses to become digital overnight and quickly adjust to life in a virtual world," said Howard Boville, Head of IBM Hybrid Cloud Platform. "Every industry has had to accelerate their transformation and are turning to the cloud to enable that. "Parle quickly shifted its approach, by embracing an hybrid cloud strategy with IBM to leverage our cloud capabilities and deep industry expertise, with security at the forefront of their advancement. By implementing cloud and AI, Parle is able to bring their products seamlessly to millions of homes in India, despite the current challenging times."

IBM has a long-standing relationship with Parle, implementing and managing mission-critical ERP and other workloads. The work is designed to help Parle enhance demand sensing to increase efficiencies in production management, optimize inventory and logistics costs and bring intelligence to its sourcing activities.

About IBM India

For more information on IBM India, please visit http://www.ibm.com/in/en/

About IBM Cloud

For further information, visit: www.ibm.com/cloud/

Media Contact:

Hannah Slocum

IBM Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE IBM

Related Links

www.ibm.com


Azizi Developments, a leading private developer in the UAE, has become the first developer in the country to register an Israeli property purchase.

The developer has received interest from thousands of Israeli nationals since the signing of the historic Abraham Accord, with this DLD registration being the very first official one.

With Israeli nationals representing an exceptionally high demand, Azizi Developments has recently added the nation to its fly-in programme  an initiative it launched to bring international investors to Dubai and showcase the emirate to the world as an ideal hub for business, tourism and innovation

On the historic move, CEO Farhad Azizi said: "We are delighted to welcome Israeli investors to Dubai's awe-inspiring and highly growth-inclined real estate landscape, and to be the first to officially register an Israeli national as a property buyer."

The first ever property sold and registered to an Israeli investor in UAE history is a one-bedroom home in Creek Views II, one of Azizis outstandingly well-connected projects situated in the beautifully landscaped and well-thought-out Dubai Healthcare City.

Creek Views II grants picturesque views, as well as an elegant, ultra-modern design and finishing, representing Dubais transition from a traditional past to a contemporary, reinvited future.

"This registration, which is the first of many to come, is a truly monumental move that we are proud to facilitate. We now look forward to offering Israelis world-class properties in a city that is the best place to visit, live and work in and homes that meet these savvy investors aspirations," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Crop seed company in E Chinas Shandong province devoted to breeding high-quality seeds to benefit farmers

09:23, April 22, 2021 By Wang Pei ( People's Daily

Hou Yuanjiang, general manager of a crop seed company in east Chinas Shandong province, still feels an upsurge of emotion when he recalls that Qingfeng No.1, a wheat seed jointly bred by his company and the Agronomy College of Shandong Agricultural University after 11 years efforts, set off to the outer space with Chinas manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 on Sept. 25, 2008.

Hou Yuanjiang (left), general manager of a crop seed company which bred a wheat seed that has traveled with Chinas Shenzhou-7 spacecraft, checks the growth of wheat in a field. (Peoples Daily Online/Yangliu Yifan)

According to Hou, he watched on TV at home the successful launch of Shenzhou-7 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Chinas Gansu province. Qingfeng No. 1 was one of the seeds that were selected to travel in space with the spacecraft.

Wheat breeding is extraordinarily arduous. Its time-consuming and only has a very small chance of success, said Sun Xuliang, a senior agronomist of the bureau of agriculture and rural affairs of Qingdao, Shandong province.

Since wheat breeding includes such procedures as parental combination, comparative experiment, regional trial, and pilot production, it usually takes more than a decade to eventually select a new variety from tens of thousands of strains, Sun explained, adding that some wheat breeding experts couldnt even develop one new variety during their whole lifetime.

Hou is particularly rigorous in scientific research and seed breeding. Hous team starts the hybridization for wheat breeding every April, which is followed by investigations and observations. During the harvest season of wheat, Hou would go to wheat field around 5 a.m. almost every morning to check the performance of wheat varieties in such aspects as disease resistance, lodging resistance, and yielding ability.

Thanks to Hous tenacity, the wheat seed Qingfeng No.1 was proven successful in 2006, marking a historic zero-to-one breakthrough for Hous company in breeding new varieties.

Agricultural technicians collect samples of soil from designated points in a wheat field of an agricultural base in Jiaoqiao township, Zouping, east Chinas Shandong province, March 15, 2021. (Peoples Daily/Dong Naide)

With the help of agricultural departments in Qingdao, Hous company has established long-term technical partnership with higher education institutions and scientific research institutes such as Shandong Agricultural University and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

In 2016, Liaolan township, Pingdu city of Shandong, where Hous company is based, set up Qingfeng work station of academicians and experts to provide guidance on the breeding of new varieties of wheat and peanut and point the direction for breeding on site. The station now has one academician and six experts.

So far, eight of the new wheat varieties of the Qingfeng and Qingnong series developed by Hous company have been examined and approved by provincial-level authorities, and six new peanut varieties bred by the company have been registered at relevant national authorities.

Hou has combined breeding of superior varieties with demonstration of crop varieties in Qingdao and its surrounding areas, namely promoting the growing of new varieties in breeding bases of superior varieties first, and then further expanding the planting area of these varieties in surrounding areas.

In an effort to breed high-quality seeds, Hou has also established a specialized cooperative for the production and marketing of crop seeds. More than 5,000 local households have become members of the cooperative and joined in the breeding and production of superior varieties.

The cooperative purchases wheat seeds from local farmers and offers them a price which is 0.2 yuan (about $0.03) higher than that of commercial wheat per kilogram, attracting households in more than 30 villages in the locality to the production of wheat seeds.

Photo taken on April 11, 2021, shows a 500-meter-long self-propelled truss sprinkler irrigating a wheat field in Lique township, Guangrao county, east Chinas Shandong province. (Peoples Daily Online/Zhou Guangxue)

As a result, the cooperative sees the planting area of the seeds of improved wheat and peanut varieties and other crops reach nearly 50,000 mu (about 3333.33 hectares) and their output exceed 20 million kilograms per year.

Hous company invites farmers and companies to the fields to choose seeds, and provides them with all-round services for the planting of new varieties.

After farmers choose our seeds, its our responsibility to teach them how to grow the new varieties until they have mastered all the procedures. We explain new techniques to them and often offer them products in trial period for free. We also sign contracts for economic risks with farmers to make sure they can get as much profit as possible, Hou said.

In order to expand business to other provinces, like Anhui province and Jiangsu province in east China, the company has carried out comprehensive cooperation with local seed companies in various links during the production and promotion of new varieties, including trial planting, examination, and promotion.

New wheat varieties bred by the seed company have been grown in large areas in Chinese provinces including Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu. The company has so far seen the acreage of its seeds of new crop varieties surpassing 20 million mu, increasing social and economic benefits by more than 1.8 billion yuan.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) have rejected the document allegedly linking communications minister Isa Pantami to the death of former Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa.

The chairman of CAN, Kaduna State Chapter, John Hayab, made his associations position known in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES Thursday.

Mr Hayab, who was Mr Yakowas former special adviser on religious affairs, said as someone very close to the late Yakowa, I call on all Nigerians to ignore the insinuations linking Pantami with Sir Yakowas death, endangering national peace.

This, I call on security agencies to step in and tame the circulation of such dangerous documents. We cannot afford to stoke fire when we should be pouring more water.

Sensitive documents like the ones purported to be from the JNI meeting in Bauchi should be subjected to thorough security investigation and trials, not tools for social media warfare, Mr Hayab said.

Those circulating the document said it is the minutes of a July 2010 meeting of Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI) where the group, among other things, allegedly plotted to eliminate Mr Yakowa.

The report, which had been online since August 2010, quickly went viral when it was redistributed Wednesday. The document claimed the said meeting was chaired by embattled Mr Pantami.

Mr Yakowa died December 2012 in a helicopter crash alongside former National Security Adviser Owoye Azazi while returning from a funeral in Bayelsa State en route Port Harcourt.

But Mr Hayab said his group believed the communique could have been doctored.

We are aware that in this age of technological advancements, we have to take any allegations with a pinch of salt until we are confident of the authenticity of the source, he said.

Societys discomforts and disagreements should, however, not be enough reasons for us to approve the circulation of phony and injurious statements against any perceived foe.

He said CAN and Mr Yakowas family feared making the allegation a media issue, instead of a legal and security issue that it ought to be, is that we stand to lose the most important point; that of bringing to justice persons accused to have wronged the law.

He, therefore, called for caution to avert further chaos in communities with strained relationships as what is needed are mediatory interventions and peacebuilding.

He noted that after Mr Yakowas death, there was no inquiry to determine the cause of his death.

We the Christian community and indeed his immediate family acknowledged the tragedy, submitting to the will of God Almighty. For that purpose, there is no point, now or later, to open up what will not bring back our leader and father but rather open up old wounds in a very controversial manner.

Those who feel they have information to help the security agencies investigate whatever crimes against groups or individuals should do so within the provided window, without exacerbating the tension or formulating tales in the public space, Mr Hayab said.

NSCIA reacts

Meanwhile, the deputy secretary-general of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Salisu Shehu, said the document was concocted as we do not call our religious scholars clergies.

NSCIA is the umbrella body of Muslims in Nigeria, including JNI, one of the foremost Islamic bodies in Northern Nigeria.

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He noted that Mr Pantami was not a member of JNI, so he could not have chaired the groups meeting.

We dont have Shehu Maigandu. We do not write Barkin Ladi. We dont write Dogo Nahawa, Mr Shehu said of the document.

We never see Christians as dominant in the SW (South-West). The minute does not meet standard rules of meetings.

The Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency seat is always won by Jasawa. JNI does not need to struggle on it. The last occupant, Haruna Maitala died recently.

Earlier on Thursday, the Secretary General of the NSCIA, Ishaq Oloyede, had responded to the document by saying, The so-called communique is fake, concocted by bigots who are desperate to pull the man (Mr Pantami) down.

It should be disregarded because the intention of those who fabricated it is to portray Islam in bad light and cause division between Muslims and Christians in the country.

JNI will respond on its own. But as an official of NSCIA, I am in a position to tell you that the gentleman was not in Nigeria at the time they said the meeting held. He was in the UK. So, how could he have presided over a meeting in Nigeria at the same time?

Secondly, Pantami has never been an official of JNI. So in what capacity would he have presided over the groups meeting? Thats not possible. If theres someone who could have presided over any such meeting, the person could have been Salisu Shehu.

Any discerning Muslim or Christian should know that this is a clear case of forgery. The content of the so-called communique is contrary to Islamic beliefs and teachings. An association like JNI can never hold a meeting to plan the killing of anyone or the commission of crimes.

Islam is a religion of peace. Those circulating this falsehood are clearly committed to sparking crisis and violence in Nigeria. Government should fish them out and bring them to book.

The JNI is yet to respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiry on the controversial communique. Its Secretary General, Khalid Aliyu, told this newspaper he is busy working on a statement to be circulated later.

Mr Pantami, a widely regarded Islamic cleric in Nigerias north, has come under attacks in the past few days after details of his past incendiary sermons became public. Video and audio recordings of sermons where he praised Islamic extremists such as Osama Bin Laden and offered to lead a Jihad have flooded Nigerias social and legacy media.

The minister has since recanted , saying he has amended his views and has been working hard dissuading Nigerias young people from embracing extremism.

But his critics are far from being pacified. Calls for his resignation or removal from office have become increasingly deafening.

When PREMIUM TIMES contacted him Wednesday night as reports circulated that he chaired a meeting where an assassination was plotted, the minister said, Allah knows there is nothing like that. I am not a member of JNI and I have never attended a meeting of JNI in Bauchi in my life. The only JNI meeting I ever attended was in Kaduna in 2018. The Sultan personally invited me because they wanted to understand certain government policy.
A sheriffs deputy shot and killed a Black man on Wednesday morning in Elizabeth City, N.C., while executing a search warrant and an arrest warrant on drug charges, the authorities said.

The Pasquotank County sheriff declined to release body camera footage or give many details of the case, including the events that had led up to the shooting, how many shots had been fired, or whether the man who was shot had been armed, citing a state investigation. For hours, residents gathered at the scene demanding answers, and the City Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening where several Black members expressed anguish over the shooting.

The authorities identified the man who was killed as Andrew Brown Jr. and said that he had been fatally wounded in Elizabeth City, which is about 45 miles south of Norfolk, Va., and is home to about 17,000 people. Mr. Brown was shot at about 8:30 a.m., Tommy Wooten II, the Pasquotank County sheriff, said.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Sheriff Wooten said the deputies had been executing a search warrant, which he declined to describe. In a videotaped statement on Thursday, he said that deputies had been executing an arrest warrant on felony drug charges.


Celebrating a permanent home for the painting of HMSS Buffalo. From left, Peter Henderson (Warkworth Town Hall Trust), Cimino Cole, Barry Ferguson (who contributed funding for the painting) and Alex Hayward.

A painting depicting the British navy store ship HMSS Buffalo arriving in the Mahurangi harbour found a permanent home at the Warkworth Town Hall last month.

HMSS Buffalo off Spar Station Cove depicts the arrival of the ship in 1834 to inspect facilities for producing spars for the Royal Navy.

Gordon Brownes spar station can be seen in the background  the first European settlement in the Auckland region.

The arrival of the Buffalo turned out to be one of a number of setbacks for Gordon Browne, since the navy commandeered the best timber for itself and could pay Maori labourers higher wages, which Browne could not compete with.

Browne was ultimately to shift his timber operation to Whitianga.

The painting was commissioned after Bob Moxon Browne, a descendent of Gordon Browne, was looking for images to illustrate his book The Moxon Brownes, which tells the story of Gordon and his brother Octavius.

Mahurangi Action secretary Cimino Cole alerted Bob that Nelson marine artist Paul Deacon had already painted other pictures of the Buffalo.

Using contributions from Bob and others, Mahurangi Action commissioned a painting of the Buffalos arrival in Mahurangi in recognition of the historic significance of the events depicted.

Mr Cole says quite a lot of archaeological work has been done at the settlement, so its possible to have a fair idea of what it looked like.

And although there are no extant images of the Buffalo from the time she sailed, Mr Deacon was able to use admiralty records to create an accurate picture.

The painting was completed in 2019 and was due to hang over the fireplace at the Warkworth Hotel, but at 1800x1012mm it proved too large.

Town Hall manager Alex Hayward was delighted with the suggestion that it be hung in the Warkworth Town Hall instead.

It now hangs above the landing in the stairwell.
Officers and crew abducted from Davide B in Gulf of Guinea released and safe

De Poli Shipmanagement are delighted to report that all fifteen of its officers and crew abducted from its vessel Davide B in the Gulf of Guinea on March 11 have been released and are now safe.

The seafarers have meanwhile been in contact with their families. All crew members are in a relatively good condition given the difficult circumstances they have been under in the last four weeks .They will be receiving medical checks and are being repatriated to their home countries as soon as possible.



Chiara de Poli, CEO of De Poli Shipmanagement, is relieved and delighted the seafarers are safe and can return to their families in Eastern Europe and The Philippines. She is complimenting the officers, crew and their families for the strength they have shown during this deeply concerning ordeal. The past weeks have been an extremely difficult period for everyone, in particular for our 15 seafarers and their families. We admire our crew members for their courage during this period and like to thank their families for their patience and resilience during a time of great uncertainty. De Poli Shipmanagement also are grateful to the professional advisors, authorities and all those who have helped to resolve this situation for their support throughout this difficult time.










Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 16:50:35|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, April 22 (Xinhua) -- At least 78 Taliban militants were killed in various operations conducted by Afghan government forces in the past 24 hours, according to Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense on Thursday.

"Forty-four Taliban militants were also wounded and eight others were arrested as a result of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) operations in Ghazni, Zabul, Herat, Paktika, Balkh, Nimroz, Helmand and Kandahar provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

The ANDSF also discovered and seized weapons and defused 36 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and landmines during the cited period, the statement said.

The statement didn't say if there were any casualties on the side of the Afghan security forces.

The Taliban outfit has not made comments on the defense ministry's report so far. Enditem
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Syracuse, N.Y.  Some former residents of the James Square nursing home will be getting checks in the mail soon now that a judge has approved a $5.5 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against the troubled facilitys owners.

The settlement was approved today in Onondaga County Supreme Court. The lawsuit, filed 3  years ago, claimed that short-staffing at the nursing home harmed residents, some of whom were left lying in their own feces and urine for hours.

Its a good measure of justice for the families, said Jeremiah Frei-Pearson, a lawyer who filed the suit. Although nothing can compensate some people for the losses they have suffered, Im hopeful it gives closure to the community.

In this 2019 file photo, Jeremiah Frei-Pearson, the lead attorney in a class action lawsuit against the former James Square nursing home, speaks with Donna Shoults, a former James Square resident, in the Onondaga County Courthouse.James T. Mulder

The state Attorney Generals Office raided James Square in 2017 and seized records as part of an investigation of patient care problems at the 440-bed facility at 918 James St. The facility was sold in December 2017 to a new owner who changed its name to Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The former owners who agreed to settle the class action suit are Abraham Gutnicki of Illinois, Judy Kushner of New Jersey and Eliezer Friedman of New Jersey.

James Square had a history of horrible care, according to inspection reports.

A resident in severe pain screamed and cried for nearly two days before she was sent to a hospital for treatment of a fractured leg bone in 2017. Not only did the nursing homes staff take too long to address the womans problem, but they also failed to give her enough pain medication after the fracture was identified in an X-ray.

That same year the nursing home accidentally locked out a resident who then crossed a busy street at night using a walker, fell and hit his head on the sidewalk and ended up in an emergency room. Nursing home staff responsible for the mans care did not know where he was for an entire shift.

James Square is the place where a drugged intruder in 2016 barged into nursing home residents rooms in the middle of the night, a nurse tried to unclog a mans feeding tube with a paper clip and a resident with dementia wandered out for a few beers.

A class action suit is one in which a group of people who have suffered similar harm sue as a group and potentially share in any settlement.

There are more than 2,000 former James Square residents and their relatives who are members of the class entitled to payments. To be members of the class and receive money, individuals had to fill out and submit claim forms no later than Wednesday.

Frei-Pearson said $1.8 million of the settlement is for people with catastrophic claims. A claims administrator and medical experts will determine how much money people in that category will get. Those payments will probably not go out until later this year, Frei-Pearson said.

Payments to other members of the class will be based on how many days they lived in James Square between Aug. 15, 2014 and Dec. 14, 2017. Those payments should start going out in about 30 days. Payments to those individuals will average about $1,000, but could be as high as $6,000, he said.

Frei-Pearsons firm will collect $1.83 million in legal fees.

The parties in the case reached a proposed settlement on Sept. 12, 2019. It took longer than usual to finalize it because it had to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court and county court. James Squares owners filed for bankruptcy after the class action lawsuit was filed against them. Approval also was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic which shut down courts for months.

More information about the settlement can be found on this website or by calling 844-431-0695.

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com
SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. (HYMLF.OB, HYMTF.OB) reported Thursday that its first-quarter net profit including non-controlling interest increased 175.4 percent to 1.52 trillion Korean won from 552.7 billion won in the same period of last year. Hyundai's operating profit rose 91.8 percent to 1.66 trillion won from 863.8 billion won a year ago, when COVID-19 pandemic began to hit profitability. Operating profit margin was 6 percent. Revenue increased 8.2 percent to 27.39 trillion won from 25.32 trillion won last year. The company sold 1,000,281 units in the quarter, up 10.7 percent from 903,364 units a year ago. Sales in markets outside of Korea increased 9.5 percent to 814,868 units as industry demand remained weak in most markets around the world. Sales in Korea climbed 16.6 percent to 185,413 units, led by new models, including the all-new Tucson SUV. The G80 sedan and GV70 SUV of the Genesis luxury brand also helped boost sales. Looking ahead, Hyundai Motor said it expects to maintain sales momentum with new lineups such as IONIQ5. The company expects globally expanded economic stimulus plans to help boost auto demand but the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, semiconductor chip supply condition, and raw material cost fluctuation will likely amplify business uncertainty. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Mumbai, April 22 : Former beauty queen Manushi Chhillar features in a new campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, that encourages everyone to ditch meat on the occasion of Earth Day on Thursday. She says, for her, staying vegetarian was a personal choice that she made long back.

In the campaign, Manushi wears a crown made of broccoli, asparagus, and tomatoes.

"For me, staying vegetarian was a personal choice that I made long back. I also wanted to concentrate on how that impacts my overall fitness. Food is a personal choice and we must eat what we feel is best for us, but my friends at PETA India and I encourage everyone to give being vegetarian a try for Earth Day and beyond if they so choose," Manushi said.

She added that meat-free meals are kinder to the planet and animals, and better for health.

"I encourage everyone to give them a try for Earth Day and beyond," Manushi concluded.

The debutante joins Kartik Aaryan, Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor, and many other celebrities who've teamed up with PETA India to promote healthy, humane meat-free meals.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Lili Reinhart and Madelaine Petsch make the most of an off day while shooting Riverdale to take their beloved dogs for a walk.

The 24-year-old blonde Reinhart and 26-year-old redhead Petsch were spotted in Vancouver on a dual dog walk.

Both of the actresses recently revealed that they, along with another Riverdale co-star, Camila Mendes, have grown closer since their respective break-ups.

Dog walk: Lili Reinhart and Madelaine Petsch make the most of an off day while shooting Riverdale to take their beloved dogs for a walk

Reinhart stepped out with a cream-colored Wilfred at Aritzia halter top under an open matching shirt as she walked her adorable dog.

She had her hair tied up in a bun and wore a black face mask covering her mouth and nose, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

She completed her look with dark sunglasses, light blue jeans and pink slides for the dual dog walk.

Lili's look: Reinhart stepped out with a cream-colored halter top under an open matching shirt as she walked her adorable dog

Petch joined her co-star wearing a black halter top exposing her midriff under a thick brown shirt.

She wore brown Wilfred at Aritzia pants with a black belt with black sneakers as she walked her tiny dog with her co-star.

She also had her hair tied back in a bun with sunglasses and a face mask, plus small gold hoop earrings.

Madelaine's look: Petch joined her co-star wearing a black halter top exposing her midriff under a thick brown shirt

Their walk comes just a few weeks after they, along with another co-star, Camila Mendes, opened up in an interview with People about how they have bonded over their break-ups.

Mendes spoke with Paper magazine, revealing they all 'got out of relationships at the same time' while also dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Me, Madelaine and Lili, specifically, we've never been closer than we have this season. It's really nice to have them, to feel like I do have friendships here  meaningful ones,' Mendes said.

Opening up: Their walk comes just a few weeks after they, along with another co-star, Camila Mendes, opened up in an interview with People about how they have bonded over their break-ups

Reinhart, Petsch and Mendes have all starred on The CW's Riverdale since the show debuted in 2017.

The show is currently on hiatus, with the back half of Season 5 slated to return this summer on The CW.

The CW has also renewed Riverdale for a sixth season back in February, along with early renewals for 11 other programs.
The United States has a long-running love affair with natural gas, with fossil fuels acting as the lynchpin in the country's power generation mix. At the same time, nearly half of American homes use the fuel for heating. With the transition from fossil fuels to renewables in full swing in many states, natural gas serves as the bridge that will make the switch smoother and less jarring.

Top American civil rights activists are among those vehemently opposed to an abrupt switch from natural gas, putting them on a collision path with progressive Democrats and environmentalists who have been pushing for an outright fracking ban.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there's no shortage of environmentalists and climate advocates in dozens of cities--especially in liberal-leaning states such as Washington, California, and Massachusetts--that have been pushing for natural gas to receive a complete ban in homes and businesses. Meanwhile, lawmakers in New York to California have taken a firm stand against greenhouse gas emissions.

And now, the maritime industry is facing a similar conundrum.

The World Bank has just issued a recommendation to avoid LNG bunkering, saying hydrogen and ammonia offer the best long-term solutions as the shipping industry continues to adopt increasingly stringent measures to decarbonize.

But the recommendation by the international financier is facing plenty of backlash from industry representatives who say the industry cannot afford to wait for a perfect solution to address climate change. Instead, the shipping industry favors the adoption of technologies that can boost LNG's carbon credentials.

Marine transport is one of the biggest consumers of oil, accounting for ~7% of oil consumption worldwide.

Cheapest marine fuel

In its report, the World Bank presents an overview for policymakers regarding its perspective for the industry, saying that the industry needs to abandon fossil-based bunker fuels and turn toward zero-carbon bunker fuels in order to lower and ultimately eliminate its climate impact. Related: Why Natural Gas Wont Be Replaced Anytime Soon



In addition to its overview of the issues, the World Bank presented a report entitled "The Role of LNG in the Transition Toward Low- and Zero-Carbon Shipping." The report says LNG is likely to play only a limited role in the decarbonization of the shipping sector even in the short-term, and recommends that countries should avoid adopting public policies that support LNG as a bunker fuel due to the risk of methane emissions and other highly damaging GCG emissions.

In a twin report, entitled "The Potential of Zero-Carbon Bunker Fuels in Developing Countries", the World Bank identifies ammonia and hydrogen as the most promising zero-carbon bunker fuels for the shipping industry.

However, panelists at the opening of Singapore Maritime Week representing owners, charterers, and shipbuilders are opposed to that line of thinking and see switching to LNG as one plausible, interim solution to a low-carbon transition that can happen sooner rather than later.

BHP CEO Vandita Pant has counter-argued that the maritime industry risks becoming "a laggard" if it fails to use LNG at least as a stop-gap measure and instead waits for "a perfect solution to come".

But truth be told, the biggest reason why shipping magnates are not so keen on ditching LNG is simply because it's the cheapest fuel available.

According to data by international accredited registrar and classification society, DNV, over the past seven years, Henry Hub natural gas has consistently ranked at or near the bottom of marine fuel prices when ranked by heating value.

Henry Hub natural gas sells for $5.60/MMbtu, the lowest among the six fuels ranked. Adding a $4/MMBtu liquefaction cost means it remains considerably cheaper than low-sulfur Marine gasoil (MGO), changing hands at $12.11/MMBtu.

Source: Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Group

Favorable hydrogen economics

That said, wide availability of cheap, green hydrogen could quickly make natural gas/LNG irrelevant.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water using 100% renewable energy, thus making it a zero-carbon source.

Unfortunately, less than one percent of the world's hydrogen production is of the green type, with the vast majority being derived from natural gas reforming. Indeed, 95% of the hydrogen produced in the United States is currently made by natural gas reforming, i.e., gray hydrogen. Related: Energy Sector Sees Blowout Quarter

The big problem here is that producing large amounts of green hydrogen requires massive amounts of renewable energy; For instance, the UK government's independent Climate Change Committee estimates that the country would need 30x its current offshore wind capacity in order to produce enough green hydrogen to replace all gas boilers in the UK.

But that might be about to change.

Last year, the world's green hydrogen leaders joined hands with an ambitious goal to drive a 50-fold scale-up in green hydrogen production over the next six years that could lead to a major fall in green hydrogen prices.

The Green Hydrogen Catapult Initiative is a brainchild of founding partners Saudi clean energy group ACWA Power, Australian project developer CWP Renewables, European energy giants Iberdrola and rsted, Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision, Italian gas group Snam, and Yara, a Norwegian fertilizer producer.

The companies hope to drive 25GW of green hydrogen production by 2026, a scale that could significantly drive down hydrogen costs to below $2/kg thus making the fuel source competitive with fossil fuels in power generation. The companies hope to drive 25GW of green hydrogen production by 2026, a scale that could significantly drive down hydrogen costs to below $2/kg thus making the fuel source competitive with fossil fuels in power generation.

If successful, natural gas' days as the favored clean energy bridge in the global maritime and U.S. electricity generation mix could be numbered.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The father of a South Jersey junior high school student alleges his child was harassed, bullied and beaten unconscious by other students and that district employees did nothing to stop the abuse.

The plaintiff, whose name is being withheld by NJ Advance Media to protect the identity of the child, sued the Paulsboro school district in state Superior Court last month, accusing administrators and teachers of failing to act to protect the student.

The student entered Paulsboro Junior High for the 2018-2019 school year and became a target of unrelenting harassment, intimidation, and bullying by a group of female students, according to the suit.

The mistreatment included threats of violence, the father alleges, and he met with school officials to discuss his concerns.

School officials recommended the student avoid contact with the bullies and no effort was made to deal with the bullies conduct, the suit states.

The behavior continued and grew worse, the family contends, and school personnel told the student to avoid engaging with the troublesome students or just ignore their behavior.

At other times, school staff blamed the plaintiffs child for the actions of the other students, according to the suit.

The situation escalated on a day in late March when the family says the student was brutally assaulted twice in one day at school.

In the first incident, the child was repeatedly struck in the head and upper back. School staff witnessed the incident but did not intervene, leaving it to students to step in and stop the violence, the suit alleges.

The assailants were not stopped, taken into custody, or even approached by teachers or school personnel, the suit states.

Immediately after this incident, a second assault occurred. The child was repeatedly struck in the head and upper back and the students head was slammed into a wall. The student lost consciousness and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to the suit.

The assaults left the student physically, psychologically and emotionally traumatized, the suit states, adding that harassment and threats continued after these assaults.

The 10-count filing alleges negligence by school staff, failure to train and supervise staff, failure to protect the well-being of students, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the state civil rights act and state constitution.

The suit names the Paulsboro Board of Education, Paulsboro Junior High School, former Superintendent Dr. Laurie Bandlow, Principal Paul Morina, Assistant Principal John Giovannitti and guidance counselor Melba Moore-Suggs as defendants and seeks unspecified damages.

District officials, the attorney for the family and the father of the student did not respond to requests for comment.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
Scientists find CO2-rich liquid water in ancient meteorite

Water is abundant in our solar system. Even outside of our own planet, scientists have detected ice on the moon, in Saturn's rings and in comets, liquid water on Mars and under the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus, and traces of water vapor in the scorching atmosphere of Venus. Studies have shown that water played an important role in the early evolution and formation of the solar system. To learn more about this role, planetary scientists have searched for evidence of liquid water in extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites, most of which originate from asteroids that formed in the early history of the solar system.

Scientists have even found water as hydroxyls and molecules in meteorites in the context of hydrous minerals, which are basically solids with some ionic or molecular water incorporated within them. Dr. Akira Tsuchiyama, Visiting Research Professor at Ritsumeikan University, says, "Scientists further expect that liquid water should remain as fluid inclusions in minerals that precipitated in aqueous fluid" (or, to put it simply, formed from drops of water that contained various other things dissolved inside them). Scientists have found such liquid water inclusions inside salt crystals located within a class of meteorites known as ordinary chondrites, which represent the vast majority of all meteorites found on Earth though the salt actually originated from other, more primitive parent objects.

Prof. Tsuchiyama and his colleagues wanted to know whether liquid water inclusions are present in a form of calcium carbonate known as calcite within a class of meteorites known as "carbonaceous chondrites", which come from asteroids that formed very early in the history of the solar system. They therefore examined samples of the Sutter's Mill meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite originating in an asteroid that formed 4.6 billion years ago. The results of their investigation, led by Prof. Tsuchiyama, appear in an article recently published in the prestigious journal Science Advances.

The researchers used advanced microscopy techniques to examine the Sutter's Mill meteorite fragments, and they found a calcite crystal containing a nanoscale aqueous fluid inclusion that contains at least 15% carbon dioxide. This finding confirms that calcite crystals in ancient carbonaceous chondrites can indeed contain not only liquid water, but also carbon dioxide.

The presence of liquid water inclusions within the Sutter's Mill meteorite has interesting implications concerning the origins of the meteorite's parent asteroid and the early history of the solar system. The inclusions likely occurred due to the parent asteroid forming with bits of frozen water and carbon dioxide inside of it. This would require the asteroid to have formed in a part of the solar system cold enough for water and carbon dioxide to freeze, and these conditions would place the site of formation far outside of Earth's orbit, likely beyond even the orbit of Jupiter. The asteroid must then have been transported to the inner regions of the solar system where fragments could later collide with the planet Earth. This assumption is consistent with recent theoretical studies of the solar system's evolution that suggest that asteroids rich in small, volatile molecules like water and carbon dioxide formed beyond Jupiter's orbit before being transported to areas closer to the sun. The most likely cause of the asteroid's transportation into the inner solar system would be the gravitational effects of the planet Jupiter and its migration.

In conclusion, the discovery of water inclusions within a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite from the early history of the solar system is an important achievement for planetary science. Prof. Tsuchiyama proudly notes, "This achievement shows that our team could detect a tiny fluid trapped in a mineral 4.6 billion years ago."

By obtaining chemical snapshots of an ancient meteorite's contents, his team's work can provide important insights into processes at work in the solar system's early history.

###

Reference

Title of original paper: Discovery of primitive CO2-bearing fluid in an aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrite

Journal: Science Advances

About Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Established in 1869 with a spirit of liberalism and internationalism, Ritsumeikan University is one of the top-ranking universities in Japan; it was the first to be rated by Quacquarelli Symonds. The university now counts with three main campuses in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka and boasts over 36,000 students. It is the No. 1 recommended destination for exchange students and even offers the opportunity to earn some degrees entirely in English. Its educational philosophy is based around peace and democracy, and the university strives to face the current era of rapid changes with a rich diversity of people and ideas.

Website: http://en. ritsumei. ac. jp/

About Dr. Akira Tsuchiyama from Ritsumeikan University, Japan and Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, China Academy of Science

Akira Tsuchiyama, PhD, completed his doctorate at Tokyo University in 1982, and underwent postdoctoral training at the NASA Johnson Space Center and the University of Oregon. He has worked as a professor at Kyoto University and Osaka University. He is a Visiting Professor at Ritsumeikan University and Professor at Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, China Academy of Science. As a Principal Investigator, Prof. Tsuchiyama has worked on the initial analysis of the asteroid samples brought back by JAXA's Hayabusa spacecraft and will also participate in the initial analysis of the Hayabusa 2 samples.

His chief research interests are the origins and evolution of primitive solar system materials.

Funding information

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences President's International Fellowship Initiative, and the NASA Emerging Worlds Program.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A North Carolina businessman is accused of inflating the number of people who worked for him and fudging payroll numbers to qualify for a bigger chunk of COVID-19 relief funds from the federal government at the start of the pandemic.

Maurice Kamgaing, 41, was indicted in federal court on charges of wire fraud and making false statements, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of North Carolina said Thursday. Kamgaing lived in Charlotte before he moved about an hour northeast to Archdale, a city of about 11,500 people near the Triad.

He runs two technology companies that were incorporated in North Carolina  Apiagne Inc. and AKC Solutions. Prosecutors said both businesses were registered with the state using his previous home address in Charlotte. Their websites now list an address in Archdale on Balfour Road.

According to the grand jury indictment, that same Archdale address is home to an office building Kamgaing is accused of buying with the fraudulent loans.

Emails that McClatchy News sent to Kamgaings companies on Thursday went unanswered, and it wasnt immediately clear if he has retained a lawyer.

Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that passed in March 2020, small businesses could apply for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program. The loans were designed to keep workers on the payroll amid widespread shutdowns.

Kamgaing reportedly filed two applications for PPP loans on behalf of his businesses.

Prosecutors said the first was filed April 7, 2020, for Apiagne and sought $650,000. According to the indictment, Kamgaing claimed to spend $260,000 a month on payroll for his 46 employees. He later amended the request for upwards of $876,000.

The application was accompanied by fake IRS documents showing he had spent $4.1 million in payments to employees in 2019, prosecutors said.

Kamgaings application was approved and $856,463 was deposited in his business account on May 6, according to the indictment.

Story continues

Kamgaing reportedly filed a second application on April 27, 2020, for AKC Solutions, in which he also sought $650,000. Prosecutors said the application stated he had 23 employees and average monthly payroll expenses of $260,000. It was also accompanied by false tax documents.

A loan for $650,000 was approved and dispersed on May 5  just one day before the money from his first application was also deposited, according to the indictment. Before the money was dispersed, prosecutors said the account had just $100 in it.

Prosecutors said Kamgaing then moved the money in various amounts from his business accounts to personal ones.

In June, they said he used $25,000 from the loans to put a down payment on 215 Balfour Drive in Archdale. Five days later, Kamgaing reportedly wired another $846,737 to pay for the property.

A listing for 215 Balfour Drive on RE/MAX shows it sold on June 25 for $875,000.

The grand jury indicted Kamgaing on one count of wire fraud, two counts of making false statements to a bank and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. If convicted, prosecutors said he faces up to 30 years in prison on the first three counts and up to 10 years on the last two.

Fake vaccine card scams spike in Charlotte area, BBB says. How to avoid getting duped

NASA executive spent $272,000 in COVID loans on pool, cars and dog breeder, feds say

A new low. Funeral scammers are targeting Americans whose loved ones died of COVID
The first trailer has been released for the upcoming documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, hitting cinemas on June 18. Watch it below:

Directed by Mariem Perez Riera, the film explores Moreno's seven-decade career. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in West Side Story (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno's talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for representation and forged the path for new generations of artists.
EVEN though its allowed, please dont go to church or mosque, synagogue, temple or any other place of worship.

EVEN though its allowed, please dont go to church or mosque, synagogue, temple or any other place of worship.

Thats the message shared by Dr. Tim Hiebert, who specializes in internal medicine at Health Sciences Centre and in palliative care.

Places of worship that are still meeting in person "should cancel all those services," he said, even though current health orders allow them to be held at reduced capacity.

If someones place of worship offers in-person services, "dont go," he said.

This is the second time Hiebert, a member of River East Church, part of the Mennonite Brethren denomination, has issued that appeal. The last time was in November, as the second wave of cases hit, forcing the province into lockdown.

Getting together with others was risky then, he said, but its much more dangerous now because of the variants.

"Sitting in one place for an extended period of time, even with physical distancing, poses a significant risk," he said, noting the number of cases in Manitoba is trending upwards again. "That is even riskier now."

If Manitobans want to avoid massive case counts and widespread transmission, as witnessed in Ontario, then not going to in-person worship services "is one thing we should do," he said.

For Hiebert, the primary reason for staying home is to show care for vulnerable and marginal people.

"When we look at who is harmed the most by the virus, who is getting sick and going to the ICU, it is people who are financially challenged, people of colour, they are at highest risk," he said. "We need to take steps to protect them."

He also wants people to stay away from worship services for the sake of health-care workers.

"Speaking on behalf of the medical profession, I can say were so very tired," he said.

"This pandemic has been relentless. Theres a feeling we cant hold up much longer. We dont know how much longer we can keep doing what were doing, especially with the variants bearing down on us."

Although Hiebert is not on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, he is in contact with many health-care professionals who are.

"I just know how worn out everyone is, every doctor, nurse, health-care aide and everyone else in the medical field," he said.

"Even more than last November, things feel daunting and discouraging. We dont feel strong. We are tired. Were tired of the tragedy, the suffering, the heartache and the death. And we are tired of being tired."

If for no other reason, "do it for us," he said of his plea to not go to in-person religious services. "We are trying very hard to provide good care. Were not sure how much longer we can endure."

Hiebert realizes in-person religious services are very important to some. Even so, "people of faith should stay home we can do better than just what the public health orders say we can do. Thats just the minimum standard," he said.

People of faith, he believes, are called to a higher standard.

"All people of faith have a responsibility for others, for society," he said, adding "we are duty bound to show care for those around us."

Plus, he said, virtual services can be meaningful. "Church is more than a building. Were not compromising our faith if we do it online," he said.

Hiebert emphasized he doesnt want to be seen as being critical of those who are bearing the burden of trying to make decisions about openings and closings during the pandemic. As a doctor, he feels uncomfortable saying these things in public.

"Its a long-standing part of the medical culture not to rock the boat," he said. "We are told to only speak up when things are really important."

This moment, as the variants of concern continue to grow, is very important, he said. "I want to appeal to peoples best selves to do what they can to protect others. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Through vaccinations, we can all get there."

faith@freepress.mb.ca
Rezin, whose district includes three of Exelons nuclear power plants, took issue with the fact that Synapse has counted members of the renewable energy industry and environmental groups like the Sierra Club among its clients. She also criticized the Pritzker administration for providing a copy of the report, which cost taxpayers more than $200,000, to reporters before sharing it with lawmakers.
Mr. Wolfe has extensive capital markets and debt and equity financing experience; Ms. Chaikowsky, the COO at BMO Wealth Management, has significant expertise in corporate governance, human resources and operational risk management

VANCOUVER, BC, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE: MCUR) (OTCQB: MCURF) (FRA: 6MH) ("MINDCURE" or the "Company") a leader in advanced proprietary technology for psychedelic therapy, is pleased today to announce the hiring of Michael Wolfe as the company's new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Wolfe possesses over 30 years of financial leadership and private equity experience and most recently served as the CFO at Baylin Technologies, a TSX-listed company in the wireless communications industry. In an additional appointment also announced today, MINDCURE has named Larissa Chaikowsky to its Board of Directors. Stephen Inouye will be stepping down from his position on the Board, as well as from the CFO role for personal reasons to make way for Ms. Chaikowsky and Mr. Wolfe, respectively.

Mr. Wolfe's experience with raising capital through markets, financial institutions, and investment banks will be important as MINDCURE continues to build its team, its technology, and its leadership position within the psychedelics industry. He has a successful track record in mergers and acquisitions, growth financings and recapitalizations in diverse industries such as cable, manufacturing and global logistics. "I am honoured to be joining MINDCURE at this exciting stage of company growth. Mrs. Ramsden is an impressive CEO and so is the team she is building around her," said Michael Wolfe, MINDCURE CFO. "In addition to having worked with established mid-market companies, I was the CFO of an early-stage health app and am excited by the potential of iSTRYM to serve a large global market in need."

"I would first like to thank Stephen Inouye for his instrumental role in our first chapter at MINDCURE," said MINDCURE CEO and President Kelsey Ramsden. "We continue to build a world-class executive team over the past months, with a particular focus on what we intend to do better than anybody else with our digital therapeutics strategy driving near-term revenue and pre-clinical research underway. Mr. Wolfe has a strong background in the capital markets, and his particular financial expertise with regards to capital raising, acquisitions and the public markets are of immense value to MINDCURE."

Ms. Chaikowsky currently serves as the COO of US Wealth Management at the BMO Financial Group and has served a variety of leadership roles at the company through her 15+ year career there. "I am very excited to join the MINDCURE Board of Directors. I am passionate about innovation, and particularly around mental health care through psychedelics," said Larissa Chaikowsky. "Mrs. Ramsden has assembled an impressive Board and I look forward to bringing my expertise within corporate governance, operational risk management, and human resources to MINDCURE as its rapid growth continues."

"Ms. Chaikowsky is a premier executive with a stellar track record of success. She is a no-nonsense and passionate leader with very relevant experience for us in regulated industries, particularly in the United States," continued Mrs. Ramsden. "We will lean on her significantly for her expertise with internal human resource structure as well as with her network and connections in banking and the capital markets."

About Michael Wolfe:

Mr. Wolfe has over 30 years' experience in finance, accounting. private equity and business valuation. He was most recently the Chief Financial Officer of Baylin Technologies Inc., a TSX listed company in the wireless communications industry. Prior to joining Baylin, Michael was the Chief Financial Officer of several mid-market Canadian companies including Masstech Group Inc., a software company in the broadcast industry. As a General Partner at VenGrowth Capital Partners Inc., Michael had a successful track record in acquisitions, management buyouts, growth financings and recapitalizations in diverse industries such as cable, broadcast, manufacturing, insurance, oil field services and global logistics.

Mr. Wolfe has also served as a director for several private and public companies, including as a member of audit and other independent committees. He earned a CPA, CA designation, a Chartered Business Valuator designation, an MBA from McMaster University, and a BA (Business and Economics) from the University of Western Ontario.

About Larissa Chaikowsky:

Larissa Chaikowsky is the Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Wealth Management business at BMO. She leads the National Office Teams and oversees the planning, development and implementation of product and service strategies for BMO Financial Group's U.S. Wealth businesses. Prior to this role, Larissa was the U.S. Chief Human Resources Officer for BMO Financial Group. She oversaw the strategic and operational governance processes of the U.S. HR organization. She executed enterprise HR overseeing and coordinating human resources related matters as they pertain to: U.S. regulatory agencies, and U.S. mergers and acquisitions. Larissa had a leadership role with the Human Resources Committee of the BMO Financial Corp board of Directors and the Benefits Investment Committee. She also chaired the U.S. Compensation Oversight Committee and the U.S. Benefits Administration Committee.

During her fifteen-year tenure with BMO, Larissa has held several senior positions that have played a role in helping redefine the BMO brand and improving the business practices of Technology and Operations, Human Resources and Corporate Strategy. Larissa received her Bachelor of International Business and Relations from the Sprott School of Business and holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

About Mind Cure Health (MINDCURE) Inc.

MINDCURE exists as a response to the current mental health crisis and urgent calls for effective treatments. MINDCURE believes in the need to reinvent the mental health care model for patients and practitioners to allow psychedelics to advance into common and accepted care.

MINDCURE is focused on identifying and developing pathways and products that ease suffering, increase productivity, and enhance mental health. MINDCURE is interested in exploring diverse therapeutic areas beyond psychiatry, including digital therapeutics, neuro-supports, and psychedelics, all to improve mental health.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Kelsey Ramsden, President & CEO

Phone: 1-888-593-8995

Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (also known as forward-looking statements). Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "feel", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "subject to", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Some of the specific forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: MINDCURE's digital therapeutics strategy driving near-term revenues; Mr. Wolfe's strong background and expertise being immense value to MINDCURE; Ms. Chaikowsky bringing her expertise to MINDCURE as rapid growth continues; and MINDCURE leaning on Ms. Chaikowsky significantly for her expertise with human resources, network and connections.

Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by MINDCURE, including, without limitation: the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Canadian economy and MINDCURE's business, and the extent and duration of such impact; no change to laws or regulations that negatively affect MINDCURE's business; there will be a demand for MINDCURE's products in the future; no unanticipated expenses or costs arise; MINDCURE will be able to continue to identify products that make them ideal candidates for providing solutions for treating mental health; that the functional mushroom industry will continue to grow; MINDCURE's digital therapeutics strategy will drive near-term revenues; Mr. Wolfe will provide immense value to MINDCURE; Ms. Chaikowsky will bring her expertise to MINDCURE as rapid growth continues; and MINDCURE will be able to operate its business as planned. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what MINDCURE believes to be reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information involves significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to: the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian economy, MINDCURE's industry and MINDCURE's business, which may negatively impact, and may continue to negatively impact, MINDCURE and may materially adversely affect MINDCURE's investments, results of operations, financial condition, and MINDCURE's ability to obtain additional equity or debt financing, and satisfy its financial obligations; general economic conditions; future growth potential; competition for mental health and wellness investments; MINDCURE's digital therapeutics strategy may not drive near-term revenues; Mr. Wolfe may not provide immense value to MINDCURE; Ms. Chaikowsky may not bring her expertise to MINDCURE as rapid growth continues;; and changes in legislation or regulations. Management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information contained herein are based upon reasonable assumptions and information currently available; however, management can give no assurance that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information. Additional information on the risk factors that could affect MINDCURE can be found under "Risk Factors" in MINDCURE's final prospectus which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to MINDCURE. The forward-looking information is stated as of the date of this news release and MINDCURE assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release and the CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mind Cure Health Inc.
Just as the guilty verdict was about to be read in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, police in Ohio shot and killed a Black teenager in broad daylight during a confrontation.

The shooting of MaKhia Bryant, 16, who was swinging a knife during a fight with another person in Columbus, is in some ways more representative of how Black and other people of color are killed during police encounters than the death of George Floyd, pinned to the ground by Chauvin and captured on video for all the world to see.

Unlike Chauvins case, many killings by police involve a decision to shoot in a heated moment and are notoriously difficult to prosecute even when they spark grief and outrage. Juries have tended to give officers the benefit of the doubt when they claim to have acted in a life-or-death situation.

While Tuesdays conviction was hailed as a sign of progress in the fight for equal justice, it still leaves unanswered difficult questions about law enforcements use of force and systemic racism in policing. The verdict in the Chauvin case might not be quickly repeated, even as the list of those killed at the hands of police grows.

This was something unique. The world saw what happened, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sam Gill, who has examined over 100 use-of-force cases there. To have video, witnesses, forensic evidence and multiple police officers testify against one of their own is unique and demonstrates how high the bar has to be in order to actually have that kind of accountability, he said.

Convictions like Chauvins are extraordinarily rare. Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the U.S. since 2005, fewer than 140 officers have been charged and just seven convicted of murder, according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University.

This is a success, but there are so many more unjust murders that still need reckoning, that we still need to address, said Princess Blanding, a Virginia gubernatorial candidate whose brother was killed by Richmond police. Marcus-David Peters, who was Black, was fatally shot by a Black police officer during a mental health crisis after he ran naked onto an interstate highway and charged at the officer.

In Columbus, Bryant had been swinging a knife wildly at another girl or woman pinned against a car when the officer fired after shouting at the girl to get down, according to police and body camera video released within hours of the shooting. The mayor mourned the 16-year-olds death but said the officer had acted to protect someone else.

Kimberly Shepherd, who lives in the neighborhood where Bryant was killed, had been celebrating the guilty verdict in Floyds killing when she heard the news about the teenager.

We were happy about the verdict. But you couldnt even enjoy that, Shepherd said. Because as youre getting one phone call that he was guilty, Im getting the next phone call that this is happening in my neighborhood.

In Chauvins case, by contrast, cellphone video seen around the world showed the white officer pressing his knee to the Black mans neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd gasped for air. It sparked protests across the U.S., and Chauvins fellow officers took the extraordinary step of testifying against him.

As we look to future prosecution, the question is going to be: Is this perhaps the beginning of a new era, where those walls of silence are not impenetrable? said Miriam Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor and executive director of the reform-minded group Fair and Just Prosecution. Chauvins case could also make future juries more skeptical of police, she said.

The day after Bryant was fatally shot, at least two other people were also killed by police in the United States.

On Wednesday morning, an officer killed a man while executing a search warrant in eastern North Carolina. And in the San Diego suburb of Escondido, police said an officer fatally shot a man who was apparently striking cars with a metal pole.

On Thursday, a funeral will be held for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist who was shot during a traffic stop earlier this month in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just a few miles from the courthouse as the Chauvin trial unfolded. In Chicago last month, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot less than a second after he tossed a gun and began raising his hands as an officer had commanded.

Police officer Kim Potter, who is white, has been charged with second-degree murder in Wrights shooting on April 10. The former police chief said Potter mistakenly fired her handgun when she meant to use her Taser. She resigned from the police force afterward and was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Wrights family has called for more serious charges, comparing her case to the murder charge brought against a Black officer who killed a white woman in nearby Minneapolis in 2017.

The Cook County district attorneys office is weighing whether to bring charges against Eric Stillman, the white police officer who shot Adam in a Chicago alley on March 29 in Little Village, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of the citys southwest side. The boy, who was Latino, appeared to drop a handgun moments before the officer shot him. The graphic video of the boys death sparked outrage across the U.S., but some legal experts have said they dont believe Stillman could or should be charged under criteria established by a landmark 1989 Supreme Court ruling on the use of force by police.

Instead of just prosecuting officers after shootings happen, more must be done to prevent such encounters from happening in the first place, said Eugene Collins, who was a local organizer for the NAACPs Baton Rouge, Louisiana, branch when Alton Sterling, a Black man selling CDs in front of a convenience store, was shot and killed by a white police officer in July 2016. The two officers involved in the encounter werent charged in his death.

Were pulled over more, stopped and frisked more, said Collins, now head of the NAACP branch. Its about putting responsibility on the policymakers.

Activists say the fight for police reform and a more just legal system is far from over.

This really has been a year with a wake-up call thats long overdue, Krinsky said. But its vitally important that we not squander and ignore it, that we really struggle with what a different vision for policing looks like.

____

Lindsay Whitehurst and Alanna Durkin Richer of The Associated Press wrote this story.

AP reporters Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Va., and Rebecca Santana in New Orleans contributed to this report, as did Farnoush Amiri in Columbus, Ohio, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

___

Find APs full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd.
Hyderabad: A report anticipated from a three-member disciplinary committee is becoming a test for state BJP party president Bandi Sanjay, even as the old guard is mobilising into a unified faction against him, with clear tones of consolidation along caste lines.

On the surface, it is essentially about the committee finding out about the role played by Perala Shekhar Rao in having an informal group, led by senior leader and former MLC N. Ramchander Rao, going to meet TRS working president and minister KT. Rama Rao at Pragathi Bhavan.

In the meeting, purportedly, the BJP delegation requested the TRS to not file a candidate against its official nominee for the Lingojiguda. BJPs Lingojiguda corporator-elect Akula Ramesh Goud passed away even before he could take oath. The saffron party decided to field his son, Akhil Goud, in the ensuing bypoll.

The BJP delegation, led by Ramchander Rao requested Rama Rao to make the election unanimous. Rama Rao reportedly spoke to Telangana Congress chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and his party president K. Chandrashekar Rao. Since both leaders agreed, the TRS announced it would not field a candidate.

Interestingly, afterwards, the TRS was also forced to announce it wont contest in another bypoll necessitated by the death of the Nazia Begum, a MIM ward councillor from Japalli municipality, paving way for the candidate, the daughter-in-law of the deceased to be unanimously elected.

The BJP disciplinary committee, headed by former Nizamabad MLA and senior leader, Endela Lakshminarayana, is expected to give its report in a day or two. Lakshminarayana refused to speak to the media, saying, the committee will submit its report to the party and till the party discloses the decisions to the media, I cannot speak.

Ramchander Rao, responding to the issue, said, The party shall decide shortly after the panel submits its report. Those who went there had no malafide intent and are disciplined workers of the party.

Insiders, however, reveal a very different and deeper issue at play.

Ever since Bandi Sanjay took over, the old guard, predominantly upper caste leaders, who got very comfortable cosying up the powers in the state, have been shaken up. Fearing irrelevance in the new BJP 2.0 under the dynamic Sanjay, they are trying to undermine him. There were a series of meetings held recently at the residence of a senior leader at Uppal to spoil Sanjays image and try to re-establish the cloud of the old guard, said a senior leader.

Speaking of the frustrations within, the leader also said, They got used to being friendly with the TD when Naidu was in power and with TRS after 2014. They never wished to take on the TRS and try to bring the party in power. Now, with the change in scenario, they are so frustrated, they were happily badmouthing our party president to the working president of the rival party.

Reportedly, when Rama Rao complained to Shekhar Rao about the objectionable words used by Bandi Sanjay, especially against the Chief Minister, he not agreed with him but also reportedly replied, several people are unhappy in the BJP with Sanjays leadership, especially his style of talking. Even the RSS is aware. Action will be taken soon.

When asked about the incident, another senior BJP leader said, it was a sudden meeting. The district-level party wanted to go and meet both Congress and TRS leaders and convey their request, especially because of the Covid, to avoid another bypoll. It was conveyed to Sanjay and only after he agreed, did these people go? He is more upset because he was criticised.

It was angrily contested by a senior leader from the Sanjay camp. These leaders are so happy praising TRS leadership and criticising our own. They are upset that a BC leader is rising in Telangana. It is the coming together of upper castes  Brahmin, Reddy and Velamma  none of whom can stomach an OBC being accepted by a majority of people in Telangana.

The BJP state leadership, under Sanjay, has taken a very serious view of the matter. We see it as an attempt to dilute the BJPs narrative that it is the alternative to TRS. It was to cause doubts in minds of people, on the eve of Nagarjunsagar polls, that the BJP and TRS are potential partners in future, not rivals.

The state unit has written to both party president J.P. Nadda and state in-charge Tarun Chugh about the issue. It is necessary because the two senior leaders  Perala Shekhar Rao and Ramchander Rao  are members of the party national executive. A state committee cannot take action against them, a leader explained.

While some leaders said the party image was getting damaged with the small issue being blown out of proportion in public glare, the new guard feels it is time for Sanjay to bite the bullet and establish who the boss is.

If leaders go and start creating alliances with TRS without informing the party leadership, it is a serious offence. The leadership must take stern action action to quell such tendencies as well as to convince people that the BJP is serious about bringing down the TRS government in the next election.
Accused fraudster Peter Foster is seeking to have a series of fraud charges dealt with in NSW after a court heard there are jurisdictional issues in prosecuting the case but he has already expended significant resources.

Mr Foster, 58, was arrested in dramatic scenes in August last year on a beach at Port Douglas in far-north Queensland and extradited to Sydney to face a warrant for fraud.

Peter Foster leaves the Downing Centre on Thursday. Credit:Nick Moir

He was charged with five counts of publishing false and misleading material to obtain advantage, 10 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, and one count of knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime with intent to conceal.

Police allege Mr Foster posed as a man called Bill Dawson when he launched an online scam which resulted in him being transferred almost $2 million in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin by a man based in Hong Kong.
Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg urged the United States Congress to use its common sense on climate change on Thursday.

All I can do is to urge you to listen to and act on the science, and to use your common sense, Ms Thunberg said in a virtual speech to the House Oversight Committee .

The young activist demanded more action on the crisis and blasted the American government for continuing to subsidize fossil fuels.

Im not even going to explain why we need to make real drastic changes and dramatically lower our emissions in line with available science, Ms Thunberg said. It is the year 2021. The fact that we are still having this discussion, and even more, that we are still subsidizing fossil fuels directly or indirectly using taxpayer money, is a disgrace.

Thursday began a two-day Earth Day summit of virtual testimony on the climate crisis, convened by President Biden . The president got the event started by pledging to cut US greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade.

The signs are unmistakable, the science is undeniable and the cost of inaction keeps mounting, Mr Biden said on Thursday.

Ms Thunbergs remarks went even further. The Swedish teen urged the US government to end fossil fuel subsidies, stop all new extraction of oil and gas, and completely divest from fossil fuel companies.

But even as she recommended these actions, she expressed pessimism that the US would actually take meaningful steps to combat the climate crisis.

To be honest, I dont believe for a second that you will actually do this, she said. How long do you honestly believe that people in power like you will get away with it?

Ms Thunberg framed the climate crisis as a historic choice between right and wrong.

You still have time to do the right thing and to save your legacies, she said. But that window of time is not going to last for long. What happens then?

We the young people are the ones who are going to write about you in the history books, she added. We are the ones who get to decide how you will be remembered. So my advice for you is to choose wisely.
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cigna is introducing a broad range of new initiatives to encourage and expand access to COVID-19 vaccinations. These incentives include offering paid time off to receive the vaccination, an incentive award for employees who are fully vaccinated and transportation to vaccine appointments at no cost for most Medicare Advantage customers.

"Even as vaccination rates increase, we are in a race against more contagious variants, and we must remain vigilant," said Dr. Steve Miller, Cigna's chief clinical officer. "Cigna is committed to doing our part to build a community of immunity  both by encouraging our employees to get vaccinated, and by providing resources to our customers, clients and communities to ensure they can access vaccines."

For employees, Cigna is offering:

Incentives for those who are fully vaccinated: Starting now, Cigna employees in the United States who are enrolled in the Cigna Medical Plan are eligible to receive a $200 incentive award for being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.1 A study shows that similar health incentive programs improve health outcomes and lower total medical costs an average of 10 percent. Employees can self-report that they have received the vaccine, and the award will be deposited into their Health Savings Account (HSA) or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). While rewarding vaccinations, the company is not requiring vaccinations.

Extended deadline to use paid time off through 2021: Cigna has extended the deadline for benefits-eligible employees to use up to 10 days of paid "emergency time off" (ETO) for COVID-19-related reasons, including to receive the vaccine or recover from it if needed, dependent care or taking a mental health day. The time off, originally provided to employees in 2020, now can be used through the end of 2021. To date, over 875,500 ETO hours (nearly 110,000 days) have been used by over 25,300 employees. This time is in addition to regular paid time off (PTO) for benefits-eligible employees.

In the communities we serve, Cigna is providing:

No-cost transportation to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites: Most of Cigna's Medicare Advantage customers are eligible to receive transportation to and from vaccine sites at no extra cost. Over 500,000 customers in 23 states are eligible for four one-way trips, up to 60 miles each way, to get their vaccine. The program allows for four trips since some vaccines require two doses. Transportation for one adult companion is also included to accommodate caregivers.

Direct outreach to vulnerable seniors to encourage vaccination: Cigna is conducting direct outreach to customers most at-risk for COVID-19 in key communities to provide them with resources about how to get vaccinated and help them make appointments. This effort is part of the Vaccine Community Connectors pilot initiative that aims to enable the vaccination of two million seniors age 65+ in vulnerable and underserved communities.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in our health care system that drive disparities in health care access and outcomes," continued Dr. Miller. "We are steadfast in our commitment to use our resources and expertise to ensure that vaccine uptake does not exacerbate existing inequities, and we can have a greater impact through partnerships across the industry."

Cigna is also providing vaccinations on-site for clients that have Employer Worksite Health Centers, as vaccine supply allows. To learn more about Cigna's full efforts to support customers, clients, communities and employees throughout the pandemic, please visit Cigna's COVID-19 Resource Center.

About Cigna

Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to improving the health, well-being and peace of mind of those we serve. Cigna delivers choice, predictability, affordability and access to quality care through integrated capabilities and connected, personalized solutions that advance whole person health. All products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Evernorth companies or their affiliates, and Express Scripts companies or their affiliates. Such products and services include an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products. Cigna maintains sales capability in over 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more than 175 million customer relationships throughout the world. To learn more about Cigna, including links to follow us on Facebook or Twitter, visit www.cigna.com.

Media Contact

Justine Sessions

1 (860) 810-6523

[email protected]

1 The $200 award will be deposited into an HSA or HRA, subject to the $800 annual maximum for incentives. This award is a part of Cigna's standard medical plan incentive program and eligibility rules associated with that program apply. This incentive is only open to Cigna employees and not covered dependents due to self-reporting requirements.

SOURCE Cigna

Related Links

https://www.cigna.com


Experts of the book, Hitlers Spies: Secret Agents and the Intelligence War in South Africa, published by Jonathan Ball Publishers.

by Evert Kleynhans

The vast majority of academic and popular histories on the South African participation in the Second World War have traditionally focused on the military operations of the Union Defence Force (UDF) during the campaigns in East Africa, North Africa, Madagascar and Italy. Single battles during the war, such as the defeats at Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk, or the gallant defence at the first battle of El Alamein, have received the bulk of attention.

More recently, there has been a drive by historians to study the South African participation in the war from a more general war-and-society approach. A new crop of local historians have begun to challenge the status quo, consciously moving away from the traditional drum and trumpet approach. Historians such as Ian van der Waag, Karen Horn1 and David Katz, to name a few, have started to reconsider the South African participation in the war from different perspectives. These new military histories have helped to rekindle popular interest in the war. Unfortunately, despite this renewed interest, the quantity and quality of Second World War histories produced in South Africa lags drastically behind current international trends. This holds true for both popular and academic works.

My own interest in the South African home front during the war was sparked while working as a historian at the Department of Defence Archives in Pretoria. As a young lieutenant in the enquiries section, I often had free rein to investigate the dusty corners of the military archives. As the late Jeff Grey put it so aptly, I stood humbly in the antechambers of Clio. Fresh out of the honours programme in military history offered by the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University, and with a healthy appetite to acquire new knowledge, I used every available opportunity to draw files on whatever stirred my curiosity.

One day in 2012, a file titled U-boat matters  Operation Order Eisbar caught my eye. The document in question detailed the first sustained German U-boat operation launched along the South African coast towards the end of 1942. Adjacent to this file, there were three archival boxes full of material documenting a unique and overlooked aspect of the naval war in South African waters. After a further trawl of the archives, I discovered a wealth of substantiating material, ranging from personal accounts to war diaries, logbooks and operational orders  some even in the original German.

I realised then and there that I wanted to learn more about this understudied episode of South African military history. There was indeed a story to be told. This chance discovery set in motion a series of events that spanned nearly seven years, the culmination of which was the successful completion of my doctoral dissertation at Stellenbosch University in 2018.

From the outset it was apparent that both professional and amateur historians had paid scant attention to the South African home front during the war. Moreover, the naval war in South African waters, and especially the interrelated aspects of maritime insecurity, naval strategy, antisubmarine warfare and the broader intelligence war in the region, had been largely cast aside. In this regard, the works of Neil Orpen and Kalfie Martin, Jennifer Crwys-Williams and Bill Nasson immediately come to mind.

As I embarked on my research, I took heed of the forewarning by the renowned British historian Jeremy Black, who cautions that the uniqueness of naval history requires it to be studied in the context of the conflict on land and in the air. Despite Blacks warning, histories focusing on the naval war off the southern African coast have generally fallen into the trap of reducing naval history to a mere tactical and operational study of the conflict at sea.

This isolationist approach is particularly evident in South Africa, with the vast majority of the available histories addressing the naval war on an operational level only. What is needed is a detailed appreciation of the home front during the war, especially the key role the pro-Afrikaner cultural movement the Ossewabrandwag played in support of the German war effort and in opposition to South African involvement in the war.



It also requires an investigation into the intelligence war waged in the country, since the German government actively reached out to the Ossewabrandwag and established a spy network in collaboration with them. I wanted to establish whether there was a link: did naval intelligence gathered in southern Africa and transmitted to Germany in any way influence the naval war? Also, what level of threat did the spy network present to national security?

My appointment as institutional archivist at North-West University in Potchefstroom, in July 2015, opened up several new research avenues concerning the broader naval war. As part of my new posting, I also became the de facto archivist of the Ossewabrandwag Archive. This underappreciated, and largely unknown, archival collection contains key source material detailing the nature and operation of the German intelligence networks in southern Africa during the war. The archive documents the links between Johannes Frederick Janse van Rensburg, commonly known as Hans van Rensburg, Ossewabrandwag leader, his inner circle and Germany throughout the war.

I had stumbled upon a proverbial treasure trove of information, which had been largely withheld from historians after the National Partys electoral victory in 1948. More importantly, the documents in the Ossewabrandwag Archive offered a counterpoint to the vast trove of MI5 case files preserved at the National Archives of the United Kingdom in Kew, London. Despite their decidedly one-sided approach, British historians had used these very files to write up the first accounts detailing the intelligence war in southern Africa. I was in the fortunate position where I could combine both sets of primary documents, as well as the available secondary sources, in an attempt to get closer to the illusory historical truth.

Jeremy Black champions the re-examination of historical events, particularly when the military historian can reconcile a variety of primary and secondary sources on a specific subject. He argues that such a reassessment allows the military historian the unique opportunity to reinterpret previous historical accounts, probe largely untapped primary archival sources, and provide a fresh analysis of key moments in military history. Such an opportunity presented itself with this book.

Black, citing Rory Muirs Salamanca 1812, highlights the unique undertaking thus created. Muir states:

[W]hile the sources are plentiful, they do not always fit neatly together; indeed, they are riddled with contradictions, inconsistencies, gaps and uncertainty  Normally the historian deals privately with these problems  This method is inescapable in addressing a large, sweeping subject if the narrative is not to lose its momentum and the reader to miss the thread of the argument. However, it can also mislead the reader by suggesting that our understanding is far more securely based than is the case.

Methodology, historiography and archival sources

The American historians Stephen Morillo and Michael Pavkovic argue for a broad definition of military history. To them the essence of military history encompasses:

not just the history of war and wars, but any historical study in which military personnel of all sorts, warfare, military institutions, and their various intersections with politics, economics, society, nature and culture form the focus or topic of the work. One obvious implication of such a broad definition is that many works of military history could also be classified variously as political, economic, institutional, intellectual, social or cultural history. Indeed the best history, military and otherwise, necessarily crosses many of these abstract academic boundaries in order to present as rich and rounded a view of the past as possible.

The renowned British historian Sir Michael Howard, in support of this broad definition, cautions that the study of military history requires both depth and breadth, as well as context: depth, to move beyond the imposed historical patterns of apparent orderliness in a concerted effort to try and understand what war was really like; breadth, to understand the sequence of historical events as well as the existence of continuity and discontinuity in the past; and context, to appreciate the myriad of social, political and economic factors that influence the military in general.

Generally speaking, the study of military history is not well respected within the broader academic community of historians. This is especially true in South Africa. The root of this disregard lies in the very subject matter of military history  war. But despite this general academic disdain, military history remains ever-popular with the reading public.

In South Africa three approaches to military history can be discerned: popular, professional and academic. The popular approach to military history by far dominates the available historiography on the bookshelves. The so-called Border War retains popular appeal, especially among the generation of white men who had to do compulsory national service. The historiography of the South African participation in both world wars and Korea is alarmingly scant, with one or two notable exceptions. In fact, this field was for a long time dominated by lay historians, and in particular former journalists, with a definite propagandistic agenda.

There have been, however, several exciting developments in terms of the professional and academic study of South African military history. Over the past ten years there has been a definite drive by a crop of younger historians to re-evaluate South Africas participation in these wars. Their work stands in stark contrast to the traditional drum and trumpet approach. Yet these studies are for the most part unknown, often underestimated, and very rarely published.

Intelligence history is a definite subfield of military history. Since the mid-1980s, historians have gradually reclaimed the study of intelligence history. The broader field of intelligence studies has since gained immense international interest, especially among the academic community. This is evidenced by the appearance of numerous books and journal articles authored by both former practitioners and policy-makers, as well as academics and journalists.

Previously, intelligence history was dominated by journalistic accounts and unreliable memoirs. Prominent historians such as Christopher Andrew even went as far as to label these works the airport bookstall school of intelligence history. The unhistoricism, coupled with the recording of national security services histories, continues to dissuade professional historians from moving into the field of intelligence history. In South Africa, the discipline is yet to move past the airport bookstall approach.

Intelligence historian Jules Gaspard argues that the backbone to writing intelligence history remains methodological historical research. According to Gaspard, intelligence historians normally have recourse to three specific techniques in conducting historical research. First, they combine both private papers and their adjacent records to construct a general framework of the missing intelligence dimension and flesh out the operational details. This approach is also referred to as archival intelligence hacking. Second, they consult official documents instead of only relying on a number of elite interviews. Third, intelligence historians are often required to depend on inside information from well-connected sources.

To make sense of the bigger intelligence history of southern Africa during the war, I was forced to adopt Gaspards analytical framework to a large extent while researching this book. As a starting point, I earmarked several key published texts in order to identify the evident historical gaps in the available literature.

The five volumes on the history of the British intelligence service during the Second World War, produced by Harry Hinsley and his colleagues, deserve special mention. Volume 4 of the series in particular provides valuable information on Anglo-South African cooperation with regard to intelligence gathering and distribution. It also includes an analysis of the German intelligence presence and its inner workings in southern Africa. The series is far more informative than some of the recent publications on the wartime British intelligence services. Unfortunately, the authors regard the events in southern Africa as a sideshow and therefore devote a few meagre paragraphs to them.

Several additional sources supplement Hinsleys series. These publications allow for a deeper understanding of the complex nature of both the Allied counterintelligence and Axis intelligence organisations active in southern Africa during the war. Special attention has been paid to the strained relationships and interservice rivalry between the various Allied counterintelligence organisations. In addition, several of the authors have discussed wartime counterintelligence operations, particularly those in Mozambique. Unfortunately, they have relied almost exclusively on declassified MI5 documentation housed at the National Archives of the United Kingdom. As a result, these publications are decidedly one-sided in their historical analysis. Nevertheless, reference to the works of Kent Fedorowich, Edward Harrison, Patrick Furlong and Keith Shear is vital in any study of the Axis and Allied intelligence networks in southern Africa during the war.

Closer to home, the work of George Visser has been indispensable. Visser, a veteran policeman, was personally involved in several of the investigations and operations aimed at apprehending the known Axis agents in the Union. Unfortunately, Visser was never privy to the complete extent of the Axis intelligence network in southern Africa, especially when considering that a wealth of intelligence and related files have been declassified in South Africa and Britain since the appearance of his book, OB: Traitors or Patriots?, in 1976. The work of Ernst Malherbe, Andries Fokkens, Ian van der Waag and Fankie Monama supplement Vissers work, though they are not intelligence histories per se. They do, however, contribute to the discussion on the Axis intelligence networks and their organisation in South Africa during the war, and especially the Allied measures taken to suppress them.

Several additional sources, mostly published in Afrikaans, also proved instrumental in getting to grips with this all-encompassing topic. They include the work of Lindie Koorts, Christoph Marx, Hans Strydom, Bob Moore, Will and Marietjie Radley, Hans Rooseboom and Albert Blake. The publications by Hans van Rensburg and Piet van der Schyff, though dated, deserve special mention.

Van Rensburgs autobiography, though very informative, unsurprisingly fails to address the true nature and extent of his contact with Germany during the war. At times there is an offhand mention of related events, but it is evident that Van Rensburg did not wish to share his wartime secrets with his South African compatriots.

Van der Schyffs work stands in contrast to all available work on the Ossewabrandwag. In his capacity as the erstwhile historian and archivist of the Ossewabrandwag, Van der Schyff was privy to a series of classified archival sources detailing the inner workings of the organisation, especially the wartime contact between the Ossewabrandwag and Germany. As a result, his work offers an unrivalled account of several lesser-known aspects of the intelligence war in southern Africa. Furthermore, Van der Schyff examines the post-war drive to charge Van Rensburg and his compatriots with high treason. However, he largely casts aside the MI5 archival material, and thus offers a mainly one-sided, pro-Ossewabrandwag account.

Astonishingly, a certain gatekeeper mentality prevailed among some of the senior staff at the Ossewabrandwag Archive regarding access to the more sensitive available archival material. This mentality remained in place until very recently and naturally affected contemporary research into the organisation. Regrettably, embargoes on access to certain documentation at the Ossewabrandwag Archive meant that even the above works do not provide an accurate historical account. Fortunately, these embargoes were lifted a few years ago, making it possible to set the record straight on the nature and extent of the Axis espionage networks in southern Africa, and the principal support role played by the Ossewabrandwag.

There are therefore several glaring gaps in the historiography surrounding the broader intelligence war in southern Africa. The available secondary sources at best present a rather one-sided account of the events. For the most part, these works are either pro-Axis or pro-British in their respective approaches. The fact that this episode of South African history is largely forgotten is a further cause for concern. To a certain extent the post-1948 sanitisation of the nations collective memory of these events was successful, especially since the documentary evidence remains elusive.

The aim of this book is to provide an unrivalled account of the German intelligence networks that operated in conjunction with the Ossewabrandwag in South Africa during the war, and to shed light on the threat level presented by the Germans to the Unions national security. As such, the book investigates the broader intelligence war through a number of research objectives:

to examine the functioning of the broader Axis intelligence networks in southern Africa during the war;

to explore the initial contacts that were established between Germany and the South African opposition;

to discuss the nature and functioning of the embryonic Rooseboom operation;

to examine the quest by the Ossewabrandwag to establish a viable intelligence network and contact with Germany, particularly in the structure and operation of the Felix organisation;

to consider the Allied counterintelligence efforts in South Africa during the war;

to explore the post-war hunt to collect the necessary evidence to arraign Van Rensburg and his inner circle for high treason;

to investigate the unsuccessful attempt of the Union War Prosecutions to finalise the case of high treason against Van Rensburg amid a changing political landscape.

The book relies on a wealth of primary documents, including both official and private papers, from South Africa and the United Kingdom. Taking a cue from Gaspards archival intelligence hacking, the manuscript critically engages with both national and international archival material, including primary sources preserved at the Department of Defence Archives, the Ossewabrandwag Archive, the South African National Archives, as well as the National Archives of the United Kingdom. As such, the book aims to offer a fresh perspective on a largely forgotten episode of South African history.

Click here to buy your copy

Evert Kleynhans is a lecturer in military history at the South African Military Academy. He is the former head of Records, Archives and Museums at Northwest University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Several of his articles have been published in academic journals and he has also contributed chapters to two books. This is his first book for a general audience.
Hudson, NY (12534)

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A mix of clouds and sun. Near record high temperatures. High 92F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

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And they were based last year at a sprawling Libyan military air base alongside mercenaries from the Wagner Group, the Kremlin-backed private company that is considered a spearhead for Russias covert efforts to spread its military influence across Africa.

Experts say the unexpected coup by the Chadian rebels offers a stark example of how the decade-old power vacuum in Libya, starting with the ouster of the dictator Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, has incubated an array of mercenaries and other armed groups, some of which are now spreading chaos in the region.

The civil war in Libya has created an environment in which armed groups, not just from Chad but from all over the place, can thrive and find sponsors and allies, said Nathaniel Powell, a research associate at the Center for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University in Britain, and the author of Frances Wars in Chad.

Uncertainty has seized Chad since the death of Mr. Deby, casting doubt on the stability of a nation viewed by the United States and France as a linchpin of their efforts to counter Islamist militancy spreading across western and central Africa.
New Delhi: The registration for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra has been temporarily suspended in wake of the dire COVID-19 crisis in the country.

Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board through its Twitter handle made the announcement and said that the situation is being constantly monitored. In view of evolving COVID19 situation, registration for Amarnath Yatra is being temporarily suspended. The situation is being constantly monitored and it would be reopened once the situation improves, the Board tweeted on Thursday (April 22).

In view of evolving COVID19 situation, registration for Amarnath Yatra is being temporarily suspended. The situation is being constantly monitored and it would be reopened once the situation improves: Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board  ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

The online registration process had begun from April 1 through 446 designated bank branches across the country  316 branches of Punjab National Bank, 90 of Jammu and Kashmir Bank and 40 YES Bank branches. The annual 56-day yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine is scheduled to begin from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir on June 28 and will culminate on August 22.

The Amarnath yatra was suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had extended the night curfew to urban areas of all 20 districts in order to curb the transmission of the deadly infection. The curfew will remain in force from 10 pm to 6 am. Earlier, the night curfew was imposed on only eight districts of J&K.

On Wednesday, the Union Territory recorded its sharpest single-day surge of 2,204 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the cumulative tally to 1,52,442, PTI quoted officials as saying.

While the death toll climbed to 2,084 as 13 more people,10 from Jammu and three from Kashmir, lost their lives.

Live TV
US President Joe Bidens reported plan to formally recognize as genocide the World War I-era killings of 1.5 million Christian Armenians by the Muslim Ottoman Empire risks plunging relations with Turkey into deep crisis.

The White House has not commented on the reports, but top lawmakers in Bidens Democratic Party voiced strong support for the move expected on Saturday, the annual day of remembrance for the victims of the 1915 massacre.

Despite decades of pressure from the US Armenian community, successive US presidents have skirted the genocide controversy due to worries about a rupture with NATO ally Turkey, which has steadfastly rejected the assertion.

But Biden pledged last year during his presidential campaign to recognize the Armenian genocide.

We must never forget or remain silent about this horrific and systematic campaign of extermination, he said in a statement on April 24, 2020.

If we do not fully acknowledge, commemorate, and teach our children about genocide, the words never again lose their meaning. 

 Erdogan: Defend the truth 

Branding the massacre genocide would carry no legal consequences, but could potentially add support to reparations claims.

More immediately, it would infuriate Ankara, which insists that the numbers of Armenians killed is greatly exaggerated and that more Muslims were killed during the period.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told advisors to defend the truth against those who back the so-called Armenian genocide lie, his office said without referring directly to Bidens reported plans.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned in an interview that Bidens move would sour bilateral relations.

If the United States wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs, he said.

Democrats in Congress though applauded the expected move.

I am so relieved, grateful and moved that we can finally commemorate the anniversary with the knowledge that the government of the United States has recognized the truth of the Armenian genocide at last, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

At the US State Department, spokesman Ned Price did not confirm any coming announcement, but stressed that the two countries can still work on issues of mutual interest despite disagreements.

We have shared interests with Ankara, and that includes countering terrorism and includes ending the conflict in Syria, he said.

As friends, as allies, when we have disagreements we raise those and theres no papering over them, he said.

 Present day threat 

The Ottoman empire was centered on modern-day Turkey, and millions of Armenians lived under its rule, mostly in what is now the eastern part of the country.

The massacre was set off after Ottoman leader Mehmed Talaat ordered the mass deportation of Armenians as World War I raged and the Ottoman Empire was battling Tsarist Russia.

The Armenian community claims 1.5 million were killed, while some other estimates are lower. Hundreds of thousands also fled into exile, many to Europe and the United States.

Around 30 countries, as well as the European Union, have branded the event genocide.

In 2019 both houses of the US Congress voted to use the genocide label in a symbolic resolution.

But then-president Donald Trump, seeking to maintain close relations with Erdogan, avoided using that term, while calling it one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.

Adam Schiff, the Democratic congressman who sponsored the original genocide legislation, said Bidens move was important to underscore a real present day threat of genocide, citing Chinas treatment of Muslim Uyghurs.

If were not going to recognize the genocide that happened a century ago, what does that say about our willingness to stand up and confront genocide happening today? he told Fox 11 television in Los Angeles.
The wreckage of a Tesla Model S that crashed near Houston. Scott J. Engle/Getty Images

69-year-old Everette Talbot has been named as the second victim of a Tesla crash in Texas.

He and friend William Varner died after the car crashed into a tree and caught fire Saturday.

Police say no one was driving, but Elon Musk has contested that.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Related: How Teslas can accelerate so quickly

The second victim in a Tesla crash in Texas has been named, as police and CEO Elon Musk continue to offer conflicting accounts of how the vehicle was being driven.

The 69-year-old Everette Talbot is one of two people who died in the incident in a Houston-area suburb Saturday evening, according to ABC News.

Talbot's name was reported two days after that of the other victim, his close friend 59-year-old William Varner. They crashed just a few hundred yards away from where they set out in the Tesla Model S.

The car, traveling at high speed, failed to negotiate a bend and came off the road on Hammock Dunes Place, a residential street in an upscale Houston suburb. The car crashed into a tree and burst into flames.

Two people died in the blazing crash near Houston. Reuters

Police say they are sure that at the time of the crash nobody was driving the car, which is able to partially operate itself.

But Musk has said that data from the car shows that its Autopilot mode was not engaged, prompting questions about what was happening behind the wheel.

Constable Mark Herman of Harris County Precinct 4 told local outlet KHOU 11 that deputies who recovered the bodies "are 100% certain that no one was in the driver seat driving that vehicle at the time of impact."

Herman said that the bodies were in the front passenger seat and a rear seat. An unnamed family member told local news outlet that KPRC 2 that the owner had backed out of the driveway, and then may have moved to the back seat.

In a tweet on Monday, Musk said: "Data logs recovered so far show Autopilot was not enabled & this car did not purchase FSD."

FSD is Tesla's Full Self-Driving mode. When switched on, Autopilot keeps a car centered in its lane and maintains a steady distance from other vehicles but does not make cars autonomous. Full Self-Driving mode automates more driving tasks, but the company says it still requires a driver's full attention.

Story continues

Elon Musk. NurPhoto/Contributor/Getty Images

In response to Musk's tweet, Herman told Reuters that he "will eagerly wait for that data."

The crash is now under investigation by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The investigations could take as long as two years to determine what happened.

Justin Kendrick, the senior vice president and CEO at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center where Varner worked, told ABC that he was a "tremendous human being."

The local news reporter Ivory Hecker posted an image of Varner that she said came from his colleagues:

-Ivory Hecker FOX 26 (@IvoryHecker) April 20, 2021

According to the Daily Mail, Talbot ran a financial firm. He has also been described in local reports as an engineer. His daughter told the outlet: "We are going through a living hell right now. As his daughter, I asked everyone to wait for the investigation to be completed."

A Tesla Model S. Tesla

Early local reports, citing Herman, had said that the blaze could not be extinguished for four hours. Those accounts have been disputed by Chief Palmer Buck of The Woodlands Township Fire Department according to the Houston Chronicle.

"With respect to the fire fight, unfortunately, those rumors grew out way of control," he said. "It did not take us four hours to put out the blaze. Our guys got there and put down the fire within two to three minutes, enough to see the vehicle had occupants."

What did take hours was what firefighters call "final extinguishment," the Chronicle reported, as electric-car batteries can continue to flare up even after the fire is under control. "We had to keep it cool, were on scene for four hours, but we were simply pouring a little bit of water on it," Buck said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A self-described fracking refugee from Belmont County, Ohio on Thursday joined Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Earth Day to urge a congressional subcommittee to abandon subsidies to the fossil fuel industry when Congress passes its next infrastructure bill.

Jill Antares Hunkler told the House Committee on Oversight and Reforms environment subcommittee that she was forced from her home at the headwaters of the historically pristine Captina Creek Watershed by oil and gas infrastructure and pollution from a compressor station, 78 fracking wells, a transfer station and an interstate pipeline with numerous gathering pipelines, all within a five-mile radius of her home.

She said a 2018 fracking well blowout in Belmont County caused one of the largest methane leaks in U.S. history, forcing area residents to evacuate from their homes, and a brine truck accident contaminated Barnesvilles reservoir with radioactive materials.

The negative health impacts we experienced were too much to bear, she testified. First, we noticed the odors and had nose, eye, and throat irritation, as well as headaches. The symptoms worsened over time with nausea, vertigo, rashes, mental confusion, disorientation, numbness, and body aches and pains. True wealth is good health, and our health and happiness suffered as long as we stayed in the hollow.

Since the fracking boom began, she said Belmont and other eastern Ohio counties that produce natural gas have lost more than 6,500 jobs instead of gaining them, and the regions population has declined.

Thats why theres little reason to believe that cutting subsidies for the fossil fuel industry will result in lost jobs, said Hunkler. And the local oil and gas workers are often the least valued assets of the industry. They are exploited, given the worst, most dangerous, and most often are the least-paid contract jobs without health care and retirement benefits.

Thunberg told the subcommittee its a disgrace that fossil fuels are still being supported with tax money and proof that we have not understood the climate emergency at all.

The simple fact is that if we are to live up to our promises and commitments in Paris, we have to end fossil fuel subsidies now, said Thunberg. And that is not my opinion ... How long do you think you can continue ignoring the climate crisis without being held accountable? You get away with it now, but sooner or later people are going to realize what you have been doing this time. Thats inevitable. You still have time to do the right thing and to save your legacies, but that window of time is not going to last for long.

Frank Macchiarola of the American Petroleum Institute told the subcommittee the oil and gas industry supports ten million jobs in the U.S. economy. He said that people it directly employs make an average yearly salary of approximately $108,000, nearly double the private sector average. Even if global renewable energy targets are met, he said oil and natural gas are still projected to provide 46 percent of the worlds energy in 2040.

The critical question for Congress is whether more of this energy will come from right here at home, or from overseas, said Macchiarola. who said domestic oil and gas producers now lead the world in both energy production and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. He said the natural gas industry has reduced emissions from methane by 16 percent from 1990 to 2019 while production increased by 90 percent.

He said federal tax policy should promote U.S. investment and tax deductions his industry is allowed to take for expenses like equipment, labor and wages are not subsidies, but rather common tools that allow businesses to expand, invest and create jobs. He said the measures affect the timing of the industrys tax payments, not how much it pays.

He said the industrys investments ultimately provide significant tax revenues, nothing that over the past decade, the U.S. Department of the Interior disburses approximately $10 billion per year generated from energy production on federal lands and waters and $12 billion in 2019 alone. Excise taxes on the industrys products also generate significant revenue for infrastructure projects, he said, observing that federal fuel taxes generated $36 billion for highways and bridges in 2019.

Its essential we implement effective and achievable policies that allow us to continue to reduce emissions while supporting Americas economy, and energy security, said Macchiarola.

Republican members of the subcommittee were sympathetic to Macchiarolas arguments. Its top Republican, South Carolinas Ralph Norman, argued that the Green New Deal being promoted by Democrats would do away with affordable energy and cost the nation thousands of jobs.

Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas said fossil fuels currently get roughly $3.2 billion in tax benefits, while renewable energy gets roughly three times as much. He argued that hamstringing our own energy would diminish the U.S. goal of energy independence, and said we should do everything we can in our power to keep facilitating the successes the energy industry has had in boosting its production while reducing emissions.

Democrats took a different view, with New Yorks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accusing the fossil fuel industry of fearmongering, and environmental racism for building environmentally detrimental projects on land owned by Native Americans and other minorities.

The subcommittees chairman, California Democrat Ro Khanna, said he held the hearing because the United States is both the worlds second largest producer of fossil fuels and its second largest fossil fuel subsidizer. He said the subsidies pad corporate profits and dont help workers in the industry.

These fossil fuel subsidies are outdated and need to go, Khanna declared.

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Note: Figures reflect weekly totals of positive flu tests, from public and clinical laboratories.  Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

There have been fewer influenza cases in the United States this flu season than in any on record. About 2,000 cases have been recorded since late September, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent years, the average number of cases over the same period was about 206,000.

As measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus were implemented around the country in March 2020, influenza quickly disappeared, and it still has not returned. The latest flu season, which normally would have run until next month, essentially never happened.

After fears that a twindemic could batter the country, the absence of the flu was a much needed reprieve that eased the burden on an overwhelmed health care system. But the lack of exposure to the flu could also make the population more susceptible to the virus when it returns  and experts say its return is certain.

We do not know when it will come back in the United States, but we know it will come back, said Sonja Olsen, an epidemiologist at the C.D.C.

Experts are less certain about what will happen when the flu does return. In the coming months  as millions of people return to public transit, restaurants, schools and offices  influenza outbreaks could be more widespread than normal, they say, or could occur at unusual times of the year. But its also possible that the virus that returns is less dangerous, having not had the opportunity to evolve while it was on hiatus.

We dont really have a clue, said Richard Webby, a virologist at the St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis. Were in uncharted territory. We havent had an influenza season this low, I think as long as weve been measuring it. So what the potential implications are is a bit unclear.

Scientists do not yet know which public health measures were most effective in eradicating the flu this season, but if behaviors like mask-wearing and frequent hand-washing continue after the coronavirus pandemic is over, they could help to keep influenza at bay in the United States.

Much also depends on the latest flu vaccines, their effectiveness and the publics willingness to get them. The recent drop in cases, however, has made it difficult for scientists to decide which flu strains to protect against in those vaccines. Its harder to predict which strains will be circulating later, they say, when so few are circulating now.

What happened to the flu?

When the reality of the coronavirus pandemic set in last year, the country was still in the throes of the normal flu season, which had peaked in February. Then schools closed, travel halted and millions began working from home, and the number of new flu cases quickly dropped to historic lows, even as the coronavirus surged.

Influenza vs. coronavirus Flu cases dropped even as the coronavirus spread. Note: Figures reflect weekly totals.  Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (flu cases); New York Times database of reports from state and local health agencies (coronavirus cases)

And the decline has not been because of a lack of testing. Since late September, 1.3 million specimens have been tested for influenza, more than the average of about one million in the same period in recent years.

The publics history of exposure to influenza, scientists say, may partially explain why the flu virtually disappeared while the coronavirus continued to spread after safety measures were implemented.

For something like Covid, where you have a fully susceptible population at the start of a pandemic, it takes a lot more work to slow the spread of the infection, said Rachel Baker, an epidemiologist at Princeton University.

In other words  unlike with the coronavirus  the population has some natural immunity to the flu, from years of being exposed to various strains of the virus. People are susceptible to new strains of the flu each year, but less so than they are to wholly unfamiliar viruses.

The mere presence of the coronavirus may have also played a role in suppressing flu cases, said Dr. Webby, because there is often just one dominant respiratory virus in a population at a given time. One tends to keep the other out, he said.

And influenza was not the only virus that disappeared over the last year; there were also substantial drops in other respiratory illnesses, including the respiratory syncytial virus, or R.S.V., which is the most common cause of pneumonia in infants.

What will happen when the flu returns?

Influenza is a relatively common illness that has the potential to become deadly, especially among young children, seniors and adults with chronic health conditions. The C.D.C. estimates that the flu has killed 12,000 to 61,000 people a year since 2010.

If immunity to the flu declined during the pandemic because of the lack of exposure to the latest flu strains, more people than usual may be susceptible to the virus.

Every year, anywhere between 20 to 30 percent of the population gets its immunity sort of boosted and stimulated by being exposed to the flu virus, Dr. Webby said. We are not going to have that this year.

Decreases in natural immunity are a concern, Dr. Olsen said, and lower immunity could lead to more infections and more severe disease.

The result could mean larger and out-of-season outbreaks of the flu and of R.S.V., Dr. Baker said. In Florida, in fact, R.S.V. would normally be on the decline at this time of year, but it is currently having an uptick.

If offices and schools begin to reopen in greater numbers in the fall, as many expect, scientists will be watching closely.

We are always concerned about influenza causing severe disease, particularly in persons at increased risk of complications, Dr. Olsen said. We know that school-age children are important drivers of influenza virus transmission. However, because influenza is difficult to predict, we cannot forecast the severity of next season.

There is also a potential upside to the absence of influenza: Fewer cases usually lead to fewer mutations.

Right now, because influenza isnt circulating as much, its possible the virus has not had as much opportunity to evolve, said Dr. Baker, meaning our vaccines could be more effective than normal.

Choosing the strains for the flu vaccine

Creating the influenza vaccine this year has been more difficult than in the past.

Every year, scientists evaluate the strains of influenza that are circulating around the world, and meet to decide which strains to protect against in that years vaccine. They look at the strains that are getting people sick, and use that information to predict which strains are most likely to infect people when flu season sets in.

We met at the end of February to make those recommendations, said Dr. Webby, referring to the World Health Organization panel that assesses the flu vaccine. And it was tricky. The amount of data was orders of magnitude less than it typically is.

Dr. Olsen, the C.D.C. epidemiologist, pointed out that the vaccine choices are based on more than just existing strains. Scientists also consider other data, including forecasts of the likelihood of any emerging groups of influenza viruses becoming more prevalent in coming months.

And, she said, the uncertainty around the return of influenza makes getting vaccinated against the flu more important, not less.

Theres another hard-to-predict factor that could play a significant role when the flu comes back: whether society will carry on behaviors learned in the pandemic that benefit public health. Will mask-wearing become the norm? Will employers give their employees more physical space?

The last time Americans had a chance to make those behaviors part of the culture, Dr. Baker pointed out, they did not.

The 1918 influenza pandemic should have been something that gave us some sort of societal learning, said Dr. Baker, but behavior did not change. So what is the journey you are about to go on from the Covid-19 pandemic, along that axis? she added. Will you wear your mask, even if no one else is?
April 22, 2021

Open Thread 2021-030

News & views ...

Posted by b on April 22, 2021 at 15:28 UTC | Permalink

Comments
WESTMINSTER, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO), a developer of sustainable technologies and a full-service environmental engineering company, has achieved a critical technical milestone in the development and commercialization of its sustainable treatment technology for PFAS-contaminated water (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), called the Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator (AEC). This development, which involved a re-design of the AEC's electrical configuration, dramatically improves its operating and maintenance costs. With this technological hurdle out of the way, the company can now finalize agreements for the technology's first demonstration pilots and commercial trials.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals used in the manufacture of countless household, commercial, and industrial goods. Because of their resilient chemical structure, they accumulate in rivers, lakes, and groundwater, as well as in humans and other living things. They have been linked to chronic health problems such as cancer, hormone disorders, and increased cholesterol. The Biden administration has made regulation of PFAS in drinking water a top priority, having recently issued final regulatory determinations for the two most common PFAS compounds under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

The most common water treatment process for removing PFAS is filtration by granulated activated carbon (GAC). This technique has a significant downside, however: it generates huge volumes of PFAS-laden carbon waste that requires disposal, usually at a landfill or by incineration, both of which are costly and have poor environmental outcomes. In comparison, the BioLargo AEC uses electrophoresis to collect PFAS onto proprietary membranes, using little electricity and requiring a diminutive physical footprint. The AEC is projected to have significantly more affordable operating costs and generate a fraction of the PFAS-laden waste compared to carbon filtration.

BioLargo Engineering, Science & Technologies has succeeded in modifying the AEC to extend the useful lifespan of its specialized membranes, which are a crucial component of the technology. This advancement has improved the operating and maintenance metrics for the technology, potentially reducing the frequency of membrane replacement by a factor of six. While the AEC was already being prepared for its first commercial pilots, this enhancement improves the technology's long-term costing metrics for customers and is expected to improve the technology's rate of adoption by PFAS treatment customers. BioLargo has already patented the AEC and has filed at least one patent application to expand the existing intellectual property coverage for the AEC with the new modification.

Dennis P. Calvert, BioLargo's CEO commented on the technology's future, "With this advancement to the AEC's design, our next step is commercial trials. We can now finalize the details of several trials at municipalities on the West Coast and in the American Midwest as well as a major federal government organization. BioLargo Engineering is already working to build the demonstration units for those projects. We believe the success of these initial pilot projects will provide the commercial validation data that will convince State authorities to adopt the technology en masse."

About BioLargo, Inc.

BioLargo, Inc. (OTCQB:BLGO) invents, develops, and commercializes innovative platform technologies to solve challenging environmental problems like PFAS contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and VOC control, air quality control, and infection control. With over 13 years of extensive R&D, BioLargo holds a wide array of issued patents, maintains a robust pipeline of products, and provides full-service environmental engineering. Our peer-reviewed scientific approach allows us to invent or acquire novel technologies and develop them to maturity through our operating subsidiaries. With a keen emphasis on collaborations with academic, municipal, and commercial organizations and associations, BioLargo has proven itself with over 80 awarded grants and numerous pilot projects. We monetize through direct sales, recurring service contracts, licensing agreements, strategic joint venture formation and/or the sale of the IP. Several of our technologies are commercially available and are advancing as disrupters in their respective markets. See our website at www.BioLargo.com.

Contact Information

Dennis P. Calvert

President and CEO, BioLargo, Inc.

888-400-2863

Safe Harbor Act - caution regarding forward looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include without limitation those about BioLargo's (the "Company") expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; anticipated revenue; and plans for future operations. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price; the effect of regional economic conditions on the Company's business, including effects on purchasing decisions by consumers and businesses; the ability of the Company to compete in markets that are highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change; the ability of the Company to manage frequent introductions and transitions of products and services, including delivering to the marketplace, and stimulating customer demand for, new products, services, and technological innovations on a timely basis; the dependency of the Company on the performance of distributors of the Company's products. More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is included in the Company's filings with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of the Company's most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and subsequent filings. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.

SOURCE: BioLargo, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641743/BioLargos-Sustainable-PFAS-Solution-Hits-Major-Technical-Milestone-Paving-Way-for-Commercial-Trials
Chandigarh, April 22 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said adequate arrangements have been made to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines, oxygen and other facilities to the Covid-19 patients.

As a precaution, he said the state has decided to close shops dealing in non-essential items in crowded markets from 6 p.m. from April 23.

On the shortage of oxygen supply in the hospitals, he told the media here that the problem has been resolved.

"I have even held detailed discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue," Khattar said.

The Chief Minister said a roster has been made for filling the oxygen cylinders at the plant in Panipat.

"From now onwards, one truck will be loaded for Haryana and one truck each for Delhi and Punjab. This entire process at the Panipat plant is being closely monitored by me," he added.

He said 170 metric tonnes of oxygen is being supplied to Delhi on Thursday from the Panipat plant.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too expressed satisfaction for the supply of oxygen from the plant.

The Panipat plant has a capacity of producing 260 metric tonnes, out of which 140 metric tonnes is being supplied to Delhi, 80 metric tonnes to Haryana and 20 metric tonnes to Punjab.

Khattar said Haryana is also supplied 20 metric tonnes from the Bhiwadi plant in Rajasthan. However, there was some problem in the supply a day earlier.

Responding to a question on the availability of beds with ventilators, the Chief Minister said the facility of availability of beds has been made online in Gurugram and Faridabad districts.

About 500 beds have been arranged at SGT Medical College in Gurugram, besides 150 beds are being arranged in the industrial area.

"The DRDO is also making arrangement of 500 beds each in Panipat and Hisar. Apart from this, talks are also being held with the army commander of Chandi Mandir and efforts are being made to ensure availability of doctors and other facilities by the Army," said the Chief Minister.

On wasting of Covid vaccine doses, he said in the state, the wastage is only 1.5 per cent, which is within the prescribed limit.

"Once a dose is opened for vaccination, only 20 to 40 injections are utilised. Sometimes because of difference in number of doses opened and administered also becomes a reason for wastage," he clarified.

He said 1,000 Remdesivir injections were supplied in government hospitals till Wednesday and the supply would be further increased in government hospitals. However, the private hospitals are making its arrangement at their own level.
Russia, China, Iran, India, and, most of all, Pakistan have interests at stake as the U.S. aims to withdraw from Afghanistan. It was the 20th century British philosopher Bertrand Russell who described the nature of war as one that determines not who is right but who is left. Nowhere in the world is this description more applicable than the United States war in Afghanistan. After two decades of conflict, what is left is a bruised and battered country whose future now is as uncertain as it was 20 years ago, The Diplomat writes.

The United States spent more than $2 trillion and lost over 2,400 soldiers in the war with little to show for it in terms of substantial achievements. The question today is not what the United States can do to achieve its objectives, but how it can minimize the damage it has incurred through its presence in Afghanistan. Previous U.S. presidents made the mistake of trying to answer both these questions at the same time, proposing conditional withdrawals subject to variables beyond the United States control. These unattainable conditions were what turned a short incursion to overthrow the Taliban regime into a forever war, making the United States yet another victim of the graveyard of empires.

The recent announcement made by President Joe Biden regarding the U.S. military withdrawal is different from those made by his predecessors. The United States seems to have understood that the only option it has available to break free from its forever war trap is to not set any condition for its withdrawal. The more conditions Washington sets, the more unlikely they are to be fulfilled, and the more likely it is that the United States remains bogged down.

Unfortunately for the Afghan government in Kabul, this decision seems to throw them under the proverbial bus, leaving them at the mercy of domestic actors. The Taliban had showed reluctance regarding an upcoming intra-Afghan peace summit scheduled to take place in April in Turkey. In the aftermath of Bidens announcement, the Taliban hardened its refusal to attend and the summit has been postponed until after Ramadan and possibly much longer. Given that peace in Afghanistan hinges upon the success of intra-Afghan negotiations, the current trajectory of events presents the future of Afghanistan as quite precarious and uncertain.

The effects of this uncertainty will manifest themselves throughout the region. In the past, nearby states like Russia and China benefited greatly from the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, which served to quell the spread of extremism beyond its borders. However, the United States military withdrawal is expected to unleash new forces in the region, subsequently requiring more involvement from geographically proximate powers wishing to safeguard their own interests.

Russia has kept a close eye on developments in Afghanistan, which during the Soviet period directly bordered the USSR. The Soviet Union fought its own disastrously long war in the country from 1979 to 1989.

In case of a U.S. withdrawal, non-state actors may move more freely in the region, proliferating their ideology and radicalizing Muslim populations in Russia and the Central Asian states. In the past, the Russian government showed its support for a political settlement between the government and the Taliban; however, with the current dynamics, that seems an increasingly difficult result to achieve.

For China, Afghanistan holds both security and economic value. Afghanistan borders Chinas Xinjiang province, which Beijing deems to be affected by terrorism, extremism, and separatism  its so-called three evils. Over the past few years, China has provided the Afghan government with $70 million military aid to bolster its counterterrorism efforts  especially in the Wakhan corridor. However, the unconditional withdrawal might prompt China to diversify its options and strengthen relations with the Taliban. China has been developing itself as a global leader in renewable energy technologies and Afghanistan sits on $1 trillion worth of rare earth mineral reserves expected to spark Chinese interest. The security situation deterred China from exploring these resources in the past. However, it is possible that China would seek to cultivate relations with Afghanistan that would enable it to extract these resources. Any future Afghan regime seeking to diminish its dependence on aid would welcome such an investment.

The U.S. withdrawal is expected to affect Iranian interests as well. A stable Afghanistan would prevent Irans exposure to threats posed by non-state actors like the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (banned in Russia). Yet, it is unlikely that the current trajectory of events will be seen favorably in Tehran. With the Taliban having a stronger negotiating position at present, it is predicted that any government apparatus formed after the United States exit will be dominated by the Talibans presence. Given their history, such elements will push Afghanistan into Saudi Arabias sphere of influence  a move detrimental to Irans regional standing. In the past, Saudi Arabia gave up its support for the Taliban under pressure from the United States. Once the United States exits Afghanistan, such a pressure is unlikely to persist. Iran might try to mitigate the effects of such an outcome by strengthening the presence of its own proxy networks in Afghanistan.

Bidens withdrawal announcement seems to have ruffled some feathers in India  a regional player with much to lose under current circumstances. Since 2001, India has invested over $3 billion in Afghanistan to foster a strong relationship with Kabul. Over the past two decades, it was able to use its presence in the country to ensure strategic encirclement of Pakistan and thwart Pakistans strategic depth doctrine. The United States withdrawal changes Indias standing in Afghanistan. The Taliban, now gaining ground, are expected to shift the balance of power in favor of Pakistan. If the past is to be of some guidance, it is possible that disengaged fighters from Afghanistan might shift their attention to the Kashmir insurgency  a repeat of 1989 events. These losing stakes will push India to lobby the United States for reconsideration of its withdrawal terms in favor of ones that provide pro-India elements with a share in Afghanistans power circles.

The conventional view suggests that the news of withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would be welcomed with open arms in Pakistan. Yet, a departure without an agreement over Afghanistans future government could spell trouble for Pakistan. Such an exit is predicted to exacerbate the conflict in Afghanistan, with the potential of spilling over into Pakistan. It would not only mean an influx of refugees into an already stressed Pakistani economy but also give drugs and weapons smuggling a new lease on life. Therefore, Pakistan faces a paradoxical situation. While on one side the strengthening of Talibans bargaining position bodes well for Pakistans interests, such a strengthened position can lead to instability in Afghanistan, thereby harming Pakistans interests.

As the United States prepares to exit Afghanistan, the future of Afghanistan remains uncertain. If the current trend continues, the intra-Afghan dialogue is most likely to end in failure. Such a failure would push Afghanistan toward instability and jeopardize regional interests. Therefore, it is up to regional stakeholders to break the current intra-Afghan deadlock by nudging parties toward the bargaining table. If they dont, they too will be engulfed in the crisis that follows the departure of the U.S. military from Afghan soil.
A 23-year-old nurse in her third trimester of pregnancy and her two-year-old son have been shot and killed by her husband in an apparent murder-suicide, police said, after she and her husband got into a verbal argument.

Police found Paiden Nicole Priest, her son, Grayson Alexander Beckham, and her husband, David Wayne Priest, with gunshot wounds when they arrived at their house in Van Buren, near Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Sunday.

David, an electrician, was the only one still alive, but he later succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital.

'This is one of the worst cases we've ever had to deal with,' Police Sgt. Jonathan Wear said in a televised press conference following the shooting. 'But we do believe that this was done by David Priest.'

David was Grayson's step-father, the police report.

He and Paiden were engaged in June and married in August, according to their public Facebook profiles.

Police found Paiden Nicole Priest, 23, right, and her two-year-old son, Grayson Alexander Beckham dead at their home in Van Buren, Arks.

David and Paiden were engaged in June and were married in August.

David Priest changed his Facebook profile picture on April 15 to an image of him kissing Paiden's pregnant belly, calling her an 'all-around amazing wife'

On April 15, he changed his profile picture to an image of him kissing Paiden's pregnant belly with the caption 'My gorgeous and all-around amazing wife no matter what.'

It is unclear what the motive was for the shooting, Wear said, but a neighbor had reported hearing an argument before the gunshots went off.

The neighbor told police he was sleeping in bed with his wife and woke up to find a bullet hole in the headboard right above their heads.

'Me and my wife were sleeping and we heard a gunshot,' the neighbor reported. 'Then it happened again and we turned our light on and it looked like a gunshot came through our room from the drywall next door.'

Police were able to recover handgun from the scene, they said, and have obtained a search warrant to collect further evidence in an attempt to 'piece together what happened,' according to local news station 4029 News.

David worked as an electrician. Police now believe he is the one who shot his wife and step-son in an apparent murder-suicide

They were found dead inside their homes in Van Buren, Arkansas

David, Paiden and Grayson's bodies have been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for autopsies

The bodies have also been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock for autopsies.

Friends and family have since paid tribute to Paiden and Grayson, and her unborn son, Elijah, on Facebook.

She had celebrated her baby shower the week before.

Allie Price, who identified herself as Paiden's cousin, posted a photo montage she made of Paiden and Grayson, writing, 'RIP to my beautiful cousin and her sweet babies.'

'I know you and your sweet boys are up there dancing.'

Deann Steele, Paiden's mother-in-law, also wrote a tribute, identifying Paiden as her 'only daughter-in-law.'

'I wish I could trade places with you all,' she wrote on Paiden's Facebook, 'my life doesn't feel the same.'
Check out the news you should not miss today:

Politics

-- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to an ASEAN leaders meeting to be held at the headquarters of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia from April 23 to 24, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Society

-- The Vietnam Railways Corporation has announced 55 extra trains for April 29-May 3 to meet the rising travel demand of passengers on the national holidays of Reunification Day (April 30) and Labor Day (May 1).

-- Doctors at Xuyen A General Hospital in the southern province of Tay Ninh have recently removed an ovarian tumor weighing 8kg from the abdomen of a 27-year-old patient who refused to undergo surgery when the tumor was first detected over four years ago.

-- Vietnam on Thursday morning reported six new imported cases of COVID-19, increasing the countrys tally to 2,812, with 2,490 recoveries, according to the Ministry of Health.

Business

-- The 17th International Exhibition on Automobile, Transportation and Supporting Industry (Vietnam AutoExpo 2021) will take place in Hanoi from August 19 to 22, gathering leading brands of commercial and specialized vehicles and motorcycles as well as supporting industries, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Lifestyle

-- The Peoples Committee of the northern town of Sa Pa has recently requested Ansapa, a tourism complex in Phansipan Ward, which has been under fire for its outlandish Statue of Liberty replica, to temporarily halt receiving tourists after a recent inspection showed many parts of the place are still under construction and unqualified to service visitors.

-- A 900-meter cable car system consisting of 37 cabins capable of carrying eight passengers each was put into operation on Wednesday on a 24-hour basis at the Sam Mountain National Tourist Site in the southern province of An Giang.

World news

-- A car bomb blast late on Wednesday ripped through a luxury hotel's parking area in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, killing four people and wounding 11, Reuters reported.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
RALEIGH, N.C., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After an initial increase following the onset of the pandemic, the demand and price for hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have dropped down to the normal range as it is no more used to treat COVID-19, says Beroe Inc.

Though HCQ is still in use to manage and treat various conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis and an autoimmune disease called lupus, the demand and price for HCQ API have seen a sudden decline. The prices have dropped by 67 percent in the third quarter of 2020, and it is expected to decline 3-4 percent further in the near future. The demand for hydroxychloroquine was at its peak in the second quarter of 2020, when it was being used in the treatment of COVID-19. On average, the API prices had increased by 10-15 percent, and in some cases, the prices went up by more than 50 percent. With other cost-effective alternative drugs replacing it, the demand for HCQ has stagnated.

Beroe, which is based in North Carolina, further stated that procurement experts can access this report on its recently launched market intelligence platform Beroe LiVE.Ai: https://www.beroeinc.com/beroe-live-ai/

India is one of the major global suppliers of hydroxychloroquine API and its formulations, producing almost 70 percent of the world's HCQ. It imports raw materials from China and Hungary. The export of HCQ increased dramatically in the last year, to mostly cater to the demand in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, and other developed nations. Even though North America is responsible for 30 percent of the global demand, it completely relies on India for its supply needs.

The pandemic had greatly influenced the global hydroxychloroquine market in April-May 2020. The unpredicted rise in the demand of HCQ drove up the prices from June 2020. Global suppliers were quoting high prices as the demand was at an all-time high, while raw materials were scarcely available due to the lockdown protocols.

During COVID-19, the lead time to procure the supply increased due to the delay in shipments. Even though 70-80 percent of the major ports and shipping points were operational, a decrease in the number of operating flights had negatively impacted the delivery of supplies. With various countries easing lockdown restrictions, companies are expected to start operating at full capacity in the coming months.

Investment to expand production capacity and equipment costs are the two key fixed costs in manufacturing HCQ API. The cost of raw materials is the main component that determines the hydroxychloroquine market price. Another factor affecting the global HCQ price is labor costs, which vary highly based on each geography. At present, the prices of HCQ raw materials are on a decline. As there is no supply-demand crunch, the prices of raw materials are predicted to stabilize in the future.

Key findings:

The COVID-19 pandemic had increased the demand for hydroxychloroquine drastically for nearly two months in April-May 2020.

In 2020, the global consumption of hydroxychloroquine API was estimated at 100-120 MT with APAC and the U.S. as the high-demand geographies due to large COVID-19 affected populations.

The price for HCQ hiked in Q2 2020 owing to the difficulty in procuring raw materials due to the lockdown restrictions. The prices for HCQ dropped by 67 percent in the third quarter of 2020 and are expected to fall by 3-4 percent further.

India is one of the major hydroxychloroquine suppliers , accountable for 70 percent of global demand, with the U.S., Europe , Brazil , and other developed nations being the key importers.

is one of the major , accountable for 70 percent of global demand, with the U.S., , , and other developed nations being the key importers. The hydroxychloroquine industry is a fragmented market with tough competition among the certified producers to supply HCQ to the developed markets.

is a fragmented market with tough competition among the certified producers to supply HCQ to the developed markets. Currently, the prices of raw materials of HCQ are declining. With no supply-demand crunch, the prices of raw materials are expected to stabilize in the future.

The report from Beroe includes:

Market Overview

Supply Landscape

Category Opportunity Analysis

Impact of COVID-19 on API

Industry Analysis

Market Monitoring Insights

Supplier Analysis

About Beroe Inc

Beroe is the world's leading provider of procurement intelligence and supplier compliance solutions. We provide critical market information and analysis that enables companies to make smart sourcing decisions - leading to lower costs, greater profits, and reduced risk. Beroe has been providing these services for more than 15 years and currently works with more than 10,000 companies worldwide, including 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. For more information about Beroe Inc., please visit https://www.beroeinc.com/ .

Media Contact:

Debobrata Hembram

debobrata.hembram@beroe-inc.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/777512/Beroe_Logo.jpg


Security alert stood down at Wrexham Maelor Hospital after four hour lockdown  Access to the hospital no longer restricted

UPDATE: North Wales Polices CI Mark Williams said: I would like to thank staff, patients and the public for their cooperation and patience following what appears to have been a hoax call to Wrexham Maelor Hospital.

Our priority throughout this afternoons incident was to ensure people were kept safe.

UPDATE: The incident response at Wrexham Maelor Hospital has been stood down. The health board have said A search of the Wrexham Maelor was carried out following reports of a suspicious package. We have worked with North Wales Police to carry out a search, which has now been completed. Access to the hospital is no longer restricted and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

Staff had been told not to leave locations inside the hospital and refrain from touching unknown objects. Access in and out of the site had been locked off.





UPDATE 4:20PM The local health board has said, We are working with North Wales Police following a security alert at the WMH site. The hospital has not been evacuated, but the movement of people to and from the site is being restricted while the investigation continues. We would like to remind people not to attend the hospital.

Further earlier information below

There is a large emergency services presence at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital this afternoon.

The entrance to the hospital car park has been closed off with some saying that it has been put on lockdown  with police vehicles also blocking parts of Croesnewydd Road as pictured above via Simon Jones.

There are also multiple reports of a bomb scare  we have asked North Wales Police and the health board for clarity on this.

One person told us that security currently stopping anyone from leaving or entering the building and everyone has been moved away from the main car park.

Wrexham Town Inspector, Luke Hughes has confirmed that officers are in attendance at an ongoing incident and that at this time there is no immediate risk to the public.

Insp Hughes added: Officers will support the hospital staff and provide reassurance until the incident is concluded.

I would urge all members of the public to avoid the area to prevent congestion and allow officers to resolve the incident as promptly as possible.

A spokesperson for North Wales Police added: We are currently dealing with an incident at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital. Please avoid the area until further notice.

A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: Due to an ongoing incident at Wrexham Maelor Hospital that is being managed by North Wales Police, we are asking people not to attend their planned appointments (22 April 2021) and to avoid the site.

The hospital has not been evacuated, but the movement of people to and from the site is being restricted while the investigation continues.

We would like to remind people not to attend the hospital.

Anyone know why Wrexham hospital has been sealed off by the police? @wrexham  Money Mental (@moneymentaluk) April 22, 2021

Something currently happening at the Maelor in @wrexham ..not sure what.. Security currently stopping anyone from leaving or entering the building and everyone has been moved away from the main car park ????  riley. (@laurenrileyg) April 22, 2021

@wrexham whats happening at the maelor hospital its on full lockdown and heavy police coverage?  Kieron Torrens (@KieronTorrens) April 22, 2021

Please avoid the Wrexham Maelor site if possible. https://t.co/jKda2ezzcF  Sarah Atherton MP (@AthertonNWales) April 22, 2021

We have contacted North Wales Police and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and will update as and when we receive further information.

More shortly.
Ankara, April 22 : Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed the Trade Minister and appointed chiefs of two newly established Ministries, according to a presidential decree.

Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan was removed from the post and replaced by Mehmet Mus, Xinhua news agency quoted the decree as saying on Wednesday.

Derya Yanik was appointed as head of the Family Ministry, and Vedat Bilgin took the post as the Labour Minister.

Ministries of labor and family had been under the same roof before the decree separated them.
HONOLULU, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) (NYSE: HE) today released an updated consolidated report describing its policies, actions and performance with respect to a number of environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, including climate-related risks and opportunities.

HEI's 2021 ESG report includes the company's first Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)-aligned reporting. It also includes the results of HEI's first consolidated ESG priorities assessment. As with HEI's inaugural ESG report last year, the 2021 report presents data aligned with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guidelines for HEI's utility and bank subsidiaries.

"With all of our operations in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we know that our company's long-term health is inextricably linked with the strength of the economy, communities, and environment of the Hawaiian Islands. That's why ESG and sustainability considerations are at the core of our mission to be a catalyst for a better Hawai'i," said Connie Lau, HEI president and CEO.

"Since issuing our inaugural ESG report last fall, we have continued our cross-enterprise work to further integrate ESG and climate-related factors into our governance, strategies, risk management and reporting. This second consolidated ESG report provides an update on our ESG efforts and reflects our commitment to continuous improvement, transparency and accountability surrounding these very important issues," said Lau.

HEI's top ESG priorities identified in the report include decarbonization; economic health and affordability; reliability and resilience; secure digitalization; diversity, equity and inclusion; employee engagement; and climate-related risks and opportunities. These priorities reflect the essential connection between the health of Hawai'i's environment, economy and communities and HEI's success as a company. Future reports will continue to track the company's progress as it works to address these interests.

Among the highlights:

Hawaiian Electric

Reached a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 35% in 2020, surpassing the state's requirement of 30%.



Continued to lead the nation in rooftop solar penetration, with 20% of residential customers and 36% of single-family homes on O'ahu with rooftop solar in 2020.



Aggressively advanced its utility-scale renewable energy and storage procurement efforts, with proposed projects expected to add ~650 MW of solar and ~3 GWh of storage to the system.



Committed that by 2035, every passenger car, SUV, light pickup truck and minivan in its fleet will be an electric vehicle.

American Savings Bank

Partnered with the State of Hawai'i to launch the Hawaii Restaurant Card to support the unemployed, the restaurant industry and the supply chain during the pandemic, helping funnel more than $71 million into the Hawai'i economy.

into the Hawai'i economy.

Became the first company in Hawai'i to earn the WELL Health-Safety Rating for its ASB Campus, validating the priority it places on the health and safety of its employees in the context of a global pandemic.



Launched a free, comprehensive online financial education resource center to increase financial literacy.

Pacific Current

Continued to grow its portfolio of sustainable infrastructure assets, including with the acquisition of the 6-megawatt Port Allen Solar Facility on Kaua'i , and expanded the use of locally sourced biodiesel at its Hamakua generation facility in Honoka'a, Hawai'i.

, and expanded the use of locally sourced biodiesel at its Hamakua generation facility in Honoka'a, Hawai'i.

Helped University of Hawai'i (UH) campuses achieve their net-zero goals with three Pacific Current-owned solar-plus-storage projects that are now online at Leeward Community College , Windward Community College and UH Maui College. Two more are expected to begin operation in 2021.

, and UH Maui College. Two more are expected to begin operation in 2021.

Continued to expand electric vehicle charging in the state through its joint venture with EverCharge, providing smart, power-optimized electric vehicle charging solutions for property owners and managers.

To review the HEI 2021 ESG report, visit www.hei.com/esgonline2021.

HEI supplies power to approximately 95% of Hawai'i's population through its electric utility, Hawaiian Electric; provides a wide array of banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses through American Savings Bank, one of Hawai'i's largest financial institutions; and helps advance Hawai'i's clean energy and sustainability goals through investments by its non-regulated subsidiary, Pacific Current.



Investor Contact Media Contact Julie Smolinski AJ Halagao VP, Investor Relations & Corporate Sustainability VP, Corporate & Community Advancement [email protected] [email protected] (808) 543-7300 (808) 543-7625

SOURCE Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hei.com


Deputy Chief Minister wrote to Union Health Minister on Thursday alleging that tankers carrying oxygen were not able to reach hospitals in the national capital as they were being stalled by police and officials in UP and Haryana.

"Police and senior officials of the administration in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are stalling the tankers carrying oxygen, delaying the tankers from reaching hospitals on time," Sisodia said in the letter.

"I urge you ensure that the oxygen allocated for by the Centre reaches there without any delay to save lives of the patients," he added.

Several small hospitals in the city struggled to replenish oxygen supply for patients on Thursday morning, even as some big healthcare facilities received fresh stock overnight.

The Centre on Thursday directed states to ensure uninterrupted production and supply of medical oxygen and its transport along inter-state borders and said the district magistrate and superintendent of police of the district concerned will be held responsible if there is any violation of its order.

The directive under the stringent Disaster Management Act 2005 was issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla in the wake of reports that some states blocked supply of medical oxygen to other states amid sudden spike in cases and demand for it.

Delhi Deputy CM writes to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan



"Police & senior officials of administration in Uttar Pradesh & Haryana are stalling the tankers carrying oxygen, delaying the tankers to reach Delhi hospitals on time," the letter reads pic.twitter.com/xeXZ22syDg  ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2021

Earlier on Thursday, Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid management in the national capital, warned at a press conference that more than a dozen hospitals have oxygen stock that will last for just a few more hours.

"Makeshift arrangements will not work for long as every hospital is faced with the same situation. Over a dozen hospitals have informed me that they are running out of oxygen stock with many of them saying that their stocks will last for just 4-5 hours," Sisodia said.

"Delhi is facing oxygen shortage despite the Centre increasing its oxygen quota on Wednesday. Moreover, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments are not allowing trucks to supply oxygen to Delhi.

"On Wednesday, the UP government did not allow oxygen loaded trucks to enter an oxygen plant there, which resulted in an emergency situation in many hospitals in Delhi. Today, the Haryana government is doing the same. Its officials have barred the entry of trucks carrying oxygen to Delhi in Panipat," he added.

Sisodia also claimed that on Wednesday, hospitals in Delhi faced a crisis because out of the 378 MT oxygen sanctioned to Delhi by the Centre, only 177 MT was received.

"Now when the Centre has increased Delhi's quota of oxygen from 378 MT to 480 MT per day, why are the Haryana and UP governments creating hurdles," he asked.

(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 RCUT Intersections Designed to Reduce Crashes

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says work is underway to install new J-turn intersections in McCracken County that are designed to reduce crashes.The new intersections, also known as Reduced Conflict U-turn (RCUT) intersections, eliminate many of the conflict points that can lead to serious accidents at conventional intersections. In an RCUT intersection, all traffic on the side road must turn right and merge onto the intersecting road. Vehicles can then access a U-turn ramp to travel in the opposite direction. Traffic on the main road can turn left directly.Transportation cabinet spokesman Keith Todd told the Greg Dunker Show the new intersections will be built in two locations in the county."We're gonna be putting in an RCUT along highway 60, actually two of them. Work is ramping up this week. One will be at KY 726 (Kelly Road), and another one will be at KY 996 (Metropolis Lake Road) Where you turn to go to Heath." He said.Todd said the two locations were chosen because they've historically had a high crash rate."We've found that these RCUTS are really good at reducing crashes. Most of the places where they've been installed the average reduction in crashes is about 54 percent," Todd said. "They reduce the number of conflict points, which is where if you're making a turn where there would be another vehicle coming from an opposing direction that you would have to negotiate through to get where you want to go."Todd added that the RCUT intersection will virtually eliminate side impact T-bone crashes, which usually cause the most injuries and damage.In addition to McCracken County, there are several other western Kentucky locations where drivers may soon encounter the new type of intersection. Todd said work is underway on an RCUT on US-45 north of Mayfield. That one is set to be completed after schools have dismissed students for the summer."We also have one that is fully functional along the new KY-80 Mayfield South Bypass at Central Road. We have one in Cadiz along US-68 at KY-139. That one is nearing completion. By the end of this year our plan is to have about seven of these in operation around our 12-county District 1 area." Todd said.Todd said although the new intersections may slightly increase the amount of time it takes to get through, the reduced chance for serious crashes makes it a worthwhile change."It may add two or three seconds of extra time to go through the intersection, but the enhanced safety is well worth the extra couple of seconds that it may take you to negotiate the intersection once the RCUT is there." Todd said.Check out the video below from the Missouri Department of Transportation for more information about the RCUT intersection design, as well as instructions on how to properly drive through them.
KALAMAZOO, MI  Just six months after introducing The Mint Cannabis Co. in Kalamazoo last October, co-owner Joey Kejbou is excited to announce three more dispensaries coming to the state.

Located not far from the East Cork Street dispensary in Kalamazoo, the companys flagship store-to-be will be a 5,300 sq. ft. facility set to open in late summer/early fall at 5747 S. Westnedge Ave. in Portage.

Related: Michigan governor joins call for federal marijuana legalization on 4/20

Retail centers are also expected to open in Coldwater (365 N. Willowbrook Rd.) in early June and in Monroe Township (760 S. Telegraph Rd.) sometime later this summer, Kejbou told MLive on April 20.

In addition, the company is preparing to open a 24,000 sq. ft. cultivation center in Clare this year. The first phase of the cultivation center is expected to open this May.

Mint Cannabis Co-owner Joey Kejbou talks with an employee between interviews for his new staff in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. The Kalamazoo location was the company's first in Michigan. Locations in Portage, Coldwater and Monroe Township are all expected to open in 2021 as is a cultivation facility in Clare. (MLive File photo | Joel Bissell)Joel Bissell | MLive.com

In total, the company expects to bring 120 new jobs, including upward of 40 in Portage, he said.

Kejbou said while the company continues to look to expand partnerships with growers and processers throughout the state as it grows its footprint in Michigan, they believe strongly in creating their own supply.

All retail locations will offer a diverse selection of flower/buds, edibles and concentrates, he said.

Related: Michigan marijuana sales break $1 billion pace; insiders expect record-breaking April

Most of the big retailers are vertically integrated, Kejbou said. Its just the way the industry is going and with the ups and downs of pricing and stuff, we find it imperative that we have our own supply.

Even if its not enough to fully supply us, at least by having some kind of consistent internal supply chain, we can ensure that we are able to provide consistent product at all times.

The Mint Cannabis Co. was started in Arizona by Kejbous childhood friend, Eivan Shahara, and introduced in Michigan by Kejbou last year. In 2020, the company  which features three locations in the Phoenix area, plus the one in Kalamazoo  was named Most Innovative by the international Commercial Cannabis Awards.

Kejbou said what sets The Mint brand apart aside from its product, is the relationships they develop with their clientele and within the communities they operate in.

The Kalmazoo store has supported the West Michigan Cancer Center in its mission, and in addition to looking for other nonprofits to partner with, offers deals and discounts to seniors, veterans and others who need cannabis to cope with life-altering illnesses and conditions, he said.

Related: Giant marijuana joints being raffled off by Michigan dispensary chain for 4/20

We are always looking to the future, not just in terms of growth, but how we can continue to break stigmas, support patients, contribute to local and regional economic vitality and give back to the communities we serve, said Shahara, who like Kejbou, is a Michigan native.

The Mint is accepting applications for all locations preparing to open and actively conducting interviews via Zoom and in-person, Kejbou said.

Positions they are hiring for at this time include everything from internal packaging to budtender positions, retail, sales and marketing, managerial, accounting and administrative.

With respect to the employees, we treat them like a team and like a family here he said. And every customer that comes in will get treated the same way. Were about creating a friendly atmosphere, built on personal relationships.

For more information, visit themintcannabis.com.

Also on MLive:

We just didnt have a path, says Food Dance owner about near closure of Kalamazoo restaurant

WMU football position changes paying off, plus more notes from spring practice

Western Michigan University moves to flat-rate tuition beginning fall 2021
MBABANE - While the country is still celebrating low COVID-19 infections, malaria cases are shooting up.

An outbreak of malaria has been reported around the northern part of the Hhohho Region in the country. A total of 60 cases of the disease have been recorded in the month of April only in the affected areas. Malaria is a deadly disease caused by a parasite which is spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. People who have malaria feel sick and exhibit a high fever and shaking chills.

Confirmed

National Malaria Programme Manager Quinton Dlamini confirmed that there was an alarming rise in cases of malaria that had been reported in the country, mainly in the northern part of the Hhohho Region. Most of the cases of malaria came from Nyonyane, Madlangempisi, Bulandzeni, Dvokolwako and Mkhiweni. The National Malaria Programme launched an investigation and it was discovered that the potential driver to the outbreak was the harvesting season, where people are exposed to all kinds of insects, said Dlamini. He said there would be campaigns to raise awareness on malaria countrywide. Following the alarming rise in malaria cases in the country, the National Malaria Programme compiled an Outbreak Investigation Report which was compiled after a field visit on April 13, 2020.

According to the report, the purpose of the field trip was to confirm and characterise the outbreak at the level of the most affected constituencies, communities and health facilities in order to confirm the outbreak and respond appropriately. The report reflected that unlike in previous years where the most infected gender were females, this year, the disease was more prevalent among males aged between 20 and 26. It was also reflected that the most affected constituencies were Madlangempisi, Ndzingeni, Siphofaneni and Sithobela while the most affected localities were Bulandzeni, Mkhiweni, Nkamazi, KaNgcamphalala. The senior nurse at Nyonyane Clinic was aware of the rising cases of malaria after all suspected cases were systematically tested for the disease. Some people were exposed to malaria while working in the fields and some were exposed at home. Also, a lot of Mozambique nationals were located in the affected areas, reads the report in part. Worth noting is that Mozambique normally has high cases of malaria.



The report also revealed that there were many severe malaria cases, with some patients being hospitalised. However, the exact number of the hospitalised patients was not revealed. Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula confirmed that there was a malaria outbreak, stating that it was mainly in the northern parts of the country.
Back in the 80s  before 9/11 when the U.S. militarys focus shifted completely to the Middle East  aircraft carriers used to spend entire deployments in the Mediterranean Sea playing cat-and-mouse with the Soviet Navy, doing bi-lateral exercises with NATO allies, and pulling great liberty in ports like Cannes and Malta.

During that time there was also a persistent pain-in-the-ass Libyan dictator named Moammar Gadhafi.

Moammar Gadhafi, the Libyan chief of state, attends the 12th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb. 2, 2009. Gadhafi was elected chairman of the organization. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt)

A few decades before Gadhafi met his untimely demise at the hands of rebels, he made a sport out of provoking the U.S. Navys Sixth Fleet assets, primarily by claiming that the entire Gulf of Sidra was territorial Libyan water. He called the line along the northernmost part of the gulf the Line of Death and warned that any American ships or airplanes that crossed it would be met with the full force of the Libyan military.

Fighters from the aircraft carriers air wing would routinely fly inside the Line of Death as part of the American Navys freedom of navigation operations (aka FON ops) designed to prove a commitment to the conventions of international admiralty law that said that the Gulf of Sidra was, in fact, a gulf so therefore the only territorial waters that Libya could claim were those that extended 12 miles off the coastline.

FON ops were generally boring in that the Libyan military didnt respond at all in spite of Gadhafis bluster. Fighters would spend hours on combat air patrol stations drilling holes in the sky without a single vector from the controllers in the early warning aircraft whose radar screens remained blip-free.

But that wasnt the case on January 4, 1989 when two F-14A Tomcats assigned to The Swordsmen of VF-32 got the call to investigate two contacts that had launched out of Tobruk  a dream scenario for Cold War-era aviators, but one that also had a few dubious moments, particularly for the pilot and his radar intercept officer (RIO) in the lead aircraft.

An F/A-18 Super Hornet assigned to The Swordsmen of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 32 approaches the catapult during flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). (US Navy Photo)

The rules of engagement at that time were more lenient than previous Sixth Fleet rules had been in that a Libyan aircraft didnt have to fire at an American to be declared hostile but simply if it had turned toward an American aircraft that had attempted to turn away three times.

Analysis of the lead Tomcats mission recorder reveals the following (with video time stamp in parenthesis):

(0:11)  The lead RIO transmits Bogeys have jinked back at me for the fifth time . . . (Contacts on the F-14s AWG-9 radar system had a tendency to windshield wiper when the aircraft maneuvered, showing erroneous heading changes, but at this point the RIO believes the ROE has been met to declare the Libyans hostile.)

(0:19)  Lead RIO transmits Inside of 20 miles, master arm on, telling the pilot to flip the switch in the front cockpit. The pilot responds with good light, which means the missiles are now ready to fire.

(0:41)  After an exchange between the lead RIO and the wing pilot regarding the bogeys angels (altitude) the lead pilot is less convinced than his RIO that the ROE has been met. He transmits Alpha Bravo from 207  an attempt to speak to the admiral on the carrier to get a ruling  but gets no response.

(0:50)  Lead RIO transmits 13 miles . . . Fox-1! as he pushes the launch button in the rear cockpit and fires an AIM-7M Sparrow missile. His pilot responds by muttering ah, Jesus over the intercom, an indication that hes not entirely comfortable with his backseaters zeal.

(1:00)  Lead RIOs excitement gets the best of him, and he shoots a second Sparrow before the first one has time to make it to the target, which prevents either missile from guiding accurately.

(1:13)  Lead RIO calls six miles as the wing pilot transmits tally two and then says turning into me. The crews now know for sure that theyre engaged with MiG-23 Floggers.

(1:25)  Lead pilot says, Okay, hes got a missile off over the intercom, referring to the fact his wingman just shot a Sparrow (a forward quarter shot from about 5 miles away).

(1:33)  Lead pilot transmits, Good hit, good hit on one, as the wingmans Sparrow hits one of the MiGs.

(1:39)  Lead pilot says, Ive got the other one as they merge and start a hard turn to get behind the second Flogger. His RIO directs him to select Fox-2, meaning he needs to switch the weapons firing control from the radar-guided Sparrow missile to the heat-seeking Sidewinder missile.

(1:48)  Lead RIO says, shoot em! over the intercom, and the pilot responds with I dont got a tone, which refers to the aural cue that a Sidewinder missile gives the pilot when the seeker senses a heat source. But at this point the pilot doesnt have a tone because he still has Sparrow selected (not Sidewinder) on his control stick.

(2:01)  Lead pilot requests that his RIO lock him up with the radar  an unnecessary step in Sidewinder firing logic, and the RIO responds with I cant. Shoot him, Fox-2! The pilot, in turn, says, I cant. I dont have a fucking tone.

(2:04)  RIO starts to command pilot to select the right missile once again, but now the pilot has figured it out. (Fortunately for the American crew the Libyan pilot wasnt skilled enough to use the American pilots switchology mistake to his advantage.) The pilot selects Sidewinder and the aural tone blares in his headset, indicating the missile is ready to be launched.

(2:06)  Lead pilot transmits Fox-2 as he fires a Sidewinder missile from about two miles behind the MiG.

(2:09)  Lead pilot transmits Good kill! Good kill! as the heads up display shows the second MiG exploding.

While the crews earned the title of MiG killers, which makes them part of a rare breed in modern warfare, instructors at the Navy Fighter Weapons School summarized the lead aircrafts performance as professionally embarrassing. (One senior member of the Top Gun staff characterized the shoot down as punching kids coming off the short bus.)

Its also tell-tale that Fighter Pilot of the Year honors that year did not go to the lead pilot  who also happened to be the squadrons commanding officer  but instead went to the wingman, who was only a first-tour lieutenant at the time.

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We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.
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If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
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Auburn University will host a virtual talk with Auburn alumnus Adam Howard 97, director of farm operations at Arbor Day Farm, on April 29 as part of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences 75th Anniversary Celebration.

Howard is the second speaker of the virtual 7 for 75 Speaker Series hosted as part of the schools yearlong celebration, which began March 1. He will give a talk titled, How the Arbor Day Foundation impacts our world through the power of trees. Participants will learn about Howards time at Auburn, his career and current position as director of farm operations, the significance of Arbor Day and the critical role of the Arbor Day Foundation.

Arbor Day Farm, located in Nebraska City, Nebraska, encompasses 260 acres and is designed so visitors can experience the Arbor Day Foundations mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global leader in the planting of trees worldwide, Howard said. It is here that I have grown into my current role impacting guests on property and creating a space that allows them to take the ethos of tree planting with them even after they leave.

The seminar is open to the public via Zoom from 2-3 p.m. CDT at https://auburn.zoom.us/j/84987679613 and will be live-streamed via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ausfws/live/.

The 7 for 75 Speaker Series" was created to showcase distinguished alumni and industry leaders representing diverse forestry, wildlife and natural resource fields and enterprises. Speakers will cover a wide range of topics, from land management to current and future technology to stakeholder engagement.

Adams impressive career with the Arbor Day Foundation is a testimony to his passion for sustainable forestry and his commitment to making a positive impact through leadership, said Janaki Alavalapati, dean of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. We expect his talk will be an inspiration for students who are exploring the vast array of rewarding career fields available within the forestry industry.

Howard added, Auburn prepared me to think big and to think differently. I credit Auburn for developing the leader in me and encouraging me to seek a not-so-standard avenue to the typical forestry career.

I am way more hospitality now than forestry, but the core of Auburn, and the forestry principles learned, remains.

The next speaker will be Dana Breed, global research and development director of packaging and sustainability at The Coca-Cola Company, who will discuss sustainable packaging trends and innovation on May 27 from 2-3 p.m. CDT.

More information about the anniversary celebration is available at https://sfws.auburn.edu/sfws-75th-anniversary/.
A nurse puts a used Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine vial in a disposal box with empty vials at Messe Wien Congress Center, which has been set up as a COVID-19 vaccination center, in Vienna, Austria, on Feb. 7, 2021. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

Pfizer Says Fake COVID-19 Vaccines Found in Mexico, Poland

Counterfeit versions of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine have been identified in Mexico and Poland, the pharmaceutical maker has confirmed to The Epoch Times.

We are cognizant that in this type of environmentfueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the Internetthere will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit, and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The spokesperson added that Pfizer has extensive experience in criminal risk mitigation and is working with partner BioNTech to help reduce the risk of illicit COVID-19 vaccine activity.

Our designated team of ex-law enforcement and forensic science specialists are tracking trends very carefully and have processes in place to identify threats to the legitimate supply chain. We continue to work with governments, law enforcement, health care providers, and others to combat this illegal trade, the spokesperson said, adding that patients should only get vaccinated at official vaccination centers and never try to buy them online.

Officials with the U.S. Justice Departments International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property division in Latin America and Eastern Europe are aware of the counterfeit Pfizer vaccines in Mexico and Poland, the department told ABC News, adding that officials are seeking to coordinate with and support local authorities and Pfizer, as needed.

A Twitter account run by the Polish government to promote COVID-19 inoculations and provide updates on the countrys vaccine drive shared a report about the fake vaccines from The Wall Street Journal, while noting: All doses distributed via the National Vaccine Program are sourced directly from manufacturers and are authentic. The practice described [in the article] is unlawful and is associated with the acquisition of vaccines from dubious sources. In Poland, we have NOT identified any such inoculations, as noted in the article.

The WSJ report cited Mexican officials as saying that 80 people at a clinic in Mexico were injected with a fake vaccine, while citing Polish officials as saying that no one in Poland had received a counterfeit shot. The report also cited sources that said the vaccine in Mexico had fraudulent labels, while a substance inside vials in Poland was probably an anti-wrinkle treatment.

Polands minister of health, Adam Niedzielski, responded at a press conference in Warsaw on April 21 to questions about reports that counterfeit vaccines may have made it into the official distribution pipeline.

The risk of fakes making it into our official distribution is practically non-existent, Niedzielski said. All certified products end up at vaccine administration sites and the entire logistical chain is designed to ensure safety and prevent any fake vaccines from official distribution.

Polish news outlet Polsat News reported that its reporters had managed to buy a fake Pfizer vaccine during a sting operation in January, with the man who sold the vial subsequently arrested by police.

Lev Kubiak, Pfizers head of global security, told WSJ that the global demand for the vaccine and a shortfall in supply had led to the scam.

We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals, he told the outlet.

The World Health Organization had warned in March of falsified Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots may still be in circulation in the region. The health agency added that the fake vaccines were supplied and administered to patients outside authorized vaccination programs.
Authorities said a single shot was fired into the vehicle, striking Zakylen Greylen Harris in the neck. He was later pronounced dead

A seven-year-old boy was fatally shot while riding in a car with his mother, authorities in North Carolina said.

Authorities are still investigating whether it was a targeted attack, or an incident of road rage, as his mother has suggested.

The shooting happened around 11pm Wednesday in Hickory, police said.

Officers responding to a 911 call about a shooting into a vehicle arrived to find Zakylen Greylen Harris with an apparent gunshot wound, Hickory police said in a news release.

Authorities said a single shot was fired into the vehicle, striking Zakylen in the neck.

The child was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hickory police said Zakylen was in the back seat with his two younger brothers, ages six and one, when the shooting occurred. Neither child was injured.

Police gave only a vague description of the suspect, describing the vehicle from which the shot came as a small, dark-colored SUV, possibly with multiple occupants.

Authorities said only that a white female with blonde hair was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV.

Zakylen's mother told police that the female had screamed something at her that she didn't understand before a passenger pulled out a gun and shot into her vehicle.

Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting, but they have recovered grainy footage from the scene. In the video, the victim's vehicle is seen turning at an intersection

The suspect's car (right) is then seen chasing down the vehicle the victim was riding in before the shooting

The victim's mother also told investigators that she believes it was a road rage attack because she had unintentionally cut off the other vehicle.

'This was a senseless act of violence. There's no excuse for this,' Hickory Police Chief Thurman Whisnant said during a news conference Thursday.

Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting, but they have recovered grainy footage from the scene.

In the video, the victim's vehicle is seen turning at an intersection.

The suspect's car is then seen chasing down the vehicle the victim was riding in before the shooting.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Hickory Police Department at 828-328-5551 or Inv. Tammy Johnson at tjohnson@hickorync.gov.
Cave houses help revolutionary base transform into tourist hotspot

Xinhua) 16:12, April 22, 2021

XI'AN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- "Cave houses" have become a top choice for tourists in Yan'an, a former revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"In addition to their distinctive appearance, the facilities inside are modern. I can take a hot bath and have access to the internet," said tourist Cheng Shangzhi.

A cave house, or "yaodong," is a form of earth shelter dwelling common on the Loess Plateau in northern China. Taking advantage of thick loess layers and favorable landforms, the sturdy and durable yaodongs are mostly carved into hillsides. They do not take up valuable arable land and are warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Earthy caves were once considered a symbol of poverty. But in 2019, Yan'an put an end to absolute poverty. Although China is undergoing earth-shaking changes, cave dwellings -- one of the earliest dwelling types of human beings -- are still found all over the Loess Plateau.

American journalist Edgar Snow wrote about the unique dwellings when he first visited Yan'an in 1936. He penned the classic "Red Star Over China," which gave a rare, detailed and brilliant account of the Chinese revolution in the 1930s.

Edgar depicted a Red Army university that "was probably the world's only seat of 'higher learning' whose classrooms were bombproof caves, with chairs and desks of stone and brick, and blackboards and walls of limestone and clay."

In the process of the Chinese revolution, Yan'an cave dwellings played an important role. One night in 1935, exhausted Red Army soldiers arrived in Wuqi County of Yan'an. Mao Zedong spent the night in the cave of local villager Zhang Ruisheng.

"Chairman Mao arrived at my house at around 7 or 8 in the evening. My family prepared mutton and buckwheat noodles. The chairman praised my father, said he did a good job in cooking," said Zhang.

Under the arched roof, Mao and his comrades reorganized the Red Army, beginning a 13-year-long revolution that led to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Xu Junfu has been living in caves all his life in Kangping Village, located in the Fengzhuang Township of Yan'an's Baota District.

"Primitive earthy caves were humid and would easily tumble down. But the stone cave in which I'm staying today is safe and sturdy, and can offer shelter for at least 300 more years," said Xu.

Statistics show that over the past decade, more than half of the 1.5 million rural residents of Yan'an have moved into new cave houses built with stones.

Since 2018, vacant caves in the village have been gathered under unified management. Distinctive cave hotels offer a unique experience for tourists eager to get a taste of the traditional dwellings and reminisce on the CPC's history.

Higher-quality and moisture-resistant materials, modern furniture, electric appliances, spacious rooms with plenty of daylight, and improvements to the natural environment brought by afforestation mean cave hotels are not a painful experience for tourists recalling tough revolutionary days.

Each household in the village earns an annual average of nearly 10,000 yuan (about 1,540 U.S. dollars) by renting their vacant caves to tourism cooperatives. Villagers have become service providers, taking on jobs such as tour guide, housekeeper and store owner.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, the per capita annual income of villagers in Kangping exceeded 17,000 yuan last year, higher than the level seen in 2019, according to the local government.

"The 'Golden Week' May Day holiday is approaching. The cave hotels in the village are set to embrace a tourism peak. This year's tourism income will definitely return to the pre-epidemic level," said Bai Xijun, deputy Party head of Fengzhuang.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu)
[April 22, 2021] Neutrino Energy: Bombarding neutrinos cause resonance

BERLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As a collaboration between scientists in Germany, the USA, and beyond, the Neutrino Energy Group represents the cutting edge of alternative energy science. A few years ago, the scientific community scoffed at founder Holger Thorsten Schubart's assurances that neutrinos could be exploited for energy. Now, however, Holger and his team are hard at work designing the first generation of neutrino-powered electric cars and neutrino energy generators. Groundbreaking Memorandum of Cooperation Marks New Era of International Neutrino Energy Research

In honor of the anniversary of its founding, the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Pune, India has announced a deepening cooperation with Berlin, Germany's Neutrino Energy Group. Under the Memorandum of Cooperation signed, the two organizations will work together to develop new neutrinovoltaic technologies and start building out the infrastructure for mass-production of neutrino energy devices. Having proved itself one of the world's peeminent institutes of revolutionary nanomaterial research, C-MET Pune is an ideal match for neutrinovoltaic technologies, which center around graphene, a simple, abundant, yet tricky nanostructure.



An Active Collaboration Strategy Will Train C-MET's Skilled Human Resources

The Neutrino Energy Group intends to lean on the expertise of C-MET Pune's engineering talent while simultaneously training the first generation of neutrinovoltaic technicians. Various areas of C-MET Pune's expertise, including 2D materials and quantum dots, will prove highly useful in developing efficient, powerful, and mass-producible neutrino energy technologies. Neutrinovoltaics Are a Natural Evolution of Photovoltaics

Estimates suggest that 60 billion neutrinos pass through every square centimeter of the Earth's surface every day. For decades, scientists concluded that neutrinos do not carry energy. With the 2015 discovery that neutrinos possess mass, however, it was proven that neutrinos have energy-generation potential. As a result, neutrinovoltaics can be considered a natural evolution of solar energy.

In neutrino energy, humanity finally has a reliable solution to the modern energy crisis. Neutrinovoltaic devices still have a ways to go before they can be practically implemented, but just as with photovoltaic cells, this new technology will eventually be accepted as a viable solution to the world's energy needs. At the conclusion of the conference, Dr. Holger Thorsten Schubart, Dr. Bharat Kale, and Dr. Vijar Bhatkar unanimously agreed to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with Dr. Schubart representing the international research team behind the Neutrino Energy Group and Dr. Kale and Dr. Bhaktar representing C-MET Pune. The true impact of this moment may not be known for decades. Historians of the future, however, will mark 2021 as the year that both Germany and India took a massive leap forward in sustainable energy engineering. Author: Samuel Teshome

Neutrino Deutschland GmbH

Unter den Linden 21-23

10117 Berlin

Tel.:+493020924013 Related Images

image1.jpg View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neutrino-energy-bombarding-neutrinos-cause-resonance-301275323.html SOURCE Neutrino Energy

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Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Were all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.

Holding Out for Justice for All

On Wednesday, as Derek Chauvins conviction in the killing of George Floyd continued to reverberate around the country, Seth Meyers said it was at the very least a relief to have what we saw with our own eyes confirmed by a court of law, even if its still a sorrow moment for grief and mourning, because this one verdict alone does not mean justice is done.
The Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Unit confirmed that on early Thursday morning, alarms went off in Abu Qrenat, near Dimona in southern Israel.





Loud Explosions Across the Country

In a recently published article in The Jerusalem Post, residents from all over the country, including central Israel and Jerusalem, recorded "loud blasts" that "shook the buildings." According to early news, the blast was caused by a patriot battery reacting to a missile fired toward Israel. The claims were later verified by the IDF.

Even though the Israel Defense Forces is already investigating the incident they released a statement and it reads "Due to a surface to air missile entering Israeli territory, air defense systems were activated."

This became trending in social media. One posted a video on Twitter and wrote "Sounds of explosions near Jerusalem, Modiin, Rechovot, Kiryat Ono, Beersheba and more. Reports of the use of a Patriot system being used."

It was not obvious where the rocket was fired from at first. Several indicators pointed to the missile being fired from Iraq, while other sources said it was launched from the city of Daraa in southern Syria in response to an Israeli airstrike, according to a published report in a local news outlet HAARETZ.

New Zealand Avoids Discussing Biden's 'Alliance of Democracies' to Counter China

Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Released A Statement

Later, Brig. Gen. Hidai Zilberman told reporters that the blast was caused by the launch of an SA-5 surface-to-air missile from Syria that exploded in the southern Negev. The missile was launched during Israeli airstrikes in southern Syria. According to Zilberman, the missile was not aimed at any specific target.

According to the spokesperson, Israel responded to the SA-5 missile attack on IAF jets by targeting several anti-aircraft batteries in Syria, including the one that launched the missile that exploded in southern Israel.

Russia to Expel 10 US Diplomats in Response to Biden's Sanction

Large Explosion in Central Israel

According to a recently published article in The Times of Israel, on Tuesday morning, a major explosion occurred at a state-owned rocket plant in central Israel, causing no casualties or injury in what the defense contractor called a "managed drill." The blast sent up a huge plume of fire and smoke that could be seen from miles away outside the central Israeli town of Ramle.

Videos of the explosion were widely spread on social media, sparking rumors that it was the result of a failure or sabotage, especially given the continuing tensions between Israel and Iran.

Indeed, the explosion at the sensitive military site was widely reported in Iranian newspapers, with some suggesting that it was a kind of retribution by Tehran for the recent blast at its Natanz nuclear plant, which was widely blamed on Israel.

The Israeli defense contractor insisted that the photographs were deceptive and that the blast was staged as part of a lawsuit. "This was a controlled evaluation with no irregular incidents," a company spokeswoman said. However, neither the Defense Ministry nor the corporation confirmed or reported the blast in advance.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Mumbai, April 22 : Displaying a tough countenance and wielding the baton, the Mumbai Police has also shown its little-known humour quotient as it tightens belts to enforce a tougher lockdown phase from Thursday night in the country's commercial capital.

Coming up with unique ideas -- like red, green, yellow colour-coded stickers for certain specified categories of vehicles -- the Mumbai Police are going all out to make their onerous task as enjoyable as possible for all, with a dollop of wit designed to bring down the temperatures inside and outside.

The Mumbai Police Twitter handle (@MumbaiPolice) has become the new hangout joint for the citizens/netizens resigned to another spell of caged life as Covid-19 has an unbridled run outdoors.

It started with an innocuous -- and some even suspect otherwise! -- query from a man, asking which colour sticker to affix on his vehicle to step out and meet his girlfriend. "I miss her," said the lonely chap.

Without batting an eyelid, the Mumbai Police replied: "We understand its essential for you, Sir, but unfortunately it doesn't fall under our essentials or emergency categories! Distance makes the heart grow fonder & currently, you healthier. PS: We wish you lifetime together. This is just a phase." When one netizen appreciated the reply and the police services to society, with a plea to "keep us engaged with witty responses", pat came the reply, but with a mild warning: "You promise us that you stay at home and stay safe, and we promise to keep you engaged with our wit as well as grit to arrest the spread of Covid-19." To an unabashed one gushing how Mumbai Police has heart, the unexpected and touching response was - "Not as big as our city's." The Mumbai Police Twitter posts managers have earned praise from not only the ordinary folks but also industrialists and actors like Anand Mahindra and R. Madhavan.

"The human-and-humorous touch from our very own Mumbai Police," said Mahindra in admiration, to which the reply posted was: "Two of the strongest weapons to help us 'Rise' above the current circumstances, Sir".

"Hahaha Very well put and I am sure equally well received," guffawed Madhavan, and the Mumbai Police replied with a straight - "We hope so too - its no 'Rocketry' after all." When a gent sought permission to commute by car from Bhandup to Kandivali over the weekend, came the genteel and gentle advice with a veiled fist: "A friend, who respects your taking precautions during Covid is a friend indeed. We are sure your friend will agree. Please stay home, we would not want to get 'unfriendly' with you." "Keep scrolling. Better to be scrolling indoors than strolling outdoors," said the Mumbai Police when some wondered whether it was necessary to reply to all tweets.

Some other imaginative and catchy tweets -- which would give a run for their money to any veteran advertising copy-writer -- include two recent ones - "Food for Thought: Stay indoors, Order online.", and "A mask not worn properly - the 'Achilles' Heel of your safety." And the last but not the least: "What do moms and masks have in common?" The pix displays a Hindi-English word 'Maa-sk"

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The United States has officially notified Turkey that it has been removed from the F-35 fighter jet programme, state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing a Pentagon official.

Washington removed Turkey from the F-35 Lightning II jet programme in 2019 after Turkey purchased the Russian S-400 air missile systems, which it maintains poses a security threat to U.S. and NATO systems.

But Turkish contractors continue to manufacture parts for the fifth generation jet, despite the countrys removal from the programme and the implementation of U.S. sanctions on the Turkish Defence Industries Presidency (SSB) in December.

Washington has signed a new agreement for the programme with other eight signatories, the Pentagon official said, after the annulment of the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Turkey had been planning to buy 100 F-35s, but the United States has refused to deliver the four completed jets after the countrys expulsion from the programme.
22 April 2021



Acron Group's Commercial Output Up 4.5% in Q1 2021

Group's consolidated output (including operating results for Acron, Dorogobuzh and

North-Western Phosphorous Company)

Product, '000 t Q1 2021 Q1 2020 YOY, % MINERAL FERTILISERS Ammonia 688 677 1.6 incl. in-house consumption 677 634 Nitrogen fertilisers, including 1,170 1,114 5.0 incl. in-house consumption 170 170 AN 575 604 -4.8 incl. in-house consumption 46 53 Urea 319 245 30.3 incl. in-house consumption 124 117 incl. prilled urea 56 131 -57.1 incl. in-house consumption 5 3 incl. granulated urea 151 0 increase incl. in-house consumption 7 0 UAN 276 265 4.1 Complex fertilisers, including 611 618 -1.1 incl. in-house consumption 8 9 NPK 584 590 -1.0 incl. in-house consumption 8 9 Bulk blends 27 28 -4.8 Total commercial output for Mineral Fertilisers 1,615 1,596 1.2 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS Organic compounds, including 118 112 5.2 incl. in-house consumption 62 55 Methanol 26 27 -5.3 incl. in-house consumption 23 20 Formalin 42 40 6.0 incl. in-house consumption 38 35 Urea-formaldehyde resins 50 45 10.8 incl. in-house consumption 1 1 Non-organic compounds, including 290 249 16.5 Low-density and technical-grade AN 125 78 61.0 Industrial urea 41 45 -8.9 Calcium carbonate 111 113 -2.1 Liquid carbon dioxide 12 12 -0.8 Argon 2 2 -6.3 Total commercial output for Industrial Products 346 306 13.2 PHOSPHATE INPUTS Apatite concentrate 313 256 22.5 incl. in-house consumption 238 209 Total commercial output for Apatite Concentrate 75 47 60.6 TOTAL COMMERCIAL OUTPUT 2,035 1,948 4.5

Note: Commercial output is output less in-house consumption.

Comments from Chairman of Acron's Board of Directors Alexander Popov:

'In the first quarter of 2021, Acron Group produced 2,035,000 tonnes of its main commercial products. This is the third straight quarter that our commercial output has exceeded 2 million tonnes.

'The capacity-building projects completed in the past year have already delivered positive outcomes: ammonia output increased 2%, and urea output was up 30%. It is particularly satisfying that granulated urea output at the new unit put on stream in May 2020 is still growing, reaching 151,000 tonnes in the reporting period.

'We continue to focus on progressive development, with plans to further increase our commercial output. Construction of the Urea-6+ unit is underway, with expected commissioning in the second quarter of 2021. This new unit will add 520,000 tonnes of urea per annum to our total urea capacity.

'Today, almost all of the ammonia produced by Acron Group is processed in-house into finished products with high added value, so we are implementing projects to boost capacity at the Ammonia-2 and Ammonia-3 units in Veliky Novgorod. Once these two units are upgraded using the best available technology in 2023, they will provide all of the ammonia required by our Novgorod-based facility'.

Market Trends

Global urea prices grew rapidly in Q1 2021. Baltic FOB prices reached a seven-year record-high of USD 350. This sharp rise was driven by several factors, including strong seasonal demand in Europe and the United States, limited urea volume available for export from China, an increase in global prices for natural gas, and record-high grain prices. India's urea purchases give additional support to the market. However, the end of the high season in Europe and the United States and the expansion of Chinese exports may cause an excess of supply on the market, which could grow further this year with the commissioning of new production facilities in Africa and India.

In Q1 2021, AN and UAN prices also increased to their highest level in several years due to strong seasonal demand in the Northern Hemisphere and growth in urea prices used as a benchmark for other nitrogen fertiliser prices.

NPK prices increased in Q1 2021 as well, mainly driven by higher prices for basic products (urea, DAP, and potassium chloride). The increase in basic product prices outstripped blends because of their higher liquidity, so the NPK 16-16-16 premium over the basic product basket decreased to 5% from the historical average of 20%.

Average Indicative Prices, USD per t, FOB Baltic/Black Sea

Q1 2021 Q4 2020 Q1 2020 Q1 2021/



Q4 2020



change Q1 2021/



Q1 2020



change NPK 16-16-16 312 262 252 19% 24% AN 234 166 187 41% 25% UAN 213 119 123 79% 73% Urea 326 234 217 39% 50% Ammonia 329 211 222 56% 48%

Media Contacts:

Sergey Dorofeev

Anastasia Gromova

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor Contacts:

Ilya Popov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It owns transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic seaport terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron subsidiary North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP) holds mining leases and an exploration permit for ten parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.

In 2020, the Group sold 7.8 million tonnes of main products to 74 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.

In 2020, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 119,864 million (USD 1,661 million), with EBITDA of RUB 35,311 million (USD 489 million). Acron's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs over 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and opposition to the U.S. Strategic Competition Act of 2021 that it said had grossly interfered in China's internal affairs.

Wang Wenbin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the act seriously distorted facts, exaggerated the China threat theory and advocated for a comprehensive strategic competition between the world's two major economies.

"Is the purpose of U.S. development to defeat China in competition? This distorted and narrow-minded mentality is not in any way compatible with the mindedness of a world power," Wang said at a daily press briefing, calling on Washington to reconsider and stop advancing the act.

The fresh remarks came after the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday backed the legislation to push back against China on multiple fronts including human rights, economic competition and international influence.

The measure has been sent for consideration by the Senate.

Wang on Thursday reiterated that China is committed to a non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation with the U.S., adding that U.S. politicians should treat China and the China-U.S. ties objectively and rationally.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Thursday also expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" over Washington's move.

You Wenze, spokesperson for the committee, said the bill is "filled with the Cold-War mentality and ideological prejudices" and had distorted China's development strategies and internal and external policies. The legislation is an attempt to smear China and interfere in its domestic affairs, You added.

The bill is intended to create ideological confrontation and promote zero-sum games, which is against the trend of the times and harms peace, stability and development across the world, the spokesperson said.

China is committed to genuine multilateralism and firmly safeguards the international system with the United Nations at its core, You said.

Stressing that the one-China principle is a "red line" that must not be crossed, the spokesperson reaffirmed Beijing's opposition to any form of official exchanges between the U.S. and the Taiwan region. The spokesperson also reiterated that issues concerning Xinjiang and Hong Kong are China's internal affairs, warning against interference by any foreign country.

Even if there is competition between China and the U.S. in some areas, it should be "benign, orderly" competition in which fairness and justice is honored and rules are followed, You said.
Two weeks after PSOE (Socialist Party)-Podemos government called to end Spains state of alarm, the Morenoite Workers Revolutionary Current (CRT) has shown itself to be utterly indifferent to the many lives that will be lost to COVID-19 as the ruling elite lifts social-distancing restrictions.

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias (Wikimedia Commons)

The state of alarm is the juridical mechanism allowing regional governments to impose coronavirus health measures such as lockdowns, curfews and mobility restrictions. Announcing the lifting of this measure on April 6, PSOE Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared: I hope that it will not be necessary to continue the state of alarm and that the Interterritorial Health Council will continue responding  We want May 9 to be the end, full stop, of the state of alarm.

While the state of alarm was in itself vastly insufficient to stem the contagion, Sanchezs announcement was a signal that the Spanish and European ruling class no longer tolerate any health measures which impinge on their profits. The lifting of this measure on May 9 will inevitably lead to a further escalation of infections and deaths in Spain, since the pandemic is far from under control.

Infection rates in Spain have risen steadily since at least the middle of March, with around 9,000 new cases reported every day in the last week. This compares to around 4,000 daily infections in the middle of last month.

On Monday, Spain announced a further 121 coronavirus deaths over the weekend and another 21,071 casesone of the largest weekend infection counts since the end of February. The 14-day incidence also rose again to 230 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest since 24 February.

None of this, however, could be gleaned from the coverage of the ending of the state of alarm in the CRTs online publication, Izquierda Diario. In a 7 April article entitled What changes will be brought by the end of the state of alarm which the government has set for May 9?, the CRT avoids the question of mass death and disease, failing to devote even a single sentence to the health crisis unleashed by the pandemic.

The millions infected, the over 100,000 dead and the tens of thousands more suffering from debilitating long-term symptoms in Spain alone do not merit a mention as far as the CRT are concerned. The explosion of cases and fatalities, the main change which will be brought about by the abandonment of any attempt to contain the virus from May 9, is likewise completely ignored.

According to official figures, more than 3.4 million people have so far been infected with the virus in Spain, and over 77,000 deaths have been recorded. The official death toll is a significant underestimate, as excess death totals indicate that more than 100,000 people have lost their lives in Spain as a result of the pandemic. Despite this social catastrophe, the CRT has consistently refused to call for scientifically grounded health restrictions, including a fully funded shelter-at-home policy for workersthe only measure proven capable of halting the contagion.

Its 7 April piece reads like an information bulletin for the Spanish governmentexplaining which measures regional governments will and wont be able to impose starting on May 9 and noting that theoretical bans on evictions and utility shut-offs will also be ended with the state of alarm.

Therefore, May 9 could conclude the State of Alarm stage and will bring about many changes in terms of health, mobility and employment, the article declares. But the most important, those which affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of families, will only see it on paper and in the press conferences of the progressive ministers. The right to housing, to basic utilities and to a job, were not and will not be the priority of a government of the 78 Regime.

The CRTs omission of any call for measures to safeguard the right to life of workers is not an accident. The Morenoites have consistently opposed social distancing measures and demonstrated their ambivalence to the suffering and death inflicted primarily on the working class as a result of the ruling elites criminal mismanagement of the pandemic.

In January, the CRT published a statement denouncing social distancing restrictions as authoritarian and palliative measures, declaring: As if it were a tap, they [the PSOE-Podemos government] are limiting our liberties and movements at their will.

A separate statement at the same time called for 10 emergency measures to combat the pandemic, none of which included any call for a shelter-at-home policy or lockdown measures.

Further expounding on this policy in an April 18 international manifesto entitled The Capitalist Disaster and the Struggle for an International of Socialist Revolution, the CRTs parent organisationthe misnamed Trotskyist Fraction-Fourth Internationalmakes no call to shut down schools or non-essential workplaces, instead agitating against lockdowns.

Using the stalking horse of curfews to justify their opposition to lockdown policies, the manifesto stated: We demand an end to militarization, states of emergency, and curfews, which are of no use to stop the pandemic. This denunciation of any collective heath measures as ineffective is reactionary nonsense which will cut across any serious attempt to bring the pandemic to an end.

The CRTs anti-lockdown position makes them complicit in the reactionary and murderous policies of the PSOE-Podemos government. They are silent on the governments criminal herd immunity strategy because they agree with it in all its fundamentals.

Their position is a reflection of the class interests which they defend. The CRT speaks for affluent layers of the middle class and members of the union bureaucracy, whose incomes and lifestyles are dependent on the upward trajectory of the stock markets and the continued exploitation of the working class. These interests are incompatible with a policy of prioritising lives over profits. In this they are in full agreement with the PSOE-Podemos government, for whose policies they seek to provide left cover.

On Monday, Fernando Simon, director of the Centre for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), gave a self-congratulatory press conference in which he praised the policies of the PSOE-Podemos government and sought to downplay the risks posed by the rise in infections.

Presenting the forthcoming wave of death as being of an acceptable magnitude, Simon cynically declared that it is likely that the so-called fourth wave will only be a little wave.

The evolution [of the virus curve] is good, he continued. We have to be satisfied at how weve been capable of responding to this increase that weve seen coming for weeks, but we cant lower our guard.

The key concern of the PSOE, Podemos and their pseudo-left satellites like the CRT is to keep profits flowing into the coffers of the financial elite, consequences be damned. Against this, the International Committee of the Fourth International has consistently fought for a fully funded programme of health and social measures to allow workers to shelter at home until the virus can be stopped. This requires a political break with all the representatives of the pseudo-left, as part of an independent struggle by workers and youth for socialism in Spain and internationally.
Its Earth Day, and all the worlds companies want to make sure you know they care about the planet too. So please, buy their stuff? Sure, thats a little cynical, but Earth Day promotions are often just ploys to sell more products, which seems counterintuitive to the first two of environmentalisms Three Rs. This year, however, I have to admit I found Logitechs approach to sustainability marketing intriguing.

Logitech announced new carbon impact transparency labeling for all its packaging on Thursday. The new labeling will show a products carbon footprint measured in kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions (kg CO2e) over a typical two year period of usage. Logitech sees this number as akin to nutrition labeling on foodstuffs. You can take a look at the number on the side of the package, and then decide whether or not you want to participate in the carbon impact of said product.

The first Logitech gear to have the packaging is the $130 Logitech G Pro wireless gaming mouse, which Logitech says has a carbon footprint of 7.84 Kg CO2ea little less than the equivalent of burning a gallon of gas.

Logitech

Another six Logitech products are slated to get a carbon impact label before the end of June, including the G213 gaming keyboard (22.0 kg CO2e), G903 Lightspeed gaming mouse (8.64 kg CO2e), G502 Hero gaming mouse (7.10 kg CO2e), G102 LightSync gaming mouse (5.51 kg CO2e), G304 Lightspeed gaming mouse (8.76 kg CO2e) and G502 Lightspeed gaming mouse (8.69 kg CO2e).

Logitech says it aims to keep reducing each products carbon numbers as time goes on. We want to use this as a way to hold ourselves accountableto improve these numbers and lower our carbon footprint with every new product, Prakash Arunkundrum, Logitechs Head of Global Operations and Sustainability, said in a public statement.

To quantify each products carbon footprint Logitech considered a range of factors, including how raw materials are sourced, manufacturing, packaging, shipping and distribution, energy usage by consumers, and end of life management of the product. It worked with sustainability consulting firm IFU Hamburg on its calculations, and set them to align with the lifecycle assessment standards of Dekra, a company based in Germany that does environmental and product safety standards assessments.

Logitech also plans to release its methodology and measurement processes to other companies in the consumer electronics industry. Presumably, the aim is for this to become a standard part of industry packaging.

Its an interesting idea, and more information about how a product is produced is always better. Though hopefully the new labeling wont turn into some kind of eco-opiate where people think they are being environmentally conscious simply by purchasing a product with a lower footprint number.

The fact is one of the easiest ways individuals can help protect the environment is to reduce consumption. So perhaps for this Earth Day, keep that gallon of gas youve already burned on your mousepad for a few extra years.
TRANSPORT Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has been strongly criticised over its decision not to sanction the upgrade of a dangerous and sub-standard footpath in Adare.

Calls have been made for several years to install a permanent footpath from the village as far of Murphys Cross on the Croagh side.

Safety concerns were expressed late last year and representations were made to TII on behalf of councillors.

Briefing members at their April meeting, district engineer Gerard ODonnell confirmed the works have not been sanctioned.

It was referred to TII, they have reverted back and said that its not feasible until the bypass is in place and when they go to do the permanent works on the carriageway, he said adding that issues with drainage and levels had been cited.

Any footpath that would go in there would have to be taken out again when the permanent works are being done, said Mr OConnor who advised members that funding is being sought to carry out temporary works on one particularly bad section of the footpath

Speaking at the virtual meeting, Cllr Adam Teskey, cathaoirleach of the Adare/Rathkeale Municipal District described the reply from TII as appalling and a real fob-me-off answer which is not acceptable.

I am constantly receiving representations in relation to it and its appalling that a State body like TII would come back and say its not feasible, he said.

Its an accident waiting to happen, There is going to be a fatality there and its going to be too late when TII finally step up to the plate, he added.

Cllr Teskey said sections of the footpath are in a most desperate state and he asked the council examines the possibility of funding the upgrade works through its own resources.

I certainly cannot stand over that we have infrastructure like this in one of our major villages and it is certainly not adequate and its not fit for purpose and therefore something has to be done, he said.

Cllr Stephen Keary said the works were approved a number of years ago and that he cannot understand why they cant proceed.

Its unwalkable when you get heavy rains, we have got to make an effort and do that section, he said.
When Swathi Reddys name popped up in the cast and crew list of upcoming Telugu film Panchatantram, everyone was curious about what made her return to Telugu cinema after four years.

I dont want to say it is a comeback. I am doing the film because I liked the script when the director Harsha Pulipaka narrated it, she says, adding, The film happened out of the blue.

Swatis last Telugu release was in 2017- London Babulu. She did a Malayalam film, Thrissur Pooram, in 2019. The actress says perhaps because of the hiatus, theres a perception that she cannot be accessed. When people call me, they ask me where I am, not how I am, she reveals, adding that the Panchatantra team had told her they took three months to reach her.

Philosophising that the world is at a stage when nothing can be guaranteed to last, and nothing is in our hands, she says, I am just trying my best to take everything easy and do things with a sense of detachment.

When we ask her whether her stoicism was due to the current pressing times, Swati says Ive always been this way. Im constantly learning the hard way that I have no control over what people think about me and how they see me.

COVID-19 has taught us that things dont go the way we intend, she says, and adds, We cant direct our lives too much. I am taking each day as it comes, and not attaching too much importance to any emotions.

Last year in July, Swati quit social media. It was too noisy. I thought social media was not the right place to be at that point of time. I am just an actor with a blue tick. Balancing an online life and real life was getting surreal, she reveals.

I stopped having fun on social media; it wasnt productive and it literally became a chore. Moreover, I was never a social media addict, but I was glad that it gave me a voice, she says, adding that she had realised that, Even if I have a voice people will still interpret it whichever way they want to.

The actress says, I have learnt to accept that others views are different from mine. There is nothing to be taken personally. Everyone has a valid reason for their views. But Swathi hasnt sworn off social media for her. She says shell be back when she thinks she has the skill for it.
The two children from Ecuador who were recently reported to be dropped at the border wall are now in the arms of their parents. New York Post noted that the two girls, identified by the authorities as Yareli and Yasmina, have been reunited with their parents in New York City.

It can be remembered that in late March, a video surfaced on the internet, showing night footage of people dropping toddlers on the 14 feet high border wall, then abandoning them in the desert of New Mexico in the middle of the night. The children in the video happened to be Yareli and Yasmina, three and five years old respectively, and both Ecuador national.

Authorities noted that the people who dropped the Ecuador girls directly on the ground are smugglers. The video also showed that after the children, the smugglers also tossed the belongings of the two girls then ran away from the fence.

READ NEXT: Mexico's Drug Cartels Use Children to Smuggle Its Members Into U.S.

Ecuador Children, Now With Their Family

Law enforcement officers were able to recover the children and transferred them to a local hospital "for precautionary reasons and further evaluations," the Washington Examiner reported.

In an email, Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility confirmed with New York Post that the girls are in New York City with their family since Saturday, April 17, 2021.

"Our consular offices have maintained direct contact with the girls' parents," said the agency. The agency also pointed out they have "always" respected the family's desire to preserve the privacy about their reunion.

Ecuadorian officials noted that the family reunion of the Ecuador children with their parents was done with the help of the U.S. Office Refugee Resettlement.

"The Foreign Ministry ratifies its commitment to continue working - in coordination with competent institutions," said the Foreign Ministry in their press release. The agency added that their commitment is done to prevent the "risky migration" of the citizens of Ecuador.

Ecuador Girls in the Hands of Smugglers

The girls' parents were identified by the authorities as Yolanda Macas Tene and Diego Vacacela Aguilar. The parents reportedly left their children in their home in Jaboncillo, Ecuador to travel to the United States.

"[The parents] wanted to be with them," said the Ecuador girls' paternal grandfather, Lauro Vacacela. Vacacela also shared that the girls' father hired smugglers to take his kids to the border.

During the spark of the incident, the Foreign Ministry noted that their Ecuadorian Consulate in Houston got in touch with the parents of the girls while confirming that the kids are in good health after their horrific experience in the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox News reported.

"Physically, they are perfect - emotionally, obviously they went through a hard time," said Magdalena Nunez, the Consulate of Ecuador in Houston.

Details about the smugglers who dropped the Ecuador children at the U.S.-Mexico border is not yet available. Meanwhile, it is still unclear if the girls will be staying in the United States permanently with their parents.

READ MORE: Mexican Cartels Recruit American Kids as Young as 12 to Smuggle Illegal Goods

WATCH: Children dropped over US border wall - from BBC News
Salt Lake City, UT, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- C.R. England, one of the nations leaders in transportation solutions, has announced its largest driver pay raise in company history and third historic pay increase for drivers since 2018. The pay increase will benefit C.R. Englands line haul drivers in the Over the Road Division (OTR) and drivers in training and takes effect April 22, 2021.

I am thrilled to announce our biggest OTR pay increase in company history, said Chad England, C.R. England CEO. This increase benefits every OTR driver that is paid mileage pay, which makes up the vast majority of our OTR fleet. It applies to drivers at every seniority level and to our current length of trip pay bands. Raising driver pay is another indicator C.R. England is committed to providing our employees with a long-term career path they can count on financially. We truly value the people that make our company great and will continue to find more opportunities to give back to the driving professionals who make C.R. England what it is today.

C.R. Englands OTR group already offers some of the best miles in the industry, and paired with these new pay rates, it adds up to substantial paychecks. This represents the largest percentage overall pay increase in company history and combined with other increases since 2018, means average C.R. England driver pay checks have increased 50 percent during that time. Additionally, C.R. England projects new drivers could expect to make more than 35 percent more in compensation compared to what their counterparts made last year.

This increase aligns pay to be consistent with the highly competitive pay rates in C.R. Englands Dedicated and Intermodal Divisions, where drivers already receive substantial compensation.

Through the company-sponsored One Initiative, C.R. England drivers are also able to give back to the community. With each load delivered, a meal is donated to one of 22 food banks to provide a meal to a hungry child. Since 2018, funding for more than 6.4 million meals have been donated to food banks nationwide.

About C.R. England

Founded in 1920, C.R. England, Inc. is headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT and is one of North Americas premier transportation companies. C.R. England is an industry leader in Dedicated, Over-The-Road, cross-border Mexico, and Intermodal services. C.R. England has also been regularly recognized for management excellence, including the 2020 Glassdoor Top Places to Work, the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Award as well as a 2021 US Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information visit www.crengland.com.

C.R. England subsidiary England Logistics offers a vast portfolio of non-asset based transportation solutions including full truckload services, intermodal, dry and temp controlled LTL, parcel, and complete supply chain management. The company has often been honored in the industry, including recent recognition as one of the 50 Best Companies to Sell For by Selling Power magazine and being ranked in the Training Top 100 by Training magazine. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, the company also has offices nationwide. For more information visit www.englandlogistics.com.

About One Initiative

To learn more about C.R. Englands goal of providing one million meals to children each year, visit www.oneagainstchildhoodhunger.com.

###

David Allred C. R. England, Inc. 801-974-3880 david.allred@crengland.com

Source: C. R. England, Inc.
The family of Mario Arenales Gonzalez, an Oakland man who died Monday in Alameda police custody, questioned the police account of the death as a medical emergency, saying 26-year-old Gonzalez was healthy and had no known health conditions.

Gonzalez died Monday morning after suffering a medical emergency while officers attempted to place his hands behind his back, Alameda Police Capt. Jeff Emmitt said Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, the family joined a vigil for Gonzalez near Otis Drive in Alameda, where the mans brother, Gerardo Gonzalez, called for an independent autopsy and demanded the release of audio and video footage of the incident.

He also called on Alameda police to name the three officers involved. The three officers were placed on paid administrative leave Monday.

Mario did not die of medical complications because he had no medical conditions, Gerardo Gonzalez said, adding that the police description of events does not make any sense.

Police detained Gonzalez on the 800 block of Oak Street around 10:45 a.m. Monday after responding to reports of an intoxicated person suspected of theft, Emmitt said. Following what police characterized as a scuffle, Gonzalez was taken to an Oakland hospital, where he died. The cause of death remains unknown, pending an autopsy by the Alameda County coroners office.

Gerardo Gonzalez said police must explain how his brother, who was a perfectly healthy man, who was never charged with a crime died in their custody.

Gerardo described Mario as a loving father to a 4-year old son and as a caretaker for his younger brother, Efrain, who has autism.

The familys comments came one day after a jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derick Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd last year. It followed a community vigil in Oakland hosted by several community organizations and held at Restore Oakland, a non-profit restorative justice center. .

For many in attendance, the vigil was a moment to reflect on the meaning of accountability and justice in the wake of the guilty verdict. Some said they prayed for an end to police killings, while others prayed for those who have lost loved ones to violence.

Jose Bernals voice shook as he spoke to the crowd about Gonzalezs death.

When we see images on TV and police literally murdering our folks, that is an egregious act of state violence, said Bernal, 33, prompting snaps from the crowd. Its a lot.

The vigil, attended by dozens of people, was meant to create a very intentional space for healing, Marlene Sanchez, deputy director of Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, told The Chronicle.

Our community continues to experience trauma over and over again, Sanchez said.

Attendees were quick to note that Black and brown people have faced disproportionate levels of abuse at the hands of police across the Bay Area: Sean Monterrosa was fatally shot in Vallejo last June. Erik Salgado was fatally shot in Oakland last June. Tyrell Wilson was fatally shot in Danville in March. Roger Allen was fatally shot in Daly City earlier this month.

Lauren Hernandez and Nora Mishanec are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com; nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez @NMishanec
Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to think twice about the price of invading Ukraine. But it may be worth it. Getty

We asked military experts to assess the strengths of Ukraine and Russia should Russia invade.

Ukraine has been fighting in Donbass for seven years. Its skills and equipment are vastly improved.

The wild card is the level of NATO and US support for Ukraine, experts said.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Russia this week began huge military exercises in Crimea and along the border with Ukraine, using more than 100,000 troops - backed by heavy armor, airpower, and naval units in the Black Sea - in what many feared was a prelude to an invasion of Ukraine. Then Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would pull back those troops.

No one knows what his next move will be. But if Russia were to invade, how likely would it be that it could "win"? We asked some experts who have studied both militaries for an assessment.

Russia's military, like its population, is more than triple the size of Ukraine's. But should Putin order an invasion, he would not find it as easy as in 2014, when Russian special forces and local irregular militias seized control of Crimea and much of Ukraine's border with Russia without much resistance.

The reason? Ukraine now has seven years of experience fighting in the Russian-speaking breakaway republic of Donbass, with losses of nearly 10,000 troops in that period. It has also increased its spending and the modernization of its forces with the help of the US and NATO. Donbass was formally part of Ukraine until 2014.

"Ukraine lost a lot of people fighting in Donbass and have learned a lot in that time period," said a NATO military intelligence officer who agreed to assess each side's capabilities in exchange for anonymity.

Watch: Russia orders end to huge military drills near Ukraine

"They're brave and very patriotic. Ukrainians have no lack of motivation to fight Russians, and they've been fighting along that front for seven years," the NATO official said. "They have very much improved every aspect of what was in 2014 a rotten organization and can really support troops in the field. There's no more sneakers and homemade ammo pouches."

Story continues

In 2014, Ukraine's underfunded and obsolete Soviet-era military was essentially unable to respond to the events in Donbass and Crimea, leaving Ukrainians to form self-styled and often locally supported militias. While several remain active on the front lines, Ukraine's military is now capable of holding its positions and would inflict heavy casualties on a Russian attack, said a former UK special forces soldier who has spent considerable time in Donbass providing security for media organizations.

'There's no level of digging in that can compensate for the Russian advantage in electronic warfare, cruise missiles, and airpower'

"The Ukrainians are dug in deep and have their artillery dug in and properly sighted," said the former soldier, who declined to be named.

"They're very brave lads, and after this many years they have experienced NCOs," or noncommissioned officers, the former soldier said. "They'd hurt the Russians very badly if not for all the other problems behind the front lines."

The Ukrainian and Russian borders with the Donbass. Ukraine is in yellow. RGloucester - CC BY-SA 3.0

Ukraine now spends about $5 billion a year on its military, almost double what it did before 2014. But Russian spends over $65 billion and hosts a much larger and more modern series of capabilities that would make long-term resistance nearly impossible. Its capabilities range from modern air-force and naval assets to supersonic cruise missiles which can accurately hit targets from a safe distance - and which Ukraine lacks the capability to resist.

"As stout as they might be, there's no level of digging in that can compensate for the Russian advantage in electronic warfare, cruise missiles, and airpower," the former soldier said. "So they will be very brave and kill a lot of Russians, but over the medium to long term they have no chance unless NATO helps."

Russia would be able to easily target key infrastructure and facilities far behind Ukrainian lines in the early days of the war. That would eventually reduce the military's ability to fight on the front lines, according to analysts.

"But if NATO can limit the systems the Russians are able to use, then this could become very slow and very nasty for both sides," the former soldier said.

Watch: Russia orders troops out after buildup near Ukraine

What would Biden do?

The Biden administration is fast-tracking additional military aid to Ukraine, which has requested that the Americans relocate a battery of advanced Patriot missiles from Poland to Ukraine. That move would likely infuriate Putin.

On top of the protection that Patriots could provide from an air attack, the Americans could authorize the deployment of an advanced weapons system already in Ukrainian hands, the Javelin anti-tank missile. Javelins are high-tech weapons designed specifically to fight advanced Russian battle tanks.

These military factors will affect both Biden's and Putin's thinking in the coming days of the continuing crisis.

Costs and risks

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said that the troop buildup on Ukraine's eastern flank "demonstrated their ability to provide a credible defence for the country" but that they would return to their regular bases by May 1.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautiously welcomed the development.

A source previously told Insider that "it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Putin to invade Ukraine." Perhaps the withdrawal announcement shows that Putin agrees - the cost and risks would be high even if Russia succeeded.

Or perhaps that's just what Putin wants Ukraine to think, for now.

Read the original article on Business Insider
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The European Commission plans to launch legal proceedings against AstraZeneca because of its failure to deliver pledged coronavirus vaccine doses to EU countries, Politico reported, citing unnamed EU diplomats.

According to Politico, the issue was raised at a Wednesday's meeting, and most of EU representatives said they would support the legal suit.

One of the diplomats told Politico that the commission seeks to obligate the vaccine producer to eventually deliver the doses envisioned by the contract.

Two other diplomats said that the deadline to sign off on launching the legal proceedings was set for later this week.
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.'
Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday expelled an Antigua-registered ship that entered the island's territory without declaring a radioactive cargo bound for China.

The country's Atomic Energy Regulatory Council said the MV BBC Naples was asked to leave after it was found to be in the Chinese-run port of Hambantota on Tuesday night carrying uranium hexafluoride.

"The ship failed to declare its dangerous cargo -- uranium hexafluoride -- and we decided to order it to leave our waters immediately," council director general Anil Ranjith told AFP.

The ship had come from Rotterdam but authorities did not say where in China it was headed.

Ranjith said it was an offence to enter a port without declaring the material, which is used to enrich uranium, the fuel for nuclear power stations and weapons.

Sri Lanka's opposition leader Sajith Premadasa demanded an investigation into the incident, describing it as a serious safety threat.

"The navy has not been allowed to board the vessel to carry out an inspection," Premadasa said.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Hambantota port was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years after the Colombo government was unable to repay $1.4 million it had borrowed from Beijing to build it.

Hambantota, about 260 kilometres (162 miles) south of Colombo, is near key Indian Ocean shipping lanes.

The entry of two Chinese submarines into Colombo in 2014 angered neighbouring India, the traditional regional power which is competing with Beijing for influence in the Indian Ocean.

Since then, Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarine visits.

This article was from Agence France Presse and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
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Epileptic power supply costs businesses in Nigeria about $29 billion yearly, the World Bank has said.

The banks conclusion was drawn from its Power Sector Recovery Programme factsheet presented during the World Banks virtual meeting with journalists Wednesday.

The banks practice manager, West and Central Africa Energy, Ashish Khanna, in his presentation said, Businesses in Nigeria lose about $29bn annually because of unreliable electricity. Nigerian utilities get paid for only a half of the electricity they receive.

According to him, for every N10 worth of electricity received by distribution companies, about N2.60 is lost in poor distribution infrastructure and through power theft and another N3.40 is not being paid for by customers.

Six in 10 of registered customers are not metered, and their electricity bills are not transparent and clear. This contributes to resistance to pay electricity bills, the PUNCH quoted him as saying.

The PSRP document said only 51 per cent of installed capacity was available for generation, as an average Nigerian consumed four times less energy than their counterpart in a typical lower middle-income country.

The document said the Nigerian government assisted poor citizens in paying up the electricity bills. It said poor citizens use less electricity, while the richer families consume more power.

The bank described the document as a comprehensive response to Nigerias power challenges with the aim to renew the countrys economy by rebuilding a functioning and fair power sector.

The senior energy specialist, World Bank, Muhammad Wakil, said: Nigeria now has the largest number of unelectrified people globally and the trend is worsening. Of the electrified, the supply is very unreliable with widespread blackouts.

He also said Nigeria now has 25 per cent more unelectrified people than the second most unelectrified country in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Between June 2020 and February 2021, the World Bank said its board approved $1.25 billion financing to support the Nigerian government in its efforts to reset the power sector.

In 2019, it said 80 million people in the country were without access to electricity and millions more suffered from poor service.

Last June, the bank released a similar report on the economic loss caused by unreliable power supply in Nigeria, which it estimated at N10.1 trillion annually.

The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, last week apologised for poor power supply in the country.

Mr Mammans apology came weeks after many Nigerians had complained of persistent outages. He said some 17 power plants had operational problems.

Malfunctions are common in the sector and often result in extensive blackouts across the country. The government cites gas supply issues despite Nigeria being one the worlds largest producers of gas.
The US embassy in Tunisia has branded rubbish allegations by a Tunisian lawmaker that the administration of former President Donald Trump had financed the election of incumbent Tunisian president Kais Saied in 2019.

Tunisian parliamentarian, Rached Khiari, from Ennahda [leading party in the legislature] on Monday accused president Saied to have received $5 million in financial aid from the U.S for his electoral campaign to become president.

Khiari showed a picture of the Tunisian leader coming out of the post office where he allegedly received a western Union transfer.

He challenged the president and vowed to provide further evidence for his accusations.

On Twitter the US embassy in the Tunisian capital of Tunis denied any wrongdoing adding that Washington respects Tunisias democracy sovereignty.

In reference to recent media reports, the U.S. government did not fund the presidential campaign of President Kais Saied. The United States reaffirms its respect for the integrity and sovereignty of Tunisian democracy, it said.

The military prosecution office opened an investigation and summoned Khiari as defendant.

Kais Saied won the 2019 elections following the death of President Caid Bedji. The 63-year old politician has been in an open conflict with the Islamist party that he blames for some of the countrys woes.
A pair of military-industrial mishaps that hit Israel in recent days underscored the countrys security vulnerabilities at a particularly sensitive moment in its confrontation with Iran.

Early on Thursday morning, what appeared to be an errant SA-5 ground-to-air missile fired from batteries in Syria exploded in the Negev desert, deep inside Israeli territory and within 20 miles of the Dimona nuclear plant, setting off warning sirens but leading to no damage to life or property.

Less than two days earlier a powerful explosion was seen at the facility of Tomer, a major Israeli defence contractor, during what was described as a rocket-engine test. A video showed a massive mushroom cloud above the blast sight. Tomer officials insisted the explosion was a controlled test, but no announcement was previously made, raising suspicions of an unplanned mishap.

There is no evidence that sabotage caused the Tomer explosion, and few believe that the Syrian government would risk the full wrath of Israel as well as possible radioactive fall out of its own territory by targeting Dimona. There was no intention of hitting the nuclear reactor in Dimona, Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson Hidai Zilberman told reporters.

But the mishaps highlight any potential hair-trigger moment in Israel and the Middle East. Israel has upped its aggressive posture against its archrival Iran and its allies in the region at a moment when its main patron, the United States, and many of the worlds leading powers are engaged in intense diplomatic talks aimed at restoring a nuclear deal with Tehran that Israel opposes.

The penetration near Dimona, though almost certainly unintentional, showed Israeli vulnerabilities at a moment when it is seeking to project invincibility.

With immediate suspicions and worries that Iran or one of its allies was behind the missile launch, it also showed how much of a tinderbox the Middle East remains, with the threat of an escalated armed conflict on the precipice.

Iran did little to ease worries. A state broadcaster described the incident as a first warning at Dimona that lets Israel know it is possible to easily destroy the plant.

Irans sensitive Natanz nuclear facility was recently struck by sabotage allegedly at the hands of Israel, prompting it to increase its production of enriched uranium to an unprecedented purity of 60 per cent. Fringe, hardline voices in Iran have called on their leaders to target Dimona in response.

The appropriate response to the Natanz incident  based on an eye for an eye and based on the policy of creating a security deterrence  should be action against the nuclear facility in Dimona, a columnist wrote in the hardline Iranian daily Kayhan earlier this week.

The still mysterious incident at Tomer has also played into Iranian propaganda efforts. Irans hardline Fars news agency cited recent alleged acts of Israeli sabotage against Iran and suggested they increase the possibility that the explosion at Tomer was intentional.

Israeli commentators have also questioned how the countrys various air-defence systems, including the vaunted Iron Dome defence shield, failed to shoot down the incoming missile, which travelled some 120 miles from the Syrian border.

Israeli artillery unit deployed next to the Israeli-Syrian border on Thursday (EPA)

Defence minister Benny Gantz said anti-missile defences tried to intercept the SA-5 but failed. In most cases, we achieve other results, he said. This is a slightly more complex case. We will investigate it and move on.

According to Israeli news outlets the target that prompted the exchange on Thursday was a shipment of weapons that had arrived from Iran to Damascus.

The long-range SA-5 missile was fired at an Israeli warplane that had conducted a sortie over the Damascus target, wounding four soldiers. The missile set off sirens near Abu Qrenat, between Dimona and Beersheba and near the Ariel Sharon military base nearby.

Israel said it destroyed the battery from which SA-5 had fired the missile.
Local entrepreneurs are proving that there is life after the Covid-19 pandemic by opening exciting new businesses in the city.

The past year has been one of the toughest ever experienced by business owners with a number of high-street giants collapsing and others on the brink.

NI is in the midst of a recession, but the outlook isnt all bleak.

A number of individuals have taken the brave step of opening new premises. They are optimistic about the future and keen to show that independent businesses can still thrive.

Springing up across the town are a new hairdressing salon, an ice-cream parlour and a menswear shop.

Between them they have experience, an intimate knowledge of their fields and youthful exuberance.

The Derry News spoke to three small-business owners who are setting up shop as we emerge from the biggest global pandemic in a century. In their own way they are each defying the odds.

Paul Martin Menswear Co., Greenhaw Road

Owner Paul Cooley (above with wife Linda) has overcome health issues in the past year when, along with his wife, he was hospitalised after contracting Covid-19.

Although the idea of opening his own business has been brewing for some time, the familys health scare accelerated those plans.

My experiences during the pandemic have definitely given me the courage to go and achieve any dreams that I had, he says.

Myself and my wife were extremely unwell due to Covid. I spent a period of time in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) at Altnagelvin.

I can see the devastation that the pandemic has caused and it would bring a tear to your eye.

We owe everything to the staff at the hospital, there were times that it looked very dark, but they pushed me on and got me back on my feet.

With conviction, he continues: I cant have any more regrets, life is very short and the last year has taught us that.

You need to grab it with both hands and try to achieve your dreams.

Pauls family history is steeped in the menswear industry. His grandfather owned Fitzpatrick Sports, his father Martin  who is honoured in the shop name - had a long successful retail career at Austins department store, Burtons menswear and Topshop.

Following in their footsteps, Paul has worked in retail for 20 years in stores including Yellow Moon and CityMan  where he spent the past 10 years.

He says: Retail and menswear is all we have known in my family. Hopefully now the time is right to put my experiences Ive learnt from my family and retailers I have worked for into practice to benefit my own business.

The store will cater for young cutting-edge fashion and the older discerning gentleman with an emphasis on local suppliers.

Were delighted to announce that well be working alongside former Irish rugby player Tommy Bowe. Well be the official stockist of his clothing range XV Kings.

Paul will also be venturing into the wedding market to offer affordable packages.

The store will open as soon as non- essential retail restrictions are lifted on April 30.

Well go full throttle, try our very best and look forward to welcoming the public, he concludes.

Donna VIP - Hair & Beauty Studio, Carlisle Road

Were opening now on Friday, Im buzzing, its so great to be back into the swing of things, says Donna Wilson Scott Hegarty.

The Derry woman has been immersed in the hairdressing industry for 35 years.

For her, the pandemic acted as an opportunity to reset. As project manager she has endeavoured to see the salon of her dreams come to fruition.

The design is all based on legendary Hollywood females, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kellyits looking really lovely, very glam and something thats never really been touched upon in Derry, an upbeat Donna explains.

I have another unit underneath that Im looking to develop into a beauticians but that will be further down the line.

Donna is eager to get back to work for her own mental well-being and that of her loyal clients.

Hairdressers and beauticians shouldve been seen as part of essential services for peoples mental health because I have seen how important it is to my customers, she says.

The Derry woman recognised that it has been a tough year for colleagues and all workers in close contact industries.

For now, staff and customers will have to adhere to Covid safety measures but in time she is hopeful of a return to normality.

Donna says: Im just hoping that with the rollout of the vaccine, everybody gets back on their feet and we can lose a couple of restrictions in the salon.

Because you want to be able to offer refreshments, thats all part of the hairdressing experience.

People need to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

The businesswoman has been inundated with appointments for over 200 clients from Derry, Donegal and further afield. She is fully booked until the end of May.

She adds: When people come in I like it to feel like a breath of fresh air. Its not just about a hair cut and colour, theyre getting a nice ambience and I want them to leave feeling good about themselves and uplifted.

ANDIAMO, Spencer Road

The business name translates as, Lets Go, in Italian. Omagh native Rory McLaughlin opened his doors on April 1 and is eager to welcome the wider Derry public into his shop.

He is a bespoke artisan ice-cream manufacturer who has trained at Loughry Campus  a College which educates students to ensure they meet the needs of the food industry.

Rory then spent a year in New Zealand milking cows. He therefore knows the meaning of the gastronomic phrase, from field to forkor spoon in his case.

Experience gained as a sales and promotions manager for an ice cream manufacturer in Newtownards will also stand him in good stead.

Within that role I was making it, putting it in the freezer, taking it out and putting it into a freezer van and delivering it. The whole lot including marketing and social media, he explains.

The 26-year-old has been welcomed by his neighbours on Spencer Road, including Nonnas who greeted him with a freshly baked pizza.

His vision is for customers to be able to see ice cream being made in shop.

With a few years of experience, having milked cows, tried different varieties, Im keen to show people my own style of ice cream, he says.

He is however aware that everyone has their own tastes as evidenced by the popularity of bubblegum ice cream with customers young and old.

What I very much like to make is something that is local, Irish made. Where possible manufactured with raw materials that are coming from the island  a local artisan ice cream that is made in front of your eyes.

Research has given Rory confidence that he can make the business a success.

I do think there is a space in the market for a price-competitive artisan, zero food miles product.

My own lot think Im mad because Im doing a part-time Masters degree.

People are while happy to see something independent opening on Spencer Road.

Rory has exciting plans mapped out for the future which will be revealed in due course.

With that new customers arrived at the door and he was off to treat them to some hand-made ice cream.
ABC has announced Marc Fennell as host of a new three part documentary The School That Tried to End Racism.

The series explores a ground-breaking social experiment designed to educate school children in racial bias and provide them with the tools to make positive change.

Produced by Screentime Australia and filmed recently at a Western Sydney primary school, a team of educators and psychologists attempt to reverse the racial bias in an ordinary multicultural class of 10-11-year-old children. Using a bold new programme for the first time in Australia, the series follows the students and their families as they confront racism head on in an effort to unpack the status quo.

Marc Fennell says, This series is one of the most important things I have ever been a part of. Its about solutions. Too often, conversations about race in Australia get derailed by accusations, offense, and defensiveness. This programme is about honesty and tangible, inclusive change. These big-hearted students, teachers, and families have taught me so much about what Australia could be. I cant wait for you to meet them.

ABCs Managing Editor Factual, Richard Huddleston says, This is such a timely series, and my thanks go out to everyone from the school and its community who should be really proud of what they have achieved. Their collective experience will start conversations, create change and inspire audiences of all ages.

Screen Australias Head of Content, Sally Caplan says, We are proud to support this documentary which is set to add to the critical conversation around racism and aims to inform the cultural debate on a confronting and complex issue. Its a program that has the potential to inspire change and transform lives and I look forward to seeing it on ABC later this year.

Deborah Spinocchia, Screentime Australia Executive Producer, says It has been a truly humbling experience to work with students, teachers and parents who all courageously volunteered their time to tackle such an important issue. Watching the school programme unfold offered insights into the deep thinking of young students while allowing space for self-reflection and the unsettling discovery of the toll of racism on both young and old.

The School That Tried To End Racism will air on ABC and ABC iview later this year.

Production Credit: The School That Tried To End Racism is a Screentime Australia production for the ABC. Major production investment from the ABC in association with Screen Australia. Financed with support from Screen NSW. Screentime Executive Producers: Deborah Spinocchia and Johnny Lowry. Series Director: John Karabelas. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julie Hanna. ABC Managing Editor Factual: Richard Huddleston. ABC Head of Factual and Culture: Jennifer Collins.

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Michigan has become a bellwether for the coronavirus pandemic, with cases rising rapidly even as the vaccine rollout sped up over the past few weeks, a trend mirrored nationwide.

Now, the U.S. is approaching the 'tipping point' of vaccinating the maximum number of people who actively want the shot, and reaching a stalling point, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report warned.

Enough people have now been vaccinated that the remaining Americans are among the 20 percent of Americans who are vaccine hesitant. And nearly 40 percent of Republicans still say they do not want a COVID-19 vaccine.

And Michigan appears to be one of the first states to teeter on that edge, just after reaching nearly pandemic-high daily case rates, with 7,000 new positive tests a day for the past two weeks in the state. Daily infections have finally fallen slightly to 6,891 a day on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Vaccine coverage in the state had been steadily rising by two to four percentage points a week since late January.

Last week, it began to stall, with vaccine initiation only rising from 45.4 to 46.1 percent, and vaccination completion ticking up by just over one percentage point from 31 percent to 32.2 percent.

The increase in the share of the population that initiated vaccination as of last week was 83 percent smaller than the increase seen the previous week, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Michigan health department data.

Nationwide, the average number of daily vaccinations have remained above three million for 20 days, but for the past three days, between 1.8 and 2.6 million shots have been given.

It comes after a week of daily average U.S. cases hovering around 70,000 a day. Daily infections have begun to decline slightly to 63,232 a day, including 62,857 cases diagnosed yesterday.

And deaths continue to fall to an average of 702 a day, down seven percent from last week's seven-day rolling average.

But with the rise in infections and hospitalizations seen last week, and vaccinations slowing, those numbers could rise again, as happened in Michigan.

The increase in the share of Michigan's population that initiated vaccination (gray) as of last week was 83% smaller than the increase seen the previous week, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Michigan health department data

A similar trend is playing out nationwide. The 7-day rolling average of daily vaccinations (blue) remains about 3 million, but for the past e days fewer than 3 million shots were given, falling as low as 1.8 million on Tuesday, with 2.6 million on Wednesday

When Michigan's St Clair County held a walk-in COV1D-19 vaccination clinic last week with 1,600 shots at the ready, only about 800 people signed up in advance. Walk-in traffic was slow.

A quarter of the available shots went unused, says Jennifer Michaluk, a county health department official.

St Clair County, which sits on the Canadian border just northeast of Detroit, is a COVID hotbed. Earlier in the month, 30 percent of virus tests were coming back positive. Michigan has seen the biggest case spike of any state in recent weeks.

Despite the surge, health officials for more than 20 counties in Michigan told Reuters eligible residents are not showing up for their shots, particularly in rural areas that supported Republican Donald Trump in November's election, increasingly inhibiting their ability to contain the outbreak.

In the early stages of the vaccination campaign, officials said, people were knocking down the doors.

But this month, even as the state opened up the shots to all adults, counties across Michigan like St. Clair County noticed the once-crushing demand was beginning to lessen.

'For a 500-appointment clinic, we are getting 50 to 60 percent of the appointments filled. A month ago, we could fill a clinic in 15 minutes flat,' said Danielle Persky, deputy health officer for Cass and Van Buren counties, which sit near Lake Michigan in the southwestern part of the state and strongly supported Trump in November.

Daily Covid infections in Michigan peaked on November 30, briefly rising to 8,344. They were near that peak again last week, at 7,000 a day

More than 2.6 million people in Michigan have been vaccinated, but more than a quarter of the state's vaccine supply was still unused as of Thursday morning

Her department has taken to Facebook to urge local residents to 'Stop on by for a vaccine!'

Trump's strongest base of support - white voters without a college degree - has traditionally been distrustful of large government programs such as the vaccination rollout.

Local health officials said they have also had to combat a torrent of misinformation on social media about the virus and the efficacy of the vaccines.

While there are areas such as Oakland County outside of Detroit where demand still outstrips supply, other regions in the state say that just about everyone who wants a shot can get one now.

Experts worry that momentum is slowing, both in Michigan and elsewhere.

'We're starting to hit that wall in some areas, where most of the people who were anxious to be vaccinated have gotten their vaccines, and the rest are either still considering or have decided against it,' said Tara Smith, an epidemiologist at Kent State University in neighboring Ohio.

U.S. health officials such as Anthony Fauci have estimated that 70 percent to 80 percent of the country needs to be vaccinated before the virus is contained and most restrictions eased.

About a quarter of the population has been immunized in Michigan - on par with the national average but less than neighboring Wisconsin, where nearly a third have been.

'I dont know if we'll get to 60 percent or even 50 percent of the population [in the state] vaccinated,' said Mark Hackel, the county executive of populous Macomb County outside Detroit.

It's a trend President Biden warned against on Wednesday, reminding the U.S. that 'the broad swath of American adults remain largely unvaccinated.'

He also noted that much of that 'broad swath' is comprised of people most vulnerable to COVID-19, including people of color and people with poor access to health care.

That swath also has a political slant, which is evident in Michigan.

Nearly 40% of Republicans in the U.S. say they do not want a COVID-19 vaccine - a larger share than seen in among people of any other political party

Many of the Michigan counties that most supported Trump are making slower progress at vaccinating the elderly, who have been eligible for shots since early in the year and who remain more at-risk from the virus.

Trump won more than 60 percent of November's vote in 49 Michigan counties. As of Tuesday, 60% of seniors in those counties were fully vaccinated, compared to 66 percent in the rest of the state.

The 20 counties with the lowest vaccination rates for seniors were all won by Trump in November, a Reuters review of Centers for Disease Control data on county vaccination figures showed.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 12-16 shows deep ambivalence about the vaccine among Republicans nationwide, with 38 percent saying they 'do not want the coronavirus vaccine,' compared to 14 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of independent voters.

Trump spent much of his final year in the White House openly challenging the science behind the virus and U.S. public health experts such as Dr Anthony Fauci.

While Trump's administration drove high-speed development of the vaccines, he was a reluctant advocate for them.

He received the shots, in private, in January.

'We remind [Michiganders that] Trump got vaccinated,' said Mark Hamed, who serves as medical director for eight Michigan counties, all of which voted for Trump with at least 63 percent of the vote.

The real challenge may lie in those under 65.

Hamed said most of the COVID patients he sees in emergency rooms are on average 40 years old, are unvaccinated and have been infected with the U.K. variant of the virus, which experts say is more transmissible.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, has pleaded with the federal government to increase the number of vaccines allotted to her state to address the surge in cases but has been rebuffed.

Administration officials said shifting distribution was not in line with its public health strategy, and the state needed to 'go back to basics' and shut down.

Surging vaccine supply to Michigan might also be for naught. More than a quarter of the state's vaccine supply to-date is sitting on the shelves, according to Michigan's vaccine database.

Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged that while there are areas of the state where demand for the vaccine has slowed, some residents 'still cannot get appointments and remain on waiting lists.'

The state is constantly monitoring distribution of vaccine inventory, she said. 'We know the way out of this pandemic is the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.'

But Marcus Cheatham, health officer for Clinton, Gratiot and Montcalm counties in central Michigan, said it was time for the state - and the country - to shift its focus from logistics of distribution and 'pivot to what really matters, which is the large share of the population that won't accept the vaccine.'

Cheatham and other public health officials say the resistance is largely rooted in fears over the vaccines' safety, which can be disproved with a robust education campaign in the coming weeks.

'It will be another wretched summer,' he said, 'if we can't get more people to roll up their sleeves.'
We regret to say that Medicaid expansion, even if begrudgingly approved by the Texas Legislature, is unlikely to cover the self-administered nose jobs that Texas Republican lawmakers have been flaunting for the past decade.

Cutting off their noses to spite their faces, to quote the old proverb, the lawmakers have proudly rejected opportunities to provide health coverage to more of their fellow Texans, despite the fact that the federal government was offering to pay for nearly all of it and despite the fact that Lone Star State is home to the largest number of uninsured Americans of any state in the country.

Now, were at a pivot point. A ruling last week by the Biden administration makes Medicaid expansion in Texas more of a possibility than its ever been since lawmakers mounted their resistance a decade ago. Billions of dollars are at stake, not to mention the health and well-being of more than 1 million Texans. We would be fools not to take the money and the opportunity it represents to make this state we love a better, healthier place to live and work.

To many, its been a mystery worthy of a trench-coated Columbos detecting skills to try to ascertain why Texas Republicans are so adamantly opposed to expansion  were one of only a dozen states still saying no  even though the federal government would have picked up 90 percent of the tab. Arent we all better off when every Texan can afford their medical bills, pay for needed prescription drugs and obtain coverage for chronic conditions?

The answer is obvious, so obvious that only another chronic malady can explain GOP obstinacy. Call it anti-Obamaitis. Medicaid expansion is affiliated with former President Barack Obamas Democratic Party and the Affordable Care Act, aka the dreaded, supposedly socialist plot Obamacare, which now covers more than 20 million Americans and has been credited with saving thousands of lives.

But, better a mutilated nose than a healthy Texas face.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and most of their GOP cohorts have always known they were on the short end of a losing argument. Thats why they were willing to tolerate a work-around  a face-saving work-around, so to speak  with the federal government to cover low-income Texans worth billions of dollars a year. (Just dont call it Medicaid expansion!)

Now, they have been unmasked. The Biden administration announced last week that it was rescinding a waiver renewed in the waning days of the Trump administration that would have reimbursed hospitals for the uncompensated care they provide to patients without health care. The so-called 1115 waiver, which was intended to be a temporary fix, would have continued hospital reimbursements until September 2030.

Federal officials explained they were rescinding the Trump agreement not because Biden is deliberately betraying Texans as Abbott claimed but because the latest renewal was granted without the usual period of public comment, an exception Texas asked for during the pandemic but which the Biden administration has determined was improperly granted. Most likely, its also a convenient excuse to push Texas once and for all into a permanent solution for low income Texans: expanding Medicaid. However blatant the ploy, we welcome it.

Incidentally, we also welcome Attorney General Ken Paxtons disingenuously righteous vow to use every legal tool available to regain the assistance Texans need. We know one! How about expanding Medicaid?

The waiver was only granted the first time back in 2011 to give Texas and other states time to comply with Obamacare, which required states to expand Medicaid. But when federal courts ruled that the expansion had to be voluntary, Texas seized the opportunity to say no. Instead, it continued to bet that the federal government would keep extending the 1115 waivers so it could be paid without having to lose face by complying with even the spirit of the new law.

Now the old excuses for not expanding dont make sense anymore, most especially: because Obama. Gov. Rick Perry once warned of a bait-and-switch where the feds would yank matching funds after states agreed to expand. Never happened. And nothing is keeping Texas from pulling out of the arrangement later, although none of the 38 states that have expanded have seen fit to leave.

The states rate of uninsured is officially 18.4 percent, double the national average, although its probably higher than that in light of pandemic-induced unemployment. Medicaid in Texas covers mostly children, pregnant women and disabled Texas. Expanding it to other adults who earn 138 percent of the poverty line (about $36,200 for a family of four) would provide health coverage to some 1.3 million Texans. Roughly a quarter-million Harris County residents would gain insurance, experts have predicted.

No wonder a recent poll conducted by the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs found that 69 percent of those polled supported expansion. No wonder that roughly 150 Texas organizations signed a letter last week urging state officials to provide a health-insurance option for low-income adults. The signers included business leaders, doctors, local officials and health-care advocates, as well as the Texas Medical Association and the Texas Nurses Association.

We urge you  this year to pass a Texas-specific solution that will insure as many Texans as possible, bring federal dollars back to Texas, bolster rural and urban economies, protect the financial viability of rural and urban health care safety-net systems, and put money into the state budget.

Were headed, however haltingly, in that direction. The Texas House just approved a bill expanding Medicaid for new mothers. Another bill still in play would expand telemedicine. Those are relatively small steps, but they represent progress. The next obvious step is full expansion.

With the legislative session winding down, Texas Republicans should hold their noses - if they still have one - and vote to expand Medicaid. For Texas.
Tens of thousands of Russians turned out to protest the Kremlins treatment of its nemesis Alexei Navalny on Wednesday in what turned out to be an unexpectedly stark challenge to Vladimir Putin.

Mr Navalny, 44, is 22 days into a hunger strike, with supporters claiming he is on the edge of life and death.

The rallies held in his name unfolded across the nation from the Pacific ocean to the Baltic Sea. The most impressive turnouts were registered in Russias two capitals, St Petersburg and Moscow.

Supporters of Mr Navalny put the numbers in the high tens of thousands. In line with tradition, authorities gave a much lower figure  14,000. The likely figure is somewhere in between, but also considerably less than the 465,000 who had signed up on Mr Navalnys campaign site.

The conditions ahead of the protest were inauspicious, with authorities upping the stakes in the days and hours beforehand. Aside from the promise of a fearless crackdown, the personal data of those who registered interest were leaked online. Young activists received visits from police officers warning them not to participate.

Key Navalny associates were also detained on the day itself. Lyubov Sobol, lawyer for Mr Navalnys anti-corruption foundation, was dragged from a car at about 10am. Kira Yarmysh, his press officer, followed an hour later, and was jailed for 10 days for supposedly breaching house arrest orders.

In the event, the worst fears of a protest crackdown did not materialise. NGO groups put estimates of the numbers of arrested at over 1,000, a figure that is likely to rise. There were significant numbers of often violent arrests in St Petersburg, with reports of the use of stun weapons. But the numbers in Moscow were several orders short of those seen in previous rallies.

There, crowds appeared to be buoyed by their numbers. They sang increasingly radical anti-Putin ditties to one another. Putin was a was a thief, they shouted, and he was a murderer.

Putin vor, ne muzhik, dengi vyvez v Gelenzhik!(Putins a thief, not made of beef, he took our money to his palace in Gelendzhik!)

The crowds made several bold attempts to approach Lubyanka square, the sensitive location of the headquarters of the FSB, Russias much feared security agency, and the apparent architects of Mr Navalnys nerve agent poisoning in August.

Authorities, however, made it clear this was a development they would not welcome, and cut off routes to the square with several lines of riot police.

Police cut off access to the headquarters of Russias FSB security agency ( )

The protests attracted the widest cross section of Russian society, from Mr Navalnys traditionally strong constituencies among students - to businessmen and pensioners.

Yuri Zukbov, 72, a retired theatre director, told The Independent he battled hard with fear before deciding to attend. It was the kind of fear he remembered seeing in his fathers eyes, he said  when Stalin was still in charge.

Then and now there were people who loved a murderous tyrant, he said.

Mr Zubkov said he was not a natural Navalny supporter, and wasnt keen on his past nationalistic statements. But he had been persuaded by his recent heroic actions, returning following his nerve agent poisoning to the land of his would-be assassins.

Hes doing a big, good thing for Russia and we have to protect him from the bandits in the Kremlin, he said.

Yuri Zukboc had battled with fear before attending the protest ( )

Several senior Navalny associates also managed to evade the grasps of authorities to make their way to the crowds in central Moscow. Just before 8pm local time, Mr Navlanys wife Julia and brother Oleg joined the protest to cheers from demonstrators.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close associate of murdered opposition leader Boris Nemstov, was also in attendance.

He told The Independent that he was staggered by the numbers. All had risked arrest to demand Mr Navalny receive proper medical treatment, he said.

Over two decades Putin has managed to take control of nearly everything in this country - parliament, elections, media, he said. The one thing he does not control are free minds.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close associate of murdered opposition leader Boris Nemstov ( )

The activist said he did not doubt Putin was trying to kill his main opponent in slow motion after a failed first try with Novichok. It seems Mr Kara-Murza himself likely had his own scrape with the nerve agent, having been twice incapacitated by unknown toxic substances in Moscow in mysterious circumstances.

An investigation by open source researchers Bellingcat showed that the Nemstov associate was trailed by the same state security employees as Mr Navalny before his poisoning. His role in developing the Magnitsky Act, legislation targeting corrupt Russian officials, may well have made him a target.

Like Mr Navalny, Mr Kara-Murza returned to Russia to pursue campaigning despite the obvious dangers. He said he did not fear arrest, and said by the evidence of Wednesday, neither did his countrymen.

Theyve nearly killed me twice, he said. The biggest gift to Putin would be if all those who oppose him gave up and ran.
This article appears in the April 23, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this article]

Panel 1 Reversing the Cultural WastelandThe Urgency

of a New Renaissance, Creating a Planetary Culture Worthy of the Dignity of Humanity

View full size

Schiller Institute

Greetings! It gives me great joy to welcome you to this March 2021 conference of the Schiller Institute and the International Caucus of Labor CommitteesWorld at a Crossroad: Two Months into the New U.S. Administration.

Im Jason Ross, your host for this panel, a science advisor to the Schiller Institute and a member of the board of directors of The LaRouche Organization.

This weekends conference occurs at a truly tumultuous time in the world and just after a meeting among representatives of the United States and China, two countries whose bilateral relationship is perhaps the most important in shaping the world.

Will unnecessary, counterproductive conflict that is not in the self-interest of either country be allowed to gain the upper hand? Or will a new paradigm of relations among nations and people take hold, offering the prospects of peace through development?

And why is this conflict developing? If the entire world were to submit to the unscientific (or anti-scientific) outlook of the Green New Deal and the dictatorial Great Reset, would conflict be necessary to hold mankind back? Or would poverty and gnawing hunger do the trick? Citizens of all nations of the world must address themselves to these questions and others, and all can play a role in determining the outcome of the present crisis.

This conference is composed of four panels, and each will offer at least one discussion period where viewers, like you, can participate in the discussion. To do that, please send your questions, your thoughts, your input to us at questions@schillerinstitute.org.

This first three-hour panel, Reversing the Cultural WastelandThe Urgency of a New Renaissance, Creating a Planetary Culture Worthy of the Dignity of Humanity, will be keynoted by the founder of the Schiller Institute, Helga Zepp-LaRouche.

To set the stage for the quality of thought suited to tackle the complex problems we will discuss over this weekend, we will begin with a musical selection. This is the 4th movement of Beethovens Violin Sonata Opus 96, performed at a September 9, 1987 concert in honor of Lyndon LaRouches 65th birthday, at the Cusanus Haus in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany. We may hear later about the importance of Nicholas of Cusa in creating the Renaissance. The performers are Norbert Brainin on violin, and Carlo Levi Minzi on the piano.

The performance is available here.
The continued dysfunction of Canadas COVID-19 vaccine rollout threatens to contribute to ever greater deaths as a third wave of the pandemicdriven by new, more contagious and lethal variantssurges across the country.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has adamantly opposed shutting down schools and non-essential workplaces. (Photo credit: Ontario government)

The absence of large-scale inoculation against the virus, coupled with the ruling elites rejection of the public health measures necessary to stop its spread, are causing the third wave to spread far more quickly than the previous two. As a result, Canadas health care system, especially in Ontario, is on the verge of collapse.

Hospital intensive care units (ICU) in Ontario are already under great strain, with patients who require ventilators being moved to cities outside hotspots to reduce the pressure. Figures presented to the Ontario government predict up to 18,000 infections per day and 1,800 ICU patients by the end of next month in a worst-case scenario.

So low are supplies of tocilizumab, an anti-inflammatory drug that reduces death rates among seriously ill COVID-19 patients, the provinces COVID-19 Science Advisory Table has recommended the province prepare to use a lottery to determine who will get it, in other words who will be given a chance to live and who will be left to die.

Canadas Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam has admitted that the spread of the disease is outpacing the vaccine rollout. In fact, the vaccine campaign is barely running at half of its capacity, according to a report by Ipolitics. Only 1.8 million people were vaccinated in the seven days to April 20, just 58 percent of the 3.1 million weekly vaccines that could have been administered.

As of Tuesday, less than 25 percent of Canadians had received a first dose, and just 2.13 percent were fully vaccinated as of April 16, the most recent date for which official statistics are available.

Having had to abandon their original vaccine dosage timeline, Canadas federal and provincial governments have moved to a strategy of extending the time between the requisite first and second doses to four months in hopes of providing each Canadian a single dose sooner, and thereby reducing the rate of severe cases and hospitalizations.

According to the guidelines issued by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, the lengthy delay in the administration of the second dose should be applied to everyone except those with specific conditions, such as cancer diagnoses that would place them at greater risk.

Earlier this month, Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand promised a surge in vaccine supplies that would help boost vaccination rates. This announcement suffered a blow when Moderna cut its supply to Canada by half for April and stated that some of the doses it intended to deliver in the second quarter of 2021 will only be available in the third quarter.

Although Pfizer was able to cover some of this shortfall by increasing supplies over the coming weeks from an initially announced level of one million doses each week until the end of May, the much heralded surge of vaccines is clearly not happening. The US Food and Drug Administration decision to pause the approval of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has added yet another hitch to Canadas vaccination program.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has claimed that all Canadians who want to be vaccinated will have been able to receive a first dose by the end of the summer. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, 60 percent of those 60 and over have to date received at least one dose.

The shambolic vaccine rollout is producing bitter recriminations between various levels of government. Seeking to deflect attention away from their own role in the murderous premature reopening of the economy and schools, Premiers Ford, Moe and Kenney, respectively of Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, have all criticized Ottawa for not supplying the provinces with sufficient vaccines and adhering to its supply schedule. The Liberal government has responded by pointing to the provinces failure to get the doses that they do have into peoples arms.

The fundamental problem blighting the vaccine program is the anarchic global capitalist system and the vaccine nationalism it engenders. All of Canadas vaccine supplies are imported from abroad, from the United States, Europe and India. The contracts signed with manufacturers have allowed the latter to delay shipments as deliveries were scheduled for certain fiscal quarters and not specific dates. The manufacturers have struggled to keep pace with orders because they refused to invest early enough in expanding production facilities, and the EU and India have imposed or threatened export restrictions.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Anand has claimed that the government will diversify its sources, and Ottawa has now hastily launched a scheme to establish a domestic manufacturing capacity with the construction of a facility to produce mRNA vaccines in Quebec now under way. However, it will be many months before the facility begins mass producing COVID-19 vaccines.

Ottawa has turned to the World Health Organizations vaccine sharing program COVAX, taking in its first shipments of batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in South Korea. This prompted widespread criticism of Canadas government for resorting to a program designed to alleviate the vaccine disparity between rich and poor countries. Canada is the only G7 nation to receive COVAX supplies to date. At the same time, Canada has joined the United States and the European imperialist powers in refusing to allow the waiving of the pharmaceutical giants patents so as to allow for the mass manufacture of generic vaccines for Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Trudeau governments resort to COVAX is a tacit admission that, following years of vicious austerity and deliberate neglect by all political parties, Canadas dilapidated health care system is little better than those in less developed countries. The public health infrastructure required to coordinate a mass vaccine rollout, not to mention the publicly funded laboratories to develop, test, and produce vaccines, is nonexistent. Even commentators in the bourgeois press have been forced to note the devastating consequences of the decision to privatize invaluable publicly funded health resources, like the Connaught Laboratories, which was once a world leader in vaccine research and development.

Despite the calls for national digital surveillance programs in the aftermath of the 2003 SARS outbreak, little is in place to allow for communication between different levels of government and with the local pharmacies that are administering many of the vaccines. This is only the most direct consequence for the vaccine rollout of the Canadian ruling elites conscious refusal to learn the lessons of the 2003 SARS epidemic, which prompted a series of comprehensive policy recommendations to prepare for a coronavirus-like pandemic that was both foreseeable and foreseen.

Instead, the entire political establishment, from the New Democrats to the Tories, prioritized balanced budgets, public spending austerity and tax breaks for the banks and super-rich. (See: The 2003 SARS epidemic: how Canadas elite squandered the chance to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic )

The disastrous outcomes of decades of underfunding of health care and social services find particularly grotesque expression in the neglect of low-income, working class communities in the vaccine rollout, even though these communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

A study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences found that high-income neighbourhoods have been getting the vaccine at far higher rates than low-income neighbourhoods in the Toronto and Peel regions despite the greater proportion of cases and deaths in low-income areas. Pharmacies administering the vaccines are more likely to be located in the wealthier communities.

Older immigrant populations with language barriers and who lack computer skills are also at a disadvantage in registering for the vaccine. A CBC investigation found that while 43 percent of retail pharmacies in the 10 neighbourhoods with the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in Ontario are administering vaccines, just 19 percent of pharmacies in the 10 areas with the highest infection rates are doing so. Two overwhelmingly poor neighbourhoods in northwestern Toronto, Maple Leaf and Humbermede, do not have a single pharmacy administering vaccines.

This remains the case despite the evidence that these neighbourhoods are populated by essential workers and multigenerational families that are being decimated by the coronavirus. As a doctor at one Toronto hospital described his ICU patients recently, These are not people who are disobeying the rules. These are people who are trying to make a living and havent been afforded the protection necessary to minimize their exposure risk.

That COVID-19 has become a poor mans disease is the result of a deliberate ruling class policy of allowing the virus to spread unchallenged in the interest of maintaining profits for big business. From their standpoint, the murderous reopening policy was a success as it allowed profits to continue to flow as the corpses piled up. Statistics Canada recently reported the economy added 300,000 jobs in March and was on pace to recoup all the losses incurred due to the initial outbreak. The recent inadequate shutdowns are attempts to belatedly forestall the collapse of the health care system and, crucially, an outburst of resistance to the policies of the ruling class among working people.

For their part, the transnational pharmaceutical corporations have used the vaccine shortage to criticize regulations that restrict drug prices in Canada which they claim have undercut their profits and created incentives to move production overseas.

The United States, motivated by its desire to reopen its border with Canada, may soon export vaccine supplies to its northern neighbour. Notwithstanding huge problems in its own vaccination campaign, US vaccination rates are far higher than Canadaswith a third of all adults fully vaccinatedand the US is projected to soon have a surplus in vaccines. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the COVID-19 infection rate in Canada has surpassed that of the US, which was long the world epicentre of the pandemic.

Questions surrounding the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which have been exacerbated by geopolitical rivalries and ruthless competition to control the market for coronavirus vaccines, have compounded Canadas vaccine debacle. The governments new guidelines instruct Canadians under 55 not to take the vaccine due to its potential relationship with cases of blood clotting, despite the extreme rarity of such instances. However, facing a dramatic rise in infections and reports of AstraZeneca doses going unused, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba have lowered the cut-off point for the vaccine to 40. Concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine are now contributing to its low uptake by those outside of the at-risk age group.

Meanwhile, those below 55 or 40 years old in some provinces who received the vaccine prior to the guideline change must now be switched over to an alternative vaccine for their second dose, further straining supplies and raising the question of the efficacy of mixed dosages, for which there has yet to be sufficient research. The European Medicine Agency has said that the side effects associated with the vaccine are exceedingly rare and its benefits outweigh its risks.

The disastrous vaccine rollout testifies to the impossibility of mounting a rational response to the pandemic on the basis of the capitalist profit system, which prioritizes the profits of the pharmaceutical giants and the geopolitical and economic interests of the rival national ruling elites over the protection of human lives.

Rather than using the tremendous scientific achievements represented by the vaccines to curb the spread of the pandemic and save lives, Canadas ruling elite, like its counterparts the world over, is using the vaccines as an argument to dismantle all remaining public health measures.

Overcoming the pandemic requires a united intervention by the working class in defence of lives over profits, and in pursuit of a scientifically informed response to vaccine production and distribution. Only a socialist internationalist perspective can provide the basis for such a political movement.
So many of the things we were always told were impossible  its impossible to work remotely, its impossible to have flextime, its impossible to do all these things  the pandemic created a whole new normal, Morita said. Some things we were able to prove are possible, we hope to hold onto. Part of what we want to talk about in this town hall is, What is it going to take, right now, to help keep you in the workforce? What supports do you need right now? How do we help you fight for these? How do we take some of these temporary changes and make them permanent? How do we use this time as a way to build a more mama-friendly economy and a more mama-friendly set of policies? So when we talk about a mama recovery, hopefully that recovery becomes a new normal in a good way for moms in the workforce.
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- American Jewish Committee applauded U.S. senators for overwhelmingly approving today, by a vote of 94-1, the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act.

"Decisive bipartisan support in the Senate for this landmark bill demonstrates that unity is achievable in building defenses against hate," said Jason Isaacson, AJC Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer. "We now look to rapid House passage of the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, and to President Biden signing it into law."

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act in the Senate earlier this month. Importantly, the bill will improve hate crimes reporting and governmental responses to hate. The FBI is required by law to gather data on hate crimes annually, but the information is undeniably inaccurate. Victims inconsistently report hate crimes, and law enforcement is not always equipped to identify crimes as motivated by bias. Because reporting is voluntary, today only 13 percent of the nation's law enforcement agencies submit any hate crimes data to the FBI. More than 70 cities with at least 100,000 residents failed to contribute to the latest FBI Hate Crimes Statistics report or reported zero hate crimes.

The Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act will incentivize state and local law enforcement authorities to improve hate crime reporting by making grants available, to be managed through the Department of Justice. The grants, authorized from existing funds, will provide resources such as law enforcement trainings, the creation of reporting hotlines, increased resources to liaise with affected communities, and public educational forums on hate crimes.

Jews remain the most targeted victims of religiously-motivated hate crimes in the FBI reports. AJC's 2020 State of Antisemitism in America report found that 76 percent of those who were the target of an antisemitic attack or remark did not report it. This, coupled with inaccurate and incomplete hate crimes data to the FBI, limits federal, state, and local governments' and institutions' abilities to address hate crime related issues  the scope, location, and severity of the problem.

In the 116th Congress, the House twice passed the NO HATE Act as a provision in coronavirus stimulus bills, but neither were passed by the Senate.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


Joe Biden needed to talk to a family member, and the message, Politico later reported, was blunt. For Christs sake, the then-presidential candidate told his younger brother, Frank, watch yourself. Dont get sucked into something that would, first of all, hurt you.

The Biden family, like other political families before it, had and still has assorted business interests. If not properly set apart from official government actions, these interests can present the appearance of impropriety. Caution was in order during the 2020 campaign, and so too now.

On Inauguration Day, Biden issued a sweeping executive order that outlined ethics requirements for executive branch personnel, and as the federal government continues to pump trillions of dollars into the economy to combat the pandemic and its impact, his administration has put in place guardrails to ensure that the relief money gets into the right hands. His family, meanwhile, continues to go about its business.

Enter Howard Krein.

A doctor and the presidents son-in-law, Krein advised Biden during the campaign on issues related to the coronavirus while simultaneously running a venture capital firm. That entity, called Startup Health, has invested in entrepreneurs eager to combat the pandemic. Krein is listed on its website as the chief medical officer.

As Bloomberg and the New York Times noted, Krein was a regular participant during health care policy calls with the campaign due to his medical expertise. At the same time, Startup Health announced plans to invest $1 million in at least 10 different ventures addressing COVID-19. And while investing in the fight against the pandemic, the company itself struggled with the economic fallout.

According to publicly available data compiled by ProPublica, Startup Health was approved for a $340,290 loan through the Paycheck Protection Program in April 2020. (PPP loans are forgivable if the company meets certain requirements, including keeping their employees on the payroll at preexisting compensation levels.) The next month, Biden criticized the very program that his son-in-law's business was benefiting from because of what Id call a corrupt recovery thats focused on helping the wealthy, the well-connected, not the millions of mom-and-pops facing financial ruin, he said during a virtual town-hall meeting last May. The warning signs are flashing.

And there were concerns early on that relief funding was flowing to the particularly well-connected. As the Washington Post later reported after a Freedom of Information Act request and lawsuit, more than half the money the Treasury Department doled out from its small business emergency fund went to just 5% of recipients.

Startup Health seemed to have had a clean bill of fiscal health before the pandemic. When the company closed its second round of funding in September 2018, industry journal MedCity News reported that Startup Health had amassed $31 million in investments backed by the likes of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, California-based medical technology company Masimo, and notably the venture capital arm of the Chinese insurance company Ping An.

Part of an effort dubbed Health Transformers Fund II, Startup Health announced that the money would focus on medical innovations to fight cancer, expand access to health care for women, and improve overall nutrition and fitness and brain health. Each investment, an attempt to help people throughout the world, was dubbed a health moonshot.

But like so many other companies affected by the pandemic, Startup Health applied for PPP funding two years later in 2020. It also applied for, and was approved for, a second federal PPP loan, this one worth $318,522, less than two months ago.

Startup Health did not return RealClearPolitics request for comment, but there is no evidence the allocations were improper or that the president knew that his son-in-law was taking advantage of the program that candidate Biden criticized. He has, however, taken a keen interest in the company before.

As vice president, Biden helped put Startup Health in contact with the White House. He knew about Startup Health and was a big fan of it, Krein told the Philadelphia Business Journal in 2015. He asked for Steves number and said, I have to get them up here to talk with Barack. And as the Washington Post later reported, a subsequent meeting took place between the group -- which included Kreins brother, Steven -- and President Obama. They chatted in the Oval Office.

A White House official told RCP that the administration was not involved in any way in either federal loan. Consistent with our ethics policy, the official said in a written statement, the White House did not interact with any family members about this loan, nor with the SBA.

The White House directed RCP to a spokesperson, Carol Wilkerson, for the Small Business Administration, who declined to offer specific details on the Startup Health funding, citing the Privacy Act. Wilkerson did note, however, that once a lender approves a PPP loan, the SBA conducts a number of compliance checks, including verifying that the borrower is not on Treasury's Do Not Pay list, that the borrower is not listed as deceased, that the borrower is not using a duplicate tax identification number, and other checks. The applicant must also, while applying for additional PPP funds, demonstrate a 25% reduction in revenue from 2019 to 2020.

These compliance checks are part of a new process established for PPP loans made in 2021, Wilkerson explained. Unlike in the first rounds of PPP in 2020, SBA loan guarantees are contingent on passing these front-end SBA compliance checks during the application process.

The Biden administration has taken significant steps to ensure relief funds go to small businesses. According to the SBA, the percentage of loans approved for companies with fewer than 20 employees is up by as much as 94% when compared to previous rounds of aid.

SBA conducted an aggressive outreach campaign targeting underserved communities and lenders, Wilkerson told RCP. The effort yielded strong results and further demonstrated the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to reaching low- and moderate-income, rural, urban, and other underserved small business owners.

Biden, as president, has heralded the program. Were pushing lenders to raise their game and provide more help to many small businesses, he said before signing legislation extending the program in March. As you know, particularly Hispanic, as well as African American, small businesses, are just out of business because they got bypassed the first time around.

He called that extension a bipartisan accomplishment.
ROCHESTER, Minn. - At the same time the Chauvin trial jurors were deliberating this week, state lawmakers were in session, discussing police reform and public safety bills.

State Rep. Liz Boldon of Rochester is supporting two bills currently moving through the House: a bill that would prevent law enforcement from using tear gas, chemical weapons, and kinetic energy munitions like rubber bullets on the public; and a bill inspired by Daunte Wright to limit reasons why law enforcement can pull people over.

Boldon recently visited Brooklyn Center and heard reports of tear gas wafting into nearby apartment buildings, with children inside, during protests. As she has a nursing background, she is concerned about the health and safety ramifications of police using less-lethal weapons. "These less lethal munitions, we're seeing that they are not safe either. I spoke to a colleague yesterday whose son is a medic and was hit in the foot with a marker round, and now has a broken foot. Those kinds of things shouldn't be happening," says Rep. Boldon.

Now that the Chauvin trial has reached a guilty verdict on all three charges, Rep. Boldon says she's feeling relieved, but that the system is still broken. "The goal isn't necessarily to have more guilty verdicts. The goal is to be sure that Black people are not being killed, and that we are investing in Black communities, and that everyone across our state has the ability to be safe and cared for and thrive, that's the work that we need to do," she says.

Earlier this month, Minnesota Senate Republicans introduced a bill that would disqualify people who are convicted of illegal conduct while at a protest or rior from receiving state-funded loans, grants, or assistance.
[April 22, 2021] JinkoSolar Wins "Asia's Best Employer" Award for Third Consecutive Year by Optimizing Talent Development

SHANGRAO, China, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd ("JinkoSolar" or the "Company") (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, today announced that it has won the award for "Asia's Best Employer" for the third consecutive year. The Company's diversified talent training and development programs aims to promote a corporate culture that fosters innovation and leadership among teams. Organized by HR Asia, an authoritative human resources magazine, the award for "Asia's Best Corporate Employer" recognizes enterprises with outstanding performance in human resource policies, and is one of Asia's most authoritative awards in the field of human resource management. Every company shortlistd for the award goes through an independent review panel composed of senior professionals, renowned scholars, journalists, and government representatives in Asia. To ensure the objectivity of the professional evaluation and analysis of the final results, evaluations were conducted based on the "Employee Appraisal Report" and "Enterprise and Employer Engagement Survey Report".



JinkoSolar has continuously optimized its employment practices, in order to create a family-like working environment for all employees, and to cultivate and develop talent at different levels within the organization. JinkoSolar currently has a complete ecosystem of scientific, standardized and personnel management systems, and it has been recognized for promoting best practices and values in human resource management, enhancing corporate culture and fostering equality, accountability and integrity. Mr. Xiande Li, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer commented: "Talent is the cornerstone of an enterprise's strategy to stay competitive and continuously innovate and JinkoSolar places great importance on developing its talent pool. We cultivate excellent working conditions and provide continuous learning through employee development platforms for professional training and advancement. We are a people-oriented company and will continue to invest in the future of our people."

SOURCE JinkoSolar

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 20:18:24|Editor: huaxia

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YAOUNDE, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, together with several ministers and members of the diplomatic corps, has received the first shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in a move to encourage Cameroonians get inoculated.

They took the jab at a rollout ceremony held Wednesday in the capital of Yaounde.

"I feel good after taking the vaccine. I encourage all Cameroonians to do same," Ngute said shortly after getting vaccinated, adding that he was confident in the vaccine and hoped the inoculation of government officials will let residents feel safe to get the vaccine.

Efforts to fight the pandemic, including the voluntary vaccination program, require the full collaboration of the people of Cameroon, he said.

Cameroon launched its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 on April 12, a day after receiving its first batch of vaccines donated by China.

The Central African nation has so far acquired Sinopharm and AstraZeneca vaccines for its immunization campaign. Enditem
For 88 years, the masthead of St. Peters Universitys student newspaper has borne the name The Pauw Wow.

Its namesake, Michiel Pauw, was a 17th century Dutch merchant and colonial official among the earliest white landowners in modern-day Jersey City.

But earlier this month, editorial staff at the university announced that the newspaper would change its name to the Saint Peters Tribune, citing Pauws participation in systems of cruelty and oppression against Indigenous and African peoples.

As a university  and obviously our paper is student-led  we felt that it didnt coincide with our values and we felt that the name change needed to happen, said Victoria Bishop-Smith, a senior communications major and the papers editor-in-chief.

The movement to rename the newspaper began last year amid a nationwide reckoning over racial justice in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.

Over the past year, officials across the country have renamed dozens of schools, buildings, streets, and parks named for historical figures who held views now deemed racist or offensive.

Last September, Saint Peters student group Students for Peace and Justice issued a list of demands for the university to become more inclusive. The list included, among other things, the renaming of the newspaper.

At the time, Gineen Abuali, a history and political science major and the newspapers opinion editor, published an editorial titled Hypocrisy and Institutional Racism: The History Behind the Pauw Wows Name and Why We Must Change It.

Citing historians, Abuali wrote that Pauw was a settler-colonialist who helped perpetuate violence against Indigenous communities and actively participated in the slave trade. According to her editorial, Pauw exploited indigenous Lenape inhabitants for their land (now modern-day Jersey City) and imported slaves from Brazil for forced labor.

The play on pow wow used to create pauw wow is also degrading and offensive to Native American communities, Abuali wrote.

Travis Whisler, the universitys dean of students, said the name was kind of a double-hitter for social justice folks in its offensiveness. The administration and faculty welcomed the idea of a name change, he said, but the process was hardcore student-driven.

They did a phenomenal job and really kept the ball rolling, Whisler said.

After a seven-month-long discussion process between students, faculty, and alumni, the newspaper came up with a list of candidates for a new name. Through a process that involved checking for available website domains and possible copyright infringements, the university eventually settled on the Saint Peters Tribune.

The new name had a newsy feel to it and wasnt confrontational, Bishop-Smith said. We wanted something that would be clear and not have any bad connotations to it.

During the pandemic, the newspaper has gone fully online, but editorial staffers hope to print the first physical editions of the Tribune this fall.

Pavonia, the Latin version of Pauw, means peacock, which is the schools mascot. Saint Peters officials say the peacock was chosen to represent the birds symbolism in Catholic tradition, and is not related to the Dutch settler.

But Pauw is the namesake for Jersey Citys Pavonia Avenue and the Pavonia branch of the Jersey City public library.

Theres so much Dutch influence on Jersey City, and Dutch men like Pauw, and I think that has to be something that has to be looked into more, Abuali said.

Maybe thats a project that Ill do when I graduate.
Sen. Murkowski Breaks From GOP to Vote for Bidens Associate Attorney General Nominee

One Republican joined the 50 Democrats to vote in favor of President Joe Bidens associate attorney general nominee, Vanita Gupta, confirming her nomination with a 51-49 vote.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said from the Senate floor on Wednesday that she had an extensive conversation with Gupta, and that she was impressed by her professional credentials and the passion that she carries with her with the work that she performs.

All other Republicans voted against Gupta, citing her past comments and positions on abortion, gun rights, law enforcement, and religious liberty.

In her opening statement during her hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in early March, Gupta said she would work to uphold the Constitution and not any partisan agenda.

If confirmed, I will aggressively ensure that the Justice Department is independent of partisan influence, she said at the time. That independence is part of a long tradition, and it is vital to the fair administration of justice and preserving the publics trust and confidence in our legal system.

Republicans questioned her past comments, which have been widely viewed as highly partisan.

Her Twitter feed has painted Republicans with a broad brush, describing our national convention last year as three nights of racism, xenophobia, and outrageous lies, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said during his opening remarks.

Would that kind of partisan political advocacy affect her legal advocacy in a role where she represents all Americans? Grassley asked.

Murkowski said that Guptas past statements were troubling and concerning, but she was going to give the benefit of the doubt to a woman who I believe has demonstrated through her professional career to be deeply, deeply committed to matters of justice.

Gupta led the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division during President Barack Obamas second term.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) praised his fellow civil rights lawyer, saying that lawyers can go from being partisan to defending the law.

So why couldnt somebody with a civil rights background also be entrusted to take an oath and follow the law and fight for justice, said Kaine.

Murkowski said that during her exchange with Gupta, they discussed domestic violence among native women in Alaska, an issue the senator said is deeply important to her.

As we discussed these issues, I felt that I was speaking to a woman who had not only committed a professional life to try to get to the bases of these injustices, to try to not just direct a little bit of money to put a program in place, and walk away and call it a day, but to truly try to make a difference.

And so, I will be casting my vote in support of her in about an hour here, she concluded.

Murkowski has previously broken from her Republican colleagues, notably, when she voted with Democrats to impeach former President Donald Trump earlier this year.
Photo: The Canadian Press A traveler wearing a protective mask, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, walks through the nearly empty JetBlue terminal at Logan Airport in Boston, Friday, May 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Charles Krupa

Discount U.S. airline JetBlue is expanding its operations with its first flights to Canada.

The New York-based airline says it will launch flights between Vancouver and New York, as well as seasonal service to Boston, starting in the summer of 2022.

The move is part of plans to add seven destinations to its route map from New York or Boston starting later this year. It is also adding Honduras.

JetBlue says in a news release the expansion is part of the next phase of the alliance between JetBlue and American Airlines that was authorized by the U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this year.

The move comes ahead of what the travel industry hopes will be a surge in travel from pent-up demand as COVID-19 vaccinations expand and the pandemic wanes.

Scott Laurence, head of revenue and planning at JetBlue, says customers and crew members have been asking to add flights to the middle of the U.S. and into Canada.

"We cant wait to shake up the status quo in these markets currently dominated by high-fare carriers," he stated.

JetBlue will have to compete with Canadian airlines, including Air Canada and WestJet Airlines.

Vancouver Airport Authority CEO Tamara Vrooman says it is "delighted" that JetBlue has selected Vancouver as its first Canadian destination.

"As we move through the pandemic and prepare for a safe and healthy return to non-essential travel, this new service, scheduled for Summer 2022, gives us all something to look forward to."
Dominic Raab clashed with MPs today as he defended the UK's decision to slash aid for the world's poorest by 4billion because of the pandemic.

The Foreign Secretary was told that delays to signing off cash for aid agencies - which should have been done almost a month ago - had left them in a state of flux.

He faced the International Development Committee today after last night's confirmation that official development assistance (ODA) was being slashed from from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of gross national income.

He would also only pledge to return aid to its previous level 'once we recover' from the coronavirus pandemic.

Committee chairwoman Sarah Champion accused the Foreign Secretary of 'sneaking out' the announcement in a written ministerial statement (WMS) shortly before the end of the working day.

She revealed that an aid agency in Syria had faced funding problems because money for this year had yet to be allocated.

She told him: 'People are going hungry because we are not signing off cheques.'

The Foreign Secretary was told that delays to signing off cash for aid agencies - which should have been done almost a month ago - had left them in a state of flux.

Yemeni volunteers prepare food aid for Iftar, the meal traditionally taken after sunset prayers during Ramadan, to be distributed to the poor and needy in Sanaa

Committee chairwoman Sarah Champion accused the Foreign Secretary of 'sneaking out' to announcement in a written ministerial statement (WMS) shortly before the end of the working day.

But an angry Mr Raab hit back, saying: 'I don't accept your headline view that we are not still maintaining our proud legacy and tradition of being generous by global standards and no one is going hungry because we haven't signed cheques.

'That is just not true.'

Mr Raab last night set out how 8.11 billion of the aid budget would be allocated by the Foreign Office - approximately 80 per cent of the total UK spend - including 906 million for humanitarian preparedness and response.

Work involving that money will focus on countries most affected by risk of famine, including Yemen, Syria, Somalia and South Sudan.

The Government expects just less than 10 billion to be allocated to departments for aid spending in 2021/22.

Aid for China is being cut from 18million to just 900,000, with what remains being focused on pro-democracy projects.

Mr Raab today rejected accusations of 'sneaking out' the cuts to foreign aid, claiming that thematic spending would not 'normally' be set out at this point of the financial year.

Asked why he did not make the announcement in the Commons, Mr Raab told the International Development Committee: 'First of all, we wouldn't normally set out the thematic allocations, the spending, at this early stage in the financial year.

'In fact, I think it's almost unprecedented. So, what I have tried to do is set out the raw data, broken down by allocation.

'We haven't done this in anything other than a fully transparent way, given it to the committee, and indeed members of the House, the day before, precisely so that you can grill me for the two hours you have got me here today.

'The normal process, just to be clear, is for country allocations to be published by the Statistics for International Development, and that process doesn't take place until 2022.'

Last night aid agencies said the anouncement was 'a tragic blow for many of the world's most marginalised people the UK once supported, and for the UK's reputation as a trusted development partner'.

In a joint statement, agencies including Save the Children, Oxfam, ONE, Christian Aid, Care International and The HALO Trust said: 'The government has not even spared countries ravaged by humanitarian crisis, disease, war and poverty.

'When other nations are stepping forward and bolstering their aid budgets, the UK has instead chosen to step back.

'In a year when the UK has the chance to show leadership at G7 and COP26, withdrawing vital investment needed to keep everyone safe from health pandemics, conflicts and climate change, is the wrong move.'

Save the Children chief executive Kevin Watkins added: 'These cuts will trim UK borrowing by a fraction, but devastate lives across many of the world's poorest countries.

'At a time when the UK should be leading the international community in responding to the climate crisis ahead of the climate summit, it is slashing aid to communities on the front line of that crisis.

'The UK's hard-won reputation for international leadership in aid is in tatters.'
Amsterdam, 22 April 2021 - Heineken N.V. (HEINEKEN) announced today that its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) has adopted all proposals on the agenda of the AGM. The most important resolutions are listed below.

Appointment of Executive Board Member

The AGM approved the appointment of Harold van den Broek as member of the Executive Board HEINEKEN for a period of four years, until the AGM of 2025. Harold van den Broek will take up the position of CFO of HEINEKEN as of 1 June 2021 and will work together with Laurence Debroux to ensure a smooth transition. HEINEKEN is grateful to Laurence for her many contributions to the Company over the past six years.

Dividend

The AGM approved the dividend proposal for the year 2020 of EUR 0.70 per share. The dividend will be made payable on 6 May 2021. Heineken N.V. shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 26 April 2021.

Re-appointment of Supervisory Board Member

The AGM re-appointed Maarten Das as member of the Supervisory Board for a four year term.

Appointment of Supervisory Board Member

The AGM appointed Nitin Paranjpe as member of the Supervisory Board for a four year term.

Re-appointment of External Auditor

The AGM re-appointed Deloitte Accountants B.V. as external auditor for the financial year 2022.

At the end of the AGM, Christophe Navarre stepped down from the Supervisory Board as he has completed his 12 year tenure.

The voting results per agenda item of the AGM of Heineken N.V. of 22 April 2021 can be found on the HEINEKEN website: www.theHEINEKENcompany.com/investors/governance/agm.

-ENDS-

Press enquiries

Sarah Backhouse / Michael Fuchs

E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com

Tel: +31-20-5239-355



Investor and analyst enquiries

Federico Castillo Martinez/ Janine Ackermann / Robin Achten

E-mail: investors@heineken.com

Tel: +31-20-5239-590

About HEINEKEN

HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 300 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. HEINEKEN is committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. It employs more than 80,000 employees and operates breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken N.V. and Heineken Holding N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIA NA and HEIO NA and on Reuters under HEIN.AS and HEIO.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receipt, and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitterand Instagram.

Attachment
Green is gold -- Xi Jinping innovates fight against climate change

Xinhua) 14:51, April 22, 2021

Aerial photo taken on June 9, 2017 shows the scenery of a cottage at Yucun Village of Anji City, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is joining world leaders on Thursday at a virtual summit on climate change hosted by his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.

Responding to climate change is the common cause of all humanity, Xi has said, adding that it should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries, or an excuse for trade barriers.

The Chinese president has been paying close attention to ecological and environmental issues. While actively championing global actions to fight climate change, he underscores the issue as a long-term strategy vital to his country's modernization and its people's well-being.

GREEN IS GOLD

At the beginning of the 1990s, Yucun, an idyllic mountain village in China's eastern Anji County, Zhejiang Province, decided to end poverty by tapping the potential of its natural resources.

By mining for limestone and manufacturing cement, Yucun became one of China's richest villages with an annual revenue of more than 3 million yuan (460,000 U.S. dollars).

However, it was not long before the villagers found it a Faustian bargain. Their hometown turned into a real eyesore with its pitted land, turbid rivers and dust haze.

Aerial photo taken on June 8, 2017 shows the scenery of Yucun Village of Anji City, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Cheng)

Yucun was not the only village in Zhejiang that had seen its eco-system degrading. To address the ever deteriorating problem, the province committed itself to building an "ecological province" in 2003.

Within three years, Yucun shut down three limestone quarries and a cement factory, which accounted for 95 percent of its annual income, causing much fear amongst the villagers.

A heated debate emerged about the relationship between economic development and environmental protection -- a relationship that was inevitably rocky during industrialization across the world.

In 2005, Xi, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Yucun. He assured the villagers that their move to close those factories was "wise."

People visit Yucun Village in Anji County, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 22, 2019. (Xinhua/Tan Jin)

"Mountains and rivers green are mountains of silver and gold," he said at the village's simple and humble meeting room.

Nine days later, in a commentary carried by Zhejiang Daily, Xi, using the pen-name "Zhe Xin," called for pursuing harmony between man and nature as well as harmony between the economy and society, in order to have clear water and green mountains along with "mountains of silver and gold."

The "two mountains" concept, later developed into Xi's thought on ecological civilization, has encouraged numerous Chinese cities and villages to pursue high-quality and sustainable growth through protecting the environment and developing green industries.

When Xi returned to Yucun 15 years later during an inspection tour in Zhejiang in March 2020, the village has transformed into a place featuring buildings with traditional white walls and black tiles, colorful flower fields and exquisite lotus ponds. The villagers made much more money than in the past thanks to a tourism boom.

The path of green development is correct, Xi said.

The path, wrote the United Nations Environment Programme in a report, "is beyond and does away with traditional development patterns and models, guiding the transformation of the production methods and the lifestyle of the entire society."

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 12, 2020 shows a clean energy heating station in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

CLIMATE AGENDA IN XIPLOMACY

Xi also proposed the signature concept of "two mountains" when addressing the global audience at the Climate Ambition Summit held online at the end of 2020.

He was calling for pursuing a new approach to climate governance that highlights green recovery in a year when the world was going through not only a COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallouts but also one of the three warmest years on record.

On his diplomatic agenda, Xi has time and again stressed the importance of upholding multilateralism, unity and cooperation to tackle climate change.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the just-concluded Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 held in China's tropical island of Hainan, Xi urged Asian countries to strengthen cooperation on green infrastructure, green energy and green finance, and to make green a defining feature of Belt and Road cooperation.

Aerial photo taken on April 27, 2020 shows wind power installations in Weining County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)

Earlier this month, at a video summit held with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Xi called on the European Union (EU) to work together with China to strengthen the China-EU green partnership.

Since 2020, Xi has held six phone talks with the French president, in four of which they compared notes on strengthening coordination and cooperation on tackling climate change.

China and European countries have been working closely on the global fight against climate change after the former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration abandoned the Paris Agreement.

Biden has decided to return his country to the landmark global deal on climate change, which was agreed on by almost every country in the world in 2015 after lengthy negotiations in the French capital.

Photo taken on Sept. 18, 2020 shows the Hunshandake Sandland covered with forest and grass in Duolun County of Xilingol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Peng Yuan)

DELIVERING ON PROMISE

At present, the international landscape is evolving more rapidly and COVID-19 is triggering deep reflections on the relationship between man and nature, Xi said, opening his speech at the Climate Ambition Summit.

His country has been seeking to use the pandemic as a springboard into a greener and more resilient future.

Addressing the general debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, the Chinese president announced that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

If successful, according to the Climate Action Tracker, it would lower global warming projections by around 0.2 degrees to 0.3 degrees Celsius.

While environmentalists welcomed the Chinese pledge as a "game-changer" for the climate and a move that could encourage other countries to act faster, some raised doubts about the viability of the targets given that China is an emerging economy still heavily reliant on coal, and asked for concrete action plans.

A new energy heavy-duty truck is pictured at Yuhua Steel in Wuan, north China's Hebei Province, Nov. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Xiao)

In its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), a key policy document that will heavily influence the nation's economic development in the next decade and beyond, Beijing outlined last month that energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 13.5 percent and 18 percent over the period, respectively.

Furthermore, an action plan for hitting the peak of carbon emissions by 2030 is expected to be unveiled within the year.

"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," Xi said at the China-France-Germany video summit.

The low-carbon commitment, it is estimated, requires China to make the transition from reaching its carbon peak to realizing carbon neutrality within 30 years, compared with the 60 years taken by most developed countries.

The task is extremely challenging, Xi said, but China will deliver on its promise.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
By David Ljunggren and Allison Lampert

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's government said it would temporarily bar passenger flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days starting on Thursday as part of stricter measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The center-left Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted after prominent right-leaning politicians complained Ottawa had not done enough to combat a third wave of infections ripping through Canada.

The ban, which takes effect at 11.30 p.m. (0330 GMT Friday), does not affect cargo flights.

India on Thursday recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 COVID-19 infections amid fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope.

Canadian Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that while Indian citizens accounted for 20% of all international arrivals, they represented over 50% of the positive tests conducted by Canadian airport officials.

"By eliminating direct travel from these countries, public health experts will have the time to evaluate the ongoing epidemiology of that region and to reassess the situation," she told a news conference.

The conservative premiers of Ontario and Quebec - the most populous of Canada's 10 provinces - wrote to Trudeau earlier on Thursday urging him to crack down on international travel.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Canada would not hesitate to bar flights from other nations if needed.

Britain said earlier that India would be added to its "red-list" of locations from which most travel is banned due to a high number of COVID-19 cases.

In addition, France is imposing a 10-day quarantine for travelers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and India, while the United Arab Emirates has suspended all flights from India.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren and Allison Lampert; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Peter Cooney)
Indonesia officials say they are looking for a missing submarine with 53 individuals on board that went missing throughout a military exercise on Wednesday. They are requesting assistance from neighboring Singapore and Australia in the search.

The Indonesian Ministry of Defense said the KRI Nanggala-402, a German-made submarine, lost contact during a torpedo drill in the Bali Strait, a stretch of water connecting the Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea between the islands of Java and Bali.

Indonesia seeks for missing submarine with 53 people on board

According to the report, before losing contact, the submarine requested authorization to sink or submerge at 3 a.m. local time (3 p.m. ET). Around 7 a.m. local time, an oil leak was seen in aerial observation near the dive point, said the statement.

On Wednesday night, Indonesian Navy spokesman Colonel Julius Widjojono told local media that the oil spill was "highly believed" to have originated from the vessel, CNN reported. He said that the submarine can dive to a depth of 500 meters below sea level but that they are now concerned that it has descended to 200 meters lower than that depth. He said, "Let's pray for them so they can survive."

The navy said the oil leak on the surface might indicate damage to the submarine's fuel tank or signal from the crew. According to a spokesperson, the military chief will hold a press conference from Bali on Thursday to provide more details about the search. Soleman Ponto, a military observer, said it was too early to speculate about the submarine's fate, as per the SCMP.

Canada To Spend Big To Help Recover Battered Economy, Set a Greener Course

Military chief Hadi Tjahjanto told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that they were looking for 53 people in the waters off Bali, 60 miles (96 kilometers) away. The Ministry of Defense said the search is carried out by two Indonesian warships armed with side-scan sonar, a device used to chart the seafloor. The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO), which coordinates an international response to stranded submarines, lends a hand to the search.

Several countries have offered to help, including India, Singapore, and Australia. A statement from the Ministry of Defense said that the 1,395-ton KRI Nanggala-402 was designed in 1977 by the German shipbuilding firm Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) and entered the Indonesian Navy in 1981.

According to the Indonesian cabinet secretariat's website, the submarine underwent a two-year refit in South Korea, which was completed in 2012. In the past, Indonesia had a fleet of 12 submarines that it bought from the Soviet Union to patrol the seas of its vast archipelago.

It currently has only five submarines, two of which were constructed in Germany and three of which were built in South Korea.

Kim Jong-Un Orders North Korea Missiles To Be Fired 'Any Time'

Indonesia calls on Australia, Singapore for help

Indonesia has requested assistance from Australia and Singapore to hunt for the lost naval submarine carrying 53 people. During the torpedo military exercise, officials fear the submarine sunk to the bottom of a trough with a depth of 2,300 feet. Several navy vessels have been sent to hunt for the missing submarine, as per Daily Mail.

"The submarine lost contact and could not be reached after permission was granted according to protocol," Indonesia's Defense Ministry said.

Australia's Foreign Minister, Marise Payne, said that the country would help in every way possible.

Indonesia has been working to improve its defense capability. But some of its current equipment is outdated, and there have been fatal incidents involving older military transport planes in recent years.

During a training exercise in the mountainous area of Papua in 2016, an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed into a cliff, killing all 13 people on board. In 2015, an Indonesian military transport plane crashed two minutes after takeoff into a northern suburban area, killing over 100 people.

China Leader XI Jinping Confirms To Take Part In US President Joe Biden's Climate Summit

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This years Gigginstown Aberdeen Angus sale will take place next Saturday, April 24.

Starting at 3pm, the sale will be a heifers-only online auction through www.MartEye.ie.

The sale of Gigginstown bulls continues privately.

Gigginstown House Stud and Gigginstown Estate, famed for bloodstock and livestock, are owed by Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary.

The annual Angus sale on the 1,100-acre holding has been popular with Irish and international buyers for well over 20 years.

I spoke to Gigginstown Estate manager Joe OMahony about the sale of heifers, and the ongoing sale of bulls.

Denis Lehane interviews Michael O'Leary of Ryanair and farm manager Joe O'Mahony, ahead of his annual Gigginstown House Aberdeen-Angus herd production sale of pedigree Aberdeen-Angus bulls and heifers. Picture: Jeff Harvey.

This year, we are selling approximately 25 bulls aged 17 to 20 months, and a selection of heifers including maiden heifers in calf and some on the point of calving or recently calved, Joe said.

As of now, bulls have been selling privately, similar to last year, due to current Covid regulations, with buyers viewing stock by private appointment.

Buyers this year have been moving quickly to purchase bulls, as less bulls are being presented for sale at auctions due to Covid regulations, and more sales are occurring in breeders yards.

There is also an increased demand from dairy farmers, possibly due to improved calf prices and an increase in the number of dairy cows.

As usual, we have five-star bulls on offer with low calving difficulty figures, making them suitable for both suckler and dairy herds.

Due to many enquiries, we have included some red Angus bulls and heifers in this years selection, and they always prove popular.

We have been overwhelmed by the response from breeders to our brochure, and to the Gigginstown House Angus Facebook page, which features photographs and videos of all our bulls, and the heifers scheduled for next Saturdays sale.

We welcome interested farmers and breeders to visit us on the farm, by appointment, where our heifers and young bulls can be viewed in a socially distanced manner.

Since we cannot hold the public auction on Saturday, due to Covid-19 restrictions, we will continue to sell our bulls privately, but such was the interest from all over the country with regards to our heifers, that we have decided to move the heifer sale online.

Purchasing

Appointments to view or purchase stock can be made by contacting Joe OMahony at 087-7809113, or Pascal Keegan at 044-9372379.

The Angus stock on offer can be viewed on the Irish Aberdeen Angus web page or on the Gigginstown Angus Facebook page.

Angus is now the number one beef breed in Ireland and indeed the world, says Co Cork breeder John Appelbe.

He is a renowned breeder of pedigree Hereford and Angus.

John farms near Clonakilty, the family farm looks onto the Galley Head lighthouse and Inchydoney Bay.

Both breeds have come to the fore in the Irish beef industry, with successful marketing by both breed groups leading processors to pay a strong breed premium, welcomed by beef finishers.

John is a fourth-generation cattle breeder.

His great grandfather, Henry Appelbe, showed cattle at the first Clonakilty Show in 1901.

Two years ago, Johns son Eric showed cattle at the same agricultural event.

John is a former President of the Irish Angus Cattle Society, and a regular visitor and buyer at the Gigginstown Angus sale.

As we can sometimes get lost in the jargon used in discussing pedigree stock, I asked John, what should a buyer look for when purchasing Angus stock, in laymans terms.

Well, you need to get the fundamentals right first.

"Docility, legs, feet, ease of calving, and short gestation.

These factors should be fundamentally important to buyers, which in turn makes them fundamentally important to the seller.

Nowadays, its important that animals look well.

"In the last couple of years, the preference is for high indexes which ultimately mean, in laymans terms, they have a lower carbon footprint and are more environmentally friendly.

Choosing

And why choose Angus? I ask.

There is a combination of reasons. Mainly because of their sustainability.

"They calve themselves, suck themselves, no dehorning is necessary.

"The Angus is a very efficient animal at turning grass into meat and, most importantly for consumers, Angus meat is much sought after because of its special taste and tenderness.

"The Appelbes Carrigroe herd has produced some of the highest index animals in Ireland and has exported Angus cattle all over Europe and as far away as Texas.

"However, most buyers are local. One customer last year referenced that he has been buying bulls off the Appelbes for over 50 years."

What of the purchases John has made in Gigginstown?

Weve had great luck with our purchases from the Gigginstown Herd.

To put it bluntly, theres great return on the investment both financially and for the profile of our herd.

"Gigginstown has sourced some of the best cow families in the world, and we tapped into this genetic pool to improve our herd, and it worked.

Management

The Gigginstown Herd is managed by Joe OMahony, a Drimoleague native.

Joe is a real stockman, says John Appelbe. He has built up the Gigginstown herd to a household name.

"Michael OLeary is lucky and smart to have Joe managing the business for him.

"Normally, we look forward to the Gigginstown sale, as its a family day out, but this year, due to Covid, the sale will be online.
Doctors at a hospital in Vietnam have managed to remove an 8kg ovarian tumor from the abdomen of a woman who had refused to undergo surgery when the tumor was first detected over four years ago.

N.T.H., 27, revisited Xuyen A General Hospital, located in southern Tay Ninh Province, recently because the tumor doctors had found in her right ovary had grown to the point that it occupied her entire abdomen, Dr. Ho Tien Duy, head of the hospitals general surgery department, said on Wednesday.

H. was hospitalized with throbbing pain in her abdomen and lumbar spine, as well as difficulty breathing, Dr. Duy added.

After a two-hour surgery, hospital doctors announced that they had successfully removed the tumor, weighing 8kg, from H.s abdomen.

Four years ago, the patient first came to Xuyen A General Hospital to undergo clinical tests for a family planning method, Dr. Duy recounted.

Hospital doctors detected her tumor, the size of an orange at that time, so they advised H. to have a surgery to remove it.

H. and her family opted for folk treatment instead, as she was breastfeeding her first child then.

Ovarian tumors are common among young women, according to Dr. Bui Chi Viet, professional director of Xuyen A General Hospital.

The majority of these tumors are benign, with surgery to remove them being the only solution.

Some ovarian tumors, however, are malignant, requiring close coordination between radical surgical methods with chemotherapy after surgery to prevent recurrence and helping improve the quality of post-surgery life for the sick.

Dr. Viet recommended that patients quickly consult a specialist for prompt advice and treatment once any abnormal change is detected in their body, be it benign or malignant.

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[April 22, 2021] Vaccines: More cooperation, less speculation

BEIJING, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on China's attitude towards China-US trade friction: Recently, there have been media reports saying that a Chinese official "admitted" low effectiveness of the country's COVID-19 vaccines. Given that many countries have already approved or started using Chinese vaccines, such reports undoubtedly caused a panic. Vaccines: More cooperation, less speculation

https://youtu.be/69a0QE94MaE The so-called "admission" in those foreign media reports was actually an out-of-context quote from Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Speaking at a recent conference, Gao analyzed the overall COVID-19 vaccination strategy, and proposed sequential inoculation of different vaccines to further improve their efficacy. The foreign media reports distorted his words. Trying to increase protection rates doesn't mean denying the effectiveness of Chinese or other vaccines. Other experts have also pointed out that various factors need to be considered when judging protection rates. However, no matter what, countries should focus on increasing protection rates and containing the spread of COVID-19. Besides doubting the effectiveness f vaccines, there emerged other voices that China, with a low vaccination rate, will once again become a source of coronavirus infection and transmission. According to data from China's National Health Commission, as of April 21, more than 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across the country. The absolute number is by no means low, but China has a huge population, so the vaccination rate is currently not high. In addition, as COVID-19 is under control in China, people generally feel safe and have shown low willingness to get vaccinated. But as the pandemic is being brought under control globally, cross-border movement will resume as normal sooner or later. Increasing the vaccination rate will not only protect the people in China, but is also the responsible thing to do for the world. To this end, China has adopted multiple measures, such as setting up vaccination sites in neighborhoods and near office buildings, to make it easier for the public to get vaccinated and build an "immunity barrier" to the greatest possible extent.



The highly contagious COVID-19 causes high rates of mortality and continues to mutate, earning it a nickname "the most cunning virus" known to mankind. It has inflicted considerable harm on humanity. Scientists around the world have developed vaccines against the virus in an unprecedentedly short period, but there must remain many scientific problems that need to be solved. In the face of the shrewd virus and repeated outbreaks, humanity needs to demonstrate solidarity and strengthen exchanges and cooperation on vaccines and other fronts, rather than needlessly pointing fingers and slandering others. China will spare no effort in fighting the virus and safeguarding people's health. The country is always ready to work with the rest of the world to make this a reality. China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Vaccines: More cooperation, less speculation

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2021-04/22/content_77431109.htm View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vaccines-more-cooperation-less-speculation-301274704.html SOURCE China.org.cn

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Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature is arguably the most sought-after upgrade on electric vehicles (EV), but it is also riddled with controversy after allegedly causing deadly car crashes as of late.

Another controversy is about to get uncovered after a demonstration shows how easy it is to trick the EV autopilot feature into activating without someone sitting on the driver's seat.

EV fans must be warned that this simple hack is not recommended to ensure the driver and passengers' safety.

The Tesla Full Self-Driving Hack: How to Activate the Feature Remotely

After reports of death involving Tesla's autopilot feature, engineers from Consumer Reports tested if it is possible to trick the FSD activate without its driver and had successfully done so by using a weight.

According to their report on Thursday, Apr. 22, their experiment did not only prove that the FSD failed to detect if the driver is paying attention, but it also cannot detect if the driver is present at all.

"Tesla is falling behind other automakers like GM and Ford that, on models with advanced driver assist systems, use technology to make sure the driver is looking at the road," said Consumer Reports senior director of auto testing, Jake Fisher.

Fisher, who led the demonstration, engaged the Autopilot feature while their Tesla Model Y was running, and then brought it to a complete stop before hooking up enough weight on the steering wheel to simulate the weight of a driver's hand.

He then slid away from the driver's seat without opening any of the EV's doors to avoid disengaging the Autopilot feature and used the steering wheel dial to accelerate and stop the vehicle's speed.

"The car drove up and down the half-mile lane of our track, repeatedly, never noting that no one was in the driver's seat, never noting that there was no one touching the steering wheel, never noting there was no weight on the seat," Fisher exclaimed.

He warned that their team was able to perform the experiment on a private track, and under any circumstances should not be replicated in the real-world setting.

Also Read: Elon Musk Claims Tesla Autopilot Now 10x More Efficient, But Analysts Say There's Still a Flaw

Tesla's FSD Controversy

Following the crash in Houston involving a Tesla Model S that killed two passengers, critics are quick to point out that self-driving cars are still far from reality.

Fisher was one of those critics, who quickly pointed that there are no self-driving cars, despite what Tesla has advertised.

Moreover, Elon Musk's claims that the crash yielded no FSD data did not stop the Texas police to demand the tech CEO to turn over the FSD data from the fatal crash.

Harris County Constable Precinct 4's Mark Herman told Reuters on Apr. 20 that if Musk was able to tweet about the FSD's lack of role in the crash, then the data should already be on his hands.

Related Article: Tesla Model S Plaid to Have 5x Faster Charging With Hybrid Supercapacitor, But It Has a Downside

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Leigh Mercer

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[April 22, 2021] 100 Year Old Manufacturing Company Successfully Optimizes Field Operations with ProV's Intelligent Service Management Solutions During Covid-19

TAMPA, Fla., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ProV International, the global consulting firm that helps organizations streamline their customer, employee and digital experiences, recently signed on with Gosiger to enhance their Field service operations, bringing efficiency and better results. Given the organization was battling to improve service during the pandemic, the ProV team came in to optimize service operations and successfully pulled it off with flying colors. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the normalcy of operations with its unpredictable twists. Gosiger, the family-owned & operated corporation, is a renowned machine tool distributor and manufacturing solutions provider. Their constant need for innovation and fast turnaround times led to a fruitful partnership between the Dayton, Ohio-based distributor and ProV International. ProV helped Gosiger implement an integrated field service management solution for accelerating day-to-day business results and revenue. Gosiger focused on optimizing manufacturing performance and needed a simplified field service management system that addressed the existing usiness gaps. The corporation required an effective service management solution that would allow its employees to engage with customers in more innovative ways. The idea was to leverage their vision about reshaping the customer experience.



Gosiger joined forces with ProV, because they are a trusted source for service management solutions. With extensive field service management experience, the global consulting firm has carved a niche for helping clients prioritize their needs and those of their customers. ProV devised a phase-wise implementation of their service management solution based on their on-field analysis. In line with Gosiger's vision of improving customer experience, the IFS field service management software helped the client take advantage of the field service customer portal to enhance customer experience and engagement. "We began the process of doing a field service software version upgrade right before the Covid-19 pandemic began. While this presented many challenges, ProV maintained a professional approach to the project which allowed us to complete the upgrade while managing through all of the other challenges associated with the business disruptions. It is easy to be a good partner when things go well. ProV proved to be a good partner even when things got challenging. Because of their commitment to us, we have continued our commitment to them by entering into a continuing support contract through their applications management support offering. With this contract in place, we are getting the continued post go live support we need to continue to get the most out of IFS field service management." said by Roger O'Connor, Executive Vice President at Gosiger.

Despite the safety challenges posed by the pandemic, ProV helped Gosiger generate and share reports at customer locations through a mobile device. They also ensured automated generation of preventive maintenance tasks, monitored repository health remotely and set them up with a system to help generate invoices to the customer in parallel to their external accounting system. ProV has helped the client capitalize on the new field service software implementation and pave the path for intelligent working with automated processes. It has also helped tackle the underlying issue of employee safety especially, during unprecedented times. ProV prides itself in its cutting-edge service management solutions aimed at improving customer satisfaction and lowering downtime. About ProV International. Inc ProV International is a global IT consulting firm that specializes in streamlining processes, increasing service quality and keeping workplace productivity high. We promise to reduce your business's complexity with innovative tech solutions you won't be able to find anywhere else. Serving a large spectrum of customers, we believe and invest in your organization's vision and goals. Start a conversation with us at https://www.provintl.com/contact-us Press Contact: Lisa Wiggins

8132812959

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Having hardware floating around hundreds of miles above the Earth is very expensive business. Thats why the station has been jointly built and operated by the American NASA, Russian Roscosmos , Japanese JAXA, Canadian CSA, and European ESA. This select group is poised to lose one of its founding members real soon.Rumors of Russia pulling out of the ISS have been around for a while now, but this week Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin confirmed the move, saying it will happen in 2025, according to Vestnik Kavkaza . No further details about the withdrawal were provided, apart from the fact that the Russian module of the ISS will remain where it is and be handed over to whoever will remain on the station after the middle of this decade.Despite their many problems on Earth, Russia and the U.S. have always been reliable partners in space. Theyve shared the ISS in peace, American astronauts were sent up there by means of Soyuz rockets countless times in the period between the death of the space shuttle program and the rise of the Crew Dragon, and both supported the cost of operation.Russia is now leaving ISS because it seems it has found enough resources, possibly together with China, to build its own space station. A first module, called Nauka, is already in the works and planned for launch later this summer. According to Rogozin, it will be attached to the ISS before being moved to the new station once work begins on that one.
- bp's energy expertise and Infosys' advanced digital capabilities will be leveraged to develop a digitally-enabled integrated energy offer

- To be piloted at Infosys' Pune campus, and later be scaled to other Infosys campuses, cities, and industrial and business parks

BENGALURU and MUMBAI, India, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting and bp, a global integrated energy company, today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which both companies intend to work together to develop an integrated Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) offering that will provide end-to-end management of a customers' energy assets and services.

Together, the companies intend to explore opportunities using bp's energy and mobility expertise and Infosys' digital capabilities to manage energy assets, provide low carbon power, low carbon heating/cooling, and low carbon mobility to campuses, driven by an AI-based digital platform. bp's integrated energy offer draws on technologies and businesses in solar and wind together with gas for power, fuels, electric vehicle charging, battery swapping and advanced mobility solutions.

The integrated Energy-as-a-Service solution aims to enable Infosys campuses to access reliable low carbon energy and mobility options, use energy more efficiently, and to optimize supply and demand across multiple users and assets, without having to invest in additional energy infrastructure.

Following a pilot at Infosys' Pune campus, the companies intend to extend the offer to other Infosys campuses and explore opportunities to manage energy and reduce emissions at industrial and business parks as well as cities.

Infosys achieved carbon neutrality in 2020 - 30 years ahead of the timeline set by the Paris Agreement. bp has an ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world get to net zero. Together, both companies see potential in applying digital services to integrated energy solutions and help decarbonize corporations and cities.

Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, said, "Digitization will act as a driver for decarbonization and building work and living spaces of the future. With the present advancement in technology, we can create solutions that provide positive impulses, transparency, control, and enhanced decision-making. Infosys has had a long-standing commitment towards sustainability. We have crafted ambitious ESG goals for the next decade, continuing to focus on reducing emissions and co-creating solutions for a no/low carbon future. bp - our strategic partner for the last 16 years - shares our ambitions for a net zero carbon future and this partnership gives us a perfect opportunity to co-innovate and co-create the Integrated Energy and mobility offering leveraging Infosys digital prowess and bp's expertise in sustainable energy solutions. Together, we will strive towards a cleaner and greener future."

Sashi Mukundan, President, bp India and SVP bp group, said, "Integrated energy and mobility solutions have huge potential to enable clean cities powered by low carbon energy, and digital platforms are a vital component. We are excited to work with Infosys to explore how digitally-enabled integrated energy can deliver reliable, efficient and low carbon energy for Infosys campuses. Through this strategic collaboration, bp and Infosys can combine our capabilities to manage energy for Infosys in India, and in time take this offer to other campuses, industrial parks and cities, to help the world decarbonise faster."

bp in India

With a century-long business presence in India, bp is one of the largest international energy companies in the country. In addition to their gas value chain partnership, bp and RIL earlier this year also completed the formation of their major retail, aviation fuels and mobility alliance. bp's activities in India also include Castrol lubricants, oil and gas trading, clean energy projects through Lightsource bp, IT back office activities, a new global business services center, staffing and training for the global bp marine fleet, and the recruitment of skilled Indian employees for bp's global businesses.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg
Equipped with just a pan and sieve, a group of amateur scientists comb the beach looking for tiny bits of plastic that are near invisible to the naked eye but belie their threat.

"There's evidence that we are breathing it, ingesting it in our foods. There's lots of studies showing it's in our water, it's in our food products," said Scott Wilson, research director of the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP).

"There's a good chance all of us will have some type of microplastic in our bodies at some stage - the question is what harm is that having?"

The widespread use of inexpensive disposable products has surged in the last 50 years and AUSMAP estimates approximately 12 million metric tonnes of plastic seep into oceans around the world every year.

But since plastic is not biodegradable, it breaks down into smaller pieces over time.

These fragments -- known as microplastic -- have even been found in some of the most remote of locations, including the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench - the deepest place on Earth - and in ice cores in the Arctic.

Little is known about how harmful microplastics are, Wilson said. A 2019 study by conservation group WWF International concluded that people could be ingesting the equivalent of a credit card of plastic a week.

A pressing need to establish how widespread and harmful they are prompted dozens of amateur scientists to sign up to help AUSMAP.

"If this is going to help find answers as to how we can prevent it getting it there and maybe cleaning up what's there, then it's worth doing. It's definitely worth doing," said Sarah Cook, a Sydney resident who is one of the volunteers scanning for microplastic.
Kenneth James Gleason, 27, is currently on trial for the murders of two black men he fatally shot during what prosecutors in the case called a '4-day streak of terror'

A white Louisiana man who allegedly killed two black men in a four day shooting spree searched the internet for 'Nazi propaganda', 'genocide' and 'white supremacist', prosecutors say.

Kenneth James Gleason, 27, is charged with the first-degree murder of Donald Smart, 49, and second-degree murder of Bruce Cofield, 59, in Baton Rouge in September 2017.

Gleason's spree began on September 11 when he allegedly fired shots into his black neighbors home. No one was injured, but two people were in the house at the time.

On September 12 he allegedly gunned down Cofield, and then killed Smart on September 14.

He is currently standing trial only in Smart's killing, but evidence from the Cofield homicide and the nonfatal shooting is also being introduced.

Gleason's internet search history on his phone was compared to the timeline of his alleged murders and shootings by FBI special agent Jeff Methvin.

Methvin testified at Gleason's trial on Wednesday, The Advocate reports.

Gleason is accused of killing Donald Smart (left) and Bruce Cofield (right) during a 'four-day streak of terror'

The two black men were killed during a 'four-day streak of terror' in Baton Rouge in September 2017, prosecutors say

Gleason kicked off this four-day shooting spree on September 11, 2017 when he allegedly fired three shots into the only home on his block with a black family.

The day after the non-fatal shooting of his neighbors house authorities say he searched 'aggravated assault on property,' Methvin testified.

The following day, on September 12, Gleason allegedly shot and killed 59-year-old Cofield, who was homeless at the time, as he sat at a bus stop.

The day after shooting Cofield, Gleason searched the terms 'best Nazi generals,' 'The Most Dangerous Game' and 'preliminary hearing' on his phone, Methvin testified.

On the night of September 14 Gleason allegedly shot 49-year-old Smart as he was making his way to his overnight shift as a dishwasher.

The day after killing Smart the special agent says Gleason searched for the 'zodiac killer', 'serial killer' and local news sites for coverage of the murder.

Gleason allegedly searched the terms 'Nazi propaganda' and 'white supremacist' during his four-day shooting spree where he killed two black men and shot at his neighbors home. He is pictured being escorted to a police car in Baton Rouge on September 19, 2017

In both shootings, police say that Gleason shot at the victims from his car then walked up to them as they were lying on the ground and fired again multiple times.

On September 16 phone records indicate that Gleason searched for information regarding Louisiana license plate laws- including how to get a fake plate and the penalty for not having one.

This search happened days after a witness testified that she saw Gleason driving into a parking lot of a local business on September 12 and remove the license plate from his Ford Focus.

He also allegedly covered up identifying marks on the car with duct tape, the Advocate reports.

'The timing of these searches is very important,' Assistant District Attorney Michelle Fulton said.

Gleason's attorney Jarrett Ambeau argued that his search history was not relevant because it included a wide array of searches, good and bad, including searches for Jesus and the Christian faith, along with European artists, as well as bad things like Nazis, WAFB 9 reported.

Methvin agreed that Gleason's search history was 'very, very diverse and eclectic.'

When police searched Gleason's home after his arrest say they found a copy of an Adolph Hitler speech at his home.

Though officials have said the shootings were possibly racially motivated, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III said they have yet to uncover any concrete evidence to confirm that motive.

Donald Smart, 49, was shot dead as he was making his way to his overnight shift as a dishwasher

Bruce Cofield, 59, was homeless at the time he was shot dead

All of Gleason's victims during his shooting spree were black.

Prosecutors said the phone records also indicate that Gleason was in the area at the same time Donald Smart was killed.

Special agent Methvin testified that Gleason's cell phone pinged off a cell tower nearest to the crime scene at the same time Smart was gunned down.

He added that this was the only time Gleason's phone was in that area in the previous 45 days.

Prosecutors also said that DNA evidence linked Gleason to the home shooting and Cofield's shooting death and that ballistic evidence linked Gleason to the two fatal shootings and house shooting.

The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab determined the same 9mm gun was used in all three instances, although no gun was ever recovered.

Jim's Firearms president Jim McClain testified that Gleason purchased a CZ 9 mm with a 15-round magazine prior to the shootings.

Gleason also attempted to purchase a silencer but failed a background check and never received it. second-degree murder for Cofield's shooting death and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting up of his neighbors home.

In addition to the first-degree murder charges on Smart, Gleason faces second-degree murder charges for Cofield's shooting death and two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting up of his neighbors home.

The trial continues.
18 monarchs of the Hungarian Kingdom were coronated in St Martins Cathedral, the biggest church in Bratislava.

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This article was published in Bratislava City Guide. With this detailed, pocket-sized guide, it is impossible to get lost in the Slovak capital.

St Martins Cathedral is the biggest and most noteworthy church in Bratislava, which reached the height of its importance between 1563-1830 as the location for the coronation of 18 monarchs of the Hungarian Kingdom.

Before that, the cathedral started life as a tiny 13th-century Romanesque church, originally on the top of what is now Bratislava Castle Hill. In 1221, Pope Honorius III gave permission for the church to be moved to the area beneath the hill, but congregations soon outgrew it as the city flourished. Construction of a gothic building started in the early 14th century and was eventually consecrated in 1452. Further reconstructions continued, including the addition of a bigger, late-gothic presbytery between 1461-87, until the cathedral assumed more or less its present form.

It is a three-nave structure, each of the same height, constructed by the same workshop responsible for St Stephens in Vienna. Although its interior is suitably ornamental, much of the cathedrals exterior is relatively plain, especially compared with other gothic cathedrals. This is owing to the cathedrals dual purpose as part of the citys fortifications. Its entrances, whose importance changed over the centuries, are on its sides and its western facade, with its front comprising part of the fortification wall. Remains of the city walls are preserved today at the southern end of the cathedral.

After the Hungarian Kingdom lost the Battle of Mohacs to the Ottoman Empire in 1526  yielding its capital Buda and its coronation city Szekesfehervar  Bratislava (then Pressburg) became the de facto capital of the displaced Hungarian monarchy and the cathedral was used for coronations. With renewed importance, the cathedrals interior was rebuilt in the baroque style, with most of the work attributed to the prominent Austrian baroque sculptor Georg Rafael Donner, who had been invited to Pressburg by Archbishop Imrich Eszterhazy.

Donner spent about a decade in Pressburg, when the cathedral got a new main baldachin altar, featuring three of Donners lead sculptures. Flanked by two angels, the central sculpture depicts St Martin on a horse cutting his cloak to share it with a beggar. The coronation of Maria Theresa took place in front of this altar in 1741. Donner also built the Chapel of St John the Almoner to hold the mortal remains of the Cypriot saint from the 6-7th century. The archbishop is now also buried in the chapel.

In the 19th century, the cathedral underwent further extensive renovations, this time to remove almost all the baroque elements and replace them with gothic features. The main baroque altar was re-assembled and while the equestrian sculpture of St Martin remained in the cathedral, the angels were moved to Budapest. Only the Chapel of St John the Almoner and its interior kept its original style.

The current shape and look of the cathedral dates more-or-less from this period. Its main entrance is from the northern nave, beneath an 85-metre high tower that is topped with a gilded copy of the crown of St Stephen. It is 1.6m high and 300kg in weight, an appropriate reminder of the significance of the cathedral during coronation times. Contemporary visitors can see in the cathedral a vast haul of treasures amassed here during its 550 years of existence. These include all the precious items used during holy masses: chalices, reliquaries, bishops crosiers and chasubles, etc., plus exceptional paintings and wall adornments. Probably the most precious exhibited piece is the 109-cm high gothic monstrance. There is also a treasury located in the sacristy below the tower and in the adjoining chapel.

In the western facade is the Chapel of Sophia of Bavaria, which once served as an archive containing 3,285 medieval documents and more than 23,000 papers from the period after the 1526 Battle of Mohacs, as well as several liturgical books. The crypts beneath the cathedral were used for burials up until the end of 19th century, and are now accessible via the Chapel of St Anna in the cathedrals northern section. The door at this end was previously the main entrance portal for the church and is decorated by a tympanum featuring a relief of the Holy Trinity. The chandelier in the three-nave hall with eight columns is from the end of the 16th century. The cathedral continues to be the home of the Bratislava Archdiocese and apart from holding holy masses, weddings and other religious events, it is also the venue for frequent concerts. In the past, Ludwig van Beethoven premiered his Missa Solemnis here and Franz Liszt is also believed to have premiered some of his works in the cathedral. The organ from 1880 was replaced in 2010 with a piece by the German organ master Gerald Woehl.

Opening hours:

The church is open Mondays through Sundays but closed on Saturdays during weddings.

Ticket prices:

Admission is 2,5. Entrance is free on Sundays.

For more pricing options see the website of St Martin's Cathedral.

St Martin's Cathedral (Katedrala sv. Martina) Address: Rudnayovo namestie 1, Bratislava; Phone: +421 2 544 1359; Website: dom.fara.sk

Related article

Related article Bratislava travel guide: Lost in Bratislava? Impossible with this City Guide! Read more

22. Apr 2021 at 7:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
The agriculture reforms undertaken by the Indian government, which are facing oppositon from farmers, can increase the country's economic growth if implementation risks are addressed, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday while affirming India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-' with a negative outlook.

The rating agency said the Indian government remains reform-minded as evidenced by the passing of agricultural and labour market reforms. "These reforms could lift growth if implementation risks are addressed, particularly for the agricultural reforms which have met stiff resistance by farmers," it said.

The three farm laws -- Farmers (Empowerment & Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance & Farm Services Act 2020, Farmers Produce Trade & Commerce (Promotion & Facilitation) Act & Amendment to Essential Commodities Act -- are being opposed by the farmers.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting at the borders of Delhi against these laws for almost four months now.

Also read: Shortage of industrial oxygen, raw materials to hit over 1,200 engineering units

Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Central government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country. However, the protesting farmers say the laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of MSP (minimum support price) and do away with the "mandi" (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

Multiple round of negotiations between the government and farmer unions have failed in finding a solution. In January, the unions rejected the Centre's proposal to suspend the three laws for 18 months.

Fitch also said that the Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme announced by the government could boost private sector investment.

The government has approved PLI schemes for various products like electronic and technology, white goods, solar PV modules, pharmaceutical drugs, among others, to boost domestic manufacturing and create jobs in the country.

In the medium-term, India's GDP growth is seen at around 6.5 per cent, Fitch said. The rating agency forecasted 12.8 per cent GDP growth for India in the fiscal year ending March 2022 (FY22) and said it will moderate to 5.8 per cent in FY23.

Also read: Fitch sees India's FY22 GDP growth at 12.8%, affirms 'BBB-' rating
Scott Stafford has been a reporter, photographer, and editor at a variety of publications, including the Dallas Morning News and The Berkshire Eagle. Scott can be reached at sstafford@berkshireeagle.com, or at 413-496-6301 and on Twitter at @BE_SStafford.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 22) will participate in Leaders' Summit on Climate hosted by US President Joe Biden, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday.

The US President has invited world leaders from around 40 countries for the two-day virtual Summit to discuss the climate crisis with the major economies.

During the first season of the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to make his remarks on "Our Collective Sprint to 2030.

The Leaders' Summit on Climate will be held at 5.30pm IST. All the 40 world leaders invested by Biden are US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate.

The External Affairs ministry said in a statement, the summit leaders will exchange views on various issues related to climate action, including nature-based solutions, climate security as well as technological innovations for clean energy.

The leaders will also deliberate on how the world can align climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, while respecting national circumstances and sustainable development priorities, it added.

The theme of the summit is mobilisation of private and public sector finance by the major-economies in order to help vulnerable countries with the climate change crisis, per the US state department.

The 40 world leaders who are expected to be seen at the summit along with PM Narendra Modi are Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among others.

Meanwhile, all sessions of the summit is going to be live-streamed and is open to the public.

Live TV
The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine proposes to triple  from UAH 10 to UAH 30 per tonne  the rate of the environmental tax on carbon dioxide emissions, the corresponding provision is contained in the so-called "resource bill" drafted by it, which is available to Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the document, the Ministry of Finance will also initiate a stage-by-stage, until January 1, 2029, a 10-fold increase in the rates of this tax on discharges of pollutants into water bodies.

It is supposed that from July 1 this year, when this bill may come into force, the rates will be doubled, and from January 1, 2022, they will increase annually by another 100% of the current rate (or 10% of the final rate).

The government proposed to adopt a similar resource bill (No. 4101-d) in a package with the law on the state budget 2021, but the MPs refused to do so. In that bill, there was a similar provision on a phased increase in the environmental tax on discharges. As for the tax on carbon dioxide emissions, it was also proposed to increase it in stages last autumn  at UAH 5 per tonne  until 2024.
Islamabad, Aug 27: Major General (Retd) Nasirullah Babar, former Pakistan interior minister and prominent Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader alleged that the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report was passed on to India by Mustufa Khar, former governor and a minister in late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government.

The report on the fall of Dhaka to India in 1971 was recently published by an Indian monthly and created a lot of criticism in the country against the Musharraf government with the politicians demanding an inquiry on how the report found its way to India.

Denying the impression that the report must have been passed on to India during Nawaz Sharif's tenure in office, Mr Babar said the report was not available with Sharif.

Maj. Gen. Babar said during Bhutto's regime there was a tradition to keep the cabinet, the provincial governors and the chief ministers informed on all important state secrets and new developments through a note. But they were supposed to return the important documents before they left the venue of the cabinet

meeting.

''It was possible that Mr Mustufa Khar did not return the document,'' he added. ''And when Gen. Zia-ul-Haq took over, Khar might have dodged him with a promise to bring some important documents against Bhutto. But he escaped the country and remained in England for many years''.

Gen. Babar said the commission report should have been released, if not for the army which requested Mr Bhutto not to release it as it would tarnish the image of the armed forces. The army officials apprehended that they would face a tough time from the people.

 UNI
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he gives his annual state of the nation address in Manezh, Moscow, April 21. AP-Yonhap



President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday against "crossing the red line" with Russia, in a major annual speech that the opposition hoped to tarnish with mass protests.



Thousands of supporters of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny took to the streets of Moscow and other cities after Putin delivered his annual state of the nation address, with police detaining more than a thousand protesters, according to a monitoring group.



The protesters are demanding that Navalny, who launched a hunger strike three weeks ago, be freed or at least given proper medical treatment after his doctors said his health was failing and he could die "at any minute".



AFP journalists saw large crowds gathered in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, though not on the scale of pro-Navalny demonstrations seen earlier this year, when tens of thousands rallied and thousands were arrested.



The West has backed the calls for Navalny to be freed and provided with medical care, one of a litany of disputes that have raised tensions with Moscow to new highs.



In the speech, Putin said Moscow would respond swiftly and harshly to moves against its interests.



"The organisers of any provocations threatening the fundamental interests of our security will regret their deeds, more than they have regretted anything in a long time," Putin said.



Putin unsurprisingly made no mention of Navalny in his speech  he has always refused to use the name of his most prominent opponent.



He did however hit out at rivals abroad, with Moscow and Western capitals at loggerheads over a Russian troop build-up on Ukraine's borders and a series of espionage scandals that have resulted in diplomatic expulsions.



Putin said it had become "a new kind of sport" in some foreign capitals to blame Russia "for anything".



He said Russia wants good relations with everyone, but warned of an "asymmetrical, swift and harsh" response if that was seen as a weakness.



"I hope that no one will think of crossing the red line in relation to Russia. And where it will be  we will determine that ourselves," Putin said.



Much of Putin's address was devoted to a slew of announcements of new social spending and aid to families, as the longtime leader looks to shore up support for his deeply unpopular United Russia party ahead of parliamentary elections in September.





Police officers surround protesters during the opposition rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, April 21. AP-Yonhap



More than 1,000 detained



Navalny's supporters were hoping to steal Putin's thunder with a series of mass protests starting from 7 pm in cities across the country.



Demonstrations took place in large cities in the Far East, the Urals and Siberia including Vladivostok and Novosibirsk.



Defying warnings and a huge police presence, the protesters in Moscow marched through the city centre near the Kremlin chanting "Freedom" and "Putin is a thief!"



Police said 6,000 people had gathered in the capital.



"This is a fight for the future  we don't have any here," 51-year-old protester Andrei Zamyatin told AFP in central Moscow.



"Navalny is trying to change the system and is being punished for it."



In Russia's second city Saint Petersburg some 4,500 protesters gathered, police said.



A few hours after the demonstration began, an AFP journalist in Saint Petersburg saw security forces move in to forcefully detain the protesters, with at least one man hit with a taser and police chasing people into subway stations.



More than a thousand people were detained across the country, according to monitoring group OVD-Info, among them Navalny ally Lyubov Sobol and his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh in Moscow.



While only 20 people were detained in the capital, more than 350 protesters were rounded up in Saint Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, which tracks detentions at opposition protests.





Supporters carry a banner reading "SAVE NAVALNY" in front of the Chancellery in Berlin on April 21. EPA-Yonhap
Civic groups representing people with disabilities call for the eradication of discrimination against disabled people during a rally near the Ministry of Health and Welfare building in Sejong, Tuesday. The event was organized to mark the Day of the Disabled People in Korea which falls on April 20. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on vulnerable groups in society, and exposed Korea's ill-prepared support network for the disabled population in case of national disasters and infectious disease outbreaks.



During the early stages of the pandemic, disabled people experienced limited access to face masks and COVID-19-related information due insufficient communication platforms, as well as medical services. Also, for people with severe physical disabilities, the mandatory self-isolation rule came as a challenge.



A man surnamed Kim, 37, who was only able to use his left arm due to his physical disability, had to endure his self-isolation period without any help from others. Kim, who lived alone in Daegu, was put under 14 days of self-isolation after he came into close contact with a person who tested positive in April, 2020.



Other than a self-isolation kit containing rice, instant noodles and kimchi, no additional support was provided for him. His only meal a day was a microwaved meal-kit, with the only other option for Kim was to order food and crawl to the door to get it.



That account was shared during a discussion session on "COVID-19 and disabled people" organized by Rep. Choi Hye-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Tuesday. The event was held to mark the Day of the Disabled in Korea, which falls April 20.



Lawyers and civic activists pointed out the absence of tailored response measures for the disabled population during the year-long pandemic, and shared their opinions on how to increase support for them.



The Ministry of Health and Welfare has introduced support measures including urgent care services, as care centers for the disabled and similar facilities were shut down due to the pandemic. But many of the measures failed to reach those in need, according to civic groups.





Civic groups representing people with disabilities hold a rally in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea building in Seoul, in this Feb. 26, 2020 photo, demanding the eradication of discrimination against disabled people in anti-COVID-19 measures. Yonhap



One reason for this was a lack of communication between central and local governments, according to a report released by?Duroo Association for Public Interest Law on the current status of disabled people's human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic.



"The health ministry issue guidelines to local governments on providing support services for disabled people in their areas. But provincial governments are reluctant to carry out such programs as they require a lot of money. This results in a gap between the government's guidelines and actual support," the report stated.



Lee Ju-eun, a lawyer at Duroo Association, said that such problems will continue unless the government comes up with comprehensive infectious disease response measures for the disabled.



"The government has been continuing to introduce support measures only after problems arise. The belated measures devised from the perspective of non-disabled policymakers often fail to reflect the actual needs of disabled people," Lee told The Korea Times.



She called on the government to cooperate with the disabled community in devising detailed manuals to ensure the disabled population's access to information, fundamental medical services and sufficient care.



Lee viewed that the manuals should be included in the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, so that they can be applied in case of infectious disease outbreaks in the future.



Meanwhile, a shortage of caretakers in the social welfare system has placed a heavy burden on families with disabled people, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Center for Disabled Children and Developmental Disabilities in Ulsan.



Among 777 parents of children with development disabilities, 54 percent said their children's challenging behavior, such as self-harm, aggression and impulsive actions increased due to longer hours spent at home, and 75 percent replied they were suffering from mental stress looking after them.





Paintings by citizens promoting equality for people with disabilities are displayed at the lobby of Jung-gu Office in Daegu, Tuesday. Yonhap
The Red Planet has been quite trending lately, and it's not slowing down anytime soon, because NASA and its Mars rover just did another amazing thing.

CNet reports that the NASA Perseverance Mars rover was able to create breathable air on the surface of the planet, all by pulling a tiny bit of oxygen out of the atmosphere which is comprised of 96% carbon dioxide.

The rover was able to do this using a toaster-sized machine called MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment), which was able to achieve the feat by literally peeling off oxygen atoms from CO2 molecules, allowing it to "create" the breathable air.

This amazing scientific achievement comes only a day after NASA successfully flew a helicopter, named Ingenuity, above the surface of Mars.

Read also: Never Before Seen Scenery From Mars: Perseverance Sends Selfie Back To Earth Before Successful Landing

Cutting-Edge Technology at Play

Accomplishing a feat never before seen in human history, the NASA Mars rover used cutting-edge technology in taking one of the earliest steps towards a planned colonization of the Red Planet.

With MOXIE, the NASA rover heated the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to around 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit. This allowed it to separate what little oxygen atoms it could from the CO2 molecules, while churning carbon monoxide as a byproduct of the process, according to Engadget.

About five grams of oxygen was produced, which is enough to give one person 10 minutes' worth of breathable air. But if MOXIE was put to work at its full capacity, it can produce around 10 grams of oxygen an hour, as stated on the official NASA website.

A Step Closer to Colonization?

Colonizing the Red Planet has been a hot topic for many years now, and the creation of breathable air on its surface is sure to make people even more excited about the possibilities.

Several of the world's biggest technology advocates, such as SpaceX founder Elon Musk, are great proponents of Mars colonization. And it's not just multi-billionaires like Musk, too. Architecture studio ABIBOO has been cooking up plans for Nuwa, the first city on Mars, which they believe will be ready by the year 2100.

But with the success of the MOXIE experiment, are we actually inching closer and closer to sending people there? Going back to Musk and Nuwa, he says that construction of the city will happen far sooner than expected: within the 2020s, as he said in a tweet. The only hurdle for SpaceX now is the time it will take for the company to clear its starships for space flight.

Related: SpaceX Starship Prototype SN11 That Was Successfully Launched Last Week Was Destroyed During Landing

What's Next for NASA And MOXIE?

Future plans for the MOXIE experiment and the Mars rover's mission involve further testing of the machine's capabilities, writes NASA. Now that the first phase is completed, it will now move on to the second where MOXIE will be run in different atmospheric conditions, like different times of day or seasons. And for the third phase, MOXIE will be pushed even more by making it try new operating modes. It will also be expected to extract oxygen at least an additional nine times over the next two years.

This article is owned by Tech Times



Written by RJ Pierce

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party in the Atiwa East Constituency of the Eastern Region has expressed their profound gratitude to President Akufo Addo for nominating the MP for the area, Hon. Abena Osei Asare for the second time as Deputy Finance Minister.



In an effusive praise, the group also lauded the efforts of the Deputy minister-designate for her sterling leadership as MP which has brought hope to the teeming youth in the constituency.



To them, her appointment is a clear testament of the confidence the President reposes in their MP based on how she efficiently discharged her duties in the first term.



They pledged their unflinching support to Hon Osei Asare to enable her live up to expectation.



"Before coming to power in 2017, one of the major challenges to Constituency was massive youth unemployment. You however brought hope to the youth. You secured jobs, scholarships and other opportunities for the youth. It was therefore not surprising that in the 2020 elections, you improved upon the party's 2016 performance," the youth wing said in a statement copied Peacefmonline.com











Read full statement below...





The Entire Atiwa East Youth Wing wishes to thank President Akufo Addo for honouring their MP with yet another position and also congratulates the Deputy Ministerial Nominee for her hardwork and dedication to the welfare of the youth.



You have devoted yourself to the service of the New Patriotic Party and mother Ghana.



You executed the task assigned to you as Deputy Finance Minister with diligence.



You worked relentlessly to improve the standards of living of your constituents. You have brought massive development to the Atiwa East Constituency.



Before coming to power in 2017, one of the major challenges to Constituency was massive youth unemployment. You however brought hope to the youth. You secured jobs, scholarships and other opportunities for the youth.



It was therefore not surprising that in the 2020 elections, you improved upon the party's 2016 performance.



The Atiwa East NPP Youth Wing is very optimistic that you will make the Constituency and the District proud once again.



Congratulations Hon. Abena Osei-Asare, Deputy Finance Minister nominee.









Signed



Morvey Benjamin, Atiwa East NPP Youth Organizer

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
[April 22, 2021] RADWIN's Professional Services Steps it Up with Remote Lab for Hands-On Training

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- RADWIN (www.radwin.com), a leading global wireless broadband solutions provider, today announced the successful completion of its first technical certification training using a newly launched remote lab. Providing comprehensive hands-on-training for South American and African partners, the Remote Lab paves the way for additional training for all RADWIN's global partners. Sparked by the pandemic last year, RADWIN's customers worldwide were faced with travel and social distancing restrictions. They weren't alone: According to McKinsey management and consultant company, approximately 50% of in-house programs in North America and close to 100% of those in parts of Asia and Europe were cancelled in Q2, 2020. As hands-on training is a mandatory part of RADWIN Academy certification training, cancellation is not an option. Logistics in setting up classroom training are complex under regular conditions, but even more critical in the aftermath of COVID-19. To overcome these challenges, RADWIN's Professional Services established a Remote Lab at its headquarters in Tel Aviv. Initial live sessions were held in March, with attendees from over 16 countries, spanning exico, central America, Brazil and South Africa.



"It was great to be able to work with equipment from the recent series," said Abraham Cancino, from Projects and Special Sales division of Maya Quetzal in (Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico) "The instructors were very good. {During} the practical course, it was great to have {RADWIN's} help all the time, especially as it was the first time that I had interacted with RADWIN's equipment." "Innovation and adapting to evolving needs have always been a top priority for our Professional Services Program, so we weren't going to let the pandemic prevent us from training our clients," said Dan Weitzman, Vice President, Global Professional Services. "Despite COVID-19 restrictions, we quickly adapted to the new environment and the needs of our partners for physical practice of RADWIN's equipment".

As of April, 2021, the Remote Lab's real equipment includes a variety of Point-to-Point (PtP) and Point-to-Multipoint ( PtMP) setups and IDU-S units. Now students can remotely connect to the lab and practice with RADWIN's extensive range of radio systems and operational support systems (OSS). The trainer can supervise sessions over dedicated class management software. In addition, instructors can even demonstrate WINTouch mobile application installation and configuration processes using a connected phone mirrored to the desktop. "RADWIN's practical training allowed us to clarify many of the technical foundations for PtP to PtMP families theoretically and verify them in a practical laboratory," stated Jorge Saldua, of Bogota, Colombia, Pre-Sales Manager at Winncom. "The great logistics and laboratory infrastructure allowed me to consolidate without fear of errors. With labs, you can carry out different practices and topologies and to know and reinforce what is seen in theory." Following the success of its launch, RADWIN continues to offer supervised remote hands-on training as an efficient and viable certification option. If you are interested in partnering with RADWIN and would like to learn more about our WINClub Partner Program, click here. About RADWIN: RADWIN is the global provider of broadband wireless solutions that deliver blazing-fast broadband with unparalleled reliability. Incorporating cutting-edge technologies, RADWIN's solutions are equipped with powerful OSS tools that support all operational aspects of the network lifecycle and enable operation in the toughest conditions including interference and nLOS. Deployed in over 170 countries, RADWIN's solutions power applications including backhaul, access, private network connectivity, and broadband on the move for rail and metro trains. RADWIN Sales

HQ: +972-3-769-2820

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Amanda Azran

Tel: +972-3-766-2904

Email: pr@radwin.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/radwins-professional-services-steps-it-up-with-remote-lab-for-hands-on-training-301274910.html SOURCE RADWIN

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Statement by Ambassador Byrne Nason at UNSC Briefing on the Situation in Colombia

Statement

Thank you Mr President, and I want to thank the SRSG, dear Carlos, for your continued hard work and that of your team.

And it is great to see you Minister Blum  good to see you again with us. Minister, I want to pay tribute to the tireless efforts that your Government and the people of Colombia are making to build peace. We know this requires determination and persistence right across society and the political system. We are heartened by the considerable progress made. We reiterate our strong support to all parties as they work towards full implementation of the agreement.

Mr President, I would like to make three points this afternoon.

First, we share the concerns expressed at the persistent levels of violence in some parts of the country. Over the reporting period, the number of former combatants, social leaders and Human Rights Defenders who have been killed has worryingly increased further. We recognise the concerted efforts the government is making to protect those targeted. But, the urgency of curbing this violence, including that faced by indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, cannot be overstated. We urge the Colombian Government to work in key affected municipalities to establish its presence and build trust with communities.

Reports of child recruitment by illegal organisations and recent reports of children killed in cross fire are also of deep concern.

Holding those responsible for violence to account is critical in building trust and sustaining peace.

Mr President,

While we note the progress recorded in the implementation of the gender chapters, more work needs to be done to ensure the full implementation of gender and ethnic provisions across all chapters of the agreement.

We reiterate our support to the Special Forum on Gender and all entities working to secure justice and equality. We also encourage continuing efforts to combat gender-based violence.

My second point, Mr President, is the crucial role constructive dialogue plays in building trust and maintaining momentum particularly at this critical juncture. That is why the recent meeting between President Duque and Rodrigo Londono, that you helped facilitate Carlos, was so important  such a positive development.

We encourage both parties to continue working together on the proposed implementation roadmap. We also urge that the progress in the meeting carries through to the important platform for dialogue and partnership provided by the Commission for the Follow-Up, Promotion and Verification of the Final Agreement.

My final point, Mr President, relates to transitional justice and the proposed expansion of the mandate of the Verification Mission.

Investment in peace is not just a financial or administrative concern. The most vital investment in peace is belief; its trust.

Transitional justice, centred on victims, and with the full participation of women, is the bedrock for Colombias own future. 2021 is the decisive year for both Colombias transitional justice system and the Truth Commission. We have already seen important progress in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace on cases 1 and 3.

It is now crucial that former combatants, members of the public security forces and third parties to the conflict provide exhaustive and truthful accounts of crimes committed, that they recognise their responsibilities and contribute to reparations. The Comprehensive System for Truth, Justice, Reparation and Non-repetition provides the framework needed. It is a real demonstration of this precious and innovative peace agreement in action. All those who engage with the system need to be protected.

Ireland welcomes the proposed expansion of the Missions mandate and looks forward to the Council adopting the resolution as soon as possible. The UNs independent verification of the restorative sentences can help bolster trust in the system for victims.

Mr President,

As I conclude, I wish to take a moment to applaud the decision by the Colombian government to grant temporary protection status to Venezuelan refugees and migrants, a response based on common humanity and deep respect for human rights. The generosity of Colombia serves as an example to the world and demonstrates to us all, that we really do  as the Irish language proverb says - live in each others shelter.

Thank you.

 Previous Item | Next Item 
(Alliance News) - Dignity PLC on Thursday lost a shareholder vote on the future of its executive chair, the latest twist in the funeral services and prepaid funeral plans provider's dispute with its biggest shareholder.

Dignity said 55% of voters at a general meeting on Thursday supported a motion to remove Clive Whiley as board chair. The proposal was tabled by Phoenix Asset Management Partners, which has a 30% stake in Dignity.

The company noted that 61% of voters backed adding Gary Channon to the Dignity board as an executive director.

Prior to the vote, Dignity accused Phoenix of acting in its "own self-interest" and said Channon lacks the "skills and judgement" to run the firm at an executive level. Channon is Phoenix's founder and chief investment officer.

In addition, three Phoenix directors will depart following the vote.

"Each of the independent directors, being Gillian Kent, Dean Moore and Paul Humphreys believe their positions as directors as a result of the resolutions being passed will be seriously compromised. Gillian Kent and Paul Humphreys have reluctantly concluded that they would be unable properly to perform their duties as directors on the reconstituted board. They have accordingly tendered their respective resignations from the board with immediate effect," Dignity said.

"Dean Moore has also tendered his resignation, although given his position as interim executive finance director, he has expressed his willingness to serve his three months' notice period should the newly constituted board request this."

Dignity's new board includes Channon, James Wilson and Andrew Judd. Wilson joined Dignity as a non-executive back in May 2019 and is a partner at Phoenix. Judd, a board veteran, joined what is now Dignity back in 1996. He fronts the group's day-to-day funeral services operations.

Phoenix on Thursday said it was "delighted" with the general meeting result.

"We now have to show our ourselves worthy of it and we will get straight to work on that today," Phoenix added.

Dignity shares were 0.9% higher at 650.00 pence each in London on Thursday afternoon.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A Syracuse man who authorities say is a member of the Proud Boys extremist group has been arrested and charged with conspiracy and other counts in connection to the January siege at the U.S. Capitol.

In a federal indictment, authorities accuse Matthew Greene of conspiring with others to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College votes, as well as other charges including disorderly conduct and destruction of government property.

Greene is accused of being among those who went past barriers and into the U.S. Capitol. Information about an attorney for Greene was not immediately available.
As Connecticut speeds toward what Gov. Ned Lamont has referred to as a new normal, many restrictions are set to be lifted next month, but a requirement that people wear masks indoors will likely remain for now and there are no plans for a state-run vaccine passport system.

In announcing a broad lifting of restrictions in two phases next month, Lamont said this week masks would be required for a while longer, but hinted that could change in the future.

Other states, most notably Texas and New Hampshire, have started to lift this mandate as more people get vaccinated and infections remain relatively low.

On Wednesday, Lamonts office said the state Department of Public Health continues to review guidance on masks, including the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Infections in Connecticut have remained largely stable, despite a slight bump earlier this month. Hospitalizations, considered by officials to be one of the key indicators, have also remained within a safe range for capacity.

Connecticut reported a positivity rate of 2.81 percent of new COVID-19 tests on Wednesday. Hospitalizations saw no net change, remaining at 507 statewide. An additional seven people died from the virus for a total of 8,027 fatalities.

With the increased vaccinations, a small number of states, including New York, have instituted a vaccine passport  a way to prove someone is inoculated to access large events.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for Lamont said the governor does not have plans for the state to run a vaccination passport program.

Through the end of March, Lamont said it was too soon to talk about vaccine passports, but said he could see a sort of validation or passport system in Connecticut. He stopped short of saying one would be implemented by the state, saying at the time it might be led by the private sector  echoing a similar comment made by President Joe Biden.

With infections rates and vaccination progress in mind, Lamont announced the plan to lift restrictions, first on outdoor events, including removing a requirement people wear masks outside, and then a broad lifting of restrictions on May 19.

But speaking about wearing masks indoors during his announcement Monday, Lamont said: Whether its a mandate or guidance, I will figure that out with the legislature in the next few weeks.

On Tuesday, Lamont said more things will be open on May 19 and working with my friends in the legislature, that we wear your mask a little bit longer when we are indoors.

The last phase of the plan goes into effect the day before Lamonts emergency declaration comes to an end. So the decision on masks may come in consultation with the legislature, Lamont reiterated on Tuesday.

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, who believes it makes sense to keep the indoor mask requirement in place for a while longer, said the legislature will likely focus less on what the governor seeks in an executive order, but rather if the emergency declaration is needed.

[The governor] continues to need some flexibility, Ritter said.

Quickly vaccinating those who havent received a dose is seen as essential for success with the easing of restrictions and important to the governors decisions going forward.

The state reported Monday that 61 percent of the adults had received at least one dose of the vaccine. State officials are optimistic that at least 70 percent of people will be vaccinated by the end of the month and the percentage will continue to climb in May.

The important thing is to keep driving forward with these vaccinations. Thats another key factor in these decisions, the success weve had with the program and the success weve enjoyed. But we are at the point now where we are seeing, as we predicted when we get to late April here, more supply than demand in certain parts of the state, said Josh Geballe, Lamonts chief operating officer.

While a majority of adults age 45 and older have received vaccines, officials believe many more residents age 16 to 44 will get vaccinated by May 19.

Tens of thousands of residents continue to get vaccinated a day in Connecticut and Geballe said they hope that continues for the next several weeks until we get those younger age groups up into the higher percentages.
A new trailer for factual drama Danny Boy has been released.

A first look at the BBC single drama follows the real life events of human rights lawyer Phil Shiner's [Toby Jones] pursuit of British soldiers accused of war crimes.

Former lawyer Phil Shiner and his firm Public Interest Lawyers made more than 1,000 claims involving the British military following the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Trailer: A first look at the BBC single drama follows the real life events of human rights lawyer Phil Shiner's (played by Toby Jones, pictured) pursuit of British soldiers accused of war crimes

The story homes in on soldier Brian Wood - played by Anthony Boyle - who embarks on a journey from war hero to alleged murderer following his time in Iraq.

After returning home from service Wood is accused of war crimes by Shiner, who makes it his mission to undercover the 'crimes' of British soldiers.

In the opening scene for the trailer, Shiner can be heard saying: 'They'll tell you you're a bleeding heart, that you're naive, British soldiers get away with murder.'

Wood's father Gavin [Alex Ferns], then says: '[They] Give you a medal with one had and knock your teeth out with the other. The men who are trying to kill you.'

The story homes in on soldier Brian Wood - played by Anthony Boyle - who embarks on a journey from war hero to alleged murderer following his time in Iraq

Crusade: Former lawyer Phil Shiner and his firm Public Interest Lawyers made more than 1,000 claims involving the British military following the invasion of Iraq in 2003

While Wood responds: 'They get your head in a spin, get you thinking what you did...'

But his father insists: 'You did a good job!'

The next shot sees lawyer Deena Aayari [Kiran Sonia Sawar] questioning where one line stops and another begins when it comes to war.

She says: 'If you're fired at, you've been shot at while charging across a field, where does the war bit stop - and the arrest and restraint bit start?'

Disgraced: Shiner was struck off as a solicitor in 2007 after being found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to false abuse claims against British troops (pictured right is the real Phil Shiner)

Plot: After returning home from service Wood is accused of war crimes by Shiner, who makes it his mission to undercover the 'crimes' of British soldiers

Wood then adamantly adds: 'If these people want to make war a crime it's up to them, but I fought for my country and I'm proud of what I did.'

Viewers will see Shiner and Wood go head-to-head in a moral and legal battle that follows the story from checkpoint Danny Boy to the courtroom.

The story is set to investigate one of Britain's biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-Sweady Inquiry.

The drama explores the effect Brian's experience has not just on him, but also on his family.

What's going on? Deena Aayari [Kiran Sonia Sawar] (pictured) questions where one line stops and another begins when it comes to war

This includes his father and ex-soldier, Gavin, played by former EastEnder Ferns, and his wife Lucy, played by Leah McNamara.

Boyle said: 'I'm thrilled to be telling Brian's extraordinary story. We get to explore not just the realities of war, but how they can come back to haunt you.'

Toby Jones added: 'Robert has written an extraordinarily compelling, intelligent and nuanced script, and it's a real honour to be working with Danny Boy's exceptional cast and creative team to bring it to the screen.'

Moral combat: Viewers will see Shiner and Wood go head-to-head in a moral and legal battle that follows the story from checkpoint Danny Boy to the court room

Shiner founded and ran Public Interest Lawyers before it was shut in 2016 and he was later struck off in 2017 for 'misconduct'.

Several of the allegations centered on the Battle of Danny Boy, when 28 Iraqi insurgents were killed and nine militants were taken to the Camp Abu Naji military base to be questioned - later claiming they had been subjected to torture.

Shiner was struck off as a solicitor in 2007 after being found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to false abuse claims against British troops.

Following: The story is set to investigate one of Britain's biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-Sweady Inquiry

The drama explores the effect Brian's experience has not just on him, but also on his family (pictured Wood's wife Lucy, played by Leah McNamara)

Writer Robert Jones continued: 'Here's a man who won a medal for valour, but whose toughest test was the scrutiny that followed. External scrutiny, and soul searching too - Brian Wood's story is a fascinating one for a writer to explore.

'It's been a great privilege to work with producers of such distinction and I'm really delighted we're going into production with Sam Miller at the helm and a terrific cast and crew.'

Sue Horth and Colin Barr, executive producers for Expectation, said: 'Robert's script is a razor-sharp examination of one of our most urgent and morally challenging questions: when is killing an act of war and when is it an act of murder?

Credits: Danny Boy is written by Bafta-winner Robert Jones (Murder, Party Animals), directed by Sam Miller (I May Destroy You, Luther) and produced by Simon Lewis (Three Girls, The Nest)

'The story of Colour Sergeant Brian Wood and human rights lawyer, Phil Shiner - who accused him of war crimes - goes straight to the heart of that question and it's an incredible honour to be able to tell it.

'Bringing it to life for BBC Two with Sam and Simon and an amazing cast only adds to that sense of privilege.'

Danny Boy is written by Bafta-winner Robert Jones (Murder, Party Animals), directed by Sam Miller (I May Destroy You, Luther) and produced by Simon Lewis (Three Girls, The Nest).

It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two, and Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama. Executive Producers are Colin Barr and Susan Horth for Expectation, and Lucy Richer, Jo McClellan and Clare Sillery for the BBC.

Danny Boy will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer later this Spring.
EA is bringing the Battlefield franchise to mobile platforms for the first time. The publisher said a new mobile version of the shooter is being developed by Industrial Toys, who'll be working closely with the DICE team.

Industrial Toys is the EA-owned mobile studio behind sci-fi shooters Midnight Star and Midnight Star: Renegade. The Pasadena-based developer was established by Bungie co-founder Alex Seropian in 2012, before eventually being purchased by EA in 2018.

DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson said the mobile version of Battlefield will be a "completely different game" to its console and PC counterpart.

"Make no mistake, this is a standalone game. Its being built from the ground up by iToys to make Battlefield-on-the-go a reality and you can expect a fully-fledged, skill-based experience," he commented in a press release. "This mobile game is now entering a testing period ahead of launching next year, so expect more details to come."
Northern Ireland's agriculture minister has planted a tree in commemoration of the life of Prince Philip, who died earlier this month.

Edwin Poots planed an oak tree at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise's (CAFRE) Loughry Campus on Wednesday (21 April).

The Duke of Edinburgh visited the college's campus in Cookstown, County Tyrone in 2002.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) minister said the Duke was a 'life-long environmentalist and conservationist'.

"I have planted an oak tree as a memorial to Prince Philip and to mark what his good work meant to the people of Northern Ireland and his legacy to future generations," Mr Poots said.

"His commitment and interest in promoting opportunities for people to connect with their environment has been inspiring and so influential particularly to young people.

Over the years, the Duke visited Northern Ireland on a number of occasions on Royal visits, including to CAFREs Loughry Campus in Cookstown in 2002."

Farming and rural-based organisations across the country have been their tributes to Prince Philip.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) described the Duke as a 'passionate supporter of rural Britain', while the NFU said he was a 'great champion' of farming.
The Stanford University School of Medicine issued a statement Wednesday in an attempt to distance itself from a widely debunked journal article that questioned to use of face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

The article, titled "Facemasks in the COVID-19 era: A health hypothesis" published in the journal Medical Hypotheses in November 2020, makes claims regarding the dangers of wearing face masks, including the risks of hypoxemia (a below-normal level of oxygen in the blood) and hypercapnia (too much carbon dioxide in the blood). The article has been debunked by multiple sources, including Politifact, Snopes and USA Today.

"This is a list of generally discredited hypotheses that have been tested and disproved," Benjamin Neuman, biology professor at Texas A&M University and chief viologist of the universitys Global Health Research Complex, told Politifact.

"This seems to be a piece of deceptive writing from what appears to be a non-expert. It isn't science."

The author of the article, Baruch Vainshelboim, lists "Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System/Stanford University" as a credential, while the article has been described as a Stanford study or an NIH study, referring to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Vainshelboim describes himself as a "Clinical Exercise Physiologist" on his LinkedIn profile.

"Stanford Medicine strongly supports the use of face masks to control the spread of COVID-19," Stanford Medicine tweeted Wednesday. "A study on the efficacy of face masks against COVID-19 published in the November 2020 issue of the journal Medical Hypotheses is not a 'Stanford study.' The author's affiliation is inaccurately attributed to Stanford, and we have requested a correction. The author, Baruch Vainshelboim, had no affiliation with the VA Palo Alto Health System or Stanford at the time of publication and has not had any affiliation since 2016, when his one-year term as a visiting scholar on matters unrelated to this paper ended."

The article gained widespread attention after Diamond and Silk, two pro-Donald Trump activists who have more than 2.38 million followers on Facebook, posted on April 12: "NO MORE MASK MANDATES! Follow the science," linking to the article as scientific evidence. Facebook has since removed the post.

Medical Hypotheses admittedly says its purpose "is to publish interesting theoretical papers. The journal will consider radical, speculative and non-mainstream scientific ideas provided they are coherently expressed." Articles that appear in Medical Hypotheses are not peer reviewed.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price / AP



The United States is currently focused on vaccinating its own people for the COVID-19 pandemic but may be able to help other countries in the future, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday.



Ned Price made the remark after South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said his country was in "earnest discussion" with the United States to borrow COVID-19 vaccines in what he called a "vaccine swap" arrangement.



The department spokesman said he will not get into the details of "private, diplomatic communications" with South Korea, but partly dismissed the possibility of such an arrangement, at least for now.



"As we are in a more comfortable and competent position here at home with our own vaccination effort, as we've been able to address contingencies that may arise, I expect we may be able to do more, but right now that's our focus," Price said in a daily press briefing, noting the U.S. government has an "obligation to the American people."



"And that is why we have invested such tremendous resources in this vaccination effort to provide hundreds of millions of vaccines  safe and effective vaccines  to the American people as quickly as you can, and, of course, we are reporting excellent progress there," he said.



President Joe Biden earlier announced that his country will have administered more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccine shots before the end of this week.



South Korea, on the other hand, is facing extreme difficulties in securing enough vaccines for its 52 million population.



Chung expressed hope on Wednesday (Seoul time) that the United States would help his country address its vaccine shortage.






- A flexible, modular, and no-code solution built to accelerate the adoption and democratisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in enterprise analytics

- Now, enterprise business users can easily compose business-critical analytics use cases, with powerful yet easy-to-use capabilities using HyperSense

DENVER, LONDON and BANGALORE, India, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Subex, a pioneer in Digital Trust, today launches HyperSense, an end-to-end Augmented Analytics platform that helps enterprises make faster, better decisions by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) across the data value chain.

Developed based on Subex's extensive data analytics experience, HyperSense contains all the Augmented Analytics capabilities enterprises need in one flexible and modular platform. HyperSense's unique no-code capabilities allow users without a knowledge of coding to easily aggregate data from disparate sources, turn data into insights by building, interpreting, and tuning AI models, and effortlessly share their findings across the organization.

First defined by Gartner, Augmented Analytics uses enabling technologies such as machine learning and AI to assist with data preparation, insight generation, and insight explanation. It empowers experts as well as non-data scientists by automating many aspects of data science, including model development, management and deployment of AI models.

AI is still in the early stages of meaningful adoption in most businesses. Enterprises eager to harness the promise of AI and machine learning technology typically encounter multiple roadblocks such as demonstrating proof of value through nimble pilots; the absence of an integrated AI and data stack, and a lack of AI skills.

HyperSense solves all these challenges through five powerful yet modular studios:

Data Management Studio gives users one-place access to batch and streaming data across multiple data formats and lets them search, enrich, structure, and validate the data collected from across the business;

gives users one-place access to batch and streaming data across multiple data formats and lets them search, enrich, structure, and validate the data collected from across the business; Business Modelling Studio allows users to apply rules and run data audits in real-time, profile information, monitor and forecast business KPIs;

allows users to apply rules and run data audits in real-time, profile information, monitor and forecast business KPIs; AI Studio adds AI capabilities such as model building, model diagnostics, explainable AI, and hyperparameter tuning;

adds AI capabilities such as model building, model diagnostics, explainable AI, and hyperparameter tuning; Business Intelligence Studio visualises the data analytics output for fast insights and easy sharing;

visualises the data analytics output for fast insights and easy sharing; Process Automation Studio allows users to create actions and workflows to drive forward decisions based on the data insights.

HyperSense also includes a number of pre-built analytics use cases in marketing, finance, and technology verticals for enterprises to deliver ultra-fast results. In addition, customers can use the HyperSense platform to build their own tailor-made, AI-powered analytics applications.

The cloud-native platform can be integrated with existing data management infrastructures or implemented as a standalone, plug-and-play data analytics solution.

Suresh Chintada, Chief Technology Officer, Subex, comments: "Most enterprises struggle to implement AI with business value at its centre. Instead, AI initiatives are driven by data science teams, with little alignment between the priorities of business and IT. We developed HyperSense to address this - it gives organisations more autonomy, wider access to AI and machine learning, and puts more power into the hands of business users. With this game-changing platform, businesses will be able to truly democratise AI and turn data into reliable insights with greater speed and efficiency, supporting elastic business models and significantly accelerating their business transformation."

HyperSense is a no-code, elastic, cloud-native platform built on open-source technology and can be deployed on-premises, in a hybrid infrastructure, or in any cloud environment. The platform is designed to help enterprises augment ROI from analytics and increase efficiency across the entire data value chain.

About Subex

Subex is a pioneer in enabling Digital Trust for businesses across the globe.?

Founded in 1994, Subex helps its customers maximize their revenues and profitability. With a legacy of having served the market through world-class solutions for business optimization and analytics, Subex is now leading the way by enabling all-round Digital Trust in the business ecosystems of its customers. Focusing on risk mitigation, security, predictability, and intelligence, Subex helps businesses embrace disruptive changes and succeed with confidence in creating a secure digital world for their customers.

Through HyperSense, an end-to-end augmented analytics platform, Subex empowers communications service providers and enterprise customers to make faster, better decisions by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) analytics across the data value chain. The solution allows users without coding knowledge to easily aggregate data from disparate sources, turn data into insights by building, interpreting and tuning AI models, and effortlessly share their findings across the organisation, all on a no-code platform.

Subex also offers scalable Managed Services and Business Consulting services.?Subex has more than 300 installations across 90+ countries. For more information, visit www.subex.com .

Press Contact:

Sandeep Banga

sandeep.banga@subex.com

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1493184/Subex_Launches_HyperSense.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1447559/SUBEX_Logo.jpg
Stevens Institute of Technology will require students, faculty and staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccination before returning to campus this fall, joining a growing list of New Jersey colleges requiring vaccination.

Rutgers, Princeton, Fairleigh Dickinson and New Jersey City universities have already said they will require students to get vaccinated, but Stevens appears to be the first among New Jerseys large colleges to also mandate faculty and staff vaccination.

Montclair State University also announced Thursday that students would be required to be vaccinated by the fall, with some exceptions.

This decision at the private college in Hoboken was based on input from faculty, staff and students, along with the expanded eligibility for and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Stevens. The mandate will allow Stevens to plan for a fully in-person academic year starting with the fall 2021 semester, including in-person classes, on-campus research and a full range of social events and activities.

We are confident that requiring the COVID-19 vaccination  as well as maintaining the health and safety protocols we have instituted over the past year  will not only allow us to plan for a safe return this fall, but also increase our communitys contribution to achieving herd immunity, Stevens President Nariman Farvardin said in a statement.

Limited exemptions to the rule will be considered, and the process for requesting an exemption will be communicated to students and staff by the university.

This has been a difficult year and Im proud of the Stevens community and our collective efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Farvardin said. Im confident that the upcoming academic year will bring us back to where we would all like to be, which is teaching and learning in a safe and healthy environment.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Adam Clark may be reached at aclark@njadvancemedia.com. Have a news tip or a story idea about New Jersey schools? Send it here.
Chinese Vice Chair Xi Jinping (R) and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speak with Chinese business leaders at the Beijing Hotel in Beijing, on Aug. 19, 2011. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Xi to Attend Bidens Climate Change Summit in First Meeting of Two Leaders

BEIJINGChinese leader Xi Jinping will attend a U.S.-led climate change summit on Thursday at the invitation of President Joe Biden, in the first meeting between the two leaders since the advent of the new U.S. administration.

Biden has invited dozens of world leaders to join the two-day virtual summit starting on Thursday, after bringing the United States back into the 2015 Paris Agreement on cutting global carbon emissions.

Beijing and Washington have persistently clashed over a range of issues from human rights abuses to Chinas economic clout over other nations.

In Alaska last month, U.S. and Chinese officials held the first high-level in-person talks that bristled with rancor and yielded no diplomatic breakthroughs.

Last week, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry travelled to Shanghai to meet with his Chinese counterpart in the first high-level visit to China by a Biden administration official. Both agreed on actions in the 2020s to reduce emissions.

The talks also marked a resumption of climate dialogue halted during the Donald Trump administration, who withdrew from the Paris agreement.
22 April 2021 The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar T.D., the Minister for Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris T.D. and the Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy T.D. today announced that 29 exciting new projects have succeeded in securing funding under the third round of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund.

The Government is investing 95 million in the successful projects over the next three years. The 29 ground-breaking projects cover areas such as life sciences, medical devices, ICT, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and environmental sustainability.

The projects include sub-sea robotic drilling, artificial intelligence for safety in factories of the future, more effective heating and cooling systems in commercial and industrial businesses, a platform to improve productivity on construction sites, and healthcare solutions in areas such as cancer treatments and chronic knee osteoarthritis.

Announcing the successful projects today, the Tanaiste said:

The pandemic and Brexit have combined to bring unprecedented economic challenges and volatility to our enterprise sector. But with every challenge comes new opportunities and the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund is dedicated to entrepreneurs and researchers working on some really exciting ideas to develop solutions to the problems we face.

We are funding projects which will have wide-ranging benefits across many areas of society. Projects using AI to make factories safer and drones to detect drug smuggling, for example. There are many successful projects in the health sector, which we hope will result in better patient outcomes for thousands suffering from cancer, heart disease and fractured bones among other conditions. There is also focus on sustainability, with a number of projects looking at ways to improve and reduce energy use.

These new technologies will create high-quality jobs in existing and emerging sectors, now and over the coming decades. There is a good spread of partners, based all around Ireland, highlighting the strength of our enterprise and research base all across the country.

The level of DTIF funding involved  at 95million  demonstrates our commitment to continue to invest and rebuild a stronger, more resilient economy after the pandemic.

All projects involve collaborations of between three and eight partners, including SMEs, multinational corporations and research organisations. SME participation is an integral part of the Fund, with 62 SMEs among the 111 organisations involved and 22 leading their project.

The funding announced today brings the total funding awarded under the three DTIF Calls to date to 235m. The Fund, established under the National Development Plan in 2018, commits a total of 500 million of government funding, alongside enterprise co-funding of projects.

Among the successful projects are those that will:

Develop an adhesive that will stick broken bone tissue together following fracture, allowing it to heal faster

Use artificial intelligence to develop drones to better detect drug smuggling

Develop a tool using artificial intelligence to identify breast and prostate cancer patients with early stage disease

Design and build a prototype robotic drilling system for a wide range of applications including offshore wind

Use artificial intelligence to trial a solution which will make factories safer for workers

Use nanotechnology to reduce emissions by 40% in commercial and industrial heating and cooling systems

Develop next generation therapeutic and gene therapies for gastrointestinal cancer

Develop a treatment for chronic knee osteoarthritis, to deliver dramatic pain and mobility benefits to patients

Simon Harris T.D., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science also welcomed the DTIF funding:

The Irish research sector is key to our future economic prospects. Many top-performing indigenous companies have emerged as spin-outs from the research conducted in our universities and higher education institutes. Several recent spin-outs are partners in the consortia that are being awarded funding under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund today. This is in addition to the 37 HE-based partners in those projects. That is a fantastic outcome which reflects the strength of the Irish research sector.

DTIF is an important tool for realising our ambitions as a global innovation leader and a location for research excellence. The level of investment being made today in cutting-edge technologies will create employment opportunities for our graduates and help to maintain Ireland as an attractive destination for top research talent.

Robert Troy T.D., Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, said:

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund is a vital tool for financing excellent disruptive and innovative projects and is exactly the kind of fund that Ireland needs right now as we navigate the new normal and embrace the opportunities and challenges that disruptive technologies bring to our workplaces and homes.

The 29 projects represent the innovativeness of companies across Ireland, from Clare to Dublin and Cork to Westmeath, coming together to bring new levels of digitalisation to a diverse range of industries, such as agriculture, healthcare, construction and more. As a small nation with limited resources, we must work together to maximise the opportunities from the investment in our enterprise sector and research institutions.

This funding will give the companies involved opportunities to grow their business, even when trading in increasingly competitive markets, through the development of innovative products and services that alter the way that the industry operates.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, who administer the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, said:

Irish entrepreneurs have yet again demonstrated their ingenuity, adaptability and resilience in the face of the challenges they face. The breadth and scale of the projects that have come through the rigorous DTIF evaluation process is a huge tribute to the quality of our innovative companies and the other partners involved.

The quality of the partnerships involved, with SMEs, multinationals and research organisations combining to share experience, expertise and knowledge, also deserves acknowledgement. We are a small nation with limited resources and so we must continually demonstrate our flexibility and agility. These projects will enable the enterprises involved to be in strong position as the Irish and global economies rebound once the pandemic ends.

A total of 62 applications were received under this third call of the Fund. The eligible projects went through a rigorous and competitive evaluation process involving screening and interview by panels of international experts.

-Ends-

NOTE TO EDITORS:

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a 500 million fund established under the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2018. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment manages the DTIF with administrative support from Enterprise Ireland. The purpose of the Fund is to drive collaboration between Irelands world-class research base and industry as well as facilitating enterprises to compete directly for funding in support of the development and adoption of these technologies. The aim is to support investment in the development and deployment of disruptive technologies and applications on a commercial basis.

Call 3 Applications to DTIF were assessed by panels of international experts against four criteria  quality of the disruptive technology, excellence of overall approach, economic impact & sustainability and strength of the collaboration.

Further details are available on the Departments website.

Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF)  Awards under Call 3 (2020-21)

Projects awarded between 5 and 7 million in DTIF funding

Project Description Consortium Members Research Priority Area Regional Location Total DTIF Award* A complete regenerative treatment for knee osteoarthritis using a hydrogel-based therapeutic 1) Relevium Medical Ltd; 2) HiTech Health Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Health and Wellbeing Galway 7.0m The project aims to establish a prototype centre of excellence on the St James' Hospital/ TCD campus to discover & deliver next generation precision cell therapeutics for solid tumours through 'modular GMP in a box' 1) Remedy Biologics Ltd; 2) ACGT Vector Designated Activity Company; 3) Trinity College Dublin (TCD); 4) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Health and Wellbeing Meath 6.8m The project aims to unlock the potential of Earth Observation (EO) data for non-specialist users by creating a new architecture with the aim of developing a sustainable internationally trading Earth Observation services sector in Ireland 1) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD); 2) Vertice Integration Services Ltd T/A Vertice Cloud; 3) BCC Risk Advisory Ltd T/A Edgescan; 4) The Icon Group Ltd; 5) Treemetrics Ltd; 6) TechWorks Marine Ltd; 7) EMC Information Systems International; 8) Oracle Corporation Ltd ICT Dublin 6.4m Using artificial intelligence to develop drones to detect drug smuggling. This project will establish Ireland as a world leader in autonomous drone and drone-AI technologies. The advanced drone capabilities developed will dramatically improve capability and reduce costs for interdicting drug smuggling 1) Tyndall National Institute; 2) University of Limerick (UL); 3) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD); 4) A-TechSYN Ltd; 5) True Communication Technologies Ltd T/A VRAI; 6) Ocean Print Ltd T/A WAZP ICT Cork 5.1m The system will use catheter sensor technology to significantly increase Atrial Fibrillation treatment efficacy and safety while reducing the enormous burden on healthcare systems globally 1) OneProjects Design Innovation Ltd; 2) VistaMed Freudenberg Medical Ltd / Vistamed Ltd; 3) Tyndall National Institute Health and Wellbeing Dublin 5.1m

* The DTIF funding awarded is subject to verification checks as to the eligibility of the amounts claimed and the relevance of the costs to the terms of the Fund.

Projects awarded between 3 and 5 million in DTIF funding

Project Description Consortium Members Research Priority Area Regional Location Total DTIF Award* Outpatient solution without side effects to deliver next generation therapeutic and gene therapies for gastrointestinal cancer 1) Mirai Medical Ltd; 2) Excelsys Technologies Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG); 4) Trinity College Dublin (TCD); 5) National University of Ireland Cork (UCC) Health & Wellbeing Galway 4.78m Avectas, will develop a digitalised cellular engineering system to produce cell therapy cancer treatments with a focus on allogenic (off-the-shelf) therapies and those for solid tumours 1) Avectas Ltd; 2) BlueBridge Technologies Ltd; 3) National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) Health & Wellbeing Kildare 4.4m The goal of the TRIDENT project is to develop a low-cost, high-performance sodium-ion smart battery system using entirely sustainable materials and processes. The overall ambition is to provide a complete plug-and-play solution for grid-integrated residential battery energy storage systems 1) University of Limerick (UL); 2) Analog Devices International Unlimited Company; 3) mSemicon Teoranta; 4) ICERGi Ltd; 5) Glantreo Ltd; 6) TisaLabs Ltd; 7) Smart M Power Company Ltd; 8) Tyndall National Institute ICT Limerick 3.65m The Ostic project mission is to deliver an adhesive that will stick broken bone tissue together following fracture and then facilitate rapid healing and repair of the bone 1) PBC Biomed Ltd; 2) Dolmen Design and Innovation Ltd; 3) Dublin City University (DCU) Health & Wellbeing Clare 3.4m Harnessing artificial intelligence to develop a tool to identify breast and prostate cancer patients with early stage disease 1) Deciphex Ltd; 2) Oncomark Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD) Health and Wellbeing Dublin 3m

* The DTIF funding awarded is subject to verification checks as to the eligibility of the amounts claimed and the relevance of the costs to the terms of the Fund.

Projects awarded between 1.5 and 3 million in DTIF funding

Project Description Consortium Members Research Priority Area Regional Location Total DTIF Award* Development of minimally invasive treatment solutions for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) that can be carried out in an office-based setting. Will provide BPH sufferers with a safe, effective treatment solution that can be performed in the doctor's office in a simple 5-minute procedure under local anaesthetic 1) ProVerum Ltd; 2) Innovative Catheter Solutions Ltd; 3) Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Health and Wellbeing Dublin 2.94m Development and commercialisation of sutureless polymeric transcatheter heart valve technology 1) Aran Biomedical Teoranta; 2) Lifelet Medical Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.94m RELAY will develop and commercialise a disruptive large-bore vascular closure device that will become the new standard of care for catheter-based surgeries 1) Prelude Medical Ltd; 2) Theradep Ltd; 3) Technology University Dublin (TUD) Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.89m Design and build a prototype robotic drilling system and anchor template for the installation of micropiled anchor foundations; anchors will be load tested to prove suitability; for a wide range of applications including offshore wind 1) Mincon Group PLC; 2) Subsea Micropiles Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD); 4) University of Limerick (UL) Energy, Climate Action and Sustainability Clare 2.88m A smart, patient-centric catheter-based solution for treating malignant pleural effusion "fluid on the lung" in the home resulting in improved autonomy of care 1) SymPhysis Medical Ltd; 2) Gentian Consultancy Services Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG); 4) Galway University Hospital Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.87m SAFETYBOT will realize Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled safety solutions to service the Factory of the Future, enabling immersive collaboration between human workers, robots and automation equipment 1) Analog Devices International Unlimited Company; 2) Emdalo Technologies Ltd; 3) Modular Automation Ireland Ltd; 4) Tyndall National Institute Manufacturing and Materials Limerick 2.85m Using nanotechnology to generate 40% energy/emissions savings in thermal management of commercial and industrial cooling/heating systems e.g. data centres and high energy technologies 1) HT Materials Science Ltd; 2) Glantreo Ltd; 3) Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Manufacturing and Materials Dublin 2.85m Develop a minimally invasive and intelligent microwave ablation catheter for treatment of lung cancer 1) Endowave Ltd; 2) Quadrant Scientific Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.68m The FlowAssist Pouch will help to improve the skin condition of ostomy pouch users, while introducing novel design features, dramatically improving their lifestyle and management of their medical condition 1) Ostoform Ltd; 2) Synecco Ltd; 3) Avery Dennison Medical Ltd; 4) Ross Polymer Services Ltd; 5) Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) Health and Wellbeing Westmeath 2.67m Develop a monitoring tool to allow clinicians to directly monitor fetal oxygenation and diagnose fetal hypoxemia, enabling more precise monitoring of fetal well-being and increasing newborn surveillance during delivery 1) Tyndall National Institute; 2) Raydiant Oximetry Ireland Ltd; 3) BioPixS Ireland Health and Wellbeing Cork 2.63m Develop a treatment for chronic knee osteoarthritis, to deliver dramatic pain and mobility benefits to patients 1) CrannMed Ltd; 2) Innovative Catheter Solutions Ltd; 3) Creganna Unlimited Company; 4) Technology University Dublin (TUD) Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.47m The MI-DRONE project will address consumer demand for fast, reliable, last-mile delivery using a drone. It will reduce delivery time to 3 mins and decrease emissions by 80% 1) EireComposites Teoranta; 2) Manna Drones Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Manufacturing & Materials Galway 2.44m The LILY project will deliver the world's first pain-free, patient-led treatment to prevent Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia, considerably improving the quality of life of patients undergoing chemotherap 1) Luminate Medical Ltd; 2) Gentian Consultancy Services Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Health and Wellbeing Galway 2.17m A-EYE Construction Visualisation Platform is a control tower that provides full visibility of large construction sites and enables visual communication 1) Evercam Ltd; 2) GagaMuller Technology Ltd; 3) Technology University Dublin (TUD) Innovation in Services and Business Process Dublin 2.1m The overall objective of PerPET is to transform the plastics industry: drastically reducing the amount of fresh petroleum extracted virgin material used, and positioning PET recyclate as a valuable, perpetually reusable resource. 1) Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT); 2) AvonCourt Packaging Ltd; 3) Novel Plast Teoranta; 4) National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) Energy, Climate Action and Sustainability Westmeath 1.89m Software platform to predict human sensory quality attributes of food products for great taste, health benefits and minimal waste 1) Dawn Farm Foods Ltd; 2) Creme Software Ltd; 3) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD) Food Kildare 1.87m Using Artificial Intelligence to create fast cell analytics for biomanufacturing, for use in media screening and bioprocess controllers 1) Valitacell Ltd; 2) Intel Research and Development Ireland Ltd; 3) Waters Corporation; 4) National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) Manufacturing & Materials Dublin 1.68m Develop the first innovative plasma sampling device for inflammatory diseases 1) Atturos Ltd; 2) Agilent Technologies Ireland Ltd; 3) Neoteryx Ltd; 4) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD) Health and Wellbeing Dublin 1.57m E-Crop will develop innovative agri-technologies that provide farmers and agri-advisory industries with the tools needed to monitor and improve crop health 1) National University of Ireland, Dublin (UCD); 2) e-Seed Crop Technology Solutions Ltd; 3) SeqBiome Ltd; 4) LAN CTR (Larionad Acmhainni Nadurtha CTR); 5) Origin Enterprises Public Ltd Company Energy & Climate Action Dublin 1.5m

* The DTIF funding awarded is subject to verification checks as to the eligibility of the amounts claimed and the relevance of the costs to the terms of the Fund.

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(The Center Square)  A Louisiana Senate committee advanced legislation Wednesday that supporters said would ensure money collected for violations of coastal permits is dedicated to coastal restoration and protection.

An attorney for parishes that are suing oil companies over alleged environmental damage said the bills language could derail those lawsuits, though the bills author insisted that was not his intent.

Current law states civil damages related to coastal permits should be spent for integrated coastal protection, including coastal restoration, hurricane protection, and improving the resiliency of the coastal area. However, the 1978 law is outdated and dedicates money to funds that dont exist, said Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin.

Allains Senate Bill 122 would dedicate 75% of the money to the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. The other 25% would go to local governments where the activity occurred, with the stipulation the money be spent in ways that are consistent with CPRAs coastal master plan.

The lawsuits against the oil companies could be worth billions of dollars, though the companies say they acted within the law and the lawsuits are without merit. Either way, thats between the litigants and the judge, Allain said.

Were the legislature, he said. What we do have responsibility for is appropriating the money.

Attorney John Carmouche, who represents parishes that are plaintiffs in the lawsuits, said the legislation would give oil companies a new defense. Judges have ruled the parishes can sue over alleged violations of state permits, but Allains bill would change how the law is worded to suggest the local governments can sue over only local concerns, he said.

Its another way to say the state is the only one that can bring the lawsuit, Carmouche said Wednesday after the Senates Natural Resources Committee met.

One company, Freeport McMoRan, has agreed to a $100 million settlement, though some parishes involved in the original lawsuit have not signed off on the settlement and lawmakers have not yet set up the framework guiding how the distribution would work. The committee was scheduled Wednesday to take up Senate Bill 233, which would establish that framework, but pushed it back for a possible hearing next week, indicating the bill in its current form likely does not have the members support.

Carmouche said a major settlement is possible by next year and it would be a mistake to change the rules now. He also said spreading the settlement money around the state rather than letting the 12 plaintiff parishes use the money to address the damage they suffered could raise a constitutional issue.

Its time to let the court system work, he said.

Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, who blames the coastal suits for chasing away energy investment in the state, said Carmouche has been saying for some time a settlement was right around the corner. Allain said he didnt see why any settlement couldnt be tailored to fit the new law.

It makes more sense that you make a settlement fit the legislative intent than to try to come back and make the legislative intent fit a settlement, Allain said.

The committee advanced SB 122 on a 6-1 vote, with only Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, dissenting.
KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cates Auction Real Estate Company received the highest honor when they were named in a late client's will in November 2020. When Cates Auction received a call from the daughter of one of their long-time customers, they were heartbroken to find out he had passed away. The daughter lived out of state and didn't know where to start and called the company for help. Her father had listed Cates Auction in his will to handle the sale of his cherished home, treasured Cadillac, prized power equipment, and home furnishings.

For More Information Visit: https://CatesAuction.com

"When someone trusts your company enough to include you in their estate planning and ultimately write you into their will or trust, I'd say that's the best customer review you could ever get. We couldn't be more honored and humbled they did so," said CEO Jeff Cates.

The professionals at Cates Auction were more than happy to fulfill their client's wishes and provide relief during a difficult time for the family. Not only did they handle the auctioning of the property, but also the organization & cataloging of the personal property, property cleanup, staging, photography & videography, creative design, and marketing aspects of the process.

About Cates Auction Real Estate Company

Cates Auction & Realty Co. (Cates Auction), a fourth-generation family business, is the midwest's premier real estate auction marketing company. Founded in 1942, Cates Auction is the oldest and largest auction firm in the Greater Kansas City and Midwest Region. Specializing in the auction sale of luxury residential, commercial, land, and estates, they are a full-service brokerage that manages the entire sale process from start to completion. By utilizing state-of-the-art marketing technology, Cates Auction qualifies buyers through a transparent, market-driven transaction process in an expedited timeframe. Their rich history of Cates' service offerings now include a Transition Services department alongside their long-standing Real Estate and Estate Services divisions.

SOURCE Cates Auction

Related Links

https://catesauction.com


The "Two days International Master Class Strategic Intelligence" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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DES MOINES, Iowa  Two North Iowa heroes were honored Wednesday at the state capitol.

Representative Shannon Latham lauded Steve Fettkether and Jason Hahn on the House Floor for saving a woman from a near-fatal car accident on April 5. The two men pulled Donna Rench out of her flaming truck after it crashed on County Road B20 just west of Mallard (Eisenhower) Avenue.

The split-second decisions made by these two men literally saved a womans life, says Representative Latham said. Jason was on the way to pick up his mom from the Minneapolis airport, but he didnt use that as an excuse not to pull over and help. When Steve recognized Jasons vehicle, he stopped to lend a hand. Today, I was appreciative of the opportunity to honor these men for their courage on the House Floor.

You can read the full story of the heroic event here.
ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement Thursday at the end of a meeting with his advisors, that Turkey "will continue to defend the truth against the lies on the so-called 'Armenian genocide' and against those who are supporting this slander based on political calculations".



Erdogan's comments came in view of the expected recognition of the World War I massacre as a "genocide" by US President Joe Biden on the 106th anniversary Saturday.



Biden will be the first US president to do so.


Akshay Kumar Signs An Action Drama Inspired By True Events, Mission Mangal Director Jagan Shakti To Helm The Project

Akshay Kumar is set to team again with his Mission Mangal director Jagan Shakti for an action-drama film inspired by true events.

Kumar and Shakti first worked together on the 2019 drama film Mission Mangal, inspired by the story of scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), who contributed to the Mars Orbiter Mission, India's first interplanetary expedition.

The new film is also inspired by true events, a source close to the development said.

"This is an action-drama film with a dash of science. It is set in current times. It is inspired by true events. He will play the role of law enforcement officer," the source added.

The script is locked and the shoot is likely to begin next year.

"As soon as Akshay fulfills his other commitments we, will begin shooting for this film. There are so many things in the pipeline for him, so we are also waiting to go on floors. Currently, due to COVID-19, the schedule of all projects is affected," the source said.

The yet-to-be-titled film is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, known for backing films like "Coolie No 1", "Hero No 1", "Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein", among others.

Besides this film, Kumar has more than half a dozen movies in the pipeline including Sooryavanshi, Prithviraj, Ram Setu, Raksha Bandhan, Bachchan Pandey, Bell Bottom and Atrangi Re.
ALBERT LEA, Minn. - An Albert Lea man is in the Freeborn County Jail after he was arrested for being wanted for sex crimes.

Steven Woyen, 46, was booked into jail Tuesday on charges of being a fugitive from justice in connection to a case in Ohio.

Court documents say a warrant was issued for his arrest in Ohio on April 16 for the crime of sexual battery, a felony in the third degree.
A bipartisan group of 107 U.S. House Members on Wednesday called on President Biden to clearly and directly recognize the Armenian Genocide in his upcoming April 24 statement, ending Turkeys foreign gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

Members of Congress co-signed a letter to President Biden spearheaded by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the Congressional Armenian Caucus leadership. The letter cites President Bidens decades of efforts to reset U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear President Biden:

Later this month, on April 24, the world will mark the 106th anniversary of the first days of the Armenian Genocide, the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and the displacement of millions more. Yet for decades, while leaders around the world recognize the first genocide of the 20th Century, the President of the United States has remained silent. We join with the proud Armenian American community and all of those who support truth and justice in asking that you clearly and directly recognize the Armenian Genocide in your April 24 statement.

We know that this is an issue you are well acquainted with from your time in the Senate and as Vice President, including shepherding S.J.Res. 212 (designating April 24, 1990, as a National Day of Remembrance of the 75th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide) through the Judiciary Committee in 1989. We also appreciate that as Vice President you attended the centenary anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015 at the National Cathedral. It was during the centennial that His Holiness Pope Francis at Mass in St. Peters Basilica said this about the Armenian Genocide: concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.

The historic fact of what occurred a century ago is not in serious dispute. American diplomats of the period documented the mass slaughter of the Armenians, though they had no word for what they were witnessing. It was only decades later that Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide, and did so specifically with the attempted extermination of the Armenian people in mind.

In accurately describing the Genocide this year, you will be joining both the House and Senate which overwhelmingly passed resolutions doing so in 2019. Additionally, the Library of Congress has already taken the important step of cataloging books on the subject under historically accurate Armenian Genocide subject heading.

Mr. President, as you said last year in your April 24 statement, Silence is complicity. The shameful silence of the United States Government on the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide has gone on for too long, and it must end. We urge you to follow through on your commitments, and speak the truth.
The family of a 5-year-old boy who drowned during a kayaking excursion has reached a $7.2 million settlement in a lawsuit against the Hawaii private school that operated the spring break program.

In announcing the amount Monday, lawyers for the family said its the largest publicly disclosed settlement in Hawaii for the death of a child.

Alaric Chius parents filed the lawsuit against Mid-Pacific Institute and its employees, alleging reckless and grossly negligent conduct caused the boys death.

The kindergartner was participating in the schools spring break day camp when he drowned off Kaaawa on Oahu in 2019.

Camp counselor Maria Davis, 63, also drowned when the kayak carrying four people capsized.

Two other students escaped injury by clinging to the boat, which was designed for two people and was not equipped with life vests, according to the lawsuit.

Kayaking wasnt listed in the programs itinerary and was meant to be a surprise for the students, the lawsuit said.

Alaric didnt know how to swim, it said.

Im hoping Alarics death wont be in vain, said his father, Lucius Chiu. I really do hope schools, not just Hawaii but everywhere, will be more careful.

Mid-Pacific Institute has made changes over the past two years, including a new director of the extended learning program and enhanced water-based health and safety protocols, said the schools president, Paul Turnbull.

This tragedy was truly heartbreaking, Turnbull said. We are hopeful this settlement and additional school safety protocols will help all in our community as they process these events, and move forward together.

The boys parents also want the settlement to bring attention to a state law requiring children younger than 13 to wear a life vest or portable flotation device on any watercraft, their lawyers said.

Sadly, the law has historically undervalued claims by children, because the law places a lot of weight on economic losses like earning history, which do not ordinarily exist for a child, said James Bickerton, one of the familys lawyers. However, the Chius rejected any lower figure and only accepted this sum because it was large enough to send a strong message to other educational institutions and businesses that they must do what is necessary to ensure childrens safety, or the consequences will be severe.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Russian armed forces on Thursday started major military drills that involve over 10,000 troops, 1,200 units of equipment and 40 warships, the Defense Ministry said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The Russian armed forces on Thursday started major military drills that involve over 10,000 troops, 1,200 units of equipment and 40 warships, the Defense Ministry said.

"More than 10,000 servicemen are taking part in the active phase of the exercise that involves various military units in Crimea, 1,200 units of weapons and military equipment from the combined arms formation of the Southern Military District, the Black Sea Fleet, the Caspian Flotilla and Airborne Forces formations are involved, Including more than 40 warships and 20 supporting vessels," the ministry said in a statement.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Crimea before the start of the drills.
With Earth Day 2021 just around the corner, SpaceX founder Elon Musk gets a little "gift" from a few people who aren't really fans of his planet-hopping escapades.

According to a report by The Independent, Activista, a creative agency based in Los Angeles, just left a billboard that says "Mars Sucks" outside the Hawthorne, California headquarters of Elon Musk's SpaceX. The agency also tweeted about installing the billboard on their official Twitter page.

The billboard's message claims that Musk and SpaceX are too focused on setting foot on a so-called "barren, desolate wasteland" instead of focusing on saving Earth. As is obviously presented, the message to the multi-billionaire is linked to Earth Day 2021, whose main theme is "Restore Our Earth." This year's edition of Earth Day wants to focus on showcasing eco-friendly solutions that will help restore damaged ecosystems, such as "green" technologies and environment-conscious innovations.

Read also: Elon Musk: SpaceX Aims For Full Reusability Of Rocket Boosters, Have No Max Limit To Re-Fly In Missions

Full Speed Ahead to Colonization

Elon Musk has never been shy about making his desire to colonize Mars known. And with new developments in the exploration of the Red Planet (like the recent creation of breathable air on Mars' surface), that dream of his seems to be inching closer and closer to fruition. It's no wonder why groups such as Activista will be targeting him.

Musk founded SpaceX back in 2002 with the sole purpose of turning humanity into a spacefaring civilization, according to the official mission statement on the SpaceX website. And to help fulfill this dream, one of the biggest stepping stones is colonizing Mars; the closest thing to a potentially habitable planet that's right on Earth's doorstep.

Since its founding, SpaceX has made great strides in its mission to send humans to the Red Planet. For one, the company has been hard at work developing their reusable starship prototypes. Though the spacecrafts tend to get destroyed (just like Starship SN11 which launched well but failed to stick the landing), improvements keep coming to the design-sometimes at a much faster pace than what NASA can do.

With the way things are going, it seems like it's only a matter of time until a real colony on another planet crosses the realm of science fiction into reality.

Related Article: SpaceX NASA Artemis Moon Mission: HLS Starship Lander To Bring Humans Since Apollo In $2.89B Contract

Does Space Travel Benefit the Earth, Even?

Actually, it does. According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the technologies brought about by space travel have been very beneficial to tracking the environmental situation here on Earth. Scientists are now better at understanding and observing things such as water cycles, air quality, and other aspects of the natural environment; all due to being able to observe the world from the sky.

So perhaps Musk is actually onto something by focusing his multi-billion-dollar fortune on making space travel more common. Because if all the cutting-edge tech being developed for space missions can be applied to make another planet livable, it can absolutely be used to make our lives easier on Earth.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In this co-operation, the eSync Alliance and GENIVI Alliance are working to align the data gathering portion of the eSync specifications with CVII, which is an initiative to standardize vehicle data formats. The eSync Alliance's Technical Work Group (TWG) already provides a Software Development Kit (SDK) which includes standard data models, and is working to add standardized APIs and services to create a proof-of-concept platform.

Based on a server/client/agent architecture, the eSync software platform provides a secure, bi-directional data path between the cloud and any number of electronic end devices inside a vehicle. It can work across multiple operating systems and networks/busses to reach any ECU or smart sensor in the car, to provide both over-the-air (OTA) software updates, and to handle data gathering. Using eSync creates new opportunities for automakers and Tier-1 suppliers to improve their products and provide added value to their customers.

"The connected car presents a tremendous opportunity for the automotive industry, to use the huge amount of data gathered in vehicles," said Mike Gardner, Executive Director at the eSync Alliance. "With so many companies involved in supplying in-car devices, this new co-operation represents a big step forward in ensuring the benefits of data gathering are not lost due to overwhelming complexity or incompatibilities."

"The potential benefits of data standardization are enormous, in terms of time savings, simplicity and cost. By working with the eSync Alliance, we're taking another step towards helping automakers and suppliers take advantage of these benefits, as they develop their connected car solutions by using standards-based, off-the-shelf solutions, rather than having to undertake custom development themselves," said Steve Crumb, Executive Director at the GENIVI Alliance.

The eSync Alliance is an initiative established to standardize OTA updating and data gathering for the connected car through a global network of co-operating companies including major automotive suppliers such as AlpsAlpine, Aptiv, Faurecia, Hella, Molex and ZF. Alliance members benefit from a simplified development environment, enabled by the standardization of architecture, functional behaviors and APIs. This makes deployment faster and easier, and provides end-to-end security for automotive OEMs and suppliers.

About the GENIVI Alliance

The GENIVI Alliance is a non-profit alliance committed to addressing the real-life challenges of the increasingly complex and connected vehicle. The global community is focused on advancing and gaining adoption for standard vehicle data and service models that simplify vehicle software development, and in-vehicle and cloud-based solutions for the connected car. GENIVI is headquartered in San Ramon, Calif. Learn more at GENIVI.org and projects.GENIVI.org.

About the eSync Alliance

The eSync Alliance is an industry initiative to drive a multi-company solution for over-the-air (OTA) updates and diagnostics data in the automotive electronics space, potentially saving billions of dollars per year for automakers. By working together in the Alliance, companies benefit from a simplified development environment made possible by a standardized yet customizable platform. The Alliance is based around the eSync platform of cloud and embedded components, providing a secure data pipeline to devices within a vehicle. Further information at www.esyncalliance.org

Press contacts:

US press contact:

Cynthia Hoye, embedded PR

Cell 408-858-2602; [email protected]

Europe press contact:

Anja-Maria Hastenrath, embedded PR

Phone +49 89 64913634-11; [email protected]

Readers contact:

Mike Gardner, Executive Director, eSync Alliance

[email protected]

SOURCE eSync Alliance

Related Links

esyncalliance.org


Mortality risk for women with back pain was found to be higher when compared to women without back pain, reveals a new research from Boston Medical Center.



Back pain was not associated with mortality among men indicating long-term consequences of back pain may differ by sex.

Highest risk of mortality associated with back pain was observed in studies that only included women, and those that identified adults with more severe back pain.

Journal of General Internal Medicine, this new study raises the question of whether better management of back-related pain and disability, over time, may extend life.



Back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and disability and inactivity are generally associated with greater mortality. More than 80 percent of Americans experience back pain at some point in their lives, and older women are more likely to experience activity-limiting back pain.



Potential pathways between back pain and mortality were identified through the study including limitations in activities of daily living, and reduced physical activity that may lead to weight gain and the development or worsening of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease.



Back pain has also been associated with poor balance and falls, which can result in fragility fractures. Such fractures are in turn associated with increased mortality.



Nonpharmacologic treatments recommended for treating back pain include acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage, and physical therapy. There is evidence that these treatments are effective for managing back pain and they are considered safe.



Some treatments are known to have potentially serious side effects, such as opioids for pain management.



Countless Americans have died as a result of the opioid epidemic, and low back pain is among the most common reasons why opioids are prescribed.



The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention released a report this week highlighting the continued impact of the epidemic with 87,000 Americans dying of overdose in the past year (ending September 2020), the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded.



"I hope this study will lead to a better understanding of the long-term impacts of activity-limiting back pain on overall health and research to improve back pain treatment over the course of patients' lives," says Eric Roseen, DC, MSc, director of the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities at Boston Medical Center and an assistant professor of family medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.



"Proper management of back pain is important, especially as the opioid epidemic has been exacerbated and the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people seeking medical care, stress-levels and the environments in which many Americans are working right now."



This is the first systematic literature review on the association of back pain and mortality, and was followed by a meta-analysis of all-cause mortality in 11 studies with 81,337 middle-aged and older adults.



Age did not appear to have an effect on the association between back pain and mortality in this review, an unexpected result considering past research showing the impact of back pain on disability increases with age.



The highest risk of mortality associated with back pain was observed in studies that only included women, and those that identified adults with more severe back pain.



Future studies should focus on the complex relationship between back pain, back pain treatment, mental health, disability, and mortality.







Source: Eurekalert Published in thethis new study raises the question of whether better management of back-related pain and disability, over time, may extend life.and disability and inactivity are generally associated with greater mortality. More than 80 percent of Americans experience back pain at some point in their lives, and older women are more likely to experience activity-limiting back pain.Potential pathways between back pain and mortality were identified through the study including limitations in activities of daily living, and reduced physical activity that may lead to weight gain and the development or worsening of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease.Back pain has also been associated with poor balance and falls, which can result in fragility fractures. Such fractures are in turn associated with increased mortality.Nonpharmacologic treatments recommended for treating back pain include acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage, and physical therapy. There is evidence that these treatments are effective for managing back pain and they are considered safe.Some treatments are known to have potentially serious side effects, such as opioids for pain management.Countless Americans have died as a result of the opioid epidemic, and low back pain is among the most common reasons why opioids are prescribed.The Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention released a report this week highlighting the continued impact of the epidemic with 87,000 Americans dying of overdose in the past year (ending September 2020), the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded.says Eric Roseen, DC, MSc, director of the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health Disparities at Boston Medical Center and an assistant professor of family medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.This is the first systematic literature review on the association of back pain and mortality, and was followed by a meta-analysis of all-cause mortality in 11 studies with 81,337 middle-aged and older adults.Age did not appear to have an effect on the association between back pain and mortality in this review, an unexpected result considering past research showing the impact of back pain on disability increases with age.The highest risk of mortality associated with back pain was observed in studies that only included women, and those that identified adults with more severe back pain.Future studies should focus on the complex relationship between back pain, back pain treatment, mental health, disability, and mortality.Source: Eurekalert

The overall findings suggest that mild back pain (pain that does not keep a person from exercising or doing daily activities) is unlikely to impact the length of one's life, but risk of mortality was increased among adults with more severe back pain.
At just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg while travelling on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

Within three hours, the 'unsinkable' ship had slipped beneath the waves of the freezing Atlantic Ocean, killing more than 1,500 people.

Now, a new documentary released on Netflix-style platform History Hit dispels some of the common beliefs about the Titanic's sinking.

Debunking the Myths of the Titanic hears from the world-leading expert about the disaster, Tim Maltin.

One claim made about why the ship sank is that members of the ship's watch did not have binoculars on the fateful night and so did not spot the iceberg quickly enough.

But Mr Maltin, the author of three books on the Titanic, argues that if the crew had had binoculars they would have taken longer to warn of the iceberg.

Among the other claims, which are all debunked below, are that Captain Smith was reckless by sailing too quickly, that the ship was poorly built and that poorer passengers in third class were locked below deck.

At just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg while travelling on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Within three hours, the 'unsinkable' ship had slipped beneath the waves of the freezing Atlantic Ocean, killing more than 1,500 people. Now a new documentary released on Netflix-style platform History Hit dispels some of the common beliefs about the Titanic's sinking

Captain Smith was reckless by going too fast

The judge who led the British inquiry into the Titanic disaster, John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, wrote in his journal that the ship was travelling at 'excessive speed' and there was 'no reduction of speed' in the icy environment.

However, Mr Maltin said that 'every captain' who testified at the inquiry said they would have 'done the same thing'.

'The night the Titanic sank it was actually extremely clear and they were keeping a very sharp lookout,' he said.

'They knew they were getting into the ice region, but critically they believed they could see the ice in time.'

It has also been suggested that Captain Smith may have been drunk or was not even on the ship's bridge when it hit the iceberg.

But Mr Maltin said that while Captain Smith did dine with passengers at around 7 or 8pm, he was on the bridge 'the whole time' when the ship hit the ice at 11.40pm.

Debunking the Myths of the Titanic hears from the world-leading expert about the disaster, Tim Maltin

Among the other debunked myths is the claim that Captain Edward Smith was reckless by sailing too quickly

'In fact, his suite of rooms, his navigating room and his chaise lounge area and his bedroom area are actually part of the bridge. He was always on the bridge,' he said.

'And he had left instructions to be called immediately if anything happened.

'And in fact, as soon as they went full astern and he heard the ship starting to stop, he came straight through and he was there.

'But he was working out positions and he was alert and around the bridge the whole time.'

Mr Maltin also said that Captain Smith was the Commodore of the White Star Line and had captained all their flagship vessels.

He was also popular with the crew, who 'loved sailing under him'.

Instead of seeking out a life boat himself, the Captain chose to help women and children get to safety, Mr Maltin said.

The ship was poorly constructed

It has previously been claimed that the Titanic's hull was held together by second-rate rivets, meaning that part of it was weak and so vulnerable to being torn open by the iceberg which sealed its fate.

Science writer Dr Richard Corfield made the claim in 2012 and said the answer for why she sank could be found partly 'within the science of the Titanic's construction'.

But Mr Maltin hit back against this claim, saying the vessel was 'one of the best built ships in history'.

He said: 'She was so well built. I have been lucky enough to go and see a huge 40-ton piece of the Titanic and just the scale of it and size and the weight of it, is utterly incredible.'

The White Star Line had famously claimed the Titanic was 'unsinkable'.

It has previously been claimed that the Titanic's hull was held together by second-rate rivets, meaning that part of it was weak and so vulnerable to being torn open by the iceberg which sealed its fate. But Mr Maltin hit back against this claim, saying the vessel was 'one of the best built ships in history'. Pictured: The ship in Belfast shortly after being constructed

Mr Maltin said the reason for this was that the ship could actually have been 'sliced in to three pieces and each piece would've floated.'

'She was also designed to float even with the first four watertight compartments flooded and she was designed to float even with a collision at the point of two watertight compartments,' he said.

But he said the ship was not designed for the 'side swipe disaster' which saw the iceberg hit the vessel at an angle after its crew took avoiding action.

He said the iceberg ended up doing 'a little bit of damage along 200ft of Titanic's length.'

'That Dan was five watertight compartments and she could sail with the first four flooded but not the fifth one,' he added.

And even though the ship did sink, Mr Maltin said she did so 'on an even keel' and it took two and a half hours.

By contrast, he highlighted the example of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which 'rolled over much more quickly' during the disaster in 2012 off the coast of an Italian island.

'So actually you could say Titanic was safer than modern ships are today,' Mr Maltin claimed.

The crew didn't have binoculars and so could not spot the iceberg in time

Before the Titanic left Southampton, there was a reordering of the officers  with Henry Wilde coming over from the RMS Olympic with Captain Edward Smith.

As a result Second Officer David Blair left the Titanic and it is thought he took the key to the cabin with him, which would have given officers access to a binoculars case.

Speaking to presenter and fellow historian Dan Snow, Mr Maltin conceded in the History Hit documentary that 'there were no binoculars in the crow's nest that night.'

However, he explained that the best way to detect icebergs at night is with the naked eye.

Speaking to presenter and fellow historian Dan Snow, Mr Maltin conceded in the History Hit documentary that 'there were no binoculars in the crow's nest that night.' However, he explained that the best way to detect icebergs at night is with the naked eye. Pictured: The Titanic's lookout, Frederick Fleet, who issued the warning about the iceberg

'That's because the naked eye has a wide field of vision and that helps the way that we detect objects,' he said.

'Whereas, if you're trying to look through binoculars, it is really hopeless because the binoculars are used to inspect an object you've already detected.'

Mr Maltin in fact argued that, had they had binoculars, the crew would have been slowed down in declaring news of the iceberg to the ship's bridge.

He added: 'Instead of thinking "is that an iceberg or not" and checking it out with the binoculars, they just rang the bell three times which meant "iceberg, dead ahead".

Captain Smith then ordered the ship's crew to take evasive action but was not able to turn quickly enough to fully avoid the ice.

Titanic tipped up and sank horizontally

In the 1997 Hollywood film about the disaster, which stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet, the Titanic splits in two before the bow (front) tips up horizontally.

However, Mr Maltin said this is not how the vessel actually sank.

Because the iceberg struck the ship near the front on its starboard (right) side, that was were water flowed into the vessel.

It meant that the stern was lifted out of the water and then broke away.

But because it was 'so well sub-divided', Mr Maltin said it 'crashed back down' on to the water.

In the 1997 Hollywood film about the disaster, which stars Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet, the Titanic splits in two before the bow (front) tips up horizontally

The passengers who were on the stern, which was 'almost everyone at that stage' actually then thought they were 'going to be fine'.

However, because the bow was having a 'tug of the war' with the stern as it sank, it did terminal damage to the still-floating rear part.

Mr Maltin said: '[It] did so much damage pulling at her keel that the damage to the stern that was caused by the bow was greater than the damage caused by the iceberg.'

Despite the film scenes of the Titanic violently sinking as passengers clung on to its rails, Mr Maltin said the stern in fact 'sank very quietly', allowing remaining passengers to swim off it.

One passenger remarked that his head did not get wet as he swam away, Mr Maltin said.

The third class passengers were locked below deck while the others escaped

In James Cameron's 1997 film, third class passengers are seen being locked below deck beneath huge metal gates.

However, this is not actually what happened.

Mr Malton said: 'In fact, first class stewards were sent straight down to the third class to tell people exactly where the boats were.'

It is true that there were gates which separated first, second and third class. But this was a legal requirement set by US immigration authorities to avoid the spread of infectious diseases.

'The law was that no passenger ship could go to America without these gates shut. It was only in a state of emergency that the gates were allowed to be opened,' Mr Maltin said.

In James Cameron's 1997 film, third class passengers are seen being locked below deck beneath huge metal gates. However, this is not actually what happened

On the Titanic, the gates were opened as soon as a state of emergency was declared, 47 minutes after the ship hit the iceberg.

Addressing the fact that more third class passengers died than those in second class, Mr Maltin said it was because they 'did not want to' get in life boats.

He said that, in 1912, boys were classed as adults from the age of 13, meaning teenagers were only allowed into life boats after women and children had taken their places.

Because poorer families were going to America in search of a new life, they did not want to lose teenage or male members of their family.

'So you could imagine these women and men with families going to America,' Mr Maltin said.

'What you don't want to do is leave behind your 13-year-old son, your 14-year old son, your 15-year-old daughter.

'So what they did is they decided they would be better off sticking together.

'If they were going to leave the breadwinner behind dead in the icy waters of the Atlantic, what hope would there be for the mother on her own?'

Titanic didn't have enough lifeboats

Much has been made of the fact that the Titanic only had 20 lifeboats, which was enough to carry just over 1,000 of the 2,208 passengers.

However, Mr Maltin said that, because half the lifeboats would have been put out of action by the listing of the ship, the Titanic would have in fact needed to carry twice as many everyone needed if they were to save all souls onboard.

'The fact is, if you want to have enough life boats on a ship for everyone, you need to have twice as many as everyone needs,' he said.

Much has been made of the fact that the Titanic only had 20 lifeboats, which was enough to carry just over 1,000 of the 2,208 passengers. Pictured: Some of the Titanic survivors in a lifeboat

'Every ship almost settles on an uneven keel, it lists to the port or starboard. When it's listing, half the lifeboats are put out of action.

'So if the Titanic needed 30 lifeboats, then she actually needed to carry 60 to allow for that eventuality,' he said.

Because this was impractical, the Board of Trade instead opted to have 'ships properly built and properly subdivided', Mr Maltin said.

'What the authorities said was that any properly subdivided ship could actually carry a limited number of lifeboats in order for the lifeboats to act as a ferry from a stricken liner to get people to nearby vessels,' he added.

Rudder was too small

It has also been argued that the Titanic's rudder was too small to effectively manoeuvre the enormous ship.

However, Mr Maltin said it was the same size as the one which was on the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic.

The Olympic remained in service until 1935 and its captain said it had the best handling of any ship he had ever commanded, Mr Maltin said.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2021 / AdvanceTC Limited, (NSX:A88)(OTCQB:ATCLF) the premier technology company specializing in the design and development of mobile telecommunication and mobile computing devices is pleased to advise that the Company has received approval from The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") of New York and is now DTC electronic (DWAC/FAST) eligible. With this approved stock transfer capability, AdvanceTC shareholders can transfer their shares of the Company electronically after buying or selling on the open market without the extra expense and delay resulting from the redundant process of requesting and transferring physical certificates.

AdvanceTC shareholders will benefit as a result of the DWAC/FAST approval as the time required for stock deposits and withdrawals into brokerage accounts reduces from weeks to days, eliminating the inherent risks and costs associated with the loss and replacement of physical stock certificates. An additional benefit is that companies which are approved for DWAC/FAST electronic transfers often experience higher liquidity in their stock given the additional accessibility and availability of shares for trading.

About DWAC/FAST

DTC's Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian ("DWAC") service provides participants with the ability to make electronic book-entry deposits and withdrawals of eligible securities into and out of their DTC book-entry accounts using a Fast Automated Securities Transfer service ("FAST") transfer agent as the distribution point. DWAC allows participants to instruct DTC regarding deposit and withdrawal transactions being made directly via a FAST transfer agent. The FAST system eliminates the movement of physical securities certificates for transfers of securities registered in the name of DTC's nominee, Cede & Co, on the transfer agent's books. DTC and its FAST transfer agents reconcile the results of participants' deposit and withdrawal activities electronically on a daily basis.

About AdvanceTC Limited

AdvanceTC is a premier company specializing in the design, development and commercialization of high tech mobile wireless computing and telecommunication devices since 2005. AdvanceTC W3, a full Windows OS microcomputer integrated with cellucar telephony capabilities and the Xplore X7 the world first android smartphone with satellite messaging and emergency service, fully designed and developed using its own patented proprietary technology and engineering innovation.

For further information please contact:

CONTACT:

Name: CP Loi/ Chief Executive Officer

Email: loicp@advancetc.com

Website: www.advancetc.us

SOURCE: AdvanceTC Ltd

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641716/AdvanceTC-Received-DWACFAST-Eligibility-Approval-From-DTC
One evening last summer, I found myself dining in a Chelsea restaurant with a successful businessman aged in his mid-60s (I was 56).

From the moment he pulled up his chair, it was clear we were going to get on. We swapped amusing anecdotes about wearing hazmat suits to the supermarket and whether wed ever be able to sunbathe in the Med again.

Then, just as we were waiting for the main course to arrive, a group of pretty young women waltzed in and sat down at the table next to us.

If Id told him Id won the lottery and stripped naked there and then, it wouldnt have made a jot of difference. From the moment they unfurled their honey limbs and tilted back their glossy manes, my date was mesmerised  and not by me.

Kate Mulvey (pictured) who claims men have rejected her because of her age, argues there's an unspoken rule in society that women over 40 are pass their seduce-by-date

Later that evening, I received a text. Thanks for joining me Kate, youre a lovely person, but it hasnt worked out.

In other words, polite man-code for Sorry honey, but youre far too old.

I felt humiliated. Rejection, even from a virtual stranger, is tough. But when the man in question is a good few years older than you, it is positively galling.

Welcome to the modern world of dating, where midlife women find themselves relegated to the bargain basement of love. Society, it seems, has an unspoken rule that women pass their seduce-by date the minute they blow out the candles on their 40th birthday cake.

So when I read last week that aristocrat Charles Villiers has accused his estranged wife Emma of falsely claiming she was 35  five years younger than she actually was  when they wed, and therefore costing him a larger family as a result, I wasnt surprised in the slightest.

Poor love, I thought. Although I get it; because I lied about my age to get a date when I was fortysomething.

Following a nasty break-up, I started dating again when I was just shy of 42. Nervously, I uploaded a smiling picture of myself and eagerly anticipated stepping out with an eligible bachelor; similar age, looks and education.

Yet, while I spent my days clicking likes, the only ones who seemed interested in me were the balding men in their late 50s and 60s. It didnt take long for the penny to drop.

So, on the next online dating site I joined, I was reborn as a fun 36-year-old. The difference in the male response was startling. My popularity soared and messages pinged into my inbox like confetti.

Charles Villiers accused his estranged wife Emma (pictured)of falsely claiming she was 35 five years younger than she actually was  when they wed

Then I met Chris, a 47-year-old publisher with jet black hair and laughing eyes. I was attracted to him immediately.

On the first date, we didnt stop talking until the waiters started turning out the lights. Soon we were inseparable, walking along the river holding hands and putting the world to rights.

We cooked together, danced around the kitchen to 1970s disco, and by the end of the year we had even said the L-word. One evening, sitting on the veranda of his flat in Kingston, there was a tentative chat about where we were headed.

He gamely asked me to move in with him, I said I did dating or marriage. He offered to ponder the latter. I was over the moon and in what I thought was a celebration to seal our love, he invited me on holiday to Italy.

Standing in the airport queue with my suitcase full of brightly coloured dresses and sparkly bikinis, I was so looking forward to a week of sun, sea and (hopefully) an engagement ring.

Kate (pictured) met Chris, a 47-year-old publisher, on a dating website after pretending to be 36, however he dumped her when he discovered her real age

Until he turned to me furiously and shouted: What! Youre 42?.

Without thinking, I had given Chris my passport to check us in. You told me you were 36! He was clearly fuming as he muttered something under his breath then stormed off.

Six silent hours later, as I lay motionless on our bed in the hotel room, Chris was still muttering while systematically working his way through the mini-bar.

Apparently, he had to process the news that he was in fact only five years older than me. I think my lie had hit him hard, because like Villiers, Chris wanted to have kids. At 47, he wasnt getting any younger, and he imagined that at 36 I was nicely in the middle of my childbearing years.

To hear I was in fact six years older was a blow. For a start, it would have meant trying for children as soon as we tied the knot.

To be honest, I think he just wanted to have his cake and eat it kids-wise; to produce an engagement ring as asked, but to spin things out for a couple more years before the real commitment of babies kicked in.

Kate said an older male friend told her to accept that she will never get married because she's missed her opportunity (file image)

The following morning over croissants and coffee, sick of the sulking, I asked him if he would have contacted me on the dating site if I had put my real age. Probably not, he admitted.

I told him he had made my point for me, and could we put it behind us? But he didnt see it that way, and retreated back behind a wall of unrelenting silence.

I left him to it and headed off to the beach. He disappeared for hours on a hike, only creeping back into the hotel room that evening.

Needless to say, our year-long romance didnt last beyond the flight home. The following day, he texted: Sorry, but I know myself and I will never be able to trust you again.

That was that, I was binned.

Some people will say I deserved to be dumped. After all I did lie to him. But surely its understandable why women like me have to bend the truth a bit?

One man I met online several years ago messaged to say that I looked great for my age  48  but 40 was his cut-off point. He was 54. It felt like a slap in the face dressed up as some kind of praise.

Kate said to be passed over by the kind of men you think would be a good match, because they are chasing after a fertile 35-year-old, is hard to swallow (file image)

And surely age is just a number nowadays? Arent we all equal? Well, no it would seem not.

Economically we women may be getting there, but when it comes to the marriage market, it doesnt matter how many glass ceilings we shatter  the double standard is well and truly alive.

Only the other week, an older male friend  supposedly tired of me whingeing about not having a boyfriend  wagged his podgy finger and told me to stop banging on and accept that I would never get married now because Id missed my opportunity.

For men like him, even if a fiftysomething woman is prepared to look past the paunch, the bald patch and things not working as they should, she is simply beyond the pale.

To be passed over by the kind of men you think would be a good match, because they are chasing after a lithe, fertile 35-year-old, is hard to swallow.

The fact is, as online dating is more about filling in forms than eyes meeting across a crowded bar, age has become make-or-break, and I think its entirely understandable that some of us try to beat the system.
President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Eric Lander, twice met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - which is now complicating his Senate confirmation.

Politico reported Thursday that Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, is asking for more information about those meetings.

'We're having a hearing on him next week and we'll see what happens with that,' Politico said she answered when asked about Lander's Epstein connections.

Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy nominee and presidential science adviser designate Eric Lander (pictured) has had his Senate confirmation complicated by two 2012 meetings he attended alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

President Joe Biden elevated the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to a cabinet-level position, meaning Lander needs Senate approval before he can start the job. Lander's hearing is the latest of any of Biden's initial set of nominees

Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry in 2017

A White House spokesperson told Politico that, 'Dr. Lander briefly met Epstein in Spring 2012, at two events with multiple Harvard donors, faculty and others, and he correctly decided to have nothing to do with Epstein.

Epstein pled guilty in 2008 to two prostitution charges, before being hit with more sex trafficking charges in 2019.

'As has been previously reported, neither Dr. Lander nor the Broad [Institute] solicited nor received any funding support from Epstein or his foundations, nor did he or the Broad have any relationship with Epstein,' the spokesperson added.

Lander is the director of the Broad Institute, a collaboration between MIT and Harvard. He's known for his work on the Human Genome Project.

Epstein was a big time donor to both universities.

Lander talked about the encounter with the sex criminal to BuzzFeed, telling the publication in 2019 that he attended 'an informal sandwich lunch at [Nowak's] institute to talk science with various people,' referencing Martin Nowak, a Harvard mathematical biologist.

Lander told BuzzFeed he didn't know Epstein would be there.

'I later learned about his more sordid history,' he said. 'I've had no relationship with Epstein.'

Nowak was punished by Harvard last month for giving Epstein an office on the university's campus.

He'll be allowed to continue teaching, but will have minimal facetime with students and his research institute is being shut down, ABC News said.

Lander isn't mentioned in reports conducted by Harvard and MIT that outline university contacts with Epstein.

Still, Epstein claimed on his foundation's website that he sponsored Lander's work, which Lander's spokesperson told The New York Times in 2019 wasn't true.

'Mr. Epstein appears to have made up lots of things, and this seems to be among them,' spokesperson Lee McGuire said.

Lander worked as a co-chair of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology during President Barack Obama's presidency.

Biden selected him to direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy and be the official Presidential Science Advisor.

He also elevated the Office of Science and Technology Policy job to cabinet-level, which is why Lander needs a Senate confirmation vote.

His confirmation hearing is scheduled for April 29 - the last of any cabinet-level official already named by the president.
JZZ Technologies, Inc. and IJM Global / EyeOn Channel plan to launch the All For Seniors TV Channel, along with a digital video version of Active Lifestyle Media magazine

Calverton, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Media and marketing company JZZ Technologies, Inc. (OTC Pink: JZZI) and IJM Global Inc. ("IJM") which is a holding company for diversified media properties to include broadcast television and radio, have agreed on a joint venture to develop branded content that will appear on both companies' respective media platforms. The new content, which will appear under the banner All For Seniors, and All For Seniors.org will include one or more TV channels dedicated to the senior lifestyle community, licensed content and digital video versions of JZZ Technologies' Active Lifestyle Media Magazine.

The All For Seniors joint venture is the first between the entities and will serve as a basis for developing new and original TV programming, online digital content, as well as radio and video streaming content. This content will stream to EyeOn Channel's live over-the-air channels, which is wholly owned by IJM, and to JZZ Technologies' ActiveLifestyle.com website. All content will be centered around unique interests of active lifestyles for adults 55 and older.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6844/81364_52289e7e640c99a6_001full.jpg

The All For Seniors channel follows EyeOn channel's core mission to focus on specialty markets such as the Eye on Global Luxury and streaming pay-per-view. The channel will be distributed alongside EyeOn's affiliate group that includes Eye on Austin, Eye on Boston, Eye on California, Eye on Chicago, Eye on Colorado, Eye on D.C., Eye on Montreal, Eye on NOLA, Eye on NY and Eye on Park City.

Based in Florida, EyeOn Channel acts as an independent tv network that broadcasts digital over-the-air content in the top 30 demographic markets of the United States. In any given market, EyeOn Channel broadcasts from 23 to 40 digital HD channels carrying free content that allows consumers to "cut the cable" while still receiving quality local programming. According to current data, EyeOn's network has distribution to approximately 150 million US households and has a growing international presence.

"The All For Seniors initiative is a 58 billion dollar niche market and is a great way for IJM to expand our content and commitment to increase our audiences through EyeOn Channel and its affiliates which can exponentially increase joint revenues", states Jack Namer, CEO of IJM. "Our mission is to provide real stories from real people that connects, communicates, entertains and creates social community hope and positive change. The very active 55+ age group is a big part of our audience and this will help us to reach them where they live."



Charles Cardona, CEO of JZZ Technologies, Inc. adds, "This channel and digital content devoted to the active 55+ lifestyle is ideal for our growing audience. We can connect with them on a whole new level with the capabilities that EyeOn Channel Group brings to the All For Seniors JV."

Under the terms of the Joint Venture, any revenues generated from the products or services developed under the All For Seniors program will be shared equally between JZZ Technologies, Inc. and the EyeOn Group.

About Eye On Channel Inc.

Eye On Channel Inc, (EyeOnChannel.com ) is a wholly owned subsidiary of IJM Global., Inc. a Florida Corporation. IJM is engaged in producing Original Video and Radio Content production and distribution to approximately 150 million US households, and is preparing to go public meeting NASDQ qualifications.

About JZZ Technologies Inc.

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a media technology company rolling up projects and partnerships through online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, digital marketing, streaming video content, publishing and free over-the-air television targeted at adults 55+.

DISCLAMER

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Contact:

JZZ Technologies, Inc.

Charles Cardona, CEO

ceo@jzzi.net

www.jzzi.net

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81364
Billy Moore, an Illinois native raised on the South Side of Chicago who has dedicated his efforts to saving as many lives as he can since his release from prison in 2004, has completed his new book Until the Lion Speaks: a poignant comeback story and a searing commentary on poverty, race, and systemic failure in America.

The tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter until the lion speaks is an African proverb. The premise of the proverb explains how people will glorify a story or create a narrative about someone that isnt necessarily accurate or even make themselves look good. This is done only to create an attitude within people toward other people that they want to paint a negative point of view of.

This book was written to complicate the narrative of the story that sensationalized the confrontation of Ben Wilson and Billy Moore. Billy not only addressed just the confrontation on that unfortunate day but also set out to outline his pedigree, his upbringing, his experience in prison, and the work he had been doing since his release.

Until the Lion Speaks tells of the social landscape that defined Chicago in the eighties. Anyone who reads this book from Chicago growing up at that time will feel Chicago in every line. In fact, Billy Moore has made the city of Chicago as a separate character in Until the Lion Speaks! This is a comeback story, a story of redemption and reconciliation. Hopefully, the lessons that can be learned from Until the Lion Speaks will help young men develop the emotional skills to successfully get past those moments. When confronted with unfortunate circumstances, the lessons in this book can help them make better decisions so they can walk away to hopefully live their best lives!

Published by Page Publishing, Billy Moores engrossing book is a poignant true story of forgiveness and redemption on the South Side of Chicago.

Billy Moores life story is one of the most powerful lessons in humanity I have ever known. Heartbreak and hope, rage and redemption, pain and purpose, fury and forgiveness, and war and peace.

"The early chapters of Billys life are beyond painful. The current chapters are beyond inspiring. And I have every confidence that the best chapters in his life are still to come.

"A warrior can be a warrior for many causes. We are so lucky that Billy is a warrior fighting to save the lives of our citys young men. Tragically, no one knows better than him the staggering cost of gun violence to our families, our communities, and our city. We cant win this war without him.

-Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education for the Obama administration.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Until the Lion Speaks at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
[April 22, 2021] 2021 Study Shows Momentum in Alberta's Technology Sector Growth and Job Creation

Findings reveal that Alberta is home to more than 3,000 tech companies and the rate of female founders is 50 per cent higher than the global average. CALGARY, AB, April 22, 2021 /CNW/ - Alberta Enterprise Corporation has released the findings of its 2021 Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study revealing that Alberta is now home to more than 3,000 technology companies, a 233 per cent increase since 2012. The majority (58 per cent) are located in Calgary, with 30 per cent in Edmonton and almost 13 per cent in other regions of the province. "Over the last two years we've seen record-breaking venture capital investment in Alberta and we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of technology companies since we first started measuring," said Kristina Williams, CEO Alberta Enterprise Corporation. "These milestones demonstrate that our technology sector is resilient and has growth momentum. Investors are choosing to invest in Alberta's founders and those women and men are successfully starting and growing innovative companies here." The Alberta technology industry is showing signs of maturity with almost 40 per cent of local tech companies surveyed exceeding revenues of $1 million, a 66 per cent increase since 2018. Over the last two years, the number of companies with 25 or more employees has increased by 12 percentage points up to 25 per cent. Fundraising is another key indicator of growth for technology companies, and almost a quarter of Alberta tech companies have raised Series A or later stage financing. "It's great to see more than double the number of companies identified in the 2021 Study. Alberta's tech sector is maturing rapidly and it is now a real driver of employment and diversification. We don't just want to be a player in Canada's tech space  we want to become a dominant player going forward," commented Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation. One of the data points Alberta Enterprise was watching closely in the 2021 study was on the diversity of founders in Alberta. Two years ago, the report showed 30 per cent of tech companies in Alberta have a female founder or co-founder. The 2021 report showed almost the same proportion of female leadership suggesting inclusivity is one of the cultural advantages of Alberta  placing it ahead of the global average of 20 per cent female founders.1 Alberta Enterprise initiated an Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study in 2012 with a goal to provide industry stakeholders with a reliable report for measuring the health, growth and composition of the Alberta technology and innovation sector. The 2021 study is the fourth edition, co-authored this year with PwC Canada with the same team that produced the PwC MoneyTree Canada Report. "By thoroughly tracking key data about our technology sector, we are able to see how to wisely support a sustainable technology industry in Alberta," added Williams. "Looking at a decade of data, we can see the major growth impact that greater access to venture capital has had for our homegrown Alberta technology companies." Key 2021 Deal Flow Study findings: Tech sector size and cities - there are 3,083 tech companies in Alberta in 2021 (compared to 1,238 companies identified in the 2018 study). Most companies operate in our two largest cities - Calgary : 1,776 companies, Edmonton : 918 companies.

- there are 3,083 tech companies in in 2021 (compared to 1,238 companies identified in the 2018 study). Most companies operate in our two largest cities - : 1,776 companies, : 918 companies. Tech company financing - 43 per cent of Alberta's technology startups are at the pre-seed or seed stage and 43 per cent have raised at least US $1 million to date.

- 43 per cent of technology startups are at the pre-seed or seed stage and 43 per cent have raised at least US to date. Tech company growth - 40 per cent of survey respondents have achieved profitability, and 38 per cent of companies reported revenue greater than $1 million in the last fiscal year.

- 40 per cent of survey respondents have achieved profitability, and 38 per cent of companies reported revenue greater than in the last fiscal year. Tech jobs - The number of companies with 25 or more employees has increased by 12 percentage points up to 25 per cent, between 2018 and 2020.

- The number of companies with 25 or more employees has increased by 12 percentage points up to 25 per cent, between 2018 and 2020. Tech founders - The average age of Alberta's startup founders is 43 and 68 per cent have previous startup experience. Almost 30 per cent of Alberta companies have female founders or co-founders and 35 per cent of the companies that achieved profitability in the last two years were female founded.

- The average age of startup founders is 43 and 68 per cent have previous startup experience. Almost 30 per cent of companies have female founders or co-founders and 35 per cent of the companies that achieved profitability in the last two years were female founded. Tech type - 67 per cent of Alberta companies are developing software, many for business-to-business enterprise applications. A significant proportion of companies are integrating digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) (36 per cent) and big data (27 per cent) into their products and services. Companies surveyed had customers in the following industries: 34 per cent professional services, 23 per cent in other industrials, 15 per cent in energy and mining, 12 per cent in information and media, 8 per cent health, wellness and medical, and 8 per cent in agriculture.

- 67 per cent of companies are developing software, many for business-to-business enterprise applications. A significant proportion of companies are integrating digital technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) (36 per cent) and big data (27 per cent) into their products and services. Companies surveyed had customers in the following industries: 34 per cent professional services, 23 per cent in other industrials, 15 per cent in energy and mining, 12 per cent in information and media, 8 per cent health, wellness and medical, and 8 per cent in agriculture. Investment sources  Alberta tech firms raised capital predominantly from local sources in Alberta , some from other parts of Canada ; 10 per cent raised from Silicon Valley.

 tech firms raised capital predominantly from local sources in , some from other parts of ; 10 per cent raised from Silicon Valley. ESG Impact - Startups strived to deliver environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts in their product or service offerings: 39 per cent had an environmental benefit, 45 per cent had a social benefit, and 18 per cent had a governance benefit. The 2021 Alberta Tech Deal Flow Study was made possible due to input from Alberta's tech and venture capital firms and numerous organizations that make up the Alberta startup ecosystem. Alberta Enterprise expresses its thanks to Alberta Enterprise portfolio venture capital funds, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), and all those that contributed. We hope the study findings continue to be useful in supporting the growth of Alberta's technology sector. DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2021 STUDY and see studies from prior years. About Alberta Enterprise Corporation: www.alberta-enterprise.ca Alberta Enterprise Corporation promotes the development of Alberta's venture capital industry by investing in venture capital (VC) funds that finance technology companies. We focus on funds that have a strong commitment to Alberta  including a full-time presence in the province. In addition to capital, we support Alberta's venture capital ecosystem by connecting investors, entrepreneurs, and experienced technology executives who share our passion for building a bright, innovative Alberta. Since our inception we have committed C$219 million for investment to 20 VC funds, covering a diverse range of forward-looking industries including information technology, industrial technology and life sciences.







1 Crunchbase EoY 2019: Funding to Female Founders, Crunchbase, https://about.crunchbase.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Funding-To-Female-Founders_Report.pdf , January 21, 2020.



SOURCE Alberta Enterprise Corporation

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LAKEHEAD, Calif.  The man accused of attempting to murder two people in Lakehead over the weekend was arraigned on Wednesday at the Shasta County Superior Court.

Silas Hesselberg was arraigned on charges of attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic weapon, child endangerment, and other related charges, according to the Shasta County District Attorneys Office. Hesselberg also has special allegations for discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and hate crime, the DAs Office added.

RELATED: Double shooting in Lakehead being investigated as a hate crime

At Wednesdays arraignment, Hesselbergs bail was increased from $500,000 to $2 million.

Hesselbergs next scheduled court appearances are on May 4 at 8:30 a.m. for plea disposition and May 5 at 10:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.
The Chinese demand for Australian iron ore is not affected by trade tension and remains unaffected. China's market for it is very profitable, with the highest prices in ten years.

Chinese Demand for Australian Iron is great

Other Australian exports are doing poorly due to sanctions from Beijing, which has adversely affected everything but ore reported the Epoch Times.

In 2021, the iron export giant Rio Tinto said their mining operations have been going well and operating smoothly.

According to the firm, iron ore went up by 7% in the first quarter of this year, according to the company's first-quarter production results (pdf). Indicating the demand in China for the ore has gotten great, as it needs these resources badly.

The report indicated that "China's industrial economy will continue to grow at a fast pace." Metal prices in China finished the first quarter at decade highs, with construction activity and steel demand at their highest levels since 2018."

However, it did say that China's emphasis on reducing emissions would likely limit production and affect iron ore exports.

According to Market Index, the price of the mineral is currently around US$176 per tonne. On Tuesday, the ore is trading at US$189.61 per tonne, then according to Fastmarkets.

China produced 83 million tonnes of crude steel in February alone, just under ten times the next highest producer, India, according to worldsteel.

"Because iron ore is Australia's single largest export with the Chinese demand for Australian iron ore that dwarfs coal and agricultural exports in terms of value, its continued price rise to levels well above most analysts' estimates will result in further upgrades to mining-company profit growth this year, says the source."

UN Nuclear Watchdog Says Iran Is Enriching Uranium to 60 Percent

The Wall Street Journal reported that "the consensus forecast for income this financial year is now a 70% increase," according to AMP Capital Chief Economist Shane Oliver.

Despite China's ongoing economic intimidation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) announced that overall trade fell by only 2% year on year.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Chief Economist Jennifer Gordon revealed in a Senate hearing that even if iron ore exports were removed from those estimates, Australia's commodity exports fell by 40%.

"The equivalent prices for China are down 7.5 percent when contrasting the second half of 2020 to the second quarter of 2019," Gordan said. "This corresponds to a 20% rise in the amount of iron ore exports. Even so, if iron ore exports are exempted, the drop is 40%."

According to DFAT, the price of coal that Beijing has barred from entering the country has plunged by 83 percent. Also, 40 coal-laden ships were currently stuck off the coast of China, some for "several months."

Despite existing trade tensions, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg informed West Australia's "Leadership matters" breakfast that China's want of iron ore brings him optimism that exports will grow.

"This is because China is not only increasing to modernize, but it is now the world's top steel exporter, hiring tens of thousands of people across the country," he clarified.

After Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for an international review into the origins of the CCP virus, Beijing began imposing restrictive trade restrictions on several Australian exports (novel coronavirus).

The Chinese demand for Australian iron ore is affected by a possible cancellation of their agreement by new federal oversight powers.

Iran Builds New Construction at Underground Nuclear Site with US Tension

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
After a toddler fatally shot his 8-month-old brother this month in Houston, authorities and elected officials echoed the same theme: Accidental shootings by children are avoidable.

But a state law aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of children by charging owners when a child gets hold of a firearm is seldom used in Texas, Department of Public Safety records show.

Since it was enacted in 1995 through mid-March, the law has led to 288 arrests across the Lone Star State, records show. During the same period, 141 people were prosecuted and 117 convicted.

There are various reasons why the law may not be used often, from prosecutors being reluctant to charge a parent already suffering a painful loss  that of a child  to concerns about insufficient evidence supporting criminal negligence. But gun control experts say government officials could do more to educate firearms owners about the law  considered just one tool to prevent shootings  and encourage safer gun storage.

Meanwhile, the shootings continue. While DPS does not specifically track the number of unintentional shootings by children, one gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, found as many as 193 unintentional shootings by children  resulting in 92 deaths and 109 injuries  in Texas from 2015 to 2020.

This year, the group has tallied six such shootings, two of which were in Houston. The count does not include the latest shooting.

Its maddening because theyre all so preventable, said Ed Scruggs of Texas Gun Sense, a group that pushes to reduce gun injuries and deaths through policies grounded in evidence. We wouldnt need to worry about laws and enforcing them if people would just do the right thing.

Thirty states have a version of the Child Access Prevention law, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The Texas law applies to whenever a child under 17 gains access to a readily dischargeable firearm if the owner failed to secure it or left it in a place where he or she knew  or should have known  a child could access it.

What prompted it was just a spate of cases, said Sherri Greenberg, who was a joint author of the bill in 1995 as a state legislator and now teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. They are just heartbreaking.

Since its passage, the law has been used infrequently.

Its just not a law thats been consistently enforced, Scruggs said. Too few people are aware the law even exists, for one.

Other weaknesses, Scruggs said, are the laws limitations: It makes the offense a misdemeanor and defines a child as someone under age 17. Other states with similar laws set the age at 18, which can apply to certain youth suicides and mass shootings in schools when a teen uses a parents weapons.

Some had hoped for change this legislative session.

Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, filed a bill to make a violation of the law a third-degree felony if the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious bodily injury to another person who does not reside with the child, according to the bill. A child would be a person younger than 18, with an exception included for situations in which a child has a firearm for sport.

Moody said the bill was the product of conversations that started about three years ago. A previous version of the bill was reworked after he heard concerns from people who believed charging a grieving parent with a felony was excessive as well as worries from young people who participate in sports with firearms. It was read in March and referred to the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee but has not gotten a hearing.

We absolutely could prevent a huge number of these accidental deaths, Moody said. If we preached this and we taught it, I think we could avoid a lot of these problems.

Last year, Texas recorded at least 36 unintentional shootings by children that killed 16 and caused 23 injuries, according to Everytown for Gun Safetys Not An Accident Index. That marked a slight decrease from 2019, when 45 such shootings killed 25 and injured 23 in the state.

The figures are mostly based on media reports and some follow-up investigation, said Sarah Burd-Sharps, the groups director of research. We always say at least because there are always certainly things that are unreported, Burd-Sharps said.

Across the country, the group has observed a 32 percent increase in unintentional shooting deaths by children of themselves and others during the pandemic. Burd-Sharps attributed the spike  at least in part  to a pretty lethal combination of youths spending more time at home, record gun sales and adults splitting time between work and watching after their kids.

Burd-Sharps said research about child access prevention laws has proved they reduce unintentional and intentional shootings by children  and that more can be done. Firearm dealers can post signs in stores about safe gun storage; parents can normalize asking about guns and how they are stored before play dates; and local leaders can more frequently talk about such shootings and encourage gun safety.

We all need to play a role in public awareness, Burd-Sharps said. I think theres many different modes of getting this message across, and its urgent.

Recent shootings in the Houston area have once again put a spotlight on the law.

On April 9, a 3-year-old shot and killed his 8-month-old brother, Royal Gordon, in a Houston apartment, according to police, though it is not clear how the child got a firearm. The incident remains under investigation.

In early February, a 5-year-old girl was reportedly shot in the leg by her brother who was playing with a gun. Prosecutors charged Rory Mikel, 24, with making a firearm accessible to a child in connection to the shooting.

And in the fall, a 3-year-old boy in Porter fatally shot himself after he picked up a pistol that had fallen during his own birthday party. No charges have been filed in that case.

The majority of them are just accidents and you have to prove criminal negligence on behalf of the gun owner, said Kelly Blackburn, chief of the trial bureau of the Montgomery County district attorneys office, who did not work on the case involving the child in Porter. The majority of the time the person youre going to charge, theyve already lost a child. The ultimate punishment, theyve already received.

Blackburn said prosecutors look at the totality of a situation and search for carelessness.

Thats why we really look at the actions of the individual to determine: Were their actions reasonable? Blackburn said. Or was this person reckless? Was there a complete disregard for the safety of the children?

Public service announcements and news media coverage of shootings could help remind people to store guns safely, Blackburn said. The state also funds an awareness campaign from DPS about safe gun storage.

If there is a loaded gun in your house, he said, theres a possibility that a child or anyone can access it.

Marentha Sargent and her friends jumped when they heard the blast of a gun.

A kitchen door then swung open and she saw her 14-year-old daughter, Adrienne Lambert, in her final moments. Sargent and her daughter had been visiting the Deer Park home of a family friend when the mans son picked a gun up from a table and started handling it. The gun discharged, striking Adrienne. A gun safe was about 15 yards away.

Before the 2017 shooting, Sargent didnt ask friends about guns in their homes. Now she encourages all parents to ask, likening the situation to that of a parent of a child who cant swim checking to see if a pool is nearby. She cant help but look for potential death traps, as she calls them, when shes anywhere but home.

Safe gun storage is not about taking away anyones guns, said Sargent, who owns firearms and safes in which to store them: Its about being responsible.

All of these unintentional shootings, these children that we see, are so preventable, she said. As adults, you know, we tend to get lazy about things and you cant be lazy when youre trying to protect your children.

Sargent finds hope, she said, in people hearing about her daughters death and becoming encouraged to do better, not just dismissing such violence as a societal or gun problem.

Helping prevent others from feeling the pain she has experienced offers a peace of sorts given the difficulty in obtaining justice under the current law. She said the father of the boy who fatally shot Adrienne served 30 days in jail and his mother received probation; the boy served a year in juvenile detention for criminal negligent homicide.

There was no justice for Adrienne when it came right down to it. You know, there were punishments handed out, but when youre talking about someones life, it just didnt seem balanced, said Sargent, who moved away after the shooting and recognized the fathers sentence was among the strongest outcomes of similar cases she found.

I just had to process it that way: That this was the best that Texas law could do for Adrienne, which is sad.

alejandro.serrano@chron.com
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he would hire ousted Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate if he was the boss of a private company, describing her as a very decent person.

Mr Frydenbergs comments came as Ms Holgate hired Sydney silk Arthur Moses and defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles for her legal fight over her dismissal from the organisation and after she accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of conspiring to bully her out of the job.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says if he was a chief executive of a company he would hire ousted Australia Post boss Christine Holgate. Credit:WAtoday

The Treasurer said in a question-and-answer session at a Leadership Matters event, put on by The West Australian, he would hire her and thought she had a lot to offer based on her business experience.

Ive worked closely with Christine Holgate and so I respect her and I think shes a very decent person and a good person, Mr Frydenberg said.
It is your concern when your neighbours wall is on fire.

"It is your concern when your neighbours wall is on fire."

 Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace), Roman poet, 65 BC- 8 BC

Sometime today, Manitoba truck drivers who transport goods across the border into North Dakota will be able to get a COVID-19 vaccine south of the border, thanks to a deal made between that state and the province that was announced yesterday.

Eligible drivers will be identified by Manitoba  with help from the Manitoba Trucking Association  and work with counterparts in North Dakota to schedule appointments for them over the next six to eight weeks along their normal trucking routes.

Its apparently the first such cross-border vaccine agreement between a Canadian province and an American state  and we hope it wont be the last. In fact, if all goes well, there are plans to expand the deal to include other essential workers like health-care providers.

"The U.S. has got a lot of vaccines and Canadas got less," North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said yesterday via video link at a news conference in Winnipeg. "We want to do our part to help those essential workers from Canada who are frequently travelling through our state."

As you can read in todays paper, as many as 4,000 Manitoba truckers could be eligible for the free vaccines in the coming weeks  the cost of the shot has already been paid for by the U.S. government.

So why the generosity from our American neighbours?

Well, for one North Dakota is in a far better vaccination position than Manitoba. Burgum told media yesterday that his state has already administered 560,000 doses, out of a state population of 760,000 people. That means theyre in a position to market their vaccines instead of ration them, as Burgum said.

By contrast, as The Canadian Press reported, Manitoba has given at least one dose to about 26 per cent of its adult population. We can place part of the blame for this on a less than perfect vaccine rollout in this province, but in large part the main problem has been repeated delays in vaccine shipments from companies that made supply contracts with our federal government.

Its worth noting, of course, that much of the world has yet to be vaccinated  as of April 19, the New York Times world coronavirus vaccination tracker showed that 919 million people had been vaccinated as of Monday. Wide swaths of South and Central America, Africa and Asia have yet to reach Canadas level of vaccination.

Yet instead of sending these vaccines elsewhere, North Dakota is making them available to Manitobans. Such a move makes solid economic sense for both governments.

A joint press release issued yesterday by both governments stated that North Dakota and Manitoba share the fifth-busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada, "and represents the gateway to economic opportunity and prosperity in the Midwest and Prairies." Its also worth noting that two-way trade between North Dakota and Manitoba was estimated to be $1.4 billion in 2017.

Its clearly within North Dakotas economic interest to see Manitoba come out the other side of this pandemic as swiftly as possible.

But its also what good neighbours do for each other  beyond reasons of mere economics. And its not without precedent. In mid-March, the Biden administration announced the release of four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico, marking the first time the U.S. had directly supplied vaccines to another country.

Curiously, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister seemed determined to sidestep repeated questions regarding the Canadian governments role in yesterdays deal, and whether the federal Liberals had given the deal their blessing. Based upon Pallisters non-answers, we can assume that they havent.

The office of federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand was equally vague when contacted by the Sun yesterday.

"I can tell you that my team and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that an accelerated flow of vaccines will keep coming into this country," read part of a statement issued by Anands office.

We have to wonder whether this will result in yet another internal squabble between the Pallister government and the Trudeau Liberals, much like Pallisters plan to buy made-in-Canada vaccines from an Alberta company. Suffice to say, we dont blame the provincial government for trying a little procurement innovation of its own.

This deal is an important reminder that once this pandemic is done, life, trade, co-operation and tourism must resume. And the sooner it does, the better off we all will be.
A woman who died last week in a parachute accident at the troubled Skydive Lodi Parachute Center had made thousands of previous jumps, the owner of the center said Monday.

Sabrina Call, 57, of Watsonville, Calif., died Saturday when her primary parachute and her reserve chute tangled, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office.

The accident was under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. In a statement, the agency said skydiving investigations are limited to inspecting the parachute rigging.

A contract parachute rigger had packed her chute, according to the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center in Acampo, where the accident occurred.

No one actually saw exactly what happened until probably the last couple hundred feet, Bill Dause, who owns the center, told reporters on Monday. She had two parachutes out, entangled with each other that werent fully inflated, and pointed toward the ground at very rapid speed.

Call had made more than 2,000 jumps but had been out of the sport for many years and got back to it a couple of years ago, he said.

Call was the 22nd person to die at the center since it opened in 1981. Nine of those deaths have occurred since 2016, according to the FAA.

Dause said all the accidents at the center were due to different causes and called skydiving a high-risk sport.

Yes, weve had our share of fatalities and probably more than some of the smaller drop zones by a ways, but none of them have been the same. Its not the same problem, Dause said.

Were sad, but its just like a car wreck or anything else, he added. You have to go on.

This accident comes one month after the parachute center was ordered to pay $40 million in connection with a deadly jump there five years ago.

On Aug. 6, 2016, Tyler Turner, an 18-year-old from Los Banos who had just graduated high school with a 4.3 grade point average, went skydiving for the first time to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Turner jumped in tandem with his instructor, 25-year-old Yong Kwon. The parachute did not open, and the two hit the ground with a fatal impact. Deputies found the bodies in a vineyard just south of the centers landing zone. It was later revealed by the Sacramento Bee that the instructor reportedly did not have a proper license.

In March, Turner's family was awarded a $40 million dollar judgment against owner Dause, a man who claims to be a skydiving legend with over 50 years of experience.

The 2016 tragedy forms part of a long, troubled history of fatalities at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center.

Before he got on the plane, he knelt down and prayed, made his peace with God, and then turned around and gave me a great big, huge hug, Turner's mom Francine Salazar told the Merced Sun Star in 2016. He said, I love you, Mom, and then he got on the plane.

Salazar also said that she was worried before the jump because an instructor allegedly told the jumpers, gathered for the birthday celebration, they did not need to finish watching the safety video shown beforehand.

Dause told the Sun Star at the time: I know shes grasping for reasons, and were just as upset about it as everybody is.

Paul Van Der Walde, an attorney representing the family of Tyler Turner at the hearing in March, said that since 1981 at least 21 people have died at the skydiving center near Lodi.

In 2019 the Washington Post reported that a 28-year-old woman died during a jump at the same school after a gust of wind sent her careening toward the flow of traffic on Highway 99. She slammed into a big rig and was found dead on the shoulder of the highway.

In 2006, an experienced jumper unsuccessfully sued the parachute center after his leap from a twin-engine plane at 3,000 feet left him with spinal cord injuries; he struck the planes tail before crash-landing in a vineyard near Highway 99.

Another jumper was left dead in a nearby vineyard after a failed jump at the center in 2012.

In 2014 a professional skier from Squaw Valley, Timothy "Timy" Dutton, 27, suffered the same fate at Lodi Parachute Center.

The list goes on.

The multi-million-dollar penalty handed down in March specifically targetted Dause, whose company is also known as Skydivers Guild Inc.

San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Barbara Kronlund wrote at the time, Following court trial Bill Dause is found to be the alter ego of Skydivers Guild Inc. and is responsible for their entire judgment of $40,030,000."

We hare hoping this will allows us to get this placed closed or be sold to a responsible owner who can operate it safely, Van Der Walde told the Fresno Bee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed The Gambia's elimination of trachoma as a public health threat, saying it will save families, including children, from blindness.



Health workers have been urged to closely monitor the trend to "sustain the gains".



Trachoma is caused by the chlamydia bacteria and is spread from person to person by contaminated fingers, flies and towels. If untreated, the eyelids become chronically inflamed, and this, in turn, can eventually lead to blindness.



Trachoma remains endemic in 29 countries on the African continent, according to the WHO.



The Gambia eliminated trachoma after almost four decades of work, the government said in its announcement



"Gambia's success in trachoma elimination starts from the community," Sarjo Kanyi, manager of The Gambia's National Eye Health Programme and coordinator of the trachoma initiative, was quoted by Reuters as saying.



A network of eye units was set up across the country with the help of non-governmental organisations and thousands of volunteers went door-to-door to find people with the disease.

Source: BBC









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Featured Video
Amid mounting tensions in the Black Sea region, President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Tuesday night that Ukraine is ready for war with Russia. He warned that the country would stand to the last man in the event of a war.

Zelensky also signed a law allowing the Ukrainian army to mobilize its reservists without notice within 24 hours. Those avoiding the draft will be subject to criminal prosecution. The new law had been proposed by the Ukrainian General Staff.

SSO fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during training [Credit: Wikipedia/ArmyInform]

Zelenskys aggressive declarations came amid reports of growing NATO activity near Russias borders.

On Wednesday, the Russian press reported that two NATO aircraft, an American P-8A Poseidon and a British RC-135W, and an American drone had conducted reconnaissance flights for several hours near the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea.

Several NATO aircraft took off over Estonia, Latvia and Poland on Tuesday to intercept and escort Russian reconnaissance aircraft, fighters and bombers over the Baltic Sea. On April 19, Ukraine and NATO-member Romania had conducted joint military exercises in the Black Sea.

The Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that more than 20 American F-16 and F-15 fighters had been suddenly deployed from the UK to Poland. It quoted a Russian military expert who indicated that two American missile destroyers, USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt, were now in the northern part of the Aegean Sea [just off the Black Sea], participating in the maneuvers of NATO Rammstein Dust II 21. Last week, the US canceled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea at short notice but just days later, the UK sent two warships to the region.

Russia just concluded its own military exercises in the Black Sea, involving 20 warships from the Black Sea Fleet and over 50 fighter jets. Most of the troops and military equipment the Kremlin moved there for military exercises remain in the region.

On Monday, the Kremlin declared that large parts of Crimea, including its southern part where the naval base of Russias Black Sea Fleet is located, as well as parts of the Black Sea itself, would be temporarily dangerous for aircraft flights. Russia has also closed the sea passage between the Azov Sea and the Black Sea for foreign warships from April 24 through October 31.

The activities by NATO dangerously heighten tensions in a region where the military situation is already on a knife-edge. The last few weeks have seen an uptick in fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists in East Ukraine.

A civil war has raged here since a February 2014 US- and German-backed coup in Kiev ousted the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovich. The war has killed an estimated 14,000 people and displaced millions. This year, over 30 Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed, compared to 50 Ukrainian troops during all of 2020.

On Monday, another Ukrainian soldier was killed just hours before representatives of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France were scheduled to meet in an attempt to renegotiate a failed ceasefire between the east Ukrainian separatists and the Ukrainian army. The talks reportedly accomplished little.

The immediate backdrop for the recent escalation of military clashes was the Ukrainian governments adoption of a strategy to launch an offensive in the Donbass and recover Crimea. The peninsula in the Black Sea was annexed by Russia in March 2014, following the coup in Kiev and a popular referendum in which Crimeas residents overwhelmingly voted in support of becoming a Russian territory.

Over the past few weeks, the Ukrainian government of Volodymyr Zelensky has aggressively lobbied the US and EU to accelerate Ukraines admission to NATO. However, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have refused to support Ukraines NATO admission at this point.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany has threatened that the Kiev government is considering the acquisition of nuclear weapons on its own should its request to join NATO not be granted. According to Russian press reports, the Ukrainian parliament is now also preparing a letter to the US Congress to request the status of major non-NATO ally (MNNA).

On Wednesday, Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba revealed that he had asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to provide Ukraine powerful means of electronic warfare for its stand-off with Russia. He also said that he had called upon EU Foreign Ministers to cut Russia off the SWIFT system, an international communication system for banks and other financial institutions. Such a step is understood to potentially lead to the complete collapse of the Russian financial system.

The Ukrainian ruling class is also stepping up its domestic preparations for war. This Monday, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced that it would be carrying out multi-stage anti-terrorist drills across the country. In an indication that the government is preparing for martial law, the announcement said that a special regime may be temporarily introduced in certain areas amid the drills, as well as restrictions or bans on the movement of motor vehicles and pedestrians, ID checks, and inspection of vehicles, etc. A precedent for this was set by former President Petro Poroshenko in 2018, who declared martial law after staging a provocation in the Azov Sea.

At a meeting last Thursday with the countrys National Security and Defense Council, Zelensky discussed the governments military readiness. Urging citizens to trust the official statements of our General Staff or the Presidents Office only, he stated. The army is readythats the most important thing.

The press service of the city of Kiev had previously published a map of updated bomb shelters and revealed that government funds had been used to build civil defense structures to shelter the population in case of war.

Well aware that the continuation, let alone expansion, of the war in East Ukraine, is deeply unpopular, the Ukrainian ruling class is seeking to mobilize the countrys far right. Neo-Nazi forces have already played a central role in the 2014 coup and the subsequent civil war.

Last week Arsen Avakov, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, a man close to the far right and one of the countrys most powerful politicians, appealed to these forces on Facebook. Calling them patriots and using fascistic language, he asked them to prepare for war and protect the Motherland. Avakov suggested that Ukraine would fare better than it did in 2014 due to the over $2 billion in military aid and equipment it has received from the US since.

As Minister of Internal Affairs, Avakov controls the countrys National Guard, which was created in 2014 and incorporated the neo-fascist Azov and Donbass battalions. In recent years, his ministry has played a central role in protecting and developing the countrys far-right forces. Organizations like the Azov Battalion and C-14 have carried out a number of deadly attacks on journalists and ethnic minorities, with near immunity from prosecution.

Within the Ukrainian press, the notion that the United States and NATO will militarily back Ukraine against Russia continues to be pushed. Much was made of recent comments by acting US Ambassador to Ukraine Kristina Kvien, who suggested that the US may consider deploying more troops to Ukraine in the event of a war with Russia.

While speaking with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal, Kvien stated, We are constantly assessing the situation and making an assessment of the needs of the Ukrainian side. And we have a permanent presence of 160 American troops. And if, according to our estimates, the needs change and need to be increased, we will consider the issue.

There is widespread opposition in the population to an all-out war between Ukraine and Russia, which threatens the lives of tens of millions. Thousands of Ukrainians have deserted the front in the civil war in East Ukraine. Zelensky himself was only elected in 2019 due to mass opposition to the former presidents rabidly anti-Russian policies and warmongering.

Whatever the decision of the United States and European imperialist powers in regards to Ukraine, the only way to stop the imperialist war drive is through the creation of an international, socialist antiwar movement of workers across Eastern Europe and the world opposed to the outdated and barbarous capitalist system.
Biodiversity loss may finally begin to receive something like the attention the gravity of its consequences demands. Ben Cooper looks at how food companies can engage with consumers about the topic and the degree to which consumers are likely to be tuning in.

As crucial as this year undeniably is for the Paris climate accord, 2021 arguably needs to be the year the even more neglected issue of biodiversity loss begins to receive the attention it warrants.

The next few years could see addressing biodiversity loss become a top sustainability priority for food companies, on a par with reducing carbon emissions and water stewardship. The practical challenges this creates for food companies in their agricultural supply chains are daunting enough but the need to bring biodiversity into their dialogue with consumers would present food brands with further challenges.

It is hard to overstate how exposed major food manufacturers are on the issue of biodiversity loss. Agriculture accounts for around 11% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, on that basis, food companies are under ever more intense pressure to lower the carbon impact of their agricultural supply chains. The intensification of agriculture, on the other hand, along with the globalisation of food production, have been consistently identified as the principal cause of biodiversity loss across the world, notably in studies such as the WWFs biennial Living Planet report.

According to WWF, wildlife populations have fallen by almost 70% over the last 50 years. "What many people might not realise," says WWF-UK head of food transformation Sarah Wakefield, "is that the single biggest reason for this shocking decline is the global food system, the combination of what we're eating, how we produce it and how it reaches our plates."

Meanwhile, the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, published by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) predicts around 1m species of plants and animals face extinction over the next few decades as a result of human activity.

A trusted name

WWF is thankfully more than a conveyor of harsh truths about the food industry's impact on biodiversity. It is willing to partner with the industry to address sustainability challenges and is doing so in relation to biodiversity loss.

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"WWF is working with the food industry to find solutions to this systemic issue," Wakefield says. It is working with major food manufacturers and retailers, to "protect and restore nature in their food production chains", she continues, and sees partnership as a means of fostering consumer interest in more sustainable food choices. "NGOs like us and the food industry cannot tackle this issue without consumer buy-in, so it's essential we educate consumers about the vital part they're playing in these issues."

The latest food company to team up with WWF is European frozen-foods business Nomad Foods. Their initiative, unveiled last month, aims to find agricultural solutions to the "triple challenge" of feeding a growing global population, tackling the climate crisis and reversing biodiversity loss, and will see WWF supporting Nomad's consumer engagement on sustainability.

Ine Lubbers, Nomad's European category marketing director for vegetables, says the company and WWF are working on consumer information and education campaigns surrounding "our key message of protecting bees, butterflies and plant species".

On-pack communication detailing the partnership with WWF will roll out initially for the Iglo brand in Belgium and Portugal, then for the Findus brand in Spain, followed finally by Birds Eye in the UK in June.

At the farm level, two initial projects will focus on biodiversity and boosting pollinator populations, and ways "nature-positive" farming approaches can boost productivity.

WWF was also an external partner for Unilever-owned brand Knorr on its Future 50 Foods concept, launched in 2019. The programme has a strong biodiversity protection component, as the 50 ingredients featured are selected on the basis of nutritional value and environmental impact and consequently include some that are little known or used.

"Consuming, farming and planting the same foods again and again poses a threat to food security"

"Through our products, promotions and programmes, Knorr plans to make these 50 foods more accessible for people all over the world," says Knorr global vice president April Redmond. "Consuming, farming and planting the same foods again and again poses a threat to food security, so our food system is less resilient to pests or the impacts of climate change."

Growing consumer awareness

The extent to which companies are going to include biodiversity in consumer communication depends to a significant degree on their expectations about how aware and concerned consumers are. However, even if awareness among mainstream consumers is relatively limited, in comparison with issues such as carbon, water and plastic, their understanding of biodiversity is increasing.

Annual surveys of consumers about biodiversity by Netherlands-based trade organisation the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) between 2009 and 2020 show consumer awareness has been growing in Europe and the US.

In 2020, 78% of some 6,000 respondents in Brazil, France, Germany, the UK and the US said they had heard about biodiversity versus 67% in 2010. The biggest increases were seen in Germany (+32 percentage points to 61%), the UK (+20 to 79%) and the US (+16 to 64%). Consumer awareness of biodiversity is significantly higher in Latin America and Asia than in Europe, where it is higher than in the US.

"While awareness of biodiversity as a term is on the rise, more needs to be done to help consumers understand what it means and the connection between the vegetables they eat and its environmental impact," Lubbers says.

As has been seen with numerous other issues from Fairtrade to sustainable seafood, third-party certification can play a role in building consumer awareness and confidence. Last month saw General Mills-owned US snack brand Epic launch its latest product bearing the Land to Market Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) Seal, a sustainability certification programme administered by the Colorado-based NGO the Savory Institute.

Rather than attesting to biodiversity credentials alone, the seal certifies the beef in the Epic EOV Beef Barbacoa-Inspired Bar was raised using regenerative farming practices, which improve soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem function. Because of the strong emphasis regenerative agriculture places on biodiversity, the seal can provide a high level of assurance to consumers about biodiversity, as to varying degrees sustainable agriculture certification schemes elsewhere could do.

Moreover, there is a compelling reason why it would be less effective if biodiversity were the sole criterion on which the seal depended, Kate Herbert, senior manager, brand experience at Epic, explains. "As a part of our regenerative agriculture missions, biodiversity loss is only a fraction of the whole picture," Herbert tells just-food. "Regenerative agriculture works best when the farming or ranching operation is viewed as an ecosystem, including but not limited to focusing on biodiversity loss on its own."

Nature-positive positioning

Biodiversity loss is a complex, multi-factorial issue, which mainstream consumers will generally know less about than they do about issues like carbon or plastic pollution. Indeed, finding the word "biodiversity" to be impenetrable, companies are often substituting it with "nature" as a much more relatable option.

This is being mirrored in the development of reporting metrics related to biodiversity with the formation of the Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures and the Science-Based Targets for Nature initiative.

Associated British Foods' UK cereals brand Jordans has recently unveiled a campaign, encompassing online, print and social media (the advert can be found here), that specifically aims to champion its commitment to protecting biodiversity, with the tagline "Created by Nature, Crafted by Jordans".

Tess Lomax, brand controller for Jordans, says the commitment to nature and wildlife has been a key part of the brand's positioning for decades rather than being a response to current trends. However, she suggests consumer interest in biodiversity has been on the rise.

"Biodiversity has always been a focus for Jordans, right back to 1985 when we launched our Conservation Grade farming practices, so this is very much our heartland rather than just a specific focus for this campaign," Lomax explains. "I do, however, think its urgency has been heightened of late, and that consumers are more aware and interested than before."

Announcing the campaign to the trade press, Jordans says the marketing push "highlights" the brand's "biodiversity credentials". Whether the tagline and the print ad, in particular, makes obvious to consumers the subject of biodiversity loss is debatable.

Given their position at the epicentre of the biodiversity crisis, food companies arguably should be talking with consumers about biodiversity loss already but they will have to do so if more of their consumers begin demanding it. And, as was seen with plastic use only a few years ago, in today's connected world, consumer interest can be sparked and spread at an unimaginably fast pace.
Ore. -- Sen. Jeff Merkley spoke to Newswatch 12 April 21 about his plans to have the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed into law.

Merkley says in part, "George Floyd should be alive today. So, should Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and so many others who have been killed by police brutality."

After speaking with us, he added that he thinks that the idea of having certain standards for every public safety department across the county is something American's can understand.

In 2020, Merkley used his seat on the senate appropriations committee to help secure over $1 billion in additional resources for the U.S. Department of Justice, including the civil rights division, which investigates police jurisdictions for wrongdoing.

Merkley has continued to focus on banning federal entities, including law enforcement officers, from using facial recognition technology.

In addition to Merkley acknowledging the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, he discussed prescription drug prices as a pressing concern for many Americans.

Sen. Jeff Merkley has plans to re-introduce his End Price Gouging on Medications Act tomorrow.

Prices on medications, needed for survival in some cases, have price tags in the thousands.

In a Douglas County Town Hall, when comparing the bill of one drug to Canadian prices, Merkley said the difference was outrageous.

"One individual came to a town hall and something that sold for $200 a vile in Canada ... was being charged 45,000 dollars for and it's rare for it to be that extreme but it's not at all unusual to pay twice or 5 times or 10 times as much in America as you can pay in other countries."

Merkley said Americans absolutely should not pay more than citizens living in other developed countries.

He says if anything, Americans should get the very best prices because American citizens put money into research at disproportiant rate when compared to other developed nations.

In a senate appropriations committee hearing on the American Jobs Plan, White House officials were pressed on affordable housing, wildfires, and water infrastructure.

Merkley is now chairman of the subcommittee that funds the department of interior and he holds a strong stance to push for action, especially on items like wildfires.

When he spoke to Newswatch 12, he said when people typically think about infrastructure they think about building roads and bridges, but he says it goes far beyond that.

"I want the administration to stretch their mind further. Think of our forest as part of our national infrastructure and forests are in need of repair they need to be thinned, they need to be mowed, and it makes a better ecosystem and produces jobs."

Merkley describes this plan as a "win on every front".

According to statements made by the White House, it says this is the moment to re-imagine and rebuild a new economy. It also claims the American Jobs Plan is an investment in America that will create millions of "good jobs".

The United States of America is the wealthiest country in the world, yet the country ranks 13th when it comes to the overall quality of its infrastructure.
This wrap-up of international People Moves details recent appointments at AXIS Re, Guy Carpenter, Marsh and Dale Underwriting Partners.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

AXIS Re, the reinsurance business segment of Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd., announced the hiring of Lisa Hiscock as a senior underwriter, Lloyds Casualty, for the Global Markets team, effective immediately.

In her new role, Hiscock will underwrite Lloyds casualty treaty business, with responsibilities to support both existing partnerships as well as assessing growth opportunities. She will also focus on forging strong business relationships that reflect AXIS Res commitment to client service.

Hiscock started her career at Hiscox in London as an underwriter within the specialty team. She continued her career in Australia, where she focused on crisis management lines with a broad remit of classes and line management responsibilities. She joins AXIS Re most recently from AXA XL, where she spent five years.

Hiscock will continue to be based in Australia with plans to transfer to the United Kingdom later in 2021.

***

Guy Carpenter & Co., the reinsurance unit of Marsh McLennan, announced the appointments of Christophe Gaudron as CEO, Guy Carpenter France, effective Jan. 1, 2022, and Michel den Boer as managing director, Treaty Broking, Guy Carpenter Benelux, with immediate effect.

Gaudron will be responsible for overseeing the broking activities of Guy Carpenter across the French marketplace while capitalizing on the firms global capabilities to provide clients with enhanced risk transfer solutions. Based in Paris, he will report to Massimo Reina, CEO, Europe, Guy Carpenter.

Gaudron brings more than 20 years of reinsurance experience to the role and an extensive knowledge of the French market. He joined Guy Carpenter in 2010 and was appointed deputy CEO of Guy Carpenter France in 2014. Prior to this, he held various managerial positions at Aon Benfield.

The announcement forms part of Guy Carpenters long-term succession plan for the region. Gaudron will replace Phillippe Renault, currently CEO, Guy Carpenter France, who will continue in his role as chairman, Guy Carpenter Europe.

In addition, Carpenter noted that the appointment of den Boer as managing director forms part of the brokers ongoing expansion strategy for the Benelux region. In his new role, den Boer is responsible for reinforcing the companys market presence and amplifying its focus on providing market-leading risk transfer capabilities to its clients. Based in Rotterdam, den Boer will work primarily within the Dutch market and reports to Patrick Schepens, CEO, Guy Carpenter Benelux.

He brings an in-depth knowledge of the Dutch reinsurance market based on more than 30 years of experience. He joins Guy Carpenter from Willis Re, where he was an executive director and treaty broker within the firms Continental Europe division, focusing on the Netherlands.

***

Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Alex Dahlmann as head of Office for its Swedish captive operations, Marsh Management Services AB Sweden.

In this role, Dahlmann is responsible for the development and delivery of best-in-class captive management, insurance, accounting, regulatory compliance, and consulting services to captive owners in the region. Established in 2007, Marsh Management Services AB Sweden supports a wide range of clients including public entity and government-owned companies to those listed on major global stock exchanges.

Based in Stockholm, Dahlman will report to William Thomas-Ferrand, International Practice leader, Marsh Captive Solutions.

He joined Marsh in 2018 and was previously chief operating officer for the Benelux & Nordics region. Before joining Marsh, he was governance risk compliance consultant at Transcendent Group. He has also held senior business transformation and financial planning roles at AIG and American Express.

Clients are increasingly looking to captive insurance vehicles as a means to manage risk and reduce volatility during these uncertain times. Under Alexs leadership, we are well-placed to deliver the services and solutions that our Swedish captive clients require to plan for their long-term success, commented Thomas-Ferrand.

***

Dale Underwriting Partners (DUP) recently announced the appointment of Tony Forder as head of property reinsurance, effective April 19.

Forder joins from Apollo Syndicate Management where he was head of U.S. treaty. Prior to this, he was a senior underwriter at Faraday for 14 years.

Topics Underwriting AXA XL Willis Towers Watson
DGAP-Ad-hoc: Dexus Finance Pty Limited / Key word(s): AGM/EGM

Dexus Finance Pty Limited: 2021 Extraordinary General Meeting



22-Apr-2021 / 09:39 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Dexus (ASX: DXS)

ASX release

22 April 2021

2021 Extraordinary General Meeting

Dexus provides the presentation and Chair address for the Dexus Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) which is being held today at Dexus Place, Level 5, 1 Margaret Street, Sydney commencing at 3.30pm (AEDT).

The meeting will be webcast and can be viewed at www.dexus.com



The full ASX release including the presentation is available at www.dexus.com.



Authorised by the Board of Dexus Funds Management Limited.

For further information please contact:

Investors

David Yates

Executive General Manager, Investor Relations

+61 2 9017 1424

+61 418 861 047

david.yates@dexus.com Media

Louise Murray

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

+61 2 9017 1446

+61 403 260 754

louise.murray@dexus.com

About Dexus

Dexus is one of Australia's leading real estate groups, proudly managing a high-quality Australian property portfolio valued at $32.1 billion. We believe that the strength and quality of our relationships will always be central to our success and are deeply committed to working with our customers to provide spaces that engage and inspire. We invest only in Australia, and directly own $16.5 billion of office and industrial properties. We manage a further $15.6 billion of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties for third party clients. The group's $11.4 billion development pipeline provides the opportunity to grow both portfolios and enhance future returns. With 1.6 million square metres of office workspace across 51 properties, we are Australia's preferred office partner. Dexus is a Top 50 entity by market capitalisation listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (trading code: DXS) and is supported by more than 29,000 investors from 24 countries. With 36 years of expertise in property investment, development and asset management, we have a proven track record in capital and risk management, providing service excellence to tenants and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for investors. www.dexus.com

Dexus Funds Management Ltd ABN 24 060 920 783, AFSL 238163, as Responsible Entity for Dexus (ASX: DXS)

Level 25, 264 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

__________________________________

2021 Extraordinary General Meeting

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to our 2021 Extraordinary General Meeting.

I'm Richard Sheppard, the Chair of the Board of Directors of Dexus Funds Management Limited. I would like to begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of the land on which we are presenting from today, and we pay our respects to their First Nations people past, present and emerging. I would also like to extend that respect and welcome to any First Nations people who are joining our meeting today.

On behalf of the Dexus Board, I would like to thank those of you who have joined us in person today and welcome those of you who are joining us on the webcast. We remain hopeful that we will be able to connect with more of you at our Annual General Meeting later this year.

I'll table my appointment as Chair of today's meeting and open the meeting.

I will start by reinforcing some key elements of our strategy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of having a diversified business model and strategy that can deliver through the cycle.

This has been demonstrated by our strong cashflows and resilient asset values in this uncertain environment.

We continue to invest in high-quality real estate across Australia's major cities and we have established some key strategic initiatives that will help unlock the relative value of our business and strengthen the platform for future cycles. The initiatives include:

Increasing the resilience of portfolio income streams

Expanding and diversifying the funds management business, as well as

Progressing our group development pipeline

The Simplification is aligned to the expansion of our funds management business and will increase our flexibility to be able to meet the increased investment demand from third party capital partners.

Our existing structure is a legacy of our history. We have DXO or the Dexus Operations Trust stapled to the Dexus Diversified Fund, Dexus Industrial Trust and Dexus Office Trust.

What the Simplification will do is reorganise this quadruple structure to a group comprising two stapled trusts - being the Dexus Operations Trust and the newly created Dexus Property Trust.

The rationale for the Simplification is detailed in the Explanatory Memorandum.

In summary there are three key advantages.

The Simplification will provide Dexus with an improved ability to execute on our strategic initiative of expanding and diversifying the funds management business. It will do this by providing Dexus with greater flexibility in meeting the investment demand from investors for real estate assets, while also expanding our funds management business. For example, it may allow equity interests in Dexus Diversified Fund, Dexus Industrial Trust and Dexus Office Trust to be issued directly to potential third party capital partners.

Dexus's current structure is complex, and the simplified structure will lead to increased efficiencies relating to reporting and administration. It will reduce the number external financial statements produced, saving time across many Dexus business units and the savings are estimated to equate to approximately half a million dollars per annum.

There are also potential efficiencies for Security holders. Under the simplified dual stapled trust structure there will be reduced administrative burden relating to their reporting requirements. Further, Dexus will potentially be able to provide broader Capital Gains Tax rollover relief to persons who receive or become Dexus Security holders as a result of any merger or acquisition activity that Dexus subsequently engages in.

Should the Simplification be approved, the next steps would include:

Obtaining the necessary stamp duty approvals and relief With that information the Board will then consider whether the Simplification continues to be in the best interests of Security holders All Dexus Security holders will be informed of the timetable for implementation as set out on page 3 of the Explanatory Memorandum

Importantly we will ensure that Security holders are kept informed of the progress of the Simplification.

ENDS
ST. LOUIS, Mo.

April 21, 2021

Missouri

Missouri

June 2020

Mike Duggar

Missouri

St. Louis

Franklin County

Jefferson County

St. Charles County

Cape Girardeau

Missouri

Franklin County

Mental Health Minute, a free monthly e-newsletter, designed to help children and families better understand mental health issues and provide a safe space for conversation. The agency has seen high levels of engagement with this new initiative, and will continue to provide this resource long after the pandemic.

Mental Health First Aid, an evidenced-based innovative training that equips participants with the tools to recognize signs of trauma and mental illness. The training costs $30 per person and can be offered for private groups, in addition to the general sessions offered through LFCS for any member of the public. Especially valuable for professionals like teachers, first responders, and medical professionals who regularly work with children or people in crisis situations, LFCS can deliver Mental Health First Aid training anywhere across Missouri either virtually or in-person for groups up to 25.

per person and can be offered for private groups, in addition to the general sessions offered through LFCS for any member of the public. Especially valuable for professionals like teachers, first responders, and medical professionals who regularly work with children or people in crisis situations, LFCS can deliver Mental Health First Aid training anywhere across either virtually or in-person for groups up to 25. LFCS Mental Health Presentations provide an overview of several mental health topics. Each presentation was designed by mental health professionals to educate the community on issues such as anxiety and depression, suicide, mentally healthy habits, and trauma. All content can be accessed via the LFCS YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4j9rXtGA4T0T9L55LEQrOA.

May 6th

St. Louis, Missouri

Missouri

Melissa Barreca

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Lutheran Family and Children's Services of(LFCS) has seen a 400 percent increase in requests for mental health services over the last year as the pandemic created a mental health crisis for children and families.To address this growing need, LFCS is actively working to provide individuals with essential behavioral health resources such as professional mental health counseling, prevention services, and accessible education tools like their newest offering, Mental Health First Aid, an evidenced-based innovative training that equips participants with the tools to recognize signs of trauma and mental illness.The 2021 State of Mental Health in America Report noted that 47 million US adults experience mental illness, equivalent to 19 percent of the population. In, nearly one million adults over the age of 18 suffer from mental illness every year.The pandemic negatively impacted these numbers.According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during June of 2020, 40 percent of adults reported struggling with mental health or substance abuse. In the same study, it was found that nationwide, symptoms of anxiety and depression had a considerable increase during April to, when compared with the same period in 2019."While these statistics are troubling, they show us that more people are recognizing they have a mental health issue that they need help addressing," said, President and CEO of LFCS. "Everyone deserves access to high-level behavioral health care now more than ever. Part of this care is educating those beyond the front lines about how to be a mental health advocate and resource. That's where our Mental Health First Aid Training Program serves to complement all of the other mental health resources we offer. If we can train more community members to help those in need and to know the proper referral channels, we can improve the health of our communities."LFCS aims to provide free or low-cost behavioral health services to individuals across the state, as well as readily accessible resources for those struggling. These initiatives include:Counseling: LFCS currently offers highly accessible counseling services at 13 locations across, includingCity and County,and. The agency offers outpatient therapeutic counseling to families, children, adults and couples, regardless of their ability to pay. Treatments address a variety of issues such as mood or behavior disruption, difficulties with work or school, depression, anxiety, and family or social relationship problems. Counseling is offered both in person and through telehealth.Prevention: LFCS recognizes the equal importance of intervention and prevention services to comprehensively address mental health issues across. The agency currently leads several initiatives to support at-risk populations. STEP-Up is a school-based prevention program designed to engage at-risk youth in activities to increase positive life choices and decrease likelihood of behaviors that can lead to mental health issues. LFCS provides trauma-informed prevention education to community leaders and organizations in, as well as intensive trauma training, consultation and one-on-one visits to K-12 schools following the Missouri Model for Trauma Informed Schools.Education and Additional Resources: To address the need for information about mental health, the organization offers a catalog of resources and education opportunities, including:"As we continue to observe the effects this pandemic has had on mental health, we need to ensure that any individual that needs help has the resources and ability to receive care," said Duggar. "We hope that Mental Health Awareness Month will inspire the community to get involved, so that we can better serve children and families in need across the state."Community members who would like to support LFCS's ongoing efforts can donate at any time, or participate in Give STL Day on. Visit http://www.lfcsmo.org to learn more information and get involved.###About Lutheran Family and Children's Services (LFCS) LFCS, a proud member of the United Way, is a statewide agency with headquarters in, three regional offices, and numerous satellite service sites. The mission of LFCS is to empower children and families to overcome challenges today so they can build a better tomorrow. As a nonprofit social services organization, its vision is to make generations of children and families safer and stronger together. LFCS opens doors for people who face poverty, unexpected pregnancy, violence, unemployment, illness, homelessness, and more. To tackle these challenges, LFCS programs are delivered in two key services areas: Family Services and Behavioral Health Services. A dedicated staff delivers professionalism and personal care in equal measure to every situation and each client who visits one of the many offices in. LFCS services are open to anyone regardless of race, faith, national origin, gender, or age. For more information, call 314-754-2785 or visit lfcsmo.org., Lutheran Children and Family Services, 636.527.9254 x5, mbarreca@arcoandassociates.comSOURCE Lutheran Children and Family Services
Joe Biden wants to use taxpayer money to promote critical race theory lessons in schools in a move branded 'politically tone-deaf' by Republicans.

The Education Department has this week proposed two new funding priorities covering US history and civics education programs and activities.

Federal grant money will be offered to incentivize the 'woke' lessons for teachers and students.

Joe Biden wants to use taxpayer money to promote critical race theory lessons in schools in a move branded 'politically tone-deaf' by Republicans

The move hopes to 'incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives' into the curriculum and improve 'information literacy', The Washington Examiner reported.

Republican strategist John Feehery slammed the plans as he accused Biden of ignoring the more pressing issue of opening up schools.

He believes that parents would prefer for their children to receive an education that prepares them for college or a good job.

He said: 'They don't want this political balderdash. I think it is politically tone-deaf on their part, and I think it will hurt them in swing-state districts.'

Republican strategist John Feehery slammed the plans

Former Kansas Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp agreed, seeing it as 'nothing more than an attempt to misuse hard-earned taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America's children with even more anti-American nonsense.'

He believes the so-called 'woke' lessons will help Republicans as people are turned off by Biden's plans.

The proposals could be enforced by this fiscal year and hope to convey how history and civics education can convey the importance of diversity in US democracy.

The syllabus will focus on slavery and the major contributions of black people to society.

The proposed rule states: 'It is critical that the teaching of American history and civics creates learning experiences that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students.'

Some see the second proposal as a direct rebuke to Donald Trump as it seeks to teach students how to critically evaluate information to distinguish truth from fact.

The push for the new syllabus was previewed early in Biden's administration after he signed an executive order to address racial inequity.

The proposals come amid a huge backlash over 'woke' lessons in private schools, which have led to one teacher losing his job after he complained.

In one incident, math teacher Paul Rossi (above) was 'relieved of his teaching duties' at the $57,000-a-year Grace Church School in Manhattan after he penned an essay accusing the school of indoctrinating students last week

Last week, parents and teachers from New York City private schools that charge more than $50,000 annual tuition accused educators there of indoctrinating students with anti-racism material.

Manhattan-based Grace Church School teacher Paul Rossi was ousted from the classroom on Monday after he accused the school of 'indoctrinating' students with antiracist lessons 'at the cost of students' psychological and intellectual development'.

In an essay shared on former New York Times editor Bari Weiss's Substack, Rossi said he could no longer stay silent while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that the curriculum has on children.

Days later, another elite New York City prep school was accused by a parent of brainwashing his child with anti-racism ideology.

Andrew Gutmann, 45, had announced in an April 13 letter shared by journalist Bari Weiss this week that he has chosen not to reenroll his daughter in the all-girls Brearley school where annual tuition is $54,000.

He pulled his daughter from the school over its woke antiracism 'obsession.' He accused the school of 'teaching what to think not how to think.'

The school responded by slamming him for being 'offensive.'
This is my response to Castanets request for readers' thoughts on travel restrictions, and I write on behalf of all small business owners struggling to survive. The most important and most critical travel restrictions that our governments, provincially and federally, need to enforce immediately, is overseas travel. It is common sense to not allow flights from outside countries during this time, especially from Covid hot spots like Delhi. My blood pressure exploded when I read all of the exposures on recent flights.

Please let us learn from countries like Australia and New Zealand that have had success in managing Covid outbreaks.

Our businesses are restricted, our revenues are plummeting, yet ridiculous large extended families are travelling from Covid hot spots for family weddings in Canada? The borders must close. Federal borders can be enforced, provincial boarders cannot. Lets protect Canada, and not continue to increase the pressure on our health system. Ground flights so that we can survive.





Decoa Harder, Lake Country
An interdisciplinary team of Northwestern Engineering students called engiNUity was named the 2021 Design Challenge Grand Winner (Residential Divisions) in the US Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon.

The Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that challenges the next generation of building professionals to design and construct high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewable energy, while promoting student innovation, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities in the buildings industry. The competition included 72 teams from 12 countries, and engiNUity was one of 63 finalists.

The winning NUHome concept, created by a group of 12 undergraduates at the McCormick School of Engineering, includes efficient construction, a future-proof design, and natural light. The sustainable design, which was first named the winner in the Urban Single-Family Housing division, is carbon-neutral and reduces consumption.

The validation of the work we had put in sparked a new pride in the completeness of our design and was a great burst of encouragement to compete for the grand award, said Andrea Lin, the project manager and design leader. When we were announced as Residential Grand Winner, it just felt unreal.

The concept home was designed for a narrow 25 x 125 ft. parcel of land in Chicagos crowded Lakeview neighborhood. The areas tight constraints make solar access difficult, and Chicagos harsh weather conditions add further challenges to balance affordable energy production and needs. At the same time, the home is near multiple rapid-transit options and the neighborhood is friendly to bicyclists.

Crucially, the structures solar roof and efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system give the building an Energy Use Intensity rating of 12 and Home Energy Rating System score of -22.

"Northwestern's Solar Decathlon team designed a Chicago neighborhood home that seamlessly balances high energy and water efficiency, including maximization of solar energy potential, with a flexible, highly livable, and human-focused interior design, said David Corr, clinical professor of civil and environmental engineering, who served as the teams faculty adviser. Their success in this competition is a testament to their hard work, dedication, and their preparation in a spectrum of McCormick programs, most notably civil and environmental engineering, and the minor in architectural engineering and design."

The 2,326-square foot three-story building has a basic box shape and south-sloping roof to maximize the solar potential. The roof itself optimizes sun angles to minimize summer heat and maximize it in the winter. Building materials were chosen to be durable but easy to assemble, minimizing construction time.

A fully contained living unit on the first floor provides a space to extend family-housing, quarantine housing, or a space for owners as they age. This space, designed to be an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), prepares the home for the increased density of urban living and diversifies the housing types in the area.

Lin said the team's design approach was to create a sustainable home thats also attainable. The design of NUHome, she said, can help pay for itself through the rentable first-floor ADU as well as having decreased annual living expenses with more efficient systems.

On an annual basis, a home this size in Chicago would cost $6,092 per year. NUHome would run for $3,388 because of its energy efficiency.

NUHome aimed to provide an approach to single-family homes that is more resilient and adaptable than current residences, Lin said.

McCormicks team members come from the civil and environmental engineering, materials science and engineering, engineering sciences and applied mathematics, and mechanical engineering departments. They are:

Andrea Lin (CEE)

Luc Almony (CEE)

Christopher Banks (CEE)

Marc Donelan (CEE)

Ellie Fulkerson (CEE)

Saahir Ganti-Agrawal (MSE/ESAM)

Grace Hochberg (CEE)

Julia Kaminski (Sustainable Systems Design Engineering)

Taylor Miyamoto-Kim (ME)

Devin Shen (CEE)

Robert Szymczyk (CEE)

Bill Yen (CEE)

Our fight against the climate crisis is a lot like a decathlon, with all kinds of individual contests we need to get through  and we cant win unless we do well in them all, US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. Todays decathletes are tomorrows architects and engineers who are going to help us achieve President Bidens ambitious and achievable clean energy goals and build our net-zero future. I cant wait to see their big ideas come to life in neighborhoods across the country and around the world.

The engiNUity team will showcase their concept on Friday, April 23 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. For more information and the Zoom link, contact CEE program assistant Tierney Acott.
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), the world's premier organization for industrial and office commercial real estate professionals, released today the results of its newest Snapshot Sentiment Report, providing feedback from hundreds of member-brokers on the performance of transactions during Q1 2021, and their outlook for the next six months. The report highlights a market not only exceeding expectations, but also laying the foundation for a groundswell of new business in 2021 and beyond. The full report can be found on SIOR's Thought Leadership page.

As the results show, broker confidence has risen to levels not seen since the report began in 2020:

Overall market confidence among surveyed brokers hit a high of 7.3 (out of 10), compared to the low of 6.2 in Q4 2020

Industrial sector confidence reached its highest-ever number at 8, a big jump from 6.9 in the previous quarter

Office market confidence also rose dramatically to 5.9, up from Q4 2020's 4.7 rating

Positive leasing activity is a big reason for this significant boost in confidence. Overall leasing is actually exceeding pre-pandemic levels, with 62% of members reporting more activity, compared with 60% in Q4 2019 and only 29% last quarter. 74% of all deals are progressing on schedule, versus 67% in Q4 2020. But the good news doesn't end there:

Brokers report on-hold transactions have plunged down 83% since last spring and overall canceled transactions are at their lowest point in a year, impacting just 9% of deals

Canceled office transactions dropped 32% to only account for just 14% of deals

Industrial leasing activity also rose to a new high of 74%, up from 40% in Q4 2020

78% of industrial specialists indicate higher asking rents, a 53% increase since last quarter

"If there is any doubt the commercial real estate market still has significant runway for growth, the results of this report can put that uncertainty to rest," says SIORs CEO Robert Thornburgh, SIOR. "This is direct, on-the-ground feedback from the best brokers in the industry, from a range of markets, and they all tell the same story: deals are happening at a far greater pace than we've had in over a year, and the outlook ahead is the brightest we have seen since the pandemic reshaped our world."

To schedule interviews with SIOR representatives or a regional broker, please contact Roger Mecca at [email protected].

About SIOR ( www.sior.com )

The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors  (SIOR) is the leading society for industrial and office real estate professionals. Only the industry's top professionals qualify for the SIOR designation and adhere to the highest levels of accountability and ethical standards. Today, there are more than 3,400 SIOR members in 42 countries. www.sior.com

SOURCE Society of Industrial and Office Realtors
Seqster provides patient engagement with proprietary technology to access secure, longitudinal, and comprehensive healthcare data in real time, both at the patient level and at scale. This includes electronic health records (EHRs), pharmacy data, lab data, genomic data (DNA), fitness wearables data, and social determinants of health (SDOH).

"Seqster was built on the foundation that real-time access to a patient's complete medical history can solve major pain points across the healthcare continuum, impacting lives at scale," said Ardy Arianpour, CEO and co-founder of Seqster. "We are excited to have investors who are experienced operators and who share our mission and vision to change the way an enterprise or a patient can capture, refine and manage a multitude of disparate data sources in real-time, and present that aggregate in a way that solves real healthcare challenges."

"Seqster is solving one of healthcare's biggest challenges  siloed data, and they have done so with a solution that is comprehensive, easy to deploy, and scalable," said Tim O'Donnell, Managing Partner of OmniHealth Holdings. "Seqster has provided significant value in the pharmaceutical world by making it easier to recruit and track clinical trial participants. The company is making significant inroads in the healthcare space, where access to complete longitudinal patient data will lower costs and improve patient outcomes. This new investment will enable the company to expand further into healthcare, where Seqster's software has numerous applications."

Seqster was founded in 2016 by Ardy Arianpour, Dr. Xiang Li, and Dana Hosseini to directly address healthcare's fundamental problem of data silos and fragmented health data. Automated data collection in real-time is even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the clinical trial setting. Leading bio-pharmaceutical companies have been using the Seqster platform for remote clinical trials around the world.

ABOUT SEQSTER

Seqster is a SaaS-based healthcare technology company that enables organizations to drive efficient healthcare via comprehensive medical records (EHR), individual genomic profiles (DNA), and personal health device data. Its platform solves the challenge of siloed data in healthcare by providing a seamless, real-time solution that takes multi-dimensional, disparate healthcare data and provides a 360-degree view of a member or patient. The Seqster solution can be used to solve a multitude of data challenges across the healthcare continuum including clinical trial recruitment and tracking, patient on-boarding, data transparency regulations, population health initiatives and patient engagement.

The Seqster platform connects users to any source of health data nationwide including over 4000 hospitals and health systems and 150,000 doctor offices and medical clinics nationwide. Seqster is privately held and headquartered in San Diego.

If you are interested in partnering with Seqster, please contact: [email protected]

To learn more about Seqster, visit seqster.com or follow us @Seqster.

SOURCE Seqster

Related Links

http://seqster.com


Irelands plan to be a world leader in sustainable food systems by 2030 has been thrown open to public consultation.

Submissions or observations on the draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 and associated Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement are invited, until June 15, 2021.

The strategy aims for agri-food being profitable throughout (economic sustainability), with broad-based benefits for society (social sustainability), with a positive or neutral impact on the natural environment (environmental sustainability).

High-level targets include the food system being climate-neutral by 2050, with verifiable progress to this achieved by 2030, encompassing emissions, carbon sequestration, air, biodiversity and water quality.

Biogenic methane must be reduced by at least 10% in 2030, and ammonia emissions reduced below 107,500 tonnes.

Agriculture must reduce nutrient losses to water by 50% by 2030, and 10% of the farmed area must be prioritised for biodiversity, throughout the country.

Afforestation must be increased and sustainable production of biomass from forests doubled by 2035.

Ireland must have 30% of marine protected areas by 2030.

The organic farming target is at least 7.5% of farmland by 2030.

Per capita food waste must be halved by 2030.

Other targets include a strengthened Origin Green, improved farmer performance across a range of indicators, and expanded tillage, horticulture, organic and agro-forestry production.

The strategy aims for a more equitable distribution of value along the value chain, with recognition that higher ambition in sustainability has a cost.

The target for agri-food exports is 21 billion by 2030 (compared to 13 billion in 2020).

A Strategic Environmental Assessment prepared independently lists key sustainability issues facing Ireland and relevant to the Agri-Food Strategy:

Unfavourable condition of habitats and species in protected sites due to unsustainable agricultural, and fishing practices.

Continuing declines in species and habitats, including in protected areas.

Environmental threats outside of protected areas include climate change and increasing problems of pests, diseases and invasive species.

The assessment notes the risk to the reputation of Ireland and farmers as a food-producing nation with strong environmental credentials.

In climate change, the issues are greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, projected to rise; extreme weather events and climate breakdown.

Under the heading of human health, obesity, farm accidents, air quality impacts relating to agricultural emissions, and mental illness among farmers due to stress and isolation are noted.

Increasing pressures on soils are noted, including slurry and sludge, nutrient loss to water, and peatland degradation.

Key sustainability issues in water quality include nitrate and phosphate pollution, much of which is linked to agricultural activity, and risk of increased flooding due to climate change.

Air quality issues are ammonia from agriculture, and non-methane and nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture.

The vulnerability of built and archaeological heritage and landscapes is noted.

A screening process, undertaken in accordance with the EUs Habitats Directive and national legislation and guidance, has established that the Agri-Food Strategy could have significant effects on Natura 2000 sites, therefore a Stage 2 Appropriate Assessment is required.

Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said the draft strategy has sustainability in all its forms, environmental, social and economic, at its core, and environmental assessment continues now with an eight-week public consultation.

I encourage all those interested to participate in the public consultation and make their views known.

Minister of State Senator Pippa Hackett said: Achieving climate neutrality by 2050 will be challenging, and will certainly require changes in the way our land is used and farmed, but it will deliver gains as well.

To maximise these gains, we need everyone to contribute, and to pull together, so I urge all parties to take part in this consultation.

"This strategy sets out practical actions for the sector to become climate neutral by 2050, but it is also about restoring and enhancing biodiversity; improving water quality; and developing diverse, multi-functional forests.

We need to hear from everyone interested in these issues.

Minister of State Martin Heydon said: This draft Strategy aims to build on our positive international reputation as a supplier of quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably-produced food and drinks.

The Government is committed to overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 51% from 2021 to 2030 and to achieving climate neutrality no later than 2050, taking into account the special role of agriculture and the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane.
Lidl Ireland has been granted planning permission for the construction of a new discount foodstore supermarket with off-licence on an extended site in Maynooth.

The retailer will demolish the existing single-storey supermarket on the Straffan Road.

The gross floor space of the current premises measures 1,753 square metres but the new facility will be over 2,200 square metres.

The existing site layout and car parking at the present location will be revised and extended.

Also included in the designs is landscaping, public lighting, electric vehicle chargers and roof mounted solar panels.

In addition, the plans include cycle parking.

The total construction value of the project is listed in planning documents as 3.4m, according to Construction Information Service.
By Krishna N. Das

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will start receiving Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine by end-May, its local distributor Dr. Reddy's Laboratories told Reuters on Thursday, a later than expected schedule that could slow the country's immunisation drive.

"We are targeting to have the first batches imported by (fiscal) Q1, and are trying our best to have them by end-May," a Dr. Reddys spokesman told Reuters.

"Sputnik is going to be made in India in a few months. We expect the India-made vaccine to start being available from the second quarter of the fiscal (year)."

India's ambassador to Moscow said last week deliveries of Sputnik V to the country were expected to begin this month, the TASS news agency reported.

India recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday as a second wave of the pandemic raised new fears about the ability of crumbling health services to cope.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Kim Coghill)
President Klaus Iohannis announced that a meeting of the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) will be convened next week to discuss the situation in the Black Sea area.

"I will call a CSAT meeting next week dedicated specifically to this tense Black Sea area and the troop build-up on Ukraine's eastern border," the head of the state said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Half of consumers (50%) state that their impression of a brand is dependent on the design of the company's website, according to a new report from Top Design Firms, a directory of digital and creative agencies.

Because consumer preferences vary, businesses must evaluate their company's web design frequently. Given recent industry trends, companies should consider visual elements that improve customer experience and fit their overall messaging.

Half of consumers consider a company's website important to their overall brand, according to Top Design Firms. Top Design Firms finds that 31% of consumers believe user experience should be top priority for businesses redesigning their websites.

The data revealed that consumers prefer to see photos or images (40%), color (39%), and videos (21%) when visiting websites.

Consumers enjoy seeing multimedia experiences when visiting a website.

Jessica Day, the co-founder of IdeaScale , believes that while multimedia is essential to a website design, companies need to think about their customers.

"It's important to have multiple ways of sharing messages because not everyone is drawn to the same content types," said Day.

While preferences may vary, companies must consider one key element.

An Engaging User Experience is Key for a Successful Website Revamp

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, "physical" experiences a foreign concept to many. Small businesses, however, can still create engaging digital environments for their audience.

Nearly one-third of consumers (31%) believe that an engaging user experience should be a company's primary focus when designing a website.

An effective user experience needs to speak directly to a company's target audience. Understanding consumers' visions and preferences require research, so creating an exceptional user experience isn't a quick fix.

Calloway Cook, president of Illuminate Labs , agrees and encourages companies to think ahead.

"Optimizing for user experience is a continual process," said Cook.

Consumer preferences often change, and small businesses need to be prepared to update their websites to align with new trends that will generate high engagement.

Businesses must prepare for their website redesigns with user experience top of mind.

Poor Functionality is the Most Common Reason Visitors Leave Websites

Forty-two percent of consumers (42%) will leave a website because of poor functionality. Site visitors will leave websites because of cluttered layouts, lack of visibility, and slow response time.

When optimizing their website for user experience businesses should think of accessibility, navigation, and other efficiencies to make them as streamlined as possible.

"People will make assumptions about your product and services based on how easy or difficult it is to navigate your website," said Day.

Businesses that prioritize user preferences and streamlined functionality in their website redesign will make a positive impression on users.

Top Design Firms surveyed 500 consumers in April 2021 about their web design preferences.

Read the full report here: https://topdesignfirms.com/web-design/blog/website-redesign-checklist

For any questions about the survey or a comment on the findings, contact Anna Peck at [email protected].

About Top Design Firms

Top Design Firms is a directory of design, marketing, and development companies from around the world. Launched in 2003, Top Design Firms was recently acquired by Clutch, the leading ratings and reviews platform for IT, marketing, and business service providers.

Contact

Anna Peck

[email protected]

(202) 350-4344

SOURCE Top Design Firms
Charlene White has discussed her mother Dorrett's death from bowel cancer at age 47, saying she spent much of her childhood in hospital with her.

The Loose Women host, 41, appeared on Lorraine on Thursday in support of the 'No Butts' campaign which supports raising the awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer, the UK's second biggest cancer killer.

Charlene recalled how she often had to take her younger brother to school as a teen because her mother would be having chemotherapy and her father would be gone to work.

Heartbreaking: Charlene White has discussed her mother Dorrett's death from bowel cancer at age 47, saying she spent much of her childhood in hospital with her

She said: 'People find it really bizarre when I say, '[I had] a mum that was in hospital all the time, I mean, I was doing my homework sitting on the bed in Greenwich hospital, [that] was our normal and so we didn't know any different.

'Me having to take my brother to primary school before I went to school every morning was my normal, because my mum would be having chemo and my dad had to go to work, so that's all we ever knew during that period in our life.

'So I don't know what it's like to have a normal childhood in your late teens, early twenties, I don't know.

'But what I do know is that I don't want other families to have to go through that and lose a parent as a result of not spotting the signs and not going to their GP.'

Family: Charlene recalled how she often had to take her younger brother to school as a teen because her mother would be having chemotherapy and her father would be gone to work (pictured with her mother)

Charlene urged people not to be embarrassed about going to the doctor with bowel-related concerns.

She said: 'For whatever reason, some people get really embarrassed talking about their bowel movements. Talking about poo people get really embarrassed about it but the reality is, everybody does it.

'So why should we feel embarrassed about talking about it, feel embarrassed about being told to keep an eye on it or feel embarrassed about going to our GPs if we notice something is wrong?'

Charlene then explained her personal connection to the campaign and spoke about how her mum was only 43 when she was diagnosed with bowel cancer and that she sadly passed away four years later.

Awareness: The Loose Women host appeared on Lorraine in support of the 'No Butts' campaign which supports raising the awareness of the signs and symptoms of bowel cancer

She said: 'That's where we really have to take responsibility for our own bodies. What's wrong with making sure you check before you flush?

'Because that is the only way that you can know if there's something wrong. No one else is in that toilet cubicle with you in that moment because the reality is, if we don't, we could end up losing our lives and none of us wants that to be happening prematurely, not at all.'

'Technology and science have moved on a lot in the last 20 years and the way they treat it and the drugs that are available weren't available 20 years ago, and when my mum did go to the doctor about it, and they didn't diagnose it for a while, could that have meant that she could've been around for longer?

'No one really knows, but the reality is you know your body, you are in control of your body, you have to keep an eye on your body, because so many different things could happen as a result.'

Health: Charlene urged people not to be embarrassed about going to the doctor with bowel-related concerns

Charlene concluded: 'The reality of it is, if you see these things happening and you don't go to the GP, your family could lose a mum, could lose a dad. And yes, people think you need to be older for this to happen.

'My mum was 43 and I'm 41, I'm two years off the age my mum was when she was first diagnosed and that's something that's forever in my mind and especially since becoming a parent myself.

'I just can't imagine what she was going though at that age with three children when she knew that she was first diagnosed with it and when she knew that she wasn't going to survive. As a parent that's one of the most awful things, I think that you can go through.'

Lorraine airs weekdays from 9am on ITV and catch up on ITV Hub.
A man pleaded guilty Thursday in the murders of his childs mother and seven members of her family in 2016  a grisly crime that spread terror across their rural Ohio community and stirred rumors of drug dealers and hit men before authorities concluded it stemmed from a custody dispute.

On the fifth anniversary of the slayings, Edward Jake Wagner pleaded guilty to 23 counts in southern Ohio's Pike County in a deal with prosecutors that spares him from being sentenced to death. He agreed to cooperate in the cases against his parents and brother, who are also charged in the Rhoden family slayings of seven adults and a teenage boy.

I am guilty, your honor," Wagner calmly told the judge again and again, as Judge Randy Deering read each count aloud. The charges included eight counts of aggravated murder, as well as charges of conspiracy, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and other counts.

Wagner admitted he was personally responsible for five of the deaths, special prosecutor Angela Canepa said. He gave prosecutors a full account of what happened that morning, along with information that led to them to additional evidence. She did not say what that evidence was.

Wagner, 28, said in court that he is deeply and very sorry. He wasn't immediately sentenced, but his lawyers said he understands he faces a lifetime behind bars.

He knows hes going to die in prison without any judicial release. As horrifying as this is for all, he is as sorry as he could be, defense attorney Gregory Meyers told the judge.

The killings in April 2016  at three trailers and a camper near Piketon  terrified residents in the surrounding rural community and prompted one of the most extensive criminal investigations in state history. It took authorities more than two years to announce the arrests.

George Billy Wagner III, Angela Wagner and their son George Billy Wagner IV have pleaded not guilty.

Story continues

The victims were 40-year-old Christopher Rhoden Sr.; his ex-wife, 37-year-old Dana Rhoden; their three children, 20-year-old Clarence Frankie Rhoden, 16-year-old Christopher Jr., and 19-year-old Hanna, the mother of Jake Wagners child; Clarence Rhodens fiancee, 20-year-old Hannah Gilley; Christopher Rhoden Sr.s brother, 44-year-old Kenneth Rhoden; and a cousin, 38-year-old Gary Rhoden.

Prosecutors alleged the Wagner family planned the killings for months, motivated by a custody dispute. According to Canepa, Jake Wagner tried to convince Hanna Rhoden to agree to shared custody of their daughter and she refused. Wagner was able to gain access to two Facebook accounts and found a post from Hanna saying she would never agree to those terms.

Jake Wagner began dating Hanna Rhoden when she was 13. She became pregnant when she was 15, Canepa said.

The family after the slayings were questioned by authorities at the U.S.-Canadian border, where a laptop was seized. Forged documents were found on the computer purporting that Hanna Rhoden had agreed to shared custody.

The Wagners took phones from six of the victims, as well as a recording device and trail cameras, Canepa said.

The Wagners used guns with two homemade silencers, allowing them to kill their victims as they slept, Canepa said. Parts from a failed effort to build a silencer were found on the Wagners' property, she said.

Most of the victims were repeatedly shot in the head, and some showed signs of bruising. Three young children at the scenes, including Jake Wagners child, were unharmed.

According to Canepa, shell casings found at the Wagners' home matched those found at the murder scenes. Investigators also found a shoe of the same size and tread that matched a shoe print found a the scene.

A relative, Tony Rhoden Sr., has sued the suspects, saying he wanted to be sure none of them benefitted financially from the slayings.

One of his lawyers, Brian K. Duncan, said by email that the family is grateful for todays outcome, as it provides at least some semblance of justice on this day which coincides with the fifth anniversary of these tragic events."

___

Associated Press Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus contributed to this report.
President Emmerson Mnangagwas spokesperson George Charamba has revealed that Zanu PF tricked the opposition MDC formations to consent to the passing of the Constitutional Amendment No 20 with a contentious clause on the running mate, waiting to get a super majority in Parliament and then amend it before it becomes operational.

The running mate clause was one of the sticking points among a myriad of other clauses which nearly derailed the Constitution-making process as Zanu PF was bitterly opposed it. However, it grudgingly conceded to have the Constitution passed in a referendum.

The ruling party then tabled the Constitutional Amendment Bill No 2 with 27 amendments, among them the scrapping of the running mate clause, which has already sailed through the lower House on a 191 to 22 majority.

But Charamba said the ruling party presented a decoy to MDC formations to allow the constitutional work to progress while knowing very well that it would get a parliamentary majority to amend it before it was operationalised.

 ensuring that the running mate clause would be held in abeyance long enough for a return to it, Charamba tweeted on Wednesday.

In a master stroke, Zanu PF agreed to this contentious clause on proviso that it would be held in abeyance for 10 years. It now appears the opposition, clearly out of depth as always, thought Zanu PF had given in to their law-making whim.

He added: It never occurred to them Zanu PF merely conceded without ceding an inch of strategic ground. The running mate clause was unacceptable to Zanu PF both on grounds of principle and because of unsavoury experiences of the same.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill No 2 has been criticised for trying to consolidate the presidents power.

But Charamba said: I point this out to expose the fallacy which is being touted by easy journalists and commentators that the current President is responsible for scrapping of the running mate in order to consolidate his hold on power and to block Vice-President Chiwenga in Zanu PF succession matrix.

Of course, I am charmed to note that these commentators in that false reasoning admit that the future belongs to Zanu PF. On that aspect alone, they are very right!

In an interview yesterday, Charamba said Mnangagwa was not the one who co-ordinated for the amendment of the running mate clause, but it was the Zanu PF party members.

What the current President is doing is merely accomplishing Zanu PFs will which was agreed on, under the then late President Robert Mugabes leadership, he said.

However, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) in statement said it was devastated by the tragic betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe by elected representatives whose primary duty is to defend the Constitution.

ZimRights national director Dzikamai Bere said the 191 MPs who voted for the Bill had betrayed the people of Zimbabwe. Amendment Bill Number 2 is the single deadliest blow to our constitutionalism so far, he said.

It is a tragedy that the people who claim to represent the people of Zimbabwe are acting with impunity against the very people they purport to represent. I hope the people will punish them for this treasonous act.

ZimRights and other civil society organisations have described the Amendment Bill Number 2 as an affront to democracy.

ZimRights national chairperson Takesure Musiiwa said: As ZimRights, we are against the attempt to push back into the Constitution what the people had rejected during the Constitution-making process.

During public hearings held by Parliament, thousands of ZimRights members participated in the physical and virtual public meetings and spoke out against the amendment. Newsday
New cases worldwide a new weekly record: WHO

New cases across the world have set a fresh record last week with more than 5.24 million new cases, according to the World Health Organization. The previous high was in January when 5.04 million new cases were reported. The latest surge is being driven largely by a resurgence in India, where it reported nearly 300,000 new cases on Wednesday alone. The rate at which new coronavirus-related deaths are being reported is also accelerating, according to the WHO. More than 83,000 deaths were reported last week, compared with 76,000 the week before. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics Global infections: 143,865,299 Global deaths: 3,058,657 Nations with most cases: US (31,862,401), India (15,930,774), Brazil (14,122,795), France (5,436,229), Russia (4,673,699). Source: John Hopkins Research Center

Pfizer, Moderna vaccines safe for pregnant women: Study

During the clinical trials of the vaccines, pregnant women were excluded. That left patients, doctors and experts unsure whether the shots were safe to administer during pregnancy. Now in an early analysis of safety data, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have found no evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines pose serious risks during pregnancy. The findings are preliminary and cover just the first 11 weeks of the US vaccination program. But the study, which included self-reported data on more than 35,000 people who received one of the vaccines during or shortly before pregnancy, is the largest yet on the safety of the coronavirus vaccines in pregnant people. Read here

Has the pandemic changed our sleep habits?

Over a year into the coronavirus pandemic, lack of social interaction and months of stress have left many feeling exhausted. The most pressing question in the current times that many have been asking is that whether the pandemic has in any way affected bedtime routines of people around the world? In this podcast, experts dive deep and explore whether that is the case and if so why is that happening. Read here

Australia and New Zealand grapple with vaccine rollout

Despite the victories won over coronavirus in the past year, Australia and New Zealand are struggling with vaccine rollouts. Australias sluggish pace of delivery  blamed on a series of mistakes by the government and overseas supply delays  has prompted estimates that the country wont return to normal levels of international travel until 2024. New Zealand  which started to vaccinate in February  has to date administered a first dose to just 4.5 per cent of eligible people. Read here
MDOT to lift more spring weight restrictions in U.P. Friday

Dan Weingarten, MDOT Office of Communications, 906-250-4809 Transportation

April 22, 2021 -- Effective 6 a.m. Friday, April 23, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will lift seasonal weight restrictions on all state trunkline highways from the southern Michigan border north to and including US-2/US-141 at the Menominee River bridge west of Iron Mountain, then east on US-2 to US-41 in Rapid River, then north on US-41 to the M-28 intersection in Harvey.

Frost restrictions are still in effect for the remainder of the state and will be imposed and enforced on all state trunkline highways north and west of this line.

In the restricted areas, the following will apply:

- On routes designated as "all-season" (designated in green and gold on the MDOT Truck Operators Map), there will be no reduction in legal axle weights.

- On routes designated as "seasonal" (designated in solid or dashed red on the MDOT Truck Operators Map), there will be a posted weight reduction of 25 percent for rigid (concrete) pavements and 35 percent for flexible (asphalt) pavements.

- All extended permits will be valid for oversize loads in the weight-restricted area on the restricted routes. Single-trip permits will not be issued for any overweight loads or loads exceeding 14 feet in width, 11 axles and 150 feet in overall length on the restricted routes.

County road commissions and city public works departments put in place their own seasonal weight restrictions, which usually, but not always, coincide with state highway weight restrictions. Signs are generally posted to indicate which routes have weight restrictions in effect.

For weight restriction information and updates, call 800-787-8960, or you can access this information on MDOT's website at www.Michigan.gov/Truckers, under "Restrictions." All-season routes are designated in green and gold on the MDOT Truck Operators Map, which is available online. You also may sign up to receive e-mail alerts.

Trucking companies located in New Jersey and Canada can obtain information by calling 517-373-6256.
South Africa: Department provides clarity on administration and management system

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has disputed media reports saying that the latest version of the South African Administration and Management System (SA-SAMS) has not been released.

The release has in fact taken place and schools are currently using the system to prepare reports for learners as the first term comes to an end tomorrow [Friday], the department said in a statement on Thursday.

The department said it has made the software available to schools who are currently seized with the work of compiling learner records of performance, among other things.

The department said it needed to make some adjustments to the system, which include amongst others, the SA-SAMS version 21.1.1 which has been released and includes the 2021 Curriculum settings.

According to the department, the release differs from previous years, as it was developed in complete collaboration with relevant Policy Owners which include Curriculum, and Examination Assessment.

The change of methodology in releasing SA-SAMS version 21.1.1 originated from the demand of correct and up-to-date data that could be sourced, using the SA-SAMS. Emanating from the revision of the Annual Teaching Plans (ATPs) and Programmes of Assessment (POAs) across all grades, and the associated amendments to Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), major amendments to the SA-SAMS programme were required for 2021.

This version was therefore pending the submission of the 2021 subject assessment programme of GET [General Education and Training] and FET [Further Education and Training] subjects, including the verification thereof by the relevant Subject Specialists and Assessment officials, which has concluded, the department explained.

SA-SAMS is designed for the South African Education Sector and is maintained by the DBE, ensuring that it is aligned to education policies. It is freely provided to all school and aims to assist schools with their own school administration and reporting.

The department highlighted that SA-SAMS provides the only electronic platform to ensure efficient and standardised policy implementation and reporting across all provinces.

The system is able to save on exorbitant resources for the sector by eliminating data duplication, since it is the source system to collect the National Senior Certificate (NSC) registration information.

SA-SAMS is updated quarterly with requests received from users and various policy owners.

Changes are only included after consultation and recommendation from relevant governance structures, with representation from all Provincial Education Management and Information Systems (EMIS). The new version is only released after being tested by the Provincial Education Management and Information Systems (EMIS) sections as well as the relevant Policy Owners.

Changes are audited by Internal Audit and the usage of SA-SAMS for reporting by schools, as well as the data submitted is audited annually by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) as part of the audits of national systems, the department said.

Revision of Annual Teaching Plans

The department also noted that disruptions to schooling in 2020, emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated amendments to Section 4 of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), resulted in the revision of the Annual Teaching Plans (ATPs) and Programmes of Assessment (PoA), across all grades and all subjects for both 2020 and 2021.

One of the most significant additions to the PoA in 2021, is the inclusion of fixed weightings for all assessment tasks that are administered and this will ensure consistency in the computation of School Based Assessment (SBA) marks across the various schools.

This led to the need for major amendments to the South African School Administration and Management System programme for 2021. These amendments have a direct impact on the capturing of marks and the calculation of the SBA marks for all learners, as well as the quarterly reporting of the learner assessment results.

The department emphasised that the release of SA-SAMA will lay a foundation for the sector and assist schools to accurately report on learner performance. It will also ensure uniformity across the country.

The changes have now been captured on the SA-SAMS programme, and the Recovery Curriculum Programme will remain stable for next three years.

A test version of 21.1.0 was found in the schools. Changes were done in response to verification and sign off by the subject specialists and therefore, the final release is renamed 21.1.1 to ensure that the correct version is run by the schools. Schools must ensure that this version is installed on their computers as this is a user friendly release, said the department.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Insect decline is one of the greatest challenges facing our society. As a result of the destruction of many natural habitats, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, beetles and the like find less and less food. As a consequence, they are barely able to fulfil their role as pollinators of wild and cultivated plants. This trend is increasingly noticeable in agricultural regions in particular.

Researchers at the University of Munster have now taken a more detailed look at how the choice of seeds in restoration measures - i.e. the restoration of natural habitats at degraded land - affects how insects benefit from these measures. Here, not only the plant species plays an important role, but so does the geographical provenance of the seeds used - because the provenance influences not only insect diversity but also how often the pollinators visit flowers. The results of the study have been published in the "Journal of Applied Ecology".

Background and methodology

Insects are indispensable for the functioning of ecosystems - and for human survival. They are necessary, for example, for the pollination of many cultivated plants which are, in turn, an essential source of nutrition for humans. In regions characterized by agriculture or in built-up areas with settlements and cities, there are reduced resources available to pollinators. In order to support them in their pollination, flower-rich habitats are created in the landscape, often in the form of wildflower stripes.

When flower stripes or other habitats are created, however, it should be taken into account that plant species are not homogeneous entities, as their populations genetically differ. This differentiation often occurs as a result of population adaptation to their local environment. A brown knapweed, for example, which grows near the sea - where frost is rare - will be less frost-resistant than a brown knapweed which grows in the mountains, where frost is common. The differences can be seen in many plant traits, and some of these differences can influence pollinators, for example the number of flowers or the time when they flower. "Depending on the provenance, some populations flower earlier than others," as Dr. Anna Lampei Bucharova from Munster University's Institute of Landscape Ecology explains, who also lead the study. "When setting up habitats for pollinators, these within-species differences have so far often been neglected," she adds, "and the plants are mostly selected regardless of their provenance. This is why we tested to see whether the provenance of the plants influences pollinators."

The geographical provenance of the seeds plays a key role in this context. In a field experiment, the researchers formed small experimental plant communities which had exactly the same species composition but different provenances. The populations came from the Munster region, from the area around Munich and from greater Frankfurt an der Oder. They then recorded flowering data, observed the pollinators visiting these communities, and compared the frequency and diversity of the pollinators in communities with different provenances.

The researchers discovered that a plant's provenance influences pollinators - both how often the pollinators visit flowers and also the diversity of the insect species. "The effect can be considerable," says Dr. David Ott, co-author of the study. "We observed twice as many visits by pollinators at flowers of one provenance than at flowers of another provenance. The most important parameter driving this is the phenology of the plant's flower - in other words, the temporal sequence of flowering," he adds. The researchers conclude that plants from some provenances started to flower earlier and more intensively than others, and so they presented more flowers and, as a result, interacted more frequently with pollinators.

The results are important both for scientists and for ecological restoration. The researchers are confident that Germany provides good conditions for implementing provenance-based restoration strategies, because regional ecotypes of many species are readily available in the so-called "Regiosaatgut" ("regional seeds") system. This system provides regional seeds for many species for up to 22 regions in Germany. Thus, by selecting the appropriate plant origins, resources for pollinators could be sustainably improved.

###
Colombo: Kate Schneider from Ireland has been named the new Mrs World after the reigning titleholder resigned following an on-stage fracas in which she pulled the crown off the head of the winner of the Mrs Sri Lanka beauty pageant, organizers said.

Mrs World Inc. said it has received the resignation of Caroline Jurie and that the first runner-up, Mrs Ireland Kate Schneider, therefore will be the new Mrs World 2020.

The website of Mrs World, a beauty pageant for married women, published a photo of Schneider with the title Mrs World.

Caroline Jurie relinquished her title earlier this month while defending her decision to remove the crown from the head of this year's Mrs Sri Lanka titleholder, Pushpika De Silva, who she claimed was unqualified to take part in the April 4 contest because she was divorced.

De Silva said she is separated, but not divorced, from her husband. Being apart is one. Divorce is something else, she said on Facebook.

Jurie, who is also Sri Lankan, was accused of injuring De Silva in the televised pageant. Four days later, she was arrested on charges of simple hurt and criminal force and later released on bail.

Jurie said she was standing against injustice and that the pageant was tainted. She said she wanted to ensure that every contestant had an equal opportunity.

Mrs World Inc. said in a statement Tuesday that Jurie's voluntary resignation decision was made solely by Caroline herself. The incident at the pageant, which was attended by the prime minister's wife, created an uproar in Sri Lanka, which will host the final Mrs World event this year.
Representatives of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania made a joint statement of support for Ukraine and condemnation of Russia's aggressive actions during the meeting in Shyrokine, Donetsk region, sealed it with their signatures, the press service of the Donetsk Regional State Administration reported.

In particular, the Vice Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Paulius Saudargas said that the war in Donbas is Russia's aggression.

"Brothers, you are not alone. Today we saw with our own eyes a problem that is not only your problem, but also a problem for the whole of Europe and the whole world. This is not a bilateral conflict, this is an aggression of one side, and this side is Russia," Saudargas said.

He was supported by Vice Marshal of the Polish Sejm Magorzata Gosiewska.

"Unfortunately, I have seen more than one war. I have seen a war not only here in Ukraine, but also in Georgia. In my opinion, they are united by two things: a terrible oppressive silence that reigns now where life once boiled. and the culprit is the Russian Federation, it brought pain, destruction and devastation to these lands," she said.

The Regional State Administration also reported that First Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, Vice Marshal of the Seim of the Republic of Poland Malgorzata Gosiewska, Vice Speaker of the Seim of the Republic of Lithuania Paulius Saudargas visited the port of Mariupol, the Hnutove checkpoint and the village of Shyrokine.
Over 315,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 315,660 fresh infections on Thursday, taking the cumulative caseload to 15.9 million infections, according to central health ministry data. This is also the biggest ever one-day rise in cases reported by any country so far. The country saw 2104 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 184,657. The active caseload is at 2.2 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 13.4 million. As many as 132 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.2 million were given on Wednesday. Read more here

Karnataka allows last rites of Covid victims on family-owned private land

Individuals who die of Covid-19 in Karnataka can be buried or cremated in the land owned by the family members or relatives of the deceased, but strictly following Covid protocol, a report in The News Minute said. Guidelines have been issued by the Karnataka government on how the body of the deceased should be transported and on how the cremation or burial should take place, the report said. Read more here

Rajasthan is now left with stock for just 3 days

Rajasthan, which was administering as many as 500,000 Covid vaccine shots a day about two weeks ago, is now grappling with a shortage of doses, a report in ThePrint said. The state claims it had vaccinated over 10 million people between March 1 and April 12. Among the larger states, it also had a leading position in terms of inoculation percentage. But Rajasthans daily vaccination numbers have since dipped  to as low as 110,000 once last week  from its target of 500,000 a day. The state is now administering around 200,000 to 250,000 vaccines daily, and at this rate, officials told ThePrint, Rajasthan is now left with only three more days vaccine stocks. Read more here

EXPLAINED: Can I get the vaccine at a pharmacy from May 1?

The vaccine is technically not allowed to be sold in the private market through chemists or pharmacies as it is still under emergency use authorisation, an explainer in The Indian Express said. However, Serum Institute of India's CEO Adar Poonawalla said in a television interview he expects to be able to sell Covishield in the private market in six months or so. He added that there currently wasnt enough stock of the vaccine to offer it in the private market either  it currently produces around 60-70 million doses a month. Read more here

EXPLAINED: What are the upcoming changes in vaccine procurement?

From May 1, the supply of vaccines will be divided into two baskets: 50 per cent for the central government, and 50 per cent for the open market, an explainer in The Indian Express said. Through the latter, state governments, private hospitals, and industries that have facilities to administer the vaccine will be able to procure doses directly from manufacturers. Read more here
Henry Shefflin was at hand last Friday to officially handover a significant supply of knitwear, courtesy of Kaideen Knitwear Baltinglass, in conjunction with Kilkenny GAA Supporters Club, to Mary Pierce - founder of local community group, Kilkenny Helping The Homeless.

The handover was facilitated at Nowlan Park by the professional and efficient organisational skills of John Mackey and Sean Buggy, who helped to put all the pieces in place.

Kilkenny hurling maestro Shefflin took some time after the handover to commend the work being done by local community groups such as Kilkenny Helping The Homeless.

Were very fortunate in Kilkenny to have people like Mary and Brendan Pierce and the other volunteers in Kilkenny as well as organisations willing to donate such as Kaideen Knitwear here today.

We have some amazing local community groups, charities, volunteers, lots of people donating clothes and food. I suppose the ask is that we continue to do that and I ask the people of Kilkenny to continue to do that.

The pandemic has brought out a good side of the Irish public but with the hardships brought on by the pandemic we could continue to see more and more people facing the prospect of becoming homeless.

Niall Doogue from Kaideen Knitwear expressed his delight to be representing the company at the handover and commended the work being done by Kilkenny Helping The Homeless.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long announced the information at an online meeting with Cambodian Minister of Health Mam Bunheng on April 22 in a bid to update information and share experiences in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control.

The Vietnamese Health Minister valued the efforts of Cambodia in implementing anti-COVID-19 measures, noting that Vietnam is ready to assist Cambodia in its pandemic prevention fight.

One of Vietnam's experiences in COVID-19 treatment is that all treatment facilities need to be connected to exchange, discuss and consult with each other on difficult cases, the minister said.

Long added that Cambodia's treatment facilities will be connected to Vietnams and Vietnamese doctors and experts will assist Cambodian doctors for the most effective treatment. Vietnam is also ready to send its experts and doctors to Cambodia to support the country ifs required.

Minister Long said that the Vietnamese Government has decided to provide Cambodia with 800 ventilators, two million medical masks, 300,000 N95 masks and other medical equipment amidst an urgent need for pandemic prevention equipment, one of the biggest supports from Vietnam to a country in its COVID-19 pandemic prevention.

Minister Long expressed his hope that the CambodianHealth Minister would continue to strengthen the anti-pandemic work, particularly in provinces featuring a shared border with Vietnam.

He thanked the Cambodian side for supporting Vietnamese citizens in Cambodia while hoping Cambodia would soon overcome the pandemic.
Grasp the futureCity takes a lead in recovery of major global exhibitions

By:Lu Yukun | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-04-22 13:57





The 2021 Shanghai International Auto Show, the world's first A-class auto show held this year, ushered in its first media day on April 19.

The staging of the auto show is not a standalone case. It is an epitome of what's happening around the globe. Today, in Shanghai, ports and airports are transporting products and raw materials around the clock, providing strong support for the fragile international trade ecosystem.

Compared with trade of goods, public platforms for new product launches, technology exchange and concept collision are even scarcer today. Shanghai happens to make up for the world's shortage.





The middle of April has seen the arrival of three major exhibitions, which are the Shanghai International Trade Fair held at the Expo exhibition hall, the Watches and Wonders Shanghai exhibition staged at the West Bank Art Center, and the ongoing Shanghai Auto show at the National Exhibition and Convention Center. The exhibitions have enlivened the atmosphere on both sides of the Huangpu River.

It feels like a traveler finding an oasis after a journey in a desert, said Carson Chan, the chief advisor of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) at the West Bund Art Center located at the Xuhui waterfront area.He flew to Shanghai last month from Hong Kong and finally made it to this exhibition after a 14-day quarantine.

The Watches and Wonders Geneva exhibition, normally held in April each year, has been transformed into a virtual trade fair this year, while Baselworld 2021 has officially been canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The W&W Shanghai edition, however, has made up for the absence of a physical fair. It debuted last year with unexpected success, and is back this year with 19 exhibiting brands, including top brands like Rolex, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc and Chopin.

Compared with the relatively small market of high-end clocks and watches, large-scale international exhibitions for cars are geared towards hundreds of thousands of consumers and are thus particularly important. Especially at a moment of profound change in the automotive industry, with electric cars and autonomous driving coming online, every car-maker wants to show their innovative products and technologies to the world.

The headquarters and overseas factories of some multinational auto companies havent resumed their work or production yet as of the Shanghai auto show opening, but they showed a strong desire to launch new cars, show concept cars and exchange cutting-edge technologies. "No matter how hard it is now, it will be gone. But if you miss the future, you really miss a lot," a person in charge of the China headquarters of a multinational auto company said.

"At present, Shanghai plays an important role in promoting the "return" of globally important offline exhibition activities." Exhibition industry experts believe that exhibitions such as auto shows and world mobile conferences that are usually held in many cities around the world in turn, especially need Shanghai to "make a good start" during the pandemic to help the global exhibition industry recover.

Under the pressure of the pandemic, global exhibition activities accelerate the digital transformation. When some exhibitions open in Shanghai, they can also be shared with the world in a digital way. The hundreds of new offerings that were unveiled online at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2021, for example, made their debut offline in Shanghai a few days later. Although the two places are thousands of miles apart, they can jointly empower the global watch industry through the combination of physical and virtual exhibition. "I think this is a pioneering attempt of international cooperation," Carson Chan said.
A firm linked to a Conservative minister was handed more than 1million of contracts during the Covid pandemic by a Government-owned company, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Recruitment company SThree was handed the contracts while still counting Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi as a shareholder.

The multi-millionaire vaccines minister was a non-executive director at the publicly listed firm until 2017 when he stepped down to focus on his political career.

A firm linked to a Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi was handed more than 1million of contracts during the Covid pandemic by a Government-owned company, the Daily Mail can reveal. Pictured: Zahawi is given a dose of Covid-19 vaccine

However, he listed a shareholding worth at least 70,000 in the firm on the most recent register of MPs interests.

Since the UK was first placed in lockdown in March last year, SThree has been awarded contracts totalling more than 1.1million to provide temporary staff to a Government-owned company.

The contract awards were made by UK Shared Business Services (UK SBS), which is owned by the Department for Business.

Mr Zahawi was a junior minister in that department until last November when he was appointed vaccines minister.

UK SBS supplies HR, finance, procurement and IT expertise to a number of public research bodies in the UK.

Public Health England, an agency of the Department of Health, also gave SThree a contract worth 95,000 last December to provide emergency staff as part of its effort to tackle the pandemic.

The emergency purchase was made without a formal contract and a notice was only published last month.

Last night, shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves, said: This demonstrates once again the cosy relationship between ministers, their commercial interests and contracts paid for with taxpayers money.

[The fact that] companies with a link to ministers can win millions in contracts paid for by taxpayers will leave British businesses in despair.

Government have got to clean up these crony contracts, otherwise it appears its just one rule for them, another for everyone else.

Mr Zahawi listed shares worth at least 70,000 in SThree on the register of MPs interests when it was updated last Monday.

He also added ownership of a new property in Dubai during the update.

Recruitment company SThree was handed the contracts while still counting Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi as a shareholder. Pictured: Zahawi speaks on the BBC

In addition, he has listed his SThree shareholding on the list of ministers interests, which is published separately.

However, Mr Zahawi told the Mail last night that he had now sold his shares in SThree and added that the register would be updated.

He continued: I have had no contacts/business discussions with SThree or any of its directors or employees since leaving the company.

The minister, a former adviser to David Cameron, was once described as one of Parliaments richest MPs for his multi-million property portfolio and six-figure second jobs.

Before rising through the ranks of the Tory party, he was best known as the wealthy founder and former chief executive of pollster YouGov. Records show that Mr Zahawi was made a director of SThree in 2008, where he earned 40,000 a year to serve as a non-executive director attending monthly board meetings.

He unwound some of his business interests before being appointed education minister in a 2018 reshuffle by then prime minister Theresa May.

The multi-millionaire vaccines minister was a non-executive director at the publicly listed firm until 2017 when he stepped down to focus on his political career

Mr Zahawi, who was first elected in 2010, took on a 241,500-a-year part-time role at oil firm Gulf Keystone in 2015 while still serving as an MP. Transparency records show he was paid bonuses of 78,000 by the firm in 2016 and a 253,000 bonus in early 2017 before quitting in 2018.

SThree could not be reached for comment. It is not suggested the company did anything wrong.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that junior minister Chris Philp co-owns a firm that has benefited from a Government-backed Covid support scheme.

The Tory MP and immigration minister holds a stake in Pluto Finance, a company that offers loans to property developers.

Last month, it was accredited as a lender under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)  a Government scheme aimed at supporting small businesses harmed by the pandemic.

Mr Philp, who formerly worked for US consulting giant McKinsey, lists shareholdings of more than 15 per cent in a number of companies associated with Pluto Finance.

When he was elected in 2015, it was reported he would take a step back from the day-to-day running of the company.

He notified the Government and Parliament about the companys connection to the scheme last week. A spokesman said Mr Philp had no role in the application and did not discuss it with anyone in any Government department.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter is pleading not guilty.

Renard Lydell Carter, 30 of Rochester, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder of an unborn child. He was arrested in September 2020 after Rochester police said Carter killed the pregnant Keona Foote, 23, and her daughter Miyona Miller. Their bodies were found at Olympik Village Apartments.

Authorities say Carter fled to South Carolina after the slayings and was arrested there after threatening to kill police officers while streaming events live on Facebook.

Carter entered not guilty pleas Thursday in Olmsted County District Court. No trial date has been set.
The host of ABC show Q&A has been accused by the Greens of allowing an oil company director to 'mock' and 'patronise' one of their senators.

Aramco director and former Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris clashed with Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young during a heated discussion about fossil fuels on Thursday night's show.

During the exchange Ms Hanson-Young called Mr Liveris 'patronising' while he accused her of 'yelling' at him during the debate, prompting her party to criticise host Hamish Macdonald for not taking her side.

The host of ABC's Q&A has been accused of staying silent while a male panellist was 'mocking and patronising' towards a female senator

The panel discussed Australia's commitment to reducing cardon dioxide emissions following the announcement by the US that it wanted to halve its emissions by 2030.

During one exchange, Mr Liveris told Ms Hanson-Young: 'Let me teach you a new term: "fossil feed stock".

'Fossil feed stock is all of your modern life.'

'If you want a chemistry lesson,' he added, referring to the other panellists, 'I'll help you out the back.'

'You're so patronising, seriously,' Ms Hanson-Young interjected.

When Mr Liveris disagreed, she said, 'I'm not the one shaking my finger at people, mate.'

Mr Liveris then accused Ms Hanson-Young of yelling at him after host Hamish McDonald asked panellists to 'try and keep it respectful.'

The Queensland Greens accused host Hamish Macdonald of staying silent while Mr Liveris patronised the other panel members

Social media users watching the show and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull accused Mr Liveris of 'mansplaining'

Mr Liveris accused Ms Hanson-Young of 'yelling' at him after host Hamish McDonald asked panellists to 'try and keep it respectful'

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull accused Mr Liveris of sexism during a disagreement on how many jobs were provided by industries who use gas as feed stock.

'I don't mind you mansplaining me,' Mr Turnbull said.

'That's a pretty cheap shot,' Mr Liveris protested.

The Queensland branch of the Greens also emphasized the gender issue in a tweet which called Mr Liveris 'appalling' and accused Hamish Macdonald of staying silent.

'Women should be able to appear on @QandA & speak without being spoken down to, interrupted, mocked, patronised, have a finger pointed at them and spoken over the top of,' the party tweeted from an official account.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - CGX Energy Inc. (TSXV: OYL) ("CGX Energy" or the Company") and Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera"), joint-venture partners (the "Joint Venture") in the Petroleum Prospecting License for the Corentyne block offshore Guyana, separately announced today that CGX Resources Inc. ("CGX Resources"), Operator of the Corentyne offshore block, has entered into an agreement (the "Drilling Contract") with Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S, for the provision of a semi-submersible drilling unit, the Maersk Discoverer, and associated services to drill the Joint Venture's Kawa-1 well. The Joint Venture is targeting an early third quarter spud for the Kawa-1 well in 2021.

The primary target for the Kawa -1 well is a Santonian age, stratigraphic trap, interpreted to be analogous to the discoveries immediately to the east on Block 58 in Suriname. The Kawa-1 well is anticipated to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 6,500 meters in a water depth of approximately 370 meters.

The main terms of the Drilling Contract is as follows:

Parties CGX Resources Inc. and Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd Rig Maersk Discoverer Area Guyana/Suriname basin Contract One (1) firm well on the Corentyne block and one (1) optional well on the Demerara block Commencement time Third Quarter 2021 Type Day rate contract: 75 - 85 days for the firm well and 40 days for optional well Parent Company Guarantee A Deed of Guarantee is expected to be provided by Frontera by May 1, 2021 Signing date April 21, 2021

The Maersk Discoverer is a 6th Generation semi-submersible mobile drilling unit capable of operating in 3,000 meters water depth. Its primary features are a 15,000 psi rated well control system, a dual activity derrick, and a moored capability with dynamic positioning. These features make it an excellent fit for the Kawa-1 well's subsurface conditions, drilling requirements and the water depth on location.

In conjunction with the Drilling Contract between CGX Resources and Maersk, Frontera anticipates entering into a separate Deed of Guarantee (the "Deed") with Maersk for certain obligations in connection with the day rates under the Drilling Contract on behalf of CGX Resources, up to a maximum of $25 million subject to a sliding scale mechanism in connection with payments made under the Drilling Contract. Frontera and CGX Energy anticipate entering into an agreement pursuant to which all amounts drawn under the Deed that are attributed to CGX Resources' share of the Joint Venture costs, shall be guaranteed by CGX Energy.

About CGX Energy

CGX Energy is a Canadian-based oil and gas exploration company focused on the exploration of oil in the Guyana-Suriname Basin.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur in the future. These forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by CGX Energy. CGX Energy believes the expectations and assumptions on which it develops forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. In addition, other risks that may affect the forward-looking statements in this news release are outlined further in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and CGX Energy undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact: Tralisa Maraj, Chief Financial Officer at (832) 300-3200.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81352
The Biden administration is speeding up the pace of efforts to undo Trump administration health policies.

The two most recent: overturning a ban on fetal tissue research funded by the National Institutes of Health and canceling a last-minute extension of a Medicaid waiver for Texas. (KHN is tracking changes to Trump health policies with an interactive tool you can see here.)

Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are complaining about hospitals' efforts to evade a Trump-era health policy the Biden administration has elected to keep: requiring that hospital prices be made publicly available.

This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KHN, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Among the takeaways from this week's podcast:

The Biden administration's reversal last week of a 2019 rule that severely restricted the use of fetal tissue in medical research disbands the panel set up by the Trump administration to determine which research could go forward. That panel  dominated by abortion opponents  had denied most requests.

Past fetal tissue research played a role in helping to develop monoclonal antibodies and some of the vaccines used against covid-19.

The administration didn't herald its decision on fetal tissue. The announcement was put out rather quietly, much as officials have done on other rule changes on reproductive health. That may reflect a sense that President Joe Biden doesn't want to lead on these issues but does feel the need to meet the demands of key Democratic constituencies who favor the right to an abortion and the use of fetal tissue.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week opted to pull back a 10-year extension of federal hospital funding for uncompensated care under Medicaid. The new administration said it did not think that extension had been properly handled and wanted to reevaluate it. But many people think this is part of Biden's efforts to get conservative states to move to expand Medicaid to provide health care for many uninsured residents.

That decision did not sit well with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who threatened to delay a vote on Biden's nominee to head CMS, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. That threat seemingly influenced Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee, and none of them voted to approve her nomination. Since the committee vote was tied, Senate Democratic leaders will have to take special measures to get her nomination to the floor.

When the covid vaccination effort began, concerns arose about whether minority communities would accept the vaccine. That has not turned out to be as much of a problem as anticipated, but public health officials are concerned about white conservatives, especially in Southern states and rural areas, who appear hesitant to get the shots.

The problems with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine do not appear to have raised extensive concerns among the public, polling suggests.

One strategy the Biden administration hopes will increase vaccinations is to provide federal funding to small businesses so they can pay their workers when they need to take time off to get a shot or recover from side effects.

One Trump administration policy getting bipartisan support is the effort for more transparency in hospital pricing. As of January, hospitals were required to post their prices, but many have still made the information difficult for the public to find. A group of House Democratic and Republican leaders is pressing the Health and Human Services Department to better enforce the new requirement.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: KHN's "UVA Health Will Wipe Out Tens of Thousands of Lawsuits Against Patients," by Jay Hancock

Anna Edney: The New York Times' "Vaccines Won't Protect Millions of Patients With Weakened Immune Systems," by Apoorva Mandavilli

Alice Miranda Ollstein: Vox.com's "The Pandemic Playbook," by Dylan Scott, German Lopez, Julia Belluz, Jen Kirby and Dylan Matthews

Rachel Cohrs: Politico's "Border Fiasco Spurs a Blame Game Inside Biden World," by Adam Cancryn, Anita Kumar and Sabrina Rodriguez
Family and friends will gather Saturday to grieve LSU freshman and Opelousas native Kori Gauthier.

A funeral service for Gauthier, 18, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Our Saviors Church in Opelousas, followed by interment at St. Leo the Great Catholic Cemetery in Leonville. Pastor Nick Carroll will officiate the service. Gauthier is survived by her parents, Misti Ravare and LeVar Gauthier, three brothers and two sisters, her obituary said.

Gauthiers body was recovered from the Mississippi River in St. John the Baptist Parish on April 13 after a tugboat crew member alerted authorities to a body in the river. She was missing for roughly a week when her body was recovered. A preliminary report from the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroners Office determined she died from drowning, though the Coroners Office emphasized the findings were preliminary and could be subject to change.

The teens disappearance garnered widespread attention after her uncle, Spencer Gauthier, shared a call to action on Facebook pushing for help finding his niece. Spencer Gauthier described his niece as the sweetest person you would ever meet. While the end result of the search for Gauthier was tragic, he said recovery of her body offers the family a starting point to begin healing.

Spencer Gauthier said in a video his niece loved music, especially country, and the relatives would constantly trade songs back and forth. He tearfully offered one last song for the 18-year-old: Stevie Wonders These Three Words.

"Life is worth living. In all honesty, life is worth living," he said in a video post. "Never give up. As you guys can see, a nation of people came together for my niece. That same nation of people would come to your side  We're all in this together."

LSU student Kori Gauthier died from drowning, coroner's office says in early report Kori Gauthier, the LSU student whose body was found in the Mississippi River after a nearly weeklong search, died from drowning, according to 

In the days since her death, loved ones have remembered the teen as a caring, bright and hard working young woman who loved to dance. Gauthier graduated from the Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts in 2020 with a focus on dance and also taught at Lisas Studio of Dance in Arnaudville, her uncle said.

She was the star of the stage and the dancer that everyone's eyes were drawn to, ever since she was tiny.She was quiet but she was fierce. Her smile and kind heart lit up the room. I am forever grateful for the time I got to have Kori in my life. Many hearts were touched by Kori, Lisas instructor Carmen Leger wrote on Gauthiers obituary tribute page.

Former Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts teacher Junius Egby said Gauthier easily stood out from the crowd. Egby taught at MACA for about 11 years and said few students shined like Gauthier, whom he taught English and social studies for three years.

Top stories in Acadiana in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Gauthier was a young woman of strong character -- compassionate, hard working, disciplined and dependable. She was a leader in the classroom and in extracurricular activities, like student council and the Renaissance Club, and was the first to raise her hand in classroom discussions, always bringing thorough research and fresh ideas to the table, Egby said.

When Gauthier served on the prom committee, Egby said she inspired her peers to commit to the project even as enthusiasm waned and she pushed to get the job done.

She was like the model student youd want, he said.

Egby said he was always struck by how close Gauthier was with her parents and grandparents, who always made a point to attend every school performance, fundraiser and function they could. She had a similarly warm relationship with her peers and was the kind of student others looked up to -- Gauthier was big on inclusion, and would stand up for others, he said.

+2 After deaths of students Kori Gauthier, Layne Gravois, LSU highlights mental health help LSU's Interim President, Tom Galligan, took to social media Thursday to offer students mental health resources after the deaths of LSU student

The educator said its been difficult to process and understand Gauthiers death.

Gauthier was reported missing April 7 after the education major did not show up for class, work or a doctors appointment. Family members traced her cell phone to a salvage yard in Baton Rouge and learned her car was struck by another vehicle while sitting empty on the Interstate 10 Mississippi River bridge; her phone, wallet and other belongings were still inside. Baton Rouge law enforcement did not contact the family after towing the vehicle.

Law enforcement officials said they used cell phone tracking and video footage to compile a timeline of events related to the case. Using that timeline  "combined with other evidence we shared with Kori's parents that we are not at liberty to disclose publicly out of respect for their privacy  we have concluded that there was no criminal activity or foul play involved," officials said in the statement.

Egby wrote Gauthier a recommendation letter for her college application and the teacher and pupil had emailed in the fall, when Gauthier reached out to let Egby know she was settling in well at LSU and was adapting around pandemic-related changes to her school experience. He said he cheered her progress and reminded her he was always available if she needed advice or a listening ear.

Its a big loss for everybody, he said.
Amaravati, April 22 : Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Thursday said there is no shortage of oxygen in the state, a crucial gas needed to treat coronavirus patients suffering from low levels of the life supporting gas in their body.

"When it comes to oxygen, AP state is the first priority. Only after meeting the state's requirements it will be supplied to other states," said Reddy.

He said special officers have been entrusted with the responsibility of oxygen supply.

According to the Minister, the state produces 510 MT of medical oxygen in 40 companies.

Currently, Reddy said the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore and Kurnool need to be supplied with the life supporting gas on a war footing.

Industries director Subrahmanyam Javvadi explained the details of oxygen production industries in the state to Reddy.

He gave a presentation on the current situation of Covid, oxygen needs and the patterns of oxygen usage during the first wave of the pandemic.

Especially, oxygen is being supplied from three production facilities in the state: RINL, Allen Berry and Liquinox Gases.

As much as 50 per cent of the oxygen produced at RINL is being used for AP's needs while the balance is being supplied to Maharashtra.

All the oxygen being produced by Allen Berry, 40 tonnes, and Liquinox Gases is being used for the state's needs.

The minister directed officials to supply the gas to other states only after meeting the requirement of Andhra Prdesh.

Nodal Officer Shan Mohan said it would be better to monitor if oxygen is being supplied to the local hospitals or not.

Reddy said it is a relief to Rayalaseema as the 68 MT of oxygen needed to come from Ballari has arrived.

He said the government identified oxygen shortage in the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool and parts of Nellore.

The industries minister instructed officials to use oxygen being produced at the MedTech zone as well.

Starting May 1, MedTech zone CEO Jitendra Sharma said 2,400 cubic metres of oxygen will be produced.

In about two to three months' time, Reddy said the life supporting gas will be produced in large quantities from 20-30 plants in the state.

He gave instructions for the production of at least 300 MT of oxygen on a daily basis.

The Minister ordered the industries department to submit a report by Thursday evening as to which district needs how much oxygen and which company is producing what quantity of the gas, including details such as how much oxygen would be required in the future.

Liquinox Gas official Rajesh Babu told the Minister that the company is supplying oxygen to 12 hospitals in Srikakulam district in north Andhra.

"Inability to transport oxygen at the speed of its production is a major challenge," said Babu.

He said the company will raise oxygen production from 40 MT to 50 MT, while the Minister called all the oxygen producing companies to work 24x7.

Incidentally, power cut issues restrained the company from producing the targeted amount of oxygen, which is in the process of being sorted out.

Reddy said special command and control centres should be established to supply the crucial gas.

RINL official C.G.M. Biswal said the company has produced up to 766 tonnes of oxygen until now, besides producing 100 tonnes on a daily basis.

Reddy said the state gave licenses for 44 units in 2020 to produce oxygen, which are raised by another 10 now.

He said the state government sent proposals to the Centre for more arrangements in eight more hospitals.

Similarly, the state government is also taking the support of the police department for smooth transport of oxygen.
OneShield's comprehensive SaaS offering and ongoing support were in line with what we needed as we launched our company. Tweet this

With a $200-million equity investment, the specialty insurance company initially surveyed the technology market with very specific technical requirements to fulfill its strategic goals  technology that would allow the company to get to market quickly and also scale as UCG grows. Additionally, the technology vendor needed to have readily available insurance content that could be leveraged "as-is" while also allowing UCG to tailor its offerings and servicing for wholesale brokers in the XTL market.

OneShield is providing Upland with automated solutions for policy, billing, claims, and reporting, all with full end-to-end services. "We are pleased to partner with OneShield," says Todd C. Hart, CEO of Upland Capital Group. "As a new company, we are not beholden to any legacy technology, so we did a thorough search for software that could meet today's specialty insurance needs. OneShield's comprehensive SaaS offering and ongoing support were in line with what we needed as we launched our company."

OneShield Market Solutions' SaaS platform matched and exceeded all of UCG's search requirements. OneShield provides out-of-the-box insurance content and functionality for policy management from quoting, binding, and servicing, for billing from invoicing through to payment, and for claims administration from first notice of loss through to payment, including document management, reporting, and analysis - all of which is configurable for bespoke and company-specific required changes. "OneShield's capability to automate many workflows and processes in the insurance lifecycle was particularly appealing," notes Hart.

"OneShield is proud to form this partnership with Upland Capital Group," says Cameron Parker, OneShield's Chief Executive Officer. "UCG is the third start-up to join the OneShield family in a handful of months, proving that our ability to get our customers to market quickly with a scalable technology stack, a pricing model that reduces cost-to-market, and an agile and seamless implementation model are all increasingly important."

For more information or to schedule a media interview, please contact:

Janice Merkley

VP, Corporate Marketing

OneShield Software  OneShield.com

T: 774.348.1000 | M: 416.399.2725 | E: [email protected]

About OneShield

OneShield provides solutions for insurers of all sizes. Deployed in the cloud, our portfolio of standalone, subscription, and As-a-Service products include enterprise-class policy management, billing, claims, rating, product configuration, business intelligence, and smart analytics. OneShield automates and simplifies the complexities of core systems with targeted solutions, seamless upgrades, collaborative implementations, and lower total cost of ownership. With corporate headquarters in Marlborough, MA, and offices in India, OneShield has over 50 products in production across P&C and specialty insurance markets.

For more information, visit www.OneShield.com.

About Upland Capital Group

Upland Capital Group is an E&S casualty, property, and specialty insurance provider that was founded in 2020. Based in Dallas, Texas, Upland Capital is focused on becoming the most nimble, disciplined, and profitable specialty insurer by building a great company where "we entrepreneurs" can master their underwriting craft. Upland Capital is funded with over a $200 million of equity line by Newlight Partners and executive management.

For more information, please visit www.uplandcapgroup.com.



SOURCE OneShield Software

Related Links

http://www.oneshield.com


WASHINGTON and BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With solar power more affordable and accessible than ever before, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and EnergySage are joining forces to help Americans learn about and save with solar. The new partnership brings together two organizations committed to consumer empowerment, protection and transparency. EWG and EnergySage will focus on educating consumers about the health and environmental benefits of solar energy, while providing tools and resources for taking action.

"Installing solar or subscribing to a local solar farm will not only lower your electricity bill and clean up the air," said EWG President Ken Cook. "It will also shrink your household's carbon footprint and help move our country away from fossil and nuclear fuels."

"Millions of people would love to get their electricity from solar," Cook said, "but they aren't sure how to begin or where to go for information. By collaborating with EnergySage, we'll provide our supporters and the public with consumer-friendly technology and advice from the most trusted voice in the solar energy industry."

EnergySage is the leading online marketplace for consumers to learn about and shop for all things solar, including home batteries and community solar subscriptions. Developed with funding from the Department of Energy, the site helps educate consumers about renewable energy solutions and allows customers to easily obtain competing online offers from highly qualified solar installation and financing companies.

Well-known for its Skin Deep database that assesses and compares the safety of personal care products, as well as the Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce , EWG understands the importance of empowering consumers to make the best choices for their families. That's why EWG is collaborating with EnergySage to give all Americans equal access to renewable sources, like solar, that support a healthier environment.

EnergySage simplifies solar and energy storage for consumers with these user-friendly resources:

Education and support: hundreds of educational videos and articles, as well as trained, unbiased energy advisors available by email, chat, video and phone.

Solar Calculator: a property-specific calculator for getting a quick estimate of the costs and benefits of installing solar.

Solar Marketplace: an online marketplace for comparing custom solar and battery quotes from vetted contractors in a standardized, apples-to-apples format.

Community Solar Marketplace: an easy way to find, compare and subscribe to local solar farms, allowing more people to benefit from solar without having panels installed.

Buyer's Guide: a guide for learning about and evaluating solar equipment based on quality, aesthetics, performance and price.

"It's very exciting for us to be working with an organization that so closely aligns with our values of consumer-first and transparency," said Vikram Aggarwal, CEO and founder of EnergySage. "By partnering with EWG, we've taken great strides in advancing our mission of helping consumers make smarter energy decisions."

EnergySage is recommended by more than 50 prominent organizations, including nonprofits, utilities, municipalities and corporations, that use the EnergySage platform to help their employees, customers, members, residents, etc., better understand their solar energy options. An estimated 862 tons of CO2 emissions are avoided per day via EnergySage-facilitated solar installations.

To learn more about the program and begin exploring your solar energy options, visit ewg.org/consumer-guides/guide-solar-energy.

EWG receives commissions for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.

About the Environmental Working Group

The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action. Visit www.ewg.org for more information.

About EnergySage, Inc.

EnergySage is the leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for rooftop solar, energy storage, project financing, and community solar. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, EnergySage is trusted by over 10 million consumers across the country to help them make smarter energy decisions through simplicity, transparency, and choice. Unlike traditional lead-generation websites, EnergySage empowers consumers to request and compare competing quotes online from a network of more than 500 pre-screened installation companies  a formula that is proven to result in a higher rate of adoption, 20 percent lower prices on average for consumers, and significantly lower costs for renewable energy providers. For these reasons, leading organizations like Connecticut Green Bank, DSIRE, Environment America, Kaiser Permanente, and National Grid refer their audiences to EnergySage. Visit EnergySage for more information, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE EnergySage

Related Links

https://www.energysage.com/


It has been Indian secularisms biggest defect that our Constitution, which promises to be fundamentally secular, has multiple provisions specifying exactly how religious institutions should run. A government that has its eye on the wealth of temples must also have the intellectual honesty to not maintain that its a secular government. Yet of this failure, every single Indian government of the past, and the present, is culpable.

To argue that within the praakaaras of Hindu temple are layers of secular functions, which are intertwined and which necessitate the states overarching intervention, is illogical. Such a schema is inherently faulty. If monies to temples come through hundi offerings by the Hindu devout, the government cant argue that since a temple also has secular dimensions, its control is kosher. This is a virus inside our collective thinking, a shibboleth serving the agenda of populist leaders.

Legally, what is a temple? A temple is not an establishment under the Shops and Establishments Act. In accordance with Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees to all persons: freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, the proviso, which is also part of the original Constitution, that the guarantee does not prevent the state from making a law regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice was a red herring.

Would the privatisation or liberalisation, to apply a phrase implying reverting of ownership and control from the state to the people in economics, of Hindu temples necessarily lead to their better management? Would it assure these endowments are administered in a manner that guarantees safeguarding of the basic civil rights of the various different followers of the Hindu religion?

The states argument that its intervention in Hindu endowments and trusts is not aimed at deforming religion out of existence, but rather at ensuring that the administration of endowments stays true to both the will and intent of the grantor and of Indias secular ideals, is clearly flawed. In theocratic states like the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the state is founded on a stated belief that a nation will be ruled directly by Gods will, or indirectly through Gods priests or theologically defined representatives. Religion, therefore, would have to have a stated, defined non-role in a secular system.

The Article 25, which envisages preventing the state from making any laws which restrict it, also empowers peoples will to be really free to practise or profess whichever religion they believe in (or not in the case of atheists and agnostics). But the history of Hindu temples and religious institutions being supervised, controlled or regulated started emphatically way back in 1929. As the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha said recently, Traditionally, a temple was at the centre of community life and was not just a place of worship.

Education, art, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry, literature, agriculture and even the local judiciary were all promoted and sustained by a temple. We have several inscriptional evidences of such institutions. In the last nine decades, the government has taken control of almost all institutions around temples which have been systematically destroyed because none of such institutions exist today.

Those who speak of cultural invasion by the West, too, miss the point as to how the Indian arts lost their principal patron in the autonomous Indian temple. Arent agricultural lands belonging to temples all too easily becoming governmental properties?

Historically, the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, XIX, of 1951 was enacted signaling green pastures for governments not only to flex muscle but also brazenly control temples, and by implication, all their religious activities.

The Madras enactment did not pass judicial review. Notwithstanding the high court and, subsequently, the Supreme Court (seven-judge bench, Shirur Mutt case) ruling several sections of the law to be unconstitutional, another one was enacted in 1959, which reproduced these sections. The amended Act was again struck down by the Madras high court.

The Madras Acts served as inspiration and guide for more than a dozen laws passed by the Tamil Nadu government as well as by neighbouring states. It included the 1959 law of Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu thus has the dubious distinction of pioneering the Hindu Religious and Endowments Acts, and controls directly through government servants around 43,000 temples and endowments, acquired illegally. It is a fact reiterated repeatedly by the courts.

Moreover, a majority of over 100,000 temples in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Puducherry are also under direct control of the state. Over 19,000 important temples are directly managed by government officials, in the absence of temple trustees from among Hindu society.

In recent years, the state control has extended to temples across India. Article 26 grants certain fundamental rights to religious denominations. The first test of what constitutes a denomination was decided by a seven-judge bench in 1954 in the Shirur Mutt case. This contentious issue has gone through prolonged legal gaze and scrutiny.

The liberal black robe has gone to an extent of declaring that the seva puja for Lord Jagannath has both a religious and a secular aspect, and the state was justified in regulating the secular aspect. The appointment of priests is accepted to be a secular function, despite their performing an essentially religious duty.

This logic was taken to its extreme conclusions by the Supreme Court when it was held that management of a temple is, in fact, a secular function. By holding succession a secular matter, the state has now become the appointer of a religious head of any Hindu institution. Resultantly, courts now determine if a matter related to a Hindu institution is religious or not. Would they be equally at ease doing so for other religions?

At a time when state roles in spheres like railways, airways, ports and banks are being privatised, and governments are claiming to be spokespersons of Hindu dharma, this is an issue that calls for attention. The state needs to hand over control of temples back to the Hindus.
By Juliet Nalwooga

The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party has expressed skepticism over joining the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).

The ruling National Resistance Movement party is the current chair of IPOD, a platform that brings together political parties with representation in parliament.

However, NUP the newest party in the 11th parliament with a total of 59 elected MPs says they will only join IPOD when it implements human cause initiatives and questions rights abuses for the good of Ugandans.

NUP spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi tells KFM that as long as IPOD appears to be just another opening for politicians to bag more money in donor allowances, they will remain outside the grouping.
Six: The weeks ahead. Experts and modeling projections suggest that things are going to get worse for another couple of weeks, but that cases will then drop pretty fast, Jeffrey said. The question is, will they be able to handle the surge?

He added: Can they keep up with the demand for oxygen, medicine and hospital beds? If they can hang on, we hope, for the next few weeks, the power of the virus may dissipate.

Masks off outside?

As most people get vaccinated and spring weather beckons, we can, in some circumstances, safely remove our masks outdoors.

A growing body of research shows that transmission of the virus is far less likely outdoors because viral particles quickly disperse, Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and one of the worlds leading experts on viral transmission, told The Times. The risk of inhaling aerosolized virus from a jogger, biker or someone walking by you is negligible, and will get even lower as more people get vaccinated.

One way to calibrate your risk is to use the two out of three rule, which Dr. Marr employs. In situations where she doesnt know everyones vaccination status, she makes sure shes meeting two out of three conditions: outdoors, distanced and masked.

You should still mask up if you need to have an extended conversation with someone who isnt vaccinated. Masks are still advised in outdoor crowds, as standing shoulder to shoulder with strangers could increase risk, particularly for the unvaccinated.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani held a phone call with Israels Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen and discussed topics related to the tourism sector and ways to develop cooperation between Bahrain and Israel.

They stressed the importance of such fruitful talks, which will positively reflect on the development and revitalisation of tourism in light of the regions stability and historical positive transformations.

They are looking forward to more cooperation in both countries and opening the way for investment in this vital sector. Minister Al Zayani reviewed the latest developments in the tourism sector in Bahrain and the efforts made by the ministry to strengthen this field and provide it with the elements that would improve tourism services and consolidate the ancient image of the Kingdom as a tourist site on the side for visitors from the region and the world.

They appreciated the steps taken by the two sides to develop bilateral relations in this aspect, especially those related to opening airspace between the two countries and facilitating official travel procedures between them.
Ignatica lets insurers adapt to changing markets and create new products, policies and businesses while keeping costs down and moving quickly to market.

Ignatica, the insurance policy administration platform that offers digital self-service and intelligent automation solutions for insurers, announced today it has closed US$7 million in pre-series A funding, led by Lingfeng Capital, with participation from the US-based SOSV Investment Funds, Australia-based Artesian, HK-Based AFG Partners Fund, as well as other investors.

This recent round of funding positions Ignatica to build on the stunning growth it saw over the last 18 months where they tripled in size in both staffing and market traction.

We are very excited about our progress over the last year, said President and Co-Founder, Travis Callahan, and thanks to our investors and partners in this round of funding we are poised to accelerate our growth across Southeast Asia, China, Japan and into Europe and North America.

Ignaticas platform lets insurers quickly and efficiently build and launch new products at low cost, while drastically reducing administration costs and transforming the servicing experience for consumers.

Lingfeng Capital is very impressed with the management team and the execution power of Ignatica. Creating an innovative solution for the digital transformation of insurers towards greater efficiency and better customer satisfaction is very meaningful. said Edmond Lau, Managing Director of Lingfeng Capital. We are very happy to play a role in the continuous growth of Ignatica.

Today, insurers are stuck with legacy systems that make launching new products and managing policies slow and expensive, eating up more than half of an insurers IT budget.

"The ability to transform the data on demand for specific products or policies, is key to our success," said Adhish Pendharkar, Co-Founder and CTO at Ignatica. "We help insurers adapt to the changing markets and create new products, policies and businesses while keeping cost down and moving quickly to market."

Ignaticas suite of SaaS offerings allows insurance product managers to create and edit coverages and plans, dynamically adjust pricing, and change product configurations in seconds. They also enable servicing and back-office operations to be automated and pushed to the front edge for digital self-service for even the most complex insurance products.

"The insurance industry is going through an era of unprecedented transformation, with consumers seeking the convenience of buying and interacting with insurance services easily with nothing more than their mobile phone," said CEO and Co-founder Manuel San Miguel. Our platform not only lets insurers be fast and agile about launching products to meet these customer needs, it also empowers them to truly move into the era of digital servicing.

ABOUT IGNATICA

Ignatica was founded in 2018 by Manuel San Miguel, former Manulife CTO for APAC, fellow technology and insurance industry veteran, Adhish Pendharkar, and longtime C-suite executive and entrepreneur Travis Callahan. Its core platform technology enables insurers to profitably provide every person on the planet the type of insurance they need, at the price they can afford, with the service and speed that todays customers expect.

ABOUT LINGFENG CAPITAL

Lingfeng Capital is a growth capital private equity fund for the fintech sector in Asia Pacific, particularly in the Greater China region. Its focus is on real applications and underlying tech for the finance industry. Its vision is to become the leading innovative tech fund management company, and to facilitate growth and success for the next generation of entrepreneur-driven fintech companies.
Entergy New Orleans could have prevented the mass blackout that left 20,000 customers without electricity on the bitterly cold night of Mardi Gras, and the City Council should look deeper into whether to penalize the utility, a team of consultants says.

The consulting firm that the council tapped to investigate the shutoffs confirmed in a preliminary report Tuesday that computer glitches caused Entergy to cut four times as much power as it should have to the city on the night of Feb. 16. The advisers also said:

Entergy failed to screen its computers regularly for problems

The utility did a poor job of telling New Orleans customers what was going on before and during the blackout.

The Sewerage and Water Board, one of thousands of customers that lost power that night, is a critical operation that should have never been on Entergy's shutoff list.

+5 Entergy said it cut 3 times more power to New Orleans than needed during blackouts. It was even more than that. When Entergy New Orleans executives admitted to the City Council two weeks ago that it had shut off three times as much power as needed during

The report confirms several operations failures that Entergy admitted in a letter to the council last month about the shutoffs, which came about after the Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator, or MISO, directed the utility to cut some power. The report suggests the council take a harder look at whether to sanction or fine Entergy, as council members have done after the utility's past screwups.

+4 Entergy should pay $1B in refunds, damages to customers over faulty power plant, regulators say Entergy Corp. wrongfully charged customers over eight years for a nuclear power station that often malfunctioned and was repeatedly deemed uns

Entergy "was responsible for technical and communications failures that resulted in adverse consequences for its customers, which were avoidable," the preliminary report said.

The council is advised on electric and gas utility regulation by the firms of Dentons US, Legends Consulting Group Limited, lawyer Basile Uddo and its own staff.

Councilmember Helena Moreno, who heads the council committee that regulates Entergy, said this week she would push for the deeper dive recommended by the advisers, which could end in a fine. It would be the third time in as many years that the council has initiated that sort of investigation into Entergy; the first two inquiries, after a paid actors scandal and repeated outages, resulted in fines of $5 million and $1 million.

This report further confirms the fact that thousands of New Orleanians were unnecessarily left out in the cold that night due to missteps perpetrated by" Entergy, Moreno said. "We all know these types of failures are unacceptable and New Orleanians are right to demand better of the company.

Moreno said she plans to call for the investigation at the council's Utility Committee meeting April 29.

+2 New Orleans City Council agrees to audit Entergy management after series of failures The City Council agreed Tuesday to a full management audit of Entergy New Orleans after a series of recent failures resulted in power cuts to 

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

Entergy responded to the consultant report Wednesday, with spokesperson Lee Sabatini saying: "While the outages that resulted from the load shed event had a maximum duration of one hour and forty minutes for less than 15% of the customers, Entergy New Orleans understands that customers were inconvenienced. However, the company took effective and immediate steps to comply with the load shed event, imposed by MISO to ensure that the historic demand on the system did not result in catastrophic damage to the grid and prolonged customer outages."

"We are constantly adapting our strategy to address the impacts of inclement weather that we are experiencing, and we are working hard to enhance our preparedness for such extreme events. Entergy New Orleans generating units were operational during the winter storm, including the New Orleans Power Station, and provided our area with much needed generation to lessen the impacts and duration of the load shed event."

On the night of Mardi Gras, freezing temperatures led MISO to direct Entergy Corp. and its subsidiaries to cut power. The goal was to counteract surging demand and avoid a total grid shutdown.

Though Entergy New Orleans was supposed to cut only about 26 megawatts of power to relieve the burden, computer problems caused 105 megawatts to be cut.

+7 As catastrophic winter storms become increasingly common, how prepared is New Orleans? Rodney Mallett politely excused himself from a Zoom discussion on March 16 about the aftermath of the winter storms that had wreaked havoc on 

One foul-up meant that 60 megawatts of power that were supposed to be cut from Entergy Louisiana's grid was mistakenly cut in New Orleans. A 19 megawatts were improperly cut after a communications port problem and a password mix-up prevented shutoff data from being sent from feeders at various Entergy substations.

Without a good read on which lines had been cut, the computer continued to search for other parts of the grid to shut off, even though Entergy had already reached MISO's target, Entergy officials said in March.

Customers were left in the dark unnecessarily for as long as 1 hour, 40 minutes on one of the coldest nights of the year. Neighborhoods affected included parts of Gentilly, Lakeview, the Desire area, the St. Claude area, New Orleans East, Algiers and elsewhere, according to a map of the shutoffs.

Entergy reports record profit of nearly $1.4 billion even as demand was hit by pandemic Entergy Corp. reported a record profit of nearly $1.4 billion last year, up 11% from 2019, despite lower sales across the board as demand for 

The advisers also said that while Entergy held a training last year on what to do should MISO order a power shutoff, the utility's staffers never tested Entergy's own computers to see if those systems were working properly. That meant the computers could have been glitching for years unnoticed, they said.

Consultants said no one on Entergy's team recognized the computers were cutting off more power than normal or moved to fix the problem as it was occurring.

During the shutoffs, Entergy also failed to deliver specific messages notifying New Orleans customers of what was going on and how long it would last, the consultants said.
Significant Growth In State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks

Warfare has entered a new era where attacks are no longer physical but digital, in which nations may deliver cyber attacks with the intent to damage or destroy anothers IT infrastructure.

While the popular perception of hackers are lone wolves operating in isolation, its increasingly common for cyber attacks to have a state-sponsored element, with countries taking to the Internet to wage covert, undercover warfare on others. Whilst the threat of cyber attack was identified by the World Economic Forum in its annual Global Risks Report, they also identified the diminishing willingness to act cooperatively against global challenges. It seems the threat of cyber warfare will not be going away any time soon.

A state-sponsored cyber attack usually has one of three objectives:

Probing for and exploiting national infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Gathering intelligence.

Exploiting money from systems and people.

Some APTs are military or intelligence units under formal state direction, while others are independent hackers operating with tacit government backing.

America First

One of the most sophisticated APTs, the Equation Group, is widely believed to be run by the US National Security Agency, while the Stuxnet worm, believed to be a joint Israeli-American attack against Irans nuclear programme, was able to damage uranium enrichment centrifuges in 2010.

In March 2021 the head of US Cyber Command testified that the organisation had conducted more than two dozen operations to confront foreign threats ahead of the 2020 US elections, including eleven forward hunt operations in nine different countries.

North Korean Cyberwar Exploits

In February this year the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against three members of North Korean military intelligence, accusing them of being members of the Lazarus Group. The indictment details a long list of crimes in addition to the Sony hack and WannaCry. The Lazarus Group has pulled off audacious thefts from banks around the world, hacking into their systems and sending money into accounts it controls.

The Lazarus Group is considered an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT), the term given to hacker groups that operate with state backing. Security companies give them names, numbers or both: Lazarus is APT38, while APT37 is another North Korean group that focuses on attacking South Korea.

Nobody knows how North Korea trains its elite hackers. Parts of the WannaCry worm showed signs of being written in Chinese, which could suggest that China helps, or could just be a coincidence. Some North Koreans likely study in the West, too, using South Korean identities and passports.

North Korea is far from alone in sponsoring hacking, but other states have different priorities.

Chinese Espionage

China has the most known APTs, and its state-sponsored hacking tends to focus on espionage, both government and corporate, rather than theft. Recently, Microsoft accused Chinas Hafnium APT of breaking into the email servers of 250,000 organisations since the beginning of the year, including the European Banking Authority and Norways parliament.

Russian Expertise In Cyberwar

Russia's state-sponsored hackers are accused of numerous cyber attacks aimed at diminishing western elections, hacking into key infrastructure and releasing confidential information into the public domain. Most famous of all is APT29, better known as Cozy Bear, was revealed as the perpetrator of a sophisticated hack attack of software company SolarWinds in December.

By installing a hidden backdoor in SolarWinds products, hackers were able to gain access to dozens of government agencies and companies that used the compromised tools.

The louder, brasher cousin APT28, known as Fancy Bear, was behind the hacks on the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential election campaign.

Iranian Shape Shifters

Iranian APTs conduct espionage on military organisations in the Middle East and beyond, trying to steal weapons plans and occasionally sabotaging infrastructure. Iran was accused of trying to poison Israels water last April by hacking into a water plant and boosting the levels of chlorine.

APTs from at least three of these countries were caught hacking vaccine research facilities last year, either to steal data or sabotage development efforts, however, its not only non-western states that run APTs against their opponents.

Ultimately, cyber attacks are a means, not an end . Some APTs are conducting classic espionage and want our data. Some are seeking to sow discord and damage their opponents political systems.

How Should The World Respond ?

The US government has started treating APT groups like common criminals, naming and indicting their members, and arresting them, even if theyre uniformed officers of a countrys armed forces. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has created a National Cyber Force in 2020, pulling experts from MI6, GCHQ and the Ministry of Defence together into a single command.

The UK Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy, published recently, envisions the National Cyber Force working to impose costs on our adversaries, deny their ability to harm UK interests, and make the UK 'a more difficult operating environment.

Given the growing threat of cyber warfare, there have been calls for a cyber Geneva Convention to oversee the use of cyber weapons around the world. Just as it took the horrors of World War II to bring about the Geneva Convention, it will perhaps take a catastrophic cyber breach to encourage the world to cooperate sufficiently to bring about a cyber specific version.

WEF: Spectator: CSIS: EC Council: Cyber News: Quostar:

You Might Also Read:

Cyber Warfare Creates Ghosts In Our Machines:
OTTAWA - International graduates and essential workers eligible to apply for permanent residency under a new program say requiring them to retake language proficiency tests is unreasonable, especially during a global pandemic.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marco Mendicino listens to speakers during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday October 2, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - International graduates and essential workers eligible to apply for permanent residency under a new program say requiring them to retake language proficiency tests is unreasonable, especially during a global pandemic.

Akshay Aman, a law clerk graduate currently working as a security officer in Toronto, said international students have already passed language tests and proved their proficiency in English or French when they got their school admission and student visa.

"We all had our degrees from Canada and everything was in English," Aman said.

"There is no sense (in taking) the test again and again."

The new program announced last week aims to grant 90,000 essential workers and international graduates who are currently in Canada permanent status.

On May 6, the immigration department will start accepting up to 50,000 applications from health care and other essential workers and 40,000 applications from international students who graduated from a Canadian institution.

The government is requiring international graduates and essential workers to submit an official language evaluation that is less than two years old when the permanent residency application is received.

Aman, who graduated from Niagara College, said he has all the documents he needs in order to apply for permanent residency except a new English proficiency test.

He said the websites of the government-approved language tests have crashed since the announcement of the new program last week, leaving thousands of applicants struggling to register for an exam.

All the spots are booked until the end of September, he said, adding that after he failed to book a test in Toronto, he tried to find one in Alberta or British Columbia but all the exams are booked there too.

He added that it's unsafe to require tens of thousands of people to take in-person tests during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They should delay (this requirement) or they can drop that because we already have our degrees," he said.

Alexander Cohen, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino, said the department wants to assure prospective applicants that the process will be fair for everyone, but he didn't say whether the department will drop the language requirement for those who have already passed proficiency tests.

"(The program) will allow far more international students to plan their futures in Canada," Cohen said in a statement.

"The size, scope and speed of this new program is unprecedented."

Morad Roohi, a third-year PhD student at Queen's University, said he has been trying to book an English evaluation test with his partner, so they can apply for permanent residency under the new program.

He said they have spent days searching for an available test appointment, but they couldn't find one.

Roohi described the application process, which also involves gathering many documents, as like hitting a "stone wall."

"It is really, really unfair."

He said they moved from Kingston, Ont., to Toronto during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when his partner found a job at a homeless shelter in the city.

"She risks her life all through these months of (the) pandemic and lockdown. She has not been at home for a single day," he said.

"When it comes to this application, still you're just bombarded by ... different (reasons for) pressure and stress."

Roohi said requiring international students to pass a general language test after they passed an academic exam is not understandable.

Newcomers are offering their skills and expertise to the Canadian society despite all the difficulties they are facing during the pandemic, he added.

"As international students, as newcomers, (we are) going through lots of stress, pressure, uncertainty and many, many difficult things," he said.

He said the government should make changes to the application requirement to make it easier for international graduates and essential workers to apply.

"When there is a pandemic and where there is no exam available, what can we do? There should be some accommodation for us."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.

------

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
Chadian opposition decries Debys son as interim leader View Photo

NDJAMENA, Chad (AP)  Chads political opposition has urged the military to hand over power to a civilian transitional government following the killing of longtime President Idriss Deby Itno, saying on Thursday that the immediate appointment of the slain leaders son as interim leader amounted to a coup detat.

As the rebels blamed for Debys death threatened to overtake the capital, NDjamena, some residents of the city of 1 million feared violence and began trying to leave. Others remained inside their homes despite authorities calls for life to resume as normal after the president of three decades was slain.

Some 30 opposition political parties announced they have decided not to recognize the militarys transitional council, which was announced Tuesday at the same time as Debys death.

Many in the international community also called for a democratic transfer of power after Debys sudden death even as some heads of state prepared to travel to NDjamena for Fridays funeral despite growing security fears. French President Emmanuel Macron is among the heads of state expected to attend, highlighting the central African countrys strategic importance.

On Tuesday, a military spokesman announced that Deby had been fatally wounded while visiting the front lines of the battle against rebels.

The Chadian people tell us they do not want a dynastic transfer of power, one opposition leader, Succes Masra, said in a video message released online. The Chadian people do not want to continue with the same institutions that have created the current situation.

Mahamat Idriss Deby, 37, is only one year older than his father was when his rebel forces overthrew the president back in 1990. Many fear that he will stay on beyond the 18-month transitional period announced by the military this week.

We say no to this and the military transitional council must hand over power to civilians, said Francois Djekombe of the Union of Republican Forces opposition party. The military must respect the constitution of our country and it is up to the president of the national assembly to ensure the interim.

Mahamat Zen Basda, secretary-general of the ruling MPS party, said the president of the National Assembly had declined the offer to become the countrys leader and that the army had been entrusted to form the transitional council to avoid a power vacuum.

A statement attributed to the National Assembly president late Wednesday also said that he had supported the decision to bypass him and instead appoint the military council to lead the transition.

Chad has played a key role in the fight against Islamic extremism in Africa, providing pivotal troops to regional forces battling jihadists in northern Mali, which has been called the most dangerous U.N. peacekeeping mission in the world.

France, which bases its regional counterterrorism operations in Chad, has emphasized the importance of a peaceful transition.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington that the developments in recent days and hours are a cause for concern.

We want to see a peaceful democratic transition of power to a civilian-led government, he said. We would be concerned by anything that would stand in the way of that.

Following Debys death, French officials described him as a courageous friend, and a great soldier.

However, human rights groups say Chads military contributions to fighting Islamic extremism ultimately helped shield him from international criticism as his government became increasingly autocratic. Despite being an oil-producing nation, Chad remains one of the worlds poorest countries.

For years, international players have propped up Debys government for its support for counterterrorism operations in the Sahel and the Lake Chad basin and involvement in other regional initiatives while largely turning a blind eye to his legacy of repression and violations of social and economic rights at home, Human Rights Watch said in a statement this week.

Earlier this month, Deby was elected to a sixth term after facing minimal opposition because several challengers chose to boycott, fearing the vote would be rigged. In a bit to thwart opposition activists, the internet in Chad was disrupted several times before and during the April 11 voting day.

Authorities now believe the rebels blamed for killing Deby entered Chad that same day from southern Libya.

The rebels now aiming for the capital are led by Mahamat Mahadi Ali, a longtime Deby opponent who formed the shadowy group known by its French acronym, FACT, in 2016 after leaving another rebel group, the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development.

___ Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

By EDOUARD TAKADJI and KRISTA LARSON

Associated Press
Garcetti Reveals Top Priorities in 2021-2022 Budget Proposal

Hot topics headlining current news mirror the priorities in the 2021-2022 budget proposed by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Delivering the financial document to the City Council on April 20, the mayor indicated his top interests include addressing the homelessness crisis, investing in small businesses, upgrading opportunities for young people and improving the quality of life for many Angelenos by implementing a guaranteed basic income pilot program.

Describing his proposal as a Justice Budget, Garcetti said, Its a financial document, but also a roadmap to a city built on justice and equity. It reflects our values. It restores what we love best about Los Angeles.

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It reinvests in our health and our strength. And it reinvents what has held us back. It is the biggest city budget Ive ever presented. Its the most progressive, too  arguably of any big city anywhere.

The projected allocations include nearly $1 billion towards ending homelessness, $25 million to aid small businesses with $5,000 Comeback Checks, and funding for a Youth Development Department along with $5 million to create an Angeleno Corps, which will pay 400 student workers. Also, the basic income pilot will dedicate $24 million to the program, Garcetti said.

Los Angeles will launch the largest Guaranteed Basic Income pilot of any city in America. [The budget will] provide $1,000 a month to 2,000 households for an entire year, no questions asked, wherever poverty lives in our city, insisted the mayor.

And thanks to the leadership of Councilmember Curren Price, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and other councilmembers, these funds will grow to more than $30 million in direct help to begin to tear away at poverty in our city and show this nation a way to fulfill Dr. Kings call for a basic income once and for all, he added.

Other innovations in the proposed budget include $2 million in grants for low-income neighborhood restaurants to create permanent areas for outdoor dining as part of the Citys Al Fresco dining program, and $1.3 million to help street vendors maneuver through the Citys permit process and purchase modern carts. A $12 million budget will go to a pilot program entitled L.A. REPAIR  Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgement of Institutional Racism.

The L.A. REPAIR pilot will give communities a direct say in grassroots investments to support job creation and provide organizational backing for community intervention, racial healing, justice and reconciliation. We will also use that funding to partner with community and faith organizations to establish spaces that foster dialogue among youth and adults alike to name the things that have so starkly divided our fortunes  and hold our city to promises of a better future, explained Garcetti.

The overarching mission of L.A. REPAIR is to make sure that we never forget the toll that evils from the past take on peoples lives today. To that end, Im going to name an advisory commission and engage an academic partner to help me push toward creating a pilot slavery reparations program for Black Angelenos.

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Garcetti also called for increased funding for the Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program to support the hiring of 80 new peace ambassadors planting seeds of reconciliation, calm, and unity. In addition, he raised the Cultural Affairs Departments budget by 30 percent to increase staffing to teach classes for youth in visual arts, animation, music and more, boost direct grants to artists across our city, and initiate a youth and creative workers mural program to commemorate many more of Los Angeles neighborhoods and history, he said.

Recalling the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor earmarked money to help the city recover. He allocated $75 million to deliver vaccines, testing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) to neighborhoods throughout the city as well as requested the Cultural Affairs Dept. to assist with creating COVID memorials around Los Angeles.

Stressing the importance of technology, Garcetti announced the establishment of WiFi access points in 300 underserved neighborhoods that will act as giant hotspots, allowing entire neighborhoods to have dependable, fast Internet connections. Highlighting environmental initiatives, he said his budget asks the L.A. Department of Water and Power to give ratepayers $60 for smart thermostats and installing smart meters. Also, LADWP will increase solar power in low-income neighborhoods and double the number of houses that receive free insulation and other energy-saving upgrades.

Reaction has been swift regarding the budget with local activists weighing in as to where funding should be allocated. Some housing advocates expressed dismay that Garcetti emphasizes physical dwellings instead of supportive services like mental health assistance. Other social action representatives were disappointed that the police budget wasnt reduced more.

Black Lives Matters Los Angeles chapter criticized the mayor on Twitter during the speech for appropriating progressive language from the Peoples Budget, created by the activist organization, the Peoples City Council, but lacking that budgets substance.

However, Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas was happy that Garcetti gave a boost to his Right to Housing motion.

Meaningful change begins with action. I applaud Mayor Garcetti for understanding that Angelenos are most concerned about the number of homeless we see in parkways, in the streets, and living in vehicles and proposing an unprecedented commitment of resources to allow us to scale up our response, he said.

We will not address this moral crisis with the urgency and conviction that is warranted, if we dont have a comprehensive strategy, sufficient ongoing resources, and ultimately, an enforceable obligation on government to act.

Just like we believe all citizens deserve a right to vote, and we all have a right to clean air. It must be the responsibility of local government to address the homeless crisis and ensure that our neighbors have a right to a roof. A billion dollars dedicated to this takes us in the right direction, Ridley-Thomas said.

He added that he wants the final budget to advance his Right to Housing framework, which he proposed in a motion that was unanimously approved by the City Council on March 3.

The community also can weigh in on the final budget by participating in the City Councils Budget and Finance Committee meetings and voicing opinions about budget items as well as suggesting other funding areas. To view the committees meeting schedule, visit clerk.lacity.org. Read the mayors proposed budget in its entirety at cao.lacity.org.

City News Service contributed to this article.
Akayed Ullah, 31, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court on Thursday after a judge slammed his crime as a 'barbaric and heinous' plot to kill as many people as he could

A Bangladeshi immigrant convicted of setting off a pipe bomb strapped to his chest during rush hour in New York City's Times Square subway station in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison.

Akayed Ullah, 31, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court on Thursday after a judge slammed his crime as a 'barbaric and heinous' plot to kill as many people as he could.

He had detonated his homemade pipe bomb during rush hour in New York City's busiest subway station on December 11, 2017.

The bomb materials had come from a nearby construction site where Ullah worked as an electrician.

Ullah, who is married and has a 3-year-old son, largely failed when the bomb attached to his chest barely exploded and left him with severe burns and injuries.

No one died but four other people were injured in the explosion.

During his sentencing, Judge Richard J. Sullivan said Ullah had carried out 'about as serious a crime as there is'.

'A life sentence is appropriate,' Sullivan said. 'It was a truly barbaric and heinous crime.'

The judge told the would-be suicide bomber that life in prison was 'less draconian than the sentence you were going to impose on yourself'.

Ullah, speaking through a white mask over his black beard and with his tearful mother looking on from a courtroom bench behind him, apologized before hearing the sentence.

'Your honor, what I did on December 11, it was wrong,' he said. 'I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, Im deeply sorry... I do not support harming innocent people.'

Ullah set off a pipe bomb during rush hour in New York City's busiest subway station, Times Square, in December 2017

Ullah largely failed when the bomb attached to his chest barely exploded, burning him severely but largely sparing those around him from severe injuries. Authorities are pictured above approaching a severely injured Ullah

The attack in a pedestrian tunnel beneath Times Square and the Port Authority bus terminal left Ullah seriously burned but spared some pedestrians nearby from more serious injuries.

Surveillance video of the attack showed Ullah entering the subway station at 6.26am before making his way towards Port Authority via the underground pedestrian tunnel.

The footage showed the moment he detonated the bomb at 7.18am. His body went rigid before he collapsed on the ground. Shrapnel and bits of his clothing could be seen flying in the air.

The bomb sent pedestrians fleeing before officers approached with their guns drawn. After realizing he was alive, officers turned him over and handcuffed him.

Prosecutors had sought the life term for Ullah, saying the 'premeditated and vicious' attack was committed on behalf of ISIS.

But defense lawyer Amy Gallicchio said Ullah deserved no more than the mandatory 35 years in prison.

She said he had 'lived lawfully and peacefully' before the December 2017 attack that she blamed on a 'personal crisis that left him isolated, depressed, vulnerable and suicidal.'

Ullah is pictured above after being placed in handcuffs following the detonation. He was rushed to hospital after suffering from severe burns and injuries

Ullah was convicted in November 2018 on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a public transportation system and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization

'He's not an evil man. He is not a monster,' she said.

At trial, prosecutors showed jurors Ullah's post-arrest statements and social media comments, including when he taunted then-President Donald Trump on Facebook right before the attack.

Hours after Ullah's bombing attempt, Trump derided the immigration system that had allowed Ullah - and multitudes of law-abiding Bangladeshis - to enter the U.S.

At the time of the attack, Ullah had a green card, allowing him to live in the US.

He lived with his mother, sister and two brothers in Brooklyn, while his wife and then-infant son lived in Bangladesh.

Trump said allowing foreigners to follow relatives to the U.S. was 'incompatible with national security.'

Ullah was convicted in November 2018 on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a public transportation system and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

His sentence was formally described as life in prison plus 30 years because one count required that a 30-year mandatory sentence be added to whatever was imposed for the other charges.

The judge, who now sits on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also ordered $7,380 in restitution.
Sharks may have visited deeper waters around the British coast because of decreased underwater activity during the lockout, according to Professor David Sims of the University of Southampton.

Shark Invasion

Big predators were seen lurking in "very shallow" water last year, he said.

Many sightings of both basking and porbeagle sharks have been recorded in recent weeks, with observers seeing them near to the shore than usual.

Some have been discovered in marinas, while others have been seen in the water off the shore.

Rupert Kirkwood, a marine hunter, said he saw five basking sharks while kayaking in Cornwall over the weekend.

Last week, sharks were seen in two separate marinas in Plymouth, Devon.

Related Article: Ocean's Extremely Hot Causing Great White Sharks to Find Other Habitat



Covid Regulations

According to Mr. Sims, a professor of aquatic ecology, ocean, and earth science at the University of Southampton, Coronavirus limits may be the reason.

He said," "Large and small porbeagles are occasionally seen in marinas.

"Since they hunt fish in deeper waters, it's likely that they were chasing fish schools.

"The decreased sea traffic associated with the Covid-19 lockout constraints may be one reason it came so close."

"Large pelagic sharks, such as blue sharks, were seen venturing into very shallow water and in harbors and marinas in Europe during the key lockout period in March-July 2020."

"This has been attributed to 'quieter' waters when there were less freight, fishing, and tourist vessels on the water at the moment."

"Sharks are vulnerable to vibration, even ship vibrations, which are often avoided, so it's likely that a quieter'sound' may have helped this young shark expand his explorations into a Plymouth marina."

He went on to say that he'd been satellite monitoring sharks in north Cornwall.

"This showed that sharks inhabited localized areas throughout the Celtic Sea between the south-west UK, south-west Wales, and southern Ireland between July and August," the professor said.

"A porbeagle was sometimes just a few kilometers off the Cornish coast."

"Only one shark was tracked through the summer, where it crossed into deep water off the continental shelf before heading north to colder latitudes.

"It's possible that this was part of seasonal foraging movements."

Sharks Moving In

When a bigger and "badder" predator ventures into their local habitats, many vulnerable aquatic animals are put in jeopardy.

According to a report, great white sharks began venturing into areas that they would not usually go, placing smaller species in grave danger. Why do they behave in this manner? Changes in the climate.

The predators were forced to relocate due to the rise in water temperature, making them closer to potential prey. Since then, many coastal species have seen a control change, resulting in a decline in fish and other underwater inhabitants. It also increased the number of human-shark collisions.

Rising Water Temperature

Professor Malin Pinsky of Rutgers University believes that the mass migration of sea life along the US coasts should be cause for concern because it affects sharks and other living things in the environment. Climate change, he said, is wreaking havoc on the oceanic environment.

With the rising temperature mixed with calmer waters due to Covid limits, sharks moving in might be more frequent than how it used to.

Also Read: Rising Number of Shark Attacks in Australia Reveals A Darker Story

Fore more news about the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - TrustBIX Inc. (TSXV: TBIX) ("TrustBIX" or the "Company") is very pleased to announce that the Sunterra Group ("Sunterra") is its first client for the BuildSense suite of energy management solutions.

The BuildSense suite of solutions is offered in three discrete solutions as Build Aware, Build Sight, and Build Sense, and gives customers progressively deeper insight into energy consumption and sustainability management in their business operations. TrustBIX previously announced on December 7, 2020 that it signed a value-added reseller agreement with Green Metrics Technologies Ltd. ("Green Metrics") for the BuildSense suite for the agri-food sector.

TrustBIX has already completed a Build Aware review of various Sunterra production, processing, and retail locations in Alberta. With Build Aware, historical energy consumption at target locations was examined, and sites that may benefit from a deeper on-site engagement were identified.

With this announcement, TrustBIX is moving forward with Sunterra to complete Build Sight engagements at multiple locations. Build Sight mimics an ASHRAE Level II audit and involves both analysis of the building envelope as well as a detailed assessment of electrical and thermal loads and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Green Metrics supported the completion of the Build Aware engagement and is also providing support on the Build Sight portion.

"At Sunterra, we are always looking at ways to be more efficient and utilize less energy where possible. We are pleased to be working with TrustBIX and Green Metrics to benchmark our operations in order to target possible operational savings," said Ray Price, President of Sunterra.

"We are very excited to be working with a progressive company like Sunterra," said James Freeman, Chief Growth Officer of TrustBIX. "With their vertically-integrated operations, Sunterra is the perfect client to show the value of energy management solutions at all points in the agri-food value chain, and to demonstrate how money can be saved and GHG emissions reduced to enhance sustainability."

About Sunterra Group

The Sunterra Group is a dynamic organization that comprises pig production (Sunterra Farms), pork processing (Sunterra Meats), retail locations (Sunterra Market) as well as Soleterra d'Italia.

For the past three generations, the Price family have built their business around pork. From producing pigs with superior genetics to strict processing standards and a thriving retail business, Sunterra is a name synonymous with quality. For over 60 years, our philosophy has not changed: we want to nourish our customers with affordable, fresh, quality food. Visit us at https://www.sunterramarket.com/.

About BuildSense by Green Metrics

BuildSense is a software as a service (SaaS) solution that empowers building operators to deeply understand their assets and fully optimize building performance. BuildSense delivers this power through connected sensors that track building system data to learn and generate strategies that drive down building operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. BuildSense provides strategies to reduce energy consumption using data driven algorithms to identify behavioural or physical building changes. BuildSense empowers building owners and managers to navigate the smart building marketplace. For more information, visit www.buildsense.io or email info@buildsense.io.

About TrustBIX (TSXV: TBIX)

As an innovative leader, TrustBIX provides agri-food traceability. By addressing consumer and agri-food business demands, the Company has a goal to become the most trusted and largest source of third-party food traceability and sustainability information globally - Gate to Plate. TrustBIX Inc.'s focus is to create a world where we trust more, waste less and reward sustainable behaviour. The Company's proprietary platform, BIX (Business infoXchange System), is designed to create trust without compromising privacy through innovative use of data and technology. Extensive R&D has allowed TrustBIX to create a new blockchain-derived technology to complement its mature and proven traceability systems. By leveraging BIX and its unique use of incentive solutions, the Company can deliver independent validation of food provenance and sustainable production practices within the supply chain. ViewTrak Technologies Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, provides a suite of hardware and software solutions to the livestock industry in Canada, United States, Mexico and China, such as Auction Master Pro, Market Master, Feedlot Solutions and pork grading probes. For more information, visit www.trustbix.com, or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/@TrustBIX_Inc, Facebook at www.facebook.com/BIXSco, or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bixsco-inc-/.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking information and reflects the Company's present assumptions regarding future events. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, levels of activity, performance, and/or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "propose", "anticipate", "believe", "forecast", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions used by any of the Company's management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's internal projections, expectations, future growth, performance and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to the Company. Since they relate to the Company's current views with respect to future events, they are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments except as required by applicable securities legislation, regulations or policies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Hubert Lau

President and CEO

Telephone: (780) 456-2207

Email: info@trustbix.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81197
Dharamsala, April 22 : Foreseeing climate crisis, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday appealed to the world leaders to look at both the challenges and the opportunities "before us on this one blue planet that we share".

"I often joke that the moon and stars look beautiful, but if any of us tried to live on them, we would be miserable," the elderly spiritual leader said in a statement to mark Earth Day that falls on April 22.

"This planet of ours is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life, its future our future. Indeed, the earth acts like a mother to us all. Like children, we are dependent on her. In the face of such global problems as the effect of global heating and depletion of the ozone layer, individual organisations and single nations are helpless.

"Unless we all work together, no solution can be found. Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility." The Buddhist monk noted: "Take the issue of water as an example. Today, more than ever, the welfare of citizens in many parts of the world, especially of mothers and children, is at extreme risk because of the critical lack of adequate water, sanitation and hygienic conditions.

"It is concerning that the absence of these essential health services throughout the world impacts nearly two billion people. And yet it is soluble. I am grateful that the Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, has issued an urgent global call to action.

"Interdependence is a fundamental law of nature. Ignorance of interdependence has wounded not just our natural environment, but our human society as well. Therefore, we human beings must develop a greater sense of the oneness of all humanity. Each of us must learn to work not only for his or her self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind.

"In this connection, I am glad that US President Joe Biden will be hosting a Leaders' Climate Summit on Earth Day this year, bringing together world leaders to discuss an issue that impacts all of us." Believing firmly, he said "if the planet is to be sustained, environmental education and personal responsibility must grow and keep growing".

"Taking care of the environment should be an essential part of our daily lives. In my own case, my environmental awakening occurred only after I came into exile and encountered a world very different from the one I had known in Tibet.

"Only then did I realize how pure the Tibetan environment was and how modern material development has contributed to the degradation of life across the planet.

"On this Earth Day let us all commit ourselves to doing our part to help make a positive difference to the environment of our only common home, this beautiful earth," the Nobel Peace Laureate concluded.
New York, April 20, 2021--The Vilcek Foundation announces the publication of Dr. Jan Vilcek's 2016 autobiography, Love and Science, as an audiobook. In Love and Science, Vilcek tells the remarkable story of his life--from hiding from Nazis in the former Czechoslovakia during World War II, to his research on cytokines and interferon that led to the development of infliximab--Remicade--to his life in philanthropy.

Initially published by Seven Stories Press, the Vilcek Foundation obtained the rights to publish Love and Science as an audiobook in 2020. "Jan's life story is nothing short of extraordinary," says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. "His humility, empathy, and curiosity have led him to accomplish amazing things, and to affect positive change in the world on a grand scale."

Vilcek began his medical and scientific career under the constraints of Communist Czechoslovakia, attending medical school in Bratislava's Comenius University. He published his first single-authored paper in Nature in 1960, on interferon and tick-borne encephalitis, while completing his PhD at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences' Institute of Virology.

In 1964, Vilcek and his wife, Marica, defected from Czechoslovakia in pursuit of careers free from the constraints of the Communist regime. In February 1965, the pair emigrated to New York, where Jan was offered an assistant professor position with the New York University School of Medicine. Marica, an art historian and curator, began work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

At New York University, Vilcek continued his research in immunology, with a particular focus on cytokines and interferon. While studying potential treatments for cancer--particularly to target tumor necrosis factor (TNF), Vilcek and Junming Le created a monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha, called infliximab. The chimeric antibody was ineffective in treating cancer--Vilcek and Le's initial goal--however, it proved successful in treating autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Vilcek and Le helped develop the biologic drug, infliximab, or Remicade; it quickly became commercially successful, and Remicade remains among the top 10 most-prescribed drugs in the world.

The Vilcek Foundation partnered with actor Daniel K. Isaac in early 2019 to begin discussion about the development of the audiobook project. "It meant a lot to me that I, as an Asian American and child of immigrants, was asked to be the voice for a Slovakian immigrant and renowned immunologist," said Isaac. The foundation coordinated recording of the project with John Marshall Media in New York in 2020, completing recording in early 2021.

"This is a memoir to be cherished," says David Oshinsky. "Dr. Jan Vilcek's remarkable life bears witness to the totalitarian evils of Nazism and Communism that shaped his native Czechoslovakia, and to the life-saving miracles he produced in the laboratories of his adopted homeland, the United States. It's a story of courage and freedom, of discovery and philanthropy--told with the elegant modesty of a man who devoted his life to easing the world's pain. Put simply, it demands to be read."

The audiobook of Love and Science is available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. Further information is available at vilcek.org.

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation--to honor immigrant contributions to the United States, and more broadly to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences--was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $5.9 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.3 million in grants.

The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

###
A 15- to 30-year prison sentence imposed on a 17-year-old boy who shot three people during a rampage at a Pennsylvania shopping mall was upheld by a state appeals court panel Thursday despite the gunmans claim that his mental health problems werent adequately considered.

An Allegheny County judge did consider Tarod Thornhills psychiatric issues, but simply didnt give them the weight Thornhill desired, Judge Maria McLaughlin found in the Superior Courts opinion.

Thornhill committed the shooting spree inside the Macys store in the Monroeville Mall in February 2015. He shot one man three times and wounded another couple who were in the store with their young child.

All three victims survived.

Tarod Thornhill

Thornhill, now 23, was convicted of aggravated assault, illegally possessing a firearm and reckless endangerment following a nonjury trial before county Judge Jeffrey A. Manning in November 2016.

McLaughlin noted that Manning imposed Thornhills prison term after stressing that mental health treatment was important for the teens rehabilitation.

On appeal to the state court, Thornhill argued that his punishment was unreasonable. He insisted that Manning didnt adequately consider his age in mental health problems in choosing his sentence.

Manning did consider those factors, McLaughlin found. She noted that Thornhills parents told Manning about their sons psychiatric troubles. Thornhills father expressed that he believed the shooting would have never occurred had Thornhill taken his mental health medication that day, she wrote.

She also cited Mannings reason for the penalty he imposed.

I never really believed that deterrence actually works, other than to deter the person who was convicted of a crime. But deterrence sometimes is there to set an example. To send a message, Manning said. We, as a society, need to know that our shopping malls, our schools, our places of worship, our theaters, all public gathering places, are safe havens. Places where these kinds of events cannot occur.

McLaughlin concluded that Manning considered all the factors Thornhill now cites, and it did so in a thoughtful way. While (the county judge) may not have given them the weight Thornhill contends (he) ought to have, that does not make the sentence excessive.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While millions of Americans have received a third stimulus payment, some of those people will have to return their $1,400 check to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

To qualify for the full stimulus payment, an individual must have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or below. For individuals who are the head of household, the adjusted gross income must be $112,500 or below. If youre a married couple filing jointly, total yearly earnings must be $150,000 or below to receive the full stimulus check.

Unlike the first two stimulus payments, the third payout is not restricted to children under 17. Eligible families will get a payment based on all of their qualifying dependents claimed on their tax return, including older relatives, like college students, adults with disabilities, parents and grandparents.

But some people who received the full $1,400 may be asked by the IRS to give back the money.

According to Kiplinger, heres some reasons people may need to return their stimulus money:

Nonresident aliens are not eligible. A nonresident alien includes anyone who:

isnt a U.S. citizen,

is without a green card,

or has not been physically present in the country for the required amount of time.

However, resident aliens with a valid Social Security number not claimed as a dependent on someone elses tax return, can keep the $1,400, according to the IRS.

Surviving spouses cant keep a deceased partners check who died before Jan. 1, 2021. According to the AARP, the federal government has sent stimulus payments to about 1.1 million dead people totaling nearly $1.4 billion.

If a husband or wife died before January 1, 2021 and received a third stimulus check, the check for the deceased spouse must be returned to the IRS.

The one exception is if the person who died is a married member of the U.S. military. In that case, the surviving spouse can receive the third stimulus check.

Some people may not be able to cash their stimulus check if it was issued jointly to a couple where one spouse is now deceased. In this situation, you can return the money to the IRS with a letter requesting that a payment be reissued in the surviving spouses name only.

People who dont want or need the money can give it back. Those who would like to forgo the government payment can return their check to the IRS. People who opt to give back the stimulus payment will need to include an explanation about why the payment is being returned. And its important to note that the payment should not be reissued.

Instead of mailing the check back to the IRS, people could consider donating the money to charity or to local businesses that may be suffering due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

RETURNING THE STIMULUS

If the payment was a paper check and hasnt been cashed, the AARP says you can write Void over the endorsement section on the back of the check and then mail it back to the IRS with a note for the reason its being returned.

If the payment was a direct deposit or a paper check that was cashed, you can submit a personal check, money order or bank check to the appropriate IRS location for your state. The check/money order should be made payable to U.S. Treasury. Write 2020EIP, and the taxpayer identification number of the recipient of the payment in the notes section of the check.

If you live in New York and want to mail your check back, send it to Brookhaven Refund Inquiry Unit, 5000 Corporate Ct., Mail Stop 547, Holtsville, NY 11742.

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

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The "red lines" mentioned by President Vladimir Putin in his address are clear: encroaching on national interests and meddling in its political processes, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"As for the red lines, they are clear," Peskov said. "In the first place, these are our national interests, the interests of our external and domestic security and preventing any foreign meddling <...> in our elections and other political processes. This is preventing an insulting talk with our country, infringing on our countrys economic interests and so on," he noted.

Meanwhile, Peskov did not specify whom Putin warned that crossing these lines was unacceptable. "Well, he has warned Shere Khan and minions," Peskov said, referring to Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, mentioned by Putin in his address.
A man has been charged after allegedly trying to sexually assault a woman in the early hours of the morning at one of Australia's most popular holiday spots.

The 34-year-old woman was allegedly attacked while walking down a shopping strip between Noosa Parade and Hastings Street in Noosa Heads, Queensland at 5.20am on Sunday.

The local managed to escape a 22-year-old Sunshine Beach resident who allegedly tried to push her to the ground and assault her, police said.

A man has been charged for allegedly trying to sexually assault a woman in Noosa (Stock)

The 34-year-old was attacked in a thoroughfare between Noosa Parade and Hastings Street

The man allegedly got out of his vehicle and tried to speak to the woman before grabbing her and allegedly attempting to sexually assault her.

The woman fought him off and fled to a nearby business, where police were immediately contacted.

The alleged attacker has been charged with one count each of assault with intent to commit rape and deprivation of liberty - unlawfully detain/confine.

He appeared in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) speaks during a hearing to examine United States Special Operations Command and United States Cyber Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2022 and the Future Years Defense Program, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 25, 2021. (Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

Sens. Cotton, Ernst Introduce Bill to Prevent Agricultural Tech Theft by Chinese Regime

A pair of Republican senators on Wednesday introduced legislation that seeks to establish an office of intelligence within the Agriculture Department to keep U.S. agricultural innovations from falling into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other foreign threats.

The bill (pdf), named the Agricultural Intelligence Measures (AIM) Act of 2021 (S.4768), was introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). It seeks to establish an office within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by amending the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994.

The office would leverage the assets of the intelligence community to better protect U.S. agriculture from foreign threats posed by countries like China, a release states.

It would be headed by a director with significant experience serving in the intelligence community, the bill states.

The office would act as a liaison between the secretary of agriculture and the intelligence community, and would be authorized to request intelligence collection and analysis on matters related to domestic agriculture.

To understand foreign threats, the office would need to collaborate with both the intelligence community and U.S. national laboratories, the bill states.

The Office shall facilitate sharing information on foreign activities related to agriculture, as acquired by the Department with the intelligence community, the legislation states.

The office would focus on foreign threats such as theft of U.S. agriculture knowledge and technology, the development or implementation of biological warfare attacks, cyber or clandestine operations, and other means of sabotaging and disrupting United States agriculture.

For the fiscal year 2022, $970,000 would be authorized to be appropriated for the office, according to the bill.

The Chinese Communist Party wants to undermine vital American industries through sabotage and intellectual property theftU.S. agriculture is no exception. Our bill will help safeguard the food and technology that our country depends on for its prosperity and freedom, Cotton said in a statement.

Ernst said in a statement that for too long, countries like China have taken advantage of Iowa farmers, stealing stealing intellectual property and engaging in other nefarious activities.

He added, This bill will help protect our agriculture community in Iowa, and across the country, so they can continue their hard work of feeding and fueling the world.

The CCP has for years sought to modernize the countrys agriculture sector. In February 2018, the Central Committee of the CCP, a group of Party elites, and the cabinet-like State Council, released a document outlining a roadmap for rural vitalization.

The roadmap called for decisive progress to be made by 2035.

In December 2019, Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology said it planned to establish about 30 high-tech industry demonstration zones by 2025 in a bid to create agricultural Silicon Valleys.

A month later, in January 2020, Chinas Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission jointly unveiled a six-year plan for digitizing Chinas agriculture sector, such as expanding Internet coverage to 70 percent of rural areas by 2025.

The Chinese regimes agricultural ambition is fueled in part by intellectual property theft and state-run job recruitment programs, as evidenced by recent cases uncovered by federal prosecutors.

This week, the former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe named the CCP as the greatest adversary of the United States that is capable of challenging, and even supplanting the U.S. as the worlds superpower economically, militarily, and technologically.

And on April 13, the Office of the DNI released its annual threat assessment that described the CCPs push for global power as the leading threat to U.S. national security.

Frank Fang contributed to this report.
Kolkata: Noted Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh died on Wednesday morning while he was in isolation at his residence after testing positive for COVID-19, his family said. Ghosh, 89, was found to be COVID-positive on April 14.

He was in home isolation on the advice of doctors, according to Health Department sources.

Shankha Ghosh, who suffered from several comorbidities, was hospitalised a few months ago due to the deterioration of his health condition.

Considered to be having authority on Rabindranath Tagore, Ghosh is known for 'Adim Lata - Gulmomay' and 'Murkha Baro Samajik Nay', among other books.

Ghosh, known for being vocal on various social and political issues, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and conferred the prestigious Jnanpith Award in 2016.

He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for his book 'Babarer Prarthana'.

His works have been translated into several languages, including English and Hindi.

Ghosh is survived by his daughters - Semanti and Srabanti, and wife Pratima.

Litterature Subodh Sarkar said COVID-19 snatched away Ghosh when he was needed the most as "the state was faced with the threat of fascism".

"He was soft-spoken but his pen was razor-sharp, always speaking against intolerance. He used to be a participant in all conventions and movements for free and liberal thinking," Sarkar said.

Ghosh was born on February 6, 1932, at Chandpur in present-day Bangladesh.
YEREVAN.  The mayor of Meghri town, Mkhitar Zakaryan, was summoned to the Investigative Committee of Armenia within the framework of the criminal case initiated on the grounds of hooliganism and using violence against a government representative. Armenian News-NEWS.am was informed about this from the aforesaid committee.

The Investigative Committee added that a criminal case has been launched against Zakaryan, too.

It was also informed that this criminal case has been accepted by the committee and is in the proceedings of the Department for Especially Important Cases.

A criminal case has been initiated in connection with the incidents that took place Wednesday in Syunik Province, and under the Criminal Code articles on hooliganism, and using violence against a representative of the government.

PM Nikol Pashinyan, who had visited Syunik in top secrecy Wednesday, was greeted with cursing and insults at him by the residents of various communities of this province. They had demanded that he leave Syunik. And the people of Kajaran had blocked the road entering the town, thus Pashinyan could not enter Kajaran at all.

A large number of police officers, a special detachment of the National Security Service, and a large number of security officers had gone to the province with Pashinyan.

Pashinyan was walking through the streets of Syunik communities accompanied by a large number of bodyguards.
Several animals have died at a pet shop after the grocery store next door caught on fire.

Fire and emergency services were called to Pet Country at 9.10pm on Wednesday after a blaze was reported on Kingston Road, Slacks Creek, just south of Brisbane.

The grocery store next to Pet Country had caught alight, and despite emergency services getting there within five minutes, a number of animals had already been burned.

Emergency services received the call at 9.10pm on Wednesday night and attended the scene within five minutes

The cause of the fire is still unknown as the Fire Investigation Unit and Queensland Police are returning to the scene today to continue their investigation.

A crime scene was established overnight as police were unable to investigate late into the eve because of the toxic fumes.

Queensland Police officers saved a number of the dogs trapped inside the shop but the Courier Mail confirmed that several animals died.

A spokesperson for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said the fire was under control by 11.50pm

Six fire crews attended the fire within five minutes of the call and a spokesperson for Queensland Fire and Emergency Service told Daily Mail Australia that the fire was under control at 11.50pm.

The last of the fire crews left just after 1am, the spokesperson confirmed.

The fire comes only a month after a similar blaze affected a pet store on the Gold Coast, however no animals died there.
A storm that may have produced a tornado in Kent plummeted temperatures throughout Connecticut on Thursday.

Winds reached 75 mph in parts of the state late Wednesday afternoon, with a possible tornado sighting in Kent. The National Weather Service sent a team to the area to investigate.

After a high near 47 degrees on Thursday with wind gusts up to around 35 mph, temperatures will drop to a low around 33 degrees with gusts up to 25 mph, the NWS said.

There is a slight chance of scatter snow showers in parts of northwestern Connecticut on Thursday afternoon.

Despite the rain Wednesday and cold temperatures, the NWS said the risk of forest fires is high throughout southern Connecticut Thursday.

Thats the result of humidity levels dropping and strong wind gusts of about 30-35 mph.

While much of the area received one-quarter to one-half inch of rainfall on Wednesday, the strong winds and low relative humidity will allow fine fuels to dry out quickly, the agency said. The risk of fire will also likely be high Friday.

Another freeze warning will be in effect Friday from 1 to 9 a.m., the weather service said. Friday will bring sunny skies and a high near 60. Winds up to 30 mph are in the forecast. By night, temperatures will drop to around 40 degrees with a slight breeze.

On a National Weather Service storm damage summary page, it indicated wind damage had knocked down tree limbs and power to an area of Fairfield around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The rest of the summary page was filled with similar instances in New York and New Jersey.

Most of western Connecticut was under a severe thunderstorm warning around 3 p.m. Wednesday, with a tornado warning being briefly issued for part of Litchfield County around that same time.

In Kent, radar showed winds hitting up to 75 mph at higher points of elevation, said Bill Jacquemin, chief meteorologist of the Connecticut Weather Center, on Wednesday. He said radar showed winds in a rotating pattern in the area. The NWS said Thursday it has a team investigating whether a tornado touched down in Kent.

At the peak of the gusty winds and outages, more than 5,000 Eversource customers were reported to be without power late Wednesday afternoon. Later that night, the number had dropped to around 3,500. By Thursday morning, less than 130 Eversource customers remained without power.

During the storm, United Illuminating reported one outage in Fairfield, which was resolved by Wednesday evening.

Staff Writer Peter Yankowski contributed reporting.
RTHK: US police not above the law: Rev Al Sharpton

Hundreds of mourners, including relatives of George Floyd and top Minnesota politicians, attended the funeral on Thursday of Daunte Wright, a young black man killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.

"The time has come for police to understand they're not above the law," veteran civil rights leader Al Sharpton said in his eulogy.

Wright, 20, was shot during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Centre on April 11 by a police officer who apparently confused her handgun for her Taser.

Kim Potter, who is white, resigned from the police force after the shooting and has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Wright's shooting took place during the already tense atmosphere surrounding the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted by a jury on Tuesday of Floyd's murder.

The 66-year-old Sharpton peppered his eulogy for Wright with tributes to Floyd and other African Americans who have been killed by police.

"God has turned the page in the state of Minnesota and we're never going back no more," he said in reference to Chauvin's conviction.

Chauvin was seen on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during the May 25, 2020 arrest of the 46-year-old African-American man.

The video of Floyd's death sparked protests against racial injustice and police brutality across the United States and around the world.

Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter and is to be sentenced in June.

Sharpton said the time has come to "tell policemen to stop being violent."

"Trained people don't confuse guns from Tasers," he said. "Trained people don't put knees on people's necks for nine minutes and 29 seconds."

Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota attended the funeral at Shiloh Temple church in Minneapolis and presented Wright's parents with a US flag that flew over the US Capitol in honour of their son.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz read a proclamation condemning "systemic racism" and the need to "enact change."

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar said the deaths of Floyd, Wright and other black Americans pointed to the urgency of passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

The sweeping legislation bans choke holds, combats racial profiling and restricts immunity that shields police from civil lawsuits.

It passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives but will need the backing of 10 Republicans in the Senate. None have signed on.

Wright's funeral came a day after hundreds of mourners attended a public viewing of his open casket, which was covered with red roses.

The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it was conducting a probe into the Minneapolis police to determine whether the department systematically uses excessive force. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Delhi: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has joined companies like Tata Steel in the fight against the second wave of Covid-19. The Mukesh Ambani-owned firm claims to have upgraded facilities at the worlds largest oil refining complex at Jamnagar, Gujarat, to manufacture medical grade oxygen at scale to fulfil the shortage of the life-saving element.



The Jamnagar refinery is currently producing 700 metric tonnes of oxygen on a daily basis, a spokesperson of Reliance Industries told Moneycontrol. If required, we can scale it up, the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Reliance is currently supplying oxygen to three badly hit states: Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Union territories of Diu, Daman and Silvassa are also getting oxygen supplies from Reliance at the moment.

The oxygen supply to Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will reportedly save the lives of over 70,000 critically ill patients every day, according to a report by the Press Trust of India. Reliance is apparently taking care of all the operations by itself, bearing the costs of logistics and cold supply chains.

Besides the Jamnagar facility, Reliance is setting up two more facilities at Hazira. One of the facility is reportedly already working while the other one is expected to become operational pretty soon.

On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court had ordered the Central government to urge steel makers and petroleum firms to help the nation mitigate the crisis. In addition to Reliance, Tata Steel is also providing medical oxygen supply to worst-hit states to protect the lives of people battling against Covid-19. Currently, India is faced with a massive shortage of medical-grade oxygen.

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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvins conviction for the murder of George Floyd has provided a jolt of momentum to Congress long-stalled effort to enact meaningful police reform, lawmakers on Capitol Hill said.

Members of Congress who are working to craft legislation said they are optimistic that a compromise that appeals to both parties can be reached as they continue to negotiate after a Tuesdays verdict, though significant hurdles still remain on the volatile issue.

Rep. Karen Bass, a California Democrat who is leading the charge in the U.S. House, said she is hopeful that a bipartisan group working on police reform will have the text for a new bill ready next month.

I think we can get it to the finish line, Bass said Tuesday. I dont see this being dragged out. I would like to have some language by the time we hit the anniversary of George Floyds death.

Floyd died on May 25 of last year, which initially sparked a wave of racial justice protests across the country and renewed calls for police reform in Washington.

Bass said she is working with Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., on policing reform legislation. Scott said that lawmakers were making progress, calling Bass an honest broker.

Bass said qualified immunity for police officers, a major focus of civil rights advocates, is under discussion, but declined to shed light on what other policies members of Congress were considering.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that helps to shield police officers from being held personally liable for actions taken while they are on the job unless the conduct explicitly violates constitutional rights. Many on the left want to end the policy, but most Republicans are in support of it.

There is a way to put more of the onus or the burden on the department or on the employer than on the employee, Scott said, according to Hill pool reports. I think that is a logical step forward, and one that as Ive spoken with Karen Bass over the last several weeks, its something that the Democrats are quite receptive to.

Story continues

Other Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., shared Scotts view, signaling there may be room for compromise on the issue.

I dont want to sue the police officer in an individual capacity, he said. Sue the entity that hires the police officer. If you work for a company you sue the company. I think that would solve most of it.

A THORNY ISSUE

Any bipartisan agreement on police reform would represent an unexpected breakthrough for Congress on a deeply fraught issue, one that has pitted Republicans and Democrats against each other in recent years amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

Efforts to pass legislation in the immediate aftermath of Floyds death stalled, as a police reform measure approved by the Democratic-held House was never brought up for a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate last year.

Last March, the House again passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act along a mostly party-line vote. Passing police reform legislation through the evenly divided Senate would require the support of all 50 Democrats and at least 10 Republicans to overcome the legislative filibuster.

Following the high-profile Chauvin trial, civil rights advocates said they felt a renewed sense of confidence that the bill would become law this year with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris support.

Were going to continue to fight for the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act so we can  I can sign it into law as quickly as possible, Biden said in a Tuesday evening speech.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden and members of his staff had been engaged in conversations about policing reform legislation, including with Senate leadership. Biden met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the Oval Office last week along with Harris. Booker was also part of that meeting.

Psaki declined to say whether the president had spoken to any Republicans in the Senate about policing reform legislation. She said it would be up to Congress to work out the details, and the White Houses objective is to be helpful and constructive and give feedback as is needed but also to leave space for those negotiations to happen.

I think the president certainly sees this moment as an opportunity to redouble everyones efforts in getting this legislation passed and moved forward, Psaki said. Hes eager to have something on his desk, but were not here to set a deadline at this point in time.

DEEP DIVIDE

Still, stark differences remain between police reform advocates and groups worried the changes will hinder the ability of law enforcement agencies to do their jobs.

Civil rights advocates said that legislation that does not ban chokeholds, bar no-knock warrants and put additional limitations on qualified immunity is inadequate.

This is about a substantive bill that brings about change. This is not about a group of politicians showing up at a signing ceremony to say theyve done something because of a photo op, said National Urban League President Marc Morial. Those of us who worked on George Floyd Justice in Policing, those of us that have worked on police reform and systemic change and policing for years and years and years have no more patience with symbolic gestures. We need a substantive bill.

But police groups have said that removal of qualified immunity for officers is a non-starter.

Im not sure with that provision included in it that it would have a chance of passing the Senate, said Laura Cooper, executive director of Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents police chiefs in the largest cities in the United States and Canada. So thats something we all need to talk about at length, and come to agreement on.
Gov. Phil Murphy was one of 12 governors who signed a bipartisan letter asking the Biden administration to meet climate change goals by ending the sale of light-duty combustion engine-powered cars and trucks by 2035, enhance federal funding of charging infrastructure, and provide tax credits for people to switch to electric vehicles.

The letter, sent Wednesday, seeks to address air pollution from transportation, which Murphy called the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey. Governors in neighboring New York and Connecticut also signed the letter.

A commitment from the federal government in both funding and regulatory action will complement this investment, and further drive innovation, create good-paying jobs, and accelerate progress towards our goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2050, Murphy said in a statement.

A DEP report analyzing the states progress stressed the importance of other states cooperation. It said even if New Jersey achieves every goal laid out in the new report by 2050, the overall impact will be negligible without equal efforts from other states, the federal government and other nations.

But does it go far enough to include improvements to the electric power grid to charge all these electric vehicles? Environmentalists said the answer should be in the $2 trillion Infrastructure plan that Biden proposed on March 31.

The letter requests the Biden set standards to ensure that no later than 2035, all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold are zero-emission and asked for significant milestones to be set to monitor progress.

Bold commitments

The governors cited the bold commitments automakers have made to only manufacture zero-emissions vehicles in the near future. General Motors was the first to announce plans to sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, the New York Times reported. Other manufacturers have set similar goals in future years.

This letter calls on the President to put together a real plan that has real standards and funding to meet the targets, which is something that New Jersey doesnt have, said Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. If Biden does this, it will be doing more for New Jersey and will help drive New Jersey where it needs to go.

Governors also asked the Biden administration to set standards for medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles with a 2045 goal to move that category of vehicles to 100% zero-emission vehicle sales. The governors also support policy changes to provide purchase incentives and infrastructure investments for those vehicles and return to emission standards rolled back by the Trump administration.

We need clear standards and timelines to reach our goals, and we need to put up the resources to make it happen, Tittel said. Instead of buying diesel buses and widening highways, we should be expanding and electrifying our mass transit system.

The governors want the administration to provide states with substantial funding for charging and fueling infrastructure, in addition to grants to convert vehicle fleets to zero-emission vehicles. They also called for providing underserved communities with equitable access to Zero Emission Vehicles and charging and fueling stations.

Ending the sale of light-duty internal combustion-engine vehicles by 2035 is an incredibly important step to reduce our emissions, said Hayley Berliner, a clean-energy associate for Environment New Jersey. Clearly, federal investment in electrification infrastructure is a key step in jump-starting electrification across the nation and in New Jersey.

The point of the governors letter is to codify these commitments to electrify through regulatory change, as the state moves forward on investment in the charging infrastructure for cars, NJ Transit buses and the truck sectors to allow us to hit these goals, she said.

Other environmentalists are looking to Bidens infrastructure plan to invest in the electric utility grid to provide power to charge additional electric vehicles. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nations energy infrastructure a C minus in its 2021 infrastructure report card.

The Build Back Better, American Jobs Plan does seek to address (electric power) grid modernization and prioritizes locally sourced renewable energy or what is often referred to as micro-grids, said Ed Potosnak, of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.

Microgrids, similar to NJ Transits proposed TransitGrid project could provide localized power, or electricity to keep specific infrastructure on line, such as the Northeast Corridor rail line between New York and New Brunswick. TransitGrid was proposed as a resiliency project after Hurricane Sandy shut down electric-powered rail lines in 2012.

We are seeing more frequent and intense storms due to climate change and I am pleased this plan takes bold steps to address climate change, like moving to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035, while at the same time investing in our power grid to ensure electricity is reliably delivered to our homes and businesses, Potosnak said.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Just a week and change after we outlined Disney+'s unfortunate decision to axe the Lizzie McGuire reboot likely due to the company's apparent moral woes with allowing a 30-year-old woman to get some, it seems the platform has made a strong comeback in the ever-competitive streaming wars, signing a new "content licensing agreement" with Sony to bring Spider-Man to their streaming services.

Running from 2022 to 2026, the deal allows Disney's streaming platform to act as the long-term home for all of their new releases in this time period while possessing the rights to many of Sony's other popular films like Jumanji and the Hotel Transylvania series. As this catalog also includes several Spider-Man films, this means that the friendly-neighborhood web-slinger could eventually make their way to the streaming service," The Verge noted. Furthermore, a significant number of library titles from Sony will head over to Hulu in June, according to a statement on the deal.

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"This agreement cements a key piece of our film distribution strategy," Sony Pictures' president of worldwide distribution said of the contract. "Which is to maximize the value of each of our films, by making them available to consumers across all windows with a wide range of key partners."
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LAS VEGAS (AP)  An 18-year-old woman in Nevada who suffered seizures after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has received three brain surgeries related to blood clots, a spokesperson for her family said.

Emma Burkey began feeling sick about a week after receiving the one-dose vaccine early this month, spokesman Bret Johnson said. She was one of six women in the U.S. and the only reported resident in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, who experienced a serious clotting side effect. One person died.

Burkey was first treated at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson before being airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California for specialized care, Johnson said. Burkey was taken out of an induced coma and off a respirator, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Her parents, Russ and Kathy, have visited Burkey briefly each day because of COVID-19 restrictions.

She is improving slowly, Johnson said. The word we got from her parents last night was slowly, slowly slowly. "

The U.S. government suspended use of the J&J vaccinations last week, just a week after European regulators declared that such clots are a rare but possible risk with the AstraZeneca vaccine, a shot made in a similar way but not yet approved for use in the U.S.

Federal health agencies have since been investigating if the vaccine could be the cause of blood clots in the women, or if providers should be aware of preexisting conditions or medications that could lead to complications.

A panel with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Burkey and other women experienced headaches and back pain prior to the discovery of blood clots, KVVU-TV reported. The panel said Burkey was given Heparin, a blood thinner. However, the panel and Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned that blood thinners can make the condition worse.

The student body and staff here at Coral Academy have heavy hearts as we now know one of our very own students has experienced adverse side effects from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In a one in a million chance of this happening, we are heartbroken, yet pledge our support to the family during this difficult time, said Ercan Aydogdu, CEO of Coral Academy Las Vegas. Burkey was a senior at the school.
Second Phuket field hospital set up

PHUKET: Due to the rising number infections each day, Phuket health officials have set up a second field hospital, this one at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town.

COVID-19Coronavirushealth

By The Phuket News

Thursday 22 April 2021, 11:46AM

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: PRU

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The second field hospital is being set up at the Phuket Rajabhat University (PRU) campus north of Phuket Town. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Phuket health officials yesterday (Apr 21) marked nine new cases of infection, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of infectionofficially recognised during the current outbreak to 257.

Among the cases, 250 cases are now in hospitals in Phuket, one case has been moved to receive treatment in Bangkok, and six have been discharged, reported the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO).

Dr Chalermpong Sakontapol, Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, inspected the second field hospital at PRU yesterday, where 70 beds made of cardboard have been set up in the universitys main auditorium building.

From this outbreak, the number of new infected cases in Phuket is increasing every day, and we now have more than 200 cases receiving treatment in both government and private hospitals, as well as at the field hospital at PSU [Prince of Songkhla University Phuket campus in Kathu], Dr Chalermpong said.

Right now, we have about 80 cases at the field hospital [at PSU], and about 20 new cases every day. If the number of new infected cases keeps increasing like these over the next seven to 10 days, the field hospital [at PSU], which has full capacity for only 150 beds, will be full, he said.

So we have prepared to set up another field hospital at the [PRU] university meeting hall, which has full capacity for 265 beds.

We are setting up 70 beds as the first phase in a small meeting hall. If that hall becomes full, we will set up more 195 beds in the main meeting hall, Dr Chalermpong added.
The World Bank said that it has reached $2 billion in approved financing for the purchase and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines for 17 developing countries.



This financing is part of the $12 billion envelope over 24 months for developing countries to acquire and deploy vaccines and strengthen their vaccination systems. For poorer countries financing is on grant or highly concessional terms. The Bank expects to support 50 countries with $4 billion financing for Covid-19 vaccines by mid-year.



The $2 billion funding is supporting Covid-19 vaccination in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cabo Verde, Cote dIvoire, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Honduras, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Tajikistan, and Tunisia.



Access to vaccines is key to altering the course of the pandemic and helping countries move toward a resilient recovery, said World Bank Group President David Malpass. Our programs are helping developing countries respond to the health emergency and have financing available for vaccines. As the world attempts to carry out the largest vaccination effort in history, we have stressed the need for countries with excess vaccine supplies to release them as soon as possible, and for financing commitments to Covax to be encashed.



The Banks vaccine finance package is designed to be flexible. It can be used by countries to procure doses through Covax or other sources. It can also finance other key deployment and health system strengthening activities, such as medical supplies, personal protective equipment, vaccine cold-chains, training health workers, data- and information systems and communications and outreach campaigns to key stakeholders which are key to ensure vaccination acceptance. The Bank has aligned its eligibility criteria of Covid 19 vaccines with the revised eligibility criteria of Covax and other Multilateral partners.



Additionally, IFC, the Banks private sector development arm, has a $4 billion health platform to increase the supply and local production of personal protective equipment in developing countries and unlock medical supply bottlenecks in emerging markets, particularly in medical equipment and vaccines.



The Bank is working with governments and partners (UNICEF, the Global Fund, WHO, and GAVI) to assess the readiness of over 140 developing countries to deploy vaccines. Initial findings show that while 85% of countries have developed national vaccination plans, only 30% have plans to train the number of vaccinators needed and 27% have put public engagement strategies in place to address vaccine hesitancy.



To get a vaccine into someones arm, there is a whole system of interdependent actions that needs to function properly, said Axel van Trotsenburg,?World Bank Managing Director of Operations. We are working together with the international community and partners to accelerate the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. Vaccines are a key element in how we return to school, to work, and to growth.



Since the beginning of the crisis, the World Bank Group approved $108.6 billion to help countries fight the health, economic and social consequences of the pandemic. The Bank is assisting over 100 countries with Covid-19 health emergency projects reaching 70% of the world population



World Bank Group response to Covid-19



The World Bank, one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, is taking broad, fast action to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of Covid-19. This includes $12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments, and strengthen vaccination systems.



The financing builds on the broader World Bank Group Covid-19 response, which is helping more than 100 countries strengthen health systems, support the poorest households, and create supportive conditions to maintain livelihoods and jobs for those hit hardest.  TradeArabia News Service
Fred Hickein, an Oneonta native and veteran of World War II and the Korean War, presented a pair of antique muskets -- one more than 200 years old -- to the Greater Oneonta Historical Society on Wednesday, April 21.

One of the firearms, which belonged to Hickein's great-great-grandfather, Solomon Yager, was originally a flintlock musket -- a muzzle-loading long gun capable of firing between 80 and 100 yards -- that was later converted to a percussion cap, found to be more reliable in wet weather.

Yager, who arrived in the Oneonta area in 1797 from Rensselaerswyck, a Dutch colonial estate on the eastern border of what is now the city of Albany, is also an ancestor of Willard Yager, for whom Hartwick College's Yager Museum of Art & Culture is named.

The second musket, which features a long wooden barrel with an 8-inch metal attachment for affixing a bayonet, was used as a training rifle by Edward Brewer, who enlisted in the infantry of the Grand Army of the Republic alongside his brother, Alexander, in 1860.

The family lived on what is now Woodside Avenue, which was known as Brewer Lane until 1914, according to Hickein.

The Brewer brothers reenlisted in 1864, this time joining the cavalry, Hickein said. After the war, Edward returned home with a Spencer carbine, a sword, a military belt and a pistol.

The weapons were passed down through two generations, Hickein said, until they came into the possession of his grandmother, Mabel Griffith. Before her passing, she divided the heirlooms between Hickein's father and his uncle, who each later passed them to their sons. Hickein said a cousin, who lives in Schenevus, still possesses the belt and the sword.

Hickein said he was bequeathing the firearms to GOHS to prevent them from "getting into the wrong hands."

After the Civil War, Hickein said, many local members of the Grand Army of the Republic stored their weapons at a Main Street storefront, where they were damaged in a 1949 fire.

As the Grand Army membership died off, the singed swords, rifles and other paraphernalia were handed off to the American Legion, where they were stored on the third floor, Hickein said. Many years later, they were found to be stolen.

"I didn't want these things to disappear," Hickein said. "I thought they would be in safe hands with the Historical Society. They seem to keep track of their stuff."

Hickein served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1946, and again from 1950 to 1952. "All my Navy service was on land," he said, based in Hawaii.

He was commander of Oneonta's American Legion Post in 1956 and is now its oldest member. "Fred makes it to almost all our Legion meetings," fellow Legionnaire Wayne Gregory said.

Hickein and his wife, Eleanor, are nearing their 67th wedding anniversary, they said. They have four children, living in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Oneonta.

Former GOHS Executive Director Robert Brzozowski said the Yager gun was probably manufactured in England before 1800. "It may be one of the oldest items we have," he said.

Current Executive Director Marcela Micucci said one or both of the weapons will be made part of a permanent exhibit at the History Center. "They will be seen by many," he said.

This article is written by Sarah Eames from The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
[April 22, 2021] CarltonOne Releases New AI-Personalized Employee Engagement Solution To Fund 100 Million New Trees by Q4 2022

TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /CNW/ -- CarltonOne Engagement, the world's most trusted platform for B2B talent recognition and performance programs, announced today the launch of Evergrow  an AI-driven engagement solution that makes work mean more by boosting recognition, performance, wellness, and teamwork. Evergrow's unique business model also directly funds the planting of millions of trees around the world, positively impacting communities and their local economies. To celebrate the launch of Evergrow on Earth Day, CarltonOne is also announcing the immediate funding of an additional 250,000 trees with Eden Reforestation Projects. "We're excited to launch this next-generation engagement solution at Evergrow.app. But our mission goes beyond just helping companies thrive. Companies are seeking new ways to make work mean more with purpose-driven social responsibility programs, and Evergrow turns every employee transaction into climate action by funding new native trees around the world," said Rob Purdy, founder and CEO of CarltonOne. "The more that members use Evergrow, the more trees are funded, the more CO 2 is removed from the atmosphere. It's a climate change movement powered by employee performance. We're already funding the planting of a new tree every 6 seconds  and have planted over 6 million trees in Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar and Nepal and are well on our way towards our goal of funding 100 million trees a year by the end of 2022. Everyone can follow our tree tracker at Evergrow.app." Every Evergrow feature is designed to make work more rewarding and meaningful: Intuitive performance recognition engine  Evergrow makes it easy for managers, employees and team members to instantly give awards with one-click recognition. Members can also earn badges for completing activities and reaching milestones.

 Evergrow makes it easy for managers, employees and team members to instantly give awards with one-click recognition. Members can also earn badges for completing activities and reaching milestones. AI-personalized rewards  the Evergrow reward marketplace uses our Reward AI to personalize a collection of over 10 million fashion, beauty, gadgts, smarthome and appliance items, plus gift cards, hotel and flight deals, events and more.

 the Evergrow reward marketplace uses our Reward AI to personalize a collection of over 10 million fashion, beauty, gadgts, smarthome and appliance items, plus gift cards, hotel and flight deals, events and more. Kart  shop & save  In addition to redeeming their points, members can shop and save on over 100,000 items, including discounts of up to 65% off fashion, 50% off watches, and 25% off electronics. Kart  also offers instant coupons for deals at local restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores, with savings extended to family members.

 In addition to redeeming their points, members can shop and save on over 100,000 items, including discounts of up to 65% off fashion, 50% off watches, and 25% off electronics. Kart also offers instant coupons for deals at local restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores, with savings extended to family members. Activity & wellness  connect a fitness tracker (such as Fitbit or Apple Watch) and members can earn points and badges, and join team or company wellness challenges.

 connect a fitness tracker (such as Fitbit or Apple Watch) and members can earn points and badges, and join team or company wellness challenges. Surveys, training & feedback  businesses can track engagement and encourage feedback by creating surveys and rewarding training, certification or meeting participation.



Debbie Crawford , Chief Development Office at Eden Reforestation Projects. "We use an 'Employ to Plant' methodology to benefit the members in the local communities in which we plant. Through steady employment, impoverished people can begin to afford daily necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and medicine." "Employees want to work for brands that are part of a bigger movement  like Evergrow's tree-planting initiative," Purdy said. "Evergrow will allow members to help fight climate change while also being part of positive change within their company and together we are creating a global eco-action solution that delivers measurable impact."

About CarltonOne Engagement CarltonOne Engagement is a talent technology company that creates B2B employee recognition, rewards, sales/channel incentive and customer loyalty programs. With the goal to make work mean more, the company offers Power2Motivate  a SaaS enterprise engagement solution, Global Reward Solutions  a real-time reward marketplace of 400 suppliers in 185 countries, Evergrow  a new AI-driven SMB multi-experience app for recognition, rewards, wellness and feedback, and Kart  a next-generation member shopping experience that delivers savings on millions of brand-name products with instant financing, and geolocated hyperlocal daily discounts. Each of these solutions fuels CarltonOne's sustainability mission to fight climate change with a unique eco-action business model that will fund the planting of 100 million trees every year by the end of 2022, and protect our planet's air, oceans, soil and species. For more information, visit carltonone.com. About Eden Reforestation Projects Eden Reforestation Projects is a leader in global forest restoration. Since 2005, the organization has planted hundreds of millions of trees in multiple nations across three continents. Eden's care for the planet begins with poverty alleviation, and they provide transformational income to over 26,000 people. In addition to experiencing the benefits of a restored environment, Eden's employees are sending their children to school and able to afford food, clothing, and medical care. Planting trees is saving lives. For more information, visit edenprojects.org. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carltonone-releases-new-ai-personalized-employee-engagement-solution-to-fund-100-million-new-trees-by-q4-2022-301274560.html SOURCE CarltonOne Engagement

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Candace Owens Slams Media, Education System for Systemic Oppression After Chauvin Verdict

Conservative commentator and author Candace Owens has condemned the media for systemic oppression after the verdict in Derek Chauvins trial, urging more people to stand up against the oppression.

What were really seeing is mob justice, Owens said on Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight on Tuesday of the verdict in former police officer Derek Chauvins trial earlier that afternoon.

Owens said that through mainstream media propaganda, We are actually seeing a systemic oppression that is taking place.

And it is working with the education institutions, teaching critical race theory and all of this nonsense to make sure that we are mass-producing failures that are angry and that are violent and that are willing to riot and loot on behalf of the democrats because thats all they want right noware pawns in their nefarious scheme to take over this country.

This was not a trial about George Floyd or Derek Chauvin. This was a trial about whether the media was powerful enough to create a simulation and decide upon a narrative absent any facts, Owens said.

Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges against him. He could face up to 40 years in prison for the most serious chargesecond degree murder.

In a still image from video, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is led away in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty of all charges in his trial in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 20, 2021. (Pool via Reuters)

She pointed out the media kept playing the nine-minute video clip from a bystanders cellphone without showing the full police bodycam video.

George Parry, a former chief of the Police Brutality/Misconduct Unit of the Philadelphia District Attorneys office, found that Floyd was non-compliant throughout his encounter with the police, and shouted seven times that he couldnt breathe before lying down, after analyzing a video compilation from the police body cameras, bystanders, and a shop camera.

The media came out and told us that this was a man who was just getting his life together, he was a good member of society, and he got mixed up because a racist white police officer had it out for him and killed him, Owens added. All the facts came out, and all of that fell apart.

Minneapolis police union president Bob Kroll once told his members that Floyd had a violent criminal history but the media will not air this, according to a letter obtained by the Star-Tribune.

Owens also pointed out that Floyd had three times the lethal doses of fentanyl in him when he died.

But nobody cares because the media was successful at putting out a narrative. And they kept hitting that narrative.

This was not a fair trial. No person can say this was a fair trial, Owens claimed.

The jury responsible for determining the outcome of the trial was under great pressure. President Joe Biden said he was praying for the right verdict. Black Lives Matter supporters suggested that there would be further riots and violence if Chauvin was not found guilty.

People react outside the Hennepin County Government Center after the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 20, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Over 3,000 National Guard troops were activated in Minneapolis before the trial. Troops were also deployed in Washington D.C. and Chicago as a precaution.

Three days ahead of Chauvins verdict, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) told protesters gathered in Minneapolis, Weve got to get more confrontational. She also demanded Chauvin receive a guilty verdict at the time.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) joins demonstrators in a protest outside the Brooklyn Center police station in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 17, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The judge presiding Chauvins case criticized Waters remarks and noted that the defense could use her comments for an appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.

Im so old, Tucker, that I remember when a man said March peacefully and patriotically to the Capitol, and that was considered an incite to violence, right? Owens asked. Look at what Maxine Waters says. No one, no one in the media is condemning these remarks.

Waters later defended her remarks, saying that she was nonviolent and was talking about confronting the justice system. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was absolutely not inciting violence.

They play by a different set of rules but its because we allow them to play with that different set of rules, Owens said. They get away with virtually everything because we dont have strong people on our side that are willing to stand up.

Owens further pointed out that Floyd had served in prison for over seven years for armed robbery and other crimes.

Imagine if you are one of his victims that is alive, one of his victims that he armed-robbed. You have to hear that this mans name will always be synonymous with justice. How would that feel to you? Owens added.

I feel like we are living in fiction right now in America. We are losing this country, Owens said. And I feel like Im one of the only ones who has the courage to say I will not be mobbed into a different reality.

In February, Owens indicated that she was thinking about running for president.
Gardai have issued a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) alert for a missing 14-year-old girl from Co Louth.

Svetlana Murphy was seen leaving her home on Coast Road in Blackrock, Co Louth at around 4pm on Monday 19 April.

She is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, who is 18 years old.

Gardai said: "Following investigations to date, An Garda Siochana now have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana."

Svetlana, who was reported missing by her father, has brown hair, and brown eyes and is described as being 1.55m (5'1") tall and of slim build.

She was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top, and black runners.

Gardai said they have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana.

Nojus Maculevicius is described as being 1.83m (6ft) in height, and of slim build.

Gardai said he has dark brown hair and is clean-shaven. He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top.

He may also have been wearing a khaki-green hoodie and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Mr Maculevicius are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

The pair were seen in Newry at around 7pm on Monday after leaving Co Louth and in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday.

Gardai say they are not aware of their whereabouts at this time but they are believed to be still on the island of Ireland and gardai are working closely with the Police Service of Northern Ireland to trace them.

Anyone with information is asked to call gardai on 999 or 112.

Gardai have also asked that the public do not approach those involved, instead immediately contact 999 or 112 or your local garda station and provide as much information as possible.
Phillip Schofield has admitted he has been feeling anxious about Britain's lockdown restrictions lifting.

The TV presenter, 59, said he is not scared of the virus but is now used to not going out after people have been living under restrictions since last March.

Phil made the admission during Thursday's This Morning as counsellor Sian Williams called for viewers to phone in if they had worries about lockdown coming to an end.

Worried: Phillip Schofield has admitted he has been feeling anxious about Britain's lockdown restrictions lifting

Sian said: 'Some people will perhaps be feeling a little bit of anxiety about lockdown easing,' to which Phil replied: 'I am! I was saying to Gok [Wan].

'Now, Gok is Mr Party and he is going to take me under his wing and look after me. I was fine until maybe about three months ago and then I feel like I've jumped off the rails a little bit.'

'You lose momentum and you get a bit scared. It's not that I'm scared about the virus, it's just the fact that I'm not used to going out.'

'Just think where your brain's been for the past year,' Sian offered, before adding tha i has been in a 'constant threat and danger.'

Lockdown: The TV presenter, 59, said he is not scared of the virus but is now used to not going out after people have been living under restrictions since last March

Lockdown restrictions eased on April 12 when outdoor venues, gyms, hairdressers and salons and other business deemed non-essential were all reopened their doors.

Sports can start to return from May 17, although venues will need to work on reduced capacities.

Up to 30 people can go to weddings from the same date, but are stuck at that number until the next phase of the roadmap.

Only at June 21 will all legal limits on social contact go, and the remaining elements of the hospitality sector be allowed to open.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed that he is being driven by 'data not dates' and the timeline is not guaranteed.

He said: 'You lose momentum and you get a bit scared. It's not that I'm scared about the virus, it's just the fact that I'm not used to going out'

It comes after Phillip was accused of making 'insensitive' comments by This Morning viewers during Tuesday's episode of the programme.

The TV presenter questioned why the government are hesitating to reopen indoor hospitality early 'for the sake of four tragic deaths', after Monday's Covid death toll was announced.

Phillip, who is co-hosting alongside Rochellle Humes for the week as she fills in for Holly Willoughby, shared his concerns that many business' are failing and will never reopen due to the restrictions that have been imposed on them.

He said: 'Tragic though every one of those deaths is, that's four deaths in the UK that are keeping these places, right on the brink - some of them will never reopen.

'Some of these restaurants will never reopen, for the sake of four tragic deaths.'

Comments: Phillip was accused of making 'insensitive' comments by This Morning viewers during Tuesday's episode of the programme

Some viewers felt that Phillip's comments were inconsiderate and wondered whether he would make them if it was people he knew who had died from the virus.

One said: 'Phil is really is insensitive lately. His interview yesterday was awful and now it doesn't matter that 4 families have lost loved ones? #ThisMorning.'

Another added: '#ThisMorning for the sake of four deaths???!! Do those people not matter Phil because you don't know them? Really, can people not wait one more month to get pissed up inside.

'Yes I feel for hospitality owners but I would rather save lives.'

Opinion: The host questioned why the government are hesitating to reopen indoor hospitality early 'for the sake of four tragic deaths', after Monday's Covid death toll was announced

Reaction: Some viewers felt that Phillip's comments were inconsideration and wondered whether he would make them if it was people he knew who had died from the virus

A third wrote: 'Phil with that attitude that 4 deaths will be back at 4000 in 3 months!'

While one other said: 'Think you might be feeling different if it was one of your family Phil #ThisMorning.'

A different person penned: 'Yeah let's just open it up cause Phillip wants it open. When it goes cocks up do we come and blame you Phil? #ThisMorning.'

While another said: 'No Phil because then it's following the dates rather than the data #ThisMorning.'

Phillip did insist that while he argued for the reopening of hospitality that 'each and every one' of the deaths were tragic. MailOnline have contacted reps for comment.
Page Content

The leadership of the City of Johannesburg attended the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meeting at Westbury Hall in Region B on 21 April 2021.







In attendance was the Executive Mayor, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo, who was accompanied by the Speaker of Council, Cllr Nonceba Molwele, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Development Planning Cllr Thapelo Amad and the Regional Director Mohau Ntheli.





Region B is one of the most diverse places in the City and encompasses all races and religion. It is also characterised by the glaring difference in socio-economic conditions between the rich and the poor. This diversity makes the challenges faced in Region B to be widely varying.





As the city we have to find a balance between dealing with poverty on one side and creating an environment for business to thrive in this region, said Mayor Makhubo.





The challenge of fire management in residential areas was raised by several members of the communities. There are no fire hydrants in flats in Westbury and Riverlea, even if there is a small fire it can become a serious problem very quickly, said John Abrahams, who has been a resident of Westbury for over 35 years.





Another resident, George Hendrik, raised the issue of the poor state of City buildings and the lack of grass cutting. Some of the material used to maintain flats is of poor quality. One strong wind and the roofs will collapse.





Some of the other issues raised by community members is the lack of recreational facilities in the township in Region B. Riverlea does not have enough recreational facilities and the existing facilities are in poor condition, said Ricardo Samuels.





Residents in informal settlements were requesting that the city electrify them and provide taps and better ablution facilities.





Mayor Makhubo thanked the community for voicing out their challenges and assured them that the City is gearing towards being more efficient and practical in how their deal with community issues.





Some of the current projects that the City is doing in Region B are the renewal of water and sewer pipeline infrastructure. The rehabilitation of Braamfontein Spruit and social housing project are also on the cards.













Written by Ayanda Radebe


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 21)  Medical experts have proposed that the quarantine period for returning overseas Filipino workers may be shortened from 14 to 10 days if they are asymptomatic.

By strictly following the ten-day requirement, Dr. Edsel Salvana of the Department of Health Technical Advisory Group said the returning OFWs could even forego testing as long as they do not have symptoms in that entire period.

The suggestion was in response to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello's concerns the Labor Department's budget for isolating OFWs in facilities has been dwindling. He said he also heard concerns about the length of quarantine as well as the waiting time before the OFWs get tested. Previously, returning Filipinos get tested immediately upon arriving in the country but this has since changed as the results may not have been reliable.

"If somebody gets infected in transit on the plane, 'pag tinest niyo siya pagdating, hindi pa magpopositive 'yan [if you test them once they arrive, they won't test positive yet]. It usually takes 3 to 5 days for the person to turn positive [on RT-PCR], that's why 'yung ginawa natin [what we do is] we test on the fifth day," explained Salvana during a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials on Wednesday.

That is why the current protocol is to confine travelers in a facility for five days, get them tested, and they can continue isolation in their hometowns until the 14-day requirement is met, he added.

But now, Salvana proposed that along with the new ten-day quarantine, testing for symptomatic OFWs can be moved to the seventh day of quarantine. He presented data that showed 80% of tests have positive results by the eighth day from the time of exposure to possible infection  much higher than the 62% positivity rate on the fifth day.

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Anna Ong-Lim for her part stressed that quarantine remains above testing when it comes to preventing the spread of the coronavirus and its highly contagious variants.

"The critical intervention should really be that quarantine should be strictly enforced because whether or not testing is done, as long as quarantine can be imposed, we continue to keep our borders safe," she said.

Dr. Marissa Alejandria, also from the Technical Advisory Group, agreed, saying quarantine should not be less than seven days.

In other countries and regions such as Hong Kong, the quarantine for incoming visitors is 21 days.

Secretary Bello said he is open to the shorter quarantine period, while the President said he will still look into the proposal since he is not willing to compromise or relax the protocols. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the matter will be discussed again in another meeting.
More than one-third of the U.S. military's 2.1 million active-duty, National Guard and Reserve members have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, Defense Department officials announced Wednesday.

New data released Wednesday by the Defense Department shows that 22% of the military force is now fully vaccinated. And by service the Navy has greatly exceeded the vaccination rates of the other branches, with more than half its members, including Reserves, receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 35% of the fleet being fully vaccinated.

The Army has the lowest overall vaccination rate, with 27% of its total active, Guard and Reserve force having received one shot and 15% being fully vaccinated.

Thirty-six percent of Marines, including the Reserves, have received at least one dose, with 25% fully vaccinated. Across Air Force components and Space Force, 34% of troops have received at least one dose and 24% are fully vaccinated.

It's not fully clear why the Navy has been so successful in vaccinating its force. But the Navy's surgeon general, Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham, told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week that messaging has been clear from the top of the service down about the importance of getting the shot.

"Our highest priority remains ensuring that all Department of Navy personnel have access to the vaccine in order to protect themselves, their shipmates, their families and their community," he said. "As Navy surgeon general, I have been clear in my guidance that these vaccines are for the most effective protection against this deadly virus. The bottom line is that we are getting shots in arms and providing our personnel with what I refer to as biological body armor."

Read Next: Speedy Ambulance Ships a High Priority for the Navy, Admiral Says

With the exception of the Navy and the figure for those fully vaccinated in the Marine Corps, the military rates are lower than the overall rate in the U.S. population. Across the U.S., 39% of the population has received at least one dose and 25% has been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Defense Health Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place said Wednesday, however, that across the active component, nearly all combatant commands had vaccination rates that exceeded 50% of their military personnel and family members, with the exception of European Command, which has not reached the 50% mark.

Distribution of the vaccine has been slow across European command, which was slated to receive both the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines. Distribution of the latter was paused to allow for a safety review following reports of blood clots as a side effect in some recipients.

Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Terry Adirim said the rates in the U.S. military might also be lower because much of the population hasn't been eligible for the vaccine until this week.

"You have to understand that ... most of the service members who are young and healthy, and dependents who were young and healthy, were in Tier 2, so we weren't opening it up to Tier 2 until this week, so that may have some impact," Adirim said.

DoD has received more than 3.2 million doses of the three available COVID-19 vaccines and has administered roughly 80% of those doses, according to the Pentagon. The doses that have not yet been distributed include the Johnson and Johnson vaccines and others that are being stored in areas where demand is lower, according to Place.

Across the military, installations are slowly reopening services including dining facilities and gyms as more individuals become vaccinated. Adirim said she didn't want to speculate on what the "new normal" would look like, but said vaccinations and lower transmission rates could help a return to broader openings and activities.

"Certainly if more people get vaccinated, and the lower the transmission within the United States -- it wouldn't just be within DoD, because we're all part of the same community -- but at some point in time, if the virus is not transmittable, then we could get much closer to normal," Adirim said.

As of Wednesday, the Defense Department has logged 282,166 cases of COVID-19, including 185,259 among U.S. service members. Nearly 350 people, including 24 troops, 229 civilian employees, 12 dependents and 79 contractors, have died from the coronavirus.

In addition to the service members, 321,794 DoD civilian employees have received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the Pentagon.

Place said that with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine pause, DoD is working to get more Moderna vaccine doses to U.S. forces in Europe and believes that by June, up to 80% of those in European Command, including family members, will have access to a vaccine.

"We have great empathy for our service members and families deployed overseas, because they do not have the same options as here in the United States to receive vaccines in their local communities," Adirim added. "We're committed and working diligently to ensure that they can get the vaccine if they choose it."

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: For Now, U.S. Troops Wont Be Required to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
One of the imperatives in our region is to encourage our neighbours to avoid costly Belt and Road mistakes. The best way we can do that is to ensure were united as a country on Belt and Road and continue to engage with our neighbours actively and generously. Liberal senator James Paterson, chairman of Parliaments security and intelligence committee, said Australia welcomes international engagement, but on our terms and in our national interest. This decision shows if you want to do business with Australia you must come through the front door in Canberra, not go behind our backs to others, he said. Victorias Employment and Small Business Minister Jaala Pulford said cancelling the Belt and Road agreement would not have an adverse effect on the states pipeline of infrastructure projects. Ms Pulford refused to be drawn on whether Victoria erred in signing the deal and whether it was, as the Commonwealth contends, inconsistent with Australias foreign policy.

She said she assumed the Commonwealth made its decision with an understanding of any potential ramifications, which could include further Chinese trade strikes against Australian exporters. Its a matter for the Commonwealth government, she said. Our people in our trade offices work day and night ... to make sure Victorian businesses have every opportunity to succeed in global trade. That will continue. She said Victorias transport projects, some of which involve Chinese-owned firms, would continue unaffected. Victorias state opposition leader Michael OBrien told 3AW, under Belt and Road, Daniel Andrews has given away major infrastructure contracts to Chinese-owned companies. They are building the West Gate Tunnel, the Metro Tunnel, they are building our high-capacity trains. In return, the Chinese government has smashed our farmers with tariffs on barley. They have smashed our wine exporters with trade sanctions.

Michael Shoebridge, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes defence program, said Australia now had a more coherent national policy on economic engagement with China. He said the BRI decision recognised it was not in Australias interest to help the Chinese government create a more Sino-centred global economic order where it has more economic leverage over others including us. Loading The BRI was President Xis signature policy to creating that Sino-centred global economy, and not helping implement that dream of global economic power is a good thing, he said. Politically it helps Daniel Andrews because this was a running sore for him because he was out of step with the public and the federal government. This gives him an out. This decision is a graphic illustration of the fact that security and diplomatic interests are now intertwined with economic interests, and any decision that misses that point leads to really bad decisions like Victorias two BRI agreements. The Lowy Institutes executive director Michael Fullilove said it would be strange if Beijing were to object to this move by Canberra.

Imagine if a provincial government in China were to sign an agreement with a foreign government that the central government in Beijing judged to be contrary to the national interest! Mr Fullilove said on Twitter. James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, said the Morrison government was right to be annoyed with Beijing for striking the deal with a state government, but said it could have just waited for the deal to expire instead of striking it out. He said the decision has come after several months of relative restraint from both sides following relations between the two countries last year deteriorating to their worse level in decades. Lets be clear what has been cancelled: a non-legally binding agreement that didnt commit the Victorian government to doing anything, let alone the national government, Professor Laurenceson said. Canberras annoyance with Beijing for striking this deal with a state government is understandable. If the shoe was on the other foot Beijing wouldnt cop it. But acting as Beijing would act isnt a model Australian foreign policy should be aspiring to. The federal government and national security experts have been concerned that China was using the BRI to load up poorer countries with debt and reduce Australias influence in the region.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon takes an oath during his virtual inaugural ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed, Thursday, to turn Seoul into a top-tier, globally-competitive city during his term in office.



Oh, who won in the April 7 by-elections, was inaugurated during a ceremony at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) that was broadcast online.



"I did a lot of work over the last 10 years before coming to office again. I think it was a process of preparing and training for the Seoul Metropolitan Government again today," Oh said in his inauguration speech.



In 2006, when Oh's first inauguration ceremony took place at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, a grand ceremony was held with a large number of dignitaries and guests from all walks of life.



About 15 years later, Oh's inauguration ceremony took place at the DDP, built in 2008 during his first term as one of the centerpieces of the "Design Seoul" project to beautify the capital. Only Kim In-ho, chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and Lee Dong-jin, head of the autonomous district council, attended the ceremony this time due to social distancing measures.



"Many people are joining us through live streaming on YouTube. In particular, I am very pleased to meet all of you in this place that I worked really hard to establish while facing a lot of difficulties," he said.



Oh also presented five policy tasks  an immediate recovery from COVID-19 damage, policies for young citizens, stabilizing the housing supply and real estate prices, support for one-person households and strengthening the competitiveness of the capital.



The mayor also decided to increase emergency loans and support for small business owners. The plan is to find active and practical support measures for traditional markets, local commercial districts, tourism and cultural industries.



He also announced plans to actively develop policies for young people.



"We will take the lead in preparing policies for people in their 20s and 30s. We will ensure that young people can get jobs and enjoy stable lives through fair opportunities."



Oh also pledged to come up with a new housing policy.



The new mayor noted that a sufficient housing supply has not been provided over the past decade due to local government policies that were heavily focused on reconstruction and redevelopment projects.



"Housing prices in Seoul continue to rise due to discrepancies in supply and demand. Last month, the prices of apartments in Seoul rose by 45 percent from four years ago," he said.



"We need special measures. The city government will set up a sinle strategy to catch two rabbits: housing supply and real estate price stabilization."



Oh also said, "We will review regulations concerning city planning from scratch."



One of the key tasks is to come up with comprehensive measures for one-person households, he said.



The city government recently launched a task force to pursue special measures for one-person households.



"We will come up with policies to address the five major representative anxieties of one-person households, including safety, disease, poverty, loneliness and housing problems."



Oh also said he plans to form and operate the "Seoul Vision 2030 Committee" from early next month to develop strategies to enhance urban competitiveness.



"The economic growth rate in Seoul last year was minus 1.3 percent and the employment rate was 59.3 percent, the lowest in five years."



Oh mentioned a global survey released by the U.S. consulting firm A.T. Kearney.



"Seoul fell to 42nd place last year from 10th place in 2010 in the ranking of the Global Urban Outlook, which assesses a city's growth potential with investment," he said.



"We will come up with a clear vision to enhance the quality of life and urban competitiveness."


As marijuana legalization spreads across U.S. states, so does a debate over whether to set pot policy by potency.

Under a law signed last month, New York will tax recreational marijuana based on its amount of THC, the main intoxicating chemical in cannabis. Illinois imposed a potency-related tax when recreational pot sales began last year. Vermont is limiting THC content when its legal market opens as soon as next year, and limits or taxes have been broached in some other states and the U.S. Senates drug-control caucus.

Supporters say such measures will protect public health by roping off, or at least discouraging, what they view as dangerously concentrated cannabis.

This is not your Woodstock weed, says Kevin Sabet, the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group that has been pressing for potency caps. We need to put some limitations on the products being sold.

Opponents argue that THC limits could drive people to buy illegally, and amount to beginning to ban pot again over a concern that critics see as overblown.

Its prohibitionism 2.0, said Cristina Buccola, a cannabis business lawyer in New York. Once they start putting caps on that, what dont they put caps on?

THC levels have been increasing in recent decades  from 4% in 1995 to 12% in 2014 in marijuana seized by federal agents, for example. Cannabis concentrates sold in Colorados legal market average about 69% THC, and some top 90%, according to state reports.

A sweeping 2017 examination of cannabis and health by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine listed increasing potency among factors that create the potential for an increased risk of adverse health effects.

Some studies have linked high-THC pot, especially when used daily, with the likelihood of psychosis and certain other mental health problems. But there is debate over whether one causes the other.

Opposes Cap

Dr. Rachel Knox, an Oregon physician who counsels patients on using cannabis for various conditions, says she doesnt see an increased risk of psychosis for people using such products under medical oversight. She opposes capping potency but suggests that products containing over 70% THC should be reserved for medical users while research continues.

I think we should treat it with both freedom and with kid gloves, says Knox, a former chair of the Oregon Cannabis Commission and a board member of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, a trade group.

But Colorado pediatrician and state Rep. Dr. Yadira Caraveo says she has seen the dangers of high-THC cannabis.

One of her adolescent patients who used high-potency pot daily was repeatedly hospitalized with severe vomiting linked to heavy marijuana use, and another needed psychiatric hospitalization after the drug exacerbated his mental health problems, said Caraveo. Shes thinking about proposing a potency cap.

Im not interested in going back to criminalization, the Democrat says, but the reason that I ran, and what I continue to do with the Legislature every day, is to protect public health.

Various states have regulated how many milligrams of THC can be in a single serving, package or retail sale, at least for some products. Vermont took a different approach, limiting the percentage of the chemical in any amount of recreational pot  30% for flower-form marijuana and 60% for concentrates.

Virginia Law

Virginias new legalization law gives its future Cannabis Control Authority the power to set THC limits, and a proposal to cap THC in medical marijuana has gotten some attention in Floridas Legislature. Nationally, the U.S. Senates bipartisan Caucus on International Narcotics Control suggested last month that federal health agencies study whether pot potency should be limited.

Legalization supporters say caps will backfire.

Consumer demand for these products is not going to go away, and re-criminalizing them will only push this consumer base to seek out similar products in the unregulated illicit market, Paul Armentano, the deputy director of NORML, wrote in a recent op-ed in the Denver newspaper Westword.

Rather than forbidding high-potency pot, some states are just making it more expensive.

Marijuana is taxed on sales price or weight in most states where its legal. But recreational pot taxes depend partly on THC content in Illinois and New York.

The California Legislative Analysts Office recommended a potency tax in 2019, saying the approach could reduce harmful use more effectively. But the same year, Washingtons Liquor and Cannabis Board said it wasnt feasible, citing uncertainty about how switching from the states sales tax would affect consumption, public health and revenues.

Potency taxes have an upside for states: more stable revenue than sales taxes, says Carl Davis of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank. Thats because sales tax totals can fall with prices in a maturing market.

Theres a downside for small cannabis companies, says Amber Littlejohn, the Minority Cannabis Business Associations executive director. She worries theyll lose out if THC taxes drive customers to underground dealers or to big, multistate firms that may be able to trim prices.

Instead, Littlejohn says potency policy should focus on research and stringent labeling and marketing requirements, and the industry needs to be responsive.

It is absolutely an emerging issue, she said, and it is something that needs to be addressed.

Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Cannabis


A South Korean court on Wednesday rejected a claim by victims of Japanese wartime sexual slavery and their relatives. The group was seeking payment from Japans government.

The Seoul Central District Court said its decision was based on rules of international law that give countries protection from the authority of foreign courts. Japan says all wartime payment issues were settled under a 1965 treaty that provided $500 million in economic aid to South Korea.

Activists representing sexual slavery victims said in a statement that the claimants would appeal the decision. They also said that the court had ignored their struggle to restore the victims honor and self-respect.

Katsunobu Kato is Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary. He noted the decision conflicted with a January ruling in a separate case that found the Japanese government responsible for paying sexual slavery victims. In that case, the court called for Japans government to give 100 million won, about $89,000 each to a group of 12 women.

Kato said he would not comment on the new ruling before examining the details more closely. But he said that Japans position on the sexual slavery issue remains unchanged. He said the earlier court ruling violated international law and was unacceptable.

Japan continues to strongly ask South Korea to take appropriate steps in order to correct the state of international violation, he said.

The court in Seoul said international law and earlier rulings from South Koreas Supreme Court make it clear that foreign governments should be protected from civil legal cases in respect of their sovereignty.

The court also noted that the countries never officially withdrew from a 2015 agreement that attempted to settle their dispute over the issue. Some Korean victims accepted payments from a Japanese-supported organization created by the deal. This shows it is possible for the countries to settle their dispute diplomatically, the court said.

South Koreas Foreign Ministry said it would not make comments on Wednesdays ruling before examining the details. The ministry urged Japan to act in line with its past statements, including a 1993 statement in which it first admitted forcing women into sexual slavery.

The 20 claimants in the case include four women who were forced to work as sex slaves during World War II and relatives of other women who have since died.

One of the claimants is 92-year-old Lee Yong-soo. She has been campaigning for South Korea and Japan to settle the sexual slavery issue by seeking a judgment from the U.N.s International Court of Justice.

She says it has become clear the issue cannot be settled through talks or rulings by South Korean courts that have been repeatedly rejected by the Japanese government. She adds that the tension between the governments has hurt friendships between citizens.

Regardless of the verdict, we will go to the International Court of Justice, she told reporters after Wednesdays ruling.

Tens of thousands of women across Japanese-occupied Asia and the Pacific were forcibly moved to areas used by the Japanese military during World War II. About 240 South Korean women registered with the government as victims of sexual slavery by Japans wartime military. Only 15 of them are still alive.

The human rights group Amnesty International criticized Wednesdays ruling. In a statement the group said the court failed to provide justice to the remaining survivors of this military slavery system and to those who suffered these atrocities before and during World War II.

South Korea and Japan have also argued over South Korean court rulings that called for Japanese companies to pay Koreans forced to work in Japanese factories during World War II.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Kim Tong-Hyung reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

___________________________________________

Words in This Story

atrocity  n. a very cruel or terrible act or action

authority  n. the power to give orders or make decisions : the power or right to direct or control someone or something

appropriate  adj. right or suited for some purpose or situation

honor  n. right or suited for some purpose or situation

verdict  n. the decision made by a jury in a tria
Fianna Fail is set to celebrate the 95th year of its founding in Laois and Offaly with a virtual event in May.

The event will be taking place on May 16 and will be hosted by its Laois and Offaly Ogra units. The organisers outlined the contribution the organisation in the constituency has made to the party and the country.

"The Laois-Offaly constituency has been a hotbed of Fianna Fail activity since the election of Patrick Boland TD in 1927. Local members have gone on to serve in some of the highest political offices in the land, most notably with the election of Offaly native Brian Cowen TD to the Office of An Taoiseach in 2008.

"The party has contributed much to the social fabric of the midlands with the founding of Bord Na Mona, ESB peat powered power stations and much of our educational and road infrastructure that serves us to today.

"Fianna Fail was founded almost 95 years ago when such titans of early 20th century politics Irish politics as Eamon De Valera, the sole surviving commandant of the 1916 Easter Rising; future Taoiseach Sean Lemass; and Countess Markiewicz who would sadly die one year later gathered in the La Scala Theatre Dublin to found a radical new republican movement on the 16th of May 1926.

"Fianna Fail was founded against the backdrop of national disillusionment following a civil war, political imprisonment, and national stagnation with the domination of a political class whose social atmosphere placed emphasis on the maintenance of an outdated pre-independence status quo. It would go on to dominate, advance and shape Irish politics throughout the 20th century with every leader to the present serving in the Office of An Taoiseach," the said.

The format of the celebration will involve a 90 minute online event kicked-off with a historical presentation of Fianna Fails pre-1926 roots in the Gaelic League, Land League and old IRA before moving to a timeline of the partys achievements in the Midlands from the 1920s to today.

This will be followed by a suite of interviews with some of the partys long-standing members which in turn will move to a live discussion with some of Fianna Fails local and nationally elected representatives on the party remaining true to its founding principles before questions, answers and closing remarks.

Invites will be posted on the separate Laois and Offaly Fianna Fail facebook accounts.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 27, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images)

Pressure Mounts on Biden to Lift Vaccine Patents to Help Poor Nations

WASHINGTONA group of progressive lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to temporarily waive intellectual property and patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines to provide equitable access to vaccination around the world. Opponents, however, call such proposals unnecessary and misguided.

Several U.S. Senate and House members led by Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), together with more than a dozen health and labor organizations, are expected to deliver 2 million petitions to Biden on April 23 in the latest effort to pressure the White House to lift patent barriers so that vaccines can be manufactured across different countries.

South Africa and India were the first countries that proposed the idea in October 2020. Both countries petitioned the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily waive the rules of the organizations Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement.

The TRIPs agreement sets out the minimum standards of intellectual property (IP) protection to be provided by each member country. The agreement has been crucial to protect U.S. innovation, especially in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Because of the WTOs protection rules, countries are barred from producing COVID-19 vaccines owned by multinational companies including U.S.-based Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson.

So far, more than 100 lower- and middle-income countries have supported the proposal by South Africa and India and called for a temporary WTO waiver.

The White House signaled last month that it would consider suspending IP protections for vaccines in response to pressures from developing countries and progressive lawmakers.

Last week, more than 170 former world leaders and Nobel laureates signed an open letter to Biden, stating a WTO waiver is a vital and necessary step to bringing an end to this pandemic.

Signatories of the letter included former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev.

[Nine] in 10 people in most poor countries may well go without a vaccine this year, the letter stated. At this pace, many nations will be left waiting until at least 2024 to achieve mass COVID-19 immunization.

Advocates claim that waiving the IP rules on vaccines will expedite global vaccination efforts to end the pandemic and facilitate a faster economic recovery.

A recent poll also found that 60 percent of American voters want the Biden administration to remove patent barriers to expedite vaccine rollout. The survey, conducted by Data for Progress and the Progressive International, showed that 72 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans support the action.

Sanders and nine progressive Senate Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Biden urging him to prioritize people over pharmaceutical company profits.

From a global public health perspective, this waiver is vital to ensuring sufficient volume of and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics around the world, the letter stated.

So far, developed countries and pharmaceutical companies that own the COVID-19 vaccines have opposed the proposal. And some experts claim patents are less of an issue for a faster and more equitable vaccine rollout.

The central challenge here is manufacturing vaccines and therapeutics at scale, not IP, according to Stephen Ezell, vice president at the technology think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

The COVID-19 TRIPS IP Waiver is wholly unnecessary and the Biden administration should join other countries/regions like the UK, Japan, EU, and Norway not endorse it, Ezell wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

He also noted that there is no credible evidence of instances in which intellectual property has hindered the development or production of vaccines or therapeutics.

Adam Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest generics facility, rejected the comments that patent restrictions have slowed vaccine rollout in many countries.

No. There are enough manufacturers, it just takes time to scale up, he told The Guardian in February.

And by the way, I have been blown away by the cooperation between the public and private sectors in the last year, in developing these vaccines, Poonawalla said, citing the lack of global regulatory harmonization as a far greater cause of delays in vaccine distribution.

I have 70m doses that I cant ship because they have been purchased but not approved. They have a shelf life of six months.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called the proposals for a temporary WTO waiver misguided and a distraction.

In a statement in March, the Chamber, instead, called for decisive and bold action to remove regulatory and trade barriers in order to boost the global distribution of treatments and vaccines.
Swan will join top management, filling a critical and strategic role in supporting the company's goal of becoming one of the largest pan-European solar operators by 2030

Swan has been working in the international power and construction sectors for over 20 years

Alternus Energy Group PLC (NOTC:ALT) named industry veteran Gary Swan as its chief technical officer, as the fast-growing independent power producer expands its footprint across Europe.

Swan will join the executive management team filling a critical and strategic role for the business in supporting its goal of becoming one of the largest pan-European solar operators by 2030, said the company.

Swan is an experienced renewables senior manager and has been working in the international power and construction sectors for over 20 years, in the areas of design, construction, operation and the sale of renewable energy assets across Europe, Africa, North and South America.

Swan was the acting Technical Director at BioTherm Energy Pty, where since 2018, he has been responsible for the construction of wind and solar PV projects totalling 284 MWp. He has previously held senior positions in Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, leading the construction of 12 wind and solar PV projects totalling 994 MWp.

I am very pleased to have Gary join our team at Alternus. He has the right combination of industry expertise, personal traits and business experience at senior levels to take on this challenging role, said Alternus CEO Vincent Browne. He will play a pivotal role in the delivery of our current 1.2 GWp contracted pipeline that, when completed, will increase our power capacity tenfold by 2023.

Browne noted that as Alternus emerges as a market leader in European solar and renewables, the firm needs to expand its expertise to support its growth plans and "Gary is the perfect choice to lead that activity going forward.

Swan starts in the new position on May 4, 2021.

I am very pleased to be part of this exciting adventure with Alternus. Having worked in the renewables industry for almost 10 years, I am confident that solar power will continue to be a fundamental factor in the transition from fossil fuel to green energy, and Alternus has a unique position and an important role to play in that regard, said Swan.

Alternus currently has a portfolio of 39 owned or contracted parks in Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania and Poland, in excess of 140 MWp capacity.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
MIAMI, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) has scheduled a conference call for 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, April 29, 2021, to provide a business update and discuss first quarter 2021 financial results. The call will be available on-line at the company's investor relations website, www.rclinvestor.com. To listen to the call by phone, please dial (877) 663-9606 in the US and Canada. International phone calls should be made to (706) 758-4628. There is no passcode or meeting number. A replay of the webcast will be available at the same site for a month following the call.

You are encouraged to dial-in/register at least 15 minutes prior to start time to ensure your participation.

About Royal Caribbean Group

Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) is the operating business name for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Royal Caribbean Group is the owner and operator of three global cruise vacation brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea. Royal Caribbean Group is also a 50% owner of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together, our brands operate 59 ships with an additional 14 on order as of March 31, 2021. Learn more at www.royalcaribbeangroup.com or www.rclinvestor.com.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group

Related Links

http://www.rclcorporate.com


NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Vilcek Foundation announces the publication of Dr. Jan Vilcek's 2016 autobiography Love and Science: A Memoir as an audiobook. In Love and Science , Vilcek tells the remarkable story of his life  from hiding from Nazis in the former Czechoslovakia during World War II to his research on cytokines and interferon that led to the development of infliximab-Remicade  to his life in philanthropy.

A photograph of Dr. Jan Vilcek with his book, 'Love and Science: A Memoir'

Initially published by Seven Stories Press, the Vilcek Foundation obtained the rights to publish Love and Science as an audiobook in 2019. "Jan's life story is nothing short of extraordinary," says Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. "His humility, empathy, and curiosity have led him to accomplish amazing things, and to affect positive change in the world on a grand scale."

Vilcek began his medical and scientific career under the constraints of Communist Czechoslovakia, attending medical school at Bratislava's Comenius University. He published his first single-authored paper in Nature in 1960 on interferon and tick-borne encephalitis while completing his Ph.D. at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences' Institute of Virology.

In 1964, Vilcek and his wife Marica defected from Czechoslovakia in pursuit of careers free from the constraints of the Communist regime. In February 1965, the pair emigrated to New York, where Jan was offered an assistant professor position with the New York University School of Medicine. Marica, an art historian and curator, began work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

At New York University, Vilcek continued his research in immunology, with a particular focus on cytokines and interferon. While studying potential treatments for cancer  particularly to target tumor necrosis factor (TNF), Vilcek and Junming Le created a monoclonal antibody against TNF-alpha infliximab. The chimeric antibody was ineffective in treating cancer  Vilcek and Le's initial goal  however, it proved successful in treating autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Vilcek and Le helped develop the biologic drug, infliximab, or Remicade ; it quickly became one of the most commercially successful drugs, and Remicade  remains among the top-10 most-prescribed drugs in the world.

The Vilcek Foundation partnered with actor Daniel K. Isaac in early 2019 to begin a discussion about the development of the audiobook project. "It meant a lot to me that I, as an Asian American and child of immigrants, was asked to be the voice for a Slovakian immigrant and renowned immunologist," said Isaac. The foundation coordinated recording of the project with John Marshall Media in New York in 2020, completing recording in early 2021.

"This is a memoir to be cherished," says David Oshinsky. "Dr. Jan Vilcek's remarkable life bears witness to the totalitarian evils of Nazism and Communism that shaped his native Czechoslovakia, and to the life-saving miracles he produced in the laboratories of his adopted homeland, the United States. It's a story of courage and freedom, of discovery and philanthropy  told with the elegant modesty of a man who devoted his life to easing the world's pain. Put simply, it demands to be read."

The audiobook of Love and Science is available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. Further information is available at vilcek.org.

The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences. The foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation  to honor immigrant contributions to the United States and, more broadly, to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences  was inspired by the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since 2000, the foundation has awarded over $5.9 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.3 million in grants.

The Vilcek Foundation is a private operating foundation, a federally tax-exempt nonprofit organization under IRS Section 501(c)(3).

Contact:

Elizabeth Boylan

Communications Manager

The Vilcek Foundation

21 East 70th Street

New York, NY 10021

+1 (212) 472-2500

[email protected]

Related Images

love-and-science-a-memoir-by-jan.png

'Love and Science: A Memoir,' by Jan Vilcek

A photograph of Dr. Jan Vilcek with his book, 'Love and Science: A Memoir'

love-and-science-a-memoir-by-jan.png

'Love and Science: A Memoir' by Jan Vilcek. Narrated by Daniel K. Isaac.

A photograph of the audiobook cover of 'Love and Science: A Memoir,' alongside a photograph of Daniel K. Isaac holding a copy of the book.

SOURCE The Vilcek Foundation
Two Naas students have already raised over 1,400 of their 1,600 target to fund meals at a school in Malawi.

Aoibhe Lawlor, and her cousin Amy Lewis have undertaken this unique fundraiser for the month of April. They are hoping to raise 1,600 with A Tune A Day To Brighten Your Way, by posting a different traditional music tune each day for the month of April - all of which they have recorded in different locations around Naas.

Aoibhe is in sixth year and Amy is a TY student in St Marys College. They helped raise 1,800 for the same charity, Mary's Meals, by doing a livestream trad session on Facebook at Christmas.

The school has sponsored a school in Malawi called 'Phaso' since December. As a result of it's fundraising over 300 students will be fed for the entire year.

As part of an inter-diocesan fundraising initiative, four girls from the school collaborated to help raise more funds for Mary's Meals. For every 18 raised a child will be fed in their place of education for the year. The impact of this is that it guarantees the future for each of these children and gives them the opportunity to improve their lives through education. The school is hugely thankful for the generous support this worthwhile cause has received.

Click here to support this initiative. The tune for day 21 can be viewed below.
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Artsakhs foreign ministry has released a statement over the shots fired by the Azerbaijani side towards Artsakhs settlements.

Armenpress presents the ministrys statement:

On April 20, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, in gross violation of the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement, opened fire, targeting the Artsakh capital Stepanakert, as well as Askeran regions Shosh and Mkhitarashen villages. As a result of the firing, the roof of a house in Stepanakert was damaged.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh strongly condemns the provocative and aggressive actions of the enemy aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and defenselessness among the citizens of Artsakh, as well as torpedoing the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Federation.

The attacks on Armenian cars, the targeting of villagers working in the fields, the subversive penetration and vandalism in the territory of the Tank-Monument on the Shushi-Stepanakert highway, the destruction of Armenian historical and cultural monuments, and numerous other hostile actions by the Azerbaijani side are the result of the anti-Armenian and fascist policy pursued at a state level in Azerbaijan.

Any attempt to intimidate the people of Artsakh is doomed to failure and it can in no way undermine our determination to live freely in our homeland.
IF YOU need evidence that the Democratic administration in Washington is hostile to the Granite State, look no further than its disposition toward our states lawsuit against Massachusetts over the Bay States bad faith policy of imposing its income tax on New Hampshire telecommuters who bot
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Trinitas XV closes with the inclusion of new and existing investors, both from the United States as well as European-based investors that were attracted to the CLO's compliance with European risk retention regulations. Trinitas XV, which is primarily comprised of senior secured first lien loans, marks WhiteStar's third CLO of the year. It follows the refinancing of Trinitas CLO V and the reset of Trinitas CLO VI earlier this year. Including Trinitas XV, Clearlake and WhiteStar have invested over $15 billion in structured and opportunistic credit investments.

"We are pleased to have priced our latest CLO fund of the year at attractive financing spreads and plan to be a repeat issuer of CLOs in 2021," said Gibran Mahmud, CEO of WhiteStar. "Equally important, we were able to attract new European investors to the platform, and opening our new London office will allow us to better serve these investors. We are extremely excited to have Gordon aboard to lead our European expansion, while we continue to look for opportunities to expand our top-performing credit platform into the European market. Gordon is a world-class executive who is highly regarded in the asset management world and we are fortunate to add him to our team."

Mr. Neilly was previously Chief of Staff at Standard Life Aberdeen, where he acted as advisor to the CEO, and was also responsible for developing the group's strategy and overseeing its implementation. Mr. Neilly joined Standard Life Aberdeen in 2016 from Cantor Fitzgerald Europe, where he was co-CEO. His prior positions include serving as Managing Director, Corporate Finance at Canaccord Genuity, as well as Founder and CEO of Intelli Partners.

"This is an incredible opportunity to join WhiteStar at an important juncture of the firm's growth, especially at a time when the demand for private credit is gathering momentum across all geographies," said Mr. Neilly. "I look forward to helping to spearhead growth across our entire credit platform, including loans, CLOs, CLO investing, credit opportunities, and other new products."

"We continue to remain excited about WhiteStar's ability to expand its structured credit platform. In less than one year since Clearlake's acquisition, WhiteStar has launched three CLOs and expanded its strategy overseas," said Jose E. Feliciano and Behdad Eghbali, Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Clearlake. "We're pleased to welcome Gordon, a seasoned industry executive, to the Clearlake family and look forward to the firm's continued strategic expansion into Europe."

About WhiteStar

WhiteStar Asset Management is the CLO, structured products, and broadly syndicated credit arm of Clearlake Capital Group. Managing more than $40bn in combined AUM, the firm is focused on private equity, special situations and credit. WhiteStar boasts a deep and experienced team of investment professionals which has decades of experience in structuring, investing, and managing senior secured loan portfolios with the team having issued over $40 billion of CLOs in their history. WhiteStar is comprised of a stable and seasoned, cohesive team, characterized by a breadth of analytical resources and proprietary market intelligence. WhiteStar has a conservative credit culture focused on fundamental credit work and primarily invests in broadly syndicated senior secured loans and CLO tranches. WhiteStar has approximately $7 billion of fee generating assets and is the staff and services provider for Trinitas Capital Management. www.whitestaram.com

About Clearlake

Founded in 2006, Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with experienced management teams by providing patient, long term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake's operational improvement approach, O.P.S. The firm's core target sectors are technology, industrials, and consumer. Clearlake currently has approximately $35 billion of assets under management, and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 300 investments. The firm has offices in Santa Monica and Dallas. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @ClearlakeCap.

Media Contact

Lambert & Co.

Jennifer Hurson

845-507-0571

[email protected]

SOURCE WhiteStar Asset Management; Clearlake Capital Group

Related Links

https://clearlake.com


Blue Caviar ceramic and diamonds transport you somewhere warm and glamorous until it's safe to travel abroad. The vibrant color reminds me of the sparkling Aegean Sea.

Modern 18K Caviar Gold drop earrings make a sleek statement, especially when paired with warm weather updos.

Zodiac Charms let you express your personality. Whether gifting yourself or a loved one, custom gifts are always appreciated.

Hearts are a classic motif to add to your collection. These Maya lapis earrings are special enough to join the repertoire and perfect statement pieces for video calls.

Stainless steel and white ceramic feel fresh for spring. A Smart Caviar bracelet dresses up the Apple Watch for those who prefer style over sport.

The LAGOS Caviar collections offer a range of luxe looks from bold diamonds, gemstones and colored ceramic to delicate, modern pearls and classic motifs in sterling silver and 18K gold. Whether this spring brings athleisure or adventure, feel confident with these recommended styles from fashion's front row.



Hi-res images available upon request.

ABOUT LAGOS

Since 1977, LAGOS has been a pioneer in designer fine jewelry, combining precious materials and strong design to offer modern, iconic styles. LAGOS was founded by designer and master jeweler Steven Lagos, who developed the brand's signature Caviar design in 1984. Each Caviar collection has a bold, feminine design that encourages personal expression. LAGOS' national campaign, MY LAGOS MY WAY, was created to reinforce these core values and inspire the LAGOS woman. LAGOS is available at LAGOS.com, its flagship boutique in Philadelphia, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and independent jewelers around the country. For more information, inspiration and latest styles follow @lagos_jewelry on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Visit www.LAGOS.com to learn more about the history of the brand and to shop the entire collection.

CONTACT:

Jamie Hector

LAGOS Public Relations Director

973-536-6709

[email protected]

SOURCE LAGOS

Related Links

www.lagos.com


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 03:22:58|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (L) poses with the new Chinese Ambassador to Israel Cai Run during a credentials presentation ceremony at the president's residence in Jerusalem, on April 21, 2021. Rivlin said at Cai Run's credentials presentation ceremony on Wednesday that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop the Israel-China relationship. (Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Wednesday that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop the Israel-China relationship.

Rivlin made the remarks when he received the credentials presented by the new Chinese ambassador to Israel, Cai Run, at the president's residence.

The Israeli president asked Cai to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lauding the long history of the friendship between the Jewish and Chinese peoples, Rivlin said Israel will always keep in mind the selfless help provided by the Chinese people to the Jewish refugees during the World War II.

In recent years, said the Israeli president, the bilateral relationship has made positive headway and the cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results in various fields.

Noting that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and China, Rivlin said that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop its relationship with China.

For his part, the Chinese ambassador conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Rivlin.

Cai said that the Chinese and Jewish peoples have shared a time-honored friendship despite the vast geographic distance, and the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992 turned a new page in the history of the China-Israel relations.

In 2017, China and Israel established an innovative comprehensive partnership, ushering in a new stage of development for the bilateral ties, Cai added.

The two countries and peoples have understood, supported and helped each other in the joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Chinese envoy, adding that China and Israel have made positive progress in practical cooperation despite the impact of the pandemic and other factors.

Cai pledged to work with friends in both countries to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two states and make contributions to advancing the China-Israel innovative comprehensive partnership.

Cai arrived in Israel on Jan. 22, as the ninth Chinese ambassador to the country. Enditem
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who received his second coronavirus vaccine dose last week, feels well and is in normal, working condition, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station on Wednesday, TASS reports.

"Good. Fully operative and in normal condition," he said when asked about the presidents health after the second jab.
Shares in Irish explorer Providence Resources plummeted as much as 18% after it said it would likely have to tap investors for more money after terminating the development partner deal for its Barryroe oil and gas field, which lies off the Cork coast.

Providence said its 166m so-called farm-out agreement with Norwegian firm SpotOn Energy  put in place to bankroll the development of the Barryroe field  has been terminated due to key financing conditions not being met.

It said Barryroes development remains on track  including a planned drilling campaign starting late next year and the potential for initial commercial gas flow from the site sometime in 2023.

However, Providence now aims to retain its 80% ownership of Barryroe and lead the funding of the fields development itself.

Tapping investors

That will likely see the company tapping investors, through a share sale, for the third time in two years.

However, Providence chief executive Alan Linn said it wont be a huge raise, with the company close to not having to do equity.

Providence already has sufficient working capital to see it through this year. That has been bolstered by funds raised through investors exercising warrants from last years emergency share placing.

Investment firm Pageant Holdings  a leading shareholder in Providence  is underwriting a separate $2.5m (2m) capital raise, which Mr Linn said showed investors are onside.

Additionally, Providence will largely fund Barryroes development through a bond raise, already well-negotiated before SpotOns exit.

Funding gap

Mr Linn said there was a funding gap between current finances and the original 166m deal, but he said the company was mostly covered.

He said Providence was hopeful of increasing the size of the bond and improving payment deferral terms for drilling service providers.

Most of the service companies, which formed part of the original farm-out consortium, are expected to remain in place.

Providence has said its shareholders stand to benefit more from the new funding arrangement and has valued Barryroe at $560m in an oil price environment of $60 per barrel.

Initially, drilling will target an area of up to 50m barrels of recoverable resources.
To celebrate Earth Day, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced state-owned facilities would aim to utilize 100% renewable energy by 2025.

The state has partnered with three Michigan utilities, DTE, Consumers Energy, and the Lansing Board of Water and Light.

In the Thursday announcement, Whitmers office noted that the energy purchased will expand the utilities renewable portfolio in Michigan, rather than simply rerouting existing renewable energy that is already being generated.

In a statement, Whitmer said the initiative will also attract more clean energy jobs to the state.

Actions like this and the MI Healthy Climate Plan will be paramount within the next 10 years to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change, she said.

The MI Healthy Climate Plan outlines a path toward becoming fully carbon-neutral by 2050. Whitmer signed an executive order last year to enlist Michigan in the United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors from 25 states devoted to pursuing the goals of the internationally accepted Paris Agreement.

The state is also launching a team to identify potential solar footprint and develop and implement a plan to deploy solar across state-owned lands and properties, according to the announcement.

Both actions support a state plan to achieve a 28% reduction below 1990 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

This action shifts the State of Michigan from being a major consumer of electricity to a major driver of our clean energy economy, said John A. Kinch, Executive Director of Michigan Energy Options, a nonprofit solar development consultant to the state.

By doing this, the state accomplishes three things at once: It puts the state on course to meet its carbon goals, in part, through solar generation, it helps the utilities meet their renewable energy commitments and it serves the people of Michigan by catalyzing our public and private sectors to decarbonize our future.

More on MLive:

Meeting dust-up ends blitz of Wurtsmith cleanup advocacy on sour note

Enbridge settles with shipping firm after 2018 Line 5 anchor strike

$15M fine levied on former Edenville Dam owner after Midland flood

Climate change is warming Lake Michigan deep water, say researchers
DARTMOUTH, NS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - It's hard to believe that the iconic Canadian mockumentary television series, Trailer Park Boys is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. The show that follows the misadventures of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles in Sunnyvale Trailer Park premiered on Showcase on April 22, 2001.

The show has seen 13 seasons, 3 feature films, 2 animated series, 2 Out of the Park series, 6 specials and live concert tours throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. It seems there is no stopping the comedy trio who continue to be loved by fans around the world.

Trailer Park Boys Jail, the 13th season of the show, can be seen on their very own streaming service app, Trailer Park Boys/Swearnet. Appearances by David Lawrence (Terry from Fubar), Alex Lifeson (Rush) and directed by Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame, the show feels like a Canadian comedy, group hug.

How do the Boys plan on celebrating this milestone? "I am going to smoke 20 joints today" - Ricky. "I am out of the vodka hustling game and into crypto currency and NFT's, it's the future" - Julian. "I am just thankful that we are all still together and love each other, plus the 20 years of free cat food has been deecent." - Bubbles.

The TPB brand will be celebrating the 20th Anniversary throughout the year with a roster of tier-one licensing partnerships from publishing to apparel and beyond. New product releases will kick-off in July. A major 20th Anniversary event is slated for October 2021 which will include retail partnerships and a major contest giveaway.

Also, stay tuned for some NFT's of your favourite Trailer Park Boys characters. Even Ricky, Julian and Bubbles know about the trendy technology and are creating some digital art for their fans. Sunnyvale has just levelled up.

SOURCE Trailer Park Boys Incorporated
Up to 3.4 million more people in Myanmar will struggle to afford food in the next three to six months, the United Nations said on Thursday (April 22).

The country has plunged into political turmoil after the army seized power from the democratically elected civilian government on February 1.

With added economic pressure from the global health crisis, Myanmar is battling a deepening financial crisis.

The World Food Program said market prices of rice and cooking oil had risen by 5% and 18% respectively since the end of February.

There are signs that families in the commercial capital Yangon were skipping meals and eating less nutritious food.

The World Bank forecasts Myanmar's GDP to contract 10% in 2021.

The agency's analysis shows that urban areas will be worst affected as job losses are mounting across manufacturing, construction and services.

The World Food Program plans to expand its operations to help 3.3 million people, tripling the number of people it helps.

It is appealing for $106 million to achieve this goal.

Video Transcript

- Up to 3.4 million more people in Myanmar will struggle to afford food in the next three to six months the United Nations said on Thursday. The country has plunged into political turmoil after the army seized power from the democratically elected civilian government on February 1st. With added economic pressure from the global health crisis, Myanmar is battling a deepening financial crisis.

The World Food Program said market prices of rice and cooking oil had risen by 5% and 18% respectively since the end of February. There are signs that families in the commercial capital Yangon were skipping meals and eating less nutritious food. The World Bank forecast Myanmar's GDP to contract 10% in 2021. The agency's analysis shows that urban areas will be worst affected as job losses are mounting across manufacturing, construction, and services.

The World Food Program plans to expand its operations to help 3.3 million people, tripling the number of people it helps. It is appealing for 106 million US dollars to achieve this goal.
Discussion

The primary goal of Alaskas airport traveler testing program is to reduce the number of travel-associated SARS-CoV-2 importations into the state. During JuneNovember 2020, the program identified 951 persons with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result Although the number of persons who were infectious during or after travel is unknown, detection and isolation of these travelers likely helped reduce secondary transmission within Alaska. The percentage of positive airport test results remained very low (<1.0%) until October, when it began increasing along with increasing COVID-19 incidence nationwide (2). The testing program detected one case per 406 arriving travelers, more than might be expected from symptom screening alone (3). Pretravel testing was encouraged, and approximately one half of all arriving travelers were tested before travel. This volume of pretravel testing likely also resulted in some travelers choosing to postpone travel after receiving a positive result, although changes in travel plans were not tracked through this program. Expected mitigation measures such as vaccination, physical distancing, mask wearing, and avoidance of gatherings after arrival might also help limit postarrival transmission. Posttravel self-quarantine and testing programs might reduce travel-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission and importation, even without enforcement. Traveler education and community and industry partnerships might help ensure success.

Implementation of the traveler testing program required considerable financial and human resources. Funding was attained primarily through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity federal grant and Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement. Employing local community contractors, local emergency medical services personnel, and available tourism and hospitality workers helped mitigate the workload for public health personnel. Nonresidents who received positive test results on arrival or who traveled with a pending test that was later reported as positive were often difficult to contact, a problem also encountered in other jurisdictions (4). Moreover, contact tracing required extensive interjurisdictional coordination with local, state, Tribal, and federal public health partners. Additional public health resources were also required to address housing challenges for travelers requiring isolation or quarantine.

Traveler education and local community and industry partnerships were critical for successful operations. These efforts resulted in a very low number of travelers evading arrival registration, although the program was not enforced. In partnership with the Alaska Travel Industry Association, using workers to educate passengers about travel requirements before travel was helpful in ensuring passenger compliance with online registration and testing. Alaskas travel guidance encouraged testing before travel, and nonresident travelers were required to pay $250 for postarrival testing beginning in August; both factors might have increased pretravel testing among nonresidents and likely led to fewer arrivals of infected travelers than might have otherwise occurred.

The findings in this report are subject to at least six limitations. First, test result data were derived from airport testing program briefs and could not be independently verified against laboratory results. Second, handwritten travel declarations used before implementation of an electronic system resulted in some passengers checking multiple options or providing illegible information. Third, test collection sites were outside of TSA secure areas; therefore, a small number of community members might have used airport testing when they had not traveled and were misclassified as travelers. Fourth, participation in screening on arrival was not enforced and a small number of arriving travelers did not complete screening or select testing or self-quarantine. Fifth, the travel program did not include mechanisms for enforcement or for tracking of traveler point of origin, residency, or purpose of travel. In addition, the program relied on existing contact tracing systems for management of positive test results and did not include monitoring of road or seaports of entry. Finally, comprehensive data on postarrival testing or on compliance with movement or activity restrictions were not collected, and data were not available on prospective travelers who changed pretravel plans because of a positive pretravel test.

Based on feedback from Alaska airport testing program administrators, educating travelers on jurisdictional travel requirements before and during travel was helpful. Requiring travelers to have a negative test result within 72 hours before travel could reduce resource requirements for public health services in the arriving location; however, combining this requirement with a postarrival self-quarantine could be considered, because pretravel testing might be less effective than testing after arrival if used as a sole strategy. At least one model suggests that testing within 24 hours before travel would substantially decrease transmission at the destination compared with a test 72 hours before travel.

Additional strategies that were helpful in implementing the program included 1) ensuring that passengers were familiar with travel requirements before travel, 2) creating sufficient physical space at airports for efficient testing throughput, 3) offering ready assistance for arriving travelers at airports, and 4) using an electronic traveler interface to notify passengers of their test results, provide information on travel requirements, and collect information on each travelers point of origin and travel plans. A traveler data system that coordinates with surveillance systems might reduce the administrative workload on public health officials.

Detecting nearly 1,000 cases of COVID-19 among arriving travelers likely reduced onward transmission from these persons. Likewise, pretravel testing likely prevented many imported cases. Although the impact of Alaskas traveler testing program on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska cannot be quantified with the available data, infectious disease models suggest that reducing the number of imported cases likely delays the occurrence of the peak of an epidemic (5), which in turn affords more time to increase public health and health care capacity. Expected mitigation measures such as vaccination, physical distancing, mask wearing, and avoidance of gatherings after arrival might also help limit postarrival transmission.
BARCELONA, Spain, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wallbox and Iberdrola have signed a long-term on-site Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to produce, consume and reuse 100 % of the energy produced at its plant and offices in Barcelona's Zona Franca.

Iberdrola's investment in the photovoltaic installation will allow Wallbox to make savings in the production and consumption of green energy from day one. In this way, the energy company continues to highlight the competitiveness of renewables through bilateral contracts that promote energy supply at competitive and stable prices with large customers committed to sustainable consumption. With this collaboration, Wallbox will meet its goal of operating in these facilities with energy autonomy, as well as reducing its carbon footprint, putting itself at the forefront of productive energy management by relying mostly on solar energy.

The Wallbox factory in Barcelona's Zona Franca will have photovoltaic solar panels that will produce 1,500 MWh/year for the self-consumption of these facilities and offices, equivalent to the consumption of 500 homes. Installation at the offices will begin at the end of April and is expected to be completed by the end of June, allowing the photovoltaic system to come into operation at the beginning of the second half of the year.

Smart, bidirectional energy

The facilities will also have a unique, smart and bidirectional energy management system, which will optimise generation, storage and use of the grid. Through regeneration, 75% of the energy consumed in the production process is returned to the internal energy grid for reuse. The new plant is expected to be fully operational in September this year.

Both due to the volume of green energy production generated, as well as due to the development of a new generation of nZEB (Zero Energy Building) buildings, the Wallbox plant is a pioneering building with almost zero energy consumption, aligning itself with the trends of the new sustainable engineering, as well as in self-consumption at a global level.

"With this unprecedented action in the industry, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to accelerating the process of adopting cleaner energy in everyday life. Energy consumption around the world is changing at an accelerating pace, which leads us to develop products that promote decarbonisation. Thanks to this agreement, our products will also be manufactured with renewable energy, therefore closing the production circle in the most sustainable way possible," said Enric Asuncion, CEO of Wallbox.

"These collaboration formulas, in which Iberdrola invests and allows its customers to save from the outset by producing renewable energy at its facilities, highlight the competitiveness of renewables and continue to open up opportunities for undertaking projects that are transforming the present and future of energy in our country. These long-term power purchase and sale contracts provide stability to customers and have become an optimal tool for managing the electricity supply of large consumers who are committed to clean and sustainable consumption. In this case, we also maximised the infrastructure by taking advantage of the available surface area on the factory roofs, which we combined with an innovative energy efficiency system", explains Raquel Blanco, global director of Smart Mobility at Iberdrola.

Taking self-consumption to the next level

In February this year, Wallbox launched a pilot project to apply bi-directional charging technology to enable the use of energy stored in electric car batteries to supply part of the surplus energy demand of its corporate offices. The system, installed at the corporate headquarters in Barcelona's Zona Franca, consists of a fleet of Quasar bi-directional chargers and a fleet of Nissan Leaf electric vehicles.

The vehicles are available for use by Wallbox employees and are recharged at night to power the offices during the day. In this way, the building behaves as a smart ecosystem, where its architecture is maximised to capture available solar energy and release or store it on demand through the cars, which act as buffers at times when the building's energy demand exceeds either the contracted power or that generated by the solar panels.

"This innovative ecosystem has a dual system of stationary and mobile batteries. The former offer the first line of basic coverage and are configured to charge with a purely renewable energy mix, while the latter squeeze the flexibility capabilities offered by electric vehicles, both for emission-free mobility and as a storage resource with high energy density," said Eduard Castaneda, CPO of Wallbox. "The benefit is again twofold as Wallbox employees are offered access to a sustainable means of transport, while at the same time the need for power from the grid is reduced, as the vehicles become both generators and storage. The grid becomes more flexible and efficient with the flattening of the generation/consumption curve".

The intention is to increase the fleet of vehicles and Quasar bi-directional chargers until full energy supply autonomy is achieved. Right now, Wallbox already has 7 of them and the fleet will be increased by 15 additional vehicles. "We not only seek to develop the new technologies that will enable the use and management of clean energy globally, but we are also playing a leading role in their adoption. We live our commitment to sustainability from within, it is in our DNA", concludes Castaneda .

About Wallbox

Wallbox is a leading energy management company that manufactures smart charging solutions for electric vehicles. Combining cutting-edge technology with exceptional design, Wallbox creates a smart ecosystem that improves the way we manage, use and store energy. Founded in 2015 with headquarters in Barcelona, Wallbox's mission is to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles today in order to make more sustainable use of energy tomorrow.

Imagining a world free of fossil fuels, Wallbox's technology enables people to create, use and share renewable energy in ways they never thought possible. Wallbox currently sells to more than 60 countries and employs 400 people in offices in Europe, Asia and the Americas, as well as having two of its own factories. Wallbox offers four types of chargers, including Quasar, the first bi-directional home charger with advanced bi-directional charging technology, which was recognized with the highest award at CES, the world's leading industry technology show. During the first half of 2020 it completed a 23 million Series A investment round and in February 2021 Wallbox closed a 33 million financing round for expansion into new markets, expansion of manufacturing and R&D facilities, as well as hiring new professionals.

About Iberdrola

Iberdrola is one of the world's principal energy companies, a leader in renewables, and is spearheading the energy transition towards a low-emission economy. The group supplies energy to around 100 million people in dozens of countries and has renewable, grid and commercial activities in Europe (Spain, the UK, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the US, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, while counting markets including Japan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland as growth platforms.

With a workforce of more than 37,000 and assets of over 12.518 billion, it recorded turnover in excess of 33 billion and net profit slightly exceeding 3.61 billion in 2020. The company contributes to the maintenance of 400,000 jobs in its supply chain, with an annual procurement budget of 14 billion. A leader in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has committed more than 120 billion over the last two decades to building a sustainable energy model based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

WALLBOX MEDIA CONTACTS:

US: Colleen Robar, 313.207.5960, [email protected]

GLOBAL: Barbara Calixto, +34.671.518.711, [email protected]

SOURCE Wallbox
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The police have confirmed that two of their officers were shot dead by unknown gunmen during an attack on a police station on Wednesday in Enugu State, Nigerias South-east.

The incident occurred in Adani Police Station, Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement.

Mr Ndukwe, an assistant superintendent of police, stated that the station was violently attacked and set ablaze at about 2.30 a.m. by yet-to -be identified gunmen.

He said the operatives ,who were on duty during the attack, engaged the assailants in a gun battle, adding that some of them escaped with gunshot injuries.

Unfortunately, two policemen were critically wounded and later confirmed dead in the hospital, he added.

He stated that the Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Aliyu, consequently ordered the deployment of operational and intelligence assets to fish out the attackers.

According to him, the commissioner gave the order during an on-the-spot assessment visit to the station, together with heads of other sister security agencies in the state.

Mr Ndukwe said the commissioner had commiserated with families and relations of the deceased policemen.

The command appeals to members of the public to assist it with timely and credible information that will aid the quick arrest of the assailants.

Residents, especially owners of medical facilities, should promptly report to the police anyone suspected to have gunshot injuries, he added.

The Enugu attack, coming two days after a similar incident in Anambra State, underscores the fact that the attacks against police officers and police facilities in the South-east region may not ease off soon.

Those behind the attacks and their motive remain unknown, for now.

IPOB, the pro-Biafra group, has denied accusations of involvement in the attacks which have compounded the security challenge in the region.

(NAN)
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene has called AOC stupid and a scared little girl (AP)

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene resorted to name-calling on Thursday as she continued to challenge Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to a debate on the Green New Deal .

If she chickens out, then she shows exactly who she really is, a scared little girl that is pretty stupid and doesnt know anything about the economy or economics, Ms Greene said in a video she posted to social media. The Georgia congresswoman has been badgering the New York progressive for days to join her in a debate of her proposed climate legislation, of which Ms Greene has been harshly critical.

AOCs Green New Deal will destroy the USs oil and gas industry just after we became energy independent from President Trumps #AmericaFirst policies, she tweeted on Wednesday.

Later that day, she tweeted a photo of herself approaching a somewhat puzzled-looking Rep Ocasio-Cortez.

Im glad I ran into you today @AOC to plan our debate about the Green New Deal, Ms Greene wrote in the caption. After I finish reading all 14 pages, like we agreed, Ill schedule time for our debate.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has not publicly agreed to or refused the debate, and has made no response to Ms Greenes tweets.

She and Senator Ed Markey introduced the Green New Deal in Congress in 2019, as a way to combat climate change and make the US economy more sustainable.

On Thursday  Earth Day  Ms Greene continued her assault on the plan.

Were going to debate. She asked me if I had read her 14-page Green New Deal, she said in her video. I said Ive read some of it. And she said, Well, when youve read all of it, then you can challenge me to a debate.

Well, the good news is Ive read all 14 little pages, and Im very ready to debate her on the House floor, she added.

Then the name-calling began.

Observers on Twitter noted that Ms Greene appeared to be mocking the shortness of the document, while simultaneously admitting she hadnt read it.

Wait. Let me get this right one user tweeted . You constantly attack the bill and everything it stands for... but you have never actually read it?

Story continues

So youve been attacking it all this time without reading it  all 14 pages? Qrazy, another user wrote .

Ms Greene has expressed support on social media for a number of conspiracy theories, including QAnon. In February, the House of Representatives voted to strip her of her committee positions as punishment for those posts, many of which were antisemitic or Islamophobic.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez has not yet responded toThe Independents request for comment.

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Seven civilians were killed and ten more were wounded due to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine this year, Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova has said.

She announced this during a round table discussion a video of which she posted on her Facebook page, according to Ukrinform.

"Observance of the right to life and security of the residents of the occupied territories and districts on the contact line in eastern Ukraine is under constant threat. Last year, as a result of ongoing aggression, 18 civilians were killed and 89 were wounded. Since the beginning of this year, the number of civilian casualties has reached 17: seven killed and ten wounded. Two children are among those killed. Some 70% of all victims (12 people) are related to the detonation of landmines or other explosive devices, and 24% (four people) [were hurt] as a result of shelling," Denisova said.

She said that according to the information she gets from the temporarily occupied territories of eastern Ukraine, the occupying authorities are actively conducting the process of documenting residents with Russian passports. "Such measures are being taken to ensure the participation of our fellow citizens in the parliamentary elections to the State Duma in the autumn of 2021," Denisova said.

"Physicians, teachers, and employees of enterprises are forced to obtain Russian passports. If they refuse to obtain a Russian passport, they may be fired. In health care facilities, medical care is provided only to citizens who have passports issued by the occupation administration or the Russian Federation," she said.

Denisova noted that mobilization had begun against the background of the escalation of the security situation.

"They recruit men between the ages of 18 and 35, who are also forced to obtain passports of the occupation administration and the Russian Federation. The aggressor is conducting active informational propaganda aimed at spreading hate speech and inciting citizens against Ukraine. The so-called patriotic education has been introduced in schools, which leads to the militarization of children," Denisova said.

She said that 280 Ukrainian citizens were illegally held in the temporarily occupied territories of eastern Ukraine and another 258 people were considered missing.

op
Holcim Mexico to launch eco-labels

ICR Newsroom By 22 April 2021

Holcim Mexico has launched new eco-labels, EcoEtiquetas, to improve customer communication and make the environmental benefits of its products and construction solutions more transparent.



The labels will be used for all products that meet sustainability criteria, including smaller CO2 footprints and the use of recycled materials. In Mexico this includes cements branded as Apasco, Maestro and Supra Cemento as well as Supra Mortero mortar.



This is one more step on our way to become a Net Zero company, but also when our clients buy our cements with EcoEtiquetas, they will have the certainty that they are also collaborating with the care of the environment by using or distributing products that have They have been thought not only in terms of quality and performance, but also in ensuring a better world for present and future generations, said Jaime Hill Tinoco, CEO of Holcim Mexico.

Published under
'Hope': 10 Christian reactions to Derek Chauvins conviction for murder of George Floyd

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Some wept. Some cheered. Some stood in silent reverence, absorbing the moment when it was announced that a jury had found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd Tuesday.

Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, who traveled to Minnesota to pray with Floyds family and offer support, was recorded in a video clip declaring wow! as they heard the outcome of the highly charged case that had for months captured the worlds gaze.

On Wednesday morning Bryant thanked all the people who helped to create the moment that blanketed many communities across America with hope and exultation.

Good morning to all the activist, protestors, prayer warriors, marchers, t-shirt wearers, petition signers, fist raisers, meme posters, barbershop philosophers, agitators, rabble rousers and candle lighters, Bryant wrote in a statement on Instagram. Take a moment and breathe! This couldnt have happen without YOU! We made history! All 3 counts and he going to jail. Give yourself a minute. I know the fight continues but dont let your gloves get tattered! ... Im praying for you, proud of you and cheering for you!

Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died in police custody on May 25, 2020, after he was restrained for several minutes by Minneapolis Police Department officers. Chauvin was caught on video kneeling into Floyds neck as he begged for his life until he stopped breathing.

The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that officers had responded to a call about a man suspected of forgery. Authorities were told someone tried to pay with a fake $20 bill at Cup Foods. The video of Floyds death sparked international protests and calls for justice from many Christian leaders.

For the Rev. Willie Bodrick of the Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the verdict on Chauvins actions on Tuesday was cathartic.

For us to get the guilty verdict, I believe it restores hope, he told CBS Boston. It lets people know that their protest, their voices have been heard.

In remarks Tuesday, practicing Catholic, President Joe Biden, called Floyds killing a murder in the full light of day and the verdict a step forward.

It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism the vice president just referred to  the systemic racism that is a stain our nations soul; the knee on the neck of justice for black Americans; the profound fear and trauma, the pain, the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day, Biden said.

Lets also be clear that such a verdict is also much too rare. For so many people, it seems like it took a unique and extraordinary convergence of factors: a brave young woman with a smartphone camera; a crowd that was traumatized  traumatized witnesses; a murder that lasts almost 10 minutes in broad daylight for, ultimately, the whole world to see; officers standing up and testifying against a fellow officer instead of just closing ranks, which should be commended; a jury who heard the evidence, carried out their civic duty in the midst of an extraordinary moment, under extraordinary pressure, he said.

George Floyds brother, Philonise Floyd, who said he prayed Chauvin would be convicted, said he was relieved by the verdict and compared his brother to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The difference between the cases, he said, was technology.

"I feel relieved today that I finally have the opportunity ... for hopefully getting some sleep," he said.

"Today, you have cameras all around the world to see and show what happened to my brother, ...I could do nothing but watch, especially in that courtroom over and over and over again, watching my brother get murdered," he added.

Here are 10 reactions from Christian groups and leaders on Tuesdays verdict.
There may be many more carriers and brokers waiting on the sidelines of the insuring cannabis sector to get in than most may realize.

That was among the messages delivered by experts during Insurance Journals webinar in mid-April, How Insurance is Keeping up with Bustling Cannabis Sector.

The webinar took place as cannabis has lately been in the news with more states legalizing it for adult or medicinal use, large acquisition deals and companies going public. Topics covered included insuring special acquisition corporations (SPACs), new product innovation, M&A deals within the cannabis insurance sector, trends and a guess or two on when and if the federal government will greenlight cannabis.

Panelists were Charles V. Pyfrom, chief marketing officer at CannGen Insurance Services, Alan Devey, a cannabis focused producer out of Lockton Chicago who specializes in publicly traded cannabis companies, and Phillip Skaggs, assistant counsel at AAIS, who focuses on legal analysis, government relations, compliance, form development and emerging risk assessment.

Carriers

With legalization in some form sweeping across the U.S.  the latest states being New York and Virginia  will more carriers get into the cannabis game?

Its a question on many minds within the segment. Skaggs specializes in cannabis insurance issues and advises carriers on the impacts of cannabis regulations, trends, and market growth. He is the architect of the Cannabis Businessowners Policy (CannaBOP) and manager of standardized cannabis coverage provisions and exclusions at AAIS.

His response to the question of whether more carriers are getting interested in cannabis was a resounding yes.

Carriers have been approaching my company AAIS, they want to know more, Skaggs said. They want to capitalize on this momentum and explore ways that they can do that. Either stepping into cannabis for the first time or aggressively expanding their existing cannabis coverage territory.

A recent example he cited was Golden Bear Insurance Co., which in 2017 became the first carrier in California writing in the cannabis space on an admitted basis.

They recently reached out to us to step into Arizona, they adopted our cannabis business owners program and moved right in there, theyre ready to start writing, Skaggs said.

Expect more moves like this from carriers in the near future.

Other carriers have approached us and expressed interest in similarly new states, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan, all relatively new markets, but not to be outdone I think we also need to focus on the fact that regulators are taking an increasing interest in this space, Skaggs said.

The November 2020 election yielded five newly legal states, and then with New Yorks recent legalization of adult use, Virginia followed to become the 17th adult-use state and the first state in the South to legalize it.

Cannabis is no longer a regional issue, Skaggs said. It hasnt been for a few years now. But Virginia really highlights that, and should be a lesson to everyone carriers, regulators, legislators and so on that sitting back and observing the industry may no longer be an advisable and certainly not a profitable strategy. More states will follow and so will carriers.

Many carriers are finding that a wait-and-see approach is heavy on the see at this point, Skaggs said.

And if they dont start putting together Canvas coverage options, they will be seeing their competition outpace them, he added. So, a handful of carriers with more on the horizon are taking this opportunity capitalizing on social and legal momentum to approach cannabis more seriously.

Pyfrom said carriers like Golden Bear, firms his, as well as most of the brokers that CannGen works with, have the first mover advantage by being steeped in the space before others enter.

And so, for a lot of our brokers, and were one of the largest underwriting facilities in the US, this is all we specialize in, having access to all sorts of household brokers in both wholesale and retail, as well as traditional mom and pop and the biggest brokers in America, Pyfrom said. Were seeing overwhelming enthusiasm across the entire spectrum of our brokers who are working with us. Theyre excited about the growth in this industry. Theyre excited about expansion for existing clients. And theyre excited about seeing what the insurance community is bringing together to make sure we can properly insure the operators in this space who are more risk astute these days than they ever have been, and are really looking to see this industry be elevated to that next level.

SPACs

Devey specializes in insuring special purpose acquisition corporations, or SPACS. Hes been quite busy in the past year.

Listen to the Insuring Cannabis podcast EP. 19: Cannabis SPACs Are Hot, but Insuring Them is Pricey and Complex for more on what Deveys doing with SPACS.

Devey said there were 12 active cannabis SPACs looking for targets and another 12 new issues looking to have an initial public offering during the time of the webinar.

While the demand for SPACs is big, so is the risk, he said.

Because once you get a ticker symbol, all of a sudden you also get a target on your back, Devey said. My team has done a lot of work in the public cannabis market. And Ive got a lot of research to support that. And particularly within the SPAC cannabis world, it is probably the highest level of risk a company can take on. SPACs in and of themselves are very risky.

Devey poured through data over the last 10 years.

And for a frame of reference, over the last 10 years from 2009 to 2019, there were about 225 SPACs, Devey said. Last year, there were 248 SPACs. And this year currently, were already up to 186 SPACs. So, you can see the velocity of the SPAC market increasing.

Products

AAIS came out with its well-known CannaBop policy several years ago, and successfully filed the coverage in California in 2017. Skaggs believes well soon start to see the market provide insureds more products like this, and broader coverages.

AAIS will be coming out with some new standardized cannabis forms later this year, liability only program and some farm owners coverage endorsements, Skaggs said. And the market is on an expansive and upward trend from what Ive seen. Ive witnessed a significant increase in interest that I mentioned before from carriers and agents and regulators. And well see if that persists and what it turns into. But I do have a degree of confidence that the market is improving from an insured perspective, Im optimistic that we will indeed soon see a wider range of coverage options as competition increases. And in some cases, less restrictive policy language and lower rates.

All-in or Nothing

The panelists agreed that any insurance professionals interested in getting into the cannabis space should considering going all-in.

I think taking a step back and really jumping into the industry with two feet and learning from the operators who are funding lots of success in this day and age is really important, Pyfrom said. I dont think you can dabble on cannabis.

He said the most successful brokers they work with make cannabis 90, 95% of their business.

They know who the carriers are, they know what the forms look like, Pyfrom said. They know what client profile meets the respective markets in a real way to where theyre trying to find efficiencies of scale, and really go to those markets, where we can find quick quotes that are also underwritten appropriately to where the carriers are happy, the brokers are happy, and the buyers are happy.

Difficult Lines

Despite sweeping legalization in states and the House this week passing the Secure and Fair Enforcement Act (SAFE Banking), which would protect banks that do business with companies in states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes from federal enforcement action, expect some lines of insurance to remain difficult for cannabis insurance buyers for some time to come.

Skaggs said cultivation is probably going to be difficult for the foreseeable future until federal legalization passes and the federal crop coverage programs are available, at least for outdoor growing.

I know theres indoor growing coverage is available currently in the market, Skaggs said. But from what Ive seen, they vary significantly from policy to policy and how theyre approaching that exposure.

Product liability and products that may end up covering long tail-risks may be another area that cannabis insurance buyers find pricey and difficult to obtain.

If youd like to hear more about long-tail risks, listen to the latest Insuring Cannabis Podcast: If The Vape Crisis in Cannabis Taught Us One Thing, Its That Its Never Too Soon to Think About Long-Tail Risks.

I think theres still a lot of fear of what is to come with product liability in the space a lot, Skaggs said. We dont know about long-term cannabis use what kind of warnings need to be on packages for new canvas users, so they dont eat the whole chocolate bar those sorts of things. And were continuing to see whenever possible, that coverage can provide it on a claims-made basis. Its going to fence subject to limits and health hazard exclusions, non-compliance exclusions. I think product liability will continue to be the most restrictive of the coverages for the foreseeable future.

Devey said directors and officers, which has been difficult for cannabis operations for years, may remain a tough buy.

From my vantage point, D&O is the biggest issue on my end, just from a sheer lack of capacity in the marketplace, Devey said. I mean, theres only two carriers who are willing to take on an operator with over a billion-dollar market cap. And that just does not create a competitive environment. And as you build a tower, the product terms or the policy terms, we have to spend so much time fighting to make sure that theyre true follow form because the carriers are going to try stamp on as many endorsements and exclusions to protect themselves.

If there was a common theme in the webinar, it was growth and opportunity. Skaggs drove home that point.

I think were going to see the market swell, Skaggs said. And then by the end of the year towards going into 2022, contract just a little bit. So, well see those mergers, well see those acquisitions, well see some businesses jump in without knowing too much about the space and really kind of put themselves out of business quickly. But I think overall, well see growth, continue to see growth. Thats a pretty safe bet for the next five years.

Related:

Topics Carriers Agencies Training Development Cannabis
[April 22, 2021] St. Jude EPIC Challenge blasts off, inspiring students to reach for the stars to help others

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 3, 2, 1  we have liftoff of an extraordinary, even EPIC, opportunity for students across the country to participate in the historic Inspiration4 all-civilian mission to space while supporting a lifesaving mission right here on Earththat of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital : Finding cures. Saving children. Visit stjude.org/epicsciencefair for information on how to participate in the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair. ?? Now through Aug. 1, kids in grades 2-5 along with their teachers and parents can embark on the St. Jude EPIC Challenge and sign up for the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair . It is a virtual event celebrating the innovation generated by students, whether they are creating in their homes or collaborating as a team at their schools. Students who sign up for this Earth-bound mission are automatically entered for a chance to win exclusive invitations to participate in once-in-a-lifetime Inspiration4 launch experiences. The crew of this history-making mission includes St. Jude cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, now a physician assistant at the hospital that saved her life; Dr. Sian Proctor of Phoenix; Christopher Sembroski of Everett, Wash.; and Mission Commander Jared Isaacman, founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot. In addition to launching a new era for human space exploration, the Inspiration4 crew is encouraging every aspirational kid who dreams of going to space one day. The St. Jude EPIC (Experimenting, Prototyping, Inventing and Creating) Challenge is an educational fundraising program that inspires students to apply their education, imagination and a whole lot of heart to flex their creative muscles and prototype a life-improving innovation for the kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. As part of the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair, winners receive more than just blue ribbons and bragging rightsin addition to national recognition, awards include out-of-this-world experiences tied to the Inspiration4 mission. The top educator receives a trip for four to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to witness the historic shuttle, and one class gets the honor of filling a time capsule that will be sent into space, becoming part of history just like the Inspiration4 mission. "At the heart of the Inspiration4 all-civilian mission to space is the bold goal to not just take scientific advancement to new frontiers in space but to make progress here on Earth for kids around the globe facing cancer and other life-threatening diseases, which has been the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since our founding," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organiztion for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Similarly, at the heart of the St. Jude EPIC Challenge is the promise we as parents and educators make to our children to help them grow, expand their minds, demonstrate transformative kindness and support them in their endeavors."



As students research, design, and create their idea to help sick children, they will also support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital by promoting their concepts to family and friends via email and social media by tagging @StJude and using the hashtag #StJudeBeEpic. Loved ones can show their support of the ideas by making a donation to St. Jude. Along the way, St. Jude Education Ambassadors and STEMfluencers will offer messages of encouragement. These educators and self-professed geeks live to share the wonders of science and engineering with people of all ages.

Several space-themed extras make this virtual event one-of-a-kind, down to the panel of judges, who will be revealed this summer. In addition to the national achievement awards, students can earn incentives and giveaways along their EPIC journey, including: Collectible St. Jude EPIC Challenge pins

Limited-edition items such as a rocket lava lamp, a VR headset and telescope

A 15-minute virtual Q&A with Inspiration4 crew post-flight (up to five classrooms can earn this)

A personalized 15-second video message recorded in space

A trip for two to an Inspiration4 launch party (held off-site) Thanks to community support through programs like this one, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Visit stjude.org/epicsciencefair for information on how to participate in the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair. To get started, there is a host of online resources available to teachers, parents and students to encourage collaboration, innovation and ingenuity. About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/st-jude-epic-challenge-blasts-off-inspiring-students-to-reach-for-the-stars-to-help-others-301275210.html SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

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Nigeria recorded 65 new COVID-19 cases and zero fatality on Wednesday, according to data released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

This makes it the ninth consecutive day that the country recorded no deaths from the virus that has infected over 144 million persons globally and led to over 3 million deaths.

With zero fatality recorded on Wednesday, the death toll from the virus in Nigeria remains 2,061.

The infectious disease agency disclosed that the 65 new cases were reported from 11 states -Lagos-41, Kaduna-6, Kano-3, Rivers-3, Plateau-3, Akwa Ibom-2, Imo-2, Oyo-2, Edo-1, Bauchi-1 and Osun-1.

With the new cases, Nigeria has recorded a total of 164,488 infections as of April 21, 2021.

According to the data, 35 persons were discharged on Wednesday after testing negative to the COVID-19 virus. This brings the total number of discharged persons to 154,441

There are still about 10,000 active cases in the country.

The health agency also said it has conducted over 1.8 million COVID-19 tests in the country since the index case was reported in February 2020.

Vaccination

Nigeria has continued the vaccination of its citizens, which it commenced in March.

As of Wednesday, 1,133,325 eligible Nigerians have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to an update by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

According to the update, Lagos, the epicentre of the disease in Nigeria, tops the chart with 218,174 persons already vaccinated.

This is followed by Kano with 59,040 persons vaccinated, Kaduna  58, 026 , Ogun  53,314 and the FCT with 52,348 vaccinated persons.

The current phase of vaccination covers health workers and other frontline workers although Nigerians from other groups are also getting vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the head of NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, said inoculation of frontline health workers in some states has been 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.

Mr Shuaib has also assured the general public of the efficacy of the vaccines. He said no Nigerian has developed any severe side effects following the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Investors lost their appetite for shares in Just Eat and Deliveroo as fierce competition and questions over labour issues plagued the two takeaway giants.

Just Eat tumbled after rival Uber announced it would launch in Germany, which would break the FTSE 100 companys stranglehold on the German market.

Over the next few weeks Uber Eats will start operating in Berlin before potentially moving to other cities. Just Eat  now known as Just Eat Takeaway after its 6billion merger with a Dutch rival last year  has been the main player in Germany since Deliveroo pulled out in 2019.

Just Eat tumbled after rival Uber announced it would launch in Germany, which would break the FTSE 100 companys stranglehold on the German market

Things got catty over Twitter, with Just Eat boss Jitse Groen accusing Ubers Dara Khosrowshahi of trying to depress his companys share price. Khosrowshahi replied that Groen should pay a little less attention to your short term stock price and more attention to your tech and ops.

Last week Just Eat said order growth had been strong in Germany in the first three months of the year. Orders across all countries rose 79 per cent to 200m.

The threat to Just Eats dominance in a key market shaved 2.7 per cent off its shares, which closed 214p lower at 7716p.

Stock Watch - Argo Blockchain Shares in Argo Blockchain jumped after it signed a deal with a specialist builder to develop its cryptocurrency mining hub in Texas. Navier will consult on the design of the facility, which will be filled with computers that will use algorithms to unlock new bitcoins. This process is called mining. Navier will receive a monthly fee but will also be able to buy up to 223,821 Argo shares. Argo rose 26.9 per cent, or 39p, to 184p  and is up more than 460 per cent this year.

Deliveroos stock hit its lowest level yet, falling 4 per cent, or 9.8p, to 233p, a whopping 40 per cent below its 390p listing price.

Its float on March 31 has been described as the worst ever on the London Stock Exchange.

As well as its shares being overpriced, it has suffered because of major concerns around its working practices and treatment of its staff. It was a mixed day for the two main indexes, with the FTSE 100 rising 0.5 per cent , or 35.42 points, to 6895.29, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.1 per cent, or 22.82 points, to 22085.73.

It was boosted by Hikma Pharmaceuticals, which climbed 2.8 per cent, or 67p, to 2445p after it resumed the launch of a generic version of a Glaxosmithkline asthma drug in the US.

But business supplier Bunzl slid 3.2 per cent, or 80p, to 2424p. Bunzl specialises in selling products that companies need but do not sell directly on to customers such as toilet rolls and cleaning supplies.

Turnover grew by 5.4 per cent in the first three months of the year.

But much of this was driven by Covid-related orders for PPE such as gloves and gowns  which Bunzl warned will start to fall.

Trading platform Plus500 received a lukewarm reception for its first move into the US, rising 0.6 per cent, or 9.5p, to 1505.5p, by buying a group called Cunningham.

Mining giants BHP (up 0.5 per cent, or 11.5p, to 2178.5p) and Antofagasta (flat at 1841p) also failed to make much of an impression with production updates.

BHP reassured the market by posting a 4 per cent rise in iron ore production during its third quarter, and said it is on track for a strong finish to its financial year.

Copper behemoth Antofagasta, on the other hand, said production and cost performance had been in line with guidance.

On AIM, investors piled into Catena Group after it announced it will move into the artificial intelligence sector.

It has proposed launching a reverse takeover of a company called Insight, which offers niche services to asset managers.

This includes using computer algorithms to study the language companies use when talking about their environmental, social and governance goals, and then evaluating whether or not they are actually following through on their pledges.

Shares in Catena, which will change its name to Insig AI and raise 6.1million to fund the deal, closed 31.4 per cent higher, up by 18.5p, to 77.5p.
2 1 of 2 Mike Sutter / Staff Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Mike Sutter /Staff file photo Show More Show Less



Mixtli, the progressive Mexican restaurant that closed last year to prepare for a move to Southtown, is a step closer to reopening, possibly as early as the first week of June.

The top-rated restaurant, specializing in themed multicourse Mexican dinners with a regional theme, will start selling tickets May 1 on its website, restaurantmixtli.com. Prices havent been announced, but Mixtli will follow the same fixed-price, multicourse dinner model it offered at its former location, a converted boxcar at The Yard near Olmos Park, said chef Rico Torres, who co-owns Mixtli with fellow chef Diego Galicia.
New Delhi, April 22 : Amid the shortage of oxygen supply, Apollo Hospital's Joint Managing director Sangita Reddy has demanded a green corridor for the movement of oxygen tankers to the hospitals.

In a series of tweets, she has tagged the Prime Minister office, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal to help as she earlier alleged that the Haryana Police was creating hurdles.

"As I tweet, an oxygen tanker is outside the gate of Air Liquide Panipat plant at IOCL and he is not being allowed inside Haryana police are stopping it & not letting the oxygen out of Haryana. Need urgent intervention," she said.

In an update later, she said that "the driver has just been allowed inside & hopefully the oxygen will be sent out soon".

Reddy urged ambulances and tankers should be given quick green corridor movement "While we ramp up prod & redirect IND supply of #Oxygen the URGENT factor is to allow free movement of tankers across State borders Govt pls tag O2 tankers as AMBULANCES!! Create a green corridor 4 tanker movement with CRPF escort The situation is CRITICAL for Hospitals & Drs"

Amid a sharp spike in Covid cases and high demand of oxygen supply in the hospitals, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that the capital is still facing oxygen crisis.

Addressing a digital press conference, Kejriwal said: "Delhi is facing oxygen crisis for past few days. Centre fixes Oxygen quota for all states. As per Delhi government's estimate, the city needs 700 tonnes per day, however, the Centre yesterday gave only 480 tonnes. We need more, but we are thankful to them for this." The Chief Minister also stated that on the prevailing situation in the national capital, the Centre has helped the Delhi government a lot especially in the last two-three days and assured smooth supply of oxygen.
Tens of millions of people worldwide are affected by diseases like macular degeneration or have had accidents that permanently damage the light-sensitive photoreceptors within their retinas that enable vision.

The human body is not capable of regenerating those photoreceptors, but new advances by medical researchers and engineers at the University of WisconsinMadison may provide hope for those suffering from vision loss. They described their work today in the journal Science Advances.

Researchers at UWMadison have made new photoreceptors from human pluripotent stem cells. However, it remains challenging to precisely deliver those photoreceptors within the diseased or damaged eye so that they can form appropriate connections, says David Gamm, director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute and professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

"While it was a breakthrough to be able to make the spare parts -; these photoreceptors -; it's still necessary to get them to the right spot so they can effectively reconstruct the retina," he says. "So, we started thinking, 'How can we deliver these cells in a more intelligent way?' That's when we reached out to our world-class engineers at UWMadison."

Gamm is collaborating with colleagues Shaoqin (Sarah) Gong, a professor of biomedical engineering, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery faculty member and an expert in biomaterials, and Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and an expert in semiconductors whose lab is experienced in sophisticated micro- and nanofabrication.

Together, their research groups have developed a micro-molded scaffolding photoreceptor "patch" designed to be implanted under a damaged or diseased retina.

In 2018, the team developed its first biodegradable polymer scaffolding with wine-glass-shaped pores to hold the photoreceptor cells in place. However, that design wasn't optimal since it could not fit many photoreceptors in each pore.

In this second-generation scaffold, the team opted for an "ice cube tray" design, which can hold three times as many cells while reducing the amount of biomaterial used for the scaffolding to facilitate faster degradation of the synthetic material within the eye.

Gong and her team, led by graduate student Ruosen (Alex) Xie, screened a long list of potential biomaterials before deciding on poly(glycerol-sebacate), or PGS, a material that is compatible with the retina and can be safely metabolized by the body after degradation. The Gong lab optimized the formulation and further developed a curing process to achieve desirable material properties for making the scaffolds.

"We wanted the material to be very strong," says graduate student and co-first author Allison Ludwig, who works in Gamm's lab, "and in the eye, it degrades pretty quickly over about two months. That's ideal for the human retina."

The process of crafting the scaffold with the desired mechanical strength and precise dimensions was performed by co-first author Inkyu Lee and graduate student Juhwan Lee, who work in Ma's lab.

To achieve highly ordered 3D ice cube tray-shaped microstructures from the biodegradable and biocompatible PGS films with micron-sized features, they developed multi-step micro-molding techniques that can transfer patterns to flexible polymer films.

The final scaffold fabrication work was tedious and frustrating. Fractures and imperfections occurred on the soft scaffolds during demounting from the micro molds, rendering the micro molds inoperable for further use -; but Inkyu Lee ultimately discovered that soaking the scaffold in isopropyl alcohol allowed it to release cleanly.

"The fabrication processes creating a scaffold with micron-sized features involve a lot of person-dependent technical handling skills, which makes the production of scaffolds with a uniform quality difficult," he says. "I wanted to achieve something that is repeatable regardless of an operator's handling skills. I was enlightened by the fact that the PGS polymer swells in isopropyl alcohol. Exploiting this property ultimately facilitated the release of the scaffolds from the micro molds."

Using this approach, Ma's lab was able to reliably demount the scaffold from micro molds without surface defects and retain the mold's microstructures, maintaining the mold surface integrity for reuse. In the end, microscopy revealed the fabrication technique was a success, reliably reproducing a perfect ice cube tray-shaped scaffold capable of holding more than 300,000 photoreceptors in approximately the area of the human macula, the center of the retina.

"Overall, the results are very exciting and significant," says Ma. "Once we figured out the recipe, mass production became immediately possible, and commercialization will be very easy. The fabrication methods can be used to create many other types of soft scaffolds for various biomedical applications, such as complicated tissue engineering, etc."

The team has disclosed the scaffold structure and the fabrication method to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which has filed a patent application.

The team plans to continue optimizing its scaffolding shape, fabrication technique and bio-resorbable materials for faster production to satisfy future surgical needs. In the meantime, the current iteration of the scaffolding patch is almost ready for surgical testing in large animals. If successful, the patch will eventually be tested in humans.
Local law enforcement made multiple arrests after executing a pair of search warrants connected to drug sales in Auburn on Tuesday and Wednesday.

According to an Auburn police news release, at about 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, members of the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force with assistance from the Auburn Police Department executed a search warrant at 5 Cross St. in Auburn as part of an investigation into the sale of cocaine.

During the search, investigators recovered over 1/8 oz. of cocaine, inositol powder, two digital scales and numerous assorted baggies, microbags, and packaging material as well as more than $4,500 in cash.

Harry W. Hurst III, 41, of 5 Cross St. was arrested as part of the investigation. Hurst will be arraigned on a charge of third-degree felony criminal possession of a controlled substance and three second-degree misdemeanor charges of criminally using drug paraphernalia. Hurst was processed and held pending his arraignment at the Centralized Arraignment Part court.

On Tuesday, two other people were arrested in Auburn after a search of their home turned up cocaine and methamphetamine, police said.
China may initiate codification of environmental, education laws

Xinhua) 09:08, April 22, 2021

Photo taken on May 28, 2020 shows a view of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature will study the possibility of initiating the codification of environmental laws, education laws, and administrative laws this year.

This was revealed by the annual legislative agenda, made public by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on Wednesday.

According to the agenda, 37 new legislative bills will go under review, including revising the anti-monopoly law, the law on enterprise bankruptcy, and formulating the laws on food security and social assistance.

Another 17 legislative bills submitted to the top legislature will continue to be deliberated, including reviews on rural vitalization promotion laws, data security, and personal data protection.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
The wife of the ice-fuelled truck driver who struck and killed four Melbourne police officers says her family are riddled with constant guilt over the shocking tragedy.

Thursday marks one year since father-of-two Mohinder Singh, 48, ran his truck into Leading Senior Constable Lynnette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway.

The four officers had been impounding a Porsche driven by mortgage broker driver Richard Pusey when they were struck and killed by Singh's semi-trailer.

Their deaths were the biggest loss of officer lives in a single incident in Victoria Police's history.

As their colleagues and heartbroken families prepare to remember and pay tribute one year on, Singh's wife Amarjit has broken her silence, a week after he was sentenced to a maximum 22 years behind bars.

Left to right: Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Josh Prestney

'We miss the people (the police officers),' Amarjit told the Herald Sun.

'We (didn't) want them to die. We have to live with the guilt that the living died.'

Her husband had spent the days leading up the crash on a bender smoking ice and cannabis and downing bottles of booze. He had only slept for five hours over three days.

Victoria Police officers will pause on Thursday to remember and pay tribute to their four fallen colleagues.

A heartfelt video tribute to the officers has been shared with the public on the Victoria Police Facebook page.

'On this day, one year ago, four of our colleagues were tragically killed in a road incident on Melbournes Eastern Freeway,' the video was captioned.

'Today, and every day, we remember the lives of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, and Constables Josh Prestney and Glen Humphris who were killed in the line of duty on 22 April 2020.

'We will remember them.'

Mohinder Singh (pictured being led into court in March) has been jailed over the tragedy. His wife broke her silence to pay tribute to the four police officers on the one year anniversary of their deaths

Mohinder Singh, pictured arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne, was sentenced to 22 years in jail

Family, friends and colleagues will attend a memorial service at the police academy chapel in Glen Waverley, where four wreaths will be laid at the police memorial wall followed by a minutes silence for each officer killed.

Other vigils will be held across Victoria with a message to be broadcast through police radios at the end of the service and at 5.36pm when the incident occurred, requesting a minute's silence.

Flags at police stations will be flown at half-mast and landmarks across Melbourne, including Flinders Street station Bolte Bridge and the MCG will be lit up in blue on Thursday night.

'The deaths of four of our own continues to be felt right across the police force,' Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said.

'We know that this date, and the days and weeks surrounding it, will be a particularly difficult time for many.

'The deaths of our colleagues struck at the very core of Victoria Police and brought home the sobering reality of the inherent dangers that come with police work.

The Police Association of Victoria also paid tribute.

'We acknowledge the sacrifice that these four members made on April 22, 2020, and the extraordinary loss suffered by their loved ones, both on that night and every day since,' the organisation posted online.

'We stand shoulder to shoulder with their colleagues, who remain devastated by the loss of their mates, but determined to carry on their legacy.'

It comes two days after Victoria Police paused to remember another fallen officer Constable Angela Rose Taylor on the 35th anniversary of her death.

Angela, 21, died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital 20 April 1986 from her injuries that were sustained in the Russell St bombing.

The family of Constable Prestney (pictured) said their world fell apart the night he was killed while in the line of duty

In a heartbreaking statement one year on from his death, the family of Constable Prestney said: 'Josh's guitars have fallen silent, the music he loved is no longer pumped around the house'

Constable Josh Prestney (pictured) was one of four Victoria Police officers who were killed by truck driver Mohinder Singh on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway on April 22 last year

Constable Prestney is pictured at left with his mother Belinda and at right with his father Andrew

The police officers' heartbroken families have shared how they have been 'left with scars that will never completely heal' one year on from their horrific deaths.

Const Prestney, 28, was on his first week on the job when he was killed, having just graduated from the police academy in November, 2019.

He was only working a short stint in the field before he was to be transferred to Kew police station.

In a statement released to mark the one-year anniversary of Const Prestney's death, his mother Belinda, father Andrew and brother Alex said they will never be able to move on from the crash.

'The night we lost Josh our world fell apart. It has now been one year, but the memory of how that night unfolded is as clear and as painful as if it happened yesterday,' the family's statement said.

'As hard it was to lose Josh, harder still has been learning to live without him. We will never get used to this, get over this or move on from this.

'If we are lucky, time may soften the edges of our grief, but the loss of our son and brother has left scars that will never completely heal.

'He was eager to excel in his new career with Victoria Police and we would like to acknowledge the members he trained with and worked with, who are struggling with his loss.'

The funeral procession lines up during the funeral of Constable Josh Prestney on May 4, 2020

Floral tributes before the funeral of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor at the Victoria Police Academy in Melbourne last April

A tribute to the four fallen police officers outside the Victoria Police Academy in April, 2020

Const Humphris, 32, was another new recruit to the force, having only started his police career in 2019 after graduating from the academy in March of that year.

His partner of four years, Todd Robinson, described Const Humphris' death as 'one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of my life'.

'Despite the tragic circumstances, I want to use this opportunity to remember Glen as the smiling, bubbly and beautiful man that he was, and the love we shared for each other,' Mr Robinson said.

'He touched many people in his life, and many people cared for him. I want these stories and memories of joy and optimism to be forever remembered.'

Mr Robinson said on the day of the crash, 'I wished Glen a great day and hugged him goodbye as I left for work, not knowing that would be the last time we would ever see each other'.

STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY OF CONSTABLE JOSH PRESTNEY Constable Josh Prestney is pictured at right with his brother Alex The night we lost Josh our world fell apart. It has now been one year, but the memory of how that night unfolded is as clear and as painful as if it happened yesterday. As hard it was to lose Josh, harder still has been learning to live without him. We will never get used to this, get over this or move on from this. If we are lucky, time may soften the edges of our grief, but the loss of our son and brother has left scars that will never completely heal. Josh's guitars have fallen silent, the music he loved is no longer pumped around the house and there is no more witty banter across the dinner table or cheering at the footy. Our son was generous, loving, discerning and honest, with a deep love of family and for his partner Stacey. He was eager to excel in his new career with Victoria Police and we would like to acknowledge the members he trained with and worked with, who are struggling with his loss. We all miss him so very much. Josh's story was not finished, there was still so much more to do. We are comforted by the love and support we receive from family, friends, colleagues and strangers, every day. Victoria Police have become our second family, reaching out to us with kindness and respect to help us get through the difficult days, especially in the past few weeks. They truly are extraordinary people. Josh, Your life was a blessing Your memory a treasure You are loved beyond words And Missed beyond measure Andrew, Belinda and Alex Prestney The parents of Constable Josh Prestney, Andrew and Belinda, are pictured arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne during Mohinder Singh's plea hearing in March Advertisement

Singh was last week sentenced to a total of 22 years by Justice Paul Coghlan: 12 years for one death and three additional years for each of the other three deaths with the terms partially concurrent.

There was an additional year on the sentence for his drug offences.

The non-parole period was 18.5 years, and taking into account the year he has already been behind bars, he could be out in late 2039.

The families of all of the four victims watched on within the Supreme Court of Victoria on April 14 as Singh's sentence was handed down last week.

The court heard Singh had been told to get some rest before he got behind the wheel on the day of the crash.

For two whole seconds before he ran the police officers down, alarms in Singh's truck warned him to stop.

At 22 seconds past 5.36pm that day, Singh's truck swerved into the emergency lane where the vehicle's front mounted radar sensor detected the stationary police vehicles in front of the truck.

The truck triggered a 'Forward Collision Warning Event', which projected a red flashing light onto the inside of the windscreen.

STATEMENT FROM TODD ROBINSON, THE PARTNER OF CONSTABLE GLEN HUMPHRIS Constable Glen Humphris I would like to take this opportunity to pass on my heartfelt thanks to everyone that has supported me over the past 12 months. Without the support I have received I could not imagine being here today celebrating the life of Glen. To my family, who showed me great strength and guided me through some of my darkest days; to my FLO Dean Howard; Chaplain Dave Thompson; Police Legacy; Blue Ribbon; Members of VicPol; and indeed the Australian public, who I cannot thank enough for your care and compassion. Today marks 12 months since I wished Glen a great day and hugged him goodbye as I left for work, not knowing that would be the last time we would ever see each other. Each and every day, police officers put their lives on the line for our community, and it is the worst fear of every partner and family member to receive that knock on the door. This was one of the most gut-wrenching experiences of my life, and despite the tragic circumstances, I want to use this opportunity to remember Glen as the smiling, bubbly and beautiful man that he was, and the love we shared for each other. He touched many people in his life, and many people cared for him. I want these stories and memories of joy and optimism to be forever remembered. In loving memory of Glen. The partner of Constable Glen Humphris, Todd Robinson (centre in light blue suit), is picturing arriving at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne in March during Mohinder Singh's plea hearing Advertisement

Mohinder Singh's truck careered off the highway and into the car of Richard Pusey, who had been pulled over by the officers for alleged speeding

Richard Pusey has pleaded guilty to four charges - outraging public decency, drug possession, reckless conduct endangering serious injury and speeding - after the crash. He is pictured being taken away from his Fitzroy property by police on April 23, 2020

Crash experts later found Singh never hit the brakes and the only reason the truck stopped at all was because the vehicle itself had done so.

Pusey himself pleaded guilty last month to several charges after filming the crash site and taunting a senior constable as she lay dying. He is awaiting sentence.

Pusey avoided being struck in the crash as he had been urinating off to the side of the road.

He fled the scene and was arrested a day after the crash on April 23.
[April 21, 2021] Sale of Wirecard's Payment Gateway Platform and other Technology assets in Asia Pacific to WOW Digital Technologies and Bankograph

SINGAPORE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wirecard has signed agreements with WOW Digital Technologies to sell its payment gateway platform and card management solutions business units in Asia Pacific. The transaction is subject to closing conditions. Following closing, the payment gateway platform will be managed by Bankograph Pte. Limited, a processing partner of WOW Digital Technologies. Wirecard's payment gateway business supports large financial institutions in Singapore, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Australia to checkout systems of online and offline merchants. Wirecard's card management solutions business unit provides software products for financial institutions in Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to issue and manage cards and merchant relationships. The agreement includes the transfer of software assets such as Wirecard's TeleMoney payment gateway, Wirecard Card Management System and Wirecard Application Processing Engine for paperless Know-Your-Customer (KYC) system and onboarding of merchants. To minimize disruption of services, Wireard will also transfer to Bankograph all staff from the business units sold and datacentre infrastructure assets in Singapore, excluding the data warehouse. The Wirecard team will continue to operate the businesses during the period of integration into the business units of WOW Digital Technologies and Bankograph.



"We have structured this deal in the best interests of all stakeholders, particularly to ensure continuity of services for our payment gateway customers in Asia Pacific," said Nick Gronow, Director at Wirecard. "We want to make this transition as seamless as possible and enable financial institutions to provide world-class services to their merchants beyond the current pandemic. Bankograph is well-poised to offer a stable of innovative technology products to our new bank partners on top of the payment gateway platform," said Alexander Gold, CEO Bankograph.

About Bankograph and WOW Digital Technologies Bankograph is a technology company led by an experienced team of fintech entrepreneurs. The company which operates its own digital banking platform and has offices in Vietnam, Singapore and India. Bankograph offers innovative point-of-sale payment and credit management solutions to financial institutions. WOW Digital Technologies is an IT products and software development partner of Bankograph. WOW's team includes subject matter experts in software development, AI, Big Data and complex software product engineering. About Wirecard The business units in this transaction include assets from Wirecard Singapore, Wirecard Asia Holding, Wirecard Payment Solutions Malaysia and Wirecard Myanmar. Wirecard built its payment gateway platform and card management system businesses in Asia Pacific beginning with several acquisitions between 2012 and 2013 in Singapore. These businesses currently serve a number of large financial institutions in South-East Asia and Indochina. The assets acquired from Citibank in 2017 do not fall within this sale. SOURCE Bankograph Pte. Limited

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Today, realme Malaysia has officially announced the realme 8 Pro's price and availability in Malaysia. At the price of RM1299, the pre-order is now available at your nearest realme store or you can visit the realme website here to check it out.

The pre-order will last until 30 April so the first sale will begin on 1 May 2021 at every authorized dealer and realme Brand Stores across the nation. On top of that, customers who pre-order the realme 8 Pro from now onwards are granted freebies that includes 2 years warranty Premium Care+. There are also other lucky draw gifts worth up to RM195,000 in the Raya Syokmo dengan 8 Pro which a realme TV is involved.

To recap the tech specs, the realme 8 Pro features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset alongside 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. The Super AMOLED display is 6.4-inches and you can see a 16MP front camera as the punch-hole cutout at the top left, whereas the quad rear camera consists of a 108MP (main) + 8MP (ultrawide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth).

Inside the phone, there lies a 4500mAh battery with 50W SuperDart Charge technology support which is insanely fast. Moreover, it runs on realme UI 2.0 which is based on Android 11. You can get two colour options which are Infinity Blue and Infinity Black.

So what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.
Philly D.A., a new documentary series from Independent Lens on PBS, never steps inside a courtroom. There are no surprise witnesses, no brutal cross-examinations, no stunning verdicts. But its as captivating, timely and relevant a legal drama as youre likely to watch this spring.

The eight-part weekly series, which aired its first two episodes on April 20, follows Larry Krasner, the Philadelphia civil rights lawyer elected district attorney in 2017. From the outside, he had crusaded against mass incarceration and excessive sentencing, which he argues disproportionately burden poor and minority citizens. Now he sets out to put the system on trial, with the system pushing back.

There are no trial scenes because of a restriction on filming in Philadelphia courtrooms. But that limitation ends up reinforcing the themes that the filmmakers, Ted Passon and Yoni Brook, steadily build. The most high-stakes legal battles in Philly D.A. take place in city offices, community forums and voting booths.

A progressive reformer getting elected to head a big prosecutors office would be a story anywhere in America, as it has been in cities like Chicago. In Philadelphia, where politicians like Frank Rizzo and Ed Rendell made careers for being tough on crime, it was seismic.
After the September 11 terrorist attack in New York, NATO immediately activated the core articles of collective defense to vow support for the US; now they decided to pull troops from Afghanistan almost simultaneously  the US and Europe seem to have aligned their actions during the Afghanistan war going on for almost 20 years. Yet under the ostensible uniformity is often their separate calculations and sometimes conflicts.

As the European allies didnt play much of a productive part in the Kosovo War, the US, when waging war against Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, only brought on the British troops to attack the Taliban regime without involving NATO militarily.

It wasnt until the collapse of the Taliban regime over two months later that the sidelined NATO was brought into the picture. According to Resolution 1386 adopted by the United Nations Security Councilin December 2001, an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF ) was formed and dispatched to Afghanistan, mainly comprising troops from NATO members.

In August 2003, NATO officially took over the command of ISAF, and the AfghanistanWar was elevated into a large-scale overseas military intervention whereby NATO left the European defense area for the first time.

The US has made itself a well-thought plan  using Afghanistan as the biggest testing field to push NATOs strategic transformation to become a global bloc, consolidating the military results in Afghanistan as a way to cement its leading position in NATO and, in the meantime, suppressing the European allies nascent trend for independence from the US. Some European commentators vividly described the Washington-envisioned division of work  Americans make the supper, Europeans clean the plates.

However, the old European countries, like France and Germany, have always opposed NATO posing as a world cop and unlimitedly expanding the scope of its military operations. They dont want to serve Americas interests in areas not vital for European interests, so as to stay away from trouble.

This explains the passive attitude of European countries, notably France and Germany, in Afghanistan  their troops are stationed only in the relatively stable western and northern parts of the country and are prohibited from carrying out dangerous operations other than self-defense. German troops only patrol in armored vehicles in the daytime and would never leave the camp at night.

In fact, other than the two iron-clad followers of Britain and Canada, even when French and German troops receive requests for assistance from friendly counterparts, the frontline commanders would often say no on the excuse that they have to ask for the governments permission and could not make decisions without authorization.

Just when NATO was bogged in the quagmire of the AfghanistanWar, France took the chance to call for a more specific division of work between NATO and EU, meaning NATO will be tasked with accomplishing major and long-term operations. At the same time, the EU will be responsible for military interventions in Europe and surrounding areas. In May 2012, soon after the NATO Chicago Summit decided to hand over the defense roadmap back to Afghanistan, France was the first to call back its troops from there in July, followed by Italy and Spain.

While the old European countries are dragging their feet, new European countries in central and eastern Europe, who once actively followed NATO to Afghanistan, have gone back on their words as circumstances change and strongly demanded NATO withdraw from Afghanistan. What Russia has done in its war with Georgia has exacerbated these countries Russophobia.

For fear of falling victim to the deals between major countries, central and eastern European countries have been asking NATO to pay more attention to security issues in Europe rather than getting too involved outside the local defense area. After the Ukraine crisis, they pushed NATO to commit at the London Summit in September 2014 to getting back to its duty of collective defense.

Pretending agreement while harboring separate plans is what is happening between the US and Europe. On the Afghan issue, European allies are going their own way to serve national interests though still pledging to follow Americas lead; on multilateral cooperation and other issues, they have bluntly voiced different opinions from the US. Also, this shows that the US-Europe relationship, building not on an equal footing, has not been any monolith, and looking forward, their cracks will only widen.
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SEATTLE (AP)  Seattle Pacific University faculty members have cast a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the school's Board of Trustees after it announced it would retain a hiring policy that discriminates based on sexual orientation.

The Seattle Times reports that many at the private Christian school have voiced concerns about the policy for years. Students say some were particularly upset in January, when adjunct nursing professor Jeaux Rinedahl sued the university, saying it did not hire him for a full-time position because he's gay.





. . .
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Canadian National Railway Company (CNR.TO, CNI) has sent a letter to the board of Kansas City Southern (KSU) regarding its proposal to acquire KCS in a cash-and-stock deal. CN stated that it is confident that the Surface Transportation Board will not subject the company's proposal to any different standard or scrutiny in approving the voting trust than would be applicable to CP's proposal. 'CP has sought to distract investors and attack CN's proposal with a variety of inaccurate and unfounded assertions. The railroad regulatory approval condition that is relevant to the KCS shareholders is approval of the voting trust, and CN is proposing to use the identical voting trust that CP has proposed,' Jean-Jacques Ruest, CEO said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Daniel Hutchinson

From The Hutch

Like a clap of thunder and a bolt of lightning out of a blue sky, the Government is changing our health system.

Amongst other things, Health Minister Andrew Little is promising to treat people before they get sick, however like a 5pm sushi special, its already making me queasy.

A centralised national health service sounds like a great idea but the loss of district health boards will send shivers up and down the spine of the country, especially in smaller communities.

DHB meetings are not exactly entertaining in the same way as a Ranfurly Shield match.

In fact, such is the popularity of most meetings, the reporter, and sometimes a member of GreyPower, are the only people who have to leave the room at lunchtime and buy their own sandwiches.

But that doesnt mean that buried in the numbers and the dry-as-a-bone targets and reports, the jargon and the acronyms, there aren't important local issues, because thats what DHBs are all about.

Its an opportunity for everyday people to be involved in the discussions alongside the doctors and professors. Its a chance to lobby the decision makers.

Problems and trends at a local level are discussed and reported on so everyone sees whats going on. Solutions  by locals, for locals  are devised.

Like a Ranfurly Shield match, communities have to fight tooth and nail to retain money and services in their area and halt the migration of specialist facilities to the main centres.

In fact the reasoning behind the new separate Maori Health Authority appears to be exactly the same as that which was behind DHBs in the first place.

One size fits all?

Local communities are best placed to identify their own problems and come up with their own solutions, so I hope the new Health NZ has some system set up to listen to other communities of interest.

Coupled with robust reporting and clarity, a centralised health system could improve on a health system which already stacks up comparatively well internationally.

Its not good enough that levels of health service vary depending on which region you live in but local input into health decisions are absolutely vital in my opinion.

To put it into perspective, the Government allocated about $20 billion to the health budget this financial year and we all spent another $5 billion privately. Its big money, second only to social welfare, and it represents twice the amount spent by every local and regional council combined, with all of its representation and bureaucracy.

Whats the difference?

If looks could kill

Seeing as we are talking about serious subjects Im going to move on to murder. It doesnt get any more serious than that.

Although, in the case of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, it is actually a bit of a grey area.

Derek quite obviously was responsible for the death of George Floyd back in May last year. Weve all seen the video and followed the trial.

If he had been found guilty of anything less than murder, the rioting would probably only just be getting into full swing.

However, I was almost killed by a death stare myself when I pointed out to someone this week that Derek wasnt actually charged with murder  not by the New Zealand definition anyway.

You see the Oxford Dictionary definition of murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.

Derek was charged and convicted in the United States with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

In New Zealand all of those crimes are simply called manslaughter because they lack the element of intention or premeditation.

Interestingly if the tables had been turned and George suffocated Derek, he would have been charged with first degree murder in the US because a police officer was the victim and that supercedes premeditation.

Go figure.

Slice of heaven

On a lighter note, one of New Zealands favourite likely lads was officially knighted this week.

Photo: Spid Pye

Dave Dobbyn, a self-described ratbag started out as a member of Th Dudes with his schoolmates in 1975. He is now a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Now thats a slice of heaven.

daniel@thesun.co.nz
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 19:30:09|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The United States does not need to consider China as an adversary in the Middle East, said an opinion piece published by a website called War on the Rocks.

"China's actions in the region are not always damaging to U.S. interests," said the article entitled "China does not have to be America's enemy in the Middle East" released on Monday.

"Sometimes, the United States may even find overlapping interests with China given that both countries have a stake in containing conflicts and instability," it added.

The article said "an uptick in Chinese influence does not necessarily erode U.S. power in the region."

It suggested that as the United States contends with global challenges, it should "look for potential opportunities to cooperate with China." Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 16:03:37|Editor: huaxia

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JAKARTA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian Army detected underwater movement at 2.5 knots around the last location of the submarine Nanggala-402 missing during a torpedo firing exercise in waters north of Bali Island, according to an official source on Thursday.

"The contact then lost, so there is still not enough data to identify that it was a submarine," said the military spokesperson Achmad Riad.

A helicopter and two military vessels also found the oil spill and the smell of diesel fuel at several different locations, but it is not yet possible to conclude that this is submarine fuel, Riad added.

The authorities have deployed six military vessels and a helicopter to search in the last position of the submarine detected, including the underwater oceanographic vessel Rigel.

In addition, the Singapore Swift Rescue vessel is expected to arrive in Bali waters on Saturday to assist the search and rescue operation, while the Rescue Mega Bakti Malaysia ship will arrive next Monday.

Offers of assistance also came from the United States, Germany, France, Turkey, India, Russia, and Australia, added Riad.

The submarine Nanggala-402 lost contact in the waters north of Bali Island during a torpedo firing exercise in the early hours of Wednesday, with its last position at about 60 miles north of the tourist island.

Produced by Howaldtswerke Germany, the Nanggala-402 weighs 1,395 tons, 59.5 meters long, 6.3 meters high, and 5.5 meters wide with an arsenal of up to 14 Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes. It joined the Indonesian Navy in 1981. Enditem
US producer Scott Rudin has apologised for bullying and abusive behaviour, vowing to step back from stage and screen commitments.

Rudins body of work is extensive, including as executive producer on What We Do in the Shadows, The Newsroom, Silicon Valley, School of Rock, First Wives Club, The Addams Family, The Firm, The Truman Show, Wonder Boys, Zoolander, The Stepford Wives, The Manchurian and more.

Four former Rudin employees described workplace bullying and harassment, including episodes in which the Broadway and Hollywood producer three items including a stapler and a baked potato and, in one case, smashed a laptop onto an assistants hand. Other cast refused to return to Broadway shows The Music Man, Moulin Rouge! while members of the union have pushed for Rudin to be added to a Do Not Work list.

In a statement he said, I am stepping back from my film and streaming projects in addition to my work on Broadway. I am doing so to take the time to work on personal issues I should have long ago. When I commented over the weekend, I was focused on Broadway reopening successfully and not wanting my previous behavior to detract from everyones efforts to return. Its clear to me I should take the same path in film and streaming. I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior has caused and I take this step with a commitment to grow and change.

Rudins upcoming streaming projects include Netflixs The Woman in the Window. And, shortly after Rudin issued his statement, Deadline reported that Rudin was exiting five A24 Film projects, The Humans; The Tragedy of MacBeth; Red, White and Water; Everywhere All at Once and Men.

Rudins carefully worded statement excluded What We Do in the Shadows as it is a show on an ad-supported network, FX.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36

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Houston could see severe weather Friday as storms roll in during the daytime.

Thursday night will see a few pop-up showers with some gusty winds, but the bulk of the weather will affect Houston between noon and 9 p.m. Friday.

ASTROS ON YOUTUBE: Want to watch tonight's Astros-Angels game? Here's the only way.

You can anticipate hail and damaging wind, according to meteorologists. There's also a small chance of isolated tornadoes.

Most of the severe weather and heavy rain will be north of Interstate 10, although the entirety of Southeast Texas is under a "slight" threat of severe weather. That's the second of five levels of severe weather chances.

However, one thing seems more certain: It's going to rain. There's a 90 percent chance of rain in Houston by Friday night.

Meteorologists expect up to two inches of rain to fall in some areas, which could lead to street flooding. Widespread flooding isn't expected, according to the National Weather Service.

Here's where much of the rain is predicted:

National Weather Service

Luckily, this weather won't last. Saturday will be partly cloudy with high temperatures in the mid-80s. Sunday and Monday will be clear, with similar high temperatures.

What are your plans with the weekend weather? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan.
A Filipina woman who was hired by a Sydney couple to clean and care for their family says she was kept like a slave in that she was forced to work in the pairs grocery shop and had restrictions placed on where she was allowed to go.

And when she managed to escape from their southern Sydney home, the husband and wife hired a private detective to track her down and bring her back.

Shiela McAleer (centre) has pleaded guilty to forced labour charges. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Husband and wife Joshua and Shiela McAleer, from Rockdale in Sydneys south, have pleaded guilty to a series of charges relating to their treatment of the woman, including conducting a business involving the forced labour of another person between November 26, 2014, and October 30, 2016, and harbouring an unlawful non-citizen.

In a sentencing hearing on Thursday, the couples barrister James Glisson, QC, told the court his clients were of good character and had offered to compensate the victim $70,000.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said the only way to end banditry in Nigeria was for the military to kill them all. El-R...

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said the only way to end banditry in Nigeria was for the military to kill them all.

El-Rufai said the military should storm forests where bandits stay and bomb the whole place, thereby eliminating them.

He spoke at a dialogue tagged: Financing Safe Schools: Creating Safe Learning Communities in Abuja, yesterday.

El-Rufai also disclosed that all governors of the North have agreed that bandits must be wiped out.

He said: Our position as governors and we are unanimous in this because we, the northern states governors, met with the president on this subject our unanimous position is to wipe out the bandits.

We must go into these forests; nobody living in that forest is innocent and just kill them all. It is the only way to end this.

The Governor also disclosed that the military needed sophisticated weapons to effectively wipe out bandits.

El-Rufai said both land and air powers were needed to confront bandits.

We need the combination of airpower, and we need troops on the ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge.

We need just one, two, three months operation to just try to kill all the bandits. Its the only way to stop this. So long as these bandits are being paid, itll remain a business.

So the only option that we have is to ensure that we kill them all. What you see is the coordinated action with air power, use of drones, he added.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has held fresh crisis talks with Liberty Steel as worries mount over whether it will secure new financing.

The company has been on the brink since Greensill Capital, the biggest lender to Liberty owner Sanjeev Gupta, collapsed in early March.

This has left the fate of 5,000 jobs in the lurch including 3,000 at Liberty, the UK's third-largest steel group.

Liberty, the UK's third-largest steel group, has been on the brink since Greensill Capital, the biggest lender to Liberty owner Sanjeev Gupta (pictured), collapsed in early March

Gupta owns a sprawling set of companies worldwide that he collectively calls the GFG Alliance  which includes Liberty.

He is in talks to raise cash from new lenders to prop up GFG since Greensill went bust. But worries about its opaque structure are reportedly putting off lenders.

Concerns are growing that Liberty will run out of cash  forcing the Government to step in to save UK jobs and plans.

It has been a staggering fall from grace for the 49-year-old tycoon, who was dubbed the 'saviour of UK steel' after a spree that began in 2013 saw him buy plants in Rotherham, Stocksbridge, Newport and Hartlepool.

A Whitehall source said the Government has no idea when new funding for Liberty will be secured and that ministers have not given Gupta a hard deadline.

The source said: 'Liberty says it is still trying to arrange financing. But it doesn't feel imminent. It's quite a complex situation so these things aren't quick.

'We've been hearing it will be soon for the past two months. We're still hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.'

Gupta has said the UK is the worst-hit of all of the regions where Liberty operates because a key division makes parts for the aerospace industry, which has been badly hit by the pandemic.

The outcome for other parts of his empire has been mixed.

In Australia, GFG is in talks with Bain and Oaktree to plug some of its funding shortfall. In France, three aluminium plants went into bankruptcy last week and are being propped up by the French state.

Kwarteng has said all options are on the table to save Liberty's workers and factories.

The Government could even nationalise the struggling steelmaker if it plunges further into crisis. Last month Kwarteng turned down a 170million request for a Government loan, saying that he had no idea where the money would be spent.

He said at the time: 'We feel if we gave the money, there was no guarantee that that money would stay in the UK and would protect British jobs.'
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved intervention funds for the renewal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) fleets and formations damaged during the 2020 #EndSARS protests across the country.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during the inspection of the newly acquired operational vehicles and tow trucks for the FRSC on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Mustapha, was represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Mbaeri Nnamdi.

He said that this was to facilitate the effective enforcement of road traffic regulations and to also rebuild the burnt buildings.

The Federal Government acknowledges the contribution of the FRSC to the reduction in Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) and facilities on the nations highways.

The President has continued to support these efforts through approvals for infrastructural development, vehicles and equipment, Mr Mustapha said.

Recall that several formations of the corps were attacked with property and operational vehicles either damaged or burnt in the wake of the #EndSARS violence of October 2020.

According to him, modalities for the release of funds are in process.

It is my belief that the Corps will put these newly acquired vehicles to effective use in ensuring the safety of our roads.

Therefore, I enjoin the motoring public to continually obey traffic regulations and adopt good road safety culture as road safety is a collective responsibility, he said.

Mr Mustapha also directed the FRSC to engage critical and concerned parties to ensure that crashes involving petroleum tankers received adequate attention.

He said this should be by installing safety valves to forestall the spillage and the attendant explosions associated with this class of heavy-duty vehicles on the highways.

Safety valves should be fitted into tanker trucks to avoid explosion when crashes occur on the highway.

And it is expected that the FRSC should ensure full compliance to the directives of the Federal Government, especially at the Benue and Bauchi axis, he said.

Responding, the FRSC Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, commended the present administration for its support, saying that the president had done tremendous work in acquiring the operational vehicles.

Mr Oyeyemi appreciated the government for approving intervention funds for the FRSC and the additional operational vehicles.

We believe within the next few months, once we get the fund, we are commencing the procurement process as directed by the SGF, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the newly acquired operational vehicles were the last batch of vehicles captured in the year 2020 procurement exercise.

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(NAN)
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Patriot Party can start making moves to become an official state party.

The Board of State Canvassers approved petition language Thursday for the potential party to start gathering signatures for future certification.

The boards four members voted unanimously to approve the language. The Michigan Patriot Party has to collect 42,506 petition signatures to be submitted to the secretary of state for review.

The right-wing party was formed by Brian VanDussen, a 44-year-old Zeeland resident and Republican precinct delegate. His petitions initial language was rejected for minor errors, said Jonathan Brater, director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections during the board meeting.

Corrections were made, Brater said, so the board then approved the petition language in a swift vote.

Im glad they were able to approve it today, VanDussen told MLive. Now the real work begins to make this a reality.

The goal of the Michigan Patriot Party is to separate from the traditional Republican Party after it didnt do enough to challenge the 2020 presidential election results for former President Donald Trump, VanDussen told MLive in March.

Read more: Michigan Patriot Party wants to replace Republicans, investigate election fraud

The election happened and we just got sick of Republicans sitting around, not standing up for whats right, VanDussen said. Shortly after the election, when things mentioning a third party were going around on social media, I thought if ever there was a time, it would be now.

Ultimately, bipartisan canvassing boards affirmed that President Joe Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes. The states top elected Republicans said legislative committees found no evidence that fraud changed the outcome and Michigan confirmed its slate of Democratic electors for Biden. All of the legal challenges filed by Trump and his allies failed.

The Michigan Patriot Party not only needs to collect the 42,000-plus signatures, but organizers also need to collect 100 signatures from each of at least half of the states 83 counties and gather all valid signatures within a 180-day window.

Should the party collect the necessary signatures, the secretary of state would delegate the review process to the Bureau of Elections. If the signatures are deemed valid, the Board of State Canvassers would vote on a final certification of the party.

If all certification thresholds are met, the party could appear on the ballot for the next general election. At this rate, that means the 2022 cycle.

The Michigan Patriot Party would take aim at the Democrat and Republican elites, according to its website.

For far too long, the Democrat and Republican elites have made fortunes on the ashes of American lives ruined and sacrificed, the party states on its website. For too long, we the people have been distracted and ignored this treason. The Patriot Party is being formed right here, right now.

Read more from MLive:

Michigan completes general election audits, no foul play found

Extremists have gone mainstream. Lawyers, realtors and every-day folks make up their ranks.

They call themselves militias, but actual militias report to the governor in Michigan
Investigations editor

Larry Parnass, investigations editor, joined The Eagle in 2016 from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where he was editor in chief. His freelance work has appeared in the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant and CommonWealth Magazine.
In this image from video, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listens as the verdict is read in his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 20, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Defense Attorney and Policing Expert Weigh In After Jury Convicts Chauvin

After the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on three counts in the death of George Floyd, a criminal defense attorney and a policing expert weighed in on what the decision means and what to look for moving forward.

Jurors spent only about eight hours deliberating before convicting Chauvin. For Chris Van Wagner, a veteran defense attorney and former prosecutor in Wisconsin, that shows the evidence against Chauvin was strong.

I think the verdict represents a very clear statement from the 12 members of the jury that the evidence was overwhelming. I think the fact that they returned guilty verdicts on all three counts in what was generally considered a short amount of time for a case of this magnitude and of this length reflects that they had no real big disputes. They never asked the jury [a] question. When they came in there did not appear to be any hesitation on anyones part, Van Wagner told The Epoch Times.

Chauvin, during the arrest, knelt on Floyds neck and back for nine and a half minutes on May 25, 2020. He was fired the next day and was soon charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvins trial started on March 8. After the jury was selected, experts and witnesses were heard from, bookended by opening statements on March 29 and closing arguments on April 19.

The jury delivered their verdict on the afternoon of April 20.

The bystander video showing Chauvin on top of Floyd contributed to the relatively quick verdict, Van Wagner believes. He also thinks jurors were aware of the moments in time in which they served.

Im not suggesting they were intimidated. Im not suggesting they were afraid or otherwise, Im suggesting that they could not possibly escape in the back of their mind, if not in their external discussions in the jury room, they could not escape the notion that their verdict was going to be far more important than just in that case and just as to the fate of former officer Chauvin, he added.

Some people have suggested jurors were worried about potential repercussions. Barry Brodd, a former police officer testifying for the defense, saw a former home vandalized with a severed pigs head. News outlets made public much information about each juror, though their names and addresses have been withheld so far.

In this courtroom sketch, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin listens as defense attorney Eric Nelson makes closing arguments during Chauvins trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 19, 2021. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

During the trial, Chauvins lawyer, Eric Nelson, tried convincing jurors that Floyd died from the high levels of drugs detected in his body or from his poor heart health. He also made the case that Chauvin acted properly because of numerous factors, including that Floyd initially resisted being put in a patrol car and the number of hostile bystanders around the scene.

Jurors spurned those arguments in choosing not to acquit Chauvin on any of the three counts. Split verdicts in cases like Chauvins are pretty common.

Van Wagner said that Nelson had a tough job going into the trial and considers Nelsons closing argument a masterful job of discussing the evidence piece by piece, speaking for nearly three hours. Nelson should not be held responsible for the outcome, he added.

Nelson has not responded to requests for comment. Chauvin is being held in isolation as he awaits sentencing. He could spend up to 40 years in prison.

The conviction gives faith to so many in the community that law enforcement are now being held accountable for their actions, versus a number of trials where someone died from a police officers actions but the officers were not convicted, Lisa Dadio, a former police lieutenant who now directs the Center for Advanced Policing at the University of New Haven, told The Epoch Times.

Changes in policing already started taking place last year, after Floyds murder. A number of states have or are mulling changes to law enforcement systems and laws. New Mexico, for instance, earlier this month eliminated qualified immunity, a legal defense for officers.

Law enforcement does need to change, according to Dadio.

Portland police officers respond to a riot declaration following the police shooting of a homeless man in Portland, Ore., on April 16, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

There are a lot of things that need to change in law enforcement that we havent changed in decades, because its the same old, right, we do things the same. And so now we know were going to be forced to make changes and the community is going to have a lot of involvement as well. Theyre mandating it and theres no reason why they cant be part of the process, she said.

One potential change is improving the training that officers receive, but communities should not cut training budgets like some cities have, she added.

Even before Floyds murder, some police departments were having trouble finding enough recruits. In the wake of the death, and the protests and riots that occurred in the months after, police officers began leaving in droves, retiring or resigning. In Portland, for instance, the number of officers is down to 563, with 100 vacancies in the police bureau. That is something that will have an impact for years to come, Dadio said.

That movement started within the past couple of years with all the use of force incidents, including the one with Floyd, she said.

Policing is under a microscope and now a lot of states are doing away with qualified immunity. Law enforcement throughout the country already seen incredible decline in applicants and this started prior to what happened in Minnesota. Theres been a huge shift in clusters retiring, the ongoing riots that have been occurring in numerous cities throughout the country since last year. And what law enforcement has been subjected to is going to have an impact for years on policing.
The National Ploughing Association has paid tribute to one of their members Louth man Pat McKeown following his passing.

The National Ploughing Association (NPA) said Pat, from Dromskin, will "always be remembered with the highest affection and regard not only in the ploughing community in Ireland but also around the world".

The former NPA Vice President and Louth NPA Director and Chairman passed away on Monday April 19th.

"The NPA would like to extend their deepest sympathy and condolences to the family and loved ones of Ploughings Pat McKeown", a spokesperson for the NPA said.

"Pat was one of the longest serving most respected members of the National Ploughing Association Council.

"He was highly regarded as NPA Vice President for his outstanding contribution and dedication to the Association and as both the Louth NPA Director and Chairman.

"He was a truly talented and great ploughman having won four All-Ireland titles".

He also represented Ireland as a competitor at the World Ploughing Contest in Denmark in 1970 at just 26 years of age.

Pat also represented Ireland as a Judge at the World Ploughing Contest four times in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

"He was also extremely proud of Irish Ploughing and travelled to many different countries around the globe to support Irish teams competing at the World Contest", the NPA said.

Pat passed on the ploughing tradition to his family, who also all compete at a national level.

The NPA concluded: "Pat will be deeply missed and remembered by all as one of the Irelands true Gentlemen."
The New IRA has admitted it was responsible for an attempted bomb attack on a female PSNI officer near Dungiven.

An explosive device was left underneath the car of the police officer at her Ballyquin Road at the weekend.

The device was left at the point where the officer's three-year-old daughter normally sits.

Police have branded the attack sickening and a host of local politicians have condemned the incident.

The Irish News is today reporting that the New IRA has admitted they were behind the attack.

The paper says that in a statement the paramilitary group said it planted the device, which was attached to a fuel container, at Ballyquin Road.

The statement, which was signed T O'Neill, said it will continue to target the security forces.
Apple "Sherlocking," a term known in the software developer community referring to the tech giant's practice of copying other apps, was one of the issues raised at the recent antitrust probe spearheaded by the United States Senate, as TechCrunch reported.

The U.S. Senate's antitrust hearing summoned representatives of Apple, as well as Internet giant Google, to investigate the internal policies that prohibit them from accessing and taking advantage of the data coming from third-party businesses operating on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

During his inquisition, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal questioned the representatives, namely Apple Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer and Google Public Policy and Government Relations Senior Director Wilson White, if their companies have any "strict firewall" placed in between their app stores as part of their business policy.

Blumenthal clarified that the firewall he is referring to is an internal arrangement that disallows the sharing of data between third-party businesses present on the app stores and the host companies' representatives.

Andeer answered Blumenthal, stating that Apple has different teams assigned to App Store management and product development. The company representative added that controls are in place.

He also cited that many alternative apps on the App Store are more popular than those created by Apple. He insisted that Apple does not copy but simply offers options and innovations.

White, meanwhile, said that Google has data access regulations that handle how data coming from third-party services are employed.

The Google representative also clarified that prohibition is placed in between third-party services and the company's first-party services to prevent direct competition among them. He added that the tech giant has internal policies that regulate the matter.

Read Also: iPhone And iPad Monopolized By Apple's App Store?

Apple's "Sherlocking" Spree

According to an Apple Sherlock wiki entry, Sherlock was a search tool developed by the tech giant back in the early 2000s. During that time, Karelia Software, a third-party developer, also created an alternative tool named Watson.

Eventually, Apple had adopted the functionality of Watson after it became popular. Soon after that, Karelia discontinued Watson.

Software developers use the term "Sherlock" as Apple's strategy of copying an idea from another software company or an individual developer as a step to threaten, disrupt or ruin their business.

Apart from Watson, Karelia also stopped the development of Sandvox, a website building app, due to "sherlocking," developers claim.

Apple reportedly has a history of "sherlocking" apps, according to software developers. These include iPodderX, a podcast manager terminated in 2008; Konfabulator, eventually known as Yahoo! Widgets, discontinued in 2009; Growl, a Mac OS X notification app, last stable release in 2013; f.lux, a tool to reduce blue light for device screens, matched by Apple's Night Shift in 2015; and Duet Display and Luna, apps that create a secondary display on iPad, sideswiped by Apple Sidecar.

The AirTag, one of Apple's latest products unveiled at the Spring Loaded event this week, is also said to be a result of the tech giant's "sherlocking" spree. Tile, a US-based company that makes tracking devices for personal valuables, urged the U.S. Congress on Wednesday to look into the tech giant's business practices, SlashGear reported.

Related Story: Apple AirTag Features and Updates: How to Use iPhone, Android to Return a Missing Item
A sea snake so rare that the species was thought to be locally extinct for more than two decades has been found off the coast of Western Australia.

Scientists were conducting research at Ashmore Reef when they came across the Short-nosed sea snake, 67 metres below the ocean surface on April 12.

The species used to be a regular sighting in the shallows at Ashmore Reef but have been gradually declining since 1970s until it 'seemingly disappeared in 1998'.

The sighting is the first time the sea snake has been seen at the Ashmore Reef for years

Scientists were on board a research vessel equipped with 'advanced robotic technologies' and were looking at a dead sea shell when they stumbled across the snake, researcher Blanche D'Anastasi from the Australian Institute of Marine Science said.

'The robot was looking at a dead shell and (the researchers) were trying to pick it up and it had a sea snake sitting next to it,' Ms D'Anastasi said.

'They asked to zoom in on it and they realised straight away it was a short-nosed sea snake.

Scientists were looking at a dead sea shell when they discovered the sea snake

'They contacted me soon after and were like, 'Is this what we think it is?'

AIMS' Dr Karen Miller said the snake had not been sighted at the Ashmore Reef since 1998 and said it was a 'second chance' to research and protect the species.

'The short-nosed sea snake was thought to be lost forever from Ashmore  so it truly is a remarkable find, the whole ship of researchers was squealing in excitement,' she said.

'We cant protect species we dont know are there... were at depths no-one has explored before, gaining critical knowledge as we uncover Ashmores deep-sea secrets.'

The Ashmore Reef is located 320km from the north west coast of Western Australia

Ashmore Reef, where the snake was found is located about 320km off the north-west coast of Western Australia and Ms D'Anastasi says it was once filled with sea snakes.

'They've been gradually declining since the '70s, but things started really going awry in 2002,' Ms D'Anastasi said.

'You used to find about 50 snakes per day if you were walking the reef site.

'By 2002 it was down to 20 snakes per day, by 2010 it was down to 10, and then in 2012 there were no snakes left in the shallows.'

The rediscovery of the snakes has raised questions about their origins said Ms D'Anastasi.

'Are they part of a breeding population that remained undetected, or are these just straggling individuals that remain following the shallow water extinction event?', she questioned.

The sea snakes were seen in abundance until sightings began to decline from the 1970s

'Are these snakes a different species to the coastal ones?

'Can we take action to protect them?'

The Short-nosed snake is a member of the Elapidae family which means it has short, hollow fixed fangs capable of injecting a predominately neurotoxic venom.

Other varieties of Elapidae snakes include the very deadly taipan and death adder.

The snake was found in what is know as the twilight zone which refers to ocean depths ranging between 30m and 150m where some sunlight still penetrates.
The eldest son of well-known chef Rachel Allen has been charged with possession of cocaine.

Joshua Allen (20) of Ballinamona in Shanagarry, Co Cork was exempt from attendance at Midleton District Court today as the court was only fixing a date for the hearing of his case.

Mr Allen is charged that on July 10, 2020 at the Pontoon, Midleton, County Cork he had unlawfully in his possession a controlled drug, namely cocaine contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Mr Allen will be entering a not guilty plea when he is arraigned in the East Cork court on May 13 next.

His solicitor Don Ryan told Judge Alec Gabbett that he would be presenting evidence from an engineer at the forthcoming hearing.

Judge Gabbitt expressed surprise at the introduction of an engineer into the drugs case.

Im trying to understand why you would need an engineer in a drugs case.

Mr Ryan replied that on the night the alleged offence took place it was very dark. Mr Allen maintains that because of this he was wrongfully identified as having drugs in his possession.

It is thought that the engineer will give evidence in a professional capacity in relation to visibility issues.

Joshua is the eldest son of Rachel and Isaac Allen of Ballymaloe Cookery school.

Ms Allen is the author of a number of cookery books and has made television appearances in both Ireland and the UK.
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<h2>Paris to Berlin in an hour by train? Heres how it could happen.</h2><br /><p>In November of 2020 two people were shooting through an airless tube at 160 km/h in the desert outside of Las Vegas. This wasnt a ride invented by a casino or theme park; it was the first crewed ride of a hyperloop by the company Virgin Hyperloop. The ride only lasted 15 seconds, and the speeds they achieved were a far cry from the 1200 km/h they promise they will one day reach, but it represented a step forward.</p> <p>The hyperloop might be the future of transportation for medium-length journeys. It could outcompete high-speed rail, and at the same time operate at speeds comparable to aviation, but at a fraction of its environmental and energy costs. Its a concept which start-ups and researchers have eagerly adopted, including several teams across Europe.</p> <p><strong>Open design</strong></p> <p>The idea originated with the US entrepreneur Elon Musk, associated with companies like SpaceX and Tesla. After he mentioned it several times in public, a team of SpaceX and Tesla engineers released an <a href="https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/hyperloop-alpha.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open concept</a> in 2013. This initial idea then spawned a range of companies and even student teams, trying to design their own versions. Among them were several students in the Spanish city of Valencia.</p> <p>We started in 2015 after Elon Musk's announcement, when we were still students, said Juan Vicen Balaguer, co-founder and chief marketing officer of the hyperloop start-up <a href="https://zeleros.com/">Zeleros</a>, which today employs more than 50 people and raised around 10 million in funding. We've been working on this technology for five years, and it can be a real alternative mode of transportation.</p> <p>Yet the idea behind the hyperloop is older than Elon Musk, and its similar to an earlier idea called a vactrain or vacuum tube train. A <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0606611h.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">comparable concept was already proposed</a> by 19th century author Michel Verne, son of Jules, and has since then been periodically brought up by science-fiction writers and technologists. Now, however, the hyperloop seems to be getting ready for a breakthrough, and Zeleros is one of the concepts in the running.</p> <p><img class="@alignleft@" title="'You need to remove the air from the front of the vehicle. If not, the craft would stop. Which is why we use a compressor system at the front of the vehicle', explained Juan Vicen Balaguer, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Zeleros. Artist's impression - Zeleros hyperloop" src="https://horizon-media.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/IMCEUpload/7_zeleros_hyperloop_interiors_1_1.png" alt="'You need to remove the air from the front of the vehicle. If not, the craft would stop. Which is why we use a compressor system at the front of the vehicle', explained Juan Vicen Balaguer, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Zeleros. Artist's impression - Zeleros hyperloop" width="983" height="553" /></p> <p><strong>Higher-pressure tube</strong></p> <p>What makes their technology unique is their approach to the tube. Each company uses a different level of pressure, said Vicen. Some are going for space pressure levels. Which means that the atmosphere in the tube is similar to space. It contains almost zero air.</p> <p>This state would allow for very fast speeds, since the train would face almost no friction. Yet it comes with a range of practical issues. Its very difficult and expensive to achieve and maintain this level of pressure for long stretches of tube. Safety would also be an issue. if something happens to the hull of the train, passengers would be exposed to dangerous vacuum conditions.</p> <p>Thats why Zeleros is aiming for higher-pressure tubes. It would be similar to the pressure seen in aviation, said Vicen. The pressure in the tubes proposed by Zeleros would extend to around 100 millibars. This, in turn, allows them to copy safety systems from aircraft, such as the oxygen masks that drop from overhead cabins. This design choice also makes their tubes cheaper to build, thereby reducing infrastructure costs. Yet it also means their trains face more air friction when they glide through the tube, which they have to compensate for in other ways.</p> <p>You need to remove the air from the front of the vehicle, said Vicen. If not, the craft would stop. Which is why we use a compressor system at the front of the vehicle. If there was zero pressure, we wouldn't need this. But it's a balance between economics and efficiency.</p> <p>At the front of the train is a compressor, which looks like the front of an airliner engine and which sucks in air and lets it out at the rear, providing propulsion for the craft. A so-called linear motor is also located at key parts of the track, like the start, to give the train its initial propulsion. From there it self-propels along the track, with magnets at the top of the vehicle attracting it to the top of the tube and making it levitate. This proposed craft would carry between 50 and 200 passengers, and would reach up to 1000 km/h. By comparison, the cruising speed of a short-haul passenger aircraft is about 800 km/h.</p> <p> <div class="quote-view quotesBlock quote_horizontal"> <div class="quotesTop"><img src="https://horizon-magazine.eu/sites/all/themes/horizon/images/quotes_top.png" alt="" title="" /></div> <p>Hyperloops face today's greatest transportation demands: reduction of travel time and of environmental impact.</p> <blockquote><p>Professor Maria Luisa Martinez Muneta, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain </p></blockquote> <div class="quotesBottom"><img src="https://horizon-magazine.eu/sites/all/themes/horizon/images/quotes_bottom.png" alt="" title="" /></div> </div> </p> <p><strong>Outcompete air</strong></p> <p>But why do we need this in the first place? Shouldnt we just invest more in our regular, high-speed trains? Its more complicated than that, says Professor Maria Luisa Martinez Muneta from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain, where she coordinates the <a href="https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101015145" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">HYPERNEX</a> research project. HYPERNEX connects hyperloop start-ups, like Zeleros, with universities, railway companies and regulators, in order to accelerate the technologys development in Europe.</p> <p>Hyperloops face today's greatest transportation demands: reduction of travel time and of environmental impact, said Prof. Martinez Muneta.</p> <p>Because of its limited speed  generally around 300-350 km/h  high-speed rail quickly becomes a bad choice for longer range travel if you want to get somewhere in a hurry. This gap is filled by short and medium-distance air travel, but aircraft emit a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49349566" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high volume of emissions compared to trains</a> and are not always convenient, as airports can be located away from city centres.</p> <p>A hyperloop could solve the problem. This mode of transport is focused on covering routes between 400 and 1500 kilometres, said Prof. Martinez Muneta. In this way a hyperloop would replace most shorter aeroplane travel, with much less of an environmental impact. The hyperloop produces zero direct emissions as it is 100% electrical, while achieving higher speeds and therefore shorter travel times, she said.</p> <p><img class="@alignleft@" title="With a speed of 1000 km/h, the hyperloop could be a greener and faster alternative to air travel. Image credit - Horizon" src="https://horizon-media.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/IMCEUpload/hyperloopgreyb-983.jpg" alt="With a speed of 1000 km/h, the hyperloop could be a greener and faster alternative to air travel. Image credit - Horizon" width="983" height="755" /></p> <p><strong>Labs and regulation</strong></p> <p>Bringing this vision into reality will likely take a decade. Vicen from Zeleros predicts that the first commercial passenger routes will come online around 2030, with hyperloops focused on cargo arriving a few years earlier, around 2025-2027.</p> <p>One key issue in this timeframe is regulation. The European Union is the first region that has a committee that promotes regulation and standardisation of hyperloops, said Vicen, referring to the 2020 founding of a <a href="https://www.cencenelec.eu/news/articles/Pages/AR-2020-003.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">joint technical committee</a> on hyperloops by the European Committee for Standardization and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.</p> <p>According to Zeleros, this is an important step if hyperloops want to become commercially viable. These craft would operate at hitherto unseen speeds, with new safety characteristics like airless tubes. This would in turn require new regulations and standardisations, for example on what to do if the capsule depressurised.</p> <p><img class="@alignleft@" title="The pressure in the tubes proposed by Zeleros would extend to around 100 millibars and allows to copy safety systems from aircraft, such as the oxygen masks that drop from overhead cabins. Artist's impression - Zeleros hyperloop" src="https://horizon-media.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/IMCEUpload/2_zeleros_hyperloop_vehicle_1_0_0_0.png" alt="The pressure in the tubes proposed by Zeleros would extend to around 100 millibars and allows to copy safety systems from aircraft, such as the oxygen masks that drop from overhead cabins. Artist's impression - Zeleros hyperloop" width="700" height="394" /></p> <p>The technology also remains somewhat untested, although real-world experiments are happening more often. Vicen mentions how they have already tested their technology in computer simulations, where they can model things like aerodynamic conditions and electromagnetic dynamics. They also use so-called physical demonstrators or prototypes that test in laboratory conditions how magnetism is affected by high speeds, for example.</p> <p>Nevertheless, they are aching to move from the lab to the field. Right now, they are planning to build a 3-km test track at a still-to-be-determined location in Spain, where by 2023 they hope to demonstrate their technology, and they are working with the Port of Valencia to study the use of hyperloops in transporting freight.</p> <p>Hyperloops might still be a few years out, but well likely see more of them in the future.</p> <p><em>The research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.</em></p> <br /> <img src=http://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1&tid=UA-40077089-1&cid=paris-to-berlin-in-an-hour-by-train-heres-how-it-could-happen&t=event&ec=republish&ea=read&el=paris-to-berlin-in-an-hour-by-train-heres-how-it-could-happen&cs=republish&cm=republish&cn=republish&cm1=1" /> This post <a href="https://horizon-magazine.eu/article/paris-berlin-hour-train-here-s-how-it-could-happen.html">Paris to Berlin in an hour by train? Heres how it could happen.</a> was originally published on <a href="https://horizon-magazine.eu/">Horizon: the EU Research & Innovation magazine | European Commission</a>.

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Will the Turks create another Andrew Brunson?

On the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, they claim to have found his disciple.

Three months ago, American pastor Ryan Keating was detained for 11 hours by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state unrecognized by every nation except Turkey. Its police raided the cafe and wine shop that housed his church, and then proceeded to his home.

They confiscated dozens of Arabic and Farsi language Bibles.

Keating, 44, was released on nearly $20,000 bail, after local friends bonded deeds to their property, vehicles, and even a tractor.

Last month, Keating was charged with illegally importing Christian materials. His passport has been confiscated while he awaits trial. A fine has been assessed of at least $60,000ten times the value of the Bibles, which he said is wildly inflated to begin with.

The raid, however, was based on the accusation that he did not have a permit to make wine. Yet Keating showed CT his 2018 license to operate the cafe, his 2019 license for winemaking from the municipality, and the additional requested paperwork from 2020, when his permit renewal was delayed by the customs department.

The interrogation focused only on his ministry.

This country, its government, and our neighbors have been friendly to us, he said. But there are not insignificant pockets of hostile nationalism.

Keating linked his arrest to the changing political environment. Last October, the pro-Turkey prime minister defeated the incumbent president to assume the territorys top office.

My case is an example of localized opposition, Keating said. But now, Turkish-style politics is being enforced in Cyprus.

He was the victim of such politics once before.

Image: Ryan Keating

Resident on the island since 2017, Keating previously lived 10 years with his wife and four children in Turkey. Operating a coffee shop, the Yale University graduate was also pursuing doctoral studies at Ankara University while heading a refugee ministry sponsored by a Protestant church.

In 2016, following the arrest of Andrew Brunson, Keating was deported on the grounds of national security and banned for life.

Since then, the Turkish Association of Protestant Churches has documented at least 35 examples of other foreign workers barred from Turkey. Most try to keep out of the media in hope of legally reversing the rulings against them.

So far in Cyprus, Keating faces only a fine. But a prominent Turkish-language newspaper conveyed the same conspiracy-focused accusations he said he faced during interrogation.

It called him a disciple of Brunson.

Keating told CT he did not work with the American pastor. But he did tweet on Brunsons behalf and defended him in an interview with the BBC.

George Ioannides, an elder in the Greek Evangelical Church in Nicosia, a divided city and capital of the Republic of Cyprus, agreed that Keating was likely the victim of shifting politics in the occupied north.

Ryan is sensitive to the culture, knows the language, and makes himself available to serve, wherever there is a need, Ioannides said. But his history in Turkey likely triggered his arrest.

The birthplace of Barnabas, the biblical son of encouragement, Cyprus has been divided since a 1974 coup attempt by Greek Cypriots prompted an invasion by Turkey. Overall, it has a population of roughly 1.3 million.

The Republic of Cyprus and its 840,000 people are 89 percent Greek Orthodox, with a 2 percent Muslim minority. The occupied north is 97 percent Muslim, divided between original Turkish Cypriots and Turkish settlersviolating Geneva Convention restrictions on population transfer.

A United Nations peace process, which established a religious track in 2011, collapsed in 2017. But it helped achieve a 2013 agreement for Greek Orthodox and Muslim leaders to freely cross the 110-mile Green Line that divides the island. And there has been a recent uptick in northern facilitation of access to Christian sites, guaranteed by the 1975 Vienna Agreement.

But the preservation of religious heritage remains a point of strong contention.

Some churches have become mosques, others are used as stables or for military purposes, while some of them are totally destroyed in the effort to obliterate any sign of the traditional Christian identity of the land, stated Metropolitan Vasilios, head of the diocese of ConstantiaAmmochostos. After all, this has been the tactic of Turkey throughout its whole history with regard to the lands [it] conquered.

According to the New Yorkbased Orthodox Order of St. Andrew, more than 500 churches and chapels have been desecrated or destroyed in the occupied territory, with over 60,000 artifacts illegally transferred abroad.

The interfaith Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process (RTCYPP), now under the Swedish embassy in Nicosia, has noted violations. It has urged the authorities to restore the churches of St. James and St. George in the Nicosia buffer zonerepeating a call first issued in 2014.

In the south, the RTCYPP condemned vandalism last year against the Koprulu Mosque in Limassol, where anti-Muslim and anti-refugee graffiti was scribbled on the wall.

In the north, it recently condemned a Muslim charitys use of St. Michael Church as a bazaar, as well as a techno party held in the 11th-century Armenian monastery of St. Magar. The latter is in dire need of repair.

A Protestant church has also been violated. Turkish Cypriots turned the Armenian Evangelical Church in occupied Nicosia into a factory and defaced its cornerstone inscription of a Bible verse. The building is now left derelict, overgrown with weeds.

Hrayr Jebejian, head of the Bible Society of the Gulf and an Armenian Cypriot citizen, is saddened to see the state of the churches. The Bible Society of Cyprus is attached to Greece and does not have any official presence in the north. He said doing so would recognize the entity.

A source in the Bible Society said that the Cyprus office can provide whatever materials are needed, but that it cannot deliver everywhere. It would be the customers responsibility to carry the materials onward.

Turkish Bibles were not seized in the raid on Keatings church, though some were taken from his home. The Arabic and Farsi materials were dropped off by a friend who no longer had use of them. But it was the boxs mailing label from the south, he said, which likely caught the attention of the police.

Keating said Bibles are not available for sale anywhere north of the Green Line.

But other Christian resources were mailed directly to his church, he said, passing through Turkish customs without any assessment of fees. He is convinced the charges against him are just a pretext by a minority of officials offended at Christian witness.

Keatings church hosts two services, one in English and the other in Turkish. The diversity is evident in both, with people from Cyprus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, and Europe attendingwhich demonstrates the need for Arabic and Farsi Bibles.

Before COVID-19, the Turkish language service hosted up to 40 people weekly, including a handful of Turkish Cypriots. The English service has about 70 members.

While the Republic of Cyprus calculates there are 314 Greek Orthodox and 69 Maronites resident in the occupied territory, the Cyprus Evangelical Alliance (CEA) lists two affiliated churches in divided Nicosia and nearby Kerynia.

These are pastored by Kemal Basharan, a 69-year-old Turkish Cypriot. In 2014, he established the Turkish Protestant Association after a 10-year legal battle with the authorities. He counts 300 believing families in the Turkish area, though many are fearful to publicly identify with the church.

Basharan has received death threats, but maintains his witness. Amid the local controversy of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogans strong support for Quran courses in schoolswhich the Turkish Cypriot Supreme Court ruled was unconstitutionalBasharan wrote an article in the newspaper to ask if Bible courses could then be permitted.

If I get locked up somewhere, who will know about it? he said, describing his affiliation with the CEA. I wanted to join something good, and it was an open window to the outside world.

While the northern administration is officially secular, it recognizes only Islam as an official religion. And though it does not regulate the worship of other faith groups, it requires such groups to register with the police as associations in order to open bank accounts and engage in civic activity.

Basharan believes the authorities are treating Keating like a drug dealer, yet he makes certain to import his own Christian materials through Turkeyand pay an approximate 10 percent customs fee.

Though he has faced interrogation for doing so, Basharan said there is even greater opposition to Christianity since the presidential elections.

Keating is not the only one targeted. A Turkish Christian and his American wife were fined at the airport for bringing in religious materials. They moved to Cyprus after the wife was denied her residency permit after 10 years of living in Turkey. Two months later, Turkish Cypriot authorities gave them five days to leave the country.

Previously, Christian activity received only aggressive surveillance.

They didnt like it, but they had to allow it, said Basharan. Now with Erdogan and the new government, the swords are out.

By contrast, the Republic of Cyprus recognizes Maronite Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, and Roman Catholics as official churches in addition to the Greek Orthodox and Muslim faiths. Others must register as associations or foundations. The CEA represents 36 congregations before the government.

There is freedom; we can worship God without any trouble, said Ioannides. But for Ryan all we can do is pray, as our word does not register in the north.

Yiannos Pitsillides, president of the CEA, told CT that evangelicals face subtle yet strong social discrimination, especially from the older generation. But the number of member churches has more than doubled in the past two years, as leaders have come to value greater relational unity.

And though the alliance recognizes the sensitivity involved in having relations also with Turkish Cypriots, they respectfully pursue it as a Christian calling.

We believe that the love of Christ surpasses race, ethnicity, and any other humanly imposed barriers, said Pitsillides. We hope to be an example of reconciliation among Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Cyprus, meanwhile, finds itself increasingly contested in Mediterranean politics. Allied with Israel, Greece, Egypt, France, and the United Arab Emirates, it has negotiated natural gas rights in its offshore areas. Meanwhile, Turkey has forged a cooperative maritime zone with Libya.

And Erdogan has bucked the UN peace process in Cyprus by calling for a two-state solution. The defeated Turkish Cypriot president favored a federal compromise and has accused Turkey of interfering in the election.

Is Keating, like Brunson, a casualty of geopolitics or the victim of localized bias? Either way, he expresses optimism in the objectivity of the court system, through which he hopes Cyprus can avoid the fate of Turkey.

I have had much freedom here, he said.

But I am going public with my story because I dont want it to become a precedent.
Nationalistic pride may swell chests, but to fill lungs you need air.

Someone should tell that to the Indian government. The country that boasted of being the worlds pharmacy in March discovers a month later that not only are Made in India vaccines in short supply, but also that it didnt have enough in hospitals to deal with a deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic that has made it the second-worst hit country, after the U.S.

New Delhi floated a tender last October, eight months into the pandemic, to set up plants in district hospitals. But an investigation by the website Scroll.in showed that in some instances the vendor that won the contracts never showed up to fulfil them. In other cases, hospitals didnt provide the needed land, or state administrations didnt come up with the copper wiring and electricity connections. Sheer apathy railroaded a 2 billion rupee ($27 million) project. Not a good look for a country that wants to spend $1.5 trillion on infrastructure in five years.

The result is that hundreds of millions of people risk not having access to a basic, life-saving element as an overwrought bureaucracy struggles to cope with nearly 300,000 new daily cases, which modelers believe to be a highly underreported figure. Meanwhile, the countrys overall medical requirement has shot up by more than 9 million cubic meters, according to an interactive Covid-19 Oxygen Needs Tracker.

In my home state alone, more than 230 million people have been put in greater danger than they needed to be. If Uttar Pradesh were a country, it would be the worlds fifth most-populous. For many among my family, friends and acquaintances, the risk of running out of breath is real. After an interminable wait for an oxygenated hospital bed, Vinay Srivastava, a 65-year-old journalist and patient in the state capital, Lucknow, took to social media Friday to plead for help. By that time, his blood oxygen level had fallen to 52%. Saturation below 90% is considered low.





ALSO READ: India's Covid crisis stems from arrogance, hyper-nationalism, incompetence

No hospital, lab, doctor is picking up the phone, he tweeted in Hindi. On Saturday afternoon, Srivastava put up a picture showing a finger-pulse oximeter reading of 31%. Then he died.

This was no isolated incident, or sadly even new. In 2017, 63 children battling neo-natal and pediatric encephalitis died in less than one week in a hospital in Gorakhpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Hypoxemia, or acute shortage of oxygen, was the most likely cause.

That tragedy should have triggered an alarm over the oxygen crisis in Indias hospitals. Another one should have come from Italys struggle with oxygen supplies at the peak of its infections early last year. But the government missed that chance.

A day after journalist Srivastavas death, the federal health ministry said that only 33 out of a planned 162 plants had been installed, and a total of 80 will be ready by the end of next month. Thats already far too late. In Uttar Pradesh, which has so far received only one of the new onsite plants, rich and poor alike are scouring the web for answers to questions like, What is the normal oxygen rate for the human body?



The breathlessness is by no means restricted to Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court ordered the government to urgently divert oxygen supplies from the steel and petrochemical industries after noting that some of the main Covid-19 hospitals in the national capital would run out in about four to eight hours. If the uncontrolled spread of the virus results in extended lockdown and closures, the purpose of full production of steel and petroleum products would be of no avail, as their consumption is bound to fall in that scenario, the judges noted.





The second wave has already deflated hopes of a V-shaped economic recovery. A 10th of the gross domestic product that would have come about in the absence of the pandemic is perhaps permanently lost. To be deprived of oxygen would further affect operations such as welding, cutting, cleaning and chemical processes, according to Crisil, an affiliate of S&P Global Inc. Meanwhile, the demand side of the equation is weakening, partly because of localized social-distancing restrictions and partly because of fear.





ALSO READ: 'Please help!' India's Covid-19 tragedy spills onto social media

By mid-April, retail and recreation activity in Lucknow had plunged 54% from the pre-virus baseline, according to Google Mobility. Its analysis of cellular phone locations shows an even grimmer picture for Mumbai, the commercial capital: Public transport use is down by 61%.

From rerouting industrial oxygen to running a special train for transporting it across the country, everything being done now should have been planned earlier. India reported 2,000 Covid-19 deaths on Wednesday--perhaps only a fraction of the actual fatalities. The second wave need not have been this lethal, if people could breathe a little easier.

(The views expressed are personal.)
Dozens of travellers who stayed in a Sydney quarantine hotel where three people tested positive to the South Africa Covid strain have already travelled interstate, health officials warned.

NSW Health is urgently tracking 40 returned travellers who stayed at the busy Mercure hotel in Sydney anytime between April 7 and 12 after three quarantining guests contracted coronavirus.

Officials have successfully contacted 36 hotel guests but are still desperately trying to reach four remaining people.

They are all being directed to get tested and self-isolate until 14 days after they left quarantine.

The three infected returned travellers, including two who are related, touched down in Australia on April 3.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Thursday said they all travelled on the same plane and were seated in the same section of the aircraft.

NSW Health is urgently tracking 40 returned travellers who stayed at the busy Mercure hotel in Sydney anytime between April 7 and 12 after three quarantining guests contracted the virus

But as they all tested negative during their first Covid swab on day two of their hotel stay, it appears they were not infectious while in transit.

Dr Chant said the trio stayed in adjacent rooms on the 10th floor while completing their mandatory two-week quarantine.

'What we are concerned about is there could have been transmission,' Dr Chant said.

'If that transmission event occurred in the hotel, the question is, could other people have been exposed?'

The hotel quests tested positive to the virus on day seven, 10 and 12 of their stay.

Dr Chant said officials are taking a 'precautionary' approach with their latest health advice as they do not have a 'definitive conclusion' on how the three people contracted the virus.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Thursday said the three people travelled on the same plane and were seated in the same section of the aircraft

There were about 40 people staying on the same hotel floor as the Covid-positive travellers, before they were moved to a health hotel.

'We have managed to contact 36 of those individuals, a number have gone into other states and territories and those states and territories have been alerted,' Dr Chant said.

Health authorities are 'urgently escalating' contact with the remaining four hotel guests.

Meanwhile, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the state's first mass vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush will be open for business by mid-May.

'We're expecting this hub to be able to dispense around 30,000 vaccines every single week,' she said.

'This has not been done ever, to my knowledge, in NSW,' Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

Officials have successfully contacted 36 hotel guests but are still desperately trying to reach four remaining people (stock)

GPs will remain the first port of call for those receiving the AstraZeneca jab, but those who want to be vaccinated in a state facility or don't have a GP will be able to get vaccinated at the hub.

Those with underlying health issues are particularly encouraged to go through their GPs.

The Homebush hub will predominantly administer Pfizer vaccines, which are trickier to store and distribute because they have to be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Some other vaccine sites across the state that have been distributing AstraZeneca jabs will be converted to allow them to dispense the Pfizer vaccine.

More than 180,000 COVID vaccinations have already been administered by NSW Health.
BBA Salutes Black Women, Honors Gwen Moore

The achievements of African American women were highlighted at the Annual Salute to Black Women sponsored by the Black Business Association (BBA).

The virtual event, held March 30, featured a special tribute to the late Gwen A. Moore, who served 16 years in the California State Assembly and more than a decade on the BBA Board of Directors, both as chair and as a member.

The theme was Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced. Elected officials, business executives and community leaders were among the people joining BBA President Earl Skip Cooper II in recognizing Moore and other females who have contributed to securing womens rights in America. Gwendolyn A. Goodman, public relations director of the Black Womens Network, was the emcee for the occasion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Black women has been the foundation of the Black community for hundreds of years and we celebrate them for what they have been able to achieve. Also, I cant say enough about my good friend, the Honorable Gwen A. Moore, who was always about fighting for Black women. We are presenting her with BBAs Honorary Lifetime Chairperson. She inspired women and men of all ages to vote and dedicated her life to the betterment of others, said Cooper, who worked closely with Moore for several years on range of initiatives.

Citing her introduction of over 400 bills that later became laws, Cooper noted that Moore, who passed away in 2020, was the architect and political force behind the historical California General Order 156, a state supplier diversity program that has, over the years, strengthened and stabilized a number of California Black-owned, women-owned, and minority-owned small businesses by helping them secure lucrative state contracts.

After leaving elected office, Moore continued to lend her time and talents to assist women and men of all ethnicities. She also founded the L.A.-based GeM Communications Group, a multi-media consultant firm that attracted a large and influential clientele.

Politicians honoring Moore included U.S. Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Barbara J. Lee and Karen Bass, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, State Senator Steve Bradford, Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, retired Assembly Speaker Willie Brown Jr., and retired Congresswoman Diane Watson.

Angela Gibson-Shaw of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce, CEO Cynthia Marshall of the Dallas Mavericks, Edwin Lombard of ELM Strategies, Timothy Alan Sim3on of TAS Strategies, and Joe Chow and Vaughn M. Williams of SoCal Gas recalled how Moore positively impacted businesses in California.

Representatives of civic and nonprofit organizations recalled Moores support for their activities through remarks given by Celestine Palmer of the Los Angeles African American Women Political Action Committee, Denise A. Peoples of STEMulate Learning, and Dezie Woods-Jones of Black Women Organized for Political Action. Also, Barbara Jean Jackson, who served as Moores executive assistant, shared poignant recollections of working with the legislator and in addition, the program emphasized Black American women who influenced history through their bold and courageous actions. Using a creative slide presentation, the trailblazing careers of Mary Church Terrell, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Irene Blackstone, Mary McLeod Bethune, Rosa Parks and Michelle Obama were spotlighted.

The BBAs Annual Salute to Black Women can be viewed at www.bbala.org.
Trumps very powerful light is a real human safe germicidal irradiation AP-UVGI using Far-UVC 207nm-222nm light We are delighted to announce our partnership in recognizing the importance of former President Trump's comments on 'Very Powerful Light', in the twelve months since human safe Far-UV light has been proven a reality through several peer-reviewed research studies in 2020

Far UVC indicator test card manufacture, QuantaDose is thrilled to announce the world's first globally coordinated industry-wide, Trump's "Very Powerful Light" sale. This Far-UVC light sale is planned to take place every 4-23 to commence one of the most misunderstood statements any President has ever made during a crisis.

According to John Coates, CTO for Quanta X Technology, "This is not about agreeing with Trump on policy or other matters. This industry-recognized global Far-UVC sale day is about the TRUTH in what was really said that day before it was spun by media to drink bleach. It's about the impact hitting the body with "a tremendously powerful light" has on humanity, the current and future of pandemics."

It all started with a Linkedin post from the CEO of Quanta X Technology, Katie Webb, to several CEOs in the Far-UVC light industry. "Please help me make this a global Far-UV light sale event day! I know this isn't much time. Many of you own your companies, so do it, join me on 4-23! This virus is killing someone every minute. Time is ticking, and we must learn how to work together quickly", she said.

Webb said, "This isn't just a coordinated Far-UVC light manufacturers sale in several countries. This is about educating the public on Far-UVC light and taking action for a better future! My daughter had her 3rd birthday a few months ago and has spent over a 3rd of her life in a world I've never known before! As much as the death toll has impacted me. The constant fear of close contact everywhere impacts my daughter. Whose interaction with loved ones in our family is now mainly screen time. I want her to experience the world I grew up in, only better! We have the knowledge and power to change this. Now that we know with certainty the EMR frequency needed to keep the R'naught' under one! This invisible Far-UVC light is our hope for a MUCH brighter future!"

Howard Hong, CEO of Guangdong excimer Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd, an ISO certified manufacture of Far-UVC excimer 222nm lamps, agreed to 20% off on the globally celebrated "Very Powerful Light" sale day.

FirstUVC is delighted to announce our partnership in recognizing the importance of former President Trump's 4-23-20 comments on 'Very Powerful Light.' In the twelve months since human safe 222nm, Far-UV light has been proven a reality through several peer-reviewed research studies in 2020. Now we can shine a new light on the revolutionary properties and potential of human safe far-UVC disinfecting light. - Howard Hong, First UVC Guangdong, China

New Far-UVC LED Manufacture NS Nanotechs patented Far-UVC LED technologies won't be available in time for Friday's worldwide sale. Current production is on track to be available for purchase before the end of 2021. Drawing on a decade of work on nitride semiconductors by researchers at McGill University and the University of Michigan, dramatically improve the fabrication process and resulting efficiency of nano-scale Far-UVC light-emitting materials. NS Nanotech ShortWaveLight Emitters are the first devices that utilize solid-state semiconductors to generate far-UVC light.

45th President Said What?

Love or hate him, and recent studies show Trump was right about the light! Suppose that we hit the body with a tremendous, whether its ultraviolet or just very powerful light, Trump said at a White House coronavirus press briefing.

Trump added that he wasnt a doctor and was just here to present ideas. and the press gravely misunderstood these ideas.

The QuantaGuard.com website is here to show you how far the idea presented by former President Donald J Trump has come in the 12 months since he suggested using tremendously powerful ultraviolet light that is completely harmless to humans yet deadly to air-borne viruses, among other bio-agents of concern.

"Very Powerful Light" Day Research and References

Study Shows Ushios Care222(R) Lamps Effectively Inactivate SARS-CoV-2 (The COVID-19 Virus

September 4, 2020

https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(20)30809-9/fulltext

Far-UVC light: A new tool to control the spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases

August 20, 2020

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21058-w.pdf

Exploratory clinical trial on the safety and bactericidal effect of 222-nm ultraviolet C irradiation in healthy humans

August 1, 2020

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235948

Far-UVC light (222 nm) efficiently and safely inactivates airborne human coronaviruses

June 1, 2020

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67211-2

Repetitive irradiation with 222nm UVC shown to be non-carcinogenic & safe for sterilizing human skin

April 1, 2020

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/ku-riw040720.php

Ultraviolet C light with a wavelength of 222 nm inactivates a wide spectrum of microbial pathogens

March 31, 2020

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195670120301298

Long-term Effects of 222-nm ultraviolet radiation C Sterilizing Lamps on Mice Susceptible to Ultraviolet Radiation

March 1, 2020

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/php.13269

DNA Damage Kills Bacterial Spores and Cells Exposed to 222-Nanometer UV Radiation

January 1, 2020

https://aem.asm.org/content/86/8/e03039-19

Founded in 2020, Quanta X Technology LLC is a world leader in FAR-UVC detection technology and non-pharmaceutical pandemic countermeasures that include new innovative Far-UV/UVC testing methods, Far-UV and Conventional UVC irradiation. The company's mission is to create quality-of-life solutions by engaging in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of photon and proton management technologies designed to mitigate epidemics and pandemics.
Derek Chauvin established this much, at least: There is a limit to the racist brutality this nation can stomach. Thats a start.

Any of us with any years on us know that 20 years ago, Chauvin wouldnt have even been charged, says the Rev. Charles Boyer, a leading political voice in the Black community and pastor of Bethel AME Church in Woodbury. I dont think we should play down the power of this moment. But we shouldnt overstate it either. There is some change in hearts and minds, but there is a tremendously long way to go.

The murder of George Floyd nearly a year ago sparked the largest protest movement in American history, with 26 million Americans taking part in nearly 5,000 separate protests. The fury over police brutality expressed by African-Americans for decades surged across the racial divide like never before, with 95 percent of the protests occurring in counties with a majority white population.

The question now is what comes next. Is this case a fluke, sparked by a murder so grotesque that it may never be repeated? Or will history remember the murder of George Floyd as a turning point that led to strides in racial justice -- not just in police matters, but in housing, education, health care?

Will America address the intolerable level of wealth inequality between the races, much of it the product of deliberate government policy like excluding Black families from the great surge of home ownership after World War II that created our middle class?

Are white Americans seeing that bigger picture? If so, why has the initial surge of white support for Black Lives Matter disappeared already? Among some Black leaders, relief at this verdict is mixed with deep anxiety about Americas willingness to support an aggressive program of racial justice that goes beyond policing.

The police are the most flagrant because theyre shooting people on video and you can see it, so people want it addressed immediately, says Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. (Martin Luther) King used to say Americans were angry about Bull Connor. Theyre just not angry enough about inequality. Thats what worries me.

Boyer worries about a backlash: With every generation, with every cycle, weve yet to see a time when white backlash does not come as a result of Black progress, he said. The more progress we make, the more visceral that backlash will be.

The anxiety that Baraka and Boyer feel is based on history, says Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway, a scholar of African-American history.

We are at a crossroads, no doubt, he says. History tells me the cynicism is warranted. Look whats happening in states across the country. People are trying to limit access to the ballot box.

New Jerseys attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, has issued several meaty directives since Floyds murder that are intended to reduce police violence. New policies sharply restrict the use of chokeholds and require police to be licensed and trained in de-escalation techniques. Any time an officer uses force, he or she must defend it in writing, describing the circumstances and the race of the subject. All that must be reviewed by supervisors, and is open to the public, including the officers names.

But the directives could be changed by his successor. And in the Legislature, several bills on police are stuck, at least for now.

One would ban chokeholds, and its just sitting there, says Ryan Haygood, director of the NJ Institute for Social Justice. Theres another dealing with qualified immunity (a protection against lawsuits over brutality), and that really is at the heart of accountability. That bill hasnt moved. Theres a bill on civilian complaint review boards, and it hasnt moved either.

Outside of policing, New Jerseys record on race is mixed at best. We spend much more than other states on education in our cities, with some success. But the achievement gap is huge, and our public schools are more segregated than those in Alabama and Mississippi. Still, Gov. Phil Murphy is fighting hard against a lawsuit that would force steps toward integration, like building regional magnet schools and taking other steps to soften the hard borders separating districts.

The racial disparity in our prisons is the worst in the nation. And at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, the states only prison for women, violence and rapes by guards and staff are commonplace, according to an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department released in April 2020. The state has tentatively agreed to a consent decree that would force federal oversight.

New Jerseys racial wealth gap is extreme as well. Nationally, the Federal Reserve estimates that the median Black family has just 15 percent of the average wealth among white families. In New Jersey, a study by Haygoods group found Black family income was just 2 percent of the white average here -- $271,402 versus $5,900.

To fix this, white America will have to be on board. But if history is any guide, it will be Black Americans who apply the pressure, who again push this country to higher ground, as during the Civil Rights movement.

Boyer notes that the elected Attorney General in Minnesota is Black, as is the chief of police who broke the code of silence and testified so powerfully against one of his own officers. Thats why elections matter so much, he says.

Its an extension of the Biden election, where Black political power really pushed a blatant racist out of the White House, Boyer says.

For today, though, we can take a moment to breathe some relief. This time, the brutal cop is not getting away with it. This time, he was hauled out in handcuffs and woke up the next morning in a jail cell. Its a start.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
Carbondale police charged a man with raping a 16-year-old girl who suffers from an IQ so low she cant consent to sex.

John J. Ragen Jr., 27, 221 Upper Powderly St., Carbondale, faces charges of rape of a mentally disabled person, sexual contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of someone with a mental disability unable to consent, corruption of minors and indecent assault of someone with a mental disability.

The girls mother reported her missing after seeing her daughter getting into a silver SUV on New Years Day afternoon. A city police officer tracked the girl down at Ragens home, according to an arrest affidavit. The next day, Jan. 2, accompanied to the police station by her mother, the girl told police that she and Ragen had sexual intercourse and engaged in other sexual activity, according to the affidavit.

The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of sexual assault.

After the interview, investigating officer Tim Mackrell drove the girl and her mother to the Childrens Advocacy Center of Northeast Pennsylvania in Scranton where a doctor examined the girl and collected skin and fluid samples.

Police also obtained a warrant and searched Ragens home, where they gathered bedding and took photos of the bedroom where the assault happened.

Ragen denied having sex with the girl. He told police the girl stayed over, watched TV and he and she fell asleep in his brothers bedroom. He claimed they slept there because his bed was broken, according to the affidavit.

The girl told police that Ragen and a friend of his smoked marijuana and watched TV. Later that night, Ragen took her to an upstairs bedroom. She told police about the sexual intercourse and Ragen fondling and kissing her.

Police obtained another search warrant to collect Ragens DNA. Testing showed a match between his DNA and the DNA found on her body.

Ragen was unable to post $75,000 bail and was jailed in the Lackawanna County Prison. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 12 at 9:45 a.m.
Wilder Rumpf, co-founder and CEO of Westport startup FinTron, laughed as he recollected one advisors interpretation of his companys logo: the letter F stylized as a phoenix beating its wings.

Rising from the ashes ... of the dumpster fire that was your personal finance, Rumpf said. Were targeting young people who have zero investment experience.

FinTron, co-founded by recent Sacred Heart University graduates Rumpf, Matthew Fatse and Adam Pulcyn, will soon launch a personal finance app that combines savings accounts, checking and debit cards through an affiliation with Radius Bank and backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The app also includes budgeting tools and offers a platform for buying and selling stocks. Through FinTron Invest, users can purchase fractional shares of stock for as little as $10 and set up accounts for monthly investments to build up larger stakes over time.

Theres even a feature for calculating how much you can save by eating in rather than dining out.

You can create a budget that we can set recurring for you, Rumpf said. We transfer [funds] on the first of the month into your account so you are forced to save that money  you [have] to plan for eating in.

FinTron members pay $3 a month to use the app, which comes with commission-free trades on more than 600 stocks and exchange-traded funds. Roughly 100 people are already using FinTron to help it tweak the app in advance of general availability, initially on Apple iOS devices with plans to add an Android version.

Rumpf, Fatse and Pulcyn launched the company only a few years after graduating from Sacred Heart University. Among those licensed to conduct securities transactions under the purview of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FinTron may now be the youngest broker-dealer company in the country.

Twenty-somethings also happen to be FinTrons core customer base.

We saw all these companies making finance incredibly complex, so we surveyed almost 2,000 young people [ages] 18 to 32, Rumpf said. We found that almost every single person wanted to invest. ... Its something that everyone knew they had to do, but they were too scared or too intimated to do it.

Rumpf conceived the company as an extension of his own early interest in investing. Along the way, he created algorithms for a trading bot to automate some of those processes.

After deciding to start a business, Rumpf pulled together a group of Sacred Heart students. The university provided them with a workspace, and John Gerlach, a Sacred Heart professor who died in May 2020, gave them early advice.

Rumpfs father Jeff, who worked at Sacred Heart at the time and is now the executive director of Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, invested more than $20,000 at the outset.

He said, Dad, ... this is going to be something that will really change the world, because where money goes is how society goes, Jeff Rumpf said. He wants to give the 99 percent the opportunity that all these one-percenter hedge funders get.

As work progressed, FinTron farmed out tasks to nearly 100 interns from local high schools and colleges. The town of Fairfield also awarded FinTron a $5,000 under a micro-enterprise grant program.

With any startup, theres an understanding theres risk involved, and a lot of these businesses dont succeed. Thats just part of the landscape, said Mark Barnhart, head of economic development for the town of Fairfield. Especially in this case, while they were all young guys in college at the time they were starting this thing, they had some people with some expertise that were providing guidance and counsel. That gave us a certain amount of confidence that they could pull this off.

FinTron received another $2,000 from a runner-up finish in a startup contest sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Foundation.

That really helped us  it built our confidence, Rumpf said. Every single time we were about to run out of money, we would find an investor just in the nick of time.

Still, FinTrons journey has not been without its share of obstacles. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), taking into account the inexperience of its founding team  all of whom are 25 or under  put the company through heightened scrutiny, according to Rumpf, requesting personal financial statements from FinTron investors.

Rumpf and Fatse also had to run a gauntlet of four regulatory exams requiring more than 120 hours of study. Just when it seemed FinTron was in the clear, FINRA mandated that the company have liquid assets of $220,000, which they were able to scrape together from investors.

Supported by fees levied on the firms it polices, FINRA administers tests to qualify people for broker dealer roles and other functions in finance, and monitors firms for compliance with the power to levy penalties. It is one of a number of regulatory entities overseeing the finance industry, including the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state entities like the Connecticut Department of Banking.

Every single response we sent them, there were six more questions; and to those six [answers], there were six more questions, Rumpf said. They kept cliffhanging us  every time we would miss a deadline, they would extend the deadline.

Because the startup had been in business for more than a year, it qualified for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to keep people off unemployment assistance during the pandemic. The loan has since been forgiven.

Two of the FinTron team also tested postive for COVID-19; both recovered without the need for hospitalization.

But the company subsequently won $1.5 million in investment capital led by Sage Venture Partners founder Fred Warren, who is considered a visionary in the U.S. venture capital industry because of an early $1 million investment in Apple.

Not everyone bought into the initial vision for FinTron. Connecticut Innovations, the New Haven venture fund that invests in technology companies with the potential for significant job growth, chose not to invest in the company at the outset.

We review 700 or so companies per year, and we are only able to invest in a small number. We did review FinTron and liked the idea but at the time, the company was not a fit for investment from CI, stated Peter Longo, senior managing director of investments for Connecticut Innovations, in an email response to a query. In almost all cases, our answer isnt no, but rather not yet. We are always happy to see founders come back to us ... and provide an update so we can reevaluate whether the company is well-suited for a CI investment.

FinTrons office is located in the Loft at Saugatuck building adjacent to a Metro-North commuter rail stop. As the company grows, Rumpf said he would consider Stamford as a likely destination. Either way, he plans to keep the companys main office in Connecticut.

While the company currently has only a handful of employees, Rumpf anticipates FinTron would grow to a workforce of 200 people in the coming half-decade  and possibly far more, depending on support for clients which would require a call center with a well-trained staff to field questions  if the company hits its growth projections

For inspiration, FinTron founders can look to Greenwich, where Interactive Brokers has become a dominant platform for day traders of stocks and other securities; as of March, it currently serves more than 1.3 million accounts containing $330 billion in client assets.

Interactive Brokers entered this year with more than 2,000 employees. Forbes estimates founder Thomas Peterffys net worth at $25 billion, including a gain of $129 million alone on Tuesday, based on the value of his holdings.

In time, FinTron plans to offer tools to help members build up strong credit ratings and a mix of financial services geared toward those considering retirement.

We want to grow slowly with our clients, Rumpf said. Our generation is very do-it-yourself and self-guided, so we built the app to allow people to do it themselves with all the help they need.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Paris Hilton looked happier than ever after enjoying a romantic dinner with her hunky fiance Carter Reum at Craig's in West Hollywood on Tuesday night.

After exiting the hotspot, the perfume mogul was seen holding hands with her man, who proposed while celebrating her 40th birthday on a private island in February.

The happy couple were clearly smitten with each other as they shared a kiss and gazed lovingly at each other before walking back to their car.

Blissful: Paris Hilton looked happier than ever after enjoying a romantic dinner with her hunky fiance Carter Reum at Craig's in West Hollywood on Tuesday night

Although she seemed rather overdressed in a plunging pink Valentino gown, Hilton looked absolutely radiant as she flashed a beaming smile and displayed her sensational physique.

In addition to a large diamond necklace, she sported her massive engagement ring, designed by Jean Dousset, the great-great grandson of iconic jeweler Louis Cartier.

The sparkler, which looks to be at least 10 carats, is valued to be around $2 million, according to Denis Stepansky, founder and owner of ItsHot Diamond Jewelry and Watches.

Happier than ever: After exiting the hotspot, the perfume mogul was seen holding hands with her man, who proposed while celebrating her 40th birthday on a private island in February

Holding hands: The happy couple were clearly smitten with each other as they shared a kiss and gazed lovingly at each other on the sidewalk, before walking back to their car

Hair she is: Paris continued to go without hair extensions, with her sleek, blonde bob perfectly straightened as it brushed her shoulders (pictured right in March)

Her other accessories for her date night included a pair of pink satin heels, a furry shawl, which she slipped over her shoulders after dinner, and a floral purse.

Hilton continued to go without hair extensions, with her sleek, blonde bob perfectly straightened as it brushed her shoulders.

The businesswoman also rocked a glamorous makeup look, which included false eyelashes, a glossy nude lipstick, bronzer and blush on the apples of her cheeks.

Happy couple: While turning heads with her plunging pink Valentino gown, Hilton looked absolutely radiant as she flashed a beaming smile and displayed her sensational physique

Attractive couple: For their night out, Reum wore a black suit, dress shirt, no tie and sneakers.

For their night out, Reum wore a black suit, dress shirt, no tie and sneakers.

He kept a blue face mask in one hand as a precautionary measure amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, Hilton gushed about their fun-filled evening at a pre-Oscars dinner party.

'Got all dressed up with my love for tonight's #Oscars dinner party,' she captioned a video of the two of them as the song Just the Two of Us played in the background.

She gushed: 'He always makes me feel like a #Princess!'

Bling: In addition to a large diamond necklace, she did not leave home without her massive engagement ring, designed by Jean Dousset

Glamorous: Her other accessories for her date night included a pair of pink satin heels, a furry shawl, which she slipped over her shoulders after dinner, and a floral purse

Earlier, she shared footage of herself in the 'classic Hollywood gown,' which received 173,182 views in less than two hours and hundreds of comments.

In addition to receiving a few pink heart emojis from her mother Kathy Hilton, who recently joined the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' cast, Diplo joined the comment section to praise the star.

'Our sliv queen,' the 42-year-old DJ wrote, nodding to Paris' word for killing it and living your best life.

Turning heads: The businesswoman also rocked a glamorous makeup look, which included false eyelashes, a glossy nude lipstick, bronzer and blush on the apples of her cheeks

Beauty: Hilton's sleek, blonde bob was perfectly straightened as it brushed her shoulders

'Got all dressed up with my love for tonight's #Oscars dinner party,' she captioned a video of the two of them as the song Just the Two of Us played in the background.

Paris made it clear she was very happy with her look as she asked her more than 14.4 million Instagram followers: 'Are you in love with this dress as much as I am? #LovesIt #Iconic #Chic.'

Paris also updated her fans on her latest splurge, which included buying a Birkin for her $8,000 teacup Chihuahua, named Diamond.

'Shopping for Diamond,' she captioned a slideshow of pictures of herself enjoying some retail therapy with her fur baby. 'Babys First Birkin in Miami.'

In the images, Paris wore a black floppy hat, oversized sunglasses and a chic striped dress.

Beautiful accessorizes: Paris showed off the glamorous finishing touches to her outfit

Paris has one particularly special outfit that she still needs to buy, however, a wedding dress for her impending nuptials with Cater.

It could still be a way in the future, however, as her sister Nicky recently told New You magazine that the former reality TV star has not started planning the wedding yet.

'I don't think she's doing it in the immediate future. She wants to do it when everyone is safe and theres a bit more clarity but I'll definitely be helping her, especially with the fun things like the bachelorette party.'

Confident: Paris made it clear she was very happy with her look as she asked her more than 14.4 million Instagram followers: 'Are you in love with this dress as much as I am? #LovesIt #Iconic #Chic'

Fashion icon: She looked fabulous as ever as she flaunted her figure in her fashion forward look

She added her sister will have a joint bachelor/bachelorette party possibly in Las Vegas or Miami.

The New York resident then said Paris has been very busy with her ventures: 'Or maybe it's because she's been so busy with launching her podcast and her production company but she hasnt really had time to even think about it.'

And Nicky also shed light on what kind of bride Paris, 40, will be, noting: 'Paris is the opposite of a Bridezilla.

Social media star: Paris made sure to document her outfit on Instagram

The one: Reum proposed to Paris after a year of dating, one day before Valentine's Day

'I told her, If you want to have a wedding anytime soon, you better get on it. Venues get booked up. Some of these dresses take a few months to make. But she seems very focused on her business right now.'

As far as Carter, Nicky said he is 'really nice' and they are very happy together.

'They are very similar. They are very focused and passionate about their work. They get along great,' she added.

Dog mom: Paris also updated her fans on her latest splurge, which included buying a turquoise Birkin, which she said was for her $8,000 teacup Chihuahua, named Diamond
In this aerial photo taken from a military aircraft, the Indonesian Navy submarine KRI Alugoro sails during a search for the KRI Nanggala, another submarine that went missing while participating in a training exercise in the waters off Bali, April 22, 2021

Military ships and aircraft were racing against the clock to find an Indonesian submarine missing off Bali with 53 crew aboard who could run out of oxygen by early Saturday, the Navy chief said Thursday.

The KRI Nanggala-402 lost radio contact about 60 miles (96.5 km) north of Bali during a torpedo firing exercise early Wednesday morning, officials said.

In a blackout situation, oxygen on board the KRI Nanggala can only last 72 hours, Adm. Yudo Margono said at a press conference in Jakarta.

It must be found as soon as possible because the oxygen only lasts three days. Calculated since the loss of contact at 3 a.m. [Wednesday], the estimated oxygen capacity is only available until Saturday at 3 a.m., he said.

Meanwhile, President Joko Jokowi Widodo said he had ordered military agencies and the coast guard to mobilize all strengths in finding the submarine and rescuing its 53 sailors.

The main priority is the safety of the 53 crew members, the president said in a statement.

To the family of the crew members, I fully understand the feelings of all of you at this time. But, once again, the government will continue to do its best to find and rescue them, Jokowi said.

Yudo said search teams equipped with sonar technology had detected a magnetic object underwater at a depth of 50 to 100 meters (164 to 328 feet), but could not determine what it was.

The KRI Rigel is being brought in to further observe the object, using a multibeam echo-sounder. Our hope is that it was the KRI Nanggala, he said, referring to pings detected from the unidentified metal object.

Earlier in the day, the Navy said the submarine may have sunk as deep as 700 meters (2,296 feet) in the Bali Sea, although it was designed to dive to depths of 250 to 500 meters.

Beyond that, its dangerous, naval spokesman Julius Widjojono told reporters, referring to the submarines 500-meter-deep limit.

Yudo said that an oil slick found in several locations could be from a leaked fuel tank, which might have caused a power outage aboard the submarine.

A second scenario was that the crew jettisoned liquids, including fuel, in the hopes of helping the submarine to resurface, he said.

Rescue ships from Singapore and Malaysia were on their way to help locate the submarine.

The Indonesian military has deployed dozens of ships and helicopters to scour the sea for the German-built sub.

Late Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said that aerial surveillance by a helicopter had found an oil spill in the location where the submarine was last detected, but it was not clear if the slick was connected to it.

Singapore Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said the city-state had dispatched a submarine rescue vessel, the MV Swift Rescue, with a medical team on Wednesday in response to a request from the Indonesian Navy.

The site for search operations, near Bali, is more than 1,500 km [932 miles] away and waters are deep, which is why MV Swift Rescue sailed off as soon as she could, he wrote in a Facebook post.

On Thursday, Malaysia sent its MV Mega Bakti  an escape-and-rescue intervention submarine  with 54 crew members to participate in the search for the Indonesian submarine, the Malaysian defense ministry said.

Malaysia Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has contacted his counterpart in Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, on Thursday to express his sympathy to the Indonesian Navy and Indonesia for what happened to the KRI Nanggala submarine, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her country was doing what it could to help, but cautioned that Australia operates very different submarines from the one that disappeared.

The news of the missing submarine is deeply concerning, she said in remarks posted on the Australian foreign ministrys website.

There is no question that submarine search and rescue is very complex. But whatever we are able to do, we have undertaken to do. And I think those submariners and their families are very much in need of all of our thoughts and prayers, she said.

The Indonesian military has five submarines, including the missing one.

The Nanggala-402 was built by German company Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft in 1977 and came into service in 1981, the Indonesian military said.

From 2009 to 2012, the submarine was refurbished by South Koreas Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), officials said.

Last month, Daewoo delivered the last of three submarines ordered by the Indonesian military.

That submarine is the first to be assembled locally in Indonesia by the state-owned shipbuilding company PT PAL, the government said.

Prabowo said the suspected accident underscored the need for the country to modernize its military.

We need to renew our armaments. We have not upgraded our armaments because we have been focusing on improving peoples welfare, he said at a news conference.

But this is now urgent and we must modernize our militarys weapons and equipment faster, he said.

Putting ones life on the line was part of serving in the military, the defense chief said.

The work of TNI members to safeguard sovereignty is full of challenges and obstacles. Every day is dangerous. I hope all the crew members can be found safely, said Prabowo, a former soldier.

Yudo insisted that the Nanggala-402 was in good condition.

Before it went missing, it fired two torpedoes successfully on an abandoned ship as part of the exercise, he said.

The KRI Nanggala was ready for combat, Yudo said.

Armed Forces chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said the submarine was certified for duty at sea until March 2022.

It was ready to conduct operational work, he said.

Rescue capabilities

As a nation that operates submarines as part of its naval fleet, Indonesia needs to acquire underwater search-and-rescue capabilities, according to Iis Gindarsah, a security analyst with Indonesian Laboratory 2025 (LAB 45), a think-tank.

Among submarine-operator countries, Indonesia is among those that do not yet have underwater SAR capabilities, she told BenarNews.

The Indonesian military recorded 13 naval accidents between 2004 and 2021, while this was the first involving a submarine, she noted.

Although no casualties have been recorded, the 13 naval accidents caused material damage classified as heavy, she said.

Military and intelligence observer Susaningtyas Kertopati said there still was time to find the submarine and rescue its crew.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 17:38:03|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will host a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday in Istanbul.

The meeting will address the latest developments in the Afghan peace process, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a written statement on Thursday.

Cooperation opportunities in security, energy, connectivity, and irregular migration will be on the agenda as well, it added.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu "will also hold bilateral meetings with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts," the statement said.

Turkey, Qatar, and the United Nations had planned to co-convene a high-level conference in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, with the participation of the Afghan government and the Taliban.

But the conference had been postponed due to the Taliban's refusal to attend. Enditem
Deluxe (NYSE: DLX), a Trusted Business Technology company, today announced an agreement to acquire First American Payment Systems (First American) for $960 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. This transaction is expected to accelerate the companys transformation into a leading payments technology company as part of its One Deluxe strategy.

First American is a privately owned, industry-leading, large-scale payment processor. The company provides partners and merchants with comprehensive in-store, online, and mobile payment solutions, including powerful digital payment processing services that help customers navigate through traditional, mobile, and virtual point-of-sale channels. With the acquisition of First American, Deluxe is expected to double the annual revenue of its Payments segment while maintaining healthy margins, firmly establishing Deluxe as a leader in the payments industry.

This is a major, logical and responsible next step in our transformation. With electronic payments playing an increasingly important role across the economy, the addition of First Americans independent, leading payments platform will advance our One Deluxe strategy and our overall growth trajectory, said Barry McCarthy, President and CEO of Deluxe. Deluxe serves an integral part of the payments industry, with our software and services processing more than $2.8 trillion annually. First Americans end-to-end payments platform presents significant cross-sell opportunities as we continue to invest in our higher growth Payments segment, and this combination will create a multitude of opportunities to drive tremendous value for our shareholders.

Our acquisition of First American will enable Deluxe to participate in merchant services, a part of the strong secular growth payments industry, said Michael Reed, President of Payments for Deluxe. With this combination, Deluxe and First American customers will have access to a broader array of valuable and robust technology services and solutions. We expect to offer these merchant services to our thousands of financial institution customers, millions of small businesses and hundreds of the worlds biggest brands through our established and highly effective sales and distribution system. Importantly, we are excited to welcome First American to our shared customer-centric culture and strong platform for revenue growth, capital investment, and future job opportunities.

Todays announcement is a testament to the accomplishments of the First American team over the last 30 years that have established our company as a deeply trusted payments partner with an unwavering focus on customer service, said Neil Randel, Chief Executive Officer of First American. In joining forces with a Fortune 1000 publicly traded company, we are advancing our mission to create innovative solutions as we continue to help our customers succeed and prosper. I look forward to working closely with Barry, Mike and the team to exponentially grow our combined company and deliver enhanced value to all of our stakeholders.

Upon close of the transaction, the First American management team will join the Deluxe Payments team, and Randel will become Managing Director, Merchant Services.

Joining Two Payments Platforms Expected to Create Powerful Scale and Significant Growth Opportunities

The combination is expected to generate significant near-term revenue synergies.

The addition of First Americans scalable, omni-channel payment technology and proprietary back-end processing and settlement platform will further advance the Deluxe transformation.

The combination of First Americans diversified distribution channels of independent software vendors (ISVs), financial institutions (FIs), and independent sales organizations with Deluxes thousands of FIs and millions of small business customers will add cross-sell opportunities and significantly expand distribution scale.

Deluxe anticipates cross-selling opportunities in new verticals, including government, not-for-profit and retail, among others, supporting the unified One Deluxe approach to sales, technology, and customer relationships.

First American brings new capabilities to help businesses consolidate their platforms and integrate payments through powerful yet simple-to-use point-of-sale solutions.

First Americans technology platform will enable Deluxe to engage in dynamic innovation across its three other business segments (Cloud Solutions, Promotional Solutions and Checks) and enables a broader range of future M&A opportunities.

Having operated a successful business for over 30 years, First Americans management team brings substantial payments expertise that will enhance the strong bench of talent in place at Deluxe.

Preview of Preliminary First Quarter 2021 Results (unaudited)

Deluxe delivers a strong start to 2021, steadily improving sequential performance as promised, and exceeded consensus expectations. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be up 7% to 9% year over year.

Adjusted EBITDA margin is anticipated to increase 300 to 350 basis points year over year.

Release of first quarter 2021 financial results and conference call scheduled for May 6, 2021.

Transaction Details

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition.

Deluxe will finance the acquisition with a combination of secured and unsecured debt. Following completion, the companys expected net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio is expected to be approximately 4.0x, with a long-term target leverage ratio of approximately 3.0x, or below.

Advisors

Cowen is serving as Deluxes exclusive financial advisor, while Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP are serving as legal counsel to Deluxe in connection with the transaction.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is serving as legal counsel to First American.
Californias public schools lost more than 160,000 students amid the pandemic, a striking decline in enrollment that could have a long-term impact on the financial stability of districts across the state.

The decline was mostly among kindergarten through third grade, which lost 107,000 students this school year.

State officials said they were drilling down to identify where those families went  and if they would be back.

All told, the states public schools enrolled 6,002,523 traditional and charter school students at the beginning of the school year, a 3% decline, officials said.

Its complex, said Stephanie Gregson, chief deputy at the California Department of Education. Every family has their own unique circumstances.

Its unclear how many students moved out of state, transferred to private schools, opted to homeschool this year or just stopped attending.

The data is from the one-day annual enrollment snapshot in October. It does not include any students who might have left the public system since, numbers that wont be publicly available until the fall.

It is concerning to see this decrease, especially those in our youngest grades, said state Superintendent Tony Thurmond in a statement. Thurmond said that as more schools reopen, enrollment might rebound, but we also must help schools identify opportunities to engage with families who either sought new options for their students during the pandemic, or need additional resources and support to connect with school and succeed.

The decline was among traditional public schools, with charter schools showing a slight increase of about 15,000 students. Individual charter schools and private schools were more likely to reopen than large districts, where logistical challenges were greater and labor agreements required.

The state data shows that about 30,000 students enrolled in new private schools registered this year with the state. The vast majority, more than 27,000, were in private schools serving five students or less, typically homeschool environments. Its unclear whether those students were previously in private schools or in public schools.

San Francisco Unified dipped to 51,756 students, down 1,000 students from the previous October, while the citys charter schools took an even bigger enrollment hit, down 1,300 students to a total of 6,949.

The pandemic has changed the circumstances of many, not just families in San Francisco, and enrollment decline can be seen in many school districts throughout the state, said district spokeswoman Gentle Blythe. Each story is different  some may be moving away, some may be choosing other schools. While we do demographic projections to help us plan for predicted enrollment, none of those projections accounted for this pandemic and its many reverberations.

The district is probably looking at a loss of more students in the fall, with more than 500 fewer applications for kindergarten and other grades compared to last year. That number doesnt include current families in the district that wont return in August.

That could be offset by a surge of students over the summer, including school-age immigrants in process at the countrys southern border.

Parent Lorin Yin will have to decide in the next two weeks whether she will be among those leaving San Franciscos public school system. Her second-grade son currently attends the Mandarin immersion program at Starr King Elementary, but has been accepted to a similar program at a private school.

The slow reopening of district schools and the treatment of parents advocating for a return to in-person learning by officials was too much to bear, Lin said, who spent hours waiting for the topic to come up during school board meetings.

It was embarrassing to be in those board meetings at hour seven, she said. It completely broke me this year.

The family has been dedicated advocates for public schools, volunteering and working to make their elementary school more equitable and less segregated between the Mandarin program and traditional classes.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Lin said she still is concerned the public schools will not fully reopen in the fall, despite the fact that the school board pledged in early April to reopen schools full-time in the fall to all students. Lin said if schools dont fully reopen it would be untenable for her family given their work schedules.

Theres no version of this where we would have voluntarily left the school, Lin said. I feel pushed out of the school system. I feel like Im not fleeing it, I feel like Im being kicked out.

The long-term implications of enrollment loss could devastate districts like San Francisco already grappling with huge budget deficits.

Districts will not lose any state funding because of declining enrollment, at least until the 2022-23 school year. But beyond that, its possible that the loss of students could hit the bottom line of local school systems, reducing state funding by an estimated $10,000 per student or more  or about $10 million in San Francisco.

While the state and federal government have pushed billions of dollars into the schools this year, that is largely one-time funding meant to assist districts address pandemic-related needs.

In Oakland, the district non-charter schools lost about 665 students year over year, bringing enrollment down to 35,489  a record low among the past two decades.

Its unclear what the enrollment declines across the state would mean in terms of layoffs or other cuts, state officials said.

Its too soon to tell, Gregson said.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 21:20:52|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson from China's top legislature on Thursday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the passing of the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

You Wenze, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, said the U.S. bill is full of Cold War mentality and ideological bias and wantonly distorts and attacks China's development strategies as well as its domestic and foreign policies.

It has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, You added.

The bill is neither in line with the trend of the times nor conducive to promoting peace, stability and development of the world, said You. "It is doomed to go nowhere."

The Taiwan-related clauses in the bill severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and the bill has also sent misleading signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the spokesperson added.

Reiterating that the one-China principle is China's red line, You said China firmly opposes any form of official interactions between the United States and Taiwan.

Issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely China's internal affairs which allow no foreign interference, You added.

He noted that China has always called for developing a China-U.S. relationship featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and it is firmly committed to protecting its national sovereignty, security and development interests.

"We strongly urge the U.S. Congress to stop reviewing and promoting the bill," You said. Enditem
U.S. Justice Department opens probe into Minneapolis policing practices following Chauvin conviction

Xinhua) 10:33, April 22, 2021

Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland speaks during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, Feb. 22, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Pool via Xinhua)

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the aim of the investigation is to assess whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday opened a civil investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department's practices, one day after the conviction of former Minneapolis police offer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a news conference that the aim of the investigation, which is separate from the federal criminal investigation into Floyd's death that has already been underway, is to assess whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests.

The just-announced investigation falls into the category known as "pattern-or-practice investigations," which the DOJ has said often examine "whether the police department has engaged in a pattern or practice of stops, searches, or arrests that violate the Fourth Amendment; use of excessive force; discriminatory policing; violation of the constitutional rights of criminal suspects; or violation of First Amendment rights."

"The investigation will also assess whether the MPD engages in discriminatory conduct, and whether its treatment of those with behavioral health disabilities is unlawful," Garland said, adding the probe will "include a comprehensive review of the Minneapolis Police Department's policies, training, supervision and use-of-force investigations."

Demonstrators are arrested during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the United States, May 31, 2020. (Photo by Angus Alexander/Xinhua)

Garland said that if the DOJ concludes "there's reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing," they will issue a public report of their conclusions and the agency has the authority to bring a civil lawsuit asking a federal court to "provide injunctive relief that orders the MPD to change its policies and practices to avoid further violations."

The attorney general said the DOJ "has already begun to reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with the MPD," adding federal investigators will also reach out to police officers to gather information related to the training and support they receive.

"The challenges we face are deeply woven into our history. They did not arise today or last year. Building trust between community and law enforcement will take time and effort by all of us, but we undertake this task with determination and urgency knowing that change cannot wait," Garland said at the end of his remarks.

Garland's announcement came one day after a jury found Chauvin guilty on all the three criminal charges against him -- second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter -- for kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a black man, for nine minutes and 29 seconds in May 2020.

The former police officer could face up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, up to 25 years for third-degree murder and up to 10 years for manslaughter.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
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The Lagos State Police Command on Thursday arrested a popular Yoruba actor, Olarenwaju James aka Baba Ijesha, for allegedly defiling a minor.

The Lagos State Police spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said preliminary findings revealed that the suspect allegedly began sexually assaulting the victim, 14 , since she was 7 year old.

The suspect confessed to the crime and was also captured by a CCTV camera in the house of the complainant, he said.

The case of defilement was reported on Monday by Princess Adekola Adekanya at Sabo Police Station, Yaba, Lagos.

The case was then transferred to the Gender Unit of the State CID, Panti, Yaba Lagos, for proper investigation.

He also added that the Commissioner of Police,Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered for proper investigation as he promised to do justice in the matter.

The actor, who belongs to the league of Baba Suwe and Mr Latin, opted for a quiet wedding in 2012 .

He earned the moniker, Baba Ijesha, due to his ability to mimic an old unintelligent man in movies.

He shot into limelight after starring in Omo Orita which was written and produced by Saheed Balogun.

A comic actor, some of his popular works include Arokan, Baba Masoko, Baba Mario, Gelede, Opolo, Sagba di were and, Baba Kondison.
Now that we are within a month of the RSA conference, the security diaspora must prepare itself for a cacophony of hyperbole around three industry initiatives: Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), eXtended Detection and Response (XDR), and zero trust.

Yup, all three areas are innovative and extremely promising, but a bit overwhelming as well. Look for more from me on SASE and zero trust in the coming weeks. For now, we'll focus on XDR.

ESG research indicates that 83% of organizations will increase threat detection/response spending in 2021a clear indication that current tools and techniques are inadequate. XDR could capitalize on this market demand but only if vendors can cut through industry embellishment and really connect with security professionals. Look for XDR vendors to come to virtual RSA with clear communications around:
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee on Thursday made his first public appearance since being jailed in January, as he attended court to face charges of fraud and stock manipulation amid calls for his release.

The 52-year-old head of the world's biggest memory chip maker wore a dark suit and white shirt as he entered the courtroom for the hearing, media reported.

The heir to one of South Korea's most powerful family-run business empires is accused of fraud and stock manipulation and could face a fresh jail term if convicted.

Pressure is mounting on the government to pardon Lee for a previous conviction of bribery and other offences, for which he has served half of a 30-month sentence.

Business lobby groups and some lawmakers say he should be freed to help South Korea secure supplies of coronavirus vaccines.

"Utilising Vice Chairman Lee's global network will help in securing the COVID-19 vaccine," Kwon Tae-shin, vice chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries, told Reuters.

A conservative opposition member of parliament, Park Jin, told Reuters South Korean investment in semiconductor production in the United States also could be leveraged to secure U.S. vaccines.

Samsung is considering building a $17 billion chip factory in the United States, while Seoul has noted its potential role in helping U.S. President Joe Biden preserve the global chip supply chain.

The United States has said its first priority is vaccinating Americans, although it has promised to look into options to help other countries bolster their supplies.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is due to visit Washington for a summit with Biden next month.

South Korea has reported 116,661 coronavirus cases and 1,808 deaths from COVID-19, but just 3% of the population has been vaccinated due to problems with vaccine supplies.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Sangmi Cha; Editing by Jack Kim and Stephen Coates)
RTHK: Time running out for crew on missing Indonesian sub

Indonesian warships led the hunt on Thursday for a submarine that went missing with 53 crew aboard and only enough oxygen for a few days.

An oil spill where the submarine was thought to have submerged early on Wednesday pointed to possible fuel-tank damage, and fanned fears of a deadly disaster.

The crew on the KRI Nanggala 402 could have enough oxygen until early Saturday, but time was quickly running out as rescuers scoured the coast off holiday island Bali where it disappeared.

"There's time until Saturday around 3:00 am. Let's hope we can find them before then," Navy Chief of Staff Yudo Margono told reporters.

However, defence analysts have warned that the vessel could have already broken into pieces if it has sunk to depths believed to be as much as 700 metres - well below what it was built to withstand.

Indonesia's president Joko Widodo asked his country to pray for the crew, while Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said initial reports raised the prospect of a "terrible tragedy".

The German-built submarine was scheduled to conduct live torpedo exercises when it asked for permission to dive. It lost contact shortly after.

Search teams were focused on an area around the oil slick.

But the exact location of the vessel had yet to be pinpointed, the navy said, with warships and helicopters assisting in the hunt.

Damage to the submarine's fuel tank could spell big trouble.

"If your tank's cracked it is not very good news," said Collin Koh, a naval affairs specialist and research fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"Because we are talking about the pressure hull of the submarine being breached. So it could cause potential flooding."

Neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia have already dispatched ships that are expected to arrive in the coming days, including the city-state's MV Swift Rescue - a submarine rescue vessel.

India said on Thursday it had sent a ship to assist in the hunt, while the United States, Australia, France and Germany are among other nations that have offered help.

Indonesia's military has so far refused to comment about whether the decades-old submarine, carrying 53 crew, was over capacity.

But it has said the submarine might have sunk to vast depths after a blackout that left its crew powerless to control the vessel.

"There are too many unknowns right now," said Curie Maharani, a defense expert at Indonesia's Bina Nusantara university.

"But what we do know is that it's a race against time."

Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, warned that rescuing any surviving crew quickly would be near impossible.

"If the submarine is on the seabed, and if it is in the depth of water that is there, there is little they can do to actually get the people out," he told Australian media.

Indonesia, which has been moving to upgrade its ageing military equipment in recent years, has five German and South Korean-built submarines in its fleet.

The 1,300-tonne KRI Nanggala 402 was first delivered for service in 1981.

It is a Type 209 diesel-electric attack submarine, a model that over the past half century has featured in more than a dozen navies around the world, including those of Greece, India, Argentina and Turkey.

While Indonesia has not previously suffered a major submarine disaster, other countries have been struck by accidents in the past.

Among them was the 2000 sinking of the Kursk, the pride of Russia's Northern Fleet.

That submarine was on manoeuvres in the Barents Sea when it sank with the loss of all 118 aboard. An inquiry found a torpedo had exploded, detonating all the others.

Most of its crew died instantly but some survived for several days - with a few keeping heart-breaking diaries written in blood to their loved ones - before suffocating.

In 2003, 70 Chinese naval officers and crew were killed, apparently suffocated, in an accident on a Ming-class submarine during exercises in 2003.

Five years later, 20 people were killed by poisonous gas when a fire extinguishing system was accidentally activated on a Russian submarine being tested in the Sea of Japan.

And in 2018, authorities found the wreckage of an Argentine submarine that had gone missing a year earlier with 44 sailors aboard. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 19:06:59|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Russia kicked off large-scale military exercises in Crimea on Thursday amid escalated tensions with Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had arrived in the peninsula to oversee the drills involving troops from the country's Southern Military District and the Airborne Forces.

More than 10,000 soldiers and over 1,200 units of weapons and military equipment, including 40 warships and 20 supporting vessels, will participate in the exercises.

The main stage of the drills, part of nationwide combat readiness checks, will be carried out at the Opuk training ground near the Crimean cities of Feodosia and Kerch later on Thursday. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 17:08:03|Editor: huaxia

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WELLINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand and Australian foreign ministers on Thursday discussed ways to continue and deepen bilateral cooperation to "meet the shared challenges facing our region."

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne met in the New Zealand capital Wellington for the biannual Australia-New Zealand foreign minister consultations.

Payne's visit is the first official visit by the side of Australia to New Zealand since both countries imposed border restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The ministers welcomed the chance to meet in person for the first time, following the commencement of the two-way quarantine-free travel on Monday, which allowed the reunion of many families separated by the Tasman Sea and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

They reaffirmed their intent to work together to preserve the liberal international order that has underpinned stability and prosperity in the region, and to foster a sustainable regional balance where all countries -- large and small -- can freely pursue their legitimate interests.

The ministers also highlighted the importance of strengthening gender equality, including promoting women in leadership in the Pacific and initiatives on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

They reiterated both governments' commitment to a resilient and united Pacific region underpinned by robust regional architecture, and to continuing to help Pacific island countries manage the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, including support for the rollout of vaccines. Enditem
(Newser)  North Carolina sheriff's deputies showed up Wednesday to execute a search warrant on a Black man, and that man is now dead after a deputy fatally shot him. Per ABC News, Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten says Andrew Brown Jr., believed to be in his early 40s, was killed around 8:30am when deputies arrived at his home in Elizabeth City to serve the warrant. A witness tells the AP that deputies fired multiple shots at Brown as he was driving away, and that Brown's car veered off the road and crashed into a tree. "When they opened the door ... he was slumped over," she says. Few other details about the shooting were mentioned, including how many shots were fired or what the search warrant was for. "It's been a tragic day," Wooten said, adding that the officer did have an active body camera and that, while he wasn't ready to release that footage, the department is vowing to be "transparent" about what happened.

story continues below

Court records show Brown has a history of drug charges, as well as a conviction for drug possession, a misdemeanor. Protesters gathered later Wednesday, expressing frustration at how little info has been made available about the shooting and demanding bodycam footage be released. "There is a moment of hurt in Elizabeth City," Councilman Darius J. Horton said at an evening meeting, per USA Today. A friend tells the News & Observer that Brown, said to be a father of 10, wasn't violent, noting, "He didn't mess with guns." The friend adds, "He didn't deserve to die." The deputy who killed Brown, meanwhile, has been placed on leave pending a probe into the shooting by the State Bureau of Investigation, which will then share its findings with District Attorney Andrew Womble. Womble, for his part, says his office will seek "accurate answers and not fast answers." (Read more police shooting stories.)
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A group of climate activists have dumped wheelbarrows full of cow manure outside the White House to protest President Joe Biden's climate plan.

The protesters are said to be from Extinction Rebellion, a group that often performs stunt protests.

Extinction Rebellion describe themselves as 'a global environmental movement with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.'

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion pushed wheelbarrows full of cow dung through the streets and emptied them in front of the White House.

Dozens of protesters have gathered on Earth Day to dump mounds of cow poop at the White House

Activists dumped more than a dozen wheelbarrows of cow manure at the White House

Protest began early on Thursday morning with activists tipping over wheelbarrows of muck

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion DC protest President Joe Biden's plan to cut US emissions in half by 2030, which they deem 'far too little, far too late,' near the White House

The climate activists are calling on Biden to do more, arguing that the U.S. should aim for a reduction of at least 70 percent

Climate activists gathered in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to dump wheelbarrows full of cow poop near the White House

Demonstrators then dumped the manure onto the street, along with signs and banners reading, 'Stop the bulls***,' and 'Declare climate emergency now!'

The dung dump came as a two-day virtual climate change summit kicked off on Thursday with 40 world leaders

The White Rebels and Extinction Rebellion DC block 17th Street after dumping cow manure outside the White House on Earth Day

On Thursday, several protesters tipped over wheelbarrows in full view of the gates of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

After dumping the cow manure in front of the White House, a sign was placed in the pile reading, 'Stop the bulls***.' Another sign held up read, 'Declare climate emergency now.'

Members of the group also held banners that read, 'DECLARE A CLIMATE EMERGENCY NOW' and 'BIDEN'S 2030 PLAN = MASS DEATH.'

The group say they want to bring attention to 'Biden's Bulls**t Climate Plan' and demand that President Biden declare a climate and ecological emergency under the National Emergencies Act and set a net-zero emissions target of 2025.

Biden's has committed the U.S. fossil fuel emissions up to 52% by 2030 which is in line with pledges made by other countries.

A group of at least a dozen demonstrators pushed pink wheelbarrows downtown toward the White House

The White Rebels and Extinction Rebellion DC protest outside the White House

The protest came on the same day Biden spoke about the seriousness of climate change and how his administration will attempt to deal with it. He said the U.S. 'has resolved to take action'

Extinction Rebellion D.C., took the streets of D.C. and packed cow manure in pink wheelbarrows near Rawlins Park

Photos showed the piles of dung lingering in the street even after demonstrators dispersed

Extinction Rebellion said, 'Net-zero by 2030 and other not in my term of office scams are far too little, far too late. Biden is punting the crisis to future generations with targets that rely on unproven technologies sucking carbon out of the atmosphere'

The Extinction Rebellion deem Biden's plan to cut US emissions in half by 2030 'far too little, far too late'

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion DC leave a pile of manure on 17th Street near the White House to protest US President Joe Biden's plan to cut US emissions in half by 2030

Activists with Extinction Rebellion DC dumped 'heaps of cow s***' from bright pink wheelbarrows in front of the east side of the White House 'in response to Biden's bulls*** climate plan.'

Extinction Rebellion Washington D.C. announced their intention to mount the protest on Twitter on Wednesday, criticizing the president's approach to the climate change crisis

The president announced 'a new target for the United States to achieve a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030

Protestors get ready to begin their protest using poop in pink wheelbarrows

The pledge will be made later on Thursday during an all-virtual climate summit for 40 world leaders.

Biden's commitment sees a return by the U.S. to global climate efforts after four years of withdrawal under President Donald Trump.

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which former President Donald Trump rejected and Biden rejoined, aims to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Extinction Rebellion activists say this target is unattainable under the administration's plan.

The new urgency comes as scientists say that climate change caused by coal plants, car engines and other fossil fuel use is already worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and that humans are running out of time to stave off most catastrophic extremes of global warming.

'Net-zero by 2030 and other not in my term of office scams are far too little, far too late,' said Reilly Polka, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.

Extinction Rebellion DC dumps cow manure at the entrance to the White House on Earth Day

Extinction Rebellion DC marches with pink wheelbarrows to dump heaps of cow manure

The activists dumped piles of manure in the street in front of the White House to protest Biden not doing enough to help combat climate change

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion DC protest President Joe Biden's plan to cut US emissions in half by 2030, which they deem 'far too little, far too late'

Extinction Rebellion is a global environmental movement committed to using nonviolent civil disobedience to bring about government action on climate change

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which former President Donald Trump rejected and Biden rejoined, aims to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels

Members of the Extinction Rebellion chanted using megaphones

World leaders virtually attend the Leaders Summit on Climate, as seen from the East Room of the White House

President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the White House as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, looks on

'Biden is punting the crisis to future generations with targets that rely on unproven technologies sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. This is a massive gamble to take when the well-being of the human species and the richness of life on earth is at stake. If he cared he'd set targets that expire while he's still in office. We can't keep waiting, we need change now,' the group said in a statement.

The group said in a statement that if Biden does not meet their demands they plan to continue 'acts of non-violent civil disobedience.'

Biden is set to open a global climate summit on Thursday with a pledge to cut at least in half the climate-wrecking coal and petroleum fumes that the U.S. pumps out, a commitment he hopes will spur China and other big polluters to speed up efforts of their own.

The activists methodically dumped the poop on the streets outside the White House

The activists marched towards the outside of the White House early on Thursday morning

Activists halt traffic and dump a pile of manure outside the White House while protesting against President Joe Biden's climate change policy on Earth Day

Despite the White House hosting a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day, the activists said Biden is 'punting the crisis to future generations'

Activists halt traffic outside the White House while protesting against President Joe Biden's climate change policy on Earth Day

Protesters used bright pink wheelbarrows to dump heaps of cow manure at the intersection of New York Avenue and 17th Street NW on the west side of the White House campus

The activists dumped the poop on the streets outside the White House
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Vantara, the digital infrastructure, data management, and digital solutions subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced it is partnering with One Tree Planted, an environmental non-profit focused on global reforestation, to plant 100,000 trees across the globe. In honor of Earth Day and as part of its commitment to create a more sustainable future for our world, Hitachi Vantara will contribute to fund the planting of new trees in areas of greatest need and in areas devastated by natural disasters, including Australia, India, Vietnam, Canada, Brazil, Spain and areas within the United States.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded all of us of the fragility of our society and the role we all must play to make a better and more just world a reality," said Gajen Kandiah, CEO at Hitachi Vantara. "At Hitachi, a commitment to social innovation has been part of our DNA for 110 years. Giving back to our planet and its people, via this partnership with One Tree Planted, is a commitment we are proud to make on Earth Day."

Some of the One Tree Planted campaigns that Hitachi Vantara will support will be in areas that need forests for clean air, filtered water and provides habitats for biodiversity, including:

Australia : Trees will be planted to recover forests affected by the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfire, enhance biodiversity, and restore native habitat vital for wildlife.

: Trees will be planted to recover forests affected by the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfire, enhance biodiversity, and restore native habitat vital for wildlife. Brazil : Trees will be planted in rural communities to help support local agriculture and community income.

: Trees will be planted in rural communities to help support local agriculture and community income. Canada : Reforesting will help increase species diversity and promote climate change resilience.

: Reforesting will help increase species diversity and promote climate change resilience. India : Fruit trees will be planted to help provide much-needed food and nutrition to impoverished communities.

: Fruit trees will be planted to help provide much-needed food and nutrition to impoverished communities. Spain : The project aims to recover portions of lost forests, improve the habitat of endangered species, reduce land erosion, and offset carbon dioxide impacts.

: The project aims to recover portions of lost forests, improve the habitat of endangered species, reduce land erosion, and offset carbon dioxide impacts. United States : Restoration efforts in California will help restore forests that have been impacted by drought and devastated by wildfires.

: Restoration efforts in will help restore forests that have been impacted by drought and devastated by wildfires. Vietnam : Planting native trees will help restore Vietnam's forests, protect threatened species, provide economic stability for villagers and safeguard watersheds that serve local communities.

Hitachi Vantara is committed to creating a better future through social innovation. Its Social Innovation Business aims to address societal issues and drives social, environmental, and economic value in business and society.

Learn more

Connect with Hitachi Vantara

About Hitachi Vantara

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., guides our customers from what's now to what's next by solving their digital challenges. Working alongside each customer, we apply our unmatched industrial and digital capabilities to their data and applications to benefit both business and society. More than 80% of the Fortune 100 trust Hitachi Vantara to help them develop new revenue streams, unlock competitive advantages, lower costs, enhance customer experiences, and deliver social and environmental value. Visit us at www.hitachivantara.com.

About One Tree Planted

One Tree Planted is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment by planting trees. Their projects span the globe and are done in partnership with local communities and knowledgeable experts to create an impact for nature, people, and wildlife. Reforestation helps to rebuild forests after fires and floods, provide jobs for social impact, and restore biodiversity. Many projects have overlapping objectives, creating a combination of benefits that contribute to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. To learn more, visit onetreeplanted.org

SOURCE Hitachi Vantara Corporation

Related Links

www.hitachivantara.com


If youre following the news, youll know that (P)resident Biden is today hosting a global climate summit, in which his bid is a 50 percent cut in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Most of the incompetent news stories typically neglect to report that the Biden target is set to the baseline year of 2005, which was conveniently about the highest year for U.S. emissions. (The Paris Climate Accords, incidentally, didnt select a baseline year, but allowed each signatory nation to select their own baselineincluding some future business as usual projection that might not come to pass in any caseagainst which to make a pledge. Let that sink in for a minute. The U.S. chose 2005, even though Obama signed the accord in 2015.) Since weve reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 15 percent since 2005thank you fracking!were already about one-third of the way to Bidens target, and without a signing ceremony on the White House lawn!

Theres lots of nonsense to observe today, including the fact that the hard core climatistas are not satisfied:

Question: Will the climatistas who dumped the cow manure clean it up when they are done chanting? Will the media follow up and report if they dont? (Past Earth Day rallies in Washington have left heaping piles of trash.)

Among the many things to be said about the issue, if you believe the conventional view of the matter, the real action is in the developing world. Even John Long Face Kerry says so in this 17-second video:

The Paris Climate Accord held out bribes for the developing world starting at $100 billion by the year 2020. How many of those pledges came through? Heh. The Puffington Host reports:

The Paris Agreement included a $100 billion U.N.-administered Green Climate Fund to help poorer countries pull their people out of poverty with clean energy investments. Nearly six years later, the fund is barely one-tenth of the way to being fully financed.
Help India!



In a condolence message, the JIH President said Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was undoubtedly an outstanding thinker who had a profound impact on our times. Maulanas role in uniting different religious groups in the country and creating an atmosphere of dialogue and discussion between them is unforgettable.

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New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind President Syed Sadatullah Husaini has expressed condolences over the passing away of noted Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.

In a condolence message, the JIH President, said, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan was undoubtedly an outstanding thinker who had a profound impact on our times. Maulanas role in uniting different religious groups in the country and creating an atmosphere of dialogue and discussion between them is unforgettable. The efforts of the late Maulana to present Islam in a modern style and with strong scientific and logical arguments will always remain his abiding legacy. Some of his books like  The Challenge of Modern Science, Religion and Science, The Greatness of the Quran, Islam the progenitor of Modern Times, The Prophet, the Revolution and Modern Times, etc. have made Maulana Wahiduddin Khan a legendary figure in the Islamic scholarly traditions of the subcontinent.

Mr Husaini further said, Maulana was the founder of a unique and attractive style of Urdu prose. His ability to express complex scholarly subjects with great brevity in a lucid style and simple language was testimony to his remarkable writing skills and it has influenced many generations of writers. The production of Islamic literature in English and various regional languages is also one of his great achievements. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan had his views over the interpretation of Islam and the approach that the Muslim community and its leaders should adopt towards its affairs. Many scholars have rightly disagreed with these views. However, this does not diminish the importance of his scholarly achievements and his great services towards the cause of Islam. He was one of the masters of modern theology and his contributions will continue to benefit the world of Islamic academia. His writings that introduced Islam to the common man will continue to serve humanity and promote communal amity.

The JIH chief continued, I have personally benefited a lot from Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. I have been reading his books and monthly magazine since my childhood. I have interacted with him during my student days and was impressed by Maulanas compassion, love and kindness. May Allah forgive the late Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and accept his services. We share the grief of his sons Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, Dr Sani Isnain Khan and offer our condolences to them and relatives.
PRAGUE  Russias unraveling relations with the West took a dramatic turn for the worse on Thursday when the Czech Republic, furious over what it said were Moscows fingerprints on a military-style sabotage attack on a Czech weapons warehouse in 2014, ordered the expulsion of as many as 60 Russian diplomats.

The Czech move, announced a day after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia warned that the West risked a fast and tough response if it interfered with his country, escalated not only a diplomatic crisis between Prague and Moscow but also a wider showdown between Russia and NATO, of which the Czech Republic is a member.

With Russian troops massing near the border with Ukraine and President Biden taking a tough stand against the Kremlin, Mr. Putin on Wednesday bluntly warned the West not to test Russias resolve in defending its interests, telling it not to cross unspecified red lines that he said would be defined by Russia.

The slashing of staff at Moscows embassy in Prague does not directly challenge Russian security. But it will severely damage intelligence operations, something that Mr. Putin, a K.G.B. officer in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, views as vitally important.
Greenberg Traurig, LLPs David J. Dykeman, patent attorney, co-chair of the firms Life Sciences & Medical Technology Practice, and co-managing shareholder of the Boston office, and Robert A. Sherman, senior counsel in the Litigation Practice and former United States Ambassador to Portugal, will present IP Strategy for Early Stage Companies to Portugal Ventures and its portfolio companies on April 21.

During this invitation-only event, Portugal Ventures portfolio companies will learn the types of intellectual property, best practices for protecting innovations, and winning IP strategies. Portugal Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in startups in the digital, engineering & industry, life sciences, and tourism sectors.

Dykeman is a registered patent attorney with nearly 25 years of experience in patent and intellectual property law. His practice focuses on securing worldwide intellectual property protection and related business strategies for high tech clients, with particular experience in life sciences, medical devices, robotics, materials, and information technology. An author of over 55 articles and a speaker at over 50 conferences on intellectual property law, he is the founding co-chair of the American Bar Association (ABA)s Medical Devices Committee. David has also been named one of the top 250 Patent and Technology Licensing Practitioners in the world by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine, an "IP Star" by Managing IP magazine, a "Life Science Star" by LMG Life Sciences, one of the World's Leading IP Strategists in the IAM 300, and is listed in Chambers.

Sherman is a founding member and former co-managing shareholder of the firms Boston office. From 2014-2017, he served as the United States Ambassador to Portugal, having been nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. As Ambassador, he focused heavily on bilateral economic development and international security issues, such as cybersecurity, refugees, narcoterrorism, and NATO. In recognition of his work in the country, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decorated him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator in March 2017. At Greenberg Traurig, Sherman focuses his practice on government and regulatory investigations and litigation, internal corporate investigations - with an emphasis on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance  as well as consumer protection and class action defense.

About Greenberg Traurigs Intellectual Property & Technology Practice: With more than 200 intellectual property attorneys and patent agents in the United States, Asia, and Europe, Greenberg Traurig provides a broad range of patent, trademark and copyright protection and strategic counseling. Greenberg Traurig was named Law Firm of the Year for Trademark Law and a National Tier 1 Law Firm for IP Litigation, Patent Law and Litigation, Copyright Law, and Technology Law by U.S. News and Best Lawyers, 2020 Best Law Firms."

About Greenberg Traurigs Boston Office: Established in 1999, Greenberg Traurigs Boston office is home to more than 75 attorneys practicing in the areas of bankruptcy and restructuring, corporate, emerging technology, energy, environmental, financial services, gaming, governmental affairs, intellectual property, labor and employment, life sciences and medical technology, litigation, public finance, and real estate. An important contributor to the firm's international platform, the Boston office includes a team of nationally recognized attorneys with both public and private sector experience. The team offers clients the value of decades of helping clients in complex legal matters and hands-on knowledge of the local business community, supported by the firm's vast network of global resources.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio  For several months, health experts have framed the state of the pandemic as a race to get as many people as possible vaccinated against COVID-19 to limit the spread of more contagious variants of the virus.

The race began in earnest four months ago, when Ohio provided its first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to health care workers. Around the same time, variants of the original strain of the coronavirus began emerging in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil.

Experts believe the race between getting people vaccinated and the variants could be the key to our ability to return to normal sooner rather than later. So which side is winning?

Ohio, like many other states, is currently at an important crossroads in that race, experts said. The state has made notable progress in vaccinating its population, but not enough to prevent the spread of the variants.

Until enough of the population is vaccinated to reach herd immunity, there is a threat that a variant could take hold and spread throughout Ohio, the same way the B.1.1.7 variant from the U.K. has caused Michigan to become a hot spot for infections, experts said.

Experts worry vaccine hesitancy could be the biggest barrier to reaching herd immunity. Recent polls have suggested more than one-quarter of Americans are hesitant or unwilling to get the vaccine, often because of concerns related to potential side effects. Even some who are willing to get the shot have told pollsters they dont feel a sense or urgency to get the vaccine. Experts across the U.S. have said they are worried we may be approaching a tipping point where supply of the vaccine outpaces the demand.

Right now, unfortunately, cases have been increasing, mainly because of these variants, said Dr. Thomas File, an infectious disease physician at Summa Health. We dont have enough of the population immune to stop persistent and ongoing transmission. We need to get it higher.

More than 38% of Ohio residents had received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Wednesday, and more than 27% have completed their vaccinations, according to data from the states Department of Health. But there are already concerning signs that demand for the vaccine might be slowing down. Summit County Public Health announced Wednesday that it is scaling back the mass vaccination clinic at the Summit County Fairgrounds due to decreased demand for the shots.

Experts have consistently said at least 70% of the population  and possibly more -- will need to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity. Meanwhile, coronavirus variants accounted for more than one-third of infections in Ohio when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided its most recent update back on March 27.

The problem is that the longer many Americans wait to get the vaccine, the greater the chance another coronavirus variant will emerge. Every time the virus is passed to someone new, it has a chance to replicate and mutate, said Dr. Daniel Rhoads, who specializes in pathology and laboratory medicine at Cleveland Clinic. Many of those mutations will be harmless, but theres always a dice-roll it could mutate into a more dangerous variant, he said.

The likelihood Im going to be infected by a currently circulating variant is pretty low because Ive been vaccinated, he said. But if the virus continues to mutate, potentially it could get worse than the current variants.

The most recent data from the CDC, updated through March 27, shows coronavirus variants accounted for at least one-third of all infections in Ohio. The number is likely higher by now, experts said.

The variants in Ohio

Variants already accounted for more than one-third of infections in Ohio when the CDC provided its most recent data for a four-week period ending March 27. The percentage is almost certainly higher now, experts said.

The B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the U.K. is the most common variant in Ohio, accounting for 25.8% of the states infections as of March 27. Less common are two coronavirus mutations discovered in California (6.6%), the B.1.351 variant discovered in South Africa (1.4%) and the P.1 variant discovered in Brazil (0.8%).

Those might not seem like high percentages, but they are cause for concern, said Mark Cameron, an infectious disease researcher and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University. Among all 50 states, Ohio has seen the sixth-highest percentage of infections linked to the variants from Brazil and South Africa; and the 16th-highest percentage linked to the variants from the U.K. and California.

It means that despite our rosy picture of getting the vaccine rolled out  it really is a race. Thats absolutely appropriate, Cameron said. Because [infection] numbers have been increasing over the past few months despite the vaccine.

The data also supports the idea that variants are more transmissible, experts said. Infections have finally started to decline in Ohio; they had been increasing throughout the spring, even as a larger percentage of the states population is being vaccinated.

All three vaccines approved for use in the U.S. have been found to be highly effective against the B.1.1.7 variant found in the U.K. Its less clear how well the vaccines perform against the variants from South Africa, Brazil and California, but experts believe they might be a little less effective against those mutations.

Exactly how effective the vaccines are against each of the variants could change the calculus for reaching herd immunity, File said. In general, a higher percentage of the population needs to be vaccinated to stop the transmission of a more-contagious virus. For example, at least 90% of a population needs to be vaccinated to stop the transmission of measles, but that percentage is much lower for influenza.

The other key question experts are trying to answer is whether someone can still pass on the virus after theyve been vaccinated. Its possible that the vaccines might prevent someone from getting sick, but they could still carry the virus and pass it to someone who hasnt gotten the shot. Thats why its important to keep wearing face masks and social distancing until enough of the population has been vaccinated to reach herd immunity, File said.

If we want to overcome this pandemic and we want to stop all the restrictions weve had to go through, the best thing we can do is get the vaccine so we can get back to some semblance of normalcy, he said.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows coronavirus variants, such as those discovered in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa, are responsible for an increasing percentage of infections in the U.S.

We have to overrun the finish line

Experts said that ultimately, the race between the variants and the vaccines could come down to everyone remaining vigilant long enough as we continue to address any concerns or fears held by those who are still hesitant or unwilling to get the vaccine.

Over the past few months, vaccines have been a scarce resource. But everyone in Ohio is now eligible to get the shot, and the Biden Administration has announced deals to buy enough doses of the vaccines for every adult in America.

Eventually there will come a time when the vaccine is readily available, but were still trying to convince hold-outs to get it, Rhoads predicted.

I think in the very near future in the U.S., vaccines arent going to be a limited resource, he said. [The challenge] is going to be peoples desire to be vaccinated. Thats my concern.

Public health experts and government officials have been working to address those concerns through various outreach campaigns. On Tuesday, the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic announced they were leading a nationwide effort to promote vaccination. University Hospitals and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are also among the partners whove joined the campaign.

It will be particularly important to reach young adults, who are driving surges of coronavirus infections in Michigan and other states, File said. Prior data has shown young adults were less-susceptible to severe illness and death from COVID-19, but the variants are causing more severe disease among those age groups. Hospitals are beginning to see a larger percentage of patients who are young adults, File said.

File said Ohio and other states have done well so far to get the vaccine administered as quickly as possible. But the variants have heightened the need for a quick roll-out, and the need to address vaccine hesitancy as soon as possible.

The finish line has been extended a bit, so we have to keep running further, File said. But I am optimistic were going to get there.

Cameron suggested the race between the vaccines and the variants may actually be more like a relay race, where we need to make several baton passes to reach the finish line.

Over the next several months, the first major baton pass could be a push to overcome vaccine hesitancy. Another baton pass could be convincing everyone to keep wearing face masks and social distancing until we can reach herd immunity. Eventually, vaccine makers could produce a booster shot that would provide additional protection against the more-contagious variants.

Ultimately, experts think the theoretical race is simply too close to call at this point.

These vaccines were developed at warp speed, but these mutations have developed at warp speed as well, Cameron said. So we have to overrun the finish line.
A planned multimillion-dollar mixed-use development would transform a section of the River Walk and inject more housing, offices, hotels and retail into downtown San Antonio.

A group of local landowners, investors and developers are looking to build the project, dubbed Riverplace, on about 3.2 acres on both sides of the San Antonio River, north of Martin Street.

Plans call for apartments, condominiums, offices, retail, parking and two hotel sites, including a hotel announced last year that will be built by New York-based Dream Hotel Group and will anchor the project.

Riverplace is expected to cost $400 million or $500 million and would be among the biggest developments to date in the inner city. The group is still raising money for the development and ironing out the financial structure of the deal.

The site is bounded by North Main Avenue to the west, Giraud Street to the north, East Martin Street to the south and Augusta and North St. Marys streets to the east. Two buildings at the corners of Convent, North St. Marys and East Martin streets are not part of Riverplace.

We feel that its a great fit for the River Walk and for San Antonio, said developer Chuck Brehm of real estate firm Universal Services Group LLC. Im a native San Antonian and know the history of San Antonio well. Ive watched it grow and transform.

We think this is the right time with the right product here, he said.

Billy Calzada, Staff / Staff Photographer

The partners havent set the number of residential units or the amount of commercial space yet, but the buildings on average will reach about 20 stories, said Brehm, who co-developed the Arts Residences and the Thompson Hotel at the corner of Lexington Avenue and North St. Marys Street.

(The apartments) are going to be luxury in feel. However, we want them to be as affordable to as large a group as possible, Brehm said. We anticipate that many of the tenants will potentially work within the development, whether it be in the office building or one of the components.

On ExpressNews.com: With San Pedro Creek's restoration underway, San Antonio developers are snapping up property around it

News of the Riverplace project was first reported by the San Antonio Heron.

After the financing is in place, construction could begin within eight to 12 months. Two historic buildings on the site will be incorporated in the development, Brehm said, and the rest of structures will be demolished.

In December, city officials OKd an incentive agreement worth $4.4 million for one component of Riverplace: a $55 million, 216-unit multifamily development along North Main.

The incentive package includes a 75 percent, 15-year tax rebate worth an estimated $3.3 million. The remaining 25 percent, or about $1.1 million, will be contributed to the citys affordable housing fund.

District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said his office was briefed on the conceptual plans for Riverplace nearly a year ago.

It is something that will take some time, he said. Its exciting. What Ive seen is a very ambitious and beautiful project that I think will be an incredible addition to the River Walk.

The group behind Riverplace includes Austin firm Real International, which recently bought an office building at 454 Soledad, and Edmund Beck, a local real estate investor whose San Antonio properties include the site where the Arts and Thompson project was built.

What I like about that area there is it will become the center of the city, Beck said. What Graham Weston  Rackspace Technology co-founder and downtown developer  is doing and what some of us are doing, well slowly put it together. It will happen, but it takes time.

Beck owns a large chunk of the land where Riverplace would be built. He said the rest is owned by B.P. Agrawal and David Leibowitz, both San Antonians. The project has been in the works for years, he said.

We have dreams, is what it amounts to, and wishes and hopes, Beck said. I think it will happen this time.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio Rebounds: Hope and uncertainty drive San Antonio hotel market

The coronavirus pandemic slowed progress on Riverplace.

There was plenty of interest in the project, Brehm said, but financing channels froze when the pandemic took hold more than a year ago.

However, funding for projects has begun to flow again, and hes confident that San Antonio is an attractive market for investors.

The citys population is growing and more companies are either moving to the area or opening facilities here, Brehm said.

Courtesy of Universal Services Group LLC

Riverplace would be built within an opportunity zone, a program established by then-President Donald Trumps 2017 tax overhaul thats designed to encourage investment in economically distressed areas.

Investors can get tax breaks on capital gains if they put their money in long-term investments with the designated zones, which include 24 census tracts in San Antonio. The program has been criticized for primarily benefiting investors instead of residents, and research has indicated that some of the zones were already seeing investment.

Work is underway to transform San Pedro Creek into a bustling waterway with benches and murals in the inner city. Brehm also pointed to Westons real estate firm Weston Urban, which is trying to remake western downtown.

The firm has been working to lure technology companies to Houston Street, with startup investment firm Scaleworks and co-working space Geekdom housed in two of its buildings. It completed the Frost Tower in 2019, opened a small park nearby last year and plans to add amenities around its Weston Centre office building.

Weston Urban plans to start construction in mid-2021 on a 32-story tower at 305 Soledad, with 351 apartments and about 7,250 square feet of retail, a major residential investment in the area.

A mixed-use development between Dolorosa and West Commerce streets would be geared toward students at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the firm also intends to renovate the Milam building on East Travis.

This northwest quadrant of downtown San Antonio is going to be very dynamic, Brehm said.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Cloudy this morning with showers during the afternoon. Thunder possible. High 81F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Late yesterday Apple Original Films announced an expansion of its award-winning documentary slate with "Number One on the Call Sheet," two documentary features from acclaimed storytellers including Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Emmy nominee Kevin Hart, prolific producer Datari Turner and Academy Award winner Dan Cogan that will celebrate Black achievement in the film industry and explore what it takes for Black actors to find success in Hollywood.

"Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Women in Hollywood" celebrates Black achievement in the film industry and what it takes for Black women actors to find success in Hollywood. The film is executive produced by Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett and Academy Award winner Halle Berry, and directed by Shola Lynch, and explores and highlights the groundbreaking work of Black women actors of the past who paved the way for Bassett, Berry and so many more.

The second film, "Number One on the Call Sheet: Black Leading Men in Hollywood," will be directed by Academy Award nominee Reginald Hudlin and celebrate Black achievement in the film industry and what it takes for Black male actors to find success in Hollywood, featuring the stories and experiences of Black male actors of the past who paved the way for Foxx, Hart and more. For more on this, read the full Apple press release.

Archive: Apple TV News
Children whose parents were exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have no excess mutations, a new study reveals.

Almost 35 years to the day after the catastrophic accident, researchers report a 'lack of trans-generational effects' of radiation exposure from the blast.

The experts analysed genomes of children born to parents exposed to ionizing radiation after the accident, including those employed as cleanup workers.

A second study published on Thursday, meanwhile, shows how exposure to the residual radioactive material caused the development of thyroid cancer.

The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986, at unit number four in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the Ukrainian city of Pripyat.

The staff on duty made errors during a safety test that triggered the nuclear reactor's explosion  a fatal mistake documented in a recent HBO series.

This photo shows the 'sarcophagus' covering the destroyed fourth power block of Chernobyl's nuclear power. Chernobyl's number-four reactor, in what was then the Soviet Union and is now Ukraine, exploded April 25, 1986, sending a radioactive cloud across Europe and becoming the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster

The explosion blanketing the western Soviet Union and Europe with radiation  leading to the largest man-made environmental disaster in history  and the largest ever nuclear disaster.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated and a 20-mile exclusion zone was established that still exists today.

Two reactor employees were killed in the explosion and 134 were hospitalized with acute radiation poisoning.

Of them, 28 died and another 14 succumbed to suspected radiation-induced cancer in the years that followed.

Pre-pandemic, unit number four was opened to tourists  despite it still having 40,000 times the normal levels of radiation.

Effects of radiation exposure from Chernobyl remain a topic of interest, according to the authors of the first study, led by Meredith Yeager at the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockvill, US.

in April 1986, a sudden power surge at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant resulted in a massive reactor explosion, exposing the core and blanketing the western Soviet Union and Europe with radiation

The series of events that led to the explosion in the reactor in Reactor 4 on the night of April 26, 1986

WHAT ARE DE NOVO MUTATIONS? Human de novo mutations (DNMs) are germline mutations that newly occurred within one generation. While the vast majority of the genome has been inherited from earlier generations, DNMs provide new genetic variation. The consequences of the new genetic mutation can vary widely. Neutral or advantageous mutations might become established in the genome of our species and thereby contribute to human evolution. However, changes to crucial genetic sequences can also result in misfunctioning of biological systems, resulting in severe disease. Source: J.M. Goldmann et al Advertisement

To date, there have been several studies examining risks of radiation exposure passed down the generations from events like Chernobyl, but the results have been inconclusive.

What's more, no large comprehensive effort has explored germline de novo mutations (DNMs) in children born from parents exposed to moderately high amounts of ionizing radiation.

DNMs are known to cause a large proportion of severe rare diseases of childhood.

This is concerning, because there may be possible genetic effects for offspring of those who evacuated the Fukushima plant in Japan after the nuclear disaster there in 2011.

Chernobyl and Fukushima are the only two nuclear energy accidents rated at seven  the maximum severity  on the the International Atomic Energy Agency's measurement scale.

To learn more, researchers analysed the genomes  genetic material  of 130 children and parents from families where one or both parents had experienced gonadal radiation exposure related to the Chernobyl accident.

The children were conceived after the accident and born between 1987 and 2002.

The authors did not find an increase in new germline mutations in this population, and the incidence of germline DNMs was comparable to that reported in the general population.

Journalists visiting the control room of the plant's fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine in September 2019. The explosion of Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the early hours of April 26, 1986 is still regarded as the biggest accident in the history of nuclear power generation

'Our study does not provide support for a trans-generational effect of ionizing radiation on germline DNA in humans,' they conclude.

'This is one of the first studies to systematically evaluate alterations in human mutation rates in response to a man-made disaster, such as accidental radiation exposure.'

The second study, led by Lindsay Morton at the National Cancer Institute, examined the effects of radioactive fallout on survivors of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

This study considered radiation-induced papillary thyroid cancers (PTCs)  a type of thyroid cancer and one of the most frequent cancers observed after Chernobyl.

3D illustration showing thyroid gland with tumor inside the human body. Papillary carcinoma (PTC) is the most common form of thyroid cancer to result from exposure to radiation

A few years after the accident an increase in childhood (PTCs) was demonstrated by researchers in 1992.

However, a detailed molecular understanding of these tumours has still been lacking, according to the team, and there are no established markers of radiation-induced cancers.

Morton and her team analysed thyroid tumors, normal thyroid tissue and blood from hundreds of survivors of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and compared them to those of unexposed patients.

Their results suggested thyroid tumor development following radiation exposure results from DNA double-strand breaks  a form of DNA damage  in the genome.

While no unique radiation-related biomarker was identified, results revealed radiation dose-related increases in DNA double-strand breaks in human thyroid cancers that developed post-Chernobyl.

'Our results point to DNA double-strand breaks as early carcinogenic events that subsequently enable PTC growth following environmental radiation exposure,' the researchers say in their paper.

Radiation-related genomic alterations were more pronounced for those younger at exposure to the devastating nuclear accident, the authors say.

The results have implications for radiation protection and public health, particularly for low dose exposure, they add.

The two studies have both been published in Science, the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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The EU is suing AstraZeneca over its 'complete failure' to meet delivery deadlines and contractual agreements for its vaccine.

Brussels also bitterly decided not to take up the option to buy 100 million more of the Anglo-Swedish firm's vaccine.

The EU claimed the deadline to exercise that clause in its current supply contract with the Anglo-Swedish firm had already expired and it didn't plan to pursue it.

Instead, diplomats have now decided to take legal action against AstraZeneca for its failure to deliver doses following a meeting on Wednesday, Ireland's Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on Thursday.

'With regard to AstraZeneca, a legal case has been initiated by the (European) Commission and earlier this week I have joined Ireland as one of the parties to that legal case, specifically around AstraZeneca's complete failure to meet its delivery and contractual agreements for April, May and June,' he told Parliament.

The EU is seeking to save face in the courts after crippling its own vaccine roll-out by launching a war against Britain - and the rest of the world - first, by suggesting that the vaccines were ineffective, and then embargoing exports.

Only a third of Germans now consider the AstraZeneca vaccine to be safe, while just 23 per cent of the French would take it.

In Italy and Spain, most people had previously believed the jab was safe, with 54 per cent and 59 per cent backing it respectively.

But since the row over safety, those figures have fallen to 36 per cent of Italians and 38 per cent of Spaniards, YouGov figures show.

As a result, just 19 per cent of EU citizens have received their first dose of a jab, while 49 per cent of the British population has had a vaccine.

Just 19 per cent of EU citizens have received their first dose of a jab, while 49 per cent of the British population has had a vaccine. Only a third of Germans now consider the AstraZeneca vaccine to be safe, while just 23 per cent of the French would take it. In Italy and Spain, most people had previously believed the jab was safe, with 54 per cent and 59 per cent backing it respectively. But since the row over safety, those figures have fallen to 36 per cent and 38 per cent, YouGov figures show.

Ursula von der Leyen's Commission is now mounting plans to sue AstraZeneca after not receiving doses outlined in its contracts. It comes after European leaders rashly claimed that the vaccine wasn't safe, which has crippled the woeful pace of their programmes to immunise

The EU launched a vaccine war in January when it was notified by AstraZeneca to expect a shortfall in doses as Britain raced ahead with inoculations.

Leaders like Emmanuel Macron lashed out at the UK, saying that the jab developed by Oxford University was only 'quasi-effective' - a claim later shown to be baseless scaremongering by the EU's own medicines regulator.

The bloc meanwhile lurched to a policy of embargoing exports, condemned as 'stupid' even by Jean Claude Juncker, to force AstraZeneca into delivering supplies.

By the end of the first quarter, AstraZeneca had supplied 30 million doses to the Bloc, instead of the 100 million it had pledged to deliver in its contract.

The EU blamed the manufacturer, but the reason why Britain and the United States have had such successful vaccine roll-outs compared to the EU is because they were able to actually secure the doses by cutting red tape.

Brussels, on the other hand, signed contracts with AstraZeneca much later due to its vast bureaucratic red tape.

They were also more reliant on receiving doses from Pfizer and Moderna, which were hit with early production woes.

The Commission has ordered 300 million doses from AstraZeneca as part of a contract that included 400 million doses, of which 100 million was optional.

However, in recent weeks the EU has stepped up the pace of its roll-out.

It has fully vaccinated 7 per cent of the population, compared with 15 per cent of the UK.

Last week, the Netherlands averaged 0.77 vaccines per 100 people per day, the highest of any country in Europe.

France, Germany and Hungary are also picking up the pace.

Whether they will be able to fully repair the damage done by raising fears over blood clots remains to be seen. Countries like Italy and France have very high levels of anti-vax sentiment compared to in the UK.

Before the vaccine safety row, 43 per cent of French people considered the vaccine to be unsafe, now that proportion has risen to 61 per cent.

In January, the European Medicines Regulator (EMA) approved the AstraZeneca jab for all age groups, but a number of EU countries, including France and Germany, refused to recommend it to people over 65.

At the beginning of March, France and Germany were forced into humiliating U-turns and approved jab for 65 to 74-year-olds.

Then just weeks later, they were among 13 countries which suspended use of the vaccine after sporadic reports of blood clots.

Most countries then restarted use of the vaccines after the EMA came out and said that the incidence of blood clots was actually lower among those who had received a jab than it was in the general population.

On April 7, the regulator conceded there was a 'possible link' between AstraZeneca and blood clots, but said neither age group nor gender were a defining risk factor.

But the damage was done. Countries including France, Germany and the Netherlands have limited use of the jab to those older than 55 or 60, while Denmark has entirely suspended its use.

A woman receives a shot of the Janssen vaccine, during a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Pamplona, northern Spain, Thursday

The British watchdog says that people under the age of 30 should be offered an alternative where possible, but the vaccine roll-out continues at great speed.

Despite the damage the European countries have done to the vaccine roll-out through their scaremongering, Brussels now wants to apply more pressure to AstraZeneca as it considers suing the firm.

There was no immediate response from AstraZeneca on Thursday to a request for comment.

Under its contract with the EU, the company had committed to delivering 180 million vaccine doses in the second quarter.

Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told a hearing of the EU parliament in February that he hoped to meet EU expectations on deliveries in that period.

Politico reported that two diplomatic sources in Brussels informed them that member states would be asked to give their backing to the legal action against AstraZeneca by the end of this week.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed the UN Secretary-General's initiative to develop a global vaccination plan under the auspices of the Group of Twenty, the presidents press service reported following a phone conversation between Zelensky and Guterres.

"Comprehensive vaccination is the only way out. Unfortunately, access to safe and effective vaccines is still unequal. However, I would like to commend and express gratitude for your leadership in overcoming the challenges and coordinating global action during the COVID-19 pandemic, Zelensky said.

Particular attention was paid to the security situation in eastern Ukraine given the increasing military presence of the Russian Federation along the Ukrainian border and in the temporarily occupied territories. Zelensky thanked Antonio Guterres for supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and its peaceful efforts.

"I would like to express my support once again for your last year's call for a ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine was one of the first to support this call and did everything possible to implement it starting from July 2020. The President also informed the Secretary-General about the establishment of the Center for Countering Disinformation in Ukraine, which should become an international hub to combat destructive information influence.

In addition, the Ukrainian president informed about the initiative of the Crimean Platform, which Ukraine will officially launch at the summit in August, will return the issue of Crimea to the international agenda, launch the process of de-occupation of the peninsula and become a practical mechanism for protecting human rights in Crimea right now.

Zelensky also noted the important practical role played by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in monitoring the situation in Crimea and other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

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A White Baton Rouge man accused of fatally shooting two Black men and firing into the home of a Black family, all in September 2017, searched the internet that same month for topics such as White nationalism, genocide, Nazi propaganda and gun silencers, an FBI agent testified Wednesday at the trial of the alleged serial killer.

The day after Kenneth Gleason allegedly fired three shots on Sept. 11, 2017, through the front door of the home of the only Black family on his block of Sandy Ridge Drive in the Hickory Ridge subdivision, Gleason searched the web for "aggravated assault on property," special agent Jeff Methvin said.

That incident was the first of what prosecutors have called a "4-day streak of terror" that Gleason, 27, allegedly inflicted on Baton Rouge.

+4 Accused serial killer inflicted '4-day streak of terror' on Baton Rouge, prosecutors say The trial of a man accused of killing two Black men along city streets and shooting into the home of a Black family that lived down his street

Gleason is accused of gunning down Bruce Cofield the night of Sept. 12, 2017, as the homeless man sat at a bus stop near the intersection of Florida Boulevard and South Acadian Thruway. Prosecutors say that, the next morning, Gleason searched the internet for 'best Nazi generals,' 'The Most Dangerous Game' (a short story about a big-game hunter who turns to human hunting), and 'preliminary hearing' (a legal term in criminal cases), Methvin testified.

Gleason also is accused of fatally shooting Donald Smart the night of Sept. 14, 2017, as the Louie's Cafe dishwasher walked down Alaska Street north of the LSU campus to his overnight shift. The next morning, Gleason was searching two local television websites for stories on that killing, as well as the Zodiac killer and serial killers, the special agent said.

Finally, on the morning of Sept. 16, 2017, Gleason searched for information on Louisiana license plate laws, the penalty for not having a license plate in the state, and how to obtain a fake license plate, Methvin said.

A former employee of Custom Security Systems in Baton Rouge had testified Tuesday that she observed Gleason drive a red Ford Focus into the business's parking lot the morning of Sept. 12, 2017, remove the license plate and place duct tape over the vehicle's identifying markings.

Before Methvin was allowed to testify about Gleason's internet searches in September 2017, Assistant District Attorney Michelle Fulton argued to state District Judge Beau Higginbotham that, even though prosecutors don't have to prove a motive in the first-degree murder case, they have a right to do so.

Fulton noted that all of Gleason's alleged victims were Black.

"The timing of these searches is very important," she added.

One of Gleason's attorneys, Ashly Earl, argued that Gleason's internet searches are not relevant and will only prejudice him.

Jarrett Ambeau, who also represents Gleason, suggested to Methvin that Gleason's web searches were "vast in scope," including information on saints and painters, and that the information he sought was both good and bad.

Methvin agreed that Gleason's search history was "very, very diverse and eclectic."

Gleason was detained in the afternoon on Sept. 16, 2017, and booked in the killings three days later.

Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

+3 Jury shown video of accused serial killer Kenneth Gleason removing license plate from car Nine hours before Kenneth Gleason allegedly killed the first of two Black men he's accused of fatally shooting in September 2017, surveillance

On Wednesday a former worker at a Jiffy Lube on Coursey Boulevard identified Gleason during her testimony as the man she saw retrieve a gun from a flower bed outside the store the morning of Sept. 11, 2017. She said the red Focus did not have a license plate at the time.

Prosecutor Dana Cummings has suggested previously that Gleason dumped the gun at the Jiffy Lube after the Sandy Ridge shooting and then returned to the store to retrieve it.

Chuck Smith, an investigator with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office, testified that the Jiffy Lube is seven tenths of a mile from Sandy Ridge Drive, which is off of Coursey.

The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab determined that casings recovered from all three shooting scenes were fired from the same 9 mm gun, but the weapon has never been found.

Prosecutors have said Gleason is linked to Cofield's killing and the nonfatal shooting through DNA evidence, and to both deadly shootings and the nonfatal incident through ballistics evidence.

+3 At alleged serial killer's trial, witness describes shooting of Louie's Cafe worker in a park A former LSU student testified Monday that he watched in horror the night of Sept. 14, 2017, as a man made a u-turn in front of a BREC park ju

Zac Woodring, a Baton Rouge police detective, testified Wednesday that Gleason's cellphone records placed his phone in the Highland Road Park area the night of Sept. 15, 2017, but several days of searching for a gun by law enforcement proved fruitless.

Jim's Firearms president Jim McClain testified that Gleason bought a CZ 9 mm with a 15-round magazine from the Baton Rouge retail store on Nov. 9, 2016. Gleason also paid for a silencer on July 20, 2017, but never received it because a background check was not approved.

Earl, suggested that Gleason's arrest in September 2017 was likely the reason for the disapproval. McClain said he was not given a reason.

Gleason's lawyers have said he studied German at LSU. He attended the university for one year starting in the fall of 2012.

The trial, which is in its second week, will resume Thursday.

Gleason is charged with first-degree murder in Smart's killing, second-degree murder in Cofield's slaying, and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the nonfatal shooting on Sandy Ridge Drive.

He's standing trial only in Smart's killing, but evidence from the Cofield homicide and the nonfatal shooting also is being introduced at the trial. Gleason faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged in Smart's death. The verdict must be unanimous.

Prosecutors chose not to pursue the death penalty after consulting with Smart's family.
Algeria: 3 years jail for scholar for 'offending Islam' Announced by his attorney, 'shocked by such a hard sentence'

(ANSAmed) - ALGIERS, APRIL 22 - A well-known scholarly expert on Algerian Islam, Said Djabelkhir, has been sentenced to three years in jail for "offending the precepts of Islam", said his attorney Moumen Chadi.



Chadi said he is "shocked" by the heavy sentence.



"There is no proof. It is a baseless case. We expected a light penalty," he said, adding that he is planning an appeal.



"It is a fight that must continue, for freedom of conscience and expression," Chadi said.



Djabelkhir, 52, was charged and put on trial after seven attorneys and a university colleague filed a formal complaint against him.



The Islam scholar received support from politicians and colleagues during the trial.(ANSAmed).




New Delhi, April 22 : Former Delhi Minister A.K. Walia passed away due to Covid-19 on Thursday. Walia was most important minister in Sheila Dikshit-led government and held several portfolios.

A four-term MLA, Walia represented Geeta Colony constituency. The Delhi Congress has described his death as a big loss to the party.

He represented Geeta Colony assembly seat for the first three terms and later won from Laxmi Nagar as Geeta Colony ceased to be an assembly seat after delimitation.

He held an MBBS degree and owns hospital in East Delhi. As minister he held several portfolios including health and urban development in the Congress government.
Named so after the Scottish city where it is built, the frigate is supposed to replace once ready the Type 23 ships currently in use and will take on defense roles against submarines and aircraft, but also general-purpose operations.Construction of the Glasgow began in 2017, and even if the Royal Navy announced a year ago the ship is halfway finished, its only now that BAE Systems reached the milestone.The section that rolled out on the hardstand to be paired with the aft section contains the ships bridge, operations room, and accommodation spaces. It took the BAE team 90 minutes to move the mammoth to its designated location."The Type 26 is a highly capable ASW warship designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare and will serve at the heart of the Royal Navy's surface fleet for decades to come, Pat Browning, the Type 26 program Team Leader at Defence Equipment and Support, said in a statement."The roll out of the forward section of HMS Glasgow; the first of the Type 26 class, hails a landmark moment for this cutting-edge vessel and a huge step forward for the program.According to the available info, the HMS Glasgow should enter operations with the Royal Navy sometime in 2023. It will then be followed by the HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast and five others whose construction is yet to begin.Like all the others in its family, the HMS Glasgow will be equipped with the Sea Ceptor missile defense system, a 5-inch medium caliber gun, a flexible mission bay, the Artisan 997 medium-range radar, and towed array sonars. Chinook-sized helicopters will be capable of landing on the flight deck.As for the Type 23 frigates the new ones are supposed to replace, they entered service in 1987. There are 16 of them currently deployed in the waters of the world.
May Day Celebrations 2021

Gibraltar Cultural Services, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, have confirmed that the May Day Celebrations will this year be broadcast on GBC TV and the GCS Facebook page.

The production will feature the Gibraltar Youth Choir, Showdance, JF Dance, Transitions, MAG Musicians, The Adrian Pisarello Band Universe, Layla Rose, Nicholas Olivero, Surianne and Levanter Breeze. All the sessions have been pre-recorded prior to airing, in keeping with the COVID-19 regulations at the time.

HM Government of Gibraltar and the organisers invite everyone in Gibraltar to view the May Day Celebrations on TV or online, on Saturday 1st May 2021. The timings of this exciting line up will be released very shortly.
New Delhi: Joining the growing list of hospitals that have flagged scarcity of oxygen required to treat COVID-19 patients, Delhis Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute raised similar concerns on Thursday (April 22).

Located in Paschim Vihar, the hospital has written a letter to the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Minister, Health Minister and DDMA seeking immediate assistance for procurement of oxygen.

As on date our total requirement of oxygen is 6000 litres per day, whereas we are getting very erratic supply of oxygen for some reason or the other, read the letter.

The hospital has requested the government not to hold them responsible for the death of patients.

Read the letter here:

To,

Honble Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

Honble Health Minister of Delhi

Honble Chief Minister of Delhi

Nodal Officer, DDMA

Sir,

We, at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi have been providing medical services for one and all for last 16 years. During the pandemic in 2020 we gave our best possible services to save the lives of the citizens of Delhi. Now in the 2nd wave of corona virus in 2021 we have been providing our services to corona positive patients with the best of our ability. As on date we have 220 corona positive patients out of which 81 are being treated in ICU. The ICU patients with corona positive infection are seriously ill and need lot of oxygen for ventilators & NIV. Other patients admitted in wards are also in demand of Oxygen and therefore the consumption of our oxygen has increased manifold.

Unfortunately, as the consumption has increased, the supply of oxygen has reduced. On the night of 19th April 2020 we did not get oxygen supply in time and therefore during the night hours we had to arrange oxygen cylinders from various hospitals located in the vicinity. Inspite of our best efforts and collection of oxygen cylinders from other hospitals, we were left with supply of only one hour. But with the help of Delhi Police a green corridor was created and oxygen tankers could reach the hospital in time and therefore the lives of patients who were critically ill could be saved. Had these oxygen tankers not reached hospital in time, we would not have been able to save life of several patients and the patients would have been in danger and we were in no position to do anything.

As on date our total requirement of oxygen is 6000 litres per day, whereas we are getting very erratic supply of oxygen for some reason or the other. As on 22.04.2021 after waiting whole night we got 1114 litres of oxygen at 6:00 a.m.

In view of above, we kindly request you to kindly ensure that oxygen as per our requirement is supplied uninterruptedly failing which we will not be able to give the medical services to the corona positive patients admitted in our hospital.

In case it is not found feasible to supply the oxygen as per our requirement, then we may be permitted to discharge our patients and send them to other govt. or private hospitals so that their lives are not put in danger due to lack of oxygen.

We would also request you not to make the hospital responsible in case we are not able to treat our patients due to non-supply of oxygen and if something unfortunate happens including death of the patients of those who are put on ventilators or high flow oxygen. Inspite of all above we assure you that we will continue to provide the facilities to the corona positive patients to the best of our ability but with an assurance from your side that we get oxygen supply from your side uninterruptedly.

Thanks and Regards

Dr. Anand Bansal

Medical Director

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(Natural News) Widely used weedkillers in the United States contain toxic, undisclosed inert ingredients that are lethal to bees, according to a study published early this month in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Researchers from the Royal Holloway, University of London reviewed several herbicides and found that most of them contained glyphosate, an ingredient best recognized from the cancer-causing weedkiller brand Roundup. Yet interestingly, they found that bees exposed to one of the herbicides without glyphosate died within 24 hours.

Overall, the study shows that even inert ingredients in pesticides, which are not as extensively studied as other pesticide ingredients, can be lethal to beneficial insects like bees.

In doing so, the study exposes a fatal flaw in how pesticide products are regulated in the U.S., added Jess Tyler, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity who wasnt involved in the study. Its now up to the Biden administration to fix this problem, said Tyler.

Inert ingredients in pesticides are lethal to bees

Glyphosates devastating impacts on bee populations are widely recognized. Previous research shows that bees exposed to low doses of glyphosate end up with poor gut microbiota, which they need to grow and combat pathogens. Bees exposed to glyphosate can also become disoriented, unable to fly back to their hives.

Meanwhile, the effects of inert ingredients in pesticides on bees are less well understood. In pesticides, an inert ingredient is defined as a substance other than an active ingredient that is added to a pesticide product. But it is important to note that the term inert doesnt mean the chemical is nontoxic.

Because the effects of inert ingredients on bees are unclear, many pesticide products are often characterized as bee-safe. To better understand the hazards posed by such pesticide products, the researchers gathered 10 healthy bumblebee colonies. They split the colonies into small groups, then sprayed each with an herbicide.

The researchers used four herbicides with different formulations. Three of the products were Roundup branded herbicides. One of the Roundup products had no glyphosate, while the rest of the herbicides had glyphosate. They sprayed each group of bumblebees twice with the assigned herbicide.

They found that bumblebees sprayed with the ready-to-use Roundup product with glyphosate experienced a shocking 94 percent mortality. Meanwhile, the agricultural use Roundup product, which also contains glyphosate, saw a lower death rate at 30 percent.

The third Roundup product, which contained no glyphosate, killed 96 percent of exposed bees within 24 hours. Weedol, a glyphosate-based product, proved to be the least lethal. It had a mortality rate of six percent, similar to the unexposed control group of bumblebees (four percent).

Overall, the results indicate a serious problem with Roundup herbicides, even those that do not contain glyphosate. The researchers concluded that the inert ingredients in Roundup products, not the active ingredient glyphosate, are driving mortality in bees.

They suspect the ingredients are negatively affecting the insects tracheal respiratory system, which is essential for gas exchange. They also noted that only Roundup products caused comprehensive matting of bee body hair.

There are currently over 1,100 registered herbicide formulations with glyphosate, each with its own mixture of inert ingredients, according to the Center for Food Safety. However, inert ingredients like surfactants and emulsifiers are not required to undergo the same level of scrutiny as active ingredients like glyphosate.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has repeatedly refused to disclose inert ingredients to the public on the label of pesticide products despite legal petitions from environmental groups and advocacy organizations. (Related: Top EU court upholds French ban on bee-killing pesticides.)

Go to Pesticides.news to learn more about how Roundup can affect humans, insects and animals.

Sources include:

EcoWatch.com

BESJournals.OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com

E360.Yale.edu
One night in March 2020, Joy Wu felt like her heart was going to explode. She tried to get up and fell down. She didn't recognize friends' names in her list of phone contacts. Remembering how to dial 9-1-1 took "quite a bit of time," she recalled recently.

Wu, 38, didn't have a fever, cough or sore throat  the symptoms most associated with Covid-19 at the time  so doctors at the hospital told her she was having a panic attack. But later she developed those symptoms, along with difficulty breathing, fatigue and neurological issues.

Wu, of San Carlos, California, believes she had Covid  although, like many others who were unable to get tested early in the pandemic, she never got an official diagnosis. And, she said, its aftereffects continue to plague her.

Wu has struggled to get help from doctors, even those who take her symptoms seriously. Theres no actual treatment, she said, for people experiencing these lasting symptoms, often referred to as long Covid. When seeking help, youre basically a guinea pig at this point.

For people suffering with lingering, debilitating symptoms months after a bout with Covid, pinning down a definition for long Covid may seem pointless. They just want relief.

"I don't care if it's Covid or some other illness," Wu said. "I want to get better."

But to public health experts, medical researchers and health care providers, understanding the causes, risk factors and spectrum of symptoms is vital.

"There's no single sign or lab test that can distinguish this syndrome from something else," said Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Covid response. "Having something that we can use to define a [long-Covid] case is critical" for tracking how many people get it and how well they do, and to establish research criteria for clinical trials.

It's no easy task. There is no typical Covid "long hauler." After an infection, some people's initial symptoms don't abate, while other people develop entirely new symptoms that may affect multiple organs and systems. Studies have documented hundreds of lingering problems, but intense fatigue; chest pain; memory and concentration problems, often referred to as "brain fog"; shortness of breath; and a loss of taste and smell are common.

Having been hospitalized or placed on a ventilator isn't a reliable sign that someone will develop the condition. Many young, previously healthy people who had a mild initial infection are battling long Covid. Some people's symptoms drag on for months after their acute infection, while others' symptoms ebb and flow on a "corona coaster" of relapse and recovery.

In February, the National Institutes of Health announced a $1.15 billion, four-year initiative to study the causes and prevention of long Covid. The new research will bolster the growing number of studies that have already been published.

Younger and sicker

A year ago, when the novel coronavirus was surging through New York, Mount Sinai Health System created an app to monitor Covid patients at home, said David Putrino, the system's director of rehabilitation innovation. By early May it was apparent that roughly 10% of these non-hospitalized patients weren't getting better, he said. Many were younger and, until they got sick, healthier than the average Covid patient. And they were struggling with new symptoms they hadn't experienced in their original illness, such as heart palpitations and extreme fatigue.

An interdisciplinary team started to see these patients at what later became the Center for Post-Covid Care. Up to 30% of the patients have persistent symptoms that are a continuation of those they experienced when they were acutely ill, Putrino said. The other 70% tend to have novel symptoms that are specific to long Covid.

Mount Sinai's clinic, which manages the care of about 900 long Covid patients, is one of several dozen across the country devoted to Covid recovery, though the parameters for which patients they treat vary. Many involve multiple medical specialties, while others are dedicated to neurological or pulmonary symptoms or the aftereffects of ICU stays. Some require the patient to have a positive diagnostic or antibody test.

Putrino noted that some symptoms that Covid long haulers complain of are similar to those that affect people with "post-viral syndrome" who are recovering from serious infections like Ebola and Zika.

Such viral infections can cause severe inflammation and residual symptoms that last for months or years, said Dr. Steven Deeks, a professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco who is tracking people with long-Covid symptoms.

Other researchers have suggested that long Covid may actually encompass a number of separate syndromes, including post-intensive care syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder or myalgic encephalomyelitis, sometimes called chronic fatigue syndrome. Still others note that some long Covid symptoms look like dysautonomia, a term for disorders of the autonomous nervous system, which regulates breathing and heart rate, among other things.

Whatever "long Covid" ultimately comes to mean, it continues to surprise medical experts. If someone has a serious bout of pneumonia, an infection that inflames the air sacs in the lungs, it's not surprising if they have a bad cough for a few months as their body slowly heals, said Brooks, of the CDC.

But with a Covid infection, sometimes that cough doesn't go away for many months, and along with it someone might have brain fog. Another might develop encephalitis, a swelling of the brain.

"This is not a cluster [of symptoms] that we see after a typical viral respiratory infection," Brooks said.

A push by patients

There are several working theories about what causes long Covid.

Some studies suggest that the virus or remnants of it may lurk in the body and continue to stimulate the immune system. Or the virus may have been cleared, but "the immune system keeps fighting against a perceived enemy, because it hasn't gotten the word that the war is over," said Dr. Michael Saag, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham who participated in a two-day workshop sponsored by NIH in December. Or tissues may have been damaged during the initial immune response, causing long-term symptoms.

Despite the imprimatur of respected researchers and public health experts, skeptics remain. Some doctors complain that the diagnosis is being propelled by interest groups rather than science. Others compare it to other chronic conditions, like fibromyalgia, for which there are no definitive diagnostic tests. Some suggest it is a psychosomatic illness.

Patients and their advocates played a crucial role in drawing attention to and gaining acceptance of long Covid.

After contracting Covid in March 2020, Diana Berrent started Survivor Corps as a Facebook support group; it has grown into a broader advocacy organization for Covid patients, with more than 150,000 members.

"Most of the people who we see suffering from long-term Covid were not the ones who were in the hospital and on ventilators," Berrent said. "These are people who mostly had what I had  what I call the 'Tylenol and Gatorade' variety of Covid," which they coped with at home.

Much like patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, people with long Covid say finding supportive medical providers is a problem, said Emily Taylor, director of advocacy and community relations at the group Solve M.E. It recently co-founded the Long Covid Alliance with 21 other organizations to draw attention to post-viral illnesses.

Long Covid presents an opportunity to find answers not only for long Covid but also for a range of conditions that have struggled for research dollars and support.

"The post-viral research community is all coming together now to address Covid," Taylor said. "Frankly, there's no other option."

This story was produced by KHN, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:32:23|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's state-owned electricity company said Thursday that it plans to add 83.3 Megawatts of geothermal power to the national grid by the end of 2021.

Rebecca Miano, CEO, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) told a virtual investor briefing that the firm is concentrating on its capacity growth to ensure it can provide competitively priced electricity to the economy.

"Currently, Olkaria 1 Unit 6 (geothermal power station) is in progress on-site and will be commissioned later in the year," Miano said during the KenGen's 68th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

The electricity firm said that it has an installed capacity of 1,818 MW, accounting for 64 percent of the country's power.

KenGen electricity production consists of approximately 818 MW hydropower, 706 MW geothermal, 253.5 MW thermal and the rest from wind sources.

Miano noted that other projects in the pipeline under the country's least-cost development plan include rehabilitating Olkaria I as well as a joint venture with investors to add another 140 MW of power in the country. Enditem
State Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, is chair of the Special Committee on Reimagining Massachusetts: Post-Pandemic Resiliency. Advocates told the committtee on Wednesday early education and child care must be post-pandemic priorities.
New York, April 22 : Indian-American civil rights lawyer Vanita Gupta has been confirmed as the US Associate Attorney-General with the help of a breakaway Republican Senator overcoming stiff opposition from her fellow party members who accused the nominee of espousing "radical" policies.

Senator Lisa Murkowski gave her the crucial vote on Wednesday in the 100-member Senate, which is evenly divided between the Republican and Democratic parties, to assume the third-highest position in the Justice Department.

Gupta is a legendary figure in the US civil rights movement having as a newly-minted lawyer won the release of 38 people, most of them African-Americans, who had been wrongly convicted by all-White juries on drug charges in a Texas town and also got them $6 million in compensation.

She went on to become the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney-General and head of the Civil Rights Division during former President Barack Obama's administration.

Gupta overcame a campaign against her estimated to have run close to a million dollars by conservative and right-wing groups portraying as a "radical" who was against law enforcement.

But she also received the support of other conservative Republicans and law enforcement groups.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has to give preliminary approval for Gupta's confirmation, was deadlocked on her nomination for more than a month and the Senate bypassed it.

Gupta was the second Indian-American nominee of President Joe Biden to run into difficulties in the Senate, which must approve all senior appointments, because of previous policy stances as well as divisive tweets.

Neera Tandon, who was nominated to the important cabinet position of the director of the Office of Management and Budget, withdrew herself from consideration after it became clear that she would face opposition from Democrats in addition to all the 50 Republicans making her confirmation impossible.

But Gupta was able to keep the support of all the Democrats and get one crucial Republican vote in the full Senate.

Vice President Kamala Harris was at the ready to cast a tie-breaking vote as the Senate president if the votes had been split 50-50.

Murkowsi, who represents Alaska, said that Gupta "has demonstrated throughout her professional career to be deeply, deeply committed to matters of justice." Democratic Party Senator Leader Chuck Schumer said: "Not only is Gupta the first woman of colour to ever be nominated to the position, she is the first civil rights attorney ever to be nominated to the position." But Republican Party Senate Leader Mitch McConnell called her "way outside the mainstream" and "an activist for left-wing causes" who had attacked Senators.

Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, Gupta had apologised for some of her tweets saying that she had "fallen prey" to "the rhetoric (that) has gotten quite harsh over the last several years".

The campaign against her was spearheaded by the right-wing Judicial Crisis Network which launched an ad campaign accusing her of being soft on crime.

Five Republican Attorneys-General circulated a petition against her confirmation.

Defending Democracy Together (DDT), an organisation of conservatives who had opposed former President Donald Trump, countered with a campaign supporting Gupta, saying that she "has been building bridges across partisan divides, she has the broad backing of law enforcement".

Three groups of law enforcement officials, Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs of America and Federal Law Enforcement Officials Association, also supported her.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Soluna Au has also finalised a national distributor agreement with Legend Corporate Services Ltd that will increase market penetration.

Consistent with the entire Soluna Au product range, the 10K Pack HV provides blackout protection.

s ( ) ( ) (FRA:3MW) incorporated joint venture, Soluna Australia Pty Ltd has received Clean Energy Council (CEC) approval for the 10K Pack HV pre-assembled battery systems for residential applications.

The CEC, Australias peak body for the clean-energy sector, requires that all clean-energy products sold in Australia, including those marketed by Soluna Au meet the highest national and international standards.

CEC accreditation assures national power grid operators that products are safe to install countrywide.

In further encouraging news for LIT, Soluna Au has finalised a national distributor agreement with Legend Corporate Services Ltd.

Timely transaction

Managing director Adrian Griffin said: Signing a national distributor agreement will increase our market penetration and rate of sales.

It is a timely transaction that comes on the back of CEC approval for Solunas 10-kilowatt hour pack which extends our product range, providing greater choice for consumers."

Soluna Au's 10K Pack HV has been added to the CECs Battery Assurance Program, which lists all batteries that meet industry best-practice requirements in Australia.

In so doing, it affirms for consumers the safety of these battery products, all of which have been independently tested and certified to confirm their adherence to specific standards of quality and safety.

10K Pack system

The 10K Pack HV is a premium-quality residential battery energy-storage system for homes with single- or three-phase power.

Offering 10 kilowatt hours (kWh) of nominal storage capacity, it is paired with the GoodWe ET and EH hybrid inverter series.

Consistent with the entire Soluna Au product range, the 10K Pack HV provides blackout protection.

Placing two or more of these pre-assembled battery systems parallel to each other can achieve increases in energy-storage capacity of up to 40 kWh (4 x 10 kWh).

National distributor agreement

Legend Corporate Services is a privately owned Australian company that provides professional installers nationally and in New Zealand with market-leading electrical products and industrial solutions.

Legend has more than 350 employees across a range of manufacturing sites, engineering facilities, test laboratories, corporate offices and distribution facilities.
NREL Research Illuminates Optimistic Future for Vehicle Electrification

April 22, 2021

Vehicle electrification research at NREL spans infrastructure and charging opportunities, battery and system improvements, and industry analysis to support sustainable energy. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL

The transportation sector is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the nation, and electric vehicles (EVs) offer a promising pathway toward decarbonization. With decreasing purchase prices, charging improvements, cleaner electricity, and consumer and industry support, the future of EVs has never been brighter. Cutting-edge research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and recent commitments from governments and industry point to the increased momentum behind EV adoption as demand for cleaner forms of transportation continues to grow globally.

In a recent Progress in Energy article, 19 international experts from 12 institutionsincluding seven from NRELled by senior systems engineer Matteo Muratori joined forces to comprehensively review scientific studies looking at various aspects of EVs. The study highlights how EV popularity has accelerated rapidly over the past 10 years, in part due to maturation of battery technologies, increased infrastructure support, and regulations and standards emphasizing energy efficiency and lower emissions. In addition to these advancements, the article highlights how synergies with other technologies may pave the way to new opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Recent research advancements and industry support paint a bright future for EV adoption globally, Muratori said. Significant technological improvements to both vehicles and charging stations offer convenience and cost benefits compared to combustion vehicles. As a result, weve seen consumer demand for EVs and expanded charging infrastructure continue to grow. Vehicle manufacturers have also acknowledged the growth, with many pledging to entirely phase out internal combustion engines over the next decades.

In another recent International Association for Energy Economics article, a group of NREL researchers outline how EVs have outpaced industry expectations with cutting-edge research in battery technologies and charging infrastructure. The article also sets the record straight on data and statistics about the state of EV technology that is sometimes unfairly dismissed in the literature.

Significant Growth in Consumer Demand and Infrastructure Investments

Recent demand for EVs continues to accelerate, with sales topping 2.1 million globally in 2019, according to the International Energy Agencys Global EV Outlook 2020. Projections from Bloombergs Electric Vehicle Outlook 2020 estimate up to 116 million EV passenger cars will be on roads globally by 2030. Looking forward, vehicle manufacturers also plan to make substantial investments in the EV industry, with 500 different EV models predicted to be available for purchase by 2022. This increase in availability will allow diverse consumers to find an EV model that meets their needs.

Convenient charging options are critical to support EV adoption. A recent NREL publication aims to quantify the value of public charging infrastructure within the United States. Early estimates indicate that the existing public charging infrastructure in California is worth thousands of dollars per user. Another NREL report analyzes charging infrastructure trends from the U.S. Department of Energys (DOEs) Alternative Fueling Station Locator, with quarterly updates available. The Station Locator is one of the most comprehensive data sources for EV charging stations in North America and has over 5.3 million annual views. The Station Locator had identified over 100,000 public chargers within the United States by the end of 2019, with a 60% increase in chargers globally from 2018 to 2019.

Since about 2011, weve seen strong year-over-year growth in charging infrastructure, said Abby Brown, an NREL transportation project manager. The Alternative Fueling Station Locator continues to identify upward trends across the country, with significant growth in the northeast.

State-of-the-Art Battery Technologies Offer Improved Convenience and Cost Benefits

NREL research stands at the forefront of battery technology improvements, with noteworthy breakthroughs to enhance the thermal performance of batteries for EVs to increase safety and allow for faster charging rates that improve consumer convenience. Faster charging speeds of 150350 kW are already commercially available, and NREL researchers are working toward an ambitious DOE goal of charging EVs in 15 minutes or less. Additional research explores opportunities to increase battery capacity and vehicle range by characterizing alternatives to lithium-ion battery chemistries, such as silicon.

There are over 100,000 public charging outlets available across the country; however, only 17,000 of these stations offer fast charging capabilities, said Matthew Keyser, NREL senior engineer and Extreme Fast Charging project lead. With continued research, we can expand those capabilities to rival the charging speed of conventional vehicles (with combustion engines)with the additional benefits of clean, energy-saving technology.

Battery advancements offer significant cost benefits to vehicle consumers. The decreasing cost of EV battery packs, which fell 87% from 2010 to 2019, results in more affordable vehicle prices. Numerous EVs available within the United States retail for under $50,000, and continued research into improving lithium-ion batteries suggests these prices will continue to decrease. However, the EV purchase is merely the first step. Indeed, new research at NREL suggests that EV owners may save thousands of dollars in fuel costs over a vehicles lifetime. EV maintenance costs are also much lower, a potential boon for owners of older vehicles, which is often the case in communities of color and low-income communities. NREL research found the national average price to charge an EV hovers at $0.15/kWh and charging during off-peak pricing periods can save owners 24% on average.

Unprecedented Industry and Government Support

None of this groundbreaking research and analysis would be possible without extensive support from the government, industry, and consumers who champion the benefits of an electrified transportation future. Increasing EV sales reinforces the notion that individuals care about having access to sustainable mobility options, while automakers have also made significant commitments to invest in EVs over the past few years. Local, state, and federal government entities have also committed their supportmost notably in places like California, which has announced sweeping legislation to target the continued investment in zero-emission vehicles, such as EVs.

As the EV revolution continues to gain momentum, NREL remains a committed playerfurthering a legacy of cutting-edge research and development focused on creating transformational transportation technologies that advance sustainable, resilient, and equitable mobility solutions for all Americans.

Learn more about NREL's sustainable transportation and mobility research.
[April 22, 2021] ABC Business Conference 2021 Insights: Enhancing the Greek Smart Home Market with System Solutions

DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tuya Smart (NYSE: TUYA), a leading global IoT cloud platform, today hosted the eighth event in its AI+IoT Business Conference Europe virtual conference series for 2021. The event focused on developments in the Greek smart home market, and invited industry experts to share insights. The previous seven events in the series focused on the smart home markets of Italy, Russia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, France, and the UK. Vincent Lu, Director of the Balkan market from Tuya Smart, shared the data from Statista Digital in his presentation, showing that the European smart home market was worth $18.4 billion USD in 2019, with security making up the largest valued segment worth $4.1 billion USD. Smart home security revenue alone is expected to reach $40.6billion USD by 2025 for the European market. Another popular category, comfort and lighting, is expected to reach $24.8 billion USD in revenue by 2025.



Stavros Poulios, Head of Smart Home Products in EUROLAMP S.A., remarked that IoT products are becoming common in more and more households. Although there are a great variety of products available, consumers still seem to be more interested in having a simple way to setup and control their smart home, while at the same time keeping strong functions and many different options. Giorgos Paronis, Head of Energy Services & IoT Solutions at WATT+VOLT S.A., in his presentation proposed that a smart home refers to one equipped with an advanced automation system, able to integrate the control of smart devices, and able to provide consumers with comfortable, efficient, and safe services through system solutions. However, there are few solutions in the Greek market that can meet this demand.

To view the conference presentations, please register at https://www.tuya.com/event/abc/eur. The next event will be on April 27 and focus on Turkey. Tuya Smart's website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. SOURCE Tuya Smart

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A new store which will open in Derry's Foyleside Shopping Centre next month will create eight jobs.

Home-grown cosmetics brand, BPerfect, has announced the opening of a new store in Derry.

The 2,200 square foot store will open at Foyleside on Saturday, May 1.

It is a huge boost for the local shopping centre where a number of stores have closed since the onset of the pandemic.

The opening follows the launch of the BPerfect flagship mega store in Belfast in October 2021.

Brendan McDowell, founder and CEO of BPerfect Cosmetics said he plans to build on the success with the same offering in the north west.

We are absolutely buzzing to open our second store in beautiful Derry-Londonderry in just a few weeks time, he said.

The North West has always been huge supporters of our brand and the people have always been so welcoming and I am personally so excited that this is our next move.

We have big plans for the store to make it fully inclusive with colourful, glitzy, amazing interior decor which pushes every boundary housing a range of ten top beauty brands from top make-up artists and cosmetics retailers.

We are also launching our new product this week; our Perfect Storm palette  which has already gained huge online interest.

We also want to mirror what we have done in Belfast and to work with local charities who need our support, plans are already afoot, and we look forward to making a difference where we can.

Our Belfast store has exceeded all expectations and despite being closed for four months, our online sales have gone through the roof.

The past 12 months have been both a challenge and also a very real opportunity for us to grow our online brand.

However, nothing beats being present on the High Streets of our two leading cities in Northern Ireland.

Mr McDowell, originally from Annalong, County Down, founded BPerfect in Belfast in 2012, with a personal investment of just 500.

He appeared on RTEs Dragons Den in 2017 and turned down a 80K investment offer.

Over 2,000 retailers worldwide now stock its extensive range of on-trend makeup, a figure that is growing daily.
Gandhinagar, April 22 : The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday, through an order on the Suo Moto PIL, suggested the Gujarat government should change the Remdesivir distribution policy, which was based on the local authority's discretion. The High Court said that Remdesivir's distribution should be based on the patient's needs. The Court told the government to reconsider its existing policy.

The High Court's division bench of Chief Justice Vikramnath and Justice Bhargav D. Karia, suggested the Principal Health Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Jayanti Ravi to reconsider the state's existing distribution policy for Remdesivir. "The state must convene an emergent meeting of all stakeholders and take an appropriate policy decision which should run throughout the state, instead of a policy that permits district-level discretion." The division bench was listening to the third hearing on the Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the recent upsurge in Covid cases in Gujarat.

During the hearing and in its submission to the court in an affidavit, the Gujarat government said that Remdesivir injection which were made available to the state would be utilised in order of preference as listed by it.

According to the submission, the government's stock of Remdesivir vials is first administered to the patients on ventilators in the government or corporation-run hospitals, then to patients on ventilators in the designated Covid-19 hospitals, before the patients admitted at Intensive Care Units in government or corporation-run hospitals and those at Covid-19 designated hospitals. Thereafter, it can be administered to the patients admitted on oxygen beds subject to their prognosis.

The Gujarat government's affidavit said, "If further stock remains with the government or corporation, it could be distributed among the private hospitals, nursing homes, home care patients on doctor's prescription considering the condition of the patient. However, if the government does not have any surplus or if it is unable to cater to its own in-house demand, it cannot provide to the private sector." The court was not satisfied with this policy. The court observed, "The policy should be of the government and should not be left at the discretion of the individual corporation and district collectors regarding distribution of Remdesivir injection when the same is in short supply. There has to be a reasonable policy of the state, taking into consideration the overall factors and to ensure that all patients falling in the same category should be first administered or provided with Remdesivir injections (regardless of whether it is a private or a government facility)." The court also stated that the condition of a patient should be the criteria for providing Remdesivir injection and "not whether he/she is admitted in a private or government facility". It added that an appropriate policy decision "should run throughout the state i.e. it should be made applicable for the entire state and should not be left at the discretion of municipal commissioners or collectors. The distribution may be at the level of the Commissioner or Collector, but the policy to be followed must be framed by the state".

The High Court, in its decision, had taken into consideration the submissions made by the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association and Indian Medical Association's Gujarat chapter.

The IMA Gujarat said in its submission, "The state must supply adequate stock of Remdesivir injections to private sectors also as either that, the government should take up on itself to provide admission and complete treatment to all Covid patients and if it cannot do then provide injections to the private sector as well."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
BETHESDA, Md., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MidCap Financial, a credit solutions firm focused on serving the middle market, today announced it has raised more than $800 million of new equity from a diverse group of global investors that included Apollo clients, including Athene as well as pensions, sovereign wealth funds and other leading institutions.

Proceeds from the raise will be used to fund business growth and for general corporate purposes. MidCap primarily focuses on senior debt solutions to companies across all industries, and as of December 31, 2020 has provided management or other services for approximately $29.8 billion of commitments, of which $5 billion is managed by MidCap Financial Services Capital Management LLC, a registered investment officer.

Steve Curwin, CEO of MidCap Financial Services, said, "We are gratified by the support of existing and new equity investors, and believe these commitments will enhance our competitive advantages in the market. We view completion of the raise as a testament to the performance of MidCap over the last decade and, importantly, through the current pandemic period."

Howard Widra, Senior Partner of Apollo Global Management, stated, "The need for creative and flexible private credit providers has never been greater. MidCap operates from a unique and robust platform to fill that need, and the demand for this new round of capital underscores the strength of the MidCap platform. Most importantly, this capital will further augment MidCap's resources to serve clients across the broad-spectrum middle market."

The $800 million equity raise follows MidCap's more than $2 billion capital raise in 2016, which included commitments from Athene, Apollo and a number of Apollo LPs. Today, MidCap's strategic relationship with Apollo provides the company with market-leading industry expertise, enhanced market and fundraising reach and financing synergies.

About MidCap Financial MidCap Financial is a middle market-focused, specialty finance firm that provides senior debt solutions to companies across all industries. We provide a broad array of products intended to finance growth and manage working capital. As of December 31, 2020, MidCap Financial provides management or other services for over $29.8 billion of commitments, of which $5 billion is managed by MidCap Financial Services Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. At MidCap Financial, our years of experience, strong balance sheet, and flexibility make us the lender of choice for companies across all stages of growth and complexity. MidCap Financial is managed by Apollo Capital Management, L.P., a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, Inc., pursuant to an investment management agreement. Loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance Lenders Law License.

About Apollo Apollo is a leading global investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $455 billion as of December 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

Apollo Contacts

Investors: Peter MintzbergHead of Investor Relations212 822 0528APOInvestorRelations@apollo.com

Media: Joanna RoseGlobal Head of Corporate Communications212 822 0491Communications@apollo.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/midcap-financial-announces-800-million-equity-raise-301275327.html

SOURCE MidCap Financial, LLC
Lake Barkley Bridge Crash Leaves 1 Dead, 2 Injured

By West Kentucky Star Staff

CADIZ - A two-vehicle collision Wednesday night in Trigg County left one person dead and two others injured.The accident happened around 5:40 pm on US 68/80 on the Lake Barkley bridge between the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and Canton.According to Kentucky State Police, a minivan driven by 64-year-old John R. Smith of Clarksville, TN was traveling east in the westbound lanes on the bridge. Troopers said two westbound vehicles were able to avoid colliding with Smith, but he was unable to avoid colliding with a pickup truck, driven by 20-year-old Andrew Amsden of Cadiz.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene by the Trigg County Coroner's Office. Amsden and a passenger in his vehicle were transported by Trigg County EMS to the Trigg County Hospital for treatment of their injuries.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide Turkeys small enterprises financial support valued at $300 million to muddle through the pandemic, Daily Sabah reports.

The financial pledge was born Wednesday from a cooperation agreement with Turkeys Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB).

The beneficiaries are micro and small enterprises in the manufacturing industry as well as technology-based startups established after 2017 in computer programming, manufacturing and scientific research and development (R&D) sectors, the daily reports.

The cooperation will enable the beneficiaries to suffer the financial difficulties experienced during the pandemic.

Besides its economic benefits, I think it is an important project socially as well, particularly enabling the protection of the jobs of employees who work in such enterprises, JICA Turkey head Nobuhiro Ikuro said during the signing. KOSGEB head Hasan Basri Kurt welcomed the Japanese support to utilize Turkeys potential and generate added value.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 11:15:32|Editor: huaxia

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BANGKOK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economy's strong rebound from the COVID-19 shock will offer more opportunities for Thai businesses, said Wichai Kinchong Choi, senior vice president of leading Thai bank Kasikornbank.

China has been Thailand's largest trading partner for years. "As demand from the European Union and U.S. markets is dented, the Chinese market becomes even more important for Thailand," Wichai told Xinhua in an interview.

Thailand's economy posted its deepest decline in more than two decades last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and its recovery this year will to some extent depend on how it enhances cooperation with China, Wichai said.

Bucking a global downward trend, trade volume between China and Thailand expanded 7.5 percent year-on-year to 98.63 billion U.S. dollars last year, according to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce. The growth accelerated from an annual increase of 4.8 percent registered in 2019.

Despite the COVID-19 fallout, bilateral trade further gathered steam in 2021, surging 28.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, latest data from the Chinese customs showed.

"Sustained strong purchasing power at the Chinese market has provided hope for Thai exporters," Wichai said.

He noted that besides boosting export, a key growth engine of the Thai economy, Thailand also intended to speed up the alignment of its "Thailand 4.0" development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative, and attract more investment from Chinese companies, especially in sectors such as new energy, new technology and infrastructure.

In a latest monetary policy report, the Bank of Thailand said the government's stimulus measures and growth in exports with trading partners were key factors supporting the economic recovery.

The central bank expected the country's economy to expand 3 percent this year. Enditem
LAPEER COUNTY - The Hispanic Service Center in Imlay City will be providing COVID-19 vaccinations this week in the community.

Fridays COVID-19 vaccination clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 23 at the Imlay City Senior Center, 395 E. Third St.

For this coming one, we have signed up for the first shot, about 180 people, said Lourdes Emke, Director of the Hispanic Service Center.

Emke said theres probably around 300 people total that have already made an appointment to get either their first or second dose with the Hispanic Center for Fridays event and that she expects even more to show up the day of.

Working along with the Lapeer County Health Department and Great Lakes Bay Health Center, the Hispanic Service Center will be administering the Moderna vaccine at the Friday clinic for all residents.

We especially work closely with the Hispanic Service Center in Imlay City and Great Lakes Bay Health (GLBH  also located in Imlay City), who provide many health-related services to the Hispanic Community, said Kathy Haskins, Health Officer at the Lapeer County Health Department in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal.

With the arrival of vaccine, we have coordinated with GLBH and the Hispanic Service Center to ensure that word got out to the Hispanic Community regarding vaccination clinics in their area, she said. Many have taken advantage of this already, and we continue to coordinate to ensure that all who wish to vaccinated can receive the vaccine.

As a non-profit organization thats been in operation for more than 50 years, the Hispanic Service Center first started as an organization to primarily help the Hispanic community in Imlay City and Lapeer County. Since then, the center has shifted to helping any residents and community members in need.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lapeer County has a total population of 88,038, of which 95.6% is white. Imlay Citys population is 3,568, of which 95.3% is white.

The Hispanic population of Lapeer County makes up 4.7% of the total figure.

Imlay City is a centerpiece for migrant workers who come to work in the agricultural industry in the surrounding area, Emke said, many of whom come from Mexico for seasonal work and go back to their home country or warmer climate states when the cold weather arrives.

A lot of people come here for temporary jobs and they work in the fields. They work from March or April until October and then go back to Mexico, Emke said.

Last year, in the midst of the pandemic and the height of seasonal work, the Lapeer County Health Department identified 24 positive cases of COVID-19 in a week and added another eight cases days later for a total of 32 cases within the week, all of which were connected to migrant worker camps in the Imlay City area.

The Lapeer County Health Department worked with the agricultural sector last summer, Haskins said, providing assistance with testing for workers, case investigation, and contact tracing, as well as educating people regarding prevention and quarantine.

When many were quarantined last summer, we coordinated assistance in the form of food, laundry, and other needs, working with Hispanic Service Center and other community resources, knowing that they would have difficulty quarantining if basic needs were not met, Haskins said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal. We worked with the farms to ensure that medical needs were met  GLBH system was a great help with this, and DHS assisted when we were recommending an individual be seen by the local hospital/health facility.

Although the state reported fewer cases statewide in the last week, averaging 5,744 new cases per day, Michigan continues to be ranked No. 1 in the country in total cases for COVID-19.

As of Monday, April 19, Lapeer County Health Department reported 197 new cases. The county has reported a total of 6,865 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with an additional 1,198 probable cases and 152 deaths.

To Emke, its important to not just the migrant worker population on getting the vaccine to further prevent the spread of COVID-19, but the whole Hispanic population itself.

She said people have become more aware to take the vaccine now more than before and making sure that those who do come for seasonal work understand the implication of getting vaccinated before leaving to go back to Mexico for the winter.

We do talk a lot to them about the vaccine and theyre more interested in taking it right now than two or three months ago, Emke said. One of the reasons why they want to get involved in the Hispanic Center is because a lot of Hispanics dont know how to get the vaccine or dont know how to get into the system to make an appointment.

The Hispanic Center will help with making appointments to either get vaccinated or get tested, and will help with any translation needs.

Emke said that although few and far in-between, the undocumented population in the area does come to the Hispanic Center for help, mostly with translation needs.

However, Emke has seen a steady increase of undocumented people moving out of the area in recent years.

With the arrival of vaccine, we have coordinated with GLBH and the Hispanic Service Center to ensure that word got out to the Hispanic community regarding vaccination clinics in their area, Haskins stated in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal. Many have taken advantage of this already, and we continue to coordinate to ensure that all who wish to (get) vaccinated can receive the vaccine.

Emke says that the Hispanic Center will continue to hold vaccination events once a month, but ultimately, would like to hold vaccination clinics more often, as well as testing.

Because right now theres a lot of people getting sick, were going to try to do it twice a month, maybe next month well have it twice a month, but right now with the vaccine, were going to try to get as much as we can, Emke said. Were going to try to give the vaccine every month until we have nobody.

Aside from assisting with vaccination events and translation needs, the Hispanic Service Center also helps residents with paying rent or other financial needs, provides families with shelter as well as a food pantry for anyone to come and get food at any time.

The Hispanic Center also works with the senior population through a senior program in which it helps pack food to deliver to them directly.

If they need help, well help them as much as we can, Emke said. You dont have to be Hispanic to get in the shelter, you dont have to be Hispanic to get food, you dont have to be Hispanic to get help with insurance, you dont have to be Hispanic to get help for anything else. You just walk in here and thats it.

For those interested in learning more about the Hispanic Service Center and to schedule a vaccination appointment, visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/hscimlaycity/

Read more on MLive:

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Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 22.04.21:

The armed forces of Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh] and opened fire, targeting the Artsakh capital Stepanakert, as well as Askeran regions Shosh and Mkhitarashen villages.

As a result of the firing, the roof of a house in Stepanakert was damaged. The Artsakh MFA has issued a statement noting that adversarys aggressive actions are aimed at torpedoing the Russian peacekeeping mission.

"Any attempt to intimidate the people of Artsakh is doomed to failure and it can in no way undermine our determination to live freely in our homeland," the statement added.

During Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Syunik Province on Wednesday, the locals did not allow him to enter their communities. Protests were held in various Syunik communities where the people called Pashinyan a traitor and a capitulator of land.

Also, various cursing and insults were made at him, under which he left these communities.

Later Pashinyan instructed to detain all the organizers of protests.

At night nearly 50 people have been detained at their homes. Those detained include the mayor of Meghri town, Mkhitar Zakaryan, and Deputy Mayor of Goris Menua Hovsepyan.

Footage has also been shared of the violent detention of former Shurnukh village official Ararat Aghabekyan. The video shows how he - barely catching his breath - asks to call an ambulance as he was feeling ill for seven days.

What do I have to do with all this, I am sick (...) I am dying, and my medicines are at home," he said.

All the detained, except for Menua Hovsepyan - whose whereabouts are still unknown, - have been taken to the Investigative Committee of Armenia. The protests were being held there since morning to support all those detained.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Monitoring Committee has issued a statement during Thursdays session, in which it called on Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian captives.

"Underscoring the concerns expressed by the European Court of Human Rights with respect to 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan the Committee calls upon Azerbaijan to ensure that all Armenian detainees are released without delay into the care of the Armenian authorities," the statement reads.

A bipartisan group of 107 U.S. House Members on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to clearly and directly recognize the Armenian Genocide in his upcoming April 24 statement, ending Turkeys foreign gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of this crime.

Wall Street Journal reported referring to the US officials that Biden is expected to describe the deportation, starvation, and massacres of Armenians as genocide.

During the briefing, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki was asked to comment on Biden's future actions over the Genocide recognition. Thus, she noted: "I expect we will have more to say about Remembrance Day on Saturday. But I dont have anything to get ahead of that at this point in time."

As of Thursday morning, 881 new cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Armenia, and the total number of these cases has reached 211,399 in the country.

Also, 25 more deaths from COVID-19 were registered, making the respective total 3,969 cases.

The number of people who have recovered over the past one day is 887, the total respective number so far is 191,158.
(Alliance News) - David Cameron personally lobbied the top civil servant at the Treasury and the deputy governor of the Bank of England on behalf of the failed finance firm Greensill Capital, it has been disclosed.

Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary at the Treasury, revealed that the former prime minister had called him on his mobile phone as well as sending a series of texts.

Separately, the Bank disclosed that Cameron had set up a call between the firm's founder, Australian financier Lex Greensill, and deputy governor Jon Cunliffe.

It released a series of emails showing how he tried to enlist Cunliffe's help when the Treasury rejected Greensill's application to join one of the government's Covid support schemes.

The latest disclosures come after Boris Johnson earlier this month commissioned the senior lawyer Nigel Boardman to investigate after it emerged Cameron had lobbied Chancellor Rishi Sunak and other ministers on the firm's behalf.

Giving evidence to the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Sir Tom said he had been contacted by Cameron in early April last year over a proposal Greensill had made to join the government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility.

He said Cameron had his official mobile number because he used to work for him when he was still in office.

"If a former minister that I have worked with asks to talk to me, I will always do that," he said.

"The call I took from Cameron was not a substantive discussion of the proposal. It was simply a call to draw it to my attention. I said 'Thank you very much, this is something we are looking at'."

Scholar said that the proposal had been rejected by Treasury officials as it did not meet the criteria for the scheme.

However documents released by the Bank under the Freedom of Information Act show that Cameron was reluctant to take no for an answer.

On April 3 2020, he emailed Cunliffe complaining that despite "numerous conversations" with the Treasury, Greensill had "failed to get anywhere".

He said the firm had dealt with every objection that had been raised, but the Treasury appeared "hung up" on the fact that the CCFF was for "non-financial corporates".

"This is surely irrelevant," Cameron said.

"At a time when we are a rightly a worried about how quickly banks can get loans out to small businesses, why are we potentially cutting off a market that already pumps cheap credit directly into SMEs."

He then emailed Cunliffe again on April 22 complaining that they had still not received the "green light" from the Treasury.

"I don't want to put you to the trouble of a long email chain when ultimately this is an HMT call (and we continue to talk to them at every level) but could I ask you to do a one to one with Lex Greensill so that he can brief you on where we have got to," he wrote.

A Bank note of call between Cunliffe and Greensill said that the deputy governor made clear that the firm fell "outside the boundaries of the scheme".

The collapse of Greensill a which filed for insolvency in March a has threatened thousands of UK jobs at Liberty Steel which was dependent on it for its financing.

In his evidence to the committee, Scholar said that Greensill had been dealt with in a "completely appropriate" way by the Treasury.

"We were approached quite persistently from this company. We listened to what they said. We analysed it, we tested it and in the end, despite them submitting a series of successive proposals, we decided to reject them all," he said.

Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary at the Treasury, said the firm's proposal to join the CCFF had been rejected for a number of reasons.

"They were proposing that special purpose vehicles could have access to the scheme and that was not consistent with the scheme's design," he said.

"They were suggesting that the CCFF should buy commercial paper that had non-standard terms and again that was not consistent with the design."

Further proposals it put forward to improve the delivery of finance to small businesses active in the supply chains of large companies were, he said, also turned down.

The officials were pressed by Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown as to why they spent so much time dealing with proposals which he described as "dodgy" and sounding "like a Ponzi scheme".

Scholar said that at the time a at the start of the pandemic a the Treasury had been under "immense pressure" to do more to support business.

"Everybody said we were too slow, not doing enough, should be more ambitious, so we were investigating a whole series of ways in which we could support the flow of credit to businesses," he said.

On Thursday night the Treasury released correspondence between Greensill and officials.

Some of the 30 pages of emails and documents were heavily redacted, but they show Scholar referring to Cameron as "my old boss" and telling Roxburgh the former prime minister wanted to know if the Chancellor had a "particular view" of the Greensill application.

A further release of information confirmed Treasury Economic Secretary John Glen had a text message exchange with Cameron about the rejected Greensill proposal in June offering to "discuss with you privately this afternoon if that would be useful".

By Gavin Cordon, PA Whitehall Editor

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Shwe Yamin Htet, 17, and her mother Sandar Win were arrested by Myanmar security forces on April 14 in Yangons Sanchaung township as they made their way home after participating in a morning protest in the commercial hubs downtown area. The following day, authorities sent them to an interrogation center in Shwepyitha township. At the interrogation center, Shwe Yamin Htet was housed with other detainees, including a young women who was brutally beaten and assaulted. Authorities released Shwe Yamin Htet on Tuesday, though her mother and five others who were arrested together were charged with defamation of the state under Section 505(a) of Myanmars Penal Code with and sent to Insein Prison on Yangons outskirts.

In an exclusive interview with RFAs Myanmar Service, Shwe Yamin Htet told reporter Aye Aye Mon about being verbally and sexually harassed by a policeman at the No. 24 police Station in Sanchaung township before she was transferred to the interrogation center. She also recounted the story of a fellow detainee who said she was brutally beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted by a soldier at the interrogation center. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: What did the police tell you this morning when they called you?

Shwe Yamin Htet: The person who called has the same voice as the person who interrogated us. They asked me to come to the No. 24 police station since I had to sign a document. I gave them the excuse that I was out of town and could not come. They asked me to come tomorrow. I said I would try, and then I hung up the phone. They had asked me to give them my address so they could come and get me because they said they needed to get the document signed in time. I have signed over 20 documents pledging that I will not get involved in these [protest] activities. I also had to sign a handwritten statement before I was released. I can avoid them, although they have demanded that I come. But I am deeply concerned that they will use my mother as a hostage to get me.

RFA: Why were you arrested?

Shwe Yamin Htet: I was arrested on April 14. I had participated in the Moh Lone Yay Paw protest at the market on 18th Street. After the protest, I went home and posted my photos [online]. Then, I proceeded to go to the next protest. I deleted most of the protests photos on my phone, except the ones from the morning. On our way, a military truck arrived and [soldiers] dragged me and my mother on board. They immediately took my mobile phone, so I didnt get a chance to delete the photos. On the way, they met a police car and took us to No. 24 police station in Sanchaung. Unfortunately, my mother hadnt deleted any of the protest photos on her phone since April 4. There were some revealing photos showing her shouting into a megaphone during earlier protests. There are the video files of her challenging and shouting degrading words at police during the earlier protests in Sanchaung. The policemen at the station said they recognized my mother from the earlier protests. They insisted that she tell them who was supporting her and funding her activities. At least six policemen interrogated my mother in a separate room. They didnt ask me anything. They later told me that I would accompany my mother to the interrogation center. I was born in 2004 and am 17 years old, but I lied to them, saying that I was only 15. They called my uncle at home and asked him to bring my birth certificate to them. When he did so unknowingly, they knew that I had lied and said that I was old enough to be sent to the interrogation center. We had to sleep at the police station that night, and then they sent me to Shwepyitha the next day.

RFA: What happened when the police interrogated you?

Shwe Yamin Htet: During the interrogation at the station, I was questioned by a police officer with two stars on his uniform. A policeman with no stars on his uniform came into the room and patted me on the shoulder twice. I was so mad and hit his hand back to stop in the second time. He pulled a revolver from his pocket and put it on the table. He said I can shoot and kill you and dispose of your body. No one will know it. Then, I screamed at him, Shoot me and kill me if you dare. The other officer yelled at him to leave the room, saying that I was underage and that they could get in trouble. Thats the reason I was sent to the interrogation center.

RFA: What was the interrogation center like?

Shwe Yamin Htet: There are four buildings at the interrogation center. There are separate buildings for men and women detainees. The security forces live in another building. They interrogate people one by one at a table. They asked my mother about her activities and if she had connections to the CRPH [the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a Myanmar government in exile] or if she had supported civil disobedience movement participants. She was lucky that she didnt have any photos or other evidence that she was involved in these activities. The officer who interrogated my mother was a nice one. The women who were there before us told us to answer all the questions nicely and politely. They said if the detainees were unyielding, the officers would blindfold them and take them in handcuffs to a separate interrogation room for beatings and torture. We dont know who the male detainees were, but we saw some of them being taken to that separate room for beatings. When they were brought back, they could barely walk because of the beatings.

RFA: Do you know what happened to some of the other detainees there?

Shwe Yamin Htet: On April 18, a 19-year-old girl arrived in the womens hall. I dont know her name. They asked us not to interact with the new detainees. When they interrogated her, they asked her if she had a boyfriend. The policemen always asked irrelevant personal questions. The girl answered yes and said that her boyfriend was among the male detainees. They said that if she had a boyfriend at such a young age that her parents should be made aware of it. Then they asked about her boyfriends ethnicity. She answered that her boyfriend was a Muslim. Then, the interrogator became furious. They asked her if she wanted to be a kalars [derogatory term for Muslims] wife, then they asked two other police officers to blindfold her and take her to the room to be tortured. She was brought back around 7 p.m. We were all worried and asked about her situation, but she said she hadnt been beaten. But they did brutally beat the male detainee she claimed was her boyfriend. His name was Karvee something. She said they were not really a couple. They were caught together with some weapons, so they made up a story that they were seeing each other and that some friends give them a package to transport. Two sisters were also among the new detainees. A male detainee named Robert earlier had given authorities information about the two sisters, and they went to their home in South Okkala township to arrest them. One of the sisters was underage. Three interrogators questioned the older sister, and two others questioned the younger one in the womens building.

Around 4 a.m., a new female detainee arrived. She had been brutally tortured. The 19-year-old girl told us about her earlier because they were arrested together. The authorities didnt beat her, but they pulled the hair of the other one and beat her. The soldiers accused them of being responsible for a bomb blast in Yankin township a few days earlier since they found some slingshots and smoke bombs when they arrested them. That woman also had a list of donors and participants and their addresses. The soldiers brutally beat her, saying that two soldiers had been killed by the blast and that she was responsible. They pulled her onto the road and dragged her. The 19-year-old said they had also sexually assaulted her. She said the woman was beaten with a metal pipe and was kicked in her groin. She said she was later sent to another interrogation center [and] asked to reveal the persons on her list.

RFA: How bad was the womans situation?

Shwe Yamin Htet: When she arrived at the interrogation center, she could barely walk or eat. Her face was brutally bruised, and her lips were split. We tried to help her and feed her. We gave her some medicine we had. She recounted what they had done to her. It is the same as what the 19-year-old had told us. Her eyes were bruised, but she could still see. She said her vagina was bleeding due to the kicking. If they had kept on beating her and conducting a long interrogation session, I dont think she would have survived. There was no proper medicine or treatment available there for her injuries. Her condition could become critical.

Reported by Aye Aye Mon for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Registration for vaccination against COVID-19 for all those aged above 18 will begin on the CoWIN platform and Aarogya Setu app from April 28, officials said on Thursday.

The inoculation process and documents to be submitted to get the jab remains the same.

The central government had announced that the vaccination for those above 18 years will begin across the country from May 1 as part of the third phase of the inoculation drive.

Certain modifications, including the age criteria and a few other features, have been done and the CoWIN platform is ready to meet the rising demand as is expected once the vaccination for all is opened up, an official said.

From May 1, the present system of private COVID-19 vaccination centres receiving doses from the government and charging up to Rs 250 per dose will cease to exist and private hospitals will procure directly from vaccine manufacturers.

According to the Liberalised Pricing and Accelerated National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy,COVID-19 vaccination will continue to be free for eligible population groups comprising healthcare workers, frontline workers and people above 45 years of age in government vaccination centres, which receive doses from the government of India.

Vaccine manufacturers would make an advance declaration of the price for 50 per cent supply that would be available to state governments in the open market before May 1.

Based on this price, states, private hospitals, industrial establishments may procure vaccine doses from manufacturers.

Private hospitals would have to procure their supplies of COVID-19 vaccine exclusively from the 50 per cent supply earmarked for other than the government of India channel.

"While the Centre has liberalised the vaccination policy, it does not mean that vaccines will be sold in pharmacists or chemist shops in the open market," health secretary Rajesh Bhushan had clarified on Wednesday.

The price charged for vaccination by private hospitals would be monitored, he said.

"The present dispensation where private COVID vaccination centres receive doses from the government and can charge up to Rs 250 per dose will cease to exist," the Union health ministry said.

Vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the government of India and would be free to supply the remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open market.

For government of India vaccination centres, the eligible population would be the same, which exists today, that is healthcare workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs) and population above 45 years of age.

For other than the government of India channel, the eligibility would be all adult citizens of the country, the document said.

Vaccination against COVID-19 will continue to be free for eligible population groups in all those government COVID vaccination centres which receive vaccine doses from the central government.

All vaccination (through government of India vaccination centres and other than the government of India channel) will be part of the National Vaccination Programme, will follow all existing guidelines, will be captured on the CoWIN platform along with the stocks and price per vaccination applicable in all vaccination centres, will comply with Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) management and reporting, digital vaccination certificate and all other prescribed norms.

The division of vaccine supply, which would mean 50 per cent to the government of India and 50 per cent to other than the government of India channel would be applicable uniformly across for all vaccines manufactured in the country.

However, the fully ready to use imported vaccine would be allowed to be utilised entirely in the other than government of India channel, it said.

The Centre from its share will allocate vaccines to states and union territories based on the criteria of performance (speed of administration, average consumption), extent of infections (number of active COVID-19 cases), the document stated.

Second dose of all existing priority groups i.e. HCWs, FLWs and people aged above 45, wherever it has become due, would be given priority, for which a specific and focused strategy would be communicated to all stakeholders.

This policy would come into effect from May 1 and would be reviewed from time-to-time.

(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.)
[April 22, 2021] Appalachian Basin Outweighs the Permian as Top Methane Emitting Region in the US

Kayrros has released measurements quantifying the total methane emissions across the Appalachian Basin. The findings, derived from satellite data and proprietary algorithms, place the Appalachian Basin ahead of the Permian as the biggest source of methane in the US and identify the primary sources behind its emissions. Kayrros leverages data from the European Union's Sentinel-5P and Sentinel-2 satellites, and advanced mathematics, to detect and attribute large methane emissions events worldwide. Recent data show emissions from fossil fuel production in the Appalachian Basin hit 3 million tons in 2019 and 2.4 million tons in 2020. Given that the warming potential of methane is estimated at 84 times that of carbon dioxide, this is equivalent to the annual emissions of ~30 million cars. Excluding emissions from coal mines, emissions from natural gas (from the Appalachian's Marcellus Basin) declined from 1.9 million tons in 2019 to 1.4 million tons in 2020. In comparison, Permian measurements showed methane emissions from oil and natural gas production declined from 2.7 million tons in 2019 to 2.0 million tons in 2020. Across the basins, methane emissions fell by 20% in the Appalachian and by 26% in the Permian in 2020, largely due to the impact of the Covid pandemic on energy demand. The variation in the percentage decreases can be traced to the differing energy mixes within each basin. These results are consistent with IEA estimates of US emissions from oil and gas and are materially higher than EPA estimates. The satellite measurements also show that while the methane footprint of the Appalachian is larger than that of the Permian in absolute terms, the 2020 methane intensity of gas production in th Appalachian was lower than in both the Permian and Anadarko Basins. This is likely explained by the fact that Appalachian gas is "non-associated," meaning it's the only hydrocarbon fuel produced in the basin. In the Permian Basin, it's mainly associated with oil extraction, meaning that it comes as a by-product of oil production.



The Appalachian region has been an important source of coal since the 19th century. More recently, it has also become a major hub for natural gas production. Hundreds of coal mines are intermingled with thousands of gas wells across the basin, which complicates the task of measuring total methane emissions and attributing them to their sources. The findings demonstrate that large methane emissions cannot simply be considered as an unavoidable side effect of production but rather the avoidable consequence of various factors such as insufficient or poorly maintained infrastructure for natural gas gathering, processing, and transportation. Kayrros tracking and attribution technology not only makes it possible to measure change in performance over time and compare trends across basins and assets but also to detect emissions in near realtime and optimize mitigation and prevention efforts. Efficient and accurate leak detection is the first step toward their eradication, and therefore has substantive positive implications for operational standards and policy-making in the energy industry.

This is the first time that methane emissions from coal have been quantified in a comprehensive manner. The modeling approach used by Kayrros in the Appalachian Basin now makes it possible to measure the vast majority of methane emissions worldwide and add granularity to their types and sources. Future Kayrros analyses of major coal mining regions in Australia and China will bring further transparency and make it possible to analyze variations in methane intensity across different types of coal mined around the world. This is a new and important milestone in bringing transparency to energy and the environment. About Kayrros Kayrros is the leading global asset observation platform built on fundamental science, strong R&D, and leading technology. Harnessing satellite imagery and multiple sources of unconventional data with machine learning, natural language processing, and advanced mathematics, Kayrros monitors and measures energy and natural resource activity worldwide. With access to data on more than 200,000 industry assets, Kayrros customers track individual or multiple assets in configurable proprietary or collaborative workflows to analyze industrial and environmental performance for maximum insight and optimal operational and financial decisions. For more information, visit www.kayrros.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005858/en/

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The United States Department of State calls on Russia to cease blocking foreign warships and state vessels in parts of the Black Sea.

Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Ned Price said this at a briefing on April 21, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

We are aware that Russia has announced its intention to block foreign naval ships and state vessels in parts of the Black Sea, particularly near the Kerch Strait, through later this year, through October, citing what they claim to be Russian military exercises, Price noted.

He recalled that Russia had a history of aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels and impeding access to Ukraines ports in the Sea of Azov, impacting Ukraines international commerce.

We call on Russia to cease its harassment of vessels in the region and to reverse its buildup of forces along Ukraines borders, the spokesperson said.

Price noted that the situation in the Black Sea was just one of the latest examples of Russias ongoing campaign to undermine and destabilize Ukraine.

The State Department spokesman also expressed the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine as a partner, as well as for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, including territorial waters.

As Ukrinform reported, on April 15, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed its resolute protest against Russia's restrictions on freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. According to the statement, Russia announced the closure until 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.

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Scrapping BRI deal will hurt Australia: Chinese Embassy

Global Times) 09:03, April 22, 2021

The Chinese Embassy in Australia on Wednesday criticized a move by the Australian government to cancel an agreement signed between the state of Victoria and China to cooperate under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), warning that the move will bring further damage to bilateral ties and will only hurt Australia.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that a memorandum of understanding and framework agreement Victoria signed with China in relation to the BRI had been cancelled under new Commonwealth veto laws, claiming "the arrangement is inconsistent with Australia's foreign policy or hurts its foreign relations."

It is the first time the Australian federal government has used the new veto law, which permits it to cancel agreements states and territories strike with other countries, media reports. The law has been widely regarded as a move targeting China.

Responding to the move, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Australia said that the move is another "unreasonable and provocative" move taken by Australia against China.

"It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations. It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself," the spokesperson said.

The Australian move came as China-Australia bilateral relations is at near freezing point, and trade and economic ties have also been seriously disrupted, after Canberra launched a series of anti-China policies.

The latest move could further plunge already-frosty bilateral relations into an even lower abyss and threatens further serious disruptions to trade and economic ties, analysts said. That might warrant a corresponding response from China, they added.

"To tear up the BRI cooperation agreement from the federal perspective is a gross intervention in the development policy of the state, which will inevitably have a negative impact on the economic development of Victoria in the future," Song Wei, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Joining the BRI has brought considerable economic benefits to Victoria and created a large number of employment opportunities for the region. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews also defended the agreement as "more jobs and more trade and investment for Victorians."

Furthermore, economic and trade relations between China and Australia will plunge even further, Song noted.

Following serious damage to Australian businesses due to tense diplomatic relations, Australian officials have said that they have been reaching out to Chinese officials to address trade issues but have not received any response. Chinese officials criticized Australia for its anti-China policies and urged Canberra to take concrete actions to rectify its mistakes.

The latest move is in the opposite direction and could further complicate the relationship, Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that it completely disregarded the mutually beneficial and comprehensive strategic partnership between Australia and China.

"It was of major benefit to Victoria that the agreement at the time did not deal with any sensitive sectors or national security," noted Chen.

While the Australian government's decision is very damaging, it was expected, experts said.

"There was a belief that the agreement was targeting the BRI agreement when the federal government passed its Foreign Relations Bill, which allows the federal government to override any state agreement under the so-called national security threat," Chen said, adding that if Australia continues on the wrong path, "China will surely respond accordingly."

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
SACRAMENTO  Rob Bonta, a progressive state legislator from Alameda, was confirmed Thursday as Californias next attorney general, amid calls from his colleagues to lead the state in a new direction on criminal, racial and environmental justice.

The Legislature overwhelmingly approved Bonta by a vote of 29-6 in the state Senate, where he was backed exclusively by fellow Democrats, and 62-0 in the Assembly, where he received some support from Republicans. Gov. Gavin Newsom nominated him last month to replace Xavier Becerra, who stepped down as attorney general to become President Bidens secretary of health and human services.

Bonta, 49, has been among the most progressive Democrats in Sacramento during his five terms in the Assembly, an outlook he attributed to growing up with activist parents who raised him for a time in a rural settlement that served as the United Farm Workers unions headquarters.

He was known in the Legislature for championing measures to overhaul the criminal justice system, including abolishing cash bail, banning private prisons and immigration detention centers, and requiring immigration enforcement officers to obtain consent before interviewing detainees in county jails.

Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said Thursday that Bonta was uniquely suited to lead the state through a moment when Californians are grappling with whether the criminal justice system has truly been just, especially for low-income people and communities of color.

Bonta has really, really grappled with those issues, Skinner said, and will help all of us, and I mean the entire state of California, re-examine them and do better.

A date for Bontas swearing-in as attorney general has not been set.

One of his first challenges will be to set up a team to investigate police killings of unarmed people, created by legislation that he helped carry last year. During confirmation hearings this week, lawmakers also pressed him on a backlog of prohibited gun owners whose weapons the state has been slow to seize, illegal marijuana growing in the northern reaches of the state, and ballot measure descriptions written by the attorney generals office that conservatives have criticized as partisan.

Bonta, who will be the first Filipino American to hold statewide office in California, takes over amid a rising number of anti-Asian American hate crimes. The community has sought more aggressive measures to combat the violence, which Bonta promised to pursue.

Its the right choice at the right time, said Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine.

A special election will take place later this year for Bontas Oakland-based district, one of the most heavily Democratic in the state. His wife, Mia Bonta, president of the Alameda school board, is already running, as are social justice attorney Janani Ramachandran, Alameda Vice Mayor Malia Vella and James Aguilar, a member of the San Leandro school district board.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
While browsing through Twitter I stumbled across a tweet of Vishal Gondal -- founder of fitness band Goqii and NCore Games -- the developers behind FAU-G. In the tweet, he shared a screenshot of his search suggestions on Google Search.

Try searching how to make in @Google

See the recommendations

Pretty much sums up the current situation. Saab key liye Oxygen bhej do bhagwan  pic.twitter.com/dVGzgoX4lo  Vishal Gondal (@vishalgondal) April 22, 2021

The search query started from how to and one of the first suggestions on the list was how to make oxygen followed by the next suggestion how to make oxygen cylinder.

This made me curious to take a look at the search trend that led to these results. For this, I headed to Google Trends and looked at the trends from a week ago and from a month ago, and safe to say, the results were definitely surprising.

Also Read: Decreasing Interest In Covid-19 And Increase In Cases Means We Have Other Things On Our Mind

Looking at Google Trends for the search term how to make oxygen at home (highlighted in red) showed a search value of 100 today. A week ago from today (around April 15), this search term showed a search value of 10 to 13.

Most search interest for this term was seen in the state of Gujarat at 70, followed by Maharashtra at 49, Uttar Pradesh at 55, Madhya Pradesh at 46.

Google Trends

Similarly for the search term how to make oxygen (highlighted in blue) showed a search value of 36 today, and a week ago this search term was at around 5. Here too, Gujarat topped the list in terms of Search Interest, coming at 87 followed by Maharashtra at 61 and Uttar Pradesh at 55.

Taking a look back a month ago, just a few days before Holi celebrations in the nation, both the search terms showed a search value of just four.

Also Read: She Asked For Covid-19 Help Online, Guys Harassed Her With Dick Pics Instead

Google Trends

Oxygen shortage is worsening Covid crisis

Whether these search results were by people looking to help loved ones in need or whether it was by people looking to earn a quick buck while they sit jobless at their homes, but this surely shows how dire the situation surrounding oxygen storage has become -- especially in places like New Delhi where an extreme shortage of oxygen cylinders was experienced throughout the city.

Also Read: Seeing Indias Covid-19 Oxygen Crisis, Aerospace Company Stops Oxygen-Based Tests

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia blamed a local officer in Faridabad who didnt allow an oxygen truck from entering the city, resulting in the shortage. An oxygen leak incident that occurred in a hospital in Nashik resulted in the death of 22 COVID-19 patients.

Reuters

But people are coming to the rescue

However, the internet as a community has come together, to help and connect people who are in need of essentials to survive this pandemic.

Also Read: Oxygen To Food: Facebook, WhatsApp Groups Offering Help For Covid-19 Care

Whether its creating an app to find available oxygen cylinders or several groups on social media platforms that network and offer leads for essentials during this pandemic.

These groups aren't just restricted to oxygen cylinders, but also hospital beds, blood plasma, food and even allowing many to volunteer and help others in these dark times.

ALSO READ: He Built Free App For Covid-19 Hospital Beds, Oxygen, Plasma Info Across India
Mumbai, April 22 : Actress-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt on Thursday took to social media to express that she feels a survivor's guilt owing to the number of deaths that have happened during the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Pooja also took a dig at politicians saying they have blood on their hands for not being prepared for the disaster.

"Anyone else feeling survivors guilt? I certainly am. Each death I hear of is like a hard blow. The system has failed us and how. The political class has blood on their hands. For not preparing. For sending out a message that 'all is well'. For leaving us to fend for ourselves," Pooja Bhatt tweeted.

The actress-filmmaker's tweet comes just a day after Maharashtra witnessed a new record figure of Covid-19 deaths, along with a spike in the number of active cases.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The National Library of China (NLC), in collaboration with nine other libraries across the country, has made over 1,700 sets of ancient books available digitally, in a bid to preserve the books and make them more accessible to the public.

The newly uploaded resources, including copies of ancient books in the Tibetan language and those on traditional Chinese medicine, have increased the total number of digitalized ancient books to 74,000, the NLC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Featuring diverse languages and themes and dating back to various dynasties, the resources include manuscripts, documents, studies and more.

The Beijing-based NLC has led the building of a database dedicated to digitalized ancient books. Since its launch in 2016, more than 33,000 sets of ancient books, accounting for over two thirds of the library's total collection of antique books which are in a relatively good state, have been made available.

A registration database has also been set up to better protect antique books, with information of nearly 8 million ancient books uploaded to the platform.
by Melani Manel Perera

The Catholic Bishops' Conference urges Pope Francis to recognise as martyrs the victims of the attacks. For Card Ranjith, the bombings failed to sow divisions between different faiths. Activist slams the government for failing to live up to its promises and provide justice no justice. People want the truth.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Sri Lankan Christians yesterday marked the second anniversary of the Easter Sunday bombings of three churches and three luxury hotels.

Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith led the prayer, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Anton Ranjith, at the St Anthony's Shrine in the capital.

Two other auxiliary bishops, J. D. Anthony and Maxwell Silva, co-celebrated the service at St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya.

Last night, at the end of mass at St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka sent a letter to Pope Francis asking him to recognise as martyrs those who died in the attacks.

In the morning, the families of the victims gathered in the two churches hit in Colombo and Negombo, wearing mourning black.

At 8.45 am, to coincide with the explosion of the first bomb, a minute of silence and commemoration was held, accompanied by the chime of bells. At the end, those present lit candles and offered flowers in memory of the dead.

In Kochchikade, the Archbishop of Colombo celebrated in English and Sinhala the memorial service in front of numerous ambassadors and officials.

In his address, he pointed out that religious extremism is a useful tool for players in global geopolitics and their local agents to achieve their goals. One of them, sowing tensions among different religions, has failed.

People have defeated the attempt made by different political and other forces to create animosity between Christians, Sinhalese and Muslims, the prelate said. It is important that we work together as religions and not one against one another.

Speaking about the report by the commission of inquiry and the ongoing investigation, the cardinal said that What impedes a transparent process of inquiry into this matter is political posturing and the need to safeguard alliances.

In the evening, more than 500 Catholic priests from all of Sri Lankas dioceses recited the rosary during a procession in Negombo from the Maris Stella College to St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya.

A chariot with the statue of the Risen Christ damaged in the explosion travelled at the head of the procession while one carrying Our Lady followed at the end.

Card Ranjith, all the Catholic bishops, Anglican and Methodist clerics, Muslim Moulavi and Hindu Kurukkal, several Buddhist monks and several believers joined the procession. At the end came the blessing of the new chapel and David Watta cemetery in Katuwapitiya.

Meanwhile, the Negombo Citizens' Coalition held a silent protest yesterday morning from 8 am to 9.30 am, on the main road not far from the St Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya.

Herman Kumara, a representative of the Coalition, told AsiaNews how the current government came to power with great hope (of justice) for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks. They said they would find the masterminds of the attacks, arrest them and enforce the law.

So far, that law has not been applied, he added. We don't trust what they say, what they do. [. . .] Those arrested have been released. In doing so, justice long hoped for by the oppressed and the rest of the country will never be achieved. We want the truth.
Religious freedom conditions have worsened in Pakistan as the government systematically enforces 'blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws', a report released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on Wednesday.

"Religious freedom conditions in Pakistan continued to worsen. The government systematically enforced blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws and failed to protect religious minorities from abuses by non-state actors. There was a sharp rise in targeted killings, blasphemy cases, forced conversions, and hate speech targeting religious minorities," the 2021 Annual Report stated.

According to USCIRF, Pakistan's treatment of religious minorities is evident by its treatment of the Ahmadiyya community, who continue to face severe persecution for their beliefs and self-identification as Muslims.

"The year saw a surge in targeted killings of Ahmadis. Between July and November, five Ahmadis were murdered, including 57-year-old Tahir Naseem, an American citizen accused of blasphemy who was shot in a courtroom in July. In May, the government formed the National Minorities Commission (NMC) required by a 2014 Supreme Court decision, however Ahmadis were excluded," the report noted.

It further stated that Pakistan's religiously discriminatory legislation - the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws  combined with the new media rules, contributed to horrible human rights abuses, creating an atmosphere of intolerance for religious minorities that often leads to violence and discrimination.

More than 40 blasphemy FIRs were registered in August mostly targeting the Shia minority during the month of Muharram. Last year, at least 30 Christians, including seven on death row, were imprisoned in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy, said the report. It also highlighted that the issue of abduction, forced conversion to Islam, rape, and forced marriage remain an imminent threat for religious minority women and children, particularly from the Hindu and Christian faiths.

"Pakistani courts systematically failed to protect and provide justice to victims, who are often forced to testify that they converted voluntarily to protect themselves and their families from further harm.

In April, a 14-year-old Christian schoolgirl was abducted at gunpoint. She told the police she was drugged, raped, and forced to sign papers that her abductor later used to allege that she was 19 and voluntarily married and converted her. Yet, the court ordered that she be returned to her abductor.

US rights commission demands repeal of blasphemy law

The US rights commission has recommended the US government, repeal the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws in Pakistan. Until the law is repealed, Pakistan must enact reforms to make blasphemy a bailable offence, require evidence by accusers, ensure proper investigation by senior police officials, allow authorities to dismiss unfounded accusations, and enforce the existing Penal Code articles criminalising perjury and false accusations.

It also demanded the release of blasphemy prisoners and other individuals imprisoned for their religion or belief. The 2021 Annual Report further recommends holding accountable individuals who incite or participate in vigilante violence, targeted killings, forced conversions, and other hate crimes.

"Impose targeted sanctions on Pakistani government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals' assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights-related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations," the report suggested.

(With inputs from agency)
A driver who was impaired by prescription drugs during a fatal head-on crash in Lacey Township pleaded guilty on Thursday to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

William Orr, 70, of Whiting, was operating a 2018 Hyundai Elantra westbound on Lacey Road on Sept. 28, 2018 when he crossed over the center line and struck a 2017 Nissan Sentra being driven by Elizabeth Patashinsky, 40, of Palm Bay, Florida. Patashinsky was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where she died.

Orr did not appear impaired and could not perform field sobriety tests due to a back injury, and was also transported to the hospital where he consented to having his blood drawn, the Ocean County Prosecutors Office said.

A month later, toxicology results showed the presence of four lawfully-prescribed medications in Orrs system: Alprazolam, Gabapentin, Oxycodone and Zolpidem. Forensic toxicologists concluded the combined psychoactive effects of those medications made Orr unfit to safely operate a motor vehicle.

I wish to remind the public that impaired driving is not limited to being under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a statement. The combined effects of ingesting even prescription medications might very well have a deleterious impact upon ones ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. I urge all motorists who use prescription medications to exercise extreme caution before they drive; failure to do so may produce deadly consequences, as this case so painfully demonstrates.

Orr was arrested on Oct. 29, 2018 and released pending trial. His sentencing is scheduled for May 10.

Prosecutors at sentencing will be seeking a three-year term in New Jersey State Prison with a three-year term of parole eligibility. The plea agreement is the result of extensive consultation with the Patashinsky family, the prosecutors office said.

It is only by the grace of Ms. Patashinskys family that we agreed to a sentence that is significantly less than what would otherwise have been recommended to the Court, Billhimer said. This defendant should consider himself very fortunate that the victims family  in a show of tremendous mercy  requested this case be resolved is this manner.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.
A Burlington County man who admitted to sexually assaulting three children over multiple years was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in state prison, authorities said.

Christopher Elder, 37, of Riverside pleaded guilty in February to aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said. Under his plea agreement, he will not be eligible for parole and must serve the entire sentence, according to a statement from the Burlington County Prosecutors Office.

The investigation began last year after one of the children disclosed the assaults to a family member, who then contacted the police, the office said.

It was unclear how Elder encountered the children. No other details about the case were released.

Elder was arrested in September and lodged in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly, officials said.

The impact on the children is unknown at this time, Burlington County Superior Court Judge Philip E. Haines said as he handed down the sentence. We dont know what the full impact will be, and probably wont know for a number of years. Life is tough enough in an ideal situation, let alone having to go through this.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina praised the victims for the courage they showed during the investigation.

Our hope is that their actions will empower them to heal from their horrible experiences, Coffina said in a statement. We are gratified that this plea agreement and sentence will spare the victims the pain of reliving the trauma during a trial.

Once Elder is released, he will be placed on the New Jersey sex offender registry and also be subjected to parole supervision for life, the office 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.
A powerful bomb exploded in the parking area of a luxury hotel in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least four people and wounding at least nine others, police said. Security forces rushed to the Serena hotel and no one was being allowed to go near the site of the blast. Police said rescuers transported victims to nearby hospitals. Footage on Pakistan news channels showed burning cars.

Hours after the attack, the Pakistani Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility, saying it was a suicide attack. The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban.

Senior police official Azhar Akram said officers were trying to determine whether the bomb was planted in a vehicle that was parked in the hotel's parking lot. He provided no further details, saying police were still investigating. Other security officials said the bomb exploded minutes after a car entered the parking lot, and authorities were investigating to determine whether it was a suicide attack.

Wasim Beg, a spokesperson at the provincial health department, said four people died and 12 were wounded in the bombing. It was unclear who was behind the attack. Southwestern Baluchistan province is the scene of a long-running insurgency by secessionist groups like the Baluchistan Liberation Front and the Baluchistan Liberation Army. They have for decades staged attacks to press their demands for independence. The Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State group also have a presence there.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the provincial capital. Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed quickly blamed neighboring India for the hotel bombing, although he provided no evidence to back up the allegation. He told a Pakistani Geo news channel that Pakistan had only one enemy and it was neighboring India, which he alleged was behind the bombing. Ahmed said they had received intelligence about possible attacks in the capital, Islamabad and elsewhere and the information had been shared with relevant authorities to beef up security

Liaquat Shahwani, a provincial government spokesman, called the attack an act of terrorism. "Terrorists want to disrupt peace in Baluchistan. Those who don't want to see progress and prosperity in the Baluchistan province are responsible for this act of terrorism."

Jam Kamal Khan, chief minister in Baluchistan, took to Twitter to condemn the bombing. Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said authorities were investigating and a statement would be issued later.

Baluchistan's Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong was staying at the hotel at the time of the bombing but it was unclear what the motive was behind the attack. He said no guests were hurt but that a police officer was among four people who died in the attack.

The hotel is frequented by foreigners as it is the city's only luxury hotel and is considered safe. Arbab Kamran Kasi, a doctor at Quetta's main hospital, said about a dozen wounded were being brought their and they declared an emergency at the hospital to handle victims.

The bombing in Quetta came hours after Pakistan and neighboring Iran opened a new border crossing point in Baluchistan to improve trade and economic relations. Baluchistan shares a border with Iran and Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban have been targeting the military and civilians across the country since 2001, when this Islamic nation joined the U.S.-led war on terror following the Sept. 11 attack in the United States. Since then, the insurgents have declared war on the government of Pakistan and have carried out numerous attacks. Pakistan's militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has nearly completed a fence along the border with Afghanistan, which Islamabad says is necessary to prevent militant attacks from both sides. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan often accuse each other of turning a blind eye to Islamic militants operating along the porous frontier.

Also read: US focussed on expanding global immunisation, production to end COVID-19 pandemic
When Crystal Good was sixteen years old, she tried to buy one of the last Black newspapers in West Virginia. Looking back, Im not sure how I thought I was going to pay for it, Good says, laughing. And of course, they wouldnt sell me the paper, but they asked me to sell ads for them. And I was like, Oh, hell no. Years later, Good is building a publication of her own, one that allows for Black voices to have their own microphones, not the microphone passed to them and then taken back, she says.

Launched in 2020 as a website and newsletter, Black by God, the West Virginian is a young publication with a small audience; its in beta, as Good says. But Good believes deeply in the role publications like hers can play in the future of local journalism. (This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.)

CJR: What led you to decide to pursue this project?

Crystal Good: If you talk to the West Virginia Press Association and the seventy newspapers that they represent, they will tell you that in thirty-five years, there have been three Black reporters. That should just stop everybody in their tracks. Many Black pastors and community leaders over the course of West Virginias recent history have used the op-ed as the vehicle for communication, because we dont have Black newspaper reporters in West Virginia now. Right now, in Charleston, West Virginiawhich has one of the largest populations of Black folks in the stateweve had two recent gunshot murders. When this happens, it really shocks the community. Its another trauma. Were in the middle of a national conversation about George Floyd, about addiction. Its reported, but theres no context in terms of why does this happen in the Black community? And what is the trauma? So Im introducing Black by God into the narrative.

The fact that there hasnt actually been a Black print newspaper in the state in my childrens generation people no longer have a memory of that. They cant name a Black newspaper reporter. Im just trying to create a framework and test different things, but first and foremost, to build the audience and talk to people. What do they want? And what do they need?

Earlier this year, I wrote an article about the information gap and how COVID just highlighted all of the disparities, but especially the news disparity, the lack of information access for Black people. And the owner of HD Media made a little flip comment on my Twitter, something to the effect of, Well, Crystal, you know, when the lights go out in West Virginia, everybodys Black. It really shows the need for Black by God, right? Like you have the white owner of every major newspaper in West Virginia, feeling comfortable to make a racial joke? If this is the guy that owns the newspapers, youre never going to get a Black reporter to come work for you for very long. Its just not gonna work.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

CJR: Who is your audience right now?

Good: I had a fairly decent newsletter following for my poetry, and that sort of folded over into Black by God. Right now, the audience is probably a good mix white allies within the state and the diaspora of West Virginia. But I want to build Black by God from the needs, wants and hopes and aspirations of the Black community in West Virginia. Thats where the work is, in building that relationship and building that audience. Im not taking an audience away from the Charleston Gazette, or the Mountain State Spotlight or the Herald-Dispatch. To be honest, I feel like I could fully launch Black by God tomorrow, if I wanted to make it a paper for the progressive white community in West Virginia and outside and have their support. But I have to do the thinking to meet with the people in the Black communities, to tell the stories that they want. I think that the support is there, from the traditional news folks. But Im trying to reach the community that might not be in those portals.

Im ambitious about eventually dropping this in print or a zine, to start to build a relationship and a knowledge about what Im doing. One of the hard parts is that people dont understand the need for community journalism and/or Black journalism. They dont understand the information gap, because you cant miss something youve never had. A lot of the work that Im doing right now is just let me show you.

CJR: You launched your newsletter in August of 2020, amid the pandemic, which was a difficult time for everyone, and a particularly difficult time for local journalism. What was that like?

Good: I didnt know any different! Quite often, one of the downfalls in West Virginia is that if you have an idea, then you should do itbut then that means that you have to do it. Being a poet here, I had to create the venue, I had to create the workshop, figure out how to publish my book, had to edit my book, and had to sell my book. You have to do it all. I think West Virginia has a bad habit of thinking just one person can do something, and its enough. There can just be one coffee shop or one art store. But we need transformational change.

Its the time to put the seed into the soil and try to give it the best conditions possible. If not now, then when? Im willing to take my chances. Since August, Im just in the very experimental phase. My goal is that, by 2022, Black by God will be shaped up and consistent, have a better engine to it. But until then Im okay with trying things and learning, because meeting people where they are feels really special.

CJR: One thing that I think about a lot in this newsletter is resources: where theyre coming from, whether there are enough of enough of them, where theyre going, how to resources to sustain publications like yours that are doing really important, really transformative work? As youre thinking about resources, where were you looking? How are you starting that process? What are you thinking about?

Good: Right now, what I need is to develop the operational side. I would not be here if it wasnt for the NewStart program. I cant speak highly enough of that program. Its introduced me to so many people, and so many ideas, like Scalawag, Outlier, MLK 50. Im like, okay, it can be done. And Im able to tap into these ideas. Im still creating the structure. Its also figuring out what the people of West Virginia want. I also think theres a lot of talent here that just hasnt been hasnt been told that its talent, or that this is a career, or that this is a job. My hope would be that I would be able to get some startup capital, and to be able to kind of shake things and do things, without the situation where you get the grant and youre really just working toward the grant.

I do want some runway capital to be able to continue to experiment. I need some autonomy while Im figuring this out, right? One thing about being an entrepreneur is that it might not work. But even if you inspire the next thing, that can facilitate change.

CJR: I read something today commenting on the limitations of billionaire philanthropic funding for local journalism. Who does that serve?

Good: Oh yeah, cause then Im bound tosomebodys gonna get pissed off because I say the white lens of journalism. I think that Black by Gods going to require a good healthy mix [of funding], but Im trying to find a way to keep our independence.

CJR: So what will success look like? How do you define it?

Good: I want to be the bridge into West Virginia and out of West Virginia. For me, success is If someone writes for me in 2021, and then in 2024, theyre still in the industry. Thats the bridge I wanna build. Or when people start to see Black by God as a resource.

Ive realized that theres a great need in terms of building political literacy, coordinating different organizations. So I see Black by God being a sort of hub. Take the NAACP or the Allied Organizationseverybody thats working on stuff at the legislature that connects back to the community. Theres no real bridge into the community to explain that work. I see Black by God being a catalyst. We dont have to do all the work, but we can inspire it. And we can report out.

Im excited about more people knowing that this idea exists. It opens up the door to the conversation, which is that Black people in West Virginia exist. Its important that our voices are heard. And its important that we, as a community, are finding resources. Im really tired of seeing the allies and good white folks keep pointing over to the enemy of Trump over there, or Republicans over there, when theres a lot of work to be done that allows for Black leadership, that allows for Black voices to have their own microphones, not the microphone passed to them and then taken back.

Thats why I love the name Black by God. Its a riff on the way West Virginians explain ourselves; we are West, by God, Virginia. I called the publication Black by God, the West Virginian to claim that identity of place but also to be unapologetic in our role in Black America. And in West Virginias history. West has such a rich history of Black journalism, journalists like Tony Brown, and the history of Black newspapers in the 1800s and the 1900s. Its hard for Black journalists and Black publications to stay. And it has been for hundreds of years. Hopefully this is the moment.

The Journalism Crisis Project aims to train our focus on the present crisis, tallying lost jobs and outlets and fostering a conversation about what comes next. We hope youll join us (click to subscribe).



EXPLORE THE TOW CENTERS COVID-19 CUTBACK TRACKER: Over the past year, researchers at the Tow Center have collected reports of a wide range of cutbacks amid the pandemic. Now theres an interactive map and searchable database. You can find it here.



CONTRIBUTE TO OUR DATABASE: If youre aware of a newsroom experiencing layoffs, cutbacks, furloughs, print reductions, or any fundamental change as a result of COVID-19, let us know by submitting information here. (Personal information will be kept secure by the Tow Center and will not be shared.)

Below, more on recent media trends and changes in newsrooms across the world:

JOURNALISM JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES: Poynter has put together a list of places to search for journalism jobs and internships. MediaGazer has been maintaining a list of media companies that are currently hiring. You can find it here. The Deez Links newsletter, in partnership with Study Hall, offers media classifieds for both job seekers and job providers. The Successful Pitches database offers resources for freelancers. The International Journalists Network lists international job opportunities alongside opportunities for funding and further education.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Lauren Harris is a freelance journalist. She writes CJR's weekly newsletter for the Journalism Crisis Project. Follow her on Twitter @LHarrisWrites.
WASHINGTON - The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international co-operation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America's return to the fight against global warming.

In this April 19, 2021, photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON - The leaders of Russia and China put aside their raw-worded disputes with U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday long enough to pledge international co-operation on cutting climate-wrecking coal and petroleum emissions in a livestreamed summit showcasing America's return to the fight against global warming.

Neither Vladimir Putin nor Xi Jinping immediately followed the United States and some of its developed allies in making specific new pledges to reduce damaging fossil fuel pollution during the first day of the two-day U.S.-hosted summit. But climate advocates hoped the high-profile  if glitch-ridden  virtual gathering would kickstart new action by major polluters, paving the way for a November U.N. meeting in Glasgow critical to drastically slowing climate change over the coming decade.

The entire world faces a moment of peril but also a moment of opportunity, Biden declared, speaking from a TV-style chrome-blue set for the virtual summit of 40 world leaders. Participants appeared one after the other onscreen for what appeared to be a mix of live and recorded addresses.

The signs are unmistakable," Biden said. "The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction keeps mounting.

President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Washington, as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Biden's new U.S. commitment, timed to the summit, would cut America's fossil fuel emissions as much as 52% by 2030. It comes after four years of international withdrawal from the issue under President Donald Trump, who mocked the science of climate change and pulled the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.

Bidens administration this week is sketching out a vision of a prosperous, clean-energy United States where factories churn out cutting-edge batteries and electric cars for export, line workers re-lay an efficient national electrical grid and crews cap abandoned oil and gas rigs and coal mines.

But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the administrations plans as costly and ineffective.

This is quite the one-two punch, McConnell said in a Senate speech Thursday. Toothless requests of our foreign adversaries ... and maximum pain for American citizens.

At the summit, Japan announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target and South Korea said it would stop public financing of new coal-fired power plants, potentially an important step toward persuading China and other coal-reliant nations to curb building and funding of new ones as well.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, speaks as the screen showing world leaders at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (Lee Jin-wook/Yonhap via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of the leaders shown watching summit proceedings in the coronavirus pandemic's familiar Brady Bunch-style multibox conference screen, said his nation would up its fossil fuel pollution cuts from 30% to at least 40%.

Travel precautions under the pandemic compelled the summit to play out on livestream, limiting opportunities for spontaneous interaction and negotiation. Its opening hours were sometimes marked by electronic echoes, random beeps and off-screen voices.

But the summit also marshalled an impressive display of the world's most powerful leaders speaking on the single issue of climate change.

China's Xi, whose country is the world's biggest emissions culprit, followed by the United States, spoke first among the other global figures. He made no reference to disputes over territorial claims, trade and other matters that had made it uncertain until Wednesday that he would even take part in the U.S. summit. And he said China would work with America in cutting emissions.

To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. Its as simple as that," Xi said.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen on a screen as European Council President Charles Michel attends a virtual Global Climate Summit via video link from the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (Johanna Geron, Pool via AP)

Putin and his government have been irate over Biden's characterization of him as a killer" for Russia's aggressive moves against its opponents, and he is under pressure this week over the declining health of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny. But he made no mention of those disputes in his own climate remarks.

Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international co-operation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges," Putin said. Russia by some measures is the world's fourth-biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel fumes.

Climate efforts in recent years have proved a forum where even rival world leaders want to be seen as putting aside disputes to serve as international statesmen and women, even though the cumulative output of fossil fuel emissions is still hurtling the Earth toward disastrous temperature rises.

The pandemic made gathering world leaders for the climate summit too risky. So Biden's staff built a small set in the East Room that looked like it was taken from a daytime talk show.

Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris joined Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House climate envoy John Kerry at a horseshoe-shaped table set up around a giant potted plant to watch fellow leaders speeches.

The format meant a cavalcade of short speeches by world leaders, some scripted, some not. This is not bunny-hugging, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the climate efforts. This is about growth and jobs.

The Biden administrations pledge would require by far the most ambitious U.S. climate effort ever, nearly doubling the reductions that the Obama administration had committed to in the Paris climate accord.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of many allies welcoming the U.S. return after Trump..

I'm delighted to see that the United States is back, is back to work together with us in climate politics, Merkel declared in her virtual appearance. "Because there can be no doubt about the world needing your contribution if we really want to fulfil our ambitious goals.

Pope Francis contributed a video from the Vatican, saying, I wish you success in this beautiful decision to meet, walk together going forward and I am with you all the way.

The new urgency comes as scientists say that climate change caused by coal plants, car engines and other fossil fuel use is worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and that humans are running out of time to stave off catastrophic extremes of global warming.

Leaders of smaller states and island nations buffeted by rising seas and worsening hurricanes appealed for aid and fast emissions cuts from world powers.

We are the least contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but the most affected by climate change, said Gaston Alfonso Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He called for debt relief and more international assistance to recover from storms and the pandemic to prevent a flow of climate refugees. His people he said, are "teetering on the edge of despair.

Longtime climate policy experts, no strangers to climate summits with solemn pledges, watched some speeches with skepticism. After Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro promised an end to clearcutting in the Amazon, Dan Wilkinson of Human Rights Watch's environmental programs noted, "It is going to be hard for anyone to take it seriously until they actually start taking steps."

Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in New Delhi, Joe McDonald in Beijing, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, David Biller in Rio de Janeiro, Nicole Winfield in Vatican City, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Aamer Madhani, Seth Borenstein, Lisa Mascaro and Alexandra Jaffe in Washington contributed to this report.
Sarah Miles has gushed over her new lover Ian Hollis, who is 17 years her junior, saying he is 'extraordinary'.

The actress, 79, who is famed for drinking her own urine, spoke candidly with The Daily Mail's Sebastian Shakespeare on Thursday, gushing that 'there is nothing' the retired lawyer 'can't do'.

Sarah was previously married twice to screenwriter Robert Bolt, and famously had affairs with Laurence Olivier, Robert Mitchum, and Steven Spielberg.

'He's extraordinary!' Sarah Miles, 79, gushed over new man Ian Hollis, 62, as she admitted there is 'nothing he can't do' in an interview on Thursday (pictured together on Wednesday)

Reflecting on Ian, Sarah admitted: 'He's extraordinary. There is nothing he can't do. He's a Mr Fixit.'

When it was suggested that the pair tie the knot in the future, Ian -who Sarah lovingly calls Jeeves- said: 'We hadn't thought about it.'

Sarah has been spending lockdown in her medieval manor house in West Sussex with her new partner, who has one daughter from his previous marriage.

The couple's romance blossomed after they spent time playing chess and backgammon together.

Sparks flying: Sarah (pictured in 2018) and Ian's romance blossomed after they spent time playing chess and backgammon together

Romance: Sarah was previously married twice to late screenwriter Robert Bolt, by whom she has son Tom (pictured together in 1985)

Earlier this month, Sarah said of her boyfriend: 'He's called Jeeves  the name was his idea. And we've been having a wonderful time.'

Sarah was previously married twice, both times to late screenwriter Robert, by whom she has son Tom.

She also had an affair with Laurence Olivier, which lasted on and off for 20 years from 1962, and she also enjoyed romances with her co-star on Ryan's Daughter Robert Mitchum, and film-maker Steven Spielberg.

Sarah met Olivier at a film casting for the 1962 film Term Of Trial, he was in his mid-50s and recently married to his second wife, the actress Joan Plowright, when they embarked on their first affair.

Former flame: Sarah had an affair with Laurence Olivier (pictured in 1962) which lasted on and off for 20 years from 1962, he was in his mid-50s and married to second wife Joan Plowright

She called Olivier 'Lionel' during their on-off 20-year affair, because 'he was obsessed with Richard the Lionheart'. He used to call her 'Pussycat'.

When they met he was 53 and she was 18, but in 2019 she told The Daily Mail: 'I've never cared about age.

'He was terribly like my father, but Larry took the biscuit when it comes to energy. He just never stopped. He had an energy you would not believe from anyone but avatars.'

She added: I never wanted to be married to him, though towards the end he definitely wanted to be married to me!'

Co-stars: Sarah called Olivier 'Lionel' during their on-off 20-year affair, because 'he was obsessed with Richard the Lionheart' (pictured in Term Of Trial in 1962)

Although she had other lovers, she returned to Olivier more than once, and they remained close until his death in 1989.

Sarah also spoke to MailOnline about falling for movie mogul Spielberg, with whom she lived, briefly in LA, saying: 'He was charming, just like a little boy  though it was our dogs who fell in love first.'

The actress and her husband Robert were first married from 1967 to 1976, and they got remarried in 1988 - two years after he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed and affected his speech, they remained together until his death in 1995.

Relationship: The actress and husband Robert were first married from 1967 to 1976 and got remarried in 1988 two years after he had a stroke, they were together until his death in 1995 (pictured in 1986)

Her last lover before Ian was a man she'd met through the local monastery, and Sarah previously reflected on the relationship with The Daily Mail.

'He was a walking encyclopaedia of the esoteric arts and so, so kind,' she said at the time. 'But sadly he was also a gambling addict and he cleaned me out completely.'

Sarah claimed the experience had put her off lovers but she refused to be bitter, and it seems she has been able to move on with beau Ian.

In 2019 she said: 'I feel people have always underestimated me. But you can't just give up! You have to move on.'
Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo speaks during the inauguration of the new ASEAN Secretariat Building in Jakarta, Aug. 8, 2019.

Updated at 7:51 p.m. ET on 2021-04-22

The heads of the Philippine and Thai governments blamed surging COVID-19 infections at home for their decision not to attend a leader-level regional summit on the crisis in Myanmar, amid international expectations for the meeting to deliver concrete outcomes, officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, amid talk about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) discussing the appointment of an envoy to Myanmar during its special one-day summit in Jakarta on Saturday, a member of the countrys parallel civilian government said Thursday that the bloc must ensure that this doesnt lead to recognition of the Burmese junta, which toppled an elected government on Feb. 1.

Elsewhere, grassroots groups participating in an online Southeast Asia Peoples Summit on Myanmar on Thursday, reiterated calls for ASEAN to reject the military regime and recognize the parallel National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate one.

In Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha defended his decision to skip the summit and send a deputy prime minister in his place.

He said the turmoil in Myanmar is challenging to peace and stability in the region.

[A]midst the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand, I regret not being able to attend the summit by myself in Jakarta, the Thai PM and former junta leader said.

I hope that this summit will bring success and will improve the situation in Myanmar in a better way. Thailand is ready to apply the meetings resolution, Prayuth added.

Separately, Thai foreign ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said that ASEAN countries were aware of international expectations to deliver concrete outcomes from the talks.

It is now up to ASEAN family members including Myanmar to safeguard ASEANs unity and credibility, Tanee said at a press conference.

ASEAN has yet to condemn the Myanmar military coup, but many international organizations, including the United Nations, are looking to the bloc to help solve the crisis. It has led to the deaths of hundreds of anti-coup protesters at the hands of the armed and security forces.

Seven ASEAN leaders were on the list to attend the meeting with the head of Myanmars junta, according to a roster released by the ASEAN Secretariat. But Prayuths absence in particular will weaken the prospects of the bloc taking firm action against Naypyidaw, because the former Thai army chief is a key ASEAN leader who has influence with Myanmars military, according to analysts.

Human rights activists and regional observers concur that the Saturday summit will be a test  possibly a defining moment for ASEAN, which was founded in 1967.

This is a challenging situation that either elevates ASEAN in the eyes of the international community or discredits it, former East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta said at the peoples summit on Myanmar held online Thursday.

ASEAN envoy to Myanmar

Observers believe that during the summit, ASEAN leaders will discuss member-state Malaysias proposal for the blocs current chair Brunei, or its secretary-general, to visit Myanmar.

On Thursday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte supported the idea of such a visit, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, in which it announced that Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. would represent the Philippine delegation at the summit.

But Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, minister of Women, Children and Youth in the National Unity Government, said ASEAN needed to approach this idea with caution.

On ASEAN sending a special envoy, I think they really need to be careful because Myanmar people and other people around the world are looking closely at what is happening, she said during a press conference organized by the group ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

[I]t should not happen that ASEAN recognizes the wrong institutions, so it should be careful to understand and recognize the peoples desire to bring back those they elected.

Charles Santiago, the chairman of APHR, said the bloc must be wary of appointing an envoy to Myanmar.

ASEAN is looking to appoint a special envoy [to Myanmar], but this is dangerous because the army can use that as a way to buy time, and that will not be helpful because the amount of violence and amount of killings is very high, Santiago told BenarNews.

Meanwhile, grassroots organizations, which took part in the peoples summit were skeptical that the ASEAN summit would achieve much, because of the blocs overzealous respect for state sovereignty.

They were referring to ASEANs foundational principle of non-interference in member-states domestic affairs that has been criticized by many as an obstacle for preserving democracy and the rule of law in the region.

With the different interest[s] and political will of ASEAN member states at the moment, we are concerned to what extent the ASEAN special summit can create an immediate and meaningful intervention to resolve the situation of Myanmar, an open letter from the peoples summit said.

For instance, the Asia Forum for Human Rights and Development noted in a statement on Thursday, only one of ASEANs 10 leaders had so far called the militarys overthrow of the elected government in Myanmar a coup.

[N]one of the interventions made by ASEAN and its member states during the course of February  March, except for the recent statement by Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on 19 March 2021, has addressed the current crisis in Myanmar as a coup, the forum said in its analysis of ASEAN countries responses to the crisis.

Participants at the peoples summit said that ASEAN must reject the Myanmar junta. This is one of seven demands that the Peoples Summit has made of ASEAN ahead of the summit in Jakarta.

The bloc must reject the presence of [the] illegitimate military junta as the representative of Myanmar in the summit [and] give the seat of Myanmar in the ASEAN summit to its legitimate representative, the National Unity Government, they said.

ASEAN must coordinate with the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council to send a joint delegation to Myanmar to monitor the situation, stop the violence and help negotiate a democratic and human rights-based solution, they demanded.

We urge all ASEAN leaders to listen to, to strongly consider, and to heed to the aspirations and will of the peoples of Myanmar. The voices of Myanmar people who have risked their lives in defense for democracy and justice must be the anchor, the conscience, behind any modality and outcome of the ASEAN Special Summit on Myanmar, their open letter said.

Ronna Nirmala in Jakarta, Jason Gutierrez in Manila, Kunnawut Boonreak in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Hadi Azmi in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report.
Its been a long time coming, but following years of conversations, Shang-Chi is finally coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Simu Liu, the master of kung fu is positioned to be a major player in the MCU going forward. Shang-Chi has a rich history in the comics, and already he seems like Marvel could be teasing at a team-up with none other than Spider-Man.

A portrait of Spider-Man seen at the NiceOne Barcelona Gaming & Digital Experiences Festival in Barcelona, Spain in 2019 | Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Marvel released a teaser for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Marvel has run into persistent delays with launching Phase 4. But now the next era of the MCU is finally kicking off. The September 2021 release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is only months away. Yet, Marvel still took fans by surprise by celebrating Lius birthday with the movies first teaser trailer.

The footage doesnt reveal anything plot-related. However, it does give fans their first real glimpse at the Mandarin (Tony Leung), a Marvel villain previously teased in Iron Man 3. Moreover, the Shang-Chi trailer offers a taste of the kind of action director Destin Daniel Cretton will bring to the MCU. But eagle-eyed fans spotted something even more intriguing.

RELATED: Marvel Phase 4: Which Other Marvel Movies Will Join the MCU?

A minor character returns from Spider-Man: Homecoming

Soon after the Shang-Chi teaser trailer released, fans online noticed a familiar face in the background of one shot. During a scene on a subway, one of the background characters appears to be actor Zach Cherry. Fans and journalists reached out to Cherry via his Twitter account, where the actor more or less confirmed his role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings.

What makes Cherrys role significant is the fact he has appeared in the MCU before. The actor makes a brief appearance as a street vendor in Spider-Man: Homecoming. So his role in Shang-Chi seemingly confirms Lius superhero will end up in New York at some point. But what if it teases something bigger Marvel has planned later on in Phase 4?

Just as Avengers: Endgame set up this initial round of MCU Disney+ shows, Shang-Chis debut could be planting the seeds for a partnership with Spider-Man. No Marvel character is as inherently tied to New York as the webslinger. And the superheroes have been known to work together in the comics. Perhaps Cherrys small role is the subtly laying that groundwork.

Its not not  Zach Cherry (@zachcherrygmail) April 19, 2021

RELATED: Marvels Spider-Man 3 Could Bring a Suicide Squad Star into the MCU

Could Simu Liu show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home?

As of now, fans have no clue what the future has in store for their friendly neighborhood webhead. Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to hit theaters on Dec. 17, 2021. Although the multiverse is said to play a key role, its still uncertain what the main plot of the movie will involve. Could Lius Shang-Chi make a cameo appearance alongside Tom Hollands Peter Parker?

It certainly seems possible. If Phase 4 builds on itself like past Marvel films, it would be the logical next step. Spider-Man: No Way Home comes out only a few months after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Presumably, both heroes will occupy New York at various points. By now fans know to expect the unexpected when it comes to part threes in the MCU.
About 10:30 p.m., a woman, who remained unidentified Thursday morning, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to her head and upper body, police said. She was sitting by herself in a parked white Ford Fusion in the 12000 block of South Indiana Avenue, just over a mile away from the first shooting. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The majority of Britons want the UK's foreign travel ban to last until next year - and most have no intention of going on holiday anywhere this summer, an exclusive poll for MailOnline revealed today, as Ministers rush through covid passports in time to start foreign breaks on May 17.

As Spain said it was 'desperate' for Brits to return this summer, some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent say they are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only a quarter harbouring hopes of a break in another country.

The findings, in an exclusive poll for MailOnline by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, underline the level of nervousness among the population after a year of brutal lockdowns.

It comes as ministers try to rush through 'Covid passports' in time for the scheduled easing of the non-essential travel ban on May 17 - but will only reveal the UK's green list of countries on May 7 - as Spain talked up a quarantine-free travel corridor.

Greece says it is ready to welcome vaccinated British tourists immediately when its resorts open up on May 15, while Spain and Portugal say they will throw open their borders from June along with much of the EU.

Spanish Tourism Secretary, Fernando Valdes, said he wants UK holidaymakers to 'restart holidays' in six weeks, adding: 'We are desperate to welcome you this summer. We've been having constant conversations with UK authorities'. Mr Valdes said a travel corridor between the two countries, allowing quarantine-free breaks, is firmly on the table but only with covid passports 'easing' the return of 'safe' travel.

The European Union's ban on visitors in 2021 is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one dose and 10million of those receive both doses already.

A Government source told MailOnline that the Covid passport scheme would be in place next month to help people who want to travel to countries that are requiring proof of vaccination - but the source insisted that the key factor for Britons will be the rules on quarantine when returning to the UK.

Youve got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are. We will have that green, amber, red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?', the insider said.

And they suggested that holidaymakers will not know what countries fall into what traffic light category until around a week before May 17, probably May 7. The criteria for assessing countries are set to include whether there are variants of concern, how good their genomic scanning system is, vaccination levels, and overall infection levels.

That will all become clear much nearer the time, one source said. India has just gone off... Youre going to book a holiday in Spain in June? Well, good luck, but just make sure you are insured.

The hope for holidays this summer came as:

Covid is no longer the leading cause of death in the UK for the first time since OCTOBER behind dementia and heart disease;

New YouGov poll finds that 61% of Britons support covid passports if it allows venues such as pubs and theatres remove social distancing restrictions;

Michael Gove is visiting Israel to study its COVID 'green pass' smartphone app for tests and vaccinations as the possible model for vaccine passports in the UK. Government plans to have them ready in time for the start of non-essential foreign travel on May 17;

Travel industry believes that the traffic light system will be published on May 7, complaining it should be much sooner;

MPs warn the great international getaway next month is in jeopardy because of the Government's 'vague and costly' plans with details not announced until days before;

Heathrow Airport is refusing requests for extra flights from India before the country is added to the Government's coronavirus red list at 4am tomorrow due to fears of long border queues packed with thousands of people arriving from country with cases reaching 314,835 cases in a day - a global record;

According to an exclusive new poll for MailOnline, 43 per cent of Brits are not planning to go anywhere at all on holiday this summer, with only 16 per cent harbouring hopes of a break in another country

Some 55 per cent back extending the Covid restrictions on non-essential trips abroad into 2022 - while just 21 per cent would oppose the idea

SPAIN: Brits desperate for some sun in Europe are set for good news as countries including on the Costa Blanca (pictured) plans to welcome vaccinated travellers from the UK from June

PORTUGAL: The Algarve is also expected to be opened up from June because of the UK's world leading jabs scheme

GREECE: Greek tourism chiefs has already dropped its quarantine rules for travellers from more than 30 nations if they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19 from May 15 - two days before Brits can travel again.

The European Union 's ban on visitors is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one including 10million with both doses already.

Infections and deaths in the UK have fallen off a cliff since Britain rolled out its vaccinations during the 2021 lockdown

The UK fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time.

The Government won't set out its traffic light system, but experts from the PC Agency believe most of Europe apart from Gibraltar and Portugal will be amber not green due to the number of cases on the continent. Most green destinations will be further afield

Ministers are believed to be looking at whether islands can be treated separately from the mainland in some countries. Madeira was previously restricted when it had low cases, as Portugal was suffering high infection rates. Greece is also said to be trying to make individual islands Covid-free to help with restoring tourism.

Travel expert Paul Charles said today that he expects up to 30 countries will be considered 'green' safe destinations. These would include Gibraltar, Israel, Barbados, Morocco, Maldives, Seychelles, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda as well as Turks & Caicos.

The USA will go green as Joe Biden re-opens borders to the British as part of a reciprocal deal, he says, while all of Europe, and countries such as Turkey, will be either amber or green when the list is published on May 7.

New YouGov polling conducted for The Times today revealed that six in ten Britons (61%) support the idea of COVID certificates  including over a quarter (28%) who are strongly supportive of such plans.

Spanish Tourism Secretary Mr Valdes said: 'I believe that certificates is going to help us. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been trying to put in place different means to help safe tourism. It is true we have passed through some waves of this pandemic, this virus, but now I think we are ready because we do have vaccinations. We have been having constant conversations with UK authorities, these certificates are going to ease travel and help tourism from this summer on'.

The EU's plans, code named 'gettogether' in Brussels, should allow vaccinated travellers to travel freely and avoid tests and quarantine, bringing hope to millions desperate to go abroad on holiday or to see family this summer for the first time in more than a year.

Officials from the EU's 27 member states held their first meeting this week to discuss the plans but are already said to have decided that vaccination rates will be the key metric when deciding who can visit the bloc.

Insiders say Britain will 'certainly' be among the first to be allowed in through the vaccine passport scheme, with June touted as a start date. The country's case was helped further yesterday when it fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time.

In tandem with EU countries opening up for all vaccinated British travellers in around six weeks' time, UK travel industry sources claim they have been told Covid passports are expected to be brought in from next month as Michael Gove was sent to Israel to study their 'green pass' app as a potential model. Paper options will also be available for people without smart phones, according to NHSX, the digital arm of the health service developing it.

Greece has already dropped its quarantine rules for travellers from more than 30 nations if they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19 from May 15 - two days before Brits can travel again. More than 20 other countries, including Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal and Cyprus, have suggested that they may ask arrivals for vaccination proof.

Heathrow refuses to allow extra flights from India because of border queues as passengers scramble to Britain before nation is added to red list at 4am tomorrow People coming out of Heathrow Terminal 2 after arriving back from Mumbai before the new restrictions come into force Heathrow Airport is refusing requests for extra flights from India before the country is added to the Government's coronavirus red list at 4am tomorrow due to fears of long border queues. Four airlines asked the west London airport for a total of eight extra flights to arrive at the hub before the Friday deadline so that returning UK travellers can avoid the gruelling 10-day hotel quarantine. It comes after MailOnline revealed that India's troublesome variant has been spotted more than 200 times in Britain, after Health Secretary Matt Hancock said more than 100 cases had been detected on Monday. Yesterday the Indian government reported a global record of 314,000 new cases after premier Narendra Modi warned that the subcontinent was being overwhelmed by a coronavirus 'storm'. Fears about the new variant sweeping India which authorities have struggled to contain prompted Boris Johnson to cancel a scheduled visit to the country for a face-to-face meeting with his counterpart. Hospital staff across India have been warning they will run out of oxygen as the health system collapses around them amid a surge in cases which has seen India register a record 2,023 deaths in one day. It is feared B.1.617 spreads easier than older strains and has mutations which help it evade vaccines - but to what degree remains unclear. Doctors in India claim there has been a sudden spike in coronavirus admissions among people under 45, who have traditionally been less vulnerable to the disease - but UK scientists do not believe it is any deadlier than the strains currently circulating. Advertisement

The Department for Transport (DfT) is working on document to be made for British people to show at borders from May 17, the planned return date for international travel.

Travel industry bosses have been told that Covid passports to prove people have been vaccinated should be ready by then. Popular tourist destinations including Greece have already signalled they will drop quarantine rules for travellers who have been jabbed.

Industry figures were given the update in a call with government officials yesterday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

A government official on the call, between members of the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group, reportedly said: 'We aim to give people the ability to prove their vaccine status by the time international travel restarts where other countries require it. The earliest that will restart is May 17.'

DfT sources have confirmed that they are working 'rapidly' to ensure the passports are ready by next month, adding that May 17 is 'the absolute earliest it will be'.

A DfT spokesman said: 'We are working on a solution to enable residents to prove their Covid-19 status, including vaccination status, to other countries on the outbound leg. We are working on this as a priority and intend to have the solution ready as soon as possible.'

The government is deciding on the best way to distribute the Covid vaccine certificate, which could come in either digital or physical form.

It came as MPs warned the planned restart of international travel on May 17 is in jeopardy because of the Government's 'vague and costly' plans.

Meanwhile Britain on Wednesday fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.

UK residents are currently banned from leaving the country unless for essential reasons but this is expected to change from May 17.

There are fears even when this restriction is removed under the PM's roadmap sunseekers may still be barred from the Continent.

But hotspots such as Spain, Portugal and Greece could reportedly defy the EU and allow visitors.

Representatives from the 27 member states met on Monday to plan a way out of the travel ban - with the jabs rollout set to play a key part.

A document seen by the Sun said tourists from the UK, Israel and UAE could be allowed in due to their successful vaccination programmes.

The report said scientific evidence and data 'support updating the approach for the safe lifting of restrictions on non-essential travel into the EU'.

One EU diplomat told the newspaper: 'There's a discussion over whether incidence rate should be the defining factor, or if vaccination rates should also be looked at.

'That would all still be in the framework of the list.'

But other Brussels sources were split over whether the Bloc is shifting towards allowing visitors this summer.

One hinted the vaccine success in some countries has stirred diplomats towards opening borders while another said some members are still 'very cautious'.

A third said the meeting on Monday was a 'first discussion' and a timetable had not been created.

But reports say Spain has told Downing Street it is pushing for Britons to be allowed into the country promptly.

There are suggestions it could be joined by Portugal and Greece in flouting the EU's rules and opening up to sun-starved Britons.

Greece previously said it wants visitors from the UK this summer, with tourism there due to start on May 15.

The EU said its vaccine passport scheme will be in place by July, with Justice commissioner Didier Reynders pushing for talks with the UK.

He said: 'With some bilateral partners, like the UK and US, it will be possible to adopt a sort of adequacy decision.

'To decide that, we recognise a certificate issued not only by a member state of the EU, but also by third countries.'

The Bloc currently only allows non-essential visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand - but the list is reviewed fortnightly.

Countries cannot have more than 25 new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the last two weeks to make the cut.

As of April 15 Britain was at 26.1 cases per 100,000 people across the previous seven days.

Meanwhile the travel industry has reportedly been told Covid passports are expected to be brought in from next month.

The certificate scheme, endorsed by the Department for Transport, is expected to be rolled out in time for holidays on May 17.

Officials are said to be weighing up the benefits of using either an online form or a physical document.

But the move could be a huge boost for holidaymakers as the passports would be government approved - meaning other nations would accepted them.

Meanwhile the travel industry has reportedly been told Covid passports are expected to be brought in from next month (file photo of Barcelona)

EXCLUSIVE: Covid passports are set to be tested at sports events in June in an audacious late bid to have CAPACITY crowds at Euros The Covid vaccination pilot scheme will begin after work on an updated NHS Covid app, that will show a person's coronavirus status. Covid passports are set to be trialled at sports events under Government plans to ramp up attendances in time for Euro 2020 and the great summer of sport. Sportsmail understands that officials are working on a 'Covid certification' scheme, which will be used in the second phase of test events due to start at the end of May or early June. It will record whether a person has had a vaccine, the result of an antibody test to prove immunity, or the result of a Covid test to show they do not have the virus. Sports bodies, including the Football Association and England and Wales Cricket Board, said earlier this month that achieving capacity crowds by the end of June was 'credible', if Covid passports were tested and introduced at sporting events. The inclusion of passports in the second phase of test events raises the exciting prospect of full houses later this summer. England compete in football at the Euros, take on Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India in the cricket, Silverstone will host a Formula One Grand Prix and not to mention Wimbledon, The Open Golf and Betfred Rugby League Challenge Cup Final. And passports should secure full stadiums for the beginning of the next Premier League, EFL and rugby seasons, provided the virus remains firmly under control. Major sporting bodies, including the football, both rugby codes, motorsport, cricket and tennis wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition party leaders on April 8, urging them to urgently agree to testing Covid passports in order to return capacity crowds this summer. Their letter was titled: 'Sports support Covid certification (testing and vaccination) review as a credible option to enable full venues from 21 June onwards.' Advertisement

A call between government officials and travel industry figures confirmed the plans were in progress.

The Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group held the talks yesterday afternoon, according to the Telegraph.

The newspaper reported an official on the call as saying: 'We aim to give people the ability to prove their vaccine status by the time international travel restarts where other countries require it. The earliest that will restart is May 17.'

The comment was backed up by two industry sources and the Department for Transport did not shoot it down.

Britons are expecting to be free to take jaunts abroad from May 17 as lockdown easing continues, but Downing Street is yet to confirm the date.

The government is expected to make their final assessments on opening up further at the start of May.

Ahead of the next stage of the roadmap, MPs argued ministers should debate giving Britons travelling abroad free or reduced Covid tests on the NHS.

They said the planned restart of international travel is in jeopardy with 'vague and costly' proposals not enough to reboot the aviation and tourism sectors.

The Transport Select Committee said international trips have had their 'wings clipped' by the 'cautious' Government Global Travel Taskforce report.

The committee said the report gave 'insufficient' detail to allow businesses and travellers to prepare for the safe resumption of international travel as planned on May 17.

It also said that, where detail was provided, the costs could be 'disproportionate to the risk' and could add 500 for a family of four travelling to the 'safest' parts of the globe where vaccine rollout is comparable to the UK.

The lack of clarity does not offer confidence to industry or consumers to plan, invest or recover from the pandemic and puts the planned restart of international travel at risk, the committee added.

Its chair, Huw Merriman, said the Government had failed to provide the certainty the industry craved.

He added: 'The aviation and travel sectors were crying out for a functional report, setting out clear rules and offering certainty. This is not it.

'For UK citizens seeking to travel to the parts of the globe where the vaccine has been delivered as rapidly as the UK, the cost to families from testing could be greater than the cost of the flights.'

In its analysis, published on Thursday, the committee called for the Government to place destination countries into the traffic-light framework by May 1 and announce the details in a statement to Parliament.

Its also recommended explaining the criteria and mechanism by which countries will move between risk categories and offering an 'affordable' testing regime by maximising the use of lateral flow tests and providing of 'affordable' PCR tests.

The committee said the price of tests was a barrier to restarting international travel and suggested that some of the UK's enhanced testing capacity could be reallocated for resuming travel.

It also called on the Government to act immediately to reduce queues and waiting times at the UK border.

This includes working with other countries to agree the mutual recognition of travel health certification, deploying more staff, processing passenger locator forms before they arrive in the UK and establishing a system based on an app to process health certification.

Mr Merriman said: 'This is a missed opportunity for the Government to capitalise on the UK's world-leading vaccine dividend.

'How can it be right that hauliers, arriving from parts of the globe where the vaccine rollout is slow, are able to use cheaper lateral flow testing whilst a trip back from Israel requires a PCR test which is four times as expensive.

'This was an opportunity to provide a global lead with standardised rules on international health certification and promoting app-based technology, making the processes at borders more secure and less time consuming.

'The urgent situation facing the aviation and travel sectors warrants a clear action plan to green light our travel - and the Government must urgently set it out.'

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said while it is 'understandable' the Government cannot yet provide clarity on where people can go due to factors beyond its control such as changing infection rates in many countries 'it needs to do a better job of fixing the issues it does control'.

Border Force officials spot 100 people a DAY trying to get into Britain with badly-spelled fake Covid certificates, MPs are told Border Force officials spot around 100 people a day trying to enter Britain with badly-spelled fake Covid certificates costing up to 260 each, MPs have heard. The fake documents claiming a traveller has a recent negative test result are said to be 'very easy' to forge and there is no way to tell how many are being missed. Lucy Moreton, professional officer for the Immigration Services Union (ISU), which represents border immigration and customs staff in the UK, also said there is 'little to no' evidence on how well people are adhering to quarantine rules. Meanwhile, MPs heard that long queues found at airports could be a 'breeding ground' for the virus. And experts raised concerns about the traffic light system for travel. Ms Moreton told the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus that around 20,000 people are coming into the country each day, the majority of whom are hauliers. To enter England people must provide proof of a negative test taken in the three days before departure - which can be shown to border agents as a printed document or through an email or text message. Asked how border agents are able to verify proof of a negative test, Ms Moreton told MPs: 'We're not is the simple answer, it's predominately taken on trust. 'We do get 100 or more a day of fake Covid certificates, that we catch.' Europol warned earlier this year about the illicit sale of false negative Covid test certificates. This included a forgery ring selling negative test results to passengers at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for up to 260. Advertisement

He said consumers need 'clarity on how the traffic light system will work and reassurance that last-minute changes won't leave them facing thousand pound bills - as they did last summer'.

He added: 'Test costs remain too high and risk pricing millions out of travel, while the problem of passengers queuing for several hours at border control at some UK airports has been going on for months.

'If people are to travel this summer, whether to see loved ones or on holiday, they need the Government to make sure it is affordable and safe.'

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: 'People in the UK have made immense sacrifices, both through lockdown and by coming forward in astonishing numbers for the vaccination and so it is only right that we don't throw away the progress we've made through taking any unnecessary risks.

'That's why the taskforce has set out a cautious, but deliberate path to unlocking international travel in a safe and sustainable way, from 17 May at the earliest.'

Britain on Wednesday fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.

The UK has suffered 121,000 more deaths than expected since March last year  a rate of 183 excess fatalities per 100,000 people, according to the Economist.

Excess deaths are calculated by taking fatalities from all causes since the pandemic first struck and comparing them with a historical average from recent years.

It is the first time Britain has not had one of the worst excess death rates since the Covid crisis took off.

It has turned the tide on the virus thanks to a hugely successful vaccination programme and winter lockdown.

Overall, the UK has still been one of the hardest hit nations in the world, suffering more than 127,000 Covid deaths in total.

Only a handful of other countries have more deaths both overall and per population size.

Peru, which is in the midst of battling a wave of the Brazilian coronavirus variant, has the highest rate of excess deaths in the world at 412 per 100,000.

Rounding out the top five are Bulgaria (338), Mexico (321), Russia (313) and Lithuania (301).

Fourteen other countries  including a number of EU member states, South Africa, and Ecuador  are recording rates of more than 200 excess deaths per 100,00.

The US ranks at number 23, according to the analysis, with a rate just shy of Britain's at 182 per 100,000.

The excess fatality rate is one of the best ways to compare the pandemic's impact on countries because it looks at more than just the official Covid death tolls.

It includes people who died without the confirmation of a test and those who passed from other causes as a result of lockdowns and their knock-on effects on hospitals.

Excess deaths in the UK have been falling since the vaccine drive launched and the country went into lockdown over the winter.

Deaths from all causes in England and Wales have been lower than average in the past five weeks, which has helped drive the rate down faster.
Tennessee Parent Teacher Association is promoting a capital campaign to make up for a $35,000 deficit because of revenue loss and declining memberships in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how PTA normally operates, with many volunteers not allowed inside school buildings and fundraisers canceled.

Membership dues pay for vital resources, including programs like literacy, reflection, and family engagement. While PTA has adapted to online learning by providing virtual resources, they are in need of funding to continue providing those assets. Tax-deductible donations of $25, $50, $100, $500, or more can be sent to their office located at 1905 Acklen Ave., Nashville, TN 37212.

Founded in 1897, PTA works to build effective partnerships between parents and education decision-makers to create a voice for children. From their Reflections program, which provides students nationwide the opportunity to be creative in developing artwork in six categories, to their Advocacy Day on the Hill that gives students the chance to work with state and federal legislators, the nonprofit strives to improve the quality of education for students, teachers, and parents.

Tennessee PTA President Kim Henderson says not only is membership important to ensure that the needs of all children are represented accurately, but membership also influences legislators and decision-makers at the local, state, and federal levels. Imagine the difference in impact between 30 members or 300,000 members when asking a legislator to listen to us," said Ms. Henderson.

"Tennessee PTA is a non-profit organization that is not supported by government funds or large corporate donations. All of our board members are volunteers, and membership dues fund the programs, resources, and training provided by Tennessee PTA to local PTAs and individual members. The cost to join PTA is determined by local chapters and is generally less than $10 per year."

Local PTA chapters like the Frayser Community PTSA also report a decline in participation this year, with their President Regenia Dowell saying membership is down drastically. We are unable to attend conventions and workshops because everything is virtual," said Ms. Dowell. "Attending these events allowed us the opportunity to connect with people in other states, and that allowed us to enlist new members. Our ability to have community events and school open houses has also hampered our ability to get new members."
NEW MILFORD  The town plans to host its annual Memorial Day parade and 4th of July fireworks this year, Mayor Pete Bass said in an interview Wednesday.

The events, which were canceled last year due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 are back on for 2021, with fireworks scheduled for July 3. Last year, in place of fireworks, the Water Witch Hose Company held a small parade through parts of town in 2020.

In speaking with Lisa Morrissey, our health director, and with our vaccinations above 50 percent, we felt we could have a Memorial Day parade here, Bass said. Those numbers will only continue to increase so were excited about the opportunity to be able to provide some more normalcy.

Bass doesnt know how large the parade will be this year, but said he felt strongly that the town honor and remember the spirit of the holiday.

Were hoping to do a parade, no matter what size, to honor the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, he said.

Bass also mentioned the possibility of having the towns annual Lions Club Carnival in conjunction with the Independence Day celebrations, but doesnt have confirmation yet. Theyre hoping to finalize plans in the coming weeks.

Recently, the towns Chamber of Commerce decided not to hold their annual Village Fair Days for a second year out of an abundance of caution and concern over the spread of COVID. The event, which has been held for over 50 years, usually draws large crowds to its two-day festivities.

As New Milford pushes forward, Danbury announced that they would not be hosting Memorial Day or 4th of July celebrations this year.

The mayor is asking residents to continue to practice social distancing and mask-wearing despite the continuation of these community events.

Those measures have really helped, Bass said.
Planned Parenthood is no longer allowed to provide resources to public schools in Arkansas after state lawmakers passed a new bill that prohibits them from doing so.

An overwhelming number of Arkansas legislators have voted to bar Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing resources to state public schools. The bill that was passed on Monday, titled "Arkansas Student Protection Act" first passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 73-18, and on Monday was passed into law with a vote of 27-5.

According to the Christian Post, the "Arkansas Student Protection Act" or House Bill 1592 was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark Lowery. The bill prevents any "public school or open-enrollment public charter school" in the state to from "[entering] into any type of transaction" with an abortion provider such as Planned Parenthood.

Arkansas public schools and institutions that are found to have violated the new law will have to "appear before the state board" to determine the reason behind the violation and "how to prevent the violation of this subchapter and division rules in the future."

The Associated Press reported that the bill banning abortion provider Planned Parenthood from public schools is now on its way to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson's office, where legislators hope he would sign it into law. In the event that the governor fails to sign the law, it will simply need a majority to override his decision and pass it into law.

House Bill 1592 is just one of the several abortion-related measures that are fast-tracked to become law under the majority-Republican Legislature this year.

In March, Gov. Hutchinson famously signed into law a controversial, sweeping legislation that prohibits almost all abortions, including for those women who were impregnated from an act of rape or incest.

At the time, Republican Senator Jason Rapert, who sponsored the "Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act" or Senate Bill 6, said in a statement to AP News, "We must abolish abortion in this nation just as we abolished slavery in the 19th century - all lives matter."

Now, Arkansas legislators are more confident in passing abortion-related bills because of the Republican majority Legislature. Arkansas Family Council's Jerry Cox was one of the first to celebrate the passing of House Bill 1592 into law, calling it a "good bill" that will "help make sure Planned Parenthood and other abortionists don't access Arkansas' public schools."

Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the abortion provider's regional body, was first to denounce such legislation that prevents them from providing resources in Arkansas public schools. Planned Parenthood's Gloria Pedro said, "Our students' basic education should not be jeopardized because of the Legislature's misguided political agenda."

Planned Parenthood is determined to push back against the legislation banning abortion providers from entering public schools because of the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies in the state. According to Arkansas Times, the state has the highest teen birth rate and the second highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States. The state also has low rates of condom use and a higher incidence of sexual violence.
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Ukrainian tank destroyed in 2014 by Russia backed separatists, on the front line near the small town of Pisky, Donetsk region - ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP via Getty Images

The United States is considering sending missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, amid a buildup of more than 100,000 Russian troops along its eastern border and fears of an impending invasion.

Shipments of military aid have been discussed by Joe Bidens administration, and could include anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-aircraft systems according to the Wall Street Journal.

Officials in Kyiv have asked for help after Russias increasingly bullish behaviour, which has included the largest troop buildup in the region for nearly a decade, intruding into European airspace and restricting the movement of foreign ships in the area.

Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns told Congress last week: That buildup has reached the point where it could also provide the basis for a limited military incursion.

Its something not only the United States, but also our allies have to take very seriously.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet in war-torn eastern Ukraine on Tuesday, stressing that millions of lives were at stake from fresh fighting in the separatist conflict.

The offer for talks came following a flare-up in clashes between Ukraine's army and pro-Russian separatists controlling two regions in the country's east, raising concerns of a major escalation in the simmering war.

The Ukrainian president, elected in 2019 on promises to bring an end to the conflict, accused Russia of participating in peace negotiations while massing troops on Ukraine's border.

"A considerable number of Russian troops are concentrated near our border," he said.

"Officially, Russia calls this military exercises. Unofficially, the whole world calls this blackmail.

Mr Biden is under pressure to act, but does not want to provoke Russia, scrapping plans to send two Navy destroyers to the Black Sea earlier this month.

Tensions between the US and Russia remain high.

On Tuesday, US ambassador John Sullivan was recalled from Moscow after the Russian government recommended he leave the country.

Story continues

Last month, Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, after Mr Biden called Mr Putin a killer.

Mr Biden has not signed off on any new requests for assistance and deliberations are still in their early stages, Politico reported.

He could instead choose to impose further economic sanctions on the country.
One specific aspect of the program is to reach out to Elgin-area residents who are leery about getting the coronavirus vaccination, Raleigh said. The reluctance is sometimes the result of myths theyve heard, such as the vaccination is not safe, or a fear of going to a medical facility, she said.
E-commerce has transformed the world. The buying and selling of goods online have significantly altered our shopping habits and the way we conduct business.

It has also provided opportunities for individuals to launch a successful brand without any investment or real estate. All they need is a good idea and a strong work ethic, just ask Camilo Doumat.

The mastermind behind his own brands on shopify has built a multi-million-dollar empire solely from his laptop. The Venezuela native is now a fierce advocate of passing on the torch and teaching his expertise to a new generation of aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs.

"Early on in life I decided that I wanted to be both financially free and my own boss," explained Camilo. "I also instinctively identified e-commerce as an industry which would provide me with the opportunity to make this happen."

Camilio added, "Making a splash in the world of e-commerce is the dream of many but the reality of a few. A lot of people wrongly perceive it as a get-rich-quick scheme. Overnight success in the world of e-commerce is the exception, not the rule, but if you put in the hard yards and work around the clock, then there are ample opportunities to be exploited and a host of rewards to be reaped."

As a high-flyer who made over 7 million dollars in just over a year, Camilio knows just how lucrative e-commerce can be. Yet, he also has first-hand experience of the risks and setbacks involved in getting a business up and running.

Camilio said, "It's important in e-commerce to have the right mentality. You need to stay positive and be fiercely competitive. In the early days, you may not make a penny but the trick is to stick with it and stay focused. Too many people try to emulate a successful website or brand without adding anything new to the mix. You've got to be original and you've got to offer something different if you want to stay ahead of the pack. Being innovative and bold is always a gamble, but hey, fortune favors the brave."

Camilo Doumat is the first to admit that being successful in the world of e-commerce can change your life and make all the hard work worth it, and that's why he's passionate about teaching his unique skills to as many other people as possible.

Camilo Doumat explained, "When all the pieces of your e-commerce business fall into place and everything begins to work effortlessly, it's a rush like no other. The wealth you can generate makes all the hard work so worthwhile. And the best thing of all is, it's not rocket science! Anyone has the potential to succeed in e-commerce. They just need the motivation, the self-belief, and a teacher like myself to show them the ropes."
Amid crisis in the capital, the on Wednesday questioned the Centre why it was not waking up to reality and directed it to immediately provide to the hospitals in the city.

During the hearing of a plea by a hospital group, which had flagged crisis in two of its hospitals this afternoon, a bench comprising Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said: "Why Centre is not waking up to the gravity of the situation? We are shocked and dismayed hospitals are running out of oxygen but steel plants are running."

The bench said the Centre should find means for transporting oxygen to hospitals, either by creating dedicated corridors or airlifting it from the production facility.

"How is the government so oblivious to the reality on ground? You can't have people die because there is no oxygen," it said.

The bench noted that heavens will not fall if the industries, including steel and petroleum, run on lower capacity till oxygen is imported.

Citing its Tuesday order on the issue of supply of oxygen to the hospitals, the bench added: "This is really ridiculous. You are concerned with the industries... That means human lives doesn't matter for the government."

The bench observed that industries like steel and petrochemical are oxygen guzzlers and diverting oxygen from them can meet hospitals' demand. "If Tatas can divert oxygen, they are generating for their steel plants to medical use, why can't others?"

"This is height of greed and is there sense of humanity left or not?" it asked.

As counsel for the Union Health Ministry submitted files have started moving, the court retorted: "What is the outcome? We aren't bothered about these files." It emphasised that there is no dearth of resources with the Centre.

The plea was filed by Balaji Medical and Research Centre, which owns and runs various hospitals in the name of Max. The hospital group had submitted that if oxygen demand is not met on immediate basis, then it will impact lives of critical patients.

The High Court said: "We are constrained to direct the Centre to forthwith implement this order and take over supply of oxygen from steel plants and if necessary, also from the petroleum plants, to supply it to hospitals."

--IANS

ss/vd

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi (PTI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked IRDAI chairman S C Kunthia to "act immediately" to address the complaints of denial of cashless claims by insurance companies. She also mentioned that more than 9 lakh COVID-related claims for 8,642 crore have been settled by insurance companies.

"Reports are being received of some hospitals denying cashless insurance. Spoken to Chairman, IRDAI Shri SC Khuntia to act immediately. In March'20 #Covid included as a part of comprehensive health insurance. Cashless available at networked or even temporary hospitals," the minister said in a series of tweets.

The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI), she added, has asked insurance companies to prioritise settlement of COVID claims. She further said: "As on 20/4/21, over 9 lakh #Covid related claims have been settled by insurance companies for 8,642 Cr. Even tele-consultations can be covered. IRDAI shall direct companies to prioritise authorisations and settlements of #Covid cases."

India registered over 3.14 lakh new coronavirus cases in a day, the highest-ever single-day count recorded in any country, taking the the total tally of COVID-19 cases in the country to 1,59,30,965. According to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday, a total of 3,14,835 fresh infections were registered in a span of 24 hours, while

Registering a steady increase for the 43rd day in a row, the active cases have increased to 22,91,428 comprising 14.38 per cent of the total infections.

Taking cognisance of reports that some hospitals are not granting cashless facility for treatment of Covid-19 despite policyholders being entitled for the cashless treatment under their policy, the IRDAI said, it is clarified that where insurers have an arrangement with the hospitals for providing cashless facility, such network hospitals are obligated to provide cashless treatment for all treatments including treatment for COVID-19.

"All the Network Providers (hospitals) who have signed Service Level Agreements (SLA) with general and health insurers have to mandatorily provide cashless facility for any treatment to the policyholders including Covid-19 treatment in accordance with agreed provisions of SLA and terms and conditions of policy contract," it said.

Therefore, all policyholders that are entitled to cashless facility at all such network providers (hospital) with whom the Insurance company/TPA has entered into an agreement shall avail the benefit of cashless treatment, it added.

Live TV

#mute
Sinn Fein spokesperson on Justice and Sligo/Leitrim TD, Martin Kenny, has welcomed the publication of a damning report into the coroners system which makes 52 recommendations for reform of a system not fit for purpose.

Speaking following the launch of the study Death Investigation, Coroners Inquests and the Rights of the Bereaved by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Teachta Kenny said: This report is a damning indictment of the coronial system. It is clear that the system is not fit for purpose and is in need of urgent reform. Bereaved families deserve appropriate support and access to justice, instead this report warns that their trauma is being compounded by this inadequate system.

The Sinn Fein TD said that many of the issues highlighted in this report were first brought up in the Department of Justice review 21 years ago.

"It is inexcusable that two decades later families are experiencing the same failings. I note with concern a number of alarming issues highlighted about perceived closeness between the gardai and coroners and the implications for perceived bias," he added.

I am also concerned by the issues the report raises around under-resourcing and lack of training. There is no standardised assessment of coroners and no adequate national system. At present there are 39 coroners districts and the operation of them varies widely. The right to know what caused the death and the circumstances of a loved ones death should not depend on where in the state it takes place."

Deputy Kenny welcomed the reports recommendation that legal aid should be provided to all families at inquests who request it.

"This is essential for full and fair access to justice and is a vital and topical issue for the long-suffering Stardust families who are still fighting for a proper inquest into their loved ones deaths," he said.

The Justice Minister must take urgent steps to address the extensive issues highlighted in this report. There can be no excuses for further delays. Bereaved families are entitled to fair treatment and justice.

I will continue to push this issue with the Minister to ensure that the recommendations of this report are implemented and that this state complies with adequate human rights standards on the question of inquests and the functioning of the coronial system.
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera today announced the formation of a council for financial professionals devoted to forwarding diversity and inclusion in the field of financial advice, an industry for which equal access and diverse representation is especially needed. Cetera's DEIB strategy centers around three primary areas: with employees, with financial professionals, and in philanthropy.

Stephen Oliver, Fanci Worthington

"Central to our purpose is the desire to help as many Americans achieve their version of financial well being. That purpose exists without regard for gender,race, ethnicity or ability. It is time for us all to make a sustained commitment toward building a profession that truly lives into its purpose and seeks to mirror the next generation of clients. This financial professional-led council is a wonderful example of the type of leadership and collaboration needed to bring about meaningful change. Their work has and will continue to be vital in our efforts to be deliberate about how we pursue a more diverse and equitable profession both at a grassroots level within the communities they serve and on a broader national scale. We look forward to accelerating this important work together," said Adam Antoniades, Chief Executive Officer of Cetera.

The mission of Cetera's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Advisory Council is to embrace diversity and strengthen under-represented voices within the financial professional community. The council is comprised of a panel of 12 financial professionals from the Cetera network, and co-led by Fanci Worthington, VP Branch Manager at Cetera Investors, and Stephen Oliver, Founder of Manhattan Ridge Advisors. LeAnn Rummel, head of Cetera Investment Services is the executive sponsor from Cetera.

Other council members include:

Majdah alQuhtani , Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Altus Wealth Management

, Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Altus Wealth Management Milton Cooley , Financial Advisor, Cetera Financial Specialists

, Financial Advisor, Cetera Financial Specialists Stanford Hirata , Wealth Manager/Founder, Woodcreek Wealth Management

, Wealth Manager/Founder, Woodcreek Wealth Management Sheila Littleton , Registered Representative, Cetera Financial Specialists

, Registered Representative, Cetera Financial Specialists Andres Quintero , Financial Advisor, Provident Investment Services

, Financial Advisor, Provident Investment Services Andrew Sampson , Investment Advisor Representative, Wilde Wealth Management

, Investment Advisor Representative, Wilde Wealth Management Donna Stefans , Lead Attorney and Registered Representative, Wealth Advisory Associates

, Lead Attorney and Registered Representative, Wealth Advisory Associates Sylvester Thomas , Vice President and Branch Manager, Cetera Investors

, Vice President and Branch Manager, David Treece , Investment Advisor Representative, Treece Financial Group

, Investment Advisor Representative, Treece Financial Group Tony Yu , Financial Services Consultant, East West Bank

"Because the human element is so central to what we do, it's especially critical that we give validity to the widest possible range of voices, said Ms. Worthington. "It's no secret we have work to do in financial services, and this council believes that our individual differences are what collectively make us better. We look forward to providing an environment that incorporates diversity at all levels, one in which all team members and financial professionals feel welcome and are fairly represented and treated with respect."

Co-leader Stephen Oliver added, "As leaders in our communities, financial professionals' have an opportunity to have our voices be at the forefront of change and perhaps more importantly, put action behind those words to increase collaboration and bring a more equitable future to life."

The council's primary objectives are to:

Foster a spirit of collaboration and enthusiasm to raise awareness and advance diversity and inclusion efforts within Cetera and the profession as a whole

Develop financial professional resource groups to provide connection, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging

Increase opportunities for those traditionally under-represented in the financial advice profession

Connect with local communities through financial literacy outreach programs by building upon programs like Cetera's Diversity in Financial Planning Scholarship which raised $240,000 in scholarship funds for students in need in 2020.

Exclusive to Cetera financial professionals, employees and fund management partners, the council hosted Connect2Impact on April 20. The event focused on the power and positive impact of diversity and inclusion in the financial profession and beyond. Alongside the advisory council, Cetera has formed several Employee Resource Groups. Adam Antoniades, CEO of Cetera, and the executive team have signed the CEO Act!on Pledge for Diversity and Inclusion and several employees have signed the I Act On Pledge. For more on Cetera's DEIB efforts, visit: https://www.cetera.com/diversity_and_inclusion

About Cetera Financial Group

Cetera Financial Group (Cetera) is a leading financial advice firm. It empowers the delivery of an Advice-Centric Experience to individuals, families and businesses across the country through independent financial professionals as well as trusted tax professionals and banks and credit unions. It's headquartered at 200 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 1200 El Segundo, CA 90245-5670.

Comprehensive services include: wealth management solutions, retirement plan solutions, advisory services, practice management support, innovative technology, marketing guidance, regulatory support, and market research.

"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), Cetera Financial Specialists LLC, and First Allied Securities, Inc. All firms are members FINRA / SIPC.

Individuals affiliated with Cetera firms are either Registered Representatives who offer only brokerage services and receive transaction-based compensation (commissions), Investment Adviser Representatives who offer only investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets, or both Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives, who can offer both types of services.

SOURCE Cetera Financial Group
STORY: France Council of Europe Navalny - EU MPs call for the immediate release of Navalny

LENGTH: 01:35

FIRST RUN: 1548

RESTRICTIONS:

TYPE: English/Natsound

SOURCE: COUNCIL OF EUROPE

STORY NUMBER: 4322224

DATELINE: 21/22 April 2021 - Strasbourg

SHOTLIST:

RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Strasbourg - 21 April 2021

1. Wide exterior of the Council of Europe's main building

2. Close-up exterior of a sign denoting the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as people and cars move in the background

3. Mid of the Council of Europe's main building with a blue sign in the foreground reading "Council of Europe".

COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Strasbourg - 22 April 2021

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Tiny Kox, UEL Netherlands:

"As Russia is a member state of the Council of Europe and a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, it is the court in Strasbourg that finally decides whether or not the arrest and imprisonment of Mr Navalny was correct. And, it's the Committee of Ministers that executes those verdicts. The verdict of the court is clear; Mr Navalny has to be released." ++BUGGED AT SOURCE++

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jette Christensen, SOC, Norway:

"To me, this is not about Alexei Navalny. This case is about illegal detention everywhere, about putting opposition in prison, freedom of speech and opposition rights. This case is about the value of rule of law everywhere. It's about our common human rights and the very legitimacy of the Court of Human Rights. Therefore, this is not a domestic matter for Russia, it is our common human values that are imprisoned." ++SPLIT SCREEN WITH DEBATING CHAMBER++ ++BUGGED AT SOURCE++

6. Mid shot of the debate chairperson, PACE vice president, Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland) presiding over the resolution vote

7. Full screen shot of the result of the vote on the draft resolution - 105 in favour, 26 against with 11 abstentions.

8. Mid shot of Kimmo Kiljunen announcing the vote on the draft recommendation

9. Full screen shot of the result of the vote on the draft recommendation - 106 in favour, 24 against with 10 abstentions

STORYLINE:

European parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly Thursday to ask the Council of Europe's governing body, the Committee of Ministers, to ensure the execution of the European Court of Human Rights' ruling in the case of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

On 16 February 2021 the Court decided to indicate to the Government of Russia, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, that Navalny should be released.

The Assembly also called on the Russian Federation to free Mr Navalny immediately and especially before the next "human rights" meeting of the Council's ministerial body in June 2021.

It said Russia must "provide Mr Navalny with all necessary medical care, including examination and treatment by a doctor of his choice".

It also invited the Council of Europe's anti-torture committee (CPT) to conduct a monitoring visit to the detention facility where Navalny is being held.

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(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Funding to develop high throughput cell engineering technology to manufacture 'off the shelf' cell therapies.

Project, led by Avectas in partnership with Bluebridge Technologies and National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), would support Ireland's goal of being at the forefront of cell therapy manufacturing.

DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Irish cell engineering company, Avectas, is leading a consortium which will invest 7.23 million, including 4.4 million awarded under the Irish Government's Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF), to develop a high-throughput scale of its proprietary cell engineering platform Solupore. With consortium partners Bluebridge Technologies and NIBRT, the project expands Avectas' development towards commercialising an advanced large-scale, digitalised cell engineering platform optimised to manufacture 'off-the-shelf' cell-based therapies for cancer treatment.

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a 500 million fund established under Project Ireland 2040 and run by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment with support from Enterprise Ireland.

Headquartered in Ireland, with locations in Toronto, Canada and Cambridge, USA, Avectas collaborates with leading cell therapy businesses and research institutes to address their cell engineering challenges using its patented Solupore technology. Cell therapy is a rapidly evolving therapeutic approach for cancer. Immune cells are taken from donors, engineered to make them more effective and then administered to patients. This award will allow Avectas to expand its Solupore platform to manufacture next-generation allogeneic products that can be produced at scale for large numbers of patients.

Bluebridge Technologies will develop a digitalisation dimension for the platform through the project. They will design, build and test software components to underpin the manufacturing technology, highlighting the convergence of cell therapy manufacturing and digitalisation. NIBRT will test and validate the platform in the context of an end-to-end manufacturing process and will facilitate technology adoption by situating the Solupore platform at their world-class facilities. All parties will work synergistically to disrupt the manufacture and delivery of cell-based therapeutics to patients.

Avectas has previously won significant award support from the European Union (under the Horizon 2020 programme). The company is engaged in work programmes with several therapeutic companies and leading academic laboratories, including The Simon Laboratory at UC Davis, California, the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) in Toronto and the new NK Cell Centre of Excellence at Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

Speaking today, Dr. Michael Maguire, CEO of Avectas, remarked, "cell-based therapies offer the extraordinary potential for the treatment of cancers, and we believe that our Solupore Platform will disrupt the current cell therapy manufacturing process and help make Ireland a world centre for this developing area". Prof. Niall Barron commented, 'NIBRT is delighted to be involved in this exciting DTIF-funded project which will accelerate the development of transformative technology for manufacturing revolutionary new therapies which go beyond being just treatments and in many cases actually cure patients. This project is a perfect example of the innovation and ambition that exists in Ireland to be at the forefront of this exciting new field".

Garret Coady, CEO of Bluebridge Technologies, added, "BlueBridge Technologies is delighted to be part of this project, which will showcase the power and promise of digital technologies that have the potential, not only to enable the delivery of novel therapies but to do so viably, at scale."

Dr. Maguire thanked the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for their support: "This is expensive but hugely valuable work which could not exist without the support of the Department and the DTIF. We are grateful for that support."

Editor's Note:

About Avectas

Avectas is a cell engineering company that has pioneered - Solupore - a proprietary, simple, highly effective automated non-viral cell engineering system to enable efficient and safe genetic modification, accelerating the manufacture of cells for the next generation of immuno-oncology therapies.

The company is partnering its cGMP aligned Solupore clinical-grade system with cell therapy companies to address emerging cell delivery challenges associated with multiple cell modifications and engineering of limited or fragile cells. Additionally, it will provide regulatory support to partners. Avectas is a private, international company with research facilities in Dublin, Ireland and Toronto, Canada, and an office in Cambridge MA, USA. It has over 30 employees, led by a team of highly experienced pharmaceutical executives supported by a world-class Scientific Advisory Board of cancer cell therapy experts.

For further information, see www.avectas.com.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About BlueBridge Technologies

BlueBridge Technologies specialises in safety-critical, connected-health technology, developing hardware and software solutions for the biopharma and med-tech sectors, serving clients such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Roche and Medtronic.

For further information, see https://bluebridgetechnologies.com

About NIBRT

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a global centre of excellence for training and research in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT operates in a world-class facility in Dublin, Ireland. This facility is purpose-built to closely replicate a modern bioprocessing plant with state-of-the-art equipment and enables NIBRT to offer the highest quality training and research solutions. NIBRT's mission is to support the growth and development of all aspects of the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio made several announcements on Thursday, which happens to be Earth Day, about the citys plan to fight back against climate change in the coming years.

The city of New York will be taking on big oil, specifically Exxon, Shell and BP  who combined contributed to 108 billion tons of carbon dioxide since 1965  in court. The mayor said the companies have violated the citys consumer protection law.

We need to get away from fossil fuels and that means challenging the way the industry has brainwashed us, de Blasio said. Theres been a consistent effort to tell us that everything is OK and theyre making this green and safe when it isnt true.

Exxon, Shell, and BPO have intentionally used deceptive trade practices in a clear effort to mislead people, the mayor said, and now the companies will have to answer in a court of law.

New York City will see you in court. We will fight back against what youve done to all New Yorkers, he said.

ALL CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL BUS TO GO ELECTRIC

One hundred percent of city school buses will run electrically by 2035, building off of an executive order signed by the mayor last year that said the citys entire fleet of vehicles will be electric by 2040.

The initiative will begin immediately, with a short-term goal of 75 buses in the next two years.

Additionally, the citys new public bus company, NYC Bus, will be leading the effort; one hundred percent of its buses will run electrically by the end of the decade.

City Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter said its such an important investment for New York City, for city schools, families and children.

It can be done, de Blasio said. Were doubling down every day in reducing emissions in the citys fleet.

CURBSIDE COMPOST TO RETURN IN OCTOBER

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) suspended curbside composting and electronics collection in April 2020 due to budget and personnel issues amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The suspension was to run through June 30, 2021, it was announced last year.

De Blasio announced Thursday that curbside composting would return in October to 3.5 million city residents.

Enrollment will begin in August.

All city public school buildings will also be enrolled in the program.

FOLLOW KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER.
States are outraged at the fact that they are going to be paying higher prices for vaccines than the Centre.

The Centre has paid Rs 150 per dose, both for the AstraZeneca vaccine, Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotechs Covaxin. Our price remains the same as earlier, a government official told Business Standard.

But for future contracts with state governments, who will lead the vaccination campaign for those below 45, the Serum Institute has quoted a price tag of Rs 400 per dose, effectively 166 per cent more than what the Centre has paid till now. Bharat Biotech has not declared the price that Covaxin will demand on future contracts.

Most states ruled by non-BJP parties have criticised the pricing policy. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is fighting for re-election, has demanded that there should be one fixed price for a particular vaccine.

On Thursday, she tweeted: One nation, one party, one leader shouts the BJP all the time but to save lives they cant have one price for vaccines. Every Indian needs a free vaccine, regardless of age, caste, creed, location. The government must fix ONE price for Covid vaccine irrespective of who pays  Centre or the states.



Questioning the differential pricing, Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

States will buy vaccines for the poor and the young, hence your policy is both anti-poor and anti-youth. Such peculiar differentiation of rates is also unheard of in Indian history. In fact, never ever has any state in this country been asked to buy vaccines in any mass immunisation drive, let alone at such high rates, the letter said.

K T Rama Rao, Telanganas senior minister and son of chief minister K C Rao echoed similar views.

We agreed to One Nation  One Tax (GST). But now we see, One Nation  Two Different Vaccine Prices? Cant the government subsume any additional cost from the PM-CARES fund and help rapid vaccination across India? he tweeted.

An official in the chief ministers office said that pricing adds complexity to the existing problem of vaccine shortages. We have the capability of administering 600,000-700,000 doses per day, but are able to do less than 200,000. The production capacity too does not give much scope for a real improvement in supply in the coming days, he said.

At least six states  Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam  have said that their governments will provide vaccines to all for free.

However, Maharashtra, the most badly affected state, has indicated that it may not keep the jab free for all. The state health minister Rajesh Tope said that those who can afford to buy it should do so.

He said the state cabinet will decide who will be eligible for free doses so that poor sections of society can be helped and also the pricing of doses for those who can afford it.

Gujarat and Rajasthan are awaiting formal notification from the Centre, not only on the pricing but also on guidelines on beginning the third phase of vaccination that begins on May 1 when all Indians aged over 18 become eligible for a dose.

According to a senior immunisation officer in Gujarats epidemic department, the state has yet to work out a detailed plan.

It seems that the state government will have to shell out the cost of vaccinating the 18-45 year age group from its coffers. However, we are not keen on importing vaccines as they are costlier compared to the domestic ones available in the market," the officer told Business Standard.

Gujarat estimates a requirement of 65 million vaccine doses for vaccinating a population of roughly 32 million in the age bracket of 18-45.

Similarly, Rajasthan has worked out that the cost of vaccinating the 31 million citizens aged between 18-45 will be around Rs 2,500 crore.

"A concrete plan on vaccinating and budgeting is yet to be worked out and we are hoping that the Centre will soon clarify and share a detailed guideline for the third phase. Prima facie, the state may have to incur an additional burden of over Rs 2,500 crore," said Dr Raghuraj Singh, project director, immunisation in Rajasthan.

Assam finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that funds collected as part of Assam Arogya Nidhi will be used to buy vaccines.

Interestingly, Sarma in a letter to Bharat Biotech, mentioned that he expects the vaccine maker to sell shots to his government at the rate as the Centre. This may start a price war as Bharat Biotech has said that it expects a maximum possible price for Covaxin.

The Serum Institutes quote for sale to private buyers is Rs 600 per dose.

Banerjee said that fixing the rate for private hospitals at Rs 600 per dose is not only discriminatory but also unhealthy as it is likely to trigger unscrupulous mechanisms in the market.
The Economic Fighters League emphatically rejects the decision by the intention of the government to increase road tolls and reintroduce the compulsory towing levy.



The compulsory towing levy, which the people of Ghana strongly repulsed and forced government to abort in 2017 is being smuggled in behind veils with new euphemistic excuses.



The newly imposed taxes announced in the 2021 budget are already set to weigh effect on the people of Ghana from May 1, 2021. The people of Ghana are already saddled with the heightening cost of construction materials, food, electricity bills, water bills, cost of domestic house rents among many other basics. As always, it is the people who have and continued to suffer most.



Ghanaians are tired of taxation without transparency and value for money. It is unintelligible and reductive for the government to seek to suggest that the introduction of more taxes or increasing the rates of existing taxes is the solution to road accidents when the state is currently spending national funds on some of the most expensive roads in Africa yet delivering some of the most poorly built roads. An increase in expenditure cannot be considered proportional to safety when national resources are constantly diverted to private hands.



We at Fighters and other well-meaning Ghanaians are skeptical of the commitment of current and/past administrations to curb road accidents and to improve road infrastructure. Our reasons are easily found in their track records of the vicious stealing from the public purse as captured in the wrongfully removed Auditor-General's reports.



We will support any serious move to recover stolen money as surcharged by the Auditor-General's annual reports as an effort to identify the funds required to execute the stated tasks, rather than allow ourselves to be further taxed on non-delivery, another extraction measure without transparency, accountability, and value for money.



Revolutionary Regards,



Hardi Yakubu

Fighter-General









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The drone-delivery service in Christiansburg, Va.the first in the country to deliver goods directly to residences on demandgave researchers a unique opportunity to study how people feel about the technology when they've actually experienced it in their own community. Credit: Virginia Tech

The week of Thanksgiving last year, a postcard arrived in mailboxes in Christiansburg. A link to a survey was on the back. On the front, there was a picture that was, by then, very familiar to the residents of a town that made history in 2019 as the first place in the U.S. to have a residential drone delivery service: a yellow-winged drone with a small cardboard box tucked underneath it.

The survey's 20 questions were designed to measure how Christiansburg's 22,000 residents felt about drone deliverythe first time that this question had ever been posed to a community that had actually experienced the service. The survey was developed and conducted by researchers from the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), a federally designated drone test site, and Lee Vinsel, an assistant professor of science, technology, and society in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

The primary finding: 87 percent of people who responded to the survey reported that they liked the idea of drone delivery. The resoundingly positive results, published in the spring issue of Issues in Science and Technology, plant a new stake in the ground for the future of a technology still at the beginning of its transition from research to retail.

Interest in drone delivery is rising. The service in Christiansburg, run by Wing, Alphabet's drone-delivery subsidiary, is the most advanced of the handful of trial services operating today. But drone technologyand the laws that regulate itare maturing, and it's expected that services like these could become routine in the next few years.

Whether they're successful or not will depend in large part on how the public responds. Delivering packages to homes unfolds in the public eye to a greater extent than many other applications for drones: People may see the drone in the commercial area where it picks up its cargo, at the customer's house, and in the neighborhoods in between.

Accurate estimates of public opinion are critical for the regulatory agencies developing rules that will govern its use and state and local governments considering whether to encourage it, in addition to the companies pioneering these services and hoping to scale their businesses.

Until now, though, data has been limited, and usually not encouraging: The handful of surveys on this topic have pegged public support for drone delivery at around 50 percent in the U.S. and lower in Europe and the U.K..

But several factors suggest that those anemic results might not be definitive.

First, crucially, these surveys polled people who had almost certainly never received a delivery by drone, and were speculating about a service they were imagining rather than reporting on one they'd experienced. Second, many of the survey questions frame their questions in a way that implies risk, asking respondents to rate their level of concern about potential problems selected by the researchers in advance. Highlighting potential negative outcomes may prompt a more negative overall sentiment.

Christiansburg, then, represented a unique research opportunity.

"Gauging people's reactions to new technologies can be really difficult, including because it's so easy to bias respondents' views," Vinsel said. "We wanted to create a survey that was as neutral as possible to examine sentiments about drone delivery. And Christiansburg was a great opportunity for us because it was a unique population that had actually experienced these systems."

The survey asked respondents about standard demographic factors and their typical response to new technologies. It asked about how familiar they were with drone delivery, how they'd found out about it, and what their general attitude toward it was. Instead of asking about specific risks and benefits, the researchers asked open-ended questions about what the respondents saw as positive and negative aspects of the technology.

The survey was approved by the Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board; Wing helped fund the survey development and distribution through an existing research contract with MAAP, but the analysis was funded entirely by Virginia Tech. Adeline Guthrie, a graduate student in the statistics in the College of Science and collaborator with the Statistical Applications and Innovations Group, assisted with data analysis.

The results were resoundingly positive.

Not only did 87 percent of respondents report positive sentiment about drone delivery, 89 percent indicated either that they were likely to use the service or already had, and 49 percent reported liking the idea of drones used for package delivery more than drones used for other purposes.

All of these results are dramatically different from those of other surveys, in which positive sentiment never exceeded 51 percent and delivery was a relatively unpopular application when ranked against others.

The survey also asked respondents if their opinion had changed since the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit Virginia in March, the number of people signing up for Wing's service and ordering drone deliveries spiked. Wing partnered with additional local businesses and worked with a school librarian to deliver books.

The survey results suggested that these contributions had helped. The pandemic popped up frequently in the open-ended question about positive aspects of the technology. Fifty-eight percent of Christiansburg survey respondents said that their opinion of drone delivery had improveda much bigger boost than was measured in a 2020 survey from the Consumer Technology Association that polled a general population sample.

Here again, Christiansburg residents' experience with drone delivery may have contributed to the jumpseeing a favorite coffee shop find a new way to reach customers without in-person shopping or a neighbor's child receiving a delivery of sidewalk chalk and crackers, may resonate more than an abstract appreciation for contact-free delivery.

MAAP worked with Wing to launch the drone delivery program under the federal UAS Integration Pilot Program, a drone-integration initiative that brought together state agencies, local governments, and companies to advance the rollout of drone applications that could have significant benefits for communities (the trial is continuing under the IPP successor program BEYOND). MAAP and Wing conducted months of community outreach before the service launched, talking to thousands of Christiansburg residents about what the service would look like.

"One of the goals of the IPP was to take a community-oriented approach to drone integration," said Tombo Jones, MAAP's director. "There's not a shortcut here. You need careful, methodical research to demonstrate that the system is safe and reliable. Then you can take that information out into the community, and talk to people to learn what they're looking for and what their concerns are. It's rewarding to see how positive the results of this survey are, because they show that, when it's done the right way, developing new applications for drones can have a genuinely positive impact on a community."

The team is hoping that future research will reveal more detail about how people's opinions evolve before and after they're exposed to drone delivery, the aspects of drone delivery that inspire the greatest enthusiasm or strongest skepticism, and what factors help determine how someone will feel about the technology.

"The key thing is that speculation about technologies is different than actual experiences with them," Vinsel said. "Lots of factors influence how we feel about the technologies in our lives, but something scholars have found repeatedly over for the last 60 years is that familiarity breeds acceptance. To be at an early point in the rollout of this technology and be able to study a population that has actually experienced it is pretty exciting."

Explore further Google completes first drone delivery in the US

More information: Nelsen, Eleanor, Adeline Guthrie, and Lee Vinsel. "When the Drone Is in Your Backyard." Issues in Science and Technology 37, no. 3 (Spring 2021): 2931. Journal information: Issues in Science and Technology Nelsen, Eleanor, Adeline Guthrie, and Lee Vinsel. "When the Drone Is in Your Backyard."37, no. 3 (Spring 2021): 2931.
Youngsters at a local after-school program received a firsthand look Wednesday at a Navy parachuting teams mission from San Diego, more than 1,200 miles away.

Petty Officer 1st Class Aaron Robison, 32, explained the teams role via a virtual presentation at the Mays Family Clubhouse - Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio. Robison, nicknamed Robo, is a member of the U.S. Navy Parachute Team, called Leap Frogs.

The attendees gaze was riveted on Robison, whose image was broadcast on a large video screen in the second-floor boardroom. The kids asked several questions that ranged from how many jumps hed taken (800) to what material a parachute is made of (nylon).

Whats your favorite part? asked Aleyah Washington, 12, as Robison demonstrated how to prepare a parachute properly before skydiving.

Interacting with the people when I land, he said. Its a rush every single time.

On ExpressNews.com: Former Green Beret survived IED explosion in Afghanistan to own successful San Antonio real estate company

The event was part of Navy Week San Antonio, which included virtual and in-person events to connect sailors serving the nation with communities across the city. Other scheduled events included 25 educational sessions and a virtual meeting featuring Cmdr. Kristel OCanas with the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. OCanas is one of four women of color to command Navy warships during the same period.

San Antonio is one of 13 cities hosting Navy Week events. The signature outreach program, sponsored by the Navy Office of Community Outreach, began Monday and ends Sunday. It started in 2005 as a way to educate the community about the branch, its sailors and the importance of their role in national security.

Because of COVID-19, this is the second year that in-person events have been replaced by virtual presentations.

At the clubhouse, at 123 Ralph Ave., Andre Ginnane, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio, said attendance at the clubs is free for military children.

As they move around, they run into new and different environments, she said, and to be able to connect with the Boys & Girls Clubs regardless of where they are is supportive.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio resident unearths Buffalo Soldiers tombstone in East Side backyard

Program manager Nick Garcia, 26, moderated the event in a room decorated with gold and blue balloons. Inspirational slogans such as loyalty, education and character were emblazoned on the walls.

When asked what motivated him to join the parachute team, Robison said it was the same reason he enlisted in the Navy: to challenge himself and be a part of something bigger.

Robison covered basic information about safety and the parachutes that the team uses on jumps. In the teams hangar, he reviewed parts of the chute that looked like a regular-sized backpack. Robison displayed the reserve and main chutes, a rip cord and an automatic activation device, which would deploy a reserve parachute if a skydiver needed it.

Noe Llanes, 12, asked how long it took to learn how to pack a parachute. Robison, who teaches a class on the process, said its a quick learning curve after packing a parachute six to eight times a day.

Jennifer Lynn, 17, asked about the size of landing blocks the team members land on, which Robison said measured about 20 feet by 40 feet. When Christopher Rodriguez, 12, asked how long it took a chute to deploy, Robison said less than two seconds.

On ExpressNews.com: Air Force veteran recalls life after adoption at Japanese orphanage

Before the session ended, Rear Adm. Ted LeClair surprised the youngsters with an unannounced visit. LeClair, wearing his full-dress uniform, said he had just attended an oath of enlistment ceremony at the Alamo, where 27 people committed to becoming sailors.

He thanked Robison for his virtual presentation and encouraged the youngsters to be heroes for their younger siblings.

You guys are leaders already, LeClair said, and may not even know it.

The admiral had attended other events around the city that day, but it was important for him to visit the students he called the future Navy. Afterward, he mingled with the children and staff members in the hallway for photos and chats to keep moving forward.

My being here, LeClair said, is to let them know they can be anything they want to be.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Ukraines President said the Russian troops pullback will help ease tensions and thanked international partners for their support. The reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension, Zelensky said on Twitter. He noted that Ukraine remains vigilant, but welcomes any steps to decrease the military presence and de-escalate the situation in Donbas. Earlier this week, Zelensky offered to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Donbas to defuse tensions. Putin responded in televised remarks on Thursday, saying that if the Ukrainian leadership wants to settle the conflict in Donbas, it should first engage in talks with separatist leaders in the east and only after that discuss it with Russia. If Zelensky wants to discuss normalising ties with Russia, hes welcome to come to Moscow, the Russian leader said. The Russian military hasnt reported the number of additional troops that have been moved to Crimea and parts of south-western Russia near Ukraine, and it wasnt immediately clear from Shoigus statement if all of them will now be pulled back.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the manoeuvres in Crimea involved more than 60 ships, more than 10,000 troops, around 200 aircraft and about 1200 military vehicles. The exercise featured the landing of more than 2000 paratroopers and 60 military vehicles on Thursday. Fighter jets covered the airborne operation. Shoigu flew in a helicopter over the Opuk firing range in Crimea to oversee the exercise. He later declared the drills over, but ordered the military to stand ready to respond to any adverse developments during NATOs Defender Europe 2021 exercise. The NATO drills began in March and are to last until June. NATO has significantly intensified its military activities in the region, Shoigu said. Intelligence gathering has increased and the intensity and scope of operational training has been growing. One of the alliances main coalition groups is being deployed in the Black Sea region. Russia long has bristled at the deployment of NATOs forces near its borders and stepped up its drills as relations with the West have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the annexation of Crimea, Russian meddling in elections, hacking attacks and other issues.

Last week, Russia has announced that it would close broad areas of the Black Sea near Crimea to foreign navy ships and state vessels until November, a move that drew Ukrainian protests and raised Western concerns. Russia also announced restrictions on flights near Crimea this week, arguing that they fully conform with the international law. Loading Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on Tuesday that the Russian build-up across the border was continuing and was expected to reach a combined force of over 120,000 troops in about a week and urged the West to beef up sanctions against Moscow. Moscow has rejected Ukrainian and Western concerns about the build-up, arguing that its free to deploy its forces anywhere on the Russian territory and charging that they dont threaten anyone. But at the same time, the Kremlin sternly warned Ukrainian authorities against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel east, where seven years of fighting have killed more than 14,000, saying that Russia could be forced to intervene to protect civilians in the region. Amid the tensions, Ukraines President on Wednesday signed a law allowing the call-up of reservists for military service without announcing a mobilisation. The new law will allow to quickly equip the military with reservists, significantly increasing their combat effectiveness during military aggression, Zelenskys office said in a statement.
The Boaz Police Department is looking for a Colorado murder suspect who was in the city earlier this week.

Stephen Cruz Sandoval was in Boaz visiting family on Monday and was supposed to appear for trial on homicide charges in Colorado Spring, CO., on Tuesday, according to Boaz police.

Sandoval was once a soldier at Fort Carson in Colorado and accused of shooting his teenage girlfriends step-father multiple times, according to ABC affiliate KRDO. The news station says Sandoval fled after the shooting and was arrested in Texas, with authorities believing he may have been coming to Alabama. (Read more HERE)

Boaz police said Sandoval has not been seen since leaving the city on Monday night.

He is 59 tall, 160 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He may be driving a silver Honda CR-V with a model year between 1997 and 2001.

Anyone with information on Sandoval is asked to send a message to the Boaz Police Departments Facebook page HERE or call the department at 256-593-6812.
Real Madrid's clean sheet pleased Zinedine Zidane the most as they took three points from their visit to the Estadio Ramon de Carranza.

Two goals from Karim Benzema and one from Alvaro Odriozola contributed to a 3-0 win over Cadiz to go top of LaLiga Santander. The hosts posed very little problems for Real Madrid's back three, too.

"The important thing for us is to be up for it and know how to defend," Zidane said at full time.

"We defended really well again. For me, that's key."

Benzema's double sees him go two behind Lionel Messi in the scoring charts in LaLiga Santander.

"I'm happy with what he's doing, not only with his goals," Zidane said on the striker.

"I'm happy with what he's doing, we're enjoying him and we hope we can enjoy him for a lot longer."

Luka Modric was absent from the side for the visit to Cadiz, leaving Real Madrid to deal with another injury.

"It's his back," Zidane said.

"But I think it's only a small thing.

"I hope we can be back with us soon."
Both veteran Marxists who have spent decades campaigning for Hong Kong democracy, Chan Po-ying and Leung Kwok-hung viewed marriage as something of a patriarchal and unnecessary institution.

But when China's crackdown on Hong Kong dissidents came for Leung, 63, they finally tied the knot.

The couple have been together for 45 years and are two of the most prominent faces on Hong Kong's left, campaigning first against colonial Britain and then China's increasingly authoritarian rule.

Over the years Leung -- better known by his sobriquet "Long Hair" -- has been in and out of prison on short sentences for his activism.

Last week he was among a group of dissidents sentenced to 18 months for organising an "unlawful protest".

But it was the sudden imposition last year of a sweeping national security law -- which carries up to life in prison -- that finally pushed them to wed.

"We never thought we needed to get married until long-term imprisonment came right in our faces," Chan, 63, told AFP from the office of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), a leftist opposition party she and Leung helped found in 2006.

"It was the national security law that propelled us to make up our mind," she added.

- 'More than a wife' -

As a married couple, the pair would have greater prison and court visitation rights should one of them be detained long term, they reasoned.

National security police came for Leung in early January.

He was among dozens of opposition figures arrested on charges of "subversion" for organising an unofficial primary last year to decide who will run in local elections.

Chan and Leung wed soon after but spent just 40 days together as newlyweds.

Leung was officially charged with subversion alongside 46 others, most of whom have been denied bail.

Since then Chan has spent her days shuffling between detention centres, the courts and their office.

As an activist with her own long history of campaigning, she balks at being known as "Long Hair's wife".

Story continues

"I think I am more than that," she said.

Born into a middle-class Hong Kong family, Chan abandoned a potentially comfortable life to pursue opposition politics, founding grassroots feminist organisations and working in garment factories to make ends meet.

But she feels a sense of responsibility to continue advocating for Leung and others like him.

"As a family member who can sit through all his trials I think I have the more privileged position to speak up about his cases and the impact of the national security law," she said.

- 'Drawn into a vortex' -

The security law is part of a double-edged sword that Beijing has used to quash dissent in Hong Kong since the city was convulsed by months of huge and often violent democracy protests in 2019.

The other side is a campaign dubbed "patriots ruling Hong Kong" where critics of Beijing are being weeded out by political vetting and public office bans.

With so many opposition figures arrested or fled overseas, Chan is one of the few female politicians still on the front lines.

She was a constant presence at the mammoth -- and mostly unsuccessful -- bail hearings for those charged with national security crimes.

Recently she staged a small protest when a Beijing official came to Hong Kong.

"I would have done the same even if Long Hair hadn't been arrested because it is what I believe," Chan said.

"I can't sway you now but I will demonstrate my resistance," she said of her philosophy towards Beijing.

But Chan knows Hong Kong's democracy movement is on the back foot.

The protests of 2019 saw swathes of Hong Kong's population hit the streets calling for greater democracy and police accountability.

Officials are now busy rewriting that narrative, portraying the popular movement as an attempt by a small hardcore of subversives to try and topple China itself.

Chan admits sometimes feeling despondent.

"It's unprecedented for Hong Kong, the whole of society seems to be clueless about what to do next," she said.

She says she has no idea whether the LSD can even survive.

There are two upcoming dates that are usually big moments for opposition groups to hold protests and vigils: June 4 and July 1.

The former commemorates China's deadly 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy students in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

The latter marks Hong Kong's handover to China -- a day when opposition groups traditionally hold democracy marches.

Chan is unsure whether either will go ahead this year -- or in any other future year.

"We have been drawn into a vortex that's swirling us into dizziness," she said.

su/jta/axn/rma
Q1: Beaumont City Manager Kyle Hayes already has said the next City Council will be asked to borrow more money to continue the rate of streets improvement. That likely would include a tax rate increase, and more projects could be funded with that money. How should the council handle those decisions?

Q2: Beaumont residents continue to bring forward concerns about streets, sewer and drainage despite the city having a plan to address these issues. Is the problem communicating the information, the plans themselves or something else? How do you address that?

Q3: There seems to be a growing percentage of people who just dont believe their local government. Is that a concern, and how do you address it?

Q4: Its no secret that the council doesnt always get along. How do you handle disagreements?

Q5: What quality of life improvements should the city be looking at?

Q6: What makes you the best candidate?

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont Mayoral race

Albert A.J. Turner

Age: 34

Occupation: Entrepreneur and truancy officer with Beaumont ISD

Education: Graduated from Wylie College with a bachelors degree in Sociology

Volunteer work, endorsements or previously elected office (up to three):

1. Member of the Jefferson County Sheriffs Citizen Review Board

2. Endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association

3. Endorsed by Change Texas Political Action Committee

A1: Im a huge believer in being fiscally conservative. If were going to borrow a bit more, we need to be transparent and make sure we get a good return on investment. We need to look at all the things we need to get done in Beaumont. I dont think the citizens would be too upset if we borrowed enough money to not only catch up but get ahead.

A2: Were not really being transparent with the citizens of Beaumont. Whatever plans we have, we dont have those available for the citizens. Were not displaying how were measuring the success rate of what were doing. How can we say were making progress if we dont know how were doing. I think the citizens of Beaumont should know what construction is coming up next.

A3: We have to ask what were doing to make citizens believe us and be engaged. The way the city operates pushes young leaders away. We argue and fight more than we address the problems. Leadership is leading by example, and I think we spend more time bickering and arguing than getting day-to-day operations.

A4: I have the ability to reach across the aisle and work with everyone. I have a contract where I do the marketing, advertising, hiring and firing for a company. I dont agree with some of the policies of the companies I negotiate with, but I can agree to disagree in the best interest of the company. It would be the same thing on the council while still doing the best for the citizens of Beaumont.

A5: We have a lot of vacant buildings that are eyesores. We need to look at a more innovative way to do something about those buildings and beautify the city. We need more things to bring unity - family-oriented activities. We need a multicultural festival. Beaumont is at the phase where it needs to more progressive and innovative.

A6: I can be relatable and deal with everybody. As you can see from my endorsements, I have relationships across the whole community. I have a relationship with the current council members and people running. I can be the glue for the issues in the city of Beaumont. Im heavily involved with our youth because I understand theyre our future. I'm proposing a citywide internship program. Im one of those people that listens to the people and then creates solution. I understand we have to have seasoned leadership with innovative leadership to get the progress we need.

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont Ward II

Randy Feldschau (I)

Age: 59

Occupation: Senior Pastor of One City Church, City Councilman At-large

Education: Ordained through Global University

Volunteer work, endorsements or previously elected office (up to three):

1. Endorsed by the Beaumont Police Officers Association

2. Endorsed by the Peoples Political Action Committee

3. Endorsed by the Sabine Area Labor Council

A1: Id like to look at the projects we might add to it and the financial impact that would have on the citizens. Id then like to hear from the citizens on how they feel about it. As a council, we have to find the balance between addressing our infrastructure and getting the things done that our citizens want while also helping them to understand we have to pay for that and there has to be, in many cases, a tax increase. For me, that really does mean hearing from the citizens. I am there to be an advocate for them. Theyre the ones that ultimately will have to pay for it.

A2: The city has and continues to do a lot of things to address those issues. We have already addressed 50% of the sewer lines in the city of Beaumont and were working on the other 50%. Can we do better? Yes. But I do believe the biggest problem is we havent done a good job communicating with the citizens what we have done, what we are doing and what were going to do.

A3: Politics has become too toxic in America. I do believe we should debate issues as statesmen - agree to disagree without being disagreeable. It seems like weve become specialists in character assassination. It appears were more interested in beating someone than the issues on the table. I think we need to restore healthy debate and decorum back in politics. We need to remember, as politicians, that were servants of the community. Everything that we do, we should do for the sake of the citizens and regain their trust by leading with integrity.

A4: Healthy debate is good and right. Its where two different opinions come together to find compromise, which usually ends up being the best solution for the problem that youre facing, and then you move forward with a unified vision for the sake of the citizens. I believe that we should debate issues and agree to disagree and yet be respectful of one another. I am concerned about the divisiveness of social media and how it keeps our city divided and so often undermines leadership.

A5: First and foremost, we have to address the basics, which deal with public works and infrastructure. That has to be our primary focus. Beyond that, I do believe that we need to see economic growth, which I believe does directly impact the quality of life because it creates opportunities within the community. I believe that we need to be aggressive as a city in attracting new and diverse industries to Beaumont to create opportunities for people.

A6: For 40 years Ive been building teams. Ive been motivating and inspiring volunteers. Ive been bringing people to a consensus and then moving them forward with vision. I believe this election could be the most in recent Beaumont history because of all the changes coming to council. I do believe that we need individuals that can manage ideas and projects. We need people who can inspire beaumont, too, inspire our citizens to help change the narrative of Beaumont where people feel good about their city and we can attract a diversity of industry, new business and we can retain our younger demographic.

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont Ward III

James Eller

Age: 42

Occupation: General contractor

Education: Welders certificate and GED

Volunteer work, endorsements or previously elected office (up to three): N/A

A1: I would allocate $1 million to airboats and high water vehicles, $20 million to streets and infrastructure or drainage. I'd also allocate money to other projects. Even if we have to borrow $100 million one time, we can directly go after these projects and get them done. Its going to be like ripping off a band aid to a fresh wound. If we can get it done and get it done one time, we can catch up. Were going to have to do something.

A2: I think the city of Beaumont is lying to us about the health conditions surrounding drinking the water. Until someone is transparent, I dont think well ever understand how bad our city is. When are they going to stop lying to us and misrepresenting the truth? Just tell us what we need to do to catch up and get on track.

A3: I had never met any of our council members until I started going to the council meetings. You never see any of these individuals in other parts of town that are undeveloped or impoverished. That hurts trust. But I can step into every part of beaumont. Thats what I plan to do - bring everything to the people. Everybody has the means to contact me. Im completely open. Ive resolved or handled city issues. Thats what we need. We need individuals that actually will go out and be part of the community. I commend Mike Getz for doing this.

A4: Ive had disagreements with Mike Getz, also, using him as an example. But Ive also relied on him to help handle situations. I havent had words with too many others, but Ive had opinions of others. I shake their hands and talk to them the same way. Whatever we do, whatever we can get done for the citizens, is what its about. I dont care what you have going on at home or council, you represent the people.

A5: The main priorities we need to be focused on are fresh water and sewer. We need inflow and outflow. That should be our main attack. That will bring in a better quality of life. Citizens will then start talking better about beaumont, which could bring in more businesses. We need the basics. If we can start with the basics - water and sewer - then we can move on.

A6: Ive been doing the job before I was even looking to run. I continue to bring that platform to help people. Its not about me. Its about the people. I want to occupy the seat to be in a better position, so I can reach more people. It doesnt have anything to do with me, with income.

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont Ward IV

Elias Ibarra

Age: 30

Occupation: Assistant director of environmental services

Education: Bachelors degree in business administration from Columbia College

Volunteer work, endorsements or previously elected office (up to three):

1. Marine Corps Veteran

2. Toys for Tots volunteer

3. Disaster relief volunteer

A1: Its important that we continue to work on our streets. However, as it is, the two largest forms of revenue that receive comes from sales and property taxes. In order to continue to improve our streets, one of those has to go up. We need to increase our revenue. However, we shouldnt increase our property taxes. Instead, we should bring more businesses to increase revenue from sales tax or find other sources of revenue.

A2: Proper planning and effective communication are key. I think its great that theres a plan, and some projects have started and completed. But those projects are a little bit slow, and the prioritization should be revisited with the contractors that provide us with their recommendations on how these projects should go. Its also important that we start to fix our issues now rather than later. These issues wont be done overnight, but if we can start solutions now, a couple or five years from now, the issues will be resolved. We need to ensure were implementing permanent solutions.

A3: I do believe its a concern. One solution could be community policing - building the trust between residents and law enforcement will give the people back the power, and theyll have the law enforcement to protect them. That removes power from the government. As it is, the government should listen to and represent the people and not have power. The power should reside in the people and law enforcement should protect them.

A4: The average person listens to respond rather than listening to understand. So, just being able to listen to understand someone, you can properly counter or oppose an issue without causing division or offending the other party. We also need to be able to effectively communicate issues and bring forward plans that are considerate of all wards. True leadership is about bringing people together and being able to lead them and motivate them into doing what needs to be done. I think I can bring that to the table.

A5: Water quality. The plumbing issue - just recently it rained, and people could not flush their restrooms. The water quality that comes from our faucets in some areas is brown. Though it meets quality standards, its not ideal or appealing. Our roads, especially our neighborhood roads, are terrible. I also want to bring more activities to beaumont, whether thats in the form of cultural festivals, something to commemorate the Lucas Gusher and Gladys City or a strip of businesses where residents can come out, walk around and visit multiple businesses and venues with family and friends.

A6: My platform is composed of four or five major issues that all stem from a similar source and are either causes or effects of each other. Its a holistic view of engaging the source of our issue to fix multiple issues. So, though I may speak on one issue, it's a waterfall. The leadership experience I have motivating individuals, teaching and looking at decisions on a grand scale, on a big-picture scale, is what allows me to see how these issues can be resolved by implementing the correct solution in either area of my platform.

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont voters to consider 16 charter change amendments

Brian Nepveux

Age: 44

Occupation: Owner of 260 consulting and co-owner of Aurum International

Education: Pursued a bachelors degree in business from Lamar University

Volunteer work, endorsements or previously elected office (up to three):

1. Cajun Navy volunteer

2. Volunteer work with various local churches

A1: I hope we'll get a large allocation from this infrastructure bill that's been proposed. Obviously, if we have to borrow, I would be an advocate for 100% of that be used on streets and infrastructure. Thats basically going to be the only way we could get things started in the city. Im an advocate of it being spent solely on infrastructure thats needed.

A2: There is a plan. Im in all the meetings every Tuesday. Im listening and taking notes. Even outside of there Im taking notes with people who work with the council. But we dont have the money for everything in those plans. The only way to stop it, I think, is to get federal funds. Things are being done, it just cant be done overnight. Unfortunately, thats not how government works. You have engineering and other factors that slow the process down. Im learning as I look into this, its not an overnight fix. The faster we can get federal or state allocations, the better we are.

A3: With news being how it is, its all divide and conquer. It is what it is. Its all op-ed now. Its just hate and mudslinging. Its trickling down to local politics. I see people active on Facebook pages all day long, and I didnt see that when I moved to Beaumont. People need to pay attention to whats going on in these meetings.

A4: I like to listen. Im a consultant. Its not about me blabbing out what I think someone should do. Its about listening to every single facet of information thats available to me and even that I dont know is out there. I have to work with all these people and we have to come up with 100% consensus or things dont go through. I understand how it works, and Im going to do my best to work with everybody. Its not about what I want or what they want. Its if it makes sense to the city and it's cost-efficient.

A5: Im a big advocate for riverfront. Port Neches has the park. FEMA's already allocated money to fix Riverfront Park in Beaumont. The plan is in place. Engineering is almost complete. Its almost time to start getting out there and fixing up the park. Once the parks in place, its getting people down there. Im meeting with a few people to see if we can get some ideas in the mix for a joint venture to bring more people downtown.

A6: Im very detail-oriented. Ive already done all this work. Ive consumed all these books, talked to these people. Im not going to stand up on a box and toot my own horn. Id rather you watch me do it than talk about it. For me, its hard to put what Im capable of in a one-sentence talking point. Im not a politician. Im a consultant by nature. Thats how I think. Im able to look at all the information. I dont get biased. I dont get emotionally-charged about things.

Related: Voter Guide: Beaumont ISD Place 2

Taher Quraishi

Could not be interviewed.

Compiled by Kaitlin Bain

Read The Beaumont Enterprise's endorsement for this race here.
(TSXV:FLT) (OTCQX:TAKOF) CEO Michael Zahra tells Proactive the Vaughan, Canada-based group is slowly expanding outside of Canada with its line of drone delivery systems, as it has begun the process of entering the US, and recently signed LOIs with partners in Africa and India. Zahra says the group is fully commercialized with its Sparrow drone, while it wraps up testing on its Robin XL and Condor drone models later in the year.
President Klaus Iohannis stated on Thursday that the western city of Timisoara will not be left on its own in the issue of migrants, adding that he expects a report on this issue from the Interior minister.

"I am waiting for more detailed information from the Ministry of the Interior, but you should know that Timisoara has never been left on its own. I do not know the reasons for this assessment made by the city mayor, but I will find out because the area is on the border, it is on the border with Serbia and with Hungary. We have always had a lot of pressure from the migratory flow and those in the border area have managed the situation well," said Iohannis, when asked about the statement of the mayor of Timisoara, according to which the city can no longer handle the situation and is becoming a traffickers' hub.

The head of the state added that he will receive a detailed report from the Minister of the Interior.

"I will receive a more detailed report these days, after which I will ask the minister to make the data public. So, once again: Timisoara will not be left on its own," Iohannis added.

On Earth Day, which is marked on Thursday, the head of the state visited the Vacaresti Natural Park.
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The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Edo State, on Thursday, announced that one of its personnel was killed during an exchange of gunfire with suspected kidnappers in Benin City.

Richard Ogbebor, the spokesperson of the civil defence corps in the state, disclosed this in a statement in Benin City

According to Mr Ogbebor, the officer was killed during a crossfire when some hoodlums suspected to be kidnappers gained access into the residence of the Bursar of the University of Benin.

An officer of the NSCDC has been killed in a crossfire with hoodlums who stormed the residence of Dr Victor Imagbe, the Bursar of the University of Benin.

At about 03:45 hours Thursday morning, the hoodlums gained access into the bursars compound at Ogheghe community, near Benin.

On sighting the personnel of the NSCDC, they opened fire. During the crossfire, our personnel, Mr Alex Osawa, was gunned down.

However, one of the fleeing hoodlums sustained bullet wounds during the crossfire, Mr Ogbebor said.

More officers from the NSCDC and police operatives were re-mobilised to the scene, while the corpse of the officer has been evacuated to the morgue for autopsy.

Manhunt for the fleeing hoodlums has been initiated with a view to arresting them, he added

(NAN)
Prime Minister will not be visiting West Bengal on Friday to address poll meetings as he will be chairing high-level meetings here to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation, and will instead address the state voters virtually.

"Tomorrow, will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal," Modi tweeted.

The BJP later said Modi will be addressing voters of West Bengal, particularly those in Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum and Kolkata, through a virtual medium at 5 pm on Friday.

The prime minister was scheduled to address four public meetings across four districts and 56 assembly constituencies.

Noting that the BJP realises the gravity of the situation and the rationale for him not being able to visit the state in person, the party's West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh said they requested him to give one address through a virtual medium to which he agreed.

After the BJP decided to call off all big political meetings and rallies in view of rising COVID-19 cases and restrict its campaign to a maximum of 500 people in the state, Modi's proposed meetings for Saturday were clubbed with his Friday campaign.

Opposition leaders have been critical of the BJP for the big rallies of its leaders at the time of surging COVID-19 cases.
DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), announced today that it will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss first quarter results on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The company plans to release its results after market close the same day.

This call is also being webcast and can be accessed at the DaVita IR web page. You can join this call as follows:

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Starting at 5:00 p.m. EDT

Dial in number: 877-918-6630

International dial in: 517-308-9042

Webcast: investors.davita.com

When calling in, please provide the operator the password "Earnings" and provide your name and company affiliation. Investors unable to listen to the conference call will be able to access a replay via our website at investors.davita.com. There will be no telephone replay.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is a health care provider focused on transforming care delivery to improve quality of life for patients globally. The company is one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the U.S. and has been a leader in clinical quality and innovation for more than 20 years. Through DaVita Kidney Care, the company treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage kidney disease. DaVita is committed to bold, patient-centric care models, implementing the latest technologies and moving toward integrated care offerings for all. Through these efforts, DaVita has also become the largest provider of home dialysis in the country. As of December 31, 2020, DaVita served 204,200 patients at 2,816 outpatient dialysis centers in the United States. The company also operated 321 outpatient dialysis centers in ten countries worldwide. DaVita has reduced hospitalizations, improved mortality, and worked collaboratively to propel the kidney care industry to adopt an equitable and high-quality standard of care for all patients, everywhere. To learn more, visit DaVita.com/About.

Contact Information

Investors:

Jim Gustafson

[email protected]

SOURCE DaVita Inc.
Yu will succeed Maya Hari, who has been promoted to a global role as Twitter's Vice President of Global Strategy and Operations (GSO).

New Delhi: Twitter on Thursday announced to appoint Yu Sasamoto as Vice President for Japan, South Korea and Asia Pacific (JAPAC) region from May 1.

"I'm looking forward to bringing more people, communities, brands and partners to Twitter as we build on the incredible business momentum from Maya's leadership across the region," said Yu Sasamoto, VP of Japan and Asia Pacific, Twitter.

Yu has led Twitter Japan and South Korea for the past seven years and will now be responsible for Twitter's advertising business across the JAPAC region, including Australia, Greater China, Japan, India, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

Hari will now lead a global team focused on customers and revenue product strategy, operations, innovation and automation to enable commercial and content partnerships efforts around the world.

"In my new role, I am excited to work with Yu and our other international leaders to grow our businesses around the world and find new opportunities for Twitter to serve the global public conversation," said Hari.

Prior to joining Twitter in 2014, Maya spent over 15 years in the digital media, mobile and eCommerce industries across the US and in Asia Pacific for brands such as Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Cisco.

Twitter on Tuesday announced to appoint Apurva Dalal as Director of Engineering in India, as the micro-blogging platform expands its engineering team in the country, a priority market and one of its fastest growing markets globally.


Shares of were locked in the 10 per cent upper circuit for the second straight day, at Rs 323.70, hitting an over 12-year high on the BSE on Thursday. The stock of the biotechnology company was trading at its highest level since August 2008. It had hit a record high of Rs 487 on April 21, 2006.

Thus far in the month of April, the market price of has zoomed 83 per cent after the company and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) agreed to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine in India per year. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex has slipped 4.4 per cent so far in the current month.

"The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and Panacea Biotec announced cooperation to produce 100 million doses per year of Sputnik V, the world's first registered vaccine against coronavirus," the company said in a press release on April 4.

Production of Sputnik V at Panacea Biotec sites will help facilitate global supply of Sputnik V to international partners of RDIF. To date, Sputnik V has been registered in 59 countries globally with a total population of over 1.5 billion people. The efficacy of Sputnik V is at 91.6 per cent as confirmed by the data published in the Lancet, one of the world's oldest and most respected medical journals.

"The vaccine is based on a proven and well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors and uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots," it said.

Panacea Biotec is an innovation driven Biotechnology company doing research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biosimilars. The company has the product portfolio of highly innovative prescription products in important therapeutic areas such as pain management diabetes management renal-disease management anti-osteoporosis anti-tubercular gastro-intestinal care products and vaccines. The Company has collaborations and tie-ups with leading national and international research organizations and corporations.

Serum Institute of India Private Limited, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced and sold globally, held 4.98 per cent stake in
(CNN)  Federal officials are currently considering whether to renew the transportation mask requirement that expires next month, an official familiar with the discussions told CNN.

The early February order from the Transportation Security Administration applies to airplanes, buses, trains and ferries, and transportation hubs like airports.

The agency is currently consulting with health experts, said the official, who declined to predict whether the order will be renewed or allowed to expire as scheduled on May 11.

TSA has received nearly 2,000 reports alleging violations from across the multiple modes of transportation, the official said. The agency disclosed in mid-February that it had received "fewer than 1,000" reports alleging non-compliance.

The agency has also reached the point of sending citations to alleged violators, the official said. The official could not say how many have been issued. There are multiple investigatory and review steps before a citation is ultimately issued.

Voices within the aviation industry that had pushed both the Biden and Trump administrations for such an order have called for it to be renewed. They said the Biden administration's order in February added teeth and consistency to a patchwork of local orders that applied to buildings like airports, and company policies requiring masks on airplanes and other vehicles.

"We do think it should maintain the mask mandate," Nick Calio, who leads the industry association Airlines for America, said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday. "It has helped considerably on airplanes and in airports."

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the government can support her members enforcing the order by "making it very clear to the public" that masks remain a requirement.

Some governors have rescinded orders or allowed mask requirements in their states to expire. President Joe Biden has taken a different approach: Soon after taking office in January, he directed the TSA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Transportation Department, and other agencies to require masking.

At the Wednesday hearing, Sen. Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican who has been photographed not properly wearing a mask on aircraft, said passengers should do so "until the government changes the requirement."

"It does seem, though, sometime in the future that this thing needs to end," Wicker added.

Dr. Leonard Marcus, who has studied coronavirus transmission on airplanes at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Wicker that the circulation of variants makes it difficult to say how long masks will be needed in enclosed spaces.

"For sure, when we're on the plane, when we're going through the airport buildings, when we're indoors, let's keep those masks on," Marcus said. "We want to make this crisis end as soon as possible."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Federal officials weigh extending mask mandate for mass transportation."
The ban on foreign holidays is on track to be lifted on May 17, Downing Street said last night, with travel opened up to as many as 30 countries.

Covid laws mean anyone caught taking a foreign holiday before the end of June currently faces a 5,000 fine.

But No10 said ministers were now confident the ban will be lifted on May 17  the most optimistic date set out in Boris Johnson's roadmap for easing the lockdown.

The ban on foreign holidays is on track to be lifted on May 17, Downing Street said last night, with travel opened up to as many as 30 countries. Pictured: Saint Lucia in the Caribbean

Queues for border control at Heathrow Airport last night. MailOnline understands the long delays are being caused by a perfect storm of problems with the Home Office accused of using a 'rigid and inflexible' bubble system for staff meaning those not on the rota for passport control cannot be moved in to ease pressure at peak times, despite social distancing and regular sanitising

Unions claim Heathrow (pictured last night), could use all passport control desks if they had installed screens surrounding each booth, rather than the front-facing ones they chose. But they also blame passengers for failing to fill in the right forms with birder staff they are seeing large numbers of people using fake covid test certificates that are not properly checked by airlines

Huge airport queues are being made worse because electronic-gates cannot be used because the Government is yet to fully digitise the 'passenger locator forms', which travellers must fill in before heading to the UK. Pictured, Queues at Heathrow last night

A maximum of 20 of the 40 passport control desks at Heathrow Terminal 2 are currently being manned because of social distancing, MailOnline understands.

Staff are also in small bubbles because of coronavirus, preventing groups being deployed when the border becomes busy.

There has so far been no sign of the feared spike in Covid cases since the reopening of shops, gyms, hairdressers and outdoor hospitality last week  which could have derailed the roadmap.

Asked about the May 17 target, the PM's official spokesman said: 'There is nothing in the data that suggests we need to change the dates.'

A final decision will be made early next month.

But Paul Charles, boss of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said he expected up to 30 countries to be considered 'green' destinations  not requiring travellers to quarantine upon return.

Israel (pictured is the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem) and some Caribbean islands are among the countries most likely to be named on the initial 'green list'

Iceland (blue lagoon in Iceland) is also among the countries that is most likely to be named on the list

Hopes of an early return for foreign holidays were boosted after the EU indicated UK residents would be exempt from a travel ban because of this country's high vaccination rate.

Israel, Iceland and some Caribbean islands are among the countries most likely to be named on the initial 'green list' next month.

The Commons transport committee yesterday urged ministers to name the 'green list' by May 1 to give firms and families time to plan.

Where is the best bet for a foreign holiday this summer? Spain wants to welcome British tourists but is set to miss out on the 'green list' - however Portugal, Dubai and Barbados could be on

By Jack Elsom for MailOnline

Millions of lockdown-weary Britons are waiting with baited breath for ministers to reveal their 'green list' of countries ahead of holidays resuming from May 17.

The Government is expected to unveil its traffic light system on May 7, when destinations will be categorised by varying degrees of quarantine restrictions.

Those awarded green list status, where returning travellers will not have to self-isolate, will automatically become prime getaway locations.

But despite craving tourists to revive their flagging economy, typical British favourites such as France and Spain could be set to miss out.

Paul Charles, boss of the PC Travel Agency, said today the green list will instead likely include countries Israel, Barbados, Morocco, Maldives, Seychelles, Grenada, St. Lucia, Antigua and the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda.

Portugal could also be a rare European addition to the green list after wrestling cases right down.

Vaccine passports have been hailed as key to unlocking foreign travel this summer, with many countries ready to welcome people who've had both doses without tests.

Experts from the PC Agency believe most of Europe will be amber not green (data from April 15)

Yet it is the toughened UK self-isolation restrictions facing returning holidaymakers that will likely sway their choice of destination.

One Government source said: 'Youve got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are.

'We will have that green, amber, red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?'

Below MailOnline drills down into the countries that are likely to receive green status - and the holidaymaker favourites that will likely be overlooked.

THE COUNTRIES EXPECTED TO GO ON THE 'GREEN LIST'

Portugal

Vaccinated: 20% Daily cases: 4.7/100,000 Weekly change: -11%

Border controls: None currently, expect to be asked for proof of vaccinations or negative test

Portugal is steadily resuming normal life after weeks of restrictions has successfully brought cases right down.

In January the country locked down in the jaws of then the world's worst surge in cases that at its peak saw 12,000 people - of its 10million population - catching the virus at day.

Daily cases have now plateaued at around 500 - 47 per million - while deaths are in single digits.

A fifth of the population has now also been vaccinated, and the most vulnerable seven per cent have received both doses.

Restaurants, museums, shops, gyms and malls have all now reopened after months starved of income.

Such a hit to the economy means Portugal is enthusiastic about welcoming back British tourists, who typically flock to the Algarve by the thousands each summer.

Portugal is enthusiastic about welcoming back British tourists, who typically flock to the Algarve by the thousands each summer (Alvor beach pictured)

Tourism minister Rita Marquez said she looked forward to Britons flying over from May 17, provided they show proof they've been vaccinated or have tested negative.

She told the Today programme: 'We hope to welcome all British holidaymakers from May 17.

'Holidaymakers can present to Portuguese authorities a certification that testifies they are vaccinated or have immunisation to the virus of they have a negative Covid test. It will be very straightforward process.'

Last month the country was removed from the red list, which was greeted by Portuguese officials.

Tui is currently advertising package holidays to a host of seaside resorts in the Algarve from as early as May 17.

Dubai

Vaccinated: 51% Daily cases: 19.2/100,000 Weekly change : -1.3%

Border controls: Must arrive with proof of negative test within 72 hours

The United Arab Emirates is one of the world leading countries by vaccination rates, having jabbed more than half of its population.

Cases are also declining and daily deaths - which have been kept remarkably low, totalling 1,561 during the entire pandemic - have dropped to an average of around three per day.

Dubai, the UAE's biggest city, is expected to allow British tourists to return when they are given the green light to travel from the UK government, given how relaxed it was about Love Island influences flying there during the winter wave.

In February Dubai closed all bars, clubs and lounges for a month to tackle a spike in cases, but they have since reopened.

The city has been open for tourists since July 2020, with visitors required to take a PCR test 72 hours before arrival, and again on arrival in Dubai.

Industry chiefs are confident British tourists will be able to book holidays in the gulf shortly.

Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, told an event last month: 'The progress that's being made in the US, Israel (and) the UK gives us hope that life will start to assume some sort of normality.

'I think there are some strong indications that over the next few weeks, things will move very quickly.'

Paul Charles, chief executive of the PC Travel Agency, reckons Dubai will be open for travel by July 31, along with neighboring Doha and Abu Dhabi.

Malta

Vaccinated: 44% Daily cases: 9.2/100,000 Weekly change: -22%

Border controls: Expected to open 1 June. Currently 14 day quarantine, arrive with negative PCR test and be retested on arrival

All the numbers are trending in the right direction Malta, paving the way for summer holidays in one of the Queen and the late Prince Philip's treasured island bolthole.

The archipelago with a population of only half a million people has indicated it will allow fully vaccinated Britons to fly there from June 1.

A negative PCR test certificate 72 hours prior to, or on arrival, is also likely to be accepteable.

Last month Malta Tourism Authority UK and Ireland director Tolene Van Der Merwe said: 'Malta is a very popular destination for British holidaymakers and is a key contributor to Malta's economy, so we are excited to welcome back fully vaccinated travellers from the United Kingdom from 1 June 2021.

'The people of Malta are looking forward to tourists returning who have loved our sunshine, culture, food and warm spirit year in year out.

'Malta has implemented its 'Sunny and Safe' Covid protocols, so visitors can be reassured that all restaurants, accommodation and service providers must comply with the highest levels of cleanliness and safety.'

And Malta's tourism and consumer protection minister Clayton Bartolo added: 'The health and safety of Maltese citizens and tourists will always be our top priority, and with the continued rollout of the vaccine here in Malta, this focused reopening plan is designed to slowly and safely reopen tourism to fully vaccinated Britons.'

Barbados

Vaccinated: 24% Daily cases: 2.6/100,000 Weekly change: 8%

Border controls: Visitors tested on arrival and must quarantine for 5 days

Stringent rules for overseas arrivals have helped keep overall cases below 4,000 in Barbados.

But from May 8 restrictions will be eased for visitors to the Caribbean holiday favourite with both doses of Covid vaccines.

They will still have to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test result three days prior to travel, a vaccination certificate, and have a PCR test completed at arrival at the airport.

However they will not have to spend at least five days self-isolating in approved accommodation, as per non-vaccinated tourists.

Barbados Tourism Marketing said these measures 'are likely to change' as the pandemic wanes.

But Such strict measures could deter holidaymakers who have not had both doses.

Nevertheless, an infection rate of just 2.6 per 100,000 should see Barbados make the green list.

Moreover Barbados has had a successful vaccine programme, with nearly a quarter of the population having received a first dose of the AstraZeneca jab.

Seychelles

Vaccinated: 68% Daily cases: 55/100,000 Weekly change: 21%

Border controls: Arrive with proof of negative PCR test taken with 72 hours

With a tiny island population of less than 100,000, the Seychelles have strode ahead with vaccinations and jabbed more than two-thirds of its citizens.

Currently there are an average 54 cases a day on the island, and the country has not recorded any deaths in some days.

It's small population means that its cases per 100,000 can appear worrying, but that's because just a handful of cases can have a sizeable shift in the numbers.

The Seychelles boasts some of the world's most idyllic beauty spots, with golden sands and clear blue seas

Last month the Seychelles opened its borders for tourists, with foreign affairs and tourism minister Sylvestre Radegonde citing the country's 'aggressive' inoculation drive as the key to unlocking.

He said: 'Our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery. The measures being announced reflect broadly the recommendation of our tourism partners and have been done in full consultation with and the endorsement of our health authorities.'

The Seychelles boasts some of the world's most idyllic beauty spots, with golden sands and clear blue seas.

Holiday favourites that hang in the balance...

France

Vaccinated: 19% Daily cases 47/100,000 Weekly change: -27%

Border controls: Seven-day quarantine, arrive with proof of negative test

After falling foul of the EU's bungled jab rollout - and President Macron's scepticism of the AstraZeneca vaccine - France is now making headway and has nearly inoculated a fifth of its population.

Like much of Europe it recently grappled with a devastating third wave, and although it appears to be past the peak, it is unlikely to make the UK's green list at first.

Paul Charles predicts it will be on the amber list under the UK's traffic light system.

It means travellers would require proof of a negative PCR test before arriving in Britain, take two further tests after returning and undergo a 10-day quarantine at home.

While this could pave the way for cross-Channel getaways, Macron this week appeared to suggest millions of vaccinated UK holidaymakers could be prevented from visiting France this summer.

A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask walks past cafe terrace with chairs stacked outside a restaurant, in Paris

Unveiling France's travel strategy, the President said that Americans and Europeans could come if they have been jabbed or have proof of a negative coronavirus test result - without specifying if Britons would be included in the continental passport regime.

Responding to the announcement, travel bosses slammed Macron's 'incredibly disappointing' move and said it made 'no sense' to cut off vaccinated Britons while allowing unvaccinated Americans and Europeans to visit.

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Steven Freudmann, Chairman of the Institute of Travel & Tourism and former President of ABTA, suggested the ploy is 'politically motivated and not guided by the scientific reality'.

He also pointed out that UK tourism is an incredible boon to the French economy, with statistics showing that British holidaymakers spent more than 5billion while visiting the country during 2017.

Spain

Vaccinated: 21% Daily cases: 18/100,000 Weekly change: -2%

Border controls: Hopes to open this summer. Currently closed to non-residents

Spain's tourism minister today said the country is 'desperate to welcome' UK visitors this summer.

Fernando Valdes told Sky News: 'I think we will be ready here in Spain. We also think that the vaccination scheme in the UK is going pretty well, so hopefully we'll be seeing this summer the restart of holidays.'

He added that certificates enabling holidaymakers to prove they have been vaccinated or recently tested are 'going to help us'.

Tourism in Spain - the world's second-most visited country before the pandemic - fell 80 per cent last year and the country wants visitors back fast.

November: Spanish beaches are typically crammed with tourists soaking up the sun (Barcelona pictured)

March: But like much of Europe it has grappled with a third wave (Magaluf pictured)

But Spain's chances of being on the British government's green list hangs in the balance, with Paul Charles predicting it will probably be amber.

While the country has now given vaccines to 21 per cent of its population, its case rate is still much higher than the UK's.

The rolling seven-day average for daily cases was yesterday more than 8,000, compared with around 2,000 for Britain.

However it is understood that Spain's Canary Islands - a holiday hotspot - could be included on the green list because of the low level of cases.

Croatia

Vaccinated: 15% Daily cases 53/100,000 Weekly change: 10%

Border controls: Negative test taken within 48 hours

Croatia is one of a clutch of countries to have mooted using vaccine passports as a way to save foreign travel this summer.

But with a low vaccination rate and cases rising rapidly, the European holiday favourite will likely be overlooked for green list status.

After a huge spike in January, the country is in the teeth of an aftershock and yesterday recorded 2,000 more cases.

The R rate is also estimated to be at 1.18, meaning infections are rising.

However the country is still hoping to lure visitors to its beautiful beaches and vibrant tourist spots this summer.

Arrivals who have been vaccinated, recovered from Covid or had a negative PCR test will be able to go to Croatia for holidays.

Nikolina Brnjac, the country's tourism minister, said: 'EU citizens, as well as non-EU citizens, who have either recovered or been vaccinated or have a negative PCR or EU-approved antigen test, will be able to enter Croatia for tourist reasons.

'We have intensified preparations for the upcoming tourist year; we are arranging additional points for testing in tourist places in order to make our tourists' stay in the Republic of Croatia as pleasant and safe as possible.'
A hatchback driver who took umbrage with a bus driver he saw running a red light has sped off to confront him before the vehicles collided.

The road rage between the white Hyundai and a Brisbane City Council bus occurred on Kessels Road in Nathan, 10km from the CBD, on Monday at about 2.40pm.

Adam Walsh, who was behind the wheel of the hatchback, posted dashcam footage of the disturbing incident this week.

The video showed the bus going through a red light while taking a sharp right turn at a busy intersection.

The bus appears to swerve towards drivers lane before the car overtakes and the two collide

Mr Walsh then speeds off hitting speeds of 104km/h on the 60 km/h road to confront the driver.

He is heard yelling at the bus heading through an intersection ahead of him, 'you ran a red light you f**ktard.'

Footage then appeared to show the bus swerving across dotted lines towards the hatchback in the neighbouring lane.

Mr Walsh drives past the bus and the audio is distorted but he told 7NEWS he 'gestured to [the driver] that I thought he was a tosser'.

'I then noticed in my side mirror that he accelerated quite rapidly and took a swerve towards the side of my car,' he said.

Mr Walsh said he 'came again a second time' and connected with the car, knocking off his side mirror.

He then pulls in front of the bus and rearview footage shows the bus rear-ending the hatchback.

At one point Mr Walsh also yells out, 'you f**ken broke my mirror.'

Brisbane City Council said they are conducting an investigation into the incident.

The alleged scuffle was between a white Hyundai hatchback and a Brisbane City Council bus

The alleged road rage incident between a bus and car has culminated in a rear-end collision

They said it appeared Mr Walsh was speeding on a 60 to 70 km/h road, as the dashcam footage shows his speed reaching 104km when he overtook the bus.

Mr Walsh denied braking in front of the bus and dashcam footage shoed the hatcback doing 61 km/h when the collision occurred.

'I accelerated in front of him to try to slow him down to get this attention to try and pull over so we could talk about what happened,' he said.

'I know in the footage it appears I slowed down quite rapidly, but that section of the road has quite a steep incline.'
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined those expressing a favorable view of the jury's decision. "I was appalled by the death of George Floyd and welcome this verdict," Johnson tweeted late Tuesday. "My thoughts tonight are with George Floyd's family and friends."

In Geneva, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday said that "any other result" other than the guilty verdicts against Chauvin "would have been a travesty of justice." She said also noted the rarity of the outcome, saying in a statement, "As we have painfully witnessed in recent days and weeks, reforms to policing departments across the U.S. continue to be insufficient to stop people of African descent from being killed."

Biden and Harris both urged the U.S. Senate to approve the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act that would ban chokeholds and would end the limited legal immunity police officers have from being sued for actions in the line of duty. Harris said of the verdict, "Today, we breathe a sigh of relief. A measure of justice isn't the same as equal justice We still must reform the system."

Biden, who phoned Floyd's family after the verdict, called it "a step forward," but all too rare moment of justice. Studies have shown that in most such U.S. cases, police are either cleared of wrongdoing without charges or acquitted in trials. Biden said systemic racism in the U.S. is a "stain on our nation's soul," while saying the verdict "can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice."

Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris praised the decision hours after a racially diverse jury in Minneapolis convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin of two types of murder and manslaughter. Minutes later, he was handcuffed and jailed and now faces years in prison, when he is sentenced in eight weeks.

Officials in the U.S. and overseas are voicing wide support for a white police officer's murder conviction Tuesday in the death last year of a Black man, George Floyd, with President Joe Biden calling it a "much too rare" outcome in contentious confrontations between white police and minority suspects.

The police reforms sought by Biden and Harris have been approved by the U.S. House of Representatives but face an uphill fight in the politically divided Senate. Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, objected to Biden's comments linking the Chauvin case to the pending legislative proposal. "It was a verdict against one officer based on individual facts in one case," Cornyn tweeted. "I accept the verdict. No need to slander law enforcement generally, and the vast majority of police officers that risk their lives to protect public safety."

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone Black Republican in the chamber, welcomed the verdict and said it is time to "help repair the tenuous relationship between law enforcement and Black and minority Americans." "While this outcome should give us renewed confidence in the integrity of our justice system, we know there is more work to be done to ensure the bad apples do not define all officers -- the vast majority of whom put on the uniform each day with integrity and servant hearts," Scott said in a statement.

Many law enforcement officials also supported the verdict. The National Fraternal Order of Police, which has more than 350,000 members in the United States, said the justice system "worked as it should." "The trial was fair and due process was served," the group said in a statement. "We hope and expect that all of our fellow citizens will respect the rule of law and remain peaceful tonight and in the days to come."

 The Verdict

The 12-member jury -- composed of six white people and six people who are Black or multiracial -- spent about 10 hours discussing testimony and evidence from the three-week trial before making its decision. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and faces up to 40 years in prison, although he could receive a shorter sentence since he has no criminal background.

Floyd was suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store last May. As Chauvin and three other officers attempted to arrest him, Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. Bystander videos of the scene were widely shared, and Floyd's death sparked protests last summer against racism and police brutality across the U.S. and in major cities in other parts of the world.

George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, told CNN it was the presence of cameras that led to a "historic" verdict against Chauvin. "Without that, my brother just would have been another person on the side of the road left to die," he said.

Since the trial began, crowds had gathered near the Hennepin County Government Center where the trial was held, and at the spot where Floyd died. They cheered when the verdict was announced. After the jury left the courtroom to start its deliberations on Monday, Judge Peter Cahill criticized California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters for recent remarks regarding the trial.

Waters told protesters Saturday in Minnesota to "stay on the street" and to become "more active" and "more confrontational" if Chauvin was found not guilty. Cahill called her comments "abhorrent" and that they could lead to a verdict being appealed and overturned. "I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that's disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function," Cahill said.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly defeated a resolution brought by House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to censure Waters. After the jury was sequestered with no access to news accounts, but before returning its verdict, Biden also commented on the case. He called the evidence against Chauvin "overwhelming" and said he was "praying" for a guilty verdict. "I'm praying the verdict is the right verdict...," the president said.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 : The Kerala unit of the Indian Medical Association and the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) on Thursday told the state government that there should be a change in strategy to tackle the surging Covid-19 cases.

On Wednesday when 1,21,763 people were tested, 22,414 tested positive, the highest daily number of positive cases in the state. This took the number of active cases to an all time high of over 1.35 lakh.

IMA State president P.T. Zacharias addressing the media here said the coming two weeks are going to be very crucial and it's very essential to come up with curfews and micro containment zones.

"It's of prime importance to ensure that all medical professionals should stay safe by following all the protocols as it's crucial to patient care. Due to the elections there has been a breach of protocols and it's one reason why there has been a surge. And now on May 2 during counting day absolute control should be maintained, if not things will get out of hand. Moreover these are times of festivals and that also should be restrained," said the IMA president.

The IMA also asked for the speedy conduct of the examinations for the medical professionals as replacements for outgoing house surgeons have to take place.

The KGMOA -- the body of the medical doctors working under the Department of Health Services in the state -- in its letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan while welcoming the increase in the daily testing, however cautioned that if there is going to be a delay in getting the test results, this mass testing exercise could turn counterproductive.

"There should be a strategy to test the primary contact and to select target groups so as to make an effective intervention. There should be an increase in recruitment of health professionals cutting across the medical sectors as we need to see this for the next six months, if not there will be a huge load on the existing human resources," said the KGMOA letter.

"The vaccination of people should take place systematically and quickly. There should be a complete stock taking on the available medical infrastructure and proper documentation should take place so as to take quick action, when an emergency arises. Strict protocols for crowd control should be in place," said the KGMOA.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 15:55:24|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Sept. 9, 2020 shows a view of San Francisco, the United States, overcast with wildfire smoke from nearby areas. Our homeland, the Earth, is faced with grave challenges to its climate and environment. It is our bounden duty to take action and protect the Blue Plannet where every one of us lives. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for commitment to restoring the planet and to making peace with nature in his message to mark International Mother Earth Day, which falls on Thursday with the theme "Restore Our Earth."

The UN chief's call came amid increasing ecological menaces and potentially catastrophic destruction to our home: environmental disasters, extreme weather, species extinction, new diseases invading human society, and the like.

Taking care of the blue planet requires global efforts. China, as a major global player, has long been a staunch supporter to global environmental endeavors and a long-time contributor to green initiatives.

From ecological civilization, climate change commitments to the green Belt and Road Initiative, China has all along adhered to the concept of building a shared future for all life on the Earth and contributed "green solutions" to the world's high-quality development.

SHAPE THE FUTURE THROUGH URGENT ACTIONS

Humankind is standing at a turning point, as Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has noted, "2021 is going to be critical in determining whether we can stop and reverse the destruction of the planet. And, ultimately, that will dictate our future as a species."

According to the latest report by the World Meteorological Organization, the year 2020 was one of the three warmest years on record. More than 50 million people were doubly hit in 2020 by climate-related disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have also worsened food insecurity.

The UNEP data shows that the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 temporarily depressed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but had no discernible impact on atmospheric concentrations. In 2020, concentrations of the major GHGs continued to increase, and the global mean sea level kept rising.

A staggering 97 percent of the Earth's ecosystems may no longer be intact, according to a newly published study. Scientists have warned that the world is in the midst of the planet's sixth mass extinction, which differs from previous ones because it is driven by human activities.

Climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution are listed by the UNDP as the three global crises facing the Earth. Levis Kavagi, a senior UNDP official, told Xinhua that the three crises are interrelated and humankind must change its relationship with nature as soon as possible.

RESTORE MOTHER EARTH BY WORKING TOGETHER

Noting that tackling global crises requires the joint efforts of the world, Kavagi called on all countries to restructure their economies and build green development systems to "Restore Our Earth."

"All parties must work together to address the serious challenges facing our Earth, such as combating accelerated global biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and the impact of COVID-19 on various aspects of the economy and society," said Stefan Toepfer, a research scientist with the Center for Agriculture and Biosciences International.

International organizations and national governments, Toepfer said, have "important parts to play in the endeavor" to restore the Earth.

"Strong political will, coupled with appropriate policies, green investments, or capacity building and awareness-raising among all parties, are imperative to working in partnership towards a restored Earth, with man and nature coexisting more in harmony," said the scientist.

Experts also believe the pandemic has sounded an alarm across the planet and provided humankind with an opportunity to reflect on their development modes.

"The pandemic has greatly increased the number (of people) who understand at a deeper level ... that change is needed," said John Cobb, Jr., founding president of the Institute for Postmodern Development of China and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

From less use of fossil fuels for transportation to cities with more hubs, Cobb said "a dramatic change in behavior is possible."

PROMOTE GREEN DEVELOPMENT WITH CHINA'S SOLUTIONS

China is an important actor in handling global crises and has played a great role in taking care of the Earth, Kavagi said.

Committed to fulfilling its obligations under the treaties on climate change and biodiversity, China, the world's largest developing country, has acted as a responsible major country by taking effective measures in the field of environmental protection.

To mitigate the impact of climate change, China has announced that it will strive to bring carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060.

China has also exported its advanced green technologies overseas, contributing Chinese solutions and wisdom to restoring the Earth.

As a country rich in biodiversity, China will hold the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity this year to map out a blueprint for biodiversity conservation in the next 10 years and chart a new course for global biodiversity governance.

"China has stated that it is an advocate of multilateralism and has always been an active participant and facilitator of the multilateral process for the protection of biodiversity. Notably, China has also been one of the leading players in the Paris Agreement," said Toepfer. Enditem
Researchers in the UK have conducted a study showing that maintaining swimming pool water in accordance with UK guidelines is sufficient to eliminate the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being transmitted between bathers.

The novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to ravage the globe, threatening global public health and the worldwide economy.

In the UK, swimming pools reopened from April 12th this year (2021) as part of the government's approach to easing restrictions as the country exits its third lockdown.

However, "the effect of swimming pool water on the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 has not yet been directly demonstrated," say researchers from Imperial College London and Water Babies Ltd in Devon.

Now, Wendy Barclay and colleagues have shown that ensuring swimming pool water meets UK guidelines are enough to reduce levels of infectious SARS-CoV-2 by at least three orders of magnitude.

A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

Quantifying transmission risk is important as countries relax lockdown rules

The continued global spread of the novel SARS-CoV-2 while countries' attempts to ease lockdown restrictions necessitates quantification of the infection risk within various settings.

In the UK, public swimming pools reopened from April 12th, 2021, as part of the government's plan to exit the country's third lockdown.

Outbreaks of certain respiratory viruses such as hepatitis A and noroviruses, which can be transmitted by the fecaloral route, have previously been linked to swimming pools.

However, Barclay and colleagues say such findings have often been the result of poorly maintained chlorine levels.

Exposure to chlorinated water inactivates SARS-CoV-2. Water samples taken from a swimming pool were modified in the laboratory to a range of pH and free chlorine values. A known amount of infectious SARS-CoV-2 was added to duplicate water samples in a volume of 1 ml, incubated for 30 seconds at RT and any remaining infectious virus then titrated by TCID50 on Vero cells. Residual virus titers are shown as the mean and SD of duplicate TCID50/ml values. Successive experiments were performed with varying free chlorine levels (a), varying pH (b), a range of both pH and free chlorine levels (c), and independent preparation of virus at a range of pH and chlorine levels (d). A PBS control was included in each experiment to validate the infectivity of the virus input. Lower pH and higher free chlorine levels resulted in greater inactivation of SARS-CoV-2. A pH of no more than 7.4 and free chlorine above 1.5 parts per million (ppm) resulted in at least a 3-log10 reduction in viral titer.

Chlorination has been used for decades

Chlorination is the technique that has been used to stop pathogens from being transmitted between swimming pool users for decades.

"However, since the causative agent of COVID-19  SARS-CoV-2  only emerged in late 2019, inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by chlorinated water has not yet been directly demonstrated," write the researchers.

In the UK, sodium hypochlorite is used to maintain a free chlorine level of 1.5-3 mg/l (ppm), while the pH is kept between 7.0 and 7.6 since the availability of active free chlorine decreases with increasing pH.

What did the researchers do?

Stocks of SARS-CoV-2 for use in infectivity assays are usually generated by infection of a permissive cell line and harvesting of the virus in a highly buffered cell culture medium. However, in preliminary experiments, Barclay and colleagues found that even a small amount of buffered medium quenched the chlorine activity of water samples, whereas the use of an unbuffered saline solution largely mitigated the quenching.

A 1:100 dilution of SARS-CoV-2 virus in normal (unbuffered) saline generated in Caco-2 cells was added to swimming water samples that were incubated for 30 seconds at room temperature.

Residual virus infectivity was then titrated on Vero cells by TCID 50 assay. This assay quantifies viral titers by determining the concentration at which 50% of infected cells exhibit damaging effects.

For each experiment, the same virus stock was incubated for 30 seconds in phosphate buffer solution as a control.

What did the study find?

The researchers demonstrated that adherence to the UK guidelines on maintaining swimming pool water reduced infectious titers of SARS-CoV-2 enough to eliminate the risk of transmission between bathers.

At the minimum UK recommended levels of chlorine (1.5 ppm) and pH7, no infective virus was detected.

The level of infectious viral titer was reduced by at least 3 orders (3-log 10 ), compared with the PBS control samples.

Next, the residual SARS-CoV-2 infectivity was measured under conditions with higher pH, while the free chlorine level was maintained at approximately 1.5 ppm.

Infectious virus was undetectable under all conditions, except for at a pH level of 7.62.

However, even at this high pH, only low levels of virus infectivity (at the threshold of detection) were observed.

This viral inactivation equated to a 3-log 10 reduction in infectivity, compared with the PBS control.

The findings highlight the importance of adhering to UK guidelines

The researchers say the study shows that inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in swimming pool water is dependent on the correct level of both free chlorine and pH.

The findings underscore the importance of maintaining swimming pools in line with UK guidelines, which should give bathers confidence in the safety of the water, adds the team.

"Finally, we stress that swimmers should continue to adhere to locally recommended social distancing rules both in and out of the water," concludes Barclay and colleagues.

*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
DALLAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) has been recognized by Environmental Business International (EBI) with six business achievement awards in 2020 for leadership and outstanding performance in Climate Action, Justice & Equality, COVID Response, Hydrogen Economy, Nature-based Design, and Adaptation and Resilience Solutions. The annual awards are administered by Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) and Climate Change Business Journal (CCBJ), two leading sources of business intelligence in the environmental industry.

"From the way we operate our business, to the work we perform with clients and other organizations, we continue to look at how we can make a positive environmental, societal and economic difference for our people, businesses, governments and communities around the world," said Jacobs President & Chief Operating Officer Bob Pragada.

The awards were announced virtually by Environmental Business International, showcasing the contributions the professional consulting industry is making to address the planet's environmental and climate change challenges.

Industry Leadership: Climate Action Plan  On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Jacobs released its Climate Action Plan, which outlined the company's climate change commitments: 100% renewable energy and net zero carbon for operations and business travel in 2020 (achieved), and being carbon negative by 2030.

Social Contribution: Justice and Equality  In August 2020, building on Jacobs' existing inclusion and diversity strategy, TogetherBeyond, Jacobs launched a global Action Plan for Advancing Justice and Equality, setting actionable initiatives and measurable objectives in the company's continuing efforts to address embedded and systemic racial inequities.

COVID Response: Worksite Contact Tracing  In support of our biopharmaceutical clients engaged in the critical manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics, Jacobs deployed its innovative ion Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform to serve as a worksite contact tracing application to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in close working situations.

Business Model Innovation: Clean Distributed Generation & Energy Storage  Jacobs and Yarra Valley Water, Melbourne's largest retail water utility, partnered on a case study to explore the relationship between the outputs of water electrolysis  hydrogen and pure oxygen  in support of Australia's hydrogen industry growth. The findings highlighted the opportunity for decarbonization by co-locating cost competitive "sustainable" hydrogen production at wastewater treatment plants and using oxygen treatment processes to deliver net capital and operating cost savings for the utility  without compromising the nation's drinking water resources.

New Practice Area: Positive Performance  Jacobs and Biomimicry 3.8 (B3.8) have developed a unique collaborative partnership that combines B3.8's nature-based assessment and innovation methodology  Positive Performance  with the domain expertise of Jacobs' engineers, architects, landscape architects and planners to offer clients regenerative design solutions that optimize system performance while delivering health and wellness benefits for people and the planet. The concept is based on biomimicry  emulation of nature's innovation into design  and provides a unique platform for the development of sustainable solutions in the built environment.

Project Merit: Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience  In October 2020, the new Cutter Lateral Reach 21 Water Treatment Plant in New Mexico achieved substantial completion and plant acceptance. Built to address critical adaptation, resilience and environmental justice issues, the 3.5-million-gallons-per-day greenfield project  which involves the treatment and conveyance of water from the Cutter Reservoir  provides a clean, reliable and long-term water source for the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache communities along the Cutter Lateral.

"Congratulations to our employees, clients and environmental industry partners for challenging the status quo and developing forward-thinking solutions that support sustainable growth and opportunity for all, in harmony with the natural environment," said Pragada. "By working together, aiming higher and living inclusion, we can create an enduring legacy for generations to come."

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $14 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 2, 2020, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 1, 2021, and in particular the discussions contained under Part I, Item 2 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Part II, Item 1 - Legal Proceedings; and Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

SOURCE Jacobs

Related Links

http://www.jacobs.com


(Newser)  President Biden's nominee for NASA administrator wants to send astronauts to the moon again as soon as possiblejust as the Trump administration planned. The program goes beyond politics, former Sen. Bill Nelson said Wednesday in his confirmation hearing, and "has to be continued, regardless of whos in the majority, of whos in the presidency." Senators from both parties praised Nelson, a longtime fan of space exploration who flew on the space shuttle in 1986, the Washington Post reports. "And at this moment NASA needs a great advocate that we all can be confident in," said Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington. Former Vice President Mike Pence set the 2024 date for the next moon landing under the Artemis program, and many experts don't think it's possible.

story continues below

"I think you may be pleased that were gonna see that timetable try to be adhered to," Nelson said, per the Verge, "but recognize that with some sobering reality that space is hard." The nominee added another bipartisan touch by praising Jim Bridenstine, a former NASA boss who built support for Artemis under President Trump. "If confirmed, I look forward to continuing to work with him and will seek his advice," Nelson said in written testimony. He plans to support NASA's involvement in Biden's climate change initiatives, as he capitalizes on the support built under Trump for returning to the moon. Nelson's nomination is scheduled to go to the full Senate on April 28, and Republicans and Democrats expect smooth sailing. (Read more NASA stories.)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seriously considering postponing the May 22 parliamentary elections and could announce the move within days, Palestinian and Israeli sources say. The Biden administration is hinting it wouldn't object to such a move.

Why it matters: The May vote would be the first election in the Palestinian Authority in 15 years. A postponement would be a sign of the deep democratic deficit in the West Bank and Gaza and could lead to protests.

Abbas and his close aides are concerned they could lose the election and strengthen Hamas.

Israel and the Biden administration privately share those concerns.

Driving the news: On Monday, Abbas convened a meeting of the leadership of his Fatah party.

In a public statement after the meeting, he stressed his commitment to holding the election on time.

But in the meeting itself, he discussed the possibility of postponing it, citing possible interference with voting in East Jerusalem.

In another statement, Abbas and the chair of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, stressed that the elections must include Jerusalem. This was a change for Hamas, which hadn't previously held up voting in Jerusalem as a pre-condition for holding the elections.

The state of play: The Palestinians asked Israel several weeks ago to officially allow the elections to take place in East Jerusalem. Israel neither rejected nor approved the request.

Israeli and Palestinian officials say that to this day, Israel hasnt responded. Netanyahu still hasnt made a decision on the issue, Israeli officials say.

In private talks, Israeli officials have told their U.S. and European counterparts that Israel won't sabotage the election and noted that Israel did allow voting in East Jerusalem in 2006. But they haven't committed to allowing voting this time.

Meanwhile, the Israeli police have prevented Palestinian candidates from holding election rallies and press conferences in Jerusalem and even arrested several candidates.

Behind the scenes: Abbas had been telling foreign dignitaries that the Biden administration pressed him to hold the elections. When U.S. officials got wind of that, they asked Abbas and his aides to stop because it wasnt true, sources familiar with the issue told me.

The Biden administration isnt pressing the Palestinians to postpone the elections either, but it is signaling it would not object.

We have taken a consistent position that the exercise of democratic elections is a matter for the Palestinian government and people to determine, not the U.S. government. That remains our position. It is up to the Palestinians to determine how to proceed," a senior U.S. official told me.

What they're saying: Abbas' adviser Nabil Shaath told An-Nahar newspaper on Tuesday that the elections could be postponed if Israel doesn't respond to the Palestinian request  the first time a Palestinian official raised the possibility of postponement publicly.

Palestinian and Israeli officials said Shaaths statement reflects Abbas thinking.

The penny finally dropped, and Abbas finally understood he is way over his head, that his party is weak and divided and that the price of postponing the elections could be lower than continuing with it," an Israeli official said.

Whats next: Palestinian sources say Abbas is now looking for a public explanation for a potential postponement, and East Jerusalem is the likely rationale. Hamas' view on a delay is less clear.
A Division Bench of the on Thursday dismissed contempt petitions filed against Harsh Vardhan Lodha for continuing as director and chairman in Ltd, Universal Cables Ltd, Vindhya Telelinks Ltd, and Birla Cable Ltd.

According to the Lodhas, the landmark judgment clears the decks for Harsh Lodha to continue as chairman of all of the MP

Commenting, the Birla side said: We are awaiting the copy of the order passed today (Thursday) and would decide the course of action after studying it.



Lodhas advocate Debanjan Mandal, partner, Fox & Mandal, said in the past two years, relentless attacks had been mounted, not only on Lodha, but also on independent directors and executives of the MP

Thursdays verdict vindicates the highest level of governance standards maintained in these from the times of the late Madhav Prasad Birla, he added.

The contempt application was filed by the Birla side on grounds of violating a Division Bench order dated October 1, 2020.

The sequence of events is somewhat like this: On September 18, 2020, a single-Bench of the ordered that Harsh Vardhan Lodha be restrained from holding office in any of the MP entities during the pendency of the suit involving the contested will of Priyamvada Birla.

The order was challenged by the Lodhas before the Division Bench, which declined an ad interim stay on the single-bench order and said the restriction on Lodha was on the strength of shares referable to the estate of Priyamvada Birla.

However, the order was interpreted by the Birlas and Lodhas differently.

According to the Lodhas, it paved the way for Lodha to continue to hold offices in all the companies because he was reappointed on the strength of shares of third-party promoter group entities, financial institutions, and individual shareholders.

Lodha continued to act as director of these companies and chaired board meetings of and the listed cable companies Universal Cables, Vindhya Telelinks, and Birla Cable. That led to the contempt application from the Birla side.

The contempt petitions were heard in March-April 2021 by the Division Bench. The Lodha side said Thursdays judgment, as read in court, held that the court had found no acts of contempt by Lodha and hence the case against him was dismissed.

The Lodhas said the court found under the circumstances, there was no case against the directors having aided and abetted him and the cases against them were also dismissed.

The latest dispute has its origins in decisions (by a majority) made by the court-appointed committee  the Administrators Pendente Lite (APL) to administer the estate of Priyamvada Birla  to not support resolutions pertaining to the reappointment of Harsh Lodha as chairman of M P Birla group companies.

The same was to get the decisions implemented that the Birla side had moved the high court.
Liberis expands global reach to seventh country with launch in Denmark, now offering revenue-based financing for 34,000 local SMEs

SMEs in Denmark can access pre-approved financing based on business revenues and transactions through Liberis partnership with the region's largest payments and ecommerce platforms

The company has funded SMEs globally with $700M through 40K transactions.

As demand grows, Liberis also earns spot on coveted Tech Nation Future Fifty list of future tech leaders in the UK

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberis , a leading global embedded business finance provider, has today announced a shift in strategy: it will only fund SMEs through partnerships with ecommerce and payments companies, rather than direct to SMEs.

Rob Straathof, CEO Liberis: "Today, only 25% of SMEs that apply for funding through banks are successful. Liberis has proven that the businesses that get rejected by traditional banks are suitable for pre-approved financing.

"Until now, we have been offering SMEs revenue-based finance directly, as well as through partners. However, through our growing partner ecosystem we reach far more SMEs, and the economies of scale we can achieve enable us to pass on our savings to their users. By getting a different view of customers' businesses through revenue data, we can pre-approve personalised financing offers that work for everyone.

"This system works: we are seeing an 80% renewal rate from SMEs who are able to access the funds they need through the services they already use. Our partners are adding a new value stream to their customers, and everyone is happy."

International expansion

As part of the company's recent rapid growth spurt, it also announces today that it has expanded to Denmark, serving 34,000 local SMEs through partnerships with local companies. Liberis is now active in seven countries across three continents.

Pedram Tadayon, Chief Commercial Officer for Liberis: "As Denmark starts to emerge from lockdown, we are thrilled to be able to provide its owner-managed businesses cashflow support for staff, stock and utilities. We are excited to now be the largest revenue-based finance (merchant cash advance) provider in Denmark, offering a much-needed solution and new approach to help local businesses fund their growth."

Story continues

With its new launch in Denmark, Liberis is now the largest provider of revenue-based financing options for Danish SMEs.

Tech Nation's Future Fifty and Liberis momentum

Liberis has been selected to Tech Nation's Future Fifty list of late-stage tech companies and future global leaders from the UK. Recognising the company's growth, team, industry leadership and potential, previous Future Fifty winners include Farfetch, Deliveroo, Zoopla and many more.

Rob Straathof, CEO of Liberis, commented: "We are thrilled that Tech Nation has recognised the potential of revenue-based finance to drive the shift away from traditional channels with a new way to support the world's SMEs with fair, quick and easy funding."

Other notable company achievements include:

Over $700 million of funding already delivered to 17,000 businesses

Supported by the UK Government backed BBIA

The only embedded finance provider with a proven track record across 3 continents

30+ global partners including eCommerce platforms, payment processors, SaaS providers, online marketplaces and ISOs, including Worldpay from FIS and Global Payments, to reach 1m SMEs

Danish partners include the country's largest payment processors

A fresh new brand identity and website to better represent the company's leadership as the only global embedded business finance provider

For information on how to partner with Liberis or the company's international expansion plans, please visit www.liberis.com .

About Liberis

Liberis is the leading global embedded finance platform. Founded in 2007, it provides partners with the technology platforms and financial solutions for hyper-personalised, fair funding for their small business customers. Headquartered in the UK, Liberis empowers businesses and provides positive impact. It has financed more than 17,000 SMEs worldwide with more than $700m. Liberis is supported by British Business Investments, Paragon and SVB. Learn more at liberis.com .

Images are found here

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1493702/Liberis_Logo.jpg
Puducherry, April 23 : Faced with a sudden upsurge in the number of Covid infections among the staff, students and faculty, the authorities of Pondicherry University on Thursday decided to close the campus for five days from April 23 to April 27.

A circular issued by the university registrar stated that the move is aimed at restricting the spread of the pandemic on the campus. However, essential services will remain unaffected during this period.

All the PhD scholars and inmates of the varsity hostels have been asked to vacate their rooms before April 25. The hostel mess will not function from April 26 onwards.

The students have been advised to leave for their respective hometowns immediately. The registrar said that information regarding reopening of hostels will be announced on the university website at a later date.

Entry to the varsity premises has also been barred to non-resident PhD scholars and PG students till further notice.
JACKSON, Miss., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Careline Hospice is pleased to report that the most recent data (Third Quarter 2020), released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reveals Careline Hospice to lead the best-of-the-best hospice care providers in Michigan as measured by the number of home visits provided to hospice patients under their care, in the last seven (7) days at end-of-life.

Careline Hospice ranks in the top 1.5 percent of all 132 Michigan Hospices and is one of two Michigan Hospice Companies providing more than 8 home visits to patients in their last seven days at end-of-life.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has found through its analyses of claims data that hospice decedents receiving care at home received few skilled visits the last two to four days of life (CMS: Related CR Release Date: August 14, 2015). CMS found some hospice providers did not provide any skilled visits in the last two days of life to more than 50 percent of their patients. The Journal of Palliative Medicine published data from a study, Hospice Visit Patterns in the Last Seven Days of Life, indicating that only 44 percent of hospice patients had at least one in-person direct care visit by a registered nurse or social worker in the last seven days of life; 6.6 percent had only phone contact and 30.4 percent had no hospice contact in the last seven days of life. (Abstract Published by Research Team: Pedro L Gozalo, Joan M Teno, Carol Spence)

Careline Hospice understands the importance of the responsibility they embrace in caring for the terminally ill and their family. Careline Hospice is dedicated to providing professional clinical care, managing pain and other symptoms, and meeting patients' and their family's social, emotional, and spiritual needs. Their hospice philosophy allows patients to be where they call home, close to family and friends, while still under professional medical supervision.

The 132 Medicare-certified hospice companies in Michigan provided an average of 5.03 visits to the patients in the last seven days at end-of-life. Careline Hospice exceeds this average by over 70 percent in their dedication their Expect Exceptional commitment to patients, referring providers and their employees. The bottom 25 percent of all Michigan hospices provided less than 2.74 visits to patients in the last seven days at end-of-life and eight Michigan hospices provided no visits in the last seven days at end-of-life.

About Careline Health Group:

Careline Health Group and its affiliates ("Careline") provide Physician Services and Hospice care for the frail and elderly as well as the terminally ill. Careline is different by design. Our teams provide better care and outcomes by combining technology with human experience. Careline's goal is to provide exceptional care where and when it is best for patients and their families. For more information, please visit carelinehealthgroup.com .

Careline Health Group is also on Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter , and Instagram .

SOURCE Careline Health Group

Related Links

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McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates attorney Rhodes Bailey I'm very excited to be joining the McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates team. The firm is full of real attorneys who love the law and the people they serve.

McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates is pleased to announce that Rhodes Bailey has joined its team of attorneys. Bailey practices in all areas of personal injury law and has a strong track record of finding justice for those in need.

Im very excited to be joining the McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates team. The firm has a great reputation and is full of real attorneys who love the law and the people they serve. They have an excellent litigation department, and Im honored to be joining it, said Bailey.

Bailey previously served at the Richland County Public Defenders Office for 10 years, where he rose to the position of chief litigator and discovered his passion for helping people in need.

When people come to see a lawyer, its usually when theyre at one of the roughest periods in their lives. I enjoy being able to give them support, and to let them know that Im in their corner. I really love helping people in that way, and I feel called to the job.

Bailey, who also practiced at the civil defense firm Grier, Cox, and Cranshaw, LLC, is looking forward to working alongside his new McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates colleagues.

The firm has the resources and experience to bring about great results for our clients, and Im delighted that the amazing attorneys and staff all share my client-centered approach, said Bailey.

Bailey is a member of the South Carolina Bar, and has served on the Bar Judicial Qualifications Committee and the South Carolina House of Delegates, and as co-chair of the Richland County Bars Courthouse Committee. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston (2003) and the University of South Carolina School of Law (2007), where he received the Trial Clinics Professionalism Award.

About McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates

With offices in Aiken, Camden, Columbia, Lexington, Newberry, Orangeburg, and Sumter, the personal injury attorneys at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates are ready to serve you. The firm specializes in all areas of personal injury, including drunk driving accidents, defective products, medical malpractice, workers compensation, and wrongful death. To learn more about the firm, or to receive a free case evaluation, call 1-803-590-9243.


Leaders of the firms celebrate their partnership. The expansion into Mongolia via our partnership with Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia makes it easier for us to help investors from other countries who want to purchase real estate in Mongolia and at the same time to help Mongolians invest in property overseas.

Asian real estate technology group, Juwai IQI, today announced that the company has established an exclusive strategic partnership with Mongolias leading property players, Oly.mn and leading brokerage company RE/MAX Mongolia. Oly.mn will represent Juwai IQI in Mongolia through its platform exclusively under associate partner status.

In a joint statement released by all parties, the partnership will enable listings on either websites to be syndicated to the other free of charge, increasing exposure for all property listings from local real estate companies in the respective markets.

Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group Executive Chairman Georg Chmiel said:

We are excited to establish a strategic partnership with the leading property players in Mongolia, Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia. The partnership will see Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia operate as Juwai IQI Mongolia. They will adopt Juwai IQIs brand and technology and this partnership not only represents a significant milestone for all parties, but also one for our users; the thousands of Asian property seekers, sellers and investors who want to be Global Residents in Asia.

The Mongolian property market is considered to be one of the best destinations in Asia for property ownership. With its regulatory framework on title and property rights, great tax policies and no exchange controls, there is strong interest from Asian buyers and investors looking to get into the property market there.

Our dedication to empowering Asian consumers to be global residents of the world is unwavering. Working closely with strategic partners, Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia, we will now be able to deliver a Juwai IQI experience that meets the unique needs of the property market in Mongolia.

Juwai IQI Group Co-Founder and CEO Kashif Ansari said:

The expansion into Mongolia via our partnership with Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia makes it easier for us to help investors from other countries who want to purchase real estate in Mongolia and at the same time, help Mongolians invest in property overseas. By operating under the Juwai IQI Mongolia brand, we will not only expand the brand's global reach, but it also reinforces our continued focus on technology and pioneering the real estate experience in international markets.

We are excited to welcome Oly.mn and RE/MAX Mongolia to the Juwai IQI family.

Oly.mn Chief Executive Officer, Amartuvshin Ariunbold said:

We are impressed with Juwai IQIs growth journey over the past few years. They have done a great job developing the company and positioning it as one of Asias leading real estate technology groups. By operating under the same brand, Juwai IQI Mongolia, we are not only opening up the property market in Mongolia to the world, but we are also giving Mongolians the opportunity to purchase and rent property overseas with ease.

To make it seamless for Mongolians to make an informed decision when it comes to purchasing a property overseas, details of the listings on Juwai IQI will be featured in the Mongolian language along with local currency.

I'm excited about the opportunity. We have a strong position in the market, and through this partnership, we will now be able to create an even greater outcome to deliver excellence in client service and lead the industry through innovation and constant improvement.

RE/MAX Mongolia Co-Regional Owner, Bujinlkham said:

The relationship with Juwai IQI represents a powerful opportunity for RE/MAX Mongolia to significantly expand our presence in China and Asia, a vibrant and very important market. This partnership allows us to create the next evolution of real estate marketing and sales, delivering an incredibly unique value proposition for real estate agents, property developers as well as buyers and sellers of property in Mongolia.

Together, we will now be able to connect discerning buyers and investors directly to the world's best properties and connect them with the best-in-class agents from Juwai IQI.
San Francisco, April 22 : The Cisco Foundation has pledged $100 million over ten years to combat climate change, the company said in a blog post. It aims to make real impact funding and promote climate solutions by funding non-profits grants and impact investing.

The Cisco Foundation will prioritise community education to help empower people around the world.

"We will also prioritise programmes that create measurable impact by reducing and capturing carbon, increasing energy efficiency, creating and increasing access to green jobs, and helping change community behaviour so that vulnerable communities can become more resilient and reduce their own carbon footprints," wrote Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer at Cisco, in the blog post.

Cisco's funding will support early-stage, technology-based solutions with the potential to scale and be sustainable.

The company has already achieved 100 per cent renewable energy in the US, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK.

The company is now on track to generate electricity from renewable sources for at least 85 per cent of global electricity in 2022. It is also working with suppliers to reduce emissions and waste.

"Our commitment is real - from the funding announced today, to the work with our partners in nonprofits and governments, to the products we innovate and the processes we improve. We must work together to power a future that is as sustainable as it is inclusive," the post read.
Destinations



US State Department Raises Travel Advisory for Mexico



The CDC may be warning Americans not to travel to Mexico, but COVID fatigue is real, and many are heading south of the border instead of heeding the State Department's advice. (Photo: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Feverpitched)



Mexico is one of the dozens of countries around the world that have been elevated to Level 4 (Do Not Travel) this spring as the department aims to "better reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) science-based



According to



"Because of the current situation in Mexico even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Mexico," the CDC states. "If you must travel to Mexico, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travelers should wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands."



While the State Department is advising against travel to Mexico, its advice for individual states isn't so definitive. For example, travelers are encouraged to exercise increased caution in places like Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur and Mexico City due to crime, yet there are currently no travel restrictions for popular tourist destinations such as Cancun, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, among others.



Mexico was among the first destinations to welcome back international tourists in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently one of the few countries allowing travelers to visit without proof of a negative COVID-19 test result. However, people returning to the U.S. by plane must show



If you DO decide to travel to Mexico this summer, the Mexican government encourages everyone - even those who have been vaccinated - to continue wearing masks, respecting social distancing measures, washing their hands frequently, and coughing or sneezing in the inner part of the elbow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.



Sources: Travel Pulse The U.S. State Department issued a Level 4 travel advisory for Mexico on Tuesday, advising Americans to avoid traveling to the popular vacation destination due to the risk of contracting COVID-19.Mexico is one of the dozens of countries around the world that have been elevated to Level 4 (Do Not Travel) this spring as the department aims to "better reflect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) science-based Travel Health Notices that outline current issues affecting travelers' health."According to Travel Pulse, The State Department announced that the continued risk associated with the coronavirus pandemic has forced the agency to expand its "Do Not Travel" guidance to about 80 percent of countries worldwide, Mexico among them."Because of the current situation in Mexico even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Mexico," the CDC states. "If you must travel to Mexico, get fully vaccinated before travel. All travelers should wear a mask, stay six feet from others, avoid crowds, and wash their hands."While the State Department is advising against travel to Mexico, its advice for individual states isn't so definitive. For example, travelers are encouraged to exercise increased caution in places like Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur and Mexico City due to crime, yet there are currently no travel restrictions for popular tourist destinations such as Cancun, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, among others.Mexico was among the first destinations to welcome back international tourists in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently one of the few countries allowing travelers to visit without proof of a negative COVID-19 test result. However, people returning to the U.S. by plane must show a negative test performed no more than three days before their scheduled flights in order to board the aircraft.If you DO decide to travel to Mexico this summer, the Mexican government encourages everyone - even those who have been vaccinated - to continue wearing masks, respecting social distancing measures, washing their hands frequently, and coughing or sneezing in the inner part of the elbow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.Sources: travel.state.gov



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FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., April, 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruru, the #1 ranked on-demand tutoring app in the Google Play Store, has announced an updated version of the first of its kind app, as well as the hiring of new company President and CMO, Terry Brown. Launched in 2020 by high school student Michael Jonna, Ruru has quickly become the go-to education app for contactless, personalized, qualified, and affordable tutoring whenever it's needed.

One-on-one Tutoring

The company has made a number of updates to its app to make it even simpler to use. This includes streamlined navigations, more descriptive features, and enhanced options. The app is currently focused on high school level curriculum, allowing students to receive tutoring in core subjects in 15-minute, 30 minute and 1-hour blocks. The interactive sessions start at just $7 and are conducted through a video chat feature. Ruru tutors range from current high school students to professional tutors and teachers.

"I'm fortunate to have been able to leverage my unique experience as a high school student and work with an amazing team to design this app," shares Jonna. "As I get ready to start college at the University of Michigan this fall, I'm super excited about the company's growth and our plans for the future, including the app updates and having Terry Brown join our team."

As part of the company's expansion, they have appointed marketing veteran Terry Brown as President and CMO. A seasoned marketing executive with 18 years of experience in a variety of sectors, Brown brings with him his natural aptitude for motivating teams, improving efficiency, and accelerating revenue. Brown's history of contributing directly to company growth and expansion throughout his career makes him an asset to the Ruru team. The company has already seen a 359% increase in app downloads in the last 90 days since Brown's hiring.

"I'm thrilled to join the Ruru team," shared Brown. "We're living in a virtual world and even more so since the events of the past year. We've got big plans for Ruru, starting with the new updates to the app that make it even easier for students to get the help they need, especially in the current educational environment."

When Jonna launched the app in 2020 there's no way he could have predicted how students and educators would have to re-define what learning looks like amid a worldwide pandemic. While Ruru's initial release focused on high school level curriculum, the company plans on eventually expanding to help elementary, middle school and college students.

About Ruru

Ruru is an on-demand tutoring app for high school students that gives users 24/7 access to tutors in a variety of subjects. The idea was born in 2018 by then 15-year-old high school student Michael Jonna. Jonna found himself struggling with homework late one night and wishing he had an on-demand tutor. Realizing that he wasn't the only high school student who shared this frustration, he wasted no time and launched Ruru's app-based tutoring service. Development began in the fall of 2018 and the first version of the app was launched in 2020. The company released an updated version of the app in 2021 and plans to expand its services to help elementary, middle school and college students. For more information visit www.rurututor.com

Contact:

Name: Terry Brown

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 248-320-9916

SOURCE Ruru Technologies LLC
(Photo : Flickr/M.I.C Gadget) Microsoft and Met Office supercomputer

Microsoft and Met Office partnered up and are working to build a weather forecasting supercomputer in the United Kingdom.

The companies stated that the supercomputer will provide more accurate weather forecasting and a better understanding of climate change.

Microsoft and Met Office's Deal

The UK government stated in February 2020 that it would invest 1.2 billion ($1.66 bilion) in the supercomputer project.

It is expected to be one of the top 25 supercomputers in the world when it is up and running in the summer of 2022. Microsoft plans to update it over the next 10 years as computing improves.

Morgan O'Neill, the assistant professor at Stanford University, said that this partnership between Microsoft and Met Office is an impressive public investment in the basic and applied sciences of weather and climate.

Also Read: Fugaku, the World's Most Powerful Supercomputer from Japan, is Set to Aid in COVID-19 Research

O'Neill added that such a major investment in a state-of-the-art weather and climate prediction system by the UK is a great news, and people are now looking forward to the scientific advances that will follow.

The Met Office said that the technology could help increase their understanding of the weather, and it will allow people to better plan their activities, prepare for the weather, and get a better understanding of climate change.

The climate and weather supercomputer will be able to give more detailed weather models, run potential weather scenarios, help improve localized forecasts, and better predict severe weather conditions.

Penny Endersby, the chief executive of the Met Office, said that working together with Microsoft will help them provide the highest quality weather and climate datasets and give accurate forecasts that enable decisions to allow people to stay safe and thrive.

Microsoft UK chief executive Clare Barclay said that the supercomputer would help the UK remain at the forefront of climate science, according to ZDNet.

Climate and Weather Supercomputer

The exact location for the new computer was not revealed by Met Office, however, the weather service said that it would be in the south of the UK. It will use Microsoft Azure's cloud computing services and integrate Hewlett Packard Enterprise or HPE Cray supercomputers.

The supercomputer will run on 100% renewable energy and it will have more than 1.5 million processor cores and 60 petaflops or 60 quadrillion calculations per second.

That will allow the supercomputer to handle more data, more rapidly, and run it through simulations of the atmosphere more accurately.

Microsoft's corporate vice-president, Azure Core, wrote in a blog post that the facility would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7,415 tonnes in the first year of operational service, as per Computer Weekly.

Core said that this collaboration with the Met Office builds on Microsoft's commitment to a more sustainable future by reducing their environmental footprint, accelerating research, and helping their customers create sustainable solutions.

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said that this partnership to build the world's most powerful weather and climate-forecasting supercomputer is a ringing endorsement for the UK's credentials in protecting the environment, as they prepare to host COP26 this year.

Kwarteng added that the new supercomputer, backed by a billion-pound UK government investment, will act as a catalyst for unlocking new skills, technologies, and jobs across the country's economy, from data scientists to AI experts.

Related Article: AI Can Predict Tsunami Real-Time Through World's Fastest Supercomputer!

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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.
The on Wednesday told Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien that it is not feasible to club the remaining three phases of the ongoing assembly elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its reply to Brien on his request to club remaining phases of polls, the said, "Suggestion to club the phases six, seven and eight is not feasible."

"EC has already mandated detailed guidelines to ensure that safety norms are adhered to without any exceptions," it added.

Polling for phases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the state elections took place on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, and April 17, respectively.

Polling for the sixth phase of the ongoing assembly elections will begin at 7 am on Thursday.

Polling for the seventh and the eighth phase will be held on April 26 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

reported 10,784 fresh COVID-19 cases, 5,616 discharges, and 58 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the state health bulletin on Wednesday evening. The state currently has 63,496 active cases while so far, 10,710 people have lost their lives due to the deadly disease.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Russia announced on Wednesday that it was expelling 10 US diplomats, Anadolu agency reports.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said a diplomatic note with the list of the diplomats declared persona non grata had been handed to the deputy head of the US Embassy in Moscow.

The diplomats now have a month to leave Russia by the end of May 21, 2021, the ministry said.

"This measure is a 'mirror' response to the hostile actions of the American side against a number of employees of the Russian Embassy in Washington and the Russian Consulate General in New York, which were groundlessly declared 'persona non grata'," added the statement.

The ministry promised to announce further "response measures to the last wave of the illegal US sanctions against Russia."
Just as the threat of a Russian invasion seemed to be looming largest, Russia's defense minister announced today that the troops that had massed on Ukraine's borders would return to their barracks by May 1.

Driving the news: Some 80,000 troops and heavy military equipment had been moved over the last month to occupied Crimea and to Ukraine's eastern borders.

Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.

Russian military drills involving more than 60 ships, 10,000 troops, 200 aircraft and 1,200 military vehicles continued through Thursday, per AP.

Ukrainians anxiously watched Vladimir Putin's annual address on Wednesday to see if he'd announce a military offensive.

Instead, Ukraine hardly featured in Putin's address. Then came word from Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the military exercises would now conclude.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the news, though he said Ukraine would remain "vigilant."

The big picture: The Russian buildup appears to have been engineered in part to gauge the response not only of Ukraine, but of the U.S. and Europe.

President Biden offered warnings to Putin and support to Zelensky, but backed off a plan to send warships to the Black Sea and made clear that the U.S. would not fight a war over Ukraine.

The European response was more limited still, though German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke several times with Putin. Biden also proposed a summit with Putin to discuss Ukraine and other issues.

In Ukraine, though, the threat of invasion sparked a sense of national unity and bolstered Zelensky's position, Davyd Arakhamia, the leader of Zelensky's party in parliament, told Axios in an interview on Wednesday.

What he's saying: "When its a peaceful situation, people start to play political games," Arakhamia said. "But when we see the external enemy is coming, and there is no discussion about who is the enemy, people are united."

Story continues

Putin has an art to unite the Ukrainian people. He did it in 2014. Hes done it again right now.

Davyd Arakhamia

"Of course we were expecting a more active role," Arakhamia says of Biden's response, "but we accept the fact that the U.S. doesnt want to make the discussion [with Putin] even tougher, so they postponed these warships. Were considering this a part of the geopolitical situation right now.

All the countries are afraid of direct war with Russia," he continues. "We understand the situation. Its our duty to stand up, but of course wed like to receive as much assistance as possible, both politically and economically and militarily.

Arakhamia was leading the coordination between parliament and Zelensky over military preparations.

Putin's precise intentions were "a mystery," so the Ukrainians had to prepare to defend against Russian operations at sea, from Crimea and from Donbas in the east  all while knowing that Russia had the far superior military.

The bottom line: If you asked people 15 years ago, 10 years ago, 'Would it even be a possible discussion that a war between Russia and Ukraine could happen,' people would call you crazy."

"And now we are seriously considering this scenario and preparing for this.

Go deeper: Leaked Ukraine memo reveals scope of Russia's aggression

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 02:00:06|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday called for a robust price on carbon to fight climate change, warning that without it, "we will not reach our climate stabilization goals."

A robust price on carbon provides "a critical market signal" to producers and consumers in all sectors of the economy, Georgieva made the remarks at the Leaders Summit on Climate, virtually hosted by the United States.

"It has proven to advance investments in renewable energy, electric mobility, energy efficient buildings, reforestation and other climate friendly activities - with positive impact on growth and jobs, while reducing carbon emissions," Georgieva said.

"Carbon revenues can also help secure a just transition, compensating households for price increases and helping businesses and workers move from high to low carbon intensity activities," she continued.

According to IMF analysis, a mix of steadily rising carbon prices and green infrastructure investment could increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by more than 0.7 percent per year over the next 15 years, and create millions of new jobs.

Noting that carbon pricing is gaining momentum, the IMF chief, however, said the average global price needs to rise from the current 2 dollars a ton to 75 dollars a ton by 2030 to curb emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Georgieva said the IMF proposes an international carbon price floor among large emitters, such as the Group of Twenty (G20), as focus on a minimum carbon price among a small group of large emitters could facilitate an agreement, covering up to 80 percent of global emissions.

Georgieva noted that such a price floor has to be "pragmatic" and "equitable," with "differentiated" pricing for countries at different levels of economic development.

Aside from carbon pricing, the IMF chief highlighted green taxonomy and standardized reporting of climate related financial risks, as well as financial support to developing countries.

Climate change "presents huge risks to the functioning of our economies and offers incredible opportunities for transformative investments and green jobs," Georgieva said.

"We will play our part, integrating climate change into our annual economic 'health checks' of countries and financial systems and actively promoting low carbon and climate resilient growth paths," she added. Enditem
A company facing resistance to its plans to build an oil pipeline over an aquifer that provides drinking water to 1 million people has asked for a mutual pause in its dispute with city officials in Memphis, Tennessee.

Plains All American Pipeline sent a letter to the Memphis City Council about a proposed city law that could make it harder to construct an underground oil pipeline through wetlands and neighborhoods in south Memphis and north Mississippi. Plains is part of a joint venture with Valero Energy to build the Byhalia Connection, which would link the Valero refinery in Memphis with another larger pipeline in north Mississippi.

The councils ordinance would establish a board to approve or deny construction of underground pipelines that transport oil or other potentially hazardous liquids near wells that pump millions of gallons of water daily from the Memphis Sand Aquifer. The ordinance is backed by pipeline opponents who fear an oil spill would endanger the aquifer.

The council made no mention of the Plains letter during a vote Tuesday to delay a vote on the ordinance for two weeks. Councilors said they decided to postpone a decision so they could address questions they themselves had and allow input from the mayors office and the local water company.

In the letter, Plains said Byhalia Connection is willing to suspend development activities and address city council and community concerns if the City is willing to suspend consideration, adoption, or final reading of the existing or any new ordinance that could affect the pipeline or refinery.

We very much appreciate your willingness to talk with us and receive our feedback and work to resolve any differences, the letter said. Its in this light that we would like to propose a `mutual pause.

Byhalia has threatened to sue if the ordinance passes. In a statement, project spokeswoman Katie Martin called the proposed law an example of ill-conceived local government overreach that is preempted by state and federal law.

The ordinance would be just the latest in a series of measures opponents have taken to block the Byhalia Connection pipeline, including a federal lawsuit. They have obtained the support of members of Congress and other well-known figures, including former Vice President Al Gore and actor Jane Fonda.

Plains and Valero want to build the 49-mile (78-kilometer) artery to carry crude oil to the Gulf Coast, a project that they say will bring needed jobs and tax revenue to the region.

Environmentalists, lawyers, activists and politicians who oppose the pipeline are concerned that an oil spill would cause contaminants to seep into the aquifer, which provides slightly sweet drinking water to the Memphis area. In a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Southern Environmental Law Center said the clay layer above the aquifer has several known and suspected breaches, holes, and leaks.

Activists also are upset that the pipeline would run through poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods in south Memphis that for decades have dealt with environmental concerns such as air and ground pollution.

The ordinance would require underground pipeline builders to provide documentation about any potential adverse effects on the environment and groundwater, and an analysis of the potential for negative effects on minorities, low-income residents, and neighborhoods historically burdened by environmental pollution.

Byhalia Connection has said the pipeline would be built a safe distance from the aquifer, which sits much deeper than the planned pipeline route. The company said the route was chosen after it reviewed population density, environmental features and historic cultural sites.

Byhalia Connection also has said the pipeline route was not driven by factors such as race or class. The company has denied accusations of environmental racism that emerged after a Byhalia Connection land agent said during a community meeting that the developers took, basically, a point of least resistance in choosing the pipelines path.

We know environmental racism is real and weve listened to this community, but the reason this pipeline runs through South Memphis is to connect to the Valero Refinery, the company said in a March project update.

Most property owners along the path of the pipeline signed deals with Byhalia Connection to allow the pipeline builder to access their land for construction. Property owners who havent agreed to receive payment in return for easements on their land have been taken to court, with the pipeline companys lawyers trying to use eminent domain rights to claim property.

A federal lawsuit is challenging the Army Corps of Engineers approval of the pipeline under a nationwide permit, and the Shelby County Commission has refused to sell to the pipeline builder two parcels of land that sit on the planned route.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, and about two dozen other members of Congress have sent a letter asking the administration of President Joe Biden to reconsider the permit approval.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Energy Oil Gas
Alfred Sisley | Summer of Saint-Martins Day, near Moret-sur-Loing

By:Liu Xutong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-04-21 16:57

MuseeMarmottan Monet,

Academie des beaux-arts, Paris 

Serious financial difficulties meant that Sisley was constantly looking to get away from Paris, where the cost of living was too high for him. In 1880 he discovered Moret-sur-Loing, a small town near Fontainebleau. According to his friend and biographer, Gustave Geffroy, he had at last found his region. Charmed by its elegant medieval architecture and surrounding forest, he moved there in 1889. The locality offered him a new repertoire of themes, which he painted in their diurnal and seasonal variations. One of his favourite subjects was the banks of the Loing, a tributary of the Seine, which was fringed with poplars between Moret and Saint-Mammes. On Saint Martins day, celebrated in November, nature was bedecked with the warm colours of autumn, also recalling the charms of the already distant summer. Here, Sisley displays all the intensity of his palette through the pink-orange foliage of the trees and the shades of the sky reflected in the smooth waters of the Loing, as observed by the figures walking along the riverside path.
WUXI, China, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 21st, Suntech, together with Lead Intelligent and Leadmicro signed a cooperation agreement for the three parties to forge the first digitized smart factory for high-efficiency TOPCon PV Cells in the industry. President of Suntech, Tang Jun, and Chairman of Lead Intelligent, Wang Yanqing graced the occasion to witness the ceremony.

The smart factory for high-efficiency TOPCon PV Cells developed by Suntech, Lead Intelligent and Leadmicro utilizes leading industrial internet technology for smart factory solutions. Based on ALD atomic deposition coating techniques, silkscreen printing technique, smart TOPCon turnkey production line, automatic material feeders, unmanned AGV for PV cell plates and widespread adaptation of FMS operations control, the production line can produce both M10 (182mm) and M12 (210mm) cells. The conversion efficiency of TOPCon is in excess of 24% and the total production capacity can achieve 2 GW.

The smart factory is the first in the industry to establish a fully digital-based production line. It is equipped with sensor technology and intelligent & connected equipment production technology to automatically monitor and collect data in real-time, allowing production, logistics, and storage to make automatic changes accordingly. The factory also uses visual data augmentation to monitor the product quality in real-time for the prevention of defects and the need for rework. Based on industrial internet technology, the smart factory solution will include big data analysis and control. Man-Machine Interface technology will also enhance efficiency on decision-making. It can be seen that the fully digitized TOPCon production line would stay competitive, enhance control of the production process, reduce the need for human intervention and achieve the standards of a highly efficient factory.

This partnership will continue the long history of collaboration between Lead Intelligent and Suntech. Lead Intelligent developed the first-generation automatic PV module production line for Suntech, thus successfully ended the dominance of foreign PV equipment manufacturers. On the 20th anniversary of Suntech, the two pioneers joined hands again to mark a more significant milestone.

In recent years, through Suntech Group's successful vertical integration, it had accumulated a combined 10 GW of high-efficiency production capacity worldwide. The insistence on innovative PV technology has always placed Suntech in a leading position in the industrialization of new technology applications. The forging of the 2 GW smart factory for high-efficiency TOPCon PV cells is a testament to Suntech advanced production and breakthrough techniques. In 2021, Suntech will continue to continue to improve and increase collaboration with the industrial chain, be devoted to servicing the global customers and satisfy the global PV industry's demand for high-quality and high-efficiency PV products.
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Fishmongers' Hall jihadist Usman Khan was known as 'High Risk Khan' to workers on a prisoner rehabilitation scheme and was said to have been involved in 'violent incidents, bullying and serious disruption, including forced [religious] conversions' inside jail, an inquest heard today.

Jurors were told that there was intelligence the terrorist, 28, 'might commit an attack' around the time he was released from category A Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire in December 2018 - almost a year before he killed two Cambridge graduates during a knife rampage.

Counsel for the inquest Jonathan Hough QC said Khan was considered 'the main inmate' on his wing for 'extremist views and the radicalisation of others' before his release halfway through a 16-year sentence for plotting to set up a jihadist training camp in Pakistan for attacks against Britain.

The inquest also heard how Khan had composed a long and mostly biographical paper about his radicalisation which he then posted to the leader of educational programme Learning Together while behind bars.

It was at an alumni event for the scheme that the convicted terrorist, armed with two knives taped to his gloves and wearing a fake suicide vest, fatally stabbed Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, before he was chased onto nearby London Bridge by civilians and shot dead by police.

Reverend Paul Foster, Khan's chaplain at Whitemoor, told the inquests it would be a 'surprise' to him if there had been indications Khan would launch an attack as he had 'appeared to show remorse' over his past offending. However, he admitted he could have been 'conned' by him.

Amy Ludlow, the Cambridge University criminology and law lecturer who co-founded the initiative, told the inquest she was aware of Khan's status in prison but not why he had been given that designation.

After his release she said she was given a 'very rosy' view of his progress by the probation service, but would in any case have assessed her 'alumni' event for former prisoners as 'low risk,' jurors heard.

The inquest was told that there are currently 70 'high risk', the most dangerous of category A prisoners, representing 0.1 per cent of the prison population.

Usman Khan and Saskia Jones at Fishmonger's Hall before he stabbed her to death in a horrific attack near London Bridge

Former-prisoner Crilly recalled the moment he came face to face with Khan and blasted him with a fire extinguisher (pictured) in a bid to subdue the terrorist

Usman Khan, 28, was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest as he stabbed Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt (left), 25, and Saskia Jones (right), 23, to death

Bystanders and police surrounding Usman Khan at the scene of the terror attack on London Bridge on November 29, 2019

Jurors were told that there was intelligence the terrorist, 28, 'might commit an attack' around the time he was released from category A Whitemoor Prison in Cambridgeshire (exterior pictured) in December 2018

A Metropolitan Police photograph of an improvised explosive device which has been shown to inquest jurors

Metropolitan Police handout photo, which was shown in court today at the inquest of the terror attack at the Fishmonger's Hall in London on November 29, 2019 of a knife and tape

Khan was in Whitemoor when he applied for the Writing Together creative writing course beginning in November 2017, a year before his release, and ending in January 2018, when he was given a certificate.

He wrote: 'I am very interested in creative writing. I have already completed a NEC creative writing course so I can give some insight.' On a questionnaire he had ticked nine out of 10 for 'when I make plans, I can make them work.'

Mr Hough asked Ms Ludlow: 'Did you become aware that Khan's offending history included terrorism offences?'

'I became aware,' she said. 'People used to call him 'High Risk Khan' and he would travel to our learning sessions with a little yellow book that designated high risk. Usman didn't hide the fact of his conviction or his high risk status.' But she said that she knew nothing about his offending history or his behaviour in prison.

'Would it have changed anything if you were told plotting to set up terrorist training camp in Pakistan for attacks against the UK?' Mr Hough asked.

Usman Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest, was tackled by members of the public

'It would have concerned me as a relevant consideration for my security colleagues [in the prison service],' Ms Ludlow said. 'I would have been alive to the need for balance and interpersonal care in the classroom. I don't think it would have changed anything other than the need for care.'

Inside Whitemoor, Khan was said to have been involved in 'violent incidents, bullying, and serious disruption, including forced conversions.' 'I didn't know that information,' Ms Ludlow said.

'Those sorts of behaviour are not compatible with Learning Together as a community. 'Had any of those behaviours manifested themselves, they would have been reported and if necessary we would have deselected his application.'

In July 2017, Khan was considered 'the main inmate' on his wing for 'extremist views and the radicalisation of others.' But Ms Ludlow said she did not know, and added: 'Yes, it demonstrated this individual has some problematic behaviours that needed to be managed.

'I was confident that my colleagues in Whitemoor knew of those behaviours and had decided it was nevertheless safe for him to work with us.'

Mr Hough also told jurors how Learning Together 'interviewed' Khan at his home in Stafford in February 2019, primarily to record a video message for guests at an event around that time which he was not given security clearance to attend.

Mr Hough asked: 'Is it right the interview involved some very long monologues with Usman Khan, including quite a number about his grievances over how he was treated in prison?'

Dr Ludlow replied: 'Yes.'

Dr Ludlow said Khan was given security clearance to attend the Fishmongers' Hall event, and said that in the run-up she had formed the impression that he 'wanted to live an ordinary life'.

She said: 'He was generally fairly upbeat. Kenneth Skelton (Khan's probation officer) called me a few weeks before to say Usman had quite a few knockbacks from jobs.

'I was aware Usman was applying for jobs and not getting them, so I was aware of a little dip in mood but nothing out of the ordinary.'

Saskia Jones before she was stabbed to death. Convicted terrorist Usman Khan, 28, killed Cambridge University graduates Ms Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25

Jihadi Usman Khan was photographed sitting one seat away from Saskia Jones, 23, in the banqueting hall at Fishmongers' Hall in central London in November 2019

Miss Jones was stabbed in the neck by Khan, who had earlier been chatting to her at Learning Together anniversary event

How the Fishmongers' Hall attack unfolded Convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed two talented young people and injured three more in around five minutes during a knife attack at Fishmongers' Hall. An inquest into the deaths of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt has heard a detailed account of how events unfolded: March 10 1991 : Usman Khan is born in Stoke-on-Trent.

: Usman Khan is born in Stoke-on-Trent. 2010 : Aged 19, Khan is convicted of terrorism offences and spends the next eight years in jail. In that time, he becomes involved with Learning Together organisation.

: Aged 19, Khan is convicted of terrorism offences and spends the next eight years in jail. In that time, he becomes involved with Learning Together organisation. December 2018 : Khan is released from jail on various licence conditions and lives in Stafford.

: Khan is released from jail on various licence conditions and lives in Stafford. March 2019 : Khan maintains contact with Learning Together and is involved with filming a video for the organisation.

: Khan maintains contact with Learning Together and is involved with filming a video for the organisation. June 2019 : He attends a Learning Together event at one of his former prisons, HMP Whitemoor.

: He attends a Learning Together event at one of his former prisons, HMP Whitemoor. November 29, 2019 , 7.30am: Khan travels by train from Stafford to Euston Station in London. He is met at the station by a Learning Together staff member and he travels by Tube and foot to Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge. On route to London, it is believed Khan straps a fake suicide belt around his waist and covers it with his jacket.

, 7.30am: Khan travels by train from Stafford to Euston Station in London. He is met at the station by a Learning Together staff member and he travels by Tube and foot to Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge. On route to London, it is believed Khan straps a fake suicide belt around his waist and covers it with his jacket. 11am to noon : The delegates attend a brunch at Fishmongers' Hall.

: The delegates attend a brunch at Fishmongers' Hall. 11.56am : Video footage shows Khan talking 'animatedly' with Saskia Jones at a table, even though they had not known each other before.

: Video footage shows Khan talking 'animatedly' with Saskia Jones at a table, even though they had not known each other before. 12noon : The main Learning Together sessions get under way with speeches in the Banqueting Hall followed by breakout sessions until 1.30pm.

: The main Learning Together sessions get under way with speeches in the Banqueting Hall followed by breakout sessions until 1.30pm. 1.37pm : Jack Merritt leaves the building briefly, returning at 1.40pm.

: Jack Merritt leaves the building briefly, returning at 1.40pm. 1 .4 5pm : A further breakout session is due to begin but Khan goes down to the toilets on the ground floor next to the reception area.

: A further breakout session is due to begin but Khan goes down to the toilets on the ground floor next to the reception area. Around 1.53pm : Mr Merritt goes to the gents toilets.

: Mr Merritt goes to the gents toilets. Between 1.56-1.57pm : Khan launches his attack in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall with two knives strapped into his hands. As he prepares, he leaves a bag containing a third blade in a cubicle and drops a prayer book on the floor. He encounters Mr Merritt in the toilets and stabs him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest. Khan makes his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet'. He stabs Ms Jones once in the neck. She staggers up a few steps before collapsing. Khan goes on to stab Stephanie Szczotko in the arm at the bottom of the stairs before stabbing Isobel Rowbotham in the main reception. Over the next few minutes, Khan is confronted by a number of people who take items from the walls to defend themselves, including a ornamental pike and narwhal tusks. Khan returns to attack Ms Rowbotham again as she lies on the ground. He also injures the Fishmongers' Hall porter Lukasz Koczocik, who suffers a stab to the arm. Khan forces a member of staff to open the doors by holding a knife to his chest. He tries to chase a member of the public back inside the hall but is unsuccessful.

: Khan launches his attack in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall with two knives strapped into his hands. As he prepares, he leaves a bag containing a third blade in a cubicle and drops a prayer book on the floor. He encounters Mr Merritt in the toilets and stabs him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest. Khan makes his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet'. He stabs Ms Jones once in the neck. She staggers up a few steps before collapsing. Khan goes on to stab Stephanie Szczotko in the arm at the bottom of the stairs before stabbing Isobel Rowbotham in the main reception. Over the next few minutes, Khan is confronted by a number of people who take items from the walls to defend themselves, including a ornamental pike and narwhal tusks. Khan returns to attack Ms Rowbotham again as she lies on the ground. He also injures the Fishmongers' Hall porter Lukasz Koczocik, who suffers a stab to the arm. Khan forces a member of staff to open the doors by holding a knife to his chest. He tries to chase a member of the public back inside the hall but is unsuccessful. 1.58pm : Police receive a call to attend the scene.

: Police receive a call to attend the scene. Around 2.01pm : Khan is pursued on to London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost. During a confrontation on the bridge, Mr Crilly sprays a fire extinguisher at him and Mr Frost jabs at him with a narwhal tusk before they all tackled Khan to the ground with other members of the public.

: Khan is pursued on to London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost. During a confrontation on the bridge, Mr Crilly sprays a fire extinguisher at him and Mr Frost jabs at him with a narwhal tusk before they all tackled Khan to the ground with other members of the public. 2.02pm : Armed City of London Police officers arrive on the bridge and tell members of the public to stand back. Khan is shot and Tasered by police, causing him to writhe on the ground.

: Armed City of London Police officers arrive on the bridge and tell members of the public to stand back. Khan is shot and Tasered by police, causing him to writhe on the ground. 2.10pm : Khan is shot again due to the alleged 'threat' from what police believed was an improvised explosive device strapped to his body.

: Khan is shot again due to the alleged 'threat' from what police believed was an improvised explosive device strapped to his body. 2.12pm Khan no longer shows any signs of life.

Khan no longer shows any signs of life. 2.25pm Ms Jones is pronounced dead from a single neck wound.

Ms Jones is pronounced dead from a single neck wound. 2.33pm : Mr Merritt is pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later confirms he suffered multiple knife wounds, including some defensive injuries. The fatal wound is to the chest.

: Mr Merritt is pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later confirms he suffered multiple knife wounds, including some defensive injuries. The fatal wound is to the chest. 2.41pm : An explosives officer moves towards Khan with armed officers and concludes the IED is fake.

: An explosives officer moves towards Khan with armed officers and concludes the IED is fake. 3.07pm : Khan's life is pronounced extinct. Advertisement

Khan did so well on the course that he was made a 'peer mentor' which involved him 'supporting and mentoring in the learning space and on the wings in a very informal way.'

Ms Ludlow told the inquest that Kahn was among 30 per cent of her 'ardent participants' and added: 'I was in prison a lot but there was nothing remarkable about him.

'He seems to be engaging positively, very actively taking lots of our courses. He obviously enjoyed creative writing, I would have said at that time.'

Khan enjoyed it so much that he wrote his own essay on radicalisation in modern Europe and sent it to Ms Ludlow shortly after his release. 'I don't remember reading it in detail at the time, I probably did,' she said.

'We receive lots of post from prisoners. It was rather a verbose piece, quite long winded.

'It describes personal grievances and examples of harassment as drivers of radical behaviours and some of the factors, in Usman's view that might help people move away from those things.'

An extract from the essay read: 'This report will try and highlight some of the problems and also the real fuel of radicalisation and extremism.

'This report will show that most research done in this field misses the root of radicalisation/extremism which is personal injustices found by individuals on a daily basis.

'How these could become one of the greatest tools of spreading radicalisation/extremism in the youth of today.'

Mr Hough suggested the piece could be seen as an 'explanation or justification for radicalisation' largely from his own perspective. 'Yes, it is largely experiential,' Ms Ludlow said.

She said she was not aware of multi-agency minutes from May 2019, that warned: 'Learning together has given high expectation of future opportunities which may well be disappointed with quite basic employment, if he gets a job at all. His bubble may burst.'

Mr Hough asked if in all dealings with Kenneth Skelton, Khan probation officer 'you were getting a very rosy picture of Usman Khan and his progress?'

'Very rosy,' Ms Ludlow said.

The inquest was told that Ms Ludlow engaged in 'friendly, upbeat, but fairly limited' communication by text message after his release.

In one message Khan said he was attending a construction course.

Two colleagues visited Khan in Stafford to conduct a two hour interview with him and record a video for a conference which he had been banned from attending by probation.

Learning Together approached the Timson Foundation which worked with offenders, finding work in the community, but were told they did not work with sexual or terrorism offenders.

'I copied in Kenneth and he replied providing, to my memory, very positive comments on Usman's progress and that he had been risk assessed to do work.'

The reply arrived on November 28, the day before the attack.

A note from the Prevent ream of Staffordshire police on November 4, three weeks before the conference at Fishmongers' Hall, said that this time he had been allowed to attend, but added: 'Unfortunately we won't be in a position to send anyone on the train with Usman as this would require two people to travel and that cannot be justified.'

Ms Ludlow said she had not seen Cambridge University guidance on 'managing risks from travel, fieldwork and work away.'

But if she had, she said: 'I would have assessed the event to be low risk and when I look at the sorts of precautions I would have expected, I think we followed those.'

Reverend Paul Foster, chaplain at Whitemoor, said: 'He had conversations with me about wanting to change and make a fresh start - to pay more attention to the ripple effect of his actions.'

Mr Hough asked: 'Would it have surprised you that, around the time Usman Khan was... engaged in victim awareness, there was intelligence he was trying to radicalise other prisoners?'

Mr Foster said it would. Mr Hough also said that, at the time of his release, there was intelligence that Khan might commit an attack.

Left: Amy Ludlow who organised the conference along with Ruth Armstrong at Fismongers Hall, after giving evidence at the inquest for the victims of the Fishmongers Hall terror attack today. Right: Prison Padre Paul Foster arrives this morning to give evidence at the inquest for the victims of the Fishmongers Hall terror attack today

Mr Foster replied: 'That would be a surprise. If that intelligence is correct, he was obviously presenting himself in a way that was likely to deceive the likes of myself and others.'

He added: 'I'm open to say I am wrong, and it is possible I have been conned.'

Mr Foster also said Khan had spoken 'openly and emotionally' during a discussion session with a victim of crime.

He added: 'We were being presented with a lot of positive things about his behaviour - even some of the prisoners were telling me... in one instance a chap lost his son to a murder and Usman was the person at his door offering his condolences and asking if he could help.'

The chaplain, who worked with prisoners of all faiths, described one session with Khan in which he professed 'some shame' about the impact his crime had on the Muslim community.

'He appeared to show remorse for what he had done,' Mr Foster said.

The inquest also heard how Khan, from Stafford, West Midlands, enrolled on several Learning Together courses, including one on creative writing - a study programme he had applied for by stating his proficiency at 'making plans work'.

Jury inquests into the deaths of Mr Merritt and Ms Jones are taking place before coroner Mark Lucraft QC. They are due to go on for six weeks before a separate inquest into Khan's death.
New Delhi: In an emotional appeal, AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj on Thursday posted a video where he can be seen wearing an oxygen mask and gasping for breath to urge the Centre and the Haryana government to provide oxygen, stressing that it is not the time to pull each other's legs but to work together.

Bharadwaj was admitted at a city hospital three-four days back after testing positive for COVID-19, party sources said.

In the video posted on Twitter, the AAP leader can be seen wearing an oxygen mask and gasping for breath. Bharadwaj said the hospital, where is admitted, has only three hours of oxygen left.

"The hospital in which I am admitted has only three hours of oxygen left. When I removed this mask, I felt like some non-swimmer had been pushed into a pool and he was gasping for breath.

"I will appeal to the central government and the Haryana government to not stop oxygen. A lot of people are dependent on oxygen and without oxygen, these people will die just like fishes die in the absence of water. This is a time for all to come together to work and not pull each other's leg," Bhardwaj said in the video.

Delhi has been battling acute shortage of oxygen in hospitals with Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying that in some hospitals no medical oxygen is left.
Burma Myanmars Doctors Urge UN Action Against Military Junta

A police officer points his gun at a medical worker during the crackdown on anti-regime protests in Yangon.

After witnessing the military regimes continuous targeted raids on doctors and healthcare facilities treating the wounded, Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights has asked the United Nation (UN) and international organizations to take meaningful measures against the junta.

In an open letter to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the UN, Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights demanded that the UN stop the juntas forces from intentionally targeting medical professionals providing care to the wounded and help the injured seek treatment without fear for their own safety. The group includes volunteer doctors and 15 medical students unions.

Since the Feb. 1 coup, the military regime has been conducting the deadly crackdowns on anti-regime demonstrations across Myanmar. Numerous atrocities have been committed against protesters and civilians by the juntas forces during raids, arrests, and interrogations.

During the crackdowns, many wounded protesters have been arrested without being provided medical treatment. Meanwhile, in several instances the bodies of the dead have been taken away and not returned to the families.

Also, charity organizations and ambulances trying to pick up the bodies of those killed or provide medical assistance to the wounded have been fired upon or arrested by the regimes forces.

In a shooting in Mandalay in late February, Ko Yarzar Aung, a 26-year-old protester, who was shot in the leg, died at a military hospital without being provided the proper treatment, a witness told The Irrawaddy.

A doctor from a charity group in the city, who tried to treat Ko Yarzar Aung, said that except for some minor treatment, the regimes forces would not allow her to attend to wounded detainees before they were taken away.

The doctor said that Ko Yarzar Aung would not have died from his leg injuries if he had been treated properly.

In late March, the juntas forces raided an office of a charity group comprised of several organizations in Mandalay giving treatment to the wounded, according to a social worker. The troops seized three ambulances and destroyed two others. They also seized clinic materials and arrested 26 social workers, including several medics.

During an attack on anti-regime strongholds in Bago on April 9, when about 82 died in a massacre, the regimes forces closed every entrance to four wards for days.

No ambulances and social organizations giving medical assistance and free funeral services were able to go into the wards to pick up the dead or give medical treatment to the wounded.

Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights said in its open letter to the UN that the military regimes polices and soldiers are intentionally targeting medical treatment sites, charity clinics and hospitals providing critical care to the injured.

On April 5, the regimes troop stormed the house of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kyaw Min Soe in Mayangone Township of Yangon and arrested the physician. They tied the doctors hands behind his back, and a black bag was put over his head.

The doctor, a professor at University of Medicine, Yangon, has been involved in the civil disobedience movement (CDM) and was also providing medical treatment to those injured in anti-regime protests.

On April 12, the regimes forces arrested Dr. Maw Maw Oo, head of the Emergency Department of Yangon General Hospital, who had been providing medical care to the wounded even though he has joined the CDM.

Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights said that in some places, doctors have been forced to keep the lights off in order to prevent the juntas forces from finding and arresting them. Working with just torchlight, they have performed life saving operations.

Since last week, the military regime has been issuing arrest warrants for doctors in the CDM each night. As of Wednesday, 179 medics in the CDM have been charged.

It is truly agonizing for us to see our fellow countrymen taking their last breaths in front of our very eyes, said Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights.

It also said in its letter that by many lives which could otherwise have been saved have been unnecessarily lost because doctors have been forcibly prevented from providing essential medical care to the wounded.

After receiving the open letter, Dr. Simon Adams, Executive Director of Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, tweeted on its Twitter account on Wednesday that the time for statements of concern has long passed.

I was very moved by the letter I received from Myanmar Doctors for Human Rights, he said.

He added now is the time for the UN to place human rights at the forefront and use every practical diplomatic tool available.

As of Wednesday, nearly 740 people have been killed by the juntas forces during their crackdowns, raids, arrests and interrogations, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Those killed include anti-regime protesters, bystanders, pedestrians and residents.

In spite of killing and arrests, tens of thousands of people across Myanmar continue to take to the streets to show their defiance of the military rule.

You may also like these stories:

Previous Military Regimes and Parallel Governments in Myanmar

Myanmar Junta Members House Bombed in Yangon

Myanmars Economy in Freefall Under Military Regime
Q. My husband and I, both over 65, recently sold our primary residence of 40 years. We then moved into our second home at the Jersey Shore, which then became our primary residence. Since retiring, our income qualifies us for the Senior Freeze, but does the fact that we have only lived in this home full-time for several months disqualify us?

 Moving

A. Congratulations on your move.

But unfortunately, youre correct. Youre not eligible for the Senior Freeze yet.

The Senior Freeze is a benefit that is available for those age 65 or older or residents who are receiving federal Social Security Disability benefit payments as of Dec. 31, 2019, said Claudia Mott, a certified financial planner with Epona Financial Solutions in Basking Ridge.

She said there are a number of factors that must be met in order to qualify for the Senior Freeze.

Age and income are two of them, but how long youve lived in your residence or mobile home also matters, she said. As a rule, there is a three-year residency requirement.

Generally, in order to be eligible, you must have moved into your second home prior to Dec. 31, 2016, she said.

The additional requirements for apply for the Senior Freeze include: Being a continuous resident of New Jersey for at least the last 10 years, as either a homeowner or a renter; Property tax payments must be up-to-date, and; The total annual income limit for 2019 is $91,505 and for 2020 it is $92,969. This limit applies regardless of your marital or civil union status so long as you both lived in the same household as of Dec. 31, she said.

However, like many rules there are exceptions, but based on the background you provided, it may not be applicable, Mott said.

When a New Jersey resident moves from one location to another, they may be able to resume eligibility if a reimbursement was received for the last full year in the previous dwelling, she said. For the 2020 applications that are now being accepted, this would mean being eligible for a 2016 reimbursement if you moved in 2017 or a 2017 reimbursement if you moved in 2018.

If your move took place in late 2020 or early 2021 and you had not previously qualified for a Senior Freeze reimbursement, the clock has just started on the three-year residency requirement, she said.

Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.

Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter.
Consumer Reports engineers said they easily tricked a Tesla vehicle to drive via its Autopilot feature without anyone in the drivers seat, just days after a fatal crash in Texas where police said they found no one behind the steering wheel of a Tesla car.

In a test conducted this week, test drivers took several trips on a closed half-mile track in a Tesla Model Y sport utility vehicle, the nonprofit research organisation said in a statement on Thursday (US time). The vehicle - with Autopilot technology engaged - was able to steer itself along painted lines but at no time displayed a warning that the drivers seat was empty. The engineer who conducted the test placed a small weighted chain on the steering wheel to simulate the weight of a drivers hand.

Test drivers in a Tesla Model Y found the vehicle - with Autopilot technology engaged - was able to steer itself along painted lines but at no time displayed a warning that the drivers seat was empty. Credit:Bloomberg

In our evaluation, the system not only failed to make sure the driver was paying attention, but it also couldnt tell if there was a driver there at all, said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports senior director of auto testing. Fisher was able to reach over from the passenger seat and accelerate the car using a dial on the steering wheel.

Tesla, which reports earnings on April 26, didnt respond to a request for comment. The company has come under scrutiny for the way it markets Autopilot, which is a driver-assistance feature. Tesla has rolled out a feature it calls FSD, or Full Self Driving, to early customers who are beta testing the technology in advance of a wider release.
Manhattan Subway Bomber Sentenced to Life in Prison

NEW YORKA Bangladeshi man convicted of setting off a pipe bomb during rush hour in New York Citys busiest subway station, Times Square, was sentenced on Thursday to life plus 30 years in prison.

Akayed Ullah, 31, of Brooklyn, had claimed he wanted to kill only himself and was not acting on behalf of the ISIS terrorist group when he detonated his homemade bomb on Dec. 11, 2017.

No one died and four people were injured in the explosion, which led to the temporary closure of the station and the adjacent Port Authority Bus Terminal during the morning rush. Ullah was burned in what prosecutors called a lone wolf attack.

U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan, who imposed the sentence, told Ullah he had committed a truly barbaric and heinous crime without regard for the humanity of those in his way.

They were just people on the way to work, or school, Sullivan said. People who maybe had finished the night shift.  To you, these people were expendable.

Ullah, who is married and has a 3-year-old son, had faced a mandatory minimum 35-year term.

He told Sullivan he did not condone violence, and apologized to New York City, law enforcement and the United States.

What I did on December 11, it was wrong, Ullah said. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, Im deeply sorry.

People are seen in the Times Square subway station in New York City, on April 17, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Prosecutors said Ullah was angry with then-President Donald Trump and with U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and that ISIS propaganda inspired him to kill, maim and terrorize as many commuters as possible.

Akayed Ullahs message of hatred clearly backfired, U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a statement.

At the time of the attack, Ullah had a green card, allowing him to live in the United States.

He lived with his mother, sister and two brothers in Brooklyn, while his wife and then-infant son lived in Bangladesh.

Ullahs lawyer Amy Gallicchio, a federal public defender, called him a deeply troubled soul who had been attracted on the internet to the distorted and radical messages of extremism.

He is not an evil man, Gallicchio said, a sentiment the judge also expressed. He is not a monster.

But federal prosecutor Rebekah Donaleski questioned why Ullah chose Times Square to set off the bomb if suicide was his goal.

The bomb materials had come from a nearby construction site where Ullah worked as an electrician.

It is important to send a message that when you attack New York City, there will be no leniency, Donaleski said.

Ullah was convicted in November 2018. Sullivan presided over Ullahs case when he was a federal district judge.

By Jonathan Stempel
Chinese President Xi Jinping will speak Thursday at the global summit on climate change organized by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in a written statement Wednesday that President Xi will deliver an important speech during the virtual conference.

Xi is among 40 world leaders invited by President Biden to attend the two-day virtual summit, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Russian President Vladimir Putin. His acceptance comes days after John Kerry, Bidens special envoy on climate change, held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, in Shanghai.

Xis appearance is his first with Biden since the latter took office in January, and comes amid increasing tensions between the two economic superpowers over a host of issues, including Beijings tightening control on semi-autonomous Hong Kong and its brutal treatment of ethnic Uyghur Muslims in northwestern Xinjiang province.

But the two countries have apparently found common ground on reducing climate change, as they are the worlds two biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses, which is directly linked to climate change.

The global climate summit is part of Bidens efforts to restore U.S. leadership after his predecessor Donald Trumps dismissive attitude towards the issue, including withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Agreement that set a cap on global carbon emissions. Biden rejoined the agreement immediately after taking office.
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The hospital includes spacious, state of the art equipped inpatient and outpatient physical therapy gyms, a large outdoor mobility courtyard for therapeutic use, aqua therapy, a fully furnished life skills training apartment with a full kitchen and bathroom, several family gathering areas, an extra-large dining hall and patio, in-house dialysis, and an in-house pharmacy. The hospital will serve patients recovering from stroke, brain injury, neurological conditions, trauma, spinal cord injury, speech impediments, amputation, pulmonary disease, orthopedic injury, COVID-19, and other medically complex conditions.

Everest Rehabilitation Hospital Kissimmee will feature a comprehensive and interdisciplinary physician-led experienced team of rehabilitation therapists focused on increasing patient strength and endurance and improving quality of life in a modern, state of the art setting.

Everests multimillion-dollar rehabilitation hospital just south of Orlando in Kissimmee, Florida will create over 100 jobs and provide for an $8 million-dollar a year payroll to the community. We are overwhelmingly excited to have the opportunity to serve the Kissimmee, Buenaventura Lakes, Celebration, St. Cloud, Meadow Woods, Hunters Creek and Poinciana communities. We firmly believe that patients thrive exponentially when their environment and their level of care far exceed their expectations. The level of care in our acute rehabilitation hospital setting cannot be provided at other levels of care such as skilled nursing facilities (SNF). The average length of stay at a comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation hospital is one-third of a typical stay at a skilled nursing facility. Jay Quintana, Everest Rehabilitations CEO said. We provide one to one physical therapy, five to seven days a week, daily medical visits by rehabilitation physicians and a strong 24 hour a day nurse to patient ratio that contributes to optimal outcomes and the highest quality of care.

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Protesters have called for the release of police bodycam footage after a North Carolina sheriff's deputy shot dead a black father of ten.

Andrew Brown Jr. was shot at multiple times Wednesday while trying to drive away, according to eyewitnesses. The car skidded out of Brown's yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.

Police had been serving a search warrant for his arrest at the time of the shooting. Court records show Brown was 42 years old and had a history of drug charges and a misdemeanor drug possession conviction.

The Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office confirmed one of its officers shot the man, but has released few details, including whether or not the victim was armed at the time of the incident. The deputy has been placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said at a news conference.

Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, told 10 On Your Side: 'If the body cameras were on, that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served.' City Council member Darius Horton said seeing the footage is vital.

DailyMail.com has contacted the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office for a timeline on when the footage will be released.

His shooting came came a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts of murdering George Floyd, an unarmed black man. That same day 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant was shot dead by an officer in Columbus.

Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City, where they expressed their anger and rallied around Browns family members. A large crowd later stood outside City Hall while the City Council held an emergency meeting, some holding signs proclaiming 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Stop killing unarmed Black Men.'

As the evening wore on, a group gathered in the parking lot of the sheriffs office and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare of the city, forcing cars to turn around.

Public schools in the area are learning remotely Thursday due to 'community concern and out of an abundance of caution.'

Scroll down for video

People gather outside the municipal building after at least one Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a Black man while executing a search warrant, the sheriff's office said, Wednesday. The deputy was wearing an active body camera at the time of the shooting, said Sheriff Tommy Wooten II, who declined to say how many shots the deputy fired or release any other details, citing a pending review by the State Bureau of Investigation

Protesters on Wednesday night called for the release of police bodycam footage after a North Carolina sheriff's deputy shot dead Andrew Brown Jr. Police had been serving a search warrant for his arrest at the time of the shooting

Andrew Brown Jr. was shot at multiple times while trying to drive away, according to eyewitnesses. The car skidded out of Brown's yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street. Protesters pictured Wednesday

The Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office confirmed one of its officers shot the man, but has released few details, including whether or not the victim was armed at the time of the incident. The deputy has been placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said at a news conference

Deshawn Morris speaks to fellow residents near the scene of Brown's shooting Wednesday

Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City, where they expressed their anger and rallied around Browns family members.

A man identified by relatives as Andrew Brown (left and right) was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, early Wednesday

Witnesses said Brown got into his car (pictured) and was driving away when the deputy opened fire.

Gunfire erupted at 8.30am in the 400 block of Perry Street in Elizabeth City. According to neighbors, they heard six to eight shots.

During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, officials remained tight-lipped and refused to answer most questions about the incident, citing an ongoing investigation.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten II did confirm that a deputy from his department shot Brown. He revealed that the unnamed deputy has been on the force for about a year.

The deputy was placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation. His race has not been revealed.

'The police didnt have to shoot my baby,' said Martha McCullen, an aunt of Brown who said she raised him after his parents died. McCullen stood on the stoop of Browns rental home, her eyes moist with emotion.

'Andrew Brown was a good person,' she said. 'He was about to get his kids back. He was a good father. Now his kids wont never see him again.'

A large crowd later stood outside City Hall while the City Council held an emergency meeting, some holding signs proclaiming 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Stop killing unarmed Black Men'

As the evening wore on, a group gathered in the parking lot of the sheriffs office and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare of the city, forcing cars to turn around

Public schools in the area are learning remotely Thursday due to 'community concern and out of an abundance of caution'

Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, told 10 On Your Side : 'If the body cameras were on, that information needs to be disseminated as quickly as possible in order to make sure justice is served.' City Council member Darius Horton said seeing the footage is vital

Wooten said that the deputy was wearing a body camera but said he has yet to review the footage. It could take time for that video to be released since releasing such footage requires a judge's approval in the state

According to relatives, Brown was unarmed and did not hurt anyone, but authorities have yet to confirm that information.

Brown's body was removed from his vehicle and placed beneath a blue tent, where it remained for hours after the shooting.

During the emergency meeting, black members of the City Council spoke emotionally about the fears of their community amid multiple police shootings across the country and implored investigators to remain transparent.

'Im afraid as a Black man,' an emotional Councilman Gabriel Adkins told his colleagues. 'Im afraid that I may be the next one that my family might have to see on the news that I was gunned down.'

Adkins said businesses in the neighborhood of the shooting had begun boarding up their windows in anticipation of violence.

'Not only do we need transparency ... we need accountability,' said City Councilman Darius Horton, who called for the immediate release of bodycam footage, the search warrant and a speedy explanation of what led to the shooting. 'We need answers. ... Lets not hide behind anything.'

Others councilors urged the community to remain calm until all of the facts about the shooting are known.

Among those who gathered at the scene of the shooting was Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP.

'When is it going to stop? We just got a verdict yesterday,' Rivers said in a phone interview, referring to the guilty verdicts handed down Tuesday in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

'Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We have to start holding the people in charge accountable.'

Officers are seen working inside a tent that was erected to shield Brown's car from view after the fatal shooting in Elizabeth City Wednesday

Just minutes before the verdict was announced, an officer in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant during a confrontation with two other women that involved a knife.

Several people who identified themselves as Brown's relatives have posted messages on social media mourning his death.

'The last time I saw my cousin in October, we talked more than we ever have. Lots of laughs. Now I know why. R.I.P. Jr,' wrote Jadine Hampton.

Another woman who also identified herself as Brown's cousin wrote in a status update: 'I can't believe this .. You see stuff like this on TV but I never thought it would happen in my own family R.I.P cousin Andrew Brown. U just messaged me last week.. this is crazy.'

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation will lead the probe into Brown's fatal shooting.

Keith Rivers, the president of the Pasquotank NAACP, was on the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City and called on the sheriff's office to release body camera video as quickly as possible.
ALBANY  Andrew Cuomo was an unsatisfied attorney general. He never fully embraced the job, it seemed. His heart was elsewhere.

The son of a governor wanted to be governor, of course. Everybody knew that, and Cuomo barely bothered to hide it.

And he wasnt above using his power as attorney general to help the cause.

Most famously, Cuomo turned a 2007 investigation into then-Senate Majority Leader Joe Brunos alleged improper use of state aircraft into a blistering attack on a blindsided Eliot Spitzer, then the Democratic governor.

Coming to an inbox near you Our writers share more about the topics they cover in our newsletters. Churchill's Corner: Chris Churchill goes in depth on his latest columns, and shares what readers are saying. Sign up here. Editor's Note (subscribers only): Editor Casey Seiler shares the story behind our biggest stories of the week. Sign up here. Click here for a complete list of newsletter offerings.

Its a complicated story that includes plenty of intrigue, but with more than a decades hindsight its obvious that Cuomo cared little about the aircraft issue (perhaps because he had his own questionable history with taxpayer-provided transportation) and cared greatly about damaging Spitzer, whose office was accused of improperly spying on Bruno.

Spitzer never really recovered from Cuomos knifing, and he was ultimately done in by  well, you remember what finished the political career of Client 9.

Enter David Paterson, who as governor would soon face controversies of his own.

By early 2010, it was more obvious than ever that Cuomo was running for governor, yet he still had to be convinced to recuse himself from investigations into Paterson, including one looking into the acquisition of Yankee tickets.

Even the hint of impropriety, which Cuomo was happy to provide, was enough to doom Paterson as a viable candidate.

And, of course, the never-ending tide of scandal was wonderful for candidate Cuomo, who claimed to be embarrassed by Albanys poor ethical standards and ugly politics.

"Were going to have a healthy campaign, but the people elected me to be attorney general," he said at March 2010 event in Troy. "Let me do the work of attorney general free from the politics and well turn to the politics in the political season."

Free from the politics. Please. Andrew Cuomo doesnt brush his teeth without thinking of the political implications, as the opportunism that defined his time as attorney general shows.

I mention this not-so-ancient history because of something Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, said this week.

The embattled governor, most will know, is facing a complicated stew of investigations that includes probes into sexual harassment allegations and the hiding of COVID-19 nursing home deaths.

The list of investigations grew longer when state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli asked Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is already overseeing an investigation into the sexual harassment claims, to examine whether Cuomo criminally used state employees to produce and promote a COVID-19 memoir for which he was paid millions.

Though the governors office has maintained that staffers worked on "American Crisis" voluntarily  stop laughing  it is a valid topic to investigate. But heres how Azzopardi responded:

"We have officially jumped the shark  the idea there was criminality involved here is patently absurd on its face and is just the furthering of a political pile-on," the Cuomo spokesman said in a statement first reported by The New York Times. "This is Albany politics at its worst  both the Comptroller and the Attorney General have spoken to people about running for governor, and it is unethical to wield criminal referral authority to further political self-interest."

Whoa. For the record, theres little evidence that James or DiNapoli is considering a run for governor next year. Unlike the extensive preparation undertaken by Cuomo prior to his successful 2010 run, neither has laid the necessary groundwork.

But you can understand why the governor would suspect otherwise. Since he used his time as attorney general to further political self-interest, of course he would assume that other politicians, potential rivals especially, would be eager to do the same.

We tend to believe the rest of the world operates by the ethical standards we set for ourselves. A saint will be endlessly disappointed by moral failings of others. A frequent liar is likely to assume everybody else is constantly lying.

Still, the Team Cuomo attack on James motivations was somewhat surprising. Not because it happened, mind you, but because it happened quite so soon.

Remember that in the wake of allegations by at least eight women, the governor has been responding to calls for his resignation with pleas for patience. Wait for the investigation overseen by James, he repeatedly said, before forming an opinion.

But since James' look into the allegations could be as unflattering as her January report into Cuomos nursing home deceptions, it was obvious the governor couldnt just wait for the bomb to drop. His survival strategy needed a next step.

Cuomo and supporters would eventually need to go on the offensive. His team would need to discredit James with a cynical attack on her supposed motivations  no matter how hypocritical, considering Cuomos record as attorney general.

Now, already, that time has come.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill


Pfizer's decision to vaccinate close family members of employees could see thousands of people in Co Kildare vaccinated as soon as next month.

The pharma giant insisted the plan will not impact the national supplies to be delivered by the company as part of the Government's national vaccine roll-out.

There are close to 1,000 staff based at Pfizer's plant in Newbridge and each worker will be allowed to offer the jab to a spouse, parents, grandparents and children over 16 years of age.

Some employees may have up to 12 people who qualify under the strict definitions of immediate family or household members.

The scheme could see thousands of people vaccinated in the home areas of employees in Newbridge and surrounding towns and villages.

This will also give a much needed boost to the Government's vaccination programme.

Immediate family and household members are defined by Pfizer as:

Parents and parents-in-law

Grandparents

Spouse or partner

Children 16 years of age or older

Any other family members in household

A carer who regularly comes into the household

The scheme does not include childminders, siblings of employees, extended relatives, neighbours or friends.

There are 4,000 workers across Pfizer's five sites in Ireland.

A Pfizer spokesperson told RTE it is not yet known how many people will be vaccinated under the move but said it would be in the thousands.

The scheme, scheduled to begin in May, will start with those aged over 60s among the family or household members.

The roll-out of the vaccines will be operated and financed by Pfizer and take place at three sites including Newbridge.

An online registration system will be set up and jabs will be administered during office hours.

Earlier this year, staff that were deemed essential by the company were vaccinated.
DETROIT  A Detroit man who shot his 7-year-old daughter during a heated argument with her mother has been charged.

Charles Feiler, 50, has been charged with five counts of assault with intent to murder, five counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, one count of second-degree child abuse, one count of felon in possession, five counts of felonious assault and 17 counts of felony firearm.

The incident occurred at a residence in the 9800 block of Appoline Street in Detroit at approximately 11:20 p.m. on April 14.

Police say an argument between Feiler and the 25-year-old Detroit mother of the victim escalated leading to Feiler firing a rifle three times, striking the child on the left side of her back.

The child was taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said.

Feiler was arraigned in 36th District Court on April 17 and given a $500,000 bond.

His probable cause conference is on April 28 and his preliminary examination is on May 5 before Judge Roberta Archer.
Ledcor promotes Dale Posein to lead Pipeline, Industrial & Fort McMurray Operations groups, Bill Partington to retire Tweet this

"I am very pleased to announce this promotion of Dale Posein within our Constructors group. He is a proven leader with over three decades of construction experience with Ledcor in road-building, mining, SAGDs, fibre optics, and pipeline," said Tom Lassu. "Dale has been a very effective project executive on many complex builds, especially as energy project design, engineering, and construction methods have become more complex, demanding, and scrutinized."

Ledcor is experienced in the construction of large diameter energy pipelines including mainline cross-country construction utilizing mechanized or manual welding methods in a variety of geographic terrains such as,prairie, muskeg, heavily forested and mountainous regions. Ledcor's current capacity includes two mainline spreads of state-of-the-art pipeline construction equipment.

Ledcor's Industrial oil & gas construction experience includes fulfilling the demanding standards of numerous world-leading petroleum companies and EPC firms to deliver oil and gas refineries, upgraders and other production and transportation facilities, petrochemical and fertilizer production plants, mineral processing facilities, electrical generation stations, as well as alternative fuels plants. Ledcor also has a well-established and equipped oil sands site services business based in Fort McMurray supporting local operations 24/7.

"I look forward to leading Ledcor's oil & gas focused teams, as we evolve to face the new challenges and opportunities that face the industry," said Dale Posein. "I especially look forward to working with our long-standing clients, our global partners and local suppliers to deliver world-class petroleum energy infrastructure for Canada that is safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable."

Dale's previous role was COO, Pipeline, responsible for operations, project management, project leadership and project execution for all pipeline contracts. Dale is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association Foundation (CEPA) and sits on the CEPA Foundation Planning Committee.

Bill Partington Retires

"On behalf of all the employees at Ledcor I want to thank Bill for his 15-year contribution to the company and the Canadian pipeline industry," said Dave Lede, Chairman & CEO of Ledcor. "Bill moved Ledcor into the large diameter pipeline business and was very effective in enhancing the safety culture and sustainability practices at Ledcor and within the Western Canadian pipeline industry. We wish Bill all the best in the next phase of his journey."

Bill was a founding board member of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association and Foundation. Bill led a community relations program that was awarded the 2019 International Pipeline Community Social Responsibility award by IPLOCA in Geneva.

"It has been a pleasure to have had the opportunity to lead Ledcor's pipeline group. I am sure that the pipeline group is in good hands and the future looks extremely bright," said Bill Partington.

About Ledcor

The Ledcor Group of Companies is one of North America's most diversified construction companies, serving the civil & infrastructure, oil & gas, pipeline, building, mining, power, and telecommunications sectors. Ledcor also owns operations in property investment, forestry, aviation, and marine transportation services. Ledcor is a privately held, employee-owned company with over 800 employee-shareholders. Ledcor employs over 7,000 people across 20 offices. Since 1947 the company has been growing with its clients and partners: Forward. Together. See how at www.ledcor.com.

SOURCE Ledcor Industries

For further information: David Hoff, [email protected], (604) 681-7500

Related Links

www.ledcor.com


Janine Butcher is said to be returning to EastEnders and fans cannot contain their boundless excitement over Charlie Brooks' reported return.

It was claimed on Wednesday that the villainous femme fatale would make her explosive return to Albert Square, leaving soap lovers swarming social media to state she would 'save the soap' and likened the news to 'winning a war'.

The murderous character, played by Charlie Brooks, 39, is said to be making an explosive return to Walford as part of a 'huge' storyline planned by BBC bosses.

Bad character: Janine Butcher is said to be returning to EastEnders and fans cannot contain their boundless excitement over Charlie Brooks' reported return

Janine was last seen back in 2014 at St Pancras as she boarded a train to go to Paris - where she joined daughter Scarlett and sister Diane after being forced to leave Walford when she is found not guilty on husband Michael Moon's murder.

A source told The Sun: 'Bosses have a huge story planned for Charlie's return. They are keeping tight-lipped about whether Janine will come back as a reformed character after all the chaos she has caused in the past.

'But she has a lot of history in Albert Square so whether she will be welcomed back with open arms or not remains to be seen. One thing the viewers can be sure about is that it is bound to be explosive. Wherever Janine goes, drama is never far behind.'

Twitter users soon swarmed the microblogging site with delight as they penned: 'I dont know what to do with my self rn. The fact queen Janine is returning to eastenders. This is what it must have felt like when they won the war...

Yay! It was claimed on Wednesday that the villainous femme fatale would make her explosive return to Albert Square, leaving soap lovers swarming social media to state she would 'save the soap' and likened the news to 'winning a war'

'Janine butcher will single handedly save eastenders im telling u rn... EastEnders just hit the jackpot and probably broke the internet. Well played. Janine Butcher...

'Youve been missed... omg janine returning to eastenders truly is heavenly news. heres an underrated camp moment with pat... Janine returning! 2021 has been saved! #EastEnders... JANINE BUTCHER COMING BACK TO EASTENDERS????...

'JANINE RETURNING TO EASTENDERS HAS MADE MY WEEK... Janine is coming back to save #EastEnders !!!!... Janine turning up in a black cab to save EastEnders....

Don't know what to do with myself? Twitter users soon swarmed the microblogging site with delight as they penned: 'I dont know what to do with my self rn. The fact queen Janine is returning to eastenders. This is what it must have felt like when they won the war'

'Me saying I hate eastenders and want to take time off this acc only to be sucked back by janine butcher'.

Charlie is reportedly set to reinstate her role as a full-cast member on the soap, with filming set to begin in the next few weeks.

Plot details are not yet known, but Janine has been involved in her fair share of drama during her time on the soap, which first began in 1999.

MailOnline has contacted Charlie's representatives and EastEnders, who declined to comment.

Farewell: The evil killer was successful in ending fourth husband Michael Moon's life, but was found not guilty in court and so she left Walford

Most notably, Janine married Barry Evans  played by Shaun Williamson  for his money before pushing him off a cliff.

She went on to marry a rich elderly Jewish businessman called David, who died of a heart attack at the ceremony, before tying the knot with Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott), whom she also tried to kill.

Although she was unsuccessful in her murder plot against Ryan, she framed arch-rival Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) for the attempted crime.

Janine married a fourth time to Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) and had daughter Scarlett with him, before she eventually set out to kill him too.

The evil killer was successful in ending Michael's life, but was found not guilty in court - leading to her being shunned by locals which made her eventually leave Walford.

Return? The murderous character, played by Charlie Brooks, 39, is said to be making an explosive return to Walford as part of a 'huge' storyline planned by BBC bosses (pictured 2019)
Rebekah Vardy is making a fresh bid to weaken rival Coleen Rooney's case before their so-called Wagatha Christie case reaches its dramatic conclusion.

Rebekah, 39, is working to have a section of evidence from Coleen's defence 'struck out' in her latest move, the section is known as 'TV Details story' and stems from a story Coleen claims she leaked in September 2019.

Meanwhile, Coleen has just 24 hours to add any more evidence before a new deadline, MailOnline has learned.

The twin developments signal that the two warring Wags are further than ever from reaching an eleventh-hour agreement to prevent a lurid and hugely expensive court case from going ahead.

Claims: Rebekah Vardy is making a fresh bid to weaken rival Coleen Rooney's case before their so-called Wagatha Christie case reaches its dramatic conclusion (pictured November 2020)

Coleen, 34, now has until 4.30pm on Friday to present evidence to oppose the striking out, and Rebekah, 39, will then get a chance to serve a reply to Coleen's evidence documents.

Rebekah, married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, is suing mother-of-four Coleen for libel after Coleen accused her to leaking false stories over her private life.

The long-running feud between the high-profile WAGS erupted after Coleen revealed that she had set a trap to see who was responsible for the leaks, which earned her the nickname Wagatha Christie.

Coleen famously wrote: 'I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's ................ Rebekah Vardy's account.'

Soon after, Rebekah took to social media to deny being the person who had leaked the stories to the press, after Coleen's post went viral

Last June, it emerged that Rebekah had launched a case to sue Coleen for 1 million.

Deadline time: And meanwhile, Coleen has just 24 hours to add any more evidence before a new deadline, MailOnline has learned (pictured October 2020)

The latest twist in the saga saw Mr Justice Nicklin, set the deadline in an order, telling both women that if they want to change any dates, they have to apply formally to the court.

He also set down a timetable to take the case forward, with both women being required to serve revised costs budgets with the court by June 18 this year.

The section of evidence which Rebekah wants to be 'struck out' in her latest move - removed as evidence from the case - is known as the 'TV Details story' and stems from September 2019.

Coleen famously wrote: 'I have saved and screenshotted all the original stories which clearly show just one person has viewed them. It's ................ Rebekah Vardy's account'

At that point, Coleen claims to have blocked all followers from her Instagram Stories, except Rebekah, then posted a selfie alongside the text: 'Up and out!! Easing my way back into work!! TV decisions today maybe it's time for Australia' and 'Good Day' with a heart emoji.

Three days later the Sun published an 'exclusive' story suggesting that Coleen was in talks to join Strictly Come Dancing the following year and was looking 'to revive her TV career'.

According to Coleen's defence document, Rebekah could be inferred to be the source of the Sun's story, but Rebekah's lawyers reject that conclusion, and want the judge to agree with them by striking out the passage.

No slowing down: The twin developments signal that the two warring Wags are further than ever from reaching an eleventh-hour agreement to prevent a lurid and hugely expensive court case from going ahead

A costs and case management hearing will take place before procedural judge Master Roger Eastman on July 2, likely to last two and a half hours. The hearing will decide how the case will go ahead.

Already Coleen has described Rebekah's budget of nearly 900,000 for the case as 'grotesque' after a virtual hearing before Master Eastman in March, who said the budgets for both women were 'extraordinarily large.'

Coleen estimated her budget for legal fees at 402,312.

Efforts at mediation in the hope of settling the case are thought doomed to failure, especially since Coleen has declined to remove the posts at the centre of the libel action, which remain accessible online.

Time's running out! Coleen, 34, now has until 4.30pm on Friday to present evidence to oppose the striking out, and Rebekah, 39, will then get a chance to serve a reply to Coleen's evidence documents (Coleen pictured with husband Wayne)

Since Rebekah initiated the case there have been a series of legal skirmishes ahead of the planned full case.

In October 2020, Coleen 'doubled down' by filing her 55-page defence and sharing images of the Instagram posts she alleged Rebekah leaked.

The following month, Rebekah won the first round of her High Court libel battle at the 'meanings hearing'

In February, the pair attended a court-ordered mediation session on Zoom, their first meeting for years.

Court case: Rebekah, married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, is suing mother-of-four Coleen for libel after Coleen accused her to leaking false stories over her private life (Rebekah pictured with husband Jamie and their baby girl Olivia)

Zoom proceedings began with both sides reading out a statement and then breaking off into separate virtual rooms as the mediator spoke to them and their legal representatives independently.

Former columnist Coleen reportedly tried to reach out to brunette Rebekah after another round of failed talks to avoid a costly legal battle.

However, it's thought that she saw the mediation as a 'waste of time' as TV star Becky continues to demand she apologise for her fierce accusation.

Last February, Rebekah broke down on ITV's Loose Women, saying the feud was 'one of the worst things I had to deal with apart from being abused when I was younger'.
SELBYVILLE, Del., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the report published by Global Market Insights Inc., the global Sodium Sulphate Market size was estimated at $955 million in 2020 and is slated to surpass $1,335 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 4.4% from 2021 to 2027. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the market size & estimations, drivers & opportunities, major investment pockets, competitive scenario, wavering market trends, and top winning strategies.

Global Market Insights Inc.

The product is an inorganic compound that is solid and white in color in all forms. It has electrostatically bonded ionic sulphate and is highly water-soluble. It can be produced through a chemical process and is also produced naturally. In synthetic form, it is produced as by-product during the chemical process of various products including hydrochloric acid.

Request for Sample Report: https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/1750

The natural sodium sulphate segment should grow at a CAGR of over 4.0% owing to rising product demand for wood and paper production. Moreover, the synthetic product market should surpass USD 310 million in 2020 pertaining to the lack of natural resources globally for sodium sulphate production.

Soaps and detergents applications should surpass USD 620 million by 2027. The rising use of additives in detergents to prevent corrosion of equipment and pipes should drive the product demand. Increasing demand for soaps and detergents owing to rising consumer spending on cleanliness products should augment the sodium sulphate market share. Furthermore, growing government regulations of cleanliness in commercial institutions including hotels, hospitals and schools represent ample growth opportunities for the market in the forecasted timespan. On the other hand, glass applications are likely to surpass USD 240 million by 2027 owing to its product ability to remove air bubbles during glass production.

Bath additive applications should surpass USD 60 million by 2027 owing to rising consumer spending on cosmetics and personal care products. Rising sales number of liquid soaps and bath soaps to boost product consumption. COVID 19 outbreak has led to increased awareness among consumers about hygiene and cleanliness which is expected to foster the sodium sulphate market revenue for bath additive application.

Europe registers over 4.4% gains by 2027 owing to the emphasis on reducing single-use of plastic products and adoption of sustainable products. This has led to the adoption and production of glass from consumer goods industries which should augment the sodium sulphate market growth. Growing demand for glass for household and packaging use to boost glass production. Glass container production in European Union 28 has increased from around 21.7 million tons in 2018 to 22.5 million tons in 2019. This increase in the production of glass should stimulate market growth in the region.

Request for customization of this report: https://www.gminsights.com/roc/1750

Leading market players:

Notable market players analyzed in the sodium sulphate industry report include Nippon Chemical Industrial Co., Elementis Plc., Lenzing AG, Shikoku Chemicals Corporation, Atul Limited, Nikunj Chemicals, Cooper Natural resources Inc, Searles valley minerals, Sigma Aldrich and TCI Chemicals. They have incorporated several strategies including partnership, expansion, collaboration, joint ventures, and others to heighten their stand in the industry.

About Global Market Insights, Inc.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider. Offering syndicated and custom research reports, growth consulting and business intelligence services, Global Market Insights, Inc. aims to help clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data that aid in strategic decision making.

GMIPulse, our business analytics platform offers an online, interactive option of exploring our proprietary industry research data in an easy-to-use and dynamic manner. Clients get to explore market intelligence across 11 top level categories and hundreds of industry segments within them, covering regional, company level and cross-sectional statistics that make our offering a stand-out for decision makers.

Contact Us:

Arun Hegde

Corporate Sales, USA

Global Market Insights, Inc.

Phone: 1-302-846-7766

Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.gminsights.com

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Sodium Sulphate Market Outlook - 2027

SOURCE Global Market Insights Inc.
[April 22, 2021] Keno Kozie Appoints Martin Catania as President

CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Keno Kozie Services LLC, a leading provider of information technology design, service and support to law firms and legal departments and part of HBR Consulting LLC, today announces Martin Catania has been named president of Keno Kozie.

Keno Kozie and HBR recently announced their combination forming the largest legal technology advisory firm in the industry. Their collective business growth due to increased client offerings requires the movement of leaders into key roles in the new firm. Catania has been with Keno Kozie for over 20 years and has held leadership roles in the engineering, help desk and administration departments of the firm. In his new role, Catania manages all staff and operations of the firm, works closely with HBR leadership in setting strategy and direction and ensures Keno Kozie is evolving as needed to keep up with the ever-changing technologies and requirements of the firms worldwide client base. We are thrilled to promote Martin into this role. He provides a strong foundation of management as Keno Kozie and HBR move forward as a combined firm, states Barry Keno, CEO of Keno Kozie. Martin has been instrumental in the growth and success of Keno Kozie over the past 20 years, and we look forward to having him in an increased leadership role as we move into this new phase of our business. We look forward to working with Martin in his expanded capacity as we leverage the combined Keno Kozie and HBR offerings to maximize client benefit, states Chris Petrini-Poli, xecutive chairman of HBR. He is at the heartbeat of our clients experience with technology in his historical role overseeing user support and enabling technologies. Our clients expect only the best, and Martin provides just that.



I am excited with the expanded responsibilities this new role brings, states Catania. My experience at Keno Kozie has allowed me to work alongside talented IT experts and provide the best support to our clients. With the expanded opportunities we now have through the HBR relationship, it will be great to partner with clients to bring them access to even more offerings to effectively run their organizations. For more information on Catania, visit https://www.kenokozie.com/martin-catania/.

About Keno Kozie Services LLC

Keno Kozie Services LLC (www.kenokozie.com) has been providing information technology design, service and support to leading law firms and legal departments since 1988. Hundreds of firms have chosen Keno Kozie to provide IT consulting, systems integration, advanced application integration, 24/7 help desk support, training, managed services and security and risk management services. The company has received the National Law Journals Hall of Fame award for multiple wins within the Best of Midwest surveys and the Best of Legal Times survey. As of March 1, 2021, Keno Kozie joined HBR Consulting LLC, a leading provider of strategic guidance and operational solutions for the legal industry. About HBR Consulting

HBR Consulting (www.hbrconsulting.com) delivers advisory, managed services, and software solutions that increase productivity and profitability, while mitigating risk for law firms, law departments, and corporations. As trusted advisors with deep industry experience, clients partner with HBR to achieve significant, sustainable results. Contacts:

Vicki LaBrosse

Edge Marketing, for Keno Kozie Services

651-552-7753

vlabrosse@edgemarketinginc.com Allison Zullo

Walker Sands, for HBR Consulting

hbr@walkersands.com

330-554-5965 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/302f72e2-2b65-4984-9ada-b08f0a75e36f



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It's another divorce for the Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Star Falynn Guobadia, 31, and her husband Simon, 56, announced their decision to end their marriage after two years on Thursday.

'After two years of marriage and 5 years of friendship, Simon and I have made the difficult decision to go our separate ways,' the reality television personality began a lengthy message on her Instagram Story.

Split: It's another divorce for the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Star Falynn Guobadia, 31, and her husband Simon, 56, announced their decision to end their marriage after two years on Thursday

Separate ways: 'After two years of marriage and 5 years of friendship, Simon and I have made the difficult decision to go our separate ways,' the reality television personality began a lengthy announcement on her Instagram Story

'We are deeply thankful for the impact we have made in each other's lives, as well as the bonds formed with each other's children,' she added.

'This mutual decision was not made lightly and despite our current willingness to be transparent, we only ask our friends and supporters to be respectful of our privacy as our family gets through this very difficult period.'

Falynn ended the message by thanking all of her supporters for showing her family so much love.

The former pair tied the knot in June 2019 in Atlanta, and brought together their large blended family. Falynn has three children from a previous relationship - with the eldest being 14 - while Simon has five.

Blended family: Falynn ended the message by thanking all of her supporters for showing her family so much love. The former pair tied the knot in June 2019 in Atlanta, and brought together their large blended family

Mutual decision: The film producer and entrepreneur also discussed the split with a post on his own Instagram account, writing, 'After a year and a half together, Falynn and I have made the mutual decision to end our marriage'

The film producer and entrepreneur also discussed the split with a post on his own Instagram account, writing: 'After a year and a half together, Falynn and I have made the mutual decision to end our marriage.'

'Despite our willingness to be transparent, we respectfully ask for privacy at this time. Thank you,' he finished.

Falynn joined the hit reality series in a limited role during its thirteenth season, which is currently airing on Bravo.

Breakup rumors began swirling earlier this year after they seemingly unfollowed each other on Instagram and removed all joint photos from their social media accounts.

Social media wipe: Breakup rumors began swirling earlier this year after they seemingly unfollowed each other on Instagram and removed all joint photos from their social media accounts

Kids: Falynn has three children from a previous relationship - with the eldest being 14 - while Simon has five

Her co-star LaToya Ali, 34, added fuel to the fire by posting about a possible split on Twitter on the day the cast shot the upcoming reunion.

Ali had this to say about why Guobadia wasn't in attendance for the shoot: 'Hubby kicked her out the empire and cant afford a flight.'

Falynn shut down speculation surrounding her marriage while speaking to The Jasmine Brand on March 31.

'That rumor came from a miserable person. Simon and I, we go through our marital issues, just like everyone else. Everybody has their own s---,' she said at the time.

RHOA: Falynn joined the hit reality series in a limited role during its thirteenth season, which is currently airing on Bravo, but did not attend the cast reunion, which airs Sunday

Shutting down rumors: Falynn shut down speculation surrounding her marriage while speaking to The Jasmine Brand on March 31: 'That rumor came from a miserable person. Simon and I, we go through our marital issues, just like everyone else. Everybody has their own s---'

She was clearly trying to downplay any issues going on at home: 'Whether we unfollow and we follow back and we delete our stuff or whatever the case is, just let us go through our stuff. We're just like everyone else. We're normal people.'

Falynn teased the split on social media earlier this month, with an ominous caption alongside a stunning solo bathing suit snap.

'Freeing yourself is one thing. Claiming ownership of that freed self is another,' she captioned the photo, which saw the star sunbathing aboard a yacht.

Freeing yourself: Falynn teased the split on social media earlier this month, with an ominous caption alongside a stunning solo bathing suit snap: 'Freeing yourself is one thing. Claiming ownership of that freed self is another'

Leap of faith: She appeared to be taking the news in stride, posting a glamorous selfie earlier this week with the caption: Youre always one decision away from a totally different life. Take a leap of faith and choose wisely'

She appeared to be taking the news in stride, posting a glamorous selfie earlier this week showcasing some major cleavage and her beautifully made up features.

'Youre always one decision away from a totally different life. Take a leap of faith and choose wisely,' she captioned the photo.

Just before Valentine's Day, Simon posted a pic of the now-estranged couple alongside a statement about fighting for love.

'It took me a life time to learn how to love someone unconditionally even when I did not have examples of that growing up. It is never too late to learn because an empty heart is even more of a greater burden,' he captioned the since-deleted post according to Atlanta Black Star.

'I'm still learning, I'm not quite there and quite frankly, loving someone deeply is not a destination because it does get bumpy. It is a life time journey. Try to get comfortable and enjoy as much of the ride as possible. Cheers to my fellow brothers that try. Never give up on love,' the outlet said he added.
BEND  A Republican state lawmaker who says she was subjected to sexual harassment by Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, said he responded inappropriately when she asked him to support a bill.

I asked for a yes vote, Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson of Prineville told the Central Oregon Daily News. He responded with some questions. I responded to his questions. He interjected with, going out for a beer, going out for dinner, dot dot dot. I continued to ignore those and just give the answers to the questions he had asked, and the last text that came through was just unacceptable.

Breese Iversons comments to the news outlet provided more detail about the exchanges she says prompted her to file a complaint with the Legislative Equity Office. Breese Iverson has asked that House Speaker Tina Kotek remove Witt from the three legislative committees they both serve on.

Koteks office said Tuesday she was setting up a meeting with the legislative equity officer, who fields harassment complaints.

Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, is shown during a swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol on January 11, 2021.Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian

An independent investigator looking into the complaint recommended that Witt be barred from contacting or coming near Breese Iverson and that he be removed from chairing the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, of which Breese Iverson is a member.

Following Witt volunteering to step down temporarily as committee chair, Kotek formally made that change Monday. In a note to lawmakers, she said Witt also would not attend virtual committee hearings.

Witt has said he believes 101% that it will be found that there was no ill intent on my part whatsoever, but rather an attempt to further the committee interests.

An independent investigation is expected to conclude by the end of April. The matter would then go before the House Conduct Committee to consider whether Witt violated legislative rules, and whether there should be consequences.

The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported the accusations against Witt on Friday.

 AP
TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /CNW/ - On April 23rd, 2021, World Book and Copyright Day, the Canadian writing and publishing industries call on the federal government to fix Canada's copyright law to address the systemic exploitation of creators' and publishers' works by educational institutions.

On a day when we celebrate the power of books and reading, we take this opportunity to bring attention to Canada's copyright law, which should foster creativity and an infrastructure that ensures creators are paid for the use of their work.

Since the changes made to the Copyright Act in 2012, including adding education as an allowable purpose under the "fair-dealing" exception, Canadian authors, visual artists and publishers haven't been compensated for the copying of their works by educational institutions. Per year, the education sector copies over 600 million pages from books, newspapers and magazines without fair compensation to creators. In total the education sector owes Canadian creators and publishers over $150 million in unpaid royalties under tariffs approved by the Copyright Board of Canada.

Royalties that would have helped creators sustain a living during the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the cultural sector hard, with shuttered bookstores and cancelled book tours and readings. While reeling from the financial blow of the pandemic, creators were unable to depend on royalties from the education sector for the use of their works.

"As the world unites to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day, Canadian creators and publishers urge the federal government to update our copyright law to restore a creative ecosystem where creators are paid and valued for their work. Without fair compensation, we will have fewer Canadian stories to educate and inspire us and pass onto to future generations," said Roanie Levy, President and CEO of Access Copyright.

World Book and Copyright day was launched by UNESCO to encourage reading and to show how books can connect us to each other across any divide.

For over 30 years, Access Copyright has facilitated content use for educational and professional purposes. Access Copyright has helped people make customized use of published materials combined with an assurance that creators and publishers also benefit, so that they can continue creating new and innovative works. This is vitally important to a strong Canadian culture and to all who rely on quality publications.

SOURCE Access Copyright

For further information: Amy Cormier, Head of Communications and Marketing, [email protected]
A little while ago, police and participants of the protest clashed in front of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Armenia. Protesters threw eggs at the building, after which police started apprehending participants of the protest.

The situation is currently tense.

The protesters demand the release of the heads of several communities of Syunik Province and insist that the heads of communities were illegally detained.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
CRRC Sifang America made railcars begin in-service testing in Chicago

Xinhua) 10:37, April 22, 2021

Undated photo shows employees work on the 7000-series passenger railcar prototype in China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Sifang America Incorporated in Chicago, the United States. (Photo credit: CRRC Sifang America)

Assembled by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Sifang America Incorporated in Chicago, the eight railcars officially kicked off in-service test run within CTA traffic system in Chicago.

CHICAGO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- An eight-car train left Chicago O'Hare International Airport station at 5:50 a.m. local time Wednesday and headed toward downtown Chicago.

Assembled by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Sifang America Incorporated in Chicago, the eight railcars, part of the first batch of the 10 7000-series railcars CRRC Sifang America has delivered to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), officially kicked off in-service test run within CTA traffic system.

The 7000-series railcars have bold, blue end caps, new layout of headlights and taillights, and a new seating configuration featuring a mix of forward facing and aisle-facing seats, which has maximized available space and customer comfort.

The new generation railcars have more to brag: they are equipped with LED lighting, improved active vehicle suspension system, new technologies that help improve the safety and security of day-to-day operations, new touchscreen controls with an operator alert system, remote access capabilities for maintenance diagnostics, and additional high-definition security cameras; and have redesigned, all-glass windbreak panel flanking the passenger side doors, double-sided displays in the center of cars displaying information of next and upcoming stations, an "express mode" for hearing impaired customers, and distinct door chimes for the opening and closing doors to aid vision-impaired riders.

The maximum speed of the rail cars is 70 miles or 112 km per hour.

CTA has been testing the 10 railcars from CRRC Sifang America since last summer, operating them out-of-service to evaluate their performance in a wide range of weather and operating conditions. Once the in-service testing, which is expected to continue through early 2022, is satisfactorily completed, batch production and delivery will start.

Representatives and guests attend a ground-breaking ceremony for a railcar assembly plant of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Sifang America in Chicago, the United States, March 16, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

CRRC Sifang America won a 1.3-billion-U.S.-dollar contract in 2016 to supply 846 7000-series railcars to CTA. These railcars will replace nearly half of CTA's subway fleet, where the oldest cars have been hitting the tracks for more than 30 years.

For the project, CRRC Sifang America has invested 100 million dollars and constructed a factory on the South Side of Chicago. The assembly factory has not only generated hundreds of jobs for Chicagoans but also created significant opportunities for local suppliers and related businesses. More importantly, the factory marked the first time in more than 50 years that railcars were produced in Chicago.

"As CTA president, one of my main priorities has been to modernize our system to benefit our customers, as well as the communities we serve," said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. "These new railcars are the latest step we're taking to build a 21st century transit experience, while also boosting the local economy through the creation of good paying, local jobs."

CRRC Sifang America is an Illinois-based subsidiary of CRRC Corporation Limited, a world leader in design, engineering and production of advanced passenger rail vehicles and high-speed trains.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Vietnam Value Forum 2021 was organised on April 19

Vietnam Value Forum 2021 focused on the diverse concerns of local businesses, especially on finding ways to take advantage of the programme and enhance the positions of Vietnamese companies in local and international markets.

The event also gathered numerous international economic experts, representatives of businesses, and representatives of local authorities, as well as local and overseas organisations.

The Vietnam Value Programme was approved by the prime minister in Decision No.253/2003/ND-CP dated November 25, 2003. The government assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop the programme, aiming to promote the nation's image through high-quality "Made in Vietnam" goods.

Over the recent years, the image of Vietnam Value has constantly improved in the global playground thanks to the government's efforts in reforming the business climate and also extending bilateral and multilateral relations," said Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade. "These have contributed to boosting import-export activities, benefiting domestic brands.

According to Brand Finance, in 2020 Vietnam was one of the countries recording significant growth in national value with a scale of $319 billion, up 29 per cent on-year. Thanks to that, Vietnam Value climbed 9 levels to be the 33rd most valuable national brand in the world.

Besides, the report said Vietnam was the only regional nation increasing the rank in the Global Soft Power Index 2020, from the position of 50th out of 60 to 47th out of 150 nations. Contributing to the achievement is the growth in ranking of the national value and positive results related to the economy.

Thanks to the programme, many local businesses have step-by-step built up and develop their brands. The number of businesses receiving the Vietnam Value Awards has kept increasing, from 30 in 2008 to 124 in 2020, with 283 items, with many products achieving regional and global recognition.

The forum is organised in the context that a string of free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement have become valid to stimulate local economic integration, said Hai. I hope Vietnamese companies will actively grasp opportunities to be better involved in the global value chain, beefing up their brands and the nation's image.

Accompanying the programme, marketing specialists from MVV Group will support local businesses by providing skilled consultants to better take advantage of Vietnam Value in promoting their brands and products while also offering solutions to efficiently penetrate new markets.
Russias Ambassador to the Czech Republic Alexander Zmeyevsky has left the Czech Foreign Ministry after a meeting with Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek on Wednesday.

Zmeyevsky refused to answer reporters questions. In coming minutes, the Czech foreign minister is expected to hold a briefing to inform about his meeting with the Russian ambassador, TASS reported.

Earlier, the minister told reporters that he would protest to the ambassador over Russia declaring 20 employees of the Czech embassy in Moscow persona non grata in response to the earlier expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats from Prague.

Prague claims that Moscow was involved in the explosion at ammunition depots in the village of Vrbetice in the countrys east in 2014. Russia dismisses those allegations. The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly protested to Prague.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been mocked for claiming that climate change is a product of racial injustice, as she relaunched her controversial Green New Deal.

The New York congresswoman on spoke in front of the Capitol to promote her plan, which set a series of ambitious targets such as eliminating U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade and transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels.

Ocasio-Cortez said that climate change must be viewed through the lens of race.

'The climate crisis is a crisis born of injustice, and it is a crisis born of the pursuit of profit at any and all human and ecological cost,' she said.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday re-launched her plan to combat climate change

AOC, as she is known, promoted the plan with the slogan 'jobs, justice, climate action'

'Which means that we must recognize in legislation that the trampling of indigenous rights is a cause of climate change, that the trampling of racial justice is a cause of climate change.

'Because we are allowing people, and we are allowing ourselves, to deny ourselves human rights and deny people the right to health care, the right to housing and education.'

Her comments on Tuesday were immediately seized upon by her conservative critics, after Mike Berg, deputy communications director for the Republican National Convention, tweeted: 'Wut?'

Commentator Mark Steyn appeared on Fox News on Wednesday night, calling it 'rubbish' and laughable.

'The people who really laugh at this are Xi and the Chinese politburo,' he told host Tucker Carlson.

'Because they don't have to bother talking about all of this. It frees up all of their time to talk about something important and something true.'

Tucker Carlson and Mark Steyn laughed at Ocasio-Cortez's claim on Wednesday night

Carlson agreed, adding: 'Climate change is racism is indigenous rights is infrastructure - it's all bad, give me power.'

He said her words eroded 'any incentive for anyone to engage in reason or measured debate. All they do is scream things that are demonstrably untrue, and it works.'

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also attacked Ocasio-Cortez's policy.

She said it would 'destroy the US's oil and gas industry', saying it would remove the country's 'negotiating power in the world'.

Initially introduced in 2019, the Green New Deal was relaunched ahead of Joe Biden's climate summit, to be held virtually on Thursday and Friday.

The White House said 40 heads of state would attend, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping of China and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

Ocasio-Cortez's relaunch of her plan was timed to coincide with Biden's summit.

'For so long, our movement toward a sustainable future has been divided with really just this false notion that we have to choose between our planet and our economy,' she said.

'And we decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America.'

Ocasio-Cortez and congressional colleagues relaunched their plan on Tuesday

Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey are seen together filming a social media post on Tuesday

It was not immediately clear whether the plan would receive a significantly warmer reception from Biden's administration than it did from the administration of former President Donald Trump.

Biden announced in January that the United States would rejoin the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change, and has promised to put the country on track to net-zero emissions by 2050 - a much later deadline than the Green New Deal's.

Asked if the lawmakers wanted to go beyond what Biden has proposed, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who is co-sponsoring the Green New Deal, said: 'Yes. We believe that this is the moment that requires us to act big, think big, have a program that matches the magnitude of the problem that we're confronted with.'

Markey and Ocasio-Cortez highlighted successes achieved since the release of the resolution, including General Motors' announcement that it would sell all of its new cars, SUVs and light pick-up trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035 and the House of Representatives' vote to allow the construction of more public housing.

'It's possible to find middle ground in many areas of politics. I know because I've done it. But we cannot compromise now,' Markey said.

'We cannot compromise on the fate of our planet and on human civilization.'

The plan has received backing from 103 House lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez said, including first-term congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri, a vocal supporter.

She tweeted on Monday: 'We can build a future where our walls aren't poisoning us with lead, we aren't forced to breathe polluted air, and our neighborhoods are free of police violence.'

Republicans and Trump slammed the Green New Deal when it was first introduced, claiming adopting its goals would force Americans to cease traveling and not be able to eat meat.

'The green new disaster is back,' Republican Senator John Barrasso said in a statement on Monday, ahead of the relaunch.

'Free market innovation is the best way to protect our air, water and communities  not heavy-handed government regulation or taxation.'

The plan calls for 100 per cent of power demand to be met from zero-emission energy sources like wind and solar, modernizing transportation infrastructure, cutting carbon emissions from the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, making buildings and homes more energy efficient and increasing land preservation.

It also aims to create an economic safety net for communities affected by climate change and the shift away from fossil fuel use, including through guarantees of healthcare, jobs and job training.

The plan's name references President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s, which sought to help Americans ailing from the Great Depression with huge government-led infrastructure projects.

Separately, Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, on Monday introduced their Green New Deal for Public Housing Act.

The bill would modernize the country's 950,000 housing units to make buildings more energy efficient.

It would also require jobs created under the initiative to meet certain labor standards and allow for the creation of more public housing units.

It was not immediately clear how likely the bill is to pass in either congressional chamber.
[April 22, 2021] Shipt Offers Free Membership With Registry at Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Shipt and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. today announced a new benefit for anyone who creates a baby registry at buybuy BABY or a wedding registry at Bed Bath & Beyond: a free annual membership to Shipt's same-day delivery service, valued at $99*. The limited time offer comes as both companies continue to see high demand for delivery from customers gearing up for major life events. Excited couples and expectant parents can sign up with Bed Bath & Beyond or buybuy BABY by visiting their wedding registry and baby registry . After at least $75 of merchandise has been purchased from the registry, they will receive an e-mail with a code for their free Shipt membership before their big day or due date. "We've heard time and time again from our customers about how Shipt simplifies their lives while they're planning for milestone events," said Rina Hurst, Chief Business Officer at Shipt. "With this new perk for Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY registrants, it's easy to take advantage of the convenience of same-day delivery when preparing for a wedding or welcoming a new little one  so you can spend time on the moments that matter most." Late nights, feedings, and baby gear galore! Over the last year, Shipt saw significant purchase increases in several baby and family product categories, including: baby wipes (up 128%), burp cloths (up 1,359%), diapers (up 152%) and even pregnancy tests (up 300%). The data shows more families than ever are turning to same-day delivery for baby necessities  and why this perk is ideal for buybuy BABY registrants. The buybuy BABY registry platform is designed to support new and expectant parents in their Babyhood journey. From a wide assortment of baby essentials, virtual consultations with registry experts, nursery design inspiration from Design Squad powere by Decorist, and registry support, customers have everything needed to welcome a new baby home.



"During the height of the pandemic we introduced new tools and services to make it easy and more convenient for our customers to shop daily essentials without ever leaving their homes," said Rafeh Masood, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at Bed Bath & Beyond. "By expanding our services to include Buy Online Pickup In-Store, Curbside Pickup, and Same Day Delivery we have been able to reach customers where they are most comfortable. As we continue to provide added convenience, we are thrilled that our partners at Shipt are able to offer our newly engaged couples and expectant parents free Same Day Delivery for a year through their platform." The Bed Bath & Beyond wedding registry platform gives couples the opportunity to create their dream registry with unlimited access to must-have products, memorable experiences, cash gifts, and essential items to make home, happier. With an all-in-one registry, helpful tools, and amazing perks readily available, customers are able to shop with confidence in key categories such as bedding, bath, kitchen, dining and more. At Shipt there has been skyrocketing demand for these items to be delivered. Additionally, Bed Bath & Beyond recently reported that it experienced a 83% increase in digital sales in fiscal 2020 compared to the prior year.



Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY launched Same Day Delivery last year through a new strategic partnership with Shipt. Shipt customers can select to shop either storefront in the user-friendly app or on Shipt.com with delivery direct to their doorstep in as soon as one hour. With a Shipt membership, same-day delivery is free on all orders over $35.

*Additional terms and limitations may apply, see shipt.com/bedbathregistry for details. About Shipt

Shipt brings the store to your door. Through a community of Shipt Shoppers and a convenient app, Shipt provides personal shopping and delivery and is available to 80% of households in more than 5,000 U.S. cities. Shipt Shoppers go above and beyond, communicating in real time about preferences and substitutions. A curated marketplace of retailers, Shipt offers access to a variety of stores and product categories including fresh foods, household essentials, wellness products, office and pet supplies. Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Target Corp. Founded and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt also maintains an office in San Francisco. For more information, visit Shipt.com. About Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") is an omnichannel retailer that makes it easy for our customers to feel at home. The Company sells a wide assortment of merchandise in the Home, Baby, Beauty and Wellness markets. Additionally, the Company is a partner in a joint venture which operates retail stores in Mexico under the name Bed Bath & Beyond. Bed Bath & Beyond operates websites at bedbathandbeyond.com, bedbathandbeyond.ca, buybuybaby.com, buybuybaby.ca, facevalues.com and decorist.com About buybuy BABY

buybuy BABY is the largest specialty baby retailer in North America that empowers parents with the information and products they need to confidently prepare for, navigate, and celebrate a joy-filled life with baby. The company sells a wide assortment of baby essentials and nursery furnishings that transitions from infant to toddler. The company is a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Media Contact: press@shipt.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shipt-offers-free-membership-with-registry-at-bed-bath--beyond-and-buybuy-baby-301274655.html SOURCE Shipt

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SPRINGFIELD  The Springfield Regional Chamber will conduct a virtual Outlook lunch this year, moving an event that normally takes place in a huge ballroom into the online realm.

The event is 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 28. The chamber asks people to visit www.springfieldregionalchamber.com to register.

Tickets cost $39.95 for Springfield Regional Chamber members and $49.95 for general admission. Enterprise-level tickets, with six access passes, are available for $179 for members and $225 for nonmembers.

Outlook generally brings together more than 500 business leaders to network and hear from expert speakers on local, state and federal issues. This years online event already has about 250 registrants, said Nancy Creed, president of the Springfield Regional Chamber.

Longtime ABC News White House correspondent Ann Compton will headline the event.

Longtime ABC News White House correspondent Ann Compton will keynote the Springfield Regional Chambers virtual 2021 Outlook event on April 28, 2021.

This years Outlook program will look a little different, but its important to note that the content will be just as informative, Creed said. It has been a challenging year for our business community, our region, our Commonwealth and our country, but we do have a path forward and are making strides in our recovery. Were thrilled to be able to discuss what lies ahead with key leaders who are helping our communities rebuild a sustainable future.

U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, will host the event and will talk about what is happening on Capitol Hill, the American Rescue Plan stimulus package and what is on the horizon relative to a major infrastructure spending bill. Neal is chairman of the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means.

The event will include remarks from recently elected speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Ronald Mariano. Mariano has represented the third Norfolk District, which includes Quincy, Weymouth and Holbrook, since 1991. He was elected speaker of the House in December.

Additional speakers will include Michael Knapik, vice president of government and community relations at Baystate Health; Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno; and state Rep. Joseph Wagner, D-Chicopee, assistant majority leader.

This years Outlook is supported by platinum sponsors Comcast, Mercy Medical Center, Health New England, Eversource and United Personnel, along with gold sponsors MGM Springfield and BusinessWest. Print and television media partners include The Republican/MassLive and WWLP-TV 22.

Related content:
Black Gateway Seminary board member protests racial insensitivity of SBCs seminary leaders

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Terry Turner, the senior pastor at Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas, says he will not attend his final board meeting at the Southern Baptist Conventions Gateway Theological Seminary in California to protest the racial insensitivity of the denominations Council of Seminary Presidents.

This week I have decided to protest the racial insensitivity shown by the council of seminary presidents over race issues in our society, Turner wrote in a statement on his Facebook page Monday. Therefore, I will not attend my last board meeting with The Gateway Theological Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention where I have served as a trustee for the last ten years.

Turners statement comes in the wake of ongoing turmoil on race within the SBC sparked most recently by a decision at the councils annual session in 2020, where it voted to reject critical race theory and intersectionality as incompatible with the Baptist Faith & Message while also condemning racism in any form.

Several pastors of color have voiced opposition to that view, and the debate around the issue has led to an exodus of high-profile black pastors from the denomination.

Critical race theory is a framework through which some scholars seek to understand how victims of systemic racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how they can represent themselves to counter prejudice. Scholarship on the theory traces racism in America through the legacy of slavery, the civil rights movement and recent events.

The Christian Post reached out to Gateway Seminary for comment Tuesday, but officials could not immediately comment on Turners statement.

Turner lamented that his time serving on Gateways board did not help with racial reconciliation despite raising concern about the diminishing number of African American staffers at the institution during his decade of service.

During these years I witnessed the African American staff decline at Gateway despite my expressing concerns to leadership, Turner wrote in his April 19 Facebook post. I leave feeling frustrated and broken that my time was not beneficial to the cause of racial reconciliation. My commitment to improve the SBC in other areas will continue. I pray in the future that Gateway and all the SBC seminaries will strive to be more racially inclusive with African American employees and professors.

More proof of growing racial hostilities in the SBC. This is also proof of continual entity head mouth-service that claims diversity is essential, but a practice that negates what is preached.



.@Jeff_Iorg & trustees of @GatewaySeminary owe us an explanation.



H/T: @pastordmackpic.twitter.com/j1sgVDKxcA  David Bumgardner (@david_bumg) April 19, 2021

Outspoken SBC Pastor Dwight McKissic, who founded and leads Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, said Turners statement is a strong indicator that the SBC needs to commit more resources to heal the racial divide.

New SBC peace committee is needed, to heal the racial divide. There is not an AA SBC pastor more orthodox, loyal to the SBC, & authentically respected, valued & love[d], across all spectrums of the SBC. When Pas Turner protest SBC racial insensitivity, all should stop & take notice, McKissic tweeted.

Last December, Adam W. Greenway, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of six Council of Seminary Presidents members, defended the groups statement on critical race theory and intersectionality in an open letter. He dismissed much of the criticism around it as emotional misunderstandings.

Feelings and sentiments are undeniably visceral, but not unimpeachably veridical. Specifically, the CSP statement not only did not deny systemic racism, but reaffirmed denominational condemnations of it, Greenway wrote.

He called out critics who, among other things, asserted that we were reaffirming our commitment to whiteness, assumed that we are propagating fear to maintain control, announced that we are complicit with evil, and ascribed to us the pejorative label of theological architects of American slavery.
Work is moving at a steady pace on one of the largest stores of Swedish furniture giant IKEA in the Middle East, coming up at Oman Avenues Mall, a key retail destination being developed in capital Muscat by Al Taher Group.

A diversified Omani business group, Al Taher had last year signed a strategic agreement with the UAE based conglomerate Al Futtaim Group to introduce IKEA at Oman Avenues Mall, in Muscat.

The sultanates flagship IKEA store is due for completion by the first quarter of 2022.

The road network and development works are ongoing under the supervision of Al Taher Group.
AB "Klaipedos Nafta".

The Company performs the allocation of capacities according to the publicly announced Regulations for Use of Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, which were verified and approved by the National Energy Regulatory Council and the General Manager of the Company.

During the allocation procedure of the LNG terminal capacities the LNG regasification capacities and LNG reloading capacities shall be allocated. The total volume of the LNG terminal capacity being allocated is 3.75 bcm per annum or approximately 44,625,000 MWh applying a natural gas gross heating value - 11.90 kWh/nm3. On its website the Company announces and constantly updates the information regarding the unallocated capacities of the LNG terminal, which shall be available for acquisition during the Gas Year as well.

The Company shall accept the requests of potential LNG terminal users until 24th of May, 2021, 4:30 p.m. Lithuanian time.

Annex No. 1 - Invitation to provide LNG terminal capacity allocation requests.





Jonas Lenksas, Chief Financial Officer, +370 694 80594.

Attachment
BOSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Trillium Asset Management (Trillium), an impact-driven, environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investment firm, today announces its increased commitment to the UK market as it focuses on delivering its nearly 40-year track record of ESG investing and shareholder advocacy to clients in the UK and Europe.

As part of the move, Trillium has attracted a team of senior investment professionals to spearhead the launch of new global ESG equity strategies, led by Ian Warmerdam who joins as Lead Portfolio Manager from Janus Henderson Investors, where he spent 18 years, most recently as Director of Global Equities managing both global and EAFE select equities strategies for both UK and North American clients.

Ian will be joined by Jamie Mariani, who has been appointed as Portfolio Manager. Jamie's experience includes 11 years at Martin Currie where he was Head of Research.

Graham Kitchen takes up the role of Chairman of the UK Board.1 Graham has over 30 years of investment management expertise. He worked at Janus Henderson for over 14 years managing equities portfolios and most recently as an Executive Committee Member and Global Head of Equities.

Based in Edinburgh, the investment team will launch a suite of global ESG-focused equities strategies, with support from a global distribution and a local compliance team based in London and Edinburgh.

Trillium Chief Executive Officer, Matt Patsky, said "While Trillium has worked with European-based distribution partners for nearly a decade, we are thrilled to be establishing a physical presence and have a team on the ground in the UK to meet growing investor demand."

"It is testament to Trillium's growth ambitions, approach and culture that we were able to attract a team of such high caliber in Ian, Jamie, and Graham. Ian's track record of delivering outperforming global equity investment strategies for clients across market cycles positions our overall business for a successful long-term future."

"Thanks to the distribution capability of Perpetual, we are now able to expand Trillium's global reach as we build on our storied history and bring the team's expertise to help leverage the capital of investors across the world for positive social and environmental impact."

With the recent implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation across Europe, sustainable investment has taken center stage. Trillium's unique ESG strategies and investment approach, married with Ian and the team's deep investment expertise, provide a truly compelling opportunity for investors.

About Trillium

Trillium Asset Management, with over $5.1 billion in assets under advisement (as of 3/31/21) offers investment strategies and services that advance humankind toward a global sustainable economy, a just society, and a better world. For nearly 40 years, the firm has been at the forefront of ESG thought leadership and draws from decades of experience focused exclusively on responsible investing. Trillium uses a holistic, fully integrated fundamental investment process to uncover compelling long-term investment opportunities. Devoted to aligning stakeholders' values and objectives, Trillium combines impactful investment solutions with active ownership. The firm delivers equity, fixed income, and alternative investments to institutions, intermediaries, high net worth individuals, and other charitable and non-profit organizations with the goal to provide positive impact, long-term value, and 'social dividends'. For further information, go to www.trilliuminvest.com

Trillium Asset Management UK Ltd and Trillium Asset Management are affiliates under Perpetual Ltd. Australia. Trillium Asset Management UK Ltd. is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under FRN515302.

About Perpetual

Perpetual Limited (ASX:PPT) is an ASX-listed, diversified financial services group operating in funds management, financial advisory and trustee services. Its origin as a trustee company, coupled with its strong track record of investment performance, has created a reputation as one of the strongest brands in financial services in Australia. For further information, go to www.perpetual.com.au

For media inquiries, please contact:

Sarah Tremallo

[email protected]

908.967.0381

1Subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval.

SOURCE Trillium
NORWALK  The chairperson of the Norwalk Board of Education on Wednesday urged parents and students to resist unfounded rumors, after the school district abruptly placed three administrators at Brien McMahon High School, including the schools principal, on leave this month.

Please know that the safety of our students and the continuity of their instruction are our primary concern, and we remain committed to communicating with students and parents as the situation develops, Chairperson Colin Hosten wrote in a Facebook post. We encourage everyone to resist unfounded rumors and conclusions in the meantime.

Hostens comments came a day after the district announced it had placed Barbara Wood and Qadir Abdus-Salaam, two Brien McMahon assistant principals, on leave in recent days. The revelation followed the news that Principal Scott Hurwitz had been placed on leave to allow the school district to address an undisclosed personnel matter.

Hosten, who was elected board chair by his fellow members last fall, did not respond to a request for further comment.

District officials have declined to discuss the reason behind the leadership turmoil at one of Norwalks largest public schools, but they have stressed that the administrators have not been terminated or disciplined.

As you may know, we consider personnel matters to be confidential, and we have no further comment on this matter at this time. However, we are working to resolve this matter promptly, Superintendent Alexandra Estrella said in email to parents last week.

The sudden departure of three of the schools longtime administrators has forced the district to scramble to find temporary replacements.

Chief Communications Officer Brenda Wilcox Williams said Tuesday that Julie Parham, the director of the Center for Global Studies, has been tapped to serve as the interim principal while Hurwitz and Wood are on leave. Parham will also continue to lead the center, which is housed at Brien McMahon.

In an email to parents and students this week, Parham said she was sorry for not informing Brien McMahon families earlier about the changes to the schools leadership.

I know youve had two days of silence from BMHS, and I apologize for that, Parham wrote. We needed just a moment to catch our breath and get organized  weve done that now, and were ready to finish the year with our plans intact and all programming full speed ahead.

Parham said James Martinez, the districts director of school counseling, and Sandra Faioes, the districts director of school improvement and have been assigned to help run the school as long as we need. Martinez and Faioes previously served as elementary school principals.

Martinez will help Assistant Principal LaShante James manage the 12th and 11th grades, while Faioes will assist Assistant Principal Marie Allen with overseeing the 10th and ninth grades, according to Parhams email.

Wood, a longtime housemaster, had been in charge of the 12th grade and Abdus-Salaam had been working with the ninth grade before the two assistant principals were placed on leave.

Despite the dramatic leadership changes, Parham said the school is now planning prom and graduation, among other end of school year events.

I know these are unusual times, and I thank you for your patience and your support, Parham wrote. We have reallocated administrative duties in the building, and our Central Office, our building staff, and our teachers are all pitching in to making sure life at BMHS continues on track.
The lower house of the Mexican parliament has passed a controversial bill that will give state-owned oil major Pemex more sway over the Mexican fuel market.

Bloomberg reports that the house voted 301 in favor and 147 against the proposal, which will remove a stipulation from an earlier law that requires the state energy market regulator CRE to prioritize fuel sales from private companies as a way of leveling their playing field with Pemex. According to the backers of the change, the field is level enough for the state-help provision to be removed. The bill now needs to pass through the Senate.

The bill is part of efforts by the Lopez Obrador government to reinstate Pemex as the monopoly on the local energy market. Last year, as part of efforts to return control of the energy industry to the state's hand, the AMLO government also drafted an infrastructure plan that, according to the head of the country's oil industry association, would close the door to foreign oil companies willing to work in Mexico's hydrocarbons industry.

Earlier this year, Mexico's Supreme Court stopped another set of changes proposed by AMLO, this time regarding the electricity market, saying the changes would prioritize state-owned utility CFE over private companies, and that was unconstitutional.

The bill that the Senate is currently deliberating involves proposed changes to the current energy legislation that will give the government the power to restrict the activity of private companies in crude oil and fuel imports. The country's antitrust regulator warned that such changes would negatively affect competition on the Mexican fuels market, but the lower house still voted in favor of the bill.

"Conditions for private sector operators could become much more complicated, and Pemex could perhaps undercut the competition," one Mexico City-based analyst told Bloomberg about the latest vote on energy law changes.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
She's been residing in the United Arab Emirates for almost a year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And Georgia Harrison continued to prove she's taken to her new lifestyle like a pro on Thursday, when she lapped up the sun while wearing a leopard print bikini.

The Love Island star, 26, looked sensational in the bold two-piece, which put her toned physique on full display for her jaunt down the shores.

Beach babe: Georgia Harrison, 26, continued to prove she's taken to her new ocean-side lifestyle like a pro on Thursday, when she lapped up the sunshine wearing a leopard print bikini

Wearing a full face of glam for her fun day at the beach, Georgia swept her hair into a ponytail as she strolled along.

The TV personality accessorised with layers of delicate chain necklaces. Georgia made sure to keep the sunshine at bay in a pair of chic sunglasses.

The businesswoman had recently taken a short break from social media after dealing with past traumatic relationship drama.

In a tearful video, Georgia vowed to remain silent until she could 'speak her truth' after her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bear was arrested.

Gorgeous: The Love Island star looked sensational in the bold two-piece, which put her toned physique on full display

The CBB star, 31, was arrested for allegedly filming them having sex without Georgia's consent and posting the video online.

While the blonde didn't name her ex in the video, she appeared to issue a stark warning by saying she would 'scream every second of her story from the rooftop' after keeping silent since her ex Stephen was arrested.

She wrote: 'Cannot wait until the time I can speak my truth about everything I'm going through the lies, the heartbreak, the deception, the manipulation.

Day out: Wearing a full face of glam for her fun day at the beach, Georgia swept her hair into a ponytail as she strolled along the shoreline

'Being stripped of my privacy and laughed at. Imagine having young daughters and supporting that sort of abuse on a social platform. How embarrassing.'

She went on: 'At the end of the day anything that happens in the dark eventually gets shed light on, you might be able to get away with things for a little bit, but karma always gets you. Always.'

After taking a brief social media break in February, Georgia has returned to social media where she has been posted updates from her life in Dubai, sharing sunny snaps of her life abroad almost daily.
Penn Medicine Becker ENT and Allergy is pleased to announce that Naba A. Sharif, MD has joined the practice as an Allergist and Immunologist.

Penn Medicine Becker ENT and Allergy is pleased to announce that Naba A. Sharif, MD has joined the practice as an Allergist and Immunologist. The practice is thrilled to gain Dr. Sharifs skills and experience for patients struggling with allergies, asthma and immune deficiencies. She will serve the needs of both adult and pediatric patients and offer a complete range of in-office allergy and immunology care. She joins a renowned team of ENT and allergy specialists in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Dr. Sharifs earned her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and a medical degree with distinction in research from SUNY at Stony Brook School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Brown University and went on for additional fellowship training in adult and pediatric allergy and immunology at the NorthShore-Long Island Jewish Health System.

Dr. Sharif was honored as a Fellow of both the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology  the premier national organizations in the field. She has served as a pediatrician and allergist-immunologist in the Washington DC area and as an instructor of medical students, both teaching and guiding young trainees in the steps of diagnosing and treatment of allergies and illnesses. She spends her time outside of work involved in health education and community service.

Becker ENT and Allergy, with the expertise of many fine fellowship-trained, board-certified physicians such as Dr. Sharif, offers in-office and telemedicine appointments for allergies and ENT concerns. Our staff of otolaryngologists works closely with the team of Allergists to assist patients with conditions ranging from allergies to chronic sinusitis to hearing loss.

Parents in the New Jersey area and Pennsylvania will be happy to know that an allergist with a strong background in pediatrics has moved into the region. Dr. Sharif's expertise as a pediatrician as well as an allergist and immunologist can help families navigate the challenges involved in protecting a child with severe allergies. Allergy symptoms can range from the traditional cough and runny nose, to more severe reactions related to environmental or food allergies.

It is also important to note that pediatric allergies can manifest differently than an adult's allergies and require different treatments. While the immune response to a particular allergen in the environment may be inherited, the reaction could be severe or so mild as to be missed until the child has a severe reaction or the cough and sniffling become chronic. Early diagnosis and planning to avoid the allergen and lessen the impact can reduce the severity of the reactions over time. Coordinating a care plan for schools and caregivers is also a top priority.

In addition to her experience with the pediatric population, Dr. Sharif also has a decade of experience managing the allergies of adults and has built a stellar reputation. Whether patients have skin rashes, hives, hay fever, or reactions to medications or foods, Dr. Sharif and her allergy team are prepared to help. She is able to provide the highest standard of comprehensive allergy care to family members of all ages efficiently and effectively, while building long-term relationships and improving the quality of life of her patients.

Dr. Naba Sharif is an excellent addition to the Becker ENT and Allergy Practice. She sees patients in the Princeton, NJ and Yardley, PA offices. Allergy sufferers in central New Jersey and Pennsylvania can move confidently into spring with her expert care!

Penn Medicine Becker ENT and Allergy is dedicated to providing families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania with the very best care for their allergy concerns. Contact us for an appointment to address your allergy concerns for yourself or your child.
We are thrilled to welcome Air McConnell, LLC into the Tucker Hill family.

Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, a commercial and residential plumbing and HVAC service provider, has acquired Air McConnell, LLC, a family-owned HVAC service provider located in Gilbert, Arizona.

Earlier this year, Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric announced its focus for 2021 on acquiring local home service companies with annual revenues between $1M and $20M. The decision to acquire Air McConnell, LLC is in line with Tucker Hills current expansion goals.

Speaking of the acquisition, Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric CEO Jeremy Prevost said, We are thrilled to welcome Air McConnell, LLC into the Tucker Hill family. Their outstanding reputation was built over the course of many years, providing honest and reliable service to the local community. Prevost adds, We are honored to serve their clients HVAC, plumbing and electrical needs, and look forward to building Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric into Arizonas most trusted home service provider.

Air McConnell was founded in 2008 by Derek and Colleen McConnell and operated as a family-owned business until its acquisition by Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric in April of 2021. Air McConnell, LLC provided HVAC services to residential and commercial clients in Gilbert, AZ and surrounding areas.

Air McConnell, LLC Founder Derek McConnell said, Colleen and I were impressed by Tucker Hills dedication to serving local residents and business owners with honesty and professionalism, and we have complete faith in their ability to serve our loyal customers for years to come.

To learn more about Air McConnell, LLC, visit http://airmcconnell.com/.

To learn more about Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric, visit https://tuckerhillaz.com/.

About Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric: Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric is the industry leader in the Phoenix market for light commercial and residential HVAC, plumbing and electrical services. The companys licensed, bonded and insured technicians are available 24/7 and are highly trained, experienced and have passed a background check. Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric specializes in residential and commercial maintenance, repairs and installation of all air conditioning, heating, plumbing and electrical systems. The company is committed to industry leading customer service and provides daily training for both technicians and office staff. Tucker Hill Air, Plumbing & Electric is dedicated to serving seniors with honesty and professionalism.
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- A familiar, if not universally popular, fast-food staple at U.S. military bases worldwide is ending its long run in Europe and possibly worldwide.

Anthony's Pizza at Ramstein will soon turn off its ovens after more than 30 years of dishing out thick-crust pizza for troops and their families.

The Exchange-brand pizzeria inside the base mall is scheduled to close May 1, said Army and Air Force Exchange Service officials.

It's the last one remaining in Europe. Two locations at Spangdahlem Air Base and Kleber Kaserne closed last year as AAFES looks to phase out the product worldwide, said Loyd Brumfield, an AAFES spokesman in Dallas.

Anthony's Pizza was the Exchange's first signature brand when it was developed in 1984, Brumfield said. At one point, there were about 40 Anthony's Pizza shops in Europe and more than 185 worldwide.

The shop perhaps does some of its best business on open base days in places like Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, where Japanese visitors have in some years lined up by the dozens for pizzas, which are normally much more expensive and smaller off base.

Thirteen Anthony's remain in the Asia-Pacific region and seven are in operation stateside, Brumfield said.

"To better reflect customer preferences, the Exchange, where possible, intends to convert these locations to name-brand offerings," Brumfield said in an email.

Customer demand for a slice of Anthony's, whose AAFES slogan is "The World's Greatest Pizza," was lukewarm at lunchtime Wednesday. When a line formed, it was usually no more than three people long. But at the busy Ramstein food court, that was a draw for Marvin Mens, 51, an Air Force civilian.

He was at Anthony's "because there's no line," he said, describing his sausage and pepperoni pizza as "edible.

Staff Sgt. Kyla Blackshear was familiar with Anthony's but not a fan. She tried it at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where she works, but the pizza "was always cold and the wings were not that good," she said, while passing through the food court Wednesday.

Some loyal customers, saddened to see it go, spoke up for their go-to pizza while they picked up slices for lunch.

"Ever since I got pregnant, I come here at least four times a week," said Kaitlyn Banque, 21, an Army spouse. "I like it better than Pizza Hut."

Jamie Royalty, 37, also an Army spouse, said her family usually hits up Anthony's when shopping at the base exchange. "We're pizza people," she said. "We're not snobby pizza people. If it's pizza, it works."

The pizzeria sells an average of about 60 pies a day, most sold by the slice, said Willie Bristow, the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center food court manager. Pepperoni is the most popular topping, followed by cheese only.

Capt. Jesse Tyler, 34, a national guardsmen from Illinois, said he's eaten at Anthony's at bases stateside but remembers it fondly in Japan, where he ate after spending several weeks in the field while training last summer. "I waited 20 minutes in line because I hadn't had pizza in a month," he said Wednesday, after arriving at Ramstein on temporary duty.

Spudz, a relative newcomer to the military food court scene with its lineup of loaded baked potatoes, tater tots and salads, will replace Anthony's Pizza at Ramstein, said Jennifer Jordan, KMCC general manager. It's slated to open in late May or early June, she said.

People are nostalgic for Anthony's since it's been around for so long, she said. But the trend "has gone more and more toward the name brand" and AAFES is committed to offering restaurant "brands that people recognize regardless of where they are," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 05:36:44|Editor: huaxia

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-- We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes.

-- China welcomes the United States' return to the multilateral climate governance process, and looks forward to working with the international community, including the United States, to jointly advance global environmental governance.

-- China will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period and phase it down in the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on the international community to work together to foster a community of life for man and nature with "unprecedented ambition and action."

"Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action," he said while addressing the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing.

COMMUNITY OF LIFE

To build a community of life for man and nature, Xi made a six-pronged proposal, including staying committed to harmony between man and nature, green development, systemic governance, a people-centered approach, multilateralism, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

"We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes," the Chinese president said, adding that failure to respect nature or follow its laws will only invite its revenge.

Reiterating the idea that "green mountains are gold mountains," Xi said that protecting the environment is protecting productivity, and improving the environment is boosting productivity. "The truth is as simple as that."

Aerial photo taken on Feb. 24, 2020 shows the Haizhu wetland and the Canton Tower in the distance in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.(Photo by Xie Huiqiang/Xinhua)

He also stressed that protecting the ecosystem requires more than a simplistic, palliative approach, calling for following the innate laws of the ecosystem and properly balancing all elements and aspects of nature.

"We need to look for ways to protect the environment, grow the economy, create jobs and remove poverty all at the same time," he said, adding that the goal is to deliver social equity and justice in the course of green transition.

JOIN HANDS, NOT POINT FINGERS

In the journey toward global carbon neutrality, Xi called for strengthening partnerships and cooperation, learning from each other, and making common progress.

"We must join hands, not point fingers at each other; we must maintain continuity, not reverse course easily; and we must honor commitments, not go back on promises," he said.

China and the United States issued a joint statement a few days ago, vowing to cooperate with each other and with other countries to tackle the climate crisis.

China welcomes the United States' return to the multilateral climate governance process, and looks forward to working with the international community, including the United States, to jointly advance global environmental governance, Xi said.

White cranes forage in a farmland by the Poyang Lake in Yugan County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 15, 2021.(Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)

Calling the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities "the cornerstone of global climate governance," he said that developed countries need to increase climate ambition and action and make concrete efforts to help developing countries strengthen their capacity and resilience against climate change.

Xi urged developed countries to support developing countries in financing, technology and capacity building, and refrain from creating green trade barriers.

"The historical responsibility, development stage, and coping capacity of developed and developing countries are different, and that's why the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should always be followed," said Xu Huaqing, director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation.

CHINA IN ACTION

Reiterating China's goal of striving to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, Xi said that the period of China's commitment to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality is much shorter than what might take many developed countries.

"That requires extraordinarily hard efforts from China," Xi said.

Aerial photo taken on April 16, 2021 shows a view of a converter station of ultra-high voltage transmission line from Qinghai to Henan, in northwest China's Qinghai Province.(Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

The targets of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality have been added to China's overall plan for ecological conservation. An action plan toward carbon peaking is being formulated, and China's national carbon market will also start trading.

"China will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, and strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th Five-Year Plan period and phase it down in the 15th Five-Year Plan period," Xi said.

As a participant, contributor and trailblazer in global ecological conservation, China has also been doing its best to help developing countries build capacity against climate change.

A number of green action initiatives have been launched, covering wide-ranging efforts in green infrastructure, green energy, green transport and green finance to bring enduring benefits to the people of all Belt and Road partner countries.

"I am confident that as long as we unite in our purposes and efforts and work together with solidarity and mutual assistance, we will rise above the global climate and environment challenges and leave a clean and beautiful world to future generations," Xi said. 
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President Joe Biden on Thursday vowed the US would do its part to cut greenhouse gas, pledging America will cut its emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

'The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,' the president said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit.

'This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,' Biden argued. 'Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.'

In his remarks, Biden stressed the importance of working together but also he sold the benefits of climate change, claiming it will create jobs and boost economies. He has not gone into detail about how it will affect the daily lives of ordinary Americans.

Republicans, in contrast, criticized his plan, claiming it will put jobs at risk, will spark tax hikes and isn't sustainable in the long term.

'Democrats' zeal for imposing costly environmental agendas on our own nation is not something our biggest foreign competitors seem to share,' Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said. 'If that's true, our colleagues could inflict as many painful policies on American workers and American industries as they want, and still not achieve a significant change in worldwide emissions or global temperatures.'

President Biden spoke from the East Room of the White House, which was camera-ready for the virtual summit, decorated with plants and greenery. Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him. The two then joined Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and climate czar John Kerry at a U-shaped table. The attendees from around the world, joining him virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, were on a screen in front of him.

'No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand all of us, all of us and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies. We have to step up,' Biden said.

Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan has many items that would help reduce emissions, including a clean energy standard to achieve net zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and money to electrify the vehicle fleet.

President Joe Biden issued a call to action to world leaders, asking them to work together to combat climate change as he kicked off Climate Summit

There was an odd moment when it was time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak. He was introduced while French President Emmanuel Macron - in pretaped remarks - was still talking. Then Putin sat silently on screen as Biden sat quietly in the East Room with no one speaking; finally Putin spoke after being introduced again

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, who addressed the summit

The world leaders joined the Climate Summit virtually

The East Room of the White House was decorated in greenery for the climate summit

Pope Francis, in brief remarks to the summit, said: We need to ensure that the environment is cleaner, more pure, it needs to be preserved, we must care for nature so that nature may care for us. I wish you great success during this meeting. What a wonderful idea to meet together and I will be with you every step of the way.

Canada's Prime Minster Justin Trudeau raised his country's goal to of an emissions cut of 40%-45% by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30%

Biden, in his remarks, argued taking action now would 'set the world up for success, protect livelihoods around the world and keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must get on the path now, in order to do that.'

Climate initiatives in Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan $85 billion to modernize existing transit and help agencies expand their systems to meet rider demand $174 billion on electric car development $111 billion to replace lead pipes and service lines and to modernize drinking water and sewer systems $100 billion to protect nature-based infrastructure  lands, forests, wetlands, watersheds, and coastal and ocean resource; to build up electrical system; expand tax credits for clean energy generation and storage; plug orphan oil wells and mines; and redevelop Superfund sites $40 billion to improve the infrastructure of the public housing system in America $100 billion to upgrade electrical grid $100 billion to upgrade and build new public schools $10 billion in the modernization, sustainability, and resilience of federal buildings $35 billion investment in climate science $10 billion for a new Civilian Climate Corps Advertisement

'If we do will breathe easier, literally, and figuratively,' he said. 'We'll create good jobs here at home for millions of Americans and lay a strong foundation with growth in the future.'

Biden has included a string of climate initiatives in his infrastructure plan including $85 billion to modernize public transport, $174 billion on building more electric cars, $100 billion to upgrade the electrical grid and a $10 billion 'Civilian Climate Cops.'

One way to cut emissions is to use solar, wind and other renewables to power the electrical grid. David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, argued such a move will 'disproportionately hurt lower and middle income citizens who will be forced to pay higher electricity bills.'

Biden's summit kicked off with a slick video about planet earth, where astronauts like Neil Armstrong talk about seeing it from space and how it suffers from global warming.

There were a few technical glitches - Harris' audio had an echo when she spoke, making it difficult to decipher her remarks, and there were dial tones when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke. Other times voices were heard speaking in the background over the speaker on screen.

There also was an odd moment when it was time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak. He was introduced while French President Emmanuel Macron - in pretaped remarks - was still talking. Then Putin sat silently on screen as Biden sat quietly in the East Room with no one speaking.

Finally Putin was introduced again and began his talk.

'We had some technical difficulties,' Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

The summit welcome leaders from South America to Asia - crossing multiple countries and time zone. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan acknowledged the global reach when he began his remarks with: 'Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.'

In his remarks, Putin called for international cooperation to tackle climate change, urging 'broad and effective international cooperation in the calculation and monitoring of volumes of all types of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.'

'Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges,' he said.

All 40 world leaders invited by the White House were in attendance on Thursday.

But there will be no one-on-one conversations taking place on the sidelines after the US slapped additional sanctions on Russia and Biden has vowed to take on China.

There will be 'no bilaterals or side zoom rooms that are happening,' a senior administration official told reporters on a call Wednesday.

The leaders, in their remarks, kept their focus on the topic at hand and reiterated their own country's goals to combat climate change.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday the UK would cut emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 and issued a call to arms in his remarks to the summit on Thursday.

'It's vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive, politically correct green act of bunny hugging... This is about growth and jobs,' he said.

During his remarks, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested the U.S. government offer temporary work visas and eventually citizenship to those who take part in a tree planting program he began and wishes to expand.

He explained he wants to expand his 'Sembrando Vida,' or 'Sowing Life,' program to Central America to be the 'largest reforestation effort in the world.'

Lopez Obrador said the program aims to create 1.2 million jobs and plant 3 billion additional trees.

He suggested Biden 'could finance' the program's extension to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador  the tree Northern Triangle countries struggling with poverty and harsh living conditions. Many of the migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border come from those three countries.

He suggested the temporary visa given to plant trees could lead to US citizenship.

'The U.S. government could offer those who participate in this program that after sowing their lands for three consecutive years, they would have the possibility to obtain a temporary work visa,' Lopez Obrador said.

'And after another three or four years, they could obtain residency in the United States or dual nationality,' he added.

The State Department released a full schedule of the summit, which will take place virtually Thursday and Friday.

In addition to the president and world leaders, several Cabinet secretaries and business leaders will attend.

Speakers include Pope Francis, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Gates, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, World Bank President David Malpas, and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.

President Joe Biden, center, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, listen during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on his fellow leaders to get 'serious' about combatting climate change and said it was not about 'bunny hugging'

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested the US could fund his tree planting program, offering temporary worker visas to help expand it and those visas could eventually lead to US citizenship

German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to President Biden make opening remarks at the climate summit

Vice President Kamala Harris opened the climate summit, introducing President Biden

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to U.S. President Joe Biden as he attends a virtual global climate summit

Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion DC protest President Joe Biden's plan to cut US emissions in half by 2030, which they deem 'far too little, far too late'

The activists dumped piles of manure in the street in front of the White House to protest Biden not doing enough to help combat climate change

With the summit, Biden is seeking to revive a U.S.-convened forum of the world's major economies on climate that George W. Bush and Barack Obama both used and Donald Trump let languish.

The new US target on emissions aims to 'challenge the world on increasing ambition and combatting the climate crisis,' an administration official said on a briefing call with reporters.

Combined with announcements expected by other leaders, the official said the world will be closer - but not yet on track - to keeping the planet's temperature within 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, the level scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.

'Over half the world's economy is now moving to cut emissions at a global pace needed to keep 1.5 C in reach,' the official said. 'Our coalition is growing.'

Biden's action raises the pressure on China - by far the world's largest carbon emitter.

In his remarks to the summit, Chin's President Xi Jinping reiterated his country's pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

'We must be committed to green development. To improve the environment is to boost productivity,' he said.

Xi said developed countries, responsible for greater historical carbon emissions, should bear more responsibility for making changes at home and helping developing countries finance their transition to low-carbon economies.

Xi emphasized that China is aiming to move from peak carbon to net zero in a short time period - just 30 years, or the span of one generation.

And Japan, a heavy user of coal, announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target.

In his remarks, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world is 'at the verge of the abyss' because of climate change and must take aggressive steps to avoid catastrophe.

He called for world leaders to build a global coalition for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 - 'every country, every region, every city, every company and every industry.'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India made no new commitment, but reiterated his nation's promise of installing 450 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Britain in November will host a UN conference in Glasgow that aims to upgrade the 2015 Paris Agreement.

A UN report late last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius -- a level at which the planet is forecast to see many glaciers and ice caps melt, low-lying areas submerged and increasingly severe droughts, floods and disasters that could trigger famine and mass migration.

President Biden's Opening Remarks to his Climate Summit Good morning to all of our colleagues around the world -- the world leaders who are taking part in this summit. I thank you. You know, your leadership on this issue is a statement to the people of your nation and to the people of every nation, especially our young people, that were ready to meet this moment. And meeting this moment is about more than preserving our planet; its also about providing a better future for all of us. Thats why, when people talk about climate, I think jobs. Within our climate response lies an extraordinary engine of job creation and economic opportunity ready to be fired up. Thats why Ive proposed a huge investment in American infrastructure and American innovation to tap the economic opportunity that climate change presents our workers and our communities, especially those too often that have -- left out and left behind. Id like to buil- -- I want to build a -- a critical infrastructure to produce and deploy clean technology -- both those we can harness today and those that well invent tomorrow. I talked to the experts, and I see the potential for a more prosperous and equitable future. The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. But the cost of inaction is -- keeps mounting. The United States isnt waiting. We are resolving to take action -- not only the -- our federal government, but our cities and our states all across our country; small businesses, large businesses, large corporations; American workers in every field. I see an opportunity to create millions of good-paying, middle-class, union jobs. I see line workers laying thousands of miles of transmission lines for a clean, modern, resilient grid. I see workers capping hundreds of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells that need to be cleaned up, and abandoned coalmines that need to be reclaimed, putting a stop to the methane leaks and protecting the health of our communities. I see autoworkers building the next generation of electric vehicles, and electricians installing nationwide for 500,000 charging stations along our highways. I see engine- -- the engineers and the construction workers building new carbon capture and green hydrogen plants to forge cleaner steel and cement and produce clean power. I see farmers deploying cutting-edge tools to make soil of our -- of our Heartland the next frontier in carbon innovation. By maintaining those investments and putting these people to work, the United States sets out on the road to cut greenhouse gases in half -- in half by the end of this decade. That's where we're headed as a nation, and that's what we can do if we take action to build an economy that's not only more prosperous, but healthier, fairer, and cleaner for the entire planet. You know, these steps will set America on a path of net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. But the truth is, America represents less than 15 percent of the world's emissions. No nation can solve this crisis on our own, as I know you all fully understand. All of us, all of us -- and particularly those of us who represent the world's largest economies -- we have to step up. You know, those that do take action and make bold investments in their people and clean energy future will win the good jobs of tomorrow, and make their economies more resilient and more competitive. So let's run that race; win more -- win more sustainable future than we have now; overcome the existential crisis of our times. We know just how critically important that is because scientists tell us that this is the decisive decade. This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of a climate crisis. We must try to keep the Earth's temperature and -- to an increase of -- to 1.5 degrees Celsius. You know, the world beyond 1.5 degrees means more frequent and intense fires, floods, droughts, heat waves, and hurricanes tearing through communities, ripping away lives and livelihoods, increasingly dire impacts to our public health. It's undeniable and undevi- -- you know, the idea of accelerating and the reality that will come if we don't move. We can't resign ourselves to that future. We have to take action, all of us. And this summit is our first step on the road we'll travel together -- God willing, all of us -- to and through Glasgow this November and the U.N. Climate Conference -- the Climate Change Conf- -- Conference, you know, to set our world on a path to a secure, prosperous, and sustainable future. The health of communities throughout the world depends on it. The wellbeing of our workers depends on it. The strength of our economies depends on it. The countries that take decisive action now to create the industries of the future will be the ones that reap the economic benefits of the clean energy boom that's coming. You know, we're here at this summit to discuss how each of us, each country, can set higher climate ambitions that will in turn create good-paying jobs, advance innovative technologies, and help vulnerable countries adapt to climate impacts. We have to move. We have to move quickly to meet these challenges. The steps our countries take between now and Glasgow will set the world up for success to protect livelihoods around the world and keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We must get on the path now in order to do that. If we do, we'll breathe easier, literally and figuratively; we'll create good jobs here at home for millions of Americans; and lay a strong foundation for growth for the future. And -- and that -- that can be your goal as well. This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative, a moment of peril but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities. Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do this. Thank you for being part of the summit. Thank you for the communities that you -- and the commitments you have made, the communities you're from. God bless you all. And I look forward to progress that we can make together today and beyond. We really have no choice. We have to get this done. Advertisement
Australia's leaders have agreed to reduce the number of flights from India, which has been deemed as a high-risk country due to a surge in virus cases.

Travel to and from India will soon face tougher restrictions as Australia's leaders declare the nation as high-risk amid a huge surge in coronavirus cases.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his state and territory counterparts have agreed to reduce the number of flights from India from later this week.

It will also be harder for people to be granted exemptions to travel to India.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has declared India a 'high-risk' country and slashed flights from the nation into Australia by 30 per cent

All chartered flights from India into Australia will be reduced by 30 per cent in the next 24 hours, with one third of direct flights into Sydney also to be cut.

COVID-19 tests will also be required 72 hours before people return from high-risk countries such as India.

'As time goes on, and the pandemic continues to rage, there are countries that are frankly of greater risk than others,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Thursday after a national cabinet meeting.

'And we've seen in particular most recently an increase in the rate of cases in our quarantine system at a state and territory level for arrivals from India.'

India recorded recorded the the worst single day for any country with 314,835 cases on Wednesday, pictured: Relatives mourn a loved one at a crematorium in New Delhi

On Wednesday, India recorded the worst single day for any country with 314,835 cases - surpassing the previous record of 297,430 held by the US.

The country has chalked up 15.93 million cases since the pandemic began including more than 184,000 deaths.

Other countries could also be included in the restrictions, once Australia drafts its high-risk nation list which will be similar to that in use in the UK.

Mr Morrison rejected suggestions it reflected a lack of confidence in hotel quarantine.

In some Australian states and territories, 40 per cent of cases in hotel quarantine are people returning from India, pictured: Health workers in PPE inside a Covid facility in New Delhi

'It reflects that we're in the middle of a global pandemic that is raging,' he said.

In some states and territories, 40 per cent of cases in hotel quarantine are people returning from India.

'That's not something we could ignore,' Mr Morrison said.

There would still be opportunities for Australians to return home from high-risk countries 'but in controlled circumstances', he said.

People returning to Australia from a high-risk country are now required to undergo a Covid-19 test 72 hours before they travel

Only Australian citizens, residents and their families can fly home, unless travellers are granted an exemption.

There are currently over 34,000 Australians wanting to return home from overseas, including those in India where many are dual citizens.

Sydney is Australia's only city receiving direct flights from India.

Mr Morrison said around 1.8million Australians have now been vaccinated across the nation, the sluggish rollout assisted by GP's now administering the vaccine.

This week the National Cabinet agreed to prioritise Pfizer doses for those under 50 who qualify for vaccinations, such as hotel quarantine and health workers.
Euronav orders two newbuild VLCCs and one option to add a third

Euronav NV (Euronav or the Company) today announces that it has entered into an agreement with the Hyundai Samho yard for two VLCC newbuilding contracts.

Sourcing fleet renewal from the newbuilding market has primarily been driven by the aim of Euronav to be at the forefront of innovation in the energy transition and to drive projects with potential to decarbonize the transportation of oil. The vessels will be LNG-ready and consequently there is an ability to cut CO2 emissions compared to current market standards. Furthermore, Euronav is working in cooperation with the yard and classification society to include an Ammonia-ready notation with the potential to reduce CO2 emissions to zero when technology, logistics and the regulatory framework allows for it. This should be defined by the end of the summer. In addition to being significantly more fuel efficient compared to the vessels they will replace, the newbuildings will also be fitted with Exhaust Gas Scrubber technology and Ballast Water Treatment Systems. These market leading units will be delivered during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, costing USD 186 million en-bloc, and including USD 4.2 million in additions and upgrades to the standard specifications. Euronav also has the option to contract a third VLCC with the same specifications that would be delivered in the second quarter of 2023. While contracting and orderbook-to-fleet ratio remains at an historical low in the tanker segment, elevated contracting activity from other segments has reduced available capacity to build VLCCs for the upcoming years at a time when the sector needs to replace maturing vessels with more environmentally friendly designs. Hugo De Stoop, Euronav CEO said As a market leader in our segment, Euronav acknowledges our responsibility to support innovation towards decarbonizing the transportation of oil, while protecting and building value with the capital our shareholders have entrusted us with. With this order Euronav is tangibly driving innovation and investing in the energy transition. These ships are not only the latest generation of low consumption design but also have the option to be converted or retrofitted to use either LNG or Ammonia as a low emission fuel of the future. As there are no such alternatives in the second-hand market today, and with rising steel prices and constraints over yard capacity to 2024, we wanted to seize this opportunity to rejuvenate the fleet with two or three modern VLCCs that will replace older and less efficient ships that will leave our fleet around the same time of their delivery.




Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) will demonstrate a combination of technologies that will produce hydrogen from renewable natural gas (RNG) at SunLine Transit Agencys hydrogen fueling station in Thousand Palms, California. The research project, called H2 SilverSTARS, will produce renewable hydrogen to fuel SunLines fleet of 17 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and support further expansion.

The combination of new technologies will make it possible to provide renewable hydrogen made from RNG at natural gas fueling stationsor any location near a natural gas pipeline. The goal is to produce emissions-free renewable hydrogen for fuel cell electric cars and other vehicles at a price competitive with gasoline.

The demonstration project will integrate two core technologies. The first, Lindes HydroPrime HC300 MIN system, will make hydrogen from renewable natural gas the same way large centralized hydrogen production plants dobut with compact equipment small enough to fit in a tractor trailer container. While Lindes system is already commercially available and being used abroad, its use at SunLine's fueling station will be the first time it is deployed in North America. The SunLine location will be able to produce up to 650 kilograms of hydrogen a day.

The second technology, STARS-165 SMR, built by the start-up STARS Technology Corporation, takes the Linde system a step further. It achieves significantly greater efficiencies in producing hydrogen by using a compact microchannel design and is driven by an electricity-powered induction heating processmeaning there is no combustionwhich significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional hydrogen production.

The microchannels in this technology make the chemical reactions far faster and vastly more efficient than traditional steam methane reformation, and it's also far less expensive to produce. And because this technology uses induction heatingwhich can be powered by renewable electricitythe entire process can be zero emissions when renewable natural gas is used. We look forward to analyzing the results of this important research alongside SoCalGas and SunLine Transit. Robert Wegeng, President of STARS Technology Corporation









The STARS-165 SMR technology features disk-shaped chemical reactors.

In addition, the system is produced using 3-D printing, making it well suited for mass-production and thus drastically less expensive to make and operate compared to alternatives. Two STARS systems, with a combined production capacity of up to 330 kilograms of hydrogen a day, will be installed for this research project.

The 36-month project will initially demonstrate both core technologies individually and collect performance data to assess the STARS systems potential to improve its efficiency and cost. The STARS SMR technology will then be integrated with the Linde HydroPrime system with the goal of fast-tracking its commercialization.
Tennessee Bill Mandating Burial or Cremation of Aborted Fetal Remains Heads to Governors Desk

The Tennessee Legislature passed a bill that would require the burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains in the state, sending the measure to the governors desk for his decision.

The bill passed the Republican-controlled House and Senate on Monday and Wednesday, in a 69-22 vote and 27-6 vote, respectively.

If the measure is signed into law, aborted fetal remains would need to be buried or cremated, and the woman who had aborted her fetus would be able to make the decision between the two options. She would also be able to determine the final location of the remains.

If the woman does not opt to make a decision, the measure requires that the abortion facility decides whether to bury or cremate, and where the remains will be placed following the procedure.

In either case, the abortion facility would have to pay for and provide for the cremation or burial of the fetal remains. The woman would have to pay if the final location where she wants to place the fetal remains is different from the location that the abortion facility provides.

Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Tenn.), the bills sponsor, said in a statement that the actions mandated by the bill post-abortion are the right thing to do, reported WRKN. He said that many of the fetal remains are of unborn children who are up to almost full term.

These unborn children, many of them up to almost full term, deserve the same dignity as any other human being, he added.

Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, has not indicated whether hell sign the new legislation. The Epoch Times has reached out to his office for comment on the matter.

The governor in 2020 signed a pro-life bill to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected around six weeks of pregnancy. The measure was blocked from being enacted due to a federal court challenge.
It may take over a month for India to be able to import certain raw materials from the US that are required for producing Covid-19 vaccines. Discussions are going on at the highest level between both nations. Some progress on the matter can be expected over the next four-six weeks, a person aware of the matter said.

The Joe Biden administrations decision to invoke the US Defense Production Act has blocked exports of crucial raw materials used in vaccine production. The law requires local manufacturers to prioritise central government orders, a decision that was taken to ...
The death of George Floyd and subsequent conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has sparked change and police reform, including in Ohio, where residents on Thursday continued to mourn the loss of a teen girl recently killed during a tense confrontation with law enforcement.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine during a press conference on Wednesday revealed a new bill aimed at increasing accountability and transparency is slated to be introduced within the next few days. The legislation, developed with help from law enforcement agencies and activists alike, is set to include more training for officers in de-escalation and use of force, a statewide use of force incident database and an officer discipline database.

If passed, the bill would also require independent investigations into police incidents.

These are common sense reforms, these are reforms that police can agree to, theyre reforms that community activists can agree to. Shouldnt we treat police officers the same way we treat other professionals? Arent they that important? DeWine contended.

In other professions  your doctor, your nurse, your lawyer  theres a state board that has the ability to pull a license, to suspend a license. Its time we do that in the area of law enforcement. Again, it is a profession. We should treat it as such.

The Republican leader also discussed a recent decision to purchase body cameras for all Ohio State Highway Patrol officers, as well as a $10 million proposal in the Ohio General Assembly that would similarly go toward purchasing body cameras for local departments. He also noted an executive action passed in the wake Floyds death, which included a ban on the use of chokeholds for cabinet agencies

George Floyds death laid bare some of our deepest divisions in our country  our goal, my goal, all of our goal should be to work every single day to bring us together as a people, to bring us together as a country, the governor said.

Story continues

On Tuesday, a jury found 45-year-old Chauvin guilty of all three charges against him, including second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was arrested last year after a bystander recorded him kneeling down on the neck of 46-year-old Floyd, who died shortly after their confrontation.

DeWines press conference also followed the death of Makhia Bryant, a Black teen fatally shot by a police officer outside a home in Columbus. Authorities said she was armed with a knife at the time and body camera video released in wake of the shooting on Tuesday shows the teen lunging at two other women in the driveway.

Bryant was pronounced dead on the scene, sparking a night of protests in the Ohio city.
LOS ANGELES and CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm Tree LLC, a consulting and advisory firm focused on M&A and the private equity investment cycle, is pleased to announce that Marino Petropoulos has joined the firm as a Principal based in the Chicago office.

Mr. Petropoulos will lead and manage client engagements across service lines that range from due diligence to office of the CFO and other transition support for private equity and corporate clients.

"I am inspired by the culture at Palm Tree as well as its growth trajectory over such a short period of time" said Mr. Petropoulos. "My background in consulting, accounting, and operations across a variety of industries fits perfectly with the full-service offering at Palm Tree and allows us to better serve the needs of our clients. I am excited and looking forward to joining this team of talented individuals."

Mr. Petropoulos joins Palm Tree with over 30 years of experience including buy- and sell-side financial due diligence, carve-outs, internal control and system evaluations, preparation of purchase accounting and opening balance sheet entries, year-end audit preparation, and working capital disputes and adjustments. His experience spans a variety of industries including automotive, manufacturing, distribution, and services. Before joining Palm Tree, Mr. Petropoulos held positions including CFO of a metal-stamping manufacturer, Managing Director in the Transaction Advisory Services of FTI's Corporate Finance Practice, Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for Alternative Resources Corporation, and Audit Senior at Ernst & Young.

"I first met Marino over a decade ago when I was at Platinum Equity and needed assistance with a complex carveout transaction," said Pardis Nasseri, Managing Director and President of Palm Tree LLC. "To now be able to have someone as talented as Marino join us and believe in our vision is humbling. I look forward to continuing our growth with Marino as part of the team."

About Palm Tree

Palm Tree is the modern M&A advisory. A hybrid of consulting, accounting, and investment banking, it provides clients with comprehensive financial, transactional, and operational solutions. Born out of private equity, Palm Tree navigates the time-sensitive, demanding, uncompromising rigors of M&A with the perspective of owners and investors. This gives its clients the advantage of experience and expertise across the full continuum of transactions, transitions, and transformations.

Founded in 2010, Palm Tree has offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. It has worked on over 140 deals across 4 continents with aggregate transaction values of more than $24B.

More information in our corporate video, on PalmTreeLLC.com, and on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Palm Tree LLC

Related Links

https://www.palmtreellc.com/


Reuters

India reported 114,460 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, the lowest in two months, while the death toll increased by 2,677, as parts of the country prepared to ease movement restrictions. India has the world's second-largest number of coronavirus infections after the United States with total cases at 28.8 million, according to health ministry data. The western state of Maharashtra, which is India's richest and has suffered the most infections during the second wave, plans to start this week easing in stages a strict lockdown imposed in April.
The United States officially has a new goal for fighting climate change over the next decade. So how ambitious is it?

President Biden announced Thursday that America would aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Thats one of the more aggressive near-term targets among wealthy industrialized nations, although the cuts are arguably not quite as large as what the European Union and Britain have already promised.

How Pledges to Cut Emissions Compare Versus 2005 Versus 1990 Britain 63% 68% United States 52% 43% European Union 51% 55% Canada 45% 27% Japan 44% 40% Australia 28% 28% Versus 2005 Versus 1990 Britain 63% 68% United States 52% 43% European Union 51% 55% Canada 45% 27% Japan 44% 40% Australia 28% 28% Source: Rhodium Group  Charts reflect high end of emissions reduction pledges.

Comparing national pledges to cut emissions can be surprisingly tricky  a lot depends on the year you start counting from. The United States has decided to measure its reductions from 2005, which is roughly when the nations fossil fuel emissions reached a peak. But European countries tend to measure their reductions from 1990, when emissions began falling across the continent as a result of early climate policies and the collapse of polluting Communist economies in the East.

The later baseline makes the United States target look a bit better, because it omits a period when emissions were rising. An earlier baseline makes Europe look more ambitious, since it has been cutting for longer.

Mr. Biden unveiled the pledge at a White House climate summit for world leaders, declaring that the United States is ready to reclaim a leadership role on climate change. Japan also announced it would strengthen its climate targets, aiming for what translates to a 44 percent cut below 2005 levels by 2030. Canada also updated its climate goals, committing to a 40 percent to 45 percent cut below 2005 levels by 2030.

Ultimately, however, theres one climate metric that matters most: How quickly the entire world can get to zero emissions and halt the warming of the planet.

To avoid many of the most catastrophic risks of climate change, such the collapse of polar ice sheets or widespread crop failures, scientists have said that the world likely needs to zero out emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation by around mid-century. If the ultimate goal is zero emissions, then the metric we really care about is how quickly countries can get to zero, said Kate Larsen, a director at Rhodium Group, an energy research and consulting firm.

On that score, the world is still falling far short.

While the United States and the European Union are both now vowing to get roughly halfway to zero by 2030  on the way to net zero emissions by 2050  they account for only one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. But many lower-income countries, including China and India, still expect their emissions to either plateau or keep rising over the next decade.

Trajectories for the Worlds Largest Emitters The United States was still increasing emissions until the mid-2000s, while Europe took earlier action. In metric tons CO 2 United States European Union 5.5 billion 4.6 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 Still-developing countries are continuing to increase their emissions, and haven't committed to absolute cuts by 2030. Emissions estimate based on pledges India China 3.4 billion Emissions estimate 0.9 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 The United States was still increasing emissions until the mid-2000s, while Europe took earlier action. In metric tons CO 2 United States European Union 5.5 billion 4.6 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 Still-developing countries are continuing to increase their emissions, and haven't committed to absolute cuts by 2030. Emissions estimate based on pledges India China 3.4 billion Emissions estimate 0.9 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 The United States was still increasing emissions until the mid-2000s, while Europe took earlier action. In billions metric tons CO 2 United States European Union 5.5 4.6 Increasing emissions Decreasing Pledge 1990 2030 1990 2020 2030 2020 Still-developing countries are continuing to increase their emissions, and haven't committed to absolute cuts by 2030. India China 3.4 0.9 2020 1990 2030 1990 2020 2030 The United States was still increasing emissions until the mid-2000s, while Europe took earlier action. In metric tons CO 2 United States 5.5 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 European Union 4.6 billion 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 Still-developing countries are continuing to increase their emissions, and haven't committed to absolute cuts by 2030. India Emissions estimate 0.9 billion 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 China Emissions estimate based on pledges 3.4 billion 2020 1990 2000 2010 2030 Source: Rhodium Group

China, the worlds largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has pledged that its emissions will peak by around 2030. From that point, the country will then aim to get down to net zero emissions by 2060. China has also laid out some concrete targets, such as getting one-quarter of its electricity from low-carbon sources like wind, solar or nuclear power; planting vast new forests; and curbing the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a powerful greenhouse gas used as a refrigerant.

If all those targets are met, an analysis by the Rhodium Group found, Chinas emissions could level off close to current levels by the end of the decade, although the exact numbers depend on how rapidly the countrys economy grows.

But China is not yet committing to specific cuts before 2030. Chinas argument is that it was slower to industrialize than the United States and Europe, and therefore needs more time to pivot away from fossil fuels like coal. When it comes to climate change response, China is at a different stage than the U.S., Western nations and other developed countries. Le Yucheng, Chinas vice foreign minister, said last week.

India, for its part, has not yet formally set a date for when its emissions will peak, though it has announced goals for increasing the use of cleaner energy sources like solar power and slowing its growth in fossil-fuel consumption. Officials there point out that India is still much poorer than the United States or Europe, and it is unfair to hold them to the same standard.

The U.S. Still Had the Highest Per-person Emissions in 2019 United States 17.6 tons CO 2 China 10.1 European Union 7.4 India 2.5 United States 17.6 tons CO 2 China 10.1 European Union 7.4 India 2.5 Sources: Rhodium Group, World Bank

Indeed, looking at emissions per person tells a different story about which country is doing the most. Currently, the United States uses far more fossil fuels per person than almost any other country in the world, although China is quickly narrowing the gap.

If every country were to meet its stated climate goals, Americas per capita emissions would decline and converge with Chinas by 2030, the Rhodium Group estimated. But both countries per capita emissions would still be twice that of Europes and nearly four times that of Indias.

Partly for that reason, some environmentalists have argued that the United States should have picked an even more ambitious target for reducing emissions. Doing so would not only make up for decades of being by far the worlds largest emitter, they argue, but would also give lower-income countries like India more time to transition off fossil fuels. One recent report by a range of civil society groups urged the United States to commit to a 70 percent cut by 2030, along with vast new funding for clean-energy projects in the developing world.

If youre asking whether the U.S. target is fair and ambitious, the right yardstick isnt what will pass muster with the Senate, said Sivan Kartha, a senior scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute and a co-author of the report. The question is what should the United States do given its capacity to act and its historical responsibility for causing the problem?

Many Republicans in Congress have argued that the Biden administration is acting too aggressively on climate change when countries like China and India have yet to commit to absolute emissions cuts. Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, said that the president was unilaterally committing America to a drastic and damaging emissions pledge that would punish the U.S. economy while Americas adversaries like China and Russia continue to increase emissions at will.

The Biden administrations calculus is that it should set a target that is both challenging to meet but also politically plausible. By doing so, officials say, they can persuade other countries to do more  both through diplomatic pressure and by driving down the cost of new low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicles or hydrogen fuels, to make it easier for other countries to act.

It remains to be seen if the United States can pull that off.

The Biden administration invited more than 40 world leaders to this weeks climate summit with the hope that other countries might announce fresh commitments of their own. Mr. Biden has long vowed to transform the United States into a global leader on climate change, after the Trump administration had largely dismissed the issue for four years.

So far, the results have been mixed. Japan and Canada both agreed to strengthen their 2030 targets. The British government said Tuesday that it would step up action with a new target, cutting emissions 78 percent below 1990 levels by 2035. But other major emitters such as China, India and Russia have yet to offer significant new pledges.

The Biden administration also faces serious questions about whether it can actually meet its 2030 climate target, which unlike the pledges from the European Union or Britain, is not enshrined into law. After all, lofty goals on paper will achieve little unless theyre backed up by concrete action.

One recent study estimated that Americas greenhouse gas emissions have already fallen 21.5 percent between 2005 and 2020. Much of that was the result of electric utilities retiring their dirtiest coal plants in favor of cleaner and cheaper natural gas, wind and solar power. An additional one-third of cuts resulted from the coronavirus pandemic, because business activity slumped and people drove less. However, emissions are expected to rebound this year as the economy rumbles back to life.

To get at least a 50 percent cut by 2030, a variety of studies have found, the United States would need to adopt sweeping new policies and slash emissions each year at an unprecedented rate. Possible strategies include requiring utilities to install vastly more wind and solar power, persuading Americans to buy many more electric cars, and forcing oil and gas companies to slash emissions of methane, a potent heat-trapping gas. States like California and New York could help, too, by following through on their plans to clean up their power plants and vehicle fleets.

Mr. Biden has already proposed a number of new climate measures. His big infrastructure proposal, estimated at between $3 trillion and $4 trillion, includes tax incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles. Separately, the Environmental Protection Agency is looking at enacting stricter regulations for tailpipe pollution from cars and trucks and for methane emissions.

But none of those measures have passed into law yet. And they face an uncertain fate in Congress and the courts.

There are a number of plausible pathways to hit that target, but its frankly going to be challenging, said Nathan Hultman, director of University of Marylands Center on Global Sustainability who has modeled what a 50 percent cut would require. We wont be able to sit back and hope that market forces alone will do the job.

Many countries face similar questions.

Canada, for instance, has pledged to cut emissions up to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Its emissions have fallen just 1 percent, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the countrys adoption of a hefty new carbon tax would help meet the new targets. In Britain, environmental groups have warned that the nations ambitious promises have yet to be backed up by rigorous new policies.

Theres also the biggest uncertainty of all: Mr. Bidens first term ends in 2024. What happens if he is succeeded by a president who abandons his climate targets, much as President Trump dismantled President Obamas regulations on greenhouse gas emissions?

In the European Union and Britain, theres a broader political consensus around climate policy that doesnt change too drastically when different parties take power. But in nations like Australia, Canada or especially the United States, rival political parties often have sharply divergent views on how quickly they should cut emissions  or even whether its desirable to cut emissions at all.

In countries where a change in government can derail the whole thing, said Oliver Geden, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, its a lot harder to be sure that these goals are here to stay.
PSNI chief constable Simon Byrne has been asked to meet with Derry City and Strabane District Council to discuss recent policing operations in the local area.

A special council meeting was held this afternoon to discuss recent incidents and street violence in Derry.

Last weekend, a 42-year-old man was shot in the chest by a police officer after the PSNI responded to an incident in the Gobnascale area of Derry.

The incident is now being investigated by the Police Ombudsman.

The man shot in the weekend incident has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The PSNI were also heavily criticised for their actions during a security operation last month in the Ballymagowan area of Derry.

The recent street violence has taken place mainly in Protestant areas of the Waterside.

Today's meeting was organised in the wake of these recent incidents.

A number of motions were discussed at the meeting.

SDLP councillor Martin Reilly put forward a motion which stated: "This council is significantly worried at various policing incidents occurring in our council area over recent weeks and calls on the PSNI chief constable, the chair of the Policing Board and its human rights advisor to present to council as soon as possible on public policing concerns in the district."

Cllr Reilly's motion was passed with the support of 29 councillors.

Three councillors voted against it, while two councillors abstained from the vote.

Independent councillor Paul Gallagher proposed a motion which stated: "This council calls on the chief constable that the controlling powers of MI5 are removed from policing which has been proven in the past to have manipulated policing at a heavy cost to our communities."

Cllr Gallagher's motion was passed with the support of 26 councillors, while seven councillors voted against it.

Two councillors abstained from the vote.

A further motion was put forward at the meeting by independent councillor Gary Donnelly.

It stated: "Given the serious concerns following PSNI actions on vulnerable members of our community, DCSDC contact all schools in the district and call on them to end the practice of allowing the PSNI access to children under the guise of education."

However, Cllr Donnelly's motion was defeated after 26 councillors voted against it.

Six councillors supported it, while one councillor abstained from the vote.

The final motion of the meeting was proposed by People Before Profit councillor Maeve O'Neill.

Her motion stated: "Council notes that amongst the demands for radical police reforms across the globe - providing proper support to someone experiencing ill mental health is of the utmost importance. Council agrees the use of armed police as first responders to an individual experiencing a mental health crisis is inappropriate. Council agrees that mental health workers with the proper resources are best placed to respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis."

Cllr O'Neill's motion was passed unanimously.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, stands with his wife Ri Sol-ju during a ceremony to mark the birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, on April 15, in this footage from an April 17 TV report by Pyongyang's Korean Central Television. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



North Korea is making a series of outreaches to communist nations and other Kim regime-friendly countries to strengthen ties with them, showing a stark contrast to its strategy of severing connections with Seoul and Washington.



Pyongyang's state-run Rodong Shinmun reported in a front-page article on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to congratulate Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on his birthday.



According to the paper, the message reads that Kim is sending his "firm support and solidarity to the fraternal Cuban people who have achieved great successes in the struggle for victorious advance of the socialist cause, despite the vicious sanctions and blockade by the hostile forces."



The message came after Kim sent two separate messages earlier this week to celebrate the Cuban leader for his recent election as the head of Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee.



The move is interpreted as Pyongyang's effort to strengthen its ties with the Caribbean island nation, which North Korea has long considered an ally as both countries face sanctions and pressure from the U.S.



Along with Cuba, the North has been strengthening its outreach to communist nations in recent months.



In March, Kim sent a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling for "unity and cooperation," while Xi also described Beijing's relations with Pyongyang as "a valuable asset."



Also in the same month, Kim sent several verbal messages to the leaders of Vietnam, Laos and Cuba regarding the eighth Congress of the North's ruling Workers' Party in January, urging they should strengthen and expand their ties.



The moves came as a contrast to the regime's efforts to isolate itself further from South Korea, the U.S. and other democratic nations of the international community. After launching projectiles assumed to be short-range ballistic missiles on March 25, the North announced that it would not participate in the Tokyo Summer Olympics, while keeping silent on its relations with the U.S. and South Korea.



"The recent moves are seen as Kim's strategy to secure a diplomatic way out before the U.S. Joe Biden administration announces its North Korea policy review," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. "During the eighth congress, the North stressed that it must secure independence in diplomatic policy while enhancing ties with friendly nations. With the U.S.-North Korea policy review being anticipated to play a crucial role in determining Pyongyang's next move, it seems the regime is focusing on addressing internal affairs and managing existing ties."


A New York woman was doused with acid in her own driveway last month, leaving her blind and with severe burns.

Nafiah Ikram, 21, suffered severe burns all over her face outside of her Elmont, Long Island home in the March attack that her family believes was 'planned'.

Horrifying surveillance footage shows the moment that Nafiah arrived home with her mother just moments before the incident.

Her mother is seen walking into their home as Nafiah walks over to the passenger side to get something out of her vehicle.

As she walks toward the house door, a man running full speed comes out of nowhere and douses Nafiah with the acid before sprinting off.

Nafiah Ikram (pictured outside her car), 21, suffered severe burns all over her face outside of her Elmont, Long Island home in the March attack that her family believes was 'planned'

Horrifying surveillance footage shows the moment that Nafiah arrived home with her mother just moments before the incident. A man (right) is seen running up behind her and throwing the acid in her face

Sheikh Ikram, 50, told the New York Post: 'It's not a random attack, it's a planned attack. They waited for her to come home.'

Nassau County police described the suspect as a tall slim man wearing a sweatshirt and gloves.

He was also said to be carrying 'a white colored cup containing a dark colored substance which he then threw at the victim's face'.

Sheikh believes his daughter survived the attack because his wife was home and was able to rush Nafiah to the hospital.

According to the Post, Nafiah is studying medicine at Hofstra University, and has plans to be a doctor.



She just starting to be able to talk again and still struggles to eat or drink.

Nafiah suffered severe burns (left) all over her face outside of her Elmont, Long Island home in the March attack that her family believes was 'planned'

Nafiah is studying medicine at Hofstra University, and has plans to be a doctor

'She is very scared. My wife, she sleeps with her every night,' Sheikh told the Post.

Sheikh also said that his wife has to bathe their daughter because she's still in pain.

It's still unclear if Nafiah will regain her vision after the acid caused her contacts to melt into her eyes. It's also unclear if the incident was a hate crime.

Since the incident, supporters have donated nearly $300,000 to pay for Nafiah's medical costs.

According to the Post, Sheikh works as a professional driver for Bravo Top Chef Padma Lakshmi.

It's still unclear if Nafiah will regain her vision after the acid caused her contacts to melt into her eyes. It's also unclear if the incident was a hate crime

Authorities have also released an image of a vehicle they believe the suspect drove off in following the attack

Lakshmi took to her Instagram to call for justice for Nafiah.

'This is every parent's worst nightmare. Nafiah's medical costs will be astronomical. Her @gofundme is in my bio if you have anything to spare,' Lakshmi posted on Instagram on Tuesday.

Authorities have also released an image of a vehicle they believe the suspect drove off in following the attack.

Lakshmi urged anyone with information about the attack to come forward and report it to the Nassau Police by calling 516-573-8800.
22 April 2021

Acron Announces Annual General Meeting

Acron Board of Directors has resolved to hold the Annual General Meeting on 28 May 2021 as an absentee vote.

The Board of Directors considered matters related to preparing the Annual General Meeting and approved its agenda as follows:

Approving Acron Annual Report for 2020 Approving Acron annual accounting (financial) statements for 2020 Distributing Acron profit and loss (including paying (declaring) dividends) for 2020 Approving the Regulation on Acron Managing Board as amended Electing Acron Board of Directors Paying remuneration and reimbursement to members of Acron Board of Directors Approving Acron auditor

The record date for the shareholder meeting is 4 May 2021 (end of business day).

All the information to be provided to persons entitled to attend the shareholder meeting, including Board of Directors recommendations on dividend amount, will be made available on the corporate website, the Shareholder's Personal Account on the Registrar website at https://lk.rrost.ru, and submitted to the central depositary not later than on 7 May 2021. It will also be available at the Company's offices.





Media Contacts:

Sergey Dorofeev

Anastasia Gromova

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor Contacts:

Ilya Popov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk region (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (North-Western Phosphorous Company, NWPC) and is implementing a potash development project in Perm Krai (Verkhnekamsk Potash Company, VPC). It owns transportation and logistics infrastructure, including three Baltic seaport terminals and distribution networks in Russia and China. Acron subsidiary North Atlantic Potash Inc. (NAP) holds mining leases and an exploration permit for ten parcels of the potassium salt deposit at Prairie Evaporite, Saskatchewan, Canada. Acron also holds a minority stake (19.8%) in Polish Grupa Azoty S.A., one of the largest chemical producers in Europe.

In 2020, the Group sold 7.8 million tonnes of main products to 74 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.

In 2020, the Group posted consolidated IFRS revenue of RUB 119,864 million (USD 1,661 million), with EBITDA of RUB 35,311 million (USD 489 million). Acron's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs over 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.


Honda e Advance

TOKYO, Apr 22, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda has extended its outstanding winning streak with success in the 2021 World Car Awards. The Honda e added the World Urban Car of the Year title to its growing list of recent prestigious accolades, as well as being shortlisted in the top three of the overall World Car of the Year award. The Honda Jazz e:HEV also featured in the top three for the World Urban Car prize, as the Japanese brand dominated the category.Both the compact city cars are playing an important role in Honda's commitment to electrify 100% of its mainstream European automobile range by 2022.The Honda e, which is the brand's first fully electric vehicle (EV) for Europe, was awarded the 2021 World Urban Car of the Year accolade by a panel of 93 international journalists from 28 countries. The World Car Awards programme recognises excellence in Urban, Luxury, Performance and Design categories, with the Honda e recognised for its responsive and fun driving experience, exceptional in-car technology and connectivity, and stand-out contemporary design.Winning accolades around the world, the Honda e continues to set global benchmarks for contemporary car design and advanced e-mobility. Other successes for the popular compact EV include two 'Red Dot' awards for outstanding design, including 'Best of the Best 2020', and induction into the world-renowned Red Dot museum in Germany.The car, which made its debut as the Honda e Prototype at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019, also recently received the 'ECOBEST' title from the AUTOBEST jury and was named overall winner at the German Car of the Year 2021 awards with additional wins in the 'New Energy' category. Earlier this year it was also crowned "Best EV" in the Women's World Car of the Year 2021 awards.Honda e Large Project Leader, Tomofumi Ichinose, said: "We are truly honoured to receive such a prestigious award and would like to thank the judges on behalf of all Honda teams who strived to create this unique, advanced urban EV model. Honda e is an outstanding package for customers who want their car to play a central role in creating a seamless connection between various facets of their lives, while answering the challenge of zero-emission urban mobility. At the same time, our team wanted to create a design that was appealing to customers in a friendly, human way, not a cold and soulless piece of machinery."In addition to the success of the Honda e, the new hybrid-only Jazz e:HEV was also on the three-car shortlist for the World Urban Car award. The judging panel praised the Jazz for its efficient and responsive hybrid powertrain, clever packaging and impressive interior space and exceptional levels of comfort.The Jazz and Jazz Crosstar were recently recognised for achieving an outstanding balance of functionality, design and safety by the prestigious Red Dot Awards 2021, receiving the highly coveted 'Product Design' award. This internationally renowned accolade is only bestowed upon the highest quality products that excel in product, brand and communication design categories.Tom Gardner, Senior Vice President, Honda Motor Europe said: "We are delighted with this result and for the continuing support of the World Car Awards organisation. When we develop our new products, we always strive to create something that is appreciated beyond just its specification. Cars which combine the core values of the Honda brand, while bringing new benefits for today. Cars that are different and always have the customer at their centre. It's incredibly rewarding to see these efforts recognised by the World Car Awards jury and we thank them for this accolade."The World Car Awards requires eligible vehicles to be on-sale in at least two major markets on two separate continents between 1st May 2020 and 1st May 2021. In addition the vehicle must be produced in volumes of at least 5,000 units per year, be a maximum of 4.20 meters in overall length and be approved for operation on public roads. Now in its 17th year, the award aims to reflect the reality of what car owners around the world need, as well as to recognise, reward and inspire excellence, leadership and innovation in a rapidly changing automotive industry.Source: HondaCopyright 2021 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  A second sentence is handed down in the burglarizing of a Charles City building.

Joshua Douglas Collings, 22 of Rudd, has pleaded guilty to attempted third-degree burglary and been given two years of supervised probation.

Authorities say Collings, Nathan Fisher, and Zebulon Rosendahl forced their way inside a building in the 800 block of 4th Street on June 20, 2019, and stole more than $1,500 worth of items.

Rosendahl, 27 of Charles City, previously pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and received three years of supervised probation.

Fisher, 30 of Charles City, has pleaded guilty to second-degree theft. His sentencing is set for May 18 in Floyd County District Court.
Hyosung Group/ Korea Times file



By Yi Whan-woo



Hyosung Group is pushing to rev up its eco-friendly fiber business, seen as its next growth engine, amid growing global awareness toward sustainable development.



The conglomerate is also bolstering leadership training programs while enhancing cooperation with its partners, many of them small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as part of efforts for co-prosperity in the pandemic era.



All these measures are in accordance with environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), which has emerged as a keyword for Korean enterprises in their drive for sustainable growth.



The eco-friendly fiber business is managed by the group's affiliate Hyosung TNC. It manufactures nylon, polyester and spandex, all made out of recycled plastic bottles, under the brand Regen.



Last year, Hyosung TNC launched a joint project with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, bottled water brand Jeju Samdasoo and global outdoor brand The North Face.



Under the project, Jeju Samdasoo supplies its used bottles to Hyosung TNC, which uses them to manufacture its Regen Jeju fiber, which is then supplied to The North Face.



Earlier this month, the outdoor brand introduced clothes and bags made out of Regen Jeju. The clothing items required processing 100 used bottles and the bags required 16 used bottles.



"We have been paying attention to sustainable growth even before Korean companies in general jumped on the ESG bandwagon," a Hyosung Group public relations officer said, noting Regen was launched in 2007.



This was years before many companies here began to take ESG into account in management.



Without giving details, the officer said the sales of Regen increased by 20 percent between 2019 and 2020 in its explanation of the eco-friendly fiber business as its next growth engine.



"We will continue to pursue sustainable growth and nurture related projects," she added.





Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyo-joon, second from left, talks with President Moon Jae-in during Moon's visit to the conglomerate's carbon fiber plant in Jeonju in this photo taken in August 2019. / Korea Times file
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR) today announced the following schedule and contact information for its first quarter earnings release and investor call.

Earnings Release: May 6, 2021 (after market close) Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/ Teleconference: May 7, 2021, 8:30 a.m. (ET) Participate live by phone or listen to live audio webcast through the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/ Dial-in Number: +1-877-269-7756 (toll-free) +1-201-689-7817 (toll) Please call 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. No password required. If unable to participate live, select from one of the following replay options: Digital Replay: Available through May 13, 2021 Call +1-877-660-6853 (toll free) or +1-201-612-7415 (toll) Conference ID No. 13718733 Archived Webcast: Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR) is a global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world's most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, can, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge and customized services. With 4,200 employees, including chemists, engineers and industry experts, we partner with our customers to improve their operations so they can run even more efficiently, even more effectively, whatever comes next. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the United States. Visit quakerhoughton.com to learn more.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quaker-houghton-announces-first-quarter-2021-earnings-and-investor-call-301275428.html

SOURCE Quaker Houghton
Republicans opposed both bills; just one of them, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, crossed party lines to support the No Ban measure. They argued that controls on immigration should be tightened, not relaxed, given the crush of migration through the southwestern border.

Are Democrats working to repair the crisis? Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader, asked on the House floor Wednesday. Are they working to stop the mass flow of illegal migration? No.

The bills face an uncertain future in an evenly split Senate, where a backlog of House-passed bills on immigration and other topics face steep obstacles. But advocates say they send a clear message that America cannot go back to the days of Mr. Trump, who called during his presidential campaign for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, and then strove to put those words into action once he took office.

We cannot allow any president to abuse the power of his or her office, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the floor.

The measures were inspired by the harsh and abrupt steps Mr. Trump took at the start of his presidency to clamp down on the entry of foreigners into the country, which led to chaos at U.S. airports and a rush of legal challenges. In January 2017, he denied entry to citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Amid court challenges, Mr. Trump later amended the ban, expanding it to include some countries that are not predominantly Muslim, such as North Korea.
Madre Mezcal, a Venice, Calif.-based mezcal brand, raised $3M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Room 9, a NYC-based venture capital studio that specializes in investing in the consumer sector.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its product range to target new consumption occasions, and its distribution and marketing efforts in new countries, US states, and online.

Led by Chris Stephenson, CEO, Madre Distilled makes mezcal available in selective bottle shops, grocery stores, and online markets in the USA, Canada, UK and Europe.

Plans for 2021 include increased retail capacity, as well as new products aimed at targeting new consumers and consumption occasions.

FinSMEs

22/04/2021
Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD have today (22 April 2021) on World Earth Day launched a joint public consultation on the development of the Second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to 2030, by the two Departments.

Earth Day is an international event celebrated around the world to pledge support for environmental protection. This year's theme for Earth Day is 'climate action'.

Minister Foley said: Achieving the 2030 targets set out by the United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a key aim in the Programme for Government.

Our second Education for Sustainable Development Strategy will build on what we have achieved to date. It is vital that our students at all levels have the relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to act for a sustainable future and that they understand their role as global citizens.

This is an area that many of our students and educators are passionate about, and I envisage that this consultation will benefit greatly from engagement from students of all ages, educators and all those with an interest in this area, to help shape the new strategy.

Minister Harris said: The past number of months have really highlighted how inter-connected we are as a global community and the need for us all to work together to tackle some of the greatest challenges of our time, from climate change to poverty and inequality. I believe that education and research are essential elements in this and we need to consider how and what we should learn and do to create a sustainable future for all.

My Department has a key role in tackling climate change, from making sure that we train and support a workforce skilled in sustainable techniques and technologies to funding and overseeing a higher education system that includes universities ranked among the best in the world for sustainability. We will harness these successes as we move forward, but to do that, we need to hear from you.

ESD to 2030 will be aligned to UNESCOs Framework for ESD for 2030 and will support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7, as well as recognising education as a key enabler for all 17 SDGs.

The strategy will build on the achievements of the first National Strategy on ESD 2014-2020, by continuing to strengthen the integration of ESD at all levels of formal education through a whole of institution approach, while further extending opportunities for learners to engage in ESD, as a lifelong learning process, in the non-formal and in-formal education sectors, increasing the engagement of young people and local communities.

In Phase 1 of the public consultation, the general public and other key stakeholders are invited to participate in an online survey and/or to make a more detailed written submission, to inform the development of the strategy.

Phase 2 will consist of targeted consultation with key stakeholders and will proceed into early autumn.

A consultation paper, to further inform and guide participants in making their responses to the public consultation, is available on the websites of both the Department of Education and Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

Both Ministers encouraged the general public to participate in this process, to provide ideas on what more can and should be done to ensure Ireland meets SDG target 4.7 on Education for Sustainable Development.

The closing date for receipt of completed surveys and/or written submissions from the general public and other key stakeholders is Wednesday 30 June, 2021.

Notes for Editor:

Detailed information on how the general public can participate in the public consultation is available at:

https://www.gov.ie/en/consultation/8bce5-joint-public-consultation-on-a-national-strategy-on-education-for-sustainable-development-esd-to-2030/

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) empowers people to change the way they think and work towards a sustainable future, to transform society by reorienting education and helping people to develop knowledge, skills, values and behaviours needed for sustainable development. (UNESCO: https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-sustainable-development).

UNESCOs Framework for ESD for 2030 will be officially launched at the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Berlin on 17-19 May 2021. ESD for 2030 builds on the Global Action Programme (the GAP, 2015-2019) that aimed to reorient and strengthen education and learning to contribute to all activities that promote sustainable development. It places a stronger focus on educations central contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ESD for 2030 directly contributes to SDG 4 on quality and inclusive education, in particular Target 4.7, as well as all other SDGs, to provide relevant education that puts responsibility for the future at the centre. Further details can be found at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802

National Strategy on ESD 2014-2020

An interim review of the National Strategy in 2018 set out the significant progress achieved in integrating ESD and the principles of sustainable development into the education system at all levels. This has included: the integration of ESD across the curriculum from early childhood to post-primary levels and within new and existing courses in further and higher education and training; within assessment processes, school inspections and teacher training; and as a focus of higher education research.

https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/National-Strategy-on-Education-for-Sustainable-Development-in-Ireland-2014-2020.pdf

ENDS
Vietnamese blogger Le Thi Binh is shown at her trial in Can Tho City, April 22, 2021.

A court in southern Vietnams Can Tho City on Thursday sentenced a Facebook user to two years in prison for posting articles and livestream videos criticizing Vietnams communist government online, family members and media sources said.

Le Thi Binh, born in 1976, was arrested in December and charged with abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state under Article 331 of Vietnams 2015 Penal Code. Her elder brother, Le Minh The, had completed a two-year jail term on the same charge in July.

Binhs lawyer argued at trial for a reduced sentence of 12 months, Binhs son Nguyen Chi Thanh told RFA after the trial, But the prosecutor recommended two and a half years, and my mom was finally sentenced to two years in prison.

Quoting the indictment against her, state media said Binh had used her Facebook page from October 2019 to November 2020 to livestream, post, and share posts conveying bad and reactionary viewpoints and ideas aimed at opposing and defaming Vietnams Communist Party and party and state leaders.

Binh had also seriously insulted Communist Vietnams founding leader Ho Chi Minh in her posts and called for a multiparty and pluralistic state to replace the current political regime, state media said.

Binhs arrest and jailing is only the latest in a continuing series of arrests of independent journalists, publishers, and Facebook personalities after authorities began last year to stifle critics in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party Congress in January.

With Vietnams media tightly controlled by the countrys ruling Communist Party, the only sources of independently-reported information are bloggers and independent journalists, the press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its 2021 Press Freedoms Index.

Measures now taken against them include jailings under vague charges in the criminal code and assaults by plainclothes police, RSF said in its report, which placed Vietnam at 175 out of 180 countries surveyed worldwide, a ranking unchanged from last years.

Also ranked low in this years survey were Vietnams neighbors Laos at 172, Cambodia at 144, and Myanmar, whose ranking at 140 represents a one-point drop from last years score, RSF said.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Mia feeding her pal Elmo before Regression

Mangia! It's one of the first words every Italian American baby hears from Mamma or Nonna. Mangia figlia mia! Eat up, my daughter! In my case, I was speaking to my daughter Mia - figlia mia, Mia Noel. And then Gianna and then baby sister Isabella. I only bought Earth's Best organic baby food, beginning with Mia's first spoonful of solids in 1995. It's bad enough I and countless other Moms did not know that vaccines contained bolus doses of mercury and other heavy metals at the time. But our babies FOOD? I was so careful. I went without so that I could buy the "safest, healthiest" food for my babies. To what avail?



Lyn Redwood wrote about the travesty of tainted baby food for Children's Health Defense: The Science Is Clear: Heavy Metals in Baby Food Are Bad for Babys Brain A 2019 report by Healthy Babies Bright Futures noted that in addition to heavy metals, baby foods are riddled with other neurotoxic chemicals  including perchlorate, phthalates and glyphosate  all of which can add up to significant health impacts.



A lawsuit underway from the firm Baum Hedlund takes on the companies that not only pulled the wool over consumers' eyes, but companies that have actual LIABILITY for their products.



In Italian, we would say, BASTA! Enough.



Please click HERE to learn more about this lawsuit, and if you might be able to participate.



###

Heavy Metals Baby Food Lawsuit | Autism and ADHD

A government report on toxic heavy metals in baby food found that several brandsincluding some organiccontain arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead at high levels that pose significant dangers to the neurodevelopment of children. Indeed, all of these toxic heavy metals have been associated with autism, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and attention deficit disorder in children.

Parents throughout the country are outraged to learn that baby food products from Happy Family Organics, Happy Baby, Gerber, Earths Best Organic, Beech-Nut, Plum Organics, Parents Choice, and Sprout Organic Food contain dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals. Worse, the major baby food companies behind these brands knowingly sold tainted baby food to unsuspecting parents, according to the report.

Numerous studies have linked toxic heavy metal exposure to behavior impairments. The link is especially pronounced among babies and young children, whose brains are still developing. Even at low levels, exposure to heavy metals can cause serious and irreversible damage to neurological development.



Tainted Baby Food Lawsuit  Justice for Parents of Children with Autism and ADHD
A woman who was shackled to a hospital bed by her wrists and ankles while giving birth has won a $750,000 settlement against the City of New York and its police department.

The unnamed mother-of-two was arrested two days after her due date on a misdemeanor charge which was later dismissed.

The black woman, who went into labor on the day she was arrested and was forced to give birth while handcuffed, filed a lawsuit for alleged emotional distress and a violation of her human rights, reports CNN.

She said she 'felt like a failure' to her unborn baby after she shackled to the bed, despite pleas from a nurse to have her released immediately.

A US district magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York yesterday approved a $750,000 settlement for the woman and her baby.

A pregnant woman who was shackled to a hospital bed by her wrists and ankles while giving birth has won a $750,000 settlement against the City of New York and its police department. A file photo shows a person in custody, shackled at the ankles

'That was not my birth plan,' she told CNN. 'I felt like a failure to my unborn because that wasn't something that was planned for neither of us.

'I just didn't feel like myself anymore after that. I feel like my memory got taken away. And I'm still in pain.'

The woman said she was taken to a hospital in a different area of the city she had planned to give birth.

She added that the father of her baby, her family or the medic who had been providing her with prenatal care were not able to attend - only a nurse was able to hold her hand during the birth.

'My only support was the nurse that was helping me,' she added. 'Nobody - not my family, not my friends - just complete strangers.'

At least one nurse at the hospital asked an officer to remove the handcuffs, but he allegedly claimed he could not do so due to an unspecified policy, the lawsuit said.

The officer only removed them after nurses said the shackles were preventing her from receiving pain relief.

'He finally agreed to remove them after nurses informed him that (she) needed to begin pushing and that the handcuffs were preventing her from receiving an epidural,' the suit said.

Just an hour after giving birth, the woman was handcuffed again and struggled to breastfeed her baby boy, the suit added.

The woman had filed the suit against the city of New York and several NYPD officers anonymously in October.

The woman, who went into labor on the day she was arrested and was forced to give birth while handcuffed, filed a lawsuit for alleged emotional distress and a violation of her human rights. A file photo shows an NYPD patrol car in Manhattan with the motto 'Courtesy Professionalism Respect' displayed on the side

'The first breath that this baby had on this earth was one born out of violence. That was violence, what the NYPD did to her," the woman's attorney Anne Oredeko said.

'This lawsuit was meant as a way to give her some type of solace, but there's no repairing that - money will never repair that. And she cannot get that moment back.'

While being held in custody after being arrested on December 17, 2018 for a now dismissed misdemeanor assault, the woman experienced contractions and was made to lie in a cell so a female officer could inspect her.

The lawsuit says the woman told the officer she needed medical care and the officer allegedly told her to lie down on the prison cell bench and remove her underwear for an 'inspection' of her 'vaginal area'.

'I felt disgusted ... because I'm in a dirty jail cell and an officer says I need to lay on something so she could look in my private area to see if my baby is coming,' the woman told CNN.

The settlement states that it is not admission by the city of New York or the NYPD that they had violated the mother's human rights.

The NYPD declined to comment on the settlement and the New York City Law Department did not respond to requests for comment.

New York banned the use of physical restraints on pregnant women during labor and delivery in 2009, and the law was expanded in 2015 to include in-custody transportation and the eight-week postpartum recovery period

But it still happens, according to the New York Correctional Association.

In February 2018, another pregnant woman said in a lawsuit she was shackled by the NYPD while in labor.

The woman, then 27, was shackled at the ankles for at least the first hour of labor on February 8, despite doctors telling NYPD officers that the restraints were illegal and needed to be removed, the complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan said.

The woman was finally freed from all restraints after nine hours, only after a judge came to Montefiore Medical Center to arraign her in her hospital bed on a charge of violating a protective order, her lawyer said at the time.

As part of the settlement, the city paid the woman $610,000.

The law making it illegal to physically restrain pregnant women specifically during labor and delivery was expanded in 2015 to include in-custody transportation and the eight-week postpartum recovery period.

NYPD settled a similar lawsuit in 2017 stemming from an incident in July of 2015, according to the woman's complaint.

In that case, another Bronx woman who was eight months pregnant was shackled to a bed at Montefiore under the charge of officers from the 43rd Precinct for three days after an arrest on charges that were ultimately dismissed.

A total of 26 states, including New York, ban shackling women in custody who are in labor, with some banning all restraints for all pregnant women, Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an assistant professor in gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins Medicine, said.

No state or federal laws limit the practice in the other 24 states, according to Sufrin.

Policies in place by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshals Service limit the use of restraints on pregnant women.

The First Step Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation currently sitting in the Senate, would ban handcuffing pregnant women in federal prison, among other things.
 Flash

Nine people were injured when a blast hit the parking area of Serena hotel in Quetta at Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, security official sources said.

It was a loud blast which was heard many miles away. The parking area is inside the premises of the high-class hotel, intelligence sources from the provincial capital told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Right now the nature of the blast is not determined, nine people have been shifted to Civil Hospital, others are being brought in, and fatalities are also feared. There is chaos in the area and police and rescue teams are rushing to the site," the sources added.

Fire erupted in several vehicles following the blast and window glass of the hotel and nearby buildings also broke due to the impact of the explosion.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Editors Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the name of the firm representing the coalition. It is the South Carolina Environmental Law Project.

SANTA FE  A coalition of nuclear safety and social justice groups, including several based in New Mexico, have notified federal agencies of their intent to sue over plans to accelerate production of the triggering devices used in nuclear weapons at Los Alamos National Laboratory and South Carolinas Savannah River Site.

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Tewa Women United and Honor Our Pueblo Existence (HOPE) are among nine groups being represented by the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, according to a letter sent by the law center to the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration officials on Tuesday.

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A news release says that the law center is prepared to file a lawsuit on behalf of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Savannah River Site Watch and Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment under the National Environmental Protection Act within the next 60 days if the decision to advance production of plutonium pits at LANL and SRS isnt revisited.

In 2018, Congress enacted a policy that tasked the two facilities with producing 80 pits per year by 2030 as the United States works to expand its nuclear weapons capacity.

A spokesperson with the NNSA, which falls under the DOE, said the administration does not comment on proposed or pending litigation.

Last year, the NNSA said it had determined it already had sufficient information to go ahead with the plan.

NNSA has both programmatic and site-specific environmental impact statements covering pit production activities designed to provide NNSA the flexibility to adapt decisions as needed in response to national security requirements, it said.

The administration added that, in 2019, the NNSA published a supplemental analysis of the 2008 review and determined that increasing pit production at the programmatic level does not constitute a substantial change from actions analyzed previously and there were no significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns.

Jay Coghlan, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, said spending more on nuclear weapons is like throwing good money after bad.

Instead of maintaining the safety and reliability of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile, NNSA may actually undermine it because all future pit production is for speculative new-design nuclear weapons, he said in a statement. This is a colossal and unnecessary waste of taxpayers money on top of already wasted taxpayers money.

Specifically, the groups are calling for a comprehensive environmental impact review to be conducted on plans to ramp up production of the nuclear bomb cores at the two sites.

It is incumbent on your agencies to implement President Bidens recent Executive Order of January 27, 2021, in which he declares the U.S. policy addressing environmental justice, states the letter from the law project to the DOE and the NNSA.

The letter quotes Bidens order, which states federal agencies shall make achieving environmental justice part of their missions and to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on disadvantaged communities.

Beata Tsosie, Environmental Health and Justice Program coordinator for Tewa Women United, said the voice of Indigenous people should be heard. Several pueblos are within a 50-mile radius of Los Alamos.

It is clear that communities impacted by nuclear colonialism need healing, strength and restorative justice. We know that the environmental violence our land-based and Native peoples, ecologies and waters continue to endure from nuclear contamination will not end until the harm stops, Tsosie said.

HOPE founder Marian Naranjo added, The Los Alamos National Lab is located on a geographically unsafe area for the work that transpires there, a place that is, and has been considered, sacred to Pueblo People since time immemorial.

According to the letter from environmental law project attorney Leslie Lenhardt, the groups have communicated with the agencies over the past two years about the obvious basis for a nationwide programmatic environmental impact statement, or PEIS.

The plans of DOE and NNSA to expand this production program will saddle the already burdened communities represented by these groups with a significant amount of nuclear waste and pollution that is in complete contravention to the Presidents Executive Order, the letter states.

The letter states that a supplemental analysis on pit production at LANL waves aside environmental justice concerns and falsely concludes that pit production will not have an adverse impact on low-income minority groups.

One of the critical problems with refusing to prepare a PEIS is that the public is either ignorant, or being provided misinformation about the breadth of the planned project, the letter states. It goes on to say that there are still unresolved safety issues at LANL and that its unclear where the radioactive waste produced through pit production will be disposed.

If your agencies continue to refuse to undertake this statutorily required task of preparing a PEIS, we will have no choice but to file the action, the letter concludes.
[April 22, 2021] Philips Joins Forces with National Minority Quality Forum to Address Healthcare Disparities

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced it is working with the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), as part of a joint mission to ensure that high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities receive increased access to quality healthcare. NMQF uses evidence-based, data-driven initiatives to guide programs and deliver educational and advocacy programs, a national health index, research and community-based programs. In collaboration with Philips (News - Alert) , NMQF will work to raise awareness and support of key issues such as maternal mortality among Black women, leveraging Philips resources and technology to help close the healthcare disparities gaps. While the U.S. leads the globe in many areas of healthcare innovation, it also lags behind much of the industrialized world in improving care for some of its most vulnerable populations, issues that were made more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Black, Latinx and indigenous communities in the U.S. suffer tremendous healthcare disparities - a greater burden of illness, disability and mortality, relative to other groups. A clear example of this disparity in the U.S. is the high maternal mortality rate for Black women. They are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than other women.1 "If we are going to build sustainable healthy communities, we need to do more than just shine a spotlight on the problem, we need to come together and address the fundamental challenges in access to care that these communities face," said Gary A. Puckrein, Ph.D., president and CEO of NMQF. "It will require that we create an ecosystem that includes government, community and industry leaders like Philips to really move the needle and make a meaningful impact." With a mission to improve 2.5 billion lives per year by 2030, including 400 million in underserved communities, Philips is teaming up with customers, government agencies and leading non-profits such as NMQF to address health disparities surrounding premature death and preventable illess. NMQF provides a cohort of healthcare providers, professionals, administrators, researchers, policymakers, community and faith-based organizations with research and analysis intended to lead to the organization and management of critical resources. In addition to the Leadership Summit, Philips will support initiatives such as community health clinics in 4 major U.S. cities, policy briefings with congressional staffers on health disparities and a working group focused on addressing maternal mortality.



At the 19th Annual NMQF Leadership Summit on Health Disparities and Spring Health Braintrust, which runs from Monday, April 26 - Wednesday, April 28, 2021, Philips will host a panel that explores avenues to address maternal mortality. This year's Summit whose theme is "Racism Makes Me Sick!", will bring together thought leaders from across the healthcare community to discuss urgent and pressing issues, including how policies have contributed to sickness, disease and inequitable healthcare. Participants will not only discuss these issues, but how they can collectively take action to make a meaningful difference. Register here to attend the summit at no cost. "Our purpose as a company is to improve lives around the world, and there is an urgent need to address the healthcare disparities we have seen laid bare during the pandemic," said Vitor Rocha, Chief Market Leader for Philips North America. "We are working to bring the innovation, passion and commitment of Philips to the challenge. Together with our partners and customers, we can create change that will take steps toward greater health equity for underserved communities in the U.S. and Canada, and around the world."

To learn more about NMQF or to join Philips in supporting the organization, please contact Brandon Garrett at bgarrett@nmqf.org. About Royal Philips Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum - from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 82,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter. 1 https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancy-deaths.html View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005958/en/

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The Times just posted a follow-up on the brutal murder of Jomali Morales, the woman whose body was found in an elevator at the Baruch Houses February 12th. Two excerpts:

The murder was overshadowed by the unrelated citywide manhunt and arrest of a suspect in four other killings. But this case sent ripples through one particular city population: the New York Police Department. Ms. Moraless half-brother, Joseph Vitale, is a 20-year veteran police officer who, assigned to the Manhattan South Task Force, has worked the very area where she lost her life. Perhaps second only to the murder of a fellow officer, in terms of lets-find-this-guy determination, would be the murder of an officers kid sister, and residents of 555 Roosevelt have said detectives have been up and down its halls many times since Feb. 12. There is a $12,000 reward for information. But so far, no arrests and no known suspects.

And:

Detectives questioned a man, Andy Adams, 29, who had been staying with a friend on the second floor of the building and who was wanted for missing a court date from a drug case. I aint no criminal committing a crime on a woman, he said later. He said he had told the police he had been at an Orchard Street bar and said surveillance cameras backed up his story: I was at Skinnys  I had to get a video from where I was at. From 11 oclock to 4:15 in the morning, I was there. Whoever did that should fry. The funeral was four days after Ms. Moraless death, on Wednesday, across the street from her apartment at St. Marys Church. Institutional etiquette carried the day. Police officers spilled out of cars and vans and lined up in formation in the middle of the street, briefly blocking the morning rush, shrugging against the cold with the awkward blend of formality and routine that comes with memorializing a complete stranger. Other officers, watching closer: The police took the sign-in book from the wake to see who showed up. The family does not know of any leads, not even Officer Vitale, who said he would never ask or look into the murder himself and risk compromising the investigation.

You can read the full article here.
Five patients died at a private hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh allegedly due to a shortage in supply.

The incident took place at Naurangabad locality in Gandi Park area here on Wednesday, according to police.

However, Dr Sanjeev Sharma, the owner of the hospital, denied the claims and said the hospital had adequate stock.

Shyam Kashyap, whose 50-year-old brother Anil was among those who died at the hospital, told media persons that hospital authorities tried to cover up the lapse by arranging 40 cylinders after the tragedy took place.

"If the hospital had sufficient stock of oxygen, then why did it suddenly ask authorities for oxygen supply at 9 pm on Wednesday?" he asked.

Agitated family members of the deceased persons created a ruckus at the hospital, following which senior police officials rushed to the spot and defused the tension.

The hospital owner said none of the patients died due to lack of oxygen.

Sharma said all the five persons were on ventilator and their death was a "mere coincidence".

Meanwhile, City Magistrate Vineet Kumar said, "At around 9 pm on Wednesday, the hospital authorities called for an emergency supply of oxygen which was given by 10 pm."



Kumar said the incident was being investigated.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Last week, Chinas antitrust authority summoned 34 top internet companies to talk about new fair-competition rules. Within hours, they were discussing business changes and publicly pledging to stay in line.

These new regulations are going to require internet platforms to look at how they innovate going forward, and the result is potentially less innovation, said Gordon Orr, a nonexecutive board member at Meituan, the Chinese food delivery giant.

Even so, Alibaba and other internet titans have a status in China that could protect them from the most heavy-handed treatment. Officials have praised the titans economic contributions even as they tighten supervision. Mr. Xi wants Chinas economy to be driven more by its own innovations than by those of fickle foreign powers.

That means it might be too soon to declare Jack Ma down for the count.

His company is much more important to the success and functioning of the Chinese economy than any of the other entrepreneurs, Mr. McGregor said. The government wants to continue to reap the benefits of his company  but on their terms. The government isnt nationalizing Alibaba. It isnt confiscating its assets. Its simply narrowing the field in which it operates.

Alibaba declined to comment.

Mr. Ma is no neophyte at dealing with the authorities in China.

He worked briefly and unhappily at a government-run advertising agency before founding Alibaba in 1999. At the time, China was still getting used to the idea of powerful private entrepreneurs, and Mr. Ma proved adept at charming government officials.
Britain, Norway and the United States said Thursday they would join forces with some of the worlds biggest companies in an effort to rally more than $1 billion for countries that can show they are lowering emissions by protecting tropical forests.

The goal is to make intact forests more economically valuable than they would be if the land were cleared for timber and agriculture.

The initiative comes as the world loses acre after acre of forests to feed global demand for soy, palm oil, timber and cattle. Those forests, from Brazil to Indonesia, are essential to limiting the linked crises of climate change and a global biodiversity collapse. They are also home to Indigenous and other forest communities.

Amazon, Nestle, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and Salesforce are among the companies promising money for the new initiative, known as the LEAF Coalition.
According to police, on November 12, 2020 at approximately 10:47 a.m., Kennedy was hit by what authorities said was a white Ford F-150 pickup truck as he was walking in the 500 block of Mayflower Road in Lake Forest. The driver fled the scene, going south on Mayflower. When police arrived, Kennedy spoke with officers and was then taken to Condell Medical Center, where he later died, the release states.
[April 22, 2021] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation of Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) on Behalf of Investors

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation of Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse" or the "Company") (NYSE: CS) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. On March 1, 2021, Credit Suisse froze $10 billion in funds that were invested in financial products from Greensill Capital ("Greensill") and held by its supply-chain investment funds. On March 8, 2021, Greensill filed for insolvency protection, and more than 1,000 investors in the Greensill funds marketed were unable to exit their positions. On March 10, 2021, media reports revealed that Greensll investors had retained counsel and intended to sue Credit Suisse for their losses because Credit Suisse continued to market the biggest of the funds as a fully insured, low-risk product despite a decision by insurers during the summer of 2020 not to renew coverage.



On this news, the Company's American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") fell $1.85, or 12.5%, to close at $12.85 per ADR on March 12, 2021, thereby injuring investors. On Friday, March 26, 2021, several banks began liquidating billions of dollars' worth of shares that Archegos Capital Management ("Archegos") had swap positions on at fire sale prices after Archegos had failed to meet a margin call. By the time Credit Suisse tried to liquidate its own holdings of stocks underlying Archegos' swap contracts over the following weekend, prices had collapsed and Credit Suisse amassed billions of dollars in losses.

On March 29, 2021, Credit Suisse conceded that "the loss resulting from this exit . . . could be highly significant and material to our first quarter results." The Financial Times (News - Alert) then pegged Credit Suisse's estimated losses at between $3 billion and $5 billion, more than a year's worth of the Company's net profit. On this news, the market price of Credit Suisse ADRs fell another nearly 20%, from a close of $13.21 per ADR on March 25, 2021 to close at $10.60 per ADR on March 31, 2021. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert) : twitter.com/FRC_LAW. If you purchased Credit Suisse ADRs, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to info@frankcruzlaw.com, or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005452/en/

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Community support can greatly increase the quality of life for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Increased awareness of dementia can lead to greater public understanding of symptoms and how to care for individuals with dementia. Unfortunately, stigma is a problem for those living with dementia and their caregivers. Engaging communities and having conversations about dementia at all stages of life is essential to decreasing stigma associated with dementia.

Communities across our state are working to fight the stigma and you can join!

Stigma is being addressed locally and internationally with the development of Dementia Friendly Communities. The goal of Dementia Friendly Communities is to create community environments where those with dementia are considered. Knoxville, TN was one of the first cities in the United States to become a Purple City and be completely dementia friendly. This effort was led by the Purple Cities Alliance who is now working across Tennessee to make more cities designated Purple Cities. In 2019, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) offered grant funding to support dementia friendly community efforts in local communities. As part of the initiative, TDH is developing a TN Dementia Friendly Community toolkit to assist other communities in their efforts.

Other community organizations that are involved in support and dementia friendly initiatives include religious communities and law enforcement officers. The Tennessee Department of Healths Dementia Friendly Toolkit includes a section on working with emergency personnel and law enforcement officers. Additionally, Alzheimers Tennessee conducts statewide law enforcement training and POST (Peace Officer Standards Training) approved. Contact Alzheimers Tennessee at 888 326-9888 to schedule training sessions.



Religious organizations are also becoming more involved in supporting those living with dementia and their caregivers by learning to recognize behaviors associated with dementia, training members to accept and assist those with special needs in worship settings and providing respite and day care options through the congregation.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is willing to help India as it fights a surge in coronavirus cases, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday.

China is aware that the epidemic in India has been severe recently, and there is a temporary shortage of necessary materials for epidemic prevention, said Wang Wenbin, a spokesman at the foreign ministry. He was responding to a question at a regular media briefing about what action China is taking in view of the spreading epidemic in India.

"China is willing to provide the necessary support and help," Wang said, without giving details of what such assistance might consist of. "The novel coronavirus is a common enemy of all mankind, and the global community needs to unite as one to fight against epidemics."

India recorded nearly 315,000 new coronavirus infections on Thursday and its health services are struggling to cope. Health officials in northern and western India said they were in crisis, with most hospitals full and running out of oxygen.

(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Frances Kerry)
3 sneak into Vietnam from Cambodia, but test negative for coronavirus

Arrivals from Cambodia complete health declaration procedures at Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh Province, March 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

Three people illegally entered Vietnam Wednesday from Cambodia, where Covid-19 is raging, and traveled to various places around the country, but have tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, they entered Tay Ninh Province through unmanned trails at 1 a.m. on Wednesday. The trio, a man and two women, took a taxi from Tan Bien Town to HCMC and stayed at a hotel near Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Health authorities were still trying to identify the hotel as of Thursday morning.

The taxi driver, learning from them they had come from a pandemic-hit area, returned immediately to Tan Bien and contacted health authorities for testing.

The trio then took another taxi to the airport and boarded Vietjet flight VJ134 to Hanoi at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesday.

From Noi Bai airport in Hanoi, the women took a taxi to their hometown in Dinh Hoa, a rural district in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

At 2 p.m. authorities went to their houses and ordered them to go to a quarantine facility where both tested negative for the new coronavirus.

The man was found in Que Vo District in Bac Ninh Province that evening, also quarantined and again tested negative.

HCMC authorities are trying to trace everyone who had come into contact with the three from the moment they entered the city.

Cambodia has been suffering a spike in infections following its latest wave in late February. Its caseload had jumped to 7,747 with 54 deaths as of Wednesday.

There had been just around 400 infections until last year, but 618 last Sunday alone, 431 on Monday and 303 on Tuesday.

The countrys capital, Phnom Penh, and a satellite district went into lockdown on April 15 and declared some districts as "red zones," banning people from leaving their homes except for medical reasons.

Since last week Vietnam has intensified vigilance along the border.

It has a 1,137-kilometer border with Cambodia running through provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, and Long An in the Mekong Delta, Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh near HCMC and Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Dak Nong in the Central Highlands.

In Kien Giang, which shares a land border of 56 kilometers (34.8 miles) and a maritime border with Cambodia, pandemic prevention and control activities have been raised to the highest level.

Everyone entering Vietnam from abroad is quarantined for 14 days and tested at least twice.

For almost a month now Vietnam has not had any community transmission, but the number of imported cases has been increasing gradually, including many people coming from Cambodia.

So far 1,242 of the total of 2,812 cases have been imported.
Cardi B - who performed her hit 'WAP,' an acronym for 'wet a** p****,' with Megan Thee Stallion at the Grammy awards last month shot back on Twitter, asking why Rep Glenn Grothman was devoting his time to this while police violence has been dominating the news.

On Thursday, Grothman went after the rapper on the House floor saying that he's been receiving complaints to his office about the rapper's performance at the Grammys and that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should do their job.

'They wonder why we are paying the FCC if they feel that this should be playing in living rooms across the nation,' the Wisconsin Republican said. 'I realize that Kamala Harris has used her fame to promote this performer, but I assure the FCC that millions of Americans would view her performance as inconsistent with basic decency.'

Cardi B immediately hit back, writing: 'This gets me so mad ya dont even know! I think we all been on the edge this week since we seen police brutality back to back including watching one of the biggest case in history go down DUE to police brutality but wait!' she said in reference to the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict in the killing of Minneapolis black man George Floyd.

Cardi B - who performed her hit 'WAP,' an acronym for 'wet a** p****,' with Megan Thee Stallion at the Grammy awards last month shot back on Twitter, asking why Rep Glenn Grothman was devoting his time to this while police violence has been dominating the news

The rapper questioned why he was talking about a month-old performance

On Thursday, Grothman (pictured) went after the rapper on the House floor saying that he's been receiving complaints to his office about the rapper's performance at the Grammys

'This is wat state representative decide to talk about,' she said of Grothman's floor speech.

In another tweet, Cardi B wrote: 'Mind you Nikkas can't give a word about Jacob Blake or give him proper Justice but this part of the reason why !!!!!' she said referencing the 29-year-old black man who was shot seven times in the back last year by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, leaving him paralyzed.

'They giving seats to F**KIN IDIOTS!!' she said. 'This is why people gotta vote, elect better people cause you got these dum a**es representing states.'

Cardi B also featured a tweet from a Roll Call reporter asking people if they've called their member of Congress to complain about the 'WAP' performance - an effort to back up Grothman's claims.

'Smh! THERES PEOPLE DYING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' she wrote.

During Grothman's speech, he slammed the FCC for not doing its job. 'Wake up, FCC, and begin to do your job,' he said. 'The moral decline of America is partly due to your utter complacency.'

Cardi B is captured dancing and rapping to 'WAP' on an oversized bed during the Grammys on March 14

The FCC amassed 1,316 individual complaints so far about the 2021 Grammys, according to public posting's on the agency's website - many of which reference the 'WAP' performance.

A spokesperson wouldn't say if Grothman had reached out to the FCC personally to share his grievances.

Grothman referenced Vice President Kamala Harris in his speech because the then-California senator was captured doing speech prep to a Cardi B song in January 2019, as she was launching her own bid for the White House.

Cardi B, however, was a vocal supporter of another Democratic candidate, Sen Bernie Sanders, filming videos and interviewing him throughout the course of the 2020 Democratic primary campaign.

Her Grammy performance with Megan Thee Stallion featured her pole-dancing on the heel of a gigantic stiletto and gyrating on an oversized bed.
KENT  A tornado touched down in the south side of town Wednesday afternoon as a significant storm swept through Litchfield County, the National Weather Service confirmed Thursday.

The agencys Albany office said a low-level tornado touched down near the covered Bulls Bridge in South Kent, near the New York line around 2:49 p.m., and traveled about a mile east and northeast.

No injuries or fatalities were reported, the agency reported.

The Kent tornado was one mile from touchdown to end, and the path was around 30 yards.It was a tornado but on the lower end of the tornado levels, according to meteorologist Tom Wasula.

Peak winds were estimated at 85 miles per hour and the tornado was given a rating of EF0. A rating of EF0 out of a scale of 0 to 5 is considered a weak tornado with winds between 65 to 85 miles per hour, according to NWS.

The agency said the tornado set a record as the earliest tornado in the year in Connecticut history.The earliest tornado on record, which touched down in Tolland County was on April 26, 1961.

The tornado damage was sporadic along the path which began along Route 7 just north of Bulls Bridge and consisted mostly of downed tree limbs, the NWS said in its report.

The damage that started in Bulls Bridge was initially downed tree limbs, and then a few hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, Wasula said.

A car tent canopy was also blown away, but no buildings were damaged before the tornado ended in a forested area east of Spooner Hill Road, NWS said in the report said.

A second tornado with winds estimated at 100 mph, was confirmed in Amenia, N.Y., near Sharon, northwest of Kent. That tornado traveled a little more than half a mile, damaging several homes and tearing the roof off a restaurant.

The NWS dispatched a team around 8 a.m. Thursday to investigate whether a tornado had touched down. They were in the area for several hours.

They were taking a series of pictures and looking at the damage. Thats how they determined it was a tornado  they take photos and talk with people and we trace it to the radar, Wasula said.

During a tornado investigation, many factors are examined in order to determine if a tornado touched down in an area.

We look at many things on the ground  buildings, trees and the debris thats left behind  what has not been disturbed, lead meteorologist Brian Montgomery said.

Additionally, the team interviews and investigates those who experienced the event firsthand.

They gather all of that information together, and based on the damage they see through computer programs, they can make their analysis. The findings from the investigation will be useful to the NWS, Montgomery said, for many reasons.

Not only from an insurance perspective for those who were impacted by the events but also from a verification perspective and research perspective, he said.

By federal law, the NWS issues storm data, which is available for every significant event that happens across the country, according to Montgomery.

For us to satisfy that information, we have to investigate it and then we put our findings into an official document which is used by many researchers, insurance companies, and adjusters, Montgomery said. That data gets certified 90 days after the event occurs.

He said there last was a tornado event in Kent on Aug. 7, 2020.

To stay safe during a tornado warning, Wasula advised taking shelter in a basement or interior room such as a bathroom, until the tornado warning has ended.

As far as typical times of the year for a tornado, this tornado, being in April, is somewhat rare, Wasula said.

Its usually from May to August, he said. From 1980 to 2021, weve had four tornadoes in April, so two in a day is something, he said, adding in May, there has been 31 reported tornadoes.

Weather updates can be found on Albany, NY (weather.gov) and Storm Events Database | National Centers for Environmental Information (noaa.gov)

Staff writer Peter Yankowski contributed to this story.sfox@milfordmirror.com
Federal programs created for workers who werent typically eligible for unemployment insurance and didnt pay into the unemployment fund contributed to the major delays in distributing benefits quickly at the start of the pandemic, Labor officials said during state Assembly budget hearings Wednesday.

Lawmakers grilled Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo during the more than two hour hearing about calls their offices had received from tens of thousands of constituents who were having trouble getting their unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy. More than 2 millions claims have been filed since March 2020, peaking at more than 200,000 weekly claims at the height of the first wave.

But Asaro-Angelo maintained nearly every issue his department faced was due to the ever-changing rules the federal government used to create badly needed unemployment programs, like Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Unemployment Emergency Compensation (PUEC), and strict federal requirements claimants need to meet.

One of the most common complaints we get, and I know you do too, is hearing something different about a claim each time someone talks to our staff, the commissioner told lawmakers. Our systems had to undergo significant changes with each new provision of the new federal pandemic relief laws, followed by new guidelines, processes, and retraining. Often, what was true on Tuesday had been overwritten by new federal guidance by Friday.

When the coronavirus pandemic began, stimulus packages funded new unemployment programs for the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers who arent typically eligible for those benefits. Since those programs were put in place in March 2020, the state Department of Labor has operated more than 20 different unemployment systems.

The changes, which have continued to come as recently as last week, focus on combating fraud, determining eligibility, analyzing earnings, and in what orders claims are processed. He agreed with lawmakers it shouldnt be so difficult for people to get their benefits, especially during a time when benefits were vital to residents falling behind on rent and bills. But he said the federal system wasnt built that way.

Were very happy to be providing benefits to so many workers... but thats what led to almost every single problem, he said, noting New Jersey also faces a unique circumstance as home to out-of-state workers traveling to and from New York or Pennsylvania daily.

He said there should be a FEMA for unemployment ... a switch goes off to take away barriers from people and let them receive the benefits Congress wants them to get.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Thousands of New Jersey claimants reported problems collecting unemployment benefits. Some have trouble navigating a clunky website and answering confusing questions, especially at the start of the pandemic, which prompts a red flag. Others were pulled for fraud checks or deemed ineligible, and had to wait weeks or months before hearing back from an unemployment agent to resolve their claims.

When benefits lapsed due to the signing of the stimulus package in December 2020, it took more than five weeks to get 75,000 claimants moved to the 11-week extension program. And when the Department began distributing the FPUC $300 benefit, an unforeseen complication excluded some claimants that should have been eligible.

All our offices have dealt with these constituents. Its frustrating for people who are indeed eligible and should be getting their money, said Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, who added that her office often had to help callers who were depressed. Other lawmakers said they used their own money to put unemployed residents in hotels while waiting for their checks.

Asaro-Angelo, who is the incoming Chair of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, has been advocating for a centralized unemployment system, rather than more than 50 independently run systems that all have to abide by the same rules. The idea has bipartisan support, he said, and President Biden has plans to reform the broken system.

Another major issue, Asaro-Angelo emphasized, was those complicated claims getting backlogged, creating a bottleneck when there wasnt enough staff on the adjustment desk to address those questions manually.

In March 2020, only five people worked that desk. In April, that number is around 140 staffers, he said. And the number of call center staff has tripled from 500 to more than 1,500, with more people being hired and trained every day. Another group of 60 staffers will join the department in two weeks.

We need a human solution, not a technological one, he said, explaining an algorithm or new technology wont fix a system that needs a complete overhaul. Other states with newer technology than New Jersey, which was operating on a 40-year-old mainframe and decades old coding language, faced the same backlogs.

To improve communication and drop the need to reach out to a call center, Asaro-Angelo said the department would use some of the $7 million in Gov. Phil Murphys proposed budget to upgrade the site to show on the status page the specific reason a claim was paused.

Despite the problems, the commissioner touted New Jerseys automated review system that automatically processes claimants who hit their benefit year end, whose claims need to be review under a federal mandate. Had it been manual, more than 1 million claims could have been held up by the process, he said.

And New Jersey led the nation with 57% of all unemployed workers in the state receiving benefits, compared to just 9% of workers in North Carolina and 11% of Floridian workers. The New Jersey Labor Department has distributed more than $26 billion to more than 1.5 million workers, who have received an average of $17,000.

Assemblyman Hal Wirths, R-Sussex, commended Asaro-Angelo. Wirths, who served as Labor Commissioner under Christie, put fraud checks in place at the Labor Department that current lawmakers agreed were vital upgrades that put New Jersey as a leader in getting out unemployment benefits.

If were ever going to get this revamped, were going to have to have a moratorium on what laws were passed at this time, he conceded. I know my colleagues are used to iPhones, but unfortunately when youre dealing with a system that antiquated, its very difficult.

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Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz.

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The COVID-19 crisis has brought an already dire socio-economic and environmental situation to breaking point. Plummeting economic growth, frustrated middle classes, climate disasters, security crises and trade conflicts are just some of the big issues the pandemic is exacerbating. Will we seize the opportunity this crisis has opened up to build stronger and fairer economies and societies, or will we return to the status quo of unbearable inequalities and unfettered globalisation?



In this redefining moment, DevTalks, a series of online panel discussions, along with Development Matters blogs, form a dedicated space to discuss and draw up the blueprints for a new deal for development: from renegotiating social contracts to overhauling international relations, fighting climate change and building resilient societies.









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Dozens of diners scarpered without paying their bills at a five-star hotel and leaving the establishment with 5,000 in unpaid tabs.

The Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, central London, was forced to evacuate customers who had been dining at its rooftop restaurant The Grill at 10.30pm last Friday.

But by the time the emergency services had given the all-clear, most of the restaurant's 50 diners had left without paying.

The Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, central London, was forced to evacuate customers who had been dining at its rooftop restaurant The Grill at 10.30pm last Friday

The Dorchester's management said the lost money would have to be written off, according to The Sun.

Food at the iconic Mayfair restaurant, led by head chef Tom Booton, includes a 7 portion of chips and a five-course menu for 85 that includes confit pigeon.

A source told The Sun: 'The whole thing was a complete carry on.

But by the time the emergency services had given the all-clear, most of the restaurant's 50 diners had left without paying

'The fire brigade were called when a gas heater burst into flames but whoever rang told them a person was on fire so they sent ambulances and the fire brigade.

'Once it was clear they realised that guests had left without paying any of their bills, it came to around 5,000 in all.'

The fire brigade said that the fire had been extinguished by the time emergency services had arrived and no one was hurt.
South African decor and design publication House and Leisure is back on shelves.

Were interested in the feeling a space elicits, especially now in the context of the pandemic. Despite a new direction and look and feel, we are still honouring the legacy of House and Leisure, remaining true to what we believe the reader has come to love over the past three decades.

Lookbook Studio to bring back House and Leisure Lookbook Studio, an independent media company and creative content studio, has acquired South African decor and design title House and Leisure...

The relaunch issue and first edition by new publisher Lookbook lays the foundation for an approach to slow content that celebrates the lean-back pleasure of print.Following trends in niche publishing, the quarterly 240-page journal-style magazine takes on the look and feel of a collectible coffee table book. In addition to the increased page count and considered aesthetic, attention has been given to other details that make the experience of turning the pages of a premium printed publication so enjoyable, namely the paper. Different types of paper have been used throughout to emphasise the exceptional design and incredible photography on display in the different chapters, which include a 16-page lookbook shopping insert, and the real-life tactility and craft of print.The theme for the first volume is Escape, making reference to a global desire for freedom after a year in various states of confinement, as well as the transportive quality one feels when escaping into the pages of a beautiful magazine. The appreciation of space, landscape and nature is explored through House and Leisures content pillars  decor, design, trends, interiors, architecture, art, books, food and wine, sustainability and greening, travel and tech.Our new direction is one of effortless living  celebrating a sense of place, and touching on the mood and emotions that our homes and surroundings evoke, says Charl Edwards,s editor-in-chief.While travel remains limited, readers can journey to inspiring homes and exclusive properties around the continent, including the reopening of the iconic Jacks Camp in Botswana; the launch of Sussurro, a boutique beach retreat in Mozambique; Klein JAN, Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizens new restaurant on the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve; and House and Leisures cover star, Caracal, the latest addition to the Cabine du Cap property in the Karoo.is created by Lookbooks creative and commercial team, which is supported by a wider network of respected writers, photographers and specialist contributing editors. Lookbook was born of a passion for decor and design and a belief in the value of the editors eye to discern, curate and craft quality, niche content. Co-founded by entrepreneur Pieter Bruwer and creative director and editor Charl Edwards in mid-2020, the independent media company and creative content studio went on to announce the acquisition of House and Leisure in December 2020, after the 28-year-old publications last edition was circulated under Associated Media Publishing in April of the same year.Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work dramatically, says Pieter. New opportunities inevitably open up, but one needs to pay attention and remain optimistic about the long-term future. In a time when were craving a sense of stability and the familiar, and when screen fatigue is so prevalent, we have confidence in the longevity of print. But it couldnt have been just any magazine  first launched in 1993 House and Leisure has a respected reputation and legacy and is strategically focused on the right niche, he explains.With people spending more time at home, theres been an increased interest in improving the spaces we inhabit. As a result, the decor and design industry has been one of the few that has not been as significantly impacted by the pandemic, Pieter continues. Through our content platforms, such as, Lookbook has an amazing opportunity to make a difference in the South African creative industry by showcasing, spotlighting and supporting established talent as well as emerging artists, designers and creatives, many of whom come from marginalised communities. We believe such efforts have the potential to positively stimulate growth in our country.
Only a politician with a surplus of snark would turn up to dinner with the nations business elite and tell them, over the best food and wine at a city hotel, that he had no time for people at inner-city wine bars.

But that is what Scott Morrison did this week when he tried to take both sides of the climate change debate in a two-step routine. First, promise to do something. Second, take a casual swipe at voters who want him to do something.

Scott Morrison speaks at the Business Council of Australias annual dinner this week. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Were not going to achieve net zero in the cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of our inner cities, he said. He wanted to sip the chardonnay, if you like, but pose for the cameras in the act of spitting it out.

It was good chardonnay, too, according to those at the Business Council of Australia dinner at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydneys old post office on Martin Place. The wine list included Peter Lehmann Riesling and Shiraz, Burton McMahon Chardonnay and Giant Steps Pinot Noir. The menu had cured ocean trout, grain-fed beef and roasted snapper. The chicken was organic.
[April 22, 2021] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Announces Investigation of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (EBS) on Behalf of Investors

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz announces an investigation of Emergent BioSolutions Inc. ("Emergent" or the "Company") (NYSE: EBS) on behalf of investors concerning the Company's possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. On March 31, 2021, The New York Times published an article reporting that in late February 2021, employees at Emergent's Baltimore manufacturing plant "mixed up" ingredients of the different COVID-19 vacines, contaminating up to 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson ("J&J") vaccine forcing regulators to delay authorization of the plant's production line.



On April 1, 2021, the Associated Press (News - Alert) reported on Emergent's "history of violations," noting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has repeatedly cited Emergent for problems such as poorly trained employees, cracked vials and problems managing mold and other contamination in its facilities. On April 3, 2021, The New York Times reported that the Biden administration placed J&J in charge of Emergent's Baltimore plant and prohibited it from producing the AstraZeneca vaccine, a setback for a Company that had touted its "unique" preparedness and "proven manufacturing capabilities" only months prior.

On this news, the Company's stock price fell $14.29 per share, or over 15%, over two consecutive trading sessions to close at $78.62 per share on April 5, 2021. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert) : twitter.com/FRC_LAW. If you purchased Emergent securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to info@frankcruzlaw.com, or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005666/en/

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2 Nebraska towns vote to become Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn

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Two towns in Nebraska have passed ordinances to become Sanctuary Cities for the Unborn, or places where performing an abortion can be criminally punished.

Hayes Center and Blue Hill, both of which have fewer than 1,000 residents, joined several towns in Texas in approving such ordinances, doing so on April 6 and April 13, respectively.

It shall be unlawful for any person to procure or perform an abortion of any type and at any stage of pregnancy in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska, reads the resolution approved by the village of Hayes Center Board of Trustees, as reported by The Hayes Center Times-Republican.

It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly aid or abet an abortion that occurs in the village of Hayes Center, Nebraska.

Regarding their ordinance, Blue Hill Mayor Keri Schunk told KSNB in an interview last week that while the town doesn't have an abortion clinic, the ordinance was meant to be a preventive measure.

If someone violates, it will be brought to the attention of ... the council and then we will proceed with our attorneys, said Schunk, noting that violators will be fined $500. If you still feel the need for an abortion or feel that there is a reason to have an abortion, there are means to do so  I believe the councils intent was just youre not going to be able to do it in Blue Hill.

Critics of the towns' actions include the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which might soon challenge the legality of the ordinances.

Cities and villages cannot outlaw or criminalize abortion. It is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. We are monitoring suspect local ordinances and exploring our options, including litigation if necessary, said Scott Richters of the ACLU of Nebraska in a statement.

Instead of joining in this national, extremist effort to shame others and push abortion care out of reach, the elected leaders of these communities should quickly repeal these ordinances, Richters added.

In 2019, several Texas towns passed ordinances making themselves a Sanctuary City for the Unborn. The first was Waskom, which is near the Louisiana border.

Waskom Mayor Jesse Moore said in a statement at the time that the new ordinance is intended to prevent an abortion clinic from opening in his city.

We decided to take things into our own hands, and we've got to do something to protect our cities and to protect the unborn children, he said in June 2019.

Roswell, New Mexico, the small town famous for being near Area 51, passed a pro-life measure a few months before Waskom, titled A Resolution in Support of the Unborn.
COLUMBIA  After nine days of testimony, a jury in the federal criminal trial of ex-Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood must now decide whether the former lawman was a bully who abused his power or a public servant whose worst offenses were mere policy infractions.

Attorneys in the case offered those competing portrayals of Underwood during closing arguments to jurors April 22. Underwood's fate  and that of former deputies Robert Sprouse and Johnny Neal  is now in the hands of 12 jurors weighing nearly 30 charges, including fraud, excessive force, unlawful arrest, misspending public money and attempts to obstruct a federal investigation.

The jury began its deliberations shortly before 4 p.m. and broke for the night a little more than two hours later without reaching a verdict. Jurors are expected to reconvene at 9 a.m. April 23 to try to reach a consensus.

By the time they began deliberations, jurors had already heard nearly a day's worth of closing arguments from defense counsel and prosecutors with the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutor Rebecca Schuman went first. For 90 minutes, she pointed to evidence that Underwood ordered deputies to build a "party barn" on his property, skimmed money from public accounts, siphoned public money to fly him and his wife first class, and unlawfully ordered the arrest of a man who "had the audacity" to talk back to him near the scene of a Chester manhunt.

Schuman emphasized that Underwood, in addition to Neal and Sprouse, were "acting as if the rules  the law  didn't apply to them."

"These defendants abused their power and the trust that the people of Chester placed in them," Schuman said.

Jurors then heard from Underwood attorney Stanley Myers. He referred to the former sheriff by his first name, and portrayed "Alex" as a good boss who took care of his community and treated his employees like family.

Myers insisted Underwood's greatest offense was flying his wife to a conference in Nevada with money that  while public  Myers argued didn't come directly from taxpayers.

"The federal government took its best swing at Alex Underwood, and the best they've got is that he took his wife to Reno, Nevada," Myers said during his 90-minute remarks.

"This man doesn't deserve what has happened to him over these past three years," Myers said, choking up.

He took a seat alongside Underwood, who wiped away his own tears.

Underwood faces more than 80 years behind bars on 10 counts of conspiracy, fraud, and other tampering and theft charges. Neal and Sprouse face 19 additional charges.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  About 10 hours after the most recent fatal Cleveland police shooting, officials released body camera footage, breaking a longstanding protocol of withholding the videos for months.

The April 15 shooting marked the first time the city released body camera video the same day and the fourth time the videos were released at all in police shootings. Body camera footage of one recent shooting has never been released.

The video showed an officer fatally shooting a suspect as the man raised his gun at an officer.

Critics said quickly releasing body camera videos of shootings is a crucial step in providing transparency and clarity in police actions, but that this release appeared self-serving, when taking into account the citys history of withholding videos.

Retired Case Western University Law professor Lewis Katz said releasing body camera of one shooting police believe was justified -- and failing to release another -- stokes the belief that police are trying to hide what happened.

It leads to public distrust and questioning why they are not disclosing this information, Katz said. What are they hiding? Who are they trying to protect? Releasing body cam and dash cam information works for the benefit of the police just as much as it works for the benefit of the community. When they fail to do so it raises legitimate questions about what theyre trying to hide.

Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said during a Tuesday news conference that the city decided to release the body camera video of Thursdays shooting in order to get information to the public. Officials refused to answer whether they would quickly release body camera videos in the future.

We put out the video out soon after it happened, Williams said. We asked the public to take the shooting as a single incident and look at the exact facts of the incident, and judge for themselves whos right and wrong in that incident Thats why we put that video out as soon as we got it.

The April 15 video showed Cleveland police officer Daniel Piper and a group of officers looking for Innes Lee Jr., 25. Lee had outstanding warrants for murder and aggravated robbery and police received a call that morning that Lee was harassing someone.

Lee ran from a home, and Piper chased him into the backyard, where Lee tried to jump a fence but failed. Lee grabbed at a gun in his waistband; Piper tried to grab Lee, but Lee fended him off as he pointed the gun at Piper. Piper fired four times, killing Lee.

Ohio enacted a law in 2019 adding police shootings to the list of records considered public, meaning the videos should be provided within a reasonable time frame. The law does not give an explicit time frame for cities and agencies to release the videos.

In Columbus, police officials broke its longstanding protocol by quickly releasing body camera footage of Columbus police officer Nicholas Reardon fatally shooting 16-year-old MaKhia Bryant. The video showed Bryant swinging a knife and lunging at another female, who was pinned up against a car moments before the shooting.

Danielle Sydnor, the president of Clevelands NAACP branch, said quick responses from the city on body camera videos helps build trust between residents and the police department.

She said the Clevelands history of refusing to provide body camera videos and other information is one of the topics continually brought up during United Way community forums about Clevelands court-supervised consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Theres not consistency and transparency on how these situations are handled, Sydnor said. The inability, especially in top city leadership positions, on why they wont give information leaves ambiguity in the process. The biggest issue we continue to talk about is the desire to repair the police-community relationship. This inconsistency and unwillingness by the police to take ownership for that distrust is one of those foundational issues.

Cleveland first outfitted officers with body cameras in February 2015, about 10 weeks after former Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Since, Cleveland police have fatally shot eight others. Body cameras were not being worn during three of the shootings, including two by off-duty officers who were not required to wear body cameras and one in 2015 where the officers involved had not yet been given body cameras to wear.

Of the other five, one video was released by then-Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty after the office finished the investigation into the shooting, one was released five months later and one was released more than a year after the shooting. Body camera for the October 2017 fatal shooting of Antonio Levison by Cleveland police officer Steven Fedorko has never been released.

Similarly, when surveillance cameras record police shootings when body camera video isnt available, they are rarely released quickly.

In the case of the fatal shooting of Arthur Keith, 19, by a Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority police, CMHA officials refused to release surveillance video of the shooting. CMHA police, who do not wear body cameras, said they turned over the recordings to Cleveland police, who are investigating the shooting and who have also not released the video.

In 2018, surveillance video recorded a fatal shooting by off-duty police Sgt. Dean Grazziolli, but that video wasnt released until the Franklin County Prosecutors Office finished its investigation of the shooting, more than 18 months after the shooting happened.

More recently, on April 14, the day before Piper shot Lee, an undercover DEA agent shot a 20-year-old man in Cleveland. Officials initially said two man approached the DEA agent, including one with his gun drawn.

Surveillance video obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer showed only one person approached the agent and a subsequent investigation by Cleveland police found the man never pulled a gun from his waistband.

Not releasing videos, like in the DEA situation in Cleveland, you have officials telling one side of the story, and it comes from the person writing the report, Sydnor said. Then you get video camera footage and all of the sudden theres a different picture painted. Without the video citizens dont get a true and accurate depiction of what happened.
SLAB CITY, Calif.  Outside Rodney Spyder Wilds desert camp, theres a new addition to fit the times: a small sign that reminds visitors to wear a mask. Above the sign, a plastic skeleton rides a dirt bike on a raised platform.

Inside the encampment, its business as usual. A few maskless people were gathered around a table one 100-degree April morning, smoking and talking. Dogs big and small played and fought in the dirt. A furry tarantula watched from inside an elaborate glass case.

Its here that Spyder rode out the pandemic, and the nine years before that. A tattoo of his namesake, with the words True Slabber, wraps around his right arm.

I dont want to go out to Babylon, he said, referring to the world beyond Slab Citys bounds. Out there you pay bills, you pay electric, you pay for land, you pay for everything. I dont.

Slab City, an isolated community in California's Sonoran Desert, has long been a landing place for those who want to live off the grid, operate outside the confines of modern society, flee cold climates or try to escape poverty. Some simply have nowhere else to go. Residents fondly call the remote patch of desert, about 80 miles from Palm Springs and double that from Los Angeles, the last free place.

But the pandemic found them.

As COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the state, many in Slab City either dont want to be vaccinated or remain hesitant to get their shot. Only about 20 people in the community have gotten a dose as of last week, according to one residents informal count. Based on different estimates, approximately 1,200 people set up camp there this past winter. That number halves, then contracts even further, as triple-digit temperatures return to the area.

Tracking COVID-19 vaccination rates worldwide: How many people have been vaccinated?

Rodney "Spyder" Wild stands in his California Ponderosa camp in Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021. Spyder said he is considering getting the COVID-19 vaccine but his fear of needles and needing to get two doses are factors that deter him. Spyder's Airbnb has not operated since the pandemic began.

In Niland, a town of 600-some people up the road from the Slabs, there have been 104 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Positive case data is not collected specifically for Slab City, a public health information officer for Imperial County said.

Story continues

Countywide, about 17% of the population is fully vaccinated. Across California, that figure jumps to 29%.

For a handful of Slabbers, fear of coronavirus, or lack thereof, is commingled with anti-establishment or anti-authority views. Spyder is wary of getting infected by the virus  and the impact it could have on his lungs  but also of the vaccine.

I can get the vaccine later. Im gonna wait, he said. I might be the last one in line.

A sign urging social distancing and mask wearing sits near Salvation Mountain, just outside of Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021.

Hopes for a Slab vaccine clinic

Considering the power vacuum that comes with living in a desert outpost  no mayor, no traditional city government  getting vaccines to the few who want them has been a patchwork process.

Andra Dakota, better known on Facebook as Andra Slaburbia, runs a dog rescue a couple dirt roads down from Spyders camp. Over the past few months, shes stepped into the unofficial role of COVID-19 vaccination coordinator. Andra calls herself a huge fan of vaccines after seeing their effectiveness in preventing canine parvovirus, a contagious virus that can be fatal for dogs.

I was sort of like, Hey, let's take care of our parvo, the human parvo, she said. Even though it's a different virus, of course.

Andra started her outreach in early March, piggybacking off a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in neighboring Niland. Once she learned Slabbers 65 or older were eligible to attend, she and a few others spread the word, calling every person they could think of, collecting names and making sure they were on the clinic list.

There's a little bit of a demographic shift in that the older people (in Slab City) tend to want to get the vaccine much more so than the younger people, Andra said. But we don't have that many elderly Slabbers anyhow because it's such a harsh life.

Roughly a dozen past or present Slab residents got vaccinated that day in March. About 10 more have managed to get a dose on their own, Andra said.

Buoyed by the success of the first clinic, Andra set out to arrange a vaccination event in the Slabs, this time for ages 16 and up. If enough people were interested, a nonprofit in Brawley called Spread the Love Charity could partner with a local doctors office to administer the shots, she said.

Only 13 people signed up earlier this month.

A dog sits on one of the couches outside at California Ponderosa camp in Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021.

At least for now, a Slab-specific clinic wont be happening. Those who want a vaccine will have to drive, or find a ride, to a pharmacy in Brawley or a CVS in El Centro, almost an hour away, Andra said.

Many just politely told me they are not interested, she said. And I respect that. I have not tried to do an education campaign, or a crusade of sorts, because it's too tiring. If somebody doesn't want the vaccine, I just say, Okay.

In-depth: Comparing the COVID-19 vaccines

Pink Gorilla stops to chat on his bike near The Range in Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021. Pink Gorilla said he believes the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax and will not get the vaccine.

People that society forgot

One of those people is a 53-year-old man (or, alternatively, a 700-year-old vampire, depending on what mood hes in) who introduces himself as Pink Gorilla.

Astride a hot pink bicycle, he says he will not be getting the coronavirus vaccine. The rest of his look matches the bike, from a tinted mohawk down to his shoes. One pinky nail is painted the color of cotton candy.

The mask mandates have been ridiculous, the pressure for the vaccine is ridiculous, he said. I don't obviously know all the particulars of their plan, but I definitely do realize that it's not right.

For a week or so in 2020, Gorilla actually felt concerned about the virus  maybe this is it, he remembers thinking. But then he started to see the swiss cheese, what he called the holes in the story, after watching certain videos on YouTube and going down rabbit holes on social media. He quickly came to the conclusion that the pandemic is a hoax.

The 53-year-old first found out about Slab City two years ago, on YouTube. The community functions like the island of misfit toys, he said.

It's a place for if you don't fit in out there, he said. Its people with whatever quirk or whatever belief they have. It's just people that society forgot.

Carlos Gonzales walks on the stage of The Range in Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021. Gonzales received both doses of his COVID-19 vaccine and looks forward to playing guitar at The Range in front of an audience after the venue's hiatus due to the pandemic.

A sense of oneness at The Range

In many ways, The Range, an outdoor event space formed by a plywood stage and a string of gallon buckets-turned-lights, was the nucleus of Slab City.

Slabbers filled the rows of wooden benches, and the odd tattered couch, on a weekly basis, listening to live music and the hum of distant generators. Now, The Range has been shuttered for the past year after complying with state COVID-19 mandates.

Carlos Gonzales lives in one of the trailers surrounding the open-air venue, which is run by his friend and neighbor Bill. Carlos has played music there for years, ever since he arrived in the Slabs a decade ago.

Carlos Gonzales sits on a couch near The Range in Slab City, Calif., on Monday, April 5, 2021. Gonzales received both doses of his COVID-19 vaccine.

At the start of the pandemic, feeling slightly vulnerable at age 71 and missing the Range community, it was depressing, he said. His only social life involved shopping for essentials at a Walmart about 25 miles south. He wore the same clothes every day, until one pair of jeans physically fell apart.

The virus changed the tone and the vibe of the whole thing, he said. It was very strange not to have people gathering around campfires and stuff like that.

Carlos was one of the dozen Slabbers last month to get a first dose of the vaccine in Niland, followed by the second in early April. Hes thankful vaccinations are slowly bringing back some form of normalcy, although not everyone in Slab City wants one.

A lot of people here are anti-government, he said. Even if they're not hardcore, they still hold it in their heart, and it comes out now and then when they're thinking about mask enforcement and mandates.

With the states gradual reopening and the introduction of vaccines theres hope on the horizon: The Range could potentially open back up in a few weeks, maybe a month, Carlos said.

Until then, the venue has gone underground. One or two musicians perform together in a nearby trailer, and videos of the sessions are posted on YouTube. In several of those clips, Carlos, with shoulder-length gray hair, hunches diligently over an electric guitar, playing blues and soul songs.

Andra said thinking about The Range, and a certain Slab oneness, was a major motivator in wanting to get vaccines out there.

It's not only about the music. It's about seeing people once a week, catching up, and making announcements of important happenings, she said. I miss that very much.

Follow reporter Amanda Ulrich on Twitter: @AmandaCUlrich

Coronavirus Watch newsletter: Sign up for daily updates right in your inbox

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Slab City, California: How COVID vaccines rollout in a desert society
Home has taken on a whole new meaning for all of us this year, Nicky Benson, Sourcebooks publishing manager for customized and proprietary products, said in announcing Hometown World, Sourcebooks 15th imprint and its ninth for children. With that in mind, we wanted to create a series of books that could speak directly to the hearts of kids and their parents. Hometown World books will do just that, by incorporating a fun sense of the local alongside bright, happy illustrations. Home really is where the heart is, and this entire program is all about heart and home.

The origins of Hometown World extend back to 2012 when Sourcebooks launched its first seasonal series of regional books, Santa Claus Is Coming by Steve Smalltown, illustrated by Robert Dunn. Each customized picture book includes information about and illustrations relating to the city, state/province, or landmark that Santa Claus would be visiting on Christmas Eve.

Sourcebooks expanded the line of customized regional picture books with series revolving around Halloween, Easter, and Valentines Day in various places in North America, as well as a board book series celebrating bedtime rituals in different cities and states/provinces. These series have sold more than nine million copies total. All of these series will now be published under the Hometown World imprint.

The first new series to be launched under the Hometown World imprint will be My Baby Locale by Rose Rossner, illustrated by Louise Anglicas, which celebrates all the places where baby lives, learns, loves, and plays. It will debut in May with eight titles: My City Baby, My Lake Baby, My Beach Baby, My Country Baby, My Burb Baby, My Mountain Baby, My American Baby, and My Bookstore Baby.

Theres more to come this summer. Between June and August, nine titles originally released by Dawn Publications, a nature books publisher that Sourcebooks acquired in 2020, will be reissued under the Hometown World imprint. The nine titles in the counting and rhyming series by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Jeanette Canyon, Our World, Our HomeOver in the Ocean, Over in a River, Over in the Forest, Over on a Mountain, Over in the Grasslands, Over on a Desert, Over in the Arctic, Over in the Jungle, and Over on the Farmwill be updated with new covers and refreshed pages. And in August, ABCs of Home, a series of 12 illustrated alphabet books by bestselling author-illustrator Sandra Magsamen will be launched under the Hometown World imprint.
Global Roll Out of Private Equity And Venture Capital Platform

LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- QINO GS ("QINO"), the investment vehicle of Austrian Investment Manager Gottfried Springer, invested in Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP ("Brookstreet") to roll out a global private equity and venture capital platform with immediate access to UK and European Markets and scale up ability to United States, Middle East and Asia.

The capital increase accelerates Brookstreet's growth plans and enhances its intellectual capital and infrastructure base. QINO gets access to private investment strategies whereas Brookstreet benefits from capital markets expertise and access to infrastructure investments in energy. Both firms are focused on ESG investing.

Brookstreet is a London-based, FCA-registered fund manager. It was founded by M&A, McKinsey and CEO veterans, to bring established commercial growth capital and scale up practices in asymmetric markets. The firm has a global network and a platform which outreaches USA, UK, Continental Europe, Middle East and Asia. Brookstreet was recognised as a "DraxFuture40 Investor" that helps shape the future of Europe. Amongst its 20+ awards on "Innovation", "Excellence", "GameChanger", and "Industry 4.0 Portfolio", the firm takes particular pride in being recognised as a "Commercially Motivated" PEVC house.

The QINO group of companies were first established in 1999 in Switzerland. QINO was a group of research, investment and advisory firms specialised in the development of strategic corporate investments, both on a proprietary basis and also as a trusted partner for institutional and qualified investors. The group restructured in 2018/9 and is active in hedge strategies and a discreet range of investments. Qino Group Services AG, registered under CHE-101.148.433 in Switzerland carries out professional services. QINO Solar One Ltd. builds and operates photovoltaic parks. QINO Energy Ltd provides project management services to build and operate photovoltaic parks and run ESCo projects. Qino PIPE ONE Ltd. is majority owned by Qino JB Ltd. QINO GS is the investment vehicle of Gottfried Springer the co-founder of QINO group.

The QINO GS investment is focused on scaling up Brookstreet's intellectual and financial capital. All partners and shareholders retain involvement.

Omiros D. Sarikas, of Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP, quotes:

"We know Gottfried well as investor to existing offerings. The extended participation of QINO GS in the Fund Management Platform, validates our progress, amplifies our activities and aligns us for a global roll out. George V. Bolos and myself were in support of this transaction for some time now. The synergies with QINO GS are greater than the sum of its parts. We know ESG investing in private markets and QINO GS are experts in public strategies and lately Green Energy and Infrastructure finance. Our investor base, portfolio assets and platform stakeholders, all benefit from the depth and breadth of our combined expertise".

Gottfried Springer, of QINO GS, quotes:

"The collaboration with Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP adds value to existing and future investors, partners, employees and affiliates. Brookstreet is building a solid infrastructure with an international footprint. The Brookstreet and QINO GS thematics on ESG investments are perfectly aligned and their expertise as well as coverage is complimentary to our skillset. Brookstreet has global reach, London substance and European investments in private markets. We have a strong foothold in SEE and the DACH region and substantial expertise in the public capital markets. A winning combination for success".

Brookstreet's vision is to be the leading thematic investor in asymmetric markets across asset classes.

Brookstreet Equity Partners LLP

42 Brook Street

Mayfair, London W1K 5D, UK

Phone: +44 (0) 207 129 1235

Email: info@brookstreetequity.com

Website: www.brookstreetequity.com

Registered and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Member of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA)
Report highlights Entergy's preparedness to deliver critical services despite the unprecedented challenges in 2020 Tweet this

The report, titled "Forward Together," reflects on 2020 as an extraordinary year in which Entergy's 13,400 dedicated employees delivered critical services for its customers and communities in the midst of unprecedented challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic, social and political unrest and the largest restoration workforce mobilization in the company's history during a record-breaking storm season. The report also details the company's commitment to providing reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy, while creating a more sustainable future for Entergy's customers, employees, communities and owners.

Key indicators of our 2020 performance include:

Leading in the recovery. Our comprehensive business continuity plan allowed us to lean in and play an essential role in helping our customers and communities manage through and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees quickly adapted to new working arrangements, with much of our workforce telecommuting. Field employees and others, for whom telecommuting was not an option, were equipped with tools and resources to ensure their safety while keeping electric power and gas flowing for customers. We also temporarily suspended service disconnections for nearly a year and designed flexible payment plans for our customers.

Our comprehensive business continuity plan allowed us to lean in and play an essential role in helping our customers and communities manage through and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Employees quickly adapted to new working arrangements, with much of our workforce telecommuting. Field employees and others, for whom telecommuting was not an option, were equipped with tools and resources to ensure their safety while keeping electric power and gas flowing for customers. We also temporarily suspended service disconnections for nearly a year and designed flexible payment plans for our customers. Starting with the customer. Reliable power at the flip of a switch is just the beginning of our relationship with customers. We are striving to understand the outcomes that customers need in their personal lives, in their manufacturing plants and in their retail businesses. We are developing new customer solutions, including customer-sited backup generation and beneficial electrification opportunities, that match our customers' desired outcomes and make their lives better.

Reliable power at the flip of a switch is just the beginning of our relationship with customers. We are striving to understand the outcomes that customers need in their personal lives, in their manufacturing plants and in their retail businesses. We are developing new customer solutions, including customer-sited backup generation and beneficial electrification opportunities, that match our customers' desired outcomes and make their lives better. Leading on environmental stewardship. Entergy is actively working toward a carbon-free future. We outperformed by 8% our ten-year voluntary climate pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 20% below 2000 levels. Our utility carbon emission rate has decreased approximately 37% since 2000. We enhanced our climate action strategy in 2020 with a commitment to reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. As part of this plan, we are partnering with Mitsubishi Power to develop emerging technologies and explore the use of hydrogen as a realistic generation resource.

Entergy is actively working toward a carbon-free future. We outperformed by 8% our ten-year voluntary climate pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 20% below 2000 levels. Our utility carbon emission rate has decreased approximately 37% since 2000. We enhanced our climate action strategy in 2020 with a commitment to reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. As part of this plan, we are partnering with Mitsubishi Power to develop emerging technologies and explore the use of hydrogen as a realistic generation resource. Investing productively. We are investing in the future for the benefit of our customers. We provided power and natural gas safely, reliably and efficiently, while also making significant investments in distribution, generation and transmission systems to improve customer outcomes and drive customer solutions. We also spent in excess of $1.1 billion in 2020 with more than 5,200 local and diverse suppliers.

We are investing in the future for the benefit of our customers. We provided power and natural gas safely, reliably and efficiently, while also making significant investments in distribution, generation and transmission systems to improve customer outcomes and drive customer solutions. We also spent in excess of in 2020 with more than 5,200 local and diverse suppliers. Empowering our workforce. Our relentless focus on safety placed us in top-decile safety performance when benchmarked against industry peers. Despite new preventive safety measures, the pandemic's challenges did not stop our employees from raising our five-year total for volunteer service to more than 500,000 hours. We also achieved near top-quartile results in our annual organizational health index while navigating the challenges of a new remote work environment for many employees.

Our relentless focus on safety placed us in top-decile safety performance when benchmarked against industry peers. Despite new preventive safety measures, the pandemic's challenges did not stop our employees from raising our five-year total for volunteer service to more than 500,000 hours. We also achieved near top-quartile results in our annual organizational health index while navigating the challenges of a new remote work environment for many employees. Including everyone. Our people and our culture are critical to our success. Building a diverse, inclusive culture where every employee belongs and contributes is imperative to building the premier utility. It's a culture that makes us more competitive and closely aligns us with the needs of the communities we serve.

Our people and our culture are critical to our success. Building a diverse, inclusive culture where every employee belongs and contributes is imperative to building the premier utility. It's a culture that makes us more competitive and closely aligns us with the needs of the communities we serve. Being a great community partner. Our success is inextricably tied to the success of the communities we serve. Our generous shareholders contributed nearly $19 million in philanthropic grants and community support last year, including more than $3.3 million for COVID-19 pandemic relief and $1.3 million for hurricane and disaster relief. Working with our community partners, our social initiatives delivered $115 million in benefits to our communities in 2020 and, despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, our employees and retirees still managed to contribute more than 95,000 volunteer service hours to a variety of charitable causes.

Our success is inextricably tied to the success of the communities we serve. Our generous shareholders contributed nearly in philanthropic grants and community support last year, including more than for COVID-19 pandemic relief and for hurricane and disaster relief. Working with our community partners, our social initiatives delivered in benefits to our communities in 2020 and, despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, our employees and retirees still managed to contribute more than 95,000 volunteer service hours to a variety of charitable causes. Delivering financial results for shareholders. Our economic objective is to produce steady, predictable growth in earnings and dividends. Our strong financial results in 2020 proved our ability, in the face of adversity, to deliver on our commitments. We are well-positioned for continued value creation that benefits all our stakeholders.

Our economic objective is to produce steady, predictable growth in earnings and dividends. Our strong financial results in 2020 proved our ability, in the face of adversity, to deliver on our commitments. We are well-positioned for continued value creation that benefits all our stakeholders. Never stop improving. Our utility companies provide power to customers at some of the lowest retail rates in the country, and we're on a journey to continuously optimize our business. We successfully lowered our 2020 operations and maintenance expenses by approximately $150 million , which exceeded our $100 million cost-savings target. By working smarter and more efficiently, we invest more for our customers, resulting in even higher levels of service and reliability without significantly affecting their bills.

This is the eighth year that Entergy has published an integrated report. Entergy was the first U.S. electric utility to voluntarily combine its annual shareholder report with its sustainability report in 2013. Today, the company is one of only a few leading U.S. companies to consolidate these reports into a single integrated report that documents the company's advancements in energy and innovation, sustainability and environmental stewardship, and social responsibility and community investments. This report also details how Entergy's strategies are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted in 2015 as a blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.

View the 2020 Integrated Report and learn how Entergy powers life for all its stakeholders at integratedreport.entergy.com.

About Entergy Corporation

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 8,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and more than 13,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media.

Forward-Looking Information

Entergy's statements concerning its environmental plans, goals, beliefs and expectations, including statements regarding its greenhouse gas reduction goals, and other statements of Entergy's plans, beliefs, or expectations included in this presentation are "forward-looking statements" which apply only as of the dates indicated. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including, among other things, uncertainties associated with regulatory proceedings and other cost recovery mechanisms, operation and relicensing of nuclear facilities, major storms and other catastrophic events, risks associated with executing on our business strategies, effects of changes in laws, regulations or policies, the effects of technological change, including the costs, pace of development and commercialization of new and emerging technologies, uncertainties and other factors discussed in Entergy's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

SOURCE Entergy Corporation

Related Links

https://www.entergy.com/


SOFIA -- On the evening of March 21, 2015, around 7:30 p.m., the skies over Iganovo burst into fiery shades of red and orange, and the windows of homes in the tiny Bulgarian village rattled and shook.



Panicked locals rushed to flee from the source of the chaos: explosions at the Vazov Machine-Building Plant, a state-owned facility where anti-tank munitions, antiaircraft missiles, and other weaponry is manufactured.



Only three weeks later, just before dawn on April 14, the village was again rattled by blasts at the same plant, partially destroying one part of the sprawling complex.



The two incidents fit a pattern: four other blasts had taken place over 2014 at various locations in Bulgaria where weaponry and similar munitions are manufactured. At one location, Gorni Lom, northwest of Sofia on the border with Serbia, 15 people were killed.



Bulgarian prosecutors investigated the cause of the blasts, but charges were filed in only one: the October 1, 2014, explosion in Gorni Lom; the four defendants were later acquitted. There is no public information about what happened to the other investigations.



In the wake of this week's revelations about an ammunition-depot explosion in 2014 in the Czech Republic that has been blamed on Russian military intelligence, as well as another suspicious blast at the same depot later that year, one former Bulgarian defense minister called for the Bulgarian investigations to be reopened.

And a new analysis by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service adds further evidence suggesting a possible link between the Russian military intelligence agency -- known as the GRU -- and the Bulgarian explosions.



At around the time of the explosions at the Vazov plant in the spring of 2015, at least six Russians who have been identified as, or are believed to be, GRU agents were regularly coming and going to and from Bulgaria.



Moreover, flight data and GPS track info, first compiled by the open-source investigation organization Bellingcat, shows another alleged GRU agent traveling in and out of Bulgaria, close to the dates of the 2014 explosions.



The Czech prime minister has blamed the GRU; specifically its elite and notorious Unit 29155.



The unit has also been linked to a near-fatal poisoning of a Bulgarian arms dealer named Emilian Gebrev, whose weapons caches were reportedly the ones destroyed in the Czech Republic.



The first of the two poisonings that Gebrev suffered occurred on April 28, 2015 -- two weeks after the April 14 explosion in Iganovo.



String Of Unsolved Blasts



On February 28, 2014, an explosion at the Arsenal weapons complex in Kazanlak, east of Sofia, partly destroyed a workshop where gunpowder was produced, killing one person.



Six months later, on August 8, 10 people were injured in a series of explosions at the TEREM-Tsar Samuil military plant in Kostenets, in southwestern Bulgaria.



Less than two months later, on October 1, the deadliest disaster to hit a Bulgarian munitions facility struck at the Midzhur plant in Gorni Lom. Aside from the 15 dead, two other people were wounded.



In the third week of December, a private manufacturing company of ammunition and hunting ammunition in Maglizh, in southern Bulgaria, was hit with an unexplained explosion that killed one person.



The explosions all occurred during a period of high tensions in Eastern Europe sparked by Russia's invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and the outbreak of a Russian-backed separatist war in eastern Ukraine.

At the time, Ukraine's armed forces were in a disastrous state, depleted by a lack of organization, proper training, and a severe shortage of proper weaponry and equipment.



Ukrainian officials struggled to quickly find weaponry and ammunition to hold off the onslaught of better-equipped and better-trained fighters, whose numbers included Russian military operatives.



Bulgaria maintains a sizable arms manufacturing and trade industry.



To this day, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Russia denies having any role to play in the Ukrainian war, calling it an "intra-Ukrainian conflict."



According to flight-tracking data published by Bellingcat, a Russian citizen named Vladimir Moiseyev who used the pseudonym "Vladimir Popov", traveled to Bulgaria on at least four occasions in 2014: in March , September, November, and December, and once in 2015. All those trips occurred in the days around the explosions at the various munitions.



Officials in Montenegro say they are also seeking Moiseyev in connection with an alleged coup plot in 2016. The GRU has been blamed for that failed effort.



Beginning in February and April 2015, meantime, at least six other Russians later alleged to be military intelligence were known to have traveled in and out of Bulgaria, according to flight data. Those identified included Denis Sergeyev, and Sergei Lyutenkov, who traveled to Sofia under the pseudonyms Sergei Fedotov and Sergei Pavlov, respectively.



Another alleged agent named Yegor Gordiyenko who used the pseudonym Georgy Gorshkov arrived in the Black Sea town of Burgas around the third week of April, according to the flight data, along with Sergeyev.



The presence of the two in Bulgaria coincided with two sudden and mysterious illnesses that nearly killed Gebrev, the arms dealer, between April 28 and May 4. Two other Bulgarians, including Gebrev's son, also suffered near-fatal illnesses.



Bulgarian investigators later announced that Gebrev was the victim of "intoxication with an unidentified organophosphorus substance," but did not pinpoint the actual substance or make much known progress in the case until three years later, when a former Russian military intelligence officer named Sergei Skripal and his daughter nearly died after being exposed to a powerful Soviet-designed nerve-agent called Novichok.



British law enforcement later identified two Russian men as the culprits in the poisoning, which also resulted in the accidental death of a British woman.

Those men were later identified by Bellingcat, and subsequently by U.S. and British officials, as being members of Unit 29155, the same unit that many of the alleged GRU agents traveling to Bulgaria are believed to belong to. Czech police have issued an arrest warrant for two Russians having the same names as the two wanted in Britain for the Skripal poisoning, and the photographs released by Czech police are the same used by the British.



In February 2019, Bulgarian investigators reopened their investigation into the Gebrev poisoning; then-Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov said a suspected Russian intelligence officer linked to the Skripal poisoning was in Bulgaria in April 2015.
Sometimes confused with hyenas, the African wild dog is a bit less well-known and less researched than their laughing counterparts. More specifically, scientists are still trying to understand the social dynamics of their packs.

Recently though, one study has strongly suggested that sneezing could be a significant means through which pack members signal each other.

The study was done by the Center for Ecosystem Science by the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Its primary focus were the social rallies of the African wild dogs, a daily occurrence where the animals would assemble, plan and organise for the day's hunt.

Over 60 rallies were observed during the study, all across five different packs. Originally, it was thought that the dogs simply communicated by their recognizable squeals and high-pitched barks. However, the researchers could not help but notice the unusually high number of sneezing in each one. The sneezes had the frequency of something more akin to an expression, or greeting rather than a reaction to something in their noses.

At the end of the study, it was said that more research was needed to really confirm the link, but researchers are confident.

African wild dogs practice animal world democracy

The research also ties in with another peculiar aspect of their pack behaviour: they vote.

Unlike wolves who generally have set alphas, African wild dogs require a consensus before moving out. And while there are many cases that one member seems to have a higher, leadership influence over the rest, it does not result in absolute control over group activities. The sneezes, in particular, are even suspected to represent members' votes.

This type of group dynamic is not very common in the animal kingdom. The only other types of animals that make decisions this way are monkeys and some subspecies of gorillas. (If anything, it just deepens the contrast between African wild dogs and hyenas.)

Also read: Rare African Wild Dogs Debut at Wildlife Park

Wild dogs' conservation status nothing to sneeze at

Sadly, any further research into the democratic ways of African wild dogs is threatened by their conservation status. They may look like hyenas but they are still physically weaker and less intimidating. Their pack dynamics make them great hunters, but very vulnerable to dry seasons where scavenging becomes more necessary.

They are also not as widely spread out across Africa, being found mostly in just Mozambique and Tanzania. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) they are now listed as endangered and are also one of the few remaining species of wild canines left anywhere in the world.

The cause of their decline includes the list of usual suspects: habitat loss, farmers and stiff competition for dwindling herds. Without a doubt this had made research into their communication and group behaviour increasingly difficult due to the decline in their numbers. On the other hand, they are also falling under more protection from local game reserves. Hopefully, with more time, scientists will be able to learn more about these hyena lookalikes beyond voting with sneezes.

Also read: Climate Change Threatens Cultural Landmarks and Heritage Sites in Africa
Huntington, WV (25701)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.
Mumbai, April 22 : Actress Rakul Preet Singh took to steering a truck on the set of the upcoming film "Sardar Ka Grandson", and she was quite in the driver's seat doing the job! "I personally like driving a lot and the entire process was a lot more fun than one could have imagined. Driving the truck is not easy, but I was able to take it on confidently," said Rakul.

She added: "We had a truck driver on set to train us how to manoeuvre the big truck, which helped me pull it off. On set, people were surprised with my driving skills! It was like a once in a lifetime experience for me." The film is a comedy revolving around a relationship between Amreek Singh (played by Arjun Kapoor) and his grandmother Rupinder Kaur (Neena Gupta), whose idiosyncratic behaviour drives everyone crazy. Rakul plays Radha, a quiet and sensible girl.

"Sardar Ka Grandson" is directed by Kaashvi Nair, and also features John Abraham, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kanlwajit Singh and Kumud Mishra.

The film is scheduled for a Netflix release on May 18.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Because the presidency is the nations most important office, Walter Mondale will be remembered primarily for getting clobbered by President Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential race, winning only his native Minnesota.

But Mondale, the vice president to President Jimmy Carter who died Monday at 93, forever changed the vice presidency.

Historically, vice presidents rarely dealt in actual governance. They served the political purpose of balancing presidential tickets, as the Midwesterner Mondale did for Carter, a former Georgia governor with little Washington experience.

But once in office, they tended to disappear.

Presidents often viewed their vice presidents as rivals, as in the case of President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. Some presidents held vice presidents in low regard, as in the case of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his vice president, Richard Nixon.

And presidents often kept veeps in the dark. When Harry Truman succeeded President Franklin Roosevelt, for example, he did not know that the United States had developed the atomic bomb.

Under Carter, Mondale was involved in developing and executing policy along with advising the president on an array of policy issues.

Each vice president since then  George H.W. Bush, Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Joe Biden  was involved in major policy and was a highly visible figure. The same is true now of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mondale rejected relentlessly negative politics, was highly competent and famously boring.

For all of that, and his transformation of the vice presidency, hell be regarded well in history despite his epic presidential loss.
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on charges of murder and manslaughter, nearly a year after he kneeled on George Floyds neck for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Esha Sarai has the reaction on the ground from Minneapolis.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / PowerBand Solutions Inc. (TSXV:PBX) (OTCQB:PWWBF) (Frankfurt:1ZVA) ("PowerBand", "PBX" or the "Company") wishes to invite current and potential investors to attend a virtual Town Hall style meeting on Tuesday April 27th, 2021.

In keeping with its intent to be transparent and open to its current and potential shareholders, PowerBand & Stock Fam TV will be hosting a panel of key executives who will answer both pre-submitted questions from the general audience as well as some live questions from viewers.

In virtual attendance will be Kelly Jennings (CEO PowerBand Solutions), Jon Lamb (CEO Drivrz Financial, Drivrz US) and Shibu Abraham CPA CA (CFO PowerBand Solutions).

Stock Fam TV hosts Graham Skelton & Sean Khatibi have graciously donated their time and expertise to moderate the meeting. Questions on such topics as Accounting, Share Price, Partners, Progress and Product Path can be submitted to questions@powerbandsolutions.com. The cut off to submit questions will be Sunday April 25th at 11:59 pm EST. All submitted questions will be sent to Stock Fam for prioritization and organization prior to Tuesday's meeting. Time will also be allocated after the submissions are addressed for the live audience to ask follow-up questions or new questions on topics not yet covered.

The Virtual Town Hall can be accessed by visiting https://youtu.be/b1Txhq_4bW0 Tuesday, April 27th beginning at 11:00 am EST.

This will provide more clarity to our news release of April 12, 2021 with regard to gross sales, gross revenue and gross margin. The gross margin is determined based on the gross revenue which is a fraction of the gross sales. The gross revenue for the month of March 2021 was CAD $1.1 million.

PowerBand remains committed to transparency to its investors and looks forward to a great discussion on Tuesday.

About PowerBand Solutions, Inc.

PowerBand Solutions Inc., listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and the OTCQB markets, is a fintech provider disrupting the automotive industry. PowerBand's integrated, cloud-based transaction platform facilitates transactions amongst consumers, dealers, funders, and manufacturers (OEMs). It enables them to buy, sell, trade, finance, and lease new and used, electric and non-electric vehicles, on any phone, tablet or PC connected to the internet. PowerBand's transaction platform - being trademarked under DRIVRZ - is being made available across North American and global markets.

For further information, please contact:

Kelly Jennings

Chief Executive Officer

E: info@powerbandexchange.com

P: 1-866-768-7653

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize, and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, unless an exemption from such registration is available.

SOURCE: PowerBand Solutions Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641820/PowerBand-Solutions-Inc-Stock-Fam-TV-to-Host-Virtual-Town-Hall-Meeting-at-1100-AM-on-Tuesday-April-27-2021
In this image from video, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, center, is handcuffed as his lawyer Eric Nelson, left, watches, following the jury convicting Chauvin of three counts in the murder of George Floyd, in Hennepin County, Minn., on April 20, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Derek Chauvin Being Kept in Solitary Confinement

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is being kept isolated in prison as he awaits sentencing following his conviction on three counts in the death of George Floyd.

Chauvin was booked into the Oak Park Heights prison in Stillwater on Tuesday at 4:55 p.m., about an hour after hearing the jurys decision to convict him of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter charges in Floyds May 25, 2020, killing.

Chauvin is being kept on administrative segregation status for his own safety, Sarah Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, told The Epoch Times in an email.

Administrative segregation is used when someones presence in the general population is a safety concern. Its unknown how long he will be there, she said.

As part of the effort to keep the former officer safe, he is being housed in the facility Administrative Control unit, the most secure unit inside the states only maximum-security prison.

The inside of a cell in the Oak Park Heights jail in Stillwater, Minn. (Minnesota Department of Corrections)

There are 41 people in the unit and cells are monitored by cameras. Correctional officers do rounds at least every 30 minutes.

According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections website, the unit houses individuals for disciplinary reasons as well as concerns of an inmates safety.

It is used in some cases when an inmates presence in the jails general population could pose a particular safety concern, it states.

Chauvin will have on average one hour for exercise out of his cell. Meals will be delivered and taken inside the cell.

He is in a single cell and will not have contact with other incarcerated people, Fitzgerald said.

Chauvin was allowed to take items like clothing, writing paper, and toothpaste into the unit with him. Personal mail, legal materials, and an address book are also allowed, among other items. Certain reading materials like newspapers may be approved by officers.

Chauvins lawyer, Eric Nelson, has not responded to requests for comment, including inquiries regarding how Chauvin is doing in jail.

Chauvin is scheduled to remain at Oak Park Heights until hes sentenced. The sentencing is reportedly set for June 16.
The week of Thanksgiving last year, a postcard arrived in mailboxes in Christiansburg. A link to a survey was on the back. On the front, there was a picture that was, by then, very familiar to the residents of a town that made history in 2019 as the first place in the U.S. to have a residential drone delivery service: a yellow-winged drone with a small cardboard box tucked underneath it.

The survey's 20 questions were designed to measure how Christiansburg's 22,000 residents felt about drone delivery -- the first time that this question had ever been posed to a community that had actually experienced the service. The survey was developed and conducted by researchers from the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), a federally designated drone test site, and Lee Vinsel, an assistant professor of science, technology, and society in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

The primary finding: 87 percent of people who responded to the survey reported that they liked the idea of drone delivery. The resoundingly positive results, published in the spring issue of Issues in Science and Technology, plant a new stake in the ground for the future of a technology still at the beginning of its transition from research to retail.

Interest in drone delivery is rising. The service in Christiansburg, run by Wing, Alphabet's drone-delivery subsidiary, is the most advanced of the handful of trial services operating today. But drone technology -- and the laws that regulate it -- are maturing, and it's expected that services like these could become routine in the next few years.

Whether they're successful or not will depend in large part on how the public responds. Delivering packages to homes unfolds in the public eye to a greater extent than many other applications for drones: People may see the drone in the commercial area where it picks up its cargo, at the customer's house, and in the neighborhoods in between.

Accurate estimates of public opinion are critical for the regulatory agencies developing rules that will govern its use and state and local governments considering whether to encourage it, in addition to the companies pioneering these services and hoping to scale their businesses.

Until now, though, data has been limited, and usually not encouraging: The handful of surveys on this topic have pegged public support for drone delivery at around 50 percent in the U.S. and lower in Europe and the U.K..

But several factors suggest that those anemic results might not be definitive.

First, crucially, these surveys polled people who had almost certainly never received a delivery by drone, and were speculating about a service they were imagining rather than reporting on one they'd experienced. Second, many of the survey questions frame their questions in a way that implies risk, asking respondents to rate their level of concern about potential problems selected by the researchers in advance. Highlighting potential negative outcomes may prompt a more negative overall sentiment.

Christiansburg, then, represented a unique research opportunity.

"Gauging people's reactions to new technologies can be really difficult, including because it's so easy to bias respondents' views," Vinsel said. "We wanted to create a survey that was as neutral as possible to examine sentiments about drone delivery. And Christiansburg was a great opportunity for us because it was a unique population that had actually experienced these systems."

The survey asked respondents about standard demographic factors and their typical response to new technologies. It asked about how familiar they were with drone delivery, how they'd found out about it, and what their general attitude toward it was. Instead of asking about specific risks and benefits, the researchers asked open-ended questions about what the respondents saw as positive and negative aspects of the technology.

The survey was approved by the Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board; Wing helped fund the survey development and distribution through an existing research contract with MAAP, but the analysis was funded entirely by Virginia Tech. Adeline Guthrie, a graduate student in the statistics in the College of Science and collaborator with the Statistical Applications and Innovations Group, assisted with data analysis.

The results were resoundingly positive.

Not only did 87 percent of respondents report positive sentiment about drone delivery, 89 percent indicated either that they were likely to use the service or already had, and 49 percent reported liking the idea of drones used for package delivery more than drones used for other purposes.

All of these results are dramatically different from those of other surveys, in which positive sentiment never exceeded 51 percent and delivery was a relatively unpopular application when ranked against others.

The survey also asked respondents if their opinion had changed since the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit Virginia in March, the number of people signing up for Wing's service and ordering drone deliveries spiked. Wing partnered with additional local businesses and worked with a school librarian to deliver books.

The survey results suggested that these contributions had helped. The pandemic popped up frequently in the open-ended question about positive aspects of the technology. Fifty-eight percent of Christiansburg survey respondents said that their opinion of drone delivery had improved -- a much bigger boost than was measured in a 2020 survey from the Consumer Technology Association that polled a general population sample.

Here again, Christiansburg residents' experience with drone delivery may have contributed to the jump -- seeing a favorite coffee shop find a new way to reach customers without in-person shopping or a neighbor's child receiving a delivery of sidewalk chalk and crackers, may resonate more than an abstract appreciation for contact-free delivery.

MAAP worked with Wing to launch the drone delivery program under the federal UAS Integration Pilot Program, a drone-integration initiative that brought together state agencies, local governments, and companies to advance the rollout of drone applications that could have significant benefits for communities (the trial is continuing under the IPP successor program BEYOND). MAAP and Wing conducted months of community outreach before the service launched, talking to thousands of Christiansburg residents about what the service would look like.

"One of the goals of the IPP was to take a community-oriented approach to drone integration," said Tombo Jones, MAAP's director. "There's not a shortcut here. You need careful, methodical research to demonstrate that the system is safe and reliable. Then you can take that information out into the community, and talk to people to learn what they're looking for and what their concerns are. It's rewarding to see how positive the results of this survey are, because they show that, when it's done the right way, developing new applications for drones can have a genuinely positive impact on a community."

The team is hoping that future research will reveal more detail about how people's opinions evolve before and after they're exposed to drone delivery, the aspects of drone delivery that inspire the greatest enthusiasm or strongest skepticism, and what factors help determine how someone will feel about the technology.

"The key thing is that speculation about technologies is different than actual experiences with them," Vinsel said. "Lots of factors influence how we feel about the technologies in our lives, but something scholars have found repeatedly over for the last 60 years is that familiarity breeds acceptance. To be at an early point in the rollout of this technology and be able to study a population that has actually experienced it is pretty exciting."

###
When I saw the full-page ad from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America advising us to Tell Politicians: Stop Threatening Access to Innovative Treatments & Vaccines, I was immediately suspicious. The ad pretends concern for seniors and others and warns that government could interfere with research or the patient-doctor relationship. Wheres that concern when I pick up medicine from our pharmacy and gulp at the price of a 30-day supply of life-saving heart medicine, even though we have insurance coverage? Wheres that concern when a friend skips meals to afford her insulin? Too many people suffer and even die because the price of medications is excessive. I went online and read Senate Bill 844, a proposal in the Oregon Legislature to limit and control the excessive price of these medications, especially after our tax dollars helped pay for the research to develop them. I fully support the idea of limiting profit if it means we can actually afford the drugs that weve been prescribed. I support SB 844.

Ellen Levine, Portland
Stop me if youve heard this one before: A new Democratic president has inherited a nation in crisis. His first major policy initiative is a short-term relief bill intended to lead the way out of that crisis. He follows that bill with proposals to address longer-term problems and, if possible, to change American society for the better. His party holds majorities in the House and the Senate, but both of his initiatives face scorched-earth opposition from Republicans.

I could be describing the early months of either the Obama administration or the Biden administration. But theres one huge difference between them: Even though Barack Obama began his presidency with high personal approval ratings, his policies never had strong public support. Public approval for Joe Bidens policies, by contrast, is almost surreally high. Why?

To see what Im talking about, compare polling on the Affordable Care Act  Obamacare  with polling on Bidens American Jobs Plan.

The ACA, famously, had negative net approval throughout the Obama years. Its image didnt improve until the Trump administration tried to kill it, and even then it faced overwhelming disapproval from Republican voters.

By contrast, Americans approve of the jobs plan by huge margins, and while elected Republicans are dead set against Bidens proposal, Republican voters on net support it.

Whats the secret of Bidens success?

Part of the answer, surely, is identity politics.

Another factor working in Bidens favor is the closing of professional Republicans minds.

When they denounce every progressive idea as socialism, declare every center-left politician a Marxist, rant about job creators and insist on calling their rival the Democrat Party, theyre talking to themselves and persuading nobody.

If you want to see Republican tone-deafness in action, look at Sen. Marsha Blackburns recent attack on the jobs plan. Its not really about infrastructure, she proclaimed; why, it would spend hundreds of billions on elder care. And she apparently imagined that voters would see helping the elderly as a bad thing.

Biden, then, benefits from having a nonthreatening persona and an opposition that has forgotten how to make persuasive policy arguments. But the popularity of Bidenomics also reflects the effectiveness of a party that is far more comfortable in its own skin than it was a dozen years ago.

Unlike Republicans, Democrats are members of a normal political party  basically a mildly center-left party that looks a lot like its counterparts across the free world. In the past, however, Democrats seemed afraid to embrace this identity.

One striking thing about the Obama years, in retrospect, was the deference of Democrats to people who didnt share their goals. The Obama administration deferred to bankers who warned that anything populist-sounding would undermine confidence and to deficit scolds demanding fiscal austerity. It wasted months on a doomed effort to get Republican support for health reform.

And along with this deference went diffidence, a reluctance to do simple, popular things like giving people money and taxing corporations. Instead, the Obama team tended to favor subtle policies that most Americans didnt even notice.

Now the deference is gone. Wall Street clearly has a lot less influence this time around; Bidens economic advisers evidently believe that if you build a better economy, confidence will take care of itself. The obsession with bipartisanship is also gone, replaced with a realistic appreciation of Republican bad faith, which has also made the new administration uninterested in GOP talking points.

And the old diffidence has evaporated. Biden isnt just going big, hes going obvious, with highly visible policies rather than behavioral nudges. Furthermore, these forthright policies involve doing popular things. For example, voters have consistently told pollsters that corporations pay too little in taxes; Bidens team, buoyed by the Trump tax cuts failure, is willing to give the public what it wants.

So Bidens 2021 isnt playing anything like Obamas 2009, and Republicans dont seem to know what hit them.

Of course, polls may change. Public support for the Obama stimulus, never very strong, plunged in the face of a sluggish economic recovery. Voters might sour on Bidenomics, too, if the economy disappoints.

But all indications are that were heading for an economic boom, with GDP growing at its fastest rate since 1984. If that happens, Bidens policies might get even more popular than they are now.

How all of this will translate into votes remains to be seen. But early indications are that Biden has achieved what Obama never did: finding a way to make progressive policies truly popular.


ZURICH (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG were losing around 6 percent in Swiss trading after the banking major slipped to a loss in its first quarter from a profit last year on hefty charge related to a US-based hedge fund. Net revenues, however, were significantly higher. Looking ahead, the company expects market volumes to return to lower, and more normal, levels in the coming quarters.



Separately, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA said it has opened enforcement proceedings against the Swiss lender in the case of US hedge fund Archegos after the bank suffered significant losses. Further, the regulator said it opened proceedings against the bank in the context of the 'Greensill' case in March 2021.



FINMA said it will appoint a third-party agent to investigate Archegos case in particular possible shortcomings in risk management. It will also continue to exchange information with the competent authorities in the UK and the USA.



For the first quarter, Credit Suisse net loss attributable to shareholders was 252 million Swiss francs, compared to profit of 1.31 billion francs a year ago. Loss per share was 0.10 euro, compared to profit of 0.52 euro a year ago.



Pre-tax loss was 757 million francs, compared to profit of 1.20 billion francs last year.



The latest quarter-results were significantly impacted by a 4.43 billion francs charge in respect of the failure by a US-based hedge fund to meet its margin commitments on March 26. This offset positive performance across wealth management and investment banking.



Provision for credit losses were 4.39 billion francs, compared to 568 million francs a year ago.



Adjusted pre-tax income was 3.60 billion francs, compared to 946 million francs last year.



Net revenues climbed 31 percent to 7.57 billion francs from 5.78 billion francs in the prior year. Adjusted revenues grew 35 percent to 7.43 billion francs.



Wealth Management-related revenues grew 3 percent and investment Bank revenues in US dollar grew 80 percent.



Assets under management climbed 16.5 percent from last year to 1.60 trillion francs.



Sequentially, net revenues increased 45 percent, primarily reflecting higher net revenues in the Investment Bank, International Wealth Management and Asia Pacific.



The Board continues to propose to distribute a reduced ordinary total dividend of 0.10 franc gross per registered share, half from retained earnings and half out of the capital contribution reserves. The original 2021 AGM proposal was a cash distribution of 0.2926 franc per share for the financial year 2020.



The change was due to the recent developments related to the US-based hedge fund matter.



In Switzerland, Credit Suisse shares were trading at 8.85 francs, down 5.7 percent.



In pre-market activity on the NYSE, the shares were down 6.8 percent to trade at $9.67.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

CREDIT SUISSE-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
Leib and Allen first made a name for themselves as musicians, co-founding the country-flecked new wave band Rubber Rodeo. Leib played keyboard; the band recorded two albums for Mercury Records and earned a Grammy nomination. Some of its members later regrouped to form Suss.

While touring in the 1980s, Leib and Allen passed time between gigs by sketching together. The seed was planted for a new kind of collaboration: by 1993, the pair had co-created Idiotland, a comic series that picked up a cult following and a nomination for a Harvey Award. It set the tone for the playful, surreal style Leib adopted in later comics and, increasingly, his animation projects.

Moving to New York, Leib founded the animation studio Twinkle in 1993. He created shorts and commercials for a wide range of clients, including an Altoids ad, a music video for They Might Be Giants, and a 2008 series for The New York Times named Concrete Jumble, which retold the histories of the citys iconic districts. MTV commissioned a network ID from Leib, and he also contributed an episode to the networks Cartoon Sushi anthology series.

As well as creating the artwork used for fictional artists in films, Leib also contributed animated segments for a number of features. He produced visual effects for the low-budget horror film Love God (1997) and animated sequences in the film adaptation of Harvey Pekars American Splendor (2003), which won the grand jury prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

Leib reunited with Love God producer Anthony Bregman for American Ultra, a feature starring Jesse Eisenberg as a cartoonist and CIA sleeper agent who has created his own comic character called Apollo Ape. Leib created a sketchbook prop for Eisenbergs character and singlehandedly produced the films acclaimed animated finale. In an interview with Cartoon Brew at the time, he said:

I am primarily influenced by comic books from the 50s through the 80s (EC Comics, Mad, Zap Comix, Raw). Trying to draw like these geniuses keeps me inspired every day. The best work from that era transcended expectations of what a comic book could be: extreme violence, subversive humor, and brutal horror was presented with beautiful, seductive artwork. American Ultra was a perfect opportunity for me to combine my love of those comics with animation, making every new situation Apollo Ape encounters surprising.

Leib was also an educator, teaching animation at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), Parsons School of Design, and Montclair State University. In 2011, he was the artist-in-residence at Fairmont State University. Commenting on Leibs exhibition of videos, drawings, and ceramics at the universitys Brooks Gallery, curator Marian Hollinger said:

Most children want to be one major thing when they are growing up: an artist, a cartoonist, a musician, a filmmaker. Gary Leib is fortunate enough to have done all of those things  He is most definitely NOT an artist who waits for inspiration to hit before he takes up his pencil. He creates his own inspiration during the process of working.

Animator and comics writer John Kuramoto, a former colleague of Leibs at Twinkle, spoke to Cartoon Brew about their time spent working together:

Gary was really great at convincing people that they could do things they werent sure they were capable of. Im fairly certain his students at SVA and Parsons would agree. Even before Id met him, the idea of working with him convinced me to move to New York. As the sole employee at his company Twinkle, he convinced me to learn Flash, although Id never done any animation before. He convinced me and Doug Allen that the three of us could make actual cartoons in Flash, which, in 1999, was a novel idea unfortunately hampered by dial-up modems and a lack of ways to tell people about them. He convinced me to write a book about making those cartoons, which I felt like a fraud for doing, but he got me to do it anyway. And when he decided he wanted to focus on his art, he convinced me that I could make it on my own. Gary used to say that if we were going to fail, we had to fail big, because people who failed big always got second chances. Im not sure that we ever really tested that theory, but he certainly wasnt afraid to fail. And if a second chance is reinventing yourself, then he had seemingly endless second chances.

Leib is survived by his wife Judy Glantzman-Leib, his daughter Lila Glantzman-Leib, sister Beth Leib, and brothers Alan and Joel Leib.

Leib posted artwork, including photos of his annual window display at Brooklyns Desert Island Comics, on his blog. Below is a sampling of his animated films.

Bowery from Concrete Jumble:

101 Quick and Simple Dishes for Fall from Concrete Jumble:

Music video for Suss:

Image at top: American Ultra
LOS ANGELESMojoHost has announced some of the "green initiatives" that are being implemented at the ongoing construction of its Michigan Data Center to launch in 2021.

"The entire data center uses cutting edge technology not just for serving blazing fast websites but also for contributing to a greener future through cleaner technology," said Brad Mitchell, founder of MojoHost . "We made as many choices as we could with the environment in mind, despite the costs. Nobody is doing what we are doing on the scale we are doing it."

Mitchell cited its significant power ratings advantage. An average data center runs at a "Power Usage Efficiency" (PUE) of approximately 1.5 to 2.0 with "good" facilities running around 1.25. The 15,000 square foot MojoHost facility runs at a rating of 1.1, which means it takes less energy to cool and maintain temperatures of its equipment and operations than other facilities. Every server cabinet in the facility is chilled to achieve this engineering feat.

The company conceded that it is not always easy to get entirely free of fossil fuels. The facility has a contract for priority refueling of its four gigantic diesel backup generators (soon to be 6), but the hope is that they are never used.

"Instead of using batteries that are horrible for the environment, we decided to integrate a flywheel that uses centrifugal force to cause a drum to spin," Mitchell said. "In the event of power loss, it takes a minute for diesel generators to fire up, and most facilities use massive batteries to do that. At our facility, the flywheel does the trick, and its pretty amazing."

The engineering for a data center runs deep with details, and even the Michigan winters were considered when designing the facility. The outdoor water chillers provide free cooling for the facility when outside temperatures drop below 42F during the cold season.

But not every decision going into the facility will have a huge impact on the planet.

"My kids and I recycled motherboards from MojoHost's first racks of servers to create a new logo art piece for the interior of the building," Mitchell explained. "It's a small thing, but it means a lot to have that legacy in the new building, beyond whatever small impact there might be by avoiding the landfill."
Artist's conception of the violent stellar flare from Proxima Centauri discovered by scientists in 2019 using nine telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum, including the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Powerful flares eject from Proxima Centauri with regularity, impacting the star's planets almost daily. Credit: NRAO/S. Dagnello

A team of scientists, including Arizona State University's Evgenya Shkolnik and Parke Loyd, has spotted the largest flare ever recorded from the sun's nearest stellar neighbor in ultraviolet light, the star Proxima Centauri, host to our nearest exoplanet neighbor.

Their research, which was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, could help to shape the hunt for life beyond Earth's solar system.

Proxima Centauri is a small but mighty star. It sits just four light-years, or more than 20 trillion miles, from our own sun and hosts at least two planets, one of which may look something like Earth. It's also a "red dwarf," the name for a class of stars that are unusually petite and dim; Proxima Centauri has roughly one-eighth the mass of our own sun. But don't let that fool you.

"Stars like Proxima Centauri look different from our sun, and they behave differently too," explained co-author and School of Earth and Space Exploration postdoctoral scholar Loyd. "In particular, they flare a lot more than the sun, but we are only beginning to understand the magnitude and character of their flares."

The motivation for this study, led by astrophysics Assistant Professor Meredith MacGregor of the University of Colorado-Boulder, was to better understand these flares -- how similar they are to the sun, whether they are likely caused by the same physical mechanisms, and what the impact their high energies might be on the potential for orbiting planets to hold on to their atmospheres and possibly support life.

To do so, the team of scientists observed Proxima Centauri for 40 hours using nine telescopes on the ground and in space. In the process, they got a surprise: Proxima Centauri ejected a flare, or burst of radiation, that ranks as one of the most violent seen on a solitary star anywhere in the galaxy.

"When the data from the Hubble Space Telescope came in and we made our first plot of how much ultraviolet light Proxima Centauri was emitting at each instant of the observations, it immediately became clear that we had caught a remarkable event," said Loyd. "It was extremely bright and extremely brief. In only a few seconds the star's ultraviolet radiation grew about 14,000 times brighter. "

The team's findings hint at new physics that could change the way scientists understand stellar flares.

Active stars

Proxima Centauri has long been a target for scientists hoping to find life beyond Earth's solar system. Proxima Centauri is nearby, for a start. It also hosts one known planet, designated Proxima Centauri b, which resides in what researchers call the "habitable zone" -- a region around a star that has the right range of temperatures for harboring liquid water on the surface of a planet.

But there's a twist, MacGregor said: Red dwarfs, which rank as the most common stars in the galaxy, are also unusually lively.

"A lot of the exoplanets that we've found so far are around these types of stars," she said. "But the catch is that they're way more active than our sun. They flare much more frequently and intensely."

And this doesn't bode well for any squishy organism brave enough to live near the volatile star.

"Humans cannot see ultraviolet light, but some animals, like some species of jumping spiders, can," explained Loyd. "Imagining we could see ultraviolet light and we were standing on the planet Proxima Centauri b when this flare happened, we would have experienced a blinding flash, just about at the limit of our visual range. If organisms do exist on a planet like this, I suspect they would have to react very quickly to protect themselves at the earliest indication of a flare, and they would need to do this several times per day."

To see just how much Proxima Centauri flares, the team pulled off what approaches a coup in the field of astrophysics: They pointed nine different instruments at the star for 40 hours over the course of several months in 2019. Those eyes included the Hubble Space Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Five of them recorded that massive flare from Proxima Centauri on May 1, 2019, capturing the event as it produced a wide spectrum of radiation.

The ASU team on this project, led by Shkolnik, was responsible for the Hubble Space Telescope observations of Proxima Centauri. Using Hubble, they recorded ultraviolet light observations of the star and analyzed these observations in search of flares.

"This research is a benchmark of how best to study flares from many angles. It reminds me of the old parable about the blind men and an elephant, where different people observe small parts of the elephant and conclude that one part is a snake, another a wall, another a tree," says Shkolnik. "Only when they look at all the angles together, do they finally understand it is an elephant. This mutliwavelength flare from Proxima Centauri is our first snapshot of the whole elephant."

Crispy planet

The technique of using nine different instruments delivered one of the most in-depth anatomies of a flare from any star in the galaxy.

The event in question lasted just seven seconds. Although it didn't produce a lot of visible light, it generated a huge surge in both ultraviolet and radio, or "millimeter," radiation.

"In the past, we didn't know that stars could flare in the millimeter range, so this is the first time we have gone looking for millimeter flares," MacGregor said.

Those millimeter signals, MacGregor added, could help researchers gather more information about how stars generate flares. Currently, scientists suspect that these bursts of energy occur when magnetic fields near a star's surface twist and snap with explosive consequences.

In all, the observed flare was roughly 100 times more powerful than any similar flare seen from Earth's sun. Over time, such energy can strip away a planet's atmosphere and even expose life forms to deadly radiation.

That type of flare may not be a rare occurrence on Proxima Centauri. In addition to the big boom in May 2019, the researchers recorded many other flares during the 40 hours they spent watching the star.

"Proxima Centauri's planets are getting hit by something like this not once in a century, but at least once a day if not several times a day," MacGregor said.

The findings suggest that there may be more surprises in store from the sun's closest planetary system.

"Each of these flares will affect the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth-size, possibly Earth-temperature planet that orbits it, and cumulatively they could add up to become a really important factor in the potential for surface life," said Loyd.

On the one hand, flares could destroy the ozone layer of a planet and make the surface a harsh place for organisms like humans that are burned by ultraviolet radiation. On the other hand, this radiation can power chemical reactions creating molecules that are the precursors to life.

The next steps for the ASU team are to analyze all the flares and determine the relationship between their intensity and how frequently they occur to determine what the cumulative, long-term effects of flares could be for the star's potentially habitable planet.

"Astrobiologists will eventually take the information we have on Proxima Centauri's flares and use it to assess what their effects could be so that we can develop a better sense of whether our closest hope of finding life outside the solar system is actually a good candidate for doing so," said Loyd.

Additional co-authors on this study include representatives from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Carnegie Institution for Science, NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Sydney, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Space Telescope Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University, the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the University of British Columbia.

ASU press contact: Karin Valentine, 480-695-7340, Karin.valentine@asu.edu



About Arizona State University

Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.

Astrobiology,

Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter.
This years Brit Awards will be one of the first major indoor events to take place since the pandemic began as part of the Governments Events Research Programme.

An audience of 4,000 will attend the annual music awards ceremony at Londons O2 Arena on May 11 without masks or social distancing.

The star-studded gala, which will see Dua Lipa and Arlo Parks perform, will be one of a series of scientifically controlled pilot events that will help determine how others operate after June 21  the date when all Covid restrictions are planned to end.

Dua Lipa, pictured at the 2019 Brits Awards will perform in May's concert

Some 4,000 fans will be able to attend next month's concert without any masks or social distancing requirements

The event-goers will be exempt from current Government guidance while they are at the venue but will have to adhere to the rules when travelling to and from the arena.

They must also show a recent negative lateral flow test result and will be asked to undergo Covid testing afterwards and sign up to Test and Trace in order to help scientists gain data on the safety of indoor events.

Organisers will also give away 2,500 tickets to key workers from the Greater London area to thank them for their work through the difficult times of the pandemic. This has been a long tough year for everyone and Im delighted the night will honour the key worker heroes who have cared for us so well during that time and continue to do so, said Miss Lipa. The Brit Awards are always special and this will truly make it a night to remember.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said: The Brits are always a big night in the music calendar, but this years awards will be particularly special.

They will reunite live audiences with the best of British talent for the first time in a year, while providing a vital opportunity to see how we can get large crowds back safely as soon as possible. It comes after the Grammy Awards hosted a successful ceremony this year in Los Angeles, which saw nominees and performers, including Harry Styles and Beyonce, attend in person but without a live audience.

Arlo Parks, Celeste, Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware are up for the coveted Mastercard Album of The Year gong alongside male grime star J Hus, marking the first time in Brit Awards history that women have made up four out of five of the nominees.

It would mark only the ninth time a woman has won the award.

Pre-virus: Stormzy at February 2020s Brits

Study: The Brits, with Dua Lipa, will help scientists get data on Covid safe events
SOUTHFIELD, MI  A woman who claims a high-profile Detroit lawyer grabbed her breast during a photo-op can pursue a lawsuit, a court has decided.

The Michigan Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case, which means an appeals court ruling will stand in the case, which claims Mike Morse inflicted emotional distress due to the incident, The Associated Press reports.

Morse is known for TV ads that feature his mother and tout his success in representing injured people, the report said.

The woman alleges that Morse grabbed her left breast in 2017 when they posed for a photo at a restaurant. He denies it, AP reports.

Last year, the appeals court said the womans claim could move forward, and that decision stands, the report said. The legal threshold in the case is high.

Plaintiff had just met Morse and they were in a public place with other people nearby, AP reports. Thus, the conduct, if it occurred, would have been particularly brash and unexpected, the court said.

Morses attorney, Deb Gordon, has called the lawsuit a sham cooked up by his rivals in the legal field, AP reports.

READ MORE:

Woman to be charged for alleged false claims of sexual assault, kidnapping

Body camera video shows Grand Rapids police officer punching man after traffic stop

Unprecedented housing market leaves Realtors stunned: Never seen anything like this
Over the years, many people have claimed, or have been claimed, to be Nakamoto, including Wright who first made the claim in 2016. Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images

A man who has publicly claimed he is the creator of Bitcoin (BTC-USD) has launched legal action in London against website Bitcoin.org for copyright infringement.

Dr Craig Wright, 50, an Australian-born businessman and computer scientist based in Surrey, said he used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto to publish an academic paper in 2008 entitled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, which laid the foundations for the cryptocurrency.

The paper has subsequently become widely known among those interested in blockchain technology, blockchain-linked digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

The legal proceedings are against Cobra, which operates Bitcoin.org and centres around the websites decision to publish the academic paper.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the presumed pseudonymous person (or persons) who developed Bitcoin, authored the Bitcoin white paper, and created its original reference implementation.

Over the years, many people have claimed, or have been claimed, to be Nakamoto, including Wright who first made the claim in 2016.

Others have included cryptographic pioneer Hal Finney, computer scientist Nick Szabo, and Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, whose birth name is Satoshi Nakamoto.

WATCH: What is Bitcoin?

Ontier LLP, Wrights lawyers on the case against Bitcoin.org, said they had previously informed Cobra that it was infringing his copyright and requested that the paper was to be removed.

They said: "Similarly, Dr Wright does not wish to restrict access to his White Paper but does not agree that it should be used by supporters and developers of alternative assets, such as Bitcoin Core, to promote or otherwise misrepresent those assets as being Bitcoin given that they do not support or align with the vision for Bitcoin as he set out in his White Paper."

Cobra has previously said it was "cryptographically possible for someone to verify themselves to be Satoshi Nakamoto", but that "unfortunately, Craig has been unable to do this".

Story continues

It added that it would "continue hosting the Bitcoin whitepaper and wont be silenced or intimidated".

Others hosting the whitepaper should follow our lead in resisting these false allegations, Cobra said.

READ MORE: Dogecoin nosedive continues but supporters are undeterred

A Twitter account which claimed to represent Cobra additionally questioned why some lawyers were taking his claims seriously.

"Craig Wright obviously isnt the inventor of Bitcoin, as that would make him the 25th richest person in the world."

In April 2019, Wright registered US copyright in the Bitcoin white paper and the code for Bitcoin 0.1.

A spokesman for Wright told the Financial Times at the time that this was "the first government agency recognition of Craig Wright as Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.

However, the United States copyright office issued a press release clarifying that this was not the case, and that "the copyright office does not investigate whether there is a provable connection between the claimant and the pseudonymous author."

In May 2019, Wright started using UK libel law to sue those who denied he was the inventor of Bitcoin, and who called him a fraud, Bloomberg reported.

Wright has served legal notices to Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH-USD), who called him a fraud, as well as Roger Ver, an early Bitcoin entrepreneur, and podcaster Peter McCormack.

It comes as Ethereum, the world's second cryptocurrency, continued to rally on Thursday, hitting a new high of $2,586 (1,864), up roughly 14%.

Yahoo Finance has reached out to Ontier LLP for further comment.

WATCH: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency?
SAQQARA, Egypt - Seated in a yellow plastic laundry basket attached to two thick ropes, I was lowered into the earth. The light got dimmer, the temperature colder. A musty smell filled the air. The only sound was from the workmen above handling the ropes and yelling "shweya" - slowly.

One miscue, and I could fall 100 feet.

I was inside a burial shaft in Saqqara, the ancient necropolis roughly 19 miles south of Cairo. In recent months, a series of discoveries have captivated the world of archaeology.

The most significant find came in January, when archaeologists came upon inscriptions showing that the temple they were unearthing belonged to a previously unknown ancient queen. Her name was Queen Neit. She was the wife of King Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty, which ruled more than 4,300 years ago as part of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

I was descending into the cemeterial netherworld below her funerary temple.

Midway down the shaft, the walls took on a honeycomb pattern, with large shelves carved into them. Thousands of years ago, they held painted coffins and mummies wrapped in linen and reeds. While I descended farther, the shaft narrowed as I passed through a wood frame that supports the walls. Just above the bottom, water glistened on the walls like jewels.

The basket touched ground.

The eyes adjusted to the dark. On the floor were two limestone coffins. Both damaged, their contents looted, perhaps more than 2,000 years ago. Who had been buried here? How and why were their coffins lowered so far into the earth? And how did the thieves know where to look?

"Our civilization is full of mysteries," NeRmeen Aba-Yazeed, a member of the archaeological team, said afterward. "And we have discovered one of these mysteries."

Before the inscription was found, King Teti was thought to have only two wives, Iput and Khuit. But the realization he had a third, Neit, with her own temple, was prompting a rethink of those ancient days.

"We are rewriting history," Zahi Hawass, Egypt's most well-known archaeologist and its former antiquities minister, would say later in the day.

- - -

Ancient history is being revealed in many parts of Egypt these days. In early February, archaeologists found 16 human burial chambers at the site of an ancient temple on the outskirts of the northern city of Alexandria. Two of the mummies had golden tongues, which Egyptian Antiquities Ministry officials said were to allow them to "speak in the afterlife."

That same month, a massive 5,000-year-old brewery - believed to be the world's oldest - was discovered in the southern city of Sohag. The beer, researchers hypothesize, was used in burial rituals for Egypt's earliest kings.

Last month, ruins of an ancient Christian settlement were discovered in the Bahariya Oasis, nestled in Egypt's Western desert. The find sheds new light on monastic life in the 5th century A.D.

And just last week, archaeologists announced they had unearthed a 3,000-year-old "lost golden city" in the southern city of Luxor, a discovery that could be the biggest since the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen.

With every discovery, the government's hopes rise that more tourists will arrive, bringing much-needed foreign currency and creating new jobs for millions. Egypt's tourism-dependent economy has suffered in the past decade from the political chaos that developed after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The Saqqara necropolis is at once a center of the country's aspirations and of its subterranean secrets. It was part of the burial grounds for the ancient capital, Memphis, its ruins now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In Saqqara, 17 Egyptian kings built pyramids to house their remains and possessions for what they believed was the transition to the afterlife. These pyramids include the world's oldest, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built in the 27th century B.C. Recent finds have drawn the world's attention, depicted in the Netflix film "Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb" and National Geographic's "Kingdom of the Mummies" TV series.

In November, for instance, archaeologists dug up more than 100 ornately painted wooden coffins, some with mummies, and dozens of other artifacts, including amulets, funeral statues and masks. Some of the coffins had been found on those shelves I had passed during my descent.

- - -

After I emerged from the burial shaft, Hawass explained how the discoveries were reshaping the understanding of Pharaonic times.

"Now we are writing a new chapter in the history of the Old Kingdom by adding the name of a new queen of Teti that he never announced before," said Hawass, 73, standing in the temple's ruins, wearing his trademark wide-brimmed Indiana Jones hat and a cream-colored safari jacket over a denim shirt and jeans.

But there was more to consider than just the emergence of a new queen. Could Neit have also been Teti's daughter? Hawass's team had found inscriptions that referred to Neit as the daughter of a pharaoh.

Incest would not be new for the ancients. In Egyptian lore, the god Osiris had married his sister Isis. Pharaohs were widely believed to have married their sisters and daughters, but that was during reigns later than Teti's Sixth Dynasty.

"Is she a daughter of a king of the Fifth Dynasty, or is she a daughter of Teti?" Hawass asked. "If she is a daughter of Teti, it would be the first time in Egyptian history to have a king marrying his daughter."

A short walk across the sand was another burial shaft where even more had been discovered about Teti's legacy.

I followed Hawass down a ladder, 36 feet into the ground. At the bottom, in a space the size of a walk-in closet, were wooden coffins stacked in piles. They were painted in hues of blue and red, some with intricate images of gods and goddesses. They still contained mummies, Hawass said, and the names of the deceased were written on the decaying wood. His team had found 54 coffins here.

From inscriptions on the coffins, the team had traced the subterranean cemetery to the 18th and 19th dynasties of Egypt's New Kingdom, from more than 3,000 years ago. The discoveries were shedding light on a little understood period of Saqqara, between 1570 and 1069 B.C.

Teti, it appears, had been worshiped as a god in the New Kingdom. Many of his followers wanted to be buried around his pyramid, often visiting coffin and mummification workshops in Saqqara, Hawass said.

The poor were placed in simple wooden coffins. But the colorful, ornately decorated ones that I was seeing had belonged to Teti's wealthy followers.

- - -

Placed inside the coffins were miniature wooden boats, games, pottery and tiny gold pieces to carry and use in the afterlife. Little statuettes and amulets carry the shapes and names of gods and pharaohs.

Among the artifacts discovered were pieces of a 15-foot-long papyrus that included texts of the Book of the Dead, a collection of spells written by priests to help the deceased pass through the underworld and into the afterlife.

Inside a store room, Ahmed Tarek and Maysa Rabea are placing the jagged pieces of the papyrus together, like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle. They are also restoring and studying artifacts to gain more understanding of how Egyptians prepared themselves for the afterlife.

Shards of pottery found in the rubble unveil new details of ancient life. Many were imported, evidence that trade flourished between Egypt and Palestine, Cyprus, Crete and Syria.

Mohamed Mahmoud reassembles pieces of pottery to make them whole. In the tent next door, Asmaa Massoud analyzes skulls and other bones to determine age and cause of death. Next to her, in a small wooden box, is the mummy of a child.

"The excavations and artifacts show how much Saqqara was important in the New Kingdom," Hawass told me. "They tell us more about the beliefs, not only for the rich, but also for the poor."

Some of the discoveries, however, defy explanation.

In a burial shaft, this one 63 feet deep, a 20-ton sarcophagus the size of a Humvee and made of granite sits at the bottom. How did it get there? It, too, was looted by thieves. How did they know where to look?

Hawass expects to encounter more mysteries. It will take 20 years to fully uncover the secrets here, he says. "In Saqqara, we have found only 30 percent of what's underneath," he said. "It is a site that if you dig in any place, you'll find something."

- - -

The Washington Post's Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo contributed to this report.
More than 21,000 people who took the first dose of coronavirus vaccines have tested positive for coronavirus. On the other hand, 5,500 contracted the infection after taking the second dose, according to central government data.

ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said that merely 0.04 per cent of 17,37,178 individuals, who received a second dose of Covaxin were tested positive for the coronavirus. Whereas 0.03 per cent of 1,57,32,754 people, who took the second dose of Covishield, contracted the infection.

According to the ICMR chief, a total of 1.1 crore doses of Covaxin have been administered till now. Of which, 93 lakh received the first dose and out of that 4,208 (0.04 per cent) people got the infection which is four per 10,000 individuals. About 17,37,178 people received the second dose of which only 695 (0.04 per cent) tested positive for COVID-19.

Whereas a total of 11.6 crore dose of Covishield has been administered so far. Ten crore received the first dose and 17,145 i.e. two per 10,000 people contracted the infection. About 1,57,32,754 individuals took the second dose of Covishield and of that 5,014 (0.03 per cent) got infected. Two to four per 10,000 breakthrough infections have occurred. This was mainly healthcare workers prone to more occupational hazards, Bhargava said.

NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul noted that there is a risk even after taking vaccination so "we stress people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour even after taking the vaccination".

Paul said that with refinements being made in vaccine policy, India is talking to major manufacturers from other countries very, very actively.

He further said a fourth vaccine, Hyderabad-based Biological E's indigenous anti-coronavirus shot, may become available from August.

"The phase 1 and 2 trial of Biological E is almost over and they will be submitting their data, and after that, they will go into phase 3.This is a very significant development as they have a capacity of seven crore vaccines per month," Paul said.

Also read: 'Wait, watch for few days to assess situation,' says Nirmala Sitharaman to industry

Also read: Fourth COVID-19 vaccine soon; Biological E's shot likely to hit markets in August
History has been a stern instructor of Black people in this country, beating out hope wherever it dares to emerge.

As James Baldwin once put it, there is embedded in the American Negro the wise desire not to be betrayed by too much hoping. The possessor of dashed hopes is in some ways more injured and dangerous than the consistently hopeless. The possessors of dashed hopes spread their wings, which make them vulnerable, and get them clipped. Bitterness is a natural byproduct of such betrayal.

Before Tuesdays guilty verdict for a former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, in the murder of George Floyd, many of us were afraid to hope that justice would be done. It doesnt matter the strength of the case or the preponderance of evidence; convicting a police officer of killing a Black man is so rare in this country that I can count the recent cases I recall on my fingers  on one hand.

So when the verdicts came down, for me, there was a moment of shock: The justice system had administered justice to a Black man, a Black family, the Black community, the country and the world. We are so used to the system betraying us that it was stunning to see it serve us.

Could we celebrate? Should we celebrate? Of course we should have, and we did.

But even in celebrating that victory, there is sadness. Why is the hurdle set to that nearly impossible height? Must your killing be in slow motion and caught on not one video but multiples?

Must the blue wall crack and your police chief testify against you? Must a child be put on the stand to explain how your killers depraved act has traumatized them?

Most killings of unarmed Black people by the police wont have that. Most will have the officers account and the police departments statements.

The Minneapolis Police Departments initial statement on Floyds death was headlined Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction, and it went on to say of Floyd: He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers.  Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later.

That would have been the story were it not for witnesses and cellphone video. The truth would have circulated in the community, but the lie would live on in the official record.

This is how many cases live, unresolved, in oral history told from a barber chair or bar stool. This is also how hostility, resentment and contempt grow toward policing, criminal justice and politicians. This is why the fundamentals of our criminal justice system must be reshaped to restore trust.

So, yes, we celebrate. Even warriors, in an uphill battle, those outgunned and accustomed to loss, are afforded and allowed a moment of celebration over a surprise victory. Such moments can be recharging and restorative. It doesnt mean that we are confusing the war that still rages for the battle in which we were victorious.

The fight against rules on every level of government that insulate officers and criminalize Black people are part of the war. Systems of racism that have created segregation, concentrated poverty, poorly resourced communities and failing educational systems are part of the war. A public perception that what ails Black people is pathological and that all policing is good and gallant is part of the problem.

It is important to remember that the verdict against Derek Chauvin didnt change a single police union rule that protects officers from incriminating themselves. It didnt change a word of the criminal code, which can shield them from prosecution. It didnt alter a single federal or Supreme Court precedent that prevented them from being convicted.

There are enormous hurdles to overcome in the arrest, charging, trial and conviction of an officer. What this case demonstrated was that there is  at least in this jurisdiction and with these jurors  a limit. It took a case so obvious, so egregious, so depraved that it could clear the hurdles.

In this extraordinary case, there was justice for George Floyd. But until justice for Black people killed by the state exists not only in the extraordinary case but also in the mundane, until it is not shocking that an officer is held accountable for murder, the crusade continues. One battle is won, but we are still in the middle of the war for equality.
OnSceneTV

A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed Wednesday night just outside of his southeast Houston apartment complex near Hobby Airport, police said.

Officers responded around 11 p.m. to 8405 Broadway south of Bellfort, where they found the boy dead from multiple gunshot wounds, said Lt. Emanuel Pavel of the Houston Police Department. The teen, who has not been identified, died at the scene.
How in the world is telling people not to travel outside their health authority going to have any impact if the interprovincial border is still open and flights continue to operate?

Our leaders need to institute some tough measures and get a handle on the situation instead of half-baked stabs at it.

Lorrie Brown

Yet again another blow to Canadian freedom. Mr. Horgan should be thrown out of office for this unnecessary abuse of power. I can only hope the residents of this province will finally stand-up and say no to our failing provincial and federal governments.

Damian Wilson

I cant believe that they are putting travel restrictions on provincial travel. They are letting flights in to Canada from India and China and who knows where else from. Before shutting down provincial travel they should be shutting down international travel. This government is a joke.

Kevin Bowman

Great idea to to help to keep a lid on things especially Alberta travel but almost unenforceable due to lack of manpower.

James Barr



I totally disagree with travel restrictions at this time.

If they stopped hundreds coming into Canada by flights then I would agree. Why are international flights still coming into Canada? Why are illegal aliens still allowed to enter Canada?

Stop all travel or stop nothing.

Bob Canham


Stimulus-responsive supramolecular structures have emerged as an alternative to conventional ones, owing to their applications in sensing, drug delivery, and switchable memory systems. Now, scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology explore the hydrostatic-pressure response of "foldamers"--artificial molecules that mimic protein folding--and report a shift in their preferred conformation with changing pressure, demonstrating hydrostatic pressure-enabled dynamic control. The finding opens doors to future development of pressure-sensitive foldamers and artificial materials.

Most, if not all, biological systems are extremely complex and often rely on interactions traditional chemistry does not focus on. An entire field of research called "supramolecular chemistry" has been inspired to study exactly those interactions that govern biological processes, based on an approach relying on artificial "molecular machines" to mimic biological functions. These molecular machines are responsive to a wide range of external stimuli, such as temperature, surrounding media, excitation with light, and consequently find applications in sensing, drug delivery, molecular imaging, and switchable memory technology.

However, a particular stimulus--namely, hydrostatic pressure--has long been in fashion due to the remarkable fact that it allows a supramolecular material to be studied both in its unperturbed and pressurized state. In fact, a research group based in Japan, consisting of scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), have recently shown that the optical properties and chemical processes in solutions of supramolecular materials can be precisely regulated by hydrostatic pressure.

Inspired by their findings, the group, led by Prof. Gaku Fukuhara from Tokyo Tech and Prof. Hiromitsu Maeda from Ritsumeikan University, moved on to study the effects of pressure on "foldamers"--artificial molecules that mimic proteins. Their findings were published in the journal Chemical Science (doi : 10.1039/D1SC00664A). The name "foldamer" derives from the fact that these systems can replicate proteins folding into well-defined patterns. Prof. Gaku Fukuhara explains the motivation for their study: "The solution-state behavior of foldamers under hydrostatic pressure has not been examined in detail, which poses a challenge to further advancements in supramolecular chemistry."

For a foldamer to fold into a specific conformation, it first needs to bind to a "guest" negatively charged ion that forms the racemic state (equal amount) of helical structures. The chirality (or the property of being distinct from its mirror image) of the resulting structure can then be induced by introducing an asymmetric counter positive ion, a process known as "ion pairing". The ion pairing, however, depends on the solvation conditions for the foldamer, which, in turn, can be influenced by hydrostatic pressure. Accordingly, scientists chose a fluorescent foldamer as a negative ion receptor, called a "host", and chiral ion pairs (such as chloride and bromide) as "guests" (Fig. 1) to explore the optical properties of the "host" solution under hydrostatic pressure.

The scientists began by examining the changes in fluorescence and absorption (in UV and visible) spectra for the host in various organic solvents under pressure and observed a gradual shift in the spectral band to longer wavelengths as well as an increased absorbance with rising pressure. They attributed this to the fact that the host initially adopts two conformers, one extended and one folded, and gradually shifts to an "extended-rich state" upon pressurization (Fig. 2, left). Then, after electronic excitation (h), two different fluorescence states were observed from these conformers (Fig. 2, right).

"Our study clearly shows that conformations in the flexible foldamer host can be dynamically controlled, in both ground and excited states, simply by changing hydrostatic pressure," comments an excited Prof. Fukuhara. "In fact, this strategy can even be extended to other foldamer and guest combinations that have difficulty sensing each other or do not show a host-guest chemistry," he adds.

The team's efforts at deciphering foldamers better certainly brings us one step closer to comprehending the complexity of proteins!

###

About Tokyo Institute of Technology

Tokyo Tech stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in fields ranging from materials science to biology, computer science, and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech hosts over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year, who develop into scientific leaders and some of the most sought-after engineers in industry. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of "monotsukuri," meaning "technical ingenuity and innovation," the Tokyo Tech community strives to contribute to society through high-impact research.

https:/ / www. titech. ac. jp/ english/

About Ritsumeikan University, Japan

Established in 1869 with a spirit of liberalism and internationalism, Ritsumeikan University is one of the top-ranking universities in Japan; it was the first to be rated by Quacquarelli Symonds. The university now counts with three main campuses in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka and boasts over 36,000 students. It is the No. 1 recommended destination for exchange students and even offers the opportunity to earn some degrees entirely in English. Its educational philosophy is based around peace and democracy, and the university strives to face the current era of rapid changes with a rich diversity of people and ideas. http://en. ritsumei. ac. jp/

About Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Dozens of Texas civil rights groups are hitting back against Senate Bill 7 and House Bill 6, two bills that would substantially change voting processes in Texas if passed.

Both bills have received significant pushback from lawmakers, residents and Texas-based companies. Prominent Texas Republicans are claiming the bills are necessary to prevent voter fraud in the state and that Democrats are pushing a narrative that the bill allows for voter suppression.

MCGOVERN-HEY?: Former president George W. Bush weighs in on Matthew McConaughey's possible bid for governor

More than 60 Texas organizations and civil rights groups including ACLU of Texas, Houston Food Bank, Texas NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Texas have signed a letter condemning the bills and outlining how they harm voter access in the state.

"The supporters of HB 6 and SB 7 challenged people to 'read the bills and point to voter suppression,'" the Texas Civil Rights Project wrote in a tweet. "Today, 63 civil rights orgs have gladly accepted that challenge & are releasing two joint statements outlining some of the sections that would harm voters the most."

Senate Bill 7 would limit early voting hours, eliminate drive-thru voting and largely limit mail-in voting. House Bill 6 would also largely limit access to mail-in voting and require voters who need assistance, such as those with disabilities or those who aren't fluent in English, to disclose why they require someone to help them vote.

In a press conference earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick chided American Airlines CEO Doug Parker for commenting against SB 7 reportedly before reading it.

You have a right to your opinion, but read the damn bill, Patrick said.

VERY TEXAS POLITICS: Mike Collier yelling at cows is everything I want from Texas political ads

Voters want confidence in their election system," Patrick also said in the conference. "Senate Bill 7 is not voter suppression, its voter security."

According to the Houston Chronicle's editorial board, the state has only prosecuted 174 cases of voter fraud since 2005  a minuscule portion of the more than 93 million ballots cast since then.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Lucky Minerals Inc. (TSXV:LKY)(OTC PINK:LKMNF)(FRA:LKY) ("Lucky" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ("EITI"). The EITI is the global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources throughout the world and it promotes the open and accountable management of a country's natural resources. It is aligned with the Open Government Partnership, to which Ecuador is a signatory and promotes the fight against corruption and promotes transparent, participatory, inclusive and accountable governance. To date, 55 countries have implemented the EITI Standard and Ecuador joined the initiative in October 2020.

Adherence to the EITI requires the Government of Ecuador to publicly disclose information and full transparency regarding all stages in resource extraction such as:

Contracts & Licenses

Production

Revenue Collection & Allocation

Social and Economic Spending.

Lucky's CEO, Mr. Francois Perron stated: "We are pleased to have been accepted as an EITI member and join an internationally recognized framework that aligns with our commitment to industry best practices in social and corporate responsibility, accountability, and performance excellence. We are committed and strongly believe that by implementing international standards of industry and by providing a transparent and responsible mining sector, will result in positive development and bring enhancements to areas where the projects are located."

About Lucky

Lucky is an exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in proven districts with the potential to host world class deposits. Lucky owns a 100% interest in the Fortuna Property.

The Fortuna Property is comprised of twelve contiguous royalty-free concessions and occupies 550 km2 (55,000 Ha, or 136,000 Acres). Fortuna is located in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador.

To date Lucky has identified 4 key target zones the most prospective of which is Wayka.

Wayka

Wayka is just east of the El Buitre Porphyry and west of the Emma Porphyry discovered last fall. Outcrop sampling to date confirms the presence of vuggy silica and alunite within rhyolite volcanics, typically found in high sulfidation epithermal systems. Out of the 12 samples received to date, a third of them are above 0.30 g/t gold and another third are anomalous (between 0.040 g/t gold and 0.30 g/t gold). Prospecting at Wayka continues with the goal of expanding the current footprint of 1.2 km by 0.5 km and to increase the understanding of the overall system.

Covid-19 Safety Protocols

Lucky Minerals has strict rules in place for all workers, consultants and service providers arriving to and from field sites. All personnel are tested upon arriving and leaving and are tested every two weeks. All personnel are housed in separate and private accommodations and are isolated from the community.

Qualified Person:

Victor Jaramillo, M.Sc.A., P.Geo., Lucky's Exploration Manager and a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for supervising the exploration program at the Fortuna Project for Lucky Minerals and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Francois Perron"

Chief Executive Officer

Further information on Lucky can be found on the Company's website at www.luckyminerals.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting Francois Perron, President and CEO, by email at investors@luckyminerals.com or by telephone at (866) 924 6484.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Adjacent Properties and Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labor relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company's forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations also include risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators.

The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

SOURCE: Lucky Minerals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641690/Lucky-Minerals-Joins-Eiti-Ecuador-As-Supporting-Company
TROY  Pulitzer Prize-winning author, poet and activist Alice Walker will be a virtual keynote speaker at Hudson Valley Community College's commencement event next month, school officials announced Wednesday.

Walker, who wrote "The Color Purple," has attracted controversy in recent years for her endorsement of a British author accused of promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in his work.

In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Walker expressed admiration for writer David Icke, known for his theory that Jewish people are involved in a secret cabal of alien lizard people who control the world and his claim that Jews sponsored their own Holocaust.

Maria Zemantauski, Hudson Valley Community College coordinator of cultural affairs student activities, said she had been trying to book Walker to speak at the college since before the 2018 controversy.

"She's a very gifted, talented, award-winning writer who has had immense life experiences. The controversy was horrible and unfortunate but we do not believe she is anti-Semitic or racist. We absolutely would not invite someone to the college who is anti-Semitic or racist," Zemantauski said.

Icke's work, Walker said, is a curious persons dream come true. She has also been criticized for blog entries and poetry she has written about Jewish people.

Icke and Walker both reject the idea that Icke is anti-Semitic.

Walker wrote on her website I do not believe (Icke) is anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish. I do believe he is brave enough to ask the questions others fear to ask and to speak his own understanding of the truth wherever it might lead."

Zemantauski said she is aware of the backlash over The New York Times interview but was satisfied with Walker's response.

"We can't discount her contributions to the civil rights movement. Her remarks to students will be about living their truth and speaking their truth, whatever that may be, even if their truth is provocative," Zemantauski said.

The Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York did not respond to requests for comment.

The Troy college will hold its 67th annual commencement exercises in a unique hybrid format. Four abbreviated in-person ceremonies, organized by program of study, will be held at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on May 15, followed by a virtual commencement celebration that will be livestreamed that evening.

Graduates from the classes of 2020 and 2021 can participate. COVID-19 restrictions prevented the college from offering an in-person commencement event in 2020.

The virtual commencement celebration on Saturday evening will be hosted by news anchor and HVCC alumnus John Gray.

All in-person events will be held in accordance with New York state COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. Accordingly, graduates are allowed to have two guests in attendance following proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results. All four ceremonies will provide individual recognition for graduates and include remarks by President Roger Ramsammy and academic deans.

Ceremonies will be livestreamed on the colleges website.

The Class of 2021 includes 1,549 students who will earn associate degrees and certificates. Of them, 433 will graduate with academic honors, and 164 are members of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Biden delivered new pledges, saying the U.S. would double climate funding help for less wealthy countries by 2024. That cost would be more than made up for when disasters and conflicts are avoided, he said. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation would make a third of all its new investments climate-focused within two years, he said.
Massachusetts education officials on Wednesday pitched an expansion of the early college high school program, praising the programs as an innovative approach to counter widening racial disparities among college education rates.

Education experts who testified before the Senates Reimagining Massachusetts hearing Wednesday repeatedly pointed to early college as a school-to-college-to-job pipeline that has survived the pandemic.

The early college program in the commonwealth is new, but nonetheless the returns thus far are promising, said Manny Cruz, advocacy director of Latinos for Education in Massachusetts and a Salem School Committee member.

Overall, college enrollment continued to decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the fall 2019 and fall 2020 semester, student enrollment fell 11.3% at community colleges and 7.7% at state colleges at university, according to Higher Education Commissioner Carlos Santiago. The University of Massachusetts system saw a 0.6% drop in enrollment during the pandemic.

Yet early college high school students were among the few groups whose enrollment levels remained stable despite the enrollment, Santiago said. Enrollment levels remained unchanged among college students under the age of 18 who hadnt yet picked a major.

These pre-college and high school to college programs are really showing they work, and we were seeing that theyre growing, he said.

Early college high school programs allow students to take classes for college credit in subjects that could land them on a career track with the support of their teachers and other high school resources. The program is designed to help students spend less time and money on college and get a jump start on skills training that can lead to work after graduation.

A recent report from MassINC that analyzes state data, suggests early college programs lead to higher college enrollment levels. A review of 2019 enrollment showed 35% of early college students compared to 18% of other students matriculated in a two-year college program. Another 42% of early college students, compared to 38% of other students, matriculated in a four-year college program.

At least 174 early college high school students were admitted to the UMass system, nearly one in four participants. Another 54 went to Worcester State University, 38 went to Bunker Hill Community College and 36 went to Fitchburg State University.

The results of the early college program proved a bright spot in a state where college enrollment was dropping and where Black and Latino students were reporting lower levels of post-secondary schooling than their white counterparts, said Chris Gabrieli, chairman of the board of the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.

Theyre an innovation that can counter these trends and then directly address equity, Gabrieli said of early college high schools.

Since launching in 2018, Massachusetts has 26 early college programs across 38 high schools and 20 higher education institutions. The early college designation process was paused for the 2020-21 school year, but the state opened applications for fall 2021.

Gov. Charlie Bakers proposed fiscal 2022 budget would allocate $2.5 million to the secretary of education to develop new early college programs, in addition to scholarship money that can be used for early college. The Houses budget would also allocate $2.5 million to developing new early college programs.

Rep. Jeff Roy proposed an amendment to add $3.4 million to the $130 million college scholarship fund, earmarking it for early college programs. Another Roy amendment would allocate $3.4 million for early college by tacking it onto the $4 million line item for dual enrollment, another program that allows high school students to take college courses.

The program has returned incredible results, said Roy, a Franklin Democrat and former chair of the higher education committee. Getting students the opportunity to get college credit and see that they can actually do college work has probably been the most effective way for bridging the equity gap in education.

Roy also filed an early college expansion proposal earlier this year that among other things would set up a Massachusetts Office of College in High School to develop a curriculum that would focus on courses that can be transferrable to college credit or an industry-specific certificate. The bill, H. 693, would launch a trust fund to cover the costs of the expanded statewide program, which would target districts with high pockets of poverty.

While the so-called achievement gap has closed between wealthier, white students and Black, Latino and working-class students, the gap has widened at the college level. Black and Latino students are earning post-secondary degrees at half the rate of white students, Gabrieli said, citing state education data.

Black and Latino students are better represented in the early college program, the MassINC report states, which notes Massachusetts made equitable access to education the first requirement of the early college designation. Twenty-one percent of students in early college programs are Black, and 46% are Latino.

The pandemic has also exposed racial inequities in higher education attainment. Cruz urged lawmakers to consider pandemic-related factors that could be preventing more Black and Latino students, as well as low-income students, from participating in a program like early college high school.

Cruz, who has researched the impact of COVID-19 on Latino students and their families, cited lack of devices, internet connectivity issues and food insecurity as factors that have affected families, including schoolchildren.

These are the challenges that our students face as they choose whether or not to engage in great programs like early college, Cruz said.

Cruz called for responses to the digital divide and food insecurity along with programs such as early college to help reduce racial disparities driving down college education attainment levels.

Early college is the greatest equalizer that we offer when it comes to college access and completion for Black, Latino and students of color, he said.
There are grim fears 53 sailors on board a missing military submarine won't be found alive due to the depths the vessel sunk to.

The submarine - carrying 49 crew members, its commander and three gunners - has not been seen or heard from since Wednesday when it was conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of Bali.

The KRI Nanggala-402 vessel lost contact after being granted clearance to dive and could have sunk to a depth of between 600 and 800 metres, well below its safe operating levels.

More than 400 emergency response personnel on board two warships have been searching for the missing vessel.

The hunt for Nanggala-402: Rescuers prepare to set off from Bali on a search mission with 53 submarine crew members missing

The submarine was conducting a torpedo drill in waters about 96 kilometres north of the island of Bali

Navy spokesman First Admiral Julius Widjojono said the diesel-powered submarine could only sustain depths of between 250 and 500m

A helicopter discovered an oil spill where the submarine was thought to have submerged early Wednesday, which pointed to possible damage and fanned fears in the Southeast Asian nation of disaster.

While the KRI Nanggala 402 may have several days' worth of oxygen reserves, defence analysts warned that the vessel could break into pieces if it had sunk to depths believed to be as much as 700 metres.

Navy spokesman First Admiral Julius Widjojono said the oil slick 'could indicate damage to the body of the submarine'.

Widjojono said the diesel-powered submarine could only sustain depths of between 250 and 500m.

'Anything more than that can be pretty fatal, dangerous,' he said.

Australia has responded to Indonesia's request for help in the search mission (pictured Wednesday night)

Widjojono said search teams were focused on an area around the oil slick, but that the exact location of the vessel had yet to be pinpointed

Widjojono said search teams were focused on an area around the oil slick, but that the exact location of the vessel had yet to be pinpointed.

On Wednesday, the navy said the submarine might have sunk to vast depths.

'It's possible...a blackout occurred so the vessel couldn't be controlled and emergency procedures could not be launched and this caused it to go down to 600 or 700 metres,' it said.

Antoine Beaussant, a French navy vice admiral, said the submarine was not built to withstand those depths.

'If it went down to rest at 700 metres the likelihood is it would have broken up,' he told AFP.

Frank Owen, secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, also said the submarine could be too deep for a rescue team to operate.

'Most rescue systems are really only rated to about 600 metres (1,969ft),' he said.

'They can go deeper than that because they will have a safety margin built into the design, but the pumps and other systems that are associated with that may not have the capacity to operate. So they can survive at that depth, but not necessarily operate.'

The Indonesian government has sought help from Australia and Singapore to find the missing submarine.

'We are obviously very concerned about these reports. It's very distressing for families and particularly for the Indonesian Navy,' Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Thursday.

'We operate very different submarines from this one, but the Australian Defence Force and Australian Defence Organisation will work with defence operations in Indonesia to determine what we may be able to do.

The German-made submarine, KRI Nanggala-402 (file photo of the submarine), has gone missing with 53 people on board

'We will go to the support of our neighbour in any way we can.'

Defence Minister Peter Dutton described the incident as a terrible tragedy and said deep waters in the location would make a recovery very difficult.

Submarine rescue expert Frank Owen said the ADF could provide a remote operating vehicle to help map the ocean terrain.

'If it is in the depth of water that's there, then there will be little they can do to actually get the people out,' he told the ABC.

'The only way to get the people out would be to salvage the submarine, and that's a lengthy process.'

Independent senator Rex Patrick, a former submariner, expressed deep concern but said he believed there was still hope.

'This is a chilling reminder of just how dangerous submarine service can be,' he said.

Senator Payne said the submarine search and rescue would be a complex task.

'Those submariners and their families are very much in need of all of our thoughts and prayers,' she said.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Monday, April 19

10:40 p.m.  A deputy and MidMichigan EMS responded to a Jerome Township facility for the report of 58-year-old woman who was suicidal. The woman was subsequently transported to the ER for a mental health evaluation.

10:39 p.m.  Officers arrested a driver for drug possession and driving with a suspended license in the 6200 block of Eastman Avenue.

10:28 p.m.  A deputy responded to a delayed report of domestic assault that occurred at a Warren Township residence. The victim, a 31-year-old Jerome Township woman, said she was assaulted by her 34-year-old sister. The report was turned over to the courts for review.

9:55 p.m.  A deputy, EMS and Lee Township Fire were sent to a Lee Township business for a report of a man who was having a medical problem or an overdose. EMS and Fire arrived on scene and made contact with a man and began to treat him. The man was breathing when EMS and Fire arrived on scene. He was then transported to the ER for treatment.

9:29 p.m.  A 26-year-old Mount Pleasant woman was arrested in Lee Township on an outstanding Michigan State Police warrant out of Isabella County.

8:46 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a City of Coleman residence for an assault complaint. A 36-year-old Weidman woman reported she was spit on by an unknown man who had trespassed through the backyard. The man also made statements that he would return to kill the woman. He man did not return and the woman was not injured. Deputies were able to develop a suspect and contact was made with a 57-year-old Coleman man, who was arrested for simple assault and lodged at the Midland County Jail.

2:55 p.m.  Deputies responded to a vehicle crash in a Larkin Township business parking lot.

1:02 p.m.  A deputy was requested to attempt contact with a 59-year-old Edenville Township man, whose neighbor said had tested positive for COVID-19, and they had seen him in the past few days. The deputy made contact with the man, who said he does have COVID-19, was doing OK, and needed no further assistance.

11:36 a.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Jerome Township residence where a 53-year-old woman said an unknown woman walked up to the front door and knocked, stating she needed help. The 53-year-old said the other woman said she was assaulted and held against her will at an unknown residence in the area. The complainant called 9-1-1 for help, but the woman left the area on foot before deputies arrived. Deputies thoroughly checked the area, but the unknown woman was not located. Central Dispatch did not receive any additional calls regarding the subject.

11:33 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Hope Township residence regarding a disorderly 21-year-old woman. The deputy arrived on scene and found that the 21-year-old was upset with her 67-year-old grandmother due to a verbal argument. The deputy found that the 21-year-old had three open warrants out of Midland County. She was arrested and transported to the Midland County Jail.

9:05 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a City of Midland business to complete a car-deer crash report that occurred in Lincoln Township earlier in the morning.

8:55 a.m.  Deputies responded to a Lee Township residence to assist a 59-year-old woman with questions she had related to her ex-boyfriend. The woman said she was receiving unwanted text messages and Facebook posts from her ex-boyfriend. She requested information on how to get him to stop making contact with her. Deputies advised the woman to block the man's phone number and to block him on her social media accounts.

7:53 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to the area of West Pine River Road near South Falcon Ridge Road for the report of a single-vehicle hit-and-run crash.

5:25 a.m.  Officers responded to a car-deer crash in the area of Dublin Avenue and Greenridge Drive.

3:29 a.m.  While on patrol, a deputy came across the remains of an unreported traffic crash where a vehicle continued through a T-intersection, striking a caution sign and several trees. The Midland County Road Commission was notified regarding the damaged caution sign.

12 a.m.  A 61-year-old Flint man was arrested for operating while intoxicated, carrying a concealed weapon, and drug possession after a "be on the lookout" report for a possible drunk driver on U.S.-10 in Lincoln Township was put out.

Sunday, April 18

9:56 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence for a report of a 14-year-old runaway. The juvenile was registered as a missing person and the investigation is ongoing.

9:55 p.m.  A deputy was sent to a Jerome Township home for the report of a suicidal 39-year-old woman. The intoxicated woman said she was feeling suicidal and wanted to be treated at the ER.

8:33 p.m.  Officers responded to a report of trespassing in the 1500 block of West Wackerly Street.

5:55 p.m.  Officers responded to a domestic assault in the 1100 block of Franklin Street.

12:25 p.m.  A 75-year-old man reported two pit bulls in his yard acting aggressive. One dog had jumped on his house door. The dogs had left and were last seen running down the roadway. The deputy informed the man he would turn this over to Animal Control and they would contact him the following day.

7:28 a.m.  Deputies responded to a Homer Township residence where a 52-year-old man violated a personal protection order that was currently in place, which prohibited him from making contact with his 60-year-old ex-girlfriend. This report will be sent to the courts for review.

4:14 a.m.  Officers responded to a hit-and-run crash in the area of North Saginaw Road and Ashman Circle.

2:08 a.m.  Officers responded to a report of domestic violence in the 1400 block of Haley Street.

1:22 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence in reference to Isabella County requesting a wellbeing check on a 55-year-old man. They also requested the man be escorted from his ex's residence in Isabella County. The deputy contacted the man, who said he was fine and did not make comments to harm himself or anyone else. The man was sober and said his ex had called him several times that and he had also called her but that there were no issues. The male was advised he was not allowed back at his ex's residence in Isabella County and he agreed, while stating he had not been there in some time.

12:44 a.m.  A deputy was dispatched to Meridian Road near Shaffer Road in reference to a car-deer crash.
Benton Woman Jailed on Drug Charges, Warrants

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - A traffic stop Wednesday night in McCracken County led to a Marshall County woman's arrest on drug charges.The McCracken County Sheriff's Office said a deputy conducted a traffic stop on Louisiana Street in the Farley Area at approximately 11:30 pm. During the course of the investigation, deputies reportedly found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.Deputies said the items belonged to a passenger in the vehicle, 47-year-old Hope Littlepage of Benton, who also had two outstanding warrants. Littlepage was arrested and lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail.She's charged with possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was also arrested on the two outstanding warrants.
The Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has called for the need to generate more, not less, power as the countrys power needs grow in consonance with its growing population and urbanization.



The Minister made this observation when he opened a four-day Energy Sector Work Programme Retreat for 2021 at Ada in the Greater Accra Region.



Dr. Prempeh, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South and is popularly known as NAPO, indicated that his core vision for the sector reflected the partys 2020 election manifesto on energy, together with the presidents vision of safe, reliable energy for Ghana in a bid to meet its energy needs for domestic consumption and industrialization.



On the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) currently being renegotiated with Independent Producers (IPPs) Dr. Prempeh observed that the challenge had been that these were negotiated in an emergency, at a time that the nation had fallen on hard times and therefore meant we were in a weaker position to negotiate those agreements in our favour.



Going forward, the Minister called for a take and pay position and insisted that there would not be government guarantees with respect to future negotiations. We need to negotiate now, not when we are in hard times, Dr. Prempeh insisted.



The event brought together directors of the Ministry of Energy and senior management of various agencies in the sector to discuss the agencies programmes last year as well as their projections and key performance indicators going forward in 2021. Other stakeholders such as the Nuclear Power Ghana and the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA).



The retreat ends on Saturday.









Source: graphiconline.com









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Featured Video
RTHK: Indonesia races to find missing submarine

Indonesia deployed warships on Thursday in the hunt for a navy submarine that went missing with 53 crew aboard off the coast of Bali, as other nations sent vessels to help with the search.

An oil spill where the vessel was thought to have submerged early on Wednesday during regular exercises could point to damage, the navy has said, fanning fears that the Southeast Asian nation may be the latest country to suffer a fatal submarine disaster.

The German-built KRI Nanggala 402 was scheduled to conduct live torpedo exercises when it asked for permission to dive.

It lost contact shortly after.

Navy spokesman Julius Widjojono said on Thursday that search teams were focused on an area around the oil slick, but that the exact location of the vessel had yet to be pinpointed.

"It has not been found yet," said Widjojono. "But we've detected the area... today, around 400 personnel have been deployed."

Six warships and a helicopter have been sent out to look for the sub, the navy said.

Other nations including the United States, Australia, France and Germany have offered help.

"We are obviously very concerned about these reports. It's very distressing for families and particularly for the Indonesian navy," Australian foreign minister Marise Payne told broadcaster ABC.

Neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia have already dispatched rescue ships that are expected to arrive in the coming days, said military spokesman Achmad Riad.

There were 53 crew aboard the vessel, which was believed to be in waters about 700 metres deep.

French navy vice admiral Antoine Beaussant said earlier that the submarine was not built to withstand such a depth.

"If it went down to rest at 700 metres the likelihood is it would have broken up," he said. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Big Idea Ventures , the global leader in early-stage alternative protein investing, recently announced the launch of the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund with NC State as the inaugural collaborator. GFRP is a $125 million target fund that will fuel economic development in rural communities through the commercialization of university-developed intellectual property. Today, BIV is announcing nine additional university collaborators to the fund:



Louisiana State University  Louisiana State University AgCenters research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university.





 research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university. Oregon State University  Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. OSUs College of Agricultural Sciences accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment.





 Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment. Penn State University  Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with annual research expenditures exceeding $1 billion . Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been notably successful at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the Invent Penn State initiative , a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies.





 Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with . Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the , a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies. Purdue University  Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S.





 Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Tufts University - Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering.





- Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering. University of Hawaii  The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. The University of Hawaii at Manoa , the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more.





 The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. , the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign  As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at aces.illinois.edu .



 As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at . University of Massachusetts Amherst  UMass Amherst is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the 2020 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects .





 is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the . Worcester Polytechnic Institute  Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a long history of intellectual property creation across a number of cutting-edge technologies. Innovations span biotechnology, tissue engineering, bioreactor design, sensing technologies, advanced materials, machine learning, and scale-up manufacturing processes. Recognizing WPIs strong interdisciplinary approach connecting life sciences and manufacturing engineering, WPIs NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a research center focused in part on the industrial drying of food products, is leading to the development of technologies that support companies in the food industry worldwide.

Were honored to welcome these universities to the GFRP consortium, said Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer for Big Idea Ventures. The research being conducted at each of these institutions spans our three areas of focus: breakthroughs in food, protein and agriculture innovation. Our team is excited to start building new companies based on technology being developed by some of the worlds best and brightest.

The GFRP fund will establish venture centers to facilitate collaboration with multiple leading U.S. universities. BIV will staff the venture centers with team members experienced in evaluating intellectual property to work with the universities to identify and evaluate new developments with the strongest commercialization potential and the fund will then invest in new companies formed around the groundbreaking research. These new companies will be headquartered in rural communities near the collaborating universities. The GRRP team expects the first of these to open in conjunction with the initial closing of capital commitments.

We believe GFRP will drive additional research and encourage entrepreneurs to establish their companies near our venture centers in rural America, added Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner of BIV. Our rural communities have always been the center of our countrys food production and this is one way to help those communities continue to grow economically into the future.

About Big Idea Ventures



Big Idea Ventures (BIV) is solving the world's greatest challenges by supporting the worlds best entrepreneurs. Big Idea Ventures develops the most globally strategic funds delivering significant investor returns while addressing real world challenges. BIV is focused on alternative protein with its New Protein Fund, innovations in the food industry to solve challenges in waste, water use, plastic use and CO2 with its Generation Food Fund and commercialization of university intellectual property with its Generation Food Rural Partners fund. www.bigideaventures.com
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There are many attractions that you must stop by when traveling. You can't visit Paris for the first time without sighting the Eiffel Tower, and few individuals want to come home from Yellowstone without pictures of the Old Faithful.

But for each tourist destination that's come by its historic recognition honestly, there's an awful tourist trap that is not worth your time or money.

Advice: With the money and time you reserve by giving these a miss, discover someplace more attractive, unique, and captivating to visit instead.

Plymouth Rock

Let's begin where America started, excluding that America didn't actually begin here, anyway. Honestly, this attraction is very unsatisfactory. It's an ordinary rock, in a nice looking canopy that's way more magnificent than the rock itself.

As the story goes, in 1620 the Pilgrims initially disembarked onto this rock when they came to what would become America. They immediately discovered Plymouth Colony, which is remade down the road in a tourist destination which is more valuable to our time.

Blarney Stone

Let's relocate across the ocean from Plymouth to another hug ol' dumb rock: the Blarney Stone close to Cork, Ireland. The agreement with this rock is that you ought to bend over backward to give it a kiss, and thus get the gift of "blarney" - basically eloquence.

Also Read: 10 Best Places to Visit in Canada for College Students

Stonehenge

Concluding the tour of overestimated rocks, let's hurry over to Wiltshire, England, so as to warn you to keep away from Stonehenge.

It's not that this ancient monument is entirely a waste, but it's never quite as impressive as you were anticipating. The stones are not 50 feet high, and the crowds decrease the sense of strange wonder that must have entered those who bumped into the bizarre circle back in the day.

Niagara Falls

It's obviously false that the waterfalls themselves are overestimated. In fact, they're amazing, a majestic exhibition of the power of water. The issue with the falls is the whole mini-economy of tourist blather that's been constructed up beside (and beneath) them.

Times Square

The beating heart of New York City, Times Square, is noisy, tacky, overpopulated and not very much interesting. That won't prevent most tourists from proceeding into it anyway, only to become free, some minutes or hours later, panting at how terrible it is.

Four Corners

Lest you might think we have something against crowds, there's also an overestimated tourism tour that is isolated and hardly very crowded.

Four Corners is where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah connect, creating, well...you get it. As you may know, states don't have true physical borders, so there is not much there but a plate in the ground and a bundle of state flags. Anyway, If you're driving by, sure, halt, but do not go out of your way, at all. it's free at least .

Related Article: Eco-Tourism: An Unexpected Threat to Nature

For more news, updates about tourism and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Six people have been arrested after allegedly swindling $10 million from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with police seizing luxury cars, gold bullion and jewellery in raids across Sydney.

More than 150 Australian Federal Police investigators, forensic specialists and partner agency officers raided the alleged western Sydney syndicate on Tuesday, searching properties in Lidcombe, Bass Hill, Monterey, Merrylands, Granville, South Granville, Bankstown and Ryde.

It will be alleged the syndicate has claimed more than $10 million since 2017 in NDIS funding, the AFP said in a statement on Thursday. Police inquiries identified a syndicate allegedly operating across three companies to defraud the NDIS.

Police allege once the claims were received, an amount went into the pockets of company operators.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Derek Chauvin put 'ego before policing' when he killed George Floyd and that his only motive was to 'exert authority'.

Ellison gave the comments in an interview with CBS' 60 Minutes that will air on Sunday night. CBS This Morning showed a clip of the interview on Thursday.

He said he was not convinced that they'd win,

"I was never convinced we were going to win this case until we heard the verdict of guilty. I remember what happened in the Rodney King case And I remember how devastated I felt when I heard that the jury acquitted those officers.

'Particularly when the victim is a person of color, it's just rare that there's any accountability. And so there was, every moment of this case, I thought, 'What are we missing Do we need another witness?"

'I was not sure that we were going to get the just result that we did get until I heard Judge Cahill announce the verdict, Ellison said.

Asked what Chauvin's motive was, he said: 'That's a question we spent a lot of time asking ourselves. all we could come up with was what we could define from his body language and his demeanor.

'What we saw was the crowd was demanding that he get up, and he was staring right back at them defiantly.

Scroll down for video

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Derek Chauvin put 'ego before policing' when he killed George Floyd and that his only motive was to 'exert authority'. His full interview will air on CBS on Sunday night

The prosecution team in the #DerekChauvinTrial has called the verdict a step toward justice.



Minnesota Attorney General @KeithEllison spoke with @60Minutes' @ScottPelley for his first and only interview since Derek Chauvin's conviction. pic.twitter.com/v4MDrOKgbP  CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) April 22, 2021

"You don't tell me what to do. I do what I want to do.

'You people have no control over me. I'm going to show you."

Ellison added that Floyd 'freaked out' because he was claustrophobic and afraid of the cops which made them angrier

He added that he thinks because Floyd, who was claustrophobic and scared of the officers, did not quietly obey them, the cops felt further need to come down on him.

'I also think that George Floyd was treated that way because he was suffering from anxiety and claustrophobia.

'He cooperated with the police in every way until they tried to make him, take his 6ft 4 body and jam it into a very tight space in that car.

'He kind of freaked out.

'The fact is, I wouldn't call what he did resisting - I would call it not complying because he was having an emotional reaction to getting in that car.

'Even when he ended up on the other side of the car he said thank you to them.

'What happened is, "we do exactly what we tell you to do when we tell you to do it, no excuses."

J.A. Kueng is pictured left and Thomas Lane, right, have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. They are yet to see their day in court

'And it's really an exertion of authority rather than trying to say look, the job of police officer is to deal with people who are not having their best day.'

Chauvin was convicted on Tuesday of second degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Tou Thao has also been charged

He was arrested and charged four days after a video of him kneeling on Floyd's neck went viral last year and triggered riots across the country.

It took another several days for his office to charge the other three cops who were there and did nothing to intervene while the crowd screamed at Chauvin to get off Floyd's neck.

Chauvin, 45, was whisked to the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights on Tuesday and placed on suicide watch after a jury handed down its guilty verdict.

The disgraced former Minneapolis cop will be held in solitary confinement in what's known as a 'Super Seg' single prison cell for the next eight weeks until his sentencing, where he faces up to 40 years.

He is only allowed out of the cell for one hour each day for exercise.

All meals are delivered to his cell, which is monitored by cameras and checked on by guards every 30 minutes.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (MDC) said Chauvin is under 'administrative segregation' to ensure his safety, not just as a suicide risk, but also from other inmates with violent criminal histories, many of whom resent law enforcement.
Microsoft is now working on a new Windows 10 feature. This new capability is expected to allow users to access their desktops on any PC or laptop.

The new feature of Windows 10 called Cloud PC service could arrive around June or July. Various sources confirmed that Microsoft is also still working on its Cloud PC innovation, which is called Project Deschutes.

On the other hand, rumors claimed that Microsoft's upcoming Windows 10 feature will be powered by Azure. Once this new capability arrives in the latest Windows 10, people could access their Windows software or desktops, such as Microsoft Office, any time on any personal computers or laptops.

Windows 10 Cloud PC service's details

According to Express UK's latest report, the upcoming Cloud PC service will be sold as part of its Microsoft 365. This means that the interested users will need to pay for a Microsoft subscription before they can access the new Windows 10 feature.

Also Read: Microsoft Wins $21.9B Bet to Supply US Army with AR Headsets: Set to Win $10B Jedi Cloud Computing Contract With Pentagon

Furthermore, rumors claimed that Microsoft could also offer various subscription options based on different RAM, storage configurations, and CPUs.

"The Cloud PC service allows all users to be productive from anywhere, on any device with a cloud-powered, secure, and always up to date Windows experience," said Microsoft.

"It also seamlessly allows endpoint managers to instantly provision cloud-hosted PCs and manage physical and virtual devices through a unified portal and a fixed and predictable price," added the tech giant firm.

As of the moment, Microsoft hasn't released the exact launch date of the upcoming Windows 10 Cloud PC service.

What makes it a big deal

Microsoft's latest innovation will be a great deal for various companies and organizations once it arrives. TechRadar reported that the upcoming Windows 10 Cloud PC service will help its consumers to lessen their expenses on both administrative burden and hardware costs.

On the other hand, some speculations stated that Microsoft could also launch it a little sooner since the company will have the upcoming Build conference. This event is expected to happen on May 5.

Rumors explained that Microsoft's Build conference is a great chance to unveil the new Cloud PC feature. However, these are all just speculations. The best thing you can do is wait for Microsoft's official announcements before making any conclusion.

For more news updates about Microsoft and its upcoming new technologies or services, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Microsoft's Latest Windows 10 Update Results to Problems in PC Gaming: Problems, Games Affected and Possible Solutions

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 06:10:16|Editor: huaxia

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People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

"The ecological impact of this sort of chronic release of radioactive waste into the North Pacific may be considerable," U.S. biologist Rick Steiner said. "The risk is entirely avoidable by using long-term storage on shore, and best available technology treatment systems."



WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) -- "Not one drop" of Japan's Fukushima radioactively contaminated water should be released until the world is convinced that the water has been treated to remove nuclides to "non-detectable levels", a prominent U.S. marine conservation biologist told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday.

The Japanese government announced last week it had decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea.

"Prior to any marine discharge, the world deserves to know exactly what radioisotopes are in the wastewater, in what concentrations, and that all of the water has been treated with best available technology methods to remove all radionuclides to non-detectable levels," said Rick Steiner, former professor of marine conservation at the University of Alaska.

As of Dec. 31, 2019, 73 percent of the nuclear wastewater exceeded Japan's discharge standards after treatment by an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) capable of removing most contaminants, according to a report from an organization researching the treatment of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator handling wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear accident, has a record of covering up and falsifying information, according to media reports.

"TEPCO and the government of Japan have been somewhat non-transparent with the Fukushima issue," Steiner told Xinhua.

He said Japan's planned release is a "spectacularly bad idea" for a number of reasons -- it would expose marine ecosystems across the North Pacific to risk; it is unnecessary, as the long-term storage option is reasonable and prudent; it is likely illegal under international law; and it is exceptionally unethical.

"We can no longer accept dumping hazardous industrial wastes into our one global ocean," said Steiner, who consults for the United Nations, governments and NGOs on marine environmental issues.

"As far as ecological risk, so far we simply don't know exactly what radionuclides and in what concentrations are in the tanks, but we know there is radioactive cesium-137, tritium, Carbon-14, Cobalt-60, Strontium-90, Iodine-129, and over 50 other nuclides. Some of this may have been removed, some not," Steiner noted.

"We need to know," he stressed.

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

The international community should convene an international scientific and technological commission, agreed by the Japanese government, to provide independent scientific oversight of all aspects of the Fukushima cleanup, including the wastewater issue, Steiner said.

This international group should operate independently of the International Atomic Energy Agency, he added.

According to Steiner, if the contaminated water is held for another 15 to 30 years, the radioactive tritium will decay by 50 percent to 75 percent. This will give time to treat the contaminated water effectively.

Japan's decision to dump wastewater into sea has triggered opposition from the Japanese public and global environmental groups. It has also raised concerns from neighboring countries about a possible impact on human health and fishery businesses.

"The ecological impact of this sort of chronic release of radioactive waste into the North Pacific may be considerable," Steiner said.

Some of the contaminants will enter living organisms, and some of these can cause reproductive impairment, cellular damage, genetic injury, and cancers, he explained.

"The risk is entirely avoidable by using long-term storage on shore, and best available technology treatment systems," Steiner noted. 
White people visiting George Floyd Square in Minneapolis are given a separate set of instructions including decenter yourself, contribute to the energy of the space rather than drain it, and do not take photos of others without consent.

The instructions were posted on a placard placed near the south barricade, a makeshift checkpoint that was set up at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 39th Street and is manned by volunteers to block traffic at the entrance to the square.

A block away, George Floyd Square is a makeshift memorial that was set up by community residents at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue.

Residents shut down traffic leading to and from the square, prompting complaints from local residents and businesses that the area is not accessible to police. There has also been a reported uptick in crime in the area.

City officials and police have vowed to reopen the square, where there has been one fatal shooting and a police chase of a suspect in an unrelated crime. The city's leadership and police have disputed claims it is a 'no go' zone for law enforcement.

The placard is titled Welcome to George Floyd Square. The subheading underneath reads: A Sacred Space for Community, Public Grief, and Protest.

The placard then goes on to describe the setting.

A placard posted at the entrance to George Floyd Square in southern Minneapolis includes a separate set of instructions for white people. The image above was taken on Wednesday

Whites visiting the area are urged to decenter yourself, contribute to the energy of the space rather than drain it, and do not take photos of others without consent.

George Floyd Square is a makeshift memorial that was set up by community residents at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, just feet away from where Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was arrested by police moments before he died last May

Bystander video from last May (left) shows Floyd struggling to breathe and pleading for the arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, to let up as onlookers protested. Chauvin on Tuesday was convicted of second- and third-degree murder as well as third-degree manslaughter. He faces up to 40 years in prison

This is where George Floyd took his last breath under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, under the watch of three other officers.

In bold font, the placard then urges visitors to enter with reverence, humility, ad openness, as an invited guest; care for each other by wearing a mask and asking others to wear a mask; and honor the space as a place to connect and grieve as caring humans.

The next section of the placard then includes a specific set of instructions for whites.

For White People in particular, reads the subheading, which is followed by bullet points.

Decenter yourself and come to listen, learn, mourn, and witness. Remember you are here to support, not to be supported, read the first bullet point.

After Chauvin's conviction on Tuesday, people laid flowers at the makeshift memorial on Wednesday

Be mindful of whether your volume, pace, and movements are supporting or undermining your efforts to decenter yourself, the second bullet point read.

The third instruction read: Seek to contribute to the energy of the space, rather than drain it. Bring your own process to other white folks so that you will not harm BIPOC.

BIPOC is an acronym that stands for black, indigenous, and people of color.

The fourth bullet point reads: Consider if you want or need to take photos and post them [on social media]. Do not take photos of other people without their consent.

On Twitter, reaction to the placard was mixed. Leon Mask wrote: 'Imagine what would happen if a 9/11 memorial gave similar instructions to Muslims.'

'What about mixed, Asian, Indian, Latinos??? And if there are mixed with white which rules do they follow... #askingforafriend,' wrote another Twitter user

Dorothy Derr tweeted: 'Nothing like trying to stir up more trouble! I can't imagine what would happen if any place had a sign posted with special instructions for black people.'

Rick Bettencourt tweeted: 'Where's the instructions to refrain from committing felonies, resisting arrest, and its the best interest to follow commands from law enforcement officers.'

A Twitter user who goes by the name 'Valerie' wrote: 'It's a free country... I'll react, feel, talk to who I want to and do it all in the GF Square because it's public property. But thanks for the special instruction recommendations.'

The last bullet point tells white visitors: If you witness white folks doing problematic things, speak up with compassion to take the burden off Black folks and our siblings of color whenever appropriate.

It added: Seek to engage rather than escalate, so that it can be a learning moment rather than a disruption.

On Twitter, reaction to the placard was mixed. Those who oppose it claim it discriminates against whites while others said it was appropriate given the sensitive subject matter.

Dorothy Derr tweeted: 'Nothing like trying to stir up more trouble! I can't imagine what would happen if any place had a sign posted with special instructions for black people.'

Leon Mask wrote: 'Imagine what would happen if a 9/11 memorial gave similar instructions to Muslims.'

'What about mixed, Asian, Indian, Latinos??? And if there are mixed with white which rules do they follow... #askingforafriend,' wrote another Twitter user.

A Twitter user who goes by the name 'Valerie' wrote: 'It's a free country... I'll react, feel, talk to who I want to and do it all in the GF Square because it's public property.

'But thanks for the special instruction recommendations.'

Rick Bettencourt tweeted: 'Where's the instructions to refrain from committing felonies, resisting arrest, and its the best interest to follow commands from law enforcement officers.

'Signs like this perpetuate division.'

Others on Twitter took exception to claims that the sign was meant to segregate or discriminate against whites.

A Twitter user who goes by the name 'Bella' tweeted: 'Shame on the reporter. This sign is of community efforts consisting of whites as well. Nothing segregated.

'I believe if this was vice versa youd understand. Im fine with this though.'

Others on Twitter took exception to claims that the sign was meant to segregate or discriminate against whites. A Twitter user who goes by the name 'Bella' tweeted: 'Shame on the reporter. This sign is of community efforts consisting of whites as well. Nothing segregated.'

John J. Meis tweeted that the sign is appropriate since it's similar to instructions that visitors would find when visiting 'any place of significant historical tragedy'

Another Twitter user, Lulu Jones, said that signs for African Americans are 'implied' when 'followed around a store or being questioned while walking around our own neighborhood or entering an apartment building we live in.'

Another Twitter user agreed, writing: 'Indeed. I don't see anything here telling anyone to keep out. Some people need to be reminded to be respectful in sacred places.'

John J. Meis tweeted that the sign is appropriate since it's similar to instructions that visitors would find when visiting 'any place of significant historical tragedy.'

He compared George Floyd Square to historical sits like Ground Zero; Dealy Plaza, where JFK was assassinated; the USS Arizona, which was bombed during the attack on Pearl Harbor; the balcony in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated; and the Dakota apartment building, where John Lennon was killed.

Another Twitter user agreed, writing: 'Indeed. I don't see anything here telling anyone to keep out.

'Some people need to be reminded to be respectful in sacred places.

'This reminder is no different from similar signs one may see posted in any solemn place.'

Another Twitter user, Lulu Jones, said that signs for African Americans are 'implied' when 'followed around a store or being questioned while walking around our own neighborhood or entering an apartment building we live in.'

'The "signs" for black people are everywhere,' she wrote.

George Floyd Square is centered around the exact spot where Floyd was pinned to the ground with a police officers knee pressed against his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25.

Bystander video shows Floyd struggling to breathe and pleading for the arresting officer, Derek Chauvin, to let up as onlookers protested.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who was suspected of passing counterfeit money, was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Chauvin on Tuesday was convicted of second- and third-degree murder as well as third-degree manslaughter. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
Phoenix Ariz.-based CopperPoint has named Bob Roland chief operating officer adding to his responsibilities as chief administrative officer.

Roland succeeds Scott Shader, who announced his retirement effective April 1.

Roland joined CopperPoint in 2017 with more than 30 years of experience in the property/casualty industry.

CopperPoint also announced that Rachel Davis-Schultz, executive vice president, chief human resources officer, is assuming an expanded role to include responsibility for enterprise operations. Prior to joining CopperPoint in 2019, she was senior director human resources  PBM Operations for Express Scripts.

CopperPoint is a Western U.S.-based super regional commercial insurance company and a provider of workers compensation and commercial insurance solutions. CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Co. is the corporate parent of CopperPoint Insurance Cos., Pacific Compensation Insurance Company and Alaska National Insurance Co.

Topics Arizona
Attendance at Anzac services at Orewa Remembrance Reserve has been growing over the years.

Residents say in the early days around 80 people took part, but recent ceremonies have attracted as many as 200.

A service has been held annually on the reserve for at least 15 years and locals seem determined to keep it going. It took place despite police warnings after the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019, and even during lockdown last year.

The reserve, on Orewa Beach, was designed to be a place where the community could pay their respects to veterans in a more informal way. It features plaques in memory of servicemen, and a flagpole erected around five years ago.

Until this year, the Hibiscus Coast Community RSA had been organising the service, although it is not an RSA site. However, they have now opted out.

Naval commander Frank Rands has stepped in to ensure the service goes ahead this Anzac Day, with the assistance of local board member and Orewa resident Andy Dunn.

The service has the traditional elements such as the playing of The Last Post, readings and wreaths laid by local politicians.

Andy says people like it because it has a low-key, community feel  theres no marching, for instance, he says.

It attracts families who want to place flowers or poppies by the flagpole. Sometimes people join in after walking on the beach.

Frank says to keep it going in future years, he wants to get some Orewa locals involved. Anyone who can assist is welcome to email frank@randsclan.com or phone him on 021 761 161.

This year the Orewa Remembrance Reserve commemorative service takes place at 1pm and all are welcome.
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Gardai have initiated a Child Rescue Ireland (CRI) Alert and is seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 14-year-old, Svetlana Murphy.

Following investigations to date, An Garda Siochana now have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana.

At approximately 4pm on Monday, April 19, Svetlana left her home on Coast Road, Blackrock, Co Louth. She is described as 5 foot 1 inch in height with a slim build. She has brown hair and brown eyes. At the time she went missing, Svetlana was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top and black runners.

Svetlana is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18 years old. Nojus is described as being 6 foot in height with a slim build. He has dark brown hair and he is clean shaven. He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top. He may also have been wearing a khaki green hoody, and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Nojus are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

Gardai are satisfied that Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock, Co Louth to Newry, Co Down on Monday, April 19, and were sighted in Newry at approximately 7pm. Gardai are satisfied the Hyundai Veloster car was in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday evening, Wednesday, April 21.

An Garda Siochana is not aware of Svetlanas and Nojus whereabouts at this time

Further updates have been issue through the earlier hours of the morning confirming that the Child Rescue Ireland Alert (CRI) remains in place.

APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC:

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gardai on 999 or 112.

Please do not approach those involved, instead immediately contact 999 / 112 or your local Garda Station providing as much information as possible.

THE GARDA CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER SHOULD NOT BE USED AS THIS NUMBER IS NOT MANNED ON A 24 HOUR BASIS
Aerial photo taken on Aug. 25, 2019 shows the Mergel Gol River in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [Xinhua/Shen Bohan]

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua)  At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver an important speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 via video link from Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday.

China hopes this summit will serve as a useful platform for communication on global cooperation to tackle the challenge of climate change, promoting the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, and jointly promoting global climate and environmental governance, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing in response to a relevant question.

(Source: Xinhua)
New Futures Contracts Provide an Innovative Tool to Manage Tax Risk; Set to Launch on May 24, 2021

PRINCETON, N.J., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MIAX, creator and operator of high-performance securities exchanges, products and services, and SIG Index Licensing, LLC (SIG Index Licensing) will launch cash-settled futures contracts on SIG Index Licensing's U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Index. The new futures contracts will begin trading on May 24, 2021.

Corporate Tax Rate Futures will offer corporations and investors an efficient way to manage risk in uncertain corporate tax rate environments. The futures contracts will be the first of their kind and come at a time when global corporate tax rates are subject to changing governmental corporate tax policy and post-stimulus tax recovery plans.

Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIAX, said, "Corporate tax rates are the subject of considerable speculation and inherent risk for corporations and we believe the new Corporate Tax Rate Index and futures contracts will provide powerful risk management tools to hedge against future tax rate volatility. The launch of the new Corporate Tax Rate Futures represents the first product to provide risk managers with an efficient tool for trading risk associated with changes in U.S. corporate tax rates. Corporate Tax Rate Futures is the second innovative proprietary futures product to be delivered by MIAX, following SPIKES Futures."

Cash-settled futures contracts will be listed on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) via the CME GLOBEX platform and will be cleared by MGEX, a wholly owned subsidiary of MIAX's parent holding company, Miami International Holdings.

Mark G. Bagan, President and Chief Executive Officer of MGEX, said, "Uncertainty regarding U.S. corporate tax rates has a stifling effect on entrepreneurship and investor confidence and even small changes in corporate tax rates can have an outsized influence on corporate earnings. We expect the new Corporate Tax Rate Futures to provide corporations, investors and other end users a timely hedging tool to offset that risk and uncertainty."

Bart Smith, Head of FICC, ETF and Portfolio Group at the Susquehanna International Group of Companies, said, "Given the trillions of dollars exposed to risk through changes in U.S. corporate tax rates, an innovative approach to benefit those who would hedge against tax risk is long overdue. We see the index and the Corporate Tax Rate Futures as extremely valuable to corporations, liquidity providers, institutions, hedge funds and equity investors."

For more on the methodology of Corporate Tax Rate Futures please visit www.miaxoptions.com or www.mgex.com.

Corporate Communications Contacts:

MIAX

Andy Nybo, SVP, Chief Communications Officer

609-955-2091

anybo@miami-holdings.com

Natalie Kay, Karma Agency

215-790-7806

nkay@karmaagency.com

SIG Index Licensing

Evan Brazinski

(484) 562-1454

evan.brazinski@sig.com

About MIAX

MIAX's parent holding company, Miami International Holdings (MIH), operates and manages Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC (MIAX), MIAX Pearl, LLC (MIAX Pearl) and MIAX Emerald, LLC (MIAX Emerald and together with MIAX and MIAX Pearl, the MIAX Exchange Group), the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, LLC, a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), and the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The MIAX, MIAX Pearl and MIAX Emerald options exchanges leverage MIAX's industry-leading technology and infrastructure to provide their member firms with traditional pricing and pro rata allocation (MIAX), maker-taker pricing and price-time allocation (MIAX Pearl) market structures, and a hybrid market structure with maker-taker pricing and pro rata allocation (MIAX Emerald).

MIAX serves as the exclusive exchange venue for cash-settled options on the SPIKES Volatility Index (Ticker: SPIKE), a measure of the expected 30-day volatility in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

Under MIAX Pearl's exchange license, MIAX Pearl Equities provides its members with best-in-class performance through a combination of high determinism, low latency and high throughput. MIAX Pearl Equities has maker-taker pricing and a price-time allocation model.

MIAX's executive offices and National Operations Center are located in Princeton, NJ, with additional offices located in Miami, FL.

To learn more visit www.MIAXOptions.com.

About SIG Index Licensing, LLC

SIG Index Licensing, LLC, a member of the Susquehanna International Group of Companies (SIG), licenses indices for use in the creation and settlement of financial products. SIG is a global quantitative trading firm founded with a growth mindset and an analytical approach to decision making. As one of the largest proprietary trading firms in the world, SIG benefits the financial markets by providing liquidity and ensuring competitive prices for buyers and sellers. SIG brings together the brightest minds, the best technology, and an expansive library of data to design and implement qualitative trading strategies that make it a leader in the financial markets. Beyond trading, SIG is active in global private equity, structured capital, and institutional brokerage. For more information, visit sig.com.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of Miami International Holdings, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, the Company) or SIG Index Licensing, LLC (SIG Index Licensing), and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

All third-party trademarks (including logos and icons) referenced by the Company and SIG Index Licensing remain the property of their respective owners. Unless specifically identified as such, the Company and SIG Index Licensing's use of third-party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between the owners of these trademarks and either of the Company or SIG Index Licensing. Any references by the Company and SIG Index Licensing to third-party trademarks is to identify the corresponding third-party goods and/or services and shall be considered nominative fair use under the trademark law.

U.S. CORPORATE TAX RATE INDEX FUTURES CONTRACTS RISK DISCLOSURE AND DISCLAIMER

The risk of loss in trading commodity futures contracts can be substantial. You should carefully consider the risks of trading commodity futures contracts generally and the unique risks of trading U.S. Corporate Tax Rate Index futures contracts (TAX Futures Contracts) in particular before entering into any trade. Because there are no comparable products like TAX Futures Contracts which reference and settle to a federal tax rate, there are unknown tax implications and tax treatments associated with trading these contracts. No federal guidance has been issued as to whether this product will qualify for treatment as a hedging transaction. Furthermore, no federal law or guidance exists on the deductibility of the costs incurred in trading TAX Futures Contracts, whether for speculative or hedging purposes. Likewise, the tax treatment related to TAX Futures Contracts for realizing, recognizing or offsetting gains or losses, whether capital or ordinary, is not known. Any of the above risks may result in adverse consequences, including non-deductibility of expenses or losses, and non-favorable tax treatment of gains or losses. EACH MARKET PARTICIPANT WHO CHOOSES TO TRADE TAX FUTURES CONTRACTS DOES SO AT THEIR OWN RISK, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES AND REPORTING OF THEIR TRADE ACTIVITY UNDER RELEVANT GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES AND JURISDICTIONS. THEREFORE, IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT EACH MARKET PARTICIPANT CONSULT THEIR PROFESSIONAL TAX ACCOUNTANT OR ATTORNEY BEFORE TRADING TAX FUTURES CONTRACTS.

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Masamitsu Motohashi had hoped to leave Imola with more points. Honda's Formula 1 chief engineer, AlphaTauri, saw Max Verstappen win, but the number of points scored by AlphaTauri was disappointing. Pierre Gasly finished seventh despite a dramatic first stint on the fullwets, but Yuki Tsunoda ended up outside the point after a spin.

"Yes, it was a disappointing race. We gained some positions back, but we were in a position to take more (points). It was disappointing in that respect," Motohashi said. It's starting to become a trend that AlphaTauri is able to position themselves well in qualifying, but on Sundays it's always a bit disappointing.

Tough conditions in Imola

Still, the AT02's race pace remains pretty good. It's just that a lot of potential points were lost in Bahrain and Imola. "It was a very difficult race because of the changes on the track. We had to make a lot of decisions, especially with the choice of full wets and intermediates. But I agree that the race pace on a dry track was not bad. However, it was not spectacularly fast like in qualifying."

In Bahrain, Gasly qualified in fifth place, but a touch with Daniel Ricciardo immediately made a great final result unattainable. "It's a shame about that incident in the opening race in Bahrain, but the pace was already not too bad. The last two races have shown that we are stronger than last year, at least on a dry track, throughout the weekend." In just over a week, the Faenza-based team can once again show what it is capable of. Formula 1 will then descend on Portugal.
More than 11 years after a man was shot to death in Long Branch, authorities have made an arrest in the cold case based on newly obtained evidence, authorities said.

Christopher Willis, 31 of Long Branch, has been charged with murder in the Nov. 29, 2009 killing, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said Thursday.

Officials said newly obtained statements and physical evidence was compared to original evidence from the crime scene. The findings tied Willis to the death of 36-year-old Norberto Nieves, who was gunned down at an apartment on the 100 block of 7th Avenue.

The United States Marshals Service NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force assisted in taking Willis into custody. He has been held at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold Township since Tuesday, according to online jail records.

Additional information wasnt immediately available from the prosecutors office, though a spokesman declined to say where Willis was arrested.

Nieves worked at Monmouth Park Racetrack and was survived by his son, parents, brother and several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, according to an online obituary.

The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information is still asked to call Monmouth County Prosecutors Det. Wayne Raynor at 800-533-7443 or Long Branch police Det. Todd Coleman at 732-222-1000.

The Monmouth County Crime Stoppers will also accept anonymous tips at 1-800-671-4400.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
TORONTO, April 21, 2021 /CNW/ - Biosimilars Canada, a national association representing Canada's biosimilar medicines industry, today congratulated the Government of New Brunswick for implementing a biosimilar "switching" or transitioning policy to expand the use of biosimilar medicines under the province's public drug plans.

New Brunswick's new biosimilar policy is expected to save the province more than $10 million annually when fully implemented, which will be reinvested to support coverage of new therapies. About 3,000 patients on the province's drug plans who are living with diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis will have until November 30 to switch from an originator biologic drug to a biosimilar biologic drug.

"Biosimilars Canada congratulates the Government of New Brunswick and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard for becoming the first province in Atlantic Canada  and the third province in the country  to implement a biosimilar switching policy to improve the sustainability of the province's public drug plans and support increased patient access to medicines," said Michel Robidoux, Chair of Biosimilars Canada.

Biologic medicines have revolutionized the treatment of many disabling and life-threatening diseases but it can cost $10,000 to $25,000 or more to treat a patient with a biologic drug for a year, which is placing an enormous financial strain on drug budgets.

The full benefits of biosimilars cannot be realized unless drug plans adopt policies that support their expanded use, as the B.C. and Alberta public drug plans did with the implementation of successful biosimilar transitioning or "switching" policies in 2019.1,2 Under these policies patients who use a biologic drug to treat a chronic condition are transitioned or "switched" from an original biologic drug to a biosimilar biologic drug under the supervision of their treating physician.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has burdened healthcare systems like never before and payers, employers, patients and healthcare providers are all looking for ways to create savings for sustainability, and biosimilars are an important solution," said Jim Keon, President of Biosimilars Canada. "Switching to biosimilar treatments is the responsible choice for drug programs, and it is time for other provinces to follow the lead of British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick in bringing the benefits of biosimilar switching programs to their patients, health care providers and taxpayers."

_______________________________ 1 B.C. PharmaCare website, Biosimilars Information for Patients . 2 Alberta Health website, Biosimilar drugs .

Switching from an originator biologic drug to a biosimilar is a safe and effective practice. Health Canada confirms that "patients and health care providers can have confidence that biosimilars are effective and safe for each of their authorized indications, and that no differences are expected in efficacy and safety following a change in routine use between a biosimilar and its reference biologic drug in an authorized indication."3

There is extensive real-world experience with biosimilars in Canada, with more than 600,000 retail prescriptions filled annually, according to IQVIA data. Biosimilars are also used extensively in the hospital and oncology markets. There have also been more than 178 clinical trials worldwide involving approximately 21,000 switched patients which confirm that switching from an originator biologic drug to a biosimilar biologic drug is not associated with any major efficacy, safety, or immunogenicity issues.4

Biosimilars Canada and its member companies look forward to working with the Government of New Brunswick to ensure the successful implementation of its biosimilars switching policy.

Full details of the New Brunswick biosimilars initiative are available at: www.gnb.ca/biosimilars.

About Biosimilars Canada

Biosimilars Canada is a national association representing the biosimilar medicines industry in Canada. Our member companies are at the forefront of the global development and marketing of biosimilar medicines. Biosimilars Canada provides leadership in educating Canadian stakeholders about the safety and efficacy of biosimilar medicines, and advocates for policies that support their timely approval, reimbursement, market acceptance and expanded use. Biosimilars Canada is a division of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association. Visit us at www.biosimilarscanada.ca.

About Biosimilar Medicines5

A biosimilar biologic drug, or biosimilar, is a drug demonstrated to be highly similar to a biologic drug that was already authorized for sale. Health Canada evaluates all the information provided to confirm that the biosimilar and the reference biologic drug are similar and that there are no clinically meaningful differences in safety and efficacy between them. Health Canada's rigorous standards for authorization mean that you can have the same confidence in the quality, safety and efficacy of a biosimilar as any other biologic drug.

SOURCE Biosimilars Canada

For further information: Jeff Connell, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association (CGPA), Mobile: (647) 274-3379, Email: [email protected]
A man accused of torching a pyramid of hay bales painted to support Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris a month before the presidential election has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in jail.

Lonnie Durfee, 50, of Dalton, admitted to one count of burning personal property on Thursday. He was ordered to serve the maximum sentence of one year behind bars by Judge Mark Pasquariello, said Andy McKeever, spokesman for Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington.

Staff at the Holiday Brook Farm set up a pyramid of 19 wrapped circular hay bales and painted them to show their support for the candidates. Durfee doused them in gas and set them on fire Oct. 9, soon after the display was created.

No one was injured and staff and firefighters extinguished the fire before it spread.

Dalton Police, Massachusetts State Police, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal investigated the arson and arrested Durfee the next day, McKeever said.

Durfee has been out on bail since Oct. 28. He was ordered to wear a GPS tracking bracelet and had to follow other conditions.

In an unagreed plea previously presented to Judge Paul Smyth, the Berkshire District Attorneys Office asked the court to sentence Durfee to the maximum penalty allowed. Negotiations broke down when the defense lawyer requested time served, McKeever said.

When appearing before Pasquariello on Thursday, Durfee changed his plea to guilty, McKeever said.

The use of fire has a deeply rooted association with political and civil rights intimidation. This fire victimized not only the property owners but represented a threat to entire communities, Harrington said in writing. This sentence sends a message that our community will not accept those types of actions and that civility and respect will prevail.

The story was picked up by news outlets across the country and was spread through social media. The display was replaced with one calling for love, unity and respect.

Related content:
Smart Farming, the resource efficiency programme, run by the Irish Farmers Association in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will host its 2021 Smart Farming Spring Seminar today (Thursday) from 11am to 12.30pm, which coincides with World Earth Day.



Registration to attend the event can be made at ifa.ie/SFSpring2021.

The seminar will be held online via Microsoft Teams. The theme of the event is Restore & Enhance Farmland.

It will focus on ongoing work within the sector both here and in the UK to restore and enhance farmland, improve productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
The Hartford Financial Services Group said Thursday it has rejected two more unsolicited offers from rival Chubb Limited to acquire the Hartford-based company, a month after it confirmed that it had turned down an initial takeover proposal from the same company.

In a letter dated March 30, Chubb said it was prepared to offer in excess of $67 per share if The Hartford would engage in meaningful discussion and due diligence, The Hartford said in a release.

The Hartford received another letter, dated April 14, in which Chubb said it was willing to increase its offer to $70 per Hartford share, the top end of our range, payable approximately 60% in cash and 40% in Chubb stock.

The Hartfords board of directors unanimously rejected both proposals, after consulting with its financial and legal advisors, determining that entering into discussions regarding a strategic transaction would not be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

The board also unanimously reaffirmed its conviction and confidence in The Hartfords strategic business plan.

Chubb offered March 11 to buy The Hartford at $65 a share, a 13% premium for shareholders. The offer valued The Hartford at about $23 billion.

Chubb said in a statement posted on its website that it believes a consolidation of our two organizations, on terms that recognized The Hartfords fair value, would be financially and strategically compelling for both sets of shareholders.

Nonetheless, The Hartford has chosen not to engage in response to any of our proposals. The path to a transaction would have been engagement coming from The Hartford on the terms of our last proposal.

The insurer said it is disappointed, but remains a disciplined acquiror.

Shares of The Hartford closed at $66.66, down about 1.2% while Chubb ended the day at $166.92, up 1.1%.

Chubb has a market value of nearly $72 billion, more than three times greater than The Hartford.

The Hartford employs 6,100 in Connecticut and thousands at its headquarters in the Asylum Hill neighborhood.

Story continues

The possibility of The Hartford, founded in the city in 1810, being swallowed up by a large rival, just three years after Aetna, another Connecticut stalwart, was bought by Rhode Island-based CVS Health Corp., is making elected officials nervous at the prospect of jobs losses and the exit of another corporate headquarters.

The power and significance of having a company like The Hartford headquartered here goes far beyond the name and the flag, Harford Mayor Luke Bronin said last month. It includes a deep commitment to philanthropy and community economic development as well as growing jobs here in Connecticut and supporting the city and states economic development efforts in so many ways.

Contact Kenneth R. Gosselin at kgosselin@courant.com
New Delhi, April 22 : Several private hospitals in Delhi are running out of oxygen for Covid-19 patients with many of them making makeshift arrangements to ensure that the patients could be saved, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference, Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid management in the national capital, warned that more than a dozen hospitals have oxygen stock that will last for just a few more hours.

"Makeshift arrangements will not work for long as every hospital is faced with the same situation. Over a dozen hospitals have informed me that they are running out of oxygen stock with many of them saying that their stocks will last for just 4-5 hours," Sisodia said.

"Delhi is facing oxygen shortage despite the Centre increasing its oxygen quota on Wednesday. Moreover, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments are not allowing trucks to supply oxygen to Delhi.

"On Wednesday, the UP government did not allow oxygen loaded trucks to enter an oxygen plant there, which resulted in an emergency situation in many hospitals in Delhi. Today, the Haryana government is doing the same. Its officials have barred the entry of trucks carrying oxygen to Delhi in Panipat," he added.

Sisodia also claimed that on Wednesday, hospitals in Delhi faced a crisis because out of the 378 MT oxygen sanctioned to Delhi by the Centre, only 177 MT was received.

"Now when the Centre has increased Delhi's quota of oxygen from 378 MT to 480 MT per day, why are the Haryana and UP governments creating hurdles," he asked.

As per the data provided by the Delhi government, here is a list of hospitals with their remaining oxygen stocks at 2 p.m. on Thursday:

Burari Hospital (7 hrs)

Deen Dayal Upadhyay (6 hrs)

Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital (4 hrs)

Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (11 hrs)

Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (8 hrs)

Ambedkar Nagar Hospital (24 hrs)Private hospitals:

BLK Hospital, Pusa Road (4 hrs)

Holy Family Hospital, Okhla (2 hrs)

Max Hospital, Patparganj (4 hrs)

BalaJi Action (5 hrs)

St. Stephen's Hospital (18 hrs)

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (20 hrs)

Max, Shalimar Bagh (18 hrs)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Apr. 22GENEROUS community folks gathered for fund-raisers, some virtual, some in person, but all for good causes.

FUR ANGELS Rescue's Kitten Shower and Adoption Event was hosted April 18 by Bensell Greenhouse where masks and social distancing were a must.

About 100 people, all oohing over the cute felines, stopped by with litter, food, milk, toys, blankets, and more. And some sent items via Amazon (tinyurl.com/KittenShowerFARS). There were also 10 adoption applications at the event.

Fur Angels Rescue Shelter, a nonprofit no-kill group (unless the animal is dangerous or euthanasia is medically necessary) provides temporary and long-term shelter, food, medical treatment, and love in a network of foster homes until each animal finds their forever home. The goal is to have a brick-and-mortar shelter someday, however, it takes time since the shelter does not receive any state or federal funding.

Every spring, animal groups are flooded with kittens from pet owners with unexpected litters and from community cats. Fur Angels is always looking for more foster homes. The gifts and supplies collected save valuable dollars that can be used for spay/neuter and medical care.

LISA Urrutia, a client executive with the Oswald Companies in Sylvania, is the board president of the Thomas M. Wernert Center for those living with mental illnesses. But she does more than lead the board; she recently delivered lunch to folks at the center.

A SERIES of virtual dinners raised nearly $5,000 for the Black Swamp Conservancy, a nonprofit regional land conservation trust, founded in 1993 for northwest Ohio.

Dinners with guest speakers were hosted by Conservancy Board Trustees.

Virginia and Steve Keller's dinner, prepared by Registry Bistro, was delivered to guests' homes courtesy of Deliver Toledo and the speaker was Josh Knights of the Sustainability Institute at Ohio State University. Guests were Marsha Manahan and Tom Killam, Pam and Brent Cousino, Terri and Jack Radke, and Joan Rife and Gary Byers.

Story continues

Will and Rachel Lewis's dinner, prepared by Plat8, was delivered to guests' homes courtesy of Deliver Toledo. The speaker was Matt Cross, conservation biologist for the Toledo Zoo. Guests were John and Peggy Lewis, Bill and Amy Wolff, and Dana and James Reising.

Mary and John Fedderke prepared a dinner in their home for vaccinated guests. The speaker was Steve Pollick, retired outdoor editor of The Blade, who joined them via Zoom with Rob Krain, executive director.

Guests were Don Leary and Becky Fuhrman, Ann Sanford and Bryan Smith, and Bill and Paula Fall.

Additionally, a virtual update was on Zoom which has been posted on Facebook.

For information call 419-833-1025, email director@blackswamp.org or go to blackswamp.org or the organization's Facebook page.

COMMUNITY supporters also attended an everything must go moving sale at Sophia Lustig Shop which started April 15 and continues until the middle of May. It was a big social event as clients and staff recalled wardrobes for the weddings, special events, and more

The shop in downtown Toledo has been popular for the upscale crowd to acquire polished wardrobes and core luxury essentials.

Started by Sophia Lustig in 1936, it continued after her passing by associate Grace Sullivan Brandhuber. Then Paula Fall took over for 31 years, followed in 2012 by current owner, Meredith Moore, who continues the legacy of private appointments, curated wardrobes, and expert alterations for every season change and special event. The new digs will open in June in downtown Perrysburg at 126 Louisiana Ave.

I'M CELEBRATING my 25th anniversary as society editor of The Blade, a year later, due to the pandemic. If you have any photos of me at your event, please send them to me by Monday. Thanks.
The Midfield fire chief died unexpectedly Wednesday while he was on his lunch break.

Chief Donald Jones, 59, collapsed in the 1900 block of Ninth Avenue South in Birmingham shortly before noon.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service responded to the location and rushed him to the emergency room where they worked on him extensively but were unable to revive him.

Jones spent his career with Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service, rising to the rank of assistant chief. He retired in 2020 and two weeks later was hired as chief in Midfield.

Midfield Mayor Gary Richardson said Jones was at the fire station this morning, appearing to be in good spirits and in good health.

He left to go to Chick-Fil-A on Birminghams Southside to pick up lunch and suffered an apparent fatal heart attack.

This has hit us all like a ton of bricks,' Richardson said. I just laughed and talked with him yesterday.

The mayor praised Jones for his service and leadership at the fire department. He was excellent. I was surprised I was able to get him,' Richardson said. I have nothing but rave reviews for him.

Jones spent 26 years - his entire career - at Birmingham before retiring and going to Midfield.

He was a hard-working person, always willing to learn more,' said retired BFRS Chief Charles Gordon. He had a wife and three daughters and a son. They were a close-knit family and he always spoke proudly of them.

Hes going to be missed,' Gordon said.

Midfield Police Chief Jesse Bell said Jones death is shock to everyone.

He was a great guy. I actually learned a lot from him in the short time he was there,' Bell said. We talked two or three times a week. He had a big influence on me in that amount of time.

He had come in (to the job) and obtained several grants and was working hard to get additional resources for his guys,' Bell said. He was a great leader.
New Delhi:

Maharashtra Transport Minister Diwakar Raote on Tuesday said that he is having sympathies with ST employees but their demands of salary as per 7th pay commission is not possible.

Supporting his argument, Raote said that all courts including labour court and industrial court has held this strike as illegal.

The Transport Minister however offered to resolve the matter through talks and said that they are ready to nominate a committee to resolve issues of ST employees.

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation employees went on a strike from Monday midnight. They are demanding a salary hike at par with the 7th pay commission.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Has Ajay Devgn Backed Out Of YRF's Superhero Film With Ahaan Pandey? Here's What We Know

It was last year that reports of a superhero project backed by YRF had been doing the rounds. It was said that the film would serve as the launch pad for Ahaan Pandey. It was also reported that Ajay Devgn will be a part of the film and will play the super villain. This would also have marked Ajay's first collaboration with Aditya Chopra! However, it now looks like the actor has backed out of it!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn)

According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, Ajay Devgn will no longer be a part of YRF:s superhero project. A source was quoted saying, "Ajay had never signed on the dotted line. He had a powerful role, too. But now, it seems he doesn't have dates to allot to the project. Adi doesn't want to push the film any further since Ahaan also has been waiting for a few years now. They were still trying to chalk out a plan that could work out both for the superstar and the banner but at this point, it seems improbable."

Ajay Devgn indeed has his hands full with several projects, including Mayday, that he is also directing, Thank God, Maidaan, Chanakya along with his web-debut, Rudra- The Edge of Darkness. Well, we were eagerly waiting to see Ajay in the Shiv Rawail film, but looks like it won't happen. But Ajay still has a lot of films to offer the audiences.
thl provides a general update on its performance and expectations for the financial year ending 30 June 2021 (FY21).

FY21 financial performance

Following the latest review of expectations, thl has an improved outlook and expects that its FY21 net loss after tax will be between $14 to $18 million. This compares to the current average loss projected by market analysts of approximately $21.5 million.

Balance sheet

We expect that net debt will not exceed $90 million on 30 June 2021 (our previous net debt guidance was for around $90 million). As signalled in our interim results, debt was expected to increase in the second half as we are re-investing in new fleet to replace the volume of vehicles that we continue to sell.

United States

The vehicle sales market in the USA continues to remain strong. Record average sales margins have been achieved in recent months. Some of this margin growth is considered one-off in nature, reflective of the current market conditions.

Domestic rental demand has remained strong during the current shoulder season. We have positive expectations for the upcoming 2021 summer season and expect that domestic demand will be at or above the 2020 summer season.

New Zealand

Following completion of the Great New Zealand Motorhome Sale campaign in late 2020, average sales margins have recovered to previous norms and in some cases have exceeded these. Vehicle sales volumes continue in line with that achieved in the first half of FY21.

The New Zealand rental business will continue to be loss-making under a domestic only environment. We have experienced an increase in web search activity in connection with the re-opening of Trans-Tasman travel. We expect that this will convert to increased forward bookings as travellers continue through the holiday planning cycle. Search activity is highest for school holidays and Queenstown.

Australia

Vehicle sales volumes in Australia have remained stable and in line with the first half of FY21. Margins remain in line with expectations.

An extended period of State borders remaining open (other than one lockdown in Brisbane) has accommodated for growth in domestic rental demand. Yields in Australia are currently at levels consistent with our pre-COVID norms. Our recent performance within an open domestic environment supports our previously stated expectation that the Australian business can deliver positive EBIT in these conditions.

Beyond FY21

We believe that thl is well prepared for a range of scenarios.

Please see the link below for details:

NZX Release - Market Update

Source: Tourism Holdings Limited

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Infratil Limited (NZX: IFT) Update on Infratil Infrastructure Bond Offer

1st June 2021 Morning Report

Synlait Milk Limited (NZX: SML) Update Following Canterbury Flooding


The eighth instalment of The Fast And Furious franchise is titled The Fate of the Furious. The cast of this film includes Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, Kristofer Hivju, and Charlize Theron. The movie paid an ode to Paul Walker as the late actor passed away during the filming of Fast and Furious 7. Fast and Furious 8 revolves around a cyber-terrorist called Cipher who convinces Dom to work for her and turn his back against his team. In the end, Dom also names his son after Pauls character in the film- Brain. If one liked Fast and Furious 8, here are Paul Walkers films to watch.

Paul Walkers films to watch

1. She's All That

This 1999 romantic comedy film revolves around a high school goer, Zach (Freddie Prinze Jr) who is dumped by his girlfriend for the popular school jock. He is challenged by his friend, Dean (Paul Walker) to impress any girl and make her the Prom Queen. It has an IMDB rating of 5.9.

2. The Skulls

This thriller film revolves around Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) who is invited to a secret societys party. To prove his allegiance, he is asked to steal an artifact from a rival society with the help of Caleb Mandrake (Paul Walker). It has an IMDB rating of 5.7.

3. Into the Blue

This 2005 action film revolves around Jared (Paul Walker) and Samantha (Jessica Alba) living in a trailer on a beach in the Bahamas. While snorkelling, they come across artifacts lying loose on the sea bed. They try to investigate to know whom these belong to. The film has an IMDB rating of 5.9.

4. Eight Below

The plot of this 2006 survival drama film revolves around Jerry (Paul Walker) who has to leave his eight sledge dogs behind due to the thunderstorm. But he comes back to rescue them even at the cost of his life. The film has an IMDB rating of 7.3. This is one of the best of Paul Walker's movies.

5. Running Scared

This 2006 action thriller film revolves around Joey (Paul Walker) who is asked to clear the crime scene by his mafia boss after he murders two policemen. A young boy watches where Joey disposes the gun and comes back to steal it to kill his abusive father with it. The movie has an IMDB rating of 7.4.

6. The Death and Life of Bobby Z

This 2007 thriller film revolves around Tim (Paul Walker) who is the doppelganger of a gangster. He is asked to take the gangsters place in a hostage situation. The film has an IMDB rating of 5.9.

Image courtesy- Screengrab from Fast and Furious 7 trailer

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.
Big Y Streamlines Sack Hunger Campaign

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  Big Y converted their Sack Hunger campaign from a $10 bag of groceries to a streamlined $5 donation to the five food banks within their marketing area.

These regional food banks support local soup kitchens, food pantries, senior food programs, children's programs and more for the 2,100-member agencies they serve every day.

During last November and December, Big Y customers and employees contributed almost $300,000. In order to expand their support, Big Y matched this contribution bringing the total up to $600,000 or 2.4 million meals.

"We appreciate the generosity of our customers and employees in helping us to support our friends and neighbors in need. And, we are grateful to our partnerships with our five area food banks for their heroic efforts in serving those most

vulnerable in our communities," Big Y president and CEO, Charles L. D'Amour said. "Being able to provide another 2.4 million meals through our Sack Hunger program helps us to fulfill our mission to feed families."

According to a press release, Big Y's Sack Hunger donation is part of their ongoing support throughout the year including almost daily donations of meat, fresh produce and bakery along with grocery, frozen food and dairy items. And, based upon

this past challenging year due to the pandemic, Big Y had already contributed another $250,000 in support of the food banks for their work with vulnerable populations.

The five regional food banks are the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Worcester County Food Bank, and the Greater Boston Food Bank in Massachusetts, as well as Foodshare and the Connecticut Food Bank in Connecticut. This year's virtual Sack Hunger bags were purchased from amongst 71 Big Y supermarkets, Fresh Acres Specialty Market and Table & Vine Fine Wines and Liquors.
MEXICO CITY, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: ASR; BMV: ASUR) (ASUR), a leading international airport group with operations in Mexico, the United States, and Colombia, today announced that shareholders approved the following resolutions and considered the following matters at the General Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting held in Mexico City on April 22nd, 2021:

General Annual Ordinary

Meeting Summary of Resolutions

Approval of the report submitted by the Chief Executive Officer to the Board of Directors, accompanied by the independent auditor's report, with respect to the operations and results of the Company during the fiscal year ended December 31 st, 2020, as well as the Board of Directors' opinion regarding the content of said report.



Approval of the report submitted by the Board of Directors which contains the principal accounting and reporting policies and criteria followed in the preparation of the Company's financial information. Furthermore, note was taken of the report submitted by the Board of Directors with respect to the transactions entered into with Related Persons, Relevant Shareholders or contracts exceeding US$2,000,000.00 .



Due note was taken that the report of the activities and operations in which the Board of Directors intervened, pursuant to Article 28 IV (e) of the Securities Market Law, was not prepared because during the fiscal year ended on December 31 st, 2020, the Board of Directors did not intervene in any such activities or operations to be reported.



Approval of the audited individual and consolidated financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31 st, 2020.



Approval of the report submitted by the Audit and Corporate Practices Committee of the Company with respect to its activities during the fiscal year ended December 31 st, 2020.



Approval of the activities of the Board of Directors during the year ended December 31 st, 2020.



Approval of the report on fulfillment of the tax obligations of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31 st, 2019. Due note was taken that the report for the year ended December 31 st, 2020 has not yet been issued and will be presented for approval at the first General Shareholders' Meeting to be held after the report is issued.



Approval to set aside 5% of the accumulated net profits for the year ended December 31 st, 2020 to increase the legal reserve of the Company, in accordance with Article 20 of the Mexican General Corporations Law (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles).



Approval to set aside all remaining accumulated net profits for the year ended December 31 st, 2020 for the repurchase of shares by the Company during the fiscal year 2021, pursuant to Article 56 of the Securities Market Law.



Approval of the activities of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary during the year ended December 31 st, 2020, and release from any liability they might have incurred in the execution of their duties.



Ratification of Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo as Chairman of the Board of Directors.



Ratification of Mr. Pablo Chico Hernandez as member of the Board of Directors appointed by Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo .



Approval of the appointment of Ms. Heliane Steden and Ms. Diana M. Chavez as independent members of the Board of Directors.



Ratification of all other members and alternate members of the Board of Directors.



Ratification of non-member Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Board of Directors.



Ratification of Mr. Ricardo Guajardo Touche as Chairman of the Audit Committee.



Approval of the appointment of Ms. Barbara Garza Laguera Gonda as Chairwoman of the Nominations and Compensations Committee.



Ratification of Mr. Fernando Chico Pardo and Mr. Jose Antonio Perez Anton as members of the Nominations and Compensation Committee.



Approval of the proposal made by the Nomination and Compensation Committee to pay the following compensation to the members of the management bodies of the Company:

Each member of the Board of Directors will receive Ps. 72,600.00 (seventy-two thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Each member of the Audit Committee will receive Ps. 102,850.00 (one hundred and two thousand eight hundred and fifty pesos 00/100 Mexican Currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

00/100 Mexican Currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Each member of the Operations Committee will receive, Ps. 72,600.00 (seventy-two thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Each member of the Nominations and Compensations Committee will receive Ps. 72,600.00 (seventy-two thousand six hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

00/100 Mexican currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Each member of the Acquisitions and Contracts Committee will receive Ps. 24,200.00 (twenty-four thousand two hundred pesos 00/100 Mexican Currency), plus travel expenses, if any, per meeting attended.

Special delegates of the Ordinary Annual General Shareholders' Meeting were appointed to appear before a notary public to legalize the minutes of the meeting and to undertake any other action necessary to formalize and give effect to the resolutions taken at this meeting.

About ASUR:

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V. (ASUR) is a leading international airport operator with a portfolio of concessions to operate, maintain, and develop 16 airports on the American continent. The company operates nine airports in the southeast of Mexico, including Cancun Airport located in the biggest tourist destination in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Latin America; as well as six airports in northern Colombia, including Medellin international airport (Rionegro), the second busiest in Colombia. ASUR also holds a 60% stake in the capital stock of Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, operator of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. The airport in San Juan is the main point of entry to the island for international flights and continental flights from the U.S.; it was the first and is currently the only airport in the United States to have achieved a successful public-private partnership under a pilot program implemented by the FAA. Based in Mexico, ASUR is traded on the Mexican Bolsa (BMV) under ticker symbol ASUR, and on the NYSE under the symbol ASR. One ADS represents ten (10) B-series shares. For further information, visit www.asur.com.mx

Contacts: ASUR Lic. Adolfo Castro (52) 55 5284-0408 [email protected]

InspIR Group Susan Borinelli (646) 330-5907 [email protected]

SOURCE Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V.

Related Links

http://www.asur.com.mx


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 09:48:23|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 22, 2021 shows Israeli tanks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel launched a missile attack on targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus before daybreak on Thursday, wounding four soldiers, state TV reported. (Ayal Margolin/JINI via Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched a missile attack on targets in the vicinity of the Syrian capital Damascus before daybreak on Thursday, wounding four soldiers, state TV reported.

The Israeli attack was launched from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, said the report, citing a military source. It added that the Syrian air defenses responded to the attack, destroying most of the missiles.

Residents in the capital heard the air defenses' firing while tracing the Israeli targets in the sky.

Media said the move was in response to the launch of a Syrian missile earlier in the day, which fell in the Negev desert, not far from Isreal's Negev Nuclear Research Center.

The previous Syrian attack set off air raid sirens in the village of Abu Qrenat, several kilometers away from Israel's Negev Nuclear Research Center, and triggered responses from the Israeli air defense force, according to media reports. Enditem
The United States has warned its citizens to avoid 14 Nigerian states in its latest travel advisory. The updated advisory urged American citizens to "reconsider travel to Nigeria".



For those who insist on travelling, the US advises them against visiting 14 states in Nigeria as they are rife with terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.



The states listed are: Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa state due to terrorism and kidnapping, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Zamfara states due to kidnapping.



It also banned American citizens from going to Coastal areas of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers states (with the exception of Port Harcourt) due to crime, kidnapping, and maritime crime.



In a country summary on Nigeria, the U.S. State Department wrote:



"Violent crime  such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping, hostage taking, banditry, and rape  is common throughout the country.



"Kidnappings for ransom occur frequently, often targeting dual national citizens who have returned to Nigeria for a visit, as well as U.S. citizens with perceived wealth. Kidnapping gangs have also stopped victims on interstate roads.



"Terrorists continue plotting and carrying out attacks in Nigeria, especially in the Northeast.



"Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting shopping centers, malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars, schools, government installations, transportation hubs, and other places where crowds gather. Terrorists are known to work with local gangs to expand their reach.



"There is civil unrest and low-level armed militancy in parts of Southern Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta region. Armed criminality, including kidnapping and maritime crime, is also pervasive in this region.



"Violence can flare up between communities of farmers and herders in rural areas."



The US also offered its citizens security tips, while in Nigeria.







The tips are:







*See the U.S. Embassys web page regarding COVID-19.







*Visit the CDCs webpage on Travel and COVID-19.







*Carry proper identification, including a U.S. passport with a current Nigerian visa, if needed.







*Use caution when walking or driving at night.







*Keep a low profile.







*Review travel routes and times to vary your predictability.







*Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.







*Be extra vigilant when visiting banks or ATMs.







*Monitor local media for breaking events, and be prepared to adjust your plans.







*Be aware of your surroundings.







*Stay alert in locations frequented by Westerners.







*Avoid demonstrations and large political gatherings.







*Review your personal security plans.







*Have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance.









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
OROVILLE, Calif. - The Pioneer Poker Run is a car show and charity event in the Northern California region. This year's start and finish is at the Gold Country Casino.

Oro Dam Cruisers will be hosting the Pioneer Poker Run instead of their annual Gold Rush car show this year.

The event is a scenic cruise where participants pick up a playing card at designated checkpoints. The cards are all standard playing cards that can be found in any deck. Your poker hand will then come into play with how event organizers determine the winner.

The drive and ride will feature vintage, classic cars and hot rods. Those who own one of these vehicles can join for free.

The event starts at 11 a.m. on May 1 at the Gold Country Casino. There is a $20 cash entry fee.

Registration forms can be filled out from 8 to 10:30 a.m. following a driver meeting at 10:45 a.m.

Proceeds benefit local causes like area high schools, the Oroville Rescue Mission, and the YMCA. Get more information by calling Pioneer Collision Center at 534-8701.
Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD Mercy has a strong reputation for providing quality nursing care to patients. We are excited to see Mercy nurses being recognized for their outstanding contributions and commitment to excellence, said Kimberly Schwenk, MSN, RN, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy.

Nine Mercy Medical Center nurses have been recognized as among the best of the best in the region by Baltimore magazines 7th annual Excellence in Nursing Awards survey, May 2021 issue.

The survey attracted hundreds of nominations covering 19 different specialties over a 9-month period. Nominations were reviewed by a panel of nurse advisors (including Mercys clinical director of nursing, Donna Disney) who helped determine the winners. From Mercy, the following nurses were recognized:



Acute Care/Family Practice/General Medicine -- Deb Hockett, CN III, Endoscopy

Cardiovascular -- Laura Chowdhry, PCCN, Medical-Surgical Cardiac

Intensive Care -- Brian Avaritt, BSN, Clinical Nurse II, Post-Anesthesia Care Unit

Management/Nurse Executives -- Stacey Trotman, Critical Care/Leadership

Medical-Surgical Nursing -- Kristin Kraus, Operating Room

Oncology -- Stephen Daily, BSN, Outpatient Infusion Oncology

Oncology -- Maureen Klein, PCCN, Unit Manager, Outpatient Chemotherapy

Orthopedics -- Cheryl Geary, OR Clinical Coordinator, Crane OR

Womens Health -- Melange (MeMe) Davis Scott, Mother-Baby Post-Partum (profiled/photographed for the issue)

The magazine solicited nominations from peers, supervisors, and patients of registered nurses, both in and out of hospitals, who represent the finest in their field.

Mercy has a strong reputation for providing quality nursing care to patients. We are excited to see Mercy nurses being recognized for their outstanding contributions and commitment to excellence, said Kimberly Schwenk, MSN, RN, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy.

All of us at Mercy are very proud of the work our nurses do, said Susan Finlayson, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President of Operations for Mercy. Mercy nurses are noted for their expertise, leadership and compassionate care, and we are proud to celebrate their success.

Mercy RNs are committed to staying at the forefront of nursing excellence to provide the best care possible for patients. Mercy nurses enhance their clinical practice skills via such programs as the Clinical Advancement Program and OR Nurse Residency Program. Mercy has nearly 250 nurses nationally certified in specialty care areas such as critical care, oncology, orthopedics, OR and inpatient obstetrics.

Mercys achievement in nursing is further evidenced by earning the coveted Magnet recognition. Magnet Designation is a national standard for nursing excellence awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and one of the most prestigious nursing awards in the United States.

Additional Mercy nursing awards and accreditations include:

Forum for Shared Governance Accreditation This accreditation recognizes Mercys commitment to nurse involvement in making decisions that impact clinical practice, quality improvement and professional development. Increased engagement through shared governance contributes to greater job satisfaction, outstanding patient experience and excellent clinical care.

Best Hospital in Maryland for Nurses Mercy has been named the #1 Best Hospital in Maryland for Nurses by Nurse.org, a nursing career website. The organization analyzed surveys from nurses in hospitals across Maryland to determine the results.

30 Most Nurse-Friendly Hospitals Mercy has been recognized as one of the Top Nurse-Friendly Hospitals in the nation by TopRNtoBSN.com, citing Nursing Excellence awards, an atmosphere of teamwork and mentoring and an attractive benefits package.

Founded in 1874 by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Medical Center is a university-affiliated hospital with a national reputation for womens health care. For more information about Mercy, visit http://www.mdmercy.com and MDMercyMedia on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.
The milestone comes as Handsome Brook Farms formally launches its multi-layer sustainability strategy, redefining Handsome as acts of generosity that pave the way for a brighter future

Handsome Brook Farms, the countrys largest producer of organic pasture raised eggs, earns B Corp Certification.

Handsome Brook Farms, the countrys largest producer of organic pasture raised eggs, earns B Corp Certification.

A Handsome Brook Farms organic, pasture raised dozen

A Handsome Brook Farms organic, pasture raised dozen

New York, NY, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Handsome Brook Farms, the countrys largest producer of organic pasture raised eggs, achieved Certified B Corp status joining the ranks of vetted, socially-conscious brands that contribute to a brighter tomorrow. Certified B Corps balance purpose and profit, weighing the impact of their business decisions on the well-being of their workforce, supply chain, consumers, and the environment at large.

Since our founding in 2007, we have been dedicated to bringing the most sustainable and ethical eggs to a market near you, says Jordan Czeizler, CEO of Handsome Brook Farms. Our dedication to our hens, farmers, customers, and the planet has become stronger with each passing year. For us, B Corp certification is a great recognition of our core mission and a jumpstart to additional accountability within the industry and of course, to our customers.

While the B Corp status is a significant milestone for the 14-year-old company, Handsome Brook Farms goal is to ensure that this certification serves as a crucial stepping stone  rather than a stopping point  in its evolving series of sustainability initiatives. To that end, on the heels of Handsome Brook Farms B Corpstatus, comes their formal announcement of new and rigorous outcome-based sustainability commitments that focus on three core business areas: Regenerative Farms, Responsible Operations, and Thriving Communities. The following commitments are set to be realized through internal and external accountability processes by 2027:

Goal 1: Regenerative Farms Advance regenerative agriculture practices across 100% of the farmers in their network Supporting tactics include: erosion management, hen manure management, optimized gutter systems, on-farm workshops, implementation of renewable energy sources

Goal 2: Responsible Operations 100% sustainable packaging Supporting tactics include: increase the PCR (post-consumer recycled) content in hybrid cartons, change the jumbo egg cartons from plastic to pulp, partner with How2Recycle for carton labels, minimal and thoughtful sourcing of virgin fiber (preserving high conservation value forests)

Goal 3: Thriving Communities Reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 10% across the supply chain Supporting tactics include: partner with high potential, 3rd party reduction strategy advisors, define Handsomes carbon accounting methodology, roll out proven reduction strategies across Handsome farms, refine strategies and measure against baseline year



Unlike the majority of agribusinesses, Handsome Brook Farms will take its commitment to regenerative practices one step further through its newly launched Pasture Improvement Cost Share Program  created to incentivize their many small, family-owned, and operated partner farms to implement sustainable systems that work for their specific needs. This allows for support to be customized based on each farms unique geography and the subsequent challenges they may face while executing regenerative farming practices. Designed to ensure each farm is able to flourish independently for generations to come, the program includes but is not limited to financial assistance for technical support, infrastructure upgrades, and planting materials.

Story continues

Handsome Brook Farms B Corp certification reinforces the companys social and environmental practices to date. Handsome Brook has already made on-farm investments in infrastructure and enabled regenerative farming using a multi-tier approach to develop farm-specific conservation practices, many of which are already evident at their partner farms. Further, Handsome Brook works with and contributes to organizations through in-kind egg donations to 501(c)3 nonprofits like City Harvest; corporate cash donations to mission-aligned NGOs like Soul Fire Farm, Black Soil, and Main Street Project (all working to advance the wellbeing of marginalized groups through regenerative farming and responsible operations); and an employee match program for eligible 501(c)3 organizations whose purpose and philosophy is consistent with the companys animal welfare and sustainability objectives.

About Handsome Brook Farms

Handsome Brook Farms is a pioneer in pasture raised organic egg production, the most ethical and sustainable way to produce eggs. Founded in upstate New York with five hens, Handsome Brook has grown into the largest producer of organic pasture raised eggs in the country, with partner farms in 10 states. Handsome Brook Farms is dedicated to acting Handsomely in all that they do  from treating farmers, animals, and land with the utmost respect, to helping consumers access a clean, responsibly-raised source of protein that they know they can trust  from coop to carton.

Attachments

CONTACT: Cristina Suarez Krumsick Handsome Brook Farms cristina@isetta.co




Oval Office  Washington D.C.  April 19  1:36 P.M. EDT

END  1:38 P.M. EDT

You can visit a collection of all White House posts by clicking HERE.

Contact: White House

White House Press Office

Thanks for coming in, guys. I want to thank my colleagues  they're still my colleagues; I'm more of a member of Congress than I've been here. And  but I'm glad you all came down.We're going to talk about our infrastructure package. And as I indicated earlier, I am prepared to compromise, prepared to see what we can do and what we can get together on. It's a big package, but there's a lot of needs.And so we're going to be talking about, number one, what should be included in the package  obviously, I put a lot in the package; I think it all should be included  and how to pay for it. And there are two issues.I've noticed everybody is for infrastructure. The question is: Who's going to pay for it? And  and that's what we're going to try to work out today, at least in this bipartisan group of members of the House and Senate.And a little  a little secret here, we're going to  in full disclosure, I asked senators and congressmen who had either been governors or mayors because they know what it's like to make things work, to make sure that you get things done and deal with infrastructure and the needs of your community.So that's why we're here. We  hopefully, we'll be able to reach some kind of consensus, at least in broad terms.So thank you all for coming in. And we'll be talking to you later.Mr. President, what do you think about the idea of paying for it with user fees?That's what we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about all that right now.Thank you very much. Thank you.
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And while we don't know much more of what happened at these burial ceremonies, if we follow weed's growth, we can see how cannabis worked its way into many types of cultural practices across the world. One of its first stops was the Indian subcontinent, where it was met with enthusiasm. In his book High Points: An Historical Geography of Cannabis, historian and geographer Barney Warf explains, "India developed a continuing tradition of psychoactive cannabis cultivation, often with medicinal and religious overtones." He goes on to say that marijuana culture reached its "greatest efflorescence" in India.

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Part of that excitement meant finding a new way to consume cannabis, this time in the form of bhang. Essentially you grind up weed leaves with a fat like butter or milk to create little round balls of bliss. From there, it can be spiced and added to food or drink. It's stronger than you think, and I have proof in the form of endless funny stories of traveling Westerners who think they can hang.

Marcusprassad/Wikimedia Commons It's just like a smoothie, but with the power to make CBS sitcoms funny.

One of the most important gods of the Hindu religion, Shiva, is said to be something of a pothead himself, having brought the plant down from a mountain for the "benefit of mankind." Apparently, he figured out that smoking marijuana both relaxes the body and aids in meditation. I wonder if it helped with his Freshman philosophy class papers as well.

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On Shiva's main festival night, Maha Shivratri, Hindus from all walks of life celebrate the God and partake of his hash habit. In Kathmandu, over one million people visit the city each year to participate in the festivities. Similar to the fantastically colorful holiday of Holi, during the holiday, marijuana use is everywhere. And based on a quick Google of the photos, pretty excessive in the best way.

Before we move on, now is a good time to note that while Rati is the goddess of sexual pleasure, Shiva, the God of all creation and destruction in Hindu mythology, is also known as "The God of Bhang." Nice.


Bishop of Norwich awards first prize for ecology Bishop of Norwich awards first prize for ecology

The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, has awarded UEA student, Benjamin Cole, the first of his ecology prizes for his dissertation in applied conservation ecology.

The prize is sponsored by the Anne French Memorial Trust, which has sponsored an annual Bishops Art Prize with the Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) in previous years. The trustees were keen to continue the arts award but also to have a prize with the University of East Anglia (UEA). The discipline of ecology was chosen because of Bishop Graham's background and interest in the subject.



The UEA chose the recipient of the award from among the postgraduate students in their ecology department. The first recipient of the award, Benjamin Cole, was selected for his outstanding masters dissertation. Benjamin is originally from Norfolk, got his undergraduate degree from Leicester, and then returned to do a masters degree at the UEA.



Benjamin is researching the impact of heatwaves on insect reproduction - both pollinators and pests - and how they and we can adapt to the changes in insect population this causes from year to year. Through his research, he has been investigating how different species of insects are affected differently by the same or similar conditions. This kind of research could show the impact of global warming on ecosystems as well as influence agricultural practices in the future.



On receiving his award, Benjamin said: "I am so grateful for the award. It means a lot to have the work recognised in this way and really fuels my enthusiasm for the subject and practical application for my research."



Jenny Gill, Professor of Applied Ecology at UEA said: "It is truly wonderful to have ecology recognised like this, we are so grateful. We were also very pleased to be able to award the prize to the student with the strongest research project as the project is such a core part of what they do and really springboards them into the next phase of their research and career."



The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said: I'm delighted to present the first Bishop of Norwich Ecology Prize to Benjamin Cole in recognition of his excellent dissertation in the applied conservation ecology area. Having originally trained as an ecologist I am all too aware that we need people to be researching and being passionate about exploring and protecting our single island planet home. As a Christian, I am called to live out a care for creation so Im very happy to be encouraging endeavours such as this.



This prize will be awarded annually to a student of ecology at the UEA with the hope that this will encourage future research.



Pictured above is Bishop Graham Usher presenting the prize to Benjamin Cole





Eldred Willey, 22/04/2021
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR) today announced the following schedule and contact information for its first quarter earnings release and investor call.

Earnings Release: May 6, 2021 (after market close)

Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's

website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/



Teleconference: May 7, 2021, 8:30 a.m. (ET)

Participate live by phone or listen to live audio webcast through

the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at

https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/



Dial-in Number: +1-877-269-7756 (toll-free)

+1-201-689-7817 (toll)

Please call 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call.

No password required.



If unable to participate live, select from one of the following replay options:



Digital Replay: Available through May 13, 2021

Call +1-877-660-6853 (toll free) or +1-201-612-7415 (toll)

Conference ID No. 13718733



Archived Webcast: Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website

at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR) is a global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world's most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, can, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge and customized services. With 4,200 employees, including chemists, engineers and industry experts, we partner with our customers to improve their operations so they can run even more efficiently, even more effectively, whatever comes next. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the United States. Visit quakerhoughton.com to learn more.

SOURCE Quaker Houghton
[April 22, 2021] Survey Shows the Extent of Food and Housing Insecurity Students at Virginia's Community Colleges Face

Students at Virginia's Community Colleges (VCCS) already grappling with food insecurity have experienced even greater challenges in the past year due to economic and other disruptions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. A recently released #RealCollege Survey of students at all 23 colleges across the state reveals: 32 percent reported food insecurity in the previous 30 days, meaning they were sometimes unsure where their next meal was coming from.

42 percent of VCCS students reported housing insecurity in the previous 12 months, and 10 percent had experienced homelessness in that period. "Even before COVID-19, we knew many of our students had to overcome non-academic barriers to their success," said VCCS Chancellor Glenn DuBois. "Now we have statewide numbers for the first time that show the extent of food and housing insecurity facing our students. The numbers are sobering, but it's important that we have a realistic picture of the challenges that students face, so we can try to help wherever and whenever we can." Over the past 18 months, with financial support from grants from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE), food pantry and other emergency food operations have been established or expanded at community colleges across the state. The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation also provided funding for the student needs survey. "When we first partnered with our community colleges, we knew food insecurity was an issue, but we didn't realize the extent to which so many students and their families faced challenges around access to housing and food," said Jennie Reynolds, president of Anthem Health Keepers Plus, Anthem's Medicaid plan in Virginia. "The survey results confirm the need and should serve as an eye-opener to all of us. We've worked with the VFCCE to take an important first step to combat these issues with the creation and expansion of food pantries at Virginia community colleges. Now, we all need to work together to ensure adequate food and housing resources continue to grow so students can focus on their studies and not worry about their next meal or where they will spend the night." As part of Anthem's commitment to ensure access to nutritious food in communities across the U.S., the Anthem Founation provided funding to distribute and package more than 700 thousand meals last year.



"We're very grateful to the Anthem for their support in relieving hunger facing many students," said VFCCE Executive Director, Dr. Jennifer Gentry. "The comprehensive nature of the survey's results will allow us to better communicate this pressing need and provide students with the resources they need to succeed." The #RealCollege Survey was conducted last fall by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University, a leading source of information about the welfare of college students across the country. The Hope Center plans to publish additional results from the Virginia survey in June.

The survey was made available to more than 122,900 students at Virginia's Community Colleges and taken by 10,671 of them, yielding an estimated response rate of 9 percent. Learn more about the #RealCollege Survey by visiting: https://hope4college.com/rc2021-bni-during-the-ongoing-pandemic/. About Virginia's Community Colleges (VCCS): Since 1966, Virginia's Community Colleges have given everyone the opportunity to learn and develop the right skills so lives and communities are strengthened. By making higher education and workforce training available in every part of Virginia, we elevate all of Virginia. Together, Virginia's Community Colleges serve more than 250,000 students each year. For more information, please visit https://www.vccs.edu/. The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) is the supporting arm of Virginia's 23 community colleges. The VFCCE works to broaden educational access, support student success, and provide innovative solutions to workforce needs. Our mission is "Building student success and the Commonwealth's future by supporting Virginia's Community Colleges". To ensure access to high quality, affordable education, the VFCCE provides statewide leadership in raising funds for community college education, supplementing and supporting the activities of the 23 individual colleges, and securing support for major system-wide initiatives that could not be undertaken by any single college. For more information, please visit https://vfcce.org/. About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Dollars for Dollars program that provides a 100 percent match of associates' donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005737/en/

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Tesla urged to respect Chinese consumers, laws

China Daily) 13:54, April 22, 2021

Employees work at the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, east China, Nov. 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Firm backtracks on uncompromising stance, pledges to address concerns

Media outlets and the central authorities have called on Tesla to respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations, following the electronic vehicle maker's belated apology for its attitude toward customer complaints.

A woman climbed on top of a Tesla Model 3 car during an auto show in Shanghai on Monday and shouted about alleged quality defects that caused her car to crash.

The woman, who had protested before about the brake malfunction, was detained by local police for "disrupting public order". Videos of her being dragged away from the exhibition quickly went viral on the internet.

In a drastic departure from its initial statements, Tesla issued an apology on its Weibo account on Tuesday night saying that the company would strive to improve its communications and service to customers.

"Tesla respects and firmly obeys all decisions of related departments, respects customers, obeys the law and rules, and will firmly and actively coordinate with related department on the investigation," the statement read.

"We have formed a task force to solve this matter, address the claims by our customers in line with the law, and achieve an outcome that pleases the customers."

Previous responses by the US car manufacturer had stoked an already angry public reaction, with a senior executive saying that "the customer has contributed to most of the negative news about Tesla recently", and that the company will "by no means compromise".

The State Administration for Market Regulation said on Wednesday that it attaches great importance to the incident and has instructed the related market supervision departments to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the law.

The incident has already attracted a great deal of media attention. For example, Xinhua News Agency ran a commentary on Tuesday criticizing Tesla's uncompromising stance and suggesting that if a car company could not guarantee a safe driving experience and even speculates about a consumer's motivation, its brand image could be tarnished.

The central authorities have also had their say. The Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a commentary on its website on Wednesday that the electric vehicle maker's latest public statement had finally "showed some form of sincerity and humility".

"China welcomes companies to come and invest, but we treat all companies equally. They must abide by Chinese laws and regulations, market rules and respect consumer rights," the commentary said.

Emphasizing the fairness of the "rule of law", the commentary published noted that the identification of the defects should be based on evidence provided by both parties.

Keep focused

The Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee posted a commentary on its WeChat account saying that Tesla should respect Chinese consumers and comply with local laws and regulations.

"Making an effort to find the cause of problems and improve features is something any responsible business should do, and Tesla apparently hasn't realized that," it said.

Roy Lu, director of the Gasgoo Auto Research Institute, said the issue and the way Tesla is dealing with it will harm its image and sales.

"It is everywhere on the internet, and potential customers may start to become careful with the brand. You see the owners are complaining about its vehicle quality, and it shows no respect for them. Surely its sales will be hurt."

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Monitoring Committee has issued a statement during Thursdays session, in which it called on Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian captives. The statement reads as follows:

The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the developments since the trilateral statement of 9-10 November 2020 are of great importance to the Council of Europe and have been closely followed by the Monitoring Committee. In co-ordination with other relevant committees it has heard from representatives of both countries as well as independent experts, and the co-rapporteurs for Armenia and Azerbaijan have regularly made joint statements on the developments taking place.

The Committee is convinced that the national parliament of both countries can and should play an important role in the urgently needed confidence building measures, the reconciliation process and the resumption of concrete peace negotiations between the parties. It therefore welcomes the progress made with the implementation of the trilateral statement but expresses its concern about reports that not all persons detained in the context of this conflict have been exchanged. In addition, the Committee considers that both parties should reinforce their cooperation and communication aimed at demining the concerned areas, with a view to ensuring safety of civilians.

The Committee reiterates that the clear intention of article 8 of the trilateral statement was the exchange of all detained persons, without distinction as to the status that these people assigned by one of the parties. Underscoring the concerns expressed by the European Court of Human Rights with respect to 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan the Committee calls upon Azerbaijan to ensure that all Armenian detainees are released without delay into the care of the Armenian authorities.

In the views of the Committee, the establishment of an independent international mission responsible for investigating the conflict and allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations during the recent hostilities is essential to create an environment that is conducive to reconciliation and the establishment of genuine peace. Cultural heritage is important to all parties to the conflict and the urgent establishment of the necessary mechanisms to ensure its protection and renovation is a priority. The Committee has therefore charged its Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States to explore more in detail concrete mechanisms for these two issues.

Finally, the Committee calls both parties to constructively engage with the relevant international institutions, in particular the OSCE Minsk Group with a view to fully implementing the trilateral statement, and start the peace negotiations.
 Flash

Ukraine and Britain have reached an agreement on expanding the Orbital training mission and working on strengthening the Ukrainian Navy, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda reported on Wednesday.

This agreement was reached during the visit of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak to Britain on April 19-20 and his meeting with the British Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nick Carter.

Khomchak thanked Britain for its assistance in increasing the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and their compatibility with NATO troops.

Carter, in turn, said the British Armed Forces had trained over 20,000 Ukrainian servicemen as part of bilateral military cooperation. He also said the British side leads the initiative to train the Ukrainian Navy and supports defense reform in Ukraine.

Britain-led Operation Orbital, a training program for the Ukrainian armed forces, was established in 2015 following the request of the Ukrainian authorities.
The Czech PM has thanked Slovakia for what he called a huge gesture of solidarity.

With the expulsion of three Russian diplomats, Slovakia supported the Czech Republic and strongly objected to the activities of foreign intelligence services within our countries that threaten our security interests, said President Zuzana Caputova in her reaction.

We have always stood with the Czechs, for better or worse, the president said and called the Czech Republic Slovakia's closest neighbor, partner, and ally.

Czech PM Andrej Babis thanked Slovakia for its solidarity that was shown in its decision to expel three Russian diplomats.

We thank [Slovakia] a lot, he wrote on Twitter. We really appreciate this huge gesture and attitude of Slovakia.

Slovakia has expelled three Russian diplomats in reaction to the probable sabotage by Russian agents that caused the explosion of an ammunition warehouse in the Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014.

Slovakia came to the decision to expel diplomats after a thorough evaluation of information provided by Slovak intelligence services that are in close operation with the services of allied countries, PM Eduard Heger said.

Some are surprised

22. Apr 2021 at 21:04 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Hourly Rate Increase

3 Men Movers is guided by core values of HEART (Hardworking, Ethical, Attitude, Respect & Teamwork). It is by following these values that the company is actively planning to increase the base wage for all employees (with the exception of college internships) in 2021. The current base wage is $16 per hour, and the company has rolled out an ambitious strategy to increase the minimum threshold to $20 per hour by the end of 2021. This wage increase will apply to all full-time employees, regardless of if they are office staff, work in the warehouse, or clean the building. Given that the cost of living has increased while wages have remained stagnant , 3 Men Movers recognizes the importance of paying its employees a livable wage.

Additional Benefits

This generous raise isn't all that the company is doing to take care of its employees. Beyond the vaccine paid leave and base pay increase, the company will continue to offer many benefits that make the company stand out in the moving industry. These include holiday bonuses that were paid out in 2020 despite COVID-19 related business setbacks, and giving employees $3,000 worth of student debt relief by taking advantage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In a year that saw many companies closing or reducing their workforce, 3 Men Movers is proud to announce that in the year 2020 it increased its workforce by 13% year-over-year.

Reflecting on the importance of the wage increase initiative, Jacky Fischer, CEO and Owner of 3 Men Movers, says, "It's about doing the right thing. When employees are stressed about their ability to pay rent or put food on the table, they aren't going to be able to do their best at work. We truly care about our employees, and at a time when other companies are cutting back, 3 Men Movers is giving back."

About 3 Men Movers: 3 Men Movers is a woman-owned business that has demonstrated dedication to its customers and its community through a philanthropic spirit and commitment to honest practices for 35 years. We believe that to have great movers, you must start with good people. That's why with 3 Men Movers you're getting kindhearted experts who go beyond to ensure each customer has an excellent experience. With offices in Houston , San Antonio , Austin , and Dallas , our local moving company has become recognized as the mover of choice for over 30,000 Texans each year.

For questions please contact:

Chelsea Anderson - Director of Marketing

3 Men Movers

713-333-6683

[email protected]

SOURCE 3 Men Movers

Related Links

http://3menmovers.com


Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, a leading Black conservative and rising Republican star, will deliver his partys formal rebuttal to President Bidens joint address to Congress next week.

Mr. Scott was chosen for the task by his partys top congressional leaders, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, at a time when Republicans are seeking to expand their appeal to nonwhite groups that have traditionally voted Democratic. In a party still divided over the legacy of former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Scott is also a rare figure able to unite competing factions.

He is one of the most inspiring and unifying leaders in our nation, Mr. McConnell said in a statement announcing the decision on Thursday. As Senator Scott likes to say, he is living his mothers American dream, and he has dedicated his career to creating more opportunity for our fellow citizens who need it most. Nobody is better at communicating why far-left policies fail working Americans.

Mr. Biden is expected to use much of his address, his first before Congress since being inaugurated, to build public support for his multi-trillion-dollar jobs and infrastructure plans. Republicans fiercely oppose the proposals as too expensive and too intrusive, and it will be up to Mr. Scott to make their case.
[April 22, 2021] Europe Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market Report 2021: Amid the Pandemic, Online Consumers Prioritized More Affordable Prices and the Variety of Goods in Cross-Border Shopping in Europe

DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market 2021" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. "Europe Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market 2021" summarizes the key trends and projections of Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce market following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This report covers cross-border B2C E-Commerce in Europe. It includes information about cross-border E-Commerce exports and imports, with a focus on cross-border imports and cross-border online shopper behavior. The publication discloses that in 2020 the majority of online consumers preferred international online shopping over domestic websites due to a greater variety of products and reasonable prices. Germany and Czechia were the only countries in Europe that experienced no change in cross-border online shopper penetration The share of B2C E-Commerce products imported from EU and non-EU sellers to the 27 European Union countries fell from 45% in 2019 to 40% in 2020. With that, the cross-border online shopper penetration rates decreased for almost all countries of EU28, except for Germany and Czechia, where there was no change compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the markets which suffered the most were Montenegro (-55 p.p.), Malta, Iceland, and Estonia (-18 p.p.), Bosnia and Herzegovina (-17 p.p.). With that, no market has seen an increase in share in 2020. Nevertheless, the future of cross-border B2C E-Commerce in the countries of Europe looks brighter in the near future: the share of cross-border online sales via global marketplaces was forecasted to increase from 60% in 2019 to 66% in 2025. Cross-border B2C E-Commerce stays fragmented across the European countries Germany's domestic online purchases prevailed international ones, namely, the share of online purchases from the countries outside and in Europe held 30-40%, while the in-country was approximately 70%. This was the case as well in Poland, Turkey and Russia. Unlike in these countries, in Italy, digital online sales from abroad otweighed (60%) the domestic (40%), whereas this was mainly because of the imports from European countries.



Report Structure Information includes forecasts regarding cross-border B2C E-Commerce sales and their share of total B2C E-Commerce sales in Europe , cross-border online shopper penetration worldwide, drivers and barriers of cross-border online shopping according to consumers, a ranking of product categories purchased by cross-border online shoppers, information about payment and delivery in cross-border E-Commerce.

, cross-border online shopper penetration worldwide, drivers and barriers of cross-border online shopping according to consumers, a ranking of product categories purchased by cross-border online shoppers, information about payment and delivery in cross-border E-Commerce. The rest of the report is devoted to European countries. The countries are presented in alphabetical order.

Depending on data availability, the following types of market information are included: cross-border online shopper penetration, cross-border B2C E-Commerce sales (imports and/or exports), countries most purchased from by online shoppers in the country, countries most sold to by online merchants in the country, most purchased product categories, reasons for buying from out-of-country online sellers and barriers to cross-border E-Commerce. Not all the mentioned types of information are available for each of the countries covered. For the leading countries and selected regions, also a text chart with a qualitative overview of cross-border B2C E-Commerce is presented. Global Developments

Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market Overview, February 2021

Cross-Border B2C E-Commerce Market Value, 2019 & 2026f

Breakdown of Top Products Categories Purchased Cross-Border, in Selected Countries, incl. Canada , France , Germany , the UK, and the US, by Product Categories, in % of Online Consumers, April 2020

, , , the UK, and the US, by Product Categories, in % of Online Consumers, Top Reasons for Cross-Border Online Shopping, in % of Online Consumers, incl. by Gender and by Demographic Preferences, March 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases Frequencies, by Domestic and Foreign Origins, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Average Share of Cross-Border Deliveries That Took Longer due to COVID-19, in %, and Breakdown of Respondents Who Felt Slow Delivery, by Country, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Consumers' Future Shopping Intentions to Buy Online from Domestic and Foreign Retailers, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Countries From Where the Most Recent Online Cross-Border Purchase was Made, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Top Online Platforms Used for Cross-Border Shopping, incl. Amazon, Alibaba/AliExpress, and eBay, in % of Consumers, and Top Online Platforms Usage in Selected Countries, October 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases, by Weight, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Breakdown of Online Purchases, by Product Value, in % of Consumers, October 2020

Share of Online Shoppers Who Purchased Cross-Border At Least Once in 2020, in % of Consumers, December 2020

Top 3 Product Categories Purchased Online Cross-Border by Shoppers Aged 25 - 34, in % of Consumers, December 2020

Share of Consumers Who Spent More than USD 500 on Cross-Border E-Commerce Purchases in 2020, by Age Group, in % of Consumers, December 2020

on Cross-Border E-Commerce Purchases in 2020, by Age Group, in % of Consumers, Payment Revenues Estimations, COVID-19 Impact Adjusted, by Domestic and Cross-Border Payments, September 2020

Shares of Consumers Who Would Refuse Purchasing on a Website if it is not in their Local Language, in Selected Markets, incl. Australia , Canada , France , Japan , South Korea , UK, and USA , 2019

, , , , , UK, and , 2019 Top 10 Shopping Apps by Downloads, incl. Cross-Border E-Commerce Apps, by Total Downloads, App Store Downloads and Google Play Downloads, January 2020 & May 2020 Companies Mentioned Alibaba/AliExpress

Amazon

ASOS

eBay

iHerb

Joom

lazada

Pinduoduo

Shein

shopee

Wish

Zalando

Zooplus For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5cgl36

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Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/europe-cross-border-b2c-e-commerce-market-report-2021-amid-the-pandemic-online-consumers-prioritized-more-affordable-prices-and-the-variety-of-goods-in-cross-border-shopping-in-europe-301274977.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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Mumbai, April 22 : Covid resurgence is expected to not only impact India's secondary markets but also the FY22 IPO season.

The expected trend assumes significance since many Unicorns plan to go public in the next 6-8 months.

In financial parlance, a Unicorn represents a StartUp which has a market valuation of over a billion dollars based on the capital generated in its previous funding rounds.

Accordingly, the money flow situation in the secondary market with respect to the Covid resurgence will impact Unicorns ability to give early stage investors an exit.

"Covid resurgence will have an effect on the secondary market indices which will impact IPO subscription levels," HDFC Securities' Retail Research Head Deepak Jasani, told IANS.

"The IPO pricing is also important. In case sufficient money is left on the table for investors, then IPOs can sail smoothly." Till recently, many Unicorns have announced plans to tap the IPO market.

"When will this happen will depend on a number of factors including the pressure on such companies to exit, secondary market conditions, track record of recent IPOs etc." At present, more than a dozen companies have received market regulator's approval, and another dozen are awaiting the same to go public.

"Companies like SBI Cards, which went public during the early stages of the pandemic, were heavily affected during their initial public offering and were listed at a discounted price," said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia.

"Even this year, we've seen how the rising number of Covid-19 cases has affected Macrotech's developer listing. So, if this trend persists, we could see a drop in IPOs." Besides, IPOs as a means of raising money for giving exit to investors have gained importance lately.

"After the strong IPO show in FY21, we expect a similar trend in FY22 but only after the current consolidation phase that has been triggered by the Covid resurgence subsides," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

"Once the market start making gains then we expect all kinds of companies to go public -- be it Unicorns or others. Many have already attained regulatory clearance to enter the primary market." Last fiscal, India Inc. raised more than Rs 30,000 crore.

"Infection rate is expected to reduce in the coming weeks, as noticed in developed countries, and unlikely to impact the future outlook of businesses and thus IPOs market. It is great time, especially for new generation businesses, to raise money from the market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Economy is robust with high liquidity, fiscal and monetary measures which will continue to benefit in the long-term. Additionally, India is in good form with economic reforms and focus over manufacturing and Start-Ups." However, Anuj Gupta, Vice President, IIFL Securities said: "There might not be much of a negative impact of corona virus on IPO market. This is for investment purposes and at the time of WFH, people are looking for some extra income so this would be the best place to earn." "Many new companies are planning to come out with their IPO, majorly Zomato and Nyaka and Policy Bazar. They have good market share and can get good response from it." (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) -IANS

rv/skp/

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
South Africa: Cabinet welcomes recommendation to lift suspension of J&J vaccine

Cabinet has welcomed the recommendation by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to lift the suspension of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Sisonke Vaccination Programme.

This followed the suspension of the J&J vaccination rollout programme in the United States of America after six people, who received the J&J vaccine, developed a rare type of blood clot.

Another reason for the temporary suspension was the decision by J&J to voluntarily suspend the rollout of their vaccine in the Eurozone.

Briefing the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Acting Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said the temporary suspension of the vaccine in South Africa was in line with governments commitment to ensure that comprehensive safety measures are undertaken regarding the vaccine rollout.

The reviewed data had confirmed that South Africa had not experienced any rare blood clots with the already vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs). Our scientists will continue to monitor all South Africans as and when they are vaccinated, Ntshavheni said.

By mid-April 2021, more than 292 623 South African HCWs had been vaccinated under the Sisonke Vaccination Programme.

Signing of contract with J&J on vaccine procurement



Cabinet has also welcomed the progress in the signing of the contract with J&J on the procurement of J&J vaccines for the full rollout programme.

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize and Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Ebrahim Patel, have been commended for resolving the outstanding matters relating to the procurement of the vaccines without compromising the position of South Africa.

Fifteen million to be vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine

Furthermore, Cabinet welcomed the successful negotiation of an additional 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which brings the total doses of the Pfizer vaccine to 30 million.

This means South Africa will be able to vaccinate 15 million people with the Pfizer vaccine instead of just 10 million, Ntshavheni said.

To prepare for Phase 2 of the vaccination rollout programme starting on 17 May 2021, Cabinet has encouraged people aged 60 years and older to register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System: https://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za.

People without access to the internet can register in person at over 3 338 vaccination sites across the country. Mobile teams will also be deployed to assist the elderly, the homeless and people living in rural areas, the Minister said.

South Africans commended for adherence to health protocols

Meanwhile, Cabinet has commended South Africans for their continued adherence to the non-pharmaceutical health protocols of wearing a mask when in public spaces, maintaining social distancing of about 1.5 metres and always washing hands with soap and water or using a 70% alcohol-based hand sanitiser.

However, Cabinet noted the report which indicated a slight increase of 4,9% in persons testing positive in the past 14 days, by 18 April 2021.

The cases increased from 14 113 in the preceding 14 days to 14 807 cases in the last 14 days.

The slight increase in cases is attributed to cluster resurgences in the Free State and Northern Cape, and rapid response teams have been activated to conduct contact tracing, Ntshavheni said. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
An African American bishop based in Georgia has called for a boycott of Home Depot due to the home improvement retailer reportedly refusing to meet with opponents of a new controversial voting law.

Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, head of the Sixth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, released a statement posted by the Savannah Herald on Wednesday calling for a boycott of the Atlanta-based corporation, echoing previous comments from earlier this week.

According to Jackson, representatives of the chain of over 2,000 stores in North America have refused to condemn the controversial law passed in late March that liberals claim will curtail ballot access for many urban and suburban communities and would not meet with him and other community leaders.

We boycott them because they have simply refused to respond, not only to our request to meet, but to their other corporate partners, stated Jackson.

Source:The Christian Post
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Many of the regulars at Spot Coffee could be heard uttering a collective "wow" Thursday morning.



Thats because they came upon the filming for Owen Wilsons new independent film, a production that Saratoga Springs officials have been keeping quiet for weeks and was in full swing on Railroad Run and Division Street. The movie is being made under the working title "Paint."

By midmorning, Wilson (sporting a brown afro wig a la TV artist Bob Ross) was on site, shooting a scene.

The actor and a production crew could be seen at a city intersection Thursday preparing to film an exterior scene. Fans were gathered nearby for a peek at the work.

I think its neat, said Spot Coffee manager Eric Brucculeri. We dont get too many things like this in Saratoga, especially since the pandemic.



Michael Kupferman, said he doesnt know who Wilson is nor did he know there was a film being made outside of the cafe.



I was just going to have my coffee and read the paper, Kupferman said. I had no idea the street would be closed.



Saratoga Springs police cordoned off the area between Woodlawn Avenue and Israel Lane on Division Street and Church and Washington streets on Railroad Run for the crew, who were outside in the snow and wind with little protection. Wilson thrilled patrons as he came inside to get warm from the elements.



Many of those sipping their coffee and eating their pastries were jostled to a corner of the cafe to avoid gawkers seen in the window during filming. They watched as Wilson was primped by makeup artists fluffing and dusting his hair.



Steve Clark was among those looking on. He said he lives a block away and was curious about the closed street. He knew the film was going to be happening, but didnt know it would be a so close.

The movie will center on the fictional character Carl Nargle, an artist whose painting show is Vermonts No. 1 television program. Producer Rick Bosner describes the title character as having a signature whisper keeping viewers from Pittsfield to St. Albans breathlessly hanging on his every stroke.

But Nargles life falls apart when the station hires a younger, better painter.

Some have speculated the movie appears to be at least in part inspired by the life of Ross, the artist and television personality known for his soothing voice who was host of the PBS show "The Joy of Painting" from 1983 to 1994.

Early in the day, Wilson was spotted in an orange, 1970s-style van getting ready to ride through the intersection.



As word of the Blue Creek Pictures production leaked, more and more fans filled the coffee shop. It made for a busy day for the baristas who were also serving about two dozen members of the cast and crew.

On Wednesday, shooting took place at the Lincoln Baths. The van scene on Division, an anonymous crew member revealed, would involve a crash.



Later on Thursday, filming was expected to shift to Caroline Street.

Over the next few weeks, the city will be home to Wilson and others in the comedic production, including Michaela Watkins, Wendy McLendon-Covey and Stephen Root.

Saratoga Springs has been used as a backdrop for a number of movies, including Robert Redford's 1998 film "The Horse Whisperer," "Seabiscuit" in 2003 and "The Time Machine" in 2002.
in India is looking to pool their demand for effective procurement of vaccines to ensure uninterrupted access to the lifesaving vaccines across the country, healthcare and industry federations said on Thursday.

The is also aiming to work collaboratively to tide over supply side challenges and join hands with the government to scale up last mile delivery of vaccines, pandemic surveillance and hospitalisation care, apex healthcare federation, NATHEALTH said in a statement.

The federations also urged the government to ensure that there is consistency in vaccine administration guidelines across states through standard operating guidelines for engagement with the private sector, it added.

The government on Monday had said that everyone above 18 years of age will be eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 from May 1, as it liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the doses directly from manufacturers.

Under the third phase of the vaccination drive commencing next month, the vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and would be free to supply the remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open market.

"As now the delivery systems will undergo a change with the state govts and the having to individually acquire the vaccine, the federations were of the view that there should be uniformity in the vaccine rollout in different states, as different policies in different states would result in confusion and may hamper the vaccination drive," NATHEALTH President Harsh Mahajan said.

There was also a suggestion of pooling of resources and capabilities of the private sector in purchase, aggregation, cold chain and delivery management of both indigenous and imported approved vaccines, he added.

"As the country is grappling with a sudden surge of COVID cases and different parts of the country facing various challenges related to healthcare infrastructure, ramping up vaccination drive by involving Indian and global organisations will prove to be beneficial in the longer run and will reduce the burden on the healthcare ecosystem that India is facing amidst these tough times", Mahajan said.

The industry welcomes the liberalised Phase 3 National Vaccination Strategy of the government as it provides flexibility and an opportunity for state governments, private sector organisations, hospitals and other sectors to purchase it from the open market and ramp up vaccine administration, he added.

It will also enable private providers to involve their logistics network and supply chains to speed up transport channels and improve access in the remotest parts of India, Mahajan 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.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 11:22:11|Editor: huaxia

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LOS ANGELES, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Different social systems and ideologies should not stand in the way for peaceful coexistence between China and the United States, Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Zhang Ping said, adding that the two countries can cooperate on many pressing tasks.

Zhang made the remarks Tuesday at a webinar organized by the Pacific Council on International Policy headquartered in the California city of Los Angeles, according to a news release from China's Consulate General in Los Angeles Wednesday.

While noting the positive interactions between China and the United States since the Biden administration took office, Zhang said in his opening remarks that China-U.S. relations remain difficult and tense in some areas as a result of the U.S. side taking a series of negative actions recently.

"History of the bilateral relations proves that China and the United States gain from cooperation but lose from confrontation," Zhang said, adding that cooperation is the only right choice.

The Chinese diplomat stressed the importance of dialogue and cooperation between the two largest economies in the world, citing three pressing tasks for them to cooperate: fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling climate change, and promoting world economic recovery.

When talking about the recent China-U.S. climate change talks, Zhang said it was a proof that the two countries could work together on issues of common interests.

"We hope that China-U.S. cooperation will not be limited to climate area, or issues that the United States is concerned about," he said. "It should be two-way and mutually beneficial, and address the concerns and needs of both sides."

Zhang also expressed the hope that the U.S. side will have a correct understanding of China's development and avoid miscalculation on China's strategic intentions, reiterating the legitimate right of the Chinese people to pursue a better life.

"At present, the China-U.S. relationship is faced with a critical choice. What choice we are to make will have a direct bearing on the well-being of the two peoples and the future of the world," he said. "We need to ensure that the relationship heads to the right direction and will not fall into the trap of conflict."

Zhang spoke highly of China's close ties with California and said that "Southern California carries a special weight in this relationship."

He mentioned that in 2019, China was the largest trading partner of California, and the latter had the biggest trade volume with China and the biggest Chinese investment among all the U.S. states.

"Yet, given the tremendous benefits that this close relationship has brought to both sides, we all have a stake in seeing California's connection with China remain strong," he said.

Zhang was joined by Jerrold Green, president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Council on International Policy, who served as the moderator of the webinar.

Green said both California and China are on the Pacific rim. "Although we are separated by a considerable body of water, we are neighbors."

He said that even there are a lot of issues dividing the United States and China today, which are matters to both sides, there is still possibility for the two countries to find areas of cooperation.

"When we can be collaborative, California is right in the mix," he said.

Green said there are two areas that have the greatest potential for collaboration between California and China, "Global health, specifically what we learn from the global pandemic, and climate change."

He also noted the importance of U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry's visit to China last week. Enditem
Britain faces a 'moment of reckoning' in the race for technological supremacy and must adapt or risk falling prey to China, a spy chief will warn today.

Jeremy Fleming, the director of GCHQ, will call for the country to evolve like an animal in a changing habitat as the 'global digital environment' comes under threat from foreign adversaries like China and Russia.

In a major speech today, he will warn that the digital dominance of hostile states like China threatens our future prosperity and security.

And, if left unchecked, this could threaten the design and freedom of the internet and endanger future technologies such as 'smart cities'.

Jeremy Fleming, Director of GCHQ, gives a keynote speech at the National Cyber Security Centre, 2019

Delivering the annual Vincent Briscoe Lecture at Imperial College London, Mr Fleming will say: 'The UK really is a global cyber power  a big animal in the digital world. But historic strength does not mean we can assume we will be in the future.

'New technology is enabling life online. Cyber security is an increasingly strategic issue that needs a whole nation approach. The rules are changing in ways not always controlled by Government.'

He will add: 'Without action, it is increasingly clear that the key technologies on which we will rely for our future prosperity and security won't be shaped and controlled by the West.

Jeremy Fleming, the director of GCHQ, will call for the country to evolve like an animal in a changing habitat as the 'global digital environment' comes under threat from foreign adversaries like China and Russia (pictured: GCHQ centre)

'We are now facing a moment of reckoning. In the natural world, during a period of rapid change, the only option is to adapt. And it's the same for us.'

Mr Fleming will call for the development and protection of future technologies to be a priority for Britain, warning that the pandemic has 'enabled our adversaries' in new ways.

And we will have to work with 'like-minded nations' to find solutions to technological issues, the spy chief will add.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore.  Following a nationwide search, the City of Klamath Falls says it has settled on three finalists to be the next chief of police when current Klamath Falls Police chief Dave Henslee retires.

The City said that it reviewed resumes and conducted remote interviews, eventually selecting four candidates as finalists for participation in additional interviews with city officials and community members. One of those candidates withdrew.

Ultimately, two of the remaining candidates are existing officers with KFPD. The third most recently served as chief of police in Hollister, California.

Final interviews will be conducted between April 28 and 29, with candidates undergoing interviews in front of multiple panels to test their "knowledge and suitability" to be KFPD's next chief. A public open house is scheduled for 7 to 8:30 p.m. on April 28 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The open house is open to the community to attend with social distancing and face coverings in place.

Klamath Falls gave the following information about each of the candidates:

Ryan Brosterhous  Mr. Brosterhous has been with the Klamath Falls Police Department for 25 years. He currently serves as the Patrol and Operations Division Captain and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelors degree in Criminology from Southern Oregon State College.

Mr. Brosterhous has been with the Klamath Falls Police Department for 25 years. He currently serves as the Patrol and Operations Division Captain and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelors degree in Criminology from Southern Oregon State College. Rob Dentinger  Mr. Dentinger has been with the Klamath Falls Police Department for 25 years. He currently serves as the Investigation and Support Division Captain and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelors degree in Management from Northwest Christian University.

Mr. Dentinger has been with the Klamath Falls Police Department for 25 years. He currently serves as the Investigation and Support Division Captain and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelors degree in Management from Northwest Christian University. David Westrick  Mr. Westrick has been a police officer for 29 years. Most recently, he served as the Chief of Police for the City of Hollister, California and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He holds a bachelors degree in Public Administration  Police emphasis from Union University.

Current police chief Dave Henslee announced his coming retirement at the beginning of January, with tentative plans to leave KFPD on May 1.
[April 22, 2021] ICE launches Micro Asia Tech 30 Index Futures contracts

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, today announced that it plans to launch Micro Asia Tech 30 Index futures contracts on ICE Futures Singapore on April 26, 2021. The futures contracts are based on the recently launched ICE Asia Tech 30 Index (ICEAT30), which provides investors with the ability to capture the performance of the 30 largest technology and tech-related companies listed on selected Asia-Pacific exchanges. Each Asia Tech 30 Index Futures contract is micro-sized at around USD $10,000, allowing market participants to precisely scale their exposure. The 30 companies which are currently part of the index are listed in full here, with approximate country allocations as of the last quarterly reconstitution as follows: China 37.40%, Japan 24.67%, South Korea 19.15%, and Taiwan 18.78%. The index constituents are reviewed quarterly. The index has returned an annualized gross total return of approximately 13.8% from its base date of March 19, 2010 to April 9, 2021. The full historical index performance, based upon back tested index calculations, can be accessed via the ICE Index Platform. The methodology for the index is publicly available here and provides details on constituent selections, weightings, calculations, and reconstitutions. The index is denominated in U.S. Dollars and published in real-time to ICE's Consolidated Feed, ICE's primary market data source for equity real-time and closing prices. "The Asia-Pacific technology sector is an exciting space for investors and these micro futures contracts provide the ability to invest in the largest and most important of Asia's tech firms through one single futures contract," said Lucas Schmeddes, President of ICE Futures Singapore. "Over the last few months, tech companies in the region have fully benefited from the digital acceleration: from blue chip conglomerates such as Samsung (News - Alert) , to emerging e-commerce platforms such as Meituan." "The new index is designed around the concept of today's modern technology landscape, including highly captalized and liquid companies across both the technology and tech-related sectors," said Phil Galdi, Head of Indices at ICE. "The index is constructed on the basis of our ICE Uniform Sector Classification Schema (News - Alert) , and its rules-based approach to selecting and weighting companies offers an incredibly efficient benchmark for investors to track the returns of this rapidly growing space."



The Micro Asia Tech 30 Index Futures contracts will trade alongside other contracts on ICE Futures Singapore which include Bakkt Bitcoin Futures, as well as cash settled Mini Brent Crude, Mini US Dollar Index, Mini US Dollar/Offshore Renminbi, and Mini US Dollar/Singapore Dollar futures. ICE offers over 6,000 indices which serve as performance benchmarks for over $1 trillion in assets managed by investors around the world. ICE is home to the NYSE FANG+ Index, an index that provides exposure to 10 of today's highly-traded tech giants, with NYSE FANG+ futures and options contracts to help the market increase or reduce exposure to a key group of growth stocks in a capital-efficient manner.

About Intercontinental Exchange Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity. Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading "Key Information Documents (KIDS)." Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 -- Statements in this press release regarding ICE's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE's Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC (News - Alert) ) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on February 4, 2021. About ICE Data Indices The ICE Asia Tech 30 Index ("Index") has been licensed by ICE Data Indices, LLC for use in connection with the Micro Asia Tech 30 Index Futures (the "Product"). The Product is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by ICE Data Indices, LLC, its affiliates or its Third Party Suppliers ("ICE Data and its Suppliers"). ICE Data and its Suppliers make no representations or warranties regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally, in the Product particularly, or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. Past performance of an Index is not an indicator of or a guarantee of future results. ICE- CORP Source (News - Alert) : Intercontinental Exchange View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005629/en/

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Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 23, 2021. (Erin Scott/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

US Sen. Rick Scott Applauds Cancellation of Belt and Road Initiative in Australia

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) has applauded the Australian governments decision to axe the controversial Belt and Road Initiative agreement signed by the Victorian state government.

Scott said in a statement, Communist Chinas Belt and Road Initiative has one mission, to extend its control over other nations and advance its quest for world domination.

I applaud the decision of the Australian government to stand up to Communist China and refuse to take part in General Secretary Xis master plan, he added.

I hope every nation around the world that has agreed to projects with Beijing will recognise the Communist Partys sinister geopolitical strategy and follow Australias example.

Scott has been supportive of the Australian governments efforts to counter Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference and recently called on Prime Minister Morrison to support moves to shift the 2022 Winter Olympic Games away from China.

Deals Cancelled Under New Foreign Relations Law

On Wednesday night, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced the cancellation of four agreements signed between Victoria and foreign countries, including Iran, Syria, and China.

I consider these four arrangements to be inconsistent with Australias foreign policy or adverse to our foreign relations, Payne said in a statement.

Two of those deals were signed between current Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Beijings National Development and Reform Commission.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media during a press conference in Melbourne, Australia on Feb. 13, 2021. (Luis Ascui/Getty Images)

The first cancelled arrangement was a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2018 that saw Victoria pledge to work on infrastructure projects within Beijings Framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The second axed Framework Agreement was signed by Andrews in 2019. A third was supposed to be signed in 2020 but did not eventuate.

The announcement came just hours after top Chinese diplomat Wang Xining complained about Australias tough stance towards Beijing and accused it of taking advantage of China.

Deputy Head of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Australia Wang Xining at the National Press Club in Canberra, on April 21, 2021. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)

China is not a cow, Wang told the National Press Club on Wednesday. I dont think anybody should fancy the idea to milk China when shes in her prime and plot to slaughter it in the end.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Canberra has criticised the move, labelling it unreasonable and provocative.

The Australian Foreign Relations Act 2020 was passed in December last year amid increasing concerns over the BRI and Beijing-backed foreign interference.

The law granted the foreign minister the power to void agreements signed between foreign entities, and subnational Australian governments and public universities.

Experts predicted Victorias BRI agreements with Beijing would be the first target of the law.

Other controversial agreements including sister-city arrangements, Confucius Institutes, and academic partnerships are likely to come under scrutiny as well.

The BRI is Beijings trillion-dollar global infrastructure fund that has been accused of being a vehicle for the CCP to expand its global hegemony.

Some developing countries have struggled to pay off loans under the BRI, and in some cases, have been forced to hand over control of key assets and infrastructure to Beijing.
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The usage of Clinical Intelligence is becoming a common phenomenon in healthcare institutes worldwide and the Global Clinical Intelligence Market is poised to strike a splendid CAGR of 12.5% over the forecast period of 20172023, predicts Market Research Future (MRFR) in an exhaustive study. Clinical intelligence is a new learning paradigm for healthcare providers in which clinical data is analyzed with the use of modern data mining, data visualization, and predictive modeling tools to improve healthcare delivery.

The pressing need to curb healthcare costs has been the primary drive motivating the growth of the global clinical intelligence market. The growing burden of chronic diseases and increasing patient influx in hospitals has raised the adoption of software solutions for tedious process such as insurance claim processing and fraud detection. This results in improved healthcare outcomes and subsequently boosts the growth of the market.

Request Free Sample Report at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4478

Other factors stimulating the market growth include governments in multiple countries encouraging the adoption of clinical intelligence solutions. Furthermore, constant changes in regulations, increasing reporting mandates, and ever-increasing competition, healthcare organizations can no longer ignore the importance of clinical intelligence. Clinical intelligence aids healthcare sector to improve the quality of care by analyzing the gaps in their care, patient safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

On the other hand, a general lack of regulatory and clinical standards for predictive analytics is likely to hinder the growth of the market. The high cost of clinical intelligence software might restrain the growth of the market growth in developing countries.

Competitive Landscape

The notable players in the clinical intelligence market include General Electric Company (U.S.), QSI Management, LLC (U.S.), Allscripts (U.S.), Cerner Corporation (U.S.), IBM (U.S.), Epic Systems Corporation (U.S.), Greenway Health, LLC (U.S.), McKesson Corporation (U.S.), and eClinicalWorks (U.S.).

Segmentation

The global clinical intelligence market has been segmented based on component, type, end-user, and application.

By type, the global clinical intelligence market has been segmented into population health management, retrospective performance measures & predictive analytics, clinical benchmarking, clinical decision support (CDSS) system, quality improvement, performance measurement systems, and others. The quality improvement segment has been further segmented into six sigma. The population health management segment has been further segmented into under-utilization of health services and over-utilization of health services.

By component, the global clinical intelligence market has been segmented into hardware, software, and services.

By application, the global clinical intelligence market has been segmented into revenue cycle management (RCM) claims, fraud, supply chain, financial management, clinical, and others.

By end-users, the global clinical intelligence market has been segmented into clinics, hospitals, TPAs, and others.

Browse Full Research Report at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/clinical-intelligence-market-4478

Regional Analysis

By region, the global clinical intelligence market has been segmented into the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, and the Middle East & Africa (MEA).

The Americas account for the maximum share of the global clinical intelligence market owing to high usage of software solutions for healthcare administration. The presence of healthcare IT companies in the region and high healthcare expenditure supports market growth in the region. Additionally, growing usage of Decision Support System among tertiary care centers in the US has proven to be beneficial for the growth of the market.

Europe follows the Americas closely and is the second largest market for clinical intelligence. Increase in a number of healthcare institutions who are leveraging clinical intelligence management softwares and expanding healthcare expenditure boosts the market growth in Europe.

APAC is poised to be the fastest growing market for clinical intelligence. Development of healthcare IT infrastructure, increasing healthcare expenditure and the growing presence of key players in the region can be credited for the growth of the market.

The MEA market is expected to showcase moderate growth. The Africa region, in particular, will exhibit limited growth due to low healthcare penetration and low healthcare expenditure.

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. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients.
Impeachment investigators looking into allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo say they have received more than 200 tips about his conduct.

New York State Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D) said the huge number of tips were received via a hotline set up by law firm Davis Polk to help the wide-ranging investigation.

He disclosed the figure as the committee held its first public meeting on the impeachment in nearly a month on Wednesday, Politico reported.

The state assembly's inquiry spans the Governor's alleged sexual misconduct and claims that he covered up Covid data in the nursing homes scandal.

Davis Polk specializes in white-collar crime and several members of its team are former federal prosecutors.

Impeachment investigators probing Gov. Andrew Cuomo say they have received more than 200 tips about his conduct

Lavine said: 'In total, Davis Polk has spoken with attorneys for about 70 people who may have relevant information.

'And Davis Polk has also been in contact with four government agencies about potentially relevant information  document requests and interviews.'

The Assembly Judiciary Committee announced they were launching an impeachment probe last month, with Wednesday's conference their second meeting.

Lavine said the inquiry will cover the multiple allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo and the alleged cover-up of data about nursing home deaths during the Covid pandemic.

New York State Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D) said the huge number of tips were received via a hotline

He is also looking into whether the Governor used state employees to help produce his 2020 book American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic and safety concerns of bridges in New York including the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

Lavine previously admitted the probe could take months because of the 'breadth and seriousness of the issues under investigation'.

Cuomo is facing a separate investigation about the sexual harassment allegations from the office of Attorney General Letitia James.

He has pledged not to resign until the results from the inquiries are made public.

It was revealed earlier this week that Cuomo is also facing a criminal probe over claims he used New York state resources to write his controversial COVID memoir that is said to have earned him $4million.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office released the April 13 letter on Monday authorizing Letitia James to investigate whether the process of writing and promoting the book violated state laws.

Recent media reports have raised concerns about staff members, including Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa and another adviser, Stephanie Benton, who helped the Democratic governor with his book.

DeRosa is said to have been heavily involved in pitching and writing the book. Benton - another top Cuomo aide - asked a more junior member of staff to print out a draft of the book and deliver it to Cuomo's executive mansion in Albany on a Sunday.

Cuomo (seen above in New York on Monday) could be the subject of a criminal investigation by the state attorney general's office over alleged use of state resources to promote his book

James' office said it received the referral letter from the state comptroller but didn't comment further on whether she plans to launch a criminal probe. Cuomo foe Ron Kim, a US Representative from Queens in New York, says the governor also broke ethics rules by profiting from a public position.

Cuomo released the book last fall. The tome was met with widespread derision. Critics blasted Cuomo for writing it while at the same time acknowledging COVID was far from finished.

Cuomo aides were reportedly asked to help in typing or transferring notes for the book, which the governor wrote in part by dictating into a cell phone, according to The New York Times.

Cuomo asked his advisers to handle all sorts of book-related tasks including full-scale edits as well as clerical work, the Times reported.

DeRosa was reported to have taken part in online pitch meetings. She also reportedly emailed drafts of the book to another staffer, Benton.

Melissa DeRosa, the governor's top aide, is said to have met publishers and edited the book even though she is a state employee. DeRosa is seen above in October

His office hasn't provided direct responses to a list of questions from The Associated Press, including the total number of staffers who helped Cuomo with the book and whether Cuomo received compensation based on how many books were sold.

The governor said Monday that he asked some people who he mentioned in the book to 'review' it.

'On the book, some people volunteered to review the book,' Cuomo said in a teleconference call on Monday.

'You look at the people who are mentioned in the book. I wanted to make sure they were okay with the mention.'

DeRosa reportedly helped edit the governor's memoir American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cuomo's office didn't immediately respond to request for comment Monday.

Spokesperson Rich Azzopardi has previously said that people who helped with the project 'did so on their own time' and that Cuomo's office made every effort to ensure no state resources were used.

'To the extent an aide printed out a document, it appears incidental,' he said.

He also disputed criticism about Cuomo discussing the book in news conferences and media appearances: 'An offhand mention about writing a book, or answering questions from the media about it in no way is an advertisement of endorsement of it.'

Cuomo has also repeatedly declined to reveal how much he has made for his book.

The governor, who allows reporters to view personal income tax filings each year, said Monday that he would disclose financial details in those tax documents: 'You will see everything you want to see in the personal income taxes.'

Those documents are also set to reveal how much of the books proceeds were donated to charity, after Cuomo announced plans to donate some of its profits.

Earlier this month, a leading critic of Cuomo, New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim, called on the governor's 'right-hand,' Melissa DeRosa, to resign after The New York Times reported that she helped her boss write his book during the pandemic.

Kim also claimed earlier this month that Cuomo 'begged' DeRosa not to resign after it was revealed that she admitted his administration intentionally withheld data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths.

Emergency Medical Service workers unload a patient into their ambulance at the Cobble Hill Health Center in April. Cuomo's office is accused of hiding nursing home death data

DeRosa, who is secretary to the governor, offered to quit in February after she was recorded in secret audio telling Democrats that Cuomo aides withheld the actual nursing home death toll, according to Kim.

'It's my understanding Melissa wanted to resign February 12 - the day after the scandal broke of her admitting there was an obstruction of justice in her administration,' Kim, the Queens lawmaker and Cuomo critic, told WRGB-TV.

In a remarkable confession made during a conference call with state Democrats, obtained by The New York Post on February 11, DeRosa admitted that officials 'froze' in August when former President Donald Trump's Department of Justice asked for the data, before rebuffing the request.

DeRosa told lawmakers: 'We were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation.'

The data remained secret for months until January, when a shocking report from New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said the state had undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent.

It forced New York State's Department of Health to reveal that the true death toll among nursing home residents was 12,743, rather than the previously acknowledged 8,711. New York had previously only counted residents who died in nursing homes, and left out 4,000 residents who were taken to hospital and died there.

When asked about Kim's claim that the governor dissuaded DeRosa from resigning, Cuomo spokesperson Azzopardi said: 'Ron Kim doesn't know what he is talking about and this is not the first time he's lied about Melissa.'

New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim (pictured in June 2020), a Democrat from Queens and a fierce critic of Cuomo, has called on DeRosa to step down over her alleged role in editing the book

The $4million advance given to Cuomo for the book was considered exorbitant in the publishing world, particularly for an author who has no track record of writing best-sellers.

Cuomo's first book, a memoir entitled All Things Possible was published in 2004 and sold fewer than 4,000 hardcover copies.

Cuomo was widely criticized for writing the second memoir at a time when the pandemic was far from over.

The governor has also been cited for his failure to act in time to mitigate the spread of the virus after it was detected in the United States, a decision that some say led to New York becoming the nation's first hot spot last year.
Police officers with the Bors, Nadlac and Nadlac II Border Crossing Points caught 62 foreign citizens hidden in trucks that were trying to illegally cross the border into Hungary, in the last 24 hours.

The border police officers at the Bors Border Crossing Point, on Wednesday, at around 19:20, inspected the truck of a Turkish citizen transporting furniture on the Romania-Germany route, and found 12 foreign citizens. They were picked up and transported to the Bors Border Police headquarters, for questioning, and upon the preliminary verifications it was established that the persons were Iraqi and Syrian citizens, 8 adults with ages between 18-45 and 4 minors with ages from 2 and 16 years, the Border Police Territorial Inspectorate (ITPF) Oradea specifies.

Furthermore, in Nadlac, the border police carried out thorough inspections of a vehicle driven by a Romanian citizen, who was transporting hay bales on the Romania-Spain route, and upon inspection 35 foreign citizens were found. The people are citizens from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, with ages from 15 to 48 years old, asylum seekers in our country.

Still at the Nadlac Border Crossing, in a minibus driven by a Romanian citizen, the border police found, hidden in a specially arranged compartment, three Syrian citizens, with ages between 20 and 33, asylum seekers in Romania.

Similar actions were carried out at the Nadlac II Border Crossing, upon which the border police made thoroughly checked two vehicles driven by a Ukrainian citizen and a Romanian one. They were transporting, according to the documents, lumber and paper for companies in France.

Upon a thorough inspection of the transport vehicles, the border police discovered, hidden in the cargo hold, 12 foreign citizens, from Afghanistan and Pakistan, with ages between 14 and 25, asylum seekers in Romania.

In all cases, the border police officers are carrying out investigations in order to establish the entire criminal activity, and at the end the necessary legal measures will be ordered.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Watts Guerra LLP, Fears Nachawati PLLC, and Parker Waichman LLP, three national law firms that have long fought to protect the rights of victims injured by the wrongdoing of large corporations, filed a wrongful taking of property and private nuisance lawsuit on March 22, 2021 against Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. ("ERCOT"), CPS Energy, Calpine Corp., Luminant Generation Co., Vistra Corp., Duke Energy Corp., NRG Energy, Inc., Exelon Generation Co., LLC, Tenaska Gateway Partners, Ltd., and Tenaska, Inc, Inc.in District Court, Bexar County, Texas on behalf of Sulocsana Karki, an individual residing in McLennan County, Texas. Sulocsana Karki, the personal representative of the Estate of Decedent Pramod Bhattarai, is an individual residing in McLennan County, Texas. At the time of his death, Pramod Bhattarai was a 23-year-old student from Nepal, studying computer science at San Jacinto College and residing in Harris County, Texas. Mr. Bhattarai died in his home of carbon monoxide poisoning, a direct result of the power outage.

The lawsuit alleges that failures by ERCOT CPS Energy, Calpine Corp., Luminant Generation Co., Vistra Corp., Duke Energy Corp., NRG Energy, Inc., Exelon Generation Co., LLC, Tenaska Gateway Partners, Ltd., and Tenaska, Inc. to anticipate increased energy demand during the storm and weatherize and update their facilities resulted in the rolling blackouts which left millions of Texans, including Mr. Bhattarai, without power for days.

According to the Complaint, Mr. Bhattarai lost power in his home on February 14, 2021. As a result, his home had no heat. Freezing in the 16-degree temperature, Mr. Bhattarai attempted to use a charcoal grill to keep warm. Carbon monoxide filled his home, causing him to become ill. Paramedics arrived too late to save him. He passed away on February 15, 2021. The lawsuit seeks damages for Mr. Bhattarai's physical pain and mental anguish before his death, punitive damages and more on behalf of her surviving heirs.

The lawsuit lays out a startling string of allegations. The action claims that ERCOT and the other companies involved in the management of power in Texas failed to anticipate increased energy demands and increase electric production capacity in Texas in advance of the February 2021 winter storm, though similar events have happened repeatedly in recent years. The Complaint also alleges that defendants should have weatherized and updated their generation, transmission, and distribution facilities in order to prevent cold-weather power failures such as this one, but consciously chose not to do so.

This cold weather event and its effects on the Texas energy grid were neither unprecedented, nor unexpected, nor unforeseen. Texas experienced disruptive cold weather events in 1983, 1989, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. The events in 1989 and 2011, in particular, led to exactly the same type of rolling blackouts that have affected Texas residents and businesses. After the 2011 event, The Texas Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission both concluded that corrective actions taken after the 1989 event were inadequate  but the Defendants ignored these conclusions and failed to remedy the problem. Foreseeably, in February 2021, after Defendants chose not to implement the reasonable economical remedies recommended in 1989 and 2011, power failed across Texas, resulting in enormous losses, including deaths.

Mikal Watts, founding partner of Watts Guerra LLP, is outraged: "Albert Einstein said, 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.' After their equipment froze in 1983, 1989 and 2011, it was insane for them to pretend that the inevitable would not happen again. What happened in February 2021 was not only foreseeable, it was foreseen; it was predicted; and it was inevitable."

Majed Nachawati, founding partner of Fears Nachawati, PLLC, who has decades of experience representing victims of corporate misconduct, called the tragedy predictable, preventable, and unacceptable. "This family's tragedy is compounded by the fact that it could have been prevented," he said. "These companies failed across the board to respond to this predicted weather event."

Jerrold S. Parker, founding partner of Parker Waichman LLP, who has battled for victims of corporate greed over many decades and in many courtrooms throughout the United States, said that the extent of the neglect by the Texas power companies is some of the most significant he has ever seen. "This tragic death of a young man who came to Texas to study might have been avoided if the energy industry had taken appropriate measures to fix visible flaws in its systems."

Filing a Texas Power Outage Lawsuit

Watts Guerra, Fears Nachawati and Parker Waichman have represented clients in injury lawsuits for decades. If you or someone you know is interested in filing a Texas Power Outage lawsuit, please call 1-800-800-4499 or visit the firms' Texas Power Outage website at https://www.texaspowerfailure2021lawsuit.com

Contact: Annmarie George, 516-466-6500, [email protected]

SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP

Related Links

http://www.yourlawyer.com


Jerusalem, Apr 22 (PTI) Israel issued a travel advisory on Thursday warning Israelis, including those who have recovered from or been vaccinated against COVID-19, to refrain from travelling to India, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and Turkey because of high COVID morbidity rates in the seven countries.

The statement from the Israeli health ministry also noted the presence of alarming COVID variants in the seven countries, and recommended that the public avoid all travel outside of Israel if possible, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

The Health Ministry's Director-General Chezy Levy said that unvaccinated foreign workers and students from India must quarantine in state-run quarantine hotels, it said.

With the number of Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19 topping five million and the country experiencing fewer than 100 new daily cases, the government ended its outdoor mask mandate on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Israel said last week it will start allowing the limited entry of vaccinated tourist groups as of May 23.

The return of foreigner tourists after Israel had closed its borders at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020 would boost the country's economy, which contracted 2.5 per cent in 2020, and battered tourism sector.

Since Israel entered its first lockdown in March 2020, non-residents  with rare exceptions  have not been allowed into the country. In January, as part of the third lockdown, even Israeli citizens were prevented from entering. However, that particular restriction was lifted in March. PTI AKJ

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
President Klaus Iohannis informs that he convened a meeting on Monday with government officials working on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), mentioning that the plan is going to be improved and then accepted by the European Commission.

Iohannis mentioned that the difficulties in outlining the plan were to be expected. "The difficulty is that deep reforms are wanted, but at the same time in a very limited period, we have only a few years to do it. Normally, the reforms are not done overnight and the important projects take more than 3-4 years. However, we will be prepared for this National Plan and we will improve it in such a way that the projects will be accepted," said Iohannis.

He also said that not only Romania is in this situation, but everyone, given the "novelty and pressure" of the very short implementation time, agerpres.ro confirms.

"I convened a meeting on Monday with government officials and from other areas working on the PNRR. We will evaluate the Commission's first feedback. We will improve the Plan. The Ministry will present itself to the Commission an improved Plan and, finally, I am convinced that it will be accepted and we will be able to use this money. It is a very large amount: 30 billion euros. We have the chance to implement reforms that have been postponed and we have the chance to make investments that we haven't been able to do until now because we lacked the money, I am very determined that, together with the government, to make this a success," said Klaus Iohannis, after a visit to the Vacaresti Natural Park, on Earth Day.

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna said on Wednesday that Romania will not benefit from European funds through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for the irrigation system. He told TVR 1 public television station that the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Cristian Ghinea, presented the PNRR project in Brussels, but the European Commission asked to be modified.
Robert Morris, founder of the multi-campus Gateway Church in Texas, which draws some 36,000 worshipers weekly, urged his congregants on Sunday to get active in local government elections and vote to protect their communities while highlighting a raft of members running for office.

Im asking you, as your pastor, to vote. Its very important that we vote in these elections because theres a lot being decided for our communities and for our schools and for our children and grandchildren, Morris said during a broadcast of his church service on Facebook.

Morris told his congregants that he recently gathered with leaders of his church campuses in Southlake, Colleyville and Grapevine, along with a number of other local church leaders, to discuss mobilizing the church community to participate more effectively in the political process. During these meetings, they learned that several church members are running to become mayors, members of the local city council or positions at the school district.

We had pastors come together and pray and what we realized was, we had people running for these offices that are members of our churches, Morris said. Were not endorsing a candidate. Were not doing that. But we just thought that since theyre a member of the family of God, that you might want to know if someone in the family, in this family of churches, is running. I want you to pray for every person running for office.

Source:The Christian Post
Gov. Ned Lamont wants to invest $103 million the state is receiving from the American Rescue Plan Act to retrain workers who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19.

Lamont said the proposed investment represents the biggest commitment to workforce development in the history of the state. But with 140,000 Connecticut residents currently out of work, he said it is critical for the legislature to approve this level of reinvestment in the workforce.

Last month, we had more job postings out there than any time in the last decade, Lamont said. Our greatest competitive advantage is the quality of our workforce, and weve got to work at it every day.

Increasingly, Lamont said, jobs across every employment sector require technology skills. Its every business now, he said. Its not just Amazon and Facebook. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future of Connecticuts workforce and ensure it aligns with the needs of the post-pandemic, 21st century economy.

Lamonts proposal includes:

$95.5 million to retrain and improve the skills of 9,000 displaced workers through job sector-focused training programs.

$2 million to provide job training and educational support to 1,000 currently or previously jailed youth and adults to help them find high-quality jobs that meet the needs of employers.

$3.7 million to extend the operating hours of 10 CT technical education and career system programs, so that hundreds more individuals can be served each year.

Lamonts proposal was endorsed by State Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford, who is co-chair of the General Assemblys Commerce Committee. Simmons said the investment in workforce training is critical to attracting businesses and preparing our workforce for 21st century jobs.

Business leaders who participated in a virtual press conference Thursday said the proposed initiative will allow their businesses to unlock the potential and talent of underserved communities.

There is a lot of trapped talent out there, particularly in the urban cores, said Marty Guay, vice president of business development for Stanley Black & Decker. We need to find people who are at a minimum digitally literate, or better yet, digitally fluent. For us, this is job one.

Technology giant Infosys opened its Connecticut operations in 2018 and promised to create 1,000 jobs in the state by 2022. The companys president, Ravi Kumar, said that Infosys has hired 750 people so far and that the growth of the business is evidence that there is going to be rapid digitization across all industries.

Its going to be all about how we re-skill, re-purpose existing talent pools, Kumar said.

The demand for retraining of workers isnt being driven solely by the rapid advancement of technology across all business, according to Jeff Flaks, president and chief executive officer of Hartford Healthcare.

Sixteen percent of our nurses are at or near retirement age, Flaks said. Healthcare is transforming, and its absolutely critical we identify new skill sets.

Flaks counterpart at Yale New Haven Health, Marna Borgstrom, said that while many of the jobs that need to be filled require technological skills, once someone is able find a job within the healthcare system we have very robust tuition assistance and mentoring programs.

Lamonts plan was endorsed by an executive with one of Connecticuts largest employers in the manufacturing industry and a representative of a construction workers union.

Dave Roche, president of the Connecticut Building Trades Council, said he expects to see much of the states employment growth in the future to come from work in the wind power and solar energy sectors, as well as from the development of data centers around the state.

I think there is going to be a lot of opportunity out there, Roche said. Some of the (talent) funnels are already there. We just need to put them on steroids.

Andrew Bond, vice president of human resources for General Dynamics Electric Boat division  which has a significant presence in Groton and Southeastern Connecticut  said his company is in a period of growth that hasnt been seen since World War II and the start of the Cold War.

Our need is persistent and ongoing, Bond said. Our peak hiring wont be until 2029. Were looking to increase interest in ship building with people who dont yet know they want to be ship builders.

To meet the demand for skilled manufacturing employees, the WorkPlace in Bridgeport is launching an adult training program. The organization provides workforce development services for both employers and individuals.

Joe Carbone, president and chief executive officer of The WorkPlace, said the program starts on June 7 at Derby High School and will provide the type of training programs that will lead to a degree program in manufacturing at Housatonic Community College.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  The Philippines has confirmed its attendance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting this April 24, which was convened primarily to address the bloody political crisis in member state Myanmar.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. will be present at the leaders' summit in Jakarta, in lieu of President Rodrigo Duterte who opted to skip the meeting over COVID-19 concerns.

Locsin will reaffirm the country's commitment to the ASEAN's efforts in ensuring peace and stability in the region, according to the DFA. It said this includes conveying the Philippines' "strong support" for the initiative of Brunei, which chairs the 10-member ASEAN this year, to visit Myanmar and lead the association's response to the crisis.

Myanmar's military staged a coup on February 1 and had detained state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders for supposedly failing to take action over election fraud allegations.

READ: Myanmar's military has detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. Here's what you need to know

Brunei has urged warring parties to pursue constructive dialogue and reconciliation, and "quickly return to normalcy" in the interest of the Burmese people. The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore have also expressed alarm over the bloodshed and human rights abuses stemming from the military takeover. Other nations from across the globe have likewise voiced concern over the violent developments.

The DFA earlier issued a statement calling on Myanmar security forces to "desist from resorting to disproportionate force against unarmed citizens." It also backed calls for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and other political leaders.

According to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the casualty count from the coup has risen to at least 738. It said these were people "shot in the head, tortured, burnt alive, beaten to death, tied up and dragged along on motorbikes -- perpetrated by junta troops in police, soldier or civilian clothes." The Myanmar military junta disputed the veracity of this tally.

Besides the situation in Myanmar, the DFA said pandemic recovery, community building efforts, external relations, and other urgent international issues will also be discussed in the summit.
[April 22, 2021] Parts Town Acquires Dayton Appliance Parts

Parts Town, the global market leader in foodservice equipment parts distribution, has acquired the assets of Dayton Appliance Parts Co., a leading Midwest distributor of residential appliance parts. Financial terms were not disclosed. Headquartered in Dayton Ohio, Dayton Appliance Parts Co. has been family owned and operated since 1937. The company operates from twelve locations in three states and features extensive inventory of OEM parts for over 100 leading residential appliance manufacturers. Importantly, Dayton's employees are some of the most experienced and knowledgeable in the industry. "We are excited to partner with Dayton Appliance Parts and honored to have the opportunity to work with Tim and Bub Houtz, who have done a wonderful job building this great business. The Dayton team is amazing, and we are eager to invest to support the growth of this great brand. Our focus will be to further improve the customer experience and grow genuine OEM parts sales in support of manufacturers and customers. We are proud to have the opportunity to build on the history at Dayton Appliance Parts and work with this strong team," states Steve Snower, CEO of Parts Town. Following the transaction, Tim Houtz, President, and Bub Houtz, Vice-President, will continue to lead the Dayton Appliance Parts team working closely with David Weger, who leads and supports several businesses within the Parts Town family.



"Tim and Bub are proven industry leaders and have built an outstanding team," states David Wenger, President. "We are excited to support the Dayton Appliance Parts team and create something truly special in the residential appliance parts market to support manufacturers and customers." Tim Houtz adds, "We are really excited about this combination. The Parts Town team has made us feel very welcomed and excited about the future for our team and our business. We are ready for this next exciting chapter of growth and innovation as part of the Parts Town family. We have enormous respect for Parts Town and believe that this partnership is a game changer for our manufacturers, our customers, and our team members."

To learn more about Parts Town and its offerings, please visit www.partstown.com. About Parts Town Parts Town is the leading global distributor of genuine OEM (original equipment manufacturer) foodservice equipment parts. When there's a hiccup in any kitchen, Parts Town is ready to jump in and help with the most in-stock parts on the planet, innovative technology, and an unmatched customer experience. Customized solutions benefit service companies and other customer segments. Our 360-degree imaging technology, PartSPIN, valuable interactive technical diagrams, convenient Smart Manuals, and the industry's leading mobile app allow customers to easily and conveniently find and view equipment manuals and parts in the field, where that info is needed most. These innovations, paired with same day shipping and extended hours of operation, ensure the correct part is ordered and delivered every time. Partnering with the leading manufacturers in the foodservice industry, Parts Town improves the supply chain, increases sales of genuine OEM parts, and keeps every customer's business running like clockwork. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005227/en/

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Investigators in the Shoals told WAAY 31 they are seeing more opioids on the streets.

They've made several big arrests involving Fentanyl and heroin all within two weeks.

Clockwise from top left: Austin Jordan, Terry Eugene King, Brandon Shai Swan, George Pickens Clockwise from top left: Austin Jordan, Terry Eugene King, Brandon Shai Swan, George Pickens

Lauderdale County Drug Task Force agents arrested Terry King and said he had 70 grams of Fentanyl. They also arrested Brandon Swan with having meth and what they believe is Fentanyl in a separate raid in Rogersville.

Austin Jordan and George Pickens were arrested together after agents conducted a raid in Zip City where they confiscated two ounces of heroin.

All four men remain in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

Drug task force agents told WAAY31 they've been busy and said both Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office deputies and Florence Police Department officers are administering more Narcan, too. Narcan is the brand name for naloxone, the medication that saves people from overdosing on opioids.

The Alabama Department of Mental Health said opioid drug overdoses in the state have risen by 20% in the last year.

At the A New Beginning drug recovery facility in Florence, officials said they're seeing more and more people coming in who are addicted to opioids.

"A couple years ago it was mostly pills like roxy and oxycontin. Nowadays it is the heroin, and meth is also big, too. And, a lot of them use both. It's not just one or the other, but opiates are probably our No. 1 admit right now," said Olivia Ikerd, director at A New Beginning.

Ikerd wants to remind people there is help available and recovery can be rewarding.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has cancelled plans to visit India and the Philippines during his country's extended holiday starting in late April amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, a senior government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Japan's government is considering a state of emergency for Tokyo and several other prefectures, while Indian data showed on Wednesday there had been 295,041 new infections nationwide overnight and 2,023 deaths, India's highest in the pandemic.

Asked about media reports that Suga's trip to the two countries has been cancelled, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said: "In order to take all possible coronavirus countermeasures, it has been decided Prime Minister Suga won't take any overseas trips during the Golden Week."

Japan and India are members of a group known as the Quad, which also includes the United States and Australia.

Quad leaders last month pledged to work to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region and to cooperate on maritime, cyber and economic security, issues vital to the four democracies in the face of challenges from China.

Suga's India trip would have enabled him to hold his first in-person summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Suga has already held face-to-face talks with two other leaders from the Quad - U.S. President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Also read: British PM cancels India visit due to COVID crisis, to holds talks remotely this month

Also read: COVID-19 impact: PM Modi's Portugal, France visit cancelled; 16th India-EU summit to be virtual

Also read: UK adds India to COVID-19 travel 'red list' amid new variant cases
On April 16, the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee was established in Beijing. Representatives of the business communities of 15 RCEP member states pledged to engage in close regional industrial cooperation and work together to promote the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The RCEP, signed on November 15, 2020 and composed of the 10 ASEAN countries as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, is a free trade zone with the largest population, the largest economy, the most diverse membership structure, and the greatest potentials for development in the world.

The cooperation committee is mainly composed of representatives of the business communities of 15 RCEP member states. At the inauguration ceremony, Xu Ningning, Executive President of the China-ASEAN Business Council, Shen Guofang, Executive President of the China Foundation for International Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yu Ping, Former Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and representatives of embassies of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand in China pressed their fingerprints to start the establishment of the cooperation committee.

The Chinese members of the cooperation committee include China Machinery Industry Federation, China National Light Industry Council, China Building Materials Federation, China Information Technology Industry Federation, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, China Packaging Federation, China Association of Trade in Services, and China Communications and Transportation Association. Leaders of these associations attended the inauguration ceremony and stated that they will actively connect with the RCEP business community and assist enterprises in enhancing cooperation.

Zaw Min Win, President of The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Francis Chua, Permanent Honorary President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Huang Guangfang, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Thanongsinh Kanlagna, Vice President of the Lao Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Musa bin Haji Adnin, Vice President of the Brunei Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Douglas Foo, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, and Vice Chairman of the China Committee of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as President of the Myanmar Chinese Chamber of Commerce, President of the Brunei Chinese Chamber of Commerce, President of the Malaysian Small and Medium Business Association, Vice President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, President of the Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, Secretary-General of the China-Thai Business Council, Secretary-General of the China-Indonesia Chamber of Commerce, and Executive Manager of the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China were present. A total of 300 people attended the inauguration ceremony.

During the negotiation of the RCEP in 2018, the China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) recommended the establishment of an RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee to strengthen cooperation of the business communities. On February 5 this year, CABC took the lead to launch the China Business Community Initiative to Jointly Promote Regional Business Cooperation Under RCEP. This initiative was initiated by the CABC and 75 national industry associations and relevant industry cooperation committees to express their willingness to strengthen the construction of mechanisms with the business communities of the RCEP member states and form an RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee. After the Chinese business community initiative was issued, representatives of the 14 other RCEP countries business communities agreed on the necessity of its establishment.

Recently, the CABC took the lead in establishing the cooperation committee in accordance with and based on the needs of and consultations with RCEP partners. Within the RCEP region, China and ASEAN are each other's largest trading partner. CABC is one of the dialogue and cooperation mechanisms between China and ASEAN.

Xu Ningning, Executive President of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said the fact that the committee was able to prepare for the establishment in a short period of time reflects that the business communities of RCEP member states fully recognize the significance of RCEP construction, and are working together to enhance friendly cooperation. The positive resonance from the business communities reflect the active actions of the industrial and commercial sectors in the implementation of RCEP.

The leader of the committees preparatory group and executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, Lv Kejian, said the purpose of establishing the cooperation committee is to implement the RCEP agreement and the RCEP Leaders Joint Statement, and to strengthen the relationship and friendly cooperation between the RCEP member states chambers of commerce, industry associations and key enterprises so as to give full play to the role of business associations in RCEP industry cooperation, promote trade and investment cooperation between RCEP member countries, and boost new development of RCEP regional economic and trade cooperation.

The Rotating ASEAN Chair, Brunei's Ambassador H.E. Mr.Pehin Dato Rahmani Dato Basir, Cambodian Ambassador H.E. Madam Khek Caimealy Sysoda, Lao Ambassador H.E. Madam Khamphao Ernthavanh, Thai Ambassador H.E. Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot and representatives from the 10 ASEAN countries, as well as the CEO of the Australia Chamber of Commerce in China, Secretary General of the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China, general manager of the North China region of CapitaLand Singapore, CEO of Singapore UOB (China) Co., Ltd., and Sembcorp (China) Investment Senior Vice President of Co., Ltd., Chief Representative of Bank Indonesia Beijing Representative Office, Chief Representative of Philippine BDO Bank China, and Vice President of Thailand Banpu Investment China Co., Ltd. attended the inauguration ceremony at the main venue in Beijing, and they all expressed belief that the establishment of the committee is a common need of all parties.

Liu Xin, Executive Secretary General of the China-ASEAN Business Council, introduced that the committee is an unofficial, non-profit, voluntary RCEP business and industry cooperation consortium. The committee has 100 members from 15 member states, mainly representatives and well-known leaders of chambers of commerce and industry. The main functions of the committee include: providing trade and investment information and business consulting in key industries, hosting or co-organizing conferences and exhibitions related to promoting RCEP industry cooperation, promoting exchange visits, personnel training, and personnel exchanges, and assisting RCEP member countries to expand business relations.

At the inauguration ceremony, Hakhee Jo, Vice President of international affairs of Korea International Trade Association, said that as global economic uncertainty increases and some countries implement trade protection policies, RCEP, the largest free trade agreement in the world, will expand trade and inject new vitality into global economy. The KITA fully supports the RCEP agreement and is sparing no effort to promote the domestic ratification process of the RCEP. There is still a lot of work to be done in the construction of RCEP, and the establishment of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee is just at the right time.

Ju Dongying, President of the Japan-China Science &Technology and Culture Center, said that the Center has more than 40 years of experience in Japan-China industrial cooperation, science, technology, culture and education. It will fully support the work of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee and assist the industrial development of the RCEP economic and trade circles. Based on economic, trade and industrial exchanges, it will contribute to multilateral cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Eleanor Mak, Chairman of the Australia-ASEAN Business Council, stated that Australia has close economic and trade relations with other RCEP member states. To fully realize the potential of RCEP, all parties need to cooperate actively. The establishment of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee is an important measure. The Australia-ASEAN Business Council and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry look forward to enhancing cooperation with the business communities of all RCEP member states.

Michael Barnett, CEO of New Zealand's Auckland Chamber of Commerce, said that as a representative of New Zealand, its very pleased to see the establishment of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee, which is conducive to promoting trade and investment cooperation among RCEP member countries in the open market, and regional economic growth and recovery.

Neak Oknha Pung Kheav Se, Chairman of the Association of Khmer Chinese in Cambodia and Chairman of the Cambodia Canadia Bank, said that Cambodia has great potentials for economic growth and broad room for industrial upgrading. The Association of Khmer Chinese in Cambodia is willing to assist companies from other member states to invest in Cambodia. The establishment of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee is of positive, practical significance. The Association of Khmer Chinese in Cambodia will cooperate with the China-ASEAN Business Council and business communities of 15 member states of the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee to jointly promote regional development.

[ Editor: GSY ]
The infamous Australian teenager who came to be known as 'Egg Boy' after he cracked an egg over a far-right politician's head and then 'got tackled to the ground by 30 bogans', has opened up about life in the two years since.

Will Connolly, 18, from Melbourne, said the controversial experience 'empowered' him to begin helping others through charity work - and another egging in 2021 might be on the cards.

He raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy causes and battled through his city's brutal 111-day lockdown, turning to meditation to get him through it.

Will Connolly, 18, from Melbourne (pictured left), said the controversial experience 'empowered' him to begin helping others through charity work - and that another egging in 2021 might be on the cards

Connolly became an overnight sensation after he cracked an egg over Queensland senator Fraser Anning's head for his comments on Muslim immigration moments after the Christchurch massacre.

Fifty-one Muslims were gunned down on March 15, 2019, by neo-Nazi terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who livestreamed the shocking rampage on Facebook.

The egging was captured on video at the now-defunct Conservative National Party meeting in Moorabbin, Melbourne, on March 16 and quickly went viral.

Connolly was immediately smacked twice in the face by Senator Anning and subdued by the senator's supporters.

At the time the Connolly warned others not to 'egg politicians'.

'You'll get tackled by 30 bogans at the same time. I learnt the hard way,' he said.

But looking back he has no regrets.

Connolly (right with phone) is known for the moment he smashed an egg on Fraser Anning's (left) head

Connolly (pictured) was held down by Anning supporters after he smashed an egg on the politician's head

'I wanted to embarrass and shame him. I wanted to send a message that Australians don't stand for the things he was saying,' he told the NZ Herald.

'The egging definitely empowered me in that way, it gave me the opportunity to interact with a bunch of awesome people and amazing communities that I wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't cracked the egg.'

Connolly's supporters launched a GoFundMe page for his legal fees that raked in over $100,000 - which he donated to families of the Christchurch victims.

He travelled to New Zealand last year to meet with some of the families and said the touching experience was an 'emotional cocktail of darkness and light'.

Upon his arrival back in Melbourne he did two weeks of hotel quarantine, then Australia's borders shut.

A few months later, Melbourne went into a city-wide Stage Four lockdown.

Connolly's latest project has seen him team up with A-list Australian comedian Magda Szubanski and the University of Canberra to raise $190,000 for bushfire-affected communities

He said the first couple of months really got to him  just like a lot of other people.

'It made me realise that I couldn't actually sit with my own thoughts as well as I thought I could, so I pretty much meditated in lockdown for hours a day for weeks. It changed everything for me, it was amazing,' he said.

After learning how to meditate through instructional videos on YouTube, he said centering his inner thoughts allowed him to examine himself in a non-judgmental, unbiased way that gave him greater self awareness.

Connolly's latest project has him team up with A-list Australian comedian Magda Szubanski and the University of Canberra to raise $190,000 for bushfire-affected communities.

They used the money to train local artists to run their own art programs and trauma workshops.

Looking forward to the rest of the year, Connolly said egging another politician could be on the horizon.

'I've been saying that I have one egg left for someone special, I just don't know who it is yet,' he said.
The Covid-19 vaccination campaign has reached cruising speed in Spain. With the immunization of the over-80s nearly complete, and half of the countrys septuagenarians and 40% of the 60-69 age group having got their first dose, all of the over 60s could be protected between the end of May and start of June should the expected doses arrive. Now the health authorities will have to decide on what will happen for the under-60s, and with vaccines such as that of Janssen  being a single-shot vaccine, it could speed things up even further. But according to the current plans, it wont be used for the under-60s. Some regions are calling for a change to the guidelines, while others are hesitant given the tiny risks of blood clots that have been associated with the medication.

The Health Ministry on Wednesday distributed the first 148,000 doses of Janssen to the regions, which are in charge of their own vaccination campaigns as well as the overall controls aimed at keeping the pandemic in check. The quantity of the vaccine delivered to Spain will rise in May and June, with more than five million doses due to arrive. According to the current vaccination strategy, the shots will be used for 70- to 79-year-olds, although Health Minister Carolina Darias said this week that these shots will be prioritized but not limited to this age range.

The Health Ministry data shows that 6.1 million people aged between 50 and 59 are still left to be vaccinated, and nearly 16 million people aged 25 to 49

Estimates put together for EL PAIS based on the ministry data, however, show that more than three million Janssen doses will be left over once this group, as well as the 60-to-69 age group, have been inoculated. The initial plan was to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for that range, but the updated strategy published this week by the Spanish government opens the door to the use of other vaccines once the inoculation of older citizens is complete.

The Health Ministry data shows that 6.1 million people aged between 50 and 59 are still left to be vaccinated, and nearly 16 million people aged 25 to 49. Darius has announced that from May onward, Spain will receive 1.7 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine every Monday, which is half a million more than the current weekly delivery. Taking into account the speed with which the Pfizer vaccines are currently arriving  and in lesser quantities, those of Moderna and AstraZeneca  the use of the Janssen doses would allow for both groups to be completed as early as July, according to estimates made by this newspaper. Thats to say, the entire population in Spain aged over 30 could be vaccinated by the middle of the summer.

What to do with these three million doses, to which another 12 million must be added between the months of July and September, is something that has begun to divide the regions, as was evident during the Public Health Commission meeting this week, according to various sources who were present.

The Covid-19 vaccination drive in Girona. David Borrat / EFE

Regions such as Madrid, Galicia and the Canary Islands want to administer these Janssen doses to the under-60s (the remainder opted not to take a public stance, apart from Andalusia, who called for the decision to be voluntary). This position is in line with the recommendations made by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which has found that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of blood clots related to the vaccine (around one for every million doses).

Thats how half of the regions see it, explains a source from a territory that wants to make the current strategy more flexible, given that it limits the use of Janssen to the over-60s. This would allow for herd immunity to be reached quicker and also reduce the impact of the pandemic from the first half of the summer by a great deal.

Other regions, meanwhile, were more cautious at the meeting this week. There is a certain fear as to there being an episode of blood clots and no one wants to carry that responsibility, says another source who is familiar with the recent conversations. The Health Ministry, meanwhile, has declined to offer its view on the proposal.

Amos Garcia-Rojas, the president of the Spanish Vaccinology Association and member of the group of experts that is advising the government, explains that the normal approach would be for the Janssen vaccine to have the same criteria as those applied to the AstraZeneca medication, given that they are similar in terms of their characteristics and that these very rare side effects have been detected in the under-60s. As such, he believes that the likely approach will be to continue with the Janssen vaccine in the 60- to 69-year-olds once the over-70s are completed, but not to lower the age range for the medication afterward. At least with the knowledge that we have today, he argues. Perhaps when all of the over-60s are vaccinated we will have new evidence on the adverse effects that will allow for other decisions to be made, he adds.

While there is capacity for vaccination and there are no doses left over from other manufacturers, the priority should be to move as fast as possible Federico Martinon, head of the Pediatric Service at the Hospital Clinico Universitario in Santiago

Federico Martinon, the head of the Pediatric Service at the Hospital Clinico Universitario in Santiago and an expert in vaccines, believes that the priority should be to administer the highest number of vaccines as soon as possible, and he recommends analyzing the situation when it is time to begin on the under-60s. If we know more about the adverse effects, for example, if it is confirmed that these blood clots, which are very rare, are more common among women, perhaps this could be taken into account, he argues. But all of the supranational regulatory agencies have ratified that the benefits of vaccines such as the Janssen or the AstraZeneca will outweigh the risks. While there is capacity for vaccination and there are no doses left over from other manufacturers, the priority should be to move as fast as possible, he says.

While Martinon recognizes that the individual risk for the under-60s is much lower than for people older than that age, he insists that moving along with the vaccination campaign is key to ending the pandemic. On the one hand, we avoid infections and the risk that variants could appear. The quicker we reach a high percentage of people vaccinated, the better. On the other, we have to take into account that re-vaccination [with a third dose for people who already have immunity] will be needed, because the evolution of the virus will make the vaccines ever-less effective. Right now it is appropriate to immunize the highest number of people, because if not, we could find ourselves in a situation whereby we have to re-vaccinate the most vulnerable people [the elderly, above all] when we still havent finished with the youngest groups, he adds.

The debate is of great significance. Is it legitimate to slow down a vaccination campaign, which would cause more cases, more hospitalizations and some deaths in order to avoid some hypothetical cases of thrombosis? In the United Kingdom, which has already started to relax coronavirus restrictions after having vaccinated half the population with at least one dose, they have followed the advice of their medicines regulator, which is similar to what the EMA has said: the benefits of any of the available vaccines outweigh the risks. As a result, the UK is using Janssen on the over-30s. Doses of the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines will not be used on anyone younger than that age, given that due to the low probability of someone from this group has of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19, the risks associated with these shots, while tiny, do not compensate the benefits provided on an individual basis.

English version by Simon Hunter.
-- "While we live in an age rife with challenges, it is also an age full of hope," Xi said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 via video.

-- Xi said that the world needs consultation on an equal footing to create a future of shared benefits.

-- Reiterating that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a public road open to all, Xi said all interested countries are welcome aboard to take part in the cooperation and share in its benefits.

BOAO, Hainan, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday advocated a more fair and equitable global governance system while opposing unilateralism, hegemony and "Cold War" mentality.

Xi underscored the trend toward a multi-polar world, resilience in economic globalization, and the need to uphold multilateralism and enhance communication and coordination, striking the right chord at a time when the world is marred by rising instability and uncertainty.

"While we live in an age rife with challenges, it is also an age full of hope," Xi said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2021 via video.

CHINESE VISION ON GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Xi said that the world needs consultation on an equal footing to create a future of shared benefits.

"Global governance should reflect the evolving political and economic landscape in the world, conform to the historical trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation, and meet the practical needs in addressing global challenges," he said.

"What we need in today's world is justice, not hegemony," Xi said. "Big countries should behave in a manner befitting their status and with a greater sense of responsibility."

Calling for the building of an open world economy, Xi said the world needs to "promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, deepen regional economic integration, and enhance supply, industrial, data and human resources chains."

In the age of economic globalization, attempts to "erect walls" or "decouple" run counter to the law of economics and market principles, and would hurt others' interests without benefiting oneself, he noted.

Xi added that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it all the more clear to people around the world that "we must reject the cold-war and zero-sum mentality."

Xi's vision for global cooperation on issues such as public health security and climate change was echoed by world leaders who attended the conference.

The issues of the pandemic, economic recovery, poverty and climate change call for leaders to stand out in a challenging time and lead with insights and solutions, said former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a video speech at the opening ceremony of the conference.

"We must join hands and stand as one, improving global governance, enhancing international cooperation and moving the world closer to the 2030 sustainable development goals through innovative initiatives such as the Belt and Road," he said.

Participants pose for a group photo during the 2021 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference in Boao, south China's Hainan Province, April 18, 2021.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Meanwhile, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that more countries should commit to supporting an open, non-discriminatory and rule-based trade system worldwide particularly during these trying times.

Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed China for sharing its COVID-19 vaccines with the rest of the world, especially developing countries.

"We appreciate that China considers its vaccine against the coronavirus a global public good," she said.

HIGH-QUALITY BELT AND ROAD COOPERATION

Reiterating that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a public road open to all, Xi said all interested countries are welcome aboard to take part in the cooperation and share in its benefits.

Going forward, China will continue to work with other parties in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, said Xi, adding that efforts will be made to build a closer partnership for health cooperation, connectivity, green development, and openness and inclusiveness.

China will work with all sides to promote "hard connectivity" of infrastructure and "soft connectivity" of rules and standards, ensure unimpeded channels for trade and investment cooperation, and actively develop Silk Road e-commerce, Xi said.

As for cooperation in the health sector, Chinese businesses have already started joint vaccine production in BRI participating countries such as Indonesia, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey.

Xi also called for strengthening cooperation on green infrastructure, green energy and green finance, and making green a defining feature of Belt and Road cooperation.

Photo taken on April 17, 2021 shows the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) International Conference Center in Boao, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

The BRI, proposed by Xi in 2013, was hailed by conference participants for opening up possibilities and sharing opportunities among countries and regions.

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the BRI could be a laboratory of initiatives that are good for the health and the sustainable future of the planet.

"The BRI is about connectivity. Over the years, we saw how China has gone out and focused on creating connectivity through building highways and container ports, said Jens Eskelund, managing director of Maersk China Ltd.

Going out and creating the right infrastructure can be a powerful enabler of trade and bring countries together, Eskelund added.

(Video reporters: Yin Le, Wang Junfeng, Guo Liangchuan, Li Shuting, Jiang Sai, Su Yiren, Zhu Jing, Wu Siyu, Lu Jia, Zhou Xuan; Video editor: Zhang Yucheng)

[ Editor: WXY ]
Williams & Williams, historically known for its success in selling surplus bank branches, noted these properties are exceptionally desirable. "In addition to being well maintained sites, these buildings offer new owners a multitude of uses, including offices, restaurant/retail or business services" said Fontana Fitzwilson, Executive Vice President of Williams & Williams. She said buyers are often attracted to former bank buildings because they contain elaborate vaults and security features.

Auction properties by state:

Illinois

101 North Hilgert Drive, Grant Park

Ohio

6650 Princeton-Glendale Road, Liberty Township *

4601 Dixie Hwy, Fairfield

1100 West Kemper Rd, Cincinnati

3530 Springdale Rd, Cincinnati

11186 Reading Rd, Cincinnati (Sharonville)

2000 Madison Rd, Cincinnati

Indiana

157 West Foster Heights Rd, Rushville

107 & 111 North State St, West Harrison

320 Importing St, Aurora

2110 Main St, Rochester *

1051 West Spring St, Brownstown

9000 Block of Merrillville Rd, Merrillville *

1802 Allison Lane, Jeffersonville

Opportunity Ave, Leavenworth *

*Denotes land only auctions

The auctions are open for public participation. Terms of the auction require that bidders make a 10% down payment on the day of the auction and sign an "as is, where is" non- contingency contract immediately following the auction. Buyer will have 30 days to close the transaction.

Online bidding is available during the live auction at auctionnetwork.com from a personal computer. For bidder registration assistance, full terms of sale, property due diligence documents and photos please visit williamsauction.com/banks or call 800.801.8003.

About Williams & Williams Williams & Williams (www.williamsauction.com) is a worldwide real estate auction firm and the leader in global live and interactive auctions. A full-service brokerage with an operating footprint in all 50 United States and U.S. Territories, the company is part of the Insight One Solutions family of companies. Williams & Williams also cooperatively partners with residential, commercial and land brokers to auction property throughout the United States and abroad.

SOURCE Williams & Williams

Related Links

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PETALUMA, Calif., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior Care Authority, the nation's premier senior placement and eldercare consulting franchise, today announced it was named a top franchise by Franchise Business Review in its 2021 report on the Top Franchises for Women.

Senior Care Authority is an eldercare consulting company with a specialty in senior placement. The brand's local franchise owners are highly trained and certified advisors who provide support, advocacy and guidance as families face challenging care decisions.

Franchise Business Review, a franchise market research firm that performs independent surveys of franchisee satisfaction, provides the only rankings of franchises based solely on actual franchisee satisfaction and performance. Franchise Business Review publishes its rankings of top franchises in its annual Guide to Today's Top Franchises, as well as in quarterly reports throughout the year that rank the top franchises in specific sectors.

Senior Care Authority was among 289 franchise brands, representing 8,453 female franchise owners, who participated in Franchise Business Review's research on the Top Franchises for Women. The brand's franchisees were surveyed on 33 benchmark questions about their experience and satisfaction regarding critical areas of their franchise systems, including leadership, training & support, financial opportunity, and work/life balance.

"I joined Senior Care Authority in July 2015 because I liked the brand's commitment to always use integrity, compassion and knowledge when working with families," said Brandy Randolph, an area owner for Senior Care Authority in Denver, CO. "As a female, I have responsibilities to my family that require flexibility and balance. Senior Care Authority allows the freedom that I need to be a successful business owner, wife and mother."

Senior Care Authority's survey data showed the company rated 'very good' or 'excellent' in the following categories:

Training & Support

Franchise System

Leadership

Core Values

Franchisee Community

Self-Evaluation

General Satisfaction

"This recognition from Franchise Business Review is a testament to our brand's commitment to equipping our franchisees with all of the necessary tools, training and resources needed to succeed," said Frank Samson, Founder and CEO of Senior Care Authority. "Female franchisees like Brandy make up 63 percent of our system, and we are proud to support them as they prove over and over again how vital they are to our organization."

Visit FranchiseBusinessReview.com to see the full list of the 2021 Top Franchises.

About Senior Care Authority

Senior Care Authority is a senior placement and eldercare consulting organization based in Petaluma, California. The network is comprised of locally owned and professionally trained advisors who assist families in the overwhelming challenges associated with selecting the best options in assisted living, memory care, nursing care and other long-term care services. www.seniorcareauthority.com/franchise.

About Franchise Business Review

Franchise Business Review (FBR) is a leading market research firm serving the franchise sector. FBR measures satisfaction and engagement of franchisees and publishes various guides and reports for entrepreneurs considering an investment in a franchise business. Since 2005, FBR has surveyed hundreds of thousands of franchise owners and over 1,100 leading franchise companies. To read our publications, visit https://franchisebusinessreview.com/page/publications/. To learn more about FBR's research, please visit www.FranchiseBusinessReview.com.

Media Contact: Julianne Stevenson, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or 847-945-1300

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SOURCE Senior Care Authority
Most Mass Shooters Dad-Deprived Males: Author Warren Farrell

Key commonalities for most mass shooters in the United States are that they are male and that they lack a father figure in their lives, author Warren Farrell says.

Theres common denominators among mass shooters, the most obvious is that theyre male98 percent are male. A second common denominator is that theyre almost all dad-deprived males, Farrell told The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders.

People who carry out mass shootings at schools in particular tend to be boys who are suicidal, depressed, and dad-deprived.

In one example, a recent school shooter in Indianapolis did not have a father because in his early teens, his dad committed suicide. In another case, Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 in a mass shooting in Las Vegas, experienced his father imprisoned and went lengthy periods of time without seeing him. Adam Lanza, who authorities say opened fire in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, also did not often see his father, who was divorced from his mother.

What we think of when we think of mass shootings is the people who are hurt. We dont realize that all of these people are hurt by boys who are hurt, who are deprived of their dads, who are feeling neglected and depressed, said Farrell, the chair of the Coalition to Create a White House Council on Boys and Men.

Former Western Connecticut State University student Adam Lanza, who authorities said opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. (Western Connecticut State University, File/AP Photo)

In his research for his most recent book, The Boy Crisis, Farrell identified signs of boys being hurt, developing a list of 63 signs. He hopes the list, which he described as a male depression-suicide inventory, is used to question young people.

Because if you have these experiences, these are red flags that the guidance counselors and psychologists in school should be paying attention to, he said. So for example, one of the questions that is on the inventory is, do you feel that no one loves you? And no one needs you. And theres no hope of that changing. So a boy who doesnt feel loved? And who doesnt feel needed? And feel that theres no hope of that changing? Thats a huge red flag, he said.

Examining the list in interactions with children could help prevent mass shootings, Farrell asserted, adding that boys who are depressed tend to act out, bullying others.

Most boys who have very troubled childhoods do not end up becoming mass shooters.

Its also very important to remember that when boys become mass shooters  I am not saying that they should not be fully punished and fully held accountable for this. Its a heinous crime that has to be held fully accountable, Farrell emphasized.

Im also saying, we care about protecting ourselves both from mass shootings, and also from the other things, that the crimes that the boys who are both dad-deprived and depressed and suicidal, tend to do. And if were going to prevent those things from happening, then we can catch the boy in the process of his grief and at the same time, save ourselves. So we have a win win situation.
The thematic exhibition "100% .RO - Prejudices", striving to present the connection between haute couture and Romanian folk art from the perspective of the French fashion designer Philippe Guilet, can be visited, starting with Friday, at the Folk Art Museum Dr. Nicolae Minovici.

According to an announcement posted on Facebook by the director of the Bucharest Museum, Adrian Majuru, the exhibition presents "the Romanian craft mirrored by French culture".

"In a unique setting, in dialogue with the exhibits of the 'Crystal Bells Villa', the exhibition will feature pieces from the clothing collection of the French fashion designer Philippe Guilet. The fashion on display in museums with artistic or historical profile represents a unique event, a novelty in museum and exhibition history," informs the Bucharest Municipality Museum.

Among the exhibited outfits, visitors will not find the usual peasant's blouses and aprons, but Western-style clothing items, which are deeply inspired by the creative and decorative techniques practiced to date in Romania.

Beaded dresses, reminiscent of Bucovina necklaces, outfits reminiscent of the "schileresc" traditional costume [ed.n. - the name of the costume comes from Dinica Schileru, farmer peasant, tailor, prosperous merchant and later on deputy of Gorj County] are some of the spectacular outfits that museum guests will be able to admire.

A dress with solar motifs reiterates the astral signs found in the permanent exhibition, both on the walls and on the objects. References to the current Bucharest are not avoided either, as evidenced by the "Bucharester" outfit, made out of cable wires.

The climax of any collection is traditionally marked by the appearance of the wedding dress, exhibited in the "Girl's Room" in the Dr. Nicolae Minovici Museum, imagined as a room dedicated to the young wife's dowry.

Philippe Guilet collaborated with many Romanian folk craftspeople to create in 2011 this collection meant to highlight contemporary creation and craft tradition.

"Removing any prejudices related to Romanian culture, Guilet has developed a clothing collection designed to highlight the current creation and craft tradition. The same way several specialists work to produce special haute couture pieces, a team of craftsmen and handicrafters, together with young designers, worked under Guilet's careful orchestration. The sources of creation went beyond the sphere of the folk costume, the collection-experiment being inspired by the 'joy of the Romanians', the 'noise of the broadloom', or various objects of our customs, such as the Easter painted egg," informs the Bucharest Municipality Museum.
Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back as Lorraine and Ed Warren for another installment of The Conjuring.

After delaying the films original 2020 release date, Warner Bros. dropped the trailer for The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It, whetting horror fans appetites.

Sticking to its true story formula, the movie takes the Warrens on one of their most frightening encounters involving murder and the supernatural. And yes, its based on a real criminal case that happened in America.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga attend the premiere of Warner Bros Annabelle Comes Home at Regency Village Theatre on June 20, 2019 | Rich Fury/FilmMagic/Getty Images

The Conjuring 3 trailer reveals new The Devil Made Me Do It storyline

In the early hours of April 22, Warner and HBO Max shared the trailer for The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It. Like others before it, this movie will serve up chills and paranormal chaos, courtesy of the Warren case files.

In it, viewers are introduced to the main protagonist, Arne, whose hands are covered in blood. Hes arrested and put on trial for the broad daylight murder of a man named Bruno. Enter the Warrens and a witchs curse.

According to the official synopsis, the film:

reveals a chilling story of terror, murder and unknown evil that shocked even experienced real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. One of the most sensational cases from their files, it starts with a fight for the soul of a young boy, then takes them beyond anything theyd ever seen before, to mark the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense.

So, whats the deal with this true story?

RELATED: The 5 Best Horror Movies on HBO Max

The Conjuring 3 inspired by the case of Arne Johnson

Ed and Lorraine Warren are tied to the story in two ways. The Discovery Channel dug into the case in their 2002 documentary, A Haunting. In real life, it was the Glatzel family of Brookfield, Connecticut at the center of this 1981 storm.

Supposedly, the young son David accompanied his sister Debbie and her boyfriend Arne (Johnson) to a rental property they were supposed to clean. David allegedly saw an old man  a malevolent spirit  who threatened to harm him and his family. He experienced a series of supernatural attacks and the Warrens were contacted for help.

Exorcisms were performed on the child and allegedly, Johnson was warned of a future murder. It was during one of these instances that he claimed he became possessed. When he was arrested for Alan Bonos killing, Lorraine Warren told the police he was possessed.

The Washington Post reported that Bono managed the kennels where Debbie Glatzel worked. Hed only been living in town a few months, and one day during work, he took her, Johnson, and three of her teenage friends out to lunch. The adults had a few drinks and later that day, he turned on some music and invited everyone upstairs to his apartment.

When they refused, he grabbed one of the girls and an argument broke out. Johnson allegedly began growling right before he stabbed Bono to death. Afterward, he reportedly dropped the knife and stared ahead as he walked to the woods.

The case caused a media frenzy, and it spawned a book and television movie in the 1980s that starred Kevin Bacon and Cloris Leachman. Gerald Brittle published The Devil in Connecticut in 1983 about the case, and the Warrens told their own version.

Ed and Lorraine Warren arrive at Danbury Superior Court, March 19, 1981, where a grand jury returned an indictment against Arne Cheyenne Johnson in the slaying of Alan Bono, 40, on February 16, 1981 | Bettmann/Getty Images

What happened to Arne Johnson?

Connecticut made history when Arne Johnson went on trial for the murder of his and Glatzels landlord, Bono.

According to the Associated Press, Johnson told the court he witnessed the exorcism of a 12-year-old boy (Glatzels brother) and during the event, he ordered the devil to take him instead.

He said was under satanic influence at the time of the murder. His attorneys attempted to use an innocent due to demonic possession defense, the first of its kind in the entire United States.

The judge refused to accept that, and Johnsons legal team then claimed self-defense. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 10-20 years. The AP reported he received early parole after five years. He was 24 upon his release in 1986.

The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on June 4.
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Ms Nirmala Sitharaman urged the industry to wait and watch for next few days to assess the situation amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The Finance Minister also assured the industry of full government support. Addressing the FICCI National Executive Committee Members through virtual mode, Ms Sitharaman said that with the Prime Minister's address to the nation, along with the new vaccination guidelines and with the five-fold strategy adopted in handling the COVID-19 cases - i.e., test, track, treat, COVID-19 protocols and vaccination - there will be a sense of reassurance. "I would request the industry to watch the next few days a bit more carefully, and then assess for yourself what this quarter is going to be like," the Finance Minister exhorted.

Ms Sitharaman further stated that sectors like hospitality, aviation, travel, tourism and hotels faced great difficulty since the start of COVID-19 pandemic. "We have extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECGLS 2.0) for these sectors and I will ensure the efficiency with which it was performing last year shall perform even for the aviation and tourism sector," the Finance Minister said.

Speaking on the oxygen supply, Ms Sitharaman said that the supply has been very neatly mapped and new permissions have been given particularly for the hard stressed 12 states (Delhi, Maharashtra, UP, Chhattisgarh, MP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The supply is being monitored at district level along with reviews which are being undertaken and for next 15 days they will be closely monitored. "The government has exempted all inter-state movement of oxygen tankers, exempted from registration and permits, they can operate round the clock, and cylinder filling plants are operating 24 hours to fill the gaps with necessary safeguards," the Finance Minister stated.

Elaborating on the augmented pharma capacity, Ms Sitharaman stated that steps have been taken adequately for drugs which are important, we have given fast-track approvals for Remdesvir production. The Finance Minister also said that as soon as the medical oxygen demand will be met, the industry would also get the necessary supply of oxygen since the import of medical oxygen has been allowed. Mr Uday Shankar, President, FICCI said that some clarity may be needed over essential and non-essential supply of goods. He further stressed on the need to support the MSME sector which is currently under difficulty.

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Rome, April 22 : Italian police have said they arrested a 28-year-old Albanian man suspected to be an accomplice in the 2016 terror attack in Nice, France, which claimed the lives of 86 people.

Italian police said in a statement on Wednesday that the man, for whom a European arrest warrant was in place, was captured near Caserta, north of Naples, thanks to a coordinated effort between Italian, Albanian and French authorities, reports dpa news agency.

Eighty-six people were killed on Bastille Day, 2016, when Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel ploughed a truck through crowds watching a fireworks display on the seaside promenade in Nice, in southern France.

Lahouaiej Bouhlel himself was shot dead by two police officers who chased his truck on foot as it swerved through the crowd.

The 28-year-old Albanian man is suspected of having sold weapons to the attacker, Italian media reported.

The Nice attack was claimed by Islamic State, but while investigators determined that Lahouaiej Bouhlel held extremist views, they did not firmly establish any link with the terror group.
STAMFORD  A Bridgeport man charged with killing a 35-year-old Stamford mother in September waived his right to a mini-trial that would have included testimony to determine whether police had enough evidence to arrest him on a murder charge.

Family members watched on as Ian Evans, 28, appeared remotely from the MacDougall Correctional Institution in Suffield on Wednesday morning to waive his right to a hearing on probable cause, which is afforded to every defendant charged with murder under the state constitution.

The hearing would have allowed a state prosecutor to present its witnesses, who would testify about the evidence gathered against Evans in order to prove to a judge that the state had reasonable grounds to charge him with murder.

Evans was charged with murder earlier this month in the fatal shooting of Shernetta Dunmore at a block party on the citys East Side last year.

On Sept. 20, Dunmore, who lived on Henry Street, joined a group of city residents marking the end of summer at Cummings Park. When the park closed, many of them moved to a parking lot at the Ursula Place Housing Complex just off Cove Road to continue the celebration.

Just after midnight, gunfire erupted at the party. Police said about 30 shots were fired in total.

Dunmore was shot numerous times, police said. She was rushed to Stamford Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Two other men, both from Bridgeport, were also injured in the shooting, police said.

Five days after the shooting, Evans was arrested on charges of first-degree assault, criminal attempt at first-degree assault, criminal use of a firearm and reckless endangerment in connection with the incident.

Police said at the time the arrest was related to the wounding of a man at the party. In February, Evans pleaded not guilty to those initial charges.

After waiving his right to a probable cause hearing, Evans also entered a not guilty plea to the additional charge of murder.

He is next scheduled to appear in court on June 2.

Evans was held $2 million bond on the murder charge and $1 million bond on the assault charges.
As Congress forges ahead with police reform legislation, Democratic operatives are warning lawmakers to steer clear of any defund-the-police rhetoric since it could hurt them in the midterms.

Why it matters: President Biden and his fellow Democrats say Congress needs to pass the George Floyd Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds, prohibit no-knock warrants and generally make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct.

Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free

Following Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is planning to reintroduce his police reform bill or a similar proposal in the coming weeks.

But behind the scenes, it isn't clear any agreement on comprehensive legislation is imminent, Axios Alayna Treene writes.

The big picture: While polls suggest the George Floyd legislation, which passed the House, is broadly popular, the nuts and bolts of changing how police departments operate will take place at the local level.

Calls by activists to "defund" police departments can  and have  hurt Democrats in tight races, said Celinda Lake, a pollster who does work for the Democratic National Committee.

Voters want change, she told Axios. We need to clearly define the change we are for.

You have voters that do not want to 'defund the police,' but they do want change in policing, she said.

When individual politicians are accused of wanting to defund the police, unless they get out really aggressively in defining what they're for, then it does tend to have an impact.

Flashback: After Democrats lost House seats in November, some centrist lawmakers like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) blamed anti-police rhetoric.

We [need to] look at the things that [the Republicans] say about us, Spanberger said during a heated call with House Democrats, according to audio obtained by the Washington Post. Because it works.

Not all centrists are worried about it.

"When it comes to issues of social justice, its way beyond politics," Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) told Axios' Kadia Goba on Wednesday. "Its about people's lives and ensuring safe communities, and that law enforcement receives the support they need."

Go deeper: Some progressive Democrats, like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), want to go beyond the George Floyd Act and continue making the case to defund the police  which could complicate Democratic messaging.

Story continues

Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist, she tweeted last week. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed.

What were watching: In Minneapolis, the City Council pledged after Floyds death to defund the police department, but that's run into a series of roadblocks and faces uncertain public support, Axios Local's Nick Halter writes from Minneapolis.

Mayor Jacob Frey (D) has resisted efforts to dismantle or defund the police, and instead wants to reform the department. He is up for re-election in November, as are all 13 City Council members.

While Frey is seen as a heavy favorite, many of the City Council members who made the pledge are being challenged from their right.

The bottom line: "Theres no question that Republicans are eager to put Democrats in the 'defund/anti-policing' box, said Matt Bennett, the co-founder of Third Way.

But its going to be hard to do that with the actual legislation.

More from Axios: Sign up to get the latest market trends with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
California has the lowest coronavirus case rate in the continental United States, an indication the state may avoid the four-wave surge some other parts of the country are experiencing.

The Golden State's seven-day case rate hit 40.3 new cases per 100,000 people per day on Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is three times lower than the country's average of 135.3 cases per 100,000. Hawaii is the only state with a lower rate and is recording 39.1 new cases per 100,000.

On the other end of the spectrum, Michigan has the highest seven-day rate with 483 new cases per 100,000. New Jersey is the second-highest with 269.7, Delaware third at 269.7 and Pennsylvania fourth at 248.5.

An explosion of cases in Michigan led many school districts to return to remote learning. Others, such as Ann Arbor, have delayed a return from a 13-month closure for fourth graders and above. Lansing's district on Wednesday said all classes will remain online through the end of the academic year. Kids there have been virtual since March 2020.

This week, there's indication the surge in Michigan may finally be subsiding. The state health department on Wednesday reported nearly 5,600 cases and 45 deaths in the most recent 24-hour period. That brought the seven-day case average to 5,742  down from the third surge's peak of around 7,000 on April 13.

Meanwhile, students across California are returning to school. Last month, Oakland Unified School District began a return to in-person learning for the first time since the start of the pandemic. About a third of students returned to San Jose Unified School District classrooms this month. The state reported 2,126 new cases in the last 24-hour period. The seven-day positivity rate is 1.5%.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier this month the state will fully reopen its economy June 15 and dissolve the so-called Blueprint for a Safer Economy, whose tier levels dictate which businesses can open based on the severity of virus spread in a county.

"We will be moving beyond the blueprint and getting rid of the colored tiers," Newsom said at an April 6 press briefing. "Well be getting rid of the dimmer switch."

The Associate Press contributed to this story.
Reevemark is handling the proxy fight launched by mutual fund manager Friess Associates against Affiliated Managers Group, which has invested $716B in assets.

The contest follows AMGs decision to fire Friess, which has managed the Brandywine Funds on AMGs platform since 2013.

Friess filed preliminary proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, laying the groundwork for a fight in the normally staid mutual fund industry, according to Reuters.

The fight pits publicly traded AMG, which has a market valuation of $6.5B, against Friess, a 50-year old investment firm that specializes in fast-growing US stocks.

The Brandywine funds have generated an 11 percent annualized return since inception 35 years ago.

Reevemark has Hugh Burns, Paul Caminiti, Nicholas Leasure and Jusin New repping Friess.
After a year hiatus due to COVID-19, the 38th annual rendition of a multidisciplinary arts festival in the Lowcountry is returning this week.

The North Charleston Arts Fest is back with a series of events spanning visual arts, theater, music, dance, magic and literature at a variety of locations from April 28 to May 2.

Some events will be held virtually or outdoors, while a couple of the festival's traditional large gatherings  the World Arts Expo at North Charleston Riverfront Park and Children's Festival in Park Circle  have been canceled this year.

Sign up for the Charleston Hot Sheet Get a weekly list of tips on pop-ups, last minute tickets and little-known experiences hand-selected by our newsroom in your inbox each Thursday. Email

Sign Up!

Preregistration is required for certain events to ensure capacity isn't exceeded, and all festivalgoers are being asked to wear a face covering and practice social distancing.

If you go WHAT: 38th Annual North Charleston Arts Fest WHEN: April 28-May 2 WHERE: Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition & Music in the Park: North Charleston Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Ave.

Fine Craft, Art, Photography & Youth Competitions and Exhibitions: Charleston Area Convention Center, 5000 Coliseum Drive

African American Fiber Art Exhibition: North Charleston City Hall, 2500 City Hall Lane

Mixed Media Paintings by Christine Bush Roman: Park Circle Gallery, 4820 Jenkins Ave.

Wine and Bossa Nova: Stems & Skins, 1070 E. Montague Ave.

Motown Through the Decades Concert: Fox Music House, 4248 Dorchester Road

Pop-Up Opera: Ship's Wheel Hard Cider, 1033 E. Montague Ave.

Children's Story and Craft Time & Wine Bottle Bird Feeder Craft Workshop: Craft & Canvas, 4412 Spruill Ave.

Magic Show & Dance Showcase: Felix C. Davis Community Center Auditorium, 4800 Park Circle

Writing Workshop: Itinerant Literate Bookshop, 4824 Chateau Ave.

Spoken Word Poetry: Garco Green, 4910 O'Hear Ave.

Gospel Concert: Pointe Event Center, 4870 Piedmont Ave.

"Real Woman Blues" Theater Presentation: Centerpoint Church at Remount, 1520 Remount Road

Music Kaleidoscope Concert: Eternal Father of the Sea Chapel, 1096 Navy Way

Bluegrass Concert: Madra Rua, 1034 E. Montague Ave. PRICE: Free-$30 (depending on event); some pre-registration required MORE INFO: northcharlestonartsfest.com

"If you take a look at this years festival schedule, its quite obvious that its not as robust as it usually is," said the city of North Charleston's Cultural Arts Department Director Ann Simmons. "Were working with about half of our normal budget and also decided to keep things small since we are still in the midst of a global pandemic."

This year's budget to work with was around $150,000, Simmons said. Most events are free.

The fest's visual art exhibitions will remain intact, including displays for outdoor sculptures, youth art and African American fiber art.

"Its fairly easy to socially distance while viewing artwork," Simmons said.

This year's poster designer Christine Bush Roman will also have an exhibition at Park Circle Gallery. Roman's works have touched on motherhood, mental illness and neurosensitivity. She was selected out of 75 entrants from 17 South Carolina cities as the featured artist for the 2020 event, which was postponed shortly after that announcement.

On the bright side, Roman said she had an extra year to refocus and edit some of her art.

"I think my work is much more interesting than it was a year ago," she said.

Her selected piece, "Oak Circus," illustrates the "vibrancy and emotion of all kinds of creators coming together to share their work," said Roman. The oak tree featured within the abstract painting is a symbol of the Lowcountry but also growth, transformation and unity.

Roman appreciates the family-friendly aspect of the festival that allows area children to explore and examine artwork.

"Kids are my favorite critics," Roman said. "My favorite sale I ever made was in the past year to a kid who used his savings to buy one of my paintings. I will always remember him."

Roman's artwork is childlike in many ways. Her exhibited art this year was inspired by the phrase "loose parts," referring to youthful play materials with no explicit rules or instructions.

"These loose parts can be combined, restructured, taken apart and put back together in multiple ways," she said. "Similarly, artists are continually tinkering with and reorganizing inspirations to create art."

Returning sculpture artist Beau Lyday, like Roman, took the year hiatus as time to adapt his work to better reflect the current times.

His outdoor installation, "Give Me Shelter," plays on the fact that much of the world had to shelter in place during the pandemic. Not much of a "people person" himself, Lyday said he took the forced solitary time to recognize the power of safety in shelter and comfort in self. He wanted to create a representation of a protective space during uncertain times.

His sculpture incorporates pieces of rusted tin roofing formed and fitted together over a wooden frame. The result is a piece that looks to be made of solid cast iron. It looks like architectural framework that could be found in a chapel or church sanctuary.

In the African American Fiber Art Exhibition, one concept reigns this year: Sankofa.

It's a word in the Akan Twi and Fante languages of Ghana that translates to "retrieve" or "go back and get it."

For curator Cookie Washington, that means honoring her ancestors while still moving forward in a positive way. During a year of loss, the concept is fitting.

Washington has had a difficult year. Her mother had a stroke and was placed in assisted living, her veteran brother lost his leg to a rare cancer and the financial upheaval has been devastating to Washington and many artists alike.

"This has been the most difficult year of my life," Washington said. "My only solace has been the ability to go into my studio and create."

Her star quilts are tributes to her grandparents, and one in particular addresses her ancestors' personal land loss, something faced by many Black farmers in the South whose land was acquired by White people.

It's called "My Ancestors Acres Stolen; Seeking Return."

"Learning about African American art is something that is long overdue in our country," Washington added.

She will be providing small tours of the exhibition, which includes works on all three floors of North Charleston City Hall by almost 50 different fiber artists.

Renee Fleuranges-Valdes, who first met Washington at Spoleto in 2012, is one.

Fleuranges-Valdes, who knits, crochets, needlepoints and quilts, is originally from New York, moved to North Carolina for a stint and now resides in North Charleston.

"This sense of artist community was one of the reasons we moved to the area, but by the time we got settled, COVID-19 shut everything down," Fleuranges-Valdes recalled.

This will be her first festival as a local Lowcountry artist. She's showcasing her quilt "Dream ~ Achieve ~ Inspire."

"My piece symbolizes the message of Sankofa: Dream big and work hard to achieve all you can, but remember to go back and share those pearls of wisdom with your village and show them the way forward," she said.

As Washington shared, these aren't just quilts to throw on your bed or couch but ones to display as a piece of artwork on your wall, in a place of honor. She hopes attendees will see the value of what she and her fellow fiber artists have created; she also hopes people will come ready to support the hands behind the quilts.

"Were all broke as heck," Washington said. "Im doing that taking your medicine every other day because you havent sold anything because you havent been able to show anything. This show is super important."

The five-day event will feature 271 creatives in wine bars, chapels, pubs and parks who are pursuing their passions despite this year's social and financial challenges. They're relying on the community to help them keep putting art out into the world.
MEDIA, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A 20-foot-long sculpture of a dinosaur has just been hidden somewhere in America, waiting for its new owner to find it.

Dinosaur expert "Dino" Don Lessem at his Media, PA home The first dinosaur to be given away from the DinoDon.com Virtual Scavenger Hunt - Saurolophus

Today the first clues to its discovery are published on Dinodon.com, the expansive new dinosaur website from Jurassic Park dinosaur expert and explorer "Dino" Don Lessem. Dinodon.com is the most elaborate and engaging dinosaur website ever made, complete with a unique monthly on-line treasure hunt for a hidden DinoDon, Inc. robot, sculpture or full-sized replica skeleton. Website and robots get a big boost when "Dino" Don appears on Shark Tank May 21st.

Challenging weekly on-line clues will steer users ever closer to the actual secret treasure  a life-sized dinosaur placed in a secret location and will be revealed live online when a winner has solved the clues. The first dinosaur already hidden is a life-sized reconstruction of the SUV-sized duckbilled plant-eater Saurolophus.

In addition to big dinosaur scavenger hunts, Dinodon.com highlights include a "Dino of the Day" from Lessem's best-selling National Geographic Dinopedia, a "Draw Your Own Dino" contest, "Dinos In the News" headlines, plus facts, jokes, and a weekly dino quiz for prizes.

Dinodon.com offers the unique opportunity to purchase life-sized robot dinosaurs from a 40-foot-long T. rex for $50,000 to a 7-foot feathered Velociraptor for just $12,000.

Dinodon.com also alerts viewers to Dino Don Inc.'s giant robot dinosaur exhibits at a dozen of the largest zoos in the U.S., including in Philadelphia, San Antonio, Seattle, Chicago, and Oklahoma City and Dino Don's own "T.rex Safari" touring exhibition.

"It's flat-out the coolest, most informative, most fun dinosaur website ever," says "Dino" Don.

Over the course of his incredible career, "Dino" Don has excavated the world's largest dinosaurs from Mongolia to Patagonia. He served as dinosaur advisor to Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park films, is the author of 40 dinosaur books, host of PBS' NOVA, advisor to Universal Studios and The Walt Disney Company, and has been profiled in national media outlets. The dinosaur Lessemsaurus was named in honor of the $3 million he raised for paleontological causes via his touring Jurassic Park exhibitions.

"Like me, Lessemsaurus is big, and not very bright," says "Dino" Don. "But no moustache."

For more information, visit www.DinoDon.com.

Contact:

Alan Miller

917-412-0166

[email protected]

SOURCE Dino Don Inc.

Related Links

https://dinodon.com/


LORETTO, Ky., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This Earth Day 2021, the University of Kentucky is proud to announce the establishment of the world's largest repository of American white oak as part of their groundbreaking effort with Maker's Mark to conserve, explore and secure the future of American white oak. The massive effort at Star Hill Farm, home to the iconic Maker's Mark Distillery, represents the most comprehensive natural range of white oak to date anywhere in the world. The American white oak repository is part of a larger mission to transform the conservation of a species critical to many American industries, including Kentucky bourbon, and to prioritize the present and future of forests and rivers.

UK Department of Forestry and Natural Resources tree improvement specialist Laura DeWald is leading a project collecting more than 300 unique families of white oak from across the United States to plant at Star Hill Farm. The first planting took place on April 15, successive plantings over the next several years will result in the largest single white oak genetic repository in the United States. This repository will provide the foundation for research and tree improvement to address current and future threats to white oak trees and the millions of acres of forests they dominate. It will also support white oak-dependent industries that contribute billions of dollars to rural and urban economies across the region.

This American white oak repository is the second phase of an unparalleled collaboration between UK and Maker's Mark, which also includes the world's first comprehensive effort to map the white oak genome. Working with Maker's Mark and the cooperage Independent Stave Company, the UK team is studying the genetics of the mother tree, called "MM1" at the Star Hill Farm, which is one of the oldest white oaks in Kentucky. It has been exposed to incredible climate variations and is estimated to be 300 to 500 years old. Data from this study will give UK, ISC and Maker's Mark information about the longevity, disease resistance and vitality that American white oak can offer to the bourbon industry and beyond.

"We have lost or are fast losing some of our most valuable tree species in the U.S. such as ash, chestnut and elm due to disease and pests," said Seth DeBolt, Beam Institute director. "This collaboration, the combination of the white oak genetic fingerprint and the germplasm planted solely at Star Hill Farm, will allow us to prepare for any future risk to this organism. In simple terms, if a risk arises, we can look for examples of natural variation within the germplasm that can tolerate new pests or even different climates. Maker's Mark is absolutely leading the way in the bourbon industry when it comes to looking at the sustainable future of the natural resources used to make bourbon. If other threatened species had this level of support, we would have a huge leg up in protecting our ecosystems."

Rob Samuels, eighth-generation whiskey producer at Maker's Mark, said the distillery is committed to the partnership.

"We're so honored to work with the experts from UK who share a common passion with our team for ensuring the sustainable future of the American white oak, and we're excited for Star Hill Farm to be the new home of this essential repository and study, in addition to the home of Maker's Mark Bourbon," he said. "At Maker's Mark we are fully committed to going beyond the practice of being good stewards of the environment, as we aim to be one of the most environmentally conscious and beneficial brands in the world."

"To do something like this that talks about the sustainability of a tree species, it will take a long time for the work being done here to come to fruition, so it takes a vision and commitment," said Jeff Stringer, UK Forestry and Natural Resources department chair. "Maker's Mark understands that. They have seen that vision and understand it and are in it for the long haul. They are willing to put in the effort and resources to make this work. It may take 50, 70, 90 years for any barrels to come from this research and that's a long-term vision that many companies don't have these days. Maker's Mark does."

The partnership between UK and Maker's Mark began nearly two years ago as one piece of the iconic bourbon brand's vision to protect and sustain natural resources by not only supporting the white oak forest, but regenerating forest production with healthy, sustainable and superior trees. This unique collaboration highlights the unparalleled passion and emphasis that Maker's Mark is pushing forward to protect the state's natural resources, which will be vital to the future of bourbon, Kentucky's signature beverage.

"The commitment of Maker's Mark and Independent Stave Company will substantially improve the sustainability of this species, other forest species and this signature industry," said Nancy Cox, UK vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. "We cannot thank them enough for their partnership, vision and sense of community."

UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, through its land-grant mission, reaches across the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension to enhance the lives of Kentuckians.

SOURCE University of Kentucky
(CNN)  Tesla has been swept up in yet another controversy in China, even as the company tries to win new customers there with cars it says will be tailor-made to match their preferences.

This week, Tesla's booth at the Shanghai Auto Show was briefly besieged by protesters complaining about problems with its cars, criticism that has dogged Elon Musk's company for months in the world's biggest market.

Video footage of the incident on Monday, which later went viral in China, showed a woman climbing on top of a Tesla vehicle, alleging that her car had defective brakes. The demonstrator  who wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with a Tesla logo and the words "brake failure"  was later pulled away by security.

The incident overshadowed an announcement the US company made the same day, when a senior Tesla executive told Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald that the automaker would start developing some of its vehicles in China from scratch  with new models that would incorporate "many Chinese elements."

While the vehicles would be designed based on Chinese consumer research, they'll also be sold around the world, Grace Tao Lin, Tesla's vice president of external affairs in China, was reported as saying.

The news was supposed to mark an important milestone in Tesla's Chinese expansion plans, which are critical to its global strategy. China accounts for a fifth of Tesla's revenue, and is its second largest market after the United States, according to a recent company filing. Musk himself has said that China could become the automaker's "biggest market" in the long run.

But while the company had in the past enjoyed a warm reception in China  especially after setting up a Gigafactory on the outskirts of Shanghai  its reputation has taken a knock in recent months, with challenges ranging from questions over how its cars are made to concerns over the data it collects.

'No way' to compromise

Some of those criticisms came to a head once again on Monday at the Shanghai Auto Show, where Tao, the Tesla executive, was speaking with media.

The woman who climbed on top of the car was later jailed by Shanghai police for five days for disrupting public order, while a fellow Tesla car owner who also went to the conference to protest was given an administrative warning on the same grounds.

Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the demonstrators had gone to the auto show to "express their dissatisfaction."

The protester who mounted the vehicle, who was only identified by police by her surname, Zhang, "ignored" attempts by conference staff to dissuade her, "and forcibly climbed onto the roof of a show car, causing damage to the vehicle," police added.

After the incident, Tao addressed the issue with local media, saying that her team had "put forward a lot of solutions" to resolve the dispute with that customer.

But Tao also appeared to take aim at the protester, and suggested that she may have been hired to carry out the stunt. "Her actions have been very professional  there might be [people] behind her," she told a reporter for Caijing, a financial magazine.

The customer "does not accept vehicle inspections, and insists on high compensation," Tao added. "I think there is no way for us compromise."

The same sentiment was echoed in an official company statement released Monday. Tesla vowed to address complaints about its cars, but warned that it would stand firm against what it saw as undue criticism.

"We cherish every customer, so we are willing to make a public promise: If it is a problem with Tesla products, Tesla will ... firmly shoulder responsibilities to the end," the company said in a post on social media platform Weibo. "At the same time, what we need to explain is: our position is to not compromise with unreasonable demands."

That irked many people in China, who took to social media to express their own grievances with Tesla's response.

While some users said they disagreed with Zhang's forceful approach, many also praised her, calling her "brave" to confront Tesla.

The incident also appeared to encourage Tesla critics at Chinese state media outlets.

State-run news agency Xinhua hit out at Tesla on Tuesday, with a blistering commentary titled: "Who gives Tesla the confidence to be uncompromising?" The article called Tao's response "arrogant," which showed "no sincerity of addressing the problem."

Prosecutorial Daily, the official newspaper for China's top prosecution authority, also blasted Tesla.

"Car companies should show sincerity to solve problems, face up to consumer feedback, provide effective communication channels, and actively cooperate with investigations to clarify facts. Otherwise, keeping a hardline stance will only hurt both sides," it wrote in an editorial.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request from CNN Business for additional comment. But by Tuesday night, the company had already begun an about-face.

In a new statement posted on Weibo, it apologized to "car owners"  without naming anyone  and vowed to "carry out strict self-examination and self-correction, while cooperating with the investigation of relevant government departments."

Rising challenges

The furore comes at a particularly tricky time for Tesla.

In February, Tesla was summoned by regulators to discuss the quality of its Shanghai-made vehicles. Authorities said they were concerned about several problems with the cars, including "abnormal acceleration" and "battery fires." The following month, reports surfaced that the country's military had banned its vehicles from entering its complexes, over concerns that cameras onboard could be used for spying.

More recently, the company has faced criticism for a series of problems involving its cars. In February, it was forced to apologize after a video showed one of its staff members in the Chinese city of Nanchang telling a customer that a potential overload of the state grid might have caused his electric vehicle to experience problems after charging.

"We apologize for the misunderstanding," Tesla said in a Weibo post at the time. "We have [now] properly solved the problem, and are testing and investigating the cause of this failure."

Tesla has tried to assuage officials in China by addressing the criticisms directly. Last week, Tao told authorities that any data the company collects in China would be stored within the country's borders, according to Chinese state media.

Even Musk has stepped in. Last month, the billionaire CEO appeared for a rare interview with state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), heaping praise on the Chinese government and predicting that the country could "become the biggest economy in the world." Days earlier, he showed up virtually at an important government conference, saying that his company's cars would never be used for spying in the country.

And this week, Musk is slated to attend China's Boao Forum for Asia, according to a guest list released by the conference organizer on WeChat. The influential forum is usually attended by thousands of executives and political leaders, and on Tuesday included an address from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The company also appears to realize how high the stakes are, as shown by its rapid course correction this week.

"Based on this experience," the company said in its Weibo post, "we will try our best to learn the lessons."

 Steven Jiang and Laura He contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Protesters upstage Tesla at China's top auto show".
Mr George Akanlo, the Upper East Regional Chairman for Friends of Bawumia says Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is an embodiment of competence in divergent forms, capable of leading the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a Flagbearer to victory in 2024.



The group, through its Chairman, said the complementary role of Dr Bawumia in the Akufo-Addo led administration, and his level of experience gave him a greater chance to lead the Party and break the tradition where governments were changed after every eight years in the fourth republic.



Once the people of Ghana know that with the work he has done with President Nana Akufo-Addo from 2016 till date, coupled with his level of competence, he would be able to lead the NPP to victory.



Mr Akanlo said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, prior to the official launch of the Upper East Regional branch of the group.



He said We are here for our maiden meeting of Friends of Bawumia to evangelise politically, the good deeds and works of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for people to know and understand who he is.



The Chairman said the group had been in existence since 2012 and had a national leadership who campaigned for President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia, but noted that It has not been officially launched in Upper East.



According to him, there was the need for them to form the group in 2012, saying We anticipated a day like this will come, where the people of Ghana will call for him to lead the NPP and the people of Ghana.



Mr Akanlo emphatically stated that Dr Bawumia has not officially said anything, but we are hoping that the voice of the people is the voice of God. One day he would heed to that voice, and if he does, we will all throw our support behind him.



We were friends right from 2012, and we are going to continue to propagate the agenda about Dr Bawumia. He has carved for himself a niche in the Ghanaian political landscape from 2008, and has made a good name, he said.



He said the group was in readiness for the day the Vice President would officially declare his intention to lead the Party or direct them as to who they should support to lead the Party to victory in 2024.



Mr Akanlo said members of the group took it upon themselves to remind Ghanaians about the works of Dr Bawumia pending his official declaration to lead the Party.



So before he would make his decision, people would have already known about him. We think that will make a very big impact, the Chairman said.



He called on all members of the NPP in the Region who believed that the eight-year political tradition in the fourth republic could be broken, to rally their support behind the Vice President to enable the Party break the political tradition.



The only way out for us to break the tradition is to present Vice President Dr Bawumia to lead the Party in 2024, he said.

Source: GNA









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Featured Video
Amazon will let customers pay for their groceries at Whole Foods locations in Seattle with a swipe of their palms.

The online shopping giant, which acquired Whole Foods in 2017, is rolling out pay-by-palm technology at some grocery stores near Amazon's headquarters to make paying quicker and more convenient.

The technology, called Amazon One, lets shoppers scan the palm of their hand and connect it to a credit card or Amazon account.

After the initial set up, which Amazon claims takes less than a minute, shoppers can scan their hand at the register to pay for groceries without having to open their wallets.

Amazon.com Inc said it is rolling out biometric technology at its Whole Foods stores around Seattle starting on Wednesday

After the initial set up, which Amazon claims takes less than a minute, shoppers can scan their hand at the register to pay for groceries without having to open their wallets

Daniel Thorpe, of Hoboken, New Jersey, uses the Amazon app to pay for his purchase at the Amazon 4-star store in the Soho neighborhood of New York

Amazon first launched the technology late last year and at the time said the technology could be used at stadiums, office buildings and other retailers.

So far, Amazon hasnt announced any takers. The technology has been put into use in several of its cashier-less stores and Amazon said it has signed up thousands of users, but didnt provide a specific number.

Arun Rajan, senior vice president of technology and chief technology officer at Whole Foods, said the company is always looking to innovate, according to the New York Daily News.

'At Whole Foods Market, we're always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the shopping experience for our customers,' he said.

'We're starting with an initial store at Madison Broadway in Seattle and look forward to hearing what customers think as we expand this option to additional stores over time.'

Privacy experts have warned against the use by companies of biometric data, such as face or palm scans, because of the risk of it being hacked and stolen.

Reuben Binns, an associate professor focusing on data protection at the University of Oxford, told The Verge last year that the technology raises privacy concerns since it is kept in the cloud which could make it accessible to hackers and the government.

'The advantage is that it's on you all the time, this isn't something you can lose, but that's also a disadvantage because you can never change it,' says Binns.

'You can never change your palm like you change your password or other identification tokens.'

Amazon said it keeps the palm images in a secure part of its cloud and doesnt store the information on the Amazon One device. The company said shoppers can also ask for their information to be deleted at any time.

Privacy experts have warned against the use by companies of biometric data, such as face or palm scans, because of the risk of it being hacked and stolen

Whole Foods is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was not immediately clear if locations in Texas will receive the rollout

People walk out of an Amazon Go store, in Seattle. Amazon said Wednesday that it is rolling out its pay-by-palm technology to some of its Whole Foods supermarkets

A Whole Foods store in Amazon's hometown of Seattle started using the technology on Wednesday. Seven additional Whole Foods locations in the area will have it installed in the coming months.

Whole Foods is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It was not immediately clear if locations in Texas will receive the rollout.

Amazon declined to say if or when other locations might get it. There are about 500 Whole Foods stores across the country.

The move shows how Amazon is bringing some of the technology already in use at its namesake brick-and-mortar Go and Books stores to the high-priced grocery chain.

The deployment stops short of introducing Amazon's cashier-less technology at Whole Foods, which critics have said would result in job cuts.

Amazon One still requires scanning items at checkout, and the company said it will not impact jobs at Whole Foods.

According to the Amazon One website, 'no two palms are alike' which means it 'can't be used by anyone but you.'

'One reason was that palm recognition is considered more private than some biometric alternatives because you cant determine a persons identity by looking at an image of their palm,' the website reads.

However, fingerprints, also long believed to be unique to individuals, have recently come under fire in the criminal justice system.

Judge Louis Pollack made headlines with a ruling fingerprint identification was not a legitimate form of scientific evidence in the January 2002 court case of United States v. Llera Plaza.

Amazon also announced that starting this week, customers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 'will see local deliveries made in electric vehicles.'
Patna: Like numerous other Indian states, Bihar has also been grappling under the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 384 Doctors, health workers of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week.

Medical Superintendent of AIIMS Patna, C M Singh while addressing the media said, The hospital has expanded its bed capacity for COVID patients to 250 and all of them are occupied. The hospital has adequate supply of liquified oxygen and doctors are on duty round-the-clock in every ward.

Meanwhile, Bihar on Tuesday (April 20) reported 51 deaths, taking the total death toll to 1841.

The state reported 10,455 new COVID-19 cases and the total tally stands at 3,42,059.

The worst-hit areas in the state include the capital city Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Jehanabad and West Champaran.

To curb the rising infections in the state, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has imposed curfew from 9 pm to 5 am across the state.

Additionally, owing to the rising COVID-19 infections, the Panchayat polls in the states have also been postponed.

India recorded 2,95,041 new coronavirus cases and 2,023 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest ever since the pandemic broke out. The country's total COVID-19 caseload has now increased to 1.56 crore (1,56,16,130), of which, 21.57 lakh (21,57,538) are active cases. India has also witnessed 1.82 lakh (1,82,553) coronavirus-related deaths.

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A patient wearing an oxygen mask is wheeled inside a COVID-19 hospital for treatment in Ahmedabad, India, on April 21, 2021. (Amit Dave/Reuters)

Oxygen Leak Kills at Least 24 COVID-19 Patients on Ventilators in Indian Hospital

SATARA, IndiaAt least 24 COVID-19 patients in western India died on Wednesday when the oxygen supply to their ventilators ran out, amid a nationwide shortage of the gas and a surge in infections.

Maharashtra State Health Minister Rajesh Tope confirmed the deaths at a hospital in Nashik city and said the hospitals oxygen supply ran out because a tanker refilling it suffered a leak. Oxygen was running scarce throughout the country.

The leakage was spotted at the tank supplying oxygen for these patients. The interrupted supply could be linked to the deaths of the patients in the hospital, Tope said.

Hospitals in Delhi, the capital, and elsewhere have warned that their supplies of medical oxygen given to severely ill COVID-19 patients are running low.

Max Healthcare, the largest private sector healthcare provider in Delhi and its suburbs, said some of its hospitals had barely two hours supply of oxygen.

Television showed images of people with empty oxygen cylinders crowding refilling facilities in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, as they scrambled to save stricken relatives in hospital.

The situation was so severe that some people tried to loot an oxygen tanker, forcing authorities to beef up security, according to the health minister of the northern state of Haryana.

Patients wearing oxygen face masks are shifted to a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, on April 21, 2021. (Amit Dave/Reuters)

India now faces a coronavirus storm overwhelming its health system, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a national address on Tuesday, adding that authorities were working with states and private firms to deliver oxygen with speed.

Authorities in Maharashtra, which is already under partial lockdown, late on Wednesday ordered additional restrictions on the movement of people within the city and state until May 1 to curb the virus spread.

The order said all offices, except those providing essential services, must operate with 15 percent staff. Travel by private vehicles is permitted only for medical emergencies, and only medical workers and government employees may ride the normally popular train system.

India, the worlds second-most populous nation reported 295,041 new virus infections on Wednesday, stretching its hospitals to breaking point, officials said.

Indias 2,023 deaths were also its highest in the pandemic.
Apr. 22In so many ways, Faith is a typical puppy.

The miniature dachshund is energetic and wiggly, enjoys wrestling with other canines, and has discovered the joys of mischievously chewing on shoes.

"Whenever it's bedtime, she has to sleep on you, whether it's on your stomach or your side or on top of another dog," said Mikayla McRae, her foster through Toledo Animal Rescue. "She's very sweet."

Faith, estimated at 3 1/2 to 4 months old, is spunky and full of life. And the rescue expects she'll be even more so once she can see a bit better.

A couple of teen-agers found the stray pup June 30 on Luverne Avenue. When they couldn't quickly find her home, the shelter took her in. It was immediately obvious that her eyes aren't normal.

"We suspect that it was a dump job," said Steve Kiessling, the shelter's executive director. "She was likely from a breeder and they weren't going to get any money for her. She was expendable. But she's so lovely. She really is."

After a recent trip to a veterinary ophthalmologist at Blue Pearl in Southfield, Mich., Faith was diagnosed with microphthalmia. A congenital issue, it seems the pup was born with the majority of her left eye globe missing, and her right globe is too small.

"There may be some vestigial [tissue] in her left, but there's nothing functional," Mr. Kiessling said.

Faith can detect light, but how much vision she actually has in her right eye is unclear. Because the globe is undersized, she can't hold her eyelids open properly and her third eyelid restricts her vision. She also has entropion in both eyes, meaning the the eyelids turn inward and cause irritation and vision impairment.

She'll be getting surgery May 11 to clear out and close the left eye socket while correcting the eyelids in her right. The procedure and aftercare are expected to cost about $3,500, for which the organization is raising funds.

Story continues

"It's an added expense that's not really budgeted for," Mr. Kiessling said.

For now, Faith has done very well navigating the world with her limited vision. She turns in circles as she makes her way around and sometimes bumps into things.

"The other day she got herself locked in the bathroom and we had to come find her because she was howling," Ms. McRae said. "The lights were off and she couldn't find her way out."

Mr. Kiessling said the rescue will not accept any adoption applications for Faith until she has fully recovered, which will likely be at least into June.

"We need to know the full extent of her functionality, then we'll find the right home for her," he said.

The rescue established an online fund-raiser at gofundme.com called "Funds for Faith  Eye Surgery Support" that was about half funded Wednesday afternoon, with $1,730 raised of the $3,500 goal. Donations can also be sent to Toledo Animal Rescue, 640 Wyman St., Toledo, OH 43609.

First Published April 21, 2021, 6:03pm
Even as the stand-off between India and Saudi Arabia escalates with the kingdom increasing the crude oil price for Asia and India cutting imports from the Gulf nation, the state-run Saudi Aramco's stake purchase plan in Reliance O2C Ltd is unaffected, said sources in the know.

Aramco is serious about partnering Reliance and the discussions are progressing as expected, three sources confirmed.

Aramco, the world's largest oil producing company, is expected to register a strong performance in this year, thanks to the spike in crude prices. The Brent crude price is hovering around $65 per barrel, as compared to $38 in early November. Bank of America (BoA) earlier estimated that Aramco would generate close to $100 billion in cash flow in 2022.

Also, Aramco is generating surplus cash as it recently agreed to sell its 49 per cent stake in pipelines to a consortium led by US-based EIG Global Energy Partners for $12.4 billion. It is Aramco's largest deal since its record $29.4 billion IPO in late 2019.

In 2020, the energy giant posted a 44.4 per cent slump in net profit due to lower crude prices, as the coronavirus pandemic weighed heavily on global demand. Aramco achieved a net income of $49 billion in 2020, down from $88.2 billion in 2019.

India, the third-largest crude oil importer and consumer, recently advised public sector crude refining companies to scale up import from the US and Africa following Saudi Arabia's decision to raise official selling price (OSP) of oil shipments to Asia in May. The action by Saudi, the world's largest crude exporter, was largely conceived as a retaliation to India's plan to cut crude imports from the country.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, announced in 2019 that Aramco would pick up 20 per cent stake in the company's newly floated subsidiary Reliance O2C for $15 billion. Aramco sees Reliance O2C as a dedicated buyer of its crude. Besides, it sees opportunity in Reliance O2C's plan to increase production of petrochemicals by reducing fuel output.

The O2C business of Reliance includes the twin refineries in Gujarat's Jamnagar and the adjacent petrochemicals complex, besides the petroleum retail joint venture of RIL-BP Plc.

The deal also ensures a dedicated market for Aramco's crude in India. As part of the deal, Reliance O2C will sign to buy 5,00,000 barrels of crude oil every day (28 per cent of the company's Jamnagar refinery requirement) on a long-term basis from Aramco. Besides, the O2C business will be a value-creating proposition for both the giants as it focuses to channel 70 per cent of the refined crude for manufacturing high value chemical products.

Also Read: Reliance ramps up daily oxygen output to over 700 tonnes

Also read: COVID-19: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance comes to rescue! Supplies oxygen to Maharashtra from Jamnagar refinery
Oti Mabuse has hinted that she won't be quitting Strictly Come Dancing after convincing fans this season was her last.

The South African ballroom specialist, 30, appears to have gone back on her comments earlier this week that she was leaving, saying she takes the decision 'a year at a time'.

Speaking on Thursday's episode of Steph's Packed lunch Oti said she didn't explain herself properly when she said in a recent interview that she would be calling it a day.

Dancer: Oti Mabuse has hinted that she won't be quitting Strictly Come Dancing after convincing fans this season was her last

Steph started by saying: 'Oti, you've been in the news a bit haven't you. This was for an article suggesting that this might be your last year on Strictly Come Dancing. Is that true?'

Oti then replied saying: 'I don't want to be in the news, that is the actual joke about it! I never learn, every interview I do I always say something I shouldn't say, so I'm going to be that same dancer for 55 years, still on Strictly being asked the same question.

'The thing about Strictly is, is that I take it one year at a time, and that is what I should have said.

Clarifying: Speaking on Thursday's episode of Steph's Packed lunch Oti said she didn't explain herself properly when she said in a recent interview that she would be calling it a day

Confusion: The South African ballroom specialist, 30, appears to have gone back on her comments earlier this week that she was leaving, saying she takes the decision 'a year at a time'

'Why didn't I say that?! The journalist was really nice, it was me who answered, I just don't know why I didn't explain myself properly!'

It comes after earlier this week Oti appeared to confirm she will part ways with the show after appearing in its 19th series later this year.

The dancer has become a household name since making her debut on the long-running show in 2015, featuring alongside celebrity partner Anthony Ogogo.

But Oti - who has won the coveted Strictly Glitter Ball twice - admitted she could step down after being confirmed as a new judge on The Masked Dancer.

Farewell?: It comes after earlier this week Oti appeared to confirm she will part ways with the show after appearing in its 19th series later this year

She told The Telegraph: 'I love to dance and also I love bringing joy to so many people, but I think that [this year's Strictly] will be the last one.

'To be part of a show like Strictly, which is so diverse in every sense of the word, is incredible. It always pushes to open new doors.

'You almost forget this year we had JJ [Chalmers] and Will [Bayley] the year before, it's become a normal thing. I'm sure they will have a male same-sex couple this year.

'But honestly as a woman I can't be dancing forever.'

The dancer has enjoyed enormous success on Strictly during her six year run, having won the Glitter Ball with actor Kelvin Fletcher in 2019 and again with comedian Bill Bailey in 2020.

Her admission comes after it was reported that BBC bosses were 'worried' she would leave the show after landing a new judging job on The Masked Dancer.

A source said: 'There was genuine worry that she might be tempted elsewhere as shes so in demand. But Oti has agreed to take part this year, at least, and the bosses are delighted.

'Shes one of the most sought-after talents in telly at the moment. Shes looking forward to taking part and hopefully getting her hands on the Glitterball trophy once again.'

Success: The South African ballroom specialist, 30, has become a household name since making her debut on the long-running show in 2015

Speaking in March the dancer addressed the rumours during an appearance on Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4.

When asked by host Steph McGovern what was 'going on', Oti said: 'Do you know what, some of these conversations obviously I have never been a part of  they are above my pay grade.

'I can't say yes as to whether I'm going back or not. So, everybody will have to wait and see to find out what is going on. But it is nice to be spoken aboutright?'

Well done: The dancer has enjoyed enormous success on Strictly during her six year run

Before confirming her appearance on the show's forthcoming 19th series it was claimed that she had not yet put pen-to-paper, which left producers feeling 'uneasy.'

A source told The Sun: 'Oti has been inundated with offers. Her profile has really blown up since she joined Strictly and she has had ideas pitched from a number of major channels.

'The BBC are now growing increasingly worried that her time on Strictly is numbered.'

The rumoured line up for 2021 is tipped to include Gregory Piper aka PC Ryan Pilkington from Line of Duty.
Russia is making further progress in peace talks with Ukraine recognizing Russian puppets from ORDLO as parties to the conflict, but this will not happen.

Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna, said this during an online meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday, April 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Discussions of the last weeks in the Permanent Council meetings made it abundantly clear that the Russian side takes any further progress on security, humanitarian and political issues dependent on Ukraines consent to legitimize the Russian proxies as a party to the conflict. This will not happen," Tsymbaliuk said, commenting on the destructive position of the Russian Federation in the negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

He urged the Russian side to accept this position and to unblock such long overdue tasks as demining, opening of additional checkpoints, new disengagement areas, and release of detainees.

"We also remind the Russian side of the need not to undermine the progress already achieved. In particular, no personnel, weapons, mines or even containers should be present within the existing disengagement areas. We call on the SMM to continue close monitoring of these areas and report on any violations registered," Ukraine's permanent representative to the OSCE said.

He also pointed to Russia's destructive stance, which involves Moscow's refusal to support the joint statement on the need to return to a comprehensive ceasefire.

"Despite Ukraines efforts to abide by the ceasefire, we have seen the raising toll among Ukrainian servicemen, in large part caused by targeted sniper fire from Russian positions," Tsymbaliuk said.

As Ukrinform reported, on April 19, advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four countries called on the Trilateral Contact Group to work on a coordination mechanism to respond to ceasefire violations.

ish
People show support for the people living in Gaza during Solidarity Fridays at Pliny Park, in Brattleboro, Vt., on Friday, June 4, 2021.
A Tesla Model S at the North American International Auto Show at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich., on Jan. 11, 2011. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Tesla Comes Under Fire in China After Woman Protests at Auto Show

A Chinese woman protested against Tesla at a major international auto show in Shanghai. Her loud complaining, which lasted several minutes, attracted considerable attention. The incident prompted Chinas state media to launch a flood of criticism of the automaker.

On April 19, the 2021 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition was rolled outthe first of its kind in the world this year. At the event, a female car owner wearing a white shirt with the words brake failure printed in Chinese characters climbed onto the roof of a Tesla and repeatedly shouted, Teslas brakes dont work! referring to her involvement in a collision while riding in a Tesla Model 3. Minutes later, she was taken out of the show by security guards.

The same day, Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla, identified the woman as the same person responsible for other recent protests targeting Tesla.

In an interview with Chinas state media Caijing magazine, Tao expressed that it was impossible for Tesla to deal with the protester, who refused many solutions recommended by Tesla.

Tao also said they suggested a third-party test of the defective car, at Teslas expense, which the woman rejected.

Instead, the woman insisted on an exorbitant payout, according to Tao, who deemed it unreasonable. Tao did not specify how much money the woman wanted.

In addition, Tesla mentioned, in an official statement on April 19, that the protester entered the auto show in an unusual way, but provided no details.

According to the shows website, visitors would be required to go through real-name cloud verification prior to entry. On the day of entry, they were required to show their health code, undergo a facial recognition test, and receive an infrared temperature check.

The protester received a five-day administrative detention on a charge of disrupting public order, according to a notice issued by Shanghai police on April 20.

The sudden interruption swiftly ignited debate, both in Chinas state media and on social media including Weibo.

Chinas state news outlet Xinhua News Agency ran an article about the event on April 20. While denouncing the protesters antics, the article questioned Teslas arrogance in dealing with complaints from customers. The article became widespread on many other sites.

On April 20, Tesla issued an apology for its failure to address the complaint.

On April 21, Tesla issued another statement about the event on its official Weibo account, stating that it would provide the last 30 minutes of raw data from the vehicle involved in the collision. The data will be given to a third-party assessment agency, Chinese government-designated technical supervision authority, or to the customer herself.

This is not the first time Tesla has encountered challenges in China.

On Feb. 8, five Chinese regulators summoned Tesla regarding safety issues with its vehicles.

Chinas news portal Sina published an article on March 29, which described 13 collisions involving Teslas vehicles, including Models 3, X, and S, from May 2020 to March 2021.

One of the described collisions involved the female protester and three of her family members. The accident occurred on Feb. 21, while her father was driving a Tesla Model 3. Before entering an intersection, the driver couldnt stop the vehicle due to a failure of the brake pedal, states the report. The failure caused a collision with a vehicle in front of it and two injuries. However, Tesla states that raw data shows the car was operating normally prior to the accident and that the driver didnt use the brakes.

Tesla China and the organizer of the auto show did not return a request for comment on the cars brakes and the womans outburst at the show.
Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images

Anyone who has received or plans to receive a COVID-19 vaccination can look forward to more than just protection from the virus.

In a new commercial, Budweiser took an emotional route to let the public know that it misses the times when folks could freely crack open a cold one with friends.
Interior Minister Sar Kheng has warned police officers to refrain from the use of violence to enforce COVID-19 lockdown measures in Phnom Penh after photos emerged on social media of officials beating people.

Sar Kheng issued the warning in a letter on April 21, shortly after photos and videos on Facebook showed police officers and other security personnel using wooden sticks or rattan canes to beat people who were leaving homes or were allegedly not complying with stringent lockdown measures, which are in place until April 28.

In the letter, Sar Kheng praised police and other security forces for their efforts to implement a citywide lockdown to prevent the recent rapid spread of COVID-19 but urged law enforcement officials to exercise high tolerance by avoiding violence.

All relevant authorities and law enforcement forces, please continue to pay attention to perform [your] duties with patience, adhere to discipline, dignified behavior and strictly adhere to the principles of professional ethics of the forces, especially to avoid the use of violence to solve problems when implementing all government regulations or measures, Sar Khengs letter reads.

According to a four-minute video clip shared on Facebook on Wednesday, some police officers were seen using the rattan canes to chase away dozens of people walking on a street in Meanchey districts Stung Meanchey commune.

Several other video clips were also shared on Facebook, showing police officers riding motorbikes and beating individuals who were distributing drinks at peoples homes, and also threatening the use of the rattan canes against people standing in restricted areas.

Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesperson San Sok Seiha said the canes were being used as a warning.

We didnt bring [rattan canes] to badly treat innocent people. We just took them to scare and threaten as the first step for those who do not listen [to government directives], especially in the red and vulnerable zones, he said.

Soeng Senkaruna, a senior human rights monitor at local rights group ADHOC, said the municipal police spokesperson's spin on the use of rattan canes was unacceptable.

If we look at the footage and the videos, it was not used as a way of scaring the people. We watched those videos, and we saw the use of sticks to beat up [the people], he said.

He added that the use of excessive violence by security forces could provoke a violent backlash from people. He said a similar situation had occurred in India where Indian security forces used similar batons to keep people from leaving their homes.

Since the government imposed a lockdown in Phnom Penh and Takhmau on April 15, police have arrested several people in violation of the COVID-19 health measures, including people assembling for drinking alcohol, traveling between provinces, and cutting police tape in protected areas.

Phnom Penh Municipal Polices San Sok Seiha said on Wednesday that more than 100 people had been fined for leaving their homes.

ADHOC's Soeng Senkaruna said the government should stop arresting people or sending them to courts as it could increase the risk of COVID-19 infections to other prison detainees.
Two candidates have emerged on the front row of the grid to succeed Jean Todt as FIA president.

Todt's third and final term expires in December, and f1-insider.com correspondent Michael Zeitler reports that United Arab Emirates representative and former rally driver Mohammed Bin Sulayem is one potential successor.

"He wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the FIA," Zeitler said.

Todt's top pick for the role, though, is reportedly his current deputy, Graham Stoker.

"Stoker would continue the Todt line," said Zeitler. "It is also possible that Todt will receive a new role at the FIA alongside him, such as honorary president."

(GMM)
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Nickel Project"), located in Minnesota, USA. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises the Tamarack North Project and the Tamarack South Project.





Figure 1. 2.28 meters (7.5 feet) of massive sulphide nickel mineralization grading 5.86% Ni, 2.35% Cu, 0.18% Co, 0.27 g/t Pd, 0.45 g/t Pt and 0.28 g/t Au (7.21% NiEq or 19.23% CuEq) starting at 191.32 meters (Drill Hole 21TK0287).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/81310_c9617b65e401ea6c_001full.jpg





HIGHLIGHTS

Talon is pleased to announce assay results for the first three holes drilled within a new target area that starts approximately 100 meters north-north-east of the Tamarack Nickel Project's resource area. The area is referred to as "CGO West".

Drill hole 21TK0282 intersected 5.34 meters (17.5 feet) of massive sulphide nickel-copper mineralization grading 4.43% Ni , 1.48% Cu (5.30% NiEq 1 or 14.15% CuEq 2 ) starting at 135.28 meters . This drill hole also intersected an additional shallower zone of sulphide mineralization, with 4.5 meters (14.8 feet) grading 0.70% Ni, 0.55% Cu (0.99% NiEq or 2.65% CuEq) starting at only 120.5 meters.

Drill hole 21TK0285 intersected 27.45 meters (90.1 feet) of sulphide mineralization grading 0.75% Ni, 0.41% Cu, 0.98% NiEq or 2.63% CuEq) starting at 168.2 meters. Within this interval, this drill hole intersected 1.75 meters (5.7 feet) of massive sulphide nickel-copper mineralization grading 4.81% Ni , 1.88% Cu, (5.89% NiEq or 15.72% CuEq) starting at 193.9 meters .

Drill hole 21TK0287 intersected 9.95 meters (32.6 feet) of sulphide mineralization grading 2.07% Ni , 1.06% Cu, (2.71% NiEq or 7.23% CuEq) starting at 183.65 meters . Within this interval, this drill hole intersected 2.28 meters (7.5 feet) of massive sulphide nickel mineralization grading 5.86% Ni, 2.35% Cu (7.21% NiEq or 19.23% CuEq) starting at 191.32 meters .



"The positive drilling results announced today continue to demonstrate the near-term growth potential for the Tamarack Nickel Project, particularly at shallow depths," said Brian Goldner, Head of Exploration for Talon. "So far, we have stepped out approximately 300 meters north-east of our resource area and have successfully intersected high grade nickel and copper mineralization in an area with little historic drilling. This new zone of mineralization (CGO West), along with the other new zone of mineralization that we have been targeting (CGO East), now suggest a potential continuation of nickel-copper mineralization extending several hundreds of meters to the north of our resource area. These areas will continue to be a top priority for Talon, as we look to deliver a new resource estimate later this year."

SUMMARY

Talon is pleased to announce assay results for the first three drill holes within a new target area that starts approximately 100 meters north-north-east from the Tamarack Nickel Project's resource area (i.e., outside of the resource area). The area is referred to as "CGO West".

The CGO West area is a vast exploration target of 300 x 400 meters. Similar to the CGO East area, which starts approximately 350 meters away from the Tamarack Nickel Project's resource area (see press release dated March 31, 2021), the CGO West area also demonstrates: (i) the potential to host shallow, sheet-like mineralization; and (ii) initial evidence of sulphide pooling, with massive sulphides sitting at the footwall contact within a thicker interval of sulphide mineralization.

Within the CGO West area, Talon has drilled three holes, all which successfully intercepted massive sulphide mineralization at shallow depths .

Drill hole 21TK0282 intersected 5.34 meters (17.5 feet) of massive sulphide nickel-copper mineralization starting at 135.28 meters grading 4.43% Ni, 1.48% Cu , 0.12% Co, 0.27 g/t Pd, 0.30 g/t Pt and 0.12 g/t Au (5.30% NiEq or 14.15% CuEq). This drill hole also intersected an additional shallower zone of sulphide mineralization, with 4.5 meters (14.8 feet) grading 0.7% Ni, 0.55% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.08 g/t Pd, 0.12 g/t Pt and 0.07 g/t Au (0.99% NiEq or 2.65% CuEq) starting at only 120.5 meters.

Drill hole 21TK0285 intersected 27.45 meters (90.1 feet) of sulphide mineralization grading 0.75% Ni, 0.41% Cu, 0.02% Co 0.06 g/t Pd, 0.10 g/t Pt and 0.08 g/t Au (0.98% NiEq or 2.63% CuEq) starting at 168.2 meters. Within this interval, this drill hole intersected 1.75 meters (5.7 feet) of massive sulphide nickel-copper mineralization grading 4.81% Ni, 1.88% Cu , 0.15% Co, 0.241 g/t Pd, 0.37 g/t Pt and 0.22 g/t Au (5.89% NiEq or 15.72% CuEq) starting at 193.9 meters .

Drill hole 21TK0287 intersected 9.95 meters (32.6 feet) of sulphide mineralization grading 2.07% Ni, 1.06% Cu , 0.06% Co, 0.18 g/t Pd, 0.32 g/t Pt and 0.2 g/t Au (2.71% NiEq or 7.23% CuEq) starting at 183.65 meters . Within this interval, this drill hole intersected 2.28 meters (7.5 feet) of massive sulphide nickel mineralization grading 5.86% Ni, 2.35% Cu , 0.18% Co, 0.27 g/t Pd, 0.45 g/t Pt and 0.28 g/t Au (7.21% NiEq or 19.23% CuEq) starting at 191.32 meters . This drill hole also intersected an additional 9 meters (29.5 feet) of sulphide mineralization grading 0.58% Ni, 0.37% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.05 g/t Pd, 0.07 g/t Pt and 0.04 g/t Au (0.78% NIEq or 2.08% CuEq) starting at only 163 meters.



The drill holes announced in this press release suggest the potential for the CGO West area to host up to 400 meters of strike length. Drilling remains ongoing within the CGO West area, with a goal of delineating a new resource later this year.





Figure 2. Plan View map of the northern portion of the Tamarack resource area, including the CGO East and the CGO West target areas. Drilling so far suggests that the mineralization in the CGO East and CGO West target areas is similar.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/81310_c9617b65e401ea6c_002full.jpg

Table 1. Collar Locations for Drill Holes 20TK0282, 20TK0285 and 20TK0287

CGO WEST HOLEID Easting

(m) Northing

(m) Elevation

(masl) Azm Dip End Depth

(m) 21TK0282 491191.6 5169241 388 318.81 -75.91 166.57 21TK0285 491002.8 5169146 388 338.54 -87.05 218.54 21TK0287 491005.1 5169143 388 35 -75 217.93

Collar coordinates are UTM Zone 15N, NAD83.

Azimuths and dips are taken from survey record at collar unless otherwise noted.

Table 2. Assay Results for Drill Holes 20TK0282, 20TK0285 and 20TK0287

Hole # From

(m) To

(m) Length

(m) Cu

% Ni

% Co

% Pd

g/t Pt

g/t Au

g/t NiEq

% CuEq

% 21TK0282 120.50 125.00 4.50 0.55 0.70 0.02 0.08 0.12 0.07 0.99 2.65 21TK0282 135.28 140.62 5.34 1.48 4.43 0.12 0.27 0.30 0.12 5.30 14.15 21TK0285 168.20 195.65 27.45 0.41 0.75 0.02 0.06 0.10 0.08 0.98 2.63 Including 193.90 195.65 1.75 1.88 4.81 0.15 0.24 0.37 0.22 5.89 15.72 21TK0287 163.00 172.00 9.00 0.37 0.58 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.04 0.78 2.08 21TK0287 183.65 193.60 9.95 1.06 2.07 0.06 0.18 0.32 0.20 2.71 7.23 Including 191.32 193.60 2.28 2.35 5.86 0.18 0.27 0.45 0.28 7.21 19.23

Length refers to drill hole length and not True Width.

True Width is unknown at the time of publication.

All samples were analysed by ALS Minerals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt grades were first analysed by a 4-acid digestion and ICP AES (ME-MS61). Grades reporting greater than 0.25% Ni and/or 0.1% Cu, using ME-MS61, trigger a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish (ICP81). Platinum, palladium and gold are initially analyzed by a 50g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish (PGM-MS24). Any samples reporting >1g/t Pt or Pd trigger an over-limit analysis by ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP27) and any samples reporting >1g/t Au trigger an over-limit analysis by AAS (Au-AA26).

NiEq% = Ni%+ Cu% x $3.00/$8.00 + Co% x $12.00/$8.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$8.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$8.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$8.00/22.04

CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $8.00/$3.00 + Co% x $12.00/$3.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$3.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$3.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$3.00/22.04

No adjustments were made for recovery or payability.

QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALIFIED PERSONS

Please see the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) #3 of the Tamarack North Project - Tamarack, Minnesota" with an effective date of January 8, 2021 prepared by independent "Qualified Persons" (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Leslie Correia (Pr. Eng), Andre-Francois Gravel (P. Eng.), Tim Fletcher (P. Eng.), Daniel Gagnon (P. Eng.), David Ritchie (P. Eng.), Oliver Peters (P. Eng.), Volodymyr Liskovych (P.Eng.), Andrea Martin (P. E.) and Brian Thomas (P. Geo.) for information on the QA/QC, analytical and testing procedures at the Tamarack Project. Copies are available on the Company's website (www.talonmetals.com) or on SEDAR at (www.sedar.com). The laboratory used is ALS Minerals who is independent of the Company.

Lengths are drill intersections and not necessarily true widths. True widths cannot be consistently calculated for comparison purposes between holes because of the irregular shapes of the mineralized zones. Drill intersections have been independently selected by Talon. Drill composites have been independently calculated by Talon. The geological interpretations in this news release are solely those of the Company.

The locations and distances highlighted on all maps in this news release are approximate.

Dr. Etienne Dinel, Vice President, Geology of Talon, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Dr. Dinel is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies, and he has reviewed, approved and verified the technical information disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information.

ABOUT TALON

Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in Minnesota, USA, comprised of the Tamarack North Project and the Tamarack South Project. Talon has an earn-in to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Project. The Tamarack Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with numerous high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon is focused on expanding its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101; identifying additional high-grade nickel mineralization; and developing a process to potentially produce nickel sulphates responsibly for batteries for the electric vehicles industry. Talon has a well-qualified exploration and mine management team with extensive experience in project management.

For additional information on Talon, please visit the Company's website at www.talonmetals.com or contact:

Sean Werger

President

Talon Metals Corp.

Tel: (416) 361-9636 x102

Email: werger@talonmetals.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the timing and results of the exploration program, including assay results, grades, geophysical results and drilling plans; the extension of mineralization, including the potential for the CGO West area to host up to 400 meters of strike length and the suggestion that the mineralization in the CGO East and West target areas is similar; near-term growth potential for the Tamarack Nickel Project, particularly at shallow depths; and the delineation of a new resource estimate later this year. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

1 Where used in this news release: NiEq% = Ni%+ Cu% x $3.00/$8.00 + Co% x $12.00/$8.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$8.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$8.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$8.00/22.04

2 Where used in this news release: CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $8.00/$3.00 + Co% x $12.00/$3.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$3.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$3.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$3.00/22.0

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81310
On April 13, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) made public the findings of a survey, Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on People in the Museum Field, conducted in March. Some 2,700 individuals responded, 87 percent of them (pre-pandemic) museum staff in the US.

Unsurprisingly, the results paint a picture of economic hardship, professional uncertainty and mental turmoil. The more precarious a given respondents position in the field, generally speaking, the greater the financial loss (as a percentage of previous income) and the deeper the skepticism about the future.

Forty-three percent of museum workers as a whole saw their income fall by an average of 31 percent over the course of 2020. More than 60 percent of part-time staff, already living at poverty levels, testify to having lost income due to the pandemic, with a median of eight thousand dollars lost due to reduced salary, benefits, or hours for a median reduction of 50 percent. Independent contractors have also been hard hit78 percent of individuals in that category lost income last year, according to the AAM study, at a median of twenty-five thousand dollars, the equivalent of about 50 percent of pre-pandemic income.

Only 57 percent of respondents are cautiously optimistic about the future of the museum sector, while 28 percent are somewhat pessimistic. Just over one-fifth of paid staff and students think it is unlikely they will be working in the sector in three years, with some of the biggest barriers being compensation, burnout, and a lack of opportunities for advancement.

The Louvre in Paris (Photo credit-Louvre)

The survey also warns of a second pandemic within the COVID-19 pandemic: the current and delayed impacts on mental health including rising anxiety and depression. The museum workers report a grave toll on their mental health and wellbeing from the pandemic. The authors observe that the respondents reveal a deep care for one another, underscoring the compassion and empathy that exists among the people that make up the museum field. Despite personal adversity, those surveyed indicate their greatest shared concern is for the wellbeing of colleagues.

The museum field, like every other sphere of public life, is a class battleground. While staff members and freelancers alike struggle to keep their heads above water, or abandon the field altogether, museum board members and top officials exist in another economic and social realm.

Museums in the US, both private and ostensibly public, are held especially tightly in the grip of the wealthy. On the eve of the pandemic, the New York Times published a column by Michael Massing, a writer and former executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, headlined How the Superrich Took Over the Museum World (December 14, 2019).

Massing pointed to the preponderance of the extremely wealthy, for example, on the board of trustees of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, noting that 45 out of 51 trustees work in finance, the corporate world, real estate or law, or are the heirs or spouses of the superrich. He added that MoMAs dependence on the kindness of billionaires comes at a price. Todays museum world is steeply hierarchical, mirroring the inequality in society at large.

The column noted that in 2018, MoMA received a paltry $22,000 in government funds (from New York City), compared with the $136 million it got from private sources. In fact, MoMA does not seek or receive federal or state funding.

Museum of Modern Art (Photo creditMoMA)

The influence of the billionaires on every aspect of museum operations is already immense. Massing indicated his most serious concern in regard to baronial boards, the possible constraints they place on what museums can exhibit. In the face of the pandemic, with museums and other arts institutions now under greater stress and in more financial need than ever, the role of the corporate oligarchy can only grow larger and more oppressive.

COVID-19 has deepened processes well under way: the subordination of the interests and needs of artists, museum staff and the populations own cultural wellbeing to the whims and vagaries of the financial oligarchy. The situation is increasingly untenable.

The situation may be most pronounced in certain regards in the US, but the museum crisis is a global one.

A recent study from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Museums around the world in the face of COVID-19, highlighted the disastrous condition of museum attendance and funding worldwide.

The UNESCO report explained that even for those institutions, out of a global total of 104,000, that remained open with sanitary measures in place, the drastic decrease in world tourism resulted in a drop in attendance of 70 percent. The revenues of the various institutions (especially the national museums) decreased between 40 percent and 60 percent in comparison to the revenues from 2019, and the situation for museums will remain very difficult this year.

The financial consequences for the museum sector, UNESCO argued, with some degree of understatement, have been considerable.

For its part, the Art Newspaper s annual survey of museum attendance, published March 30, found that overall attendance in 2020 at the worlds 100 most-visited art museums dropped by a staggering 77 percent in 2020from 230 million in 2019 to just 54 million as museums worldwide were forced to close. Resorting to the same adjective once more, the survey revealed that museums were shut for a staggering 41,000 days in totalmore than a centurys worth of visits missed last year.

The publication cited some of the particulars. The Louvre in Paris, the worlds most widely visited art museum, experienced a 72 percent decline in attendance in 2020, losing 90 million euros ($US 108 million) in the process. The number of visitors to the National Museum of China fell by 78 percent, while attendance at the Tate Modern in London dropped by 77 percent, at the Vatican Museums by 81 percent, at the British Museum by 80 percent, at the State Russian Museum by 50 percent and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York by 83 percent.

Tate Modern in London (Photo credit-Tate Modern)

The steep decline in footfall, the Art Newspaper observed, contributed to huge financial losses. The self-generated income of the Tates four museums fell from 94m [$US 131 million] in the 2019/20 financial year to an estimated 38m for 2020/21, a 60 percent drop. Similarly, the Victoria and Albert Museum [in London] saw a 63 percent loss of income, with its self-generated funds falling from 64m to 24m.

New Yorks four art behemoths, the Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, received 2.2 million visitors in 2020, as opposed to 11 million the year before. The Metropolitan alone lost an estimated $150 million.

The Art Newspaper disclosed that data from 19 Brazilian institutions surveyed indicated that the museums were closed for an average of 203 days last year, which is more than any other country in our report.

The potential consequences of such figures for the future of the globes cultural institutions and their workers are also staggering.

It would be a serious mistake to imagine that the end of the pandemic, whenever that may come, will return art museums and galleries to their previous condition. The demands for greater and greater sacrifice on the part of museum workers and staff will continue.

The contention of organizations such as Museum Workers Speak that enrolling museum workers in the SEIU or AFL-CIO member unions will improve their conditions and lives is false and dangerous. Workers will painfully discover that such organizations are merely an arm of management determined to suppress every one of their struggles.

Equally false and dangerous is the obsession of such groups with racial politics. The notion that the central problem facing museum workers is the legacy of colonial and racialized violence, and white supremacy broadly in disproportionately white and white-led institutions, as Museum Workers Speak claims, is utterly pernicious and the greatest possible gift to the ruling elite. The stranglehold of the billionaires and multimillionaires over cultural life will not be broken as long as capitalism exists. Ending that stranglehold depends on the firmest unity of the working class on a principled, socialist basis.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- For one community leader, it was a police officers message to the man after the arrest caught on body cam video that was very, very disturbing.

Youre lucky youre not dead.

Thats what a Grand Rapids police officer told a Black man who was complaining of a possible eye injury after an officer punched him seven times in the head while struggling during an arrest.

I think its very, very disturbing, said Jeremy DeRoo, the executive director of community development nonprofit LINC UP. That is a dangerous sentiment to think that we have officers who are approaching situations with residents of this city with the perspective that those residents are lucky if the police officers let them remain alive.

The March 26 incident was captured on body camera, and the footage has been circulating the past few days on social media. It started as a traffic stop for littering while police were conducting surveillance in the 100 block of Hall Street SW as part of Operation: Safe Neighborhoods, an effort to stop crime and get illegal guns off the streets.

Related: Body camera video shows Grand Rapids police officer punching man after traffic stop

A total of four guns were confiscated in the traffic stop, one of which an officer said fell out from the arrested man after he was handcuffed.

The context around the officers comment about the man being lucky to be alive appears to stem from him believing the man wanted to try to pull a gun on us. The man denied it, the charges against him dont reflect it and police officials, in a statement about the incident, didnt mention it.

The man, identified as 25-year-old Diabate Hood, is charged with attempting to disarm a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest.

Body camera footage shows Hood punched seven times in the head while police were struggling to arrest him after he allegedly tried to flee.

Police officials say Hood tried to disarm an officer during the struggle and that force was deemed necessary to stop the threat and get him handcuffed.

However, Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack, who represents a portion of Southeast Grand Rapids, said he believes that isnt accurate, based on his viewing of the video and the statements made by the officers in it.

In the video, an officer states: It felt like he was grabbing for my gun. Another officer responded: Well, he was grabbing at your side, I guess.

I dont know why the chief is coming out saying that this young man reached for his gun, Womack said. A lot of time when African American males are apprehended, they throw extra charges at us and they overwhelm us with so many charges that we have to plea bargain rather than go to court against five or 10 charges.

Womack, who posted a portion of the body camera footage to his Facebook page on Wednesday, April 21, said the incident is a teachable moment for the department and the community but that the blows to the head werent called for.

I thought the video was a good opportunity to show the community how people that cooperate with the police can have a drama free interaction with the police. The young man who attempted to run, things didnt go as well, Womack said. But at the same time, once he was apprehended and you have three cops on him, we cant allow another cop to go ahead and hit him in the face continuously.

Of the three arrests police made, only Hood struggled with police.

Womack doesnt believe the incident was racially motivated, and he isnt demanding the officer be fired. However, he said, the chief should discipline the officer.

If our chief doesnt hold them accountable to the highest standards right now with whats going on in America, it could really endanger our police-community relations, he said.

He needs to hold the police responsible for their actions, and I need to hold the community for their actions, that way the police know were not going to give anybody a free ticket just to disrespect them, and the community also knows were not going to give police a free ticket to disrespect the community.

In a statement released by the department, Police Chief Eric Payne didnt directly address the officers actions.

Police officials did say that, like all use of force incidents, what happened was reviewed by supervisors and members of the departments training unit. So far, no complaints with Internal Affairs have been filed.

Hoods attorney told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press he plans to issue complaints with Grand Rapids police and the U.S Department of Justice over the stop, calling it racial profiling.

Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said she is reserving comment at this time, citing the police departments internal review of the incident as well as the pending criminal cases against those arrested.

DeRoo called on Payne to discipline the officers involved.

I think he needs to send a strong message that his idea of community policing he is trying to push for in his strategic plan does not align with the types of interactions that these officers had in the situation, DeRoo said.

The incident is another example of Grand Rapids officers escalating interactions with Black residents and being the more aggressive people on a scene, according to DeRoo.

The city has been told that their practice of disproportionally deploying officers into African American neighborhoods and Latino neighborhoods contributes to racialized outcomes in the arrest and crime data of our city, he said. It appears that this stop happened when again they increased the deployment of officers into a community.

Department officials said the area where the arrest occurred was being surveilled due to its correlation to increased violent crime in the city.

The department utilized timely and accurate intelligence to strategically address felonies and illegal weapons during this operation, police officials stated.

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Hawley, Braun Proposal Would Direct Biden to Declassify Intel on Wuhan Lab, CCP Virus

Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Mike Braun of Indiana want Americans to see U.S. intelligence on links between Chinas Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the CCP virus, which is the cause of COVID-19.

Their legislative proposalthe COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021directs President Joe Biden to declassify the intelligence collected to date by U.S. agencies on the potential links between the WIV and the virus. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has been collecting related information since at least April 2020.

The WIV, which is closely associated with the Chinese military and its biological warfare research programs, has received U.S. tax dollars via grant money awarded by a unit of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to a private research group, the EcoHealth Alliance.

The NIH unit that approved the grant, the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, is headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci. Faucis group didnt submit the grant to review by a federal oversight board, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF).

While the review board is part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the only member whose name is publicly available is the chairman, Chris Hassell, the senior science adviser for the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

As much as it would be good to publicize the individual names, which has been suggested, if that chills anyone being willing to serve on that committee, that would be detrimental, Hassell said, according to the DCNF.

When it comes to oversight of U.S. tax dollars headed to the Chinese Communist Party, Dr. Fauci seems like hes literally whistling past the graveyard, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told the DCNF, which first reported the lack of review.

It seems to me this was done by design to allow this kind of research to be done in these kinds of places without any kind of scrutiny, Perry said, referring to the lack of grant oversight.

The Hawley-Braun proposal text specifies that the Director of National Intelligence should declassify and make available to the public as much information as possible about the origin of COVID19 so the United States and like-minded countries can(A) identify the origin of COVID19 as expeditiously as possible, and (B) use that information to take all appropriate measures to prevent a similar pandemic from occurring again.

The declassification that would result from enactment of the Hawley-Braun proposal is needed, Hawley said, because of the countrys growing cancel culture that inhibits criticism of official government narratives and policies on the virus.

For over a year, anyone asking questions about the Wuhan Institute of Virology has been branded as a conspiracy theorist. The world needs to know if this pandemic was the product of negligence at the Wuhan lab, but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has done everything it can to block a credible investigation, Hawley said in a statement announcing the proposals introduction in the Senate.

Thats why the Biden administration must declassify what it knows about the Wuhan lab and Beijings attempts to cover up the origin of the pandemic, Hawley stated.

Identifying the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is vital for preventing future pandemics, and as investigations and research into the origins of the virus continue, the Biden administration should declassify intelligence related to any potential links between biological research laboratories in Wuhan, China, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Braun said in the statement.

The statement also linked to a recent CNN interview with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, in which he said he believes the virus didnt originate with bats being sold for human consumption in a market near the WVI.

Im of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathology in Wuhan was from a laboratory. Escaped. Other people dont believe that. Thats fine. Science will eventually figure it out, Redfield said.

The statement also linked to a recent Washington Post editorial calling for declassification of U.S. intelligence about the WIV in the months prior to the breakout from China to the United States and the rest of the world in late 2019.

The United States possesses classified intelligence information about illnesses in the autumn of 2019, before the global pandemic, at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or WIV, which was carrying out research on bat coronaviruses very similar in genetic makeup to the pandemic virus. The intelligence should be declassified, and soon, the Post editorial stated.

Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be contacted at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc.
Canadian Lawmakers Speak in Remembrance of Largest-Ever Peaceful Protest in China

Canadian legislators have voiced support of the faith group Falun Gong ahead of the anniversary of their peaceful protest in Beijing 22 years ago, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution campaign against its adherents.

I dream of a day when human rights advocates are no longer considered to be enemies of the Chinese state; of a day when Chinese television no longer broadcast confessions obtained through blackmail and torture; a day when political prisoners are no longer subject to organ harvesting, Conservative MP Peter Kent said in a statement.

Judy Sgro, a Liberal MP and former cabinet minister, speaks at an event celebrating Falun Dafa Day in Parliament Hill, Ottawa, on May 8, 2019. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)

We also remembered the events of April 25th, 1999, when 10,000 Falun Gong supporters demonstrated peacefully in Beijing, appealing for the freedom to practice their philosophy in China, Kent said. I dream of a day, when all Chinese citizens will enjoy the freedoms of speech and assembly, all of the democratic rights that we in Canada too often take for granted.

Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, according to its website, which became popular in China during the early 1990s. According to official estimations, there were roughly 70 to 100 million practitioners in China alone by the end of the decade. The large number of practitioners was deemed a threat to the rule of the authoritarian CCP regime, which soon initiated a political campaign to eradicate the practice.

On April 25, 1999, around 10,000 Falun Gong adherents gathered peacefully at the CCP headquarters of Zhongnanhai, Beijing, calling on authorities to remove the ban on the practice and release fellow practitioners who were arbitrarily arrested days earlier.

Chinese officials turned down their request, and soon exacerbated the persecution, subjecting Falun Gong adherents to detention, torture, forced labour, and even organ harvesting.

Kent said when he became a co-chair of the Falun Gong Parliamentary Friendship Group in 2011, the Chinese regime seemed to be relaxing is decade-long brutal repression of Falun Gong practitioners, but the CCPs violations of human rights have resurged over the years since.

Outside of the Chinese territory, Beijing has also used its embassies and other CCP-affiliated organizations overseas to spread misinformation about Falun Gong. Beijing-linked groups have also harassed and assaulted Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong.

A Falun Gong information booth is vandalized in Mong Kok in Hong Kong on April 3, 2021. (Screenshot from video provided by interviewee)

The Chinese ambassador to Ottawa says Falun Gong is evil, but it is the Chinese government itself, which behaves with evil intent, Kent said.

Liberal MP Judy Sgro, a co-chair of the Canadian parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong group, said she felt disheartened that the persecution toward the faith continues during the difficult times of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada has been a consistent strong voice for the protection of human rights and the advancement of democratic values in the international arena, Sgro said. As Canadians, we must do our part to help bring about the changes needed to right these terrible wrongs.

Conservative Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo said the CCP has a well-established track record of crimes against humanity, targeting Falun Gong practitioners, as well as prisoners of conscience and other religious and ethnic minorities.

Senator Thanh Hai Ngo addresses the crowd celebrating Falun Dafa Day on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 9, 2018. (Jonathon Ren/The Epoch Times)

Ngo noted that The China Tribunal, the worlds first tribunal to conduct an independent legal analysis of the criminal liability of the Chinese state and its officials in relation to allegations of their involvement in forced organ harvesting, released a final judgement in March 2020, declaring the CCPs crimes against humanity against practitioners of Falun Gong and Uighur Muslims had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The tribunal also affirms that Falun Gong practitioners are likely the main source of supply for Chinas growing organ transplant industry.

Workers walk by the perimeter fence of what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre in Dabancheng in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, on Sept. 4, 2018. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Ngo said that despite Canadas glowing international reputation as a defender of human rights, it still has much work to do. He said Canada has to continue to apply pressure on China, to ensure that the actions of this rogue state is consistent with its international human rights commitments.

As the CCP continues to commit these heinous acts with absolute impunity, it is incumbent on the government of Canada, along with democratic allies and the United Nations to safeguard and uphold the international rules-based orderreining in the despotism of the Chinese communist regime, Ngo said.

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said the tragic persecution of Falun Gong is something that all of us must continue to stand against and oppose.

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, on November 26, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

[The events of 1999] marked the tragic beginning of an escalating persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, people whose motivations were simply to practice and advance values of truthfulness, [compassion], and forbearance, but who came to be perceived by the Chinese communist party as a threat, Genuis said.

Genuis also noted that Falun Gong adherents seek to preserve aspects of Chinas ancient culture and civilization, something that is opposed by the CCP.

As Canadians, as government officials ,we have to take a stand for freedom, for justice, for human rights, and stand with Falun Gong practitioners who are experiencing persecution in China, he said.

I pledge my continued commitment to stand with [Falun Gong] and with others in this critical fight for justice.
Foxconn is drastically downsizing its controversial factory in Wisconsin after initially promising to invest $10 billion. The company will instead put $672 million into the project under its new deal with the state. At first, Foxconn said the facility would lead to 13,000 new jobs. Instead, it will only create 1,454 positions, Reuters reports.

According to Foxconn, the reduced scale of the project affords the company the flexibility to pursue business opportunities in response to changing global market conditions. It claimed that the "original projections used during negotiations in 2017 have at this time changed due to unanticipated market fluctuations.

When the company and state officials announced the project, Foxconn pledged to build a manufacturing facility at the campus, which spans 20 million square feet. It said it would make advanced flat-panel displays.

However, Foxconn's aims for the campus have long been in flux. It ditched plans to build state-of-the-art displays in favor of smaller, less-advanced ones  but that didn't come to pass either. In early 2019, Foxconn considered shifting the focus from manufacturing to research and development. After critics attacked that proposal, the company gave assurances that the campus would have manufacturing facilities as well as a research hub.

Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way said the company is making medical devices, servers and communications equipment in Wisconsin. He suggested it may build electric vehicles there too.

The latest deal between Foxconn and Wisconsin reduces the planned subsidies for the project, which ultimately could have cost taxpayers over $4 billion. Foxconn is now eligible for $80 million in tax credits, down from $2.85 billion. Governor Tony Evers said those credits are in line with those for which any company is eligible. They're performance-based and will depend on whether Foxconn hits capital investment and employment targets.

The state has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project. According to Reuters, records showed that Wisconsin has shelled out north of $200 million on tax exemptions, road improvements and grants for training and employment. As of 2019, the village where Foxconn's campus is based had paid around $152 million to buy and demolish 132 properties through eminent domain, along with almost $8 million to cover relocation costs.
By Tim Hepher and Emma Pinedo

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus has defused a row over the future of a factory in southern Spain, but the Cadiz plant and its 300 jobs remain on the "critical" list in a potential setback to completion of a company-wide restructuring, industry sources said.

Airbus on Wednesday cancelled long-deferred plans to sell two French and German units and announced a new proposal to hive off production of small mass-produced parts.

But it postponed any physical changes to a network of more than a dozen commercial jet factories in France, Germany, Britain and Spain, prompting Spanish unions to hail a reprieve for the Puerto Real plant in Cadiz, at least for now.

Unions and local politicians have been fighting to defend the plant since Airbus stopped building the A380 superjumbo. Workers in the robot-assisted plant had assembled the huge horizontal stabilizers for the worlds largest airliner.

Work there has also been disrupted by a drop in demand for other big jets like the A330 during the pandemic.

Tensions erupted earlier this year when a top German executive said the Airbus plant - one of two in Cadiz - was "not competitive". Hundreds of protesters gathered there this week.

Spanish unions are reluctant to complete negotiations on a broader Airbus coronavirus restructuring plan until Puerto Reals future is settled, people familiar with the talks said.

On Wednesday, Airbus agreed to form a negotiating committee and unions said the company would examine new work for the plant from 2023.

"It...is certainly better than if they had announced the firm decision to close the plant and refused to open a dialogue," said Juan Antonio Vazquez of the UGT union.

Airbus said it was assessing Spanish operations "from a workload perspective" and wanted to ensure the viability and competitiveness of Cadiz. People close to the company said no decisions had been made on its future or its jobs, however.

Story continues

SPANISH TENSIONS

The plant's fate illustrates the mounting stakes as Airbus battles to cut costs in the face of COVID-19 while preserving a decades-old, politically sensitive European industrial jigsaw.

Airbus is in the midst of shedding some 15,000 jobs but some in the industry have accused the company of avoiding tough choices about reducing factory footprint.

Sources close to Airbus say the changes are the start of a plan to prepare the next generation of jets at lower cost, but acknowledge political constraints on industrial plans in Europe.

Unemployment-stricken Cadiz is the latest irritant to see-saw relations between Airbus and Spain, which owns 4% of the group. Aerospace accounts for 7% of Spains industrial GDP.

Spain has long felt sidelined in Airbus, which it helped to found in 1970, and repeatedly clashed with former Airbus CEO Tom Enders over delays to the Seville-assembled A400M airlifter.

In 2019, his successor Guillaume Faury left Spain off a leaner Airbus executive committee following the retirement of Spain's top representative, industry veteran Fernando Alonso.

Tensions came to a head later that year when Spain spurned Airbus as its formal partner for a new European fighter.

But the pandemic has fostered direct contacts between Faury and Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and in July last year, the two sides held a summit that restored some calm.

Last week, Faury announced further management changes restoring Spanish representation on the prestigious committee, even as Spain gave up the management lead on military planes.

The Spanish appointee  new operations chief Alberto Gutierrez  is taking time to consider the fate of the Puerto Real plant as he juggles his new role with the sensitive post of head of the companys Spanish operations, insiders said.

Airbus meanwhile said it had no immediate plans to review plants in Britain, but the absence of explicit commitments to the UK post-Brexit - versus pledges to other core nations - is widely seen as a signal that Britain will have to compete with other suppliers to maintain wing production on future jets.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
In a shocking collection of interviews from the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis, far-left extremists admitted to wanting another civil war and implied that white people need to be killed.

(Natural News) (Article by Cassandra Fairbanks republished from TheGatewayPundit.com)

Gonzo journalist and filmmaker Ami Horowitz interviewed several people who were attending the memorial to get their take on things like burning the city down and using violence against white people. Their responses will surprise no one.

I went to the George Floyd memorial in Minneapolis to speak with protesters. pic.twitter.com/G3zBJjAPDo  Ami Horowitz (@AmiHorowitz) April 20, 2021

Burn the whole city down, what does it matter? one of the women asked. I say burn the city down, yknow? So they can see that were here, another woman asserted.

One of the women went on to say that Derek Chauvin should not have received a trial at all.

There shouldnt even be a trial, he should be convicted just as is, she said.

The extremists were all in agreement that if he was not convicted they would support street justice for him, meaning murder.

One of the women said that she believed that thousands of unarmed black men were killed last year in the United States.

They all also seemed to agree that there is a genocide happening to African Americans  and anyone who isnt white.

When asked about a second Civil War, one young woman said if thats what it takes, then we have to do it.

Another responded, if thats what it takes, then I believe so.

Asked if it will happen, yet another woman said probably.

I dont want to say we need to start killing all white folks, but its like one of the militant extremists said.

But? Horowitz asked.

Maybe they need to feel the pain and the hurt, she continued.

Read more at: TheGatewayPundit.com
Alleging a failure of governance in Uttar Pradesh in the face of the COVID-19 second wave, Congress leader Vadra has said the Yogi Adityanath dispensation long ceased to act as a protector and support system for the people in the state, and has increasingly assumed the role of an "aggressor".

In an interview with PTI, the Congress general secretary in-charge Uttar Pradesh also said the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was simply another reflection of the UP government's "arrogant, autocratic and inhuman attitude" towards the people of the state.

Her remarks came amid a steep rise in cases, with the Uttar Pradesh government saying that the state had registered 33,214 fresh cases and 187 deaths on Wednesday, both the highest daily rise so far.

Asked about the grim COVID-19 situation in the state, said the fundamental issue is that the government in UP has long ceased to act as a protector, facilitator and a support system for the public.

"It (the state government) has increasingly assumed the role of an aggressor. The handling of the COVID pandemic is simply another reflection of its arrogant, autocratic and inhuman attitude towards the people of UP," she said.

The biggest failure has been in governance as there has been no planning, no preparation and no foresight whatsoever, the Congress leader alleged.

"Countries all over the world faced a second wave -- what did we learn from them? How did we use the gap between the first and second wave to prepare UP for what was inevitably going to come?" asked.

The UP government's own sero-survey results showed 5 crore people were exposed to the virus which was indicative of a second wave coming, she said.

"The government was advised to exponentially ramp-up testing. What happened? They reduced overall testing, switched to upto 70 per cent antigen testing and ignored their own sero-survey reports," she said, hitting out at the state government.

Rather than putting every single resource into saving lives and combatting the pandemic, the UP government is still wasting time and resources on "covering up" the truth, Priyanka Gandhi alleged.

"The government has let people down. Their incompetence and lack of clarity is exacting an unprecedented human cost that no one should ever have had to pay," she said.

On the alleged lack of preparation to deal with the second wave, she said, "How else can the Chief Minister and his government explain that despite having months of time between one wave and the other, no effort was made to increase UP's capacity for hospital beds, for oxygen or for the availability of COVID medication."



"How else can they justify the number of hurdles they have placed before the public as it suffers through the horrors of the pandemic?" she asked.

Priyanka Gandhi also asked where else in the world does one need approval from the district medical officer or the district magistrate to get admission to a hospital in the middle of a devastating pandemic.

"It is unheard of. How can the government justify that only 30 per cent of the testing being done in UP is RT-PCR and 70 per cent is antigen testing? Reports from across the state are coming in that private labs are being verbally instructed not to test," she said.

"What kind of governance is this?"



The UP government has been rejecting criticism by opposition parties on its handling of the COVID-19 situation.

Priyanka Gandhi had earlier accused the Uttar Pradesh government of hiding figures and said had they been cautious from day one, people would not have witnessed such times.

Earlier this week, she had slammed the "red-tapism" in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that lives were lost because COVID-19 patients needed permission from the district chief medical officers to get admission in hospitals.

In a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, the Congress general secretary had urged the creation of a database of available hospitals and beds so that people can seek admission directly.

Priyanka Gandhi had also flagged the issue of oxygen availability, saying she had been told that people need permission from the district magistrate for hospital admission. She had called for removal of all such rules causing difficulties for families of patients.

(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.)
DUBLIN, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Irish cell engineering company, Avectas, is leading a consortium which will invest 7.23 million, including 4.4 million awarded under the Irish Government's Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF), to develop a high-throughput scale of its proprietary cell engineering platform Solupore. With consortium partners Bluebridge Technologies and NIBRT, the project expands Avectas' development towards commercialising an advanced large-scale, digitalised cell engineering platform optimised to manufacture 'off-the-shelf' cell-based therapies for cancer treatment.

The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) is a 500 million fund established under Project Ireland 2040 and run by the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment with support from Enterprise Ireland.

Headquartered in Ireland, with locations in Toronto, Canada and Cambridge, USA, Avectas collaborates with leading cell therapy businesses and research institutes to address their cell engineering challenges using its patented Solupore technology. Cell therapy is a rapidly evolving therapeutic approach for cancer. Immune cells are taken from donors, engineered to make them more effective and then administered to patients. This award will allow Avectas to expand its Solupore platform to manufacture next-generation allogeneic products that can be produced at scale for large numbers of patients.

Bluebridge Technologies will develop a digitalisation dimension for the platform through the project. They will design, build and test software components to underpin the manufacturing technology, highlighting the convergence of cell therapy manufacturing and digitalisation. NIBRT will test and validate the platform in the context of an end-to-end manufacturing process and will facilitate technology adoption by situating the Solupore platform at their world-class facilities. All parties will work synergistically to disrupt the manufacture and delivery of cell-based therapeutics to patients.

Avectas has previously won significant award support from the European Union (under the Horizon 2020 programme). The company is engaged in work programmes with several therapeutic companies and leading academic laboratories, including The Simon Laboratory at UC Davis, California, the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) in Toronto and the new NK Cell Centre of Excellence at Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

Speaking today, Dr. Michael Maguire, CEO of Avectas, remarked, "cell-based therapies offer the extraordinary potential for the treatment of cancers, and we believe that our Solupore Platform will disrupt the current cell therapy manufacturing process and help make Ireland a world centre for this developing area". Prof. Niall Barron commented, 'NIBRT is delighted to be involved in this exciting DTIF-funded project which will accelerate the development of transformative technology for manufacturing revolutionary new therapies which go beyond being just treatments and in many cases actually cure patients. This project is a perfect example of the innovation and ambition that exists in Ireland to be at the forefront of this exciting new field".

Garret Coady, CEO of Bluebridge Technologies, added, "BlueBridge Technologies is delighted to be part of this project, which will showcase the power and promise of digital technologies that have the potential, not only to enable the delivery of novel therapies but to do so viably, at scale."

Dr. Maguire thanked the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for their support: "This is expensive but hugely valuable work which could not exist without the support of the Department and the DTIF. We are grateful for that support."

Editor's Note:

About Avectas

Avectas is a cell engineering company that has pioneered - Solupore - a proprietary, simple, highly effective automated non-viral cell engineering system to enable efficient and safe genetic modification, accelerating the manufacture of cells for the next generation of immuno-oncology therapies.

The company is partnering its cGMP aligned Solupore clinical-grade system with cell therapy companies to address emerging cell delivery challenges associated with multiple cell modifications and engineering of limited or fragile cells. Additionally, it will provide regulatory support to partners. Avectas is a private, international company with research facilities in Dublin, Ireland and Toronto, Canada, and an office in Cambridge MA, USA. It has over 30 employees, led by a team of highly experienced pharmaceutical executives supported by a world-class Scientific Advisory Board of cancer cell therapy experts.

For further information, see www.avectas.com.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About BlueBridge Technologies

BlueBridge Technologies specialises in safety-critical, connected-health technology, developing hardware and software solutions for the biopharma and med-tech sectors, serving clients such as Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Roche and Medtronic.

For further information, see https://bluebridgetechnologies.com

About NIBRT

The National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) is a global centre of excellence for training and research in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. NIBRT operates in a world-class facility in Dublin, Ireland. This facility is purpose-built to closely replicate a modern bioprocessing plant with state-of-the-art equipment and enables NIBRT to offer the highest quality training and research solutions. NIBRT's mission is to support the growth and development of all aspects of the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry.

For more information, go to www.nibrt.ie

SOURCE Avectas
Australians over the age of 50 will not be able to get a Pfizer vaccine until the end of the year in a significant reset of the countrys vaccine rollout, while national cabinet has also agreed on travel restrictions for people arriving from India.

Under the new vaccine plan, people over 50 will get access to an AstraZeneca vaccination sooner than planned, while the Pfizer vaccine will be prioritised for younger critical workers and vulnerable aged care residents yet to be immunised.

Monash Medical Centre pharmacists Nicole Dirnbauer (left) and Sigourney Szelag take Pfizer vials from an ultra-cold freezer. Credit:Meredith OShea

Arrivals from India will be cut by 30 per cent and travellers from a swath of other high-risk countries face similar restrictions to stem the growing number of cases in hotel quarantine, while strict limits will also be placed on people travelling to countries with large outbreaks.

These are difficult decisions weve had to make but the increasing risk weve seen from some countries, we believe necessitates managing that risk in the best way possible, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said following the national cabinet meeting on Thursday afternoon.
Margot Robbie took to Instagram on Thursday to show off her RAD Impact Award for inspiring purpose.

And the 30-year-old Oscar nominee - who was allowed to share the award with someone who inspires her - also revealed the surprise Zoom call she made to volunteer Emily Dash.

'It's so good to meet you!' exclaimed a shocked Emily when the Suicide Squad star appeared on the call.

Paying it forward: Margot Robbie [L] took to Instagram on Thursday to show off her RAD Impact Award for inspiring purpose - which she shared with volunteer Emily Dash [R]

Dash has cerebral palsy and now lives independently in Sydney thanks to the support of Robbie's chosen charity, Youngcare.

'I have been given a RAD impact award for inspiring purpose,' explained the I, Tonya star.

'The truth is you, your story, Youngcare, everyone at Youngcare kind of is my purpose and I'm allowed to share this award with someone and I'd like to share it with you,' Margot told Emily during their call.

Part of the award included an undisclosed donation to help enable 15 young people with disabilities to live independently.

Giving back: 'I have been given a RAD impact award for inspiring purpose,' explained the I, Tonya star

A good cause: 'The truth is you, your story, Youngcare, everyone at Youngcare kind of is my purpose and I'm allowed to share this award with someone and I'd like to share it with you,' Margot told Emily during their call

Fellow recipient: Dash has cerebral palsy and now lives independently in Sydney thanks to the support of Robbie's chosen charity, Youngcare

The Neighbours alum described the painting she was gifted as part of the acknowledgement as 'the most amazing looking reward I've ever, ever received'.

The Queensland-born star chose Youngcare, a charity from her home state, for her donation.

'Big or small you can have these big knock on effects and thats what Youngcare does. Its just amazing,' said Margot.

Charlize Theron and Travis Scott also received RAD Impact Awards in 2021 to honour their advocacy and charitable work.

Surprise! 'It's so good to meet you!' exclaimed a shocked Emily when the Suicide Squad star appeared on the call

Memento: The Neighbours alum described the painting she was gifted as part of the acknowledgement as 'the most amazing looking reward I've ever, ever received'

Roll call: Charlize Theron and Travis Scott also received RAD Impact Awards in 2021 to honour their advocacy and charitable work

Los Angeles-based Margot recently completed filming on an untitled movie by director David O. Russell that has a host of big names in it including Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Zoe Saldana and John David Washington.

Robbie has several projects lined up and one high profile role will be that of Barbie in a live action feature based on the famous doll.

First, though, she'll be seen on screen reprising the comic book character of Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad set for release in Australia on August 5.




April 22, 2021  release at 7:30 am CET

Sophia Antipolis, France



Nicox SA (Euronext Paris: FR0013018124, COX), an international ophthalmology company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has determined that three U.S. composition of matter patents covering latanoprostene bunod, commercialized as VYZULTA (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution), 0.024%, are eligible for patent term extension, potentially through to 2030.



The initial patent term of the latanoprostene bunod patents concerned is 2025. Nicox believes that each of these patents could be extended by almost the maximum 5 years allowable. The duration of this patent extension is subject to calculation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the final decision of the USPTO regarding the term of the extension expected in two to three years. Nicox would then select one of the three patents for the extension.



Michele Garufi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nicox, said VYZULTA was launched in the United States in December 2017 by our exclusive global licensee Bausch + Lomb. The extension of the patents covering this product would ensure a long-term revenue source for the company and solid support for future value as we continue the development of our clinical assets NCX 470 in glaucoma and NCX 4251 in blepharitis.



Latanoprostene bunod, the pharmaceutical active ingredient in VYZULTA, was invented and patented by Nicox, and is the first product from the companys proprietary nitric oxide-donating research platform to be approved for commercialization. Under the patent restoration provisions of the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (also known as the Hatch-Waxman Act) certain patents for pharmaceutical products in the U.S. may be extended by up to 5 years once product approval from the FDA has been obtained.



VYZULTA is commercialized in the U.S. (since 2017), Canada (2019), Argentina (2020), Mexico (2020) and Hong Kong (2020), and is now approved in 5 other territories (Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan and Ukraine). VYZULTA is indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in the United States and other territories that have the same indication. Bausch + Lomb, which is planning to launch VYZULTA in Taiwan and in South Korea, will continue seeking approvals in territories where the clinical data package, part of the U.S. New Drug Application, can be used for approval by the regulatory authorities.



Under the terms of the exclusive global license agreement with Bausch + Lomb, Nicox receives increasing tiered royalties of 6% to 12% on net global sales of VYZULTA plus up to $150 million in potential future milestone payments.
Two professors from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have been awarded prestigious ERC Advanced Grants by the European Research Council.

Professor Kristin Ytterstad Pettersen at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics and Professor Henrik Koch at the Department of Chemistry have each been awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant.

Each grant can provide up to NOK 25 million in support over five years.

Professor Pettersen received support for her project CREME - Control of light vehicle-manipulator systems.

"This is amazing! I have worked very hard to develop this project. That it went through on the first try is big and a bit unexpected," Pettersen said.

The goal is to develop mobile robots that can address many different tasks. The robots must be autonomous, meaning self-controlled, and light. The latter is important for them to be both safe for people and cheap.

These robots must be able to observe the world around them. At the same time, they must interact with the environment using one or more manipulator arms.

Among the possibilities are robots that can fly out to wind turbines far out at sea to detect problems and carry out maintenance. Another type of robot may move from its housing station on the seabed to carry out maintenance on aquaculture cages or oil installations.

The grant gives Pettersen the opportunity to hire four doctoral fellows and two postdoctoral fellows, who will work with Pettersen on the project over the next five years.

Chemist Henrik Koch is involved in the QuantumLight project at NTNU. The project focuses on advanced theoretical models for molecules.

"I'm thrilled that our hard work is being rewarded in this way," says Professor Koch, who is also employed at Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) in Pisa, Italy.

He praises SNS, NTNU and the Research Council of Norway for their support to date. Koch believes the project opens up great opportunities in a new field - for master's students, doctoral students and researchers who are at an early stage in their careers.

"I would like to congratulate both recipients," says Tor Grande, NTNU's Pro-Rector for Research.

"Two ERC Advanced Grants for NTNU researchers in one and the same year is incredibly good news, and a great inspiration for other scientific staff who have ambitions to apply for ERC funding," he said.

NTNU's strategic plan says that NTNU's research should maintain a high international level, and that the research shall be concentrated around strong academic groups that contribute to the international research front.

"It's actually been a while since an NTNU employee received an ERC Advanced Grant. Now two very talented professors have succeeded in obtaining these prestigious grants. At NTNU, we've focused on achieving better success with the ERC for a long time. We're now seeing results from this work with several awards, such as ERC Synergy, Consolidator and Starting Grants. We've succeeded in motivating and enabling more people to apply, and it is particularly gratifying that this is now yielding results. We'll build on this in the years to come," Grande said.

The European Research Council (ERC) provides grants to many researchers and research projects. ERC disburses its funding in four categories.

ERC Advanced Grants are among the most difficult to obtain and place extremely high demands on the research. Individuals apply for these grants through a host institution. At the same time, they benefit the individual, the academic group, the university and society in general.

The Research Council of Norway is also enthusiastic on behalf of NTNU and the other Norwegian recipients.

"This is super news that shows how the systematic and targeted research efforts are now bearing fruit. I would like to congratulate the great results, and I both hope and believe that NTNU will succeed at least as well in Horizon Europe," says Mari Sundli Tveit, CEO of the Research Council of Norway.

###
West Bengal election 2021: People in Bengal have started casting their votes for 43 seats in the sixth phase of the state's assembly election amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly are being held in eight phases. It started on March 27. Votes will be counted on May 2 with the last phase scheduled to be held on April 29. The elections are being held at a time when the state has been reporting record number of COVID-19 cases over the past few days. It breached the 10,000-mark of daily infections on Wednesday.

The state registered its highest single-day spike of 10,784 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, while 58 people lost their lives.

Here's all you need to know West Bengal Assembly election phase 6:

1. Phase 6 elections are being held in 17 seats in the North 24 Parganas district and nine seats in Nadia -- most of which has a significant presence of the Matuas. Besides, elections are also being held in the nine seats in Uttar Dinajpur district and eight in Purba Bardhaman.

2. The Matua strongholds of Bongaon and Krishnanagar, near the India-Bangladesh border, are crucial seats for the success of any party in the state. Giving citizenship to refugees has emerged as a key poll plank for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the elections. The party will be closely observing the trend here to run a test case for the newly enacted Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the state has claimed that Matua community are already Indian citizens and the BJP is making false claims.

3. Voting is being held in 14,480 polling stations in 43 assembly segments in four districts. Polling will continue till 6.30 pm.

4. A total of 306 candidates are in the fray in this phase. Some of the prominent names in the sixth phase election include BJP's national vice president Mukul Roy, TMC ministers Jyotipriyo Mallick, Chandrima Bhattacharya, CPI(M) leader Tanmay Bhattacharya, TMC candidate, and film director Raj Chakraborty and actor-turned-politician Koushani Mukherjee.

5. According to the election commission, a total of 1.03 crore voters will decide the political fate of 306 candidates in this phase. Of them, 53.21 lakh are men and 50.65 lakh women, while 256 are third gender.

6. The poll panel has deployed as many as 1,071 companies of central forces to ensure free and fair voting. Such elaborate arrangements have been put because during the fourth phase of assembly polls on April 10, five people died, including four who were killed after security forces opened fire in Cooch Behar.Also read: West Bengal Election 2021: Voting dates, election results, full poll schedule, timings, all FAQs
Banele Msimanga is the brand manager of Hunter's Cider and over the past year has worked on the brand creating great consumer experiences like Green Room events, Lock Down House Party, launching a new NPDs like Hunter's Chilled Non-Alcoholic as well Red Apple.

Tell us more about your role and what it entails exactly.

Growing up, what did you want to be?

Tell us about your career: what you studied and why, and how you ended up where you are today?

What do you enjoy most about marketing and working in the FMCG/alcoholic beverages space specifically?

What other sectors impact on your industry?

What are some of your most recent brand campaigns and the rationales behind them?

#HoldMyHunters! Refreshment just got amped up to a BOLD NEW level with NEW Hunters Red Apple.



Enjoy responsibly. Not for persons under 18. #HuntersRefreshes @AwareOrg pic.twitter.com/7liwjnBccG  Hunter's Cider (@hunterscider) March 1, 2021

Tell us about your most successful marketing campaign.

In your opinion, what do you think are the most successful channels for getting your brand message out there?

Any career highlights youd like to share.

Kantar announces South Africa's Top 20 Best Liked Ads for 2018 The top 20 ads have an overwhelming South African flavour, with local ad agencies leading the way. The brands in the ranking reflect "a day in the life" of our consumers, they are all very relevant and relatable, with some great South African humour coming through...

When it comes to branding, what can brands no longer ignore?

If you were mentoring a future you, what career advice would you give to aspiring young marketing and branding professionals?

My role entails bringing a renewed life to a brand so deeply entrenched in South African culture. I get down and dirty to understand the cultural nuances of the youth and distil them back into the brand. As one of the drivers behind this brand, Im here to be at our consumers service.Initially a veterinarian, I loved animals from such a young age and that coupled with being a natural empath. I just wanted to care for all the furry friends in my life. Later, Id hoped I could travel and get paid for it, but the bills started coming in and being a person with a wealth of connections between my two brain spheres balancing the creative and the commercial, marketing ignited a passion in fulfilling a career path for me.I studied at The University of Cape Town where I did my BA in Film, Media English & Web Design. I met a woman called Lauren Wolf who told me that since getting into advertising she was so fulfilled that she felt like shed never worked a day in her life.Our conversations really piqued my interest in marketing. I then did my Post Graduate Specialising in Marketing, and Ive just been having so much fun on my journey. I interned at Distell for the whisky's portfolio. I then got promoted to international marketing co-ordinator, focussing on international wine business and got to travel outside the continent selling my favourite drinks.After that fun year, I became the activation brand manager for Bernini, where my team and I brought the brand back from the bottom shelf and turned it to an affordable luxury for the ladies. I am now brand manager for Hunters Cider and my journey continues.Cooking up crazy ideas and seeing them come to life. This industry is very fast-paced, but its loaded with so much fun as so much of our work is connecting with people through campaigns, events, etc.Theres quite a long value chain of actors that impact the industry, such as advertising and media, hospitality, restaurants, taverns and packaging companies that make glass bottle, cans and label printing manufactures, farming industry for producing apple juice, wine grapes and other raw materials.The most recent brand campaign I worked on was the launch of the Hunters Red Apple variant. Research has shown that younger consumers love experimenting with different brands and flavours to find the right one for them. In fact, they demand new product offerings so that they can stay enticed and continue supporting brands.In the past few years there has been a rise in the fruity flavoured ready to drink space, and it felt only natural for the Hunters brand to tap into these trends and have a delicious offering to suite the pallets of our younger consumer.The new Hunters Red Apple is a little rebellious, a little fruity and a lot of fun. It is a crisp, refreshing cider with characteristics of succulent, sweet red apples, complimented by a mouth-watering taste sensation with a berry nose finish.Our influencers at the launch event loved this product, and they have done a great job in sending it into the market.Green Room Experience, a five city experiential music tour. This was a refreshingly different pop-up party concept featuring a range of immersive interactive zones, thrilling activities with ample Insta traps.We managed to get the event #HuntersGreenRoom in the top ten Twitter trends where the brand achieved some of its best engagement rates.In a space of one month our Instagram account grew from 7,000 followers to 12,000 and Twitter grew from 28,000 to 39,000 followers.This is an experience we are looking forward to bringing back to consumers once the climate allows.Digital and social. With the average daily screen time of 10 hours, you have to communicate with your audience where they are.The first TV commercial I worked on in my career was listed 3rd under South Africa's Top 20 Best Liked Ads for 2018 by Kantar. This year we reached soaring volume sales for Bernini.I also very happy of the innovations Ive worked on that have hit the market and were well-received. I've worked on multiple activations and event properties that have left consumers begging for them to come back and saddened that lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented them from enjoying such experiences.You cannot ignore your core consumer audience. Consumers have become empowered by social media, they are keypad warriors and know the strength of their words in mass can make or break a brand.Be relentless in your ways and dont shy away from sharing the crazy ideas it could be where the magic lives. Always stay hungry and continuously be a student of life; this is the only way to connect to people.
Huang Xiaowei (R), Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, makes an inspection tour to Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality from March 23 to 25. [Chongqing Women's Federation]

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), on March 23-25 made an inspection tour to Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to promote the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping during this year's "two sessions."

During her inspection tour, Huang visited some local revolutionary memorial sites to recall the glorious history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Huang also visited 92-year-old Party member Li Yuzhen and a descendant of Rao Guomo, a former member of the executive committee of the ACWF who voluntarily donated private land and houses to the country. She urged learning from those and other outstanding Party members and carrying forward the glorious traditions and fine conduct of the CPC.

Huang Xiaowei (C), Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, visits a community during her inspection tour to Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [Chongqing Women's Federation]

While visiting a community and a village, Huang shared her understanding of the spirit of General Secretary Xi's important speeches with local women. She also learned about the implementation of local women's federations' publicity and education activities related to the history of the CPC and the role of members of the women's federations' executive committees.

At the People's Court of Yuzhong District, Huang fully affirmed the court and the women's federation of the district for their joint efforts in resolving family disputes in a one-stop manner and doing the work of juvenile protection well.

Huang also inspected a local e-commerce platform with its own women's federation. She spoke highly of the work of the online women's federation and of its role in guiding, serving and contacting more than 5.6 million women internet users.

Huang Xiaowei, Secretary of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, speaks at a symposium during her inspection tour to Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [Chongqing Women's Federation]

During her inspection tour, Huang had in-depth discussions with local representatives from various sectors at a symposium. She noted that it is important to further understand the responsibilities and missions of women and women's federations on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country.

Huang urged women's federations at all levels to carry out publicity and education activities related to the history of the CPC, the country, reform and opening-up, and socialist development at the grassroots level, to implement the campaigns of the women's federations, to do the work of rights protection well, and to deepen reform of women's federations.

She also called for efforts to mobilize women to rally closely around the Party and welcome the Party's centenary with outstanding achievements.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
HOUSTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 3 Men Movers, a woman-owned moving company in Texas, announces paid time off for all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Employees will be allowed to take up to four total hours of paid leave. This benefit was enacted in March 2021, a month before President Joe Biden announced the tax credit for employers offering vaccine-related paid leave. Even though the company plans to utilize the tax credit, they are proud to have created this initiative before there was a financial incentive to do so. Several employees have already taken advantage of this paid leave, putting the company in a great position to have all of its employees vaccinated. This time off is particularly beneficial since many Texas residents have been forced to travel large distances to receive their vaccination.

"3 Men Movers is proud to have offered paid leave for COVID-19 vaccination before there was a tax credit incentive to so."

This benefit is in line with existing paid time-off measures offered by the company for voting in elections and volunteering. 3 Men Movers is also pursuing a plan to increase the base wage for all employees by the end of the year. In a time when other companies are making reductions, this Houston moving company is investing more in its workforce.

Hourly Rate Increase

3 Men Movers is guided by core values of HEART (Hardworking, Ethical, Attitude, Respect & Teamwork). It is by following these values that the company is actively planning to increase the base wage for all employees (with the exception of college internships) in 2021. The current base wage is $16 per hour, and the company has rolled out an ambitious strategy to increase the minimum threshold to $20 per hour by the end of 2021. This wage increase will apply to all full-time employees, regardless of if they are office staff, work in the warehouse, or clean the building. Given that the cost of living has increased while wages have remained stagnant, 3 Men Movers recognizes the importance of paying its employees a livable wage.

Additional Benefits

This generous raise isn't all that the company is doing to take care of its employees. Beyond the vaccine paid leave and base pay increase, the company will continue to offer many benefits that make the company stand out in the moving industry. These include holiday bonuses that were paid out in 2020 despite COVID-19 related business setbacks, and giving employees $3,000 worth of student debt relief by taking advantage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In a year that saw many companies closing or reducing their workforce, 3 Men Movers is proud to announce that in the year 2020 it increased its workforce by 13% year-over-year.

Reflecting on the importance of the wage increase initiative, Jacky Fischer, CEO and Owner of 3 Men Movers, says, "It's about doing the right thing. When employees are stressed about their ability to pay rent or put food on the table, they aren't going to be able to do their best at work. We truly care about our employees, and at a time when other companies are cutting back, 3 Men Movers is giving back."

About 3 Men Movers: 3 Men Movers is a woman-owned business that has demonstrated dedication to its customers and its community through a philanthropic spirit and commitment to honest practices for 35 years. We believe that to have great movers, you must start with good people. That's why with 3 Men Movers you're getting kindhearted experts who go beyond to ensure each customer has an excellent experience. With offices in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas, our local moving company has become recognized as the mover of choice for over 30,000 Texans each year.

For questions please contact:Chelsea Anderson - Director of Marketing 3 Men Movers713-333-6683chelsea@3menmovers.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/local-moving-company-leads-the-way-in-paid-time-off-for-covid-19-vaccination-301275457.html

SOURCE 3 Men Movers
Mumbai, April 22 : Actor Abhishek Bajaj plays a character that is absolutely his opposite in nature, in the second season of the hit web series "Your Honor".

"I got a call for this show in December. For three months, I didn't hear back from them until one day I got a call back from them saying that they'd love to have me onboard the show," Abhishek said.

He added: "This character is very different. It's not usual. It's a vibrant character! Personally, I'm not anything like this character. It's totally opposite to who I am. I'm glad I cracked this one because for actors it's always a great opportunity to play characters that are different from their real personalities" He said that "Your Honor" is originally a superhit show in Israel, and it has also been remade in Hollywood.

"The first season was an absolute hit, with also a great star cast! I'm really looking forward to this season as playing this part will be interesting for me! With this role, as an actor, I'm getting to explore myself; so that's amazing".

The second season of the web show will also feature Mahie Gill and Gulshan Grover, and will stream on Sony LIV.
In other words, Huawei has become a car seller, and the main reason for this transition is the drop in phone sales that the company is trying to deal with as we speak.Huawei was banned by the United States government in mid-May 2019, essentially being blocked from using products, including software and hardware, developed by American firms. Since it was no longer allowed to install Android and Google apps on its devices, sales of Huawei phones declined pretty much all over the world. China remained the companys biggest market where the impact was rather reduced.The Chinese tech behemoth then started focusing on its Android-based operating system. At the same time, it also began exploring other markets that could help offset the decline in the smartphone market.And the automotive industry is a key focus right now, so according to a report , Huawei has adjusted its flagship stores across China to make room for vehicles.The first car thats available in Huawei stores is the SF5, which the company developed in partnership with SERES. Its a hybrid car offering a range of 180 kilometers (112 miles) in electric mode and over 1,000 kilometers (622 miles) in combined mode.Huawei also sells the car online, with the cheapest version available for 216,800 yuan (close to $33,500 at todays exchange rates).In addition to the SF5, Huawei has also been involved in developing a new Arcfox model called Alpha S, announced earlier this week at the Shanghai auto show. Furthermore, its already working with GAC on a fully-electric self-driving car that could see the daylight in 2024, with Huawei to be in charge of providing the autonomous driving system.
A Queensland police sergeant is back on duty after recovering from blood clots he developed three days after receiving a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration and health authorities are still investigating whether there's any link between the man's condition and the vaccine.

Queensland police said the 40-year-old officer had suffered deep vein thrombosis after knee surgery in 2009, but recovered in less than 12 months.

The officer, who worked patrolling the state's quarantine hotels, received the COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday.

'Shortly after, symptoms developed which warranted further medical attention,' police said in a statement on Friday.

The Brisbane police officer was in hospital with blood clots three days after he got the Pfizer vaccine, but he is now back on duty (pictured, a Brisbane nurse with the vaccine)

'Federal health authorities are working to determine if there is a link between the sergeant receiving the vaccination and symptoms he experienced shortly after.

'He is now back on duty.'

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said on Wednesday it was too early to say if the incident is linked to the vaccine.

'What people should be very confident in though, is that our medical authorities are determined to investigate any such incident and provide that information and data, nationally and indeed internationally,' he said.

'It will be thoroughly investigated, our TGA is one of the strictest in the world.'

Pfizer said it closely monitored all reports of adverse reactions and shared relevant information with the TGA.

It said there was no evidence that clots a risk associated with the use of its COVID-19 vaccine.

'Pfizer considers that the benefit-risk profile of Comirnaty in preventing COVID-19 remains positive,' a spokesman said.

People under 50 are being advised to take that vaccine over the AstraZeneca jab amid concerns about rare blood clots.

So far three people have developed clots in Australia after being given the AstraZeneca vaccine.

News of another vaccinated patient developing blood clots emerged on the same day three mass vaccination hubs were launched in Melbourne. Pictured are people lining up outside The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on Wednesday

They include 48-year-old Genene Norris who died in NSW last week.

The TGA said her death was likely linked to her vaccination.

Ms Norris had several chronic health conditions when she received the jab on April 8. She became unwell three or four days later before dying on April 15.

The other two who developed blood clots likely linked to their AstraZeneca jab are a woman in Western Australia and a man in Victoria, both in their 40s.

At least 14 people in Australia have had allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine, but none have developed blood clots.

Johnson & Johnson also halted the rollout of its own vaccine in Europe last week after US officials recommended a pause due to six detected cases of very rare blood clots.
DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- March of Dimes , the leader in the fight for the health of all moms and babies, and longtime partner Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation are working together to tackle America's maternal and infant health crisis. As both organizations continue to address health inequity across the country, the partnership in Colorado aims to address the racial disparities and social determinants of health that have disproportionately impacted Black mothers.

The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) recently reported that racial and ethnic health disparities in the U.S. have worsened over the past two decades. In order to achieve the Healthy People 2030 goals for Pregnancy and Childbirth, maternity care systems need to address disparities that threaten maternal and infant health. Researchers have identified implicit bias among health care providers as a potential contributor to these disparities. In response to these findings, March of Dimes developed Breaking Through Implicit Bias in Maternal Healthcare training, in collaboration with Quality Interactions, to improve patient-provider communications and treatment decisions, contributing to improved quality of care at a critical intervention point. The course provides an overview of implicit bias, its impact on the maternal infant health crisis, the history of structural racism in the United States, and strategies for providers to both mitigate racial bias in maternity care and commit to a culture of equity. The American Hospital Association recognizes the value of this important training program and the potential benefits of its use by health care providers across the country to better identify and remedy implicit bias. Denver Health has been selected as local health equity partner to implement this important work.

"The U.S. is in the midst of a maternal and infant health crisis, which is particularly devastating to women and babies of color. Data shows that the U.S. remains among the most dangerous developed nations in the world for childbirth," said Dr. Rahul Gupta, March of Dimes Chief Medical and Health Officer, Senior Vice President, and Interim Chief Scientific Officer. "Roughly every 12 hours, a woman dies from pregnancy-related causes, and the CDC reports that 60 percent are preventable. Programs like these, supported by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, are invaluable in making a positive impact for moms and babies."

Over the past decade, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation's parent foundation has contributed nearly $8 million to support March of Dimes programs aimed at reducing premature birth that have reached more than 50,000 pregnant women across the country. These programs have had a significant impact with only 7.3% of participants in group prenatal care delivering prematurely, compared to a national average of 10%.

"As a healthcare leader in Colorado for more than 80 years, Anthem stands ready to work with community partners like the March of Dimes to address longstanding health inequities affecting women and babies of color," said Jonathan Sollender, M.D., regional vice president and senior clinical officer for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado. "Supporting efforts that address the social drivers of health and raise the quality of care will lead to healthier moms and babies in our state."

The grant also supports programs for moms and babies, such as interconception care programs, which help new moms get information and services to promote birth spacing, smoking cessation, and mental health.

About March of Dimes

March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We support research, lead programs and provide education and advocacy so that every baby can have the best possible start. Building on a successful 80-year legacy of impact and innovation, we empower every mom and every family. Visit marchofdimes.org or nacersano.org for more information. Visit shareyourstory.org for comfort and support. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter .

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's commitment to improving lives and communities. Through strategic partnerships and programs, the Foundation addresses the social drivers that will help create a healthier generation of Americans in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on critical initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates' donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation .

SOURCE March of Dimes Inc.

Related Links

http://www.marchofdimes.org


When you borrow money today, you are robbing your future self of funds you may need. And you may then perpetuate a debt cycle where you generate money by assuming more debt.

And as someone who has struggled with debt, I am not judgmental or pompous. The truth is that many of us start life with crushing, unimaginable debt without appreciating the long-term consequences.

Consider the unremedied scourge of student loan debt. Student loan debt is not bad within itself.

The problem is that young people become psychologically mired in a self-perpetuating debt cycle mindset before they even graduate.

Over 43.2 million Americans collectively owe over $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. The average American college student owes over $40,000 in student loan debt.

When students enter working life saddled with student loan debt, buying a car or house, rites of passage in achieving the American Dream become cost-prohibitive mirages.

The average cost of a new car is $40,000  most Americans are now buying used cars in the aftermath of the pandemic.

And the typical price of a new house is $350,000.

What if I told you that, under qualifying conditions, several states would pay off your student loans if you moved there and bought a home?



Illinois Smart Buy Initiative

The typical cost of a house in Illinois $223,000. If you qualify for Illinois Smart Buy program, you may only have to worry about raising $180,000 of that estimate.

Smart Buy is a $25 million mortgage program initiative that is designed to help shed up to $40,000 in student loan debt if you buy a home in the state. If you qualify, you may get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and an additional loan for $5,000 at 0% interest.

The sweetener to this deal is the student loan forgiveness portion. A Smart Buy affiliated mortgage lender will pay off your student debt by $40,000 or a 15% equivalence of the homes value, whichever is lowest.

To qualify for this program your credit score must be 640; you must live in the home for three years. And you can only apply the Smart

Buy program to a new home purchase. In other words, you cannot use this program retroactively for a home you already own or recently bought.

There are also income limit and home price limit qualifications relative to the Illinois city or county you plan to reside in  you can check that out here.

Maryland Mortgage Smart Buy

The average cost of a house in Maryland is $349,000. If you qualify for Marylands Mortgage Smart Buy initiative, then you will only have to raise $319,000.

Suppose you qualify for the Maryland Mortgage Smart Buy initiative. In that case, an affiliated mortgage lender pays off $30,000 of your student loan debt or discount 15% of the homes value relative to that debt, whichever is lower.

However, one catch is that this student loan forgiveness is only viable if at least two borrowers apply. And at least one of you must have paid off all of your student loan debt before applying.

Consider Your Options

If you consider these are other student loan forgiveness programs via mortgage discount, always remember there are qualifications and limits. Even if you qualify, these programs wont pay off all of your student loan debt if you owe more than $1,000 to $40,000, depending on the program.

Talk to a financial advisor if you are struggling with student loan debt.

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Check out these helpful tools to help you save more. For investing advice, visit The Motley Fool.
Less than a year after launching its TikTok clone, Instagram is bringing ads to Reels. The full-screen ads will be arriving first in India, Germany, Brazil and Australia before landing in more countries in the coming months.

The spots are similar to Instagrams ads for Stories. Ads can run up to 30 seconds, and users can interact with them the way they would with organic posts (including skipping them altogether). Ads can also include shop now buttons, according to screenshots shared by the company.

Facebook is also experimenting with a new ad format for Stories: sticker ads. Meant for influencers, the ads allow creators to monetize their Facebook Stories with ads that look like stickers and receive a portion of the resulting revenue. The brand-created stickers will allow influencers to link to specific products their followers can buy.

Instagram

A spokesperson noted that its the first time Facebook has experimented with a revenue-sharing feature within Stories, but declined to provide details of the arrangements. The feature will be available to a select group of advertisers and creators. Sticker ads is the latest of several monetization tools Instagram has explored. It also allows creators to sell badges and products in live streams, and shares revenue with creators who run ads in IGTV.

Updated to clarify that sticker ads are coming to Facebook Stories, not Instagram,
Earth Day 2021 erupted Thursday with announcements about climate change fighting, varying widely from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiling enhanced goals, U.S. truck manufacturers touting biofuels and the mayors of some of Floridas largest cities kicking off a friendly competition.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced a contest to see who can push their communities the fastest toward a carbon-free finish line.

But the mayors are really trying to motivate other mayors, industry and business to support the states transition away from fossil fuels and greenhouse gases.

Orlandos goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2050, while the other three cities have a variety of city-government and citywide goals. On Thursday, President Joe Biden proposed an energy policy for the nation that would reach carbon neutrality by no later than 2050.

We are here today to talk about how the combined power of Floridas mayors and cities can move public opinion on the all-important issue of climate change and carbon neutrality, said Nicholas Glover, vice president for advocacy at the Tampa Bay Chamber in a virtual event held Thursday to launch the mayors competition.

The idea for a competition came from a commentary written jointly last year by the mayors of Orlando, Tampa and Miami about cities leading the states efforts to cut reliance on fossil fuels.

Orlandos sustainability director Chris Castro said during the launch event that the competition is meant to harness the collective influence and credibility of our Florida mayors to create a new kind of climate caucus in the state, and bring along small, medium and large-size cities as well as counties.

More about the mayors competition, called The Florida Race to Zero, is at floridaracetozero.com

kspear@orlandosentinel.com
BOSTON -- Radiation therapy is used as a treatment for more than half of all cancer patients and can be highly effective at shrinking tumors and killing cancer cells. But radiation treatment can also damage healthy tissue, including tissue in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. This tissue injury can lead to oral mucositis, esophagitis, and proctitis -- painful and sometimes debilitating tissue damage. It's estimated that these injuries occur in over 200,000 patients in the U.S. each year. In a new paper published in Advanced Science, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and MIT describe efforts to develop a new personalized, 3D-printed device intended to shield patients who are undergoing radiation therapy and prevent radiation-induced toxicity. The work to date has been conducted in preclinical models and uses simulations to predict effects in humans, laying groundwork for clinical trials for patients.

"When we treat patients with radiation, we do our best to minimize the area of healthy tissue that receives radiation and break up treatment into small doses, but it's a fine balance. We want to administer the most dose we can to shrink the tumor without causing damage to healthy tissue," said lead author James Byrne, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Traverso lab at the Brigham and MIT and a senior resident physician in Radiation Oncology at Brigham, MGH, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Our goal through this project was to find an innovative solution that could offer personalized protection for patients."

Byrne collaborated with a multi-disciplinary team on the work, including experts in radiation oncology, physicists, mechanical engineers, and gastroenterologists.

"It's not uncommon for gastroenterologists to be called in to consult on a case to support a patient who is experiencing side effects of radiation in the esophagus, small intestine or anywhere else in the gastrointestinal tract," said corresponding author C. Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, a gastroenterologist and biomedical engineer in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Brigham and MIT. "A couple of years ago, James and I began brainstorming -- what if we could develop a shield that could help protect a significant portion of normal tissue in the radiation field?"

Byrne and colleagues tested a broad range of materials -- both solid and liquid -- from which to construct the radioprotective shields. The team focused on high atomic number (Z) materials, which can prevent gamma and X-rays from passing through, and other materials to reduce radiation backscatter. Using CT scans from patients, the team created designs unique to individual patients and used 3D-printing to generate them. They tested their shields in rats and pigs. They found that the shields could protect healthy tissue in the mouth and rectum in rats with good feasibility and reproducibility of placement in pigs. In simulations of human patients, the team estimated that the device could reduce radiation to areas in the mouth by 30 percent for head and neck cancer patients, and in the gastrointestinal tract by 15 percent in prostate cancer patients, without reducing radiation dose to the tumor.

The authors note that this work is an initial proof-of-concept study and additional investigations will be needed to translate the devices for use in the clinic. However, their results so far suggest that personalized shields could someday help reduce the risk of radiation toxicity.

"Our results support the feasibility of personalized devices for reducing the side effects of radiation therapy," said Byrne. "This personalized approach could be applicable to a variety of cancers and holds the potential to reduce the burden of radiation injury and toxicity for our patients."

###

Video

Credit: Giancarlo Traverso, GT Reel Productions

Long version (with music):

https:/ / youtu. be/ zfINA4gVKkc

Long version (without music):

https:/ / youtu. be/ dQK1916DNuA

Short/Social Media Version (00:36):

https:/ / youtu. be/ 511hQa6frHA

Funding for this work was provided by grants from Joint Center for Radiation Therapy Internal Award, the National Institutes of Health (EB-000244), and Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award. Traverso was supported in part by the Karl van Tassel (1925) Career Development Professorship and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT.

Other authors who contributed to this work include Cameron C. Young, Jacqueline N. Chu, Jennifer Pursley, Mu Xian Chen, Adam J. Wentworth, Annie Feng, Ameya R. Kirtane, Kyla A. Remillard, Cindy I. Hancox, Mandar S. Bhagwat, Nicole Machado, Tiffany Hua, Siddartha M. Tamang, Joy E. Collins, Keiko Ishida, Alison Hayward, Sarah Becker, Samantha K. Edgington, Jonathan D. Schoenfeld, William R. Jeck, and Chin Hur.

Paper cited: Byrne, JD et al. "Personalized radiation attenuating materials for gastrointestinal mucosal protection" Advanced Science DOI: 10.1002/advs.202100510

Brigham Health, a global leader in creating a healthier world, consists of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital, the Brigham and Women's Physicians Organization and many related facilities and programs. With more than 1,000 inpatient beds, approximately 60,000 inpatient stays and 1.7 million outpatient encounters annually, Brigham Health's 1,200 physicians provide expert care in virtually every medical and surgical specialty to patients locally, regionally and around the world. An international leader in basic, clinical and translational research, Brigham Health has nearly 5,000 scientists, including physician-investigators, renowned biomedical researchers and faculty supported by over $700 million in funding. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and now, with 19,000 employees, that rich history is the foundation for its commitment to research, innovation, and community. Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and dedicated to educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. For more information, resources, and to follow us on social media, please visit brighamandwomens.org.
Mayfield Man Charged With Assault of Policeman

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MCCRACKEN COUNTY - A Mayfield man was charged with assault of a police officer after he was stopped in McCracken County on Wednesday.Deputies stopped a vehicle on Oaks Road for an alleged traffic violation, and officers determined that the man had given them a false name. Deputies identified the man as 20-year-old Alan Jackson and learned he had three active warrants for his arrest.Jackson reportedly resisted arrest and fled on foot. During the chase, he allegedly threw a container with 11 grams of methamphetamine.When deputies caught up with him, Jackson allegedly hit a deputy in the head. Officers used a taser to gain control of the situation, and he was arrested.Jackson is charged with third-degree assault of a police officer, first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (meth), resisting arrest, providing false identifying information, tampering with physical evidence, and the original three arrest warrants.He was lodged in the McCracken County Jail.
The U.S. has given Iran examples of sanctions it could lift as part of efforts to return to compliance with the 2015 Obama-era nuclear agreement that former President Trump withdrew from in 2018, a senior State Department official said Wednesday in a briefing with reporters.

"We have provided Iran with a number of examples of the kinds of sanctions that, we believe, we would need to lift in order to come back into compliance, and the sanctions that we believe we would not need to lift, and we would not lift as part of a return to compliance with the JCPOA," a senior State Department official said.

"I think the United States has a better idea of what it will need to do to come back into full compliance with the JCPOA. And Iran is a better idea of what it will need to do to come back into compliance with the JCPOA," the official said.

"Clarification doesn't necessarily mean consensus," the official said, adding "the distance that remains to be traveled is greater than the distance that we've traveled so far."

Part of the challenge for Biden officials is unraveling a complicated web of the nearly 1,500 sanctions imposed by the former Trump administration that included putting in place sanctions that were originally lifted as part of the JCPOA, but then doubling penalties under the labels of support for terrorism and other descriptions.

"The Trump administration deliberately  imposed sanctions by invoking labels, terrorism labels and other labels, even though it was done purely for the purpose of preventing or hindering a return to the compliance of the JCPOA," The Hill cited the official as saying. "So that has made it more difficult. We have to go through every sanction, to look at whether they were legitimately or not legitimately imposed. So I'm not going to get into precisely the examples that we gave, but we gave Iran examples."
MINNEAPOLIS  It was shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and all chatter ceased in the roll-call room for the Fourth Police Precinct in North Minneapolis. Everyones attention was glued to the television on the wall.

Then came the verdict: Derek Chauvin was guilty on all counts, including murder, for killing George Floyd last May. The station house stayed silent, the officers processing what the verdict meant after a year of tension and conflict, said Inspector Charles Adams, the precincts commanding officer.

It was just like, wow, Inspector Adams said.

For him, it was a relief  he felt that Mr. Chauvin had been wrong and that his actions, kneeling on Mr. Floyds neck for more than nine minutes, cast a negative light on policing.

But the verdict did little to end months of upheaval and anxiety in his profession.

So much is being thrown at us as law enforcement officials, Inspector Adams said. Were unsure how were going to police in the future.
A bill that aims to essentially ban law enforcement and intelligence agencies from buying data from Clearview AI has drawn bipartisan support from 20 senators. If the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act were to pass as is, agencies wouldn't be able to buy location data from third-party brokers without a warrant.

The bill would prevent agencies from purchasing data on people in the US and Americans outside of the country if the information was procured from "a users account or device, or via deception, hacking, violations of a contract, privacy policy, or terms of service," according to Senator Ron Wyden's office. If the bill becomes law, Clearview AI would no longer be able to sell much of the data it has obtained to US government agencies.

To power its facial recognition technology, Clearview AI reportedly scraped billions of images from social media platforms without consent. The likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Venmo sent the company cease-and-desist letters. The company is using the First Amendment as a defense against those demands as well as lawsuits.

Today I'm introducing my legislation to put a stop to the federal government using its credit card to end-run the Fourth Amendment. My #4thAmendmentIsNotForSale Act will make it illegal for the government to buy your location data without a warrant.  Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) April 21, 2021

"Clearview AI only collects publicly available photos from the open internet that are accessible from any computer anywhere in the world," Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That told Engadget in a statement. "We look forward to engaging with policymakers on the best ways to protect consumer data and continue to be a resource for law enforcement agencies to battle crimes against children, human trafficking, financial fraud, and domestic terrorism. While we havent seen this particular bill yet, we plan to carefully review it and provide feedback if given the opportunity."

The Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act also seeks to shut loopholes that allow intelligence agencies to obtain metadata on Americans' calls, emails and texts to loved ones outside of the country without a FISA Court review. In addition, the bill expands current privacy laws to cover companies that own cell towers and data cables and looks to tackle surveillance on a few other fronts.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler and House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren are set to introduce a House version of the bill, as Motherboard notes. Along with sponsorship from a fifth of senators, Wyden's office says that a number of civil liberties, civil rights, technology and free speech groups are backing the legislation. They include the American Civil Liberties Union, Color of Change, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Mozilla, NAACP and the Project on Government Oversight.

Doing business online doesnt amount to giving the government permission to track your every movement or rifle through the most personal details of your life, Wyden said in a statement. Theres no reason information scavenged by data brokers should be treated differently than the same data held by your phone company or email provider. This bill closes that legal loophole and ensures that the government cant use its credit card to end-run the Fourth Amendment.
As men continue to bicker over the future and control of Afghanistan, I have already lost my home and my country. I worked in Kabul as a television journalist for 12 years, and finally left in November after threats to my life.

I know how the Taliban plan to shape the future of my country, and their vision of my country has no space for me.

For what turned out to be one of my last assignments, I traveled from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, in October to report on the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Like many Afghans, I was somewhat hopeful that the talks might help end the long, pitiless war in our country.

In Doha, I had the opportunity to interview members of the Taliban negotiating team at the conference hall where the talks were being held. The experience reinforced my sense that postwar Afghanistan, dominated by the Taliban, was bound to be a bleak place for Afghan women.

The incident that crystallized that dreadful feeling was my interview with Sohail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban. I approached Shaheen for an interview in a room full of people. Like many young women in Kabul, I do not wear a head scarf. He couldnt hide his disdain at my presence and set about to ignore me. I didnt budge. I refused to be invisible and continued pointing my phone camera at him while asking my questions.

Afghan women live with a sense of being invisible. In our workplaces or in meetings like this one, our voices go unheard, our existence barely registered. Our presence in any public space is celebrated as gender equality in and outside Afghanistan, but all we experience in daily life is inequality and discrimination. It filled me with rage.

My encounter with Shaheen filled me with terror. When he finally answered one of my questions, his eyes moved in every direction but mine: He examined the walls, the carpet on the floor, the chairs, the door. He couldnt look at me, even while I stood in front of him. It was as if he saw me as an embodiment of sin and evil. I felt unsafe, even in a room full of people, thousands of miles away from Afghanistan.

The Talibans notions of religion, politics and governance are based on a combination of a very orthodox interpretation of Islam, Shariah law and tribal values. The Emirate they established in Afghanistan in the 1990s, which they are now seeking to establish again, barred women and girls from most jobs and forbade us to continue our education at schools and colleges, turning us into prisoners in our homes.

The Taliban see their Islamic government as duty bound to safeguard Muslim society from corruption and moral decadence, which they blame on the presence of women in public spaces, including universities and offices. They want to reduce us to bearing children.

The wars that men started and fought in Afghanistan have disproportionately devastated the lives of women. Yet the compositions of the peace delegations from Afghanistan reveal that women are barely considered as worthy of having a say. It is this knowledge and the memory of the Taliban rule in the 1990s that make me fear for the future of Afghan women.

My pessimism proved correct. On Nov. 9, a few weeks after I returned to Kabul from Doha, I received a call informing me that my name was on the hit list. Several journalists and rights activists had been assassinated in October. Some more were killed in November.

About 200 female journalists in Afghanistan stopped going to work, and 50 journalists, including 15 female journalists, had to leave Afghanistan. According to Nai, a nonprofit group that supports Afghan journalists, of the 1,900 female journalists who were working in the country in January 2020, about 200 had left the profession by November. After I received the call about the threat to me, I took the extremely painful decision to leave my family and my country, and seek safety elsewhere.

In November, gunmen attacked Kabul University and killed at least 21 students; it was not clear who was responsible. Fear and confusion took over Kabul. All we could be certain of is that the killings of journalists and civil society activists were deliberate and organized.

The Afghan authorities are not competent to investigate and prove culpability, the Taliban have denied they are responsible for these killings, and no one knows whether the hit list really exists or who created it. Yet the Talibans enmity toward the media is no secret. In 2016, the Taliban threatened to kill Afghan journalists if they continued their unfair coverage of the group. They carried out their threat and killed seven journalists working for Tolo TV.

The Taliban have a long history of using assassinations to heighten the sense of insecurity among the people. The inability of the Afghan government and security forces to stop such attacks exposes their failures.

The Taliban have come close to achieving their goals through the use of force and military supremacy. After the United States concluded it couldnt win the war in Afghanistan, even after two decades of fighting the Taliban, it entered into negotiations with them last year. That decision offered the Taliban greater legitimacy than they had ever enjoyed.

The rights and status of Afghan women, their access to education and employment, and the creation of a relatively free media have become symbols of what is possible in Afghanistan. With the United States and its allies changing the goal posts, those freedoms are now imperiled.

I believe an important factor in changing American calculations regarding Afghanistan was also the failure of governance and the widespread corruption in the Afghan government, its institutions and the broader Kabul elite. Afghans need to be introspective about our own failures. We need to talk about how to avoid yet more violence and to protect the rights and dignity of all Afghan citizens, men and women.

I am now in the United States. I am safe but longing for my home, wondering about the future of my country and my family. I cant shake off the despair and the sense that Afghanistan has been abandoned by the world. We might lose most of what we have gained in the past two decades if the Taliban return to power. The future looks bleak, but Afghanistan cant afford to stop trying to find a better way to move forward.

Forotan is an Afghan journalist. This essay was translated from the Dari by Aziz Hakimi. This op-ed was first published by the New York Times.
When we understand the context within which an eye for an eye appears and the compassionate nature of our God, the words take on a much richer meaning. We see in them not anger or vengeance but rather a Fathers loving care.

When most people hear the phrase an eye for an eye, they immediately think of vengeance. Many become confused when they read Jesus seemingly contradictory words calling for self-sacrificing love in His famous sermon on the mount. Still others cite this Levitical law of an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth as evidence of Gods brutality.

Upon first glance, Gods words, transcribed by Moses, certainly appear exacting:

Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. 21 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 24:17-22, ESV).

But what if weve misunderstood Gods intent? What if, in fact, this seemingly harsh endorsement for revenge was actually an act of mercy?

Photo Credit:  Getty Images/fizkes





What Does "An Eye for an Eye" Mean - Historical Context

As with all biblical text, Gods statement regarding life for life, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth, must be read in its historical and literary context. He gave Moses what scholars refer to as the Levitical law shortly after their escape from Egypt. After living under such oppression in a pagan land, the Israelites hadnt a clue how to relate to God or govern themselves. And so, two months into their journey to the Promised Land, God called Moses, their leader up to Mount Sinai to receive whats known as the Ten Commandments. These guidelines for living were never meant to confine. Rather, in teaching Israel how to relate to God and one another, they pointed them to freedom.

Jesus summarized and simplified Gods rules when He said the most important one was to love the Lord as the One true God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31, NIV).

Gods original directives, then, guided the people in their relationships with God and one another and clarified what loving interactions dont look like. The people were to honor, obey, and worship God and treat one another with the same kindness and respect with which they wanted to be treated. With these rules for living established, God then gave the priests, ancient Israels governing body, what scholars refer to as the Levitical laws.

How Cultures Enforced "An Eye for an Eye"

Leviticus 24, which speaks of an eye for an eye coincides with Exodus 21; both detail laws for governing the nation. These ordinances were not meant to encourage revenge or to be used in interpersonal relationships. In fact, many scholars suggest Rabbis of the Talmud never took the phrase an eye for an eye literally but rather viewed it as a guideline for appropriate monetary compensation. In other words, the one at fault needed to compensate the victim for all damages incurred. Our courts operate in a similar manner today when one makes restitution for medical bills, lost wages, and any physical and emotional suffering experienced.

An eye for an eye demonstrated that all life had inherent and irreplaceable value. This wouldve been a revolutionary concept during Bible times when neighboring nations enforced varying penalties based on ones status. For example, ancient Babylons Hammurabi Law Code treated slaves, commoners, men, women, and the nobility differently. This occurred in ancient Egypt as well. For example, a child who murdered their mother or father was tortured in horrific ways, laid on a bed of thorns, then burned alive, while a parent who killed a child merely had to hold the dead body for three days and nights. Such practices were unacceptable to God. Scripture made it clear by including the sojourner and native-born alike that all mankind has equal value and therefore must be treated equally.

Revolutionary Mercy in Just Punishment

In many parts of the ancient world, the accused often experienced cruel and severe punishments. In ancient Egypt, those who stole a substantial amount could lose a nose, their hands, or feet, or face execution. Gods legal system, however, elevated reasonable and fair justice. The phrase, an eye for an eye, could also be stated as, Ones punishment must be equal to but not greater than the crime.

David Guzik from the Enduring Word suggests Gods statement actually reveals Gods mercy. Many people have taken eye for eye, tooth for tooth as a command, he wrote. Instead, God intended it as a limitso no man or judge would be able to make up His own judgement.

Did Jesus Contradict 'An Eye for an Eye'

Some people find Jesus quotation of Leviticus 24 confusing and contradictory (Matthew 5). His statement came at the conclusion of His discussion on how to live in a way that honors God. He told the people, You have heard that it was said, Eye for Eye and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also, (Matthew 5:38-39, NIV). He continued in verses 43-44: You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate youre your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Was He refuting the law? According to scholars, no. Jesus was speaking against the Pharisees legalistic misappropriation of Gods rules. As popular theologian David Jeremiah states, The sermon on the Mount put the spirit or intent back into the letter of the law.

Bible commentator Joseph Benson agreed. Speaking of the Levitical passage, he suggested that, beginning in Matthew 5:38, Jesus intended to counteract and correct abuses of the law, which was common among the Jews, who carried their resentments to the utmost lengths.

This was never Gods intent. He gave us the law to create an orderly and fair governing system among the ancient Jews. These rules were designed to protect and unite, not harm and divide. Seeing the gross and selfish abuse of Gods commands, Jesus pointed all who would listen to a truth revealed within the very first pages of Scripture: Gods heart and instructions are driven by love from beginning to end.

When we understand the context within which an eye for an eye appears and the compassionate nature of our God, the words take on a much richer meaning. We see in them not anger or vengeance but rather a Fathers loving care.

Further Reading

What Does "An Eye for an Eye" Mean?

Eye For An Eye - Biblical Meaning and Significance

Why Did God Allow for an Eye for an Eye in the Old Testament?

Photo Credit:  Ruskpp

Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast. Shes addressed womens groups, Bible studies, and writers across the nation. Shes the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com.

As the founder of Wholly Loved Ministries, shes passionate about helping women experience Christs freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next womens event and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.





This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy to read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. It is our hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God's Word in relation to your life today.

This Is the Day the Lord Has Made

Iron Sharpens Iron

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Faith without Works Is Dead

Be Anxious for Nothing
Taking the time to show our appreciation is as rewarding for us as the people we acknowledge.(VH-studio/Shutterstock)

The Goodness and Gifts of Gratitude

Our acts of appreciation can lift others and leave us with fewer regrets

A young man I know drives to work from Front Royal to the traffic-tangled roads of Northern Virginia. He recently told a mutual acquaintance that he uses the hour-long trek to prepare his mind for the days tasks.

On the way home, however, he spends that same drive decompressing from work and readying himself to cheerfully greet his wife and young children. When he arrives home, his first act is to tell his wife how much he appreciates all she has done for their family that day.

I wish Id possessed his wisdom when I was his age.

In the movie Cool Hand Luke, the warden of a prison strikes an inmate, Luke, with his club and then utters one of the films best-known lines: What weve got here is failure to communicate.

Today we often have a failure to appreciate.

Most of us, myself included, often fail to express our gratitude for the gifts bestowed on us by others.

An employee goes above and beyond the call of duty putting together a special report for her boss, delivering vital information well ahead of a deadline, but she receives no more recognition than a nod of the head. The wife who has spent all day with the children hands them over to her husband as soon as he steps through the door without asking one question about his day. The grown children who receive money or gifts for their birthdays forget all about writing a thank you note or making a phone call of appreciation.

In my case, Ive frequently failed to say thank you for good deeds and gifts I have received at the hands of others. I have wished many times that I would have thanked my wife more often for her love and care for me and our children. I wish I had told my mother before she died how grateful I was that she had taught me the values of hard work, perseverance, tender love, and forgiveness. I hope that others who have influenced meteachers, employers, friends, and even family membersknow of my gratitude for the lessons they imparted and the help they provided.

There are two things Ive learned about gratitude. First, when our loved ones die and you wish youd told them how much theyd done for you, its too late. As I write these words, I am thinking of an old college professor and good friend who surely knew of his powerful impact on my life, but I never directly expressed my thanks to him before he died.

Second, while those who have helped us are still alive, its never too late to express our appreciation for them. In my ninth-grade year at Southwest Junior High School in Forsyth County, North Carolina, Mr. Darden taught us a block class of literature and geography. He was an excellent teacher, and 30 years later, when I began teaching, I recreated some of his projects in my own classes. After another 10 years of teaching, I wrote him a note of thanks for all he had done for us. He replied with a kind letter, happily surprised, I think, that someone had remembered his efforts, and he also encouraged me in my own teaching.

Expressing our gratitude for a job well done or for a gift is really quite simple.

Suppose that employee I mentioned above works overtime to get you the information you need. Pay your compliments on her hard work with a personal note or even some flowers as well as a spoken thank you. When a spouse returns at the end of a long day, offer them a word of appreciation. If Grandma, Uncle John, or anyone else sends you a gift, take the five minutes needed to write out a thank-you note, address an envelope, slap on a stamp, and put it in the mailbox.

There are plenty of websites explaining the great blessings of bestowing such appreciation, not just for the recipient of your appreciation but for you as well. Expressing gratitude doesnt just help the receiver, it also makes the givers healthier and happier. It deepens our relationships and even affects our physical health, allowing us to sleep better and increasing our energy levels.

When we sincerely offer such appreciation, we strengthen the bonds of our families, our enterprises, our communities, and even our country.

Even more importantly, its the right thing to do.

Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels, Amanda Bell and Dust On Their Wings, and two works of non-fiction, Learning As I Go and Movies Make The Man. Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog.

This article was originally published on Intellectual Takeout.
India has stepped forward as the first responder when it comes to humanitarian assistance or disaster relief in the region, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, adding that Indian military medical teams contributed to stabilising public health situations in several countries including Kuwait, Madagascar and the Maldives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the ICWA-USI International Gallipoli Virtual Seminar on Thursday, Jaishankar highlighted that India has been the largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping with 50 missions and 253,000 soldiers, in addition to police personnel.

"It's worth recalling that Indian soldiers during World War were motivated neither by conquests nor requisition. Their driving force was military ethics, honour and dignity of a professional soldier. This shaped their self-perception and behaviour aborad, building an image of discipline and responsibilities, standards with which the Indian military is associated at home and abroad. It's particularly relevant to an India that's now poised to enter a different phase of its evolution," he noted.

Asserting that the "exemplary demeanour" of Indian soldiers in World War I has set India on the long road to peacekeeping, Jaishankar said: "With 50 Missions 253,000 soldiers, in addition to Police personnel, India has been the largest contributor to UN Peacekeeping."

The minister noted that in a world that is less multilateral than it should be, the "common good is increasingly a national initiative".

"India has step forward as the first responder when it comes to humanitarian assistance or disaster relief. We have seen that often seen whether it is a civil war in Yemen or earthquake in Nepal, cyclone in Mozambique or mudslides in Sri Lanka," he said.

"Some of the travails that the COVID-19 subjected us to were also addressed by Indian military deployment. The military medical teams contributed to stabilising public health situations in Kuwait, the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros last year. Challenges, however, are not only in the time of crisis. The Global commons struggles every day with the threat of maritime security. the danger of terrorism and organised are ever-present," he said.

Jaishankar stressed that the responsibility of the current time will have to be borne by those who have the capability and willingness to do so.

"Time and change are making natural disaster more frequent. Ideally, every significant challenge should have been addressed by a great mechanism or regime. However, the realities are far sadder. It is clear that responsibility for the current time will have to be borne by those who have the capability and willingness to do so," he added.

(ANI)

Also Read: Karnataka HC directs state govt to ensure timely assistance, relief to senior citizens during pandemic
This year's annual 'brutally honest Oscar ballot' from The Hollywood Reporter is picking apart the Best Picture nominees for Sunday's 93rd Academy Awards, and suggests that due to the pandemic's adverse effect on the movie business, the eight films up for prizes have been decidedly underwhelming.

The tradition sees critics and Oscar voters give their unfiltered opinion on the movies that have been bolstered with five-star reviews in relentless marketing campaigns, aggressively aimed at voters in the hope their film will win the top trophies on Hollywood's biggest night.

This year, an anonymous male Academy voter - said to be Oscar-nominated himself - has let rip to THR on the frontrunners, including Netflix's lavish ode-to-Hollywood drama Mank, about alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (played by Gary Oldman) as he races to finish Citizen Kane, which the voter describes as 'boring.'

'Boring': Netflix drama Mank has been panned by an anonymous Oscars voter, despite it being nominated for Best Picture at the 93rd Academy Awards this Sunday

'I f****ing love David Fincher as a filmmaker,' the voter writes. 'But Mank is boring and indulgent and too clever for its own good.' They also say Oldman, 63, should not win for Best Actor because he won in 2018 and the film - which cost $25million - 'isn't great.'

While streaming giant Netflix is known for splashing the cash on their content, this voter complains he could 'feel the digital' in Mank, suggesting it was not cinematic enough and ruled it out for Best Cinematography.

Mank's Amanda Seyfried - who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress - was also deemed 'not winner-level' and just 'totally fine.'

Complaints: Korean indie Minari, which has already scooped up a handful of trophies during awards season, was described as being 'excruciatingly slow'

However, the film did score better for the voter when it came to the categories of Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.

Korean indie Minari, which has already scooped up a handful of trophies during awards season, was described as being 'excruciatingly slow' for the voter, although 'beautiful.'

The film tells the story of a Korean-American family in search of their own American Dream, and lead actor Steven Yeun's performance was praised.

Ouch: Trial of the Chicago 7 written and directed by Hollywood darling Aaron Sorkin is described as being 'mediocre' and too 'television'

Winner: Nomadland is praised for being a 'fully realized movie that is compelling and emotional and cinematic' and is named as the voter's top choice for Best Picture

Trial of the Chicago 7 written and directed by Hollywood darling Aaron Sorkin is criticized as being 'mediocre,' too 'television' and is put in last place for Best Picture.

'Aaron Sorkin is maybe my favorite writer of all time, but he is not a good director,' the voter argues anonymously.

The voter goes so far as to say the fact Sorkin's movie 'has a chance of winning, given how mediocre and "television" it is,' is evidence of what a strange year it's been for movies given the pandemic.

Tough crowd: Promising Young Woman 'doesn't feel like a great achievement,' according to the one voter (Carey Mulligan pictured in the film above)

Mixed bag: Daniel Kaluuya was praised for his work in Judas and the Black Messiah - though the film was described as being messy

Meanwhile, Sound of Metal is also described as being 'slow,' Judas and the Black Messiah is labelled 'messy,' and Promising Young Woman 'doesn't feel like a great achievement,' according to the one voter.

Conversely, Nomadland is praised for being a 'fully realized movie that is compelling and emotional and cinematic' and is named as the voter's top choice for Best Picture.

The intense drama helmed by Chloe Zhao, sees Oscar favourite Frances McDormand play a lone woman in her late sixties who loses everything in the Great Recession.

The voter tips the late Chadwick Boseman to win Best Actor, despite not liking Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and says Best Actress 'feels like the win' for Andra Day, for he United States vs. Billie Holiday.

Despite getting very mixed reviews, the voter thinks Glenn Close will win for Hillbilly Elegy, though votes himself for Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
Perspectum, a commercial-stage, precision-health company developing proprietary digital technologies that enable clinicians to more accurately diagnose and monitor patients with chronic metabolic diseases, multi-organ pathologies and cancer, announced the appointment of Annalisa Jenkins, MBBS, FRCP to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Jenkins brings extensive expertise in advancing biopharma programs from discovery to regulatory approval, which she gained during a distinguished industry career, including roles as the former head of Global R&D for Merck Serono and Head of Global Medical Affairs for Bristol Myers Squibb. Over her 20-year career, she has served as a chairwoman or director on the board of 14 public and private companies, including Oncimmune, a company focused on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Dr. Jenkins is the current chair of the court at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a committee member of the Science Board to the U.S. Food Drug Administration (FDA), and a non-executive director at Genomics England. Recently, she served as president and CEO of Dimension Therapeutics, where she led a team focused on developing new therapeutics for people living with rare liver diseases.

"Dr. Jenkins' extensive expertise in oncology and liver diseases, and her track record of success leading public and private companies, will be an asset on our Board," commented Dr. Rajarshi Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer of Perspectum. "As we advance products that have the potential to enable early detection, diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of metabolic and other chronic diseases for millions of patients, Dr. Jenkins' insights and experience will be invaluable to our team."

Perspectum's non-invasive diagnostics products combine image formation, magnetic resonance image (MRI) analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) to support diagnosis, treatment decision-making and monitoring of the progression of chronic metabolic diseases, multi-organ pathologies and cancer, and determining whether the patient is responding to therapy. Its lead product, LiverMultiScan, is the only test that can address the diagnostic gap for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an advanced form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The system was FDA cleared and obtained CE mark in 2015. LiverMultiScan is non-invasive and provides accurate scans that measure fibrosis, inflammation and fat in the liver. Its high specificity, true positive rate and prognostic ability help physicians better select the right patients for therapy, avoiding unnecessary healthcare treatment and spend.

"Perspectum's platform technology is unique and disruptive blending clinical insights with digital imaging and data analysis to help healthcare professionals globally improve patient outcomes," added Dr. Jenkins. "I am honoured and excited to join Perspectum's board as it gains momentum in achieving its vision of applying personalized approaches to improving care for a range of disease states through an accurate, cost-effective and non-invasive diagnostics solution."

About Perspectum

Perspectum, a global medical technology company with offices in the U.K., the U.S. and Singapore, delivers leading digital technologies that help clinicians provide better care for patients with chronic metabolic diseases, multi-organ pathologies and cancer. With a strong focus on precision medicine using advanced imaging and genetics, our vision is to empower patients and clinicians through quantitative assessments of health enabling early detection, diagnosis and targeted treatment. With a diverse team of physicians, biomedical scientists, engineers and technologists, Perspectum offers a way to manage complex health problems at scale. For more information, visit www.perspectum.com and watch a video outlining our mission by clicking here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005224/en/

Contacts:

Emily Holden

Perspectum, Investor Relations Corporate Communications

+44 7803 337613

Emily.Holden@perspectum.com

Glenn Silver

Lazar-FINN Partners

Glenn.Silver@finnpartners.com
Circle subscriber view with live streaming, chat and feed side by side to accommodate multiple fan engagement options including tipping. Sasha (International DJ, Producer, Label Owner, World #1 DJ by DJ Magazine 2000) said, Streaming services are not paying the bills.

Monad has launched (http://www.monad.social) a first of its kind subscription platform where creators can finally own their relationship with fans, play and stream live performances, engage with their community and most importantly monetize their creative output. Monad provides the platform, marketing support and technical expertise.

Monad is committed to building the best functionality and design aesthetic tailored to the unique needs of the music community. Music creators own their content, rights and the entire relationship with their fans  a first.

Igor Marijuan (Monad Brand Ambassador and Ibiza DJ/Personality) said, "The algorithm has killed the artists relationship with their real fans. Ive made more money on monad.social in the last 30 days than I ever have on streaming services. Social media is fine for promotion, but I prefer to convert Likes, into revenue through direct contact with my community.

Sasha (International DJ, Producer, Label Owner, World #1 DJ by DJ Magazine 2000) said, Streaming services are not paying the bills.

Monad Circles provide Creators with the ability to stream shows and other content when they choose, upload media, engage through chat and forums. Creators get a unique 80% of the revenue they generate through subscriptions, tips and other revenue sources.

Live streaming technology is optimized for music quality at 320 kbps. Fans get access to their favorite creators, exclusive content not found anywhere else on the web and the satisfaction of knowing their financial support will actually make a difference.

Brett Hawkins (Monad CEO) said, Its time for the pact between streaming, social media and artists to change. The subscription business model works in other spaces. Its high time one was designed for music enjoyment. Monad is that platform. It is constructed to help creators navigate technology minefields and to receive fair compensation for their extraordinary talent.

About Monad  http://www.monad.social

The Monad icon is the ancient Greek and Pythagorean symbol for the Universe and everything within it. We like the analogy to our business. Our mission is to use technology to transform relationships between music creators and their fans.

The Monad Fan Platform was built from our desire to rethink social engagement models and the relationship between creators and content consumers. We are an international collective of artists, musicians, gamers, music lovers, financiers, marketers and technologists coming together to bring creator-centric marketing and distribution solutions to the music industry. # # #

Media Contact:

Jason Carlton

Press@monad.social
[April 22, 2021] Ehave, Inc. Announces Engagement of Legal Counsel to Advise on Launch of KetaDASH in Miami Metro Area and across United States; Ehave Creates Path to Revenue Stream

MIAMI, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ehave, Inc. (OTC Pink: EHVVF) (the Company), a provider of digital therapeutics for the psychedelic and mental health sectors, announced today the Company is ahead of schedule and plans launch its KetaDASH www.ketadash.com ketamine IV therapy by the end of the second quarter. In a February 26, 2021 press release Ehave announced plans to launch open testing of its KetaDASH ketamine IV therapy in the second quarter. Ehave has engaged legal counsel to advise the Company on the rollout of KetaDASH. Ehave has also secured an umbrella policy to cover liability and malpractice insurance on each home delivery service. Within the next 60 days, KetaDASH plans to begin signing up customers and start referring to local clinics. Ehave is currently in negotiations with multiple entities to franchise the KetaDASH platform, or buy license across the United States.

The KetaDASH platform allows licensed ketamine clinics and patients who have been prescribed ketamine by a physician to administer the treatment at home intravenously. This gives the clinic an opportunity to increase revenues by treating patients who are unable to come to their office. KetaDASH will provide the platform for medical practitioners to administer Ketamine intravenously to patients at home. Ketamine is currently used to help ease pain and allows sedatives to be effective at lower doses, lessening the amount of potentially addictive pain medication required after certain medical procedures. Ketamine is now being studied as a treatment for major depression, though it has not yet been approved by the FDA to treat depression. KetaDASH is a personalized mental care platform designed to instantly connect patients with highly skilled nurses to provide ketamine therapy at home under expert supervision. The platform has been strategically designed as a smart and intuitive dashboard from where patients and their associated nurses can get detailed insight on treatments. The KetaDASH platform will include software, staffing, protocols, and equipment. Ehave has designed a smart and intuitive dashboard for KetaDASH from where the clients and the associated nurses can get detailed insight on how the Ketamine therapy is working. Patients will be able to create a profile, check availability of administering nurses, and schedule appointments. KetaDASH has an agreement in place with Vein-Eye Carry to use its infrared imaging technology. Everyday there are 30 million to 40 million vein punctures worldwide and approximately 3 million in the USA. Delays in treatment can occur in approximately 25 percent of all patients due to the inability to establish IV access, or "find a vein," as it is more commonly referred to. One in three attempts to establish IV access result in failure in adults, and one in two attempts fail in pediatrics. With critically ill patients the failure rate of vein punctures ranges from 10% to 40% where vein punctures are more difficult. "Forward thinking Technology is going to be the next wave of how we receive healthcare," said Alfred Farrington II, Chief Information Officer of Ehave. Mr. Farrington continued, "The nex wave of healthcare innovation is the evolution of ecosystems. KetaDASH has the ability to change the lives of those suffering from mental health issues.



Ehave Chief Executive Officer, Ben Kaplan, said, "Our continued dedication and commitment to mental health is making KetaDASH a reality. Many patients who need ketamine therapy are homebound. KetaDASH gives us the ability to provide ketamine as a psychedelic-assisted therapy for individuals suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD or other mental or emotional health challenges. KetaDASH will not only provide potentially lifesaving Ketamine infusion therapy for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, it will also provide Ehave the opportunity to build a revenue producing platform. Additional Ehave Inc. Information

We are truly grateful for the support of EHVVF shareholders! Please join the conversation on our Ehave supporters telegram group at https://t.me/EhaveInc . The company posts important information and updates through weekly videos from the official company YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnyW1mgMd0qmYkEMq3O6FWA . Please follow Ehave on Twitter @Ehaveinc1 About Ehave, Inc. Ehave, Inc. (EHVVF) is a leader of digital therapeutics delivering evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients. Our primary focus is on improving the standard care in therapeutics to prevent or treat brain disorders or diseases through the use of digital therapeutics, independently or together, with medications, devices, and other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes. Our main product is the Ehave Telemetry Portal, which is a mental health informatics platform that allows clinicians to make objective and intelligent decisions through data insights. The Ehave Infinity Portal offers a powerful machine learning and artificial intelligence platform with a growing set of advanced tools and applications developed by Ehave and its leading partners. This empowers patients, healthcare providers, and payers to address a wide range of conditions through high quality, safe, and effective data-driven involvement with intelligent and accessible tools. Additional information on Ehave can be found on the Companys website at: www.ehave.com. Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be preceded by the words

intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Companys research, manufacturing and other development efforts; (ii) the Companys ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Companys products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Companys industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Companys ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the USA FDA and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Ehave, Inc.s Registration

Statement on Form F-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on

September 24, 2015, as amended, which is available on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. Contact: Ehave Inc Media Inquiries: Gabe Rodriguez Gabe@Ehave.com Investor Relations: Email: Ir@Ehave.com Phone: (623) 261-9046



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Australians older than 50 will be stopped from accessing the Pfizer vaccine until the end of the year in a significant reset of the countrys vaccine program, while national cabinet has also agreed on travel restrictions from India and potentially other high-risk countries.

Under the new vaccine plan, people over 50 will get access to an AstraZeneca vaccination sooner, while the Pfizer vaccine will be prioritised for younger critical workers and vulnerable aged care residents yet to be immunised.

Secretary of the Department of Health Professor Brendan Murphy, Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly, Health Minister Greg Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the changes on Thursday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

To stem the growing number of COVID-19 cases in hotel quarantine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said arrivals from India will be cut by 30 per cent and travellers from a swathe of other high-risk countries face similar restrictions, while strict limits will also be placed on people travelling to countries with large outbreaks.

These are difficult decisions weve had to make but the increasing risk weve seen from some countries, we believe necessitates managing that risk in the best way possible, he said following Thursdays national cabinet meeting.
Parents are concerned after a magnet school in Virginia was found to have racist activism teachings that encourage support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other anti-racist indoctrination.

Political "wokeness" is spreading across schools in the United States and many parents are concerned for how the minds of their young children are being formed. Most recently, a top U.S. high school in Virginia was found to be indoctrinating kids with Black Lives Matter (BLM) teachings and racist activism ideologies.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school in Virginia, was providing mandatory lessons to children with topics on controversial critical race theory in the name of "socio-emotional learning."

According to The Federalist, concerned parent Suparna Dutta received from her son distressing videos that captured their lessons on racist activism. In it, the children of the class were made to watch the Netflix film titled "13th," directed by award-winning Black American filmmaker Ava DuVernay. The film however, features a biased narrative on policing in the U.S.

Moreover, children in the top U.S. high school were also subjected to several PowerPoint slides that featured BLM's official branding, three bright yellow stripes on black. It even included the BLM mantra, "Racism as a structure," with a gigantic finger of a white man towering over a black man.

The slides featuring BLM teachings shown to the children in the top U.S. high school read "Racism has persisted and evolved as an institution" and "Criminals are constitutionally deprived of freedom." Kids in the Jefferson High School class were made up of 20% white, 70% Asian, and 10% black, Hispanic, and multiracial.

The class was also exposed to the race theory concept of "intersectionality," with some minority students being reprimanded for their alleged "racism." They were also told that "At T.J., the lack of diversity and informed students has perpetuated microaggressions and casual racism."

Parents are concerned over the lengths that the top U.S. high school would go to promote BLM teachings and racist activism to such young children. The report showed that there were over 200 pages of internal school emails that revealed how staff of Thomas Jefferson High School actually planned to show the "13th" documentary to students alongside a discussion on "anti-racism" or racist activism, which was masked as "socio-emotional learning." Even more concerning that these discussions did not include parents, not even once.

Visit The Federalist for a look at some of the reported images discussed above.

The occurrences of schools providing BLM teachings and racist activism ideologies have gone unchecked and reveals underlying issues concerning American schools today. It makes children vulnerable at an age when they are just building awareness and their own thoughts about the world around them.

According to Newsweek, parents are now sending in letters to Parents Defending Education, a "national grassroots organization working to reclaim our schools from activists promoting harmful agendas." They are calling for the abolition of "racially divisive curriculum," "blatant activism in the classroom," and "radical gender ideology."

In these classrooms, females and people of color are made to believe their are victims, while white children are made to be the villain and that they must rise up against today's patriarchal, white supremacist society.
"Only nine months after breaking ground in Costa Rica, it is gratifying to announce full operational status for the most advanced commercial space radar of its kind anywhere on the planet", said Dan Ceperley, LeoLabs co-founder and CEO. "The Costa Rica Space Radar is a critical addition to the global constellation of radars LeoLabs is building, and clearly demonstrates not just our rapid deployment capabilities, but the dramatic increase in data underpinning our LeoLabs services platform."

Costa Rica Space Radar: Unique Contribution to New Space

With its newest radar site, LeoLabs introduces a unique asset that provides equatorial coverage for low inclination orbits, giving the company full coverage of LEO. In addition, the Costa Rica Space Radar provides unprecedented capability to track objects, including active satellites and orbital debris down to 2cm. These objects represent the vast majority of the risk in LEO. It is these risks that are critical considerations for all of LeoLabs' customer base, which includes satellite operators, defense, space and regulatory agencies, insurance, and the scientific community.

"The implications of the Costa Rica Space Radar are two-fold," explained Edward Lu, former NASA astronaut and LeoLabs co-founder. "First, it provides an increased level of data to inform and improve the operational services we offer to emerging satellite constellations entering LEO. Every service we provide, such as collision avoidance or early launch tracking, benefits from the additional data flowing off the Costa Rica Space Radar. This is foundational. Second," Lu continued, "in combination with our other radars, the Costa Rica Space Radar expands our ability to provide a real time map of more objects in LEO, to characterize the risks, and feed that insight to our customers. This is a major contribution to space sustainability and safety of flight."

Investment and Partnership in Costa Rica

"LeoLabs is pleased to make this strategic investment in Costa Rica," remarked Dan Ceperley. "We view this as a long-term partnership for LeoLabs, and we are grateful for the support provided by Costa Rica, and our shared commitment to participating in the new space economy."

To mark the occasion today, LeoLabs hosted an inaugural ceremony at the Costa Rica Space Radar site, attended by numerous government officials, including Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada. "LeoLabs investment in its Costa Rica Space Radar is a true example of the range of opportunities we have as a country in attracting state-of-the-art technology companies that promote a greater environment for innovation," said President Alvarado. He continued, "this project extends responsible management of caring for the environment to space, an inherent value in a country like ours."

For her part, the Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications, Paola Vega Castillo, expressed that "the arrival of LeoLabs to the country is a relevant milestone that reminds us of the importance of maintaining efforts to promote the development of our population for the opportunities of the knowledge era, and to support the consolidation and opening of new businesses based on technology with vision of future."

In addition to LeoLabs' Edward Lu, the event was also attended by former NASA astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz, CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Company, a LeoLabs partner in Costa Rica. "It's very exciting for the Costa Rican space community to witness this important step," said Chang- Diaz. It is exactly the kind of project that will enable new science, empower students, and improve the safety of future human spaceflight. We are very happy to be working with LeoLabs on the execution of this groundbreaking facility."

About LeoLabs

Founded in 2016 as a venture-funded spinout of Silicon Valley research pioneer, SRI International, LeoLabs provides access to critical mapping and SSA data for low Earth orbit. LeoLabs' services include collision prevention, risk assessment, constellation monitoring, and commercial SSA. LeoLabs today serves space agencies, commercial satellite operators, defense, and scientific/academic organizations that are driving generational change in LEO. LeoLabs' core technology includes a patent-pending global phased-array radar network which tracks debris and satellites in LEO. Observations generated from this network are the foundation of the LeoLabs mapping and SSA software platform, providing timely and accurate orbital and situational data.





SOURCE LeoLabs, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.leolabs.space


Jaipur, April 22 : India's first-of-its-kind breathing bank will be coming up in Rajasthan's Jodhpur to mitigate the prevailing oxygen crisis for the Covid patients in the state.

Working on a model similar to that of blood bank, the breathing bank will supply portable oxygen machines to Covid patients on a rental basis.

The idea behind setting up such a breathing bank was of Nirmal Gehlot, a philanthropist, who had asked other social workers to join hands in the drive.

Since then, people have been pouring all their help and also donated funds to buy 95 machines till date.

"We aim to buy 500 machines and by Saturday, around 10 machines will reach Jodhpur," said Gehlot, adding that they are trying to get other machines at the earliest.

Gehlot had seen his mother battling for the oxygen last year and recently one of his known friends died because of the oxygen crisis. Hence, he thought to work out something different to tackle this crisis.

This machine will be rented out to the needy at Rs 100 daily. Rental will be collected to ensure the needy returns the machine.

Portable oxygen machine costs around Rs 40,000 and collects air around and separates it from nitrogen to give five litre oxygen each minute.

This can be given to patients via pipeline.

With this machine, patients will be given oxygen at their houses and hence hospitals' burden will be lessened.
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has presented a cheque for Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC570, 000.00) to Mr. Solomon Kwadwo Kusi, the 2020 National Best Farmer.



The amount was the ultimate prize to the Overall Winner of the 2020 National Farmers Celebration Award held in Techiman in the Bono East Region.



At a ceremony in Accra, the ADB Managing Director, Dr. John Kofi Mensa initially handed over the GHC570,000 cheque to the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto who in turn presented it to Mr. Solomon Kusi, the 2020 National Best Farmer.



Dr. Kofi Mensah said the Bank received an agri-business proposal from Mr. Kusi through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in which he outlined how he was going to use the funds.



Our Agribusiness Division perused the document and we are satisfied with all the things outlined by Mr. Kusi,. He said.



According to the ADB Managing Director, the document indicated that part of the money would be used to acquire and install cocoa drying house, expand most of his current operations, employee more people, dig three boreholes, expand his mechanization centre and purchase more farming materials , seeds and feed.



Our expectation is that by upgrading and expanding the mechanization centre, more farmers in his catchment area would benefit from mechanization services, he added.



Dr. Kofi Mensah reiterated the Banks commitment to support all initiatives aimed at guaranteeing food sufficiency and ensuring that the Agricultural sector remained the backbone of the economy.



In his remarks, Dr Afriyie Akoto stated that Government and ADB had agreed to continue with the flexible arrangement that allowed the ultimate winner of the National Best farmers competition to decide how to spend the ultimate prize.



According to him, Government through the Agriculture Ministry was also looking at how to restructure the National farmers awards scheme to ensure that more farmers were recognized.



Mr. Solomon Kusi thanked ADB and the Ministry for fulfilling their pledge to him and gave the assurance that to all stakeholders that the funds would be judiciously utilized for the benefit of the agricultural sector.

Source: GNA









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Castello del Terriccio, one of Tuscanys most iconic wine producers, has announced Colangelo & Partners as its agency of record in the United States. The agency will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive communications plan to target key wine media while also working to expand distribution into top markets. Castello del Terriccios thousand-year-old history dates back to the time of the Etruscans, who prized this picturesque stretch of Tuscan coast as an ideal location for viticultureand continued through the 1980s, when the estate became a leader in the Super Tuscan movement, and into the present day where Castello del Terriccio remains a must-know name in Tuscan wine. This collaboration with Colangelo & Partners marks a new chapter in the winerys history dedicated to growing its overall presence, leveraging its positive brand awareness, and bringing its wines and story to an ever-wider audience.

Colangelo & Partners will focus its campaign on strategic media and trade relations to increase Castello del Terriccios brand visibility and expand distribution within key markets for Italian wines in the US. This partnership affirms Castello del Terriccios dedication to the American market, furthering its reputation as one of the most admired pioneers of the much-loved Super Tuscan wine category. Castello del Terriccio joins a growing roster of prestigious Italian accounts at the agency, including Sicilia DOC, Pio Cesare, Chianti Classico, Frescobaldi, Trentodoc, and Podere Le Ripi.

Famously owned by Cavaliere Gian Annibale Rossi di Medelana, Castello del Terriccio is currently in the excellent hands of the late proprietors nephew, Vittorio Piozzo di Rosignano Rossi di Medelana. Having left the world of finance behind, Vittorio relocated to the coastal viticulture paradise of Maremma where he spent the majority of his childhood. "I have the great privilege of having inherited not only an estate that produces wines of the highest quality known all over the world, says Vittorio, but a winery that uniquely represents the wild nature, history and culture of the region.

An icon of Italian viticulture, Carlo Ferrini has been a crucial element of the Terriccio team as the estates winemaker. Because of Ferrinis superb work and expertise, the world knows and loves Castello del Terriccios iconic wines, specifically Lupicaia and Tassinaia, two of the regions most admired Super Tuscans. Age-worthy, terroir-transparent, and full of soul, these two benchmark reds are Cabernet Sauvignon- and Merlot-driven Bordeaux blends defined by their unique Italian sensibility.

Were thrilled to be working on behalf of Castello del Terriccio, says Gino Colangelo, president of Colangelo & Partners. Working with such a historic and widely admired estate is an important responsibility, and we look forward to sharing their story and helping to achieve their communications goals.

For more information about Castello del Terriccio, please contact Megan DeAngelo at mdeangelo@colangelopr.com or Andrew Lohse at alohse@colangelopr.com.

About Castello del Terriccio

An historic Tuscan estate owned by the Rossi di Madelena family for a centuryin fact, celebrating its 100th year in 2021Castello del Terriccio is one of the key winemakers of Italys coastal Maremma region and an iconic producer of Super Tuscan wines. World-renowned oenologist Carlo Ferrini has been the estates winemaker since its modern founding, expressing the terroir of the propertys vast holdings through polished Bordeaux blends defined by their Italian flair, with its Grand Vin, Lupicaia, considered a classic example of the style. A de facto organic estate with viticultural roots dating back to the ancient Etruscan period, Castello del Terriccio occupies a unique position in the world of Italian wine, bringing together local tradition and international grape varieties to produce sophisticated wines that are widely admired by critics and casual wine lovers alike.

About Colangelo & Partners

Colangelo & Partners (http://www.colangelopr.com) is the leading fine wine and spirits integrated communications agency in the United States, sought after by top brands and industry players for the quality of their results, creativity, and return on investment. The professionals at Colangelo & Partners work with integrity and passion to influence how US audiences perceive their clients: Earning consistent, high-quality positive media coverage; organizing signature events; strategizing and executing standout digital campaigns; and implementing trade programs that strengthen relationships within the industry. Colangelo & Partners' clientele includes global, instantly-recognizable brands and passionate, up-and-coming vignerons and distillers; regional and national institutions; and technology and e-commerce companies innovating in the beverage alcohol sector.
A self-proclaimed 'witch' from Alabama, who was the last person to see a missing Georgia mom, has been charged with child neglect for abandoning her son in Florida.

Shannon Demar Ryan, 40, met with Leila Cavett, 21, and her two-year-old son on July 25, 2020 in southeast Florida to buy her pickup truck.

They met up at a gas station in Hollywood, Florida and headed to the beach in Ryan's gold Lexus, according to the court documents. Cavett has not been seen since.

The next morning, her son was found about 12 miles away wandering around a Miramar apartment building, according to court documents.

Ryan was facing federal charges, including kidnapping, related to the boy, but those were dropped Wednesday without explanation.

Later the same day, Broward County prosecutors charged Ryan with the felony charge of child neglect without great bodily harm connected to Cavett's son.

He appeared in court via Zoom on Thursday morning for arraignment.

Self-described 'witch' Shannon Ryan is a suspect in the ongoing disappearance of Leila Cavett. Federal charges against him were dropped, but he now faces a state charge in Florida.

Nine months have passed since Leila Cavett, 21 at the time, went missing. Her son was found the morning after she was last seen.

The three events happened within 24 hours starting during the day on July 25, 2020. Cavett's son, who was two years old at the time, was found the morning of July 26, 2020.

After Cavett's disappearance, Ryan taunted law enforcement on social media, where he has a dedicated following for being a 'witch doctor,' a Florida prosecutor said during Thursday's arraignment.

Before his arrest, Ryan continuously posted on Facebook pages 'Shannon Ryan' and 'Magnetic Kundalini,' the latter of which is devoted to 'Witchcraft, Knowledge of Self, Kemetic Kundalini & Chakra meditation, Kemetic Science, Health, wellness, fitness, mentorship,' the Miami Herald reported.

Among his many posts was a 51-minute video from Aug. 9, 2020, in which he describes his relationship with Cavett from their first meeting in 2019 through her disappearance.

It wasn't long after that he was arrested by federal agents and charged with lying to authorities and later kidnapping the boy, but those charges were dropped without explanation.

The dismissal was signed by federal court Judge Lurana Snow. DailyMail.com has contacted the judge for comment.

A spokesperson for the Broward County State Attorney's Office declined to comment when asked if more charges could be added, only saying, 'The case is ongoing.'

Broward County was the location of the last major search for Cavett.

Last October, FBI agents scoured a county landfill after receiving a tip, but their efforts proved fruitless.

Shannon Ryan taunted law enforcement on social media after Cavett's disappearance.

A Broward County, Florida, landfill was the site of a massive FBI search for Cavett last October.

Cavett traveled from Georgia to Florida to sell Ryan her pickup truck (pictured)

Last year, Cavett's family told Sun South Florida Sun Sentinel that they fear she's dead.

'I don't want my daughter to be dead,' Kirby told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 'But I cannot live the rest of my life in denial either.'
VALLEY FORGE, Pa., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After 32 years with the firm, Vanguard today announced that John Hollyer, principal and global head of Vanguard Fixed Income Group, will retire at the end of June 2021. Sara Devereux, who currently serves as global head of rates, will succeed Mr. Hollyer at the helm of the fixed income team.

"Throughout more than three decades of distinguished service, John has embodied the Vanguard mission of helping drive better outcomes for investors," said Vanguard Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis. "He has continuously raised the bar by championing an investment culture of innovation, excellence, and discipline. As a thoughtful steward of talent, John has amplified the world-class legacy of Vanguard Fixed Income Group, building out our active management capabilities and cultivating and retaining talented leaders, such as his experienced and capable successor, Sara Devereux."

Mr. Hollyer joined Vanguard in 1989 and was named global head of fixed income in 2017. During his tenure, he served as a fixed income and money market portfolio manager and, prior to his current role, led the Investment Risk Management Group and built that into a global organization now composed of more than 80 professionals. As a tenured Vanguard investment leader, he has served on the firm's Global Investment Committee since 2017, and currently chairs the senior investment strategy team for Vanguard's actively managed fixed income portfolios.

Ms. Devereux brings more than 20 years in investment experience to her new role. She was named Vanguard's global head of rates in 2019, when she joined the firm from Goldman Sachs, where she spent two decades specializing in mortgage-backed securities and structured products. Ms. Devereux has a B.S. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Overseeing more than $2.0 trillion in assets, Vanguard Fixed Income Group is one of the largest bond investment managers in the world. The team oversees more than 115 active and index bond funds across a range of maturities in the taxable and tax-exempt markets, as well as the firm's money market lineup. Through a philosophy of "smart-risk" taking, combined with the deep specialization and collaborative culture of its 185-person global team, the Fixed Income Group aims to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to Vanguard clients.

About Vanguard

Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies. As of March 31, 2021, Vanguard managed $7.5 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 438 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.

All figures as of March 31, 2021 unless stated otherwise.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

SOURCE Vanguard
A cellphone video captured shortly after the Seacor Power lift boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico last week shows a crewman wearing a life jacket in the water getting pulled into safety by Good Samaritans on a nearby vessel.

The footage depicts one of six crew members who were rescued after the ill-fated jack-up boat overturned with 19 aboard on the afternoon of April 13, according to Alejandro Perez, whose friend recorded the video and then gave Perez permission to share it with The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate on Wednesday.

Six other Seacor Power crew members bodies had been recovered as of Wednesday while another seven remained missing.

Divers find sixth body near end of first sweep of capsized Seacor Power lift boat As loved ones buried the captain of the capsized Seacor Power lift boat in Thibodaux on Wednesday, the family of 31-year-old crewman Quinon Pi

The footage which Perez shared illustrates a moment of heroism amid a maritime catastrophe that would be the Gulfs deadliest in recent memory if no other survivors are found. The 32-second clip shows someone being hit by waves while in a life jacket and clinging to a ring buoy which appears to be getting pulled toward a vessel.

Perez said a friend of his who was aboard that Good Samaritan vessel shot the video, adding that the person in the clip was one of the six Seacor Power crew members who was saved.

On the first night of search efforts, Perez said he was aboard another jack-up boat that was stationed several miles away from the Seacor Powers wreckage. He hoped to replicate the scene that his friend recorded when he saw a small craft and multiple life jackets float by his jack-up.

I told everyone else to look out and see if there were people in the water, Perez said. But we couldnt see anyone.

Perez provided a video that he said he recorded of someone shining a light over the waters near the jack-up boat he was on.

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 video captured the voice of someone screaming over loud wind gusts: Hey! Is somebody there? That voice later adds: Look  a yellow jacket is over there. Look.

U.S. Coast Guard officials credited Good Samaritans with saving four of the rescued Seacor Power crew members shortly after the lift boat capsized eight miles off the coast of Lafourche Parish. The agency said it rescued the remaining two.

Coast Guard Lt. John Edwards, an agency spokesperson, didnt confirm or dispute the authenticity of the video provided by Perez. But he said, The Coast Guard encourages all boaters to wear lifejackets while on the water. The maritime environment is inherently dangerous and having proper life-saving equipment onboard, such as life jackets and signaling devices like flares, improvise the possibility that a boater can survive an incident on the water and assists rescuers in being able to spot you easier during search operations.

The Seacor Power capsized upon being hit by a sudden squall packing hurricane-force winds and creating destructive waves.

The crew members whose bodies have since been recovered are Capt. David Ledet, 63, of Thibodaux; Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville; Anthony Hartford, 53, of New Orleans; James Tracy Wallingsford, 55, of the northeast village of Gilbert; Lawrence Warren, 36, of the Jefferson Parish community of Terrytown; and Quinon Pitre, 31, of Franklin.

Those who remained missing as of Wednesday afternoon were Jay Guevara, Dylan Daspit, Gregory Walcott, Chaz Morales, Jason Krell, Darren Encalade and Cooper Rozands.

The Coast Guard called off its search by air and sea for more survivors at sunset Monday, seven days into the mission. But private divers working for the owner of the doomed Seacor Power have continued to comb through the jack-up.

And the founder of the United Cajun Navy civilian rescue fleet said his group had two seaplanes in the air searching across a wide area around the Seacor Power, with the missing crewmens families holding out hope for more survivors.
Governance expert, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah has given a rapturous applause to the National Communication Authority (NCA) regarding their move to shut down some Television stations.



NCA Shuts Down TV Stations



The National Communications Authority (NCA) has released a list of forty-nine (49) Television stations operating without authorization and announced its mission to shut them down.



The NCA stated in a press release that the move is part of a continuous monitoring exercise conducted on various Satellite Free-to-Air Television platforms using the Broadcast Monitoring System (BMS) and the Radio Spectrum Monitoring System (RSMS).



"The monitoring revealed that some channels were operating without valid Authorisations, contrary to Section 2(4) of the Electronic Communications Act 775 of 2008, which states that, Except as provided by this Act or any other law not inconsistent with this Act, a person shall not operate a broadcasting system or provide a broadcasting service without a frequency authorisation by the Authority," the press release stated.



"As a result, forty-nine (49) channels have been identified to be operating without valid Authorisations from the Authority and is being shut down accordingly," the statement read.



It added; "The NCA will continue monitoring to ensure that the use of spectrum is done in an efficient manner."



Nana Agradaa Arrested



The NCA announcement comes on the heels of the arrest of the fetish priestess, Patience Asiedua, popularly known as Nana Agradaa.



She has been apprehended for operating illegally and other fraud charges.



Nana Agradaa owns two TV stations, Thunder TV and Ice TV, which have been currently shutdown on grounds that she uses her channels to advance her fraudulent activities and swindle innocent people.



A joint team of Police and National Security Intelligence Operatives, in collaboration with the National Communications Authority on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, raided the premises of the satellite Television stations; Thunder TV and Ice1 TV.



NCA Gets Thumbs Up



Making submissions on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah bemoaned the influx of unauthorized TV and radio stations that have crowded the media space.



He expressed disgust over the stations using their platforms to corrupt the society by showing inappropriate, money-doubling and deceitful contents.



He patted the NCA on the back over their move and appealed to the Authority to continually monitor the media stations contents.



"NCA has done a good job but they shouldn't sit unconcerned for too long. They should crack the whip. They must ensure those who have to face the full rigors of the law are indeed dealt with."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The use of apps that let attackers spy on you and steal your personal photos and private messages has increased by 93 per cent since the first lockdown, experts warn.

Software from security firm Avast found over 4,585 users in the UK had apps capable of spying on them and stealing information, known as spyware and stalkerware.

Internationally 165,049 users of Avast security software had these apps installed between January and February this year - a 93 per cent increase on the same time in 2020.

Stalkerware is a type of unethical software that allows people to track someone's location, without the victim's knowledge or consent. It is often installed by jealous partners, ex-partners or other people with access to a device.

It gives the perpetrator access to a victim's personal photos, videos, emails, texts and app communications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, as well as eavesdrop on phone calls and make covert recordings of conversations remotely.

Software from security firm Avast found over 4,585 users in the UK had apps capable of spying on them and stealing information, known as spyware and stalkerware. Stock image

WHAT IS 'STALKERWARE? Stalkerware is software that allows you to spy on someone's phone or tablet. They are often advertised to parents who wish to track the online activity of their child, or bosses looking to snoop on their employees. Typically, stalkware allows you to remotely intercept messages, photos, browsing history, GPS coordinates and even phone call data. They work by pairing an online account to an app that is installed on the device you wish to spy on. Users can then remotely access the phone's data without the owner knowing they are under surveillance. Stalkerware apps are technically legal, but have stirred controversy in the past when people have employed them for illicit spying. Advertisement

Jaya Baloo, Chief Information Security Officer, Avast, said the growth in these types of apps poses a serious concern as they are a form of 'tech abuse' that 'takes away the physical and online freedom of the victim.'

Stalkerware is often installed secretly on mobile phones by 'friend, jealous spouses and ex-partners,' according to Baloo.

This type of software 'tracks the physical location of the victim, monitors sites visited, phone calls and text messages,' he explained, adding attackers use it to 'undermine a person's online freedom and individual liberty.'

Alarmingly, the growth in stalkerware seems to echo the increase in domestic abuse cases across the UK since lockdown measures came into force, Avast said.

Refuge, a national charity in England providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse, reported that calls to its helpline increased by two-thirds in the first three months of lockdown.

Latest figures from the NHS also reveal there has been a 350% increase in the number of people searching online for domestic abuse support during lockdown compared to the previous year.

Jane Keeper, Director of Operations, Refuge, said stalkerware technology gives abusers another way to exert control over their victims whether in lockdown or not.

'Unfortunately, whilst Avast's figures are concerning, we fear they are just the tip of the iceberg - many cases will go undetected.

'This is why Refuge is partnering with Avast, to help tackle this disturbing trend head on,' Keeper said.

Avast said it was committed to identifying and removing the threat of stalkerware.

Jaya Baloo, Chief Information Security Officer, Avast, said the growth in these types of apps poses a serious concern as they are a form of 'tech abuse' that 'takes away the physical and online freedom of the victim.' Stock image

In 2019, Avast mobile threat researchers identified and worked to remove eight stalkerware apps from the Google Play Store.

Refuge and Avast are both members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, a cross-industry organisation committed to fighting domestic abuse, stalking, and harassment by addressing the use of stalkerware and raising public awareness.

Baloo said: 'We're proud to be working with members of the Coalition, to raise awareness of tech abuse, educate people on how to address it, and constantly to improve ways to prevent this threat.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:04:08|Editor: huaxia

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-- Themed "Restoring Our Earth," the 52nd Earth Day falls on Thursday, with countries worldwide making commitments addressing the common environmental challenges the planet faces.

-- In its exploration to address the environmental challenges, China aims to work closely with its global partners, and honor its commitments while encouraging others to do so.

-- To reach the country's climate pledge, China should further accelerate its energy transformation, and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix.

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Themed "Restoring Our Earth," the 52nd Earth Day falls on Thursday, with countries worldwide making commitments addressing the common environmental challenges the planet faces.

China has taken steps toward a low-carbon transition, with progress made in tackling climate change and protecting biodiversity -- two urgent agendas that call for global collaboration, said Beate Trankmann, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in China.

"As the world attempts to build back better from the pandemic, concerted global action is needed to address climate change and safeguard the capacity of the Earth to support life by protecting the balance of ecosystems," Trankmann said in an interview with Xinhua.

In its exploration to address the environmental challenges, China aims to work closely with its global partners, and honor its commitments while encouraging others to do so.



Aerial photo taken on Feb. 24, 2020 shows the Haizhu wetland and the Canton Tower in the distance in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Photo by Xie Huiqiang/Xinhua)

ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE

Facing the global climate problem, China has announced its goal to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060.

The country has reaffirmed its climate commitment with clear targets in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), the country's social and economic development roadmap.

According to the plan, China aims to significantly lower the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) and its carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) by 13.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, during the 2021-2025 period.

China's recent climate pledges could accelerate the global fight against climate change, and could set an example to other countries, encouraging them to step up their commitments, too, said Trankmann.

Last year, an ultra-high-voltage (UHV) line that only transmits clean power, including wind, solar and hydro energy, from northwest China's Qinghai Province to Henan in central China went into operation.

As the world's first UHV to transmit only carbon-free electricity, the line could offer as much as 40 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually to central China, reducing 29.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

"China is a driver of much of the technological innovation needed to fight climate change," said Trankmann, adding that the country is now a global leader in renewable energy.

Last year, power generated by renewable energy sources hit 2.2 trillion kilowatt-hours, accounting for 29.5 percent of the country's total electricity consumption, up by 9.5 percentage points from 2012.

China has also carried out institutional innovations, from launching carbon-trading schemes to developing green finance.

Since 2011, China has piloted the trading of carbon emissions in provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hubei, to draw on a market-based mechanism for greenhouse control.

Looking ahead, China's investments into innovation and experimentation in the green economy certainly offer opportunities to make green growth more viable, said Trankmann.

Aerial photo taken on April 16, 2021 shows facilities of a solar thermal electricity project in Gonghe County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)

PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY

After a journey of over 5,000 km across mountains and rivers, the Siberian white cranes land at Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province, the place they call home, each winter.

Rated as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, the Siberian white crane, also known as the snow crane, have seen their numbers dwindle to 4,000, with only a single migrating route left -- the east route to Poyang Lake.

Thanks to sustained efforts to preserve the habitat for the birds, the country's largest freshwater lake saw an increasing number of feathery visitors, attracting more than 680,000 wintering birds in 2020, 11,000 more than the previous year.

"The species and population of migratory birds have increased significantly in some important lakes and wetlands along the Yangtze River, which reflects an improvement in the local ecological environment," said Chen Jiakuan, a professor specializing in ecology with Fudan University.

China has made significant progress in protecting its wetlands with the help of its global partners. Local governments have been working with international institutions such as the Global Environment Facility and UNDP to finance and implement environmental projects.

As a result of UNDP-China cooperation, China's protected areas increased by 1.9 million hectares across six provincial regions, Trankmann noted.

She said that biodiversity protection is very much related to the fight against climate change, as intact ecosystems help absorb carbon and maintain animal habitats and food security.

As another attempt to draw global efforts to restore ecology on Earth, China will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming of the southwest Yunnan Province this year. Countries are expected to work out concrete plans for post-2020 global biodiversity protection.

"This needs to include taking environmental issues into the heart of economic and financial decision-making and rethinking how public and private finance can co-generate positive effects for biodiversity. As the host, China has an opportunity to push this agenda," Trankmann said.



White cranes forage in a farmland by the Poyang Lake in Yugan County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Jan. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Peng Zhaozhi)

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Coal-fired power remains a major energy source in China, and the country vows to bring the share of coal in total energy consumption to under 56 percent in 2021.

To reach the country's climate pledge, Trankmann believes that China should further accelerate its energy transformation, and increase the share of renewables in the energy mix.

According to an industrial report released by the China National Coal Association, the country's annual coal output will stand at no higher than 4.1 billion tonnes by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). The annual coal consumption will be kept to around 4.2 billion tonnes at the end of 2025.

"We look forward to more targets and strategies for how to achieve a reduction in total emissions in the five-year plans for different sectors later this year including curbing coal consumption," she said.

In terms of addressing the challenges of protecting biodiversity, Trankmann said more could be done.

"Policies for biodiversity protection should be strengthened and tailored to different ecological contexts along with integrated approaches to land and resource management, including coastal and river basin management," said Trankmann.

Additionally, China can expand on its Grain for Green program, whereby people who live in ecologically fragile environments receive compensation for protecting ecosystems and conserving biodiversity. 

(Video reporters: Yu Gang, Liu Bin, Peng Jing; Video editor: Yang Zhixiang)
Armenia committed provocations on the state border with Azerbaijan after a visit by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Zangezur district on April 21, according to the press center of Azerbaijan's State Border Service.

In the evening of the same day, the Armenian military shelled the units of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan in the village of Seyidler of Zangilan district, near the border with Armenia, and the positions of the units of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia, serving in this direction from the Armenian side.

Following the incident, the Russian border guards appealed to their Azerbaijani colleagues, urging them not to react to the incident, since, according to them, the persons who committed the provocation were drunk.

Considering the appeal of the Russian side, the Azerbaijani border guards did not retaliate.

After the incident, the Azerbaijani side was informed that the Armenian servicemen who had committed the provocation had been removed from the territory.

Also on the same day, a group of people driving 30-40 cars to the state border of Azerbaijan in the direction of the village of Shurnukh in the Gubadly district chanted anti-Azerbaijani slogans in Armenian.

The State Border Service of Azerbaijan stated that in case of a repetition of such provocations, the most severe retaliatory measures will be taken.
Saudi Aramco, which operates all upstream oil and gas assets in Saudi Arabia under a multi-decade concession deal with the Kingdom, is reviewing its upstream business and could decide to sell stakes in some not-so-strategic fields to external investors, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, quoting sources familiar with the matter.

Aramco is currently reviewing its upstream business, and when the review is completed, it could decide to sell stakes in oilfields or enter into partnerships or joint venture agreements to develop and operate new natural gas resources in Saudi Arabia, according to Bloombergs sources.

Any upstream deal could bring billions of U.S. dollars to Saudi Aramco, whose profits have declined since the oil price crash last year, while the commitment to pay $75 billion in annual dividends to shareholdersSaudi Arabia being the biggest with 98 percenthas been kept.

Aramco is in early talks with advisors to evaluate its options regarding the upstream business, Bloombergs sources said.

Nearly three decades ago, the worlds largest oil company and largest oil exporter was discussing potential partnerships with international oil companies to develop some of Saudi Arabias oil and gas reserves, but talks fell through because the potential foreign investors did not like the terms the Kingdom was offering.

Saudi Arabia needs a lot of money to continue financing the Vision 2030 plan promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy away from oil revenues.

Earlier this month, Saudi Aramco signed a $12.4-billion infrastructure investment deal with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners, which will hold 49 percent in a newly formed Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company.

This transaction unlocks value from our assets and strengthen Aramcos resilience, agility and ability to respond to changing market dynamics, Abdulaziz M. Al Gudaimi, Aramco Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, said, commenting on the pipeline infrastructure deal.

Aramcos President and CEO Amin Nasser said: This landmark transaction defines the way forward for our portfolio optimization program.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Click here to read the full article.

Hip-hop hitmaker Mike Dean (pictured at right) and noted street artist Shepard Fairey (left) have teamed for OBEY 4:22, a series of open edition NFTs created with blockchain technology company Origin Protocol, whose recent auction for the first-ever tokenized album with 3LAU generated over $11.7 million in sales.

4:22 will be sold on April 23 beginning at 12am ET and for a 15-minute window and will be followed with an auction for additional high-rarity NFTs on May 27. The series was inspired by Dean and Faireys experiences during the COVID pandemic and showcases how art and music can be personal, immersive and connecting to serve all of humanity.

Fairey, best known for Barack Obamas HOPE campaign art, first heard Deans work via his sonic contributions to the Geto Boys records. Dean became aware of Faireys street art in the mid-1990s. I used to see his art all over New York when I first started going to there for music work, Dean tells Variety. He was the king; you couldnt go anywhere without seeing his Andre the Giant OBEY poster on every phone box.

The two were connected through Larry Warsh, an art collector and philanthropist whose No More Rulers organization helps brings art to the inner city.

OBEY 4:22 combines sound and vision by these two influential artists. As Dean recounts: Shepard sent me over books and stuff to look through. I went through all his art and picked things that I liked or that resonated with me. Then we sent over a mood board of all the stuff we had really wanted to touch on. From that, he sent me over the first proof of the work and it kind of inspired me to make music.

The two then met up in Faireys studio to jam, as it were. I set up a bunch of keyboards and made the music for the grand prize NFT, while he made the art, says Dean. I got so high from the spraypaint that I thought I might pass out.

Three top bidders will receive the physical, visual art along with the musical work. Dean confesses that it took a while to wrap his her around NFTs. A good month [was spent] sitting in Clubhouse rooms listening to people [and] taking only about 10 percent of what you hear seriously because Clubhouse is full of experts, he says sarcastically.

The music of 4:22, half of which was performed and improvised on livestream through Twitch and Instagram Live, features such instrumental tracks as Cryptosonic and Earth Force, the former described as taking a darker turn in its use of distorted saw waveforms, and deep vocal overtones that gives the song psychedelic nuances that bring mind-altering experiences. Earth Force evokes beauty and danger and a sense of ethereality, building a drum beat that morphs into a high-pitched siren pulse.

The visual elements by Fairey include 12-inch vinyl LP jackets whose artwork references radio wave transmission, stereo hi-fi technology, the Earths colors of blue and green, and the green herbs many enjoy to enhance a mind-expanding musical journey. The first edition offering also includes animated art.

I am very honored to work with Mike Dean on such a unique and meaningful collaboration, both from a musical and visual standpoint, said Fairey. Art and music can both serve as forms of escapism to take you somewhere else. I hope this collection can provide escape and heighten consciousness.

Origin is proud to be working with Mike Dean and Shepard Fairey on their cutting-edge NFT collaboration, said Micah Alcorn, Origin Protocol director of product. Both artists are pioneers in their respective fields and have been involved in some of the most iconic creations of the past two decades. Blockchain technology is empowering creators to connect directly with their fans and change the way art and music are distributed. Were excited to be at the forefront of this revolution and supporting these two talented innovators.

Find more info at Obey422.com.

Cryptosonic First Edition:

NFT Collectible, $1000

Animated

Features artwork from Shepard Fairey and music by Mike Dean

April 23rd at 12am EST, on sale for 15 minutes

Cryptosonic Second Edition:

NFT Collectible, $422

Features artwork from Shepard Fairey and music by Mike Dean

April 23rd at 12am EST, on sale for 15 minutes

Cryptosonic Third Edition:

NFT Collectible, $422

Features artwork from Shepard Fairey and music by Mike Dean

April 23rd at 12am EST, on sale for 15 minutes

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
In the penultimate episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Isaiah Bradley, the first African American super soldier, contends that they will never let a Black man be Captain America. When the shows finale airs tomorrow, audiences will learn whether Isaiahs assertion holds true. Considering the Wakandan mystery case that Sam Wilson received at the end of the fifth episodewhich may or may not contain a super high-tech, vibranium, stars-and-stripes-adorned Captain America suitthe chances are that Isaiahs pessimism is misplaced. After all, The Falcon and The Winter Soldiers function as an origin story for the next Cap isnt exactly a secret, and the character is too valuable a piece of intellectual property for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to simply retire it any time soon. Given that brief, the Disney series has tried to make the case for why the world still needs a Captain America. But if anything, its proven the opposite. While Sam may be the hero of this moment, Captain America is not.

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The Falcon and The Winter Soldier covers a ton of ground in its first five episodes. Six months post-Blip, viewers find Sam and Bucky Barnes adjusting to their new lives. Sam has passed on retired Cap Steve Rogers offer to take up the patriotic alias, and is working closely with the U.S. military to eradicate terrorist cells while also helping his financially struggling sister. Bucky has been pardoned by the government for the crimes he committed as a brainwashed assassin and is attempting to make amends for the pain he caused his victims on his own terms.

In his inability to carry the shield or wield power with compassion, John Walker, like The Boys Homelander, is much more representative of how the world views America than the original Cap.

These character-driven plot threads occur against a larger sociopolitical backdrop. The inadequate Global Repatriation Council, created after the Blip to assist returnees, has given rise to a new anti-nationalist terrorist group, the Flag Smashers, who prefer the world the way it was when half the population was gone. The U.S. government has appointed a new Captain America, decorated war veteran John Walker, who almost immediately reveals himself to be unfit to uphold Steves legacy. A few episodes into the series, it also becomes evident that the super-soldier serum that turned 98-pound weakling Steve Rogers into the amply bicepped Chris Evans isnt as rare a commodity as it was once believed. Oh, and did I mention that along the way Sam and Bucky break Baron Helmut Zemo, the Nazi antagonist of Captain America: Civil War and the murderer of Wakandan King TChaka, out of prison?

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Beneath this tangled web of MCU storylines, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier attempts to grapple with the implications of a Black man carrying Captain Americas shieldand to make the case for why someone needs to take up the mantle in the first place. In the press materials for the series, Anthony Mackie empathizes with his characters hesitation about acting as Americas official hero. Sam considers the shield a representation of the country that we live in, he says. Theres a lot of trepidation as far as How does a Black man represent a country that does not represent him? For Salons Melanie McFarland, building an origin story for a Black American superhero requires digging up the rocky soil of a nation and analyzing what makes it good and fertile, and its equally as vital to reckon with all the ways that it is tainted. Fulfilling that mission here means digging into what Captain America and all superpowered protagonists stand for, and how aspirational symbols can become dangerous idols.

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While The Falcon and The Winter Soldier tries reckon with Americas racist history and the concept of supremacy in general, this gets at the crux of the problem with the story the writers are trying to sell us: Why must Sam, or anyone for that matter, don a nations name and symbols in order to be a fitting hero? The series provides viewers with sympathetic detractors like Isaiah and even head Flag Smasher Karli Morgenthau to touch on this question, if not directly ask it, but the show never provides a satisfactory answer.

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When Captain America arrived in 1941, the need for a patriotic symbol was obvious. Created on the precipice of World War II by Jewish cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America was the U.S. response to Nazi propaganda comicsa symbol of anti-fascism and liberalism. In Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America, Bradford W. Wright notes that the characters origins were consciously political, and that Simon and Kirby felt compelled to take a stand against Nazism. (Even at the height of anti-Nazi sentiment in America, however, the cartoonists still received hate mail and death threats.)

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In 2021, the greatest fascist threat to the U.S. exists within its own borders. And the name America carries a lot of weightpositive associations, but also images of genocide, slavery, police brutality, and gun violence. To many, Isaiah Bradley included, an agent of the state can never be a true symbol of justice.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier tries to wrestle with this conflict. In the second episode, Sam is racially profiled by police before they recognize him as an actual Avenger and embarrassedly back away. The show also dives into Isaiahs devastating backstory, a riff on the infamous Tuskegee study: Americas first Black super soldier was experimented on, then sent to fight in the Korean War for the country that abused him, and later incarcerated for 30 years. The writers recognize his deep skepticism of Americas ability to dispense justice as well-founded by his own experiences, U.S. history, and the unrelenting violence Black people face in contemporary America. But this is where the thread ends. Though the series acknowledges the racial politics at stake, it fails to justify the existence of a nationalist hero, regardless of who carries the shield.

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Sign up for the Slate Culture Newsletter The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

The introduction of the Flag Smashers is intended to illustrate the continued need for the patriotic super soldier, but the group of displaced anti-nationalists, whom Karli labels freedom fighters, have valid grievances (although their tactics are morally murky), and even Sam recognizes the common ground they share. On the flip side, John Walker is meant to act as a foil to both Steve and Sam, an example of the dangers of allowing Captain Americas emblem to fall into the wrong hands. But entitled, arrogant John may be the Captain America America deserves, even if hes not the one we want.

In the fourth episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, John, enraged and newly juiced on super serum, uses Captain Americas iconic shield to brutally murder a Flag Smasher begging for his life. This violence takes place in a Latvian town square in broad daylight as horrified onlookers film the scene. Shot from below, the episodes final seconds linger on the red, white, and blue shield, now covered in blood. Surely the writers aimed to shock viewers with this arresting moment. Steve would never have used his power this way (and we can safely assume Sam wont either). However, as Zemo points out in the same episode, Steve was, as the U.S. claims to be, exceptional. In his inability to carry the shield or wield power with compassion, John, like The Boys Homelander, is much more representative of how the world views America than the original Cap. The Latvian bystanders who witness Johns brutality certainly dont see the American flag and associate it with safety or protection. For many Americans, the same is true.

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In positioning Sam as the rightful inheritor of Steves shieldone who will somehow appeal to disenfranchised radicals and state interests alikeThe Falcon and The Winter Soldier seems to willfully parallel the ongoing debate about American policing, with the MCU taking a solidly reformist stance. (The Flag Smashers are essentially arguing to defund Captain America.) The shows position isnt surprising given that Captain America is basically a supercop, and Marvel films are partially funded by the U.S. military, but it shouldnt pass without notice. The significance of a Black Cap cant be overstated, but a good man like Sam taking up the mantle may not be enough to rehabilitate the image of a country whose name is no longer associated with justiceand to many, never has been.

In my decade at Slate, Ive worked on everything from investigating how wearing your backpack with two straps became cooler than wearing it with one strap to adapting The Great Gatsby as a video game to inventing a highly scientific systemic for determining whether new movies are too scary for you. The support of Slate Plus members has allowed us to continue to do the kind of ambitious, irreverent, and service-y cultural coverage you wont find anywhere else. Thank you! Forrest Wickman, culture editor
South Africa will resume the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to inoculate health care workers next week, offering some relief to the country that has suffered a series of blows to its vaccination efforts in recent months, according to South African authorities.

The country suspended an early-access Johnson & Johnson vaccination program last week after health officials in the United States put a pause on the vaccine amid concerns of rare blood clots that emerged in a handful of people who received it.

South Africas decision to move forward again was the second green light this week for Johnson & Johnson. On Tuesday, the European Union drug regulator also recommended resuming the rollout of the companys vaccine.

Now, many eyes are on Washington, where a federal advisory panel is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss whether to lift the pause in the United States.
Business

featured

State tax credits could help City Hall West revival in downtown Denton

DRC file photo Its estimated City Hall West will cost nearly $7 million to renovate, but the Denton City Council hasnt decided how to fund the project. Sarah Kuechler John Ryan Deb Armintor Paul Meltzer Joanna St. Angelo

Tax incentives from the Texas Historical Commission can help renovate and reopen City Hall West, but Denton City Council members, about three years into the discussion, have not decided how to fund the project.

We will look into all the options for the council to look into, said Sarah Kuechler, Dentons chief of staff. That really is a policy question for council to answer.

Estimated to cost nearly $7 million to renovate, that work remains on hold not just while council members determine how to pay for it but how it should be used. That is despite the fact that in 2018, a steering committee of 24 people recommended that the exterior of the building on North Elm Street should be preserved, that City Hall West should be repurposed for public use  primarily for the arts community  and that the east entry and original auditorium and firetruck bays should be rehabilitated.

Tax implications

In a March 31 email from Caroline Wright of Texas Historical Commission to Randy Hunt, president of Historic Denton Inc., she said that a nonprofit organization would have to lease and manage the building and pay for the renovation before 25% of rehab costs would be applied.

The old city hall building is [a Registered Texas Historic Landmark], which makes it eligible for the state program, which goes hand in hand with the nonprofit use that is primarily eligible for the state program, Wright wrote. The nonprofit needs to have a long-term lease of the property, of at least 39 years; needs to pay for the rehabilitation work; and needs to be the ultimate users/management of the building.

Its going to depend

Council member John Ryan said he could support such a scenario.

Its going to depend on the organization and how its structured, he said.

Historic Denton is a nonprofit organization that advocates for historic preservation throughout the city, creating National Register Districts and protecting the integrity of historic neighborhoods. Hunt said that he is trying to work with city officials to find a property manager for City Hall West.

In conversations with the new Denton [historic preservation officer], working on the City Hall West building as a rehabilitation project is an agreed collaboration, he said in an email to THC in March. The use of the former city hall  was the formal recommendation by the CHW Commission created by the city council. The plan was to include CHW as a property managed by the Greater Denton Arts Council.

That I would most likely be in support of, Ryan said. It is one we have talked about potentially managing the building.

Cameron Robertson joined the city as historic preservation officer on Feb. 1. During a conference call on Monday with the Denton Record-Chronicle between her, Kuechler and Director of Facilities Scott Gray, Robertson was not allowed to answer a question from the newspaper about her position on using tax credits to help pay for City Hall West.

That is not a question Cameron can answer, Kuechler said. If you want to ask her about what the tax credits are, she can talk about that.

Gray did not talk about the tax credits, either, instead focusing on council members direction to staff officials on Tuesday to solicit requests for information (RFI) and requests for qualifications (RFQ) from contractors to repair damage at City Hall West from Winter Storm Uri in February and asbestos removal.

Moving forward

We will be moving forward with the RFI process that profits and nonprofits can use to submit their concepts, Gray said. That will be shared with council to get their direction. We will come back to council in June or July with what we received.

City Hall West, built in 1927 in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style, is about 24,600 square feet. It was renovated in the 1960s as Central Fire Station, in 1984 as a police station and in 1995 for the Planning and Development Department.

I was excited to hear that City Hall West can qualify for tax credits from the Texas Historical Commission, council member Deb Armintor said. Its an excellent organization that does a lot of good for historic preservation in Texas. I think wed be silly not to pursue this opportunity for the greater public good.

Fulfill the vision

Council member Paul Meltzer offered his opinion.

Im aware [the tax credits] are available if [City Hall West] is used for a commercial purpose, he said. I think the challenge, overall, is to find a way to make this economically possible and still fulfill the vision to the extent possible of it being a community arts center.

Joanna St. Angelo is executive director of the Sammons Center for the Arts in Dallas. Architexas, the contractor hired by Denton to produce conceptual designs of the rehabilitated property in June 2017, asked St. Angelo to address the Denton steering committee in 2018.

I took a very thorough tour of the building, she said. You have a community space for exhibits, rehearsals, town hall meetings and all kinds of things. I think it deserves to be a community asset. These are buildings built with community dollars and serve a communal purpose.

A comparable property in Dallas

The Sammons Center for the Arts, St. Angelo said, is one of the oldest and largest arts incubators in the U.S.

We took over a building leased to us in 1981, she said. It was a falling-down wreck  a former water pump station. It had been empty for 25 or 30 years.

Sammons submitted a proposal, and it was accepted by the Dallas City Council.

And the city said, We will give you a long lease, St. Angelo said. They told us to raise the money to renovate and operate it. It was tough because we were the first to do it. But we opened in 1988, raising $3 million.

She said that Sammons Center for the Arts serves more than 100 performing arts organizations.

Its office space, rehearsal space, meeting space, technology resources  everything that small arts groups need to do their everyday work.

The City Council serves at the pleasure of the community, St. Angelo said. I dont see a downside for trying to repurpose it for something that would have a far greater benefit to the community.

The 2018 committee report also suggested using City Hall West as a venue for events such as weddings, corporate presentations, city meetings and museum displays. The report projects that annual revenue could range from $400,000 to $500,000 in the buildings first few years of operation.

The city would subsidize operations at $265,000 annually, according to the report.
New Delhi, April 22 : Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman play father and daughter in Florian Zeller's complex relationship drama, "The Father". The film has garnered six Oscar nominations, including one in Best Actor category for Hopkins, for his role of an eighty-plus man battling dementia, and one in Best Supporting Actress category for Colman, who plays his conflict-ridden daughter.

The respective roles, as well as enacting the relationship for screen, was emotionally exhausting for the two acclaimed actors, and they confess coming back with self-realisation from the shooting experience of the film, which is based on a play titled "Le Pere" by Zeller.

"When you are working for years, the good plays and films make you go around examining life. This one made me think about my past, my parents and particularly the sweet sadness of it all," said Hopkins.

He recalled how the particularly emotional last scene wasn't working initially. "The last scene didn't work and we had a little break. I went around the set, saw the chair where I used for sit. There was a photograph of my daughters and myself in younger days and the camera pasts and goes out of the window. That hit me," said the actor.

For Hopkins, the film brought back many memories. "I remember the time I took my mother to the hospital when my father had died, and I still remember looking at him and his feet were cold. This was almost 40 years ago and I remember thinking that 'yeah, you are not so hot either. There he is and one day I will be there'. That's a wonderful thing -- and I know it is weird to say that it's a wonderful thing -- but it's good to remember that it's all gone with the wind. I remember I found his glasses, and he had a little notebook with a map of America. He wanted to come to America, and I told him that I would take him. Of course, he was unwell and I promised him, to cheer him up, that when he gets out of the hospital, I would take him to New York and drive across," he recalled.

"I remember he was one day sitting in hospital looking at the map and he had wet himself his pyjamas and I remember that while doing the scene that it's all so fragile. That's what I realise now more and more -- that's all so fragile. But I am aware of fragility. It makes me enjoy life more, I have a laugh now. I like watching old guys on television who have gone like Sinatra and others. There is a great victory in all this by recognising death and mortality. Well, I am here and I have survived all these years," the actor said.

For Colman, the film was a reminder of how cruel the process of aging could actually be.

"It made me think of my parents, and ageing can be so cruel and rude. My mum used to say that every generation thinks they have invented sex but, of course, everyone has been in love and passionate. My parents are still in love but it's unfair that it's difficult for them to go upstairs and eventually I will be like that. It did make me think of them and I am so pleased that they are still together and happy," she said.

To this, Hopkins added: "Olivia talked about parents getting old. I am going to be 83 at end of the year, my legs ache. When I was doing the film, I found that my brain was playing tricks with me because it was sending messages to my back that I am an old man. So, every morning I had to tell myself that I am just acting and pretending, because your body reacts to what your brain is saying. But I have accepted that my knees ache, I can't go running anymore." "The great psychiatrist Karl Jung once said that when you reach your forties and fifties everything is fine, and then there is something you see at the horizon and that's death and it makes you appreciate life. That's a wake-up call that there is nothing so special about any of us. It's kind of humbling that we are not that hot and all the glory is gone," the veteran actor added.

Hopkins and Colman were interacting with IANS at a press meet for select media, also attended by the film's screenwriter-director Florian Zeller.

Zeller, who has a nomination at the Oscars this year in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for his work in the film (jointly with Christopher Hampton), opened up about his process of adapting his play into the film.

"I kept the narrative of the play, which is trying to tell the story from the inside, and to put the audience in a specific position to try to understand what is going on, and look for exit and meaning. For me it was the opportunity to play with disorientation. I didn't want the father to be just a story. I wanted it to be an experience. To innovate with the experience, frustration, anxiety, uncertainty -- to what it means to lose your bearings. So, it was taken from the play," explained Zeller.

"But I didn't want it to just be the play, I wanted it to be cinematic as possible so I tried to do what only cinema can do. It was mainly about using the set, for example, in a cinematic way. When I wrote the script, I drew the layout at the same time as if it was the main character in the story. In the beginning when we are entering the house, there is no doubt that we recognise his space, his furniture, his knick-knacks and, step by step, slightly always in the background you have some small changes, some metamorphosis of the set, of the apartment so that it creates this feeling that you know where you are and at the same time you are not certain where you are and it's the beginning of doubting process," the filmmaker added.

"I wanted to play with the feeling of disorientation with the set. That's why there are so many corridors and doors because I wanted to play with it. Meaning that you recognise the way to travel into that space but something had happened but you don't know what happened, so that you are constantly uncertain of where you are. In a way it was very concrete and visual that it would tell a story of being lost. What was challenging and exciting for me was to do it in the background when you are focused on the character. That is why I shot the film in the studio, so that I had this liberty to do whatever I wanted to -- be able to remove a wall, change proportion or colours of walls in a minute, almost," Zeller sums up.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Azerbaijani armys anti-aircraft missile units are conducting live fire tactical exercises based on the combat training plan for 2021 approved by the Defense Ministrys Head Zakir Hasanov, according to the press service of the ministry.

During the exercise, demonstration live firing is carried out from various-caliber anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft missile systems.

In the exercises conducted in conditions close to real combat, conventional targets are destroyed with precise fire. The main attention in the exercises is paid to the operational control of subunits, improving their skills in organizing combat activities in cooperation with other branches of the armed forces, increasing the level of combat readiness of personnel.
4 killed, over dozen injured in SW Pakistan's hotel bomb blast

Xinhua) 08:54, April 22, 2021

ISLAMABAD, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and over a dozen others injured when an explosive-laden vehicle exploded inside the parking of Serena hotel in Quetta, capital city of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, the country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said.

There was a threat alert in Quetta and other major cities after some suspicious calls were intercepted, and security was on high alert including cities in Balochistan, Rasheed told Xinhua.

He said that despite the security measures, the vehicle carrying explosives managed to enter the parking lot from the main gate of the hotel, which is a matter of big concern and the responsible people will be taken to task for creating security lapse which gave terrorists a chance to carry out the attack.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal hinted at involvement of some "foreign hand" in the attack and said that the elements which do not want to see Pakistan prospering are in search of a loophole in the security of the province, and launch attacks when they succeed in finding any.

Proscribed organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed the attack in a text message to journalists saying a suicide bomber launched the attack targeting locals and foreigners, but the claim has not yet been officially confirmed.

The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital whose spokesman Waseem Baig told Xinhua that two of the injured people are in critical condition and a state of emergency has been declared at the hospital by the provincial government.

Intelligence sources from Quetta told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that one security guard was killed and two policemen were injured in the attack.

Soon after the blast, the hotel's parking area located in its premises was sealed by the counter terrorism department of police who also restricted media to access the site for reporting, Inspector General Police of Balochistan Muhammad Tahir Rai said.

Home minister of Balochistan told media that a bomb disposal squad reached the blast site to investigate into the incident, and according to initial investigation, some 40 kg of explosives were used in the attack.

Fire erupted in several vehicles following the blast, badly destroying five to seven of them, he added.

Talking to Xinhua, intelligence sources, who were close to the hotel when the incident happened, said that the loud blast was heard many miles away from the blast site and fire erupted in the hotel's parking following the explosion.

Security has been beefed up in other cities including Islamabad following the blast and all sensitive government buildings and installations are being guarded, according to local reports.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
[April 22, 2021] Battelle's Sydney Corkran Receives Dr. Billy Richardson Award for Young Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) Researchers

Battelle Research Scientist and Microbiologist Sydney Corkran is the 2020 recipient of the Dr. Billy Richardson (News - Alert) Young NBC Researcher Award. The award, given by the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Industry Group, was established to honor Richardson by recognizing exceptional young leaders with dedication to activities involving education and commitment to NBC defense. Corkran will accept her award during a September dinner ceremony in Arlington, Virginia. The award is named for Richardson, who for 25 years was instrumental in the development of modern chemical and biological defense programs and was a key architect of the concept and plan for the Army's chemical and biological defense laboratories. Corkran joined Battelle in 2016 as a research associate. Since then, she has contributed to and led a variety of programs in chemical and biological research and was promoted to the position of research scientist. She has served as the principal biological and chemical instructor since 2016 for the Chemical/Biological Warfare Agent Dissemination Awareness Course, a 40-hour course provided to National Guard Civil Support Teams in St. Roberts Missouri, delivered 12 times annually. It focuses on CWA (News - Alert) /BWA History, Labware, Biological Warfare Agents, Chemical Warfare Agents, Clandestine Drug abs, and Homemade Explosives. She now trains and leads a team of three biological and chemical instructors for the program.



Most recently, Corkran served as an Operations Officer and Regional Lead for Battelle's Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS), a program that decontaminated N95 masks nationwide to protect frontline healthcare workers in the pandemic and during PPE shortages. She was responsible for the CCDS Site Lead training program, integrated operations and quality reporting process, authored and approved standard operating procedures, established and chaired the program's Change Control Board. As a regional lead she mentored and instructed 47 CCDS site leads on technical requirements, site management, stakeholder and customer interactions. Prior to her current position, Corkran established the first and second deployed CCDS sites, and managed the second site in Tacoma, Washington. "Sydney continuously utilizes her experiences in the U.S. Army Reserves to find practical solutions for the domestic preparedness of both military and civilian populations in response to chemical and biological threats," said Rick Hecker, a division manager in Battelle's National Security business. "I am thrilled to see her accomplishments honored in this way."

Corkran holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences and a Master of Science in Food Science with a concentration in Microbiology from Auburn University. She is currently on track to receive a Master's degree in June in Science and Technology Intelligence, with a concentration in Chemical and Biological WMD Technology, from the National Intelligence University. Corkran has served in the U.S. Army Reserves since 2013 in a variety of roles including platoon leader, executive officer and intelligence officer. About Battelle Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle makes the world better by commercializing technology, giving back to our communities, and supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. For more information, visit www.battelle.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005734/en/

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A man has been indicted in connection with the body found with a gunshot wound to the head near the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, east of Bob Bullock Loop, authorities said on Wednesday.

A grand jury returned a true bill charging Colton Quade Branning, 30, with murder.

Branning is accused of taking Justin Allen Heath, 25, to a dead end in the 4500 block of Clark Boulevard and shooting him in the head, according to the Webb County District Attorneys Office.

The DAs office said Branning came from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Laredo to participate in smuggling people and drugs.

Branning has been at the Webb County Jail since he was booked on March 16. Heaths death marked the citys second homicide in 2021.

The case unfolded at about 9:15 a.m. Feb. 23, when an LPD officer arrived at the dead end of the 4500 block of Clark Boulevard and discovered an unresponsive man lying on the street. He appeared to be dead and had a pool of blood around his head.

A spent casing was located near the area and seized as evidence. Identified as Heath, he had an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to court documents.

An investigation revealed Branning picked up Heath in a black Dodge Charger rental car. Branning allegedly had a job for Heath in Laredo, according to court documents. The girlfriend told police that Branning was known to smuggle narcotics into the United States from Mexico and had an extensive criminal history.

While in Laredo, Justin (Heath) advised (his girlfriend) (that) Colton (Branning) wanted him to smuggle a load of narcotics, states the arrest affidavit.

An investigation led police to find the alleged murder weapon at about 8:01a.m. Feb. 24, when an officer responded to a report of a gun located inside a trash can in the 3400 block of West San Francisco Avenue.

Surveillance video from the area showed that a dark-colored Dodge Charger, believed to be Brannings, drove by slowly as it passed the location where the gun was found. Further inspection of the weapon revealed the spent cartridge casing found at the murder scene was associated with the test fired cartridge casings obtained from the recovered weapon, states the affidavit.
The massive second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic barrelled past another grim milestone as India reported nearly 3.16 lakh fresh cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day count recorded in any country so far. Deaths from the virus climbed to another high of 2,102 in the past 24 hours.

India logged 3,15,925 new cases on Wednesday, crossing the 3-lakh mark for the first time and going past the previous highest daily case count of 3,07,581 reported in the US on January 8, as per worldometers.info.

BCCL

Delhi Records 24,638 New COVID-19 Cases, 249 Deaths

Delhi reported 24,638 new COVID-19 cases and 249 related deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the data released by the Delhi government's health department on Wednesday.

BCCL

With the addition of fresh cases, Delhi's Covid tally reached 9,30,179. At present, there are 85,364 active cases in the city. Furthermore, a total of 24,600 people recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 8,31,928.

Centre Raises Delhi's Oxygen Quota To 480 Metric Tonnes

With several private and government hospitals in Delhi running low on medical oxygen for COVID-19 patients, the Centre raised the national capital's oxygen quota from 378 metric tonnes to 480 metric tonnes on Wednesday.

BCCL

"Central govt has increased Delhi's quota of oxygen. We r very grateful to centre for this (sic)," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.

Maharashtra Logs 67,468 New COVID-19 Cases, 568 Deaths

Maharashtra reported 67,468 new COVID-19 cases and 568 deaths in the last 24 hours, informed the state health department on Wednesday.

BCCL

With the cumulative positivity rate 16.36 per cent, the total cases of COVID-19 have mounted to 40,27,827.

Maharashtra Government Imposes New Lockdown-Like Restrictions

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday imposed several new restrictions including a ban on inter-city and inter-district travel and curbs on office attendance in an attempt to bring the spiralling coronavirus infections under control.

BCCL

Central, state and local governing body offices shall function with 15 per cent attendance. But emergency services dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic will be exempted from this rule.

Manufacturing Of Remdesivir Injection Ramped Up To 74 Lakh Vials Per Month

Amid the surge in demand for Remdesivir injection for COVID-19 treatment, the capacity of domestic Remdesivir manufacturers has been ramped up from 38 lakh vials per month to 74 lakh vials per month, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

BCCL

According to a statement issued by the ministry, 20 additional manufacturing sites have also been approved by the Centre to ramp up the production of Remdesivir.

No Lockdown In Kerala For Now, Says Kerala Chief Minister

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that lockdown will not be implemented for now in the state, which witnessed the highest single day surge of COVID-19 cases, but there would be strict restrictions, especially in districts where the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) is high.

BCCL

He said the LDF government has increased and improved the 'surge capacity' (to handle excess cases) of the health systemand spelt out a series of measures to check spread of the virus, including setting up a COVID First Line Treatment Centre in each taluk.
State

Police refute social media post

DIMAPUR, APR 22 (NPN) | Publish Date: 4/22/2021 12:28:33 PM IST

Following a social media post that IRB personnel had resolved to refrain from duty with total arms down from April 25 alleging that they were not paid travelling allowance (TA) for election duty in West Bengal, a senior police officer of the PHQ refuted the allegation and clarified that they had received the TA from the government and would be disbursing soon.

The police officer also claimed that the TA for IRB personnel, who were deployed for election duty in Assam initially, too had been paid.

On the last day of polls in Assam, he said Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered redeployment to West Bengal, which required new sanction from the government. So a few days delay was there. Now the sanction has come and that they will be paid as soon as they return to Nagaland, the official stated.

The official said that the post appeared in a private social media group. Investigation is on as to find out how an individual made up this story that demoralised the IRB personnel on duty, the official added.

Asserting that the Nagaland Police IRB personnel were performing their duties in an outstanding manner, he said that such malicious stories tarnish their reputation and image in the eyes of the public. We will get to the bottom of this and take action as per the law, the police officer assured.
The European Commission has denied a claim by Health Minister Stephen Donnelly that it has started a legal case against AstraZeneca.

Stephen Donnelly earlier told the Dail that the case was being launched over the companys complete failure to meet its contractual agreements.

With regards to AstraZeneca, a legal case has been initiated by the Commission," he said.

Earlier this week, I have joined Ireland as one of the parties to that case, specifically around AstraZenecas complete failure to meet its delivery contractual agreements for April, May and June.

Mr Donnelly made the comments while giving an update on the countrys vaccine programme.

However, a Commission spokesman has since said that legal actions against the company "had not been taken at this point in time.

The Commissions health spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker told a briefing on Thursday: The first thing I would like to stress is that no decision has yet been taken with regard to the legal actions.

You know that we have, a few weeks ago, started the dispute resolution process, which is a process allowed by the contract, allowing the parties to sit together and try to reach an agreement.

What matters for us and what matters for all the member states is that we can ensure a timely delivery of a sufficient number of doses by the company.

For the time being, as you know we are not there yet. And so, together with the member states, we are looking at all options that are available to make sure that such deliveries can take place.

He said any decision would be taken jointly by all the member states.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is not being used on anyone under the age of 60 following advice from public health doctors.

However, Mr Donnelly said he would take the vaccine if he was offered it.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly gives an update on Irelands Covid-19 vaccination programme (Handout)

As for AstraZeneca, based on everything I have seen, I would take it. I would take it today.

NIAC (National Immunisation Advisory Committee) are operating under an abundance of caution, and in the context of multiple options being available in Ireland.

NIAC is also due to give the Government its recommendations on the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine early next week, following advice from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed that the majority of people over 70 have had their first vaccine dose, with some 95% of this group receiving their second dose by the end of this week.

More and more vaccination centres are opening. Next week, 28 of a total 38 centres will be open, Mr Donnelly added.

For April and May we have a lot more vaccinators ready to go in when needed with recruitment continuing from June onwards.

Some 83% of those aged 65 to 69 have registered for a Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccinations for this group started earlier this week.

From January to last week, there has been a 98% reduction in cases for healthcare workers and 99% reduction for those aged over 85 and 100% reduction for nursing homes.

We have delivery changes to every vaccine for nearly every week.

He added: The degree of protection provided by the vaccines is being monitored closely. However, it is likely that further rounds of vaccinations will be needed next year.

It is evident that the disease is evolving such that a range of variants of different severity and infectiousness have already been detected.

Sinn Feins David Cullinane said that life is starting to open up and the country can now see the finishing horizon.

The quicker we see the easing of restrictions the better, so it cant come soon enough for all of us.

I fully appreciate it has to be based on pubic health advice. I appeal to people to stick with the advice.

Mr Donnelly also said that Ireland is projected to receive just under 940,000 vaccines in the month of April, which includes Janssen vaccines expected next week.

Mr Donnelly said he also met with the chief medical officer on Wednesday about including India in the countrys red list.

He said he is expecting a recommendation on the matter this week.

Fianna Fails John McGuinness said he believes there is an issue around vaccine messaging.

The message at the best of times has been confusing, he added.

We have to be clear and inform people on what we expect to come and then we have to inform them as to what is here and who is going to be vaccinated next.
Tens of millions of pounds in foreign aid may still go to China despite a promise to slash funding to the global superpower.

Whitehall ministries, including the business department, will not be covered by the new clampdown on cash flowing to Beijing.

It means projects  including a plan to build floating offshore wind farms in China  will still be entitled to money from the aid budget.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced on Wednesday that his department will cut funding for programmes in China by 95 per cent.

Tens of millions of pounds in foreign aid may still go to China despite a promise to slash funding to the global superpower. Whitehall ministries, including the business department, will not be covered by the new clampdown on cash flowing to Beijing. Pictured: Children take part in an Earth Day parade in Suqian, China

But the reduction will not include contributions from the rest of Whitehall. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which is responsible for almost half of the aid to China, will continue to fund schemes there.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith last night said the revelation made a mockery of Mr Raab's announcement. The former Tory leader demanded that the 'whole of government cut its spending at once'.

Despite a promise a decade ago to stop sending foreign aid to the world's second biggest economy, China has continued to benefit from funding by British taxpayers.

Projects paid for by the business department include 1.5million on developing plans for floating offshore wind farms and wave energy hubs.

Officials said the aim of the programme was 'to promote the economic development of China by reducing the cost of energy and reliance on fossil fuels'.

Other spending by the department in 2019 included 851,561 on researching air pollution in cities and 438,795 on gastric cancer screening in rural areas.

Some 20,161 went on a photography project using archive images to document life in pre-communist China, and 24,740 was used to increase the uptake of syphilis tests among gay men.

The Government has shelved a manifesto commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on overseas aid due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis, cutting it to 0.5 per cent. It means the budget will be cut by 4 billion to around 10 billion this year.

Mr Raab said ministers intended for the 0.7 per cent target to return 'when the fiscal situation allows', but did not set out what the criteria for this was.

The business department said last night: 'We do not provide aid funding for projects that support Chinese development.'
By Kalle Benallieapr. Reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today.

After the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues had to postpone its 19th session due to the pandemic, the 20th sessions opening ceremony focused on the previous theme, Peace, justice and strong institutions: the role Indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16.

Finlands Anne Nuorgam, who was nominated to continue as chair of the Permanent Forum, said I will make every effort to live up to their expectations and to ensure the smooth conduct of the session being held under the particularly challenging circumstances arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The meetings will be conducted until April 30 at the United Nations headquarters in New York with limited in-person meetings for the opening and closing meetings. Indigenous peoples organizations and other attendees are required to be online.

The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was first established July 28, 2000. Its mandate is to address Indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

Nuorgam said the forums 20th session Development Goal 16 is to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, President of the 75th session of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkir, and Vice President of the Economic and Social Council Ambassador Juan Sandoval Mendiolea spoke about various Indigenous issues like violence against Indigenous women and girls, the effects of the pandemic on Indigenous communities and vaccine distribution.

Other speakers included Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin, Vice President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia David Choquehuanca Cespedes and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was the last of the speakers.

I strongly affirm the United States support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and our commitment to advance Indigenous peoples rights at home and abroad, she said.

She added, Our first White House Council on Native American Affairs meeting, of this administration, will be held this Friday and I hope to address Indigenous issues through this council.

At the end of the session the findings of the Study on Indigenous Peoples autonomies: experiences and perspectives by Jens Dahl, who was appointed to conduct and present the study for the forums 19th session, was explained. Forum members were able to comment and ask questions.

A virtual informal meeting will be Tuesday at 9 a.m. EST. A panel discussion will take place on this years theme with an interactive discussion. As well as the study Climate change and Indigenous peoples by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim will be discussed.
This May 18, 1969, photo made available by NASA shows Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon.
The Lincoln Project attacks Donald Trump in its latest ad (Fox News grab)

The Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans-turned-Donald-Trump-critics, has targeted the former president in a TV advert that will air in Palm Beach  where Mr Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort is based.

In the ad, launching on Thursday, the group pokes at Mr Trump by calling Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell the true leader of the Republican Party, claiming the Kentucky lawmaker is going to build another GOP without the former president.

Josh Holmes, Mr McConnell's former chief of staff who now hosts a conservative podcast, was also mentioned, and the group said he "acts like you [Trump] are a nobody and laughs about how Mitch ignores you."

The ad further goes on telling Mr Trump that "now everyone is saying you're old, impotent, [and] an embarrassment."

When calling him impotent, the group was likely claiming Mr Trump lacked political power now that hes out of office, not that his male fertility was at risk.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

The Lincoln Project, which formed in 2020 ahead of the presidential election to rally against Mr Trump, told the Palm Beach Post that the group decided to air the ad in Palm Beach because they knew Mr Trump would likely see the commercials. The former president was infamous for dutifully watching Fox & Friends and other Fox News shows, where the new ad will air.

"And they will come to Mar-a-Lago, tricking you with cheap gifts, like a Dollar Store silver bowl," said the commercial narrator, referencing a silver bowl Senator Rick Scott of Florida gifted the president at a recent visit to Mar-a-Lago.

"But in Washington, Mitch runs the party. You made the MAGA movement, Donald, and they are taking it all away from you while using your name to make money."

This was the second direct attack the Lincoln Project has launched in Palm Beach, Florida. A few days prior to the 2020 presidential election, the group purchased several billboards with images of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner on them. The ads insinuated that the couple were delighted by how many Americans died from Covid-19.

Story continues

Mr Trump has lost some of his access to the MAGA movement after he was banned from social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook following the deadly insurrection that took place at the US Capitol on 6 January. Twitter has indicated the president would likely never be allowed back on the site.

The former president, who has resided at Mar-a-Lago since leaving the White House, has instead relied on interviews on cable networks like Fox News and Newsmax to reach supporters.

Thus far, he's indicated that he will likely run for president again in 2024.

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Biden preparing to recognise Armenian genocide, risking backlash from Turkey
The federal government has vetoed Victorias controversial Belt and Road agreement with China. Chinas embassy has predictably warned this will only cause bilateral relations, already deep in the doldrums, to worsen further.

Over the past year Beijing has hit Australia with a barrage of politically motivated trade sanctions affecting numerous exports, from coal and copper to barley and beef. The latest spat therefore raises the obvious fear it could trigger even more of Chinas trade wrath.

The cancellation of Victorias Belt and Road Initiative deal with China was an early test of new Commonwealth powers to veto state government agreements with foreign governments. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Beijing might well roll out additional measures. We will have to wait and see. But its worth keeping in mind a few important things as this all plays out. All in all, the Australian economy is quite resilient to Chinas coercive trade sanctions. But that does not mean we should go around unnecessarily poking Beijing in the eye.

China is by far Australias largest export market. However, one key lesson from Beijings recent trade sanctions against Australia is that the damage has been far smaller than many initially feared.
Workers at Port Botany boarded a ship where a dozen sailors later tested positive to Covid-19 during a 24-hour window that it was docked in Sydney - but weren't themselves tested for the virus until three weeks later.

The Inge Kosan bulk ship came from Papua New Guinea and arrived in Sydney on March 31 before leaving for Vanuatu - where 12 of the 13 workers on board then tested positive.

The body of a man believed to be from the ship later washed up dead onshore on the island.

NSW Health revealed 15 workers boarded the ship for 'routine activities', with all of them not tested for Covid-19 until this week - raising fears that an infection could have been missed and spread out into the community.

So far, only six have returned negative tests with the rest still pending.

15 Australian workers boarded a Covid-infected ship in Port Botany - but weren't tested until three weeks later (pictured, another ship at the port)

Vanuatu banned outbound travel from its main island for three days after the Covid-infected body washed up on a beach.

The body of a Filipino fisherman was discovered near the capital of Port Vila on April 11 and was then taken to a local mortuary for testing.

Vanuatu authorities detained a UK-flagged tanker after the remains were discovered, RNZ reported.

Prime Minister Bob Loughman announced the body tested positive to coronavirus and imposed the three-day travel ban from the country's main island Efate.

The body of a Filipino fisherman was discovered near the capital of Port Vila on April 11 (pictured, police at the scene)

The restriction on travel was brought in while authorities conduct contact tracing to ensure the infection hasn't spread wider across the islands.

Mr Loughman encouraged locals to get tested at Vila Central.

Director General of Health Russell Tamata said 16 people are quarantining at Ramada Hotel following the discovery of the Covid-positive body.

The quarantine hotel guests are mostly police officers who attended the scene when the fisherman was discovered.

The likelihood of community transmission is minor, Mr Tamata said.

Vanuatu has only recorded three coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago.
Two Alaska sightseeing planes collided in 2019 because the views of the pilots were obscured and aircraft-tracking systems failed to warn them about nearby aircraft, federal investigators concluded on Tuesday. Six people died, and 10 people survived.

The National Transportation Safety Board in its probable-cause finding determined that the limitations of the see and avoid concept prevented the pilots from seeing each other before the collision. The board also cited a lack of alerts from the planes display systems.

The board during its meeting also noted the planes structures or a passenger had limited the pilots views.

Mountain Air Service pilot Randy Sullivan and his four passengers, and a passenger in a plane owned by Taquan Air were killed. Ten people were injured when the aircrafts converged at 3,350 feet (1,021 meters).

The NTSB, citing information provided by the operators, said the Ketchikan-based floatplanes were on sightseeing tours and both converging on a scenic waterfall before returning to Ketchikan when the crash occurred. Mountain Airs single-engine de Havilland DHC-2 MK 1 Beaver and Taquans larger de Havilland DHC-3 Otter collided just after noon over the west side of George Inlet following tours of Misty Fjords National Monument.

NTSB Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the see and avoid system that pilots rely on to avoid mid-air crashes doesnt work well in high-traffic areas where the sight-seeing planes were traveling.

Chairman Robert Sumwalt said the pilots didnt see each other in time to avoid a collision. Contributing factors included preoccupation with matters unrelated to duties such as attempting to provide passengers with a scenic view and physiological limits on the human vision, reducing the time opportunity to see-and-avoid other aircraft, he said.

Staff members told the board the Otter pilot recalled seeing a white and red flash, then a tremendous collision.

The Beaver pilots view would have been obstructed by the airplanes structure and a passenger seated to his right during the critical moments before the crash. The Otter pilots view was obscured by a window post, the NTSB staff said.

William Bramble, the NTSBs human performance specialist, told the board that both planes were equipped with systems that track other planes, but visual and audible alerts werent working in either plane.

The Otter pilot seemed to miss seeing the target (the other plane) on the display because he last recalled looking at the display about four minutes before the collision, Bramble said.

Contributing to the crash were the Federal Aviation Administration allowing new transceivers that lacked alert capability and the lack of a requirement for air-traffic-advisory systems to have audio alerts on planes flown by companies that carry passengers, according to the probable-cause finding.

Board members also recommended Tuesday that the FAA require planes that operate in high-traffic tour areas broadcast their locations to other aircraft.

The FAA said in October it had began a sweeping examination of safety issues specific to the challenges of flying in Alaska. The agency said it would carefully consider all of todays recommendations from the NTSB as that work continues.

Sumwalt, speaking to reporters, said the investigation found systems limitations that werent necessarily known before.

He said before the Otter system was upgraded in 2015, its system could generate visual and aural alerts. After the upgrade, he said there were no algorithms to generate alerts. NTSB investigator Aaron Sauer said the upgrades installed in 2015 met the FAA standard at the time.

One of the safety issues the board cited was what it said was an inadequate checklist used in Taquan Air operations. The checklist found in the Otter did not include an item for a device that transmits certain altitude data, and the board recommend the carrier update its checklists, according to a summary of the boards actions.

Messages seeking comment were left for Taquan Air on Tuesday.

In documents released earlier by the NTSB, Otter pilot Lou Beck estimated his plane took five seconds to hit the water 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of Ketchikan. At least three people could be heard saying, brace brace brace, on a camera recording audio before the Taquan plane hit the water.

The Mountain Air Beaver plane broke up in flight, scattering debris across 3,000 feet (914 meters).

Mountain Air Service closed after the accident.

Krisher reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed.

Top Photo: In this photo provided by the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB investigator Clint Crookshanks, left, and member Jennifer Homendy stand near the site of some of the wreckage of the DHC-2 Beaver, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, that was involved in a midair collision near Ketchikan, Alaska, a couple of days earlier. The pilots of two Alaskan sightseeing planes that collided in midair couldnt see the other aircraft because airplane structures or a passenger blocked their views, and they didnt get electronic alerts about close aircraft because safety systems werent working properly. Thats what the staff of the National Transportation Safety board found in their investigation. (Peter Knudson/NTSB via AP)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The two sides have been engaging in a war of words over the future strategy of the funeral services company

PLC ( ) chairman Clive Whiley is on his bike after shareholders voted to remove him as a director today.

The vote, by 24.2mln (55%) votes to 20.1mln (45%), signifies a victory for dissident shareholder Phoenix UK Fund, which holds just under 30% of the company.

Shareholders representing around 88% of the issued shares of the funeral services company voted on the resolution.

Gary Channon, a representative of Phoenix, was voted on to the board as an executive director by 26.8mln (61%) votes to 17.5mln (39%).

At the request of a number of the company's larger shareholders, since this shareholder meeting was convened, the independent directors have held substantive discussions with both Phoenix and Clive Whiley in order to try and find a mutually acceptable solution which would allow the company to benefit from the continued involvement of both Clive Whiley and Gary Channon (as a representative of the company's largest shareholder) in developing the company's strategy for the consideration of all shareholders. A proposal was put to Phoenix whereby Clive Whiley would continue as chairman, but in a non-executive capacity, with Gary Channon being appointed as interim chief executive officer until a more permanent appointment can be made. In spite of the best efforts of the independent directors and the willingness of Clive Whiley to proceed in this manner, unfortunately, it has not been possible to reach such a compromise, said Dean Moore, the acting chairman of Dignity.

The fall-out started, according to Phoenix, when it uncovered what it believes are very serious issues in the prepaid funeral plan business.

We gathered the relevant information and sent it to Clive ahead of the budgeting process and finalisation of the annual results. In our view, his subsequent actions in dealing with the matter, internally and externally, left us no choice but to seek his removal as a director, it said in a call-to-arms message to shareholders last month.

Dignity, for its part, criticised Phoenix for making public some of the strategic plans being proposed by the funeral company as the two sides continue their boardroom battle.

One of the funds proposals is for Dignity to spin out its crematoria business, while retaining a majority holding, to raise capital and highlight the value of the remaining Dignity shares.

There are significant nuances to any strategic plan of this nature before it can be made public, the independent directors griped in response to Phoenix going public with some of its plans.

The independent directors  Gillian Kent, Paul Humphreys and Dean Moore  said that the decision to spill the beans on the options being considered cast doubt on the suitability of Gary Channon, Phoenix UKs chief investment officer, to be given executive duties. With Channon and co having won the day, it is no surprise Kent, Humpreys and Moore have tendered their resignations.
CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In the BBC series "My Grandparents' War," now airing on PBS in the U.S., World War II history comes to life as modern-day celebrities, including Helena Bonham Carter, learn about their grandparents' experiences in that turbulent era. Author Elizabeth Vrato has a similar story to share.

Vrato, a Chicago attorney and author of The Counselors: Conversations with 18 Courageous Women Who Have Changed the World (Foreword by Bill Clinton), discovered just last year that her own grandfather, Kadri Cakrani, was also a person who changed the world with incredible acts of humanitarianism and bravery.

Chicago Lawyer magazine's March 2021 issue is the first American publication to spotlight Commandant Kadri Cakrani, who sheltered approximately 600 Jewish people in Albania while serving as the military officer in charge of its Berat region during Nazi occupation.

"I spent four years researching, traveling, and interviewing leaders who changed the world, such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Attorney General Janet Reno," says Vrato. "And, all along there was this dramatic, heroic story within my own family."

Vrato first learned of her grandfather's wartime actions in a Facebook post about the new Solomon Museum of Jewish History in Berat. Shortly afterwards she managed to visit the museum, just as borders closed at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Some of the extraordinary testimony, correspondence, and photos she encountered there, collected by Professor Simon Vrusho, now are viewable on KadriCakrani.org.

"I'm so proud this story can finally be told," Vrato says. "My grandfather shows us the best aspects of humanity and of Europe."

Commandant Cakrani bravely rallied his soldiers and the local citizenry to shelter Jews from the Nazis, even though the penalty for doing so was death. Fluent in German after having gone to school in Vienna, Cakrani lied capably under repeated threats and questioning by Nazi officials, saying he had no information about any Jews in the Berat region. He never turned over a single name. Whenever he got word of Nazi sweeps to find Jews, the sheltered refugees - from Poland, Germany, France and Macedonia - were moved from one part of the city to another, keeping them safe. He also took the enormous personal risk of hiding Jews in his own home.

At the end of WWII, Cakrani himself became a refugee. He put his life on the line once again in opposing Communist dictator Enver Hoxha in his takeover of Albania. Chased by Hoxha's death warrant and aided by British officers Colonel David Smiley and Lieutenant Colonel Billy McLean, Cakrani narrowly escaped to a displaced persons camp in Italy. Cakrani was granted political asylum by President Truman and worked with U.S. Intelligence to try to restore democracy to Albania. Furious at Cakrani's escape and protection by the West, Dictator Hoxha seized all of Cakrani's property and assets.

Kadri Cakrani never spoke publicly against Hoxha or about his work to shelter Jewish people during the Holocaust, in order not to endanger the lives of his fellow soldiers and friends who remained behind the Iron Curtain under Hoxha's regime. His story remained untold for decades.

Today Cakrani's son and daughter, along with his granddaughter Elizabeth Vrato, are available to provide commentary and details or to answer questions.

In addition to being the granddaughter of Kadri Cakrani, Vrato is the great-granddaughter of one of the Founding Fathers of Albania, who signed its Declaration of Independence. She is a graduate of NYU Law School, a Truman Scholar, and has practiced law in the public and private sectors, including with Kirkland & Ellis LLP. The anecdotes and life lessons she shares have broad family appeal for any human-interest audience, including the value of every human life, the importance of combatting antisemitism, and the fragility of democracy.

Contact:

Debra Pickett

Page 2 Communications

deb@page2comm.com
The rich are preparing for a summer of international travel by charging up their private jet travel cards, according to one of the industry's big players.

Air Partner said new UK customers have added 750,000 worth of deposits to their accounts with the company in February and March.

It also saw a 15 per cent rise in sales and renewals of its jet travel cards year-on-year.

Jet set: Private jet firm Air Partner said new UK customers have added 750,000 worth of deposits to their accounts with the company in February and March

However, this figure is when compared with February and March 2020, when Covid-19 started to weigh on international travel.

Chief executive Mark Briffa said it was no surprise that a rise in US demand continued in February and March.

He said: 'This has also been the case in the UK as confidence returns ahead of the anticipated easing of restrictions.'

The Government is to say soon on whether it will allow international holidays to restart next month.
Growing up blind in a rural community like Grand Lake, Louisiana, can feel isolating for anyone. Even if you count the plentiful fish that draw anglers from across the state to Calcasieu Lake, Grand Lake doesnt have enough people to be formally incorporated.

For a young blind woman growing up in the area, it took her first trip to a summer camp in Baton Rouge at 8 years old to make her realize that she wasnt one of the only blind children in the world.

Then I didnt feel so alone because I was like, Wow, look at all these blind kids! she said (Gambit has agreed to preserve anonymity for the woman and several other survivors).

She didnt meet a blind adult until 2017, when she was 19 years old and a junior in high school. Despite being nervous about leaving home for two months, she nonetheless decided to attend a summer program for high school students at the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB) in Ruston. The program, which used blind instructors, aimed to provide a space in which to learn critical independent living skills, ranging from Braille instruction to basic home management skills.

I was really afraid because I was kind of sheltered, she said. [But] I didnt really know much or how to take care of myself.

The LCB is largely funded through government grants, contracts and other programs. Between 2014 and 2019  the last year financial data is available for the LCB  the organization received more than $8.6 million from various governmental agencies and programs.

Her first few days at the center went well, she said, noting that the instructors and students seemed nice. But her sense of safety would quickly be shattered. During an exercise designed to teach her how to use a cane to cross city streets, her instructor Rex Schuttler  one of the first blind adults she had ever met  sexually assaulted her, she said. According to the young woman, the abuse continued throughout the eight weeks she stayed at the LCBs facility in Ruston.

On Dec. 14, 2020, she decided to come forward and report her assault. A growing online movement in the blind community dubbed #MarchingTogether had taken hold. Men and women from across the country began openly discussing repeated instances of sexual assault and rape at the LCB and other facilities and events associated with the National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest nonprofit for people who are blind or have low vision.

Three months later, on March 15, she received a letter from Mark Riccobono, who heads the NFB, detailing the results of an independent investigation into Schuttler by Tonya Bana, an outside employment attorney in Baltimore, Maryland. According to a copy of the letter obtained by Gambit, Bana found Schuttler has a longstanding and persistent pattern of engaging in inappropriate nonconsensual physical and verbal conduct and communications of a sexual nature with women at Federation training centers.

The letter states that Schuttler acknowledged he inappropriately touched at least two students and adds that the undisputed evidence reflects that Mr. Schuttler engaged in overtly sexual physical and verbal conduct and communications. Despite those findings, the only disciplinary actions the NFB took against Schuttler were permanently expelling him from the organization and recommending he seek psychological evaluation, counseling and/or treatment for his compulsive behavior.

The NFB appears to have gone out of its way to include comments from Schuttler defending his actions and suggesting his abuse of the student constituted an isolated lapse in judgment by emphasizing that she is a pretty girl and asserting that at the time he was in a new relationship, stressed out, and begging for attention.

Additionally, the letter mentions that Schuttler said during questioning that the student did not object and just kinda let it happen, which, she told Gambit, made her question once again if the abuse was her fault, something with which many survivors of sexual abuse struggle.

I was thinking, could I really let this happen? she said. But then I thought, it's not my fault. I just  I don't know.

The former students story is not an anomaly. Interviews Gambit conducted with former students at LCB paint a grim picture of alleged chronic racism, sexual assault, homophobia and transphobia, as well as often harsh teaching tactics which experts say could result in long-term psychological damage.

Several former attendees of the LCB describe the training center in Ruston as having a longstanding toxic culture of various forms of verbal, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Gambit talked with eight people who say they experienced or witnessed abuse at the Louisiana center, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Although neither the LCB nor the NFB would respond to specific questions about complaints, both have previously acknowledged longstanding allegations of assault and misconduct. Through NFB spokesman Chris Danielsen, both LCB and NFB said they are undertaking a series of steps to address these survivors concerns.

But survivors say so far, those steps have been insufficient.

When I started [the LCB summer] program is when Id seen confident blind adults and blind kids, so I really felt good. Thats why I felt so let down now with everything thats going on, said the former student who reported Schuttler. Youd think youd have a support system with this organization, and that nothing bad would happen  that theyre there to protect you.

The underlying philosophy at the Louisiana center, which has programs for middle school, high school and adult students, is that through skills building, learning alternative methods of completing daily activities and meeting other confident blind people, blind and low-vision students will gain the self-confidence they need to find employment and generally live more independently, according to the organizations website.

But several former students at the center said while they support the centers objectives, they question what they consider a one-size-fits-all approach and harsh methods used by instructors, some of whom are blind but have no formal education in teaching blind people.

According to those students, staff at the center have particular ideas about what makes a blind person independent and therefore they want all students to learn the same skills and complete them in the same way.

For instance, the center says on its website all students must use long, non-collapsible, white canes at all times  though it notes other centers only require you to use them for travel  and that guide dogs arent allowed during class hours. To ensure low-vision students at the center learn not to rely on their sight for daily activities, the center requires them to wear shades and learn the same skills, such as Braille and cane travel, as other students.

A former student who completed the centers Buddy Program for middle school students in 1992 and STEP Program for high school students in 1993 said that when she was at the center, instructors offered little guidance for students when they needed help.

I think the idea that they were trying to promote is that you're supposed to make people confident by making them uncomfortable, she said. The idea is, oh, a blind person is never going to be independent if you don't sort of make them do things themselves.

The former student said a particular exercise for cane travel training would involve sighted staff dropping a student off somewhere in town and having them find their way back to the center alone. Another student, who completed the task at least four times during his training, reported feeling a great sense of accomplishment afterward. But the student who attended the center in 1992 and 1993 and completed the exercise when she was 13 and 14 said she found it traumatizing, especially when she ended up in the middle of traffic.

I was in the middle of a street somewhere in the middle of traffic, and it really scared me, she said. If you would ask how to do something or if you needed assistance to do something, people would just tell you 'do it yourself.' It was really set up to make you feel like a failure basically if there was something that you couldn't accomplish or that you needed more support with.

The former student said she had a major depressive episode after her time at the center. I just felt like I couldn't measure up to the type of blind person that I was supposed to be, she said.

Stacy Cervenka, who attended LCBs adult program from 2001 to 2002 and held several leadership positions in the national organization before leaving in 2018, also described an experience she had during one of her classes as traumatic.

Cervenka, who was 21 when she attended the program, said she has had a fear of open flames ever since one of her friends in high school died in a house fire. At the center, staff told her to light birthday candles and then cook on a grill as part of her daily living skills building. When working at the grill, she began crying and begging not to continue, she said, but she felt pressured to complete the task.

The whole time I was bawling, and I was like, 'I don't want to do this, she said. As an adult, you shouldn't be forced to do something that is traumatizing to you.

Cervenka said the incident, which happened in front of her peers, was so upsetting that she has steered clear of open flames since. She said she believes the center could have handled the situation differently and without humiliating her in front of her classmates.

It's normal at a blindness center to have fears and to have to overcome them, she said. It's very different to be forced while you're bawling and saying you don't want to do something.

Reginald Parquet, a professor at the Tulane University School of Social Work, told Gambit he would have instead recommended having Cervenka take a series of mini steps such as holding a grill utensil in her hand and rewarding her for each step.

To me, that activity only served to retraumatize the student, he said. It only served to reinforce her fears and to make overcoming that situation that much more difficult.

Parquet said when a person enters a new environment, such as when students at the LCB begin their training, one of the most crucial parts in helping them adjust and engage in their environment is establishing trust with the people responsible for their wellbeing.

When that trust is broken, he said, it can have long-term effects on a persons relationships with both others and themselves.

As human beings, we are hardwired to be in relationships with others, Parquet said. If we can't trust, it's difficult to even form meaningful relationships with people throughout the rest of our lives.

Cervenka said these experiences are evidence of a mantra repeated at the Louisiana center: We tear you down to build you back up.

That tearing you down is really tough, Cervenka said.

Blind instructors working at the Louisiana center, who were tasked with teaching blind adults and children life skills, also face accusations of making racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ comments to students.

One particular LCB instructor, James Mays, was well known among several students at the center for making what they said were aggressive and allegedly discriminatory comments to students.

One former student reported Mays telling students he would like to kick another students ass, while another who attended the center in 2017 said Mays would tell students who werent paying attention in class to Get your head out of your ass and focus.

As students, we would laugh at it, the latter student said. When we'd hang out together, we would think that was so funny, but we thought it was rude, too. We're like, 'A staff should not say that to a student.'

Two students, who attended the centers adult program in separate years around a decade apart, said Mays also made comments to female students about how they should be trying to marry a rich man.

One of those students described Mays and other staff members using racial slurs toward students in class. He said he remembered Mays saying, "I'm not a racist but Black people need to learn that if they want something, they need to work for it.

We would talk amongst ourselves and say, 'He talks to us like a slave master, the former student said, referring to conversations he had about Mays with other students of color at the center.

I think it was an effort to get under people's skin, he added. Like, 'I'm being angry, I'm trying to ... tear you down before I build you back up, and I'm going to do everything I can to be mean. If a racial slur is going to be a part of the formula, I'm going to throw everything at you that I got.'

The student said when he would complain to staff about these comments, another staff member would tell him he needed to understand that older staff members grew up in a time and place where these comments were acceptable.

The problem was my objection, not that they were doing it, the former student said.

Likewise, two former students said staff at the center would make anti-LGBT comments in class, and even incorporate homophobic rhetoric into classroom examples.

The students said they witnessed in two separate years staff at the center refuse to use a transgender classmates correct pronouns in class or to call them by their preferred name. One of the students, who attended the center in the last five years, said Mays would often make comments to other students about how being transgender was unnatural, silly and crazy in front of the transgender student.

When reached by phone, Mays did not deny the allegations, but said he might have made a mistake over the years and did not mean to hurt anybodys feelings.

I know that I havent done anything wrong, he said, adding that he taught students at the center toughness and how to live in this tough, old world. Mays, who is in his 80s, said hes dealt with minorities and other people in the country throughout his career.

Danielsen, the NFB spokesman, declined to comment on allegations against Mays but noted Mays no longer works at the Louisiana center.

One student said during lessons instructors would say LGBT people were in denial of their heterosexuality and compare that to people denying their blindness. When describing its methodology on its website, the center mentions how students are expected to accept themselves as blind people as part of their training.

Sometimes the staff would be leveraging their homophobia ... in order to say, 'Look, these people are confused, and they don't understand they're male, they're supposed to be in love with women and women only because that's the natural way of things, the student said. They're in denial about that, and that's what's holding them back, and that is what's going to happen with you if you deny your blindness.

According to this student, They would just openly use that, like it was a textbook example, to talk about being in denial about blindness. That just created a space where people were uncomfortable ... that led to this hostile culture.

The same student said on multiple occasions male staff members at the center would tell stories about women who were sexually assaulted, using it as an opportunity to make derogatory comments about these women and argue that abortion is wrong.

They would be telling this like they thought they were teaching a life lesson, when in fact, they're basically telling everyone there who's a survivor of sexual assault that they're at fault, the student said.

He said when he would complain about these comments, staff at the center would tell him to stop complaining and be a man.

Ultimately, if this center is supposed to be teaching me how to be a man, what kind of man are they teaching me to be  a misogynist and a racist? the former student said. That's not the kind of man I want to be.

The center would often take the stance: We're not here to make this a safe space, we're here to prepare you for the world, he added.

Parquet, the Tulane professor, said creating a safe space  where community members are heard and respected  can actually go a long way toward preparing a person for the world.

It's a space where they can be themselves, where they can articulate their deepest thoughts and feelings, and do it in a way that they won't be judged, Parquet said. What greater preparation for the real world can there be?

Several people with whom Gambit spoke said they experienced sexual abuse and misconduct by LCB staff and students while attending the center. In some cases, they reported the abuse to Pam Allen, the director of the Louisiana Center for the Blind and the vice president of the National Federation of the Blind, but they say they believe too often little was done to punish their abusers or prevent abuse from recurring.

One student said he witnessed what he described as a culture of victim blaming when women would report sexual misconduct to leadership. He said employees would ask women what they were wearing at the time and why they were present wherever the abuse took place.

The student said while he was at the center, students would often take matters into their own hands when a classmate would tell them another student had abused them.

That's something that staff should be comfortable doing, too, and showing role modeling that you take a stance against that kind of thing, he said, instead of asking the woman, 'Well, what were you wearing? Why were you there? You have to understand that he doesn't understand boundaries.

Even in instances in which the center investigated allegations, little was done, former students say. For instance, a student who attended the adult program in 2010 said she was touched inappropriately by a male student who was decades older than her when they were walking home one day. When she told Allen, the offender was given a warning but was still allowed to stay in the adult program and graduate, according to the student.

Likewise, another female student who attended the adult program in the last five years said she was touched inappropriately by an immersion student  a graduate student from Louisiana Tech University who sat in on adult program classes as part of his training to be an orientation and mobility instructor.

She said her girlfriend reported it to an instructor at the center, and the incident was eventually reported to Allen, but no one from the LCB ever called her in to ask her about what she experienced. Instead, she said, they questioned the student who abused her, and he denied everything. She said there were no consequences of which she was aware. In fact, she says, the immersion student continued abusing her for a month and a half. She was 18 and he was 28.

It was a situation that they were made aware of and took no precautions or definite action afterward, she said. All he had to do was say, 'No, I didn't do that.' And they were like, OK, cool.

The victims allege that Allen and Riccobono, the president of the NFB, were both aware of several instances of sexual abuse and misconduct within the organization for at least several years before issuing public apology letters last year.

Cervenka, who was a member of the NFB from 1999-2018 and held several leadership roles in the organization during that time, emailed both Allen and Riccobono on Sept. 28, 2018 about discussing how to better prevent sexual misconduct within the NFB.

I understand that you are both aware of many instances of sexual misconduct within our organization, Cervenka wrote in the email. I know that conversations and discussions have been taking place over the past few years and some action steps have been taken. But we still have people in positions of authority who we know have victimized young women. We still have a culture where these things are talked about by groups of friends in hotel rooms but not at National Board meetings.

Cervenka said she had a long call with Allen following the email, in which she told her of every incidence of sexual misconduct she had personally experienced or had heard about from friends, and Allen was aware of all of them.

What Pam [Allen] does is she will make you feel heard, she will empathize with you, she'll make you feel like you talked to your big sister, Cervenka said. But then that's sort of the thing like, 'OK, I've made you feel heard, you've gotten it off your chest, and then they don't do anything about it. They kind of pacify you that way.

She said after that call, she talked with several of her friends in the organization, and many of them said theyd had similar conversations with Allen and Riccobono.

They keep us so siloed. If they can keep us not having them together, then they can act shocked and surprised at each person, Cervenka said. So many people have called Mark [Riccobono], but when we don't know that each other is doing that, Mark can act surprised.

This response is why many people who said theyve experienced sexual abuse at the center have also said they felt alone in their experiences at the time, even though many people have similar stories spanning decades.

The former LCB student who told Gambit she was abused by an immersion student at the center said when people began sharing their stories on Facebook last year, she learned for the first time that some of her classmates had experienced abuse, too.

I had never heard about a single incident like this until everything came out because of how much it had been silenced, she said. And then when it all came out, I found out that there were people I knew, girls I knew, that had experienced this that had never felt safe to speak up about it.

Though survivors are finding strength in numbers, many are still scared to share their experiences of abuse at NFB-affiliated training centers and events because they fear loss of services and advocacy from the organization.

Among other things, the national organization provides scholarships and other opportunities to blind people. People wanting to work in the blindness training and education fields fear adverse professional consequences for speaking out against the organization.

The NFB is a large force in the relatively small blind and low-vision community, with an estimated membership of more than 50,000 and with state and local chapters across the country. Each chapter and division has leadership positions, and members can work their way up to higher positions in the organization.

The organization is the largest advocacy group for people who are blind or have low vision in the country. It advocates for policy changes and accessibility, hosts annual national conventions for its members and provides programming at its training centers, which people attend from all over the world.

In many places, they're the only game in town, Cervenka said. It's easy to get blackballed.

Back in December, people circulated an open letter from survivors from the NFB and the National Blindness Professional Certification Board, a national certifying body based in Ruston that certifies people to train and work with blind people. The letter outlined issues in the NFB, including its handling of sexual misconduct, racism, ableism, psychological and other forms of abuse, and recommended concrete actions for both organizations to take. More than 400 people signed in support.

Cervenka said since then, shes heard of at least a dozen cases where someone not employed by the NFB signed the letter and their employers were later contacted requesting their removal or other professional consequences. She said nobody was fired in these cases, but some employers have responded by telling their employees to lay low.

What it's proven to me is how, even when we say in our society that we are against sexual assault and that we support survivors ... when it comes down to it, it's surprising how many people don't and how many people shy away from it, Cervenka said.

At the Louisiana center, its an even smaller community, where word can travel quickly if someone reports an incident to staff. A former student who attended the centers adult program in the last five years said staff gossiped a lot. She felt if she reported her abuse to a center employee, everyone would know within hours what was said and who said it. She said though her case was reported, she feared ostracization from staff and peers at the center for going to leadership.

There's this type of everyone-knows-everyone vibe there, she said. So, if you say something to the wrong person, or try to report something to the wrong person, not only is it probably not going to get reported, but it's going to get [around] who said something.

Honestly, I don't really feel like there was a person [working] there ... where reporting something would have been kept secret, she added.

After the initial flood of stories online from people who said they experienced abuse at NFB affiliated training centers and events, Riccobono, who heads the national organization, published an open letter to survivors on Dec. 16, 2020.

In the letter, he wrote, Our hearts break for the survivors of abuse and sexual misconduct who have bravely shared incidents that have happened within our organization over the decades. He also apologized for the mistakes I personally made in dealing with inappropriate behavior in the past.

Likewise, Allen, who heads the Louisiana center, said in a December statement that the centers executive boards highest priority and sincerest commitment is to strengthen existing and establish center policies, practices, and procedures that ensure we protect participants physical and emotional well-being.

We will support survivors to cope with sustained trauma and help them restore a sense of security, Allen said. This vow of protection extends to our responsibility to shield others from individuals who prove themselves predators or exhibit inappropriate actions.

Danielsen, the NFB spokesman, declined to comment on specific allegations, including those against Schuttler and Mays  except to say that neither are currently employed at the Louisiana center. Schuttler did not respond to multiple requests for comment over several days by email.

However, Danielsen did acknowledge the "critically important issues" raised by survivors when speaking with Gambit and said the organization has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct or abuse of any kind. He pointed to a series of efforts the NFB and LCB have been taking over the last several months.

At the national level, Riccobono announced in a monthly address to members on Jan. 5 that the organization would immediately begin partnering with RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), an anti-sexual violence organization that operates a 24/7 hotline for victims of sexual abuse. The partnership includes trainings, developing a specific code of conduct regarding sexual misconduct and developing strategic response protocols, according to Danielsen.

RAINN held the first of 10 mandatory training sessions for its employees, board members, students and affiliates  including those working at and attending the Louisiana center  on March 23. LCB staff and students are also receiving training from The Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, a nonprofit comprised of 13 sexual assault crisis centers and other agencies, as well as seminars on diversity, inclusion, microaggressions, unconscious bias and trauma-informed counseling.

In the January address, Riccobono also announced the creation of a temporary, six-member Survivors Task Force to help develop new policies within the organization aimed at preventing sexual abuse. Members host virtual weekly meetings in which they consult with the community to develop recommendations on training, changing the overall culture of the organization, involving the blindness community in those attempts to change, and improving the Code of Conduct and its oversight process.

Danielsen said that complaints of sexual abuse and misconduct are being thoroughly investigated by an independent investigator, and said while the organization usually requires Code of Conduct complaints to be filed within a year of the incident, the NFB is accepting all complaints until at least Aug. 1.

But some, like Cervenka, feel training and policies are not enough without enforcement and accountability for staff at the center who she believes mishandled complaints.

When a young woman comes up to you and says she was raped, does it take training to not discourage her from going to the police? she said.

Parquet said that accountability is key in enacting real change at the center, and that accountability should be applied to leadership at the Louisiana center and at the national level, including their board members.

I would tell you, that having worked in the juvenile correctional system for years and having run the state's correctional facilities for years, that the buck stops at the top, Parquet said. In the case of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, I will tell you that it even stops with the board.

He added, If there were any instances where the director of the Louisiana center or the national president knew of allegations and did not act to address them, then they should be held accountable.

Many survivors express frustration that, although some have shared stories of their abuse repeatedly, the initial attention in December to the longstanding abuse problem seems to be waning. They worry that outside of individual Code of Conduct complaints, there doesnt seem to be any large-scale investigation that will hold abusers as well as leadership accountable  particularly those who knew about the abuse and did little or nothing about it.

I think people in December had hope, Cervenka said. They hoped that this was going to make a difference. And now there is, I would describe it as almost despair, like we did the best we could, we went out kicking and screaming, and we got this apology that acknowledged nothing.

Months later, many survivors feel like theyre still waiting for justice, and its prolonging their pain.

The initial former student who reported experiencing sexual abuse at the Ruston center in 2017 said she feels as though the whole situation with everybody just vanished away.

I don't feel like there's any change happening, she said, and it's almost feeling like they don't care.
[April 22, 2021] Global Digital Solutions, Inc. Provides Business Update on Rontan Collection Efforts and Automotive/Aviation Technology Solutions

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital Solutions, Inc. (OTC: GDSI), a Company that is positioning itself as a leader in Automotive and Aviation Technology Solutions, provides a corporate update from CEO William Delgado. Collections The Company has begun collection efforts regarding our $195M damages award. Although unable to discuss specifics, I can say that we have engaged one of the preeminent worldwide security firms to head up these collections. This securities firm has offices in Brazil and will be working with our Brazilian counsel and our team at Boies Schiller Flexner. Automotive Technology The Company has engaged an automotive technology consultant to begin the process of finding the best way to utilize the assets in Brazil. This will include evaluation of electric vehicle supply and/or parts, along with general manufacturing that is currently underway at the plant. Aviation Technology The Company has scheduled its final flight testing for the PALS system, which we are expecting to begin in mid-May. We look forward to providing updates on our testing contractor as we approach the scheduled testing date. We are also looking at other advanced aviation technology solutions for the PALS product, including aircraft spacing and noise abatement. Damages Appeal Rontan and the Bolzans have indicated they would be appealing certain segments of the judgement and damages. Although it is still early, the Company believes that the court was very thorough in its final outcomes and we remain very confident that the segments that can be appealed will be upheld. Since no bond has been secured, all of our collection efforts will continue at full speed and unabated. About Global Digital Solutions, Inc. Global Digital Solutions, Inc. (OTC:GDSI), a Company that is positioning itself as a leadr in Automotive and Aviation Technology Solutions, continues to enhance shareholder value in these areas. In addition to our acquisition strategy, the Company has been awarded damages of specific performance and a $192,000,000 in incidental damages in its lawsuit Grupo Rontan Metalurgica, S. A, ("Rontan") and that company's controlling shareholders, Joao Alberto Bolzan and Jose Carlos Bolzan. Rontan is one of the world's largest manufacturers of original equipment for specialty vehicles for emergency management, first responders, national security, and law enforcement operations. In August of 2019, the Company acquired HarmAlarm. HA was formed in 2002 as a private Texas company to pursue Infrared commercial applications in the aviation services area. HA has developed a system known as Precision Approach Landing System (PALS). PALS provides a high-performance state of the art enhanced Situation Awareness capability for the pilot. The precision and robustness of PALS has generated a host of new applications mainly through "landing trajectory" optimization which provides additional safety margin against weather related hazardous conditions, such as wind shear, wake turbulence, icing, as well as low ceilings and fog. For more information about GDSI, visit http://www.gdsi.co



Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give the Company's current expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond the Company's control, and could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those described. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements include statements regarding moving forward with executing the Company's global growth strategy. The statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict. The Company is providing this information as of the date of this press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to the Risk Factors and other information set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on April 19, 2021, and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

Richard Brown

508.462.9638 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-digital-solutions-inc-provides-business-update-on-rontan-collection-efforts-and-automotiveaviation-technology-solutions-301274660.html SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.

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BOHO VIBES

Florals may be the default print for spring, but this season why not hit refresh with paisley instead? This feathery, teardropshaped pattern is an eye-catching nod to bohemian style, with its roots in Persian history. It was made famous in the 1970s and its hippy vibe will carry you seamlessly through into what will, we hope, be a summer of celebrations.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTION

Paisley is always a good investment as it stands the test of time. Libertys archive paisley scarves are a covetable classic, and designers keep revisiting the print. Among the fashion houses paying homage this season are Gucci, with its flared trousers in psychedelic colours, and Etro  the Italian brands floaty chiffon dresses ooze whimsical glamour.

Camilla Ridley-Day shared advice for embracing this season's paisley trend at any occasion. Pictured: Jacket 250, meand em.com; paisley dress, 96.75, east.co.uk; belt, 49, mintvelvet.co.uk; patent court shoes, 99, jonesbootmaker.com

MODERN MOTIF

Another plus point for this print is that it makes a stylish impact without the need to accessorise too much. I like to wear it all over, hence this feminine cotton maxi dress (right) from East, which uses artisan methods of block printing. Separates make a more subtle statement  try Anthropologies kimono jacket (below), a perfect choice for evenings out or picnics in the park.

COLOUR PALETTE

Paisley works equally well in bold and muted palettes  take your pick to suit your personal style. And on the subject of colour, a useful tip is to pick one of the tones from the print and match it with a jacket or knit for chilly evenings out. Ted Bakers tiered hemline dress (below) adds an extra swish factor, while Baukjens blouse is versatile with jeans if you are still not ready to get your legs out.

NOW SHOP THE TREND...
A pupil hacked into their teacher's computer to change grades after finding the password on a note stuck to a laptop.

The same password was used for access to multiple accounts and the pupil's hack is among the incidents which prompted GCHQ to offer cyber security training to school staff.

After obtaining the password, the pupil was able to access more than 20,000 records and change their grades, GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre says.

The incident, which resulted in disciplinary action for the school by the Information Commissioner's Office, is used as one of four real-life case studies given as part of the Government's new training programme.

The initiative was launched yesterday and school staff are being urged to take part in the free training to improve their defence against online attacks.

Data from the NCSC, which was set up in 2016, shows that 83 per cent of schools experienced some form of cyber security incident in 2019 and less than half of schools say they are confident they are prepared for a cyber attack.

A student hacked into a teacher's computer and changed grades after finding the password on a note stuck to a laptop it has been revealed as the Government's National Cyber Security Centre has launched new training programme for teaching staff after an increase in attacks

The research also revealed that only a third of schools train non-IT staff in cyber security.

In addition, it showed that there was very low use of strong cyber security practices such as two factor authentication.

Another case study from the training details how an unencrypted USB stick containing sensitive pupil data was lost after it was taken off school grounds.

The stick was eventually found by a member of the public who handed it back to the school and reported it to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Sarah Lyons, NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society Engagement, said: 'It's absolutely vital for schools and their staff to understand their cyber risks and how to better protect themselves online.

'That's why we've created an accessible, free training package offering practical steps on cyber security to help busy professionals boost their defences.

'By familiarising themselves with this resource, staff can help reduce the chances of children's vital education being disrupted by cyber criminals.'

The training, available from shines a light on the main threats schools face and outlines the severe impact cyber incidents can have, with one case study showing how a school lost a substantial sum in school fees after reception staff fell victim to a phishing scam.

Data from National Cyber Security Centre, which is part of GCHQ (pictured), shows that 83% of schools experienced an attack in 2019 while less than half feel prepared to deal with one

After tricking the independent school into sharing all parents' contact details, the parents were then emailed by the criminals and send their school fees to a new account by someone claiming to be from the school.

The account belonged to the imposters and the parents' details were also sold on for the purpose of identity fraud.

The final case study detailed how a fraudster contacted a school claiming to be from the Department for Education and asked for the headteacher's email address and the head of finance's contact details.

The fraudster then emailed ransomware to the headmaster which encrypted all files across the school's entire network.

To unlock the files, the criminal demanded 8,000 in cryptocurrency from the school.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: 'It is vital that schools have robust cyber security in place, and these new resources and training will help staff to increase protection from attacks.

'This training will boost support for schools, giving teachers the tools and skills they need to identify possible risks.

'I would strongly encourage all schools to adopt the resources and all staff to complete the training to make sure data is protected.'

The launch of the training builds on a raft of support given to schools since research commissioned by the NCSC in 2019 found 92 per cent of UK schools would welcome more cyber security awareness training for staff.
Visakhapatnam, April 22 : The first batch of 100 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from the Vizag Steel Plant is being loaded onto the Indian Railways' Oxygen Express, for transportation to Covid-hit Maharashtra. The special train designed for transporting LMO arrived in the early hours of Thursday, at Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited's Vizag Steel Plant, officials said.

The oxygen will be transported after it is filled in seven cryogenic tankers, each with a capacity of 15-20 tonnes of liquid oxygen. The entire process, including filling the tanks, weighing them, and conducting safety checks, is expected to be completed in 22-24 hours. After that, the Oxygen Express will embark on its journey to Maharashtra.

The Air Seperation Plant at the Vizag Steel Plant, comprises of five oxygen extraction units with a combined production capacity of 2,600 tonnes of oxygen, and one hundred tonnes of liquid oxygen, sources said.

Last week, Vizag Steel Plant had supplied around 400 tonnes of LMO to several places in Andhra Pradesh. The medical-grade oxygen is used for Covid patients who suffer from low oxygen levels.

The Vizag Steel Plant is currently in the news following widespread protests in Andhra Pradesh, over the centre's privatisation plans. The Vizag Steel Plant has an annual capacity of 7.3 tonnes of steel.
SodaStream reusable bottles offer an alternative to single-use plastic bottles. The leading sparkling water brand forecasts the avoidance of nearly 78 billion bottles by 2025, an additional 11 billion from its goal announced last year.

SodaStream will also switch to metal its flavor bottles starting at the end of this year, thus avoiding another 200 million plastic bottles.

SodaStream announced they are developing sparkling water makers from recycled or plant-based material for the first time, taking their commitment to the planet to their core category and thus making their entire portfolio greener.

"Our sparkling water makers are sustainable by essence; every SodaStream user saves up to thousands of single-use plastic bottles from ending up in waste. We are taking our commitment even further by introducing sparkling water makers made from sustainable material," commented Eyal Shohat, SodaStream Global CEO.

Indeed a recent survey* conducted by the company has shown that 84% of SodaStream users recognized the positive impact on the planet and reduced their single-use bottle consumption. Almost 80% admitted becoming more environmentally conscious.

Reducing carbon footprint

SodaStream plans to meet 10% of their global plant's total energy requirements with solar energy by 2022 a five-fold increase from 2% in 2020.

Through these investments, SodaStream contributes to PepsiCo's goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy for company-owned operations globally by 2030. In addition, PepsiCo has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, one decade earlier than called for in the Paris Agreement.

SodaStream's Fizzi Starter Kit and Duo Starter Kit have been certified as reducing carbon by the Carbon Trust. This certification demonstrates SoadStream's continued commitment to the environment and sustainability. The certification has allowed SodaStream to identify key areas in its products' value chain where it can take action and reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Other company actions

Finally, SodaStream announces the closing of its offices on Earth Day and calls employees to join clean-up activities around the globe (where possible per Covid-19 restrictions).

SodaStream is also partnering with PangeaSeed Foundation, an ocean conservation non-profit with a donation towards the Foundation's environmental education and awareness efforts.

*Opeepl survey conducted on 600 users for SodaStream in the USA (Jan 2021)

About SodaStream

SodaStream, part of PepsiCo, is the world's leading sparkling water brand. SodaStream enables consumers to enjoy endless good bubbles at home, without hassle, and help save the planet. Sodastream bubbles are better for the consumer - healthy, easy to make, light to carry - and better for the planet - replacing up to thousands of single use plastic bottles with one reusable SodaStream bottle. To learn more about SodaStream visit www.SodaStream.com and follow SodaStream on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Media Contact

Global

Clara Ghighi

Global Public Relations Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE SodaStream

Related Links

http://www.SodaStream.com


April 20 th , the "Cannabis Holiday" has historically marked the marijuana industry's biggest sales day of the year. However, when looking at the past 3 years, 4/20 fell on distinctively different climates. 2019 was a normal (non-COVID) year in which dispensaries in Canada and legal US States fought hard to be open by 4/20, and to procure the maximum amount of inventory to meet the surge in demand. They were rewarded with the biggest cannabis sales day ever.

Cannabis Retail Sales Bounce Back Despite Ongoing Pandemic

Last year saw a COVID shutdown of all retail businesses in March, followed by various re-openings of dispensaries by state or province in April. There were also restrictions on how cannabis stores could sell: via online order and curbside pickup, delivery only, and/or limited visitors into the dispensary. 4/20 2020 proved to be a better than average day but didn't set any sales records.

4/20/21 was nowhere near a return to normalcy, as some municipalities were locked down for non-essential travel, while others were open for business but with 6-foot restrictions in place. Nevertheless, the industry saw an 8.4% increase in sales over 4/20/20, despite several US POS systems crashing amid the higher volume. This forced nearly 2,000 dispensaries to turn customers away for hours.

Cova CEO Gary Cohen, summarized 4/20/21, saying "Preparations for 4/20 last year were tentative, as our industry was just being recognized as essential. The supply of cannabis products was plentiful, but demand was a big question. It turned out there was huge demand from consumers and patients, and because of COVID relief checks in April, they had money to spend in dispensaries. This year, the relief was not timed around 4/20, but employment is higher, and access to stores easier. Overall, 2021 was a great 4/20."

Based on Cova data, the daily lift in sales on 4/20 over average March daily sales has been: 2019 +240%, 2020 +78% and 2021 +89%.

The average invoice per transaction in the US was $76.26 USD, an increase of 9% over 2020. For Canada the average invoice was $52.48 CAD, a decrease of 2% from a year earlier. Dispensaries across North America saw 9.5% more traffic through their store this year, which is attributable to this April's greater freedom to visit retailers in the US. In Canada, a surge in COVID cases, lag in vaccines, and more lockdowns by provinces created challenges for retailers. Despite that, Canadian cannabis stores processed 5% more transactions on 4/20.

A Thousand New Stores Celebrate their First 420

Year over year, approximately 1,000 new dispensaries opened (+20%) in North America. Several geographies greatly expanded dispensary counts and access to cannabis in the past 12 months, namely Ontario, California, Oklahoma, and Missouri (a new medicinal cannabis state in 2021). The better climate this year, and impact of these markets, helped to significantly propel overall sales for the cannabis holiday.

ABOUT COVA

Cova designs retail software solutions specifically for the cannabis industry and has rapidly become the #1 dispensary Point-of-Sale and Inventory Management solution in North America. Cova's award-winning platform helps cannabis retailers simplify compliance, streamline dispensary operations, and increase profits through sophisticated inventory management, mobile dashboards, and seamless integrations with the most valued tech solutions in cannabis retail. Cova currently powers 1,200+ dispensaries and counting and is projected to process $3B in cannabis sales in 2021.

www.covasoftware.com.

SOURCE Cova Software
Written for Fethiye Times and with photographs by Sue Fockner-Ask

I had the good fortune to visit Chora Church (Church of the Holy Saviour of Chora) in Istanbul before it was re-converted to a mosque (Kariye Camii) last year.

Built as part of a monastery in the 4th century, Chora Church suffered from the ravages of time, wars, and earthquakes, and has been repaired and renovated many times since.

In the early 16th century, it was converted into a mosque and the frescoes and mosaic artwork were covered in plaster. (Iconic images are not permitted in the Islamic religion.)

In 1945, the building was converted into a museum and much of the artwork on the walls and ceilings restored to its former glory. The museum was opened to the public in 1958 as Kariye Muzesi. Due to its off the beaten path location, the museum was not as popular as Hagia Sofia, but (in my opinion) the artwork is even more impressive.

The building was re-classified as a mosque in 2020.

For additional information about the history of Chora Church / Kariye Camii and a detailed guide to the artwork, visit:

The Byzantine Legacy  Chora: https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/chora

Church of Chora  Istanbuls Byzantine Marvel: http://www.churchofchora.com/












































The Prometei Botnet poses a big risk for companies because when the attackers take control of infected machines, they are capable of mining bitcoin by stealing processing power and also exfiltrating sensitive information, said Assaf Dahan, senior director and head of threat research, Cybereason.

Cybereason, the leader in future-ready attack protection, today announced the discovery of a widespread, global campaign seeking to propagate the stealthy Prometei Botnet, by targeting organizations with a multi-stage attack to steal processing power to mine bitcoin. The threat actors, who appear to be Russian speakers, are taking advantage of previously disclosed Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities leveraged in the Hafnium attacks to penetrate networks.

Prometei has a complex infrastructure designed to ensure persistence on infected machines. While Prometei was first reported on in July 2020, Cybereason assesses that the botnet actually dates back to at least 2016, a year before the now infamous WannaCry and NotPetya malware attacks that affected more than 200 countries and caused billions in damages. Prometei continues to evolve with new features and tools regularly observed.

The Prometei Botnet poses a big risk for companies because it has been under-reported. When the attackers take control of infected machines, they are not only capable of mining bitcoin by stealing processing power, but can also exfiltrate sensitive information as well. If they desire to do so, the attackers could also infect the compromised endpoints with other malware and collaborate with ransomware gangs to sell access to the endpoints. And to make matters worse, cryptomining drains valuable network computing power, negatively impacting business operations and the performance and stability of critical servers, said Assaf Dahan, senior director and head of threat research, Cybereason.

Key findings from the research, include:



Wide range of Victims: Victims have been observed across a variety of industries, including: Finance, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing, Utilities, Travel and Construction. Infected companies are based in countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and other European countries, South America and East Asia.

Russian Speaking Threat Actor: The threat actor appears to be Russian speaking and is purposely avoiding infections in former Soviet bloc countries.

Exploiting SMB and RDP Vulnerabilities: The main objective of Prometei is to install the Monero crypto miner on corporate endpoints. To spread across networks, the threat actor is using known Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities, in addition to known exploits EternalBlue and BlueKeep.

Cross-Platform Threat: Prometei has both Windows based and Linux-Unix based versions, and it adjusts its payload based on the detected operating system on the targeted machines when spreading across the network.

Cybercrime with APT Flavor: Cybereason assesses that the Prometei Botnet operators are financially motivated and intent on generating hefty sums of bitcoin, but is likely not backed by a nation-state.

Resilient C2 Infrastructure: Prometei is designed to interact with four different C2 servers which strengthens the botnets infrastructure and maintains continuous communications, making it more resistant to takedowns.

Recommendations to organizations on containing the Microsoft Exchange vulnerability include continuously hunting in the environment for threats and strong patch management policies to ensure that all patches are regularly installed. In addition, critical network assets should be hardened, multi-factor authentication should be used, and endpoint detection and response tools should be installed.

About Cybereason

Cybereason is the champion for todays cyber defenders providing future-ready attack protection that unifies security from the endpoint, to the enterprise, to everywhere the battle moves. The Cybereason Defense Platform combines the industrys top-rated detection and response (EDR and XDR), next-gen anti-virus (NGAV), and proactive threat hunting to deliver context-rich analysis of every element of a Malop (malicious operation). The result: defenders can end cyber attacks from endpoints to everywhere. Cybereason is a privately held, international company headquartered in Boston with customers in more than 30 countries.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Media contact:

Bill Keeler

Senior Director, Global Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler@cybereason.com

+1 (929) 259-3261
CONTRACTS

LinQuest awarded $31.7M Space Command contract

LinQuest has been tapped by the Air Force to help continue the development of the U.S. Space Command under a one-year, $31.7 million contract.

The contract was awarded as a sole-source acquisition.

LinQuest will provide advisory and assistance services and knowledge-based services to help Space Command become fully operational.

Work will take place at Peterson Air Force Base and Schriever Air Force Base, both in Colorado. The contract runs through April 21, 2022.
GET THE niggers, was their slogan, / Kill them, burn, them, set the pace. / Let them know that we are white men. /Teach them how to keep their place. AJ Smitherman, The Tulsa Race Riot and Massacre (1922).

I had just left Harvard University as an assistant professor and was doing Time to Talk, a series of interviews for T&T Television.
Pub baron Justin Hemmes wants limits on patrons in bars scrapped entirely as Australia goes months with just a handful of Covid cases.

The Merivale chain boss said NSW has led the world in its response to the crisis and has a 'golden opportunity' to breathe life back into restaurants and bars.

But with one of the last remaining Covid restrictions acting like a 'handbrake' on the economy, Mr Hemmes, 48, said it's now time to lift 'superfluous' caps on patrons.

Pub juggernaut Justin Hemmes (pictured) is calling for New South Wales to scrap the one person per two sq/m rule in an effort to revive the state's wounded hospitality sector.

Mr Hemmes said the limits on capacity is acting like a 'handbrake' on the economy

Sydney's CBD has been disproportionately hard-hit by the tough measures with many venues operating at about 50 per cent capacity.

In the first quarter of 2020 expenditure by overnight visitors reached $708 million but that figure almost halved in the final three months to December to just $366 million.

Despite the economic pain being felt by many operators during the drastic downturn, Mr Hemmes said he was confident the food and beverage industry could get back on track.

'This government has proven time and time again it can control outbreaks, so let's keep the momentum going seize on it, and not stagnate,' he told the Daily Telegraph.

'I'm incredibly optimistic about the future of the CBD, particularly in hospitality.

'As people begin to come back to work in the city, the energy we are seeing is unlike anything I've seen in Sydney before.'

In the first quarter of 2020 expenditure by overnight visitors reached $708million but that figure almost halved in the final three months to December to just $366 million

Mr Hemmes will speak at the Sydney Summit on Thursday alongside NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet - who said the CBD is starting to show signs it's 'coming back'.

High on the agenda of the inaugural conference will be another Covid-19 issue which has also weighted down the hospitality sector.

Waiters, bartenders, and kitchen staff have been much harder to come by over the past year with border closures killing the supply of international workers.

The hospitality sector is now lobbying the state government to draw up a plan to lure overseas workers by paying for their two-week hotel quarantine stay.

They also called the number of hours international students can legally work to be increased.

NSW has just three locally-acquired coronavirus cases still in treatment, all of which became infected via hotel quarantine leaks.
You are here: China

China's top legislature will study the possibility of initiating the codification of environmental laws, education laws, and administrative laws this year.

This was revealed by the annual legislative agenda, made public by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on Wednesday.

According to the agenda, 37 new legislative bills will go under review, including revising the anti-monopoly law, the law on enterprise bankruptcy, and formulating the laws on food security and social assistance.

Another 17 legislative bills submitted to the top legislature will continue to be deliberated, including reviews on rural vitalization promotion laws, data security, and personal data protection.
Technologies arm professional farmers in China

09:27, April 22, 2021 By Yang Wenming, Qiao Dong, ( People's Daily

A teacher of agricultural techniques (third from left) from a vocational high school in Linquan Township, Qianxi County, southwest China's Guizhou province teaches students how to prune orchards, March 31, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Xunchao)

Human resources are of huge importance for China's rural vitalization. At present, there are over 17 million high-caliber farmers working in the countryside to prosper the rural regions.

The improved scientific literacy of Chinese farmers has laid a solid foundation for their overall development, and is offering stronger support for the country's rural economy.

Bao Yuan is a young man running an aquatic product company in Qujing, southwest China's Yunnan province that he established in 2014 after graduating from Yunnan Normal University in 2014. "Artificial breeding not only diversifies people's choices, but also helps protect endangered local fish species," he said.

Song Xueqin is a Gen Y female who has made her name in the Lvliang Mountains, north China's Shanxi province by flat peach grafting techniques.

After graduation from college, Song was successively engaged in catering business, gypsum processing and sheep husbandry, but didn't succeed in any of those.

In 2009, she heard that Chinese wild peaches can be turned into flat peaches through grafting techniques, so she asked one of her friends to bring her scions of flat peaches from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and invited an expert to impart relevant skills to her.

A year later, Song and her husband grafted flat peach scions onto over 4,000 wild peaches on a hillside near Hetaozhang village, Fenxi County, Shanxi province, but the fruiting wasn't good.

"After consulting relevant materials and experts, we finally realized what cross-pollination was. The yield goes high only when varieties grafted match," she said.

Last year, the woman received her first certification of her life - a certificate for new professional farmers.

"The countryside is never short of resources. In recent years, as people's living standards have been raised, they are developing a larger demand for green and high-quality agricultural products. This trend is mobilizing more and more well-educated entrepreneurs who are technically skilled and know how to operate and manage businesses to go back to the countryside," said Zuo Chenming, a senior researcher with AliResearch, a research arm of Alibaba Group.

Early in the morning, Mi Xiaohong from Yuzhong County, Lanzhou, northwest China's Gansu province started working in a cowshed, serving the cattle with new fodder and water and cleaning the cowshed.

"The making of cattle fodder is complicated, as we must calculate how much grass and other materials we add in it and fairly decide the ratios of bran, glacial flour and salt," she told People's Daily, adding that the ingredients have to be adjusted according to different growth periods of the cattle.

Mi, always attending training programs held by the county government, has become a specialist in cattle husbandry.

"I made many detours as a layman, but now I'm often consulted by fellow villagers," she said, adding that only by continuous learning can she solve more problems.

Today, local authorities across China are issuing new policies and measures to encourage farmers to study technologies. Shandong province has launched a professional title evaluation system for professional farmers, and Jiangsu province's Kunshan is offering free college education for professional farmers. In Gansu Province, training sessions are launched for heads of professional cooperatives and animal epidemic prevention coordinators, in an effort to bring technologies to the farmland and find solutions to agricultural problems.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
(Newser)  Russia's defense minister on Thursday ordered troops back to their permanent bases following massive drills in Crimea that involved 10,000 troops, 1,200 military vehicles, 200 warplanes, and 60 navy ships in a show of force amid tensions with Ukraine. "I consider the goals of the snap check of readiness fulfilled," Sergei Shoigu said after watching the drills in Crimea and western Russia, per the AP. "The troops have shown their defense capability and I decided to complete the drills in the South and Western military districts." Shoigu said the troops should return to their bases by May 1, but he also ordered to keep the heavy weapons deployed to western Russia as part of the drills for another massive military exercise later this year. Shoigu said they should remain at the Pogonovo firing range in the southwestern Voronezh region, about 100 miles east of the border with Ukraine.

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The Russian troop buildup near Ukrainewhich the US and NATO said was the largest since Russia annexed Crimea and threw its support behind separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014came amid increasing violations of a ceasefire in Ukraine's east and raised concerns in the West, which urged the Kremlin to pull its forces back. It wasn't immediately clear from Shoigu's statement if all of them will now be pulled back. Last week, Russia announced that it would close broad areas of the Black Sea near Crimea to foreign navy ships and state vessels until November, a move that drew Ukrainian protests. Russia also announced restrictions on flights near Crimea this week, arguing that they fully conform with the international law. Amid the tensions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday signed a law allowing the call-up of reservists for military service without announcing a mobilization.

(Read more Russia stories.)
THE BLACK WOMEN'S AGENDA, INC. PRAISES CONVICTIONS IN DEREK CHAUVIN TRIAL AS FIRST STEP ON THE JOURNEY TO EQUAL JUSTICE Tweet this

BWA is relieved that George Floyd's life mattered to the jury. They recognized that each time we watched life senselessly seep out of his body on video, our nation found it difficult to breathe. That consolation is fleeting, however, since from the start of the Chauvin trial three weeks ago, we now grieve for the families of more than 65 other individuals who lost their lives through the actions of law enforcement. They were men, women, children, and more than half of them were people of colori. Police have a difficult job, but it should not give them free rein to kill civilians. "Serve and protect" should not mean harass, dehumanize, or deprive individuals of their right to live.

As Americans, we have witnessed time and again what can happen when we unite in pursuit of what is fair and just. Derek Chauvin's murder conviction is the first step on our journey to equal justice. We must petition the United States Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which holds police officers accountable for misconduct, and reforms police training and policies. We must insist, in unison, that trials be held in courtrooms and not on street corners where law enforcement can serve as judge, jury, and executioner. Finally, we must heed the warning Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. issued nearly 60 years ago from a Birmingham jail: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

About The Black Women's Agenda, Inc.

Founded in 1977 in Washington, DC, The Black Women's Agenda, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(C)3 organization that generates awareness and support for issues that secure, protect and advance the rights of Black women and their families. BWA is comprised of 24 collaborating organizations -- sororities, civic, service and faith-based -- representing millions of women worldwide.

i Throughout Trial Over George Floyds Death, Killings by Police Mount - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

SOURCE The Black Women's Agenda, Inc.
Tirumala: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has made an official announcement stating that Anjanadri Hillock is the birthplace of Lord Hanumanji with concrete evidence.

The announcement was made by the TTD on the auspicious day of Sri Rama Navami at Tirumala on Wednesday.

Bhanwarilal Purohit, the Governor of Tamilnadu, also graced the event which was held at Nada Neerajana Mandapam. He said, he is a great devotee of Lord Hanuman and he is very happy to know that TTD has made elaborate research with the expert committee before declaring Anjanadri as Lord Hanuman's birthplace.

"As a Chancellor of 20 Universities in Tamil Nadu, I know how difficult and tedious it is to do research and present the evidence. I congratulate the entire Pandit team which worked day and night for four months on Hanuman's birthplace. Ayodhya is Sri Rama's birthplace while Anjanadri is Anjaneya's, he asserted.

PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE

Earlier, Prof Muralidhara Sharma, the vice-chancellor of National Sanskrit University and one of the Committee members, presented the mythological, epigraphical, scientific, literary and geological evidence before media and univocally said Anjanadri is the birthplace of Anjaneya Swamy as it is mentioned in 12 Puranas.

He also put forward some excerpts from the evidence before the media -

-In the Valmiki Ramayana, from Sundarakanda episode in the Shlolas from 81-83 of 35th Sarga, it was clearly mentioned that since Hanuman was born to Anjanadevi on these sacred mountains after a penance. He attained the name Anjaneya while the Hillock got the name "Anjanadri".

-Rock inscriptions at Srivari temple of 1491 and 1545, both mention the Anjanadri as birthplace of Anjaneya.

-Vyasa Mahabharata, Vanaparva, 147 Chapter, Valmiki Ramayana-Kishkinda Kanda - 66th Sarga (Chapter), Shiva Puranam, Shata Rudra Samhita-Chapter 20, Brahmanda Puranam-Sri Venkatachala Mahatyam-Thirtha Khandam-Chapter 1, Skanda Purana, Vaishnava Khand-1.38, Epigraphica Indica, Vol VI, page 323.

-Anjanadri Mahatyam...a book available at London Library clearly explains Anjanadri as the birthplace of Hanuman.

-He also referred to Kamba Ramayanam-Kishkindakandam, Hamsa Dootam etc. which also explained the same.

SOME MORE CLAIMS ON ANJANEYA BIRTHPLACE

However, among historians there are several doubts over the birthplace of Anjaneya. The five other places where Lord Hanuman was born includes-

1. There is a hillock near Anjanadri at Hampi in Karnataka. But the scholars of Kannada University at Hampi affirmed that there is no material evidence to prove that.

2. Anjan village, 21 k ms from Gumla district hq of Jharkhand.

3. Anjan mountain in Navsari region of Gujarat.

4. Kaithal region in Haryana

5. Anjaneri, 7 km from Triambakeswar in Nasik district of Maharashtra

Historians contend that the Hampi region was popularly known as Kishkinda in legends and Puranas. Hence it is possible that Anjaneya could have gone to Hampi from Tirumala which was just 363 kms away. They also say that scientifically Hampi was 1240 kms from Gumla in Jharkhand, 1626km from Kaithal of Haryana, 616 kms from Maharashtra and hence ruled them all out and suggested that Migration to Hampi is feasible.

WE HAVE CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO PROVE ANJANADRI IS BIRTHPLACE OF ANJANEYA

While speaking with Zee Media TTD EO said "Our Pandit team has worked hard to bring out concrete evidence and presented a 22-page report. We will soon display this report on our website also. Other states like Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra etc. Are claiming only with their local beliefs but they do not have any evidence to prove that that is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman i thank the entire Pandit team soon TTD will realise detailed book on our evidence" he added.

Vijay Kumar deputy director (Rtd) who is one of the committee member said "this place Tirumala is a very ancient place and historical evidence also we submitted to ttd Anjandri is the place where lord hanuman's birth took place in this Seshachala hills"

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New Delhi: Wipros Covid hospital, which was set up last year when the pandemic hit India, is providing healthcare facilities to thousands in need amid the second wave of Covid-19 that is proving to be deadlier than the first one.

The 450-bed hospital set up on its campus at Hinjewadi in Pune is providing medical facilities to many in the district. Established with the help of Zilla Parishad, the hospital has 150 oxygenated, ten ventilated and other ICU beds.

Notably, the hospital run by a company with no expertise in healthcare has successfully treated thousands of Covid-19 patients in the past year. According to a report by Economic Times, only five patients have succumbed to Covid-19 inside the hospital. So far, over 4700 patients have been admitted to the hospital run by 15 doctors and 70 nurses.

Ayush Prasad, Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) CEO, told ET, People are willing to travel 100-odd kilometres to come to this hospital. We get calls from relatives of patients from nearby districts inquiring if there is a bed available at the Wipro Hospital. Its not surprising; publicity for the hospital has been simply through word of mouth from patients who have been treated here. I even get calls from politicians who want a bed.

Notably, Wipro set up almost everything at this hospital, including hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, ICU equipment, among other basic facilities. Most importantly, everyone gets free treatment at the hospital. The hospital was set up after Wipros top official met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in 2020.

Hariprasad Hegde, senior vice president and global head, operations, for Wipro Limited, said that they have been trying to do our bit to serve their community during the pandemic. The idea was to not just set up a system but also see that the hospital is run well. We are aware of the goodwill, our effort is to ensure we keep doing the right thing consistently over a period, he was quoted as saying.

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Interview: Logistics giant Maersk sees huge potential in China market

Xinhua) 15:18, April 22, 2021

BOAO, Hainan, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China has embraced tremendous changes in the past two decades and has presented huge market potential with its endeavor to pursue high-quality development and promote regional connectivity, said Jens Eskelund, managing director of Maersk China Ltd.

"China joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 was absolutely transformative," he told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia.

Recalling the old days after having lived in China for three decades, Eskelund said the country was a reasonably big trading nation and an important one, but the size then was nowhere near that of today.

China's total imports and exports of goods expanded 1.9 percent year on year to 32.16 trillion yuan (about 4.94 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, hitting a record high despite a worldwide slump in shipments.

"It is hard to overestimate how big a change joining the WTO has brought to China in basically any respect, especially in terms of personal income, quality of life and opportunities for young people in China," he said.

Looking forward, Eskelund said China's aim to help increase the disposable incomes of its people indicates that there will also be growth in consumption. "We expect that also translates into growth in trade."

Increasing people's incomes, boosting domestic consumption, and seeking to foster a world-class business environment, among others, are high on the agenda in a blueprint for China's development over the next five years and beyond.

Eskelund, who is also the vice chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in China, said another area of huge potential is trade in services between China and Europe. The two sides can work together to enhance mutual market access and cooperation.

Eskelund said he hopes China's opening-up trend that led to a surge of trade in goods between the two sides would continue.

When the COVID-19 pandemic induced huge challenges for maritime and air transports last year, Maersk's intercontinental rail freight service between China and Europe provided an alternative solution for global supply chains with much faster growth in volume.

The company had arranged a total of 210 tailored intercontinental trains from China to European countries including Germany and France.

Eskelund, however, noted that while China's ports and maritime transport are efficient, there is still a gap between the inland areas and big port cities.

Eskelund said that he has observed a very significant willingness and understanding of the ability of efficient logistics to foster economic growth in the inland areas.

"There's a very big potential in making logistics available on locations that are not very well connected with international trade routes," Eskelund added, hailing the concept of connectivity embedded in the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

"Over the years, we saw how China has gone out and focused on creating connectivity through building highways and container ports," he said.

Going out and creating the right infrastructure can be a powerful enabler of trade and bring countries together, Eskelund added.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Hongyu)
View the Purdue Day Gallery

Students, families and staff at Purdue Polytechnic High School (PPHS) Schweitzer Center at Englewood are preparing for several celebrations to celebrate the schools first class of graduating seniors  celebrations four years in the making.

The school, at 3029 E. Washington St. in Indianapolis, celebrated Purdue Day on April 16 with numerous activities for its first class of graduating seniors. One of the activities included a breakfast where Michael Berghoff, chairman of the Purdue Board of Trustees, congratulated the students on their accomplishments.

The highlight of the day came when 35 students announced they will pursue their postsecondary education plans at Purdue University. PPHS leaders expect that number to climb between now and graduation day on June 11, as 49 students have been admitted to Purdue for the Fall 2021 semester. Twenty-four of the admitted students are underrepresented minority students.

Before a Zoom call with Gary Bertoline, dean of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, and Shatoya Ward, principal at PPHS Schweitzer Center, students were gathering in the schools College and Career Readiness room.

We are extremely proud of you, says LaTrice Crawford, PPHS college and career manager. Fifty-nine days from now (from April 16) you will be graduates.

This group of high school seniors and the school has come a long way since that first day of classes on July 31, 2017, at a temporary location in downtown Indianapolis. The school moved later to the revitalized PR Mallory Building in the Englewood neighborhood along East Washington Street.

The university created the Purdue Polytechnic High Schools (PPHS) to build new K-12 pathways that lead to Purdue, especially for Hoosier students who are underserved by traditional high schools and underrepresented in higher education.

Established in 2017, the growing, multi-school PPHS system immerses students and their families in an innovative learning community. PPHS offers tuition free, authentic, STEM-focused experiences that prepare high school students for a successful future. These experiences include internships, industry projects, dual-credit courses and technical certifications. PPHS also offers its students a unique path to college; graduates who achieve Purdues admission requirements are assured admission to one of Purdues over 200 majors.

Today, there are three PPHS campuses. In addition to PPHS Schweitzer Center on Indianapolis east side, there is the North campus near Indianapolis Broad Ripple neighborhood and PPHS South Bend.

One of those students making a giant leap to Purdue is Kayla Owens. She was the first student registered for PPHS when it announced plans to accept students for the fall 2017 classes.

Owens actually visited Purdue on a sixth-grade field trip which, she says, destined her to become a Boilermaker. And her dreams will come true when she begins as a freshman in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute this fall.

She has been involved in numerous activities at the school  serving as a school ambassador, on student government and the Black student union, recruiting students, talking to area media about the school, earning acceptance in the National Honor Society, and cheerleading.

In the beginning, it was hard because it was a new school, Owens says. But now I look back and can say there are so many benefits to going to a nontraditional school. We learn at our own pace and our days arent structured like a typical high school with back-to-back classes. Were treated like college students.

Academically, Owens thrived under PPHSs self-directed learning philosophy, which allowed her to persistently pursue a personalized curriculum that facilitated collaboration and innovative problem solving. With aspirations of earning a degree in computer information technology at Purdue, Owens appreciates the academic rigor she experienced at PPHS, which has helped prepare her to launch her collegiate career.

Its very exciting, Owens says. I want to leave a legacy and show the world that STEM majors are accessible to everybody. Im pursuing a field where there arent a lot of minority women. And Im eager to see that change.

Scott Bess, head of PPHS, is excited for the first graduating class and seeing the PPHS model as part of Purdues commitment and mission to being Indianas land-grant university  working to serve all residents.

This is being true to that land-grant mission. We had to put our name and reputation on the line. We had to do something bold about it, he says.

Bess says PPHSs partnership with IPS in Marion County will grow access to Purdue and address access for underrepresented minority students. From 2016 to 2020, IPS sent 47 underrepresented minorities and 34 white students to Purdue.

If you want to go into a STEM field, you need to go to Purdue. If you look at the economic drivers in Indiana  its technology, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, health care. If we are going to fill that workforce, you have to have talent, Bess says. We have to tap into this community that has been way underrepresented in all these fields. Employers are looking to increase diversity. Diversity leads to better outcomes, better products and better solutions. You cant have diversity if you dont have a pipeline.

Students and families who come to PPHS are looking for something different. Some want a more intimate learning environment or for a pathway to Purdue. Others are seeking a second chance at lifelong learning.

Students work on eight to 10 passion projects throughout a year. Previous projects have included designing business plans for hydroponics, addressing climate change and food deserts in Indianapolis, as well as partnerships with area businesses on some of the real-world issues they face in industry.

And Bess has seen many students thrive.

You have a voice and choice that you dont see in some other places. Its important for teenagers to have some control over what they get to do during the day, Bess says. They are using their ability and creativity. Were on this journey together.

For more information on student registration, donations or business partnerships, and media requests, contact PPHS Network Office at info@pphs.purdue.edu.

Writer, Media contact: Kat Braz, Matthew Oates, 765-586-7496 (cell), oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates;

Source: Charli Renckly-DeWhitt, cdewhitt@pphs.purdue.edu
Australia should rip up an agreement to lease Darwin Port to a Chinese company, Senator Jacqui Lambie has demanded after the federal government cancelled Victoria's Belt and Road deals with the communist superpower.

In November 2015, the Northern Territory government leased Darwin Port to Landbridge Australia, a subsidiary of Shandong Landbridge, for 99 years for $506 million.

The surrender of a key strategic asset next to a major military base caught then prime minster Malcolm Turnbull off guard and enraged US president Barack Obama whose administration said it was 'blindsided'.

Chinese companies have poured billions into Australia in recent years, snapping up companies, land and key assets

Independent Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said the deal should be scrapped because it threatens the national interest.

'I'm beyond why you would do that, I actually believe that should be torn up,' Senator Lambie told Sky News on Thursday morning.

'It is in our national interest to do something about that Port of Darwin, it is the top end of Australia, if we're going to be attacked ... that's the first place it's going to hit it.

'We have a couple of thousand marines up there, the US is sitting up there, it is in our national interest to do something about that port.

'All of our military resources should be up that Top End of Australia. We're not doing that either,' she added.

The senator's comments came a day after foreign minister Marise Payne used a new law to cancel Victoria's two Belt and Road infrastructure construction deals with China, sparking outrage from Beijing.

The Foreign Relations Act, which came into force in December, allows the federal government to scrap agreements made with foreign governments by states, local governments and universities if they are contrary to the national interest.

The act does not apply to deals with commercial corporations and state-owned enterprises, meaning it would have to be amended if the government wanted to end the Darwin Port deal.

When the port was leased, executive director of the Australia Defence Association Neil James called the move a 'seriously dumb idea'.

In November 2015, the Northern Territory government decided to lease the Port of Darwin (pictured) to a Chinese company for 99 years

The federal Labor MP for Spence in Adelaide, Nick Champion, has also called for the lease to be scrapped so the port can be returned to Australian control.

'There was not enough consideration of the national interest in that particular privatisation of this port,' he told the ABC in August 2019.

'It's a very important port because we have significant defence facilities in the Northern Territory and that's the part of the world I guess we have to pay a great deal of attention to.

'We should look pretty clearly at making sure that that port is in government hands. It's for those reasons, it should be nationalised.'

Darwin Port was leased as Chinese investment in Australia ramped up over the past decade, with Beijing-backed companies snapping up land, real estate and even higher education institutions.

Australia scraps belt and road deal China has slammed Australia's 'provocative' decision to tear up Victoria's Belt and Road Initiative agreement with Beijing, warning the move will further damage bilateral relations. Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced on Wednesday night that the infrastructure deal had been cancelled under new foreign veto powers. China's embassy in Australia responded swiftly, expressing 'strong displeasure and resolute opposition' to Senator Payne's announcement. The Belt and Road Initiative is a Chinese plan to establish maritime trade routes and invest in infrastructure projects around the world, set up by President Xi Xinping (pictured) in 2013 'This is another unreasonable and provocative move taken by the Australian side against China,' a Chinese embassy spokesperson said in a statement. 'It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations. 'It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself.' Victoria signed a memorandum of understanding in relation to the Chinese regional infrastructure initiative in 2018 and then signed a 'framework agreement' with Beijing in 2019. Areas of cooperation included increasing participation of Chinese companies in Victoria's infrastructure program and promoting cooperation of Victorian businesses in China. It also allowed Victoria's engineering and design firms to bid for contracts for Belt and Road Initiative projects around the world. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has previously advised against the cancellation of the deal, saying it would place Victorian jobs at risk. Advertisement

Land

China is now the largest foreign owner of land in Australia with Chinese companies in control of 2.4 per cent of the nation's soil.

Investors from the the United Kingdom own more with 2.1 per cent and buyers from the US are joint third with 0.7 per cent, according to the 2020 Register of Foreign Ownership.

Most of the foreign-owned land is in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and is used for cattle farming.

In 2019 one of the biggest Chinese landowners in Australia was accused of illegally clearing Aboriginal land (pictured) in north Western Australia

Most of the land owned by foreigners in Australia is in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and is used for cattle farming (stock image)

Between 2017 and 2018, Chinese companies added 50,000 hectares to their Australian property portfolio which total more than 9.1million hectares.

In 2019, one of the biggest Chinese landowners in Australia was accused of illegally clearing Aboriginal land in north Western Australia.

Zenith Australia Group, owned by Shanghai Cred, owns seven properties in Western Australia including Yakka Munga and Mount Elizabeth Stations in the Kimberley, Marvel Loch Station and Goldfields Station.

China is now the largest foreign owner of land in Australia with Chinese companies in control of 2.4 per cent of the nation's soil

The WA government issued a stop-work order after Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation, the custodians of the land, claimed the company breached a lease agreement by clearing 120 hectares without permission.

Locals say important flora including boab trees had been ripped up.

Shanghai Cred, which also owns a third of Gina Rineheart's company Australian Outback Beef, lost an appeal against the stop-work order.

Companies

In 2019 Mengniu Dairy, which is 16 per cent owned by food processing company Cofco, which is co-owned by the Chinese state, acquired Tasmanian baby formula company Bellamy's Organic for $1.5billion.

Mengniu Dairy Company bought Bellamy's

Before the takeover bid, shares in Bellamy's plunged 62 per cent in 18 months.

There were allegations the Chinese state brought this plunge about by not approving Bellamy's' request to sell organic formula in Chinese stores.

The board of the Tasmania-based company denied the takeover had anything to do with fast-tracking Chinese regulation to allow expansion in the country.

In 2017, Chinese company Goldwind bought Stockyard Hill Wind Farm, which has 149 turbines 35km west of Ballarat, from Origin Energy for $110million.

The following year it started building another wind farm of 48 turbines in the Tasmanian Central Highlands.

State-owned Powerchina purchased 80 per cent of the wind farm for an undisclosed fee in April that year.

The company said the project will 'promote the development of the wind power industry, boost local economic development and will help Australia reach the goal set for renewable energy by 2020.'

Meanwhile in New South Wales, coalmines in the Hunter region have been snapped up by a state-owned Chinese firm.

In 2017, Chinese company Goldwind bought Stockyard Hill Wind Farm (pictured), which has 149 turbines 35km west of Ballarat, from Origin Energy for $110million

In 2017, Yancoal Australia, owned by Yanzhou Coal Mining Company, acquired Coal & Allied from Rio Tinto for $3.5billion, becoming Australia's largest thermal coal mining company.

The move prompted warnings from some analysts that China was trying to buy up access to Australia's energy resources.

Tim Murray of research firm J Capital told the ABC: 'Long-term, China has always been interested in acquiring energy assets outside of the country'.

'They've got a basic view of 'why not use someone else's resources before we use our own'.'

Melbourne-based Energy Australia was bought by China's State Power Investment Corporation in 2016.

Coalmines in the Hunter region (pictured) have been snapped up by a state-owned Chinese firm, Yancoal

China knocked back: The few deals that the government rejected 2020 Mengniu Dairy, which bought Bellamy's in 2019, walks away from its proposed $600 million acquisition of Lion Dairy & Drinks after Mr Frydenberg said he would block the deal. 2019 Huawei is blocked from participating in Australia's fifth-generation (5G) mobile network on national security grounds 2018 A $13 billion bid for natural gas company APA Group by Hong Kong's CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd (CKI) is rejected by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg citing the concentration of foreign ownership in gas transmission 2016 Then treasurer Scott Morrison rejects a $10 billion bid for 50.4% of electricity distributor Ausgrid from CKI and State Grid Corp of China citing security concerns Morrison also rejects a $371 million bid from Shanghai CRED and Hunan Dakang Pasture Farming for S. Kidman and Co, one of Australia's largest beef producers, saying the sale is not in the national interest. 2009 A $1.75 billion bid from Hong Kong's Minmetals Land Ltd for OZ Minerals Ltd is altered when government rules the Prominent Hill mine in South Australia near the Woomera military zone could not be part of the deal Advertisement

Infrastructure and real estate

In 1993, China's biggest airline, state-owned China Southern Airlines, paid the Western Australian government $1 to lease Merredin airport for 100 years to use as a training school for its pilots.

The rural airport, 260km east of Perth, only had two gravel airstrips - but after Chinese investment is now a multimillion-dollar all-weather airfield providing jobs in the region.

However, experts have raised concerns about letting a foreign government control airspace in Australia.

Local pilots say they have never been turned down when they request to land - but in theory China Southern could stop them using the airport at any time.

Entrepreneur Dick Smith, who is also a former chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, was among those who raised concerns.

In 1993, China's biggest airline, state-owned China Southern Airlines, paid the Western Australian government $1 to lease Merredin Aerodrome (pictured) for 100 years

In 2019, Chaolong Developments spent $145million on buying Melbourne's Century City Walk and the neighbouring Novotel Hotel (pictured)

'It is outrageous that an Aussie pilot can't go to a country airport without getting approval from the Chinese to land there,' he said.

'I've never heard of this happening anywhere.'

Chinese investors have also poured billions into commercial and residential real estate in Australia.

In 2019, Chaolong Developments spent $145million on buying Melbourne's Century City Walk and the neighbouring Novotel Hotel.

In the same year, China Merchants Group bought developer Propertylink Australian Logistics Trust for $280million and Aoyuan International bought developer Capital Bluestone for $200million.

Education

In 2019, China Education Group bought the owner of King's Own Institute, a private university with three campuses in Sydney, for $128million.

Dozens of Chinese state-sponsored schools teaching Mandarin have opened up across the world in recent years, including several in Australia.

The so-called Confucius classrooms and Confucius Institutes at universities are a major way for China to project soft power around the globe.

In 2019, China Education Group bought the owner of King's Own Institute (pictured), a private university with three campuses in Sydney, for $128million

Teaching assistants in the classes are vetted by the Chinese government and only get the job if they show 'good political quality' and a love of 'the motherland'.

This means they are totally loyal to the Chinese Communist Party and never speak out against it.

In August 2019, New South Wales announced it is scrapping the program at the end of this year due to fears of 'inappropriate foreign influence'.

In a report, the Department of Education said: 'The primary concern is the fact that NSW is the only government department in the world that hosts a Confucius Institute and that this arrangement places Chinese government appointees inside a NSW government department.

'Having foreign government appointees based in a government department is one thing; having appointees of a one-party state that exercises censorship in its own country working in a government department in a democratic system is another.'

China's foreign ministry accused New South Wales of politicizing a 'normal exchange program.'

The program in 13 public schools in the state will be replaced by a different Mandarin initiative next year.

Several private schools announced they are reviewing the Confucius classes.

Australia has the third most Confucius programs in the world, after the US and the UK, with 14 institutes at universities across the nation.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A young trial lawyer admitted in Indiana for only five weeks helped an Indianapolis-based law firm, Yosha Cook & Tisch, obtain a $20.3 Million jury verdict last November. The plaintiff's trial team consisted of veteran lawyers Rich Cook and Louis "Buddy" Yosha and younger, promising trial lawyers Bryan Tisch and Brandon Yosha. Yosha Cook & Tisch represented Wayne Simmons and his wife Amy Simmons against Indianapolis Power & Light. On March 6, 2014, the plaintiff, Wayne Simmons, sustained a near-fatal electric shock injury while working on IPL's Petersburg power plant.

Newly admitted Trial Lawyer, Brandon Yosha, delivered the opening statement and final argument on damages.

Attorney Brandon Yosha delivered the opening statement and final argument on damages. During his closing remarks, Brandon explained to the jury this would be Wayne and Amy's only day in court -- their one shot at justice. Brandon added it would be a grave injustice if these two hard-working, honest Hoosiers were not compensated fully for their suffering the past six years and potentially the next 40 years. Brandon also performed the direct examination of Wayne's spouse, Amy "Jo" Simmons. Amy stuck by her husband's side through it all -- taking Wayne to nearly 302 doctor appointments while serving full-time as a high-ranking Sergeant in the National Guard.

Despite being admitted to the Indiana bar for merely five weeks, nationally acclaimed trial lawyer, Nicholas Rowley, had tremendous confidence Brandon could deliver full justice for these two lifelong Hoosiers. Rowley guided Brandon as he prepared for his trial debut. Many consider Rowley as the most accomplished trial lawyer of his generation.

Brandon's father, Louis "Buddy" Yosha, also helped Brandon prepare. Notably, Buddy is the only Indiana lawyer listed in every edition of the Best Lawyers in America since first published in 1983 by two Harvard Law professors. While the younger Yosha is off to a good start, he still has a ways to go in filling the enormous footprints his father left behind in the courtroom. In early 2021, the National Trial Lawyers named Brandon one of the Nation's Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers and a Top 100 Personal Injury Lawyer.

Related Files

Yosha_120920_IL.pdf

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$20.3 Million dollar verdict obtained in Indianapolis, IN

Newly admitted Trial Lawyer, Brandon Yosha, delivered the opening statement and final argument on damages.

Related Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ifginkXBU

SOURCE Yosha Cook & Tisch - Personal Injury Lawyers
The diagnosis of diseases like cancer almost always needs a biopsy - a procedure where a clinician removes a piece of suspect tissue from the body to examine it, typically under a microscope. Many areas of diagnostic medicine, especially cancer management, have seen huge advances in technology, with genetic sequencing, molecular biology and artificial intelligence all rapidly increasing doctors' ability to work out what's wrong with a patient.

However the technology of medical needles hasn't changed dramatically in 150 years, and - in the context of cancer management - needles are struggling to provide adequate tissue samples for new diagnostic techniques. Now researchers have shown that modifying the biopsy needle to vibrate rapidly at 30,000 times per second not only provides sufficient data for 21st century diagnostic needs, but is also potentially less painful and less traumatic for patients.

Biopsy yields - the amount of tissue extracted - are often inadequate, with some studies showing that up to a third of fine-needle biopsies struggle to get enough tissue for a reliable diagnosis. A biopsy can be painful, and the wait for the results from a diagnostic test can be a highly distressing time for the patient and family, especially if diagnosis needs re-biopsies to be conclusive. We wanted to make the procedure more gentle for the patient, and increase the certainty that the test will be able to give us an answer on the first attempt." Professor Heikki Nieminen, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University

Professor Nieminen was visiting the University of Toronto, Canada, to work with Professor Kenneth Pritzker, a Pathologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, as well as a university researcher in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. It was while they were at lunch one day that Pritzker suggested that maybe the solution to the problem could be addressed with the help of ultrasound.

One of the least painful biopsy methods is called 'fine-needle biopsy', which uses a needle the same thickness as in many other medical procedures. However for more advanced diagnostic treatments - like those used in cancer - fine-needles alone don't get enough material routinely enough, so the current practice is often to use a much thicker needle, called a core needle. "They are painful for the patient and can also cause bleeding - you don't want to use a core needle unless you have to." says Pritzker. "At body temperature, human tissue exists as something that behaves part-way between being a solid and a liquid. The breakthrough here is that by making the needle tip vibrate ultrasonically, we're able to make the tissue flow more like a liquid, which allows us to extract more of it through a narrow needle."

Feels like a regular needle

In a new paper, published in Scientific Reports, the team is sharing with the wider world how well these ultrasonic vibrating needles work. "The vibrations provide energy to the tissue to make it more fluid-like," explains the first author of the paper, Emanuele Perra, who works in Nieminen's group at Aalto University. "The vibrations are localised to just the tip, so it doesn't affect any other tissue except a small region around the needle. We were able to show that the ultrasonic vibrations increase the biopsy yield by 3 to 6 times compared to the same needle without ultrasound, which was even greater than we hoped for." The vibrations are far above the hearing range for humans, and the amplitude of the waves is small enough that it shouldn't feel much different to a normal blood test.

The big increase in the amount of tissue extracted in the biopsy means it is very useful for the growing trend for high-tech cancer treatment. One such example is molecular diagnostics, which examine the chemical makeup of tumours, to allow doctors to target treatment more effectively to a specific cancer type. "Molecular diagnostics is an expensive process, and it is an expensive waste of money to have it fail because the quality of the material gathered in the biopsy wasn't previously good enough," explains Pritzker.

The technology that powers the needle is non-linear acoustics, where vibrations passing through a material have such large amplitude that they interact with the material itself. These interactions allowed the needle's designers to focus all the energy to just the tip of the needle, and measure their effects. "We've been able to characterise the vibrations at the end of the needle really well. We've used high speed cameras that have allowed us to study the physical effects of the vibrating needle on boundaries between fluids, solids and air in unprecedented detail," says Nieminen. "The rich understanding we've managed to get of the physics allowed us to design the medical device and understand how it could be used for different medical purposes."

Medical trials getting underway

The needle is expected soon to move into studies with real cancer patients, although for the time being only four-legged ones. A specialist veterinary hospital in Canada is soon expected to be trialing the device on domestic pets with cancer, and if all goes as expected, the team hopes that their needles will be used in human patients soon after.

"Modern oncology doesn't just take a biopsy at the beginning of treatment", explains Nieminen. "Increasingly, oncologists want to be able to take multiple biopsies to track how the tumors are changing and responding over the course of the treatment. We want the tools for these biopsies to be as effective and painless as possible."

While the team is preparing the needles for the real world biopsies, they are also excited about future applications that they are still researching. "The effect that ultrasonic vibrations have on tissue might also be able to work the other way" explains Perra, "the vibrations might make it easier to deliver pharmaceuticals in a targeted way to tissue like the liver. They might also be able to break up small hard objects in soft tissue, like kidney stones, or even small tumours - all minimally invasively." By combining experts in acoustics physics with experts in medical technology, the team hopes that many more innovations will arise from their 21st century upgrade of the humble medical needle.
If you are scared that all your crypto investments will vanish into thin air as soon as the government brings legislation to ban private digital currencies, then we have good news. The Indian government is reportedly looking to offer an exit window to all crypto holders so that they can square off their investments.

In inter-ministerial discussions, lawmakers have reportedly discussed granting investors an exit window of 3-6 months before completely banning the trading, mining and issuing of cryptocurrencies in India with the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.

It is estimated that Indians have invested around $1.5 billion or Rs 10,000 crore in digital coins. The proposed legislation that is yet to be tabled in the Parliament might only legalise the cryptocurrency currently mooted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) while banning all others, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Previously, RBI has suggested that the central bank is pretty keen on launching its own cryptocurrency. Notably, Indias approach towards cryptocurrencies appears to be very familiar to the one follower by China. Beijing has also banned all the private cryptocurrencies in the country and has launched an official digital coin.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had recently said that the Central bank digital currency is a work in progress. The RBI team is working on it, technology side and procedural side how it will be launched and rolled out.

The RBI had also said that it is exploring DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) for its application in improving financial market infrastructure. The Central Bank is also considering leveraging the DLT technology as a potential technological solution in implementing central bank digital currency (CBDC).

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#mute
By Luis Raul Valdes

Every April 22, World Earth Day is commemorated, a day that aims to raise awareness in the International Community about mutual responsibilities to safeguard the planet. In 2021, this day invites us to bet on environmental sustainability through the use of technology

At the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century, a virus such as SARS-COV-2 recalled the fragility of humanity, but made visible the strengths of its technological development . If not for the ecosystem of technologies, today we would not have access to a variety of vaccines against COVID-19 . The first two years of this decade reiterate that the commitment to innovation and efforts to build synergies are the ideal mechanisms for a prosperous future.

Innovation not only tackled the virus in terms of health, as in parallel it lightened the economic crisis resulting from the lockdowns. Without technological alternatives, today would be just over a year of a large-scale strike.

The pandemic has not only inherited changes to our lifestyle, but it has also provided a respite for the planet. In 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) spoke of this reality based on the shock that the energy sector faced with the decrease in energy use. The IEA's own estimates indicate that a return to normalcy would end that "respite" by 2026, but an alternate model could support building a healthy planet.

The gradual return to normality must consider that technologies are auxiliary against climate change with the same level of effectiveness in some economic activities.

Although there are items that cannot be substituted for the virtual, the migration towards alternatives of human-technological interaction can reduce the carbon footprint, mainly by saving fuel for transportation. In addition, entrepreneurs and local businesses will continue to take advantage of e-commerce, financial systems will use more digital services, cities will be forced to put into operation communication systems that are friendly to the environment and to the health of citizens - reinforcing each sphere of the public safety -, technologies for the medical sector would be a constant to keep the population healthy and, companies would recognize the need to keep their information safe and invest in cybersecurity.

The gradual return to normality should consider that technologies are auxiliary against climate change with the same level of effectiveness in some economic activities / Image: Depositphotos.com

The COVID-19 pandemic is the ideal pretext to visualize business opportunities based on the best practices of the actors who seek to consolidate an avant-garde world.

Israel's case in the face of the pandemic is successful. Today it is the first nation that allows its citizens to take to the streets without the need to wear a mask thanks to its effective vaccination campaign. To date, Israel has vaccinated 60% of its population.

Despite the economic adversities of the pandemic, Israel grew its economy by 1.9% in 2020, particularly due to the use of technologies that mitigated the effect of the stoppage of activities.

Israel and its technological development are an open space for collaboration thanks to the innovation ecosystem it offers. In Mexico there is the possibility of learning from Israel's best practices and collaborating with its technology through the Commercial Office of the Israeli Embassy, as it facilitates a direct link with the thousands of Israeli startups willing to build synergies that ensure consolidation. of a sustainable planet.

The celebrations of World Earth Day should not be simply a commemoration, but a call to action with the use of the best mechanisms for the protection of the planet, among them, the commitment to technology. The synergies through the business opportunities that Israel offers are the key so that Mexico, through its government, businessmen, entrepreneurs and the general population can progressively meet the goals established within the Sustainable Development Goals in a solid and effective.

Copyright 2021 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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Washington: Scott Morrison has told a summit of world leaders that Australia is on a pathway to achieve net zero emissions as he hit out at carbon taxes for destroying industries and eliminating jobs.

Suggesting that other countries may make impressive climate pledges while failing to deliver on them, Morrison said the international community could rely on Australia because it only made bankable promises on emissions reduction.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the start of the White House climate summit. Credit:Jessica Hromas

The beginning of the summit, which is being held virtually, was marred by technical glitches. Morrisons microphone was muted for the early part of his speech, meaning those watching could not make out what he was saying.

Mr Prime Minister, Im not sure were hearing you here, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before the sound was restored.
ECU

However, there will always be those nostalgics for whom a true Corvette must have its engine under the long hood up front, just like it did for the seven generations before the C8. While their argument makes sense from a traditional point of view, it's similar to the whole discussion surrounding BMW's decision to make its M cars all-wheel-drive after decades of sending power to the rear wheels alone.At the end of the day, it's all about gaining more performance. If the change helps with that substantiallyas it undoubtedly does for BMWthen even those who oppose it initially will eventually come around. Switching from a front-mid-engine to a rear-mid-engine setup has definitely improved the Corvette 's handling and aerodynamics, and we're just about to see why the latter matters so much.Despite the fact the C8 has been around for nearly two years now, the only one you can buy is the vanilla Stingray version with its 6.2-liter naturally aspirated engine developing 495 hp (502 PS). Obviously, people haven't remained idle about its output, and plenty of tuning efforts have been made. However, cracking thehas proven difficult, so there aren't as many powerful builds around as you'd expect.The C7 generation, on the other hand, has been around for ages, not to mention anyone interested in boosting its power can get a head start by buying the ZR1 version, whose supercharged V8 produces 755 hp out of the box. A 1,000-hp build like the one Street Speed 717 's Mike has, then, is not exactly out of the ordinary.It's even less so when you look at the kind of cars he races against at the slipstream racing event held on the Pocono Raceway NASCAR track. You have a 900-hp McLaren 720S, a 930-whp Ford Mustang, and a 1,200-hp Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Average horsepower? Well over 1,000.However, this is where the C8 would have brought a clear advantage over the C7. With these cars routinely going over 160 mph (257 kph) during their runs, aerodynamics plays an excruciatingly important part. That's something best seen during the McLaren race, where the British supercar drops back initially due to inferior power but starts climbing back up once the speed increase.Sure, other aspectssuch as gearing ratioscould play a part as well, but you can bet your last dime that huge wing at the back of the C7 doesn't help, and neither does all the air that's driven through the engine bay at the front.That said, maybe with the sole exception of the McLaren 720S (and it's a big maybe), the C7 ZR1 is easily the best-looking car out of all that make an appearance in the clip below. Best-sounding too? Grab a headset and decide for yourself.
On Wednesday at 9 a.m., the vote on a sell-out contract that had been negotiated by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Columbia University behind the backs of the rank-and-file officially began. The Graduate Workers of Columbia (GWC), which are affiliated with the UAW, are urging graduate students to vote yes, threatening that a no vote could lead to an even worse contract, and promising that they would receive a miserable $1,000 summer payment if the contract was approved. This one-time payment would amount to less than the average monthly rent for a room in Manhattan.

Paid for, at least in part, by federal COVID-19 relief funding, it is a laughable sum considering the de facto pay cut graduate workers would have to take under the proposed contract. The three-year contract also includes a no-strike clause.

The blatant attempt to financially bribe graduate students into voting yes on a contract that means more, not less, financial hardship for them has infuriated many who see the contract as a slap in the face. The sell-out contract comes after a month-long strike in which they courageously fought for, among other things, a living wage and decent health care. Anger about the union is running high and students across the university are mobilizing for a no vote.

Columbia graduate students picketing last month (WSWS)

One graduate student told the WSWS: The tentative agreement fails to bring the most vulnerable of us up to a livable wage or improve material working conditions for all of us and is therefore unacceptable.

He denounced the union, stating: The BC [bargaining committee] has not reflected the will of the rank-and-file who have been on the picket line and in the general body meetings. COVID austerity is nonsense. In our specific case, it was a narrative that the BC submitted to. It therefore pushed off the substantial raises until the last year of the contract, such that now A) most of our striking workers wouldnt reap their benefits and B) the overall cost of the contract for Columbia is wildly reduced.

I see a no-vote and reorganizing as the best way forward. I think that voting down this contract and negotiating through the summer will give the best opportunity to understand the role of this struggle within the context of the struggle at NYU and higher education generally, and therefore where our power lies as workers.

Another graduate worker told the WSWS, The UAW & BC do not care about the rank and file. They know their objectiveget any contract ratified ASAP so [that the] UAW can get their 2 percent of dues. He expressed a deep desire to continue the fight outside the confines of the UAW: I am not giving up this fight. Not at all. But I will not give the BC any more deference. They are illegitimate. I intend to ignore them and determine a strategy to overcome this horrible tentative agreement.

In a city where 630,000 workers have lost their jobs just over the past year, and over 1.6 million out of a population of 8 million rely on food stamps, the union has made no attempt to connect the struggle of graduate students to the broader social conditions and struggles facing the working class. Instead, everything was done to isolate the strike and limit it to the university campus, with the effect of wearing down the graduate students.

As the union moved to shut down the strike, the GWC-UAW focused ever more on promoting identity politics, especially the #MeToo campaign, in a deliberate attempt to divert from the class issues. At its rallies and on its Twitter page, the union has begun to highlight allegations of sexual abuse on campus as the main basis for the need for third-party arbitration.

Amidst widespread anger and opposition to the union sell-out, a critical role is being played by the so-called reform caucus within the GWC-UAW, the Academic Workers for a Democratic Union (AWDU). While the three reform caucus members on the BC voted no, they have done everything to prevent a break by graduate students from the union, claiming that graduate students could still advance their interests within this rotten organization.

At NYU, the bargaining committee of the GSOC-UAW, which is completely dominated by the reform caucus of the AWDU, is preparing to play the exact same role as the BC at Columbia University. For months, the GSOC-UAW has delayed the strike so that it would not coincide with the strike at Columbia. At the same time, it has made one concession after another to NYU before the strike has even begun.

At a membership meeting last Thursday, rank-and-file members of GSOC clearly opposed the further lowering of key demands, which graduate students were asked to vote on. The options presented to them already included a significant lowering of the initial demands. In other words, they could only vote on how much, not on whether or not, the demands would be lowered.

In virtually all caseswages, health care, child care and tuition waivers for masters degree studentsthe majority of the students voted for the least possible lowering of the demand. Of those present, 62 percent voted against a lowering of the demand to $32/hour, preferring a demand of $35/hour. Several students expressed opposition to any further lowering of the wage demand.

Yet there are indications that the AWDU-controlled GSOC-UAW is preparing to lower the wage demand regardless to $32/hour ahead of the last scheduled bargaining session with NYU. This would mean a lowering from the initial demand of $48/hour by a whole third, under conditions where NYU has signaled that it would not make any concessions on this issue, in particular. The university first tried to introduce a two-tier wage system and then offered an insulting $1/hour raise.

Moreover, in the meeting last Thursday, BC representatives indicated that they were ready to go even lower than that, to just $26/hour. The union is no doubt counting on the sell-out at Columbia, where the UAW is trying to ram through a paycut, as the basis for presenting another sell-out at NYU as a major win. The only demands that GSOC has not budged on at all concern the promotion of identity politics.

One major consideration in the unions dramatic lowering of demands is that it is still hoping that it can call off a strike at the last minute, using whatever meager counterproposal NYU makes as a pretext.

With only days left before the April 26 strike deadline at NYU, graduate workers and students must draw far-reaching lessons from the experience at Columbia. Contrary to the hopes held by student workers, the UAW has been brought into academia not to improve the conditions of workers, but in order to play the same role that it has played for decades in the auto industry: working on behalf of the corporate interests that dominate the universities, the unions role is to control the workforce, and ram through sell-out contracts. The only increase in pay that the union is ready to fight over is one that directly goes to increasing the revenue stream from union dues that serves to enrich the union officials.

A successful struggle by graduate students for their interests requires an organizational and political break with the trade unions. Instead of appealing to the ruling class, whose representatives control the university administration, and the unions, graduate students need to base their struggle on a socialist perspective and an orientation to the working class.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Bill de Blasio did not commit Wednesday to testify for an inquiry into one of the citys most high-profile police killings  the 2014 death of Eric Garner in Tompkinsville.

Thats despite his vocal support for police reform this week in the aftermath of the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd in May of last year.

When asked during a Wednesday press briefing about city lawyers push to dismiss a state supreme court petition for judicial inquiry brought by members of Garners family and racial justice advocates, the mayor suggested that case had run its course.

This is about a case that, obviously, was acted on by the city of New York, where there was accountability, and I think the fact that that accountability happened is what matters here, de Blasio said. I think the fact is that the Law Department believes the issues have been addressed, and were moving forward.

In August 2019, the NYPD fired former police officer Daniel Pantaleo for his role in Garners death.

Before Garners death on July 17, 2014, Pantaleo was caught on camera near the intersection of Bay Street and Victory Boulevard bringing Garner to the ground by his neck during an attempted arrest and continuing that restraint as the man cried out that he couldnt breathe.

The only other city official ever held accountable for Garners death was an NYPD sergeant, who has 20 vacation days docked.

Shortly after Pantaleos firing, Garners mother, Gwen Carr, and sister, Elisha Flagg-Garner, along with several racial justice advocates filed a petition for judicial inquiry into their loved ones death, and how the city handled the aftermath.

A section of the city charter allows supreme court justices to conduct a summary inquiry into alleged violation or neglect of duty in relation to the citys property, government, or affairs. An application for the inquiry needs to be made by certain city official or five tax-paying citizens supported by affidavit.

In the Garner case, the petitioners are seeking answers to several questions, including how his arrest and medical records became public, and what sort of investigation the city conducted into the emergency personnel who responded to the scene of his death.

The petition is before Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Erika Edwards, who said Tuesday during a virtual hearing that she would like for the inquiry to begin the week of July 19, according to a report from the New York Daily News.

I want it to start this summer, I dont want to go into September, the judge said. As far as Im concerned, I want this done.

We have to really narrow the scope of all of the questioning. This is unusual for me, you know. So Im learning as well as a judge, and its not like I can go phone a friend, Edwards said, according to the News.

The city has sought to dismiss the petition, but if there is a judicial inquiry, it could require current and former high-ranking city officials to provide testimony about the Garner casethat would be made public, including de Blasio, former Police Commissioners James ONeill and William Bratton, and Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

I think theres a long-standing belief that there has to be a very very careful approach to if and when a mayor ever gets involved in a court case, de Blasio said. I think the Law Departments wise assumption is that its very very rare if a mayor gets involved in testimony.

The next hearing regarding the petition is scheduled June 9.
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Russia is continuously strengthening its armed forces by modernizing weaponry, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in his annual state-of-the-nation address to the Federal Assembly.

The share of modern weapons and equipment is expected to reach 76 percent by 2024, and this share in Russia's nuclear triad will exceed 88 percent this year, Putin told lawmakers and government officials.

The first regiment fully armed with the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles will become operational by the end of 2022, and the Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles will be combat ready in the near future, he said.

The Avangard intercontinental hypersonic missiles and laser combat systems have already been put on duty, he noted.

Putin highlighted the importance of global cooperation in ensuring strategic stability and invited major countries to discussions on issues regarding strategic weapons.

"The subject of such negotiations would be the establishment of a mechanism of conflict-free coexistence based on a security equation," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-21 18:15:55|Editor: huaxia

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COLOMBO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The international Mrs. World Inc. Organization, on Wednesday said it had accepted the resignation of Mrs. World Caroline Jurie, a Sri Lankan national after she had decided to hand over her crown.

Mrs. World, in a statement on Wednesday said that following Jurie's resignation, the first runner up at last year's international pageant, Mrs. Ireland World, Kate Schneider, will now become the new Mrs. World 2020.

Caroline Jurie was crowned the Mrs. World 2020 and was to hold the international crown till December this year. But she had decided to hand over her crown after she uncrowned the Mrs. Sri Lanka 2021 winner in a pageant held in Colombo in early April, claiming the winner was a divorcee and therefore was ineligible to contest in the Mrs. World 2021 international pageant to be held in December.

Since then Jurie had been arrested by the police after a complaint was lodged by the pageant winner Pushpika De Silva and released on bail. Enditem
Other church officials in other places have said these men are credibly accused offenders and were not going to let them function in our diocese and were going to use our websites to warn people about them, Clohessy said. So our question to Bishop Paprocki is, if your brother bishops have said (that), why wont you do the same?
President Biden's climate envoy John Kerry blasted the Trump Administration for pulling out of the Paris climate deal he helped negotiate  then jolted even some environmentalists when he called to pull carbon dioxide 'out of the atmosphere.'

'Regrettably, without any facts, without any science, without any rationale that would be considered reasonable, the former president decided to pull out,' Kerry said of the global climate accord while speaking to reporters at the White House.

Kerry spoke during the administration's virtual global climate summit, after the administration announced it would seek a 50 to 52 per cent reduction in U.S. carbon emissions by 2030.

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and former Secretary of State John Kerry blasted former President Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord

'Even if we get to net zero, we still need to get carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,' Kerry said. 'This is a bigger challenge than a lot of people have really grabbed on to yet.'

In one remark, he compared industrialized powers like the U.S. to misbehaving adults.

'The younger generation is today appropriately pretty upset at the adults, the alleged adults, who are not getting their act together,' Kerry said.

Following Biden's election, 'We had to restore America's credibility,' said Kerry, a former secretary of state and presidential candidate, who took heat earlier this year when he was revealed to have flown by private jet to Iceland to accept an environmental award.

'We had to prove that we were serious. And I think today, does that in many ways, and not in a chauvinistic - in a way that sort of inappropriate to our relationship with other countries, but in a way that reinforces the fact that this is my bilateral that we need to bring all the countries in the world at the table we all need to raise ambition,' he said.

'Even if we get to net zero, we still need to get carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,' said Kerry

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and White House national climate advisor Gina McCarthy on Thursday at the start of the climate summit

Kerry blasted Donald Trump for pulling out of the Paris accord

'That's the central theme of this meeting. We must all raise ambition,' Kerry said, repeatedly referencing the 'climate crisis.'

Some environmentalists are wary of schemes to try to pull carbon out of the atmosphere, out of concern it will take the focus of requirements that producers reduce emissions.

'It's a really exciting statement because it shows the door is open,' said Noah Deich, the president of DC -based think tank Carbon180, News AKMI reported.

'The challenge that Kerry is really putting forth to the community that works on climate policy is: Let's not pretend that 50% by 2030 or 100% by 2050 is enough. The end zone is quite a bit further than that.'

Kerry's comments came at a summit where Biden called for redoubling U.S. efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

He pledged the U.S. will cut its emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels, and to set America on a path of zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.

'The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. The cost of inaction is mounting,' the president said in his speech kicking off his Climate Summit.

'This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative,' Biden argued. 'Time is short, but I believe we can do this. And I believe that we will do. Thank you for being part of the summit.'
Today, billboards across the UK carry a brand new four-word message in capital letters: I LOVE YOU EARTH.

People more used to driving past slogans for Carphone Warehouse or Kwik Fit Tyres may wonder what it is all about. Is EARTH the brand name of a new online bank, perhaps, or a furniture superstore?

Similar slogans, such as I LOVE YOU WALKERS CRISPS or I LOVE YOU GIRLS ALOUD, would be called advertisements. But I LOVE YOU EARTH is much, much more important.

How do I know this? Because it is the work of Yoko Ono, and London's Serpentine Gallery, which is sponsoring it, has declared it an 'iconic public artwork'.

'I LOVE YOU EARTH is a reminder to those who see it to ask themselves: Do I love the Earth? How am I expressing that love? Could I do more?' reads the explanation issued by the Gallery. '... It acts as a provocation, setting up an active relationship between artist and viewer that follows on from the questions and instructions included in Ono's seminal 1964 book Grapefruit.'

Today, billboards across the UK carry a brand new four-word message in capital letters: I LOVE YOU EARTH (pictured: Glasgow Central Station)

Yoko Ono's artwork I LOVE YOU EARTH is unveiled to mark Earth Day 2021 on the Chiswick Towers' digital billboards in West London

'Seminal' is one of those wishy-washy words curators throw into the mix when they can't think of anything else to say. Clearly something more accurate  'dotty', say, or 'over-publicised'  would not be in keeping.

For those who might need reminding, Grapefruit was a short book of 'instructional poems' that included such words of wisdom as 'Smoke everything you can, including your pubic hair'.

How many people followed this advice? Unfortunately, official figures remain unavailable, but I doubt it caught on, even among penny-pinching smokers who hoped to save money.

I wonder whether Ms Ono practised what she preached. Her singing has long had a screechy, spluttery, throat-clearing quality, but that might well be its natural tone.

Are the curators at the Serpentine Gallery correct in saying that I LOVE YOU EARTH 'acts as a provocation'? In order to provoke, you have to do or say something that a fair number of people would regard as tasteless or abhorrent. In these terms, I LOVE YOU EARTH is as bland as can be, more suitable for printing on a baby's bib, or in a Hallmark greetings card.

Personally, I prefer the chart-topping thought offered by the New Seekers in 1972: 'I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.' If provocation is what is wanted, the Serpentine Gallery might consider including I HATE YOU EARTH on its next shortlist. Or why not the marginally more tactful I'VE GONE OFF YOU EARTH  IT'S MY FAULT NOT YOURS?

The trouble with Yoko Ono is not that she is provocative but that she is anodyne

The trouble with Yoko Ono is not that she is provocative but that she is anodyne. Over the period of a single fortnight, her tweets included, 'Necessity is the mother of invention', 'Start by imagining a world where all of us are having good fun', 'Believe in following your dreams' and 'You have infinite wisdom'.

She is in fact the most cosy and conservative of conceptual artists, more cutting-hedge than cutting-edge. And this is why big organisations give her prizes: they know she is very rich, very well-connected and won't rock the boat. Why else would she have been presented with The Observer Lifetime Achievement Ethical Award?

Back in 2003, she released a New Year message: 'Let's sing, dance and hug each other, to bring in a New Year, and with it, a new world.' Anyone looking for provocation would have been better off tuning in to the Queen's Christmas message.

Two years ago, Yoko tweeted her followers to 'give us some advice that will make our lives heal and shine'. Tips came flooding in, though it might not have been the sort of advice she was expecting.

'If you wait until ten minutes before Tesco closes, you can buy an entire birthday cake reduced to 50p,' replied one follower, while another suggested: 'If you're commuting from Barnsley to Sheffield a McDonald's coffee is now 10p cheaper at Tankersley than at Meadowhall Retail Park.'

You would have thought that such down-to-earth responses might have prompted the Serpentine Gallery to ask whether displaying I LOVE YOU EARTH in large letters is the best possible use for a billboard.

But they carry on, undaunted, saying: 'As communities across the UK return to public places in our cities they will be welcomed by Yoko Ono's powerful positive statement for the planet.'

Speaking for myself, it makes me want to nip back inside and draw the curtains.
A newborn baby boy has been found abandoned in a Birmingham park as 'extremely concerned' police launched a hunt for his missing mother.

The baby, who was wrapped in a blanket, was found by a passer-by in a community park known locally as The Mound, off Shannon Road, in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, at around 5.30pm this afternoon.

It was not clear when or where he was born but he was taken to hospital to be checked over.

Police said they are 'extremely concerned' for the welfare of the boy's mother and launched an urgent appeal for anyone who knows her to come forward.

The baby, who was wrapped in a blanket, was found by a passer-by in a community park known locally as The Mound, off Shannon Road (pictured), in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, at around 5.30pm this afternoon

Detective Inspector Allan Green from West Midlands Police's public protection unit said: 'The baby is being cared for by medical staff and our priority is to now find mum and make sure she is okay.

'She may be in need of urgent medical attention and she is our absolute priority at the moment.

'We have been checking CCTV and speaking to members of the public, but it may be that the mother or someone who knows who she is sees this appeal.

'I really want to speak to her to make sure she's okay and would urge her to get in touch.'

Earlier this month a baby was found lifeless in a supermarket car park in Bilston, West Mids.

A member of the public was the first to spot the tragic corpse in the Morrisons car park and dialled 999.

The baby's mum was later found and given appropriate care, police said. Anyone with information has been asked to get in touch, quoting log 3476 of 22 April.

Officers can be reached via live chat at west-midlands.police.uk, or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Manufacturing is by far one of the most attractive industries for South Korean investors in Vietnam. Photo: Duc Thanh

SK Group will lead a South Korean business delegation, including all leading companies in various sectors looking to invest and expand, to Vietnam next month. Senior managers of SK Group, the third-largest conglomerate in South Korea, will visit leading counterparts in Vietnam such as Vingroup and Masan Group to discuss the expansion and development of investment plans in more promising fields like ICT, bio-healthcare, energy, and the environment.

Seeing the potential of Vietnam for upcoming investment and cooperation plans, SK Group will strengthen direct investment projects, in addition to acquisitions and indirect investments already carried out, an expert from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Vietnam told VIR.

In early April, SK acquired 16.26 per cent in VinCommerce, one of Masan Groups subsidiaries, for a cash consideration of $410 million.

Two years ago, SK Group carried out indirect investment into VinCommerce via a 6.1 per cent stake of Vingroup, owner at the time, valued at $1 billion. It also took 9.5 per cent stake in Masan Group valued at $470 million, as well as around $29 million for a 24.9 per cent stake in local pharmaceutical firm Imexpharm. Total investment of SK Group in Vietnam is estimated at $2 billion.

Moreover, SK Group worked out a deal with Petrolimex, poured money into the Long Son petrochemical project in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, provided telecoms solutions for MobiFone, and invested millions of US dollars to develop innovation activities in Vietnam.

Also strengthening its footprint in the country, senior leaders of Hanwha Energy will arrive in Vietnam to discuss and sign cooperation agreements of investments valued at $500 million and $300 million. The investor also would like to accelerate the Hai Lang liquefied natural gas project in the central province of Quang Tri, developed in collaboration with local partner T&T Group and other South Korean groups with investment sitting at $2 billion.

Additionally, real estate and infrastructure are also promising lands for South Korean investors. Land & Housing Corporation, along with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation, will arrive in the country to push forward a $1.5-billion Vietnam-South Korea Industrial Zone project in the northern province of Hung Yen and consider other real estate projects nearby; while Almus  a tier-1 supplier for tech giant Samsung  is looking for the chance to develop an additional factory valued at tens of millions of dollars.

This is not the first special visit of foreign investors into Vietnam over the last year. These visits carry numerous hopes, plans, and billion-dollar contracts for Vietnam despite travel interruptions hit by the pandemic, and they reflect the attraction of Vietnam for foreign investors and South Korean ones in particular, the KCCI expert said.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam Kim Heung-Soo said that the efforts of the Vietnamese government in fighting against the pandemic, as well as improving the investment and business climate, have been highlighted by South Korean investors.

Manufacturing will be the most attractive industry for South Korean businesses to invest in Vietnam. If manufacturing gains more priority than the services sector, it will significantly contribute to accelerating the speed and quality of the countrys growth, as well as lure more foreign investors into Vietnam, Soo said.

Accumulating to the end of March, South Korea is the top investor in Vietnam with over 9,000 valid projects registered at $71.5 billion, making up 18.2 per cent of total foreign direct investment into Vietnam. In the first quarter alone, South Korea ranked third following Singapore and Japan of leading foreign investors in Vietnam, with nearly $1.2 billion into 324 projects and other deals.
People are being strongly encouraged to get vaccinated, even if they have natural immunity. (ronstik/Shutterstock)

Shouldnt Natural Immunity Earn Some Freedom?

The antibodies from natural immunity may outlast those from the vaccine, research finds

Millions have rolled up their sleeves to take the COVID-19 vaccination because the jab promises protection against the notorious pathogen. However, millions more remain hesitant. Now, officials are pushing a new incentive: freedom.

A growing number of universities now require that students get vaccinated before they return to campus. Airlines and workplaces are devising apps that allow entry based on inoculation status. And several countries are either set to unveil, or have already rolled out, a vaccine passport program. Details in each system may vary, but they all involve lifting restrictions for those who take the COVID-19 vaccine, and maintaining restrictions for those who havent.

Most governments havent tried to mandate the vaccinea gene therapy released under emergency use authorization in the United States that is still undergoing clinical trials. And even as they promote the idea of vaccine passports, officials maintain that the decision to get the shot is still a matter of personal choice. But, after a year of social restrictions, the promise of any measure of freedom certainly makes taking the jab a bit more tempting.

Critics call such programs manipulative and discriminatory. But supporters say these measures are a vital step toward easing the world safely back to normalcy.

On April 2, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated individuals (those who took their last recommended dosage more than two weeks ago) were permitted to freely travel by bus, train, or plane anywhere in the United States, provided they remain masked during their trip. Everyone else is still urged to get tested before they depart, and quarantine when they return.

Vaccines can help us return to the things we love about life, so we encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in the statement.

The reasoning behind these vaccine-for-freedom programs is that vaccinated individuals are less likely to spread or contract the disease, and therefore deserve to have less restrictions than those at greater risk of transmitting a potentially deadly virus.

Community immunity is the goal, and health officials say the vaccinated earn their freedom by contributing to this goal through their antibodies. The presence of these immune cells are proof that vaccinated individuals possess protection that the unvaccinated do not.

But vaccination isnt the only road to antibody protection. Just like with other viral infections, people who catch COVID-19 can develop some immunity to the disease. And when you consider the number of people who have contracted COVID-19 and recovered, many have likely earned their antibodies naturally.

So if the goal is disease defense, doesnt natural immunity deserve a pass, too?

Drugmakers point to evidence of the antibodies produced in subjects whove taken their jabs. In April, Pfizer announced results of a phase 3 clinical trial showing that its vaccine provided more than 91 percent protection for at least six months after the second dose.

But natural immunity against COVID-19 has demonstrated promise as well.

According to research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in January in the journal Science, the immune systems of more than 95 percent of people who recovered from COVID-19 had durable memories of the virus up to eight months after infection.

It was clear in vaccine trials that natural immunity was a force to be reckoned with. Drugmaker Merck gave up on both of the vaccines it developed last year to guard against COVID-19. On Jan. 25, Merck researchers announced their decision after they discovered the vaccines offered less protection than just contracting the virus itself and developing antibodies naturally.

Whether or not you recovered from COVID-19, health officials want everyone to take the shot. But the benefit this treatment offers those who have already created their own immunity isnt clear. In December 2020, the CDC stated that the Pfizer vaccine demonstrated benefit for those with evidence of prior COVID-19 infection, but the health agency later admitted the claim was made in error.

Proving Immunity

There has been talk of granting immunity certificates to those who recovered from COVID-19 that would function in much the same way that vaccine passports work. However, when it comes to handing out freedom to the naturally immune folks, there are concerns to consider: How strong is their protection and how long will it last?

These concerns are discussed in a February report from The Royal Society in the UK. The report points to qualitative studies that suggest that antibodies generated by natural infection provide strong protection against illnessbetween 70 and 90 percent efficacy for at least six months. However, researchers are concerned that natural immunity may also be less effective in reducing infectiousness and transmission, particularly against asymptomatic infection.

Another problem is that there is no standard to measure natural antibody protection.

With regard to developing a satisfactory passporting test, no standard antibody assay yet exists and there are no validated antibody concentrations that correlate with or signify protection, either against illness or infectivity, the report stated.

The issues of testing and standards for antibody levels were also discussed in a 2020 report from the World Health Organization examining the ethical considerations of immunity passports. Not only have these important markers not been scientifically established, but, more importantly, there are several cases of people who catch COVID-19, recover, and then catch it again.

As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised against the use of immunity certificates at this time as they have the potential to increase the risk of continued transmission, the report stated.

To be fair, the longevity of protection the vaccine offers has also proven unreliable. On April 5, The Detroit News reported that as many as 246 Michigan residents considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 were later diagnosed with the virus. Three of this group died following their diagnosis.

Cases were reported between Jan. 1 and March 31. A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the cases are undergoing further review. Similar reports of so-called breakthrough cases have appeared in Washington State, Hawaii, New York, and other states.

Conditions for Freedom

The WHO report lists three conditions that would need to be met for immunity certification to be a reasonable policy approach. Two require scientists to establish antibody standards.

First, what are reliable indicators for protection? And second, since declining immunity is common in coronavirus infections, a minimum length of immunity must be established. This duration must be monitored over time so as to understand whether and when certificate holders need to reassess their immunity status and, possibly, renew their certificate.

The third condition requires the availability of accurate tests to identify immune individuals. However, the technology currently available is time-consuming, and requires expensive lab analysis, making widespread antibody testing not so feasible.

But researchers are already developing solutions to meet these challenges. Earlier this month, a group of Canadian scientists announced a new, inexpensive test that can detect COVID-19 antibodies in less than an hour using one drop of blood. It utilizes a bioluminescent enzyme called luciferase that gives fireflies their glow. The test has proven to be highly accurate. It doesnt require a lab and is easy to read. The more antibodies found, the brighter the test card glows.

Of course, none of this will be necessary in places that dont require vaccines for freedom, and so far at least three states have executive orders that forbid these programs. In a March 29 press conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that its completely unacceptable for the government or the private sector to impose that people show proof of vaccine simply to participate in normal society.

I think this is something that has huge privacy implications and is not necessary to do, DeSantis said. [Vaccination] is something we want available for all, but mandated for none.
Akshay Kumar's Baby contributed to the long list of action-thriller movies done by the actor. The movie starring Kumar with Rana Daggubati, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Kay Kay Menon and many others took its fans through several different locations. The film, helmed by Neeraj Pandey, shows off many locations including Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Kathmandu and two Indian cities.

A list of Baby movie's shooting location

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The shooting location of Baby included a huge portion of the movie being filmed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The movie showed off many sand dunes in the desert region of Abu Dhabi, according to IMDb. Several action scenes were shot in the heat which measured up to 47 degrees celsius. The cast and the crew of the movie had to work in the scorching heat in the Anantara Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort. In an interview with The National, Akshay Kumar had admitted to loving his experience shooting for Baby in Abu Dhabi for its simple and neat process to get filming permissions.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Baby movie's shooting location also included Kathmandu, Nepal. The cast and the crew were spotted shooting for the movie in Bhaktapur, Durbar Square. Akshay Kumar and the rest of the cast and crew were spotted filming by a crowd who rushed to meet their favourite celebrities, as reported by LexiLimbu. The actors were seen shooting some of the most important scenes when two of the agents must travel to Nepal for a pivotal mission as Shabana Shaikh and Rafiq Kaif.

Istanbul, Turkey

The shooting location of Baby shoots various action sequences in Istanbul, Turkey, especially the Istanbul Trams area. Some of the shots in the movie which Istanbul was actually shot in Abu Dhabi during the film's final schedule according to The Location Guide. The scene showing Akshay Kumar's character capturing a rogue agent named Jamal takes place in Istanbul, Turkey.

New Delhi and Mumbai

The final two places where the movie is shot includes the Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi. The movie starts off focusing on the agents' mission to find and arrest the terrorists who cause bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2008. In New Delhi, certain shoots took place in a Delhi mall where the agents are able to stop a major bomb blast from taking place. Delhi's Gautam Buddha University was used as the location for the antagonist, Feroze's headquarters, according to The Filmapia.

(Promo Image Source: Still from Baby)

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Jazz Icon Herbie Hancock Virtually Honored at Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center

Barbara Morrison is a legendary jewel of South Los Angeles. When talking to Morrison, you are talking to more than a jazz icon, you are talking to the sweetest lady ever. This conversation had a purpose however as she brings exciting news.

On April 30, @ 7:30 PM PDT, The Friends of Jazz at UCLA will virtually honor Grammy and Oscar winner Herbie Hancock. The event is sponsored by KJAZZ and the Ralph Ehrenpreis Performance Fund and will stream live from the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Leimert Park. Morrison shared how the event brings together multiple reasons for a celebration.

This year, I decided to have my concert on International Jazz Day, and who better to pay tribute to, is one of the men who started International Jazz DayHerbie Hancock, said Morrison.

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April is Jazz Appreciation Month and Morrison will be hosting A Song for Herbie celebrating the 10-year anniversary of International Jazz Day with original compositions honoring Herbie Hancock, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, actor and professor at University of California, Los Angeless UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

I said I wanted to do my scholarship again this year and I want to do it on International Jazz Day and honor Herbie Hancock and they went up to the moon, said Morrison about pitching the idea.

I suggested it to the board and they went for it!

The founder of The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center and founder and president of the California Jazz & Blues Museum, both located in Leimert Park, CA, Morrison also serves as an associate professor of Jazz Studies in the Global/Ethnomusicology Department at UCLA in Westwood, CA.

As a matter of fact, our classrooms are right next to each other, said Morrison about Hancock.

Morrison has been teaching classes at UCLA since the mid-90s. She teaches private vocals, beginning and advance, but due to COVID-19, like most classes around the nation, Morrison has taught her classes virtually.

She shared about teaching at UCLA, I was there when Gerald Wilson and Billy Higgins was alive. I came in with the facultyKenny Burrell was our chairman at that time.

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I came in with the big boys.

The tribute to Hancock includes performances by special guests Grammy nominated vocalist Freda Payne, pianists Paul Cornish, Stuart Elster and Elder Gindroz, bassist Michael Saucier, drummer Peter Buck, UCLA Global Jazz Vocal students Arya Hora and Lauren Brewster. Anthony Tony White will MC the event.

Youre going to be exposed to original compositions by my students, said Morrison. Theyre my vocal students.

All the proceeds from this event will benefit Barbara Morrison Jazz Scholarship Fund at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

They put a scholarship in my name, said Morrison. So, this way, Im raising money for my scholarship and all the money goes to the kids.

She added, If I raise a certain amount of money, I get an endowment.

My goal is to raise a $100,000 [and] I want to ask everyone to donate.

Throughout the month of April is Jazz Appreciation Month for all to enjoy legendary jazz performances virtually on the Barbara Morrison Music social media platform at: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraMorrisonMusic/

To donate and buy tickets, please visit: https://giving.ucla.edu/Standard/NetDonate.aspx?SiteNum=3481&MG=%25%25PublicId%25%25&Finder=%25%25FinderNumber%25

For more information on the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, please visit www.barbaramorrison.com
Trot Insider has learned that longtime harness racing industry participant Cecil Albert 'Pat' Burns of Toronto, Ont. passed away on April 20, 2021 after turning 100 this past February.

A longtime geologist, Burns was involved with Standardbreds for many years. Along with his late wife Sheila and operating under the stable of C A Burns Limited, Burns was the co-breeder and owner of a pair of O'Brien Award-winning siblings -- two-time O'Brien Award winner Dresden Dolly, named Canada's Older Trotting Mare of the Year in both 2002 and 2003, as well as 1998 Older Trotting Mare of the Year Kewpie Doll B. He also campaigned Harlequin, another stakes winner from the family of Wellesley Doll, one of many horses he owned and raced with the late Bill Wellwood.

Predeceased by wife Sheila, Burns is survived by children Scott Andrew, Laura Maie, and Frances Sheila Abbasi, grandchildren Jasmin, Kimberly (Tony), Sam and Kayley (Adam) and great-grandson Gage.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Pat Burns.
People attend sit-in protest and prayer ceremony for those who have died during protests against Myanmar's military coup in Kyat Sar Pyin Quarter, Dawei, (Photo : DAWEI WATCH via REUTERS)

Myanmar anti-coup activists launched protests on Wednesday calling for the release of detained prisoners, as junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing was reported to be planning to attend a regional summit to discuss the crisis in the country.



Saturday's summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would be its first since the coup in Myanmar on Feb. 1 and a test of how the traditionally consensual organisation will respond.



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Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said the military commander would attend the meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, the online service of the Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported.



Reuters could not reach the spokesman for confirmation. The general's attendance at the summit has been condemned by critics of the military takeover both within Myanmar and abroad.



The Southeast Asian country has been in crisis since the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, with almost daily protests despite a crackdown by the junta in which hundreds of people have been killed.



ASEAN has been trying to guide fellow member Myanmar out of the bloody turmoil triggered by the coup, but the 10-nation group's principles of consensus and non-interference have restricted its ability to overcome members' divergent views on how to respond to the army's killing of civilians.



Myanmar's military has shown little willingness to engage with its neighbours and no sign of wanting to talk to members of the government it ousted, accusing some of them of treason, which is punishable by death.



Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the summit, but Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said he would be represented by his deputy, Don Pramudwinai, who is also foreign minister.



Other regional leaders are yet to confirm their plans.



The United Nations special envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, will fly to Jakarta and hold meetings on the sidelines of the summit, three sources said.



She has communicated with Myanmar's military but the army has not allowed her to visit.



The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group, says 738 people have been killed by Myanmar's security forces since the coup and 3,300 people are in detention. Another 20 people have been sentenced to death and are in hiding.



On Wednesday, people shared photos on social media wearing blue shirts and holding up a hand with the name of an arrested person written on it.



The shirts are a tribute to pro-democracy activist Win Tin who was imprisoned by the military for 19 years and died on April 21, 2014. After his release, he pledged to wear a blue shirt until all political prisoners were freed.



"Please raise your voice and demand the release of all the people who are being unfairly detained under the junta government," protest leader Ei Thinzar Maung said on Facebook.



'BARBARIC JUNTA'



Last week, pro-democracy politicians, including ousted members of parliament, announced the formation of a National Unity Government (NUG) that nominally includes Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the coup, as well as leaders of the protests and ethnic minorities.



Mynamar's home affairs ministry has declared the NUG unlawful, but the NUG says it is the legitimate authority in Myanmar and has requested international recognition and an invitation to the Jakarta meeting.



A grouping of ASEAN lawmakers also said the NUG should be invited.



"ASEAN cannot adequately discuss the situation in Myanmar without hearing from and speaking to the National Unity Government," ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said in a statement.



On the invitation to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, it said: "ASEAN must make it abundantly clear that he is not there as a representative of the Myanmar people, who totally reject his barbaric junta."



Human Rights Watch said the 10-member bloc should immediately withdraw the invitation to the junta's leader.



"Min Aung Hlaing, who faces international sanctions for his role in military atrocities and the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, should not be welcomed at an intergovernmental gathering to address a crisis he created," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.


Two 'Benin Bronze' sculptures gifted to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1982 that are set to be repatriated to Nigeria were made in the 1980s, officials have said.

Sculptures and plaques made for royalty in the former Kingdom of Benin and seized by British forces in 1897 have been the subject of growing calls for repatriation to Nigeria after Black Lives Matter protests.

The Benin Bronzes, among the most famous treasures taken, are currently on display at the British Museum, but a number of galleries have recently agreed to send similar items back, with the University of Aberdeen saying last month it would return a sculpture to Nigeria within weeks.

Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, then pledged to return two statues to given to former Archbishop Robert Runcie and the Church of England by the University of Nigeria in a visit nearly 40 years ago.

However, the two sculptures that are set to be returned as a 'gesture of goodwill' were in fact made in the 1980s, 100 years after most Benin Bronzes were seized, and have no links to Britain's colonial past.

Experts are now questioning why the sculptures are being returned at all, with critics accusing the Church of England of 'penitent decolonialisation' despite the items being unrelated to imperialism.

A spokesman for the palace told the Telegraph: 'The sculptures that we received as gifts in the 1980s are likely to be contemporary from that time.'

Two 'Benin Bronze' sculptures gifted to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1982 that are set to be repatriated to Nigeria were made in the 1980s, officials have said

Prof Nigel Biggar, professor of theology at the University of Oxford, said: 'Quite what would be intended by such a returning of gifts is not clear.

'Given the present context, it would appear to be an act of penitent 'decolonisation'.

'The items were not seized during the colonial period, indeed, they were not seized at all.

'They were made in the 1980s and have nothing to do with the controversial 'Benin Bronzes'.'

How British forces looted treasures known as the Benin Bronzes In 1897, a British naval expedition was raised to avenge the deaths of nine officers killed during a trade dispute between the king of Benin and Britain. Britain sent a force of 500 men to destroy what was then the Kingdom of Benin, which is in modern-day Nigeria. After ten days of fierce fighting, the British burnt down the palace and looted the royal treasures: delicate ivory carvings and magnificent copper alloy sculptures and plaques - now known as the Benin Bronzes. After the sacking of Benin, the bronzes were taken by the British to pay for the expedition. One of them, a bronze cockerel, ended up being a permanent fixture in the dining hall at Jesus College, Cambridge. Many people have campaigned for the cockerel to be returned over the years and in November last year, Cambridge University agreed to return it to Nigeria. A number of other museums and universities have since also agreed to send items back in recent weeks. One campaigner was BBC historian David Olusoga who said The British Museum, which holds hundreds of the sculptures, should have a 'Supermarket Sweep' where countries have two minutes to take back their artefacts. Advertisement

Lambeth Palace said that after being contacted by campaigners calling for the Benin Bronzes to be repatriated, it was decided to hand over the statues as a 'gesture of goodwill'.

It said in a statement: 'We have recently been contacted by the Digital Benin project at the MARKK (Hamburg) who enquired about our collection of gifts at Lambeth Palace and if we had received any Benin kingdom objects as gifts over the years.

'In response, we have confirmed to the Digital Benin project that we have two bronze busts, given to us by the Benin kingdom in 1982. These were gifted to Archbishop Robert Runcie by His Excellency Chief (Prof.) Ambrose F. Alli and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

'We have offered for the two busts to be included in the Digital Benin project and eventually, returned to our friends in Edo, Nigeria where they may remain. We are currently in discussions with the EMOWAA, via the Legacy Restoration Trust, to arrange this.'

The Benin Bronzes were taken by a British naval expedition in 1897, which was raised to avenge the deaths of nine officers killed during a trade dispute between the king of Benin and Britain.

Britain sent a force of 500 men to destroy what was then the Kingdom of Benin, which is in modern-day Nigeria.

After ten days of fierce fighting, the British burnt down the palace and looted the royal treasures: delicate ivory carvings and magnificent copper alloy sculptures and plaques - now known as the Benin Bronzes.

After the sacking of Benin, the bronzes were taken by the British to pay for the expedition.

One of them, a bronze cockerel, ended up being a permanent fixture in the dining hall at Jesus College, Cambridge.

Many people have campaigned for the cockerel to be returned over the years and in November last year, Cambridge University agreed to return it to Nigeria.

One campaigner was BBC historian David Olusoga who said The British Museum, which holds hundreds of the sculptures, should have a 'Supermarket Sweep' where countries have two minutes to take back their artefacts.

Last month, the University of Aberdeen said a sculpture of an Oba, or ruler, of the Kingdom of Benin, had left Nigeria in an 'extremely immoral' fashion, leading it to reach out to authorities in 2019 to negotiate its return.

Neil Curtis, Aberdeen's head of museums and special collections, said the Bronze, purchased in 1957, had been 'blatantly looted.'

'It became clear we had to do something,' Mr Curtis said.

Professor Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said the importance of displaying the Bronze inside Nigeria for the first time in more than 120 years was inexpressible.

'It's part of our identity, part of our heritage... which has been taken away from us for many years,' Prof Tijani said.

Plaques that form part of the Benin Bronzes are displayed at The British Museum in 2018

Lambeth Palace pledged to return two statues to given to former Archbishop Robert Runcie (pictured) and the Church of England by the University of Nigeria in a visit nearly 40 years ago

The British Museum has, alongside several other museums, formed a Benin Dialogue Group to discuss displaying them in Benin City, some officially on loan. It has said discussions are ongoing.

Germany is in talks to send back 440 Benin Bronzes as early as the autumn, according to newspaper reports, while the University of Cambridge's Jesus College said it had finalised approvals in December to return another Bronze. Prof Tijani said U.S. museums had also agreed to return two more Bronzes.

The governor of Edo state, of which Benin City is the capital, plans to build a centre to store and study the returned artefacts by the end of 2021, and a permanent museum by 2025.

Artist and Edo state native Victor Ehikhamenor said he hoped the decision would prompt others to follow suit.

'Because some of these things are missing from our environment, people are not able to contextualize where we are coming from,' Mr Ehikhamenor said.
Washington: A collection of more than 30 precious relics of Afghanistans ancient past are on their way home as the nation confronts deepening uncertainty about its future.

The artefacts were seized from a New York-based art dealer who authorities say was one of the worlds most prolific smugglers of antiquities and turned over to the Afghan government this week.

Afghan Ambassador to the US Roya Rahmani presents the looted and stolen Afghan religious relics and antiquities recovered by US government authorities as part of a wider investigation into global trafficking in rare and ancient artifacts. Credit:AP

The significance of the material is huge, Roya Rahmani, Afghanistans ambassador to the US, said on Thursday (AEST). Each one of these pieces are priceless depictions of our history.

Rahmani formally took control of the collection in a ceremony on Tuesday (AEST) with the Manhattan District Attorneys office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which recovered the artefacts as part of a larger investigation into the trafficking of antiquities from a number of countries.
China builds special repository for scientific data sharing

People's Daily Online) 16:04, April 22, 2021

Science Data Bank (ScienceDB), a paper-related data repository with the capacity to serve global users, has recently been launched by the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

ScienceDB, independently developed and maintained by CNIC, not only provides solutions for the aggregation, management, opening up and sharing of paper-related data, but also serves as a platform for promoting integrity in scientific research, fostering the sharing culture, accelerating data transfer and enhancing international cooperation.

Researchers can store up and publish their collected scientific data in the bank, while the bank itself allows the data to be discovered, accessed and readopted more easily, as it enables resources scattered among various individuals to be managed collectively after all the deposits" are processed.

"For researchers, the transparency of scientific data is pivotal to the credibility of their academic papers," Zhou Yuanchun, deputy director of the CNIC said while explaining the significance of scientific data. "After the papers are published, the data can be found more easily and its availability will also be boosted," he added.

Qiu Yubao, an associate researcher at the Aerospace Information Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was one of the first users to store up and publicly share scientific data in the ScienceDBs predecessor released in 2015.

"Since 2015, more than 20 entities have adopted the data I shared," remarked Qiu, noting that the public sharing of the data has greatly promoted the popularization of the project outcomes they achieved from 2012 to 2015. "In the future, we will continue to store and share other data through the bank," he said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
On Tuesday, many in this country breathed the sigh of relief that George Floyd never could. A diverse jury, persuaded by a diverse prosecution team, returned guilty verdicts on all three counts against Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. It only took them 11 hours to convict the former Minneapolis police officer, and theres no denying the catharsis that many communities are feeling in the aftermath; Chauvin became the first white officer in Minnesota history convicted in the killing of a Black civilian. Accountability, however narrowly tailored to this officer in this case, was achieved. Thats important.

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Its also important that the trial itself, streamed live to the world for weeks, was a galvanizing, water-cooler event for America. It exposed in real time the lengths to which a police officerfacing irrefutable video confirmation of his crimeswould try to convince us not to believe our own eyes. The defense team often relied on tired, racist tropes along the way. Chauvins lawyers repeatedly painted the victim as somehow simultaneously drug-addled and superhuman, and the crowd as some heaving BLM/antifa hybrid distracting Chauvin from Floyd. The jury, and America, bought none of it. While Derek Chauvin deserved and received a robust defense, how he used it was telling.

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And yet, while our nations collective fixation on the guilt phase of the trial was valuable, we should abandon that fixation for Chauvins sentencing. And for the trials of the other three cops on the scene that day. And for any eventual criminal trials of the Capitol insurrectionists and Atlanta spa killer, to name two other examples. Excessive focus on the judicial proceedings in these individual criminal cases would likely only distract from the structural issues at the root of these crimes. Whats worse, focusing too much on harsh punishments for the alleged perpetrators only legitimizes a criminal justice system that defaults to excess incarcerationusually for the very communities these prosecutions would nominally protect.

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In other words, Americas obsession with the criminal legal system as panacea is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place. That obsession with punishment is exactly why Minneapolis Police sent four armed-and-dangerous cops after George Floyd for allegedlyallegedlypassing a fake twenty. Its why 20-year-old Daunte Wright in neighboring Brooklyn Center could be pulled overand ultimately killedby armed-and-dangerous police for having expired tags and dangling air fresheners. Its also why Black and Brown people across America are still caged and surveilled by the millions, despite decades of falling crime.

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This is not to say that the prosecutions listed above will not serve an important purpose. The country has become painfully aware of our two-tier justice system, and needs to see the law applied equally as often as possible, even if historically that has been a rarity in the United States. We also need accountability for the perpetrators of these heinous acts, and right now the criminal legal system is the best weve got. But that is not why people marched by the millions in the wake of George Floyds murder.

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We have tried using criminal punishment as a replacement for prophylactic public policy for decades in this country. It has failed. And it will be no different for police violence and systemic racism. Indeed, most people and even most law enforcement would agree that the Chauvin conviction will not solve these broader issues. Yet I worry that those same people will obsess over the length of Chauvins sentence, believing wrongly that more time equals more justice. It does not. They will obsess over the trials of the other officersparticularly if those trials are televisedbelieving wrongly that more rolling heads equal more justice. They do not. And if guilty verdicts ring from Washington D.C. to Minneapolis to Atlanta in the coming months and years, I worry they will offer a temporary polling bump for the criminal law as national healing mechanism when, in reality, it is a devastating crutch.

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More justice is actually more folks never killed by cops in the first placeindeed, unless absolutely necessary, never approached by them at all. We need to get armed police out of the business of low-level enforcement entirely. We need them out of schools and extracted from interactions with people suffering from mental health or other disabilities (a reform cops themselves have welcomed). Increased accountability via abolishing qualified immunity, making cops easier to fire earlier on, and putting their misconduct on lists available to the public, are all necessities. Prosecutors must develop the independence to snuff false testimony, tampering, and other misconduct by refusing to call compromised officers to the stand, even if it costs convictions.

Finally, these inward-facing reforms must be coupled with and outstripped by reinvestments in vulnerable communities via education, housing, public health, and so much more. In short, municipalitiesand the nation by extensionmust completely rethink their responses to public safety and public health, prioritizing professional, trained, non-lethal responders, thereby making police the last resort and prosecution the rarest of necessary evils.

But that wont happen if were all glued to the next criminal trial of the century. And that would dishonor George Floyds legacy even worse than Derek Chauvins defense team did.
Saudi Arabian aid worker Abdulrahman al-Sadhan was sentenced by a counterterrorism court to 20 years in prison followed by a 20-year travel ban. He was reportedly arrested on March 12, 2018, while at the Red Crescent Society offices in the capital Riyadh, where he worked.

The United States is concerned over Sadhans sentencing, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. We will continue to monitor this case closely throughout any appeals process. As we have said to Saudi officials at all levels, freedom of expression should never be a punishable offense.

The aid worker's sister, U.S. citizen Areej al-Sadhan, has been advocating for her brothers release and said Abdulrahman was detained without a warrant or charges against him until February 2021.

The Biden-Harris administration has taken a tough stance over Saudi Arabias human rights record and has urged Riyadh to release political prisoners. According to the latest State Department human rights report on Saudi Arabia, local activists and human rights organizations claimed there were hundreds or thousands of political prisoners, including detainees who reportedly remained in prolonged detention without charge.

The 2020 human rights report stated that at least 192 persons remained in detention for activism, criticism of government leaders or policies, impugning Islam or religious leaders, or offensive internet postings, including prominent activists such as Raif Badawi, Mohammed al-Qahtani, Naimah Abdullah al-Matrod, Maha al-Rafidi, Eman al-Nafjan, Waleed Abu al-Khair, and Nassima al-Sadah, among others.

There has been some progress in 2021. In February, Saudi women's rights advocate Loujain al-Hathloul was released after nearly three years in prison. She is subject to a travel ban. Hathloul, best known for campaigning to legalize driving for women in Saudi Arabia, was detained in May of 2018, along with several other female activists, just weeks before the Saudi government lifted the ban on women driving. In addition, two Saudi activists with U.S. citizenship, Bader al-Ibrahim and Salah al-Haidar, have also been conditionally released pending trials on terrorism-related charges. A third Saudi activist with U.S. citizenship  Dr. Walid Fitaihi  was released with his sentence reduced to time served but continues to face travel and asset bans.

The United States, said spokesperson Price, will continue to elevate the role of human rights in [its] relationship with Saudi Arabia and encourage legal reforms that respect the human rights of all individuals.
On account of the recent scandals involving high-profile ministries, Charisma News features author Eric Wilson whose family and church were devastated at the news of their pastor's moral failure.

Wilson is the son of a pastor who was discovered to be sleeping with his sister's friend. Instead of repenting, Wilson's dad and his girlfriend left and move to California.

"At the deepest level, I wanted to know, if Dad cheated on Mom even while parenting us and pastoring a church, was anything he taught me worth holding onto? Was marriage a joke? Was God even real? Or was all of it just a lie?" wrote the young Wilson for Charisma.

He went on to write that many believers must have struggled with similar questions after three prominent Christian leaders were each found to be promiscuous while serving as ministers.

In August 2020, Jerry Falwell Jr. stepped down from his position as president of Liberty University due to reports of financial corruption and sexual misconduct. Falwell was one of the leading voices for American Christianity and politics.

In November, the Hillsong Church in New York City sacked Pastor Carl Lentz over incidents of infidelity as well as breaching their trust. Lentz has reportedly ministered to Hollywood celebrities like Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant and Selena Gomez. Oprah Winfrey had also featured him in her show.

In February 2021, internationally renowned apologist Ravi Zacharias made headlines, and was hot on search online after an investigation confirmed the rumors that he fell into sexual sin. He had reportedly used thousands of dollars from the ministry fund for his intimate rendezvous with massage therapists. Understandably, his family and many of his followers felt betrayed by his actions.

These Christian personalities were undoubtedly gifted and were influential in directing individuals from all walks of life toward God. While they are also human beings with frailties, people were hurt not just because of the sins they have personally committed, but because of the hypocrisy.

"The scandals of 2020 and 2021 will not be the last time Christian figures come under fire for wrongdoing. If we proclaim a higher standard, we should be held to that standard," commented Wilson.

Despite the deeply humiliating news about high-profile Christian leaders, Wilson believes that the best course of action is to bring things into light. Cover ups or leaving sins in the dark will just lead to ugly consequences.

"For my siblings and me, the path to healing and redemption meant facing the truth of what occurred.," said Wilson of his experience. 'We couldn't succumb to the lies Dad initially told us, to rationalizations Mom clung to or to rumors others circulated. Whether our dad ever repented or apologized, we had to confront the damage caused."

Wilson went on to share that they chose to be honest about how they felt by allowing themselves to express rage and emotional anguish. They also tried to comfort other people who had been hurt by their dad.

"Ultimately, we had to go to our heavenly Father and tell Him how we felt. We couldn't hold it in and pretend everything was all right. It wasn't," he said.

Wilson continued that he held nothing back while in the process of healing. He took many long walks, cried, yelled, and pleaded with God.

"If He couldn't handle my darkest moments when I needed Him most, then I would have walked away for good," he said.

To comfort him, Wilson said that God spoke to him through songs and Scriptures. He also learned to see wisdom from his dad's early instructions in the light of God's words instead of filtering them through his dad's sin.

"As all of us wrestle with the recent scandals, knowing more will inevitably come, I urge you, my brothers and sisters to face sin and call what it is," he said while noting that Christians follow the guidelines in Matthew 18: 15-17 which aim restoration both to the perpetrator and the victim.

Aside from humility, honesty, and testing everything while holding what's true, the rest of Wilson's remarkable story dwelt on forgiveness and how God redeemed their lives. Read the two-part series published by Charisma here.
Global surfing icon Kelly Slater has joined the desperate search for a popular fisherman who vanished just over a week ago.

Trent Riley, 26, is believed to have fallen overboard from his tinnie in Brisbane's Moreton Bay on April 14.

Mr Riley's aluminum boat was found by police off Mud Island, near the Port of Brisbane, about 3.30pm the same day.

He had posted two short clips to his Instagram stories just two hours earlier, showing followers his fishing rod and the seemingly calm water surroundings in Moreton Bay.

Surfing icon Kelly Slater (pictured above) has joined the desperate search for popular skater Trent Riley, who vanished over a week ago in Brisbane

On Thursday, 11-time world champion Slater posted details on one of his Instagram stories (pictured above) about the missing fisherman. Slater asked his social media followers to 'keep an eye out in the Brisbane area' for Mr Riley

On Thursday, 11-time world champion Slater posted details on one of his own Instagram stories about the missing fisherman.

Slater asked his 2.7 million social media followers to 'keep an eye out in the Brisbane area' for Mr Riley.

A GoFundMe page set up to help his family 'continue the search for Trent' has raised close to $60,000 for the immensely popular missing man.

'Any support is greatly appreciated and will help keep Trent's family focusing on their main goal - bringing Trent home,' organiser Caitlin Ennis wrote on the page.

A Facebook page - Let's find Trent Riley - has also been established, with friends constantly posting their search efforts in the hope of finding the missing man.

Queensland Police Acting Inspector Mark Mooney said Mr Riley's Instagram posts just before 1.30pm on April 14 featuring calm conditions on the bay were his last known whereabouts.

'That's the last we heard of him, of his posting or interaction,' Inspector Mooney told reporters.

Insp Mooney said the boat was not damaged, indicating there had not been any collision, but one of Mr Riley's three fishing rods were missing.

He said a dry bag Mr Riley would have taken with him if he had 'voluntarily' got into the water remained in his boat.

'We are not totally aware at this stage how he has fallen out of the boat,' Insp Mooney said.

Water Police, Volunteer Marine Rescue, helicopters and volunteer coastguard have been involved in the search.

At the time he went missing, Mr Riley was wearing a long-sleeved grey fishing shirt, black jeans, black shoes and a bucket hat.

He is described as being Caucasian, about 183cm tall, with a proportionate build and brown hair.

A fundraising effort is ongoing for fisherman Trent Riley (pictured) whose boat was found empty and motoring in circles in Brisbane's Moreton Bay on April 14

Mr Riley (pictured) had posted two videos on social media showing calm waters two hours before he went missing on April 14
Taiwan's worst drought in 56 years should be a matter of concern for the rest of the world. Taiwan's climate is subtropical in the north and central areas and tropical in the south, making it one of the rainiest locations on earth. Typhoons are frequent in the summer and fall, and monsoons are also common.

Since it rains too much there, umbrellas are available for borrowing at subway stations and businesses.Last year, however, something odd occurred, the island was spared from a typhoon. And there has not been any rain in the previous 12 months. Taiwan is experiencing the worst drought in 56 years as a result of this. Many of the country's reservoirs are below 20 percent capacity, with water levels dipping below 10 percent.

The world should be concerned about Taiwan's worst drought

The water level at the Baoshan No. 2 Reservoir in Hsinchu County, one of the main water supplies for Taiwan's $100 billion semiconductor industry, is at an all-time low, just 7 percent full. Since too many of the devices people use are fuelled by semiconductors or computer chips manufactured by Taiwanese firms, if this and other reservoirs in Taiwan dry up, it may be harmful to the global electronics industry.

Taiwan produces about 90 percent of the world's most sophisticated microchips, as per the BBC. They are used in everything from ventilators to laptops, and the pandemic has caused availability to be scarce. The United States is now concerned over an over-reliance on chips manufactured in other countries, including Taiwan.

The industry contributes significantly to the island's overall economy, but it uses a lot of water to clean the wafers used in many electronic products. Last year, the government stopped irrigating more than 74,000 hectares of farmland to ensure supplies.

Residents and people in business in three cities and counties, including one of Taiwan's largest towns, Taichung, have had their water shut off for two days a week. High-volume industrial consumers, such as semiconductor factories, have been requested to reduce water consumption by 13 percent in dry environments. In contrast, non-industrial users, such as hair salons and car wash companies, have been asked to reduce water usage by 20 percent.

Indonesia Searches for Missing Submarine With 53 People on Board, Asks Australia for Help

Taiwan's drought deepens chip shortage

Reservoirs are running dry in the foothills of Taiwan's mountainous spine as the island suffers from the worst drought in decades, a situation that threatens to exacerbate an already severe global semiconductor shortage. Taiwan is home to some of the world's largest and most sophisticated high-tech foundries, which are the backbone of a $450 billion global industry that supplies processing capacity for essential electronics but is also highly water-intensive.

Consumers bought up electronics in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, triggering a shortage that Taiwan's microchip factories were scrambling to fill long before the drought-hit. To satisfy demand, those foundries are now operating at maximum capacity, AFP via MSN reported.

However, the lack of rain exacerbates an insufficient condition for a production operation that needs billions of gallons of water per year to avoid chemical pollution. With an average rainfall of 2,600 millimeters, Taiwan is one of the rainiest areas on the planet.

Canada To Spend Big To Help Recover Battered Economy, Set a Greener Course

During the rainy season, typhoons frequently ram into the island from the east, replenishing reservoirs. But in 2020, no typhoon made landfall in Taiwan for the first time in 56 years.

Besides, rainfall has been less than 40 percent from normal in the first three months of this year. The largest reservoir in southern Taiwan, Tsengwen, has reached a 15-year low of less than 12 percent capacity, while the Baihe reservoir is empty.

So much so that a godsend shower in the central part of Taiwan enthralled all of them, although it only lasted 10 minutes, according to the island's national news service, Central News Agency (CNA). Residents and merchants reportedly cheered for the rain as they pulled out their phones to capture the scene. Jiayi, Nantou, and Kaohsiung were among the areas hit by the sudden shower.

Unfortunately, according to the local meteorological agency, the rainfall was not long enough to help alleviate the drought. Some people said the last time they had rain was in March and January, and it was just drizzling, as per Mothership.

China Leader XI Jinping Confirms To Take Part In US President Joe Biden's Climate Summit

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Fifth batch of Rafale aircraft arrived in India after flying almost 8,000 km from France. IAF chief RKS Bhadauria flagged off four Rafale jets from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase. Their arrival took the total number of French-origin fighters in IAF inventory to 18. IAF thanked French and UAE air forces for refuelling support to complete the journey. Bhadauria, who is on a 5-day visit to France, also went to a Rafale jet training centre. Arrival of the new batch will pave way for IAF to raise a second squadron of Rafale jets. The new Rafale squadron will be based at the Hasimara air base in West Bengal. The first squadron, comprising around 18 aircraft, is based at the Ambala air force station.
ourt seeks expert examination in $2.8B DIA case against Vneshprombank managers

 RAPSI

16:24 22/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  The Moscow Commercial Court has ordered to undertake an examination of signatures of former Vneshprombank chairman of the board of directors Elena Lirina in a case against 17 ex-bank managers, from whom Russias Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) seeks recovery of about 217 billion rubles ($2.8 billion), the court's ruling reads.

The petition for a handwriting examination was made by Lirina. The court instructed the Russian Federal Center for Forensic Science under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to carry it out.

The application for the recovery of the said sums from ex-president of the bank Larisa Markus and 16 other former executives of the credit institution was submitted to the court by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), which is the bankruptcy administrator of Vneshprombank.

In the framework of the litigation, on January 30, 2020, at the request of the DIA, the court took interim measures envisaging that immovable property of 8 defendants was to be seized and they were prohibited to register any actions resulting in the alienation and encumberance thereof.

The DIA found that from March 1, 2014 to March 14, 2016, the bank controlling persons granted loans to technical legal entities not engaged in economic activities and not having own property and incomes for servicing debts.

Moreover, the deposit insurer revealed illegal funds debiting from the bank clients accounts. The banks execs also failed to take steps to prevent bankruptcy that caused damage to the financial organization.

According to the applicant, these circumstances should be considered as a reason for bringing the defendants to subsidiary liability.

In November 2018, the Moscow Commercial Court extended asset realization procedure against ex-Vneshprombank president Larisa Markus, who was declared bankrupt in May 2017 on the application of VTB24 bank. This May, the court prolonged bankruptcy proceedings against her husband Lazar Markus.

In March 2016, the Moscow Commercial Court declared Vneshprombank bankrupt. Vneshprombank was one of the top 40 by assets before it lost license in January of the same year.

Criminal cases against former top managers of Vneshprombank

In February 2020, the Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court for the second time dismissed the claim for compensation of harm against Larisa Markus and vice-president of the credit institution Yekaterina Glushakova, who were sentenced to prison terms for embezzling 113.5 billion rubles ($1.5 billion at the current exchange rate).

Earlier, the Moscow court found Markus and Glushakova guilty of serious fraud and embezzlement and sentenced them to 9 years and 4 months in a general regime colony. The Moscow City Court on appeal reduced Markus's sentence to 8 years and 6 months in prison, leaving the sentence against Glushakova unchanged.

According to the sentence, the decision on the claim of the injured party (Vneshprombank) represented by the DIA against the convicts in the amount of 113 billion 526 million rubles ($1.5 billion) is to be made following the results of civil proceedings.

The court and investigative authorities established that Markus, together with her brother and the actual head of the bank, Georgy Bedzhamov, who once co-owned the bank, created an organized crime group to siphon money from the bank. The group including former vice-president of the bank Yekaterina Glushakova granted loans to sub-companies and did not refund money to Vneshprombank.

In the period from May 2009 to December 2015, the accomplices, by issuing deliberately bad loans using forged documents, writing off funds from the accounts of a number of depositors without their knowledge, and also by issuing loans to 286 companies registered on behalf of figureheads, stole about 114 billion rubles (about $1.5 billion).

In April 2020, the Moscow Khamovnichesky District Court sentenced Ekaterina Glushakova to 6 years in a general regime colony for embezzling 33.6 billion rubles ($440 million), the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation reported. The court also satisfied the civil claim of the victim represented by the DIA in the amount of more than 33.6 billion rubles ($440 million).
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadvoice, an award-winning provider of unified communications and collaboration solutions for small and medium businesses (SMBs), announced today a partnership with human-I-T, a nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to reducing e-waste and closing the digital divide.

Broadvoice Partners with human-I-T to Provide Sustainable Asset Disposition for Businesses While Promoting Digital Inclusion for All

Broadvoice customers and channel partners can take advantage of the partnership with human-I-T to recycle and donate technology that they no longer need. With a simple phone call, donors can access human-I-T's industry-leading IT asset disposition services. human-I-T will arrange an equipment pickup, securely wipe devices of sensitive data, and then refurbish, upgrade and repurpose those devices to provide digital access to students, low-income families and nonprofit organizations across the country. Damaged or broken items are also accepted for end-of-life product disposal. All donations are tax-deductible.

"We are excited to provide our customers and partners a resource that not only helps the environment, but more importantly gets technology to people in communities who need it, creating equity and opportunity for families, schools, and businesses across the country," said Marisa Freeden, Vice President of Brand and Experience at Broadvoice.

"Businesses of any size or industry can create opportunities within the community by simply donating their unwanted tech rather than sending it to be recycled or, worse, to a landfill. human-I-T offers a unique way to give second life to your old devices by recirculating them back into the economy," said Brandon Smith, Vice President of Business Development at human-I-T.

Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, with 59.1 million tons of equipment discarded in 2019. That's equivalent to 350 cruise ships! At the same time, roughly 1 in 4 school-age children lack access to a personal computer or home internet connection. By transforming e-waste into opportunities, human-I-T reduces environmental impacts while also creating social benefit.

This partnership with human-I-T is another step forward in Broadvoice's mission to create more meaningful human connections through technology.

To learn more or to schedule a technology pickup, visit

https://www.broadvoice.com/human-i-t/ or call 888-268-3921.

About Broadvoice

Broadvoice simplifies communications for small and medium businesses (SMBs) by combining powerful cloud PBX, UC and collaboration features with virtual call center in one award-winning Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform that delivers enterprise-class features at affordable rates. The platform is connected to Broadvoice's secure, redundant network and hosting infrastructure, enabling SMBs to connect with customers securely anytime, anywhere and with any device.

Media Contacts:

Padric Gleason Gonzales

Communications Manager

Human-I-T

207.751.2656

[email protected]

Marisa Freeden

Vice President of Brand and Experience

Broadvoice

626.627.6506

[email protected]

SOURCE Broadvoice
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for the enhancement of security and economic cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.

"Security is a common concern for the two countries, and it is essential to boost cooperation in this regard," Rouhani said in a meeting on Wednesday with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

He also stressed the need to promote security along the Iran- borders, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Iranian President urged for the promotion of Tehran-Islamabad ties in trade, energy and border markets, adding it is necessary for both sides to implement the signed agreements to further cooperation.

Also, stands ready to work with towards the peace process in Afghanistan, he noted.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister, for his part, hailed the relations between the two countries as "cordial" and called for the promotion of all-out ties.

and will hopefully witness a new chapter in their ties, especially in the fields of trade and economy, said Qureshi.

He also backed the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as a "big diplomatic achievement".

"We are very happy that the JCPOA has been preserved with the efforts of Iran, and today we are witnessing negotiations again to revive this multilateral agreement," the Pakistani diplomat said.

The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to establish joint border markets in efforts to strengthen cross-border economic exchanges.

The agreement, which was signed by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Qureshi, aims to promote economic relations between the two countries and the welfare of border residents.

The border markets will be administrated based on the agreements and protocols between the two sides.

Qureshi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for a three-day official visit.

Earlier on Wednesday, the third joint border crossing between the two countries was opened.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An investigative journalist arrested and tried after she made a documentary exposing the Hong Kong police force's handling of the , 2019 mob attacks on train passengers in Yuen Long was found guilty of "improper searches" of an online car license database on .



Journalist Bao Choy, whose documentary 7/21: Who Owns The Truth? tracked the movements of suspected attackers on the night of the attacks, had pleaded not guilty to two counts of "knowingly making a false statement" to access number plate ownership records.



Choy, 37, was fined H.K.$6,000 by the judge at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court, who said the public interest aspect of her work on the film had been taken into account. The charges carry a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment.



She was visibly distressed, wiping away tears outside the court, before telling reporters outside the court that the verdict was upsetting and heart-breaking.



"This judgement doesn't just affect me as an individual, but the whole industry, and anyone who is a journalist in Hong Kong," Choy said. "I personally don't agree with this verdict."



" s courts judgement has effectively criminalized the tools that have helped us in the past to find out the truth," she said.

"I personally believe that no crime was committed carrying out that search, and that a free press shouldn't be criminalized."



She later said via her Twitter account: "I firmly believe registry search is not a crime, journalism is not a crime, uncovering the truth is not a crime."



The European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao said that Choy's conviction was "a reminder that #PressFreedom cannot be taken for granted and that the law should not be deployed in a way that stifles legitimate journalism."



Choy's sentencing came a day after her program won the prestigious Kam Yiu-yu Press Freedom Award, with the highest scores among 19 nominations.





Press freedom under pressure

The Hong Kong Journalists' Association (HKJA), which made the award, said Choy's film had been aired at a time when there were still public doubts around police complicity in the Yuen Long attacks, which left dozens of people in hospital.



"In times when press freedom is under pressure, journalists should report the facts, make social observations, monitor those in power, and expose injustice, according to the spirit of the profession," it said in a statement on , adding that the award-winners had exemplified that spirit.



Choy's film showed that police were present as the attackers gathered in Yuen Long, but delayed their response as men in white T-shirts started attacking train passengers at the MTR station.



Thirty-nine minutes elapsed between the first emergency calls to the final arrival of police at the Yuen Long MTR station, where dozens of people were already injured, and many were in need of hospital treatment, it showed.



It used footage filmed by witnesses and security cameras -- as well as number plate searches and interviews -- to piece together events, uncovering links between some of the attackers and the staunchly pro-China Heung Yee Kuk rural committees.



Choy's program also showed that stick-wielding men had been brought into the district in specific vehicles hours before the attack, and that police had done nothing about the build-up in numbers.



She was arrested after the documentary aired in , allegedly because her use of the government vehicle database wasn't for the permitted purposes.



Choy's case comes amid ongoing moves to stamp out public dissent and peaceful opposition in Hong Kong, in the wake of huge democracy protests in 2019.



The crackdown began jailing peaceful protesters by using colonial-era sedition and public order laws, until a draconian national security law imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from , 2020 set up a branch of China's feared state security police in the city and criminalized criticism of the government.

The ruling against Choy came two days after the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Hong Kong in 80th place in its 2021 Press Freedom Index, citing "totalitarian control of information" from the ruling Chinese Communist Party in Beijing.
On 10thApril, The Times of India published a report to say that major banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and HDFC Bank, had moved the Supreme Court (SC) of India to recall its six-year old judgement of 2015, which had ordered banks to provide certain information about their functioning under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Banks and their expensive lawyers argued that account holders may sue them for putting such details (client information) in the public domain and that the order could be misused for corporate rivalry and affect the banking industry as a whole. Lets examine how correct this claim is.

We have We have reported extensively on the SCs path-breaking judgement of 2015 which decided on 11 orders of the central information commission (CIC) of which 10 were passed by Shailesh Gandhi. The judgement, while dismissing the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBIs) objection to share inspection reports, had observed, By attaching an additional fiduciary label to the statutory duty, the regulatory authorities have intentionally or unintentionally created an in terrorem effect.

This should have put an end to the long struggle for to get information from banks, which begun in 2010-11. But banks are ensuring there is no end to this war to block access to information. On 20th April, Moneylife Foundation organised a webinar to understand the latest attempt by banks to avoid disclosure and transparency by seeking a recall of the path-breaking 2015 judgement. Prashant Bhushan, renowned senior counsel in the Supreme Court, who has waged a pro bono battle on behalf of ordinary citizens, explained the situation. This should have put an end to the long struggle for to get information from banks, which begun in 2010-11. But banks are ensuring there is no end to this war to block access to information. On 20th April, Moneylife Foundation organised a webinar to understand the latest attempt by banks to avoid disclosure and transparency by seeking a recall of the path-breaking 2015 judgement. Prashant Bhushan, renowned senior counsel in the Supreme Court, who has waged a pro bono battle on behalf of ordinary citizens, explained the situation.

Extraordinary as it may seem, regulators are not overly concerned about the apex courts judgements on this issue. Instead of complying with the judgement, RBI issued a circular telling banks about various kinds of information that could still be denied. So, contempt petitions were filed in 2016 leading to a decision in April 2019 which warned RBI to comply with its orders. All of this was happening in full public glare and was regularly reported in the media, but banks did not see it fit to intervene in the matter, said Mr Bhushan. They did not even react to the contempt petition.

It is only after this that banks began to file miscellaneous applications in an already decided case, arguing that they had not been heard on the matter. Mr Bhushan points out that a banker-borrower relationship is not like that of a lawyer-client or doctor-patient and a host of SC judgements have emphatically upheld peoples right to know what public officials are doing when there is over-riding public interest involved.

He has also argued in this matter that banks cannot file miscellaneous applications to seek a backdoor review of a decided matter; a decision on this is expected shortly. But even if activists win this round, banks are likely to file a review petition and continue to fight, since the regulator is backing them and the finance ministry chooses to remain silent about RTI matters.

Fortunately, a couple of intrepid RTI activists, such as Girish Mittal (one of the original petitioners) and Pune-based Vivek Velankar, managed to obtain key inspection reports that already reveal how RBI and banks plan to respond to RTI requests.

Girish Mittal received inspection reports of six banksHDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) and City Cooperative Bank-- for three consecutive years from 2013-2015. All reports, including their analysis, are available on the Moneylife website

Heres what the reports reveal.

No Disclosures: For starters, RBI has ensured that absolutely no personal information was provided to Girish Mittal. The reports are heavily redacted to remove every single bit of personal information from all of them. So the claim by banks high-powered lawyers that banks clients could sue them for sharing confidential information is both untrue and deceitful.

Vivek Velankar sought information on large bank defaulters (over Rs100 crore) and the amounts recovered by the banks after the write-off. This information has already been put in the public domain by bank unions. And, yet, only 10 banks provided the information he sought. These too have been analysed ( Vivek Velankar sought information on large bank defaulters (over Rs100 crore) and the amounts recovered by the banks after the write-off. This information has already been put in the public domain by bank unions. And, yet, only 10 banks provided the information he sought. These too have been analysed ( https://www.moneylife.in/tags/bankloot.html ) by us. They revealed that 12 nationalised banks wrote off Rs6.32 lakh crores in eight years and recovered just 7% from wilful defaulters. This exposed the false claim by the finance ministry and its high-profile consultants that banks continue to pursue defaulters and recover money written off.

Double Standards: Activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal and former central information commissioner (CIC) Prof Sridhar Acharayalu both unmasked the questionable claim about banks protecting the privacy of borrowers. Mr Agarwal pointed out how banks have no concern about the privacy of smaller defaulters. SBI routinely publishes advertisements naming borrowers and amounts owed as part of the recovery policy of shaming them. Prof Acharayalu said that, in one case in Andhra Pradesh, a borrower, unable to bear the ignominy, resorted to suicide. And, yet, the banks claim exactly the opposite in court, about fiduciary information. Activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal and former central information commissioner (CIC) Prof Sridhar Acharayalu both unmasked the questionable claim about banks protecting the privacy of borrowers. Mr Agarwal pointed out how banks have no concern about the privacy of smaller defaulters. SBI routinely publishes advertisements naming borrowers and amounts owed as part of the recovery policy of shaming them. Prof Acharayalu said that, in one case in Andhra Pradesh, a borrower, unable to bear the ignominy, resorted to suicide. And, yet, the banks claim exactly the opposite in court, about fiduciary information.

Prof Acharayalu said, refusal to provide information after an unequivocal apex court judgement amounts to contempt and it is surprising that the SC has allowed this to continue.

Poor Investigation Framework: A bigger issue is the fact that India has no mechanism for regulators, policy-makers and bureaucrats to be publicly held to account, like the televised Senate hearings of the US. RBIs inspection reports made available to us, for the first time, exposed the outdated inspection framework, perfunctory process, lack of follow-up to ensure compliance with findings and observations of previous inspections. All four experts who analysed the reports shared this view.

For instance, HDFC Bank used to win awards for technology until repeated failures of its digital systems unleashed so much public anger that RBI finally cracked the whip in December 2020 asking it to stop on-boarding new customers until it fixed its systems. RBIs inspections are not geared to look at these issues, although a large chunk of operations are now through online transactions.

In PMC Bank, RBI inspectors kept harping about tardy allocation of unique identification numbers (UIN) but there was no follow-up. This was disastrous, because top management, in cahoots with the Wadhawans of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), opened 21,000 fake accounts that were kept out of the core banking system to funnel out dubious loans that destroyed the Bank. RBIs own officials have lost Rs200 crore in the PMC Bank collapse. The inspection framework has no capability to catch software manipulation, as was done by both branches of the Wadhawan family (DHFL and HDIL) to loot thousands of crores of rupees. Both entities operated under RBI regulation.

Until the reports were put in the public domain, nobody knew why bank supervision was so poor and inspections a failure. Well-known banking analyst, Hemindra Hazari, said that even these perfunctory reports have a wealth of information. For instance, while bank annual reports tend to glorify themselves, it is RBI inspection that revealed poor and deteriorating internal audit rating for HDFC Bank, which is Indias most valuable bank. It also showed the absence of any follow-up or action by the RBI, despite the deterioration. Until the reports were put in the public domain, nobody knew why bank supervision was so poor and inspections a failure. Well-known banking analyst, Hemindra Hazari, said that even these perfunctory reports have a wealth of information. For instance, while bank annual reports tend to glorify themselves, it is RBI inspection that revealed poor and deteriorating internal audit rating for HDFC Bank, which is Indias most valuable bank. It also showed the absence of any follow-up or action by the RBI, despite the deterioration.

The lack of commercial banking experience on Axis Banks board was completely ignored by RBI inspection, although this was the elephant in the board room, says Mr Hazari. Was the board capable of evaluating lending decisions?

Rajendra Ganatra, a former banker, and R Balakrishnan, with vast research and fund management expertise, also pointed to superficial inspection, lack of follow-up and the lack of interest in setting things right in both the inspection reports analysed by them (Axis Bank and SBI, respectively). Mr Balakrishnan said it almost amounts to criminal negligence by public servants because the resulting humongous losses are eventually dumped on the public exchequer. This, he said, is good enough reason to make the reports public. Rajendra Ganatra, a former banker, and R Balakrishnan, with vast research and fund management expertise, also pointed to superficial inspection, lack of follow-up and the lack of interest in setting things right in both the inspection reports analysed by them (Axis Bank and SBI, respectively). Mr Balakrishnan said it almost amounts to criminal negligence by public servants because the resulting humongous losses are eventually dumped on the public exchequer. This, he said, is good enough reason to make the reports public.

As Mr Bhushan says, powerful banks are bound to file a review petition. We, the people, are affected by the outcome and it is up to us to decide if we will watch in silence or support the fight to ensure that information that exposed the competence or otherwise and even corruption of those tasked with the job of protecting us is put in the public domain.
A Child Rescue Ireland Alert (CRI) remains in place this evening, Thursday April 22nd, for missing Dundalk girl Svetlana Murphy.

14-year-old Svetlana has been missing from her home in Blackrock since Monday at 4pm and is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18.

Gardai continue this evening to appeal to Svetlana and Nojus to make contact with somebody and let them know that you are safe and well.

"Let us know so we can reunite you with your families", a garda spokesman said.

Gardai are continuing to appeal to the public for assistance in tracing the whereabouts of Svetlana.

Following investigations gardai now have serious concerns that there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or welfare of Svetlana.

At approximately 4pm on Monday, 19th April 2021 Svetlana left her home on Coast Road, Blackrock, Co. Louth.

She is described as 5 foot 1 inch in height with a slim build.

She has brown hair and brown eyes.

At the time she went missing, Svetlana was wearing navy tracksuit bottoms with a red and white stripe on the leg, a black zipped top and black runners.

Svetlana is in the company of Nojus Maculevicius, 18 years old.

Nojus is described as being 6 foot in height with a slim build.

He has dark brown hair and he is clean shaven. He was wearing dark grey Snickers work trousers and a black Snickers top.

He may also have been wearing a khaki green hoody, and either black boots or Adidas runners.

Both Svetlana and Nojus are travelling in a silver Hyundai Veloster car, with registration number 132-D-13518.

Gardai are satisfied that Svetlana and Nojus travelled from Blackrock, Co. Louth to Newry, Co. Down on Monday, 19th April 2021, and were sighted in Newry at approximately 7pm.

Gardai are satisfied the Hyundai Veloster car was in the greater Belfast area at 5.35pm yesterday evening, Wednesday 21st April 2021.

An Garda Siochana is not aware of Svetlanas and Nojus whereabouts at this time.

It is believed they are still on the island of Ireland and gardai are working closely with the PSNI to trace the missing girl.

There are currently signs on motorways across the country seeking information on the 14-year-old.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gardai on 999 or 112.

Please do not approach those involved, instead immediately contact 999 / 112 or your local Garda Station providing as much information as possible.
An Oakland man was charged with murder Tuesday after a dispute with his roommate over chores turned fatal, police said.

Markus T. Mcglothen, 30, was arrested Sunday and charged with a dozen felony counts, including murder and violating bail conditions, following the altercation.

Per the Bay Area News Group, Mcglothen and his late roommate, who the paper identified as Patrick Lynch, began fighting about cleaning responsibilities in their shared home in Oakland near the MacArthur freeway.

When Lynch allegedly slapped Mcglothens phone out of his hand, the altercation turned physical. Lynch punched Mcglothen, then chased him to the latters bedroom, per a court document filed by Oakland Police Det. Andrew Jackson and obtained by Bay Area News Group. Thats when Mcglothen allegedly procured a gun and shot Lynch repeatedly on various parts of the body," the court filing claims.

After the victim fell to the ground, Mcglothen called 911 to alert them of the alleged shooting. His family turned him in that day to Oakland police.

He was arraigned in the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin Wednesday, and is currently being held at Santa Rita Jail without bail. He has yet to enter a plea.

Oakland police representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
Because of their strong battlefield position and the imminent U.S. troop withdrawal, the Taliban have maintained the upper hand in talks with the Afghan government, which began in September in Doha, Qatar, but have since stalled. The Pentagon has said the militants have not honored pledges to reduce violence or cut ties with terrorist groups.
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc. (TSXV: MOS) ("Mobi724" or the "Company"), a fintech enabler of AI-enhanced payment card-linked incentives, will announce its Q4 2020 and 2020 annual financial results (the "Results") on Thursday, April 29th, 2021 after-market closing.

Marcel Vienneau and Mathieu Laurin, CEO and CFO respectively of Mobi724, will co-host a webinar on Thursday, April 29th, 2021 at 4:30 PM EST to discuss the Results and to provide a management update.

Shareholders, investors, media representatives and other stakeholders are invited to join the webinar by following the instructions below:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2611675881483738640

Webinar ID: 667-555-051

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Alternatively, interested persons may also dial in using their phone:

Canada: +1 647 497-9389

United States: +1 951 384-3421

Access Code: 636-672-182

About Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc.

"Every Transaction is an Opportunity"

Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc. (TSXV: MOS) is a fintech company which provides a platform, that enables banks and merchants to offer their customers real-time payment card-linked incentives, in a white-label format. Mobi724's objective is to add a layer of AI-driven actionable intelligence to every payment transaction, creating engaging consumer experiences & generating incremental commercial opportunities to its clients. For more information about Mobi724 please visit www.mobi724.com.

Legal Disclaimer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION TO BUY OR SELL ANY SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO US NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

Investor Relations:

Marcel Vienneau, CEO

Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc.

T: 514-394-5200 ir@mobi724.com

Eli Rozhansky, Investor Relations Coordinator

Mobi724 Global Solutions Inc. T: 514-394-5200 ir@mobi724.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81240
The families of George Floyd and Philando Castile joined mourners in Minneapolis on Thursday to bid farewell to Daunte Wright, a Black man whose death this month at the hands of a police officer prompted renewed cries for justice and accountability.

In his eulogy for Wright, whom he called the 'Prince of Brooklyn Center,' the Rev. Al Sharpton referred to 'a resting place ... a martyr's bench,' where the 20-year-old could take his seat next to other Black men killed in encounters with police.

'Take your seat, Daunte. Tell George Floyd who you are. Take your seat, Daunte. Shake hands with Philando Castile. Take your seat next to Oscar Grant,' the civil rights leader said. 'Because there's a special place in heaven for those that shed innocent blood, because God will use you to straighten out the world.'

'The world will never be the same,' he added, 'because we are going to stand up for situations like this.'

The funeral marks another emotional day for a metro area scarred by several high-profile killings involving police. The service at Shiloh Temple International Ministries comes just two days after a former Minneapolis officer was found guilty of Floyd's murder.

Wright's death on April 11 in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center happened about 10 miles from where the trial in Floyd's death was held. Wright's killing sparked nights of protests in Brooklyn Center and reignited conversations about policing and the use of force.

'I never imagined that I would be standing here,' Katie Wright, Daunte Wright's mother, said during the funeral. 'The roles should completely be reversed. My son should be burying me.'

Wright was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and moved to Minneapolis at age 7, according to the obituary included in the funeral program. He attended Edison High School, where he excelled at sports and played basketball, the obituary said.

Wright was a 'warm and loving person who would do anything for his family and friends,' it said. He loved the Fourth of July, when he would gather with his family and light fireworks. And he became a father in 2019, when his son, Daunte Wright Jr., was born.

'My son had a smile that was worth a million dollars,' Katie Wright said. 'When he walked in the room, he lit up the room. He was a brother, a jokester, he was loved by so many. He's going to be so missed.'

'Daunte Wright's life mattered'

Civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump led the congregation in a call-and-response chant during the service, calling out, 'Daunte Wright's life mattered.'

'Our heart is broken with yours as we come to lay him to rest,' Crump told Wright's parents. 'But, most importantly, we celebrate his life, and we define his legacy once more: Daunte Wright's life mattered.'

In attendance Thursday were members of George Floyd's family, whom Crump acknowledged, saying, 'This time last year, they were being introduced to the world because they became part of a fraternity that no family wants to be a part of.'

The guilty verdict this week in the trial of Derek Chauvin loomed large at the funeral Thursday -- a focus of celebration as well as a source of hope that Wright's loved ones would see a similar outcome in his case.

'While this was a historic moment for our country, we cannot confuse accountability for justice,' Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said. 'Because true justice is not done as long as having expired tags means losing your life during a traffic stop,' she added, a reference to the stated reason police initially pulled Wright over.

The families of Castile, Grant, Jamar Clark and Emmett Till also were at the funeral, Crump said, along with Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by Louisville police as they executed a no-knock warrant last March.

Speakers called for systemic change, including Sharpton, who in delivering Wright's eulogy, reprised a role he played at Floyd's funeral nearly 11 months ago in the same city.

He specifically called for the passage of the George Floyd Policing Act, saying, 'We are going to make it against the law across this country to keep having funerals for our young princes ... God has turned the page in the state of Minnesota and we're never going back no more.'

Another gun said to be mistaken for a Taser

Police initially said the Brooklyn Center officer who shot Wright appeared to mistake her gun for her Taser when she fired. She had pulled Wright over for an expired tag, and then tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant; Wright was shot as he resisted and got back into his vehicle, authorities said.

The officer, Kim Potter, resigned and was arrested and charged last week with second-degree manslaughter.

Wright's family has called for Potter to be held accountable.

'I felt anger, I felt sadness, I felt loss and I felt helpless,' Wright's mother told reporters last Friday. 'I don't want to feel helpless. I need my son to have justice.'

The family hopes to see 'some type of justice,' Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, said Thursday, as Daunte Wright joins the list of Black men killed by US police, including Grant. He was fatally shot in 2009 at age 22 by an officer in Oakland, California, who said he intended to draw and fire his Taser rather than his gun.

Justice 'would be a bittersweet moment, of course, because again, today we close that casket on my nephew,' Naisha Wright said. 'This is the last day that we can ever touch, we can ever see him. We can give something where other families don't have to go through this.'

The Wright family in recent days has drawn strength from relatives of Floyd.

'Even what they've been dealing with, like literally, they put aside what they are dealing with to see how my family is doing. And it takes a lot of strength. It takes a lot of strength to be able to do that. They've seen over and over and over and over their brother, their uncle being murdered. Murdered! In front of millions,' she said.

'And that family, they see us, and they give us hugs, you know, just -- yes, encouragement to keep going because that's what we're going to do. We're going to keep fighting.'

To mark the start of Wright's funeral, Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation calling for two minutes of silence at noon CT in his honor.

'We know that this tragedy is connected to the deep, systemic racism in our society that Black people in Minnesota and across the country face every single day,' the proclamation by Walz reads. 'While nothing can bring Daunte Wright back to his loved ones, we must continue to work to enact real, meaningful change at the local, state, and national levels to fight systemic racism so that every person in Minnesota --- Black, Indigenous, Brown, or White -- can be safe and thrive.'

Wright's killing is the latest in a string of deaths of Black men during police encounters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in the past five years, including the shooting of Castile in Falcon Heights in 2016 and the death of Floyd in May.

'It's too often that traffic stops end up as deadly sentences, a death sentence,' Crump said Thursday. 'We're going to have to make sure that Daunte Jr. knows that we stood up for his father.'
FORT WORTH, Texas, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- How can we save planet Earth?

For Earth Day 2021, learn more about earth and environmental sciences at AcademicInfluence.com through interviews with earth science experts, in-depth examinations of controversial conversations in sustainability, direction for students to the colleges and universities excelling in environmental science, and much more:

For Earth Day 2021, know your planet better! AcademicInfluence.com spotlights the knowledge you need in earth sciences and environmental studies

Earth Scientists

Top Influential Earth Scientists Today

Interviews with Leading Earth Scientists

College & University Earth Sciences

Custom College Rankings for Earth Sciences

How to Major in Earth Sciences

What Can I Do With a Master's Degree in Earth Sciences?

The Best Environmental Science Programs and Professors

Influential Earth Science Books & Conversations

25 Most Influential Books in Earth Sciences/Geosciences 201020

Controversial Topic: Climate Change

"The news is packed with stories about threats to our planet, and we share that concern," says Dr. Jed Macosko, academic director of AcademicInfluence.com and professor of physics at Wake Forest University.

"It's why our team of academics, data scientists, and lovers of learning at AcademicInfluence.com connects readers to influential earth scientists and to enlightening content that offers ways to make a difference. Earth Day provides the perfect opportunity to engage people who share our concerns and who seek relevant answers to their questions."

Some of the famous names in earth sciences profiled or interviewed in the links above include Christopher Jackson, Robert Hazen, Naomi Oreskes, Michael E. Mann, Clive Oppenheimer, Richard Alley, Isabelle Daniel, Marcia McNutt, Julie Arblaster, and Jesse Ausubel. In addition, leading influencers covered in the climate change article include Willard Anthony Watts, Reese Palley, Drew Shindell, Lucia Liljegren, Sue Anschutz-Rodgers, Peter Willcox, and Alexander Joseph Epstein.

Influential books in earth science and geoscience include Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Climate Change by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould, Agenda 21: Earth Summit: The United Nations Programme of Action from Rio by United Nations Division for Sustainable Development, and Basic Paleontology by Michael J. Benton and David Harper. See the links above for additional resources and rankings.

AcademicInfluence.com is unique among ranking websites. Its innovative machine-learning technology, the InfluenceRanking Engine, scours leading data repositories to map and measure influence. Schools, thought leaders, books, and institutions are assigned an objective ranking of influence based on the number of citations they receive in sources such as academic literature or popular media.The result is a more unbiased, manipulation-resistant, and usable ranking of the most important issues, institutions, and people today. See the AcademicInfluence.com About page for further details on the unique capabilities and advantages of this ranking technology.

"Making these resources available to readers promotes a worthy field of study such as earth science. More importantly, we hope to inspire the upcoming generation to find new, innovative ways for us to live sustainably," says Macosko. "On this Earth Day 2021, that's a cause worth sharing."

AcademicInfluence.com is the preeminent technology-driven rankings site dedicated to students, researchers, and inquirers from high school through college and beyond, offering resources that connect learners to leaders. AcademicInfluence.com is a part of the EducationAccess group, a family of sites dedicated to lifelong learning and personal growth.

Contact:

Jed Macosko, Ph.D.

Academic Director

AcademicInfluence.com

[email protected]

(682) 302-4945

SOURCE AcademicInfluence.com

Related Links

http://www.AcademicInfluence.com


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Market Research Future (MRFR) Has Announced a New Release on the Contraceptive Pills Market highlights the current and future status of market and regional level analysis with the help of industry trends and market performance. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2019 through 2022. Also, a five-year historic analysis is provided for these Contraceptive Pills Market. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research.

Global Contraceptive pills Market - Competitive Analysis

Merck & Co., Inc (US), Pfizer Inc (US), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Bayer AG (Germany), Allergan plc. (Ireland), Janssen Global Services llc. (US), Mankind Pharma Ltd. (India), Piramal Enterprises Ltd (India), Reckitt Benckiser Plc (UK), Church & Dwight (US), The Female Health Company (US), Mayer Laboratories (US), Cooper Surgical (US) are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Contraceptive Pills Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.

Global Contraceptive pills Market  Overview

Contraceptive pills are likely to witness considerable demand in the years to come. The observation offered by Market Research Future (MRFR) unfolds that the global contraceptive pills market is expected to enter a phase of maturity in the foreseeable future. According to the report, the market is prognosticated to record a CAGR of 2.2% across the projection period 2016 to 2022.

Anti-conception medication pills which are also called as oral contraceptive pills are a kind of female hormonal anti-conception medication technique and are extremely viable at avoiding pregnancy. These pills are small tablets that a patient swallow every day. These birth control pills are been used from ancient times but the save and effective methods are introduce and available from 20th century.

Fill Out Details To Receive FREE Sample Here: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2122

Contraceptive drugs are used to prevent the unwanted pregnancy by blocking the normal process of ovulations or by altering the process which support the fertilization of egg. Most pills contain two sorts of manufactured (man-made) female hormones: estrogen and progestin. These are like the estrogen and progesterone regularly made by the ovaries. These pills are called combination oral contraceptives, and there are a wide range of these kinds.

Globally the market for contraceptive pills is growing at a low rate but with increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases will upsurge the growth of this market in coming future. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the global contraceptive pills market is booming and expected to gain eminence over the forecast period. The market is forecasted to demonstrate a spectacular growth by 2022, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a prominent CAGR during the anticipated period (2017  2022).

Increasing need of population control and increasing incident of abortion has driven the growth of the market. Governmental initiatives for minimizing unwanted pregnancy, increasing awareness and healthcare expenditure, and increasing in use of contraceptives drugs has provided fuel for the growth of the market. While the side effects of the treatment and strict governmental rules in many countries may hamper the growth of the market.

Geographically, North America commands the largest market for the contraceptive drug market. Approximately 3 million women in North America experiences unplanned pregnancy. Beside this 90 % of the women use some of the method of contraception. Thus increasing number of abortion and rate of unplanned pregnancy has driven this market in North America. Major market of North America is contributed by US which is followed by Canada. Increasing awareness and minimizing the healthcare expenses by curbing number of abortion in US encourage contraceptive use among women. North America contraceptives drug market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9 % during forecasted period.

Browse Complete Report at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/contraceptive-pills-market-2122 .

The market for contraceptive pills is characterized by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global market of contraceptive pills appears to be highly competitive and fragmented. Major players are increasingly expanding their footprint in the emerging nations, making it putting pressure on the regional players, especially in terms of features such as type, product portfolios, and pricing.

The market is witnessing intensified competition which is expected to get more intensified further during the forecast period. The contraceptive pills market appears to be highly competitive owing to the presence of several large and small key players accounting for a substantial market share. Well established players are getting into various product launches in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position.

For instance, in 2015, Pfizer Inc. has introduced SAYANA, first injectable contraceptive in UK which can be self-administered.

While, in 2015 , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has launched Beyaz which is a generic contraceptive drug. It is one of the most successful product of the company and in 2016 it has annual sales of approximately $ 133 million in the US. Recently, in March 2017, the company has launched a new product Minastrin in the market. Moreover, the company has launched the generic version of Janssen's birth control pills Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo. Into the brand name of Tri-Lo-Sprintec (norgetimate and ethinyl estradiol) tablets.

Therefore, the growing partnerships and product launches to expand their presence in various parts of the globe for their competitive products has spurred the growth of the market.

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.
Ukraine will take part in a working meeting of the foreign ministers of the three NATO member states  Poland, Romania, and Turkey, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministrys press service reports.

On April 23, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba will pay a working visit to Romania at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu.

During the visit, he will take part in a working meeting of the foreign ministers of the three NATO member states  Poland, Romania, and Turkey  on "Security Situation in Eastern Neighborhood and Prospects for Ukraine-Georgia Relations with NATO."

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia David Zalkaliani will also take part in the event.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Ukraine will for the first time take part in the ministerial meeting in the Poland-Romania-Turkey format, which was established in 2012 at the NATO summit in Chicago.

The program of the visit also includes bilateral meetings between Kuleba and the foreign ministers of Georgia and Romania.

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The City Nature Challenge would like to know if youve seen a fungi in your neighborhood.

The two-part event calls on citizen scientists to help document biodiversity in urban settings. The observation portion of the challenge runs from midnight April 30 to the end of May 3, with participants taking photos of plants, animals, fungus, insects and even protozoa.

Weve had crazy people, myself included, who go out right at midnight to make observations, says Laurel Ladwig, co-organizer Albuquerques City Nature Challenge and partnership coordinator for the Albuquerque Backyard Refuge Program.

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And while the focus is the wild in wildlife  sorry no people or domesticated animals  plants have a caveat.

Because were doing urban habitat we want to know what animals are interacting with, says Ladwig. So if a yard has non-native plants we want to know that. We want to know where the wildlife is.

You can also make audio recordings and submit those, says Ladwig. Tracks and signs of animals, in addition to the photos of the animals themselves.

Using the iNaturalist app, participants can then upload the photos to the challenge. The Bernalillo County Open Space will be hosting a online Zoom event to teach how to use the iNaturalist app, and to learn more about the City Nature Challenge, from 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24. The class is free and registration closes on Friday, April 23.

For those who wish to participate without a smartphone, photos can be taken with a digital camera and uploaded via the iNaturalist website. Just know where and when you took the picture, says Ladwig. You can upload with that info.

The second portion of the challenge, which runs May 4-9, is where participants can help each other identify any mysterious wildlife they took photos of.

You dont have to know what you are looking at to participate, says Ladwig. You just take a picture and there is an enormous community of naturalists and scientists will help ID.

Most of the unsolvable photos are due to bad photo quality Ladwig says. Birds tend to be underrepresented because its harder to get good quality photos. But Ladwig says birds can often be identified by their shape, so even if your bird photo is bad, submit it.

Created in 2016, the City Nature Challenge started as a friendly competition between the residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco. The next year the challenge went national, and in 2018, it went global.Albuquerque first entered the challenge in 2019.

We had great success that first year, says Ladwig. We actually ranked in the top five in seven different categories worldwide, that was exciting.

In 2019 and 2020, Albuquerque was represented by Bernalillo County. Last year Albuquerque logged over 5,000 observations of 970 different species. The most observed species in 2020 was the black-chinned hummingbird.

This year, the Middle Rio Grande Valley counties of Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia will represent Albuquerque.

We can make observations north of Alameda now, says Ladwig.

While the pandemic shifted the focus of the challenge from competition to collaboration, this year might not be without the opportunity for bragging rights.

Phoenix challenged us (Albuquerque) this year, says Ladwig.

This is Phoenixs first year participating in the event and Tucson has also joined in, making it a three-city friendly competition. The ABQ, Greater Phoenix & Greater Tucson challenge will have its own dashboard for participants on the iNaturalist website.

Whatever beating Phoenix means, we want to do it, says Ladwig. In a gentle way.

Ladwig says one of the goals of Albuquerques City Nature Challenge is to create a map that shows where wildlife is around the city, and encourages people to keep recording observations of wildlife in Albuquerque beyond the challenge.

We have such a wealth of urban nature, says Ladwig. Eventually our initiative with the (University of New Mexicos R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography) is to build an urban biodiversity map.

Because the challenge focuses on urban wildlife, participants need not go far to take part.

Get outside with a purpose. Contribute to science, says Ladwig. Even if you can only stick to your backyard.

iNaturalist app class

The Bernalillo County Open Space is hosting a Zoom class on using the iNaturalist app taught by Albuquerques City Nature Challenge co-organizers Laurel Ladwig and Selena Connealy from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24. Registration closes Friday, April 23. For more information or to register bernco.gov/community-services/event-registration.aspx
Pregnant Kirsten Dunst took her two-year-old son Ennis and mother Inez Rupprecht out for a scoop of ice cream at Baskin-Robbins in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon.

As the 38-year-old Golden Globe nominee indulged her sweet tooth, she rocked a navy blue sweatshirt, a teal floral skirt and a pair of cozy tan slippers.

She appeared to be wearing little to no makeup under her black cloth mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic during her outing.

Sweet tooth: Pregnant Kirsten Dunst takes her two-year-old son Ennis and mother Inez Rupprecht out for ice cream at Baskin-Robbins in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon

She also toted a large black handbag on her arm as she prepared to get behind the driver's seat with her frozen dessert.

Her outing comes just weeks after announcing her pregnancy on the cover of W magazine's Volume 2 The Director's Issue last month.

Kirsten called on her Rodarte designer friends Laura and Kate Mulleavy to create a custom gown for the 'All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go' photo shoot directed by Sofia Coppola.

Doting mom: As the 38-year-old Golden Globe winner indulged her sweet tooth, she rocked a navy blue sweatshirt, a teal floral skirt and a pair of cozy tan slippers

Dunst looked positively gorgeous in the snaps as she sprawled out across a bed wearing an intricate design.

A thick velvet sash rested above her belly and matched delicate cuffs wrapped around her wrists.

She switched gears into a vibrant floral ensemble complete with feathery cuffs for another classic '60s inspired display.

On working with photographer Zoe Ghertner, she joked that 'every shot was on the floor. I was like, 'I can't get up.' I felt like Urkel.'

Proud mama: Dunst revealed her growing baby bump while draped in white lace and posing on the cover of W magazine's latest issue

Dunst formed a relationship with Coppola through the years having first worked with the director in 1999 on The Virgin Suicides.

'I felt really protected. She made me feel like I was cool, like my teeth were cool, and I was pretty,' she said.

'At 16, I did not think anything of myself. And its nice to have had another woman celebrate that transition, rather than it having been sexualized through a mans perspective.'

Growing family: She and her fiance Jesse Plemons met met while playing high school sweethearts Peggy and local butcher Ed on the FX series Fargo in 2016 (pictured in 2019)

The pair then joined forces for the film Marie Antoinette in 2006 and once again in 2017 on The Beguiled.

'It's just so beautiful to have that kind of friendship where you've seen each other have children,' Dunst said. 'There are few collaborations, to be honest, where it lasts, where someone knows you that long that's not your family.'

She and her fiance Jesse Plemons met met while playing high school sweethearts Peggy and local butcher Ed on the FX series Fargo in 2016.
I am excited to assume the role of OperationsSeer. Working with a the highly talented US team, while expanding globally, is extremely exciting. I am well aligned with DataSeers value pillars of Innovation, Perseverance, and Simplicity, and I look forward to motivating our team to continued success.

DataSeers has appointed Gracie Ortiz as its OperationsSeer (COO). Gracie is set to assume this role immediately. She brings over twenty years of experience in Sales, Leadership, and Management from within organizations like PwC, GlaxoSmithKline, Thermo Fischer Scientific, and more. Her most recent professional experience is in global KYC/KYB/KYV onboarding, making Gracie perfectly positioned to lead DataSeers operations and oversee the companys expanding product and lines of service. She is a passionate advocate for the Colon Cancer Roundtable and served on the Policy Committee Board for Georgia Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.

Originally from Queens, NY, Gracie graduated from Florida State University with a Degree in Management Information System followed by a MBA from University of Georgia, Terry College of Business. She also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

I am excited to assume the role of OperationsSeer. Working with a the highly talented US team, while expanding globally, is extremely exciting. I am well aligned with DataSeers value pillars of Innovation, Perseverance, and Simplicity, and I look forward to motivating our team to continued success. I will always live by the motto: success is more attitude than aptitude, commented Gracie Ortiz.

In 2020, the Financial Services Industry saw a steep rise in fraud and identity issues thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and the majority of financial services going digital. This has impacted the eKYC industry tremendously. The increase in fraud combined with the new AML directives in the US and UK/EU has inspired DataSeers invest heavily in its newest Seer, IdentitySeer  which serves as a global identity verification and monitoring solution. DataSeers can now onboard in 220+ countries and validate against government sources where available. With IDs & document validations, liveness checks, global sanctions, watchlists, PEP and adverse media searches all under a single umbrella, FinanSeer makes for a very attractive full-data solution to clients.

DataSeers grew tremendously in 2020 and 2021 is looking to be even more promising thanks to its clients and partners. With this new module, IdentitySeer, launching in 2021, DataSeers will focus on servicing the Identity Market globally. Gracies expertise in the industry and ability to implement and manage processes within the organization will be extremely useful. I am super excited that she is stepping up to the C-Suite with us. said Adwait Joshi, CEO.

About DataSeers

DataSeers is an Atlanta-based FinTech that has engineered a unique solution for effectively harnessing complex data. Its FinanSeer software is AI-powered and specifically designed to help banks and payments companies greatly improve their reconciliation, compliance, fraud detection and analytics, all in one user-friendly platform. The company has also added SAR filing capabilities and advanced KYC technologies.

DataSeers was recognized by the Technology Association of Georgia as one of its "Top 40 Technology Companies" two years in a row. The company has also received the LexisNexis Risk Solutions HPCC Systems Community Recognition Award for creating a "Truly Unique Solution" leveraging the HPCC Systems open source, data lake platform. DataSeers was among Atlanta Inno's 2019 "50 on Fire" companies in Georgia. The company was also a winner in the New to Export category at the 2019 GLOBE Awards presented by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and among the 2020 award recipients.

For more information, visit https://www.dataseers.ai or follow it on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
A powerful bomb blast in the parking area of a luxury hotel in the restive southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta has killed at least five persons and injured 12 others, authorities have said, dismissing reports that the Chinese Ambassador was present in the building when the explosion occurred.

The blast took place in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel in Quetta on Wednesday night. Several vehicles parked in the area caught fire after the blast. According to some initial reports, the hotel was hosting Chinese Ambassador Nong Rong.

Quetta is the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province.

Initial investigation has revealed the blast was caused when explosive material, fitted inside a car was detonated, said police.

A fire brigade immediately arrived at the parking area to douse the flames. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire.

The windowpanes of nearby Balochistan Assembly, High Court and other buildings were smashed due to the impact of the blast.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the blast.

A spokesman for the TTP said, Our suicide bomber used his explosive-filled car in the hotel."

However, police said that the initial investigation revealed that the explosive device was planted in a car that was parked in the hotel's parking area.

Inspector General of Balochistan Muhammad Tahir Rai said that police were still gauging the intensity of the blast.

In response to a question, he said no ambassador or members of a foreign delegation were staying at the hotel when the blast occurred.

I can confirm that the Chinese ambassador was not present in the hotel at the time of the blast and it is an apparent attempt to spread terror and chaos in the province, he said.

Rai said the experts in the police force were conducting their investigation, adding that they would soon make public the findings of the probe.

Rai said that around 90kgs of explosive material was used in the blast. He confirmed a police officer who was on duty at the hotel was also killed in the blast.

Addressing a press conference after the incident, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said that there was a wave of terrorism in the region.

He said that there were no threat alerts before the attack.

Responding to media reports about the Chinese ambassador Nong being the apparent target of the attack, Langove said that the ambassador was not present at the hotel when the explosion occurred.

"I have just met the Chinese ambassador and he is in high spirits," he said, adding that the investigation will ascertain the target.

Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said the incident was being investigated from all angles. "Those involved will not be able to escape the grip of the law," he tweeted.

The Chinese ambassador had earlier in the day met provincial chief minister Jam Kamal Khan in the city, according to a tweet from Shahwani. There was no immediate comment from Chinas embassy in Pakistan.

The Serena Hotel is the only four-star hotel in the city and is frequented by Chinese nationals and other dignitaries who visit Quetta.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday condemned the incident, calling it a "cowardly terrorist attack".

"I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta. Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and we will not allow this scourge to rise again. We remain alert to all internal and external threats," he said.

The resource-rich Balochistan province is home to several armed groups, including Islamic extremists and separatists.

Militants are seeking independence from the rest of Pakistan, and oppose major Chinese infrastructure projects in the area.

The separatists were also blamed for an attack two years ago on a luxury hotel at Gwadar where a major port project is being funded by China.

In October last year, at least 14 people including seven frontier corp soldiers and seven private security guards were killed when militants attacked a convoy of the state-run Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd on the Makran Coastal Highway in Ormara in the province.

The convoy was on its way to Karachi from Gwadar when it came under attack.
Loyalists burn bins and furniture during a protest on Lanark Way, near the 'Peace Gate' in Belfast - Conor Mccaughley/Anadolu Agency

A majority of people on both sides of the Irish border believe Northern Ireland will leave the UK within 25 years, a new poll has found.

Just shy of half of respondents in the North would vote to remain in the UK if there was a poll tomorrow, with 43 per cent backing a united Ireland and eight per cent reporting that they have not yet decided.

In the Republic, 51 per cent said they would vote for a united Ireland, 27 per cent would vote to keep the United Kingdom together and 22 per cent were unsure.

The majority of people polled by the BBC said they believed the union would be intact in a decade, but not in 25 years.

The new figures came after Boris Johnson declared himself a proud unionist who was trying to sandpaper away ludicrous barriers to trade in the Irish Sea.

The centenary of Northern Irelands formation in 1921 is a moment to be celebrated, he said.

Only 40 per cent of people in Northern Ireland agree with him, the poll found.

Friction in the region has increased in recent weeks, with clashes taking place between protesters and police in towns and cities near the border.

Protests resumed in North Down and Antrim on Monday after a pause to commemorate the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Loyalists believe the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland now the transition period has ended, creates an unacceptable barrier to trade within the UK.

Forty-eight per cent of those surveyed in Northern Ireland want the protocol scrapped, versus 46 per cent who would retain it.

The Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, told the BBCs Spotlight programme that the protocol was not tearing the UK apart.

Loyalists also believe police did too little to manage alleged Covid rule breaches at the funeral of Bobby Storey, a senior republican figure, in June last year.

Three quarters of those polled by the BBC in Northern Ireland said the dispute over the countrys status was unresolved and there was a potential for violence in the future.

In the Republic of Ireland, 87 per cent said the same.
The company is working on a blockchain technology for oil industry transactions, eyeing a possible launch by the end of this year

PLC ( ) has signed an agreement with Nabirm Global, a licence holder in Namibia, for a possible future blockchain project.

Nabirm owns an exploration licence offshore Namibia estimated to have a potential 8.7bn barrels of prospective resources, and, Wildcat is exploring the implementation of blockchain technology to improve efficiencies in industry transactions.

"This is the second MOU we have signed in a matter of days and there is still a pipeline of similar expressions of interest to work through, said Wildcat chairman Mandhir Singh.

This MOU combined with the Crown MOU signed earlier this week gives WCAT the potential to tokenise over 11 billion barrels of oil. As the company continues to seek an attractive oil and gas acquisition it is hopeful that it will add its own barrels of oil to this figure in due course."

On Monday, Wildcat signed a similar agreement with Crown Energy, a Stockholm-listed firm focussed on oil and gas assets in Madagascar, South Africa, and Iraq.

Wildcat said that its model for the blockchain is currently in development and hopefully by the end of 2021 the final version will be launched.

The company and new partner Crown see scope to tokenise the explorers prospective oil resources.

Additionally, it said that it is making steady progress towards acquiring an oil asset and will make further announcements in due course.
EAST HAMPTON - The Police Department is seeking funding to train and arm two officers to become members of a regional SWAT team.

The money would be used to buy special ceramic body armor and a little different rifle, Police Chief Dennis Woessner said.

Woessner said he was making the proposal as part of planning for the future - with the hope you never need it.

SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics Team.

Woessner provided details this week to support his request for $14,000, explaining it during the Town Councils budget review.

If the time were to come when a team is needed, Then you want to have the resources available, Woessner said.

The two officers would join a team established by the Middletown Police Department and which includes Portland officers, the chief said.

A SWAT team is typically deployed in instances such as where an individual, who is sometimes armed, is barricaded.

A Branford man, for example, was in a standoff with police there on April 13 and indiscriminately fired multiple rounds at random before taking his own life.

Those arent the only times SWAT can be called, however, the chief said.

There could be a situation where there was a demonstration, he said.

Weve been very fortunate here in the state of Connecticut that our protests have been peaceful, he said.

Woessner, who came to East Hampton in 2018 after a 30-year career with the Glastonbury Police Department, said, The last time we had a barricade incident in town was nine years ago.

However, he reminded councilors, We were the first town in Connecticut to have a meth lab, a reference to a 2005 incident in which police raided two homes.

Three people were arrested in the multi-agency raids, which were sparked by a tip from an informant.

The Connecticut State Police used to have two SWAT teams, but that has now been scaled back to just one team that is responsible for the entire state, Woessner said.

That could seriously impact response times in an emergency, Woessner said.

Im very much a proponent of regionalization, he said.

If the need arose, specially trained officers from Middletown and Portland would respond to assist East Hampton, he said.

In response to question about the town creating a separate East Hampton-only team, Woessner said, The cost would be astronomical.

In addition to the officers, a SWAT team would include a trained negotiator, who would attempt to contact the barricaded individual in an effort to resolve the situation.

There are calls now for police to de-escalate situations, Woessner said.

I agree with that. The job of a negotiator is to (achieve) a peaceful resolution, he said.

During his time in Glastonbury, Woessner said the department was a member of a regional SWAT team that included 35 officers and 14 negotiators.

The council took no action on the funding request.

Middletowns acting chief, Michael Timbro did not immediately respond Thursday afternoon to an email seeking additional information about Middletowns SWAT team.
In October, The Second City told its roughly 90-strong staff of bartenders, servers, hosts and dishwashers that they were being officially laid off. Then, when the famed comedy theater announced it would be reopening, effective in May, it did not tell its night staff they were being rehired. Instead, it said it was outsourcing all of its evening catering operations to the Fifty/50 Restaurant Group.
[April 22, 2021] Toripalimab Plus Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Advanced Esophageal Cancer Reached Primary Endpoints in Phase III Clinical Study

SHANGHAI, China, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180), a leading innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies, announced today that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) has determined that toripalimab in combination with paclitaxel/cisplatin as the first-line treatment for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has reached its pre-specified primary endpoints of Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS) at the interim analysis of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center, phase III clinical study JUPITER-06 (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03829969). Junshi Biosciences will communicate with the regulatory authorities regarding the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) in the near future.

About Esophageal Squamouse Cell Carcinoma (ESCC)

Esophageal cancer is a primary malignant tumor of the esophageal mucosa epithelium, which is one of the most common cancers in the world. According to data released by GLOBOCAN 2020, esophageal cancer is the seventh most common malignant tumor in the world and the sixth leading cause of cancer death. In 2020, approximately 320,000 new esophageal cancer cases and approximately 300,000 deaths due to esophageal cancer occurred in China, with the incidence and death rates ranking fifth and fourth among all malignant tumors, respectively. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are the two main histological subtypes of esophageal cancer. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is the main subtype in China, accounting for 90% of all esophageal cancer. For patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the current standard first-line treatment is platinum based chemotherapy, but the 5-year overall survival rate is less than 20%. About JUPITER-06 Study

The JUPITER-06 study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase ? trial that aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of toripalimab combined with paclitaxel/cisplatin versus placebo combined with paclitaxel/cisplatin as first-line treatments for advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Professor Ruihua Xu from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Hospital is the principal investigator of the JUPITER-06 study. A total of 514 patients were enrolled in the study. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) as assessed by the Blinded Independent Review Committee (BICR) and overall survival (OS). Secondary endpoints included the PFS assessed by investigator, objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) and duration of response (DOR). Basd on the results of interim analysis, the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) determined that both primary endpoints of PFS and OS have crossed the prespecified efficacy boundaries and the results show that compared with the paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy , toripalimab combined with paclitaxel/cisplatin significantly prolonged the PFS and OS of patients with advanced esophageal squamous carcinoma.



About Toripalimab

Toripalimab was the first domestic anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved for marketing in China. More than thirty company-sponsored clinical studies covering more than fifteen indications have been conducted globally, including in China and the United States. On 17 December 2018, toripalimab was granted a conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the second-line treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma. In December 2020, toripalimab was successfully included in the updated National Reimbursement Drug List. In February 2021, the supplemental NDA for toripalimab for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma after failure of at least two lines of prior systemic therapy was granted a conditional approval by the NMPA. In April 2021, the supplemental NDA for toripalimab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who failed platinum-containing chemotherapy or progressed within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant platinum-containing chemotherapy was granted a conditional approval. In February 2021, the supplemental NDA application of toripalimab in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced, recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma was accepted by the NMPA. In March 2021, toripalimab was included in the Drug List of the Procedure for Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the first-line treatment of advanced mucosal melanoma by the National Medical Products Administration. In the same month, Junshi Biosciences submitted the Biologics License Application of toripalimab for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As of the date of this announcement, toripalimab has been granted 1 Breakthrough, 1 Fast Track and 3 Orphan Drug Designations (ODD) by the FDA for the treatment of mucosal melanoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and soft tissue sarcoma.

About Junshi Biosciences

Founded in December 2012, Junshi Biosciences is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics. The company has established a diversified R & D pipeline comprising 28 innovative drug candidates and 2 biosimilars, with five therapeutic focus areas covering cancer, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological, and infectious diseases. Junshi Biosciences was the first Chinese pharmaceutical company that obtained marketing approval for anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody in China. Its first-in-human anti-BTLA antibody for solid tumors was the first in the world to be approved for clinical trials by the FDA and NMPA and its anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody was the first in China to be approved for clinical trials by the NMPA. In early 2020, Junshi Biosciences joined forces with the Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Science and Eli Lilly to co-develop JS016 (etesevimab), Chinas first neutralizing fully human monoclonal antibody against SARS-CoV-2. JS016 administered with bamlanivimab has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US FDA in February 2021 for the treatment of recently diagnosed, mild to moderate COVID-19 in patients who are at a high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization. The JS016 program is a part of our continuous innovation for disease control and prevention of the global pandemic. Junshi Biosciences has over 2,000 employees in the United States (San Francisco and Maryland) and China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou). For more information, please visit: http://junshipharma.com. Contact Information



IR Team:

Junshi Biosciences

info@junshipharma.com

+ 86 021-2250 0300 Solebury Trout

Bob Ai

bai@soleburytrout.com

+ 1 646-389-6658 PR Team:

Junshi Biosciences

Zhi Li

zhi_li@junshipharma.com

+ 86 021-6105 8800



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The specific case before the justices involved Mississippi inmate Brett Jones, who was 15 and living with his grandparents when he fatally stabbed his grandfather. The two had a fight in the homes kitchen after Bertis Jones found his grandsons girlfriend in his grandsons bedroom. Brett Jones, who was using a knife to make a sandwich before the fight, stabbed his grandfather first with that knife and then, when it broke, with a different knife. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The infamous Mk IV Supra manhandled by the late Paul Walker has been replaced by the MK V incarnation of the Japanese machine. And while its opponent is still a rear-wheel drive, mid-engined beast with an open-top, the Ferrari F355 Spider's place has been taken by a Lamborghini Huracan Evo RWD Spyder Once again, the supercar comes to the fight in factory form, which, in this case, means that we're dealing with a N/A V10 churning out 602 hp (610 PS) and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm), with the rear-paw model being the least powerful of the range.And since adding a textile roof required chassis reinforcements, the Spyder sits some 250 lbs (110 kg) above the coupe, which means it's in the same scale footprint league as the Supra (both sit above 1,500 kg/3,300 lbs).Speaking of the Toyota, this is a 2020 model, so the factory output of the BMW-sourced 3.0-liter L6 motor is limited to 335 hp and 365 lb-ft (495 Nm) of torque. The 2021MY introduced a new piston design that lowers the compression ratio, thus reducing the risk of high-boost detonation and pushing the muscle numbers to 382 hp (387 PS) and 368 lb-ft (499 Nm).However, the unit we have here has received a Pure 800 turbo, a custom downpipe, and an E20 tune. For the record, the latter involves 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline, which doesn't make for such an aggressive mix. As far as the transmissions go, the Supra's eight-speed auto is quick, but it's no match for the Huracan Evo's seven-speed dual-clutch.The duo engaged in a pair of street races, but you should leave such stunts for the screen and make sure to head over to the drag strip when you're feeling competitive.Now, we're not sure the driver of the Lambo used the machine to its full potentialjudging by the soundtrack, he might've pulled some early shifts.Then there was the technical issue the Toyota reportedly experienced for the second race. YouTuber Auto Glory, who brought this adventure to us, claims that the Supra's engine loses power after a hot run, albeit with heat soak not appearing to be the problem.PS: While the first clip below shows the Mk 5 Supra vs. Lamborghini battle, the second video brings a sweet reminder of the F&F stunt mentioned in the intro.
Rebekah Robeck, 16, launched an initiative called Let's Be Kind to encourage others to exercise kindness. (Courtesy of Cristina Robeck)

Spreading Kindness: From Pizza Box Beginning to Big Idea

For Costa Mesa High School junior Rebekah Robeck, kindness is more than a concept, its a way of living each day, and shes made it her mission to spread her good-natured message to schools all over the state.

As on-campus classes resume in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District on April 26, plans are being set to kick things off with an official Lets Be Kind day.

Through her Lets Be Kind campaign, 16-year-old Rebekah has shared the concept that being kind to oneself, and to others, creates an atmosphere that is welcoming and inclusive. It offers a chance for better communication devoid of assumptions or biases among students, teachers, and parents, she said.

Kindness, Rebekah said, is something that can be spread by anyone, anywhere, and it can be as simple as smiling at someone.

Rebekah Robeck, 16, launched an initiative called Lets Be Kind to encourage others to exercise kindness. (Courtesy of Cristina Robeck)

After a frustrating year during the ongoing pandemicattending school remotely and often stuck at homethe message will have special meaning for students, she said.

Kindness, to me, is the way you treat not only the people you know, but also the people you dont know with the most respect, making that person feel like they matter, Rebekah said. I feel like people need this now more than ever.

Pizza Box Beginnings

In 2018, during her Grade 8 year at Costa Mesa Middle School, Rebekah began to notice a lack of compassion and kindness surrounding her. She witnessed fellow classmates who were shy or lacking social skills being teased, which only caused them to recoil further both socially and verbally.

Her observations motivated Rebekah, who herself had been carelessly taunted, to take matters into her own hands.

Her concept was simple; she wanted to spread a message of kindness at a Lets Be Kind Day at her school and show how being kind could spread and change lives. She explained her concept to her parents, who wholeheartedly encouraged the idea.

Soon after, Rebekah and her mom bought pizzas to hand out at her school. They taped signs on the boxes that read simply Lets be kind to each other and gave each student a slice and a smile. They were met with return smiles; kids who didnt know each other began to chat over a shared slice.

As that message resonated, the Robeck family decided to take the next step in spreading Rebekahs concept of kindness by printing T-shirts that read Lets Be Kind and giving one to every student at her school.

To date, theyve handed out more than 6,500 shirts to students throughout Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Both cities now declare April as Lets Be Kind Month.

In 2019, Rebekah was honored by Costa Mesas then-mayor Katrina Foley with the Costa Mesa Mayors Award.

I see Lets Be Kind growing into an organization that reaches all students. I like telling people that my long-term goal is to have [the message] all over the world, Rebekah said. I know this is ambitious, but I truly believe its a message that will change our culture. For now, I would like to see this movement spread to all schools in California.
04/22/2021

Photo (c) Jeff Greenough - Getty Images Those who lost a loved one to COVID-19 should be aware that scammers are out there offering to help people register for assistance with funeral expenses.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has received reports of bad actors posing as FEMA representatives saying they can offer financial assistance to people with loved ones who died of COVID-19.

In an advisory, the Federal Trade Commission said consumers should know that FEMA does things differently than scammers. Here are a few red flags that could indicate a scam, according to the FTC:

Being contacted out of the blue . FEMA wont contact you until you have called the agency or have applied for assistance. The FTC advises consumers never to give their own or their deceased loved ones personal or financial information to anyone who contacts them out of the blue.

Being asked to pay anything . Real federal employees wont ask you to pay anything in order to receive financial assistance with funeral expenses.

Being asked to give personal information in an insecure way. The government wont call, text, email, or contact you on social media and ask for your Social Security number, bank account information, or credit card number.

Financial assistance is available

Consumers in need of financial assistance with funeral expenses because of COVID-19 should know that there is a legitimate government relief program that can help.

FEMAs Funeral Assistance program, which just began yesterday, will pay up to $9,000 for funeral expenses that people have paid since January 20, 2020, for loved ones who died of the virus.

Survivors can apply for benefits by contacting the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 844-684-6333, the FTC stated. The program is open to American citizens, nationals of U.S. territories, and non-citizens legally admitted to the United States, regardless of income.

Those who apply will need to be prepared to show certain documents, including receipts for your expenses and a death certificate that says the death happened in the United States or its territories and was likely caused by COVID-19.
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"When COVID-19 slammed into the world, Ginkgo found ways to be a part of the solution," said George. "They pivoted people and expertise, and dedicated resources to help in the COVID-19 response. Impressively, they have built a massive testing capability to let kids go back to school, they helped contribute to vaccine manufacturing processes and supply chains, and now they are helping monitor for threatening variants. It was clear to me that the team at Ginkgo is mission-focused, and it is exciting to contribute to that mission, and work on innovating pandemic response capabilities."

"Global biosecurity has to be at the foundation of Ginkgo's platform, because biology doesn't respect borders," said Jason Kelly, CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. "In an interconnected world where biology becomes easier to engineer every year, robust biosecurity becomes a necessary pillar of human society. Companies like Ginkgo need to build systems that enable communities to understand the biology around them, and respond to it. Dylan's long-term leadership and vision in biosecurity are unmatched and with him on our team, we will advance and scale that effort in partnership with public health centers worldwide. I couldn't be more excited."

At Ginkgo, Dylan George joins a robust biosecurity team, working across Concentric by Ginkgo, Ginkgo's horizontal cell engineering platform, and a rich set of partnerships with government and industry efforts to maximize the effectiveness of biosecurity interventions, and minimize the negative economic and social impacts of biosecurity threats. Other key principals on this team include Lt. General Thomas P. Bostick, the 53rd Chief of Engineers of the United States Army and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, former DARPA Program Manager in the Biological Technologies Office and vice president, Business Development, at Ginkgo, Dr. Patrick Boyle, Ginkgo's Head of Codebase, and Ryan Morhard, Ginkgo's Director of Policy and Partnership, who previously led the World Economic Forum's work on global health security and biological risks and served as Branch Chief for International Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"The last year has taught us that the incredible advances in biotechnology and data analysis can and should be used to prevent pandemics from even rising to the level of pandemics in the first place," said Patrick Boyle. "Dylan has long been a champion of pandemic forecasting, and I'm excited to work with him on that in the context of building Ginkgo's platform."

"With biotechnology, we have the potential to build the tools to ensure that the world never again sees a pandemic like this one," said Ryan Morhard. "Ending pandemics requires reliable partnerships, across all parts of society and the economy and around the world. Dylan brings exceptional experience in that regard, and we're thrilled to have him at Ginkgo."

"In the future, we are not going to have the luxury of knowing exactly what the next pandemic will be, or even whether the next potential crisis-level biothreat will be a plant or animal pathogen. As Ginkgo works to build the bioeconomy, we will work in parallel to create the technology to protect this emerging sector," said Renee Wegrzyn. "Dylan brings deep national security expertise to Ginkgo, and he analyzes these challenges at a systems level, helping Ginkgo to build the best solutions to biothreats so that we can better prepare for the future."

George previously worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), as a Senior Advisor for Biological Threat Defense. Among other efforts at OSTP, George supported the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. His experience operating at the federal level also includes roles in the Department of Health and Human Services within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), as well as the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation. Dr. George received his Ph.D. from Colorado State University and focused on quantitative analytical approaches for analyzing the persistence of clinically severe pathogens (e.g., Yersinia pestis, rabies) within wildlife populations.

"I have worked with exceptional teams in my career both in government and the private sector. It's an honor to join Ginkgo because the team is driven, innovative, and wicked smart," added George.

About Ginkgo Bioworks

Headquartered in Boston, Ginkgo Bioworks uses the most advanced technology on the planetbiologyto grow better products. The company's cell programming platform is enabling the growth of biotechnology across diverse markets, from food to fragrance to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo is also actively supporting a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including community testing, epidemiological tracing, vaccine development and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com.

Media Contacts:

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Chandigarh, Apr 22 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced that the State Government would undertake vaccination in age group of 18-45 years from May 1, and it would be ensured that the vaccine would be supplied free of cost in all Government healthcare facilities across the State.



In view of the limited supplies of the vaccine expected initially, the Chief Minister constituted an Expert group, comprising eminent virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, Dr Jacob John, Professor of Community Health at CMC Vellore and Dr Rajesh Kumar, former Head School of Public Health PGIMER in Chandigarh to suggest a detailed strategy of prioritisation in the 18-45 age group.

Chairing a high level meeting to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the state, the Chief Minister tasked the expert group to chalk out a vaccination strategy and submit a detailed plan to the state government within a week to meet the challenge in the midst of the unprecedented Covid pandemic in the state.

Eminent virologist Dr Gagandeep Kang, who attended the meeting as a special invitee, emphasised the need to have a proper strategy to combat the current second wave of Covid, with geographical saturation in high case load cities such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Mohali, and Patiala besides prioritisation on the basis of medical need (serious comorbidity) and on the basis of occupational groups such as teachers, etc.

The Chief Minister was informed that the State had received 4 lakh more doses of Covishield vaccine from the Centre earlier today. As these were likely to last the State for only 3 or 4 more days as per the pace of the ongoing vaccination drive, he asked the Health Department to vigorously pursue with the Union Government for ensuring requisite supply of more Covishield vaccine besides getting requisite stock of Covaxin doses as well.

Referring to the reports of black marketing of anti-viral drugs like Remdesivir and Tocilizumab in the country, the Chief Minister said the experts have given clear protocols on the use of such medicines, which must be duly publicised and followed in right earnest. Health Adviser Dr KK Talwar, referred to the World Health Organisation (WHO) studies that have shown that Remdesivir may not have any significant impact on the mortality due to Covid. Further, there were alternatives for Tocilizumab and protocols of management of serious and critical patients are being regularly shared in the expert group of doctors.

Captain Amarinder directed that the State should continue to procure such drugs for patients who may benefit from their use, and provide the same to the government hospitals and also support the private hospitals, as was already being done.

UNI JS SHK2000
Courtesy Sound World Solutions

The $349 Sound World Solutions CS50+ was rated the top PSAP by The New York Times product-review site Wirecutter in 2020. Its an over-the-ear hearable: The earbud is connected by a small tube to a battery compartment that fits around the ear.

People with mild to moderate hearing loss found no differences among PSAPs, basic hearing aids and premium hearing aids for speech perception, sound quality, listening effort and user preference, according to a 2019 study published in the online medical journal JAMA Otolaryngology  Head & Neck Surgery.

Theres such a range of quality that its impossible to make a blanket statement about the [PSAP] category, says Tom Hannaher, chief executive of Zvox Audio in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which manufacturers VoiceBud hearing aids ($599 for a pair, but on sale now for $399) and TV sound bars that enhance dialogue.

There can be limits to some PSAPs effectiveness. Because they amplify sound all around, they may not help if you are, for example, trying to better discern a single voice in a noisy place. Consumer Reports warns that the cheapest PSAPs (some as low as $20 or $30) showed little benefit and could cause additional hearing damage by overamplifying sharp noises, such as the wail of a fire engine.

Hearing help meets AirPods

Nuhearas rechargeable IQbuds2 Max ($399 for a pair), named one of Time magazines 100 best inventions of 2020, addresses some of these issues. They come with a mobile app that lets users calibrate the buds to their own hearing profile, and with situational settings that can help mute background noise and enhance audio focus on a particular speaker.

IQbuds2 even let you stream music or take calls via Bluetooth, as does the Olive Pro.

That might signal a trend: A recent survey by Qualcomm found that over 40 percent of consumers are interested in earbuds that can provide automatic hearing assistance as needed. The chipmaker is working with Jacoti, a Belgian medical device company, to build personalized hearing assistance into upcoming wireless earbuds and Bluetooth speakers.

Another fringe benefit of hearables: They can mitigate the supposed stigma that makes some people reluctant to wear hearing aids outside the house, for fear of being perceived as old. The growing ubiquity of AirPods and similar devices has made it acceptable for everyone to wear weird things in your ears, Nuhearas Cannington says.

Nuheara, Olive Union and Sound World Solutions all offer money-back guarantees, typically lasting 30 to 45 days, so you can try their hearables out for comfort and audio improvement.
State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Wednesday defended her offices response to the pandemic and the devastating toll it took on residents in long-term care facilities, noting the department has issued $2.2 million in fines against 79 operators for more than 600 violations.

Persichilli did not identify the facilities or describe the infractions uncovered by surveyors, who she said conducted more than 1,000 infection control inspections and more than 520 inspections in the last 13 months. She used these and other statistics in a presentation before the state Assembly Budget Committee, arguing that in the face of a once-in-a century disaster, her team performed admirably.

A spokeswoman for the health department said she was unable to immediately provide details on the 79 facilities cited and fined.

The Department has done an incredible amount of work to fight this virus since our long-term care facilities and hospitals experienced the first surge, Persichilli said. This virus has been unrelenting, and we continue to learn more about it every day, but we have learned a lot since our first case and have been working day and night to strengthen our public health infrastructure and healthcare system.

Gov. Phill Murphys administration has been repeatedly accused  unfairly so, Persichilli argued  for letting hospitals discharge COVID-19-infected residents back to nursing homes and possibly spreading the virus. In a tone hinting at exasperation, she forcefully explained that facility operators were informed on March 31, 2020, that if they did not have the room, the protective equipment and the staff to segregate readmitted residents safely, they needed to tell the health department.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Within a week, 200 long-term care facilities informed the state they could not meet those requirements, Persichilli said. The state arranged for 3,000 residents to be temporarily housed in COVID-only long-term care facilities, she said.

I have documentation in Excel spreadsheets. I knew exactly who could and couldnt admit new residents, she said.

As of Wednesday, the virus has killed 7,865 residents in long-term care facilities, and likely 718 more who are listed as probable COVID-19 deaths, according to health department. They represent 35% of all New Jersey pandemic-related fatalities, Persichilli said.

The hearing was called to discuss the health departments $2.3 billion budget. But much of the dialogue focused on the response to the pandemic. Budget committee members overall praised the hard work and dedication of the department, and in particular, Persichilli. Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, said called her hero-in-chief.

Assemblyman Hal Wirths, R-Sussex, one of many Republicans who have been hammering the states response to the pandemic as Murphy faces re-election this November, questioned why the health department did not send inspectors into nursing homes until April 16, more than a month after the first case in a nursing home was reported.

One of the first facilities inspectors visited was Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center I and II, located in his district, Wirths said, after authorities discovered a makeshift morgue holding 17 bodies. The Andover facilities have since been renamed Limecrest Subacute and Rehabilitation Center and Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center.

In previous public statements, Persichilli has said the shortage of personal protective equipment delayed the department from going out on inspections.

Wirths politely but bluntly asked Persichilli, Who is at fault? At the end of the day, somebody has to be responsible for those lost lives.

I think there is a number of ways to answer that  the most obvious way is to say the virus. It was a virus we had never seen before, Persichilli replied.

She also placed some responsibility on the long-term care providers, repeating the governors talking point. The industry has long failed to invest in updating its infrastructure by replacing all semi-private rooms with private rooms, and paying their front-line workers a livable wage, she said.

The government has done its part, she said, by enacting laws last year giving a temporary pay bump to front-line workers and setting resident-to-staff ratios to improve care and supervision in long-term care facilities.

I have been around a long time and what 50 years of experience has taught me, if you dont invest adequately in an industry, you are going to fail, whether its hospitals or long-term care, said Persichilli, a nurse and a former hospital chain CEO.

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.
You can encourage your jobs leadership to send out a statement whenever racist killings occur, and also reach out personally and say something like, Hey. Ive seen theres been a lot of highly publicized killings of people of color in the news, and its all been so awful. I wanted to acknowledge that this is happening and not pretend like today is a normal day because its not. If itd help for me to lighten your load at all  like taking over a task or keeping notes for you at a meeting in case you need to duck out, let me know.
She rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to fashion.

And Kelly Brook continued to impress as she embraced the spring sunshine and donned a white floral blouse paired with ripped jeans on Thursday.

The presenter, 41, looked sensational in her effortlessly stylish ensemble as she arrived for her shift at Heart Radio in London.

Beaming: Kelly Brook looked sensational in a white floral blouse paired with ripped jeans as she arrived for work at Heart FM in London on Thursday

Kelly beamed a smile as she headed towards the studio while showcasing her sizzling curves in a pair of figure-hugging jeans.

She added a little extra height to her frame by rocking some strappy nude heels and kept her accessories simple, wearing a selection of chic beaded bracelets.

The brunette beauty tied her sleek locks back into a ponytail and let her tresses fall over one shoulder.

Completing her look, Kelly added a full face of makeup including a touch of smokey eyeshadow and a slick of red lipstick.

Here she comes: The presenter, 41, added a little extra height in a pair of strappy nude heels

The TV and radio star recently revealed she's considered proposing to boyfriend of six-years Jeremy Parisi on the next leap year.

Tradition dictates that women propose on leap years, and specifically the leap day itself, with the next one set to fall on February 29, 2024.

And it seems the host has a plan in place if she isn't engaged by then as she'll take matters into her own hands.

Speaking to Hello! magazine about the last leap year - which they spent in Italy - she mused: 'I've missed that window so I'll just have to wait another four years!'

Time for work: Kelly beamed a smile as she headed into the studio

Stylish: The model showcased her sizzling curves in a pair of figure-hugging jeans and a semi-sheer shirt

Work it: The brunette beauty tied her sleek locks back into a ponytail and let her tresses fall over one shoulder

The actress also cleared up any confusion surrounding the diamond band that she is often seen wearing on her ring finger.

Although the jewellery was a gift from Jeremy - which has their names and date engraved on the back - it isn't to symbol an engagement, with the businesswoman revealing: 'I wear the ring on that finger because it's the only one that fits!'

The honey-blonde beauty has been in a relationship with model Jeremy, 36, since April 2015, and said although she would love to get married and have children with him, neither are 'high on her list' of priorities right now.

And late last year, Kelly revealed her weight crept up to size 16 during the first lockdown, but she has since dropped two dress sizes.

She also admitted to altering her social media pictures in the past to recreate 'the 20-year-old version' of herself after struggling to come to terms with her figure.

Kelly told MailOnline: 'I would make the 20-year-old version of myself. It's been a process for me to accept my new body and my new life. So now, pretty much what you see on my Instagram is what I am.

'Some of the selfies I take, even though I don't digitally enhance them, they're beautifully lit and I know how to take a nice picture of myself. That's kind of cheating as well.'

The model, who was accused of using Photoshop in 2018 when she appeared to make herself look slimmer in a picture with boyfriend Jeremy Parisi, 35, at Ascot, added: 'It's a terrible message to send out if I started altering pictures digitally.

'That's not fair, so I wouldn't do that. Not to say in the past I haven't done that! When I was a size 16, I was like 'that's not what I look like!'' she added.
President Moon Jae-in makes a speech during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, Thursday. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that Korea will strengthen its commitment to carbon neutrality by toughening the country's emissions reduction target and ending public investments into coal-fired power generation facilities.



Moon made the pledges in a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate, which is being hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. The two-day virtual summit is being participated in by the heads of state of 17 member countries of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, including Korea, and 23 other invited countries.



During his speech, Moon said Korea will present its enhanced target for carbon emissions  called nationally determined contribution (NDC)  to the United Nations within this year, to improve the country's contribution to global efforts to counter climate change, and encourage other nations to keep up with such efforts.



"Despite difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the people of Korea have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and are now preparing detailed scenarios for that," Moon said in his speech.



"Last year, Korea already toughened its 2030 NDC by changing the existing reduction goal to an absolute reduction target of cutting 24.4 percent from that of 2017. Following this, the country seeks to strengthen its NDC further, to express its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050."



Korea presented its NDC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December last year, pledging to cut the country's carbon emissions by 24.4 percent by 2030 from its 2017 level. The government has been saying that this is an enhanced measure compared to the country's previous goal of reducing 37 percent from the business as usual projection for 2030; but critics claim that the actual reduction amount remains the same.



Following this, the UNFCCC said in a February report that 48 NDCs submitted in December "fall far short of what is required, demonstrating the need for countries to further strengthen their mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement," which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, or preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius.



According to the government, Korea will finalize its own plan to pursue carbon neutrality by 2050 in the first half of this year and submit its updated NDC to the United Nations in the second half.



Along with the NDC, Moon said Korea will end government financing for all overseas coal-fired power plant projects and prohibit the construction of new coal plants in the country.



"Also, Korea will end public financing for all overseas coal-fired power plant projects," Moon said. "To achieve carbon neutrality, there is a necessity for global efforts to scale down coal-fired power plants. This, however, has to be accompanied by considerations and proper support for developing countries which are still relying heavily on coal-fired power."



The President said that prohibiting new coal power plants was also a "tough decision" for Korea, which still relies heavily on fossil fuel to power its electricity grid. Moon added, however, that the administration had decided to do so because the country believes it has to act now to facilitate actual changes.



Moon's comments came on the heels of criticism by international civic groups against investments by the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) into projects building coal-fired power plants in Indonesia and Vietnam. Although KEPCO announced in October that it would not make new investments into overseas coal projects after the existing ones in those countries, environmental groups have been calling on the Moon administration to withdraw from these existing projects as well.



The government said Moon's comment on ending investments into coal projects applied to new ones, adding the Indonesian and Vietnamese projects would not be affected. The administration noted that it reached this decision after considering "economic and diplomatic relations with the two countries."



So far, 11 out of 41 G20 and OECD member nations have decided to end public investments into overseas coal projects, and Korea will become No. 12. Along with those countries, the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the Asian Development Bank have also decided not to finance coal projects.



After ending such investments, the government said it will allocate resources to develop renewable energy technologies and entice private companies to change their business models accordingly.



The summit is taking place before Korea hosts the P4G Seoul Summit next month. Moon said the meeting will become a vehicle for partnerships between member nations and businesses in realizing carbon neutrality.


DALLAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BenefitMall , the leading provider of next-generation broker services, today announced the addition of Randal Mitchell to the Consumer Products Division as Sales Manager and the promotion of Alvin Sims to a Business Development Executive.

BenefitMall (PRNewsFoto/BenefitMall)

"As we continue to look for opportunities to enhance the services we provide for our brokers and their clients, we also must ensure we attract and retain high quality, talented executives that will help us be more innovative, forward thinking and solution oriented," said Roni Jernigan, Director of the Consumer Products Division at BenefitMall. "We are excited to welcome Randal to the BenefitMall family as well as continue to foster Alvin's career growth within the organization."

As Sales Manager, Mitchell is responsible for the overall sales and growth of the Consumer Product Division, as well as directly managing and leading the national sales team. With more than 35 years in the health insurance sales industry, he is passionate about helping organizations as well as individuals grow and exceed results.

Mitchell has unique experience across the Medicare, Individual and Commercial Group markets, which will prove valuable as he leads the consumer products team, who assist brokers with contracting, certification, education, and selling senior and individual products.

With Mitchell's addition, Sims will transition from Sales Manager to Business Development Executive, where he will be responsible for broker recruitment and contracting, as well as building strong relationships with new agents to ensure they are set up for success. Sims has been with BenefitMall since 2012 and served as a Broker Sales Representative before transitioning to Sales Manager.

About BenefitMall

Headquartered in Dallas, BenefitMall is the largest general agency partnering with a network of 20,000 Brokers to deliver employee benefits to more than 140,000 small and medium-sized businesses. BenefitMall uniquely leverages innovative technology backed by human expertise to provide the fastest, easiest, and most secure benefits selling experience for carriers, brokers, and their clients.

Story continues

Owned by Management and The Carlyle Group, BenefitMall also operates HealthCareExchange.com, the leading online community for health care reform and compliance. More information is available at www.benefitmall.com .

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/benefitmall-brings-industry-leading-sales-executive-to-consumer-products-division-expands-business-development-team-301275031.html

SOURCE BenefitMall
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WASHINGTON  A group of Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a public works proposal with a much smaller price tag and a narrower definition of infrastructure than what President Joe Biden has proposed, highlighting the stark differences between the two sides that will be difficult to bridge in the coming months.

The price of the Republicans two-page outline came in at $568 billion over five years, compared to the $2.3 trillion that Biden has called for spending over eight years. The lawmakers framed their counter proposal as a very, very generous offer.

This is the largest infrastructure investment that Republicans have come forward with, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., told reporters. This is a robust package.

Yet the unveiling of the GOP proposal also made clear the parties are leagues apart on the size and scope of whats needed. Biden is spending time listening to Republicans and voicing a willingness to consider their ideas, but Democrats are intent on passing a major infrastructure boost this year with or without GOP support. They have made clear they are willing to use the budget reconciliation process to bypass Republicans altogether, just as they did on COVID relief earlier this year.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



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Whether to raise taxes is perhaps the biggest dividing line. To help pay for their plan, the Republicans would instead rely on user fees, including for electric vehicles, and on redirecting unspent federal dollars. The outline does not offer specifics, such as which federal programs would lose unspent dollars to infrastructure. Biden has proposed raising the corporate income tax from 21% to 28% to help pay for his plan, a move the Republican senators rejected.

The GOPs slimmer infrastructure plan received a positive reception from the White House, with press secretary Jen Psaki characterizing it as a legitimate starting point for negotiations. She said Bidens aides looked forward to reviewing the details and that Biden would invite members to the White House to discuss it further after he addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

We certainly welcome any good faith effort and see this as that, Psaki said.

Republican lawmakers have been quick to criticize the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending would go to traditional infrastructure. Bidens plan devotes $400 billion to expand Medicaid support for caregivers, and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that harmed Black neighborhoods.

The Republican plan would dedicate $299 billion to roads and bridges, $65 billion to broadband internet and $61 billion to transit. Another big-ticket item: $44 billion for airports. Absent from the plan are Biden priorities like electric vehicle charging stations and caregiver support, as well as billions of dollars to renovate schools and public housing.

The senators delivered their blueprint to the White House about 30 minutes prior to holding a press conference on it.

We take the part of the presidents plan that most Americans agree is real, hard infrastructure, we give it our touch and we think we have a very good number here, said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., found little to like in the proposal.

It goes nowhere near what has to be done to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and the funding is totally regressive and anti-working class, Sanders said.

Republicans have been dismissive of aspects of Bidens plan that focus on easing the countrys reliance on fossil fuels. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., said the Republican plan consists of actual, real infrastructure.

But the investments Biden is proposing to curb global warming matches what many Democrats are looking for and could dampen their support if removed in negotiations.

Any infrastructure proposal has to be green and cannot be paid for on the backs of working people, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said.

Its not the first time Republicans have tried to draw Biden into negotiations. Earlier this year, they offered a counterproposal to Bidens $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan. Their price tag came in at about one-third of what the president wanted, and he soon declared it inadequate. Democrats went forward on their own and passed the relief bill without the support of any GOP lawmaker.

Capito said she is optimistic that compromise can be found this time.

Ive been reading this very closely, she said. I feel like the White House and other counterparts on the House side want to try to reach a consensus.

As debate continues regarding the size and scope of the infrastructure bill, Bidens team is finalizing its American Families Plan to be outlined next week during the presidents joint address to Congress. That proposal would likely seek to extend the expanded child tax credit through 2025, universal pre-kindergarten and free community college by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

Psaki said that the president is meeting over the coming days to finalize details of the package and how to pay for it.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Biden would make good on a campaign plan to nearly double the capital gains tax on people earning more than $1 million, increasing it from 20% to 39.6%. White House officials declined to confirm the precise numbers, but they emphasized that taxes would not increase for anyone making under $400,000.

_____

AP staff writers Josh Boak and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
Advertisement

Coronavirus cases have fallen in every age group in England and just 18 deaths were announced across Britain today, according to more promising data that strengthens the argument for easing lockdown sooner.

Public Health England's weekly Covid surveillance report found rates of the virus were down in all age groups for the third week in a row, despite hundreds of thousands more daily tests now being deployed across the country.

Meanwhile, the Government's Covid dashboard showed there were just 18 UK virus deaths in the past 24 hours  down 40 per cent on last week  and 2,729 infections, which was up only marginally on last week (2 per cent).

Experts claimed that, because there are so few daily Covid deaths a day now, the country's death rate could be close to zero because a portion of the victims would've passed away from natural causes anyway.

The DOH's death figure includes anyone who dies of any cause within 28 days of a positive test, meaning patients who succumb to cancer, suffer a heart attack or get hit by a car within four weeks are counted.

Oxford University professor Dr Jason Oke said that when a lot of people are swabbed  about a million per day at the moment  and test positive, some of them will inevitably die naturally of causes 'unrelated to Covid'.

Professor Karol Sikora, an expert in medicine at the University of Buckingham, told MailOnline the Government's 24 average Covid deaths per day had the potential to be 'significantly' lower. Official figures show about a quarter of Covid deaths are people who died 'with' the virus, rather than directly 'from' it.

But other scientists said even patients in which Covid was not their underlying cause of death, the virus probably 'made their last days much more uncomfortable, or even shortened their life by a substantial amount'.

Meanwhile, a raft of other statistics published today revealed Covid is no longer the leading cause of death in England and Wales for the first time since October, and the number of people falling ill with the virus is at its lowest level on record.

Office for National Statistics figures showed the virus was the third biggest killer in March, accounting for 4,387 out of a total 48,551 deaths (9 per cent)  behind dementia and heart disease (both 10.1 per cent). Covid deaths have dropped even further in April because of the huge vaccination roll-out and effects of lockdown restrictions.

Scientists behind Britain's biggest Covid symptom-tracking study said fewer people than ever are falling sick with the disease. The team at King's College London estimated 870 people developed Covid each day last week in England  the lowest since estimates began in June.

A report from No10's Test and Trace programme today found positive Covid tests continued to fall by 9 per cent in the seven days to April 14  despite a huge boost in testing.

The data will pile more pressure on Boris Johnson to release the country from lockdown sooner, with the next relaxation not due for almost another month. Mr Johnson has promised to stick to 'data, not dates' but has so far refused to budge on his rigid schedule, despite vanishingly Covid low deaths and fewer than 2,000 people in hospital.

Tory MP Mark Harper, chair of the lockdown-sceptic Covid Recovery Group, told MailOnline: 'As we have said throughout the pandemic, its crucial that we ensure that restrictions, lockdowns and regulations are doing more good than harm.

'With the NHS' vaccination rollout going so well, and the data showing clearly that it is having the desired impact on serious illness, hospitalisation and death, the case for keeping these significant restrictions in place for two more months is weakening by the day.

'I really hope ministers start trusting the data, believing in vaccines and release restrictions in line with the data, rather than sticking to arbitrary dates. One persons abundance of caution is anothers redundancy notice.'

Four-fifths of areas in England saw coronavirus infections drop in the last week. Places in Shropshire, South Tyneside, Harringay and East Sussex recorded rises of more than 50 per cent - but because the virus is circulating in such small numbers, even small outbreaks will skew the rate upwards

Infection rates last week before the latest relaxation of lockdown rules that outdoor pubs and restaurants, gyms, shops and hairdressers reopen

Office for National Statistics data shows coronavirus is no longer the leading cause of death in England for the first time since October. It has been overtaken by Alzheimer's and dementia, and heart diseases

The virus has also dropped down to third in Wales, where ischaemic heart diseases were the biggest killer in March followed by dementia

Covid had been the leading cause of death for the past four months following the emergence of the highly-infectious Kent variant in autumn

The ZOE Covid Symptom study app estimated 870 people in England were suffering a symptomatic infection with the virus every day last week. This is down to the same levels as in August, before the burdensome rule of six came into force

Meanwhile, an interactive map breaking down Covid deaths by postcode shows 4,187 out of 7,200 neighborhoods recorded no virus fatalities during March. This was compared to 1,303 in February. No area suffered more than 10 coronavirus deaths last month.

Overall the East Midlands had the highest death rate in March, with 118.9 Covid victims for every 100,000 people, followed by the West Midlands (103.8). The South West continued to have the lowest death rate (45.7).

Professor Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at the Open University, acknowledged that a significant number of Covid deaths are in people in which the virus was not the main cause. But he said 'they very much arent deaths that have nothing to do with Covid, as some have said.'

He added: 'The patients death might indeed have been caused by something else, but the mention of Covid could well be because the patient had Covid and that made their death occur earlier than it otherwise would have, perhaps substantially earlier.

'So, for these deaths involving Covid but not having Covid as the underlying cause, the virus could have had a substantial effect on the patient, made their last days much more uncomfortable, or even shortened their life by a substantial amount.'

Fewer than 900 people in England are now getting ill with Covid every day Fewer than 900 people in England are now catching coronavirus every day, according to a symptom-tracking app, the lowest level ever and below estimates for August when there were next to no restrictions. King's College London scientists estimated only 870 people suffered a symptomatic infection with the virus every day last week, based on reports from more than a million Britons. This was the lowest number since estimates began in June, and below the previous low point in mid-August before the burdensome 'rule of six' and a flurry of other restrictions came into force. Professor Tim Spector, the epidemiologist who leads the app, said the dropping cases signalled troublesome variants had not gained a foothold, which was likely down to the successful vaccination programme - already jabbed three in five Britons - social distancing, and warmer weather allowing people to spend more time outdoors. And in yet more promising statistics published today, Test and Trace found Covid cases fell by nine per cent in the seven days to April 14, yet another sign Britain's outbreak is still shrinking. Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to speed-up his roadmap out of lockdown, after promising to be led by 'data not dates' when relaxing tight lockdown restrictions. Advertisement

The ONS said in today's report that in total there were 656 more deaths from all causes in England in March than average in a non-pandemic year  or 1.6 per cent. In Wales, there were 87 fewer fatalities (2.8 per cent) than expected.

Statisticians at the body said that of the 45,567 deaths registered in March in England, 9.2 per cent (4,198 deaths) were directly attributed to the virus. Taking into account all deaths involving this increases the percentage to 11.7 per cent, or 5,336 deaths.

In Wales, 6.3 per cent of the 2,984 deaths registered in March were directly due to Covid, making up 189 deaths. This increased to 8.9 per cent, or 265, when all death certificates with the virus on them are considered.

PHE's weekly report found Covid case rates have fallen in nearly all regions of England except the South West where they remain broadly unchanged.

In the South West the rate rose very slightly from 13.8 per 100,000 people in the seven days to April 11 to 13.9 in the week to April 18, but was a still the lowest in the country.

In Yorkshire & the Humber, the rate of new cases stood at 45.0 per 100,000 people  the highest rate of any region, but down from 61.2 the previous week.

The East Midlands recorded the second highest rate: 28.1, down from 37.2.

Rates are continuing to fall among all age group, the report showed. The highest rate is among 10 to 19-year-olds, with 42.3 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to April 18, down week-on-week from 45.6.

Among 30 to 39-year-olds the rate has dropped from 44.3 to 34.2, and for 20 to 29-year-olds it is down from 39 to 32.1.

Separate figures today showed fewer than 900 people in England are now developing Covid every day  the lowest level ever and below estimates for August when there were next to no restrictions.

King's College London scientists estimated only 870 people had a symptomatic infection with the virus every day last week, based on reports from more than a million Britons.

This was the lowest number since estimates began in June, and below the previous low point in mid-August before the burdensome 'rule of six' and a flurry of other restrictions came into force.

Professor Tim Spector, the epidemiologist who leads the app, said the dropping cases signalled troublesome variants had not gained a foothold, which was likely down to the successful vaccination programme - already jabbed three in five Britons - social distancing, and warmer weather allowing people to spend more time outdoors.

And in yet more promising statistics published today, Test and Trace found Covid cases fell by nine per cent in the seven days to April 14, in yet another sign England's outbreak is still shrinking.

Professor Spector said he was 'encouraged' by the promising figures, which suggested the troublesome variants that could make vaccines less effective were yet to gain a foothold.

He said: 'Rates are down 28 per cent again this week and hopefully well drop below the milestone of 1,000 cases in the next few days towards our record low last year in August. The ONS survey is also now showing downward trends.

'I am encouraged to see no impact from the South African variant in the areas of Southwark and Lambeth where some expected it to get out of control.

'This is likely due to the vaccination programme, the continuation of social distancing measures and the improving weather making it harder now for any new variant to take hold.'

The ZOE Covid Symptom study app relies on more than a million Britons reporting symptoms and whether they have tested positive for Covid to estimate the spread of the disease across the country.

But they miss asymptomatic cases - which trigger no tell-tale signs - that make up about a third of all infections according to official estimates.

England's Covid cases dropped 30 per cent last week, they said, down from 1,271 people who were catching the virus every day in the previous seven-day spell.

This was well below the darkest days of January, when they estimated around 50,000 people were being infected by the virus daily.

Across the UK, the ZOE app estimated there were 1,271 daily Covid infections last week, a dip of more than 30 per cent as the country's outbreak continues to shrink.

Test and Trace data also suggested Covid cases were heading in the right direction, falling by almost a tenth in England compared to the previous week.

The Covid surveillance system said 18,050 people who had tested positive for the virus were transferred to them in the week ending April 14, down nine per cent on the 19,767 from the week before.

Tracers recorded a drop despite an extra 600,000 swabs being carried out in the latest week, showing infections were still falling despite a huge boost to testing.

The test positivity rate - one of the best measures of Covid's spread - was around 0.41 per cent in the latest week, down from 0.52 per cent in the previous seven-day period. It stood at 15 per cent at the height of the second wave.

It comes after other data showed Britain is no longer one of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain is no longer one of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the pandemic, figures show. The UK has a rolling rate of 183 excess fatalities per 100,000, according to analysis by the Economist , putting it at number 21 behind Italy (197). Peru, which is in the midst of battling a wave of the Brazilian coronavirus variant, has the highest rate in the world at 412 per 100,000. Rounding out the top five are Bulgaria (338), Mexico (321), Russia (313) and Lithuania (301)

The UK has suffered 121,000 more deaths than expected since March last year  a rate of 183 excess fatalities per 100,000 people, according to analysis of official figures by the Economist, putting it at number 21 behind Italy (197).

Britain falls out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the Covid pandemic, figures show Britain is no longer one of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, figures show. The UK has suffered 121,000 more deaths than expected since March last year  a rate of 183 excess fatalities per 100,000 people, according to analysis of official figures by the Economist, putting it at number 21 behind Italy (197). Excess deaths are calculated by taking fatalities from all causes since the pandemic first struck and comparing them with a historical average from recent years. It is the first time that Britain has not had one of the worst excess death rates since the Covid crisis took off, after turning the tide on the virus thanks to a hugely successful vaccination programme and winter lockdown. Overall, the UK has still been one of the hardest hit nations in the world, suffering more than 127,000 Covid deaths in total. Only a handful of countries have more deaths both overall and per population size. Peru, which is in the midst of battling a wave of the Brazilian coronavirus variant, has the highest rate of excess deaths in the world at 412 per 100,000. Rounding out the top five are Bulgaria (338), Mexico (321), Russia (313) and Lithuania (301). Fourteen other countries  including a number of EU member states, South Africa, and Ecuador  are recording rates of more than 200 excess deaths per 100,00. The US ranks at number 23, according to the analysis, with a rate just shy of Britain's at 182 per 100,000. The excess fatality rate is one of the best ways to compare the pandemic's impact on countries because it looks at more than just the official Covid death tolls. It includes people who died without the confirmation of a test, and those who passed from other causes as a result of lockdowns and their knock-on effects on hospital care. Excess deaths in the UK have been falling since the vaccine drive launched and the country went into lockdown over the winter. Deaths from all causes in England and Wales have been lower than average in the past five weeks, which has helped drive the rate down faster. Advertisement

Excess deaths are calculated by taking fatalities from all causes since the pandemic first struck and comparing them with a historical average from recent years.

It is the first time that Britain has not had one of the worst excess death rates since the Covid crisis took off, after turning the tide on the virus thanks to a hugely successful vaccination programme and winter lockdown.

Overall, the UK has still been one of the hardest hit nations in the world, suffering more than 127,000 Covid deaths in total. Only a handful of countries have more deaths both overall and per population size.

Peru, which is in the midst of battling a wave of the Brazilian coronavirus variant, has the highest rate of excess deaths in the world at 412 per 100,000. Rounding out the top five are Bulgaria (338), Mexico (321), Russia (313) and Lithuania (301).

Fourteen other countries  including a number of EU member states, South Africa, and Ecuador  are recording rates of more than 200 excess deaths per 100,00. The US ranks at number 23, according to the analysis, with a rate just shy of Britain's at 182 per 100,000.

The excess fatality rate is one of the best ways to compare the pandemic's impact on countries because it looks at more than just the official Covid death tolls. It includes people who died without the confirmation of a test, and those who passed from other causes as a result of lockdowns and their knock-on effects on hospital care.

Excess deaths in the UK have been falling since the vaccine drive launched and the country went into lockdown over the winter. Deaths from all causes in England and Wales have been lower than average in the past five weeks, which has helped drive the rate down faster.

On top of a brutal four-month lockdown over winter, Britain's hugely successful vaccine rollout has helped it finally turn the tide on the Covid pandemic.

More than 33million people have been given at least one dose of vaccine and over 10million have received both injections.

Meanwhile, ministers will rush through covid passports in time for the start of holidays on May 17 with Greece ready to welcome vaccinated British tourists immediately while Spain and Portugal will throw open their borders from June quarantine potentially without quarantine on return, it was revealed today.

The European Union's ban on visitors is not expected to apply to the UK because of its world-leading jab programme that has seen more than 33million get one dose and 10million of those receive both doses already.

Spanish Tourism Secretary, Fernando Valdes, said today his country is 'ready' for UK holidaymakers to travel to Spain and 'restart holidays', adding: 'We are desperate to welcome you this summer. We've been having constant conversations with UK authorities'.

Mr Valdes confirmed the plan was for British holidaymakers to arrive from June, adding that a travel corridor between the two countries is firmly on the table with covid passports 'easing' the return of 'safe' travel.

He said: 'I believe that certificates is going to help us. Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been trying to put in place different means to help safe tourism. It is true we have passed through some waves of this pandemic, this virus, but now I think we are ready because we do have vaccinations. We have been having constant conversations with UK authorities, these certificates are going to ease travel and help tourism from this summer on'.

The EU's plans, code named 'gettogether' in Brussels, should allow vaccinated travellers to travel freely and avoid tests and quarantine, bringing hope to millions desperate to go abroad on holiday or to see family this summer for the first time in more than a year.

Officials from the EU's 27 member states held their first meeting this week to discuss the plans but are already said to have decided that vaccination rates will be the key metric when deciding who can visit the bloc.

Insiders say Britain will 'certainly' be among the first to be allowed in through the vaccine passport scheme, with June touted as a start date. The country's case was helped further yesterday when it fell out of the 20 worst-hit countries for excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, for the first time.

In tandem with EU countries opening up for all vaccinated British travellers in around six weeks' time, UK travel industry sources claim they have been told Covid passports are expected to be brought in from next month as Michael Gove was sent to Israel to study their 'green pass' app as a potential model. Paper options will also be available for people without smart phones, according to NHSX, the digital arm of the health service developing it.

Greece has already dropped its quarantine rules for travellers from more than 30 nations if they have been vaccinated or tested negative for Covid-19 from May 15 - two days before Brits can travel again. More than 20 other countries, including Spain, Croatia, Turkey, Portugal and Cyprus, have suggested that they may ask arrivals for vaccination proof.

A Government source said the Covid passport scheme would be in place next month to help people who want to travel to countries that are requiring proof of vaccination - but the source insisted that the key factor for Britons will be the rules on quarantine when returning to the UK.

Youve got countries saying we will welcome you. But it depends what the precautions on return are. We will have that green amber red system. It is about what you face when you come back to the UK. Can you isolate for 10 days?', the insider said.

The source suggested that holidaymakers will not know what countries fall into what traffic light category until around a week before May 17.

The criteria for assessing countries are set to include whether there are variants of concern, how good their genomic scanning system is, vaccination levels, and overall infection levels.

That will all become clear much nearer the time, one source said. India has just gone off... Youre going to book a holiday in Spain in June? Well, good luck, but just make sure you are insured.

Ministers are believed to be looking at whether islands can be treated separately from the mainland in some countries. Madeira was previously restricted when it had low cases, as Portugal was suffering high infection rates. Greece is also said to be trying to make individual islands Covid-free to help with restoring tourism.
Emirates has announced it will resume four weekly services to Mexico City (MEX) via Barcelona (BCN) from July 2, re-opening connectivity and boosting trade and tourism while providing customers worldwide with more connectivity, convenience and choice.

The BCN-MEX route will be operated with a two-class Emirates Boeing 777-200LR which offers 38 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 seats in Economy Class. Emirates flight EK255 will depart Dubai at 03:25hrs, arriving in Barcelona at 08:35hrs before departing again at 10:50hrs and arriving into Mexico City at 16:05 the same day. The return flight EK256 will depart Mexico City at 19:40 hrs, arriving in Barcelona at 13:45hrs the next day. EK256 will depart once again from Barcelona the same day at 15:30hrs bound for Dubai where it will arrive at 00:15 hrs the next day (all times are local).

The resumed service between Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico will serve Emirates' customers in Mexico and offer more choice to travellers heading from Europe, India, South East Asia and the Middle East via Dubai or Barcelona. The service will also provide additional connectivity to global markets for Mexican exports such as avocados, berries, mangoes, automotive parts and medical supplies. Emirates SkyCargo has been flying freighters to/from Mexico City since 2014 already, marking seven years of operations to the country this month. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Emirates SkyCargo continued its cargo connectivity to Mexico City on freighter and passenger freighter flights, bringing in much needed PPE and Covid-19 vaccines into the country while continuing to support Mexican exports.

Emirates has safely and gradually restarted operations across its network. Since it safely resumed tourism activity in July, Dubai remains one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, especially during the winter season. The city is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences. It was one of the world's first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)  which endorses Dubai's comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.

Emirates customers from the UAE and around the world can now plan their travel with ease and convenience as Mexico remains open for tourists and visitors. Mexico is a popular destination for business and leisure global travellers, in particular from UAE, Spain, Pakistan, Singapore, Egypt and Lebanon. Mexico is also home to Middle East communities that can now take advantage of the resumed service. - TradeArabia News Service
[April 22, 2021] ADVA posts strongest Q1 results in company's history

ADVA (News - Alert) (ISIN: DE0005103006), a leading provider of open networking solutions for the delivery of cloud and mobile services, reported record financial results for Q1 2021 ended on March 31, 2021. The results have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005956/en/ Brian Protiva (News - Alert) , CEO, ADVA (Photo: Business Wire) Q1 2021 financial summary1







(in thousands of EUR) Q1 Q1 Change Q4 Change 2021 2020 2020 Revenues 144,473 132,686 8.9% 140,572 2.8% Pro forma gross profit 55,345 42,275 30.9% 54,641 1.3% in % of revenues 38.3% 31.9% 6.4pp 38.9% -0.6pp Pro forma operating income 12,860 -1,671 869.6% 14,343 -10.3% in % of revenues 8.9% -1.3% 10.2pp 10.2% -1.3pp Operating income (loss) 11,573 -4,038 386.6% 13,085 -11.6% Net income 11,228 -7,235 255.2% 13,249 -15.3% (in thousands of EUR) Mar. 31 2021 Mar. 31 2020 Change Dec. 31 2020 Change Cash and cash equivalents 79,060 52,753 49.9% 64,881 21.9% Net debt 10,626 67,705 -84.3% 25,545 -58.4% Net working capital 125,785 134,219 -6.3% 129,853 -3.1%

1 Potential difference due to rounding Q1 2021 IFRS financial results

Revenues in Q1 2021 reached EUR 144.5 million, up by 2.8% from EUR 140.6 million in Q4 2020, also up by 8.9% compared to EUR 132.7 million in the same year-ago period, and are within the guidance corridor of between EUR 143 million and EUR 148 million. This success was particularly due to high order volume from network operators as well as private companies and governments. Pro forma gross profit in Q1 2021 increased by 1.3%, reaching EUR 55.3 million (38.3% of revenues) compared to EUR 54.6 million (38.9% of revenues) in Q4 2020 and increased significantly by 30.9% compared to EUR 42.3 million reported in the year-ago quarter. Orders for network synchronization technology again developed positively in Q1. In addition, the customer mix contributed positively to the margin increase in the past quarter. Pro forma operating income for Q1 2021 was EUR 12.9 million (8.9% of revenues) and decreased by 10.3% compared to EUR 14.3 million (10.2% of revenues) reported in Q4 2020. Compared to the year-ago quarter, pro forma operating income improved significantly by 869.6% from a loss of EUR 1.7 million (-1.3% of revenues). Hence the pro forma operating margin was at the top end of the guidance corridor of 7% to 9%. In addition to the higher gross profit, this substantial margin improvement is mainly due to improved operational expenditures. Operating income for Q1 2021 of EUR 11.6 million decreased by 11.6% from EUR 13.1 million reported for Q4 2020 and significantly increased by 386.6% from a loss of EUR 4.0 million in the same year-ago quarter. Net income reached EUR 11.2 million in Q1 2021, down by 15.3% from EUR 13.2 million in Q4 2020, and significantly up by 255.2% from a loss of EUR 7.2 million in Q1 2020. The company's cash and cash equivalents totaled EUR 79.1 million, representing an increase of EUR 14.2 million compared to EUR 64.9 million at the end of Q4 2020. Year-over-year cash and cash equivalents substantially increased by EUR 26.3 million from EUR 52.7 million at the end of Q1 2020. The higher cash balance is mainly the result of the improved profitability and lower capital expenditures, particularly compared to the prior-year quarter. Consequently, net debt in Q1 2021 strongly decreased by EUR 14.9 million to EUR 10.6 million from EUR 25.5 million at the end of Q4 2020 and improved significantly by EUR 57.1 million compared to Q1 2020 (EUR 67.7 million). Net working capital at quarter-end was EUR 125.8 million and decreased by EUR 4.1 million compared to EUR 129.9 million at the end of Q4 2020. Management commentary

"Today we report the best Q1 in our long history as a publicly listed company. We've never posted higher revenues in the first quarter of a financial year, and we've never achieved higher profitability, generated more cash, or recorded a better order intake," commented Brian Protiva, CEO, ADVA. "The speed of digitization in many countries has increased noticeably and we are seeing very good demand from all of our customer groups. At the same time, we are making good progress with the transformation of our business. Focus on growth markets with a higher proportion of software and services as well as more verticalization will bring our pro forma EBIT to around 10% of revenues." "Our transformation strategy combined with strict cost control showed the expected effects and have opened the door to sustainably higher margin potential. Net income of EUR 11.2 million is already over 50% of the result generated in 2020. With that, we have made an excellent start to the new financial year," said Uli Dopfer, CFO, ADVA. "We were able to further increase cash and reduce net debt to EUR 10.6 million. This further underlines our strong financial position." Financial outlook 2021

For the fiscal year 2021, ADVA expects revenues to be in the range of EUR 580 million and EUR 610 million and a pro forma operating income of between 6.0% and 10.0% of revenues. The company will publish its financial results for Q2 2021 on July 22, 2021. Conference call details

ADVA will hold a conference call for analysts and investors today, April 22, 2021, to discuss the Q1 2021 results. The company's CEO, Brian Protiva, and CFO, Uli Dopfer, will host the call at 3:00 p.m. CEST (9:00 a.m. EDT). A question and answer session will follow management presentations. A corresponding presentation is available on ADVA's website:

https://www.adva.com/en/about-us/investors/financial-results/conference-calls The complete quarterly statement 3M (News - Alert) 2021 (January - March) is available as a PDF:

https://www.adva.com/en/about-us/investors/financial-results/financial-statements A replay of the call will be available here:

https://www.adva.com/en/about-us/investors/financial-results/conference-calls Forward-looking statements

The economic projections and forward-looking statements contained in this document relate to future facts. Such projections and forward-looking statements are subject to risks that cannot be foreseen and that are beyond the control of ADVA. ADVA is therefore not in a position to make any representation as to the accuracy of economic projections and forward-looking statements or their impact on the financial situation of ADVA or the market in the shares of ADVA. Use of pro forma financial information

ADVA provides consolidated pro forma financial results in this press release solely as supplemental financial information to help investors and the financial community make meaningful comparisons of ADVA's operating results from one financial period to another. ADVA believes that these pro forma consolidated financial results are helpful because they exclude non-cash charges related to the stock option programs and amortization and impairment of goodwill and acquisition-related intangible assets, which are not reflective of the company's operating results for the period presented. Additionally, expenses related to restructuring measures are not included. This pro forma information is not prepared in accordance with IFRS and should not be considered a substitute for the historical information presented in accordance with IFRS. About ADVA

ADVA is a company founded on innovation and focused on helping our customers succeed. Our technology forms the building blocks of a shared digital future and empowers networks across the globe. We're continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. It's these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to today's society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, we're building a truly connected and sustainable future. For more information on how we can help you, please visit us at www.adva.com. Published by:

ADVA Optical Networking (News - Alert) SE, Munich, Germany

www.adva.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005956/en/

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Wilmington, DC, April 22, 2021 - Friends of Research4Life, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in the United States, was launched to support the critical mission of the Research4Life partnership to enable full participation in the global information environment. Organizations and individuals can now make contributions that directly benefit Research4Life programs.

The United Nations' Agenda for Sustainable Development clarifies that knowledge and education drive development and are inextricably linked to a sustainable future. Research4Life aims to minimize technical and commercial barriers to information access by providing institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), areas and territories with academic and professional peer-reviewed content. It is a partnership of United Nations agencies, Cornell and Yale Universities, STM and more than 180 international publishers.

Since 2002, Research4Life has provided researchers at more than 10,000 institutions in over 125 low- and middle-income countries with free or low-cost online access to up to 140,000 leading journals and books in the fields of health, agriculture, environment, applied sciences and legal information and beyond.

Despite Research4Life's contributions to bridging the digital divide over the past two decades, the partnership has yet to achieve its full potential in terms of awareness, reach, understanding, effective usage and impact due to under-resourcing. Friends of Research4Life aims to create more opportunities for Research4Life to offer high-quality, evidence-based information to even more researchers, health professionals, policymakers and lecturers in its target countries.

"This is really about increasing impact. Friends of Research4Life will enable us to catalyze support for Research4Life, so that we can scale up the important contributions made over the past two decades in access, information literacy and capacity building in developing countries. We invite like-minded organizations to join us in ramping up support," said Ylann Schemm, Chair of the Research4Life Executive Council.

The Board of Friends of Research4Life includes five external members: Barbara Aronson (World Health Organization, retired), Richard Gedye (STM, retired), Charlotte Masiello Riome (UNESCO International Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communications), Mark Seeley (SciPubLaw), and Daisy Selematsela (University of South Africa). Two ex-officio positions from Research4Life have also been established: the Chair of the Financial Oversight Committee, Andrea Powell (STM) and the Chair of the Fundraising Committee, Michael Oldham (Portsys).

"After nearly 20 years of participation in Research4Life, I have been privileged to observe first-hand the opportunities it has provided to the research community. But the many thousands of individuals who have benefited from the partnership's activities are only a fraction of its potential," said Richard Gedye, President of the Friends of Research4Life Board. "Additional funding will enable Research4Life to extend its outreach and further narrow the gap between scientific communities in the northern and southern hemisphere."

So far, six organizations have made an inaugural donation to Friends of Research4Life. We invite you to pledge your support alongside ACS Publications, Brill Publishers, Elsevier, IOP Publishing, the Journal of the American Medical Association and Springer Nature. These have been joined by contributions from individual donors as well.

###

For more information or to support Friends of Research4Life, please visit: friendsofresearch4life.org

Media contact

Domiziana Francescon

Friends of Research4Life

communications@friendsofresearch4life.org
Croma-Pharma GmbH (Croma) always strives to support physicians in their work in the best possible way. For this reason, the company has developed an interactive e-learning platform with continuing education offerings for physicians working in the field of minimally invasive aesthetic. In this way, Croma aims to help health care professionals achieve sustainable growth and success in their medical clinics/practices.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005727/en/

Social Media Training for Health Care Professionals Copyright: Croma-Pharma GmbH (Graphic: Business Wire)

Medical professionals can choose from a broad variety of different formats:

Social Media Online Marketing

Facial Anatomy Workshops

Aesthetic Startup Academy

Aesthetic Excellence

A variety of topics is presented by Industry experts. All the content comes with lifetime access hence the health care professionals can learn on their own schedule and at their own pace.

A multi-professional panel of international practitioners and the latest evolution of learning methods guarantee a highly efficient transfer of skills and knowledge in an interactive and individualized way.

More information is found via https://learn.cromaismore.com

About Croma

Founded in 1976, Croma-Pharma GmbH (Croma) is an Austrian family-owned company that specializes in the industrial production of hyaluronic acid syringes for the fields of medical aesthetics, ophthalmology and orthopaedics. Croma currently runs 12 international sales companies and distributes its products in more than 70 countries. Within its global sales network, Croma focuses with own branded products on minimally invasive aesthetic medicine. Besides a broad range of HA fillers from the own production site, Croma markets PDO lifting threads, a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) system and high quality skincare technologies in its core strategic markets.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005727/en/

Contacts:

CROMA-PHARMA GmbH

Stefanie Hohn

Global Director Communications

Cromazeile 2

A-2100 Leobendorf

Tel.: +43 676 846868 190

Mail: stefanie.hoehn@croma.at

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MINSK -- A journalist in Belarus may face criminal charges for an interview his media outlet published with opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in another sign of the government's crackdown on press freedom.

Uladzimer Yanukevich, the chief editor of the independent Intex-press newspaper in the western city of Baranavichy, was questioned at a local police department for 4 1/2 hours over the interview, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAZh) said on April 22.

According to the BAZh, during questioning on April 21 Yanukevich was handed two administrative charges for violating the law on the distribution of "banned" information via the media and the Internet.

Yanukevich was also warned that a criminal case may be launched against him on a charge of "calling for actions aimed at violating the national security of the Republic of Belarus." If found guilty on that charge, Yanukevich may face a lengthy prison term.

Journalist Lyudmila Stsyatsko, who interviewed Tsikhanouskaya, was also ordered to report for police questioning as a witness in the case.

The interview in question was published by Intex-press on April 14.

Yanukevich told the BAZh that he and his colleagues considered the situation they're facing over the interview with Tsikhanouskaya as "pressure on freedom of speech."

"We always take into account our readers' interests and their right to receive information.... We do not understand what words exactly in the interview violated current laws. The police were unable to explain that to me. It looks like it's not the content, but the fact itself that we interviewed [Tsikhanouskaya] that caused the accusations," Yanukevich said.

Tsikhanouskaya is currently in Lithuania, where she relocated for security reasons amid unprecedented rallies protesting the results of an August 2020 presidential election that handed victory to Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has run the country with an iron fist since 1994.

Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusians continue to demand the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka amid a brutal crackdown on protesters. The West refuses to recognize him as the country's legitimate leader after an August 9 election considered fraudulent.

Lukashenka has overseen a violent crackdown on the protesters that has seen thousands of people -- including media members -- detained and scores injured.

Overall, more than 1,800 criminal cases have been launched against protesters, who say the vote was rigged and that Tsikhanouskaya was the real winner.

Tsikhanouskaya was charged in absentia with impeding the work of election officials, organizing mass protests, and activities to disrupt social order. She and her supporters reject the charges and say they are politically motivated.

The European Union, Great Britain, the United States, and Canada have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus.

Last week, Belarusian lawmakers approved in the second reading several legislative amendments that severely restrict civil rights and the free flow of information amid the ongoing crackdown on protesters.
As part of their best-in-class, early adopter strategy for comprehensive sanitation protocols, the West Center is committed to biosafety, implementing various UVC technology and products acquired from Tampa-based IP Program.

The UVZone shoe sanitizing stations are in use at the Center's three (3) entrance points, aiding in the prevention of microbes entering the facility via shoes and floors. Shoes are sanitized in eight (8) seconds, inhibiting dangerous microbes such as MRSA, C. diff, E. coli, Norovirus, and Human Coronavirus from being walked into and throughout the facility by staff and guests.

In addition, two UV-C cabinets are in use to disinfect items such as cell phones, keys, laptops, and eyeglasses. The use of UVC technology at the entrances creates a perimeter of safety by lowering the building's bioburden and boosting staff and visitors' confidence with a visible sign of safety.

The suite also includes a five-foot-tall, fully autonomous UV-D robot that disinfects entire rooms and hallways as it travels a pre-programmed path; and a mobile UV-C Tower that disinfects tightly confined spaces such as restroom stalls and closets.

"Environmental cleanliness affects the patient experience, patient satisfaction, perceived service quality, and actual quality in terms of infection prevention." --Healthdesign.org

"COVID has had a significant impact on the long-term care sector and James L. West Center is moving boldly into the future  a future that includes COVID now and more viruses in the future. This technology complements our existing environmental services platform with a goal to create germ-free environments for today's residents and our team, as well as for future West Center stakeholders," said Cheryl Harding, Ph.D., and CEO of The West Center.

UV technology, and specifically the UVZone shoe sanitizing station, is in use at many healthcare facilities. When used as a complete suite of products, the 360o approach provides an elevated level of safety for residents, staff, and patient-facing team members by addressing disinfection from floors to small personal items and continual sanitization throughout the buildings.

"I have long admired the James L. West Center for being one of Fort Worth's leading healthcare innovators," said Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price. "The Center's leadership in the healthcare arena and expertise supporting persons living with dementia and Alzheimer's is recognized throughout the state and nationally. The CARES Act funding helps to solidify the Center's leadership role as a premier healthcare organization and, through their teaching of medical students and other professionals, helps our Fort Worth community benefit from this technology, affirming Fort Worth's focus on medical innovation."

"We're so pleased that PathO 3 Gen Solutions' shoe sanitizing stations have been implemented as an integral part of James L West's comprehensive approach to disinfection and safety," said Scott Beal, COO, PathO 3 Gen Solutions.

About James L. West Center for Dementia Care

The West Center is a faith-inspired, not-for-profit organization serving persons impacted by dementia. As a trusted expert, the West Center provides personalized, innovative care and support for families, as well as specialized education for caregivers, healthcare professionals and the community at large. The facility is the only dementia-specific Alzheimer's-certified nonprofit post-acute nursing center in the DFW Metroplex. In addition to residential care, the Center provides day program support as well as community-based dementia and caregiver education. (www.jameslwest.org)

About UVZone

The UVZone shoe sanitizing station ( www.uvzone.com ) is the first and only Ozone + UVC disinfection technology and eliminates up to 99.999% of the most harmful pathogenic microorganisms, including Human coronavirus, C. diff, MRSA, E. coli, Norovirus, and Candida auris from shoe soles. The UVZone is on average 110 times more effective than UVC light alone, and as much as 346 times more effective for certain pathogenic microorganisms studied. It is easy to use with any footwear or shoe cover, takes eight (8) seconds to use, and plugs into a 120v standard outlet.

About PathO 3 Gen Solutions

PathO 3 Gen Solutions ( www.patho3gen.com ) is a privately held Florida-based company holding multiple patents on their technology and equipment. The UVZone shoe sanitizing station is UL Listed, NSF Approved, CE-marked, and is manufactured by an IS0 9001 facility in the U.S.A.

SOURCE PathO3Gen Solutions

Related Links

https://patho3gen.com/


Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters.

By Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA

HARRISBURG  A delayed upgrade to the state Department of Corrections dashboard on COVID-19 rates in prisons has revealed that more than 80% of correctional staff and officers who work in prisons are not vaccinated, or have not reported their status.

The percentage is far lower than the general public  according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of all American adults have received at least one shot, which is similar to the number of incarcerated people in Pennsylvania who have gotten one.

The department relaunched its public-facing data last week with updated vaccine numbers, one month after its self-imposed deadline. Spotlight PA revealed in January that its data was unreliable, prompting the dashboard to be temporarily removed for an overhaul.

The new site shows that as of April 21, out of 15,852 correctional staffers, only 3,133 were fully or partially vaccinated. At facilities in Albion, Fayette, Pine Grove and Smithfield, 90% of staff or more remained unvaccinated.

In contrast, as of the same date, out of 37,245 people held inside facilities, 19,490 have received a vaccine.

Corrections spokesperson Maria Bivens noted that staff vaccinations are self-reported, meaning the number could be artificially low if large numbers of staffers are not reporting getting shots.

The Corrections Officers Association, the union representing prison workers, declined to comment or answer questions on why their members werent getting vaccinated, or what theyve been doing to increase vaccinations.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the contrast puts the officers and their communities at risk, and especially people in prison who either chose not to get vaccinated or are still waiting.

People in prison are dependent on the state for their vaccinations, while all staff are eligible to pursue theirs on their own. Both were offered incentives: paid time off for workers, and $25 in commissary benefits for people living inside the prisons.

If theres a cadre of [corrections officers] in a given facility not vaccinated that workplace would still have a risk of COVID, just not emanating from the prisoners themselves, Adalja said.

Prisons are COVID-19 hotspots, Adalja said, with shared quarters and cells where people are confined for up to 23 hours a day during lockdown. And though its good for public health that the majority of incarcerated people are vaccinated, if staff fall ill, it could jeopardize safety by depleting staff numbers and would be disruptive to the operations of a prison, he said.

Corrections officials have already struggled with shortages because of the virus, as well as maintaining the right protocols to limit the spread.

Initially lauded for keeping case numbers low, incarcerated people started becoming infected and dying at higher rates than populations on the outside during the second wave in December.

The department applied for $176,000 in emergency funds to hire temporary workers because too many staff were calling out of work. Then, Spotlight PA found that officers were still told by corrections to come back to work before doctors had cleared them.

And now, corrections staff have been diagnosed with more COVID-19 cases than incarcerated people. The departments dashboard shows that as of April 21, 125 staff members are currently out for testing positive, compared to only 70 incarcerated people who are currently positive.

This struggle spans to other state facilities. A report by the Department of Health last week found only 52% of nursing home staff had received the vaccine, compared to 80% of nursing home residents. In some counties, nursing home vaccinations among staff was as low as 30%, despite a national goal to hit 75% vaccinated inside facilities by June.

Keara Klinepeter, executive deputy secretary for the Department of Health, said that the department is working with staff in areas with low vaccine uptake to address hesitations.

Corrections has also made efforts to encourage staff to get the shot and educate them about its efficacy, but that messaging was complicated in recent weeks.

On April 9, the department reported one death of a person inside SCI-Phoenix who had received a single-dose, Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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The department told people living inside prisons that there had been an unexpected death of an inmate that had recently been vaccinated for COVID-19, according to the memo, obtained by Spotlight PA.

Then on April 13, the department had to stop issuing J&J vaccines along with the rest of the state and then the country, as regulators established six cases of rare blood clotting issues, including a Pennsylvania woman.

Corrections officials still have Moderna vaccines, which Bivens said they are continuing to use for staff and other people inside facilities.

Theres already been hesitancy around the vaccine by incarcerated people, with people saying its been rushed... and corrections officers denying it doesnt instill much confidence for others to get it, said Poornima Rajeshwar, a policy fellow at the UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project. It is a concern to see how the J&J halt might affect people in the future getting it.

WHILE YOURE HERE... If you learned something from this story, pay it forward and become a member of Spotlight PA so someone else can in the future at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
We have an amazing team of agents, managers and support staff who are all dedicated to the success of our clients, said Dan Forsman, President and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Georgia Properties. Our associates and employees are our business family. We live, work and play together ever

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by an employee engagement technology partner. The anonymous survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization: including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties was recognized as the 5th Top Large Workplace Employer in Atlanta.

During this very challenging time, Top Workplaces has proven to be a beacon of light for organizations, as well as a sign of resiliency and strong business performance, said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. When you give your employees a voice, you come together to navigate challenges and shape your path forward. Top Workplaces draw on real-time insights into what works best for their organization, so they can make informed decisions that have a positive impact on their people and their business.

About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties has over 1,600 associates and 26 locations across the Greater Metro Atlanta and North Georgia area. The company generated over $4.4 billion in sales volume and 11,606 transaction sides in 2020. Trendgraphix reports that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties is ranked #1 in home sales for the Greater Metro Atlanta area. Led by president and CEO Dan Forsman, the organization offers a full suite of real estate services including residential real estate, luxury real estate, new homes services, condo/ high-rise services, commercial real estate, corporate relocation, property management, mortgage lending, title and settlement services, home warranties and insurance. Equal Housing Opportunity. Visit http://www.BHHSGA.com.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. United States President Joe Biden is preparing to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide on April 24, the New York Times reported citing officials familiar with the internal debate.

The action would signal that the American commitment to human rights outweighs the risk of further fraying the U.S. alliance with Turkey, the New York Times reported. A U.S. official with knowledge of the administrations discussions said Mr. Biden had decided to issue the declaration, and others across the government and in foreign embassies said it was widely expected.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment to the NYT but noted that the administration would have more to say on the topic on [April 24].

Officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide was a campaign promise of Joe Biden when he was running for office. Bidens formal recognition would make him the first sitting US President to do so, although President Ronald Reagan made a reference to the Armenian Genocide in a 1981 statement about the Holocaust. "Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it  and like too many other such persecutions of too many other peoples  the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten  the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan had said in a written statement on April 22, 1981.

News about Bidens potential recognition of the Armenian Genocide made global headlines.

CNN reported: President Joe Biden is preparing to declare the massacre of an estimated million or more Armenians under the Ottoman Empire a "genocide" this week, risking a potential fracture with Turkey but fulfilling a campaign pledge to finally use the word as President to describe the mass killings after a series of his predecessors stopped short.

As a candidate for US President, Biden had said that if he were elected, "I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority for my administration."

Biden is likely going to use the word "genocide" as part of a statement on April 24 when annual commemorations for the victims are held around the world, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan
You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa at this link, or on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Google, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | April 22, 2021

A Philadelphia man has plead guilty to smuggling over $200,000 worth of firearms to Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. 16 state legislators have formed a bipartisan group to break free of ineffectiveness brought on by party lines. Lehigh University has joined the ranks of colleges requiring COVID-19 vaccinations. Plus, Philadelphia is undergoing the invasion of the fig buttercup.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa, a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa, consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.
Human remains found during a search Wednesday are that of the missing Amish teenager who disappeared in Pennsylvania last summer, officials believe.

Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, was last seen walking home from a church service in the Bird-in-Hand area of Lancaster on on June 21 last year. She never returned home.

In December last year Justo Smoker, 34, was charged with criminal homicide. Officials said then that the suspect's DNA was discovered on the victim's stocking, which had been found buried in the woods alongside her bra.

Lancaster County DA Heather Adams said Thursday they now believe Stoltzfoos was killed within hours of her kidnap and initially buried at that location before her body was moved to where it was found Wednesday.

The remains were found buried more than three feet down and wrapped in a tarp behind Dutchland Incorporated, the former workplace of Smoker in a rural area in the eastern part of Lancaster County, she said.

A a dress, bonnet and shoes matching what Linda was last seen in were also found. Prosecutors noted that Wednesday marked exactly 10 months since Stoltzfoos disappeared.

Speaking about the find, Stoltzfoos's uncle told CBS 21 Wednesday: 'I'm still in shock and never ready for news like this.'

The county coroner's office will now make a formal identification and determine the cause and manner of death, prosecutors said.

Linda Stoltzfoos, 18, was last walking home from church in the Bird-in-Hand area of Lancasteron June 21 last year

Lancaster County DA Heather Adams said Thursday they now believe the remains of missing Stoltzfoos have been found after a body was discovered Wednesday

The remains were found buried more than three feet down and wrapped in a tarp behind Dutchland Incorporated, the former workplace of Smoker in a rural area in the eastern part of Lancaster County, the DA said

Justo Smoker, 34, was charged with homicide in December

DA Adams said the surrounding area where the remains were found Wednesday had been already been searched by police.

She did not comment on what led to the discovery Wednesday.

Adams told reporters: 'While the coroner's office has not yet made a positive forensic identification, based on all of the information currently known and available to us, we strongly believe and are comfortable saying, that the remains are those of 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos.'

An autopsy is planned for Friday.

Local resident Debbie Matteoda said: 'For the family I feel terrible because they keep all this hope all this time that maybe she will show up, but then again it's a closure.'

'Its sad,' said Krista Hanna. 'I hope that the family feels peace a little bit and the search is over and they know now what happened.'

Last month, a county judge ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a homicide trial against Smoker, 35, of Paradise, in the disappearance of Stoltzfoos.

Time of Linda's disappearance June 21, 2020: Linda fails to return home from church June 22: She is reported missing July 11: Justo Smoker, 34, of Paradise Township, is charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment December 21: Smoker is charged with criminal homicide March 5, 2021: Judge rules there is enough evidence to charge Smoker with killing the teen April 21: Human remains are found April 22: Lancaster County DA Heather Adams says officials are confident the remains are that of Linda Advertisement

Prosecutors have said friends and family report that Stoltzfoos was happy with her life and had never expressed any desire to leave. In fact, they say, she had made plans to join others in a church youth group that day.

Smoker was initially charged with felony kidnapping and misdemeanor false imprisonment.

But in December, he was charged with homicide, with prosecutors alleging that the passing of time, along with the complete cessation of all routine activities led to the inevitable conclusion that Linda was deceased and that Smoker caused her death.

Adams said then: 'Smoker's conduct on and around the time of Linda's kidnapping, along with physical evidence, supports the allegations that he kidnapped and murdered her.'

Stoltzfoos was reported missing on the evening of Father's Day by her father after she failed to return home from a youth group she had been set to attend. Investigators say Stoltzfoos never made it to the social gathering that night.

Surveillance footage observed by authorities captured Stoltzfoos walking alone on Beechdale Road, a route she typically took home after church. A red Kia Rio that matched Smoker's vehicle registration number was also seen in the footage.

In a rural location in Ronks where they believe the victim might have been taken and where the vehicle was seen parked June 23, authorities found items of Stoltzfoos' clothing buried in a wooded area, prosecutors said.

'Smoker became a person of interest in the kidnapping after police received information about a red/orange vehicle seen in the Gap area on the afternoon of the abduction,' the East Lampeter Township Police Department said in a press release in July last year.

'Multiple witnesses in the area reported seeing an Amish female in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by a male. Witness descriptions of the driver and vehicle are consistent with Smoker and his vehicle.'

The FBI offered a reward of $10,000 in July for information leading to her recovery.

Christopher Tallarico, the county's chief public defender, argued in March there was no proof that Stoltzfoos had ever gotten into Smoker's car, and he elicited testimony that her DNA wasn't found on samples taken from the car.

East Lampeter Township Detective Christopher Jones said DNA profiles recovered were insufficient to test.

Hundreds of volunteers showed up to search for Stoltzfoos, according to a Facebook page that details search efforts and includes photos and videos from the scene.

For hours, volunteers scoured fields and streams for Stoltzfoos. In the evening, 15 horses with riders were dispatched to help search for Stoltzfoos.

Surveillance footage observed by authorities captured Stoltzfoos walking alone on Beechdale Road, a route she typically took home after church. A red Kia Rio that matched Smoker's vehicle registration number was also seen in the footage

Smoker has an extensive criminal history stretching back to 2005 and has spent the majority of his adult life behind bars

Members of the tight-knight religious community held a vigil on Wednesday to pray for Stoltzfoos' return.

Smoker has an extensive criminal history stretching back to 2005 and has spent the majority of his adult life behind bars.

He had been a former high school wrestling all-star who had a 3.0 grade point average and earned a place on the Lancaster-Lebanon wrestling all-star team in 2003 before turning to a life of crime.

The 34-year-old was sentenced to serve 12-and-a-half years to 30 years in prison following a string of armed robberies in 2006.

Smoker pleaded guilty to the robberies, during which he and his brother, Victor, used a BB gun to rob four different businesses between Aug. 8 and Aug. 13, 2006.

During the trial, Smoker was revealed to have been adopted at age seven after he was found 'living on the street, just trying to survive', his defense attorney said.

'They raised me better than this,' Smoker told the judge of his adoptive parents. 'I'm sorry for what I did and the people I hurt, including my family.'

His adoptive father said Smoker had been 'trouble since we got him.'

The judge told Smoker at the 2007 hearing that he could have imposed a sentence that would have kept him in prison for twice as long, if not the rest of his life, Lancaster Online reported.

But, the judge said he issued a sentence that ensures 'society is protected, but that you could still come out and lead a reasonable life.'

Smoker ended up serving nearly the minimum on that sentence and was released on Feb. 28, 2019.

DA Adams said the surrounding area where the remains were found Wednesday had been already been searched by police. She did not comment on what led to the discovery

The remains were found buried and wrapped in a tarp behind the former workplace of Smoker in a rural area in the eastern part of Lancaster County, Adams said

The remains were recovered from a rural area in Lancaster County

Bird-in-Hand is known for its large Amish population, and tourists come to visit the Amish Village heritage museum.

Pennsylvania and Ohio have the highest concentration of Amish communities, with 50 Amish groups in each state.

The Pennsylvania Amish are known to be private people who believe that God has called them to a simple life of faith, discipline, dedication and humility.

Shunning technology, they believe that the Amish religion should be practiced, not displayed, and translated into daily living rather than focused on tangible symbols or complicated religious rituals.

Stoltzfoos' disappearance came a month after a 21-year-old US Air Force airman was arrested for allegedly killing Mennonite Sunday school teacher Sasha Krause, 27, in Arizona.

Both the Amish and Mennonites belong to the Anabaptist denomination of Christianity and dress in similar garb, but unlike the Amish, the Mennonites allow the use of some modern technological advances in their daily lives.
Should you still be wearing a mask outdoors? And how should you reorient your familys life once the adults have been vaccinated but the children have not yet been?

Those are two Covid-19 questions on many peoples minds, and The Times has just published two stories that address them, based on interviews with experts. A common theme is that its OK to start making some changes to your behavior and loosening up in careful ways  or at least to begin thinking about it.

A mask outdoors?

On the issue of outdoor mask wearing, it helps to review a basic fact: There are few if any documented cases of brief outdoor interactions leading to Covid transmission. If youre passing other people on a sidewalk or sitting near them on a park bench, the exposure of exhaled particles appears to be too small to lead to infection.

Viral particles quickly disperse in outdoor air, and the risk of inhaling aerosolized virus from a jogger or passers-by are negligible, my colleague Tara Parker-Pope writes, citing an interview she did with Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech. As Dr. Muge Cevik, an infectious-disease expert at the University of St. Andrews, says, outdoors is not where the infection and transmission occurs.
Several weeks following the publication of the large real-world Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness study by the Clalit Research Institute in Collaboration with Harvard University in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), additional results focusing on vaccine effectiveness in specific sub-populations have now been published.

While the original publication demonstrated the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine in the general population, outstanding questions remained regarding vaccine effectiveness in specific sub-populations of interest, including the elderly, multi-morbid individuals, and individuals with specific prevalent chronic conditions.

The new study also took place in Israel and evaluated data on approximately 1,400,000 Clalit members, with extended follow-up time compared to the previous study, and additional subpopulations. The advanced methodologies employed meticulous individual matching techniques to enable an as-clean-as-possible analysis of vaccine effectiveness, comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated (control) individuals. The increased sample size and increased follow up time enabled the assessment of vaccine effectiveness in additional sub-populations, which the original vaccine effectiveness study was unable to assess.

The results of the new study make clear that the vaccine is exceedingly effective, with 96% of symptomatic cases and 95% of severe cases prevented (compared with point estimates of 94% and 92% in the previous study). The results also demonstrate that the vaccine is highly effective across all age ranges, with 92% effectiveness in preventing symptomatic disease in individuals 70 years and older.

It is important to note that vaccine effectiveness in prevention of symptomatic disease is slightly lower amongst the multi-morbid population of all ages (88% effective amongst individuals with three or more chronic illnesses or risk factors). Specifically, the effectiveness in preventing symptomatic illness varied in patients with different chronic illnesses: the vaccine was highly effective (96% and 93%) in overweight and obese patients, but slightly less effective in immunosuppressed individuals (84%), patients with heart disease (80%), chronic kidney disease (80%) and diabetes (86%). Effectiveness against severe disease was generally higher.

According to Professor Ran Balicer, Chief Innovation Officer for Clalit and Director of the Clalit Research Institute, "This publication is a direct continuation of the large study published in the New England Journal of Medicine several weeks ago. The updated results based on a larger population with extended follow-up period show that the vaccine is even more effective than previously estimated, preventing 96% of cases and 95% of severe cases of covid-19 in all age groups - a 20 to 25-fold reduction of risk compared to the unvaccinated. Severe disease is dramatically reduced even among patients with some specific chronic conditions, but as suggested in the original study, this protection is mildly reduced among patients with several co-morbidities. These results are very encouraging, as they suggest that most COVID-19 cases will be prevented by vaccination even in the elderly and chronically ill, though there should be expected a somewhat higher rate of infection and severe illness in vaccinated individuals with several comorbidities or immune suppression, compared to the healthy fully vaccinated population.

The main conclusions as we see them: The study further supports the immediate need to vaccinate at any eligible age and especially among those suffering from chronic conditions that are most vulnerable to covid-19 compilations if not vaccinated. But we also note that these chronically ill vaccinated patients should continue to practice caution in circumstances where a significant risk of infection exists, as they still have somewhat higher residual vulnerability after being vaccinated. We are relieved to note that the risk for such circumstances has been consistently falling in Israel over the last few months, to unprecedented low rates of daily cases - a 50-fold decrease in cases to as low as 10 cases per million per day and less than 1 severe case per million per day - and the numbers are still dropping."

###

Study authors were: Noa Dagan, M.D., Noam Barda, M.D., Eldad Kepten, Ph.D., Oren Miron, M.A., Shay Perchik, M.A., Mark A. Katz, M.D., Miguel A. Hernan, M.D., Marc Lipsitch, D.Phil., Ben Reis, Ph.D., and Ran D. Balicer, M.D.

The study was the result of a collaborative effort by Clalit Research Institute in Israel, Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital.
Manitobas COVID-19 immunization program hit a milestone Wednesday: more than a half-million vaccine doses have been delivered to the province since December.

Manitobas COVID-19 immunization program hit a milestone Wednesday: more than a half-million vaccine doses have been delivered to the province since December.

Unfortunately, 157,521 of those remain in storage fridges or freezers.

By national standards, Manitobas immunization program has faltered. The province has administered a smaller portion of doses received than most jurisdictions in Canada. At least 100,000 doses of that Manitoba stockpile should already be in the arms of residents.

There are a number of reasons why that hasnt happened.

Poor supply management decisions were made early on that resulted in bottlenecks in the system.

CP Of the 521,910 doses received by the province, 84,100 were AstraZeneca vaccines.(Robert Michael/dpa via AP, file)

Pop-up clinics and focused immunization teams were created to ensure people in rural areas and congregate settings could be immunized. However, the province rationed doses through those channels, even though it had the supply to do more. Those outlets also scaled down operations on weekends; some took Sundays off altogether.

Of the 521,910 doses received, 84,100 were AstraZeneca vaccines, which were distributed to pharmacies and medical clinics.

There were no timelines established to determine when doses would be administered.

Some supply was given to clinics that didnt have the capacity to dole out more than a handful a day. Others could have done more, but ran out of supply. Many couldnt get rid of their inventory because the province waited until this week to expand eligibility to include all people over 40 age. Prior to Monday, there were still more than 56,000 AstraZeneca doses sitting in fridges.

In stock Click to Expand COVID-19 vaccine doses received in Manitoba, but not administered: April 10: 136,395 April 11: 130,325 April 12: 124,827 April 13: 118,318 April 14: 156,249 April 15: 178,234 April 16: 168,980 April 17: 158,295 April 18: 150,672 April 19: 144,884 April 20: 135,833 April 21: 157,521  Manitoba government vaccine online dashboard

Pharmacies and medical clinics have been driving down inventory since the changes. Its one of the reasons the province reported nearly 14,000 more doses were administered Tuesday. Still, all AstraZeneca supply should have been in arms two weeks ago.

Even super sites have not administered doses as quickly as they could have. Vaccine task force officials acknowledged that last week, when they announced a planned reduction of inventory amounts closer to zero.

Manitoba's wrong turns cant be straightened out overnight. Vaccine shipments already delivered to third parties are spoken for and can only be administered as fast as providers can fit them into their schedules.

The key now is to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

The goods news is Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine deliveries are expected to double in May and June, according to the federal government. That will more than offset the late and reduced deliveries by Moderna.

Manitoba will have enough from Pfizer alone to administer more than 10,000 doses a day, beginning the first week of May.

So far, that's not reflected in the provinces immunization schedule. According to projections released Wednesday, it is planning to administer far fewer than 10,000/day the first week of May. It appears it is still planning for a slow distribution.

The province has already missed its targets to immunize Manitobans ages 60 to 69. Manitoba was supposed to have first shots in 70 per cent of people in that age group by April 15.

Nearly a week later, the province is still nowhere near that target, having only reached 46 per cent as of Wednesday. Government is so far off the mark, it stopped publishing age-based targets in its weekly vaccination reports.

Manitoba would not have averted a third wave with a speedier vaccine rollout, but it would have softened the blow.

Every individual that is immunized helps disrupt the transmission chain. Scientists are still unsure how well COVID-19 vaccines prevent or reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, but there is emerging evidence it has some impact.

If Manitoba had 100,000 more adults immunized today (which it could have under current supply) it would have protected more of the population and helped reduce the spread of the virus.

By not doing so, Manitoba is in a weaker position to fight a third wave.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca
Henry Ford Cancer Institute has received a $250,000 grant from Pfizer Global Medical Grants and the American Cancer Society to reduce prostate cancer disparities among Black men. While all men are at risk for prostate cancer, Black men are at an increased risk for developing and dying from prostate cancer.

Black men tend to develop prostate cancer at a younger age, have more advanced disease when diagnosed, and are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer versus men of other races and ethnicitie. These disparities are complex and multifactorial, with contributing factors that range from access to care, to genetics, environment, lifestyle and more. With the support of Pfizer and the American Cancer Society, in addition to our experience serving the diverse communities of Detroit and Southeast Michigan, we are uniquely positioned at Henry Ford to reduce these disparities with the goal of one day eliminating them altogether." Eleanor M. Walker, M.D., director of Breast Radiation Oncology and medical director of Integrative Services at Henry Ford Cancer Institute

In a highly competitive process, each grant applicant was asked to provide solutions to local problems across the cancer continuum. Pfizer and ACS also awarded grants to health systems in Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, with Henry Ford Health System being the sole recipient in Michigan.

"Addressing prostate cancer disparities is critical to the mission of promoting health equity in Detroit and Southeast Michigan. We look forward to following the success of this project as it identifies the factors that contribute to these disparities and develops effective ways to reduce or eliminate them," said Kathleen Goss, Ph.D., vice president of Cancer Control in the North Central Region for the American Cancer Society.

Recently, Henry Ford launched a project aimed at dramatically improving representation of the Black community and other minorities in cancer clinical trials. Funded by a grant from Genentech and known as the Participatory Action for Access to Clinical Trials (PAACT) project, this community-based research initiative is a collaboration with the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (Detroit URC) that will address various barriers to trust and participation in clinical trials. Dr. Walker, who serves as co-investigator of the PAACT project, believes these initiatives will advance the health system's efforts to address cancer disparities within the Black and other minority communities, and in doing so, create greater equity in healthcare.

Depending upon the stage, prostate cancer may be treated with active surveillance, surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy. Henry Ford Health System is a national leader in minimally-invasive robotic surgery for prostate cancer and performed some of the first robotic prostate surgeries in the country. Since 2001, Henry Ford has used robot-assisted techniques to improve outcomes for people with prostate and other forms of cancer. Minimally invasive robotic procedures are often more effective and result in fewer complications, allowing patients to recover more quickly after surgery.
[April 22, 2021] Media Advisory: 2021 STEM Signing Day Presented by Boeing, Powered by Tallo

Boeing (News - Alert) and Tallo will host 2021 STEM Signing Day nationwide to recognize and celebrate high school seniors who are choosing to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) degrees through technical programs and two- and four-year colleges and universities. More than 600 students will be honored across the country. The event will feature keynote remarks from speakers including Dave Calhoun, President and CEO of The Boeing Company; and Sydney Hamilton, Boeing Structures Stress Engineering Manager; and will be led by Shea Tighe, Vice President of Engagement at Tallo. Students will sign a letter of intent to pursue a STEM degree and hear from Boeing executives. Media interested in viewing the ceremony can tune in to the livestream by using the links below. WHAT: 2021 STEM Signing Day presented by Boeing, Powered by Tallo WHEN: Thursday, April 29, 2021, 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET. WHERE: Virtually, via livestream, and with local break-out events in the following regions: Alabama

Arizona

California (Los Angeles)

Delaware & Pennsylvania

Florida

Missouri

New Mexico

Oklahoma

Potomac Region

South Carolina

Texas

Utah

Washington



RSVP: National and local media looking to cover the event should contact Joanne Johnson at jjohnson@tallo.com by April 28 and for additional details on regional breakout sessions.

"At Boeing, we're working to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have access to learning so that they can develop their skills, fulfill their dreams and help build the future," said Cheri Carter, Vice President of Boeing Global Engagement. "On behalf of Boeing employees everywhere, we congratulate these 600 exceptional students as they commit to a future in STEM." "Over the past year, the entire globe has recognized just how vital STEM fields are to the success of our society," said Casey Welch, CEO of Tallo. "We are honored to join Boeing as they celebrate the nation's brightest students and inspire a new generation of scientists, tech experts, engineers and mathematicians." For additional details visit tallo.com/stemsigningday or contact jjohnson@tallo.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005377/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Photo: The Canadian Press People gather outside the municipal building after at least one Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputy shot and killed a Black man while executing a search warrant, the sheriff's office said, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, in Elizabeth City, N.C. The deputy was wearing an active body camera at the time of the shooting, said Sheriff Tommy Wooten II, who declined to say how many shots the deputy fired or release any other details, citing a pending review by the State Bureau of Investigation.

A North Carolina deputy shot and killed a Black man while serving a search warrant Wednesday, authorities said, spurring an outcry from community members who demanded law enforcement accountability and the immediate release of body camera footage.

Authorities wouldn't provide details of the shooting but an eyewitness said that Andrew Brown Jr. was shot while trying to drive away, and that deputies fired at him multiple times. The car skidded out of Brown's yard and eventually hit a tree, said Demetria Williams, who lives on the same street.

Williams said after hearing one gunshot, she ran outside, where she saw other shots being fired at the car.

When they opened the door he was already dead," Williams told The Associated Press. He was slumped over. She said officers tried to perform chest compressions on him.

A car authorities removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and a broken rear windshield.

The Pasquotank County Sheriffs deputy was placed on leave pending a review by the State Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff Tommy Wooten II said at a news conference. Court records show Brown was 42 years old and had a history of drug charges and a misdemeanour drug possession conviction.

Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting in Elizabeth City, a municipality of about 18,000 people 170 miles (274 km) northeast of Raleigh, where they expressed their anger and rallied around Browns family members. A large crowd later stood outside City Hall while the City Council held an emergency meeting, some holding signs proclaiming Black Lives Matter and Stop killing unarmed Black Men. As the evening wore on, a group gathered in the parking lot of the sheriffs office and a crowd that grew to more than 200 blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare of the city, forcing cars to turn around.

The police didnt have to shoot my baby, said Martha McCullen, an aunt of Brown who said she raised him after his parents died. McCullen stood on the stoop of Browns rental home, her eyes moist with emotion.

Andrew Brown was a good person," she said. "He was about to get his kids back. He was a good father. Now his kids wont never see him again.

Wooten said the deputy shot Brown about 8:30 a.m. The deputy was wearing an active body camera at the time of the shooting, said the sheriff, who declined to identify the officer or say how many shots he fired, citing a pending review by the State Bureau of Investigation. Wooten also did not say what the warrant was for.

Williams, the eyewitness who also was among those demonstrating outside City Hall on Wednesday evening, said Brown, who was known by neighbours as Drew, wasnt a violent person.

I didnt believe that (officers) really did that because he wasnt a threat to them. He was driving off even though he was trying to get away, Williams said.

During the emergency meeting, Black members of the City Council spoke emotionally about the fears of their community amid multiple police shootings across the country and implored investigators to remain transparent.

Im afraid as a Black man, an emotional Councilman Gabriel Adkins told his colleagues. Im afraid that I may be the next one that my family might have to see on the news that I was gunned down.

Adkins said businesses in the neighbourhood of the shooting had begun boarding up their windows in anticipation of violence.

Not only do we need transparency ... we need accountability, said City Councilman Darius Horton, who called for the immediate release of bodycam footage, the search warrant and a speedy explanation of what led to the shooting. We need answers. ... Lets not hide behind anything.

Others councillors urged the community to remain calm until all of the facts about the shooting are known.

Browns grandmother, Lydia Brown, and his aunt Clarissa Brown Gibson told The Associated Press that they learned about his death through a TV news report. Both said they want the shooting thoroughly investigated.

I am very upset. Andrew was a good person, Lydia Brown said. The deputy didnt have to shoot him like that.

Clarissa Brown Gibson said: We want to know if he was served with a warrant, why the shooting over a warrant?

Among those who gathered at the scene of the shooting was Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP.

When is it going to stop? We just got a verdict yesterday, Rivers said in a phone interview, referring to the guilty verdicts handed down Tuesday in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We have to start holding the people in charge accountable.

The State Bureau of Investigation will turn the findings of its review over to District Attorney Andrew Womble, who pledged a thorough and deliberate inquiry.

What we are looking for at this time will be accurate answers and not fast answers, Womble told a news conference. "Were going to wait for the full and complete investigation ... and well review that and make any determinations that we deem appropriate at that time. This will not be a rush to judgment.
China will improve the implementation of the system for the regular transfer of direct fiscal funds to further benefit businesses and the public, according to a State Council executive meeting.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, also passed a draft regulation on the country's land management.

The system of direct fiscal fund allocation, which has become a regular practice this year, is a major macro-control innovation, according to the meeting.

A total of 1.7 trillion yuan (about 261.35 billion U.S. dollars) of fiscal funds were directly channeled to local governments last year to stabilize the economy. Some 2.8 trillion yuan will be transferred under the same mechanism in 2021.

The central government has so far transferred 2.6 trillion yuan of these funds to local governments this year, of which more than 2.2 trillion yuan has arrived at fund users.

The directly allocated fiscal funds will mainly support employment, people's well-being, and the market, said the meeting, calling for pooling more funds for compulsory education, basic medicare, basic housing, and farmland irrigation and water conservancy.

It also urged local governments to ensure the allocation and use of the direct funds, the implementation of relevant policies, and fund monitoring improvements.

The draft regulation on land management has stressed the management and protection of permanent basic farmland and specified land expropriation procedures.

While protecting the farmers' reasonable demand for homesteads, the draft regulation has also strengthened supervision and punishment on irregularities concerning land.
(Natural News) The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has changed course and decided to issue a safety warning concerning the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injection from Johnson & Johnson (J&J), which has been linked to deadly blood clots.

The group had formerly claimed that the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab, which also causes deadly blood clots, is far more beneficial than it is dangerous. Now, the EMA is backtracking a bit as it concerns the J&J jab, which is likewise dangerous for the very same reason.

Even though the risk of developing deadly blood clots post-injection is said to be very rare, enough people are dying that the government can no longer ignore the issue or try to sweep it under the rug. Instead, health authorities will quietly label the injections as dangerous and hope people still agree to get them.

The EMA is not, however, planning to put the same warning label on the AstraZeneca jab, probably because that one is made in Europe and the J&J one is made in the United States.

The EMAs safety committee, known as PRAC, determined that blood clots caused by the vaccine occur at unusual sites such as in the veins of the brain (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, CVST) and in the abdomen (splanchnic vein thrombosis), as well as in the arteries. These blood clots are typically accompanied by low levels of blood platelets and occasional bleeding.

The committee found that these deadly adverse effects are similar to the ones that occur post-injection with the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab. But again, that one is not being restricted because Europe is relying on it to get most people on the continent injected.

Coronavirus injection blood clots are likely an autoimmune response

In a statement, the committee warned that healthcare professionals and others who receive the injection should be aware of the possibility of very rare cases of blood clots combined with low levels of blood platelets occurring within three weeks of vaccination.

A top official from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a similar statement last week during a press conference, linking the J&J injection to the phenomenon of deadly blood clots.

According to PRAC, the deadly blood clots are more than likely the result of an injected persons body triggering an autoimmune response. This response mirrors the reaction often seen in patients treated with the pharmaceutical drug heparin, a blood-thinning agent.

Concerns about the AstraZeneca-Oxford injection causing deadly blood clots resulted in U.S. authorities halting the companys phase-three trial for more than a month.

Many now believe that the blood clot problem with both the AstraZeneca-Oxford jab and the J&J jab has to do with the fact that both of them are built upon an adenovirus platform. It is important to note, however, that even more deadly blood clots are occurring in people who receive the Chinese virus injections from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, both of which are built upon a messenger RNA (mRNA) platform.

PRAC has indicated that it will soon make further recommendations concerning the safety of the J&J injection once it finishes accelerating its safety review. In the meantime, the J&J jab here in the United States will stay on hold.

More and more cracks are appearing in the facade of the Great Reset as every article is now about faulty vaccines and infighting among regulatory agencies, wrote one commenter at Zero Hedge.

But no warning on the mRNA vaccines that are much more deadly, commented another about the mysterious absence of regulatory concern about these jabs. Strange.

To keep up with the latest news about injuries and deaths caused by Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections, be sure to check out ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com
The West Springfield Drive-In at The Big E opens this weekend with an old-fashioned double feature Godzilla vs. Kong at 7:45 p.m. and Mortal Kombat at approximately 10 p.m.

The two movies, one reviving a classic monster battle and the other reliving an old-school video game, will be played on Friday and Saturday, according to The Big E.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

The cost is $30 per vehicle for double features, $27 for single features available at www.wsdrivein.com. There is a $6 extra charge per passenger for vehicles with more than six people. Tickets purchased at the gate are $33 for double features and $30 for single features per car. Motorcycles are $27.

The Big E partnered with a promoter E.J. Dean, president of FestEvents of New Hampshire. Dean has already established drive-in theaters at fairgrounds in Marshfield and Topsfield.

FestEvents is expanding with additional screens at those two fairgrounds in addition to the West Springfield location. Dean said hes talking with possible venues in southern New Hampshire and at least one other Massachusetts location.

The drive-in is the latest in a series of special events like drive-thru food truck days, to-go sales of its famous cream puffs and lifetime-pass golden tickets the Eastern States Exposition is hosting to keep its profile high and to bring in revenue while other events are shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic has given new life to the drive-in movies. The Northfield Drive-In, under new ownership, had a big year in 2020.

At The Big E, there will be two 45-by-60-foot screens, with each screen able to accommodate as many as 300 cars. Film sound will come through car radios.

The two screens will be just inside Gate 9, the parking area on the eastern edge of the fairgrounds near the Mallary Complex.

The drive-in will be open on weekends through the springtime and then seven days per week during the summer season through Labor Day. Movies will begin at a time consistent with sunset.

Concession stands will feature popcorn and popular fair foods such as fried dough, fried Oreos, and cotton candy, as well as cheeseburgers, French fries, chicken fingers and pizza.

Patrons will enter through the Expositions Gate 9 off Memorial Avenue. (Use the address 875 Memorial Avenue to lock it in on GPS.)

The plan is to host movies all year, except for a break in fall during the Big E.

West Springfield once had two drive-in theaters. The Memorial Drive-In was on Memorial Avenue next to the very parking lot where The Big E will set up its drive-in. The site is now the shopping plaza with Price Rite.

The Riverdale Drive-In was across town where the Riverdale Plaza Shops now are. The Memorial Drive-In closed in 1976, and the Riverdale Drive-In lasted until 1986.

Related content:
A national disability rights organization this week filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Corrections for requiring prisoners to pay for their own prosthetic limbs and other equipment required for their disabilities.

The lawsuit by Disability Rights Advocates alleges Oregon discriminated against incarcerated men and women with disabilities by requiring them to pick up costs of necessary medical devices, such as hearing aids and batteries, dentures, artificial limbs and eyes. The practice, according to the lawsuit, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Torie Atkinson, an attorney with Disability Rights Advocates, said she is unaware of other states that require prisoners to pick up those costs.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, also alleges the state denies access to the equipment if the person cannot afford it.

Jennifer Black, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, declined to comment on pending litigation.

The suit suggests up to 1,000 prisoners may be paying for their own medical equipment; Black said she didnt have that figure immediately.

A plaintiff in the case, Donald Terrill, 50, has a leg prosthesis that he pays for monthly, according to the organization.

So far, Terrill, who is serving a 23-year sentence for first-degree sexual abuse out of Clackamas County, has paid $10,675 toward the cost but owes another $14,415, according to the suit.

Because I am being charged for my prosthesis, I cannot buy much beyond toothpaste and deodorant, or save up for shoes, Terrill said in a statement issued by the organization. I must choose between calling my family and buying essentials.

The group says the state charges only people who need such equipment on a long-term basis.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
London, England--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Net Savings Link, Inc. (OTC Pink: NSAV), a cryptocurrency, blockchain and digital asset technology company, today announced that it has acquired a significant stake in New York City based Rideshare Platform, Rydehails LLC, marking the Company's official entrance into the $75 billion Rideshare market. Rydehails' Blockchain-Driven Payment Platform aims to revolutionize the ground transportation industry. With Rydehails, drivers can earn up to 35% more than their counterparts at Uber and Lyft. Rydehails uses smart technology to provide a customizable platform for each of its users, creating a network of businesses and service providers accessible to other businesses and customers. The Rydehails platform will have a digital wallet using NSAV's STUX token as its cryptocurrency of choice, providing customers a more secure and efficient way to do business, with the opportunity for global access as the platform grows.

According to McKinsey research, rideshare providers have only tapped in to 29% of their potential market in the U.S. The ridesharing market in the U.S. has already exceeded $34 billion and $8 billion in New York City alone. Rydehails will have direct access to 60% of this market within 12 months and currently has access to over 120,000 New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) licensed drivers. The management of NSAV believes that this acquisition will be a major step in fulfilling the Company's ambition of being a leading player in the multi-billion dollar, blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital asset arenas. Under the terms of the agreement, NSAV has acquired a 20% shareholding in Rydehails and has an exclusive option to acquire an additional 10% stake.

The Rydehails Blockchain-Driven Platform offers an all-inclusive source for customers seeking a range of delivery services from: food delivery, standard passenger pickup, concierge service, wheelchair access and non-emergency medical transport, freight delivery, government long-term contracts, logistics and specialized transportation. Users on the platform can schedule customizable delivery and pickup trips as they do business within the platforms network. Privacy and protection, with lower transaction and trip fees, means a lower cost for goods and services for users purchasing through the Rydehails platform. The platform also allows registered users and drivers to manage their finances, process tax paperwork with registered tax agents, pay bills and send money to family abroad.

Silverbear Capital (SBC) acted as a consultant on the transaction and provided management advisory services.

SBC has a dynamic of disciplines on a broad commercial level and practice. SBC has a strong group of partners in a wide range of disciplines with seasoned experience in finance, management, and professional practice.

The management of Rydehails released the following statement, "The Rydehails team would like to thank NSAV and Silverbear Capital for facilitating this partnership. This is the beginning of a new frontier for the ground transportation and professional driving community. Our objective at Rydehails, has always been to form relationships that maximize our impact in changing the status quo within local communities that can easily translate on a global scale as we grow. We anticipate our future launch and working alongside NSAV and VirtuaBroker, to present a platform that ultimately provides jobs, promotes business and gives our users greater financial control. Silverbear Capital is truly, professional and we appreciate all of the hard work they have put in."

James Tilton, president of NSAV stated, "We are pleased to be able to announce the acquisition of such a significant stake in Rydehails, along with the option to acquire an even more significant stake. This acquisition, coming on the heels of the recently completed VirtuaBroker transaction, proves to our loyal NSAV shareholders and the global markets, that we are a force to be reckoned with in the cryptocurrency, blockchain and digital asset sectors. I can assure all our loyal NSAV shareholders that we are already working on further acquisitions, strategic investments and partnerships and that the best is yet to come. I would like to thank our newest partners at Rydehails and of course, the amazing team at Silverbear Capital, for making this deal possible."

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the cryptocurrency, blockchain and digital asset industries. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services and information technology.

For further information please contact NSAV at info@nsavholdinginc.com.

The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/nsavtech.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Net Savings Link, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Net Savings Link, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Net Savings Link, Inc. or any other person.

Contact

Net Savings Link, Inc.

info@nsavholdinginc.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81377
WARSAW, Poland, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Three out of four Polish consumers regard sustainability as an important factor influencing their purchasing decisions, the latest report by Vogue Polska and the Warsaw office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found. In practice, however, such preferences do not necessarily translate into concrete individual actions. Although as many as two-thirds of those surveyed expressed a willingness to pay more for sustainable products, the report found that a 20% increase in price reduced initial demand for sustainable apparel by up to 62%.

Consumers' Adaptation to Sustainability in Fashion

Key data:

Approximately 5% of global carbon emissions are generated by the fashion industry.

75% of Polish consumers perceive sustainability as an important purchasing factor.

25% are indifferent to or skeptical about sustainable fashion.

61% say they have limited their use of single-use packaging.

59% claim to support companies that act in a sustainable manner.

40% claim to buy sustainable apparel.

38% say they intend to buy more secondhand clothes after the pandemic.

66% claim to be willing to pay more for eco-friendly and ethically produced apparel items.

Up to 26% would choose an unsustainable option over a sustainable one even at the same price.

A 20% increase in price reduces initial demand for sustainable apparel by up to 62%.

20% to 30% of Polish consumers report difficulty in defining what sustainability means.

On the Verge of Catastrophe

The threat of a climate catastrophe is imminent, and we are running out of time to stop it. "If we continue on the current climate trajectory, we may soon face catastrophic and irreversible changes. By 2050, more than 570 cities could be at risk from a 0.5-meter rise in global sea level, and adverse environmental conditions could displace 250 million people," warns Oktawian Zajac, managing director and partner in the Warsaw office of BCG.

Not only individual companies, but entire sectors of the fashion industry are growing more aware of the seriousness of the situation.

"The fashion industry is a major contributor to the world's looming climate catastrophe, accounting for 5% of global carbon emissions and nearly 20% of wastewater," notes Kasia Jordan-Kulczyk, chairwoman of Vogue Polska. "However, these numbers have started to change in recent years, mainly due to pressure from international organizations, the media, and the public."

Hope Lies in the Consumer

Consumers are the key driver pushing the industry to assume greater responsibility for its environmental impact. Accordingly, BCG and Vogue Polska decided to focus on them in their new report, "Consumers' Adaptation to Sustainability in Fashion." It will be the first publication in Poland and one of the first in the world to address consumer price sensitivity in the fashion industry in the context of sustainability.

According to the report, 75% of Polish consumers regard sustainability as an important everyday factor that increasingly influences their daily habits. Among survey respondents, 61% declare that they have reduced their use of single-use packaging, 43% claim to use alternative means of transport such as bikes and public transport, and 31% say that they have reduced their consumption of meat.

Nevertheless, one in four respondents remain indifferent to or skeptical about buying sustainable clothing in preference to nonsustainable garments. Of those who do not shop sustainably, 69% do not view eco-credentials as important factors in their purchasing decisions, and 42% have doubts about the ethical and environmental impact of brands. Others consider sustainable apparel to be either too limited in range relative to regular product lines (21%) or too expensive (20%).

Conscious FashionOpportunities and Challenges

Poles are growing more receptive to the idea of using garments longer or giving them a new life. Overall, 40% of consumers say that they buy ethical apparel, and up to 38% indicate a readiness to buy more secondhand clothes once the pandemic is over.

BCG's price elasticity of demand analysis shows that about two-thirds of Polish consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable apparel. Yet regardless of whether they were shopping online or offline, consumers lowered their initial demand for sustainable apparel by up to 62% in response to a 20% increase in price.

One of the most alarming results from the survey is the finding that up to 26% of consumers would not consider buying sustainable apparel even if it were priced the same as regular apparel. The main reason these consumers cite for their unwillingness to do so is concern about product quality.

Another worrisome finding involves the high percentage of consumers who do not understand what sustainability means. That figure, which ranges from 20% to 30%, signals a clear need for brands to intensify the educational activities that they have already undertaken.

Education as the Key to Change

Despite an increasing awareness that their purchasing choices affect the state of the planet, Polish consumers remain unsure about which products meet sustainability standards. For that reason, firms operating within the fashion industry should make consumer education a central component of their business strategy, according to the report.

The report's authors recommend a number of additional actions that companies should take to encourage more conscious shopping. These include expanding sustainable product offerings, addressing misperceptions about the quality of sustainable apparel through better communication, and rolling out such new business models as rent, reuse, and resell. At the same time, converting consumers' declared support for sustainability into real-world behavior is just one of the challenges that brands face. The starting point for each brand should be to transform its supply chains.

The report also contains comments by executives from an array of partner organizationsincluding Allegro, CCC, FARFETCH, Lenzing, LPP, Mandel, Pandora, TENCEL, and WWF Polandsharing their experience in implementing green strategies.

A copy of the report can be downloaded here.

For more information, please contact:

[email protected]

[email protected]

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Related Links

http://www.bcg.com


Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James responded to the backlash he received after he tweeted a photo of the police officer who fatally shot Ohio teenager MaKhia Bryant with the caption "you're next #accountability.

Mr James explained why he took down the tweet. Im so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isnt about one officer. its about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY, James said Wednesday evening.

Columbus police identified the officer who fired the shots that killed the 16-year-old girl as Nicholas Reardon. The shooting, which occurred on the same day as the verdict in George Floyds case was announced, has sparked protests and renewed calls for justice.

In another tweet, Mr James said: ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself! Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!

James had earlier responded to Derek Chauvin being found guilty with one word: Accountability.

Police have released the body camera footage of the shooting of the 16-year-old girl as well as the audio from two 911 calls. Interim Columbus police chief Michael Woods said the officers were responding to a 911 call from someone who reported an attempted stabbing.

The video showed officers approaching a driveway of the home they had been called to. There were several women in the driveway, and one of them, now identified as Bryant, had a knife in her hand and was charging towards another woman.

When the woman fell to the ground, the teenager could be seen turning towards another woman. A Reuters account said a slow motion replay showed the second woman against a car parked in the driveway, and Bryant raised the weapon as if to stab her. The officer then fired his weapon and four shots were heard in the video.

The police chief said the video was released within hours in the interest of "transparency."

The US president, Joe Biden, has been briefed about the fatal shooting and White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the it tragic.
Tears flow amid biblical cry for justice at Daunte Wrights funeral

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Katie and Aubrey Wright struggled through pain to find words inside the Shiloh Temple in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday to remember the life of their late 20-year-old son, Daunte, who was shot dead by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter less than two weeks ago.

I never imagined I would be standing here. The roles should completely be reversed. My son should be burying me, Katie told the crowd inside the church that included family attorney Ben Crump and civil rights leader Al Sharpton, who delivered Dauntes eulogy, along with Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Gov. Tim Walz.

When she became too overwhelmed with emotion to speak, her husband chimed in after watching her wrestle through several moments of muted weeping.

I dont really speak much, but words cant even explain how I feel right now. You know, that was my son, Aubrey said.

Katie later recalled how her son was a doting new dad who was looking forward to a happy life with his son who was born in 2019.

His son was born at 28 weeks along, so he was premature. The joy that junior brought to Dauntes life was truly amazing. He was so happy and so proud, and he always said he couldnt wait to make his son proud. Junior was the joy of his life and he lived for him every single day. And now hes not gonna be able to see him, she said.

While the family struggled to find words for their grief, the families of several other black victims of police killings such as Philando Castile, who was shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb in 2016, George Floyd and Eric Garner, who died during a 2014 encounter with officers from the New York City Police Department, were on hand to provide support and make a political statement about police reform.

In support of this justice message he called No Justice, No Peace, Sharpton quoted from the book of Isaiah 59:8-9 in the Bible which says: The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.

He explained how the phrase No Justice, No Peace emerged during protests over the 1986 death of 23-year-old black man Michael Griffith following a racial attack in the then predominantly white Howard Beach community in New York City.

It became the chant of our movement. Some of us have made it popular  but it really started in the Bible because Isaiah said that those that practice injustice cannot practice peace. The absence of justice is the absence of peace. And when we say that were not talking about violence because there is a confusion in the country between peace and quiet, he said.

Some of us are told to shut up and just be quiet and you call that peace. But peace is the presence of justice. You cant tell us to shut up and suffer. We must speak up when there is an injustice, Sharpton added.

He recalled that on his way to the funeral a man mentioned to him that he had not seen a funeral procession like Dauntes in Minneapolis since the passing of the musician Prince in 2016.

I said, Well, we came to bury the prince of Brooklyn Center. We come from all over the country because you hurt one of our princes. Thats why we are in this temple with purple all over cause it represents royalty. ... He was a prince and all of Minneapolis has stopped today to honor the prince of Brooklyn Center, he said to applause.

Sharpton said they was a need to upend the narrative that black men, in particular, are dangerous to law enforcement and highlighted the need to pass the "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act" which would overhaul policing and eliminate qualified immunity for all local, state and federal law enforcement officers. Qualified immunity shields police officers performing discretionary functions from civil liability.

You keep thinking that were somebody were not. They tell our young folks dont go to the streets and march when marching and protesting is a way of correcting the injustice Isaiah talked about. You cant go to church on Sunday and read this book that we call the Bible and not fight against oppression. God is not on the side of the oppressor. God is on the side of the oppressed, Sharpton said, adding that standing up against injustice helped bring about the recent guilty verdict for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. God has turned the page in the state of Minnesota and were never going back no more.

In his call for justice, Crump argued that if Potter was able to see Daunte in the same way she looks at her own child, it's likely he would still be alive today.

If she saw your child Katie, like she saw her child, then I do not think she would have even reached for a Taser much less a gun. Because when they see their children they see their future. They see the best and the brightest that they have to give the world for the future. They see the most talented and resourceful, most indomitable human beings when they see their children. I submit to you America, so do we when we see our children, Crump said.
Infinite Protection Ltd Infinite Protection takes its digital security services very seriously. After all, it only takes one click of a mouse to compromise an entire network and slam the brakes on the business operations.

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Infinite Protection's Digital and Physical Security Architect, Aaron Baker, has a firm understanding of the many threats that can devastate a business' reputation and profit margin. Baker served his community as a police officer for nearly six years before working with the Northwest Ohio Tech Crimes Unit for over two years. He continues to serve as an auxiliary officer, while handling the daily operations of Infinite Protection Ltd.

According to Baker, the birth of Infinite Protection is something he has worked towards for most of his law enforcement career. He says he was ready to enter the private sector and focus on what he specializes in - digital and physical security.

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Infinite Protection takes its digital security services very seriously. After all, it only takes one click of a mouse to compromise an entire network and slam the brakes on the business operations.

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Since the launch of Infinite Protection, Baker has been sharing his knowledge through free video webinars. According to Baker, the webinars are a crucial resource for businesses that are just simply unaware of the different forms of employee theft and the many cyber dangers that pose a threat that could shut a company down for good.

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President Biden will announce Thursday that the United States intends to cut planet-warming emissions nearly in half by the end of the decade, a target that would require Americans to transform the way they drive, heat their homes and manufacture goods.

The target, confirmed by three people briefed on the plan, is timed to a closely watched global summit meeting that Mr. Biden is hosting Thursday and Friday, which is aimed at sending a message that the United States is rejoining efforts to fight after four years of climate denial from the Trump administration.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on the U.S. target, which was first reported by The Washington Post.

The leaders of China, India and nearly 40 other countries are expected to join Mr. Biden virtually, and the United States hopes that the announcement of its new emissions goal will galvanize other nations to step up their own targets by the time nations gather again under United Nations auspices in November in Glasgow.

The new American goal nearly doubles the pledge that the Obama administration made to cut emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, although the country would have five more years to achieve it, according to the people familiar with the target who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. Formally known as a nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement the 2030 target will be a range that will aim to cut emissions around 50 percent from 2005 levels. It will not include detailed modeling showing how the United States proposes to meet its pledge, one administration official said.

The goal is largely in line with what environmental groups and big businesses including McDonalds, Target and Google have pushed for. They and argued that cutting emissions at least 50 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade is the only way to put the United States on a path to elimination of fossil fuel pollution by the middle of the century.

On Tuesday, Gina McCarthy, Mr. Bidens top adviser, hinted that the United States would set that ambitious goal.

I would argue that theres opportunities for us to be able to be very aggressive, and were going to take that opportunity, she said in an interview with N.P.R.

Nathan Hultman, director of the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland, and other energy experts described the 50 percent goal as attainable, but only with what Mr. Hultman described as pretty significant action across all sectors of the American economy.

The credibility of Mr. Bidens pledge rests on his ability to enact a series of aggressive new domestic policies designed to sharply reduce emissions, particularly from the nations two largest sources of greenhouse pollution, cars and power plants.

Ms. McCarthy is working with the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation Department to draft new regulations on smokestacks and automobile tailpipes, which could be made public by this summer.

But other countries remain skeptical of the durability of such rules, given their experience with the Trump administration. As head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Obama administration, Ms. McCarthy wrote similar rules, only to see them obliterated.

The most important part of anything that they do is to make sure that its durable, said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and affairs at Princeton University. We really need to show in some very tangible way that the particulars cant be reversed on a dime and we dont have that.

The administration is also trying to push a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package through Congress, which includes plans to spend heavily on projects like electric vehicle charging stations and expanding transmission lines for wind and solar electricity.

Many Democrats hope that the plan will include a mandate requiring power companies to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from wind and solar, inscribing into law a transition away from fossil fuels that could not be undone by a future president.

But the prospects for passage of that plan in Congress remain unclear. Some Republicans have offered tentative support for a compromise infrastructure bill that would include more traditional projects like highways and bridges but leave out the climate provisions.

That would give Mr. Biden a bipartisan victory on a major domestic policy but leave the United States without a permanent, irreversible climate law.
Biden admin. appeals ruling protecting religious hospitals from transgender surgery mandate

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The Biden administration is working to keep in place an Obamacare mandate that would require doctors and hospitals to perform gender transition surgeries even if doing so violates their religious beliefs as it continues to face scrutiny from the judicial branch.

Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, took to Twitter Tuesday to announce that the administration filed an appeal seeking to force religious doctors and hospitals to perform potentially harmful gender-transition procedures against their conscience and professional medical judgment.

#BREAKING: The Biden Admin just filed an appeal seeking to force religious doctors and hospitals to perform potentially harmful gender-transition procedures against their conscience and professional medical judgment. This is bad for patients, doctors, and religious liberty. 1/  Luke Goodrich (@LukeWGoodrich) April 20, 2021

He described the move as bad for patients, doctors, and religious liberty.

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs or activities.

The Obama administration believed that Section 1557 also prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and implemented a rule asserting that belief.

The rule quickly became the subject of several court challenges from religious organizations.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, suggesting that he sympathized with the Obama administrations view on the matter.

Goodrich explained the litigation surrounding the transgender mandate in a lengthy Twitter thread.

The Biden Admin says it can punish doctors and hospitals for sex discrimination unless they perform controversial gender-transition procedures. A court struck down this #TransgenderMandate in January  But the Biden Admin just appealed.

The administration appealed the ruling to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Eighth Circuit is the appellate court with jurisdiction over North Dakota, where the ruling striking down the mandate was issued earlier this year.

The appeal comes less than a week after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sent a challenge to the transgender mandate back to the district court level. As the judges noted in their ruling, HHS repealed the 2016 rule and finalized a new rule in 2020; the Supreme Court interpreted Title VIIs prohibition to include gender identity in Bostock v. Clayton County.

Applying Bostocks reasoning to Title IX, two district courts entered preliminary injunctions against the 2020 rule and purported to restore certain provisions of the 2016 rule at the center of this case; President Biden issued an executive order declaring that his administration would apply Bostocks interpretation of Title VII to other statutes prohibiting sex discrimination.

In 2019, federal judge Reed OConnor in Texas struck down the transgender mandate. Texas is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In addition to sharing the breaking news surrounding the Biden administrations move to appeal the Fifth Circuit decision, Goodrich illustrated how the Transgender Mandate not only threatens religious doctors and hospitals. According to Goodrich, It also threatens patients, as there is ample evidence certain gender transition procedures can be deeply harmful.

Multiple federal courts have reached the same conclusion, he continued. Goodrich cited a decision from the Fifth Circuit case Gibson v. Collier, which found that there is no medical consensus that sex reassignment surgery is a necessary or even effective treatment for gender dysphoria.

The Biden Admin shouldnt have appealed, he concluded. But we look forward to another ruling that protects patients, aligns with current medical research, and ensures doctors arent forced to violate their religious beliefs and professional medical judgment.

As the litigation surrounding the transgender mandate continues to make its way through the courts, conservatives and religious liberty advocates are expressing concern that legislation supported by congressional Democrats to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity would be interpreted to require doctors to perform gender transition surgeries regardless of any religious or medically based objections they may have.

The Equality Act, billed by congressional Democrats and the Biden administration as necessary to codify nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community into federal law, passed the U.S. House of Representatives but has stalled in the Senate because of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.

In a White House press briefing earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki indicated that the administration is not concerned about the Equality Acts implications for people of faith.

EWTN White House Correspondent Owen Jensen asked Psaki if Biden, a practicing Catholic, wanted to address concerns from Catholic institutions and doctors that the Equality Act has the potential to trample on their conscience rights. Psaki responded by maintaining that the president has a difference of opinion with those Catholics.
New Delhi:

Eating out in air-conditioned restaurants could get cheaper as a GST council panel formed to revisit the goods and services tax (GST) rates on certain items IS likely to bring the down the existant 18 percent rate to a flat 12 per cent on all AC restaurants. While this news could bring delight to those who are regulars at eating out, the govt could lose out on the benefit of input tax credit.

As per an exclusive report in leading national daily, air-conditioned restaurants currently charge 18 per cent GST and non-air-conditioned ones charge 12 per cent GST. Unifying the rate may mean giving up the ability to claim back taxes paid on inputs.

"It has been felt that the restaurants have not passed on the benefit of input tax credit to consumers," said a government official, who said the lower rate of 12 per cent may be extended to cover the entire sector. The GST Council had set up a panel to look into the matter.

The industry lobbied for a 12 per cent rate for all restaurants but with the benefit of input tax credit kept intact. Incidentally, restaurants with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1 crore can avail of the com ..

Representations were made to the panel about restaurants not passing on the benefit of input tax credit while levying 18 per cent GST, the official said. After the imposition of GST on July 1, taxes on such services rose to 18 per cent from 15 per cent but the rationale was that input tax credit would neutralise the increase.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of leading public and private cancer-focused organizations today announced a Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) consortium to evaluate new technologies that have the potential to reduce cancer mortality by enabling earlier detection of cancer before it has spread, when treatment is potentially curative.

The consortium will evaluate the clinical and public health value of MCED tests in earlier cancer detection and treatment and establish standards for their use in routine medical care. Over 35 organizations have contributed to the formation of the consortium, including initial founding members Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) ; the Cancer Support Community ; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. ; Friends of Cancer Research ; GRAIL, Inc .; Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University ; Milken Institute ; Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Stand Up To Cancer; and Thrive, an Exact Sciences Company.

MCED is an emerging set of technologies that, when added to existing single cancer screening, provides an opportunity to identify a broad range of cancers earlier in the course of disease. With the use of a simple blood draw, urine, saliva, or stool sample test, MCED technology enables clinicians to rapidly screen for multiple types of cancer at once, potentially catching and treating them earlier.

"Multi-cancer early detection represents a paradigm shift in how cancers will be diagnosed and treated in the future," said Brian Druker, MD, director of the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, and a founding member of the MCED forum. "By bringing together this group of experts from across the cancer research, clinical, and patient advocacy landscapes, we intend to evaluate evidence and establish standards for the emerging field of MCED that can guide physicians in adopting the technology in clinical practice. Ultimately, we are united in our mission to evaluate how MCED may benefit patients by identifying their cancer at earlier stages, when they can be more effectively treated."

"We are very excited to help found the MCED consortium," said Kim Thiboldeaux, executive chair of the Cancer Support Community. "As a global non-profit supporting patients with cancer and their families, an important part of our mission is to ensure that our patient community is supported by knowledge about innovations in the latest cancer research and technology. We look forward to collaborating with others in the cancer research community to identify how MCED can best be applied to help patients."

"The great promise of MCED is that it will enable clinicians to transition from screening select groups for a few cancers, to screening individuals for many cancers," said Howard A. "Skip" Burris, III, MD, president of clinical operations and chief medical officer at Sarah Cannon Research Institute. "With the introduction of these innovations, this consortium will be a body to review data and provide guidance on the clinical introduction of MCED into routine medical care. We look forward to working together to establish standards for this important new field and welcoming additional members to our group in the months to come."

About the Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Consortium

The Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) consortium will aim to evaluate emerging data and establish standards in the field by defining the clinical and public health value of the technology and providing guidance for its use in a clinical setting. The consortium will launch with a steering committee tasked with further defining the consortium's structure, laying the groundwork for an inclusive membership, and establishing a long-term institutional structure. The consortium's initial founding members include Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association; the Cancer Support Community; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.; Friends of Cancer Research; GRAIL, Inc.; Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University; Milken Institute; Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Stand Up To Cancer; and Thrive, an Exact Sciences Company.

MCED Consortium Contact:

Elena Brandano Birnbaum

Tapestry Networks

[email protected]

781-250-0645

Media Contact:

Morgan Warners

Finsbury Glover Hering

[email protected]

202-337-0808

SOURCE Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Consortium
Male rape suspects are said to be allowed to identify themselves as "female" in Scotland, currently raising confusion in the recording of public data.

A freedom of information request by a feminist policy think-tank revealed that a policy in Scotland, in line with the "gender ideology" issues, allows rape suspects to actually choose to identify themselves as "female," the Times reported.

"The male who self-identifies as a woman would be expected to be recorded as a female on relevant police systems," The Times quoted Police Scotland in saying.

The Christian Post cited an interview conducted by a British daily newspaper with Murray Blackburn Mackenzie policy analyst Kath Murray on the matter where it was highlighted that such methods of recording information for public data "distorts" and "obscures" the "nature of the offense" and the development of "false information"-based projects and policies.

Murray stressed the need to record such instances on the basis of one's biological sex and suggested the need to record transgenders separately after conducting a series of discussions about it.

"Recording and presenting violent and sexual offenses committed by male as 'female' distorts our understanding of the nature of offending by women and men. It obscures whether changes shown in statistics are due to real changes or only to changes in recording. In extremis, it may lead to the development of policies and projects based on false information," Murray said.

The Christian Post explained that such method of recording took place in Scotland when in 2019 their Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf directed the policy to be in effect. Yousaf said that Scotland's courts record incidents based on either the birth sex or the self-declaration of a suspect.

"With regard to victims, witnesses and suspects, Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service record incidents according to a person's self-identified gender. Police Scotland require no evidence or certification as proof of gender identity other than a person's self declaration," Yousaf said as per The Scotsman.

Yousaf added that the exemption is when it will be "pertinent to any criminal investigation" that the said person is linked such that "it is evidentially critical" that local police should require it as "proof." He stressed that there was no pattern that men who identify themselves as "women" do commit sexual offenses based on his dealings with criminologists despite being told that studies show otherwise but remained open to learn more about the matter.

According to The Scotsman, current statistics show that sexual offenses "vary significantly according to biological sex" and that majority of sexual crimes or 95% are perpetuated by men, which remains the same even if they declare or identify themselves to be women. Women, on the other hand, rarely commit such offenses and crimes.

Center for Crime and Justice Studies Director Richard Garside said that he was glad Yousef would be willing to learn more about the matter since it is very critical especially in reporting crime statistics and in understanding "patterns of offending."

"I'm glad the justice secretary is open to learning more. It's really important that crime statistics are based on objective criteria, independent of the persons subjective views and feelings. Classifying according to birth sex, rather than subjective feelings about the self, should therefore be the norm," Garside stressed.
[April 22, 2021] New Report Finds Online Phishing and Fraud Activity Up 185% in 2020

Bolster, a deep learning-powered, next generation fraud prevention company, today released its 2021 Annual State of Phishing and Online Fraud Report. The report highlights the key trends that drove digital scams using data gathered from analyzing more than one billion sites. Growth in online fraud campaign activity was unprecedented with an increase of 185% from what was observed in 2019. Remote working, online distribution and digital sales channels created an explosion in digital business in 2020. As companies accelerated their digital transformation to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, online phishing and fraud activity exploded, averaging more than 19,000 new threats being created daily. "COVID was not the only pandemic in 2020, and unfortunately, there is no vaccine for phishing and online fraud," said Shashi Prakash, chief technology officer and co-founder at Bolster. "Our data shows online fraudsters are increasing their activity with unabated vigor, and companies are at risk of permanently damaging their reputation unless they rethink their approach to protecting their digital perimeter -- this includes not just their employees but also their customers, partners and supply chains." The Bolster report provides insights into the volume of phishing and scam attacks with examples of real phishing and fraud campaign sites being used to steal credentials. Among the examples of scam sites identified are: Online sales of a COVID-19 vaccine with free shipping

Counterfeit Ray Ban sunglasses being offered for 90% off retail

Applications to become a mystery shopper for Walmart and Kroger grocery stores Key findings rom the comprehensive 2021 report include:



6.95 million new phishing and scam pages created

Key themes used for scams: COVID, gift cards, gaming hacks

Highest number of new phishing and scam sites in one month: 206,310

Top three industries targeted: technology, retail, finance

Top three countries where scams were hosted: USA, Russia, British Virgin Isles

Top email service used for phishing kits: Gmail "This report proves what many companies have witnessed up close and personal - the Internet is fraught with scammers," said Mark Weatherford (News - Alert) , chief information security officer at AlertEnterprise and a former member of the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). "We're way overdue for an Internet clean up, as phishing and scam sites stay active for far too long which allows consumers to become cyber-prey and companies to lose credibility due to fake online scams." The full report can be downloaded here. A more detailed summary of the findings can be found at the Bolster blog post.

About Bolster Bolster helps companies create trust and safety on the Internet with its AI-powered next generation fraud prevention platform. The company protects some of the world's leading brands, helping them strengthen their brand's connection to their customers, partners, and supply chain ecosystem. The platform provides the industry's fastest detection and automated takedowns of online scams, doing the work of hundreds of analysts and paralegals in only minutes. The company has a team of security experts from leading security companies including Cisco (News - Alert) , Symantec, McAfee, Bell Labs, and OpenDNS. Founded in 2017 and based in Los Altos, California. To learn more, go to www.bolster.ai. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005268/en/

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[April 22, 2021] Bolster Study Reveals That Early Stage Companies Have Smaller, Less Independent, and Less Diverse Boards Than Later-Stage Companies

Today we're excited to announce preliminary results from Bolster's Board Benchmarking survey. Bolster is a talent marketplace that connects CEOs with on-demand, executive-level talent. Their biggest practice area of the business is board building and helping CEOs find independent directors from diverse backgrounds. With more than 250 responses from startup and scaleup CEOs, Bolster has uncovered for the first time the important role that Independent Directors play on diversifying private company boards. Key findings include: Only 32% of startup boards have independent directors , but half of boards have open Independent Director seats they expect to fill in the next 12 months.

, but half of boards have open Independent Director seats they expect to fill in the next 12 months. Compared with investor or management directors , independent director seats are 3 times as likely to be held by women. 86% of seats are held by men, and 56% of early stage private company boards have no gender diversity at all.

86% of seats are held by men, and 56% of early stage private company boards have no gender diversity at all. Four out of five seats on private company boards are held by individuals who are White / Caucasian , and 43% of boards are completely homogenous with regard to the race/ethnic diversity of their directors.

, and 43% of boards are completely homogenous with regard to the race/ethnic diversity of their directors. CEOs are broadening their searches to diversify their boards. Two-thirds of CEOs are open to bringing first-time directors to their boards, and 41% of independent directors in our study have either some college or an under-graduate degree only (vs. a post-grad degree).

Two-thirds of CEOs are open to bringing first-time directors to their boards, and 41% of independent directors in our study have either some college or an under-graduate degree only (vs. a post-grad degree). Board composition tends to over-index on investors and management directors. 59% of boards have more than one management or founder director and 59% of boards have 2 or more investor directors.

59% of boards have more than one management or founder director and 59% of boards have 2 or more investor directors. Male directors seem to have a slightly higher average earning potential (measured in basis points per year and grant value) compared to female directors at like companies. Led by CEO and co-founder Matt Blumberg, Bolster is working towad building the most comprehensive data set around private company boards. Their full results are published here.



"The earlier CEOs bring on Independent Directors to their boards, the easier it is to build boards and companies with diversity in mind from day one. Ultimately, this unlocks more potential for that business to reach broader audiences among its customers, its employees, and all the stakeholders of that business," says Blumberg. "Through Bolster's member base, we hope to encourage CEOs to think differently about the composition of their board, as well as all of the artificial barriers that might be inadvertently excluding diverse candidates from their pipelines." Unlike other reports of its kind, the information captured has been reported directly from CEOs themselves. It also exposes for the first time what boards look like even at the most nascent stages -- more than 50% of responses come from companies at a Series A stage or earlier.

"USV has been doubling down on our efforts to help our portfolio companies build more diverse boards in the last year and we are pleased with the progress we are seeing on those efforts," says Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, an early stage investor in Bolster and board observers. "However, this report from Bolster shows that we have so much more work to do here. Bolster can be part of the solution as it has built a large and diverse membership of "Board ready" candidates that CEOs and Boards can recruit from." Bolster's survey will remain open indefinitely as a real-time benchmarking application on Bolster's platform for startup and scaleup CEOs and heads of HR. CEOs can participate in the study (and receive a more in-depth look at our results and an ebook by Bolster's CEO on "How to Build your Board") by signing up as a Bolster client here. About This Study This data, effective March 17, 2021, was gathered first-hand from CEOs or other executives from 250 private companies from more than 250 venture capital firms in Bolster's data set. There was no fee to participate. The distribution of companies based on stage was: Founder Funded (2%), Seed/Angel (34%), Series A (23%), Series B (15%), Series C (15%), and Series D+ (12%). While the majority of respondents are from U.S.-based companies, we did have some international companies in the data set. The largest geographic markets represented in this study included California, New York, the midwest (including Indiana, Colorado, and Illinois), and international markets. About Bolster: Bolster is an on-demand executive talent marketplace that helps accelerate companies' growth by connecting them with experienced executives for interim, fractional, advisory, project-based or independent board roles. Their network today includes 3,500 executives and 700 CEO clients, and includes nearly 50 membership partners that refer talented professionals from diverse backgrounds to the platform. Bolster also provides on-demand executives with software and services to help them manage their careers as independent consultants and provides startup and scaleup CEOs with software and content to help them assess, benchmark and diversify their leadership teams and boards. For more information, visit bolster.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005688/en/

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Some users on an online marketplace known as OfferUp are selling blank or fake COVID vaccine cards. Now dozens of attorneys general across the country, including Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, are trying to crack down on this.

The fake cards have the same format as the real ones and even have the logos of both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

We are deeply concerned about this use of your platform to spread false and misleading information regarding COVID vaccines, a letter from the National Association of Attorneys General states. The false and deceptive marketing and sales of fake COVID vaccine cards threatens the health of our communities, slows progress in getting our residents protected from the virus, and are a violation of the laws of many states.

In Massachusetts, there has been a total of more than 5.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, and more than 2 million residents are now fully vaccinated.

Still, disinformation about the vaccine has been a problem across the country.

Last month, Healey was part of a group of attorney generals that sent a letter to the heads of Facebook and Twitter accusing them of not doing enough to stop the spread of vaccine disinformation on their social media platforms.

Facebook and Twitter should be doing everything they can to help our nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated our communities and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, Healey said in a statement. Instead, they are failing to prevent the spread of deadly lies from anti-vaxxers and undermining our efforts to effectively fight this virus.

The letter to OfferUp this week focuses on the harm the fake cards do the communities.

Allowing users of your platform to market and sell fake vaccine cards is a threat to residents of our states, the letter states.

It also includes an attached example of the fake cards. In the example, the cards are sold in a stack and are black. They sell for $40 plus shipping.

It then demands the platform take immediate action, including monitoring the platform for ads or links related to the vaccine cards, taking down the ads or links and preserving records to those selling the fake cards.

The letter, sent on Monday, asks for a response by April 23.

Related Content:
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. will use smartphone location data in urban development, with a partner's technology to be first introduced in a smart city project in Indonesia.

Mitsubishi has entered into a capital and business partnership with unerry, a Tokyo-based marketing consultancy. The size of the investment and ownership ratio have not been disclosed, but Mitsubishi is expected to become the largest shareholder with the exception of those involved in the startup's founding.

The trading house sees the partnership helping it analyze city-wide flows of people to improve services, including sending personalized information to users and easing congestion.

Mitsubishi recently announced an urban development component for its smart city project near Jakarta, envisioning residential and commercial districts built around a railway station. Indonesian developer Sinar Mas Land is a partner in the project.

Mitsubishi's new tech partner unerry collects smartphone GPS location data though apps. Apps that include its technologies have been downloaded more than 100 million times. The startup is able to analyze flows of people to over a wide area, not just in a particular store.

Combining this data with information gathered by about 2.1 million wireless beacons installed at department stores, train stations and other partner facilities in Japan, will provide insight into consumer characteristics and behavior, including places that they frequently visit.

Unlike GPS, these beacons can provide detailed location data, such as which floor a user is on in a department store. Such data is analyzed only after app users grant approval.

Services that will be offered using this location data include analysis of consumer behavior in a retailer's trade area and distribution of customized ads via apps.

Source: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Mitsubishi-taps-phone-location-data-for-Indonesia-smart-city




"This government, complying with the corresponding procedures, enabled and moved the entire extradition proceedings forward; today, the Council of Ministers approved these two extradition requests (involving Alejandro Toledo and Eliane Karp) that will be sent to the Attorney General's Office , so that they continue with the corresponding proceedings and send them (the documents) to the United States," he told reporters.





In this sense, the Cabinet member specified that this would be the second request against Toledo, who is currently under house arrest in the U.S. State of California, being the first over the Odebrecht case in 2018.





"This case, which has been approved today, has to do with the Ecoteva case and has to do with an accusation of money laundering based on an investigation carried out by the Judicial Branch detecting the route of money in offshore accounts in Panama and Costa Rica, which then arrived in Peru to make real estate acquisitions. In March 2020, it was decided to present the extradition request," he expressed.





Vega added that this new extradition request "will strengthen the causes of the Peruvian State against Toledo."
Yesterday, India, a country with a population of 1.366 billion people, reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases ever seen across the globe by a single nation. The United States had set the previous record on January 8, 2021, with 307,581 COVID cases during its horrific winter surge. After a low of fewer than 10,000 cases on February 11, India confirmed 315,728 cases on April 21, 2021. The countrys epidemiologic curve of new COVID cases continues to spiral upwards.

Worldwide, 144.4 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported, with over 3 million deaths. This accounts for less than 2 percent of the worlds population having been infected. Still, given that most infections are asymptomatic, the true extent of the disease remains unknown. The World Health Organization made an estimate back in October 2020 that roughly 10 percent of the worlds population may have been infected with the coronavirus. One could surmise that perhaps the actual figure is double but remains far from any meaningful herd immunity.

In this April 15, 2021, fie photo, medical staff tend to a patient affected by coronavirus in the ICU unit at the Charles Nicolle public hospital in Rouen, Normandy. Hospitals in many European countries are again under strain, treating increasingly younger patients with severe COVID-19 as older age groups benefit from the vaccinations. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

As rich nations have rapidly deployed their COVID-19 vaccines to immunize their populations, aside from the present tally of cases, the brunt of the pandemic has shifted to South Asia, specifically in India where access to vaccines and health care remains for the millions upon millions of the impoverished and destitute a hopeless matter. Less than 8 percent of its population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Globally, a new one-day high of more than 871,000 new COVID-19 cases was also reported. The seven-day moving average of new COVID cases has reached a new high with over 790,000 infections each day and continues to climb. For comparison, the winter peak of the last global surge came close to 746,000 on January 12, 2021. Last week saw 5.27 million confirmed cases, a 15 percent increase from the previous week. Cases have been climbing for eight consecutive weeks. At this pace, daily COVID cases could easily reach 1 million before next month.

The moving average for the death toll is now over 12,000 fatalities per day and soaring. The peak of the last surge had reached 14,408 deaths per day on January 27, as death is a lagging indicator of COVID infections. It has been predicted that this high will soon be surpassed.

Indias official COVID cases are fast approaching 16 million, with more than 184,000 people having thus far perished from their infections. Yesterday, 2,100 more died. The seven-day average of deaths has surpassed the first wave as it continues to soar.

Despite these horrific figures, data obtained by the Financial Times on the number of cremations of COVID-19 victims over the same period indicate that the death toll may be 10 times higher than what public health officials are reporting to the media. Yet, senior health officials have attempted to play down these figures, stating that the increase in numbers was due to cremations being done using COVID protocols.

Dr. Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, told Reuters that officials were in a state of data denial. Everything is so muddy. It feels like nobody understands the situation very clearly, and thats very irksome.

John Burn-Murdoch, the Financial Times senior data-visualization journalist, explained on his Twitter account: I collated news reports across seven districts, finding overall, numbers of COVID victims who have been cremated are ten times larger than official COVID death counts in the same areas. In the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the number of cremations for COVID-19 was 24 times higher than the official death count. In Vadodara, the third-largest city in Gujarat state, it was 21 times.

Given these confirmations, on a per capita basis, this places Indias death toll on par with the worst period of the United States experience with the pandemic. But for India, this is just the beginning of the present surge.

The furnaces at the crematoriums in Gujarat have been running so intensely and non-stop that the metal supports have begun to melt. Kamlesh Sailor, the president of the trust that runs the crematorium in Surat known for diamond polishing, told Reuters that we are working around the clock at 100 percent capacity to cremate bodies on time. He added that six gas furnaces at their crematorium have been running 24 hours a day.

Prashant Kabrawala, who manages the Ashwinikumar crematorium, told Reuters that cremations have more than tripled in the last few weeks. He noted, I have been regularly going to the crematorium since 1987 and been involved in its day-to-day functioning since 2005, but I havent seen so many dead bodies coming for cremation in all these years.

In what has become familiar news stories, it was just reported that a medicinal oxygen tank leak at the 150-bed Dr. Zakir Hussain Hospital, a civic-run hospital in the ancient city of Nashik in the state of Maharashtra, led to the death of 24 COVID-19 patients who were on ventilators.

Oxygen supply suddenly ceased after a malfunction in the hospitals main storage tanks leading to the asphyxiation of the patients. Eleven of them were between the ages of 33 and 60. According to the Indian Express, the 13-kiloliter oxygen tanks had only recently been made operational.

As per preliminary information, the socket of theoxygen tank broke, which led to leakage in the tank and affected oxygen supply. The hospital used jumbo cylinders to help patients. Some patients who could be moved were taken to other hospitals. However, 22 patients died as supply was cut off suddenly. Two more died later in the evening.

Many of the patients who eventually come to the hospitals are in extremely critical condition and die before medical treatments can be rendered. Many are brought there already dead by their families. Most are untested, leading to the disparities between official figures and what is transpiring. Fewer than a quarter of deaths in India are officially certified by a medical examiner, which implies that the extent of the pandemic may be challenging to ascertain.

Two days ago, Indias capital, Delhi, announced a week-long lockdown, allowing government offices and essential services to remain open, which amounts to a meaningless measure. The chief minister of the city, Arvind Kejriwal, speaking at a virtual press conference, admitted that the intensive care units are at capacity and medicinal oxygen was in critical shortage. But he then added, I have always been against lockdowns, but this one will help us amplify the number of hospital beds in Delhi. These are political stunts that have been repeated by politicians alike throughout every continent where the pandemic has wrought devastation. Little will be achieved with short-term half-hearted measures.

Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, beholden to the interests of major corporations, has been adamant that he will not impose a nationwide lockdown. Like Trump, he declared that India must be saved not from the scourge but from the catastrophe a lockdown would bring to the countrys economy. According to Oxfam, the year before the pandemic hit, Indias wealthiest 1 percent held 73 percent of its wealth, while 670 million people, who make up the poorest half, saw their wealth decline 60 percent.
Former Russian security colonel admitting to graft sentenced to 7 years behind bars

 The Moscow Garrison Military Court

14:40 22/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  The Moscow Garrison Military Court on Thursday sentenced reserve lieutenant colonel of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Kirill Cherkalin, who had pled guilty to taking bribes, to 7 years in high-security prison, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

The court found him guilty of receiving bribes on a large scale and large-scale fraud. In addition to the prison term the man was also banned from holding law enforcement posts for3 years, deprived of his colonel rank and second-class medal of the Order of Merit for the Motherland.

Victims in this case count Sergey Glyadelkin and his cousin Igor Tkach sought to recover about 19.4 billion rubles from the defendant. However, the court granted their civil claims in part and collected 318 million rubles in favor of each victim.

Earlier, Prosecutor Milana Digayeva demanded 11 years behind bars and a 34 million-ruble fine for Cherkalin.

The case was heard under a special procedure, without examination of evidence and interrogation of witnesses, as the defendant had signed a plea deal with investigators. Cherkalin admitted receipt of a bribe in the amount of $850,000 from a businessman for the common protection.

According to the website of the financial crimes agency Rosfinmonitoring, Cherkalin represented FSB in the Interdepartmental Anti-money laundering Commission. Investigators believe that his illegal activity lasted from November 2013 to February 2015.

Questions to experts

In the meantime, lawyers from Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners believe the forensic examination conducted as to the the Yurpromconsulting company count of the case is faithless and turned to Russias Investigative Committee and Prosecutor Generals Office seeking the check to check investigators actions for several crimes including tampering with evidence and results of law enforcement intelligence operations (Article 303 of the Russian Criminal Code), abuse of power (Article 285), illegal institution of a criminal case (Article 299, Part 3), accessory in money laundering (Article 33, Part 5 and Article 174.1).

Asset seizure

In November 2019, Moscows Golovinsky District Court forfeited to the state assets of Cherkalin and his family worth over 6 billion rubles (about $80 million at the current exchange rate), including four apartments, two cottages, six land plots with a total area of 7,116 square meters, 14 nonresidential premises, 2 cars, 800 million rubles, $72 million and over 8 million euros found during the investigative activities in Cherkalins premises.




YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States will be a kind of moral beacon to many countries, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian said in an interview to New York Times, commenting on the media reports according to which US President Joe Biden is going to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

This is not about Armenia and Turkey, Mr. Aivazian said. This is about our obligation to recognize and condemn the past, present and future genocide.

Commenting on Turkeys military role in the recent Nagorno Karabakh war, the Armenian FM called it as an example of what he described as a source of expanding instability in the region and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Aivazian said the genocide designation would serve as a reminder to the rest of the world if malign values are not countered.

I believe bringing dangerous states to the international order will make our world much more secure. And we will be witnessing less tragedies, less human losses, once the United States will reaffirm its moral leadership in these turbulent times, the Armenian FM told New York Times.
First eco-truck will arrive in Slovakia

Vehicle using biodiesel should reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The eco-truck using pure biodiesel will soon be put on Slovak roads. (Source: SITA)

Font size: A - | A +

The first eco-truck suitable for pure bio-diesel will soon be on Slovak roads.

The Biojazda.sk project, launched by the Yellow Express carrier, aims to prove that this kind of freight transport is efficient and suitable for Slovak roads. The eco-trucks are expected to help reduce the total emission of greenhouse gases generated by transport, the SITA newswire reported.

Various alternatives attempted

The Yellow Express company has been finding ways to make its fleet greener for some time. The company bought the special truck suitable for B100 biodiesel from a Swedish producer. Sweden has been using low-emission vehicles not only in freight transport, but also public transport in Stockholm.

Weve tried various alternatives, for example LNG, but we had to stop it due to the not very developed infrastructure at petrol stations, said Pavol Piestansky, CEO of Yellow Express, about previous attempts to use low-emission vehicles, as quoted by SITA.

They find the B100 biodiesel the most suitable way to meet the commitments of Slovakia in the field of renewable energy sources in transport, he added.

Moreover, since bio-diesel is produced in Slovakia, Piestansky expects that this kind of transport may immediately be out on roads.

No pure bio-fuel pump yet

Biodiesel is currently mixed with diesel at petrol stations in Slovakia, while it is not possible to tank up with pure biodiesel as of yet.

This may change if the use of eco-drive proves efficient and the state creates economically-advantageous conditions, admitted Radoslav Jonas for SITA. Jonas is an expert of bio-fuel factories in Leopoldov belonging to the Envien Group, along with other carriers.

Adding a gas pump with B100 biodiesel to existing petrol stations may be much easier than the construction of completely new, specialised petrol stations.

Related article

Related article Investmet Guide: Your key to understanding the Slovak business environment Read more

22. Apr 2021 at 11:10 | Compiled by Spectator staff
A Berkeley police vehicle waits at a stop light near graffiti calling for the defunding of the Berkeley police department in Berkeley, Calif., on July 15, 2020. (Ben Margot/AP Photo)

Poll Shows Majority of Americans Are Concerned About Anti-Police Rhetoric

A Rasmussen Reports survey released Wednesday found that the majority of Americans are worried that anti-police rhetoric, which is often pushed by progressive Democrats, will result in a shortage of law enforcement officers and endanger public safety.

The April 13-14 survey, distributed to 1,000 likely U.S. voters, asked respondents, How concerned are you that the growing criticism of Americas police will lead to a shortage of police officers and reduce public safety in the community where you live?

Sixty-three percent said they are either very or somewhat concerned about anti-police rhetoric.

Eighty-four percent of Republicans, 52 percent of Democrats, and 59 percent of independents expressed different levels of concern over the rhetoric. Additionally, 52 percent of black voters said they are concerned, and 61 percent of non-white voters are equally troubled.

The questionnaire comes as the nation debates police reform, after the killing of a black man, George Floyd, was filmed. Police officer, Derek Chauvin, is shown holding his knee on Floyd for nine minutes. The killing last May caused a public outcry and Democrats began more consistent calls to defund police departments.

After a more recent shooting of a black man named Daunte Wright, Democrats double-downed on their opposition to policing in the United States.

Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist. I am done with those who condone government-funded murder, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said last week. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It cant be reformed.

No fair-minded person believes that cops, many of whom are racial minorities, get up every day and go to work hoping for the opportunity to be able to hurt someone, including but not limited to people of color, said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) during an interview with Fox News on Thursday. Thats nonsense. But the woke-a-reestas like the congresswoman, they really believe that. They really do hate cops, just because theyre cops. They really do want to defund the police, he continued.

The woke-a-reestas really do believe that when a cop shoots a criminal, it is alwaysevery single timethe cops fault, but when a criminal shoots a cop, it is alwaysevery single timethe guns fault. These folks really do have contempt for America, they should have gratitude, said Kennedy.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is another progressive representative who has been leading the call for reforming police departments and the justice system. After ex-police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of Floyd, she said the guilty verdict does not show that the U.S. justice system works.

No, this verdict is not justice, said Ocasio-Cortez. Frankly, I dont even think we call it full accountability because there are multiple officers that were there. It wasnt just Derek Chauvin. And I also dont want this moment to be framed as this system working, because its not working. She added that the verdict cannot replace policy change within the criminal justice system.

Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortezs offices did not immediately respond to a request for a statement about Kennedys interview comments.

Although President Joe Biden has said he does not support defunding police departments, he has pushed for the progressive climate, education, healthcare, police reform, and gun control agenda. Kennedy said President Biden is encouraging progressives, which is making communities less safe.

He knows better, and hes encouraged it. And it is a hurting America, and it is hurting people. And I knew that President Biden would be left of center, I never dreamed hed be left of Lenin, said Kennedy.

Contrary to what Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez have said about police, the majority of Americans identified policing as one of the most important jobs in our country today.
Thomas Brock, a microbiologist, was driving west to a laboratory in Washington State in 1964 when he stopped off at Yellowstone National Park.

Id never seen Yellowstone before, he said in an interview in 2017. I came in the south entrance, got out of my car, and there were all these thermal areas spreading out from the hot springs into the lake. I was stunned by the microbes that were living in the hot springs, and nobody seemed to know anything about them.

What fascinated him, on what would be the first of many trips to Yellowstone, were the blue-green algae living in a hot spring  proof that some life could tolerate temperatures above the boiling point of water.

It was the beginning of research that led to a revolutionary find in 1966: a species of bacteria that he called Thermus aquaticus, which thrived at 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit) or more.
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has allowed the national operator of fixed communications and digital services Datagroup (Datagroup Holding Limited), to buy three companies that are part of Volia Group.

According to the AMCU website, the matter concerns Kyiv Telecommunications Networks LLC, Telesvit LLC and Oisiw Limited (Cyprus).

The committee notes that during consideration of these cases, the product markets involved were assessed, namely: the provision of access to TV packages to legal entities and individuals; provision of Internet access services to legal entities and individuals; provision of server hosting services.

In the course of consideration of the cases, it was found out that the largest aggregate share of participants in the concentration is in the regional market for access to packages of TV programs for individuals is within Kyiv region, and it, according to the results of 2018, 2019 and nine months of 2020, does not exceed 29%.

In addition, the AMCU found that in each of the markets involved there is a significant number of business entities providing these services. Service consumers have a wide choice of Internet and TV providers and can freely choose between them.

"Almost all competitors of concentration participants interviewed by the committee reported that, given the high level of competition, these concentrations will not lead to a change in the existing market balance in the territorial limits involved, the markets are saturated and those that are dynamically developing," the AMCU said.

"Taking into account the information collected in the course of consideration of the cases, the committee came to the conclusion that the declared concentrations do not lead to monopolization or a significant restriction of competition in the commodity markets of Ukraine, and provided the appropriate permits for the concentration," the report summarizes.

Oisiw Limited is a company specially set up to jointly invest with Sigma Bleyzer Southeast European Fund IV to improve telecommunications and media infrastructure in Ukraine. It has been working since 2006.
A glance at some of the day's highlights from the Proactive Investors US and Canada newswires

One World Lithium Inc (CSE:OWLI) (OTCMKTS:OWRDF) announced it had started drilling the third hole of a four-hole drill program as part of its Phase Three program at the Salar del Diablo lithium brine property in Mexico. Drilling at DDH-3 (diamond drill hole) will occur 24 hours a day, the company said in a release. DDH-3 is 50 kilometres south of DDH-2. Depending upon the results, OWL said it may sink more diamond drill holes in the immediate area.

Recruiter.com Group Inc ( ) has announced a partnership with WeWork, the global flexible workspace provider, to bring Recruiter.coms on-demand hiring services to the WeWork startup ecosystem. Through the partnership, Recruiter.com Flex will help WeWork's community of early and growth-stage organizations scale effectively, while Recruiter.com's customers will be able to benefit from WeWork All Access. Finding and hiring the best talent is essential for fast-growing companies, but, they typically don't have the resources to leverage traditional recruiting services nor the capacity to build out a full-scale recruiting arm to handle sourcing and screening candidates, Recruiter.com Group CEO Evan Sohn said in a statement. By providing an on-demand platform that delivers incredible candidates (with AI matching) at record speeds, we could impart significant impact to the top and bottom line for these companies, Sohn added.

Aion Therapeutic Inc ( ) has revealed that its proprietary and patented combinatorial mushroom preparations, AION F7 and AION F8, showed high efficacy in killing multiple types of breast cancer cells. In a series of recent third-party independent studies performed at BIOENSIS laboratories, the company said, the preparations demonstrated direct killing of HER2+ breast cancer cells, ER+/PR+ breast cancer cells, and triple-negative breast cancer cells by direct cytotoxicity. This suggests that AION F7 and AION F8 may be effective in treating each of those cancer types, including the notoriously difficult to treat triple-negative breast cancer, it added.

Nextleaf Solutions Ltd ( ) ( ) (FRA:L0MA) has reported that its subsidiary, Nextleaf Labs Ltd has completed an inaugural bulk-CBD distillate delivery to a US-listed, Canadian-based global cannabis company. The company added that it anticipates similar orders on an ongoing basis. While the Canadian cannabis sector continues to mature as the world's largest federally legal cannabis jurisdiction, Nextleaf said the global demand and acceptance of CBD-based products continues to increase.

( ) ( ) - formerly, Adastra Labs Holdings Ltd. - has announced that it is now producing cannabis shatter products for the Canadian market after wholly-owned subsidiary Adastra Labs Inc.'s commissioning of new hydrocarbon extraction equipment ahead of schedule. With the arrival of the ExtractionTek Solutions MeP XT70 system, a high-performance hydrocarbon extractor, the team at Phyto Extractions can now process over 400 kilograms (kg) per day of cannabis biomass into a variety of hydrocarbon cannabis concentrate products, the company said. Focused on shatter production currently, this translates into over 50kg of high-quality product output per day, it added.

Proactive mining analyst Ryan Long has initiated coverage on Golden Minerals (NYSEAMERICAN:AUMN) ( ), which is currently ramping up production levels at its open pit Rodeo Gold-Silver Mine, located in Durango State, Mexico. Long noted that at present Rodeo has a short mine life, of 2.5 years, but with a 2,000 drill programme currently underway, testing near-surface targets located immediately adjacent to the current open pit, Golden Minerals is confident that the mine life will be expanded.

( ) (OTCMKTS:INOTF) (FRA:71TA), a software and solutions provider in the artificial intelligence (AI) market, said it has sold and installed multiple ThermalPass temperature scanning systems in one of North Carolinas largest school districts. The Toronto-based company said that in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) new in-person reopening mandate, the ThermalPass touchless temperature screening system has been installed in multiple locations at Iredell-Statesville Schools in the heart of North Carolina, where over 20,000 students attend classes across 37 campuses. We were very impressed with the ease of use of the product and are thrilled to have implemented it as another layer of protection within our health and safety protocols, Kenny Miller, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Planning, at Iredell-Statesville Schools, said in a statement.

XPhyto Therapeutics Corp ( ) ( ) FRA:4XT) said it has taken a step towards commercializing its 25-minute coronavirus (COVID-19) RT-PCR test called Covid-ID Lab in Germany, striking a deal with an established wholesaler and service provider in the country. The unnamed distributor will store and deliver Covid-ID Lab test kits according to the product specifications and all applicable regulations to XPhyto's customers. It will also fulfil any reporting and notification obligations and process any returned products. "With this agreement, we have secured a strong partner with an established medical distribution network throughout Germany," Hugh Rogers, the CEO of XPhyto, told investors in a statement.

( ) (FRA:2RJ) said that it has released its Data Software Development Kit (SDK) for Apple iOS and Google Android on GitHub so third-party mobile applications can reward consumers with PhunCoin for their data. The company said this important milestone, in support of the broader launch of its Mult reen-as-a-Service (MaaS) blockchain-enabled Customer Data Platform, helps brands empower consumers to take control of and be compensated for their data. By integrating this lightweight SDK, Phunware said that any mobile application publisher can monetize and reward their audiences by signing them up to be compensated any time their data is purchased by brands.

Empress Royalty Corp ( ) ( ) announced that it has closed and fully funded the C$2 million purchase of a 2.25% royalty on the Manica hard rock gold project in Mozambique, operated by Mutapa Mining & Processing LDA (MMP). The royalty deal, initially announced in February, will pay Empress 2.25% of revenue from gold sales until 95,000 ounces (oz) have been sold. Then, the royalty percentage will reduce to 0.75%, the company said. Manica is located in the Odzi-Mutare-Manica greenstone belt and comprises several deposits on s ( ) (FRA:R9XN) mining concession licence 3990C, which includes four deposits. The main deposit, Fair Bride, has a SAMREC-compliant resource statement that Empress is currently in the process of updating to NI 43-101 requirements.

( ) (FRA:B003) announced the full commercial launch of CNSide, the companys cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assay designed to better detect and manage the treatment of metastatic cancers involving the central nervous system (CNS). The company said the assay, which was initially introduced in January 2020, has the ability to offer a timely and accurate method to diagnose disease, identify actionable biomarkers, and assess response to therapy, potentially impacting life expectancy and quality of life.

Energy Fuels Inc (NYSE:UUUU) ( ) and Hyperion Metals Limited (ASX:HYM) have announced the execution of a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will supply Energy Fuels with natural monazite sands from Hyperion's Titan Project in Tennessee. Energy Fuels plans to produce mixed rare earth element (REE) products from processing the monazite at its White Mesa Mill in Utah, the company said. Hyperion's Titan Project covers a large area of heavy mineral sands properties in Tennessee prospective for titanium, zircon, monazite and other valuable minerals, such as high-grade silica sand and other refractory minerals.

KULR Technology Group Inc ( ) is to launch high capacity lithium battery packs targeting the multi-billion commercial drone market in June 2021, it told investors. The move by the tech group is part of its overall strategy to target markets, which complement its established battery safety and thermal management products. It aims to expand into additional e-mobility markets in the coming year.

Silver Ltd ( ) (OTCMKTS:SLRRF) (FRA:8SR) announced it had acquired a new high-grade gold property in the Walker Lane trend of western Nevada. The Opulent property in Lyon County hosts gold occurrences along a shear zone system consisting of two parallel structures, Silver Range said in a statement. Grab samples from the property returned assays of up to 37.2 grams per ton (g/t) gold, while a chip sample across a shear zone exposure returned 2.9 g/t gold.

Altamira Gold Corp ( ) (OTCPINK:EQTRF) (FSE:T6UP) announced it had received its environmental approval for its Apiacas gold project in Brazil. The permit allows the Canadian junior to complete drilling and trenching over the target area. In a statement, Vancouver-based Altamira said that the environmental department of the State of Mato Grosso had approved the environmental permit covering the central area of the Mutum target.

( ) (OTCMKTS:NWRCF) (FRA:3WQ0) has announced plans for surface exploration during the 2021 summer field season at the 161,025-hectares Chebistuan project in the northern Abitibi greenstone belt of Quebec. The company said the 2021 follow-up surface work will include about 800 infill B-horizon soil samples (glacial till substrate) along with 220 C-horizon till samples, which will be analyzed for gold grain counts. Sampling will be carried out within 15 areas of interest (AOIs), covering broad multi-element geochemical anomalies that the company identified from its property-wide regional till sampling program in the fall of 2020. The approximate budget for the planned surface program is C$400,000 and the exploration will be funded by Newmont Corporation (under an exploration agreement with a venture option. Kenorland will remain the operator of the project

PsyBio Therapeutics Corp. ( ), a biotechnology company pioneering the next generation of targeted psychoactive medications, has announced the appointment of Bob Oliver to the company's board of directors, effective immediately. The company, which is developing a platform technology that produces tryptamines, such as psilocybin and its intermediates, for intended therapeutic use, noted that Oliver has extensive experience in launching pharmaceutical products into global markets offering invaluable depth to its team.

Information Services Corporation ( ) said it has filed its notice of meeting and management information circular for its Wednesday, May 12, 2021, annual meeting of shareholders. The meeting will be held at 1.00pm EDT (11.00am MDT) at Innovation Place, 6 Research Drive, Regina. Due to ongoing restrictions related to coronavirus (COVID-19), and in order to mitigate potential risks to the health and safety of its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders, is encouraging shareholders and others not to attend the meeting in person. Instead, shareholders should vote their shares prior to the Meeting as per the voting instructions in the management information circular by no later than 1.00pm EDT on Monday, May 10, 2021, and listen to the meeting online by way of a live audio webcast and audio conference call that will be available on s website at https://company. .ca/investor-relations/events/. The company noted that Scott Musgrave has decided not to seek re-election to its boarded and it thank him for his contribution to the board and 's Audit Committee. It added that its Governance and Nominating Committee has identified two new nominees, Jim Roche and Roger Brandvold, who have agreed to stand for election to the board. Both are experienced business leaders and are expected to contribute significantly to ISC in years to come.

(CVE:AGRA) said it has entered into a mutual release agreement with certain consultants under which the consultants have agreed to terminate previous contracts and obligations arising out of those contracts. As a result, Agraflora's board of directors has approved a settlement in the amount of $613,600 through the issuance of common shares, under which it issued an aggregate of 12,272,000 common shares of the company to the consultants at a deemed price of $0.05 per share. The consultants are unrelated to and unaffiliated with Agraflora and are all arm's length to the company.

Gevo, Inc. ( ) has announced that it will host a conference call on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 4.30pm EDT (2.30pm MDT) to report its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, and provide an update on recent corporate highlights. To participate in the conference call, investors should dial 1 (833) 729-4776 (inside the US) or 1 (830) 213-7701 (outside the US) and reference the access code 6295166# or through the event weblink: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ocbho96s. A replay of the call and webcast will be available two hours after the conference call ends on May 13, 2021. To access the replay, investors should dial 1 (855) 859-2056 (inside the US) or 1 (404) 537-3406 (outside the US) and reference the access code 6295166#. The archived webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of Gevo's website at www.gevo.com.

QC Copper and Gold Inc ( ) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation relating to the participating interest acquisition agreement dated April 1, 2021, between QC Copper and Gold and Pasofino Gold Ltd., whereby the company has agreed to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Roger gold-copper project, located in the Chibougamau district of Quebec. SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec, holds the remaining 50% ownership interest. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will make a $1 million cash payment and issue 5.5 million common shares at a deemed value of 18 cents per share to the vendor in exchange for the 50% ownership interest in the Roger project.

( ) said the TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to its non-brokered private placement announced on March 29, 2021, March 30, 2021, and April 13, 2021, which will see the issue of 8,484,500 shares at a purchase price of 9 cents per share, together with 8,484,500 share purchase warrants with an exercise price of 15 cents for a three-year period with 18 placees.

. ( ) ( ) (FRA:6F6) has announced that it will be featured as a presenting company at the H.C. Wainwright Cryptocurrency, Blockchain & FinTech Conference which is being held virtually on April 27, 2021. Shafin Diamond Tejani, the company's chief executive officer, and Vahid Shababi, its chief growth officer will provide an overview of the company's business during the presentation. Institutional or retail investors can listen to the presentation by registering for the conference via the following link: www.hcwevents.com/crypto. In addition to presenting at the Planet MicroCap Showcase Virtual Event on April 22, 2021, and H.C. Wainwright Cryptocurrency, Blockchain & FinTech Conference on April 27, 2021, the company said it has also engaged Clarkham Capital Ltd. to run investor awareness programs across various European platforms and the United States. Clarkham has been paid 139,000 Euros.

( ) (FRA:BK2P) (OTCQB:GBMIF) said it has applied for and received an OTCQB Markets Group symbol, and to be eventually traded on the OTCQB Market under the new ticker symbol (GBMIF). The company also said its CEO and president, Tom Yingling will present at the Planet MicroCap Showcase VIRTURL 2021 showcase being held on Thursday, April 22, 2021, at 2.30pm Eastern Time (11.30am Pacific Time) via the following webcast URL link: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2059/40906. Investors can book 1on1 investor meetings with and to watch Tom Yingling's presentation, can register for the virtual event here: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/signup. If investors cannot make the live presentation, all company presentations webcasts will be available directly on the conference event platform on this link under the tab Agenda: https://planetmicrocapshowcase.com/agenda

Genprex, Inc ( ) has announced that its president and chief executive officer, Rodney Varner, will be participating in a webinar series with CEO Roadshow to provide a company overview to investors on a weekly basis each Thursday from April 22 through June 10, 2021, from 11.00am-11.30 a.m. EDT via the following webinar link: https://bit.ly/3eoHeie. The company said Varner will be available for questions following each company presentation. The webinars will be recorded and available for replay on Genprexs website for a period of time. Replays will also be available on CEORoadshow.com following each webinar

( ), the operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, has announced that ( ) (OTCQX:MMDDF), an in-content advertising company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market and has upgraded today from the OTCQB Venture Market. "Congratulations to Mirriad Advertising on qualifying for the OTCQX Best Market," said Jonathan Dickson, vice president of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. "We are pleased to support entrepreneurial international companies seeking to strengthen transparency and trading for U.S. investors. Cross-trading on OTCQX in the U.S. will enable Mirriad Advertising, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market, to further expand its engagement with a wider base of global investors." Stephan Beringer, CEO of Mirriad Advertising commented: "Mirriad Advertising aim to play an important role in the world's growing $500 Billion advertising ecosystem. We're at an historic moment in Media & Advertising, and with the end of cookie-based targeting and the unstoppable rise of ad-free and ad-light streaming environments, the marketplace is in upheaval and in need of new solutions," said "With a $135 Billion total addressable market, upgrading to OTCQX marks a valuable step in Mirriad's strategic plans in the US to provide more global investors access to join our journey, trading with every major US broker, in US hours, in US dollars."
Cenkos Securities PLC - London-based stockbroker - Executive Director Jim Durkin on Wednesday sells 226,103 shares at 90.0 pence each, worth GBP203,493. Following the sale he holds 4.8 million shares, representing a 8.4% stake in the company.

Back in December, Cenkos said Durkin would retire as chief executive in March 2021. Julian Morse, an executive director and head of the Growth Companies Team, was chosen to replace him.

Current stock price: 89.50p

Year-to-date change: up 58%

By Lucy Heming;A lucyheming@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Michigan women perform essential jobs in both Republican and Democratic politics, crafting public policy, helping constituents navigate concerns and representing the public as elected officials themselves.

But doing so can come at a cost.

Women in Michigan politics can face sexism, inappropriate comments, sexual harassment and more as they pursue careers. But theyre also integral to making Lansing run.

Related: Butt pinches, threesome requests and a glass ceiling: sexism is systemic in Michigans political culture

If we dont include women in the rooms where things are happening, then women across this nation will be vastly underrepresented, said Lena Epstein, a business owner and Republican who ran for the 11th Congressional District in 2018.

And if women arent at the table in politics, our needs will be underrepresented, and women make up over 50% of the voting bloc, Epstein said.

In Michigan, the number of female lawmakers peaked in 2020, with 54  36.5%  of the states 148 House and Senate seats filled by women. Currently, 53 women are serving in the Michigan Legislature, 11 in the state Senate and 42 in the state House.

Kelly Dittmar, director of research for the Center for American Women in Politics, said women are often open to working together across partisan lines.

And, when more women are in a room, there are signs at the state and federal level that starts to change the culture a little bit... if youre motivated more by policy outcomes over ego, Dittmar said.

Dittmar said one big reason diversifying state legislatures is important is the different perspective women and non-white lawmakers bring to the table.

They have different networks, connections and lived experiences, she said, and can offer diverse sources of information that might not otherwise see the light of day in a committee hearing or on the chamber floor.

You have individuals with lived experiences that are distinct from the men who have held these positions for so long, she said. It changes the debates and often yields better outcomes that are more responsive to the entirety of the population that that legislature serves.

Women are quick to point out their expertise isnt limited to political issues that have traditionally been pegged as womens issues. Many care deeply about things like child care and education. But they also have the expertise to bring to the table everything from tax structure to business regulation and banking policy.

Political consultant Emily Dievendorf, who ignited a discussion about how women are treated in Michigan politics when she posted publicly on Facebook about a sexual harassment experience she had, said women often just arent who people think of when theyre hiring or looking for consultation on an issue.

We have plenty of political consultants, myself being one of them, who have their finger on the pulse when it comes to what is happening in Michigan politics, who have run campaigns, who have worked in public policy for as long or longer than several of these men who say, Oh, would you like my opinion on what is happening on the ground? Dievendorf said.

She said sexual harassment and sexism can end up hurting womens careers. Some women have gotten out of the field altogether to keep themselves safe.

In an MLive survey of 40 women who work or have worked in the Lansing political sphere, 32 of 40 women said they had experienced sexual harassment. And 31 women said they had modified their workplace behavior or left a job to avoid a particular man or group of men.

While womens careers are impacted, men just keep getting more and more opportunities, Dievendorf said.

Abby Clark, owner of Athena Strategies, said it is hard work to hire diverse senior staff on campaigns, but hard work that needs to be done.

I just think everyone can hold themselves to a higher standard on this front. And thats the only way its going to change. Its going to take a lot of people at a lot of levels prioritizing changing this dynamic, Clark said.

Dievendorf said shed been talking with a friend recently about how at a practical level, Michigan politics would grind to a halt without the contributions of women at every level.

Were the backbone of this industry, Dievendorf said.

Related:

Butt pinches, threesome requests and a glass ceiling: sexism is systemic in Michigans political culture

Few have faith in the Michigan Legislatures sexual harassment and discrimination policies. Can that be fixed?

Ex-mayors sexual harassment really did ruin my life. Virg Bernero ends election bid as women speak up
Ghanaian music producer Mark Okraku-Mantey has been nominated by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, for the position of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.



When approved by Parliament, he will deputise for Awal Mohammed, the substantive Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.



Mark Okraku-Mantey, who is the interim President of the Creative Arts Agency, is also the Head of Programme at Hitz FM.



About Okraku Mantey



Mark Okraku Mantey started music production in 1996 as the Chief Executive Officer of Slip Music.



He worked with artistes such as Kojo Ashakan, Felix Bell, Ohene Kissi, Lord Kenya, Daasebre Gyamena, Adane Best, Akyeame, Okuraseni Samuel, Bless, and Kumi Guitar.



Others include Nana Yaw Asare, Jamson, Kudjo Sasu, and Nana Quame, Swazzy B. Joe Frazier, among others.



Marks love for the arts goes beyond just music. At a time, he was the executive producer of Efiewura a comedy series that is aired on TV3.



He has also been involved in organising some of the biggest events that the country has ever seen.



The Politics



For the past years, Okraku-Mantey has been actively involved in politics, after openly declaring his support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and championing creative arts activities through the Creative Arts for Change, a group of NPP creatives that rallied behind the party.



In 2017, when the New Patriotic Party assumed power, he was appointed as the President of the Creative Arts Council, an institution that was instrumental in the passage of the Creative Arts Bill.



Upon their re-election for their second term in office, some people in the creative arts industry mooted that an arts-inclined person is made (at least) a Deputy Minister of the sector.



Some names that came up apart from Mark Okraku Mantey for the position were Bice Obour Osei Kuffour  former President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and 2020 NPP parliamentary aspirant at the Asante Akyem South constituency, Akwasi Agyemang  Chief Executive Office of the Ghana Tourism Authority and Juliet Asante  Filmmaker and Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority.



Others were Kojo Frimpong  broadcast journalist, Kwabena Okyere Darko  Member of Parliament for the Takoradi constituency and James Korsah Brown  talent manager and 2020 NPP parliamentary aspirant for Mfantseman Constituency.



Expectations from the Creative Sector



A lot of creatives have reposed so much hope in their own holding at least the Deputy Minister position.



For most of them, someone from the industry would help project the creative sector of the Ministry which has for the past years not received enough push and attention.



With Mark as the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, he will be expected to make sure that a lot (if not all) of the manifesto promises made by the New Patriotic Party for the creative industry be fulfilled.



He is also expected to help make the arts feature prominently in the scheme of things as far as activities of the Ministry, Arts and Culture, is concerned.















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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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Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The methodology also uses an algorithm which collects and analyzes multiple rankings into one score to easily compare each school.

Students who pursue any one of these programs can expect to gain employment much quicker in comparison to candidates without a degree. In addition to accessibility and cost, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Online Masters In Social Work.

Intelligent.com analyzed Arizona State University schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 48 making it to the final list for Online Masters In Social Work. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-social-work/

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Zimbabwes president Emmerson Mnangagwa received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday in Kwekwe where he urged local people to embrace the nationwide vaccination program, launched in February this year.

Mnangagwa, who was accompanied by his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, several government officials and some members of the opposition, said the vaccination program was critical in returning Zimbabwe to normalcy in a nation that has so far recorded 1,556 COVID-19 deaths.

He said following the launch of the vaccination program recently in Victoria Falls, many people in the resort town have been vaccinated.

Mnangagwa said, We went together with other political leaders to Victoria Falls as we wanted to make sure that the population of the town is vaccinated. I have heard that the town has now reached herd immunity  I came here because I wanted to inspire the people of Kwekwe to get the vaccine because I heard that there was a low uptake of the vaccines. I am pleased to receive my second here in Kwekwe and I encourage communities here in Midlands to get vaccinated.

Almost 300,000 Zimbabweans have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines, which include Sinopharm and Sinovac made in China. At least 38,000 people have received their second dose.

According to the Ministry of Health, as at 21 April, 2021, Zimbabwe had 37,980 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 35,065 recoveries and 1,555 deaths.

Mlondolozi Ndlovu contributed to this article
Mission Therapeutics ("Mission"), a drug discovery and development company focused on selectively inhibiting deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs), today announced that members of its management will be attending the upcoming SVB Leerink Biopharma Private Company Connect Event.

The event, which will take place virtually on 6-7 May 2021, is intended to bring together private companies with institutional investors and to facilitate discussions on the trends and opportunities shaping the future of healthcare. For individuals interested in attending the conference, please contact SVB Leerink for more information.

- ENDS -

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About MissionTherapeutics

Mission Therapeutics is an early-stage drug development company targeting the ubiquitin pathway for the treatment of kidney disease, neurodegenerative disease, rare mitochondrial diseases andfibrosis. The Company has built a leading platform for the discovery and development of first-in-class, small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) an emerging drug class that is attracting significant commercial interest in the area of protein homeostasis.

Mission has strong links with key academic and research centers, including Prof. Steve Jackson's Cancer Research UK Laboratories at the University of Cambridge Gurdon Institute, and leading UK centres in neurodegenerative diseases. The Company also has secured major industry partnerships, including its collaboration with AbbVie in November 2018, for the research and preclinical development of specified DUB inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease. The Company is managed by a team with broad international, commercial and clinical-science experience.

To date the Company has received 73 million /$101 million in funding and its investors comprise blue chip institutional and corporate investors including: Pfizer Venture Investments, Sofinnova Partners, Roche Venture Fund, SR One, IP Group and Rosetta Capital. Mission Therapeutics was founded in 2011 and is based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, UK.

For more information, please visit our website, www.missiontherapeutics.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005517/en/

Contacts:

Mission Therapeutics Ltd

Anker Lundemose MD PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +44 (0)1223 607 340

Instinctif Partners

Melanie Toyne-Sewell Katie Duffell

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2013

Missiontherapeutics@instinctif.com
New Delhi: Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Actor, producer, and champion for nature Dia Mirza who has been articulating concerns about climate change, environmental degradation, depleting forest cover, single-use plastics, shrinking animal habitats and a lot more for years, has a special message to mark the occasion.

She said, "The ongoing pandemic has made it abundantly clear that we have to change the way we live, produce, manufacture and consume. Today, the health of every single human being and our collective harmony hangs in the balance and is closely linked with the well-being of mother nature. This years theme, Restore Our Earth is meant to bring back individual and collective focus on the processes, green technologies, and ideas that can heal, repair and restore the planet. How we do it is the question. What we need to begin with is the dissemination of environmental literacy at all possible levels because we cannot save what we are ignorant about. The Earth Day theme this year is a clarion call to restore the balance of the natural world on which all of life depends."

She also believes that climate awareness, coupled with restorative technological solutions, massive reforestation campaigns, sustainable business practices and regenerative agriculture among many other proactive steps will be needed to turn the clock back.

She added, "We need to mobilise greater momentum now than ever before. Of course, personal behaviour change will make a difference but along with learning to lead more sustainable lifestyles, we also need to hold governments, industry and civil society accountable. We need to imbibe and disseminate scientific facts which are now more accessible than ever before. We must join movements to protect nature/wildlife and demand laws that will ensure the change we need. We need every single earth citizen to work towards restoring the planet to its former glory. When political, business and environmental leaders work in synergy with people from all walks of life to protect the earth, a better world will come into being."
In terms of production, over 50% of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is outsourced.

DUBAI, UAE / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Future Market Insights' global small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) market report forecasts a prolific nudge through 2021, as increasing demand of high potency drugs and increasing chronic diseases boosts the market demand. Rising cancer cases and increasing demand for effective diagnosis and R&D for oncology procedures is accelerating the growth of small molecule API market.

Furthermore, rising government reimbursement policies and funding to develop small molecule oncology drugs is spurring the growth of market. Rapid development in technologies for long-term delivery of medication in molecule type is aiding the growth for small molecule API market. Driven by these factors, the market is poised to expand at the rate of 5% CAGR through 2021.

For instance, chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma, cancer, are significantly rising across the globe. According to the report of International Diabetes Federation, around 463 million people in 2019 were diagnosed with diabetes and new cancer cases are expected to grow by 23.6 million by 2030. Hence, rising incidence of various chronic disease are providing growth opportunities for manufacturing companies.

"Increasing research on small molecule APIs and novel biologics is expected to drive the market demand," remarks the FMI analyst.

Request a report sample with 255 pages to gain comprehensive insights at https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4591

Key Takeaways

Standard API will hold the maximum share of over 79.6% through 2021

Oncology segmented is expected to be the lucrative segment, accounting for 26.6% market share

Commercial application account for greater grater sales of small molecule API

China is estimated to remain one of the most lucrative market for small molecule, exhibiting growth of 5.5% CAGR

India is expected to emerge as a lucrative market backed by increasing manufacturing in pharmaceutical industry

Germany to retain its dominance in European small molecule API market, accounting for over 30% sales

Prominent Drivers

Technological advancements in API manufacturing and growing importance of generics are key factors driving market demand

Growing adoption of AI-based tools for drug discovery is expected to propel the market growth

Investment in small molecule API drug discovery from pharmaceutical companies is likely to improve the demand

Growing demand for newly developed small molecule drugs in manufacturing industry is expected to improve the demand

Key Restraints

Increasing penetration of counterfeit drugs is likely to restrict the growth of small molecule API market

Contact Sales for Further Assistance in Purchasing this Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/4591

Competitive Landscape

Some of the leading companies profiled by FMI operating in small molecule API market include Pfizer Inc., Johnson Matthey, Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Sanofi SA, Novartis AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Albany Molecular Research Inc., AstraZeneca, BASF SE, and Teva Pharmaceuticals among others. According to the report, the market is highly competitive. Manufacturers in small molecule API market are aiming for strategic collaborations and R&D activities.

For instance, recently Lonza Pharma & Biotech, a leading player announced the launch of its pharmaceutical early intermediates cGMP and APIs supply. This initiative leveraged chemical production facilities at the company's Visp to address global early-intermediates supply security and quality concerns.

Also, in March 2021, BridGene Biosciences, a biotechnology company using cutting edge tools to discover and develop small molecules for hard-to-drug therapeutics targets, announced a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.

Furthermore, on 1st April 2021, Fusion Pharmaceutical Inc., announced the acquisition of Ipsen's intellectual property and assets related to IPN-1087, a small molecule targeting neurotensin receptor 1, NTSR1.

More Insights on FMI's Bentonite Market

The latest market study by Future Market Insights offers unbiased analysis on global small molecule API for the forecast period of 2021 to 2031. In order to gain better perspective on its trends, drivers and challenges that the market is likely to witness in the upcoming years, the market is segmented on the basis of molecule type (standard API and HPAPI), production (captive/in house, and outsource), application (clinical, and commercial), therapeutic area (cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, infectious disease, metabolic disorder, oncology, immunology, neurology, urology, dermatology, ophthalmology, general health and others), and region (North America, Latin America, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania and Middle East & Africa).

Download Complete TOC Of this Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4591

Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage on Healthcare Domain

Prefilled Syringes Drug Molecules Market: The global prefilled syringes drug molecules market report by FMI gives an in-depth insight on the future expansion prospects, trends and challenges that market is likely to face in the upcoming decade. Key statistics regarding key segments have been presented across prominent geographies, along with a detailed assessment of the market's competitive landscape.

Injectable Drug Delivery Market: Future Market Insights gives a detailed segmentation on the global injectable drug delivery market with upcoming market trends, challenges and future growth dynamics across key geographies and prominent segments. The report provides a holistic approach, mapping the competitive landscape with detailed analysis on established players, new entrants, and opportunities likely to prevail across the 2021-2031 decade.

Generic Injectable Market: The generic injectable market study published by FMI offers a comprehensive analysis and focused views on major trends expected to provide shape to future growth prospects. The report provides detailed analysis of the significant drivers, trends, challenges and opportunities prevailing for the forthcoming decade across key geographies along with competitive landscape of the upcoming decade.

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai, and has delivery centers in the UK, U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

Contact:

Mr. Abhishek Budholiya

Unit No: AU-01-H Gold Tower (AU), Plot No: JLT-PH1-I3A,

Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai,

United Arab Emirates

MARKET ACCESS DMCC Initiative

For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

For Media Enquiries: press@futuremarketinsights.com

Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/small-molecule-api-market

Press Release Source: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/small-molecule-api-market

SOURCE: Future Market Insights

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641754/Small-Molecule-API-Market-to-Gain-Pace-as-Government-Spending-on-Novel-Biologics-Research-Increases-FMI
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian Thursday justified the military takeover in Chad, saying it was necessary for security reasons.

Chads president, Idriss Deby, was Tuesday killed in the battlefront from rebels shelling, a day after he won reelection for a six-term tenure.

Chads constitution says the speaker of the parliament should become interim president upon the death of an incumbent.

But despite objections from opposition, the countrys military installed the 37-year-old son of the countrys slain leader, Mahamat, as president. The military also dissolved the government, the constitution and the parliament.

After the dissolution, Reuters reported Speaker Haroun Kabadi saying he had agreed, with full lucidity, to a military transition given the military, security and political context.

Rebel forces, a Libyan-based group of dissident army officers with the name Front for Change and Concord in Chad, have meanwhile rejected the new government. They have threatened to press their offensive into NDjamena, Chads capital.

They have nonetheless paused hostilities to allow the government time to bury Mr Deby.

Labour unions have also called on workers to down tools in protest against a military takeover, Reuters reported.

Chad is a key ally of France in its security strategy in Africa. French Foreign Minister Le Drian said he does not expect Chadian troops to pull out from operations elsewhere in the Sahel region.

There are exceptional circumstances, Mr Le Drian told France 2 television on why his government was comfortable with the military takeover. Logically, it should be Mr Kabadibut he refused because of the exceptional security reasons that were needed to ensure the stability of this country.

https://twitter.com/infofrance2/status/1385113865516687360

He added that the goal was for the military council to ensure it brokers stability in Chad before it then transits to civilian rule.

Its the moment for it to be done when the security of the country has really been established, Mr Le Drian told local TV.

Mr Le Drians explanation may explain why most world leaders have shied away from condemning the military takeover in the oil-producing central African nation.

Mr Le Drian is expected to travel with President Emmanuel Macron on Friday for Mr Debys funeral and to hold talks with the military council, Reuters said.
Vials labelled "COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine" and sryinge are seen in front of displayed Johnson&Johnson logo in this illustration taken (Photo : REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

A U.S. plant that was making Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine must fix a long list of problems including peeling paint, shoddy cleanups, and poorly-trained staff to resume operation, according to a highly critical report by the Food and Drug Administration.



Experts said addressing the issues raised in the scathing FDA inspection report could take months.



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Neither J&J nor the FDA has said when they expect vaccine production to resume at the Baltimore plant owned by Emergent Biosolutions Inc. Only one plant, in the Netherlands, is currently producing the key drug substance used in J&J's vaccine, the company said.



"It may take many months to make these changes," said Prashant Yadav, a global healthcare supply-chain expert at the Center for Global Development. He described some of the issues raised by the FDA as "quite significant."



J&J said it would ensure that all of the FDA issues are addressed promptly and comprehensively.



The 12-page report described dirty facilities and many instances of potential contamination. In some cases, employees carrying unsealed medical waste collided with containers used to make material for vaccines, it noted, adding that containers had been spotted elsewhere with cracks.



Problems were not investigated and cleanups were superficial, it added. In one example, a worker moved between rooms where different materials were being made on 19 different days while only documenting a single required shower, the report said.



FDA inspectors said the facility was not large enough, describing crowded rooms difficult to walk through without bumping into containers of materials and small doors that forced workers to push containers on the ground rather than use machines to carry them.



"Paint flecks were observed on the floor all along the sides of these walls" on corridors surrounding the manufacturing room and in a room were vials were filled, it said in one section, adding that there was "brown residue" on the wall and "black residue" on the floor in one plant room.



The investigation confirmed media reports that J&J shots made at the Emergent plant had been contaminated with material used to make vaccine for AstraZeneca. At the time, workers responded to the mix up with little more than a routine cleaning, it noted.



Millions of J&J doses were ruined, the New York Times reported. Production of AstraZeneca's vaccine was moved elsewhere.



"There is no assurance that other batches have not been subject to cross-contamination," the report said.



J&J has drawn scrutiny for months over its halting process to scale up production of the one-shot vaccine that is easier to handle and use than other authorized vaccines.



Its use in the United States has been paused since last week as health officials study a possible link to a very rare but serious blood clot condition.



Emergent has been seeking regulatory authorization to make the J&J vaccine in the United States. It stopped production at the plant recently, saying the FDA had asked it to do so after an inspection.



"What's important is that the FDA caught these deficiencies" and took steps to ensure the vaccine produced there was not used, said vaccine researcher Dr. Anna Durbin of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.



"Emergent has some work to do to clean up their process. They will likely need to be re-inspected by the FDA before any vaccine produced there would be accepted," she said.



Johnson & Johnson reiterated on Wednesday that it was working to establish a global supply chain in which 10 manufacturing sites would be involved in production of its COVID-19 vaccine, in addition the Netherlands plant.



The company has a U.S. government-brokered agreement with rival drugmaker Merck & Co, which is preparing to make doses of J&J's vaccine.



FAILURE TO TRAIN PERSONNEL



The inspection report said the FDA team had reviewed security camera footage in addition to an in-person site visit to the Emergent plant.



It found failure to train personnel to avoid cross contamination of COVID-19 vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.



Earlier this week, the U.S. House Representatives launched an investigation into whether Emergent used its relationship with a Trump administration official to get a vaccine manufacturing contract despite a record of not delivering on contracts.



Emergent said in a statement that it is working with the FDA and J&J to quickly resolve the issues outlined in the report.



The inspection, carried out between April 12 and April 20, also noted that Emergent did not produce adequate reports showing that the vaccines it was producing met quality standards.



J&J said it was redoubling its efforts to get authorization for the facility as quickly as possible.



J&J's oversight could help Emergent better address the FDA's concerns, none of which are especially difficult to fix, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brandon Folkes said in a note.



No vaccine manufactured at the Baltimore plant has been distributed for use in the United States.


President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said Pakistan highly valued its ties with Saudi Arabia and wanted to further strengthen bilateral relations in diverse fields

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said Pakistan highly valued its ties with Saudi Arabia and wanted to further strengthen bilateral relations in diverse fields.

Talking to Pakistan's ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said the two countries shared bonds of history, culture and faith, and held commonality of views on regional and international issues.

Emphasizing the need to facilitate Pakistanis residing in Saudi Arabia, the president asked the ambassador-designate to help address the issues being faced by the Pakistani community.

He congratulated Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar on his appointment as Pakistan's envoy to Saudi Arabia and expressed confidence that he would make concerted efforts for further strengthening bilateral economic and investment cooperation.

President Alvi asked the ambassador-designate to make all out efforts towards the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries.

He also highlighted the need to raise the issue of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir at all available fora in Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador Gilsenan presents credentials in Lesotho

News

On 19 April 2021 H.E. Ambassador Fionnuala Gilsenan presented her credentials to His Majesty, King Letsie III of Lesotho, officially commencing her term as Ambassador of Ireland to the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Ireland and Lesotho have enjoyed excellent relations over the course of 40 years, from the establishment of Irelands development cooperation programme in Lesotho in 1975, Ireland was pleased to support the work of the Government of Lesotho in providing quality health and education services.

Now, the relationship between Ireland and Lesotho has evolved bringing with it new opportunities for Ireland and Lesotho to cooperate in a variety of ways.

The Embassy, through Irelands Fellowship Programme, has been supporting talented students from Lesotho to study at Masters Degree level at universities in Ireland. Through this initiative, these talented students enrich the communities that they join in Ireland, and they also gain skills and expertise which will allow them to contribute to Lesothos development on their return home. Links have also been established between businesspeople in Ireland and Lesotho, opening the door to greater bilateral trade and investment between both countries.

Read Ambassador Fionnuala Gilsenans speech for the presentation of Credentials.

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West Linns police scandal has followed a former top West Linn official to California, where he lost a job offer this week over community concerns about his work in Oregon and his abrupt departure from another job in California.

The city of South Pasadena this week rescinded an offer to Christopher A. Jordan to become its city manager, according to a South Pasadena news release. Jordan, 57, was West Linns city manager from 2005 to 2015.

Among the concerns was Jordans hiring of Terry Timeus as West Linn police chief in 2005 without a background check, according to news accounts. Jordan and Timeus had worked together previously in Lake Oswego.

Jordan said he was dismayed by the development. I was proud and honored to be selected and incredibly disappointed and surprised the offer was withdrawn, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Timeus retired from West Linn in October 2017 amid allegations that he drove drunk while off duty.

Timeus also was at the center of West Linns wrongful arrest in 2017 of Michael Fesser, a Black man from Portland with no connection to West Linn. Timeus instigated a bogus theft investigation of Fesser for a friend of his who was Fessers boss at a Southeast Portland towing company, according to court, police and city records. All charges were dropped against Fesser and the citys insurance company paid him $600,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit.

In addition, a confidential report released last year in the wake of the Fesser case revealed that Timeus had been accused of making racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic statements when he worked as a Lake Oswego police officer. He also was accused in the report of sleeping with an informant then and other unprofessional conduct.

The report was delivered to West Linn City Hall in 2008, three years after Jordan had hired Timeus without a background check. The report didnt result in any action taken against Timeus at that time.

The South Pasadena City Council had selected Jordan as its top candidate to fill the city managers job and was prepared to appoint and enter into an agreement with him at its Wednesday meeting, the citys release said.

It was set to approve a four-year contract with a base salary of $225,000, according to the South Pasadenan website.

But the South Pasadena city news release said, However, in light of community opposition and concerns to the appointment, on April 20, the City Council convened a special closed session to reconsider the appointment of Mr. Jordan and to consider appropriate next steps to fill the vacant city manager position. The City Council will not consider approval of an employment agreement with Mr. Jordan and will now direct its attention toward the other candidate.

The South Pasadena council withdrew its offer to Jordan after residents questioned Jordans resignations from his two prior jobs -- in West Linn and then Los Altos, Calif., according to the Pasadena Star-News. Before he worked in West Linn, he had worked as an assistant or interim city manager in Oregon City and Lake Oswego.

According to the South Pasadena High School newspaper, the Tiger Newspaper, a local activist Anne Bagaso told the South Pasadena council on Tuesday, You have the audacity to advance the application of a man who, by all accounts, as City Manager, was dismissive of allegations regarding a vicious and abusively racist police chief.

According to the Pasadena Star-News, Jordan entered a settlement agreement with Los Altos in November and agreed to step down and waive a right to sue in exchange for $183,821 or nine months of severance. He had previously left West Linn in 2015, collecting $141,662 in severance.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
A critic has launched a staunch defence of cultural appropriation, arguing chefs should not become the targets of abuse when they put their own spin on dishes.

Jonathan Meades has said chefs should not fear offending 'the guardians of authenticity,' arguing, 'without cultural appropriation there is only stagnation.'

His comments come in the wake of the increasingly problematic 'cancel culture' and a number of celebrity chefs including Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver coming under fire for their take on traditional recipes including carbonara and jerk chicken, respectively.

Jonathan Meades has said chefs should not fear offending 'the guardians of authenticity,' arguing, 'without cultural appropriation there is only stagnation.'

In 2019, Gordon Ramsay hit back at a critic after she accused him of cultural appropriation over his 'fake Chinese' restaurant Lucky Cat in Mayfair. In 2017 Nigella Lawson faced derision from Italian chefs when she unveiled her recipe for carbonara featuring cream instead of raw eggs.

In 2018, Jamie Oliver was forced to defend his microwave bag 'punchy jerk rice'

Mr Meades, a commentator and author, made the comments in an interview with the culture website Quietus as he promoted his new series of essays, Pedro and Ricky Come Again.

He was asked for his views on arguments around authenticity in the industry and perceptions of cultural appropriation.

He told Quietus: 'Without cultural appropriation there is only stagnation. The subject is essentially frivolous.

'A cassoulet made in London ought not to worry the guardians of authenticity because it is attempting the impossible. The authentic cassoulet is made in Auch.

'No, its made in Toulouse. No, it comes from Carcassonne. Hang on, it comes from Le Trou Gascon in the 12eme arrondissement of Paris.

'And what about Chez Philippe near the Canal St Martin? Excellence is worth pursuing. Authenticity is a chimera.'

Mr Meades said moves to stamp out cultural appropriation in literature were 'an order to shut down the imagination.'

In 2019, Gordon Ramsay became embroiled in a row with food writer Angela Hui, accusing her of a 'slew of derogatory and offensive social media posts' after she accused him of cultural appropriation over his 'fake Chinese' restaurant Lucky Cat in Mayfair.

Writing for the London Eater website, she posted a scathing review calling his venture 'nothing if not a real life Ramsay kitchen nightmare', adding: 'I was the only east Asian person in a room full of 30-40 journalists and chefs.'

But Ramsay took exception at social media messages allegedly sent by Ms Hui in which she targeted the partner of executive chef Ben Orpwood, calling her a 'token Asian wife'.

Ramsay said: 'The slew of derogatory and offensive social media posts that appeared on Angela Hui's social channels, were not professional.'

Speaking at the time, Scottish chef Neil Rankin said cultural appropriation was 'inevitable' in the modern world, adding: 'It's disingenuous to say you're just going to eat British food for the rest of your life.'

In 2017 Nigella Lawson faced derision from Italian chefs when she unveiled her recipe for carbonara featuring cream instead of raw eggs.

Last year, social media users accused fast food giant McDonald's of 'cultural appropriation at its finest' over the Jerk Chicken Sandwich on its festive menu.

One person tweeted: 'The more I think about it the more I'm bothered by the McDonald's 'jerk chicken' attempt. It shows me one of two things: 1) They don't care to respect the culture or 2) They have zero diversity on their team.'

In 2018, Jamie Oliver was forced to defend his microwave bag 'punchy jerk rice' which was made with aubergine, chilli and beans, following a torrent of criticism.

Jamie Oliver was forced to defend his microwave bag 'punchy jerk rice' which was made with aubergine, chilli and beans, following a torrent of criticism.

The chain announced a new Jerk Chicken Sandwich for its festive menu, which also features a double Big Mac and a Celebrations McFlurry

The Essex-born celebrity cook was met with anger from critics including Labour MP Dawn Butler, who branded the product 'not ok' and slammed him for 'cultural appropriation'.

Mr Oliver defended the name of the ready meal in a statement after Caribbean chef Rustie Lee claimed the recipe had 'nothing to do with jerk'.

Ms Lee said: 'It is an insult. Jerk is from the Caribbean. And as much as I love Jamie. The point is it's getting on a band wagon. Why didn't he call it pukka rice? He's taken jerk to try and be funny. It's a bit of an insult to Caribbean people.'

Last year Christine Hayes, editor-in-chief of 'BBC Good Food' and 'Olive', announced that linguistic changes were being made to some of the 13,000 recipes in their archive.

Ms Hayes revealed that generalising phrases such as 'Asian salad' were in the process of being removed from recipes in the publications.

The ingredients in a real jerk marinade are allspice - a dried unripe berry of the South American native plant Pimenta dioica - and Scotch bonnet peppers

Last year, chefs rallied around MasterChef: The Professional finalist Philli Armitage Mattin who became embroiled in an online battle when Instagram users accused her of racism and calling Asian food 'dirty'.

The 28-year-old, who is of mixed British and Indian heritage, had 'Dirty Food Refined' 'Asian Food Specialist' and the hashtag #prettydirtyfood in her Instagram bio, which drew allegations of racism and cultural appropriation, despite the fact 'dirty' is a common term referring to indulgent street food.

Aktar Islam, who won Great British Menu in 2011 and Gordon Ramsay's The F Word the year before told FEMAIL that cancel culture 'stifles the progression of those pushing boundaries'.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., (TSXV: CMI) (OTCQB: CYSNF) a leading global provider of commercial grade mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, announced today that, pursuant to the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has granted options to purchase 500,000 common shares of C-COM to a director and officer of C-COM.

The stock options were granted pursuant to the terms of C-COM's stock option plan and are exercisable at $3.65 per share.

These grants form part of the overall annual remuneration package. Stock option grants are subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

About C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5445/81405_45d5fc58749a0a42_005full.jpg

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. is a pioneer and world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems. The Company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling Broadband Internet via Satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies.

C-COM has sold more than 8,500 antenna systems, in over 100 countries, through a dedicated dealer network that provides service to a wide range of vertical markets such as Oil & Gas Exploration, Military Communications, Disaster Management, SNG, Emergency Communications, Cellular Backhaul, Telemedicine, Mobile Education, Government Services, Mobile Banking, and others. The Company's iNetVu brand is synonymous with high quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

C-COM is in late-stage development of a potentially revolutionary Ka-band, electronically steerable, modular, conformal, flat panel phased array antenna. In cooperation with the University of Waterloo, C-COM is engaged in the design of this unique antenna with the intent of providing low-cost, high-throughput mobility applications over satellite for land, airborne and maritime verticals. For additional information please visit www.c-comsat.com

iNetVu is a registered trademark of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

The Company is publicly traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV: CMI) and on the US OTC Exchange (OTCQB: CYSNF).

# # #

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Statements about C-COM's expectations as to its intentions with respect to its Ka-band antenna version contain forward-looking information. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Anticipated benefits of the new technology may not be realized, and new products and services may not be released or, if released may not gain market acceptance. Any of those events and others could have an effect on future performance and C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.'s ability to achieve the results mentioned above. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Readers are directed to the risk factors associated with the business of C-COM Satellite Systems in the company's most recent MD&A available at www.SEDAR.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81405
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Russia's President Vladimir Putin has unveiled Second World War-style fake military vehicles that he uses to fool NATO as he signalled the country will start pulling back excess troops deployed on the border with Ukraine.

The announcement is apparently calling an end to a buildup of over 100,000 soldiers on the Russian-Ukrainian border in the last few weeks that had alarmed the West and Ukraine.

While Kiev and Nato raised alarm over the very real Russian force at the Ukrainian border, an inflatable army this week appeared outside Moscow.

The helium-filled tanks, fighter jets, missile systems and transport trucks were proudly displayed by the defence ministry ahead of military exercises where the decoys will be deployed to fool enemy drones and satellites.

The tactic was famously used by Winston Churchill who created a fictitious base teeming with tanks in the southeast of England before D-Day to dupe the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were planning a second invasion to follow the Normandy landings.

The helium-filled tanks, fighter jets, missile systems and transport trucks are intended to fool enemy drones or satellites carrying out reconnaissance (pictured: a tank in the process of being blown up)

The blow up models are made to appear like full-sized versions of MiG fighter jets and Russian military systems. The Kremlin has recruited Rusbal, a toy company founded by a hot air balloon enthusiast, to assemble his decoys. The firm states proudly that the cost of fooling the enemy is a fraction the price of being the legitimate hardware.

The Kremlin has recruited Rusbal, a toy company founded by a hot air balloon enthusiast, to assemble the decoys. The firm states that the cost of fooling the enemy is a fraction the price of buying the legitimate hardware.

'Tanks, aviation and air defence systems were moved to Moscow region so that 'an enemy' had a chance not only to find a hidden aerodrome, but to obtain satellite pictures, too,' said a report from the defence ministry's own TV channel, Zvezda.

It shows the 45th engineer-camouflage regiment 'armed with the most unusual equipment of the Russian army'.

They have even gone as far as to design barracks-style structures to make it appear as if a large number of infantry are accommodated at the decoy base. The tactic was famously deployed by Winston Churchill who created a fictitious base teeming with tanks in the southeast of England before D-Day to dupe the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were planning a second invasion to follow the Normandy landings.

A decoy missiles-launching truck after it has been blown up, from the air they appear to be genuine

A snow-camouflaged truck was shown off the report which featured on the defence ministry's own outlet. 'Tanks, aviation and air defence systems were moved to Moscow region so that 'an enemy' had a chance not only to find a hidden aerodrome, but to obtain satellite pictures, too,' said the broadcast

Decoy missile launching trucks as part of the fake force assembled outside Moscow

A soldier is seen using a motorised pump to blow up one of the inflatable vehicles

Among the armoury is what looks like a MiG-31 and Su-27 fighters under the cover of an anti-aircraft missile system at a mock covert airfield in the forest.

The army says: 'The inflatable equipment is nearly identical to the original thanks to the use of special materials.

'It also has the same radiation background so that an enemy does not notice the deception. The decoys can be created within minutes.'

The apparent retreat of troops in the region - on top of the permanent contingent - comes after carrying out huge military drills in Crimea today involving 10,000 soldiers, 40 warships and 200 planes.

NATO said on Thursday it had taken note of the announcement that Russia would reduce troops in military drills near Ukraine, but added the alliance 'remains vigilant' and urged Moscow to withdraw completely from the country.

'Any steps towards de-escalation by Russia would be important and well overdue. NATO remains vigilant,' a NATO official said in a statement. 'We continue to call on Russia to respect its international commitments and withdraw all its forces from Ukrainian territory.'

An inflatable missile-bearing truck is seen as soldiers stand guard in the forest outside Moscow

One of the missile systems seen from above, still visible a decoy, but at hundreds of feet the difference between the real thing is supposed to be imperceptible

Two inflatable tanks are seen covered in snow, making it even more difficult to tell the decoys from the real thing

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he 'welcomed' Russia's withdrawal but that Kiev would remain vigilant.

'The reduction of troops on our border proportionally reduces tension,' Zelenskiy tweeted. 'Ukraine is always vigilant, yet welcomes any steps to decrease the military presence & deescalate the situation in Donbass.'

The currencies of both Russia and Ukraine rose sharply after pro-Kremlin media made the announcement, signalling relief among investors just hours after Russia also ended war games in Crimea, the peninsula it occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

There was no immediate response from Western countries, but a pullout of the troops brought in on top of the permanent contingent was likely to be welcomed by countries that had been expressing alarm at the prospect of further Russian intervention in eastern Ukraine.

The withdrawal of forces comes just hours after Putin defiantly warned the West not to 'dare cross the red line' of interfering with or provoking his troops stationed in Russian territory.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu flew over Crimea in a helicopter today to personally oversee the mock invasion involving thousands of soldiers, paratroopers, gunboats and landing craft.

'I consider the goals of the snap check of readiness fulfilled,' Shoigu said. 'The troops have shown their defence capability and I decided to complete the drills in the south and western military districts.'

But, he stressed Russian was on its guard over NATO activity in eastern Europe.

Russia would 'respond appropriately to all changes in the situation near the Russian borders', he added.

He said the troops should return to their bases by May 1, but he also ordered keeping the heavy weapons deployed to western Russia as part of the drills for another massive military exercise later this year.

The manoeuvres are part of a show of force that were described as the largest since Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and threw its weight behind separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine

The exercise comes amid increasing violations of a ceasefire in Ukraine's east and a massive Russian troops build-up on the border with Ukraine that raised Western concerns

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the military must be ready to react rapidly to 'unfavourable' developments in the situation around NATOs Defender Europe drills taking place in the Balkan and Black Sea region

The NATO Defender Europe exercises started in mid-March and will continue into mid-June. Some of the drills are taking place in the Balkan and Black Sea region

Defence Minister Shoigu flew by helicopter over the Opuk firing range, where troops and military equipment are deployed, and checked the readiness of the naval and ground forces

Shoigu said they should remain at the Pogonovo firing range in the south-western Voronezh region. The sprawling range is located around 100 miles east of the border with Ukraine.

Military hardware was to be left at a training ground near the city of Voronezh, about six hours drive from Ukraine, so that it could be used again later this year in another big scheduled exercise.

The Russian troop build-up near Ukraine that came amid increasing violations of a ceasefire in Donbass has raised concerns in the West, which urged the Kremlin to pull its forces back.

Shoigu flew in a helicopter over the Opuk firing range to watch the exercise, that saw amphibious landings on beaches in a mock invasion as destroyers loosed off shells from their positions in the Black Sea.

He later declared the drills over, but ordered the military to stand ready to respond to any 'adverse developments' during Nato's Defender Europe 2021 exercise.

The Nato drills began in March and are to last until June.

'Nato has significantly intensified its military activities in the region,' Shoigu said.

'Intelligence gathering has increased and the intensity and scope of operational training has been growing. One of the alliance's main coalition groups is being deployed in the Black Sea region.'

Russia has long bristled at the deployment of Nato's forces near its borders and stepped up its drills as relations with the West have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the annexation of Crimea, Russian meddling in elections, hacking attacks and other issues.

Last week, Russia announced that it would close broad areas of the Black Sea near Crimea to foreign navy and state vessels until November, a move that drew Ukrainian protests and raised Western concerns.

Russia also announced restrictions on flights near Crimea this week, arguing that they fully conform with the international law.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on Tuesday that the Russian build-up across the border is continuing and is 'expected to reach a combined force of over 120,000 troops' in about a week and urged the West to beef up sanctions against Moscow.

Moscow has rejected Ukrainian and Western concerns about the build-up, arguing that it is free to deploy its forces anywhere on the Russian territory and claiming that they do not threaten anyone.

But at the same time, the Kremlin sternly warned Ukrainian authorities against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel east, where seven years of fighting have killed more than 14,000 people, saying that Russia could be forced to intervene to protect civilians in the region.

Thousands of troops were deployed to the Crimean peninsula in preparation for massive military drills on Thursday

Troops were seen heavily armed during the huge military drills in the Crimean peninsula on Thursday. The manoeuvres had sparked intense concern in Kyiv and the West

An estimated 1,200 military vehicles were seen in use during massive drills involved multiple sections of the Russian armed forces

Helicopters were seen circling over the training area in the Crimean peninsula as part of mass military drills being held on Thursday

Defence Minister Shoigu told troops they had to be ready for a rapid reaction to changes in the NATO Defender Europe exercises taking place at the moment

Putin has signalled plans to pull back from the Ukrainian border following Thursday's massive war games, which involved warships transporting tanks to the shores

Warships are seen close to shore, delivering tanks and troops onto the beaches ready for massive military drills in the Crimea on Thursday

An announcement said that from Friday 'troops of the Southern and Western Military Districts, the Airborne Forces will begin to return from the southern borders of the Russian Federation to the points of permanent deployment'

The show of military might by Russian President Vladimir Putin comes amid soaring tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the West

Russia is staging huge military drills involving 10,000 troops and 40 warships in Crimea after Vladimir Putin warned the West not to 'dare cross any red lines' amid soaring tensions with Ukraine

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu travelled to the peninsula on Thursday to oversee the colossal war games involving Russia's southern military district and paratroopers close to Ukraine (pictured, tanks take part in the drills)

Warships were also seen taking part in the massive military drills in the Crimea amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Putin dispatched at least 20 warships and 50 fighter jets to carry out live fire drills in the Black sea earlier this week

Thursday's massive drills comes as Putin gave a very real warning to the West on Wednesday, saying Moscow's response to any encroachment on its territory will be 'quick and tough'

Tens of helicopters were deployed in the massive Russian war games in the Crimea on Thursday. Helium-filled tanks, fighter jets, missile systems and transport trucks were also apparently used in the drills after being prepared for the simulated battle on Wednesday

Nato says that Putin has more than 100,000 troops now massed on the Ukrainian border, in addition to 20 warships in the Black Sea which threaten to cut off vital Ukrainian ports

Churchill and the Allies' Second World War deception tactics that bamboozled Nazi Germany with rubber tanks, sonic projection, leaks, radio deception and multiple fictitious invasions During the First World War, Allied forces made use of dummy version of British tanks and other military vehicles as a means of military deception to fool enemy intelligence - a technique that was taken forward into the Second World War. Allied deception techniques came to a head wen Winston Churchill created a fictitious base teeming with tanks in the southeast of England before D-Day to dupe the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were planning a second invasion to follow the Normandy landings. Under the code name 'Operation Bodyguard', when the Allied states formulated a plan ahead of the 1944 invasion of northwest Europe to deceive and mislead Nazi Germany's high command as to the time and place of the invasion, that culminated in the Normandy Landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). With the German coastal defences in northwestern Europe stretched in 1944 as they prepared for the eventual invasion, the Allies had already used deception operations against the Nazis, helped by the capture of all German agents in the United Kingdom and the decryption of the Nazi's Enigma Code. Pictured: A camouflaged dummy tank at the Royal Engineer's School of Camouflage, Kensington Gardens, London, during the First World War, 1916 After Normandy has been determined as the site of the invasion, the Allies decided to deceive the Germans into thinking it was a diversion, and that they were going to invade elsewhere in Europe. Planning for the operation began in 1943, and was presented to Allied High Command at the Tehran Conference in November, and finally approved on December 6. The objective of the deception plan was to lead the German's to believe that the invasion of Northwest Europe would come later than planned, and for the Germans to expect attacks elsewhere. Other 'targets' included Pas-de-Calais, the Balkans, southern France, Norway and Soviet attacks in Bulgaria and northern Norway. The operation worked, with the Allies successfully taking Normandy to the surprise of the Germans. Deception techniques after the successful D-Day landing also kept the Germans at bay, with Adolf Hitler delaying further reinforcements from the Pas-de-Calais region for nearly seven weeks, believing an attack would still come. Operation Fortitude - the name specifically relating to the Operation Bodyguard activities on the Western Front - fed Germans the 'story' that the allies intended to invade both Norway and Pas-de-Calais. Operation Fortitude was split into North and South, with North aimed at German forces in Scandinavia, and the South on threatening an invasion in France. An inflatable tank is held aloft in southeast England in 1939. Churchill came up with the plan to create the fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG), to dupe the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were planning a colossal invasion around Calais, when, in fact, all of its forces were being thrown at Normandy on D-Day Pictured: A handful of British tommies carry a 'tank' at Salisbury Plain on their shoulders and move it to another part of the 'battleground' While Fortitude North was based around the fictional British Fourth Army 'based' in Edinburgh, Fortitude South employed similar deceptions in the south of England, threatening an invasion of Pas-de-Calais by the fictional 1st U.S. Army Group by U.S. General George Patton. Pas-de-Calais offered clear advantages, including being the shortest point across the channel from Britain, and therefore the quickest route into Germany. German high command held Patton in a high regard, and took several steps to fortify the coastline. The Allies decided to amplify Calais as its target. Deception techniques employed by the Allies, which were referred to as 'special means', included a combination of physical deceptions, fake wireless activities, leaks through diplomatic channels and double agents. Using techniques similar to the 1943 Cokade Operation, fictional field armies were employed, with the intention to increase the apparent size of the Allied forces to make a large-scale attack on multiple fronts seem more plausible to the Germans, and therefore stretch their resources. Pictured: A soldier next to an inflatable tank used in the Ghost Army Project of World War II As part of the operation's physical deception, the Allies employed nonexistent units and equipment, using dummy landing crafts and dummy landing fields, as well as decoy lighting. Rubber tanks and planes were also made. The United States 'Ghost Army' - a tactical deception unit officially known as 23rd Headquarters Special Troops - was a 1,100-man unit given the unique mission within the Allied army to impersonate other Allied Army units to deceive the Germans. Following D-Day, the Ghost Army put on a 'travelling road show' of inflatable tanks - along with sound trucks, fake radio transmissions, scripts and pretense, staging more than 20 battlefield deceptions. The story was kept secret for more than 40 years after the war, until it was declassified in 1996. Advertisement

It comes as Putin gave a very real warning to the West on Wednesday, saying Moscow's response to any encroachment on its territory will be 'quick and tough.'

Putin lashed out at Nato and the U.S. during his annual state-of-the-nation address following weeks of ratcheting tension on the Ukrainian border where thousands of troops and tanks have been stationed.

Washington and its allies have urged the Kremlin to pull the troops back, but Putin has pressed ahead, even dispatching 20 warships and 50 fighter jets to carry out live fire drills in the Black sea this week.

'I hope that no one dares to cross the red line in respect to Russia, and we will determine where it is in each specific case,' Putin said.

'Those who organize any provocations threatening our core security interests will regret their deeds more than they regretted anything for a long time.'

Moscow has rejected Ukrainian and Western concerns about the troop buildup, saying it doesn't threaten anyone and that Russia is free to deploy its forces on its territory.

But the Kremlin also has warned Ukraine against trying to use force to retake control of the rebel-held east, saying Russia could be forced to intervene to protect civilians in the region.

'We really don't want to burn the bridges,' Putin said. 'But if some mistake our good intentions for indifference or weakness and intend to burn or even blow up those bridges themselves, Russia's response will be asymmetrical, quick and tough.'

As Putin spoke, a wave of protests started rolling across Russia in support of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and a human rights group said nearly 1,500 people were arrested.

Thursday's military drills come amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over allegations Putin has massed troops and weapons on the border with Ukraine

Tens of tanks and their personnel lined up ready for the massive war game simulation in the Crimea on Thursday

Washington and its allies have urged the Kremlin to pull the troops back, but Putin pressed ahead with plans for the massive military drills being held today in the Crimea

Thousands marched in central Moscow, where police blocked off a square next to the Kremlin. Police in St. Petersburg blocked off Palace Square, outside the Hermitage museum, and protesters instead massed along Nevsky Prospekt.

The politician, who is Putin's most persistent critic and was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent last year, started a hunger strike three weeks ago to protest what he said was inadequate medical treatment and officials' refusal to allow his doctor to visit him. His supporters called the rallies as his health reportedly is in severe decline.

In his speech, Putin pointed to Russia's moves to modernize its nuclear arsenal and said the military would continue to build more state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles and other new weapons.

He added that the development of the nuclear-armed Poseidon underwater drone and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile is continuing successfully.

In an apparent reference to the U.S. and its allies, the Russian leader denounced those who impose 'unlawful, politically motivated economic sanctions and crude attempts to enforce its will on others.'

An inflatable tank is held aloft in southeast England in 1939. Churchill came up with the plan to create the fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG), to dupe the Nazis into thinking that the Allies were planning a colossal invasion around Calais, when, in fact, all of its forces were being thrown at Normandy on D-Day

He said Russia has shown restraint and often refrained from responding to 'openly boorish' actions by others.

The Biden administration last week imposed new sanctions on Russia for interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election and for involvement in the SolarWind hack of federal agencies - activities Moscow has denied.

The U.S. ordered 10 Russian diplomats expelled, targeted dozens of companies and individuals, and imposed new curbs on Russia's ability to borrow money.

Russia retaliated by ordering 10 U.S. diplomats to leave, blacklisting eight current and former U.S. officials, and tightening requirements for U.S. Embassy operations.

'Russia has its own interests, which we will defend in line with the international law,' Putin said during Wednesday's address.

'If somebody refuses to understand this obvious thing, is reluctant to conduct a dialogue and chooses a selfish and arrogant tone, Russia will always find a way to defend its position.'

In an emotional outburst, Putin chastised the West for acquiring a defiant stance toward Russia.

'Some countries have developed a nasty habit of bullying Russia for any reason or without any reason at all. It has become a new sport,' he said.

A Ukrainian soldier with a pair of binoculars and a Kalashnikov stands watch in a trench in Horlivka near the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk on Wednesday

A soldier at a Ukrainian dugout close to the frontline of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine

In an apparent reference to the U.S. allies, he compared them to Tabaqui, a cowardly golden jackal kowtowing to Shere Khan, the tiger in Rudyard Kipling's 'Jungle Book.'

'They howl to please their lord,' he said.

Russia this week engaged in a tense tug-of-war with the Czech Republic, following Prague's move to expel 18 Russian diplomats over a massive Czech ammunition depot explosion in 2014.

Moscow has dismissed the Czech accusations of its involvement in the blast as absurd and retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats.

Putin also harshly criticised the West for failing to condemn what he described as a botched coup attempt and a failed plot to assassinate Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko, allegedly involving a blockade of the country's capital, power cuts and cyberattacks.

Belarusian and Russian security agencies arrested the alleged coup plotters in Moscow earlier this month.

'The practice of organizing coups and planning political assassinations of top officials goes over the top and crosses all boundaries,' Putin said, drawing parallels to plots against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the popular protests that led to the ouster of Ukraine's former Russia-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych, in 2014.

A pro-Russian member of the Luhansk People's Republic points a weapons close to the line of separation on Wednesday

A militant of the pro-Russian Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) is reflected in a mirror at fighting positions on the line of separation from the Ukrainian armed forces in Luhansk Region, Ukraine April 21

Russia responded to Yanukovych's ouster by annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and throwing its support to the separatists in the country's east. Since then, fighting there has killed more than 14,000 people and devastated the industrial heartland.

Putin dedicated most of his annual address to domestic issues, hailing the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said the quick development of three coronavirus vaccines underlined Russia's technological and industrial potential. He called for a quicker pace of immunizations, voicing hope the country could achieve collective immunity this fall.

He put forward incentives to help the economy recover from the pandemic and promised new social payments focusing on families with children.

On Tuesday Putin staged dramatic naval drills in the Black Sea involving more than 20 warships and 50 fighter jets
Courtney Holden wanted to create a beer that would be undeniably intertwined with Black culture.

That meant See Us, a brown ale infused with the flavors of sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a whisper of vanilla.

It actually does taste like a sweet potato pie, said the queer Black beer enthusiast. It tastes like the hug from a aunt you havent seen in a long time.

For Midtown resident Alysha January, that meant capturing the essence of her stepfathers legendary pound cake.

I wanted a flavor that reminded me of home, said January, a Black woman who works as a marketing and engagement manager for Charles Street Development Corp., and who also runs Discovery Charm City, an Instagram account with over 20,000 followers. [Pound cake] is a staple in my house and all our houses  no matter how fancy the desserts get.

This year, Black Marylanders are teaming with Guinness Open Gate Brewery to launch a series of limited-edition beers as part of the Allyship Through Collaboration Series.

These beers, which are steeped in flavors often associated with Black culture, are the latest in a series of initiatives that the Halethorpe brewery has launched as part of Guinness Gives Back Baltimore Community Fund, a million-dollar commitment to support three areas in the Baltimore regions Black community: economic justice, community empowerment and equal representation. All proceeds from these specialty beers will benefit the Jobs Opportunities Task Force, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that works to eliminate educational and employment barriers for low-wage workers.

So far, each of the beers in the series  100 cases plus drafts available at the brewery  have sold out soon after their debut. The company will donate $200,000 of the money raised to the jobs nonprofit.

The next beer, a concoction of hibiscus, ginger, cloves, and orange peel, entitled Sorrel Spring Ale, which was created by the Black employees at Guinness Brewery, will be released Thursday. There will be at least three more beers released this year based on the success of the initial series, according to Guinness Head Brewer Hollie Stephenson.

Story continues

Its not just about the liquid in front of you, its about what you are drinking, the story behind it, and who has made it, Stephenson said. Each one of them is my favorite for different reasons.

Stephenson, who has worked with each of the beer creators to develop their finished product, hopes that the series will make Black people feel welcome in the craft beer industry.

There are already Black beer drinkers and Black people contributing to beer culture, Stephenson said. Bringing visibility to that is important. Its about welcoming people.

Collaborations between breweries like Guinness and Black people will only help increase inroads and consumerism between the two groups, according to J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham, the equity & inclusion partner for The Brewers Association, a trade association that represents 5,300 U.S. brewery members and 46,000 members of The American Homebrewers Association.

I think in some ways the impact might have some really interesting reverberations because of the name recognitions around Guinness, Jackson-Beckham said.

According to data from the association, African Americans represent 4% of craft beer drinkers compared to 13% of the general population, Jackson-Beckham said.

I think the trajectory is turning up and tuning up rapidly, predicted Jackson-Beckham, referencing social media influencing efforts, festivals, and collaborations like the one at Guinness.

She also noted the Black Is Beautiful campaign of 2020 that inspired breweries to make specialty beers with proceeds to raise money and awareness for police reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.

That will continue to happen if people become consumers and have more opportunities for ownership, Jackson-Beckham said.

Holden, 35, was recruited to the project as a result of being friends with fellow beer enthusiast Jacquelyn Jackie Wonsey. The two met in 2019 in a beer appreciation group for women. Wonsey was friends with Stephenson and brought Holden in while making the first beer in the series.

It was born from a genuine relationship. We see this as a form of activism, Holden said. People are looking for people to step up and not be performative. This beer was an extension of that.

January was in discussion with Guinness for another initiative when brewery officials broached the possibility of a collaboration with her. All collaborations have been on a volunteer basis, according to Guinness. January immediately said yes because the projected aligned with her beliefs.

It didnt seem performative to me, she said. It seemed like something [Guinness] wanted to do. They made sure that everyone feels welcome in their space.

January said she loved working with the brewery to make her sour beer especially because she was able to do it with her stepfather, Yancey Brown.

We got to learn about the whole process, which took three days, she said. He got to try the beer. It was great. I felt proud.

Jasmine Norton, whose beer will debut in May, said that this was the perfect way for her to help the Black community.

Its always my mission to uplift my community, said Norton, who has owned her oyster-centric restaurant concept, Urban Oyster, for 4 years. Her other concept, Urban Burger Bar, opened in December. Its exciting and honorable just knowing that I can make a difference.

Giving back to the community is not new to Norton. She hires Baltimore City high school students with culinary interests so that they learn the restaurant business. She also has donated money to young Black entrepreneurs as they build their own businesses.

As a Black owner, to make this impact is inspiring to Black women and women, she said. The sky is the limit.

Norton hopes that her beer  a mix of pineapple, coconut and chili pepper  will bridge the gap between novice drinkers and connoisseurs.

Im actually not a big beer drinker, said Norton, who added that her beer pairs well with oysters. I thought it would resonate with both worlds  someone like me who is still trying to find my place in the beer world, and someone who is an avid beer drinker so it would be palatable to them.
Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday afternoon when Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd.

Painfully earned justice has finally arrived for George Floyds family, said Ben Crump, the familys attorney. This verdict is a turning point in history and sends a clear message on the need for accountability of law enforcement. Justice for Black America is justice for all of America!

But within hours, law enforcement officers shot and killed two Black people  in Columbus, Ohio, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina  setting off protests and also a reminder that change may not come quickly.

The NAACP in Columbus, where an officer fatally shot 16-year-old MaKhia Bryant on Tuesday afternoon, around the time the jury in the Chauvin case reportedly reached a verdict, said we have more to do.

As the world watched the trial of Derek Chauvin, Black people in America are still being killed by police, the group said.

The next morning, at about 8:30, a sheriffs deputy in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, shot and killed 42-year-old Andrew Brown Jr.

In Columbus, police said officers responded to a 911 call about an attempted stabbing. Footage from an officers body-worn camera shows Bryant was armed with a knife when she lunged at someone before being shot.

No matter what the circumstances, that family is in agony and they are in my prayers, Ned Pettus Jr., the public safety director for the city of Columbus, said during a news conference, The New York Times reported. They deserve answers. Our city deserves answers. I want answers, but fast, quick answers cannot come at the cost of accurate answers.

Philip Stinson, a professor at Bowling Green State University and an expert on law enforcement shootings, told The Columbus Dispatch his first impression is that the officer was legally justified in using deadly force.

Its a terribly tragic situation, and my heart goes out to the girl and her family and friends, he said. But from looking at the video, it appears to me that a reasonable police officer would have had a reasonable apprehension of an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death being imposed against an officer or someone else. Thats the legal standard.

Story continues

People gathered in Columbus on Wednesday for the second night in a row to hold a vigil and to protest the death of of Bryant, WBNS reported. They chanted, Black Lives Matter and say her name.

Officials have not released body-worn camera footage in the Brown case, in which deputies were attempting to execute a search warrant.

A neighbor and friend told The News & Observer that Brown was driving away from deputies before more than a dozen shots were fired at the vehicle.

The police didnt have to shoot my baby, Martha McCullen, Browns aunt who said she raised him after his parents died, told the Associated Press. Andrew Brown was a good person. He was about to get his kids back. He was a good father. Now his kids wont never see him again.

Howard J. Hunter III, who represents the district that includes Pasquotank County in the N.C. House of Representatives, said Wednesday that we are yet again witnessing another officer-involved shooting resulting in the lost of life of another African-American male.

He called on government leaders, from the federal to local level, to immediately address issues of over-policing and racial profiling; police use of excessive force; racial disparities in criminal arrests and convictions and sentencing.

Protesters gathered in Elizabeth City on Wednesday evening, urging officials to release footage of the shooting.

Repeating these tragedies

Ramon Obey II  president of Justice, Unity and Social Transformation in Columbus, told The Dispatch he wasnt surprised by the news of Bryants death shortly after Chauvin was convicted.

The system of policing is broken, and until change takes place we are doomed to keep repeating these tragedies, he said.

Other activists across the country say Chauvins conviction  a rarity in police shootings  is an example of accountability, not justice.

True justice, former President Barack Obama said in a statement, requires so much more.

Michigan Attorney General Keith Ellison said justice implies true restoration.

But it is accountability, he said, which is the first step toward justice.
STAY SAFE, STATEN ISLAND: This story is part of a series examining crime trends in communities across our borough.



STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The identity of the person whose skeletal remains were found in January in Mariners Harbor still remains a mystery, but throughout the years officials have found body parts across Staten Island in cases that still remain unsolved and the victims stories untold.

The oldest case of an unidentified body part found on Staten Island that is listed on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) database dates back to Nov. 11, 1983, when officials found the torso of a male near the Staten Island Ferry terminal in St. George.

NamUs is an online database kept by medical examiners and coroners nationwide that tracks cases of missing, unidentified and unclaimed persons.

The man at the ferry, believed to be between the age of 45 and 65, was found in a decomposed state and never identified, the database shows.

About six months later, on May 16, 1984, officials found the partially skeletonized remains of a man believed to be between the age of 16 and 20 on the shoreline at Von Briesen Park in Fort Wadsworth.

Later, in March of 1991, officials found a human skull  possibly of a female between the age of 18 and 70  in the wetlands area near Olympia Boulevard between Seaver Avenue and Slater Boulevard in Midland Beach, the database indicates.

One year later, the partial remains of [an] unknown white male were found floating in the Kill Van Kull waterway, near Richmond Terrace and St. Peters Place, according to the database.

The man was believed to be between the age of 20 and 80, officials say.

More skeletal remains were found in March of 1993 on the shore of the Arthur Kill waterway off of Tottenville. The skeleton was believed to be of a man between the age of 35 and 75.

In March 11, 1999, some children were playing on Park Avenue in Port Richmond and found the skeletal remains of a woman believed to be between the age of 30 and 45.

I saw the skull... I thought it was a gasoline bottle but then I saw the teeth, once of the children told the Advance/SILive.com at the time. At first we thought it was a part of one of those skeleton bodies that they have in science classes. But then we saw bones of his or her body.

In 2011 police discovered a human skeleton in Stapleton next door to a firehouse.

The man, who had been reported missing in 2000, was found after the damage left behind by Tropical Storm Irene forced a homeowner to replace a rug inside 70 Broad St., leading him to find a trap door and the remains.

We tried to remove the carpet, and we found the door. We open it up, and once we see the water, we pump the water, Giuseppe Lafata said at the time.

Lafata ended up finding leg bones and a jacket, which contained a skull.

The skeleton had an ID with the name of John Taylor, age 20, on it.

The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide after Taylor was fatally stabbed in the torso.

His killer was never found.

The most recent case occurred in January of 2021, when investigators responded to a 911 call reporting what appeared to be human remains in Mariners Marsh Park, near Richmond Terrace and Holland Avenue in Mariners Harbor.

The NYPD released images of clothing worn by a male whose skeletal remains were found in a Mariners Harbor park. (NYPD)

Police described the victim as a male of either Asian or Hispanic descent, between the ages of 15 and 22.

Authorities say he stood between 4-feet-11-inches and 5-feet tall.

Police say its believed the deceased couldve went missing from 2004 to 2006.

The medical examiner classified the manner of death as homicide by means that included sharp force injuries of neck and torso.

WHOLE BODIES

In the past 30 years, officials also found several bodies that were never identified, according to the NamUs website:

Sept. 6, 1989: A white or Hispanic female was found on the rocks in the water at Edgewater Street and Hylan Boulevard in Rosebank. The woman was believed to be between the age of 18-30.

March 25, 1990 : A male was found by a fisherman floating in the Upper Bay near Seagate Road in Shore Acres. The man, believed to be between the age of 20 and 80, had pants, socks, underwear and sneakers on.

Sept. 19, 1991: Officials found the body of a female believed to be between the age of 20 and 27 in a ditch on Seaview Avenue across from South Beach Psychiatric Center. She had a tattoo of a scorpion on her right buttock and was wearing a black knit-type 3/4 length dress with a pink or fuchsia-colored collar and pocket and a pair of low-cut Thom McAn Balloon sneakers. The female also had an 18-inch gold herringbone necklace on her, a 20-inch gold rope chain necklace and a ring that contained a small watch face with an expandable band.

The tattoo of a scorpion found the body of a female found on Sept. 19, 1991. (NamUs)

Aug. 29, 1992: A man authorities believed to be homeless and between 50- and 65-years-old, entered the JFK Ferry, which was docked at the Staten Island Ferry terminal, went below deck into the fire vessel room, and somehow activated the fire alarm system, which caused the room to fill with carbon dioxide. When the FDNY responded they found the male unconscious and took him to the former Bayley Seton Hospital in Clifton, where he was pronounced dead. The man had an eagle and shield inscribed United States Submarine Manilla 1945 on his right arm.

Oct. 23, 1993: A man, between the age of 20 and 70 was found in a wooded lot next to a home on the 100 block of Brighton Avenue in New Brighton. Authorities say a homeowner was in the backyard when she smelled a foul odor, and called 911. The man was bald and had a gray beard and mustache with stubble, authorities said.

Oct. 22, 1994: A man, between the age of 20 and 40, was found floating in the Upper New York Bay just off the shore of Fort Wadsworth in the North Shore. He had shorts on with the logo New York on them.

May 13, 1995: A man, between the age of 25 and 40, found floating in the water behind 2705 Richmond Terrace in Mariners Harbor. He was wearing a black leather jacket, white shirt, blue Gap denim pants, a green sweater, red socks, white socks and brown boots.

July 25, 1998: A man, between the age of 20 and 40, found in Kill van Kull waters. An anthropology analysis of ancestry was inconclusive  but authorities believe he could have possibly been white, Hispanic, or Asian. Some necklaces were found on him.

The necklaces found of the body of man found on July 25, 1998. (NamUs)

June 6, 2011: A man, between the age of 25 and 35, found hanged from a tree branch in wooded area of Cloves Lake Park. A bag of clothing was also found hanging from a nearby tree.

Police released a photo of this tattoo on the right wrist of a man found dead along the shoreline in Rosebank on May 3, 2019. (Courtesy of NYPD)

May 3, 2019: A man between the age of 25 and 40 was was A man between the age of 25 and 40 was was found behind the 100 block of Edgewater Street in Rosebank. A man who was passing by saw the body and called 911. The man had a tattoo of a five-point star with a circle around it located on his right wrist, police said.



STAY SAFE, STATEN ISLAND: Related coverage
Hong Kong: CE attends bay area meeting

Chief Executive Carrie Lam attended the thematic meeting of the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in Guangzhou this afternoon.

The meeting was hosted and convened by State Council Vice Premier Han Zheng.

Secretary for Innovation & Technology Alfred Sit and Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui sat in on the meeting.

In her remarks, Mrs Lam said with the leading groups guidance, the strong support of the relevant ministries and commissions, and the joint efforts of the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau governments, work is in full swing in many different areas with remarkable results.

The vast majority of the policies and measures announced after leading group meetings have been implemented and have greatly assisted Hong Kong residents, enterprises and professionals to reside, work and develop in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area.

Mrs Lam said the Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Co-operation Zone provides key impetus to developing an international innovation and technology hub in the bay area.

She thanked the central authorities for their support in the countrys 14th Five-Year Plan for the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Loop to be a platform for co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.

The Chief Executive noted that Hong Kong and Shenzhen have established a working group with a view to realising the one zone, two parks concept under the auspices of one country, two systems as soon as possible.

On co-operation in Qianhai, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government fully supports and wishes to see Qianhai continue to leverage its function as an area for early and pilot implementation to introduce more policy breakthroughs to advance the development of a high-end modern service industry.

The policy initiatives in respect of the legal and construction professions in recent years have been well received by the sectors in Hong Kong.

Mrs Lam pointed out that it is clear from the central authorities' overall requirements for the development of the bay area that the guiding ideology is the full and faithful implementation of the principle of one country, two systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong and the people of Macau administer Macau with a high degree of autonomy.

It also includes acting in strict adherence to the Constitution and the Basic Law, as well as fully understanding and utilising the institutional strengths of one country, two systems.

In the past year, the central authorities have made two major moves, comprising the enactment and implementation of the National Security Law and improving the Hong Kong SAR's electoral system, to put the implementation of one country, two systems in the Hong Kong SAR back on the right track, safeguarding the institutional strengths of the development of the bay area.

The Chief Executive added that the development of the bay area and the support for Hong Kong in the country's 14th Five-Year Plan will provide ample room for Hong Kong's development.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Attacks by suspected bandits across villages in Zamfara State have left at least 83 persons dead and hundreds of others, including women and children, injured.

Reports on the attacks were given by displaced people, officials and residents of the affected communities.

Most of the attacks, which appeared coordinated, happened on Wednesday in Gusau, Maradun and Bakura local government areas of the troubled North-west state.

PREMIUM TIMES had, the day before the latest attacks, reported apprehension in the Dansadau district of Maru Local Government Area following the killing of 20 people in separate attacks by rival groups in the area.

The sole administrator of Bakura local government , Aminu Suleiman, told reporters that over 30 people were killed in attacks in Bakura and Maradun.

Mr Suleiman, however, said the deaths were recorded over days of reprisal attacks between members of outlawed vigilante groups and bandits.

In Magami district, residents Thursday morning said they had recovered 53 corpses. They said the attackers moved from village to village, unleashing mayhem, unchallenged.

There was tension in the area over fears that the gunmen would return to disrupt the burial of those killed. Residents said many of those killed were vigilantes who tried to defend their villages against the bandits.

As of the time of filing this report, the residents of many communities were yet to bury their dead as more corpses were being discovered in the area.

Residents said the assailants carried sophisticated weapons and raided the villages on motorbikes. They said most of the villages had earlier been deserted following incessant attacks but that some villagers were returning for the farming season.

The affected communities include Gobirawa, Gora, Rini and Madoti Dankule of Maradun and Bakura local government areas.

In the Magami district of Gusau Local Government Area, the affected communities include Yar Doka, Kango, Ruwan Dawa, Madaba, Arzikin Da and Mairairai, the closest of which is seven kilometres from Gusau town.

Residents said hostilities persist in the state due to the absence of security agents in the most affected areas. They said this has encouraged extrajudicial killings and reprisal attacks between vigilante members and bandits.

The state government condemned the attacks in Maradun and Bakura, but has not spoken on the one in Gusau.

The states Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara, in a statement, said Governor Bello Matawalle was saddened by the unfortunate incidents.

The government also condoled with the families of those who lost their lives in the sad event and is taking every necessary step to ensure that the culprits are brought to book, Mr Dosara said.
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The Federal Executive Council (FEC) did not discuss the allegations against Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, during its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

The minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, while briefing journalists at the State House after the meeting, stated that the FEC did not discuss any issue concerning his communications counterpart.

Mr Pantami was one of the ministers who attended the council meeting virtually.

He has been in the eyes of the storm over his alleged links with terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Taliban.

The Pantami controversy started with a report that the United States of America government reportedly placed the minister on terrorist watch list. However, the report, which failed to quote or referenced any source, has been recanted and an apology offered to the minister.

Mr Pantami, who is also an Islamic scholar, denied the alleged links to extremists in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

The initial report has caused more spotlight to be placed on Mr Pantamis past sermons, some of which appear to be sympathetic to extremist groups.

Buhari keeps mum

While briefing State House journalists , Mr Mohammed was asked whether the council which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari discussed the matter and whether the government was comfortable with its burden on its image.

The information minister stated that nothing of such nature was discussed at the meeting.

Im not going to go into the issue of whether the government is comfortable or not. I will answer your question directly. It was not discussed at the council meeting.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that Mr Pantami during his daily Ramadan sermon at the Alnoor Mosque, on Saturday, said he made those comments while he was still very young.

He said the campaign against him is politically motivated.

For 15 years, I have moved round the country while educating people about the dangers of terrorism. I have travelled 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.
The pain and discomfort in Larry Crowleys legs was getting worse and making it difficult for him to complete daily tasks.

Even walking down the drive to his mailbox or climbing a ladder caused extreme pain in his legs and calves. As a former MidMichigan Health employee and survivor of a triple bypass, Crowley knew that he shouldnt delay following up with his Primary Care Provider Teona Maghlakelidze.

After reviewing his symptoms, Dr. Maghlakelidze referred him to Vascular Surgeon Constantinos Constantinou, and Physician Assistant Nichola Jardas, where he was diagnosed with mild right lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) and moderate left lower extremity PAD. After discussing the condition with Crowley, Constantinou prescribed Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) to help prevent the progression of the disease and to improve the pain he was experiencing.

Crowley, a Gladwin resident, was able to complete this specialized PAD therapy through the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program at MidMichigan Medical Offices in Gladwin. The treatment involves supervised exercise that helps decrease PAD symptoms; improve pain-free walking distance, quality of life and muscle function; and achieve overall risk reduction benefits.

PAD is the narrowing or blocking of the arteries in extremities, most commonly in the legs, and can be common in those who have heart disease. Often, cardiac rehab is a successful way to treat PAD without a surgical procedure.

Previous experience taught me the importance of being a dedicated participant when it comes to prescribed therapy, said Crowley. I was happy to have the opportunity to work with therapists close to home since it was needed three times per week.

Crowley began a 12-week program in the fall of 2020. His program centered around walking on a treadmill, increasing walk times and the incline to help strengthen blood flow in the legs and lessen his pain.

Mr. Crowley was asked to work through some intense pain that can be very difficult to overcome, stated MidMichigan Exercise Physiologist Kaitlyn Prince. He put a lot of trust in our education and suggestions. He never missed a session and worked very hard each time he was here.

Throughout the course of his treatment, Crowley also worked with therapists Annie Day and Brianna Campbell.

The expertise of all the therapists I worked with was incredible, he said. Each small tweak and adjustment they taught me had a big impact, and they explained everything thoroughly. Everyone I worked with was very encouraging and celebrated my achievements right along with me.

After working with the Gladwin rehab team, Crowley reported obvious and profound improvements in his ability to maneuver without pain, whether up and down the ladder to work on his boat or with daily household tasks. As a retired physicist, he looks forward to remaining active and taking his Boston Whaler boat south to fine-tune his sea fishing skills.

My experiences at cardiac rehab were 100 percent positive, said Crowley. I have the greatest respect for the knowledge possessed by the therapists who worked with me, and the way in which they shared it. They are a truly great group of people.

For more information about PAD or MidMichigans specialized PAD Program, visit www.midmichigan.org/pad. For more information about Constantinou, visit www.midmichigan.org/constantinou.
Israeli soldiers gather as they survey the area after a Syrian missile exploded in southern Israel, the Israeli military said, in Ashalim, southern Israel, on April 22, 2021. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Syrian Missile Explodes in Area Near Israeli Nuclear Reactor, Israel Retaliates

JERUSALEMA Syrian missile exploded in southern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, in an incident that triggered warning sirens near the secretive Dimona nuclear reactor and an Israeli strike in Syria.

An Israeli military spokesman identified the projectile as an SA-5 surface-to-air missile fired by Syrian forces against Israeli aircraft. He said it overflew its target to reach the Dimona area, 200 km (125 miles) south of the Syrian border.

The missile did not hit the reactor, exploding some 30 km (19 miles) away, the spokesman added.

The sirens that sounded overnight in the Dimona area followed weeks of heightened tension between Israel and Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid renewed global negotiations over Tehrans nuclear program.

For weeks, Israeli media have said air defenses around the Dimona reactor and the Red Sea port of Eilat were being strengthened in anticipation of a possible long-range missile or drone attack by Iranian-backed forces.

Israeli soldiers survey the area after a Syrian missile exploded in southern Israel, the Israeli military said, in Ashalim, southern Israel, on April 22, 2021. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)

In public remarks on Thursdays incident, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the anti-aircraft missile was fired from Syria during an Israeli strike there against assets that could be used for a potential attack against Israel.

Gantz said Israels anti-missile systems had attempted to intercept the SA-5 but were unsuccessful.

In most cases, we achieve other results. This is a slightly more complex case. We will investigate it and move on, he said. Israeli security sources said the missile exploded in mid-air.

In response, Israel launched further overnight attacks inside Syria, the military spokesman said, targeting several missile batteries, including the one that fired the SA-5.

Syrias state news agency said the countrys air defense system intercepted Israeli rockets over the suburbs of Damascus and downed most of them. Four soldiers were injured and there was some material damage, it said.

A Syrian military defector said the Israeli strikes targeted locations near the town of Dumair, some 40 km (25 miles) northeast of the capital, where Iranian-backed militias have a presence. It is an area hit repeatedly in past Israeli attacks.

Addressing the likelihood of a Syrian anti-aircraft missile overshooting its target and flying a long distance into Israel, Uzi Rubin, an Israeli missile expert, said the scenario was consistent with the characteristics of an SA-5.

The trajectory of a stray anti-aircraft missile on an unintended descent is very tricky to track, he told Reuters.

Israels air defense systems are in theory capable of carrying out such an interception with proper preparation, but it would be at the edge of the capability envelope.

By Dan Williams and Jeffrey Heller
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John J. Sullivan has departed from Sheremetyevo Airport on a London-bound flight from Moscow and will head to Washington on a connecting flight from the British capital, an informed source said.

The plane, carrying the diplomat, took off from the airport at 9:57 a.m. Earlier, Sullivan traveled by a car from his residence at Spaso House in Moscow and parked at the airports terminal, TASS reported.

On April 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a news conference that Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov had advised Sullivan at a meeting to return to Washington for consultations.

On Monday, the Axios website reported, citing the U.S. Department of State, that Sullivan would travel to Washington this week to have consultations with members of the Biden administration and would return to Moscow in the coming weeks.

US State Department Spokesman Ned Price did not acknowledge that Sullivan was returning home for consultations on Moscows recommendation amid the souring bilateral ties between Russia and the United States.
"The company was founded in 2004, OPPO has been committed to improving the wellbeing of our employees, customers and partners, as well as bettering our impact on the environment and society as a whole. Sustainability has been an integral part of our development strategy during this time, ensuring our ability to innovate and provide the best possible products and services for our users in what we call the Internet of Experience," said Tony Chen, Founder and CEO of OPPO. "In reflection of our brand mission 'Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World', and in staying true to our core value of Benfen, we will continue to invest in our sustainability. In doing so, we also look forward to working with partners across the industry to create a better future for people worldwide."

OPPO's achievements in sustainability were verified by the leading testing service provider TUV Rheinland, which gave recognition of OPPO's contributions based on international standards. This third-party verification proves OPPO's own work towards creating a circular economy, which includes prioritizing the use of sustainable materials and minimizing its waste output. OPPO now adopts sustainable production processes, spanning from design, packaging, upgrading to material processing and more. As a result, TUV Rheinland also certified the outcomes of OPPO's sustainable resource management and reduced emissions.

Seeing itself as a global citizen, further to its own social responsibility initiatives, OPPO is also working with suppliers to conduct sustainable management projects and collectively build a more sustainable ecosystem. For example, under the OPPO Social Responsibility Code of Conduct, suppliers are prohibited from engaging in unlawful or unethical practices, including monopolistic behavior, bribery or corruption.

As part of its contribution to the circular economy, OPPO recycled 13 times more product by weight in 2020 compared with 2019. This was further supported by its efforts in using more renewable materials, with recycled plastic making up 35% of the plastic material contained in its smartphone components. At the same time, the company also achieved a 42.7% reduction in general waste and a 20% reduction in indirect greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

When it comes to people, as the lifeblood of its organization, OPPO has consistently put employee wellbeing at the forefront of its business operations. The company organized more than 670,000 hours of educational sessions and training programs in 2020 to assist exployees in planning and developing their careers. Likewise, for the millions of customers worldwide who use its products each day, OPPO takes their wellbeing just as seriously and has taken huge steps to better protect their data privacy. These include adding a number of innovative features to its ColorOS 11 operating system and as well as obtaining certifications for strict data privacy standards such as ISO (ISO/IEC 27001, 27018, 29151), TrustArc and ePrivacy.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, OPPO joined hands with the global community and mobilized resources to provide aid and support around the world. In the Philippines, OPPO collaborated with NGO Save the Children to help students receive remote education through the donation of 100 OPPO A12e smartphones and 100 Rock Space Bluetooth headsets. In Thailand, OPPO donated over 20,000 N95 face masks to medical workers at Bangkok's Siriraj Hospital and distributed medical kits to more than 13 hospitals across the country.

OPPO is also supporting communities and culture around the world through initiatives such as its Campus Global Emerging Artists Project Renovators (Renovators) program. In 2020, OPPO launched the second Renovators program, providing a platform for 3,000 students from 150 top universities around the world to unleash their creative imagination.

Making a significant and lasting impact on sustainability requires long-term thinking and commitment. OPPO will continue to further its own sustainability initiatives while collaborating with industry partners to create a better future for everyone.

The full 2020 Sustainability Report will be available on the OPPO official website soon. Please stay tuned!

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global technology brand since 2004, dedicated to providing products that seamlessly combines art and innovative technology.

OPPO is on a mission to building a multiple-access smart device ecosystem for the era of intelligent connectivity. The smartphone devices have simply been a gateway for OPPO to deliver a diverse portfolio of smart and frontier technologies in hardware, software and system. In 2019, OPPO launched a $7 Billion US Dollar three-year investment plan in R&D to develop core technologies furthering design through technology.

OPPO is firmly pursuing the creation of the best technology products and technological artistry for global users. Based on the brand elements of leading, young and beautiful, OPPO dedicates to the mission of letting the extraordinary users enjoy the beauty of technology.

For the last 10 years, OPPO has focused on manufacturing smartphones with camera capabilities that are second to none. OPPO launched the first mobile phone, the Smile Phone, in 2008, which marked the launch of the brand's epic journey in exploring and pioneering extraordinary technology. Over the years, OPPO has built a tradition of being number one, which became a reality through inventing the world's first rotating camera smartphone way back in 2013, launching the world's then thinnest smartphone in 2014, being the first to introduce 5X Zoom 'Periscope' camera technology and developing the first 5G commercial smartphone in Europe.

Today, OPPO was ranked as the number four smartphone brand globally. OPPO brings the aesthetics of technology of global consumers through the ColorOS system Experience, and Internet service like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+.

OPPO's business covers 40 countries with over six research institutes and five R&D centers across the world, from San Francisco to Shenzhen. OPPO also opened an International Design Centre headquartered in London, driving cutting edge technology that will shape the future not only for smartphones but for intelligent connectivity.

About OPPO MEA

OPPO started its journey in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2015 after setting up its regional office in Egypt. Following the immense success of the brand's sales centre in Cairo in the first year, OPPO accelerated its expansion plan across the MEA region and inaugurated its country operations in the UAE in 2019. Now OPPO is physically present in more than 13 markets across the region, including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and the Levant.

To empower its presence in the region in line with its product localisation strategy, OPPO further invested in MENA and set up its very own factory in Algeria in 2017, thus, becoming the first Chinese brand to build a manufacturing premises in North Africa. Based on insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO has evolved the progress of product localisation, taking into consideration several perspectives towards each market, including product localisation, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localisation, to better communicate with local young customers; and talent localisation, to understand local consumers further and provide an optimum customer service.

Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region specifically. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X Series and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region.

A forward-thinking international technology company, OPPO strives to be a sustainable company that contributes to a better world and have enacted positive change in every way possible through activating local community initiatives and humanitarian, charity campaigns.

SOURCE OPPO

Related Links

https://www.oppo.com/


Stanton Healthcare Applauds Idaho Legislature for Passing 'Heartbeat Bill'

This law would outlaw abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Healthcare

April 21, 2021

BOISE, Idaho, April 21, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Stanton Healthcare, based in Boise, has life-affirming Clinics in Idaho and affiliates across America and internationally. Stanton provides compassionate and professional women's healthcare along with holistic services to clients experiencing an unexpected pregnancy.

Stanton's medical staff, team and clients all testified before the Idaho Legislature in support of the Heartbeat legislation.

Stanton's mobile clinic unit was parked in front of the Capitol Building (photo) to conduct live ultrasounds as State Legislators and members of the Press were invited to hear actual heartbeats of preborn children which afforded them the opportunity to "testify" in support of this legislation.

McKinzy Troudt, Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) with Stanton Healthcare, testified:

"At Stanton, we want every woman to be educated about what is happening in her body before she makes a very weighty decision that will follow her for the rest of her life."

Samantha Doty, PA, Director of Clinical Services at Stanton, also testified to the scientific details of the developing heart of the fetus:

"The importance of a beating heart is as important at the end of life as it is as the beginning of life. When an abortion happens, a beating heart is stopped and a life is forever ended. How is it that the courts recognize the unborn baby as an individual human being in the case of homicide, but ignore the same fact in the setting of abortions? "Abortion is not women's health care. Medical professionals take an oath to 'do no harm.' If ending the heartbeat of a tiny baby is not the epitome of 'harm,' then I don't know what is."

Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Healthcare, comments;

"Stanton applauds the Idaho Legislature for passing this historic legislation. We believe this 'Heartbeat Bill' will be a powerful step in bringing an end to abortion violence by giving women medically accurate information and ensuring every child in Idaho is protected and treated with equality."

For more information or interviews with Ms. Swindell or Stanton Healthcare call:

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741

SOURCE Stanton Healthcare

CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741

Related Links

www.stantonhealthcare.org
Without Southwests share of that aid and other temporary items, Southwest would have lost $1.72 per share. That result was still slightly better than Wall Street feared. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $1.82 per share.
Italian police confirmed Thursday they have arrested a man suspected of supplying weapons to the man who rammed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in the southern French city of Nice in 2016, killing 86 people

Rome, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :Italian police confirmed Thursday they have arrested a man suspected of supplying weapons to the man who rammed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in the southern French city of Nice in 2016, killing 86 people.

Endri Elezi, a 28-year-old Albanian, is suspected of "supplying weapons to Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel", the Tunisian who carried out the attack on July 14, France's Bastille Day national holiday, a police statement said.

He was picked up on Wednesday evening at Sparanise, near the southern city of Naples, by officers acting on a European arrest warrant issued by the French authorities.

The arrest comes after the Paris appeals court in March ordered eight people to stand trial for their alleged role in the 2016 attack.

The trial will not take place until 2022.

Bouhlel himself was shot dead by police at the wheel of the vehicle he had used to kill people as they celebrated the holiday on Nice's waterfront, wounding more than 400 people.

It came less than a year after the deadly assaults in November 2015 that saw 130 people killed in bombings and shootings across Paris including at the Bataclan concert hall.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Nice attack, although prosecutors said there was no evidence that Bouhlel had sworn allegiance to the jihadist group.
Acceleration Consortium applies artificial intelligence to discovery of advanced materials

TORONTO, ON - The Acceleration Consortium, a new global collaboration between academia, industry and government, based at the University of Toronto (U of T), will use artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to accelerate the design and discovery of materials that don't yet exist. These advanced materials will make technologies more affordable and eco-friendlier with applications ranging from renewable energy and consumer electronics to drugs.

A New Paradigm in Materials Discovery

By leveraging the power of AI, robotics, engineering and chemistry, the AC will make U of T a global centre for materials science innovation. Using materials acceleration platforms (MAPs), also known as self-driving laboratories, the AC will rapidly design and discover the materials needed to build a more sustainable, prosperous and healthy future. The AC is led by Alan Aspuru-Guzik with support from the Faculty of Arts & Science in partnership with the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation.

"AI is changing the way we do science," said Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Director of the Acceleration Consortium, Canada 150 Research Chair in Theoretical Chemistry in the Departments of Chemistry and Computer Science at U of T and Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute. "The Acceleration Consortium's self-driving laboratories will revolutionize advanced materials innovation by reducing the time and cost to develop new materials from an average of 20 years and $100 million to as little as 1 year and $1 million."

The AC's launch coincides with a recent announcement by the Government of Canada to provide $58.9 million in investments to the National Research Council of Canada and Natural Resources Canada to support new laboratory space for advanced materials and the collaborative deployment of MAPs in Mississauga and Hamilton.

>A Wide Range of Applications

New advanced materials with superior performance characteristics are required for renewable and clean energy storage, sustainable polymers and packaging for consumer products, biomedical applications, drugs and therapeutics, lighter and stronger building materials, quantum computing, communication technology, eco-friendly transportation, and a host of other applications.

"By creating these new materials, the Acceleration Consortium will help improve the lives of Canadians by addressing challenges in health, climate change, urbanization and economic development," said Ed Clark, Board Chair, Vector Institute and former President and CEO of TD Bank Group. "The AC's efforts will also directly support our country's post-COVID-19 economic recovery by generating commercialization opportunities, onshoring manufacturing, increasing productivity, and even sparking the creation of companies and industries that do not yet exist."

An Interdisciplinary Approach

"We take pride in a legacy of innovation and discovery that has changed the way we think about the world and respond to society's most pressing social, economic and environmental questions," said Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T. "I am excited to participate in this enterprise that will advance us in new areas of scientific inquiry."

"With a primary focus on materials design in the areas of energy, the environment, structural and biomedical applications, this cross-disciplinary partnership epitomizes knowledge transfer and collaboration across scholarly expertise at U of T," said Chris Yip, dean of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

The Acceleration Consortium, U of T's latest Institutional Strategic Initiative (ISI), embodies the University's ability to bring together talented faculty members and students spanning fields and faculties to tackle key world issues.

"Global issues require a global response. U of T is proud to launch the Acceleration Consortium to drive materials innovation through collaboration between experts across the University and around the world, including government, industry and emerging companies, and our academic peers," said Christine Allen, associate vice-president and vice provost Strategic Initiatives.

An Innovation Ecosystem

The Acceleration Consortium has 3 interconnected objectives: 1) Transform materials discovery: Drive the design of MAPs to accelerate the discovery of new materials and make fundamental breakthroughs in AI, robotics, computational and materials science; 2) Build an ecosystem: Establish a global network of academic institutions, tech companies, and entrepreneurs dedicated to materials innovation; and 3) Train a highly skilled workforce: Create a nationwide training program for the next generation of researchers.

Together, these activities will help foster a robust and agile innovation ecosystem. This will allow AC members to capitalize on shared knowledge, more easily commercialize technological breakthroughs to address real market needs and create a talent pipeline that drives industry, launches start-ups, and attracts venture capital. AC initiatives will include workshops, conferences, hackathons, postdoctoral fellowships, a master's program, and a laboratory facility to provide training and access to self-driving laboratories for all AC members.

Current AC partners include: Chemspeed, CIFAR, Creative Destruction Lab, National Research Council of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, SLAS and Vector Institute, among many others. The AC boasts over 50 top researchers from the University of Toronto and across the world.

"CIFAR congratulates Professor Alan Aspuru-Guzik and the University of Toronto for the creation of the AC. The AC will catalyse advanced materials discovery for many applications, from renewable energy to new drugs. As a CIFAR Canada AI Chair and a Fellow in CIFAR's Bio-Inspired Energy program, Alan combines his leading-edge science with CIFAR's global interdisciplinary networks. CIFAR's partnership with the AC continues our longstanding contributions to the development and application of AI and to elucidating the mechanisms that will drive the green energy revolution," said Dr. Alan Bernstein, president & CEO of CIFAR.

"The launch of the Acceleration Consortium demonstrates what is possible when world-class scientists and practitioners converge and work across disciplines like chemistry and AI. We congratulate our colleagues and look forward to continued collaboration on this exemplary work as we progress towards our mission to use AI to foster economic growth and improve lives," said Garth Gibson, President & CEO, Vector Institute.

"The Acceleration Consortium is critical for advancing materials research. The adoption of high throughput parallelized experimentation enabled by automation is a key element of this endeavor. Chemspeed is thrilled that our automation solutions are one of the innovative technologies leveraged as part of this collaboration," said Diana Curran, Head Operations Americas, Chemspeed Technologies, Inc.

Within the ecosystem, the AC is also part of a Global Acceleration Network that includes A3MD, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) - Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Centre for Computer Assisted Synthesis, Institute for Digital Molecular Design and Fabrication (DigiFAB), Materials Innovation Factory, Molecular Maker Lab Institute, Open Reaction Database and more.

###

Visit acceleration.utoronto.ca.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Erin Warner

Communications Specialist

Acceleration Consortium, University of Toronto

erin.warner@utoronto.ca

Sean Bettam

Communications + Media Relations Specialist

Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto

s.bettam@utoronto.ca

This story has been published on: 2021-04-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
[April 22, 2021] Meir and Navah Statman Donate $3 Million for Faculty Excellence at Santa Clara University

Behavioral-finance pioneer and Santa Clara University professor Meir Statman and his wife, retired manager and longtime mental health volunteer Navah Statman MBA '84, are donating $3 million to advance faculty excellence at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. The funds will establish The Meir and Navah Statman Family Endowment for Finance Department Faculty Development and Research at the Leavey School. The endowment will further the academic quality, purpose, and mission of Santa Clara University as a Jesuit and Catholic University. "Santa Clara University has benefited from the friendship, generosity, and leadership of the Statmans for many decades," said Acting President Lisa Kloppenberg. "We are honored and delighted they have chosen to give back to the teacher-scholar community in which Meir has proved such a tremendous role model. Their gift will help us nurture and advance future generations of SCU business educators." The funds will be used for teaching and scholarship grants to faculty members and, at the discretion of a committee of faculty members, for teaching and scholarship expenses such as research databases. "When people ask me for one word to describe Santa Clara, it is decency," said Meir Statman, who has taught at SCU since 1979. "We are expected to treat our students, fellow faculty and staff decently, with competence, conscience, and compassion, and we can expect them to treat us decently. Santa Clara provided me with what I need to pursue my vocation as a teacher and scholar, contributing to my students, fellow scholars, professionals, and the broader community." About the Donors The Statmans have been members of the Santa Clara University family for more than 40 years. Though Meir originally sought out SCU to leverage a job offer for a raise at Rutgers University, where he was teaching at the time, he felt immediately at home at SCU, and never presented SCU's offer at Rutgers. Meir would go on with his SCU colleague, Professor Hersh Shefrin, to become one of the pioneers of "behavioral finance." The field combines knowledge from finance, economics, psychology, sociology, and other areas, to explore how investors and managers make financial choices and how ther choices are reflected in financial markets.



Navah Statman, who worked as a librarian before coming to SCU, completed her MBA at SCU in 1984. She then worked in logistics planning and program management at Amdahl Corp. and Sun Microsystems (News - Alert) . Meir and Navah were helped immensely by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in caring for a family member disabled by bipolar illness. Over the years, Navah turned her time and attention to serving as a volunteer at NAMI. Navah helped NAMI grow educational programs such as Family-to-Family courses and she continues to serve as a volunteer on a warmline for people suffering mental illnesses and for their families. Her contributions were recognized by Santa Clara University in 2005, when the Alumni Association awarded her an Ignatian Award for service to community.

Meir is the author of Behavioral Finance: The Second Generation, published by the CFA Institute Research Foundation; Finance for Normal People, published by Oxford University Press; and What Investors Really Want, published by McGraw Hill. He is a member of the advisory boards of five financial journals and associate editor of two. Among numerous honors and awards, Meir was the recipient of a Batterymarch Fellowship, two Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Awards, a Davis Ethics Award, a Moskowitz Prize for best paper on socially responsible investing, a Matthew R. McArthur Industry Pioneer Award, and three Baker IMCA Journal Awards. The couple has previously donated to the Santa Clara Fund, Leavey School of Business, MBA Alumni Fund, and the Faculty and Staff Special Assistance Fund. "Whenever we have good news in life, Navah would say 'we have to donate some money.' We call it good luck insurance," said Meir. Now, after decades of being blessed with skills and talents that are in demand in the financial world, the couple wants to give back yet again. "We hope this gift will help members of the finance department increase their contributions as teaching scholars," said Meir. Navah and Meir Statman both grew up in Israel, each the eldest of three children. Meir's parents fled Poland in 1939, as the Nazis invaded. Both of his parents wandered in Siberia and down to Uzbekistan, where they met and were married. Meir was born in 1947 in a refugee camp in Germany, and his family moved to Israel in 1949. Navah's father had immigrated to Israel from Romania, and her mother from Syria. They met and married in Israel, where Navah was born in 1948. Navah and Meir both attended the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where they met as undergraduates, and were married in Israel more than 51 years ago. In addition to her SCU MBA, Navah holds a master's in library science from Columbia University. Meir received his MBA from the Hebrew University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. They have two grown daughters, Barbara and Ruth, and live in Cupertino. About Santa Clara University Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley-the world's most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University's stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422006042/en/

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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered the General Staff of the Russian Federation and commanders to pull the troops, which have recently been moved to Ukraine's borders, back to their permanent bases, according to the Telegram channel of the RBC news site.

"Russia is beginning to withdraw the troops of the Southern and Western military districts to their permanent bases from April 23. The inspection of military units is coming to an end," Shoigu said.

Russian media outlets also quoted Shoigu as saying that "the goals of the snap inspection have been fully achieved; the troops demonstrated the ability to reliably defend the country."

As was reported earlier, Russia has recently been massing troops near Ukraine's state border in the north, east and south, as well as in temporarily occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran said on April 10 that the real goals of Russia's military build-up near Ukraine's borders could be to increase pressure on Ukraine so that it makes concessions in the negotiation process and to demonstrate the readiness to use force.

op
New Delhi, April 22 : On a day when India recorded 3.14 Lakh Covid cases and over 2,104 deaths in a day, the Supreme Court on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of Covid management and sought a national plan from the Centre on supply of oxygen, essential drugs supply and method and manner of vaccination.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said: "We want to see a national plan on the issue." The bench also appointed senior advocate Harish Salve as amicus curiae in the matter.

The bench said: "We want to know. In regard to the four issues: supply of oxygen, supply of essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination. And, we want to keep the power to declare lockdown with the states." The top court took cognisance of Covid management, when High Courts across the country are hearing petitions in connection with crisis of oxygen supply, hospital beds and shortage of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir in hospitals.

The bench noted that six High Courts -- Delhi, Bombay Sikkim, MP, Calcutta and Allahabad -- were dealing with issues related with Covid management and it was creating confusion. The court said: "We as a court wish to take suo motu cognisance of certain issues. They (High Courts) are exercising jurisdiction in best interest. But it is creating confusion and diversion of resources." In a separate hearing during an application by Vedanta seeking to carry some repair work and re-start oxygen plant at the Tuticorin, which can manufacture thousand tonnes of oxygen for COVID-19 patients, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the country is in dire need of oxygen. The plant has been shut since 2018 over environmental violations. The Chief Justice observed, "the present situation is like national emergency." The top court also asked the Centre to present a national plan. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on Friday.

The Delhi High Court has been hearing matters connected with emergency requests for oxygen and other resources for various hospitals in the city.

The High Court had observed that the citizen can only fall back on the state. "It is the responsibility of the government. Beg... borrow... or steal, it is your job," said the High Court.

"How is the government so oblivious of the reality on the ground? You cannot have people dying because of no oxygen. You take your own sweet time and people die", the High Court had said on Wednesday.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Tata Motors Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is yet another automaker shutting factories temporarily due to a shortage of microprocessors.

JLR told the BBC there would be a limited period of closure at its Halewood (Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque) and Castle Bromwich (Jaguar) sites from Monday. Solihull (Range Rover) is not affected at the moment. Land Rover Defender and full-size Discovery are assembled in Slovakia and Magna Steyr in Austria builds the Jaguar i-Pace.

JLR said in a statement cited by the BBC: We have adjusted production schedules for certain vehicles which means that our Castle Bromwich and Halewood manufacturing plants will be operating a limited period of non-production from Monday 26 April.

We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible.

The BBC added Renault had warned today (22 April) the chip shortage was worsening.



On Wednesday Stellantis had said it would replace digital speedometers with analogue in one of its Peugeot models as the shortage continued.

Automotive sector specialist at management consultancy Vendigital, Dominic Tribe, said: The global market for semiconductors is now estimated to have a value of $433bn, and further growth of 8.4% is forecast this year. For the major car manufacturers, the situation is incredibly challenging and competition for supplies is intense.

Semiconductor shortages hit automotive output
[April 22, 2021] 53% of Credit-Challenged Americans Are Doing Worse Financially a Year into Pandemic Finds OppFi Survey

CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- New survey data from Opportunity Financial, LLC (" OppFi ") shows that thirteen months into the COVID-19 global pandemic, more than half (53%) of credit-challenged consumers in the U.S. believe that they are worse off financially than they were pre-pandemic, with many expecting to face continued financial hurdles, even as vaccinations proliferate. In fact, despite encouraging news about the reopening of the economy, 43% of respondents reported concerns that they would face eviction and/or need to declare bankruptcy in coming months. Although federal and local governments have implemented various forms of relief over the past year, 66% of credit-challenged consumers in the U.S. still had to seek assistance in the form of loans or access to credit in the past 12 months. At the same time, the pandemic has reduced access to credit for many  half of those surveyed (50%) reported finding it harder to access or receive this support.

Among credit-challenged Americans who were able to receive support, 40% turned to friends and family to borrow funds and 27% relied on leveraging credit card debt.

Looking ahead, 57% of survey respondents predict that they will need to seek additional assistance over the next year.

Underscoring the issue is a lack of savings for many; half (50%) of those surveyed have less than $50 in savings and only about 1 in 6 (17%) currently have $400 or more in savings. The survey also found that temporary measures  including multiple rounds of stimulus checks, forbearance and eviction moratoriums  provided fleeting relief for everyday consumers in the U.S. Although 50% of those surveyed reported depending on the temporary measures to stay solvent during the pandemic, about one in four (29.3%) of survey respondents noted it was not enough and they continue to worry they will be unable to remain in good financial standing despite the temporary measures. "The reality of the everyday consumer in the U.S. shows that not everyone was able to weather the pandemic in the same way. There is a gulf between the experiences and opportunities of those that are financially secure and able to access the tools and resources that act as safety nets, and those who are not," said Jared Kaplan, CEO of OppFi. "In the absence of a sustainable solution that addresses financial health, the 150 million Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, will be forced to deal with the prolonged impacts of this pandemic because they will remain locked out of the traditional financial ecosystem. Over the long term, many of these consumers will continue to face barriers engaging in activities traditionally viewed as building blocks for creating financial security." Additional survey insights include: The vast majority (75%) of credit-challenged consumers in the U.S. do not own stock and were never able to benefit from the strong equities market of the past year.

Many (58.5%) respondents reported spending their 2020 stimulus checks within three weeks of receiving them.

While respondents across all age groups reported putting off or considering whether to put off important commitments like building emergency savings (29%), this was most stark among older adults nearing retirement  almost half 46% of those over 55 years old reported taking this approach to their savings.

Respondents aged over 55 years old also reported slightly higher rates of worsening financial stress (41%) compared with the general population (33%), calling into question the impact of the pandemic on retirement and financial planning for everyday consumers in the U.S.

Among younger adults, 32.5% of respondents 18-35 years old deprioritized buying a house and 26% deprioritized having children due to their financial situations. All reported findings are from an OppFi survey assessing 524 U.S. adults ages 18 or older and making an annual income of less than $80,000, with a self-reported FICO score of less than 620. The survey was fielded in March 2021. OppFi is a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help the everyday consumer gain access to credit. On February 9, 2021, OppFi and FG New America Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: FGNA), a special purposeacquisition corporation, entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in OppFi becoming a public company.



About OppFi

OppFi a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help the everyday consumer gain access to credit. Through its unwavering commitment to customer service, OppFi helps consumers who are turned away by traditional providers build a better financial path. OppFi has facilitated the issuance of more than 1.5 million loans. The company has been ranked as an Inc. 5000 company for five straight years and was named the eighth fastest-growing Chicagoland company in 2020 by Crain's Chicago Business. The company was also named on Forbes America 2021 list of America's Best Startup Employers and Built In's 2021 Best Places to Work in Chicago. The company maintains an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and maintains a 4.8/5 star rating with more than 14,000 online customer reviews, making it one of the top customer-rated financial platforms online. For more information, please visit www.oppfi.com . About FGNA

FG New America Acquisition Corp., (NYSE: FGNA), is a NYSE-listed blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. For more information, please visit www.fgnewamerica.com .

Contact: Media@oppfi.com Forward-Looking Statements This information includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. FGNA's and OppFi's actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, OppFi's beliefs regarding the impact of the proposed business combination on its business. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside FGNA's and OppFi's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the definitive business combination agreement (the "Agreement"); (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against FGNA and OppFi following the announcement of the Agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the proposed business combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the stockholders of FGNA, certain regulatory approvals or satisfy other conditions to closing in the Agreement, including with respect to the levels of FGNA stockholder redemptions; (4) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Agreement or could otherwise cause the transaction to fail to close; (5) the impact of COVID-19 on OppFi's business and/or the ability of the parties to complete the proposed business combination; (6) the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the combined company's shares of common stock on the New York Stock Exchange following the proposed business combination; (7) the risk that the proposed business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed business combination; (8) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of OppFi to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (9) costs related to the proposed business combination; (10) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (11) the possibility that OppFi or FGNA may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (12) whether OppFi will be successful in launching OppFi Card, including whether there will be consumer or market acceptance of OppFi Card; and (13) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in FGNA's proxy statement relating to the proposed business combination, including those under "Risk Factors" therein, and in FGNA's other filings with the SEC. FGNA and OppFi caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. FGNA and OppFi caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. FGNA and OppFi do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Important Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed business combination, FGNA has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC and intends to file a definitive proxy statement with the SEC. FGNA's stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read the preliminary proxy statement and the amendments thereto and, when available, the definitive proxy statement and documents incorporated by reference therein filed in connection with the proposed business combination, as these materials will contain important information about OppFi, FGNA and the proposed business combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement and other relevant materials for the proposed business combination will be mailed to stockholders of FGNA as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed business combination. Stockholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement, the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein, without charge, once available, at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov, or by directing a request to: FG New America Acquisition Corp., Attention: Hassan Baqar, Chief Financial Officer, 105 S. Maple Street, Itasca, Illinois 60143. Participants in the Solicitation FGNA and its directors and executive officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from FGNA's stockholders with respect to the business combination. A list of the names of those directors and executive officers and a description of their interests in FGNA was filed in the preliminary proxy statement for the proposed business combination and is available at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the definitive proxy statement for the proposed business combination when available. OppFi and its directors and executive officers may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of FGNA in connection with the business combination. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the proposed business combination was included in the preliminary proxy statement for the proposed business combination. Additional information regarding the interests of such participants will be contained in the definitive proxy statement for the proposed business combination when available. Non-Solicitation This information shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination. This information shall also not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/53-of-credit-challenged-americans-are-doing-worse-financially-a-year-into-pandemic-finds-oppfi-survey-301274638.html SOURCE OppFi

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 21:37:33|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Thursday attacked a public hospital in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna, kidnapping two nurses on night duty, a government official told Xinhua.

Casfra Caino, chairman of the Kajuru local government area, who confirmed the fresh attack, said the gunmen attacked Idon General Hospital, located in the Kajuru area of the state, through the fence, shooting indiscriminately and in the process took away two nurses.

The incident is coming on the heels of a bandits' attack on Greenfield University along the Kaduna-Abuja highway in the Chikun area of the state, killing a staff member of the institution while some students were abducted.

The northern part of Nigeria has witnessed a series of attacks by armed groups in recent months. Enditem
Submarine that went missing in Bali has oxygen left for 2 days, VOI edition reported referring to the representative of the Indonesian military.

The official said that at the time of the disappearance on April 21, the sub had 72 hours of oxygen, so the oxygen supply would run out on Saturday, April 24.

With 53 sailors on board, the submarine was conducting torpedo exercises when it stopped communicating. It may currently be in the waters of North Bali at a depth of 700 meters.

Russia, the US, Germany, France, India, Turkey and Australia offered their help in the search for the missing submarine. Singapore and Malaysia have already dispatched rescue vessels to the site of the submarine's disappearance.
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. 6 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in the Republic of Artsakh in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,624.

93 coronavirus tests have been carried out on April 21, the ministry of healthcare of Artsakh said.

Currently, 34 infected patients receive treatment in hospitals.

On April 19 the vaccinations against COVID-19 have launched in Artsakh.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Gold Mountain Mining Corp. ("Gold Mountain" or the "Company" ) (TSX.V:GMTN)(OTCQB:GMTNF)(Frankfurt:5XFA) is pleased to announce results from the Company's latest drill hole intercepts located at its 100% owned Elk Gold Project located near Merritt, BC. These assay results extend known high-grade mineralization of the 2600 and 2700 vein systems and showcase near-surface gold grades consistent with the Company's successful deep drilling results announced on April 14th, 2021. Additionally, the Company's re-logging of historic core using the latest technology continues to uncover high-grade mineralization missed by previous operators.

Highlights:

The results from the latest assays extend the 2600 and 2700 vein and convey strong grade continuity as the Company continues infilling. Drill results include: SND20-033 intercepted 1.3m averaging 13.3 g/t Au (including 0.30m averaging 56.5 g/t Au ) SND20-033 intercepted 1.3m averaging 4.5 g/t Au (including 0.30m averaging 19.2 g/t Au )

Relogging and sampling program uncovered a new vein intercept from a historic hole: SND11-128, yielding 0.2m averaging 47.8 g/t Au



Gold Mountain's CEO Kevin Smith commented: "These results at the tail end of our Phase 1 Drill program bring our hit rate to 100%. Every drill hole from this program returned significant gold intercepts. The primary goal of the final drill holes was to in-fill data gaps in the 2600 and 2700 vein system and to further enhance JDS' underground geotechnical model. Having these holes return some of our highest grades is a welcomed surprise. Additionally, we continue to uncover phenomenal grades from our relogging program that is proving to be an economical way to fill gaps in our model. The Elk Gold project continues to demonstrate excellent continuity and expandability."

Kevin Smith continues, "Gold Mountain finds itself in a unique position where we're able to deliver shareholder value not only through our exploration efforts but also through the coming transition into development and production. This gives us a unique upside in the junior space which we feel sets us apart from our peers. The market seems to be waking up to our story and with early shareholders staying long there has been a great response in our share price. Management is extremely focused on execution and looks forward to continuing to deliver meaningful progress in the coming months."

Phase 1 Update

Assay Results for Near Surface Drilling Targeting the 2600 and 2700 Veins

The latest assay results from three of the final five Phase 1 drill holes, further extends the 2600 and 2700 vein systems towards the northeast. The intercepts articulate strong consistency throughout the vein system, with assay results showing high grades in each of the new drill holes targeting the 2600 and 2700 veins.

The final five holes targeting the 2600 and 2700 veins were positioned to in-fill data gaps in the vein systems and maintain a 75m distance between drill holes with the goal of methodically expanding the resource at the Siwash North Zone. The Company encountered grade and thickness levels that surpassed its expectations with intercepts showing high grades rivaling its deep drilling intercepts.

Core Relogging Program

Phase 1 also included a campaign to re-log and sample historical drill core using the latest exploration technology to discover additional veins. The Company found initial success, discovering a new vein intercept recognized in historic hole SND11-132, yielding 1.2m averaging 52.3 g/t Au (including 0.30m averaging 216 g/t Au.) Recently, the Company uncovered an additional new vein intercept recognized in historical hole SND11-128, yielding 0.2m averaging 47.8 g/t Au. With the discovery of these two high-grade intercepts, the Company is bullish on the extensive relogging efforts that are part of its Phase 2 exploration program and anticipates it will lead to adding cost effective ounces to its resource estimate.

Drill Results

Below is a table of Selected Core Drill Results. A complete list of all drill results to date have been posted to the Company's website at www.gold-mountain.ca:

Assay Results Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) SND20-033 186.9 188.2 1.3 13.3 Including 186.9 187.2 0.3 56.5 SND20-033 99.2 100.5 1.3 4.5 Including 99.2 99.5 0.3 19.2 SND21-003 36.2 37.5 1.3 3.4 including 36.2 36.5 0.3 14.6 SND20-034 71.4 73.3 1.9 2.2 including 72.2 72.7 0.5 7.6 Historic Core Relogging Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Au (g/t) SND11-128 (relogging) 354.5 354.7 0.2 47.8

Drill Collar Locations

Drill collar locations, azimuths and dips for the drill holes included in this release are provided in the table below and have been posted to the Company's website for all drill holes:

Drill Collar Locations Drill Hole Easting Northing Elevation Dip Depth (m) Azimuth SND20-033 693,179 5,525,888 1,607 -72 204 340 SND20-034 693,046 5,525,769 1,616 -50 120 360 SND21-003 693,171 5,525,678 1,618 -50 330 2 SND11-128 693,030 5,525,360 1,650 -70 360 359

Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Measures and Analytical Procedures

Gold Mountain adheres to a strict QA/QC monitoring program that includes the insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample stream, as well as the re-submission of select samples for check assays by an independent third party laboratory. Core samples were analyzed by Actlabs in Kamloops BC using Fire Assay methods with a gravimetric finish for results over 10g/t gold.

No material QA/QC issues were noted with the results received from the laboratory.

Qualified Person

The foregoing technical information was approved by Grant Carlson, P.Eng., a Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and the Chief Operating Officer for the Company.

About Gold Mountain Mining

Gold Mountain is a British Columbia based gold and silver exploration and development company focused on resource expansion at the Elk Gold Project, a past-producing mine located 57 KM from Merritt in SOuth Central British Columbia. Additional information is available at www.sedar.com or on the Company's new website at www.gold-mountain.ca.

For Further information, please contact

Gold Mountain Mining Corp.

Kevin Smith, Director and Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 604-309-6340

Email: ks@gold-mountain.ca

Website: www.gold-mountain.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward- looking statements include statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. Forward looking statements in the press release include but are not limited to: any additional resources that may be added to the Company's 43-101 resource estimate as a result of core relogging efforts, any potential upside in share price and any future results from the core relogging. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; the price of gold; and the results of current exploration. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Gold Mountain disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For a comprehensive overview of all risks that may impact the Company, please see the Filing Statement filed on Gold Mountain's SEDAR profile on December 15, 2020.

SOURCE: Gold Mountain Mining Corp

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641706/Gold-Mountain-Announces-Additional-Phase-1-Assay-Results
The six-week study found that the effects of psilocybin treatment on patients with moderate to severe depression were similar to those of a commonly used antidepressant

Albert Labs chief medical officer Malcolm Barratt-Johnson believes this study is an important milestone in improving our understanding of the clinical benefit psilocybin therapy may bring to patients suffering from psychologically related illness

Aligned with work on psilocybin for the treatment of cancer related anxiety, a new Phase 2 clinical study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has produced new evidence for the effect of psilocybin on long standing depressive symptoms.

Conducted by a Team at Imperial College, London the six-week study found that the effects of psilocybin treatment on patients with moderate to severe depression were comparable to those of a commonly used antidepressant.

The study randomly chose 30 participants to receive two 25 milligram doses of psilocybin three weeks apart. Thats a high enough dose to produce the sensory experiences associated with the magic mushroom, study co-author and head of Imperial College Londons Centre for Psychedelic Research Robin Carhart-Harris told the Guardian newspaper.

READ: Albert Labs announces C$4M financing ahead of CSE listing

The psilocybin sessions were supervised and lasted six hours, the Guardian reported, which included a three-to four-hour psychedelic experience. Participants lay on their back, supported by pillows, and listened to neoclassical music.

Another 29 participants received Escitalopram each day, along with two inactive 1 mg psilocybin doses three weeks apart. This was done to ensure that any variance between groups was not purely due to receiving psilocybin. All patients were told prior to the studys start that they would receive psilocybin but were not told the dose.

Both groups also received psychological therapy during the process.

Specifically, both groups showed a similar decrease in the severity of depressive symptoms, measured using a standardized patient-reported depression scoring scale. Whats more, 57% of those in the 25 mg psilocybin group were deemed to be in remission from their depression, compared to 28% in the Escitalopram group.

chief medical officer Malcolm Barratt-Johnson believes the study is an important milestone in improving our understanding of the clinical benefit psilocybin therapy may bring to patients suffering from psychologically related illness.

This groundbreaking study from a distinguished team at Imperial College, London has demonstrated the important role psilocybin may have in the treatment of patients with long standing moderate to severe clinical depression, a particularly difficult patient group to treat, Barratt-Johnson told Proactive. It shows the very real potential psilocybin has in psychological medicine.

is currently developing KRN-101, a psilocybin-based treatment for cancer-related anxiety, a condition thought to affect some 1.2 million people in the UK alone.

The company is pursuing a real-world evidence path in generating the data required to licence and bring KRN-101 to market, a process it says is both far faster and at a lower cost than traditional randomized clinical trials.

As our understanding of this nascent and fascinating therapeutic modality increases, Im hopeful we will see psilocybin therapy being examined in the treatment of an expanding range of previously difficult to treat mental illnesses, Baratt-Johnson added. Im excited to be involved in examining how this new therapy may benefit the many individuals and their families who suffer these limiting clinical conditions but for whom treatment is presently limited.

is currently developing study protocols for KRN-101, with the hope to have the first patients recruited in the third quarter of 2021. Initial outputs from these studies should be available in the second quarter of 2022, with peer-reviewed publication to follow soon after.

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com



Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel
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Whats new: Shanghai-listed China Tourism Group Duty Free Co. Ltd. (CTGDF), parent of the countrys largest duty-free retailer China Duty Free Group, is preparing for a Hong Kong flotation after the company reported a surge in profits last year.

CTGDF is discussing a listing plan with intermediaries, pending approvals from the companys board, shareholders and regulators, the company said Wednesday in a filing with the exchange.

CTGDF reported 2020 revenue of 52.6 billion yuan ($8 billion), up 8.2% from the previous year despite international travel halts during the pandemic. The companys 2020 net profit surged 32.6% to 6.1 billion yuan.

Whats the context: CTGDF said about 60% of its 2020 revenue came from duty-free sales in the tropical island province of Hainan. China launched new policies to encourage duty-free shopping in Hainan that took effect July 1 as part of efforts to bolster domestic consumption and develop the province into a new commercial hub.

The policy revisions unleashed Chinese shoppers appetite for imported consumer goods, which was suppressed by the pandemic lockdown and suspension of international travel.

However, due to international disruptions caused by the pandemic, CTGDFs airport duty-free shops reported dramatic sales declines in 2020, the company said.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99.

Follow the Chinese markets in real time with Caixin Globals new stock database.
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Armed men ambushed and killed Suleiman Quadir, an operative of Amotekun Corps, around Fiditi area of Oyo State.

Mr Quadir, 25, was killed in an ambush on Tuesday by gunmen numbering about 11 at Living Farms in Fiditi area of the state.

The Commandant of the Corps, Olayinka Olayanju, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday in Ibadan.

According to Mr Olayanju, Mr Quadir and his colleague, Amo Yisau, were guarding the staff of the farm to the farm when it was invaded by the gunmen.

Yisau too was caught by rounds of bullets but he survived and is receiving treatment at the General Hospital Owode, Oyo town.

The gallant Quadir left behind an aged father, a wife and a son.

He has since been buried according to Islamic rites, Mr Olayanju said.

(NAN)
New Delhi, April 22 : To ensure that there is no crisis of oxygen in hospitals across the country, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs prohibited supply of oxygen for industrial purposes, except those exempted by the government, from Thursday onwards.

The ministry has issued a directive to states and Union Territories asking them to make sure there are no restrictions in the supply of medical oxygen.

In its order, the ministry said: "Supply of oxygen for industrial purposes, except those exempted by the Government, is prohibited w.e.f. 22 April, 2021 and till further orders. States/UTs shall strictly abide by the supply plan of medical oxygen prepared by EG-II (Empowered Group-II) and as revised from time-to-time." The ministry said that availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen is an important prerequisite for managing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19 and with the increasing cases, the medical oxygen supply will need to keep pace with the requirements of the states and Union Territories.

Empowered Group-II (EG-II) is mandated for coordinating medical logistics, including medical oxygen. EG-II has reviewed the supply of oxygen for industrial use in order to divert the same to meet the rising demand for medical oxygen in the country and save precious lives.

Accordingly, it has recommended to prohibit the supply of oxygen for industrial purposes by manufacturers and suppliers forthwith from Aprill 22 till further orders, with the exception of nine specified industries.

The recommendations of the EG-II have been accepted by the Central government and the said decision, along with the list of nine exempted industries, have been conveyed by Secretary, Health and Family Welfare on April 18.

The ministry in the order stated that all District Magistrates, Superintendents of Police and Commissioners of Police of concerned districts will be personally liable for implementing the directions and ensuring there is no hindrance in oxygen supply.

"No restriction shall be imposed on the movement of medical oxygen between the states and transport authorities shall be instructed to accordingly allow free inter-state movement of oxygen carrying vehicles," the MHA directive stated.

It also pointed that there should be no restrictions imposed on oxygen manufacturers and suppliers to limit the oxygen supplies only to the hospitals of the state and Union Territories in which they are located.

"There shall be free movement of oxygen carrying vehicles into the cities, without any restriction of timings, while also enabling inter-city supply without any restriction," it stated.

The order said that no authority shall attach the oxygen carrying vehicles passing through the district or areas for making supplies specific to any particular districts or area.

The ministry had previously sent a letter in September 2020 and an advisory on April 16 regarding smooth supply of oxygen but on Thursday, a direction has been given under the Disaster Management Act which means states will have to comply.

According to Section 56 of DM Act, any government officer who refuses or fails to follow the directives issued by the authority under this act may face imprisonment up to one year with a fine.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Czech Republic delivered an ultimatum to Russia. Moscow must return 20 Czech diplomats it expelled, otherwise 60 employees of the Russian embassy will be declared persona non grata in Prague. What negative economic consequences the escalation of contradictions between the two countries can lead to, read in the material of "Vestnik Kavkaza".

Diplomatic war

The Czech government cannot come to terms with the expulsion of its diplomats from Russia. 20 people are too many for her. Such a reduction in the composition of the diplomatic mission, in fact, calls into question its efficiency, given that there are only 20-30 people there. On the eve, the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry, Jakub Kulganek, threatened to expel about 60 Russian diplomats in order to achieve "parity conformity" of the composition of the Russian embassy in Prague. Let us remind you that on April 17 the Czech Republic announced 18 persons of the embassy persona non grata.

Kulganek says that if the Russian Federation does not return all 20 Czech diplomats it has expelled by 13-00 Moscow time today, Prague will expel six dozen Russian diplomats. Judging by the statement of the press secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Moscow does not intend to make any concessions. "We offer Prague to leave ultimatums for communication within NATO. With Russia, such a tone is unacceptable," she said.

The conflict between Russia and the Czech Republic escalated due to the events of 2014. Then an explosion occurred at an ammunition depot in the Czech village of Vrbetice, as a result of which two people died. The Czech investigation believes that this is a sabotage organized by the Russian special services. The latter allegedly tried to prevent the supply of weapons to Ukraine, which was waging a war against the DPR and LPR. Prague has put two Russian citizens on the wanted list - Petrov and Boshirov. It was they, according to the Czech prosecutor's office, who staged the explosion. The Kremlin categorically denies Moscow's involvement in the incident. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the findings of the Czech government "provocative and unfriendly."

Zakharova's reaction looks logical after yesterday's message from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Federal Assembly. We see what is happening in real life: as I said, they cling to Russia here and there for no reason. And of course, all sorts of small Tobaccos are spinning around them, like around Sherkhan, all like Kiplings, howling for in order to appease your sovereign, "he said.

Tabaki has already turned to Sherkhan. First Deputy Prime Minister and I. about. Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek called on NATO and EU partners to expel Russian diplomats en masse as a sign of solidarity. The last time this happened was in 2018, when, after the poisoning of Skripal in British Salisbury, 160 members of Russian diplomatic missions were expelled from Europe and the United States.

Trending with Biden

The behavior of the Czech Republic is in line with the trend set by the United States. If under the previous head of the White House, Donald Trump, the frustration could be attributed to Washington's isolationism and claims to allies on tariffs and defense spending, then Joe Biden is trying to appease EU partners as much as possible and revive transatlantic solidarity. When the United States, one after another, imposes sanctions against Russia, its power structures, the national debt, and a serious escalation is coming in Ukraine, then European countries are faced with a choice - either Biden or Putin. The Czech Republic is a NATO country, it has a pro-Western parliament. So even if President Milos Zeman is loyal to Russia, the general trend in the existing geopolitical realities remains anti-Russian.

We were already convinced of this last year, when the monument to the Soviet Marshall Ivan Konev was demolished in Prague. Then, by the way, Prague also blamed the Russian special services. They allegedly tried to poison the head of the Prague-6 district Ondrej Kolar and the mayor of the capital Zdenek Grzybu in revenge for the dismantling of the monument. The Czech Republic expelled two Russian diplomats in June 2020, Moscow responded symmetrically.

Prague has its own logic, and this is its choice of how to build its relations with the Kremlin. However, Putin makes it clear that any attacks, no matter how motivated, will not go unanswered: We really do not want to burn bridges. bridges, must know that Russia's response will be asymmetrical, swift and tough."

Senator Alexei Pushkov believes that Prague is playing on the brink of a foul and risks a complete breakdown in relations. "The Czech Republic cannot dictate conditions to Russia and put forward ultimatums. It runs into either a decrease in the level of diplomatic relations, or a break in them," he commented.

Economic costs

The Czech Republic and Russia are linked by very close economic relations. Against the backdrop of a diplomatic scandal, they have already begun to gradually roll up. The Czech Republic refused to purchase the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and excluded Rosatom from the tender for the construction of a new reactor at the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the southeast of the country.

The Czech Republic depends on Russia in a number of ways. For her, tourists from Russia were in the top ten before the pandemic. In 2019, 560 thousand Russians visited the Eastern European country. At the same time, the Czech Republic is not a priority for Russian tourists and is in 24th place among popular destinations. For comparison, almost 7 million Russian citizens visited Turkey in the same 2019. The Czech Republic is popular for property buyers. According to some reports, Russians and immigrants from the USSR own almost half of the apartments in Karlovy Vary. 38 thousand Russians live in the Czech Republic, more than half of them in Prague.

In the energy sector, the Czech Republic also relies on cooperation with Russia. Fuel for both nuclear power plants with Soviet-designed reactors - Dukovany and Temelin - is supplied by a subsidiary of Rosatom. The contract is valid until 2023. The Czech Republic receives almost 60% of its gas from Russia. In 2020, Moscow exported 5.1 billion cubic meters of gas to this country. Oil exports a year earlier amounted to 4.3 million tons. The trade turnover of the two countries last year amounted to $ 6.1 billion, decreasing by one third compared to 2019.

Expert: Russia has leverage

Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Candidate of Historical Sciences Vadim Trukhachev notes that Russia has economic levers of pressure on it.

"The deprivation of Rosatom of the right to participate in the tender for the completion of Czech nuclear power plants will result in additional expenses for the Czech Republic. Both of its nuclear power plants are of the Soviet model, and the adaptation of non-Russian units to the Russian basis will require additional costs. Otherwise, accidents are inevitable. In addition, Russia may limit the supply of machine tools and products. machine-building and petrochemical industries of the Czech Republic. Russian companies can invest less in the Czech economy. It is possible not to resume flights with Prague, "he said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

Such sanctions will not be "fatal", but they will nevertheless prove painful for the Czech Republic. "To overcome the consequences of such measures, the Czechs will need some time and additional money. You can try to undermine Czech trade with China. It is not a fact that it will work out, but it is necessary to try. In this case, the punishment will become more tangible," the expert added.

Russia is the 12th trade partner for the Czech Republic, and the Czech Republic closes the second ten in the list of the main trade partners of Russia. In the second quarter of last year, the Czech Republic's GDP fell by a record 10.9%. The pandemic in the EU is still ongoing, restrictions have not been lifted. All this puts pressure on the EU member states. The Czech Republic will not die without Russia, but the blow to its economy will be serious. Therefore, before expelling another 60 members of the Russian diplomatic corps, it would be better for Prime Minister Andrei Babish to consult with economists.
According to a report authored by Frost & Sullivan and commissioned by audio technology brand EPOS, an excellent audio technology is crucial to hybrid learning, and poor audio can result to frustration, stress, and embarrassment.

Education is undergoing rapid change as 1.6 billion children in almost 200 countries were forced to study outside classroom in just the last year, according to EPOS.

Both teachers and students alike have had to adapt to the new reality of distance learning and find new ways to connect, communicate, and motivate.

However, like the hybrid working trend, the pandemic has revealed new opportunities for innovation and improvement.

A new report Reimagining education with high-quality audio (pictured) by Frost & Sullivan and commissioned by EPOS reveals there are opportunities to enhance modern learning to become more connected, digitised and efficient.

The immediate and long-term benefits are clear



EPOS says for millions of students and educators, the abrupt transition to remote learning has been complicated but at the same time, the new normal presents new benefits.

While the move to distanced learning risks widening the digital divide in some instances, its also been found that remote learning can level the playing field, meaning that education becomes more universal for some of the most vulnerable and marginalised population groups.

Clear cost savings have also become apparent and made possible by reducing reliance on physical resources and minimising travel time. By saving time, students can learn at their own pace and are able to catch up or revisit a topic with ease.

For educators, going digital can improve the quality and relevancy of their curriculum by updating resources and materials in real time.

With education institutions around the world investing and improving their educational technology to better facilitate and provide online and distanced learning, longer-term benefits are also emerging.

Learning and collaborating online is helping to prepare students with the kind of organisational acumen, emotional intelligence, and self-discipline needed for modern careers.

Although the shift to remote education has caused initial disruption, educators and students are happy with a shift to a more hybrid approach long term.

According to the report, two-thirds of US students would welcome more online classes post-pandemic. Of the students surveyed, 61% responded that online courses can be just as legitimate as face-to-face courses, when well designed.

Poor audio exacerbates learning fatigue

Effective learning relates to student engagement regardless of where the learning takes place, and while video and content sharing are significant components of the education experience, audio quality is often overlooked.

EPOS says excellent audio technology can play a pivotal role in helping students retain focus and engage whereas poor audio can have a serious negative impact.

Poor audio experiences have serious implications. According to the report, 35% of those surveyed often feel frustration, irritation, and annoyance due to bad audio, 25% experience stress, and 15% feel embarrassment or a lack of confidence.

The study found these experiences could affect students ability to focus, engage and actively contribute to lessons.

Without the immediate guidance of teachers and a physical learning environment, it is easy for learners to become distracted. Poor audio can dampen students emotional and mental well-being.

Whether its audio delays from bad internet connectivity or multiple participants speaking at the same time or background noises, audio challenges can increase stress levels.

For teachers and other educators, poor audio could be disastrous if critical information is missed. Hearing multiple voices, recognising who is speaking, and engaging learners are all crucial parts of teaching. Without good audio, teachers risk missing out on crucial information and consequently might provide a less effective learning experience.

Investment in good audio is essential to long-term hybrid learning

Fortunately for many end-users, having effective audio goes a long way to optimise the hybrid experience.

According to EPOS, 37% of people feel that the right audio tools can reduce miscommunication, 40% feel that they would significantly reduce the need to repeatedly clarify information and 37% believe good audio would prevent participants from missing critical information.

As the COVID-19 will soon come to an end, the shift to a more hybrid approach will remain. For EPOS, remote learning has made it five times easier to recruit teachers. As a result, the percentage of senior leaders and teachers planning to leave the profession had halved since 2019.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of students say they would welcome more education online post-pandemic.

Jeppe Dalberg-Larsen, EPOS President, comments: Remote learning means that students and teachers can be anywhere on any given daywhether in the classroom, at home or on the go.

He declares that the future of learning is already here.

According to Dalberg-Larsen, students and educators in a virtual classroom can miss what theyve heard can become 100% concern.

To ensure that hybrid learning remains effective, educators and students must recognise the importance of optimizing concentration and comprehension by utilising high-quality audio tools, he concludes.
We Are Very Careful: Australias Foreign Minister Defends Cancelling Belt and Road Deal

Australias Foreign Minister Marise Payne has defended her decision to intervene and cancel the state of Victorias Belt and Road deals with Beijing after the Chinese embassy lashed out, labelling the move unreasonable and provocative.

ABC AM host Sabra Lane told Payne shed have to be naive to think Beijing wont retaliate given the various tariffs and import problems imposed by the Chinese regime on wine, barley, beef, seafood, coal, and timber over the last year.

Payne rejected that there should be an expectation of retaliation from Beijing, saying the foreign relations scheme did not target any one country, like China.

I think Australia is operating in our national interest; we are very careful and very considered in that approach, she said on Thursday.

Payne said the scheme was about ensuring consistency across all levels of government across the country when it comes to foreign relations.

Around 1,000 arrangements were examined, but so far, the only four that were deemed inconsistent with Australias foreign policies were between the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews state government and China, Iran, and Syria.

These are the first notifications under the scheme. They dont just go to China, of course, Payne said.

The foreign minister said Australia was asking the world to respect its decision-making authority, saying the federal government will not move away from its principles about protecting and advocating for Australias sovereignty and interests.

Under the new laws, which came into effect in December 2020, states, territories, local governments, and Australian public universities must notify the foreign affairs minister of existing and proposed foreign arrangements.

Former Labor leader Bill Shorten, who previously supported the Victorian premier signing up to the BRI, now agreed the Morrison government had made the right decision.

We wouldnt have signed the arrangements either if we were in government, Shorten told Nines Today show on Thursday.

He went on to say that the Morrison government needed to take control of Australias relations with Beijing, noting that the country had become more dependent on China.

Going forwards, Shorten called for more trade diversification, saying, Weve got other countries were dealing with, not just China.
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Although according to The National Park Service, the best ways to evade a bear is to play dead when faced with Brown or Grizzly bears, or run to safety if you find yourself in the path of a Black bear (do not play dead with this guy unless you want to meet a fate as a delicious, protein-filled snack) Matthews says he continued to correspond with the bear "to show that I was a Human and not to be mistaken for another animal."

If I had, the bear could have thought of me as prey and chased me down, he explained, per Newsweek. Being that I am not prey, I stood my ground when it charged (showing it that I'm not a prey animal) then backed away slowly. While as the publication noted, bear attacks are relatively rare, Matthews said he thought the creature was "fresh out of the den" and on the hunt for some good grub. "I've seen plenty of bears in the wild, but this was the first time one had shown any interest in me. He must have been extra hungry," he added.

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So mystery bear, if you're reading this, kudos to you for handling the situation maturely -- to paraphrase Bruce the shark from Finding Nemo, runners are friends, not food.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
If there is one thing that characterizes the left today, it is the fervent need to pretend men like George Floyd, Daunte Wright, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Rayshard Brooks, Eric Garner, and others are pillars of society, hapless victims of police brutality and racism. Those mentioned above all died resisting arrest. All had criminal records, some of them extensive and for violent crimes.

Not one of them complied with the police when pulled over for a traffic stop or when they were in the process of being apprehended after committing a crime. All of them attempted to resist, flee, or harm the police who were present. In nearly all these cases, their own behavior brought about their demise, however tragic they may have been.

The verdict in the Chauvin trial was mob justice, not due process. The conviction on all three charges was media-bullied overkill, a complex case decided by the jury in but a few hours.

More white men have been killed by police as well, for the same reasons  non-compliance or violence  but those incidents never make the media forefront.

The public is astonishingly misinformed as to the truth, thanks to the media. Nor do the hundreds, even thousands of black-on-black murders that take place routinely in Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and other cities merit much media notice. Black Lives Matter does not lift a finger or donate a dime to fighting black-on-black homicide.

Just the other day, again in Minnesota, BLM gathered to protest the shooting of a carjacker by police. They assumed that the carjacker was Black. When they learned he was white, they turned tail and fled back to their haven at Brooklyn Center, where Daunte Wright had been killed while resisting arrest for an outstanding warrant. Their protests are only about degrading police, not at all about Black lives.

Then, in Columbus, Ohio, a policeman responding to a 911 call shot and killed a young girl trying to stab another unarmed teen. The potential victim has thanked the cop for saving her life, but that's irrelevant to Biden, Psaki, and the leftmedia. They are thrilled to have another cop to demean and threaten as LeBron James quickly did with an odious tweet: "You're next." Valerie Jarrett also let loose with a shameful tweet.

The left now has a principal tactic for winning and keeping power: indicting this nation's founding, its legacy of slavery, and all people not "of color" for "systemic racism." It's a ridiculous charge, given the fact that nearly 700,000 lives were lost to freeing the slaves and that it was the Democrats that fought freeing the slaves so hard that even after losing the Civil War, they put Jim Crow laws into place.

Remember that the KKK was the military arm of the Democrat party. The Democrats have been the party of racism from the beginning. It was the pernicious slave system that led to the founding of the Republican Party, and its first president, Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

It was the Democrats who opposed integration in the 1950s and early 1960s. Joe Biden was one of the Democrats who was the most overtly racist for most of his career. Chances are he still is. His administration is dedicated to the notion that (1) blacks cannot navigate the process of attaining legitimate identification and (2) they are and will always remain victims of white people. Talk about soft bigotry of low expectations!

Oprah Winfrey, a multi-billionaire, basks in her own perceived victimhood, as do all those multi-millionaire athletes "of color." We must be grateful for the many, many black conservatives who have not and never will fall victim to the oppression meme  Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Larry Elder, Allen West, Candace Owens, Vernon Jones, Tim Scott, Jason Riley, Carol Swain, and others. But these folks are reviled by the left, for they threaten leftists' plan to render all black people Democrats for life, to accept the second-class status to which the left means to condemn them. Their job? To hate all white people.

Driving racial hatred is what motivates the academic inculcation of Critical Race Theory. The goal of CRT is to effect the permanent guilt of white people generations removed from slavery and Jim Crow laws and enforce the permanent victim status of all African-Americans. Our Black citizens surrender at their peril, and their children's and grandchildren's certain submission to the Democrat party's version of slavery.

It is the left, as it has always been, that seeks to enslave American Blacks. That is why so many of them voted for President Trump. They saw his "What have the Democrats ever done for you?" challenge and took it to heart and then saw that he was right. Trump's control of the border led to greater employment for all minorities, as did his de-regulation of business and tax cuts. Under Biden, all those successes are being reversed. Biden's shuttering of our energy production is hurting the working poor the most. The throngs of migrants streaming over our southern border without regard for COVID status or family is a gift to the cartels' business of drug-smuggling and human sex-trafficking of children.

Thousands of these migrants are criminals, even terrorists  and no one is checking. They are being moved into unsuspecting cities throughout the nation. As the left continues its war on police and coddling of the criminal class, we will see our once civil society erode into chaos. New York is now as lawless as Chicago and Baltimore; homicide rates are up in virtually all Democrat-run cities. Could that be because criminals are no longer held for bail or not charged with crimes at all if some Soros-elected D.A. feels sorry for them?

Criminals now have the upper hand throughout America. The left thinks turning them loose among law-abiding citizens is compassionate, when in fact it is just stupid and dangerous. San Francisco is nearly uninhabitable, given the number of car break-ins that are not even investigated.

Rioters and looters around the country are not charged with the obvious crimes they commit, while having attended Trump's speech on January 6 is regarded as a crime most foul by the DOJ. With people like Maxine Waters and her fellow race-baiting Dems all frothing at the mouth about how racist this nation is (Waters is a perennially re-elected corrupt pol who lives not in her district, but in a $4M mansion) we are fast becoming some kind of vast sanctuary nation for lawbreakers. Biden and his fellow Dems can't wait to strip us all of our constitutionally-guaranteed rights, especially the Second Amendment. They never fail to express their contempt for law enforcement, and they seem intent upon destroying the United States as founded, one criminal at time. It's got to stop.

When will the Republicans stand up and as a collective and shout "no more!"? Most of them are as cavalier about the left's affection for criminals as the Democrats are. It is the hardworking, law-abiding American people who have made this nation great. Giving free rein to those who have no respect for our laws is a death knell for our Republic.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Script

America has the best and worse education system in the world.

On one hand, we are endowed with a college education that produces the best scientists, engineers, writers, artists, and entrepreneurs in the world. I should have said there is only a few Gates and Zuckerbergs. The colleges that fulfill our American dreams are also leading us enroute for broader social equality. They balance the demographics and socioeconomics with academics among their applicants.

On the other hand, our K-12 education has been struggling for at least 40 years as weve known it, since A Nation At Risk was published by the Reagan administration. The standardized tests that let us see the problem are now demonized as something not designed to tell what kids are taught in classrooms, but what money is about. These tests, which originated from America, are only able to assess Finnish, Japanese, Singaporean, and even Chinese students.

Putting both pictures together, it is clear that our education system is out of synch.

The K-12 classrooms can no longer teach what is whole-worldly valued, both in test and in admission. The College admission does not treat classroom and test academics as much as they used to do. Tests, still in line with students intelligence level, no longer mark either classroom or admission success.

The results? America is running short of engineers and scientists around its workplaces. According to Smithsonian, there are 2 and half million STEM jobs left unfilled yearly. In every college, contrarily, 1 to 2 thirds of students who enter as engineering majors drop out simply because they are unable to maintain the required academics.

We are also missing out STEM teachers in K-12 classrooms. In U.S. public schools, demands for new teachers, especially in math and science, outpace the supply by more than 100,000. Schools simply cannot find willing and qualified American candidates, but merely 3,500 foreign teachers are hired to teach in America each year. Thiss because visa is another big issue to get foreign teachers quickly on board. Its not only Trump who has not made this problem easier.

So, American students are under-taught in STEM subjects. The famine on math and science teachers is even growing at a growing rate. That is the fundamental cause of supply deficiency in engineers in our economy.

Many highly ranked colleges in America denote their education as the inequality solvers. Admissions have been increasingly tilted towards equality measures for well beyond a decade. Top students are often guided to pour their extra-curricular hours into Rwanda, Myanmar, and Nepal on funded philanthropic projects. Holistic evaluations take into account of candidates local and racial backgrounds. It seems the Harvards and Princetons alike have been socially more equal than anywhere else.

Along with inequity in colleges appearing to soften, the lack of teachers and student deficiencies in math and science are still widened. American education is still suffering inequity. But it seems more obvious that we have lowered our education quality while making it more socially equal. It is now both a quality and an equality problem that is troubling us all.

Our eyeballs and respects, both as citizens and parents, have made up the ranks of elite colleges so that they attract more and more our talented sons and daughters even in this pandemic. As colleges expand their fame, wealth and applications in decades, our kids suffer more in schools on things they are supposed to learn and enjoy. Did any of these colleges tell us that the leadership, the altruism and the creativity they touted through admission wont help slow, stop or reverse the American K-12 deteriorating?

One thing always correlates with students math and science performances, and predicts their potentials in STEM fields is the standardized tests. To those education professionals who doubt the integrity of tests, here is a question for you. Why are these tests measuring students in all other countries well, but not on the American students as you deemed? Are you surely able to teach American students into Martians that shouldnt be evaluated by an Earthly assessment?

This video is meant to raise critical questions, yet provide definite answers.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) called on President Joe Biden to address the "emergency" of illegal immigration at the southern border on Wednesday. "President Biden, if you want to stop the crisis that is unfolding here and can only get worse, you can declare a national emergency. And use your immense resources to stop what is happening here," said Ducey, a vocal opponent of the commander-in-chief.

Arizona urged the Biden administration to declare a national emergency

Gov. Doug Ducey said the Arizona National Guard would first be stationed in Yuma but could be sent to other locations along the border due to the influx of illegal migrants. During a press conference in Yuma on Wednesday, Ducey defended his decision to declare a state of emergency in four border counties and urged the Trump administration to do the same.

Ducey chastised the Biden administration for delaying the border wall's construction. But he urged the president to work with the state to resolve the humanitarian crisis, NY Post reported. His comments came a day after declaring a national emergency and sent members of the National Guard at the state's expense to free up policing services. The Guard will assist in medical activities in detention facilities, oversee border camera operations, and gather and analyze data on smuggling rates, as per the AP News.

Owing to the public health directive issued at the onset of the pandemic, Customs, and Border Protection has limited the number of adult migrants seeking to enter the country. However, the Biden administration has permitted underage minors and certain families to live in the United States until they decide to stay through the asylum phase.

Biden Administration Backpedals, Says 'Crisis' Referred to Central America Problems, Not US Border

Arizona orders troops deployed at the Southern border

Gov. Doug Ducey's office reported Tuesday that National Guard forces would be deployed to the southern border in response to a recent surge of migrants detained by the Border Patrol. Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties, and Maricopa and Pinal counties have proclaimed states of emergency.

For weeks, the governor has blamed Biden solely for the migrant influx, citing the Democrat's decision to overturn a series of aggressive immigration measures put in place by his predecessor. During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border last month, Ducey criticized Biden and his administration for being completely disconnected from facts on the ground, as per USA Today.

Upon returning, he attacked Vice President Kamala Harris, calling her the "worst possible candidate" to coordinate the administration's response and request federal money to send National Guard troops. The money did not seem to be arriving.

Joe Biden Celebrates As US Achieves 200 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Although Ducey has singled out the Biden administration for the recent rise in Border Patrol apprehensions, experts believe the rise is due to a combination of reasons, including a backlog of asylum seekers, many from Central America. They have become more distressed after being trapped in Mexico for more than a year while awaiting trials in U.S. immigration courts under former President Donald Trump's policies.

According to the governor's office, a total of $25 million will be set aside to assist local and federal law enforcement officers, including state troopers. The announcement said Guard members would assist with medical operations at detention centers, install and maintain border cameras, collect data from public safety cameras, and analyze satellite imagery for current smuggling trends.

Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, sent around 500 members of his state's National Guard to Texas, which has the highest number of recent arrivals. In his statement, Ducey said that he would fly to Yuma on Wednesday to meet with city authorities and law enforcement officers, Daily Mail reported.

Officials in small Arizona border towns such as Yuma, Ajo, and Gila Bend have asked the federal government to assist them in coping with small numbers of asylum seekers released in their cities by CBP officials who say they do not have the capacity to retain them. The towns lack the means to move the refugees to larger cities. They will receive temporary accommodation and logistical assistance in reuniting with families in other parts of the United States.

President Joe Biden's Aim For Bipartisan Cooperation Applies Stealthy Pressure

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"ECOS is another example of a green company thriving in Washington state," Inslee said. "They have embodied our state's spirit of pioneering climate change policy, achieving carbon neutrality five years ago, and committing to a climate positive business model for the future."

Earth Day is celebrating its 51st anniversary this year with the theme of "Restore the Earth." ECOS, which makes over 200 plant-powered cleaning products, is a leader in sustainable business practices, including carbon neutrality, water neutrality, and Platinum Zero Waste. On April 1st, the family-owned company announced it has gone beyond neutrality to become climate positive, regenerating 110% more natural resources than it uses or emits (www.ecos.com/climate-positive).

"I'm so inspired by how our employees responded to the unprecedented demand for safer cleaning products during this pandemic," said Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks, President and CEO of ECOS. "The fact that they stepped up to meet the global demand and were still able to advance our sustainability to achieve Climate Positive manufacturing is a testament to their dedication to our consumers and to the planet. We're honored that Governor Inslee joined us on Earth Day to recognize their achievements."

Each April 22nd, over 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities such as picking up trash and reducing their energy use. ECOS celebrates Earth Day each year with new sustainability initiatives, including investments in clean wind energy projects and water restoration initiatives for critically threatened ecosystems.

As part of its annual tradition, ECOS will celebrate Earth Day by thanking its employees for their essential role in helping the company achieve its sustainability milestones and giving them an Earth Day bonus in honor of the special day.

ABOUT ECOS

Family owned and operated since 1967, ECOS makes plant-powered laundry detergents and cleaners that are safer for people, pets, and the planet. ECOS products are made in the USA at facilities in Washington, California, Illinois, and New Jersey using thoughtfully sourced global ingredients. Made without dyes, formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane, parabens, phthalates, or optical brighteners, ECOS products are pH balanced, greywater and septic safe, and never tested on animals. ECOS has won many awards for its green chemistry innovations, including the U.S. EPA 2020 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award. ECOS, Baby ECOS, ECOS Pets and ECOS PRO cleaners are available at major club and grocery retailers and natural foods stores throughout the U.S., including Costco, Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Albertsons/Safeway, Fred Meyer/QFC, and WinCo, as well as internationally and online. For more information and retail locations, visit ecos.com .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Sarah Waldrop

[email protected]

SOURCE ECOS
Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of reports on the lasting impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. military.

As the COVID-19 pandemic erupted last spring, entire swaths of society shut down or went remote.

But the vast majority of the military's missions, including air transportation, basic training and ships at sea, couldn't be done through Zoom calls. The services had to improvise and adapt to keep operations going while holding the disease at bay -- and they were largely successful.

Read Next: COVID-19, Civil Unrest: Have Too Many Homeland Missions Damaged Trust in the Military?

In the process, leaders said, the military has relearned old skills for operating in compromised environments that could come in handy in a future conflict if chemical or biological weapons were used.

As the military concentrated on fighting violent extremists in the Middle East in recent years, chemical and biological threats weren't a pressing threat and the Defense Department largely put those activities "on a low simmer," Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, deputy commander of Air Mobility Command, or AMC, said in an April 6 interview.

"We never stepped away from it completely," Robinson said. "But I think it's fair to say that we got maybe a little rusty."

The pandemic, he explained, is likely the first time in decades the military has faced a true challenge to how it commands and controls its forces on a global scale.

"We had to learn from that very quickly," Robinson said.

But one of the greatest crises the military faced during the pandemic -- the COVID outbreak on the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt -- also could provide even more lessons for how to respond in a biological or chemical attack.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus last year led to its skipper pleading with Navy leadership for help containing it. His SOS was leaked to the media, causing a firestorm that ultimately led to both his firing and the resignation of former Navy Secretary Thomas Modly.

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Pike, now the deputy medical director in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for chemical and biological defense, said the military can learn a lot from the Roosevelt's experience.

Pike led a rapidly deployed team to the Roosevelt last March, before the COVID outbreak on the ship became known, to bolster its medical staff and help with disease surveillance. The Navy preemptively sent these disease surveillance units to several ships as the pandemic unfolded worldwide, to try to catch an outbreak early, he said.

Pike's team arrived on the carrier March 11, 2020, two days after a port visit to Vietnam that is widely suspected to have led to the outbreak. Two weeks after the ship left Vietnam, the first sailor showed up at sick call with COVID symptoms.

In an article Pike co-authored for War on the Rocks last November, he wrote that the Roosevelt's experience shows the Navy needs to consider deploying technical experts in the detection and surveillance of biological threats on its ships to catch outbreaks before they spread.

"Preparing for the future means enhancing the Navy's shipboard capabilities to detect a biological event when one occurs," Pike told Military.com via email this month. "The Navy may not be lucky enough next time to receive a warning far enough in advance of an impending threat, as in the case of COVID, to deploy assets that are not already organic to a ship."

Pike and co-author Gregory Koblentz, a biodefense expert at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, wrote that improved detection capabilities should include monitoring crew health and preparing for scenarios where the first signs of a biological attack show up as symptoms in the crew. This could require the Navy to add more personnel skilled in disease surveillance or giving existing personnel specialized training in that area, they said.

"Identifying and interpreting physiological changes among a ship's crew may be the difference between success and failure in combating a future biological threat," they wrote.

Keeping Skills, and Equipment, from Growing Rusty

As the nation started to grapple with the potential scope and length of the pandemic, former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein drew an explicit connection between the task facing the Air Force and how it would respond to chemical and biological warfare.

"It's time to dust off those Ability to Survive and Operate [ATSO] manuals," Goldfein said in a letter to airmen last April. "Many of us grew up in the age of Apple Orchards, MOPP [Mission Oriented Protective Posture] levels, operations with [personal protective equipment] aircraft decontamination procedures, etc. While we have not required it in recent years, given our focus on the Middle East, the ability to survive and operate in a [chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive] environment is in our DNA."

Robinson, the AMC deputy commander, said that, particularly as North Korea continued to present a threat last year, the time was ripe to relearn those skills.

And, he said, AMC won't let those skills grow rusty again. AMC has ramped up its CBRNE training, and the command's inspector general is including it in inspections of wings' readiness exercises, such as Mobility Guardian.

As AMC learned to operate during the pandemic, in some cases through trial and error, it got real-world experience with the kind of skills that might need to be used in a war involving chemical or biological weapons, he said.

"It's informed us very well as to how we need to conduct, at least a baseline to start from, depending on the nature of the threat that we're up against," Robinson said.

One example of how AMC adjusted to keep operating during the pandemic came from learning how to safely transport people who had contracted COVID-19.

At first, AMC brought the old Transportation Isolation System, used during the Ebola crisis of 2014, out of storage. But AMC found that system, which was designed to stop the transmission of fluid-borne pathogens, wasn't well-suited for transporting COVID patients. With medical personnel going inside the isolation system with patients during long flights, it was less effective at preventing airborne transmission of COVID.

Robinson said AMC originally mitigated the risk of COVID exposure by having medical personnel wear MOPP gear as personal protective equipment. But that wasn't sustainable. With ocean-spanning flights often taking nine or 10 hours, and no antechamber to make it easier to exit or enter the isolation chamber cleanly, the medical personnel ran the risk of dehydration, he explained.

So within 90 days, TRANSCOM created a new system, the Negatively Pressurized Conex, designed to limit airborne pathogen transmission. It has since been used to transport about 330 suspected COVID patients.

The COVID crisis also taught AMC how important it is to track and measure the readiness of its medical crew force, and to keep vital medical equipment maintained and ready for when an emergency erupts. Once the Ebola crisis passed, AMC put its isolation chambers in storage and "weren't really looking after it the way we should have," Robinson said.

AMC won't make that mistake again, he added. After the COVID crisis passes, when AMC no longer needs to use equipment and capabilities such as its new isolation chambers, it will make sure they are kept in good working order -- for the next time they're needed.

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

Related: Carrier Theodore Roosevelt Ends Deployment Rocked by COVID-19 and Chaos
Expressing concerned at the continuous increase in Covid cases in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced cancellation of his visit to West Bengal on Friday for a string of rallies.

"Tomorrow, I will be chairing high-level meetings to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation. Due to that, I would not be going to West Bengal," the Prime Minister said, in a tweet.

As per party sources, Prime Minister Modi was supposed to address four rallies in West Bengal on Friday.

"As per the original schedule, two of these rallies were planned at Malda and Murshidabad on April 22 and the other two rallies scheduled in Bolpur and Kolkata on April 24. Concerned with the prevailing Covid situation, all four rallies by Modiji were rescheduled on April 23. Now, as per the Prime Minister's tweet, he is not coming to Bengal tomorrow," a West Bengal BJP leader said.

On Monday, the BJP had decided not to hold big rallies in West Bengal and announced that it would instead hold small public meetings of not more than 500 people to be addressed by Prime Minister Modi and senior central leaders. In a statement, the BJP had said that all these small public meetings will be organised in open spaces following all the Covid guidelines.

"Assembly polls in West Bengal are going on and the completion of this constitutional and democratic process is also very important. Keeping this in mind, BJP chief J.P. Nadda, has decided that only in West Bengal, small public meetings of all the central leaders including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be held in which not more than 500 persons will be allowed to attend," the BJP said in a statement.

--IANS

ssb/vd

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Getty Images)

As lawmakers in the House of Representatives prepared to vote for a second time to make Washington DC the nations 51st state, Democratic congressman Mondaire Jones fired back at Republicans who have criticised the effort.

I have had enough of my colleagues racist insinuations that somehow the people of Washington DC are incapable or unworthy of our Democracy, the New York lawmaker told the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The full House voted 216-208 on the symbolically titled HR 51 in a party-line vote to send the measure to the Senate, where the long-gestating proposal will receive its first-ever floor hearing in a bid to provide equal citizenship and full representation for residents in the shadow of Congress and the White House.

It faces roadblocks in the Senate, where it must overcome the filibuster to bypass overwhelming Republican opposition.

Mr Jones objected to remarks from Republican Senator Tom Cotton who said statehood would prevent the nations capital from being a well-rounded working class state.

I had no idea there were so many syllables in the word white, said Mr Jones, who is Black.

He also shot back at US Rep Jody Hice, who said DC would be the only state without an airport, without a car dealership, without a capital city and without a landfill in his argument against statehood.

With all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to this debate. I can see why my colleagues are worried about a place to put it, Mr Jones said.

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House Republicans erupted at his remarks before he added that there is no good argument to disenfranchise 700,000 people in city, most of whom are people of colour.

During a press briefing on Thursday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended passage of a White House-backed measure to incorporate DC as a state, adding that these residents pay taxes, fight in our wars, power our economy, yet do not have a full voice in our democracy.

Mr Jones said Republicans desperate objections are about fear.

Story continues

Fear that their white supremacist politics will no longer play in the District, he added. Fear that their white supremacist arguments wont work across the country anyway. Fear that if they dont rig our democracy, they wont win.

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In a statement, the White House said DC residents have been subject to taxation without representation and denial of self-governance is an affront to the democratic values on which our nation was founded.

Establishing the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st state will make our Union stronger and more just, the statement said. Washington DC has a robust economy, a rich culture, and a diverse population of Americans from all walks of life who are entitled to full and equal participation in our democracy.

The city has roughly 712,000 residents, on par with Delaware and Alaska, and more than Vermont and Wyoming, though all those states have two senators each, in addition to proportionally allocated congressmembers in the House.

DC has no senators and one non-voting congressional delegate.

The proposal would shrink the federal district to a two-mile corridor with the White House and the Capitol, while the rest of the city would incorporate into the State Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, in recognition of abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Democrats and advocates for statehood have organised around the issue as a racial justice and civil rights cause, echoing arguments around renewing voting rights that have disproportionately restricted voters of colour from the ballot.

Republicans have rejected those arguments, instead suggesting that Democrats are orchestrating a power grab to retain control of Congress, with a voting population in DC that is likely to send Democratic candidates to the Capitol. they also have said it would dilute

In a widely criticised memo issued this week, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise called the measure unconstitutional and called into question the citys finances and crime rates. Mr Scalise represents Louisiana, which has the fifth-highest crime rate in the nation.

Democrats partisan push for DC statehood is irresponsible and represents exactly what the Founding Fathers sought to guard against when establishing the seat of the federal government, he wrote.

Other Republicans argued that enfranchisement in DC would dilute the power of smaller-population states, which Montana Senator Steve Daines said, while others have suggested incorporating DC into neighbouring Maryland instead.

Read More

Countering Biden, GOP pitches $568B for infrastructure

Michigan lawmaker pulled over for driving drunk threatens police

Republican candidate for Virginia governor says Chauvin verdict makes her sick

The state of Washington DC statehood: What House Democrats are proposing and why it will probably fail
PM snubs Thaksin offer to help secure vaccines

THAILAND: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has rejected an offer from former PM Thaksin Shinawatra to help Thailand secure more COVID-19 vaccines from Russia.

CoronavirusCOVID-19Vaccine

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 22 April 2021, 08:07AM

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawtra suggested more vaccine should be sourced from many producers, not just Sinovac and AstraZeneca. Photo: AFP.

Gen Prayut was responding to remarks made by the self-exiled former premier during a live broadcast on the audio-based social networking app Clubhouse on Tuesday (Apr 20).

Mr Thaksin noted that Thailands COVID-19 vaccine rollout had been proceeding too slowly and suggested more vaccine should be sourced from many producers, not just Sinovac and AstraZeneca.

He said several high-profile business people in Thailand had the capability and extensive connections to secure more vaccines with manufacturers in countries like China and Russia.

The government should ask the tycoons for help, Mr Thaksin said, or I could talk with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, if you want.

Asked to comment on the former premiers s remarks, Gen Prayut said: I wont answer. Dont relay a question from someone who is not in the country.

I dont know him. Just leave him be.

The Clubhouse session was hosted by the CARE group of politicians, including Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, Duangrit Bunnag and Theerat Rattanasewi.

Mr Thaksin joined the forum under the alias of Tony Woodsome.
People clash with police during a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 21, 2021. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Nearly 1,500 Arrested at Navalny Rallies in Russia

MOSCOWPolice arrested nearly 1,500 people Wednesday during a day of demonstrations throughout Russia calling for freedom for imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose health reportedly is in severe decline after three weeks of hunger striking, according to a group that monitors political detentions.

The largest of the protests took place in Moscow, where thousands marched through the center city. Some of the people arrested were seized before the protests even began, including to top Navalny associates in Moscow.

Navalnys team called for the unsanctioned demonstrations after weekend reports that his health is deteriorating and his life was in danger.

The situation with Alexei is indeed critical, and so we moved up the day of the mass protests, Vladimir Ashurkov, a close Navalny ally and executive director of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, told The Associated Press. Alexeis health has sharply deteriorated, and he is in a rather critical condition. Doctors are saying that judging by his test (results), he should be admitted into intensive care.

Navalnys organization called for the Moscow protesters to assemble on Manezh Square, just outside the Kremlin walls, but police blocked it off. Instead, a large crowd gathered at the nearby Russian State Library and another lined Tverskaya Street, a main avenue that leads to the square. Both groups then moved through the streets.

How can you not come out if a person is being murderedand not just him. There are so many political prisoners, said Nina Skvortsova, a Moscow protester.

In St. Petersburg, police blocked off Palace Square, the vast space outside the Hermitage museum and protesters instead crowded along nearby Nevsky Prospekt.

It was unclear if the demonstrations matched the size and intensity of nationwide protests that broke out in January after Navalny, President Vladimir Putins most prominent opponent, was arrested. Turnout estimates varied widely: Moscow police said 6,000 people demonstrated in the capital, while an observer told Navalnys YouTube channel that the crowd was about 60,000.

Police block the central square in Ulan-Ude, the regional capital of Buryatia, a region near the Russia-Mongolia border, Russia, on April 21, 2021. (Anna Ogorodnik/AP Photo)

The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests and provides legal advice, said at least 1,496 people were arrested in 82 citiesthe largest tally being nearly 600 in St. Petersburg.

Navalnys team called the nationwide protests for the same day that Putin gave his annual state-of-the-nation address. In his speech, he denounced foreign governments alleged attempts to impose their will on Russia. Putin, who never publicly uses Navalnys name, did not specify to whom the denunciation referred, but Western governments have been harshly critical of Navalnys treatment and have called for his release.

In Moscow, Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh and Lyubov Sobol, one of his most prominent associates, were detained by police in the morning.

Yarmysh, who was put under house arrest after the January protests, was detained outside her apartment building when she went out during the one hour she is allowed to leave, said her lawyer, Veronika Polyakova. She was taken to a police station and charged with organizing an illegal gathering.

Sobol was removed from a taxi by uniformed police, said her lawyer, Vladimir Voronin.

OVD-Info reported that police searched the offices of Navalnys organization in Yekaterinbrug and detained a Navalny-affiliated journalist in Khabarovsk.

In St. Petersburg, the State University of Aerospace Instrumentation posted a notice warning that students participating in unauthorized demonstrations could be expelled.

The 44-year-old Navalny was arrested in January upon his return from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a nerve agent poisoning he blames on the Kremlin. Russian officials have rejected the accusation.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny is escorted out of a police station on Jan. 18, 2021, in Khimki, outside Moscow, following the court ruling that ordered him jailed for 30 days. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

Soon after, a court found that Navalnys long stay in Germany violated the terms of a suspended sentence he was handed for a 2014 embezzlement conviction and ordered him to serve 2 1/2 years in prison .

Navalny began the hunger strike to protest prison officials refusal to let his doctors visit when he began experiencing severe back pain and a loss of feeling in his legs. The penitentiary service has said Navalny was getting all the medical help he needs.

Navalnys physician, Dr. Yaroslav Ashikhmin, said recently that test results he received from Navalnys family showed sharply elevated levels of potassium, which can bring on cardiac arrest, and heightened creatinine levels that indicate impaired kidneys and he could die at any moment.

On Sunday, he was transferred to a hospital in another prison and given a glucose drip. Prison officials rebuffed attempts by his doctors to visit him there.

Russian authorities have escalated their crackdown on Navalnys allies and supporters. The Moscow prosecutors office asking a court to brand Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his network of regional offices as extremist organizations. Human rights activists say such a move would paralyze the activities of the groups and expose their members and donors to prison sentences of up to 10 years.

Navalnys allies vowed to continue their work despite the pressure.

It is, of course, an element of escalation, Ashurkov told the AP. But I have to say we were able to regroup and organize our work despite the pressure before. Im confident that now, too, we will find ways to work.  We have neither the intention nor the possibility to abandon what were doing.

By Jim Heintz and Daria Litvinova
A shocking new book has revisited the 1930s trial where socialite Ann Cooper Hewitt sued her abusive mother for $500 million for having her sterilized without her consent to deprive her of her inheritance from her millionaire inventor father.

In 1920, aged three-years-old, Ann Cooper Hewitt, the daughter of engineer and inventor Peter Cooper Hewitt, was caught with her hand down her pants - an action which at the time was not accepted and suggested her to be 'feeble-minded.'

In 1934, aided by a California eugenics law, her mother Maryon had her 'promiscuous' daughter sterilized without her knowledge.

As told in 'The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt,' by Audrey Clare Farley,' she did so to deprive Ann of millions of dollars from her father's estate, which contained a child-bearing stipulation.

While a notoriously long and tiring court case ensued, eugenicists seized the opportunity to restrict reproductive rights in America for the decades that followed.

In the the 1930s, socialite Ann Cooper Hewitt sued her mother for half a million dollars for having her sterilized without her consent in order to deprive her of an inheritance from her millionaire father's estate. Pictured, Ann is sworn in before testifying before municipal Judge Sylvain J. Lazarus in San Francisco, January 23, 1936

In 1934, aided by a California eugenics law, Ann's mother Maryon (pictured, together) had her 'promiscuous' daughter sterilized without her knowledge

Peter Cooper Hewitt (pictured), who died in 1921, left two-thirds of his estate to Ann and one-third to Ann's mother, his wife

During her appearance in court in her early 20s, Ann claimed how after her father's death, her mother Maryon 'hardly ever' let her leave their apartment - and forbid her from making friends or having boyfriends.

'Mother didn't have one spark of affection for me, and she refused to permit others who did,' she claimed.

'She always called me an "imbecile" and an "ugly duckling." She hated my buck teeth and my humped shoulders. And the way my eyes cross when I am tired. She sometimes struck me when she noticed my eyes were going.'

However, devastatingly for Ann, it wasn't long before she was also given a financial motive to further aid her cruelty.

Ann's father and Maryon's husband Peter Cooper Hewitt - whose grandfather founded the Cooper Union, and whose father, Abram Hewitt, and uncle, Edward Cooper, were mayors of New York - died in 1921.

He left two-thirds of his estate, worth over $4 million - the equivalent of $59 million today (42.6million) - to Ann and one-third to Ann's mother, his wife.

Preparatory to their filing a $500,000 damage suit against the girl's mother, Mrs. Maryon Hewitt McCarter, two California physicians, and a psychiatrist, Miss Ann Cooper Hewitt, (right), and her attorney, Russel P. Tyler, are shown making final depositions. The charges claimed her mother and the doctors conspired to perform an operation rendering her sterile

Prosecuting attorney August Fourther, questions Ann Cooper Hewitt, 21-year-old heiress, in the mayhem trial of two San Francisco physicians accused of performing an operation on the girl, which deprived her of her motherhood

This was the scene in a San Francisco, CA, courtroom at the opening of the sensational trial of two San Francisco physicians charged with conspiracy to commit mayhem in connection with the alleged sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt, heiress to the Peter Cooper Hewitt millions. Left to right: prosecuting attorneys August Fourtner, Leslie Skillen; Dr. Tilton E. Tillman, and to his left in the rear, DR. Samuel G. Boyd, defendants; Harry McKenzie and Isadore Golden, defense attorneys

However, the will specified that her share would be returned to her mother if Ann were to die childless - and Maryon appeared determined to take advantage of this clause in Peter's will.

'The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt,' by Audrey Clare Farley,' tells the shocking story of Ann Cooper Hewitt (pictured)

With this information to hand, Maryon took Ann to the hospital with 'stomach pains' and paid two doctors $9,000 each ($165,000 today) to remove her daughter's fallopian tubes and appendix.

The procedure took place just two month's before Ann's 21st birthday, after which point Maryon would have no further authority in her medical care because Ann would no longer be considered a minor.

The plan was put into action on August 1934, when, aged 20, Ann and Maryon were enjoying a spot of lunch at Coronado beachside resort outside San Diego when the minor felt a pang of pain in her stomach.

In her book and as reported by New York Post, Farley pens: 'As far as Ann's physicians were concerned, a little girl caught masturbating was sure to become a danger to men and society  that was, if she didn't obviate the need for men altogether.

'Ann is "man-like" in her urges,' one physician told her mother, after hearing about her alleged fondness for self-gratification. 'And if she keeps at her nasty habit, she won't perceive any need to marry one day.'

Ann Cooper Hewitt, 21-year-old heiress, who sued her mother for $500,000 damages, charging sterilization (pictured)

Their driver rushed Ann back to San Francisco where Ann's private physician, Dr. Tilton Tillman, was waiting for her.

According to the plaintiff, she wasn't even given a once over before she was diagnosed with appendicitis.

THE HISTORY OF EUGENICS In 1907, the eugenics Education Society was founded in Britain to campaign for sterilisation and marriage restrictions for the weak to prevent the degeneration of Britain's population. In 1931, Labour MP Archibald Church proposed a bill for the compulsory sterilisation of certain categories of 'mental patient' in Parliament. Meanwhile from 1907 in the United States, men, women and children who were deemed 'insane, idiotic, imbecile, feebleminded or epileptic' were forcibly sterilised, often without being informed of what was being done to them. By 1938, 33 American states permitted the forced sterilisation of women with learning disabilities and 29 American states had passed compulsory sterilisation laws covering people who were thought to have genetic conditions. All legislation was eventually repealed in the 1940s. Advertisement

Then, she was taken to another room where a psychologist named Mary Scally began to ask her questions.

These included: 'Why did the Pilgrims come to America? What is the duration of a presidential term? What is the longest river in the United States? When was the Battle of Hastings fought?'

At a press conference, Ann recalled: 'I didn't pay much attention or know what it was about.'

Just four days later, Dr. Samuel Boyd carried out an appendectomy - and it wasn't long before Ann grew increasingly concerned.

In her book, Farley writes: 'During this time, she overheard a few staff members ask her nurse how the 'idiot patient' was doing.

'Ann also heard her nurse make several phone calls to Dr. Tillman assuring him that his patient 'didn't suspect a thing.'

At court, Ann later testified that she learned her mother and Dr. Tillman had told everyone she was a 'mental case' and that she had undergone a salpingectomy - her her tubes removed and her appendix.

She added that after she was discharged from hospital, she returned home and was kept a prisoner in her own room.

Ann claimed: 'My mother made me act as my own maid. Not one housekeeper entered my room during my convalescence. I was forced to live with little more than the bare necessities or comforts of a poorhouse waif.'

However, as soon as prosecutors has learned of the case, Maryon had headed for the East Coast.

She stuck to her story that she deemed Ann to be unfit for society due to her addiction to masturbation and 'erotic tendencies,' branded her a 'moron' and even cited how she was attracted to 'men in uniform.'

Leaving behind an affidavit, she referenced one occasion where she'd tried to elope with a chauffeur, to whom she had exchanged letters with containing pubic hairs.

She also insisted Ann was 'feebleminded,' noting an intelligence test performed by the psychologist shortly before the procedure.

In response to accusations of her intelligence, the plaintiff's attorney called witnesses to the stand in court.

Peter Cooper Hewitt (pictured) - whose grandfather founded the Cooper Union, and whose his father, Abram Hewitt, and uncle, Edward Cooper, were mayors of New York - died in 1921.

'She writes fluently in French and can converse in Italian,' one physician testified. 'She has read books on Shakespeare, French history, Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Antoinette, King Lear, Dante's Inferno, and the works of Charles Dickens.'

In January 1936, Ann sued her mother for $500,000, alleging that she paid the doctors to remove her fallopian tubes without her consent.

The San Francisco district attorney charged Maryon and both doctors with 'mayhem' - a rare charge that was 'reserved for cases involving the act of disabling or disfiguring an individual.'

It often came with a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

However, a tiring trial ensued and the charges were eventually dropped against the doctors and her mother - with Ann settling for $150,000.

Maryon died in April 1939, aged 55, following a stroke, while Ann, who married five times, died from cancer, aged 40, in February 1956.
Todays topic is political overreach.

Its not new. Its almost always with us. Its often used when elected leaders perceive mandates that arent there. Or when majority lawmakers seek revenge. Or when one party wants something badly enough to risk repercussions.

It can be annoying. And distracting. And show up anywhere. In voting rights, LGBTQ issues, reproductive rights, in a Green New Deal or defund the police.
A mother and her four-year-old child were infected with the UK strain of COVID-19 as they completed mandatory quarantine at Perths Mercure Hotel across the corridor from a COVID-positive couple who had arrived from India.

The Mercure Hotel will no longer take people returning from overseas for hotel quarantine following the transmission between the two families after the government admitted it has been the least suited to safely quarantining people with COVID-19.

Premier Mark McGowan revealed on April 3 a family of three, with a four-year-old child, returned to Perth from the United Kingdom.

On April 10, a husband and wife returned from India, with the couple testing positive for COVID-19 a few days later.
Farit Zakiyev, the head of an organization that promotes Tatar language and culture, was sentenced to community service for taking part in Tatarstan's annual Commemoration Day. The crackdown on Zakiyev's group appears to be part of a larger pressure campaign against ethnic minority activists in Russia.
The Iraq war has been the backdrop to my entire adult life. When the invasion started, in March 2003, I was a senior in high school in Ohio. I remember arguing angrily at a party with a classmate who was in favor of it. My opposition was instinctual: I didnt like Bush, and I didnt like the idea of a war. I cant remember how deeply Id read into the arguments for and against it, but I suspect  not very.

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Its now almost universally accepted that the war was a grotesque mistake. But at the time, a lot of Americans who were paying much closer attention to the debate than I was were in favor. And not just Republicans. Three-quarters of Americans, more than half the Democratic senators, and former President Bill Clinton favored the war. Liberal journalists at publications where I would go on to worknot to mention the editor of the Atlantic, the editor of the New Yorker, and the future executive editor of the New York Timesthought invading Iraq was necessary. My husband, like me, was a senior in high school, but he was the kind of teenager who spent time in the school library reading back issues of the New Republic (and interning at Slate). He supported the war on humanitarian interventionist grounds, like a lot of the writers at those magazines. I have used this as a trump card when we disagree about politics: I was right, all those years ago, and you were wrong. So whose innate judgment is better, hmm?

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On a much grander scale, that kind of I-told-you-so has been playing out in American public life for the past 18 years. Many of the intellectuals and journalists who advocated for the war, especially those on the left and in the center, have published navel-gazing apologies and reconsiderationsalthough few have faced professional consequences for getting it wrong. (One prominent pro-war blogger declined to talk to me for Slow Burn but directed me to his e-book on the subject of his errors.) And every presidential election since 2004 has included a referendum on the candidates views about Iraq. Barack Obama, who opposed the war as a state senator, leapfrogged over pro-war Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards to win the 2008 nomination. Donald Trump, whod favored the war as a guest on The Howard Stern Show, pretended hed opposed the war to make political hay in 2016.

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A Republican nominee casting himself as an Iraq dove was a sign of how much things had changed in the 15 years since 9/11. (Trump also said he wanted to bomb the shit out of ISIS, so.) But many of the forces that powered Trumps election have their roots in the failure of the forever wars. Distrust in the media. The belief that the government is incapable of carrying out ambitious projects. The militarization of police forces. Resentment at money being spent abroad rather than at home.

In Iraq, much more than that has been lost. Not long after George W. Bush declared the mission accomplished, an insurgency sprang up, one that the Americans who started the war failed to anticipate. The dominoes kept falling from there. There was a brutal civil war. ISIS stepped into the power vacuum. Hundreds of thousands of people have diedkilled by U.S. troops or bombs, sectarian militias, and terrorist organizations that have thrived in the chaos left behind by the occupation, or simply because the countrys infrastructure has crumbled.

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So, again, how did so many Americansdecision-makers and commentators, liberals and conservatives, erudite humanists and jingoistic hawksthink it was a good idea for the United States to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein? What were the conditions of American political life that made that catastrophe possible? Thats what I wanted to go back and figure out in Slow Burn.

There is a bumper-sticker narrative that the war happened because the Bush administration lied about the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that the wars opponents were the people who saw through the lie. Thats partly but not entirely true. Lots of people who argued against the war thought there probably were chemical or biological weapons; they just didnt think that was reason enough for an invasion. And while administration officials certainly said things they knew were false, more often they manipulated the truth, using selective facts to make suggestive statements that reinforced the story they wanted to be true.

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Over the past five years, the establishment Republicans who were the wars most full-throated cheerleaders became the heroic, truth-telling Never Trumpers, and George W. Bush was recast as a good-hearted conservative with whom Democrats had legitimate ideological disagreements. The dishonesty and incompetence that informed the campaign for the Iraq war were selectively edited away.

On this season of Slow Burn, youll hear the stories of the people who started the invasion and the people who failed to stop it: the charming, aristocratic Iraqi exile whose life mission was deposing Saddam. The vice president who got obsessed with germ warfare and who read raw intelligence like a Twitter feed. The intellectuals who wanted to change the world and save Iraqis from oppression. The Pentagon undersecretary who was the smartest conspiracy theorist ever. The senators who wanted to someday be commander in chief. The journalists who wanted a splashy story more than anything. And the president who listened to them all.

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A geopolitical and human failure on that scale doesnt just happen because of a lie (or analytical error) about a weapons program. It happens because people let their ambitions and their fears and their big ideas cloud their judgment, or because they assume they can make big-picture decisions about the fates of millions of people without a real base of knowledge. Or because they are too scared to go against their boss, or their work is a little sloppy, or they listened to the wrong consultants, or theyre insufficiently worried about the stuff thats not precisely in their job description. It happens because some people write memos that are more convincing than others. It happens because petty office rivalries play out on a world stage, with disastrous consequences.

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But after spending most of a year reading and talking to people about the war, Ive come to believe that failure on that scale happens, mostly, because of ego. On a personal, institutional, and national level. Its ego that manifests itself in a refusal to believe that the critics of an idea might have a point, or that the facts might not support your intentions. And, most of all, in the notion that one country can just decide to change another, by force, and succeed.

So how did that play out, in the 18 months after 9/11? Listen to Season 5 of Slow Burn to find out.

Listen to this full episode of Slow Burn on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus for your ad-free feed.
U.S. President Joe Biden is being called on to declare a national emergency at the border.

This was after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey deployed the National Guard and released an emergency declaration to address the increasing number of migrants at the border.

"President Biden you should declare a national emergency and deploy the vast powers of your administration to stop what's happening here," Ducey was quoted in a Fox News report.

The Republican governor said that this is what Biden should do if he cares about stopping the cartels involved in illegal acts.

Ducey had sent out 250 National Guard troops to aid local law enforcement at the border with Mexico.

This marks Arizona as the first state to declare an emergency as the Biden administration tried to control the influx of increasing number of migrants, according to The Hill report.

The Arizona governor added that the Biden administration is oblivious to the reality that is taking place at the border.

"Now, at times it seems like they fully understand the reality and they're putting their heads in the sand and trying to ignore it anyway," Ducey was quoted in a report.

READ MORE: Biden Admin May Have To Restart Border Wall Construction To Fill Holes



Arizona State of Emergency

With the issuance of emergency, the state of Arizona is set to provide up to $25 million in initial funding for the mission, according to Ducey's office statement.

The governor mentioned that it has become clear that the state of Arizona needs the National Guard, saying that the White House is aware of that.

Ducey added that despite knowing that, no action has come out from the administration.

The governor's office said that the troops will be visiting communities to help with medical operations in detention centers, as well as install and maintain border cameras.

The troops will also monitor and collect data from public safety camera and analyze satellite imagery for smuggling.

Ducey said that the National Guard troops would be concentrated in the Yuma area. However, he said that they could be sent in other areas that need their help.

The governor defended his decision to impose a state of emergency, saying that Arizona is willing to step up and do their part, according to a New York Post report.

Ducey's move was lauded by GOP lawmakers, while criticizing the current administration for failing to address the situation.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs said that he supported Ducey's decision, noting that it is right and has been long overdue.

Border Situation

Meanwhile, White House officials have demanded Health and Human Services to speed up releases from its overload shelter system to free up space at detention facilities.

Customs and Border Protection expects to arrest more unaccompanied children this year since record-keeping started in 2010, according to a Reuters report.

HHS spokesman Mark Weber are working together on the matter.

However, he admitted that Zoom meetings and phone calls can be tensed.

A White House spokesman said that transferring children into HHS facilities was unacceptable. However, Vedant Patel added that the entire government is working tirelessly on the matter.

READ NEXT: Defense Department Halts Border Wall Building as It Reviews Biden's Order

WATCH: Arizona AG urging governor to declare national emergency over border crisis - from Fox Business
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 19:02:31|Editor: huaxia

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MANILA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines received an additional batch of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine on Thursday, the third tranche of doses purchased by the Philippine government from China.

China was the first to deliver the COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines. Its donation of Sinovac's vaccines arrived on Feb. 28, allowing the Philippines to start its mass vaccination on March 1.

The Philippines has administered over 1,600,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Wednesday, primarily to frontline healthcare workers and the elderly, according to health authorities.

The government aims to inoculate up to 70 million Filipinos this year to achieve herd immunity, starting with health care workers and the elderly.

The Southeast Asian country is ramping up the vaccination efforts as it continues to battle a surge of COVID-19 infections fuelled by more infectious variants.

As of Thursday, the COVID-19 has sickened 971,049 people in the Philippines since the disease emerged in the country in January 2020. A total of 16,370 patients have died from the disease. Enditem
The government has been accused of wasting taxpayers money after a multinational company headquartered in Dubai was paid 38.4m for a test and trace contract that was dropped soon after it had been awarded.

Ecolog International, which offers supply chain services in a number of industries, was originally approached last summer to help the UK meet its testing targets.

The government issued a letter of intent (LOI) with Ecolog in September 2020, with the company due to provide laboratory units to provide diagnostic testing for Covid-19 to meet targets for numbers of tests performed.

An LOI is a written agreement under the terms of which a supplier will start to conduct certain work for a buyer  such as a private business or government  before a final contract is signed.

However, according to an award notice published on 23 April on the governments contracts finder website, the decision was later made to cancel the arrangement  which was formally ended on 24 March  and reimburse Ecolog for costs incurred.

The company, which provides services in almost 20 countries, was handed 38.4m for equipment that it had already delivered to the UK, laboratory tests that had been undertaken pending the execution of the contract and mobilisation costs.

It is not known whether the 38.4m figure covered the original costs agreed between the two parties on top of the reimbursement fees that were paid out by the government.

An NHS head of procurement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he suspected the government made upfront purchases for equipment and services that it didnt later require, some of which were never delivered by Ecolog.

38m of taxpayers money was just wasted, he told The Independent. Sloshed up the wall by very poor programme management and contracting.

Looks like they gave a letter of intent to Ecolog, to cover upfront purchases which were then not needed. They gave 38m to a company which they then didnt bother using, and at taxpayers expense.

It is not known which of the services provided by Ecolog were integrated fully into the UKs test and trace system, while the Department of Health and Social Care has refused to explain why it chose not to proceed in negotiating a finalised contract with the company.

It said it cannot provide specific breakdowns of government contracts and costs, for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

Ecolog was awarded the preliminary contract without prior publication of a call for competition, the DHSC said.

38m of taxpayers money was just wasted. Sloshed up the wall by very poor programme management and contracting NHS procurement head

It said: There was undoubtedly a risk to public health and DHSC was reacting to a global emergency that was changing on a daily basis.

The need for the tests was immediate, with scientific forecasts at the time warning of daily cases of Covid-19 rising to as many as 50,000 per day in the coming weeks.

Throughout the pandemic, many contracts have been awarded without competition, some of which have been handed to companies with links to government ministers, leading to allegations of cronyism.

Critics have asked why such an approach was still being taken, six months into the pandemic, with regard to the procurement of test and trace services.

Labour said it was another example of outrageous waste from a government that has completely lost a grip of the public finances.

Shadow health minister Justin Madders told The Independent: This contract was signed more than six months into the pandemic, so the government has no excuse that they didnt know what they were getting into.

This contract was signed more than six months into the pandemic so the government has no excuse that they didnt know what they were getting into Justin Madders, shadow health minister

Ministers need to urgently explain what this contract was for, who authorised it and and why it was cancelled almost straight away.

The NHS procurement source also questioned the governments decision to engage with Ecolog via a letter of intent, which is generally seen as a high-risk mechanism within the procurement industry.

If used properly, an LOI can be a useful solution where two parties are still concluding contract negotiations but certain work or services are required immediately. However, failure to make the terms clear can lead to uncertainty and expose those involved to risk.

In the very rare circumstance we need to issue a letter of intent, we always minimise our commercial and delivery risk prior to signing the final agreed contract, the source said.

I find it extraordinary that the buyers  the government  allowed themselves to be exposed to many millions in costs if the supplier successfully claimed the letter was a binding, contractual commitment.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 May 2021 People enjoy the hot weather at Brighton beach Reuters UK news in pictures 30 May 2021 People venture into the sea as they enjoy themselves during a hot day on Brighton Beach AP UK news in pictures 29 May 2021 Swimmers at the Stonehaven Open Air Pool in Aberdeenshire, which reopens after lockdown restrictions were eased PA UK news in pictures 28 May 2021 Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he meets Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban at Downing Street in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 27 May 2021 White Pelicans in the sunshine in St James's Park, London PA UK news in pictures 26 May 2021 Boats are seen at Southsea Moorings in Portsmouth Reuters UK news in pictures 25 May 2021 York Glaziers Trust employees Kieran Muir (left) and Emily Price (right) remove a stained glass window panel at the start of a new five year, 5m project to conserve York Minsters South East Transept and its medieval St Cuthbert Window PA UK news in pictures 24 May 2021 Dark rain clouds above an oast house at Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst in Kent during one of the rainiest Mays on record, with the UK seeing 131 per cent of the usual months rainfall already PA UK news in pictures 23 May 2021 The Premier League trophy with the Manchester City club colour ribbons on, at Etihad Stadium, prior to the last Premier League match of the season. 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The ambassador has been barred from entering the Myanmar embassy in Mayfair after he was removed from office PA UK news in pictures 14 April 2021 People take part in coronavirus surge testing on Clapham Common, south London. Thousands of residents have queued up to take coronavirus tests at additional facilities set up after new cases of the South African variant were found in two south London boroughs. 44 confirmed cases of the variant have been found in Lambeth and Wandsworth, with a further 30 probable cases identified PA UK news in pictures 13 April 2021 The core of the Milky Way becomes visible in the early hours of Tuesday morning as it moves over Bamburgh Lighthouse at stag Rock in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 12 April 2021 Rebecca Richardson (left) and Genevieve Florence, members of the Aquabatix synchronised swimming team, during a practice session in the swimming pool at Clissold Leisure Centre in north London, which has reopened to the public. Many facilities have reopened in the latest easing of lockdown include pubs and restaurants who can serve outside, non-essential shops, indoor gyms and swimming pools, nail salons and hairdressers, outdoor amusements and zoos PA UK news in pictures 11 April 2021 A pub staff pins up a sign announcing the reopening of the Fox on the Hill pub on Denmark Hill in London EPA UK news in pictures 10 April 2021 The Death Gun Salute is fired by the Honourable Artillery Company to mark the passing of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the The Tower of London AFP via Getty

The DHSC said it is always looking at ways to mitigate financial implications and recuperate any costs for scaling down or not proceeding with contracts.

A spokesperson said: To fight this global pandemic and save lives we built from scratch the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history. The UK is now established as a testing juggernaut, with over 148 million Covid tests completed so far  more than any other country in Europe.

In order to tackle the myriad challenges created by this crisis  including ramping up our testing capacity  we drew upon the diverse skills and experience of the public and private sectors. Our focus last year was to build a network of diagnostic testing facilities to support immediate demand.

It is only sensible that we keep all of our contractual arrangements under continuous review to ensure we have the right system for the long term and proceed with contracts which fit the needs of service. We thank all of those who have made a valuable contribution to the programme so far.

The Independent has approached Ecolog International for comment.
[April 22, 2021] Netsmart and Vermont Collaborative Launch Care Coordination Platform to Deliver on Data-Driven, Value-Based Care

Vermont Care Partners (VCP) and four member agencies announce the successful launch of the Unified Electronic Medical Records project using the Netsmart myAvatarTM solution. myAvatar is the industry-leading electronic health record (EHR) for behavioral health and addiction services and is a component of the Netsmart CareFabric platform, an integrated framework of solutions and services used by providers for integrated healthcare. The CareFabric platform leverages the health record data of this unique collaborative, to enhance provider care delivery in the catchment areas served by these agencies across the state of Vermont. When fully leveraged, the platform will enable improved care coordination by providing real-time analytics and clinical decision support for value-based care. The non-profit agency collaborative comprised of Lamoille County Mental Health Services, United Counseling Service of Bennington County, Washington County Mental Health Services and Northwestern Counseling & Support Services first announced their unified efforts and partnership with Netsmart in 2019.



"Our collaboration with Netsmart was unique considering our individual agencies required different implementation approaches but wanted our network to achieve the same scalable platform and ability to establish common workflows," said Lorna Mattern, VCP Board Secretary & Executive Director, United Counseling Service of Bennington County. "With a unified approach, we were able to facilitate comprehensive training and support as the Netsmart team ensured our move to a common platform was a success and our agencies are more in sync now than ever before. In fact, the shared platform allows us to utilize contracted clinical services between agencies, a huge benefit in this time of tremendous need and ongoing shortage of staff." By leveraging the intuitive Netsmart solutions, the Vermont group can more easily access and produce quality data for analysis to improve the clinical operations of the agencies. The new EHR helps track metrics that inform workflow processes such as the length of time from intake to the next level of service as a measure of treatment engagement. This is information that will be reported to the State ensuring the agencies are meeting the demands of Vermonters on a timely basis and as required. The data-driven system is also integral in providing clinical summaries that help agency leadership gain insight into behavioral trends and align services to meets those trends.

"We recognize this partnership is a success for the state of Vermont as a whole and demonstrates our commitment to providing statewide leadership for an integrated, high-quality system of services and support," said Mary Moulton, Vermont Council Board President & Executive Director, Washington County Mental Health Services. "The reporting that we've seen already is just beginning to shed the light on the power of this system. With longitudinal analysis of clinical data, we're able to measure the effectiveness of our services. As payment reform trends toward performance-based compensation, tying outcomes to payment is more easily accomplished." "We started the Vermont project at a grassroots level where we worked side-by-side to develop and deliver an integrated technology platform that will fulfill all four agencies' needs," explained Netsmart CEO Mike Valentine. "This project is truly a joint effort between our company and four very forwarding thinking, innovative agencies. This phase is only the beginning of the journey to positively transform the delivery of care to the ecosystem of VCP partners and individuals across the state of Vermont." About Vermont Care Partners Vermont Care Partners (VCP) is a statewide network of sixteen non-profit, community-based agencies providing mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability services and supports. VCP provides statewide leadership for an integrated, high quality system of comprehensive services and supports. Committed to excellence and innovation, VCP provides strategic return on investment by serving as a vehicle for collaboration, systems integration and improvement, economies of scale and new opportunities and markets. About Netsmart Netsmart, a leading provider of Software as a Service ( SaaS (News - Alert) ) technology and services solutions, designs, builds and delivers electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchanges (HIEs), analytics and telehealth solutions and services that are powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use. Our platform provides accurate, up-to-date information that is easily accessible to care team members in the human services and post-acute care (which is comprised of home care and hospice and senior living) markets. We make the complex simple and personalized so our clients can concentrate on what they do best: provide services and treatment that support whole-person care. By leveraging the powerful Netsmart network, care providers can seamlessly and securely integrate information across communities, collaborate on the most effective treatments and improve outcomes for those in their care. Our streamlined systems and personalized workflows put relevant information at the fingertips of users when and where they need it. For more than 50 years, Netsmart has been committed to providing a common platform to integrate care. SIMPLE. PERSONAL. POWERFUL. Our more than 2,300 associates work hand-in-hand with our 680,000+ users at our clients across the U.S. to develop and deploy technology that automates and coordinates everything from clinical to financial to administrative. Learn more about how Netsmart is changing the face of healthcare today. Visit www.ntst.com, call 1-800-472-5509, follow us on our CareThreads Blog, LinkedIn and Twitter, like us on Facebook or visit us on YouTube. Netsmart is pleased to support the EveryDayMatters Foundation, which was established for behavioral health, care at home, senior living and social services organizations to learn from each other and share their causes and stories. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005637/en/

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Elderly residents of Folkestone and the surrounding area line up to receive a COVID jab. (Getty)

Tony Blair has called on Boris Johnson's government to reveal more information about the effectiveness of COVID vaccines such as AstraZeneca's to allay "unjustified" concerns about their safety.

The former prime minister is leading calls for UK authorities to make more real-world data available amid fears some countries are pausing the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine unnecessarily.

Blair warned that global vaccination efforts risked being undermined if workhorse vaccines such as the AstraZeneca product, which can be used around the world, are discredited based on unjustified anxieties about safety or efficacy.

He suggested the release of the UKs total vaccination data set, including details of those who have received a jab and subsequently contracted COVID, been admitted to hospital or died.

Tony Blair said the information would help allay concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine. (PA)

Only this would carry the global credibility AstraZeneca needs, Blair said.

His comments come following reports of a rare type of blood clot connected to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

However, the UK medicines regulator  the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)  has said the benefits of the jab continue to far outweigh any risks.

Watch: How do people feel about the AstraZeneca vaccine?

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Blair said he doesnt see any point in holding back the information.

He added: The information is there... there is data provided that shows AstraZeneca is highly effective.

I would like us to be setting out the numbers of people who have had the vaccine  first dose and second dose, Pfizer and AstraZeneca  then the numbers of those who have still contracted COVID, the numbers of those hospitalised and the numbers of those who have died.

I think if you do that it will show AstraZeneca is a highly effective vaccine and that those doubts that are there around the world are unjustified and wrong.

Following the reports of blood clots, under-30s in the UK will be offered an alternative vaccine as a precautionary measure.

Story continues

Other countries have taken a different approach, with Denmark stopping AstraZenecas use altogether in its vaccination programme.

Boris Johnson said that the government is not able to give data of deaths for people who have had the COVID vaccine. (Getty)

In the foreword to a paper from the Tony Blair Institute, the former prime minister said regulators in different countries were taking decisions based on a narrow and unbalanced view of risk and that policymakers need to grip this situation urgently.

His comments come hours after Johnson was quizzed about the same issue. During a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson was asked by a member of the public if the government planned to include deaths after someone had been given the vaccine in daily figures.

The prime minister replied: We are not yet able to give you that data or what that data would say if we were able to give it to you.

Empty vials of COVID vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca at the vaccination centre in Rosenheim, Germany. (Getty)

That is not because we want to conceal anything from people, we simply don't know that data.

He added: I suspect that number is very small, if indeed there are any.

The Daily Telegraph reported that scientists will present data to government advisers on Thursday that will show that of 74,405 coronavirus patients referred to UK hospitals between September and March, just 32 had been vaccinated at least three weeks previously.

Watch: Do coronavirus vaccines affect fertility?
The United States and other countries hiked their targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions at a global climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden, an event meant to resurrect U.S. leadership in the fight against global warming.

Biden unveiled the goal to cut emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels at the start of a two-day climate summit kicked off on Earth Day and attended virtually by leaders of 40 countries including big emitters China, India and Russia.

The United States, the worlds second-leading emitter after China, seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions.

This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis, Biden, a Democrat, said at the White House.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the new U.S. goal game changing as two other countries made new pledges.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who visited Biden at the White House this month, raised Japans target for cutting emissions to 46% by 2030, up from 26%. Environmentalists wanted a pledge of at least 50% while Japans powerful business lobby has pushed for national policies that favor coal.

Canadas Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, raised his countrys goal to a cut of 40%-45% by 2030 below 2005 levels, up from 30%.

Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro announced his most ambitious environmental goal yet, saying the country would reach emissions neutrality by 2050, 10 years earlier than the previous goal.

Greenpeace UKs head of climate, Kate Blagojevic, said the summit had more targets than an archery competition.

Targets, on their own, wont lead to emissions cuts, she said. That takes real policy and money. And thats where the whole world is still way off course.

PUTIN SAYS PROBLEMS GO WAY BACK

Most of the countries did not offer new emissions goals. Chinese President Xi Jinping said China expects its carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and the country will achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

Xi said China will gradually reduce its coal use from 2025 to 2030. China, a leader in producing technology for renewable energy like solar panels, burns large amounts of coal for electricity generation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed giving preferential treatment for foreign investment in clean energy projects, but also made an apparent reference to the United States being historically the worlds top greenhouse gas polluter. It is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming and associated problems go way back, Putin said.

The U.S. climate goal marks a milestone in Bidens broader plan to decarbonize the U.S. economy entirely by 2050  an agenda he says can create millions of good-paying jobs but which many Republicans say will damage the economy.

The U.S. emissions cuts are expected to come from power plants, automobiles, and other sectors across the economy. Sector-specific goals will be laid out later this year.

The new U.S. target nearly doubles former President Barack Obamas pledge of an emissions cut of 26%-28% below 2005 levels by 2025.

CEMENTING CREDIBILITY

How Washington intends to reach its climate goals will be crucial to cementing U.S. credibility on global warming, amid international concerns that Americas commitment to a clean energy economy can shift drastically from one administration to the next.

Bidens recently introduced $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan contains numerous measures that could deliver some of the emissions cuts needed this decade, including a clean energy standard to achieve net zero emissions in the power sector by 2035 and moves to electrify the vehicle fleet.

But the measures need to be passed by Congress before becoming reality.

The American Petroleum Institute, the top U.S. oil and gas lobbying group, cautiously welcomed Bidens pledge but said it must come with policies including a price on carbon, which is a tough sell among some lawmakers.

THE U.S. IS BACK

The summit is the first in a string of meetings of world leaders  including the G7 and G20  ahead of annual UN climate talks in November in Scotland. That serves as the deadline for nearly 200 countries to update their climate pledges under the Paris agreement, an international accord set in 2015.

Leaders of small island nations vulnerable to rising seas, like Antigua and Barbuda and the Marshall Islands, also spoke at the summit.

World leaders aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a threshold scientists say can prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

A Biden administration official said with the new U.S. target, enhanced commitments from Japan and Canada, and prior targets from the European Union and Britain, countries accounting for more than half the worlds economy were now committed to reductions to achieve the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.

European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed delight that the United States was back in the climate fight.

SOURCE: REUTERS
President Joe Biden is expected to formally recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as an act of genocide  in a move likely to infuriate Turkey and further strain already frayed ties between the two NATO allies.

The move would be largely symbolic but would mean breaking away from decades of carefully calibrated language from the White House and come at a time when Ankara and Washington are already at loggerheads over a string of issues.

The House and Senate have already passed resolutions using the term, but an official statement from the president will deal another blow to the Turkish government's efforts to shape the description of its past. The highly-freighted language has provoked fierce lobbying in the past.

President Joe Biden is expected to use the word 'genocide' in official statement marking the anniversary

Biden is likely going to use the word 'genocide' as part of a statement on April 24 when annual commemorations for the victims are held around the world, three sources familiar with the matter said.

'My understanding is that he took the decision and will use the word genocide in his statement on Saturday,' said a source familiar with the matter. Sources cautioned that given the importance of bilateral ties with Turkey, Biden may still choose not to use the term at the last minute.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday told reporters the White House would likely have 'more to say' about the issue on Saturday, but declined to elaborate.

The State Department referred queries on the issue to the White House and National Security Council had no comment beyond what Psaki said.

Armenians killed by Turks, during the Armenian Genocide 1915

Protesters rally outside the Turkish Consulate in commemoration of the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 24, 2017. Turkey has fought the official use of the term by the U.S. government for years

Thousands of Armenian protesters gather outside the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles during an annual event held to protest the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire Monday, April 24, 2017

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks as he attends the opening program of Turkey-Albania Fier Hospital via a video link at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on April 21, 2021. The move is likely to infuriate Erdogan's government. Erdogan built close ties with President Donald Trump, but has had strains with President Joe Biden

ATROCITIES

A year ago, while still a presidential candidate, Biden commemorated the 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children who lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire and said he would back efforts to recognize those killings as a genocide.

'Today, we remember the atrocities faced by the Armenian people in the Metz Yeghern - the Armenian Genocide. If elected, I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority,' he said on Twitter at the time.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIED BY TURKEY FOR 100 YEARS April 2021 marka the 106th anniversary of the massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. The killings in 1915 are regarded by many historians as the first genocide of the 20th century, and are said to have inspired Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart and have long sought to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide. Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops. Several European countries recognize the massacres as such, though Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally. In 2014, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message of condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey was ready to confront the history of the killings. Advertisement

The mass deaths occurred in clashes between Muslim Ottoman forces and Christian Armenians.

For decades, measures recognizing the Armenian genocide stalled in the U.S. Congress and U.S. presidents have refrained from calling it that, stymied by concerns about relations with Turkey and intense lobbying by Ankara.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had established a close bond with former President Donald Trump, but he has yet to speak to Biden since he became president on Jan. 20.

While Turkish and U.S. officials have held talks since then, the Biden administration has stepped up pressure on Turkey by frequently expressing its discontent over Ankara's human rights track record, and the gap between the two sides over a host of issues including Turkey's purchase of Russian weapons systems and policy differences in Syria remains.

The term genocide will bring unwelcome comparisons to the Holocaust that the Turkish government has long sought to avoid.

Any move by Biden to recognize the mass killings as a genocide will further harm already strained ties between the NATO allies, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Erdogan discussed the issue with his High Consultations Council, his office said on Thursday.

'Our President has stated that they will continue to defend truths against the so-called Armenian genocide lie and those who support this slander with political motivations,' it said.

Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group research and consulting firm, said Biden's expected move reflected the deteriorating relationship between the NATO allies, but Erdogan's response would likely be limited.

'Erdogan is ... unlikely to provoke the U.S. with actions that could further undermine Turkeys weak economy,' he said.

In 2019, the U.S. Senate passed a non-binding resolution recognizing the killings as a genocide, in a historic move that deeply angered Turkey.

Representative Adam Schiff and a group of 100 bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to Biden this week urging him to follow through on his campaign pledge and 'right decades of wrongs.'
following in footsteps of Princess Charlotte, who attended Willcocks before she started school

The confident young royal showed off his cycle skills on a trendy red Frog balance bike, costing 200

Prince Louis posed for photo before he left for first day at the Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington

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With a smart set of wheels, a backpack and a cheeky grin, this is easy rider Prince Louis.

Today is his third birthday  and he posed for this photo on his first day of nursery school.

Proud mother the Duchess of Cambridge snapped the delightful portrait, which was released by Kensington Palace last night.

It was taken at the palace on Wednesday, shortly before Prince Louis left for his first day at the Willcocks Nursery School.

Prince Louis appeared in high spirits as he posed for this photo before leaving for his first day at the Willcocks Nursery School in Kensington. The image, taken by his proud mother Kate Middleton, has been released to mark the royal's third birthday

First birthday! The youngster showed of his two bottom teeth in the portrait released when he turned one (left). Last year's joyful portait showed the young prince with paints all over his hands while creating a rainbow picture to pay tribute to the NHS (right)

In an official tweet, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge revealed the photo of Prince Louis had been taken earlier this week

The Queen's official Instagram account also posted the new portrait of Prince Louis with birthday greetings and a bicycle emoji

This morning, the photo was also shared by the Queen's official Instagram account, with a bicycle emoji and the caption: 'Wishing Prince Louis a very happy third birthday today.'

Beaming at the camera, Louis looks ready for his big day, sporting a smart blue and white striped shirt, navy blue sweater and sky blue shorts.

The young prince's 30 Adidas Kids Duramo trainers look scuffed at the toes, like those of any active three-year-old.

The chubby-faced toddler of previous birthday portraits is growing up fast, just like his brother, Prince George, seven, and sister, Princess Charlotte, who will turn six next month.

The confident young royal showed off his cycle skills on a trendy Frog balance bike. The red Tadpole Plus model, costing 200, has no pedals or chain.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have previously released pictures of their children on their first day at nursery: Prince George (left, in January 2016 at the Westacre Montessori School in Norfolk) and Princess Charlotte (right, on her first day at Willcocks nursery in 2018)

Princess Charlotte, pictured with Prince George and her parents on her first day at Thomas's Battersea in London, previously attended Willcocks

Prince William aged three (left) on his first day at nursery school in 1985 and Kate Middleton (right) at the age of three during a family holiday in the Lake District

Prince William enjoying a bike ride in Tresco on the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall in 1989 with brother Harry and their parents Charles and Diana

Balance bikes teach youngsters to ride naturally, by fine-tuning their motor skills, coordination and agility without any need for lessons. Frog is one of the most popular brands and this model has been out of stock for some time.

The heartwarming image comes after royal fans claimed the young prince bore a striking resemblance to Kate Middleton's father, Michael.

The Willcocks Nursery School  whose ethos is 'high standards, excellence and good manners'  is rated outstanding by Ofsted.

Louis is following in the footsteps of Princess Charlotte, who attended Willcocks, in Kensington, before she started at school.

Children can attend the morning session, which costs 10,200 a year, and/or the afternoon session, costing 6,750 a year.

There is also a two-hour 'lunch club' joining the two sessions, which would cost 5,550 a year if every day was needed. The total for a child attending all the sessions would be 22,500 a year.

Kensington Palace has not revealed the hours when Louis will be attending, but previously the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have started off their children on morning or afternoon sessions, building up over time to longer days.

So sought-after is Willcocks that parents can register their children from the moment they are born for a fee of 125.

Prince Louis with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attending a special pantomime performance at London's Palladium Theatre in 2020

Prince Louis with his siblings and father William in a picture that was released to mark both Father's Day and the Duke's 38th birthday on 21 June 2020

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children clap for NHS carers and frontline workers in April 2020

Prince Louis making his first appearance with the royal family on Buckingham Palace's balcony at Trooping the Colour - to celebrate the Queen's official birthday - on 8 June 2019

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with newborn Prince Louis outside the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington on 23 April 2018

Royal fans have suggested that Prince Louis bears a striking resemblance to Kate Middleton's father, Michael (pictured with Carole Middleton in 2017)

If they are offered a place, they must then put down a deposit of 1,500 which is only returned at the end of the child's final term if a term's notice has been given in writing.

As with Charlotte, the royal couple will have been offered the chance to partake in the nursery 'stay and play' programme to help Louis settle in.

This would involve William or Kate, or both, attending with their son until he looked settled, then being asked to leave for a short period to check he was happy without them.

The nursery recommends parents equip their child with 'a toy or photograph from home or a picture of their Key Teacher to take home' so that the link between nursery and home becomes more familiar and the whole process is sped up.

Last night Kensington Palace said the couple were 'delighted to share a new photograph ahead of Prince Louis' third birthday', and the image has delighted royal fans who insist that the youngster is the image of his maternal grandfather, Michael Middleton.

Royal watchers often comment that Louis takes after Kate, 39, and her side of the family.

One posted: 'I believe as much as George and Charlotte resemble William and HM [Her Majesty, the Queen], Louis is the twin to Catherine's dad. All three are adorable!'

Another wrote: 'I think he resembles Kate's father! He's definitely a Middleton!'

A third added simply: 'He looks like Michael Middleton!'

The 10,200-a-year nursery school in Kensington which will be attended by Prince Louis The Wilcocks Nursery School in Kensington, London, which was founded in 1964 by Miss Diana Willcocks The Wilcocks Nursery School in Kensington operates from a hall and one room of Holy Trinity Church and also has an enclosed outside play area. The pre-school was founded in 1964 by Miss Diana Willcocks and is currently owned and run by the Headmistress, Lavinia Taylor. A message on the school's website reads: 'Willcocks Nursery is a traditional nursery school which strives to maintain its ethos for high standards, excellence and good manners. ' At the school children 'engage in meaningful conversations with each other and staff' and 'enjoy story times and benefit from visits to the nursery from a librarian'. Staff also introduce children to poetry, and 'high regard is given to developing children's skills in expressive arts and design'. As part of their education, children also visit the Royal College of Art where they create their own works of art, exhibited for parents and the public to see. They also have regular visits from the Royal College of Music, which enable them to explore the sounds that different instruments make. In addition, children can use some programmable toys which help develop their mathematical skills so they can count accurately up to and beyond 20. Children can attend the morning session, which costs 10,200 a year, and/or the afternoon session, costing 6,750 a year. There is also a two-hour 'lunch club' joining the two sessions, which would cost 5,550 a year if every day was needed. The total for a child attending all the sessions would be 22,500 a year. The nursery recommends parents equip their child with 'a toy or photograph from home or a picture of their Key Teacher to take home' so that the link between nursery and home becomes more familiar and the whole process is sped up. Advertisement

Playground fit for a Duchess! Sandringham play area inspired by Kate Middleton's Chelsea Flower Show garden opens TOMORROW - and its treehouses and woodland walkways are every child's dream

By Hayley Richardson for MailOnline

The huge adventure playground inspired by Kate Middleton and built on the Queen's Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk is finally opening on Friday - after it was delayed due to the death of Prince Philip.

Kate's Back to Nature garden at the last Chelsea Flower Show featured a rope swing, tepee hideaway and a tree house to encourage children to immerse themselves in nature.

Now the Sandringham Estate, which attracts 500,000 visitors a year, has put the finishing touches to an adventure playground modelled on famous local landmarks - and it is ready to open to visitors on April 23.

It had been due to open on Easter Monday, April 12, but was delayed after Prince Philip's death aged 99 on April 9, and a period of mourning.

Phase one of the spectacular new woodland playground, which has replaced an existing smaller play area, is now complete with an array of stunning treehouses and walkways.

The huge adventure playground inspired by Kate Middleton and built on the Queen's Royal Sandringham Estate in Norfolk is finally opening on Friday

The centrepiece of the playground is the eight-metre tall Appleton Water Tower, inspired by the Victorian landmark, which was built in 1877 to improve the quality of the water supply to Sandringham House

The playground had been due to open on Easter Monday, April 12, but was delayed after Prince Philip's death and a period of mourning

The Sandringham Estate, which attracts 500,000 visitors a year, has put the finishing touches to its adventure playground modelled on famous local landmarks - and it is ready to open to visitors on April 23

The centrepiece of the playground is the eight-metre tall Appleton Water Tower, inspired by the Victorian landmark, which was built in 1877 to improve the quality of the water supply to Sandringham House.

The tall treehouse features a 14-metre long tube slide, winding spiral staircase, water play tables with pumps at the top and bottom and talking tubes so kids can communicate.

The play area also includes a special space for toddlers with two houses connected by a bridge, high walkways, a zip wire and a springy wooden assault course.

A Sandringham Estate spokesman said: 'The ongoing development of a new Children's Play Area at Sandringham forms part of improvement works across the Estate, with a view to offering better facilities for visitors, whilst maintaining the landscape and environment for all to enjoy.'

Kate's Back to Nature garden at the last Chelsea Flower Show (pictured there with the Queen in 2019) featured a rope swing, tepee hideaway and a tree house to encourage children to immerse themselves in nature

Phase one of the spectacular new woodland playground, which has replaced an existing smaller play area, is now complete with an array of stunning treehouses and walkways

The plans for the Appleton Water Tower feature (right) at the new playground at Sandringham House. Pictured left: the Victorian landmark

Inside the Appleton Water Tower, it explains how the Victorian landmark, which was built in 1877 to improve the quality of the water supply to Sandringham House, works

The Cambridges spend holidays at Anmer Hall, their house on the estate, and George, seven, Charlotte, five, and Louis, who turns three tomorrow, could become regular visitors to the revamped playground (pictured)

The tall treehouse features a 14-metre long tube slide, winding spiral staircase, water play tables with pumps at the top and bottom and talking tubes so kids can communicate

Later phases will involve additions to the central play area, also based on local landmarks.

They include the grade-two listed St Mary Magdalene Church, which the Queen and Royal family attend at Christmas, and the ruined Church of St Mary, which stands near the village of West Newton.

There are also plans for a secret enclosed play structure, inspired by Queen Alexandra's Nest, a summerhouse built in 1913 on the rockery overlooking the lake on the Royal estate.

Creating Adventurous Spaces Ltd, who have designed the playground, described the huge water tower as 'a ground-breaking new play feature fit for the Sandringham Estate'.

This is the first phase of the plan for the playground; the next includes plans for a secret enclosed play structure, inspired by Queen Alexandra's Nest, a summerhouse built in 1913 on the rockery overlooking the lake on the Royal estate

Creating Adventurous Spaces Ltd, who have designed the playground, described the huge water tower as 'a ground-breaking new play feature fit for the Sandringham Estate'

The playground proved a huge hit with visitors both young and old today, who were given a sneak preview before its grand opening tomorrow

Youngsters, parents and grandparents were seen trying the adventure playground out this afternoon after it was finally unveiled

Later phases of the project will involve additions to the central play area, also based on local landmarks. They include the grade-two listed St Mary Magdalene Church, which the Queen and Royal family attend at Christmas, and the ruined Church of St Mary, which stands near the village of West Newton (pictured: the Appleton Tower feature)

The planning application was submitted on behalf of the Queen in October and was approved the following month. It was closed for works to begin in December.

As part of the application the Queen was advised to plant bat-friendly flowers around the new playground.

Her Majesty was told the site would benefit from a wildflower planting scheme to increase the foraging opportunities for bats and pollinators.

She was also advised to install three bat boxes and two bird boxes on trees near the huge play area.

The Cambridges spend holidays at Anmer Hall, their house on the estate, and George, seven, Charlotte, five, and Louis, who turns three tomorrow, could become regular visitors to the revamped playground.

The plans for the new adventure playground (pictured) at Sandringham House which is now finally opening to the public on April 23

The planning application was submitted on behalf of the Queen in October and was approved the following month. It was closed for works to begin in December

Later phases will involve additions to the central play area, also based on local landmarks. They include the grade-two listed St Mary Magdalene Church, which the Queen and Royal family attend at Christmas, and the ruined Church of St Mary, which stands near the village of West Newton. Pictured, St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk
TL;DR: Apple has been indirectly hit with a ransomware attack. On April 20, the same day as its Spring Loaded event, Russian ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) outfit REvil struck Taiwan-based Apple supplier Quanta's servers, stealing numerous documents.

Quanta manufactures MacBooks and other Apple products. The Record notes the cache of data contained engineering and manufacturing documents related to Apple products, including schematics for a next-gen Macbook Pro. REvil demanded Quanta pay it $50 million to get the data back, but Quanta refused.

"Quanta Computer's information security team has worked with external IT experts in response to cyberattacks on a small number of Quanta servers," a spokesperson told Bloomberg. "[The hack poses] no material impact on the company's business operation."

Seeing it was getting nowhere with Quanta, REvil turned its demand to Apple directly, threatening to leak data every day until it paid the $50 million. In the first documents leaked was a schematic for an upcoming MacBook Pro model designated J316. XDA reports that it is a 16-inch complete redesign of the MacBook Pro.

The chassis design of the last few models has not changed much, but the J316 has a "renewed design language." It appears more rounded and does not have the Touchbar. We have received conflicting reports on whether Apple would be ditching that feature or not. This document seems to confirm that feature is being abandoned.

The schematic also shows that the new MacBook Pro will have improved connectivity. An annoyance of current models is the necessity of adapters for things like HDMI and USB-A. The J316 partially fixes this problem, coming with one HDMI port, a USB-C/Thunderbolt port, and an SD card reader on the right-hand side. The left side has two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports. It also has a MagSafe connector indicating that MagSafe for Macs is making a comebackanother rumor seemingly verified.

Apple has not confirmed the validity of the documents, but images showed them marked with, "This is the property of Apple, and it must be returned," with warnings not to reproduce, copy, or publish. While these could be easily faked with enough knowledge of Apple's internal documentation, what cannot be fabricated is the formerly unknown design of the new iMacs. In addition to the J316 plans, the first leak also contained a schematic for the newly redesigned iMac, which Apple only revealed on Tuesday, the day of the attack. It appears to confirm that the documents are authentic.

REvil's attack on Apple falls almost precisely one month after its record-breaking $50 million ransomware demand against Acer on March 19. It causes one to wonder if the group has plans for a May 19-20 attack.

Image credit: Africa Studio
A water resources engineering company is moving its headquarters to a historic formerly industrial building in Trenton that has remained vacant for more than 25 years.

Princeton Hydro is relocating from Ringoes in Hunterdon County to the citys Roebling Carpentry Shop in its Wirerope District, city officials said Tuesday. The business signed a lease with Hx2 Development and is slated to move into the building in January 2022.

Trenton offered the firm a $250,000 Urban Enterprise Zone, or UEZ, loan for the relocation, according to The Trentonian. The city had $2 million in UEZ funding allocated for economic redevelopment, after passing a resolution creating the loan program last April, the paper said.

Its just a really great space that were moving into, said Geoffrey Goll, president of Princeton Hydro.

Goll said the firms reasons for the move include a closer proximity to the states Department of Environmental Protection office, a more central location in the state, and more access to public transportation and highways. The company also promotes justice equity and inclusion as part of their mission, he said, adding they hope to help boost local revitalization in the city.

The UEZ loan was an incentive offered to the company to help them move into the space and buy equipment for the staff, Goll said. It gave us a feeling that the city was committed to us, to Princeton Hydro and to businesses moving there, he said.

The building in the historic Roebling Carpentry Shop has been vacant for more than 25 years.Clarke Caton Hintz

The company will occupy 9,000-square-feet of Building 110 in the complex, which will contain three floors of office space. The move will add more than 30 jobs to Trenton, according to a release. Construction has already started.

Founded in 1998, Princeton Hydro provides ecological and engineering consulting services.

The Roebling Center spans five historic industrial buildings on Block 3 of the John A. Roeblings Sons Company. Completed in 2018, Phase 1 included the opening of Roebling Lofts, a 138-unit loft apartment building in Building 101 of the complex.

Were very excited Princeton Hydro has picked the Capital City as its new home and look forward to seeing this historic site reclaim its status as a bustling center of commerce and ingenuity, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said in a news release.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
?Second public procurement agreement after Italy's procurement deal worth EUR 89.3 million

SEOUL, South Korea, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Seegene Inc. (KQ 096530), a leading biotechnology firm said it began supplying its COVID-19 diagnostic tests worth 16,209,150 GBP to Scotland under a public procurement agreement, the largest diagnostic volume seen in that region since the pandemic. Compared to Seegene's annual sales tallied in Scotland, the supply contract is worth triple the volume in 2020, which came in at 5,400,000 GBP.

Under the supplying deal, Seegene's Scotland dealership, Mast Group, will be supplying Allplex SARS CoV-2 to the National Health Care Scotland NSS, which will then be distributed to 9 hospitals including Royal Infirmary Edinburgh and Ninewell starting in April.

Seegene's COVID-19 diagnostic test, the Allplex SARS CoV-2 Assay is a unique multiplex real-time PCR assay that can detect a total of five targets including four coronavirus genes (E gene, RdRp gene, N gene and S gene) and an exogenous control (entire process control) in a single reaction tube, allowing accurate results and maximize throughput for high volume testing. The diagnostic test previously acquired CE-IVD mark in June 2020.

Ho Yi, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Seegene added that depending on the demand from Scottish government, Seegene is willing to switch COVID-19 diagnostic tests with its recent variant test, the Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Master Assay and Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants l Assay.

Seegene's unique variant diagnostic test can detect COVID-19 and screen multiple virus variants simultaneously with a single multiplex real-time PCR test in less than 2 hours. The variant test can detect virus variants including U.K. lineage of concern B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1 and B.1.1.207. The variant diagnostic test can also be used with 'Allplex TM RV Essential Assay, a one-step assay for screening a total of 17 target causative viruses for respiratory infections. The Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants l Assay can also detect and differentiate virus variants while also pre-screen suspicious new variant. The variant diagnostic test can identify virus variants including B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1 and B.1.525.

Seegene recently began exporting both Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Master Assay and Allplex SARS-CoV-2 Variants l Assay to over 20 countries around the world, including the hardest hit European countries including the UK, Italy, Germany as well as Chile after having acquired CE-IVD mark in March.

Yi said with all 9 hospitals already having been fully equipped with Seegene's multiplex PCR equipment, the Korean firm hopes the public procurement agreement will help lead to additional diagnostic tests sales like Seegene's STI and HPV assays.

Seegene's exceptional technological skills are being recognized once again through a series of public procurement agreements including the most recent tender deal secured in Italy via its subsidiary office, worth over EUR 89.3 million. Yi said Seegene hopes to realize additional market expansion soon through its aggressive marketing strategies elsewhere around the world.

About Seegene, Inc.

Founded in Seoul, South Korea in 2000 and with subsidiaries in the U.S.A., Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and the Middle East, Seegene, Inc. is an in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) company that has been turning concepts into products through its pioneering R&D activities. Seegene owns its original patent technology including DPO (Dual Priming Oligonucleotide) for multiple target amplification; TOCE, for multiple target detection in a single channel; MuDT, the world's first real-time PCR technology that provides individual Ct values for multiple targets in a single channel for quantitative assays.; and mTOCE multiplex mutation detection technology. With these cutting-edge molecular diagnostic (MDx) technologies applied to diagnostic kits and other tools, Seegene has enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to unprecedented levels, providing multiplex PCR products that target and detect genes of multiple pathogens simultaneously, saving testing time and cost. Seegene continues to set new standards in MDx providing new, cost-effective innovations.

Seegene Inc.

Ashlee Semin Shin

P: +82-2-2240-0685

E: smshin@seegene.com

U.S. Media Contact:

Kristin Schaeffer

E: kschaeffer@cglife.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1357790/Seegene_logo_Logo.jpg
KABUL  Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar left for Istanbul-Turkey to attend Afghanistan - Turkey - Pakistan trilateral meeting this morning.

The meeting, due to be held tomorrow, will focus on the political settlement in Afghanistan, resuming peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, strengthening regional consensus for supporting peace, Turkey and Pakistans role in this regard, and consolidating trilateral relations.

At the sidelines of this meeting, Minister Atmar will also engage in bilateral meetings on strengthening political, economic, and security cooperation.
The inquiry is the first major action of Attorney General Merrick Garland, after U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to address systemic misconduct and racism in the country.

(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS)

A federal civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice was launched into the embattled police department in Minneapolis, a day after jurors convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland Wednesday said the wide-ranging investigation, known as a pattern-or-practice probe, will go beyond a separate federal criminal inquiry into Floyd's murder last year.

The DOJ will determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern of unconstitutional policing using "excessive force," including during protests, Garland said.

The DOJ will also examine MPD's use of force against demonstrators and whether the department's treatment of people with behavioral disabilities violates federal law.

The move follows national outrage over the death of unarmed black man Floyd by Derek Chauvin, who is white. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday.

"Nothing can fill the void the loved ones of George Floyd have felt since his death. My heart goes out to them and to all those who have experienced similar loss," The Post quoted Garland as saying.

Currently, the DOJ has four ongoing police practice investigations in addition to the one in Minneapolis.

Chauvin's guilty verdict sparked reactions across the U.S., as quoted by Voice of America:

"To hear them say guilty, I just started tearing up... it was definitely overwhelming because it was something I've definitely not been used to hearing," Houston senior Lexy Bogney, president of Baylor NAACP, said.

"The verdict is an important step forward for justice in Minnesota. The trial is over, but our work has only begun," Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said.

"Today, a jury did the right thing. But true justice requires much more. Michelle and I send our prayers to the Floyd family," former U.S. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama said.

Meanwhile, protesters are demanding justice for Ma'Khia Bryant, a black teenager who was fatally shot by Ohio police Tuesday afternoon.

The incident took place in southeast Columbus, just minutes before Chauvin's murder conviction, according to the New York Times.

Floyd family lawyer Ben Crump responded to Bryant's death on Twitter Tuesday night, reminding everyone that the fight for racial justice is far from over.

On Sunday, three people were killed while two were wounded in a shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, continuing the deadly string of similar incidents that preceded it.

Since March 16, the U.S. has recorded at least 50 mass shootings, according to CNN and data from the Gun Violence Archive, police reports and local media.
Houston rapper Slim Thug has teamed up with the restaurant ChicknCone to create a meal that will benefit young men's education.

TRAVIS SCOTT MEAL A FLOP: I tried the McDonald's Travis Scott meal, and it didn't even taste like him

In a joint effort, ChicknCone will help Slim Thug raise funds for his nonprofit organization, the Boss Life Foundation, with a special meal. Slim Thug's meal is appropriately named The 'Still Tippin' Cone after the rapper's collaboration with fellow Houston OGs Mike Jones and Paul Wall.

Courtesy Zarah Parker

The 'Still Tippin' Cone features fried chicken strips as well as macaroni and cheese inside a waffle cone with the restaurant's spicy Kickin' Ranch sauce on top.

The meal will be available beginning Thursday, and a dollar from each sale will benefit the Boss Life Foundation. The Boss Hogg Outlawz founder started the nonprofit to support young men's education from ages 8 to 24.

SLIM THUG'S GARAGE: Houston rapper Slim Thug seeks car inspiration on the latest episode of Texas Metal

According to the restaurant's Facebook page, the meal will be available for a limited time through Sunday.

Our first ever Collaboration Cone! Introducing the: STILL TIPPIN' cone ???!! Only available this weekend: Thursday,... Posted by Chick'nCone on Wednesday, April 21, 2021

In celebration of the new 'Still Tippin' meal, the Houston rapper will host meet-and-greets at Chick'nCone. Slim Thug will appear at 4 p.m. Thursday at the chicken joint located at 1919 North Shepherd Drive.

For more details, you can visit the Chick'nCone Facebook page.
[April 22, 2021] HUMAN (Formerly White Ops), Together with Newly-Formed Human Collective and Industry Leaders Google & Roku, Announces Discovery and Disruption of 'PARETO' CTV Botnet

SINGAPORE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- HUMAN (formerly White Ops), a cybersecurity company that protects enterprises from bot attacks to keep digital experiences human, today announced the discovery and disruption of a new, highly sophisticated botnet focused on defrauding the Connected TV (CTV) advertising ecosystem. Omnicom Media Group, The Trade Desk, and Magnite, flagship members of The Human Collective a newly launched initiative that brings together players throughout digital advertising to create a collectively protected ecosystemcollaborated with HUMAN, with the support of Google and Roku in leading the disruption efforts. In short, PARETO is nearly a million infected mobile Android devices pretending to be millions of people watching ads on smart TVs and other devices. The botnet used dozens of mobile apps to impersonate or spoof more than 6,000 CTV apps, accounting for an average of 650 million ad requests every day. HUMAN's Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team found the PARETO operation in 2020 and has been working with the HUMAN team to prevent its impacts to clients ever since. The operation is named for The Pareto Principle, an economics concept that dictates that 80% of the impact in any given situation is carried out by only 20% of the actors. "CTV provides massive opportunities for streaming services and brands to engage with consumers through compelling content and advertising," said HUMAN CEO and Co-Founder Tamer Hassan. "Because of this opportunity, it is incredibly important for the CTV ecosystem and brands to work together through a collectively protected advertising supply chain to ensure fraud is recognized, addressed and eliminated as quickly as possible." PARETO worked by spoofing signals within malicious Android mobile apps to impersonate consumer TV streaming products running Fire OS, tvOS, Roku OS, and other prominent CTV platforms. The btnet took advantage of digital shifts that were accelerated by the pandemic, hiding in the noise in order to trick advertisers and technology platforms into believing ads were being shown on CTVs. This particular approach is lucrative for fraudsters, as pricing for ads on connected TVs is often substantially higher than pricing on mobile devices or on the web.



"We appreciate the work of the research community, and value our collaboration with HUMAN," said Per Bjorke, Product Manager, Ad Traffic Quality at Google. "Responsible disclosure and collaboration benefits the entire ecosystem, and we look forward to working with them on additional research in the future." The PARETO operation has been incredibly sophisticated and evasive over the last year. However, for each spoofing cycle, as PARETO launched a new disguise for their fake traffic, HUMAN was able to detect and continuously innovate techniques to protect our customers with HUMAN's Advertising Integrity solution . Finally, after a year of this continuous and effective threat identification and resolution, and driven by a sequence of counter measures and PARETO adaptations, HUMAN and its partnersincluding Omnicom Media Group, The Trade Desk, Magnite, Google, and Rokudisrupted the operation.

"Roku is committed to fighting ad fraud in every form and to the development of leading practices for staying ahead of fraud globally. We were pleased to support HUMAN's efforts to disrupt the PARETO operation. While this scheme impacted less than 0.1% of Roku devices, our approach to creating a premium curated advertising marketplace ensured that not a single Roku advertiser was ever at risk of being impacted," said Willard Simmons, VP of Product Management at Roku. "The PARETO case presents yet another reminder of the importance of taking fraud seriously, working with the best fraud detection partners and ensuring both the supply and demand side of the advertising ecosystem works only with trusted verified partners." HUMAN also observed a far smaller but connected effort attempting to spoof consumer streaming platforms. The operation detected a single developer on Roku's Channel Store with apps connected to PARETO. The apps linked to the developer, impacting less than one half of one percent of Roku's active devices globally, were designed to communicate with the server that operates the PARETO botnet. The primary operation was associated with 29 Android apps and the secondary operation was associated with one Roku developer delivering the malware to infected devices. These apps have all been removed from the marketplaces on which they were operating, and lists of the apps are available as appendices to HUMAN's technical analysis of the botnet . Roku has also permanently disconnected the impacted apps from use. "What's especially striking about this operation is its scale and sophistication," said HUMAN Chief Scientist Michael McNally. "The actors behind PARETO have a fundamental understanding of numerous aspects of advertising technology, and used that to their advantage in how they hid their work within the CTV ecosystem. Their efforts included low-level network protocol spoofing, which is especially hard to detect, but which our team at HUMAN spotted." The Satori Threat Intelligence and Research Team used numerous tools to identify the sources of the botnet, whose information has been shared with law enforcement. To learn more about the PARETO operation, visit humansecurity.com/pareto . About HUMAN HUMAN is a cybersecurity company that protects enterprises from bot attacks to keep digital experiences human. We have the most advanced Human Verification Engine that protects applications, APIs and digital media from bot attacks, preventing losses and improving the digital experience for real humans. Today we verify the humanity of more than 10 trillion interactions per week for some of the largest companies and internet platforms. Protect your digital business with HUMAN. To Know Who's Real, visit www.humansecurity.com. SOURCE HUMAN

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I read a recent NBC story -- In secret Facebook groups, America's best warriors share racist jabs, lies about 2020, even QAnon theories -- in which the writer, Carol Lee, alleges radicalization, extremism, and significant racism among US Special Operations Forces (SOF). Lee bases this over-the-top declaration because she gained access to four secret Facebook groups. She also approached some DoD officials with questions about extremism, leading to some run-of-the-mill responses. This is at best shoddy journalism and at worst a leftist hit piece on our most elite and dedicated military professionals.

To begin, these so-called secret groups are really members only groups that anyone can create on Facebook. No group or page on Facebook is truly private, let alone secret. One can only assume Lee uses the word secret to imply that something nefarious is going on and, by Lees definition, my members-only neighborhood group page is also secret and should invite media scrutiny.

I am a Special Forces (SF) disabled veteran and I belong to both groups mentioned in the article, The Special Forces Brotherhood PAC and The Special Forces Team Room. I belonged to others too, though admittedly, I spent relatively less time in the much smaller Team Room.

These are members only groups. The moderators require proof that you served in the US Army Special Forces to join. That these groups are Army only is important because Lee misleadingly implies that they are indicative of all SOF forces, which include units of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and that would not be allowed into these two Amy SF groups.

Lee also implies that there are some 70,000 other SOF troops and tens of thousands of SOF veterans who could become radicalized by participating in these groups. First, the overwhelming majority of SOF troops, some 80-90%, arent core fighters but are, instead, in critical supporting roles, like pilots, clerks, supply managers, intelligence, etc. They are not the Green Berets and would not be allowed in these two groups either. This is a blatant exaggeration on Lees part.

Currently, these two Army SF groups have about 5,000 members, most of whom are retired and former Special Forces soldiers. They -- not active-duty troops  did most of the posting. Active-duty troops rarely have time or incentive to devote to posting their thoughts on Facebook.

In my experience, only about 60% of the members post anything regularly and only a tiny handful espouse any of what Lee defines as extremist views, such as believing in Q-Anon. More members believe that there was election fraud in 2020, and some of those believe completely that the election was stolen, views that Lee and the political Left believe are extremist. If thats the case, you can lump in 75-80% of these group members along with the conservative half of our country.

What about that handful of extreme views? Some of them are pretty bad, and by that, I mean the overwhelming majority of group members see them that way too. Theahfeedback to someone who posts an extremely crazy, mean, or even thoughtless statement is brutal.

Granted, we do tend to say what we think in ways that the politically correct crowd might find shocking, but I never saw anything like an extremist call to action that would be taken seriously by anyone else in the group. Dont confuse relatively extreme language with extremist or radical intent.

In my experience, group members immediately attack and discourage any truly racist comments. Moreover, the original post is more likely to have been the result of a careless choice of words than truly racist beliefs. Recently, the group passionately debated whether racism is systemic in our country or not. This is a debate more Americans should have and its not racist to have it, though I am sure some people will interpret it that way.

I wont deny that we may have a tiny handful of racists, as is true for any other group, and Im pretty sure somebody at some time may have posted something to that effect. Nonetheless, if there were genuine race haters in our midst, they knew to keep their mouths shut to avoid the wrath of the rest of us.

Lee states that she showed some selected posts from the groups to Garry Reid, Director for Defense Intelligence at the DoD for comment. Reeds response was, This is very disturbing materialthat in no way would mirror the behavior expected of persons employed by the Department of Defense, andU.S. military.

Im quite sure Reed lacked time to delve into Facebook and read hundreds of posts for their context or to assess the responses from the general group members. He may have simply reacted to whatever little he saw. Of course, Lee did not indicate which posts she shared with Reed.

Lee added that in terms of race, there are expressions of frustration in multiple posts that white men are being targeted.

Does that belief make one a racist? The media certainly does not condemn black Americans or any other identity group as racists for saying that they feel targeted. On the other hand, all one needs to do is look at news reports on how CIGNA, the huge US health insurer, made it clear that white men should not be hired. Coca-Cola recently urged its employees to be less white. These are not fringe elements of society, but mainstream corporate America loudly proclaiming that white men are the problem. They are not the only ones either, and if that isnt racist and reason to feel targeted, what is?

As for QAnon, I never paid much attention to it. Why? Because it was coming from what I saw as a handful of extreme conspiracy theorists. Many people who responded to those kinds of posts were either ridiculing them, or asking questions, or commenting out of curiosity. I cant say whether anything they posted was right or wrong, all I can guess is that, like everyone else in our groups, they tended to mirror the makeup of the conservative half of our society.

It appears to me that Lee may have taken the worst posts as examples of how everyone in these groups thinks and acts, which isnt true. Lee implies that there are much greater numbers of potentially radicalized personnel associated with these two groups as well. Her reporting is either shoddy or a purposeful hit on all our SOF personnel, who tend to be much more conservative than not.

If the left is genuinely afraid of anyone who might ultimately stop the move toward socialism in this country via force of arms, then professional SOF forces would certainly constitute the final threat. Who better to try to tear apart using the same old identity politics than the most constitutionally loyal and professional military forces?

The author training Colombian Counter Narcotics Police in 1990.

It should comfort readers to know that Special Forces are specifically recruited for a number of characteristics, which include an intelligent and open mind, and the ability to work closely with, fight alongside, and possibly die for our foreign military counterparts. Racists wouldnt last long since most of our work is done with different races around the world.

Special Forces soldiers tend to take their jobs very seriously. They train intensively, believe in things like honor and loyalty, and believe absolutely in their oaths to the US Constitution. On active duty, the operations tempo and deployment intensity simply allow no time for Facebook types of distraction. Despite Lees anecdotal reasoning, extremists who threaten Special Forces effectiveness on the battlefield or the safety and security of our nation would be weeded out of the regiment very quickly.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 00:52:07|Editor: huaxia

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PRAGUE, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic will reduce and put a cap on the number of employees in the Russian embassy in Prague to the same number at the Czech embassy in Moscow, the Czech Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The decision took effect as of Thursday and the Russian side has the deadline to withdraw its staff till the end of May, said the ministry.

"This is not a situation that would please us. We are not talking about escalation," said Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis at a press conference.

"We are interested in fair relations with Russia and we hoped that Russia would recognize the disproportionate response, but it did not happen. That is why we have decided to respond adequately," Babis said.

The Czech government said Saturday it would expel 18 Russian embassy staffers over the alleged involvement of the Russian special services in an ammunition depot explosion in 2014 in the Czech Republic.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday it was expelling 20 staffers of the Czech embassy in Moscow.

Calling Russian response "overreacted" and "paralysing" its Moscow embassy operations because of its comparatively small size, the Czech Republic offered an ultimatum to Russia to reverse its decision or face more expulsions before Thursday noon.

"The Russian side has not responded until noon. We therefore decided to react as follows: Pursuant to Article 11 of the Vienna Convention, we are capping the number of Russian diplomats in Prague on the current state of our representation in Moscow. This decision is valid from today, Russia has time to withdraw its people until the end of May," said Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek.

"This decision is not directed against ordinary Russians who study or work with us," Kulhanek added. Enditem
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A major power outage has left Awka, the Anambra capital, and its environs in utter blackout since the early hours of Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the development has caused a serious setback to small businesses in the area.

Consequently, many business owners have resorted to the use of power generating sets to keep their businesses going.

Emeka Ezeh, the head, media and communications, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) told NAN that the outage was as a result of a faulty transmission line.

The power blackout experienced in Awka and other parts of the state since Wednesday morning has nothing to do with the distribution firm.

The fault is due to a problem on the transmission line within Awada in Obosi area of the state.

It was traced to the Transmission Company of Nigerias (TCN) facility at Awada.

Awada is the source of supply to Awka. Our expectation is that power will be restored as soon as the faulty line is fixed, Mr Ezeh said.

Some residents and shop owners in the area recounted their experiences in separate interviews with NAN.

A barber, Obianna Uzonwanne, said he has been working with his generator since the power outage.

I have a prepaid meter and I just recharged with N5,000 on Monday, hoping that it will enable me to concentrate to raise enough money to pay my shop rent, he said.

A bar operator, Anieken Okon, said he depended on his generator to power his refrigerators, pointing out that he must cool his drinks to a chilling point to be able to attract patronage.

They appealed to TCN to expedite work on the faulty line to restore power for business to bounce back in the capital city.

(NAN)
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the information on the VIA bust shooting incident

In less than a week, there have been four officer-involved shootings in San Antonio. All four incidents resulted in at least one fatality.

ON EXPRESSNEWS.COM: Database: SAPD terminations and appeals

San Antonio police were involved in two of the shootings while San Antonio Park Police and VIA Metropolitan Transit police officers needed to use their weapons in respective incidents.

Below are details of the recent officer-involved shootings:

April 15

A San Antonio Park Police officer is credited with stopping a potential mass shooting at the San Antonio International Airport. According to police, a man, later identified as 49-year-old Joe Gomez, was driving the wrong way on the lower level terminal and was stopped by Park police officer John Maines. Gomez then got out of his vehicle and began shooting at bystanders and the officer, police said. Maines returned fire, hitting Gomez twice. Police initially said that Gomez was killed by Maines, but the Bexar County Medical Examiner's office said Gomez died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

April 16

A San Antonio police officer shot and killed two men after a traffic stop ended in a shootout. Officer Tyler John Sauvage pulled over a pickup truck with three individuals inside in the 2400 block of Pinn Road on the West Side. Police said the front passenger, 25-year-old Alex Anthony Garcia, began shooting at Savuage, hitting him in the hand. The officer returned fire, shooting and killing Garcia and the driver, Sammie Joe Barbosa, 33. A 22-year-old female passenger in the back seat was grazed by a bullet, police said.

April 20

VIA Metropolitan Transit officers fatally shot an armed man in his 20s in a VIA bus near the intersection of San Pedro Avenue and West Olmos Drive, officials said. Two minutes after officers arrived at the scene, shots were fired. Officials said they did not know what led to the shooting.

April 20

San Antonio police shot and killed a 37-year-old man accused of walking into a backyard of a home in the 400 block of East Pyron Avenue and fatally shooting a 49-year-old man. Police said the man began shooting at officers when they arrived. The officers returned fire, killing the 37-year-old, police said.

taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
Francis released a video message on the day of the climate summit. He urges leaders to act boldly, conduct themselves with justice and always tell people the truth, so that they know how to protect themselves from the destruction of the planet, [and] how to protect the planet from the destruction that we very often cause.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis issued an appeal to all world leaders to intervene to protect our world amid the pandemic and climate crisis, which are global catastrophes.

In a video message on Earth Day, the pontiff called on leaders to act boldly, conduct themselves with justice and always tell people the truth, so that they know how to protect themselves from the destruction of the planet, [and] how to protect the planet from the destruction that we very often cause.

In his encyclical Laudato si', Francis called for an alliance between humanity and the environment focusing on the concept of integral ecology. In his address, he mentioned todays virtual climate summit, an initiative of US President Joe Biden, with 40 world leaders, including China's Xi Jinping, urging them to reflect on the harm that could befall nature and human interdependence.

For a while, we have become more aware that nature deserves to be protected, if for no other reason than the fact that human interactions with Gods biodiversity must occur with the utmost care and respect: taking care of biodiversity; taking care of nature

We learnt more of this in this pandemic. This pandemic has also shown us what happens when the world stops, pauses, albeit for a few months. And the impact it has on nature and climate change, with force, in a sadly positive way, right? In other words, it hurts.

This shows us that global nature needs our lives on this planet. It involves us all, albeit in many different and unequivocal forms; it teaches us even more about what we need to do to create a just, fair, environmentally safe planet.

In short, the COVID pandemic has taught us about interdependence, sharing the planet. Both global disasters, COVID and climate, show that we no longer have time to wait. Time is pressing. As COVID-19 taught us, we have the means to meet the challenge. We have the means. It is time to act, we're on the edge. Let me repeat an ancient Spanish saying: 'God always forgives, we men forgive from time to time, nature no longer forgives'.

When natures destruction begins, it is very difficult to stop it. But there's still time. We'll be more resilient if we work together instead of doing it alone.

The adversity that we are experiencing with the pandemic, and that we already feel with climate change, must spur us on, it must push us to innovate, to invent, to look for new paths. We do not come out of a crisis the same, we come out better or worse. That is the challenge, and if we do not come out better, we will walk along a path of self-destruction.

I too join you in calling on all the world's leaders to act boldly, conduct themselves with justice and always tell people the truth, so that they know how to protect themselves from the destruction of the planet,[and] how to protect the planet from the destruction that we very often cause. Thank you for what you do, thank you for your good intentions, thank you for meeting.

On his tweeter account, @pontifex, Francis also wrote: We have broken the bonds of our relationship with the Creator, with our fellow human beings, and with the rest of creation. We need to heal the damaged relationships that are essential to supporting us and the entire fabric of life.
Japan announced on April 13 that it intends to dump 1.25 million tonnes of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, beginning in approximately two years. Workers in fishing, aquaculture, and other related industries have denounced the decision along with governments in the region, including South Korea and China.

Tokyo claimed that the water would only be dumped after it had been treated to remove harmful radioactive isotopes. Arguing that there was no alternative to the dumping, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga stated on April 13, Releasing the treated water is an unavoidable task to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and reconstruct the Fukushima area.

A massive earthquake on March 11, 2011 created a huge tsunami that devastated coastal towns and caused partial meltdown in three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant. To cool them, water was pumped through the reactors, a process that continues to this day, with the water then collected and stored in large steel tanks outside the facility. It is estimated that it will take another three decades to complete the decommissioning of the plant.

IAEA experts at Fukushima nuclear plant in 2013 (Wikimedia Commons)

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which owns the plant, claims that it will filter out all dangerous isotopes from the water except tritium, which is difficult to remove. It will then dilute the water to levels considered harmless. The government claims that this process replicates what takes place at nuclear plants around the world. It has supposedly set a limit of 50 becquerels of radioactive activity per kilogram (Bq/kg) in food coming from Fukushima in order to prove its safety, far below the 1,200 Bq/kg standard in the United States. However, tritium, when ingested, can still raise the risk of cancer.

Furthermore, there is little reason to believe TEPCO. The company claimed for years that it had been filtering dangerous isotopes out of the water and only admitted in 2018 that it had been lying. TEPCO has a long history of violating safety regulations and ignoring warnings in pursuit of profit, including creating the conditions that led to the tsunami crippling the plant in the first place.

For all the claims of having learned lessons from the 2011 disaster, TEPCO continues to cut corners. It admitted in February to knowing that two seismometers installed in the Number 3 reactor, one of the three that melted down, had malfunctioned last year and not been repaired. The Nuclear Regulation Authority only instructed the company to install the measuring devices in March 2020. The issue came to light after the devices failed to record an earthquake in February.

Ayumi Fukakusa, a member of the Japanese branch of Friends of the Earth, drew attention to the lack of trust with the company and the government. Speaking to the US-based National Public Radio, she stated, This process of decision-making is quite undemocratic. The government and TEPCO said that without consent from the fishing communities, they wont discharge the contaminated water. That promise was completely broken.

Residents and citizens groups held a protest in front of the Fukushima Prefectural Government building on April 13, shortly after Tokyos decision was announced. Tomoko Sato, who attended the demonstration, told the Mainichi Shimbun, Before deciding on releasing radioactive wastewater into the sea, Id like the national government to think about the issue as they address prefectural residents head on. I want them to think ahead to what will become of our children's future.

Fishermen in the area are rightly worried about the impact and that they will be unable to sell their catches. TEPCO claims it will compensate those who suffer losses, but fishermen have rejected this as insufficient. The government may allocate budgets on measures against reputational damage, but such damage will not disappear easily. All that we have done to resume fishing was for nothing, a fisherman from Namie, near the plant, told the Japan Times .

Many coastal cities in the region rely heavily on fishing, not only in Japan. In the east coast city of Pohang, South Korea, for example, approximately 5,000 people work directly in the fishing industry while an additional 30,000 work in related fields, including markets and restaurants.

On April 19, South Korean fishermen staged a demonstration at sea off the southern coast near Yeosu involving about 150 vessels. A separate demonstration the same day of 50 vessels took place off the coast of Geoje Island. If Japan releases radioactive water, there is no guarantee that we will not eat radioactive fish. I can hardly control my anger, a fisherman from Geoje said.

Seoul is considering legal action against Japan at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and has requested relevant information from Tokyo, but has so far been rebuffed. Japans Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso dismissed concerns, declaring, Even drinking the [contaminated] water wouldnt be a big deal.

Chinas foreign ministry released a statement on Tokyos decision, saying, This action is extremely irresponsible, and will seriously damage international public health and safety, and the vital interests of people in neighbouring countries.

He Farui, of the China Fisheries Association (CFA), stated: There are up to 130,000 fishermen in Shandong and perhaps 1 million nationwide. If the nuclear wastewater is dumped into the sea, the impact will go beyond food safety to the health of these people.

While workers and fishermen in Japan and throughout the region worry about the impact on their jobs and health, the various governments protesting Tokyos decision are far more concerned about protecting big business interests in the fishing industry. At the same time, they are utilizing anti-Japanese sentiment to sow divisions between Japanese, Korean, and Chinese workers.

Workers throughout the region face the same issues which can only be addressed through a united struggle against big business and the governments that serve it. Workers should demand oversight over the clean-up of the Fukushima plant in accordance with scientific advice and not allow the capitalist class, which caused the disaster in the first place, to remain in control.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has proposed a temporary ban on arrivals from India amid a surge of Covid-19 infections on the subcontinent.

It comes as authorities investigate how two returned travellers contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine in Perth.

Mr McGowan will on Thursday ask his national cabinet colleagues to consider seeking health advice about implementing a temporary pause on arrivals from India.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has proposed a temporary ban on arrivals from India amid a surge of Covid-19 infections on the subcontinent

He says quarantine systems are under pressure from a surge in cases overseas and particularly in India, which is dealing with almost 300,000 new daily infections.

'Just in WA, in the past month alone 40 per cent of cases in quarantine had recently been in India. In the previous month it was just 11 per cent,' Mr McGowan said in a statement.

'India is facing a severe third wave, one that we haven't seen anywhere else.

'With more and more arrivals coming from India, we need to seriously look at temporarily restricting travel of people who have been in or through India.'

Health experts believe a new 'double mutant' strain - dubbed B.1.617 - is likely to be behind the surge in cases on the subcontinent.

Patients use oxygen cylinders in hospital after a leakage in the oxygen plant in Nashik, in the Indian state of Maharashtra

Relatives wearing personal protective equipment attend the funeral of a man, who died from the coronavirus at a crematorium in New Delhi, India

WA authorities are closely monitoring infections linked back to the strain, which has also been detected in other countries.

'Our thoughts are with our friends in India at this difficult time, as well as with our Western Australian Indian community,' Mr McGowan said.

'They are trying to put a stop to the third wave, however in Australia we need to do everything we can to keep this double mutant variant away.'

An investigation is underway into how two returned travellers contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine.

WA Health had reported the infections as being acquired overseas, but genome sequencing has since confirmed transmission occurred at the Mercure Hotel Perth.

'The virus was transmitted in hotel quarantine at the Mercure Hotel Perth, as two sets of guests, in rooms opposite each other, had the same sequence of virus - despite arriving from different countries at different times,' it said in a statement.

People wait in queue to receive a shot of the vaccine against Covid-19 at a vaccination centre in Mumbai, India

A view of a school converted into an makeshift isolation facility for Covid-19, amidst the rising coronavirus cases in New Delhi, India

Other guests who stayed on the same sixth floor at the same time were previously released from the hotel after testing negative.

They will be re-tested and directed to self-isolate until cleared.

People who were in rooms immediately adjacent to the infected people will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.

WA's acting chief health officer has begun an investigation into how the transmission occurred.

'While similar transmission in hotels in other jurisdictions has not resulted in community transmission, the community must always remain vigilant,' the department said.
Libyas crude oil production fell further this week after a second company said it would have to reduce output by 100,000 bpd, just days after another company shut down production at some fields in response to the closure of the export terminal of Hariga.

Bloomberg reports that Sirte Oil Co., a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, told its parent today that it would have to slash production within 72 hoursbut not because of the port of Hariga closure. Sirte Oil Co. wrote that the reason was its very critical financial situation, the inability to fulfill contractual obligations to contractors, accumulation of debts and the lack of spare parts, fuel and chemicals required for the operations.

The move follows the National Oil Corporations declaration of force majeure on oil exports from the port of Hariga, citing lack of funds for infrastructure repairs, pushing the countrys crude oil production below 1 million bpd for the first time in months.

While the National Oil Corporation understands the motives of the suspension which is outside the control of the company and seeks an excuse for the government of National Unity due to the delay in approving the budget for the year 2021, it places full legal responsibility on the Central Bank of Libya, which refused to liquidate the financial arrangements approved in accordance with the decision of the former Government of National Accord, NOC said in a statement.

Libyas state oil company has been vocal in its criticism of the government and the central bank in their disbursement of funds to maintain oil fields and related infrastructure. Delays in the disbursement in these funds have caused lost profits in the past and are now once again costing NOC right when it was on track to recover oil production to levels comparable to those before the overthrow of Gaddafi.

The closure of the port of Hariga already led to a drop in Libyas oil production from some 1.25 million bpd to less than 1 million bpd. Now the new well closures will cut it further to probably less than 900,000 bpd.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
FISHKILL, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lead Marvels, a lead generation and content syndication company, has recently expanded its workforce as well as its platform and capabilities to meet the growing demand of organizations that need to connect with their members in innovative ways and generate new revenue streams in the process.

Associations and publishers experienced a crushing decline in live event revenue since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many organizations to cancel their events. According to estimates from PwC, the tradeshow industry suffered a 64 percent decline last year compared with 2019, a loss of approximately 10 billion dollars. Eager to mitigate the decline in revenue, organizations have looked for other avenues to generate new revenue streams and keep their members and audiences connected. Lead Marvels' digital platform offers organizations a creative solution to those challenges.

Lead Marvels' unique platform helps its association and publisher partners generate non-dues revenue, increase website traffic and engagement, and attract new members. It also provides marketers, vendors, and suppliers a turnkey way to engage with their audiences by publishing downloadable content such as white papers, ebooks, case studies, and guides.

"The past year has been tragic on so many levels, it's difficult to even comprehend," said Jeff Schottland, co-founder and CEO of Lead Marvels. "And for many businesses, it's been a struggle just to keep the lights on. We've scaled our platform and expanded its functionality not only to help our partners navigate their current struggles but to ensure that they are strategically positioned for growth as we return to some semblance of normal, which we all hope will be soon."

The increased demand for its platform has resulted in a 40 percent year-over-year growth rate for Lead Marvels. Consequently, the company has expanded its workforce by nearly 50 percent so it can continue to accommodate the needs of its association and publisher partners.

"The momentum of the past year continues in 2021," says president, Michael Palacios. "We've already taken on more than 50 new partners and advertisers so far this year and have expanded into several industries that are new for us."

"Our enhanced model can quickly be customized for new verticals and new partners," continued Palacios. "We're excited about the opportunities of the coming year and feel fortunate to be able to offer our partners solutions that make a tangible difference on their bottom lines at a time when they need it most."

For more information about Lead Marvels' solutions, visit www.LeadMarvels.com.

Media Contact:

Michael Palacios

President, Lead Marvels

(845) 445-7210

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Lead Marvels, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.LeadMarvels.com


STAMFORD  A new $8 million marine education and research center in Stamford is one step closer to reality, after a multi-million dollar gift from a local charitable foundation.

The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation recently awarded $3 million to Stamford-based SoundWaters, to build a new 12,000-square-foot harbor center at Boccuzzi Park.

Construction on the project, which also includes beach restoration and public access to the water, is under way and slated to be completed in mid-2022.

The organization, which focuses on protecting Long Island Sound through advocacy and education, also released the first rendering of the future building on Thursday.

The Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center will be the home base for three programs: Young Mariners, which teaches young students sailing; Harbor Corps, which offers maritime job skills training for young adults; and Research Intensive, a college-level marine research program for high school students. The center will also include launch access for SoundWaters fleet of sailboats, and publicly available kayaks and paddleboards.

Steven and Alexandra Cohen, through their charitable foundation, have made a tremendous investment to advance opportunity and access at the heart of Stamford: our waterfront, said SoundWaters President Leigh Shemitz, in a press release. At SoundWaters, we believe that our community is stronger when we are connected to, and learning from, the Sound.

Shemitz also wrote, The Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center in Boccuzzi Park will enable the next generation to develop life skills, job skills, and college skills through study and training on Long Island Sound.

The project is funded partially through the state of Connecticut, which is spending $2 million on the structure, as well as the city of Stamford, which is contributing $800,000.

Bob Mazzone, vice president of development at SoundWaters, said the remaining cost of roughly $2 million would be raised through private sources.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the center will take place later this spring.

SoundWaters is more than a neighbor to us, they are an important part of our community providing education, access, and opportunity to our local youth while protecting our local waters, said Alex Cohen, president of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

Stamford Mayor David Martin said SoundWaters has played a critical role educating and enriching youth in Stamford for more than 30 years.

The new Cohen SoundWaters Harbor Center allows SoundWaters to expand this role, and anchors the Citys revitalization of Boccuzzi Park, while increasing resources for education, maritime job training, and recreational access to the Long Island Sound, Martin said, in the press release.

ignacio.laguarda@stamfordadvocate.com
Mumbai: Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea and 39 other inmates of the Byculla prison here have tested positive for coronavirus and shifted to a quarantine centre.

These 40 inmates were found positive for coronavirus after they were subjected to Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), news agency PTI reported an official saying.

"Most of the 40 inmates are asymptomatic. They were shifted to the isolation centre of the prison at Patankar School in Byculla in Central Mumbai as a precautionary measure," he said.

The RAT was performed on Sunday as one of the women prisoners was found infected and shifted to the COVID centre at St George Hospital in South Mumbai, the official said.

Subsequently, RAT was conducted on 350 women prisoners, 225 men inmates and 60 staff of the jail, out of whom 40 women tested positive for coronavirus.

Mukerjea has been lodged at the Byculla prison since her arrest in the murder case in August 2015.

The prosecution's case is that Mukerjea, along with her former husbands Sanjeev Khanna and Peter Mukerjea, had killed Sheena Bora, who was born of her previous relationship, in the year 2012.

Live TV
Malaysian Police Inspector-General Abdul Hamid Bador (center) displays cash and items seized during a series of raids against the Nicky Gang during a news conference at Federal Police Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, March 30, 2021.

A series of American sanctions on a Macau underworld kingpin helped Kuala Lumpur pry the lid off a Malaysian connection to criminal groups in China and related police corruption in the Southeast Asian nation, a senior police official told BenarNews.

Sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department allowed the Royal Malaysia Police to connect the dots, which led to the uncovering of the Nicky Gang allegedly headed by Nicky Liow Soon Hee, Johor state police chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said.

It was crucial information, as based on the tip of the iceberg we were able to study the serious and extensive operations of the local syndicate, which has international connections, Ayob told BenarNews., an RFA-affiliated online news service.

It is very serious and we are very concerned what would have happened should we have failed to react accordingly and slam the brakes on their operation.

Ayob said an investigation revealed that Liow was close to Wan Kuok Koi (commonly known as Broken Tooth), the leader of 14K Triad  one of the largest Chinese organized crime gangs in the world that has tentacles in many countries. Media reports claim the gang has more than 20,000 members.

Liow and Broken Tooth are as close as siblings and this was evident by Nickys appointment as the vice president of the World Hongmen and Culture Association, an organization sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2020 for alleged involvement in transnational organized crime and money laundering, Ayob said.

They have known each other since 2018, and Broken Tooth  had since been providing Liow with patronage and security assurance under his 14K Triad.

The Hongmen association, which is based in Cambodia, is a global Chinese fraternal organization founded in the mid-1600s and synonymous with Triad syndicates in Macau and Hong Kong, the U.S. Treasury Department said when it unveiled sanctions on Broken Tooth.

The World Hongmen History and Culture Association has managed to co-opt elite figures in Malaysia and Cambodia, U.S. treasury officials said in a statement at the time.

This continues a pattern of overseas Chinese actors trying to paper over illegal criminal activities by framing their actions in terms of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China Dream, or other major initiatives of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], the government agency said, referring to Chinas ambitious program of building a modern-day Silk Road through a network of infrastructure projects stretching through Southeast Asia, South Asia and elsewhere.

The World Hongmen History and Culture Association is spreading across Southeast Asia, establishing a powerful business network involved in the development and launching of crypto currencies, real estate, and most recently a security company specialized in protecting BRI investments, the Treasury Department said.

Asked if Liow had any possible link with Chinas Communist Party, Ayob said there was no such information for now.

Gangsters whereabouts

Ayob said police believe Liow, who has been on the run since authorities smashed his syndicate and arrested 68 suspects in March, remains in the country while working on a plan to flee Malaysia. In addition, nearly three dozen police have been investigated for their roles in assisting Liows gang.

We wish to issue a stern warning against those who are helping him to escape that they could be investigated under the Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA), Ayob said.

Not naming anyone, Ayob said police were tracking prominent figures who have been linked to Liow, including some who have criminal records for involvement in corruption, commercial crime and violence, including sexual offenses.

Malaysian police previously said Liow was able to escape arrest because of a leak of information from a certain individual. Police did not release the identity of the person, who was taken into custody last month.

Ayob said Liow, who is believed to be worth more than 1 billion ringgit (U.S. $242.6 million), amassed his fortune after striking a partnership with a China-based get-rich-quick operator, Zhang Jiang, who is jailed in his own country because of the scheme.

According to sources, since taking over the business, Liow has improvised the scam in line with current investment trends to expand his empire, Ayob said.

Liows Nicky Gang also operates a telecommunication scam where it tricks victims, mostly in China, into handing over large sums of money, allowing the gang to allegedly amass millions of ringgit.

He said while Liow had been charged over his alleged involvement in the triad gang, police were looking into filing additional charges linked to other offenses, including masterminding a scam syndicate based in Macau. That syndicate allegedly ran its scam from 48 apartment units in Puchong near Kuala Lumpur.

Regarding Macau, Ayob said police were investigating Liows possible direct link to Broken Tooths triad there because of his rapport with the gang leader.

Based on intelligence information, we believe the Nicky Gang has some sort of connection with the international crime gang. We also believe and are investigating his connection with other syndicates in China, but we shall not reveal more for now until we complete the investigation, Ayob said.

Interpol wanted list

Although local police believe that Nicky is in Malaysia, authorities have reached out to Interpol to track him down.

Yes, we have submitted a Blue Notice to the Interpol on him in early April and we are currently working on having him be placed on the Interpols Red Notice after securing a warrant of arrest from the court, Ayob said.

A Blue Notice calls for nations to assist in identifying a person of interest while a Red Notice seeks to locate a person of interest aimed at extradition.

Thirty-four police officers, meanwhile, are being investigated for allegedly working directly and indirectly with Nicky Gang, Ayob said, adding that investigators believe the network extended to other collaborators.

We have identified more from the initial number of suspected conspirators, not only in the police force, but also in other government agencies, the police chief of Johor said. However, I must not divulge more as it is still under investigation and we will soon be making arrest of these internal collaborators."

The arrests will be done in stages. It is my intention and my aim that these arrests will end with them being charged in court, he said.

Earlier this month, 14 people including Liows two brothers, Liow Wei Kin and Liow Wei Loon, were charged with involvement in an organized criminal group. They could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Previously, in an effort to take down the Nicky Gang, police rounded up 118 suspects during 70 raids over eight days that ended on March 28.

The Johor Commercial Crime Investigations Department seized 773,000 ringgit ($187,500) along with 35 vehicles valued at 8.86 million ringgit ($2.14 million) under provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act of 2001.

Abdul Hamid Bador, Malaysias police chief, told reporters at the time that police had frozen 41 bank accounts believed to be used to channel funds for illicit purposes.

He said investigations revealed that the syndicate would target investors from China by promising them huge returns through investments in cryptocurrency, real estate and the foreign exchange market.

The police inspector-general vowed to go after dirty cops.

No more warnings. I am fed up and enough warning has been given to them. I have said a long time ago to cut off whatever relationship they have with this gang, Abdul Hamid Bador told a press conference, according to Malaysiakini, a local news portal.

But from the look of things, from the results of the action taken, it seems there are traitors among my people.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Dozens of Australian military veterans will soon be kick-starting new careers in technology as part of an exclusive program set up by Accenture and WithYouWithMe.

The new program will see former serving Australian military personnel enter into new Tech Traineeships which will be fully funded by WithYouWithMe and enable the veterans to learn in-demand tech skills before deploying into new exclusive roles for WithYouWithMe working with Accenture.

The Tech Traineeships cover some of the most in-demand jobs in the market, including Pega Systems Architects, Salesforce Developers and Administrators, AWS Cloud Practitioners and Mulesoft Developers. Candidates do not require any experience or technical background  just the aptitude and match for a new tech career.

WithYouWithMe, an Australian tech start-up helping veterans find new careers, is working with Accenture to make new tech careers for veterans a reality. WithYouWithMe, which has helped more than 20,000 veterans find their next career globally, will be using its proprietary career matching assessments to identify the best candidates with an aptitude for a new tech career. Currently, there are more than 75 open Traineeship roles available across Australia, with more than 50 in Adelaide alone.

WithYouWithMes career assessment data shows that more than 67 per cent of veterans have the right aptitude and attitude to transition to a career in Software Development, however, the pathway is often not clear or accessible. The Tech Traineeship is changing that.

WithYouWithMe Chief Customer Success Officer Tom Larter said: This program is going to provide an avenue for Aussie veterans to start a whole new career journey. Veterans have great skills from their time in the military, and one which is often overlooked is their ability to learn new skills quickly.

The Tech Traineeship program will help address the national skills shortage in some of these in-demand roles.

I want to thank Accenture for their support of the program and backing veterans without experience, but with potential, Larter said.

Matt Gollings who leads Accentures defence practice globally said: Australian industry needs to continue to lean in to support veteran employment  for Accenture, hiring veterans in a variety of roles makes great business sense. Our partnership with WithYouWithMe provides an innovative and practical way to re-skill and place veterans into high-demand roles  we are confident that the veterans we bring on through WithYouWithMe will add to the diversity and capabilities of our workforce. We look forward to continuing this, and other programs, in support of Australian veterans,

(Image: Pablo Quintana)

Pablo Quintana was one of the first veterans who joined the Tech Traineeship, completing certification as a Pega Architect after transitioning from the military.

Since leaving the Royal Australian Navy, I found it difficult to adapt as none of my skills felt transferable. I went from being a cook in a cafe to a janitor and was even considering working in a fast-food service.

That changed though when I found WithYouWithMe and heard about their Tech Traineeships. Im now working as a Pega low-code developer and loving it, Quintana said.

ABOUT WITHYOUWITHME:

WithYouWithMe (WYWM) is helping the Australian workforce realise its full potential. It is a workforce platform that harnesses technology to identify high growth industries and provide workers with everything they need (from training to testing and employer connections) to take up roles in these industries. WYWM was founded in 2015 to solve the problem of veteran underemployment and, in doing so, exposed a problem with the recruiting model that spanned far beyond veterans. Today, the team has more than 60 staff and operates out of offices in Sydney, Canberra and Washington DC. In 2019, it was named Australia and Asia-Pacifics Fastest Growing Tech Company in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

India is battling a record-breaking rise in COVID-19 infections that has overwhelmed hospitals and led to severe bed and oxygen shortages.

A key question is whether a new variant with potentially worrying mutationsB.1.617is behind what is currently the world's fastest-growing outbreak, which added more than 300,000 fresh infections Thursday.

The B.1.617 variant has already appeared elsewhere, including in the United States, Australia, Israel and Singapore. Concern about it has led some countries, including the UK, to slap travel restrictions on India.

Here's what we know.

When did it emerge?

Viruses change all the time and the one that causes COVID-19 has already undergone several thousand mutationssome more concerning than others.

India first reported the B.1.617 genome to the global database (GISAID) in October.

India's health ministry flagged the variant in late March, saying it appeared in 15-20 percent of samples analysed from the worst-hit state Maharashtra.

More recently, the figure was 60 percent.

The variant has also been detected in 18 other countries as of this month, according to GISAID.

Should we worry?

B.1.617 has been categorised by the World Health Organisation as a "variant of interest".

Other variants detected in Brazil, South Africa and the UK have been categorised as "of concern", because they are more transmissible, virulent or might reduce antibody efficacy.

B.1.617 has several mutations, including two notable ones (E484Q and L452R), leading to it sometimes being called the "double mutant".

The first notable mutation is similar to another (E484K or sometimes nicknamed "Eek") observed in the South African, Brazilian, and more recently, the UK variants.

The "Eek" has been dubbed an "escape mutation" as it helps the virus get past the body's immune system.

The other notable mutation was found by a Californian study to be an efficient spreader.

Scientists say more evidence is needed to determine if these mutations make the B.1.617 variant more dangerous.

Is it behind India's spike?

Rakesh Mishra, director of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, is one of the scientists currently analysing the B.1.617 variant.

So far, he says it has been "better in terms of spreading compared to other variants".

"Slowly it will become the more common one and it will replace the other variants," he told AFP.

It is not yet known, however, if India's current wave is linked to this variant, or if it is being driven by human behaviour or something else.

Health experts have raised "super spreader" concerns over recent huge religious festivals and political rallies with mostly maskless crowds.

Still, several countries are taking no chances with B.1.617. When it banned travel from India this week, the UK specifically cited fears of the new variant.

The United States on Wednesday also advised against travel to India, noting that "even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants".

Are vaccines effective against it?

One of the mutations is related to "Eek", which is suspected of reducing antibody protection from a previous infection or vaccination, said University of Utah evolutionary virology researcher, Stephen Goldstein.

Mishra says scientists were testing vaccine efficacy against the variant.

Even so, experts say vaccines still offer some protection, particularly from severe cases.

What's next?

Since more variants emerge when there are more infected hosts, Mishra said India needs to get its outbreak under control.

Another variant, the B.1.618, recently raised red flags when it became the third-most detected in India.

Goldstein pointed to the UK's success at turning around a recent outbreak despite the presence of a more transmissible variant.

"It can be quite onerous, but it can be done," he told AFP.

"I think the vaccination campaign certainly helped... but it's the lockdown that enabled them to slow the rise of cases and start to turn the corner."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Best Backup and Availability Software for Client Experience Announced by SoftwareReviews In general, Backup and Availability software users responded most favorably when asked about vendors service experience and quality and effectiveness of service and were most dissatisfied with vendors over promising to deliver.

SoftwareReviews, a division of IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group, has published its 2021 Backup and Availability Emotional Footprint Awards, naming five vendors as Champions. The following vendors are the Champions according to the feedback provided by their users via SoftwareReviews comprehensive online survey.

Zerto Platform

Acronis Cyber Backup

Microsoft Azure Backup

Micro Focus Data Protector

Rubrik

SoftwareReviews Net Emotional Footprint measures high level user sentiment. It aggregates emotional ratings from 25 provocative questions, creating a powerful indicator of the overall user feeling toward the vendor and the product.

Zerto Platform, with a Net Emotional Footprint of +94, performed exceptionally in many categories, exceeding user expectations in being respectful, caring, and saving time. Acronis Cyber Backup, with a Net Emotional Footprint of +89, excelled in being altruistic and showing integrity. Microsoft Azure Backup, with a Net Emotional Footprint of +87, performed well on providing security protection and enabling productivity. Micro Focus Data Protector with a Net Emotional Footprint of +90, ranked strong for being effective and showing integrity. Rubrik with a Net Emotional Footprint of +87, ranked high for including cloud friendly policies and being fair.

In general, Backup and Availability software users responded most favorably when asked about vendors service experience and quality and effectiveness of service and were most dissatisfied with vendors over promising to deliver.

What Is the Emotional Footprint Diamond?

The Emotional Footprint Diamond illustrates the customer experience with software vendors and a complex relationship spanning procurement, implementation, service, and support. The Net Emotional Footprint of a vendor is a result of aggregated emotional response ratings in the areas of service, negotiation, product impact, conflict resolution, and strategy and innovation, creating a powerful indicator of overall user feeling toward the vendor and its product from the software users point of view. The data published in the Emotional Footprint Diamond is collected from real end users through authentic software review surveys and meticulously verified. The survey uses standard net promoter scoring (positive percentage minus negative percentage) to arrive at the Net Emotional Footprint score. These skillfully crafted survey questions are informed by two decades of IT research and advisory. Vendors with top user scores receive the Emotional Footprint Award. The Emotional Footprint Awards, an initiative proudly founded in 100% user-review data, is free of traditional components such as market presence and analyst opinion, which are opaque in nature and may be influenced by vendor pressure, financial or otherwise.

About SoftwareReviews:

SoftwareReviews is a division of Info-Tech Research Group, an IT research and advisory firm established in 1997. Backed by two decades of IT research and advisory experience, SoftwareReviews is a leading source of expertise and insight into the enterprise software landscape and client-vendor relationships. By collecting real data from IT and business professionals, the SoftwareReviews methodology produces detailed and authentic insights into the experience of evaluating and purchasing enterprise software.

For more information, please contact:

Indrani Ray

Vice President, Communications and Brand

irayghosal@infotech.com

647.574.9559
ALBANY  The Assembly's impeachment probe against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has moved swiftly as the law firm conducting the investigation has contacted attorneys for 70 witnesses and requested records from four government agencies.

The investigation, which began in March, is being conducted by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which hired the Davis Polk & Wardwell law firm to run it. Davis Polk specializes in white-collar criminal cases and several of the top members of the legal team have previously worked as federal prosecutors.

The Judiciary Committee met Wednesday afternoon to brief the public and its members on the progress of the probe. But the committee's public discussions lasted less than 10 minutes and the panel went behind closed doors to get a detailed briefing from the attorneys.

The Davis Polk team has been working with all due and deliberate speed," Chair Charles D. Lavine, a Long Island Democrat, said Wednesday. In late March, he suggested that the timeline for the probe would be likely take months. Wednesday's meeting was the second, with the first coming last month when Lavine introduced the Davis Polk lawyers to the Assembly and the public.

Lavine opened the public meeting with a brief overview of the probe's status before moving into an executive session where other members of the committee could privately ask confidential questions of the lawyers. He said the legal team has quickly expanded its probe.

The Assembly's investigation is taking place as parallel investigations are being conducted by the state attorney general's office and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn. Attorney General Letitia James' office is reviewing sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, while the Justice Department is investigating allegations that Cuomo's administration manipulated data on nursing home deaths to elevate the governor's public persona. The Assembly also is investigating the state's handling of an alleged cover-up involving potential structural problems during the construction of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

Lawmakers have also asked that investigators examine why high-level members of the state Department of Health were directed last year by Cuomo and Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker to conduct prioritized coronavirus testing on the governor's relatives as well as influential people with ties to the administration. Cuomo has denied knowledge of the preferential testing for his relatives, including his brother Chris, an anchor for CNN.

Last week, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wrote a letter to James asking her to also investigate allegations that Cuomo used his taxpayer-funded staff to help write the book he authored last year highlighting his administration's work during the early stages of the pandemic.

The Davis Polk attorneys also have been procuring documents and evidence from potential witnesses on a rolling basis. Lavine emphasized the diversity of the investigative legal team, noting that roughly two-thirds are women, one-third are people of color and multiple sexual orientations are represented.

Cuomo had scheduled his own press conference at the same time the impeachment meeting took place.

The governor was flanked at the press conference in Yonkers by state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who was one of the earliest of top Democrats in New York to call for Cuomo's resignation in the wake of the sexual harassment allegations. Stewart-Cousins' call for the governor to resign came the same day a Times Union story raised questions about the thoroughness of state investigations into allegations the builder of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge had concealed that bolts used to hold together the twin span had been breaking during construction.

"Everyday there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government. We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the COVID-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project," Stewart-Cousins said at the time. "For the good of the state Gov. Cuomo must resign."

Days later, the Times Union reported that a female aide on Cuomo's staff had accused the governor of groping her at the Executive Mansion in November after he directed her to come there and assist him with his mobile phone.

Following Wednesday's event in Yonkers, which is in Stewart-Cousin's district, a spokesman for the Senate's majority leader told NY1 that she had not changed her position that Cuomo should resign.

Cuomo's news conference, in which hand-selected reporters are able to ask questions over an internet conferencing service, included a COVID-19 update woven into his tightly choreographed public appearance. Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who attended the event, said the governor, a fellow Democrat, has shown "terrific leadership" in handling the pandemic.

At one point, a reporter asked over Zoom whether Cuomo would resign if the investigation by the attorney general's office concludes that he sexually harassed women. Cuomo refused to answer, even when pressed by the reporter to answer "yes" or "no." When the reporter attempted to ask a follow-up question, his line was muted.
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Andreas Kern is once again at home in Berlin waiting for the world to open back up.

Its snowing and the same situation, he says. I cant wait to get back onstage and perform.

Kern is joined onstage by fellow pianist Paul Cibis for their show Piano Battle.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The pair of musicians have traveled the world for years with the show.

Its setup is simple  Cibis and Kern go head-to-head on twin grand pianos.

It is part classical concert, part tongue-in-cheek comedy.

Kern and Cibis perform contemporary interpretations of classical masterpieces while trying to outplay each other.

As the duel ensues, they fight to win over the audience with both their musical ability and hilarious stunts. The virtual battle on Sunday, April 25, will take place over 45 minutes before the audience votes to determine the champion. After their performance, the musicians will take questions from the audience.

The two artists, with distinct performance styles, offer vastly different interpretations by composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy.

Kern and Cibis will perform live from Germany, and the show will be livestreamed for Popejoy Hall audiences.

Like many other performers, Kerns main source of income dried up with the pandemic.

While it was challenging, Kern says there are always two sides of the coin.

One side is not doing what you are used to, he says. On the other hand, you have time to reflect on what you did before, how busy you were and how stressful it all could be. I do miss being onstage in front of an audience, but Ive had time to enjoy myself at home.

Kern says that in the past year, he and Cibis have gotten together to perform a few shows where they are allowed.

Its strange when you dont have the breadth of an audience, he says. With virtual shows, viewers can type in a response and we see it. That gives us a feeling that someone is there with us.

Kern has won the last four online battles.

Paul is very much into his corona depression, and hes practicing less, Kern says. I practice quite a lot. I have colleagues, and theyve lost their motivation to play. I make it a point to practice new pieces for about three hours a day. Its more practice than when I was touring.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Therma Bright Inc. (TSXV: THRM) ("Therma" or the "Company"), developer of the AcuVid COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Saliva Test and other progressive diagnostic and medical device technologies, is pleased to announce successful preliminary results with its AcuVid COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Saliva Test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern ("VOC") that are rapidly spreading across Canada and many other countries; specifically the Brazilian P.1 and P.2 and the UK B.1.1.7 variants. The results were obtained in the performance study currently being conducted in Brazil at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

The P.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant was first seen in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas in Brazil. Initial research suggested the virus arose late last year and began spreading in November. It quickly became the dominant strain, leading many in the country to believe it could infect people who had already been infected with the initial strain earlier in the year.

After initially containing COVID-19, many European, Asian and other countries, including Canada, are experiencing a resurgence of COVID-19 in large part because of the evolving SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern which are either easier to transmit, cause more severe disease, or both.

To help support global health agencies' efforts to manage the third wave of this pandemic, Therma Bright initiated and successfully completed a preliminary study on AcuVid COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Saliva Test's ability to detect the Brazilian P.1 and P.2 variants and the UK B1.1.7 variant. Although a relatively small number of samples were used in the initial study, the results showed 100% sensitivity when tested on previously sequenced variant samples.

In the coming weeks, additional studies will be conducted on a larger number of subjects in Brazil under the leadership of Dr. Ricardo Fujiwara in real-life hospital settings to confirm the initial results.

Mr. Rob Fia, CEO of Therma Bright commented, "we are pleased that our AcuVid test detects the most important circulating Variants of Concern that are responsible for increased infections and death rates. We feel our test will be able to detect any new variants as they arise. Being able to detect these is crucial, as the number of people being infected with VOCs is rapidly rising worldwide."

Therma Bright also announces that it has received TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") approval for debt settlements previously announced January 15, 2021. Consequently, the Company has now issued an aggregate of 866,664 common shares which are subject to a hold period expiring August 14, 2021, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSXV.

Therma Bright has negotiated a debt settlement with an arm's length creditor. Subject to acceptance by the TSXV, the Company has agreed to settle outstanding debt of $100,000 in consideration for which it will issue 200,000 units a deemed price of $0.50 per unit. Each unit is comprised of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the creditor to purchase one common share for two years from the date of issue at a price of $0.60. All securities issued in relation to this debt settlement are subject to a hold period expiring four months + one day after the date the securities are issued, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSXV.

The Company also announces that it has engaged a consultant to set up a network of manufacturing facilities for US, Canada and European distribution for its anticipated COVID-19 solutions products. Subject to TSXV approval, Therma Bright intends to issue up to 500,000 share purchase warrants to the consultant for the services provided, to be paid in tranches upon certain milestones being met. In addition, The Company has engaged a consultant to provide corporate communications and branding services. Subject to TSXV approval, Therma Bright intends to issue up to 750,000 share purchase warrants to the consultant for the services provided, to be paid in tranches upon certain milestones being met. The warrants listed above will be exercisable for two years and the exercise price will be determined at the time of each issue based on the volume-weighted average closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSXV for the 5 trading days immediately preceding the date of issue of the warrants.

Therma Bright is not making any express or implied claims that its test product has the ability to eliminate or cure COVID-19 or the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

About Therma Bright Inc.

Therma Bright is a progressive medical device technology company focused on providing consumers and medical professionals with quality medical devices that address their medical and healthcare needs. The Company's initial breakthrough proprietary technology delivers effective, non-invasive and pain-free skincare. Therma Bright received a Class II medical device status from the FDA for its platform technology that is indicated for the relief of the pain, itch, and inflammation of a variety of insect bites or stings. The Company received clearance for the above claims from the US FDA in 1997.

Therma Bright Inc. trades on the TSXV: THRM, OTCMARKETS:THRBF, FRA:JNX. For more information visit: www.thermabright.com and www.coldsores.com

For further information, please contact:

Therma Bright Inc.

Rob Fia, CEO

rfia@thermabright.com

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events such as development and commercialization of a rapid COVID-19 viral assay and related instrumentation, regulatory applications and manufacturing scale up as described in the news release. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

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Coronavirus Coverage

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Dr. Tayzar San, a well-known physician, has led some of the anti-junta protests in Myanmars second-largest city Mandalay. On April 19, military regime authorities publicly charged him with defamation of the state under Section 505(a) of Myanmars Penal Code  a charge brought against scores of protesters across the country. A day later, they issued a warrant for his arrest after security forces did not find him at his apartment. Authorities have announced a 10 million kyat (U.S. $7,000) reward for information leading to his arrest.

Tayzar San is the executive director of the Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, a group founded by young doctors and other professionals to promote a knowledge-based society in Myanmar. A decade ago, he founded the Beautiful Mind Foundation in Mandalay to provide free health care services to the poor. He also served as chairman of the Mandalay District All Burma Federation of Students Union.

Though he is in hiding to avoid arrest, he spoke on Wednesday with reporter Soe San Aung from RFAs Myanmar Service about the anti-junta protests in Mandalay. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: What do you think about the authorities announcing a 10 million-kyat reward for information leading to your arrest?

Tayzar San: In this country, as I understand, they are shooting, killing, and arresting whoever they want. Whether they issue an arrest warrant or not, whether they announce a reward or not, they do whatever they want. I have nothing particular to say about the warrant or the reward. I will do whatever I have to do as usual.

RFA: Are you concerned about being arrested?

Tayzar San: I am doing the best I can not to get arrested, but this revolution is something that cannot be stopped or postponed. I will do what I have to do with the utmost energy. We will try not to get arrested and not to be hit by bullets. But, as I have always said, we have imagined the worst-case scenario. I will keep working for this revolution as a revolutionary.

RFA: Last week, authorities arrested Wai Moe Naing, a well-know protest leader from Monywa in Sagaing region. Will people stop demonstrating against the military regime once the authorities have arrested all the protest leaders?

Tayzar San: Protest leaders in different cities are getting arrested, [including] Wai Moe Naing, a colleague of mine. News of his arrest caused disappointment and heartbreak among the people. I feel sad that Wai Moe Naing got arrested, but this revolution did not emerge because of Wai Moe Naing or Tayzar San. As long as this revolution lives and as long as the people want to resist the regime, there will be many Wai Moe Naings and Tayzar Sans. Just because someone gets arrested or something happens, people should not abandon their hopes, political ambitions, and pledges. I want to request that they keep this revolution going in whichever ways they can. As long as there is a revolution, more and more Wai Moe Naings will emerge.

RFA: Are the protests in Mandalay still going on?

Tayzar San: In Mandalay, there are dawn protests and afternoon and evening protests every day. Security forces, both in uniforms and in plainclothes, have been assigned to [patrol] road junctions throughout the entire city. They stop people, automobiles, and motorbikes for inspection. I heard that they are inspecting mobile phones and that they have increased security in recent days.

RFA: How do you manage to continue to lead the protests even though you are in hiding?

Tayzar San: Mainly, I have to make sure which streets or routes are the safest for me to travel on before I go to a [protest] site. Because I was born and raised in Mandalay, I know the roads pretty well. I know which streets I need to pass to get to a place. Besides, during the protests, our scouts inform us when police and soldiers in military trucks are coming. Thats why, lately, they no longer use military trucks when they come. I think they have learned how we work. The police and soldiers are now using passenger vehicles and motorbikes to mobilize. The cars and motorbikes were taken from civilians during previous protests. During a protest the other day, security forces showed up in plainclothes. They carried guns and weapons, but they dressed like regular civilians. We have been trying to avoid them as quickly as we can and using the information from the scouts. Nevertheless, some of our friends have been arrested. For us, no matter how difficult it is, the resistance movement against the military regime will continue in many ways in Mandalay and in other cities across Myanmar.

Reported by Soe San Aung for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
All travellers from India should be isolated for 21 days instead of 14 to help strengthen Singapore's defences against a new double mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2 that appears to be more infectious, reported The Straits Times citing experts on Thursday.

However, it is not yet necessary to ban flights from India, it said.

"A 14-day quarantine or SHN (stay home notice) would detect more than 98 per cent of COVID-19 cases, including those who were infected while on the plane," said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, the vice-dean of global health at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

"A 21-day quarantine backed by specific tests would detect virtually all cases. However, that would impose a significant mental and financial cost" to the traveller, Yang said.

Singapore announced new safety measures on Tuesday, including fewer approvals for foreigners who are not permanent residents and are coming in from India, which is experiencing a second wave believed to be fuelled by a variant with a double mutation.

All travellers from India must now isolate for seven days at a residence after spending 14 days at a dedicated facility for those serving SHN.

The new measures have come amid a recent rise in locally-transmitted cases and as a new three-person cluster here has just been linked to a 43-year-old Indian national who was "probably reinfected" in India.

The work pass holder, who was asymptomatic, had tested positive on arrival from India on April 2 but was discharged after a few days as he was considered no longer infectious. But he went on to infect his sister-in-law and her husband.

Associate Professor Alex Cook, vice-dean of research from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said the positive swab result could mean that the Indian was infectious or had recently recovered from an infection.

A serology test to look for COVID-19 antibodies was then done and the man tested positive, meaning that he was infectious at least two weeks ago. But it is now clear that he could have been infected sometime back and then reinfected recently, and hence tested positive on both tests.

Cook said this shows that it's vital to assess the interpretation of the combination of a positive swab and serology tests, given that it can be a reinfection case, and continued vigilance is key.

India's surging outbreak has prompted places such as Hong Kong and New Zealand to ban flights. But the Singapore daily had experts saying that it is not yet necessary to ban flights from India or tighten guidelines on social and other gatherings.

Infectious disease expert Leong Hoe Nam said while banning flights is easy, it is about achieving a balance, as there's also the need to support the economy and be compassionate in allowing family members to come to visit.

Flight bans provide just short-term relief, said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

"If such flight bans were successful, we would have seen a much smaller COVID-19 footprint globally, given the number of flight bans and border closures in the early months of 2020," he said.

"What I suspect ... is that these new variants that have emerged in one country are in fact already circulating in other countries," Teo said.

It's better to prevent virus variants from going on to seed uncontrollable community outbreaks with a comprehensive strategy that includes stricter border controls for travellers from India, he said.

"This, together with the repeated testing that will be applied to such travellers, will greatly increase our ability to reduce any leakage into the community, such as what we have seen last week," Teo said.

He added that the 14-day quarantine was never able to detect 100 per cent of the cases.

"We know from the epidemiological data that there are people whose incubation period actually extends beyond 14 days, just that the chance of this happening is low," he said.

Meanwhile, 11 workers tested positive for COVID-19 at Westlite Woodlands dormitory on Wednesday -- the largest number of infections in the foreign worker dormitories in months.

A letter from Westlite Woodlands to its clients said that 11 of the residents at the dormitory were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, reported the Channel News Asia (CNA), adding it has seen the letter.

The results are from 568 tests carried out on Tuesday for residents from levels two to seven of Block A of the dormitory, located at 2 Woodlands Sector 2.

According to the letter dated April 21, all the block residents, which number more than 1,100, will be sent to a government quarantine facility (GQF) for 14 days as a "precautionary measure".

Swab tests will also be conducted on all the remaining residents in Block B of the dormitory, it said.

The 11 dormitory cases did not appear in the Ministry of Health's case count on Wednesday, which said there was one new community COVID-19 infection and 14 imported cases.

One of the infected workers is the roommate of a worker who tested positive on Apr 19, said the Ministry of Manpower in a press release on Wednesday night.

As a close contact of the infected worker, he had already been quarantined.

There have been more than 54,000 COVID-19 cases detected in foreign worker dormitories since the start of the pandemic last year.

Although the numbers peaked in the middle of last year, cases in the dormitories have fallen dramatically and before Wednesday, there were only seven cases reported since Janary 1 this year.

As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported a total of 60,880 COVID-19 cases and 30 fatalities from the disease.

As of Tuesday, 60,540 have fully recovered from the infection and have been discharged from hospitals or community care facilities.

There are currently 74 confirmed cases who are still in hospital including one in critical condition in the intensive care unit while 221 are isolated and cared for at community facilities for mild symptoms, or are clinically well but still test positive for COVID-19.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mumbai, April 22 : Actress Aahana Kumra on Thursday took to social media to express that she feels grateful to be able to wake up alive every day in a nation that is asking for help, and its leaders are unable to find a solution.

Aahana's post comes at a time when India is battling a raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and experiencing a heavy loss of lives and a high number of positive cases on a daily basis.

Aahana shared a few throwback photographs and videos of her scuba diving experience at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, on Instagram, on the occasion of Earth Day, while making her comment.

"Woke up this morning feeling lost and helpless! A nation that is asking for help and looking at its leaders who have no solution! Grateful to wake up alive everyday!! Never thought I would feel these emotions ever!" she wrote.

"Went through some of my most favourite moments lived! Throwback to austraila and the first time I dived in the open waters! My first dive at the Great Barrier Reef!" she recalled.

"We will survive and hopefully live to see more such beautiful moments in life! With this hope I wish everyone a #happyearthday today! Let's all do our best to save the earth or else mother nature knows how to show us her wrath! And then karma always finds you!!" she added.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 13:53:30|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is joining world leaders on Thursday at a virtual summit on climate change hosted by his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.

Responding to climate change is the common cause of all humanity, Xi has said, adding that it should not be a bargaining chip for geopolitics, a target for attacking other countries, or an excuse for trade barriers.

The Chinese president has been paying close attention to ecological and environmental issues. While actively championing global actions to fight climate change, he underscores the issue as a long-term strategy vital to his country's modernization and its people's well-being.

GREEN IS GOLD

At the beginning of the 1990s, Yucun, an idyllic mountain village in China's eastern Anji County, Zhejiang Province, decided to end poverty by tapping the potential of its natural resources.

By mining for limestone and manufacturing cement, Yucun became one of China's richest villages with an annual revenue of more than 3 million yuan (460,000 U.S. dollars).

However, it was not long before the villagers found it a Faustian bargain. Their hometown turned into a real eyesore with its pitted land, turbid rivers and dust haze.

Yucun was not the only village in Zhejiang that had seen its eco-system degrading. To address the ever deteriorating problem, the province committed itself to building an "ecological province" in 2003.

Within three years, Yucun shut down three limestone quarries and a cement factory, which accounted for 95 percent of its annual income, causing much fear amongst the villagers.

A heated debate emerged about the relationship between economic development and environmental protection -- a relationship that was inevitably rocky during industrialization across the world.

In 2005, Xi, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Yucun. He assured the villagers that their move to close those factories was "wise."

"Mountains and rivers green are mountains of silver and gold," he said at the village's simple and humble meeting room.

Nine days later, in a commentary carried by Zhejiang Daily, Xi, using the pen-name "Zhe Xin," called for pursuing harmony between man and nature as well as harmony between the economy and society, in order to have clear water and green mountains along with "mountains of silver and gold."

The "two mountains" concept, later developed into Xi's thought on ecological civilization, has encouraged numerous Chinese cities and villages to pursue high-quality and sustainable growth through protecting the environment and developing green industries.

When Xi returned to Yucun 15 years later during an inspection tour in Zhejiang in March 2020, the village has transformed into a place featuring buildings with traditional white walls and black tiles, colorful flower fields and exquisite lotus ponds. The villagers made much more money than in the past thanks to a tourism boom.

The path of green development is correct, Xi said.

The path, wrote the United Nations Environment Programme in a report, "is beyond and does away with traditional development patterns and models, guiding the transformation of the production methods and the lifestyle of the entire society."

CLIMATE AGENDA IN XIPLOMACY

Xi also proposed the signature concept of "two mountains" when addressing the global audience at the Climate Ambition Summit held online at the end of 2020.

He was calling for pursuing a new approach to climate governance that highlights green recovery in a year when the world was going through not only a COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallouts but also one of the three warmest years on record.

On his diplomatic agenda, Xi has time and again stressed the importance of upholding multilateralism, unity and cooperation to tackle climate change.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the just-concluded Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 held in China's tropical island of Hainan, Xi urged Asian countries to strengthen cooperation on green infrastructure, green energy and green finance, and to make green a defining feature of Belt and Road cooperation.

Earlier this month, at a video summit held with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Xi called on the European Union (EU) to work together with China to strengthen the China-EU green partnership.

Since 2020, Xi has held six phone talks with the French president, in four of which they compared notes on strengthening coordination and cooperation on tackling climate change.

China and European countries have been working closely on the global fight against climate change after the former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration abandoned the Paris Agreement.

Biden has decided to return his country to the landmark global deal on climate change, which was agreed on by almost every country in the world in 2015 after lengthy negotiations in the French capital.

DELIVERING ON PROMISE

At present, the international landscape is evolving more rapidly and COVID-19 is triggering deep reflections on the relationship between man and nature, Xi said, opening his speech at the Climate Ambition Summit.

His country has been seeking to use the pandemic as a springboard into a greener and more resilient future.

Addressing the general debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, the Chinese president announced that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

If successful, according to the Climate Action Tracker, it would lower global warming projections by around 0.2 degrees to 0.3 degrees Celsius.

While environmentalists welcomed the Chinese pledge as a "game-changer" for the climate and a move that could encourage other countries to act faster, some raised doubts about the viability of the targets given that China is an emerging economy still heavily reliant on coal, and asked for concrete action plans.

In its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), a key policy document that will heavily influence the nation's economic development in the next decade and beyond, Beijing outlined last month that energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will be reduced by 13.5 percent and 18 percent over the period, respectively.

Furthermore, an action plan for hitting the peak of carbon emissions by 2030 is expected to be unveiled within the year.

"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," Xi said at the China-France-Germany video summit.

The low-carbon commitment, it is estimated, requires China to make the transition from reaching its carbon peak to realizing carbon neutrality within 30 years, compared with the 60 years taken by most developed countries.

The task is extremely challenging, Xi said, but China will deliver on its promise. Enditem
The name itself is strong  its fun to say, rolling around in the mouth, then sliding right out  and so is the logo, a neat, retro cursive font wisely left alone for the hard seltzer. The rest of the hard seltzers slim 12-ounce can follows the logos lead, with a couple of stripes of color and simple, elegant fonts that embrace the brands Mexican roots and longtime popularity in Texas. Its a better-looking can and brand than many of its competitors, and in the realm of hard seltzer, that matters.
Daiwa, a consumer electronics company, has announced the launch of 50-inch D50162FL 4K smart TV in India. This Made in India TV features a bezel-less design, features support HDR10 content, dbx-tv audio technology and more.

The Daiwa D50162FL has minimal bezels, giving it a screen-to-body ratio of 96%, and the display has a 4K resolution of (38402160). It features their Quantum Luminit Technology, which enables a wider range of colours, specifically 1.07 billion.

Inside this TV is an A-55 Quad core processor, along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM. It runs on Android 9.0, with their custom The BigWall UI on top, which supports a variety of streaming services like Disney+, Hotstar, Zee5, Sony Liv, Zee5, Voot.

The TV has a 20W speaker system built-in, that features 5 sound modes and various other technologies such as dbx-tv audio technology and AI volume control. Regarding connectivity, it has 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB Type-A ports, Wi-Fi, 1 Optical Output, Ethernet, 2AV In and 1 earphone out.

The Daiwa D50162FL 4K Smart TV will be available for purchase in retail stores across India for a price of Rs. 39,990.
Im blessed with great clients who like to push the boundaries and incredibly talented creatives who can deliver work that surpasses their expectations.

In recent months, Lawton Marketing Group has received recognition for four international awards for its digital marketing and branding work: two NYX Awards for exceptional creativity in website design, followed by two AVA Digital Awards for excellence in digital design and communication. The NYX Awards honors talented individuals, agencies, corporations, and institutions in over 100 countries for their innovation in creative communication and marketing. The AVA Digital Awards also recognizes creative professionals across the globe exemplifying outstanding aptitude for creative branding and digital development.

Both of these competitions recognize superior talent across the globe and are highly sought-after in the professional creative community. With over 42,000 entries and more than 102 countries participating, the NYX Marcom Awards celebrates the best of the best in artistic talent and creative communication. Winners are selected by a jury of more than 180 expert judges who evaluate entries on a points system according to the pieces creative design, the quality of the product, and how well the piece fulfills its goal. Lawton Marketing Group, a marketing and branding firm specializing in brand development and strategy for financial advisors, was honored with a Gold and a Silver award. Other winners of the NYX Awards include well-known brands including Disney, Microsoft, Aldi, and Jaguar.

From the 2021 AVA Digital Awards, Lawton Marketing Group received a Platinum and Gold award, the two highest honors bestowed by the AVA awards. For more than 25 years, the AVA Digital Awards has honored talented creative professionals and the unique angle they bring to creative design and communication. These recognitions make 17 national and international awards won by the local Lawton agency, in addition to several local awards.

Were a team of passionate people who love what they do, said Kelly Edwards, co-owner and Chief Brand Strategist at Lawton Marketing Group. Were always looking for ways to be better and give our clients something they cant find anywhere else. Im blessed with great clients who like to push the boundaries and incredibly talented creatives who can deliver work that surpasses their expectations.

AVA Digital Awards is presented and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), which also administers the MarCom Awards and Hermes Creative Awards, both of which are highly respected markers of international excellence in creative innovation and design. The NYX Awards are an International Awards Associate competition.

Lawton Marketing Group is a full-service marketing and branding agency in Lawton, Oklahoma with clients in all 50 states and Canada. They specialize in website design, graphic design, branding, social media, search engine optimization, digital marketing, and more. Visit LawtonLMG.com for more information.

###
People wait for a flight at an international terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York City, on Jan. 25, 2021. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

House Passes Another Democrat Attempt to Limit Executive Power for Issuing Travel Bans

The House on Wednesday voted largely on party lines to advance a bill that limits the presidents authority to issue travel bans on foreign nationals from entering the United States.

House Democrats introduced the bill, known as the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act, as a response to former President Donald Trumps 2017 travel ban that restricted entry for foreign nationals from several terror-prone countries. The initiative drew opposition from Democrats and activists, who dubbed the measure as a Muslim ban because Trumps initial order largely named countries with a predominantly Muslim population.

The Trump administration has all along pushed back against such a characterization, arguing it was unfair and discriminatory as more than 40 Muslim-majority countries werent included in the ban, and that the ban was focused on national security rather than religion.

The order was modified several times to remove and include different countries in the action. The U.S. Supreme Court also upheld a version of the ban in a 7-2 decision in 2017.

On Wednesday, the bill for the NO BAN Act passed with a 218-208 vote, with all Democrats and one Republican voting to pass the bill. It will advance to the Senate for consideration.

This is the second time the bill has passed a Democrat-controlled House. In 2020, the Democrat measure also passed the House on partisan lines.

The purpose of the NO BAN Act, according to the sponsors of the bill, is to prohibit religious discrimination in immigration-related executive decisions unless that discrimination is allowed under law.

If the president determines a need to temporarily restrict entry of any foreign nationals, he or she must consult with the State Department to assess whether the restriction would address the specific threats to U.S. interests such as national security or public safety, the bill summary states.

The bill also sets out guidelines for crafting such restrictions, including requiring a compelling reason for the government to intervene and to ensure that any bans are narrowly applied in the least restrictive manner.

The State Department and Department of Homeland Security must also inform Congress about any proposed restrictions 48 hours before it is imposed.

The law also provides a legal cause of action to allow individuals in America to sue in a federal court if they are harmed by the restriction.

The NO BAN Act strengthens the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion. And it restores the separation of powers by limiting overly broad executive action to [issue] future religious bans, which are fundamentally un-American, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the chamber floor in support of the bill.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the main sponsor of the bill, in her speech on Wednesday criticized Trumps policy and sought to characterize the former presidents action as a religious ban.

We must make sure no president is ever able to ban people from coming to the U.S. simply because of their religion, she told the House chamber.

Meanwhile, the bill has faced opposition from most Republicans who argue that the bill would undermine the presidents ability to take urgent action to protect Americas national security and public safety.

President Trump invoked this authority against countries that were hotbeds of international terrorism and were not cooperating with the united states in providing basic information about travelers coming from these countries, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said. Now, the left calls it a Muslim ban. What nonsense.

The presidents ability to protect against threats, negotiate security protocols, and when necessary, to retaliate against discriminatory actions by other actions depends on his having this power at his immediate disposal. This bill instead forbids the president from taking action until he can show its the weakest possible measure at his disposable.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also criticized the effort, arguing that there are more pressing issues that Congress should be addressing, such as the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. Southern border rather than wasting its time on recycled legislation.

We simply need to return to commonsense border security policies that work. We need to finish the wall and deploy technology to the border. We need to fully reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy and maintain the robustly implemented Title 42 authority. We need to require a negative COVID test before releasing migrants. I think that would be common sense, McCarthy said.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to undo Trumps policy. Biden accused his predecessor of discriminating against Muslims and African nations. Trumps actions focused on a small number of majority-Muslim countries and some African countries.

The countries affected by the travel ban prior to Bidens revocation were Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen.

Trump in a statement this month urged Biden to reinstate the travel ban as part of efforts to defend the United States against terrorism.

If Joe Biden wants to keep our Country safe from Radical Islamic Terrorism, he should reinstitute the foreign country Travel Ban and all of the vetting requirements on those seeking admission that go with it, along with the refugee restrictions I successfully put in place, Trump said in a statement.

To keep terrorism and extremism out of our country, we need to have smart, commonsense rules in place so we dont repeat the many immigration mistakes made by Europe, and the USA prior to Trump.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
English French

LONDON, April 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Boku Inc., (AIM: BOKU), the world's leading provider of mobile payment and identity solutions, and French mobile services providers SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom, today announced that they have signed a partnership to launch mobile identity products aimed at protecting consumers against cyber-hacks, account takeover attacks, SIM swap attacks, and other forms of digital fraud.

There is a growing demand for mobile identity authentication services in France as more companies continue to realize the necessity of advanced multi-factor authentication and digital identity proofing solutions in the wake of increased incidences of digital fraud.

Bokus Digital Identity Proofing solution will match mobile subscribers account registration details to new account registration information to ensure that new accounts are being created by the person, and not a fraudster. The Phone Number Verification (Authentication) solution will verify mobile number possession directly on the device by using its built-in connectivity to the mobile operators' wireless network. Moreover, Boku will be able to provide signals around changes to the SIM card, phone number changes and reassigned numbers to further curb various common tactics of fraudsters.

Stuart Neal, General Manager for Identity, Boku, commented, "We are honored to partner with SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom to introduce a safer and more seamless digital world for mobile users in France. Boku has already built the most comprehensive network of direct mobile operator connections for identity and extending our capabilities into France is a major milestone as we continue to expand globally.

Richard CROFT, Head of Value Design, Bouygues Telecom, commented, As an ISP we have the means to provide extra protection to our customers personal information as they use digital services online. As such, this partnership is key in ensuring the rapid deployment of Mobile ID, a service portfolio built in collaboration with our industry peers, where privacy-by-design is a core value. We also expect the partnership to support our continued efforts towards improving the quality and reach of such services.

Christian Bombrun, Director of Products & Services, Orange, commented, This partnership will ensure greater online security and convenience for all customers of Orange. We are proud to work with Boku to provide a better experience for our customers and all online services.

Vincent Diego, Manager of SFR Pay, commented, Protecting our customers has always been a priority for SFR. This partnership with Boku will make it possible to go further in the fight against fraud and the improvement of customer journeys on mobile devices.

Enquiries:

Boku, Inc.

Jon Prideaux, Chief Executive Officer and Keith Butcher, Chief Financial Officer

+44 (0)20 3934 6630

IFC Advisory Limited (Financial PR & IR)

Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Florence Chandler

+44 (0)20 3934 6630

About Boku

Boku Inc. (AIM: BOKU) is the worlds leading provider of mobile payment and mobile identity solutions. Bokus technology platform, which is linked to more than 200 mobile wallets and network operators worldwide, verifies user identity, executes payments, and provisions new services, simplifying daily mobile interactions between consumers and digital organizations.

Bokus technology platform is used in over 59 countries with over 815 million verified transactions in 2019, contributing $5 billion to the digital economy. Businesses that currently employ Bokus platform to simplify sign-up, acquire new paying users and prevent fraud include global leaders such as Apple, Discover, Experian, Facebook, FIS, Fiserv, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Paypal, Sony, Spotify and Western Union.

Boku Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in various locations globally including in the US, Mumbai, Munich, Beijing, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo.

To learn more about Boku Inc., please visit: https://www.boku.com

About Altice France (SFR)

Altice France is the leading telecoms-media convergence player in France.

Through SFR, France's second-largest communications services company, Altice France is a telecommunications industry leader serving 25 million customers.

Providing a fiber optic network (FTTH / FTTB) of 21 million eligible connections, SFR has launched 5G in France and also covers 99.7% of the population with 4G.

SFR has major positions on the entire market, among the public, businesses, local authorities and other telecom companies.

Altice France is also a leading media group with iconic brands such as BFM and RMC. In 2020, Altice France achieved a turnover of 10.9 billion euro. Follow the Groups latest news on Twitter: @AlticeFrance



About Orange

Orange is one of the worlds leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 142,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2020, including 83,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 259 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2020, including 214 million mobile customers and 22 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN). For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

About Bouygues Telecom

As a full-service electronic communications operator, Bouygues Telecom stands out by providing its 22.9 million customers access to the best technology has to offer on a daily basis. The very high quality of its 4G and 5G mobile networks and of its fixed and Cloud services provides customers with simple solutions, enabling them to fully enjoy their digital lives, regardless of their location.

#OnEstFaitPourEtreEnsemble - www.bouyguestelecom.fr




The lobbying scandal dramatically deepened yesterday as it emerged that David Cameron repeatedly contacted one of the most senior figures in the Bank of England on behalf of Greensill Capital.

The former prime minister also texted the Treasury's top civil servant as part of a 'persistent' campaign by the finance firm, for which he was an adviser, to get access to huge Covid loans, it was revealed.

Mr Cameron contacted Bank of England officials at least six times. He sent multiple emails to deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, spoke to him by phone and arranged for him to talk to Greensill founder Lex Greensill.

At first he boasted that Greensill Capital  which went bust last month  was the 'world leader' in an early payment system called supply chain financing and had 'the mandate for the UK Government'.

But he later pleaded with the deputy governor for help after admitting he had 'failed to get anywhere' with the Treasury as the firm unsuccessfully sought access to the Covid support scheme.

Mr Cameron has been facing a storm for weeks over his lobbying on behalf of Greensill Capital, which collapsed into administration last month

The Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England, Sir Jon Cunliffe, arrives at a treasury select committee meeting at Portcullis House on March 8, 2016

In another message last April, Mr Cameron complained it was 'incredibly frustrating' that Greensill was not being allowed to join the Bank's Covid Corporate Financing Facility so it could lend money to small businesses.

He begged Sir Jon  who had previously been Mr Cameron's envoy to the EU  to have another briefing from Mr Greensill.

Correspondence published by the Bank yesterday also revealed how Mr Greensill told Sir Jon his firm had 'agreed to pay all NHS employees and contractors daily', although in fact scarcely any health workers joined his payroll scheme.

The Australian financier also urged the Bank to set up a 20billion facility to buy up bonds and short-term debt issued by lenders such as Greensill as the pandemic struck last March.

Last night the Treasury released 34 pages of documents revealing the extent of Greensill's efforts to lobby officials. The financier makes reference in the messages to the then Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill and NHS England chairman David Prior.

Details of Mr Cameron's lobbying of the Bank emerged after Treasury Permanent Secretary Sir Tom Scholar admitted the former prime minister had messaged and called him on his mobile phone as part of a 'persistent' campaign by Greensill.

In the first of a series of parliamentary hearings that will examine the close links between the firm and senior figures in Government and Whitehall, Sir Tom was asked by MPs on the Treasury Committee what contact he had had with Greensill a year ago.

Sir Tom Scholar (right) said David Cameron contacted him repeatedly in March and April last year. Charles Roxburgh (left), second permanent secretary at the Treasury, told the hearing he had nine meetings with Greensill

He replied: 'No physical meetings at all. I took part in one conference call, which was on April 7, 2020.

'Mr Cameron spoke to me on the telephone and sent me some text messages around about the same time, this is end of March, beginning of April, 2020.'

He said Mr Cameron contacted him on his 'official' mobile phone as he was working from home at the time, and had the number because 'I used to work for him'. Sir Tom had been Mr Cameron's adviser on European and global issues in Downing Street.

Asked if he had taken Mr Cameron's call more readily because of his former position, Sir Tom replied: 'If a former minister that I've worked with asks to talk to me, I will always do that.'

He added: 'We were approached quite persistently by this company, and we listened to what they said, we analysed it, we tested it. And in the end, despite them submitting a series of successive proposals, we decided to reject them all.'

Sir Tom said the call he had from Mr Cameron had not been a 'substantive' discussion of Greensill's proposal and he merely told him 'thank you very much, this is something that we're looking at' and added that his deputy Charles Roxburgh was dealing with it.

Mr Roxburgh told the committee he had nine separate meetings with Greensill between March and June last year, as the company put forward three separate proposals including to be allowed to join the Bank of England's massive Covid Corporate Financing Facility, which was not open to financial firms.

Bank of England reveals David Cameron's lobbying efforts Documents released by the Bank of England have shown David Cameron's lobbying in support of Greensill Capital, the now collapsed financial firm which employed him. Mr Cameron emailed Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Bank's deputy governor, on March 5 2020, the first in a series of emails and calls disclosed between the former prime minister, Mr Greensill and Threadneedle Street. On March 17 Mr Greensill and Mr Cameron held a call with Bank officials to explain Greensill Capital's supply chain finance operation. The minutes of the call note that Greensill Capital 'explained that they were coming under significant pressure in current market conditions' and called for a re-establishment of the secured commercial paper facility scheme used in the 2009 financial crisis to 'ease market conditions and protect the supply of working capital to the real economy'. In April 2020 the correspondence covered Greensill's attempts to access the Covid Corporate Finance Facility (CCFF) . On April 3 2020 Mr Cameron wrote to deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe 'to ask for your help', claiming Greensill had numerous conversations with the Treasury but 'have failed to get anywhere'. He said: 'The request is simple  please include in the CCFF the ability to purchase bonds issued in respect of supply chain finance.' Mr Cameron claimed this would allow Greensill to 'pump billions' into small firms, including every pharmacy working with the NHS. As his efforts failed to make progress, Mr Cameron wrote on April 22 2020, telling Sir Jon it was 'incredibly frustrating'. 'Even a small participation of SCF (supply chain finance  Greensill's area of activity) in the CCFF would make a big difference in catalysing the market,' he said. Advertisement

He had discussions with Mr Greensill, who had been a Downing Street adviser under Mr Cameron, and director Bill Crothers, who had been allowed to advise the Greensill board while still working as the Government's procurement chief. Asked why the firm had so much access to top officials, Mr Roxburgh said: 'During this period, I was talking to a lot of companies about the situations facing them, the crisis and how to respond.'

In one of the phone calls, the Greensill executives told him the firm had been approved by the British Business Bank to loan up to 50million under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, to which it had been accredited, but 'they wanted to be given the extended level of authorisation to lend up to 200million'.

He insisted he was not leaned on by the Treasury ministers whom Mr Cameron lobbied on behalf of Greensill.

Last night the Treasury published a fresh tranche of emails, mostly from Mr Greensill to the top civil servants but also including internal discussions about Mr Cameron's lobbying.

On March 28 last year, Sir Tom told his deputy Mr Roxburgh about the texts he had received from the ex-PM, saying: 'Had some incoming from my old boss.' Three days later he wrote that Mr Cameron 'has some advisory role at Greensill'. Sir Tom said he had been 'non-committal' about Greensill's proposal but 'when pressed' by the former PM promised he would discuss it further.

Mr Cameron texted him again on April 7  but the messages were redacted by the Treasury.

An email to Mr Roxburgh from an unnamed official also revealed doubts about Mr Greensill's plans after he had given the Treasury a briefing. It suggested they 'ought to press' the financier about where his suppliers were based, and that it was worth 'seeking clarity' about who his largest investors were.

The civil servant also suggested they ask NHS England chairman David Prior about Greensill's 'importance to the NHS', after Mr Greensill raised it.

In a message on March 21, 2020, Mr Greensill mentioned that he had been in touch with Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill. He wrote to Sir Tom: 'By way of follow-up, Mark Sedwill connected us with Charles Roxburgh (copied). We had a productive call with Charles and his colleagues early this evening  and we have followed up with them subsequently.

'Hopefully we can make swift progress given the disruption we are experiencing in the markets and the materiality of the credit we provide daily to the UK economy, its supply chains and employees.'
Students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a number of Western Massachusetts private colleges will be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before the start of the fall semester.

Students at community colleges in Massachusetts will not.

Other public and private colleges and universities are watching trends, monitoring government requirements and weighing options before declaring whether vaccination will be simply encouraged  as all schools are doing  or mandatory, with enforceable consequences.

Every institution is preaching health and safety. Whether to make vaccination a requirement, however, is complicated.

Until Thursday afternoon, mandatory vaccination for students at Western Massachusetts institutions was a policy announced only by a handful of private schools. But UMass Amherst, the flagship school for the UMass public university system, has joined a growing list.

The university will require all undergraduate and graduate students who wish to live or learn or conduct research on campus, or access campus resources, to be fully vaccinated prior to the beginning of the fall semester. This is being required on the basis of expected additional state, federal and legal guidance and vaccine availability, and subject to religious and disability accommodations pursuant to state and federal law, a UMass policy statement read.

On Monday, the announcement that vaccine eligibility was extended to all Massachusetts residents age 16 and older pushed many schools closer to at least considering a mandate. But not all students live in Massachusetts, and to some college officials, factors including a lack of equity in vaccine availability cannot be ignored.

That leaves each institution to consider its own student population and logistics, and whether to put itself in a position of denying access to students who have not been vaccinated  a policy that, once declared, would presumably have to be enforced.

Smith College announced on Wednesday that full vaccination will be required of all students before they return to campus. Hampshire College and Mount Holyoke College followed suit Thursday. All three private schools indicated a willingness to facilitate access to vaccines for those unable to comply.

Smith president Kathleen McCartney said the college will help international students or others who cannot get a U.S.-approved vaccination to meet the requirement. Requests for medical and religious exemptions would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, as they are with other required vaccinations.

Smith has secured enough doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to vaccinate all students currently participating in Smiths on-campus COVID-19 screening program. Eligible students can participate in on-campus vaccine clinics later this month, which McCartney said would not only allow students to be fully vaccinated before leaving campus for summer break, but also reduce demand on local vaccination clinics.

Hampshire said its requirement of vaccination supports the colleges plan to return to an in-person and fully residential fall semester plan. Students who cannot obtain a vaccination before arriving next semester will need to do so when they get to Hampshire, with the college pledging to facilitate access.

Mount Holyoke College announced on Thursday that students will be required to be vaccinated before returning to campus. A statement said the college expects very limited exceptions, and will be working to set up structures to ensure compliance  and to vaccinate those students who are unable to be vaccinated before returning to campus.

A different decision was reached by the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges, whose system of 15 institutions includes those in Springfield, Holyoke, Greenfield and Pittsfield.

In a joint statement attributed to the 15 college presidents, the decision not to require vaccination was a response to concerns that many community college students live in areas facing inequitable availability to vaccines.

Considerations for the fall semester continue to develop and are subject to change, but the community colleges are not contemplating COVID-19 vaccine mandates at this time, the statement read.

It is essential that we meet the needs of all of our students, who are often from the communities hit hardest by this pandemic and facing disproportionate access to the COVID-19 vaccine. And now, it is more important than ever to prioritize equity, and creating additional barriers for our students would go against our critically important mission of open access for all.

Many Western Massachusetts colleges are still weighing whether to require vaccinations. In particular, public state institutions have been encouraging vaccinations, but stopping short of requiring them as they await the release of government guidelines.

UMass announced its vaccination requirement as part of a broader plan to reopen the Amherst campus at full residential capacity, with the traditional complement of in-person classes and student activities. At its capacity, UMass counts 14,000 students on campus.

UMass intends to offer a full-college experience in the fall, featuring face-to-face instruction, full residence halls, a complement of student events and activities, and active research facilities, it said.

Westfield State University, whose total student population of approximately 5,500 is just above one-sixth the size of UMass, stopped just short of requiring vaccination, at least for now.

Interim president Roy H. Saigo said the school was strongly encouraging all students, faculty, and staff to get vaccinated, as Westfield State awaits release of the Massachusetts Higher Education Control Plan for the fall 2021 semester.

While public institutions await details of state and federal requirements, private schools are also being mindful of what is being required as opposed to encouraged  and how circumstances between now and the fall might change.

The current stance is that AIC is encouraging, but not requiring, the vaccine for the fall, American International College dean of students Matthew Scott said.

This is evolving, and as vaccines become more widely available and move from emergency use authorization to full authorization, we may reconsider.

Springfield College has made no formal decisions yet. We are considering a great number of options, said Stephen Roulier, vice president for communications and external affairs at the college.

The word fluid is the right word to describe the situation, Roulier said.

Related content:
The Lackawanna County Prison Board delayed voting to buy scanning equipment for the prisons mailroom to research questions raised by Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell.

During the March prison board meeting, Lackawanna County Prison Warden Tim Betti proposed buying an ion scanner, which is capable of detecting drugs and explosive substances in mail and other materials. The Itemiser 3 Enhanced desktop detection system would cost about $20,000 and be used predominantly to check legal mail coming into the jail. The funding would come from the prisons canteen fund, which is money from commissary sales at the jail.

On Wednesday, during the April meeting, Powell asked Betti what degree of training would be necessary to use the device and if there was a maintenance contract required for the product. Powell, who agreed the device was needed, also asked if the system the warden planned to purchase was the best product for the prison.

Betti said the Itemiser 3 was used by the state Department of Corrections, but the Lackawanna County Prison would do its own due diligence.

Maybe next time well potentially vote on it, said Lackawanna County Commissioner Debi Domenick.

In March, Betti said theres been an uptick in counterfeit legal mail coming into the jail, and high-quality fakes can be difficult to catch. The scanning equipment would help prison staff intercept any controlled substances. To help keep contraband out of the jail, most inmate mail is delivered in digital format on correctional-grade tablet computers available in cellblocks. Legal mail, such as from attorneys and courts, is the exception and inmates still physically receive letters.

Prison board Chairman Judge James Gibbons said the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts notified judges that fabricated and forged mail from the court system was also being sent to jails with counterfeit substances.

Its a constant battle for us, Betti said. I feel like were always playing catchup. Were shutting down as many avenues as we can, but since were doing a really good job, this is now the latest attempt, fake legal mail.

During public comment, the board was asked if inmates would be given the opportunity to receive vaccines.

Betti said there is no plan to vaccinate the inmates, but the prison was hoping to offer a program to administer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, production of the vaccine has been put on hold because of a potential blood clotting issue.

One shot makes sense for a county jail, he said, adding that some inmates do not spend a lot of time in the jail and there would be complications with returning to the facility to receive a second shot.

Meanwhile, during the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday, commissioners approved detention contracts with the Office of Youth and Family Services to place youth in other detention centers; agreements with Lackawanna College and Johnson College to provide youth science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, as well as amendments to a contract with the Area Agency on Aging and the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, to change language in an existing contract to include COVID-19 pandemic related services, including administering COVID-19 relief, including vaccinations, mortgage, rent and utility funds to Lackawanna County residents.
Lourdes Leon appears to be ready to step into the spotlight.

Despite launching a clothing line for Macy's at age 13 and more recently appearing in select fashion campaigns, 'Lola' as she is known, has kept a relatively low-profile considering her mother is Madonna.

But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, the 24-year-old trained dancer and model has finally given the world a glimpse into her career ambitions - saying that one of her goals is to act on the big screen - as well as confirming that her 'first boyfriend' was Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet.

Born Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon to parents Madonna, 62, and former personal trainer Carlos Leon, 54, the celebrity spawn attended the elite Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan alongside Timothee, 25, who she dated.

'I respect him a lot, we were a little item. My first boyfriend,' Leon says of her romance with the actor, in a surprisingly frank interview.

She may even be set to follow in his footsteps, as she told the publication that she would love to play the role of Mother Theresa on the big screen.

Hinting that the Queen of Pop had somewhat of a 'stage mom' persona growing up, Leon admits she was pushed hard when training for ballet.

Model: Lourdes - who is now the face of Marc Jacobs - is seen here in 2018 on the catwalk Gypsy Sport show

'My mom really went hard for that once she saw there was potential,' she said of her ballet classes, which she started at age three.

Hilariously, she reveals that her mother is often left unimpressed when she is given racy gifts by her friends, who could be forgiven for thinking Madonna has a taste for all things controversial, given her edgy pop persona.

'She's expecting something nice that she'll actually use and she gets a leather horse condom and a bong shaped like a c**k and balls (courtesy of photographer Steven Klein.) She doesn't even smoke weed.'

Young love! Lourdes and Timothee are pictured together above back in 2013

Ex: Lourdes confirmed that Timothee Chalamet was her 'first boyfriend' who she met at the elite Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan

The burgeoning starlet looks stunning in the accompanying photoshoot for the publication, which was shot by photographer Adrienne Raquel.

In one smoldering shot, Leon wears just briefs, tights, and shoes by Saint Laurent while posing next to a swimming pool.

Leon made her modelling debut for Stella McCartney four years ago, and last year helped choreograph and co-direct McCartney's collaboration for Adidas.

She is now the face of Marc Jacobs and appears to be in search of the perfect role to launch an acting career, something that her mother has famously dabbled with throughout her incredible music career.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York City wants its tourists back, and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday that its prepared to put $30 million toward achieving that goal.

During a morning press briefing, the mayor announced the NYC-&-Company-led program titled NYC Reawakens, and set to launch in June as part of the citys broader coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery strategies.

We want to bring tourism back. Tourism has been an important part of life in this city, an important part of our economy, de Blasio said. Hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on tourism.

In 2020, the citys annual tourism numbers plummeted with just and estimated 22.3 million people visiting the city down from a record 66.6 million in 2019.

Typically, the city spends about $3 million annually on tourism promotion, and the increase is being funded with federal stimulus money, according to City Hall.

NYC & Company estimates that through efforts to reinvigorate the tourism industry, the city could break the previous record by 2024 seeing as many as 69.4 million visitors.

The entitys president and CEO, Fred Dixon, applauded the move, and the citys efforts to improve tourism.

As the ship turns toward tourism recovery, were pleased to present NYC Reawakens as a call to action to encourage visitors and meetings delegates to plan and visit the five boroughs this year and experience the Citys unmatched energy, excitement and dynamism, Dixon said.

With a packed cultural calendar, world-class hotels, a new outdoor dining scene and so much more, visitors can experience the best of everything right here in New York City.

Ahead of NYC Reawakens June launch, Dixon urged New Yorkers to invite family and friends to plan a visit to the Big Apple, and announced a wish you were here initiative through which New Yorkers can send personalized emails with information on things to do in the city.

French chef and restaurateur Daniel Boulud applauded the decision, and said it would help reinvigorate tourism-related industries that employ an estimated 400,000 New Yorkers.

Every neighborhood in New York City will benefit from the tourists, he said. We are looking forward to really jumpstart this tourism in the city with you. I cant say how much I am excited by this initiative.
Japan to declare fresh state of virus emergency in 4 regions including Tokyo, Osaka

Xinhua) 11:08, April 22, 2021

TOKYO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government will declare a fresh COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures on Friday amid surging cases, local media quoted informed sources as saying Wednesday.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura requested that the central government declare a state of emergency for his prefecture as COVID-19 cases have consistently surpassed those of Tokyo's recently, with the western prefecture struggling to provide enough beds for patients with serious symptoms.

Yoshimura told the central government that he plans to request bars and restaurants in certain areas, along with department stores and amusement parks, to suspend their operations temporarily, in a bid to curb the further spread of the virus.

He also said he wants people's movements to be further restricted, and elementary and junior high school classes in Osaka may also be asked to be temporarily held online.

Yoshimura believes the current quasi-emergency COVID-19 measures are ineffective, calling on bars and restaurants to close on weekends and suspend the selling of alcohol.

Tokyo, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, meanwhile, also asked the central government to impose a state of emergency, following Yoshimura's request the previous day and may call for similar restrictions as Yoshimura.

Ehime Prefecture, meanwhile, has asked for a quasi-state of emergency.

"We will cooperate with local governments and study the contents of the measures they plan to take. Then I will make a decision, possibly this week," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a press briefing on the matter Wednesday.

His remarks followed a meeting held on the matter with relevant Cabinet members, including Health Minister Norihisa Tamura and minister in charge of Japan's coronavirus response Yasutoshi Nishimura.

Nishimura said the situation in Osaka was approaching a critical level and that more stringent antiviral measures need to be imminently introduced.

"The situation in Osaka is extremely severe. We have to implement stronger measures in a concentrated manner," Nishimura told a parliamentary committee on the matter.

When the declaration is made by Suga for the four prefectures, informed sources said the emergency measures will be in place throughout the upcoming Golden Week string of national holidays through early May. Golden Week is usually one of the most popular times of the year for Japanese people to travel.

Under the tougher restrictions likely to be imposed, however, sources said people will be asked to refrain from making unnecessary trips outdoors and avoid crossing prefectural lines where possible, effective barring leisure travel during the Golden Week holidays.

On Wednesday, Osaka reported a record 1,242 new COVID-19 cases, while Tokyo confirmed 843 new cases, the highest level since the previous state of emergency expired late last month. Hyogo reported a record 563 new infections, while Kyoto's daily tally hit 128, according to local officials and the health ministry.

Nationwide, 5,291 new infections were reported Wednesday, bringing the cumulative total since the outbreak of the virus to 548,256 cases. The death toll has now reached a total of 9,786 people, according to the latest figures Wednesday evening.

Shigeru Omi, the head of the government's subcommittee on the pandemic and an expert in infectious diseases said Wednesday that a state of emergency for the prefectures requesting them "must be declared as soon as possible taking into account the spread of highly contagious variants of the coronavirus, and should remain in place for at least three weeks."

A panel of experts from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said the highly transmissible virus variants now account for roughly 80 percent of infections in Osaka and Hyogo and a rapidly growing proportion of new cases in the capital.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Within the next two weeks, thousands of people with developmental disabilities in New Jersey will be permitted to return to daily skill-building and recreational programs the state closed to control the spread of the pandemic, the state Department of Human Services announced Thursday.

The announcement, arriving by email Thursday morning, has been eagerly awaited for months by thousands of families and people who provide state services to those with developmental disabilities. 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.

What it means is normalcy, said Marianne Reagan of Eatontown, whose daughter Kelly, 41, has been missing her friends and activities.

I feel elated and proud of what we have pushed. Weve got a lot of members crying now. This is huge, Reagan said.

The COVID-19 Activity Level Index, or CALI score, will no longer be used to control the opening of day programs, according to the email. The score will determine how many people may attend a program at the same time, however. Based on Thursdays score, no program may exceed 50% of its capacity because the spread of disease is high or moderate, depending on the county.

Families formed an informal organization online and were preparing a demonstration in Freehold Saturday to call attention to the unfairness and indifference they said Gov. Phil Murphys administration has shown to the plight of their loved ones. They have noted that these restrictions remained in place as they were lifted at schools, restaurants, and even nursing homes as vaccine rates rose. State legislators and advocacy groups joined their calls for a fresh look at the restrictions.

The state pays private, mainly nonprofit agencies to provide 12,000 people with autism, cerebral palsy and other developmental and intellectual disabilities with day programs. Without these services, families say their loved ones have regressed emotionally and mentally. They say some are depressed and some act out with aggressive behaviors.

The Division understands that some participants and families are eager for more programs to re-open as soon as possible, the email said. In response to such feedback from individuals, families and guardians, and in continuous consultation with the New Jersey Department of Health, today the Division is releasing updated Congregate Day Program Re-Opening Requirements. The newly updated requirements allow providers to elect to open and operate congregate day programs at limited capacity, regardless of the current CALI designation.

The programs will need some time, generally two weeks to coordinate re-opening but may re-open earlier if they are able to come into compliance with the Congregate Day Program Re-Opening Requirements, according to the memo.

State Sen. Holly Schepisi, R-Bergen, said she was relieved the Murphy administration listened to the families pleas, but saw problems with the 50% limits on attendance.

At 50% capacity, Governor Murphy is essentially telling those families that their fate is being left to the flip of a coin. They deserve better, Schepisi said.

Asked about the openings limitations at an unrelated event in Woodbridge, Murphy said he completely understands this concern.

As Ive said many times, weve got to balance physical health with mental health, the governor said. And the mental health strain, particularly on vulnerable communities, has been overwhelming. Not only on the individuals but on their family members.

These are not our last steps. These are steps on a journey in the right direction, Murphy added.

State officials stress in the memo that the risk of infection is still possible by attending these programs.

Day programs are congregate facilities serving individuals with varying levels of risk for developing complications following the contraction of COVID-19, according to the memo. An individuals risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 is higher if they have not been vaccinated, if the individual is not able to adhere to distancing and masking guidelines, and when COVID-19 activity is higher in their region.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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.
This is an opinion column.

We saw. Thats why we mobilized. Thats why we marched. Thats why we were able to force change. Seismic change. Historic change.

Because we saw. Because we saw what they did to him.

Because we saw what evil named Roy Bryant and J.W. Milan did to Emmett Till. After they rushed Emmetts uncles home in Money, Mississippi, where the 14-year-old was visiting for the summer from Chicago. After they dragged the boy from his bed, beat him mercilessly, and tossed his bloodied, disfigured body into the Tallahatchie River. Tossed him in with barbed-wire lace holding a cotton-gin fan around his neck to ensure he sank to the bottom.

We saw because his mother made sure we saw. Mamie Till-Mobley left the casket bearing her sons grizzly remains open. So we could see. So we could see what they did to Emmettbecause the boy from Chicago, maybe a bit naive to the ways of the South, supposedly had the audacity to flirt with a white girl. In Money.

They say more than 100,00 people walked by his casket as it lay inside the Roberts Temple Church of Christ. Some of them fainted. Because they saw.

Rosa Parks saw. She saw in Emmetts remainsbecause it wasnt really Emmett, the gregarious 14-year-old from Chicago anymorein the infamous photo in Jet magazine so many saw in 1955.

One hundred days after his murder, she sat on a bus in Montgomery. And refused to get up.

Because of Emmett Till. Because we saw. And it enraged us. So, we mobilized. In Mississippi, where a local NAACP leader, an emerging leader named Medgar Evers, challenged the organizations national leaders to mobilize and move. To see what he saw.

In Alabama. In Birmingham, where a fiery young preacher was stirring up his congregation at Bethel Baptist Church, challenging them, daring them to register and vote. Where Rev. Fred Shuttleworth was catching the eye of another young Alabama preacher, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Less than ten years later, in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a national law ending segregation.

Ten years later. Change. Seismic change. Historic change.

I pray it doesnt take that long time. This time.

Not after we saw Derek Chauvin, a 45-year-old white former Minneapolis police officer, led away in handcuffs after being triple-convicted of murdering a Black man. Of murdering George Floyd by placing his left knee on the mans neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, until he died.

And being arrogant to not care if we saw. To not care if a 17-year-old with a camera phone was recording him crushing the life from a Black mans neck. A Black man whose supposed crime was passing off a $20 bill.

George Floyd is our Emmett Till.

Okay, much is different. Till was just a kid; Floyd was 46. Nor was Till murdered by a police officer, though we now know law enforcement, especially in the south, was in bed with evil then. That it was complicit in the crimes and embedding in a criminal injustice system that held no one accountable for the heinous bombings and lynchings and shootings and draggings and drownings that killed thousands of Black people in that time.

This is the point: Change is the point.

Because we saw Emmett Till, change ensued.

Because we saw George Floydand because this time the system that so long, too long, scoffed at us, finally saw us, maybe saw us as humans, humans who mattered, finallywe have the opportunity for change.

For a seismic change. Historic change.

Change in policing in America.

Change that may begin with a bill now languishing among the gargantuan pile of change languishing in the U.S. Senate that is named for Floyd, a bill that is being quietly being massaged in bipartisanyes, bipartisannegotiations. A bill that may set new standards, new demands for policing training and accountability, and transparency. (Do we really not have a national database of bad apple cops so they cant just scurry off and be hired in another jurisdiction while hiding beneath a blanket of blue? Truth isnt blue, or any color, as we thankfully learned as a plethora of law enforcement officials testified, stunningly, against Chauvin.)

Change fortified by an investigation into the Minneapolis police by the U.S. Justice Department, as announced Wednesday by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garlandthe results of which may be used to scrutinize, dissect and change police departments nationwide.

There may be setbacks. No, there will be setbacks. More Daunte Wrights. More MaKhai Bryants. More moments that anger us. That hurt us in the pit of our guts.

I remember Simi Valley. It wasnt quite three decades ago when a jury in that toney white Los Angeles suburb acquitted four LAPD officers of assault and three of the four of using excessive force against Rodney King. Even though we saw.

We saw.

That verdict deflated us. It was a knee on our neck that birthed decades of mistrust and a spate of police killingsmany of which we saw. Too many.

This time, a jury of 12 Americans saw, too.

May what we all saw manifest seismic change, historic change.

May we see it.

Soon.

A voice for whats right and wrong in Birmingham, Alabama (and beyond), Roys column appears in The Birmingham News and AL.com, as well as in the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register. Reach him at rjohnson@al.com and follow him at twitter.com/roysj




Health authorities in northern Chile have fined two veterinarians they say were giving or promoting canine vaccines as false protection against COVID-19.







Roxana Diaz, deputy health secretary for Antofagasta province, said her agency's workers had gone to the veterinary practice of Maria Fernanda Munoz in the city of Calama over a report that people there weren't using masks and were told it was because they were vaccinated.







In an interview Tuesday with the government's 24 Horas television channel, Munoz acknowledged giving herself and several people in her office a vaccine aimed at canine coronavirus, and argued she hadn't become ill. That occurred last year, before any COVID vaccines had been approved in Chile.







''The truth is, it's very dangerous,'' Diaz said. ''There are studies that say the effects can be local  irritation caused by the medications it has  or systemic. But we haven't done a study of what happens inoculating a person with canine vaccines because that would be unethical.''







The U.S. based VCA veterinary hospital chain includes a reference on its website warning against confusing the new human coronavirus  one of a broad family of viruses that affect many species  with the one that causes an intestinal ailment in dogs that is targeted by canine vaccines.







Diaz said another veterinarian, Carlos Pardo, had been falsely promoting use of the canine vaccine for humans.







The health department fined Pardo the equivalent of about $9,200 and Munoz about $10,300. Both have appealed.







Chile has now vaccinated 7.7 million of its 19 million people with at least one dose of legitimate COVID-19 vaccines. (AP)


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  For Dominick Griff Griffo a pre-pandemic scenario at Griffs Place would include hospital staff, police officers and other shift workers chatting over drinks until 4 a.m. That is hardly the case, however, with a new midnight curfew and with service at the bar itself illegal since mid-March. And the combination of the two mandates isnt making it easy for operators.

Right now, restaurant owners can serve food and drink for an additional hour -- prior to Monday customers could sit and eat until 11 p.m. The curfew is in place for catering halls as well -- patrons have to pack it in by 1 a.m.

Griff reported on Tuesday nights trade. He said, I was at my bar last night at midnight, only two people. Its going to be a tough road!

He added, Its been such a long time weve been closed at the bar that peoples habits have changed. Plus you have to throw people out before 12. Everybodys got to be out by 12, said Griff. And he wonders, Whats the point of not seating patrons at the bar? That NYC moratorium must change soon, Griff emphasized. Otherwise folks will continue to go over the bridge to New Jersey where COVID-19 restrictions are more lax.

People like to sit at the bar, they like to eat at the bar. If you come in by yourself, youre sitting at a table by yourself. It makes no sense because the bartender has to come right up to you anyway, said Griff. Now that patrons occupy tables instead of their former stool perches, hes going to reconfigure the dining room.

Im probably taking the pool table out. I could put a few more tables in, said Griff.

BARS WERE NEVER PART OF THE RE-OPENING

Ken Tirado of Killmeyers Old Bavaria Inn said the additional hour of service was nonsense, especially since bars have been closed since March 15. He said, The news reports are so misleading. NYC Bars allowed to stay open until Midnight. We were never allowed to re-open. They are depending on the confusion to deflect from the truth. And the truth to which Tirado refers is that restrictions have been so unyielding and stringent that it has killed a once thriving business.

While the majority of Staten Island restaurants have weathered the pandemic so far, the bar industry is a mess, by some standards.

Rustys of West Brightons future is uncertain, one owner told the Advance/SILive.com. During COVID, Staten Island has lost Mugshots in Travis, B&E Neighborhood Pub in Tottenville, Legends in Castleton Corners, Bungalow 18 in Great Kills and Curly Wolf Saloon in Annadale. Bootleg Mannings in Mariners Harbor also closed but will open under new management at some point. Terminal 1 in South Beach is no longer a bar but offers outdoor dining only with its pub grub and Polish eats.

No sitting at the bar since March of last year...If youre all bar its terrible, said Larry Burkert who has owned Talk of the Town in Great Kills for over 35 years. His place has been dark for 13 months. Hes waiting until the law allows customer to belly up to the bar rail once again  only then will he reopen.

LIGHT TRADE BUT OPTIMISTIC

Ralph Tafuri of Ralphs Bar in Dongan Hills expressed relief over the extra hour when interviewed last week after the governors announcement. Now as the new curfew is in place, he said business was particularly light on Monday and Tuesday night. Hes trying to be positive and rationalizes that the easy pace was blessing. It allows his team to get ready for really busy nights which hopefully will come soon.

He predicted, Were going to see the curfews impact Thursday and Friday. Hopefully, he said, that means Staten Islanders will want to socialize and get out of the house.

Adobe Blues owner Jim Stayoch summed up his feeling on the restrictions that continue to drag out. He wrote an extensive essay on the restaurants website and concluded, I cant pretend to have any answers. My crystal ball is cloudy, no light at the end of the tunnel. And so we march on hoping this, too, shall pass. In the meantime, his freshly reopened restaurant will streamline its hours and concede to serve last call on most nights at 9:30 p.m.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
San Diego, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2021) - Tryp Therapeutics Inc. (CSE: TRYP) (OTCQB: TRYPF) ("Tryp" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company focused on developing clinical-stage compounds for diseases with unmet medical needs, reported today on the Company's significant progress since successfully completing its Initial Public Offering in December 2020.

Tryp is advancing two drug development platforms: Psilocybin-for-Neuropsychiatric Disorders (PFNTM) targeting chronic pain and eating disorders; and razoxane for soft tissue sarcomas. Both platforms are based on chemistries with known safety profiles allowing Tryp to advance directly into Phase 2 clinical trials.

Tryp's PFNTM program is part of a wave of research and development activities in the pharmaceutical industry over the past few years exploring the medical benefits of psychedelic compounds through regulated, clinical development. The Company expects the administration of psilocybin-based compounds by medical professionals with accompanying psychotherapy to provide a safe and effective treatment option for conditions lacking effective alternatives including fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, phantom limb pain, and a variety of eating disorders.

A selection of Tryp's achievements in 2021 include the following:

Expanding the Company's roster of world class scientific advisors . Tryp appointed Robin Carhart-Harris, Ph.D., as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board in February 2021. Dr. Carhart-Harris is the foremost global expert in the administration of psychedelic compounds for medical indications and is the Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London. Tryp also appointed Joel Castellanos, M.D., as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board in February 2021. Dr. Castellanos is a leading chronic pain researcher and physician at UC San Diego Medical Center and is the lead author of a breakthrough publication detailing the mechanism of action for the use of psychedelics for chronic pain. William Schmidt, Ph.D. joined Tryp's Scientific Advisory Board in January 2021 and brings a wealth of expertise related to the development of drugs for pain indications.





. Tryp appointed Robin Carhart-Harris, Ph.D., as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board in February 2021. Dr. Carhart-Harris is the foremost global expert in the administration of psychedelic compounds for medical indications and is the Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London. Tryp also appointed Joel Castellanos, M.D., as a member of its Scientific Advisory Board in February 2021. Dr. Castellanos is a leading chronic pain researcher and physician at UC San Diego Medical Center and is the lead author of a breakthrough publication detailing the mechanism of action for the use of psychedelics for chronic pain. William Schmidt, Ph.D. joined Tryp's Scientific Advisory Board in January 2021 and brings a wealth of expertise related to the development of drugs for pain indications. Hiring additional members of the Company's executive team . Tryp appointed Greg McKee as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in April 2021. Mr. McKee brings significant prior experience as CEO of publicly traded drug development companies to the role and had been serving as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since February 2021. The Company also appointed Luke Hayes as Chief Financial Officer in March 2021. Mr. Hayes has more than 20 years of experience in life sciences in finance, investment, business development, and technology transfer positions to help lead the company through this next growth phase.





. Tryp appointed Greg McKee as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in April 2021. Mr. McKee brings significant prior experience as CEO of publicly traded drug development companies to the role and had been serving as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company since February 2021. The Company also appointed Luke Hayes as Chief Financial Officer in March 2021. Mr. Hayes has more than 20 years of experience in life sciences in finance, investment, business development, and technology transfer positions to help lead the company through this next growth phase. Initiating collaboration for clinical trial activity . Tryp announced in February 2021 a collaboration with Jennifer Miller, M.D. of the University of Florida as the Principal Investigator for a Phase 2a clinical trial to treat the symptoms associated with certain eating disorders using the Company's psilocybin product.





. Tryp announced in February 2021 a collaboration with Jennifer Miller, M.D. of the University of Florida as the Principal Investigator for a Phase 2a clinical trial to treat the symptoms associated with certain eating disorders using the Company's psilocybin product. Advancing the Company's manufacturing capabilities for synthetic psilocybin . Tryp partnered with Albany Molecular Research, Inc. ("AMRI") for the manufacturing of the Company's synthetic psilocybin using proprietary methods and announced a key milestone in February 2021 that AMRI had initiated the process of manufacturing a 200 g non-GMP demonstration batch of psilocybin.





. Tryp partnered with Albany Molecular Research, Inc. ("AMRI") for the manufacturing of the Company's synthetic psilocybin using proprietary methods and announced a key milestone in February 2021 that AMRI had initiated the process of manufacturing a 200 g non-GMP demonstration batch of psilocybin. Expanding the Company's intellectual property portfolio . Tryp filed a new provisional patent in March 2021 describing novel methods for improving the formulation, delivery, and dosing of psychedelic compounds.





. Tryp filed a new provisional patent in March 2021 describing novel methods for improving the formulation, delivery, and dosing of psychedelic compounds. Increasing funding for the Company with a strategic investor . Tryp announced in February 2021 the completion of a $2 million private placement led by Marc Lustig, Founder and former Chairman of Origin House, acquired by Cresco Labs in 2020.





. Tryp announced in February 2021 the completion of a $2 million private placement led by Marc Lustig, Founder and former Chairman of Origin House, acquired by Cresco Labs in 2020. Expanded access for purchasing the Company's shares . Shares of Tryp began trading on the OTCQB and became DTC eligible in April 2021, expanding access for purchasing shares of the company to millions of prospective investors in the United States.

As the Company looks ahead to additional milestones for 2021, it expects to achieve the following:

The initiation of at least two Phase 2a clinical trials, placing Tryp in a rare class of psychedelic drug development companies with active Phase 2 clinical trials.

The announcement of several new clinical research collaborations with leading academic research institutes.

The successful manufacturing and formulation of GMP synthetic psilocybin using Tryp's proprietary methods.

The filing of additional intellectual property applications.

Commenting on Tryp's progress in 2021, Chairman and CEO Greg McKee said, "It has been a dynamic few months for Tryp since our IPO, and is only the start of a highly productive year for the Company as we move our primary compounds into the clinic."

About Tryp Therapeutics:

Tryp Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing compounds with known activity and safety profiles for the treatment of rare and other diseases with unmet medical needs. Tryp's psilocybin-for-neuropsychiatric disorders, or PFN", program is focused on the development of synthetic psilocybin as a new class of drug for the treatment of certain neuropsychiatric-based disorders. Tryp's lead PFN" drug candidate is TRP-8802 for the treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome estimated to affect more than 5 million people in the United States. The Company is also preparing to initiate a Phase 2a clinical study for eating disorders in partnership with the Dr. Jennifer Miller at the University of Florida.

In addition to its PFN" Program, Tryp is developing TRP-1001, an oral formulation of razoxane for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare and diverse group of tumors that account for about 1% of all cancers in adults and 7% in children. Based on the prevalence of soft tissue sarcomas in the United States, Tryp believes it is a rare disease and that TRP-1001 should qualify for Orphan Drug status.

For inquiries, please contact us at:

T: 1-833-811-TRYP (8797)

E: investors@tryptherapeutics.com

W: www.tryptherapeutics.com

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Tryp as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of Tryp's final prospectus available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Tryp; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Tryp expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80996
[April 22, 2021] Holberton Partners with SAYNA in Madagascar

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holberton , the software engineering education company, announced today that it has partnered with SAYNA, an online education company in Madagascar, to offer affordable, high-quality tech education in the country.

Holberton will work with SAYNA to create three, tailored, full-stack web curricula using Holbertons OS of education , a set of tools that enable organizations to quickly create courses or curricula on their own. We are delighted to work with such an innovative education company in deploying our OS of education to create opportunities for students to join the digital revolution that is sweeping the world, said Julien Barbier , Holbertons CEO. The Republic of Madagascar is the worlds second-largest island country, located in the Indian Ocean about 250 miles West of Africa. With a population of nearly 30 million, per capita annual income of $450 and GDP of $13 billion, Madagascar has been a surprising hotbed of recent technology innovations, with high local demand for software engineering talent. The worlds first 3D-printed school is being built in Madagascar.



The Fighter program: a 12-month, flexible, part-time program to become a web developer;

The Student program: a 24-month, full-time program to become a software engineer;

The Executive program: a 9-month program for developers to specialize in new technologies.

SAYNA gives its students the opportunity for real-world work experience through micro projects sponsored by companies such as Capgemini (global systems integration firm), Generali Group (finanial services), Societe Generale (banking) and Orange (telecommunications). Students not only learn through these projects but earn money as well. The better students perform in their studies, the more access they have to these micro projects and future employment.

As elsewhere in 2020, online education boomed In Madagascar as many people lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and sought retraining. Meanwhile, Madagascars demand for software developers has exploded. With this partnership, Sayna expects to train 500 new software developers this year alone and hopes for exponential growth from there. Giving everyone in Madagascar access to high-quality software engineering training will help Madagascars economy, says Matina Razafimahefa, CEO of SAYNA. That growth will also develop the local startup ecosystem. Are you in Madagascar and interested in becoming a software developer and participating in creating the future? Apply here ! About Holberton

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2015, Holberton s innovative and flexible delivery of the OS of Education provides a unique portfolio of tools, auto-graded tailored curricula and teaching methods to help its customers - education institutions, universities, corporations and franchisees - successfully train the next generation of digital talent at scale. Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on Twitter About SAYNA Founded in Madagascar in 2018, SAYNA , which means intelligence in Malagasy, is Africas first technology education and micro job platform. SAYNA links a community of developers it has trained with IT projects that have been broken down into micro tasks. SAYNA has already trained more than 200 students, and works with more than 150 qualified freelancers and more than 60 companies, including Groupe AXIAN, Orange Madagascar, World Bank, Access Bank and others. Editorial Contact

Lonn Johnston for Holberton

lonn@flak42.com

+1 650.219.7764



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
MIDDLETOWN  For the past few weeks, COVID cases appear to be leveling out in the city, with vaccine efforts so successful that health officials are finding it more challenging to find people to inoculate.

Thats a good thing, said Acting Health Director Kevin Elak, who cautions that with Middletown (as of April 15) seeing 28.2 cases per 100,000, its still in the red zone, so safety precautions and mask wearing remain essential.

We should expect it to go up and down for a little bit. Thats going to be the situation for the next few months. Were seeing what a lot of the rest of the state is seeing.

The citys COVID Summary indicates there were 69 cases reported in Middletown between April 11 and 17, and 66 the prior week, down significantly from a high of 106 during the week of March 28, and 144 from Jan. 24 to 30.

Fifty percent of people in Middletown have been vaccinated, Elak said.

Demand for vaccinations has dropped some. Now, were finding when we call, [people] either say they are scheduled this week or just received theirs, Elak said. Its been a little more challenging to find people to give it to, but thats not bad.

Moving forward, the challenge will be to reach out to the vulnerable populations, the acting health director said. Many have been inoculated at Cross Street AME Zion Churchs weekly clinics, at the recent FEMA mobile van sessions at the Russell Library and St. Vincent dePaul Middletown, others in Cromwell and Durham, as well as the Middletown Senior Center.

They may not be hesitant to get the vaccine, but maybe there are barriers in the way, or they dont know how to navigate the system, Elak said.

This weeks report indicated there were 126 active cases (positive test results within 10 days of the update). So far, 6,644 vaccine doses have been administered, with 2,368 recipients fully inoculated against COVID. Elaks data shows 597 of those received the Johnson & Johnson dose and 6,047, the Moderna.

In total, Middletown reports 4,144 people have test positive since the start of the pandemic, a rise 167 over the prior week. During that same time, there was an additional death, bringing the total to 137, Elak said.

Next up will be outreach efforts, Elak said, with pop-up clinics at housing complexes, businesses. One was scheduled for Wednesday night at Cross Street Church for workers at the Coleman Bros. carnival, which opens its two-week run Friday night.

Elak went Tuesday to the Juicy Cajun Seafood restaurant to vaccinate employees, then walked down Main Street, popping into businesses asking if anyone needed a shot, he said. Forty people took advantage of the offer over a 90-minute span. I thought that was pretty cool.

About 400 shots were administered over the weekend at the Community Health Center mass clinic on Vine Street to 400 Xavier, Mercy and Middletown high students, the acting health director said. The agency, which has another smaller site one on Grand Street, gave its 300,000th shot Tuesday to a Middletown man.

As summer approaches, its hard to predict the path COVID-19 will take. The warm weather could lower it, but at the same time, all the restrictions will be loosened (as of May 19), so that might balance it out, Elak said.

This week, The United Way of Connecticut, CHC and Uber is offering free transportation to vaccination appointments. For information, visit bit.ly/3n8aZHI.

View the citys COVID-19 Summary at middletownct.gov.
KENT  Following reports of significant storm damage Wednesday afternoon, a team from the National Weather Service was dispatched Thursday around 8 a.m. to investigate whether a tornado touched down.

The team will be meeting with Kent emergency management personnel and police, according to lead meteorologist Brian Montgomery.

Weather officials did not disclose the exact area they would be investigating on Thursday.

The NWS issued a tornado warning for the Litchfield County area Wednesday, based upon reports they received through social media, through media partnerships and emergency management.

They indicated there was a quite a bit of damage in that particular area so based on that information, we have decided to dispatch our personnel down there to investigate it and determine if indeed it was or was not a tornado, Montgomery said.

He added if the team finds there was no tornado, it will be able to determine approximately how fast the wind speeds were during Wednesdays event. He is expected to receive a report of the investigation by Thursday afternoon.

During a tornado investigation, many factors are examined in order to determine if a tornado touched down in an area.

We look at many things on the ground  buildings, trees and the debris thats left behind  what has not been disturbed, Montgomery said.

Additionally, the team interviews and investigates those who experienced the event firsthand.

They gather all of that information together, and based on the damage they see through computer programs, they can make their analysis. The findings from the investigation will be useful to the NWS, Montgomery said, for many reasons.

Not only from an insurance perspective for those who were impacted by the events but also from a verification perspective and research perspective, he said.

By federal law, the NWS issues storm data, which is available for every significant event that happens across the country, according to Montgomery.

For us to satisfy that information, we have to investigate it and then we put our findings into an official document which is used by many researchers, insurance companies, and adjusters, Montgomery said. That data gets certified 90 days after the event occurs.

He said there last was a tornado event in Kent on Aug. 7, 2020.

Weather updates can be found on Albany, NY (weather.gov) and Storm Events Database | National Centers for Environmental Information (noaa.gov)

sfox@milfordmirror.com
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Inchcape plc (INCH.L) said it has agreed to sell its Toyota and Audi retail operations in St. Petersburg to KlyuchAvto, a local market operator, for an enterprise value of about 70 million, which will be paid in cash on completion. The transaction, which is conditional upon final OEM partner and regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in the second-quarter. In 2020, the disposed operations generated revenue of about 200 million and profit before tax of 12 million. Gross assets at the end of 2020 were 77 million. The proceeds from the disposal would be deployed consistent with the Group's strategy to grow the core Distribution business. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
GREEN BAY, Wis., April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) announced today that Management will meet with investors during the Stephens Inc. Virtual Chicago Bank Field Trip Event on May 6, 2021, the Wells Fargo Securities Virtual Financial Services Investor Conference on May 19  20, 2021 and the Truist Securities Virtual Financial Services Conference on May 25  26, 2021.

The second quarter investor presentation will be made available prior to the events and can be accessed via Associated Banc-Corp's website at http://investor.associatedbank.com .

ABOUT ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) is one of the top 50 publicly traded U.S. bank holding companies. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a leading Midwest banking franchise, offering a full range of financial products and services from more than 220 banking locations serving more than 120 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and commercial financial services in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. Associated Bank, N.A. is an Equal Housing Lender, Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. More information about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This includes any statements regarding management's plans, objectives, or goals for future operations, products or services, and forecasts of its revenues, earnings, or other measures of performance. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "should," "will," "intend," "target," "outlook," "guidance," or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations and, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include those identified in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings. Such factors are incorporated herein by reference.

Story continues

Investor Contact: Ben McCarville

Vice President | Director of Investor Relations

920-491-7059 | Ben.McCarville@associatedbank.com

Media Contact: Jennifer Kaminski

Vice President | Public Relations Senior Manager

920-491-7576 | Jennifer.Kaminski@associatedbank.com

Cision

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/associated-banc-corp-to-attend-three-investor-events-in-may-2021-301274346.html

SOURCE Associated Banc-Corp
MOSCOW, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A NUST MISIS professor was part of an international research team that has found evidence for the existence of the Zeeman spin-orbit coupling in antiferromagnetic conductors. This work may pave the way for the next generation of electronics. The study was published in npj Quantum Materials.

The electron possesses two fundamental properties: charge and spin. Conventional electronic devices use only the charge of electron for information processing. In recent years, an enormous research effort has been focused on building fundamentally new electronic devices (often called "spintronic devices") that would specifically exploit spin properties in addition to charge degrees of freedom. Transfer from conventional electronics to spintronics technology opens the possibilities to construct devices with high storage density and fast operation. The two-component nature of spin-based systems makes them potentially applicable for quantum computing.

Current effort in designing spintronic devices is focusing on understanding and making use of spin-orbit coupling, an interaction between the orbital angular momentum and the spin angular momentum of an individual particle, such as an electron. However, spin-orbit coupling occurring in many compounds is often weak or its emergence requires the use of heavy components. One way to overcome spin-orbit coupling related challenges could be the use of antiferromagnetics. A spin-orbit coupling of an unusual nature, termed Zeeman spin-orbit coupling is expected to manifest itself in a wide range of ferromagnetic conductors. Being proportional to the applied magnetic field, the coupling is tunable. Yet, experimental proof of this phenomenon has been lacking.

The collaboration of a NUST MISIS physicist with colleagues from Germany, France and Japan produced, for the first time, experimental evidence of Zeeman spin-orbit coupling in two very different layered conductors: an organic antiferromagnetic superconductor, and a prominent electron-doped superconductor that belongs to the family of high-temperature cuprate superconducting materials. Obtained on two very different materials, the results of this work demonstrate the generic nature of the Zeeman spinorbit coupling. In addition to its fundamental importance, the Zeeman spin-orbit coupling opens new possibilities for spin manipulation, much sought after in the current effort to harness electron spin for future spintronic applications.

"The Zeeman spin-orbit coupling can be significantly stronger than other known kinds of spin-orbit coupling, thus providing new avenues for the development of fundamentally new electronic devices", noted Pavel Grigoriev, Professor at the NUST MISIS Department of Theoretical Physics and Quantum Technologies, senior researcher at Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Link: https://en.misis.ru/university/news/science/2021-04/7294/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/955872/NUST_MISIS_Logo.jpg

SOURCE The National University of Science and Technology MISiS
She was one of many celebrities to jet off to the beach during the UK's national lockdown.

And Joanna Chimonides turned up the heat when she took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a sizzling throwback snap.

The former Love Islander, 24 flaunted her incredible figure in a low cut stripy bikini as she posed on the beach.

Beach babe: Joanna Chimonides turned up the heat when she took to Instagram on Wednesday to post a sizzling bikini-clad throwback snap

Joanna beamed at the camera as she posed on the white sand in the skimpy swimwear.

The reality star allowed her golden tresses to fall in her eyes as she flashed her pearly whites for her thousands of followers.

She accentuated her flawless physique in the multi-coloured bikini and lifted her shoulders to showcase her curves.

Joanna returned from the Maldives with her fellow Love Island alum Georgia Steel, 22, in February.

Travel: Joanna returned from the Maldives with her fellow Love Island alum Georgia Steel, 22, in February (pictured on holiday in January)

The pair had been busy documenting their lavish getaways with pals including Francesca Allen and Hayley Hughes in a series of snaps, while most of the UK was ordered to stay at home.

Travel abroad is still banned from the UK without a legally permitted reason.

And Home Secretary Priti Patel criticised those who had been holidaying in the sun when they have been told to stay at home.

Controversial: Joanna had been busy documenting her lavish getaway with pals including in a series of snaps, while most of the UK was ordered to stay at home

Members of the public took umbrage with influencers' tone deaf posts from warmer climates like the Maldives and Dubai - now dubbed 'Covid Cosablanca.'

Hostile messages on Instagram and Twitter pages are accused them of recklessly spreading the virus and putting the NHS under increasing strain.

Many claim they jetted off for 'unavoidable work trips' - with some even going so far as to suggest that their social media posts should make them 'key workers'.
Design, engineering and advisory firm Aurecon and property design platform Archistar have joined forces to combine Aurecon's proprietary engineering data with Archistar's Workspace software, creating what the companies describe as a world-first digital tool for data centre site selection.

The current version of the joint Aurecon/Archistar site selection tool includes data centre site options in Australia, but there are plans to extend it to include other regions such as Asia.

The companies are developing the site selection tool for other development opportunities such as wind farms, laboratories, distribution hubs and even quarantine facilities.

Aurecon buildings electrical capability leader Peter Greaves said running real-time feasibility studies to find suitable sites for locating new facilities is crucial for data centre owners and developers given increasing demand for storage.

The companies cited a recent CBRE report showing data centre groups acquired almost 55 hectares of land in Western Sydney alone in 2020.

"The demand for data was amplified through the pandemic and data centres have never been more critical. If businesses are going to invest millions of dollars into digital infrastructure to deliver data in this new world, they need to make sure they start with choosing the best site to meet their needs, in the fastest possible time," said Greaves.

Archistar founder Benjamin Coorey said "Research shows that data-centre developers look at about 60 sites, spending an average of two to five hours at each to find one that is successful.

"Data-centre developers will benefit greatly from the ability to conduct enhanced due diligence in the early stages of searching for a commercial site."
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRES

OTTAWA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 21, 2021 / NBS Capital Inc. ("NBS" or the "Company") (TSXV:NBS.P) is pleased to announce, further to its press releases of October 19, 2020, January 4, 2021 and February 18, 2021 (the "Press Releases"), that it has received conditional listing approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXVE") in connection with its proposed arm's length qualifying transaction (the "Qualifying Transaction") by way of scheme of arrangement (the "Arrangement") under the laws of Australia with Electric Metals (USA) Limited ("EML"). In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that in accordance with applicable Australian statutory procedural requirements, the Federal Court of Australia has approved the Arrangement.

Pursuant to TSXVE policies, the Company has filed a filing statement on Form 3B2 under its profile on www.SEDAR.com. The Company expects that closing of the Qualifying Transaction and completion of the Arrangement will occur as soon as practicable after the outstanding conditions to closing are met, which NBS expects to be on or before April 30, 2021.

NBS is also pleased to announce that it has received TSXVE approval for the consolidation of the common shares (the "Common Shares") of the Company (the "Consolidation"). As previously announced in the Press Releases, the shareholders of the Company approved a special resolution authorizing the Board of Directors to consolidate the Common Shares of the Company in connection with the Arrangement. The Board of Directors has confirmed the Company's intention to proceed with a 0.73271 (new) for every one (old) consolidation (0.73271:1.0) of its Common Shares (the "Conversion Ratio"). In addition, the Company will change its name to "Nevada Silver Corporation" in conjunction with the Arrangement (the "Name Change"). The new ISIN number for the Common Shares on a post-Name Change and post-Consolidation basis is CA64145K1075 and the new CUSIP number is 64145K107. There are currently 7,692,500 Common Shares outstanding; after giving effect to the Consolidation there will be approximately 5,636,372 Common Shares outstanding, prior to the completion of the Arrangement and prior to the exercise of 730,000 outstanding NBS stock options. The stock options are expected to be exercised immediately before the effectiveness of the Consolidation and Name Change, and the underlying Common Shares issued on exercise thereof will also be subject to the Consolidation at the Conversion Ratio.

The shares are expected to begin trading on the TSXVE on a post-Consolidation, post-Name Change basis following completion of the Qualifying Transaction. No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the Consolidation. NBS has mailed letters of transmittal to its registered shareholders so they may submit their old certificates in order to obtain new common share certificates on a post-Consolidation and post-Name Change basis. Registered Shareholders should follow the instructions on the Letter of Transmittal in order to exchange their old pre-Consolidation share certificates for post-Consolidation, post-Name Change share certificates. Shares held in uncertificated form by nonregistered shareholders through brokerage accounts will be converted at the Conversion Ratio through each shareholder's brokerage accounts. Non-registered shareholders should consult their broker for further information.

Final acceptance of the Transaction will occur upon the issuance of the Final Exchange Bulletin (the "Exchange Bulletin") by the TSXVE. Subject to final approval by the TSXV, NBS will no longer be a capital pool company and will be classified as a Tier 2 Mining Issuer pursuant to TSXVE policies trading under the symbol "NSC". NBS will issue a news release once the TSXV issues the Exchange Bulletin and will then advise of the expected listing date.

The Concurrent Financing

In conjunction with the Qualifying Transaction, NBS announced on February 18, 2021 the closing of a non-brokered private placement (the "Concurrent Financing") of an aggregate of 15,301,923 subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts") issued by NBS and EML at a price of $0.33 per Subscription Receipt for aggregate gross proceeds of Cdn$5,049,635.13. Immediately prior to closing of the Qualifying Transaction and in connection with the Arrangement, each Subscription Receipts issued by EML will be automatically exercised for one ordinary share of EML and one-half of one ordinary share purchase warrant of EML (each whole such warrant, an "Underlying Warrant"), each of which will be immediately exchanged for one Common Share and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant of NBS (each whole warrant, an "NBS Warrant"). Concurrently, each Subscription Receipt issued by NBS will be automatically exercised for a Common Share of NBS on a post-Consolidated basis and one-half of one NBS Warrant. Each NBS Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one share of NBS at an exercise price of $0.60 per share for a period of two years from the closing of the Qualifying Transaction (the "Warrant Expiry Date"). The Company will be entitled to accelerate the Warrant Expiry Date upon notice to the NBS Warrant holders should the closing price of the shares of the Resulting Issuer on the TSXV be greater than $1.00 for twenty consecutive trading days. All securities of NBS issued in connection with the exercise of the Subscription Receipts and the Arrangement will be issued on a post-Consolidation basis.

Trading

Trading in NBS's Common Shares has been halted in compliance with the policies of the TSXVE. It is not expected that trading in NBS's Common Shares will resume prior to the closing of the Qualifying Transaction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation relating to the proposal to complete the Arrangement and associated transactions, including statements regarding the terms and conditions of the Arrangement, the use of proceeds of the Concurrent Financing, and the business of the Company following completion fo the Qualifying Transaction. The information about EML contained in the press release has not been independently verified by the Company. We use words such as "might", "will", "should", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar terminology to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements and forward-looking information. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company, EML, their respective securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable).

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV 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 Filing Statement prepared in connection with the Qualifying 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 TSXV 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 the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States.

All information contained in this press release relating to EML was provided by EML to NBS for inclusion herein. NBS has not independently verified such information and shall bear no liability for any misrepresentation contained therein.

About NBS Capital Inc.

The only business of NBS is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a "Qualifying Transaction" in accordance with the policies of the TSXV.

Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative. For further information, contact: NBS Capital Inc. Paul Barbeau, Chief Executive Officer and Director. Phone: 613-232-1567 x 201.

About Electric Metals (USA) Limited

EML is a public, unlisted company incorporated under the laws of New South Wales, Australia. It is a US-based resource company, with its material asset being the 100% owned Corcoran Canyon Silver Project in Nevada. EML also holds a high-grade manganese project in Minnesota, USA.

SOURCE: NBS Capital Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641701/NBS-Capital-Inc-Announces-Update-on-Qualifying-Transaction
New Delhi:

A woman named Sharanjeet Kaur and her son Gurmeet Singh were arrested by Panchkula police on Monday. The allegation against the mother-son duo is that they provided shelter to Honeypreet, the adopted daughter of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, when she was absconding.

Panchkula police commissioner AS Chawla said the mother-son duo were arrested after the police had enough evidence to prove that Honeypreet stayed in their house.

Another arrest was made which was of Chandigarh police head constable Lal Chand for his alleged role in trying to free the Dera chief from the district court complex on August 25 after he was convicted in two rape cases. A person named was Gopal Bansal was also arrested on Monday for alleged involvement in the violence following the conviction of the Dera chief in Panchkula.

Panchkula Police Commissioner A S Chawla, said, We got evidence against Lal Chand and arrested him. Sharanjeet and her son, Gurmeet, had provided shelter to Honeypreet.

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Targeting Early Third Quarter Spud

Frontera Provides Notice of Q1/21 Financial Results and Conference Call

TORONTO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") and CGX Energy Inc. (TSXV: OYL) ("CGX"), joint venture partners (the "Joint Venture") in the Petroleum Prospecting License for the Corentyne block offshore Guyana, separately announced today that CGX Resources Inc. ("CGX Resources"), operator of the Corentyne Block, has entered into an agreement (the "Drilling Contract") with Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Maersk), a subsidiary of The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S, for the provision of a semi-submersible drilling unit, the Maersk Discoverer, and associated services to drill the Joint Venture's Kawa-1 well. The Joint Venture is targeting an early third quarter spud for the Kawa-1 well. All financial amounts in this news release are in United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.

The primary target for the Kawa -1 well is a Santonian age, stratigraphic trap, interpreted to be analogous to the discoveries immediately to the east on Block 58 in Suriname. The Kawa-1 well is anticipated to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 6,500 meters in a water depth of approximately 370 meters.

The main terms of the Drilling Contract is as follows:

Parties CGX Resources Inc. and Maersk Drilling Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd Rig Maersk Discoverer Area Guyana/Suriname basin Contract One (1) firm well on the Corentyne block and one (1) optional well on the Demerara block Commencement Time Third Quarter 2021 Type Day rate contract 75  85 days for the firm well and 40 days for optional well Parent Company Guarantee A Deed of Guarantee is expected to be provided by Frontera by May 1, 2021 Signing Date April 21, 2021

The Maersk Discoverer is a 6th Generation semi-submersible mobile drilling unit capable of operating in 3,000 meters water depth. Its primary features are a 15,000 psi rated well control system, a dual activity derrick, and a moored capability with dynamic positioning. These features make it an excellent fit for the Kawa-1 well's subsurface conditions, drilling requirements, and the water depth on location.

In conjunction with the Drilling Contract between CGX Resources and Maersk, Frontera anticipates entering into a separate Deed of Guarantee (the "Deed") with Maersk for certain obligations in connection with the day rates under the Drilling Contract on behalf of CGX Resources, up to a maximum of $25 million subject to a sliding scale mechanism in connection with payments made under the Drilling Contract. Frontera and CGX anticipate entering into an agreement pursuant to which all amounts drawn under the Deed that are attributed to CGX Resources' share of the Joint Venture costs, shall be guaranteed by CGX.

Frontera Provides Notice of First Quarter 2021 Financial Results and Conference Call

Frontera announces that its first quarter 2021 results will be released after markets close on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. A conference call for investors and analysts will be held on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. (EDT/GMT-5). Participants will include Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orlando Cabrales, Chief Executive Officer, Alejandro Pineros, Chief Financial Officer and select members of the senior management team.

Analysts and investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:

Participant Number (Toll Free North America): 1-888-664-6392 Participant Number (Toll Free Colombia): 01-800-518-4036 Participant Number (International): 1-416-764-8659 Conference ID: 26188387 Webcast Audio: www.fronteraenergy.ca

A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 p.m. (EDT/GMT-5) May 13, 2021.

Encore Toll free Dial-in Number: 1-416-764-8677 International Dial-in Number: 1-888-390-0541 Encore ID: 188387

About Frontera:

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public Company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 40 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner. Frontera's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FEC".

If you would like to receive News Releases via e-mail as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe

Advisories:

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements.

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's exploration and development plans and objectives with regards to the Kawa-1 well, including its drilling plans and the timing thereof and the entering into of a guarantee to support the Rig Contract) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: volatility in market prices for oil and natural gas (including as a result of a sustained low oil price environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions of OPEC and non-OPEC countries and the restrictions imposed by governments in response thereto; the duration and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its severity, the success of the Company's program to manage COVID-19; uncertainties associated with estimating and establishing oil and natural gas reserves and resources; liabilities inherent with the exploration, development, exploitation and reclamation of oil and natural gas; the Company's ability to access additional financing; the ability of the Company to: meet its financial obligations and minimum commitments, fund capital expenditures and comply with covenants contained in the agreements that govern indebtedness; political developments in the countries where the Company operates; the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data; geological, technical, drilling and processing problems and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 3, 2021 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation

Related Links

www.fronteraenergy.ca


Imperial Valley News Center

Canadian Company Sentenced for Violating Clean Water Act

New York - The Algoma Central Corporation (Algoma), headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario, was fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to dumping wastewater into Lake Ontario.

Algoma operated a fleet of dry and liquid bulk carriers on the Great Lakes. One of the vessels in the defendants fleet was the M/V Algoma Strongfield (Strongfield). Built in China, the Strongfield was delivered to Canada on May 30, 2017, by a crew from Redwise Maritime Services, B.V. (Redwise), a vessel transport company based in the Netherlands.

The Great Lakes are our nations largest source of fresh water, and this prosecution shows the Administrations commitment to preserving a natural resource that will be crucial for generations to come, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jean E. Williams of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).

The very purpose of the Clean Water Act is to protect our natural resources, including one of our nations greatest natural treasures, the Great Lakes, from harm, said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy for the Western District of New York. This conviction and the fine imposed sends a strong message that those who violate the Clean Water Act will be held accountable for their actions. This penalty also ensures that this defendant will be monitored in the future and will be strictly obligated to comply with those environmental laws and regulations that protect our waters, our fisheries, our wildlife, and each of us.

During the Strongfields delivery voyage, while manned by a Redwise crew, the oily water separator and oil content monitor malfunctioned or failed on multiple occasions, which resulted in an accumulation of unprocessed oily bilge water. On May 5, 2017, an Algoma employee directed Redwise to transfer and store the unprocessed oily bilge water in the Strongfields used wash water tank to avoid an overboard discharge of unprocessed bilge water into the Pacific Ocean. The wash water tank was intended to store deck and cargo hold wash water and is not listed on the Strongfields International Oil Pollution Prevention certificate. Between May 5, 2017, and the Strongfields arrival in Canada, the Redwise crew made several additional transfers of unprocessed oily bilge waste into the wash water tank to avoid overboard discharges of untreated bilge water.

On May 19, 2017, as the Strongfield was transiting the Panama Canal, an Algoma employee boarded the vessel and remained onboard until the vessels arrival in Canada, where he assumed the duties of Chief Engineer. On May 30, 2017, the Strongfield arrived in Sept-Iles, Quebec, Canada, where the Redwise crew handed over operation of the vessel to an Algoma crew. Although some of the Algoma crew were advised that the wash water tank contained unprocessed oily bilge water, Algoma acted negligently in failing to inform all onboarding Algoma crewmembers and the inspectors of the contents of the wash water tank.

On June 6, 2017, the Stongfield was transiting Lake Ontario. While in the waters of the United States within the Western District of New York, the 3rd officer on board the Strongfield requested permission to empty the contents of the wash water tank into Lake Ontario, and the captain approved the discharge. Because Algoma had negligently failed to inform the 3rd officer and the captain what the wash water tank contained, approximately 11,887 gallons of unprocessed oily bilge water were released into Lake Ontario. The discharge was stopped when another Algoma employee learned of the discharge and informed the 3rd officer and captain that the wash water tank contained unprocessed oily bilge water and instructed them to stop the discharge immediately. After the incident, Algoma contacted Canadian and U.S. authorities to report the discharge.

In addition to the fine, Algoma was put on probation for a period of three years during which it must implement an environmental compliance plan.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, under the direction of Resident Agent in Charge Cindy C. Buckley, Buffalo, New York, and Resident Agent in Charge Edward L. Songer, Detroit, Michigan.

Trial Attorney Patrick M. Duggan of ENRDs Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango of the Western District of New York are prosecuting the case.
Thanks largely to hot companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, fake burgers are cool -- and ubiquitous. A new crop of startups is aiming to give plant-based fish the same treatment.

According to recent data from Good Food Institute, a D.C.-based alternative protein research nonprofit, the U.S. plant-based foods market generated $7 billion in retail sales in 2020, growing nearly twice as fast as total food sales. Plant-based meat, a $1.4 billion category, grew by 45 percent in 2020 -- three times as fast as its animal-based counterpart.

While plant-based seafood made up just 1 percent of all plant-based meat sales last year, brands and investors are eager to crack the "white space," says Jen Lamy, senior manager of Good Food Institute's Sustainable Seafood Initiative.

Food and agriculture giant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) was the lead investor in plant-based seafood maker Gathered Foods' latest funding round. In April, the company secured more than $26 million to expand its Good Catch lines of shelf-stable tuna and frozen appetizers and entrees in the U.S. and in Europe. Meat giant Tyson Foods, through its subsidiary Tyson Ventures, is backing plant-based shrimp purveyor New Wave Foods.

These innovative startups aren't just interested in vegans and vegetarians; they're mainly marketing to a growing consumer base of flexitarians -- people who primarily eat plant-based but allow meat in moderation -- in the wake of the success of alternative protein retailers Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, Lamy says. The vast majority -- 98 percent -- of people buying plant-based products eat meat too.

"At this point, it's kind of expected that your fast-casual and quick-service operators have some kind of plant-based burger option," she says. "There's a consumer base that's waiting for alternative seafood."

While it's hard to tell exactly when faux fish will become a menu staple, here are a few of the most promising startups working to get their products there first.

Gathered Foods

In 2016, co-founders Chris Kerr and chef-brothers Chad and Derek Sarno challenged themselves to create a tasty, plant-based seafood alternative. After a couple years of trial and error, the team launched its debut line of Good Catch tuna, which is made from a blend of six legumes, at U.S. retailer Whole Foods during the first quarter of 2019.

Since its founding, the company has raised over $77 million from investors, including LDC and startup accelerator Big Idea Ventures. The company has also added frozen faux fish burgers, fish cakes, and crab cakes to the Good Catch line.

The company's target audience is "Millennial flexitarians," younger people looking for plant-based products that have similar nutritional benefits as the conventional option, says Christine Mei, CEO of Gathered Foods. "We are on the leading edge of a very nascent industry."

In 2020, the company more than doubled the number of retailers and restaurants selling Good Catch products -- including New York-based sustainable burger joint Bareburger and national vegetarian restaurant chain Veggie Grill -- to around 5,500 establishments, says Mei. The startup also opened a manufacturing facility in Heath, Ohio, for its core operations during the pandemic.

New Wave Foods

In 2015, co-founders Michelle Wolf and marine biologist Dominique Barnes started New Wave Foods with the goal of creating a plant-based alternative to shrimp. Backed by Tyson Ventures since 2019, New Wave's mung bean and seaweed-based shrimp hit the market this year.

In January, New Wave announced an $18 million Series A round with leading investments from global technology and health care VC firm New Enterprise Associates and "culture-tech" investor Evolution VC Partners. The startup plans is using the funding to get its plant-based shrimp into retailers across the U.S., including restaurants, businesses, and university campuses, through a partnership with food redistributor Dot Foods.

The rise of plant-based seafood is the result of several trends coming together, says longtime consumer products executive and New Wave Foods CEO Mary McGovern, who joined the company in 2018. Millennials are driving greater interest in sustainable, plant-based eating, and the food-service industry is becoming more conscious of its environmental impact, she says.

The company plans to expand its product line from plant-based shrimp to faux lobster, crab, and scallops. "Success is not bringing a better product to current vegans. Success is transforming how people think about enjoying shellfish," says McGovern.

Ocean Hugger Foods

Founded in 2016 by food consultant and investor David Benzaquen and American Culinary Foundation certified Master Chef James Corwell, Ocean Hugger makes a product called ahimi, which means "the spirit of tuna" in Japanese. Made from cooked-down tomatoes, Ocean Hugger's ahimi is flavored with tamari and algae oil. The company markets the product, which was launched in November 2017, as an alternative to raw, sushi-grade fish, says Benzaquen. In 2019, Ocean Hugger launched a second fish alternative, unagi, which translates to "the spirit of eel," made from Japanese eggplants.

The New York-based purveyor sold its products exclusively to food-service operators, including Japanese food distributor Wismettac Asian Foods and Whole Foods' sushi kiosks, until pausing operations due to the pandemic in 2020. "Nobody wanted to eat prepared foods because they were concerned about contamination," says Benzaquen, "A good three-quarters of our top customers never re-opened."

Ocean Hugger plans to resume production as a joint venture with Thailand-based food manufacturer Nove Foods, says Benzaquen, who sold the company this winter but remains a shareholder. Ocean Hugger and Nove plan to expand distribution of the products and experiment with selling directly to consumers.
WASHINGTON  A trio of Texans in Congress is proposing a bipartisan bill they say will help handle the influx of migrants arriving at the southern border  a move U.S. Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday described as a first step toward broader immigration reform that has eluded lawmakers for years.

This is, we think, the most urgent need, Cornyn said. So thats why were starting with this bill.

The legislation, which Cornyn is pushing in the Senate with U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, would speed adjudication of asylum claims while building new processing centers to address overcrowding in border facilities. U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a San Antonio Republican, are pushing a companion bill in the House.

It is the first bipartisan and bicameral attempt to address the latest surge in migrants arriving at the southern border, which has emerged as the first major political dilemma of Joe Bidens presidency.

LATEST ON THE BORDER: Number of unaccompanied minors hits all-time high

The Border Patrol encountered more migrants at the southern border in March than it had in two decades as the number of unaccompanied children and families seeking refuge in the United States continues to grow. The number of unaccompanied children roughly doubled from February, and Border Patrol reported a record 18,890 encounters with those minors in March.

Republicans have said its a crisis of Bidens creation, blaming the uptick on his shift away from some of the Trump administrations strictest immigration policies.

Biden has said he inherited a mess of an immigration system and has noted that encounters have been on the rise since last April, though the peaks they have now reached have left the presidents administration scrambling to stand up shelters for unaccompanied children while social workers search for sponsors in the U.S. to care for them.

The bill filed on Thursday, entitled the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act, is an effort to move beyond those partisan battles, the lawmakers said.

We know this crisis at the border is not a Democrat or Republican problem. Its not a new problem, Sinema said. Its an American problem, and its one weve been dealing with in our border states for decades.

Right now the country is divided in many ways, but this is an area that not one person, not one party can solve alone  we all have to come together, Gonzales said. This bill is at the heart of what does that.

The bill would create at least four regional processing centers in high-traffic Border Patrol sectors to ease overcrowding in U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities, where small children packed into holding rooms have been sleeping on mats on the floor.

Migrants would be able to make asylum claims at those processing centers and the legislation would create a prioritized docket of those cases, putting unaccompanied children at the front of the line. The bill would also add 150 new immigration judges, 300 asylum officers and other staff to speed the processing of those claims. And it would seek to improve legal orientation and translation services at those centers.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

As of Wednesday, there were 20,544 unaccompanied children in Health and Human Services facilities across the country, where officials with the Office of Refugee Resettlement were working to find sponsors to care for them in the U.S.

Another 2,718 unaccompanied minors were still in Border Patrol facilities.

Weve got to have a sense of urgency, Cuellar said. We can either just wait and just let the numbers just keep coming, or do we get a sense of urgency and do something? Weve got to try something.

Its unclear how far the legislation may go, however, as immigration has long been an issue that Congress has struggled to address.

Biden and Democrats are pushing a major immigration overhaul that would offer a pathway to citizenship to up to 1.7 million Texans who are in the country without legal authorization. That bill would also provide $4 billion in aid for the Central American nations to address the conditions that migrants are fleeing.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators, including Cornyn and Sinema, this week restarted meetings on broader immigration reform.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who was in those meetings, told reporters on Thursday that there's some things we could do, if we could just stop the flow and regain control.

I think we would be well advised to try to do this now and then build from there, Cornyn said. We all recognize we need to do more. This is just a start.

ben.wermund@chron.com
(l to r) Amanda Knight, Autumn Osbourne, Rebecca Poole, Gray Ellis Every employee of our firm recognizes that its a privilege to represent clients in their most important legal matters.

Four attorneys from Ellis Family Law, PLLC were recently recognized in the latest edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication. Firm Founder, Gray Ellis, was honored as a Super Lawyer, an award reserved for only 5% of the States practicing Bar. Autumn Osbourne, Rebecca Poole, and Amanda Knight were named to the list of Rising Stars, an honor given to attorneys under 40 years of age or practicing for less than 10 years.

The Super Lawyers honor provides a window into who the legal industry believes are its most accomplished members. Selection is determined via a patented, multi-part process, including nominations by other members of the North Carolina State Bar, independent research conducted by the Thomson Reuters editorial team, and a blue ribbon review by peers who rank high in the first two selection components.

Gray Ellis believes the honor represents a larger commitment each member of the firm shares with respect to achieving client goals. Every employee of our firm recognizes that its a privilege to represent clients in their most important legal matters, said Ellis. We appreciate being recognized by other attorneys who see our team in action, and Im proud that weve always maintained the unwavering commitment to clients upon which the firm was founded more than a decade ago.

The Ellis Family Law team is no stranger to recognition for excellence in the practice of law. The firm is routinely recognized by Durham Magazine as a Best of Durham honoree and holds the prestigious AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Partners Gray Ellis and Autumn Osbourne are also rated 10/10 by Avvo, one of the industrys leading rating services, and the firm is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau.

About Ellis Family Law:

Ellis Family Law is an AV Rated law firm based in North Carolina. The firm was founded by attorney Gray Ellis with a singular goal: To provide clients with the very best legal services with unmatched personal service at a fair price. The firm represents individuals and families across the state in legal matters involving divorce, child custody, spousal and child support, and estate planning.
A waste container shipped in the Constanta Port from Norway, for a company in the county of Suceava, was found by the authorities, the merchandise awaiting to be returned to the sender, the Coast Guard informed on Thursday.

The goods consist of 11 tons of used auto parts and accessories.

"On April 21, upon informative activities carried out by the border police officers in cooperation with employees with the Constanta Environmental Guard, the Constanta South Border Customs Office and the Constanta County Commissioner for Consumer Protection, a container was discovered, having arrived in Constanta Port from Norway, loaded, according to the documents, with auto parts and accessories, with a 15 pct degree of wear. The goods weighed approximately 11,000 kilograms and were meant for a company based in the county of Suceava, which was conducting import activities in Romania," informs a press release sent by the Coast Guard.

According to the cited source, following verifications, it was established that the data declared and included in the documents presented to the customs authority do not match, the goods being in fact waste non-compliant with the documents presented to the border authority. In this regard, the measure banning import on the Romanian territory was taken by the commissioners of the Constanta Environmental Guard, as well as returning the waste container to its country of origin.

The border police are carrying out investigations in terms of committing crimes of false documents and non-compliance with the waste regime.
The Indonesian navy said no contact had been made with the crew but it hoped a sonar finding on Thursday afternoon could lead to the submarine with the help of an echo sounder being installed on a warship in the area. What we found today is a high magnetism at a point within 50 to 100 metres deep and its floating, Navy chief Admiral Yudo Margono said. We hope it is the KRI Nanggala. The oxygen supply in a blackout condition that we predict is sufficient for 72 hours or three days. So it lost contact at 3am yesterday and will last until Saturday at 3am. Hopefully, it can be immediately found before that so that oxygen supply is still available. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The navy chief said the other vessels that had been involved in the drill including 21 warships, two submarines and five planes had joined the frantic search.

If the submarine had sunk too deep, however, the outlook was grim, according to Indonesian defence analyst Connie Rahakundini Bakrie. If it lies at that depth I have to say with a heavy heart that the steel structure of the vessel wont be strong, she said. Former submariner Frank Owen, who is secretary of the Submarine Institute of Australia, said another complicating factor was there were more people on board than the normal crew capacity of 34 and oxygen reserves would be depleted faster than usual. An Indonesian search and rescue crew launches from Benoa harbor in Bali. Credit:AP He also said the Type 209/1300 vessel was not fitted with facilities to allow a rescue vessel to be attached to enable the crew to escape.

So the only system they have is to get to the surface and abandon the submarine on the surface; or if theyre in water that is less than 180 metres in depth they could put a special suit on so they can breathe and not burst their lungs and they can get to the surface, Owen said. Its still risky but its doable. Owen said this mode of escape could be achieved via the submarines air-locked tower. A free ascent - where you flood the whole submarine and everybody would get out as quick as they could - was possible from about 60 metres. Loading Navy spokesman First Admiral Julius Widjojono told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that Indonesia did not have its own submarine salvage equipment and two rescue ships, Singapores MV Swift and Malaysias Mega Bakti, were on their way. But he said the Singaporean ship would not arrive in the area until at least Saturday and the Malaysian vessel would not get there until Monday.

The Indonesian navy said Australia was also providing assistance but it was unclear how. Australias own submarine rescue system is managed by James Fisher Defence Australia and based in Western Australia. Fronting a press conference late on Thursday, Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said the submarine had been seaworthy but there was always an element of danger with any equipment in defence. Its the way of life for a soldier. Operating a submarine is one of the toughest jobs in the military, he said. We are now praying to rescue them safely. Hopefully they have enough oxygen for a few days. We are hoping for the best.

Australia has also offered to support the rescue effort with Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeting on Thursday evening that Australia stands with Indonesia at this challenging time. Defence Minister Peter Dutton said he had spoken to Prabowo to offer assistance. But the only reports that I can confirm at the moment are those that are public  and that is: [it] looks like, obviously, a terrible tragedy and its in a very deep part of waters  700 or 800 metres deep potentially  and it makes it very difficult for the recovery, Dutton said on Sydneys 2GB radio. But authorities still hoped the submarine may have merely been out of contact due to a communications malfunction. The Singaporean MV Swift comes equipped with an eight-bed high-dependency ward, a re-compression chamber for 40 people and a helipad. However, its submersible DSAR 6 rescue craft can only dive 500 metres.

Singapore Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen said the MV Swift was dispatched on Wednesday as fast as she could get ready. Indias navy, meanwhile, announced on Thursday night it was sending a search and rescue vessel as well. Michael Shoebridge, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institutes defence, strategy and national security program, said this is a situation where time is critical. Accidents involving submarines on the sea floor are some of the most horrific and human situations to deal with because surviving at that depth for any length of time is pretty tenuous and rescuing people from that kind of depth is just technically really hard, he said.
Editor's note: Produced in conjunction with the Latino Communities Reporting Lab.

MERIDEN  The Federal Emergency Management Administration COVID-19 Mobile Vaccination Unit is expected to dispense 800 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine when it comes to the city this weekend, officials said Thursday.

The vaccines are provided by Trinity Health and available to anyone over age 16. Participants dont need to be Meriden residents, but appointments are required and minors must be accompanied by a parent.

The FEMA clinic will be set up in the lot of the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital at 13 Orange St. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. A second dose weekend is tentatively scheduled for May 15-16.

Those interested are asked to call 203-630-4224 for a Saturday appointment and 203-630-4227 for a Sunday appointment and leave a message.

Meriden Health and Human Services Director Lea Crown was assembling the roster of appointments Thursday, so it was unclear if all appointments were taken. Crown said the city health department is booking appointments with Casa Boricua, New Opportunities and the Salvation Army, as well as the city managers office. New Opportunities alone had booked 100 appointments for Saturday and Sunday. Appointments are still available, Crown said.

Crown said shed know by Friday the total number of those registered.

The city is among 30 targeted zip codes in the state considered socially vulnerable and among 17 pop-up clinic sites for the FEMA mobile unit since it began traveling March 29. Just over 38 percent of the citys population had been vaccinated as of April 19.

We were approached by the Connecticut Department of Public Health to host the FEMA van, Crown said.

The state DPH reported that during the units 10-day stretch in Bridgeport, 3,256 shots were administered. Of those, 98 percent were administered to Bridgeport residents. Thirty-eight percent of recipients were Hispanic, 17 percent were Black, 14 percent were white and 28 percent were unknown. Two percent were Asian and another 2 percent listed other races. The department is still waiting on data for the past 10 days, said DPH spokeswoman Maura Fitzgerald.

The mobile units are part of a $33 million program to roll out the vaccine in communities identified in the socially vulnerable index maintained by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to the federal funding FEMA will reimburse state, local, tribal and territorial governments and the District of Columbia for the use of their National Guard to respond to COVID-19 at a 100% cost share until Sept. 30, 2021. It will also expedite reimbursement for eligible emergency work projects as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.

Shift to outreach

As vaccine appointments become easier to get and supply begins to exceed demand, the strategy now is one of outreach into neighborhoods and workplaces.

The strategy is more outbound, said Joshua Geballe, state operations officer. This means bringing vaccines to people and breaking barriers. This is the work thats ahead of us right now.

The rollout also includes yellow vans provided by Griffin Hospital in Derby to bring the vaccines to underserved communities.

Starting Monday, April 26, Griffin Hospital will be administering the Moderna vaccine at the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center, 175 East Main St., Meriden, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will continue every Monday thereafter. The vaccine is available to Meriden residents and walk-ups are allowed.

The FEMA van and the Griffin Hospital yellow vans had been dispensing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it required only a single dose. But the CDC and Food and Drug Administration urged a pause on the vaccine last week to probe whether it was related to six instances of severe blood clots. The pause forced the mobile programs and other vaccine providers to switch to offering the two mRNA vaccines and scheduling second dose appointments.

The CDC and FDA are expected to make a decision on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Friday.

mgodin@record-journal.com203-317-2255Twitter: @Cconnbiz
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcovit is a quickly growing German company that has created a unique cure for the infamous hangover. The brand's powerful Alcovit powder is a supplement that includes Zeolite, a volcanic rock that the company has painstakingly sourced to ensure optimum effectiveness.

Sometimes it takes thinking outside of the box to come up with the best solution. At least, that's what the founders of Alcovit thought when they began grinding up powdered volcanic rock and then ingesting it as a potential solution to the hangover. The trick worked, and Alcovit was born.

More specifically, Alcovit is a zingy, lime-flavored powder that is mixed with water and consumed alongside an alcoholic beverage (or two or three or four.) The powder consists of two primary elements. On the one hand, it includes a dozen vitamins and minerals that are designed to boost the liver and replenish nutrients that are lost during the drinking process.

On the other hand  and even more important  Alcovit includes zeolite. This volcanic rock has been used as a purifier for time out of mind. However, the team at Alcovit was the first group to consider ingesting it to benefit from its properties against a hangover.

Of course, they don't suggest downing a fist full of volcanic rock before going out for a night on the town. The zeolite in Alcovit is ground down to an optimal level that is easy to dissolve and drink. At the same time, it's also big enough to maintain its alcohol-attracting properties as it travels through the digestive tract and is also large enough to avoid being absorbed by that tract itself.

The Alcovit brand has mastered this temperamental formula through years of painstaking research. After comparing zeolite from several areas of Europe and Canada, they finally settled on South Africa as the ideal source of the mineral.

They contracted with partners south of the Equator to ensure that each and every piece of zeolite incorporated into their product was clean and literally collected by hand. They also set up a milling procedure that ensured the optimal particle size was maintained.

Alcovit is still fairly new to the international market. Even so, the knowledge of a safe, effective, and simple cure for the hangover has caught on like wildfire with consumers, launching the brand onto the global stage and setting it up for explosive growth going forward.

About Alcovit: Alcovit is a German brand that has already obtained a European Patent (# EP 2 538 950) from the E.P.A. for its groundbreaking product. The company's promise of no more hangover side effects has resonated with both existing and new consumers as it has continued to rapidly expand across international markets.

Please direct inquiries to:

Lesley Balaguer

(954) 846-4563

[email protected]

SOURCE Alcovit
Extinction Rebellion protesters have been arrested after smashing windows at the HSBC headquarters in London on Thursday morning.

The Earth Day protest was staged to draw attention to the banking giants links to the fossil fuel industry, activists said.

Nine women took part in the protest, wearing patches with the words better broken windows than broken promises in reference to the Suffragette movement of the early 20th century.

Stickers reading 80 billion into fossil fuels in the last five years were posted on the windows before they were shattered around 7am.

Extinction Rebellion said that after shattering the windows with hammers and chisels the women sat down and awaited arrest.

Metropolitan Police told The Independent that nine women were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remained in custody.

Valerie Brown, the London mayoral candidate for Burning Pink party, was among the prostesters. She said: Investing in fossil fuels is murder. More and more people can see that clearly. Why cant you?

We will not stand by whilst you invest in runaway greed, whilst peoples lives are being shattered by the fossil fuel industries.

Activists sit down after smashing the windows as police attend the scene (Reuters)

Activists said the protest forms part of their Money Rebellion movement against economic institutions taking insufficient measures to tackle the climate crisis and follows a series of similar protests, including one earlier in April at the Barclays headquarters in London.

A spokesperson for HSBC told The Independent: Constructive engagement on climate change is critical as we work to deliver the Paris Agreement goals.

We welcome meaningful dialogue on our climate strategy, however, we cannot condone vandalism or actions that put people and property at risk.

HSBC has commited to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 but protesters argued the pledge was meaningless without immediate action. The bank aims to reach net-zero emissions for its own operations, not accounting for investments, by 2030.

In a statement, Extinction Rebellion said: Despite HSBCs pledge to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050, their current climate plan still allows the bank to finance coal power, and provides no basis to turn away clients or cancel contracts based on links to the fossil fuel industry.

Europes biggest bank recently pledged to stop financing coal by 2040 under pressure from investors. HSBC is among the worlds 15 biggest financial backers of fossil fuels and has provided the industry with more than $110bn (79bn) since 2016, according to the Rainforest Action Network.
New Delhi, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :India is battling a record-breaking rise in Covid-19 infections that has overwhelmed hospitals and led to severe bed and oxygen shortages.

A key question is whether a new variant with potentially worrying mutations -- B.1.617 -- is behind what is currently the world's fastest-growing outbreak, which added more than 300,000 fresh infections Thursday.

The B.1.617 variant has already appeared elsewhere, including in the United States, Australia, Israel and Singapore. Concern about it has led some countries, including the UK, to slap travel restrictions on India.

Here's what we know.

- When did it emerge? - Viruses change all the time and the one that causes Covid-19 has already undergone several thousand mutations -- some more concerning than others.

India first reported the B.1.617 genome to the global database (GISAID) in October.

India's health ministry flagged the variant in late March, saying it appeared in 15-20 percent of samples analysed from the worst-hit state Maharashtra.

More recently, the figure was 60 percent.

The variant has also been detected in 18 other countries as of this month, according to GISAID.

- Should we worry? - B.1.617 has been categorised by the World Health Organisation as a "variant of interest".

Other variants detected in Brazil, South Africa and the UK have been categorised as "of concern", because they are more transmissible, virulent or might reduce antibody efficacy.

B.1.617 has several mutations, including two notable ones (E484Q and L452R), leading to it sometimes being called the "double mutant".

The first notable mutation is similar to another (E484K or sometimes nicknamed "Eek") observed in the South African, Brazilian, and more recently, the UK variants.

The "Eek" has been dubbed an "escape mutation" as it helps the virus get past the body's immune system.

The other notable mutation was found by a Californian study to be an efficient spreader.

Scientists say more evidence is needed to determine if these mutations make the B.

1.617 variant more dangerous.

- Is it behind India's spike? - Rakesh Mishra, director of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, is one of the scientists currently analysing the B.1.617 variant.

So far, he says it has been "better in terms of spreading compared to other variants".

"Slowly it will become the more common one and it will replace the other variants," he told AFP.

It is not yet known, however, if India's current wave is linked to this variant, or if it is being driven by human behaviour or something else.

Health experts have raised "super spreader" concerns over recent huge religious festivals and political rallies with mostly maskless crowds.

Still, several countries are taking no chances with B.1.617. When it banned travel from India this week, the UK specifically cited fears of the new variant.

The United States on Wednesday also advised against travel to India, noting that "even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants".

- Are vaccines effective against it? - One of the mutations is related to "Eek", which is suspected of reducing antibody protection from a previous infection or vaccination, said University of Utah evolutionary virology researcher, Stephen Goldstein.

Mishra says scientists were testing vaccine efficacy against the variant.

Even so, experts say vaccines still offer some protection, particularly from severe cases.

- What's next? - Since more variants emerge when there are more infected hosts, Mishra said India needs to get its outbreak under control.

Another variant, the B.1.618, recently raised red flags when it became the third-most detected in India.

Goldstein pointed to the UK's success at turning around a recent outbreak despite the presence of a more transmissible variant.

"It can be quite onerous, but it can be done," he told AFP.

"I think the vaccination campaign certainly helped... but it's the lockdown that enabled them to slow the rise of cases and start to turn the corner."
A migrant girl from El Salvador was rescued by a U.S. Army soldier who saved her from drowning in the Rio Grande after she was abandoned by a smuggler.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said several individuals were crossing illegally from Mexico to the United States when the soldier detected them Tuesday evening.

Three of the four individuals fled back to Mexico, but left the 10-year-old girl behind as she struggled to stay afloat in the river.

The soldier then jumped into the water and brought her to shore in Laredo, Texas. She is now in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services custody.

A U.S. Army soldier saved a 10-year-old girl from El Salvador from the Rio Grande on Tuesday after she was left behind by a smuggler, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection

According to CBP, its the second southwestern border crossing incident this year that required U.S. soldiers to save a migrant's life in the Rio Grande.

CBP said the girl was in good health and did not require medical treatment from paramedics.

The soldier who saved the Salvadoran child is assigned to the U.S Northern Commands lead unit that is assisting CBP in the Laredo area.

According to CBP, its the second southwestern border crossing incident this year that required U.S. soldiers to save a migrant's life in the Rio Grande.

It is frustrating to me as a parent to see a young child left by smugglers to fend for herself in the swift currents of the Rio Grande River,' said Matthew J. Hudak, chief patrol agent for the Laredo sector. 'With the aid of technology, the smuggling attempt was detected and a U.S. Army soldier supporting our agents was able to quickly get to the lone child and pull her out of the water to safety.'

The Salvadoran girl is the third unaccompanied minor in less than a week who was rescued by U.S. authorities in the Rio Grande after having been abandoned by human smugglers.

Border Patrol agents assigned to CBP's Del Rio Sector found two abandoned boys, aged 7 and 13 from Honduras on a small island in the middle of the river last Thursday.

An agent's bodycam captured another agent bringing the two children on board the U.S. Border Patrol's boat.

The boys told immigration officials that they were traveling with a man who had promised to get them across the United States-Mexico border but then disappeared.

The U.S. government has encountered an alarming rise in unaccompanied children illegally crossing the southwestern border.

CBP data shows that Border Patrol agents stopped 9,271 unaccompanied migrant minors for unlawfully entering the United States from Mexico in February. The amount of migrant children arriving alone at the border jumped to 18,663 in March.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. A bipartisan group of 107 U.S. House Members called on President Joe Biden to clearly and directly recognize the Armenian Genocide in his upcoming April 24 statement, ending Turkeys foreign gag-rule against honest U.S. remembrance of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

Members of Congress co-signed a letter to President Biden spearheaded by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the Congressional Armenian Caucus leadership. The letter cites President Bidens decades of efforts to reset U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide. We know that this is an issue you are well acquainted with from your time in the Senate and as Vice President, including shepherding S.J.Res. 212 (designating April 24, 1990, as a National Day of Remembrance of the 75th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide) through the Judiciary Committee in 1989. We also appreciate that as Vice President you attended the centenary anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in 2015 at the National Cathedral. It was during the centennial that His Holiness Pope Francis at Mass in St. Peters Basilica said this about the Armenian Genocide: concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.

Upon sending the letter, Rep. Schiff explained, During his candidacy, President Biden made a promise that he would officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, a promise in line with his decades of leadership on human rights issues. Thats why I joined with so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to urge him to keep that promise, and in doing so, right decades of wrongs. The word genocide is significant because genocide is not a problem of the past  it is a problem of today. And by speaking the truth about this horrific period of history, refusing to be silent, and calling it a genocide, we can ensure that the United States is never again complicit.

Yet for decades, while leaders around the world recognize the first genocide of the 20th Century, the President of the United States has remained silent. We join with the proud Armenian American community and all of those who support truth and justice in asking that you clearly and directly recognize the Armenian Genocide in your April 24 statement.

Mr. President, as you said last year in your April 24 statement, Silence is complicity. The shameful silence of the United States Government on the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide has gone on for too long, and it must end. We urge you to follow through on your commitments, and speak the truth, reads the letter.
BOOK OF THE WEEK

NUCLEAR FOLLY: A NEW HISTORY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane 25, 464 pp)

Quite how close did America and the Soviet Union come in October 1962 to bombing the world back to the Stone Age with a nuclear war?

Experts may disagree, but distinguished Harvard professor of history, Serhii Plokhy, is pretty certain: too damn close.

The crisis came during a tense 13-day stand-off after the U.S. discovered the Soviet Union had installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, uncomfortably close to America. Washington insisted they be withdrawn and duly blockaded the island until the Soviets agreed.

Serhii Plokhy who is a Harvard professor of history, has penned an account of how America and the Soviet Union came close to nuclear war in October 1962. Pictured: Cubas Fidel Castro and (right) the Soviet Unions Nikita Khrushchev

In this beautifully written account of a crisis that made the world hold its breath, Plokhy thrillingly pieces together events that have stayed out of sight for too long. With access to a treasure trove of KGB documents, his book reads like an hour-by-hour drama, history in the moment, brought vividly to life.

Even if the opposing sides did pull back in the end, any sane person must wonder what the political leaders of the worlds superpowers were doing.

Did Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev really think he could plaster Cuba with nuclear weapons, hoping the 20 ft palm trees would camouflage the 65 ft missiles?

Was the youthful President John F. Kennedy really willing to risk an attack, even though his advisers had told him that there could be 600,000 American casualties if a single retaliating missile reached a major U.S. city?

Bob Dylan had just premiered his prophetic song about a world in turmoil, A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall  and in the playgrounds the joke among the tougher schoolboys was: What are you going to be if you grow up?

Some families even built their own bomb shelters in their homes, though most realised the prospects of survival were negligible.

On the evening of October 27, when the stand-off was at its most tense and a compromise seemed increasingly unlikely, Robert Kennedy, the Presidents brother and closest adviser, returned to the White House from a meeting with the Russian envoy, to brief Kennedy on his latest attempt to persuade the Soviets to withdraw.

JFK had sent his wife, Jacqueline, and their two children, Caroline and little John, out of Washington to the relative safety of the family estate in Virginia. The two brothers shared a meal with Johns special assistant David Powers.

President John F. Kennedy (pictured) was too concerned about the crisis to commit adultery with his lover Mimi Alford

As he wolfed down his meal, Kennedy joked: God Dave, the way youre eating up all that chicken and drinking up all my wine, anyone would think it was your last meal. Powers said: The way Bobbys been talking, I thought it was my last meal.

Before retiring for the evening, Kennedy and Powers watched Roman Holiday, a 1953 rom-com with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. In the next room, sleeping peacefully, was a 19-year-old student called Mimi Alford. She was one of JFKs lovers, and Powers had brought her to the White House earlier that day, knowing of the Presidents fondness for her.

But, amazingly for JFK, who by all accounts was keen on that sort of thing, nothing happened that night. Kennedy was too concerned, remembers Mimi, about the prospect of war. His mind was elsewhere, she recalled. So thats how close it was. Even JFK couldnt turn his mind to a bit of adultery.

In some of the most startling  and terrifying  episodes of this ground-breaking book, its the random nature of events and people that could have triggered war. Human error, in other words.

In the middle of the crisis, a U.S. navy destroyer came across a Soviet submarine that surfaced in the North Atlantic waters of the Sargasso Sea.

It was not a hostile meeting  Do you need anything? asked the Americans  until a U.S. navy plane flew over them, dropping several flares. Bam! Bam! Bam! The light flashes were blinding, recalled an American officer later.

The Russians, understandably, thought they were under attack and the captain ordered torpedoes to be aimed at the destroyer. One was armed with a ten-kiloton nuclear warhead which, if dropped on a city, would have killed everyone within a half-mile radius.

Serhii claims the era of arms control triggered by the crisis is coming to an end as we witness the unravelling of treaties that kept the world safe. Pictured: Fidel Castro

As the Soviet sub prepared to dive with a torpedo locked and loaded, a searchlight got stuck in the hatch on its bridge. In the time it took them to fix it, the Americans apologised  and the Russians reassessed the situation, cancelling the attack.

Had the torpedo been launched at the destroyer, the ensuing tidal waves would have caused untold damage. The U.S. could not have failed to reply.

Had the hatch been bigger, there would have been nuclear war. It was that close.

Meanwhile in Cuba, where the Soviet Army officers were racked by illness and exhaustion, the Russians were beginning to lose control of their own troops.

When Soviet radar picked up an American U2 spy plane over Cuban airspace, three missiles were launched despite a general order not to. The U2 was destroyed.

The Russian lieutenant who fired the rockets recalls being cheered by his comrades: They picked me up and began tossing me in the air  that was easy, as I weighed only 56 kilograms.

As Plokhy says, the man who nearly began a nuclear war was just 22 years old.

Later that day, in the Cabinet room of the White House, wrote Robert Kennedy: There was the knowledge that we had to take military action to protect our pilots . . . and there was the feeling that the noose was tightening on all of us, on Americans, on mankind and that the bridges to escape were crumbling.

In the event, the opposite happened: the downing of the U2 and the loss of the pilot strengthened JFKs determination to prevent war in any way possible.

NUCLEAR FOLLY: A NEW HISTORY OF THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS by Serhii Plokhy (Allen Lane 25, 464 pp)

That evening he said to his brother: The politicians and officials sit at home pontificating about great principles and issues, make the decisions and dine with their wives and families, while the brave and the young die.

With that, he decreed every effort must be given to the Russians to find a peaceful settlement, and save face.

Even Khrushchev, despite the robust coarseness of his language to the Americans  Its been a long time since you could spank us like a little boy. Now we can swat your ass  knew what was at stake. War in this day and age means no Paris and no France all in the space of an hour, he said.

In the end, after the brinkmanship, humanity prevailed. In a secret deal, Kennedy agreed to pull U.S. missiles out of Turkey, which were, in fairness to the Russians, closer to Moscow than Cuba was to the U.S., and Russia withdrew its missiles. Plokhys epilogue should be in the hands of every politician in the world.

After the crisis, Kennedy and Khrushchev signed a partial test-ban treaty. A hotline between the Kremlin and the White House was set up for negotiations, and from May 1972 to January 1993 U.S. presidents and their Russian counterparts signed agreements to limit and reduce missile capabilities and arsenals by 80 per cent.

Now, though, writes Plokhy, the era of arms control triggered by the crisis is coming to an end as we witness the unravelling of treaties that kept the world safe.

In 2019, the U.S. and Russia, the planets strongest nuclear powers with 30,000 warheads between them, withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, first signed in 1987. This was the last Cold War arms control agreement still in place.

We are now entering a new stage of nuclear rearmament and  not least in the Ukraine right now  heightened world tension. This suggests tactical nuclear weapons may be used in battle, plunging the world back into the 1960s.

Plokhy makes a passionate appeal for a return to the negotiating table. We cant wait for another crisis to bring leaders back to their senses, he writes.

The next crisis might prove much worse than the previous one. We can only hope that Plokhys plea, in this riveting and important book, is heeded.
[April 22, 2021]

McDonald Hopkins welcomes Eric R. Benson to Litigation Department and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Team

DETROIT, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eric R. Benson has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the Litigation Department, adding his experience to the firm's national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.

Benson's practice focuses on advising companies in a wide variety of industries on addressing data privacy and cybersecurity incidents. This includes advising on breach response obligations, including compliance and notification to individuals and government regulators as required under state and federal breach notification laws, including HIPAA, GLBA and GDPR. Benson also represents clients in state and federal investigations that arise from data privacy incidents and provides guidance on crisis communications and management issues. He also has experience interpreting the resultsof forensic investigations of cybersecurity incidents, drafting and revising policies for clients (including HIPAA Risk Management Plans and Written Information Security Programs, analyzing IT managed service providers contracts, and drafting breach notification letters in compliance with applicable privacy laws.







Benson earned his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. He completed a B.A. in politics at New York University.

He is admitted to practice law in New York and Massachusetts only.

Benson can be reached at 248.593.2957 and ebenson@mcdonaldhopkins.com.

About McDonald Hopkins

Founded in 1930, McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and West Palm Beach. With more than 50 service and industry teams, the firm has the expertise and knowledge to meet the growing number of legal and business challenges our clients face. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com .

CONTACT:

David Carducci

McDonald Hopkins LLC

600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Phone: 216.348.5814

Email: dcarducci@mcdonaldhopkins.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonald-hopkins-welcomes-eric-r-benson-to-litigation-department-and-data-privacy-and-cybersecurity-team-301275494.html

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Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2021 -- According to a new market research report "Contact Center Software Market by Component (Solutions and Services), Deployment Model (Cloud and On-premises), Organization Size (Large Enterprises and SMEs), Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026" published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size expected to grow from USD 24.1 billion in 2020 to 75.5 USD billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.9% during the forecast period.



Major factors that are expected to drive the growth of the contact center software market include the rising adoption of advanced contact center technologies, need for handling contact center attrition and absenteeism, emerging role of social media in contact center operations, increasing adoption of virtual and cloud-based contact center solutions during and post-COVID-19 to achieve better business continuity, growing need for omnichannel solutions to minimize efforts in reaching end customers, continuous transitions to cloud-based contact centers, and rising demand for personalized and streamlined customer interactions to achieve high customer satisfaction.



Browse in-depth TOC on "Contact Center Software Market"

232- Tables

52- Figures

325- Pages



Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=257044641



Solutions segment to hold a larger market size during the forecast period



Contact center solutions include omnichannel routing, workforce engagement management, reporting and analytics, customer engagement management, and others (CTI, messaging, compliance, and data integration). These solutions address critical contact center needs related to the management of agent performance, and inbound and outbound operations such as customer query resolution, selling and prospecting, and information delivery and customer communication management. The need for minimizing AHT, TAT, call bounces, abandoned calls, and ACW and increasing CSAT, CES, and NPS scores and customers' life time value are expected to drive the demand for omnichannel routing, reporting and analytics, and customer engagement solutions. Omnichannel routing solutions deal with routing calls and assigning work to agents based on their skills in terms of understanding customer requests from any digital channel. These digital channels can be web, social media, email, text, or phone.



SMEs segment to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period



SMEs considered for this report are organizations with an employee size of 1999. SMEs are majorly dependent on manual processes to manage their contact center processes due to the lack of awareness and budget constraints. However, the intensely competitive market scenario has encouraged SMEs to invest in automated solutions to achieve high business efficiency. Being constrained by limited budgets, small IT infrastructure, and limited staff, SMEs are looking for flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions. The need for minimizing costs associated with the manual routing of calls and management of contact center processes and the requirement for the diffusion of technologies at contact centers for WFO drive the adoption of contact center solutions among SMEs.



Retail and consumer goods industry vertical to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period



The retail and consumer goods industry is highly customer-centric, and companies across this industry are adopting different penetration strategies and leveraging various industry-ready technologies to enhance customer experiences and improve customer retention. IT budgets are huge as retail and consumer goods companies try to maintain a certain brand image in terms of both employee and customer retention, which is key to higher revenue. The need to capture a larger market share, increase sales, and enhance customer experiences with the accurate management of customer profiles and agent interactions with customers drives the use of contact center solutions in the retail and consumer goods industry.



North America to account for the highest market share during the forecast period



North America is estimated to hold the largest market size in the global contact center software market in 2020, and the trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The adoption of contact center solutions is expected to be the highest in North America as compared to other regions. This is mainly because of the presence of various contact center solution providers as well as developed economies, such as the US and Canada, in the region. Companies leverage contact center solutions to reduce churn, maximize customer satisfaction, and increase upselling and cross-selling to drive their revenues. According to American Express, an America-based financial services company, 58% of consumers are willing to spend more on companies that provide excellent customer services.



Request Sample Pages @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=257044641



The contact center software market comprises major providers, such as NICE (Israel), Genesys (US), Cisco (US), Avaya (US), Five9 (US), Talkdesk (US), Vonage (US), 8x8 (US), AWS (US), Atos (France), Alcatel-Lucolent Enterprise (France), SAP (Sweden), Oracle (US), RingCentral (US), IBM (US), Lifesize (US), Content Guru (UK), Aspect Software (US), Enghouse Interactive (US), 3CLogic (US), Ameyo (India), Verizon (US), Intrado (US), AT&T (US), BT (UK), Twilio (US), Vocalcom (France), NEC (Japan), Evolve IP (US), Mitel (Canada), and ZTE (China). The study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of key players in the contact center software market with their company profiles, recent developments, COVID-19 developments, and key market strategies.



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She is set to play the role of Pina Auriemma, the clairvoyant who was jailed for her role in Maurizio Gucci's murder.

And Salma Hayek was spotted sheltering from the rain beneath a large umbrella in between scenes on the set of House of Gucci in Rome, Italy on Thursday.

The actress, 54, cut a sombre figure as she hurried along, with the umbrella being held aloft by a burly gentleman.

Take cover: Salma Hayek was spotted sheltering from the rain beneath a large umbrella in between scenes on the set of House of Gucci in Rome, Italy on Thursday

Salma looked far from her usual glamorous self and instead donned a loose-fitting grey patterned shirt dress and white pumps.

The beauty accessorised with a gold necklace, while her curly chestnut locks were left to loosely cascade down her back.

Salma donned little make-up for the day and appeared lost in thought as she made her way across the cobbled streets.

She is set to play the role of Pina Auriemma, who was a clairvoyant friend of 'black widow' Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and was sentenced to 25 years in prison after Maurizio Gucci's murder trial in 1998.

Shelter: The actress, 54, cut a sombre figure as she hurried along, with the umbrella being held aloft by a burly gentleman

Pina was sentenced to 25 years for allegedly organising the killing for a fee of around 250,000. Her sentence was reduced to 19 years on appeal.

Pina had been struggling with debts herself and claimed that 'in a moment of weakness' she gave in to her friend's requests to find a hitman.

Patrizia, who showed up at the trial in 1998 dressed head-to-toe in Gucci clothing and accessories, claimed Pina hired the hitman without her authorisation and had then blackmailed her after the murder had taken place.

Role: The actress (left last year) is set to play the role of Pina Auriemma (right at the 1998 trial), who was a clairvoyant friend of 'black widow' Patrizia Reggiani and jailed for 25 years

Pina, who now has anything to do with her old friend, previously told The Sun: 'I have great remorse, even if I did not actively participate in the organisation of the murder.'

Italy24News reports that Pina was released from jail in 2010, after serving around 13 years of her sentence.

Movie House of Gucci documents Patrizia Reggiani Gucci's plot to murder her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), with Reggiani found guilty of paying a hit man 240,000 to murder him in 1995.

Reggiani put a hit out on her estranged husband after Gucci left her for another woman 10 years previously, telling her he was going on a short business trip from which he never returned.

During the murder trial, which transfixed Italy, Reggiani arrived each day wearing head-to-toe Gucci clothes and accessories.

Reggiani was initially sentenced to 29 years in 1998, which was reduced to 26 on appeal. She served 18 before being released in October 2014.

The film is based on the bestselling novel The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by author Sara Gay Forden.

It is scheduled to go on general release from November 24th 2021.
An expected but sudden drop into the 30s or even 20s last night in parts of central Pennsylvania led the National Weather Service to issue a freeze warning thatll remain in effect through part of Thursday morning.

The NWS said portions of south-central Pennsylvania could experience below-freezing temperatures until 9 a.m. Thursday, which could kill crops and sensitive outdoor plants.

Take protective measures now as freezing temperatures could damage or kill tender plants and vegetation, the NWS said in the freeze warning. Potted plants should be brought inside.

The warning is in effect for a number of local counties, including Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, Lebanon, Adams, York and Lancaster. A full list can be found here.

Forecasters said another round of below-freezing temperatures is possible late Thursday night into Friday morning.

Thursday will be mostly sunny with scattered sprinkles of rain after 1 p.m., forecasters said. Highs will peak in the low 50s but a chance of more than 30 mph winds could make the day feel considerably cooler.

The gusty whether will continue into Friday, according to the NWS. Itll once again be a sunny day with highs in the low 60s, but winds could gust slightly more than 20 mph.

Weekend forecasts call for the winds to calm by Saturday. Temperatures could reach the mid 60s. There is a 50% chance of rain in the afternoon.

Forecasters said rain is likely to continue Saturday night into Sunday morning, but clear for another sunny day with highs in the mid 60s.

Today

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 63.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 40.
John Travolta, the legendary actor just opened up about the historic moment when he and Princess Diana danced together at the White House. He described it "like a fairytale."

One of the most famous moments in history is a photograph of them dancing from a 1985 White House state dinner hosted by then-President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. The actor famously asked the princess to dance with him.

John Travolta Dancing with Princess Diana

Princess Diana, dressed in a dramatic Victor Edelstein gown, joined hands with Travolta, dressed in a black tuxedo, as he led her around the room in one of the most memorable moments of Princess Diana's life.

READ ALSO: 'Spencer' Movie: Perfect Actor to Play Prince Charles Opposite Kristen Stewart's Princess Diana Revealed

"Who could ever imagine something like that would happen to them someday? I was smart enough to stamp it in my memory as a very special, magical moment," People quoted Travolta as saying

The 67-year-old Grease star revealed to Esquire Mexico that he had made no plans to dance with the late Princess of Wales.

During an interview with Dutch television station een, Travolta revealed that Nancy Reagan told him Princess Diana wanted to dance with him.

While the actual dancing was the "easy part" and "a great privilege and honor," Travolta admitted that summoning the confidence to ask the royal to join inwas a lot more nerve-wracking.

'Introducing myself to Diana in the proper way, conveying assurance, and asking her to be my dance partner was a complicated mission," he told Esquire

In a 2007 interview, the actor said that dancing with Princess Diana "saved" his career, as he went on to star in films like Pulp Fiction and Get Shorty.

"Suddenly, I was the only thing that mattered in America to Princess Diana. I was like 'Wow! I matter to someone again,'" he told Daily Mirror.

READ MORE: Princess Diana Regretted BBC Panorama Interview With Martin Bashir, Friend Reveals

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Yvette Chappell-Ingram Retires from CEO Role at AABLI

Chappell- IngramReflects on Building a Pillar in The Black Community.

Yvette Chappell-Ingram is retiring from The African American Board Leadership Institute (AABLI) after 10 years of service. The organization has initiated a national search for her successor. Chappell-Ingram reflects on her experience of building the non-profit organization and what AABLI means to her.

The mission of AABLI is to strengthen nonprofit, public, and private organizations by recruiting and preparing African Americans for service on a broad range of governing boards. Chappell-Ingram has upheld that objective in her years of service as founder and chief executive officer of the organization.

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Looking at the intentions of AABLI, Chappell-Ingram explained how its connected to the daily operations. It has been upheld through the training African American professionals and we assist with the placement on governing boards, she said. Chappell-Ingram went on to describe the unique process of AABLI and how the mission has been the focal point of the group for over a decade.

What we teach goes beyond the ABCs of board leadership, you can get that out of a book, Chappell-Ingram said, What we teach is the Why of board governance. Chappell-Ingram designed the day-to-day operations to reflect what happens in their line of work and prepares members for challenging experiences that could come up when sitting on a non-profit or company board.

Chappell-Ingram reminisced on the beginning of her journey; co-founder, Virgil Roberts and herself designed AABLI to be longstanding pillar in the Black community.

Before the incubated steps of this philanthropic organization, Chappell-Ingram led as President of the California Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. This foundations leadership role prepared her with the skillset to connect and harvest gifts found within the Black community. Chappell-Ingram stated, I was really in charge of the entire operation; it was a small organization and it wasnt as complex as ABBLIso what I brought with me is some leadership skills, presentation skills, the skills to manage communities, the skills to manage staff, and the skills to develop programs.

Chappell-Ingram elaborated on her devotion to volunteer work, it always had a focus on the education. She started to notice a common thread, that ran through the course of her career development. Chappell-Ingram found herself in position to help and empower others.

The idea of a board governance development sector, specifically geared towards people of color, presented itself to Chappell-Ingram after working with Roberts as a speaker.

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As President of California Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, Chappelle-Ingram got to know Roberts, as she called on him to speak at conferences for the organization for a number of occasions.

Without a doubt, after his presentation, various people from the audience would ask Roberts about financial methods for their organization. The first thing that he would ask is who is on your board?

Usually, the board members included close friends and family members, which may have factored into the stagnant growth of their company. The need for board governance development introduced itself to Chappelle-Ingram and Roberts. In 2011, Chappell-Ingram joined Roberts to forge the AABLI organization.

A few years later, a AABLI newsletter closed out their 2013-2014 fiscal year. Chappell-Ingram stated that in that brief time, the organization conducted five major leadership programs, seven workshops/seminars, certified 157 board leaders, with 40 board placements and eight commission appointments.

Reflecting on what his co-founder means to AABLI, Roberts said, What she meant was everything, because she took on the task of actually being the day-to-day person that actually ran the organization, built the organization, and got us to the position that we are 11 years later. Roberts went on to explain the dedicated work and labor Chappell-Ingram brought to AABLI. Everything that AABLI has become is because of her work and commitment to the ideas that we had.

AABLI is an organization specifically orchestrated with the growth of Black people in mind. We created an institution and our flagship program is specifically for African Americans and professionals, what weve seen from that is a number of our participantsright now, its over 770 with our last class. Through that, weve been able to create a foreign environment to these professionals.

Chappell-Ingram explained what that meant to her, it indicated that through the testimonies from the members, the AABLI unique strategy put members in a new space for growth and development by networking with other like-minded professionals.

Each year, Chappell-Ingrams served in her line of work, improving countless lives within the collective community. Her dedication to lifting while climbing in the professional realm has raised the quality of life for various people of color and their households. She has devoted 25 years to this practice.

According to the press release, AABLI has developed over 700 members across the U.S., and placed more than 250 of them in positions for the city, county, and state commission boards. Quoting Chappell-Ingram from the press release, It has been a privilege to serve the AABLI mission.

She continued, Hundreds of African American professionals are now bringing their expertise, experience and perspectives to more than 250 organizations, and more to come. This is the dream of the board room diversity weve worked so hard to make real.

The ideal candidate who would take on this role has been outlined by The Hawkins Company; they will be involved with conducting a nationwide search for best fit for AABLI executive role.

The Hawkins Company specializes in connecting executive leadership for various companies; they have a six-step process that includes a finely detailed assessment, comprehensive review, in close partnership with their client to find the ideal candidate, and honest communication with all parties involved.

Chappell-Ingram said within the press release, We are making a difference in bringing new voices, new strength to boards both nonprofit and corporate, and to commissions serving vast constituencies, she said. Chappell-Ingram added, But there is much more to do. So, I intend to remain an active and passionate advocate of AABLI and its work.

The retiring CEO sees AABLI expanding across the globe, making a pivotal change in delivering groomed and diverse professionals within the governing board circuit. Chappell-Ingram closed with what she expects to see coming from the organization as it moves forward. She said, I see our program being enhanced, to really look at our involvement with our alum. Chappell-Ingram continued, We are looking at scaling our operations. She described her ideal successor would be a visionary leader that helps scale the organization, thats committed to the Black community, and the country.
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, 22 APR - The ongoing unsettled situation surrounding the refugee crisis in Greece took another surprising turn on Wednesday after Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis found himself being accused of slander by North Aegean Governor Kostas Moutzouris.



Mountzouris has taken issue with comments made by Mitarakis in a recent interview claiming that Mountzouris' policies in blocking government plans caused the controversial fire which destroyed the Moria camp on Lesvos last September.



He has sent an extrajudicial letter to Mitarakis, and told Chios newspaper Politis Chios: "Mr. Mitarakis considered that my comments and my policy led to the burning of the camp in Moria.



I have already protested this, and today I am taking the appropriate legal action because I consider it defamatory and to the detriment of my reputation and honor. I consider that the effort I made and my policy contributed decisively to the reduction of the migrant population in our islands." Moutzouris led the strong opposition among the local municipal governments and regional authorities, as well as local community groups, to the government's plans to build new "closed" migrant camps on several of the North East Aegean islands.



There have been long-running battles between the government and the regional governors which reached boiling point last year when Athens sent hundreds of riot police to the islands to break up blockades set up to stop authorities from bringing in building materials.



Police fought running battles with local residents in ugly scenes which shocked Europe and the world.



Trouble continued into the autumn and the notoriously squalid Moria camp which housed around 10,000 people at the time was destroyed in an arson attack by migrants in a series of fires over 3 days.



The people who were staying at that camp have since been put up in a makeshift temporary 'tent city' camp in the Kara Tepe area that has been dubbed "Moria 2.0".



Mitarakis is quoted to have commented in an excerpt for an interview that will air tomorrow (Thursday) that "Mr.



Moutzouris' reaction eventually led to the fire in Moria and ten thousand refugees living in the city of Mytilene. Whether in the end what Mr. Moutzouris did was good or bad for Lesvos, the citizens of Lesvos will judge".



And so Moutzouris has issued an extrajudicial letter to Mitarakis, asking the minister not to broadcast that excerpt of the interview, as well as to stop the broadcasting of the advertisement preview of the interview, as well as to receive an apology.



For his part, Mitarakis has responded by commenting that "it is unheard of for a public figure not to receive political criticism of the consequences of his actions".



He said in a media statement: "In immigration, every act or inaction produces results and creates political responsibilities. It is a really complex issue, with a strong ideological charge. Despite all the pressure, the government is facing the crisis with a plan, determination and now visible results. That's our responsibility and our debt." He added: "In my interview I commented on the negative and sterile attitude of the North Aegean Region, which led to a deadlock when we had to find the best possible solution for our citizens. As a result, Moria was preserved, with the miserable conditions known to all.



And despite the rapid decongestion of Moria, due to certain reactions we could not create a safe structure during 2020, with all the necessary security measures." "But even after the fire, no one forgets the intransigence of the region at a time when 10,000 migrants were literally living on the streets and we found ourselves in the middle of a major humanitarian crisis." It remains to be seen where this latest clash between the Greek government and the North Aegean governing body will end, but it is clear that relationships will continue to be fractured and charged.



While there has been a significant "cooling" period since the fires at Moria last September, with the government securing funds from the EU and agreements with local municipalities - albeit with reluctance - to go ahead with five new facilities which will replace existing ones by the end of 2021, the road ahead is unlikely to be smooth. And that goes for the thousands of migrants staying on the Aegean islands more than anyone.



In related developments, according to the latest figures released by the government, a total of 3,072 migrants left Greece compared to 1,597 arrivals on the Aegean islands and the Evros land border between January and March.



The Migration Ministry said there has been a 66% drop in the number of resident asylum-seekers on the islands and 36% in the country overall. Additionally, there has been a 82% reduction in the flow of people arriving compared to the first quarter of 2020, and a 48% drop in pending asylum cases.



Also, there have been no new arrivals on the island of Leros since March 2020. Overall, the figures showed that there are currently less than 60,000 asylum seekers and refugees in accommodation structures around Greece. (ANSAmed).


COVID-19 created uncertainties and challenges for all of us, and changed our lives personally and professionally.

At the Lowcountry Food Bank, it created an unprecedented increase in food demand and disruptions to food procurement for the people and communities we serve across the coastal counties in South Carolina.

Together with our partner agencies and volunteers, we have remained on the front lines ensuring our neighbors have continued access to healthy food throughout this difficult time. We have had to adjust the way we work, but have remained open for business without interruption since the pandemic began.

Last year, we provided more than 33 million meals and more than 39 million pounds of food to those we serve, an increase of more than 21% over 2019. And we are proud of that. But we can and will do even more.

As we accelerate our work to increase equitable food access, demand for food assistance remains elevated nationwide. Feeding America projects that 42 million people may experience food insecurity in 2021. Businesses, non-profits, faith-based organizations and volunteers must continue working in tandem with federal, state and local government agencies to meet the need.

In the 10 coastal South Carolina counties we serve, the number of individuals who are food insecure rose 29% in 2020 to 185,580 people. A 38% increase in children who are food insecure in 2020 is even more worrying, with more than 55,000 children in coastal South Carolina who do not have consistent access to healthy food.

Significant racial disparities in food insecurity, which existed prior to the pandemic, remain today. Feeding America projects that 1 in 5 African Americans may experience food insecurity in 2021, compared to 1 in 9 whites. Grocery prices are higher since COVID-19 began, including a nearly 50-year record rise in food costs. This makes it that much harder for people and families who are dealing with job and income losses to afford food.

Here's how we continue to respond. At the same time retail donations from grocery stores have decreased, availability of shelf-stable food remains a challenge as the pandemic continues to impact restaurants.

However, there is an abundance of fresh produce and dairy foods available. Getting more of these supplies through federal purchasing programs and our continued efforts to raise donations will help close the huge gap for people who are food insecure.

Sign up for our opinion newsletter Get a weekly recap of South Carolina opinion and analysis from The Post and Courier in your inbox on Monday evenings. Email

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The Lowcountry Food Bank is purchasing more food than in previous years to help close this food gap, but this also leads to higher operational costs.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Feeding America network has tried to educate lawmakers and the USDA on the increased demand for food assistance and to advocate for increased federal resources to address this crisis. Congress passed critically important COVID-19 food relief legislation in 2020, and the most recent legislation Congress passed increases SNAP benefits by 15% through June and provides $400 million for emergency food.

Despite this, a lot more work will be necessary in the coming months to ensure that our neighbors receive the nutrition needed to support them through the current economic downturn and future recovery.

Food banks are doing all they can to meet the need, but we cannot do it alone. As unemployment and grocery prices remain high, we also need to ensure that the increase in SNAP benefits is extended to all qualifying families.

Some of the most nutritious food the people we serve receive is from USDA, but this assistance is also expected to decline by 30% to 40% in the coming year. Given this, we will need to continue exploring alternative ways of meeting the demand for food across South Carolina's coastal communities.

Together, over the past year, we provided millions of meals to our neighbors. The need continues. Please join us so we can continue to realize our vision of our community where no one is hungry.

To support us, you can make a monetary donation or find food assistance on our website at lowcountryfoodbank.org. We also seek volunteers to help us get food to our partner agencies and to our mobile food distributions throughout the 10 coastal counties we serve.

Nick Osborne is the new president & CEO of the Lowcountry Food Bank.
Romania will not benefit from European funds through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) for the irrigation system, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna declared on Wednesday evening.

He told public television broadcaster TVR1 that the Minister of European Investments and Projects, Cristian Ghinea, presented the PNRR draft in Brussels, but the European Commission requested it to be changed.

"In the talks and negotiations within the coalition with the three partners, we agreed upon a form of proposals for the PNRR, that our colleague Cristian Ghinea took to Brussels, where he discussed with European officials, with commissioners on the topic. Some of the themes were accepted. Regarding other matters, the European Commission said: "I believe they are necessary to you, but we will not give you money from the PNRR for this". We have three billion for irrigation. They said that it is not a reform which helps post-COVID resilience, because this instrument was thought out at European level so that states can get back on their feet after the COVID crisis and some themes are accepted, others ... It is not that they are not giving us money at all. For some they said that the allocation is too large and they are prepared to give out smaller amounts," Barna said.

He highlighted that for the irrigation system funds will be allocated from the national budget or from the structural agriculture funds.

The Deputy PM also said that there are talks with European officials "for getting the infrastructure component accepted".

"We continue to have discussions related to the infrastructure component support, which for us is a matter of life and death. It is an ongoing discussion. They have not rejected it, but there is the talk about sizing, how much the grants should be, how much the loans. For several chapters, already presented to the public and in Parliament by my colleague Cristian Ghinea we have on the table today the points of view of the Commission, with observations, with aspects to add. Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we will have meetings within the Government with ministers, in which we will be presenting the Commission's points of view," Dan Barna mentioned.

According to him, by mid-May there will be a "consolidated form" of the PNRR project, which will be subject to approval by the European Commission.
The offer from Innovative Energy to purchase ADES International has been declared unconditional

Innovative Energy has acquired or contracted to acquire 98.6% of ADES International and is commencing the compulsory acquisition process to acquire the remainder of the ADES Shares

The transaction will result in significant expansion of operations in Saudi Arabia for ADES International

ADES International Holding plc ("ADES International" or the "Company"), a leading oil and gas drilling and production services provider in the Middle East and North Africa, is pleased to announce that the recommended offer by Innovative Energy Holding Ltd ("Innovative Energy") has now been declared unconditional in all respects, as detailed in the RNS announcement dated 21 April 2021.

Innovative Energy is a newly established company that is jointly owned by the Public Investment Fund ("PIF") the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which will hold a 32.5% stake in Innovative Energy, Zamil Group Investment Co. ("Zamil Investments") which was an existing investor in the Company and will hold 10% of Innovative Energy, and ADES Investments Holding Ltd with a majority ownership of 57.5% in Innovative Energy, in each case following completion of the acquisition of all ADES Shares.

As set out in the offer document published by Innovative Energy on 11 March 2021 (the "Offer Document"), now that the Offer has become unconditional in all respects, Innovative Energy intends to procure that ADES International will make applications to the Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA") for the cancellation of the listing of the ADES Shares from the Standard Segment of the Official List and to London Stock Exchange plc (the "London Stock Exchange") for the cancellation of the admission to trading of the ADES Shares on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. The cancellation of listing and admission to trading is anticipated to take effect approximately 20 business days after the date of the RNS announcement issued on 21 April. Furthermore, Innovative Energy intends to exercise its rights pursuant to Article 98 of the DIFC Companies Law to acquire compulsorily the remaining ADES Shares in respect of which it has not received acceptances of the Offer on the same terms as the Offer.

Commenting on the Offer becoming unconditional, Dr. Mohamed Farouk, Chief Executive Officer of ADES International said: "We're delighted to have declared this offer unconditional and to be partnering with PIF, a strategic partnership with one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, that believes in ADES International's ability to generate long-term sustainable value. PIF's investment in ADES International is a vote of confidence in our Company and a testament to management's success in executing its strategy, even during the challenging last twelve months, and ability to deliver on our long-term growth plans.

At the time of our IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2017, our target was to access a larger pool of investors to raise capital and seize attractive market opportunities while growing the business through the acquisition and refurbishment of rigs and other assets. Over the last four years we have delivered on this strategy and transformed ADES International from a local, offshore-focused driller in Egypt, to a regional champion with a significant asset base across both the on- and offshore segments. We are thus pleased to have provided our shareholders with the opportunity to capitalise on this success through a significant liquidity event, realising an attractive cash premium for their shares.

Going forward, ADES International will continue to focus on providing quality, innovative services to our clients and leveraging our existing asset base to capture new business as a private company that is able to benefit from a longer-term approach to strategy and decision making. In addition, as part of the wider vision of the Company, the operational headquarters of the ADES International group will be relocated to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ADES International will also have greater flexibility to pursue strategic opportunities, including in relation to capital allocation and financing."

Commenting on the announcement, Yazeed Alhumied, PIF Head of Local Holdings Investments Division said: "The Public Investment Fund is delighted to have declared the offer for ADES International unconditional, as we continue to support Saudi Arabia's private sector. ADES International is a leading regional oil and gas drilling services provider and we are pleased to be its partner of choice. This important move aligns closely with PIF's strategic objective to build partnerships and localize knowledge as outlined in the PIF Program 2021-2025. The partnership will create a national champion in Saudi Arabia in a critical part of the upstream value chain. Alongside the creation of significant employment opportunities in the Kingdom, this will help localize best-in-class practice and lead to the important knowledge transfer of fuel usage reduction technologies which can deliver both cost savings and environmental benefits."

Zamil Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Adib AlZamil, said: "Zamil Investments Co is pleased to partner with The Public Investment Fund and ADES International. As 'Partners in Nation Building,' we are excited about this strong partnership which will further support private sector growth through the localizing of knowledge and technology solutions in the upstream space. This deal will see the development of a company that will be an integral part of the oil gas and hydrocarbon value chain, add immense economic and intellectual value to the Saudi market, and create job opportunities for Saudis in this vital sector."

Further to ADES International's announcement on 12 April 2021 of the satisfaction of conditions relating to the Saudi General Authority for Competition and shareholder approval of the Disapplication Resolution (as defined in the Offer Document), the Offer has now become unconditional in all respects. The offer price of US$ 12.50 per share in cash for each ADES Share values the existing issued share capital (excluding Treasury Shares) of ADES International at approximately US$ 516 million.

-Ends-

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Public Investment Fund

The Public Investment Fund is one of the largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds in the world, driving the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia for the benefit of its people while helping shape the future global economy. PIF is building a world-class portfolio through investments in attractive, long-term opportunities across diverse industries and asset classes internationally, while unlocking new sectors at home. PIF works alongside global strategic partners and renowned investment managers, and acts as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's primary investment arm aiming toward generating long-term value for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030.

More information can be found at www.pif.gov.sa

Media contact: Media@pif.gov.sa

About Zamil Group Investment Co.

Zamil Group Investment Co. is the investment arm of Zamil Group, a family-owned holding company founded in 1920 and headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Zamil Group has built a diversified investment portfolio across various industry sectors operating businesses in building materials, manufacturing, ship building and offshore operations, petrochemicals, trade and services, real estate, and investments. With the motto 'Partners in Nation Building', Zamil Group remains dedicated to adding value to all its stakeholders as a proud and responsible corporate citizen.

About ADES International Holding plc

ADES International Holding plc extends oil and gas drilling and production services through its subsidiaries and is a leading service provider in the Middle East and North Africa, offering onshore and offshore contract drilling as well as workover and production services. Its c.3,500 employees serve clients including major national oil companies ("NOCs") such as Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Oil Company as well as joint ventures of NOCs with global majors including BP and Eni. While maintaining a superior health, safety and environmental record, the Group currently has a fleet of thirty-six onshore drilling rigs, thirteen jack-up offshore drilling rigs, a jack-up barge, and a mobile offshore production unit ("MOPU"), which includes a floating storage and offloading unit. For more information, visit investors.adihgroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005581/en/

Contacts:

Enquiries

ADES International Holding

Hussein Badawy

Investor Relations Officer

ir@adesgroup.com

+2 (02) 3852 5354
zoe chace

From Serial Productions in The New York Times, this is The Improvement Association. Chapter 4. Let Them Pull the Red Wagon. Here we are, August 2019, the eve of a congressional election, the special election, the do-over after the cheating scandal, the one where McCrae Dowless allegedly pulled his illegal absentee ballot shenanigans. After which even the Republicans had agreed, OK, throw out the results, lets try this again, so new congressional election. The candidates this time around are Dan McCready, hes the same Democrat as last time, and then another Dan, Dan Bishop. Hes the new Republican candidate.

archived recording Two of the candidates vying to represent the states 9th congressional district.

zoe chace

Its a televised debate between the two Dans, the one and only debate of the race. And at the end, they do that gimmick where both candidates are allowed to ask each other a question.

[background conversation]

If youve ever watched a political debate, you know those questions arent really questions. Theyre little speeches, setups to try to stick it to the other guy, make him look bad. To that end you might think Republican Dan Bishop would do his level best to avoid any talk of McCrae Dowless and the rollicking national embarrassment through which his party, the Republican Party, had just dragged the voters of North Carolina, which caused the special election to happen. But no. He goes right there to allegations of election fraud. He says to the Democrat, Dan McCready, never mind McCrae Dowless. I want to talk about someone else.

archived recording (dan bishop) McCrae Dowless. But tonight, I want to ask you about Lola Wooten.

zoe chace

Lola Wooten, shes a campaign worker in Bladen. Key fact here, unlike McCrae, who has 13 indictments, she has zero. You can forget her name, in fact, as soon as were done here. But Republican Dan Bishop is trying some cynical rhetorical gymnastics right now at the 11th hour of the 11th hour with early voting already underway. Check it out.

archived recording (dan bishop) She turned in excess of 200 applications for absentee ballots.

zoe chace

That was perfectly legal at the time, by the way.

archived recording (dan bishop) She signed as a witness on the ballot envelopes for many, many people.

zoe chace

Also legal.

archived recording (dan bishop) She was paid by the Bladen County Improvement Association.

zoe chace

Also legal. But no matter, there it is. The PAC, on TV, associated, baselessly, with election fraud. Dan Bishop keeps going.

archived recording (dan bishop) The Bladen County Improvement Association, in turn, was paid by the federal account of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

zoe chace

Legal.

archived recording (dan bishop) And the federal account of the North Carolina Democratic Party was funded by your campaign.

zoe chace

Also legal. All of it. Yet Dan Bishop wants to know, all gotcha like, what did you do about that, Dan McCready?

archived recording (dan bishop) Can you explain what steps you took to ensure that Lola Wooten wasnt harvesting ballots or influencing elderly and infirm people in the completion of their ballot?

zoe chace

And Democrat Dan McCready gives your basic, Im not going to dignify that with a response response.

archived recording (dan mccready) Let me answer this question by sharing my horror that after the largest case of election fraud in recent American history, a fraud that took place in our towns in North Carolina, where 

zoe chace

To me, his answer is notable for what he doesnt go on to say. He doesnt say the Bladen Improvement Association, a Black, get out the vote group, hasnt done anything wrong. And your using their name to attack me over election fraud is not only profoundly ironic, its race baiting. He says nothing like that. This pungent exchange during the debate, for one thing, it perfectly illustrated Horaces constant complaint that unfounded accusations and insinuations about the PAC have been turned into weapons by Republicans. To the point that, out of all the things that a congressional candidate could choose to talk about in his closing argument to voters, the Bladen Improvement Association was the Republicans parting shot. And the Democrat, Dan McCready, well, this wasnt the first time he dodged talking about the PAC. Throughout the race, local reporters who covered the cheating story had been asking McCready, are you working with the Bladen Improvement Association now, or did you ever? And Dan McCready was, like, mm mm, nope.

archived recording (dan mccready) Ive not worked with them. archived recording While campaign finance records show he has not donated to them before, we asked Dan McCready if he planned on working with the group for the next election. archived recording (dan mccready) Its not something Ive thought about. I have not really worked with them.

zoe chace

It sounded like McCready considered the PAC a liability. And it also sounded like he was saying hed never even met those guys, which made Horace really mad, Horace and Cogdell, actually. During the first congressional race, the one that ultimately got thrown out, the PACs relationship to the McCready campaign was the normal stuff. Hes a Democrat. They support Democratic candidates. They endorsed McCready on their sample ballot, mobilized their get out the vote machine for him and for everyone else. But once the allegations of fraud by McCrae Dowless started to get out, members of the PAC started getting calls from Black voters who were upset, who said they thought their votes have been tampered with by McCraes workers. So the PAC members who received those calls, motivated in part to bring down Republican operative McCrae Dowless, they went to some of those voters homes. Told them, hey, this is wrong what happened to you. Its important to speak up. Do you want to write up an affidavit? Some of those signed affidavits ended up central to the state hearings in Raleigh. It was Democrats around the county who did this, not just PAC members. But those affidavits gotten by Bladen County Improvement members, they were key, a big reason why a new election was called, the special election, in which Democrat Dan McCready was given a second shot to win the district. But as the special election approached, McCready ignored the PAC. And I started to hear about it from Horace. A Democrat, trying to run in Bladen County who not only didnt seek an endorsement from the PAC, seemed to be actively avoiding it, like it was toxic. McCready didnt send money to the PAC for get out the vote. He hired his own people from outside to temporarily live and work in Bladen County. And Horace was offended. This wasnt how he was used to being treated.

archived recording (horace munn) Once McCready was granted a new election, all of a sudden, he dont want to talk to me. He didnt want to be close to Cogdell.

zoe chace

Horace says Cogdell told him about this one thing that happened a few months back. This big Democratic gathering of local politicos from across the 9th district to support the McCready campaign 

archived recording (horace munn) They were getting ready to take a picture of him with Cogdell. He stepped away.

zoe chace

McCready stepped away and avoided taking a picture with Cogdell, which can be a big deal at local campaign events. And then, according to Horace, McCready wouldnt talk to Cogdell when Cogdell approached him.

archived recording (horace munn) Cogdell, he had a conversation about how he could win election in Bladen County. He said, hey, you deal with my campaign person, who was a kid that didnt know anything about Bladen County. All right? When I found out he had treated Cogdell and I found out that he didnt want to put resources here so we can run his campaign here in Bladen County, he didnt want to deal with us, I called him.

zoe chace

Horace says he spoke to McCready on the phone.

archived recording (horace munn) And I told him how appalled I was at what he had done. I said, but I notice how you act as if we are inferior now. But when you wanted a new election, you came to us. And were the reason you have a new election. I said, from this point forward, dont ever deal with me again.

[music]

zoe chace

Horace takes tremendous pride in the voting block the PAC has built. He genuinely believes its hard for Democrats to get elected in this county without it. And now this Democrat, who Horace and the PAC had supported, was helping to stoke allegations against them by deliberately distancing himself from the group, acting like Bladen Improvement was beneath him. So Horace has decided, if Dan McCready doesnt have our back in public, we wont have his in this election. And in this way, without Horace seeing it, the cheating allegations hes been fending off from the outside would worm their way inside the PAC and start causing havoc. From Serial Productions, its The Improvement Association, a true story about election fraud. Im Zoe Chace.

archived recording (prentis benston) Good afternoon to everyone. Were going to go ahead and get started.

zoe chace

Prentis Benston, the former sheriff of Bladen County, calls the Bladen Improvement Associations monthly meeting to order. Were about a week out from the special election and pretty quickly, the agenda turns to elections-related business. Walking in, I feel a wary side-eyedness in the room, like in any group or office where theres been some behind the scenes drama lately, but you havent all been in a room together for a while. And now youre all meeting and looking at each other, like, are we going to talk about whats been going on, or what?

[side conversation]

The televised debate between the Dans, the congressional candidates, aired last night. So with that hovering over the meeting, Horace takes over.

archived recording (horace munn) This special election has turned out to be one of the most unique elections Ive been a part of.

zoe chace

He has news. The special election is considered tight. And apparently, in these last few weeks, someone from McCreadys campaign has started calling members of the PAC to ask them to help out with the election.

archived recording (horace munn) But evidently, whoever is calling, theyre working their way around me. So with that said, Im not sure where we stand right now with this election. I dont know why things are happening the way they happen. Its a situation there, like I say, Ive never experienced before.

zoe chace

Meaning, Ive never seen a Democrat politician blow us off like this and think they can win in Bladen County. Horace says, speaking just for me personally, as Horace, not as head of the organization, the way I feel 

archived recording (horace munn) If the individuals out here supporting in this campaign or the one running dont want our support, me personally, I think let them pull the red wagon.

zoe chace

Let them pull the red wagon. Means, you made your bed. Now lie in it. If someone wants our support, but wont approach us directly because theyre ashamed or embarrassed or whatever, screw them.

archived recording (horace munn) I think that this organization has been disrespected. Thats how I feel.

zoe chace

And with that, Horace hands it over to Cogdell, the storyteller of the two of them.

archived recording (michael cogdell) The only thing that I want 

zoe chace

Cogdell starts by saying he wishes the Democrat Dan McCready well and doesnt have a vendetta against anybody. But  and it goes from quiet to quiet. As Cogdell picks up speed, his story turns into a one man play, with him acting out the increasingly frantic phone calls hes been getting from the Democrats about getting out the vote for Dan McCready.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Im sitting in the house, 11, 12 oclock at night. And somebody called me, Mike, hey, I need your help. I said, what are you talking about? We got to get the vote out.

zoe chace

This guy is calling Cogdell, like, you know, do your get out the vote program that you guys do for Dan McCready.

archived recording (michael cogdell) We got plenty of money for gas and all kind of stuff. I said, what are you talking about? Well, we got some money. You can do some work, if you want to haul people to the polls and do what you need to do. I say, you calling mighty late on this.

zoe chace

Cogdells, like, uh, no. The election is in about a week. And we havent mobilized at all to help McCready, because you guys didnt want us to do that. If youd given us money for gas stipends and food, wed have people knocking on doors and working the polls. Its a whole machine. We know how to crank up our machine. But the machines not cranked. And were not inclined to crank it for you now.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Then I get another phone call. We got plenty of money, man. Dont worry about the money. We can get you gas. We can come out and feed them, do a meal for them. We can do a party for them. We got plenty money.

zoe chace

Cogdell says he reminded this guy that McCready had chosen to hire other people to get out the vote in Bladen, outsiders. So the Bladen Improvement PAC was, yeah, sitting this one out.

archived recording (michael cogdell) So he said, well, what are we going to do? I said, well, the people he gave the money for need to be trying to figure that out. Thats not for me to think out. Because Im not going to lose my sleep and time running at him, starting the next couple of days. But I will encourage people to go vote and tell them to go vote. But as far as me running around, chasing somebody, talking about lining up some gas, and doing this, and doing that  they told me they had that all figured out. And I left it just that way.

zoe chace

Prentis and Horace are nodding their heads. Cogdells wife Barbara is nodding next to them. The purpose of this whole part of the meeting seems to be to rally this room behind him and Horace, to get everyone to sign off on Horace and Cogdells grudge against McCready, and their decision to have the PAC sit on its hands rather than help them. But not everyone here is with Cogdell. Minnie Price, the treasurer of the PAC, breaks in.

archived recording (minnie price) Are we, as Democrats in here, are we supporting McCready? archived recording (michael cogdell) I support him.

zoe chace

The three guys who basically run this meeting, Horace, Cogdell and Prentis, all jump at once to answer the question and, it seems, try to keep her from putting out a whole new perspective on this. But Minnie pushes through that.

archived recording (minnie price) Well, I volunteered. I made phone calls. Ive been down there four different times. I made phone calls. And I plan to go back again. archived recording (michael cogdell) Minnie, please  archived recording (minnie price) Im not looking for any money. archived recording (michael cogdell) Minnie, please, let me understand this. archived recording (minnie price) Well, we need a Democrat in Washington, D.C., not a Republican. archived recording (horace munn) When the guy talked to me, I said he missed  he made a misperception of what he was doing. We know how to get the vote out. And we can get people to go to the polls. archived recording (minnie price) Yeah, but if  archived recording (michael cogdell) But wait a minute. Wait a minute. Maam, let me hear  let me tell you for a minute. I understand, maam. Go ahead. archived recording (minnie price) Well, I was talking and then he interrupted me. archived recording (michael cogdell) You finish. You finish. archived recording (minnie price) I was talking. He interrupted me. archived recording (michael cogdell) You finish. You finish. archived recording (minnie price) OK. What Im saying is this. Im making phone calls to people to support Dan McCready. And I am not working for any money. Im volunteering. This is my fifth time or being down there making phone calls to people that have not been out to vote. And if Dan McCready said that he does not want to be associated with the Bladen County Improvement, I dont blame him. Because our name is out there. Its in Raleigh. If Im trying to win an election, I dont want to be associated with somebody thats been accused of doing something while Im trying to win a campaign. And we need to, as Democrats, we need to support the Democratic  archived recording Hold on. Now  archived recording (minnie price)  let me finish talking. archived recording Let her finish. archived recording (minnie price) Let me finish talking.

zoe chace

Theres more interrupting. But Minnie says she wants to make this clear. Were damaged goods right now because of our association with that whole fraud hearing up in Raleigh. Take yourselves out of this. Put your egos aside. Look at the bigger fight.

archived recording (minnie price) And I just think that we as an organization, whether we get any money or not from him, that as Democrats that we need to support him.

zoe chace

Horace responds in a way I think he was hoping not to at the beginning, like, mad.

archived recording (horace munn) I solicit funding for this organization to operate. I cannot  it takes a budget of about $9,000 to hire workers to do early voting and to hire workers to work the polls every day during elections. This organization cannot fund 

zoe chace

Horace is shouting this budget information at Minnie, the treasurer of the PAC. His leadership is being questioned here.

archived recording (horace munn) So 

zoe chace

You think we should help McCready, he says, even though his campaign didnt give us any money for get out the vote operation? Didnt think that was important to shore up that vote here? You think people in this poor county should work for free for Dan McCready, just because this dude is a Democrat?

archived recording (minnie price) Im not talking about that, Horace. Im the treasurer. So I know what you do. Im the treasurer. I handle the money. When you get it in, it comes to me. I know. Like I stated before, if he does not want to be associated with Bladen County Improvement, dont worry about it. archived recording (horace munn) So you think its OK for him to not want to be associated with the organization, then come get the members and say, I want you to work with me, but not explain whats the issue? archived recording I think what Miss Minnie is trying to say is that we should vote Democrat. That hes the Democrat candidate. And that we should vote for him.

zoe chace

Another woman jumps in to try to calm things down. Like, hey, were all Democrats here, right? Were on the same side. But then, that makes Cogdell explode.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Yo. Yo. Yo. Wait a minute. Now wait a minute. Youre saying something here that aint making no sense at all. Just because youre a Democrat and you cant deal with what my perspective is, doesnt mean I have to vote for you. archived recording Amen.

[interposing voices]

zoe chace

People who agree with Cogdell start laughing, and yes anding, and it gets kind of chaotic. Someone else says, arent we all Democrats? Cogdells saying, you could be a Democrat and be in the Ku Klux Klan. Doesnt mean I have to vote for you. Thats how Hillary Clinton lost her race in 2016, he says, by just assuming that all the Black people would turn out and vote for her. You cant just support Democrats. Democrats dont necessarily have Black voters best interests in mind. They need to work for our vote, respect us, and deliver on our issues. And thats what the PAC is for, to hold people accountable to the Black voters here.

[background conversation]

[music]

Up until this meeting, I thought the cheating allegations were a problem for the PAC outside this room. I hadnt realized how they could pit everyone inside it against each other, even though the allegations werent true. None of them were indicted or even under investigation. Not long after this, someone abruptly moves to adjourn. And the meeting ends. People leave in a hurry. Theres not some big decision reached, no vote by the group on whether to support McCready, just people storming off to their cars. The one PAC person left after everyones fled to the parking lot is Minnie Price. Shes still fuming about Horace and Cogdell. Shes, like, while these guys are posturing about how the Democratic candidate is ignoring Black people, this Republican candidate, Dan Bishop, is going to get in there and be another vote for Trump. Which, in Minnies view, is, like, really not good for Black people.

archived recording (minnie price) We dont need that. And I listened to that debate last night, mm mm. No. And when he brings up something to Dan McCready about Bladen County Improvement Association, no. Hes doing exactly what Trumps want him to do. And hes going to support Trumps agenda. We dont need that. Were going to be back in slavery again. No. Were just celebrating 400 years? Were going to be back there. Were going to be back there with Trump in Washington, D.C.

zoe chace

She sees Horace and Cogdells whole thing with not supporting McCready as just petty revenge for Cogdells hurt feelings from that picture McCready supposedly wouldnt take. She doesnt buy at all the principled argument that standing back is going to teach Democrats a lesson about taking the Black vote for granted. And she totally gets McCreadys calculation about the PAC, that the PAC is damaged goods.

archived recording (minnie price) I cant blame him. I dont blame him at all. If I was running to try to win an election, I wouldnt want to be associated with Bladen County Improvement Association, either. Because our name, the Bladen County Improvement PAC name is in Raleigh. It is out there. And people got that in their mind, that we did something wrong. Even though we did not do anything, they didnt find anything wrong that we did, our name is out there.

zoe chace

It turns out Minnie has much bigger issues with Horace and Cogdell than the McCready thing. Which should worry Horace and Cogdell, because Minnie, with her big leather briefcase and her ever present notebook, is a political force in Bladen County, all on her own, separate from the PAC. Shes 77-years-old, secretary of the local NAACP chapter, and shes a very busy person. She goes to every town meeting, every county commission meeting, every board of education meeting. She runs this nonprofit. And she founded this intense charter school, the one and only public military charter school in the state. Thats where were meeting, actually, in that school building. Occasionally, a bugle blurts out, telling cadets to change classes. Minnie knows people in Bladen. She has influence. And Minnie will say how she feels about something or someone. And shes been mad at Horace, she tells me. We talked about it a little later. This is what she said to him not long before that meeting.

archived recording (minnie price) I told him, you are a dictator.

zoe chace

Well, the group of them, Horace, Cogdell, Prentis and their buddy, Arthur Bullock, another county commissioner.

archived recording (minnie price) They have this controlling thing, Horace and Cogdell. They want to control everything. When you in a meeting, you dont want to be the one that people think you always causing a problem about something. But it just got to the point where we just got fed up with sitting here with stuff being shoved down our throats.

zoe chace

The McCready thing is just the latest in a string of decisions that Minnie felt the members had no real say in. It was her breaking point. Her view for the last few years is that the four of those guys have been treating the PAC like their fiefdom. The members are basically foot soldiers that the guys expect will do as theyre told. Minnie says it seems to her that the four of them get together before Bladen Improvement meetings and decide what the Bladen Improvement will do, whom it will support, whom it will never support, who needs to wait their turn. The strategy stuff, like, were not doing absentee ballots this year, or we are. The way Minnie describes it, when she joined the organization, it felt more connected to the community, more about uplift. She says the PAC would educate voters. It would do outreach to inform Black people in Bladen County who the candidates were, who might have their best interests at heart. Horace and Cogdell, she thinks, have curved inward, just talk to each other about whats in the best interests of Black voters and then try to steamroll everyone else into going along.

zoe chace In the beginning, 15 years ago, you liked the idea of the PAC. minnie price It was great. zoe chace Tell me. Tell me about that part. minnie price It was a different set of people. Horace was not the president. His daddy used to be involved. And there are people who are saying that if his daddy only knew what he was doing back here now, hed be turning over in his grave. He wouldnt like it at all. Because he was different. He was not like Horace. zoe chace Different how? minnie price Nicer. He was, you know, help people.

zoe chace

I ran Minnies complaints past Horace. He wasnt that bothered by them. Said she was just blowing off steam. I will say, Horace does help people. Hell do unasked for favors. Hes a generous neighbor. But anyway, Minnies fed up. Shes gotten to the point where shes questioning the PACs core goal of a unified Black vote  if unity is just code for do whatever Horace says.

zoe chace Do you think that its possible that the PAC, the PACs power is in how many people vote along the same lines. The PACs powers that sample ballot. minnie price Yeah. zoe chace Do you think that, with this kind of division, that the PAC could lose its power. minnie price I think so. And I think its losing its power. I think so. And its really because of Horace. I think it is because of Horace and the way that he does things. I think so. Yeah. zoe chace Do you think there will be some kind of a loss to this county if this PAC falls apart? minnie price No. I dont. zoe chace Why not?

[bugle playing]

minnie price Because a lot of people dont understand it, anyway. A lot of people dont understand what the PAC is anyway and what they are doing. zoe chace But you do. minnie price I understand. Yeah, I do.

zoe chace

I wanted to know if Minnie minded, basically, that by criticizing the PAC or not supporting the PAC, shed actually be helping the white political interests around here, too.

zoe chace I think some white people are scared of the PAC because of Black political power. minnie price Yeah. They are. Thats why they tried to make that report, to try to find something against the PAC. Thats what they did it for. But they didnt find anything wrong.

zoe chace

She means the accusations against the PAC at the state hearing.

zoe chace Well, if the PAC falls apart, though, I mean, those white people will be happy. minnie price They will be. They will be. Because they want it  they want it to fall apart. zoe chace Well, how does that make you feel? minnie price You know, it doesnt make me feel bad. It really doesnt. It doesnt make me feel bad. Because maybe itll make the people thats involved in it think about what they did, think about what they are doing, to do things different.

zoe chace

Minnie, after years of frustration, thinks that if the Bladen Improvement PAC loses some power, well, so be it. Might be good. Maybe thatll teach Horace and those guys a lesson. The actual day of the do over election, the special election to elect a new Congressman in Bladens district, it was pretty quiet, sunny, breezy, slow. The results were in early. And it wasnt close.

archived recording (tanya rivera) Hello, everyone. Im Tanya Rivera. Thank you for joining us. Republican Dan Bishop has won North Carolinas special election. Bishop will now represent the states 9th congressional district. This red district will remain in GOP hands.

zoe chace

Democrat Dan McCready lost to the Republican, Dan Bishop. And there were no signs of election fraud this time.

archived recording (tanya rivera) President Trump held a rally for Bishop the night before the election. Bishop linked  horace munn You know what? zoe chace Hang on. Let me get my phone ready.

zoe chace

Horace called me after results were in. I was driving.

zoe chace Tell the truth. Are you a little bit excited that Dan McCready lost? horace munn Well, I dont want to say  Im not going to say Im excited. I cant use that word. zoe chace OK. horace munn Theres another word I could use. I feel vindicated. zoe chace Yeah.

zoe chace

Vindicated. Horace has a pretty clear analysis for why McCready lost.

horace munn What he did was he distanced himself from the Blacks, he was willing to take a chance on losing a few Black votes to get a few white votes. But they always think the Blacks, well, they gonna go along. zoe chace Theyll just take you for granted?

zoe chace

Its not like Horace wanted a Republican to win the seat. But then, again, it is kind of what Horace wanted. He says to me, am I gloating?

horace munn Am I gloating? zoe chace Yeah, are you? horace munn Hm. I dont know. But am I upset about the election? No.

[laughs]

No. Im not. And the next person from Bladen County that want to disrespect people, the same thing will happen. Theyre not going to get the vote.

[turn signal clicking]

I would rather lose the battle and win the war.

zoe chace

The battle is just a congressional seat. The war is whether those politicians are listening to and accountable to Black voters. And the way that happens in Bladen County, thats through the Bladen Improvement PAC and its voting bloc. Thats the lesson Horace thinks McCready learned this election. The hard way, hed say.

horace munn We refuse to be compromised by anyone. We refuse. Yeah. Yeah. Im fully satisfied with the election. And hey, you know, sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But sometimes, youre made a fool.

[laughter]

zoe chace

Many months later, I spoke to Dan McCready. He admitted, yes, he distanced himself from the PAC. I had to, he said. It didnt look good because of all these public accusations. I was advised, even by people in Bladen, not to work with the Bladen Improvement PAC. McCready said he didnt remember an angry call with Horace, when Horace told him never to reach out to him again. He was upset to hear, now, that members of the PAC were mad at him. Did the PACs lack of support cost him the election, though? McCready didnt think so. In the special election, McCready lost by 4,000 votes. Its very hard to imagine the PAC, who only operate in Bladen County, conquering that margin. But the math doesnt really matter, not here, in terms of how the results of this election still exploded things in Bladen County. There were Black Democrats who were really mad about how Horace and Cogdell handled the Dan McCready race. Minnie and a group of seven or eight others, mainly women, quit the PAC after that meeting where they got in a fight. But Horace and Cogdell werent chagrined by that at all, the opposite. For them, if the feeling was out there that because they stayed out of the race, McCready lost, good. That proves their point that McCready shouldnt take the Black vote for granted. They felt the McCready result confirmed how well they knew their county and knew the voters they were trying to lead, that they were on the right track, basically. And so they turned their attention to their next political fight, to try something theyd never tried before, a pretty major power shift if they could pull it off. If anyone could pull it off, it would be these two. That was their attitude. After proclaiming that McCready had taken the Black vote for granted, Horace and Cogdell walked right into that same trap. Thats after the break. Now Minnie Prices position on Horace and Cogdell is theyre bullies and theyre out of touch. Horace and Cogdell, of course, feel like, no. They are the ones who get it, in a place where some people, like Minnie, do not understand how to build Black political power. Theyre putting their skills to the test in this little petri dish of an election that hits just two months after the McCready race was over and done. Horace and Cogdell are working to change the leadership of the county seat, Elizabethtown. Three seats on the Elizabethtown council are up for grabs. This isnt about the county, just one town inside the county. And I only understood why Cogdell in particular would choose to invest in whats actually a very tiny local race when he decided to drive me around Elizabethtown one day.

michael cogdell Let me see what time it is. I got  come on. Im going to ride you around. Get in the car. Im going to ride you around. zoe chace Yeah. Are you sure? michael cogdell Im going to show you what Im talking about right quick. zoe chace OK.

zoe chace

Bladens little towns are mostly  a highway runs through, alongside is a gas station, a Hardees, maybe a peanut plant, a dollar store, and then youre out of town  America, basically. But Elizabethtown is the county seat thats got the most going on. Around 3,800 people live here. Its downtown is a big T, not just the one road running through. I can sum up Cogdells tour of Elizabethtown pretty quickly. Its about who owns what.

horace munn All right. Here we go.

zoe chace

Four white families own the major commercial plats in Elizabethtown, the Greens, the Crosses, the Clarks and the Campbells.

horace munn All of this stuff you see right here, the Campbells own all that, that building, that building, that block right there. zoe chace The Campbells own this block? horace munn All these businesses that you see right here.

zoe chace

We head down Poplar Street, one of the two main streets. A handful of older businesses, then KFC, Taco Bell, Bojangles, McDonalds and then Giorgios, the only real restaurant to speak of where you can actually get a drink.

michael cogdell This right here is owned by the Clarks, everything on both sides of the street.

zoe chace

Its only five square miles, Elizabethtown, and it takes less than five minutes for Cogdell to sweep his hand over it. You go down and around, out towards the bypass, which is actually named after a Campbell and were at the other Main Street, Broad Street.

michael cogdell Now you look at this all this stuff inside this here, where Walmart at, and all we cross over there, and the restaurants in over there, that belong to the Greens.

zoe chace

Cogdell says the four families, theyve owned the land for years. Which is his main point. By owning much of the commercial property in Elizabethtown, these four white families have a lot of control over the commercial economy, what businesses get to come downtown, what kind of jobs are available. Meanwhile, in the Black part of town, a neighborhood called Newtown, almost none of the land is zoned commercial, so people cant open businesses. Theres not much investment, generally. Cogdells, like, take a look at these messed up roads. Thats how you know Black people live over here. Horace and Cogdells vision for the election is simple. Get Black people to vote, a lot more than usual. And then, change the zoning ordinances in Elizabethtown  Black-owned, thriving businesses, serving Black customers in the Black part of town. Cogdell believes its possible because of how many Black people could be voting here.

michael cogdell All this is Black district. Everything through heres Black. zoe chace How many  whats the ratio of Black to white people in Elizabethtown? michael cogdell Theres more Black registered voters in Elizabethtown than there is white. Its not much, but its more Black than white. zoe chace I just didnt know it was a majority Black town. michael cogdell Yeah. Majority of the registered voters, theres more registered voters Black than there is white. zoe chace But the local, like, the mayor and stuff, are they white? michael cogdell All white. And its a seven member board, six members and the mayor. Five of them are white and two are Black. I mean, it should be the very reverse, if you voted along demographics. zoe chace Its just not enough people are voting? michael cogdell They just wont vote. They dont deal with a municipal election. Now you get  most of the times you move people in the areas during general election, presidential elections. They dont usually move on municipal election.

zoe chace

So this is their big plan. Flip the town council. There are two Black members on the town council already. And three Black women have declared their candidacy, running against three white incumbents. The women are all new to politics. So Horace and Cogdell are very involved in their campaigns. The PAC, the organization, isnt even working on this as a group, just Horace and Cogdell on their own. If the women win, Black people will finally have the majority power somewhere in Bladen County. And five days before the Elizabethtown council election 

michael cogdell Zoe! zoe chace How are you doing?

zoe chace

During early voting, I meet up with Cogdell and Horace at a small campaign event. Theyve set up a table and a tent. And some of the candidates are sitting around. Its a barbecue. Cogdells enormous smoker is here. Its on wheels and attaches to the back of Cogdells truck. You can smoke the meat when youre driving which, of course, he has. I drove up in a truck, a rental. And Cogdell teases me when I walk over. Calls me a redneck. Says all I need is a gun rack on the back. Cogdells a wisecracker. He likes to poke. And with me, its usually related to being the only white person around, which always manages to tongue tie me. He launches right into a joke about lynching.

michael cogdell You get Horace, and you can get killed going back down East Arcadia. Every time you see him, hes standing here, talking to a white woman. They going to have him hanging up in the tree. Youre going to be doing the story, Black Man Lynched at East Arcadia. horace munn And Zoes going to say, I told you you need to watch yourself.

[laughter]

michael cogdell Got a modern day lynching. Donald Trump will say, you got to lynch. zoe chace This is some Southern jokes.

[laughter]

But I dont like it.

zoe chace

Hes doing it for Horace, to make him laugh. Horace can be stiff, withdrawn. But now with Cogdell, hes easily delighted. Hes energized. I can see how maybe they didnt even mean to start making decisions outside the PAC together. They just talk so much and big each other up so much.

horace munn Lord.

zoe chace

Theyre excited about this election plan. Cogdell tells me, when he first talked to Horace about backing these women for town council, he pitched it like, look at Ferguson, Missouri, where Michael Brown was shot. Horace and Cogdell describe to me how, after that happened, the Black citizens of Ferguson looked around. Like, were the majority here. But 

michael cogdell All the elected officials were white. And they would run the court system, legal system, police system, the county system. And they was out  it was two to one Blacks to every white. So what Ferguson has done now, they got a Black mayor, they got a Black chief of police, a Black attorney  everything. They found out the power was in the vote. horace munn They did the same thing were doing right now. Basically, educate people on the importance of their vote. michael cogdell Its important to go vote.

zoe chace

These two are trying to pull what they see as a Ferguson in Elizabethtown. Turn out Black voters, and flip the leadership from white to Black. This is the early voting period. And this whole campaign event is basically a place to eat and hang out while keeping track of turnout. Horace and Cogdells assumption is Black voters will vote for the Black candidates and white voters will vote for the white incumbents. Increase the number of Black voters by even a bit over the last election, and the women can win. So all day, Horace and Cogdell are taking calls and doing math. How many votes for us and how many votes for them?

michael cogdell Do you think you can give us a rough scenario?

zoe chace

Their friend Arthur, whos been over at the Board of Elections, comes back to the barbecue with the latest round of numbers, public information. Reports on whos voted early already.

arthur I got three more pages to go through.

zoe chace

Arthur sits and goes over the list of voters, trying to estimate how many Black people versus how many white people have voted so far. Sort of crowdsourcing it, with people sitting around a table under a tent, chatting about who on the list is probably Black, whos probably white, based on who lives where.

arthur What white people live at 800 Peanut Road? speaker You got the Johnsons on Peanut Road. arthur Peanut Road, not Peanut Plant Road, Peanut Road. speaker Whats the difference? arthur Peanut Plant and Peanuts different. speaker Whats the difference? arthur Peanut Road in town. Peanut Plant Road in the county. speaker Theyre on the Peanut Plant Road. arthur Theyre on Plant Peanut Road. speaker Havent seen you in a while. How you been?

[chatter]

zoe chace

If this election was a test of their skills, election night did not look good. Horace, Prentis, Arthur and the three women who are running for town council are sitting in the Board of Elections building watching a big computer screen at the front of the room. The numbers keep going in the wrong direction. The women lose by a lot. Dwight Sheppard, Democratic poll watcher, guy who makes everything thats going on in elections in Bladen his business, hes in the back of the room watching the returns. So I ask him what hes seeing. He whispers. He doesnt want to be overheard.

dwight shepard I can tell you that some of the people they thought were going to vote for those three ladies didnt vote for them.

zoe chace

Some of the people they thought were going to vote for those three ladies didnt vote for them, hes saying. When I ask him why, he says I really should go talk to Miss Minnie, meaning Minnie Price, the former PAC treasurer who argued with Horace and Cogdell and then quit.

dwight sheppard Miss Minnie could answer that question better than I can. zoe chace OK. Ill ask her. dwight sheppard Shell help you. zoe chace Uh huh.

zoe chace

Minnie is sitting in the very front row by herself, her own little island. Shes taking notes on the results in a little notebook.

zoe chace So you have a theory about what happened here? minnie price Hm? zoe chace Do you have a theory about what happened here? minnie price Do I have a theory? zoe chace Yeah.

[laughs]

minnie price No. Im just glad it happened this way. zoe chace Why? minnie price Because. People that was running was running for the wrong reasons. And take that off.

zoe chace

She motions for me to stop recording. Minnie has a few thoughts she doesnt want to say tonight, but shes told them to me on the record since. First, she thinks Cogdells redevelopment vision is a pipe dream. Theres never going to be a thriving Black downtown like there was when we grew up, she said to me. What we need to do is give Black children here the skills and education they need to leave this place. It makes her mad the way he talks, like hes selling the voters a bill of goods. But also, he just makes her really mad. Her main critique of what happened here, though, she just didnt think the three women were qualified to run. They werent involved in stuff, she says. They almost never went to town council meetings or anything. Minnie goes to almost all of them. They had no clear agenda. They didnt campaign much. Probably because they were new to it. But I would say, most importantly, she thought they were being used by Cogdell and Horace as just Black faces on the town council who they could control. Minnies take makes sense to me. I interviewed two of the women running. They were really nice and known in the community. One of them hosts a great gospel show on local radio. And they all definitely wanted change in Etown. But they seemed really green. And it really did seem to me like it was Cogdells vision that was driving this whole thing forward, way more than the candidates. Some people in Etown felt like something off was going on, like Horace and Cogdell were interlopers, bigfooting into an election where they didnt belong. Horace, for example, lives half an hour away from Etown. Cogdell lives just outside the city limits. Why were they so deep in the mix?

archived recording (michael cogdell)  of people that look like us that were minorities looking like you guys. You can do the 

zoe chace

I stopped by Cogdells office a few blocks away. He and Horace and the candidates and some others are there. Horace and Cogdell seemed legit taken aback. Cogdell is seated on a stool in front of the group, addressing everybody like a professor and a lecturer. As he puts it to the room, we didnt lose because of white voters. It was people that look like us that took us out.

archived recording (michael cogdell) And it wasnt them. It was us. Because I was standing there. It wasnt  dont get mad with them. It was us.

[chatter]

zoe chace Wait, Horace. Can I tape this? horace munn You can tape it. zoe chace OK.

zoe chace

I called Horace the next day on my ride home from the airport to see how he explained this loss to himself. More Black voters did vote in the municipal election this time. But the Black candidates hed backed still lost. Horace had a few explanations for this. Partly, he thought, this loss was a backlash over Dan McCreadys loss. Black voters who are mad at him and Cogdell for not helping a Democrat beat a Republican. They voted for the white candidates. Horace also blames the results on class divisions among Black people. He says there are upper class Black people, sometimes he calls them the elites, who are fine working with the white political establishment in town, who gain from it, and who voted accordingly. And Horace suggested one other reason for what happened, a reason that quite frankly struck me as pretty wild. In light of all the accusations of vote buying that have been aimed at the PAC, he thinks some voters were getting free stuff from one of the white candidates. Essentially, they were bought off.

horace munn  to win. And I dont know for sure, but Im willing to bet you that some of them Black people getting free stuff that you can never imagine. zoe chace You think? horace munn Yeah. Give me your vote. Get what you want. I cant prove it. zoe chace OK.

horace munn^

But 

zoe chace

Of course, Horace cant prove any such thing. Just like in myriad elections before it, theres no proof anyone was buying votes in the municipal election. I also had a theory for why Black voters in Bladen may not have voted the way Horace expected them to vote. I broached it with him, gingerly.

zoe chace I just think, like, maybe the Black voters  its, like, you know, its like weve talked about before. You know, everybodys not the same. They dont see it all the same way. You know, they dont just have to be bought off to see it different from you. They might just actually see it different. horace munn Well, you dont have to be bought off to see it. Some are bought off. Others are reaping the benefit. If you can reap the benefit of something for yourself and not care about the community, then same thing. Youve sold your soul.

zoe chace

He doubled down. I did, too.

zoe chace But isnt it possible they could have just wanted something different from what you wanted? horace munn I dont think so. How can you  how can you live in a community thats destitute, nothings coming in, all your buildings and your community are dilapidated, no fund is coming to the community. Theyre all spent in the white area, nothing in the Black area. So how can it be? What is it? Do you think the Blacks just vote to say I want to be poor and live in a poor area without any development and I want to support the whites because they are right? Thats bullshit. Its not true. Its unfounded. Its something else. Think about it. Open your mind up and look at the whole picture.

zoe chace

Its always zero sum with Horace when it comes to politics. Ive learned that. If youre not with him, youre against him. And if youre against him, youre wrong. But this is more than that. What Horace is trying to get me to see, the whole picture, as he says, its his understanding of not just this one election, but everything that goes on in Bladen. Whether its white politicians benefiting from Black people divided by class, or white people trading goods for Black votes, theres a grand, unifying explanation for all of it. And Horace believes hes the one who sees it all, like Neo in The Matrix. But what if you dont see things the way Horace does? And youre just as determined as he is? And youre influential and have a lot of connections and think its time for new leadership in Bladen? Well, then youd be Minnie Price.

archived recording (minnie price) If its going to help, I dont care if I triple split the Black vote. Why does he think that he could be the only Black running for something?

zoe chace
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  The Palace has downplayed the Philippines lower ranking in this years World Press Freedom Index, but questioned the factors that led to the country moving down the list.

Dalawang posisyon lang po iyan, two positions lower, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque of the countrys current place in the list by Reporters Without Borders. De minimis po iyan, wala masyadong ibig sabihin.

[Translation: Thats de minimis, it doesnt mean much.]

The Philippines ranks 138th out of 180 countries in the index this 2021, maintaining its descent in the list starting in 2018.

However, the spokesman disagreed with two particular reasons the international press freedom watchdog cited for its lower ranking of Manila.

We see nothing wrong with it pero [but] of course, we dispute also the ranking because iyong Reporters Without Borders considered as affront to press freedom itong [this] Rappler issue, said Roque, recounting in particular how the media organizations license to do business was revoked in 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulatory bodys appointees then were of former President Benigno Aquino III and not President Rodrigo Dutertes, he noted.

In its write-up on the Philippines, the Reporters Without Borders expressed how the hot-headed chief executive along with his staff embarked on a grotesque judicial harassment campaign against the news website Rappler and its editor, Maria Ressa, who has been the target of at least ten arrest warrants on a range of charges, all equally far-fetched.

Roque likewise contested the inclusion of the issue surrounding ABS-CBN, noting it was a matter of securing a franchise for its operations.

The Philippine Congress, most of which supports the president, refused in the summer of 2020 to renew the franchise of the countrys biggest TV network, said the global organization, adding how this deprived millions of Filipinos of absolutely essential public interest reporting during the pandemic.

Both issues should not have led to the decline in the countrys recent ranking, the official further argued.

So far, President Duterte's lowest grade is Aquino's highest. It is high time to set the record straight, there is no shrinking space for media in the Philippines based on this years World Press Freedom Index of the RSF, said Presidential Task Force on Media Security executive director Joey Sy Egco in a separate statement.

The country placed 156th in 2010, 140th in 2011-2012, 147th in 2013, 149th in 2014 and 141st in 2015 in the index. The Philippines' ranking is also the same as its placement in the list in 2016, both the last year of Aquino's term and the first of Duterte's.

Media should not be onion-skinned

When asked about how the administration will handle any findings of harassment and red-tagging of journalists, Roque first said he has no knowledge of the President red-baiting anyone in the profession.

Ang Presidente po, sa tagal niya sa pulitika, alam niya kung ano talaga ang papel ng media. So hinahayaan niyang gawin ang kanilang mga katungkulan, he said.

[Translation: The President has been in politics for so long, so he knows the role media plays. He just lets them fulfill their duties.]

However, he issued the media a message on the Presidents rather fiery retorts to equally staunch criticisms against him.

In the same way na hindi natin inaasahan maging balat-sibuyas ang Presidente, huwag ding balat-sibuyas ang media kapag sumagot ang Presidente, Roque noted.

[Translation: In the same way that we dont expect the President to be onion-skinned, the media shouldnt be onion-skinned as well once he actually responds.]

Reporters Without Borders also noted how online harassment campaigns initiated by pro-Duterte troll armies involved cyber-attacks on alternative news sites and even the website of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

It flagged as well how red-tagging returned in force last year, wherein journalists and media outlets are among those identified by the police and militaries as legitimate targets for arbitrary arrest or, worse still, summary execution.

RELATED: NDF-Mindanao spokesman killed; journo, union organizer arrested on Intl Human Rights Day
Washington: Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari has written to US President Joe Biden expressing concern over the increase in hate crimes against Sikhs in America, saying last week's Indianapolis shooting has reverberated throughout the community both in India and the diaspora.

Eight people, including four members of the Sikh community, three of whom were women, were killed in a mass shooting at a FedEx location in Indianapolis.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the dastardly 9/11 attacks, it is regrettable but needs to be flagged that the aftermath of that catastrophe saw an increase in hate crimes targeting the Sikh community, Tewari said in a letter to Biden that was delivered to the White House on Wednesday (April 21).

The Congress leader expressed "deepest condolences" to the aggrieved families of the horrific and dastardly tragedy at Indianapolis.

I represent the constituency of Sri Anandpur Sahib in the Indian Parliament. This constituency is located in the state of Punjab situated in the North West of India. Punjab is the natural and spiritual home of millions of Sikhs who live across the world, he said.

This unfortunate outrage in Indianapolis has reverberated throughout the community both in India as well the diaspora. This tragedy is personal for me as it was in Sri Anandpur Sahib that the Sikh faith was consecrated on the 13th of April 1699, wrote the Congress leader.

Tewari highlighted the August 2012 attack on a Sikh temple at Oak Creek in Wisconsin which claimed seven lives.

Members of the Sikh faith once again became victims of a perverse mindset, he said.

May I on behalf of the over two million people that I represent and the state that the community calls its organic home, appeal to your good self to kindly advise all US state governors and mayors to try and ensure that members of the Sikh faith are protected from such gut-wrenching and absolutely senseless attacks, Tewari wrote.

Noting that the Sikh community is very altruistic, Tewari said: Most recently this spirit of selflessness was evidenced once again when the Sikh community of New York City served meals to health care workers, COVID affected patients as the city was ravaged and unable to cope with rising cases of COVID-19, he said.

It is integral to the Sikh ethos to serve all those who need to be served de-prioritising one's own needs for the greater good of society, the Congress leader wrote.

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CUPERTINO, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blueback Global has been recognized as part of the Financial Times list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021. This prestigious award is presented by the Financial Times and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

The FT The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies comprises the enterprises that contribute most heavily to economic growth. 500 companies are featured on the list, which was announced online on April 13, 2021 and can currently be viewed on the FT website. Out of the millions of active companies in North and South America, only 500 firms were awarded in the list, and Blueback Global is ecstatic to be recognized as one of FT's inaugural list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021.

"We are honored to receive this important acknowledgment of our hard work and resilience - and are thankful to our team, clients and partners around the world for their success and tenacity. You put us proudly in great company! This recognition highlights the significance of international business and flexible employment during these evolving times. We look forward to carrying this momentum into 2021 and beyond," said founder Arden Ng.

Blueback Global, based in California, US, has extensive global presence with offices in the UK, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Mexico. We have established capability to provide outsource employment services in every continent with few exceptions due to political unrest or economic sanctions.

Find us online and on Linkedin .

Contact:

1 (408) 442-1111

connect@bluebackglobal.com
Orlando Octave is vibrating on what is for him a new philosophical frequency.

Octave recently embarked on a spiritual journey. The groovy soca artistes open search for truth and enlightenment led him through the teachings of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism then eventually towards the Hebrew Israelites  a group who believe they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites written of in the Torah and Bible.

Octave was introduced to their teachings by a friend in 2014. He developed a deeper understanding for the groups philosophy during a pilgrimage he made to Israel in 2016.
The Strong and Courageous: a gripping tale of unlikely meetings and salvation. The Strong and Courageous is the creation of published author, Beth Blair Heavener, a former rodeo cowgirl and loving wife.

Heavener shares, When eleven-year-old Bella Breeland was swallowed up in the extremely dense Gemini Forest in northern Florida, she had no idea how her careless actions would come to affect the lives of so many others.

Jenna Breeland: a single parent trying to run her veterinarian clinic alone after her husband and partner in the clinic had left her for another woman. Raising Bella alone had become a challenge that sometimes left her defeated.

Jonathan Gonzorelli: a hard-hearted homicide detective who was called in by his police chief to help locate Bella. He was not happy about being placed on lost kid detail.

Jamison Matthews: a broken-hearted veterinarian on vacation from Breezy Shores, Florida, who finds himself unexpectedly joining in the search for Bella.

Donna Bailey: Bellas beloved aunt, whose life changed drastically when Bella got lost.

Bella Breeland: a feisty eleven-year-old whose motto had become If its too good to be true, it will probably come unglued. Bella bit off more than she bargained for when she ran after her little dog who was chasing a rabbit into the dense forest. Following the dog, it was only a few minutes before Bella realized she was completely lost.

However, like Joshua in the Bible, those who are strong and courageous will always come out the victor with Gods help.

This is their story.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Beth Blair Heaveners new book is an inspirational story of love, forgiveness, and finding oneself.

A parents worst nightmare of a missing child comes to life within the pages of Heaveners debut novel. Will the unlikely band of search and rescue volunteers be able to find her in time?

View a synopsis of The Strong and Courageous on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase The Strong and Courageous at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about The Strong and Courageous, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
The lawfulness of the detention of Mayor of Meghri Mkhitar Zakaryan has been challenged in court. This is what member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun political party Gegham Manukyan declared in front of the building of the Prosecutor Generals Office today, adding that the court hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan.

Several citizens held a protest in support of the residents of Syunik Province in front of the Prosecutor Generals Office today with the demand for the release of the heads of several communities of Syunik Province and insisted that they were detained illegally.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The 31st Annual Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Greenwald Research has found that nearly nine out of 10 workers with access to an employer-sponsored defined contribution plan view auto portabilitythe new 401(k) plan default feature automatically transferring small-balance retirement savings when participants change jobsas a valuable benefit. The survey results, released today, independently validate the findings from the study of mobile workforce behaviors conducted in April 2015 by Boston Research Technologies in collaboration with Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC, in which 93% of participants expressed their view of auto portability as an excellent or good service.

"The findings of this year's Retirement Confidence Survey clearly demonstrate that the vast majority of plan participants would welcome the opportunity to automatically move and consolidate their 401(k) savings when they change jobs. This very strong support for auto portability among participants has not budged over a span of six years," said Spencer Williams, Founder, President, and CEO of Retirement Clearinghouse. "By providing a voice to participants, the survey results have given plan sponsors and recordkeepers even greater motivation to adopt the technology and solutions for enabling auto portabilityfurther fulfilling their responsibility as fiduciaries, and helping more hardworking Americans preserve and increase their retirement savings."

The Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), carried out every year by EBRI and independent research firm Greenwald Research, gauges the views and attitudes of working-age and retired Americans related to various aspects of retirement, including preparations for life in retirement. This is the first year that Retirement Clearinghouse has partnered with EBRI on the Retirement Confidence Survey. For more information about the 2021 survey findings, please visit https://www.ebri.org/retirement/retirement-confidence-survey.

The RCS is the longest-running survey of its kind, and was expanded by EBRI in 2021 to focus on the retirement security of Black and Latinx workers and retirees. In addition, EBRI broadened the RCS to include additional questions addressing workplace retirement savings programs, including auto portability. To learn more about the survey's auto portability findings, please visit https://www.ebri.org/docs/default-source/rcs/2021-rcs/rcs_21-fs-6_wsp.pdf?sfvrsn=7ad83a2f_2

When asked how valuable it would be if their retirement plan savings in a previous employer's plan were automatically transferred to their current employer's plan if/when they changed jobs, 85.3% of RCS respondents, or nearly nine out of 10, indicated that they would value such an automatic transfer. Furthermore, those participants who stand to benefit the most from auto portabilityincluding minorities, younger participants, and lower-income workerswant it more. Among the various groups of workers who are offered a workplace plan, the vast majorities stated they would consider auto portability to be a valuable benefit:

89.6% of Blacks

90.9% of Latinx

91.1% of workers with less than $25,000 in annual household income

in annual household income 94.6% of workers between ages 25 and 34

The RCS finding that indicates high demand for auto portability among younger workers is similar to the 2015 mobile workforce study's report (https://info.rch1.com/mobileworkforce) that 95.6% of Millennials would take advantage of auto portability.

Every year, based on EBRI data, $92 billion leaves the U.S. retirement system when job-changing participants prematurely cash out their 401(k) savings accounts, and pay related taxes and penalties. Black and Latinx workers are the most adversely affected by this phenomenon63% of Black and 57% of Latinx workers cash out within a year of changing jobs. Low-income and younger workers also have high cash-out rates, as 50% of workers earning $20,000 to $30,000 and 44% of workers between ages 20 and 29 cash out up to a year after switching employers.

The major cause of cash-out leakage is the historic lack of simplified, technology based plan-to-plan portability in the U.S. retirement system. Retirement Clearinghouse developed auto portabilitythe routine, standardized, and automated movement of a worker's 401(k) savings account from their former employer's plan to an active account in their current employer's planas a private-sector solution to this crisis.

EBRI estimates that, if all U.S. retirement savers had access to auto portability, approximately $2 trillion in additional retirement savings would be preserved in the U.S. retirement system over a 40-year period. These savings would include about $191 billion for an estimated 21 million Black Americans, and $619 billion for all minority workers.

"EBRI research finds that auto portability can play a decisive role in shrinking our country's retirement savings shortfallas well as reducing the wealth gap for various demographics," said Lori Lucas, CFA, President and CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. "Our survey findings indicate that workers see the value that auto portability can bring when it comes to retirement savings."

On behalf of a large plan sponsor in the health services sector, Retirement Clearinghouse completed the first-ever fully automated, end-to-end transfer of retirement savings from a safe-harbor IRA into a worker's active account in July 2017. Since that time, more than 2,000 workers have consented to have their former-employer plan accounts transferred into their current employers' plans.

In July 2020, it was announced that Alight Solutions, a leading provider of next-level human capital and business solutions, would offer the auto portability solution to its client base of 185 defined contribution plan sponsors serving nearly 5 million employees by the end of last year. For more information about auto portability, please visit https://www.rch1.com/auto-portability.

About Retirement Clearinghouse

Retirement Clearinghouse, LLC is the leading provider of portability and consolidation services for defined contribution plans, acting as a trusted, unbiased intermediary between plan sponsors, participants, recordkeepers and other parties. Retirement Clearinghouse's integrated financial technology, data and information solutions facilitate automated consolidation of small, redundant accounts for sponsors to improve plan performance metrics, and enable participants, regardless of account balance, to seamlessly transport their retirement savings through every phase of their careers.

Retirement Clearinghouse's portability solutions have been proven to cut cash-outs by over 50% and significantly increase average account balances. The firm's portability solutions include a domestic call center providing specialized assistance designed to enable end-to-end portability and account consolidation; uncashed check services; and the capability to search for lost and missing participants.

Retirement Clearinghouse (RCH) remains the only independent provider that defines its primary business as the consolidation of retirement savings into active 401(k) or IRA accounts and provides plans and their participants with services that streamline the seamless transfer of savings between retirement accounts.

Originally established as RolloverSystems in 2001, Charlotte, N.C.-based Retirement Clearinghouse works with more than 30,000 retirement plans and has helped guide over 1.6 million plan participants with more than $24 billion in retirement savings. Retirement Clearinghouse is a portfolio company of The RLJ Companies, founded by Robert L. Johnson. For more information, please visit www.rch1.com.

Media Contact: Laura Simpson

JConnelly for Retirement Clearinghouse

(973) 713-8834

[email protected]

SOURCE Retirement Clearinghouse
The Gujarat High Court has asked the state government to formulate a policy for the distribution of Remdesivir injections to hospitals in view of the high demand of the key anti-COVID-19 drug. The hearing on a PIL taken up suo motu (on its own) on the COVID-19 situation was conducted by the HC via video conference on April 20 and a detailed order was made available on Thursday.

At present, Remdesivir injections are used "in the order of preference which apparently is need-based and in priority of hospital", the high court said in its order.

During the previous hearing, the state government said Remdesivir is first administered to patients who are on ventilators in the state-run hospitals, then to patients on ventilators in private hospitals, followed by patients in ICUs in state hospitals and to those in private facilities and thereafter, to those on oxygen beds.

To this, a bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Bhargav Karia asked the government to come up with a uniform policy applicable across the state. "There has to be a reasonable policy of the State to ensure that all patients falling in the same category should be first provided with Remdesivir injection, i.e. the patients on ventilators whether they are in private or government facility, then it should be provided to those in ICUs in private or state-run hospitals," said the order.

The bench said the state government must convene an emergency meeting of all stake-holders and formulate a policy for the distribution of Remdesivir. "The distribution may be at the level of the Commissioner or Collector, but the policy to be followed must be framed by the State," the bench said.

The court also noted that as against the demand for Remdesivir raised by the designated COVID-19 hospitals, only "partial supply is made". The HC also expressed concern over the system adopted by the "108" ambulance service in picking up COVID-19 patients.

There are some complaints that a patient's serious condition is nota criteria for giving preference and patients are being picked up on first-come-first-serve basis by "108" ambulances, the bench noted. The court also stressed on the need to educate and sensitise people about the pandemicto "break the chain" and to flatten the curve of the viral infection.

The court has posted the PIL for next hearing on April 27.

Also read: Centre sends Remdesivir to Delhi, Maharashtra, UP, other states with high number of Covid-19 cases
UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs (centre), visits the Pournara First Reception Centre, Cyprus.  UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo

Access to territory and asylum, and improving reception conditions for asylum-seekers dominated the four-day visit of UNHCRs Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs to Cyprus concluding today. The island nation in the Eastern Mediterranean continues to grapple with new arrivals.

Cyprus is one of Europes frontline states and it faces increasing migratory pressures. Among those arriving are people fleeing conflict and persecution, in need of international protection, said Triggs.

We offered to increase our support to the authorities to help ensure unimpeded access to asylum for those who need it, as well as technical support for safe, fair and efficient asylum processes, including access to legal aid."

While UNHCR previously received reports of pushbacks at sea of boats carrying Syrians and incidents of asylum-seekers stranded in the Buffer Zone, Triggs received assurances from authorities that new arrivals had access to national asylum procedures.

As part of her visit, Triggs visited the countrys main reception facility, the Pournara First Reception Centre. Built in 2014, it was meant to operate as an emergency reception centre for up to 400 people and later expanded to accommodate 1,000. Today it hosts more than 1,600.

We are especially worried for the 200 children currently at the centre, half of whom are unaccompanied. They need specific care arrangements and to be separated from the adults, said Triggs.

With infrastructure and sanitary facilities stretched beyond capacity, people at Pournara are being hosted in prefabricated units and tents lacking adequate access to electricity, hygiene facilities or gender-sensitive accommodation.

UNHCR has donated housing units, tents and other shelter and household assistance. Triggs offered further technical expertise to decongest the camp as well as counselling and protection services.

Most asylum seekers in Cyprus reside in urban areas and face particular difficulties. They told Triggs about the challenges they face in securing accommodation and accessing employment and education. If they are unable to sustain themselves they may resort to onward movements.

We had very open and constructive discussions with the government on all these issues and are very encouraged by the commitments we have received, including expanding safe areas for the children and vulnerable individuals at Pournara and addressing accommodation and integration gaps for asylum seekers."

News footage is available for media and broadcasters:

or more information, please contact:
WASHINGTON, D.C.  Both of Oregon's U.S. Senators have joined in a push to reintroduce the Green New Deal resolution, a 14-page document that pledges to address climate change by investing in renewable energy and infrastructure.

Supporters of the legislation say that it lays out a proposed 10-year "national mobilization" similar to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, that would push toward "good-paying, union jobs" repairing the nation's infrastructure while reducing pollution and carbon emissions.

Oregonians enduring longer wildfire seasons along with prolonged droughts know full well how the climate crisis is already ravaging communities throughout our state, said Wyden. The need to act is now, and the Green New Deal recognizes that urgency by sending a powerful message that its time to kick Americas carbon habit before it destroys our families, our economy, and the future of our planet.

The Green New Deal resolution is spearheaded by Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, supported by a number of labor and environmentalist organizations. Former Democratic presidential candidates and Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, and Cory Booker also signed on to the Senate version of the resolution.

The climate crisis is not a hypothetical scenario. Oregonians in every corner of our state felt its effects firsthand last year, as catastrophic wildfires burned houses, stole lives, and leveled entire communities, said Merkley. Climate chaos is the biggest crisis of our generation. Unless we put in place a bold strategy quickly, were going to keep paying the price. This resolution helps to provide a blueprint for the kind of climate action we needone that would not only protect lives, but also create millions of good-paying jobs and a more just and more prosperous nation.

Unlike a typical bill that proposes law, a resolution seeks to express the outlook of a single chamber of Congress on public policy issues. As a result, the Green New Deal resolution contains a list of climate-related goals moreso than specific changes to standing U.S. law.
The head of Canadian Pacific referred to its rival's bid for U.S. railway Kansas City Southern "fantasyland" as a war of words between Canada's two largest railroads continued to heat up.

In this Nov. 5, 2004 file photo, the logo of Kansas City Southern is down on a restored 1954 Kansas City Southern passenger locomotive at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Norman Ng/The Kansas City Star via AP

The head of Canadian Pacific referred to its rival's bid for U.S. railway Kansas City Southern "fantasyland" as a war of words between Canada's two largest railroads continued to heat up.

Canadian National Railway's US$33.7-billion offer this week could be 500 per cent more than CP's bid, but Keith Creel called CN's offer "fantasy money" and "fool's gold."

"It's not a real deal as far as I'm concerned. It's kind of fantasy land," he told analysts Wednesday in a conference call about its quarterly earnings results.

In a Thursday letter to the KCS board of directors, CN Rail CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest countered by accusing Canadian Pacific Railway of distracting investors with "inaccurate and unfounded assertions."

"CP's claims are not intended to benefit KCS shareholders, but to advance CPs own interests and to deprive KCS shareholders of the full value for their shares," he wrote.

Ruest said the Calgary-based rival has failed to acknowledge the "clear and substantial superiority" of CNs cash-and-share proposal for KCS shareholders. Its proposal is valued at US$325 per share that is US$50 per share higher than CP's which is valued at US$25 billion.

Creel said that while CN's offer was "eye-opening," it is unattainable because it can't win U.S. regulatory approval due to its negative impact on competition.

Creel said a CN-KCS merger would "destabilize" the rail network balance in North America that has prevented further consolidation of the six largest railroads for two decades, adding it would leave CP as a disadvantaged "odd-man-out" in a six-railroad North America.

CP has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to rule that its combination with KCS qualifies under a waiver the regulator granted to KCS in 2001 from more stringent merger rules adopted to protect competition.

It said the STB should make it clear that CN's bid will not qualify for the same exemption. Opponents of CP's bid say the railway should also not receive the waiver.

Ruest said he's confident the Montreal-based railway will secure regulatory approval, noting that the relevant railroad regulatory approval condition is approval of the voting trust, something that is identical for both bidders.

"CN is confident that the Surface Transportation Board (STB) will not subject CNs proposal to any different standard or scrutiny in approving the voting trust than would be applicable to CPs proposal," Ruest wrote.

"Both voting trusts are equally likely to be approved. CP's deliberately misleading claims to the contrary are not correct."

Ruest added that following the closing of the voting trust, CN is confident that it will be able to address any "reasonable remediation concerns and ensure that rail customers and other stakeholders benefit from the proposed combination with KCS."

In response to an analyst's question, Creel said Wednesday that CP is not considering increasing its bid for KCS because it doesn't want to put its balance sheet at risk.

But Benoit Poirier of Desjardins Capital Markets said it would make sense for CP to do so, with an increase 11 per cent adjusted profits from the transaction, in line with CN.

"We maintain our view that CP will ultimately complete the transaction with KSU," he wrote in a report.

"Meanwhile, we agree with management that a CN-KSU combination would open the door for CP to consider a merger with another Class l railroad in the U.S. at some point.

Analyst Cameron Doerksen of National Bank Financial said CP has made a compelling argument that the CN-KSU combination is anticompetitive and that the STB may not approve the voting trust structure.

"Investors should look for shipper reaction to CN's proposal in the coming days as a potential gauge of the likelihood for STB to consider a CN-KSU combination," he wrote, adding that there's a good chance the CP deal wins under the current financial terms.

The U.S. regulator has received hundreds of letters of support for CP's bid made a month ago, but endorsements of CN's proposal have started to arrive.

DUBO International Logistics Inc. and Lottridge Tire & Retreading Inc. said a CN-KCS railway would offer "faster, safer, cleaner and more direct service for North-South trade."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR, TSX:CP)
A child wearing mask as a precaution against the coronavirus watches as a health worker takes a nasal swab sample of a woman to test for COVID-19 at a hospital in Hyderabad, India. (AP)

Hyderabad: The elections to seven urban local bodies (ULBs) in Telangana state scheduled for April 30, which neither the state government nor the State Election Commission has decided to postpone in response to a court directive, will most likely push back the efforts by the government to control the second wave of Covid-19, night curfew and all.

Elections are scheduled for the municipal corporations of Greater Warangal and Khammam, and the municipalities of Achampet, Siddipet, Nakrekal, Jadcherla and Kothur, which together have a population of around 12.45 lakh. The total voters in the ULBs are 1,16,221, according to the State Election Commission.

With the Coronavirus rampaging through every district of the state, simple calculations, based on April 22 (Thursdays) Covid-19 positivity rate of 5.4 per cent, indicates that if the virus continues to behave the way it is doing at present, it could well infect, in a worst-case scenario, a stupendous 67,230 people in ULBs going for polls. This is without factoring in a higher risk associated with campaigning by political parties, especially organizing of rallies and public meetings.

Though every political party has been advised to follow Covid-19 safety protocols such as everyone wearing face masks properly and maintain physical distance, this has become, as was witnessed during the campaign for the Nagarjunasagar Assembly seat bypoll on April 17, a mere euphemism.

On the ground, party leaders and cadre enjoy a de facto licence to do what politicians do best  look at their own future, use people and them leave them to fend for themselves.

For instance, in Nalgonda district, in which Nagarjunasagar constituency falls, saw a slew of political rallies and public meetings, leading to the bypoll. It witnessed a serious spike in Covid-19 cases, which on April 8 stood at 88, rose to 102 on April 14, to 144 on April 20, and doubled overnight to 285 on April 21. On April 22, the number fell to 161 but that could well be because of lower testing, as authorities began running out of test kits in several districts.

In fact, post the election, health minister Etala Rajendar and power minister G. Jagadish Reddy were worried enough to hold a meeting with health department officials from the former united Nalgonda district to check on how bad the Covid-19 situation was.

What is very worrying scenario according to the state health department is that 80 per cent of all cases being discovered are asymptomatic. It implies large percentage of people, without exhibiting any symptoms, are fully capable of spreading it to others, who might be vulnerable.

Anyone not yet discovered to be Covid-19 positive and moving around freely, is like a time-bomb that could go off any time, infecting those around.

While accurate projections cannot be made as data on the tested universe of people and the universe of asymptomatic cases is not made available by the health department, which has over the past year, kept most of the critical data on various parameters, close to its chest and never made it public for any kind of an analysis by public health experts.

The simple principle everyone has to ask themselves when willing to go into public meetings or rallies is will I get out of this alive? Are elections and power worth it?, said a public health policy and infectious diseases specialist.

According to a senior doctor, it is estimated that at least 10 per cent of the population is infected by Covid-19 any point of time in the state currently. This in turn means that of the 12,45,000 odd people in the seven ULBs going to polls, at least 1,24,500 could already be carrying the disease.

If 80 per cent of these are asymptomatic, then it would mean that 99,600 asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers could be on the loose capable of spreading it to others. And by not being willing to postpone elections by a few weeks, the state government and SEC are risking lives of over a million people for a couple of corporations and a handful of municipalities.
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Statistics Estonia has selected HULFT, Inc. to integrate large volumes of data, in many disparate formats, from over 70 public data sources, supporting critical government decisions that shape economic and social policies.

Statistics Estonia has been responsible for collecting vital national data since 1921, facilitating analysis that delivers important benefits to Estonias population. Its work is crucial for demographic, social, economic, and environmental development.

However, the data gateway Statistics Estonia was using to receive and integrate the data was dependent on highly manual cleansing, restructuring, and validation, which necessitated three full-time SQL developers. The manual SQL scripts produced were prone to error and omission, and could not keep up with an ever-increasing influx of data, particularly from real-time sources like COVID-19 reporting.

Much of the data we have typically processed was from a preceding period, said Tauno Tamm, Chief Data Officer at Statistics Estonia. What a phenomenon like COVID showed was the criticality of being able to integrate real-time data, which was coming at us with greater speed and velocity  faster than our developers could respond to.

Read Statistics Estonias full case study here.

Hear directly from Statistics Estonia on how they accelerated their data integration in the webinar recording here (with English subtitles)

Better-quality data, and more of it - with less effort

Statistics Estonia worked with HULFT to slash the time, effort, cost, and risk of error involved in integrating data, by deploying HULFT Integrate to automate the processing of more data and at greater speed.

HULFT Integrate is a no-code data integration architecture that is securely compatible with all major data destinations through hundreds of diverse adapters.

Automation massively accelerated the integration of 50 separate critical statistics across all 70 sources - freeing up three full-time developers for strategic projects elsewhere in the organisation.

Both structured and unstructured data formats - .CSV, Excel, email, SharePoint  from both static and real-time sources are now integrated in greater volume, at greater speed.

We can now produce data faster, with the same amount of people, Tamm commented. HULFT was the optimum combination of price, quality and customer service, delivering the best value overall in comparison to the other solutions we looked at.

Read Statistics Estonias full case study here.

About HULFT Inc.

Todays enterprise works hard for data. IT spends time and money manually connecting far-flung silos of data, which are often insecure. A division of Saison Information Systems (TYO: 9640), which celebrates its 50th Anniversary, HULFT has helped more than 10,000 global customers automate, orchestrate, and accelerate the secure flow of information at scale. HULFT provides a single global platform that helps IT quickly find, secure, organize, transform, and move the right information  automating the entire business processes of data flow, and unlocking value in a sea of information. HULFT is the engine that makes data work. For more information, please visit https://hulftinc.com/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210420005420/en/

Vivian Shic

vivian@hulftinc.com

Source: HULFT Inc.
RICHMOND, Va., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hilb Group, LLC ("THG") announced today that it has acquired Texas-based Clarus Benefits Group, LLC ("CBG"). The transaction became effective on April 1, 2021.

CBG is an employee benefits and human resources consulting firm, providing unique packages and services for clients in a variety of industries. As part of the transaction, Cary Goss and his team will join the Hilb Central Region.

"It is exciting to be taking business in a new direction with THG," said Cary Goss. "This is an opportunity to fuel growth and further enhance our service offerings for clients."

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Cary Goss and his associates to our expanding team at THG," Ricky Spiro, THG CEO. "We are confident that they will strengthen our employee benefits practice and presence in the region."

About THG: THG is a leading property and casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. THG is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm. THG seeks to grow through strategic acquisitions and by leveraging its resources and expertise to drive organic growth in its acquired agencies. The company has completed more than 100 acquisitions and now has over 100 offices in 21 states. THG is rated as one of the Fastest Growing Brokers by Business Insurance, a Top P/C Agency by Insurance Journal, and one of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the Inc. 5000. Please visit our website at: http://hilbgroup.com .

Media Contact:

Ally Barbour

804-533-0191

[email protected]

M&A Contact:

Ryan Havermann

804-414-6508

[email protected]

SOURCE The Hilb Group, LLC

Related Links

http://www.hilbgroup.com


Addressing climate change will require the largest reconstruction of the global economy since the Industrial Revolution, according to a report published today by MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community.

The Role of Capital in the Net-Zero Revolution highlights how capital markets participants must be a powerful and positive force to urgently drive the systemic transformation needed to avert climate catastrophe. This call to action identifies specific steps that companies as well as owners and managers of capital must take to drive the achievement of a net-zero economy by 2050.

Analysis by MSCI of its All Country World Investable Markets Index (MSCI ACWI IMI) - a measure of approximately 9,000 publicly listed companies across 50 developed and emerging markets with a market value of over USD 70 trillion1  revealed those companies annually emit an estimated 11.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e)2. Our model indicates that, without any change to current practices, the annual emissions of these companies could reach 16.8 gigatons of CO 2 e by 20503, leading to a planet that is 3.5C warmer by the end of the century4. This trajectory demonstrates the tremendous challenge in reaching net-zero and the urgency to act now.

Therefore, MSCI calls upon:

Asset owners including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and individuals to reallocate capital to less emission intensive investments and to green solutions aligned with accepted warming scenarios; target a year-on-year decarbonization of portfolios that allows for a reduction in the worlds total emissions by 10% a year; and transition to a policy benchmark to help portfolios move toward net-zero

including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, endowments, insurance companies and individuals to reallocate capital to less emission intensive investments and to green solutions aligned with accepted warming scenarios; target a year-on-year decarbonization of portfolios that allows for a reduction in the worlds total emissions by 10% a year; and transition to a policy benchmark to help portfolios move toward net-zero Asset managers to use their voting rights and direct engagement with companies to urge them to align with net-zero targets; support owners of capital by building expertise to fund clean energy; and develop risk management and reporting expertise in accordance with the guidelines of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

to use their voting rights and direct engagement with companies to urge them to align with net-zero targets; support owners of capital by building expertise to fund clean energy; and develop risk management and reporting expertise in accordance with the guidelines of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Banks to support businesses with capital to invent and scale clean energy; and drive developments in corporate lending and corporate debt and equity issuance linking terms of capital to net-zero objectives

to support businesses with capital to invent and scale clean energy; and drive developments in corporate lending and corporate debt and equity issuance linking terms of capital to net-zero objectives Companies to set emissions targets to reach net-zero no later than 2050; articulate credible and specific strategies to achieve these reductions; and incorporate best practices when reporting and disclosing data and initiatives undertaken

Reflective of MSCIs commitment to support the transparency needed to evaluate the progress of decarbonization, MSCI will publish quarterly the MSCI ACWI IMI Net-Zero Tracker. This report will indicate the aggregate temperature alignment of MSCI ACWI IMI with a 1.5C trajectory, as well as highlight the companies and sectors that have made the greatest progress in the path toward net-zero and identify the worlds laggards. MSCI will consult with market participants to develop and enhance the report over time.

Henry Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MSCI, comments, On the current trajectory, MSCI ACWI IMI will be scarcely greener in 2050 than in 2020, with an estimated 80% of companies exceeding the emissions budget needed to be well below 2.0C5. This is not a path to net-zero. Capital markets are an essential and critical force to drive the transition to net-zero with concerted action from all participants, ranging from a reallocation of capital by asset owners, to effective channelling of funds by asset managers and banks to greener investments and innovation, alongside the commitment of companies.

A global index such as the MSCI ACWI IMI can serve as a measure of the carbon trajectory of the worlds companies. By acting as the objective and transparent measure of progress, we can help drive accountability, reflect the voice of the worlds largest investors and identify the companies making progress to power the systemic transformation needed for a net-zero revolution.

MSCI, as a company, has committed to the goal of net-zero emissions throughout its global operations before 2040. MSCIs transition strategy focuses on reducing emissions through carbon-reduction initiatives and engaging suppliers to achieve shared net-zero goals. More information about MSCIs net-zero commitment can be found here.

About MSCI Inc.

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data, and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or performance and involve risks that may cause actual results or performance differ materially and you should not place undue reliance on them. Risks that could affect results or performance are in MSCIs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year ended on December 31 that is filed with the SEC. MSCI does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements. No information herein constitutes investment advice or should be relied on as such. MSCI grants no right or license to use its products or services without an appropriate license. MSCI MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN AND DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

________________________________

1 Based on the sum of the free- float- adjusted market capitalization of all MSCI ACWI IMI constituents as of March 31, 2021.

2 Calculated as of March 31, 2021, based on the sum of MSCI ACWI IMI constituents Scope 1 emissions, using publicly reported data where available and MSCIs Carbon Estimation Methodology where no reporting is available. One gigaton is equal to one billion tons.

3 Projection based on the sum of MSCI ACWI IMI constituents Scope 1 emissions, taking into account publicly announced carbon-emissions reduction targets. The projection uses an annual emission growth rate of 1.4%, which is the average annual emission growth rate of the world between 2010 and 2019. See: Emission Gap Report 2020. UNEP, Dec. 9, 2020.

4 Compared to pre-industrial temperatures, as estimated by MSCIs Warming Potential model, as of March 31, 2021. As highlighted in the TCFDs Forward Looking Financial Sector Metrics consultation, the financial industry is currently working on aligning the core parameters between the methodologies for implied Temperature Rise metrics such as MSCIs Warming Potential model.

5 Climate Reality Bites: Actually, We Will Not Always Have Paris. December 2020. MSCI.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210420005775/en/
Amidst increasing demand for medical oxygen and complaints about its scarcity due to the rising COVID-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a high-level meeting to review oxygen supply across the country and discuss ways and means to boost its availability.

During the meeting, the prime minister asked officials to ensure that oxygen supply to various states happens in a smooth and unhindered manner. He also called for fixing responsibility with the local administration in cases of obstruction of oxygen supply. The meeting was attended by Cabinet Secretary, Principal Secretary to PM, Home Secretary, Health Secretary and officials from Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Minstry of Road Transport, Pharmaceuticals and NITI Aayog.

Modi highlighed the need to work rapidly on multiple aspects -- increasing production of oxygen, increasing the speed of distribution and using innovative ways to provide oxygen support to health facilities.

Also read: Oxygen tanker kept waiting amid shortage; Apollo director Sangita Reddy urges Centre to intervene

"PM was briefed on how oxygen supply to states is steadily increasing. Against the present demand from 20 states of 6,785 MT/day of liquid medical oxygen, Government of India has from 21st April, allocated 6,822 MT/day to these states," a release from the government said.

The availability of liquid medical oxygen has been increased by about 3,300 MT/day in the last few days with contributions from private and public steel plants, industries, oxygen manufacturers as well as through prohibition of supply of oxygen for non-essential industries.

The prime minister asked ministries to explore innovative ways to increase production and supply of oxygen and also stressed that states should come down heavily on hoarding.

"Representatives from the medical community also spoke about the need for judicious use of oxygen and how an audit in some states has decreased oxygen demand without affecting the condition of patients," the release said.

Amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases, many states and hospitals have been complainaing of scarcity of oxygen. The Supreme Court and High Courts have also taken cognizance of the issue, with the Supreme Court on Thursday asking Centre for a 'national plan' on issues including supply of oxygen and essential drugs for treatment of patients infected with COVID-19.

India reported 3,14,835 new COVID-19 cases and 2,104 deaths due to the infection in the preceding 24 hours as of Thursday morning.

Also read: Ola Electric announces world's largest two-wheeler charging network across 400 cities, 1 lakh points
Arizona lawmaker uses racist language and demands Black colleague be sat down in clash over voting rights bill (Getty/iStock)

An Arizona lawmaker used racist language and demanded that a Black colleague be sat down in a clash over a voting rights bill.

Republican state representative Travis Grantham interrupted Democrat Reginald Bolding as he made a speech against a voter suppression bill.

Mr Grantham, who is white, asked the house to stop Mr Bolding from speaking using a House Rule that no member shall use language that is personally offensive.

And in doing so he used the phrase coloured people, which itself is now viewed as offensive for its links to the Jim Crow era of the late 19th century.

I feel personally that motives were arraigned of members, including myself, with regards to coloured people, Black people, whatever people this individual wants to single out, in their ability to vote, and I think its incorrect, claimed Mr Grantham.

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it.

I think he should be sat down and he shouldnt be allowed to speak, he added, seemingly treating his colleague as a child.

The Independent has reached out to both Mr Grantham and Mr Bolding for comment.

Read More

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New Delhi, April 22 : Delhi Chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday appealed to neighbouring state governments - Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to come together to fight against the spread of Covid-19 instead of allowing borders to divide the response to the pandemic.

Kejriwal's remarks came a day after the Delhi Government blamed both the Haryana and UP governments for blocking oxygen supply to Delhi.

Addressing a digital briefing, Kejriwal also pledged to provide resources such as oxygen, essential medicines and medical personnel, including doctors, to other States as and when these were in a position of being shared.

"For last few days, we have witnessed shortage of oxygen and other health crisis across the country due to the Covid-19 situation. Delhi has also been facing issues especially related to oxygen. I have personally spent entire nights attempting to ensure oxygen supply to city hospitals," Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal added that Delhi requires a daily supply of 700 tonnes of oxygen. The Centre has increased Delhi's quota to 489 tonnes against 378 tonnes of oxygen, but it is still lower than what Delhi needs.

He said, "The Centre decides which company will supply oxygen to different States and cities such as Delhi where oxygen is not manufactured. Oxygen manufactured by companies in other States is allocated to others according to the Centre's directions." He continued, "It is an emergency situation and everyone need to come together to confront and defeat it. It was a time to rise above State divisions and become Indians." He also said that Delhi will share its medical resources with other States as soon as possible. "We have to show the world how India, despite having the highest Covid-19 cases in the whole world, came together to fight and defeat this pandemic," Kejriwal added.

In the meanwhile, few hospitals in Delhi continued to set alarm of shortage of oxygen, the recent one in Shanti Mukund Hospital. The hospital authority said, "Over 110 patients are on oxygen support here. We are trying to shift patients who don't require oxygen and those who requires more than 7 ltrs of oxygen." However, some other big hospitals have confirmed to have received oxygen supply late on Wednesday night. "Yes, we have received supply of oxygen late last night," said a doctor in St. Stephen Hospital. The St. Stephen Hospital had raised an alarm for immediate need of oxygen on Tuesday.

"Have received oxygen supply early morning today (April 22) present storage of 8,800 cubic meters will last till tomorrow 10 am," Sir Ganga Ram Hospital told IANS.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Huobi Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited (Huobi Asset Management), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huobi Technology Holdings Limited (Huobi Tech, stock code: 1611), today announced the launch of four crypto-related funds for institutional investors. The new offerings, include three virtual asset funds and a private equity fund for blockchain mining-related businesses.

On March 3rd, 2021, Huobi Asset Management obtained the SFC's approval to manage and distribute funds 100% invested in digital assets, making Huobi only the second virtual asset fund manager to become licensed in Hong Kong. Since obtaining approval, Huobi Asset Management has already received $50 million USD in commitments across the four funds and is targeting $100 million by Q3 2021.

Huobi Asset Management's new crypto-focused funds include a BTC tracker fund, ETH tracker fund, and a multi-strategy virtual asset fund, all of which are 100% invested in virtual assets. The multi-strategy fund is an actively managed fund that invests in a basket of diversified cryptocurrencies, offering investors the potential for higher returns than passive allocation. Both the ETH tracking fund and the multi-strategy fund are the first virtual asset investment products of its kind to be issued by a licensed fund manager in Hong Kong.

"Huobi Asset Management offers professional investors the opportunity to build virtual asset ownership in a secure, reliable and convenient manner via traditional fund products, elevating concerns in the area of accounting treatments, tax implications and audit interpretations investors otherwise would have to face when directly purchasing virtual assets" Said Gillian Wu, CEO of Huobi Asset Management. "The funds launched are intended to cater to type of investors with different risk appetite, we are confident about future growth"

In addition to the three virtual asset funds, Huobi Asset Management is also offering a private equity fund that will make investments in crypto mining-related businesses, a market segment that has seen exponential growth over the past few years. As institutional investors, retail investors, and enterprises alike continue to adopt virtual assets, Huobi will leverage its expertise to identify and invest in companies in the virtual asset mining ecosystem, including hardware manufacturers or mining pools. The private equity fund caters to investors seeking relatively stable returns through the operational management of portfolio companies within the mining space.

Huobi Asset Management's funds are open to qualified institutional investors as defined by the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Securities and Futures (Professional Investors) Rules of the SFC. As a licensed asset manager, Huobi is the first to accept both fiat currencies or virtual assets as choices for subscription. Current investors in the new funds include high net worth individuals, mutual funds, corporate treasuries, family offices, and other traditional asset managers looking to increase their exposure to blockchain and digital assets as part of a diversified investment strategy.

The launch of the new funds comes as digital assets like BTC and ETH reach record highs amid growing institutional adoption. With digital assets becoming an increasingly important asset class, Huobi Asset Management aims to cater to institutional investors in need of investment products with a regulatory oversight from a trusted brand. The funds will be managed by a senior investment team with decades of combined asset management experience at global financial institutions, with investments expertise built across both traditional and virtual asset classes.

"I am glad to see the funds from Huobi Asset Management are launched fast and efficient; also the virtual asset custody business of Huobi Technology is progressing at a high tempo," said Zhang Li, CFO of Huobi Technology. "We aim to be the leader in providing all-round virtual asset related services in Asia, and shall continue the best effort in driving regulatory compliance within the virtual asset industry"

About Huobi Technology Holdings Limited

Huobi Technology Holdings Limited ("Huobi Tech") were listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in November 2016 (Stock Code: 1611). Primarily engaged in OEM & EMS manufacturing of power-related and electronic products, Huobi Tech is also expanding its business into technology solutions with an emphasis on blockchain applications.

Huobi Tech is applying for digital asset and finance-related licenses in major markets around the world, incubating and expanding new businesses. Up to now, the company has already successfully got the approval from the SFC to conduct Type 4(advising on securities) and Type 9(asset management) regulated activities, the Trust or Company Service Provider license and the Trust Company License (Nevada USA).

SOURCE Huobi Technology
COMPANIES

How CACI sees slower, but eventual return to whatever normal looks like

What a return to normal or a new normal looks like for the government contractors after the COVID-19 pandemic remains uneven at best, despite vaccinations rolling out.

That is at least how CACI International sees it. Agency facilities still have occupancy reductions in place, travel restrictions remain active for government and industry, and procurement activity is also uneven too.

During CACIs third quarter earnings call with investors Thursday, CEO John Mengucci gave this anecdote of how the company saw a couple nice taskings come out recently, but had expected those to come out last June and (they) came out just now.

In general, facilities have not fully reopened at the level we expected due to some of these densification concerns, Mengucci said. We saw the spike at the end of January, we saw another spike in March, so that continues to put pressure on us.

Arlington, Virginia-based CACI thus slightly lowered its fiscal year 2021 revenue outlook to between $6 billion and $6.075 billion, down from the last guidance range of between $6.05 billion and $6.25 billion. Either way, that still suggests organic growth of 5 percent year-over-year.

Sales in the third quarter were up 5.9 percent over the prior year period to $1.5 billion, while the bottom line saw 29.9-percent improvement to $183.6 million adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year is anticipated to be nearly 11 percent.

Menguccis expectation is the factors he highlighted as still hanging over CACI and the market it participates in will lessen as vaccines continue to be given en masse.

I do believe that tasking pressures will begin to lessen because as more of our customers in the functional areas come back to work, that's going to free those up, Mengucci said.

One longer-term pressure that many in industry expect is on the federal budget given the trillions of COVID-19 stimulus spending and what that could potentially mean for defense funding.

The government fiscal year 2022 budget is not part of that dynamic given the Biden administrations request for a 2-percent increase in defense spending to $753 billion, coupled with a 16-percent raise in non-defense spending to $769 billion.

Coupled alongside that is the plan for U.S. forces to withdraw from Afghanistan this year. Mengucci told analysts the company generates nearly 2 percent of annual sales from work in Afghanistan.

Whilst the appropriations process awaits in Congress, Mengucci said the budget requests general priorities are in keeping with CACI's priorities as the U.S. presence wound down in Afghanistan over the past several years. Counterterrorism operations and what Russia and China present are among said priorities CACI has sought to align with.

It gives a nice spending levels for our customers to continue investing in critical requirements, Mengucci said. There is a focus on technology fielded at the speed of software, not hardware. As I'm reading portions of it, (its) just as much about bits and bytes than bombs and bullets."

"A lot of IT modernization priorities, a lot of new network build-outs, a lot of talk around where does the military and the like head where it pertains to 5G and I believe customers understand where they can spend and where the threats are," he added.

One case in point he highlighted on the non-defense side: the nearly $1 billion in funding put toward IT modernization as part of the $1.9 billion COVID economic relief package known as the American Rescue Plan signed into law in March.

IT modernization from what we see is a priority, maybe whose time has finally come, Mengucci said. I'm very, very excited about the monies this administration is putting towards IT modernization, not only in the face of continuous cyber attacks, but in the face of COVID."

In the face of that, it is in dire need of having further updates."

Technology modernization also goes hand-in-hand with how businesses and agencies think about an eventual return of workers to offices. A more distributed workforce seemingly requires a more robust technology backbone to support it including cybersecurity, Mengucci said.

Its a horrific, generational pandemic that we are all living through, but there will be a day when we come out of it. There are going to be some things that are forever changed, which I think are tailwinds to things that we do, Mengucci said. IT modernization, network security, how do we build networks out, that will be more of a plus-sign.

Shares in CACI were up around 1 percent in mid-afternoon trade after they were in the red during the morning session.
Mathura, April 22 : Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been jailed in Mathura for more than six months on charges of sedition and terrorism, has tested positive for Covid-19.

Senior superintendent of the Mathura prison, Shailendra Maitrey, said that he was shifted to KM Medical College for Covid treatment on Wednesday.

Maitrey said that he fell inside the barrack on Tuesday night and was shifted to prison hospital for treatment, where he tested positive for Covid-19.

His condition is stable, he added.

However, two other prisoners, Atikur Rahman and Mohammad Alam, who were with him in the same barrack, have tested negative for the virus.

Kappan was arrested with three others, Masood Ahmad, Atikur Rahman, and Mohammad Alam, on October 5, 202, while they were on their way to Hathras to meet the family of a Dalit girl, who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered.

They were later booked for links with the Popular Front of India (PFI), an extremist Islamic organisation.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Here at City & State, we do our best to keep you informed on whos endorsing who for New York City mayor. We have a lengthy endorsement tracker that encompasses notable elected officials, unions, political party organizations and public figures. But in case thats too much information for you, and you wanted to cut straight to the fluff, heres a rundown of some of the celebrities who have waded into the race.

Ray McGuire

McGuire has a slate of celeb endorsements, but his most recent addition is a campaign video with Jay-Z, Nas and Diddy. We dont know how the preparation for this actually went down, but its fun to imagine that he saw that Yang for Mayor rap and it just jogged his memory: Right, Ive been meaning to call up Hova and nail down his endorsement! Better add in Nas and Diddy for good measure or theyll get jealous.

Other notable celeb endorsements for McGuire: LL Cool J, Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Martin, former New York Knicks stars Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley, and former New York Giants player Tiki Barber.

Eric Adams

Former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Doc Gooden has endorsed Adams, but the Brooklyn borough president is honestly a celebrity in his own right. Not sure which Academy Award hes eligible for with that resurfaced video on how to search your house for contraband, but maybe all of them?

Scott Stringer

Scarlett Johansson is a longtime Stringer supporter, maybe she can pull some strings with her hubby to get Scott on Saturday Night Live? Maybe he can co-host with his new supporter Mark Ruffalo, who endorsed just in time for Earth Day. The Venn diagram of those who watch SNL and those who plan to rank Stringer No. 1 is probably close to a circle already, but it would be a hell of a show!

Maya Wiley

Wiley has so many celebrity endorsements that its hard to even plot the implications. Does the Gabrielle Union endorsement tacitly imply support from her husband Dwyane Wade? Does the Alyssa Milano endorsement mean theres beef with Rose McGowan? Should New Yorkers vote for her just to see what outfit Billy Porter wears to her inauguration? Hollywood is complicated!

Other Wiley endorsements: Yvette Nicole Brown, Chris Evans, Jonathan Frakes, Kathy Griffin, Rosie ODonnell, Patton Oswalt, Cedric the Entertainer, Debra Messing, Tichina Arnold

Andrew Yang

Its not even an official endorsement, but did you know that Huge Ma, the man behind the bot account TurboVax (and potentially New Yorks most eligible bachelor?) had a press conference with Andrew Yang? Important to note, the creator of the account that helped countless New Yorkers get vaccinated hasnt endorsed yet, and hes keeping an eye on all the candidates.

Other Yang endorsements: Daniel Dae Kim, John Leguizamo, Amy Schumer, Lucy Liu

Shaun Donovan

Ed Norton is really talented, but everyone forgets that he played the Incredible Hulk in the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its fitting he endorsed Shaun Donovan, because despite a stellar resume, everyone seems to be forgetting about him too.

Dianne Morales

Who needs celebrities when you have an army of zoomers following you on TikTok? (Seriously you should check out her TikTok account.)

Kathryn Garcia

In January, we published our thoughts on who each Marvel Avenger would endorse for mayor. We assigned Agent Phil Coulson to Kathryn Garcia, and later found out that actor Clark Gregg is actually her cousin! He went on to publicly endorse her, which is great, because otherwise the post-pandemic family get-togethers could have been awkward.
Just a few days ago, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh licensed a $500 million photovoltaic cell technology project funded by Jinko Solar Hong Kong. The investor attained the investment certificate within only 24 hours, making it one of the top highlights in the local administrative reform.

Nguyen Tuong Van, Chairman of Quang Ninh Peoples Committee, said that Quang Ninhs achievement results from its special efforts in 2020. In a year of unprecedented hardships, the province supported struggling firms with a central focus to improve the local business landscape.

Quang Ninh is the first province to recruit senior state managers via competitive exams. We made strong administrative reform to help reduce costs for businesses, and increased land access and site clearance for them. Moreover, we strengthened IT application and development of e-government towards creating a digital government and smart city, he added.

Game changers

With such strong reform, Quang Ninh tops 2020s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) ranking, scoring 75.09 points. With an overall PCI score increase of 1.69 points, the province broke its own record to secure top position for the fourth consecutive year. It is also the only province to surpass 75 points in the PCI rankings since 2010.

Dong Thap and Long An provinces in the Mekong Delta region round out the top three performers of 2020 thanks to significant improvements in administrative reform, market entry, and reduced informal charges. Other top performers include Binh Duong, Danang, Vinh Long, Haiphong, Ben Tre, Hanoi, and Bac Ninh.

Dau Anh Tuan, director of the PCI project, said that the 2020 results show an improving trend over time. It was the fourth year in a row that the median province scored at least 60 points on the 100-point scale. The consolidation of scores over time is also quite remarkable.

Even lower performers are catching up to the provinces at the top. Notably, while the highest-ranking provinces score around 75 points (aggregate PCI) and 73 points (core PCI), the lowest-ranked provinces score around 60 points (aggregate PCI) and 56.5 points (core PCI).

In the past five years, positive changes have been observed in reduced informal charges, well maintained law and order, increased productivity, and significant administrative improvement.

For instance, as shown in the report, the private sectors perception of the efficacy of the fight against corruption and informal charges at the provincial level is increasing. The share of firms reporting that they paid informal charges in 2020 dropped to 44.9 per cent from a high of 66 per cent in 2016. The burden of informal charges has shrunk over time, with 84.4 per cent of firms rating it as at an acceptable level in 2020, compared to 79.2 per cent of firms in 2016.

Regarding being proactive and creative in local policy implementation, in 2020 a record 81 per cent of respondents approved of provincial authorities flexibility in creating an enabling business environment for the private sector, surpassing the prior high mark the previous year.

Future improvement in question

Despite recognisable advances and lasting advantages like stable political institutions, the 2020 PCI shows some remaining weaknesses in Vietnams foreign investment attraction vis-a-vis competitors in tax rates, active role in policymaking, and others areas that need further attention in order to strengthen the business climate.

As competition from regional rivals such as China, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia seems to stiffen, and tempered optimism for the future is seen among foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), any advancement in the areas are so important for Vietnam and its localities. The pandemic has created an uncertain economic environment, thus making FIEs more reluctant to commit to expanding their operations in Vietnam, the report explained. The business thermometer shows that only 41 per cent of businesses in the survey plan to increase the size of their operations in the coming years, compared to 53 per cent in 2019.

During 2020, around 87 per cent of both foreign and domestic firms experienced some pandemic-related business setback in 2020. Specifically, the share of FIEs reporting losses increased from 34.3 per cent in 2019 to 47.1 per cent this year  the highest rate ever recorded by the survey.

USAID/Vietnam acting mission director Brad Bessire told VIR, There is still room for future improvement  even for a province with a score of 75, there is still another 25 to aim for to reach the top score. From the report, by province, we know exactly which areas are still in need of further improvements.

Improvements in overall governance this year seems to be stalling, which means persistent reform efforts will be needed to produce substantive outcomes. There is still room for improvement in transparency, effectiveness of enforcement at district and departmental levels, reducing regulatory compliance costs through strengthened administrative procedure reform, curtailing the burden of inspections, and further reducing informal charges, Bessire added.

Nguyen Quang Vinh, general secretary of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry also told VIR, There is still room for more improvements, but it is not easy. Cities and provinces, even Quang Ninh, have to find new breakthroughs for their reforms in order to achieve it.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Washington, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :An African-American father of 10 was shot dead by police during an investigation in North Carolina on Wednesday, local authorities said amid a surge in concern over law enforcement shootings.

Pasquotank County Sheriff Tommy Wooten said one of his deputies fatally shot Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City near the Atlantic coast while a warrant against Brown was being exercised.

"It's been a tragic day," Wooten told reporters.

According to local television channel WAVY, citing witnesses, Brown was shot while attempting to flee police in his car.

Brown was 40 and the father of 10, the station said.

Wooten pledged transparency in the investigation.

He said they had yet to analyze footage from body cameras worn by the police officers involved.

He said the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation would handle the case.

It came a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder for killing George Floyd, a Black man whose death last year spurred outrage across the country.

Less than an hour before that verdict came in, police in Ohio fatally shot a Black teenager who appeared to be lunging at another person with a knife.

The high number of African-Americans killed by police has sparked calls for broad reforms in policing.
Finding and implementing all opportunities for Ukraine to receive a coronavirus infection vaccine is one of the main priorities of the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel. H.E. Mr. Yevhen Korniychuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the State of Israel stated this at Israeli Best Radio.

Ukraine is currently in the process of vaccination. Today, there are three contracts with various vaccine suppliers, including AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Pfizer. The last vaccine was delivered in a small batch under the COVAX program. But we have signed a contract and by the end of the year 10 million doses of Pfizer will be delivered to Ukraine. Thanks to Israeli information support we were able to help the Office of the President of Ukraine to establish direct contact with the Pfizer office, - he said.

Yevhen Korniychuk stressed that the Ukraine does not stop there.

Mr. Lyashko held talks with the Ministry of Health of Israel during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation. Ukraine has offered cooperation in research on the Israeli vaccine, which should appear in the second quarter. Our Ministry of Health has proposed to conduct the third stage of clinical trials in Ukraine. In order to be able to either purchase this vaccine or produce it at Ukrainian facilities under an Israeli license. Ukraine has significant pharmaceutical capacity, - the head of the Diplomatic mission said.

At the same time, he pointed to a high level of skepticism among Ukrainians regarding vaccination.

The process is slow, despite the fact that the government is making every effort to vaccinate the population as soon as possible. There is a huge disbelief in the vaccine in Ukrainian society. But the process is going on, first of all, doctors, policemen and social workers are being vaccinated, - Yevhen Korniychuk summed up.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - ScreenPro Security Inc. (CSE: SCRN) ("ScreenPro" or the "Company") is pleased to announce two additional contracts with film and television productions tied with its mobile passport, GoStop. With the Company's newly introduced Rapid tests integrated with the Company's proprietary GoStop mobile passport, ScreenPro has received additional two new service agreements from television productions over 4 months. The company plans to expand its businesses with the rapid testing to its clients.

John McMullen, CEO: "to continue servicing our current clients and on-board new productions with this new test technology and COVID passport, GoStop, is a testament to the services ScreenPro provides. Through PCR and Rapid testing, we help businesses move forward."

About ScreenPro

ScreenPro provides turnkey coronavirus screening solutions to the private sector including testing, track and tracing with GoStop alerting software. ScreenPro's unique access to multiple manufacturers of high quality South Korean test kits and its strategic partnership with Canvas Labs in Vancouver and Integrated Explorations in Ontario. This platform allows ScreenPro to be a nationwide provider of a full-service testing solutions across Canada. In addition to providing test kits, ScreenPro has its own nursing professionals, and access to high quality PPE to ensure that its clients are protected in all aspects of their testing needs. GoStop's passport was developed with a privacy preserving approach that will enable individuals to use the alerting software and downloadable app with authentication certificates. The alerts can be scheduled on an on-demand, daily, weekly, or monthly basis and can be used also for vaccine scheduling.

For additional information on ScreenPro and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.screenprosecurity.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact:

John McMullen

Email: info@screenprosecurity.com

Forward Looking Statements:

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) The United States vowed to "double up" efforts with the Philippines in addressing the multi-billion illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destruction of marine ecosystems in the West Philippine Sea.

US Embassy Charge d'Affaires John Law said they are supporting various programs that would help the Philippines strengthen environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and fighting environmental crimes.

"There is no greater existential threat to the environment and livelihood of fisherfolk than the destruction of the rich ecosystem in the West Philippine Sea. The US shares Philippine concerns over IUU fishing and environmental destruction perpetrated in the Philippine waters," Law said in a virtual Earth Day roundtable on Thursday.

A study made by USAID and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has revealed that illegal fishing in the Philippines costs 62 billion or $1.3 billion yearly.

"IUU fishing remains a top priority for the United States. Through USAID, we are stepping up our partnership with the Philippines to promote sustainable fishing practices and enhance the well-being of Filipinos dependent on this critical resource," Law added.

Law also assured the Philippines that the US government will help in strengthening the country's maritime domain awareness.

'Natural partner' in fighting climate change

Law described the Philippines as a natural partner in addressing climate change.

He said climate concerns will have a huge impact on US policies under the administration of President Joe Biden.

"Climate will shape US policy on national security, migration, international health efforts, economic diplomacy and trade talks," Law said.

"We regard the Philippines as natural partner for combatting climate change because as an archipelagic and disaster-prone nation, unchecked climate change could have serious impacts to this country and in its marine and territorial ecosystems," Law added.
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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NASA has revealed a new 'motion filter' video of the history-making Ingenuity helicopter flying on Mars showing just where the dust travelled around the craft.

While Ingenuity was sent to the Red Planet as a 'technical demonstration' with no science mission of its own, NASA says it could help scientists better understand how dust travels through the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

The video, shot by the Mastcam-Z camera on the Perseverance rover, reveals plumes of Martian dust made by Ingenuity upon takeoff and landing.

After the successful flight on Monday April 19, NASA named the airfield that hosted the takeoff the 'Wright Brothers Field' in honour of the aeroplane inventors.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) say they will now be pushing the 4lb helicopter 'to the limit' in a series of future flights between now and early-May.

While Ingenuity was sent to the Red Planet as a 'technical demonstration' with no science mission of its own, NASA says this could help scientists better understand how dust travels through the atmosphere of the Red Planet

WHAT IS MASTCAM-Z USED TO FILM THE INGENUITY FLIGHT The main purpose of Mastcam-Z, a camera mounted on a mast attached to Perseverance, is to take photos and video in high definition. It is also able to capture panoramic, colour and 3D images of features in the atmosphere and on the surface. It has a zoom lens so it can magnify distant targets, making it perfect to track the first Ingenuity flight. It is mounted at the eye level of a 6 and a half foot tall person with two cameras about 9.5 inches apart. NASA says it is the 'main eyes' of the Perseverance rover. It will help scientists zoom in on rocks to pick out the best routes to send Perseverance in search of signs of ancient life. It will also help NASA look for signs of ancient lakes, streams and other water sources in Jezero crater. It can send back about 148mg of data per day and is a 2 megapixel camera producing images 1600px by 1200px. Advertisement

In the new video, a ghostly 'cut-out' of the helicopter is visible, which is an artefact related to the digital processing involved in creating the short clip, says NASA.

The flight, according to NASA, was flawless. It was a gentle take off, with a little push by the wind when it climbed higher altitudes, but was very steady with just the tiniest bounce upon landing.

Having motion filter footage showing the dust around the craft can help NASA as it looks to construct larger and more advanced Mars helicopters in the future.

Along with the epic video, shared side-by-side with the motion capture version, Ingenuity also snapped an image showing the moment before its landing legs touched back down after what is being called a 'Wright Brothers moment.'

While soaring through the thin atmosphere of Mars, Ingenuity snapped 30 pictures per second to help it monitor its own path, and one image shows the moment before its legs are about to meet the ground.

Flying on Mars is particularly challenging due to the fact its atmosphere is just one percent of Earth's at ground level, and while the lower gravity, a third of that on Earth, helps, it is only a partial offset against the thinner atmosphere.

This means that in order to fly, the helicopter has to be ultra-light and rotate its blades extremely fast in order to achieve lift. For this week's test flight the blades spun to 2,500rpm, allowing it to hover 10 feet off the ground.

That is up five times faster than the blades of a helicopter on Earth.

Smaller choppers' blades spin up to 500 times a minute in flight, while larger aircraft such as twin-rotored copters such as Chinooks may only spin their blades 225 times a minute.

'What is exciting is that this helicopter has flown hundreds, if not thousands of times, but always in simulations, said Havard Fjr Grip, Ingenuity Chief Pilot.

The 19 inch tall and 4ft diameter wide helicopter completed the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on Monday, and will attempt to complete four more test flights involving further distances and higher altitudes in the next two weeks.

That first historic flight involved the craft firing up its rotors to 2,500 rpm, lifting up to 10ft, hovering for 30 seconds and then landing safely on the surface.

MiMi Aung, the project manager for the rotorcraft, said she expects Ingenuity will 'meet its limit' by the final flight test, likely crashing into the Martian surface.

Along with the epic video, Ingenuity also snapped an image showing the moment before its landing legs touched back down after what is being called a 'Wright Brothers moment'

Ingenuity took off from a 30-by-30ft strip of land on Mars at 3:34amET, but was christened during the briefing that shared updates of the helicopter. It has now been named 'Wright Brothers Field'

INGENUITY: THE SMALL ROTORCRAFT THAT TOOK TO THE MARTIAN SKY Ingenuity was designed as a technology demonstrator rather than carrying any of its own science experiments or equipment. It rode to Mars attached to the belly of the SUV-size Perseverance rover. The helicopter took off from the 'Wright Brothers Field' on Monday April 19, making history as the first powered flight on another world. For the first flight, the helicopter took off, climbed to about 10ft above the ground, hovered in the air briefly, completed a turn, and then landed. It is built to be light and strong to survive the harsh Martian environment. It weighs just under 4lb and is only 19 inches tall as it has to fly in the much thinner atmosphere - about 1% that of the atmosphere found on Earth. It can fly up to 980ft, go up to 15ft in the sky and can spend about 90 seconds in the air before landing. The rotors are 4ft in diameter and the craft includes solar panels that charge lithium-ion batteries. It has a 30 day lifespan, with a total of five flights expected in that time. Advertisement

Aung said she got 'goose bumps' while watching footage of the helicopter's first successful flight, after six years of effort in testing, travel and flight.

'Ultimately, because going faster, further, our models match what we saw in our flight chamber, but we want to push against the wind, we want to push against the speed, and ultimately we expect the helicopter will meet its limit.

'This is about finding unknowns that we can't model, and we really want to know what the limits are, so we will be pushing the limits very deliberately.'

Proving the success of a flying machine on another world will help future NASA engineers prepare for planetary missions with an airborne component.

Mars Helicopter's chief engineer Bob Balaram said he envisaged a chopper 15 times heavier being able to fly on the planet in the coming years.

Something around 50 pounds, able to carry up to nine pounds of scientific equipment, could be sent to Mars on a future mission, he explained.

'Early design work on that has started to see what it would take to deploy these and operate them but anything much larger, the packaging of the blades becomes quite awkward, so it may not be quite feasible in the near-term.'

Steve Jurczyk, NASA's acting administrator, heralded the flight as 'the start of a whole new kind of planetary exploration'.

'It's the start of a whole new kind of planetary exploration and we'll build our engineering success to see how we can deploy this capability on future Mars missions,' he said during a press conference after the flight.

Ingenuity arrived at the Jezero Crater on February 18 after an eight-month journey spanning nearly 300 million miles, tucked inside the belly of Perseverance.

After the spacecraft landed, it dropped the drone on to the ground so Ingenuity could prepare for its maiden flight.

The flight, according to NASA, was flawless. It was a gentle take off, with a little push by the wind when it climbed higher altitudes, but was very steady with just the tiniest bounce upon landing. Pictured is the data confirming Ingenuity's successful flight

It is armed with two rotors that spin in opposite directions to lift the drone off the ground, with a much lighter body than would be found on an Earth-based vehicle.

As well as the lower gravity, the helicopter faces the challenge of flying in the Martian atmosphere, which is about 100 times thinner than Earth's.

As it is a technology demonstration, the helicopter does not have any scientific instruments on board.

Ingenuity as seen on Mars on April 7, 2021 in a photo taken by the rover Perseverance. If the 08:30 BST flight is a success then it will become the first powered, controlled flight to take off and land on another planet, giving NASA their own 'Wright Brothers moment'

It is designed to be mostly autonomous, so NASA will not be able to control the helicopter remotely, relying exclusively on the onboard AI to control flight.

This is because of the distance between Earth and Mars  it takes more than 11 minutes to get a radio signal back to Earth.

It is unlikely future versions will be controllable by humans, unless it is sent to the planet along with the first human mission in 2035.

The technology tested in this Mars copter could allow additional support to survey the terrain for rovers and humans alike in the future, NASA explained.

'It could also access difficult to access cliffs that cannot be reached by rovers. A whole new way to explore the alien terrain in our solar system is now at our disposal.'
Ex-US Marine Brian Johnston appeared to be on a deadly mission when he arrived at the former family home around 6am last Tuesday morning.

Knives, duct tape, rope, an army camouflage duffel bag and a jerry can were allegedly found by police at the scene in the Gold Coast suburb of Arundel - suggesting frightening preparations before he allegedly killed and set his former partner Kelly Wilkinson alight while their three children were present.

The items were reportedly found in the backyard beside Ms Wilkinson's burnt body, while one of three knives he was allegedly carrying was also found nearby.

Brian Johnston told a friend felt he had no one but his wife and children in Australia

Forensic investigators continued to inspect the Spikes Court property on Wednesday

Johnston, 34, was seen running from the property shortly after 6.30am, dressed in black, bleeding and with one of his arms badly burnt. A trail of blood was seen across driveways down Spikes Court, neighbour Fred Davies told Daily Mail Australia.

He was found by police in nearby Langer Place a short time late, injured and semi-conscious. A resident of that street, Bryan Coates, said a passer-by who spotted Johnston in the street asked him if he was ok, to which he replied, 'I'm fine.'

Johnston had subsequently been charged with his wife's alleged murder and breaching a bail condition. Kelly, 27, had earlier sought a police restraining order against her husband.

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnstone lived for a time in his home state of Ohio, USA

Police and SES search along the street where Kelly Wilkinson and her children were living

Johnston was removed from where he was found in Langer Place and transported to hospital

Johnston was arrested in April 12 in relation to a number of crimes he allegedly committed in February this year, reports The Courier Mail, but was released on watch-house bail, meaning he was not required to front court.

It's believed Kelly Wilkinson subsequently made a complaint about Johnston to a police station before her horrific death on Tuesday morning.

His lawyer, Chris Hannay, told media on Wednesday that he had met with Johnstone on Sunday, less than 48 hours before he allegedly attacked and murdered Ms Wilkinson.

'On Sunday, I got some instructions from him in relation to some other fairly serious matters that he has been charged with, and I haven't spoken to him since,' Mr Hannay said.

He said Johnston did not appear distressed or agitated during the weekend conference.

'Obviously, no one expected this to happen... everyone thought that they were just chugging along as a normal process.'

But neighbour Benny told Daily Mail Australia of an encounter with Johnston around the time he was told to leave the Spikes Court residence by Kelly a few weeks ago.

'The last time I spoke to him, I backed out one day and I saw him in the yard and wound down the window and asked, 'How are you going Brian?' He said, 'I'm getting kicked out.'

'He mentioned there was the chance of him being deported so in hindsight he was in a bad mental state.

'Now I think I should have hopped out of the car and had a chat to him.'

A fellow marine and friend of Johnston's said he spoke to the alleged killer about three weeks ago in a call where he expressed concerns about his life in Australia.

'Last time I talked to Brian his biggest fear was he had nobody in Australia but his wife and kids,' the friend said.

Kelly Wilkinson pictured with one of her three children during her time living the US

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnston dancing in a wedding day photo

'All his family was in Ohio and she (his wife) was making accusations against him.

'He told me he was living in his office and didn't know what to do.'

'Brian was struggling with the fact Kelly did not want to be with him,' the friend continued.

'He only expressed concerns about how much he missed Kelly and his kids and they were everything to him.

Benny said the family had been at the house for about 18 months but Johnston's dual cab ute had recently not been seen at the property. Police described him as living at New Beith, a semi-rural suburb south-west of Brisbane, on the charge sheet.

'He was a normal guy, he loved to talk, sometimes I had to tell him to go home,' said Benny.

'We never saw or heard arguments or anything so it was strange. But he was obviously distressed.'

Benny said Johnston had established a successful business on the Gold Coast as a marine hydraulic engineer, even fixing one of the Victorian cruisers that had attempted to evade Queensland's border closure during the height of the pandemic.

A local Arundel resident, Louise Christie, paid her respects at the scene on Wednesday

Benny, a retiree, said he saw Kelly walking her kids to school every morning and afternoon, bringing along their youngest in a pram.

Tuesday's alleged attack came seven years after the couple shared photos of their wedding, surrounded by their loved ones.

Other photos showed Mr Johnston holding one of their children next to Ms. Wilkinson during a holiday in the US, and Ms Wilkinson smiling during a trip to Niagara Falls.

Ms Wilkinson's mother Karen, who died in February in a tragic double blow for the family, had also shared images on Facebook of her daughter and her young family visiting his native Ohio.

She and husband Reg owned the Spikes Court house in which the couple lived before the relationship breakdown.

A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Kelly's children had raised nearly $114,000 by Thursday morning, more than double it's original goal of $50,000.
A 67-year-old black man falsely arrested for breaking into his own house because he lost his key was Tased by a police officer who taunted him after placing him inside a police cruiser, new body cam footage shows.

Disturbing body cam footage was released on Thursday showing the March 27 arrest of Izell Richardson Jr in Port Allen, Louisiana.

In the footage, two police officers are seen searching for a suspected burglar just outside of a home on Avenue C in Port Allen, a suburb of fewer than 5,000 people just outside of Baton Rouge.

Richardson told WAFB-TV that he was breaking into his own home that he shares with his sister after he misplaced the key.

Police in Port Allen, Louisiana released body cam footage on Thursday from a March 27 arrest of a 67-year-old black man, Izell Richardson Jr

In the video, a police officer can be seen firing a Taser twice at Richardson after he screamed for help

Scream again, go ahead, scream,' the officer taunted Richardson before Tasing him

The officer who Tased Richardson (left) has been identified as Nolan Dehon III

Body cam footage shows two officers telling Richardson to come out of what appears to be a shed on the property.

Come out of there before I light you up, one of the officers, Nolan Dehon III, is heard telling Richardson.

Light me up, then, Richardson replies.

At that point, Dehon opens the door to the shed and Richardson is seen sitting in a chair.

This is my house. Im paying for this house, he tells the officer.

I bought everything here.

Dehon is seen holding a Taser as he tries to grab Richardson.

The officer orders Richardson to get up, but Richardson responds that he has a bad back.

I dont care, Dehon responds.

When the officer accuses Richardson of busting that ladys window, he angrily denies the allegation, repeating that this is my house!

Dehon and another officer do not believe Richardson and place handcuffs on him, taking him into custody.

Police were called to a home on Avenue C after receiving a report that someone was trying to break into a home

Richardson pleaded with officers that he broke into his own home that he shares with his sister because he lost a key

You dont have to handle me rough, Richardson tells the officers.

The two officers then place Richardson into a police cruiser, where he continues to profess his innocence.

As he is led into the police cruiser, Richardson tells the officers that due to his physical condition he cannot put his legs into the back seat.

He tells the officers that he just had a heart operation and that he has a bad back.

Richardson is seen in the video pleading with the officers that his physical condition doesnt allow him to sit inside the back seat all of the way.

I cant get in here! he tells the officers.

Richardson then yells: Help! Help!

Stop screaming, Dehon tells Richardson.

Scream again, go ahead, scream, Dehon is heard telling Richardson in the video.

Richardson started to scream. Dehon then fired his Taser twice at Richardsons side within 10 seconds.

Dehon (pictured above in the undated file photo) has been placed on unpaid leave

A May 5 city council hearing is scheduled to determine Dehon's future as a police officer

Richardson said that he screamed for help again. He said that his only memory is then waking up in the back of an ambulance as he is rushed to a hospital.

Moments after Richardson is Tased, Dehon is seen on video approaching another officer and telling him that the home did, in fact, belong to Richardson.

Dehon and the other officer then discuss what criminal charges they can bring against Richardson.

Thats pretty much his window, so theres nothing we can do about that, Dehon says.

So now, yeah, this is disturbing the peace with him doing all of that hollering.

Dehon has been placed on unpaid leave. The Port Allen City Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on May 5 to determine his future with the police department.

Richardson initially went public with his complaints against Dehon last month before the body cam footage corroborated his claims.
Police officers patrol the passageway connecting New Yorks Port Authority bus terminal and the Times Square subway station near the site where Akayed Ullah set off a pipe bomb the day before, Dec. 12, 2017.

The Bangladeshi man who set off a bomb in New Yorks most crowded subway station in December 2017 admitted what he did was wrong and apologized in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday, before a judge sentenced him to life plus 30 years in prison on terror-related charges.

Akayed Ullah, 31, apologized after his attorney argued that a 35-year sentence was proper and would not be seen as lenient. Prosecutors, in presenting evidence, had argued that the Bengali immigrant became radicalized while living in New York City, through watching online propaganda videos disseminated by Islamic State (IS), the violent extremist group.

What I did on Dec. 11, it was wrong, Ullah told U.S. Circuit Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan. I do not condone violence.

The court allowed phone access to Thursdays sentencing hearing.

Ullah went on to issue apologies to David Wall and Veronica Chavez, who in victims impact statements said their lives had been changed forever, along with New York City, law enforcement and the country. No one was killed in the attack, but Ullah was among four people injured in the pipe-bomb blast.

Finally, I apologize to my family whose lives have been ruined by my actions, he told the court and his mother who attended the hearing with a companion.

In an April 1 sentencing memo, prosecutors wrote that Ullah became indoctrinated in Muslim extremist ideology by watching IS videos that glorified its leaders and called for violent attacks on Americans including stabbings, bombings and beheadings.

The Dec. 11, 2017, explosion in a passageway connecting the subway station at Times Square to New Yorks Port Authority bus station, occurred less than two weeks after IS released a propaganda video, Flames of War II. In it, leaders called on supporters to carry out attacks in the United States.

Ullah was, at that point, part of the bomb  ready to blow up himself and others for ISIS, the prosecutors memo said, using another acronym for Islamic State.

After hearing from Ullah on Thursday, Judge Sullivan, who oversaw the trial that led to the Bangladeshis conviction on all six charges, ruled that the longer sentence was needed.

A jury on Nov. 6, 2018, found Ullah guilty of providing material support to a terrorist group; bombing a public place; using a weapon of mass destruction; destruction of property by means of fire or explosives; conducting and attempting to conduct a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system; and using a destructive device during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.

A life sentence is appropriate, Sullivan ruled.

The additional 30 years were added because the sixth charge carries a sentence that must run consecutively to the sentences on the other charges. Federal sentences do not allow for parole.

I dont see you as an evil man, Sullivan told Ullah. But this act was evil, he said, calling the bombing a truly barbaric and heinous crime.

Sullivan called the bombing a decision calculated to kill as many people as possible in the name of IS.

Earlier, Sullivan noted that Ullahs mother and other family members wrote letters on his behalf.

[T]here are people who love you. They suffer with you, Sullivan said.

It has to be acknowledged that you didnt extend the same feeling to others, he said.

Akayed Ullah [AP]

The hearing began with federal defender Amy Gallicchio telling the judge that the subway bombing did not define Ullah as a person. She pointed to his familys letters  specifically one from his mother who said her son has always been loving and doting.

One day after the bombing, Ullahs wife, Ferdous Jui, was questioned by police in Dhaka.

She said her husband, who had been living in Brooklyn, N.Y., since 2011, visited Bangladesh in early September 2017, months after she gave birth to their son.

He made the trip to arrange U.S. immigration papers for his family, officials said.

According to Bangladeshi police, Ferdous Jui told them that her husband may have been influenced by sermons and writings of radical Muslim preacher Jasim Uddin Rahmani. The preacher is the imprisoned leader of a banned Bangladeshi militant group, Ansar al-Islam, also known as Ansarullah Bangla Team.

Gallicchio said Ullah felt alone and isolated in New York, adding he was the target of hatred and Islamophobia.

He lost his will to live, she said, adding he never communicated with ISIS.

She said the minimum 35-year sentence was appropriate for the first-time offender.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski countered, saying the bombing was one of a few completed terrorist attacks in New York since Sept. 11, 2001.

He harmed innocent New Yorkers who struggle with the effects to this day, Donaleski said.

The prosecutor questioned Ullahs remorse, noting that he proudly boasted about carrying out the attack in the name of IS.

The prosecutions sentencing memo also showed that Ullah remained radicalized and issued threats following his arrest.

You started this war, we will finish it. More is coming, youll see, he told a corrections officer, according to the memo.

Ullah was injured when he detonated the pipe bomb strapped to his body.

Shrapnel from Ullahs bomb sliced into the leg of one commuter, two victims partly lost their hearing in the blast and countless others were traumatized by Ullahs attack, which brought midtown Manhattan to a standstill, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, prosecutors said in the memo.
DALLAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Neiman Marcus Group (NMG) honors Earth Day by announcing the development of the company's first Environmental Social Governance (ESG) team, strategy, and improvements.

"Now more than ever, environmental sustainability is top of mind for the fashion and retail industries," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chief Executive Officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "As the preeminent luxury customer platform, it's our responsibility to take action and address sustainability issues for our associates, customers, investors, and the future of our great company."

The new ESG team spearheading the company's approach to these issues consists of a Vice President and two managers that report in to NMG's Chief People & Belonging Officer Eric Severson, with quarterly oversight from NMG's Board of Directors. The success of this small team will be in large part due to a cross-functional governance model that helps them engage leaders and taskforces across the company, ensuring that ESG is infused into all parts of NMG's business.

The group's first task, already underway, is collaborating with independent, third-party consultants to conduct a materiality assessment that highlights the importance of various ESG issues to the business and key external stakeholders. NMG will use findings from this survey to identify key ESG priorities, set time-bound goals, invest in competitive opportunities, and publish a comprehensive strategy later this year.

To complement this announcement, NMG celebrated Earth Day earlier this month by hosting an event with Elizabeth Cline, author of "The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good," and is sharing the ongoing sustainability improvements below:

Investing in Supply Chain Efficiency  In January 2021 , in an effort to streamline its distribution network, NMG closed on two offers on its Longview and Las Colinas distribution facilities, which will respectively remain operational through the 2021 holiday season and stay open into fall 2022. "We intend to use the proceeds from these sales to reinvest in our supply chain, improving our speed to customer and speed of replenishment, adding additional capacity in key markets, and investing in technology that increases both efficiency and sustainability," said van Raemdonck.

 In , in an effort to streamline its distribution network, NMG closed on two offers on its and Las Colinas distribution facilities, which will respectively remain operational through the 2021 holiday season and stay open into fall 2022. "We intend to use the proceeds from these sales to reinvest in our supply chain, improving our speed to customer and speed of replenishment, adding additional capacity in key markets, and investing in technology that increases both efficiency and sustainability," said van Raemdonck. Connecting Customers with Sustainable & Ethical Merchandise  Customers can currently shop conscious brands and products on Neiman Marcus' Sustainable Style edit. In the coming months, both Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are developing revised edits that feature multiple categories within sustainable and ethical luxury fashion, provide clarity around those categories' definitions, and rely heavily on independently recognized materials, processes, and certifications. "Our new, flexible merchandising structure will honor the diverse and innovative sustainability approaches among brand partners and enable discerning customers to shop the product attributes they care about most," said van Raemdonck.

 Customers can currently shop conscious brands and products on Sustainable Style edit. In the coming months, both Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are developing revised edits that feature multiple categories within sustainable and ethical luxury fashion, provide clarity around those categories' definitions, and rely heavily on independently recognized materials, processes, and certifications. "Our new, flexible merchandising structure will honor the diverse and innovative sustainability approaches among brand partners and enable discerning customers to shop the product attributes they care about most," said van Raemdonck. Strengthening Customer Experience Through Mending & Alterations  In 2019, Neiman Marcus generated over $10 MM in revenue from mending and alterations services for over 320,000 items. NMG employs more than 300 of the world's best tailors, and when it comes to mending and alterations, there's not a "no" in their vocabulary. Their extensive list of services includes basic tasks like mending holes and replacing zippers to more intricate alterations and customization. "Everything they do is designed to extend the lifecycle of customers' most-loved luxury items," said van Raemdonck. "This service is not only sustainable, it's a key driver of customer experience and loyalty with our top spend clients."

 In 2019, Neiman Marcus generated over MM in revenue from mending and alterations services for over 320,000 items. NMG employs more than 300 of the world's best tailors, and when it comes to mending and alterations, there's not a "no" in their vocabulary. Their extensive list of services includes basic tasks like mending holes and replacing zippers to more intricate alterations and customization. "Everything they do is designed to extend the lifecycle of customers' most-loved luxury items," said van Raemdonck. "This service is not only sustainable, it's a key driver of customer experience and loyalty with our top spend clients." Investing in The Circular Economy  In 2019, NMG became the first luxury retailer to make a long-term investment in resale by acquiring a minority stake in FASHIONPHILE, one of the world's top resellers of pre-owned luxury handbags and accessories. Neiman Marcus and FASHIONPHILE are paving the path to revolutionize recommerce. Since then, the partnership has seen five FASHIONPHILE locations open in Neiman Marcus stores ( Palo Alto , San Francisco , Beverly Hills , Fashion Island, NorthPark Dallas), collecting nearly $16 million in resale merchandise for over 18,000 items  extending products' lifecycles and diverting them from landfill. In the next nine months, FASHIONPHILE Selling Studios will open 10 more locations inside Neiman Marcus stores in Boca Raton , King of Prussia, Atlanta , Austin , Scottsdale, San Antonio , Las Vegas , Topanga , Troy, and Northbrook.

Additionally, FASHIONPHILE and Neiman's are launching a Stylist Network, an elevated white glove service that enables customers to cash-in on prior investments and expand their spending power at retail by giving over 3,000 NM sales associates a groundbreaking addition to their remote selling digital tools. The new Stylist Network includes a multi-client management tool, account and client reporting, commission management, and dashboards for visualizing next steps across clients. "Today more than ever, the consumer is a conscientious shopper. She's not only looking for a quality item at the right price, but she is thoughtful about the investment she is making and the sustainability of the purchase," said Sarah Davis, Founder and President of FASHIONPHILE. "Neiman Marcus has been the perfect partner for FASHIONPHILE as we pursue more innovative ways to engage with customers."

As NMG continues its transformation to become the world's pre-eminent luxury customer platform, it is committed to developing sustainable practices that allow the company to lead with love well into the future.

About Neiman Marcus Group

Neiman Marcus Group is a luxury, multibranded, omnichannel fashion retailer conducting integrated store and online operations under the Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Horchow brand names. For more information, visit http://www.neimanmarcusgroup.com.

SOURCE Neiman Marcus Group

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City of Fremont It has been a pleasure to partner with the City of Fremont to provide an innovative, sustainable, and flexible solution for a growing need within their community.

Pacific Mobile Structures, Inc., a provider of high-quality mobile office space, permanent modular construction, and storage solutions, announced today that the company received first place at the Modular Building Institute's 38th Annual World of Modular convention in March.

Pacific Mobile received recognition in the category of Relocatable Modular Multifamily for their 5,644 sq. ft. modular homeless navigation shelter for the City of Fremont. The awards honor innovation, cost-effectiveness, and design excellence within the commercial modular construction industry.

Six modular buildings were provided to Bay Area Community Services (BACS), offering an immediate solution to adult homelessness throughout the Fremont, CA area. Relocatable buildings were a cost-effective and innovative solution enabling the city to become fully operational within 96 days. Buildings comprised of three modular sleeping units, a community center, laundry room, shower building, and mobile office. In conjunction with building manufacturer Phoenix Modular, Pacific Mobile worked with the customer to ensure that the building designs had a strong focus on safety while providing privacy and security in a supervised environment. Modular construction offered the customer a fast and flexible solution while offering quick relocatability if the need arises in the future.

"My team and I are very proud to receive such a coveted award from the Modular Building Institute in a category that we are all so passionate about," said Sales Manager Stuart Kamstra.

Project Manager and Team Lead Melissa Kuchan said, "It has been a pleasure to partner with the City of Fremont to provide an innovative, sustainable, and flexible solution for a growing need within their community. Our success with the Housing Navigation Center has led to a groundbreaking development for an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly building model that can be used in countless other applications with proven success."

Learn more about the City of Fremont project.

Entries were judged on criteria including innovation, sustainability, architecture, and cost-effectiveness by a panel of industry and non-industry construction and code experts, architects, and engineers. The Modular Building Institute promotes and recognizes high-quality modular design and construction through innovative practices, education, and outreach. Learn more about MBI here.

About Pacific Mobile Structures

Since 1983, Pacific Mobile Structures has provided superior mobile office space to thousands of jobsites. Family-owned for two generations and with multiple locations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and Texas, Pacific Mobile Structures is known for delivering the highest-quality mobile offices, permanent modular construction, educational facilities, and government services, with a commitment to customer service excellence built on the cornerstones of experience, quality, flexibility, and dedication.
Burned items are found along the 91 freeway April 21, 2021 near the area a homeless man died in an Anaheim, Calif., fire. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Man Dies in Homeless Encampment Fire

The homeless community is on edge after a man died during an April 20 fire at an Anaheim homeless encampment.

The homeless community is shook up, Zach Southall, managing director of Charity on Wheels, told The Epoch Times. We all immediately thought back to April of last year when a homeless man was intentionally set on fire.

Unlike last years casewhere a Santa Ana homeless man was intentionally set on firethe most recent incident does not appear to be criminal, police said.

Anaheim firefighters were called to the scene just before 11 p.m after an officer observed a fire that started between the Extended Stay Inn and the 91 freeway, Anaheim Sgt. Shane Carringer told The Epoch Times.

After responding officers extinguished the flames, they discovered a man who appeared to have died in the blaze.

Police believe candles belonging to the man caused the fatal fire, Carringer said.

As of right now, it does not appear that there was anything criminal, he said.

Southall said that while larger encampments tend to use candles for light, theyre uncommon.

Illumination Foundation chief executive Paul Leon said encampments arent a safe place for the homeless. The need to get people off the street begins with services such as bridge and affordable housing, he said.

Current homeless shelters create barriers for individuals as they forbid pets, dont allow in-and-out entry, and dont provide additional services to address the root of homelessness, Leon told The Epoch Times.

He highlighted other services, such as mental health and substance abuse care, to address trauma that are necessary to end the cycle of homelessness.

You cant just build a shelter, he said. You really have to support in multiple facets. Otherwise, it keeps coming back and people dont get off the streets.

The homeless community in Anaheim is restlessly checking with their friends and loved ones as the identity of the man remains unknown, Southall said.

Officials are working to identity the victim and confirm the cause of death.
Drummoyne MP John Sidoti rejected that he was seriously abusing the democratic process when he sent a councillor a script to read in a public session, which had been written by a planner promoting his family property interests.

The two-page document, relating to rezoning that would benefit Mr Sidotis family, was drafted ahead of an October 2015 council meeting where a major Five Dock planning decision would be considered.

Mr Sidoti on Thursday told the corruption watchdog he could not see any problem with the fact he sent the document to a Liberal councillor in an email suggesting it may help in the upcoming meeting.

Drummoyne MP John Sidoti leaving ICAC this week. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Commissioner Peter Hall, QC, implored Mr Sidoti to acknowledge that it was a serious abuse of process to orchestrate a councillor to say something written by somebody else.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hexnode, a leading Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution company, announces today the close of its seminal Partner Summit, a one-day event held on April 21.

Hexnode Partner Summit 2021 focused on enabling Hexnode's partners to achieve excellence through business continuity by applying targeted sales and marketing strategies.

Integral to this was the unveiling of Hexnode's new sales certification, Hexnode Certified Sales Consultant, a program tailored exclusively for Hexnode partners to equip them with best practices and product knowledge for selling Hexnode products to prospective clients and gain new leads.

The first-ever Partner Awards ceremony concluded with "Sales Story of the Year" awarded to FAOnet System, the "Do-Gooder Award'' awarded to MobileXtra for actively contributing to a social initiative and "Partner of the Year'' awarded to Intratem.

"We are indebted to our partner community for making Hexnode's partner summit 2021 a grand success. The summit gave us an opportunity to connect with our partners on a deeper level and help them craft their own go-to-market strategy. The Hexnode team is eagerly looking forward to HexCon 21," Apu Pavithran, founder and CEO of Hexnode, said.

Prominent speakers, including Sean Ginevan, Head of Global Strategy and Digital Partnerships, Google; Vinay Bhagat, founder and CEO, TrustRadius; Kirsty Traill, Startup Advisor, VP Yext; Michelle Ragusa-McBain, VP of Global Channel and Digital Strategy, JS Group; Michael Brito, EVP, Head of Digital and Analytics, Zeno Group; Jennifer Poole, Head of Client Acquisition, Publicize; and Andrea Saez, co-founder, The Product Dynamic, along with other valuable speakers, addressed the summit and shared their invaluable experience.

Moving forward, Hexnode plans to focus more on expanding its partner network across the globe and increasing the visibility of its existing partners.

About Hexnode

Hexnode UEM is the award-winning Unified Endpoint Management platform from Mitsogo Inc. The company has been helping organizations in over 100 countries to stay agile and competitive in an increasingly mobile world.

Mitsogo Inc. is a leading provider of Endpoint Management and security solutions. From SMBs to Fortune 500s, enterprises of all sizes have leveraged Mitsogo's prowess in device management to drive business productivity and compliance. Mitsogo's solutions adapt to the most complex of business environments.

Contact

Name: Liz Hale

Phone: 415 930 4434

Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Hexnode
John Garrison, professor of English and the chair of peace and conflict studies, won the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship on April 8, 2021, one of 184 artists, writers, scholars and scientists selected from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants. According to its website, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation gives out grants to individuals who demonstrate exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. Garrisons fellowship falls under the category of English Literature, to support his work exploring desire and memory in Shakespeares poetry.

Professor Garrison obtained his undergraduate degree in English at UC Berkeley, and then worked as an AmeriCorps member at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. He then worked for the Levi-Strauss Foundation, and moved to New York to work in the technology sector. In his early 30s, he went back to California, obtained his PhD at the University of California Davis, and became a professor at Carroll College. He began working at Grinnell College in 2017.

The S&Bs Lucia Cheng `23 met with Professor Garrison to chat about his life, the Guggenheim, and in particular, what it means to help people.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Garrisons History

The S&B: How did you get started on the path youre on now?

Garrison: Well, I grew up in Northern California. My dad was an engineering professor, and my mom worked for Planned Parenthood. That combination, to some extent, always inspired me to want to teach on the one hand but also to do work that can help other people out, that was community based, that met people in a moment where they really needed support.

I was brought up in this family that wasnt defined by any one thing, where people were just thinking a lot about big ideas and literature, but also about how to give back and how to be there for people when they needed them.

How did you envision helping people back then?

Growing up as a gay man in the Bay Area in the late 80s, early 90s, I was surrounded by the HIV epidemic. My parents lived in a suburb of Berkeley, and growing up, our neighbors partner died of AIDS. And then our neighbor died of AIDS several years later. It was really close to home, even when I was in high school. Because of that, my initial instinct was to get involved in the HIV epidemic, and the particular job I was assigned to  with the AIDS Foundation  was to help train volunteers to answer calls in the California AIDS Hotline.

That helped me learn early on that helping people wasnt just doing direct service. It was also about training and teaching other people how to help other people. I learned that I really loved being in front of people, teaching them different kinds of skills and sharing different kinds of information.

How do you think the AIDS crisis has shaped your worldview?

When I was in my early 20s, just the absolute best of people, most of them people that I knew, died. I knew some of the most amazing people you could ever imagine walking the face of the planet. And, you know, I could probably still list them today. They all died of HIV/AIDS.

What I really took away from that, and carried forward for the rest of my life, was that our moment in the world can be very fleeting. And we dont know how long were going to be here. And on one hand, the best we can do is inspire others, as I was inspired by these people.

But also, whats true is that you have to take risks and you have to take chances, in order to make sure that youre living life to the fullest.

Is that still something that motivates you now at Grinnell?

One hundred percent.  The funny thing is: its worked out. In my late 20s, I gave up a really good job, and I moved to New York City with $300 in my bank account. And guess what? I found work. I found a job. I made friends. I got a cool apartment. And I ended up with a great career there and it was really exciting. But, I really wanted to become an English professor.

So, I just quit and went to grad school. If youre gambling on being happier, then its worth it if you do the work. The path might be sort of rockier than you think, and you might have a lot of side roads getting there, but if theres something you really, really want, if theres a dream you have, then there are people around to help you get it. And a lot of what I learned was about asking for help.

Lessons of Help

 Going back to my early 20s, there was a whole group of people who taught me so much. For example, when I worked at the AIDS Foundation. When I look back on the fact that a lot of those folks were really in the last couple of years of their life, the fact that they took the time to teach me how to be a better person, to help me figure out how to be in the world, its so meaningful to me in terms of their generosity. Thats been true throughout my life.

The biggest lesson in my life is to learn to ask for help. Its something thats been a really hard lesson for me to learn. But a lot of the time, we dont know how to help other people unless they tell us. And we need to be paying attention, to be aware of the times people have helped us. If we look at our lives less as a genealogy of things that weve discovered and achieved, and more as a genealogy of When have people helped me, and when have I helped someone else? it keeps us more aware of other people, and from becoming too invested in our own success.

How do you see yourself as a person who is active, and chooses what to do with your life?

That question of, To what extent can someone choose what happens in their life? brings me back to the questions of social justice that started my whole career. All the while Im talking about the adventures Ive had  that comes with the shadow that a lot of people cant make these choices about their life. And a lot of people dont have access to this kind of education, financial freedoms, security, safety, health, that many of us do. I really want to use what I gain from [the Guggenheim] to keep on doing social justice work in the classroom and elsewhere, in order to acknowledge those folks, and to think about ways they can be given more access to those freedoms.

As youve mentioned before, its like a gamble. We dont know what the future will look like. Were you ever scared at all?

You know, its kind of like Bruce Banner in The Avengers. When they ask him, How do you get angry in order to turn into the Hulk? And he says, The secret is: Im always angry. The reality is, for me, to have been fearless at different parts of my life, the secret is I was always very scared. In fact, I am always scared.

But I overcome that fear, because I feel like I owe it to myself to live the life I want to live.

His Research Now

How did you try to create a good learning environment for your students?

A lot of people in the early part of my career, when I was an undergraduate, really wanted to hear my ideas about things. At the time, I didnt know what to make of that, because it set off all kinds of self-doubt. But it eventually transformed into confidence. I felt like I had ideas that were helpful to people.

So, rather than come to Grinnell like, I have ideas that will help things, Ive been interested in paying that back, engaging in that same practice. I want to hear from students what they need. And in turn, I want to figure out how to support them and what to do for them.

Im not some sort of super-individual-changemaker person. Its more that I listen as carefully as I can, and figure out what I can do to help people meet their needs.

Why Shakespeare?

Theres something there thats deeply mysterious to me. And theres something about Shakespeare that makes people want to know what hes all about and why its so important and why people are still talking about him. So, I want to explore that with people.

Really, really, really early on when I was at Berkeley, I had a question. I read Michel Foucaults History of Sexuality, Volume One. There was a line in there that mentioned that in 16th-century Europe, men would hold hands and embrace and share beds. It wasnt just a sign of intimacy; that was the norm in that period. And Ive just remained curious about that.

When I got into grad school, I still wanted to pursue that question, I still wanted to know about early modern forms of intimacy and relations that would look like homosexuality today, but instead were just norms of same-sex relations in a different era. That took me to Shakespeare because Shakespeares work is populated by lots of different kinds of loving pairs of friends and groups of friends.

Do you think your life philosophy has had an impact on your work?

This kind of work that Im interested in analyzing through the Renaissance memory arts is really akin to what Ive been talking about in terms of my own life and in terms of the Guggenheim Award. Ive spent my entire life trying to make sense of the story of my life, and now I finally feel like the story of my life does make sense. Im trying to understand that process  of how people create their own self narrative of their life  in my scholarship, because Im finally accepting that, to some extent, I have control over the story that I tell myself.

The Guggenheim Fellowship

How did you feel when you received the first notification that you won the Guggenheim Fellowship?

It was really stunning, and genuinely didnt feel real at first. The Guggenheim Fellows, since their inception, contain a 125 Nobel laureates, folks who have won the Pulitzer Prize, the Field medal, the Turing award.

What eventually I came to was that it was a real moment where I felt like I was being seen. When you apply for the Guggenheim, one of the main components is that you give them a life narrative.  Theres no word limit. So I told them the story of my life and what Ive tried to do, and whats really moved me. To win the award feels like another group of people looked at the story of my life, and it made sense to them.

The prize selection committee feels that I can be helpful to people in terms of the thinking I can do. And that was a really powerful retrospective announcement to me.

From what youve been telling me about your life narrative, do you think youve tried to answer the question of how to live a pleasurable life?

Im only beginning to answer it now. For the first couple decades of my adult life, I always thought that the pleasurable moment was tied up with achieving a certain kind of fantasy about who I wanted to be. That drew me to living in a cool apartment in San Francisco with a friend of mine and going to work for a super interesting, historic California corporation  Levis. And whisking off to New York and seizing part of the internet boom, and trying to make it in Manhattan. And becoming a college professor and teaching Shakespeare to a whole room of students.

And what I realized was that when I was pursuing this pleasurable fantasy of who I might be, it was always from a distance. It was always on the horizon. And the further and faster I rushed to the horizon where I was certain it was, the horizon stayed the same distance from me. Now that Im at Grinnell, and I live in a small town, and I spent a lot of my day walking with my dog around the same blocks, its a radical change for me.

Right now, I am choosing to just stand still. Im really trying to figure out whats pleasurable about this particular moment.

One Last Note

So whats your haircare routine?

Well, for a long time, I thought the kind of haircut to have was to have the kind everybody else has. In college, my friend used to call it the Friends haircut. At some point, I realized the thing to do was not be like everybody else. The thing is to express yourself and to be yourself. Thats the whys and wherefores of it.

(long pause)

Its a sustainable bamboo-based product.

Reusable, renewable, rejuvenating. Those are really the guiding words I use for choosing a hair care product.
Surveillance footage shows the shocking moment when a woman stalked her ex-girlfriend and shot her in the back of the head in broad daylight in Brooklyn Wednesday.

Footage shows the horrifying moment when Latisha Bell, 38, sprinted up behind Nichelle Thomas, 52, and shot the woman as she headed into a bodega store on the corner of St. Marks place in Park Slope at 1pm.

The two women had previously been in a relationship but it was not immediately clear why the two broke up, police sources told the New York Daily News.

Scroll down for video

Footage shows the horrifying moment when Latisha Bell, 38, sprinted up behind Nichelle Thomas, 52, and shot the woman in Park Slope Wednesday afternoon

It is not immediately known what the motive is for the shooting but investigators do believe that there was a lover's quarrel between the two, sources added.

Thomas - a mother of two adult children - was rushed to the New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, but the woman died from her injuries, police shared.

Just hours later, Bell turned herself in to cops at the 78th Precinct with her lawyer present. She has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Thomas was unsuspecting as Bell stalked up behind her and shot her in the back of the head, according to the footage

Bell turned herself in to cops at the 78th Precinct with her lawyer present. She has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon

Police have recovered the firearm used in the shooting.

The woman's adult daughter said that she was still processing the tragic shooting.

'I'm confused,' the daughter said. 'I don't know what happened. I can't talk right now.'

People in the community recalled the horrific scene just moments after the shooting took place.

'I heard one shot and knew it was from a gun,' 57-year-old Mohammed Ali, a local bodega cashier, said to the New York Post.

People in the community were shocked by the horrific shooting

Ali shared that he ran outside and saw 'a lady lying face-up on the sidewalk and above her eyes was a hole with blood coming out.'

'I've been working here for 12 years and I've never seen anything like this,' he added. 'It's scary. If the bullet hadn't hit her, I might have been the one hit.'

Ali told the New York Daily News: 'I know the lady. She was a very nice person. She was always here. Ive known her a long time.'

'She was a very nice lady,' a neighbor of Thomas, who lives near the scene, said. 'She didn't deserve this.'

Another neighbor said the victim and her ex-girlfriend had a toxic relationship.

'They lived together for years,' they said. 'But they were always fighting. They had a big falling out about three years ago and she left.'

Andrea Iglesias, 52, told The Post, 'It's unreal what's happening in this city.

'This is a good area. People don't get shot here, especially in broad daylight on a busy intersection. There's so little enforcement anymore, people feel emboldened.'

The shooting was the first recorded in the neighborhood this year, according to NYPD data.
Princeton, NJ, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) today announced a new partnership with Trenton Central High School (TCHS) to mentor students interested in pursuing healthcare professions. The leading NJ college health program boasts the number one continued registered nurse education specialization in the state.





The advantages of health care diversity are evident, but urban youth face many challenges in pursuing health careers, says TCNJ Assistant Professor and Nurse Education Track Leader Dr. Yolanda Nelson.

The summer 2021 high school program is funded by a Mentored Undergraduate Summer Experience (MUSE) grant. The initiative will provide high school students with an opportunity to virtually discuss healthcare subjects such as emergency medicine and maternity pediatrics with specialized nurses. Yolanda adds, Partnering with TCHS, we look forward to increasing the number of students interested in healthcare professions.

Dr. Nelson heads Moving Forward Together, an African American student nurse mentorship program at TCNJ that supports growth and development of nursing students of color. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), just under 10 percent of the US nursing population is Black or African American. For both nursing mentees and mentors, the Moving Forward Together initiative advances self-confidence, self-awareness and critical thinking.

Moving Forward Together program mentor and registered nurse Deirdre Jackson remarks, It is so important for young people to see successful professionals who look like them. Relatable role models send the immediate message you can do this. Mentors remind students of those who have advanced in healthcare careers, leaders willing to encourage you and lift you up.

Dean of the School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science Carole Kenner says, Our health program is delighted to support Dr. Nelsons urban youth mentoring. We welcome the opportunity to continue promoting inclusion and diversity throughout the nursing community.

TCNJs School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science educates aspiring health professionals to become future leaders across the healthcare industry. Faculty work closely with local healthcare partners to provide students with applicative skills and foundational knowledge. The nationally acclaimed school is dedicated to preparing individualsthrough programs in nursing, public health, exercise science, and physical education teachingfor the many rewards of guiding people, communities, and populations toward improved health outcomes.

Contact Information

Maxwell Pollock - Crothers Consulting | info@crothersconsulting.co | (800) 831-3840
Jimmy Buffett will return to live performance in May, with tickets for four south Florida shows going on sale Monday.

The shows will take place at the Pavilion at Old School Square in Delray Beach, Fla., north of Fort Lauderdale. The venue is far smaller than the amphitheaters and arenas Buffett usually fills: Its website lists a capacity of 1,000 for enclosed events or 3,500 for gated concerts.

Jimmy Buffett and Coral Reefer Friends show dates are Thursday, May 13; Friday, May 14; Monday, May 17; and Tuesday, May 18. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, April 26, through oldschoolsquare.org. They must be purchased in pods of four. Prices start at $450 for a general admission pod with obstructed view and range up to $2,000 for a front VIP pod with table and bar service.

The venue lists these shows as outdoor and socially distanced. Policies include a requirement for patrons to wear masks except when in their pods.

We are honored to host a music icon as beloved as Jimmy Buffett, whose songs also perfectly depict the island vibe lifestyle we offer here in Delray, said Old School Square chief operating officer Holland Ryan. Were incredibly humbled that Jimmy and his team selected our safe, secure, open-air venue to bring back his live performances, and we look forward to these special nights with Jimmys classics and best-known gems under the stars.

Buffetts Margaritaville.com site lists virtual concert broadcasts on April 24, May 1 and May 8. After the Delray Beach shows, the next live dates listed are in Indiana on July 10 and Ohio on July 13.
Mercedes and Red Bull are very close to each other in the standings this season. Whereas Lewis Hamilton won the race in Bahrain, Max Verstappen was the fastest in Imola. The Mercedes team knows that this season will be about details.

Although Verstappen did an excellent race in Italy, things didn't go so well for Mercedes. A problem with a wrench meant Hamilton's pit stop took longer than usual, causing him to fall behind. Mercedes then fixed the problem on Valtteri Bottas' next pit stop, but by then the damage had been done.

Chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin tells Mercedes' Youtube channel that the team is working hard to improve pit stops, as the team realises it is behind Red Bull in that area. "It is fair to say that we are not the best. We lose time at the pit stops and have been concentrating on this area for a while."

Mercedes confident in pit stop

However, Shovlin doesn't think Mercedes should despair when it comes to pit stops and is confident of a quick improvement. "As I said, there were some specific reasons that bothered us in Imola. But in the long term we'll see what we can do with the crew and the equipment to get a bit more time out of the pit stops."
The relationship between the former slave Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln provides deep insight into both men. Douglasss recollection of his first meeting with Lincoln  I shall never forget my first interview with this great man  is a highlight of the 1892 version of Douglasss autobiography (The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass). In the Claremont Review of Books celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of Lincolns birth in 2009, the late Peter Schramm reviewed Peter Myerss Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism. Peter drew from Myers briefly to recount the three meetings of Lincoln and Douglass:

The two first met in August 1863, and Douglass was not expecting a friendly encounter. After black soldiers had proven themselves worthy on the battlefield, Douglass had come to Washington to argue that justice demanded equal pay for their efforts. Following a cold reception from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Douglass took his case to the White House. When he presented his card, he found that, instead of being asked to wait in a long line of office seekers, he was moved to the front of the line. He entered Lincolns office to find him completely informal and sprawled out on a sofa reading, with his feet in different parts of the room. Hearing Douglass enter, Lincoln stood to greet him saying, Mr. Douglass, I know you; I have read about you. Lincolns reception of him was just as you have seen one gentleman receive another, Douglass would later say. There was nothing affected in Lincolns tone or manner. I have never seen a more transparent countenance, reported Douglass. He left so impressed with Lincolns defense of his policies and with the firmness of his positionsto say nothing of his genuine sympathies with the black troopsthat Douglass no longer felt the same level of dissatisfaction on the question of unequal pay. He knew something now that was even more crucial. Emancipation would stand. In 1864 Lincoln had another meeting with Douglass to discuss what might be the alarming fate of those slaves still behind Confederate lines. In the midst of a war in which the existence of the nation was at stakeand an election in which Lincolns (and the nations) political future was at stakeLincoln made time to inquire what might be done for those enslaved men and women who would be beyond his assistance in the event of a failure in the war or the election. Douglass again was impressed by Lincolns deep moral conviction on the question of slavery and with his brutal honesty about the prospects ahead. And he was taken with Lincolns seeming disregard for any prevailing or habitual notions that there should be anything other than perfect equality between them. In his company I was never in any way reminded of my humble origin, or of my unpopular color, said Douglass. Indeed, Lincoln was the only white person of prominence about whom Douglass was ever able to say such words. Considering the large number of prominent abolitionists and Christian reformers with whom Douglass was in frequent communication, this is an impressive testament. As fate would have it, the last time these two American friends saw each other was on the occasion of Lincolns Second Inaugural Address. Douglass listened to the speech with the crowd and thought it contained some brave good words. Afterward, he went to the Executive Mansion to attend the reception, but was not allowed to enter. When he sent word to Lincoln that he was being detained, the president ordered that he be admitted. Douglass found Lincoln in the elegant East Room, standing like a mountain pinein his grand simplicity, and home-like beauty. Lincoln said, Here comes my friend, and took Douglass by the hand. I am glad to see you, said the president. Then he asked Douglass how he liked his address, for there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours. Douglass famously said, in words that aptly sum up the work to which their lives had been devoted, Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort.

David Blight opens his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Frederick Douglass with the unveiling of The Freedmens Memorial in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1876. At the heart of Blights opening is his account and analysis of Douglasss Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln at the unveiling. In the speech, Blight writes, Douglass had named the pain and betrayal of ages. Now he entered the celebration.He recognized how deeply intertwined Union and emancipation had become, not least because of Lincolns brilliant political statesmanship.

Douglasss great 1876 oration in memory of Lincoln at the dedication of the Freedmans Monument in Washington, D.C., is accessible here. By contrast with the stupidity and ignorance of the cultural revolution that stares us in the teeth, Douglasss eloquence, subtlety, magnanimity, and insight are enough to make one weep. The monument itself has of course now become a target of the ignorant mob. I cant imagine time better spent than in revisiting Douglasss words (full text below the break):

* * * * *

Friends and Fellow-citizens:

I warmly congratulate you upon the highly interesting object which has caused you to assemble in such numbers and spirit as you have today. This occasion is in some respects remarkable. Wise and thoughtful men of our race, who shall come after us, and study the lesson of our history in the United States; who shall survey the long and dreary spaces over which we have traveled; who shall count the links in the great chain of events by which we have reached our present position, will make a note of this occasion; they will think of it and speak of it with a sense of manly pride and complacency.

I congratulate you, also, upon the very favorable circumstances in which we meet today. They are high, inspiring, and uncommon. They lend grace, glory, and significance to the object for which we have met. Nowhere else in this great country, with its uncounted towns and cities, unlimited wealth, and immeasurable territory extending from sea to sea, could conditions be found more favorable to the success of this occasion than here.

We stand today at the national center to perform something like a national act  an act which is to go into history; and we are here where every pulsation of the national heart can be heard, felt, and reciprocated. A thousand wires, fed with thought and winged with lightning, put us in instantaneous communication with the loyal and true men all over the country.

Few facts could better illustrate the vast and wonderful change which has taken place in our condition as a people than the fact of our assembling here for the purpose we have today. Harmless, beautiful, proper, and praiseworthy as this demonstration is, I cannot forget that no such demonstration would have been tolerated here twenty years ago. The spirit of slavery and barbarism, which still lingers to blight and destroy in some dark and distant parts of our country, would have made our assembling here the signal and excuse for opening upon us all the flood-gates of wrath and violence. That we are here in peace today is a compliment and a credit to American civilization, and a prophecy of still greater national enlightenment and progress in the future.

I refer to the past not in malice, for this is no day for malice; but simply to place more distinctly in front the gratifying and glorious change which has come both to our white fellow-citizens and ourselves, and to congratulate all upon the contrast between now and then; the new dispensation of freedom with its thousand blessings to both races, and the old dispensation of slavery with its ten thousand evils to both races  white and black. In view, then, of the past, the present, and the future, with the long and dark history of our bondage behind us, and with liberty, progress, and enlightenment before us, I again congratulate you upon this auspicious day and hour.

Friends and fellow-citizens, the story of our presence here is soon and easily told. We are here in the District of Columbia, here in the city of Washington, the most luminous point of American territory; a city recently transformed and made beautiful in its body and in its spirit; we are here in the place where the ablest and best men of the country are sent to devise the policy, enact the laws, and shape the destiny of the Republic; we are here, with the stately pillars and majestic dome of the Capitol of the nation looking down upon us; we are here, with the broad earth freshly adorned with the foliage and flowers of spring for our church, and all races, colors, and conditions of men for our congregation  in a word, we are here to express, as best we may, by appropriate forms and ceremonies, our grateful sense of the vast, high, and preeminent services rendered to ourselves, to our race, to our country, and to the whole world by Abraham Lincoln.

The sentiment that brings us here to-day is one of the noblest that can stir and thrill the human heart. It has crowned and made glorious the high places of all civilized nations with the grandest and most enduring works of art, designed to illustrate the characters and perpetuate the memories of great public men. It is the sentiment which from year to year adorns with fragrant and beautiful flowers the graves of our loyal, brave, and patriotic soldiers who fell in defense of the Union and liberty. It is the sentiment of gratitude and appreciation, which often, in the presence of many who hear me, has filled yonder heights of Arlington with the eloquence of eulogy and the sublime enthusiasm of poetry and song; a sentiment which can never die while the Republic lives.

For the first time in the history of our people, and in the history of the whole American people, we join in this high worship, and march conspicuously in the line of this time-honored custom. First things are always interesting, and this is one of our first things. It is the first time that, in this form and manner, we have sought to do honor to an American great man, however deserving and illustrious.

I commend the fact to notice; let it be told in every part of the Republic; let men of all parties and opinions hear it; let those who despise us, not less than those who respect us, know that now and here, in the spirit of liberty, loyalty, and gratitude, let it be known everywhere, and by everybody who takes an interest in human progress and in the amelioration of the condition of mankind, that, in the presence and with the approval of the members of the American House of Representatives, reflecting the general sentiment of the country; that in the presence of that august body, the American Senate, representing the highest intelligence and the calmest judgment of the country; in the presence of the Supreme Court and Chief-Justice of the United States, to whose decisions we all patriotically bow; in the presence and under the steady eye of the honored and trusted President of the United States, with the members of his wise and patriotic Cabinet, we, the colored people, newly emancipated and rejoicing in our blood-bought freedom, near the close of the first century in the life of this Republic, have now and here unveiled, set apart, and dedicated a monument of enduring granite and bronze, in every line, feature, and figure of which the men of this generation may read, and those of aftercoming generations may read, something of the exalted character and great works of Abraham Lincoln, the first martyr President of the United States.

Fellow-citizens, in what we have said and done today, and in what we may say and do hereafter, we disclaim everything like arrogance and assumption. We claim for ourselves no superior devotion to the character, history, and memory of the illustrious name whose monument we have here dedicated today. We fully comprehend the relation of Abraham Lincoln both to ourselves and to the white people of the United States.

Truth is proper and beautiful at all times and in all places, and it is never more proper and beautiful in any case than when speaking of a great public man whose example is likely to be commended for honor and imitation long after his departure to the solemn shades, the silent continents of eternity. It must be admitted, truth compels me to admit, even here in the presence of the monument we have erected to his memory, Abraham Lincoln was not, in the fullest sense of the word, either our man or our model. In his interests, in his associations, in his habits of thought, and in his prejudices, he was a white man.

He was preeminently the white mans President, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men. He was ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country. In all his education and feeling he was an American of the Americans. He came into the Presidential chair upon one principle alone, namely, opposition to the extension of slavery. His arguments in furtherance of this policy had their motive and mainspring in his patriotic devotion to the interests of his own race. To protect, defend, and perpetuate slavery in the states where it existed Abraham Lincoln was not less ready than any other President to draw the sword of the nation. He was ready to execute all the supposed guarantees of the United States Constitution in favor of the slave system anywhere inside the slave states. He was willing to pursue, recapture, and send back the fugitive slave to his master, and to suppress a slave rising for liberty, though his guilty master were already in arms against the Government. The race to which we belong were not the special objects of his consideration. Knowing this, I concede to you, my white fellow-citizens, a pre-eminence in this worship at once full and supreme.

First, midst, and last, you and yours were the objects of his deepest affection and his most earnest solicitude. You are the children of Abraham Lincoln. We are at best only his step-children; children by adoption, children by forces of circumstances and necessity. To you it especially belongs to sound his praises, to preserve and perpetuate his memory, to multiply his statues, to hang his pictures high upon your walls, and commend his example, for to you he was a great and glorious friend and benefactor. Instead of supplanting you at his altar, we would exhort you to build high his monuments; let them be of the most costly material, of the most cunning workmanship; let their forms be symmetrical, beautiful, and perfect, let their bases be upon solid rocks, and their summits lean against the unchanging blue, overhanging sky, and let them endure forever!

But while in the abundance of your wealth, and in the fullness of your just and patriotic devotion, you do all this, we entreat you to despise not the humble offering we this day unveil to view; for while Abraham Lincoln saved for you a country, he delivered us from a bondage, according to Jefferson, one hour of which was worse than ages of the oppression your fathers rose in rebellion to oppose.

Fellow-citizens, ours is no new-born zeal and devotion  merely a thing of this moment. The name of Abraham Lincoln was near and dear to our hearts in the darkest and most perilous hours of the Republic. We were no more ashamed of him when shrouded in clouds of darkness, of doubt, and defeat than when we saw him crowned with victory, honor, and glory. Our faith in him was often taxed and strained to the uttermost, but it never failed.

When he tarried long in the mountain; when he strangely told us that we were the cause of the war; when he still more strangely told us that we were to leave the land in which we were born; when he refused to employ our arms in defense of the Union; when, after accepting our services as colored soldiers, he refused to retaliate our murder and torture as colored prisoners; when he told us he would save the Union if he could with slavery; when he revoked the Proclamation of Emancipation of General Fremont; when he refused to remove the popular commander of the Army of the Potomac, in the days of its inaction and defeat, who was more zealous in his efforts to protect slavery than to suppress rebellion; when we saw all this, and more, we were at times grieved, stunned, and greatly bewildered; but our hearts believed while they ached and bled.

Nor was this, even at that time, a blind and unreasoning superstition. Despite the mist and haze that surrounded him; despite the tumult, the hurry, and confusion of the hour, we were able to take a comprehensive view of Abraham Lincoln, and to make reasonable allowance for the circumstances of his position.

We saw him, measured him, and estimated him; not by stray utterances to injudicious and tedious delegations, who often tried his patience; not by isolated facts torn from their connection; not by any partial and imperfect glimpses, caught at inopportune moments; but by a broad survey, in the light of the stern logic of great events, and in view of that divinity which shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will, we came to the conclusion that the hour and the man of our redemption had somehow met in the person of Abraham Lincoln.

It mattered little to us what language he might employ on special occasions; it mattered little to us, when we fully knew him, whether he was swift or slow in his movements; it was enough for us that Abraham Lincoln was at the head of a great movement, and was in living and earnest sympathy with that movement, which, in the nature of things, must go on until slavery should be utterly and forever abolished in the United States.

When, therefore, it shall be asked what we have to do with the memory of Abraham Lincoln, or what Abraham Lincoln had to do with us, the answer is ready, full, and complete. Though he loved Caesar less than Rome, though the Union was more to him than our freedom or our future, under his wise and beneficent rule we saw ourselves gradually lifted from the depths of slavery to the heights of liberty and manhood; under his wise and beneficent rule, and by measures approved and vigorously pressed by him, we saw that the handwriting of ages, in the form of prejudice and proscription, was rapidly fading away from the face of our whole country; under his rule, and in due time, about as soon after all as the country could tolerate the strange spectacle, we saw our brave sons and brothers laying off the rags of bondage, and being clothed all over in the blue uniforms of the soldiers of the United States; under his rule we saw two hundred thousand of our dark and dusky people responding to the call of Abraham Lincoln, and with muskets on their shoulders, and eagles on their buttons, timing their high footsteps to liberty and union under the national flag; under his rule we saw the independence of the black republic of Haiti, the special object of slave-holding aversion and horror, fully recognized, and her minister, a colored gentleman, duly received here in the city of Washington; under his rule we saw the internal slave-trade, which so long disgraced the nation, abolished, and slavery abolished in the District of Columbia; under his rule we saw for the first time the law enforced against the foreign slave trade, and the first slave-trader hanged like any other pirate or murderer; under his rule, assisted by the greatest captain of our age, and his inspiration, we saw the Confederate States, based upon the idea that our race must be slaves, and slaves forever, battered to pieces and scattered to the four winds; under his rule, and in the fullness of time, we saw Abraham Lincoln, after giving the slave-holders three months grace in which to save their hateful slave system, penning the immortal paper, which, though special in its language, was general in its principles and effect, making slavery forever impossible in the United States. Though we waited long, we saw all this and more.

Can any colored man, or any white man friendly to the freedom of all men, ever forget the night which followed the first day of January, 1863, when the world was to see if Abraham Lincoln would prove to be as good as his word? I shall never forget that memorable night, when in a distant city I waited and watched at a public meeting, with three thousand others not less anxious than myself, for the word of deliverance which we have heard read today.

Nor shall I ever forget the outburst of joy and thanksgiving that rent the air when the lightning brought to us the emancipation proclamation. In that happy hour we forgot all delay, and forgot all tardiness, forgot that the President had bribed the rebels to lay down their arms by a promise to withhold the bolt which would smite the slave-system with destruction; and we were thenceforward willing to allow the President all the latitude of time, phraseology, and every honorable device that statesmanship might require for the achievement of a great and beneficent measure of liberty and progress.

Fellow-citizens, there is little necessity on this occasion to speak at length and critically of this great and good man, and of his high mission in the world. That ground has been fully occupied and completely covered both here and elsewhere. The whole field of fact and fancy has been gleaned and garnered. Any man can say things that are true of Abraham Lincoln, but no man can say anything that is new of Abraham Lincoln. His personal traits and public acts are better known to the American people than are those of any other man of his age.

He was a mystery to no man who saw him and heard him. Though high in position, the humblest could approach him and feel at home in his presence. Though deep, he was transparent; though strong, he was gentle; though decided and pronounced in his convictions, he was tolerant towards those who differed from him, and patient under reproaches. Even those who only knew him through his public utterance obtained a tolerably clear idea of his character and personality. The image of the man went out with his words, and those who read them knew him.

I have said that President Lincoln was a white man, and shared the prejudices common to his countrymen towards the colored race. Looking back to his times and to the condition of his country, we are compelled to admit that this unfriendly feeling on his part may be safely set down as one element of his wonderful success in organizing the loyal American people for the tremendous conflict before them, and bringing them safely through that conflict. His great mission was to accomplish two things: first, to save his country from dismemberment and ruin; and, second, to free his country from the great crime of slavery.

To do one or the other, or both, he must have the earnest sympathy and the powerful cooperation of his loyal fellow-countrymen. Without this primary and essential condition to success his efforts must have been vain and utterly fruitless. Had he put the abolition of slavery before the salvation of the Union, he would have inevitably driven from him a powerful class of the American people and rendered resistance to rebellion impossible. Viewed from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull, and indifferent; but measuring him by the sentiment of his country, a sentiment he was bound as a statesman to consult, he was swift, zealous, radical, and determined.

Though Mr. Lincoln shared the prejudices of his white fellow-countrymen against the Negro, it is hardly necessary to say that in his heart of hearts he loathed and hated slavery. The man who could say, Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war shall soon pass away, yet if God wills it continue till all the wealth piled by two hundred years of bondage shall have been wasted, and each drop of blood drawn by the lash shall have been paid for by one drawn by the sword, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, gives all needed proof of his feeling on the subject of slavery. He was willing, while the South was loyal, that it should have its pound of flesh, because he thought that it was so nominated in the bond; but farther than this no earthly power could make him go.

Fellow-citizens, whatever else in this world may be partial, unjust, and uncertain, time, time! is impartial, just, and certain in its action. In the realm of mind, as well as in the realm of matter, it is a great worker, and often works wonders. The honest and comprehensive statesman, clearly discerning the needs of his country, and earnestly endeavoring to do his whole duty, though covered and blistered with reproaches, may safely leave his course to the silent judgment of time. Few great public men have ever been the victims of fiercer denunciation than Abraham Lincoln was during his administration. He was often wounded in the house of his friends. Reproaches came thick and fast upon him from within and from without, and from opposite quarters. He was assailed by Abolitionists; he was assailed by slave-holders; he was assailed by the men who were for peace at any price; he was assailed by those who were for a more vigorous prosecution of the war; he was assailed for not making the war an abolition war; and he was bitterly assailed for making the war an abolition war.

But now behold the change: the judgment of the present hour is, that taking him for all in all, measuring the tremendous magnitude of the work before him, considering the necessary means to ends, and surveying the end from the beginning, infinite wisdom has seldom sent any man into the world better fitted for his mission than Abraham Lincoln. His birth, his training, and his natural endowments, both mental and physical, were strongly in his favor. Born and reared among the lowly, a stranger to wealth and luxury, compelled to grapple single-handed with the flintiest hardships of life, from tender youth to sturdy manhood, he grew strong in the manly and heroic qualities demanded by the great mission to which he was called by the votes of his countrymen. The hard condition of his early life, which would have depressed and broken down weaker men, only gave greater life, vigor, and buoyancy to the heroic spirit of Abraham Lincoln. He was ready for any kind and any quality of work. What other young men dreaded in the shape of toil, he took hold of with the utmost cheerfulness.

A spade, a rake, a hoe,

A pick-axe, or a bill;

A hook to reap, a scythe to mow,

A flail, or what you will.

All day long he could split heavy rails in the woods, and half the night long he could study his English Grammar by the uncertain flare and glare of the light made by a pine-knot. He was at home in the land with his axe, with his maul, with gluts, and his wedges; and he was equally at home on water, with his oars, with his poles, with his planks, and with his boat-hooks. And whether in his flat-boat on the Mississippi River, or at the fireside of his frontier cabin, he was a man of work. A son of toil himself, he was linked in brotherly sympathy with the sons of toil in every loyal part of the Republic. This very fact gave him tremendous power with the American people, and materially contributed not only to selecting him to the Presidency, but in sustaining his administration of the Government.

Upon his inauguration as President of the United States, an office, even when assumed under the most favorable condition, fitted to tax and strain the largest abilities, Abraham Lincoln was met by a tremendous crisis. He was called upon not merely to administer the Government, but to decide, in the face of terrible odds, the fate of the Republic.

A formidable rebellion rose in his path before him; the Union was already practically dissolved; his country was torn and rent asunder at the center. Hostile armies were already organized against the Republic, armed with the munitions of war which the Republic had provided for its own defense. The tremendous question for him to decide was whether his country should survive the crisis and flourish, or be dismembered and perish. His predecessor in office had already decided the question in favor of national dismemberment, by denying to it the right of self-defense and self-preservation  a right which belongs to the meanest insect.

Happily for the country, happily for you and for me, the judgment of James Buchanan, the patrician, was not the judgment of Abraham Lincoln, the plebeian. He brought his strong common sense, sharpened in the school of adversity, to bear upon the question. He did not hesitate, he did not doubt, he did not falter; but at once resolved that at whatever peril, at whatever cost, the union of the States should be preserved. A patriot himself, his faith was strong and unwavering in the patriotism of his countrymen. Timid men said before Mr. Lincolns inauguration, that we have seen the last President of the United States.

A voice in influential quarters said, Let the Union slide. Some said that a Union maintained by the sword was worthless. Others said a rebellion of 8,000,000 cannot be suppressed; but in the midst of all this tumult and timidity, and against all this, Abraham Lincoln was clear in his duty, and had an oath in heaven. He calmly and bravely heard the voice of doubt and fear all around him; but he had an oath in heaven, and there was not power enough on earth to make this honest boatman, backwoodsman, and broad-handed splitter of rails evade or violate that sacred oath.

He had not been schooled in the ethics of slavery; his plain life had favored his love of truth. He had not been taught that treason and perjury were the proof of honor and honesty. His moral training was against his saying one thing when he meant another. The trust that Abraham Lincoln had in himself and in the people was surprising and grand, but it was also enlightened and well founded. He knew the American people better than they knew themselves, and his truth was based upon this knowledge.

Fellow-citizens, the fourteenth day of April, 1865, of which this is the eleventh anniversary, is now and will ever remain a memorable day in the annals of this Republic. It was on the evening of this day, while a fierce and sanguinary rebellion was in the last stages of its desolating power; while its armies were broken and scattered before the invincible armies of Grant and Sherman; while a great nation, torn and rent by war, was already beginning to raise to the skies loud anthems of joy at the dawn of peace, it was startled, amazed, and overwhelmed by the crowning crime of slavery  the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

It was a new crime, a pure act of malice. No purpose of the rebellion was to be served by it. It was the simple gratification of a hell-black spirit of revenge. But it has done good after all. It has filled the country with a deeper abhorrence of slavery and a deeper love for the great liberator.

Had Abraham Lincoln died from any of the numerous ills to which flesh is heir; had he reached that good old age of which his vigorous constitution and his temperate habits gave promise; had he been permitted to see the end of his great work; had the solemn curtain of death come down but gradually  we should still have been smitten with a heavy grief, and treasured his name lovingly. But dying as he did die, by the red hand of violence, killed, assassinated, taken off without warning, not because of personal hate  for no man who knew Abraham Lincoln could hate him  but because of his fidelity to union and liberty, he is doubly dear to us, and his memory will be precious forever.

Fellow-citizens, I end, as I began, with congratulations. We have done a good work for our race today. In doing honor to the memory of our friend and liberator, we have been doing highest honors to ourselves and those who come after us; we have been fastening ourselves to a name and fame imperishable and immortal; we have also been defending ourselves from a blighting scandal. When now it shall be said that the colored man is soulless, that he has no appreciation of benefits or benefactors; when the foul reproach of ingratitude is hurled at us, and it is attempted to scourge us beyond the range of human brotherhood, we may calmly point to the monument we have this day erected to the memory of Abraham Lincoln.
The government will never give up on regaining control of the West Philippine Sea. President Duterte has insisted that forcing China out of the contested area will only lead to bloodshed.
New Delhi, April 22 : The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has asked the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on Pakistani government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom.

In its annual report released on Wednesday, the Washington-based commission redesignated Pakistan as a 'country of particular concern' (CPC), for engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom of minorities.

The USCIRF has recommended to the US government to freeze certain Pakistani individuals' assets and/or barring their entry into the US under human rights-related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations.

Last year, the report had said, religious freedom conditions in Pakistan continued to worsen.

"The government systematically enforced blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws and failed to protect religious minorities from abuses by nonstate actors.

There was a sharp rise in targeted killings, blasphemy cases, forced conversions, and hate speech targeting religious minorities including Ahmadis, Shia Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs." Pakistan's treatment of religious minorities is best assessed through the prism of its treatment of the Ahmadiyya community, who continued to face severe official and societal persecution for their beliefs and self-identification as Muslims, the report said.

The year saw a surge in targeted killings of Ahmadis. Between July and November, five Ahmadis were murdered, including 57-year-old Tahir Naseem, an American citizen accused of blasphemy who was shot in a courtroom in July.

The report pointed out that in May, the government formed the National Minorities Commission (NMC) required by a 2014 Supreme Court decision, however Ahmadis were excluded.

During debates surrounding their possible inclusion, Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Pakistan's Minister for Religious and Inter-faith Harmony Affairs, publicly stated, "Whoever shows sympathy or compassion towards [Ahmadis] is neither loyal to Islam nor the state of Pakistan." The government did not address statements made by Qadri or other officials who incited hatred and intolerance towards Ahmadis and other religious minorities, the USCIRF.

Pakistan's religiously discriminatory legislation, such as the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws, used in combination with new media rules, contributed to egregious human rights abuses and fostered an overall atmosphere of intolerance for religious minorities that often leads to violence and discrimination.

In August alone, over 40 blasphemy First Incident Reports (FIRs) were registered, mostly targeting the Shi'a minority during the month of Muharram.

Other religious communities, the report said, were also targeted with blasphemy charges. In 2020, there reportedly were 30 Christians, including seven on death row, jailed in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy. They include Asif Pervaiz, a 37-year-old Christian garment factory worker whom a Lahore court sentenced to death in September.

The issue of abduction, forced conversion to Islam, rape, and forced marriage remained an imminent threat for religious minority women and children, particularly from the Hindu and Christian faiths.

During 2020, USCIRF documented incidents of forced marriages, more than half involving minors. The government did little to ensure minor girls' safety and return to their families, the Commission said.

Authorities often do not take any action, and in abduction cases that are brought to the courts, officials have claimed that victims willingly converted to Islam.

The head of the Parliamentary Committee on Forced Religious Conversions, Senator Anwarul Haq Kakar, claimed that most cases of forced conversion "have some degree of willingness on the part of the girl." Pakistani courts systematically failed to protect and provide justice to victims, who are often forced to testify that they converted voluntarily to protect themselves and their families from further harm.

In April, Myra Shahbaz, a 14-year-old Christian schoolgirl, was abducted at gunpoint. Despite Myra telling police she was drugged, raped, and forced to sign papers her abductor later used to allege that she was 19 and had voluntarily married and converted, the court ordered that she be returned to her abductor, the report highlighted.

The USCIRF has recommended to the Biden administration to redesignate Pakistan as CPC as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), and lift the waiver releasing the administration from taking otherwise legislatively mandated action as a result of the designation.

It has asked the US government to enter into a binding agreement, under Section 405(c) of IRFA, with the Pakistani government to encourage substantial steps to address religious freedom violations with benchmarks.

The Commission has asked the Biden administration to ask Pakistan to release blasphemy prisoners and other individuals imprisoned for their religion or beliefs.

The USCIRF has asked the US government to ask Islamabad to repeal blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws; until repeal is accomplished, enact reforms to make blasphemy a bailable offense, require evidence by accusers, ensure proper investigation by senior police officials, allow authorities to dismiss unfounded accusations, and enforce existing Penal Code articles criminalizing perjury and false accusations.

Pakistan must also address extremist rhetoric often preceding attacks on minorities, while protecting freedom of expression.

The country should hold accountable individuals who incite or participate in vigilante violence, targeted killings, forced conversions, and other hate crimes. The Islamic Republic must reform public educational textbooks, curriculum, and teacher training materials to ensure content is inclusive of and not discriminatory toward religious minorities.

Above all, Pakistan must remove requirements for self-identification of religion on identity documents.

The US Congress should advocate for the release of religious prisoners of conscience in Pakistan, including Junaid Hafeez, Ramzan Bibi, Shafqat Emmanuel, and Shagufta Kausar, the USCIRF has recommended.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 14:21:51|Editor: huaxia

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KATHMANDU, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government has implemented a quota system for mountaineers to climb Mt. Qomolangma, to prevent overcrowding on the world's tallest peak.

As per the new rules enforced on Wednesday, the Nepali government has introduced a "first come, first ascent" policy, allowing certain groups of mountaineers who had received climbing permits first to summit the mountain in the first weather window.

Similarly, other groups are allowed to climb the mountain in other positive weather windows. "If this policy leads to an unmanageable situation, expedition organizers are allowed to arrange expeditions of maximum 170 individuals in each positive weather window through coordination among themselves," states rules.

Positive weather windows remain limited as the mountaineers seek to scale the 8848.86-meter tall mountains as early as possible.

The Nepali government's move has come amid intense scrutiny over a reported traffic jam on Mt. Qomolangma in 2019 when a record 644 mountaineers, including 280 foreigner mountaineers, stepped onto the top of the world.

Nepal's tourism department has however been rejecting the idea that there had ever been a traffic jam and that overcrowding caused deaths of climbers.

Mira Acharya, director at the mountaineering section of the department, told Xinhua on Wednesday that the rules were enforced to ensure proper management of expeditions. "It is not guided by the assumption that there had been traffic jams in the past," she said.

Meanwhile, any tourist who has returned from mountaineering of one mountain and wants to climb another mountain can get a climbing permit only after he or she has tested negative for the coronavirus with another Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. Enditem
Queensland Police admitted to failing Gold Coast mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson, allegedly killed and set alight by her former partner on Tuesday morning, after she had visited a police station twice to complain he had breached the conditions of a protection order.

In a major mea culpa, Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd and Gold Coast Superintendent Rhys Wildman fronted the media to announce an internal review of the tragic case and admit that they had failed to protect Ms Wilkinson.

'Ultimately it's a failure,' said Codd. 'A woman has died. She's been killed. Somewhere along the line she has engaged with the system, and we were unable to prevent this from occurring.'

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnston on their wedding day. He had been arrested earlier in April

QPS Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said the service had failed Ms Wilkinson

Forensic officers during their lengthy investigation of the Arundel property

A major aspect of the review will be why Johnston was granted police bail after he was arrested on April 11 for what were described as 'serious crimes' allegedly committed in February. Police bail is a decision made by a police officer rather than a magistrate.

Superintendent Wildman revealed that police had been in touch with Kelly Wilkinson after a Personal Protection Order was issued following a domestic violence incident police became aware of on March 29.

She then visited Southport police station a further two times complaining that Johnston had not abided by the terms of the order.

Codd defended the decision and said police assessed that Johnston had not breached his conditions.

'Contact was made [by Ms Wilkinson] because of suggestions there were breaches of conditions and they were looked at and assessed and it was determined the scenario was consistent with the conditions.'

Ms Wilkinson had also been in touch with Gold Coast domestic violence agencies seeking help due to her fear of how the situation had evolved.

Kelly Wilkinson and Brian Johnstone lived for a time in his home state of Ohio, USA

Police and SES search along the street where Kelly Wilkinson and her children were living

A local Arundel resident, Louise Christie, paid her respects at the scene on Wednesday

'I'm aware there was contact made with one of the domestic and family violence entities on the Gold Coast around April 13,' said Assistant Commissioner Codd. 'Engagement was made with our Gold Coast District domestic and family violence unit.

'I can't go into the explicit detail but it was to highlight concerns on behalf of Kelly about understanding the process about why the [alleged] offender was not in custody.'

Johnston's lawyer, Chris Hannay, told media on Wednesday that he had met with Johnston on Sunday, less than 48 hours before he allegedly attacked and murdered Ms Wilkinson.

'On Sunday, I got some instructions from him in relation to some other fairly serious matters that he has been charged with, and I haven't spoken to him since,' Mr Hannay said.

He said Johnston did not appear distressed or agitated during the weekend conference.

'Obviously, no one expected this to happen... everyone thought that they were just chugging along as a normal process.'

Kelly Wilkinson pictured with one of her three children during her time living the US

Tuesday's alleged attack came seven years after the couple shared photos of their wedding, surrounded by their loved ones.

Other photos showed Mr Johnston holding one of their children next to Ms. Wilkinson during a holiday in the US, and Ms Wilkinson smiling during a trip to Niagara Falls.

Ms Wilkinson's mother Karen, who died in February in a tragic double blow for the family, had also shared images on Facebook of her daughter and her young family visiting his native Ohio.

She and husband Reg owned the Spikes Court house in which the couple lived before the relationship breakdown.

A GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Kelly's children had raised more than $122,000 by Thursday afternoon, more than double it's original goal of $50,000.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
South Africa: Green Paper on Marriages approved for public consultation

Cabinet has approved the publication of the Green Paper on Marriages for public consultation.

The Green Paper seeks to work towards the development of a new Single Marriage Bill, and it also aligns the marriage regime with the constitutional principle of equality.

The paper makes proposals on unions of people from all sexual orientations, religious and cultural persuasions. It also proposes the complete removal of child marriages in our future marriage regime, Acting Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said during a Post-Cabinet media briefing on Thursday.

Report on tax incentive programme approved

Cabinet has also approved the submission of the Report on the Performance of the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive Programme for 2018/19 to Parliament, as required by Section 11 D of the Income Tax Act.

The tax incentive programme was introduced to help the country achieve about 1% of gross domestic product target on R&D expenditure by 2024.

Ntshavheni said the report will be available to the public once it has gone through the parliamentary process.

Thumbs up for No-Fault Compensation Fund Scheme

Cabinet has further approved the establishment of the No-Fault Compensation Fund, which is in line with the contractual agreements entered into with the pharmaceutical companies that will be supplying South Africa with COVID-19 vaccines.

Ntshavheni noted that the Fund is also important for the protection of South Africans who may be affected by side effects of vaccines to access better support and treatment.

The fund will be established through the amendments to Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act 57 of 2002). It will be chaired by a judge, she said.

Report of High-Level Panel on Wildlife Management

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is expected to release the recommendations of the report of High-Level Panel (HLP) on Wildlife Management for implementation and necessary consultation.

Cabinet approved the report of the HLP on Wildlife Management, which was established by the Ministry to review policies, legislation and practices on matters related to the management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling (welfare and well-being) of the countrys endangered wildlife species.

These include elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
An angry and frustrated group of Jersey City public school parents have planned a demonstration Thursday to protest the superintendents sudden decision to keep schools closed for the remainder of the school year because of the pandemic.

Jennifer Sforza, a parent organizing the protest, said 60 parents and counting, along with their children, will be outside the school districts Claremont Avenue office at 9 a.m. She said protestors will be demanding to see Superintendent Franklin Walkers plans for reopening in September.

Our hope for tomorrow is for the superintendent to see that his decision is unfair and that we are not happy about it and we do want action, Sforza said. We want to know his plans for September  We want to see that plan because he had a plan in place and he failed us in that.

Walker announced in a robocall Sunday that the districts 30,000 students  who were scheduled to return to their classrooms April 26  will remain in remote learning due to a lack of teachers available to handle in-person learning. Walker said that between 400 and 500 of the 3,000-plus instructional staff requested to teach from home because of coronavirus-related issues.

The decision to push back the long-awaited reopening has been met with surprise, frustration and disappointment from a vocal group of parents, Mayor Steve Fulop, the school board president, the school board, and now Gov. Phil Murphy.

I was disappointed in the Jersey City development, its very hard to say otherwise, Murphy said in his daily press briefing Wednesday. I know for sure, as Ive said, we are back in business in September, Monday through Friday, for educators, kids, everybody in as close to a normal school year as possible.

Sforza said the many local officials were invited to attend the demonstration, including members of the school board. Fulop posted on Facebook that he will be attending the event.

While Im not an organizer of this event, I do think it is an extremely important issue for all of us, Fulop said. Every other city around us (including Newark and New York City) have figured out some form of safe in-person instruction option to help all those children that have struggled with the virtual instruction.

Parents, students, and teachers deserve this option for our schools.

The protest comes hours before a regular school board meeting at Middle School 7 on Laidlaw Avenue, the first in-person meeting since the pandemic hit. No more than 100 people will be allowed in the building. The 6 p.m. meeting will also be streamed on the districts Facebook page.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  Senators are pushing to defund the national anti-communist task force next year following its alleged red-tagging of community pantry organizers.

In an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source on Thursday, Sen. Richard Gordon described the profiling and red-tagging activities of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict as "imbecilic, stupid, and shameful."

"They have no right to do that. People are doing their business in peace. They are not violating the law. Why should they bother with this? Dapat magfocus sila sa iba (They should focus on other matters)," Gordon said.

"Bakit sila nagfo-focus dito sa mga taong tumutulong sa kapwa at nagpapakita ng bayanihan sa ating bayan? I think its imbecilic, its stupid and shameful," he added.

[Translation: Why are they focusing on people who are simply helping others and showing the 'bayanihan' spirit in the community?]

Gordon also shared the sentiments of his colleagues, including Senator Joel Villanueva, who recently said in a tweet that the government should stop allocating public funds to the NTF-ELCAC and should just reallocate the current 19 billion budget for financial aid.

"There is nothing to gain from running after people helping other people," Gordon added, "It's a waste of our human resources."

NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade recently admitted that they have been doing background checks on community pantry organizers, including leftist groups which may have been "engaging in propaganda" behind such initiatives. In a separate interview, Parlade compared Ana Patricia Non's single-handed organizing of the first community pantry to Satan, acting alone, giving an apple to Eve where it all started.

The NTF-ELCAC was given a 19-billion budget this year despite criticisms on the agencys intensified red-tagging activities. Bulk of this will be spent to implement infrastructure projects and support barangays that were cleared of insurgency threats.

Senator Franklin Drilon said President Rodrigo Duterte has the power to realign the NTF-ELCAC budget without waiting for the 2022 budget debates.

"The President should realign the NTF-ELCAC under the 2021 GAA now. Because, as the saying goes: 'Aanhin mo pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo? (What good will the grass bring if the horse is already dead?)' he said.

In an interview with CNN Philippines News Night, Senator Nancy Binay said it is high-time to review the budget of the said task force for the following year, adding that the priority should not be communist problems but pandemic response.

Relieve Parlade?

Meanwhile, two senators suggested the relief of some NTC-ELCAC officials instead of defunding the task force altogether.

We should not be hasty in blaming a good program because of irresponsible statements from some officials. Replace the officials instead," Senate President Vicente Sotto III said in a statement.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that he has long been pushing for the relief of Parlade, "not only because his civilian position is violative of the Constitution," but because he has become a liability in the government's efforts.

Inspired by the first community pantry organized by Non, other Filipinos have come up with similar projects in various parts of the country to help residents in their respective communities. However, some organizers have alleged they were being profiled or red-tagged by anti-communist task force officers

Senators and local chief executives have expressed their support for the community pantries amid this security issue.

READ: What to do when cops approach your community pantry
2021-04-22

Maeci

UNITED STATES - Sparkle extends its Virtual Network Access Point service coverage

Sparkle has extended the coverage of its Virtual NAP service, offering access to the DE-CIX Internet Exchange Points in New York and Dallas.

Virtual NAP provides operators with virtual access to the major Internet Exchange Points, without the client having to implement and manage owned infrastructures or sustain colocation costs.

Following an extension to the agreement with DE-CIX, Sparkle offers access to DE-CIX Exchange Points in New York and Dallas, in addition to the European Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) already reached by the Virtual NAP service. This will allow clients to exchange traffic with more than 350 networks already connected via the two sites in the USA.

This service, aimed mainly at Internet Service Providers (ISP), and North American suppliers of content and applications, is also available to South American operators, thanks to the ultra-fast, protected connections offered by Sparkle on its American trunk route, which includes new-generation Curie cables in the Pacific and Seabras-1 cables in the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, operators already using the DE-CIX internet exchanges will be able to benefit from the global connectivity offered by the Sparkle network, thanks to the transit service, IP Seabone, the DDoS Mitigation & Cleaning solutions that allows Seabone clients to protect their networks, and the City2City transport solutions, for dedicated, secure capacities to the major cities in the world.

DE-CIXs New York and Dallas sites have been added to the American exchange points already interconnected with the Sparkle network, located in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, San Paolo, Rio De Janeiro, and Santiago in Chile, thereby extending the Virtual NAP services coverage in America.
His award-winning plays never shy from castigating the deficiencies of modern Britain. But Sir David Hare has excelled himself with his latest withering invective.

It takes the form, I can disclose, not of a script but a passionate denunciation of a neighbour  in particular, his plan for a new house in the millionaires enclave of Hampstead, North London.

This proposed development is hideous  a big elephants backside with namby-pamby balconies which belong on a Tyrolean fairground ride, asserts Hare in a statement jointly signed with his second wife, French fashion designer Nicole Farhi, and submitted to the local council.

Hare, whose plays include the three-hour-long Stuff Happens, doesnt leave it there.

His award-winning plays never shy from castigating the deficiencies of modern Britain. But Sir David Hare (pictured right with his his second wife, French fashion designer Nicole Farhi) has excelled himself with his latest withering invective, writes Sebastian Shakespeare

The whole design, out of proportion to the rest of the street and violently obtrusive to anyone who has to live near it, is an unholy mix of the gargantuan and the twee  and has absolutely nothing to do with design principles of the surrounding streets. It looks like its been blown up with a bicycle pump.

His words strike a chord with several locals, with one describing the proposed four-bedroom house, as too muscular and ostentatious.

Alison Brooks Architects drew up the plans but remains above the fray.

Sebastian Shakespeare: It takes the form, I can disclose, not of a script but a passionate denunciation of a neighbour  in particular, his plan for a new house in the millionaires enclave of Hampstead, North London (pictured)

Because of the consultation process were not able to say anything, a spokesman tells me.

'Its not ethical for us to wade in, so well refrain.

But the spokesman does point out that Alison Brooks has a number of awards, including a Civic Trust Award for its Cohen Quad at Exeter College, Oxford.

But those details seem incapable of placating 72-year-old Hare. I cant believe that [the council] is going to go ahead with anything so remarkably ugly.

'If there is an opportunity to build a beautiful new house, then please let it be in scale to everything else.

Perhaps Alison Brooks will advise him on the duration of his plays.

Pictured: A typical old English high street in Hampstead, north west London (file photo)

Amazing what you can find in the attic  at least at 189-room Dunrobin Castle, the Earl of Sutherlands ancestral seat. Having decided to clear out Dunrobins attic and cellars, the Earl was rewarded when the clutter was auctioned at Bonhams in Edinburgh this week. It made 732,528, with a duchesss coronet being snapped up for 11,475, rather than the anticipated 1,500.

I hope Iris isn't getting cold feet...

Film star Jude Laws daughter, Iris, will make her acting debut in Danny Boyles Sex Pistols drama, playing punk icon Soo Catwoman. Off screen, the model, 20, displays a very different taste in fashion.

During a break from filming, Iris, whose mother is Judes ex-wife, Sadie Frost, went shopping in Londons Borough Market wearing a pair of 120 Ugg fluffy yellow platform sandals, and a cropped T-shirt.

Lockdown, she admits, has made her feel more at home in casual attire.

The way Ive dressed has changed drastically because Im just constantly wearing comfortable clothes now, she muses.

During a break from filming, Iris, whose mother is Jude Law's ex-wife, Sadie Frost, went shopping in Londons Borough Market wearing a pair of 120 Ugg fluffy yellow platform sandals, and a cropped T-shirt (pictured)

Quizmaster Jeremy Paxman says Covid has left us being treated like idiots. We all put up with masks and with bossy simpletons trying to enforce that oxymoron social distancing, he says. In the lifts where we make University Challenge, someone has even stuck labels on the floor to show where you should put your feet. So very helpful for those of us considering the ceiling.

Oscar nominated actress Sarah Miles, 79, has a spring in her step having found love with a younger man - retired lawyer Ian Hollis, 62

What ho Jeeves! Oscar nominated actress Sarah Miles, 79, has a spring in her step having found love with a younger man, as I disclosed last week.

I can reveal that her playmate, whom she playfully calls Jeeves, is retired lawyer Ian Hollis, 62, a divorcee with one daughter. Hes extraordinary, Sarah tells me.

There is nothing he cant do. Hes a Mr Fixit. The Ryans Daughter actress says she first met Hollis 22 years ago as he lives up the lane. They bonded recently playing chess and backgammon and now live together at her Sussex home.

Miles has had a colourful love life having been married to screenwriter Robert Bolt (twice) and she had affairs with her Ryans Daughter co-star Robert Mitchum, and Sir Laurence Olivier.

So will they soon be tying the knot? We hadnt thought about it, chuckles Jeeves. Time to fix it.

Brave Helen's legacy for kids

Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter star Helen McCrory, whose death at the age of 52 shocked fans last week, will leave an inspiring legacy.

An arts charity has set up an award to help disadvantaged children achieve their dreams in her memory.

Helen was a huge believer in that the arts should be accessible to every child, says Debbi Clark, chief executive of HVH Arts in North London, of which the actress was patron.

The McCrory Award will support gifted children from disadvantaged families. It will be funded by donations the charity receives in trib

No pregnant pause for Mary

Model and DJ Lady Mary Charteris is indignant that mothers-to-be are expected to sacrifice partying.

I had visions of working throughout my pregnancy. Ive almost never seen pregnant women DJing, says the 33-year-old daughter of the Earl of Wemyss.

I was hoping if there was any underlying stigma in our culture about pregnant women doing that sort of thing I could help squash it. Sadly, Covid put a stop to events and dancing.

Mary, who is married to musician Robbie Furze and due to give birth to their first child in June, adds: Being pregnant doesnt mean women cant or shouldnt dance, jump around, stay up late and play music.

Model and DJ Lady Mary Charteris is indignant that mothers-to-be are expected to sacrifice partying. Mary, who is married to musician Robbie Furze and due to give birth to their first child in June
MOSCOW  Russias Defense Ministry ordered a partial pullback of troops from the border with Ukraine on Thursday, signaling a possible de-escalation in a military standoff that had raised alarm that a new war in Europe could be looming.

The order came a day after President Vladimir V. Putin, in an annual state of the nation address, rattled off a list of grievances against Western nations, including threats of new sanctions. Mr. Putin warned against crossing a Russian red line with additional pressure on Moscow. The huge buildup on the Ukrainian border was in place while he spoke.

That mobilization had increasingly worried the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European capitals and Washington, and was seen as an early foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration.

The Russian defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, who had called the buildup a test of the Russian militarys readiness, said the units deployed to the border area had shown their capabilities and should now return to their regular positions.
The FBI seal is seen before a news conference at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

University Math Professor Indicted for Hiding Support From China

A Southern Illinois UniversityCarbondale mathematics professor and researcher has been indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement for failing to disclose support he was receiving from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a Chinese state-run university.

Professor Mingqing Xiao defrauded the National Science Foundation (NSF) of $151,099 in grants by concealing aid that he was receiving from the Chinese regime, according to the indictment filed April 21 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Xiao didnt immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his university email. Court filings in the case didnt identify an attorney for Xiao as of April 22. He is due in court on May 13, according to a summons.

Again, an American professor stands accused of enabling the Chinese governments efforts to corruptly benefit from U.S. research funding by lying about his obligations to, and support from, an arm of the Chinese government and a Chinese public university, Assistant Attorney General John Demers with the Justice Departments (DOJ) National Security Division said in a statement.

Honesty and transparency about funding sources lie at the heart of the scientific research enterprise. They enable U.S. agencies to distribute scarce grants for scientific research fairly and equitably. And they allow other researchers to evaluate potential conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment. When researchers fall short of fulfilling these core academic values in ways that violate the law, the Department stands ready to investigate and prosecute.

The indictment is part of the DOJs China Initiative, a sprawling effort spanning across all 50 states that was set in motion by Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the Trump administration. Roughly 80 percent of all economic espionage cases brought by the DOJ involve conduct that would benefit the Chinese communist regime.

The charges in this case are very serious, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Steven Weinhoeft said in a statement. University grant fraud allows China to co-opt U.S. research and development at a fraction of the cost. Prosecutions like this one play an important role, not just in protecting American investments in academic research from foreign exploitation, but also in combating the growing threat that China poses to our national security.

Xiao has worked at SIUs Carbondale campus since 2000, according to the court documents. He submitted a grant application to the university in September 2018 without informing the school that he was receiving a grant from the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China, the indictment alleges.

Xiao also allegedly failed to inform NSF that he was on the payroll of Shenzhen University, a public university in Guangdong Province and that he had already committed to teaching and conducting research at Shenzhen University from 2018 to 2023, the indictment states.

The two counts of wire fraud against Xiao carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison each; the false statements charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
So how does a winery in the middle of Bradford County, more than a two hours drive from Allentown and Harrisburg and a three hours drive from New York City and Philadelphia, get on more roadmaps of those who like to travel and explore?

Well, name one of your wines Sh!tshow in the middle of a global pandemic and watch the announcement go global.

That wasnt necessarily the goal for Kim and Jeff Homer, the owners of Grovedale Winery, in Wyalusing. Jeff said the idea just sort of popped into the mind of winemaker Dominic Mantei one day and he shared it. All agreed it was a great concept. By fall, the red blend had been released, and once a couple of national sites picked up the story, it went viral.

By late March, the winery said that Scranton-based Gerritys Supermarket had sold through the first run of Sh!tshow and that it is purchasing a new batch that it plans to sell in all six of its locations. It also sells some of Grovedales other wines.

Meanwhile, the winery said its also in talks with two other large supermarket chains to bring Sh!tshow to other surrounding markets throughout Pennsylvania.

Heres a link to the website for Sh!tshow. The owners said that a portion of the sales of the wine will be shared with Mental Health America.

There is more to this winery than the one wine, for sure. It has built a wine list based on several cold-weather (Minnesota French hybrid) grapes such as Marquette, Frontenac Gris and St. Croix. Plus, all you have to do is look at the photos to see the other main attraction: the scenery at and surrounding the winery.

Located at 71 Grovedale Lane, its open Tuesdays through Sundays.

Bottom line, its a family-run winery thats based on a farm that dates back to 1812. Eight generations later, Jeff and Kim Homer moved onto the property and planted their first vines in 2005. The tasting room opened three years later. You can find more details on the history of the winery her

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 president and founder Jeff Homer for taking these on.

Q, For readers who dont know anything about the winery, how would you describe it?

We love wine, laughter, fun, family, friends, dogs and creating. Grovedale is a boutique winery located in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania [in Bradford County]. It is our personal mission to produce quality wines that help to serve a greater purpose. Our bi-century farm/vineyard nicely complements our tasting room, a place where people can relax and celebrate special moments with our wines.

We mix our penchant for fun with a bit of country-elegance. The result is a unique and highly memorable experience for our customers. We have an exceptionally skilled winemaker with whom we produce small lots that ensure the highest quality and peak flavor profiles.

Q, Such an amazing family history there what led to the planting of the vines? Had one or both of you visited many wineries before you decided to set out on your own?

A, I attended college in northern California; while there I developed an interest in all things winemaking and wine culture. When I returned home to go to work in our family business, I ended up moving to my maternal familys bi-century farm. In the early 2000s there was a lot of innovation happening in breeding grapes that were considerably more sustainable to grow and cold tolerant than the traditional vinifera vines.

Winery owners Kim and Jeff Homer decide to take their meal to the vineyard.

The plan took root to plant a vineyard with the intent to open a winery within 3 years. The initial vineyard was planted in 2005, I produced the first vintage of wines in 2007, and the tasting room was opened to the public in the fall of 2008, weve been making wine and memories ever since.

Q, You mention a winemaker figured Id at least ask who is it? And has that person been making your wine since the beginning?

A, Our winemaker, Dominic Mantei, has been the head winemaker at Grovedale since the winter of 2019. He has grown the role from where I had taken it over the first decade of winemaking. Dominic has had an impressive career, with over 20 years of progressive winemaking roles in CA. Over that time, he has created numerous award-winning wines, often featured at prestigious wine-making competitions nationwide.

Q, How has the vineyard evolved since 2008? Do you have a sense by now by the vinifera you can grow there? And sticking with that theme, is there much of an education involved with offering customers wines they probably are unfamiliar with, from Marquette to Frontenac Gris and Louise Swenson to St. Croix and St. Pepin?

A, We still consider the vineyard in the pioneering stage of its life [certain places in France for instance took 100+ years to figure out the one grape that grows best and makes the best wine in certain soils]. We have replanted 50% of the grape varietals over the last 16 years, as we have found some varieties work amazingly well, and others might not for one reason or another. The varietals that we grow dont have the national name recognition as with some traditional vinifera grapes, but they are making amazing wines that are authentic and expressive of our region and climate.

At Grovedale we love talking grapes and wine with our customers, no pomp or pretense, we just like to have fun sharing our knowledge alongside our wines. We believe that there is a wine for everyone, it just might take some time, and trial and error to figure out what each individuals likes and dislikes are.

Q, Tell me about the Sh!tshow and the process of coming up with the name and the grape(s) in it.

A, Last year, when we lost our tasting room to the pandemic, we had some time on our hands. So, like most other people, we were inspired to create. We seized the opportunity to call it what it was. When we floated the idea to others, they immediately started laughing. We thought, if we lift a glass together to celebrate lifes good moments, why not have a wine for the sh!tshow moments in life and help bring a smile. At the time, we were thinking of situations like your friend goes through a divorce or when your project at work fails.

The original name of the farm was Grovedale because it is said that the people of Wyalusing used to come to the area to have their picnics, in the grove or the dale.

Theres no way we could have predicted how crazy things wouldve become, but it does seem like its the perfect wine to capture the times. Thats how we developed our tagline, A fine wine for the times. As to the wine itself we chose to go with a red blend [of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot] with fruit sourced from a vineyard in Washington state that we had worked with in the past. The irony in the name is that its a great wine for those who love a dry red. Its definitely a gifting wine. Its also a keeper wine. In fact, its so delicious we guarantee it will make everything better! Its clearly meant to have fun with.

Q, Ive asked everyone Ive interviewed the past few months: What has the past year been like for you both and the winery? And one more on the pandemic: Where you are located, how have you gotten the word out about your location and the wines you have to sell?

A, The past year for us like many others was an emotional rollercoaster, highs and lows, moments of fear and courage. For us it was about taking care of our family, our team, and our customers, working to create a safe environment for all. Physical health was imperative, but mental health in our view was equally as vital. With the Sh!tshow brand we saw an opportunity to continue our mission to be a force for good, by partnering with Mental Health America, to help raise funds and awareness towards mental health conditions at a time when many are in need of support. We could have never imagined the response by customers to the brand, we are incredibly humbled and grateful.

The view from Grovedale Winery. Said owners Kim and Jeff Homer of the effects of the pandemic on them: 'The past year for us like many others was an emotional rollercoaster, highs and lows, moments of fear and courage. For us it was about taking care of our family, our team, and our customers, working to create a safe environment for all.'

Our winery is in a rural area of northeastern Pa. and we are proud to be from a small town in a rural area, and our values are rooted in it [literally and figuratively]. As far as getting the word out, the Sh!tshow brand was featured in Food and Wine Magazine online, as well as Delish, and others which resulted in the brand going viral. We have in turn doubled down on leveraging our large social media and online presence to sell directly to our customers via ecommerce. Grovedale recently partnered with Merit Marketing to help us achieve our vision for our brands. We have been growing our regional distribution through select grocers, where we are currently selling out faster than we can supply the wines.

ALSO READ: Its 10 years in business for this central Pa. winery: Heres what it has planned

ALSO READ: So what is San Marco? The answer to that and more on one of N.J.s most accommodating wineries
Courtesy photo / SeaWorld

SeaWorld is gearing back up for a busier season in a more vaccinated San Antonio this year by hosting a job fair.

The company is seeking full and part-time workers for park operations, merchandise, food service, zoological, lifeguard, and maintenance positions.
Conjoined twin baby girls, the daughters of an Alabama pastor and his wife, were successfully delivered Thursday morning at a Philadelphia hospital.

Susannah and Elizabeth Castle were born at 10:06 a.m. at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia to Stephanie and Dwight Castle, who is pastor of missions at Redeemer Community Church in Avondale. The girls, at Wednesdays preop appointment, were weighing just under 5 pounds each.

The girls are here! the couple posted on Facebook. Stephanie was an absolute champ and did awesome and is also recovering well. We are so thankful for a smooth delivery without any complications. Thank you, Jesus.

The girls are beautiful and sweet, and we love them so much already even though we havent been able to see them a lot. They both need some supplemental help with breathing, and Elizabeth especially has not transitioned her breathing fully, so is on a CPAP,' the post reads.

Please pray that they both keep breathing better, as this is the main thing they will watch for the first days. Pray that Elizabeths lungs and breathing especially improves. Hopefully Stephanie will be improved enough to go visit them in the NICU soon. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and love! Keep them coming!!

The familys journey began in the fall when the couple, already parents to three other children, learned they were pregnant. Next came the news they were pregnant with twins, and then the news that the twins were conjoined.

I think in a lot of ways, God has sort of been preparing us for this for a while,' Dwight told AL.com in an extensive interview chronicling the journey. Weve grown certainly in awareness of how challenging its going to be and knowing we probably dont know the half of it. But we have an increasing faith in the Lord that He is so clearly over this and providing for us.

Susannah and Elizabeth have separate heads, separate brains and separate limbs. The big question was if they had separate hearts because that would determine whether or not there was a path toward separation. The goods news is that their hearts were separate as well, sharing only the lining around the heart  the pericardium.

The girls also share a liver and probably a portion of their small intestines. The liver is the only organ in the human body that regenerates so doctors will basically split the liver in two, with a half going to each girl.

Conjoined twins are extraordinarily rare. According to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, which has successfully separated 25 pairs of conjoined twins since 1957, conjoined twins occur once in every 50,000 to 60,000 births. About 70% of conjoined twins are female, and most are stillborn.

According to CHOP, 123 pairs of conjoined twins have been referred to the hospitals Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment since 1995, and 40 pairs have undergone prenatal evaluation. The hospital has successfully separated 25 pairs of conjoined twins. You can read more about conjoined twins here.

The Castles left Birmingham for Philadelphia April 7 in preparation for todays C-section. The plan is for the twins to return to Birmingham at some point and remain in Alabama for three-to-six months before they go back to Philadelphia for the separation surgery.

Family, friends and even strangers have rallied around the family. A GoFundMe has raised almost $120,000 to help the family with living and medical expenses as they travel back and forth between Alabama and Philadelphia. Donations can be made here.

That support and the familys faith is sustaining them.

Were going to have a lot of help. He gives us new mercies each day and Hes faithful to do that. We just try to take it a day at a time and remember His faithfulness every step of the way and it really does fuel us to trust Him,' Dwight said.

That doesnt guarantee theyll live. It doesnt guarantee the separation will happen or that it will go really well. Theres a lot of hopeful indications for all of those things, but our hope has to ultimately be in Him.
New Delhi, April 22 : As hospitals across the national capital continue to face shortage of oxygen amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Delhi Police are extending a helping hand to the healthcare facilities in arranging the life saving gas.

Acting on reports of shortage of oxygen at the Max Hospital in Saket, the Delhi Police formed a green corridor from the Apsara Border to Saket to facilitate the transportation of oxygen.

In a statement, the Delhi Police said, "Today shortage of oxygen was reported from the Max Hospital in Saket. The matter was taken up with the concerned department of the hospital. It was learnt that an oxygen tanker is on its to the hospital from Kashipur in Uttar Pradesh." "Sensing the urgency of the situation, the SHO of Malviya Nagar police station was tasked to coordinate and escort the tanker to hospital. The SHO along with other staff at once took position at the Apsara Border and a green corridor was formed with sufficient force. The tanker was received at the Apsara border and was escorted to Max hospital without wastage of time," Chinmoy Biswal, PRO, Delhi Police, said in the statement.

In another case, the police in the Central District arranged oxygen for the Delhi Heart and Lungs Hospital on Panchkuian Road.

According to Central District DCP Jasmeet Singh, an information was received from the medical authorities of Delhi Heart and Lungs Hospital saying that it was running dangerously low on oxygen stock.

He stated that many patients were on active oxygen or ventilator support at the hospital whose lives were at risk.

As non-supply of oxygen on time could prove fatal for the patients and could also create law and order problems also, the approached the Paharganj ACP for assistance.

"Immediately, all efforts were made by the ACP, O.P. Lekhwal, and Paharganj ATO, Inspector Nikesh Kumar. With the persistent efforts of the officers, oxygen was arranged from Naraina. The quick response and action by the ACP and the ATO averted a major tragedy and saved the lives of many patients at the hospital," Singh said.

Through their prompt action, the Delhi Police have restored supply or arranged oxygen for Batra Hospital, Primus Hospital, Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Jeewan Hospital, Rathi Hospital, Manipal Hospital and Medeor Hospital in the city.
[April 22, 2021] University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies Releases Special COVID-19 Edition of the Phoenix Scholar Academic Journal

University of Phoenix has released a special edition of its academic research journal, the Phoenix Scholar, focused on pivoting the higher education industry in the era of COVID-19. The edition includes articles illuminating the tremendous operational challenges of quickly shifting to a remote workforce, from admissions to online learning modalities and research practices. Phoenix Scholar is the quarterly academic research publication of the University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies. As long-time leaders in online education, the university shares how it quickly shifted as an organization to successfully serve its employees and students during this unprecedented time. "At University of Phoenix we were already well versed in online learning delivery practices, our own unique challenge lay in attempting to extend and repurpose that system quickly in order to host what were formerly face-to-face class experiences at our local campuses to an online synchronous format," said Hinrich Eylers, Ph.D., Editor-at-Large of Phoenix Scholar and Vice Provost of Doctoral Studies and Academic Operations at University of Phoenix. "In the same manner, we simultaneously had to transition the vast majority of our staff to work from home. With both student and employee needs arising swiftly, many of the challenges had to be addressed in a matter of days to assure that all our students and staff could continue their education and work without any interruption." The College of Doctoral Studies also houses the newly established University of Phoenix Career Institute, which recently released the findings of its first annual Career Optimism Index study. The study measures working Americans' attitudes toward their career and barriers to career progression. The study found 83% of workers believe they adapt easily to new work situations and 82% said they were resilient when facing challenges in their careers. "This is encouraging considering the challenges workers have faced over the past year," said Eylers, "in many cases profoundly impacting their working lives."



To read the COVID-19 Issue of Phoenix Scholar, visit:

https://www.phoenix.edu/content/dam/uopx/doc/external/Scholar-3.1.pdf About the College of Doctoral Studies

University of Phoenix's College of Doctoral Studies focuses on today's challenging business and organizational needs, from addressing critical social issues to developing solutions to accelerate community building and industry growth. The College's research program puts students in the center of an effective ecosystem of experts, resources and tools to help them prepare them to be a leader in their organization, industry and community. Through this program, students and researchers work with organizations to conduct research that can be applied in the workplace in real time. About University of Phoenix Career Institute University of Phoenix Career Institute's mandate is to conduct research into solutions that American workers need. Housed within the University's College of Doctoral Studies, the Institute will conduct research, share insights to inform problem-solving, and partner with leading organizations to effect solutions that help to break down barriers that Americans face in their careers. For more information about the University of Phoenix Career Institute and the Career Optimism Index Study, visit www.phoenix.edu/career-institute. About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is continually innovating to help working adults enhance their careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses and interactive learning help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. We serve a diverse student population, offering degree programs at select locations across the U.S. as well as online. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005440/en/

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A Nazi sympathiser allowed to graduate from Cambridge University despite alarm over his white supremacist views was convicted yesterday under terrorism laws.

Mathematician Oliver Bel faces up to 15 years in jail after buying a bomb-making manual on Amazon.

Bel, 24, who is believed to have falsely claimed he had a job lined up at investment bank Morgan Stanley, attended Pembroke College.

Instead of being thrown out when fellow undergraduates expressed horror at his views, he was given extra tuition about the brutal realities of Nazism.

But he was raided by counter-terror police after threatening to get a machine gun and go on a 'killing spree', leading to the discovery of the bomb manual.

He was yesterday convicted of possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

A former Cambridge University student has been found guilty under terrorism legislation of possessing a bomb-making manual. Oliver Bel, 24, faces up to 15 years in prison for having the Anarchist Cookbook at his home in Salford in November 2019

Cambridge and the Government's Prevent programme now face tough questions. Prevent officers initially considered that Bel posed a risk to only himself.

Bel believed his posts on the hate-filled forum Iron March under the alias Valencian while he was studying at Cambridge could not be traced to him.

Describing himself as an 'English National Socialist', he said Jews were 'parasites', writing: 'Extermination is the best option for them.' In a chilling

Facebook post he wrote: 'I just want to go on a killing spree.'

Bel, the son of an NHS clinician and a nurse, later told his online girlfriend in Brazil: 'I wish I could get a machine gun - I only have a knife.' In another message he threatened: 'Subhumans need to be shot.'

He also swapped messages with outlawed neo-Nazi group National Action. Bel said his views had been 'influenced' by growing up in a 'broken family' and attending a school 'where whites were in the minority'.

Over the course of the trial the court heard how Bel was in contact with the banned neo-Nazi group National Action. The court also heard that Bel advocated for the extermination of Jews on the fascist web forum Iron March

In January 2019, he was reported to Prevent over anti- Semitic posts in a Facebook group titled 'Young Free Speech Society'. Bel had defended Adolf

Hitler - who he said he 'loved' - and described the Holocaust as a 'detail of history'.

But officers initially concluded that while Bel believed a 'racial holy war' was looming, he did not pose a threat.

Pembroke bursar Andrew Cates told officers Bel was 'frustrating but likeable' and 'fundamentally abhors violence'.

The Anarchist Cookbook is an infamous 1971 publication which includes instructions on how to make homemade bombs and drugs such as LSD

Horrified students had reportedly been complaining to college authorities for six months. But in response, dons arranged extra tutorials to give him a more rounded view on the Nazis. Mr Cates later alerted police about his 'going on a spree' post.

But Bel's home was raided only after he was unmasked as 'Valencian' by anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate.

Counter-terror officers found far-Right publications and an emblem worn by Hitler's SS at his home in Salford, in November 2019.

They also found a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook, described in court as an 'instructional manual on how to kill people'.

Bel, who has Asperger's syndrome, said he had bought it out of 'curiosity' and had not read it.

But he did not give evidence in his defence and in one court hearing, he extended his right arm at a judge in an apparent Heil Hitler salute.

During the trial at Manchester Crown Court, he also accused Judge Alan Conrad QC on

Facebook of being biased against him 'by virtue of his manifest Jewishness'.

Prosecutor Joe Allman said that while Bel may not have been actively planning to kill, he was 'a committed believer in the cause of violence'.

Scotland Yard has warned that the threat from far-Right extremism is growing rapidly.

Pembroke College said it was 'committed to upholding freedom of speech' as part of 'a climate in which everyone feels safe, respected and valued'.

The Home Office, which runs Prevent, said it did not comment on individual cases, but insisted the scheme 'plays a vital role' in stopping people being drawn into terrorism.

Bel was remanded in custody before his sentencing hearing.
BRIDGEPORT  Do city police officers treat all citizens equally? Do majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods receive fair treatment from other big departments like public facilities and health? Is the local government payroll diverse enough? Do minority businesses struggle to receive municipal contracts?

Bridgeport is advertising for a consultant to grapple with those weighty questions and suggest solutions through a race equity study that, according to the online bid document, will enable the city to establish itself as a national standard for racial justice and equality.

We need to start looking at our city through a race equity lens ... to make sure we service every constituent to the best manner of our ability, said City Council President Aidee Nieves, who has spent the last few years lobbying behind the scenes for the project.

But there are concerns the scope of the consultants work is unrealistically ambitious for anything meaningful to emerge.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

Its way too broad, said the Rev. D. Stanley Lord, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP. Were talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars to do it right.

The price tag  and whether it is affordable  will be answered by any interested consultants who have until May 6 to respond.

Getting the proposal out there to get it bid on, that was my problem, first, said Nieves, who did not offer an estimated cost.

She originally envisioned focusing on just the police because it is the biggest outward-facing department  meaning community-oriented and in having contact with residents all over the city.

Nieves was motivated, in part, by race equity sessions she attended during a National League of Cities conference and by what she described as a negative interaction her family had with local law enforcement. Weve been victims in our house of a crime and we were treated like we were the criminals, she said. Im Puerto Rican and on the East Side. But if I live in the North End or in the Black Rock area, would you talk to me that way?

Nieves said her idea gained more momentum within Mayor Joe Ganims administration in 2020 following the nationwide outcry over George Floyds death in Minneapolis last May and the subsequent protests in Bridgeport  including an encampment outside of police headquarters  over a series of excessive force cases and other scandals.

But it was decided to expand the race equity studys focus to the entirety of Bridgeport government. For example, Nieves said she receives complaints from constituents who feel City Hall does not clean the East Sides streets as well as other neighborhoods roads, or plow them as quickly or cleanly during the winter, or act fast enough to address potholes and other quality-of-life issues.

Permitting will also be covered, Nieves said, because small, minority-owned business may not be able to afford the local zoning attorneys and other experts who help navigate that system. And the consultant will also be tasked with considering whether Bridgeports workforce is diverse enough  a question that has been raised on and off over the years, not only about rank-and-file police officers and firefighters, but all department heads and top mayoral aides.

She acknowledged the end result would be a very big picture thing in order to control costs. At first I wanted to do it department by department. Thats when we started talking big money, she said.

Lord said the broad approach is all wrong: Concentrate on police reforms. ... Second thing is minority contracting. Minorities are not receiving contracts from this city.

Gemeem Davis, a leader of the Bridgeport Generation Now civic group, recalled talking to Nieves about race equity issues last year and she was really adamant that our city was behind.

I think the point is for city government to get a handle on inequities in city government, Davis said.

Besides being concerned about the police department, Davis also pointed to schools Superintendent Michael Testani going from an acting administrator to receiving a three-year contract in 2020 after the school board abandoned plans for a nationwide search. She said as a result qualified minority candidates were never given a chance to compete.

Davis said whatever the results of the racial equity study, the key is when we get the evidence through the study we enact policy to make sure people are treated equally. That is the work.

Lord has doubts that will happen. He noted how Ganim in 2019 spent $25,000 on consultant Charles Ramsey, a retired Philadelphia police commissioner, to recommend ways of improving Bridgeports force. When Ramsey eventually reviewed his findings with the council last June, they were told they had to re-hire him to provide recommendations on addressing the issues he identified.

As of January, Acting Police Chief Rebeca Garcia, who assumed that role last September, indicated to the council there had been little to nothing done with Ramseys work.

He gave out this elementary report that gave us what? Lord said this week. And we spent thousands for it. And that was only one department.
At every turn we are offered insights like that until, suddenly, we arent. Nothing Godwin can do to make the play rough and unfamiliar  whether by having Tybalt (David Judge) urinate on a wall or by excising greatest hits like parting is such sweet sorrow  can help it get past the place where the lovers ingenuity fails along with Shakespeares. The plot thread by which Juliets fake death prompts Romeos real one is so absurdly flimsy that adaptations have tried for centuries to fix it; Arthur Laurentss workaround for West Side Story is especially strong.

For me, though, no production of Romeo and Juliet survives the potions of Friar Laurence; they are a lot of magick to swallow in a play about such real and serious things. That Laurence is portrayed here (by Lucian Msamati) with great dignity, not as a nutty professor, helps, raising the profound if wishful idea that faith can correct for societys failings. Even more movingly, Deborah Findlay, as Juliets fond nurse, is able to temper the roles comic elements with an immutable loyalty to her mistress, and then temper that with something darker and arguably in fact disloyal. Its a perfect trifold performance.

Thats the thing about Shakespeare, at least for me: There comes a moment in many of his plays when only the actors can preserve the emotion the plot keeps leaking. Happily, that happens here: As the tragedy narrows, OConnor and Buckley flood with feeling.

Stars will do that. In the same way an enemy is just a receptacle for enmity that already exists, a starring role is whatever a star can pour ambient emotion into. OConnors essence is a silent yearning  the kind that is not extinguished but fanned by satisfaction. (This is what made his otherwise insufferable Charles almost sympathetic in The Crown and the nearly silent young farmer in his breakthrough film, Gods Own Country, so expressive.) Buckley, whose face seems transparent at times, is more about wonder; her Juliet clearly wants Romeo but, more than that, is amazed by her good fortune in getting him.

Even in a more conventional production  this one was meant to be performed live onstage but was retooled for the pandemic  you need that kind of incandescence to make the play make sense. Remember that Shakespeare was a young star, too, albeit 30 or so himself, when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, it often seems that his title characters, in haste and passion, wrote it for him.

Romeo & Juliet

Through May 21; pbs.org/gperf
CHICAGO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago-based R.J. O'Brien & Associates (RJO), the oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, announced today the promotion of Christopher Bove to Chief Compliance Officer (CCO).

Bove has a nearly 20-year background in compliance, market regulation, legal analysis and law enforcement. Prior to the new role, he served since November 2020 as RJO's Director, Compliance, after joining the firm in 2019 as Associate Director, Compliance.

RJO Chairman and CEO Gerald Corcoran said: "Chris is an outstanding compliance officer with a deep background in the rules and regulatory landscape governing our firm, brokers and industry. His career path at RJO and elevation to CCO is a great example of our long history of recruiting some of the best talent in the industry, building on their skills and promoting from within. Chris has already demonstrated strong leadership skills at the firm, with a vision and plan for growing his talented team and this critical discipline within our organization."

Bove said: "This is an exciting time as we continue to grow our talented team of professionals and put into place important technology platforms that offer us tremendous new capabilities and efficiencies. From the Eventus Systems trade surveillance platform we implemented last year, to a state-of-the-art communications surveillance platform we are working to deploy in the coming year, our compliance function remains one of the strongest in the industry."

From 2012 to 2019, Bove was an Investigator, then Senior Investigator and ultimately Lead Investigator in CME Group's Market Regulation department.

Prior to joining CME, he was a legal analyst for FactRight, LLC, a due diligence and risk management consulting firm. Bove spent a decade as a police officer, the later years as a member of the SWAT team, in the Chicago Police Department, earning his undergraduate and law degrees while serving in the force.

He has a Bachelor of Science degree, with distinction, in Law Enforcement Management from Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Indiana. Bove earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, and subsequently an LL.M. in Commercial Real Estate Law, with honors, from John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

About R.J. O'Brien & Associates

Founded in 1914, R.J. O'Brien & Associates is the largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm in the United States, serving more than 80,000 institutional, commercial and individual clients globally, in addition to a network of approximately 300 introducing brokers (IBs). RJO services the industry's most expansive global network of IBs, a vast array of middle market firms and many of the world's largest financial, industrial and agricultural institutions. The firm offers state-of-the-art electronic trading and 24-hour trade execution on every major futures exchange worldwide. RJO has received the FOW International Award for Non-Bank FCM of the Year for the past five years. At the HFM US Quant Awards 2020, RJO won the award for Best Independent FCM  the eighth honor bestowed by the HFM Global publications on RJO and its UK affiliate.

SOURCE R.J. O'Brien & Associates

Related Links

http://www.rjobrien.com


A man found at the scene of an Ipswich house fire on Friday has been rushed to hospital and police are treating the blaze as suspicious.

Emergency services were called to the Mahogany Street property in Raceview about 5am.

The man was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital in a serious condition, with burns to his arms and legs, and abdominal and facial injuries.

A high acuity response unit officer was on board for transport to hospital.
New Delhi:

A youth attempted self-immolation in front of Delhis India Gate on Tuesday evening.

Delhi Police said, man attempted self-immolation in front of India Gate.

He was rushed to RML Hospital by the police.

Doctors of the hospital said that the man has suffered 80 percent burn injuries.

Police have recovered a suicide note from the youth possession.

Delhi Police is investigating the reasons behind the incident.





For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
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I am a group scout leader. Our Scouts group had a two night camp booking with Kingswood, which provides outdoor trips and activities.

Our booking was for June 2020 but when the pandemic hit, I was told our deposit would be non-refundable if we didn't go.

Eventually, we were told it could be refunded or moved to a new date but I found out that was only before winter this year which seems unfair as it is unlikely we will have been able to commence face-to-face scouting activities by then.

We stand to lose 936  a lot of money for a scouting group. Can you help please? S.P., via email

A Scout camp stood to lose nearly 1k in deposits after it was cancelled due to the pandemic

Grace Gausden, consumer expert at This is Money, replies: You were frustrated when this outdoor activity centre did not appear to abide by Scouts honour last year.

A longstanding scout leader, you say your troop have been loyal customers of Kingswood for a few years now.

Kingswood is an activity centre with accommodation. There are nine centres in Britain and one in France.

According to its website, it is re-opening - like most accommodation - from 17 May 2021.

Your booking consisted of 39 members of your Scouts group, as well as five adults, who were due to stay at the Colomendy camp in North Wales for two nights at the end of June 2020.

Each Scout had paid a 20 deposit plus VAT, bringing the total to 936.

As soon as lockdown was announced, you say you kept emailing Kingswood about re-booking the trip as there was no way it could go ahead.

The first person who got back to you advised there could be no refund of the initial deposit which caused you great concern and so you continued to push to rebook.

Eventually, you received an email from the chief executive stating that, thankfully, you could opt for a refund or move the trip to a new date.

GRACE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Grace Gausden tackles reader problems and shines the light on companies doing both good and bad. Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch: grace.gausden@thisismoney.co.uk

However, upon further enquiry, you found it wanted you to book before winter 2020 whereas your previous booking was a summer camp.

This would not work as the Scouts Association had suspended all face-to-face activity, with no date to resume it.

You say a winter camp would mean parents would also need to purchase additional appropriate outdoor wear for their children, which could prove costly.

All of the children in your Scouts group are from BAME backgrounds, they could be seen as higher risk and many parents and carers did not feel comfortable sending them away.

Kingswood therefore agreed to move the booking to warmer months in 2021 and agreed to give a discount of 24 per child for the trouble but said unless you go to camp before June you will lose the entire deposit - putting you back in the same position as before.

Booking for this June would be a risky move as the country is still in a form of lockdown and you believe the Scouts Association will still not allow face-to-face activity anytime soon meaning your insurance whilst at camp will be invalid.

Many of the parents of the Scouts were unable to pay the full amount after the pandemic

Later conversations then led to bookings being available to October 2021 but you say Kingswood were asking for payment from the parents upfront to secure the booking which you advised wouldn't be possible as many are suffering financial difficulty due to the pandemic.

The total cost of the whole trip will be 2,379 - something the group, and parents, are unwilling and unable to stump up at present, especially without a fixed date.

Unfortunately, you are still dealing with this booking despite having to quit your role as Scouts leader to work as a full time key worker, meaning the long drawn out conversations, weeks apart, were causing you much stress.

Therefore, you got in touch with me, and I contacted Kingswood to find out why the booking could not be moved to further dates in the future, given the current uncertainty, and whether the deposit could still stand - without further payment needed.

Kingswood took a while before it got back to me but when it did, it agreed that you could now move your booking to anytime in 2022 as well as receive the discount voucher, saving you 936  and a lot of hassle.

A spokesperson for Kingswood said: 'In summer 2020 we offered the customer a voucher that amounted to the full value of their deposit, to be used at any time until the end of October 2021.

'We were recently made aware that this now presents a problem for this customer.

'We all have a better understanding that disruption might remain for longer than we expected in 2020, and we have spoken with the customer to confirm we are happy for them to use their vouchers for a booking during 2022.'

It sounds like there had been several crossed wires along the way, especially with regards to payments, which caused a lot of stress and anxiety.

Kingswood added several emails appeared not to have reached it, unfortunately prolonging the matter. However, fortunately now it has all been resolved.

Your deposit is secured and your Scouts group can choose a date in the future when all parents and children feel safe and have the available funds. Hopefully, by this point, it will be a group of happy campers.

Eon is under scrutiny this week after assigning a customers account to the wrong address

Hit and miss: This week's naughty and nice list

Each week, I look at some of the companies that have fallen short of expected standards as well as those that have gone that extra mile for customers.

Miss: This week, energy supplier Eon, has been criticised by a reader, Mr Kang, who received late marks on his credit file after an error by the firm, meaning he was unable to get a mortgage approved.

Mr Kang opened an account with Eon in October for a flat he rents out, however, the energy firm wrongly registered it to the wrong address  the flat above.

Late charges were then added to the bill as Mr Kang was not aware it was in his name and therefore was unable to pay.

He paid the bill in January, minus the late charges, as he had not received any correspondence from the supplier regarding this.

However, when he applied for a mortgage in the same month, he found out Eon have put four late marks on his credit file.

I got in touch with Eon as it seemed unfair his credit score was being affected by the error.

An Eon spokesperson said: 'Mr Kang's account was originally registered to an incorrect address. This has now been rectified and we have offered a goodwill gesture to Mr Kang for the inconvenience caused by this.

'We issued Mr Kang's final bill in October and all debt follow up since then has been sent to the customer's correct address. While we have removed his late payment fees, as the balance was not paid until January, we have had to apply late markers to his account.

'These markers accurately reflect the payment performance of the customer.'

The goodwill payment referred to was just 10, according to Mr Kang, who is still unhappy with the outcome.

My recommendation would now be to take the matter to the Energy Ombudsman who can make a ruling.

Hit: In brighter news this week, one reader said they were impressed with Marks & Spencer's customer service.

She said: 'I bought yellow roses trough from Marks and Spencer for 25 last month. The flowers arrived and looked lovely.

'The instructions advised the roses only needed watering every 10 days which I did. However, it also said to give the flowers just some sunlight but I think I may have given them too much.

'After only a couple of days the flowers started dying until only one was left. I contacted Marks and Spencer which apologised immediately and offered a refund or a replacement.

'I took the refund as I realised that maybe looking after flowers wasn't for me.'

It is blooming good news you got your money back  and learnt a lesson or two about how to look after plants.
Trot Insider has learned that prominent Maritime stallion Western Paradise has passed away at 25.

"He was like one of those horses I'd let out in the morning and at nighttime I whistle and hed be galloping to you and go back in the stall, said Tony Zuethoff, who owned the stallion and stood him at his Pictonian Farm in Pictou, N.S. He was like a big pet.

Western Paradise (Western Hanover - No Paradise) raced 84 times from 1999 through 2003 and won on 19 occasions. The Brittany Farms-bred stallion began his career at The Red Mile and raced up and down both coasts, eventually stepping into open stakes company as a four-year-old. He won a preliminary for the Presidential Series at The Meadowlands in 2002 and finished second in a dead-heat in the $300,000 Graduate Series while racing against and defeating a string of millionaires the likes of Rair Earth, Armbro Positive, Armbro Proposal, Intrepid Seelster and Color Me Best.

Because of his sire, Western Paradise had a bloodline which Zuethoff said had potential, but was difficult to acquire.

Like the time when I got him, I was new in the breeding of Standardbreds, Zuethoff said. It took me awhile to convince the owners to sell him to me. Because I thought he had bloodlines that would hopefully make a stallion, and he did.

I bought the stallion for the Western Hanover aspects of the line. Ive seen his half brother, hes doing very well here too  Stonebridge Terror. Theres definitely that line there that can produce some good ones.

Beginning his stallion career in 2004, Western Paradise drew a large book of mares and produced impressively. He sired more than 300 horses up through 2018 including both the richest Maritime-bred ever in The Rev ($634,742; 1:50.2S) and the fastest Maritime-bred ever in Rancousy ($487,246, 1:49.1F). He was widely regarded as Atlantic Canada's top stallion of the 2010s.

Western Paradise has been an extraordinary pacing sire in the Maritimes," Hall of Famer Bill Andrew told The Guardian. Not only did he produce early speed but also many hard-hitting, big-money racehorses, who have competed against the best in North America.

All told, Western Paradise offspring have earned more than $11.6 million, with average earnings per starter of $42,920 and 80.5 per cent of starters taking records.

In his heyday, he would probably get 50 to 60 [mares] a year, Zuethoff said. I know the first year that I stood him, he bred an awful lot of mares. Everybody wanted to breed to him, and that probably helped a little bit too. But to me, breeding is to put the foals on the ground. You need the right lines. I was pleased. I dont want to brag too much. Hes been good to me.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Western Paradise.
The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has responded to the news that Azerbaijani presses spread about shootings of Armenian soldiers in the direction of Zangelan in a statement.

One needs to have an extremely bright imagination to ascribe the allegation of firing gunshots in the direction of the positions of the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Federation (strategic ally of Armenia) to the Armed Forces of Armenia.

Its more than clear that the Azerbaijani side is making a desperate attempt to make the Armenian side responsible for yesterdays violation of the ceasefire regime on its part, particularly the gunshots fired in the direction of certain settlements of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Nevertheless, the Armed Forces of Artsakh and Armenia stay true to the trilateral agreement over maintenance of the ceasefire regime and urge the Azerbaijani military-political leadership to do the same, the statement by the Ministry of Defense also reads.
The British brought African slavery to American shores. The Democrats elevated slavery to a sacrament and fired the first shots in the Civil War to defend it. When the Democrats lost the Civil War, they initiated Jim Crow laws to marginalize Blacks. Despite this, Black Americans prospered, until the Democrats unleashed the mightiest weapon of all: killing them with "kindness." We're seeing the results of that play out across America.

In Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio brought Katherine the shrew to heel by abusing her ferociously while calling it love. Eventually, the cognitive dissonance broke her, and she became the wealthy, subordinate woman of Petruchio's dreams. Democrats, apparently, have studied their Shakespeare.

Since the start of LBJ's "Great Society" and the welfare state, Democrats have been breaking American Blacks in the same way Petruchio broke Katherine. If one were to pay attention solely to the rhetoric, there can be no greater love than that which leftists in politics, the media, academia, and the corporate world have for Blacks. The results of this abundant affection have been devastating.

"Hands up, don't shoot." "I can't breathe." "I'm a crazy white lady screaming at cops on behalf of Black people." "Math is racist." "Ambition is racist." "The English language is racist." "Whites are born racist." "Melanin makes people superior." (That last is a paraphrase of Kristen Clarke, Biden's nominee to head the equal rights division of the Justice Department.) Lower academic standards. Separate dorms. Separate dining halls. Critical Race Theory. White privilege. Ibram X. Kendi bestsellers. BLM. Defund the police. ACAB. It's all so gosh-darn loving.

It's love that makes LeBron James, a multi-millionaire who will do anything for Chairman Xi Jinping and appears unaware that the Chinese are ferociously racist, threatens a white police offer who saved at least one and possibly two Black women from being knifed to death.

Bree Newsome insists that it's perfectly normal for one teen to attack another with a vicious, long-bladed knife:

Teenagers have been having fights including fights involving knives for eons. We do not need police to address these situations by showing up to the scene & using a weapon against one of the teenagers. Yall need help. I mean that sincerely.  DEFUND & ABOLISH POLICE, REFUND OUR COMMUNITIES (@BreeNewsome) April 21, 2021

Two days before Bree's tweet, when one 13-year-old Black teenager engaged another in that fun teen rite of passage known as a knife fight, she stabbed that other girl to death.

All this kindness from Democrats to Blacks has devastated Black communities. Welfare, which young White social workers urged on Blacks in the 1960s as reparations, replaced men as the family breadwinner. Many of them, deprived of purpose, drifted into crime. Then, in 1994, Biden's crime bill ensured that these lost men would vanish from the community altogether.

Leftism has also stripped religion from large segments of the Black community. Thus, Blacks lost the two ballasts of a high-functioning community  faith and family.

And, as Candace Owens has poignantly commented, the relentless leftist "love" for Black criminals means that Blacks are now "unique in that we are the only people that fight and scream and demand support and justice for the people in our community that are up to no good." The heroes are not moral men who support their families; they're career criminals who die in a hail of bullets because they try to kill or fight with police.

Thanks to the Democrats' Petruchio-style kindness, in 2019, there were over 4.15 million Black single mothers, an increase of 22% in 20 years. Over 50% of Black children live in a single-parent family, which means an impoverished family without a father to model male virtues to the boys and to protect the girls from predatory males. You'd be hard pressed to find a stable, two-parent home in the rogues' gallery of BLM martyrs, whether the men are products of broken homes or themselves have scattered biological children across their communities.

Here's the fruit of the Democrats' sick love: Adam Toledo, 13, runs around Chicago in the middle of the night, armed, in the company of a 21-year-old gang member; Janiah Pate, 13, stabs Nyaira Givens, 13, to death. Ma'Khia Bryant, 15, dies in a hail of police bullets while engaged in a violent knife fight with two other teens.

Pharaoh refused to let the Jews go despite the escalating plagues affecting his people. Only the plague in his own palace changed his mind. The plague the Blacks are facing is the moment that police refuse to go into Black communities lest they get Chauvined. The resulting slaughter may finally break the Democrats' "loving" grip on Blacks. Until that moment, the Democrats will continue to wreak their revenge for losing the Civil War.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
 

EBRD 25 million loan to boost Cr edit Agricoles leasing operations in Ukraine

Bank makes more climate finance available for local micro- and small businesses

Leasing opportunities backed by EU grants

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of 25 million to Credit Agricole Bank Ukraine to increase the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. The loan is backed by grant funding from the European Union (EU) under its EU4Business initiative

The new financing will enable the bank to expand its leasing solutions, in Ukrainian hryvnia, to MSMEs, so that these firms can invest in upgrades of machinery, equipment and technologies that comply with EU product quality, health and safety, and environmental protection standards. The lender aims to dedicate at least 70 per cent of the loan to financing green technologies, in line with the EBRDs Green Economy Transition (GET) approach.

In addition to long-term financing, lessees will receive grant support, funded by the EU, in the form of investment incentives on completion of their upgrade projects.

The funding is available under the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line  a joint initiative by the EBRD and EU to help companies bring their products and services in line with EU standards, foster workplace health and safety, and advance green practices.

The programme is also available in Georgia and Moldova, and recently extended to other Eastern Partnership countries to make economies greener, more competitive and more sustainable.

Alexander Pavlov, Deputy Director for Ukraine, Financial Institutions, said: Access to finance and technology is crucial for sustainable growth of Ukrainian private sector and MSMEs in particular. Leasing is an important alternative way of financing SMEs and we are pleased to increase our support to development of leasing solutions through strong and reliable financial sector partners such as Credit Agricole.

Credit Agricole has been operating in Ukraine since 1993 and provides a full range of banking services there. In particular, it is a leader in car leasing and a strategic partner to agribusinesses.

Carlos de Cordoue, the CEO of Credit Agricole, said: Credit Agricole is a reliable, long-term partner of the EBRD and I embrace this new stage of our cooperation. By joining efforts, we are supporting businesses to upgrade their machinery fleets, improve competitiveness in the domestic market and grow exports. For that, Credit Agricole has an effective tool: financial leasing which is becoming more and more popular among our clients. And now, thanks to this programme, leasing of the machinery is even more affordable and financially favourable.

Ukraine is a top three investment destination for the EBRD. In the past two years alone, the Bank has committed 2 billion to the economy. Financing smaller businesses directly and through financial institutions is a particular focus of the EBRDs work in Ukraine.

The EBRD also finances infrastructure, energy efficiency and energy security, agricultural and industrial projects. The investments are combined with support for policies that promote the fight against corruption, good governance of state-owned enterprises, structural reforms and a more transparent business environment.
- High prevalence of perennial and seasonal allergic rhinitis has sparked demand for durable nasal spray formulations and packaging in North America.

- The nasal drug demand in North America is predicted to rise significantly in the near future, owing to the high intake of nasal drugs such as steroid and decongestion nasal spray.

ALBANY, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nasal spray sealing solutions are considered OTC (over-the-counter) medical canisters or bottles from which nasal drug spray can be obtained by applying pressure to the tube closure device. Nasal spray tubes are utilized to offer stand-in medication items both systematically and locally, and they are widely distributed in single-dose as well as multi-dose forms in the market. As a result, nasal spray packaging has become very common in many parts of the world, which is likely to support growth of the North America nasal spray packaging market in the near future.

The Phase II trial evidence for a self-administered nitric oxide-based nasal spray developed by Vancouver-based biotech company SaNOtize for potentially lowering COVID-19 viral load in infected patients is being bolstered. Manufacturers in the nasal spray packaging industry in North America are benefiting from these developments.

The North American nasal spray packaging market is predicted to rise at a rate of ~5.1% CAGR over the analysis timeline, from 2020 to 2030. However, some ingredients in nasal spray formulations, such as metals in pump bottles and pressurised canisters, are prone to reactivity in their raw state. In order to prevent reactivity in the raw condition of nasal spray formulations, manufacturers make use of aluminium coated with vinyl, epoxide, or phenolic resins. Tin is becoming more common due to its resistance to chemical interventions. However, as opposed to zinc, copper, and aluminium, it is one of the most costly metals.

Download PDF Brochure - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=81803

Key Findings of Market Report

High Prevalence of Allergic Rhinitis to Spur Demand in the Market

In Canada and the US, the high prevalence of seasonal as well as perennial allergic rhinitis in children and adults has intensified demand for durable nasal spray packaging and formulations. Businesses in the North American nasal spray packaging market are seeing increased sales prospects as demand for fixed-dose combination nasal sprays grows. Allergic rhinitis signs such as nasal itching, watery eyes, sneezing, and runny nose have increased demand for nasal sprays.

Allergic rhinitis has a significant impact on the quality of person's life, which could contribute to physical limitations. As a result, participants in the North American nasal spray packaging market are seizing this chance to expand their product bottle and container manufacturing capability. They're putting more emphasis on completely industrialised formats that can be optimised to work with current filling and packing lines.

Multiple Benefits Associated with the Use of Multi-dose Nasal Spray Packaging to Boost Market

In comparison to single-dose nasal spray bottles, multi-dose nasal spray packaging strategies are becoming more popular because they enable customers to utilize contents from the same box, in a larger amount, and at a lower price. Customers should expect more dependable multi-dose nasal spray packaging from prominent firms in the pharmaceutical drug development business. In addition to that, compared to single-dose nasal spray tubes, multi-dose nasal spray packaging options have a number of benefits. A crimp cap, screwed-on or snapped-on, may be used to secure multi-dose nasal spray pumps to plastic bottles. Since nasal sprays and drops are liquid products, there's a good chance that instant packaging solutions and medication formulas are connected. As a result, to satisfy market demands, manufacturers are now making use of high-end glass materials. As a result of the rising need for this nasal drug delivery options, the demand for nasal spray packaging is expected to rise during the forthcoming years in North America.

Explore 99 pages of superlative research, current market scenario, and extensive geographical projections. Gain insights into the Nasal Spray Packaging Market (Container Type: Pump Bottles and Pressurized Canisters; Drug Type: Saline Nasal Spray, Decongestion Nasal Spray, Steroid Nasal Spray, and Antihistamine Nasal Spray; and Dosage Form: Single-dose and Multi-dose) - North America Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2020-2030 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/north-america-nasal-spray-packaging-market.html

Nasal Spray Packaging Market: Growth Drivers

North America companies are partnering to produce materials that are likely to help next generation seawater and saline nasal sprays. They're working on packaging that would work of drug-free nasal rinses made with scientifically tested saline and carbon dioxide (CO2) additives.

companies are partnering to produce materials that are likely to help next generation seawater and saline nasal sprays. They're working on packaging that would work of drug-free nasal rinses made with scientifically tested saline and carbon dioxide (CO2) additives. Nasal drug administration has long been the preferred method for treating local diseases of the nasal opening, such as nasal congestion and allergic rhinitis. Additionally, nasal drug delivery has shown to be an effective method for needle-free immunisation and full drug delivery in situations where strokes and rapid concentration are critical, such as in case of management of pain and migraine crisis.

Analyze Nasal Spray Packaging Market growth in 30+ countries including US, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Poland, Benelux, Nordic, China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Request a sample of the study

North America Nasal Spray Packaging Market: Key Competitors

Bormioli Pharma United States Inc.

West Pharmaceutical Service Inc.

Berry North America Inc.

Coster Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A

Gerresheimer AG

AptarGroup, Inc.

North America Nasal Spray Packaging Market: Segmentation

Container Type

Pump Bottles

Pressurized Canisters

Drug Type

Saline Nasal Spray

Decongestion Nasal Spray

Steroid Nasal Spray

Antihistamine Nasal Spray

Dosage Form

Single-dose

Multi-dose

Request the Covid19 Impact Analysis at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=81803

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the Global Packaging Industry:

Hygiene Packaging Market - Global hygiene packaging market is expected to clock a high growth rate during the forecast period. Practice of personal hygiene is likely to increase the sales of hygiene packaging in the years to come.

Glass Syringe Market - With increase in the challenging situation during the COVID-19 pandemic phase, the gains in the global glass syringe market have increased significantly. Therefore, the year-on-year growth rate in the 2020 year-end has been increased by nearly 12% in comparison with 2019.

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Patna, April 22 : After the shortage of Remdesivir injections in Bihar, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Patna came up with a new theory and directed the doctors to avoid prescribing this injection to corona patients.

Dr Vinod Kumar Singh, medical superintendent of NMCH, issued a circular dated April 21, 2021 and said that it is not completely effective for Covid patients -- referring to the fresh guidelines of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"The antiviral drug Remdesivir is not suggested for patients admitted in hospitals with Covid 19 regardless of how severely ill they are as there is no evidence that it improves survival of patients," Singh said in a circular.

"Hence, we have directed all doctors to avoid prescribing injections called Remdesivir to Covid patients. It creates panic among them," Singh said.

The circular came at a time when a section of prominent doctors of the country claims that the Remdesivir injection is 85% effective on corona patients.

The situation in Bihar is deteriorating by the day. 95 persons have lost their lives in the last 24 hours, including 24 in Patna. 13 persons died in NMCH, 7 in AIIMS Patna, 4 in PMCH and 2 in IGIMS.

As the health infrastructure collapses in Bihar, patients in rural areas are contacting local doctors and Registered Medical Practitioners for treatment.

Dr Shiv Muni Sharma, a doctor in Sasaram district who came to Patna said: "As there is no medicine for corona in the country, we are prescribing medicines in combination of Paracetamol 500 mg and Dexamethasone tablets. There are several tablets of these two compositions such as Calpol 500 and Dexona tablets for patients having symptoms of Covid 19." "As everyone knows, Paracetamol tablets bring down the temperature of the patient and a Dexamethasone tablet is helpful in reducing the infection in the neck. The patients have to ensure the infection does not enter the lungs. The health of Covid 19 patients deteriorates only after infection reaches the lungs," he said.

"Awareness is key here especially for people living in rural areas of Bihar. The corona infection is spreading in rural areas due to migration of workers. People have to be alert about the virus threat but do not need to panic," Sharma said.

"We have witnessed several patients running from pillar to post in hospitals to get admitted. As hospitals are running out of beds, patients are getting panicky," Sharma said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Ashley Broussard Alfaro sat on a couch amid new confidants in what soon will be her new home, possibly for the next year.

Im so tired of just existing. I want to live, she told Brandi Hammond and others as they gathered at Hammond House, a sober living home for women and children that opened April 1.

Alfaro grew up in a home where alcohol and drugs were part of the fabric of life.

She started using at the age of 15 to escape the pain of body image issues. It led to addiction that shes battled all her adult life.

In 2003, while living in Austin, she was introduced to crystal meth and was addicted until she became pregnant.

Alfaro got clean for her baby and remained so until 2015, when she was going through a divorce.

Deeply depressed, Alfaro was offered drugs to help her feel better.

With just that one hit, after that, bam, I lost my job, I lost my kids  I lost my life, she said. Her addiction spiraled hard and fast.

Her ex-husband and her stepfather took her to court to gain custody of her two children. Alfaro was high at the hearing and lost custody immediately.

Then she was alone  no children, no family, no accountability.

Alfaro tried rehab, tried to kick on her own  each attempt ended in relapse.

Last March, Alfaro lost her job, then her car. All she had left was an all-consuming addiction.

Alfaro realized if she wanted to get not only her children but the very core of her self back, she had to act.

January 2021 marked her sixth time getting sober. Im so afraid of relapse, Alfaro said.

When she saw a Facebook post about Hammonds sober living house, Alfaro applied.

Im trying to get peace of mind back, Alfaro said, adding that going to a sober living house is not ever something I thought I would do, but I need support.

You need that group of women you can relate to, Hammond said.

Hammond understands the pain of addiction and recovery.

She grew up with it  the daughter of parents who struggled as well as a brother who struggled and died from an overdose more than a decade ago.

Though Hammond avoided falling into addiction, shes had times when drinking raised the red flags she knew all too well.

Hammonds been active in recovery support groups, like Celebrating Recovery, through her church Harvest for Lost Souls, for years.

During COVID, the need for support grew, and when Hammond asked women their greatest needs, she heard most didnt want to go back to where they were.

Id just gotten a divorce and had this big old house, Hammond said.

Shed also just gotten back the job in Houston she lost during COVID and re-enrolled at Lee College in Baytown to finish her degree.

The seed of an idea to convert her Beaumont home into a sober living facility for women and children was planted.

Hammond fasted and prayed on the idea for three days, and God put it on my heart  Yes, you need to do this, she said.

Hammond went to her pastor, the Rev. Kennedy Andrews, who told her, You dont need my permission. God already told you what to do, she recalled.

Hammond went to work  remodeling the four-bedroom home and getting beds to house six residents.

I wanted this to look like a new home, she said, and have space for AA/NA meetings, Bible study and a large backyard for residents to meditate, play with their children or simply have me time.

Dorothy Siros, the on-site house mother, will offer support as needed, community service will be required, and rules are in place to ensure the home runs smoothly with a zero tolerance for relapse.

I dont want to jeopardize sobriety for someone else, Hammond said.

Most importantly, its a space in which women can practice Christian recovery.

Here, you can pray and talk about God, she said. Thats not allowed at all sober homes, but I want that to be the strength of here.

Offering a place for women to live with their children was another priority, and something not offered at other sober houses.

I want to get women back in good relationships with their kids, she said.

Whether residents stay months, a week, a year or more, Hammond House will support their recovery.

Because she isnt government funded, Hammond said no special permits were required for the conversion of her home into a sober house.

Hammond is applying for 501-3c status, but said if that means keeping religion out of the home, shell work without the government support.

People all over Beaumont are volunteering to come help, Hammond said.

Shes had offers from church groups and more to provide counseling, on-site recovery support groups, job search counseling and more.

A lot of people are stepping up and saying, We want to help this house, Hammond said.

Among them is Hammonds friend Stacy Smith, years into recovery from a decades-long addiction to methamphetamine.

She was a resource for what works and what doesnt in sober living.

Smith sat among the women gathered before the house opening, including Alfaro.

Shes sober, married and no longer haunted by the cravings of addiction.

Smith has hope, a new life and in just a few months, shell be giving birth to a new life.

Staying clean, she told Alfaro, is a mindset you have to have, and its one day at a time.

Hammonds pastor, Kennedy Andrews, is another supporter.

Forty years clean from addiction, the Harvest for Lost Souls pastor has walked that walk.

He and wife Deanna came to an opening Links and Drinks fundraiser on the homes opening weekend earlier this month.

Following a tour of the facility by Siros, the group gathered in the kitchen, where Andrews offered a blessing.

This is needed in Beaumont, he said.

In June, Andrews and others will likely gather for a similar blessing at another sober living home. Hammond is already working on a Hammond House for men and their children.

A lot of men in recovery get weekends with their children, but dont have a safe environment to have them, she explained, adding a mens Hammond House will be just that. Background checks will be done to ensure no sex offenders or those with a history of crimes involving children will be allowed.

Shes hoping the community response will be similar to that shes gotten with the womens home. We will need donations for that house, as well, Hammond said, especially bunk beds, appliances and furniture.

Its easy to find people who want to help women and children, but they leave out the men, she said.

As Andrews offered up his prayer, Hammonds mother, Rhonda Smith, stood by, one arm clasped around her daughters shoulder.

Im extremely proud to see how Gods working in her life, Smith said.

Shes breaking those generational curses. I came from addiction, and hopefully it stops with me, Smith said. Sometimes all someone needs is one person to show them they can make it, and theyre not alone.

kbrent@beaumontenterprise.com
City College of San Francisco students and faculty protested Thursday night against major cuts to the schools staff. The proposed cuts follow reports that City College is at risk of insolvency and a takeover by the state because it hasnt cut its payroll enough to compensate for a huge loss of students.

The demonstration is part of continued resistance to the impending budget cuts and comes just a few weeks before City Colleges trustees are set to vote on cuts to full-time faculty on May 10. Last month, officials sent out 163 layoff warnings to full-time teachers, and expect to lay off an additional 447 part-time teachers for next fall, slashing hundreds of classes in the process. City College did not respond to request for comment on the protest.

Protesters braved wind and chilly weather, speaking and chanting outside of interim Chancellor Rajen Vurdiens office in front of a sign that read No class cuts. No pink slips in large red letters. Students and faculty argued that alternatives exist, and that cuts are not the answer.

The budget situation is legit, its real, said faculty union Vice President Mary Bravewoman. But, its due to chronic underfunding of the community college system, she continued.

Supporters say the school is a lifeline to low-income and immigrant communities.

CCSF student Kwok Wong said in a news release that when he came to San Francisco, he did not know English. Now, I own my small business. All my English is from ESL classes. I want to learn more to build up my company. Dont cut our teachers. Dont cut our classes!

The school, which provides free quality instruction to San Francisco residents, has struggled with financial woes for years. Most recently, a report from the states Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team found that City College must act quickly if it wants to continue operating independently in the California community college system, after losing 39% of its enrollment over the past decade. The school failed to cut expenses in line with the loss, according to the report.

Correctly sizing its staffing for all employees will clearly be the largest factor in improving CCSFs fiscal situation, Michelle Giacomini, deputy executive officer for the fiscal crisis team, wrote after the release of the report.

According to protest organizers, which include City College student government and the colleges faculty union, cuts would irreparably damage a range of programs, including nursing, English and music. The union argues that the college should raise the $33 million needed to close its deficit from federal, state and local sources.

We really need the leadership at City College to step up, City College student Marcos said at the protest. It just feels like our pleas are falling on deaf ears.

Board President Shanell Williams said that while City College needs to reduce expenditures, were looking at a number of options right now. She and the board of trustees recently submitted a request to San Franciscos Board of Supervisors requesting supplemental aid to cover part of the deficit. Trustees explored state funding, but it was made crystal clear to us that City College would not receive additional money from the state.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

City College was previously forced to reduce or cut many programs after a five-year accreditation crisis that ended in 2017. At the time, enrollment dropped and never fully recovered, even though the colleges accreditation was eventually renewed.

Williams explained that for more than a decade, the school has kept a larger schedule than the actual student headcount.

Wed never want to limit students that want to be in a class, she said. But, she added, we can no longer support classes that are under enrolled, because of the cost to the college.

Emma Talley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: emma.talley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emmat332
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 02:18:36|Editor: huaxia

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (C) arrives for a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, April 22, 2021. The U.S. House on Thursday voted to pass a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the nation's 51st state, a Democratic priority that will face an uphill battle in the Senate for final passage even as the party controls both chambers of Congress. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House on Thursday voted to pass a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the nation's 51st state, a Democratic priority that will face an uphill battle in the Senate for final passage even as the party controls both chambers of Congress.

H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act passed in the House in a party-line vote of 216-208. Its fate in the Senate, however, is almost certainly doomed, given that overwhelming Republican opposition will make it next to impossible for the measure to cross the 60-vote threshold for passage.

The legislation was introduced by Eleanor Holmes Norton, the sole delegate representing the District in the House who, because the District is not a state, may draft legislation but has no voting right in the chamber. A member of the Democratic Party, Norton has long been an advocate for D.C. statehood.

The Democrats, thanks to whose majority in the House the bill was passed in the lower chamber last year, have framed the long unresolved and controversial issue from the perspective of equal representation and voting rights, arguing that the status of "taxation without representation" for the total of over 700,000 Washingtonians should end.

"Taxation without representation" is on Washington license plates because residents pay taxes but are not represented with a vote in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi noted during a Wednesday news conference at which she wore a mask with the number "51" on it.

"Washingtonians ... pay taxes, fight in our wars, contribute to the economic life of our country. But for centuries, they have been denied their right to representation," the California Democrat said.

Republicans, who in the last Congress held a majority in the Senate, blocked the bill's advance in the upper chamber last year by denying a vote on it. They have argued that the legislation mounts to a partisan effort by Democrats to pursue a progressive agenda and tip the scales in Congress in their favor.

If it becomes the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth -- as dubbed by the bill to commemorate Frederick Douglass, a 19th century American social reformer -- Washington, D.C., whose population is larger than that of Wyoming or Vermont, will have one voting representative in the House and two U.S. senators.

"The Democrats' D.C. statehood scheme is about two things: consolidating power and enacting radical policies," House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy said Thursday on Twitter. "The American people see right through this blatant power grab."

The bill will leave places like the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court and the National Mall out of the newly-created state, letting them remain as federal grounds and as the seat of the U.S. government.

The bill has already got the backing of the administration of President Joe Biden, whom 92 percent of D.C. voters voted for in the 2020 election, compared to just 5 percent who voted for then-President Donald Trump.

Congress should "provide for a swift and orderly transition to statehood" for D.C. residents to have full voting representation in the House and Senate, the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement on Tuesday, formally offering the White House's support for the Democrats' long-shot bid.

Census Bureau data showed 46 percent of the District's residents are African Americans, potentially making the nation's capital the first state with a plurality Black population. That's why some advocates, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser -- herself a woman of color -- view the issue from the angle of racial justice and civil rights.

Noting that D.C. statehood has strong backing of the White House and that 45 senators have signed off on the legislation, Bowser in a tweet following the House vote urged "the 55 Senators who have not yet signed on in support of #DCStatehood to fulfill their responsibility to build a more perfect union." Enditem
BAY CITY, MI  Already a registered sex offender, a Huron County man is now facing federal charges for allegedly producing child pornography.

Christopher A. Ciesielski, 50, is charged with single counts of production of child porn and possession-distribution of child porn. The former charge carries a penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison, while the latters penalty runs five to 20 years.

According to an affidavit authored by a Michigan State Police trooper, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in October received a tip from Snapchat that an account with the username ccieslski2020 had uploaded child porn to the internet. The same month, the NCMEC received a tip from Facebook that user Chris Ciesielski sent a 59-second video of a child being sexually assaulted.

Investigators on April 8 executed a search warrant on Ciesielskis Bay Port home, during which they seized Ciesielskis cellphone. Ciesielski confessed to police that he had possessed and distributed child porn and that he had enticed minors for nude photos, the affidavit states.

A subsequent data analysis of Ciesielskis phone revealed numerous illicit images. Investigators also determined that Ciesielski on Oct. 23 had sent a video depicting sexual abuse of a child via WhatsApp to a phone with a 970 area code, the affidavit states. That area code covers parts of Colorado.

Ciesielski sent another such video to a phone with the Texas area code of 936 on Feb. 24, 2021, the affidavit states.

Investigators further found that in December and January, Ciesielski used WhatsApp to interact with a person claiming to be 11 years old. He requested nude photos and videos of the person, who replied by sending an illicit video of what appeared to be an 11-year-old girl, the affidavit states.

Further investigation indicated Ciesielski in January took a photo of a young childs privates at his Bay Port home. Ciesielskis wife told police he had access to two children, ages 1 and 3, about once per month, the affidavit states.

Ciesielski in 2008 was convicted in Huron County Circuit Court of possessing child sexually abusive material, which requires him to register as a sex offender.

Ciesielski had his initial appearance before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Stafford on Thursday, April 15. Five days later, U.S. District Magistrate Judge David R. Grand ordered Ciesielski held without bond pending trial.

Ciesielski is to appear for a preliminary examination on April 29.

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The bomb detonated in Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province - FAYYAZ AHMED/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

A car bomb exploded late Wednesday in the car park of a luxury hotel in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least four and injuring a dozen more.

Chinas ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, and a Chinese delegation staying at the Serena Hotel in Quetta werent present at the time of the attack.

Mr Nong had earlier in the day met with Jam Kamal, chief minister of the province of Balochistan, according to a government spokesmans social media post.

The resource-rich province is home to the newly expanded Gwadar seaport, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key part of Beijings global Belt and Road infrastructure investments.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack - FAYYAZ AHMED/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

But Chinese investment in the region has been controversial, and Chinese nationals and interests have been attacked by militants and insurgents before.

Its unclear if the Chinese delegation in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, were the targets of Wednesdays bombing.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which appeared to be their largest attack in the country for some time.

Imran Khan, Pakistan's prime minister, said: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack in Quetta yesterday. Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and we will not to allow this scourge to rise again."

The Pakistani Taliban killed thousands during an insurgent campaign a decade ago, but were then weakened by internal rifts and offensives by Pakistan's army. Its remnants are believed to be largely across the border in Afghanistan.

Wednesdays attack was a "big and troubling development, said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Centre.

"The group has been resurging in recent months and has carried out attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A sophisticated, urban attack in Balochistan represents the latest phase of its comeback."
ROME, APR 22 - Premier Mario Draghi's government has okayed an advance of 50 million euros to Alitalia as part of aid for revenues lost in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions in order to enable the troubled airline to pay workers' salaries for April, sources said on Thursday. The loss-making former flag-carrier has been in extraordinary administration for years and the pandemic has made its plight even worse. The government wants to restructure the airline, via the launch of new State-controlled company, ITA. According to the plan, ITA would get State cash to buy many of Alitalia's assets and it would hire around 11,000 of its workers. But the negations between Rome and Brussels on how to allow the move to proceed while complying with EU law are proving tough. The European Commission has asked ITA to show there will be "discontinuity", reportedly asking for the Alitalia name to be dropped and many of the carrier's slots at Milan's Linate airport to be released. The 50-million-euro advance is part of an estimated 350 million set aside to Alialia to help cover 2020 losses, 195 million of which have already been paid out. It was given the green light in an article in the decree approved by cabinet on Wednesday setting out the system of COVID-19 restrictions that will be in force from next week, the source said. (ANSA).
DETROIT, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Eric R. Benson has joined McDonald Hopkins LLC as an associate in the Litigation Department, adding his experience to the firm's national Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group.

Benson's practice focuses on advising companies in a wide variety of industries on addressing data privacy and cybersecurity incidents. This includes advising on breach response obligations, including compliance and notification to individuals and government regulators as required under state and federal breach notification laws, including HIPAA, GLBA and GDPR. Benson also represents clients in state and federal investigations that arise from data privacy incidents and provides guidance on crisis communications and management issues. He also has experience interpreting the results of forensic investigations of cybersecurity incidents, drafting and revising policies for clients (including HIPAA Risk Management Plans and Written Information Security Programs, analyzing IT managed service providers contracts, and drafting breach notification letters in compliance with applicable privacy laws.

Benson earned his J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. He completed a B.A. in politics at New York University.

He is admitted to practice law in New York and Massachusetts only.

Benson can be reached at 248.593.2957 and [email protected].

About McDonald Hopkins

Founded in 1930, McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and West Palm Beach. With more than 50 service and industry teams, the firm has the expertise and knowledge to meet the growing number of legal and business challenges our clients face. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com .

CONTACT:

David Carducci

McDonald Hopkins LLC

600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Phone: 216.348.5814

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE McDonald Hopkins

Related Links

http://www.mcdonaldhopkins.com


NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 11,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Dore Copper Mining Corp. (TSX-V: DCMC) (OTCQX: DRCMF), a copper-gold explorer and developer, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Dore Copper Mining Corp. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Dore Copper Mining Corp. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "DRCMF." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

"Upgrading to the OTCQX Best Market is another important step in providing Dore Copper access to a broader US investor audience and further raising the Company's profile as we advance our key brownfield copper-gold projects in Quebec towards development and production" said Ernest Mast, President and CEO of Dore Copper.

About Dore Copper Mining Corp.

Dore Copper Mining Corp. is a copper-gold explorer and developer in the Chibougamau area of Quebec, Canada. The Corporation is focussed on implementing its hub-and-spoke development strategy by advancing its key high-grade copper-gold brownfield projects towards a restart of operations. Our goal is to achieve an annual production of 60 M lbs of copper equivalent (or 100,000 oz gold equivalent).

The Corporation has consolidated a large land package in the prolific Lac Dore/Chibougamau and Joe Mann mining camps that has produced 1.6 B lbs of copper and 4.4 M oz of gold. The land package includes 13 former producing mines, deposits and resource target areas within a 60-kilometre radius of its 2,700 tpd mill (Copper Rand Mill).

Dore Copper has resumed its drilling program for 2021 which will lead to an updated mineral resource estimate in Q2 2021 for the Corner Bay (Cu-Au) deposit and the former producing Joe Mann mine (Au-Cu), and a PEA in Q4 2021.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 11,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are SEC regulated ATSs, operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc.

+1 (212) 896-4428

[email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

Related Links

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featured

Parks group to announce new projects on Earth Day

Photo provided by Turtle Hospital Sparb, a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle rescued off Sombrero Beach the end of January, will be released from Sombrero Beach in Marathon on Thursday, April 22, in celebration of its recovery and Earth Day. Sparb will arrive at the beach at 9 a.m. and will released at 9:15. Photo provided by pennekampparkfriends.org Portions of the loop trail at Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botancial State Park are underwater during high tide. The parks local citizen support group is planning to add a boardwalk along the flood-prone segment. Photo provided by pennekampparkfriends.org A new playground is among the planned additions to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Photo provided y pennekampparkfriends.org A coral reef cam would allow citizen scientists and other interested people to observe sea life and water conditions off Key Largo.

After being forced to hold last years Earth Day events remotely at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the Key Largo area state park citizen support organization will be able to gather this year to hold a poster contest, mangrove walk and announce upcoming improvements to the parks this Saturday, April 24.

Ann Helmers, president of the Friends of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park, said this Earth Day, which is Thursday, April 22, will be the first public outreach event her group has been able to hold since the pandemic began. Local students will be able to create a poster related to nature or the planet and enter it into the poster contest. This years winner will be selected by popular vote of everyone at the park on Earth Day.

Last year was much different. With the novel coronavirus pandemic shutting the Keys down and forcing all events to be canceled, Helmers and her staff voted on the winner of the contest and then she and a few other board members, one of whom is a retired New York Times photographer, drove around to give out the prizes and take pictures of the winners.

Along with the poster contest, attendees will be able to hear about a number of planned improvements the Friends group is helping to make to both Pennekamp and Dagny Johnson parks. Helmers said the playground at Pennekamp has been there for quite a while. They have partnered with a company called Game Time to install a new, ocean-themed playground.

Helmers is also planning to set up educational kiosks in the park with other organizations in the area. The group is also planning to install a boardwalk at Dagny Johnson park and a coral cam on the reef at Pennekamp.

Were going to be the first park that has an actual underwater camera stationed on the reefs, Helmers said. Well be able to show people the living reef every day.

The camera at first will broadcast to the parks visitor center, but eventually Helmers said the stream will be available online for anyone in the world to access. It will also have an ocean sensor that will track things like water temperature, salinity and pollution levels so citizen scientists and interested people can track data.

This will be the 51st Earth Day in the United States and Helmers said educating the community and area youths is a priority for her, especially since the two Key Largo state parks are such special places.

Helmers is a long-time Floridian and said one of her favorite memories is coming to Pennekamp to complete her scuba dive training in her college years. Since then, coral reefs in the Florida Keys and around the world have suffered at the hands of climate change and human ignorance.

Weve had the opportunity to see the reefs change over the years. That is part of the reason that this group is so important, Helmers said.

But, she said, she and others in the Friends group have noticed that people in the Keys see nature a little differently since they live in such a unique natural environment. She has been impressed by how everyone in the area advocates for nature preservation and is aware of how beautiful and fragile the Keys are.

Also in celebration of Earth day, the Key West Wildlife Center is holding a raffle fundraiser featuring photographs donated by Bill Klipp, Mark Hedden and Alan Maltz.

Tickets are available at http://www. keywestwildlifecenter.org or at the center, 1801 White St., through noon on Thursday, April 22.

Tickets are $10 each or $20 for three, and the drawing will be held live on Facebook Live at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22.

eweld@keysnews.com
A proposal would first go to the council, whose approval would forward the plan to Napa Countys Local Agency Formation Commission, which regulates such county-to-city transfers. LAFCO would then host a public hearing on shifting country-controlled lands into the city before giving final approval.

An annexation proposed by the city rather than a neighborhoods residents or property owners would enable LAFCO to approve it without the normally required protest process, which allows landholders to veto a move of their properties into a city, according to Morris.

Under an annexation drive launched by property owners or residents, other owners could defeat a move to city authority if more than half of them within the targeted zone file written objections. (The faster track is the creation of a 2000 California law that also exempts a city from $6,000 to $8,000 of the application fees that LAFCO would charge voters or property owners.)

At least 13 sites are under county control but surrounded by Napa city territory on more than half their perimeter. Eight of those so-called islands are completely ensconced within the city, with the largest, near West Pueblo and Linda Vista, comprising more than 500 housing lots.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Chakana Copper Corp. (TSXV: PERU) (OTCQB: CHKKF) (FSE: 1ZX) (the "Company" or "Chakana"), announces that effective April 22, Mr. Doug Kirwin, will be stepping down from the Board of Directors to be replaced by Mr. Douglas Silver as Chairman and Director of the Company.

Mr. Silver brings with him a long and storied career in the mining sector commencing in 1980 where he was an exploration geologist with Anaconda Minerals, during which he co-discovered the Silver Creek molybdenum deposit in Colorado. In 1987, he was a member of the management team that created Bond International Gold, then one of the world's largest gold mining companies, where he served as head of Investor Relations. Bond Gold's NYSE listing was the largest mining IPO at the time. He served as President of his private company, Balfour Holdings Inc. where he acted as a strategic advisor for a number of global mineral companies providing project and company appraisals, valuations, due diligence, investor relations and M&A advice.

In 2003 he co-founded International Royalty Corporation, a TSX-listed company, and served as Chairman and CEO as his team built IRC into the world's fourth largest royalty company until the company was sold for C$749 million in 2010. IRC was the largest mining-related IPO on the TSX in 2005 having raised C$190 million. In 2011 he became a Portfolio Manager for Red Kite Management, a private equity firm, where he was responsible for sourcing, negotiating and closing on investments. Subsequently, in 2013, Red Kite spun out Orion Resource Partners where he then helped grow Orion into the world's largest mining private equity firm with assets under management of ~US$6B. Mr. Silver retired from Orion in December 2020.

In 2018, Mr. Silver was inducted into the U.S. National Mining Hall of Fame. He holds an M.Sc. in Economic Geology from the University of Arizona and a B.A. in Geology and Zoology from the University of Vermont. He is also known for his philanthropic work with educators and industry non-profits. Mr. Silver founded the Denver Gold Group, one of the industries' most significant gold investment conferences.

"I look forward to putting my geologist's hat back on while also guiding this company forward. Having been a professional investor for the past decade for the world's largest mining private equity firm, I believe my experiences in everything from technical due diligence to corporate finance will help Chakana create meaningful shareholder value," stated Douglas Silver.

Doug Kirwin stated: "My focus during the past several years has been the initial exploration potential at Soledad, which is now unfolding with multiple breccia pipe discoveries. While I believe additional discoveries through exploration is still very much an important part of the overall Soledad project, it is time for a gradual change in the Board structure that supports Soledad's advancement as it outlines high-grade mineral resources. I am confident in the management team at Chakana, and welcome Doug Silver as the Company progresses toward the initial resource estimate at Soledad later this year."

"We are grateful for the contribution made by Doug Kirwin over the past three years during the initial exploration and discovery phases at Soledad. Doug's understanding of tourmaline breccia systems is exceptional and was instrumental in guiding our initial exploration strategy that continues today. We would like to thank Doug for his contribution and wish him success in his future endeavors. At the same time, we are excited to welcome Douglas Silver to the Board of Chakana as Chairman. Douglas has had a very distinguished and successful career in the mining industry, as noted by his induction into the US National Mining Hall of Fame in 2018," stated David Kelley, President and CEO.

Granting of Options

The Company also announces that is has granted stock options to certain of its directors, officers, employees and consultants to purchase up to 3,600,000 common shares. Each option is exercisable to acquire one common share of Chakana at a price of $0.50 until April 22, 2026. The options will vest over an 18-month period and in accordance with the Company's stock option plan.

About Chakana Copper

Chakana Copper Corp is a Canadian-based minerals exploration company that is currently advancing the Soledad Project located in the Ancash region of Peru, a highly favorable mining jurisdiction with supportive communities. The Soledad Project consists of high-grade gold-copper-silver mineralization hosted in tourmaline breccia pipes. A total of 42,728 metres of drilling has been completed to date, testing ten (10) of twenty-three (23) confirmed breccia pipes. The exploration team has identified 110 targets in total on the project, confirming that Soledad is a large, well-endowed mineral system with strong exploration upside. Chakana's investors are uniquely positioned as the Soledad Project provides exposure to several metals including copper, gold, and silver. For more information on the Soledad project, please visit the website at www.chakanacopper.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

(signed) "David Kelley"

David Kelley

President and CEO

For further information contact:

Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer

Phone: 647 964 0292

Email: jjobin@chakanacopper.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking Statement Advisory: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Chakana to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements or information relates to, among other things, the interpretation of the nature of the mineralization at the Soledad copper-gold-silver project (the "Project"), the potential to expand the mineralization, and to develop and grow a resource within the Project, the planning for further exploration work, the ability to de-risk the potential exploration targets, and our belief in the potential for mineralization within unexplored parts of the Project. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward- looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81426
SAN MATEO, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Booster, the technology platform for mobile energy delivery, today announced the expansion of its service to include on-demand electric vehicle (EV) charging. The capability makes Booster the first technology company to expand its platform beyond conventional to renewable energy.

As it grows to meet the demand of mixed fleets serving the last-mile delivery economy, Booster's proprietary telematics enable the company to distribute energy more efficiently, all through the touch of a button. The company is building on its conventional energy capabilities to meet the increased demand for EVs, broadening the benefits of its service to the 500,000+ electric vehicles in California.

"As governments and enterprise businesses set aggressive decarbonization targets, Booster's technology is now available to provide the full suite of energy solutions for fleet and retail customers," said Frank Mycroft, CEO and co-founder, Booster. "Our mobile platform serves more than 100,000 customers, and has already eliminated more than 4 million pounds of CO 2 emissions. Booster is transforming the way energy is delivered and supporting aggressive climate change goals at the same time."

Booster launches its new offering as President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom push bold new plans for carbon neutrality, and as e-commerce and logistics giants such as FedEx and USPS plan for mixed fleets. According to the California Energy Commission, the state will need 1.5 million EV charging stations by 2030 to meet projected demand.

"We envision a future where Booster's technology is at the forefront of decarbonizing last mile delivery. We believe our infrastructure plays a critical role in accelerating EV charging in California through our reliable energy as a service platform," Mycroft continued.

Booster's mobile charging service will supplement the often inadequate charging infrastructure at existing customer locations. The service aims to provide additional peace of mind for EV owners, ensuring they don't have to rely exclusively on fixed charging stations. In addition, mobile EV charging offers an alternative in the event of temporary brown/black outs, keeping EVs up and running even in regions that don't have easy access to charging stations.

The pilot service will be available to select customers in the San Francisco Bay Area starting summer 2021 via the Booster app, available for iOS and Android.

Images here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gdNJJDBW4kNabJgzoqu4iUBdA63ObbBt

About Booster Fuels

Six years ago, Booster launched its mobile energy technology platform with a mission to power the delivery of everything and everyone. Today, Booster is reinventing the way vehicles get that power through proprietary supply chain logistics that have transformed energy-as-a-service for fleets and consumers. Booster delivers fueling that is better for business, communities, and the planet.

Booster has raised more than $88 million in funding from firms such as Invus Opportunities, Conversion Capital, Enterprise Holdings Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, Perot Jain, L.P., Total Ventures and Vulcan Capital. Booster's corporate clients have included Facebook, PayPal, eBay, and Cisco, among others. For more information, visit www.trybooster.com.

Media Contact for Booster Fuels:

Jordan Valdes

[email protected]

SOURCE Booster Fuels, Inc
News Release: Proving Their Resilience, Five Cleantech Innovators Receive Awards at 2021 NREL Industry Growth Forum

Five Entrepreneurs Awarded Top Honors at This Years Online Event

April 22, 2021

The NREL Industry Growth Forum announced the winners of its 2021 pitch competition on Thursday.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recognized five top cleantech innovators as it wrapped up the 26th year of its NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF). This years IGF was the second all-virtual event and was a celebration of the enduring strength of cleantech innovators and the ecosystem that supports them.

The winners were selected from a field of 40 companies that pitched their innovations to a panel of judges made up of investors. Earlier this year, those companies had been selected from a field of 154 companies that had applied to present.

Every year, Im amazed by the startups, investors, and industry experts that attend the IGF, said NREL Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Director Richard Adams. But this year Im particularly impressed and gratified that the cleantech ecosystem is stronger than ever. These startupsthe winners and all that attendedare resilient; they survived a very difficult year.

Global Solutions

The Industry Growth Forum, held April 2022, annually convenes cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts to build relationships, showcase innovative technologies, and explore disruptive business solutions. In addition to the cleantech innovation pitch competition, it features one-on-one meetings between entrepreneurs and investors.

We were thrilled with the participation in IGF this year, said IGF Project Manager Sheila Ebbitt. We had more than 500 attendees for our three-day virtual event, and it was a truly international contingent. The climate challenges are global; it makes sense that the solutions will come from around the world.

This years award winners:

Full Harvest Technologies, based in San Francisco, California, received both the IGF 2021 Best Venture award and the Growth Stage Outstanding Venture award for its online marketplace for imperfect and surplus produce that connects farmers with food and beverage manufacturers.

Mosaic Materials, based in Alameda, California, won the Early Stage Outstanding Venture award for its adsorbent materials designed to selectively capture CO 2 in applications ranging from life support to direct air capture.

EnPower, based in Phoenix, Arizona, won the Commercialization Stage Outstanding Venture award for its battery technology designed to deliver both long-range and extreme fast charging for electric vehicles.

Electro-Active Technologies, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, won the Emerging Markets Outstanding Venture award for its modular system designed to convert food waste and renewable electricity into affordable, renewable hydrogen.

Opus 12, based in Berkeley, California, won the IGF Peoples Choice award for its flexible membrane electrode assembly and process designed to recycle CO 2 into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels.

For a list of participating companies and sponsors, and for more information on the Industry Growth Forum, visit us online at www.nrelforum.com.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
The Australian State of Victoria had signed the two deals. For Australia, Xi Jinping's initiative is a propaganda tool. Relations between the two governments are increasingly strained. COVID-19, US opposition, geopolitical instability, partners debts and lack of resources threaten the new Silk Road.

Canberra (AsiaNews)  China uses the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for propaganda purposes, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said today to defend his government's decision to scrap two agreements signed by the State of Victoria as part of Chinas new Silk Road.

Australia announced its decision to overrule the State yesterday. According to the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the Belt and Road goes against Australia's foreign policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the plan in 2013 to turn China into the hub of world trade.

Dutton pointed out that Canberra has no problems with the Chinese people, but opposes the values of the Chinese Communist Party.

Under Australian law, the central government can stop local governments, including state governments, from striking deals with foreign entities if it sees a threat to national security. A law to this effect was adopted last year, which many observers see as directed at China.

In a statement released this morning, the Chinese Embassy in Australia slammed Canberra's move, call in unreasonable and provocative, noting that it would further damage bilateral relations and Australian interests.

Relations between the two governments have been deteriorating for a while. Australians are concerned about China's growing military presence in the South China Sea, and were among the first to join the Huawei boycott promoted by the United States.

The level of confrontation reached worrying levels after Canberra joined other countries a year ago in calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus and Beijing's handling of the pandemic.

In retaliation, the Asian giant targeted Australian exports, banning coal imports and imposing tariffs on products such as wine, barley, sugar, timber, cotton, meat and lobster.

The political instability of many of Beijing's partners and the decreasing resources Chinese companies and state agencies can invest in the new Silk Road are another problem. Canberra's decision further weakens the Belt and Road.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently said that the initiative is threatened by opposition from the US and many of its allies.

The terrible debt situation of many countries working with Beijing in the Belt and Road is another important issue. The most striking case is that of Sri Lanka. China recently granted the South Asian nation a US$ 500 million loan, the second part of a billion-dollar financial bailout made last year.

Sri Lanka already has accumulated a huge debt towards China. According to media reports, the new line of credit was granted after the Rajapaksa administration pledged to uphold the lease to Beijing of the port of Hambantota, and grant the Chinese supervisory power over the new Colombo airport.

The Chinese claim that the greatest damage to the BRI is the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, as a result of the pandemic in 2020, 20 per cent of BRI projects found themselves facing serious problems, 40 per cent had difficulties, while 30-40 per cent were affected in a limited way.

However, as the China Global Investment Tracker noted, Chinese investment in the Belt and Road began to decline before the health emergency. In 2018, it stood at US$ 118 billion; a year later it was down to US$ 103 billion; and then plummeted to US$ 46.6 billion in 2020.
Dhaka, April 22 : The Bangladesh government has decided to resume domestic flights in a reduced capacity after weeks of suspension amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) in a circular issued on Wednesday said it decided to resume all seven domestic routes except one in the sea beach town of Cox's Bazar, some 392 km southeast of capital Dhaka, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the CAAB circular, an airline will be able to fly a maximum of 12 flights on the six domestic routes.

The CAAB on April 5 suspended all domestic flights following government instructions to curb the pandemic.

To fight the second wave of the pandemic Bangladesh on Tuesday extended the ongoing strict lockdown to April 28.

On Wednesday, the country's Directorate General of Health Services also reported 4,280 new Covid-19 cases and 95 new fatalities, increasing the total tally at 732,060 and the death toll at 10,683.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 01:38:00|Editor: huaxia

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At the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link and delivers an important speech titled "For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together" in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- It is inspiring that Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed China's commitment to overcoming climate change while upholding multilateralism in this global fight, foreign experts have said after Xi made a speech on Thursday at the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link from Beijing.

In his speech, Xi made a six-point proposal on building a community of life for man and nature, saying that we must be committed to harmony between man and nature, green development, systemic governance, a people-centered approach, multilateralism, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Xi's speech is very important and plays a strong leading role in the global fight against climate change, said Ronnie Lins, director of the China-Brazil Center for Research and Business.

To cope with the issues regarding climate change, the international community should stick to multilateralism and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, he noted.

He expressed his hope that the international community should take actions as soon as possible, jointly participate in the global environmental governance, and push ahead with the building of a global environmental governance system featuring fairness and equity, cooperation and win-win.

Xi's speech demonstrates that China is always an active participator in the global cause of battling climate change, said Anri Sharapov, an associate professor at the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

China, as a responsible major country, has shown to the world its resolution in protecting the environment and dealing with climate change, he noted, adding that it would undoubtedly strengthen the international community's confidence in jointly handling climate change.

Calling the climate change issue "a very complicated and huge issue" that requires the collaboration of all countries, Jehad Auwda, a professor of international relations at Egypt's Helwan University, said that China has been working on building an active and transparent mechanism with all parties to enhance international communication and mutual trust to tackle the climate change crisis.

This is very important for achieving international cooperation and the final goals, he said.

Yoav Yair, dean of the School of Sustainability at Israel's Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, said that Xi, in his speech, reiterated China's climate commitment to the international community.

He said what China has already done to defeat climate change is impressive, adding that China is "making an enormous effort for renewable energies" and the environmental legislation in China has "proved very effective and showed significant improvement in air quality in major cities."

"They are looking at all the options available in order to curb down carbon emissions, and they're making good progress," Yair said. Enditem
Lucknow, April 22 : Shortage of ventilators, oxygen cylinders and hospital beds has led to the death of over half-a-dozen journalists in Lucknow in the past 10 days.

All these scribes had to struggle for hours to get admitted to the hospitals after they developed Covid symptoms.

Some of them arranged for oxygen cylinders on their own but, could not get ventilator support.

Sacchidanand Gupta of 'Jadeed Amal', an Urdu newspaper, passed away on April 14 because he could not get ventilator support on time.

Vinay Srivastava, a veteran journalist, kept tweeting to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his media advisors for medical assistance as his oxygen levels kept going down, but help came only after he passed away.

Tavishi Srivastava, the political editor of 'Pioneer', could not get admitted to a hospital after she complained of breathless.

For hours on April 18, her colleagues tried to arrange for an oxygen cylinder and medical aid. Finally, a senior journalist from Delhi managed to get her admitted to the King George's Medical University, but it was already too late as she passed away hours later.

Pawan Mishra, a young journalist, died two days ago. His family claims that he needed ventilator support but never got one.

Ankit Shukla, 32, died earlier this week of Covid while Waseem left for another world on Wednesday.

Pramod Srivastava, 48, the newly elected member of the UP State Accredited Journalist Committee 2021, elections for which were held on March 21, died last month due to Covid.

At least a dozen journalists at present are Covid infected and battling for better medical facilities.

More than 20 family members of scribes are also hospitalised at currently.

Journalists' unions are now demanding that beds should be reserved for scribes and the state government should also recognise them as Corona warriors.

The President of UP State Accredited Correspondents' Committee, Hemant Tiwari, has written a letter to the Chief Minister, seeking compensation for journalists who have lost their lives to Covid.

Meanwhile, a senior government official said that it was near impossible to arrange for beds "for anyone, leave alone journalists".

"The situation is critical and we all have to put up with it till the infrastructure is expanded," he said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
He has been hosting his famed Oscars viewing parties since 1992.

And although it is usually one of the hottest tickets in town, this year Elton John has opened up the experience to everyone for the price of $19.99 (14.99).

Ahead of Sunday's annual Academy Awards ceremony - celebrating the best and brightest in film - Elton, 74, will host a pre-show special on Tik Tok.

Come along! Elton John has opened up his Oscars viewing party to everyone for the price of $19.99 (14.99) as he hosts his first ever virtual event

During a fun video on his account, Elton mimicked the mood of the globe by posing in a dressing gown and slippers while asking people if they were bored of lockdown.

Elton, who was joined by his husband David Furnish in the video, then clicked his fingers and was suddenly dressed in an elaborate floral suit as he invited his followers along to the virtual viewing.

Revealing what was on on offer to fans, Elton explained it would be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and would include a stripped back performance from Dua Lipa.

Covid times: Ahead of Sunday's annual Academy Awards ceremony - celebrating the best and brightest in film - Elton, 74, will host a pre-show special on Tik Tok

It is believed that there are other names still yet to be announced for the virtual line-up ahead of the event on April 25, the proceeds of which will support Elton's AIDS Foundation.

Elton explained: 'This year, we are bringing our Oscar Party into people's homes for the first time virtually for an unforgettable evening with David, myself, our dear friend Neil Patrick Harris and the incredible Dua Lipa plus many fabulous surprise names.

'Now more than ever, we need to ensure that one pandemic does not override another, and we cannot forget the 38 million people living with HIV globally who need our care, love and support so we hope everyone joins us for this special one of a kind Oscar Pre-Party.'

Ha! During a fun video on his account, Elton mimicked the mood of the globe by posing in a dressing gown and slippers while asking people if they were bored of lockdown

Star-studded: Revealing what was on on offer to fans, Elton explained it would be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and would include a stripped back performance from Dua Lipa

Since the annual event's inception, The Academy Awards Viewing Party has supported his charities' efforts to raise millions for their lifesaving work.

With its presence across four continents, the Foundation is committed to overcome the stigma, discrimination and neglect that keeps us from ending AIDS.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in unimaginable ways, but the Foundation is committed to ensure that one pandemic does not override another.

To bring the event globally, the Pre-Party Special will be hosted four times to meet the different time zones of a region's broadcast of the Oscars: 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET on April 25 in the U.S.

7 PM GMT on April 26 in the U.K.; 7 PM AEST on April 26 in Australia and New Zealand; and an optional repeat at 7 PM PT on April 26 in the U.S.

Charity: It is believed that there are other names still yet to be announced for the virtual line-up ahead of the event on April 25, the proceeds of which will support Elton's AIDS Foundation

In each region their are 100,000 spots available, meaning the event could raise up to $8million for the Foundation.

Speaking about her involvement, Dua said: 'It's such an honour to be a part of one of the most iconic Oscar Parties and I'm really proud to support the Elton John AIDS Foundation to help tackle the stigma that exists around HIV as we need to build a kinder and more accepting world together.

'And to share the stage with Elton John will be a dream come true!'

While Neil said: 'I've always been a huge supporter of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and could not be more honored to host this year's virtual gala with my close friends Elton and David.

'Coming off the back of working on 'It's a Sin' about the AIDS epidemic in the 80s, this cause resonates more deeply with me than ever.

'The tireless work done by the Foundation to help end the AIDS epidemic is incredibly inspiring, and I'm proud to have a small part in the effort to continue raising awareness for the movement.'

Last year, Elton raised an incredible $6.4 million to help end the AIDS epidemic at his annual Academy Awards viewing party.

Oscar winner Elton  who picked up the Best Original Song prize for I'm Gonna Love Me Again from the Rocketman soundtrack  was joined by a host of famous faces including Heidi Klum and Sharon Stone.

The Foundations Academy Awards Viewing Party benefits the Elton John AIDS Foundation raising millions for their lifesaving work since the party began in 1992.

It works across four continents to provide treatment, testing, care and support to people at risk of or living with HIV, especially marginalised groups that are disproportionately affected.

Celebrated musician Elton has won a Tony Award and five Grammys, and only needs an Emmy to join the elite clubs of EGOTs.

Tickets for the Pre-Show are currently on sale via Ticketmaster.
6th of October City is new member of EBRD Green Cities in Egypt

EBRD President signs agreements to support greening of Cairo, Alexandria and 6th of October City

6th of October City falls under remit of Egypts new city planning entity, NUCA

Egypt is signing up to a vision of green and sustainable cities. Under the guidance of the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), the countrys new city planning entity, 6th of October City joins Cairo and Alexandria as a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developments (EBRD) flagship urban sustainability programme, EBRD Green Cities.

During a visit to Egypt, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) today  witnessed by Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Mahmoud Sharawi, Minister of Local Development, Sayed Ismail, Deputy Minister of Housing for Infrastructure and Jacqueline Azer, the Deputy of the Governor of Cairo - stating that the Bank will assist the governorates of Cairo and Alexandria and NUCA in identifying, prioritising and connecting cities environmental challenges with sustainable infrastructure investments and policy measures.

President Renaud-Basso said: The EBRD looks forward to working with Egypt on this flagship programme, to support the development of greener infrastructure, building a better and more sustainable future for city residents.

Contributions from our donors, including the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance via the EBRD-administered City Regeneration and Environment (CREATE) Fund, are fundamental in providing the necessary support for the implementation of Green City Action Plans (GCAPs) in Egypt, added the President.

Minister Al-Mashat said: The path to a green future begins in our cities. The government of Egypt is paving the way for inclusive and resilient infrastructure through sustainability-led urban development and low-carbon mobility. Our partnership with the EBRD in its flagship urban sustainability programme serves as a regional example for future city development, ensuring a green and safe urban environment for all. This is integral to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

The purpose of the 2.5 billion EBRD Green Cities programme is to provide finance to invest in sustainable municipal infrastructure to help cities become greener. With almost three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions coming from cities, this is an effective way to tackle climate change.

With support from the EBRD and international donors, each member city draws up a tailor-made GCAP to identify its own priorities in tackling its most pressing environmental challenges.

Urgent improvements to the transport networks of Cairo and Alexandria have been identified as the trigger projects for those two cities. In Cairo, the EBRD is interested in supporting the rehabilitation and upgrade of metro Line 2. In Alexandria, the focus is on upgrading and electrifying an existing metro line that connects downtown Alexandria with the north-eastern town of Abu Qir.

In addition, the development of a dry port in 6th of October City, a modern satellite town that forms part of the urban area around Cairo, is the first project to be explored under the EBRDs MoU with NUCA.

NUCA is in charge of urban development in Egypt. Four in 10 Egyptians live in cities and the urban population in this country of more than 100 million people is rising by more than 2 per cent a year. Aiming to establish new urban centres, redistribute the population away from the narrow strip of the Nile Valley and extend the axis of urban expansion to desert and remote areas, NUCA identifies new city sites and formulates their development strategies. It also ensures the good functioning and management of infrastructure and public facilities in new cities. Todays MoU identifying the trigger project in 6th of October City paves the way for the EBRD and NUCA to explore further cooperation on green infrastructure development in other cities that are under NUCAs remit.

With the MOUs signed today, 6th of October City becomes the programmes 46th member.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012, the Bank has invested close to 7.2 billion in 127 projects in the country.
Rewatching Ed Woods Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) when you havent seen it for a number of years is a deeply reassuring experience. It is every bit as bad as you remember it, in fact perhaps just a little bit worse. This is Woods low-budget, largely incomprehensible sci-fi horror picture in which flying saucers appear over LA and Washington and cause some of the recently deceased to lurch back to life.

The film features an eccentric cameo from an addled-looking Bela Lugosi, Hollywoods most famous Dracula, shot days before he died. There is an equally odd performance from 1950s horror star Maila Nurmi, better known as Vampiria, who used to put on her vampire make-up at home and then take the bus to the studio to film her scenes. The monumental former Swedish professional wrestler Tor Johnson co-stars as the slow-witted, slow-moving police inspector who joins the ranks of the undead without any noticeable difference to his demeanour.

Plan 9, which has been re-released on VOD in a restored and colourised version, has stilted dialogue and a baffling plot, but that is only a small part of its attraction. Its visual effects and production design are laughably crude. The scenes set in an aeroplane cockpit appear to have been shot in somebodys bathroom. The corpses of the two gravediggers look as if they are made of straw. The flying saucers themselves were probably improvised out of abandoned pieces of tin cutlery.
POTTSVILLE  Schuylkill County is in line to get millions of dollars from the latest COVID-19 stimulus package, and officials are considering using it to solve a longstanding problem in handling local prison inmates.

I would like the commissioners to consider building an intermediate punishment center with the federal money, President Judge William E. Baldwin said at Wednesdays county prison board meeting.

All three commissioners indicated they would seriously consider, and probably support, the idea of using the money the county is getting from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

It totally makes sense, Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. said. Its a long time coming.

County officials, including Baldwin, who also chairs the prison board, have considered building an intermediate punishment, sometimes called a pre-release, center for more than 10 years. At one time, such a center was going to be built near the countys two state prisons, but the idea never came to fruition.

County Administrator Gary R. Bender said the county itself is getting $27,415,708 from the act, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He said significant shares of money also are going to the countys 67 municipalities, 12 school districts and one charter school.

Officials say such a center would house nonviolent offenders and allow them to benefit from programs, including job training.

This has been an ongoing problem since Ive been here, said Commissioner Gary J. Hess, who was first elected in 2011. This would be a great opportunity.

Hess said the county has not learned exactly how it can spend its share. He said that, if an allowable expenditure, such a center could cut recidivism.

Bender also said the center would be an excellent idea.

He noted that outsourcing prisoners  sending them to other counties prisons to be confined  costs approximately $1,650,000 per year.

Bender also said the center could allow for specialized treatment for some inmates who need it.

Baldwin agreed.

Theres very little we can do now, since the small prison library is the only room in the county prison where such activities can be held, he said.

Even worse, according to Baldwin, is that crime continues to grow and more space is needed to house inmates.

The need for a facility is just going to keep growing, he said.

Commissioners Chairman Barron L. Hetherington also said building a center would help the prison situation.

Youre triple-celling, putting three prisoners in one cell, he said. Its difficult to do rehab.

Furthermore, according to Hetherington, a center would allow the county to offer more programs to the prisoners, who are going to be released in a short time.

We dont want them coming back in six months, he said.

Halcovage said a center can help prisoners nearing the end of their sentences transition to the outside world. He also said that since county taxpayers pay for caring for inmates, building the center can cut both the number of people in prison and the expenses of keeping them there.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Authorities say the deadly April 22 car explosion in Yerevan was presumably caused by the vehicles compressed natural gas storage tanks.

Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesperson Anna Baghdasaryan told ARMENPRESS that authorities are investigating to find out other details of the incident.

According to preliminary reports, the blast killed two people. Another person was injured.

The vehicle exploded on Arshakuntyats Avenue in Yerevan on April 22, 07:58.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Its not lost on me that this does look fishy, its not lost on me that this has shaken confidence, it is something I personally am concerned about, have been concerned about from the beginning, and we want to make sure that we are public with what happened here and how we make sure this doesnt happen again, she said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu had on Thursday a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the Romania-Poland-Turkey trilateral meeting, in which it was highlighted that Turkey continues to be Romania's first economic partner outside the European Union, with bilateral trade reaching almost 6.4 billion dollars in 2020.

According to a Foreign Ministry (MAE) release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, the trilateral meeting is hosted by the head of Romanian diplomacy in Bucharest on Thursday and Friday.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Romania and the Republic of Turkey this year, pointing out that the dimensions of bilateral relations have expanded over time, and Turkey remains a key-partner of Romania, agerpres.ro confirms.

During the meeting, the two chief diplomats addressed the stage of the bilateral relationship and the opportunities to deepen it, with an emphasis on the economic field, and aspects of interest on the regional, European and international agenda.

"This dynamic and the presence of over 16,200 Turkish companies in Romania demonstrate that there is significant growth potential that needs to be capitalized on. In this context, the two officials agreed to continue efforts to organize, in the coming period, the meetings of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) and the Joint Economic and Trade Cooperation Commission (JETCO), two cooperation formats that are particularly useful for stimulating cooperation between business and bilateral trade. Cooperation in the field of education and the defence industry was also discussed," the release said.

Bogdan Aurescu and Mevlut Cavusoglu also exchanged views on the regional security situation, with a focus on the Black Sea and the Eastern Neighborhood, as well as on NATO cooperation, which will be deepened during the Romania-Poland-Turkey Trilateral Meeting.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu conveyed to the Turkish counterpart the special appreciation for Turkey's concrete contributions to NATO's Forward Presence in Romania, these confirming and strengthening the bilateral Strategic Partnership and contributing substantially to regional security.

EU-Turkey relations were also addressed during the meeting. Minister Bogdan Aurescu welcomed recent developments in revitalizing the EU-Turkey relationship and reiterated Romania's support for continuing an open and constructive dialogue between Turkey and the European Union and for deepening relations with this key partner, according to the European Council Declaration of March 25, 2021.

He expressed confidence in maintaining a sustained and constructive commitment on the part of Turkey, in order to materialize in the next period the offer of the positive agenda of EU-Turkey relations, agreed by European leaders, aiming at economic cooperation, relaunching high-level dialogue formats in areas of interest and the promotion of mobility and interpersonal contacts, the MAE also shows.

Bogdan Aurescu thanked Turkey for its constant support for joining the OECD, a support confirmed by its Turkish counterpart.

The meeting also provided an opportunity for an exchange of views on regional developments, with the two ministers highlighting their joint commitment to developing cooperation in regional formats.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu praised the good cooperation with the Turkish side during Romania's 2020 presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) and stressed the importance of consolidating the BSEC's regional profile, especially in the context of the recent election of the Romanian ambassador Lazar Comanescu to the position of BSEC Secretary General, with the head of the Romanian diplomacy thanking Turkey for its support in this regard.

Minister Aurescu also expressed support for the priorities of the Turkish Presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process and appreciated the sectoral initiatives developed by it.

At the same time, the progress prospects on the Cyprus issue were discussed, with a view to the negotiations that will take place in the near future, as well as the prospects for an inter-Afghan peace dialogue.
By Joseph N. DiStefano, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

On Monday, when the states largest pension fund voted to charge school employees more for their retirements, the fund was compelled to do so because it had missed its 10-year investment goal by the narrowest of margins: 2/100ths of a point.

Had the fund invested more in stocks as it used to, it would have made up its shortfall and prevented the extra charges, records show. Instead, the $64 billion fund invested in high-cost private equity and alternative investments that drove down PSERSs performance numbers, triggering a need to require more contributions from recently hired school employees.

The funds flip flop  PSERS said it made its target in December, then retracted the claim in March  has left feelings of bitterness among school employees, state officials and others. The reversal is fostering a sense that teachers and school employees need to be more proactive in how PSERS is run.

This was a long time coming, said former state Rep. Mike Tobash (R., Berks), who chaired a 2018 state commission that criticized high costs and poor investment returns at PSERS, the Pennsylvania School Employees Retirement System.

The culture built into [PSERS] was so disappointing, Tobash said. They were the party of leave us alone and go away, and union leaders voted relentlessly to continue its expensive investment program, opposing a small dissident faction on the PSERS board.

Obstructionist is not too strong a word, Tobash concluded. We were trying to fix a system that would benefit their members. Now [the union] is doing duck-and-cover.

Union leaders dispute that. They too are angry and disappointed at how PSERS handled the increase, Pennsylvania State Education Association president Rich Askey wrote in a letter to members on Tuesday.

Askey noted how PSERS has confirmed an FBI investigation, first reported by The Inquirer. He cited other Inquirer reports detailing PSERS land purchases in Harrisburg and the millions that the fund has spent on travel for employees to visit investors, and gave a warning: If the probe discovers information that indicates changes to PSERSs operations are necessary, we will certainly support those reforms.

Other observers say the path forward is fairly straightforward. A diversified group of mostly equities in two Fidelity mutual funds has been averaging just around 12% per year, said Paul Hale, a retired Doylestown resident and one of many readers who have written to The Inquirer in recent weeks asking how PSERS expected to beat the market with its expensive alternatives.

Passive investing really does work, Hale added. How is it that PSERS can only generate less than 7% per year? Why do they feel the need to invest in esoteric opportunities?

Before the financial crisis of 2008, PSERS invested mostly in U.S. stocks. But unnerved by the meltdown, the giant fund sold stocks and shifted to private equity, hedge funds and other alternative investments that had outperformed stocks in some years.

That multi-billion-dollar bet has gone badly: U.S. stocks came roaring back, while private equity and hedge funds have lost their edge.

PSERSs stock returns averaged 8.9% a year from mid-2011 to mid-2020, the test period under state law. PSERSs private-equity returns averaged just 7.2% for the same period, while hedge funds were worse, at an average 4.4%. Combined, PSERS now has more than 30% of its assets in those two classes, though it has lately been trimming the total.

On Tuesday the fund hired an outside manager to oversee its complex and low-performing investments while chief investment officer James Grossman deals with various probes.

PSERS is run by a 15-member board. Even when some trustees began voting against the staffs costly proposals, they could usually count on the loyal support of PSERSs board  especially the largest bloc, five members of the powerful PSEA, the politically influential school employees union.

In December, all five union members and retirees on the PSERS board, led by board chairman Chris Santa Maria, a social studies teacher at Lower Merions Harriton High School, joined the majority to approve a report certifying that PSERS had returned an average 6.38% a year over the last nine years.

That was just above the 6.36% threshold that would have forced an increase in worker payments to PSERS under the states shared-risk law.

But five weeks ago, the fund admitted making errors in its first number and hired outside law firms to discover what went wrong. Then, on Monday, PSERS admitted that the real figure was 6.34%  2/100ths of a point too low  forcing an increase in school workers share.

The shift will cost school workers more than $75 million over the next three years, according to The Inquirers estimate. PSERS refused to comment on that or how higher teacher contributions could affect the $5 billion-plus that taxpayers pay PSERS each year.

A 10-year veteran teacher earning $70,000 would pay an extra $350 a year, the president noted. Only those hired since 2011, when the shared-risk law was passed, will pay more.

Amid the fallout, the ranks of the dissidents have been growing.

Board members who have lately voted against the staffs alternative-investment proposals include state treasurer Stacy Garrity, State Rep. Frank Ryan (R., Lebanon), state bank commissioner Richard Vague, newly appointed state Sen. Katie Muth (D., Montgomery), and sometimes school boards rep Nathan Mains and education secretary Noe Ortega.

Former treasurer Joe Torsella, a pioneer reformer and Tobashs vice chairman on the reform commission, was unanimously voted back onto the board as Gov. Tom Wolfs representative by the state Senate on Tuesday.
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb has pledged to sponsor the planting of 33,000 trees in 2021 as part of the American Forests American ReLeaf program. Chubb began supporting the cause in 2008 with the planting of one tree for each new environmental insurance policy written during the previous year, globally.

"Chubb is proud to support the American Forests and their mission to protect and restore threatened forest ecosystems," said Craig Richardson, Executive Vice President, Chubb Environmental. "Since 2008, Chubb has pledged to plant one tree for every environmental policy, and in 14 years we have planted more than 275,000 trees through American Forests."

Chubb, its employees and its charitable foundation continue to demonstrate support for a wide range of environmental philanthropies and volunteer activities in communities around the world. To date, Chubb's charitable foundation grants have helped preserve sensitive lands and habitats, finance green business entrepreneurs, and support educational programs that promote a healthy and sustainable environment, both domestically and internationally.

In addition, Chubb is committed to measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations. From 2016 to 2019, Chubb reduced its absolute global Greenhouse Gas emissions by 22%. By 2035, the impact of the company's continued focus on achieving its emissions targets will result in the emissions reduction of nearly 45,000 metric tons of CO equivalent per year.

Chubb's contribution will support the following planting projects with American Forests in 2021:

Yarrow Reforestation: This replanting project, the second year of a three-year effort, will restore foraging grounds for the Northern goshawk, as well as the Apache-Sitgreaves' other iconic wildlife, including Mexican gray wolves, elk, mountain lions and bighorn sheep. The planting will also improve the "viewshed" along Arizona State Highway 260.

Burnt Beam Sheep Gap Fire Restoration: This reforestation work will plant a total of 97,000 trees in several areas across the Flathead. This year's plantings will restore forest habitat for elk, deer and endangered grizzlies, and will improve stream health for threatened bull trout.

Creek Fire: The 2020 Creek Fire was the largest single fire in California history, burning 379,895 acres and destroying 856 homes and structures. In order to start reforestation after the catastrophic 2020 Creek Fire, American Forests worked with local native plant nursery Pahuma Nursery to plant Douglas fir, Sugar pine, and Ponderosa pine seedlings.

Mountain Communities Wildfire ReLeaf: American Forests has been restoring wildfire-ravaged forests across California's San Bernardino Mountains for nearly two decades. Chubb is helping plant a variety of Jeffery pine, Ponderosa pine, Sugar pine, Douglas fir and Bigcone Douglas fir.

Florida Forest Service: Endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers once blanketed 90 million acres across the southeastern United States. Now, over 97% has been lost to agriculture, development and the suppression of natural, low-intensity wildfires. In 2021, Slash pine seedlings will be planted in four state forests in Florida, restoring habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers and other rare species such as gopher tortoises and indigo snakes.

About American Forests

Founded in 1875, American Forests protects and restores urban and rural forests and is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country, serving as a catalyst for many of the most important milestones in the conservation movement. American Forests has planted hundreds of millions of trees over the last century, and 60 million in the last 30 years alone. Now we are focused on building a movement to reforest America, from cities to large, rural landscapes. We all rely on forests in order to survive and thrive, given the power they have to filter our air and water, provide jobs, mitigate climate change and more. But our forests are being degraded and destroyed at a rapid pace and large scale. If we take care of our forests, they will take care of us.

About Chubb Environmental

Chubb Environmental is among the largest and most advanced global underwriters of environmental liabilities and pollution risk, and develops insurance products and risk management services that facilitate market-based solutions to current and pending environmental issues.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com.

SOURCE Chubb

Related Links

www.chubb.com


Most NSW healthcare workers booked for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine cancelled their appointments following advice which recommended the Pfizer shot for under-50s, leaving one Sydney hospital delivering no vaccinations in a week.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was challenging to maintain vaccination numbers over the past couple of weeks, claiming 70 to 80 per cent of health staff who were booked to receive the AstraZeneca shot had not attended their appointments in recent weeks.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has expressed concern regarding the number of healthcare workers cancelling appointments for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The state will be looking to the Pfizer vaccine to complete its rollout to frontline workers, opening a mass vaccination centre offering both vaccines from mid-May as well as converting some hospitals currently delivering the AstraZeneca shot to Pfizer hubs from next week.

The change came after vaccine advisory group ATAGI issued its advice in response to a very rare blood clotting condition observed in people who had recently received the vaccine, recommending people aged under 50 receive the Pfizer shot. People in this age group can still elect to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Plymouth, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc. (CSE: PRT) (OTCQB: PLRTF) (FSE: 4XA) (WKN: A2N8RH) ("Plymouth Rock", "PRT", or the "Company"), a leader in developing threat detection and unmanned technologies, is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding LOI to acquire, in whole, Tetra Drones Limited ("Tetra" or "Tetra Drones"), a developer of custom-made, high-performance and niche Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The proposed transaction will take the form of a corporate combination whereby PRT will acquire all of the then issued and outstanding shares of Tetra Drones. Tetra has issued and outstanding share capital of 100 ordinary shares held by the sole Shareholder, Mr. Ben Pickard.

The terms of the LOI shall be a binding agreement of the parties. The form and substance of a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") is to be negotiated on or before April 30, 2021.

Plymouth Rock has agreed to acquire the Tetra Shares for the sum of 350,000 payable in installments and satisfied in cash.

Payment of the Purchase Price will be on the following schedule:

As to 10% of the Purchase Price (35,000), within seven (7) days after the date the Definitive Agreement has been executed and delivered by all parties thereto (the "Initial Payment"); As to an additional 10% of the Purchase Price (35,000), within 21 days of the Initial Payment (the "Second Payment"); As to an additional 40% of the Purchase Price (140,000), within 120 days of the Second Payment (the "Third Payment"); and, As to the balance of 40% of the Purchase Price (140,000), within 120 days of the Third Payment.

"Like PRT, Tetra is highly focused on supporting its customers around the world with the most reliable and purposeful products and services for their missions," said Carl Cagliarini, Chief Strategy Officer of PRT. "As we welcome the Tetra team to PRT, we commit to moving forward into a sales phase within the USA and EU. The addition of the team members and facility ties in perfectly with our long-term strategy, which adds a significant expansion to PRT's reach and technical capability," concluded Cagliarini.

"After working closely with the PRT team on recent projects, it became clear that their vision, connections, and focus was something that my team and I wanted to evolve into," stated Ben Pickard, Director and Lead Designer of Tetra Drones Ltd. "Being part of a focused public company also opens many doors that were once closed to Tetra when dealing with certain governments and agencies, as well as an offering a presence and expansion into the US market."

About Tetra Drones

Founded in 2017, Tetra Drones is a private company subsisting under the laws of England and Wales, which carries on the business of producing drones. With in-house manufacturing facilities, they are leading developers of custom-made UAV systems, designed and engineered to suit their customer's project requirements.

About Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc.

We are on a mission to bring engineering-driven answers to the most critical problems that threaten our safety. We work with government, law enforcement and military to innovate solutions for national security, defense and space systems.

The Company is developing the next generation of threat detection solutions and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The PRT X1 is a purpose-built multirotor UAS, utilizing Artificial Intelligence, cutting-edge sensors and the latest FLIR dual-camera module as standard, offering thermal capabilities alongside 1080p HD real-time air-to-ground streaming and 4K video recording, with the ability to mount multiple, various sensors, modules and payloads.

Our advanced threat detection methods fuse artificial intelligence with augmented reality interfaces to eliminate human operating error. Plymouth Rock products, both airborne and land-based, will scan for threat items at greater 'stand-off' distances than current existing technologies. Our unique radar imaging and signal processing technology creates new opportunities for remotely operated, non-intrusive screening of crowds in real time.

Plymouth Rock's core technologies include: (1) UAS platforms engineered to conform to H.R.4753 - Drone Origin Security Enhancement Act ("X1") ("XV"); (2) Millimeter Remote Imaging from Airborne Drone ("MIRIAD"); (3) A compact microwave radar system for scanning shoe's ("Shoe Scanner"); (4) A compact modular radar utilized for a variety of applications, from aircraft to weapon detection ("CODA").

www.plyrotech.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dana Wheeler

President and CEO

+1-774-404-7685

info@plyrotech.com

Investor Information:

Tasso Baras

+1-778-477-6990

tasso@plyrotech.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81290
Recent reports testify to the catastrophic impact of the pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the implications for social and political unrest.

Launching Amnesty Internationals annual report, Heba Morayef said that the pandemic had exposed the terrible legacy of divisive and destructive policies that had perpetuated inequality, discrimination and oppression and paved the way for the devastation wrought by COVID-19.

A cemetery worker moves the body of a person who died from COVID-19 for a funeral, at the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery just outside Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The year 2020 was a catastrophic year for prisoners, refugees, migrants and minorities who are already marginalized and due to COVID-19 have found their situation more precarious than ever. The pandemic has amplified divisions, discrimination and inequalities that already exist in the region.

The region, home to enormous energy resources that have enriched a tiny, ultra-reactionary layer, has been devastated by decades of wars, conflicts, imperialist interventions, and sanctions, orchestrated by the US and its European and regional allies. Millions of people have been made homeless, forced to live in refugee camps or internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps where even the most basic facilities are lacking. Some 5.8 million refugees and 6.8 million IDPs are children, many going without schooling.

The pandemic has inflicted a horrendous toll, with more than 7.3 million recorded cases and 150,000 fatalities, a pale reflection of the real losses and suffering given the lack of testing and recording systems. Iran has been by far the worst affected, recording around 65,000 deaths, while Iraq and Egypt have recorded about 15,000 and 12,500.

Across the region, the authorities have used the pandemic as a pretext to increase the exploitation of the working class, silence criticism and suppress dissent.

Employers have laid off hundreds of thousands of workers. In Egypt, tens of thousands of private sector workers were dismissed, forced to accept reduced wages, work without protective equipment, or take unpaid leave. Workers and trade unionists have faced arrest for going on strike. In Jordan, renewed protests by teachers broke out last August over the governments decision to freeze public sector pay due to the pandemic. The government dispatched the police to raid 13 union branches and arrest dozens, while a court ordered the dissolution of the teachers union.

Morayef said that health workers had suffered as a result of deliberately neglected health systems and pitiful social protection measures, with authorities in Egypt and Iran threatening or arresting health workers who spoke out against their governments negligent response to the pandemic. At least nine health workers were detained in Egypt under anti-terrorism laws for criticizing the government. In Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria, workers were not provided adequate personal protective equipment (PPE).

As protest movements reemerged in Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon, after subsiding in the first few months of the pandemic, protesters faced arrest, beatings and prosecution for participating in demonstrations. In Iraq, federal authorities arrested thousands of protesters in the first few months of the year, while Kurdistan Regional Government officials used deadly force against workers protesting unpaid wages and charged others with misusing electronic devices in organising a protest last December.

In Lebanon, security forces used rubber pellets in a shoot-to-harm manner in January and February, injuring hundreds of protesters, while in Tunisia, police fired tear gas in densely populated residential areas with canisters landing inside homes and near a hospital. In Iran, security forces used pointed pellets, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters. In Egypt, small protests last September led to the arrests of hundreds under "terrorism" and protest-related charges.

The security forces use of excessive force was carried out with impunity. According to the UNs World Food Programme, some 64 million across 12 Arab states, or one in six Arabs, do not have enough food to be healthy. War, conflicts, and sanctions-induced economic crises have made hunger a fact of life, with even stable governments concerned over the rise in global food prices, particularly wheat, under conditions where bread is heavily subsidised.

The situation is most acute in war-torn Syria and Yemen, where around half the population go hungry. In Syria, a basket of basic foodstuffs was more than 200 percent more expensive in February than in the previous year and costs twice as much as the average monthly salary of a public sector worker. Bread, which means queuing for hours at government-subsidised bakeries, constitutes a meal for hundreds of thousands of people. The UN has warned of looming famine in Yemen as aid agencies have been forced to slash their programmes due to shortfalls in funding.

Food prices have risen 400 percent in Lebanon in the last year following the collapse of its currencycollateral damage in the US-led campaign against Hezbollah to undermine Iran and Syria. Fights have broken out over subsidized cooking oil in supermarkets in which one man was killed, forcing some to employ armed guards to distribute subsidised basics.

The World Banks latest regional economic report points to the political impact of the pandemic and lockdowns. It warned that the rise in poverty, government debt and general indebtedness had further eroded the publics trust in government throughout the MENA region. Its economies had contracted by 3.8 percent in 2020, with the sharpest declines in government revenues in 2020 among the Gulf oil producers and developing oil exporters due to the collapse in oil prices. Oil importing countries expect to see their GDP shrink by 9.3 percent in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels, with the oil producers in the Gulf seeing a contraction of 7.7 percent. As a result, the Bank expects the total accumulated COVID-related losses will reach $227 billion by the end of 2021.

While the Bank sought to explain the measures taken by governments throughout the region as expenses incurred to finance health and social protection for their citizens, the exact opposite was the case: they actedlike their counterparts throughout the worldto shore up the profits of corporations and banks.

The average public debt in MENA countries is forecast to rise from about 46 percent of GDP in 2019 to 54 percent in 2021, with debt among the non-oil producers reaching about 93 percent of GDP in 2021. This is expected to rise further, meaning that that much government spending will go on debt servicing, reducing the amount available for the social safety net, healthcare and essential public services.

While the Bank expects a partial economic recovery later this year, it says this is dependent on an equitable rollout of vaccineswhich is a pipe dream.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), only 14 of 21 countries in the region that extends from Morocco to Afghanistan (excluding Algeria and Israel) have received vaccinesmeaning 20 percent at best will be vaccinated by the end of 2021.

Within the Middle East, Israel has vaccinated around 60 percent of the population, and despite having bought more than it needs is denying jabs to the Palestinians who live under its occupation. The smaller Gulf StatesQatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirateshave been inoculating citizens and foreign workers. While the public debate has focused on access to vaccines, distribution to places where there is a lack of food, barely operational health systems or functioning public institutions as in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Libya is even more problematic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global problem, which requires a global solution. This must include a coordinated vaccination programme, the shutdown of all nonessential production until the pandemic is contained, and the seizure of the wealth of the super-rich in the Middle East and North Africa and the major imperialist powers to provide wages for all workers forced to shelter at home and funding for quality health care. It will only be implemented through the mass mobilisation of the working class based on a socialist programme to end social inequality and war, whose source lies in the capitalist profit system.
Press Release

April 22, 2021 De Lima seeks probe into reported abuse of power, deaths of people during ECQ reimplementation Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has called for a Senate investigation into the reported human rights violations of arrested curfew violators during the reimplementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal or "NCR Plus." De Lima, a social justice and human rights champion, filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 703 stressing that the senseless deaths of reported violators under the hands of authorities during ECQ are manifestations of clear abuse of power by the government. "This series of beatings which led to deaths of innocent victims is a demonstration of how government is continuing with its campaign of systemic violence, climate of fear and impunity among officials and lack of regard for human rights," she said. "Measures must be taken to ensure respect of our constitutionally-guaranteed rights, especially by the State who is duty bound to maintain peace and order, to protect life, liberty and property and to promote the general welfare of the public," she added. Since NCR Plus was placed on ECQ beginning March 29, the national government deployed around 10,000 police personnel tasked to man quarantine control checkpoints in borders within the NCR Plus bubble to enforce public compliance with the curfew from 6pm to 5am and to ensure physical distancing in public places. On the first day of reimplementation of ECQ, more than 5,400 violators of curfew and minimum health safety protocols were apprehended in NCR Plus. Among the controversial incidents that De Lima cited include the deaths of quarantine violators Darren Manaog Penaredondo who was nabbed by the barangay tanods of Brgy. Tejero, Cavite last April 1 after he was seen buying drinking water past 6pm, and Ernanie Jimenez who died after being arrested and beaten up for going outside his residence at 10pm to buy food on April 11. According to his live-in partner, when Penaredondo returned home, he was reportedly limping in pain and he complained to her about their punishment of 300 rounds of a pumping exercise at Plaza Malabon. Hours later, he had seizures and lost consciousness, had a stroke and eventually died last April 1. Meanwhile, Jimenez on April 11 reportedly asked if he can go to the bathroom but the barangay tanods snapped at him which made him run out of fear. When he was caught again, the tanods beat him up causing him to sustain numerous bruises, wounds and a broken skull. He eventually died. Coincidentally, it was also on April 11 when the Philippine National Police (PNP) released a statement that police will be barred from arresting quarantine violators and cannot impose punishments. De Lima said there is also an urgent need to conduct an investigation and to hold accountable the public officers responsible for the numerous attacks on our citizens right to life, liberty and property during the reimplementation of the ECQ. "Nakakakilabot ang ganitong mga insidente. Sa harap ng pandemya, kung kailan nag-iingat at nangangamba tayo sa pagkakasakit, ay may nangyayari pa ring karahasan na dahilan ng pagkamatay ng ating mga kababayan. Kailangan itong imbestigahan upang tukuyin ang pananagutan ng mga sangkot, nang hindi na tularan ng iba at hindi na maulit pa ang ganitong trahedya," said De Lima. "If the COVID-19 pandemic persists which requires re-implementation of lockdowns and other mobility restrictions on citizens, the rules of engagement with and treatment of violators must be clarified as to ensure that no unnecessary injury or death is caused by abuse or misunderstanding by the quarantine implementers. Moving forward, government must craft policies that will ensure respect for basic human rights and avoid future violation of rights," she added.
A sign is seen at a walk-in COVID-19 clinic in Montreal, on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Quebecers 45 and over can now get the AstraZeneca vaccine across the province.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
The "Javakheti Diaspora of Russia" NGO has appealed to the president of Georgia with a request to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The respective statement reads as follows in particular:

"April 24 is the day of commemoration of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire; of the first large-scale crime of this kind in the world. ().

The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 in the Ottoman Empire is an international crime against humanity, and the statute of limitations () does not apply to it.

The Armenian Genocide is recognized by many countries in the civilized world, () as well as by the Council of Europe, the UN War Crimes Commission, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches, and the Vatican. The parliaments of several European countries have passed laws criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide. However, fraternal Georgia has not yet officially expressed its attitude to this flagrant international crime.

We, the Javakheti Diaspora of Russia NGO, appeal to the President and Parliament of Georgia asking [them] to recognize at the legislative level the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey in 1915-1923, and to declare April 24 in Georgia as the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. This is indispensable for justice, morality and democracy, which will lay a solid foundation for the political and legal elimination of its consequences."
President Joe Biden will ramp up US ambitions on slashing greenhouse gas emissions, putting the United States back at the forefront with a summit he hopes brings the world closer to limiting climate change.

In a virtual Earth Day summit, Biden will announce that the world's largest economy will cut emissions blamed for climate change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, officials said.

Biden, in a massive diplomatic undertaking for a three-month-old administration, is welcoming 40 leaders for two days of meetings, including the presidents of adversaries China and Russia and Pope Francis.

US President Joe Biden is dramatically raising ambitions on climate

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend Biden's climate summit but there will be no side, one-on-one meetings between the leaders

The new US target aims to 'challenge the world on increasing ambition and combatting the climate crisis,' an administration official, who spoke under customary condition of anonymity, told reporters.

Combined with announcements expected by other leaders, the official said the world will be closer - but not yet on track - to keeping the planet's temperature within 2.7 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial times, the level scientists say is needed to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.

'Over half the world's economy is now moving to cut emissions at a global pace needed to keep 1.5 C in reach,' the official said. 'Our coalition is growing.'

Japan said Thursday it aims to cut emissions 46 percent by 2030 -- significantly more than previously pledged -- and Canada is expected to follow suit. Both countries have forged early bonds with Biden.

The European Union this week confirmed its own ambitious goals and former bloc member Britain on the eve of Biden's summit released the most far-reaching targets of any major economy with 78 percent cuts from 1990 levels by 2035.

Britain in November will host a UN conference in Glasgow that aims to upgrade the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Under Paris, former president Barack Obama said the United States would cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 - a goal that Biden, his former vice president, has now dramatically scaled up.

Biden's action raises the pressure on China - by far the world's largest carbon emitter.

China's relationship with the United States has sharply deteriorated in recent years but Beijing nonetheless agreed to cooperate on climate during a pre-summit visit by John Kerry, the former US secretary of state who is now Biden's globe-trotting climate envoy.

US climate envoy John Kerry speaks with Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen in Dhaka in April 2021

President Xi Jinping promised last year that China would go carbon neutral by 2060 but environmentalists note that it has gone slow on reducing coal -- which is the dirtiest form of energy but carries political sensitivities due to mining jobs.

Comparisons between major economies are difficult as the United States takes 2005 as its baseline while the Europeans use 1990, the date set in the landmark Kyoto Protocol.

But the Rhodium Group in a recent analysis said that Biden's goals, which had been expected for weeks, were roughly on par with ambitions of the European Union, the historic champion of international action on climate, when assessing from the 2005 baseline.

Obama's successor Donald Trump pulled out of Paris, calling it unfair to coal miners and the energy industry. But the United States is still largely on track to meet Obama's goals thanks to commitments by states, especially California, and a sharp drop in industrial production during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nonetheless, a UN report late last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius -- a level at which the planet is forecast to see many glaciers and ice caps melt, low-lying areas submerged and increasingly severe droughts, floods and disasters that could trigger famine and mass migration.

Biden has proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure package that includes a major focus on greening the economy, including investment in renewable energy, electric cars and public transportation.

But much of Trump's Republican Party remains adamantly opposed to action on climate, drawing a question mark on whether Biden can guarantee US commitment in the long run.

Biden aides said they consulted with unions, educators, activists and businesses before coming up with the goal and believed infrastructure spending could bring an economic boon by creating well-paying jobs.

Biden has already set a goal of US electricity going completely carbon-free by 2035 but the White House was not specific on exactly how the 2030 goal would be achieved.

The White House also vowed to support energy innovations and 'carbon sinks' such as forests that suck up pollution and to prioritize action against extremely pollutant gases such as methane.

Samantha Gross, director of the energy security and climate initiative at the Brookings Institution, said that Biden was relying on incentives after Obama's push on regulation was largely killed off once Trump won.

Europe, she noted, was on a more narrowly focused path of raising the price on carbon to force reductions.

The emerging US approach is 'focusing on what works, and multiple pathways being possible,' she said, 'and that's something about the US that I find encouraging.'
Beshear Reports 785 New Cases, 13 Deaths

By The Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Gov. Andy Beshear says the COVID-19 pandemic isn't "going away on its own," as he urged Kentuckians to get vaccinated.The governor says people need to come together to stop the virus. His latest plea to increase vaccinations comes as the state reported 785 new virus cases and 13 more deaths Wednesday."As we can see from today's case numbers, this virus isn't going away on its own. We have to come together to stop it. Hundreds of Kentuckians are still getting sick every day. Our people are still dying from COVID-19," said Gov. Beshear. "But we have the power to defeat this pandemic now, and the way we can do that is by choosing to get vaccinated."More than 400 coronavirus patients are hospitalized in Kentucky, with 113 in the ICU. At least 52 Kentuckians are on a ventilator.The statewide rate of positive cases was 3.39%.
She known for her polished and well-styled ensembles on The Project.

But on Wednesday, The Project star Carrie Bickmore revealed her very different and youthful new look after going on a shopping trip with her 13-year-old son Oliver.

The 40-year-old shared a photo of herself posing in a rainbow tie-dye tracksuit ensemble from Jay Jays.

New look! The Project's Carrie Bickmore revealed her very different and youthful new look in an Instagram post on Wednesday, following a shopping trip with her 13-year-old son Oliver

Her $40 jumper featured 'nope.' written across the top, which she teamed with matching $40 trackpants.

In the photo, the blonde beauty threw up the peace sign as she posed in front of the Carrie and Tommy sign ahead of hosting their radio show.

The mother-of-three wrote in the caption: 'Went clothes shopping with my 13 year old and walked out looking like a teenager myself.

'I am about a year too late for a matching tie-dye trackie but it's my vibe. Up next a hyper colour t-shirt and some parachute pants,' she joked.

'It's my vibe!' The 40-year-old shared a photo of herself posing in a rainbow tie dye tracksuit ensemble from Jay Jays. Her $40 jumper featured 'nope.' written across the top, which she teamed with matching $40 trackpants

Youthful! She wrote in the caption: 'Went clothes shopping with my 13 year old and walked out looking like a teenager myself.' Pictured with Carrie's long-term partner Chris Walker (right) and her son Oliver Lange (centre)

Carrie's famous friends loved the new look, including Chezzi Denyer who wrote: 'Hahaha I actually love this look on you Bickers!!'

Mia Freedman said: 'I literally own this,' while Erin McNaught commented: 'I LOVE this on you!!'

Carrie is a doting mother to her teenage son Oliver from her marriage to Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010.

Loving it! Carrie's famous friends loved the new look, including Chezzi Denyer who wrote: 'Hahaha I actually love this look on you Bickers!!' Mia Freedman said: 'I literally own this,' while Erin McNaught commented: 'I LOVE this on you!!'

Blended family: In addition to her son Oliver, Carrie is also mother to daughters, Adelaide, two (left), and Evie, six (right), who she shares with Chris

She also shares two daughters, Adelaide, two, and Evie, six, with her long-term partner, television producer Chris Walker.

Carrie turned 40 in December, after the coronavirus pandemic forced her to cancel her plans for a Glastonbury Festival-themed party.

She instead marked the big day by throwing a smaller shindig with her friends and family by her side in Melbourne.

Carrie wore a pink dress as she posed next to a balloon with a rather cheeky slogan, and joked that she would stay 39 for another year because 2020 didn't count.
More than 500 residents of Teberebie, Domeabra, Nkwantakrom, and Acheampongkrom communities have benefitted from a free medical screening and primary medical care exercise organized by AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine at the Teberebie Community Health Centre.



The exercise, which forms part of the Mines periodic medical outreach program, in collaboration with the Municipal Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service and the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, was aimed at promoting good health and well-being in the communities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3).



The Mine also used the occasion to hand over medical equipment to the Teberebie Community Health Centre and Adieyie Clinic. The items, valued in excess of GH600,000, included: Automated Wbc 3-Differential Hematology; L2800 Microscope; Benchtop High-Performance Centrifuge; Oxygen with trolley, mask and nasal tubes; and Gent-X Piston Compressor Nebulizer. Also, Portable Phlegm Suction Machine; Ambubag; Pulse Oximeter; ENT Otoscope; adjustable patients beds, laboratory fridge, and PPE for the healthcare professionals who are leading the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, among several other items.



Presenting the equipment, Senior Manager  Sustainability for Iduapriem Mine, Stephen Adjei, was hopeful the items would go a long way to equip the health facilities to respond appropriately to the healthcare needs of people not only within the Mines host communities but the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality as a whole.



He expressed gratitude to the Municipal Health Directorate, Nananom and other stakeholders for the support. He reiterated the Mines commitment to working actively to mitigate health risks in the workplace and respond to community health issues in the areas where it operates.



On her part, the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Director of Health, Mrs. Caroline Otoo, commended Iduapriem Mine for the gesture and promised to ensure that the items would be put to good use to promote good health and well-being in the municipality.



The Gyasehene of the Apinto Divisional Stool, Nana Dr Adarkwa Bediako III, also lauded Iduapriem Mine for proactively responding to the healthcare needs of residents in its host communities.







Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Featured Video
Multi-million funding boost for research into the origin and evolution of vision

A Neuroscience expert from the University of Exeter has been awarded multi-million pound funding to investigate the origin and evolution of vision across the animal kingdom.

Professor Gaspar Jekely, from the University of Exeters Living Systems Institute, has received a grant of more than 3 million to conduct pioneering new research into how nervous systems interpret light cues.

The substantial funding was awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) under its 2020 Advanced Grants scheme. Professor Jekelys research is one of 209 grants awarded to across Europe, worth a total of 507 million in the most recent announcement made today (April 22).

Professor Jekelys project, called PROTOEYE, will use cutting edge light and electron microscopy to reconstruct the entire nervous system - including the eyes - of several marine planktonic organisms.

The research will also develop new technologies to study how these planktonic animals respond to light - an important signal of their surroundings to orient in the open ocean.

Professor Jekely said: I am very delighted and grateful to have received this substantial funding from the ERC, which will allow me to address fundamental questions about eye evolution and to dissect the neuronal bases of light-driven behaviours in marine animals."

The ERC funding will allow my laboratory to extend our collaborations and work together with scientists in the US, UK, EU and Taiwan on an unconventional and curiosity-driven project. I am very excited and looking forward to embarking on this five-years research journey.

The full title of Professor Jekelys research is From light detection to vision  revealing diversity of function of simple eyes and light-responsive behaviours to enlighten eye evolution.

Speaking at the announcement of the Advanced Grants, ERC President Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon said: For this last ERC call under Horizon 2020, over 200 researchers will be funded to follow their scientific instinct and dreams. Still, the great increase in demand led to a very fierce competition: only 8% of candidates were successful. We look forward to seeing what major insights and breakthroughs will spring from this investment and trust. "

The Living Systems Institute is the University of Exeter research flagship. The Institute combines biological and physical sciences to make discoveries that will transform future healthcare Living Systems Institute | Living Systems Institute | University of Exeter.


By Park Jae-hyuk



Domestic contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine have enjoyed a bullish run on the stock market this week, as the government began to consider use of the Russian vaccine to deal with a supply shortage of Pfizer and Moderna products.



President Moon Jae-in recently ordered his staff to review the feasibility of using Sputnik V, according to sources familiar with the issue. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also asked the foreign ministry to collect data on the safety of the Russian vaccine.



"The fact that the President made the order proves that the Office of National Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are talking with their Russian counterparts about a summit with President Vladimir Putin," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.



These measures led to rapid hikes in the stock prices of Korean CMOs of Sputnik V and companies that invested in those producers.



EID's and Etron's share prices hit their daily ceilings of 590 won and 1,070 won, respectively, Thursday, while their affiliate Ehwa Technologies Information soared 25.71 percent.



EID and Etron invested a combined 20 billion won ($18 million) last December in Hankook Korus Pharm, GL Rapha's subsidiary that will produce Sputnik V here starting next month in accordance with its contract with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the country's sovereign wealth fund that financed the vaccine development.



The price of Hankook Korus Pharm's unlisted stock reached a new high of 129,000 won, Thursday, following a surge from 51,500 won a week earlier, and with the expectation of its initial public offering (IPO) during the first half of next year. Sources said the drugmaker hired Kiwoom Securities as the underwriter for its planned IPO recently.



Korea Asset Investment Securities' stock price also touched its daily increase limit of 13,500 won because it holds an 8.58 percent stake in Quratis, one of participants in the GL Rapha-led consortium for the Sputnik V production.



Share prices of other participants of the GL Rapha-led consortium, such as ISU Abxis, Binex and CKD Bio, and members of another consortium comprised of Huons Global and Prestige BioPharma, also rose sharply.



The vaccine produced is intended only for export at this moment, but investors are betting on the likelihood of the use of Sputnik V here.



"Given that support from China and Russia is inevitable to improve inter-Korean relations, the President's order shows his willingness to raise the vaccination rates using the Russian vaccine and to actively cope with vaccine issues after a crushing defeat in the by-elections," another government official said.



The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential candidates and those who will run for the forthcoming party leader election are also calling for a review of the Russian vaccine.



Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said Wednesday he requested Cheong Wa Dae to review various coronavirus vaccines, including Sputnik V, according to the Yonhap News Agency. Rep. Park Yong-jin of DPK said in a KBS radio interview that he agrees with Lee's idea. Ruling party lawmaker Song Young-gil emphasized the necessity of a contingency plan, such as the use of the Russian vaccine in addition to those of Pfizer and Moderna.



According to the RDIF, Sputnik V demonstrated efficacy of 97.6 percent, based on the analysis of data from 3.8 million vaccinated persons in Russia. It said the data confirms that its vaccine approved for use in 60 countries is one of the most effective tools for the prevention of the coronavirus.



The Russian sovereign wealth fund has yet to comment on the Korean government's move to review the domestic use of the Russian vaccine, but RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said last week that Korea is one of its major partners for the production of Sputnik V.


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More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant.

Bryant, a 16-year-old black teenager, was shot dead by a white police officer after she charged at two people with a knife.

On Wednesday night, protesters were heard chanting: 'Say her name. Ma'Khia Bryant.'

The demonstrators were seen protesting down a street in Columbus holding signs that read 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Power to the People'.

Protests and a vigil also occurred earlier on Wednesday with groups gathering to march and pray for the Bryant family.

Police bodycam footage on Tuesday showed a chaotic scene that happened within minutes of the verdict in George Floyd's killing and ignited outrage by many over the continued use of lethal force by police in Columbus and the US.

Hundreds of Ohio State students also staged a sit-in at the union building and called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Police Department on Wednesday in the wake of the shooting.

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More than 100 protesters took to the streets of Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant

Demonstrators march through downtown Columbus on Wednesday night holding large signs reading 'All power to the people'

Demonstrators take part in a protest in downtown Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday night

On Wednesday night, protesters were heard chanting: 'Say her name. Ma'Khia Bryant'

A Black Lives Matter activist holds a sign against passivity in reaction to the police shooting of MaKhia Bryant on Wednesday

Demonstrators jumped on the back of cars and raised a fist to show support for Ma'Khia in Columbus on Wednesday night

Woman writes 'she was 16' in chalk during a vigil attended by friends and family of the teenager as well as activists

Hundreds of Ohio State students staged a sit-in at the union building and called on the university to cut ties with the Columbus Police Department on Wednesday in the wake of the shooting

The students sat on the floor of the Ohio Union and held signs saying 'stop killing us' to protest against the latest shooting

Activists were seen holding a sign that read: 'The Columbus police murders black people'

Many were seen holding signs or raising their fists to show solidarity with Ma'Khia and other victims of police shootings

Protesters marched on the streets with signs reading 'say their names' and 'Black Lives Matter' as they joined hundreds in the demonstrations

An activist raises their fist during a protest in reaction to the police shooting of Bryant in Columbus, Ohio

The demonstrators were seen protesting down a street in Columbus holding signs that read ' Black Lives Matter ' and 'Power to the People'

The protesters marched behind signs which read 'the whole damn system is guilty as hell' on the streets of Columbus

Black Lives Matter activists stand outside of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and denounce the hypocrisy of the judicial system during a protest reacting to the police shooting of MaKhia Bryant

A child raises her fist in a car during a protest in reaction to the police shooting of MaKhia Bryant

Happening now: #BLM protesters take to the street in Columbus, Ohio again to protest the police shooting of a knife-wielding black teen who was trying to stab a girl. #makhiabryant pic.twitter.com/aYzJFb6B2s  Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 22, 2021

Makhia Bryant - identified by her mother on social media - was taken to Mount Carmel East hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead at 5.21pm

Officials with the Columbus Division of Police had released initial footage of the shooting Tuesday night just hours after it happened, which was a departure from protocol as the force faces immense scrutiny from the public following a series of recent high-profile police killings that have led to clashes.

Bryant was in foster care with Franklin County Children's Services at the time of her death. Her grandmother, Debra Wilcox, described her as a shy and quiet girl, who liked making hair and dance videos on TikTok.

'The fact that I see what I saw on that video is not how I know my Ma'Khia,' Wilcox told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'I don't know what happened there unless she was fearful for her life.'

The incident has caused an outcry in the community and nationwide as Bryant's killing is the second high-profile fatal shooting of a teenager by police in the last month.

Body camera footage released last week showed an officer shoot and kill 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago.

'It's a tragedy. There's no other way to say it. It's a 16-year-old. I'm a father,' Interim Columbus Police Chief Michael Woods told reporters Wednesday.

'Her family is grieving. Regardless of the circumstances associated with this, a 16-year-old lost her life yesterday.'

He added: 'I sure as hell wish it wouldn't have happened.'

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the Columbus shooting 'tragic' and said President Joe Biden has been briefed on it.

'She was a child. We're thinking of her friends and family and the communities that are hurting and grieving her loss,' Psaki said in a statement.

The 10-second body camera clip begins with the officer, identified Wednesday as Nicholas Reardon, getting out of his car at a house where police had been dispatched after someone had called 911 saying they were being physically threatened, Woods said. It remains unclear who called the police.

Officer Nicholas Reardon is seen standing on the scene after shooting and killing Bryant. He has been on the force since December 2019

Video from officers on the scene shows police administering first aid to a mortally wounded Bryant, seen resting on the ground against a car

The officer, who was hired by the force in December 2019, is seen taking a few steps toward a group of people in the driveway when Bryant starts swinging a knife wildly at another girl or woman, who falls backward. The officer shouts several times to get down.

Bryant then charges at another girl or woman, who is pinned against a car.

From a few feet away, with people on either side of him, the officer fires four shots, and Bryant slumps to the ground. A black-handled blade similar to a kitchen knife or steak knife lies on the sidewalk next to her.

A man immediately yells at Reardon, 'You didn't have to shoot her! She's just a kid, man!'

The officer responds: 'She had a knife. She just went at her.'

Reardon has been taken off patrolling the streets for the time being.

Protesters gathered Wednesday afternoon holding signs that read 'stop killing us' and 'say their names'

Students staged a sit-in at the Ohio Union building on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus on Wednesday

Students leave the Ohio Union on the campus of Ohio State University holding signs mocking the Columbus Police Department

Students stage a sit-in at the Ohio Union building on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus

Students gather around a police car during the protests outside the campus as they demanded the university sever ties with the CPD

The students moved to the Ohio Statehouse during the protests just a day after the guilty verdict was announced in Derek Chauvin's trial

People attend a vigil for 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, who was shot and killed by a Columbus Police officer on Tuesday, in Columbus

Bryant was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Police did not say if anyone else was injured.

In the moments after the shooting, people living or visiting the street filmed as police roped off the area with yellow tape in front of the house where the shooting took place.

A neighbor's video shows an officer performing CPR on the teenager while a man can be heard yelling: 'You all just jumped out of the (expletive) car and shot her!'

Neighbors stood in open doorways filming and behind cars shaking their heads, eyewitness footage showed.

Woods said state law allows police to use deadly force to protect themselves or others, and investigators will determine whether this shooting was such an instance.

Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation is now reviewing the killing following a recent agreement with the city.

The shooting happened about 25 minutes before a judge read the verdict convicting former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin of murder and manslaughter in the killing of Floyd.

It also took place less than 5 miles from where the funeral for Andre Hill, who was killed by another Columbus police officer in December, was held earlier this year.

The officer in Hill's case, Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran of the force, is now facing trial for murder, with the next hearing scheduled for April 28.

Less than three weeks before Hill was killed, a Franklin County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. in Columbus. The case remains under federal investigation.

Last week, Columbus police shot and killed a man who was in a hospital emergency room with a gun on him. Officials are continuing an investigation into that shooting.

Ohio Gov Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he watched the footage of Bryant's killing and called it a 'horrible tragedy'.

He added that while the public has the video evidence, 'we need to let the investigation play out.'

The Republican governor also detailed upcoming legislation to boost police accountability in the state and overhaul policing.

The effort was initially introduced in another form with Attorney General Yost in the days after Floyd's killing last summer.

The new bill, to be introduced by GOP State Rep Phil Plummer, of Dayton, would, among other things, establish an oversight board for law enforcement in the state. DeWine said the goal of the legislation is to increase transparency in the profession.
Photo: Canadian Press Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivers the 2021budget.

This week, the Liberal government tabled its first budget in more than two years.



In her budget speech, the Finance Minister stated that we must build "a more resilient Canada: better, more fair, more prosperous and more innovative.



This raises the obvious question.



Who has been governing Canada for the past five years and made it so un-resilient, so un-fair, so un-prosperous and lacking in innovation?



This is generally the pattern of Liberal budgets and this one is no exception.



This budget promises a massive level of spending, all told some $143 billion during the next six years.



Where is it all going?



Despite promises not to use omnibus budgets, this Liberal budget comes in at more than 700 pages, so it is only possible to highlight some of the proposed spending areas.



Thirty billion dollars has been earmarked for daycare and early learning during the next five years.



This will require partnerships with the provinces to fully implement.



Ultimately, the goal is to provide $10 a day daycare.



Eighteen billion is promised spending during the next five years in an effort to close the gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.



The government promises to spend $17 billion in future years on the promotion of what it has termed the green recovery effort.



There is also a $12-billion promise to extend COVID business aid programs as well as other income support measures.



Another $12 billion over five years is slated to increase the OAS benefit that includes a one-time bonus payment of $500 expected at some point later this year.



I should also add this is not a tax-and-spend budget.



Many speculated this budget would include a wealth tax or other significant tax increases.



From my read of this budget so far, while there have been some minor increases in places, there are no significant tax increases.



How does all this spending get paid for?



While there is no actual debt-reduction plan, the Liberals indicate that the levels of spending will decrease over time as many support programs will be wound down and that, combined with economic growth, will offset this spending.



What is ignored in this budget?



Surprisingly, there is no significant increase to federal health transfers, compared to what was requested by provincial premiers.



I say surprisingly as this is the most significant priority request from provincial governments with healthcare system under significant pressure right now.



For those hoping for a universal basic income or a national pharmacare program, these items are left out of the budget.



Also given that this budget takes Canada to a debt-to-GDP ratio of roughly 50%, there is limited fiscal capacity to potentially add these programs.



My question this week:

Based on what you have read here, and likely heard reported elsewhere, what are your thoughts on this budget?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.
WASHINGTON  Rising temperatures are likely to reduce global wealth significantly by 2050, as crop yields fall, disease spreads and rising seas consume coastal cities, a major insurance company warned Thursday, highlighting the consequences if the world fails to quickly slow the use of fossil fuels.

The effects of climate change can be expected to shave 11 percent to 14 percent off global economic output by 2050 compared with growth levels without climate change, according to a report from Swiss Re, one of the worlds largest providers of insurance to other insurance companies. That amounts to as much as $23 trillion in reduced annual global economic output worldwide as a result of climate change.

Some Asian nations could have one-third less wealth than would otherwise be the case, the company said. Our analysis shows the potential costs that economies could face should governments fail to act more decisively on climate, said Patrick Saner, who is in charge of global macroeconomic forecasts for Swiss Re.

The projections come as world leaders gather Thursday and Friday for a virtual climate summit in Washington hosted by President Biden, who has urged countries to do more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Biden is expected to pledge to cut the United States emissions by about half by 2030.
China urges Japan to reflect upon history of aggression

Xinhua) 16:38, April 22, 2021

Photo taken on April 6, 2018 shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li He)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday urged Japan to earnestly reflect upon its history of aggression and take practical steps to win trust from neighboring countries.

"China urges Japan to hold fast to the principles established in the four political documents between China and Japan, as well as the four-point principled agreement, and face up to and earnestly reflect upon its history of aggression," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing.

Wang's remarks came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga sent a ritual offering on Wednesday to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine, seen as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, on the occasion of its spring festival.

Noting that the Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A convicted war criminals in World War II who were directly responsible for Japan's war of aggression, Wang said China firmly opposes the wrong practices of Japanese politicians.

He urged Japan to make a clear break with militarism and take practical actions to win trust from its Asian neighbors as well as the international community.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Hongyu)
A member of the Guam Customs & Quarantine Bio Security Task Force participates in the recent unveiling of the electronic forms for travelers arriving at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport on March 26, 2021.

Photo by David Castro/The Guam Daily Post
The on Thursday said that accredited laboratories carrying out COVID-19 testing ought not to be pressured into delivering reports within 24-36 hours as this would lead to them turning away people or refuse to take more samples.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said that they have heard there was an order of the directing the labs to give the final reports maximum within 36 hours of taking the sample or face action.

The bench said such a measure was "counterproductive" and "uncalled for".

It noted that apparently due to the said order of the the number of tests being carried out has gone down since April 19.

The court said there was no need to require generation of reports in 36 hours, particularlywhen the pandemic was at least four times larger in size than what it was last year.

It said if labs start turning away people or if there is delay in sample collection, then anyonewho is infected and has not got tested yet may not isolate himself or herself and could end up spreading the disease.

Responding to the court's observations, additional standing counsel Satyakam told the bench that no such order has been passed.

The court took the submission on record and listed the matter for hearing on April 26.

It was hearing a disposed of petition, related to COVID-19 tests, that the high court revived on April 19 in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases.

On April 19 and on April 20, it passed a slew of directions on oxygen supply, ramping up testing, increasing beds, shortage of medicines and wastage of vaccines.

The bench said it will hear arguments on the issue of shortage of essential medicines required for treatment of COVID-19 and wastage of vaccines on April 26.

It asked Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta to come with instructions on how to deal with both these issues.

To prevent vaccine wastage, the court had on April20 suggested that people between ages of 18-45 years be roped in to take the vaccine whenever a few doses are left at the end of each day.

It asked the SG to take instructions from the Centre on this aspect.

(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.)
Because these days its not enough to have a legendary name, a vintage design, and modern zero-emissions high performance, the Hispano Suiza Unique Tailormade program sees to it that every Carmen owner can have the supercar delivered from the factory gates as a unique work of art.One might remember that last summer, the company actually presented a very fuchsia Carmen for Michael Fux, so we really have no doubt about the potential of its latest endeavor that raises the concept of luxury to its maximum exponent, thus creating the concept of Hyperlux.Big, bold words are always coming from the tiniest of manufacturers, but its probably just one of the many survival strategies . Anyways, theres also a bit of a mathematical precision to building a totally custom-built Carmen because the brand says there are exactly 1,904 options available through the Unique Tailormade program.Interestingly, we can all remember the iconic Spanish automaker has been resurrected to produce the Carmen, an electric supercar that will be extremely rare, given the fact that production has been limited to just 19 examples. Basically, that means so many different customization combinations will be left unexplored...And here we were already trying to decide between the three main configuration lines (Elegance, Heritage and Sport) and the aptly-named (after historic landmarks or other milestones) Peralada Green, Swiss Red, Xenia Gray, Birkigt White, or Begur Blue colors.Well, at least we know the spiritual successor of the 1930s Dubonnet Xenia (a one-off created for the French pilot and racing car driver Andre Dubonnet) will proudly look down on the Carmen from car Valhalla. After all, the modern reincarnation does have more than 1,000 horsepower coming from the four electric motors that will enable a sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in no more than 2.6 seconds.
April 22 : After being trolled for sharing an untimely post on Twitter on Wednesday, Varun Dhawan was trolled yet again on Instagram today. While yesterday, he was soft in replying to trolls on Twitter, today the actor gave back loud and strong and shut the troll down.

Varun was stationed in Arunachal Pradesh for quite a long time for the first schedule of his forthcoming film Bhediya. His wife Natasha Dalal had also accompanied him to the North East state, where he was shooting with Kriti Sanon. After wrapping up the schedule, Varun returned to Mumbai on Wednesday.

While he was spotted at the airport with Natasha, he was heard telling the paparazzi to maintain a safe distance from him and his wife as a precautionary measure for the coronavirus situation. Commenting on one video on Instagram showing him returning from Arunachal Pradesh, an user accused the actor of showing off his privilege. The user, who thought Varun had gone on a vacation with his wife, wrote: You went out for vacay and gave paps the chance to snap, now you come back and complain. Stop over showing your privilege when people in your country are dying.

Although the comment was not made on the actors Instagram profile, yet Varun spotted it and replied to it strongly. Well, your assumption is wrong. I was shooting my film and not on holiday. And what do you mean gave them a chance? How do you not give them a chance I have people who have also lost their life in covid. So please keep you assumptions to yourself.

Recently, celebrities like author Shobhaa De, and actors Shruti Haasan and Amit Sadh have criticised Bollywood celebs for going on lavish vacations and posting pictures on social media during a time when the country was struggling to control a grave coronavirus situation. They referred to celebs vacationing in Maldives, Kashmir and other places and sharing their vacay pictures on social media. Shobhaa De wrote on social media, It is the height of vulgarity to flaunt those ridiculous pictures. Enjoy Maldives by all means. You are blessed if you can get such a break in these bleak times. But do everyone a favour... keep it private.
At least 2 officers killed in southern Nigeria

Abuja, Apr 21 (UNI) At least two law enforcement officers have been killed and several others were injured during an attack on a police station in the Nigerian southern state of Enugu, media reported on Wednesday.

According to the Nigerian Vanguard newspaper, unidentified gunmen attacked Adani Police Station in the state's Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area at about 0230 am (0130 GMT).

The media outlet added, citing local residents, that the armed men freed all the inmates in the station, after which they set it on fire.
<p>A global decline in press freedom, hastened by repressive laws introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in only 12 countries being deemed as having a &quot;good&quot; environment for the media, a report published Tuesday found.</p> <p>During the pandemic, nearly 75% of countries blocked the media to some degree, media watchdog <a href="https://rsf.org/en/2021-world-press-freedom-index-journalism-vaccine-against-disinformation-blocked-more-130-countries">Reporters Without Borders (RSF)</a> found.</p> <p>The biggest decline came in Malaysia, where a controversial fake news law and other restrictive regulations, coupled with arrests, prosecutions and raids, led to a 18-point decline in RSF&#39;s annual press freedom index.</p> <p>&quot;The RSF index basically indicates that the situation in Malaysia has actually gone from bad to worse,&quot; Farah Marshita Abdul Patah, president of National Union of Journalists Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM), told VOA.</p> <p>Patah said the situation for the media was better before the change in government.</p> <p>&quot;We had hopes. We were actually able to sit down and talked about establishing our very own media council and also abolishing some draconian laws, but since then things have actually went downhill,&quot; Patah said.</p> <p>Globally, emergency regulations introduced to contain the virus but used instead to target critical reporting, as well as attacks on and arrests of reporters, resulted in marked declines in several countries, RSF found. &nbsp;</p> <p>&quot;COVID-19 had a chilling effect on press freedom,&quot; Anna Nelson, executive director of RSF USA, told VOA.</p> <p>&quot;We saw authorities downplaying the severity of the virus, issuing mixed messages about it &mdash; in some cases, accusing the media of inflating information about COVID-19 and its spread,&quot; Nelson said.</p> <p>The annual index measures indicators of a free press based on 87 questions focused on laws, self-censorship, media pluralism, independence and transparency, along with an assessment of attacks and arrests. <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">Each country</a> is then assigned a rank, with 1 being the most free and 180 the most repressive.</p> <p>Overall, the pandemic was used as an excuse to restrict access to information, Nelson said.</p> <p>The restrictions came at a time when access to fact-based journalism and the media&#39;s role in fighting disinformation were more important than ever.</p> <p>&quot;When journalists are under threat, information is too, and that has a profound impact on people&#39;s lives,&quot; Nelson said. &quot;Trustworthy journalism is really the most effective vaccine that we have against disinformation.&quot;</p> <p><strong>Legal pressures</strong></p> <p>After <a href="https://rsf.org/en/malaysia">Malaysia&rsquo;s 18-point decline</a> from 101 to 119, the head of the country&rsquo;s press union called on the government to address the problems faced by the country&#39;s media.</p> <p>Patah, of Malaysia&#39;s NUJM, said the introduction of emergency laws and other legislation &quot;somehow aggravates the situation in Malaysia&quot; concerning press freedom.</p> <p>&quot;So now we have all these laws that basically (are) like a trap for us, to always be careful with what we report,&quot; Patah told VOA. &quot;For me, that is another form of control by the government and a way of making sure that we practice self-control or else we are all liable for lawsuits or any other legal action.&quot;</p> <p>While journalists don&#39;t suffer attacks as they do in some countries, Patah said problems still exist.</p> <p>&quot;It is actually quite bad for us, where media in Malaysia are only regarded if they&#39;re able to carry the agenda of the government,&quot; Patah said. Those that don&#39;t &quot;are left to fend for (themselves)&quot; she said, adding, &quot;I think that is quite bad for the growth of media in Malaysia.&quot;</p> <p>Malaysia&#39;s embassy in Washington did not respond to VOA&#39;s request for comment.</p> <p>Burundi showed the greatest progress, moving 13 places, from 160 to 147. RSF cited the president&#39;s call for the media regulator to &quot;settle the differences&quot; with banned media and a presidential pardon of four journalists sentenced to two and a half years in prison.</p> <p>The journalists, from the independent news outlet Iwacu, were detained in 2019 while covering unrest.</p> <p>The country still has room for improvement, with RSF noting that the BBC and VOA are still banned from broadcasting and that fear and self-censorship are prevalent.</p> <p>The report&#39;s findings were welcomed by a senior official in Burundi&#39;s Communications Ministry. The official, who asked not to be named, said, &quot;It reflects the reality on the ground that the government wants to renormalize relations with the media and give journalists more hope.&quot;</p> <p>The head of the Burundian Journalists&#39; Alliance, Melchior Nicayenzi, also welcomed the progress cited by RSF, including the discussions on lifting the BBC and VOA ban. But Nicayenzi said more progress was needed.</p> <p>&quot;There are still some challenges to overcome, such as the independence of journalists to deal with all topics without self-censorship, even those sensitive (issues),&quot; Nicayenzi told VOA.</p> <p>The head of the Burundian exiled media organization L&#39;Union Burundaise des Journalistes (UBJ) was more critical.</p> <p>&ldquo;There is no step forward when it comes to press freedom on the ground,&quot; Alexandre Niyungeko, president of the UBJ, said, adding it was hard to speak of progress when the journalists who were released had been held unfairly or media outlets allowed to operate had been under sanctions. &nbsp;&quot;Authorities only restored them to their rights, which is simple.&quot;</p> <p>Niyungeko added that over 100 journalists remain in exile and are prevented from working and others were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. &quot;Is that progress?&quot; Niyungeko asked.</p> <p>Two other African countries recorded significant improvements on the index. &nbsp;</p> <p>Sierra Leone (75) improved its ranking by 10 points, in part through the repeal of a law that criminalizes press offenses. And an overall decrease in harassment of journalists moved Mali nine spots to come in at 99.</p> <p>&quot;When we see these types of improvements, it really does offer hope,&quot; Nelson said, adding that &nbsp;the rankings should act as an &quot;incentive for other nations to follow suit.&quot;</p> <p><em>(Etienne Karekezi and&nbsp;Nabila Ganinda&nbsp;contributed to this story.)</em></p>
A male was shot dead Wednesday afternoon in New Orleans' 9th Ward, his body found at a car wash at North Galvez and Mazant streets near the Industrial Canal.

Police said they were summoned to the intersection at 3:39 p.m. by a report of gunshots. They placed at least 11 evidence markers in the car wash parking area, across Galvez from Revelation Church. The police did not immediately release other details.

A neighbor said he heard at least four or five pops while he was inside his home.

I thought someone was working on carpentry, said the neighbor, who didnt want to give his name. Then I realized [the sound] was coming too fast to be that.

About 30 people gathered along Mazant, parking wherever there was space.

Just before 6 p.m., a tow truck drove off hauling a gold Nissan SUV that had been parked at the car wash.
Entering China in 2007, DBS has opened 12 branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and other cities.

Singapores biggest bank, DBS, is putting its chips on Chinas Greater Bay Area with the purchase of a 13% stake in Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank Corp., marking the first foreign investment in Chinas small and medium-sized lenders since 2010.

The Singaporean bank will become the largest shareholder of the Shenzhen rural lender after the deal, under which DBS will pay 5.29 billion yuan ($814 million) for 1.35 billion new shares of the privately owned commercial lender.

The offer represents 1.01 times the book value of the Shenzhen banks shares as of Dec. 31, DBS said. The deal was approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Shenzhen office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The investment sheds light on DBSs ambition to expand its presence in Chinas Greater Bay Area  a region covering part of Guangdong as well as Hong Kong and Macao. Chinas central government has laid massive plans to promote regional integration in the bay area to create a new economic hub to rival Tokyo Bay in Japan or Silicon Valley in the U.S.

Proposed in 2009, the Greater Bay Area is home to 75 million people. It accounts for less than 1% of Chinas territory but generates nearly 10% of national gross domestic product, or $1.7 trillion in 2019, about the same as South Korea or Russia.

We see this as a highly complementary strategic partnership that will allow us to double down on the Greater Bay Area and leverage Shenzhen Rural Commercial Banks local network and know-how to deepen DBSs strategy in the region, Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said in a stock exchange filing.

At the same time, we would be able to support the continued growth and digital transformation of Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank through our regional presence and digital capabilities, Gupta said.

Established in 2005, Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank runs one of the most extensive networks in the region with 210 branches in Shenzhen. As of the end of 2020, the bank had 519 billion yuan in total assets, making it one of the largest rural banks in Guangdong province. The bank reported 4.8 billion yuan in net profit in 2020. With more than 5 million active retail customers and more than 170,000 active corporate clients, the bank had 404 billion yuan of deposits at the end of last year.

DBS had S$646 billion (3.16 trillion yuan) in total assets at the end of 2020, making it the largest bank in Southeast Asia. The bank posted S$14.6 billion of revenue in 2020 with net profit of S$4.7 billion. Entering China in 2007, DBS has opened 12 branches in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and other cities.

Foreign banks halted steps to invest in smaller Chinese banks after the 2008 financial crisis, reflecting their own strategic changes and barriers to investing in Chinas banking sector.

Although Chinese regulators in 2017 eased restrictions on foreign ownership of commercial banks, foreign banks remained cautious about expanding in the country. By the end of 2019, foreign banks total assets in China reached 3.48 trillion yuan, up 4.13% from the previous year.

In April, Citigroup Inc. exited retail banking in China along with 12 other countries as part of a global business overhaul. In 2017, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) pared back its China assets by selling its holdings in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.

But as China steps up efforts to open its broader capital markets to foreign investors, global financial institutions have more options for tapping into the worlds second-largest economy, entering sectors including wealth management, securities brokerage and other businesses.

In September, DBS won regulatory approval to set up a majority-owned securities joint venture in China, following UBS Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG.

DBS said last month that it was looking to expand its presence in China and India as part of efforts to expand into the wider region.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)

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Misaligned intersections, poor sidewalks, dangerous crosswalks and other problems were part of a recently completed study of the Route 5 corridor in Wallingford and Meriden.

The study of a five mile-stretch in the two municipalities was done by the South Central Regional Council of Governments with input from the state Department of Transportation and residents and officials in Meriden and Wallingford.

The 1,000 page report is available via two links on the citys website and looks at 23 Route 5 intersections from the southbound entrance ramp to Route 15 in Wallingford north to the Berlin Turnpike in Meriden. It also made suggestions for improvements that could reduce traffic clogs, accidents and increase walkability and transit access.

Three intersections were identified as accident prone. Route 5, at the Route 15 southbound ramp in Wallingford, had 74 crashes: Route 5 at East Main Street in Meriden had 58 crashes, and Route 5 at Route 71 in Wallingford (Old North Colony Road and Circle Drive) had 46 crashes.

Our priority for the Route 5 corridor with respect to this study is the section between East Main Street and I-691, Meridens Director of Public Works Howard Weissberg stated in an email. There are viable options for improvement along this section of the corridor that can be implemented on a shorter timeframe with significant positive impacts.

These improvements could reduce queuing and delays, Weissberg continued. Because Route 5 is a state road with state-owned and controlled traffic signals, the city needs to coordinate with the DOT to determine the best course of action.

At this time, there is no funding in place, Weissberg said. In addition, the city is looking for funding options for sidewalk upgrades.

The report also addressed conditions and issues regarding pedestrian, bicycle and transit facilities.

The corridor segment in Wallingford largely serves a suburban commercial region, and the segment in Meriden serves a mix of suburban commercial, residential, and institutional uses, the report said. The current infrastructure facilities, land use and development along the study roadway prioritize private automobile transportation, which makes walking, biking, and use of transit unappealing.

But while the corridor does not operate as a system that fully supports multimodal transportation, CT Transit bus routes are provided along most sections of the roadway, the report said.

Some of the recommendations include more sidewalks, sheltered bus stops accessible to those with disabilities and improved intersections and signaling for crosswalks.

The field inventory revealed a mix of sidewalk conditions along the corridor, the report said. Along the roadway segment in Wallingford, sidewalks currently are not provided for a half-mile stretch from Old North Colony Road to South Broad Street.

Rosanne Ford, president of the Midstate Chamber of Commerce, was involved in the report. She said the lack of sidewalks is a safety concern.

Anything that improves walkability is a plus, Ford said.

Miscellaneous gaps in sidewalk paths also exist. Footpaths are visible in the grass along segments with no sidewalks. Sidewalks were typically at least in fair condition, but there were locations where pavement along crosswalks and driveways was in poor condition.

The Meriden segment had many more instances of sidewalks in poor condition, the report said. There are frequent segments of old slate sidewalks that are either deteriorating or not useable. Additionally, many concrete sidewalk segments had severe cracking or deteriorating ramps.

One long-term goal is to realign the Route 5 and East Main Street intersection known for delays, especially for westbound traffic on East Main Street. A rotary had been considered but issues over property rights and easements nixed the idea.

But a rotary is being considered for the junction of Route 5 and I-691 in Meriden. The goals are contingent on funding.

All of it is a help for economic development, said City Economic Development Director Joseph Feest, who was involved in the study. Its important to get people off 691 and 91 ... Improving the flow along the street will help

Making changes to walkways and realigning intersections also makes is easier and safer to get in and out of existing businesses on Route 5, which encourages growth, Feest said.

mgodin@record-journal.com203-317-2255Twitter: @Cconnbiz
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.  A police officer who fatally shot 17-year-old Anthony J. Thompson Jr. in a chaotic confrontation inside a high school bathroom on April 12 will not face charges.

Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen said she will not charge officer Jonathon Clabough, who fired the shot that killed Thompson. Clabough also shot officer Adam Willson in the struggle.

"This is a self-defense case," Allen said at a two-hour news conference. "At the end of the day, we have found the shooting by Officer Clabough was justified."

Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump announced Monday he is representing Thompson's family.

"Once again, when a Black person is killed, in this case a Black child, the police quickly shape a narrative to justify the death," said Crump in a statement issued on Twitter.

In the days after the shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two differing accounts of what occurred, including an incorrect assertion that Thompson fired a shot that struck an officer.

"The world was told that Anthony shot an officer and that's why police fatally shot him," Crump said.

April 21: North Carolina deputy fatally shot Black man while serving warrant, sheriff says

Allen showed bodycam video footage Wednesday following growing calls for the video to be released. After Allen announced her decision not to press charges, protestors gathered outside the Knoxville Police Department and the high school.

The videos show a short but chaotic confrontation between the teen and Knoxville police officers inside the bathroom. In the end, Thompson is face-down on the floor and Willson is being pulled out the door.

A memorial for Anthony Thompson Jr. on the sidewalk in front of Austin-East Magnet High School on Monday, April 19, 2021.

Allen said police went into the school's bathroom to find Thompson after his girlfriend's mother accused Thompson of beating her daughter at school. Thompson and his best friend were inside, each in separate stalls, though it's not clear whether police knew that when they entered the bathroom.

Story continues

Body camera footage revealed four officers wound up inside the bathroom: Clabough, officer Brian Baldwin, school resource officer Adam Willson and Lt. Stanley Cash. They surrounded Thompson, who was wearing a backpack, and began pulling him out of the stall.

Allen said Clabough saw a gun in the front pocket of Thompson's hoodie "with Anthony Thompson's hand" on the butt.

"He thinks, 'I'm about to die,'" Allen said of the officer's mindset.

Suddenly, Thompson's gun fired. Baldwin immediately dropped away from Clabough's view. Clabough mistakenly believed Baldwin had been shot so he fired, striking Thompson in the chest.

Allen said Clabough fired a second shot because he believed Thompson was about to shoot Cash. That shot, she said, struck Willson in the back of his thigh. Cash then climbed on top of Thompson, who was facedown on the floor and bleeding to death.

Allen said only 11 seconds elapsed between the time Clabough first saw the gun and when he shot Thompson.

Allen said she reviewed body camera footage and went over the evidence with Thompson's family to explain why she was refusing to charge the officers in his death. She didn't explain to reporters the family's reaction, including whether they agreed with her decision.

"I have just spent four hours with (Thompson's) family," Allen said. "That was a painfully long and agonizing four hours for that family. The only thing the family asked me to do was not to release the video today."

She released the footage anyway, noting she had promised last week to do so. Knoxville leaders and advocates had asked her to let the community see what happened.

The officers have been on paid leave since the shooting. Willson was hospitalized for a few days and is now on paid leave as he recuperates at home. His attorney, Charles Burks Jr., told Knox News on Wednesday night he has believed from the start the officers would be vindicated.

Contributing: Angela Dennis

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Anthony J. Thompson Jr. shooting: No charges for Tennessee officer
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 00:39:42|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya said on Thursday that it will commit approximately 868 billion shillings (8 billion U.S. dollars) to combat climate change in the next ten years.

Chris Kiptoo, principal secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry told journalists in Nairobi that the funding from domestic sources will be used for adaptation and mitigation measures against climate change.

"This is the commitment we are making because we see and recognize that climate change is real and we must put our own resources to deal with it," Kiptoo said during the launch of Bio foods product annual sustainability report on the reduction of carbon emissions.

He added that Kenya is experiencing the negative impacts of climate change despite being a relatively small contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

"The recent phenomenon of rising water levels in the country's rift valley has had a huge impact on local communities and is an indication that climate change is a real threat," he said.

According to the ministry of environment, the climate change funds will be used by the government across a number of sectors such as water, transport, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, forestry, and waste management.

Kiptoo said that the bulk of the resources will be used in adaptation to climate change as opposed to mitigation measures. Enditem
COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle invites everyone who has had a COVID-19 vaccine to stop by their local Castle for a complimentary dessert-on-a-stick. Between April 22 and May 31, the family-owned fast-food hamburger chain will be giving away the desserts as a way to celebrate customer vaccinations and the promise of brighter days ahead.

White Castle is giving away a free dessert on a stick to customers who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Tweet this White Castle is giving a free dessert-on-a-stick to customers who have received a COVID-19 vaccine.

"From the start of the pandemic, we've shared the message that there is 'unity in community,'" said Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle. "We're thankful the vaccines are now widely available to all citizens 16 and over so that every adult can do their part to help our country return to all that we love and Crave."

White Castle offers four versions of its delicious dessert on a stick: Gooey Buttercake-on-a-Stick, Fudge Dipped Brownie-on-a-Stick, Fudge Dipped Cheesecake-on-a-Stick and, as of earlier this month, the brand-new Birthday Cake-on-a-Stick in honor of the company's 100th birthday this year. They're available to customers who share proof of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. No other purchase is necessary.

"This 'vax for snacks' effort is just another way to support our communities as we make our way through this pandemic," Richardson said. "Our desire is for all of our friends, neighbors and Cravers near and far to enjoy good health. For those getting vaccinated we are here to celebrate with you!"

This dessert-on-a-stick offer is the latest of several initiatives that White Castle has undertaken the past year to support people during the pandemic. Last spring, White Castle gave away $1 million worth of free combo meals to EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals who were risking their own health and safety to ensure the rest of us were taken care of. Throughout the summer, White Castle delivered more than 15,000 free Sliders to hospital, grocery store and retail food workers. They also gave a 20% discount to grocery store and retail food workers  the frontline heroes who were feeding America's communities  as well as EMTs, first responders and healthcare workers. And although "back to school" didn't look like normal in 2020, White Castle gave teachers and school employees a 20% discount from late August to late September as a token of appreciation for their commitment to our students.

In addition to giving away food and offering discounts, White Castle also hosted two fundraisers for restaurant workers impacted by the pandemic. A virtual dance party on National Slider Day in May and a reading of "Twas the Night Before Cravemus" by actor Richard Dreyfuss in December helped White Castle raise $35,000 for the National Restaurant Association's "Restaurant Employee Relief Fund" and "Change is on the Menu" campaign.

About White Castle

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders as a family-owned business for 100 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 360 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and of its faithful fans, affectionately referred to as Cravers, many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pickup orders any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.

SOURCE White Castle

Related Links

http://www.whitecastle.com


(@FahadShabbir)

The next summit of NATO leaders will be held on June 14 in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The next summit of NATO leaders will be held on June 14 in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced.

"I am pleased to announce that the next Summit of Allied leaders will take place on 14 June 2021 at NATO HQ in Brussels, Belgium ...

We will take decisions on our substantive and forward-looking NATO 2030 agenda to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow: Russia's aggressive actions, the threat of terrorism, cyber attacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, the security impact of climate change, and the rise of China," Stoltenberg said in a press release.
David Remnick in The New Yorker:

At the Hennepin County Government Center on Tuesday afternoon, Judge Peter Cahill opened a yellow envelope and read out the verdict against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who, last May, kneeled on the neck of George Floyd for nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds, killing Floyd and igniting a nationwide uprising against police abuse and systemic racism. Chauvin wore a pale-blue face mask. His eyes darted from side to side. The verdict was guilty on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. And, within just a few minutes, it was over. Chauvin, now a convicted murderer, was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom. Cahill thanked the jury for its heavy-duty service. Bail was revoked. The sentence will be handed down in eight weeks.

Outside, on a broad lawn, several hundred people had congregated to wait for the news. There were Black Lives Matter activists, reporters, and many people who rushed to the area after getting alerts on their phones that the judge would soon read out the will of the jury. And, when they heard the first of the three guilty verdicts, the reaction was loud and unambiguous.

It was an explosive cheer, Jelani Cobb told me, by telephone, from the courthouse. Cobb, a staff writer at The New Yorker, a historian, and the Ira A. Lipman professor of journalism at Columbia University, has been in Minneapolis covering the trial for the magazine. And he has been covering issues of race and criminal justice for many years, from Newark to Atlanta and beyond. We spoke at length on Tuesday; our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

More here.
St. Petersburg resident gets suspended sentence for divulgence of official secrets

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

13:19 22/04/2021

ST. PETERSBURG, April 22 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  A resident of St. Petersburg Vladimir Grabovsky was found guilty of divulging state secrets and given a 14-month suspended term, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts told RAPSI on Thursday.

The defendant was also banned from holding security clearance posts for 2 years.

The St. Petersburg City Court heard the case behind closed doors because of its secrecy.

According to Team 29, an association of lawyers and journalists fighting for the rights of Russian citizens to information access and distribution, another defendant in the case is a member of a detachment of the joint search movement Northwest, historian and collector of old topographical maps Anton Kolomitsyn. Grabovsky was an employee of the Federal research and technical centre of geodesics,cartography and spatial data infrastructure and in 2018 he sold Kolomitsyn an electronic copy of the contour mapof the Kola Peninsula of 1960-70. Such maps are classified, the lawyers state.

In February 2020, Kolomitsyn was placed under travel restrictions. However, the man fled to the Netherlands where he is now claiming political asylum. After his escape Kolomitsyn was put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia.




After fleeing justice in Italy over a double murder, a notorious Serbian gunman was on Thursday convicted by a Spanish court of killing another three people, two of them policemen.

Believed to be a former soldier, Norbert Feher was found guilty of three murders that took place in Spain's northeastern Aragon region in December 2017 in which he gunned down a livestock farmer and two Guardia Civil police officers.

A notoriously violent criminal, known in both Italy and Spain as "Igor the Russian", Feher went on trial on April 12 at a court in Teruel, with a jury delivering the guilty verdict which made headlines on Spanish television.

Prosecutors have called for him to face life in prison, with sentencing due to take place next week.

The same court in Teruel had in January 2020 found him guilty of two counts of attempted murder and sentenced him to 21 years behind bars for firing at another two men in the Teruel area shortly before his arrest in December 2017.

Considered extremely dangerous, Feher assaulted four prison officers with a sharp piece of tile just before being transferred to court to begin his trial, the prison authorities said.

He went on the run in April 2017 after killing a barman and a guard in northern Italy, fleeing to Spain later that year to escape the Italian manhunt.

In April 2018, he was convicted in absentia for the double murder by an Italian court which sentenced him to life in jail.

During his time in Italy and Spain, Feher used up to 23 aliases and allegedly boasted he had previously been a former Serbian paramilitary, an ex-Russian spy who was exiled to China and a male escort in Spain, El Pais newspaper reported.

tpe/hmw/ds/pvh
SAIC Motor's Marvel R electric vehicle, equipped with Huawei technology, is seen displayed during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China, April 19. Reuters





Huawei Technologies Co has started to sell smart vehicles in its flagship stores across China, as the telecoms equipment giant continues to look for new revenue drivers after its smartphone and network gear operations were hit by US sanctions.



The SF5 model, jointly launched by the Shenzhen-based tech giant and carmaker SERES, is the first vehicle to officially enter Huawei's stores. The electric-petrol hybrid is equipped with Huawei's HarmonyOS-based HiCar system and has a driving range of 180 kilometres in pure electric mode and over 1,000 kilometres in extended-range mode.



A Huawei salesman said the HiCar system enables users to switch between their mobile phone apps and the vehicle's central control panel, and can connect the car to other smart devices such as TVs, air conditioners and others.



Richard Yu, the head of Huawei's consumer business, said at a press event on Tuesday in Shanghai, that US sanctions had hurt its smartphone supply chain.



"The electric vehicle is the only product that can offset losses in our smartphone business as they command high prices - although overall sales are not yet as high as smartphones."



Two cars  a blue and white version  could be seen in Huawei's main store in downtown Shenzhen on Wednesday. It is also available at stores in Shanghai, Chengdu and Hangzhou and can be reserved on Huawei's e-commerce platform Vmall with a deposit of 1,000 yuan (US$154).



According to information on Huawei's official website, there are two versions available, one priced at 216,800 yuan and another at 246,800 yuan.



Wang Xing, the founder of?China's largest food delivery platform Meituan, said on social media site Fanfou last Saturday that, "Tesla has finally found an equal opponent in terms of technical strength and the ability to exaggerate."



"It's a good idea to make the vehicles available at Huawei's stores, as it provides more access for potential buyers," said one person the Post spoke to who had registered for a test drive at the Shenzhen store. "I don't think the car is fantastic but I'll have a try. Maybe it would be smarter to wait a while." The person said the benefits of linking the car to devices in the home would not be that attractive until more homes are smart.





People check a display near a Huawei logo during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China, April 19. Reuters
The U.S. and Japan showcased the strength and unity of their alliance during last week's summit, but one particular sentence in the joint leaders' statement that followed the meeting conceals a sore spot in the relationship.

The document said that Japan "resolved to bolster its own national defense capabilities." This commitment includes modernizing the Air Self-Defense Force's F-15 jets in a plan seen as crucial for maintaining air superiority.

But Japan put spending for the upgrade on hold after Washington last year tripled the price tag from its initial estimate.

During their first in-person meeting about a month ago, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi urged American counterpart Lloyd Austin to start afresh with negotiations on the F-15 upgrades, asking for "a little more consideration." Delays could harm Japan's defense capabilities, he said.

Japan's five-year defense plan starting in fiscal 2019 calls for modifying some of the ASDF's 200 F-15s to carry long-range missiles and electronic warfare systems. The U.S. originally estimated the front-end costs involved, such as designing the upgrades and buying the required production gear, at 80.7 billion yen ($745 million at current rates).

But Tokyo was informed by the prior U.S. administration that the price had surged to $2.2 billion. Parts used in the electronic warfare equipment had run out, and special steps were needed to make them, the explanation went.

The sudden hike felt off to Kishi, who has experience doing business with foreign companies from his more than two decades working at a major trading house. Kishi directed ministry officials to tell Washington that Tokyo "cannot spend money it doesn't have," and to find a compromise.
(CVE: LKY- OTC: LKMNF) CEO Francois Perron joined Steve Darling from Proactive to bring news the company has identified the Wayka target as a new epithermal system on their 100% owned Fortuna Property in Ecuador.

Perron talks about that new target which has returned up to 2.90 g/t gold. Wayka is presently estimated at 1.2 km long by approximately 0.5 km wide.
India on Thursday reported a net increase of 133,890 in active cases, the most in a day yet, to take its count to 2,291,428. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 12.42 per cent (one in 8). The country is second among the most affected countries by active cases. On Thursday, it added 314,835 cases, the highest in a day so far, to take its total caseload to 15,930,965. And, with 2,104 new fatalities, its Covid-19 death toll reached 184,657, or 1.16 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 2,211,334 more people getting Covid-19 vaccine shots on Wednesday, Indias total count of those inoculated reached 132,330,644. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 13,454,880  or 84.46 per cent of total caseload  with 178,841 new cured cases being reported on Thursday.
John Kerry, Mr. Bidens global climate envoy, said changes in the marketplace were happening so quickly that, he believes, the United States will not just meet but surpass its new goal.

Its not easy, he allowed. Is it doable? Yes. Will we probably exceed it? I expect yes.

Republicans denounced the new emissions target as illegal and unrealistic. Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia, called it a radical plan and a domestic and foreign policy blunder of almost unfathomable proportions.

To overcome such domestic opposition, Mr. Biden will have to bring the world along, especially China. Several major industrialized nations did announce aggressive new goals at the summit.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan raised his countrys target for cutting emissions to 46 percent from 2013 levels by the end of the decade, up from 26 percent, and in a last-minute surprise said the country would continue to try for an even higher cut of 50 percent. The Biden administration had exerted strong pressure on Japan to announce a 50 percent goal.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada raised his countrys goal to a cut of 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels, up from 30 percent. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea announced an end to public finance for coal-fired power plants overseas. Even President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, an ally of former President Donald J. Trump who has denied the science of climate change in the past, vowed to end illegal deforestation by 2030 despite having overseen the sharpest rise in the destruction of the Amazon in 12 years.

President Xi Jinping did pledge that China would strictly limit increasing coal consumption in the next five years and phase it down in the following five years. That could prove significant, since China is, by far, the worlds largest coal consumer and is continuing to expand its fleet of coal-fired power plants. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel.
AWD

While some detractors may call the Nissan GT-R obsolete because it has been in continuous production since late 2007 without a generational change, there are many reasons to think otherwise. If were referring strictly to drag strip encounters, then a sensible move would be to point out that Dodges Challenger is almost just as old and still enjoys to Demon and Redeye the Hellcat out of the competition.Thus, our attention was caught by a black example of the GT-R variety featured in the latest footage provided by the Drag Racing and Car Stuff YouTube channel. The Nissan (no details have been provided on model year and possible mods for this R35) first comes out for a solo play to put things into perspective , nailing an 11.4s ET at 124 mph (200 kph).Then its time for the first encounter, with a silver C6 Corvette that doesnt manage to honor the American quarter-mile legacy because it loses badly with a 12.2-second result to the GT-R's constant 11.4s run. We thought the much lighter Yamaha FZ-09 would have the upper hand next, but themonster proved its worth in the sticky situation and brought down the ET to 11.3-seconds, more than enough to snatch the win against the bikes 11.6s.More importantly, the clear gap was in terms of trap speeds, with the GT-R again hitting 124 mph as opposed to the Yamahas 114 mph (183 kph). While still pondering the difference, the GT-R aligned for the last fight featured in the video embedded below against an Audi A3.Unfazed by the dwarfing Nissan, the German compact car delivered the shocking surprise of the day, snatching the win by a hair (11.2 to 11.4 seconds, actually). As it turns out (and we have a second video with it as the star), the sedan actually hides a Garrett GTX 3076R turbo secret under the hood alongside other mods.
Unearthed documents from one of the leading Chinese Communist Party propaganda groups reveal the names of mainstream U.S. journalists taking junkets from the group in exchange for favorable coverage, The National Pulse can exclusively reveal.

(Natural News) (Article by Natalie Winters republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

The trips often came just before opinion editorials and news reports excusing Chinese Communist Party crimes, or opposing trade showdowns with the nation.

The China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) was founded by the Vice-Chairman of the highest-ranking entity overseeing Chinese Communist Partys United Front Department, an effort which aims to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of the Chinese government. The United Front strategy uses a range of methods to influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijings preferred policies, the U.S. government report continues.

CUSEF uses United Front Department tactics of influence on Western journalists from virtually every Western media outlet: CNN, New York Times, MSNBC, The Washington Post, and many more. According to Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings with the Department of Justice, CUSEF retained Western lobbyists to aid in their quest to effectively disseminate positive messages to the media, key influencers and opinion leaders, and the general public regarding China.

The National Pulse can now exclusively reveal Western journalists  including those praised by President Biden and married to potential members of his White House  who are listed as having accepted trips from the Chinese Communist Party influence group.

Red Handed.

CUSEF newsletter from 2009 and 2010 reveal the following journalists:

Vox Co-founder and New York Times columnist Ezra Klein;

Vox Co-founder Matthew Yglesias;

CNN Senior Political Analyst and The Atlantic Senior Editor Ronald Brownstein;

New York Times Reporter Bradford Plumer;

Associated Press Vice President and Editor Marjorie Miller;

The Hill Editor-at-Large Steve Clemons;

Former NPR Senior Editor Marilyn Geewax;

Former Newsweek and Wall Street Journal Marketplace Editor Kathleen Deveny;

Former U.S. News and World Report Correspondent Tom Omestad;

Chicago Tribune Columnist and Editorial Writer Steve Chapman;

Former National Journal Correspondent Bruce Stokes (And the husband of President Bidens Deputy Secretary of State nominee who has also taken CUSEF trips);

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Washington Bureau Chief Craig Gilbert;

The Week columnist Shikha Dalmia.

Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell also identified herself as accepting CUSEF trips, burying a disclaimer on the bottom of two articles The U.S. and China fight for second place and The Olympics gives China a second chance at human rights reforms:

(Disclosure: My trip is being paid for by the China-United States Exchange Foundation, a Hong Kong-based nonprofit that aims to improve Americans understanding of China.)

Pay for Play?

While those named above represent a fraction of the journalists taking CUSEF trips, the influence of the program on participants subsequent reporting is easily discerned.

Trip participant Shikha Dalmia penned an op-ed entitled China Bashing is for Losers the same year she traveled to China.

Brad Plumer has also lauded the Chinese Communist Partys climate change efforts, penning pieces entitled Chinas ambitious plan to limit carbon emissions, explained.

Similarly, Bruce Stokes has shared articles warning that decoupling from China would backfire and Catharine Rampell has authored op-eds such as Opinion: Team Trump should be careful what it wishes for on China.

Ezra Klein appeared to laud the Chinese Communist Partys COVID-19 response, tweeting I keep hearing that China bought us some real time and our government wasted it doing nothing and downplaying the threat. Fellow Vox Co-founder Matthew Yglesias also tweeted about wanting to give Party flunkies notes on how to better craft propaganda and that Moodys, S&P, and the Peoples Bank of China should just run the government:

Steve Chapman, who also crusaded against Trumps trade war, tweeted that China may have a bad human rights record, but you dont have to take off your shoes for airport security. Chapman also wrote a now-deleted article that outlined the case for buying U.S. Olympic outfits from China.

Ronald Brownstein also pushed back against criticism of China and the World Health Organizations handling of COVID-19. Trumps latest offensive to blame 100k American dead on China & World Health Organization handling of Wuhan virus is not only a return to familiar cultural/racial polarization but also the latest reminder that when all you have is a hammer literally everything looks like a nail, he tweeted. The comments followed Brownstein authoring a CNN op-ed attacking Trumps trade war with China.

Whats more, Marilyn Geewax leveraged her NPR credentials to become a Visiting Professor at the Global Business Journalism school hosted at Tsinghua University  Xi Jinpings alma mater.

All Roads Lead to Biden.

In addition to the spouse of the potential Deputy Secretary of State appearing on the list, a journalist on the list  Steve Clemons  has been praised by President Biden.

Clemons, a former Editor-at-Large for The Atlantic and current MSNBC Contributor and Editor-at-Large for The Hill, was part of the press pool covering then-Vice President Bidens 2013 trip to China.

Biden told his Chinese Communist Party counterpart that Clemons was a very important man that he should really want to speak to:

While taking pictures of the two Vice Presidents with a new iPhone 5, Vice President Biden pointed at your pool, whose name is Steve Clemons, and gestured to VP Li Yuancho saying he is a very important man. Seriously he is important. Your pool demurred as best he could. This will surprise some but it is true. Then Vice President Biden told Vice President Li, You should speak to him. He is the one you really want to speak to. Seriously. Pool froze up not knowing what to do but smile and wave a bit to Vice President Li. As Vice President Biden and Vice President Li began to walk away towards the banquet hall door, Vice President Li Yuanchao stopped and looked at your pool and said in deep, halting, but distinctive English, Vice President Biden is a good friend to you and to me. VP Biden winked the direction of your pool and the two vice presidents walked into the banquet hall.

Clemonss pool report continued, describing how Biden, while accompanied by his son Hunter, offered to buy him an ice cream bar:

Quite suddenly and 2:34 pm, the vice presidents motorcade stopped with Vice President Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and granddaughter Finnegan Biden jumping out of their vehicles. They began to walk along the south side of the shopping street, zeroing in first on a small shop that had nothing classic in itbut sold water, sodas, various household convenience items and Magnum ice cream bars. The vice president seemed thrilled to find the Magnum bars and decided to use your pool as a prop again, calling out to your pool, and saying you want an ice cream bar? Your pool replied, Dont tempt your pool  but no.

Clemons, who has also written articles proclaiming Biden gets China, has also tweeted about the development of a new global order with China as the anchor:

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com and Corruption.news.
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Guilty on all three counts. That was the sentence heard across America, as former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. What are we to make of this trial and the events and comments surrounding it?

The answer to that question depends on who we ask.

To many black Americans, this was a watershed moment.

First, for them, the gut-wrenching video of Floyds death while under Chauvins knee was undeniable testimony to the police brutality they have experienced for years. In their eyes, there is no question that Chauvin would not have treated a white man in this way, and there is no question of his guilt. This, they would say, is what they have experienced for decades (let alone centuries past), and now there is indisputable video evidence.

Second, the guilty verdicts prove that the police can no longer get away with murder, specifically, with the murder of a black man. Too many eyes are watching and justice must be done.

To many white conservatives, George Floyds tragic death had nothing to do with race.

First, they would say that we dont know for sure that Chauvins treatment of Floyd was race based. Perhaps he mistreated whites as well? Or perhaps it was based on Chauvin and Floyd knowing each other outside of this confrontation?

Second, they would argue that statistically, it is more likely for a white person to be killed by police than a black person. They would also point out that it is more likely for a black cop to pull the trigger on a black suspect than for a white cop to pull the trigger on a black suspect.

For liberal Americans, this is the moment to refocus on the question of systemic racism. In the words of President Biden, It was a murder in the full light of day, and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism  a stain on our nations soul.

Conservatives would respond, Actually, we dont know that this had anything to do with racism, let alone with systemic racism.

Many would also add, To the contrary, this is an example of race-baiters like Rep. Maxine Waters potentially inciting violence with her irresponsible comments. Thats where the problem lies.

For Hollywoods elite, like Oprah, the guilty verdicts were cause for rejoicing: Relievedand emotional in ways I didnt expect. I cried tears of joy as each verdict was read. Im grateful to the witnesses and their testimonies. Grateful to Darnella Frazier. Grateful to every Juror for seeing and acknowledging what the world saw on that tape. Thank you God for real! #GeorgeFloyd.

For the law and order crowd, the lessons are clear. Number one, dont commit a crime. Number two, dont resist arrest. Number three, dont expect a fair trial when government leaders are calling for violence, when protesters are ready to burn down cities, and when the judge doesnt sequester the jury.

And so it goes, like ships passing in the night, with little constructive interaction between the varying sides and perspectives. So, at the risk of provoking fire from all sides, Ill weigh in with some perspectives representing several different viewpoints.

First, after years of regular interaction with the black American community, I have no reason to question the horror stories they have related to me. For example, when a black pastor calls my show  Im talking about a God-fearing, law-abiding conservative who agrees with me point for point on the culture wars  and tells me about how he had to lecture his teenage boys about behavior around police, lest they be shot, I believe him, especially when his story is one of many that I have heard.

In fact, shortly after the Chauvin verdict was announced, I was talking to a 41-year-old black man, and he told me about an absolutely traumatic experience he had with the police when he was 21, with a gun stuck in his face, fearing for his life. Yet no reason was given to him for being stopped. He said that to this day, when he sees a police car in his rearview mirror, he breaks into a cold sweat.

And having studied the issue of fair sentencing in America, I do believe that inequalities remain for black Americans and that we must continue to strive for justice.

Second, there are other questions that must be asked as well, such as what is behind the high crime rate among young black Americans, which makes them more likely targets for profiling? Who is to blame for this, and what can be done, holistically, to repair this? (This is not an accusation. It is a question.)

Third, race baiting is very real and very destructive. Really now, is this how America is supposed to function, with protesters ready to vandalize our communities if an unfavorable verdict is reached?

Fourth, I believe that we must address all sides of the race issue in America, also asking uncomfortable questions such as: why has fatherlessness in black American homes reached an epidemic level, and why it is much worse today than it was before the Civil Rights movement? (Again, I am not implying white guilt here or black guilt. I am simply saying we must ask these questions.)

Fifth, we need to find out why police officers behave as they do. Is it because their lives are so often threatened? Is it because they are poorly trained? Or is it because they are power-hungry (and/or racists)?

The bottom line is that there is not one, single, correct perspective on the death of George Floyd and the conviction of Derek Chauvin, and to simply pontificate in the safety of our own echo chamber is to accept the status quo.

I say, in keeping with my historic policy, that we should all make each other a little uncomfortable, with conservatives asking liberals for their perspective (and vice versa) and with whites asking people of color for their perspective (and vice versa). Then, having listened and reflected, we can form a more balanced and truthful point of view.

We might end up more convinced than ever that our perspective is the right one. But at least, lets challenge ourselves to listen and think and empathize first.
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A man fatally shot by an officer in the San Diego suburb of Escondido was carrying a 2-foot metal pole and had charged at police, the police chief said.

Police Chief Ed Varso said in a video statement posted on YouTube late Wednesday that the officer had backed away and given warnings before opening fire Wednesday morning in downtown Escondido, north of San Diego.

Police were responding to a 911 call that morning that a man was hitting cars with a pole. The man initially ran off after an officer arrived at the scene and at that point he was not displaying any threatening behavior, and not posing a threat to police or the public, Varso said.

Shortly after, a second officer spotted the man walking in the street, carrying the pole. As the officer got out of his patrol car, the man charged him in a threatening manner, Varso said.

The officer gave multiple commands to drop the tool, as well as several use-of-force warnings, Varso said. The male continued to advance on the officer, who was backing away, and he was ultimately shot.

The man had been arrested 188 times over the past two decades, including for violent assaults on police and the public, parole violations, drug charges, vandalism and other property-related crimes, Varso said.

Mental health professionals also had made multiple attempts to get him help, the chief said.

Just this year, we have already responded to over 20 calls for service regarding this individual, Varso said.

Police have not released the mans name and only described him as a white man. Authorities also have not released the name of the officer involved.

The man received first aid and later died at a hospital.

Varso said the department would share video footage from cameras worn by officers at the scene as soon as possible to provide the public a better understanding of what happened.

Wednesdays incident marked the first shooting by Escondido police since June 2020 when an officer opened fire on a man charging him with a crow bar. The man survived and was sentenced last week to four years in prison.

The last fatal shooting by an Escondido police officer was in 2018 when officers responding to a domestic violence call led to a chase that ended in a confrontation with the armed suspect.
YEREVAN.  Armenias President Armen Sarkissian has sent letters to the heads of more than two dozen countries and international organizations, Pope Francis, the kings of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Sweden, as well as several others ahead of Saturdays 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the presidential press service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In the letters, President Sarkissian expressed his gratitude for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, as well as for the solidarity shown to the Armenian people.

Also in his letters, the President of Armenia expressed confidence that the Armenian Genocides international recognition and condemnation will contribute to the prevention of genocides and elimination of impunity around the world.
Two documents have been placed on the desk of Joe Biden. Both are drafts of the April 24 message. Onewith the term "Genocide," the otherwithout it. International Studies expert Suren Sargsyan wrote this on Facebook, commenting on the chances of the incumbent US president recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

"The document containing the term 'Genocide' is the result of the exceptional work of the Armenian [American] community. The other, which does not contain the word, has been formed as a result of Turkish lobbying. ().

By the way, there is also the third document, which has been put into circulation by research circles still during [former US President Donald] Trump's tenure. In this document, the US president makes reference to [ex-President Ronald] Reagan's [April 24] statement and the [Armenian Genocide] resolutions of the 2 chambers of Congress, but does not use the word "Genocide" on his behalf. [But] I'm not sure this document has reached the White House.

P.S.: No [US] president has ever been so close to the recognition of the Genocide. Ever," Sargsyan added.
KienLong Bank share prices have been increasing sharply in recent days despite the downward pressure on the overall market.

Do Anh Tuan of KienLong Bank

The appearance of a big shareholder  a real estate firm  is supporting the bank's shares.

KienLong Banks board of management has taken some important moves, including the appointment of two additional members of the board of management  Do Anh Tuan and Vo Thi Tuan Anh.

The appointment was made following a big change in the shareholder structure with the appearance of a major company in the real estate sector  Sunshine Group.

Do Anh Tuan, born in 1975, is chair of Sunshine Group, chair of Sunshine Homes, chair of KSG, and chair of Smart Construction Group (SCG).

Vo Thi Tuan Anh is Vietnam Director of Sakae Holdings Singapore, Vietnam Director of Sakaeo Advisory, Chair of Newtechco Group, Marketing and Business Development Director of Harveston.

KienLong Bank has also approved the resignation of the members of board of management Le Khac Gia Bao and Do Thi Thu Hang.

The logo of KSBank on the headquarters of Sunshine Group in Hanoi and on the website of the group. KSB is the digital banking brand launched by KienLong Bank recently.

A high-ranking manager of Sunshine Group has recently become chair of the board of management of Vietnam Gateway Securities. The company has been renamed as KS Securities and moved its head office to Sunshine Center Hanoi.

With these activities, KienLong Bank shares have seen prices increasing steadily.

On April 19, KLB share price rose by 4.6 percent to VND24,900 per share after the 2 percent increase in the last trading session of the previous week. As such, KLB price went up by 38 percent over the last month.

Sunshine Group is a well known real estate developer with many projects throughout the country, namely Sunshine Center, Sunshine City and Sunshine Empire in Hanoi; Sunhine Marina Nhatrang Bay (Nha Trang); and Sunshine City Sai Gon (HCMC).

Just within the last four years, Sunshine Groups charter capital increased by 30 times to VND8.5 trillion, while stockholder equity reached VND17 trillion by mid-2020. Its total assets had reached VND44 trillion, higher than the majority of listed real estate firms, just less than Vinhomes of billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong and Novaland of Bui Thanh Nhon.

In late 2020 and early 2021, KienLong Bank reported a series of large-scale put-through transactions worth trillions of dong. KLB share prices soared from VND11,300 per share on October 1, 2020 to VND25,000.

KienLong Banks board of management hopes that new members will help the overall strategic transformation in 2021-2030 to turn the bank into one providing services on a digital platform.

V. Ha

Bank shares in demand as banks report huge profits The capitalization value of some banks has increased by one billion dollars within a short time.
The Government has launched the Be Summer-Ready 2021 Public Safety Information Campaign providing advice across a wide range of topics on staying safe this summer. The focus of this campaign is to Be Alert to Water Safety.

The campaign was jointly launched by the Minister for Defence and Chair of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, Simon Coveney T.D., the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys T.D. and Minister of State with responsibility for International and Road Transport and Logistics, Hildegarde Naughton T.D.

Minister Coveney said, We have had a really tough year because of Covid-19, and as the weather gets better and the days get longer it is so important that we ensure that we are vigilant with regard to our personal safety when working or visiting the coast, lakes, rivers or our countryside.

The Department of Rural and Community Development is the parent Department of Water Safety Ireland and speaking at the launch, Minister Heather Humphreys said, Every death by drowning is a tragedy for the family, friends and communities of the victim. So my big message here today is lets all work together to minimise these tragedies.

"Through the efforts of many organisations, hundreds of people are saved every year from drowning and thousands receive first aid. As we all adhere to government guidelines and restrictions, I urge everyone to take extra care of yourself and your loved ones near any waterways, and be extra vigilant during holidays when we can naturally let our guard down.

"Water safety needs to be a part of the conversations we have with our loved ones.Thats why campaigns such as the Be Summer Ready initiative are so important.

Todays launch also heard of the importance of the Irish Coast Guard and the role it plays during the summer months. Minister Naughton said, The launch of the Be Summer Ready campaign is a timely reminder on the need to attend to our own personal safety, to be aware of what to do in the event of an emergency, and to observe a few simple common-sense rules before engaging in any activity. Given the restrictions on international travel we are likely to see increased levels of activity on our coastline and on the water, this summer. Already it is apparent that there has been a significant increase in numbers participating in open water swimming, as an all year-round activity and certainly for longer than what we have regarded as the traditional outdoor swimming season.

"Our message today is clear - no matter your activity on the water this summer - before you go on or near the water make a plan. Ensure that you let somebody know where you are going and what time to expect you back. Ensure that you have a means of communication be it a VHF radio, fully charged mobile phone; check the weather forecast and tide times, and always wear a lifejacket if you are going afloat.

Minister Coveney also said, Water safety is important to all of us in Ireland. Ireland has some of the most wonderful waterways and beaches in the world and they become very popular in the summer yet, tragically, drownings can happen easily. Everyone should know how to stay safe in the water and it is important that we also teach this to our children.

The campaigns messages will be delivered through internet and social media based information platforms across Government and by the provision of a Be Summer-Ready information booklet and a Be Alert to Water Safety leaflet which are both available for download at www.gov.ie/summerready
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Chancellor Public Sector University Shah Farman sent Vice Chancellor Gomal University Prof Dr Iftikhar Ahmad on 90-day forced leave for opposing and criticizing the decision of provincial government about establishment of Agriculture University in district DI Khan, said a notification issued here Thursday

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2021 ) :The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and Chancellor Public Sector University Shah Farman sent Vice Chancellor Gomal University Prof Dr Iftikhar Ahmad on 90-day forced leave for opposing and criticizing the decision of provincial government about establishment of Agriculture University in district DI Khan, said a notification issued here Thursday.

A notification from the Higher education Department said that the VC Gomal University also bypassed the laid down procedure in correspondence.

The Governor has assigned additional charge of the post of VC Gomal University to Prof Dr Masroor Elahi Baber, VC University of Agriculture DI Khan with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, talking to APP VC Dr Masroor Elahi said the provincial cabinet on March 16, 2021 approved setting up of an Agriculture University DI Khan in its 52nd meeting by allowing up-gradation of the faculty of Agriculture department of Gomal University to a full-fledged agriculture university.

To a question he informed that in the past the university could not become fully functional for certain reasons but in the wake of recent decision of the KP cabinet the government was ready to execute a comprehensive uplift plan. He informed that projects worth Rs4 billion were to be approved for the basic physical and organizational structure as well as facilities to operationalize the institution.

Dr Masroor said that at-least 80 kanal land with basic infrastructure was prerequisite of HEC for provision of developmental funds to a university, adding the Gomal University administration was asked to transfer 1000 kanal of land to Agriculture university to ensure better ground for research activities in farming, horticulture, forest and other related fields.

The VC said that a committee had already been constituted by the provincial government to determine the distribution of assets between Gomal University and the Agriculture University, adding that the committee was headed by Commissioner Dera whereas Secretary Agriculture, Secretary Higher Education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and both the VCs were noted as members of the committee.

Dr Masroor explained that the decision with regard to up-gradation of agriculture university was not a new proposal rather it was a follow up of consultations of Gomal University Academic Council and Syndicate with the provincial government.

He informed that in 2012, the Academic Council of Gomal University passed a resolution for up- gradation of existing faculty of agriculture to an independent university as the DI Khan district was an agricultural area.

He said that in 2002 the Veterinary College Lahore's up-gradation led to opening and affiliation of four new colleges in different areas of Punjab, adding the same would happen in Dera region after the implementation of decision of the provincial government and the region would enter a new era of agro economic development.

Referring to the overall academic activities of the varsity under existing organizational structure Dr. Masroor said that the varsity had signed MOUs with Veterinary College Lahore, Agriculture University of Faisalabad and some other leading organizations for capacity building of teaching staff and students.
A researcher has found that cities that had Black Lives Matter protests saw a significant decrease in police homicides, but a huge overall increase in murders.

Travis Campbell, an economics PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts, published his findings in a recent pre-print study examining the impact of BLM protests on police use-of-force incidents.

His analysis, which is still undergoing peer-review, found that cities with BLM protests had 15 to 20 percent fewer police homicides than expected if the protests had not taken place, equating to 300 fewer police killings nationwide over five years.

But, in a revised unpublished version shared with DailyMail.com, Campbell finds that cities with BLM protests also saw a 10 percent increase in murders overall, equaling 1,000 to 6,000 additional murders nationwide.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Campbell stressed that he believes comparing the post-protest increase in murders to the decrease in police killings is 'an apples and oranges comparison' that does not fully account for the positive impact of BLM protests.

Trends in police homicides are seen in cities with BLM protests (red) and cities without (blue). Cities with BLM protests saw 15% to 20% fewer police homicides than expected

The number of murders (red) and reported property crimes (blue) in a city with BLM protests is seen relative to the first year that protests began there (vertical dashed line)

'I know that it's really tempting to want to compare a count of homicides to a count of use of force, but I really don't think that is a good thing to do,' Campbell said.

'There are different implications when the police kill people and when civilians kill people,' he added. 'There is evidence of really important spillover effects to police killings, specifically the impacts on black mental health and on crime -- there is evidence police homicides impact civilian homicides.'

Campbell said his data suggested that BLM protests result in 'less police effort and less proactive policing,' which could explain both the decrease in police killings and the overall increase in murders.

The study, first reported by Vox, shows murders increased in the years following BLM protests even as reports of minor crimes tended to decrease.

Campbell said this trend was a 'pretty strong indicator of a reduction in the quantity of policing,' either because fewer crimes are being reported, or police are less likely to make proactive arrests for minor crimes.

Overall murder rates were not the focus of his study, so Campbell did not subject the murder figures to the same rigorous statistical battery that he used on police homicides, meant to control for other variables.

The study looks at the follow-on impacts of the BLM protests that took place from 2014 to 2019, and does not account for the surge in protests nationwide last summer or the last year's startling rise in murder in many large cities.

Police homicides are located in red, while the number of BLM protests is seen in blue

Demonstrators climb on a destroyed Baltimore Police car in 2015 during violent protests following the funeral of Freddie Gray, who died from injuries sustained during his arrest

Other researchers, including Deepak Premkumar, have also examined the increase in violent crime following protests over high-profile police killings, which they dub 'the Ferguson effect.'

Ferguson, Missouri was the site of protests and riots following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, marking one of the first nationally prominent instances of BLM protests.

Premkumar found in a recent study that murders and robberies rise 10 to 17 percent in cities following a 'high-profile' police killing, which he defines as a police homicide that generates more than 1,000 articles of news coverage.

The reason for the increase is not clearly understood, but some have speculated that police 'back down' from enforcement in the face of public backlash.

Premkumar found that while arrests for low-level offenses do tend to drop following protests, there are limited changes in arrests for violent or more serious crimes.

Campbell's research focused on changes in fatal police use-of-force incidents following major BLM protests.

A person blocks the road after protesters took to the streets firing guns, burning property and looting in anger over the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014

His research was hampered by the fact that there is still no reliable federal database cataloging police killings nationwide.

Instead, media organizations and non-profits compile their own databases of police homicides, but they are often either incomplete or use dubious criteria -- one, for example, includes suicides that occur during police encounters.

Using the best data available, Campbell found that places with BLM protests had 15 percent to 20 percent fewer incidents of lethal use-of-force than they would have been expected to, totaling about 300 fewer police homicides.

Campbell relied on complex statistical analysis to reach his findings, as a 'controlled study' of his subject matter would be a practical impossibility.

His paper offers several theories on why BLM protests might decrease police homicides, including by pressuring police departments to change their policies.

'BLM protests double the likelihood of the local agency obtaining body-worn cameras,' Campbell noted.

'Given that a randomized control trial found body-worn cameras halved the likelihood of force this increase in body-worn cameras following BLM protests is likely related to the fall in police homicides,' he wrote.

Campbell also suggested that police departments in cities with BLM protests are more likely to improve their training, and to assign officers to a regular geographic 'beat' improving community ties.

In one unusual finding, he noted that BLM protests resulted in a decrease in the number of black police officers in a city by 6 percent.
MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) Bolivia's Ministry of Health has registered the presence of the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in two regions of the country, Deputy Minister Maria Renee Castro said.

"There is an important variety circulating in our country that exactly matches B1.1.7, a strain that is the British variant," the official said during a press conference, fragments of which were posted on the ministry's Twitter.

According to the ministry, the UK variant was identified in two departments of Bolivia. The genetic material was earlier sent for sequencing to Brazil.

Castro said laboratory tests had revealed the presence of other types of the virus, which were currently being studied by experts.

According to the authorities, since the beginning of the epidemic, 291,000 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Bolivia, with 12,695 deaths. A total of 38,600 people are currently sick.
ST25, a high-end rice variety produced in Vietnam, is said to have been registered for trademark protection in the U.S., a trade promotion office told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday evening.

Vu Ba Phu, director of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that he had heard about the ST25 rice protection registration by some U.S. companies.

But Phu has yet to be able to confirm the accuracy of the information, he added.

Unconfirmed report

If such registration is confirmed to be true, it will be hard for Vietnamese businesses to directly export the ST25 rice to the U.S., Phu claimed.

This case gives a warning to Vietnamese enterprises about protecting their brands abroad, he remarked.

Enterprises should proceed with necessary steps on trademark protection when they ship goods overseas, especially in their key markets, he said.

Nguyen Trung Kien, vice-president of the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), also said he had yet to receive official information about American enterprises having registered for the protection of the ST25 rice trademark in the U.S. market.

The VFA had contacted the group that created the ST25 rice variety as well as some rice businesses for clarification but it has not received any official reply, Kien said.

We have also kept in touch with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is said to be the origin of this information, but the ministry said such information is not clear, said Phu.

This issue still needs verification before any response is taken by concerned parties, so it is necessary to avoid causing confusion."

This striking report has drawn great attention since the Vietnamese premium fragrant rice ST25 was honored as the best rice variety in the world at the 2019 Worlds Best Rice contest.

In last years contest, the rice was named the world's runner-up after its Thai rival.

Commenting on this matter, a director of a company specializing in exporting farm produce to the U.S. said that it is not uncommon for Vietnamese products to be registered by foreign enterprises for trademark protection in the U.S..

In the U.S., there are companies or importers that specialize in identifying the best-selling or promising brands of goods exported to the U.S. from other countries, the director said, adding that they will then carry out procedures to register for the protection of such trademarks in the U.S. market to gain a advantage in trade.

Such registration is not unlawful but it must satisfy many relevant regulations before it is approved," the director said.

"So there are still ways for Vietnamese businesses involved to struggle to reclaim their brands."

Businesses should register their trademarks in their potential export markets to avoid possible disadvantages or disputes.

ST24 on the horizon

Meanwhile, Lao Dong (Labor) online newspaper reported on Wednesday that both Vietnamese varieties of ST25 and ST24 have been filed for trademark protection in the U.S by four American enterprises.

That means the exportation of these rice varieties from Vietnam to the U.S. would have to be subject to the approval of the American owners of ST25 and ST24 brands; otherwise, Vietnamese exporters would violate intellectual property (IP) rights over the two products, Lao Dong claimed.

When exporting any products to any markets, Vietnamese enterprises must register for IP protection of their goods in those markets, Lao Dong quoted Hoang Minh Chien, deputy director of the Trade Promotion Agency, as saying in an interview.

Currently, the ST24 and ST25 have been registered for IP protection in Vietnam only, Chien said.

In the event that the four U.S. businesses are granted protection over the two rice varieties, Vietnamese exporters must get a nod from these foreign enterprises for shipping such rice to the American market, the official told Lao Dong.

Or Vietnamese exporters must change the names of such rice, he said.

"Foreign enterprises act very fast.

"When we still focus on exporting new goods, they may have proceeded with registration of such commodities.

Speaking to Lao Dong about whether a Vietnamese company may be the fifth registrant for IP protection for the two rice varieties, Chien said this requires a careful review of the records and the relevant provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Currently, the enterprise that owns the ST24 and ST25 rice brands in Vietnam has yet to contact us, so the progress of the IP registration by the American enterprises remains unknown, Chien said.

If they contact us, we may give them more specific consultancy.

Local agricultural engineer Ho Quang Cua has bred and improved Vietnams ST rice varieties for over 20 years.

In 2017, the ST24 rice won second prize at the Worlds Best Rice contest in Macau, China.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
[April 21, 2021] FIS Opens New Growth Opportunities for Global Brands with Worldpay Domestic Acquiring Expansion into South Africa, Nigeria and Malaysia

Key facts FIS continues to drive global eCommerce with domestic acquiring capabilities in high-growth regions of Southeast Asia and Africa .

and . Through its Worldpay product portfolio, FIS will bring new payment options to merchants and eCommerce providers across these new regions.

Expansion is part of company's plans to enhance its merchant acquiring presence in additional markets. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing to build its footprint as a leading global acquirer, financial technology leader FIS  (NYSE: FIS) announced today that it is expanding its payment processing capabilities into the rapidly growing markets of Malaysia, South Africa and Nigeria. FIS has secured a domestic acquiring license in Malaysia to provide its Worldpay payment processing platform. In South Africa and Nigeria, FIS is offering domestic payment processing services through its previously announced agreement with payments technology company Flutterwave, a 2016 graduate of the FIS Accelerator program. Through its Worldpay product portfolio, FIS processes billions of transactions annually across 146 countries and more than 300 payments types in 126 currencies. As part of its growth strategy, FIS aims to enhance its merchant acquiring presence in additional markets -- enabling the company to offer its world-class payment services to local companies with global ambitions as well as rapidly growing enterprises looking to expand in these regions. "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption ofdigital technology and fueled the growth of eCommerce around the world," said Jim Johnson, Head of Merchant Solutions at FIS. "Emerging markets across Southeast Asia and Africa present fresh opportunities for global businesses. These new markets are also home to a new generation of ambitious high-growth regional brands looking to expand their footprint. Our goal at FIS is to be a true partner to these enterprises, passporting them to success wherever in world they want to be."



The recently published 2021 Global Payments Report by Worldpay from FIS projected that Malaysia's eCommerce market will increase 71 percent by 2024, driven by mobile shopping. Over the same period in Nigeria, online commerce via mobile devices is projected to more than double. In South Africa, the eCommerce industry is projected to be worth $9 billion by 2024 with mobile accounting for a third of the spend. Merchants doing business in these countries will be able to take advantage of Worldpay's advanced acquiring capabilities which includes authorization, clearing and settlement, dispute management and data insights. Merchants will also benefit from a seamless payments experience through a single point of integration -- helping to increase acceptance, improve customer experience, and reduce fraud.

FIS complements its acquiring and payment processing capabilities in these countries with a growing network of regional payments consultants that provide merchants with in-country expertise, helping them tailor their payments offerings to the local audience. In addition to Africa and Malaysia, FIS has recently added new consultants in Germany, Iberia, the Nordics, and other European locations. "We understand that payments are personal, and merchants need local understanding of consumer behavior to ensure success," Johnson said. "That's why we continue to invest in deepening our global capabilities to support the growth of our merchants and fuel smarter commerce across the world." To learn more, visit https://www.fisglobal.com/expansion About FIS FIS is a leading provider of technology solutions for merchants, banks and capital markets firms globally. Our employees are dedicated to advancing the way the world pays, banks and invests by applying our scale, deep expertise and data-driven insights. We help our clients use technology in innovative ways to solve business-critical challenges and deliver superior experiences for their customers. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, FIS is a Fortune 500 company and is a member of Standard & Poor's 500 Index. To learn more, visit www.fisglobal.com. Follow FIS on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@FISGlobal). For More Information Kim Snider, 904.438.6278

Senior Vice President

FIS Global Marketing and Communications

kim.snider@fisglobal.com Bianca Huebner, +65 9154 9825

Account Manager

Zeno Singapore

Bianca.Huebner@zenogroup.com SOURCE FIS

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Facebook Inc is taking steps to include direct user reviews to organize their News Feed according to their preferences.

The News Feed, which contains messages from friends and businesses, is the first thing that users see when they open their account in a mobile app or visit a website.

The company conducts tests around the world to get more specific feedback from users about what they want to see, writes Facebook on its blog.

Facebook also said it will look at posts with a lot of angry reactions and ask users what content they want to see less.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The PACE Monitoring Committee has made a statement, expressing its concern over the fact that not all persons detained in the context of recent Nagorno Karabakh war have been exchanged. It called on Azerbaijan to ensure that all Armenian detainees are released without delay into the care of the Armenian authorities.

The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the developments since the trilateral statement of 9-10 November 2020 are of great importance to the Council of Europe and have been closely followed by the Monitoring Committee. In coordination with other relevant committees, it has heard from representatives of both countries as well as independent experts, and the co-rapporteurs for Armenia and Azerbaijan have regularly made joint statements on the developments taking place.

The committee is convinced that the national parliaments of both countries can and should play an important role in the urgently-needed confidence-building measures, the reconciliation process and the resumption of concrete peace negotiations between the parties. It therefore welcomes the progress made with the implementation of the Trilateral Statement but expresses its concern about reports that not all persons detained in the context of this conflict have been exchanged. In addition, the committee considers that both parties should reinforce their cooperation and communication aimed at demining the concerned areas, with a view to ensuring the safety of civilians.

The committee reiterates that the clear intention of Article 8 of the Trilateral Statement was the exchange of all detained persons, without distinction as to the status of these people assigned by one of the parties. Underscoring the concerns expressed by the European Court of Human Rights with respect to 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan, the committee calls upon Azerbaijan to ensure that all Armenian detainees are released without delay into the care of the Armenian authorities.

In the view of the committee, the establishment of an independent international mission responsible for investigating the conflict and allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations during the recent hostilities is essential to create an environment that is conducive to reconciliation and the establishment of genuine peace. Cultural heritage is important to all parties to the conflict, and the urgent establishment of the necessary mechanisms to ensure its protection and renovation is a priority. The committee has therefore charged its Sub-Committee on Conflicts between Council of Europe Member States to explore more in detail concrete mechanisms for resolving these two issues.

Finally, the committee calls on both parties to constructively engage with the relevant international institutions, in particular the OSCE Minsk Group, with a view to fully implementing the Trilateral Statement, and to start the peace negotiations, the statement reads.
BENGALURU and MUMBAI, India, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting and bp, a global integrated energy company, today announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which both companies intend to work together to develop an integrated Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) offering that will provide end-to-end management of a customers' energy assets and services.

Together, the companies intend to explore opportunities using bp's energy and mobility expertise and Infosys' digital capabilities to manage energy assets, provide low carbon power, low carbon heating/cooling, and low carbon mobility to campuses, driven by an AI-based digital platform. bp's integrated energy offer draws on technologies and businesses in solar and wind together with gas for power, fuels, electric vehicle charging, battery swapping and advanced mobility solutions.

The integrated Energy-as-a-Service solution aims to enable Infosys campuses to access reliable low carbon energy and mobility options, use energy more efficiently, and to optimize supply and demand across multiple users and assets, without having to invest in additional energy infrastructure.

Following a pilot at Infosys' Pune campus, the companies intend to extend the offer to other Infosys campuses and explore opportunities to manage energy and reduce emissions at industrial and business parks as well as cities.

Infosys achieved carbon neutrality in 2020 - 30 years ahead of the timeline set by the Paris Agreement. bp has an ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world get to net zero. Together, both companies see potential in applying digital services to integrated energy solutions and help decarbonize corporations and cities.

Pravin Rao, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys, said, "Digitization will act as a driver for decarbonization and building work and living spaces of the future. With the present advancement in technology, we can create solutions that provide positive impulses, transparency, control, and enhanced decision-making. Infosys has had a long-standing commitment towards sustainability. We have crafted ambitious ESG goals for the next decade, continuing to focus on reducing emissions and co-creating solutions for a no/low carbon future. bp  our strategic partner for the last 16 years  shares our ambitions for a net zero carbon future and this partnership gives us a perfect opportunity to co-innovate and co-create the Integrated Energy and mobility offering leveraging Infosys digital prowess and bp's expertise in sustainable energy solutions. Together, we will strive towards a cleaner and greener future."

Sashi Mukundan, President, bp India and SVP bp group, said, "Integrated energy and mobility solutions have huge potential to enable clean cities powered by low carbon energy, and digital platforms are a vital component. We are excited to work with Infosys to explore how digitally-enabled integrated energy can deliver reliable, efficient and low carbon energy for Infosys campuses. Through this strategic collaboration, bp and Infosys can combine our capabilities to manage energy for Infosys in India, and in time take this offer to other campuses, industrial parks and cities, to help the world decarbonise faster."

bp in India

With a century-long business presence in India, bp is one of the largest international energy companies in the country. In addition to their gas value chain partnership, bp and RIL earlier this year also completed the formation of their major retail, aviation fuels and mobility alliance. bp's activities in India also include Castrol lubricants, oil and gas trading, clean energy projects through Lightsource bp, IT back office activities, a new global business services center, staffing and training for the global bp marine fleet, and the recruitment of skilled Indian employees for bp's global businesses.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

SOURCE Infosys
Coffee drinkers, pet owners and home bakers helped to drive the biggest rise in quarterly sales at for 10 years, as the world's biggest food group outshone Danone and set a high bar for Unilever.

The Swiss group has weathered the COVID-19 pandemic well so far, as consumers have bought more packaged foods and tried to brighten up lockdowns with Starbucks at-home coffee or making treats with Carnation evaporated milk.

Nestle's ecommerce business also fared well in the first quarter, with sales up 40%, and its health science business benefitted as people bought more vitamins and supplements. Demand for fortified milks boosted dairy too.

"What a blow out - the strongest quarterly number since 2011," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Jon Cox said, pointing to a recovery in emerging markets, while Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne described the figures as an "amazing beat".

Shares in Nestle, up just over 2% so far this year, were 3.2% higher at 0857 GMT, outperforming the European food sector.

The maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nespresso coffee confirmed its full-year and medium-term sales guidance.

The company expects organic sales growth, which strips out currency swings and acquisitions/divestments, to increase this year versus the 3.6% achieved in 2020.

Organic sales leapt 7.7% in the first quarter versus 4.3% in the same period last year, easily beating a forecast for 3.3% growth in a company-compiled consensus https://www. com/investors/analysts-consensus and a 3.3% drop in sales posted by peer Danone this week.

Unilever is due to post its first-quarter update on April 29.

The Americas, and also Asia where the pandemic struck first last year, showed particularly strong growth, while Europe saw a 4.4% rise.

Coffee was the largest contributor to growth, with Nespresso portioned coffee up more than 17%, dairy rising almost 16% and petcare around 9%, said.

The group's out-of-home business, which sells food and drinks to restaurants, hotels and cafeterias, struggled, although not as badly as earlier in the pandemic. Sales were down 11.6% in the quarter, after falling over 30% last year.

The infant nutrition business returned to growth in China, but was under pressure elsewhere as birth rates fell.

Nestle said it had made further progress in reshaping its portfolio, as it expands in health and wellness foods and pulls out of underperforming businesses.

It recently sold its North American water brands to One Rock Capital Partners for $4.3 billion and also offloaded its Yinlu peanut milk business in China.

Schneider has said the focus will be more on acquisitions this year. The group recently bought premium water brand Essentia in the United States.

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz. Editing by Kim Coghill and Mark Potter)
What can be done to overcome this fear around being vaccinated?

The depopulation of Africa conspiracy theory was generating high levels of uncertainty. The belief that the vaccine could kill people or cause harmful side effects, combined with doubts about the efficacy of the vaccine, has left citizens feeling uncertain about whether to vaccinate.Many say they prefer to watch and see how other people respond to the vaccine or rely on preventative measures such as hand sanitising, mask wearing and social distancing.The danger of this hesitancy is that slow uptake of the vaccine makes it harder for the country as a whole to achieve herd immunity in the face of the pandemic.The qualitative study revealed that while the country stands to benefit from mass vaccination (it will ease the pressure on the healthcare system, it provides an opportunity for the economy to recover), the personal benefits of vaccinating are less motivating.The vaccine hesitant comment that the vaccine cannot guarantee prevention of contracting Covid-19, but only reduces the risk of Covid-19 related death. With fears around potential side effects, they do not feel this is a risk worth taking.Many distrust sources of information on vaccinating, with highest trust placed in medical experts and lower trust placed in the pharmaceutical companies and politicians as these latter sources are seen as having a vested interest.Citizens are likely to feel reassured once individuals they know are vaccinated without suffering any adverse effects. Yet, it is harder task to convince them that the vaccine will effectively protect them against Covid-19.Communication needs to address fears around death and side effects. Here factual information can reassure, yet it is the persisting underlying fear that will need addressing as heightened emotions are not easily calmed using facts.Information around efficacy is important. A challenge here is that vaccines from different manufacturers carry different levels of efficacy which muddies the water. Citizens need to know which vaccine they will be receiving, any potential side effects and the efficacy related to that vaccine.The elderly, vulnerable communities and those with comorbidities require greatest assistance as their vulnerability increases levels of fear. Those with co-morbidities, for example, worry about how the vaccine will interact with their existing condition, and if there is any danger of additional side effects.Practically, citizens want concrete information on roll out in their local area so that they know where to go and when they can expect to be vaccinated.Any information sharing needs to take the income level of the citizen into account. Upper to mid income levels are likely to be looking for information online and want to make their own decision based on credible facts delivered by a reputable authority.Mid to lower income levels express a preference for face to face community engagement, yet social distancing is preventing this type of community forum from taking place. Often these income levels are open to vaccinating out of economic necessity. They can neither afford to contract Covid, nor do they have access to effective healthcare resources.These citizens are open to community messaging and may feel reassured if they are made aware of other community members who have been vaccinated safely with no adverse effects.
The participants of the protest in support of the detained residents of Armenias Syunik Province threw eggs at the building of the Prosecutor Generals Office, after which the situation got tense and led to a clash between police and the protesters.

The protesters demand the release of the heads of several communities of Syunik Province and insist that the heads of communities were illegally detained.

Yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan, who had secretly left for Syunik Province, was greeted with swear words and offensive remarks by the residents of various cities of the province. They were also demanding that he leave.

The residents of Kajaran shut down the road leading to the entrance to the city, and Pashinyan wasnt allowed to enter the city at all. Pashinyan was accompanied by a large number of policemen and officers of the National Security Service.

Later, it became clear that a criminal case had been launched and that several citizens had been apprehended, including the mayor of Meghri.
Here are the upcoming Chattanooga Live Music events for Wednesday through Sunday.

Check the CLM Facebook schedule page for details of each event.

21-Apr Jamie Leigh & The Classics - Below Deck, Jacob Myers (Dayton) - 6 PM

21-Apr Courtney Holder at Open Mic Night - Wanderlinger Brewing Co. - 8 PM

22-Apr Loop Skywalker with Danimal and Yattie at Wanderlinger Brewing - 7:30 PM

22-Apr Matchbox Rodeo 90's Hits - Farm To Fork - 7 PM

22-Apr Smitty at 1885 Grill at 6PM

23-Apr Happy Hour with Maya Trippe at Tremont Tavern at 4 PM

23-Apr Sam Steadman at Pigeon Mountain Grill - 5 PM

23-Apr Barron Wilson Live at The Feed co.

Table & Tavern - 7 PM23-AprDrew Fisher and Friends at Slicks Burgers at 7:30 PM23-AprMaya Trippe Live at Puckett's - 8 PM23-AprLUZCID at The Signal [SOLD OUT] at 8 PM23-AprLenox Hill / Behold The Brave at Wanderlinger - 9 PM23-AprBen Chapman at Westbound Bar (Station St) - 9 PM23-AprVoodoo Slim at Buds Sports Bar - 10 PM24-Apr90's NIGHT with Matchbox Rodeo at El Fogon - 6 PM24-AprEric Kirkendoll at Puckett's - 8 PM24-AprKameron Marlowe at The Signal at 8 PM24-AprKillaKeyz Birthday Extravaganza Wanderlinger - 9 PM24-AprPluto's Advantage, Terminal Overdrive & Whatever Your Hell at JJ's Bohemia 9 PM24-AprBlossoms Bloomin? Let It Grow! - Dark Roast - 9 PM24-AprVoodoo Slim at Buds Sports Bar - 10 PM25-AprGino Fanelli Sunday Brunch at 1885 St Elmo - 12 Noon
[April 21, 2021] InXpress Holdings Ltd. Names Four Senior Executives to its Board of Directors

Executives with Diverse Experience from PayPal, Etsy, Planet Fitness, and Dell MANCHESTER, England, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- InXpress Holdings Ltd., a software-enabled global franchisor of transportation and logistics services, today announced it named four senior executives to its Board of Directors: Omar Simmons, Executive Chairman of one of the largest Planet Fitness franchise and Managing Director at Exaltare Capital Partners; Arnold Goldberg, former Senior Vice President and Senior Product Technologist at PayPal; Brendan Mulryan, Vice President at Etsy; and Jan Uhrich, former VP Services at Dell. The new directors add complementary skills to reinforce InXpress's long-term commitment to provide world-class transportation and logistics solutions to small and medium sized businesses. Last year Hudson Hill Capital ("HHC") acquired InXpress. Commenting on the appointments, Eric Rosen, Managing Partner of HHC, said, "These senior executives within technology, ecommerce, and franchising will strengthen the InXpress business globally. Each individual brings many years of relevant experience that will strengthen our technology, franchise, and service expertise to enhance the experience of our customers." Based in Manchester, U.K., InXpress is an international franchisor of parcel, freight, and delivery logistics services serving SME customers through a software platform and global network of nearly 400 franchises in 14 countries. The company maintains relationships with tier-one parcel, air, and freight carriers around the world, offering discounted rates to franchisees that form relationships with SME customers through its direct salesforce. The Company also offers its SME customers and franchisees a SaaS platform, enabling franchisees to effectively manage customer service and customers to centrally manage their transportation and logistics requirements. Mr. Simmons, a seasoned private equity professional with nearly 30 years of experience, currently serves as Managing Director at Exaltare Capital Partners, which he co-founded. He is also Executive Chairman of ECP-PF Holdings, one of the largest Planet Fitness franchise with health clubs in Connecticut, New Mexico, and New York. Prior to that, Mr. Simmons worked as a Director at Windjammer Capital Investors and co-founded Reliant Equity Investors. He also worked at leading private equity firms such as Summit Partners and McCown DeLeeuw. Mr. Simmons graduated from Harvard Business Shool with honors, after graduating from Princeton University.



Mr. Goldberg spent the majority of his 30 year career as a senior product and technology executive working with four high-growth companies  PayPal, Box, LinkedIn, and eBay. He joined PayPal in 2013 and served in senior product and technology positions, including his most recent role as Senior Vice President, Chief Product Architect, where he partnered with the CEO to transform the product and engineering functions. Prior to PayPal, Mr. Goldberg worked as Vice President, Engineering at Box; Vice President, Platform Engineering at LinkedIn; and Senior Director, Systems Development at eBay. He also served with Hyperion Software, IBM, and ABB. Mr. Goldberg began his career at Harris Corporation after graduating from the University of Florida with a BS degree in computer engineering. Ms. Uhrich is a Fortune 50 company senior executive with deep experience in technology and services. From 2013 to 2016, she was Chief Delivery Officer at Sutherland responsible for global services delivery, technology, IT, and human resources. Ms. Uhrich spent 17 years with Dell delivering new solutions and services, including starting and building Dell Global Support Services. Prior to Dell, she served for eight years as Senior Director Product Development with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and began her career at Apollo Computer after graduating from Penn State University with a BS degree in computer science. She received her MS degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Mulryan currently serves as Vice President, Member Services at Etsy. Prior to Etsy, he worked as Vice President, Customer Success at SaaS startup Docurated (acquired by Quark Software) and held various Program Management roles at Google. Mr. Mulryan possesses logistics experience as well, working with CEVA Logistics China and the Maersk Group. Mr. Mulryan earned a Diploma in Operational Research and Management Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a BS in Finance from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. Mark Taylor, Global CEO of InXpress said, "We look forward to benefiting from the diverse skills and insights that Omar, Arnold, Jan, and Brendan bring to help accelerate our growth, build strong relationships with our partners, and enhance our software platform." About InXpress

InXpress, a global business-to-business franchise company in the transportation and logistics industry, with a network of nearly 400 franchisees across 14 different countries, provides SMEs with unrivaled time and cost-saving shipping solutions through consultative services and innovative software. Due to the company's size and its global connection to more than 50 trusted carrier partners, InXpress franchisees can offer big shipping discounts to small and medium-sized business. With automated shipping preparation and one-on-one account management, InXpress customers are treated with the care and services typically reserved for Fortune 1000 companies. The core services include international small parcel, domestic small parcel and less-than-truckload ("LTL"). InXpress Americas began franchising in 2006. To learn more about the franchise opportunity and the reoccurring revenue potential, visit website www.inxpress.com. About Hudson Hill

Based in New York, Hudson Hill (www.hudsonhillcapital.com) is a private investment firm founded by Eric Rosen, Jason Palmatary, and Alexander Stacy. Departing from the prevailing short-term orientation of the private equity industry, HHC invests with families, entrepreneurs, and management teams who are attracted to patient, long-term capital partners. Hudson Hill invests its own capital alongside like-minded partners in attractive growth-oriented opportunities in industries benefiting from long-term secular growth tailwinds. HHC's industry focus includes the business services, software, and financial services sectors. Contacts:

For HHC

Chris Tofalli, Chris Tofalli Public Relations

914-834-4334

chris@tofallipr.com For InXpress

Melanie Spencer

+44(0)7399 532 702

melanie.spencer@inxpress.com SOURCE InXpress Holdings Ltd.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
DENVER, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lerch Bates Inc., headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, has entered an exclusive partnership with eMCP, LLC to deliver advanced vertical transportation maintenance tasking and tracking technology support for the global building industry. Principals of Lerch Bates and eMCP have entered into this exclusivity agreement with the intent to positively influence the service segment of the Vertical Transportation Industry with an eye toward future market segment opportunities.

The two firms recognize there is a need for transparent, code compliant, quality vertical transportation maintenance tasking and tracking. This service will provide clients with safe, highly reliable vertical transportation equipment operation, while intelligently overseeing capital asset expenditures. The combined service will be available to developers, building investors, owners, and managers through Lerch Bates Solutions.

Lerch Bates Solutions was developed to assist the global building industry with advanced, proactive maintenance programs for elevators, escalators, and moving walks of all varieties and types. Lerch Bates Solutions provides comprehensive maintenance oversight designed to ensure the highest levels of contractor performance, operating expense control and key performance tracking. The program is structured as a multi-tiered collaboration between Building Owners/Operators, Lerch Bates, eMCP and vertical transportation industry partners. Lerch Bates Solutions produces a detailed and highly prescriptive means to complete maintenance activities while delivering full transparency in reporting and recording code compliant maintenance activities.

The collaboration between Lerch Bates and eMCP will blend the innovative technology developed by eMCP with Lerch Bates Solutions and the marketing and consulting channels of Lerch Bates' more than 200 global Consultants. This enables both organizations to highlight their strengths and enhance their areas of focus. Both organizations have found success independently and believe together they will provide their clients with a transformative approach to Vertical Transportation maintenance.

About Lerch Bates

Lerch Bates was founded in 1947 and are considered global leaders in technical consulting for the built environment. For more than 74 years, with elevator consulting as its cornerstone, Lerch Bates has advised architects, developers, building investors, owners and managers on the design, sustainability and continuous use of a wide spectrum of Building Systems (elevators, escalators, facade access equipment and building logistics processes & equipment) for any size or type of building. Additionally, Lerch Bates is a leading global provider of a comprehensive and diverse range of Building Enclosure engineering, rehabilitative design, consulting, enclosure commissioning (BECx), construction management, and field performance testing services. Lerch Bates, headquartered in metropolitan Denver, is an international consulting services firm with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and India. Lerch Bates operates Lerch Bates Asia Pacific Limited, a holding company in Hong Kong, Lerch Bates (China) Limited, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai, Dewar Partnership in the United Kingdom and PIE Consulting & Engineering. For more information, visit www.lerchbates.com.

About eMCP, LLC

eMCP, LLC was formed in 2015 to produce a more proactive, accountable, and transparent management approach for vertical transportation maintenance. eMCP is an electronic Maintenance Control Program required by and providing full compliance to the A17.1/B44 Safety Code for Elevators, Escalators, Moving Walks, and Dumbwaiters in the United States and Canada and any Standard or Norm in the rest of the world. The patent pending eMCP technology is used to generate the maintenance control program, then provide secured recording of task completion of vertical transportation maintenance tasks, testing, repair, replacement, alteration and other required records. This provides asset owners, consultants and contractors with many new capabilities; the ability to monitor equipment maintenance status in real time, for the first time have access to owner-centric key performance indicators and generate many reports for direct management use. Since 2015, eMCP has been used by Building Owners, Universities, Governments, and Contractors which has led to improved bidding processes, superior maintenance with significant reductions of service calls (callbacks), and real accountability for all parties. For more information, visit www.e-mcp.com.

SOURCE Lerch Bates

Related Links

www.lerchbates.com


As Mr. Ducey vetoed the legislation, he also issued an executive order mandating that all sex education lessons be posted online for parents to review, a move that he said seeks to encompass the heart of the bill.

Join Michael Barbaro and The Daily team as they celebrate the students and teachers finishing a year like no other with a special live event. Catch up with students from Odessa High School, which was the subject of a Times audio documentary series. We will even get loud with a performance by the drum line of Odessas award-winning marching band, and a special celebrity commencement speech.

The executive order maintained the bills provision that students be opted in to sex education by their parents or guardians, a requirement that already exists in Arizona, where schools are not mandated to teach sex education.

The veto was welcomed by state Democrats, who hailed it as the right decision. Kathy Hoffman, the state superintendent of public instruction, thanked the governor on Twitter for standing up to bigotry and intolerance.

Madelaine Adelman, a professor at Arizona State University who focuses on justice studies and L.G.B.T.Q. issues, said that an inclusive education  in which every student gets to see their own stories being told  was important for all students, not just those who identify as L.G.B.T.Q.

Students are learning about gender and sexuality every single day of their lives, formally and informally, inside and outside of schools, she said. How do you want them to learn about it, and what do you want them to learn about it?

Tony Navarrete, a Democrat in the Arizona Senate, said that as a member of the L.G.B.T.Q. community myself, it would have been really nice to grow up with the opportunity to ask questions of why I felt the way I felt and why I felt different.

The bills attempt to connect H.I.V. and AIDS with L.G.B.T.Q. history was hypersexualizing discussions about the topics, he said, adding that a more medically accurate sex education was important.
MONTREAL, April 22, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The Federation de la sante et des services sociaux (FSSS  CSN) invites Family Minister Mathieu Lacombe and his government to reconsider their impulsive reaction to the federal government's announcement on educational childcare services. For the FSSS-CSN, which represents 11,000 childcare workers and 3,000 home childcare providers, not investing the sums granted by the federal government to save this network is a serious mistake.

As announced when it tabled its budget, the federal government will grant Quebec $ 6 billion over five years as compensation since the province already has a universal educational childcare program. For many years, the FSSS-CSN has denounced the serious problems experienced in the network. Beyond the 51,000 missing places, the working conditions offered no longer make it possible to recruit or even retain the women who work there, which causes a serious shortage of staff and the exodus of home childcare providers.

"We know the state of our educational childcare network, not to mention the state of the thousands of women who support it. It would have been a good opportunity to reverse the millions in cuts of the last ten years which continue to put our network at risk. It is not because we have a model envied everywhere in the world that we had to inject these funds elsewhere, on the contrary, we should strive to be the best example possible of this beautiful model " says Lucie Longchamps, Vice-president responsible for private sectors at the FSSS-CSN.

The FSSS-CSN therefore asks the Legault government to act now by using these sums to improve the conditions of childcare workers and home childcare providers and thus ensure the sustainability of the network and the success of the creation of new places.

"The government must forget its dispute with the federal government regarding the division of powers and put the well-being of children, families and people who work in the network at the top of its list of priorities. We must take advantage of the negotiations for the renewal of the childcare centers collective agreement to break the vicious circle affecting the network, " adds Ms. Longchamps. "For example, we are asking the government to finally conclude the work on pay equity for the home childcare providers so that they are finally paid according to the real value of their work. The addition of these sums is the perfect opportunity to do so ".

Story continues

SOURCE Federation de la sante et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN)

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/22/c3542.html
EUGENE, Ore. -- Great Grand Master Lee of U.S. TaeKwonDo College is sharing his memories of Connor Truax, 17, who was killed in a car crash Monday night.

Truax reportedly took taekwondo lessons at the facility for more than 10 years.

"Long story short, Connor was an outstanding young man," said Lee. "Outstanding martial artist. Also, great athlete in all different areas."

Lee said one of his favorite memories with Truax was going to South Korea with him and others from the TaeKwonDo facility.

"I have so many different good memories with Connor, especially the trip to Korea," said Lee. "His family is very sad. His mom is crying continuously. We'd like to support the family in all different ways."

RELATED: WITNESSES SAY CRASH THAT KILLED TEENAGER WAS 'EERILY PEACEFUL'

Lee told KEZI 9 News Truax was a hardworking and talented taekwondo athlete and said he has a strong bond with the Truax family. Both Truax and his mother were black belts at U.S TaeKwonDo College, Lee added.

Truax was a student at South Eugene High School, according to school officials. Grief counselors were on campus Tuesday to counsel students and staff.

MORE: DRIVER KILLED IN CRASH WAS STUDENT AT SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL

Four others were involved in the crash, and one sustained life-threatening injuries.

Police identified the passengers late Wednesday afternoon:

Logan Siddons, 15, of Eugene

Aiden Turpin, 17, of Eugene

Logan Whitney, 17, of Eugene

Thomas Ehlers, 18, of Eugene

No other information has been released about the status of the other passengers at this time.
Connecticuts wealthiest would pay higher taxes on income and investments under legislation narrowly approved on Thursday to fund the two-year, $46 billion budget supported by majority Democrats in the General Assembly.

The tax hikes were at least a temporary victory for progressive Democrats who for years have wanted the rich to pay more. It would help fund a variety of new programs, including a $600-per-child tax credit and enhanced benefits for the states poorest families.

But five Democrats voted against it in the Finance Committee, and Republicans were solidly opposed in a 26-22 vote.

Even before the committee action, the bills prospects diminished when Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said he would not sign the bill if it gets to his desk, stressing that the state has recently enjoyed cheery economic news, with a growing surplus in the current budget; a robust, $3.5 billion reserve called the rainy-day fund and an upgrade in its bond rating.

No, its not really my thing, Lamont said in response to a reporters question Thursday morning. Were starting to get some economic momentum in Connecticut, and I dont want to do anything to stop that.

Later in the day, Lamont said the spending and tax packages were the focus Thursday of a preliminary discussion with top lawmakers, in which he voiced disapproval overall and stressed the need for a broad-based approach to the states needs.

Criticism of the package included the $1.9 billion deficit the state would be left with after the biennium.

Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, co-chairman of the Finance Committee, said in an interview after the panels 5 oclock deadline that this is a good year to attempt bold efforts to fight poverty, which has been exacerbated in the pandemic.

We had an interesting challenge, which was how could we put together a package that reflects the fact that people are really hurting and need relief, but not going so far in one direction to affect the bond rating, the rainy-day fund and the influx of people in the state, people moving into the state, Scanlon said. I think this package is our attempt to find the middle ground between recognizing needs and keeping the progress going in terms of our new-found fiscal strength.

The revenue package includes a new tax on social-media advertising that would generate more than $300 million over the two years; a continuation of the 10 percent surcharge on the corporate tax to raise $50 million a year; a $450 million child tax credit and a tax rebate for restaurants worth $49.5 million during the first year of the biennium. A new fee on the use of credit and debit cards would raise $2.5 million in the second year of the biennium.

The first-ever, per-child tax credit would cover up to three children for families making less than $200,000 or single parents making less than $100,000.

The new tax on the richest state residents would be focused on those with adjusted gross incomes of $500,000 and above. The new tax would range from 0.7 percent for taxpayers with federal AGIs between $500,000 and $2 million, to 1.5 percent for taxpayers with federal AGIs of $13 million or more.

The $1.4 billion projected to be generated over the biennium would not be subject to the states so-called volatility cap that was created during the financial crisis in 2017, because about $200 million would be siphoned into an equity investment fund to nearly double the amounts for lower-income residents who participate in the Earned Income Tax Credit program.

Those claiming the EITC would be able to get additional income credits totaling $154 million over the biennium, according to an analysis of the bill prepared by nonpartisan legislative staff.

Republicans called it a gimmick to take a new program off-budget, and Lamont called it the kind of tactic that has historically led the state into fiscal crisis. The governor leveled similar criticism at the spending package that passed the Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Its sort of the same games that got us into trouble over the last 30 years, Lamont told reporters Thursday afternoon. And to respond to that by more taxes, is just not the way I think we should be going as a state.

Scanlon, in a morning post on Twitter wrote, Democrats give largest tax cut to working and middle class parents in Connecticut history. Later, he stressed to the committee that the state will have nearly $4 billion in its budget reserve to help lawmakers pay for services in the middle of the decade, including a billion dollars in federal support.

A new 2 percent surcharge on capital gains  bringing the total rate to 8.99 percent, would raise $262 million in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2022. According to the nonpartisan analysis of the legislation, the surcharge would apply to investment income for single tax filers with AGIs of $500,000 or more and a million dollars for joint filers.

During the committee discussion, Scanlon said the capital gains surcharge is a way to address the serious challenges in our state while keeping the states rate below those of Massachusetts and New York. People have money in their pockets and they are spending it, Scanlon said of the steadily rising budget surpklus, fueled by income and sales taxes. ,

When the bill was introduced shortly before noon, Republicans assailed the tax increases and movement of close to a billion dollars off the budget. We have created a huge pool of money outside the rules we have set out for spending the taxpayers money,said Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, ranking member of the committee. I find that incredibly disturbing.

Scanlon said that he is less concerned about the projected deficit three years away, because they state is enjoying better-than-expected income tax receipts.

We did not address that deficit in the out year,  Scanlon responded to Republican criticism. I look at this package as cutting more taxes than raising them.

I am deeply disturbed by the lack of fiscal discipline, said Rep. Terrie Wood, R-Darien. It leaves me speechless. She said that it is a sharp change from the conservative, bipartisan budget put together by Republicans and Democrats in 2017.

Its going to blow through something we worked very hard on in 2017, said Rep. David Yaccarino, R-North Haven.

The package includes the governors proposed mileage tax on the largest trucks that drive through the state to support infrastructure improvements. Under the bill, starting in January, 2023, vehicles over 26,000 pounds would pay about $45 million in the first year and $90 million in the second.

It is such an incredible disappointment that I can barely describe it, said Rep. Laura Devlin, R-Fairfield. We can do better and the taxpayers of our state ask us to do better.

Even some Democrats on the committee were critical. Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-Greenwich voted against the revenue package but liked the trucker tax, because he sees many out-of-state vehicles enjoying free travel on Connecticut interstate roadways.

We are running a multistate charity on state highways, Meskers said. We bear that burden and that is unacceptable to me.

Other Democrats on the Finance Committee who voted against the bill included Rep. Chris Perone of Norwalk, Rep. Jill Barry of Glastonbury, Rep. Kerry Wood of Rocky Hill and Rep. Christopher Ziogas of Bristol.

Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, said the new taxes are disappointing, particularly the mileage tax, which is a Lamont initiative following the failure last year of trucks-only highway tolls. Kelly said it would likely result in higher consumer prices.

They think Connecticut residents dont pay enough already, Kelly said in an early afternoon statement. Some of these tax increases are regressive and will hurt those most struggling today. And if the billions in new taxes drive out Connecticuts wealthiest taxpayers, it is the working and middle class who will be left behind to foot the bill. If Democrats really cared and fought for those policies, then they wouldnt be looking at every turn to get around them and move our spending offline and out of transparency. Circumventing these caps is turning our government into a sham.

In a separate bill approved along largely party lines Thursday morning, a new Community Restoration Fund would be created to support urban development in the states poorest neighborhoods, based on a 20 percent tax on cannabis, if legalization of adult sales goes through this year. Projected annual revenues would be $116 million for the state and $18 million for cities that host cannabis business by the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Another bill, which would have eliminated the personal property tax on cars, expired without a vote at the 5 oclock deadline.

Staff writer Luther Turmelle contributed to this report.
The County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors unanimously approved two proposals in support of the Armenian community in the US, Zartonk Media reported.

"Our Board unanimously approved two motions I brought forward today in support of our Armenian communities, one coauthored by Supervisor Hilda Solis recognizing April 24 as the Day of Remembrance in solemn recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the second with Supervisor Janice Hahn to declare April as Armenian History Month," the board's chair Kathryn Barger noted on her Facebook page.

"Los Angeles County is strengthened by the tremendous contributions of Armenians. I value the voice of our Armenian residents and will continue to shine a light on their history, accomplishments, and priorities," she added.
Key benchmark indices are trading weak in early trade on selling pressure in index pivotals as trading resumed after a local holiday. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 301.61 points or 0.63% at 47,404.19. The Nifty 50 index was down 89.85 points or 0.63% at 14,206.55. Steep surge in COVID-19 infections in the country weighed on sentiment. Asian stocks are trading higher.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.36%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.09%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is negative. On the BSE, 884 shares rose and 974 shares fell. A total of 97 shares were unchanged.

On the coronavirus front, amidst the country reeling under the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Maharashtra government on April 21 announced stringent restrictions in the state for coming days. The restrictions will come into effect from 8 PM on April 22 and will be in place till AM on May 1.

Stocks in news:

Hero MotoCorp dropped 2.15%. Hero MotoCorp and Gogoro Inc. announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the shift to sustainable electric mobility in India. The companies will establish a battery swapping joint venture to bring Gogoro's industry leading battery swapping platform to India and will collaborate on electric vehicle development to bring Herobranded, powered by Gogoro Network vehicles to market.

Hero MotoCorp has decided to halt operations temporarily at all of its manufacturing facilities across the country, including its Global Parts Center (GPC), in view of the ongoing escalation in the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

State Bank of India (SBI) rose 0.09%. SBI said that IRDAI has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on its unlisted subsidiary SBI General Insurance Company for violation of regulations relating to motor third party insurance obligations.

Nestle India fell 1.21%. On a standalone basis, Nestle India net profit rose 14.62% to Rs 602.25 crore on 8.58% increase in revenue from operations to Rs 3,610.82 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. The board has declared an interim dividend for FY2021 of Rs 25 per equity share, which shall be paid on and from 19 May 2021.

ICICI Securities jumped 4.17%. The company's consolidated profit after tax (PAT) jumped 111% to Rs 329 crore on 53% increase in revenue to Rs 739 crore in Q4 FY21 over Q4 FY20.

KEC International declined 0.67%. The company has secured new orders of Rs 1,245 crore across its various businesses.

Tata Steel Long Products advanced 3.69%. On a consolidated basis, Tata Steel Long Products reported a net profit of Rs 339.86 crore in Q4 March 2021 compared with net loss of Rs 133.23 crore in Q4 March 2020. Consolidated revenue from operations surged 53.40% to Rs 1,546.74 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q4 March 2020.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher on Thursday following an overnight bounce on Wall Street.

In US, Wall Street rebounded on Wednesday after a two-day decline in a broad rally as a tilt toward stocks poised to benefit from a recovering economy offset Netflix Inc's sell-off after its disappointing results a day earlier. Both the S&P 500 and Dow hit all-time highs.

Back home, stock markets were shut on Wednesday on account of Ram Navami. The domestic equity barometers ended with modest losses after a volatile trade on Tuesday. A record surge in Covid-19 cases and FII outflows from the capital market dented investors sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 243.62 points or 0.51% to 47,705.80. The Nifty 50 index lost 63.05 points or 0.44% to 14,296.40.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,082.33 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,323.01 crore in the Indian equity market on 20 April, provisional data showed.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The worlds largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, is looking to refinance as much as $10 billion in loans that it raised six years ago, banking sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The Saudi state-held oil giant has been reportedly very active on the debt market in recent months after last years crisis reduced its profits. At the same time, Aramco continues to pledge annual dividends of $75 billion to shareholders, the biggest of which is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with more than 98 percent.

The latest debt that Aramco aims to refinance is a $10-billion revolving credit facility raised in 2015 from a group of banks. That facility included two five-year loans, one each in U.S. dollars and Saudi riyals, and two one-year loans renewable each year.

Saudi Aramco has now decided to refinance the $10 billion loans, instead of renewing the one-year loans every year, Reuters sources said.

According to one of those sources, the Saudi firm has also recently renewed another one-year $10 billion loan which it took in May 2020.

Saudi Aramco was said last month to be seeking to extend that $10-billion loan which it raised from a group of banks last year in May to finance its acquisition of Sabic, the Saudi petrochemicals major, which cost the energy company some $69 billion and wrapped up in June 2020.

The loan was supposed to be repaid from the proceeds of a bond that Aramco issued later last year. However, the company did not repay the Sabic loan. It raised $8 billion from the bond. It was the second bond that Aramco issued in as many years after placing a $12-billion bond with international buyers in 2019.

Over the past two years, Saudi Aramcos debt levels have jumped nearly four times as the oil giant was financing the Sabic deal. Then the collapse in oil prices hit its revenues and profits.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The product cleared US customs in Los Angeles on April 16

Iron Energy is a market leader in Poland's energy drink market and is a leading brand in the Middle East

Inc ( ) (OTCQB:LNLHF) (FRA:LL1) has announced that the first containers of Mike Tyson-branded energy drink from FoodCare Group have cleared customs in Los Angeles.

The company said the product cleared customs on April 16 and is making its way to its distribution facility in Arizona.

"This is a new product in the US marketplace, a product of great quality, combined with legendary Mike Tyson's branding, and our experienced sales and distribution team expect a great start," said CEO Stan Lis in a statement.

The company said it intends to provide further shareholder updates on specific details of the retail distribution, as its retail partners begin sales of the energy drink.

FoodCare Group, the supplier and manufacturer of Iron Energy, by Mike Tyson, is a market leader in Poland's energy drink market and is a leading brand in the Middle East. And LeanLife said it believes that Iron Energy will also appeal to North American consumers and will quickly gain retail and consumer acceptance.

The annual market value of the combined US and Canadian energy drink markets is estimated at over US$14 billion, the company said.

According to Allied Market Research, the global energy drinks market size was valued at $53.01 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.20% to reach $86.01 billion by 2026.

LeanLife said the drink will be aggressively priced and shelf-positioned to appeal to a broad consumer base. Market share growth is expected.

The broad base of health and sports-oriented consumers will be attracted to this unique product alternative," the company added. "Iron Energy is enjoying great success in the European market. We believe Iron Energy will offer a similar success story in North America due to its compelling brand attributes, product taste, and energy benefits.

Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham
BigID, a NYC and Tel Aviv, Israel-based actionable data intelligence platform, raised $30M in additional Series D funding, which is now closed at 100M valuing the company at $1.25 Billion.

Advent International amde the investment through Advent Tech. Advent joined existing investors including Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Global Management, Glynn Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Scale Venture Partners and Boldstart Ventures.

The company, which has now raised $200 million over four rounds since September 2019, intends to use the funds to expand globally, boost its go-to-market efforts to advance product development in the areas of data privacy, security, and governance.

Led by CEO and co-founder Dimitri Sirota, BigID is a leader in data discovery and intelligence for privacy, protection and perspective. The companys platform combines machine learning-based classification, cataloging, correlation, and cluster analysis to allow companies to understand, protect, and derive value from their data.

FinSMEs

22/04/2021
A steel mill in the Iskenderun region booked a European cargo, comprising 22,500 tonnes of HMS 1&2 (80:20) and 12,500 tonnes of a mixture of plate and structural (P&S) and HMS 1 at an average price of $429 per tonne cfr.Meanwhile, a steel mill in Northern Turkey booked a 27,000-28,000-tonne Baltic Sea cargo, comprising HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $427 per tonne, shredded at $432 per tonne and bonus at $437 per tonne cfr.These compared with the previous deep-sea bookings done on Friday April 16 at $416-417 per tonne cfr for Europe-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20).As a result, the daily scrap indices went up on Wednesday April 21.Fastmarkets daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), North Europe origin, cfr Turkey was calculated at $425.52 per tonne on April 21, up by $9.27 per tonne day on day.And the daily index for steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), US origin, cfr Turkey was $431.49 per tonne on Wednesday, also up by $9.27 per tonne day on day, leaving the premium for US material over European scrap at $5.97 per tonne.Market participants attributed the increase to the latest rebar and billet sales Turkish mills secured in Southeast Asia and Latin America.The Turkish mills were not willing to pay higher prices for scrap earlier. However, the demand in the Latin America and Southeast Asia encouraged them to pay more for scrap. I heard the mill in northern Turkey, who bought the Baltic Sea cargo, sold 20,000 tonnes of billet to Peru, a Turkish source said.Turkish local rebar market is very weak but the export market is comparatively stronger, another Turkish source said.Turkish rebar export offers were now standing at $650-660 per tonne fob on actual weight basis, compared with the $635 per tonne levels heard last week.Fastmarkets weekly price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), export, fob main port Turkey was $625-635 per tonne in the latest assessment on April 15, down from previous weeks $635-640 per tonne. The price will next be published on April 22.
WALTHAM, Mass., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- InterWell Health, the leading physician organization driving innovation in the renal industry, announces the closing of a Series B round of equity funding of over $46 million. This private offering brings together more than 1,000 nephrologist investors representing 55 nephrology practices in 31 states into InterWell Health.

InterWell Health was founded in December 2019 with initial funding of $20 million from 16 nephrology practices and Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), the world's largest, vertically integrated kidney care company.

"This offering expands our investor group of premier, visionary nephrology practices across the country," said Kim Sonnen, President of InterWell Health. "We are poised to deliver extraordinary value to patients, providers, and payors under value based arrangements that support individuals living with chronic kidney disease. Our hallmark is the physician investment, leadership, and engagement that drives the InterWell Health business model."

Through its network of more than 1,400 nephrologist network participants, and its partnership with FMCNA, InterWell Health deploys a broad scope of data-driven and clinically-proven tools to effectively identify and manage chronic disease for the vulnerable renal patient population.

"We partner with Fresenius Health Partners, the national leader in renal value based care, to provide clinical work flows, care team support, and robust data analytics that support our network physicians who direct the care of renal patients across the full continuum of care," said George Hart, M.D., Co-Chief Medical Officer of InterWell Health and President of Metrolina Nephrology Associates, Charlotte, NC. "This combination sets us apart from the competition and positions us as best in class."

"We are excited to join InterWell Health, whose highly effective business model puts physician leaders across the country at the forefront of driving rapid adoption of clinically-sound best practices and innovation in the care of renal patients," said Timothy A. Pflederer, M.D., President, Illinois Kidney Disease and Hypertension Center, Peoria, IL. "As physicians, we are committed to the long-term care of these patients, and InterWell Health positions us to truly transform care models that improve patient outcomes and quality of life."

Kidney disease is estimated to affect 37 million individuals nationwide, and nephrologists manage their care through early identification, education, and interventions that slow progression, help them navigate through the transplantation process, and support their transition to renal replacement therapy. InterWell Health is comprised of a high-performing network of nephrologists and, in partnership with FMCNA and premier nephrology practices, brings a decade of proven success in value based arrangements.

For more information about InterWell Health, visit www.interwellhealth.com.

About InterWell Health

InterWell Health is a national, physician-centric joint venture between 55 premier nephrology practices and Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA). Through its nephrology network of more than 1,400 physicians, InterWell Health is positioned to manage kidney patients under at-risk arrangements with public and private payors across the full continuum of chronic kidney disease, transplant, end stage renal disease, and conservative care. The InterWell business model deploys data analysis and care models developed and refined over the last decade and proven to be successful. The combined resources and clinical and analytical expertise of the nephrology partners and FMCNA are transforming care models for renal patients in ways that improve patient outcomes and achieve payor goals. For more information, visit the company's website at www.interwellhealth.com.

Media Contact:

Farzeen Ventresca

[email protected]

(215) 570-6016

SOURCE InterWell Health

Related Links

http://www.interwellhealth.com


Kenneth Gleason's DNA was found on shell casings recovered from the scene of a Black homeless man's slaying at a Baton Rouge bus stop in September 2017, a DNA expert testified Thursday at the murder trial of the alleged serial killer.

Joanie Brocato, former manager of the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab's DNA laboratory, said she personally called the Baton Rouge Police Department at 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 19, 2017, after the lab -- which had worked throughout the night -- detected Gleason's DNA on shell casings from the scene where Bruce Cofield was fatally shot on Sept. 12 of that year.

Gleason, 27, who is White, was booked by BRPD later in the day on Sept. 19, 2017.

He's charged with first-degree murder in the Sept. 14, 2017, shooting death of another Black man, Donald Smart; second-degree murder in Cofield's killing two nights earlier; and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in a Sept. 11, 2017, incident in which he's accused of firing into the home of the only Black family on the block where he lived in the Hickory Ridge subdivision off Coursey Boulevard.

+3 At alleged serial killer's trial, witness describes shooting of Louie's Cafe worker in a park A former LSU student testified Monday that he watched in horror the night of Sept. 14, 2017, as a man made a u-turn in front of a BREC park ju

Prosecutors have said Gleason is linked to Cofield's killing and the nonfatal shooting through DNA evidence, and to both deadly shootings and the nonfatal incident through ballistics evidence.

Gleason is currently standing trial only in Smart's killing, but evidence from the Cofield homicide and the nonfatal shooting also is being introduced at the trial. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison if found guilty as charged in Smart's death. The verdict must be unanimous.

Earlier Thursday, a firearm examiner testified that the 26 shell casings collected from the scenes of the three shootings were fired from the same unknown gun.

Rusty Day, who is employed by BRPD but assigned to the State Police Crime Lab, also testified that 14 bullets recovered in the pair of fatal shootings were fired from that same 9 mm gun.

Authorities have never found the weapon used in the three shootings.

Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Gleason, who lived on Sandy Ridge Drive a few houses down from where the non-fatal shooting occurred, bought a CZ 9 mm gun with a 15-round magazine in November 2016 and applied for a silencer on July 20, 2017, less than two months before the shootings began, according to testimony Wednesday in the case.

Day, in his testimony Thursday, said no gun was ever submitted to him for comparison in the three shootings, but he added that a CZ 9 mm is among the guns that could have fired the shell casings and projectiles recovered in those shootings.

Cofield, 59, was gunned down the night of Sept. 12, 2017, as he sat at a bus stop near the intersection of Florida Boulevard and South Acadian Thruway. Smart, 49, was shot to death two nights later as he walked down Alaska Street north of the LSU campus to his overnight shift at Louie's Cafe.

Authorities have said those shootings, and the nonfatal shooting, were apparently random and possibly racially motivated.

An FBI agent testified Wednesday that Gleason searched the internet between Sept. 1, 2017, and Sept. 16, 2017, for topics such as White nationalism, genocide, Nazi propaganda and gun silencers.

+3 Alleged serial killer searched for Nazi, White nationalist topics, FBI agent says at his trial A White Baton Rouge man accused of fatally shooting two Black men and firing into the home of a Black family, all in September 2017, searched 

Gleason's lawyers have said he studied German at LSU. He attended the university for one year starting in the fall of 2012.

Gleason's trial, which is nearing the end of its second week, will resume Friday and is expected to stretch into next week.

Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty after consulting with Smart's family.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Connecticut authorities are warning utility customers to be on the lookout for scammers posing as representatives for various utility companies and demanding payment through pre-paid gift cards.

In a tweet, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority said the agency is aware of incidents where scammers are posing as utilities asking customers to pay utility bills via an app, gift card or pre-paid credit card.
Florida public school students might soon have a required moment of silence at the start of each day under a measure passed Thursday by the Florida Senate and headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk.

The Senate voted 32-6 to pass the bill (HB 529), which was approved by the House last month in a 94-24 vote.

Under the measure, school principals would be required to direct first-period teachers to institute a one- to two-minute moment of silence at the beginning of each day.

Lawmakers have considered similar proposals in previous years but have not passed them.

Under the bill, teachers would not be able to make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence, and students may not interfere with other students participation.

The measure also would direct teachers to encourage parents to talk with students about the moment of silence and to make suggestions as to the best use of the time.

Senate sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said that part of the measure should alleviate concerns that teachers could influence how students use the silent time.

It remains very clear in the wording of this bill that parents and guardians are the ones responsible for a discussion with their child about whats the appropriate content of that time. We dont want that responsibility on the teacher, Baxley said.

Opponents of the measure have argued that mandating a moment of silence in public schools blurs the line between church and state.

It would be a good thing if we could all take a moment of silence every day and reflect and meditate a little bit on things that are important to us. However, the framers of our Constitution were very careful to separate church and state, said Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer, D-Lighthouse Point.

Sen. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, raised a concern about children who arent religious potentially being made uncomfortable by other students who choose to pray during the moment of silence.

Story continues

I understand that this is a moment of silence, but I also want us all to think about what could happen in a moment of silence. Could children take out rosaries and start doing the sign of the cross and [make] other children feel uncomfortable? Could a child take out a prayer rug and start using a prayer rug? Berman said.

Other Democrats supported the bill, with some drawing on personal experiences.

Sen. Victor Torres, D-Kissimmee, said he used a moment of silence to reflect when he attended school in New York as a child.

I feel that it gives the teacher and the students a chance to reflect, and whichever religion you believe in, thats your right, Torres said.

Baxley argued that the measure is aimed at giving school children a silent, uninterrupted moment just to stop and reflect.

However you use it, just ... be still and listen and reflect before you start a days activity. I just read a piece about where theyre proposing this in business operations  because the worlds in chaos, Baxley said.
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (OTCQB:CLSH)(CSE:CLSH), the 'Company' or 'CLS', a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences, today announced that it has amended the terms of $6,229,672 in principal amount, which includes capitalized interest, of its outstanding unsecured convertible debentures (the "U.S. Debentures") issued October 25, 2018 and October 31, 2018 by, among other things, (i) reducing the conversion price from $0.80 per unit to $0.30 per unit; and (ii) extending the maturity date of the U.S. Debentures by one year to four (4) years from the execution date of the U.S. Debentures. The exercise price of the warrants issuable upon conversion of the U.S. Debentures remains unchanged. The amendments also provide that the Company shall file a registration statement to register for resale all of the shares of common stock of the Company issuable to the holders of the debentures upon conversion of the debentures and the exercise of the warrants issuable upon conversion of the debentures.

In connection with the amendments to the debenture owned by Navy Capital Green Fund, LP, the Company also agreed that Navy Capital may appoint an observer to the Company's board of directors as long as it maintains certain share ownership requirements.

About CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) is a diversified cannabis company that acts as an integrated cannabis producer and retailer through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries in Nevada and plans to expand to other states. CLS stands for "Cannabis Life Sciences," in recognition of the Company's patented proprietary method of extracting various cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and converting them into products with a higher level of quality and consistency. The Company's business model includes licensing operations, processing operations, processing facilities, sale of products, brand creation and consulting services. https://www.clsholdingsinc.com/

Twitter: @CLSHoldingsUSA

Oasis Cannabis has operated a cannabis dispensary in the Las Vegas market since dispensaries first opened in Nevada in 2015 and has been recognized as one of the top marijuana retailers in the state. Its location within walking distance to the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in combination with its delivery service to residents allows it to efficiently serve both locals and tourists in the Las Vegas area. In February 2019, it was named "Best Dispensary for Pot Pros" by Desert Companion Magazine. In August 2017, the company commenced wholesale offerings of cannabis in Nevada with the launch of its City Trees brand of cannabis concentrates and cannabis-infused products. http://oasiscannabis.com

Founded in 2017, City Trees is a Nevada-based cannabis cultivation, production and distribution company. Offering a wide variety of products with consistent results, City Trees products are available in numerous dispensaries throughout the state of Nevada. https://citytrees.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and 'forward-looking statements' as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, the 'forward-looking statements'). These statements relate to, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our business, the results of our initiatives to retain our employees and strengthen our relationships with our customers and community during the pandemic, the effect of our initiatives to expand market share and achieve growth during and following the pandemic, results of operations and financial performance, anticipated future events, and the effectiveness of our business practices during the pandemic. The continued spread of COVID-19 could have, and in some cases already has had, an adverse impact on our business, operations and financial results, including through disruptions in our cultivation and processing activities, supply chains and sales channels, and retail dispensary operations as well as a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession. Due to the uncertainties associated with the continued spread of COVID-19 and the timing of vaccinations, it is not possible to estimate its impact on our business, operations or financial results; however, the impact could be material. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements by terminology such as 'may,' 'might,' 'will,' 'should,' 'intends,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'goals,' 'projects,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'predicts,' 'potential,' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered together with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See CLS Holdings USA filings with the SEC and on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com for additional details.

Contact Information:

Corporate:

Chairman and CEO

Jeff Binder

President and COO

Andrew Glashow

888-438-9132

Investor Relations:

investors@clsholdingsinc.com

SOURCE: CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641695/CLS-Holdings-USA-Inc-Announces-Amendments-to-Additional-Convertible-Debentures
The system has passed several rounds of prototyping and clinical trials, which have proven it to be robust and clinician-friendly

Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) has developed Auretek, a user-friendly hand-held device that can objectively and non-invasively analyse the bio-chemical composition of the patients skin at point-of-care and in real-time.

The technology developers, Dr Renzhe Bi and Dr Dinish U. S. from SBICs Laboratory of Bio-Optical Imaging, said, We invented Auretek by employing our multi-disciplinary R&D experience in optical spectroscopy, fibre optics and artificial intelligence (AI). Auretek is a flexible hand-held probe that can achieve the same level of sensitivity and performance as conventional benchtop systems. Currently, Auretek is the only optical fibre-based dual-wavelength confocal Raman system with a flexible hand-held probe that provides depth profiling of human skin in vivo.

By leveraging a comprehensive skin bio-chemical database and advanced software analytics, clinicians can gain pertinent insights on the skins condition and will be able to accurately diagnose and treat skin diseases, with the help of Auretek.

The system has passed several rounds of prototyping and clinical trials, which have proven it to be robust and clinician-friendly. Meticulously crafted by engineers, Auretek blends design and technology to offer a great user experience.

Additionally, Auretek has the potential to assist in the development and formulation of dermocosmetic products. For example, it can be used to test the skins response to active ingredients.

Based on feedback from dermatologists, the research team is working on further optimising and miniaturising the hand-held probe. The skin bio-chemical database and AI algorithm will also be further established and validated through clinical trials.

Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) is one of the 10 research institutes of the Biomedical Research Council under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore.
The Virginia city of Norfolk has fired a police lieutenant after news reports that said he donated to and expressed support for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of killing two people during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer.

City officials announced Tuesday that police Lt. William Kelly had been relieved of duty after an internal investigation.

His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve. The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable, City Manager Chip Filer said in a statement.

The development came after news organizations including The Virginian-Pilot reported that they had obtained data from a Christian crowdfunding website that was hacked, apparently showing an initially anonymous $25 donation to Rittenhouses legal defense fund was linked to Kellys work email address.

According to the newspaper, the donation carried the comment: God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. Youve done nothing wrong.

It went on to say, Every rank and file police officer supports you.

Kyle Rittenhouse, left, with backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, with another armed civilian. Prosecutors on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 charged Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters and the wounding of a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. (Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP)AP

According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse, who is white, went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August as the city was in the throes of chaotic protests after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back during a domestic disturbance. Rittenhouse was 17 at the time.

Rittenhouse is accused of opening fire on protesters with an AR-15-style rifle. Two were killed and one was wounded.

He has argued he fired in self-defense after the protesters attacked him, and his case became a rallying cry for some conservatives who helped raise money for his bail in November. Others have cast him as a trigger-happy domestic terrorist.

Earlier this year, Rittenhouse was captured on video at a bar wearing a T-shirt that read Free as (expletive) and flashing white supremacist signs, according to prosecutors.

The Guardian first reported the news of the data breach and Kellys apparent donation to Rittenhouse.

Kelly was initially put on administrative duty Friday, the city said. He can appeal the firing.

It was not immediately clear if Kelly had an attorney representing him who could comment on his behalf. The Associated Press unsuccessfully attempted to reach him by phone.

Clay Messick, president of the local police union, told the Pilot that the decision to fire Kelly, not a union member, was disappointing.

We were hoping for a full, transparent investigation, he told the newspaper. But after 72 hours, I do not believe that is what we got.'

Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone said in a statement he hoped the perceptions of an individual officer wouldnt undermine community relations with the department.

A police department cannot do its job when the public loses trust with those whose duty is to serve and protect them, Boone said.
Tuesday evening, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 called off its planned two-day strike at Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) which had been set to begin Thursday. Over 90 percent of the 1,900 classified staff in SEIU 1021, including bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, instructional aides, clerks, and others had voted in favor of the strike, demanding greater personal protective equipment (PPE) and accommodations for workers with young children at home.

SCUSD had begun allowing elementary school students to return to in-person instruction on April 8, and April 22 was set as the day for middle and high school students to return. Districts across California have been reopening school sites on very short notice in order to avoid financial penalties from the state government under Assembly Bill 86 (AB86), which reduces districts funding for every day they remain in distance learning after April 1.

(Source: Twitter)

The Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) only signed a memorandum of understanding on reopening with SCUSD on March 20, less than three weeks before students were to return. The Oakland Education Association (OEA) and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) both reached tentative agreements with their respective districts on March 21, for a return to in-person instruction on April 19, with some cohorts starting earlier. The rush of chaotic reopenings has left basic issues of scheduling, class lists, and staffing to be worked out on an ad-hoc, school-by-school basis.

Californias chronically underfunded schools have struggled with large class sizes, dilapidated facilities and overworked support staff for decades. Unsurprisingly, district and union demands to resume in-person instruction with rigid cohorts and an intensified cleaning schedule has brought out opposition among school staff. With less than two months left in the school year, scrapping the current distance learning plans and building new hybrid education models and work schedules from scratch is disastrous for public health, academics and family life.

Staff members who expected school sites to remain closed through the end of the school year now have to scramble for child care. Some, doubting the districts would risk student lives before the pandemic was contained, moved away to be with family while they could work remotely and are now being forced to move back with little notice.

After the overwhelming support to authorize a strike, SEIU 1021 initially called a limited two-day strike for April 22 and 23. School staff received support from rank-and-file teachers who pressured SCTA into preparing a sympathy strike. In the face of this growing determination of educators to struggle, the SEIU called off the strike at the last minute.

State mediation for a new tentative agreement (TA) has left basic issues unresolved. Instead of accommodations for child care, the TA allows school staff to bring their children to work if there is room at the site, with the parent signing a liability waiver. The TA includes one-time bonuses of up to $2,250 which are meant as bribes to pressure workers facing financial insecurity to return to deadly conditions. There are no additional opportunities for work leave except those already existing before the pandemic.

Further, the deal makes no new demands for school staffing despite the sharply increased workload of custodial staff, bus drivers and others. The TA only asks that the district follow AB86, which calls for 10 percent of its additional funding to be for paraprofessionals to supplement instruction. School staff and teachers in Sacramento are not alone in facing these issues, but broad sections of workers in California and throughout the US are being consciously isolated by the unions.

In Oakland, teachers who were angry after the OEA promised them additional accommodations and better work schedules voted over 95 percent for a no-confidence motion in the districts reopening plans on April 16. Teachers major concerns included a lack of work accommodations, inadequate janitorial staff and intensified work schedules with less prep time.

After carrying out this stunt no confidence vote to try to dissipate anger among rank-and-file educators, the OEA executive board and bargaining team regained their full confidence in the district just two days later with a supplemental TA leaving important issues unresolved. The supplemental TA provides no new accommodations, no defense of prep time, and just a $200 per week stipend for the increased workload of special day class teachers.

Regarding custodial staffing, the OEA released a statement of bureaucratic indifference, claiming they cannot bargain for other labor unions, as if teachers have no interest in whether there are enough janitors to disinfect during a pandemic and remove long-lasting rat infestations. According to EdJoin, the main job postings web site for school districts in California, there are currently 1,605 openings statewide for custodial, facilities and maintenance staff.

Across the country, education workers have confronted the persistent effort of the unions to keep them isolated and prevent workers from enforcing a coherent state- and nation-wide policy for containing the pandemic. The rush to throw open Californias schools brought on by AB86 was praised by the California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers. In doing so, they followed the line of the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers (AFT), which have played the most critical role in implementing President Bidens mandate to resume in-person instruction at the majority of all schools within his first 100 days in office.

AFT President Randi Weingarten recently endorsed the CDCs reduction of social distancing in schools from six feet to three feet and proclaimed, Were not going to fight to keep schools closed. This disastrous policy of the unions and both big business parties has led to a renewed surge in the pandemic. In Michigan, where the rate of new daily cases recently reached its highest level yet due to the now-dominant B.1.1.7. variant, K-12 schools have been the number one source of new outbreaks .

A pandemic cannot be contained through local measures and rotten deals district-by-district or school-by-school. In order to contain and eradicate the disease, workers need to break out of the union straitjacket. The more that COVID-19 is allowed to spread in any location, the more likely that new dangerous variants will escape vaccines and drive new surges where transmission is currently low.

Since its formation last December, the Northern California Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee has fought to oppose the unsafe reopening of schools. We urge all school staff, teachers, parents and students in Sacramento and throughout the region to join and help build this committee today .
London: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been savaged for allegedly sucking up to China and turning her back on the Five Eyes alliance during a historic debate in which British MPs unanimously declared that China was carrying out genocide and crimes against humanity.

The vote on the motion addressing Beijings repression of the Uighurs in Xinjiang province was carried unanimously, making it the first time in the House of Commons history that MPs have passed a genocide motion without dissent.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit:Getty

During the debate, Australia was praised for its actions in standing up to China, despite the massive estimated $20 billion cost to the trading relationship. Beijing has blocked lobster, wine, barley and some coal imports since Canberra asked for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus.

But MPs voiced concern about the New Zealand governments recent comments cautioning against the Five Eyes expanding its remit beyond intelligence sharing  remarks that blindsided Australia but were immediately endorsed by the Chinese.
Sir Keir Starmer and Mark Drakeford have visited a brewery in Wales ahead of the Senedd elections - despite the government still banning pubs from reopening.

Welsh Labour is promising new jobs and major investment for the region including a medical school for Bangor and a new national park.

Sir Keir, thrown out of a pub in England recently by a landlord angry at Labour's opposition during the pandemic, visited the Wrexham Lager brewery with the First Minister.

The UK party leader said: 'Welsh Labour's offer for North Wales is very ambitious.

'It's about jobs - jobs for the future, green jobs, it's about the NHS, the future of medicine and medical supplies in North Wales.

'It's about apprenticeships, it's about a special offer, a really important offer, for the under-25s - for under-25s there's a guarantee of a job, of training, of apprenticeship etc.

'That is fantastically important for those that are under 25 and everybody else who cares about the next generation.

'We are fighting for every vote, we are fighting for every seat.' He urged voters to look at the record of Welsh Labour under Mr Drakeford.

Sir Keir Starmer and Mark Drakeford have visited a brewery in Wales ahead of the Senedd elections next month - despite the government still banning pubs opening

Sir Keir, thrown out of a pub in England recently by a landlord angry at Labour's opposition during the pandemic, visited the Wrexham Lager brewery with the First Minister

Sir Keir pulled a pint of lager at the brewery before sipping his drink (pictured at the tap)

Labour Party leader Sir Kier Starmer visits a chip shop at Hartlepool Marina with Dr Paul Williams and his family

Sir Keir added: 'His leadership has been extremely good in this pandemic and I've been talking to people of all different political persuasions who say that Mark Drakeford and Welsh Labour have led through this pandemic very carefully in a reassuring way, that has taken Wales through a very, very difficult period.

'And that is his record that he's proudly standing on. Coupled with that he's got the ambition for the future.'

Sir Keir pulled a pint of lager at the brewery before sipping his drink, and Mr Drakeford - the man who still has Welsh pubs closed - also drank.

But social media users asked why they were allowed in a brewery when the public cannot go to the pub.

Tony Willis posted: 'Why are you in a pub when we are not allowed?'

Another put: 'He's literally stood in the pub doorway supposedly drinking a pint which is against the law in wales thanks to welsh labour.'

One woman asked: 'How were you in a pub in North Wales? Pubs are not even open in Wales yet. Drakeford says so.'

And another added: 'You cannot by law invite people INTO your pub under covid rules... only can be served at outside tables...'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford during a visit to Wrexham Larger Brewery in Wrexham

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (centre) talks to members of staff at the Llangollen Health Centre during a walkabout in Llangollen

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer (centre) talks to AONB Partnership Chair Andy Worthington, during a walkabout with First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford (left) in Llangollen

The Labour leader was thrown out of a pub earlier this week after being confronted by a landlord furious he supported the lockdown which had closed his business.

Rod Humphris, the lockdown-sceptic landlord of the Raven in Bath, had to be held back by security guards as he demanded Sir Keir leave.

He shouted: 'That man is not allowed in my pub... get out of my pub'.

The incident was captured on camera by reporters amid a visit to the city to support West of England metro mayoral candidate Dan Norris ahead of the elections.

Mr Humphris accused him of having 'failed to be the opposition' by supporting the lockdown and backing plans to make schoolchildren wear masks.

Mr Humphris clashed with Sir Keir outside, accusing him of having 'failed to be the opposition' by supporting the lockdown and backing plans to make schoolchildren wear masks

Wales is two weeks behind England in lifting restrictions, with pubs only opening after lockdown for the first time on Monday.

Wales has the lowest level of virus infections in the UK and is third in the world in terms of vaccine delivery.

But Mr Drakeford said he will continue to listen to the scientific evidence as restrictions are lifted.

He said: 'We are in a very good place in Wales. Throughout the whole of the pandemic, I think I've only ever been asked two questions: either 'Are you going too fast?' or 'Are you going too slow?'

'I'm hopeful we can do more, now that we know the numbers are as low as they are.

'But we will do it in a way that continues to make sure that people in Wales are safeguarded from what is still a global public health crisis.'

He is expected to make an announcement about Covid-19 restrictions on Friday. The Welsh Parliament election will take place on Thursday May 6.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:41:53|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Thursday welcomed an African Union (AU) initiative to facilitate constructive dialogue between warring political leaders that will culminate in holding free, fair and transparent polls in the country in accordance with the constitution.

Osman Dubbe, Somali information minister lauded efforts of the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) which met on Thursday to discuss how best the pan African body can support Somalis to break the political stalemate to pave way for elections.

Dubbe however accused Kenya and Djibouti of engaging in a campaign to derail the political process in Somalia by trying to influence the outcome of the Thursday meeting.

The Federal Government of Somalia is aware of the outright interference of the countries of Kenya and Djibouti in the ongoing African Union-led efforts to facilitate Africa-led solutions and dialogue to enable the citizens of the Federal Republic of Somalia to determine their future, Dubbe said in a televised news conference in Mogadishu.

"To us, these actions are blatant infringements of our sovereignty. We therefore hopes that the AUPSC considers the existing political tensions between Somalia and the Republic of Kenya during its deliberations to ensure an unbiased outcome," said Dubbe.

Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo on Monday welcomed the AU to take a leading role in facilitating an election process in which "every citizen elects their representatives through free and fair elections."

The political crisis was sparked on April 12 when the Somali Lower House of Parliament voted to extend the terms of the executive and the legislative arms of government despite stiff opposition from some of its international partners and the Upper House leadership including opposition leaders.

President Farmajo whose four-year term officially ended on Feb. 8 has been unable for months to reach a truce on how to carry out the election, with the regional states of Puntland and Jubbaland objecting on some electoral issues. Enditem
The start of police reform hits Kansas City as the age of TOTAL SURVEILLANCE is now a fact of life with help from "social justice" activists.



Here's the celebratory coverage . . .



KMBC: All KCPD officers will wear body cameras beginning on Thursday

KSHB: 'This is a win-win for everyone:' KCPD provides body camera update

This progress comes after a series of meetings.

In fact, this week we reported the progress moving forward.

Here's rising star activist Justice Horn meeting with both Mayor & top cop recently . . .



Round-up . . .



Fox4: Activists meet with Kansas City police chief about new policies, body cameras

KCTV5: Community activists and police meet to discuss First Amendment Policy, body cameras

41 Action News: KCMO leaders, KCPD chief discuss reforms with activists

Developing . . .
Seoul, April 22 : South Korea's top nuclear envoy held phone talks with his US counterpart on Thursday over the Korean Peninsula issues, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.

Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke with Sung Kim, acting US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, reports Xinhua news agency.

During the dialogue, Noh and Kim assessed the close cooperation and coordination between Seoul and Washington, which have been underway in the process of the US policy review over North Korea currently in its final stage.

They exchanged views on how to cooperate between the two sides for a progress in the complete denuclearisation of and the permanent peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula.

Noh and Kim agreed to continue close consultations at every level for a successful summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Joe Biden scheduled for late May.
A spokesperson from China's top legislature on Thursday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the passing of the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

You Wenze, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, said the U.S. bill is full of Cold War mentality and ideological bias and wantonly distorts and attacks China's development strategies as well as its domestic and foreign policies.

It has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, You added.

The bill is neither in line with the trend of the times nor conducive to promoting peace, stability and development of the world, said You. "It is doomed to go nowhere."

The Taiwan-related clauses in the bill severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and the bill has also sent misleading signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the spokesperson added.

Reiterating that the one-China principle is China's red line, You said China firmly opposes any form of official interactions between the United States and Taiwan.

Issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong are purely China's internal affairs which allow no foreign interference, You added.

He noted that China has always called for developing a China-U.S. relationship featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and it is firmly committed to protecting its national sovereignty, security and development interests.

"We strongly urge the U.S. Congress to stop reviewing and promoting the bill," You said.
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Liverpool Los Angeles announces their partnership with the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change, joining the Paris Agreement with eco-minded fashion brands around the world in reducing carbon emissions, the cause of global warming and a Give Back campaign in support of Global Green's new Climate Park Initiative in the City of Ojai to serve as a learning, living lab to learn a sustainable lifestyle. The brand will donate $1 per product sold from its sustainable Eco Collection.

While sustainability isn't news, it is right and it's important. With a responsibility to create a new initiative for future generations, Liverpool Los Angeles looks to shift the impact our industry has on our planet's natural resources. While change doesn't come overnight, instead of waiting for a revolution, Liverpool Los Angeles is starting with an evolution.

Liverpool Los Angeles evolutionary sustainable denim collection of modern wardrobe essentials, The Eco Collection was created to do right by Mother Earth. Created with the future in mind, and the impact the fashion industry has on the planet's natural resources, the Eco sustainable line features denim styles that consumers will look good in, and feel good wearing, knowing that they're part of healing the planet.

Aligning with the UN Charter for Climate Action Liverpool Los Angeles eyes the future of the brand with commitment goals to evolve the brands into a wholly sustainable line.

Commitment Goals:

Reducing water footprint by 30% by 2022 and making all Liverpool Los Angeles products sustainable by 2030.

All factories to be compliant by 2022 and eco-friendly in operation by 2030.

Reduce the Liverpool Los Angeles GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Emissions by 30% by 2030.

"I think it is important not only as a clothing designer but as a global citizen, that we pay attention to the impact we make on the world. Our eco collection continues our efforts in producing low impact denim styles that have the perfect Liverpool "look" while causing very little effect on the planet. It's your chance to 'wear the world better'," says Jill Perliman, Design Director of Liverpool Los Angeles.

As a purpose-driven brand that acts as a trusted and accessible wardrobe solution, Liverpool's Eco Collection is a forum for change. Change doesn't come overnight, but Liverpool is committed to looking towards the future and taking steps to heal the planet with the evolution of sustainable denim.

Each hang tag has a unique tracking code on the hangtag, allowing the customer to see the steps Liverpool Los Angeles has taken to ensure the style the customer has chosen meets the brands Eco standards.

About Liverpool Los Angeles

Liverpool is a total wardrobe solution for fashion-conscious women and men who lead busy, active lives. Liverpool creates perfect fitting garments, with attention to detail that is unsurpassed. As a team, Liverpool prides itself on consistently delivering premium casual clothing with superior fit, comfortable, on-trend fashion at an exceptional value. An inclusive brand, Liverpool offers a women's, petite, and plus size selection in sizes 0-24W. Liverpool has been featured in press including O, The Oprah Magazine, Buzzfeed, Good Housekeeping, Glamour, Marie Claire, Who What Wear, Today.com, Business Insider, and more. For additional information visit www.liverpooljeans.com.

Contact: Amy Cunha, [email protected]

SOURCE Liverpool Los Angeles
MOSCOW  Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has expressed "pride and hope" after nationwide demonstrations calling for his release amid reports his health is deteriorating.



In a post to Instagram on April 22, Navalny called the thousands of Russians who took to the streets the previous day "the salvation of Russia."



Russian police detained more than 1,700 people during the rallies, including at least 10 journalists, in what Amnesty International described as being part of "shocking crackdown on basic freedoms."



Navalny, 44, has been in custody since January. He has been on hunger strike since March 31 to demand that doctors treat him for severe pain in his back and legs.



In a statement published on the Mediazona website, Navalny's doctors urged him to end the hunger strike, saying that if it "continues even a little longer, we will simply no longer have a patient to treat."



Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called on Russia to release Navalny "immediately and in any event before the next 'human rights' meeting of the Committee of Ministers in June 2021."



Pending his release, President Vladimir Putin's most-vocal critic should be provided with "all necessary medical care, including examination and treatment by a doctor of his choice, and to ensure that his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and domestic law are fully respected," according to a PACE resolution, which was backed by 105 parliamentarians during a session of the assembly in Strasbourg.



At total of 26 lawmakers from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia voted against the resolution. Those who abstained included representatives from Turkey, Serbia, and one from the Czech Republic.



Thousands of Russians from Vladivostok in the Far East to Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea joined the April 21 protests called by leaders of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), who fear the Kremlin critic be harmed "irreparably" if he doesnt get adequate medical treatment.

OVD-Info, which monitors the detention of political protesters and activists, reported more than 1,700 detentions across the country, with about half the detentions in St. Petersburg, in what Amnesty International described as being part of a "shocking crackdown on basic freedoms."

Police detained at least 10 journalists and harassed others in in connection with their coverage of the protests, according to media freedom watchdogs.



The number of protesters appeared smaller than previous rallies organized by Navalny's team amid a heavy police presence, a roundup of his allies early in the day, threats of arrest, and the closure of key meeting spots.



"There was less police violence and brutality on April 21 compared with the January and February pro-Navalny protests, but the authorities continued clampdown on freedom of assembly is wholly unjustified," said Damelya Aitkhozhina, a Russia researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"The authorities are quick to allege that without police interference so-called unauthorized gatherings become violent, but the April 21 protests showed how baseless that allegation is."



Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty Internationals Moscow office director, said that, in many cities, the authorities arrested protesters "en masse, often using excessive force such as in St. Petersburg, where police "used tasers indiscriminately and in several instances beat detained protesters.



The authorities' "attempts to trample dissent into dust are growing increasingly desperate -- from the ongoing detention of Navalny and the effort to ban his movement by branding it 'extremist,' to the violent targeting and mass arrest of his supporters," she added.



"There are simply not enough jail cells to lock up and silence every critical voice in Russia."

Gulnoza Said, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said Russian law enforcement "should ensure that journalists can do their jobs safely, and not resort to detention and harassment to interfere with coverage of events of national interest.



Russia ranks 150th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2021 World Press Freedom Index.



The nationwide demonstrations came just days after the Moscow Prosecutors Office asked a court last week to label as "extremist" three organizations tied to Navalny -- the FBK, the Citizens' Rights Protection Foundation, and Navalny's regional headquarters.



Prosecutors claim the organizations are "engaged in creating conditions for destabilizing the social and sociopolitical situation under the guise of their liberal slogans."



The FBK has rattled the Kremlin over the years with its video investigations exposing the unexplained wealth of top officials, including Putin.



The prosecutors request comes ahead of crucial parliamentary elections later this year, in which Navalny's organizations are seeking to organize citizens to vote against the ruling United Russia party at a time its ratings have tumbled amid growing frustration over eroding living standards.



Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he received life-saving treatment for the poisoning attack in Siberia in August.



He has insisted that his poisoning with a Soviet-style chemical nerve agent was ordered directly by Putin. The Kremlin has denied any role in the incident

.In February, a Moscow court ruled that, while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered to have been politically motivated.



Navalny's 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from the case was converted to a prison term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given time already served in detention.



The activist, who had been serving his term in a notorious prison about 100 kilometers east of Moscow before being transferred on April 18 to a prison with better medical facilities in the same region, went on a hunger strike three weeks ago to protest the inadequate medical treatment he has received while in detention.



Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying four doctors from outside Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) visited Navalny in the prison on April 20 and found no serious health problems.

In a letter to Council of Europe Secretary-General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Moskalkova asserted that Navalnys prison conditions and medical treatment were in compliance with international standards, Russian state media reported.



However, that assessment runs contrary to a letter to the FSIN last week by Anastasia Vasilyeva, Navalny's personal physician, and three other doctors, including a cardiologist, who said the opposition leader's health was rapidly deteriorating and his potassium count had reached a "critical level," meaning "both impaired renal function and serious heart rhythm problems can happen any minute."



U.S. lawmakers later on April 21 introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the poisoning, "wrongful imprisonment and brutal treatment" of Navalny.



The United States and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Russia for Navalny's poisoning.



His supporters are now calling on the West to impose new sanctions on Moscow for its treatment of the opposition leader.
US Officials Target the Man Who Uncovered Their Corruption

Commentary

The oligarchy that sucks its money, power, and prestige from America will never forgive the America First president for exposing its corruption. And since theyre outnumbered and unloved, the U.S.-based elite comprising Big Tech, corporate media, the intelligence bureaucracy, and senior Democratic Party officials must stay on offense as long as possiblewhich is why they continue to hunt Donald Trump and his allies.

On April 16, the Washington Posts David Ignatius reported that former Trump administration official Kash Patel is facing Justice Department investigation for possible improper disclosure of classified information. The 40-year-old lawyer from Queens, New York, served in several senior posts under Trump, including National Security Council senior director for counterterrorism, senior adviser to the Director of National Intelligence, and Pentagon chief of staff.

Patel was first forced into the spotlight in 2017 after he joined Rep. Devin Nuness investigation of crimes and abuses committed during the FBIs operation targeting the Trump campaign. An aggressive former federal prosecutor, Patel knew where to look for evidence of FBI and Department of Justice wrongdoing at the top levels. As he began to document their illegal activities, Democratic Party operatives leaked his name to the press in an effort to intimidate him. The April 16 story is a continuation of a four-year offensive against a patriot who helped uncover the scandal underlying Russiagate, the Third-World-style combined media and intelligence operation smearing Trump and his aides as Russian agents in order to spy on them.

The Washington Post served as the chief platform for the TrumpRussia collusion conspiracy theory, and Ignatius was one of its chief promoters. He helped get Russiagate rolling in January 2017 by publishing a leak of a phone call between Trumps national security adviser (ret.) Gen. Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to Washington. Ignatius then was the face of a wide operation designed to destroy a combat veteran who had served his country for more than three decades. It led to Flynns departure from the White House and a long court battle that ended when Trump pardoned him in December. The Biden DOJ closed the investigation of the leakits a felony to leak foreign intelligence interceptswithout bringing charges. It appears that Ignatiuss anonymous sources are repurposing the tactics used against Flynn to go after Patel.

I interviewed Patel for two books dealing with the Nunes teams investigation into the FBIs illegal espionage and propaganda operation. He and Nunes found that the bureau had used classified information as its sword and shield against Trump. Leadership and senior agents obscured the illegal nature of their activities by hiding them behind a wall of classified programs. That not only ensured that the agents and other senior U.S. officials involved in the operation would be free from oversight, but also gave their actions an air of legitimacy.

For instance, the FBI redefined spying on Trumps presidential campaign, transition team, and White House as a counterintelligence investigation, which it named Crossfire Hurricane. To get a courts permission for its illegal spying, the FBI cloaked a political opposition research project funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign in the guise of a foreign intelligence surveillance act warrant. To collect information on Trump aides, they recategorized political operatives as confidential human sources. Crossfire Hurricane used classifications as an offensive weapon as well. To drive the anti-Trump operation, they repeatedly leaked classified information to the press that was edited to implicate Trump aides as Russian spies. The FBI then used its own leaks as pretexts to further investigate the Trump circle.

Even after Patel and Nunes showed that Crossfire Hurricane was nothing but political warfare, U.S. spies used classifications to hide the facts. Patel asked the dozens of former Obama officialsincluding Susan Rice, Loretta Lynch, James Comey, and so onwho testified before Nuness committee whether they had any evidence of collusion, and all affirmed they did not. Although the transcripts conclusively cleared Trump and his aides, then-Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats refused to release them. It was only when Patel went to DNI with Acting Director Richard Grenell that the transcripts were finally declassified and the American public could read the truth for themselves.

U.S. officials are zeroing in on Patel because he exposed their rot. Now theyre employing the same tactics with which they prosecuted the Crossfire Hurricane operationleak to the press to kick off a politicized investigation during which they will manufacture evidence to vilify, or even prosecute, an adversary. And so American intelligence and federal law enforcement continue their tragic spiral downward, through corruption and toward irrelevance.

Maybe its just a coincidence that the allegations against Patel that Ignatius cites echo those made against Hillary Clinton in the summer of 2015. After news of her private server broke, the FBI opened an investigation to see whether the former secretary of state had improperly handled classified intelligence. The bureau acknowledged that Clintons private server had been compromised by foreign powers, but rather than fulfilling its law enforcement mission, it cleared the Democratic candidate and began to spy on her opponent.

To date, no one has been held accountable for the crimes Patel helped uncover. That hes instead been targeted is further evidence that the American justice system has been weaponized by an oligarchy that may come to regret testing the patience and liberality of the American public.

Lee Smith is the author of the recently published book The Permanent Coup: How Enemies Foreign and Domestic Targeted the American President.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A series of environmentally-conscious public art displays officially open Thursday in Camden, timed to coincide with Earth Day 2021.

Instillations include a giant black cat made of recycled car hoods, a turntable created with plastic bottles and face masks and a 17-foot-tall robot with a heart that beats for his planet.

Those and more are available to peruse throughout various Camden neighborhoods starting today after a year-long delay due to COVID-19.

The artwork, which is made from recycled materials, looks to spotlight the issue of illegal dumping. Its a problem that costs taxpayers in the Camden County municipality more than $4 million a year, according to the city.

The eight A New View  Camden projects include six sculptures, smaller pod parks (lounge and seating areas at each of the sites) and a photo series. Artists for the six-month-long exhibition were chosen by curators Judith Tannenbaum and Camden native Kimberly Camp from 131 applicants, as part of a nationwide contest.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - Tyler FuQua left and Jason Hutchinson sit in front of MECHAN 11: THE COLLECTOR by Tyler FuQua Creations State Street Pedestrian Bridge North Camden/Cramer Hill, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Theres also one artist, who wasnt part of the initial unveiling in January 2020, that will have her work on display as well: 17-year-old Rachel Jimenez.

The projects garbage-collecting robot wouldnt be complete without the heart she designed.

I thought about nature and how pretty the planet is and could be if we kept it happy and clean, said Jimenez, an 11th grader at Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy in Camden. This lovely planet is a precious thing that we need to protect. The world may not be the absolute best, but it still has pretty cool stuff here that we shouldnt forget about, like sea bunnies.

The Mechan 11 may not be animated like sea bunnies but you wouldnt know from talking to its creators, Tyler FuQua and Jason Hutchinson of FuQua Creations.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - MECHAN 11: THE COLLECTOR by Tyler FuQua Creations State Street Pedestrian Bridge North Camden/Cramer Hill, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Hes known as The Collector by fellow robots, or it rather. Its a robot. Not a he or a she, FuQua said, laughing.

The Collector  made of steel, recycled parts and scrap metal  stands near the State Street Pedestrian Bridge. A transparent bag hangs over its shoulder filled with rimless tires, an empty kerosene canister and a defective CPU. With a stick in hand, the jovial robot  which will also light up at night  impales a broken washing machine to properly dispose of it.

FuQua Creations, based in Eagle Creek, Oregon, has built robots for a variety of events including Burning Man and the Life is Beautiful music festival  both in Nevada. The pair hope Mechan 11 will find a home in Camden once the public art project concludes its run in October.

Friday, April 09, 2021 - A free book kiosk at THE PHOENIX FESTIVAL by The Myth Makers, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein, located at 1401 Federal Street East Camden Neighborhood, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

We hope to inspire some curiosity for people that drive or walk by, said Hutchinson. The mirrored heart is made so that people see a reflection of themselves in our robot.

The projects, placed near public transportation routes to maximize viewing, were funded through a $1 million Bloomberg Philanthropies grant.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - Artist Don Kennel, left wipes down INVINCIBLE CAT by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler, Whitman Ave and West Pershing Street Whitman Park Neighborhood, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

All of the installations will be available for viewing (attendees must wear face masks and socially distance on-site) as of Thursday, with the exception of Touching Earth. Organizers said the three totemic sculptures made from clay and earth are scheduled to open in early May.

Whats more, A New View events will be scheduled throughout the year. The artwork/sites are as follows (a map is available here):

Invincible Cat by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler, Whitman Avenue and West Pershing Street in the Whitman Park neighborhood by Don Kennell and Lisa Adler, Whitman Avenue and West Pershing Street in the Whitman Park neighborhood

Bio-Informatic Digester by Terreform ONE, Mitchell Joachim and Vivian Kuan, Chestnut Street & Orchard Street in the Gateway neighborhood

Turntable by Amanda Schachter and Alexander Levi, SLO Architecture, Coopers Poynt Waterfront Park in the North Camden neighborhood

Touching Earth by Athena Steen and Josh Sarantitis, 5th and Erie Street in the North Camden neighborhood

Mechan 11: The Collector by Tyler FuQua Creations, near the State Street Pedestrian Bridge in the North Camden/Cramer Hill neighborhoods

The Phoenix Festival by the Myth Makers, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein, 1401 Federal Street in the East Camden neighborhood

Friday, April 09, 2021 - Amanda Schachter , left and Julia Beros stand in front of TURNTABLE - an art installation by Amanda Schachter & Alexander Levi, SLO Architecture at Cooper's Poynt Waterfront Park North Camden Neighborhood, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The location of each of the pieces is purposeful, organizers said. For instance, the bio-informatic digester stands where illegal dumping used to be prevalent. Another, the Phoenix Festival, was erected where an incinerator once operated.

I enjoyed working with public works in Camden to make this possible, as a lot of the pieces I used were materials we salvaged from illegal dumping sites and lots in the city. Just to be working again in Camden was a really good feeling, said Tom Marchetty, of the Factory Workers.

Marchetty, a third-generation factory machine specialist based in Collingswood, said he wants A New View to be a catalyst for similar initiatives in the future.

In addition to the city, the Rutgers-Camden Center for the Arts and local community non-profit, Coopers Ferry Partnership helped to launch the project.

Friday, April 09, 2021 - THE PHOENIX FESTIVAL by The Myth Makers, Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein, located at 1401 Federal Street East Camden Neighborhood, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Blight has existed in the city for decades. Residents and local groups have long looked for ways to solve issues like the number of abandoned properties in the city, areas being prone to serial litterers and the fact people tend to come from out of town to dump large pieces of trash.

Illegal dumping has a demoralizing effect on residents, especially when its long-lasting like it is in Camden, said Coopers Ferry Partnership CEO, Kris Kolluri. We need to look at it through the lens of peoples morale, but also the known and unknown health consequences.

Kolluri is hopeful an array of new efforts will start to shift the city in a better direction.

Theres an illegal dumping reporting tool that went live last year and a new entity that recently launched called the Blight Task Force, which the city said will take a targeted approach at cleaning the streets. Adding more surveillance and harsher penalties for those who dump illegally are being considered.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - A sign on a lawn in Camden says "Dumping is a Crime."Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Earlier in April, the county also contracted Philadelphia-based USA Environmental Management for more than $6.4 million to demolish about 100 abandoned and dilapidated houses in the Centerville, Whitman Park and Liberty Park neighborhoods.

Erik James Montgomery, who like Marchetty is local, said all in all the project has made him more optimistic for the future.

Friday, April 09, 2021 - Julia Beros works on TURNTABLE - an art installation by Amanda Schachter & Alexander Levi, SLO Architecture at Cooper's Poynt Waterfront Park North Camden Neighborhood, part of A New View Camden.Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Montgomery was able to get a head start on fellow artists when it came to his project. Last year, he posted portraits of Camden locals  including activists, residents and students  on torn-down buildings above different iterations of the phrase, Camden is

A New View Camden is important to me because it has a dual exposure effect, said Montgomery, a Haddonfield-based photographer. Camden residents are exposed to highly talented artists throughout the United States right in their hometown via the installations. Additionally, these artists are exposed to the invincible spirit of Camden through the residents and the city that they love.

See more photos of five of the installations at this link.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com.
BEDFORD, NS / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Silver Spruce Resources Inc. (TSXV:SSE)(FRA:S6Q1) ("Silver Spruce" or the "Company") is pleased to award the drilling contract to Layne de Mexico for the exploration program at El Mezquite. Mobilization of the reverse circulation (RC) rig and geological team to the Property is scheduled by mid-May. The environmental permit, required to drill the Property, was received from SEMARNAT (see Press Release April 20, 2021) and granted to the concession holder, Yaque Minerals S.A. de C.V. ("Yaque") by the Mexican Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) for El Mezquite, a drill-ready precious metal project located 10 km northwest of the town of Tepoca, and 170 km southeast of the capital city of Hermosillo, eastern Sonora, Mexico (see Figure 1).

"We are delighted to select Layne de Mexico to drill the Phase 1 RC program at El Mezquite. Layne has a reputation for excellent service to their clients and we look forward to a successful first-ever drilling campaign for El Mezquite," stated Greg Davison, Silver Spruce Vice-President Exploration and Director. "The Company has set out the the Phase 1 2,000 metre drill program and looks forward to testing the targets defined by Au-Ag assays from rock sampling, mineral alteration, 3D IP chargeability anomalies and intersecting structural elements."



Figure 1. Looking north to principal gossan and alteration zones and El Mezquite Phase 1 drill targets; easy access to ranch trails from Highway #16 crossing E-W in background.

About Layne de Mexico

Layne Mineral Services, a Granite Company, is one of the largest providers of drilling services in the Americas, and its Mexican subsidiary, Layne de Mexico, has its equipment and technical team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Layne's website noted, "As the original reverse circulation service provider to operate in North America, our Mineral Services team has nearly half a century of experience with this technique. We provide responsible infrastructure solutions for water and minerals, while offering innovative, sustainable services with an enduring commitment to safety, operational excellence, and client satisfaction. Our clients trust us to find, define and extract their mineral resources safely with the lowest possible environmental impact."

Exploration

The Company undertook an exploration program which was recommended in part by an independent 43-101 report, including the requisite environmental permitting for drilling, geological mapping of geologic structures and lineaments identified in part from the recent ortho-mosaic photography, rock geochemical and hyperspectral analysis, data compilation and GIS modeling, and a LiDAR survey. Ground truthing of the Au-Ag system with geological mapping and rock sampling was completed in three campaigns between July 2020 and March 2021. All aspects of the exploration program are conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols for personal safety. All current samples were submitted to ALS Global for gold, multi-element and hyperspectral analysis. Historical samples (>400) from the 2010-2019 programs also were submitted to provide complementary multi-element and hyperspectral data over the Property database. Several batches of assay results remain pending and will be provided upon receipt and interpretation.

RC Drill Program

The permit allows for fourteen (14) drill pads over the targets in the northern area of the concession as tabulated below in Table 1 and Figure 2. The first-ever drilling program at El Mezquite should be completed in June with samples submitted to ALS Global in Hermosillo on a weekly basis.



Table 1. Proposed and permitted pads and collars for Phase 1 El Mezquite exploration drill program



Figure 2. Location Map of the proposed El Mezquite Phase 1 Drill Collars

Project Background

The 180-hectare Property is easily accessible from Mexican Highway #16 via a southerly-trending unpaved road which traverses through the centre of the known gold mineralization (see Figure 2). High voltage power lines are positioned along Highway #16.

The El Mezquite Project is located within the west-central portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex within the prominent northwest-trending "Sonora Gold Belt" of northern Mexico and parallel to the well-known, precious metals-rich Mojave-Sonora Megashear (see Figure 3).

The Property is very well situated in terms of logistics for exploration and is located only twelve kilometres northwest of the Nicho deposit currently under mine development by Minera Alamos.



Figure 3. Location Map of El Mezquite Property and Mines of the Sierra Madre Occidental

Qualified Person

Greg Davison, PGeo, Silver Spruce VP Exploration and Director, is the Company's internal Qualified Person for the El Mezquite Project and is responsible for approval of the technical content of this press release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), under TSX guidelines.

About Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Silver Spruce Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior exploration company which has signed Definitive Agreements to acquire 100% of the Melchett Lake Zn-Au-Ag project in northern Ontario, and with Colibri Resource Corp. in Sonora, Mexico, to acquire 50% interest in Yaque Minerales S.A de C.V. holding the El Mezquite Au project, a drill-ready precious metal project, and 50% interest in Colibri's early stage Jackie Au project, with both properties located only 12 and 6 kilometres west from Minera Alamos's Nicho deposit, respectively. The Company also is pursuing exploration of the drill-ready and fully permitted Pino de Plata Ag project, located 15 kilometres west of Coeur Mining's Palmarejo Mine, in western Chihuahua, Mexico. Silver Spruce Resources Inc. continues to investigate opportunities that Management has identified or that have been presented to the Company for consideration.

Contact:

Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

Greg Davison, PGeo, Vice-President Exploration and Director

(250) 521-0444

gdavison@silverspruceresources.com

Michael Kinley, CEO

(902) 826-1579

mkinley@silverspruceresources.com

info@silverspruceresources.com

www.silverspruceresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements," Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, statements regarding the private placement.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate.

SOURCE: Silver Spruce Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641783/Silver-Spruce-Selects-Layne-de-Mexico-to-Drill-El-Mezquite-Au-Project-Sonora-Mexico
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The CBD industry's peer-reviewed watchdog Leafreport.com recently undertook an comprehensive review of 2946 products from 136 brands to verify how many were being tested by third-party facilities for purity or potency. The report also released a list of the top ten most transparent brands.

"The CBD industry is still very unregulated," said Shafir, the head of product at Leafreport. "There have been many cases of companies selling products that contain little to no CBD--that's why third-party testing is so critical for brands in this industry."

Transparency report summary

Pure, Clean CBD? It's Unlikely: Only 13% of Brands Tested Almost All of Their Products for Purity

'Clean', 'safe', 'natural', or 'pure' CBD are pivotal selling points for many CBD brands. However, these buzz words are meaningless without the evidence to support such claims.

One of the key findings of the report was that only 13% of CBD companies tested almost all of their products for detectable levels of contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, or microbial content. But 25% didn't test any of their products for purity at all.

"We were stunned to find that of the big-name brands we reviewed, one in four didn't test any of their products for the presence of contaminants," said Shafir. "It's particularly concerning given that hemp, from which CBD is extracted, is a phyto-remedial plant that absorbs toxins and heavy metals from the soil".

Do Most CBD Products Deliver the Promised Potency? Don't Bet on It--84% Don't Measure within the Acceptable Variance

Among other key findings exposed by the report were significant discrepancies between the product's labelled potency compared with the contents of the bottle.

The concentration of CBD stated on a product label must match the concentration measured by the testing laboratory within a 10% variance, which means that a high-quality CBD product is expected to have CBD levels that are within 90110% of what is advertised.

84% of the 2946 products tested were found to be outside the limits of acceptable variance. Leafreport also uncovered that only 42% of brands tested all their products for potency.

"The number of brands sidestepping third-party potency testing, or testing outside the allowable variance, is a genuine source of concern," commented Shafir.

"Testing to ensure the potency of your product is accurate is a fundamental aspect of brand integrity--especially in the case of CBD products that are frequently used as medicine. Children diagnosed with rare forms of pediatric epilepsy use CBD to help control seizures, so it's absolutely essential that their caregivers know what's in the bottle to get dosage right."

Less is More: Brands with Fewer than 8 Products are More Likely to Test for Both Purity and Potency

Another telling finding revealed by the report was that brands offering 7 products or less were more likely to test most of their products for both potency and purity, as opposed to brands with over 40 products. These results suggest that third-party testing may be more manageable, and financially practicable, for brands with fewer products.

It's Time for CBD Brands to Level Up and Become More Accountable

Overall, the findings of the report indicate that vast discrepancies and unknowns characterize what consumers believe they are purchasing--and the actual contents of the CBD product.

"The excitement generated by CBD has led to the explosion of largely unregulated industry that must become more accountable to consumers," reflected Shafir.

"Our aim is that regular reports such as Leafreport's will help CBD consumers become more savvy. The overall market will have to mature in response, with purity and potency testing becoming commonplace."

Leafreport's full report on transparency in the CBD industry can be found here.

About Leafreport

Leafreport is a science-based, peer-reviewed website designed to help consumers navigate the confusing landscape of CBD products. The company's mission is to introduce transparency into the CBD industry through its patient-focused, educational content and medical reviews. The company medical review team consists of physicians, chemists, nutritionists, pharmacists, chemists and naturopaths.

Contact:

Lital Shafir

Head of product

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1494358/LeafReport_transparency_report.jpg

SOURCE LeafReport
STEPANAKERT.  In recent days, the adversary has violated the ceasefire. The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Defense Army (DA) noted about this in a statement it released Thursday.

"The peculiarity of the mentioned violations is that if in the past the inimical side mainly fired in the air, now the firing in the direction of the military positions of the DA and the peaceful settlements on the border has become more frequent.

Convinced that these violations are aimed at creating panic moods among the population of Artsakh, as well as casting a shadow over the implementation of the Russian peacekeeping mission [in Artsakh], we call on the Azerbaijani side to refrain from such provocative actions and adhere to the agreements reached," the Artsakh Defense Army added in its statement.
Feds Announce Police Probe After Floyd Verdict

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis after a former officer was convicted in the killing of George Floyd there, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday.The decision comes a day after the former officer, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death last May, a verdict that set off a wave of relief across the country. Floyd's death had led to months of mass protests against policing and the treatment of Black people in the United States.The Justice Department was already investigating whether Chauvin and the other officers involved in Floyd's death violated his civil rights."Yesterdays verdict in the state criminal trial does not address potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis," Garland said.The new investigation is known as a pattern or practice"  examining whether there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing  and will be a more sweeping review of the entire police department. It may result in major changes to policing in the Minnesota city.It will examine the use of force by police officers, including force used during protests, and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices. It will also look into the departments handling of misconduct allegations and its treatment of people with behavioral health issues and will assess the department's current systems of accountability, Garland said.The Minneapolis police said in a statement that the chief, Medaria Arradondo welcomes this investigation and will fully cooperate with federal prosecutors. Arradondo "understand that the intent of this inquiry is to reveal any deficiencies or unwanted conduct within the department and provide adequate resources and direction to correct them, the statement said.A senior Justice Department official said prosecutors chose to announce the investigation a day after the verdict because they did not want to do anything to interfere with Chauvin's trial. The official would not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Three other ex-Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyds death will be tried together beginning Aug. 23. The official said their trial is far enough off that officials believed it was still appropriate to make the announcement Wednesday, even though the defendants are awaiting trial on state charges.Its unclear whether the years under investigation will begin when Floyd died or before. Garland said a public report would be issued if the department finds a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing. The government also could bring a lawsuit against the police department, which in the past have typically ended in settlement agreements or consent decrees to force changes.The Minneapolis Police Department is also being investigated by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which is looking into the police departments policies and practices over the past decade to see if it engaged in systemic discriminatory practices.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said city officials welcome the investigation as an opportunity to continue working toward deep change and accountability in the Minneapolis Police Department. The city council also issued a statement supporting the investigation, saying its work had been constrained by local laws and that it welcomes new tools to pursue transformational, structural changes to how the City provides for public safety.The Justice Department official said attorneys from the departments civil rights division are in Minneapolis, working with the U.S. attorneys office and speaking with community groups and others.Floyd, 46, was arrested on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill for a pack of cigarettes at a corner market. He panicked, pleaded that he was claustrophobic and struggled with police when they tried to put him in a squad car. They put him on the ground instead.The centerpiece of the case was bystander video of Floyd, handcuffed behind his back, gasping repeatedly, I cant breathe, and onlookers yelling at Chauvin to stop as the officer pressed his knee on or close to Floyds neck for what authorities say was about 9 1/2 minutes, including several minutes after Floyds breathing had stopped and he had no pulse.Floyd's death May 25 became a flashpoint in the national conversation about the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement and sparked worldwide protests.At trial, Chauvin's defense attorney persistently suggested Chauvins knee wasnt on Floyds neck for as long as prosecutors argued, suggesting instead it was across Floyds back, shoulder blades and arm.The Justice Department had previously considered opening a pattern or practice investigation into the police department soon after Floyds death, but then-Attorney General Bill Barr was hesitant to do so at the time, fearing that it could cause further divisions in law enforcement amid widespread protests and civil unrest, three people familiar with the matter told the AP.Garland said the challenges being faced are deeply woven into our history."They did not arise today or last year, Garland said. Building trust between community and law enforcement will take time and effort by all of us, but we undertake this task with determination and urgency knowing that change cannot wait."
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) John Mah of Edmonton has dedicated over 40 years of leadership, hard work and compassion to make life better for others. As a respected international lawyer, dedicated member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and tireless volunteer with St. John International, John helps people solve problems around the corner and around the world.

St. John Ambulance has a long-standing relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces. Many Canadians are members of both organizations. With common backgrounds and common ways of solving problems, we can get more done together. Its all about making Canada a better place.

John Chew Mean Mah was born on December 20, 1950, in Sunkok, Toishan, Kwangtung, China. As a young child, he immigrated to Canada in 1956. He joined his grandparents who had immigrated ahead of him in 1913, and later opened the Union Cafe in Edson, Alberta. John remembers this as an exciting new time with lots to discover, from snow to a new language and new food.

A few years later, the family moved to Edmonton and settled in the Boyle Street area. In this working-class neighbourhood, young John met and learned to deal with a diverse variety of people, relationships, and situations. As was common for young immigrants at the time, he lost his ability to speak his first language as he immersed himself in Canadian culture.

John embraced hard work, setting a precedent that would endure throughout his life. After graduating from high school, he studied at the University of Alberta and served with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. During his studies, he attended the Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre in Hong Kong, and the Taipei Language Institute, where his appreciation for Chinese language and culture was renewed. While he was in Hong Kong, he also met his future wife, Anny Leung.

After John completed his Bachelor of Arts and his Bachelor of Laws, he became the fourth person of Chinese descent to be admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1977. He is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and is also licensed to practice law in England, Wales, and Hong Kong. While John was a senior partner at Chomicki Baril Mah LLP, heading the business services side of the law firm, he was appointed Queens Counsel in 1992.

A leader among the Chinese Canadian community for four decades, he provided pro bono guidance on family reunification, legal issues, and government access.

In my extended family, when I was young, many of the older members did not speak English or speak it well. It devolved to the kids who learned English in schools to help them translate government letters and interact with the outside world, recalls John. It was natural that when I became a lawyer to continue to do this for all who asked me. As I progressed in my career, this help to others gave me an immense sense of satisfaction. I think it is fair to say that I received more than I gave.

Johns service to the community was accompanied with a broader service to the country through his legal work in the military. Having started out as a soldier with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, it was apparent to Johns superiors that he was always thinking and looking for ways to improve. In this way, Private Mah steadily worked his way up the ranks and was selected to enroll in officer training. He completed his service with the regiment at the rank of Captain. In 1986, John was invited to apply to the Canadian Army Reserves as a member of the Office of the Judge Advocate General. During his service, he established the Military Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (Edmonton), allowing his civilian legal colleagues to gain insight into military law issues and to help them advise their clients in the Canadian Armed Forces. John served for over 20 years, retiring in 2009 at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He retired from his legal practice in 2019, wrapping up a distinguished career of 43 years.

Johns strong social conscience is evident in his board service, pro bono work and fund-raising initiatives for non-profit organizations. He is a natural facilitator. His strong work ethic and innate drive to help others, combined with his leadership training in the military, mean that John is gifted at bringing together people who work well as teams to achieve their goals. Always seeking results rather than credit, he has quietly risen to high ranks not only in the military, but also within other local and international service organizations.

John has dedicated decades to ensuring the health, safety and quality of life of Canadians by working closely with the Order of St. John (operating in Canada as St. John Ambulance). During his time as chair of the Alberta Council, he was the moving spirit behind the construction of the LEED-certified St. John Centre for Training and Community Service in Edmonton. As the National Chair and Chancellor of St. John Ambulance, he oversaw first aid training across Canada.

John is now one of the four most senior St. John leaders in the world. As Sub-Prior of the Order of St. John, he ensures organizational and financial propriety in other national chapters of St. John Ambulance, and has oversight responsibility for the Orders operations in more than 30 countries in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia Pacific and Mediterranean. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, he leads St. Johns outreach in under-developed countries throughout these regions that teaches basic preventative measures like hand washing, mask use, and social distancing.

Throughout his service with St. John Ambulance, John has achieved a number of notable firsts. He was the first ethnic Chinese person to serve as chair of the Alberta Council, as chancellor and as national chair. His appointment to the position of Great Officer and Sub Prior of the global Order of St. John International marked the highest position ever held by an ethnic Chinese person, and he is only the second Canadian to hold the position.

Promoting local interests at the international level, John was one of the original members of the Hong Kong Canada Business Association, established in 1987 to promote trade between Canada and Hong Kong and the rest of Asia. He has served as director, section president, national chair and is currently governor of the association. He has travelled extensively throughout Asia promoting this venture, which is now the largest bilateral trade association in Canada. Many professionals and entrepreneurs alike have built successful strategic relationships over the decades, thanks to the guidance of John and the association.

At the community level, John was a charter member of CKER, where he provided legal advice and governance to help establish Chinese radio programming in Edmonton beginning in 1983. Many consider the station to be a major lifeline as it now serves over 12 ethnic groups in 15 languages.

John worked as honorary legal advisor and director of the Chinese Benevolent Association. This umbrella organization for Chinese non-profit groups in Edmonton addresses the needs of seniors, many of whom are without family in Edmonton. He was part of the planning committee that built the Edmonton Chinatown Continuing Care Centre that opened in 2003. In 1996, John helped establish the Chinese Canadian Pioneer Museum Foundation, which is dedicated to honouring the journey of early Chinese Canadian pioneers.

Over the years, John served as director and president of the venerable Mah Society of Edmonton and District, which helps Chinese immigrants transition to western society. He took a keen interest in drawing younger people into the organization to broaden participation and create a much-needed succession plan.

John has been proud to give back to his alma mater where he served two terms as a public member and chaired several committees of the University of Albertas Board of Governors. In 2013, he began serving as a director with the Edmonton Community Foundation. He also served as chair of the Audit Committee and served as vice-chair of the foundation. As a trustee of the Childrens Health Foundation of Northern Alberta (now known as Stollery Childrens Hospital Foundation), he helped raise funds to support the hospital.

Given his extensive community service, Johns honours and recognitions are many, including his promotions to the grade of Bailiff Grand Cross, The Most Venerable Order of The Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. He has also been awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration, University of Alberta Alumni Association Honour Award, and Asian of the Year in Volunteerism from Asia Networks Canada.

Johns service to his community has been recognized by several medals. In 2017, he received the Senate of Canada 150 Medal. John has also received Queen Elizabeth IIs Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005), and Queen Elizabeth IIs Golden Jubilee Medal (2002).

John and Anny have two children, Andrew and Carolyn, one granddaughter and another on the way.
GLOBAL FASHION RETAILER SHEIN ANNOUNCES 2nd ANNUAL STREAMING EVENT FEATURING HEADLINING PERFORMANCE BY NICK JONAS

The one-day music festival will celebrate SHEIN's philanthropic Light-a-Wish campaign, where it pledged to donate $300,000 to three charitable causes chosen by the SHEIN community.

LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Global fashion retailer SHEIN will be hosting its 2nd annual virtual music festival, "SHEIN Together Fest" on May 2, 2021, to be streamed via SHEIN's free app . The online event aims to bring people together in celebration of love, music, and fashion. SHEIN will also donate $300,000 to three charities chosen by its community during its Light-a-Wish campaign. This will be the first among many other large philanthropic initiatives from the brand in 2021.

In 2020, SHEIN Together virtual event featured a star-studded lineup including performances, celebrity segments, and special influencer appearances by Katy Perry, Lil Nas X, Rita Ora, Doja Cat, Yara Shahidi, Storm Reid, Madelaine Petsch, Vanessa Morgan, Kimberly Loaiza, Sofia Wylie, and Tyler Cameron. The event raised funds for the COVID19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO powered by The United Nations. Over 1.8 million viewers tuned into the event globally.

This year, the unique live stream music showcase begins Sunday, May 2ndat2:00 PM PSTand will be hosted by Erin Lim Rhodes, and packed with exclusive performances by:

NICK JONAS

STEVE AOKI

MAREN MORRIS

TINASHE

LUNAY

The Light-A-Wish campaign launched in late December 2020, called upon the SHEIN community to elect three causes that meant most to them. Over the course of the campaign over 10 million people visited the Light-a-Wish page and 2 million made a wish for their top cause. The SHEIN community chose, racial justice, at-risk children, and climate and as a result, SHEIN will donate $100,000 to each partner including NAACP (LDF), Together We Rise , and Ecologi . SHEIN will announce the next phase of its philanthropic program this May.

"Last year SHEIN Together helped unite 1.8 million SHEIN fans to raise awareness and funds for Covid relief. The overwhelming response that SHEIN Together received last year has inspired us to continue our philanthropic efforts and give back to our community. This year, we are thrilled to have such a diverse lineup of talent to help us celebrate the Light-A-Wish campaign." Molly Miao, Chief Marketing Officer

Download the app on iPhone or Android at the Apple App Store or visit www.shein.com for more info.

Jennifer Walker

Walker Drawas

Jennifer@walkerdrawas.com

Caroline Rosato

Walker Drawas

Caroline@walkerdrawas.com

Lexi Mapile

Walker Drawas

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Extinction Rebellion activists today smashed at least 19 windows at HSBC's Canary Wharf headquarters as they accused the bank of financing climate change.

The Earth Day protest is the second time the movement has broken windows this month after smashing glass at Barclays Bank's headquarters in London in April 7.

Nine women took part in today's demonstration wearing patches with the words 'better broken windows than broken promises' - a slogan used by the suffragettes during protests in the early 20th century.

Stickers reading '80 billion into fossil fuels in the last five years' were stuck to the windows in London's Docklands, before the women hammered painted chisels through the glass.

All nine activists were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.

The protest was staged to draw attention to HSBC's continuing links to the fossil fuel industry, with activists claiming the bank's climate plan allows it to finance coal power.

In a statement, the group said: 'Despite HSBCs pledge to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050, their current climate plan still allows the bank to finance coal power, and provides no basis to turn away clients or cancel contracts based on links to the fossil fuel industry.'

HSBC told MailOnline it welcomes 'meaningful dialogue' on its climate strategy but it 'cannot condone vandalism or actions that put people and property at risk.'

Contractors have estimated that the damage could cost 160,000 to repair.

Extinction Rebellion activists today smashed at least 19 windows at HSBC's Canary Wharf headquarters as they claimed the bank is financing climate change.

Several woman stuck fliers reading '80 billion into fossil fuels in the last five years' to the windows, before hammering painted chisels through the glass

All nine activists involved were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage, the Metropolitan Police confirmed today

The bank said it is 'committed to set out short and medium term transition targets, and to phase out the financing of coal-fired power and thermal coal mining by 2040 globally.'

A spokesperson added: 'We have an ambition to be net zero by 2030 and to bring our financed emissions to net zero by 2050. We remain committed to supporting our customers in their transition to net zero.'

Extinction Rebellion aims to trigger a revolt against the political, economic and social structures of the modern world in a bid to avert the worst scenarios of devastation outlined by scientists studying climate change.

It said the protest today was part of its 'Money Rebellion,' which activists claim highlights the 'role of the financial sector in the climate and ecological crisis.'

'It's time to stand up and be counted,' said Gully Bujak, 28, from Extinction Rebellion. 'Doing this today may land us in prison but we're on the right side of history.'

Valerie Brown, 68, the London mayoral candidate for political party Burning Pink, addressed HSBC directly. She said: 'Investing in fossil fuels is murder. More and more people can see that clearly. Why can't you?

'We will not stand by whilst you invest in runaway greed, whilst people's lives are being shattered by the fossil fuel industries.'

The activists used chisels reading 'We act with love' and hammers painted with the word 'Love' during today's protest

A security officer speaks with an activist from Extinction Rebellion during the protest in London

A placard hangs on a broken window as activists from the Extinction Rebellion hold a direct action protest outside HSBC headquarters in Canary Wharf

Three women wearing face masks with the Extinction Rebellion emblem are seen in London during the demonstration

Activists from Extinction Rebellion sit outside the HSBC headquarters holding hammers and chisels as they await arrest

A sticker reading '80 billion into fossil fuels in the last five years' is stuck to a smashed window at HSBC's headquarters

Activists used hammers and chisels decorated with the names of five members of the South Afrikan women's climate justice group, the Pink Panthers, to crack the glass.

It was estimated that the damage could cost 160,000 to fix, according to contractors working nearby.

John Gallardo said: 'I was on the opposite of the road and I saw a group of new age hippies sitting down cross legged at about 7:20am. They were singing, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

'It wasn't a huge protest, except for the fact a few windows have been smashed.

'They stuck green stickers on the windows they smashed and a few of the bottom ones. They were mainly women, but there was a man filming them up close.'

He added: 'The security guard where I work said police arrived around 7am - three or four vans and three or four cars. I think each pain is about 10 millimetres thick, laminated. They cost about 10,000 each.'

Demonstrators wore patches adorned with the phrase 'Better broken windows than broken promises' in reference to the suffragette movement, which fought valiantly for women to be granted the right to vote.

Like Extinction Rebellion, these activists embarked on mass window smashing campaigns across London's West End in March 1912.

On March 1, it was estimated that around 150 demonstrators broke windows simultaneously across the capital. They often used stones or hammers to break the glass, with the latter usually decorated with phrases.

Upon Lillian Ball's hammer were the words: 'Better broken windows than broken promises'.

The mother-of-three, from Tooting, South London, was arrested during the campaign and later told suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst's trial that she was given the hammer by a 'young lady' ahead of a protest on March 4.

Orthalia Kunene, from the Pink Panthers, said: 'A changing climate affects everyone, but it's the world's poorest and those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic, and social shocks.'

Grandmother Susan Reid, 62, from Preston, also took part in the demonstration and added: 'I shouldn't be having to do this but I think we owe it to our children and grandchildren to act in whatever way we can.

Metropolitan Police officers arrest a woman involved in the Extinction Rebellion protest in Canary Wharf today. Pictured: London Mayoral candidate Valerie Brown

Police officers detain an activist from Extinction Rebellion during a demonstration outside the HSBC headquarters

Police officers arrived at the scene after activists smashed at least 19 windows at the HSBC HQ

The protest took place outside HSBC's London headquarters in Canary Wharf today

Extinction Rebellion women break the windows of HSBC to condemn the bank's apparent investment in fossil fuels

Women hold hands as they wear patches adorned with Suffragette saying 'Better broken windows than broken promises'

One activist smashed a painted chisel into the window of HSBC's headquarters using a hammer reading 'Sorry mum!'

'I would like to enjoy my retirement with my grandchildren, but instead I have to spend it fighting for their future because banks like HSBC are happy to keep making money from fossil fuels no matter the risk.

'We're in a planetary emergency and people are dying right now. Just because it's not on our doorstep doesn't mean it's not already happening in the global south. What we are doing today is an act of care.'

Blyth Brentnall, 29, took place in the protest despite risking a prison term for her actions due to her previous involvement with Extinction Rebellion and Burning Pink.

She said: 'I'm doing this because it's even more terrifying that the commercial banks are knowingly investing billions in industries that will deprive future generations of an inhabitable planet.'

An activist from the Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement, holds a hammer in front of a broken window

Activists from Extinction Rebellion sit together outside the HSBC headquarters in London

Two women use chisels painted in purple and blue to smash glass at the HSBC headquarters

Nine women took part in the demonstration, wearing jackets with the words 'better broken windows than broken promises' in a reference to the Suffragette movement

The Metropolitan Police confirmed all nine activists were arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing criminal damage.

A spokeswoman said: 'Police were called at approximately 07:10hrs on Thursday, 22 April to reports of a group of protestors causing criminal damage to a building in Canada Square.

'Nine women have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remain in police custody. Enquiries are ongoing.'

The protest comes on Earth Day, when President Joe Biden will pledge to kick-start a year of action on climate change as he hosts his first summit to mark the occasion.

The White House meeting will be held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with some 40 world leaders expected to attend including Boris Johnson, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Police officers detain an Extinction Rebellion activist outside Barclays Bank's London headquarters in Canary Wharf following a demonstration on April 7

An Extinction Rebellion protest at Barclays in Canary Wharf, where they used hammers and chisels to break windows on April 7

Earth Day is designed to drive action on the climate crisis on a global scale, with this year's theme 'Restore Earth' designed to highlight a belief that the Earth can recover from the problems it currently faces.

The UN's secretary-general today issued a video message reminding people that the planet is at a 'tipping point' in its climate crisis.

Antonio Guterres added: 'Recovery from the #COVID19 pandemic is a chance to set the world on a cleaner, greener, more sustainable path.

'We must end our war on nature and nurse it back to health.'

It comes after Extinction Rebellion activists broke windows at the London headquarters of Barclays two weeks ago.
State Bank of India (SBI) informed that insurance regulator, IRDAI, has imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on SBI General lnsurance Company, an unlisted subsidiary of SBI.

The penalty has been imposed for non-compliance with minimum obligations under Motor Third-Party Business as specified in IRDA regulation 2015. It has been imposed for violation of Section 32D of lnsurance Act, 1938, the PSU bank announced after market hours on Tuesday, 20 April 2021.

SBI is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body. As of 31 March 2021, the Government of India held 57.63% stake while Life Insurance Corporation of India held 9.25% stake in the bank.

SBI's net profit fell 6.9% to Rs 5,196.22 crore on 1.1% decrease in total income to Rs 75,980.65 crore in Q3 December 2020 over Q3 December 2019.

The scrip gained 0.86% to currently trade at Rs 332.45 on the BSE.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than 5,500 people in New South Wales have found themselves with police records after being strip searched by cops - despite nothing incriminating being found.

Redfern Legal Centre acquired data from 2018 to 2020 that showed thousands of people had their information recorded in a police database following a strip search.

But nothing illegal had actually been found from these searches, The Guardian reported.

More than 5,500 New South Wales residents have found themselves with police records after being strip searched by cops - despite nothing incriminating being found (stock)

Of the strip searches documented in the Computerised Operational Policing System, police did not uncover anything illegal in 61 per cent of cases.

There are more than 40 million records recorded in the system, which is regarded as force's central intelligence database.

Sam Lee, a solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, said the majority of police strip searches find nothing.

'We now know that more than half the people needlessly subjected to this traumatic procedure are left with a permanent police record for no reason,' she said.

'Once a person's identity has been logged in the police system, it is there for life.

'The fact that this is frequently occurring in cases where no crime has been committed is not only unjust, it is a complete misuse of power.'
The death of President Idriss Deby may worsen the security situation in Chad and neighbouring countries like Nigeria, the federal government said on Thursday.

The defence minister, Bashir Magashi, said this while addressing journalists at the State House in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES reported Mr Debys death and the takeover of the government by the military which dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution.

Mr Deby was a key ally in Nigerias decade-long fight against Boko Haram.

To prevent the escalation of insecurity, Nigeria will increase security deployment at its borders, particularly the one with Chad, Mr Magashi, a retired major-general, said.

According to him, If theres no security in Chad there will be a lot of trouble for all neighboring countries. But thankfully we have a lot of ongoing military cooperation, through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), which we expect to continue. We remain mindful of our borders and developments in Chad.

When we heard of this unfortunate killing of the Chadian President, we knew that problem is bound to be replicated among neighbouring countries and Nigeria will be most hit by his absence. If there is insecurity in Chad, there will be a lot of problems. But thank God, we have a lot of military activities with the Chadian, Niger, Cameroon, we have all that military concern. So, in the name of that Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), all these countries, including Chad, are contributing countries for the operation. What we hope that very soon, we will find a secure way of the continuation of the activities were supposed to be doing. The problem is now going to be aggravated. Because we are not sure the direction in which that country is going to face. But I assure you that we are mindful of our borders, we are mindful of the development, and politically, the government is putting its head together to see how best they can restore the peace in that country.

So security wise, were beefing up all borders to ensure that refugees did not flow into a country. Even Nigerians there, Im sure some of them would like to come back. We have to be ready. Lets prepare for them and not allow them to come in and use others to come because of the problems that they will create.

The issue of weapons and armament. We are also afraid of that. Before now, Chad has been the one stopping most of these infiltration of weapons and the rest of it. Now, that is free for all right from Libya down to Nigeria. Its very easy now because of the absence of the influence of Chad in that route. So we also have to take care of that. I think we are on top of the situation. All we are praying is that African countries will find a solution to the problem of Chad and get in a more corrective society as respected by international organisations.

Mr Deby was a key ally of Nigeria in its decade-old fight against Boko Haram and other terror groups.

Chad is Nigerias neighbour to the North-east where the decade-long war against Boko Haram still poses more profound threats and Mr Debys passing could derail the limited successes achieved against the terror group.

President Buhari had said earlier that Mr Debys death would create a big vacuum in efforts to fight Boko Haram terrorists in the region.

Analysts have allayed fear that the death of Mr Deby could open a large vacuum in the fight against terror and could potentially open the lid for a bloody battle for political control of the oil-producing country that borders Nigeria.

The bad guys everywhere on the continent are going to be emboldened thereby and seek maximum damage, Femi Mimiko, a professor of political science told this newspaper Thursday. Hardly the best of times for the Sahel in particular, and the African continent in general.

A complete takeover of Chad, Nigerias north-eastern neighbour, by insurgents, is scary to contemplate. Yet, something tells me this is not a scenario that should be completely ruled out, he said

Chads new military leaders received backing from France Thursday despite protestations from the political opposition and some army officers as rebels geared up to resume an offensive on the capital.

A military council led by Mahamat Kaka took over power after Mr Deby was killed in battle with Libya-based rebels on Tuesday.

Rather than follow the constitutional provision that mandates the speaker of the parliament to hold office for 40 days in case of the death of the president, the army dissolved the Chadian parliament, suspended the constitution and imposed Mr Kaka as the interim president of the country for 18 months transition period.

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Attorney Alan Dershowitz has argued convicted murderer Derek Chauvin should be granted bail as he is not 'going to endanger anybody'.

Dershowitz said Chauvin wants to appeal his three convictions for killing George Floyd, adding that 'there is no reason why he should be remanded'.

The former Harvard professor, who was once part of President Donald Trump's impeachment defense team, also said Chauvin could waste years of his life in prison if he won his appeal.

He also insisted the fired Minneapolis police officer should not be in solitary confinement at the Minnesota maximum-security prison as it is a 'cruel and unusual punishment'.

Attorney Alan Dershowitz has argued convicted murderer Derek Chauvin should be granted bail as he is not 'going to endanger anybody'

The Minnesota Department of Corrections released Derek Chauvin's new booking photo on Wednesday morning as he woke up from his first night at MCF-Oak Park Heights

Chauvin, 45, was immediately taken to the Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights on Tuesday and was placed on suicide watch after being found guilty of killing George Floyd.

Speaking on Fox News The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday night, Dershowitz said that Chauvin 'should be released on bail'.

When asked by Host Ingraham why Chavin is in prison after Judge Peter Cahill said there are potential grounds for appeal, Dershowitz said: 'Different states have different rules about whether you're entitled to bail if you've been convicted of a crime as serious as murder.'

But Dershowitz said the judge provided 'good appellate issues' to the defense.

Dershowitz declared: 'He should be released on bail. There is no reason why he should be remanded. He's not going to flee. He wants to have an appeal. He's not going to endanger anybody. His face his well known.'

Chauvin is set to remain in the state's highest security prison in a Super Seg' single prison cell under 'administrative segregation' for the next eights weeks as he awaits sentencing.

Chauvin is set to remain in the state's highest security prison in a Super Seg' single prison cell under 'administrative segregation' for the next eights weeks as he awaits sentencing. Pictured: Minnesota Correctional Facility - Oak Park Heights where Chauvin remains

The former cop is expected to file a swift appeal of his conviction of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Tuesday.

Over the course of the trial his defense attorney Eric Nelson repeatedly raised concerns that the massive media attention to the case would bias the jury and prevent his client from receiving a fair trial.

Other issues that could be brought up on appeal are Rep Maxine Waters' incendiary comments on the eve of closing statements, protests over the death of Daunte Wright and the city's announcement of a $27million settlement with Floyd's family in the middle of jury selection.

Dershowitz added: 'What if his conviction is reversed? Where does he go to get the two years back?'

Speaking on Fox News The Ingraham Angle on Wednesday night, Dershowitz said that Chauvin 'should be released on bail'

Dershowitz, a civil libertarian and free speech advocate, also said Chauvin should not be in solitary confinement 'unless he wants it for his own protection'.

He said: 'Solitary confinement has been ruled by many in the international community as a cruel and unusual punishment in violation of international humanitarian laws.

'So no I think his lawyers should, if it's possible under Minnesota law, make an application for bail. If they think he is a risk he can be wearing a bracelet, he can be monitored.'

Dershowitz continued: 'Yes the presumption of innocence has been overcome but there is an appellate process and he has three possible appeals to two courts in Minnesota and to the Supreme Court.

'So I think he should not be in solitary confinement at this point unless he wants it for his own protection and he should be released on bail like all people should be released on bail pending an appeal unless they pose a risk or a danger of flight.'

Dershowitz, a civil libertarian and free speech advocate, also said Chauvin should not be in solitary confinement 'unless he wants it for his own protection'

The Minnesota maximum security prison where Derek Chauvin will spend the next two months has cells that measure about 7 by 10 feet and include beds made of cement slabs with a thin mattress on top

The toilet and sink in the cells are made of steel to prevent them from being broken and possibly used as weapons or in a bid to escape

Chauvin is being held in a single cell under 'administrative segregation' for his safety, according to a Department of Corrections spokeswoman.

Chauvin is expected to be closely watched while at Oak Park Heights given how his high profile trial and prior employment as a police officer makes him a higher risk of being targeted.

The prison's restricted housing unit, which is where Chauvin is being held, has extremely high levels of security for inmates who are being disciplined or for those who need to be separated due to safety concerns.

Dershowitz also criticised the White House and said that the 'bar for convicting officers is far too high'.

'We need to apply the same standard to police and ordinary citizens except we have to understand that ordinary citizens have no obligation to risk their lives to prevent an ongoing crime whereas police officers have that obligation,' he said.

'So the rules have to defer and understand and recognize the risks that police take. When it comes to the elements of actual crimes, you cant bury them. You cant raise the bar for certain groups of people over other groups of people.

'That just doesn't satisfy the equal protection of the law and the due process of the law.'
We have been watching closely both the Blue Oval 's moves and the huge online community that rallied around the 2021 Ford Bronco 2-Door and 4-Door to make it one of the most anticipated debuts of the past decade. And we have to say, this rather honest review of the new Bronco's negative aspects was, frankly, quite inevitable.It might be Fords own fault, actually. After all, even if it has the global health crisis excuse, it's dragging this launch as if it's waiting for a snail to finish the Daytona 500. Yes, were referring to what is probably the biggest frustration for just about everyone whos ever come in contact with the new Bronco: the fact that its still not available at dealerships.And, since people have had months on end to ruminate upon every single nut and bolt (those get their own point on the list) that make up the new Bronco, some negative aspects of this project were bound to surface sooner or later. By the way, Ford has actually addressed one of the side points on this arbitrary list, but theres still many of them going forward.We appreciate Justin B. McBrides honest way of being a vlogger who knows very well that haters gonna hate no matter what and the funny way he mixes in some disclaimers. He claims hes no fanboy, doesnt care about brand loyalty, and admits to being a Jeep owner.Still, we already know hes very passionate about the 2021 Bronco in the best way possible, as hes managed to come in contact with pre-production and showcase vehicles early on. Plus, he admits he's not able to shut up about this off-roader.But were here for the list, right? Frankly, it would be impious of us to line up all those ten things here because wed lose the savory presentation in the transition. So, if you want to read them out of context, we actually have each of them in the gallery, but we advise you to lose ten minutes of your time and enjoy the list properly by watching the video embedded below.
The Portland City Council on Wednesday agreed to spend $750,000 to help kickstart a new initiative aimed at picking up litter, garbage and debris citywide.

Mayor Ted Wheeler launched the so-called Clean and Green project last month in response to Portlands trash problem, which has spiraled out of control in the last year. The council unanimously agreed to provide the hefty dose of one-time funding to accelerate its work in May through June.

The cleanup effort plans to dispatch an army of volunteers across the city with the help of nonprofits, community groups and neighborhood associations.

The environmental nonprofit SOLVE, one of the citys leading partners, said some 60 people picked up 3,200 pounds of trash and 160 needles around the Eastbank Esplanade on Saturday.

Former Mayor Sam Adams, who joined the Wheeler administration earlier this year, is also seeking private donations to help bankroll the Clean and Green project.

Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle has already committed $100,000, according to the mayors office.

The people of Portland are clear, Wheeler said in a statement. They want the city cleaned up.

A recent investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed that Portlands unusual, highly fragmented system for collecting trash and litter was long primed for failure and reached a breaking point during the coronavirus pandemic.

All told, at least 10 local, regional and state agencies have a stake in maintaining Portlands urban landscape. Many of them struggled to provide a bare minimum of service as the virus raged, creating the citys worst sanitation crisis in memory.

Portland officials now say it may take the city two years to clean up just the piles of trash and debris generated by homeless encampments during the coronavirus pandemic.

The city, however, is not planning to spend significantly more in next years budget than the current one to clean them up.

Documents show the Office of Management and Finance, which oversees the clean-ups, requested $6.49 million next fiscal year for the homeless camping program  a 2.3% increase from its current budget.

Meanwhile, the Metro regional government  which is responsible for cleaning up illegal dumping sites in Portland and the rest of the tri-county area  faces an astonishing backlog.

Its work crews, staffed until recently by low-paid prisoners but now by public employees, currently take an average of 48 business days to respond to an illegal dumping report, up from three days a year ago, according to the agencys online dashboard.

Metro says it plans to triple the size of its sanitation staff in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. New hires will come from workforce development programs and be paid a living wage.

-- 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.
Hyderabad, April 22 : Telangana's Industry Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday questioned the different pricing of Covid-19 vaccine for the central and state governments.

The Minister, who is also the working president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), took to Twitter to wonder why there is no uniform pricing for vaccine.

KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, wants the Centre to absorb the additional cost from PM Cares to help rapid vaccination across the country.

"We agreed for One Nation - One Tax (GST) But now we see, One Nation - Two different Vaccine prices !? For Govt of India @ Rs 150 And State Govts @ Rs 400 Can't the GoI subsume any additional cost from PM CARES & help rapid vaccination across India?," tweeted KTR with hashtag SabkaSaathSabkoVaccine.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender also slammed the Centre for different pricing policy.

"We can't understand this logic of state having to pay Rs 400 for vaccine while Centre pays only Rs 150. Is this the way to tackle the pandemic," he asked while addressing a news conference on Thursday.

KTR, who is also holding the portfolio of municipal administration, revealed that all the frontline workers in municipal administration department are being taken care of.

The percentage of vaccination in 141 municipalities is 95.55 and in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) it is 96.19. He said the department was striving for cent per cent vaccination at the earliest.
Defense lawyers have criticized the evidence used to arrest both men last week. Attorney Harold Mesick said Monday that the evidence against the father was so minimal as to shock the conscience.

The document said investigators at the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department had biological evidence indicating Smart was once buried under Ruben Flores' deck behind his home in nearby Arroyo Grande.

The excavation below his deck ... showed damning evidence that a body had been buried in that location and then recently moved, prosecutor Christopher Peuvrelle said.

Peuvrelle, who said Ruben Flores has helped cover up the crime for nearly a quarter century, would continue to do so if freed.

Due to the evidence gleaned from the excavation, it is reasonable to believe Ruben Flores currently knows the location of Kristin Smarts remains," Peuvrelle said. "Should he be allowed bail, it is a virtual certainty that he would use his freedom to continue his attempts to help Paul Flores thwart prosecution in this case and continue to hide her remains.

Smarts remains have never been found, but authorities recently said they believe they know where she was buried, though they havent disclosed the location.
Akayed Ullah, who was convicted of terrorism charges for setting off a pipe bomb in New York City's busiest subway station (AP)

A man who carried out a bomb attack in a pedestrian tunnel beneath Times Square in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison.

Akayed Ullah, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant, detonated a pipe bomb which mostly misfired in a busy New York City subway station.

Ullah was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge Richard J Sullivan on Thursday, who said a life sentence was appropriate for the barbaric and heinous crime."

He was seriously burned and caused minor injuries to three other people when he detonated the improvised device strapped to his chest in an underground walkway between stations.

Prosecutors said that he wanted to maim or kill commuters as part of a lone wolf terrorist attack on behalf of Isis and sought the life term.

Defense lawyer Amy Gallicchio said Ullah deserved no more than the mandatory 35 years in prison citing the fact he had lived lawfully and peacefully until the attack.

She blamed the attempt on a personal crisis that left him isolated, depressed, vulnerable and suicidal. He claimed during the trial that he had only intended to kill himself.

"Your honor, what I did, it was wrong," Ullah said before the sentence. "I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I'm deeply sorry. ... I do not support harming innocent people."

Prosecutors argued Ullah would not have worn a bomb had he wanted to kill only himself and showed jurors Ullahs post-arrest statements and social media comments.

Reporting by the Associated Press

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The House Minority Whip Steve Scalise said Wednesday that police reform is taking a partisan approach to it. He mentions Sen. Tim Scott's law enforcement bill that the Democrats filibustered.

Police Reform a tricky issue

"How do you go after the culture of some of these departments like Minneapolis where you've got these corrupt cops?" the Louisiana Republican inquired on Fox News' "America's Newsroom" after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted in the death of George Floyd, reported Newsmax.

Scalise was quoted to says about Derek Chauvin Trial. "A dishonest cop was put in prison yesterday," Scalise said. "This is how justice is supposed to work. (Rep.) Pete Stauber, a good cop in Minnesota, collaborated with Tim Scott on that bill, and I'd like to see President (Joe) Biden follow on with his pledge of unity by collaborating with Republicans."

A sensitive issue like police reform shouldn't be done in a "hyper-partisan" manner by targeting any of the country's policemen, like defunding police forces or removing eligible immunity, which "affects the work of good cops," he added.

The former Mayor Marc Morial cleaned up a dirty system to reform the New Orleans Police Department with real problems. His success made Morial the President of the National Urban League.

Police Chief Says Derek Chauvin Violated Department Policy in Floyd Arrest

"At the time, there was a culture of a lot of dirty cops, and he confronted it and corrected it," Scalise said. "You have to focus on going in and fixing the problems for police reform, but don't ignore the essential work that good police officers do every day to keep our communities protected by throwing their lives on the line."

In the meantime, Democrats have said that Scott's proposed bill does not go far enough despite ending chokeholds, declaring lynching a crime, and implementing reforms on the use of force. Still, Scalise believes that eliminating qualified immunity will trigger police officers to resign.

The Left wants to defund the police; they are hypocrites who still want the police to protect them even if they are against them. They should know the difference between good cops and bad cops; these good ones will strive to keep everyone safe.

Despite what the Far Left says, there still people who don't want to defund the police, but the Left is getting bolder.

Radical liberals have declared war on the police as their mission, though everyone can come across, said Scalise.

He pointed out if they work with Republicans who understand this, a point of understanding can be reached. The President needs to start taking the initiative and executing the promise he made to reconcile the country and work with Republicans and Democrats.

One more thing to do is tone down the arguments a notch.

Scalise said, "We need to calm down, sit down, and work together to get through this." "This is a bipartisan issue that needs bipartisan solutions. America is counting on us to succeed, and we must face to the challenge to take up police reform."

Black Americans Want Police Presence in Their Neighborhoods, Recent Poll Reveals

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EDWARDSVILLE  Mayor Hal Patton took time during Tuesdays city council meeting to recognize some current and former staff members who are either retiring or moving on to other posts.

During the legislative and executive section, which is usually comprised of adding or removing people from the various city committees, was where the ceremonies took place.

First up was recognition for City Treasurer Rich Hampton, who received the Outstanding Service Award. Hampton chose not to run for a sixth term in the April 6 consolidated election. The duties of his office will be folded into that of the citys finance director, Jeanne Wojcieszak, after 1,612 votes for dissolution and 1,186 votes against it.

Ive had the opportunity to work with Rich when I was an alderman and now, since Ive been mayor, said Patton. A lot of times, we take people for granted; we dont always show appreciation. Rich works full-time for SIUE, so hes not often here. While we dont see him much, we do see his results.

Patton said because of Hampton, the city has been able to fluidly deal with its finances, investment policies and returns on investments (ROI) that have benefitted employees and taxpayers. Hampton attended the meeting with his wife, Holly, son, Ryan, and daughter Maren. His other son, Cole, attends University at Missouri at Rolla.

Rich has served as treasurer from 2001 until 2021; thats five terms or 20 years, Patton said. Rich is a certified public accountant, he is a chartered financial analyst and he is currently the Director of Financial Affairs at SIUE where he leads 50 great individuals by overseeing the bursars office, the purchasing and accounting departments.

Patton said Hampton spent 11 years working for Madison County as a comptroller, chief deputy auditor and chief deputy treasurer before listing several boards and committees that Hampton belongs to.

My son wasnt even born when I was sworn in 20 years ago, Hampton noted. My daughter was 3 at the time. She was holding Hollys hand; I remember the picture. They really havent known me as not the city treasurer; they were in shock, I think, when I told them I wasnt going to run again.

He thanked his wife for supporting him through 400-odd council meetings and 600-something committee and board meetings. His wife works as a reading specialist at Glen Carbon Elementary School. He thanked a variety of people - at the university, at city hall, his fellow part-time elected officials, past and present. As he talked, he stopped more and more often to sniffle before ending his remarks softly with, This time, I really do have no other items, Mr. Mayor.

Former mayors assistant Cheryl Watson was also recognized. Patton said she served from September 2010 until October 2018, or one term under Mayor Gary Niebur and almost a term-and-a-half under Patton. Watson is moving away to live closer to her children and grandchildren. Many aldermen and Patton praised Watson for helping them get started the correct way at city hall. She received a recognition plaque.

Finally, Patton announced that Madison County and the city will swap economic development personnel. Walter Williams, the citys committee and economic development director, will start as an economic development coordinator with the county on April 29. To replace him, the county is sending over James Arnold as the citys new economic and community development director, effective April 30.

Williams was the citys first economic development director for the city. He came with prior experience gleaned in Colorado and Missouri and he was the citys first African American employee at the director level. Arnold is an Edwardsville native and an EHS grad.

In other matters, the city council unanimously approved the following items:

 A resolution establishing a budget for the fiscal year beginning the first Tuesday in May 2021 and ending the Monday preceding the first Tuesday in May 2022

 A resolution granting change order authority to director of public works and city engineer

 A resolution granting signature authority to director of public works and city engineer for Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Permit applications

 An ordinance amending chapter two and to discontinue the city treasurer office

 A resolution authorizing a field use agreement with the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Little League Association

The next city council meeting will be the annual sine die meeting on May 3 at 7 p.m. followed by the regular city council meeting on May 4 at 7 p.m. The meetings will take place at city hall, 118 Hillsboro Ave. or via Zoom.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at 618-659-5735
ENDEAVOUR TO ANNOUNCE ITS Q1 RESULTS AND HOST WEBCAST ON MAY 13, 2021

George Town, April22, 2021 - Endeavour Mining (TSX:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) provides notice that it will release its financial results for the first quarter of 2021 on Thursday, May 13, before TSX market open.

Management will host a conference call and webcast on the same day, Thursday May 13, at 8:30am Toronto time (ET) to discuss the Company's financial results.

The conference call and webcast are scheduled at:

5:30am in Vancouver

8:30am in Toronto and New York

1:30pm in London

8:30pm in Hong Kong and Perth

The webcast can be accessed through the following link:

https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/drgvvuhp

Analysts and investors are also invited to participate and ask questions using the dial-in numbers below:

International: +1 646-741-3167

North American toll-free: +1 877-870-9135

UK toll-free: +44 (0) 8002796619

Confirmation Code: 7972969

The conference call and webcast will be available for playback on Endeavour's website .

Click hereto add a Webcast reminder to your Outlook Calendar

CONTACT INFORMATION

Martino De Ciccio



VP - Strategy & Investor Relations

+44 203 640 8665

mdeciccio@endeavourmining.com Brunswick Group LLP in London



Carole Cable, Partner

+44 7974 982 458

ccable@brunswickgroup.com







Vincic Advisors in Toronto



John Vincic, Principal



+1 (647) 402 6375

john@vincicadvisors.com

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Corporate Office: 5 Young St, Kensington, London W8 5EH, UK

Attachment
Any change to the timetable for the first Palestinian elections in 15 years would deal a heavy blow to efforts to reconcile the rival administrations in Gaza and the West Bank, a top Hamas official warned.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas finally set the election dates in January, days before US counterpart Joe Biden took office promising to give negotiations more weight in the search for a solution to the Middle East conflict.

The polls are seen as a vital first step towards forging a united Palestinian voice in any future US-backed peace talks with Israel.

Abbas called a parliamentary election across the Palestinian territories for May 22, to be followed by a presidential election on July 31, saying that it was the fruit of a reconciliation deal struck with Hamas last September after a decade of false starts.

But with his once-dominant Fatah movement under challenge from breakaway factions as well as Gaza's ruling Islamists, there has been mounting speculation the 86-year-old president may yet again postpone the twin polls originally scheduled for 2010.

The head of the Hamas list for next month's vote, Khalil al-Hayya, said any postponement, however small, would undermine efforts to restore unity.

"A postponement would push the Palestinian people into the unknown, and I warn that this will complicate the situation, perpetuate and reinforce the division," Hayya said in an AFP interview.

"This would cause great frustration among the population and young people, and could lead to serious reactions," said Hayya, the second most powerful Hamas leader in Gaza after political chief Yahya Sinwar.

- 'National consensus' -

Opinion polls suggest there is unlikely to be a repetition of the upset landslide Hamas won over Fatah in the last parliamentary election in 2006, pushing the Palestinians to the brink of civil war the following year.

Abbas's party is expected to win the largest number of the 132 seats in parliament, although well short of a majority.

Story continues

A large majority of voters -- 79 percent according to a poll published by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre this week -- consider the elections important.

Hayya said Hamas does not seek to lead the next Palestinian government, but rather to participate in a unity administration.

"We want a government of national consensus," he said.

"If it carries a reasonable and acceptable political programme, it can be a real opportunity to end the division, unify the institutions (and) end the (Israeli) blockade and Palestinian suffering.

Hayya said that while he would love to see Hamas retain the 40 percent of the vote it won in 2006, he was realistic about the electoral costs of being a ruling party.

"Part of the Gaza Strip population was disappointed" by Hamas rule, which has seen three wars with Israel and no end in sight to its crippling blockade, he acknowledged.

- Jerusalem hurdle -

If Abbas decides postponement is the only way to avoid defeat in the presidential election set for July, there are a number of pretexts he can cite.

Top of the list is the voting rights of Palestinian residents of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Abbas has already indicated he could cancel or delay the elections if their rights are not respected.

Israel captured the city's Arab eastern sector along with the rest of the West Bank in the Six-Day War of 1967 and has since proclaimed it an integral part of its "eternal indivisible capital".

Veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a right-winger who needs to reburnish his credentials after an inconclusive March 23 election in Israel, is bitterly opposed to any arrangement for east Jerusalem voting that might advance Palestinian claims in the city.

His government has strictly curtailed Palestinian political activity in the city in the run-up to polling day, arresting candidates and raiding political meetings.

On Monday, the electoral commission said most Palestinian voters in east Jerusalem will be able to vote in the city's West Bank suburbs.

However, the commission said it is still waiting for Israel to respond to its request to allow 6,300 Palestinians to vote in post offices in east Jerusalem, an arrangement enshrined in the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s and followed in previous elections.

Hayya said Hamas strongly opposed the measures taken by Israel in east Jerusalem and appealed for US and European support for free and fair elections.

"We warn against the obstruction of the elections by the occupation forces," he said.

"This could lead some people toward other options such as extremism, violence and terrorism."

dac-az-gl/kir
Today Im bringing together leaders from around the world to meet this moment of climate peril, and extraordinary opportunity. No nation can solve this crisis on its own, and this summit is a step on a path to a secure, prosperous, and sustainable future. https://t.co/lcUUsgyEo3  President Biden (@POTUS) April 22, 2021

President Joe Biden signaled his administrations intention to set aside four years of scatterbrained, retrograde national policy by formally pledging the U.S. to reducing its carbon emissions by at least half (of 2005 levels) over the next decade. During the opening of a two-day climate summit of world leaders, called on and virtually hosted by the White House, Biden framed the issue not just as a moral obligation, but an economic opportunity. The signs are unmistakable, the science is undeniable and the cost of inaction keeps mounting, Biden said from the White House. This is a moral imperative, an economic imperative, a moment of peril but also a moment of extraordinary possibilities.

Advertisement

In 2019, the most recent year where complete data is available, U.S. emissions came in roughly 13 percent below 2005 levels, according to the EPA. For another angle on how far the U.S. still needs to go to reduce its carbon footprint, last year, when much the country essentially did nothing at alldrove less, flew less, moved lessU.S. emissions are still only projected to be down less than a quarterroughly 21 percentfor the year compared to the 2005 baseline. Even before four harebrained years of Trump, the U.S. had a lot of work to do to meet its emission targets. When former President Barack Obama signed the U.S. on to the Paris accord in 2016, the outgoing Obama administration pledged a 28 percent reduction in emissions levels by 2025. Bidens new emissions target nearly doubles Obamas reduction pledge.

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Administration officials said they see multiple paths toward achieving their goals, through a combination of federal policies and action by states, companies and other subnational groups, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mr. Biden has proposed a $2.3 trillion infrastructure package that includes measures to reduce emissions, such as a proposed standard mandating that the countrys electricity be produced with low-carbon energy sources. U.S. climate leadership faces domestic opposition from Republicans that say its unfair for the U.S. to have to make sometimes difficult cuts, with economic consequences, if other developing nations, most importantly China, dont have to do the same. That opposition has made the U.S. an unreliable global partner in the race to reduce the impact of climate change and skepticism of even global allies remains.

In my six years at Slate, Ive written about multiple national elections, social movements, and major cultural phenomena. With support from Slate Plus members, Ive also gotten to dive deep into stories and angles no other outlets were covering, and that Slate wouldnt have otherwise had the time or resources to tackle. Christina Cauterucci, senior writer
The Lyrid Meteor Shower is at its most visible this week  the peak was early Thursday morning but we will still have a chance to see meteors if we get up (very) early on Friday morning. It might seem unusual for astronomers to 'complain' about the moon but at the moment it is very bright which can make it more difficult to see meteors.

We got in touch with the team at Blackrock Castle Observatory to find out when and how to view this. Frances McCarthy, BCO education and outreach officer also has some great tips on how you might get a Lyrid photo.

What are meteors?

These ones are the remains of Comet Thatcher, a comet that orbits the Sun every 415 years. It was discovered in 1861 (so is not due back in the middle of the solar system for another 225 years!). As comets approach the Sun they develop a tail and leave a trail of dusty debris in their orbit. The Earth crosses this debris trail every April  and that is what causes this meteor shower. The meteors are the flashes of light as the tiny grains of space dust burn up in our atmosphere. In space the grains are called meteoroids  the flash of light is the meteor and if the material survives passage through the atmosphere to land on the ground we call it a meteorite.

The Milky Way and Lyrid meteors falling through the sky at the Bathing House near Howick, Northumberland, as the Lyrid meteor shower reached its peak in 2020

What are the Lyrid Meteors like?

"Sizes range from tiny (grain of sand) to small (size of a pea). Most burn up in the atmosphere. The Lyrids are called for the part of the sky that the meteors radiate from. The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but if you trace the path back, the paths appear to come from one part of the sky  near the constellation Lyra (with the bright star Vega in it). You dont need to look for Lyra or know the constellations since the meteors may appear anywhere in the sky."

Blackrock Castle Observatory's education and outreach officer, Frances McCarthy

To see

Frances says our best Lyrid viewing opportunities are "before dawn and after the moon has set (it sets at 5am, and the sun rises at 6.20am)".

She also said you don't have to have high-tech astronomy equipment to catch a look at this phenomenon.

"Look anywhere in the sky  eyes are better than telescopes or binoculars."

When to watch

Frances recommends sleeping beforehand rather than staying up all night for these ones.

"Set your alarm for 4am or so. If it is cloudy, go back to bed.

Where to watch

"If it is clear, head out to the darkest area near you  if there are streetlights on one side of your house, go to the other side! Sit back (a reclining deck chair is good) so that you can see as much of the sky as possible. Relax and enjoy, once your eyes are dark adapted (15 to 20 min), and keep scanning around the sky for a chance for a shooting star."

If you're travelling to a dark viewing area

"If you travel to your viewing area, make sure to park some distance away and walk in  there may be other people viewing the sky from there and you dont want to ruin their dark adapted eyes with your car headlights. If you need a torch to see what you are doing/where you are going, put a red filter over it, this will affect your dark adaptation a bit less than a bright white torch."

Tania de Sales Marques, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, explained that the Moon will be in a waxing gibbous phase, meaning that it will be quite bright in the sky.

"The Lyrids have been observed as far back as 687 BC, the oldest known record of any meteor showers still visible today. It is a moderate shower with the occasional fireballs, nicknamed the Lyrid Fireballs."

To photograph

There can be an element of luck here  Frances says you'll have to (metaphorically) keep your fingers crossed!

"Use a wide-angle lens. Use a tripod to avoid your camera shaking, work out your exposure time to avoid star trails but long enough to get a chance of a meteor. This depends on the focal length of your camera lens."

If it's cloudy or raining on Friday morning

"Sometimes owning a telescope for solar viewing in Ireland feels a bit like owning a saddle for a unicorn but when we do get lucky with the weather it's an absolute joy!"

Lyrids duration is April 16 to 25, with best predicted for early morning April 22 and possibly April 23 so you can also try early on Friday.

"There are always some meteors  not associated with a particular shower, so even if you dont see a Lyrid, you might see one of the random ones."

The sun rising over Blackrock Castle Observatory. Picture Dan Linehan

Anything else interesting happening in the skies?

There will be a partial solar eclipse on June 10. The moon will pass between Earth and the Sun, partly obscuring our image of the Sun. "This is one you have to be careful not to look directly at," warns Frances.

There will be a Perseid Meteor Shower in August.

Blackrock Castle Observatory is not open to visits at the moment but is running remote workshops via Zoom where students and visitors can use the planetarium software to explore and learn. bco.ie/events/
Egypt, Apr 22, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - To push more digital business opportunities in Egypt's AI industry, the country is primed to host the Egypt edition of Trescon's flagship series - World AI Show on 31 May 2021 virtually. International AI & ML experts, top IT decision-makers will explore the potential of AI in the Egyptian economy.



AI represents a golden opportunity for Egypt. With all of the evolutions and benefits of AI, Egypt started its forward-looking steps towards AI with the target that AI composes 7.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030.



"Egyptian government currently attaches high priority to AI. Egypt moving up 55 places in one year reflects the government's huge efforts, the most prominent of which are adopting more modern technologies to provide Digital Egypt services," states Amr Talaat, Minister of Information and Communication Technology (Egypt).



The conference will explore Egypt's AI market by essentially focusing on leveraging Digital



Transformation, driving business efficiency through embedding AI strategies, overcoming organizational challenges in the wake of Covid-19, driving the growth of the startup ecosystem in Egypt; and much more.



"We generally talk about emerging technologies and how they impact society. But we have never seen a technology move as fast as AI and its impact on society and technology. In today's world, the playing field is poised to become a lot more competitive. Businesses that don't deploy AI and data to help them innovate will be at a huge disadvantage," said Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.



The show will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with speakers in Q&A sessions and network with solution providers in virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms, and private networking rooms.



The event will feature a keynote on Egypt's National AI strategy by Dr Golestan Radwan - ICT Minister Advisor for AI, MCIT Egypt, followed by engaging keynote and panel discussions from influential AI leaders from Facebook, Samsung, Renault, among others.



- Hubert Etienne - AI Ethics research, Facebook AI, Oxford & ENS France

- Patrick Bangert - VP of AI, Samsung

- Virginie Martins - Ethical AI & SDG Expert, Member of European Union Alliance

- Broecke Stijn - AI Expert/Senior Economist - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, France

- Laila Abdullah Al Hadhrami - Digital Transformation & Change Management Expert - Ministry of Technology & Communications MTC, Oman, Director - Oman Smart City Platform

- Seham El Behissy - GM Digital & Connected Cars, Renault

- Hisham Mohamed Aly - CISO - Risk Division, Emirates NBD

- Yasser Abdeltawab Ahmed - Head of Digital Banking, Arab Investment Bank



World AI Show - Egypt is officially sponsored by Lead Sponsors - Microsoft, DELL Technologies and Intel; AI Video Surveillance Partner - Axis Communications



To attend the show for free, register here: https://tresconglobal.com/conferences/ai/egypt/free-pass-registration



About World AI Show



World AI Show is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events that takes place in strategic locations across the world. It connects top AI experts, enterprises, government representatives, data scientists, technology leaders, startups, investors, researchers, academicians, and global AI innovators - to discuss the impact of AI on commercial applications and the revolutionary ways it can transform businesses and government functions.



For further details about the announcement, please contact:

Aishwarya G Bhandary

Corporate Communications Executive

marketing@tresconglobal.com



Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com
: With Kerala



witnessing a massive surge in COVID-19 cases, the State government on Thursday decided to call an all party meeting on April 26.

The meeting will be onlineand held at 1030 am, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

Kerala reported 26,995 new cases today, in the highest single day surge so far, taking the total infection count to 13,22,054 and those under treatment to over 1.5 lakh.

As many as 6,370 have been cured of the disease, pushing the total recoveries to 11,60,472.

The toll has climbed to 5,028 with 28 additional deaths.

(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.)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ProStar Holdings Inc. ("ProStar" or the "the Company") (TSXV:MAPS) (FSE:5D00) a world leader in Precision Mapping Solutions, has announced the successful integration of its flagship product, PointMan, into the Vivax Metrotech vLoc3 with integrated RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) technology. The integration with the vLoc3 RTK-Pro creates the first utility locate device with an integrated RTK GNSS receiver running on PointMan. This integration will provide centimeter accuracy of the precise location of buried utilities in real-time without an external GPS/GNSS receiver.

The Vivax Metrotech vLoc3 RTK-Pro receiver is the first to add RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) accuracy to a utility locator. Using the RTK-Pro internal cellular module with 4G LTE capabilities, the operator now has the ability to connect to the NTRIP RTK caster that provides RTCM 3 corrections.

The integration of PointMan with the new vLoc3 RTK-Pro means that underground utility infrastructure buried anywhere in the world can now be precisely located, and the critical data quickly and efficiently recorded, displayed, and shared from a standard mobile device.

The convergence of technologies between equipment manufacturers and ProStar's patented precision mapping solutions means that critical buried infrastructure can more easily and seamlessly be captured, recorded, and displayed at survey-grade without any additional external equipment or post-processing. With the integration of PointMan with the vLoc3 RTK-Pro, there is no longer a need to pair a third-party external GPS/GNSS receiver to a utility locating device or have delays from post-processing in order to collect and share mission critical data that includes the type of utility, the depth of cover and the utility's precise location.

"We are very excited with the vLoc3-RTK locator and its integration with ProStar's PointMan," says Vivax-Metrotech President Mark Drew.

"The development of the new Vivax Metrotech RTK-Pro is a clear indication of a shift in the subsurface infrastructure industry, and the equipment manufactures recognizing the value of precision mapping," says ProStar CEO Page Tucker. "For the entire infrastructure and construction industry, this is a pivotal moment, not only in the breakthrough technology but the precision and real-time delivery of the data where and when it is most needed."

About Vivax Metrotech

Vivax-Metrotech develops and manufactures products for buried utility locating, fiber-optic cable locating, ferrous metal detection, coating analysis and performing ACVG surveys on cathodic protected pipes, finding sheath to ground faults on cables, inspecting the interior of pipes and ducts, and mapping of buried utilities.

Vivax-Metrotech products are backed up by their worldwide network of trained distributors and service centers bringing the customer local sales, training, and service centers. Learn more at https://www.vivax-metrotech.com/.

About ProStar  (TSXV:MAPS) (FSE:5D00)

ProStar is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that aids infrastructure and construction companies by providing them with the ability to capture, record, and display the precise location of critical infrastructure such as buried utilities and pipelines; this is all accomplished in real-time through ProStar's patented geospatial intelligence software. The Company offers three products, PointMan Plus, PointMan Pro, and PointMan Enterprise, all of which are designed to improve the business operations of any industry that requires knowledge of the precise location of sub-surface infrastructure. By providing real-time access to precise location information, ProStar's solution significantly decreases liabilities and increases productivity during construction and maintenance activities. Current industry practice utilizes paper documents or onsite inspection with a magnetic locate tool and paint or flag markings, both of which have proven inaccurate. With over 35M miles of underground utilities in the US, there have been over half a million utility strikes annually during excavation which have resulted in damaged infrastructure.

ProStar has strategic business partnerships with the world's leading geospatial technology providers, data collection equipment manufacturers and their dealer networks, including Trimble, Juniper  Systems, Bad Elf, Vivax-Metrotech, Radiodetection , and Subsite  Electronics.

The Company has made a significant investment in creating a vast intellectual property portfolio that includes 19 issued patents in the United States and Canada, with more pending. The patents protect the methods and systems required to digitally capture, record, organize, manage, distribute, and display the precise location of critical infrastructure, including buried utilities and pipelines.

ProStar's Executive management team has extensive experience in the management of both early stage and Fortune 500 technology companies in the private and public sectors. The leadership team includes Vasa Dasan, former CTO of Sun Microsystems, Carl Lashua, previous Chief Information Officer of HSBC Canada and Europe, and Matthew Breman, prior Executive for Disney.

For more information about ProStar, please visit: www.prostarcorp.com.

Alex Moore

Investor Relations Support

[email protected]

970-242-4024

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such information includes, without limitation, information regarding the terms and conditions of the Company's future plans. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "postulate" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: the state of the financial markets for the Company's securities; the state of the technology sector; recent market volatility; the COVID-19 pandemic; the Company's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; and other risks and factors that the Company is unaware of at this time. The reader is referred to the Company's recent Information Circular filed on SEDAR on November 20, 2020 for a more complete discussion of applicable risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Company's issuer page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE ProStar Corp

Related Links

http://www.prostarcorp.com


Reeling from sexual assault allegations made against Mayor Dominic Foppoli, Windsor officials said Wednesday evening that they will consider scrapping the position of elected mayor, among other possible steps, as Foppoli refuses to heed their demand for his resignation.

Council member Debora Fudge said she would like to explore a new model that would divide Windsor into five districts instead of four, eliminating the newly-created elected mayor position before the November 2022 election.

"I think it's something we need to work on as soon as possible, and as quickly as possible," Fudge said. Her colleagues, Esther Lemus and Sam Salmon, said they would support such a measure.

Fudge also suggested that the town request a grand jury investigation from the Attorney General's Office. She said she would like Californias top prosecutor to look at "accusations against a city official for willful misconduct in office."

Vice Mayor Sam Salmon, who presided over the meeting in Foppoli's absence, said that the town could also consider its own charter, which would give them more control over removing elected officials from office.

"We are not going to allow ourselves to be paralyzed by this," said Town Manager Ken MacNab.

Foppoli, who has been accused of sexual assault by several women, was not present at the Wednesday Town Council meeting. Last week, at an emergency council meeting, Foppoli said he would step back from his mayoral duties, although he has refused to formally resign.

Five women have told The Chronicle that Foppoli sexually assaulted them in incidents that range from groping to rape, and that took place between 2002 and 2019. Foppoli has denied sexually assaulting any of the women, saying at last weeks Town Council meeting, I know deep in my heart that I have done nothing criminally wrong and eventually will be cleared.

At its emergency meeting last week, the council voted to demand Foppolis resignation.

Until last year, elected members of the Windsor Town Council selected each other for one-year mayoral terms each December. In 2018  and again in 2019  the Town Council appointed Foppoli to its top post.

Then, in November 2020, Foppoli won Windsors first-ever election for mayor. Because he was chosen by voters, he can only be removed from office by a felony conviction or a recall vote.

In response to the Chronicle investigation, the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office launched a criminal investigation into the allegations made against Foppoli. And Tim Zahner, chair of the Recall Foppoli campaign, said the organization had filed its initial paperwork and would begin gathering signatures in May.

On May 4, Windsor will hold a special election for the council seat left open when Foppoli was elected mayor. Council members discussed waiting until this seat is filled to vote on any next steps, including the plan to re-district Windsor, but said they wanted to begin conversations about these ideas immediately.

I think its of an urgent nature, said Fudge, reiterating her desire to act before the 2022 election.

Lemus said the town, in light of current circumstances, should also look into policies and procedures to investigate elected officials and hold them accountable for misconduct. Lemus said this would include exploring how an investigation might be conducted and what would be done with the findings.

"For any future type of misconduct that could affect the organization or the Town, Lemus said.

Cynthia Dizikes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @cdizikes
An Israeli soldier holds a piece of debris with a mask after a missile launched from Syria landed in Ashalim settlement, near the Dimona nuclear power plant in Israel's southern Negev desert, on April 22, 2021. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images)

What Happened to the Syrian Missile That Crossed Over Israel?

Evidence suggests it was tracked and shot down

Commentary

A Syrian SA-5 (S-200) air defense missile with a large 500 lb warhead blew up over the Israeli Negev, about 19 miles from Israels Dimona nuclear reactor site. The Negev is in the very south of Israel, about 115 miles from the Syrian Golan area where it was fired.

The press in Israel and elsewhere are characterizing this as an Israel defense failure. But the facts do not support that conclusion. In fact, it appears the SA-5 missile was shot down, perhaps not as elegantly as some would like, but nonetheless it was destroyed. The clamoring in the press is misplaced.

The SA-5 was initially developed in the late 1960s and subsequently enhanced and improved over the years. Its missiles are ground to air types and are not designed to hit ground targets. In fact these missiles cannot be aimed at ground targets.

According to news reports, the errant missile was one of a number that were fired at Israeli jets early on Thursday morning over Syria. In response to the SA-5 missile that traversed and exploded over Israeli airspace, the Israeli air force knocked out some Syrian SA-5 launch sites, wounded at least four Syrian army personnel and killed one, in the air strike, who was the sites captain in charge of the missile battery.

In Israel there are a number of stories saying that Israelis air defenses did not respond to the SA-5 incursion. Defense Minister Benny Ganz, for example, said that normally Israel expects a different outcome (from its air defenses). He did not say that no missiles were fired nor did he say the SA-5 missile wasnt hit.

It remains to be seen what analysts in Israel come up with on the missiles flight path and destruction. There are many possibilities. Among them are: (1) the Israeli air defenses failed to detect the missile; (2) the Israeli air defenses were late in responding; (3) there was some confusion of command and control; (4) the intercepting missile missed its target; (5) the intercepting missile damaged but did not immediately kill its target; (6) some algorithms projected the SA-5 missile would not do damage and therefore did not attempt an intercept.

In regard to detection, it is certain that Israels air defenses detected the SA-5. Warning sirens went off in the Negev, including Dimona.

In fact Israel air defense charted the SA-5 flight path which is why warning sirens went off.

It is true that some Israel air defense systems such as Iron Dome only fire at threats that are likely to hit populated areas or sensitive locations. Whether that applies to Arrow 2 or to the broader command and control system is not public knowledge. But since Israeli air defenses are increasingly integrated, the order to fire at a threat would be evaluated in the same way Iron Dome works.

But the argument is irrelevant because Israel did not only fire at the SA-5, but hit it.

The incoming SA-5 missile blew up in mid air scattering fragments over a wide area after crossing much of Israels territory. Something made it explode. What?

In the past Israel had used Arrow 2 to knock out a SA-5 that entered Israeli territory.

The SA-5 uses different interceptor missiles, but all of them are quite large (around 7,000 kg on launch), have four solid fuel booster rockets that fall off, and can hit aircraft at high altitude. In 2001 a Ukrainian SA-5 interceptor, used as part of a military exercise, went off course and shot down a Tu-154 commercial airliner belonging to Siberian Airlines, Flight 1812 from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, killing 78. Flight 1812 was at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) altitude when it was brought down.

Arrow 2 is supposed to be capable against missiles and aircraft. It uses a high explosive fragmentation warhead weighing approximately 150 kg. Such warheads use proximity fuses, meaning that they explode in an area around the threat rather than directly hitting the threat. The kinetic energy of the fragments, often made of special steel with the addition of pyrophoric fragment materials to increase lethality, can destroy an airframe (whether a rocket or aircraft).

By way of comparison, the Arrow 3 uses a kinetic kill warhead that directly hits the target. If in fact an Arrow 2 interceptor was launched at the SA-5 threat, it may have exploded too far away to immediately destroy the SA-5 interceptor, but could have damaged it, leading to it breaking up.

It is also possible that a Patriot battery fired at the SA-5 threat instead of Arrow 2. The Patriot warhead is smaller, around 90 kg. Like Arrow 2 it uses a blast fragmentation warhead.

We have seen all too many examples of Patriot missiles hitting incoming missiles where they did not immediately destroy them. This was true in the early stages of the Patriot program when Scud missiles fired from Iraq were intercepted over Israel, and it is true today for Houthi missiles fired at Saudi Arabia. The missile hits the target but the target does not die right away because the warhead is not powerful enough or close enough to totally destroy the missile.

There is no reason to think that the Syrian SA-5 missile had any special characteristics. These are fairly old systems, although the Russians have upgraded them. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, says that the Syrian launch of the missile reflects Syrian incompetence and that it was not a planned strike.

There may be other explanations, but the most likely scenario is that the rather heavy SA-5 missile was damaged by an Arrow 2 or Patriot missile and exploded in the air, falling to the ground where its warhead detonated.

Israel rarely talks much about its defenses openly, for obvious reasons, so at the end of the day we may have to keep guessing what happened, but if we pay attention we already know quite a lot. Most importantly the press reports saying that the Israeli air defenses failed or were sleeping is simply not true.

Stephen Bryen is regarded as a thought leader on technology security policy, twice being awarded the Defense Departments highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal. His most recent book is Technology Security and National Power: Winners and Losers.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
(Newser)  The clock is ticking to find an Indonesian Navy sub with 53 people on board, which has now been missing for more than 24 hours. The last contact came around 3am Wednesday as the sub was completing a torpedo drill north of Bali. Officials believe the crew, led by Marine Lt. Col. Heri Octavian, will only have enough air to survive for another 72 hours, putting the deadline at 3am Saturday, reports the Jakarta Post. A helicopter, six warships, and some 400 people are searching for the sub. The US, Australia, France, and Germany have offered help, while Singapore and Malaysia have sent ships to the area. Singapore, which has a submarine rescue pact with Indonesia (and with the US), sent a specially built submarine rescue vessel, reports Al Jazeera. The search is focusing on an oil slick spotted at 7am Wednesday near where the KRI Nanggala-402 sub was last known to be.

story continues below

The Navy said the slickwhich is not definitely linked to the subcould be a signal from the crew, or a sign of damage to the sub's fuel tank, per the BBC. An internal Indonesian Navy report notes the sub is thought to have sank as deep as 2,300 feet, per Al Jazeera. French navy vice admiral Antoine Beaussant tells AFP that the subbuilt in 1978 and retrofitted roughly a decade agocan't handle such a depth and "the likelihood is it would have broken up." The sub had an emergency button which would've allowed it to resurface, but the Navy report notes it would've been ineffective in case of a blackout, which would also make the sub uncontrollable. AFP rounds up other recent submarine disasters, attributed to everything from torpedo explosions to poisonous gas. (Argentina's military lost a sub carrying 44 people in 2017, before finding it a year later.)
A shocking video shows the moment a white woman verbally harasses four black soldiers and accuses them of stealing at an IHOP restaurant - just minutes after they say she offered to pay for their meal.

In a video released by one of the soldiers, Joe Jeffers Jr., on TikTok, the woman is seen confronting the soldiers and calling them 's***bags.'

The soldiers had stopped off for a meal near their Fort Belvoir base in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Jeffers said in a Facebook Live video that the woman - who has not been identified - had initially approached their table and offered to pay towards their meal.

'I support y'all,' Jeffers recounts the woman as saying, 'Thank you for your service.'

Scroll down for video

In a video Joe Jeffers Jr. posted to TikTok, the woman can be seen calling the four soldiers 's***bags,' and told them she paid the waitress the rest of the money in her wallet.

The woman sits down next to one of the soldiers, preventing him from leaving

Jeffers appeared visibly shaken as he recounted the events in a Facebook Live video following the confrontation.

He says she told the soldiers that she had been in the Marines and struck up a conversation with them before putting $6 on their table.

'We thought it was just a random lady who wanted to be nice,' Jeffers said.

He and the other three soldiers planned to use the money to help pay for their bill when the woman left.

Joe Richards, the director of public affairs for Fort Belvoir, said: 'She offered to pay for their meal, which is not uncommon when people meet military personnel. It's a gesture as a way to thank them for their service.'

But the woman's attitude changed when she tried to retrieve the money.

Jeffers says the woman came back into the building and demanded the money back, insisting she gave them $30.

He says when they explained to her that she only gave them $6  a $5 bill and a $1 bill  she started verbally abusing them, calling them 'c***sucking n***** who don't know what you're talking about.'

It is at this point that Jeffers and his fellow soldiers started recording the confrontation on their phones, and tried to leave the restaurant.

Jeffers later decided to post the incident to his TikTok, @musiqcitizen.

The woman in the video confronts the four soldiers, accusing them of stealing her money

She then proceeds to sit down at the booth, blocking Jeffers in, and forcing him to climb over the seat of an adjacent table to get out

In the first video he posted, the woman comes over to the table, as the men wrap up their meals to go.

She is seen telling the soldiers, 'I came back here to give you the rest of my money from my wallet because you guys are s***bags.'

At that point, Jeffers can be heard asking her to leave, but the woman instead sits down next to him, preventing him from leaving, and grabs his cap.

Jeffers asks her to 'please leave' again, to which the woman asks, 'Because?'

The video shows another customer at the restaurant approaching the table, identifying himself as an Air Force veteran, and telling the woman, 'You need to find another place else to be ... you're making a problem.'

Jeffers is ultimately seen climbing over the seat of an adjacent table to get out, as the Air Force veteran asks for police help to get the woman out of the IHOP.

As the soldiers leave, the woman speaks to patrons at other tables, asking: 'Are you the thin blue line? Are you BLM? Are you Antifa?'

In a second video Jeffers posted to TikTok, she can be seen confronting the Air Force veteran, as the soldiers head out with their bags of food.

'Motherf*****r, I will drop you. You wanna go? You wanna go?' she asks the veteran in the TikTok video.

At the end, the manager is seen approaching the veteran for his description of the situation.

Jeffers says the manager told him that the woman 'does this thing all the time.'

She has yet to be publicly identified.

A representative for IHOP told The Hill: 'IHOP and its franchisees do not condone the statements made by the guest in this video, and will not tolerate racism, bigotry or harassment of any kind.

'For more than 60 years, we have strived to create a warm and hospitable dining experience for our guests, and this isolated incident is not reflective of that ongoing commitment.'

Officials at the military base are now investigating the incident, but in a statement, Richard said, 'A view of the video will show the soldiers maintained their composure and military bearing throughout this shocking incident.'

'They were all well-trained and disciplined.'

When Jeffers got back in his car to film the Facebook Live, though, he appeared visibly shaken.

He said he was 'at a loss for words.'

'Seeing it on the media is different, but when you actually encounter people who think less of you because of the color of your skin... This is America,' he said. 'This is the country we serve and defend. These are the people we fight for.'

He said he 'wanted to react so bad,' but remembered his military training.

'I just want to apologize to anybody who goes through that everyday,' Jeffers said.
The number of apprentices continues to grow, with people from across the community signing up for careers in the trades according to enrolment data.

Tertiary Education Commission data for enrolments in tertiary and vocational study as at December 2020 shows that the number of apprentices increased by 17.6 per cent compared to 2019.

The Government has backed the trades with more than $320 million invested in free trades training , and nearly $100 million going to support employers retain apprentices and take on new ones through Apprenticeship Boost, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

He says the investment has paid off with double digit growth in apprentice numbers during 2020, despite the impacts of Covid-19.

We are seeing people taking the opportunity to becoming apprentices no matter what their age, gender or ethnicity.

The December 2020 Enrolment Update, produced by TEC, shows that compared to December 2019, the number of apprentices aged 25 to 39-years-old increased by 3,730 (19.7 per cent), and those 40-years-old and over increased by 1,510 which is 28.3 per cent.

Maori and Pacific apprentice numbers increased by 2,295 (28 per cent) and 965 (29.2 percent) respectively, compared to 16 per cent for other ethnicities.

There was a 29.1 per cent growth rate for women apprentices against a 15.9 per cent growth rate for men.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins. File image/SunLive.

Apprenticeships are traditionally seen as something you do out of school, but with free trades training we are seeing a big jump in workers aged 25 to 39 taking the opportunity for a career change, and more than 1,500 additional apprentices aged over 40.

These numbers show we are producing a vibrant and diverse trades workforce that will support New Zealands economic growth as we recover from the impacts of Covid-19.

And were seeing strong signs of continued growth in domestic enrolments at tertiary institutions, says Hipkins.

Indicative March 2021 data shows the number of domestic students increasing by 12 per cent, compared with around 1 per cent for each of the previous three years, and repeated falls in the full-year enrolment data in years before that, he says.

Again, the growth in 2021 is more pronounced among older people, with building courses and teacher training standing out.

Its rare to see growth in both on and off the job training and education at the same time, when typically as one is up the other is down, depending on the strength of the economy. Avoiding this boom and bust cycle is one of the central pillars of the Reform of Vocational Education and a pleasing sign.
US President Joe Biden is preparing to recognize the World War I-era killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, US media said Thursday.

Such a move would further inflame tensions with NATO ally Turkey, which vehemently rejects the designation that has already been adopted by dozens of other countries including France and Russia.

Biden is expected to announce the designation on Saturday, the 106th anniversary of the mass killings that began in 1915, when the Ottoman Empire was battling Tsarist Russia during World War I in the region that is now Armenia, according to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

This would make Biden the first US president to explicitly call the killings a genocide, and although the historic designation would carry no legal consequences it would infuriate Ankara, which insists there was no genocide and that both sides committed atrocities during the war.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday chaired a meeting with advisers during which he vowed "to defend the truth against those who back the so-called 'Armenia genocide' lie," his office said without referring directly to Biden's reported plans.

The reports came after more than 100 members of Congress, led by Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote to the president urging him to make good on a campaign promise to recognize the genocide.

The US Congress formally recognized the killings as genocide in December 2019 in a symbolic vote.

"For decades, while leaders around the world recognize the first genocide of the 20th century, the president of the United States has remained silent," the letter said.

"Mr President, as you said last year in your April 24 statement, 'Silence is complicity.' The shameful silence of the United States government on the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide has gone on for too long, and it must end," the letter said.

Story continues

After the Dutch parliament passed a motion in February urging the government to recognize the genocide, Turkey said the move was "aimed at rewriting history based on political motives."

Fearing that Biden could use his speech on Saturday to acknowledge the genocide, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview this week that "statements that have no legal binding will have no benefit, but they will harm ties... If the United States wants to worsen ties, the decision is theirs."

jh/zak/jz
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Public Religion Research Institute ( PRRI ) and Interfaith Youth Core ( IFYC ) today released the largest survey on religion and COVID-19 conducted to date. The survey, conducted jointly by PRRI and IFYC among more than 5,600 Americans from March 830, 2021, reveals a key insight that can accelerate the nation's quest for herd immunity: Faith-based approaches can move many vaccine-hesitant communities toward acceptance.

More than one-quarter of Americans (26%) who are hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly one in ten (8%) of those who are resistant to getting a vaccine, say that at least one of six faith-based approaches supporting vaccinations would make them more likely to get vaccinated. Among those who attend religious services at least a few times per year, 44% of those who are hesitant and 14% of those who are resistant say faith-based approaches would make them more likely to get vaccinated.

"Religion is a critical but often overlooked factor both for understanding the complexities of vaccine hesitancy and for developing strategies for winning the battle to overcome COVID-19 and its future variants," said PRRI founder and CEO Robert P. Jones. "For example, among Black Protestants, attending religious services is associated with lower levels of vaccine hesitancy, while the opposite is true among white evangelical Protestants, where clergy have been more reticent to speak out. In both settings, faith-based approaches have the potential to be very effective in improving vaccination rates among both groups."

Among white evangelical Protestants who regularly attend religious services and are vaccine hesitant, nearly half (47%) say that a faith-based intervention would make them more receptive  a higher proportion than among any other religious group. Additionally, 66% of white evangelical Protestants who are vaccine hesitant say they would turn to a religious leader at least a little for information about vaccines. However, white evangelical Protestants who regularly attend religious services are slightly less likely than those who do not attend to be vaccine accepters (43% vs. 48%), an indication that vaccine adoption messages may be in weak circulation among this population.

Approximately one-third of Black Protestants (36%) who are vaccine hesitant say one or more faith-based approaches would make them more likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine. And seven in ten Black Protestants (70%) who are vaccine hesitant say they would look to a religious leader at least a little for information about a vaccine, Notably, the data suggests that positive messages about vaccine adoption are already in play and having a positive effect within Black church communities. Nearly six in ten (57%) Black Protestants who regularly attend services are vaccine accepters, compared to 41% among those who do not attend services.

"Religious engagement could be the key to herd immunity," said IFYC founder and president Eboo Patel. "A significant part of the American population is telling us that one or more religious messages can move them from vaccine hesitancy, and even outright refusal, to acceptance. As we approach the long last mile, the strategy has to include ramping up collaborations between government officials, public health leaders, and trusted messengers within racially diverse religious communities working together to increase confidence in the vaccine and get shots in arms."

The full report, "Faith-Based Approaches Can Positively Impact COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts:

Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus," and a description of the survey's methodology is available at prri.org and ifyc.org.

About IFYC

IFYC is a national nonprofit that equips the next generation of students and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed for leadership in a religiously diverse world.

About PRRI

PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.

SOURCE PRRI

Related Links

https://www.prri.org/


U.S. President Joe Biden is likely to recognize the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, media reports say, amid calls for the move by more than 100 U.S. lawmakers.

The recognition, promised by Biden during the presidential campaign for the November election he won, would be largely symbolic but is likely to anger Turkey and step up already high tensions between the two NATO allies.

Biden is expected to use the word "genocide" as part of a statement on April 24 when annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day commemorations are held around the world, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters and The New York Times.

"My understanding is that he took the decision and will use the word genocide in his statement on Saturday," a source told Reuters.

However, sources warned that given the importance of bilateral ties with Turkey, Biden may still choose to drop the "genocide" term at the last minute. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned the White House that recognition would "harm" U.S.-Turkish ties.

The reports came as a bipartisan group of more than 100 members of the House of Representatives on April 21 signed a letter to Biden calling on him to become the first U.S. president to formally recognize the systematic killings and deportation of Armenians as an act of genocide.

The letter was led by Representative Adam Schiff (Democrat-California).

"The shameful silence of the United States Government on the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide has gone on for too long, and it must end," the lawmakers wrote. "We urge you to follow through on your commitments, and speak the truth."

Biden as a candidate pledged in April last year that if elected he would recognize the Armenian genocide, saying that "silence is complicity," but did not give a timeline for delivering on the promise.

During and immediately after World War I, Ottoman Turks killed or deported as many as 1.5 million Armenians -- a Christian minority in the predominately Muslim empire. Many historians and some other countries consider the killings genocide.

Turkey objects to the use of the word "genocide" to describe the killings. Ankara claims the deaths were a result of civil strife rather than a planned Ottoman government effort to annihilate Armenians. Turkey also claims fewer Armenians died than has been reported.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on April 21 told reporters the White House would likely have "more to say" about the issue on April 24, but declined to elaborate.

The State Department referred queries on the issue to the White House and the National Security Council had no comment beyond what Psaki said.



Moves to recognize the Armenian genocide have stalled in the U.S. Congress for decades, and U.S. presidents have refrained from formally using the term amid concerns about relations with Turkey and intense lobbying by Ankara.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had established a close bond with former U.S. President Donald Trump, but he has yet to speak to Biden since he was inaugurated as president on January 20.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, Reuters, AP, and The New York Times
April 22 : Shah Rukh Khan, co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team, cheered the players of his team for a brilliant fight against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday. The team lost to Chennai Super Kings by 18 runs.

Taking to his Twitter account, Shah Rukh shared a black and white picture of himself, wherein a side of his face can be seen, and he is pointing to the team logo on his T-shirt. Along with the picture, King Khan shared a message boosting the spirit of the team. Giving a shout out, Shah Rukh tweeted, Coulda...woulda...shoulda can take a backseat tonight... @KKRiders was quite awesome I feel. ( oops if we can forget the batting power play!!) well done boys... @Russell12A @patcummins30 @DineshKarthik try and make this a habit...we will be back!!

Coulda...woulda...shoulda can take a backseat tonight...@KKRiders was quite awesome I feel. ( oops if we can forget the batting power play!!) well done boys...@Russell12A @patcummins30 @DineshKarthik try and make this a habit...we will be back!! pic.twitter.com/B1wGBe14n3  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 21, 2021

Fans also agreed with Shah Rukh, and cheered Kolkata Knight Riders. A Twitter user wrote, Yes that was a good fight back.. harke jitne wale ko (the one who wins despite losing is).... The fan referred to Shah Rukhs famous dialogue from his film Baazigar, where he said Kabhi kabhi jeetne ke liye kuch haarna padta haiaur haar kar jeetne wale ko Baazigar kehte hai (Sometimes, to win something, you have to lose...and one who wins after losing is called a baazigar).

Yes that was a good fight back.. harke jitne wale ko.....  Savvy (@savvygupta) April 21, 2021

Another fan wrote, Always in the heart ..ShahRukh our #KKR they did try very hard .. Made us fans proud & you too our @KKRiders. You encouraging them will give them more confidence to try their best. Shout out to our boys. Lots of love to you #Knight. Take care Love you.

Always in the heart ..ShahRukh our #KKR  they did try very hard ..

Made us fans proud & you too our @KKRiders

You encouraging them will give them more confidence to try their best.

Shout out to our boys 

Lots of love to you #Knight.

Take care Love you. pic.twitter.com/JjsKBJWE8t  Shirin (@iam4sunrise) April 21, 2021

Meanwhile, on the work front, before the lockdown in Maharashtra, Shah Rukh was shooting for Siddharth Anands action drama Pathan, backed by Yash Raj Films. The film also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. While the actor has a few films lined up, he has not announced his next. Recently, during a chat with fans on Twitter, when he was asked to give a hint about his next film, the actor jokingly said, Strong hint: apni sab next movies mein main star kar raha hoon (I am starring in all my next films)!! Dont tell anybody please.
Brent crude futures fell 2% to US$65.27 a barrel to their lowest in a week on a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories.

Gold prices rose 0.1% to US$1,794.67 per ounce, near its eight-week high.

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) gained 0.42% to 7026.7 points by 1 pm with gold miners Northern Star ( ) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) gaining more than 5% each.

While the index is still down slightly this week, it is up 3.4% in April for its strongest monthly gain this year.

The A-REIT sector gained 1.75% thanks to solid gains for Scentre (ASX:SCG) and ( ).

Online marketplace Redbubble ( ) slumped 15% after its trading update.

Top gainers

Todays top gainers on the ASX include ( ) (+12.50%), Triangle Energy (Global) Ltd ( ) (+16.00%), ( ) (+16.67%), ( ) (+14.29%), Astro Resources N.L. ( ) (+33.33%) and . ( ) (+20.00%).

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In 1992, Congress tried to address student loan default rates by creating a statute in the Higher Education Act that enabled married couples to consolidate their debt with their spouses.

Nearly thirty years later, lawmakers are trying to pass a new law to fix the unintended consequence of some of those borrowers being divorced and squabbling over the consolidated debt.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers  including Representatives David E. Price (D-NC), Greg Murphy (R-NC), and Haley Stevens (D-MI) in addition to Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and John Cornyn (R-TX)  have now reintroduced the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act to help those borrowers.

This bill is a direct response to my constituents experience with a damaging joint consolidation loan," Congressman Price stated in a press release. I introduced this bill to provide relief to borrowers who are victims of abusive or uncommunicative spouses by allowing them to sever these loans. The impact on borrowers is often crippling and Im grateful for the bipartisan support that this common-sense bill has received. Congressional action is long overdue.

Rep. David Price in 1992. (Wikipedia)

The unity between prominent Republican and Democratic lawmakers on an issue related to student loans  a contentious topic  was due to how serious they believed the issue to be.

Survivors of domestic violence who are trying to sever financial ties with their abusive partner should be able to do so," Senator Rubio stated. "This bipartisan, commonsense bill will ensure that survivors no longer find themselves in a position of being liable for their abusers student loan debt. This legislation is long overdue, and I am hopeful that it will swiftly move through the Senate.

Based on ED estimates, lawmakers think that up to 120,000 now-divorced couples had consolidated their loans under the original legislation.

'A married couple... may be treated as if such couple were an individual borrowing'

In 1992, with the country grappling with alarming default rates on student loans, Congress introduced a suite of consolidation programs to help borrowers with repayment.

"A married couple, each of whom as eligible student loans, may be treated as if such couple were an individual borrowing," the text stated, later adding that "if such couple agrees to be held jointly and severally liable for the repayment of a consolidation loan ... and without regard to any subsequent change that may occur in such couple's martial status."

And so from January 1, 1993 to June 30, 2006, married borrowers could be jointly liable for loan repayment via the U.S. Department of Education.

Many borrowers decided to pursue consolidation at the time, believing that it could be beneficial to their personal finances. But debtors told Yahoo Finance that years later, they regret their decision.

Its a nightmare," Montana resident Honor Mann, who has seen her tax refunds seized and wages garnishes while struggling with her and her ex-husband's student debt for more than a decade, previously told Yahoo Finance. "Nobody will help us. Nobody will separate it so we don't have to deal with each other ever again.

Congress ended the program in 2006  but did not allow divorced borrowers to separate the loans.

For 15 years, Congress has failed to fix an oversight that leaves domestic violence survivors footing the bill for their abusers student loan debt," Senator Warner stated. "We should make it easier, not harder, for domestic violence survivors to move on and heal, away from their former partners. ... And with bipartisan support for this bill, Im hopeful we can finally get something done.

Price and other lawmakers first introduced the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act first in May 2019 to provide divorced spouses to separate their loans.

David Price (D-NC) answers questions during a town hall meeting at Broughton High School on March 13, 2017 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

Specifically, the law would allow debtors to split their balance proportionally into two federal direct loans so that theyd be able to pursue repayment on their own.

A borrower could also submit a separation application for the debt if they're experiencing domestic, economic abuse, or is unable to reasonably reach the other borrower.

Monica McLaughlin, director of public policy at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, said that when "survivors escape abuse, they should be able to start over without the debts of their abusers." Consequently, she added, her organization supports the bill "for creating a solution for those survivors who consolidated loans either in good faith or under duress and are now rebuilding their lives."

After the loan is separated, borrowers would be able to transfer eligible past payments towards income-based repayment plans or towards the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.



Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at aarthi@yahoofinance.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.

Read more:

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By Arthur I. Cyr





The death of Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the age of 99 is generating worldwide attention, notably in the United States. Philip personified continuity of important institutions and relationships in a turbulent period. Queen Elizabeth II and he were married for 73 years.



Britain played a pivotal role in World War II, when the Anglo-American "Special Relationship" was truly forged. The partnership between President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill was the centerpiece. Then-Princess Elizabeth worked driving a truck during the war.



In the 1960s, Philip spoke at UCLA, greeted by an Army ROTC student honor guard that included this author. He arrived in a closed Rolls Royce so grand that he stood before exiting. Philip shook hands and talked with us, individually.



Ceremonies are important, and there the British excel. Their monarch does have residual ruling powers, including the formality of actually appointing a government following a general election or other, sometimes unanticipated political shakeup. The public role of the Queen or King may be largely symbolic, but that can become important in a time of national crisis or tragedy, including war.



Britain's government, following the June 2016 referendum vote to leave the European Union, embarked on a complicated, painful, seemingly endless effort to do so. Rather than the fairy tale world of royal relationships, travel and splendor, this bizarre ordeal became more like "Alice in Wonderland."



Over four centuries ago, namesake Queen Elizabeth I was forcefully in charge of the British Isles. Those were brutal times, when losing a power struggle could cost your life.



That Elizabeth modernized Britain, managing Parliament with prudent skill. She stabilized politics following the tumultuous reign of her father Henry VIII. She confirmed influence in Europe, effectively balancing the nations of that continent.



Today, Queen and Parliament have subtly complementary roles. Walter Bagehot, long-time editor of the influential weekly magazine "The Economist," provided insightful analysis of the government of Great Britain in a manner now universally accepted.



The world has changed greatly since Bagehot's book was published in 1867. However, his fundamental insight remains very valid today. Parliament handles the practical "efficient functions" of governing while the monarchy handles the largely ceremonial "dignified functions."



Fundamentally important is that the British, unlike the Americans, have no written constitution. Parliament is effectively supreme, though the nation in October 2009 did formally establish an American-style Supreme Court.



The important ceremonial functions address the collective emotions of the people at large regarding government. In the 1930s, King Edward VIII generated great controversy when he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, an expatriate American. In that different, earlier time, the fact that she was not British generated extensive public attention and debate. She also had been divorced twice. In general, notoriety followed her.



Vastly more important, Edward was sympathetic to Nazi Germany, as well as being personally highly erratic and unstable. Adolf Hitler and others at the top of the Nazi regime in Germany considered him a strategic asset, both through generating domestic support and eventually helping control Britain in a conquered Europe.



Finally, Edward did abdicate and marry his American. After war began, his successor George VI proved an invaluable, influential partner of Britain's wartime government.



History shows the continuing real-world importance of the British Royal Family, and helps put Brexit in proper context.



Learn more: Walter Bagehot, "The English Constitution," and "The Darkest Hour" film starring Gary Oldman.





Arthur I. Cyr(acyr@carthage.edu) is Clausen distinguished professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."


Miao long-table banquet brings you on date with delicious Guizhou cuisine and ethnic hospitality

16:45, April 22, 2021 By Liu Ning, Zhang Ruohan, Annemarie Li ( People's Daily Online

The long-table banquet is a traditional way for people from the Miao ethnic group to celebrate certain major festivals and entertain guests.

Fish in Sour Soup is a staple among the dishes served on the long table. The sour soup is made with our homemade fermented rice, tomatoes and our chili sauce, which has also been fermented in a jar after being cooked. This delicious sour soup can only be made after all these processes are followed.

Its one of the highest forms of ceremony used for weddings, newborn baby celebrations and village gatherings. So join the banquet to savour a variety of Guizhou cuisines and feel the passion of the local people.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Hongyu)
[April 22, 2021] C Spire Fiber expands availability of ultra-fast Gigabit internet in Alabama

HELENA, Ala., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- C Spire Fiber is accepting consumer pre-orders now and has already begun construction for its ultra-fast, fiber-based Gigabit internet access and related services in the North Shelby County cities of Helena and Pelham with Alabaster expected to start soon. The broadband division of C Spire, a Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company, began construction on the next-generation technology in February in four fiberhoods in the two towns with plans to pass thousands of homes covering 30 more fiberhoods over the next several months. In addition to the residential fiber, C Spire will also be bringing fiber internet to businesses in parts of these cities as well. The three cities, which are suburbs of Birmingham, are the latest Alabama markets in line for the ultra-fast broadband services from C Spire Fiber. The company already has rolled out service in the Jasper and Trussville markets and is expected to announce additional markets soon, including the cities of Northport and Tuscaloosa and the unincorporated areas of Tuscaloosa and Mobile counties. In January 2021, C Spire announced a $1 billion investment to speed the development and deployment of fiber broaband and network enhancements, and about $500 million is scheduled to be spent on fiber expansion in Alabama over a five-year period. C Spire's deployment of all-fiber symmetrical infrastructure and ultra-fast broadband internet helps attract industry and improve Alabamians' quality of life.



Ashley Phillips, general manager of C Spire Home stated, "We understand high-speed, all-fiber broadband internet service can be a game-changer for Helena, Pelham and Alabaster. Our ability to provide symmetric speeds immediately solves real-world challenges associated with interactive learning, remote work and telehealth applications. That's good news as our Fiber Fast initiative continues." Allen McIntosh, general manager of C Spire Business added, "C Spire fiber internet has been a difference maker for thousands of business customers in our footprint. High-speed connectivity and uptime for businesses is crucial in our world today no matter the size of the business." As part of its expansion efforts, C Spire also is actively seeking interest from other Alabama communities and towns seeking more reliable and faster broadband internet service based on the firm's crowdsourcing model, which relies on homeowner, business and renter demand to drive adoption.

Alabama ranks 38th nationally in broadband access and state leaders have made access to fast, reliable and affordable internet for rural areas a priority through state funding and creation of the Alabama Rural Broadband Coalition, a group of community, business and government leaders dedicated to job creation, economic development and business growth. C Spire Fiber is actively soliciting residents who want more reliable and faster broadband internet service based on the crowdsourcing model, which relies on homeowner demand to drive adoption. Consumers can place pre-orders for Gigabit fiber-based internet, Smart WiFi powered by Plume, Home Protection Plan and digital home phone service at www.cspire.com/fiber. Unlike some other internet service providers, C Spire Fiber has no data caps, cancellation fees or long-term contracts. The C Spire division provides exact appointment times, world-class 24/7/365 customer service and over 99.99 percent reliability. Local government leaders lauded C Spire's decision to invest in the future of Helena and Pelham. "Fast, dependable and affordable broadband is critical to quality of life, home values and new jobs in our city," said Helena Mayor J. Brian Puckett. "We appreciate C Spire choosing Pelham for this game-changing infrastructure investment," said Pelham Mayor Gary W. Waters. Helena, Pelham and Alabaster residents who want the suite of services from C Spire Fiber should go to www.cspire.com/alfiber. Residents can also email fiberchampions@cspire.com to learn more about how they can get service in their area. About C Spire Fiber

C Spire Fiber is a division of C Spire, a privately-owned telecommunications and technology company driven to deliver the best experiences in wireless, fiber internet, and business IT solutions such as internet, VoIP, cloud and managed services. Read more news releases and announcements at cspire.com/news. For more information, visit cspire.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/c-spire-fiber-expands-availability-of-ultra-fast-gigabit-internet-in-alabama-301275117.html SOURCE C Spire

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Mervin Fisher, an uncle to Linda Stoltzfoos, offered some family perspective to PennLive on this weeks news of the likely discovery of the 18-year-old kidnap victims remains.

The not knowing is a long, dark tunnel without an end. And when you find the remains, you have the end in sight, Fisher said. It brings closure, and when theres closure, the healing process can continue.

Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams noted at a press conference Thursday Lindas family was told Wednesday that - based on clothing found at the scene, its proximity to where suspect Justo Smoker had worked and how they came to search that site - there were strong indications the remains are Lindas.

Adams also said members of the Stoltzfoos family were taken to the search site at some point.

She declined to share their reaction to receiving the news, but added: I have no doubt that for Lindas family, her death only became a reality upon the news of her body being recovered... Our hearts go out to the family as they process this news, their grief, and the many emotions that it will bring.

8 Ten months after Linda Stoltzfoos disappeared, human remains found

A positive identification of the body should come after an autopsy is conducted Friday, but Adams said police are comfortable in their conclusions that it is Linda, who was abducted on June 21, 2020 as she was walking home from church.

Fisher said after the press conference that everyone in the family had been holding out hope that Linda would be found alive somewhere, someday. But they also, he added, had slowly been preparing themselves for the worst over the last 10 months. And the balance had tipped in that direction with each passing month.

From Day One theres been hopes. Theres always a ray of hope that you cling to, even though its very diminished. But when theres a body or remains, then its reality, Fisher said. Weve been trying to be prepared for the worst.

Lindas father Lloyd is a cabinet-maker with a shop at their Beechdale Road home in Bird-in-Hand. He and his wife, Susie, have a large family, Fisher said.

Eighteen-year-old Linda was the oldest.

The family is Old Order Amish, Fisher said, which means they are part of a sect that eschews motor vehicles in favor of horse and buggies, bikes or walking; as well as most other modern technology for personal use or convenience. Thats not because the Amish view technology as evil; its more a matter of whether they see it adversely affecting the community.

Thats also why, scholars have noted, Amish wont have electricity or a telephone in their home, but they would use a phone for business or use electricity on a dairy farm to conform with state regulations for the business.

Lindas family are also longtime Lancaster Countians, Fisher said, having descended from a man who migrated here in the 1700s.

Fisher said when the body is returned to the family, the next step in the healing process can begin, and that will start with a proper funeral.

Amish funerals, he noted, are typically held in the deceaseds home, and are by invitation only. That said, they are often large, with family, friends and church congregation members all invited.

Mervin Fisher, who is not Amish, is married to Lloyd Stoltzfooss sister, so hes an uncle to Linda.

He does not claim to be a spokesman for the family, he said, but has been taking questions from the press because he knows that they wont be doing that because of their culture. That has to do with the Amish practice of avoiding putting oneself in front of the community.

Fisher said hes been trying to bridge that gap out of respect for people in the community who are interested in and concerned the case.

He said he could say with certainty Thursday that the Stoltzfoos family has been very appreciative of the support that theyve felt from the Amish and non-Amish in the area since the case started - from the witnesses who came forward, to the volunteers who joined the search teams, to the residents to held prayer vigils to the business people who allowed missing signs to be posted at their sites.

Just very grateful for the strength of community, Fisher said. Not just the Amish. This incident has brought the best out in the community, whether it was Amish or non-Amish, working together... It was different races, different religions, coming together for one goal, one cause. And that was to find Linda and bring closure to this incident.
WASHINGTON (AP)  After more than a decade in which the Supreme Court moved gradually toward more leniency for minors convicted of murder, the justices have moved the other way.

The high court ruled 6-3 Thursday along ideological lines against a Mississippi inmate sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing his grandfather when the defendant was 15 years old.

The case is important because it marks a break with the courts previous rulings and is evidence of the impact of a newly more conservative court.

Previous Article - Mississippi Supreme Court dismisses appeal in Lee County murder case

Link added by WTVA.
It's a day to celebrate the planet and think about ways to help the environment.

And Elizabeth Hurley, 55, led the celebrities marking the occasion as she sizzled in a slinky black bikini while asking fans to 'eliminate single use plastic bottles'.

Demi Rose, 26, also ensured to command attention as she flaunted her eye-popping assets and went topless for a sexy selfie all in honour of Thursday's date.

Happy Earth Day! Elizabeth Hurley led the celebrities marking the occasion as she sizzled in a slinky black bikini while asking fans to 'eliminate single use plastic bottles' on Thursday

Elizabeth ensured to catch her fans attention and deliver an important message about helping the environment with a stunning swimwear snap.

The actress exuded confidence as she posed in a pool while rocking a triangle bikini top and matching cut-out briefs.

She showcased her phenomenal physique in the slinky two-piece and wore her hair down, letting it cascade over her shoulder for the throwback snap.

Explaining a little about her picture, Elizabeth wrote: 'On #worldearthday I've chosen to remember being in one of my favourite places, the Maldives.

Thankful: Demi Rose also ensured to command attention on Earth Day as she flaunted her eye-popping assets and went topless for a sexy selfie all in honour of the special date

'The ocean is sublime, but one of the biggest challenges our oceans faces is plastic pollution. Commit with me to try to eliminate single use plastic bottles from our lives #saynotoplastic.'

Demi also radiated beauty as she posed in a sun-soaked snap which saw her laying on the ground with several red petals perfectly placed to protect her modesty.

The model showed she was at one with nature as she let her brunette locks fall behind her and spread out across the mud as she posed up a storm.

Sharing her snap to Instagram, she penned: 'Happy Earth day. It has been a blessing to experience life on this beautiful planet that we don't give enough credit.'

Launched in 1970, Earth Day is an annual event which demonstrates support for environmental protection.

Important: Elizabeth accompanied her stunning picture with a heartfelt request for fans to 'try to eliminate single use plastic bottles'

'I feel at home when I'm close to Mother Earth': Ferne McCann, 30, also shared a selection of radiant snaps from her travels around the world with her daughter Sunday

Also joining the two beauties in marking Earth Day was former The Only Way Is Essex star Ferne McCann.

Ferne, 30, shared a selection of radiant snaps from her travels around the world with her daughter Sunday.

One image showed the duo soaking up the stunning sights at a waterfall while others showed the little girl enjoying a safari trip.

The blonde beauty also ensured to show off her toned physique in gym-wear while posing up a storm on Lions Head Mountain in Cape Town for another image.

Memories: One snap showed little Sunday enjoying a safari trip with her mother

What a view: While other images from the duo's trips showed them soaking up the stunning views from Lions Head Mountain in Cape Town

Always learning: Ferne also told her followers that she's constantly trying to 'take small steps' to help the environment

Ferne wrote: 'Happy Earth Day. I feel at home when I'm close to Mother Earth. I feel calm and clear. To be honest when I'm outside in nature that is when I feel most like myself and Alive.

'It amazes me everyday the magic the earth does and does for us, no Mother Earth no us. So I am always trying to learn more and take small steps at a time to try and help the environment.

'For now I'll give some thanks. Thankyou so much Mother Earth for the beauty #happyearthday #earthday #happyearthday.'

Elsewhere, Ellie Goulding looked as radiant as ever as she modelled a jumper by her close 'dear friend' Stella McCartney to mark Earth Day on Thursday.

Mummy and daughter: Ferne and Sunday also enjoyed a nature walk on one of their trips

So sweet: The reality star's daughter beamed as she sat by the water (left) and played with binoculars (right) on safari

Sweet: Ferne ended her Earth Day post by saying 'thank you so much Mother Earth for the beauty'

The musician, 34, cradled her baby bump in the cosy sweatshirt, which was emblazoned with the words: 'Save our amazon, save the planet.'

On My Mind hitmaker Ellie styled the slogan top with black leggings as she posed outside of her her six-bedroom Cotswolds pad.

The blonde wore her tresses loose, while her clear complexion was on full display as she went make-up free.

The artist wrote in an accompanying caption: 'My dear friend & brilliant earth defender @StellaMcCartney has launched a capsule collection to support vital @greenpeaceuk work to save the Amazon.

'Deforestation reached a 12-year high in 2020. We are running towards catastrophe. Please help us defend the planets biggest rainforest before it is too late.

'Thats 3 icons, Stella + Greenpeace + The Amazon Biome. Lets support them this #earthday.' (sic)

Important cause: Pregnant Ellie Goulding looked as radiant as ever as she modelled a jumper by her close 'dear friend' Stella McCartney to mark Earth Day on Thursday

Relaxed: On My Mind hitmaker Ellie styled the slogan top with black leggings as she posed outside of her her six-bedroom Cotswolds pad
Panaji, April 22 : Goa will offer free of cost vaccination to people above the age of 18 years, when the mass vaccination programme rolls out for all citizens of major age from May 1, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

"Our Govt will be placing an order initially for 5 lakh doses of #COVID19 vaccines directly from the manufacturer. Altogether 15 lakh plus doses will be procured at a cost of over Rs 60 crores. The vaccines will be administered free of cost to people between the 18-45 age group," Sawant tweeted on Thursday.

The vaccine will be sourced from the Serum Institute of India.

In the first two rounds of vaccination of frontline workers and citizens above the age of 45, 2,11,906 have been vaccinated with the first dose, while 54,729 persons have been administered the second dose, a senior health official said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
[April 21, 2021] Satellite-based Leak Detection Company Launches Impact Calculator Predicted to Save American Companies Millions - Just in Time to Celebrate Earth Day

SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As the world gets ready to celebrate Earth Day 2021, there is a push to focus on global warming and clean energy. With this in mind, a new player in the US water sustainability market, Utilis has launched an Impact Calculator that shows the amount of damage water leakage has on the environment. Utilis has launched an Impact Calculator that shows the amount of damage water leakage has on the environment. For global development to be sustainable, potable water is a necessity. Utilis plays a key role in the maintenance and protection of the water supply using data driven solutions. A staggering 7200M gallons of water are saved every year through Utilis solutions, with an average of 3.3 leaks found per day at each subscribing utility. "Utilis doesn't just provide a product to our customers, we provide the full solution, which includes helping them lower their environmental impact on the planet," said Elly Perets, CEO of Utilis. "This Impact Calculator shows water utilities everywhere the impact they can impart by finding and repairing leaking pipes." The Utilis Impact Calculator linked here contributes to the three of 17 goals set forth by the United Nations, all related to sustainable global development.



Utilis also contributes to the goal of taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Climate change from increasing CO2 is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, and floods. The Utilis L-Band SAR analytics help customers identify leaks so they can be repaired, lowering the excess electricity used to pump and treat the water (as well as associated CO2). With Utilis' technical innovation, including the Impact Calculator, Utilis is able to assist both public and private sectors to overcome major water challenges. Since the average leak remains underground and unreported for 18 months (per AWWA), rapid detection and resolution are of critical importance. Any environmental damage can be viewed and addressed. Resolution of leaks save water, CO2 and electricity.

For more information or to use the Utilis Impact Calculator, visit our website at https://utiliscorp.com/products/. *** ABOUT UTILIS Utilis provides data driven solutions for water utilities, government agencies, and the greater infrastructure industry. They use synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from satellites and turn it into large scale decision support tools. The proprietary algorithms and highly educated staff of scientists and engineers are the key to the company's mission, to which advance planet Earth's resource resilience through SAR analytics. Successfully commercializing their first leak detection product in 2016, Utilis' projects are saving more than 7000 million gallons of potable water and 17,000 MWH of energy per year, all in support of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Headquartered in Israel, with offices in the United States and United Kingdom, Utilis currently provides innovative data solutions in multiple verticals around the globe. For more information on Utilis and to learn more about their technology visit https://utiliscorp.com/ Media Contact

Karen Dubey

Corporate Marketing Director

marketing@utiliscorp.com

(858) 798-6709 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/satellite-based-leak-detection-company-launches-impact-calculator-predicted-to-save-american-companies-millions--just-in-time-to-celebrate-earth-day-301274364.html SOURCE Utilis Corp.

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WASHINGTON  The U.S. Army has picked six companies that will develop ways to power electric vehicles in austere, remote locations, according to an April 22 statement from Army Futures Command.

The effort will support the Armys Next-Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) modernization effort and the Ground Vehicles Systems Center  in collaboration with the Army Applications Laboratory and Alion Science and Technology  as the service tackles how to power a future fleet of roughly 225,000 electric vehicles while operating in a field where infrastructure for such capability would likely not exist.

The Power Transfer Cohort began virtually on March 29 and concept design presentations to NGCV leadership are expected May 20. Cohort companies each received $100,000 to complete the 8-week program.

Sourced from across the country, the selected companies represent a range of technologies and expertise  all aimed at identifying and exploring technologies that will help power the Armys move to electric vehicles (EVs) and allow the Army to use electric power in remote locations, the release states.

The companies chosen are Royal Oak, Michigan-based Coritech Services, Inc.; Czero, Inc. based in Fort Collins, Colorado; Fermata Energy in Charlottesville, Virginia; West Lafayette, Indiana-based PC Krause and Associates; Tritium Technologies, LLC in Torrance, California and Albany, New York-based Wright Electric.

Coritech specializes in custom solutions for applications that require electrical control systems to meet unique process requirements or to demonstrate viability of early technology concepts, the release said.

Czero is a mechanical engineering company focused on early-stage research and development of technologies that reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions, the statement read.

Fermata designs, provides and uses patented technology that speeds up the adoption of electric vehicles and the transition to renewable energy and clean transportation, according to the release.

Story continues

PC Krause provides engineering services, software tools, modeling and simulations facilities as well as hardware prototyping and design with a specialty in integrated power, thermal and propulsion systems on mobile platforms, the release noted.

Tritium develops proprietary technology to make advanced and reliable DC fast chargers for electric vehicles. The company was the first in the world to implement Plug and Charge, which enables EVs and charging equipment to communicate, authenticate and transact seamlessly via the charging cable, the release stated.

Wright is comprised of a team of aerospace engineers, powertrain experts and battery chemists and is an industry leader in the future of sustainable, lower-emissions air travel, and is building electric planes to lower carbon emissions, fuel costs, noise and runway takeoff time, the release noted.

The Army is making a push to power its brigades using electric and hybrid sources as a way to break free from fuel and disposable batteries that bog down its logistics tail and limit mobility and reach.

Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, then-director of the Futures and Concepts Center within Army Futures Command, told Defense News early last year that its one thing to power a vehicle electrically, but another to work out an entire enterprise that would support fleets of electric vehicles and other capabilities.

Lets be clear. Were behind. Were late to meet on this thing, Wesley said. If you look at all of the analysis, all of the various nations that we work with, theyre all going to electric power with their automotive fleet, and right now, although we do [science and technology] and weve got some research and development going on and we can build prototypes, in terms of a transition plan, we are not there.

The AAL cohort program is just one way the Army is looking to make progress on this front.

Last fall, AFC gave the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate the green light to develop a plan to equip tactical and combat vehicles with electric power. The directorate is in the process of drafting a requirements document for Tactical and Combat Vehicle Electrification.

The Power Transfer Cohort is one of several cohorts the AAL is supporting. The first ever cohort was set up last year to focus on the Armys Field Artillery Autonomous Resupply (FAAR) effort, which is helping to solve handling artillery through automation across the logistics chain. Another cohort  Fire Faster  was established later in the year to come up with solutions to increase the rate of fire and smooth out the process of loading artillery pieces

Last year, we launched and validated this new Cohort Program approach. We know it works, and were already seeing the results for our Army mission partners, Col. Len Rosanoff, director of AAL, said in the statement. The Power Transfer Cohort is a chance to show that this model can scale across the Army to solve other complex problems. This approach will make the Army a better business partner for industry. And we want others in the Army to know they can do this, too.
In March, Amazon censored a well-produced and popular documentary, dropping it from its digital video offerings. Yet the company still sells Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, and Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung: The Little Red Book. And rightly so: sunlight is the best antidote to bad ideas and free people are capable of critical reasoning.
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Its like the plot of a film noir Hollywood script. But the case of the gang killer and his jailer girlfriend is nonfiction, and it is troubling on so many levels.

Jody Rufino Martinez, 41, is a self-professed soldier in the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico prison gang and is looking at life in federal prison after his conviction last month on murder and racketeering charges.

But top billing goes to Santana Bustamante, 29. Shes a corrections officer at the Rio Arriba County Detention Center in Tierra Amarilla, where Martinez was a prisoner. Somewhere along the line, they became lovers.

The jailer was linked to the killer when federal authorities began investigating SNMs criminal activities. A month after his release from jail in September 2018, Martinez allegedly shot a man in the groin. The FBI says Bustamante waited in a truck outside the victims home while Martinez went inside and shot the man.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

In a movie, that role is called the wheelman.

Bustamante also allegedly helped Martinez get a .40-caliber Glock, which investigators believe was used in the shooting of a Martinez rival. Bustamante was also investigated for allegedly helping inmates at her jail retaliate against the shooting victim after he recovered and returned to the jail in January 2019. The victim said Bustamante circulated a Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office report saying he was cooperating with police. Any film buff knows snitch can be a death sentence in jail.

But nothing stuck. Bustamante, who has no arrests or convictions, denies wrongdoing. She hasnt been charged and says not being fired proves her innocence.

Perhaps. Or perhaps it proves nobody wants to mess with the main squeeze of a prison gangster.

In May 2018, just weeks after Martinez was jailed at the Rio Arriba facility on a probation violation, Bustamantes Facebook page stated In a relationship Rufino Martinez. Martinez remained at the jail for about five months. Investigators later found intimate photos of Bustamante and Martinez on her cellphone.

Bustamante says her romantic relationship with Martinez began after he was released in September 2018. Note the timing and that its against federal and state laws for jailers to have any sort of sexual relationship with an inmate because inmates cannot legally give consent.

Jail employees told the FBI that Bustamante entered Martinezs cell alone on numerous occasions, provided him with outside food, and they spent time alone outside the view of surveillance cameras. A jailhouse informant said Martinez bragged about how Bustamante could obtain police records and find out where people lived and if they had snitched on anyone.

Bustamantes description of the time line doesnt track with her Facebook relationship status. Arent there ethical guidelines for corrections officers regarding relationships with ex-inmates, especially ones deep in prison crime syndicates that operate inside and outside prison walls, who have been convicted of federal felonies? Its shocking she would still have a taxpayer-funded job at that jail.

Rio Arriba County Detention Center administrator Larry DeYapp says there was no direct proof of Bustamante aiding and abetting Martinez and he didnt have enough information to fire her. The relationship status and those graphic couple photos posted on her Facebook page call that into question. And why isnt there video evidence of her entering Martinezs cell alone or providing outside food? Isnt it against policy to spend time alone with an inmate outside the view of surveillance cameras?

In a larger sense, is a prison gang effectively running the remote jail in tiny Tierra Amarilla? Does Martinez wield power there through Bustamante? Are other inmates and corrections officers afraid to talk because of the threat of retaliation from a notorious prison gang?

To top it all off, Bustamante says shes in the testing process to get into law enforcement. Not comforting.

So what can we expect in a sequel? Theres an old saying that offers an answer: Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres. Show me your friends and Ill tell you who you are.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueVoyant , a cybersecurity services company, today announced the findings from its newest report: Supply Chain Disruptions and Cybersecurity in Logistics. As Global health is dependent upon the immediate, safe and effective distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, logistics firms are literally carrying the world through the current crisis. Underscoring its vulnerability to attack, US Policymakers have put a spotlight on cybersecurity in the supply chain with recent Executive Orders enacted to secure maritime shipping and logistics.

Ransomware the Number One Cyber Threat to the Supply Chain



It is undisputed that the largest cybersecurity threat facing supply chain and logistics companies today is neither nation-state attacks nor data breach information for sale on the dark web; it is ransomware. This report shows that from 2019 to 2020, ransomware attacks on shipping and logistics firms tripledwith almost all attacks resulting from phishing or exploitation of open remote desktop portsmaking the sector especially vulnerable during the critical global vaccine rollout.

Using open-source data and proprietary research, BlueVoyant assessed 20 of the top global shipping and logistics companies to understand their vulnerability to ransomware and other disruptive attacks. The results indicate the growing threats facing the sectorspecifically the disproportionate impact of rising ransomware attackscapable of bringing businesses that operate technology-driven and highly automated 'just-in-time' delivery schedules to a standstill.

Key Report Findings:

Ransomware is the #1 cyber threat to logistics companies today, suggesting a situation of imminent and extreme risk.

Malicious actors are keenly interested in logistics companies. 100% of the companies assessed saw some evidence of threat targeting against their network.

Despite the risks of ransomware attacks, 90% of the organizations studied were found to have open remote desktop or administration ports and insufficient email security, the primary vulnerabilities to ransomware gangs.

Other evidence of threatening activity was also observed, including:

Evidence of brute force attacks



Targeted attacks using proxy networks



Traffic to blocklisted/denylisted assets



Traffic coming from known botnets

Many processes and technologies in the sector are out of date, leaving firms needlessly exposed to vulnerabilities, remedied by easily hardened attack channels.

Unprotected Networks Vulnerable to Phishing/Spoofing Attacks



BlueVoyant's assessment indicates the immediate need for shipping and logistics companies to dramatically improve IT hygiene and email security. This is clearly underscored by the fact that 90% of the companies studied had open remote desktop or administration ports at IP addresses on their network, and most appeared to have email security vulnerabilities. The report also shows that domains belonging to 14 of the 20 companies studied have no protection against phishing and spoofing attacks, 16 of the 20 companies have devices running unsupported software on their networks and half of the companies appear to be running software with high-severity vulnerabilities on their servers.

COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Focuses Attackers on Supply Chain



High-profile cargo like the COVID-19 vaccineand the data that goes with itmake shipping and logistics companies high-value targets to cybercriminal and national state actors aiming to disrupt government efforts and steal sought-after vaccine data. This places additional burden on a sector that, in the past, has already faced significant disruption from cyberattacks. Consider the 2017 global NotPetya ransomware attack that froze Danish shipping firm Maersk's worldwide logistics operations, costing the firm a whopping $250-300m.

Commenting on the research, Thomas Lind, Head of Strategic Intelligence, BlueVoyant said: "IT management issues, such as those observed in our assessment, played a key role in NotPetya's infection of Maersk's systems; an especially damaging case which served as a violent wake-up call for the logistics industry. Alarmingly, more than four years later, the sector remains vulnerable to malicious cyber activity, and specifically vulnerable to ransomware attacks."

Securing America's Supply Chain

In February of this year, the Biden administration signed an Executive Order on America's Supply Chains to secure and bolster the American supply chain and mitigate its vulnerability to attack, highlighting its critical role in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine. There are also a number of actions logistics and supply chain companies should immediately implement to mitigate against future attacks and improve their operational preparedness. These include securing email services and mail servers against phishing and spoofing, securing port and network configurations, updating and patching software, being aware of OFAC regulations and utilizing advanced security services to protect against the multi-faceted and evolving threat landscape.

Jim Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO, BlueVoyant, concludes: "Widespread vulnerabilities persist at a time of increased scrutiny and critical reliance on supply chains; as countries around the world wait for efficient and safe vaccine distribution programs, and as entire work-from-home economies rely heavily on global shipping. The Biden Executive Order demonstrates increased national focus on and critical support for this sector. Given the sensitivity of distribution networks to disruption, the global reliance on supply chain businesses, and the lingering warning of the NotPetya attack, it is a critical and immediate imperative for this sector to become more resilient against ongoing cyber threats."

BlueVoyant is an expert-driven cybersecurity services company whose mission is to proactively defend organizations of all sizes against today's constant, sophisticated attackers, and advanced threats.

Led by CEO, Jim Rosenthal, BlueVoyant's highly skilled team includes former government cyber officials with extensive frontline experience in responding to advanced cyber threats on behalf of the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Unit 8200 and GCHQ, together with private sector experts. BlueVoyant services utilize large real-time datasets with industry leading analytics and technologies.

Founded in 2017 by Fortune 500 executives, including Executive Chairman, Tom Glocer, and former Government cyber officials, BlueVoyant is headquartered in New York City and has offices in Maryland, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, Manila, Toronto, London, Latin America and Budapest.

BlueVoyant Press Contacts:

Danielle Ostrovsky

C8 Consulting (Americas)

T: 001 410-302-9459

E: [email protected]

Jim Pople

C8 Consulting (EMEA)

T: +44 7955 030191

E: [email protected]

SOURCE BlueVoyant

Related Links

bluevoyant.com


[April 22, 2021] Use of Stalkerware and Spyware Apps Increase by 93% since Lockdown Began in the UK

Avast draws attention to the growing threat of stalkerware apps, during National Stalking Awareness Week LONDON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Avast (LSE: AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy products, reveals there has been a 93% increase in the use of spyware and stalkerware apps1 in the UK since lockdown measures were first introduced. In the past year, Avast has protected over 4,585 users in the UK from apps capable of spying, and 165,049 users across the globe. The volume of stalkerware and spyware apps in January and February of this year is a 93% increase on the same time last year before COVID restrictions were introduced. This National Stalking Awareness Week, Avast continues to draw attention to the rise of stalkerware - unethical software that allows people to track someone's location, without the victim's knowledge or consent. Stalkerware gives the perpetrator access to a victim's personal photos, videos, emails, texts and app communications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, as well as eavesdrop on phone calls and make covert recordings of conversations over the internet. Jaya Baloo, Chief Information Security Officer, Avast, said, "The growth in stalkerware and spyware poses a huge concern. Stalkerware is a form of tech abuse, an increasing threat which takes away the physical and online freedom of the victim. Usually installed secretly on mobile phones by so-called friends, jealous spouses and ex-partners, stalkerware tracks the physical location of the victim, monitors sites visited, phone calls and text messages, undermining a person's online freedom and individual liberty." Alarmingly, the growth in stalkerware seems to echo the increase in domestic abuse cases across the UK since lockdown measures came into force. Refuge , a national charity in England providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse reported that calls to its helpline increased by two-thirds (66%) in the first three months of lockdown, with visits to its website increasing by 950%. Latest figures from the NHS,2 also reveal there has been a 350% increase in the number of people searching online for domestic abuse support during lockdown compared to the previous year. Jane Keeper, Director of Operations, Refuge, added: "This technology gives abusers another way to exert control over their victims whether we are in lockdown or not. Unfortunately, whilst Avast's figures are concerning, we fear they are just the tip of the iceberg - many cases will go undetected. This is why Refuge is partnering with Avast, to help tackle this disturbing trend head on." Avast is committed to identifying and removing the threat of stalkerware. In 2019, Avast mobile threat researchers identified and worked to remove 8 stalkerware apps from the Google Play Store. Refuge and Avast are both members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware , a cross-industry organisation committed to fighting domestic abuse, stalking, and harassment by addressing the use of stalkerware and raising public awareness about this issue. Jaya Baloo, CISO, Avast adds: "We're proud to be workin with members of the Coalition, to raise awareness of tech abuse, educate people on how to address it, and constantly to improve ways to prevent this threat."



Here are some simple steps to help people identify the signs of potential stalkerware and spyware on their devices and what they can do to protect themselves: How to prevent stalkerware if you think you are at risk:

Secure your phone against all unauthorised physical access: ensure your phone or device uses two factor authentication such as a pin code and a second form of identity confirmation such as an email backup or thumbprint.

Install a reliable antivirus product on your mobile phone: a good mobile antivirus will treat stalkerware as a PUP (potentially unwanted programme) and give you the option to remove it. How to spot the signs: You notice your device's performance is suddenly and unexpectedly worse: you may notice slow-downs or more frequent crashes or freezes.

Your settings have changed without your consent: if you suddenly have a new browser homepage, new icons on your desktop, a different default search engine, or other changes that you didn't make, it might be due to stalkerware.

You get odd messages: a sudden flood of pop-ups or error messages from programmes that always worked fine before may indicate spyware.

You have unexplained calls on your bill.

The abuser has had physical access to your device.

The abuser knows things about what you're doing, where you're going and who you've been communicating with. How to manually remove stalkerware from your phone: Reboot your phone into safe-mode: hold down your phone's power button to see your Power off and Restart options. Long-press the Power off option and the Reboot to safe-mode option will appear. Tap OK.

Remove any suspicious apps: once rebooted in safe mode, open up your Settings and tap Apps or Apps & notifications. Sort through your apps and look for anything you don't recognise.

Remove any Malicious Apps: tap Uninstall to remove it from your device. If you're not sure if an app is malicious, search for the name of the app on the internet to see if other people have shared any issues with it. If you think you may be at risk from domestic abuse, information and help is available at: https://www.refuge.org.uk/ About Refuge:

Refuge supports more than 7,000 women and children on any given day, and runs the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is the gateway to accessing specialist support across the country. More than one in four women in England and Wales experiences domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and two women a week are killed by a current or former partner. Please signpost to Refuge's National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247, available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for free, confidential specialist support. Or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk to fill in a webform and request a safe time to be contacted or to access live chat (live chat available 3pm-10pm, Monday to Friday). For real time automated guidance on how to secure your personal devices Refuge also has a Tech Safety Tool. About Avast:

Avast (LSE:AVST), a FTSE 100 company, is a global leader in digital security and privacy products. With over 435 million users online, Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats on the internet and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company's threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Avast is a member of Coalition Against Stalkerware, No More Ransom and Internet Watch Foundation. Visit: www.avast.com. Keep in touch with Avast: Follow us on Twitter: @Avast_antivirus

For security and privacy insights, visit the Avast blog: https://blog.avast.com/

For handy guides, advice and tips, visit Avast Academy: https://www.avast.com/c-academy

Join our LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/avast

Visit our Facebook group: www.facebook.com/avast Media Contact

pr@avast.com 1 Both types of apps are unethical forms of tracking software. Spyware is a form of malware that tries to keep itself hidden under the disguise of another app or program downloaded by the user and sends information to a malicious agent. Stalkerware is usually secretly downloaded onto a victim's device by someone they know.

2 https://news.sky.com/story/nhs-encourages-people-to-seek-help-if-they-are-victims-of-domestic-abuse-or-sexual-assault-12251208 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/827113/Avast_Logo.jpg

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When police in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center pulled over Daunte Wright on 11 April, he told his mother on the phone he thought it was because he had an air freshener blocking his rearview mirror. Moments later, officer Kimberly Potter fatally shot Mr Wright, an unarmed 20-year-old Black man, mistaking her gun for her Taser.

During his eulogy for Mr Wright on Thursday in Minneapolis, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton took this as a metaphor.

We come today as the air fresheners for Minnesota. Were trying to get the stench of police brutality out of the atmosphere. Were trying to get the stench of racism out of the atmosphere. Were trying to get the stench of racial profiling out of the atmosphere, he said. Your air is too odorous for us to breathe. We cant breathe in your stinking air no more.

I cant breathe became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement after multiple Black people being killed by police said those words just before their deaths, including George Floyd, who told police he couldnt breathe 27 times.

The memorial service on Thursday, in Minneapoliss Shiloh Temple, was a mix of the personal and the political.

Mr Wrights parents Katie and Aubrey remembered their son as a lovable, joyous young man, who was excited to be a father to his young son, Daunte Jr, who was born in 2019.

My son had a smile that was worth a million dollars, Katie Wright said, adding, The joy that Junior brought to Dauntes life was truly amazing. He was so happy and so proud, and he always said he couldnt wait to make his son proud.

But the event was more than just a funeral service. Civil rights advocates including Rev Sharpton, attorney Ben Crump, and others like US representative Ilhan Omar and Amy Klobuchar were in attendance, and many of them called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a package of federal reforms thats already cleared the House.

Mr Wright was killed by police towards the end of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, during an arrest last May.

We struggled through all of that. Now in his name, in the name of Daunte, were going to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as federal law, Mr Sharpton said during his remarks. We are going to make it against the law all over this country to keep bringing us to funerals.

Other leaders spoke as well. Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who called for a statewide moment of silence in honour of Mr Wright, said: We know that this tragedy is connected to the deep and systematic racism in our society that Black people in Minnesota and across this country face every day.

Mr Walz has thrown his support behind a number of police reforms at the state level, though many in the community feel he hasnt gone far enough and used heavy-handed riot police deployments on protesters in the days following Mr Wrights death.

The service concluded with a speech from US senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar, who has also been criticized for going soft on police brutality cases when she was a local prosecutor.

We cannot confuse accountability for justice, she said. True justice is not done as long as having expired tags means losing your life during a traffic stop.

Kim Potter, the officer who shot Mr Wright, resigned following the death and was charged with manslaughter. The Wright family has called on local authorities to upgrade the charges to murder.
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PHOENIX  Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature on Thursday approved a sweeping anti-abortion bill that bans the procedure if the woman is seeking it solely because a fetus has a genetic abnormality such as Down syndrome.

Doctors who perform an abortion solely because the child has a survivable genetic issue can face felony charges. The proposal also contains a raft of other provisions sought by abortion opponents.

The party-line votes send the measure to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, an abortion opponent who has never vetoed a piece of anti-abortion legislation. Democrats universally opposed Senate Bill 1457.

The vote came after the House and Senate agreed to amend the measure to satisfy concerns of a lone GOP senator who opposed it earlier this month and blocked it from advancing.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Lawmakers in both the Senate and House spent hours explaining their support or opposition to the measure, laying bare the stark divide between abortion foes and backers.

The bans on abortion based on the reasons behind a persons reason have never been about promotion of equality, said Sen. Lela Alston, a Phoenix Democrat. The ban proposed in this bill is part of a larger campaign to stigmatize abortion and to pass as many laws as possible to restrict access to abortion care. 

Republicans said the measure was about the right to life.

I think we need to be honest with ourselves, said Sen. Kelly Townsend, a Mesa Republican. Aborting a child because theres a genetic abnormality is not health care. You are euthanizing a child that has a genetic abnormality. Its euthanasia, its not health care.

Republican Sen. Paul Boyer of Glendale made a blunt but similar argument.

Abortion is not health care, Boyer said. Abortion takes the life of an innocent child  every single time.

The abortion bill as originally written made it a felony for a doctor to perform the procedure because the fetus has a genetic abnormality like Down syndrome, and contained a slew of other provisions, including one that confers all civil rights to unborn children. Democrats call that personhood provision a backdoor way to allow criminal charges against a woman who has an abortion.

The bill was amended twice to allay the concerns of a pair of Republicans  one worried that a woman would be forced to carry a fetus that could not survive and a second concerned that a doctors medical decisions could be overruled by a jury. That GOP-backed amendment also clarified that the personhood provision does not ban in-vitro fertilization.

The Democrats issued a lengthy written rebuttal to the bill after the final amendment.

The measure is a top priority for the social conservative group Center for Arizona Policy. Its president, Cathi Herrod, routinely backs anti-abortion bills in the Legislature. Her group and others pressured Pace, who also opposes abortion, to accept changes.

Democrats say the bill infringes on a womans right to choose. In addition to the ban on abortions for genetic abnormalities and the personhood provision, the bill bans mail delivery of abortion-inducing medication, allows the father or maternal grandparents of a fetus aborted due to a genetic issue to sue, and bans the spending of any state money toward organizations that provide abortion care.

The measure also requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated, and it forbids state universities from providing abortion care.

Republican-controlled legislatures in Arizona and several other states  emboldened by the possibility that a more conservative U.S. Supreme Court could overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that found women have a constitutional right to seek an abortion  have embraced proposals this year that could completely ban abortion. An Arizona proposal doing that, however, has not advanced.

Last week, a divided federal appeals court lifted the hold on a similar Ohio law that prohibits doctors from performing abortions based on a fetal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Judges of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals narrowly reversed two earlier decisions blocking enforcement of Ohios 2017 law. A majority of the appeals court said the law doesnt impede a womans right to an abortion.

Mondays amendment to the Arizona bill also added a legislative intent clause that included much of the reasoning the appeals court used in the Ohio decision.
MANCHESTER, England, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- InXpress Holdings Ltd., a software-enabled global franchisor of transportation and logistics services, today announced it named four senior executives to its Board of Directors: Omar Simmons, Executive Chairman of one of the largest Planet Fitness franchise and Managing Director at Exaltare Capital Partners; Arnold Goldberg, former Senior Vice President and Senior Product Technologist at PayPal; Brendan Mulryan, Vice President at Etsy; and Jan Uhrich, former VP Services at Dell.

The new directors add complementary skills to reinforce InXpress's long-term commitment to provide world-class transportation and logistics solutions to small and medium sized businesses.

Last year Hudson Hill Capital ("HHC") acquired InXpress. Commenting on the appointments, Eric Rosen, Managing Partner of HHC, said, "These senior executives within technology, ecommerce, and franchising will strengthen the InXpress business globally. Each individual brings many years of relevant experience that will strengthen our technology, franchise, and service expertise to enhance the experience of our customers."

Based in Manchester, U.K., InXpress is an international franchisor of parcel, freight, and delivery logistics services serving SME customers through a software platform and global network of nearly 400 franchises in 14 countries. The company maintains relationships with tier-one parcel, air, and freight carriers around the world, offering discounted rates to franchisees that form relationships with SME customers through its direct salesforce. The Company also offers its SME customers and franchisees a SaaS platform, enabling franchisees to effectively manage customer service and customers to centrally manage their transportation and logistics requirements.

Mr. Simmons, a seasoned private equity professional with nearly 30 years of experience, currently serves as Managing Director at Exaltare Capital Partners, which he co-founded. He is also Executive Chairman of ECP-PF Holdings, one of the largest Planet Fitness franchise with health clubs in Connecticut, New Mexico, and New York. Prior to that, Mr. Simmons worked as a Director at Windjammer Capital Investors and co-founded Reliant Equity Investors. He also worked at leading private equity firms such as Summit Partners and McCown DeLeeuw. Mr. Simmons graduated from Harvard Business School with honors, after graduating from Princeton University.

Mr. Goldberg spent the majority of his 30 year career as a senior product and technology executive working with four high-growth companies  PayPal, Box, LinkedIn, and eBay. He joined PayPal in 2013 and served in senior product and technology positions, including his most recent role as Senior Vice President, Chief Product Architect, where he partnered with the CEO to transform the product and engineering functions. Prior to PayPal, Mr. Goldberg worked as Vice President, Engineering at Box; Vice President, Platform Engineering at LinkedIn; and Senior Director, Systems Development at eBay. He also served with Hyperion Software, IBM, and ABB. Mr. Goldberg began his career at Harris Corporation after graduating from the University of Florida with a BS degree in computer engineering.

Ms. Uhrich is a Fortune 50 company senior executive with deep experience in technology and services. From 2013 to 2016, she was Chief Delivery Officer at Sutherland responsible for global services delivery, technology, IT, and human resources. Ms. Uhrich spent 17 years with Dell delivering new solutions and services, including starting and building Dell Global Support Services. Prior to Dell, she served for eight years as Senior Director Product Development with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and began her career at Apollo Computer after graduating from Penn State University with a BS degree in computer science. She received her MS degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Mulryan currently serves as Vice President, Member Services at Etsy. Prior to Etsy, he worked as Vice President, Customer Success at SaaS startup Docurated (acquired by Quark Software) and held various Program Management roles at Google. Mr. Mulryan possesses logistics experience as well, working with CEVA Logistics China and the Maersk Group. Mr. Mulryan earned a Diploma in Operational Research and Management Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a BS in Finance from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

Mark Taylor, Global CEO of InXpress said, "We look forward to benefiting from the diverse skills and insights that Omar, Arnold, Jan, and Brendan bring to help accelerate our growth, build strong relationships with our partners, and enhance our software platform."

About InXpress

InXpress, a global business-to-business franchise company in the transportation and logistics industry, with a network of nearly 400 franchisees across 14 different countries, provides SMEs with unrivaled time and cost-saving shipping solutions through consultative services and innovative software. Due to the company's size and its global connection to more than 50 trusted carrier partners, InXpress franchisees can offer big shipping discounts to small and medium-sized business. With automated shipping preparation and one-on-one account management, InXpress customers are treated with the care and services typically reserved for Fortune 1000 companies. The core services include international small parcel, domestic small parcel and less-than-truckload ("LTL"). InXpress Americas began franchising in 2006. To learn more about the franchise opportunity and the reoccurring revenue potential, visit website www.inxpress.com.

About Hudson Hill

Based in New York, Hudson Hill (www.hudsonhillcapital.com) is a private investment firm founded by Eric Rosen, Jason Palmatary, and Alexander Stacy. Departing from the prevailing short-term orientation of the private equity industry, HHC invests with families, entrepreneurs, and management teams who are attracted to patient, long-term capital partners. Hudson Hill invests its own capital alongside like-minded partners in attractive growth-oriented opportunities in industries benefiting from long-term secular growth tailwinds. HHC's industry focus includes the business services, software, and financial services sectors.

Contacts:

For HHC

Chris Tofalli, Chris Tofalli Public Relations

914-834-4334

[email protected]

For InXpress

Melanie Spencer

+44(0)7399 532 702

[email protected]

SOURCE InXpress Holdings Ltd.
The latest map of California from the U.S. governments Drought Monitor shows large swaths of red and orange covering almost the entire state  indicating severe or extreme drought conditions.

In the Bay Area, a more neutral yellow shade signals moderate conditions  but a lackluster wet season has left the region with less than 40% of normal precipitation levels, which can signal fire danger as dry conditions result in more landscape to burn.

Fire agencies and experts are already on alert this year as more than 1,200 fires have charred nearly 1,900 acres so far, more than twice the activity level compared to the five-year average.

Substantial rain is expected in the Bay Area starting this weekend, but the National Weather Service says it likely wont be enough to relieve the punishingly dry conditions recorded by the Drought Monitor across much of the state.

The monitor, produced by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the University of Nebraska, considers several factors for its weekly report, including soil moisture, river levels and precipitation.

The index does not correlate exactly with water supplies, which are managed strictly in California. But officials are already starting to dial back the spigots. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a drought emergency in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, and the Marin Municipal Water District voted Tuesday to put mandatory water restrictions on nearly 200,000 residents.

But how does the current drought map compare to past years? And how much can that comparison tell us about how bad this years wildfire season could get?

Stephen Leach, a fire weather meteorologist for the Bureau of Land Management, said drought conditions are one of several factors contributing to a wildfire seasons outcome. Others include dryness of vegetation, which serves as fuel for fires; temperature; and wind events. And sources of ignition, including lightning and human causes, are always the wild card, he said.

The reason why we do value the Drought Monitor is it does a good job of indicating where fuels are, and is an at-the-moment product, he said.

Sometimes the Drought Monitor can be very quiet earlier in the year, but a very active fire season may still result, as was the case in 2017.

Fairly wet, rainy seasons in the winter and spring may look good on the Drought Monitor, but also cause grass and weed crop to grow to above-normal amounts, Leach said. When you get to the summer and fall, all the fuels are dried out and ready to burn.

Heres a look at the drought conditions for the second week of April each year from 2016 until now, how they affected the subsequent fire season each year, and what current conditions might indicate for the upcoming wildfire season.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2020

2020

Notable Northern California wildfires: August Complex, Mendocino Complex, SCU Lightning Complex, LNU Lighting Complex, CZU Lightning Complex, Glass

Thousands of dry lightning strikes coupled with dry vegetation and heat waves in the late summer led to a record-smashing wildfire year in California with more than 4.3 million acres burned.

In April, the drought map showed moderate conditions in the Bay Area and parts of Northern California, with severe drought and abnormally dry conditions throughout the rest of the north state.

Leach said the type of major lightning event last summer that pummeled Northern California, called a lightning siege, usually only happens every 10 to 12 years. He added that strong offshore winds helped spread the fires, while dry and built-up fuels along with the heat wave made the situation even worse.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle 2019

2019

Notable Northern California wildfires: Kincade

Heavy rain earlier in the year meant a quieter start to the wildfire season, but also an overgrowth of vegetation. So by the fall, fire activity started to pick up.

It wasnt a crazy year fire-wise, but the potential was there when the fine fuel crop grew to above normal, Leach said.

By late October, the Kincade Fire erupted in Sonoma County from PG&E power lines, growing to become the largest wildfire of the year and scorching more than 77,000 acres. Strong winds and low humidity contributed to its rapid spread.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle 2018

2018

Notable Northern California wildfires: Mendocino Complex, Camp, Carr

In 2018, drought conditions were generally moderate during the second week of April, with most of Northern California including the Bay Area under normal conditions. But it was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season in California, mostly due to the devastating Camp Fire in Butte County that started in early November and led to 85 deaths.

Leach said the rainy season was fairly close to normal, but produced an above-normal crop of fuels by wildfire season. At that point, California had been dealing with years of drought, leaving plenty of very dry vegetation ready to burn. As with other massive wildfires, hot and windy conditions fueled the Camp Fire, which was started by PG&E power lines.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle 2017

2017

Notable Northern California wildfires: Nuns, Atlas, Tubbs

The map showed relatively few areas of drought in April 2017 after an intense rainy season. But while the heavy rainfall and flooding initially helped ease Californias drought conditions, fuels later dried out and were vulnerable to very strong offshore wind events, leading to the Wine Country fires. The blazes were all caused by PG&E equipment except for the Tubbs Fire, which was sparked by a private electrical system.

2016

Notable Northern California wildfires: Soberanes

Much of Northern California looked parched during the week of April 12, 2016, but the extreme and even exceptional drought conditions were mostly in the Central Valley and Southern California regions. Most of the years larger fires occurred in Southern California, except the Soberanes fire in Monterey County that broke out in July.

It was a pretty quiet season, Leach said. When we did have lightning, the monsoons and thunderstorms that produced lightning came with rainfall. ... We lucked out.

The current year

Leach said that with the current disappointing rainfall and dry conditions, he believes the main wildfire season will come earlier than normal and ramp up in June at mid to upper elevations, which are 3,000 to 6,000 feet and higher.

However, he said there are a couple of silver linings. The rainy spell expected to start this weekend could help us by delaying the really active fire season for a while, Leach said. Rainfall likely wont reach normal levels, though, and chances of precipitation will fade by May.

The grass crop is fairly short right now, said Leach, which could be helpful when we reach offshore wind season in the fall.

Mike Massa created the graphic for this story.

Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kelliehwang
A 31-year-old Delaware man, whose 2-month-old daughter died while the man and the childs mother were visiting another man in Monroe County, has changed his story and admitted to killing the baby, authorities say.

Lamont Bacchus, of New Castle, is now charged with homicide in the death of Reann M. Bacchus on April 19 in an apartment in Barrett Township, the county district attorneys office said.

He, along with the babys mother Amanda Green, 29, and the friend with whom they were visiting, Tony Kristiansen, 29, had been charged with child endangerment and held in lieu of bail in Monroe County jail.

The trio had spent days together in March after Bacchus and Green came north to settle items after the death of Greens father, authorities said. They used drugs several times and Kristiansen was asked to repair their car, authorities said.

Bacchus was sleeping on the couch with the baby in the apartment of Route 447 while Green and Kristiansen slept in the bedroom, authorities said.

When Kristiansen woke up early the afternoon of April 19, the baby was dead and Bacchus was gone in search of heroin, authorities said.

Green tried to revive the child but failed, authorities said. The two didnt dial 911 immediately, instead tracking down Bacchus on an app on his phone, authorities said. Bacchus said the baby was fine when he left and, after Kristiansen cleared the apartment of most of the drugs, they called police, authorities said.

An autopsy determined the child suffered a gaping skull fracture on the left side of her head and died from traumatic brain injury in a homicide, the district attorneys office said.

After repeated interviews with police, Bacchus changed his story to say he was carrying the baby, tripped over a bag and dropped her, court papers say. But again after waiving his rights to self incrimination, Bacchus on April 9 told police the baby was crying early in the morning and out of frustration he slammed her head into a table and she stopped, police said.

He knew right away she was dead, but Bacchus put the baby back on the couch and went back to sleep before getting up and going in search of drugs, authorities said.

Green is being charged with involuntary manslaughter as a result of her recklessness and gross negligence in the care of her daughter, the district attorneys office said, as well as child endangerment and delivery of drugs. The child endangerment charges against Kristiansen were elevated from Felony 3 to Felony 1 and Felony 2, the district attorneys office said. Bacchus is also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, assault and drug counts, authorities said.

All remain in jail in Monroe County awaiting further legal proceedings. Bacchus and Green were being held without bail and Kristiansens bail was $100,000.

Court papers did not list an attorney for Bacchus.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a subscription.

Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
The murder conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyds death wasnt a celebration for activists in Newark.

It was a reminder that New Jersey politicians have promised accountability in policing since Chauvin killed Floyd, but little has been accomplished yet.

Since Mr. Floyds killing a year ago, New Jersey has done precious little in the area of building accountability into policing in this state, said New Jersey Institute of Social Justice President Ryan Haygood.

He and other activists rallied near the steps of the historic Essex County courthouse on Wednesday, one day after Chauvin was convicted by a jury. The rally was organized by Peoples Organization for Progress, a grassroots group that has spent decades protesting police brutality.

The groups longtime chairman, Lawrence Hamm, called on state lawmakers to pass a bill that would make civilian complaint review boards with subpoena power possible for all municipalities in New Jersey. He also called on state legislators to pass another bill that would make police disciplinary records public.

All of those political leaders who think that the verdict in the trial was just, they need to step up and do what is necessary to stop this from happening, said Hamm, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate last year.

Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, The People's Organization for Progress (POP), left, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka listens during a rally in Newark. The People's Organization for Progress holds a rally in Newark the day after the verdict comes down in the Derek Chauvin case. Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Chauvins conviction also comes more than three months after Newark police officer Rod Simpkins fatally shot Carl Dorsey III minutes into New Years Day. Mayor Ras Baraka, who attended the rally, declined to say outright whether that officer should be criminally charged.

He should not have had his gun out, said Baraka when asked about it. Nobody else had their gun out. He should not have had his gun out and I think it was reckless.

That shooting is being investigated by the state Attorney Generals Office.

The rally on Wednesday was held in the same spot in Newark where one of the states largest protests against police brutality began in the days after Floyds death last year. Thousands marched and the protests remained peaceful - even during a tense standoff at a police precinct. That precinct is now being turned into a museum.

For 60 years, Newarkers have been trying to formulate a civilian complaint review board and city council approved one in 2016. It was challenged in court by the local police union, Newark Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 12.

The state Supreme Court ruled that Newarks review board couldnt have subpoena power to investigate police misconduct thoroughly. Legislators would have to change the law before the review board could have subpoena power, the justices ruled last summer.

The civilian complaint review board bill has left committee and its now just waiting to be scheduled for a vote by lawmakers, Hamm said.

Deborah Smith-Gregory. President ofENewark NAACP, center, speaks during a rally in Newark. The People's Organization for Progress (POP) holds a rally the day after the verdict comes down in the Derek Chauvin case. Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said he knew of many officers who broke the so-called blue wall and did not support Chauvin.

Hopefully, well learn to keep our guns in holsters where they belong and well proceed without further incident, Fontoura said at the rally.

For activists at the rally, Chauvins conviction wasnt entirely justice. It was accountability, but Floyd never should have been murdered to begin with, they said.

Deborah Smith-Gregory, the president of Newark chapter for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the conviction of one cop did not mean that police brutality has ended across America.

While this was a step in the right direction, this is just the beginning, Smith-Gregory said. We do not live in a post-racial, post-police brutality society.

People gather to participate a rally held by the People's Organization for Progress (POP) in Newark. The rally was held the day after the verdict comes down in the Derek Chauvin case. Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.
One-off tax cuts will be delivered to 10 million working Australians in the May budget in a bid to boost the economy amid signs the number of long-term unemployed is rapidly climbing despite the nations rebound from the coronavirus recession.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is expected to confirm in the May 11 budget that the low and middle income tax offset will be extended for another year at a cost of $7.2 billion.

The governments Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (LMITO) was the first part of its tax cuts, then kept for the 2020-21 financial year. Josh Frydenberg is expected to extend it again in the May 11 budget. Credit:

The LMITO, otherwise known as the lamington, was introduced by the federal government in 2018-19 as part one of a three-stage tax cut plan. It was going to be axed when stage two began but kept last year in the midst of the pandemic recession.

The end of the LMITO this year would result in people earning less than $126,000 a year facing a tax increase of up to $1080 from next financial year.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 02:31:00|Editor: huaxia

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LONDON, April 22 (Xinhua) -- A further 55 cases of the coronavirus "double mutation" variant first detected in India have been discovered in Britain in the week to April 21, Public Health England (PHE) said Thursday.

The new development takes the total number of B.1.617 infections to 132, Sky News reported, citing the latest PHE figures.

The new PHE figures came just hours before India is added to Britain's travel "red list" on Friday, which means arrivals will have to quarantine in government-approved hotels for 10 days.

Under the new rules, travel from India to Britain is being banned for non-British and Irish citizens from 4:00 a.m. BST (0300 GMT) on Friday.

It is understood that the coronavirus variant B.1.617, which has a "double mutation", may be more infectious and the current vaccines may be less effective against it.

The double mutated virus, B.1.617, is becoming the most prevalent among all the mutant COVID-19 variants in India, Indian media reports said.

Meanwhile, PHE also released data that showed a further 70 cases of the variant first detected in South Africa have been discovered in Britain in the latest week. This takes the total number in Britain to 670, Sky News said.

Earlier Thursday, the official figures said that another 2,729 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,398,431.

The country also reported another 18 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,345. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 33.2 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
Yves here. I had no idea that health care staffers often face physical violence, outside psych wards, rehab centers, and prisons. Admittedly the opening anecdote is in one of those settings but the examples go way beyond that.

What a disheartening revelation. And of course, another example of how workplace safety protections, in terms of both employer vigilance and government oversight, are missing in action.

By Tom Conway, the international president of the United Steelworkers Union (USW). Produced by the Independent Media Institute

The patient intended to commit suicide and knew the worker making his bed at Essentia Health-St. Marys Medical Center in Duluth, Minnesota, stood in the way.

So he crept up behind the caregiver, grabbed the cord to the call bell and began choking her with it.

Only chance saved her, recalled Tuan Vu, a longtime hospital worker who was on duty in another part of the facility that day, noting the womans colleagues rushed to the rescue after the struggle inadvertently activated the call bell.

The U.S. House just passed a bipartisan bill, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, to curtail the rising epidemic of assaults on doctors, nurses, certified nursing assistants, case managers and others on the front lines of care.

The legislation, now before the Senate, requires hospitals, clinics, medical office buildings and other facilities to develop violence prevention plans that cover the unique needs of each workplace.

For example, Vu said, a plan requiring that only specially trained behavioral health workers care for suicidal patients would have been one possible way to avert the near-strangulation of his coworker a few years ago. She was assigned to the patients room that day even though she wasnt a mental health specialist.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would enforce this violence prevention act and intervene if workers experience retaliation for reporting safety lapses.

Having this type of legislation would put our safety at the forefront, explained Vu, a behavioral health technician at Essentia and unit president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9460, which represents thousands of workers at more than a dozen northern Minnesota medical facilities. Its not something people should be desensitized to.

Im a big guy. Im not so worried about myself, said Vu, whos had racial epithets hurled at him and endured bites, kicks, punches and inappropriate touches over the years. But I worry about some of my coworkers.

Health care professionals are five times more likely to encounter violence on the job than other Americans. The crisis has festered for years. Workers face assaults from patients with substance abuse, dementia or cognitive issues, and theyre attacked by patients stressed-out family members.

The COVID-19 pandemic made a horrific situation worse. Even as they grappled with staffing shortages and infection-control protocols, workers experienced a spike in assaults from patients and others upset with mask requirements, restrictions on visitors and financial pressures stemming from the coronavirus.

No one is safe. When a patient attacks a health care worker, the struggle can spill into hallways, nearby treatment rooms or parking lots, putting other patients and visitors at risk.

At the urging of the USW and other unions representing caregivers, the House initially passed the violence prevention bill in 2019. USW members and retirees alone collected 80,000 signatures demanding enactment of the legislation.

But the Republicans then in control of the Senate refused to consider the measure. Now, as injuries continue to mount, its more critical than ever to get the bill through the Senate.

Right now, OSHA recommends health care facilities adopt violence prevention plans. But the agency doesnt require them to do so. Many medical facilities pinch pennies on security and look the other way when workers experience violence on the job.

Something needs to change, insisted Jessica Johns, a senior technician at Cleveland Clinic Akron General in Ohio who estimated shes been assaulted 100 times in the past 10 years.

Ive been hit. Ive been scratched. Ive been spit on. Ive been bitten. Ive got dents in my legs from people kicking me, said Johns, whose role as a floater requires her to work in whatever part of the hospital needs her that day. I just cant believe the violence happens as often as it does.

A few weeks ago, Johns faced one of her biggest scares yet. A patient grabbed her by the hair and pulled her down onto the bed. She thrashed furiously to get away and injured a knee while kicking against the bed frame.

But she felt even worse when a patient recently scratched a colleague and left a permanent injury. Now, she has a scar on her face, said Johns, who represents hospital workers as a member of the USW Local 1014L executive board.

Instead of going the extra mile for safety, employers often expect health care workers to accept violence as a part of the job. They trivialize incidents or try to portray them as the staff members fault.

Thats reprehensible, especially when so many attacks can be predicted and avoided. The violence prevention bill requires medical facilities and social service agencies to identify safety weaknesses and take a proactive approach.

For example, enclosing nurses stations, installing panic buttons and using heavy, hard-to-move furniture are all commonsense measures affording greater protection. Johns, lightly stabbed with a butter knife on one occasion, wonders why any facility still serves meals with metal silverware.

Assigning behavioral health specialists to care for suicidal or aggressive patients is one idea for reducing assaults. Providing a basic level of mental health training to all of a facilitys workers, Johns said, is another safeguard.

Workers also would like to see facilities install more metal detectors, hire sufficient numbers of security guards and maintain staff ratios that ensure all patients receive proper attention. And employers need to show they have workers backs when assaults occur.

Vu said he and his colleagues have run out of patience with employers willing to let them return home bruised and bloodied at the end of their shifts.

Facilities need to implement violence prevention plans with all due speed, he said, and front-line workers have earned a role in formulating them.

Were the ones that are out here, Vu said.
"We're proud to have Park Place Motors join the Karma dealership network and introduce the Karma brand to our local customers," said David Bingham, the CEO of Park Place Motors Ltd. "Adding Karma to our lineup of luxury automotive brands, while also providing the best levels of customer service, is consistent with what our customers expect."

This year, Karma added new dealer partners in both North America and Europe, as it looks to expand its global presence into new and emerging areas.

"We're continuing to build on our existing dealer franchise footprint and introduce our brand to more customers around the world. The addition of Karma Bellevue to our established dealer network is a critical step in that process," said Joost de Vries, VP of Global Sales and Customer Experience at Karma. "These new dealer partners will allow us to share our exciting new GS-6 lineup with a larger customer base and build on our brand promise of 'charged emotion beyond EV'."

Park Place Motors is located at 1880 136th Place NE, Bellevue, WA 98005, by telephone at 425-562-1000, or online at www.parkplaceltd.com.

For more on Karma Automotive and the dealer network, please visit http://karmanewsroom.com.

ABOUT KARMA AUTOMOTIVE

Karma Automotive, founded in 2014, is a southern California based producer of luxury electric vehicles. Headquartered in Irvine, California with an assembly plant located in Moreno Valley, Karma sells vehicles via its dealer network in North America, Europe, South America and the Middle East. Karma's Innovation and Customization Center, which opened in 2017 offers world-class engineering, design, customization, and manufacturing services along with electrification platforms. Karma's flagship vehicle, the Revero GT, Green Car Journal's 2020 Luxury Green Car of the Year, is an electric vehicle powered by dual electric motors that embodies Karma's goal of offering leading technology with a luxury experience. In 2021 Karma announced the GS-6 Series which include both an extended-range series hybrid EV and their first-ever all-electric vehicle. Every Karma vehicle is created with unparalleled individual care and craftsmanship.

For more information, visit www.karmaautomotive.com, or www.karmanewsroom.com.

KARMA AUTOMOTIVE SAFE HARBOR DISCLOSURE

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include Karma Automotive's expectations. Forward-looking statements typically can be identified by the use of words such as "will," "expect," "believe," and similar terms. Although Karma believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the automotive industry, competition in certain markets, the volatility of battery prices, failure of customers to perform under contracts, changes in government regulation of markets and of environmental emissions, and our ability to achieve the expected benefits and timing of our electric vehicle projects. Karma Automotive undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause Karma's actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect Karma Automotive's future results.

"Apple CarPlay" is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. "Android Auto" is a trademark of Google, Inc.

SOURCE Karma Automotive

Related Links

www.karmaautomotive.com


[April 22, 2021] The Future is Bright for University of Iowa Campus Retail as New Partnership with Follett Begins this Spring

Follett Corporation, the largest campus retailer in North America, announced today a new partnership with the University of Iowa (UI), effective April 22, 2021. With more than 140 years in the industry, and currently serving six million students on more than 1,100 campuses, Follett is the natural choice to take UI campus retail to the next level. "Follett has demonstrated industry expertise, commitment to customer service, and commitment to current bookstore staff. We are extremely pleased to begin this new, vibrant partnership with the industry leader in campus stores - Follett Higher Education Group, Inc.," said Bill Nelson, University of Iowa associate dean and executive director of the Iowa Memorial Union. Iowa students, faculty, staff and community members will feel the renewed energy and excitement in the air as they experience Follett's innovative approach to campus retail later this spring. As part of the acclaimed Follett network, the new campus store at UI will be able to deliver the latest products and services to the UI community while maintaining a focus on making learning materials more accessible and affordable. "The University of Iowa is an icon in the Midwest and the Big Ten, and we are thrilled to have been selected as their business partner," says Mike McEneany, vice president of sales and marketing at Follett. "Our team is focused on delivering a world-class collegiate retail experience that not only exudes campus pride, but also supports students throughout every step of their academic journeys." Students at UI will benefit from several innovative Follett programs that are making it easier to acquire low-cost course materials. Follett pioneered the text rental program, which can save students up to 80 percent compared to purchasing new textbooks. During the 2020-2021 academic year, students across Follett's network saved more than $113 million with text rental. As a leader in the digital transformation, Follett saved students another $127 million through digital materials, like eBooks and digital courseware. In addition, Follett delivers more course material options from 6,000 publisher partners through its groundbreaking Follett DiscoverTM platform - a suite of online tools aimed at supporting students and faculty through a seamless course materials journey. Roe McFarlane, president of Follett Higher Education, says investment in academic tools like Follett Discover has been key to the company's mission of course materials access and affordability. "Follett always has an eye on the future of education, and that's why we've invested $65 million in academic tools that are redefining the way course materials are researche, purchased, accessed and used. The University of Iowa will be joining hundreds of Follett campuses that are using our solutions to break cost barriers, provide more options for faculty, and make learning more accessible for every student."



The retail experience at UI will naturally be extended onto Follett's renowned ecommerce platform, currently ranked #82 on the Internet Retailer 500 and supporting 1,800 unique campus websites. With the company's $50 million, multiple-year ecommerce investment well underway, UI will reap the benefits of an upgraded online retail experience supported by unrivaled technology. Whether shopping in-store or online, the campus community at UI will also find Follett brings with them an impressive assortment of general merchandise. From on-trend apparel and gifts to imprinted course supplies and game day necessities, Follett's expansive inventory will cultivate a hub for school spirit and Hawkeye pride. In addition, UI campus retail will continue to offer best-in-class computer products and services, including those from Apple (News - Alert) .

With the official transition to Follett set to begin later this month, the Follett team is gearing up to welcome new UI team members and integrate themselves within the campus community. "We could not be more excited - and honored - to represent and serve the University of Iowa," says Jennifer Hatton, Follett's executive vice president for retail operations and course material solutions. "When it comes to driving student success and celebrating campus pride, no one does it better than Follett. We can't wait to deliver an unforgettable experience for the University of Iowa community." For more details on all the exciting new products and services Follett will e bringing to the University of Iowa, visit the University of Iowa's new ecommerce site, www.hawkshop.com, on April 22, 2021. Follett is proud to welcome the University of Iowa into its family of campus stores and looks forward to serving the on-campus community as well as fans and alumni across the country. About University of Iowa The University of Iowa is one of America's premier public research universities. A member of the Association of American Universities since 1909 and the Big Ten Conference since 1899, the University of Iowa is home to one of the most acclaimed academic medical centers in the country, as well as globally recognized leadership in the study and craft of writing. Iowa is known for excellence in both the arts and sciences, offering world-class undergraduate, graduate, and professional academic programs in a wide variety of fields. About Follett Higher Education Group | www.highered.follett.com FHEG is a prominent and historic omnichannel retailer and educational service provider that operates over 1,100 campus store locations and 1,250 ecommerce campus store websites. Currently ranked #82 on the Internet Retailer 500, Follett provides emblematic and non-emblematic general merchandise and course materials within the higher education marketplace. FHEG serves both two-year and four-year colleges through long-term contracts with approximately 800 campus partners. FHEG manages the institution's online and in-store channels to assort and sell a wide array of merchandise and services that support students, faculty, campus administration, alumni, and the surrounding community. We enable faculty to teach, students to learn, institutions to run and fans to celebrate. About Follett Corporation | www.follett.com Follett Corporation is the world's largest single source of educational materials, digital content, ecommerce, and multi-media for libraries, schools and institutions. Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, Follett provides education technology, services and physical and digital content to millions of students at 70,000 schools, and more than 2,700 physical locations and campus eCommerce platforms in North America. Through Baker & Taylor, Follett's reach also extends to the public library markets. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005698/en/

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VERMILLION COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Another county is set to change its COVID-19 vaccination site.

On Thursday, the Vermillion County Health Department said it would move its vaccination site from the Vermillion County Fairgrounds back to the health department.

The change will happen on May 1.

If you already have an appointment scheduled to receive the shot you will receive a text from the state about the location change.

The Vigo County Health Department recently made the move from a location near Regional Hospital, back to the health department office.
Congress just passed the No Ban Act by a vote of 218-208, and Congressman Tom McClintock was in opposition.

If approved in the Senate, and signed by President Joe Biden, it would limit a presidents unilateral authority to ban refugees and immigrants from arriving in the US from countries deemed a national security threat. The bill is a direct response to President Donald Trump signing an Executive Order in 2017 that opponents called a Muslim Ban. The countries impacted were Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The House bill would also prohibit the US from taking religion into consideration when making immigration decisions.

McClintock, a Republican who represents the Mother Lode, spoke out yesterday on the US House Floor.

President Trump invoked this authority against countries that were hotbeds of international terrorism and that were not cooperating with the United States in providing basic information about travelers coming from these countries. The left called it a Muslim Ban. What nonsense. His orders affected only a tiny fraction of Muslin majority countries and a sizeable number of non-Muslim countries. The Supreme Court acknowledged this obvious truth when it upheld the Presidents actions.

McClintock argues that other presidents have taken similar actions in the past.

The House bill was co-authored by Virginia Democrat Don Beyer. He states, Congresss work is not finished just because Trump was defeated. It is very important to make clear to the American people and to the world that this betrayal of our national values, which hurt so many people, is not what we stand for and will not being repeated.

It is unclear if the legislation will have support in the Senate. You can see McClintocks entire speech by clicking play video.
By Chris Sommerfeldt | New York Daily News

Yonkers, N.Y.  Gov. Cuomo appeared in public with state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for the first time Wednesday since she called on him to resign over accusations that he sexually harassed several women.

Stewart-Cousins and Cuomo made the joint appearance in Yonkers, the Democratic Senate leaders hometown, for an event announcing the opening of a new coronavirus vaccination site.

The Democratic honchos were remarkably cordial despite the massive elephant in the room.

Thank you for being here and congratulations on a great budget, Cuomo told Stewart-Cousins of the $212 billion spending plan adopted by the Legislature earlier this month.

Stewart-Cousins  whose chamber would consider whether to convict and remove Cuomo from office if the Assembly impeaches him  returned the favor.

Thank you also for talking about the work that we did on this budget, because it really, I think its extraordinary, because it is a people-centered budget, she said.

Despite the pleasantries, a spokesman for Stewart-Cousins said the leader remains of the belief that Cuomo should resign immediately.

Our position on the governor has not changed but this event is in her district and it important that people get vaccinated and she has been pushing to expand access to this location for a long time, said the spokesman, Mike Murphy.

Cuomo maintains he wont resign and denies ever sexually harassing anyone, though he has apologized for making former and current staffers feel uncomfortable.

State Attorney General Letitia James office is investigating allegations that Cuomo subjected seven women, many of them former and current staffers, to sexual harassment and misconduct. The AGs team is expected to produce a report on its findings.

After Stewart-Cousins left the Wednesday event, Cuomo was asked point-blank by a reporter if hell resign should James investigation substantiate the accusations against him.

Lets see what the report says and then we will take it from there, he replied.

Back in Albany, the Assembly Judiciary Committees Cuomo impeachment investigation churned on.

Assemblyman Charles Lavine, a Long Island Democrat leading the investigation, said in session that the panel has spoken to lawyers for four government agencies and roughly 70 individuals who may have information relevant to the impeachment probe.

The impeachment inquiry is reviewing Cuomos sexual harassment scandal, in addition to allegations that his administration for months hid the true number of New Yorkers who died from COVID-19 in state nursing homes.

The probe expanded further earlier this month amid reports that Cuomo may have violated state laws by recruiting government staffers to help him write American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic, the book he published in October.
IRMO  Though still frustrated with Blue Granite Water and Sewer, the Irmo Town Council is holding off on a plan to take over the system.

For months the council has considered buying out Blue Granite services and carrying out that difficult job on its own. Contracting with a consultant to do a feasibility study on the move was considered a first step in that endeavor.

But at the April 20 council meeting the council voted down a proposed $29,957 contract with Hybrid Engineering to conduct the study.

Were biting off more than we can chew, said Councilman Bill Danielson.

The town was considering the takeover because of a long history of customer dissatisfaction with Blue Granites services and high fees.

A problem frequently cited by council members is Blue Granites flat fees per household that doesnt take into account volume of use.

An often heard complaint: Grandma living by herself is paying the same rate as a family of six.

The town recently requested that Blue Granite provide the average cost of customer services if it converted to volumetric rates instead of flat fees for the residents of Irmo. The company provided those numbers, which showed an increase in monthly rates instead of a decrease.

The reason it would be more costly is that all of Blue Granites other customers are assessed a flat fee, and breaking Irmo out of that process would be costly to the company, President Don Denton said.

While the monthly flat rate would cost the average homeowner $78.25, it could go up to $113.54 for the homeowner who used 3,000 gallons a month, and up to $145.98 for the use of 5,000 gallons per month.

Mayor Barry Walker Sr., who cast the only vote favoring the study, said such rates are unacceptable.

But as the pressure builds on Blue Granite, services are getting better.

Councilman Erik Sickinger noted that Blue Granite is doing a much better job today than it did before all the complaints started surfacing. While the rates are still high, the company has spent millions on improvements in the system.

Council members also noted that the state Public Service Commission is well aware of the problems with Blue Granite and has held rate increases much lower than Blue Granite has requested.

With things getting better, the consensus of Irmo council members appear to be continued pressure on Blue Granite to make things change, but no take over by the town.
Lawmakers and mobile app companies took aim at Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google in a hearing Thursday focused on competition concerns about the companies power over their smartphone ecosystems.

The hearing marked an escalation of lawmakers antitrust scrutiny on smartphone makers, and particularly Apple.

Google already has been sued by federal and state authorities for alleged antitrust violations, but much of that scrutiny has focused on its search and advertising businesses.

The hearing pitted executives from Apple and Google against familiar critics, including music streaming service Spotify Technology SA, online dating service provider Match Group Inc. and tracking-device maker Tile Inc.

Apple abuses its dominant position as a gatekeeper to insulate itself from competition and disadvantage rival services such as Spotify," said Horacio Gutierrez, Spotifys chief legal officer. That hurts consumers through higher prices, less innovation and less choice, he said.

Tile argued that Apple has taken other steps to unfairly disadvantage its service, and recently has announced plans to launch a competing product.

While most of the criticism was directed at Apple, Google also came under attack, mainly over commissions it and Apple charge for payment processing.

Apple and Google executives responded by reiterating the importance of maintaining high standards for their app stores, including security.

Theres an incredible amount of investment that we make into the app store" that is recouped through the commissions, said Kyle Andeer, Apples chief compliance officer. We think thats a fair deal and its proven out."

Mr. Andeer added that the companys tracking products are significantly different from Tiles and werent the product of unfair competitive practices.

Wilson White, a Google public policy executive, said Googles Android has made computing more accessible to underserved communities, adding that its commission structure supports entry and innovation.

Apple might have exacerbated its problems by resisting the Senate antitrust subcommittees requests to provide a company official to testify. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), the subcommittees chairwoman, and Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), its ranking Republican, wrote a letter to Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook at one point, urging him to comply with their requests.

Apples power over the cost, distribution and availability of mobile applications on the Apple devices used by millions of consumers raises serious competition issues that are of interest to the subcommittee, consumers, and app developers," the two wrote. Apple eventually agreed to provide a witness.

Thursdays hearing could help prompt action from U.S. authorities, and also provide further momentum for legislation to help rein in the tech companies that dominate the increasingly important mobile app environment, lawmakers said.

Ms. Klobuchar used the hearing to drum up support for her broad antitrust legislation, which she said would make it easier for enforcers to go after tech companies for exclusionary conduct.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Scientists at Texas A&M Universitys Global Health Research Complex say theyve detected a new Covid-19 variant that shows signs of a more contagious strain that causes more severe illness and appears to be resistant to antibodies, CNBC reported.

According to the report, the new variant, BV-1, named after its Brazos Valley origin, was found during Texas A&Ms routine screening via aliva sample in a young student who had mild cold-like symptoms. The student tested positive for Covid on March 5 and tested positive again on March 25, showing that the new strain may cause a longer infection in younger people. The students symptoms resolved by April 2 and a third test on April 9 came back negative.

We do not at present know the full significance of this variant, but it has a combination of mutations similar to other internationally notifiable variants of concern, said Texas A&M Chief Virologist Ben euman.

This variant combines genetic markers separately associated with rapid spread, severe disease and high resistance to neutralising antibodies.

Meanwhile, the European Unions executive arm said it is preparing to start legal action within days against AstraZeneca Plc after the companys failure to hit vaccine delivery targets undermined the blocs inoculation campaign.

The move has been discussed for weeks by the blocs ambassadors, according to two officials familiar with the discussions. Its aimed at ensuring the company delivers on commitments for this quarter, and the European Commission has asked governments to join the process, but some arent fully on board, according to one of the officials.

Astra delivered just 30 million doses in the first quarter, compared with an original target of 120 million. The shortfall sparked a huge row with the EU, with the bloc accusing the company of breaching their contract.

It introduced tighter restrictions on vaccine exports as the crisis escalated, and became embroiled in a battle with the UK after demanding access to that countrys Astra supplies.

The vaccine contract, which was published late January, suggested that UK manufacturing sites could be used to accelerate EU supplies if needed.

However, the document also said that the company only needs to make best reasonable efforts to resolve problems.
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Artsakh has warned that with the recent ceasefire violations Azerbaijan is trying to create panic in Artsakh and undermine the implementation of the Russian peacekeeping mission.

In the recent days [Azerbaijan] violated the ceasefire regime in various directions using various caliber firearms. These violations are distinct because if previously [Azerbaijan] was mostly firing in the air, now shootings in the directions of Artsakh Defense Army combat positions and peaceful border settlements have become more frequent. Being convinced that the above-mentioned violations seek to create panic among the population of Artsakh, as well as undermine the implementation of the Russian peacekeeping mission, we are calling upon the Azerbaijani side to refrain from provocative actions and remain committed to the reached agreements, the Artsakh Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
David Cameron outside his west London house this morning - Fiona Hanson for the Telegraph

David Cameron wrote to the deputy governor of the Bank of England "to ask for your help" with Greensill Capital, after failing to get anywhere with the Treasury, documents released moments ago show.

The former prime minister made multiple representations to Sir Jon Cunliffe, beginning in March 2020, as part of his work for the now-collapsed financial firm, according to 24 pages of documents released by the BoE.

On April 3 2020 Mr Cameron wrote: "The request is simple - please include in the CCFF [Covid Corporate Finance Facility] the ability to purchase bonds issued in respect of supply chain finance."

Mr Cameron claimed this would allow Greensill to "pump billions" into small firms, including every pharmacy working with the NHS. As his efforts failed to make progress, Mr Cameron wrote on April 22 2020, telling Sir Jon it was "incredibly frustrating".

This morning MPs heard that Mr Cameron was part of "persistent" lobbying efforts made by the financial firm, which resulted in Treasury officials refusing "time after time" to do so.

Sir Tom Scholar, the Treasury's permanent secretary, told the Public Accounts Committee: "We were approached quite persistently by this company and we listened to their proposals... but we decided to reject them all. "

Mr Cameron's own involvement was "very limited engagement, over probably two weeks", the mandarin added.

05:44 PM

That's all from us

Story continues

We'll be back in the morning with all the latest from Westminster.

In the meantime, read our top stories:

We asked you...

Is Johnny Mercer right that 'almost nobody' tells the truth in Government?

53 per cent of live blog readers said: Probably, thus has it ever been

28 per cent said yes, there is a particular problem with this Government.

19 per cent said no, it's just sour grapes.

05:10 PM

Northern Ireland could exit lockdown faster than planned, says Foster

First Minister Arlene Foster arriving at her offices at Stormont in Belfast. - Niall Carson/PA

Northern Ireland will move out of lockdown restrictions faster than planned, if possible, the First Minister has said.

Speaking on the eve of further relaxations of the coronavirus regulations, which will include the reopening of close contact services, Arlene Foster said the Executive will "keep looking to see if we can move faster".

But she cautioned that will depend on the impact of the current and imminent relaxations on Covid-19 transmission rates.

Friday will also see the reopening of outdoor visitor attractions, resumption of driving lessons and tests and a return to competitive sports for clubs.

Non-essential retail, gyms, swimming pools and outdoor hospitality will reopen next Friday.

"We have to see what the impact is of relaxations and then make an assessment as to whether we can move dates forward," Mrs Foster said.

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill urged "caution to go alongside the lifting of the restrictions".

04:41 PM

Commons Uighur motion is a 'historic moment', says Iain Duncan Smith

The approval of a House of Commons motion declaring Uighur Muslims are "suffering crimes against humanity and genocide" in Xinjiang is a "historic moment", former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said.

In a statement after MPs approved the motion on Thursday, Sir Iain said: "Today's debate shows that Parliament has accepted that the Chinese government is guilty of genocide against Uighurs and others in north-west China.

"This is a historic moment. Even though the Government maintains that only a court can determine genocide, Parliament has chosen to disregard that and vote itself. This puts the UK Parliament in line with Holland, Canada and the US."

04:31 PM

Boris Johnson apologises 'unreservedly' over commemoration of black and Asian soldiers

Boris Johnson has said he is "deeply troubled" by an investigation finding failures to properly commemorate potentially hundreds of thousands of black and Asian service personnel who died fighting for the British Empire.

The Prime Minister said: "I am deeply troubled by the findings of the special committee that not all of our war dead were commemorated with equal care and reverence.

"On behalf of the Government, I offer an unreserved apology.

"I welcome the fact that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has accepted all of the committee's recommendations and that it will now re-examine records and make amends wherever possible.

"Our shared duty is to honour and remember all those, wherever they lived and whatever their background, who laid down their lives for our freedoms at the moment of greatest peril."

04:23 PM

Labour condemns 'begging bowl' Greensill lobbying by David Cameron

The Labour Party has condemned the "begging bowl" lobbying by David Cameron in favour of Greensill Capital.

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chancellor, said: These emails confirm that Greensill wasn't shy about the financial trouble it was in last year.

"They were sending the begging bowl round to the Bank for England for up to 20 billion in support in March, and yet the Government granted the failed lending firm access to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer-backed loans in June.

"This is about keeping public money safe. We need to understand why Greensill Capital was given so much time and access to the Treasury, and why so much public money was put at risk.

The Chancellor must now come clean about his role in the return of Conservative sleaze by urgently publishing details of every call, text and secret meeting he had with David Cameron's Greensill Capital.

04:21 PM

MPs vote to name Uighur abuse as genocide

Nus Ghani, a former Tory minister and China sceptic - Jeff Gilbert

MPs have approved a House of Commons motion which declares Uighur Muslims and other minorities are "suffering crimes against humanity and genocide" in Xinjiang in China.

The motion is non-binding but it is a further sign of Parliament's wish for the Government to act.

Nus Ghani, a former Tory minister who supported the motion, said: Chinas attempt to intimidate Parliament into silence has backfired.

"The elected House has spoken and chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with our international allies, the Uighur People, and all those who have been sanctioned. Our hard won parliamentary democracy will always stand up for what is right and remain free from foreign interference.

The UK Parliament has assessed the evidence and spoken of the industrial scale human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Chinese Government in what is the largest mass incarceration of a minority since the Second World War. This now must be brought before an international court."

03:56 PM

Jon Cunliffe gives Greensill the brush-off

The final document in the string of correspondence between David Cameron and Lex Greensill and various members of the Bank of England suggests the deputy governor gave the men the brush-off.

A final call between Mr Greensill and Sir Jon Cunliffe sounds particularly painful.

"Most of the call was Lex explaining their business model," the minutes note, while Sir Jon "was clear that Greensill would currently fall outside the boundaries of the scheme, and that expanding the parameters was a decision for HMT".

"Jon noted the 2009 facility took a long time to set up, and Jon couldnt vouch for how long it would take this time, if HMT gave the go-ahead," they add.

03:50 PM

And there's more to come....

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03:49 PM

David Cameron tells BoE top dog Treasury resistance to Greensill 'incredibly frustrating'

David Cameron wrote to Sir Jon Cunliffe a second time in April, saying that "while every question seems to have been answered, we havent yet got to the green light" from the Treasury.

The former prime minister told the deputy governor: "It is incredibly frustrating because (as you know) trade finance paper was included in a similar scheme in 2008/9 and it would work again.

"Greensill could extend cheap credit to up to 100,000 UK SMEs at a time when the government schemes via the banks are struggling to get the money out of the door."

He also stressed that "some parts of the capital markets are operating well for Greensill".

"I dont want to put you to the trouble of a long email chain when ultimately this is an HMT call (and we continue to talk to them at every level) but could I ask you to do a one to one call with Lex Greensill so that he can brief you on where we have got to," Mr Cameron adds.

03:43 PM

David Cameron asked BoE boss 'for your help' after failing with Treasury

David Cameron wrote to Sir Jon Cunliffe asking "for your help" after "numerous conversations" with Treasury officials "have failed to get anywhere".

The former prime minister said he was "request is simple", as he set out why "the ability to purchase bonds issued in respect of supply chain finance" should be included in the Covid Corporate Finance Facility.

This is one of the proposals that the Treasury had rejected, but Mr Cameron insisted Greensill had "dealt with every objection".

He added: "HMT seem to be hung up on the fact that the CCFF is there for non financial corporates and these bonds are being issued by a financial institution. This is surely irrelevant - the money goes straight into non financial corporates, mostly SMEs.

"At a time when we are - rightly -worried about how quickly banks can get loans out to small businesses, why are we potentially cutting off a market that already pumps cheap credit directly into SMEs?"

In response, Sir Jon noted that Mr Cameron had "spoken with the Chancellor and that there will be now further discussions with Lex Greensill".

He stresses that "the policy and risk lie with HMT but, what its worth, as far as I can ascertain its essentially a policy decision about the boundaries and purpose of the CCFF.

"I know HMT are under enormous pressure for support from multiple directions, especially on the financial/non financial boundary. We are seeing a great deal of that also."

03:35 PM

Lex Greensill urged deputy governor of BoE to speak 'today' after meeting was cancelled

The Bank of England documents reveal that Lex Greensill wrote directly to the deputy governor of the Bank of England after a planned meeting was "moved", to apply further pressure for the pair to speak.

The meeting appears to have been arranged after David Cameron and Sir Jon Cunliffe held a phone call in which "Cameron noted that the world of supply chain finance had changed since the crisis and was keen the Bank was aware of this point.

"Cameron explained how Greensill Capital worked, and asked if he and Lex Greensill could come in to brief Jon and other about this. Jon agreed."

But days later, the meeting was cancelled, prompting Mr Greensill to write to Sir Jon directly.

"The disruption to supply chains and the financing of them is real," he said.

"In the last week we have seen a great many fixed income investors who support the asset class step back - meaning liquidity could well become a major issue in the coming days... In that light, could you find a few minutes tomorrow (or even today, if you prefer) for us to speak please?"

03:29 PM

David Cameron told BoE that Greensill 'has the mandate for the UK government'

David Cameron wrote to the private secretary of the governor of the Bank of England describing Greensill as "the worlds largest provider of Supply Chain Finance and has the mandate for the UK government".

A document dated March 5, published as part of a document dump from the independent central bank, reveals how the former prime minister said the finance firm "would be keen to step and help during the current difficulties".

He suggested a meeting between Lex Greensill and "some of your experts to discuss how the market works and the role of GC within it."

02:58 PM

Boris Johnson performs U-turn by ordering leak inquiry into Dyson texts

Boris Johnson has ordered an inquiry into how text messages between himself and Sir James Dyson were leaked, less than 24-hours after his team insisted there was no need.

The internal inquiry will be led by the Cabinet Office and is not intended for publication. The national security adviser has not been asked to take part in the probe, and it is understood that neither the police nor security agencies are involved.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "I can confirm that, yes, we have instructed the Cabinet Office to look into this. The position has changed from yesterday - it was correct at the time yesterday but, as usual, we keep things under review and we have now decided to undertake this internal inquiry.

"As you would expect, we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure we have this internal inquiry into that."

The probe will only look at texts "as related to this issue of Dyson", but not how messages between Mr Johnson and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman over an abortive bid for Newcastle United were also leaked.

The spokesman did not explain why, only saying: "The decision we've taken is to get the Cabinet Office to look into that and we stand by that position."

There is also still no update on the leak inquiry dating back to October hunting down the so-called "chatty rat" who leaked details of the second lockdown.

02:52 PM

Labour would lose if there was election tomorrow, frontbencher admits

Rachel Reeves: "We are turning around this tanker" - AFP

Labour would not get a majority if an election was held tomorrow, frontbencher Rachel Reeves has admitted.

Despite a looming by-election in Hartlepool and local elections around the country, the shadow Cabinet Office minister has conceded there is "still work to do to turn around our fortunes as a party, and to reconnect" with voters after being decimated by the Tories in the 2019 general election.

"There is still a gap between us and the Tories, but that gap has narrowed considerably under Keir [Starmer]'s leadership," she told ITV.

"Look, at the moment, if there was a general election tomorrow, Labour wouldn't get a majority," she said. "There is still work to do to turn around our fortunes as a party, and to reconnect with those voters who once put a cross next to us, but haven't now in some cases for many years, that is work in progress.

"We are turning around this tanker and we're moving in the right direction."

02:40 PM

Care home vaccination rates below recommended level in half of English authorities

The vaccination rate for staff at older adult care homes is below the level recommended by scientists advising the Government in more than half of England's local authorities, the NHS England figures show.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) says 80 per cent of care home staff and 90 per cent of residents need to be vaccinated to provide a minimum level of protection against Covid-19 outbreaks.

Figures published show that 76 out of 149 local authorities have not reached this threshold for employees.

Of these, there were 17 areas where less than 70 per cent of staff have had a first jab. Lambeth in south London had the lowest uptake at 52.4 per cent.

The Government is currently consulting over whether to make Covid vaccines mandatory for care home workers, while continuing to encourage uptake among vaccine-hesistant groups.

02:34 PM

Tom Harris: Nicola Sturgeon's vaccine embarrassment highlights a serious problem for the SNP

Not that it is likely to make much of a difference to the result of the Scottish Parliament elections next month, but Nicola Sturgeon finds herself in a bit of a quandary, writes Tom Harris.

The SNP have been put on the defensive for their insistence that an independent Scotland, as a fully-fledged member of the EU, would have chosen to abandon the European Medicines Agency and the EU approval and procurement process for the Covid vaccine, and would instead have joined the UKs rather more successful efforts. This, of course, is untrue. We know this not just because not a single existing EU member exploited the rules to go it alone, and not just because Scotland, having just achieved EU membership, would be vanishingly unlikely to side with the rest of the UK it had just abandoned in favour of its newfound allies on the continent. But last night Sturgeon argued that, since it was at least legally possible for individual EU members to have pursued their own path, nothing would have stopped Scotland doing the same. And she is right, of course. But that is hardly the point. The point is, would they have chosen to?

Read the rest of Tom's column in full here.

02:28 PM

Senior Tory attacks 'contemptuous' ministers for avoiding MP scrutiny

A senior Tory has attacked "contemptuous" ministers for avoiding committee appearances, following a highly critical report of Government transparency during the pandemic.

Conservative MP William Wragg, who chairs the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told MPs: "We are tired of ministers being sent to us who have been set up to fail because they haven't been part of the decision-making process and it is not they who are accountable but rather those who are in more senior positions in those departments.

"And that to continue to treat committees in such a way is I'm afraid to say, and I've resisted saying it so far though it says it in the report, it is contemptuous of this House."

Mr Wragg added: "Now, this debate has been filled with the usual suspects, many of us are regarded, if not slightly eccentric but certainly on the boundaries of madness as well, and we have made these points many times.

"And I know, fortunately, that repetition is not a cardinal sin in this Chamber, otherwise there'd be very few of us left."

02:12 PM

London mayoral candidate arrested after Extinction Rebellion campaigners smash HSBC's windows

A London Mayoral candidate has been arrested at an Extinction Rebellion protest where campaigners smashed HSBC's windows.

Valerie Brown, who is standing for the Burning Pink party, was seen being arrested for criminal damage after protesting against the bank's investment in fossil fuels. She later tweeted about her involvement.

The arrest will not bar her from standing for election next month, the Greater London Returning Officer told The Telegraph.

A spokesperson explained: "The arrest does not affect her ability to stand as a candidate. If she were to be charged and convicted of a criminal offence prior to the election it would not affect her nomination or ability to stand in the election.

"If she were to be elected as Mayor and (prior to the election or any time after election) she was sentenced to imprisonment for at least 3 months without the option of paying a fine, she would be disqualified from holding office as Mayor."

01:58 PM

Have your say: Is Johnny Mercer right about honesty issue in Government?

Former minister Johnny Mercer has caused quite a stink after giving a series of interviews in which he claimed Downing Street was a "cesspit" in which bullying was commonplace.

It was "the most distrustful, awful environment Ive ever worked in," he told Times Radio, adding: "Almost nobody tells the truth is what Ive worked out over the last 36 hours."

The Plymouth Moor View MP also told ITV's Peston: "I think that everyone who works in government will admit that behind the scenes, but clearly they would never say it in public."

Naturally this has been rejected by Number 10. The Business Secretary this morning suggested it was down to "frustrations". However this isn't the first time such allegations have been levelled among key figures in Government.

So is this a case of sour grapes - or is there a problem with truth in Boris Johnson's top team?

Have your say in the poll below.

01:48 PM

EU begins legal case against AstraZeneca, Irish minister confirms

Ireland's Health Minister has confirmed that a legal case has been started by the European Commission against AstraZeneca.

Stephen Donnelly told the Irish Parliament that the case was being taken over the company's "complete failure" to meet its contractual agreements.

Speaking in the Dail, Mr Donnelly said: "With regards to AstraZeneca, a legal case has been initiated by the Commission.

"Earlier this week, I have joined Ireland as one of the parties to that case, specifically around AstraZeneca's complete failure to meet its delivery contractual agreements for April, May and June."

01:42 PM

China must be 'called to account' over Uighur abuse, Iain Duncan Smith tells protesters

Iain Duncan Smith joins a protest against Uyghur genocide - Reuters

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has told protesters calling for the Government to recognise China's abuse of Uighur people as a genocide that Beijing must be "called to account" over its actions.

He told protesters at Parliament Square: "Genocide is the crime of all crimes and nobody and no state should ever commit it."

He added: "The Chinese government has to be called to account for its treatment of the Uighur people, the Tibetans and many other minority groups.

"It's not good enough, just because it is a big and wealthy country, to allow it to dodge the normal rules that police the rest of us."

Boris Johnson and President Xi JinPing have just addressed a global leaders' summit about climate change.

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01:26 PM

More than 9.3m in England fully vaccinated against Covid

More than 430,000 Covid vaccines were given in England yesterday - of which the vast majority continue to be second doses.

A total of 37,238,073 jabs, including first and second doses, have now been given as part of the vaccine programme, which launched on December 8, according to NHS England data.

That is a rise of 432,476 on the previous day, of which 92,703 were first doses, while 339,773 were second doses.

That means 9,346,865 people have now been fully vaccinated in England alone.

Earlier this week, ministers confirmed that more than 10m people across the UK had received both jabs.

01:22 PM

Peers demand tougher action over 'slow murder' of Alexei Navalny

Thousands of people around Russia have joined unauthorised rallies to protest the detention of Alexei Navalny - Shutterstock

Peers have called for tougher sanctions on Russia over the treatment and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Lord Walney, a former Labour MP, accused President Vladimir Putin of "directing this slow murder of his main rival as the world looks on".

The non-affiliated peer urged the Government to increase the number of "Putin's cronies" being sanctioned every day until Mr Navalny is released.

Lord Collins of Highbury said Mr Navalny's life was in danger due to his campaign against corruption, noting that up to half of money laundered out of Russia was still moved through the UK.

"Aren't you also concerned that from when David Cameron became leader of your party almost 5 million has been received by it in Russian-linked donations," Lord Collins told Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad.

The minister said the UK was looking to increase pressure "both bilaterally and through multilateral fora."

He noted that Dominic Raab had recently underlined that Russia was responsible for Mr Navalny's deteriorating health, and that steps were being taken to fight corruption and illicit finance.

01:06 PM

Ministers should admit hospitality restrictions are 'arbitrary', says senior Tory

Ministers would be "more honest" if they admit they are making "arbitrary" decisions on when to ease Covid-19 restrictions, a senior Conservative MP has said.

Former health minister Steve Brine said there have been 16 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in his Winchester constituency and no Covid deaths for 50 days, but "all of my hospitality is still prevented from opening in any meaningful way".

Mr Brine asked if the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which has recently published a report on government transparency during the pandemic, has seen "any sufficient data" to underpin Government decisions for the hospitality sector.

Conservative MP William Wragg, who chairs the committee, replied: "He hits the nail on the head and the short answer is no.

"I think if the Government was to express the view that these are arbitrary decisions made because this is a difficult situation, then that would be a more honest approach than vague references to following the science about bringing forward evidence to underpin decisions."

12:59 PM

Make new Covid slogan 'hands, face, space - don't be a disgrace', says former minister

People must 'take your rubbish and litter away and bin it', the former minister said - Getty

A former minister has called for the Government's Covid slogan to become "hands, face, space, but don't be a disgrace", in a bid to discourage people littering as lockdown lifts.

During business questions, Conservative MP for East Yorkshire Sir Greg Knight said: "As we move along the road map towards normality, ministers are rightly reminding the public of the mantra 'hands, face, space'.

"But does the Leader of the House agree that in future ministerial statements there should be an additional message to the public, particularly to those in tourist areas like East Yorkshire, namely 'hands, face, space, but don't be a disgrace - take your rubbish and litter away and bin it'.

"Does he agree we should be keeping Britain tidy as well as safe?"

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons Leader, replied: "I remember an occasion when Margaret Thatcher went to St James's Park to pick up litter and actually the litter had to be put down for her to pick it up because there wasn't any immediately to hand. But she had the slogan 'bag it and bin it and that way we'll win it'.

"So I think those words and the words of (Sir Greg) are ones we should all bear in mind."

12:43 PM

Labour damns 'explosive' revelations about VIP fast lane for PPE contracts

Labour has seized on revelations that companies in the VIP fast lane without correct certification were allowed to jump the queue for contracts (see 1:17pm).

Rachel Reeves, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said it was "explosive" news, adding: "It is shocking that basic checks were missed and companies without proper certification were allowed to jump the queue.

"Time and time again Labour has called on the Conservatives to publish details of companies on the VIP fast lane, and time and time again they have refused, and insisted on covering them up.

"This is yet more evidence of the Tory sleaze that is happening on Boris Johnson's watch.

"If the Conservatives don't publish all of the details now, it is further proof that they think it is one rule for them and another for everyone else."

12:40 PM

Boris Johnson: Climate change about growth and jobs, not 'bunny hugging'

Boris Johnson told other world leaders: "Nothing wrong with bunny hugging but you know what Im driving at." - White House

Boris Johnson has said tackling climate change is not about "bunny hugging", and does not preclude economic growth, as he addresses a global leaders' summit.

Speaking after Joe Biden, Narendra Modi and Xi JinPing, Mr Johnson says he sees "the obligation of developed countries to do more", and the UK is "speeding up" its ambitions ahead of hosting Cop26.

"I think we can do it, and to do it we need the scientists and all of our countries to work together to produce all the technological solutions humanity is going to need," he adds.

That includes better energy efficiency to move to "sustainable domestic living" as well as other areas, he says. This will require the richest nations to come together."To do these things we have to be constantly original," he adds.

No amount of "bunny hugging" will solve the problem, he adds, saying "this is about growth and jobs.. Cake-have-eat is my message to you."

Mr Johnson also praises Chinese President Xi JinPing for his focus on nature - a notable comment, given the increasing tensions between the UK and Beijing.

12:32 PM

Joe Biden: US 'isn't waiting' to take action on climate change

Joe Biden has opened an international climate summit by saying that the United States "isn't waiting" to lead on an issue of "moral and economic imperative."

The US President confirmed a new target to cut US greenhouse gas pollution by at least half by 2030 as he convened the world's leaders to drive greater climate action.

"The cost of inaction keeps mounting. The United States isn't waiting," he said in the opening address of the two-day summit being hosted virtually by the White House.

Boris Johnson is due to speak shortly - you can keep updated with all the latest from the summit in our dedicated blog here.

12:26 PM

Sir Keir Starmer tells Boris Johnson to come clean as he blasts 'government by WhatsApp'

Sir Keir Starmer drinks a pint during a visit to Wrexham Lager Brewery - PA

Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson must "come clean and disclose all of the contacts he's had" as he attacked "this government by WhatsApp".

Speaking during a visit to the Wrexham Lager brewery in North Wales the Labour leader said: "Nobody, but nobody, is against ventilators being produced, particularly when they were needed, but a consortium was put together."

Nearby manufacturer Airbus produced 13,000 ventilators without asking for tax breaks, he noted.

"They didn't text the Prime Minister about it. That's the difference here, those that can access the Prime Minister by texting him and those outside of that magic circle. We've got to get to the bottom of this, this is government by WhatsApp - it's wrong.

He added: "Those that delivered the ventilators, that consortium, they delivered ventilators, I don't think any were delivered under the Dyson contract."

12:17 PM

PPE procurement slowed by officials 'drowning in VIP requests', emails reveal

Civil servants complained they were "drowning in VIP requests" as they sought to source PPE during the first surge in Covid last spring, it has emerged.

Officials suggested that these contacts were making it harder to secure the much-needed equipment, as they "jump to the front of the queue" but "do not pass due diligence".

The Good Law Project's Jo Maugham, who has been challenging ministers over their pandemic procurement practices, said: "Government has been pretending - and very unfortunately much of the media and NAO has been playing along - that there was no such thing as a "VIP" lane. There was."

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12:03 PM

Lobby latest: No 10 dodges questions over Boris Johnson's phone number

Downing Street has refused to comment on the Telegraph's revelation that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case advised Boris Johnson to change his phone number because of concerns over the ease with which lobbyists and others from the business world were able to contact him.

A well-placed source said that Mr Johnsons use of the WhatsApp messaging service was a perennial problem and had been a source of frustration among some figures in Number 10.

The problem with Boris is that he replies to everyone, another said.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "We don't get into details of the advice provided between a Cabinet Secretary and a Prime Minister, and so I'm not going to do that in this instance."

11:54 AM

David Cameron part of 'persistent' lobbying from Greensill, Treasury officials confirm

The Treasury's top official has said his phone call with David Cameron had no "substance", but admitted the former prime minister only had his number because the pair had previously worked together.

Sir Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary, told the Public Accounts Committee that Mr Cameron had contacted him over Greensill's proposals last spring, saying it was "simply a call to draw it to my attention - and in the call, I said thank you very much, this is something we are looking at'.

"It was not a call with any more substance than that."

Sir Tom told MPs: "It is natural when someone you know asks to speak with you that you take it."

Citing the Nolan Principles on ethical standards in public life, which say it is "the right of everyone to lobby" but that officials must take care "to consider the public interest", he insisted "that is what the Treasury did in this case."

"We were approached quite persistently by this company and we listened.. but we decided to reject them all. "

Mr Cameron's own involvement was "very limited engagement over probably two weeks", the mandarin added.

11:53 AM

Lobby latest: Boris Johnson's texts to James Dyson will be made public 'shortly'

Downing Street has said it will publish correspondence between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson "shortly", but given no clearer indication of when that will be.

During an exchange with Ian Blackford, the Prime Minister promised to publish "all the details" immediately, saying he had already done so with his own officials.

Today the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister said in the House he's happy to share all the details with the House, as he shared them with his officials.

"That's what we're working on, we're pulling together that information, it will be published shortly."

There was no explanation as to what was causing the delay.

11:51 AM

Lobby latest: Cabinet Office launches leak inquiry into PM's texts with James Dyson

An inquiry has been launched into how text messages between Boris Johnson and Sir James Dyson were leaked.

But there will be no probe into how similar messages between him and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, which surfaced recently.

There is also still no update on the leak inquiry dating back to October hunting down the so-called "chatty rat" who leaked details of the second lockdown.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "I can confirm that, yes, we have instructed the Cabinet Office to look into this. The position has changed from yesterday - it was correct at the time yesterday but, as usual, we keep things under review and we have now decided to undertake this internal inquiry.

"As you would expect, we continually look at this and the position we decided today is that we want to make sure we have this internal inquiry into that."

The spokesman said the inquiry will probe the source of leaks of private communication of the Prime Minister "as related to this issue of Dyson".

11:46 AM

Have your say: Is Johnny Mercer right about honesty issue in Government?

Former minister Johnny Mercer has caused quite a stink after giving a series of interviews in which he claimed Downing Street was a "cesspit" in which bullying was commonplace.

It was "the most distrustful, awful environment Ive ever worked in," he told Times Radio, adding: "Almost nobody tells the truth is what Ive worked out over the last 36 hours."

The Plymouth Moor View MP also told ITV's Peston: "I think that everyone who works in government will admit that behind the scenes, but clearly they would never say it in public."

Naturally this has been rejected by Number 10. The Business Secretary this morning suggested it was down to "frustrations". However this isn't the first time such allegations have been levelled among key figures in Government.

So is this a case of sour grapes - or is there a problem with truth in Boris Johnson's top team?

Have your say in the poll below.

11:35 AM

Defence Secretary expresses 'sadness' over Johnny Mercer's departure

The Defence Secretary has said he felt "sadness" at the departure of former veterans minister Johnny Mercer, who was sacked from his ministerial post this week.

Speaking the Commons, Ben Wallace said: "I would like to place on record my sadness for losing my colleague yesterday - the former veterans minister - who did contribute to supporting and making Government policy better for our veterans, supported by the wider Government.

"He will be a sad loss, but I know that he will continue to campaign for them and I no doubt will hear him from the back benches on that issue."

Mr Mercer did a series of extraordinary interviews yesterday in which he said it was "the most distrustful, awful environment Ive ever worked in, in Government.

"Almost nobody tells the truth is what Ive worked out over the last 36 hours."

11:23 AM

In pictures: Starmer finally gets a pint without a fight

Sir Keir Starmer has had better luck getting a pint, after his altercation with a pub landlord earlier this week.

The Labour leader pulled his own during a visit to Wrexham Larger Brewery today, as part of his ongoing support of Welsh Labour's Senedd election campaign.

Sir Keir Starmer ensures there are no more awkward run-ins with pub landlords - by pulling his own pint - PA

Friendly local: Sir Kier Starmer finally gets his hands on a pint - PA

11:11 AM

Parliament's 200bn renovation will source UK steel 'wherever possible'

Parliament's 200bn-pound renovation is planning to offer a boost to the UK steel industry, by sourcing domestic materials "wherever possible".

Conservative MP Damian Hinds, who sits as a member of the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body, said the project is expected to sign up to the UK Steel Charter, which prioritises UK-produced steel in construction and infrastructure projects.

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) pressed for the renovation project to make use of UK steel to help "boost" the sector during a difficult time.

Mr Hinds replied: "We don't yet know what exactly the steel requirements will be for this project but there clearly will be a requirement. The project will comply with public sector procurement rules but within that... it will be seeking to source materials domestic wherever possible.

"I can confirm to (Ms Nichols) today that the programme is planning to sign the UK Steel Charter, which is an initiative from the sector aimed at maximising opportunities for the UK economy and UK steel producers."

10:57 AM

Sir James Dyson should be 'praised' for patriotism, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

We should praise Sir James Dyson, says Jacob Rees-Mogg - AFP

Jacob Rees-Mogg said that James Dyson should be praised, despite controversy over his communications with the Prime Minister over the procurement of ventilators last year.

He said: "Let us praise Dyson for all that he has contributed to British manufacturing, a huge success that he has been and the commitment, 20 million of his own money, that he put towards ventilators, now that is a proper, patriotic gesture by a man I hold in the highest esteem and we should praise.

"As we're praising people, let us also praise Allegra Stratton, who has made a marvellous contribution to the Government and will do so for Cop as well.

"In her various roles she has succeeded in holding politicians to account - I remember being quizzed by her on various journalistic roles, indeed I was Geek of the Week on one occasion on the Peston show, some may think I'm geek of the week every week but I once got their particular award.

"I note that the office that has been so nicely done up is the Privy Council office and, as Lord President of the Privy Council, perhaps I should be putting in a claim to use it for a good and worthy purpose of Privy Council business."

10:54 AM

MPs welcome back to Commons as lockdown lifts, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg has long argued that MPs should be back at work before other sectors reopen - PA

Jacob Rees-Mogg has said he would "no longer discourage" MPs from coming to the House.

Asked by Conservative Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) about the plans for the physical return to Parliament, the Leader of the Commons said: "I would say to members they are entitled to come into the chamber.

"There is a limit on seating but the limit is not used on most occasions, and I would no longer discourage anybody from coming into this House.

"I think this House is better when it is physical, it is more immediate and the quality of our debate is significantly improved."

The work-from-home advice is not due to be lifted until 21 June.

10:51 AM

There was no 'inappropriate pushing' from Rishi Sunak over Cameron's requests

A senior Treasury official has said he was not under "any undue pressure" as a result of David Cameron's representations for Greensill.

Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary, told MPs: "I did not feel under any undue pressure or inappropriate pushing from the Chancellor or economic secretary, who are the two ministers I deal with most and who relayed to me their conversations with Mr Cameron.

"I did not feel under any pressure at all," he added. "I was following quite a normal process."

Rishi Sunak, who voluntarily released his text messages with the former prime minister, had promised to "push" officials on Greensill.

10:40 AM

Treasury officials unaware if David Cameron contacted Michael Gove

Michael Gove and David Cameron were once close friends - Getty

Nick Smith, the Labour MP who yesterday raised a point of order about Michael Gove's failure to respond to questions about his involvement in the Greensill affair, asks if the Treasury officials are aware if David Cameron contacted his former colleague or the governor of the Bank of England.

Sir Tom Scholar says he does not know, and Charles Roxburgh says Mr Cameron did not mention any other questions.

He says the former prime minister spoke to the Chancellor and economic secretary "details of which will be released shortly".

Asked if officials listened in, Sir Tom said "some" were minuted and some were "unsolicited calls where the content was subsequently passed on".

10:36 AM

Treasury officials hit out over 'impossible standard' on Greensill

A Treasury official has hit out at MPs for suggesting they should have been more sceptical about Greensill, saying it would be an "impossible standard" to meet.

After sustained questioning over Greensill's financial stability, Charles Roxburgh told MPs: "To expect Treasury officials to have perfect foresight and know that in 12 months time a company they are about to have a phone call with is about to go insolvent - that is an impossible standard."

He added that Greensill "applied to the CCFF, they didn't meet criteria, we rejected application.

"We cannot base government schemes on having perfect foresight into the future."

10:32 AM

Treasury official defends actions over Greensill as it's likened to a Ponzi scheme

The most senior official at the Treasury has defended the fact the department even considered using Greensill, which MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Browne said looked like a "Ponzi scheme".

Sir Tom Scholar said a number of schemes "took a while to get off the ground and provide the credit" at the start of the pandemic, noting the first time Greensill approached Treasury was in March before any had been launched.

"The time we were most looking at this was end of March and into April... the proposals from Greensill was not taken forward."

But asked if they would have "even had a conversation" had officials known about Greensill's "financial probity", Sir Tom dodges the question repeatedly.

"If we had known at the beginning everything we found at during that, we would have saved everybody a lot of time," he eventually concedes.

"The Treasury is not a regulator... it's not the job of the Treasury to make assessments of private sector companies."

10:23 AM

Rishi Sunak 'did exactly what he is supposed to do' after David Cameron phone call

Rishi Sunak reported the call "immediately" - Reuters

Sir Tom Scholar is asked if he was aware of all the contacts David Cameron had made with figures within the Treasury.

The permanent secretary says he "certainly" knew the former prime minister had contacted Rishi Sunak because he had done "exactly what he is supposed to do" and reported it immediately through his private office.

"I can't recall - I think the contacts with the economic secretary were around the same time.... I believe that was all recorded," he added.

"This will all be covered in our next FoI release.... it is nearly finished, that work."

10:16 AM

Would have been 'wholly disproportionate' to do due diligence into Greensill, MPs told

A senior Treasury official has said there was "no need" to do due diligence into Greensill because it was not receiving public funds.

Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary, told MPs: "We were aware that Greensill was a significant player in supply chain finance...

"It would have been completely disproportionate to start doing due diligence- for which we don't have the authority - into private companies.

"It would have been wholly disproportionate to do detailed due diligence into a company whose proposals we rejected," he added. "Had we extended credit, which we did not... that would have been the time to do due diligence."

The proposals were rejected because they were not "consistent with the scheme's design", he told MPs.

10:01 AM

Treasury concluded 'time after time' not to accept Greensill proposals

Senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, who is sitting in on the session, asks at what point the Treasury might ask questions about how "odd" a given business is.

Sir Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary, says officials were doing "exactly what you say we should do".

Greensill's variations applications and proposals were analysed "and in each case, we looked the proposal and tried to determined where the public interest lay... and time after time concluded that the public interest was best served in rejected their proposals."

This isn't quite the question that Sir Bernard was getting at, however.

09:56 AM

Greensill 'persistent', but Treasury acted correctly, official insists

Lex Greensill was "persistent" - Mercury Press

The most senior official at the Treasury has said it is "natural" to take a call from someone you know, saying the department has followed the Nolan Principles about standards in public office.

Sir Tom Scholar said he had been contacted by "other senior people, private sector people who I have worked with", adding: "It is natural when someone you know asks to speak with you that you take it."

Citing the Nolan Principles, which say it is "the right of everyone to lobby" but that officials must take care to consider the public interest, he told the Public Accounts Committee "that is what the Treasury did in this case."

"We were approached quite persistently by this company and we listened.. but we decided to reject them all. "

Asked how many times David Cameron has approached Sir Tom Scholar over Greensill, he says it was "very limited engagement over probably two weeks".

He says they have seen each other "two or three times, but never to discuss government business" since the former prime minister left office.

09:50 AM

David Cameron phone call with Treasury had no 'substance'

Hanging on the telephone: David Cameron's call had no 'substance' - Reuters

A senior Treasury official has said the pandemic was an "extraordinary time" but insisted that it is "quite a normal process" to speak with many businesses.

Charles Roxburgh told the Public Affairs Committee: "I talk to a lot of companies , it is a very important part of my job. It is quite a normal process of policy making to talk to companies."

Sir Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary, says David Cameron had been aware that the Treasury had received the original proposal from Greensill and the contact was "simply a call to draw it to my attention - and in the call, I said thank you very much, this is something we are looking at.

"It was not a call with any more substance than that."

09:46 AM

Treasury official details Greensill's correspondence with department

Charles Roxburgh, the second permanent secretary at the Treasury, confirms he had nine meetings in "three distinct phases".

The first, in March, "concerned Greensill's application to join the Covid Corporate Financing Facility", which was rejected after two phone calls with "Mr [Lex] Greensill and Mr [Bill] Crothers".

The second, from early April to mid-May, "explored a number of ideas to improve the deliver of finance to UK small businesses active in supply chains", he adds, noting there were "acute" issues at the time.

There were three calls in April, and three in May, but the Treasury decided not to go ahead with that proposal.

The "third and final phase concerned another approach that Greensill put to us on the same day" that their second proposal had been rejected.

But Treasury officials decided not to go ahead with it and that was communicated to Greensill "in our final call with Greensill on 26 June".

All communications were on Mr Roxburgh's work phone and via email, he confirms.

09:40 AM

Treasury official confirms David Cameron had number 'because I used to work for him'

Turning back to the Public Affairs Committee, where questions have now turned to Greensill, the Treasury's permanent secretary has been asked how often he met with Greensill representatives.

Sir Tom Scholar says there were no physical meetings, but one conference call took place on 7 April 2020.

Following an FOI request to set out all contact between the department and Greensill, he says they are "currently working through all of our records, so I don't have the complete final answer on that".

He confirms he spoke with David Cameron on the phone, and the former prime minister sent text messages, "around the same time".

The call was "drawing to our attention the proposal Greensill had made and asking us to look at it".

Mr Cameron called Sir Toms work mobile phone, and had that number "because I used to work for him".

09:36 AM

Stephen Lawrence Day: It is our duty to stop racism, says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has said his thoughts are with the parents of Stephen Lawrence "and the many families that have lost loved ones in their prime", on the second annual Stephen Lawrence Day.

The Prime Minister said the day - which was adopted by Theresa May - was a reminder of "our duty to stop racism and give young people the best possible future".

It comes on the week that US police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, which Mr Johnson said he welcomed.

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09:24 AM

Allister Heath: Boriss big green gamble risks fuelling a new Brexit-style revolt

Like Saturn, revolutions have a habit of devouring their children, writes Allister Heath. Boris Johnson should beware: the biggest danger to his historic project to rebuild Britain in his image comes not from the useless Left, but from another potential populist insurrection from the culturally conservative Right.

So far, of course, he is safe: the Government is supernaturally popular, Nigel Farage has retired, the public believes that immigration is under control and anti-lockdown activists have made little impact.

Yet some early hints of the sort of Brexit-style revolt he could eventually face can be spotted in the most unlikely of places: in London and other cities, large numbers of residents are up in arms against so-called Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.

Invented by No 10 and backed by Sadiq Khan and other hopeless technocrats, these idiotic schemes have shut certain streets to cars without consultation in the name of reducing emissions, with the predictable consequence of ruining residents lives and horribly increasing traffic (and pollution) on other roads.

Passions are running even higher than Brexit, writes Allister - yet for some reason, No 10 is tone deaf on this issue. Read the rest of his column here.

09:12 AM

Covid no longer leading cause of death, ONS data shows

Coronavirus was not the leading cause of death in both England and Wales in March, new figures show - the first time since October.

Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in both countries in March, accounting for 9.2 per cent of all deaths registered in England and 6.3 per cent in Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It was the leading cause of death each month from November to February.

But in March the leading cause of death was dementia and Alzheimer's disease in England, accounting for 10.1 per cent of all deaths registered in March.

In Wales, the leading cause of death was ischaemic heart diseases, which was responsible for 11.8 per cent of all deaths.

09:04 AM

MPs begin first session probing 'influence of Greensill'

Meg Hillier, the senior Labour MP, has called the Public Accounts Committee to order. The session will be looking at the Equitable Life scandal and public sector pensions, as well as the "the influence of Greensill Capital".

The session will focus on Equitable Life initially, so we will dip in and out until the lobbying issue becomes the focus.

Tom Scholar, the permanent secretary at the Treasury, will be answering questions throughout.

08:58 AM

David Cameron spotted for first time since Greensill scandal emerged

The lesser-spotted former prime minister David Cameron has been snapped in the wild, during a rare sighting since the Greensill affair emerged last month.

It comes just before MPs get their teeth into one of three Commons-led public inquiries into the scandal, with the Public Accounts Committee due to hear from two Treasury officials in just a few minutes.

Mr Cameron's spokesman has said the former prime minister is happy to give evidence - which is just as well, as it seems highly likely he will be asked to appear before at least two, if not all, of the committees.

David Cameron outside his West London home - Fiona Hanson

08:52 AM

Chuka Umunna in line of fire after JP Morgan's spectacular own goal

The one-time Labour leadership hopeful is under the spotlight over his new role - Heathcliff O'Malley

Chuka Umunna has had a tricky first 10 days in his new career as an investment banker. The former Labour leadership hopeful could hardly have walked into a bigger storm as JP Morgan's head of doing the right thing.

The Wall Street titan has played a crucial role in the doomed plans for a breakaway European Super League by raising 4bn debt funding to get the scheme off the ground.

Mr Umunnas appointment was announced in February to great fanfare. Insiders insist that he was not involved in the football deal because he only formally started on Monday, Apr 12. Hes only just finding out where the toilets are, says one colleague.

But by backing the ESL, his colleagues have already put Mr Umunna in the line of fire.

Read more on that story here.

08:42 AM

Dominic Raab rejects claims that Dfid has been 'taken over' by Foreign Office

Dominic Raab is being asked about cuts as a result of the "take-over" of Dfid by the Foreign Office.

He rejects the characterisation of the merger as this, saying the two departments have been "fused".

Rather than "salami slicing" the budgets, the Foreign Secretary says he is trying to "maximise the strategic impact" with the 10bn budget.

That has been focused onto seven priorities, he tells MPs.

08:37 AM

Foreign Secretary told off for publishing overseas aid budgets with 'very little detail'

Dominic Raab has been rebuked for issued a written statement "with very little detail" about the overseas aid budget yesterday.

Labour MP Sarah Champion said: "We were all surprised that a written statement was issued at 5pm yesterday with, to be honest, very little detail

"With the depth of cuts and changes there would have been a more detail and b you would have come to dispatch box to tell the House about it."

The Foreign Secretary, who is appearing before the International Development Committee for the first time since he took on the remit for development last year, said it had been released "in a fully transparent way" and was published "precisely so you can grill me for the two hours you have got me today".

Normally it would not be published so early in the financial year, he added.

08:32 AM

Boris Johnson's 'lack of morals' is the problem, says Labour frontbencher

A Labour frontbencher has accused Boris Johnson of having "a lack of morals", as the row over business leaders' access to ministers continues.

Following the Telegraph's exclusive story, revealing concerns that the Prime Minister had been too free and easy with his phone number, Wes Streeting said the problem was not the number of people who had his details.

"It's his (lack of) morals)," the shadow schools minister added.

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08:26 AM

Registered sex offender standing to be MP in Hartlepool by-election

A registered sex offender is campaigning as a parliamentary candidate in the Hartlepool by-elections.

Christopher Killick, who is on the ballot for the May 6 vote as an independent candidate, was sentenced for voyeurism last year for filming a naked woman in a hotel room while she was asleep, according to the Teeside News.

Mr Killick is one of 16 candidates contesting the seat, which follows the resignation of Labour MP Mike Hill amid allegations of sexual harassment.

He denies the allegations.

08:10 AM

What's on the agenda today?

9:30am: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab gives evidence to the Commons International Development Committee for the first time since Dfid was rolled into the Foreign Office.

10am: Senior Treasury officials give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on Greensill.

10:30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg gives his regular update on the business for the week ahead.

11:30am: Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to make statement in the Commons on Commonwealth War Graves Commission

1pm: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to open Leaders' Climate Summit. Boris Johnson is expected to speak before 4:45pm.

Meanwhile, key figures continue to tread the campaign trail.

Sir Keir Starmer and Mark Drakeford will visit Wrexham as part of Welsh Labour's Senedd election campaign, while Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross will be at a construction site to detail his partys plan to create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Rival SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will be in Glasgow to mark Earth Day by pledging to start a cycling revolution.

08:02 AM

Exclusive: Covid vaccine passports being readied for summer holidays

Covid passports will be made available to prove people have been vaccinated as early as next month, in time for summer holidays, the travel industry has been told.

The Department for Transport wants an official certification scheme that gives British travellers a document they can show at borders overseas in place by May 17.

It potentially smooths the path for holidays to more than 20 countries that have indicated they could ask travellers for proof of vaccination, such as Israel, Croatia, Turkey, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus.

The advanced state of the plans emerged after The Telegraph learnt of details of a telephone call between government officials and industry figures.

Read the full story here.

07:58 AM

Energy efficiency of homes 'a big challenge' to emissions target, says Business Secretary

Improving the energy efficiency of people's homes is a "big challenge" to the Government's pledge to cut carbon emissions, the Business Secretary has said.

Kwasi Kwarteng insisted that much of the change made already had been "societal" rather than "Government telling people how to live their lives".

He told the Today programme this occurred alongside the Government's move to "encourage investment in the key technologies".

"You are quite right, though, when you say that heating buildings is a big challenge, de-carbonising heat sources and also improving energy efficiency of homes is a big challenge.

"We have got a heat and buildings strategy, which will be very clear, it will be very full of policies, it will be very full of directions, and that's going to be coming out in the next couple of months."

07:47 AM

EU governments give Brussels backing for AstraZeneca law suit

EU governments have told the European Commission they support Brussels plan to sue AstraZeneca for failing to hit delivery targets of the coronavirus vaccine.

Most of the 27 ambassadors gave the long-expected legal action their backing at a meeting in Brussels yesterday. They are expected to give the formal green light to the move later this week.

The commission blames shortfalls in AstraZeneca deliveries for the slow pace of its vaccination roll out, which lags far behind the UK, US and Israel. It has also warned that it will block any exports of the Oxford University jab from the EU until the backlog of hundreds of millions of doses is cleared.

AstraZeneca has said it will deliver about 70m doses by the end of the first six months of the year but had pledged to deliver 300m.

Brussels accuses the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company of being in breach of contract, which AstraZeneca denies, amid suspicions that some EU stock may have gone to Britain or other countries. The commission has hinted it will not renew the AstraZeneca contract at the same time as starting new talks with Pfizer.

07:44 AM

SNP on course to miss majority as support for independence wavers

Nicola Sturgeon could miss out on a majority at the Holyrood election, with the Scottish Tories on course to take a quarter of the vote.

The SNP will return 63 MSPs in total - two short of a majority, according to a new poll, by Savanta ComRes for The Scotsman. Meanwhile Douglas Ross's Tories will return 32 MSPs - one more than in 2016.

However there would still be a pro-independence majority at Holyrood, with the Scottish Greens forecast to return eight MSPs, two more than 2016, and the party predicted to secure seven per cent of the list vote in 2021.

Only one per cent of voters said they plan to vote for Alex Salmond's Alba Party, which would leave it without a single MSP elected. Scottish Labour is predicted to return 21 MSPs, three fewer than in 2016.

The poll of 1,001 Scottish adults also found that support for Scottish independence is split, though support for No has increased since a survey at the start of April.

The latest poll found that 48 per cent would vote No in an independence referendum, while 45 per cent would vote Yes, with the remainder undecided.

07:29 AM

Business Secretary admits there were 'issues around Greensill'

Kwasi Kwarteng acknowledged there were "issues around Greensill", adding that while there is "high standards" in public life "we can always try and make an improvement".

It comes as the first of the public inquiries into the lobbying scandal kicks off today, with Treasury permanent secretaries Tom Scholar and Charles Roxburgh due before the Public Accounts Committee at 10am.

The Business Secretary told LBC: "I don't think it is a drip-drip of sleaze. Clearly, we need to have very, very high standards in public life and I think there were issues around Greensill. I hasten to add that we have got about six committees looking at the Greensill issue.

"The Treasury Select Committee, the Public Accounts Committee, the Prime Minister himself announced a review by Nigel Boardman, are all probing into what exactly happened with the Greensill issue, to make sure that if anything wrong happened, then we need to deal with that, and also to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future.

"I think in Britain we do have high standards in public life, but of course we can always try and make an improvement."

07:25 AM

Ministers being texted by business people 'what happens in open democracy'

Kwasi Kwarteng has said that ministers receive text messages from business people "all the time", and that "this is what happens in open democracy", as the row over Boris Johnson's texts with Sir James Dyson continue.

Asked how many business people's numbers he had on his phone, Mr Kwarteng did not reply directly, telling the Today programme: "I received a new phone when I was made a minister of state... I didn't change it when I was appointed secretary of state".

He added: "Ministers are approached all the time, MPs are approached all the time by members of the public... that is what happens in an open democracy in which MPs are quite accessible."

"The Prime Minister made it very clear is job was to make sure we had ventilators made here in the UK. At the time the texts were sent, there was real crisis in Europe."

07:18 AM

Trio of Labour frontbenchers have second jobs

Labour has been making much of the lobbying scandal engulfing Whitehall - but two separate reports suggest that at least three frontbenchers have second jobs with lobbying firms.

Following the Telegraph's revelation that Lord Falconer, shadow attorney general, is a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn, a further two have been named by other parishes.

Sue Hayman, shadow environment minister and Lords opposition whip, is currently working for Grayling, a major London lobbying firm, according to political blogger Guido.

Meanwhile the Spectator reports that Neil Davidson QC, Lords Treasury spokesman, is a director of Ensis Strategic which specialises in the Chinese market.

07:10 AM

I was maligned as a bruiser because of my shaved head, complains Lee Cain

Lee Cain, who left No 10 in November, said he was guilty of 'the twin crimes of having a strong Northern accent and shaved hair' - Getty

Boris Johnsons former chief of communications has complained that he was unfairly branded a bruiser because of his Northern accent and shaved head.

Lee Cain, who left Downing Street last November, said his personal experiences in Westminster made it easy to see why young, working-class women and men struggle to get ahead and that class-based bias still exists.

Writing in The Spectator, he said: I lost count of the times I was branded a bruiser, thuggish or even an oik for the twin crimes of having a strong Northern accent and shaved hair. Luckily I have a skin thicker than my accent.

You can read more on that here.

07:06 AM

Senior MPs must launch 'thorough investigation' into PM's texts, says Labour

Labour has called for senior MPs to lead a "thorough investigation" into Boris Johnson's contacts with inventor Sir James Dyson.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said the messages opened up a "new urgent corridor of inquiry", as she called for the liaison committee - the only committee with the power to summon the prime minister - to launch a probe.

Ms Reeves said: "Revelations [on Wednesday] seem to confirm a growing feeling that if someone has access to a telephone number of someone like the prime minister or the chancellor, then they are able to gain special treatment."

"We need the prime minister to appear before the liaison committee immediately and for a thorough investigation into his conduct on this matter."

Yesterday the Prime Minister said he "makes no apology" for trying to get ventilators for the NHS, while the Business Secretary this morning said Mr Johnson would have done "exactly the same thing" again.

07:02 AM

Lib Dem leader says he has 'real concerns' about lobbying

Sir Ed Davey has 'real concerns' about lobbying - PA

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey has said he has "real concerns" about lobbying but denied having broken any rules himself.

Asked if he agreed with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saying "cronyism" had returned to Government, Sir Ed told ITV: "I have real concerns, yes, I would agree."

He added: "Transparency is really key if we're going to clean this up."

He said his party would continue to argue for the tightening of the rules around the ministerial code so that those who breach it are more seriously punished.

But he denied breaking any rules around lobbying himself, adding: "It is completely legitimate for people to advise companies."

07:00 AM

Business Secretary rejects Johnny Mercer's claims that almost nobody tells truth in Downing Street

Johnny Mercer who was "forced" to resign as veterans minister - Geoff Pugh

The Business Secretary has rejected claims by Johnny Mercer that "almost nobody" tells the truth in Boris Johnson's Government.

The sacked former minister has given several interviews in the day after he was forced out of his job, describing Downing Street as a cesspit and claiming that people are left "crying in a corridor" because of the way they are treated.

This is the most distrustful, awful environment Ive ever worked in, in Government. Almost nobody tells the truth is what Ive worked out over the last 36 hours," he told Times Radio.

But this morning Kwasi Kwarteng said: "I don't recognise his description of govt and don't accept that description."

He told Sky News: "I accept there are frustrations but that happens in lots of different walks of life... sometimes they cant quite get what they wanted."

06:56 AM

Boris Johnson would 'do exactly the same again' on James Dyson, says minister

Boris Johnson "averted an even greater crisis" on ventilators last spring with his text exchanges with Sir James Dyson, and he would do "exactly the same" again, a Cabinet minister has said.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, told Sky News that Labour was "trying to create a story where there isn't one".

"The Prime Minister was very clear yesterday that he would have done exactly the same thing again, he had a duty, as far as he was concerned, to make sure that we got ventilators made here in the UK.

"At the time, as you will remember, there was a huge crisis in Italy precisely because they hadn't produced enough ventilators, and that was the thing that we had to do.

"He moved, in his words, the Prime Minister said, he moved heaven and earth to try and make sure we got ventilators made here in the UK. That's what happened - it averted an even greater crisis and it saved lives."

06:47 AM

Boris Johnson told to change phone number amid concerns it's too well known

'The problem with Boris is that he replies to everyone,' one source said - Getty

Boris Johnson was advised by the Cabinet Secretary to change his phone number amid concerns that he is constantly being petitioned by individuals seeking his help.

The Telegraph has been told that Simon Case, the head of the civil service, suggested to the Prime Minister that he change numbers because his current one is too widely known.

A well-placed source said that Mr Johnsons use of the WhatsApp messaging service was a perennial problem and had been a source of frustration among some figures in Number 10.

The problem with Boris is that he replies to everyone, another said.

Read the full story here.

06:44 AM

James Dyson moves back to Britain amid lobbying row

Sir James Dyson has moved his main address to the UK, new company filings revealed on Wednesday, as it emerged that the billionaire exchanged private messages with Boris Johnson about tax issues during the pandemic.

Sir James is now domiciled in Britain, after relocating to Singapore two years ago.

On Wednesday, it emerged that after agreeing to make ventilators for the UK during the early phase of the Covid-19 outbreak, he sent text messages to the Prime Minister asking him to alter tax rules.

The requested changes were aimed at ensuring staff based abroad would not pay extra tax if they came to the UK to work on the ventilators initiative. Weeks later, the tax rules for non-residents coming to the country for Covid-related projects were relaxed for a temporary three-month period.
The "Regulatory Report: Malta Heated Tobacco and Snus" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Maltese government has not disclosed any plans to lift the ban on smokeless tobacco, which is why heated tobacco and snus will remain illegal for the foreseeable future.

There is a small possibility of change as a result of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) revision at the EU level. The framework for nicotine pouches could be outlined in the next few years.

Policymakers could decide either to extend the smokeless tobacco ban to nicotine pouches given their association with snus, or regulate them as a tobacco-related product under the influence of the upcoming TPD3.

The majority of this report concerns the regulatory regime that might apply to heated tobacco and snus if they become legal.

Regulatory landscape

The Republic of Malta, an island nation in the central Mediterranean between Sicily and North Africa, is the smallest member state of the EU, in terms of both population and size. The total population of the country is around 500,000, of whom almost 400,000 live in and around the capital, Valletta. Malta has two official languages English and Maltese.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Executive summary

2 Outlook

3 Regulatory landscape

4 National regulatory framework

5 Age restrictions

6 Product restrictions

7 Labelling and packaging

8 Obligation to notify

9 Retail channel restrictions

10 Public usage

11 Advertising and marketing

12 Taxation

13 Sanctions

14 Relevant laws

15 Relevant bodies

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/d838aq

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005486/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

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When Amy Baldwin started teaching the Gateway to Technology class at Oakbrook Middle School, she was the only woman in Dorchester District 2 to teach the STEM course.

Feeling like an outsider, she wanted to find a way to spark more interest in science, technology, engineering and math among the Ladson school's students, especially the girls. If you ask statewide leaders in education, Baldwin has achieved just that.

The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness on March 17 named Baldwin as the state STEM Educator of the Year, an award that recognizes teachers for their work fostering a passion for the field.

Baldwin has been paving the way in STEM education at the middle school for nearly a decade. Baldwin started as a math teacher at the middle school 21 years ago. However, her interest in more robust STEM education quickly grew.

In 2013, she relaunched Gateway to Technology classes at the school. Baldwin uses STEM curriculum provided by Project Lead The Way. At the time, the class had not been offered for three years after the previous teacher retired.

In Baldwin's class, students learn how to apply math and science skills creatively. In sixth grade, the students learn about coding, design and engineering. In seventh, they take those skills and start to design and model their own projects. In eighth, they learn advanced programming and build their own robots.

On the surface, the class give students an introduction to STEM careers, such as engineering, robotics, coding and more. Baldwin said the class provides much more than that. It's an opportunity for students, especially girls, to feel confident in a time that is often rife with vulnerability.

"Middle school kids have an identity crisis, trying to find where they fit," Baldwin said. "For them to be able to see that there's girls that do these careers, it kind of makes them say, 'Oh, it's OK to be the kid that tinkers and takes things apart or writes code.'"

While she loves teaching all of her students, Baldwin is extra passionate about working with her female students. When she started the class, only about three to four girls were enrolled in the program. Now, they make up 30 to 50 percent of her Gateway to Technology course.

That uptick in interest is no coincidence. Baldwin has dedicated the past few years of her career to enlightening girls to the world of STEM.

Contribute to the education discussion Join our Facebook group for constructive discussion on education news in the tri-county area of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester. Our reporters covering education will be in the group to help lead and moderate conversations. Join now

It started with recruiting more girls to be a part of the schools robotics team, which initially grew to a 50 percent split between boys and girls. Eventually, Baldwin was able to take an all-girls team to the state competition.

"They actually ran circles around my all boys team," she said.

Last year, Baldwin took her efforts further and organized a career day for girls in fourth through eighth grades across the district so they could meet women who work in STEM. That day was so popular that the middle school is going to turn it into a weekend club so the young girls can meet professional women in the field.

"The girls were just blown away that there were all these women in these careers," Baldwin said. "That's not what they saw in regular life."

Baldwin hopes to expand the program so girls across South Carolina can attend STEM career days and learn more about the field.

Baldwin's commitment to bringing more women and minorities into STEM hasn't gone unnoticed at the middle school. Oakbrook staff and teachers know Baldwin to be one of the smartest people in the room, and they trust her to steer the program in the right direction.

Assistant Principal Danielle Kafina said school administrators "weren't surprised at all" to hear that Baldwin was recognized as STEM teacher of the year.

"I remember the first couple of times her talking about STEM and (Gateway to Technology)," Kafina said. "She would go off about coding and all of these other things, and I would sit there and go 'I have no idea what you're talking about,' but I acted like I knew what she was talking about."

Kafina, who has worked with Baldwin for 15 years, said she's seen the teacher build the STEM program into something truly beneficial for students.

"I hope it starts to filter out through the state," Kafina said. "This is something that's not easy, but Amy has built it from the foundation up."

Part of Baldwin's success comes from her dedication and connection to the students. While she is proud to be recognized for her work, Baldwin's real reward comes from seeing students fall in love with STEM and everything the field has to offer.

Baldwin doesn't like to give students the answers. While STEM may seem like a subject that's black and white, it's actually much more creative, she said. Her job as the teacher is to help students get themselves to the finish line, which ultimately builds self-confidence.

"Every student can learn and every student has the ability," she said. "They just might learn in a different way."
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East China's coastal province of Shandong reported strong GDP growth in the first quarter of 2021 as its economy recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The GDP of the economic powerhouse grew 18 percent year on year to nearly 1.81 trillion yuan (about 278 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March period, Yu Chenghe, deputy secretary-general of the Shandong provincial government, told a press briefing on Wednesday.

The figure edged up 11.1 percent from that of the first quarter of 2019 prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, with average year-on-year growth of 5.4 percent over the past two years.

Shandong's foreign trade totaled 617.7 billion yuan in the three-month period, surging 38.9 percent year on year, Yu said. Exports rose 45.4 percent year on year to 343.7 billion yuan while imports jumped 31.6 percent to 274 billion yuan.

With year-on-year trade growth of 40.8 percent, privately-owned businesses contributed to 68 percent of the total trade volume, 0.9 percentage points higher than a year ago.

Shandong's trade with the Belt and Road countries grew 34.3 percent year on year to 194.4 billion yuan, accounting for 31.5 percent of the province's total in the first quarter.
For a long time, war-torn Syria had four points of entry for life-saving food and medicine for its desperate citizens. Today there is only one  at Bab al-Hawa in northwest Syria along the border with Turkey  and now its in danger of being closed by the Assad regime.

That would be a disaster on top of a disaster. If Bab al-Hawa were closed, only supporters of the dictator Bashar al-Assad would get any aid and thousands more people will die. Right-thinking governments around the world cannot allow that to happen.

Syrians have already endured a decade of tragedy and crisis. More than 600,000 people have died, 13 million have been displaced and over 11 million need life-saving assistance. Eighty percent of Syrians live in poverty and 70 percent are food insecure.

A multibillion-dollar aid program keeps Syrians alive today, but it requires access points to get supplies to those who need it, many of them outside the territory under Assads control. In February, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council that even with the [one] massive cross-border operation underway, we are still far short of meeting peoples needs and that more access is needed.

To keep just Bab al-Hawa open, the Security Council must reauthorize Resolution 2533, which currently allows Bab al-Hawa to remain open only until July 10. Any one of the five permanent members of the council (the United States, United Kingdom, France, China and Russia) can veto the reauthorization and thus close the entry point. Russia is threatening to do just that to keep its alliance with Assad intact.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken urged the Security Council to keep Bab al-Hawa open and also to reopen two other access points at Bab al-Salam and Al Yarubiyah. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield (pictured), said it was inhumane and unconscionable for the Security Council to halt the U.N.s ability to deliver aid to all Syrians.

Last year, President Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, also pressed to keep multiple entry points open. But Russia, with Chinas help, wanted to close them. Craft called Russia and Chinas position an affront to humanity. Nevertheless, they forced the closing of one access point, leaving only one open today.

The Biden administration has taken positive steps to shore up American alliances around the world. It now needs to harness those relationships to help the suffering citizens of Syria. Specifically, it needs to pressure China and Russia to allow continued U.N. humanitarian access to Syria. It must also rally European nations and Arab states to fulfill donor pledges for Syria.

Russia is already engaged in a misinformation campaign accusing the United States of aiding rebels and terrorists and asserting that the U.N.-sanctioned humanitarian corridors are the source of violence in Syria. The opposite is true. The single corridor provides United Nations access for strictly humanitarian purposes. Russias gambit to cut the corridor is offensive to everyone who cares about human rights and the plight of innocent Syrians.

President Biden has acknowledged that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a killer. He and his administration have put human rights back at the top of the American foreign policy agenda. Now the new president needs to show that he can make his rhetoric a reality and stop Putin from determining an even worse fate for innocent civilians in Syria.

Conditions there have been made much worse by the pandemic. The U.N. decision about keeping Bab al-Hawa open is a life-saving test of whether the United States can lead its partners to protect human rights and whether those rights really do now have a central place in U.S. foreign policy.
Donald Trump Jr posted a video which says: When Democrats are in charge, no one is safe (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Donald Trump Jr mocked calls for police reform after the jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd.

Mr Trump shared memes and videos of Die Hard  that he has earlier said is his favourite Christmas movie  alluding to the calls for police reform in the wake of the jury verdict.

On Tuesday, in a historic judgment, the jury found Chauvin guilty of murdering Floyd during his arrest. The video that captured the arrest and murder of Floyd captured worldwide attention and the verdict has been called a watershed moment.

On his Instagram, Mr Trump posted a screenshot of a tweet by a satire website Babylon Bee titled, Large Turnout At Memorial For Hans Gruber Who Was Thrown From A Building By A Police Officer and in the caption he wrote, Not gonna lie this is sort of amazing, followed by three laughing emojis and added, Watch out for protests at Nakatomi Plaza!!!

Gruber is a fictional character from the Die Hard film, played by the late actor Alan Rickman, who is thrown from the Nakatomi Plaza by police officer John McClane. Babylon Bee is known as the conservative version of another satirical website, The Onion.

He also posted a video mocking Democrats which starts with Are you sick and tired of your calm, peaceful life? and goes on to say, No, not anymore. Introducing Democrats. The video shows the US president, Joe Biden, and the animated voiceover saying: Politicians so incompetent, theyll fill your cities with riots, looting and rampant homelessness.

The video shows visuals of a protestor holding a placard saying Defund the Police and the voice saying When Democrats are in charge, no one is safe.

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Meanwhile, the US president, Joe Biden, came out in support of the verdict and said: I cant breathe. Those were George Floyds last words. We cannot let them die with him. We have to keep hearing them. We must not turn away. We cannot turn away. This can be a moment of significant change.

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His vice president, Kamala Harris, also supported the jurys verdict. She said: Racial injustice is not just a black America problem or a people of colour problem, its a problem for every American. It is keeping us from fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all.

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Meanwhile, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had called for reform in policing.

They said: Justice has prevailed in the case against George Floyds killer Derek Chauvin, but the work is not done! We must keep fighting to end qualified immunity, and we must get police reform NOW.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump had also mocked Hunter Biden and his memoir, Beautiful Things, in which he confesses to smoking Parmesan cheese because it resembled crack. On his Instagram stories, Don Jr posted a picture of a crack pipe, parmesan cheese and a lighter to troll Mr Biden.

Don Jr posted: Parents dont let your kids do... Um... Parmesan. Making fun of Mr Bidens addiction problem, in another Instagram story using the same photo, he said, Watch out for Big Parma. This was accompanied by three laughing emojis.

Read More

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Chadian opposition decries Deby's son as interim leader

Daunte Wright funeral  latest: Rev Al Sharpton to deliver eulogy as crowds mourn Black man killed by police
A free D.C. Internet program created last fall to connect thousands of low-income students is still only at a fraction of its capacity more than seven months after rollout.

Since September, D.C.s $3.3-million Internet for All program has received interest from about 9,000 households of the 25,000 the program can serve for a year  just 36 percent, according to the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.

OCTO would not say how many of those families are currently receiving the service or are waiting for it to be set up  only that it put those 9,000 families in touch with Comcast or RCN, the providers D.C. is compensating to supply free Internet.

Advocates are pointing to the lag as a key reason to shift from patchwork fixes to sustainable, long-term solutions that establish low-cost, fast and reliable service citywide, so all residents have more equitable opportunities to succeed in school and the workforce.

While families could still benefit in the interim from the Internet for All program, We havent done enough as a city to make it appealing, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George wrote to The 74 in a statement.

George noted how Chicago, which adopted a similar program last year, collaborated with existing and trusted community based organizations to spread the word, and theyve signed up a lot more people.

More than a year into the pandemic, unreliable Internet is still a reality for many D.C. families. About 76 percent of teachers in a March D.C. State Board of Education survey said slow student Internet continues to impede learning, while 42 percent said students having no Internet access is a barrier.

Yet the free program remains under enrolled.

Early on, officials struggled to convince families the program wasnt a scam. Many had also already opted to rely on school resources like hotspots, which were available sooner after schools first closed and were less of a lift for non-tech savvy parents who couldnt set up the basement WiFi, said Maya Martin Cadogan, executive director of D.C. parent advocacy group PAVE.

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D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto also worries some families fell through the cracks as program outreach largely involves emailing, texting or calling families and requiring them to opt in.

Not everybody has access to Internet to even know the program exists, she said. [We need] more proactive outreach  so families can access this service without having to do their own homework.

Related: D.C.s Free Internet Initiative Launched This Fall to Provide Broadband for 25,000 Families Navigating Remote Learning. But Weeks After Launch, Only 4,000 Have Signed Up

Some parents who did hear about the program and sought to enroll said there was confusion around eligibility requirements, too.

D.C. mom Sharnetta Boone-Ruffin inquired twice last year, believing she was eligible because she has a sixth grader and was receiving SNAP benefits. She said Comcast first told her she was ineligible because of an outstanding bill. Boone-Ruffin paid the bill, she said, only to be told that as a previous Comcast customer, she was still ineligible.

OCTO confirmed that per its agreement with Comcast, these shouldnt be disqualifying factors.

With her daughter struggling to meaningfully engage in school work with only a hotspot, Boone-Ruffin, whos a daycare teacher, felt she had no choice but to shell out $269 a month for a robust Comcast package even if it meant taking up a side job tutoring to foot the bill.

It was very frustrating, she said. How is [this program] helpful if I cant give my child the free resources she needs to do a successful job in school? To stay on the principals honor roll? To keep perfect attendance?

An OCTO spokeswoman said their team is continuously working to reach more families. The programs funding is usable through September 2022, and we will continue to allow residents to sign up as long as capacity and funds are available, she added.

A short-term fix

Even if Internet for All had engaged more families from the onset, Cadogan noted the current program was meant as a band-aid during distance learning. Thinking long-term, she said, residents need Internet solutions that are both sustainable and higher quality.

Initially, We were just trying to answer the question of, Do people have access? And a yes or no question is important, she said. But a yes or no question is not where it stops when youre talking about equity.

In addition to the programs fixed funding allotment, the service quality can be spotty, especially for families with multiple kids and devices. The package speeds recently grew from 25 megabits per second to 50 mbps, but still fall well below the national average of 94.6 mbps recorded last year.

Kesara Brewster, a mom of five students, used to pay $9.95 a month for the Internet Essentials package Comcast offers families via Internet for All, and said Comcast automatically transitioned her to the free program. While she appreciates the savings, Brewster said the service speed hasnt been sufficient during virtual learning; the family often uses hotspots and cell phone WiFi to compensate.

She wishes the program let families choose between free service or continuing to pay $9.95 a month for upgraded broadband speeds. That way, I wouldnt be spending more money than I was already spending, but I would be getting better service, she said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser did announce earlier this month she expects all D.C. public schools to fully reopen starting in the fall. This shift back to in-person learning doesnt diminish the importance of improving Internet access, though, sources interviewed said.

Related: Bucking the Trend: How 2 D.C. Principals Restored Black Parents Trust in Returning Kids to the Classroom

The world is technology based right now, said Dayana Smith, a junior at Eastern High School. Either way, were still going to have to use [Internet] to be successful.

Theres definitely some parts of virtual teaching that I want to keep, like using Canvas and having students submit assignments online, added her Spanish teacher, Danielle Imhoff. Theyre going to need reliable Internet access at home to do that.

A move toward long-term solutions

How to make affordable, high-speed Internet accessible to everyone is a nationwide conversation. Maryland, for example, recently proposed investing $300 million to expand its broadband infrastructure and subsidize Internet costs; New York guidelines now mandate all new affordable housing that taps city funds must be wired for free high-speed internet.

OCTO has yet to divulge specific next steps beyond Internet for All, but referred The 74 to a February letter to the Federal Communications Commission outlining its interest in harnessing creative and non-traditional use of government networks,like the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, to connect more residents.

D.C. Council legislation has added urgency. Council member Charles Allen this month introduced a bill that, if passed, would charge OCTO with setting a minimum city broadband speed, identifying disconnected households and those paying more than 0.5 percent of their monthly income on Internet, and developing a long-term plan. One solution it proposes is establishing a municipal Internet provider something other cities like Cleveland have considered.

Related: Closing the Digital Divide: Inside Clevelands Plan to Treat Broadband Like a Public Utility Service  and to Pay for Every Student to Get Online

At the school district level, D.C. Public Schools is also working to better track students Internet and tech needs. Its including a question about access on enrollment forms for the 2021-22 school year, and is surveying current students this month, a spokeswoman said.

With the mayors proposed FY2022 budget slated for release in a matter of days, Pinto said she and other Council members will be on the lookout as well for additional government investments in Internet for our public housing and our public spaces, like libraries and recreation centers.

D.C. is already expected to reap benefits from the new federal Emergency Broadband Benefit program, which will allow participating Internet providers to shave up to $50 a month off eligible families bills. Comcast confirmed with The 74 that it will participate, with further information expected on its website April 26. A spokeswoman added Comcast is also in the process of expanding the number of Lift Zones in D.C. that offer free Internet in select community centers.

What parent Boone-Ruffin wants most is city infrastructure enhancements that would enable more Internet providers to service the lower-income and majority Black Wards 7 and 8.

More providers would give us more choices, it would give us more help, she said. It seems like everybodys hands are tied when you come on this side [of the river].  It isnt fair.

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'Common Australian mannerisms' have been have revealed in a thread on social media.

The revelations began after an American author posted anonymously on Reddit, asking for 'some general Australian behaviours' to inform their latest book that is set Down Under.

'I know you all aren't going to be the same and will have special and different personalities, I just want to know about some things Australians might do,' the post read.

The most common responses included going to Bunnings hardware stores specifically for the snags sold at its iconic sausage sizzles, having little to no respect for politicians and always being the drunkest nationality in the pub.

'Common Australian mannerisms' including going to Bunnings specifically for a sausage sandwich (pictured) have been have revealed in a thread on social media

Common responses included the Australian tendency to pull together to help others in times of crisis, like the 2019/2020 bushfires (pictured) which saw a massive show of support for animals, firefighters and those affected by the infernos

Others included the Australian tendency to pull together to help others in times of crisis, such as during the 2019/2020 bushfires which saw a massive show of support for animals, firefighters and those affected by the infernos.

'The video of old mate telling [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison to get off his lawn is just PEAK Australia to me,' one person wrote.

''Sorry mate' to the prime minister is just... perfection.'

Common Australian mannerisms * Going to Bunnings specifically for a snag from its iconic sausage sizzle * Always being the drunkest nationality in the pub * Having little to no respect for politicians * Pulling together to help others in a crisis like the bushfires * Using expletives to show affection for friends and loved ones * Preferring to holiday in Bali rather than anywhere else * Having a soft spot for tradesmen Advertisement

Many joked that Australian society generally has little to no respect for politicians, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former US president Donald Trump who are pictured together at the White House on September 20, 2019

He added: 'It's like we have a go at being a proper country, with systems and all that... but deep down...we're all just trying not to burst out laughing lest we reveal the truth.'

Another said preferring to holiday in Bali rather than anywhere else and using expletives to show affection for friends and loved ones were uniquely Australian traits.

Others said Australian social culture can be defined by how its citizens react to disagreements.

Others said always being the drunkest nationality in the pub is a classic Australian mannerism (stock image)

'I think the best thing I ever learned, as a New Zealander who now lives in Australia, is that you could have an argument with someone in the morning and end up having beer with them in the afternoon,' one man wrote.

'Not always the case but has happened on a number of occasions.'

A second agreed: 'The spirit of "mateship".'
Minnesota's police licensing board on Thursday agreed to pursue new rules for law enforcement responses to protests and a ban on officers affiliating with white supremacist groups.

The 16-member Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board approved both measures by unanimous votes, amid an intense focus on the future of policing in Minnesota. They mirror proposals still pending at the state Legislature.

"Minnesota faces a moment of reckoning, where the interests and needs of many converge," Walz wrote in a letter to the board on Thursday. He and House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, urged the changes as a way to rebuild police-community relations after the killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright.

"The watershed events of the last year make it clear that communities of color cannot go on like this. Police officers also cannot go on like this," wrote Walz. "While we all hope for change, history tells us that hope is not a strategy. The urgency and need for systemic reforms have never been greater."

The police response to protests in Brooklyn Center over Wright's fatal shooting by a police officer this month sparked outrage over the use of tear gas and rubber bullets and the treatment of journalists covering the demonstrations.

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said that many agencies already have policies in place for responding to public assembly. But he supported creating a statewide model policy that would give law enforcement a "baseline."

"As we administer an oath, in most of our law enforcement organizations, to uphold and defend the Constitution, this is a way for us to really put on paper and really stand as a board  saying that we represent the Constitution's core values of what we are trying to do as an organization," Evans said.

Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy, who is the POST Board's chair, also called for determining how complaints are handled. The board's current policy is to refer complaints back to an individual officer's agency to take action.

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"A policy without accountability doesn't help anybody," McCarthy said. "It's a pinkie swear at this point."

It will still be several months before the rule changes become official. Once that happens, the board will adopt a model policy for law enforcement responses to public assemblies. Licensed officers and chiefs who violate their department's policies for protest response will face licensure action.

The rule change could resurface at the next board meeting in July, or McCarthy acknowledged that she could call a special meeting if the vetting process is completed sooner.

In approving a future ban on officers affiliating with white supremacist groups, the board agreed to first focus on an urgent threat of domestic extremism and suggested it could later broaden the scope of prohibited groups.

"There is no evidence to suggest that any extremist groups that have any other ideology than white supremacy are trying to embed themselves in law enforcement, continue to embed themselves in law enforcement and, not only that  to train other white supremacists," said McCarthy.

Minnesota DFL lawmakers have also proposed banning licensed officers from affiliating with white supremacist groups as part of a package of police reforms that Walz is urging pass this session.

In the GOP-controlled Senate, Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, promised to hold "fact-finding" hearings on policing bills and riot response. He said this week that the first hearing could come next week, but has on multiple occasions stopped short of promising that the Senate would pass any new legislation.

Justin Terrell, a POST Board member and executive director of the Minnesota Justice Research Center, framed the ban on white supremacist affiliation as righting something that "we haven't displayed the courage to reckon with in Minnesota."

"If law enforcement wants to earn my trust back or if I want to feel like I can trust law enforcement around my little Black boys that I'm raising I would strongly recommend that the profession and this body adopt an anti-racist position and expel whatever seeds may be in the soil of law enforcement that has produced the racial disparities that we have seen today," Terrell said.

That Thursday's meeting  one of four scheduled this year  overlapped with Wright's memorial service was impossible for the board not to recognize.

Angela Rose Myers, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, delivered her virtual testimony in support of the rule changes from within the north Minneapolis church where Wright's service was held.

"At best, the present situation gives the appearance that the state and local agencies oppose free speech and public assembly," Myers said. "At worst, local communities are experiencing these responses as continuations of long term long standing systemic violence that has been visited upon Black people in this country."

The sound of organ music in the background grew louder as Myers spoke.

"I hope it's not lost on anybody from where she is making this request," McCarthy said afterward.
The ranking of Vietnamese brands has been continuously improved thanks to the governments efforts to promote economic growth, with a significant contribution of the Vietnam Value Programme. The successes amid the programme have become a solid foundation and promise to increase competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses on the global stage.

Vietnam asserting its brand identity on the global stage

Most valuable brands

In Vietnam, more corporations and businesses are becoming aware of the importance of branding as the key to increase product and corporate value. Among them, Secoin JSC is a typical example as it exports its decorative bricks to more than 60 markets around the world.

Dinh Hong Ky, chairman of Secoin said, With the support of the programme, we have gradually built, developed, and promoted our brand and professionalism, contributing to improve our competitiveness and reaffirm our position in domestic and foreign markets.

Enterprises with recognised as Vietnam Value  such as TH Group, Vietnam Airlines, BRG Group, Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), Hoa Phat Group, Viettel, and Sunhouse  have over the years not only positioned their names in the country but also beyond Vietnams borders.

For example, TH Groups organic fresh milk and other products have been widely exported to many markets in the world; while THACO has gradually brought Vietnamese cars to the world, even to demanding markets such as the US and Japan.

According to the evaluation of Steering Committee 35 under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), after nearly 17 years the Vietnam Value Programme has achieved many positive results and created a reputation for local businesses among regulators as well as domestic and foreign consumers.

The enhancement of competitiveness of local businesses is based on many factors, but the expansion of production scale, labour force, and revenue increases over the years have played an important part.

According to the reports of 124 enterprises with products recognised as Vietnam Value in the seventh selection period, the total revenue of those businesses in 2019 amounted to over $60.8 billion, with the total export revenue accounting for more than $5.9 billion and a contribution to the state budget of over $8.7 billion, as well as created jobs for more than 470,000 workers.

The ranking of Vietnams national brands has continuously improved over the past four years, thanks to the governments efforts to reform the business and investment environment, improve import and export, and support the branding of products and businesses.

Through products honoured as Vietnam Value, the government has focused on building and developing Vietnamese brands associated with positive values, effective implementation based on unity, and a set strategy of importing and exporting goods and services.

Therefore, within the national economy, export turnover targets of products and services reaching the standards of the programme are also set higher than the national average growth rate. In the opposite direction, enterprises have also shown efforts to help Vietnams national brands gradually gain a foothold in the international playing field.

In 2020 due to the heavy influence of the pandemic, on average the 10 countries with top brands in the world suffered, and so have regional countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

From a global perspective, Vietnams national brand has the fastest growth rate in the world, bringing Vietnam to 33rd on the list of the 100 most valuable national brands, according to leading brand value firm Brand Finance.

As per the Global Soft Power Index Report 2021 by Brand Finance, Vietnam is the only country in ASEAN to be upgraded compared to 2020 in the global soft power ranking. The position of Vietnam has also improved by 2.5 points, increasing by three ranks, from 50 out of 60 in 2020 to 47 out of 105 ranked nations in 2021.

Samir Dixit, managing director of Brand Finance Asia-Pacific commented, Vietnam is considered a bright spot thanks to a remarkable increase in national brand values and economic and social results achieved in the past year.

Establishing a new position

Vietnam has been striving to enhance the position of local brands in the international market through proactively participating in regional and global free trade agreements (FTA). Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy director of the MoITs Multilateral Trade Policy Department, noticed that the signing and implementation of new generation FTAs have put Vietnam among the leading countries in the process of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Khanh, Vietnam will carve out a special position as these FTAs enhance the countrys position in ASEAN and internationally, creating opportunities for businesses to expand their export markets and participate more deeply in global production and supply chains.

Participation in FTAs opens new opportunities but there are also many unpredictable factors. Vu Ba Phu, general director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Value Programme, said that to make good use of these opportunities, it is necessary to recognise the limitations of national brand development for products as well as corporates.

Enterprises need efforts, determination, and creativity to quickly build and strongly develop their national brands. Besides this, businesses need to build a strategic direction to promote the strength of national brands methodically, especially in the digital age. They also need to prioritise investment in scientific and technological development, Phu added.
JUNEAU, Alaska  Organizers say a four-day dance and cultural event billed as the largest gathering of Alaska Natives in the southeast region of the largest state will return next year as an in-person event after widespread immunizations.

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, a man receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Las Vegas. Lawmakers in Las Vegas are linking plans to fully lift capacity and distancing restrictions beginning May 1, with vaccination rates in the state's key tourism region, while Reno-area businesses could soon have no capacity limits and voluntary distancing rules. County lawmakers in the state's two most populous areas approved separate plans Tuesday, April 20, for consideration Thursday by the state's COVID-19 Response Task Force appointed by Gov. Steve Sisolak. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

JUNEAU, Alaska  Organizers say a four-day dance and cultural event billed as the largest gathering of Alaska Natives in the southeast region of the largest state will return next year as an in-person event after widespread immunizations.

The Sealaska Heritage Institute says the Celebration event celebrating Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures will be held in Juneau from June 8-11, 2022. It was held virtually in 2020, and another event planned for this past January was scrapped.

Institute president Rosita Worl says the cancellation was necessary to protect our people and officials look forward to celebrating in 2022.

Worl said in a Thursday statement: We survived this pandemic. We are still here.

The event first held in 1982 draws thousands of people to Alaskas capital.

THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

 COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among US senior citizens

Relatives of a COVID-19 victim react outside the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan COVID-19 hospital in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. ndia reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. (AP Photo)

 AP explains why India is shattering global infection records

 German emergency brake plan on virus clears last hurdle

 Viral questions: How long does protection from vaccines last?

Follow all of APs pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PARIS  Frances prime minister is offering some good news to a nation living under numerous pandemic restrictions, saying the countrys third wave appears to have crested and outdoor cafe terraces, some shops and sporting and cultural activities may be able to open around mid-May.

Jean Castex said at a news conference that there has been a real lowering of the viral circulation in recent days in 80 per cent of French territory.

Cafes  a major part of social life in France  have been closed since the fall.

Funeral workers remove empty coffins that held remains that were later cremated, at La Recoleta cemetery in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, April 21, 2021, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Castex says a nightly curfew from 7 p.m. will remain in place for now. But travel restrictions will be lifted May 3.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer says some schools will open as of Monday, with middle and high schoolers sticking with distance learning until they too go back to class May 3.

SALT LAKE CITY  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says the state's vaccine supply is beginning to outpace demand in some counties, and he's urging everyone who may be hesitant to get their shots.

Cox said during his weekly coronavirus news conference that Utah has prioritized putting as many needles into arms as possible at mass vaccination sites and will start transitioning to focus on more regional and community-oriented sites.

Cox added that authorities are starting to move some doses to Salt Lake County, Utah's most populated, where demand remains high.

State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn urged vaccine-reluctant people to speak with their doctor or pharmacist about the vaccines safety and efficacy.

She said it is not totally unexpected that demand for vaccines is softening, and now were starting to work into those populations who might have some hesitancy or are just taking their time to get vaccinated.

More than 840,000 people in Utah have been fully vaccinated, or 51.8% of residents aged 16 and over.

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 21, 2020 file photo, a volunteer for the Edible London food project checks and packs bananas to be put in food packs and delivered to residents who need it in the Haringey Council area, at a hub setup as a result of coronavirus inside the Alexandra Palace venue, in north London. A charity says U.K. food bank rose by a third during the past 12 months as the COVID-19 pandemic left more people without the money to buy basic necessities. The Trussell Trust said Thursday, April 22, 2021 that the food banks it works with handed out more than 2.5 million food parcels in the year through March, up from 1.9 million a year earlier. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkeys health minister says the spread of COVID-19 infections in the country has slowed, despite a 16th consecutive day of more than 50,000 cases.

Fahrettin Koca says the country will soon start administering Russias Sputnik V vaccine, in addition to vaccines developed by Chinas Sinovac company and Pfizer.

Daily infections and deaths skyrocketed after the country eased some COVID-19 restrictions in March, making Turkey among the worst-hit countries. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan re-imposed a partial closure April 13, saying the government would consider stricter measures if needed.

On Thursday the country reported 54,791 new confirmed infections and 354 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The government extended an upcoming weekend lockdown to include a public holiday on Friday.

DES MOINES, Iowa  Vaccinations have been halted at a Fort Madison prison after nursing staff incorrectly gave 77 inmates too much of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Department of Corrections spokesman Cord Overton tells the Des Moines Register that when the error was discovered, staff immediately sought guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from Pfizer.

Overton says the inmates involved were notified of the overdose and are being closely monitored. So far they have shown only the commonly associated side effects, including soreness at the injection site, aches, fatigue and fever.

Multiple funeral pyres of those patients who died of COVID-19 disease are seen burning at a ground that has been converted into a crematorium for mass cremation of coronavirus victims, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo)

Kimberly Koehlhoeffer, the mother of one of the inmates, says doctors told her son they had received six times the recommended dose.

The Pfizer vaccine is packaged as a concentrate that must be diluted with saline solution.

Two nursing staff members have been placed on leave pending an investigation.

PHOENIX  Arizona officials say more than 2 million residents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, or 28% of the states population.

The state also reported 647 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 22 more deaths.

Also Thursday, a state-run vaccination site opened at an event centre in Scottsdale. Other sites are in Flagstaff, Tucson and Yuma.

Arizona has registered 856,451 confirmed cases and 17,221 confirmed deaths.

TORONTO  Ontario Premier Doug Ford has apologized after his government reversed measures banning the use of playgrounds and letting police stop and question people who werent in their homes.

Vials of the Sputnik V vaccine seen on the table prior to the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Serbia has announced it will begin packing and later producing Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, which would make it the first European state outside Russia and Belarus to begin manufacturing the jab. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

The restrictions had been met with a backlash from the public, police, health officials and opposition politicians.

Restaurants, gyms and classrooms across the province already are closed, and most nonessential workers are working from home.

Ford suggested his government will offer province-paid sick leave for COVID-19 patients but announced no details. He said he won't resign.

Ford is quarantining after a staff member tested positive.

A multi-country study suggests pregnant women who get COVID-19 have higher risks for death, intensive-care stays, preterm birth and other complications.

Pregnancy causes various changes in the body that may make women vulnerable to harm from the coronavirus. Pregnant women can gain some protection by getting vaccinated; recent evidence suggests the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are safe to use in pregnancy.

The results were published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, echoing smaller studies. The research involved hundreds of pregnant women in 18 countries around the planet. It was sponsored by a research fund at the University of Oxford, where the lead authors work.

On Wednesday, the preliminary results of a report of 35,000 U.S. women who received either the Moderna or Pfizer shots while pregnant showed their rates of miscarriage, premature births and other complications were comparable to those observed in published reports on pregnant women before the pandemic.

A woman wearing a mask to help protect against the spread of coronavirus, carries a dog in a busy street before a nationwide lockdown, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Turkey has announced that it is extending an upcoming weekend lockdown to include a public holiday on Friday, as it grapples with soaring infections. The country has been posting record-high levels of infections and deaths since it eased COVID-19 restrictions in early March.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

VATICAN CITY  The Vatican will give the second dose of coronavirus vaccines to some of the 1,400 homeless people, migrants and poor who got their first shot a few weeks ago in the walled city state.

The inoculation session Friday in the Vatican auditorium comes as Pope Francis celebrates a feast day honouring the saint of his birth name  Giorgio, or Jorge. The Vatican says the 600 people who will get their second doses of Pfizer will join Francis in a party.

They received their first doses during Holy Week.

The Vatican City State purchased its own vaccines to inoculate Holy See citizens and staff. It has been giving its extra doses to the neediest around Rome. In addition, the pope has been making regular donations of ventilators and other medical equipment to poor countries.

CAIRO  Developers of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine say they signed a deal with a leading Egyptian pharmaceutical company to manufacture more than 40 million doses annually in Cairo.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, along with Egypts Minapharm and its Berlin-based subsidiary, issued a joint statement saying the technology transfer will begin immediately. It expects the roll out of the Sputnik V vaccine in the third quarter of 2021.

Production will take place in Minapharms biotech facility in Cairo for global distribution.

Russia has been marketing Sputnik V abroad despite the comparatively slow rollout at home and limited production capacities.

A metro train runs behind as a man wearing mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks through a bridge in Kochi, Kerala state, India, Thursday, April 22, 2021. India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)

DAMASCUS, Syria  Syrias health minister says the government has received a batch of 203,000 COVID-19 vaccines as part of a push to speed up inoculations in the war-torn country.

The arrival of the United Nations-secured shots on Thursday comes as a new wave of infections overwhelms medical centres around Syria. The AstraZeneca vaccines are part of a campaign aiming to vaccinate 20% of the countrys population before the end of the year.

Syrias government controls two-thirds of the country, with the rest held by rebels and Kurdish factions. Millions have fled the country or been displaced internally, and the war has killed half a million people.

LONDON  Organizers say 4,000 people will be able to attend the ceremony for Britains leading music prize next month as part of the governments easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The Brit Awards said Thursday in a statement that audience members attending the indoor ceremony at Londons O2 Arena on May 11 will not have to socially distance or even wear face coverings once seated. It will be the first major indoor music event in the country with a live audience in more than a year.

Attendees must show proof of a negative coronavirus test to enter and follow travel guidance for getting to and from the venue.

Organizers are giving 2,500 tickets to essential workers in greater London to honour their work through difficult times.

The U.K. is slowly easing restrictions following a sharp fall in new coronavirus cases.

FILE - In this Feb. 8, 2021, file photo, Florida seniors have their temperatures taken before receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Health System in Miami. COVID-19 hospitalizations are plunging among older Americans. The falling numbers show the countrys vaccination strategy is working, pushing deaths lower and easing pressure on the frayed hospital system. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark  Norway says it will lend its 216,000 Astra Zeneca vaccine doses to Sweden and Iceland as long as Norway has use of the vaccine on pause.

Health Minister Bent Hoeie says if the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine resumes, we will get back the doses we lend as soon as we request it, with supply coming from those countries' first deliveries from AstraZeneca.

Norway decided on March 11 to put the AstraZeneca vaccine on hold after reports of rare blood clots in a small number of vaccine recipients.

Hoeie says Sweden will borrow 200,000 doses, and Iceland 16,000 doses. The doses have expiration dates in June and July.

CANBERRA, Australia  Australia will reduce flights from India due to the growing wave of COVID-19 cases in the worlds second-most populous country.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he agreed with state and territory leaders that the numbers of Australian citizens and permanent residents returning in chartered flights would be lowered by 30%.

He says the government will soon announce a 30% reduction in commercial flights from India as well.

__

BANGKOK  Laos has locked down its capital and closed its international borders to most traffic after identifying a COVID-19 cluster connected to its bigger neighbour Thailand.

Residents of Vientiane are barred from leaving the capital, and outsiders must get permission to enter. Borders are closed except for trucks carrying goods and in cases allowed by the nations COVID-19 taskforce.

State news agency KPL reports that the lockdown order signed by Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh also bars Vientiane residents from leaving their homes except for essential food shopping, hospital visits and other authorized tasks. The restrictions last until May 5.

KPL says the measures were ordered after 28 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed Wednesday, bringing the countrys total to 88. Laos has a population of about 7.5 million, including about 700,000 in Vientiane.

TOKYO  The Tokyo Motor Show, which showcases cars from around the world, has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Toyota Motor Corp. president Akio Toyoda, who heads the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, says a decision was made that it would be too hard to hold the main program under safe and secure conditions.

The biannual auto show in Tokyo was last held in 2019, when it attracted more than 1.3 million people.

Japan has seen a surge in infections, while the vaccine rollout is among the slowest for a developed nation with about 1% of the population inoculated.

NEW DELHI  India has reported a global record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the worlds second-most populous country overwhelms a fragile health care system.

The new cases raise Indias total past 15.9 million, second to the United States. Many hospitals across the country have an acute shortage of beds and medicines, and dangerously low supplies of oxygen.

The New Delhi High Court has ordered the government to divert oxygen supply from industrial use to hospitals. Responding to a petition by a New Delhi hospital seeking their intervention, the judges said: Beg, borrow or steal, it is a national emergency.

The government is rushing oxygen tankers to replenish hospitals.

The Times of India says the previous highest daily case count of 307,581 was reported in the U.S. on Jan. 8.
The Wisconsin State Patrol said one of the crashes involved a fatality, but could not provide further details. Six people were taken to West Bend hospitals and another 26 people were treated at the scene, according to officials.
The Gamasutra Job Board is the most diverse, active and established board of its kind for the video game industry!



Here is just one of the many, many positions being advertised right now.

Location: San Diego, CA

This is a 12-month assignment with our contractor Yoh Staffing.

PlayStations Visual Arts Group on our San Diego campus provides world-class content, development and services to Worldwide Studios. Our team is always at the cutting edge of technology and partners with the industrys best minds and companies!

We are looking for a Blendshape Artist/Facial Modeler to come aboard and work in conjunction with our riggers, the Animation Supervisor and the Character Supervisor to bring highly-realistic faces to life for both cinematic and in-game sequences. You will work with our multi-award winning team while working with AAA Worldwide Studios like Naughty Dog, Santa Monica Studio, San Diego Studio, Guerrilla Games, and more!

If you're someone who pays attention to detail, has an eye for minute differences in facial movements, and one of "those" artists comfortable making facial expressions in the mirror... We want to talk to you!

Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for bringing highly-realistic faces to life for both cinematic and in-game sequences.

You will make the final tweaks to the topology edge-flow and determine the final positioning and refinement to key assets such as eyes, teeth, tongue and eyelashes.

When the model face is finalized the artist will sculpt a full array of naturalistic FACs and corrective blendshapes for expressive photorealistic humans.

You will sculpt a series of high-resolution wrinkle maps to add a final level of polish and nuance to the expressions.

Work closely with the external clients, internal artists and outsourcing partners to keep quality and style consistent across all characters.

Build photo-realistic humans, with particular attention to facial modeling and expression modeling.

Document, communicate requirements, and provide feedback.

Constantly and proactively seek to improve the production processes, tools and pipelines for character creation, rigging and animation and rendering.

Qualifications:

2+ years of professional character art experience in high-end 3D games and/or films with at least 1 published title or movie

Bachelors Degree or equivalent.

Proven grasp of realistic human anatomy with special emphasis on the head/face.

Strong understanding of Maya and basic understanding/use of blend shapes.

Experience with facial rigging of any kind as well as sculpting in Zbrush, Mudbox, etc.

The ability to grasp technical concepts at least from a broad perspective and follow technical workflows while pushing artistic limit.

Desired qualifications:

Experience with facial blend shape workflows on realistic humans

Expert understanding of human anatomy

Proficient in Facial Action Coding System

Experience with Blendshape Combination System plug-in

Experience with Perforce

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, legally protected physical or mental disability, covered veteran status, status in the U.S. uniformed services, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information or membership in any other legally protected category.

Reasonable Accommodation Notice Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job or to perform your job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort you spent in contacting us and we thank you for your interest in PlayStation.

Interested? Find out more here!

About the Gamasutra Job Board

Whether you're just starting out, looking for something new, or just seeing what's out there, the Gamasutra Job Board is the place where game developers move ahead in their careers.



Gamasutra's Job Board is the most diverse, most active, and most established board of its kind in the video game industry, serving companies of all sizes, from indie to triple-A.



Looking for a new job? Get started here. Are you a recruiter looking for talent? Post jobs here.
A man was killed in a shooting Thursday morning in Algiers, New Orleans police said.

His name has not been released.

The shooting happened at the intersection of Nunez and Diana streets (map), according to preliminary information from NOPD. They reported the shooting to media at 8:52 a.m. but it wasn't immediately clear when it happened.

No other details were immediately available, including the man's age, a possible motive or a description of a shooter.
Turas Bothair

TG4, 8pm

This show features cars rigged with cameras allowing us to listen in on what people are really talking about. Eoghan in Donegal, talks to taxi driver Grace, about his positive outlook on life after being diagnosed with Parkinsons.

Turas Bothair: Grace and Eoghan

First Dates Ireland

RTE2, 9.30pm

Peter (54) from Clare returns to meet health care worker Mags (61) from Carlow  he was on the show two years ago as well. Palm-reading dentist Emily (25) from Belfast assesses the future potential of graphic designer Mark (28) from Dublin.

Call centre worker Dylan (24) from Dublin meets 6ft rugby playing Conor (23) from Dublin.

And IT consultant Joseph (49) from Dublin dines with Health and Safety officer Rachael (49) from Dublin.

Frank of Ireland

Channel 4, 10pm

Even if you were desperately ill, would you agree to let Frank and his hapless best friend Doofus take care of you? Poor Mary has no choice  shes bed-ridden and requires the boys to help her with chores.

Other Voices

RTE2, 11pm

This episode features Elbow  in Ballina and Dingle.

Secrets of the Whales

Disney+

Secrets of the Whales: National Geographic, Brian Skerry

National Geographic documentary on the extraordinary communication skills and intricate social structures of five different whale species: Orcas, humpbacks, belugas, narwhals, and sperm whales. Filmed over three years in 24 locations. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

Stowaway

Netflix

Sci-fi with Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Toni Collette and Shamier Anderson. The crew of a spaceship is en route to Mars  but someone has accidentally stowed away, causing severe damage to the crafts life support systems. Facing dwindling resources and a potentially fatal outcome, the crew is forced to make an impossible decision.

Stowaway: Daniel Dae Kim as David Kim adn Toni Collette as Marina Barnett. Picture: Jurgen Olczyk

Sport

Premier League: Leicester City vs West Bromwich Albion (ko 8pm, BT Sport)
San Jose, CA, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VirtualPBX, a leader in business communications, has announced that its range of local calling for customers will now include Canada, Mexico, and Alaska and Hawaii. This expansion of service allows businesses to complete calls to and from all 50 states in the U.S., all provinces and territories in Canada, and all states in Mexico without additional per-minute fees.

This opportunity for businesses is unique among many phone plans on the market. For VirtualPBX, this announcement has a direct effect on all its Unlimited Minutes Plans by giving clients the opportunity to call as much as they need to any of the aforementioned international locations. VirtualPBX Unlimited Users Plans, which offer local calling for blocks of minutes, now let all users in those plans work across international boundaries.

VirtualPBX COO Lon Baker spoke about the immediate impact this can have for customers:

This expansion of service lets our existing customers have more freedom in the way that they do business. Our international rates are low, but until now, companies would have had to consider additional per-minute costs when dialing Canada, Mexico, or even outside the contiguous U.S. Thats no longer a hurdle for businesses to offer excellent sales and customer support to their own clientele.

Moreover, we have stepped one level above many competitors by extending our reach in this way. Our VoIP plans come packed with features, and now we can say that our local minutes are truly international minutes because they let businesses have their headquarters in one country but call often to another, or let them broaden their customer base by advertising to groups of individuals who may live outside their current market.

Bakers quote outlines the primary benefits that current and future customers will see with this change. Although the concept of local calling is often understood to comprise the primary areas in which a business will operate, this isnt always the case for businesses that conduct international business regularly.

VirtualPBX has made this change to break down barriers between the North American countries as much as possible. As a communications provider, it is often the link between multiple headquarters of international businesses, such as with Persistent Systems, and also the direct link between businesses and their customers, as is the case with 1st Classic Limos.

These customers and others can benefit from an increased range of their local calling status. Local phone numbers can be used in a greater number of situations, so marketing efforts can become more personalized. Moreover, use of phone numbers within any VirtualPBX Business Phone Plan can become more flexible, such as using new local numbers for Direct Inward Dialing to create direct lines to users in an office or in remote work situations.

The expansion of local calling impacts all areas of a businesss phone plan. Experienced VirtualPBX sales team members are available by online chat, phone, or email for further questions and to begin new plan signups.

About VirtualPBX

VirtualPBX develops a powerful, affordable VoIP Phone System for businesses of all sizes. Enjoy professional features like Auto Attendant, Ring Groups, Zapier Integration, and full-featured Web Phone with every plan. Upgrade to Video Calling, Business SMS, Call Recording, AWS External Storage, and more as needed. VirtualPBX supports office phones and personal devices in all its phone plan features. Award-winning SIP Trunking and networking services are also available from this San Jose-based business of more than 20 years market experience.

Attachments
Lucknow, April 22 : The Lucknow University has planned to promote over one lakh students of the varsity and its 180 affiliated colleges without appearing in exams.

This is being done due to the surge in Covid-19 cases following the outbreak of the lethal second wave.

The university authorities have decided to seek permission from the state government for promoting the students and a request letter will be sent to the government in this regard shortly.

"The examinations of undergraduate (III and V semesters) and postgraduate (III semester) students have already been held, but the first semester exams scheduled in April had to be postponed due to the second Covid wave. We will seek permission from the government for promoting all students," LU spokesperson Durgesh Srivastava told reporters.

"The number of Covid cases is not likely to go down soon, hence conducting the first-semester examination will not be possible. We will seek detailed guidelines from the government on how to promote first semester students who have not appeared in examination," said the LU official.

Promoting the students will help in beginning the new academic session on time, he added.

The online classes of most semesters have already begun.

In the case of first semester students whose examinations could not be held, their classes for next semester will begin shortly, he said.

Last year, the state government had directed universities to assess the final semester students through an examination conducted in online, offline or a hybrid mode while all first and second-year students were promoted on the basis of internal evaluation and performance in the previous semester.

The university had subsequently promoted all first and second year students, while the examinations of final year were held in offline mode.
OKLAHOMA CITY, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PHX Minerals Inc. (NYSE: PHX) ("PHX" or the "Company") announced today that the underwriters of its recent public offering of common stock exercised their option to purchase an additional 675,000 shares of common stock at a price to the public of $2.00 per share, increasing the total number of shares purchased to 6,175,000. The net proceeds to the Company from this exercise are expected to be $1,269,000, after deducting the underwriting discount and other estimated offering expenses, resulting in total net proceeds from the offering of $11,209,000. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund a pending acquisition, subject to customary closing conditions, and for general corporate purposes. The exercise of the over-allotment option is expected to close on or about April 23, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Stifel is acting as the book-running manager and Northland Capital Markets and Seaport Global Securities are acting as co-managers for the offering.

The public offering of the Company's common stock is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement, including the base prospectus and a related prospectus supplement. A copy of the final prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attention: Syndicate Department, One South Street, 15th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, by email: [email protected] or by telephone: (855) 300-7136.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

PHX Minerals Inc. (NYSE: PHX) Oklahoma City-based, PHX Minerals Inc. is a natural gas and oil mineral company with a strategy to proactively grow its mineral position in its core areas of focus. PHX owns approximately 253,000 net mineral acres principally located in Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico and Arkansas. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.phxmin.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Words such as "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "will," "should," "may" and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect PHX's current views about future events. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: our ability to execute our business strategies; the volatility of realized natural gas and oil prices; the level of production on our properties; estimates of quantities of natural gas, oil and NGL reserves and their values; general economic or industry conditions; legislation or regulatory requirements; conditions of the securities markets; our ability to raise capital; changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; financial or political instability; acts of war or terrorism; title defects in the properties in which we invest; and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory or technical factors affecting our properties, operations or prices. Although the Company believes expectations reflected in these and other forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance they will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected by the Company's management. Information concerning these risks and other factors can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, available on the Company's website or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE PHX MINERALS INC.

Related Links

http://www.phxmin.com


Kristine Hostetter, a fourth grade teacher at Vista Del Mar Elementary School, was widely beloved in her Orange County, California, communityuntil people found out she marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Though Orange County is a conservative enclave in a generally liberal state, the revelation sparked a huge neighborhood drama. There was a petition going around calling for an investigation into Hostetter, then a counterpetition supporting her. Matthew Rosenberg, who reported from the Capitol on Jan. 6, recently covered this local controversy in the New York Times.

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So far, around 400 people have been charged for what they did on Jan. 6. But thats just a fraction of those who were in the crowd that day. Alongside the people in tactical gear, the people waving enormous flags inside the Capitol rotunda, were schoolteachers, firemen, office workers  this utterly ordinary swath of Americans, Rosenberg says. Kristine Hostetter was one of those people just outside the frame, a supporting player in her husbands many videos and photos. She was not part of the attack, as far as we know, but she certainly seemed to support the spirit of the Stop the Steal campaign. On Thursdays episode of What Next, I talked to Rosenberg about what Hostetters story says about post-Trump politics in America. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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Matthew Rosenberg: Sometime after the pandemic starts, so spring last year, they first start noticing [Kristines husband Alans] postings on his social media getting pretty radical. Pretty extreme, pretty anti-COVID. A lot of this is a conspiracy, the government cant tell me what to do, just that kind of talk. And they were surprised by that.

At first, by all accounts, Kristine kept a distance. Teachers at the school might ask her about it and she would say, Well, thats Alans thing. Thats not my thing. But then the protests started getting louder and more extreme. There was a protest in May in which Alan and seven other people had tried to tear down a fence that had been erected to close off San Clementes beach during the lockdown. Hes arrested, and next thing you know, shes got a GoFundMe page up raising money for him and the seven other people. He joined a lawsuit trying to sue California to get rid of COVID restrictionsit failed. That rhetoric really started amping up, and thats when people really begin to notice, like, wait, whats going on here? Why is this person, the teacher, out here really joining in?

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Mary Harris: Alan Hostetter had started an organization to brand his protests and lawsuits. He called it the American Phoenix Project. Kristine Hostetter was listed as one of the officers on the groups incorporation papers. And then there was this story that Kristine was yelling at people about masks herself, right?

Yeah. The most detailed one I heard was on the beach around Thanksgiving time, when she went up to a family that had masks on and was accosting them. She had her granddaughter in tow, apparently. But there seemed to have been a number of other instances as well throughout the summer and into the fall where she began accosting people who were wearing masks in public.

This is not the backwoods community of the liberal imagination. This is a community of multimillion-dollar homes.  Matthew Rosenberg

So did this start a buzz at the time, in the winter, among parents of students or people at the school?

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It did among some. And one of the crucial things here is that there are a great many parents who agreed with her. They maybe are more subtle about it, theyre maybe a little more sophisticated about it, but they totally agreed with her and her husbands politics.

But there are also a number of parents who are liberal, some students, older students in the high school and elsewhere in the district, who had started an anti-racism group, who were keeping an eye on him. They were keeping tabs.

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In January it becomes clear that Alan and Kristine are going to go to what initially was called a rally on Jan. 6. Theyre also bringing some friends from Orange County. Theyve made connections with people with deep pockets, and all of them are flying out to be part of all this. When did the local community begin to see what they were doing in Washington?

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Within a day, screengrabs of Kristine, pictures of her in Washington, are going around. People are messaging them to each other. Theyre tweeting them at each other. And that is what gets people going and saying, well, whats going on here? What did she do? Did she take part in this attack? We need to know.

And Alan Hostetter is being pretty clear in these videos, saying stuff like this is our 1776, were going to get as close as we can, were going to march to freedom. And then Kristine is there.

Shes clearly marching. She looks like a happy and engaged participant. But shes behind the scenes. Shes kind of the person behind the person. And its hard to tell where exactly she is on all of this.

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While this is happening and throughout the summer, a group of students and former students in the high schools of the area had organized their own anti-racism organization, kind of in response to the George Floyd killing and the civil rights protests throughout the country. They called it CUSD [Capistrano Unified School District] Against Racism. They started with an open letter in which they had a list of demands. They wanted the school district to endorse BLM, to stand up against white supremacy, an explicitly anti-racist curriculum, more minority hiring, more mental health counselors for minority studentsa lot of requests or demands that would be pretty familiar to anybody whos followed progressive politics for the last six months or a year.

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They had also been keeping an eye on the American Phoenix Project. That had been on their radar because its a pretty far-right group. So the founders of this group started texting amongst each other, saying, well, what do we do here?

And one of the founders of this group was one of Mrs. Hostetters former students.

Yup. Esther Mafouta, who is now a freshman at Columbia. And when I spoke to her, she had only really fond memories of her time in Mrs. Hostetters class and said she thought she was a great teacher. If there was any bias, she didnt sense it. Esther now has said, well, maybe I didnt see it, maybe I was too young. But she has no memories of anything that would suggest that Mrs. Hostetter treated her differently or acted differentlyEsther is Black.

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Esther and her friends and colleagues started a petition to hold Kristine accountable for what she did. It wasnt explicitly calling for her to be fired. It was saying there needs to be an investigation, if theres criminal activity.

It was incredibly carefully worded. They understand that you dont want to condemn somebody until you know all the facts, and they just wanted to know what had happened. Interestingly, that petition was very, very tightly focused on what had happened on Jan. 6. They didnt really go into her politics in any kind of deep dive way. But along with that petition, they also had a kind of prewritten email that you could then send on to the school district, which brought up racism and anti-Semitism and more broadly got at what her politics were and the need to look into them. And thats a lot of what then provoked the reaction.

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How did the school system respond?

They did suspend the teacher pretty quickly and launch an investigation, but members of the school board and others seemed not incredibly happy about the whole situation. I spoke to the school board president. She had, in a response to these form letters, written to some parents, decrying when did we not teach kids the difference between innocent until proven guilty, and suggesting that kids didnt know how to be fair. And thats when the other parents kick in. A bunch of other parents calling themselves Parents for Teachers Rights throw out their own petition insisting that she is being scapegoated and asking, if they start firing teachers for their political beliefs, whats next? Religious differences? People immediately start going to their corners.

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The community got a broad sense of her politics, but she wasnt that vocal, so everybody sort of filled in the blanks.  Matthew Rosenberg

There was not a whole lot of soul-searching from anyone about, well, what does this say about our community? How do we not ape the worst of our national politics and end up shouting past each other? How do we find a way to ask those questions, like why is a teacher out there accosting people on the street? And if shes a great teacher, how do we then get that to stop and channel the best of her and get everybody to come together and figure this out and move forward together? There was not a whole lot of that that I can tell.

How long was Mrs. Hostetter suspended for?

She returned to class on March 15. Now, the investigation seemed pretty narrow, from what we can tell after the fact. They were looking primarily into had she done anything in the Capitol, and the investigator found shed done nothing unlawful.

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Do you think what happened here is a story about Alan Hostetter and what he did wrong, or his wife, Kristine? And does it matter?

I think that its a story of this moment right now, because were not doing very good separating people from their partners, from their friends, from their business associates, in any meaningful way in a lot of areas of life.

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The community had seen some of her actions, they got a broad sense of her politics, but she wasnt that vocal, so everybody sort of filled in the blanks. And he provided the information you needed to fill in those blanks. Had he been a lot less vocal, this might have just disappeared.

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The past year, in talking to people, between COVID, between George Floyd and the protests that followed it and the other killings that have followed it, Stop the Steal, the election, the attack on the Capitol, has all kind of blended together into this giant blob in peoples minds. And separating each strand out can be very difficult, even when thinking through it. So somebody who was kind of involved in one thing becomes part of the whole for the rest.

Being at the Capitol means youre antiBlack Lives Matter.

Exactly. And when youre antiBlack Lives Matter, youre not anti the broader political movementyoure anti the entire idea. Thats where the race issue really comes in here, because this is an incredibly difficult question. We could find no evidence of anything that I think most people would consider overt racismusing slurs, actively discriminating or treating a Black person as different or less than. We could find nothing in Kristines past to suggest any of that. And even Alan, for all the extremism of the American Phoenix Projectthis is a Southern California group that makes no mention of immigrants at all. It doesnt seem anti-immigrant in any meaningful way. And so, to a lot of people in the community, and I think to a lot of Americans, theyre, OK, shes not a racist. Thats the end of the discussion.

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But then, to many other people, its like, well, wait, shes at a rally with people who are waving Confederate flags, with a guy whos wearing a Camp Auschwitz T-shirt. There are many people there who were just open white supremacists, even if shes not. Even if she doesnt agree with them, shes comporting with them. So what do we make of her? Is she a racist? Is she not? How do we define this and then how do we act upon it? And thats a debate thats raging, that were far from settling anywhere.

Kristine Hostetter has been back at school teaching for over a month now, but the community is still a little raw about it.

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There are also a lot of parents who just flat-out agree with her. I spoke to parents who were like, Yeah, I believe the election was stolen. And to make it clear, this is not the kind of backwoods community of the liberal imagination, ignorant hicks of some sort believing anything. This is a community of multimillion-dollar homes where, every weekday morning, when they line up to get into school, its Teslas, Mercedeses, Range Rovers. This is the American dream as conceived by many people. There are beaches, theres ocean. Its California. Its wealthy. So these are not poor, ignorant people with no means to find out things, and a great many of them do believe the election was stolen. So there are those parents who were just happy to have her back, they think its great, and they have no issue with her being there, no issue with her politics whatsoever.

Then there are the parents who are like, look, shes back, but were not happy about it. Somebody passed on an email from a few days after Mrs. Hostetter came backparents were emailing about organizing a birthday party for her in class. One parent wrote, Frankly, its hard to get stoked about sending flowers and birthday cards to a classroom teacher who appears to align herself with a conspiratorial social movement and embraces the racist values of QAnon. So I think there is some real division there still.

For people in the media and others, as we think about this going forward, its really easy to say, look, heres a spectacle. Heres a person who believes something really extreme and heres what theyve done. And there are instances across the country of people very much in gray areas. Theyre behaving in ways that can be incongruous or that people are uncomfortable with. Theyre maybe a little bit extreme, you dont know, maybe theyre really extreme. But its dividing communities. Its making people question one another. Its pitting neighbor against neighbor.

People behave in very confusing ways. Its our job also to explore those issues, the ones where there are no easy answers, theres no clear-cut yea or nay or good or bad, and that we learn a lot about what our country is going through right now.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:30:09|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Developed countries responsible for the absolute majority of global carbon dioxide emissions should honor financial commitment aimed at strengthening response to the climate crisis in Africa, campaigners said on Thursday during Earth Day.

Mithika Mwenda, executive director of Nairobi-based Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) said that leadership from the industrial north is critical to boosting climate resilience in the continent.

"We call on developed countries to raise their carbon reduction ambitions, honor pledges on the Green Climate Fund and foster an equitable post-COVID-19 pandemic global recovery plan that fully integrates climate change," Mwenda said in a statement released in Nairobi.

He said that the financing gap has derailed climate mitigation and adaptation in Africa, thereby exposing local communities to shocks including prolonged droughts, floods and disease outbreaks.

Mwenda said a two-day virtual Leaders Summit on Climate convened by U.S. President Joe Biden which began on Thursday should rally major economies towards support for an ambitious emission reduction target outlined in the Paris climate deal.

He said the summit that is being attended by 40 world leaders should renew support for Africa's quest for a low-carbon, just and equitable recovery from COVID-19 related shocks.

"We urge industrialized countries to facilitate meaningful technology transfer and capacity building to help African people harness renewable energy resources like solar and wind," said Mithika.

He said that Africa is counting on goodwill from the industrial north to ensure the continent's priorities and needs are accorded due attention during the global climate change conference to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November.

Mwenda said the conference should come up with binding outcomes that enhance the resilience of African economies, ecosystems and livelihoods amid climatic shocks.

Augustine Njamnshi, Political and Technical Affairs chair at PACJA said that African countries are keen on leveraging partnership with their developed counterparts to boost green growth. Enditem
U.S. ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow for consultations in Washington Thursday in the latest move in a tense diplomatic standoff with Moscow.

Sullivan, a holdover nominee from the Trump administration, left Moscow after the Kremlin said Washington should recall him amid the growing diplomatic crisis  which comes after the U.S. slapped new sanctions on Russians close to President Vladimir Putin, and Russia amassed 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine.

Adding yet another layer to the tensions, Pentagon officials have briefed lawmakers on directed-energy attacks on U.S. troops that Defense Department officials believe were carried out by Russia.

Lawmakers were briefed on injuries sustained by U.S. troops in Syria, Politico reported. It was not clear how many U.S. forces may have been involved.

Pentagon began investigating the attacks last year, amid concern the alleged attacks had parallels to mysterious attacks on U.S. diplomats in Havana, where diplomatic staff complained of hearing loss, headaches, and other symptoms.

Ambassador to Russia John J. Sullivan gets into a car outside Spaso House, the Residence of the US Ambassador in Moscow.

The U.S. embassy announced this week Sullivan would return to Washington for talks this week after Moscow recalled its ambassador to the U.S.

'I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations between the United States and Russia,' Sullivan said in a brief statement.

Multiple government agencies have been looking at such directed-energy attacks, which can involve microwave devices and use of high-powered radio waves.

The latest stunning claim of Russian efforts to harm U.S. forces comes after the administration dialed back accusations that Moscow offered bounties for killings of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and the U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan shake hands during a ceremony to receive credentials from newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Russia in Kremlin

A US fighting armored vehicle takes part in a patrol near the Rumaylan (Rmeilan) oil fields in Syria's Kurdish-controlled northeastern Hasakeh province, on October 5, 2020. The Pentagon briefed lawmakers on possible directed energy attacks on U.S. troops it attributes to Russia

US troops in Syria were given new tanks, more jet fighter cover and hunter killer drones after a ramming incident with a Russian armored vehicle

Road trip: A car of the US diplomatic mission leaves Spaso House, the Residence of the US Ambassador in Moscow. US Ambassador to Russia John J. Sullivan is departing for Washington, D.C. to meet the family and the staff of President Joe Biden's Administration. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery Sharifulin\\TASS via Getty Images)

U.S. intelligence has 'low to moderate confidence' in reports of the bounties that emerged last year, the administration revealed as it rolled out new sanctions on Russians and Russian entities last week in retaliation for the SolarWinds hack, Russian election interference, and the treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Navalny is currently undergoing a hunger strike while being held in a Russian prison, after returning to the country after suffering an apparent poison attack with the nerve agent Novichok.

Russia recalled its ambassador to Washington last week, amid outrage after President Biden in an interview with ABC referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'killer.'

Russia recalled its own ambassador to Washington last month after Biden said he thought his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was a 'killer.'

Russian troops began returning to basis following massive demonstrations in Crimea, which prompted warnings from Ukraine and the U.S. and allies. The move followed massive drills in Crimea around territory Russia seized in 2014, prompting sanctions from the U.S. and Europe. The exercises involved thousands of Russian troops and hundreds of warplanes.

Nearly 100,000 Russian troops are believed to have massed at the Ukrainian border.

One Republican to immediately smack the proposal is former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who once ran the House Budget Committee and was one of Biden's top republican endorsers in 2020. 'President Biden's capital gains tax proposal is the definition of voodoo economics. It will hurt our economy and stifle investment,' he tweeted.
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.
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League

April 21, 2021



NEW YORK, April 21, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on a new report on religious persecution:

The 2021 report on Religious Freedom in the World, issued by Aid to the Church in Need, details two genres of religious persecution. The first is the most familiar one: violence against people and property (houses of worship). The second is a more subtle way of persecuting the faithful, typically relying on restrictive measures encoded in public policy and law.

Pope Francis is credited with broaching this second strand: non-violent expressions of religious persecution may not be as immediate or acute, but they can be culturally lethal.

The report found that the most persecuted religion in the world is Christianity. As in years past, Muslim-run nations and Communist states continue to be the worst offenders. The evidence shows that Africa, Asia and the Middle East remain hotbeds of Christian persecution in its most violent form.

The report also notes that "the predominance of Christianity is no guarantee that religious freedom is upheld." Nations that disrespect religious liberty tend to disrespect human rights in general. For example, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the worst offenders are Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. All three are Marxist-inspired police states.

It is the second type of religious persecution, the more gentle one, that should concern those who live in North America and Europe.

Pope Francis calls it "polite persecution." He is alarmed by the spike in new "rights," cultural norms or laws that relegate religion "to the quiet obscurity of the individual's conscience," or that narrowly confine them to "the enclosed precincts of churches, synagogues or mosques."

The Holy Father has put his finger on a real problem. If Christians in the Middle East need to fear the machete, Christians in the Western world need to fear the media, higher education, activist organizations and government. They are the ones advocating, or imposing, a secular agenda on religious institutions.

The report quotes Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States, warning us about "a radically individualistic interpretation of certain rights and the affirmation of 'new rights.'" The report cites by way of example violations of the conscience rights of those in the medical profession. Forcing doctors to end life (euthanasia), or to stop it from developing (abortion), is a growing threat to people of faith in many nations.

Laws aimed at curtailing the rights of religious schools are also a problem. Graduates of some religious colleges and universities are being discriminated against in employment. Parents who object to classroom instruction that explicitly runs roughshod over their religious beliefs (e.g., sex education) are being summarily ignored by administrators. "Hate crime" legislation is being used to criminalize the beliefs of those who hold to traditional moral values.

Another variant of "polite persecution" are attempts to limit the scope of religious liberty, or that undervalue its role in a free and democratic society.

For religious liberty to thrive, it must be afforded a wide scope and not be suffocated by restrictive norms and laws. It is not only offensive, it is downright insulting, to tell the faithful that they can pray in their house of worship. Faith that cannot be exercised in the public square is faith denied. To be sure, no right is absolute, but efforts to narrowly define religion's reach are stifling.

There would be no liberty, anywhere in the world, had it not been for the Western vision of individual rights and justice before the law. These ideas did not spring from Africa, the Middle East or Asia. It is the West that gave birth to liberty and equality, and it is our Judeo-Christian ethos that shaped it. That is why the movement to secularize our religious institutions makes no sense historically, logically, or morally.

"Polite persecution" of religion may not put us in imminent danger, but in the long run it can accomplish the same end. Campaigns to subvert it are in everyone's interest.
Identity thieves have submitted dozens of fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits using the names of Oregon state employees, another front in thieves ongoing effort to capitalize on the surge of jobless claims that accompanied the pandemic.

Its not clear how the fraudsters obtained the state employees names but officials say it doesnt appear to be part of data breach. And it doesnt seem to have put workers at risk of additional identity theft, though the departments said it has caused confusion and concern among employees.

The Oregon Employment Department declined to address the scale of the issue, citing the risk of additional fraud, but some state agencies report a large share of their employees have had false jobless claims submitted under their names.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries says 13 employees have had false claims submitted, for example, 14% of the departments total staff. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services says 50 to 60 of its 900 employees have had their names used with false claims over the past several months.

Its a number of agencies that have experienced it, said Leah Andrews, spokeswoman for the Department of Consumer and Business Services. She said the issue has come up in meetings among state department heads.

It doesnt seem like theres been any trend that they can identify as far as where theyre getting the names, Andrews said, but the effort doesnt appear particularly sophisticated.

Rather than use the workers real job titles with the false benefits claims, Andrews said the thieves use job descriptions like dishwasher or sales manager. The department, which regulates businesses and issues professional licenses, doesnt have any jobs like that.

Its almost like someones just randomly going through a list and seeing what they can do, Andrews said.

Many agencies list their staff members online to help members of the public access public services, and the state has a public listing of all employees, but its not clear if thats where the fraudsters got these names.

Employees whose names were used in the fraud attempts declined to speak about their experience, saying they were wary of exposing themselves to additional fraud.

Oregon says it experienced a tenfold increase in attempted identity theft last year as thieves sought to slip in fraudulent claims amid the flood of legitimate jobless benefits applications that accompanied the pandemic recession.

Unlike Washington, California and many other states, though, Oregon wont say how much it believes it has lost to identity theft during the pandemic. The state says it is worried about attracting thieves attention.

But the state says Oregons losses are nowhere near the scale of those in Washington and California. Thieves have stolen more than $200 million in jobless benefits in Washington, and more than $11 billion in California.

Last weekend, Oregons employment department shut down part of its online claims form in part, the agency said, because of suspicious activity on its website. The weekend shutdown prevented 20,000 self-employed workers from filing their benefits claims until Tuesday, bewildering claimants and delaying their weekly benefits for a day.

The employment department declined to specify what kind of suspicious activity was taking place on its website, or comment on the separate issue of fraudulent use of state employees names.

Fraudsters try many different schemes to steal taxpayer money and we dont want to give a heads up that we are on to them, said David Gerstenfeld, the employment departments acting director. The department has an online form for reporting fraud.

Other organizations have faced similar issues around identity theft. Willamette Week reported in February that the Oregon State Bar warned its members about possible identity theft after several lawyers had false unemployment claims submitted under their names.

When the state receives a new jobless benefit filing, it notifies the claimants former employer as part of an effort to confirm a layoff or firing. Thats how the issue with state employees names came to departments attention.

The Service Employees International Union, which represents employees in many state departments, said it wasnt aware of the issue until asked about it by The Oregonian/OregonLive. The union said it is seeking more information from the state.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |
Emory University will celebrate its Class of 2021 with in-person Commencement ceremonies May 14-16 at the Georgia World Congress Center. A ceremony recognizing the Class of 2020 will also be held on May 15.

Emory University 2021 Commencement Ceremonies Georgia World Congress Center Friday, May 14  School of Medicine, Genetic Counseling Training Program: 9 a.m.  Rollins School of Public Health: 9 a.m.  Laney Graduate School: 9:30 a.m.  Goizueta Business School, Fulltime MBA and MSBA: 10 a.m.  School of Medicine, Medical Imaging Program: 1 p.m.  Candler School of Theology: 3 p.m.  School of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine: 3:30 p.m.  School of Law: 3:30 p.m.  Goizueta Business School, Evening MBA and Executive MBA: 4 p.m.  School of Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy: 5 p.m. Saturday, May 15  Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing: 9:30 a.m.  Oxford College: 10 a.m.  Class of 2020: 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 16  Emory College of Arts and Sciences: 10 a.m.  Goizueta Business School, BBA: 11 a.m. For the latest information, visit the Emory Commencement website. Share memories and congratulations on the Memory Wall. Emory staff members: Volunteer to help at Commencement 2021.

Emory University will celebrate its Class of 2021 with modified in-person Commencement ceremonies May 14-16 at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC). A total of 14 Commencements representing Emorys nine undergraduate and graduate schools are scheduled during the three-day weekend event. A ceremony recognizing Emorys Class of 2020 also will be held on May 15.

While some aspects of Emorys traditional Commencement ceremony must be adjusted to comply with health and safety protocols, the university is excited to host in-person events with many familiar elements: the bagpipes, wearing of academic regalia, presidential conferral of degrees, individual recognition of the graduates and the singing of the alma mater.

The primary difference is the offsite location in order to adhere to health and safety guidelines and the anticipation of less than ideal weather for the three-day celebratory event. Also, each class of graduates will have its own Commencement rather than all graduates gathering for a central university ceremony.

Each of the ceremonies will also be livestreamed for those who do not attend in person.

We are excited to be able to offer students the opportunity to finally gather in person as a class and have a good, safe experience, says Suzanne Eden-Antola, executive director of university events.

That is exactly what students want, according to input from last years graduates. For the students who shared feedback, gathering as a class with their school was more important than a university-wide event. Incorporating time-honored traditions and having the opportunity to hear their names announced were also top requests.

Working with the Class of 2020 and knowing what elements of Commencement they valued most helped us prioritize things for this year, says Michael Kloss, executive director of advancement and alumni engagement events. Weve adapted existing traditions to a unique environment by creating a hybrid that combines elements that are traditionally part of the school ceremonies with key, critical elements of Commencement. Each school will have a standalone Emory University Commencement ceremony. The dean of each school will present the candidates and President Fenves will be at each ceremony to confer degrees. A representative from the Board of Trustees will be present to authorize the conferral.

All students, whether they choose to attend in person or via livestream, were asked to submit slides with their photo and name, so that all could be part of the event. When it is time to be recognized during the ceremony, QR codes will be used to trigger a recording of each graduates name being read. This additional layer of technology assists with COVID-19 protocols by reducing physical contact and shortening the overall ceremony length.

All ceremonies will include a presentation and video response from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, receiving the Emory University Presidents Medal. Fauci also will provide the keynote address during the Emory College of Arts and Sciences Commencement; his address will be delivered virtually, but in real time. The entire Emory community can watch via livestream.

Virtual elements will help enhance the celebrations, both for those who choose to attend in person and those who participate remotely. The Memories Wall, a popular element from last years virtual Commencement, will be available on the Emory Commencement website. Memories and congratulations for the Class of 2021 can be submitted now and will go live on the site April 27.

A ceremony on Saturday afternoon will recognize the Class of 2020 graduates whose Commencement ceremony was completely virtual last year due to COVID-19.

Last year we were able to utilize technology to present many of the key ceremonial elements, including the conferral of degrees and an extraordinary live Commencement speech by Bryan Stevenson, Eden-Antola says. Now this class will have the opportunity to gather one more time, cross the stage as their name is called and receive congratulations in person from President Fenves and their dean.

Students should refer to their schools communications for details related to their ceremony or visit the Emory Commencement website.

Celebrating with safety in mind

Through all phases of Commencement planning, being cognizant of safety has been at the forefront.

Wearing face coverings, staggering event times, designating school-specific entrances/exits and mapping one-way traffic patterns for each group of graduates and guests will aid in following physical distancing guidelines. Obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine is encouraged, but not required.

Graduates can register to receive tickets for two guests. Even if the maximum number of graduates and guests attend a ceremony, they will only represent a fraction of the rooms capacity  leaving more than enough space to comply with physical distancing guidelines.

In addition, The number of air exchanges per hour have been increased to ensure introduction of fresh air in the space and high-performance filtration has been added to the HVAC system, says Sam Shartar, director of operations for the university. There are hand-sanitizing stations throughout the areas, high-touch surfaces will have enhanced cleaning and spaces will be disinfected between ceremonies.

All graduates and guests should make themselves familiar with COVID-19 safety guidelines before the event.

For the most recent information, visit the Emory Commencement website. Graduates should refer to department communications to register and for ceremony-specific details.
Daily coronavirus vaccinations have slowed significantly for the first time since February, a sign that demand is slipping even though every American adult is now eligiblefor the shots.

About 3 million Americans are getting vaccinated daily, an 11% decrease in the seven-day average of daily shots administered over the past week. The unprecedented drop is rivaled only by a brief falloff that occurred in February, when winter storms forced the closure of vaccination sites and delayed shipments nationwide.

The downturn hits ashalf of all eligible Americans have receivedat least one vaccine dose.And it coincided with the pause last week of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is under review by a panel of experts following a handful of cases of severe blood clotting.

Softening demand also appears to be a factor: Scores of counties from Iowa to Texashave begun to decline vaccineshipments, highlighting issues of hesitancy and barriers to health care thatmay hamper efforts to reach the levels of protection needed to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

Officials say they need to ramp up efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach groups such as rural residents and homebound seniors, answer pointed questions from people leery of side effects and convince young people who don't fear the virus that they, too, benefit fromgetting vaccinated.

"This will be much more of an intense ground game where we have to focus on smaller events more tailored to address the needs and concerns of focused communities who have different sensitivities and different needs," said Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

President Biden on Wednesday sought to remove one significant barrier to shots, promising tax credits for employers that give their workers paid time off to receive and recover from inoculations.

"The time is now to open up a new phase of this historic vaccination effort," Biden said. "To put it simply, if you've been waiting for your turn, wait no longer."

But the White House declined to comment on the weekly data, pointing to the president's response to a question about whether supply had outpaced demand. "Not yet," he answered.

Public health officials say the interruption of the J&J vaccineprobably played a role in the downturn, with the shortfall on certain days this week roughly equivalent to the number of J&J doses reported on the equivalent day a week ago. An advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to make a recommendation on Friday about how, if at all, to move forward with that vaccine.

However, the pause was not the entire explanation, as federal officials said they were able to use more Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna doses to compensate, while state and county health officers touted their efforts to reschedule patients initially slated to receive Johnson & Johnson's product with other vaccines.

The Johnson & Johnson pause also did not appear to undermine overall vaccine confidence, according to surveys showing between 65% and 70% of Americans who said they had received or were likely to receive a shot, little changed from before. Some public health officials said the development reassured Americans that the government paid close attention to vaccine safety.

"We have absolutely seen that anyone who was positing the theory that they just quickly threw out these half-baked vaccines and they don't care even what happens to it have obviously seen that is not the case," said Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. "We are much better off than we were before the pause."

But millions of Americans are still not signing up for shots for a host of other reasons, from wanting to avoid the hassle of finding an appointment to wanting to wait longer for more research on long-term side effects.

Nirav Shah, who leads Maine's health department and is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said public health authorities are starting to turn their attention to those who are not able to get vaccines because they cannot make time or find transportation, as well as those who have "earnest questions" about vaccine safety.

The next stage requires more walk-in vaccination sites, free rides and door-to-door outreach, he said.

"What we've all seen in the work that we've done is it's not enough for vaccine to be in a state, it's not enough for it to be at a vaccination site or at the doctor's office," said Shah in a press call highlighting local vaccine efforts.

The slowdown in shots is concentrated in certain parts of the country, exacerbating the regional divides in vaccinations.

The declines are especially acute across states in the Deep South that already have some of the lowest vaccination rates. Average daily shots plunged by more than 30% in Georgia and South Carolina over the past week. Texas reported a 25% decline with just under a quarter of its eligible population inoculated.

But the steepest declines have been among small states with relatively high penetration of the vaccines: Maine, Alaska and New Hampshire.

And average daily vaccinations are still climbing in Delaware, California, Hawaii, Kentucky and Utah, in addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Some counties with as few as a quarter of residents fully vaccinated are seeing steady or even increasingcoronavirus infections, a harbinger of how inadequate coverage could allow the virus to spread. Most are relatively rural and overwhelmingly Republican, in line with polling that suggests conservatives areparticularly skeptical of the vaccines. Health officials in these places said they had not expected the degree of anti-vaccine antipathy in that demographic.

Philip Keiser, the top health official in Galveston County on the Gulf Coast of Texas, asked the state not to send him new vaccine supply this week as he plans more targeted outreach, including events in hard-to-reach communities and at schools. Just over a quarter of residents have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

"We're past that point of vaccine eagerness, well into vaccine hesitancy, and having supply drive what we do is a mistake," Keiser said.

Mercer County in western Ohio has not received new vaccine shipments for the past three weeks, said Jason Menchhofer, the local health administrator. Originally, he had hoped to shift vaccine from the county's main clinic to smaller providers, but even these have seen demand dry up.

"We had a couple of private practices that were scheduled to get shipments, but before it even got here they were looking to offload it to someone else," he said. "They don't have demand for it among their clientele anymore."

Nearly half of Iowa's counties rejected vaccine doses, state officials reported Wednesday, as Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, implored the unvaccinated, "What are you waiting for?"

"If you've been a hard 'no' from the start, what's your reason?" she asked. "And if you can't answer those questions, maybe, we hope, that you take the time to reconsider."

West Virginia, which was lauded for its early success vaccinating nursing home residents and seniors, is now struggling to administer all of its vaccine doses because of low demand.

"It takes us longer each week to get those vaccines in arms not because of the logistics, but because of people getting to those vaccines," James Hoyer, a retired major general who heads the state's coronavirus task force, said at a news conference this week.

To address low demand, many vaccine administrators are dispensing with appointments and some are taking their shots directly to people.

The North Georgia Health District, which includes six small counties, saw vaccinations slow after an initial burst of demand that included residents of metropolitan Atlanta in search of shots. Local health officials are trying to combat 20% vaccination rates by removing appointment requirements and bringing doses to poultry plants and schools while parents are picking up their children.

"A lot of people really appreciate you making the extra effort to come to them," said Ashley Deverell, the district's immunization coordinator.

A spokeswoman for the state health department said officials are also trying to counter misinformation and hesitancy by partnering with churches and other groups serving people of color, who surveys show have become more open to vaccines while Republicans have remained resistant, and by launching a statewide ad campaign featuring real people explaining why they got vaccinated.

Alaska hit a wall in its inoculation efforts because of vaccine hesitancy, with a nearly two-thirds decline in daily shots over the past week -and a third of the state fully vaccinated.

Anne Zink, the state's chief medical officer, says officials are trying to reach holdouts with positive messaging such as reminding youth athletes they do not need to quarantine after exposure once they are vaccinated.

Eventually, the nation will see fewer mass vaccination sites at convention centers and stadiums, and more shots offered at doctor's offices when patients show up for unrelated care. But experts say vaccine doses need to be shipped in smaller packaging so they can be spread out among more facilities and doctors without going to waste.

For example, a single vial of Moderna vaccine contains 10 doses, but once it's opened, all doses must be used within 12 hours or they are spoiled.

"We are at that tipping point where we are going to have to be willing to take advantage of any opportunity to vaccinate, which might lead to some wasted doses," said Claire Hannan, director of the Association of Immunization Managers.
DUBAI, UAE, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VentureRock - Impact Venture Builder and ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors and startup experts, is launching a $300M Fund-of-Funds in Abu Dhabi  supported by The Private Investment Group, to encourage and grow the market-leaders that will shape the world of tomorrow DeepTech, CleanTech, HealthTech and Smart City technology.

VentureRock is Launching A $300M Fund-of-Funds in Abu Dhabi Venturerock is an Impact Venture Builder empowering founders who dare to change systems.

From this new Fund-of-Funds, VentureRock will invest in early-stage startups that leverage technology, science and innovation to build sustainable, impact-driven solutions and unlock new-age business models for Retail, Real-Estate, Logistics, FinTech and Agriculture. This will be done through Venturerock's Special Purpose Investment Company (SPIC) structure, that implements the legal and operational processes needed to safeguard the ventures' success.

Founded in 2018 in Amsterdam, VentureRock is now active in Dubai, parallel to two more hubs in Amsterdam and Singapore.

With the VentureRock Dubai Hub, the firm is bringing not only capital but also technology, talent and knowledge around early-stage startup investing and venture building to the UAE region. The hub is also running its own venture building studio  comprised of the Founders Lab and Builders Lab, and will become the launching pad for Venturerock portfolio companies to expand operations to the Middle East.

All hubs are set in an identical structure  VentureRock SPICs, and follow the same formula to venture building  VentureRock OS. "90% of all early-stage startups fail in the first 3 years. This is a normal we wanted to change by changing how venture capital works in early-stage investing. The VentureRock OS is how we organize not only capital but also strategists, problem solvers and industry specific knowledge around our portfolio ventures," says Xander van der Heijden, General Partner at VentureRock.

The novel venture building system digitizes the investment supply-chain, from cap table to KPI reporting and legal agreements, to de-risk and unlock the free flow of capital throughout ventures' lifecycle risks through real-time audited data. Further Venturerock OS pioneers a 72-step methodology to systematically guide ventures from early-stage startups to fully compliant scale-ups.

"In the past 12 months, we've successfully launched 10 companies within SPIC I, which is focused on changing the way we finance, invest and exchange value. This portfolio has been designed for revolutionary impact  to build a global financial infrastructure that embeds trust and payments at a protocol level. An infrastructure that provides the building blocks for the next economy by powering products, services and business models with financial services at the core," further explains van der Heijden.

In the long-term, the impact-focused venture builder is on a mission to create a Single Digital Capital Market and launch a secondary marketplace running on a global shared liquidity infrastructure, stimulating cross-border investments and lowering the threshold for retail investors.

Supporting VentureRock with their capital raise and strategic partnerships with both the public and private sectors has been The Private Investment Group, a Dubai based company that works with funds and families in the GCC but also throughout Europe, the US and Asia.

Founder and CEO of The Private Investment Group Alastair Lidel said "What VentureRock has built is the next generation of ecosystems. A system that allows the incredible depth of knowledge they have to be coupled with some of the most innovative minds in the world. Working in partnership with Xander and the VentureRock team has always been exciting and a privilege and we are delighted to have supported them in this venture and look forward to continuing this impressive journey."

Director of Business Development at The Private Investment Group Obediah Ayton added "I am excited to see Venturerock demonstrate the way venture capital funds are now being deployed post covid here in the UAE. The portfolio companies within Venturerock are some of the most exciting and innovative we have seen and I have no doubt they will be a welcome asset to both the public and private sector in the Middle East."

About Venturerock

Venturerock is an Impact Venture Builder empowering founders who dare to change systems. Advancing technology, science and innovation, we co-create and grow the next-gen of global tech companies that bring economic, social and environmental impact.

We designed a new-age venture operating system - Venturerock OS - to systematically guide our ventures from early-stage startups to fully compliant scale-ups in only 72 steps and unlock the free flow of capital across the company lifecycle by digitizing the investment supply chain.

About The Private Investment Group

The Private Investment Group Interacts with public and private sector financial companies with a core focus on fundraising, strategic partnerships, and government relations.

Headquartered in Dubai but with a strong international presence through its global investment partners, The Private Investment Group is considered as the go-to company for businesses around the world looking for smooth GCC market-entry.

Gulf Towers, Dubai

+971585030483

http://www.theprivateinvestmentgroup.co.uk

Media Contact:

Casandra Lidel

0585030483

[email protected]

SOURCE The Private Investment Group
Iron ore exports to China are not in any danger, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said as the superpower warned of further damage to relations between the two countries.

A bullish Mr Frydenberg said iron ore would continue to flow despite the Chinese embassy calling the federal governments ripping up of Victorias controversial Belt and Road agreement with China unreasonable and provocative.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg speaks at the Leadership Matters event in Perth. Credit:Peter de Kruijff

The Treasurer told a crowd of WA high flyers  including billionaire Kerry Stokes and Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines  that China still needed Australian iron ore, as he called for an open dialogue with the powerful nation.

We want a constructive relationship, but there are also going to be issues on which we will firmly protect national interest and ... that may be in relation to human rights. That may be in relation to other issues, he said.
China to make direct allocation of fiscal funds to primary-level governments a regular practice to better benefit businesses and people

Xinhua) 10:40, April 22, 2021

Photo taken on Nov. 3, 2020 shows the view of the Lujiazui area of Pudong, east China's Shanghai.(Xinhua/Ding Ting)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- China will implement the direct allocation of fiscal funds on a regular basis, to amplify the role of public money in benefiting businesses and the public, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Wednesday.

"Past practices have shown that the direct-benefit mechanism is a major creative step in exercising macro regulation," Li said, "Last year, the central government directly channeled 1.7 trillion yuan of much-needed fiscal funds to prefecture and county-level governments, to support their tax and fee cuts. This has served as an important underpinning for keeping the economic fundamentals stable and won extensive support from market players and the people."

As required by the Government Work Report, the direct allocation mechanism will become a regular practice this year, and the central government's subsidies for public well-being will all be included in the mechanism. The total amount of funds under the mechanism will reach 2.8 trillion yuan.

To date, the central government has directly transferred a total of 2.6 trillion yuan to local governments, of which more than 2.2 trillion yuan has been allocated to the fund users.

"Different from the funds last year, which all came from additional budgetary funds, this year's directly funneled funds are mainly from existing budgetary funds. The allocation of funds and interests involved will be adjusted through reform," Li said.

Going forward, the usage of the directly-funneled funds needs to be better targeted. With a focus on reinforcing the economic recovery, the funds will serve as an important measure to offset the impact of phasing out some provisional support policies, and will continue to be mainly used to support employment, people's basic needs and market entities. The funds should go where the needs of the people and businesses lie, and help ensure salary payment and normal functioning of primary-level governments.

"Though the economic recovery is firming, circumstances facing market entities are still uneven. And primary-level governments are still in need of support. Hence, more directly-funneled funds shall be channeled to the prefecture and county level," Li said.

Sub-national governments must ensure that the remaining directly-funneled funds are effectively delivered and utilized, and that relevant policies are executed in a timely manner. On top of the funds allocated by the central government, sub-national governments will be encouraged to place more local budgetary funds under the direct allocation mechanism in light of local conditions.

Provincial-level governments should continue to act as involved intermediaries in the distribution of these funds, rather than detached onlookers, and see that more funds reach the primary level to bolster the capability of prefecture and county-level governments for policy execution.

Stringent oversight will be enforced over the directly funneled funds. Finance, audit and other relevant departments must strengthen oversight, and follow the allocation, disbursement and utilization of the funds on an on-going basis. Problems identified must be promptly addressed, and the local authorities and officials in charge will be admonished and relevant information made public as deemed necessary. Any irregularity such as fraudulent claims, withholding funds or diverting funds for non-designated purposes, will be seriously dealt with. Those involved will be held to account. Every effort needed will be made to ensure that the funds will be used where they count the most to benefit businesses and the people more effectively.

"The directly-funneled funds must be put under strict oversight, to maximize the effects of the precious funds. More fiscal resources will be pooled to support public well-being, including compulsory education, basic medical care and basic housing needs, as well as farmland irrigation and water conservancy projects. These efforts will deliver concrete benefits to the people," Li said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Appointment

22 April 2021

Deutsche Hospitality is restructuring its brand portfolio. In future, the traditional Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts brand and the lifestyle brand Jaz in the City will be combined to form the new "Upscale" Segment. As a result, it will be possible to exploit joint synergies in different areas, such as HR, IT and Commercial, and thus become even more attractive for partners and guests. As part of this new segment structure, Erwin M. Bruyn was appointed to the newly created position of Country Manager Upscale Brands Netherlands with effect from 1 April 2021. As well as continuing in his role as General Manager of the Steigenberger Airport Hotel Amsterdam, Mr. Bruyn will now take charge of all Upscale hotels in the Netherlands. Erwin M. Bruyn will report to Denis Huttig, who is heads the Upscale Segment in his capacity as President Steigenberger Business & Resorts, Jaz in the City.

Mr. Bruyn began his career at Deutsche Hospitality in 2007, when he took over as General Manager of the Steigenberger Kurhaushotel Scheveningen. He moved to the Steigenberger Airport Hotel Amsterdam to become General Manager in July 2013. As Area General Manager, he has also been responsible for the Steigenberger Hotel Dortmund and the Steigenberger Hotel Cologne since January 2014. Prior to joining Deutsche Hospitality, Mr. Bruyn also acted as a General Manager for companies including Novotel and Dorint.

By restructuring its brand portfolio, Deutsche Hospitality will from now on divide its brands Steigenberger Icons, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, Jaz in the City, MAXX by Steigenberger and Zleep Hotels into the segments Luxury, Upscale, Midscale and Economy. The new brand structure will enable the integration of new brands and thus create the basis for the international expansion of Deutsche Hospitality.
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A Nigerian fintech organisation, Okra, announced Wednesday it has closed a $3.5 million seed round to expand its data infrastructure across the country.

Founded in 2019 by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, Okras open finance platform is a digital transformation tool for businesses in Africa and its API enables developers and businesses to build personalised digital services and fintech products for customers.

The company billed as Africas first API super-connector raised $1 million funding from TLcom Capital last year and now has banked a $3.5 million seed round led by the US-based Susa Ventures.

The API company said it has raised a total of $4.5 million in two funding rounds.

We build the tools that businesses need to achieve full digital transformation and we are excited to be welcoming some highly strategic global investors as we scale our open finance as a service operation, said Fara Ashiru Jituboh, co-founder and CEO of Okra.

The opportunities to collaborate and grow together are significant and we are now in a strong position to continue to build and scale in Africa and global API space.

The companies that will dominate the business landscape over the next decade are prioritizing a digital-first experience for their customers today and will leverage data and personalization to win market share over time, David Peterside the co-founder and COO said.

We share the same vision on open finance in Africa and are excited to be working closely with the team at Susa.

Having Accenture Ventures join us at seed stage speaks volumes about our teams ability to execute at a global scale, he said.

The company said it had recorded over 150,000 live API calls noticing an average month on month API call growth of 281 per cent.

Since its launch in January last year, Okra has aggressively pushed by connecting to all banks in Nigeria and even claims to have a 99.9 per cent guaranteed uptime.

The fintech infrastructure platform has provided its services to high calibre financial institutions, government agencies and startups including Access bank, Interswitch, Carbon, uLesson and over 100 digital-first platforms.
Republicans have found a new political target: critical race theory. They say this movement is sweeping the country, teaching kids to see racial bias where it doesnt exist and indoctrinating everyone in white guilt. Its true that in a few schools and colleges, attributions of racism have run amok. But the attack on critical race theory is misleading, because critical theorieswhether theyre about race, class, gender, or anything elseare useful tools for understanding the world. They expose problems in society that people in power would like to hide.

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Last week, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, gave a speech about Americas history of racism. The next day, the Wall Street Journal editorial page denounced her. Ms. Thomas-Greenfield seems to believe her job is to bring critical race theory to the world, with a special focus on criticizing her own country, the Journal huffed. How about American progress on race since the founding, such as the Civil War that ended slavery or the civil-rights movement?

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This has become a common epithet, particularly on Fox News: Any allegation of racism, even the most obviously true, is critical race theory. Thomas-Greenfield acknowledged simple facts: that slavery weaved white supremacy into our founding documents and that recent incidents of police violence, including the murder of George Floyd, show a pattern of racial disparity. But she also told the story of American progress, including her own rise from segregation to President Joe Bidens Cabinet, and she celebrated that progress as a model to the world. She challenged China, Burma, and other countries to end their crimes against minorities, and she called attention to discrimination everywhere. Africans enslaved fellow Africans long before the American colonists existed, she observed. In many places around the world, slavery still exists today.

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The point of these remarks was to make people think: not just white people or Americans, but people all over the world. And thats what a good critical theory does: It opens our eyes to things we hadnt noticed. When we think critically about class, we begin to see how low prices, which benefit us as consumers, are often built on a system of global competition that drives down wages. When we think critically about gender, we become aware of social dynamics in schools, households, and workplaces that widen gaps between men and women. When we think critically about race, we begin to understand how seemingly neutral legal or economic structures, from credit scores to sentencing laws, can reinforce stratification. When the secretary of transportation says systemic racism is built into some highways, hes right.

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Republicans are correct that critical theories can go too far. Like all theories, they can harden into dogmas. We start out seeing class, race, or gender where we hadnt noticed it before, and over time we come to see it everywhere, to the exclusion of other factors. Some might reject unwelcome arguments because the speaker is white or male. Others might recognize ethnic prejudice in proposals to limit immigration but fail to consider how immigration, by increasing the number of people competing for jobs, can suppress wages. Others might be so repelled by sexism in abortion laws that we deny the humanity of a fetus.

In these situations, calling attention to race or gender can become a weapon to shut down conversation. Thats what happened on Friday, when a Newsmax reporter asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki whether Biden might remove Thomas-Greenfield for her remarks about American history. Psaki shot back: Is the President going to remove an African American woman with decades of experience in the Foreign Service who is widely respected around the world from her position as ambassador to the U.N.? He is not. Psaki then admitted that she hadnt seen Thomas-Greenfields remarks. Without waiting to read them, she invoked the ambassadors ancestrywhich neither the Journal nor the inquiring reporter had mentionedas a rebuke. The question seemed frivolous, and Psaki wanted to move on, but playing the race card in this way was superficial and dismissive, exactly the opposite of Thomas-Greenfields approach. Psakis implicit message, reflecting a common view on the left, was that its unseemly to challenge people of color on issues that affect them.

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When critical theory becomes dogmatic, the best response isnt to reject it, but to challenge and refine it. A good example is the New York Times 1619 Project, which Thomas-Greenfield saluted in her remarks. Originally, the projects text claimed that the onset of American slavery in 1619 was the true founding of the United States and that preserving slavery was one of the primary reasons the colonists decided to declare their independence. But after historians pointed out that these claims were exaggerated, the text was changed to concede that slavery was a primary concern only for some colonists. Thats the difference between bad critical theory, which uses one factor to explain everything, and good critical theory, which acknowledges many factors.

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The key is to think critically about everything, including critical theories. Instead of adopting an ideology and applying it to whatever comes alongdismissing every military intervention as imperialism, for examplewe have to look for our blind spots. When liberals say schools should stay closed for COVID, the rejoinder might be: How many hours of unpaid labor are we dumping on mothers of kids in remote learning? When colleges stop using standardized tests in admissions, on the grounds that they give wealthy kids an advantage, one could ask: Do alternative admissions criteria, such as extracurricular activities, give wealthy kids an even bigger advantage? When activists say police should be defunded because theyre inherently racist, we might inquire: Do smaller police budgets make life in communities of color better or worse?

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Thats the kind of skepticism we can learn from critical theory. We can see the effects of race and class, but also their limits. And this power to reconsider our assumptions and our societyto inspect, reflect, and correctchanges history. The uniqueness of our country is that we can self-criticize, Thomas-Greenfield argued on Sunday, applauding the U.S. government for embracing her candor about racism. I dont think you will see a Chinese Uyghur getting on the national stage [and] acknowledging Chinas issues with human rights. Thats what makes America great: our willingness to admit when we arent.

In the seven years Ive been covering news and politics for Slate, Ive written about some of the United States best and worst moments, people, and ideas. Your continued support of Slate Plus will allow me to continue to give our countrys high-stakes struggle to define itself the coverage it deserves. Thank you! Ben Mathis-Lilley, senior writer
2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
When they were looking to expand, the family behind the Blue Crab Restaurant & Oyster Bar knew they needed a location with waterfront access, which after all is a defining feature of their New Orleans restaurant.

In Slidell, they found an ideal perch that is actually surrounded by water.

The Asprodites family is now developing this second Blue Crab at 118 Harbor View Court in Eden Isles, a neighborhood of wending channels and waterfront homes.

The new restaurant is slated to open by late summer. The location was once home to a restaurant called the Dock. It sits on a peninsula at the mouth of channel where Eden Isles connects to Lake Pontchartrain.

Were sticking with what we do best, and this is an excellent fit for the concept, said Nick Asprodites, who is working with his father and their partners to develop the new restaurant.

The restaurant has its own cluster of five beach volleyball courts, where league and tournament play has long been a draw. It also sits beside a boat launch and fronts a stretch of dock space where boaters can tie up and visit. It will host live music on the weekends.

The original Blue Crab is on a dockside stretch of Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans. When it opened in 2013 it helped revive a section of the West End where little redevelopment had happened since Hurricane Katrina. That same year, Brisbis opened just down the channel, and this later became a location of Felixs Restaurant & Oyster Bar, a name famous from the French Quarter.

The new restaurant will have a similar menu of traditional New Orleans seafood dishes, like BBQ shrimp and whole stuffed flounder, and house specialties, like blue crab pasta and a crab and spinach dip.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

It will have an oyster bar attached to the main bar, with views of the waterways just outside.

Boats, bushwhackers, family-friendly dining, thats us at our best and thats what were bringing here, said Asprodites.

The Blue Crab Restaurant & Oyster Bar

7900 Lakeshore Dr., (504) 284-2898, open Tue.-Sun., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

118 Harbor View Court, Slidell, projected opening late summer 2021

+34 How to get New Orleans Jazz Fest food this year, from Crawfish Monica to cochon de lait Last spring, from the depths of the coronavirus crisis, Festing in Place emerged as a triumph of the New Orleans determination to wring goodne

+20 Plate lunch index? Old school New Orleans diners give clues to downtown recovery Of all the ways to assess where New Orleans stands in the ongoing pandemic, the best gauge for Despina Patselikos is the phone line at Lenis 

+24 Middendorfs opens a huge new Slidell restaurant. Can it replicate a Louisiana legend? They know people are watching them, but thats okay. Karen and Horst Pfeifer understand it comes with the territory when youre in charge of a
A Roman Catholic sacristan at one of the famous churches in Paris stole thousands in cash donations from wealthy visitors while building up a property portfolio and fleet of cars.

The 62-year-old, who has been identified in France only as Georges C., was in charge of the collection counts at the Saint-Germain-des-Pres Abbey. The abbey is located in a fashionable district of central Paris, traditionally home to famous philosophers and musicians.

During almost three decades working there, he helped himself to money.

However, after priests became concerned about takings at the abbey, Georges came under suspicion and was arrested and this week. He received an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine equivalent to 70,000 after he was found guilty of theft by judges at the Paris Correctional Court.

The court heard prosecutors describe how rich benefactors regularly slipped 50 or 100 euro notes into the collection basket, Le Monde reported.

Coins from all over the world were also dropped into sacks before visitors lit candles and said a prayer.

The medieval church is opposite tourist magnet cafes including Les Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore, which were almost always packed before the coronavirus pandemic.

Georgess main role was to look after the sacristy  the room where liturgical garments are kept  but duties also included counting the collection money.

In November 2017, priests were concerned that the amount of money made from collection plates and sacks was going down.

Suspicion fell on Georges C., who had arrived in France from Syria in the 1980s, so police marked notes taken from the collections and wrote down their serial numbers.

Georges was then stopped by plain-clothes detectives as he left the church, and he was found to have the equivalent of 300 in marked notes on him.

A search of his house found thousands more, much of it in foreign currencies and the keys to nine vehicles that he owned, including an Audi convertible.

Despite being on a salary of just over 3,400 a month, further enquiries showed that he owned six properties in the greater Paris region, including four apartments in the city itself.

Georges admitted just one charge of theft that related to the cash that was found on him when he was first arrested.

He said he had stolen it after his wife  who also worked for the Catholic Church  was demoted.

The parish priest had put my wife on part-time after 17 years of service, Georges said in court. I wanted revenge on him, thats all.

Georges said that all the other property and cash had been earned honestly, and that he was a director of four companies: Im smart, I know how to find opportunities, he added.

This article was amended on 22 April 2021 to remove an incorrect translation of a cafe name.
The on Thursday questioned the basis on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested states to look at lockdown as the last resort, and said despite the existing restrictions the COVID-19 cases are not coming down.

A day after Modi addressed the nation, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday imposed several new lockdown-like restrictions, including a ban on inter-city and inter-district travel, and allowed only those working in the essential services to travel in local trains in Mumbai.

Referring to Modi's suggestion made on Tuesday that lockdowns should be the "last resort", an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said focus should be on action rather than delivering speeches.

"Several ministers in Maharashtra have suggested that the state be put under complete lockdown for at least 15 days. CM will take a decision on this. But, on what basis did the PM advice to avoid a lockdown?" it asked.

The editorial said the Maharashtra board's Class 10 exams have been cancelled and the central government has also scrapped the CBSE Class 10 exams.

The situation in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka "has gone out of control", it claimed, adding that the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has recommended a two-week lockdown in Gujarat.

"The situation is not improving despite strict curbs in Maharashtra," the Marathi daily said.

It was felt that the prime minister will advice citizens on how to face such a situation, the editorial said.

The economy is devastated and those who survive the pandemic will "die of suffocation under the crumbling economy", it claimed.

It said the PM admitted that the COVID-19 situation has worsened in the country, but stopped short of saying what should be done to end the crisis.

He says the COVID-19 crisis needs to be tackled unitedly, but his concept of "unity" doesn't involve the opposition parties, the Marathi daily said.

"If the prime minister had stopped his West Bengal poll rallies on time, the spread of COVID-19 could have been checked," the Marathi publication said.

"Lakhs of people from different parts of the country who were in West Bengal have spread the virus in their respective states. The country has got only coronavirus from the Kumbh mela and political melas," the editorial claimed.

Political leaders need to exercise self-restraint and only then they get the moral right to preach the people, it said.

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 67,468 fresh coronavirus cases, taking its tally beyond the 40-lakh mark, while 568 more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the state health department.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Antonio Reddit is a place where locals dish on all their favorite spots in the city. It's also the perfect place to find out where to eat (well, and MySA.com, of course).

We know all about burgers, as we wrote about the best "hole-in-the-wall" joints. But recently, Reddit user @u/ethansmith123 asked a question many haven't asked on San Antonio Reddit when it comes to the best foodie spots.

Where, the user asked, are the best local joints for fried chicken?

The Redditor started a thread asking fellow neighbors where to find those establishments, and San Antonians showed up with some interesting answers, as they typically do.

Now, some did write in Chick-fil-A and Church's, but we'll keep this list of local chains and businesses (no shame towards either).

Scroll below to see the top five spots locals mentioned in the Reddit thread.

726 E Mistletoe Ave. Cullum's Attagirl Ice House (210) 437-4263 The San Antonio hot chicken sandwich is fried in masa and finished with hot oil, spicy crema, Cotija cheese, fried chicken skin and pickled red jalapenos at Cullum's Attagirl. Mike Sutter /Staff Several locals suggested Cullum's Attagirl Ice House, which is north of the St. Mary's Strip. Chef and owner Chris Cullum created this dish on the menu called the San Antonio Chicken Hot that will for sure spice up your life. It's a Southern Fried Thigh, submerged in San Antonio Hot Oil, and topped with hot crema, cotija, micro-churro crunchies, cilantro, and pickled jalapenos. In 2015, Cullum's Attagirl ice House opened and quickly became a favorite on the St. Mary's Strip. The restaurant is small but mighty, and just recently added more patio seating to its spot.

1747 S WW White Rd, Chatman's Chicken Restaurant (210) 359-0245 Spicy and regular fried chicken, mac and cheese and greens from Chatman's Chicken. Mike Sutter /San Antonio Express-News Reddit user @ChamomillaTX suggested Chatman's Chicken on the East Side, writing it's "hands-down better than any of the corporations." "Real food, real sides and deserts," the user wrote. "Who else serves gizzards, greens, and peach cobbler?" Owner Eddie Chatman worked for Church's Chicken for almost two decades before opening Chatman's Chicken more than 17 years ago. Recently, Chatman wrote on his restaurant's Facebook page that he didn't need a business degree to be successful. He learned from the bottom, he said. "I tell people that since I didn't know I wasn't supposed to succeed, I went ahead and did it any(way)," he wrote.

READ MORE: Locals dish on their choice for best 'hole-in-the-wall' burger joints in San Antonio

5237 Walzem Rd in Windcrest Mrs. Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant (210) 549-4392 Fried chicken with cornbread and sides of corn and green beans from Mrs. Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant Mike Sutter /Staff file photo User @Ashvega03 recommended Mrs. Kitchen Soul Food Restaurant, which just recently moved from the East Side to a far bigger space at 5237 Walzem Rd. in Windcrest. In 2011, owner Garlan McPherson opened his restaurant after serving as a probation officer for Bexar County, according to a news article from Madison Iszler with the San Antonio Express-News. Mrs. Kitchen became popular thanks to McPherson's cooking, which was inspired by his grandmother. You can be sure to find fried chicken but also cornbread, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, meatloaf, and collard greens.

1639 Broadway Earl Abel's (210) 444-9424 Earl Abel's famous fried chicken and other items will be available at Picks Bar. Mike Sutter /Staff file photo One user mentioned Earl Abel's, which has been serving the San Antonio dining community for almost 90 years. In September 2019, a change of ownership temporarily closed the restuaunt. However, the new owners brought back Earl Abel's old crew and cooks and reopened the spot several months later, according to a report from Chuck Blount from the San Antonio Express-News. Earl Abel's started as a diner on North Main Avenue in 1933. It later moved to the corner of Broadway and Hildebrand Avenue but was moved to a strip mall on Austin Highway after the Abel family sold the business to Roger Arias in 2006. Earl Abel's eventually moved back to Broadway in late 2017, according to a report from former San Antonio Express-News reporter John MacCormack. It's moved around a bit, but it's not going anywhere because the food is worth it.

READ MORE: Papa's Burgers opening new West Side restaurant and patio after original location closed
FEMAs impression on Los Angeles community vaccination

The COVID-19 vaccination site at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) expected to close on April 11 after an eight-week run. The site orchestrated by FEMA and the state of California was part of a pilot program to vaccinate hardest-hit communities, with the Cal State L.A. and Oakland locations as the first to take on the task. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on April 1 that the city would begin running the site by April 12.

A recent vaxfacts press release by Mayor Eric Garcetti shared that the site will be lead by the Los Angeles Fire Department with additional assistance by Community Organized Relief Effort and locally contracted individuals from FEMA and CalOES.

Within 20 days of its establishment, the Cal State L.A. site vaccinated over 140,000 individuals, according to a FEMA correspondent. By the end of the eight weeks, FEMA Media Relations Specialist La-Tanga Hopes said they projected to reach 300,000 doses.

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We wanted to make sure that we provided support in hard to reach neighborhoods, and weve been able to achieve that goal, Hopes said before the end of FEMAs operation of Cal State L.A. And were going to continue working at that as we continue to work across the country.

The vaccination sites were part of Joe Bidens plan to open 100 federally-supported vaccination centers across the nation within 100 days. The Cal State L.A. site that opened on Feb. 16 included a drive-through and pedestrian walk-up site for people to get vaccinated.

By partnering with local community-based organizations like the United Farmers Workers, United Grocery Workers Union and LA Urban League, the Los Angeles site was able to reach out to the community members who have been heavily impacted through Mobile Vaccination Clinics.

The three mobile clinics brought the vaccine to the community instead of centralizing the vaccination efforts to the university campus. For Hopes, it was a way to understand the needs of the community.

We get a chance to reach across the aisle and work within the communities, within the neighborhoods, she said about the mobile efforts. And anytime that youre going into the community, its a very humbling experience because the first thing you have to do is know that they know more than we do. And so we have to pretty much listen and learn so that we can make sure that were able to help and support.

Hopes remarked that each mobile vaccine site initially provided 250 vaccinations per day, but later provided 500 vaccinations per day, per site.

That was far beyond what we anticipated but were considering that as a win because were able to do good work in the community, she said.

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In a panel discussion about the COVID-19 vaccine with Cedars-Sinai and BlackDoctors.org, Dr. B. Cameron Webb, senior policy advisor for Equity with the White House COVID-19 Response Team, shared that the mobile sites are an important part of the mass vaccination centers.

Theyre kind of smaller, more nimble efforts to get the vaccine where it needs to go, Dr. Webb said. The best way for me to describe it is in a fire, you dont ask a fire to make its way to the water, you bring the water to the fire. And thats what our mobile vaccination units are. Its really bringing vaccines to people who need it.

He also explained that the mass vaccination centers, like the Cal State L.A. location, are decided by identifying where there is a high-risk community with the most economic disadvantage. How these places are identified is by using what is called the CDC social vulnerability index (SVI). The index ranks counties by 15 social factors that look at aspects like the economic status, racial background, educational background and age of those living in the county. The CDC used this index to rank high, moderate or low social vulnerability counties and assess where vaccine coverage is lacking.

The places with the highest social vulnerability are the places where were looking to put these vast vaccinations that can do 3 to 6000 shots a day and were leaving those spots there for eight weeks and were making sure were getting as many folks vaccinated in those hardest hit, highest-risk communities as possible, Dr. Webb said.

Hopes felt proud of the number of vaccinations they were able to administer to community members at the Cal State L.A. According to the same vacfacts press release, over 900,000 vaccinations were administered by the City of Los Angeles, almost 5 million across L.A. County and almost 23 million across California. These numbers reflect the vaccinations just at the end of FEMAs eight weeks operating the Cal State L.A. vaccination site. As the torch passes from FEMA to the City of Los Angeles, more doses will be administered to community member vulnerable to the virus and prepared to take part in protecting the Southern California community.

Were hoping that with those vaccinations, as we continue to have more opportunities, whether its through the local, county, state or even more federal opportunities, that people will continue to get vaccinated, she said.

In addition to the Cal State L.A. location, there are plenty of ways people can get the vaccine in Los Angeles, including city-run sites, health care providers and participating pharmacies. If you are interested in being vaccinated, you can go to myturn.ca.gov or call the California COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255.
With awards season winding down, actress/filmmaker Regina King spent her Wednesday night grabbing some dinner with a friend.

The 50-year-old One Night in Miami director was spotted heading into Craig's in West Hollywood.

She was spotted signing autographs for fans as she headed into the hotspot, days before her directorial debut One Night In Miami vies for three Oscars.

Dinner time: With awards season winding down, actress/filmmaker Regina King spent her Wednesday night grabbing some dinner with a friend

King stepped out with a stylish tan jumpsuit with a maroon bra seen peeking out from the top.

She also wore a thin gold necklace and silver earrings while staying safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic with a tan plaid face mask over her mouth and nose.

The multi-hyphenate had her hair in braids and competed her look with a pair of olive green open toed pumps.

Regina's look: King stepped out with a stylish tan jumpsuit with a maroon bra seen peeking out from the top

King made her feature directorial debut with One Night In Miami, after cutting her teeth directing several TV episodes on shows like Scandal, Shameless and Insecure.

The film, written by Kemp Powers based on his play of the same name, presents a fictional account of four iconic Black men - Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) - who meet in Miami to discuss their roles in the Civil Rights movement.

The film is up for three Oscars - Best Supporting Actor (Leslie Odom Jr.), Best Adapted Screenplay (Kemp Powers) and Best Original Song (Speak Now) - though many believe it was snubbed from Best Picture and Best Director for King.

Directing debut: King made her feature directorial debut with One Night In Miami, after cutting her teeth directing several TV episodes on shows like Scandal, Shameless and Insecure

The Los Angeles native makes her first return to the big screen since 2018 later this year with Netflix's The Harder They Fall, an upcoming Western starring Idris Elba.

The story centers on Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who rounds up his former gang to get revenge against the man who killed his parents, Rufus Buck (Idris Elba)

The cast also includes Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi and RJ Cyler.

Big screen: The Los Angeles native makes her first return to the big screen since 2018 later this year with Netflix's The Harder They Fall, an upcoming Western starring Idris Elba

King made headlines earlier this week when she landed on the cover of Vogue Greece, completely unretouched, the publication's first ever unretouched cover.

'I accepted this Vogue Greece cover because it just really felt like an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and not have photoshop to rely on and I feel what Vogue Greece is doing is a very powerful message for women especially,' King said.

'Thanks, Vogue Greece, for bringing me on the ride and I hope a nice amount of women look at the magazine and say "You know what? I'm not gonna give a f**k", even if its just for one day!' she added.
New Delhi, April 22 : The rising number of corona patients has triggered panic among people in Delhi. On the one hand, they are unhappy with the hospitals as there are not sufficient beds and on the other those whose relatives are admitted to hospitals are preparing to take them home following the soaring number of deaths.

Vibhash, whose father is admitted in LNJP hospital, was busy writing a letter to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) sitting at the gate of the hospital.

"My father is infected with the coronavirus and it's been seven days since I have admitted him here. But there is no improvement in his condition, moreover, it is deteriorating with every passing day," he said.

He said there is nobody to look after him in the hospital as no one is allowed inside except patients. He has not eaten anything for seven days. Now I want to take him home so that we could at least feed him something and take care of him.

Vibhash said: "People don't even get details about their patients, what treatment and medicines are being given to them. The hospital has given such a report that I can't get my father admitted anywhere else." Vibhash said: "We saw a dead body being taken out from the hospital every 10 minutes. My father was alone in the ward, he was terrified." However, Vibhash later succeeded in taking his father home where he is being taken care of. Also, the family is looking for another hospital to continue his treatment.

There are many people like Vibhash who are praying for the quick recovery of their relatives. Delhi has reported 24,638 new cases and 249 deaths due to the coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
Securing drill rigs in the current climate is an important step towards us achieving our mid-2023 targeted production start date, says MD & CEO.

The contract has been awarded to Pentium Hydro Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Vysarn Limited.

( ) has awarded the production bore-field drilling contract for the development of Lake Wells Sulphate of Potash Project (LSOP) near Laverton in Western Australia.

This key contract has been awarded to Pentium Hydro Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vysarn Limited (ASX:VSY).

APCs recently completed FEED program into the development of the LSOP identified an optimised bore-field design comprising 79 brine bores.

In addition to the brine bore field, this FEED program identified the development of two raw (or fresh) water bore fields comprising approximately 13 bores.

Maintaining momentum

Australian Potash managing director and CEO Matt Shackleton said: Following the release of the FEED Summary results we are focused on maintaining the momentum towards development.

Securing drill rigs in the current climate is an important step towards us achieving our mid-2023 targeted production start date.

Contract details

Key details of the contract with Pentium Hydro are:
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Scotch Creek Ventures Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:SCV)(FSE:7S2) ("Scotch Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its private placement of 5,714,286 units announced March 12. 2021 has been oversubscribed by 851,834 units. The Company has determined to accept the oversubscriptions and will issue a total of 6,566,120 units (each a "Unit") at $0.35 per Unit for gross proceeds of $2,298,142. The Company is proceeding with closing of the private placement.

Scotch Creek Ventures' CEO, Mr. David Ryan, commented "we are thrilled by the strong investor interest that we have received throughout this financing. The company is now fully funded to proceed with its exploration objectives on the newly acquired lithium projects in Clayton Valley, Nevada. We believe that our two lithium projects, Highlands West and Macallan East, are ideally located in Clayton Valley, with increasing number of companies surrounding us announcing strong exploration results. Most recently, Noram Ventures Inc. announced lithium grade results of 1,220 PPM. We intend to further deliver shareholder value through exploration of our highly promising projects within the same region."

Private Placement Details:

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of 2 years from issuance at $0.50 per share. The Company has the right to accelerate the expiry of the warrants should the Company's shares trade above $1.00 for 10 consecutive trading days. In the event of acceleration, the expiry date will be accelerated to a date that is 15 business days after the Company issues a news release announcing that it has elected to exercise this acceleration right.

In connection with the Offering, the Company will pay cash finder's fees totaling $104,610.53 to arm's length party/parties to Scotch Creek, representing 7% of the gross proceeds raised from investors introduced to the Company by the finders and will issue a total of 314,637 finder's warrants exercisable at $0.50 per share for a period of 12 months.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a standard hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Commissioning of a 43-101 Technical Report

Scotch Creek Ventures' is also pleased to announce the engagement of Mr. Robert Marvin as a Technical Advisor. Mr. Marvin is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, and will lead Scotch Creek Ventures' efforts in preparing a 43-101 compliant Technical Report.

About Robert Marvin, P. Geo, CPG

Mr. Marvin is a third-generation geologist, and has more than 35 years of experience as independent consultant. He has been involved in exploration and development of various projects throughout Americas, ranging from gold, copper, uranium, zinc, and lithium. Mr. Marvin has had a great track record of success in various projects including Bayfield Ventures and Cypress Development Corp.

About Scotch Creek Ventures

Scotch Creek is a mineral exploration company, focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium projects located in tier-one North American mining jurisdictions. Scotch Creek's mission is to become a best-in-class lithium exploration company situated in one of the most promising lithium districts in the world, Clayton Valley, Nevada.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"David K. Ryan"

David Ryan

Chief Executive Officer

Further information about the Company is available on our website at www.scotch-creek.com or under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on the CSE website at www.thecse.com.

Public Relations Contact

Scotch Creek Ventures Inc.

Telephone: +1.604.283.5636

Email: info@scotch-creek.com

Website: www.scotch-creek.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward- looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to the Company's strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof, and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

SOURCE: Scotch Creek Ventures Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641688/Scotch-Creek-Ventures-Announces-Oversubscribed-Private-Placement-and-Engagement-of-a-Technical-Advisor-to-Complete-a-43-101-Technical-Report
Man arrested after gunshot fired

SHENANDOAH  A man was jailed after being arrested by Shenandoah police for allegedly shooting a firearm inside a borough home around 10 p.m. Monday.

Police said officers were called for a welfare check on Kennedy Collado-Abreu, 38, after family members and friends reported him as behaving irrationally and making alarming statements.

Police said officers Cody Applegate and Adam Sajone knocked on the door of the mans home and then heard gunshots inside.

Collado-Abreu was taken into custody without further incident and no one was injured by the gunshot, police said.

The investigation determined that Collado-Abreu fired the gun after he heard police knocking on the door, believing that someone was coming for him.

At the time the man fired the weapon, police said, a woman and two children were inside the residence.

As a result, police said Collado-Abreu was charged with felony discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, three misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children.

He was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge David Rossi, Tremont, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post $100,000 straight cash bail, police said.

Teen faces charges after STC incident

FRACKVILLE  A 16-year-old Tamaqua boy is facing charges with Schuylkill County Juvenile Probation after an incident at the Schuylkill Technology Center-North Campus in New Castle Township on April 8.

State police at Frackville said the student was found to be in possession of a vape pen and vape cartridges while on school property.

The pen and cartridges tested positive for THC oil, police said.

Police investigating

Ashland burglary

ASHLAND  State police at Frackville are investigating a burglary that happened at a home on Walnut Street around 2 a.m. Monday.

Police said an Ashland man reported a juvenile boy removed his wallet, shoes and medical marijuana from his residence.

There was damage to the back window and door, and police said the suspect fled the area in a dark colored sedan.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 570-874-5300.

Man faces charges after crash

ASHLAND  A 19-year-old Ashland man is facing charges after a crash in the 1300 block of Walnut Street around 10:50 p.m. Sunday.

State police at Frackville said Antonio Deangelo was driving in the area at a high rate of speed when he crashed into legally parked vehicles on the right side of the road.

Deangelo then crashed into a vehicle that was being parked at the time and also into a legally parked vehicle off the left side of the road.

Police said six vehicles were damaged.

Deangelo was taken into custody for DUI and police said charges are pending.

Police investigating

crash on I-81

MAHANOY CITY  State police at Frackville investigated a crash that happened in the northbound lanes of Interstate 81, at mile marker 126.1 in Ryan Township, around 9 p.m. Saturday.

Police said Miles Nolan, 57, of Wilkes-Barre, was driving a 2005 Subaru Forester and claimed he was in the left lane trying to pass another vehicle when that vehicle started to drift into his lane.

Nolan said he swerved to avoid a collision but lost control and went off the road, onto the berm and then up an embankment into a stand of trees, police said.

They added that Nolan suffered injuries in the crash but refused treatment by EMS at the scene.

Police investigating accidental shootingJONESTOWN  State police at Jonestown are investigating an accidental shooting that happened on Cindy Drive in Swatara Township, Lebanon County, around 5 a.m. Saturday.

Police said a 29-year-old Jonestown man was at his home attempting to disassemble a handgun but was unaware the weapon had a round loaded into it.

The gun discharged, shooting the man in his hand, police said.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Albuquerque police have identified the man an officer shot and killed Friday night on the West Side as 51-year-old Juan James Cordova.

In a preliminary statement posted on Twitter early Saturday morning, Police Chief Harold Medina said officers had been dispatched to the 10400 block of Coyote Canyon NW, in Ventana Ranch, for a domestic dispute.

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Officers were dispatched reference a male who was possibly armed and had discharged their firearm, Medina said. As officers were negotiating with the subject at least one additional round was fired and at one point in time an officer did discharge their firearm.

Cordova died at the scene.

Medina said at least one firearm was recovered from him.

The Multi-Agency Task Force made up of local departments is investigating the shooting, which is standard.

The Albuquerque Police Department has not released any other information about the shooting. The department typically holds a briefing several weeks after a police shooting.

Cordova is the third person APD has shot this year, and the second person to be killed.

A woman who was at the house where Cordova was shot declined to talk with the Journal on Wednesday. Neighbors described hearing officers calling for Cordova to give himself up for about an hour before they heard the gunshot.

Jim Madrid, who lives nearby, said he didnt know Cordova but had seen him around. He said he never heard any fighting or commotion coming from the house.

I was shocked because I saw him Friday at 5 oclock in the afternoon, Madrid said. I saw him get on his motorcycle and he went for a ride. That was the last time I saw him. Six hours later he was gone.

Madrid said he had gone to bed Friday night and was awoken by a gunshot a little after 11 p.m.

I got up, opened up my blinds to the kitchen window and I saw (Cordova) lying there in the driveway in front of the garage, Madrid said.

Madrid said another neighbor  who like many in Ventana Ranch had outfitted his home with security cameras  told him officers were standing in that neighbors driveway a couple of houses down from Cordova when the officer fired a single shot, killing him.
While trips abroad are set to increase as COVID restrictions relax, there are questions over whether the pandemic has changed peoples attitudes to flying.

With foreign holidays off the agenda while the government has implemented coronavirus lockdown restrictions, the aviation sector has taken a significant hit over the past year.

Britons are set to be allowed to travel abroad for foreign holidays from 17 May under the governments road map to easing coronavirus restrictions.

However, a new survey has suggested that a majority of adults now intend to fly less once restrictions ease  with COVID and fears for the environment being among the prime concerns.

According to research conducted by the University of Bristol, nearly 58% of the 500 people questioned said they would fly less or much less in future.

Watch: Labour slam announcement on foreign holidays

Nearly 77% said that concerns over COVID might put them off, while 83% said their personal use of air travel contributes to climate change.

Dr Ed Atkins, lecturer in the university's School of Geographical Sciences, who led the study, said: "This survey aims to provide early insights into how the pandemic might affect their attitudes towards flying and the frequency with which they plan to do so going forward.

"This has important consequences for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on this sector for their jobs and livelihoods.

The survey comes after the boss of Europes largest tour company said he is optimistic the summer holiday season can be saved with successful vaccine programmes.

In an interview with the BBC, Tui Group chief executive Friedrich Joussen said bookings in March had hit 2.8 million, with the company expecting to operate up to 75% of its normal schedule for the summer season.

But a committee of MPs warned that vague and costly proposals is not enough to reboot the aviation and tourism sectors, putting the planned restart of international travel next month in jeopardy.

Story continues

The Transport Select Committee said that international travel has had its wings clipped by the government's "cautious" Global Travel Taskforce report.

A sign points the way for a COVID-19 testing centre at Terminal 2 in at London Heathrow Airport. (Getty)

The committee said the report gave insufficient detail to allow businesses and travellers to prepare for the safe resumption of international travel as planned on 17 May.

It also said that, where detail was provided, the costs could be disproportionate to the risk and could add 500 for a family of four travelling to the safest parts of the globe where vaccine rollout is comparable to the UK.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reported that a government official told travel industry figures in a call on Wednesday that there is an aim to give people the ability to prove their vaccine status when international travel starts up again, where such a thing is required by other countries.

Read more: Greece to open tourism services days before foreign holidays to be allowed from UK

Watch: The trainee pilot flying high to beat COVID
A man who allegedly touched a baby, pinched a two-year-old repeatedly and grabbed a young woman on the bottom has been charged.

The 33-year-old from Coogee, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, is accused of grasping a 21-year-old's buttocks at about 10.40am on Wednesday at Westfield Bondi Junction.

He then allegedly approached a woman pushing a pram and touched her baby, before going into a bathroom.

Upon leaving the bathroom, the man allegedly tried to touch a 32-year-old woman on the shoulder.

A 33-year-old man is accused of grasping a 21-year-old's buttocks at Westfield Bondi Junction (pictured)

At 3.10pm on George Street in the CBD, he allegedly approached a woman pushing a two-year-old boy and pinched him multiple times on the leg.

A member of the public tried to intervene but he fled the scene.

Police were called and later arrested the man at Broadway shopping centre in Ultimo.

He is also accused of pinching a toddler repeatedly on George Street in Sydney's CBD (stock image)

He was charged with sexual touching without consent, three counts of common assault, trespass and breach of bail.

The man was refused bail to appear at Central Local Court on Thursday.

Anyone with information about the incidents is urged to Contact Sydney City Police or Crime Stoppers.
 Split Eleventh Circuit panel rejects equal protection challenge to illegal reentry guideline | Main | SCOTUS affirms juve LWOP sentence, 6-3, in Jones v Mississippi 

The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper by multiple authors with this abstract:

Background

The increased risk of COVID-19 infection among incarcerated individuals due to environmental hazards is well known and recent studies have highlighted the higher rates of infection and mortality prisoners in the United States face due to COVID-19. However, the impact of COVID-19 on all-cause mortality rates in incarcerated populations has not been studied.

Methods

Using data reported by the Florida Department of Corrections on prison populations and mortality events we conducted a retrospective cohort study of all individuals incarcerated in Florida state prisons between 2015 and 2020. We calculated excess deaths by estimating age-specific expected deaths from mortality trends in 2015 through 2019 and taking the difference between observed and expected deaths during the pandemic period. We calculated life table measures using standard demographic techniques and assessed significant yearly changes using bootstrapping.

Findings

The Florida Department of Corrections reported 510 total deaths from March 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 among the state prison population. This was 42% higher (rate ratio 1.42, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.89) than the expected number of deaths in light of mortality rates for previous years. Reported COVID-19 deaths in a month were positively correlated with estimated excess deaths (80.4%, p <.01). Using age-specific mortality estimates, we found that life expectancy at age 20 declined by 4 years (95% CI 2.06-6.57) between 2019 and 2020 for the Florida prison population.

Interpretation

The Florida prison population saw a significant increase in all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic period, leading to a decrease in life expectancy of more than four years. Life years lost by the Florida prison population were likely far greater than those lost by the general United States population, as reported by other studies. This difference in years lost highlights the need for increased interventions to protect vulnerable incarcerated populations during pandemics.
Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works and Minister for Sport and Duncan Pegg announces he has cancer and will be taking leave to fight it during Question Time at Parliament House in Brisbane on Nov. 26, 2019. (AAP Image/Glenn Hunt)

Queensland Labor MP Resigns With Heaviest of Hearts Due to Cancer

Queensland MP Duncan Pegg has announced that he is resigning from state politics to focus on his health and treatment for cancer.

The member for Stretton gave his final speech in Parliament on Thursday, where he said that it was with the heaviest of hearts that he will resign in the coming weeks.

Ive been fighting cancer since 2019. Ive been fighting this fight alongside the 30,000 Queenslanders and 130,000 Australians who are diagnosed each year, he told Parliament.

Based on my most recent medical advice, I will no longer be able to continue to both fight cancer and also fight for my local area in the manner in which my community deserves.

In an excerpt published by The Courier Mail, Pegg said he did not want to leave politics or stop representing the community that I love.

But I know that the decision to resign is the right one, he said.

Indeed, it is the only decision that is faithful to my values and work ethic.

While Im sad to soon be leaving this place, I am grateful to have forged so many fantastic memories and achieved so much both locally and statewide.

Pegg used part of his speech to discuss his support for euthanasia.

Following the speech, Pegg published a letter on Twitter hand-written on Parliamentary stationery.

It has been an honour to represent the area I have lived in almost all my adult life, he wrote.

Pegg said he was proud of everything he and his community had achieved during his time in office and that he valued the friendships he had made with many people along the way.

Pegg was first elected in 2015 and first announced that he was undergoing treatment for a common type of cancer in 2019.

He was awarded the Queensland Public Service Award from the Queensland Intercultural Society for his community work in 2017.

Prior to being elected to parliament, Mr Pegg worked as a lawyer focusing on employment and insurance law.

His resignation will trigger a byelection, but his electorate is considered a safe seat for Labor, which increased its margin by 5 percentage points to 14.8 at the October 2020 election.
Get Legs rallied after working out a second-over trip and got up through the lane to win the $69,000 final of the John Brennan Trotting Series on Wednesday night (April 21) at Yonkers Raceway as the 1-9 favourite.

Starting from post six, Get Legs (Andy Miller) didn't have the quickest of beginnings, landing in sixth, but he was able to improve one spot to fifth as Look In My Eyes (Jordan Stratton) miscued on the opening turn. Meanwhile, Lady Jeter (Yannick Gingras) did have a fast start, as she blasted out from post six and established command well before the :28.4 opening quarter.

Guilty Desire (Nick Clegg), who made a brief break just prior to the start, was able to get back on stride quickly and then began a first-over move out of fourth on the second turn, giving Get Legs cover. Guilty Desire advanced into second as Lady Jeter tripped the half-mile point at :59.3, and remained in that position to the 1:28.4 three-quarters as Lady Jeter continued on the front end and gave her two-wide challenger the cold shoulder.

On the far turn, Gingras asked Lady Jeter to accelerate as Get Legs tipped out three-wide, and Lady Jeter responded as she had a couple of lengths on Get Legs turning into the lane. It was not enough, though, as despite drifting out, Get Legs was hand-driven home by Miller and surged by Lady Jeter en route to a 1-/4 length decision in 1:58.3. Tad Krazy Hanover (Scott Zeron) was third, followed by Guilty Desire and Windsong Pioneer (Brent Holland).

Julie Miller trainee Get Legs is a four-year-old son of Muscle Hill owned by Andy Miller Stable and Michael Anderson. Get Legs has compiled a record of 11-0-2 from 13 starts, and he has now pocketed $120,510. He returned $2.10 to win, place and show, and was atop a $15.00 exacta and a $94.50 trifecta.

In the $30,000 consolation event of the series, Halo Its Me (Gingras) sailed to the lead from post seven and reached the opening quarter in :28.2 before yielding to Stinglike A B K (Tyler Buter). Stinglike A B K then made a break prior to the :58.4 half, leaving Halo Its Me back on the point as Blue And Bold (Holland) briefly vacated the cones to go first-over before he went back to the inside on the third turn.

Halo Its Me got some separation on the others going towards three-quarters, which she posted in 1:28, but 3-2 favourite Hunting AS (Todd McCarthy) was making steady progress after tipping out first-up once Blue And Bold elected to drop back down to the pylons and joined Halo Its Me on the last turn. Hunting AS was able to forge his way into the lead in the stretch and then held off a determined bid by Bazillionaire (George Brennan), who surged from second-over, to win by a nose in 1:59.2. Blue And Bold wound up third.

Hunting AS is a four-year-old Lionhunter gelding trained by Jenny Melander for owners Melander Racing Inc., Clark Stables LLC., and Robert Bernaski. Hunting AS picked up his seventh career win, and he has now earned $96,956. Hunting AS paid $5.00 to win and led a $116.50 exacta and a $452.00 trifecta.

Stakes racing at Yonkers Raceway will resume on Friday, May 7 when the track plays host to the Reynolds Stakes, a Grand Circuit event for three-year-old pacers of both sexes.

(Yonkers Raceway)
Amsterdam, 22 April 2021 - Heineken Holding N.V. announced today that its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) has adopted all proposals on the agenda of the AGM. The most important resolutions and announcements are listed below.

Dividend

The Board of Directors announced the distribution of a dividend for the year 2020 of EUR 0.70 per share. The dividend will be made payable on 6 May 2021. Heineken Holding N.V. shares will be quoted ex-dividend on 26 April 2021.

Reappointment of Mr M. Das as non-executive member of the Board of Directors

The AGM reappointed Mr M. Das as non-executive member of the Board of Directors with effect from 22 April 2021, for the maximum period of four years.

Reappointment of Mr A.A.C. de Carvalho as non-executive member of the Board of Directors

The AGM reappointed Mr A.A.C. de Carvalho as non-executive member of the Board of Directors with effect from 22 April 2021, for the maximum period of four years.

Reappointment of External Auditor

The AGM reappointed Deloitte Accountants B.V. as external auditor for the financial year 2022.

The voting results per agenda item of the AGM of Heineken Holding N.V. of 22 April 2021 can be found on the website www.heinekenholding.com.

-ENDS-

Media Heineken Holding N.V.

Kees Jongsma

Tel: +31 6 54 79 82 53

Email: cjongsma@spj.nl

Press enquiries

Sarah Backhouse / Michael Fuchs

E-mail: pressoffice@heineken.com

Tel: +31-20-5239-355

Investor and analyst enquiries

Federico Castillo Martinez/ Janine Ackermann / Robin Achten

E-mail: investors@heineken.com

Tel: +31-20-5239-590

Editorial information:

Heineken Holding N.V. engages in no activities other than its participating interest in Heineken N.V. and the management or supervision of and provision of services to that company.

HEINEKEN is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a portfolio of more than 300 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders. HEINEKEN is committed to innovation, long-term brand investment, disciplined sales execution and focused cost management. Through "Brewing a Better World", sustainability is embedded in the business. HEINEKEN has a well-balanced geographic footprint with leadership positions in both developed and developing markets. HEINEKEN employs more than 80,000 employees and operates breweries, malteries, cider plants and other production facilities in more than 70 countries. Heineken Holding N.V. and Heineken N.V. shares trade on the Euronext in Amsterdam. Prices for the ordinary shares may be accessed on Bloomberg under the symbols HEIO NA and HEIA NA and on Reuters under HEIO.AS and HEIN.AS. HEINEKEN has two sponsored level 1 American Depositary Receiptand www.theHEINEKENcompany.comand follow HEINEKEN on Twitter via @HEINEKENCorp.

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In this Jan. 20 photo, a woman walks before dawn in Toksook Bay, Alaska, a mostly Yuipik village on the edge of the Bering Sea. The U.S. Supreme Court was set to hear oral arguments on April 19 in a case that will determine who is eligible to receive more than $530 million in federal virus relief funding set aside for tribes more than a year ago. More than a dozen Native American tribes sued the U.S. Treasury Department to keep the money out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations, which provide services to Alaska Natives but do not have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.
Nearly half a million students at Indonesian universities are to get access to what is described as a personal cloud solution over the next three years.

Synchronoss Technologies, which specialises in cloud, messaging and digital solutions, has announced a partnership with Telkomsigma, the IT arm of Telkom Indonesia Group, to deliver the Synchronoss Personal Cloud Solution to Indonesian universities.

The Telkom Community Cloud will be offered to students at 25 universities as a tool to securely store, share and transfer academic documents with their professors, school groups and peers.

The white-label Synchronoss Personal Cloud solution will run on top of FLOU, Telkomsigmas multi-cloud platform. First-year students at selected universities will be able to join the new cloud solution beginning in September, with thousands of additional students phased in over the next three years. At the end of the three-year onboarding process, 450,000 students are expected to have access to the new personal cloud solution.

Once they graduate, students will have the option to continue using a paid version of the same solution, giving them the ability to access, store and share their academic files, photos, videos and other personal content after they have left their educational institutions.

The automatic back-up capabilities of the Telkomsigma Community Cloud also protect students from the loss of data due to hardware failure, while the Synchronoss-powered personal cloud allows student data to be stored in-country, helping Telkomsigma to adhere to Indonesian law.
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Chinese FM meets German counterpart via video link

Xinhua) 10:44, April 22, 2021

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas via video link.

Noting China-Germany relations have generally remained stable since last year, Wang said as all-round strategic partners, China and Germany should always follow the important principle and valuable experience of mutual respect, stick to the theme of dialogue and cooperation, and release positive signals of openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results.

The two sides should jointly reject the setback of the so-called "decouple" and be defenders of multilateralism and contributors to global development, Wang added.

Maas said Germany attaches great importance to relations with China and is willing to enhance bilateral dialogue in various fields, strengthen pragmatic cooperation and jointly cope with global issues and challenges.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
CHITA, Russia -- A Russian military appeals court in Siberia has upheld the sentence of Private Ramil Shamsutdinov, who was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in prison in January for killing eight fellow servicemen in a rampage he says was the result of hazing he faced in the army.

Shamsutdinov's lawyers, Ravil Tugushev and Ruslan Nagiyev, said in a post on Instagram that their client's sentence was upheld on April 21.

The lawyers said that it was not immediately clear if there would be a further appeal by the victims' relatives, some of whom had appealed the sentence as too lenient.

Shamsutdinov's defense team has said their client went on a shooting spree in October 2019, killing eight -- including two high-ranking officers -- in the town of Gorny in the Zabaikalye region after being tortured and beaten by other soldiers and officers during his induction into service.

In late December 2020, a jury found Shamsutdinov guilty of murder and attempted murder, but also said he deserved leniency, which according to Russian law meant his sentence shouldn't exceed 13 years and four months in prison.

However,

was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in January, while some of the victims' relatives sought life in prison for him.

The case shocked many in Russia and attracted the attention of rights activists after Shamsutdinov claimed that he committed the act while suffering a nervous breakdown after what he had endured.

The Defense Ministry accepted at the time that Shamsutdinov "had a conflict" with one of the officers he killed. In March 2020, Private Ruslan Mukhatov was found guilty of bullying Shamsutdinov and was handed a suspended two-year prison term.

Deadly shootings among Russian military units as the result of widespread hazing have been a focus of human rights organizations for years.

In November, a soldier at a military air base in the western region of Voronezh shot an officer and two soldiers dead.

In recent years, photos and video footage have been posted online by members of the Russian military that show the severe bullying of young recruits as they are inducted into the army.
Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Lithium Australia's Soluna Australia JV gains CEC approval for 10K Pack HV battery systems for residential applications

Lithium Australia NL's (ASX:LIT) (OTCMKTS:LMMFF) (FRA:3MW) incorporated joint venture, Soluna Australia Pty Ltd has received Clean Energy Council (CEC) approval for the 10K Pack HV pre-assembled battery systems for residential applications.

The CEC, Australia's peak body for the clean-energy sector, requires that all clean-energy products sold in Australia, including those marketed by Soluna Au meet the highest national and international standards.

CEC accreditation assures national power grid operators that products are safe to install countrywide.

In further encouraging news for LIT, Soluna Au has finalised a national distributor agreement with Legend Corporate Services Ltd.



"Timely transaction"

Managing director Adrian Griffin said: "Signing a national distributor agreement will increase our market penetration and rate of sales.

"It is a timely transaction that comes on the back of CEC approval for Soluna's 10-kilowatt hour pack which extends our product range, providing greater choice for consumers."

Soluna Au's 10K Pack HV has been added to the CEC's Battery Assurance Program, which lists all batteries that meet industry best-practice requirements in Australia.

In so doing, it affirms for consumers the safety of these battery products, all of which have been independently tested and certified to confirm their adherence to specific standards of quality and safety.
ANOKA, MN / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Account Medical has released to the world a superb program that will be the new face of safety for all employee emergencies, the "On Demand" program. "We are helping save lives, hands down," says the owner David McDonald.

This new On-Demand software allows a company during an emergency, to quickly access an employee's crucial personal emergency medical information. The On-Demand program utilizes QR Code technology and its own patented programming. This program provides immediate access to an employee's emergency profile that displays critical information such as medical conditions, alerts, allergies, prescriptions, emergency contact information, and other vital details.

The software is most essential during emergencies or when an employee is in a non-responsive state. The program takes a further step so alerts can be made to that individual's emergency contacts and primary care provider.

The On-Demand program's installation process is quick and straightforward. A company completes a brief online registration page after which the company will get a welcome email. The email contains detailed instructions for accessing the company's web link page and sign-in credentials. In addition, you get instructions to the On-Demand app downloads, how employees sign up, and are added to the company web link page.

This simplicity also reflects on the user's side. You simply click on the On-Demand app where you immediately view your organization's web link page that showcases a list of your employees' names and their QR Codes. To view that individual's personal emergency medical profile, you just need to tap on the QR code displayed next to their name. The On-Demand program also provides the ability to forward the profile to oncoming first responders or health care facilities as needed.

Account Medical is raising the bar with On-Demand programming.

Since time is critical in any emergency and with such an effective system like the On-Demand program, all companies can assist help saving the lives of their employees. On-Demand increases a much faster delivery of the right treatment regimen or first aid services during emergencies based on a patient's medical profile. This profile information can also be forwarded to oncoming first responders.

For more information on Account Medical's On Demand program and product demonstrations, check out how On Demand works.

About Account Medical:

Account Medical and programs like On Demand, is striving to significantly reduce the complexity and confusion linked with the maintenance and operation of health records industry. In addition, the company seeks to assist healthcare organizations in their productivity by significantly improving the accessibility of patients' health records instantly, particularly during an emergency.

For more information visit www.AccountMedical.com or email David McDonald at: dmcdonald@accountmedical.com.

For more information about Account Medical LLC, contact the company here:

Account Medical LLC

C/O David McDonald

651-401-8089

dmcdonald@accountmedical.com

749 E River Rd, Anoka, Minnesota, 55303, United States

SOURCE: Account Medical LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641707/Account-Medical-LLC-Releases-the-New-On-Demand-Program-for-Employees-During-Emergencies
New Delhi, April 22 : Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the government has not learnt any lesson from the past and its vaccine policy is arbitrary and discriminatory.

In her letter to the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi said, "It's surprising that despite the harsh lessons of last year and pain inflicted to our citizens, the government continues to follow an arbitrary and discriminatory policy which promises to exacerbate existing challenges." The Congress President said that the policy implies that the government has "abdicated" its responsibility for free vaccination to all.

She asked why the government is allowing profiteering by the companies manufacturing the vaccine in the country.

The Congress demanded that there should be free vaccination for all regardless of the economic condition and the policy should be reversed as there should be uniform pricing of the vaccine.

Sonia Gandhi's letter comes in the wake of the Serum Institute of India (SII) announcing on Wednesday that Covishield vaccine will be sold at Rs 400 per dose to the state government and Rs 600 to private hospitals.

The SII, an Indian biotechnology and pharmaceuticals company, issued a statement after the government allowed vaccination of all persons above the age of 18 from May 1. The decision was announced after a meeting of the Prime Minister with pharma companies, doctors, Cabinet ministers in-charge of health, drugs and officials spanning multiple nodal ministries.

Serum chief Adar Poonawalla welcomed the government's announcement to accelerate India's vaccination drive. "The promising directives will help to scale up vaccine production, and allow state governments, private hospitals, and vaccination centres to procure vaccines directly," Poonawalla said.

He added that for the next two months, they will address the limited capacity by scaling up the vaccine production.
Samsung is rolling out a new update to its first-generation Galaxy Watch as well as the Galaxy Watch 3. The latest update for the two Galaxy wearables brings minor stability and performance improvements to a couple of features.

According to the official changelog, the new update improves the performance and stability of the messaging app on both the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Wath 3. It also improves Wi-Fi stability. This should mean more reliable connectivity. The changelog for the Galaxy Watch further includes that generic improved system stability and reliability pointer that we see in almost every official software update changelog from Samsung.

Thats pretty much it as far as changes brought in by the latest update are concerned. The Galaxy Watch 3 is currently picking up this update in the US, Canada, India, and South Korea, with Tizen version 5.5.0.2. It comes with the firmware version R840XXU1BUD1 and weighs 35.28MB over the air (OTA). The build number may vary slightly depending on the market and model though.

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The first-gen Galaxy Watch, on the other hand, is currently receiving the latest update in Samsungs home country South Korea only. The update is based on Tizen version 5.5.0.1 and bears the firmware version R810XXU1FUD1 for the 46mm variant of the watch. It goes without saying that the build number would vary slightly depending on the market and model.

Nonetheless, if you own either of the two Samsung smartwatches, expect to receive the new update in the coming days. You can check and download the OTA update from the Galaxy Wearable app.

Samsung rolls out a new update for the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Watch 3

Samsung is due to launch new smartwatches this year, with the Galaxy Watch 4 being one of them. The company is said to ditch Tizen in favor of Wear OS for its next-gen smartwatch. It will be Samsungs first Android-powered smartwatch since the Galaxy Gear Live back in 2014. All of the Korean firms smartwatches have since come with the Tizen OS.

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Anyways, while the wait for the Galaxy Watch 4 continues, its predecessors are picking up new updates. Both the Galaxy Watch as well as the Watch 3 received major updates earlier in February, introducing several new features. Samsung is now following that release with another update thats starting to roll out this week.

Although its a minor update, we expect Samsung to bring these changes to the Galaxy Watch Active as well as the Active 2 soon. So if you own any of these Samsung wearables, be on the lookout for a new OTA update in the coming days.
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.
UW Scientists Probe Mysterious Melting of Earths Crust in Western North America

From left, UW students Shane Scoggin, Adam Trzinski and Jessie Shields are part of new research investigating crustal melting in western North America. Here, they examine igneous rocks in the Snake Range of Nevada. (Jay Chapman Photo)

A group of University of Wyoming professors and students has identified an unusual belt of igneous rocks that stretches for over 2,000 miles from British Columbia, Canada, to Sonora, Mexico.

The rock belt runs through Idaho, Montana, Nevada, southeast California and Arizona.

Geoscientists usually associate long belts of igneous rocks with chains of volcanoes at subduction zones, like Mount Shasta, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainer, says Jay Chapman, an assistant professor in UWs Department of Geology and Geophysics. What makes this finding so interesting and mysterious is that this belt of igneous rocks is located much farther inland, away from the edge of the continent, and doesnt contain any evidence for producing volcanoes. In fact, all of the melting to generate the igneous rocks originally took place deep underground, five to 10 miles beneath the surface.

Chapman is lead author of a paper, titled The North American Cordilleran Anatectic Belt, which was published online in February in the journal Earth-Science Reviews. The print version will be published this month.

The paper is a result of a special course taught by Simone Runyon, an assistant professor in UWs Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Chapman. Runyon, six UW graduate students and one undergraduate student, who took part in the course, are co-authors of the paper.

It was really fascinating to start with a scientific question in a classroom, then collect and analyze data, and eventually publish our results, says Cody Pridmore, a UW graduate student from Orange, Calif., and co-author of the paper. Its a process most college students dont get to experience.

UW student Cody Pridmore, who is part of new research investigating crustal melting in western North America, examines igneous rocks in the Coyote Mountains of Arizona. (Jay Chapman Photo)

One clue to the origin of the belt of igneous rocks is that the rocks chiefly formed 80 million to 50 million years ago, during a mountain-building event called the Laramide orogeny.

The Laramide orogeny created most of the major mountain ranges we have in Wyoming, and the name actually comes from the Laramie Range, Chapman says. Although there are no igneous rocks of this type and age present in those mountains, we suspect that the tectonic processes that created the mountains also contributed to melting Earths crust.

The researchers have several working hypotheses about what caused the rocks to melt. One hypothesis is that water infiltrated the deep crust.

The geochemistry of these rocks indicates that melting may have occurred at relatively low temperatures, below 800 degrees Celsius, says Jessie Shields, a Ph.D. student at UW from Minneapolis, Minn., who is working to solve this mystery. That is still very hot, but not hot enough to produce very large volumes of magma. Water lowers the melting point of rocks, similar to how salt lowers the melting point of ice, and could increase the amount of magma generated.

This work has implications for what causes rocks to melt and where specific types of magmas can be found.

Many of the igneous systems in the study area contain economically important ore deposits, says Runyon, who specializes in ore deposits. Understanding the large-scale igneous processes that form these provinces helps us to better understand how ore deposits form and to better explore for natural resources.

The research project is a joint effort involving UW; Andy Barth, a professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; and Gordon Haxel, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist based in Flagstaff, Ariz. Other UW students involved were graduate students Brandi Lawler, of Gordon, Wisc.; Shane Scoggin, of Reston, Va.; Nathan Swaim, of Monument, Colo.; and Adam Trzinski, of Manteno, Ill.; and undergraduate Hannah Wiley, of Sheridan.
Close your eyes for a minute and try to imagine this city without our white-tiled wonder on Bennelong Point, the Sydney Opera House.

A building that changed the image of an entire country, architect Frank Gehry said in 2003, when awarding the Pritzker prize, architectures highest accolade, to Jorn Utzon, the Dane who dreamt up the design yet died without seeing it completed.

The Opera House sails in 2021. Credit:Wolter Peeters

One of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind, UNESCO described it in 2007 when our signature structure joined the World Heritage list.

Before the city got tapped on the shoulder by a rainbow, as former prime minister Paul Keating said of what he calls the best building of the last century, Sydney was a town; after it became an international destination.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved the 2020 government budget performance report for submitting to parliament.

Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan, speaking at the Cabinet meeting, noted that in 2019 the Armenian economy experienced growth. The Armenian economy grew 7,6%, this created opportunities to change the goal of fulfilling obligations. The 2019 growth enabled to revise the resources envisaged for spending policy, he said, adding that in 2020 the government received the fastest assistance from the IMF given the projection of decline.

According to Janjughazyan, albeit the government had projected economic drop in the crisis period, all assumed obligations were fulfilled. At the same time, he admitted that shortcomings were inevitable.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that there were many speculations regarding the 2020 budget in relation to the money transferred by the Hayastan All Armenian fund. Conditioned by the martial law, the government implemented allocations of nearly 120 billion drams, out of which 52 billion drams is the money allocated by the fund, Pashinyan said, adding that the funds board of trustees has expressed confidence that the money was spent in a targeted way. PM Pashinyan expressed gratitude to all donors and emphasized that donations during the 2020 war alone amount to nearly 70% of all the money which the fund collected since its creation.

He added that the government and the fund will implement a 110 billion dram project in Artsakh in the next three years. Pashinyan said the project is bigger than the fund has ever done in 29 years in Artsakh.

The PM emphasized that they will scrutinize the 120 billion dram military spending in a closed-door format so that the subject is once and for all closed.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Washington, April 22 : US President Joe Biden will pledge on Thursday to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by half by the end of the decade compared to 2005 levels, officials said.

The promise will come at an online summit Biden is convening with 40 world leaders aimed at getting the major economies to set more ambitious carbon-slashing goals, the dpa news agency reported.

The two-day meeting, which opens later on Thursday, is seen as important preparation ahead of the next UN climate crisis conference, to be held in Glasgow in November.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will join the video conference, in what is seen as a goodwill gesture after a rocky start to Beijing's relationship with the new administration in the White House.

China is the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide gases, followed by the US, India and Russia, according to the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based group.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Xi would deliver an "important speech" to his counterparts.

Biden will announce his intention to cut emissions by between 50 per cent and 52 per cent at the economy-wide level, a White House statement said.

The pledge doubles the promise made by former President Barack Obama, but gives the current administration five more years to meet its goal.

In 2015, the US had committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2025, compared to 2005 levels, as a contribution to the global Paris Agreement.

One of Biden's first acts in office was to return his country to the 2015 climate accord, which his predecessor, Donald Trump, had pulled from.

The White House outlined several paths to help meet the 2030 goal, but offered few details. It said cutting tailpipe emissions, boosting vehicle efficiency standards, and investing in transportation infrastructure and new technologies would help get the US on track.

Another priority is to focus on heavy cuts to emissions of methane - a major contributor to global warming.

Biden had previously announced the goal of reaching "100 per cent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035" and a net-zero US emissions economy by no later than 2050.

On Wednesday, the European Union officially committed to at least a 55-per-cent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Britain, meanwhile, said this week it is aiming by 2035 to reduce emissions by at least 78 per cent below 1990 levels.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to expand further on his pledge at Thursday's event and urge other countries to use 2021 as a time to set their ambitious plans.

"If we actually want to stop climate change, then this must be the year in which we get serious about doing so. Because the 2020s will be remembered either as the decade in which world leaders united to turn the tide, or as a failure," Johnson is expected to say in a speech seen by dpa.

Other world leaders scheduled to participate at the summit include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide said on Thursday that his country will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 per cent from the 2013 levels by 2030, according to broadcaster NHK.

Yoshihide also said that Japan wants to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

More than 120 countries have made net zero commitments to date, covering 65 per cent of global carbon emissions.

But scientists say the world is not collectively moving fast enough to avert the worst effects of climate change by keeping warming to below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

The World Meteorological Organization said in January that Earth is on pace for "a catastrophic temperature rise of 3 to 5-degree Celsius this century" unless urgent action is taken.
Pastor Tim Keller on cancer, death and the hope of the resurrection (exclusive)

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For Pastor Tim Keller, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than an abstract belief that good will triumph over evil one day. Its a powerful, life-altering truth that gives him hope, peace and comfort as he faces his own mortality.

When you know you could die very, very soon, you realize that you basically live in denial of the fact of your death, Keller told The Christian Post. When it suddenly strikes you, you have to ask, Do I have the faith for this? Do I believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened and that if I die in faith in Jesus, I will know that resurrection too?

Last May, the 70-year-old founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and chairman of Redeemer City to City, was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, a particularly aggressive disease that typically claims its victims within a year  and its usually a very difficult year, he said.

But Keller is optimistic about beating those odds. Though acknowledging that his situation is very serious, the pastor said that thanks to his bodys positive response to chemotherapy, he likely has years and not months left.

My wife Kathy and I are pretty grateful; it looks like Ive got more time than we thought when we originally got the diagnosis, he said.

One of the most respected Christian thinkers of the 21st century, Keller last spoke to CP in April 2020, just weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York City and the world, and before he received his cancer diagnosis. Around that time, the pastor was about a fourth of the way through writing a book on the resurrection, titled,Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter.

Initially, Hope in Times of Fear was meant as a companion book to his 2016 book, Hidden Christmas, a series of meditations on the meaning of Christmas and the incarnation  but then suddenly were in lockdown, and then I found out I had cancer, and the book completely changed, Keller recalled.

Here I am, writing a book about the resurrection, and I realized I only half-believed I was going to die. I went back and realized that in some ways, I also only half-believed in the resurrection  not intellectually so much, but all the way down deep in my heart. I realized I needed to have a greater, a deeper faith in the resurrection, both intellectually and mentally, he continued.

While undergoing treatment for cancer over the next several months, Keller said he did both intellectual and emotional work, looking at the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ while also immersing himself in prayer and in Scripture, asking the Holy Spirit to make it real to his heart.

It took several months in which I had to take my abstract belief down into my heart to existentially and experientially know it and grow in assurance, and it worked, he said. If you are willing to embrace the truth of God's Word and immerse yourself in it day in and day out, and then ask the Holy Spirit to make it real to your heart, He will.

Most people, Keller contended, live in denial of death. But facing ones own mortality and spiritual reality, he said, both changes the way we view our time on Earth and magnifies the transformative power of the resurrection.

The things of Earth become less crucial. They're not so important to you; you realize you dont need them to be happy. Once I believe that I start to enjoy them more. I don't try to turn them into God; I don't try to turn them into Heaven, which is the only thing that can really satisfy my heart, he explained.

You find that you have to really have a real spiritual experience of God's reality so that the things of this Earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace, Keller said, quoting the century-old hymn.

The pastor acknowledged that his cancer diagnosis puts him in a position to speak to the power of living in light of the resurrection. But the process, he said, does not need to begin with something as shocking to the system as the verdict of imminent death.

Its possible to practice this in the smaller deaths that we all experience, such as the loss of a career, friend, or loved one, Keller said. In those painful situations, you have to do essentially the same thing that you have to do when you're told youre going die: You have to take something abstract that you believe about God and make it real to your heart so He becomes your consolation. You're no longer looking to the things of this world to be your salvation.

In Hope in Times of Fear, Keller also addresses how the Bible connects the resurrection and New Creation to race, social relationships, systemic injustice, and sexuality  all issues he believes Christians have a responsibility to care about.

The resurrection means that God has not at all given up on the world, he writes. But beyond that, it gives meaning to suffering and gives hope that through the suffering will come healing. The resurrection guarantees that this renewal is certain, and is also a call for Christians to work now against what is wrong and unjust.

Out of the dozens of books hes written over the years, Keller said he felt the most divine guidance and help while penning his latest.

I really did find a great deal of help and comfort and spiritual enrichment during those months, Keller said. Usually, books are written after you've been through something. In this case, the book was the way in which I got through it.

Books, Keller said, are funny; books are like people.

A lot of people will praise a book, and I'll read it and I'll say, It was good, but didn't grab me, and then I'll pick up some other books that nobody's ever talked to me about and its just life-changing, he said.

But if anyone is going to "read a Tim Keller book," he said, he suggests his 2008 book Prodigal God, along with Hope in Times of Fear.

I'm not saying they're the two best books I've ever written, but they include the message I'd like to get across about what Christianity is all about. To me, Im giving you what I believe the essence of the Christian Gospel is in these two books.

As he faces what he acknowledges might be the final season of his life, Keller said hes ready for anything, adding: What the future holds, I dont know. Pray that I would have years and not months left, and that the chemotherapy would continue to be effective. But we are ready for whatever God decides for me. Were spiritually ready.

I do know, he added, that the resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened. And when I die, I will know that resurrection too.
After kicking off the session on a gap-down note amid a record spike of over 3 lakh Covid-19 cases in the country, Indian bounced back in afternoon deals, as investors resorted to low-level buying encouraged by firm global cues and drop in US bond yields.

The BSE barometer Sensex ended the session at 48,081, up 375 points, mainly led by strength in the banking and financial counters. The index, meanwhile, gyrated 939 points in intra-day trade today as volatility remained high on weekly f&o expiry. Its NSE counterpart Nifty closed the session 110 points higher at 14,406.

On technical front, Nifty is expected to range between 14200 and 14500 levels, and it will be crucial for the short-term market scenario to break the zone, said Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research at CapitalVia Global Research.

In the 30-pack index, ICICI Bank was the top performer in today's session with a gain of 3.3%, followed by HDFC, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and SBI that rose over 2% each. Titan, HUL, Ultratech Cement and Nestle were among the losers and shed between 2-3%.

Sectorally, barring FMCG, pharma and IT, all indices ended on a firm footing with Bank Nifty in the lead with a gain of 2.15%. Financials followed suit and clocked 2.13% rise. Meanwhile, metals and media indices added nearly 2% each.

Broader too joined the rally in the benchmark with Nifty Midcap index rising 0.46% and the Nifty Smallcap index 0.85%.

On the stock specific front, shares of Aurobindo Pharma were in focus after media reports stated that Pfizer is likely to sign vaccine agreement with the firm. The stock ended the day up 0.16% at Rs 989 on the BSE after jumping nearly 3% in intra-day. That apart, Pfizer said it is in discussions with India and committed to make its Covid-19 vaccine available for deployment in the country at a not-for-profit price.

Den Networks slipped 6.75% while those of TV18 Broadcast rallied 19.6% after the merger of Den Networks, TV18 Broadcast, and Hathway Cable & Datacom into Network18 Media was called off by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL).

ICICI Securities rallied 5.62% after the companys consolidated profit after tax more-than-doubled on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 329 crore on the back of a 54 per cent YoY growth in revenue at Rs 739 crore.

Panacea Biotech stock was locked in 10 per cent upper circuit for the second straight day, at Rs 323.70, hitting an over 12-year high on the BSE on Thursday. Thus far in the month of April, the market price of Panacea Biotech has zoomed 83 per cent after the company and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) agreed to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine in India per year.

Shares of HCL Technologies ended lower by 0.03% ahead of its March quarter results on Friday. Brokerages expect the IT company to post a 26-31% QoQ decline in PAT on account of one-time bonus impact.

In an update on the Covid front, the Supreme Court told the Centre that it wants a national plan on issues including supply of oxygen and essential drugs for treatment of patients infected with the virus. Taking suo motu cognisance of the prevailing grim situation across the country, a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it would also consider the matter pertaining to the method and manner of COVID-19 vaccination in the country.

That apart, the Centre fixed April 24 as registration date for vaccination for all candidates above 18 years of age. However, India will have to wait till May end for its third vaccine candidate as it will start receiving Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine by that time, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories told Reuters, a later than expected schedule that could slow the country's immunisation drive.

Lastly, on global market front, stocks edged higehr as investors diverged over whether to bet on economic recovery in the United States and other developed or worry about a surge in Covid-19 cases in India and elsewhere. MSCI's broadest global gauge of stocks was up 0.2% in early European deals while STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei 225 settled 2.4% higher.

US stock futures, meanwhile, pointed to a flat open on Wall Street, albeit within touching distance of a record high.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will provide Ukraine with technical assistance in the amount of about UAH 25 million to overcome the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine Svitlana Shatalova said.

"The Ministry of Health and the international organization UNDP signed an agreement to provide technical assistance to Ukraine to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total amount of the agreement is almost UAH 25 million," she said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to the Deputy Minister, the funds are planned to be spent on launching IT solutions and additional modules for tracking contact persons of patients with COVID-19, improving the analytical module for operational forecasting the spread of the disease, developing training materials for health workers, as well as helping communities in informing vulnerable segments of population about the fight with COVID-19. This agreement is stipulated until 2024.
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - A Clay County woman returned home today after a three-and-a-half-month battle with the coronavirus.

Susan Martin was admitted to the North Mississippi Medical Center on January 7. Wednesday, hospital workers celebrated her as she left the hospital.

Susan Martin stops for a picture with Nurse Lauren Holcom, before leaving The NMMC after staying for 106 days. Susan Martin stops for a picture with Nurse Lauren Holcom, before leaving The NMMC after staying for 106 days.

Martin stayed in the hospital for 106 days after medical staff diagnosed her.

I'm thankful for all the friends, family, people I don't know, people from different continents even for keeping me in their prayers," said Martin. "I believe God answered everyone's prayers.

A special group of people helped Martin celebrate her discharge including Martins mom Margie Cartee.

She has been a miracle, no doubt about it, shes a miracle," said Cartee.

One of Martin's nurses, Lauren Holcomb, showed up on her off-day to celebrate the discharge.

Its uplifting to us the staff members to get to see somebody on the other side of COVID, when weve seen them at their lowest when they're fighting it," said Holcomb.

Martin said the virus caused her to forget some things about her stay, but said that may have been for the best.

I actually don't remember anything until I woke up with a trach in, I have little bits of memories of things," said Martin. "I think it was just Gods way of letting my body heal. It helped me by not being anxious because once I finally woke up, I had a lot of anxiety.

Before she left the hospital, Martin said she takes nothing for granted..

Nobody is promised tomorrow," said Martin.

She added that she is looking forward to continuing her recovery process at home.
Convictions like Chauvins are extraordinarily rare. Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the US since 2005, fewer than 140 officers have been charged and just seven convicted of murder, according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University. This is a success, but there are so many more unjust murders that still need reckoning, that we still need to address, said Princess Blanding, a Virginia gubernatorial candidate whose brother was killed by Richmond police. Marcus-David Peters, who was black, was fatally shot by a black police officer during a mental health crisis after he ran naked onto an interstate highway and charged at the officer. In Columbus, Bryant had been swinging a knife wildly at another girl or woman pinned against a car when the officer fired after shouting at the girl to get down, according to police and body camera video released within hours of the shooting. The mayor mourned the 16-year-olds death but said the officer had acted to protect someone else. Kimberly Shepherd, who lives in the neighbourhood where Bryant was killed, had been celebrating the guilty verdict in Floyds killing when she heard the news about the teenager.

We were happy about the verdict. But you couldnt even enjoy that, Shepherd said. Because as youre getting one phone call that he was guilty, Im getting the next phone call that this is happening in my neighbourhood. In Chauvins case, by contrast, mobile phone video seen around the world showed the white officer pressing his knee to the black mans neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd gasped for air. It sparked protests across the US, Australia and much of the world, and Chauvins fellow officers took the extraordinary step of testifying against him. As we look to future prosecution, the question is going to be: is this perhaps the beginning of a new era, where those walls of silence are not impenetrable? said Miriam Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor and executive director of the reform-minded group Fair and Just Prosecution. Chauvins case could also make future juries more sceptical of police, she said. On Thursday, US time, a funeral will be held for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black motorist who was shot during a traffic stop earlier this month in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just a few kilometres from the court where the Chauvin trial unfolded. In Chicago last month, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot less than a second after he tossed a gun and began raising his hands as an officer had commanded. Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was jailed for the killing of Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Credit:Star Tribune/AP

Police officer Kim Potter, who is white, has been charged with second-degree murder in Wrights shooting. The former police chief said Potter mistakenly fired her handgun when she meant to use her Taser. She resigned afterwards and was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Wrights family has called for more serious charges, comparing her case to the murder charge brought against Mohamed Noor, a black officer, who killed Australian Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a white woman, in nearby Minneapolis in 2017. The Cook County state attorneys office will decide whether to charge Eric Stillman, the white police officer who shot Adam in a Chicago alley on March 29 in Little Village, a predominantly Hispanic neighbourhood in the south-west side. The boy, who was Latino, appeared to drop a handgun moments before the officer shot him. The graphic video of the boys death sparked outrage across the US, but some legal experts have said they dont believe Stillman could or should be charged under criteria established by a landmark 1989 Supreme Court ruling on the use of force by police. A citizen speaks with an officer in front of the municipal building after a deputy shot and killed a black man while executing a search warrant in North Carolina on Thursday (AEST). Credit:AP Instead of just prosecuting officers after shootings happen, more must be done to prevent such encounters from happening in the first place, said Eugene Collins, who was a local organiser for the NAACPs Baton Rouge, Louisiana, branch when Alton Sterling, a black man selling CDs in front of a convenience store, was shot and killed by a white police officer in July 2016. The two officers involved in the encounter werent charged in his death. Were pulled over more, stopped and frisked more, said Collins, now head of the NAACP branch. Its about putting responsibility on the policymakers.

Activists say the fight for police reform and a more just legal system is far from over. Rachael Rollins, the first woman of colour to become district attorney in Massachusetts, said it must start in part by breaking down the misconception that questioning the police or suggesting ways they can improve means you dont back the blue. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video The police have an incredibly hard job, and believe me, I know there are violent people that harm community and police but thats not all of us. So we have to acknowledge that its not working and we have to sit together to come up with solutions, but its urgent, said Rollins, the district attorney for Suffolk County, which includes Boston. Im afraid, Im exhausted and Im the chief law enforcement officer so imagine what other people feel like, she said.

Local NAACP leader Keith Rivers said Brown was black. Loading Wooten did not identify the deputy and did not say what the warrant was for. Court records show Brown was 42 years old and had a history of drug charges and a misdemeanour drug possession conviction. The deputy was wearing an active body camera at the time of the shooting, said Wooten, who declined to say how many shots the deputy fired or release any other details, citing a pending review by the State Bureau of Investigation. WAVY-TV reported that neighbours heard multiple shots. A car removed from the scene appeared to have multiple bullet holes and a broken rear windshield.

Among the roughly 100 people who gathered at the scene of the shooting was Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County chapter of the NAACP, who criticised the sheriffs office for taking hours to release details. Loading When is it going to stop? We just got a verdict yesterday, Rivers said in a phone interview, referring to the guilty verdicts handed down in the Chauvin trial. Is it open season now? At some point, it has to stop. We have to start holding the people in charge accountable. Browns grandmother, Lydia Brown, and his aunt, Clarissa Brown Gibson, said they learnt about his death through a TV news report. Both said they wanted the shooting thoroughly investigated.
He's set to play spymaster Major Dalby in the upcoming The Ipcress File remake.

And Tom Hollander cut a very dapper figure as he filmed scenes for the six-part ITV series in Zagreb, Croatia, on Thursday.

The Night Manager star, 53, donned a long black jacket paired with a smart hat and large umbrella as he strolled along the street.

In character: Tom Hollander cut a very dapper figure as he filmed scenes as spymaster Major Dalby for the six-part ITV series in Zagreb, Croatia, on Thursday

Tom looked extremely smart in his 1960s costume which consisted of a white shirt and tie paired with a brown tailored suit.

He ensured to keep things respectable with a pair of black gloves and matching leather shoes.

During the day's shoot, Tom was seen putting his hat on outside a building and walking along the street while several other actors chatted around him.

Other shots showed Tom inside a phone booth and members of the crew moving around props to transform the area into 1960s Berlin.

Looking the part: The Night Manager star, 53, donned a long black jacket paired with a smart hat and large umbrella as he strolled along the street

In the 1965 espionage movie, Major Dalby was played by Nigel Green while Michael Caine played the lead role of Harry Palmer.

The Ipcress File is an ITV six-part series remake of the 1965 British espionage film starring Michael Caine and is being filmed on location in Liverpool and Croatia.

Filming began last month on Exchange Street West, close to Liverpool Town Hall, which had been transformed into 1960s London.

The series has been written by Trainspotting writer John Hodge and the all-star cast also includes The Night Manager's Tom Hollander and Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole.

At work: Tom was also seen acting inside a phone booth while several camera men wore masks outside

Getting notes? He paused to chat to another man during the shoot outside the yellow building

Tipping his hat: Tom ensured to keep things respectable with a pair of black gloves, matching leather shoes and a large umbrella

Joe takes on the lead role as Harry Palmer, a working-class British sergeant in Berlin as the Cold War rages in the sixties.

Joe's character - famously played by Michael Caine - is slated as being 'sharp and savvy' with a series of side-hustles that could potentially land him in hot water with the law.

However an intelligence officer notices his abilities and offers him a way to dodge jail by becoming a spy for the British government.

Palmer undertakes his first case known as The Ipcress File, which involves using his links to a man believed to have kidnapped a British nuclear scientist.

Here he comes: Several extras could be seen in 1960s dress as Tom walked out of the building

Filming: A large green and white bus was prominent in another scene which involved several other people speaking in a group

Hard at work: Other shots saw members of the crew moving around props to transform the area into 1960s Berlin

Lucy will play the glamorous Jean Courtney, originally played by Sue Lloyd.

The protagonist is assigned an assistant, Jean, a beautiful young woman towards whom he begins to develop romantic feelings.

The original espionage film and its following sequels were a deliberately downbeat alternative to the hugely successful James Bond films.

Despite this, one of the early Bond producers, Harry Saltzman and others were brought into work on the Palmer series.

Palmer is a contrast to Bond's privileged private school upbringing and lives and works in a 'gloomy' London, where he resides in a Notting Hill bedsit.

Remake: The Ipcress File is an ITV six-part series remake of the 1965 film starring Michael Caine and is being filmed on location in Liverpool and Croatia (pictured the shoot on Thursday)

Set in winter? What appeared to be snow was placed on the edges of the concrete steps during one scene involving two other actors

The original film was produced at Pinewood studios while also being shot on location around London.

It is now included on the British Film Institute's list of 100 of the best British films of the 20th century, ranking at number 59.

It has been reported by Deadline that the production is being produced by The Crown's Andrew Eaton and directed by Black Mirror's James Watkins.

The original Ipcress File was awarded three BAFTAs and the novel has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. It also kicked off a series of seven other books, meaning there is scope for further series if this one proves a ratings hit.

Writer Hodge told the publication: 'This is a wonderful opportunity to inhabit a time when the post-war world was morphing into the way we live now, when social mobility, civil rights, and modern feminism were forcing their way into public consciousness, and all of it happening with the world divided in two and both halves threatening to blow the whole thing sky high.'
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded a coveted Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million over the next five years to Prof. Dr. William Martin, Head of the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf (HHU), for his work on life's origin and early evolution. This marks the third time that Prof. Martin has received an Advanced Grant, an extremely rare distinction among leading European researchers.

The work in Prof. Dr. William Martin's department strives to deliver science and society a better understand the origin of life on Earth roughly four billion years ago. His research is build upon the very simple idea that evidence for the very early course of microbial evolution should be preserved within the metabolism of modern cells. In order to uncover evidence for the ancient past in biochemical pathways, one has to have an archaeologists' intuition, that is, one has to look in the metabolism of ancient microbial lineages. In addition, one has to use the right 'magnifying glass' in order to identify ancient biochemical traits. For Prof. Martin, this magnifying glass is the chemical energy that propels life forward: "Life is a chemical reaction that releases energy. There are no exceptions to this rule."

To shed light on how the chemical reaction of life arose, the Dusseldorf-based biologist and his team will be focussing on the key role of energy in central metabolic processes. Their research uses three kinds of data that are linked by the common thread of enzymes. These catalysts of life accelerate and facilitate chemical reactions that have a natural tendency to occur anyway.

The first area of the project involves measuring the energy surrounding the process of metabolic origin in search of traces of the chemical environment at the site of biochemical origins. The type and number of chemical reaction partners from which the cells obtain their substance as well as by the sensitivity of those reactions to pH and temperature should uncover insights into the ecological setting of life's origin.

The second project area relates to the ability of simple minerals occurring in hydrothermal vents to substitute for enzymes in biochemical reactions. Prof. Martin wants to gain further information about abiotic catalysts for the chemical reactions of metabolic origin and, in doing so, about the specific chemical environment that fostered the origin of life.

The third area is concerned with tracing the path taken by the first cells upon leaving their site of origin and learning to live on their own on the early inhospitable Earth. A key role in that process was played by particular electron carriers, iron-containing proteins known as cytochromes. Prof. Martin will investigate the ecological setting surrounding the evolutionary origin of these compounds.

The primary focus and unifying theme of all three project areas is the chemistry of hydrothermal vents, which are central to Prof. Martin's theory on the origin of life, a model that is now included in modern microbiology textbooks. His first two Advanced Grants dealt with networks as models for understanding the evolutionary process (2009-2013) and with the use of information form whole genomes to reconstruct the course of early evolution (2015-2020). His third ERC grant now homes in on the nature of energy that drove life's first chemical reactions.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Andrea Icks, Vice-President for Research and Transfer at HHU, has congratulated Prof. Martin on his extraordinary success: "The ERC Advanced Grant is awarded only to a small number of leading-edge researchers. William Martin has received this distinction for the third time already, putting him at the very top of his field internationally. We are proud to have a researcher of his calibre at HHU."

ERC Advanced Grant

The European Research Council is an organisation for funding frontier scientific research conducted within the European Union. It encourages scientists from the EU to submit their proposals for new research projects in competitions. It supports both emerging and established researchers across various areas of funding.

ERC Advanced Grants are geared to established, active scientists with an excellent scientific track record. Scientific achievements over the ten years prior to the proposal are taken into account. Publications in international journals, patents, conference contributions, research awards and academic memberships are all considered in the evaluation. ERC Advanced Grants are awarded for a maximum amount of EUR 2.5 million and a period of up to five years. Project proposals are evaluated in a multi-stage peer review by independent experts solely on the basis of scientific excellence.

The special distinction of receiving an ERC Advanced Grant is also reflected in the success rate, which was 7.5 percent for the current competition.

###
Votes are counted by staff at the Maricopa County Elections Department office in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 5, 2020. (Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images)

Arizonas Maricopa County Delivers Ballots, Equipment for 2020 Election Audit

Voting equipment and more than 2 million ballots are being delivered to a facility in Arizonas Maricopa County this week in preparation for a 2020 election audit set to start on April 23.

Equipment, including 385 tabulators, was delivered and unloaded at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on April 21, while boxes of the ballots began arriving early on April 22.

Maricopa County officials arranged for the deliveries, which took several trips and were supported by Maricopa County Sheriffs Office personnel, to comply with subpoenas from the state Senate.

Officials who had sought to resist the subpoenas were overruled by a judge in February.

Workers with four firms, including Cyber Ninjas, will conduct the audit of 2.1 million ballots. Theyre receiving $150,000. A One America News host helped raise at least another $150,000 for the effort.

The audit will be streamed live on One America News Network; people also can watch the audit here and on The Epoch Times website.

Auditors will examine the states system that checks voters in at polling sites, inspect and hand-count ballots, and review the electronic voting system. They will produce a report detailing all their findings in about 60 days.

It isnt clear how long the audit will take. The agreement giving auditors use of the arena runs through May 14.

Phones and recording devices arent allowed into the observation area, where observers from all political parties, and independents, will watch the ballot counting.

Maricopa County Sheriffs Office personnel will provide security for the audit.

Senate President Karen Fann, a Republican, said last month that the audit will provide assurance that the 2020 results were accurate. Jack Sellers, the Republican chairman of Maricopa Countys Board of Supervisors, said on March 31 that two extensive and independent audits the month prior showed no evidence of equipment malfunction or foul play.

Arizonas Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has asserted that the audit will be biased. Her office didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

Biden was the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, in decades.
River Forest has shaped me into the person I am today, guiding me to be socially aware and active in my community, Flores said. The schools also helped me develop a respect and love for the environment and to take care of the planet. My experience at the library has helped me learn how to manage my time, work with other people and develop leadership skills.
Boris Johnson has previously set out 17 May and 21 June as the final two planned dates for leaving lockdown. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

A member of the governments top vaccine advisory board has warned the easing of Englands coronavirus lockdown could be delayed if infections surge over the next few weeks.

Prof Adam Finn, from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said any sense that the pandemic is over is flawed.

He warned that adjustments to the current roadmap dates could be made if there are significant rises in cases as the lockdown is eased.

The second stage, which began on Monday last week, has seen the likes of pubs, shops and hairdressers allowed to reopen.

Watch: How England is leaving lockdown

The move to the third stage is planned for 17 May, with the government subsequently aiming to drop all legal restrictions on social contact on 21 June.

Prof Finn, speaking on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, said modelling points to a summer surge as the lockdown is relaxed because millions of people are still to receive at least one dose of a vaccine.

If people move too far forward with [the easing of lockdown] too fast, well see things start to come up earlier. The sense that the problem is all over, Im afraid, is a flawed one.

Were still in a vulnerable situation, and there are still significant numbers of people who potentially could be harmed by this infection if this happens.

Asked if the changes planned for 17 May might need to be adjusted, Prof Finn pointed out it has always been a "provisional timetable, based on what actually happens".

I think if we do start to see significant rises in cases in some parts of the country, they may need to adjust back those dates in order to avoid the situation coming into effect.

Read more:

Revealed: Hundreds with fake COVID certificates trying to enter UK every week

Ministers caused widespread COVID confusion by issuing last-minute rules at 5pm press conferences

At Tuesday's Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson said there was nothing in the current data to suggest the government could not proceed with the next stage of unlocking on 17 May.

Story continues

However, he said most scientists were firmly of the view that there would be a third wave of the disease at some point this year.

On Tuesday, 2,524 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the UK, similar to the numbers seen at the beginning of September last year.

Watch: Do coronavirus vaccines affect fertility?
2021 SAIC GM National Tour Exhibition officially launched

By:Liu Xutong | From:english.eastday.com | 2021-04-21 16:56

Recently, the SAIC General Motors 2021 "Mobile Car Workshop" national tour event officially opened. This years event will spread the north and south lines in parallel. In the two time periods from April to June and September to November, the "Mobile Car Workshop" parade vehicles will shuttle through 14 provinces and municipalities in North China, East China, and South China, holding a total of 50 exhibition stops.

Since its launch in September last year, the "Mobile Car Workshop" tour activity quickly landed in Henan, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces, and launched 24 parade activities in three months, through knowledge lectures, interactive Q&A sessions, maintenance services, new car display and sales.

SAICs "Mobile Car Workshop" connects online and offline, and uses the car workshop app and WeChat official account to expand the influence of the event.
Following are the latest Corporate Social Responsibility news releases and story ideas available from Business Wire. These recaps, curated by Business Wire, provide reporters and bloggers around the globe instant access to the latest news releases, providing relevant and trending content to share with their audiences. Discover more news via Business Wire's Hot Topic recaps or create a custom news feed specific to your needs here. This service is provided at no charge to members of the media and financial communities.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005143/en/

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Publix Commits $2 Million to Everglades Restoration Supporting Florida Freshwater Conservation Source: Publix

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons Companies Commits to Setting Science-Based Target to Reduce Carbon Emissions Source: Albertsons Companies

PITTSBURGH -- United States Steel Corporation Announces Goal to Achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2050 Source: United States Steel Corporation

TORONTO -- Facedrive Foods Achieves Record High in Daily Delivery Volumes Source: Facedrive Inc.

SEATTLE -- The Climate Pledge Announces More Than 100 Signatories Committed to Achieving Net-Zero Carbon by 2040 or Sooner Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

SEATTLE -- Russell Investments Announces Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Goal Source: Russell Investments

PITTSBURGH -- PPG Reports Increased Sales of Sustainably Advantaged Products, Continued Progress on Sustainability Goals Source: PPG

SAN DIEGO -- Dalrada Financial Corp Records First Sales of LikidoVOLT Independent Power Generators With Hidden Villa Ranch Source: Dalrada Financial Corp.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Arena Pharmaceuticals Releases Second Annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report Source: Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- 350Solutions Technology Verification Approach Vital in the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE Source: 350Solutions

AUSTIN, Texas -- American Campus Communities Provides Annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Update Source: American Campus Communities, Inc.

BOULDER, Colo. -- Techstars Launches Next Sustainability Challenge to Progress Net Zero Goals Source: Techstars

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Ingersoll Rand Sets 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Goals to Accelerate Representation, Career Advancement and Employee Sense of Belonging Source: Ingersoll Rand Inc.

LONDON -- Cenfura? Limited announces a new African subsidiary opening in Nigeria Source: Cenfura

TORONTO -- Facedrive Acquires EcoCRED, LLC From Exelon Subsidiary Exelorate Update Source: Facedrive

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- Nexus Pharmaceuticals Makes Key Investment to Help COVID-19 Vaccine Effort Source: Nexus Pharmaceuticals Inc.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Overseas Shipholding Group Announces the Release of Its 2020 Sustainability Report Source: Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.

NEW YORK -- The Church Pension Fund Invests $20 Million in Impact Investment Fund Designed to Preserve Workforce Housing Communities Nationwide Source: The Church Pension Fund

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Principal Financial Group releases corporate responsibility commitments Source: Principal Financial Group

CHICAGO -- Ventas Earns 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award Source: Ventas, Inc.

LOS ANGELES -- Kilroy Realty Earns 2021 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award for Sixth Year in a Row Source: Kilroy Realty Corporation

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Hexion Earns 2021 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Comprehensive Energy Management Program Source: Hexion Inc.

BOSTON -- Boston Properties Earns 2021 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award Source: Boston Properties, Inc.

NEW YORK -- Colgate-Palmolive Earns 11th Consecutive ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award Source: Colgate-Palmolive Company

NEWARK, Del. -- Sallie Mae's Latest Corporate Social Responsibility Report Highlights Efforts to Support Customers and Advance Social Justice Source: Sallie Mae

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Carlisle Companies Publishes 2020 Sustainability Report and Launches New Website Focused on ESG Source: Carlisle Companies Incorporated

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Franklin Templeton Launches Corporate Social Responsibility Report Source: Franklin Resources, Inc.

BOSTON -- Corporate Reputations Improve During a Year of Crises according to The RepTrak Company Source: The RepTrak Company

TORONTO -- Facedrive Announces Changes to Board of Directors and Executive Team Source: Facedrive Inc.

TORONTO -- Facedrive Provides a Corporate Update and Growth Report Source: Facedrive Inc.

CINCINNATI -- Fifth Third Joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials; Commitment Furthers Bank's Leadership in Environmental Sustainability Source: Fifth Third Bancorp

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- New Technology and Data From C.H. Robinson Are Helping Companies Around the World Cut Carbon Emissions Source: C.H. Robinson

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Terminix Donates Bicycles to A Soldier's Child Foundation Source: Terminix Global Holdings, Inc.

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Looking to Production of Ultra-High-Purity Battery-Grade Manganese to Supply Growing Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Sectors

Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN) (FSE: 9SC2) (OTC Pink: MNXXF) ("Manganese X" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the selection of global consulting and engineering company Wood for the purpose of conducting a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in order to evaluate the economic viability of its Battery Hill Manganese Project located in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada.

The PEA will measure Battery Hill's full economic and commercialization potential to produce premium ultra-high-purity battery-grade manganese products for the burgeoning North American EV and energy storage sectors.

Manganese X CEO Martin Kepman comments, "We are extremely excited to have the highly acclaimed Wood conducting our PEA and working very closely with our metallurgical team at Kemetco Research Inc. We anticipate this technical study will validate our new cost-saving metallurgical processes and our upcoming patent application to economically produce a competitive, safe, sustainable, high grade, EV compliant manganese product. With the demand for the creation of a USA-Canada supply chain lessening the need for foreign imports. along with the continuing expansion of EV and back up energy storage units utilizing manganese, we are very optimistic for the future."

With completion of the latest drill program on February 16th 2021 of 28 holes, totalling 4509 meters, the Company expects completion of the NI-43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate in the near future.

Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering across energy and the built environment, providing consulting expertise for project and operation solutions in more than 60 countries, employing around 40,000 people.

For the second year in a row, Wood has been ranked the #1 Top International Design Firm in Engineering News-Record's 2020 ranking. Wood's industry-recognised experts in every facet of project assessment, development and optimisation provide global mining solutions across the full life cycle from initial concept studies and design to project delivery, operations and asset support.

Wood will utilize its New Brunswick-based team to address water, tailings, environmental and social aspects of the study, and to support the collection and estimation of local costs.

About Manganese X Energy Corp.

Manganese X's mission is to advance its Battery Hill project into production, with the intent of supplying value-added materials to the lithium-ion battery and other alternative energy industries. The company is also striving to achieve new carbon-friendly more efficient methodologies, while processing manganese at a lower competitive cost. The company is moving toward commercialization of a manganese deposit in Canada.

Subsidiary Disruptive Battery's mission is to develop an HVAC air purification delivery system for cleaner and healthier air, aiming to mitigate COVID-19 and other contaminants on surfaces and in the air.

For more information visit the website at www.manganesexenergycorp.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

MANGANESE X ENERGY CORP.

Martin Kepman

CEO and Director

Email: martin@kepman.com

Tel: 1-514-802-1814

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" including statements with respect to the future exploration performance of the Company. This forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements of the Company, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filing on SEDAR, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation, other than as required by law, to update any forward-looking information for any reason. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. We seek safe harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81246
This three-day forum is divided into main forum and sub forum. It focuses on four themes: integrated basin management, climate change and risk, water ecology and water engineering, and water resources protection and utilization. The forum aims to carry out open, frank and efficient interdisciplinary academic exchanges among scholars, scientific and technological workers, policy makers and practitioners in the field of water science all over the world, so as to solve the most urgent water problems today.

After the opening ceremony, Lei Mingshan, chairman of China Tree Gorges Corporation. Jiao Yong, chairman of former Vice Minister of the Ministry of water resources, Wang Annan, chief planner of the Ministry of water resources, and Zhong Zhiyu, chief engineer of the Changjiang water resources Commission, delivered a report on the theme of "integrated river basin management". On the agenda after that, academicians experts and scholars from different countries will also give lectures on the theme of "climate change and risk management".



The forum also set up four parallel chapters around the four major topics, and set up a special chapter on "Yangtze River Protection and green development". Experts and scholars gathered to provide wisdom and solutions to cope with global change and challenges.



The forum will serve as an opportunity to gather excellent talent resources all over the world, exchange and discuss major scientific and technological issues of China's water security and sustainable development, jointly promote the cause of harnessing water and invigorating water in the new era, provide strong support for the development path of ecological priority and green development. Please click the address for LIVE: https://xcyh5.xinhuaxmt.com/?companyId=1502357402586547&id=1618998098539192



Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=389698

Caption: The 3rd International Forum on Water Security & Sustainability

SOURCE The Organizing Committee of 3rd International Forum on Water Security & Sustainability
Extend your stay in Canada as an international graduate International graduates can benefit from Canadas limited-time immigration programs to become permanent residents

Extend your stay in Canada as an international graduate International graduates can benefit from Canadas limited-time immigration programs to become permanent residents

Extend your stay in Canada as an international graduate International graduates can benefit from Canadas limited-time immigration programs to become permanent residents Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

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Canada is introducing two permanent residence pathways for international student graduates who are likely to have the skills required to accelerate Canadas post-pandemic economic recovery.



The new policies will be in place between May 6, 2021 and November 5, 2021. Candidates must be residing outside Quebec, or intend to reside outside Quebec to be eligible.

Do you live in Canada? Apply for PR under these news pathways!

The first pathway is for all international students who have recently graduated with a Canadian credential. Canada is looking to accept 40,000 applications through this temporary program. If this quota is achieved before November 5, 2021, this pathway will stop accepting applications.

The second is only for French-speaking international graduates. For this pathway, there is no intake cap. This is because there exists a shortage of French-speaking skilled workers who live in a province or territory other than Quebec.

Am I eligible for the PR pathway for English-speaking international graduates?

In order to be eligible for this pathway, candidates must have graduated from a Canadian designated learning institution no earlier than January 2017. They must have received an educational credential. This could be a university credential, a college credential, a credential from a trade/technical school or a Quebec CEGEP.

University credentials include an Associates degree, a Bachelors degree, a Masters degree or a Doctorate. College credentials such as a degree, diploma, certificate or attestation, must follow a program of study that is at least eight months long. The combined duration of the credentials must be at least 16 months long. Diplomas of Vocational Studies (DVS) or Attestations of Vocational Specialization (AVS) must follow a program of study that is at least 900 hours long, and the combined duration of these credentials must be at least 1,800 hours long. Each combined credential must meet the program requirements and must be completed no earlier than January 2017.

Graduates of a trade/technical program who hold a degree, diploma, certificate or attestation may also be eligible. This credential must lead to the occupation of a skilled trade on this list of National Occupation Classification (NOC) groups:

Major Group 72: Industrial, electrical and construction trades;

Major Group 73: Maintenance and equipment operation trades;

Major Group 82: Supervisors and technical occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production;

Major Group 92: Processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators;

Minor Group 632: Chefs and cooks;

Minor Group 633: Butchers and bakers.

Candidates must be employed in Canada with a valid permit or otherwise have authorization to work at the time the application is received.

They must meet the English or French language requirement of a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5.

In addition to these requirements, candidates must be living in Canada legally and should meet admissibility requirements. This means they should not be inadmissible to Canada for criminal or medical reasons.

Am I eligible for the PR pathway for French-speaking and Bilingual international graduates?

To be eligible through this pathway, candidates are expected to meet the same requirements outlined above, except that they must have at least an intermediate level of French in all four language skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening.

Candidates who wish to become permanent residents through this pathway must have a French language proficiency level of 5 according to the Niveau de competence linguistique canadiens (NCLC).

Do you live in Canada? Apply for PR under these news pathways!

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (left) looks on as Indian American Vanita Gupta delivers remarks after being nominated to be U.S. associate attorney general by then President-elect Joe Biden at The Queen theater Jan. 7, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP)  A Pakistani court granted bail on Thursday to the country's opposition leader, about seven months after he was arrested by an anti-graft body over alleged involvement in money laundering.

Shahbaz Sharif is the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. His Pakistan Muslim League party quickly hailed the ruling by the court in the eastern city of Lahore. It described the case against him as fake.

Shahbaz Sharif is the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, who served three times as Pakistans prime minister. He has been living in exile in London since 2019, after he was released on bail to seek medical treatment abroad.

Nawaz Sharif hasn't returned home since, and the government is seeking his extradition.
On Sunday, April 18, the Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton hosted a Military Heritage Day. The event was intended to walk visitors through American military history from the Revolutionary War to modern conflicts.

The program included artifact displays, a Quilt of Valor presentation, playing of military music, activities for children, and a flyover by a World War II-era plane.
Stephen Lawrence's parents have said his legacy is 'one of hope and change' after a minutes silence was held at the 'Spy Cops' inquiry on Thursday.

Neville and Doreen Lawrence made the comment 28 years to the day since their son was murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang of racist thugs in Eltham, south-east London, and as a public inquiry into shadowy undercover policing tactics held a minute's silence in his memory.

They said: 'Despite the brutal circumstances of Stephen's death, those left behind have campaigned to ensure that his legacy is ultimately one of hope, reminding us that change is both much needed but also possible.'

Stephen Lawrence's parents have said his legacy is 'one of hope and change' after a minutes silence was held at the 'Spy Cops' inquiry on Thursday. Pictured: Stephen Laurence (file photo)

Their joint statement was read by Undercover Policing Inquiry chairman and former High Court judge Sir John Mitting, as the day's hearing began with a minute's silence to mark Stephen Lawrence Day in memory of the 18-year-old.

Undercover officers spied on his family's campaign for justice.

Stephen's parents and his friend, Duwayne Brooks, who was with him on the night he died, were all reported on by undercover police and are all classed as core participants in the public inquiry.

Neville and Doreen Lawrence (pictured last year) made the comment 28 years to the day since their son was murdered in an unprovoked attack by a gang of racist thugs in Eltham, south-east London

Incompetence, alleged corruption and racism in the police meant that it took nearly 20 years to convict two of his killers, while the remaining three have never been brought to justice.

The Lawrences remembered their son, who was killed on April 22, 1993, as 'a bright and much-loved young man with his whole life ahead of him'.

Profound cultural shifts in attitude, racism, and changes in the law are now part of his legacy, they said.

The family said it also includes the 1998 public inquiry into the handling of his case, leading to publication of the Macpherson Report which concluded that the Metropolitan Police's murder investigation had been 'marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers'.

The Undercover Policing Inquiry was set up in 2015 to look at the activities of two shadowy police units after condemnation of undercover tactics.

A public outcry was sparked when it was revealed that women had been tricked into sexual relationships with undercover officers and that police spies had used the identities of dead children without their families' permission.

Family justice campaigns were spied upon, and there are claims that some officers were arrested or prosecuted for crimes under fake identities, leading to alleged miscarriages of justice for their co-defendants.

Neville Lawrence, the father of Stephen Lawrence (right), and Stephen's friend Duwayne Brooks - who was present when Stephen was killed - were both spied upon by undercover police officers

The Metropolitan Police have repeated apologies for officers having sexual relationships and using the identities of dead children without their families' consent.

In a statement released by the Met on Wednesday, Helen Ball, Assistant Commissioner for Professionalism, said the period included rioting and the start of the IRA bombing campaign in England.

She said the force's Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) was operating against this 'challenging' backdrop and added that 'the Met acknowledges that these cases caused significant harm and distress, and for this we are sorry'.

Gary Dobson (left) and David Norris, the two men convicted of the killing of Stephen Lawrence

The two units being examined are the SDS, which existed between 1968 and 2008, and the undercover part of the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), which existed between 1999 and 2010.

During the current batch of hearings, the deployment of 29 undercover officers will be examined, who on average were on assignment for three to five years.

To date the mammoth inquiry has cost more than 36 million, although Tory peer Lord Moylan estimated last week that this could rise to 100 million, including police costs, by the time the inquiry reports in 2023.

Pictured: Doreen and Neville Lawrence with their lawyer Imran Khan (right). Lawrence's parents were spied upon by undercover cops during their campaign for justice for the son

On Wednesday, the Spy Cops inquiry heard that sexual activity between undercover police officers and members of the public who did not know their true identities was 'not uncommon' from the mid-1970s.

David Barr QC told the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI) some officers in the then all-male Metropolitan Police Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) would make jokes about intimate relationships in front of managers.

No written instructions have been found governing sexual relationships by officers in the shadowy unit, but the inquiry heard there is evidence that, between 1972 and 1983, at least five had intimate contact with as many as 12 women.

Mr Barr said: 'It can safely be said that, from the mid-1970s onwards, sexual contact between SDS officers in their undercover identities and members of the public was not uncommon.'
Spotlight on Telehealth in K12 Education

An Inside Look at San Bernardino USD's Whole Child Approach to Wellness

At San Bernardino City Unified School District, our wellness multi-tiered system of support is a comprehensive approach to providing students with the physical and mental health support.

Dedicated to serving the whole child, our districts Student Wellness and Support Services department leverages professional development and implementation supports to school staff developing systems, practices and data-driven decisions with telehealth services and community partners to provide care and address challenges like chronic absenteeism.



By implementing telehealth services on-campus, students are able to receive immediate medical support, with staff reporting over 92 percent of students returning to class following a visit from the school health office.



Heres how our student wellness and support services team proactively addresses challenges to support our students.



Student Wellness and Support Services: Gluing physical and mental health together through wellness

At San Bernardino City Unified School District, we are committed to actively improving health, wellness and safety within the communities we serve. To achieve this, we prioritize the health, wellness and safety of our students, defined like this:

Health: An optimal physical, mental, social-emotional and spiritual condition through which individuals are informed optimistic, active and loved; and communities are safe, productive places where individuals work interdependently for the welfare of all.



Wellness: A sense of hope, well-being and personal positive empowerment fostered in caring and giving environments where everyone has access to adequate housing, economic opportunities, and security in communities. Well communities are sensitive to diversity and instill pride by providing a sense of well-being to its members though healthcare, jobs and green spaces.



Safety: An environment that exhibits and values a culture of security, mental and physical stability, order, positive affirmations and embraces diversity of all members.

Our Student Wellness and Support Services department is highly collaborative, working together to ensure students physical, social-emotional and behavioral health needs are being met. Physical health can greatly affect mental health (and vice versa), so its really important that all of students basic needs are being met so they can focus on their academic learning.



How we support students physical health needs



Ive always been a big advocate of telehealth. It provides flexibility and convenience, which is especially important for our student population.

We partner with Hazel Health to support the work of our school nurses, and provide in-school and in-home telehealth appointments to students. The benefit of working with a telehealth provider is having a team of medical providers available to address common non-emergency health concerns, like stomach aches, headaches, eye infections, cold or flu symptoms and asthma symptoms.

Providing this extra layer of medical support means that our underserved students  those who experience difficulty seeking care, like our homeless, foster care and chronically ill students  are able to receive quality care at no extra cost.

Since school nurses arent able to prescribe medications on the spot, having a telehealth provider available ensures that students can still get the medicine or treatment they need without a parent having to come to school and take their child to a clinic. This has been especially beneficial throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, since families can schedule a virtual appointment for their student from home.
A Virginia police officer was fired this week for donating to the crowdfunded defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse and praising the white teenager who shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police. Lt. William Kelly, who had been a member of the Norfolk police department for nearly two decades and currently serves as the executive officer of internal affairs, was placed on administrative leave last week after reports circulated about his online donation of $25 to Rittenhouses defense, which Kelly clicked to contribute anonymously.

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The 41-year-old Kelly included with his donation a message of support for Rittenhouse who is awaiting trial for a host of charges, including first-degree intentional homicide, which could result in a life sentence. God bless, Kellys message accompanying the donation read. 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. Rittenhouse drove from his home in Illinois last August as protests erupted over the shooting of Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, unrest that spilled over into looting of local businesses and destruction of property. Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time, arrived on the scene of the nightly protests fully armed, saying that he intended to protect that property, before engaging with protesters and opening fire.

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The specifics of Kellys donation were made available when the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo was hacked by an unknown source and donor information was provided to media outlets by a transparency group that said it had been given the donor list by an outside source. Rittenhouses defense raised nearly $600,000 in the four months after the shooting, much of it from small donors, some of whom, like Kelly, checked a box to donate anonymously, but then provided identifying information in their registration details. Kelly used his official Norfolk city email address to register to make the donation.

After an internal review, Norfolk city police chief Larry Boone recommended to city officials that Kelly be fired. A police department cannot do its job when the public loses trust with those whose duty is to serve and protect them, Boone said in a statement. We do not want perceptions of any individual officer to undermine the relations between the Norfolk Police Department and the community. Norfolk city manager Chip Filer described Kellys comments accompanying his donation as egregious. The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable, Filer said in a statement, noting that Kelly would have the right to appeal the decision.

In the seven years Ive been covering news and politics for Slate, Ive written about some of the United States best and worst moments, people, and ideas. Your continued support of Slate Plus will allow me to continue to give our countrys high-stakes struggle to define itself the coverage it deserves. Thank you! Ben Mathis-Lilley, senior writer
Two-Part Series Will Offer Evidence-Based Information on the Vaccines for Both the General Public and Scientific Audiences

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, will host an upcoming series of webinars produced in partnership with The Lancet Infectious Diseases, which is part of the highly respected The Lancet family of journals. The first webinar will take place April 28th during World Immunization Week (April 24-30) to help demystify the COVID-19 vaccines for the general public and will include live translations in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish and Russian.

The first webinar with John McConnell, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, will address how the vaccines work, reviewing the data on their safety and efficacy in preventing disease. The second webinar will be geared toward medical and research professionals, highlighting the science behind the vaccines' development.

"The COVID-19 vaccines are providing hope to people around the world, but there is still some wariness and inaccurate information that is fueling public mistrust," said Mr. McConnell. "Providing people with the facts to help them navigate the wealth of information out there is critical. I feel passionately about the important role that the research and publishing community is playing in sharing evidence-based information with the world about the COVID-19 vaccines."

Since the start of the pandemic, Elsevier has played a significant role helping support the healthcare community combat the virus that causes COVID-19. In April 2020, Elsevier launched the COVID-19 Healthcare Hub, which provides fact-based resources for healthcare professionals, working on the frontlines of the pandemic. In addition to sharing the latest medical information, approved treatments and guidelines and other valuable tools, the healthcare community also have access to an ICU Nurses Refresher Toolkit and a COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit, with specific information for global nurses working with ICU patients and information on the available COVID-19 vaccines.

Details on each of the free webinars are listed below:

Demystifying COVID-19 Vaccines: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at 10:00 AM ET / 3:00 PM BST / 4:00 PM CEST; available for free to the general public (via Zoom). Live translations to be provided in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish and Russian.

John McConnell, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, and Ylann Schemm, Director of the Elsevier Foundation and Corporate Responsibility at Elsevier, will participate in a discussion about the science behind COVID-19 vaccines, and the latest insights from safety and efficacy data. Mr. McConnell will also address the public's most frequently asked questions on vaccine importance, safety, efficacy, re-infection, and the currently known COVID-19 variants. Please register here.

COVID-19 Vaccines: An Update on Research & Global Availability: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM ET/ 3:00 PM BST/ 4:00 PM CEST; available to biomedical scientists via Elsevier's Researcher Academy on Campus portal.

John McConnell, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, will discuss vaccine effectiveness in preventing disease, address safety concerns with vaccine side effects (e.g., reactogenicity, anaphylaxis, clotting disorders, Bell's palsy), information on global availability, and the evolution of the research landscape in light of the pandemic.

About Elsevier's Novel Coronavirus Information Center

Elsevier's Novel Coronavirus Information Center provides expert-curated information for researchers, healthcare professionals and public health officials, including clinical guidance and a portal to access all of Elsevier's COVID-19 research. All resources are freely available. We also have dedicated hubs for healthcare professionals; health educators and students; librarians; and R&D professionals. You can find these in our Coronavirus Resource Directory.

About Elsevier

As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems.

In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders.

Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,500+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our 40,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com.

CONTACT:

Teresa Mueller

Vice President, Global Health Markets

Elsevier Communications

t.mueller@elsevier.com

SOURCE: Elsevier

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641671/Elsevier-Launches-Educational-Webinar-Series-on-COVID-19-Vaccines-in-Partnership-With-the-Lancet
At the upcoming NATO summit to be held on June 14, Ukraine plans to reiterate the seriousness of its Euro-Atlantic intentions and expects that this position will be reflected in the documents.

This was said by Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Taran, according to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

Given the fact that at the next NATO summit, the date of which was announced today, the Allied leaders will actually plan the future of the organization for the next 10 years, we would like to once again clearly articulate the seriousness of our Euro-Atlantic intentions. We expect that this position of Ukraine will be reflected in the documents that will be considered in Brussels on June 14, the minister said.

Taran also noted that a strong signal in the decisions of the NATO summit on June 14 for the world and European security could be a demonstration of loyalty to the decision of the 2008 Bucharest Summit, which declares the unconditional prospect of membership for Ukraine and Georgia.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the next summit of NATO Heads of State will be held in Brussels on June 14. The summit participants will take decisions on the NATO 2030 agenda to deal with the challenges of today and tomorrow, namely: Russias aggressive actions, the threat of terrorism, cyber attacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, the security impact of climate change, and the rise of China.

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China will implement the direct allocation of fiscal funds on a regular basis, to amplify the role of public money in benefiting businesses and the public, the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang decided on Wednesday.

"Past practices have shown that the direct-benefit mechanism is a major creative step in exercising macro regulation," Li said, "Last year, the central government directly channeled 1.7 trillion yuan of much-needed fiscal funds to prefecture and county-level governments, to support their tax and fee cuts. This has served as an important underpinning for keeping the economic fundamentals stable and won extensive support from market players and the people."

As required by the Government Work Report, the direct allocation mechanism will become a regular practice this year, and the central government's subsidies for public well-being will all be included in the mechanism. The total amount of funds under the mechanism will reach 2.8 trillion yuan.

To date, the central government has directly transferred a total of 2.6 trillion yuan to local governments, of which more than 2.2 trillion yuan has been allocated to the fund users.

"Different from the funds last year, which all came from additional budgetary funds, this year's directly funneled funds are mainly from existing budgetary funds. The allocation of funds and interests involved will be adjusted through reform," Li said.

Going forward, the usage of the directly-funneled funds needs to be better targeted. With a focus on reinforcing the economic recovery, the funds will serve as an important measure to offset the impact of phasing out some provisional support policies, and will continue to be mainly used to support employment, people's basic needs and market entities. The funds should go where the needs of the people and businesses lie, and help ensure salary payment and normal functioning of primary-level governments.

"Though the economic recovery is firming, circumstances facing market entities are still uneven. And primary-level governments are still in need of support. Hence, more directly-funneled funds shall be channeled to the prefecture and county level," Li said.

Sub-national governments must ensure that the remaining directly-funneled funds are effectively delivered and utilized, and that relevant policies are executed in a timely manner. On top of the funds allocated by the central government, sub-national governments will be encouraged to place more local budgetary funds under the direct allocation mechanism in light of local conditions.

Provincial-level governments should continue to act as involved intermediaries in the distribution of these funds, rather than detached onlookers, and see that more funds reach the primary level to bolster the capability of prefecture and county-level governments for policy execution.

Stringent oversight will be enforced over the directly funneled funds. Finance, audit and other relevant departments must strengthen oversight, and follow the allocation, disbursement and utilization of the funds on an on-going basis. Problems identified must be promptly addressed, and the local authorities and officials in charge will be admonished and relevant information made public as deemed necessary. Any irregularity such as fraudulent claims, withholding funds or diverting funds for non-designated purposes, will be seriously dealt with. Those involved will be held to account. Every effort needed will be made to ensure that the funds will be used where they count the most to benefit businesses and the people more effectively.

"The directly-funneled funds must be put under strict oversight, to maximize the effects of the precious funds. More fiscal resources will be pooled to support public well-being, including compulsory education, basic medical care and basic housing needs, as well as farmland irrigation and water conservancy projects. These efforts will deliver concrete benefits to the people," Li said.
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.
Russia hopes Baku and Yerevan aspire to achieve normalization of their relations, not discord. This is what Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova told reporters today, commenting on the opening of the so-called war trophy park in Baku.

A tremendous price was paid, human livesIt is necessary to take advantage of the moment of peace and not use this moment to escalate the situationYes, its difficult, especially after the armed conflict. At this moment, Russia attaches importance to confidence-building between the sides and the formation of a positive economic agenda through which it will be possible to ensure prospects for sustainable development of the South Caucasus, Zakharova added.

When told that Baku is violating the agreement reached on November 9 by refusing to return the Armenia prisoners of war, Zakharova stated that Russia is actively mediating to smoothen the disagreements between Yerevan and Baku and that the country supports solutions to the problems through the all for all formula.
(Newser)  Police arrested nearly 1,500 people Wednesday during a day of demonstrations throughout Russia calling for freedom for imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose health reportedly is in severe decline after three weeks of hunger striking, according to a group that monitors political detentions. The largest of the protests took place in Moscow, where thousands marched through the center city, the AP reports. Some of the people arrested were seized before the protests even began, including two top Navalny associates in Moscow. Navalny's team called for the unsanctioned demonstrations after weekend reports that his health is deteriorating and that his life was in danger. "The situation with Alexei is indeed critical, and so we moved up the day of the mass protests," said Vladimir Ashurkov, a Navalny ally and executive director of the Foundation for Fighting Corruption.

story continues below

Navalny's organization called for the Moscow protesters to assemble on Manezh Square, just outside the Kremlin walls, but police blocked it off. Instead, a large crowd gathered at the nearby Russian State Library and another lined Tverskaya Street, a main avenue that leads to the square. Both groups then moved through the streets. "How can you not come out if a person is being murderedand not just him. There are so many political prisoners, said Nina Skvortsova, a Moscow protester. In St. Petersburg, police blocked off Palace Square, the vast space outside the Hermitage museum, and protesters instead crowded along nearby Nevsky Prospekt. The OVD-Info group, which monitors political arrests and provides legal advice, said at least 1,496 people were arrested in 82 citiesthe largest tally being nearly 600 in St. Petersburg. Navalny's team called the nationwide protests for the same day that President Vladimir Putin gave his annual state of the nation address; Navalny is Putin's most prominent opponent.

(Read more Alexei Navalny stories.)
A number of Korean actors and pop stars are landing plum contracts as the face of global luxury brands.

Tiffany & Co. announced Wednesday that girl band Blackpink's Rose was added to its list of global brand ambassadors. Rose is only one of three people who is followed by Tiffany's official Instagram account, which has 12.2 million followers. She has also been the face of French luxury fashion house Saint Laurent since last year.

Black Pink's Ji-soo became a global ambassador for French fashion brand Dior in March, one of only three in the world alongside Natalie Portman and Cara Delevingne.


Jet Maintenance Solutions (JET MS), one-stop-shop for MRO solutions for business and regional aircraft is launching a new line maintenance station located at Nice Cote dAzur Airport in France.

The addition of a new line maintenance station at the most active airport in 2019 and 2020 for business aviation aircraft will allow Jet Maintenance Solutions to widen its reach and offer its extensive service portfolio to a growing client base. With over 10 years of experience in the MRO industry, the company is taking a yet another step in its global expansion by entering and increasing

its presence in more markets across the globe.

Having more than 2,050 recorded departures made by private aircraft in 2020, Nice has been the leading airport for private aircraft measured by take-offs in Europe for over 2 years. The company has already established a dedicated team for line maintenance operations consisting of top-notch engineers and specialists, including business development officials and sales managers, to support commercial procedures.

Additionally, JET MS will offer Mobile Repair Team (MRT) services to surrounding airports, so the company will be able to serve its current and future clients not only at Nice, but also at Cannes, Marseille and Toulon airports.

By opening our doors to new clients in this picturesque city of the French Riviera, we are entering a new and demand heavy market. Having had over 2,050 movements even during the pandemic in 2020, the airport shows a strong demand for sophisticated private aircraft infrastructure. With a combination of our know-how, globally acclaimed reputation and leading balance of cost-effectiveness and quality, we are sure to have a strong foothold in this market. By being a part of Avia Solutions Group which includes FL Technics, a global one-stop shop for MRO solutions boasting a portfolio of over 70 line stations across the globe, our shared know-how will allow us to reach our full potential when conducting line maintenance procedures at our station in Nice. With the successful beginning of operations at this location, we are already looking at more potential business aviation centres and FBO organisations where we could offer our services, commented Jet Maintenance Solutions CEO Vytis Zalimas.

Jet Maintenance Solutions is firmly positioned to perform routine checks and provide AOG support to business and regional aircraft. This comes on the back of plans to expand operations and meet market demand, through the opening of new line maintenance stations that will be situated in the UAB Jet Maintenance Solutions most lucrative locations for business aviation representatives. Currently, the company plans to open a new Line Maintenance station in London, UK, in early autumn. -- Tradearabia News Service
Warfare 1: Field Engineer

We are excited to announce our first installment in the new Warfare series is now live! Warfare One focuses on the engineer by both expanding the engineers arsenal, as well as bringing a series of new quality-of-life features to Space Engineers combat.

Included in our most recent development cycle are some items that are heavily requested by the community, Engineer VS Engineer combat improvements, and of course, more weapons.

Keep in mind, this is only the beginning of our warfare update series.

2021 is going to be an incredible year, a year, of war!

Free content ~

S Series Pistol - 3 Variants

MR Series Rifle - 4 Variants

Rocket Launcher Weapon - 2 Variants

Uranium Heist scenario

Target Dummy Block

New passage blocks

Infantry combat overhaul

This update features an overhaul of the handheld weapons and infantry combat. A number of big changes went into making Space Engineers infantry combat more rewarding, consistent, and compelling.

Infantry combat improvements

New weapon mechanics

Existing weapon rebalance

Ammo rework

Magazines visual update

DLC exclusive (paid) content ~

Fire Cover Block

Half window Block

Weapon Rack Block

More Passage Blocks

Embrasure Block

Two new Emotes

Assault Suit skin

Thank you!
A three-alarm fire that roared through a creamery in McMinnville earlier this week was accidental, fire officials said Thursday.

The blaze broke out about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Organic Valley Creamery, at 700 Oregon 99W, just outside the citys downtown core. Large flames and thick smoke poured from the building.

Fire officials evacuated nearby residents after they became concerned about the release of a chemical used as a refrigerant at the site, which processes milk and produces butter and powdered milk.

The fire was brought under control by Tuesday night, and evacuated residents were allowed to return home.

A McMinnville Fire Department spokeswoman said the fire was determined to be accidental but the exact cause is still under investigation.

The facility suffered extensive damage, but no injuries were reported.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Mainly sunny. High around 85F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 69F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
He made his relationship with Lori Harvey Instagram official in January.

And in a new interview with People, Michael B. Jordan has explained why he feels ready to share his love life with his fans.

'I am extremely happy,' the notoriously private actor, 34, said.

Gushed: Michael B. Jordan, 34, told People Wednesday that he is 'extremely happy' with girlfriend Lori Harvey, 24, in a rare comment from the actor about his private life

Jordan went on: 'I'm still private, and I want to protect that, but it just felt like it was a moment of just wanting to put it out there and move on.'

He added: 'I think when you get older, you feel more comfortable about the [public nature] of the business that we're in. So for me, it was a moment to, I guess, take ownership of that and then get back to work.'

His remarks come as he embarks on a publicity tour to promote his upcoming Amazon Original Movie Tom Clancy's Without Remorse.

Opening up: 'I'm still private, and I want to protect that, but it just felt like it was a moment of just wanting to put it out there and move on.' he said of confirming his romance with Lori

Dating: The couple made their relationship Instagram official in January after weeks of speculation following s ski trip together at Thanksgiving

It's a trend: 'The fact that Ive been so closed off...was a personal choice. As Ive gotten older and a little more mature and comfortable in my own skin, Ive become less concerned about it,' he had shared with Men's Health

The Creed star expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Men's Health last week.

'The fact that Ive been so closed off...was a personal choice. As Ive gotten older and a little more mature and comfortable in my own skin, Ive become less concerned about it,' he shared.

He also spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic had changed his perspective.

'Ive always been a person that tried to be present but also live in the future...What I leave behind is something that I think about a lot. This past year brought a lot of that to the forefront of my brain,' Jordan told the magazine.

'There are a lot of things that I want to accomplish, and I know time is limited and life is short, [so] I try to not take it for granted. Its really made me focus on that.'

New project coming soon: he Creed and Black Panther star is giving interviews to promote his upcoming Amazon Original Movie Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, dropping on April 30

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Lori's famous father, TV personality Steve Harvey, waxed lyrical about the Black Panther actor during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last month.

He revealed he couldn't find a single fault with his daughter's choice of boyfriend.

'This guy is such a good guy, man,' he said. 'He is one of the nicest guys... I just can't find nothing wrong with him!'
Chandigarh, April 22 : At least 100 Sikh devotees mainly from Punjab, who returned from Pakistan after visiting several shrines on the occasion of Baisakhi, on Thursday tested positive for coronavirus on their return to India through the Wagah border near Amritsar, officials said.

A 'jatha' of 815 pilgrims reached Pakistan's Lahore on April 12 to celebrate Khalsa Sajna Diwas and Baisakhi at the religiously significant Sikh shrines.

A total of 100 out of 350 devotees tested positive for coronavirus through a rapid antigen test, an official told IANS. However, the result of many other devotees is awaited.

The Pakistani High Commission in Delhi had issued visas to 1,100 Sikh pilgrims. Before departing to Pakistan, all those who tested negative for Covid-19 were allowed to cross the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post.

They were granted a 10-day visa by Pakistan and were allowed to visit Sikh shrines besides attending the main function at Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal on April 14.

On their return, they paid obeisance at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur on April 19 and took out a 'nagar kirtan' from there to the Zero Line located along Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side.
(Newser)  A white Louisiana school bus driver who made a racist remark to a Black student about the murder of George Floyd is out of a job after the child's mother complained to school officials, the AP reports. WWL-TV reported that 11-year-old Rashad Gabriel had a face mask below his nose and told a driver he was out of breath after running to catch a bus to Trist Middle School in St. Bernard Parish, located in metro New Orleans, on April 9. Since George Floyd, thats what you all say, but I dont see a knee on your neck, the driver replied, according to the child's mother, Rose Gabriel. Other children heard the statement, which also was captured on a video surveillance system on the vehicle. The mother reported it, and School Superintendent Doris Voitier said the driver no longer works for the system.

story continues below

What she said is offensive and inappropriate. It was racially insensitive. And we took appropriate action, said Voitier, who declined comment on whether the driver, who wasn't identified publicly, was fired or resigned. Rose Gabriel welcomed the quick action. It made me relieved that I know shes no longer on the bus with my son or anybody elses child, she said. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on Tuesday of murder and manslaughter on Tuesday in Floyds killing, which set off mass protests around the world.

(Read more George Floyd stories.)
Pennsylvania coronavirus cases appear to be slowing again as the state combats COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

The state health department on Thursday reported 4,192 new cases of COVID-19 and 52 more deaths. Pennsylvania now totals 1.12 million cases and 25,879 lives lost since the first coronavirus infections were reported here in March 2020.

Meanwhile, the state as a whole  and the two counties of the Lehigh Valley, individually  is approaching half of the population with at least one shot, either an initial or single dose.

Your Pennsylvania coronavirus updates for April 22, 2021.

COVID vaccine in Pa.

Thursdays data from the state health department and the city of Philadelphia, which receives its own allotment, show approximately 44% of Pennsylvanians with one dose. Eleven counties outpace the state, including Northampton County (48%) and Lehigh County (46%).

About 27% of Pennsylvanias roughly 13 million people are fully vaccinated, having received all required doses, which can mean one or two shots depending on the brand of vaccine. The Lehigh Valley is keeping pace with the state here  both Lehigh and Northampton are 26% fully vaccinated, ahead of all adjacent Pa. counties.

(Cant see the map? Click here.)

Full protection sets in about two weeks after the final shot. Gov. Tom Wolf recently said that with adherence to proper mitigation like masks and social distancing, a population 65% to 70% fully vaccinated could speed the process toward fully reopening restaurants and other businesses. Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam has said the state is aiming for an 80% vaccination rate.

Anyone 16 and older is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Pennsylvania. Hospital networks like LVHN and St. Lukes have mass-vaccination sites. Shots can also be scheduled through pharmacies, some nonprofits and special events coordinated through churches and other community groups.

(See the Pa. DOH COVID vaccine provider map.)

Local, community vaccine providers are essential partners in an equitable vaccine distribution, Wolf said in a news release Thursday following a visit to a Harrisburg pharmacy. With existing ties to patients, providers (like local pharmacies), as well as grassroots and nonprofit organizations that are embedded in their local communities, are critical to ensuring that Pennsylvanians in every neighborhood have access to the vaccine and because equitable vaccine distribution is the only way for all of our communities to be protected against COVID-19.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 14% to 16% of the Lehigh Valley is hesitant to get the vaccine, based on responses to a U.S. Census Bureau survey. The CDC estimates there is more reluctance to get vaccinated in central and western Pennsylvania, and less in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Pa. coronavirus cases

The state averaged 4,259 new cases a day over the last week. Thats down 1.5% from two weeks ago, a welcome change after weeks of increases. The case rate has now fallen for four straight days.

However, it is still more than three times the rate at this time last year, when Pennsylvania was coming down from its first peak.

(Cant see the chart? Click here.)

And while cases are showing a decline, changes in hospitalizations and deaths typically take weeks to follow  and both are currently still trending upward.

As of Thursday, 2,808 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, a 14.5% rise from two weeks ago. And an average of 45 coronavirus deaths were reported daily over the last seven days, which is up 50% over that same time.

In the Lehigh Valley, 277 new cases were reported Thursday by the state, bringing the local total to 70,828 cases. No new deaths were reported, holding the regions death toll at 1,514.

(Cant see the table? Click here.)

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
Advertisement

This lion bit off more than it could chew.

In an hour-long battle in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, the 420lb lion clung onto a 1,900lb buffalo, sinking its claws into the animal's hide.

But the prey proved more than a match for the predator, which ended up being impaled by the buffalo's horn.

Pictures taken by Matt Armstrong-Ford, 31, from the Isle of Bute, Scotland show the bloodied lion exhausted on the ground in defeat as several of the buffalo gathered around him.

Days later the weakened big cat was found dead having been attacked by hyenas.

Male buffalos are considered to be one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Their horns fuse together creating a tough shield which is known as a 'boss'. Some refer to them as 'black death' or 'widowmakers' as they reportedly trample or kill around 200 people a year.

Clash of the titans: The lion sinks its claws into a 1,900lb buffalo's thick hide during an hour-long battle in Zambia - a battle the big cat would go on to lose in dramatic fashion

Savage: The 420lb lion launches another attack on the buffalo near a watering hole in South Luangwa National Park

Eye of the buffalo: This is the moment the buffalo impaled the lion on its right horn and lifted it clear off the ground

Beaten: The bloodied lion stares daggers having being impaled on the horn of a buffalo after a brutal hour-long fight in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

The buffalo charges at the lion as it swipes at the larger beast's feet. The incredible action shots were captured by Matt Armstrong-Ford, 31, from the Isle of Bute, Scotland

The buffalo charges at the lion with its fused horn-shield known as a 'boss'. After an hour-long battle, the beast managed to fight off the big cat

The lion tries to claw at the buffalo's muzzle but the larger animal stands firm

Blood pours over the lion's face from its wounds as it bits at the buffalo's muzzle

The lion tries to swipe at the buffalo's feet, but isn't strong enough to topple its 1,900-pound foe

The lion looks stunned after the buffalo uses its superior weight to knock its attacker down

A valiant final effort as the lion grabs its opponent's head from the ground
Herzliya, Israel and Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Innocan Pharma Corporation (CSE: INNO) (FSE: IP4) (OTCQB: INNPF) (the "Company" or "Innocan") is pleased to announce the signing of a wide-scope commercial distribution agreement with Polyflame Europe.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Polyflame Europe will enjoy an exclusive right to distribute both of Innocan's SHIR and Relief & Go brands in France based on a purchase forecast of 600,000 [EUR] per year in the first year and subject to suitable regulation in France.

Polyflame built its reputation as a key European player in the import and distribution of regulated products. They have been very active in Europe for the past 48 years, positioning them as one of the major players in their industry.

Some analysts report that the global CBD skin care market is expected to reach USD 1.7 billion by 2025, according to Million Insights. Innocan Pharma and SHIR will now be stepping-up to become market leaders in many European countries including France, with CBD-infused products as the power-house of the market.



Innocan Products

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6922/81238_b117687e444fdabc_002full.jpg

"We are very excited about the quality of Innocan Pharma's CBD infused products," says Daniel Boughanim, CFO and COO of Polyflame, "We firmly believe that SHIR Facial Care will be very well received by our customers, and we assume that this will be an exemplary success story for everyone involved."

Iris Bincovich, CEO of InnoCan Pharma stated that "We are humbled to have a European market leader such as Polyflame as our market-partner in France. This new business will complement both Innocan's exponential growth strategy and Polyflame's Health and Beauty market strategy."

About Polyflame Europe

As a European market leader since 1973, Polyflame has built its reputation as a key European player in the import and distribution of regulated products. Forty-eight years of foresight and adaptation have shaped their expertise in product development, marketing, distribution and compliance, leveraging on its core expertise to expand into healthcare and cosmetic markets. Polyflame products are sold across Europe and in 50+ countries worldwide. Polyflame's comprehensive sales and distribution organization reaches 50,000 stores across Europe. Systematic market monitoring and cutting-edge automated logistics ensure optimal distribution, from regulatory to logistics and shipping.



About Innocan

The Company, through its wholly owned Israeli subsidiary, Innocan Pharma Ltd. ("Innocan Israel"), is a pharmaceutical tech company that focuses on the development of several drug delivery platforms combining cannabidiol ("CBD"). Innocan Israel and Ramot at Tel Aviv University are collaborating on a new, revolutionary exosome-based technology that targets both central nervous system (CNS) indications and the Covid-19 Coronavirus using CBD. CBD-loaded exosomes hold the potential to help in the recovery of infected lung cells. This product, which is expected to be administrated by inhalation, will be tested against a variety of lung infections.

Innocan Israel signed a worldwide exclusive license agreement with Yissum, the commercial arm of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to develop a CBD drug delivery platform based on a unique-controlled release liposome to be administrated by injection. Innocan Israel plans, together with Professor Berenholtz, Head of the Laboratory of Membrane and Liposome Research of the Hebrew University, to test the liposome platform on several potential indications. Innocan Israel is also working on a dermal product that integrates CBD with other pharmaceutical ingredients as well as the development and sale of CBD-integrated pharmaceuticals, including, but not limited to, topical treatments for relief of psoriasis symptoms as well as the treatment of muscle pain and rheumatic pain. The founders and officers of Innocan have commercially successful track records in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors in Israel and globally.

For further information, please contact:

For Innocan Pharma Corporation:

Iris Bincovich, CEO

+972-54-3012842

info@innocanpharma.com

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Caution regarding forward-looking information

Certain information set forth in this news release, including, without limitation, information regarding the markets, requisite regulatory approvals and the anticipated timing for market entry, is forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Innocan's control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Innocan, including expectations and assumptions concerning the anticipated benefits of the products, satisfaction of regulatory requirements in various jurisdictions and satisfactory completion of requisite production and distribution arrangements.

Forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this news release. The key risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: general global and local (national) economic, market and business conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities; and relationships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers, business partners and competitors. There are also risks that are inherent in the nature of product distribution, including import / export matters and the failure to obtain any required regulatory and other approvals (or to do so in a timely manner) and availability in each market of product inputs and finished products. The anticipated timeline for entry to markets may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary regulatory requirements, or the need for additional time to conclude and/or satisfy the manufacturing and distribution arrangements. As a result of the foregoing, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this news release concerning the timing of launch of product distribution. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Innocan can also be found in Innocan's public reports and filings which are available under Innocan's profile at www.sedar.com.

Readers are cautioned that undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking information. Innocan does not undertake to update, correct or revise any forward looking information as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81238
The UK's drug regulator said it has spotted 68 more blood clot cases in people who have had the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine but insists the risk is still miniscule.

Officials at the MHRA, which monitors possible side effects of the jabs, has now counted 168 cases of blood clots with low platelet counts.

Scientists are concerned that the rare events, which have appeared among young adults, are being triggered by the vaccine, but there is still no evidence of this.

The 168 cases occurred while a staggering 21million doses were given out, the vast majority of them without any serious side effects.

The MHRA has already recommended that the jab isn't given to under-30s, because their risk of dying of Covid is so small that they can afford to wait for a different vaccine to be offered to them, but said benefits outweigh risks for everyone else.

Doctors are most concerned about a condition called CVST, which is a blood clot in a vein in the head that can trigger strokes if left untreated.

Experts are keen to reassure people that the vaccines are still safe for almost everyone and say the MHRA side effect reports are not proof of a link.

One scientist who wanted to remain unnamed said about the MHRA reports: 'They are very useful for obtaining "signals" of possible adverse reactions but they are not epidemiological data.'

More than 21million people in Britain have now had the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine and the vast majority have had no serious side effects. Regulators and scientists reassure the public the risks of catching Covid are significantly higher and more likely (Pictured: A woman gets vaccinated in Reading)

The MHRA has been looking closely at people developing blood clots that appear alongside low platelet counts  known as thrombocytopenia  because this appears to have emerged as an unusual pattern among people who have had the vaccine.

It has now found 168 such cases in people who were vaccinated by April 14, with all but one of them after the first dose. It was a rise from 100 cases by April 5.

Regulators in the US have found the same condition appearing in people who have had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which works in the same way.

Although clots are usually easy to treat if spotted early, they can be dangerous if people don't realise they have them.

Q&A: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COVID VACCINES AND BLOOD CLOTS IS THERE ANY PROOF THE JAB CAUSES THE BLOOD CLOTS? Scientists have repeatedly insisted there is no proof yet that coronavirus vaccines cause the extremely rare complication  blood clots occurring alongside low platelet levels. But officials are still investigating the link  found in recipients of both AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson's vaccines  and can't rule it out completely. DO SCIENTISTS HAVE A THEORY FOR WHAT MAY BE THE LINK? Experts are stumped as to why the vaccines may be triggering blockages in very rare cases. But one explanation gaining ground is that it may be down to an over-reaction in the immune system, making the body attack its own platelets  tiny chunks of cells inside blood that build clots to stop bleeding when someone is injured. Experts believe the jab could cause the body to produce antibodies  normally used to fight off viruses  which mistake platelets in the blood for foreign invaders and attack them. To compensate, the body then overproduces platelets to replace those that are being attacked, causing the blood to thicken and raising the risk of clotting. This then causes levels of platelets to fall. The researchers say the phenomenon is similar to one that can occur in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), when sufferers take a drug called heparin. WHAT SYMPTOMS DO THEY CAUSE? The EMA said symptoms can strike up to three weeks post-vaccination. British regulators say the complication tends to occur four days after people first get jabbed. Symptoms of the two blood clots can include: Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Swollen legs

Persistent stomach pain

Severe or persistent headache

Blurred vision

Confusion

Seizures

Skin bruising beyond the site of injection Advertisement

CVST, full name cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, can be deadly because it forms in a vein attached to the brain, but this is not the only condition experts are looking at.

The MHRA said in a statement: 'Up to 14 April 2021, the MHRA had received Yellow Card reports of 168 cases of major thromboembolic events (blood clots) with concurrent thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) in the UK following vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.

'These events occurred in 93 women and 75 men aged from 18 to 93 years and the overall case fatality rate was 19 per cent with 32 deaths.

'One case was reported after a second dose. Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was reported in 77 cases (average age 47 years) and 91 had other major thromboembolic events (average age 55 years) with concurrent thrombocytopenia.

'The estimated number of first doses of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca administered in the UK by 14th April was 21.2 million giving an overall case incidence of 7.9 per million doses.'

It added: 'On the basis of this ongoing review, the advice remains that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks in the majority of people.'

Although the MHRA reports are important for keeping tabs on potential side effects of the vaccines, they are not proof that jabs are causing any.

Many of the effects reported by members of the public are mild  there are thousands of reports of headaches and fevers, for example  and many are completely unrelated. Some people report losing teeth and crying.

One scientist who didn't want to be named said they feared the public would read too much into the reports, which don't have any scientific research involved in them.

They said: 'They are very useful for obtaining "signals" of possible adverse reactions but they are not epidemiological data... they now serve only to increase anxiety.

'While there may be real (very rare) effects of importance the reporting now is very distorted.'

Governments in Europe were the first to panic about the possible blood clots and many suspended using AstraZeneca's jab when the problem emerged.

Most have started to use it again after experts confirmed the risk of catching or passing on Covid was significantly higher and that there was no real proof  although Denmark still refuses to use the vaccine.

The spotlight then shifted to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine earlier this month when the same concern was discovered about that jab in the US.

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) urged vaccine centres to pause the use of it and J&J itself suspended plans to roll it out in Europe during an investigation.

Experts at the European Medicines Agency, however, this week ruled that the vaccine was safe and it should continue to be used, although it should come with a safety warning about the one-in-a-million clots.
April 22, 1976

Presidential candidates visit

With the Pennsylvania presidential primary on April 27, the candidates were making visits to Scranton.

Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter arrived the morning of April 22 and held a press conference at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, where he spoke about his chances of winning Pennsylvania on April 27, his position on abortion and how the Federal Election Commission was not releasing funds to candidates.

In the afternoon, Carter held a rally at Courthouse Square. At the event, Carter continued speaking out against Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, who was backing U.S. Sen. Henry Scoop Jackson of Washington. Carter said Rizzo represents the kind of politics I cant deal with.

The attendance for the Carter rally was estimated between 1,000 and 2,000.

On April 21, two Democratic candidates made a stop in the area. The first was Alabama Gov. George Wallace.

Wallace made a quick visit in our area in between campaign stops in Philadelphia and Erie.

Wallace said if elected, he would be hard on crime, attempt to change the U.S. tax structure, be hard nosed on foreign policy and do something about the overgrown bureaucracy in Washington.

While Wallace was giving his press conference at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, the second candidate, U.S. Sen. Henry Scoop Jackson of Washington, arrived at the airport.

Jackson met with members of the Northeast Labor Committee at the Sheraton Inn in Scranton. The committee told the candidate they supported him and would work toward him winning Pennsylvania on primary day.

While Jackson was with the labor committee, his wife, Helen, paid a visit to the Scranton Times newsroom, where she spoke with staff writer Bonnie Perugini.

Helen spoke about the balancing act between being a mom and working on her husbands campaign.

She also said if her husband was elected president, she would be an active first lady by helping people and would not talk about family matters.

In the evening of April 23, U.S. Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona was scheduled to speak at the University of Scranton at an event sponsored by the Young Democrats of Lackawanna County. Then the following morning, April 24, Morris would hold another campaign event at a mine reclamation site in Taylor.

Brian Fulton, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribune's expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22)  The bayanihan spirit goes even beyond the Philippines as residents of Timor-Leste set up the country's first-ever community pantry.

Noting the local economic effect of this months historic flooding in #Dili and the year-long COVID-19 lockdown in Timor-Leste, I took the opportunity to discuss with some Timorese friends and diplomats about the concept of bayanihan and particularly showed them photos of #communitypantry set-ups in (the Philippines) to which they gained much interest, Vice Consul Laser Sumagaysay of the Philippine Embassy in Dili said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

BAYANIHAN IN TIMOR-LESTE Loron diak! Noting the local economic effect of this months historic flooding in #Dili and... Posted by Laser Sumagaysay on Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Sumagaysay noted that while official Philippine aid operations in Timor-Leste are mainly geared towards the local Filipino community, Filipinos can still contribute to the countrys overall humanitarian efforts.

[I]t could simply be by introducing beneficial (Philippine) practices, values, or concepts in the hopes that it could be replicated, adopted, or improved by the local community, he added.

For donations to Timor-Lestes Bairro Farrol community pantry, the diplomat said those interested may contact organizer Rozilia Esperanca Dos Reis. Timor-Leste residents interested in organizing their own community pantries are likewise encouraged to reach out.

Makeshift community pantries popped up across the Philippines in the past days, allowing residents to donate food items and other commodities and also take goods according to their needs.
Lil Wayne is at the center of marital rumors involving his on-again, off-again girlfriend Denise Bidot.

The 38-year-old entertainer, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., took to Twitter on Tuesday with a cryptic message that hinted at a possible union with the model, 34.

'Happiest man alive! Today is the beginning of our forever. Forever?? Forever, ever?? FOREVER EVER!!!!! The Carters,' Lil Wayne said, quoting the 2000 Outkast staple Sorry Ms. Jackson.

The latest: Lil Wayne, 38, is at the center of marital rumors involving his on-again, off-again girlfriend Denise Bidot, 34

A rep for the Uproar artist told Page Six that 'there was no confirmation' of a wedding between the pair.

The Love Me rapper and Bidot were reported to have parted ways last fall amid his controversial endorsement of then-President Donald Trump during his re-election bid.

He tweeted in November: 'I live the way I love and love the way I live. I'm a lover not a lighter bekuz they burn out. I am an eternal fire and burning love, either leave with a tan, a 3rd degree burn, or stay and die in love. You're sweating. Sincerely, the fireman.'

At the time, Bidot seemingly acknowledged the breakup, writing, 'Sometimes love just isnt enough.'

Closer look: The rapper took to Twitter on Tuesday with a message that sparked speculation

Good times: The pair was snapped late last year at an Atlanta party

Smokin': The music veteran was seen in January at a bash in Miami

The couple apparently reconciled as the rap artist posted a romantic clip of the pair on Instagram earlier thus month.

Lil Wayne has past been married to ex Toya Johnson from 2004 until 2006, and they're parents to daughter Reginae, 21.

The Love Me artist, who is father to three sons from past relationships, was also previously linked to Australian model LaTecia Thomas.
New Delhi: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday said his son Ashish died of COVID-19 in the morning.

Ashish, a journalist by profession who would have celebrated his 35th birthday on June 9, was recovering well at Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital, people close to the family added. They described his sudden death at 5.30 am after a two-week battle with the disease as a shock.

"It is with great sadness that I have to inform that I lost my elder son Ashish Yechury to COVID-19 this morning. I want to thank all those who gave us hope and who treated him - doctors, nurses, frontline health workers, sanitation workers and innumerable others who stood by us," Yechury said on Twitter.

Ashish, who studied at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, worked in several publications, including the Times of India in Delhi, before moving to Pune. Journalists who worked with him remembered him as a mild-mannered and warm professional who was knowledgeable and well-read. The CPI(M) Politburo issued a statement announcing the death and offering its condolences to the family. "We are deeply sorry to announce the passing away this morning (22 April) of Ashish Yechury, son of Sitaram Yechury and Indrani Mazumdar. He died of Covid related complications. He was 35 years old.

"The Polit Bureau conveys it deepest condolences to Sitaram and Indrani, his wife Swati, his sister Akhila and all other members of the bereaved family," the statement said.

As news of the death came in, condolences for the family poured in from political leaders, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Condolences to Shri Sitaram Yechury Ji and his family on the tragic and untimely demise of his son, Ashish. Om Shanti," Modi said on Twitter.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said he was devastated by the news. "There is no greater loss for a parent to endure. May you find the strength to bear the inexpressible grief of your loss. My heart goes out to you at this painful time," he said.

"Deeply saddened and pained to hear about the loss of Ashish Yechury. I offer my heartfelt condolences to Comrade @SitaramYechury, his family and friends at this difficult time," tweeted DMK leader MK Stalin. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her "shock" at Ashish's death. "Shocked and very saddened to hear about the untimely passing away of Ashish, son of @SitaramYechury Ji. My deepest condolences to the grieving family," tweeted Banerjee.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 03:07:29|Editor: huaxia

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Fire breaks out at the blast site in Quetta, Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on April 21, 2021. Three people were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb went off inside the parking area of Serena hotel in Balochistan province Wednesday night, hospital sources said. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb went off inside the parking area of Serena hotel in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province Wednesday night, hospital sources said.

A spokesperson of Civil Hospital where the injured people were shifted told Xinhua that two of the injured people are in critical condition while more injured people are being brought to the hospital.

Inspector General Police of Balochistan Muhammad Tahir Rai told media that explosive materials were fixed inside a car in the parking area and the site has been sealed by the counter terrorism department of police which has restricted media to reach the site.

Bomb disposal squad reached the blast site to investigate further into the incident.

The country's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad told media that the injured people also included policemen deployed at the security of the hotel.

Intelligence sources from Quetta told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that it was a loud blast which was heard many miles away.

Fire erupted in several vehicles following the blast and window glass of the hotel and nearby buildings also broke due to the impact of the explosion, the sources added.

No group has claimed the attack yet. Enditem
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off the virtual international climate summit on Thursday, Earth Day, at 8 a.m. with remarks that highlighted the importance of global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Pope Francis will speak on the same topic later.

Here is a breakdown of the biggest names and the topics they will address over the next two days.

Economics and Pope Francis

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and David Malpass, the World Bank president, who has recently expressed support for a net-zero carbon future, joined a morning session on financing climate change solutions. Later, speakers will highlight climate work on the local level and discuss security challenges posed by global warming.

On Thursday afternoon, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas will participate in a panel to discuss the logistical challenges climate change poses for government agencies.

The pope is scheduled to appear via video link sometime during the session that began at 10:30 a.m. In 2015, he published a treatise calling for countries to care for our common home and to accept scientific conclusions about human-induced global warming.
By AFP

India posted a global record of almost 315,000 new Covid infections on Thursday as hospitals in New Delhi sent out desperate warnings that patients could die without fresh oxygen supplies.

Indias long-underfunded health system is being stretched to the limit by a devastating second wave blamed on a double mutant variant and super-spreader mass gatherings.

Health ministry data on Thursday showed 314,835 new infections in the past 24 hours, the most of any country since the pandemic began, taking total cases to 15.9 million, the worlds second-highest.

There were 2,074 fatalities, bringing the total death toll to almost 185,000.

The number of deaths and cases in India are however considerably lower on a per capita basis than in many other countries.

Major private and government-run hospitals in New Delhi have sent out urgent appeals to the central government, calling for an immediate supply of oxygen for hundreds of patients on ventilator support.
Indian Coast Guard swooped on a Sri Lankan boat and seized narcotics worth Rs.3000-crore & 5 AK-47s in an operation in Arabian Sea off Minicoy Isles. Image Source: IANS News

Chennai, April 22 : Indian Coast Guard rescued eight fishermen, whose fishing boat was drifting away from the shore off Karaikal after engine failure, an official statement said on Thursday.

According to the statement, Coast Guard ship Ameya, patrolling off the Karaikal coast received a distress message on radio from the fishing boat, stranded approximately 15 nautical miles due to machinery breakdown.

With the boat drifting away from the shore due to weather, the Coast Guard ship rushed to the spot and towed the boat to safety.

Noting that the incident once again highlights the disadvantages of fishing boats venturing out alone, the Coast Guard advised fishermen to therefore undertake fishing in groups, adhering to safe practices at sea and carry adequate life-saving appliances and communication equipment onboard.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
The renewed surge in COVID-19 infections is threatening to further divide the world economy between the rich and poor, potentially damaging overall global growth if the fresh outbreaks spread or if key sources of demand falter.

More people were diagnosed with COVID-19 last week than any other since the pandemic began. The World Health Organisation this week warned that new infections are increasing everywhere except Europe, led by rocketing numbers in India with cases also rising in Argentina, Turkey and Brazil.

Case numbers in India have skyrocketed, undermining a nascent economic recovery. Credit:AP

Thats casting a shadow over a previously vigorous global economic rebound given that failure to control the virus or get vaccines distributed evenly risks driving new mutations, first in emerging markets and then in developed nations that had been beating the pandemic back.

Even if that doesnt happen, a two-speed recovery will restrain even inoculated countries by limiting foreign demand for their goods and destabilising supply chains. The International Monetary Fund said last month that the recovery would miss out on a $US9 trillion ($11.6 trillion) bump by 2025 unless faster progress is made in ending the health crisis.
Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is very pleased announce that its partner Silver Spruce Resources has awarded the drilling contract for El Mezquite Gold & Silver Project to Layne de Mexico. Mobilization of the reverse circulation (RC) rig and geological team to the Property is planned during the first week of May. Silver Spruce reports that they intend to drill 2,000 metres in up to 14 holes in the first ever drilling program to take place at the project.

Silver Spruce is currently in its first year of a four year agreement with Colibri to earn 50% of the El Mezquite Gold & Silver Project and will be responsible for paying the costs associated with this drilling program. See news release dated June 11th, 2020 for additional terms of the agreement.

El Mezquite Exploration

Working very closely with Colibri, Silver Spruce has completed an exploration program which was recommended in part by an independent 43-101 report, including the requisite environmental permitting for drilling, geological mapping of geologic structures and lineaments identified in part from the recent ortho-mosaic photography, rock geochemical and hyperspectral analysis, data compilation and GIS modeling, and a LiDAR survey. Ground truthing of the Au-Ag system with geological mapping and rock sampling was completed in three campaigns between July 2020 and March 2021. All aspects of the exploration program are conducted with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols for personal safety. All current samples were submitted to ALS Global for gold, multi-element and hyperspectral analysis. Historical samples (>400) from the 2010-2019 programs also were submitted to provide complementary multi-element and hyperspectral data over the Property database. Several lots of assay results remain pending and will be provided upon receipt and interpretation.

RC Drill Program

Silver Spruce has set out the plan for the 2,000 metre maiden drilling program to test the targets defined by Au-Ag assays from rock sampling, mineral alteration, 3D IP chargeability anomalies and intersecting structural elements.





Figure 1. Location Map of the proposed El Mezquite Phase 1 drill collars

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/81395_00dc718584ffabe7_001full.jpg





Project Background

The 180-hectare Property is easily accessible from Mexican Highway #16 via a southerly-trending unpaved road which traverses through the centre of the known gold mineralization (see Figure 2). High voltage power lines are positioned along Highway #16.

The El Mezquite Project is located within the west-central portion of the Sierra Madre Occidental Volcanic Complex within the prominent northwest-trending "Sonora Gold Belt" of northern Mexico and parallel to the well-known, precious metals-rich Mojave-Sonora Megashear (see Figure 2).

The Property is very well situated in terms of logistics for exploration and is located only twelve kilometres northwest of the Nicho deposit currently under mine development by Minera Alamos.





Figure 2. Location Map of El Mezquite Property and Mines of the Sierra Madre Occidental

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/81395_00dc718584ffabe7_002full.jpg

About Colibri Resource Corporation:

Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (CBI) and is focused on acquiring and exploring prospective gold & silver properties in Mexico. The Company has six exploration projects of which five currently have exploration programs being executed or planned. The flagship Evelyn Gold Project is 100% owned and explored by Colibri. The Company has four additional projects, Pilar Gold & Silver Project (optioned to Tocvan Ventures (CSE: TOC), El Mezquite Gold & Silver Project , Jackie Gold & Silver Project, and the Diamante Gold & Silver Project (earn-in agreements with Silver Spruce Resources (TSXV: SSE) are also currently being actively advanced.

For more information about all Company projects please visit: www.colibriresource.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.

For further information: Ronald J. Goguen, President, Chairperson and Director, Tel: (506) 383-4274, rongoguen@colibriresource.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81395
Post-election audit report confirms accuracy and integrity of Michigan's election

Post-election audit report confirms accuracy and integrity of Michigan's election

APRIL 22, 2021

Bureau of Elections report summarizes more than 250 audits from across the state

The Michigan Bureau of Elections released its report today on the 250 post-election audits conducted across the state, affirming the accuracy and integrity of Michigan's November 2020 election.

"The audits are concrete evidence that November's election was fair, secure and accurate, and that the results reflect the will of Michigan voters," said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. "Legislators should be working to build on this success, rather than seeking to undo the policies that made it possible."

The more than 250 audits that took place reflect the largest number ever conducted in the state - another success following Michigan's record-setting turnout in November. The report highlighted the ethical, bipartisan and transparent nature of the audits, which were conducted by Republican, Democratic and nonpartisan officials across the state, and served as further evidence debunking lingering conspiracy theories about the election.

Election officials audited every ballot cast for president in Antrim County and found that the Dominion machines used there accurately counted ballots throughout the county. Officials also conducted a statewide audit exercise, by hand-counting votes cast for president on more than 18,000 ballots randomly selected across the state, which affirmed the outcome of the presidential election as previously determined by tabulation machines.

Further, audits of absentee ballot-counting boards found that significantly more were in balance or explained than had been at the close of the county canvass. This means that in each of those boards the number of ballots matched the number of names in the poll book, or that the imbalance could be explained in such a way that the counting board would be recountable. The finding underscores the accuracy of the counting boards and that county canvassers needed more time to finish the canvass process. Secretary Benson proposed giving them an additional week in her legislative agenda to advance the vote and protect democracy.

The audit report is available here.

# # #

For media questions, contact

Tracy Wimmer at 517-281-1876.

We welcome questions and comments at the Contact the Secretary of State page.

Customers may call the Department of State Information Center to

speak to a customer-service representative at 888-SOS-MICH (767-6424).
SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on trading data from ICD, an independent portal provider of money market funds, the redemption from prime money market funds due to the impacts of COVID-19 in March 2020 was an orderly rotation out of the asset class rather than a "run" on these investment products, as characterized by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). ICD provided trading insights to the SEC's Request for Comment on Potential Money Market Fund Reform Measures in President's Working Group Report (PWG) File No. S7-01-21 earlier this month.

According to ICD Data analysis of 378 companies trading prime money market funds (MMFs) on ICD Portal between March 2 and April 8 of 2020, outflows were spread evenly over a five business-day period from March 13-19 last year. Even at the lowest point of the crisis on March 23, 30% of ICD's client base invested in prime MMFs either increased or maintained their positions. Furthermore, of the 70% of ICD clients that reduced their prime MMF holdings, 43% still retained some of their investment positions.

"ICD believes that the exit from prime MMFs in March 2020 was triggered by the concern over fees and gates, not from a fundamental flaw with the instruments themselves," writes Tory Hazard, Chief Executive Officer of ICD, in his comment to the SEC on April 12, 2021.

As did many of the market participants offering comments to the SEC, ICD's comment letter recommends the removal of the tie between the current MMF reform's 30% liquidity threshold requirement and the associated fees and gates fund companies can impose should their funds approach that threshold. According to ICD, the March 2020 crisis "was a rush for liquidity across the market  exacerbated in the MMFs by an artificial liquidity floor  not the result of flawed or risky investments or concerns about the credit quality of MMF portfolios."

ICD's comment letter also points out that any further impositions on prime MMFs would reduce the instrument as a funding option used by many U.S. corporates to support and grow business. "The impact of reducing corporate borrowing options will make large corporations more dependent on commercial banks for funding, which in turn would squeeze-out smaller corporations who rely on these banks today," Hazard comments. ICD recommends only the removal of the tie between MMF liquidity and fee and gate thresholds will further fortify these instruments. "Any further actions will significantly diminish the effectiveness of these products," says Hazard.

ICD services over $5 trillion in money market fund trading, annually, bringing together corporate institutional investors and the fund companies that offer money market products and other short-term investments. ICD serves over 400 treasury organizations, across 65 industries and 43 countries.

To read ICD's full comment letter, visit ICD Resources. For more information about ICD Portal, visit www.icdportal.com or contact [email protected].

About ICD

ICD is treasury's trusted, independent portal provider of money market funds and other short-term investments. We provide intuitive technology and unbiased access to over 300 investment products through ICD Portal, a model in the industry for trading, reporting and analysis. Through our Global Trade Desk, located in London, Boston and San Francisco, we offer follow-the-sun support and expert service.

ICD Media Contact

Zoe Sochor

+1 646.581.3277 [email protected]

SOURCE Institutional Cash Distributors, LLC
Apple has encountered another issue with a company, This time, Spotify and Match Group, the company that created Tinder has called out the Cupertino giant over its abusive power on the App Store during the antitrust hearing on Wednesday, Apr. 21.

Spotify, Match Have a Bad Blood with Apple

Bloomberg reported that Apple has been making a move to overpower its existing tech rivals. For Horacio Gutierrez, the Chief Legal Officer of Spotify, the tech giant's rules are "nothing more than an abusive power grab."

"Apple abuses its dominant position as a gatekeeper of the  App Store  to insulate itself from competition and disadvantage rival services like Spotify," Gutierrez spoke to the lawmakers.

He added that the restriction of the company on developers is an abusive power grab besides being a "confiscation" of the value which was produced by other people.

Read Also: Epic vs Apple: Cupertino Giant Expresses Disbelief over Facebook Despite Submitting Over 1,600 Documents

Since Apple Music arrived at the market, Spotify was having a psycho-war with Apple. This is because Spotify said that Apple's imposed $9.99 pricing on Apple Music was not giving them enough space to gain a profit.

With that being said, the 30% cut that Apple imposed on its service appeared to be unfair on the part of Spotify. As a result, Spotify was forced to put a heavy charge on its service which targets iOS users since no option could settle the issue.

At the time, Apple was not allowing Spotify to have a smart selection of alternatives like app payment options or a different way to sign up for the service.

On the other hand, Match's Tinder criticized Apple and Google in allowing underaged users to access the sites.

Now for its concern with Apple, the company voiced out that Cupertino giant did not want to grant what they wanted. In particular, Match only suggested the addition of the rules of ID verification to improve the safety of the app in Taiwan.

However, what intensified the feud was a statement from an Apple executive, who said that Match owed them every money that they made. The executive added that Match should instead be glad since Apple did not get all of its revenue, Macrumors reported.

During the Antitrust hearing, Kyle Andeer, the Chief Compliance Officer of Apple was present to defend the company. The said hearing is focused on scrutinizing the mobile war as well as the App Stores, but mainly, the emphases will be Google and Apple.

As the representative of the tech giant, Andeer pointed out that the company has been a big driving force in revolutionizing software distribution so developers could easily get close with the users.

He added that the rules of the App Store are meant to implement performance, safety, and privacy standards.

Apple's Ongoing War with Epic

Currently, Apple is still in a dispute with Epic Games, a Maryland-based video game publisher over the "Fortnite" issue. Last month, the two companies have already finalized the line-up of the witness for the bench trial.

The bench trial between Apple and Epic will start on May 3. To know all the witnesses in the upcoming trial, click here.

Related Article: Streaming Wars: Spotify Accuses Apple Of Denying App Update Approval So It Can Eliminate Apple Music Competition

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Just as Ohio lawmakers in Columbus are currently debating various state report card reform proposals, Olmsted Falls City School District Superintendent Jim Lloyd recently penned an open email to the Ohio State Board of Education that has drawn some attention around the Buckeye State and beyond.

I tried to encapsulate this debate going on in Columbus into a blog about the accountability system that Ohio has had in place for quite some time -- the last two to three decades, Lloyd said.

That accountability system is grounded in test scores -- or some variation of including test scores or some kind of assessments -- to try to report to the stakeholders in Ohio, the voters, how schools are performing.

What lawmakers are currently proposing is either changing the current A-to-F grading system through different metric categories into an all-encompassing grade or creating a star system quality measure.

What theyre talking about now is tweaking their way to reform the current accountability system in the state, Lloyd said. The problem is, theyre taking a very poor accountability model and theyre trying to just provide some small reforms to it in order to try to make it better.

The issue is, we know over the last three decades the accountability system thats been in the state of Ohio has not improved the outcomes for students who go through such a system, he said.

What weve been doing in our state -- and really at a national level -- is the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We know thats the definition of insanity.

Lloyd proposes switching to John Turners True Accountability model, which takes the conversation out of the technical and convoluted weeds, so to speak, and creates an easy-to-understand system for educators and the public.

When youre able to do that effectively, those people outside of the organization understand the benefit of what it is youre trying to do, Lloyd said. They trust what it is youre doing.

When that communication is unclear, trust is broken. I think in our state, trust has been broken for decades.

While Lloyd acknowledged that such a change is a huge lift and a challenge, its benefits would put the conversation back at the district level in laymans terms.

You need to engage people and ask them what they expect of their school system, what are their hopes and dreams, and what do they hope to accomplish within what it is youre trying to do, Lloyd said. That requires a do-over in my opinion.

Moving forward, Lloyd said he plans on joining True Accountability advocate Tanner for conversations with Ohio State Board of Education members.

Theres some interest based on my response to school board member Mike Toal regarding learning more about what different models are out there and how might we be able to improve upon the model that we have, Lloyd said.

Im not naive to the point where I think Im going to write a blog or do some different things and everybody is going to listen to me and change what it is theyre doing, he said.

I think people need some evidence and proof that what youre doing has value more than what currently is in place. Thats something weve been working on in Olmsted Falls City Schools for quite some time.

Read more news from the Sun Post Herald.
The Museum of the Southwests planetarium director has started seeking out more opportunities for Spanish speakers to enjoy at the museum and planetarium. Valerie Rodriguez started as the planetarium director in 2019 then the pandemic started which prevented events from being held at the Blakemore Planetarium at the Museum of the Southwest.

In July of 2019, the planetarium added the Science on a Sphere permanent installation.

Now Im trying to get the general public here and involved with science, she said. A lot of the time the Hispanic population dont know about what we can provide at the museum and planetarium. Im trying to bridge that gap where more of the Latin population will stay and enjoy things that Midland has to offer.

The planetarium has added a Spanish dome show called Los Mayas: Planeacion Cosmica or The Mayan: Cosmic Planners. She said she would like to add an all-Spanish introduction for dome shows as well as add more dome shows with a Spanish-speaking option. Rodriguez is also a Spanish speaker and will give presentations for Science on the Sphere in Spanish with captions.

An all-Spanish event might be in the future for the planetarium and museum, she added.

The curator, Matthew Ward, has talked about creating Spanish content for some exhibition openings, so we could have a night where everything is in Spanish, she said. We will have English options available all the time so why not do a night featuring Spanish for Spanish speakers?

In 2019, the museum hosted an event for Dia de los Muertos with the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Rodriguez said she would like to work with the Hispanic Chamber again.

She said she has talked to many people who think the Museum of the Southwest only offers art options and that people dont know about the planetarium or the science education the museum also hosts. Rodriguez previously worked at Midland Academy Charter School, where she gained experience as an IT support specialist and educator.

Throughout the pandemic Rodriguez worked on making activities available online, and she helped Education Director Melissa Rowland create art and science supply kits.

Now we are working collaborating with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Club to provide them with the art and science supply kits, she said.

She also helped 3D-print ventilator splitters for West Texas hospitals during the early part of the pandemic. Even though the museum was closed to the general public during most of the pandemic, Rodriguez said the outreach and education never stopped, and museum officials reached people through podcasts, learning materials and virtual tours. New Executive Director Lori Wesley has reopened the museum and planetarium to the general public. The staff have started planning events for the summer.

Noteable: Rodriguez started her own vintage resale online shop in October. Eterno Vintage focuses on sustainable fashion choices with selling vintage pieces she has found at thrift shops or estate sales. The shop has different types of clothing including Y2K, 90s, 80s, 70s, 50s and more but Rodriguez said she is wanting to focus on luxury handbags.

Im going to try to get into the luxury handbag resale business, but I also love thrifting and vintage clothes, she said. Im very about reduce, reuse and recycle.

She has traveled to Italy, Chicago, Atlanta and Denver to thrift for her store. She also gets resale items from online estate sales where she can bid for an entire closet of clothing for about $5, she said.

Reselling is so fun for me because its all about the find, she said. I went to the thrift store last week and I found a 50s brown polka dot swing dress. I was probably there for four hours and left with two bags because it takes time to sift through clothes and know what you are looking at.

She said she wants to provide vintage clothing and accessories for the modern woman.

If people want to wear vintage clothing but also like modern styles then my shop is for you, she said. I do some slight alterations like getting rid of shoulder pads and hemming certain items.

Want to know more?

For more information about the MSW visit www.museumsw.org/.

For more information about Eterno Vintage visit www.facebook.com/eternovintage
A quiet resort in Bali (Photo: Nikkei)

Jakarta  Minister Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia Sandiaga Uno has said the Indonesian government planned to establish a travel corridor arrangement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.

Speaking in a press conference on April 19, he claimed the multilateral discussions were advancing and being finalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Uno added that the chances of the two aforementioned countries opening a tourism deal are mainly because both the UAE and Qatar have continued to serve Indonesian flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said Indonesia had opened its international doors to Poland and Ukraine.

The Indonesian government is planning to open a travel bubble partnership to lure international tourists in June or July and prepare Bali as the first destination for tourists. The local administration has named three green zones safe for tourist visitations including Ubud, Nusa Dua and Sanur.

Uno also mentioned a future visit by the Prime Minister of Singapore, who will meet with President Joko Widodo to discuss multiple topics, including plans to open travel bubbles for international tourists.
Iraqs Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar, announced last week that the country plans to increase its oil production capacity to 8 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029, compared to current production of around 3.8 million bpd that factors in OPEC-mandated cuts.

Based on its vast oil resources there is no insurmountable reason why this output level should not be attained by that time or indeed even the 9 million bpd or 11 million bpd that were posited by the International Energy Agency in its 2012 production scenario analysis for Iraq. Even the lower of these two figures would allow Iraq to overtake Saudi Arabia as the number one oil producer in the Middle East, with the Kingdom producing just 8.17 million bpd on average from 1973 to this year. To reach these new output goals, Iraq announced last week initiatives including boosting the production from the key field of Majnoon and the sale of ExxonMobils stake in another major field, West Qurna 1. In both cases, though, the real reasons why Iraq has been hamstrung in reaching its oil production potential over decades remain in place and, if not addressed, the country will never reach these targets.

Located around 60 kilometres to the north east of the main southern export terminal of Basra, the Majnoon site is one of the largest oil fields in the world, with an estimated 38 billion barrels of oil in place. Due to the legacy of both the Iran-Iraq War and the U.S.s incursions, from when the licence on the field was awarded on 11 December 2009 by the Iraq government to Shell Iraq Petroleum Development (in conjunction with its Malaysian partner, Petronas, and Iraqs Missan Oil Company) it took nearly 18 months simply to clear 28 square kilometres of land of explosives, prior to constructing and opening the first well. Production was then formally restarted on 20 September 2013 and, within a short timeframe, the consortium had managed to boost output to the 175,000 bpd first commercial production target, which was also the threshold for cost-recovery payments for Shell. By the end of the first quarter of 2014, the field was churning out an average of 210,000 bpd and the first shipment of crude oil to Shell Trading occurred on 8 April that year. The original oil production targets for the Shell-led consortium on Majnoon were first production target of 175,000 bpd and plateau production of 1.8 million bpd. The new plan announced last week is to raise output from Majnoon from the current 130,000 bpd to 450,000 bpd within three years after investment of US$1.15 billion. Related: The World Still Needs Hundreds Of Billions Of Barrels Of Oil

Shell, though, left Majnoon in 2018 and West Qurna 1 shortly after that. The official reason given by Shell was that its withdrawal was in line with its stated plan to restructure its global business, following its takeover of BG Group, involving a US$30 billion asset disposal programme and a focussing on currently more profitable gas developments. According to sources close both to Shell and to the Iraq government exclusively spoken to at the time by OilPrice.com, however, a major contributory factor to Shells departure were tied into the endemic corruption that pervades Iraqs economy. The maximum compensation fee per barrel of oil produced, payable by the Iraqi government to Shell, of a headline figure of a maximum US$1.39 for Majnoon and US$1.90 for West Qurna 1, was an increasing problem after oil prices fell from the beginning of 2014, a senior oil and gas industry figure who works closely with Iraqs Oil Ministry told OilPrice.com at the time. The nominal figures were among the lowest offered to IOCs [international oil companies] but the real figures, after deductions for graft were taken out before they even got to Shell  and Shell had no culpability in this - left the company with actual payments of around US$1.25 per barrel for Majnoon and US$1.70 per barrel for West Qurna 1, he said. When youre working on such thin margins anyway, even a few cents make a big difference, the source told OilPrice.com.

Following Shells departure and the floods in Majnoon in 2019, the Iraq government approached China to help it rebuild and bolster up the Majnoon site. Given that Majnoon is a shared oil reservoir with Iran, that the Iranian reservoir is Azadegan and that the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was still actively developing North Azadegan at the time, China was offered very favourable terms to effectively takeover the lead developer role at Majnoon. These included at least a 10 per cent discount to China for at least five years on the value of the oil it recovered, with the sale price to China to be based on the lower of either the mean average of the 18 month spot price for crude oil produced, or the past six months mean average price, with China having the option to choose the specific metric. With the terms of the deal on the table, China would have made between eight and nine billion dollars profit every year from Majnoon alone, the Iraq source told OilPrice.com.

Related: Why Is Most Oil Found In Deserts And The Arctic?



Despite the China National Offshore Oil Corporation nearing the final stage of negotiations on formalising this arrangement, pressure at the time from the ongoing U.S.-China Trade War meant that Beijing decided to take a more low-key approach to development, favouring involving itself on such sensitive sites via standalone fixed contracts for specific work rather than headline-grabbing lead developer roles. This occurred on Majnoon with the announcement that two major new drilling contracts had been signed: one with Chinas Hilong Oil Service & Engineering Company to drill 80 wells at a cost of US$54 million and the other with the Iraq Drilling Company to drill 43 wells at a cost of US$255 million. A very similar announcement of Chinese contract-only work was made at around the same time for West Qurna 1. This was the awarding of a US$121 million engineering contract to the China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corp to upgrade the facilities that are used to extract gas during crude oil production at West Qurna 1. This award compounded the already vice-like grip that China had over the West Qurna 1 site built initially on the 32.7 per cent stake in the field held by PetroChina, the listed arm of CNPC. It also means that whichever company buys ExxonMobils stake, China will still be running the field in all but name.

The current level of oil reserves at West Qurna 1 is just under nine billion barrels but, crucially, the site is part of the overall massive West Qurna reservoir that comprises at least 43 billion barrels of crude oil reserves. West Qurna 1 alone is also currently producing around 465,000 bpd with some ease according to Iraq oil industry sources, although its original plateau target of 2.825 million bpd has been re-negotiated down to 1.6 million bpd by 2035. The only major constraint to this plateau production level being reached is falling pressure in the wells and ExxonMobil was brought in to the field, and to Iraq in general, to rectify this through the build-out of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP). This involves taking and treating seawater from the Persian Gulf and then transporting it via pipelines to oil production facilities to be used for water injection to boost pressure at Iraqs key oil reservoirs. Despite CNPC saying that it can do the CSSP it cant, it hasnt got the right technology or expertise, only Exxon [Mobil] was ready and able to do it, said the Iraq source. Unfortunately, the risk for Exxon [Mobil] was just too high, he added.

For ExxonMobil, as with many other IOCs looking at doing business in Iraq, the risk/reward matrix involved in the CSSP negotiations were of particular concern. In particular - as was again recently highlighted in Iraq in the case of industrial-scale corruption at the vital fighter jet base at Balad - no matter how vital a project is to Iraqs prosperity in the future, short-term personal considerations (that is, graft) will jeopardise it. As highlighted by the independent risk analysis firm, Transparency International in its Corruption Perceptions Index, Iraq demonstrates: Massive embezzlement, procurement scams, money laundering, oil smuggling and widespread bureaucratic bribery have led the country to the bottom of international corruption rankingsand political interference in anti-corruption bodies and politicisation of corruption issues, weak civil society, insecurity, lack of resources and incomplete legal provisions severely limit the governments capacity to efficiently curb soaring corruption. The lack of a meaningful legal structure relating to the origination, monitoring, and administration of business agreements would open up ExxonMobil up to a plethora of problems in the future, said the Iraq source. If ExxonMobil had taken part in the CSSP and any part of it was shown to have been corrupt then the fallout for Exxon  and for the U.S. government  would have been disastrous, the Iraq source concluded.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Press Release

April 22, 2021 Dispatch from Crame No. 1060:

Senator Leila M. de Lima on PNP proposal to make Police Clearance Mandatory Ang pagrequire ng PNP clearance para sa labor-related transactions ay violation ng karapatan ng tao sa privacy ng kanilang personal information at ng kalayaan nila na sumali sa mga labor unions at organizations. What is clear is that in proposing that the PNP clearance be made mandatory for various DOLE transactions, the real intent is that PNP wants to harvest data from employees and labor unions. Wala pa mang nagagawang krimen, gusto nang kunin ng PNP ang mga pribado at personal na impormasyon ng mga job applicants at mga labor union officers na siyang hinihingi pag mag-aaply ng police clearance. The PNP knows that it cannot simply demand the data from the DOLE without cause or warrant because it would be a violation of our data privacy laws. So they are indirectly doing so by asking DOLE to require job applicants, employees and labor union officers to give their information to the PNP for a "clearance" that is ultimately useless. We all witnessed what PNP did and is still doing to labor union officers. Some of them are being painted as communists without any proof and then proceeds to summarily execute them claiming that they fought back or "nanlaban". Does DOLE want to take part in this bloodbath? DOLE should protect our workers. They should also protect the labor union leaders who are our partners in protecting employee welfare. This is DOLE's mandate. Worse, the proposal for a police clearance adds a new burden to our workers, many of whom are currently out looking for work because of the recession brought about by this government's failed COVID-19 response. Hindi pa ba sapat ang NBI clearance para sa mga taong may pending na kaso o kaya may outstanding warrant? Bakit kailangan pa ng PNP clearance? Dagdag pasakit, pahirap, at bayarin pa yan sa milyon-milyong Filipino na ngayon ay naghahanap ng trabaho. No rhyme. No reason. Except possibly some sinister motivation. This suggested PNP clearance for DOLE transactions will not help our people or our economy. What it does is violate the rights of our workers and erode our democracy. The DOLE should not be complicit. (Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 1060here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_1060)
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Enigma Securities Ltd. ("Enigma"), a full-service crypto platform for institutional investors, executed an agreement with Iconic Funds BTC ETN GmbH ("Iconic Funds") as an authorized participant for a newly created Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product ("ETP"). The Bitcoin ETP is planned to be listed for trading the week of April 26, 2021. Each fully Bitcoin-collateralized Note of the ETP represents a claim on a specified amount of Bitcoin, less applicable fees, and will trade under the ticker symbol XBTI with an ISIN of DE000A3GK2N1.

Enigma will facilitate note share creation and redemption process for the newly created ETP, leveraging its existing operational and regulatory infrastructure in both traditional securities and cryptocurrency. "We are excited to work with Iconic to bring their exchange traded product to our service platform as we continue to expand our digital asset offerings and access products to meet the needs of institutional demand," said Wilfred Daye, CEO of Enigma. "Iconic and Enigma are like-mined pioneers in creating valuable access products, allowing compliant and cost-effective access to cryptocurrency exposure," said Mr. Daye.

Patrick Lowry, CEO of Iconic Funds and publicly-traded Cryptology Asset Group, said "Iconic's aim is to provide a seamless and trusted manner for institutions and investors to gain exposure to crypto assets, which is why we have structured the physically-backed Bitcoin ETP. Authorized Participants are a key component of such a structure and we are ecstatic to partner with Enigma to facilitate the creation and redemption process of Iconic Funds' ETP."

Iconic Funds is perpetually at the forefront of crypto asset adoption, investing in the crypto space since 2017 and having issued one of the EU's first fully licensed crypto asset index funds in early 2020. By issuing a physically backed Bitcoin ETP  and one of the most cost effective of its kind  Iconic further cements itself as one of the most innovative asset management groups in the world.

The prospectus is available at https://funds.iconicholding.com/xbti-iconic-funds-physical-bitcoin-etp/ .

About Enigma Securities Ltd. (www.enigma-securities.io/)

Enigma Securities Ltd. is a leading, regulated technology-driven financial institution, dedicated to corporate client solutions for crypto assets. Headquartered in London, the firm works with institutional and corporate clients to provide a full suite of crypto services and bespoke liquidity solutions through EnigmaXTM, a proprietary electronic platform with REST, Websocket and FIX API supports.

In response to growing institutional demand for trusted digital asset trading, Co-Founders Michael Halimi and Avi Bouhadana first established Enigma in 2017 as the crypto arm of international brokerage firm Makor Group. Wilfred Daye is the CEO of Enigma. Enigma is one of the first regulated brokerage firms to set up banking relations and custody solutions to meet institutional standards.

Since its launch, the firm has expanded its capabilities targeting full-stack institutional offerings and operating under a client-focused agency business model. Enigma bridges the gap between traditional financial services and cryptocurrency markets through fintech innovations. For more information about Enigma, visit: https://www.enigma-securities.io/

About Iconic Funds BTC ETN GmbH:

Iconic Funds BTC ETN GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Iconic Funds GmbH and the issuer of a physically backed Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product ("ETP") (ISIN: DE000A3GK2N1; Ticker: XBTI). Iconic Funds GmbH is the holding company of a series of subsidiaries that manage and issue crypto asset investment products. Collectively, Iconic Funds GmbH and its subsidiaries are branded as "Iconic Funds." Iconic Funds is a joint venture between Iconic Holding GmbH and Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. (ISIN: MT0001770107; Ticker: CAP, formerly 4UD). Iconic Holding is a portfolio company of FinLab AG (WKN 121806 / ISIN DE0001218063 / Ticker: A7A), High-Tech Grunderfonds ("HTGF"), Cryptology Asset Group p.l.c. and Titania Investment Group OU.

Contact Details

Joseph Edwards

+44 207 290 5797

[email protected]

SOURCE Enigma Securities
About one-third of respondents to a new Air Force diversity survey say they fear reprisal if they report discrimination, harassment or other poor treatment in their unit.

Approximately 14,000 airmen and civilians answered the Air Force Materiel Command survey, which will be presented to senior leaders from Air Force manpower, personnel and services and the newly created Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said Bill Snodgrass, director of AFMC's Manpower, Personnel and Services at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The survey, officials say, could inform future studies about inclusion efforts across the workforce.

Gen. Arnold Bunch, AFMC commander, was directly behind the new Diversity and Inclusion, or D&I, survey, Snodgrass told Military.com in an interview Tuesday.

Read Next: Fort Bragg IDs Paratrooper Who Died During Static-Line Jump

"Really, the best way to understand how your military and civilian airmen feel on any important issue is just to ask them," Snodgrass said of the anonymous survey, which took about 15 minutes to complete and ran between November and December last year.

About 40% of the Air Force's civilian workforce, roughly 71,000 people, are employed by AFMC.

From the results, revealed last month, the command learned that there is an awareness gap about diversity and inclusion initiatives across its bases, which include Wright Patterson; Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

For example, roughly 73% of respondents believed that leaders encourage using the Equal Opportunity program to report and address discrimination complaints; however, 31% of survey-takers said they believe they would face reprisal if they used the program, according to an AFMC release about the survey.

About 95% said they trust that their performance is not impacted by their race or ethnicity; more than 88% said that their immediate supervisor took appropriate actions in response to incidents of racial discrimination in the past year, the release said.

"By law, we have an obligation to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, reprisal and disability, and [to] reach out and try to identify barriers that prohibit any of our airmen from reaching their full potential in being able to feel like they are fully contributing to the workplace," Snodgrass said. "As part of that obligation, that's kind of why we came up with our D&I survey. We're going to conduct this on an annual basis to monitor our targeted progress."

He said the survey also gauges what airmen know about the types of diversity and inclusion solutions the command is working on to improve morale and eliminate career barriers.

AFMC airmen represent a diverse career group, Snodgrass said. "We literally have airmen from the grade level who are working ... to turn a wrench, fix jets in a depot to literally rocket scientists."

Questions in the survey include, "Are you aware that the agency has been focusing on implementing initiatives to improve diversity inclusion in the past year? Do you think that hiring is adversely impacted based on your race, ethnicity or gender? Are you aware of the equal opportunity process? Do you think your supervisor or your leadership is taking this seriously? Do you believe Gen. Bunch and the command is going to do anything with the results of this survey?" Snodgrass said.

Keith Tickle, AFMC's diversity, equity and inclusion officer, said multiple commands have reached out to discuss AFMC's survey results but, so far, no other major command has adopted it.

Military.com reached out to each major command, all of which said they are promoting a variety of initiatives to foster inclusion and regularly conduct defense equal opportunity climate surveys.

"Our survey, although it's one piece of action, it is really integrated into a larger effort," Tickle said Tuesday.

The Air Force began a forcewide survey earlier this month as part of an Inspector General Independent Disparity Review.

The review, which covers both Air Force and Space Force personnel, is focused on racial disparities in the administration of military justice by race, gender and ethnicity within the Asian, Hispanic and American Indian communities.

It follows the service's first racial disparity review, which compared the experiences of Black service members with those of their peers.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: New Air Force Survey Investigates Justice Disparities in Asian, Hispanic, Native Communities
Port Botany workers boarded a ship on which 12 crew members later tested positive for COVID-19, including a man whose body washed ashore in Vanuatu nearly two weeks later.

A NSW Health spokeswoman said the Inge Kosan bulk liquid ship left Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and docked in Sydney for 24 hours from March 31. It left for Vanuatu the next day.

Port Botany workers have been tested for COVID-19 after boarding a ship on which crew members later tested positive for the virus. Credit:Sam Mooy

Health authorities in Vanuatu have confirmed that 12 out of 13 crew members from the ship, including the deceased crew member, have since tested positive for COVID-19.

The dead man is believed to be a Filipino crewman whose body washed ashore near the Vanuatu capital Port Vila on April 11.
Roma Downey, Lee Strobel, Michael Jr. and More: 8 Podcasts You Wont Want to Miss This Week

Looking for a great podcast this week? The Edifi Podcast Network has some powerful content you won't want to miss!

From interviews with Christian comedians, authors and actors like Lee Strobel, Roma Downey and Michael Jr., to serious deep dives into persecution, evil and the ways in which we can grow our faith, theres no shortage of content!

Here are just 8 episodes you wont want to miss:

The Inspired Legacy Podcast: Funny How Life Works With Michael Jr.: Life can be more similar to comedy than we realize. And rather than assume our days are random and the obstacles we encounter unfortunate, we should strategically embrace lifes events as part of a setup that leads to a punchline. This is the theme behind the new book, Funny How Life Works by comedian Michael Jr. Listen as we unpack his book, life, career, and so much more in this funny and inspirational interview.

Politely Rude With Abby Johnson: The Horrors of Christian Persecution: Gia Chacon Breaks Down What Believers Face Across the Globe: Gia Chacon of For the Martyrs breaks down the horrors of Christian persecution abroad  and Abby dives into COVID-19 restrictions and the warning signs she believes Americans must see when they explore these essential issues. Listen to this episode today!

Strong. Confident. His. with Kim Dolan Leto: Jesus Can Unbreak Your Heart: Are you in a season of trials? Do you feel broken? Maybe today youre hiding your brokenness: eating to comfort numb or sabotage your goals, not working out because youve lost hope, or even overcompensating and striving to attain goals to cover your brokenness. Our brokenness is like a foot that keeps tripping us, and it can only be healed by Jesus. Listen to this powerful episode.

The Pure Flix Podcast: From an Atheist Journalist to One of the Most Popular Christian Evangelists: Lee Strobel's Crazy Conversion Story (Plus: Roma Downey Drops By): In this powerful episode, Lee Strobel reveals his journey into faith and Roma Downey discusses the risks she and Mark Burnett took to bring more faith content to Hollywood. Hear these powerful interviews right now.

On The Edge With Ken Harrison: Navy SEAL Jeff Bramstedt Shares How His Walk with Christ Inspired Him to Donate a Portion of His Liver to Someone He Had Never Met: Ken Harrison is joined by former U.S. Navy SEAL and Founder of Life of Valor, Jeff Bramstedt. Together they discuss what it takes to become a U.S. Navy SEAL, surrounding yourself with people whose strengths are your weaknesses, and Bramstedts story of donating a portion of his liver out of Christian love for someone he had never met. Hear the powerful episode.

Prophecy Pros: Billy Hallowell: Spiritual Warfare and the Demonic: Billy Hallowell returns to the podcast to chat about his modern investigation into the demonic. Listen to this fascinating discussion about evil.

Raising Christian Kids: Helping Your Child Gain Spiritual Wisdom: We all desire and seek spiritual wisdom in different ways Just as Solomon did, we must ask God for spiritual wisdom, as it is a gift from Him. Solomon could have asked for anything, but he knew that having godly wisdom would be all he needed. Grab wisdom with this episode of the show!

Lets Talk Purity: Drugs, Chaos and Pain: The Message God Gave Brittni in the Midst of Addiction: As addiction continues to ravage lives around the nation and world, Brittni shares her incredible journey of hope and healing  and reveals the message God gave her in the midst of addiction. Brittni and Richard also deliver a powerful message to anyone struggling with addiction. Hear Brittnis story.

Want even more podcasts? You're in luck! The Edifi Podcast Network and the Edifi app are filled with thousands of shows you can listen to right now. Dive in here!
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 23:28:25|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The South African government, in collaboration with the private sector, on Thursday launched the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan (TSRP) which outlines measures they are implementing to resuscitate the sector.

The plan entails addressing tourism enablers in the short and long terms which include improving the use of technology as well as improving the security for tourists to feel safe when they visit.

"We have been monitoring some trends which show that travelers want a unique and sustainable experience. Tourists want to guarantee that there would be a refund or flexibility to change dates if need be," said Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane.

She said they want to make the COVID-19 protocols to be a permanent feature and assure tourists that it's safe to travel.

"We are encouraging local travel for now while rolling out vaccines and would market for international travel. International tourists are important for our sector," said the minister.

"We want to do a package with neighboring countries when we sell South Africa. Tourists cannot come from afar to see one thing, we would say visit our country then visit Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) or visit Mozambique oceans," she said.

Kubayi-Ngubane said they want e-visa for their key tourist markets like China, India and Nigeria to be fast-tracked and working with the Home Affairs Department to speedily implement that.

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa welcomed the plan and said they took part in the crafting.

Tshivhengwa reiterated call for the government to fast back the e-visa, address security concerns, successfully implement the COVID-19 vaccine and regional tourism package.

Kubayi-Ngubane said these interventions and enablers will facilitate the preservation of 12.6 billion U.S. dollars of value and recover the tourism sector to its 2019 output and employment levels by 2023.

According to the Department of Tourism, the total income for the tourism accommodation industry decreased by 72 percent in February 2021 when compared to the same period last year. Enditem
Demonstrators in Myanmar on Wednesday launched a blue shirt campaign, honoring a late veteran dissident who always wore blue prison garb, to press their demand for the release of 3,300 protesters held by the military regime since the Feb. 1 coup deposed the elected government.

April 21 is the seventh anniversary of the death of Win Tin, a veteran journalist and a leading figure in the National League for Democracy (NLD), who was arrested in 1989 for joining protests against the previous junta government, a movement that launched the political career of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Released in 2008 after serving nearly 20 years in Yangons notorious Insein Prison, Win Tin wore a blue a prisoners shirt every day until his death to demand the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar, a former British colony that has been under military rule for two-thirds of its 73 years as an independent state.

The current situation sees the entire country revolting against the junta, said Zeyar Lwin, a member of the Peacock Generation satirical theater troupe jailed in 2019 for defaming the Myanmar Army in street performances.

It is now more than two months and going on three months during which a lot of people have been arrested, and many have died, he said. For them, this is another type of movement for their liberation.

All the people, together with the young people, are now moving forward steadily to fight the military council and its allies, Zeyar Lwin said, referring to the State Administrative Council, the formal name of the junta government.

The blue shirt protest  the latest in a series of symbolic shows of resistance to the 11-week-old junta  came a week after protesters in multiple cities in the country of 54 million people painted streets and buildings red in what they called a Blood Campaign Against Dictatorship.

Previous demonstrations have featured auspicious numbers, flowers, and shoes  all aimed at galvanizing protesters and honoring the more than 700 people killed since the Feb. 1 military coup deposed leader Aung San Su Kyis civilian government.

Myanmar anti-coup protesters flash a three-finger salute of defiance during a demonstration in Dawei, southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi region, April 21, 2021. Credit: AFP/Dawei Watch





Blue shirts in Monywa

In Monywa, the largest city in northwestern Myanmars Sagaing region, a young protester said demonstrators are marching in blue shirts to press their demand for the release of local protest leader Wai Moe Naing, who was arrested last week after security forces rammed his motorcycle.

Security forces detained Wai Moe Naing and took him to a military base after a rally in Monywa on April 15. Photos of his beaten and bruised face went viral and stoked popular anger.

People are writing the name of Wai Moe Naing on the palms of their hands, the young protester said. Our boycott committee will work for the release of all those who have been wrongfully arrested.

The juntas crackdown on protesters has displaced close to a quarter of a million people, according to Tom Andrews, the U.N.s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

Horrified to learn that in addition to murdering at least 737 people & arresting well over 3,200, the juntas attacks have already left nearly a quarter million Myanmar people displaced, according to sources, he tweeted. The world must act immediately to address this humanitarian catastrophe.

At least 10 people were killed Wednesday evening when junta forces open fired on local residents in Sagaing region, witnesses said. The gunfire began when local residents stopped about 200 military troops who had raided nearby villages after security forces scanned the crowd with drones.

After completing an aerial survey by drones, they shelled the area seven times, said one witness who did not give his name. People scattered here and there for cover, and the troops came in.

RFA was unable to reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment.

Myanmar Anti-coup protesters place posters with slogans on trees along a road during a demonstration in Yangon, April 21, 2021. Credit: Associated Press





Driving away evil forces

Residents of Mandalay and other cities and towns across Myanmar continue to bang pots and pans every day at 8 p.m. as a ritual to drive away the military, which they consider to be evil forces.

Police arrested a man banging pots on the veranda of his house in Chanayethazan township Wednesday night. He was released Thursday morning after he signed a document pledging not to repeat the action, said a person close to the mans family.

Security forces targeting people ages 18 to 30 arrested more than 80 youths between Apr. 17 and 19 without presenting evidence of wrongdoing, protesters in various cities said.

Soldiers and police frequently check public transportation routes and make young men remove their shirts to look for tattoos supporting Aung San Suu Kyi or the Spring Revolution, as the protest movement is known locally, they said.

Residents also said they believe that the arrests are being made to stop young men from joining a proposed federal army to rise up against the military regime.

If they want to get protesters they should be making the arrests during the protests, a local woman said. But now, its not even safe to walk on the streets.

They check everyone on the streets looking for weapons and other things, she said. They are intimidating people who are afraid of being killed.

Police and soldiers also arrested 14 protesters following a march in Yangons Insein township, she added.

Myanmar anti-coup protesters hold sunflowers during a demonstration in Dawei, southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi region, April 21, 2021. Credit: AFP/Dawei Watch





Arrests following bomb blasts

In Yankin township outside Yangon, security forces arrested more than 30 youths on Apr. 17 on suspicion of involvement in three bomb explosions at the General Administration Office that killed a police officer and injured three others, residents said.

There have been reports of youths forming a resistance, a young woman who regularly participates in protests in Yangon told RFA. She said young people in Ayeyarwady region created a group called the Ayeyarwady Federal Army.

There are similar groups in several townships, she added. Maybe thats why they are targeting young people.

A dozen young people and bystanders were taken into custody Monday during a crackdown on a protest in Mandalay regions Nyaung-U township, according to a resident.

The National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel government comprised of democratically elected officials and lawmakers and launched on April 16, has discussed forming a defense force to fight the military  a move that some ethnic armed groups said they would support.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thailand-based rights group, said as of Wednesday that 739 people had been killed in violent crackdowns, while 3,331 others were being detained.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Valneva has pulled out of talks with EU bosses who wanted to buy its Covid vaccine, in another blow to the bloc's shambolic roll-out.

The French pharmaceutical firm, set to manufacture its jabs in Scotland, will instead prioritise securing deals with individual countries.

Chief executive Thomas Lingelbach said the company had not made 'any meaningful progress' with Brussels, despite committing 'significant time and effort' into meeting their 'needs'.

It is another blow for the EU's chaotic inoculation drive, which is massively lagging behind the UK's. Just 19.4 per cent of adults have been vaccinated in the bloc  compared to around 60 per cent in Britain.

The claims come as sources today said the European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca, after the drugmaker cut vaccine deliveries to the union.

AstraZeneca promised to deliver 100million doses by the end of March but only managed to send 30million. During the height of the row, the EU threatened to block exports of AstraZeneca's jab and Pfizer vaccines made on the continent to the UK.

Valneva has pulled out of talks with the EU for its coronavirus vaccine in another blow to the bloc's shambolic roll-out

Valneva yesterday announced it had begun Phase 3 trials of its jab as it seeks approval in the UK and abroad

The European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca after the drugmaker cut vaccine deliveries to the union, sources revealed today. The company's vaccine has been banned for all ages in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands

The UK has already secured 100million doses of Valneva's jab, which has passed through Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials

Over the past few months, EU countries have flip-flopped on using the firm's vaccine because of the risk of ultra-rare brain blood clots.

The union also had to temporarily pause the roll-out of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine because of the same concerns. It is now being administered after the regulator ruled it safe.

Moderna  the other company whose jabs Ursula von der Leyen and EU bosses have ordered  has also warned of supply challenges.

Problems at its European manufacturing plant mean planned deliveries to the UK, Canada and elsewhere will be affected.

The bloc ordered 100million new doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week to cope with its lack of supply  but it is not confirmed when the jabs will arrive.

In the latest blow, Valneva has now said it will 'deprioritise' order talks with the EU and will instead work with nations on a 'country by country basis'.

EU preparing case against AstraZeneca over vaccine shortfalls The European Commission is working on legal proceedings against AstraZeneca after the drugmaker cut COVID-19 vaccine deliveries to the European Union, according to sources familiar with the matter. An EU official involved in talks with vaccine makers told Reuters on Thursday that a story by Politico on the matter was correct. 'EU states have to decide if they (will) participate. It is about fulfillment of deliveries by the end of the second quarter.' The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has been under fire in the trading bloc for cutting supplies several times to levels much lower than promised, and potential legal action had been discussed previously. There was no immediate response from AstraZeneca on Thursday to a request for comment. Under its contract with the EU, the company had committed to delivering 180 million vaccine doses in the second quarter. Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told a hearing of the EU parliament in February that he hoped to meet EU expectations on deliveries in that period. Politico reported the latest possible legal action citing five unnamed European Union diplomats, adding that at a meeting of ambassadors on Wednesday a majority of EU countries said they would support suing the company. Advertisement

Britain has already secured 100million doses of the firm's jab, which has passed through Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. Today the firm announced it would press ahead with the final-stage studies, which could see it being approved and rolled out by the end of the year.

The firm's boss Mr Lingelbach said: 'We've committed significant time and effort to try to meet the needs of the central procurement process.

'Despite our recent clinical data, we have not made meaningful progress. We are now concentrating our efforts on EU member states and interested parties outside the EU.'

Ms Von der Leyen has come under fire for the bungled negotiations, with Russian MEP Chirstian Terhes criticising the EU's 'wall of red tape and out of touch bureaucracy'.

He told The Sun: 'Self-determining, fast and nimble national governments win the race every time, as the UK proved with its the vaccine rollout.'

Mr Terhes called for a 'Bigger Europe but a Better Europe' to reduce 'endless bureaucracy'.

Valneva's two-dose jab  which is already being manufactured in Scotland  is the first of its kind to be developed in the West and is an 'inactivated whole virus vaccine', meaning it works by injecting people with a destroyed version of the real coronavirus.

This allows the immune system to train itself to attack the actual virus, without the risk of it actually causing an infection.

It comes as Valneva yesterday announced it had begun Phase 3 trials of its jab as it seeks approval in the UK and abroad.

The trial will compare the Valneva vaccine against AstraZeneca's to determine its safety and effectiveness.

Previous trials have shown the jab is 90 per cent effective at reducing serious illness.

Adam Finn, chief investigator for the Valneva program and professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, said the vaccine will add another invaluable tool to the arsenal against Covid.

He said: 'Following very encouraging safety and immune response results from our Phase 1/2 trial, along with my investigator colleagues, I am really looking forward to starting on this important next stage of the clinical development of this important new vaccine.

'We definitely need more vaccines to help us out of this pandemic and this one is a very promising candidate.'

The trial will look at the immune response of 4,000 participants two weeks after getting their second dose.

It is being conducted in the UK with the support of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

UK Minister for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment Nadhim Zahawi said: 'The UK has been at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation throughout this pandemic, with Valneva's vaccine set to be made in Scotland, if approved.

'We have an incredible infrastructure in place for trialing these extraordinary medical advances, and I am delighted the UK will be home to another promising vaccine trial.

'I've taken part in a vaccine clinical trial myself and would urge all those thinking about signing up to go for it and to play a part in helping protect your loved ones and saving lives.'
A single week can change everything, or nothing at all, for businesses surviving during the pandemic.

A single week can change everything, or nothing at all, for businesses surviving during the pandemic.

The Free Press spoke to four Manitoba business owners and workers before new provincial restrictions and federal emergency support extensions were announced this week. How do they feel now?

Public-health restrictions and capacity limits havent changed for a gym owner, a hairstylist and a restaurant manager, but things have taken a turn for the worse with the fourth, an independent retailer.

Premier Brian Pallister did not order any businesses to shut down in an announcement of health-order changes this week despite earlier indications the province was considering such measures. The one change imposed was for retailers to limit store capacities to 333 people or 33 per cent, whichever is lower.

Clothier Aubrey Margolis, owner of Danali, said he believes the latest crackdown represents 'ridiculous restrictions which have no backing in data.' (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

Pallister did not announce any support packages for businesses, most of which have now faced some level of COVID-19 restrictions for 13 months. Manitoba businesses are now more than $180,000 in debt, on average, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

That same day, while delivering the federal governments budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced an extension of the wage and rent subsidies until the fall.

But even that came with an asterisk, as the plan is to begin replacing some of the aid with a stimulus program for summer hiring.

Aubrey Margolis, who runs Danali, a clothing store in south Winnipeg, believes the provincial governments "ridiculous restrictions which have no backing with data" are beginning to create uncertainty among customers.

"If theyre only limiting retailers and theyre saying cases are going up, where is the logic?" said Margolis, who had to reduce capacity in the store from 50 to 33 per cent.

Sabrina Cornwell, hairdresser at Hairplay Salon on Ness Avenue, is relieved the business isn't shut down. (Daniel Crump / Winnipeg Free Press files)

"Its the kind of messaging implied by that, which is a bigger bother for businesses now. I mean, theyre telling us that the COVID cases are coming from within individual gatherings, so why are they then limiting us and making people more worried to go shop at a local retailer? Its bizarre."

There were just two cars in the parking lot adjacent to the store Wednesday afternoon, a result of "flip-flops from the Manitoba government which is now scaring away our regular clients, as well," Margolis said.

Last week, hairstylist Sabrina Cornwell had fears of losing income if the province shut down personal services again.

"Im relieved they kept us at limited capacity instead of closing us altogether," said Cornwell, who rents a chair at Hairplay Salon on Ness Avenue.

"But while I dont want to ever depend on any government support, new funding for businesses theyre restricting... wouldve been nice."

Roula Alevizos, owner and GM of Saddlery on Market, worries federal funding support will soon end because she's in no position to start hiring. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Roula Alevizos, who manages Saddlery on Market in the Exchange District, echoed Cornwells concerns. She said she has received federal support, but worries about it ending because the restaurant wont likely be in a position to begin hiring any time soon.

"The provincial rules make no sense," she said.

"I had a mother and daughter come in the other day, and the daughter brought her boyfriend, who she lives with, for dinner. They all came together, but I had to make them sit (at) separate tables and they yelled across the restaurant to talk. What virus are we really controlling here by doing that?"

Several staff members from nearby offices have arrived together for lunch, sat at separate tables and then left together after telling her they sit near each other and mingle all day at work, Alevizos said.

"If restrictions like this exist, there are many businesses that just wont survive," said Jonathan Alward, Manitoba director for the CFIB. "The province needs to extend support now... it just absolutely needs to happen. Otherwise more restrictions may come with rising cases and, by then, itll be too late."

Dino Camire, owner of One Family Fitness and Manitobas representative on the Fitness Industry Council, wont be surprised when health officials order his doors closed again. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Thats why Dino Camire, owner of One Family Fitness and Manitobas representative on the Fitness Industry Council, said he wont be surprised if or when health officials order his doors closed again.

"Sure, theyve kept us open now, but with this government, we really never know when theyll close you for whatever reason," he said.

Its not clear if the province intends to expand assistance programs such as the Manitoba Bridge Grant in light of increased pressure on some sectors of the economy.

"The province has budgeted nearly $2 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal year for the anticipated COVID-19 response and contingency funds for future needs," a provincial government spokeswoman said in a statement Wednesday.

"The government is in regular contact with stakeholders in the business community to discuss emerging needs, and their suggestions have resulted in new programs and additional funding, such as this recently-announced $2 million boost to the Dine-in Restaurant Relief Program."

temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @temurdur
A new study has highlighted that while much is known about the ever increasing uptake of antidepressant medications around the world, there is very little evidence on safe and effective approaches to discontinuing treatment.

In 2020 there were 78 million prescriptions for antidepressants in England and about half of patients treated have taken them for at least two years. Guidelines typically recommend that antidepressants be taken for up to 6 to 12 months after improvement, or for up to two years in people at risk of relapse, but many people take antidepressants for much longer. Surveys of antidepressant users suggest that up to a half of people on long-term antidepressant prescriptions have no clear medical reason to keep taking them. Long-term use can put people at risk of adverse events such as sleep disturbance, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, bleeding, and gastrointestinal problems, as well as feeling emotionally numb and unable to deal with problems in life without their medication.

In this new study for Cochrane, an international research team, including Professor Tony Kendrick from the University of Southampton, looked at the findings from 33 randomised control trials that included 4,995 participants who were prescribed antidepressants for 24 weeks or longer. In 13 studies, the antidepressant was stopped abruptly; in 18, it was stopped over a few weeks (known as 'tapering'); in four, psychological therapy support was also offered; and in one study, stopping was prompted by a letter to GPs with guidance on tapering. Most tapering schemes lasted four weeks or less and none of the studies used very slow tapering schemes beyond a few weeks - in contrast to new guidelines from the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists that recommend tapering over months or years to safely stop.

The authors were unable to make any firm conclusions about effects and safety of the approaches studied and did not have confidence in the results due to the low certainty of evidence they provided.

'We know the rise in long-term antidepressant use is a major concern around the world,' says lead author Dr Ellen Van Leeuwen from the University of Ghent, Belgium. 'As a GP myself, I see first-hand the struggles many patients have coming off antidepressants. It's of critical concern that we don't know enough about how to reduce inappropriate long-term use or what the safest and most effective approaches are to help people do this. For example, there are over 1,000 studies looking at starting antidepressants, yet we found only 33 trials around the world that examined stopping them. It's clear that this area needs urgent attention.'

Co-author Tony Kendrick, Professor of Primary Care at the University of Southampton is leading the REDUCE trial, testing online and psychologist telephone support for patients withdrawing from long-term antidepressants. He says "More than one in ten adults in England are now taking antidepressants but surveys of long-term users suggest that between a third and a half of these have no evidence-based reason to continue taking them, and they are associated with increasing side effects in the longer term."

A key issue identified by the research team is that previous studies have not distinguished between symptoms of a return of depression and withdrawal symptoms from the medication.

The difficulty of distinguishing between these symptoms presents a real challenge for patients, doctors and researchers alike - often resulting in inappropriate continuation of antidepressant medication and uncertain evidence on which to base healthcare decisions.

Dr Kendrick continues, "Antidepressants are often difficult to stop due to withdrawal symptoms. More research is needed to establish the incidence of withdrawal symptoms in patients, and large randomised controlled trials are needed to test different tapering strategies.

"Ultimately we really need more deprescribing studies - especially in primary care given that's where most prescribing takes place - before we can make more definitive conclusions. In the meantime, we hope this review provides a starting point to help GPs openly discuss continuing or stopping antidepressants with their patients. We also want to raise awareness that withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants are common and can be mistaken for relapse of the underlying condition. Experiencing withdrawal symptoms isn't a sign that the patient has relapsed - it might be that they need to taper more gradually down to much lower doses instead, before eventually stopping."

###
Industry best practices refined from over 300 customer implementations now publicly available to companies modernizing their quality systems

BARCELONA, Spain, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) today announced the availability of the Veeva Quality Content Reference Model to advance quality transformation efforts and drive further standardization in quality management. For the first time, documented best practices from hundreds of successful implementations of Veeva Vault QualityDocs are now publicly available to accelerate system deployment and drive consistent and compliant GxP content practices across the enterprise.

"The Veeva Quality Content Reference Model greatly simplifies stakeholder alignment and gap assessment for companies looking to modernize their quality solutions," said Jan Paul Zonnenberg, partner, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, PwC. "The content framework with industry best practices is a positive step for the industry and complements how we see process harmonization improving quality management."

Legacy and other document management systems require companies to invest months defining requirements and customizing configurations. This reference model, built right into Vault QualityDocs, streamlines the process by providing a standard document hierarchy, taxonomy, and metadata for organizing and delivering quality content.

Emerging companies and established organizations alike can now align stakeholders and standardize content management across different business functions. The reference model also streamlines collaboration with contract partners that have become increasingly important to the overall product lifecycle.

"Veeva's quality customers are achieving significant efficiency gains by using our delivered best practices," said Mike Jovanis, vice president, Vault Quality at Veeva Systems. "Making the Veeva Quality Content Reference Model publicly available will enable further industry standardization and alignment across the life sciences value chain."

The Veeva Quality Content Reference Model is now available for companies readying to modernize their content management processes and system.

Learn more about Vault Quality Suite at the upcoming Veeva R&D and Quality Summit Connect Europe, 20 May 2021. The online event is open to life sciences industry professionals. Register and stay up to date on program details at veeva.com/Summit.

Additional Information

Connect with Veeva on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/veeva-systems

Follow @veeva_eu on Twitter: twitter.com/veeva_eu

About Veeva Systems

Veeva is the global leader in cloud software for the life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva serves more than 975 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Veeva is committed to balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves. For more information, visit veeva.com/eu.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, including the market demand for and acceptance of Veeva's products and services, the results from use of Veeva's products and services, and general business conditions (including the on-going impact of COVID-19), particularly within the life sciences industry. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon Veeva's historical performance and its current plans, estimates, and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Veeva's expectations as of the date of this press announcement. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Veeva disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Veeva's financial results are included under the captions, "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in the company's filing on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2021. This is available on the company's website at veeva.com under the Investors section and on the SEC's website at sec.gov. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings Veeva makes with the SEC from time to time.

Contact:

Deivis Mercado

Veeva Systems

925-226-8821

deivis.mercado@veeva.com

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Subject to the results of the EIA, construction is targeted to commence in 2022 with commercial production in 2023

( ) said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Mina do Barroso Lithium Project in Portugal is now ready for public consultation.

Last week, the Portuguese Environment Agency or Agencia Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA) declared Mina do Barroso's EIA to be in conformity with its requirements for the content of the EIA.

The period of consultation will extend over a period of 40 days and close on Wednesday, 2 June 2021, the miner said.

Results from the public consultation and the Evaluation Committee's review will then form the basis for the Committee's "Final Technical Statement" which will allow APA to potentially award the project its Environmental Impact Declaration, which is expected for August if there are no delays.

Subject to the results of the EIA, construction is targeted to commence in 2022 with commercial production in 2023.

The public consultation phase of APA's review process is designed to introduce the EIA to stakeholders and to collect opinions, suggestions and other contributions from those interested in Mina do Barroso.

During the public consultation phase, stakeholders will be able to review and comment on Savannah's plans for Mina do Barroso and how the impacts during the different phases of the Project, which are construction, operation, environmental rehabilitation and closure, will be managed.

"The EIA documents provide a facts-based analysis to aid stakeholders' evaluation of the Project. The EIA outlines how we care for the environment and the local communities, said chief executive David Archer in a release.

"We are keenly aware of the environmental and social impacts of our activities, from design right through to rehabilitation and mine closure. Protecting the environment and the safety and wellbeing of those communities is our prime concern and an essential part of our care for future generations. This is highlighted by 238 individual minimisation measures contained in the EIA which are designed to eliminate, mitigate, or minimise impacts and by a Benefit Sharing Plan and a Good Neighbour Plan, both of which endeavour to support and benefit local communities through the sponsorship of meaningful and relevant local community projects.

"The EIA is a synthesis of almost three years of work and outlines a development approach for the Project that is sustainable, responsible and innovative. Mina do Barroso will be an example of the application of ''Green and Smart'' management and control practices to mineral production. The Project has been designed to have a low C02 footprint with the use of locally abundant renewable power such as wind and hydro and in the medium term we are targeting NetZero C02 emissions."

Shares rose 2% to 4.07p on Thursday at close.
Chennai, April 22 : The health officials of Tamil Nadu are contemplating stringent measures to contain Covid spread with travel restrictions looming large. Chennai and adjoining four districts -- Chengalpettu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvalluvar and Coimbatore -- accounted for 50 per cent of the fresh Covid cases in the state.

The health officials are seriously contemplating the possibility of enforcing travel restrictions and to reduce the time of functioning of shops and commercial establishments in these five districts.

On Wednesday, there were 11,681 fresh cases in Tamil Nadu with 53 deaths and 50 per cent of these cases were reported from the above said five districts including Chennai.

While the total active cases in the 37 districts of Tamil Nadu stood at 10,25,059 on Wednesday, the five districts including Chennai accounted for 5,20,073 cases.

Sources in the health ministry, however, said that the cases are seen as high in Chennai and adjoining districts as the number of tests conducted in these areas are more.

Dr Subramanian Swaminathan, Infectious disease specialist, told IANS, "Travel restrictions must be the last resort as it would starve the poor. Social distancing and Covid safety norms must be enforced strictly and said that a full lockdown must be the way if nothing works out".

Health authorities are, however, worried over the rise in cases in the five districts and state Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan told IANS, "Covid protocol and social distancing must be properly carried out by the public. Containment and reduction of fresh index cases is the way out and there may be an increase in fresh cases owing to contacts."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Left-wing News and Observer reports:

In a protracted argument mostly among Republicans, the state House on Thursday narrowly voted against requesting a national convention to make changes to the U.S. Constitution.

The 53-59 vote killed the resolution, but the House later brought the issue back up and voted 66-45 to allow it to be considered again. The resolution was sent to the House Rules Committee, and Speaker Tim Moore said it could be brought up for a vote again next year. He says its unlikely the resolution will be considered again this year.

Sen. Bert Jones of Reidsville argued for it, saying 12 other states have formally requested a convention of the states. The movement stems from the belief that the U.S. Constitution must be amended to make Washington politicians more responsive and stave off a growing national debt that conservative supporters say will eventually destroy the countrys economy.

Jones said of all the hundreds of bills filed in the General Assembly this year none are more important to the health of nation than this one.

Moore took the unusual step of participating in the debate from the House floor, supporting Jones resolution.

The debate went on long enough that Jones eventually used a legislative maneuver to immediately bring the resolution to a vote even though eight representatives did not get their chance to speak.

Rep. Michael Speciale, a conservative Republican from New Bern, was among the House members who warned that there were dangers of holding such a convention because it could be expanded beyond its original purposes. He said it should be used only as a last resort.

Democratic Rep. Deb Butler of Wilmington spoke against the bill for the same reason as Speciale.

We are living in an environment that is politically incendiary. We have to all agree on that, she said. There are extremists on either side of this debate who could co-opt a convention and do great damage to our Constitution.

In April, the Senate passed a resolution calling for a convention of the states in a 29-20 vote.

The House took up the resolution after former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint visited the legislature Tuesday to lobby for the concept. The group also brought a hat-wearing llama to draw attention to their cause.

There hasnt been a constitutional convention since the first one in 1787. If two-thirds of the states call for a convention, Congress has to call the meeting.

While 12 states have passed a similar resolution to the one considered in North Carolina, other states have passed bills calling for a balanced budget amendment, leading to some confusion about how close the count stands to the required 34 states.

Nancy MacLean, a professor of history and public policy at Duke University, said the most organized or best funded delegations might be able to steer a convention. She said holding a convention could be opening Pandoras box.

Its inviting the whirlwind to hold one of these things, especially at a time when the country is so divided and polarized, said MacLean, whose new book Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Rights Stealth Plan for America is among Oprahs 20 books to read this summer. The people that are pushing these conventions say that they believe in the American Constitution, yet they want to change the American Constitution significantly.

Proposed amendments would have to be ratified by 38 state legislatures before they become part of the Constitution  a requirement that Jones has argued would prevent any unpopular amendments from passing.

While supporters of calling a new constitutional convention believe its scope could be limited  Wisconsin, for example, said its delegates would only be able to vote on amendments related to a balanced budget  others think there would be no controlling where a convention goes.

The best example is our own constitutional convention (in 1787), which was called essentially to fix the Articles of Confederation, said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at UNC Chapel Hill. The rest, as they say, is history. If you have a formal constitutional convention, at that point, all bets are off.

Commentary

The misinformation on this issue is distressing. A COS, in accord with this resolution would be limited to the items included in the resolution. Moreover, the Convention could not amend the Constitution, but could only propose it. If it attaomed the necessary 2/3 of the states to be submitted it would require 3/4 concurrence by the states to be ratified. So the argument that extremists could "co-op" the convention is bogus. Not a likely situation where it would be comparable to the 1787 convention. One of the items in the Resolution is term limits. One might presume that cost it some votes.
BOGOTA, Colombia, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Ikanik Farms, Inc. (CSE: IKNK.U) (FSE: DFMA) (the "Company" or "Ikanik Farms") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned, Colombian subsidiary Pideka SAS ("Pideka"), has completed the registration and commercialization process of six cannabis-based cosmetic products through the National Institute of Drug and Food Surveillance (INVIMA), the governing body in Colombia responsible new product registrations.

"We are excited to open the door to multiple countries concurrent with our product registrations and look forward to better serving the Latin American markets in the near future." said Brian Baca, CEO of Ikanik Farms.

The product suite is comprised of cosmetic products and offers skin care benefits, using the unique beneficial properties of cannabis derived oil. All products are designed with plant-derived oils and cultivated under strict quality and control standards, fortified with organic and natural ingredients to maximize the effect of the specific product and its purpose.

The products are medically authorized in three additional Latin American countries through the Colombian registration, opening the door for future product recognition and registration in the participating member countries of the Andean Pact, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The Andean Pact accelerates the Company's ability to open multiple markets through a singular, unified registration.

"We are proud to have completed this major milestone and have positioned ourselves to be a leader and cornerstone of product quality within the global marketplace, with an initial emphasis in Latin America and Europe." said Borja Sanz de Madrid, President of Ikanik Farms International, Inc.

About Ikanik Farms

Ikanik Farms is a California based, Multi-National Operator (MNO) who is building a dynamic portfolio of brands, inspired by its passion for health and wellness, action sports, and supported by its vertically integrated retail, distribution and cultivation in CA and its medical grade cultivation and laboratory in Colombia. The company's leadership brings decades of expertise in R&D, cultivation, retail, branding, and corporate finance. Ikanik Farms' operation in Colombia, through its pharma division Pideka, holds both GMP-PHARMA and (GACP) Good Agricultural and Collection Practice certifications for its Casa Flores operating facility.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws (together, "forward-looking information). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "believe", "should", and similar expressions, are forward-looking information.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: changes in laws, a change in management, the inability to obtain additional financing, increased competition, hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and, regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in the forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this news release is made as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and the Company does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Ikanik Farms Inc.

Related Links

https://ikanikfarms.com/

SOURCE Ikanik Farms Inc.

Related Links

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Outspoken MP George Christensen has used his impending retirement from federal parliament to condemn the 'broken' state of Australian politics.

The Queensland Liberal National MP on Thursday announced he would not re-contest his seat of Dawson at the next election, ending his controversial career in federal politics.

Into his fourth term, Mr Christensen said he had only intended to stay in parliament for three stints and wanted to spend more time with his family which includes Filipina wife April Asuncion.

Mr Christensen (pictured, back left, speaking to Craig Kelly (right) has vowed to continue to support the Morrison government and won't leave Canberra quietly

'While I've been repeatedly encouraged by the party, my staff, my colleagues and my voters to run again, the reality is in the past year I've been separated from my family who was caught up overseas with the pandemic,' he said in a video posted to Facebook.

'They're now here in the country so I want to focus more on them going into the future.'

Mr Christensen, who sits in the Nationals party room, also expressed his frustration with the inability of Australia's 'broken' political system to make progress on conservative causes including enshrining religious liberties, safeguarding strategic assets from China and installing coal-fired power.

'Unfortunately, I'm not so sure anymore that these issues can be properly fixed by legislation and via the ballot box,' he said.

'The mainstream media and other cultural institutions in this nation, sadly, have the dominant influence over our politics.

'On all of these issues and more, I can potentially have a stronger, more unfiltered voice outside of our parliament.'

In the meantime, Mr Christensen has vowed to continue to support the Morrison government and won't leave Canberra quietly.

The Queensland MP will leave Canberra (stick image) after serving in the federal parliament since 2010

'While I'm in parliament until the next election and while there's still breath in me, I'm going to continue speaking out on the issues that matter, without fear or favour, or the need to get re-elected,' he said.

The Mackay-based politician was first elected to federal parliament in 2010 after spending six years in local council.

He came under fire for spending 294 days in the Philippines between 2014 and 2018 and later repaid more than $2000 after questions were raised about taxpayer-funded domestic travel being used to link up with overseas flights to the southeast Asian nation.

Mr Christensen also courted controversy in early 2018, refusing to apologise for a Facebook post showing him pointing a gun alongside the comment: 'You gotta ask yourself, do you feel lucky, greenie punks?'.

The LNP held the north Queensland seat of Dawson with a 14.6 per cent margin at the 2019 election, with the seat now set to undergo a preselection process.

Dawson briefly slipped into Labor hands for only the second period in its 72-year history in 2007 before Mr Christensen reclaimed the seat three years later.
SC has sought Centres response on  supply of oxygen, essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and the power to declare lockdown

Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Centre 24 hours to present to it a national plan on the supply of oxygen, essential medicines and manner and method of administering vaccine.(Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Describing the prevailing Covid situation as a health emergency, the Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Centre 24 hours to present to it a national plan on the supply of oxygen, essential medicines and manner and method of administering vaccine.

Emphasising on the necessity of a national plan on the supply of oxygen, essential medicines and vaccines, Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde, heading a bench also comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, took suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the prevailing Covid situation which witnessed an unprecedented 3.14 lakh cases in the last 24 hours  the worlds largest single-day spike since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. More than 2,000 people succumbed to coronavirus in 24 hrs.

Coupled with the top court taking suo motu notice of the worsening Covid crsis in the country, the top court on Thursday also agreed to hear mining giant Vedantas plea for operating its copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu which has been shut down since 2018 on the ground that it would produce thousand tones of oxygen and give it free to treat patients.

As Tamil Nadu government opposed Vedantas plea for top court nod to begin operating its closed copper smelting plant on various grounds, including that the plea for reopening of the plant has already been rejected by the Supreme Court, CJI Bobde said, We understand all this. We will ensure compliance of all environmental norms by the plant and its oxygen producing facility would be allowed to operate. We are on the oxygen plant.

Saying that there is almost a national emergency, CJI Bobde told the Tamil Nadu government, You don't put spokes in the solution.

Appointing senior lawyer Harish Salve as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter, the bench said that it will consider at a later stage transferring to itself the Covid related matters being heard by different high courts across the country.

As solicitor general Tushar Mehta sought a clarification that since top court has taken suo motu cognizance of the situation created by the surge in Covid cases in its second wave, should Centre now respond to the proceedings before the high courts, Justice Ravindra Bhat said, You can submit the national plan to the high courts. It (suo motu proceeding) is not to supersede any order as of now.

The CJI Bobde said that the issue of transferring the Covid related matter being heard by the High Courts to the Supreme Court can be considered at a later stage.

The court has sought Centres response on four issues  supply of oxygen, essential drugs, method and manner of vaccination and the power to declare lockdown.

Making it clear that the power to declare lockdown must rest with the state, the court said that it should not come from the high courts  an obvious pointer to Allahabad high court declaring lockdown in five major cities of Uttar Pradesh  Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

The top court had on April 20 stayed the Allahabad high court order passed the previous day, directing the lockdown in five cities of Uttar Pradesh.

Observing that the national plan is the need of the hours and the six high courts were exercising their jurisdiction in the best interest but were ending up creating confusion in the management of Covid crisis, the top court said, We find that there are six high courts  Delhi, Bombay Sikkim, MP, Calcutta and Allahabad. They are exercising jurisdiction in best interest. But it is creating confusion and diversion of resources.

The matter will be taken up for hearing tomorrow (Friday) with court making it clear that it will hear the solicitor general Mehta and amicus curiae Harish Salve only.

Vedantas plea for the reopening of its Thoothukudi plant got government push with solicitor general Tushar Mehta telling the court, The country is in dire need of oxygen and the Centre is augmenting oxygen from whichever source. Vedanta wants to make its plant operational, let Vedanta only make it operational to manufacture oxygen for health purposes.
JERUSALEM -- A missile launched from Syria struck southern Israel early Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring Syria.

The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement. Iran, which maintains troops and proxies in Syria, has accused Israel of a series of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabotage at its Natanz nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge. It also threatened to complicate U.S.-led attempts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran.

The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region, and the air raid sirens were sounded in a village near Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located. Explosions were reported across Israel. The army later said the incoming missile had caused no damage.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or comment from Iran. But on Saturday, Irans hard-line Kayhan newspaper published an opinion piece by Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei suggesting Israels Dimona facility be targeted after the attack on Natanz. Zarei cited the idea of an eye for an eye in his remarks.

Action should be taken against the nuclear facility in Dimona, he wrote. This is because no other action is at the same level as the Natanz incident."

The Dimona reactor is widely believed to be the centerpiece of an undeclared nuclear weapons program. Israel neither confirms nor denies foreign reports that it has a vast nuclear arsenal.

While Kayhan is a small circulation newspaper, its editor-in-chief, Hossein Shariatmadari, was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has been described as an adviser to him in the past.

Zarei has demanded retaliatory strikes on Israel in the past. In November, he suggested Iran strike the Israeli port city of Haifa over Israels suspected involvement in the killing of a scientist who founded Irans military nuclear program decades earlier. However, Iran did not retaliate then.

Israel and Iran are archenemies. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and has opposed U.S.-led efforts to revive the international nuclear deal with Iran. With Israel's encouragement, then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.

Iran recently began enriching a small amount of uranium up to 60% purity, the highest level ever for its program that edges even closer to weapons-grade levels. However, Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Israel has twice bombed other Mideast nations to target their nuclear programs.

All the incidents come as Iran negotiates in Vienna with world powers over the U.S. potentially re-entering its tattered nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiators there have described the talks as constructive so far, though they acknowledge the Natanz sabotage could strain the talks.

Israel's government says the deal will not prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability. It also says it does not address Iran's long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and has called for more scrutiny of Israel's nuclear facility in Dimona.

This article was written by JOSEF FEDERMAN from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
DC statehood approved by House as Senate fight looms View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  A decades-long movement to reshape the American political map took a further step Thursday as the House of Representatives approved a bill to make the nations capital the 51st state.

Approval came by a 216-208 vote along strict party lines. Republicans oppose the idea given that the new state would be overwhelmingly Democratic  and the proposal faces a far tougher road in the Senate, where even full Democratic support isnt guaranteed.

The legislation proposes creating a 51st state with one representative and two senators, while a tiny sliver of land including the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall would remain as a federal district. Instead of the District of Columbia, the new state would be known as Washington, Douglass Commonwealth  named after famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who lived in Washington from 1877 until his death in 1895.

An identical statehood bill passed the House in 2020, but died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate. Now, with the 2020 elections leaving Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, Republican senators may resort to a filibuster to stymie the statehood bill.

The Senate is split 50/50 with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker. But it takes 60 senators to break a concerted filibuster attempt. Senate Democrats could vote to tweak the filibuster rules and slip the statehood issue through a loophole  but that would require total unity and some moderate Democrats have expressed opposition to that strategy.

Perennial swing vote and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia had already publicly stated that he will not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster. Manchin is also one of a handful of Democratic Senators who has not openly supported the D.C. statehood initiative.

For now, though, Democrats and statehood advocates are celebrating their House victory.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tied the statehood issue to Americas ongoing reckoning over police brutality and longstanding issues of racial injustice.

This vote comes at a critical time when Americans nationwide are eager to deliver on the promise of liberty and justice for all, Bowser said in a statement. For centuries, an incremental approach to equality in America has delayed this promise for too many. Now is the time for bold action.

Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer called the measure flatly unconstitutional.

It wont withstand judicial scrutiny, but it will cause massive confusion for years as its reviewed by the courts, Comer said in a statement. Democrats are pushing D.C. statehood to pack the U.S. Senate with two progressive senators so they can end the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, enact the Green New Deal, and create the socialist utopia the Squad dreams about.

The bill received strong support from the White House, which has called Washingtons current status an affront to the democratic values on which our Nation was founded.

During Thursday floor debate, a succession of Republican representatives decried it as a cynical and unconstitutional power-grab. The countrys founding fathers, never wanted D.C. to be a state and then specifically framed the constitution to say so, said Georgia Republican Rep. Jody Hice.

But Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly pointed out that Kentucky was once a part of Virginia, and was carved out as a state by Congress.

Connolly argued that the federal district was a theoretical concept when first conceived, not a community with a higher population than two U.S. states.

When the constitution was written, this place didnt exist, he said. When people say this is not about race and partisanship, you can be sure its about race and partisanship.

During a March hearing by the House oversight committee, GOP representatives claimed D.C. was unfit for statehood and proposed a variety of alternatives that included absolving Washingtonians from federal taxes and retroceding most of D.C. back into Maryland.

Opponents also contend that Congress lacks the authority to change D.C.s status, despite every state other than the original 13 being admitted to the union via congressional vote.

Zack Smith, a legal fellow at the Heritage Institute, a conservative think tank, said the measure becoming law would unleash a wave of lawsuits.

Youre basically looking at a lot of litigation, Smith told The Associated Press. Every legislative act of this new state would be called into question.  Things would be in a state of flux for years.

D.C. has long chafed under its relationship with Congress, which has the power to essentially veto or alter any local laws. Its population is larger than that of Wyoming or Vermont and its estimated 712,000 residents pay federal taxes, vote for president and serve in the armed forces, but they have no voting representation in Congress.

The limitations of D.C.s reality were put in stark relief last summer during a series of protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and against general police brutality. After a night of widespread vandalism, President Donald Trump usurped D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowsers authority and called in a massive multiagency federal force to downtown. The law enforcement forces cleared peaceful protesters from a public street so Trump could pose for a photo outside a church.

Ravi Perry, head of Howard Universitys political science department, said the events of last summer were a crucial turning point for the perception of the D.C. statehood push, intertwining the issue with the countrys ascendant racial justice movement. As recently as 2018, nationwide polls had shown the majority of Americans to be lukewarm at best on the topic, but those poll numbers changed dramatically in the past two years, he said.

People have started to see D.C. statehood as the racial justice issue that it is, said Perry, who is also on the board of the pro-statehood group D.C. Vote. Theres been a major sea change, and a lot of that has been motivated by Trumpism.

By ASHRAF KHALIL

Associated Press
Starting April 26, the Charleston County School District will offer the Pfizer vaccine to students age 16 and older through a partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina.

Pharmacists and doctors from MUSC Health will supply the shots at the district's eight largest high schools; school nurses will administer the vaccines. Students will be able to make appointments to receive the vaccines, which are not mandatory, through an online portal.

The Pfizer vaccine is the only one of the three authorized that is recommended to be used in people 16 and older.

Although it is not required on a state level, students will need to have parental consent to receive the vaccine through their school. The online registration will include a section for providing parental consent. District spokesman Andy Pruitt said sign-up links will be sent to students from their school.

Statewide numbers

New cases reported: 408 confirmed, 427 probable.

Total cases in S.C.: 477,395 confirmed, 94,853 probable.

Percent positive: 4.7 percent.

New deaths reported: 19 confirmed, 4 probable.

Total deaths in S.C.: 8,266 confirmed, 1,122 probable.

Percent of ICU beds filled: 72 percent.

How S.C. ranks

South Carolina ranks 41st in the nation in the number of vaccines administered per 100,000 people as of April 21, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hardest-hit areas

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In the total number of newly confirmed cases, Greenville County (63), Charleston County (31) and Horry County (29) saw the highest totals.

What about tri-county?

Charleston County had 31 new cases on April 22, while Berkeley County had 19 and Dorchester County had 19.

Deaths

Four of the confirmed deaths reported April 22 were in patients 35 to 64 years old, while 15 were in patients age 65 and older.

Hospitalizations

Of the 539 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of April 22, 136 were in the ICU and 59 were using ventilators.

What do experts say?

Results of a limited study at Rockefeller University in New York further raise concerns that the COVID-19 variants could be resistant to the available vaccines.

Researchers followed a group of 417 employees of the university who had received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Two still got COVID-19, according to the results published April 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In both of the cases, at least two weeks had passed since the patients had received the second dose of the vaccine. Researchers found both of the employees had cases of a variant.

Each of the patients had mild cases and recovered.

The results only strengthen the argument to get vaccinated sooner than later.

"These observations in no way undermine the importance of the urgent efforts being taken at the federal and state levels to vaccinate the U.S. population," the researchers wrote. "They also lend support to efforts to advance a new vaccine booster  to provide increased protection against variants."
COLUMBIA  A bill ensuring all South Carolina school districts offer full weeks of in-person learning the rest of this academic year and beyond, while guaranteeing teachers more money for working double duty, is heading to Gov. Henry McMaster's desk.

The House voted unanimously April 21 on the measure that also aims to help districts fill vacancies by providing retired teachers an incentive to return.

The effort started as a way to force school districts to offer a full return to the classroom.

As initially passed by the Senate, the deadline was April 12. The final version sets an April 26 deadline.

All but three of the state's 79 traditional school districts already offer all students full weeks in the classroom. The remaining three  Greenville and Colleton counties and Hampton 2 (Estill)  will comply with the law, transitioning to a full return for all grades on the deadline.

Broken down by schools, 1,210 of the state's K-12 public schools offered five days of face-to-face instruction April 21, while 51 schools provided a virtual and in-person mix, with two to four days weekly in the classroom, according to the state Department of Education.

"Every family must be given the option of sending their child to school five days a week face to face and the science shows that this can be done safely in every community," said state schools Superintendent Molly Spearman, who began pushing reluctant school boards to do so since the winter break.

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McMaster is sure to sign the bill. He's repeatedly said since last summer that if he had the legal authority to force a full-week option, he would do so.

The measure soon to become law ensures districts will stay in the full-return mode next school year.

But with districts already announcing plans to also continue offering a fully virtual mode, the legislation bans administrators from assigning teachers to essentially work double-time, instructing students both in person and online. If "extreme and unavoidable circumstances" require the dual instruction, teachers must be paid for the extra work. And the state's not paying for it.

If a district requires a teacher to work in both modes simultaneously, the district needs to find a way to pay for it. Hopefully, that will discourage such assignments. Otherwise, they collectively have $3 billion of federal aid at their discretion, legislators said.

The state's largest teacher advocacy group said that aid would be well spent on another provision in the bill, which allows districts to rehire retired teachers at a salary of up to $50,000 a year  for three years  without losing their pension payments. Currently, retired public employees who come back lose their pension for the rest of the year after hitting a $10,000 salary cap.

"These highly qualified and experienced individuals bring the expertise to schools necessary to address the effects of a year of disrupted instruction," said Patrick Kelly with the Palmetto State Teachers Association.
Announces Avi Greenspoon as First Member

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE: XIGM) (FSE: 2C1) ("Xigem" or the "Company"), a technology provider for the emerging remote economy, today announced that it has established an Advisory Board to serve as a strategic resource for the Company's leadership, and appointed Mr. Avi Greenspoon as its inaugural member.

Mr. Greenspoon is currently the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of III Dune Capital Partners Limited. Prior to joining III Dune, he was a partner at Goodmans LLP, a pre-eminent Toronto law firm, where he specialized in corporate and securities law. Mr. Greenspoon was repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer in the area of Corporate Mid-Market by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. He earned his Bachelor of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993. Mr. Greenspoon has previously served as a director on a number of public company and non-profit boards.

"We are very pleased to welcome Avi to our Advisory Board. His experience in advising and leading companies as they successfully navigated their growth will be of tremendous value as we build Xigem," said Brian Kalish, co-founder and CEO of Xigem Technologies.

Xigem's Advisory Board will bring together members with a broad range of skills and experiences to offer unbiased perspectives on strategic matters. They will advise the Company on market and industry trends, with a focus on corporate and business development opportunities. The Board will encourage the exploration of new business paradigms, and support the Company's governance framework to enable sustainable and steady growth.

The Company expects to announce the appointment of additional Advisory Board members in the coming weeks.

About Xigem Technologies Corporation

Established in Toronto, Ontario, Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE: XIGM) (FSE: 2C1) is positioned to become a leading SaaS technology platform for the emerging near trillion dollar remote economy, with software capable of improving the capacity, productivity, and overall remote operations for businesses, consumers and other organizations. Beginning with "iAgent," the Company's patented technology, Xigem's portfolio will provide organizations, businesses and consumers with the tools necessary to thrive in a vast array of remote working, learning and treatment environments.

www.xigemtechnologies.com

Instagram: @xigemtechnologies

Twitter: @XigemTech

Facebook: @xigemtechnologies

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/xigem-technologies

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Xigem undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Xigem, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Xigem believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Xigem's control. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and is made as of the date hereof. Xigem disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Xigem Technologies Corporation

On behalf of the Company:

Brian Kalish, Chief Executive Officer

For further information:

Phone: (647) 250-9824 ext.4

Investors: investors@xigemtechnologies.com

Media: media@xigemtechnologies.com

www.xigemtechnologies.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81202
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A proposal to block state and local police officers from enforcing any new federal gun restrictions is drawing criticism.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held a public hearing on a bill. Randy Hillman, a former prosecutor representing the Alabama Sheriffs Association, told the committee that the measure would put law enforcement officers in a position of having to pick and choose what to enforce.

The committee could vote on the bill next week. A similar measure has already cleared the Alabama Senate.
COLUMBIA, S.C.  South Carolina is poised to make significant changes this year to the way it executes death row inmates, giving the state an avenue to use electrocution and adding firing squads as an option.

A state House panel opted Wednesday to keep death by firing squad as an option for executions when it took up a Senate proposal that cleared the upper chamber last month. The Senate measure, sponsored by former solicitor and state Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, would make the electric chair the states new default method of execution but give death row inmates whose appeals have been exhausted the option to die by firing squad.

Right now, death row inmates have the choice between death by lethal injection or electrocution. However, the state cannot currently carry out lethal injection deaths because it doesnt have and cannot obtain the necessary chemicals. At the same time, the state cannot force someone to die by electrocution.

Ive come before you and the Senate for several years now, five or six years, saying that we could not carry out execution by lethal injection because we could not obtain the drugs, Bryan Stirling, head of the state Department of Corrections, testified Wednesday.

The legislation does not spell out how death by firing squad would work.

Only three states  Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah  allow death by firing squad, with lethal injection as the primary execution method, according to nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center. But firing squads have not been used in the country in more than a decade. The last reported use was in Utah in 2010.

We can carry out death by firing squad if the law is passed, Stirling said.

The state has been unable to carry out executions by lethal injections because of a nationwide shortage in the required drugs, a dilemma that was raised in 2017 when the state lacked the necessary chemical cocktail to carry out its first execution in six years.

South Carolina has not carried out an execution by lethal injection since 2011 and an execution by electrocution since 2008.

As of Wednesday, South Carolina has 37 people listed as death row inmates who have been sentenced to death.

Three of those inmates have exhausted their court appeals, the third just this week, Stirling testified.

This is not an oddity, testified Melody Brown, senior assistant deputy attorney general with the state Attorney Generals Office. And this isnt going to be the only three coming up.

State Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry, said Wednesday the legislation will give the state and the prisons system more flexibility.

Certainly, I think all three of those methods have not been successfully challenged at this point, so if any one of them was successfully challenged and it was a result of a U.S. Supreme Court case that considered cruel and unusual in any which way, which we dont anticipate at this point, but if it happened, youve still got the other things in place, Fry said.

The Senate added the firing squad option after an hourslong debate that included two former solicitors  Senate Education Committee Chairman Hembree and state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, both of whom have tried capital cases  joining together.

On one hand, Hembree argued that a firing squad is more humane than the electric chair, though ultimately, he said, the lethal injection method is more humane. Harpootlian, who is against the death penalty in general but has tried and won capital cases against inmates that included notorious South Carolina serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins, said the death penalty should be reserved for the worst.

But most Democrats have argued the legislation is racially unfair, targeting more Black inmates than white, pointing to one of the more egregious examples of when South Carolina carried out the 1944 execution on George Stinney, a 14-year-old Black teenager.

Of the states current death row population, 19 are Black and 18 are white. And of the 282 executions carried out by the state since August 1912, almost 3 out of 4, or 208, were Black people, according to the state Department of Corrections.

By focusing simply on race, critics of the death penalty changes are overlooking the crime committed and that the victims are many times the same race as the inmate, said 11th Circuit Court Solicitor Rick Hubbard.

What concerns me sometimes when we focus on the race of the defendant, we forget the victim. And it concerns me that if you happen to be an African American victim and you have been brutally murdered by a Black male, an African American male, somehow the justice that should be afforded you should be less than that of a white victim because you have the misfortune of being murdered by somebody of your own race, testified Hubbard, whose work covers Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick and Saluda counties.

The states death row cases, in general, Hubbard said stand out.

These leave you haunted at night, Hubbard said. You close your eyes, you still see the images. You can almost hear the sounds of the incidents. These cases are different.

Gov. Henry McMaster has signaled support for the legislation.

I think its a good bill, McMaster said Monday when asked his opinion on the firing squad option. I will sign it.

---

Maayan Schechter of The State wrote this story.

2021 The State. Visit at thestate.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Just when readers think theyve caught up on all the COVID-19 news, theres new information about a variant or vaccine to knock them off their feet.

The Houston Chronicles COVID Help Desk is here to keep the city informed. Each week, a Chronicle reporter sits down with medical experts and public health officials to discuss the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic.

This week, doctors discuss vaccine efficacy, how immunization works with variants, traveling to receive a dose and what you can and cant do after youre fully vaccinated.

How effective is your vaccine right after the first and second doses?

With the two-dose series, protection against a serious COVID-19 infection slowly increases after the first shot, said Dr. Annamaria Macaluso Davidson, associate vice president of medical operations for Memorial Hermann Medical Group.

Your body starts responding immediately and building up immunity, Macaluso Davidson said. The second dose is like a booster, bumping the immune systems response to the 90-plus-percent efficacy rate advertised against severe complications and death.

NEW STRAIN: Texas A&M researchers discover a new COVID-19 variant in College Station

Early studies indicate even a single dose of the vaccine offers good protection; a federal study of nearly 4,000 first responders and health care workers found the first dose of the vaccine was 80 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections. A second dose brought protection up to 90 percent.

You do have some level of immunity after your first shot, said Dr. Ann Barnes, chief medical officer for the Harris Health System. It just gets maximized after your second.

How do vaccines work against variants, particularly the B.1.1.7 variant here in Houston?

A viruss main goal isnt to kill, but rather to replicate. When viruses mutate, theyre trying to spread the infection to as many hosts as possible. The mutation can look like a change to the spikes on the outside of the virus, which is what attaches to and infects cells. And this can cause vaccines to be slightly less effective with those variants.

The vaccine doesn't recognize it as close to 100 percent as it did the original virus because it changed a little bit, Barnes said.

Although there may be decreased efficacy in transmission, the vaccines available to the public are still highly effective against the variants. People dont have any natural immunity against the virus. Having antibodies after an infection provides some immunity, as do the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Rising vaccine rates could help slow the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the U.K.

Even if there are minor changes on the outside, its an envelope that encapsulates the virus, Macaluso Davidson said. The vaccines still work, the antibodies are still binding and stopping the virus in its tracks.

Can someone traveling from outside Houston get a vaccine here? What about outside the U.S.?

Yes. Several vaccine clinic websites, including the Houston Health Departments, say that proof of residency, citizenship or insurance is not required to get a shot at their locations.

It may be easier to find a COVID-19 vaccine dose here than in other parts of the state. In fact, if the person looking for a COVID-19 vaccine visits the U.S. frequently to see family or for business purposes, federal officials recommend they receive a shot.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Where you can get vaccinated in Houston

Theyre eligible for a vaccine here as long as they show a form of identification, but its not a fly-in, fly-out situation. To qualify, anyone who has recently traveled in or out of the country must have quarantined for at least one week before their vaccination.

Im vaccinated. What can I do inside?

When fully vaccinated (meaning youre either two weeks out from your second Pfizer or Moderna dose, or one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say you can start hanging out indoors with your friends and family who have also been fully vaccinated, or people who may not be but are at low risk of complications from COVID-19.

Doctors are a little more cautious, though. Barnes, for instance, is more comfortable being around family members who have also been inoculated, but wont be eating dinner inside with pals who say theyre low-risk.

The challenge comes when you're interacting with other folks who are not vaccinated, Barnes said. You don't know how at-risk they are, should they get exposure to the virus. And so I tend to be a person who in those situations would stay masked and 6 feet away from the unvaccinated person.

Under the CDC guidelines, fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without a COVID-19 diagnostic test or quarantine after the trip. While people can also go abroad, their destination country may require a test or quarantine after travel, even with proof of vaccination. The country also may not be accepting travelers from the U.S.

However, you should still wear a mask even after vaccination. Avoid unmasked visits with people at higher risk for complications from COVID-19 and large gatherings.

Have COVID questions? Ask the Chronicles COVID Help Desk.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu
WABASH VALLEY (WTHI) - Local organizations will be getting some help after COVID-19.

More than $325,000 will go back into our community. It's all with the help of the United Way and the Wabash Valley Community Foundation.

The money will help 13 organizations.

The United Way uses its Safety Net program to help meet food, shelter, and clothing needs.

Recently, the group expanded help to other COVID-19 related hardships - like mental health and abuse.

Here's a full list of the organizations that will receive help:
Barrington Stage Companys Youth Theatre perform in a production of "The Laramie Project" that will be streamed, free this weekend.
Jerusalem, April 22 : Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop the Israel-China relationship.

Rivlin made the remarks when he received the credentials presented by the new Chinese ambassador to Israel, Cai Run, at the president's residence on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli president asked Cai to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Lauding the long history of the friendship between the Jewish and Chinese peoples, Rivlin said Israel will always keep in mind the selfless help provided by the Chinese people to the Jewish refugees during the World War II.

In recent years, said the Israeli president, the bilateral relationship has made positive headway and the cooperation between the two sides has yielded fruitful results in various fields.

Noting that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and China, Rivlin said that Israel is willing to make more efforts to further develop its relationship with China.

For his part, the Chinese ambassador conveyed President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Rivlin.

Cai said that the Chinese and Jewish peoples have shared a time-honored friendship despite the vast geographic distance, and the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992 turned a new page in the history of the China-Israel relations.

In 2017, China and Israel established an innovative comprehensive partnership, ushering in a new stage of development for the bilateral ties, Cai added.

The two countries and peoples have understood, supported and helped each other in the joint fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Chinese envoy, adding that China and Israel have made positive progress in practical cooperation despite the impact of the pandemic and other factors.

Cai pledged to work with friends in both countries to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two states and make contributions to advancing the China-Israel innovative comprehensive partnership.

Cai arrived in Israel on January 22, as the ninth Chinese ambassador to the country.
She's been hard at work filming a remake of the 60s film The Ipcress File.

And Lucy Boynton was enjoying a break from her busy filming schedule as she had a drink with boyfriend Rami Malek in Croatia on Thursday.

The actress, 27, cosied up to her Oscar-winning beau, 39, while unwinding in Zagreb after travelling to the country to resume work on the series, in which she plays Sixties siren Jean Courtney.

Time for a drink! Lucy Boynton was enjoying a break from her busy filming schedule as she had a drink with boyfriend Rami Malek in Croatia on Thursday

Lucy opted for a stylish green printed jacket and sunglasses as she chatted to beau Rami during their low-key afternoon.

The Bohemian Rhapsody star was seen leaning back to lie on his girlfriend's shoulder as they had a refreshing beverage together.

Lucy flew to Croatia to resume work on the series after filming begun in Liverpool earlier this month. The Ipcress File is an ITV six-part series remake of the 1965 British espionage film starring Michael Caine.

Filming began last month on Exchange Street West, close to Liverpool Town Hall, which had been transformed into 1960s London.

Low-key: The actress cosied up to her Oscar-winning beau while unwinding in Zagreb after travelling to the country to resume work on the series

Simple: Lucy opted for a stylish green printed jacket and sunglasses as she chatted to beau Rami during their low-key afternoon

Talking: The pair were deep in conversation as they settled down for a drink together

While most of the film is being filmed in Liverpool, shooting will move to Croatia later this year to continue filming.

The series has been written by Trainspotting writer John Hodge and the all-star cast also includes The Night Manager's Tom Hollander and Peaky Blinders star Joe Cole.

Joe takes on the lead role as Harry Palmer, a working-class British sergeant in Berlin as the Cold War rages in the sixties.

Joe's character - famously played by Michael Caine - is slated as being 'sharp and savvy' with a series of side-hustles that could potentially land him in hot water with the law.

One to watch: Lucy will play the glamorous Jean Courtney, originally played by Sue Lloyd (right) a beautiful young woman who plays the love interest of main character Harry Palmer

However an intelligence officer notices his abilities and offers him a way to dodge jail by becoming a spy for the British government.

Palmer undertakes his first case known as The Ipcress File, which involves using his links to a man believed to have kidnapped a British nuclear scientist.

Lucy will play the glamorous Jean Courtney, originally played by Sue Lloyd.

The protagonist is assigned an assistant, Jean, a beautiful young woman towards whom he begins to develop romantic feelings.

Mirror image: Joe Cole is playing Harry Palmer, who is a working-class British sergeant in Berlin as the Cold War rages in the sixties (originally played by Michael Caine left)

The original espionage film and its following sequels were a deliberately downbeat alternative to the hugely successful James Bond films.

Despite this, one of the early Bond producers, Harry Saltzman and others were brought into work on the Palmer series.

Palmer is a contrast to Bond's privileged private school upbringing and lives and works in a 'gloomy' London, where he resides in a Notting Hill bedsit.

The original film was produced at Pinewood studios while also being shot on location around London.

Iconic: The original espionage film and its following sequels were a deliberately downbeat alternative to the hugely successful James Bond films

It is now included on the British Film Institute's list of 100 of the best British films of the 20th century, ranking at number 59.

It has been reported by Deadline that the production is being produced by The Crown's Andrew Eaton and directed by Black Mirror's James Watkins.

The original Ipcress File was awarded three BAFTAs and the novel has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

It also kicked off a series of seven other books, meaning there is scope for further series if this one proves a ratings hit.

Keeping busy: Lucy flew to Croatia to resume work on the series after filming begun in Liverpool earlier this month

Writer Hodge told the publication: 'This is a wonderful opportunity to inhabit a time when the post-war world was morphing into the way we live now, when social mobility, civil rights, and modern feminism were forcing their way into public consciousness, and all of it happening with the world divided in two and both halves threatening to blow the whole thing sky high.'

Rami and Lucy have been dating since 2018 after meeting on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody.

They were seen at various red carpet events throughout 2018 but their rumored romance was not confirmed until April, when Us Weekly revealed that they were in fact dating.

The outlet's source said: 'They met while filming Bohemian Rhapsody in London. He is so into her. He goes and visits her in London all the time.'

Dating: Rami and Lucy have been dating since 2018 after meeting on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody

In character: Elsewhere on Thursday, Tom Hollander cut a very dapper figure as he filmed scenes as spymaster Major Dalby for the six-part ITV series in Zagreb

At work: The Night Manager star, 53, was also seen acting inside a phone booth while several camera men wore masks outside

Rami finally publicly addressed their relationship in January 2019 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

He was accepting his Breakthrough Performance Award and said on stage: 'Thank you, Lucy Boynton.

'You have been my ally, my confidant, my love. Thank you so much.'

Bohemian Rhapsody won four of the five Academy Awards it was nominated for.

Along with Rami's win John Ottman took home the Best Film Editing honour, while team Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali earned the Best Sound Mixing honour. The film also won Best Sound Editing for John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone.

The film also grossed more than $900 million worldwide.
Midland County recorded 46 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to the State of Michigan's daily report.

The Midland County Department of Public Health will be holding another first-dose mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4 at the Midland Center for the Arts.

About 1,000 community members will receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the clinic, said director of health communications Chloe Updegraff.

The clinic is open to all community members aged 18 and older who live or work in Midland County. Community members can sign up for a spot on Midland County's website.

Community members without internet access can call 989-832-6380 to schedule an appointment.

"There are still quite a few times open for people to choose the time that works in their schedule," Updegraff said. "In the meantime, we will be doing several first-dose clinics with our schools as well as lots of second-dose clinics."

The health department would also like to remind community members about simple public health measures that can be done to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

In addition to getting vaccinated, people can do wear a mask, practice distancing, wash their hands, get tested, isolate after a positive test and quarantine if they are a close contact with a person who tested positive.

Thursday, April 22 COVID-19 numbers:

 Midland County: 46 cases were added. Pandemic total is 6,042 cases, 672 probable, 72 deaths and three probable deaths.

 Bay County: 55 cases and one death were added; pandemic total stands at 9,490 cases, 580 probable, 303 deaths and 13 probable deaths.

 Gladwin County: 13 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 1,756 cases, 340 probable, 40 deaths and three probable deaths.

 Isabella County: 30 cases were added; pandemic total stands at 4,798 cases, 775 probable, 80 deaths and one probable death.

 Saginaw County: 108 cases and two deaths were added; pandemic total stands at 17,900 cases, 1,084 probable, 539 deaths and 14 probable deaths.

On Thursday, the state added 4,867 new cases and 108 deaths, which includes 75 deaths identified during a vital records review. Overall, Michigan is at 809,591 cases and 17,139 deaths.

Testing

The state report shows as of Thursday, Midland County has performed 69,681 COVID-19 tests. Gladwin County is listed as having administered 19,972 tests.

Midland Countys seven-day rolling positivity rate on April 18 was listed at 14.6% and Gladwin County was listed at 18.9%. Our 12-county region is listed at 19.2% and Michigan is at 15.3%.

MidMichigan Health statistics

As of Monday, MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland was listed as having a 80% bed occupancy, with 44 COVID-19 patients and 5 in the ICU. MidMichigan Medical Center in Gladwin was listed as having an 33% bed occupancy, with 4 COVID-19 patients, and none in the ICU.

Regarding PPE supplies, the Midland hospital reported 15-30 days for N95 masks; 15-30 days for surgical masks; 30-plus days for surgical gowns; 15-30 days for exam gloves and 30-plus days for eye protection as of Thursday. The Gladwin hospital reported 30-plus days for all of the above supplies.
Preemie Twin Who Lost Her Brother at Birth Survives, Heads Home After 408 Days in Hospital

A premature baby girl who lost her twin brother just hours after being born has proved to be a fighter. Having survived, shes heading home with her mom and dad after 14 months in the hospitals.

Baby Ada Laurel Mesnard weighed just 1 pound (approx. 0.45 kg) when, at just 23 weeks, she was delivered at New Yorks Vassar Brothers Medical Center in February 2020. Her brother, Weston, passed away 16 hours after birth.

On April 12, Ada was discharged from Blythedale Childrens Hospital in Valhalla and headed home to Poughkeepsie for the very first time.

Before departing the hospital, the bouncing baby girl weighed in at a healthy 19 pounds (approx. 8.6 kg).

Usually you get a good idea if theres going to be something seriously wrong by 18 months, pediatrician Dr. Dennis Davidson told ABC7. She is 14 months now, and she is a rock star.

Adas mom, Laurena Mesnard, a teacher at Haviland Middle School in Hyde Park, had been looking forward to Adas homecoming from day one.

Every time I saw a baby go home  I would always whisper to Ada, Its gonna be your turn some day, youre gonna go home too, she told CBS.

Ada fought hard to make it to her discharge date. At birth, she was diagnosed with respiratory difficulties, including bronchopulmonary disorder, and needed a ventilator to help her breathe. She was also fitted with a gastrostomy tube for feeding and had hearing issues.

The tiny patient was transferred between Westchester Medical Center and Blythedale, enduring four months without visitations from her father Pierre, as strict viral containment measures were in place. She started intensive speech, feeding, occupational, and physical therapies in September and spent the next six months making milestones.

Beyond gaining weight, Ada learned to hold her head up, sit up, play, eat pureed food and formula, start to communicate, and even breathe on her own.

The fighter rang in her first birthday at Blythedale, receiving nearly 100 cards from well-wishers across New York and neighboring states. The day was bittersweet, though. Adas journey may have been miraculous, but her brothers absence was felt by her parents.

Upon leaving hospital, Laurena and Ada held up a handwritten sign, reading, After 408 days, Im finally going home with my parents. The baby was sent home with a tracheostomy, which her parents have been taught to maintain.

To support Adas ongoing journey, the familys friends started a crowdfunding page to help cover mounting medical expenses. This girl right here sets her own destiny, organizer Melissa Ann posted on March 11. [Doctors] give her a time frame for something and she beats it. There is no holding this baby down  She is destined for greatness.

Laurena and Pierre, grateful to Adas rehab team, are simply looking forward to some normal family time at home with their delightful daughter.

The mom hopes her baby will conquer mountains. I hope that she does whatever makes her happy, Laurena shared upon Adas discharge. Shes been through so much, and I hope she can find what she really likes in life.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Epoch Inspired Newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-23 01:10:59|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday exchanged views on the Myanmar situation in telephone conversations with Don Pramudwinai, Thai deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and Erywan bin Pehin Yusof, second minister of foreign affairs of Brunei, the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Noting that the forthcoming special meeting of ASEAN leaders is timely and important, Wang said the Chinese side expects the meeting to play a constructive role in de-escalating the Myanmar situation, send out positive messages and be conducive in three respects:

Firstly, the meeting should be conducive to promoting political reconciliation in Myanmar. Whether the Myanmar issue can be properly resolved mainly depends on the country itself, Wang said, adding that the way out is for all parties of Myanmar to seek new understanding through political dialogues within the constitutional and legal framework and continue pushing forward the hard-won democratic transition.

The Chinese side, Wang said, hopes that the meeting can encourage the Myanmar side to put first the overall interests of the country and the people, and send out signals on peaceful reconciliation, with all concerned parties exercising restraint and moving toward each other.

Secondly, the meeting should be conducive to showing ASEAN's constructive role. Since Myanmar is a member of the ASEAN family, ASEAN knows better than any other countries and regional organizations the special national situation of Myanmar, and has better conditions to participate in its problem-solving in a constructive way, Wang noted.

China expects that ASEAN will stick to the "ASEAN way" featuring unity, inclusiveness and consensus through consultations, build unified ground and make a common voice, so as to further demonstrate to the international community that ASEAN has enough political wisdom and collective will to provide Myanmar with constructive assistance, and has enough political courage to safeguard regional peace and stability, as well as the bloc's solidarity and cooperation, Wang said.

Thirdly, he pointed out that the meeting should be conducive to fending off external interference. Practice has shown that wanton suppression of external forces makes no contribution to solving problems of a country's internal affairs. Instead, it would bring turbulence and even deteriorate the situation, further affecting and disrupting regional stability.

China calls on the international community, with an objective and impartial attitude, to do more things to relieve the tense situation in Myanmar, instead of the contrary. At present, the international community should jointly support ASEAN to play its due role in this aspect, he said.

China expects this meeting to make a good start for the "soft landing" of the situation in Myanmar, Wang said, adding that China will continue to support Brunei in fulfilling its duties as the rotating chair of ASEAN, and believes that Thailand, Brunei and other ASEAN countries will play important and unique roles in making the meeting a success.

China will maintain close communication with ASEAN and continue to work with all parties in Myanmar in its own way, Wang said. Enditem
Marjorie Taylor Greene confronted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the House floor Wednesday and posted a picture of the interaction to push again for a debate with the progressive congresswoman on her Green New Deal.

'I'm glad I ran into you today @AOC to plan our debate about the Green New Deal,' Rep. Greene posted on Twitter Wednesday evening.

'After I finish reading all 14 pages, like we agreed, I'll schedule time for our debate,' the Georgia congresswoman continued, indicating she has not yet read the Green New Deal.

Greene used the hashtag 'MTGvAOC' and included a picture of her speaking with Ocasio-Cortez on the floor of the House of Representatives.

AOC claimed during the relaunch of her controversial Green New Deal that climate change is results of racism.

'The climate crisis is a crisis born of injustice, and it is a crisis born of the pursuit of profit at any and all human and ecological cost,' she said.

'Which means that we must recognize in legislation that the trampling of indigenous rights is a cause of climate change, that the trampling of racial justice is a cause of climate change.'

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Green posted an image of her confronting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the House floor Wednesday in again challenging the New York Democrat to a debate on the Green New Deal

Along with the image, Greene tweeted that she had not yet read the full proposal and would reach out to schedule a debate once she did so

Critics immediately pounced on Greene for admitting to not reading the proposal she has so harshly spoken out against.

This isn't the first time Greene has challenged AOC to a debate.

Last Wednesday she tweeted: '@AOC I'd like to challenge you to a debate on the Green New Deal economic policy.'

'Since you sponsored the Green New Deal and have a degree in Economics, I'm sure you are more than qualified,' she continued.

'I just have a degree in Business Admin and have owned a construction company for 20 years,' Green touted. 'A debate between AOC and I on the Green New Deal economic policy would be informative for the American People.'

'They deserve to hear the two sides with pro's [sic] and cons.'

'@AOC you can choose one moderator and I choose a moderator,' she said in setting the groundwork for a debate. 'Then we can negotiate a major news network to host the debate. Let's do this for The People.'

'What do you say?'

Ocasio-Cortez said it is a 'false notion' that the country has to choose between the planet and economy.

'We decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America to rebuild our infrastructure, to restore public housing, to make sure that we expand our access not only to EV [electric vehicles] and EV infrastructure, but mass transit,' the New York Democrat said during a press conference pushing the Green New Deal on Tuesday.

AOC was mocked for claiming during the relaunch of her controversial Green New Deal that climate change is a product of racial injustice.

She spoke Tuesday in front of the Capitol to promote her plan, which set a series of ambitious targets such as eliminating U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade and transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday re-launched her plan to combat climate change outside the Capitol where she claimed climate change is another result of 'racist' policies

Ocasio-Cortez insisted climate change must be viewed through the lens of race 'because we are allowing people, and we are allowing ourselves, to deny ourselves human rights and deny people the right to health care, the right to housing and education.'

Her comments on Tuesday were immediately seized upon by her conservative critics, after Mike Berg, deputy communications director for the Republican National Convention, tweeted: 'Wut?'

Commentator Mark Steyn appeared on Fox News on Wednesday night, calling it 'rubbish' and laughable.

'The people who really laugh at this are Xi and the Chinese politburo,' he told host Tucker Carlson.

'Because they don't have to bother talking about all of this. It frees up all of their time to talk about something important and something true.'

Tucker Carlson and Mark Steyn laughed at Ocasio-Cortez's claim on Wednesday night

Carlson agreed, adding: 'Climate change is racism is indigenous rights is infrastructure - it's all bad, give me power.'

He said her words eroded 'any incentive for anyone to engage in reason or measured debate. All they do is scream things that are demonstrably untrue, and it works.'

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also attacked Ocasio-Cortez's policy.

She said it would 'destroy the US's oil and gas industry', saying it would remove the country's 'negotiating power in the world'.

Initially introduced in 2019, the Green New Deal was relaunched ahead of Joe Biden's climate summit, to be held virtually on Thursday and Friday.

The White House said 40 heads of state would attend, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping of China and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

Ocasio-Cortez's relaunch of her plan was timed to coincide with Biden's summit.

'For so long, our movement toward a sustainable future has been divided with really just this false notion that we have to choose between our planet and our economy,' she said.

'And we decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America.'

Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey are seen together filming a social media post on Tuesday

Last Wednesday, Greene proposed a debate with AOC on the Green New Deal

She touted her business background as a way to debate the economic side of the proposal

Greene's April 14 tweet began to lay the groundwork for the debate, like each representative getting to choose a moderator

It was not immediately clear whether the plan would receive a significantly warmer reception from Biden's administration than it did from the administration of former President Donald Trump.

Biden announced in January that the United States would rejoin the 2015 Paris Agreement to fight climate change, and has promised to put the country on track to net-zero emissions by 2050 - a much later deadline than the Green New Deal's.

Asked if the lawmakers wanted to go beyond what Biden has proposed, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, who is co-sponsoring the Green New Deal, said: 'Yes. We believe that this is the moment that requires us to act big, think big, have a program that matches the magnitude of the problem that we're confronted with.'

Markey and Ocasio-Cortez highlighted successes achieved since the release of the resolution, including General Motors' announcement that it would sell all of its new cars, SUVs and light pick-up trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035 and the House of Representatives' vote to allow the construction of more public housing.

'It's possible to find middle ground in many areas of politics. I know because I've done it. But we cannot compromise now,' Markey said.

'We cannot compromise on the fate of our planet and on human civilization.'

The plan has received backing from 103 House lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez said, including first-term congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri, a vocal supporter.

She tweeted on Monday: 'We can build a future where our walls aren't poisoning us with lead, we aren't forced to breathe polluted air, and our neighborhoods are free of police violence.'

Republicans and Trump slammed the Green New Deal when it was first introduced, claiming adopting its goals would force Americans to cease traveling and not be able to eat meat.

'The green new disaster is back,' Republican Senator John Barrasso said in a statement on Monday, ahead of the relaunch.

'Free market innovation is the best way to protect our air, water and communities  not heavy-handed government regulation or taxation.'

The plan calls for 100 per cent of power demand to be met from zero-emission energy sources like wind and solar, modernizing transportation infrastructure, cutting carbon emissions from the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, making buildings and homes more energy efficient and increasing land preservation.

It also aims to create an economic safety net for communities affected by climate change and the shift away from fossil fuel use, including through guarantees of healthcare, jobs and job training.

The plan's name references President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s, which sought to help Americans ailing from the Great Depression with huge government-led infrastructure projects.

Separately, Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, on Monday introduced their Green New Deal for Public Housing Act.

The bill would modernize the country's 950,000 housing units to make buildings more energy efficient.

It would also require jobs created under the initiative to meet certain labor standards and allow for the creation of more public housing units.

It was not immediately clear how likely the bill is to pass in either congressional chamber.
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Netflix is doubling its studio capacity in Spain, growing its sound stages from five to 10 at its complex in Tres Cantos, just north of Madrid.

The U.S. streaming giant will also incorporate new post-production facilities, plus a filming lab and state-of-the-art editing suites. The expansion will be completed by the end of 2022, the U.S. streaming giant announced Thursday.

We are proud to keep strengthening our commitment to Spain. With the new additions, creators will count with the latest tools to keep telling great stories made in Spain, said Diego Avalos, VP of original content at Netflix in Spain. We will continue to work on fully supporting the sustainable development of Spanish audiovisual productions, in all their diversity, he added.

News of expansion at Netflixs Madrid studio complex, launched in April 2019 as its first European Production Hub, comes just a week after Netflix held an online roadshow to unveil seven new projects  movies, series and reality shows  including If Only, a Spanish adaptation of the canceled Netflix Turkish original.

Covering the next few months, the new project announcement suggested that Netflix has now achieved an unprecedented level of production in Spain that makes it one of the biggest investors in Spanish series and films in the country.

Netflix has released more than 50 titles made in Spain since 2016 and participated in more than 70 films from the time of its first original movie, 7 Years, released in 2016. It has worked with over 35 independent production houses and has created 7,500 jobs for casts and crews.

This years current productions are expected to hire over 1,500 professionals and create over 21,000 days of work for extras, Netflix estimated.

The U.S studio streaming platform also confirmed on Thursday the adaptation to the small screen of three Spanish novels: Un cuento perfecto, by Elisabet Benavent, which asks if battling to achieve self-expectations promises happiness; La chica de nieve, a hit crime thriller from Javier Castillo; and Hijas del Camino, by Lucia-Asue Mbomio, which Netflix describes as a ground-breaking debut about identity, family ties and the fight against racism.

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UWC Thailand becomes Full Member in the Global UWC Movement

UWC Thailand has been officially granted full member status to the United World College (UWC) movement, ending its probationary status which it has held since 2016 when it first joined.

Education

By Press Release

Thursday 22 April 2021, 09:32AM

Photo: UWC Thailand

The UWC International Board on April 16 recognised that there has been a significant positive change with regard to the governance structure, personnel and funding of UWC Thailand, as well as an agile response to the difficult current year.

Jens Waltermann, Executive Director of UWC International, said, UWC Thailand for many years has made important and innovative contributions to UWC education, be it through its Mindfulness programmes or Arrowsmith. After its impressive transition to becoming a school firmly rooted in, and carried by its school community, we have also seen a recommitment to scholarship provision and to building a true residential community on the beautiful UWC Thailand campus. I am more than happy  on behalf of the UWC International Board  to reconfirm UWC Thailands status as one of the 18 UWCs around the globe.

As a full member, UWC Thailand will continue to extend the distinctive UWC educational model, vision and mission to this part of the world and offer more students access to its progressive global programme.

We would like to thank everyone in the UWC International Office, the International Board and the Probation Panel for their decision and endorsement of our school. We are excited about the future ahead, Ben Gilmartin, Deputy Chair of the UWC Thailand School Board explains, A lot of work has been done in the past year, despite COVID, to establish UWC Thailand firmly and deliver the visionary education that UWC offers in Asia. We are stronger than ever before.

This news follows two positive re-accreditation reports that UWC Thailand received in the past six months from the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). These accreditations demonstrate UWC Thailands ability to meet and exceed the high standards of professional practice IB and CIS demand for international education, as well as UWCTs commitment to continuous improvement.

The most distinguishing feature, and greatest strength, of the school is its engagement and action within and beyond the school community. The mission and values the school truly believes in, promises and practises is outstanding. Using the five pillars, and the educational model as an organisational structure, the impact of student learning is authentic, significant, and powerful, noted the CIS Evaluation Report.

The evaluation team saw positivity, genuine warmth, and enthusiasm with which staff and students approach their work in the school, and it is clear that the school culture is a result of intent, concerted effort and belief in the mission of the school. The new governance structure is sustainable for the future of the school, but it was the belief in the mission that sustained the school community during 2020, the report added.

We are very proud to be a member of the UWC movement. It has taken an immense amount of belief, time and effort from everyone to make this happen, from our Boards, leadership team and our amazing community of staff, to the students and parents who had faith in what we are doing. UWC Thailand truly is a community like no other, commented Jason McBride, UWC Thailand Head of School.
Lesothos first Cardinal and Bishop emeritus of Mohales Hoek, Koto Sabastian Khoarai, remembered for his down to earth simplicity.

Paul Samasumo  Vatican City.

The Church in Lesotho has announced that the countrys first Cardinal, Koto Sabastian Khoarai, OMI, will be interred on 4 May 2021 at St Patricks Cathedral Mohales Hoek.

St Patricks -a fitting resting place

St Patricks Cathedral Mohales Hoek is a fitting rest place for a Cardinal who still felt compelled to do his bit towards its completion even after his retirement.

At the time of his appointment as Cardinal, he told The Lesotho Times, My nomination as a Cardinal comes at a time when I was still pondering about completing the work that I started in Mohales Hoek, which is the construction of St. Patricks Mission. The construction of the Church had already started during my tenure.. It bothers me a lot that I didnt finish what I started. Even though I am now retired  I still wanted to complete the St Patricks Church because I started it, Cardinal Khoarai told the Lesotho newspaper.

A grandfather image - concern for orphans

In his message of condolences, Pope Francis commended the Cardinal for, among other achievements, his commitment to the churchs educational apostolate in Lesotho.

So committed was he to young peoples education, formation and welfare, that he even took the care for orphans in an institution as a personal responsibility. He worried that perhaps his appointment as Cardinal would deprive the children at the orphanage of his support.

The other task I still wanted to pursue was to take care of the orphanage I had already established in Mohales Hoek. We have about 27 children in that orphanage, and without my presence, the situation could be difficult sometimes. You know when you have started something, it remains in your heart. One of the ladies who still takes care of these children was here to congratulate me after she heard about my nomination (as Cardinal). She even told me there were two more children added to the orphanage. Sometimes when they have nothing to eat, they come to me for assistance. I share what I have with them. I wanted to dedicate the rest of my retirement working with them, said the Cardinal.

A life of service to the Church

Cardinal Khoarai, who died at 91, was 87 years old at the time of his elevation to the office of Cardinal. He could not make the trip to Rome for the consistory due to advanced age and infirmity. He received the insignia of his new office from a Papal emissary.

The Cardinal served as Bishop of Mohales Hoek for 36 years retiring in 2014, and was appointed Cardinal in 2016.

(paul.samasumo@spc.va)
BOLOGNA - Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini was known not only for his uncompromising artistry, but also for his elegant style, as seen in numerous photos and vintage films that show him dressed impeccably on his podium at the NBC Symphony Orchestra as well as in his private life.



A faithful companion in Toscanini's professional life was his completely hand-tailored tuxedo, which was purchased at the prestigious Sartoria Scalia tailors in New York. Now, the Arturo Toscanini Foundation of Parma wants to bring that tuxedo back to the conductor's home town and put it on display for the public for the inauguration of the Arturo Toscanini International Study Centre and Archive on October 23, 2021.



The idea is to store the tuxedo inside a display case visible to all as part of a permanent exhibition at the Foundation, together with other things that belonged to the conductor.



The amount needed to purchase the tuxedo, to set up the display case and the museum-room at the Study Centre, as well as for other objects such as sheet music, letters and photographs, is 8,000 euros.



The Toscanini Foundation has set up a crowdfunding campaign on the Credit Agricole Italia platform to raise the money, and anyone can donate at https://www.ca-crowdforlife.it/.
The Japanese government is considering declaring a state of emergency in two of the country's major urban centers to curb a spike in coronavirus cases.

Infections are increasing around Osaka and Tokyo. Experts say more contagious variants are largely to blame.

Officials in Osaka Prefecture confirmed a record 1,242 new cases on Wednesday.

Osaka Governor Yoshimura Hirofumi has asked the central government to issue a new state of emergency for the western prefecture -- its third since the pandemic started.

Yoshimura said, "We want large-scale events to be suspended and facilities closed to stop people from gathering. We are asking the government to allow us to take more stringent measures."

Officials are considering asking department stores, shopping malls and amusement parks to close temporarily.

Bars and restaurants could be asked to further shorten their business hours.

A pub owner said, "If we have to stop serving alcohol, that would be really tough. Business is usually good at this time of year. If sales drop to almost nothing, it would be frustrating."

The neighboring prefecture of Hyogo has also requested a state of emergency. Kyoto is considering doing the same.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko plans to make a formal request soon too. The daily tally topped 800 in the capital on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide says the central government will work closely with local officials.

Suga said, "We want to take a close look at their requests and make a decision by the end of the week."

Across Japan more than 5,200 new infections were confirmed on Wednesday. It's the first time in three months the daily tally has topped 5,000.
FREMONT, OH / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Batteries have the opportunity to slash carbon emissions and reduce pollution. But their recyclability and carbon footprint determine their environmental impacts. That's why Crown Battery, a leader in 99% recyclable energy storage products, has confirmed that its manufacturing will be completely powered by renewable energy starting immediately. The move will reduce CO2 emissions, protect the environment, and benefit the local economy.

Crown Battery has signed a contract with AEP Energy, a subsidiary of American Electric Power. Crown will source clean energy through AEP's Integrated Renewable Energy (IRE) solution. This long-term, fixed-price retail energy option supports new, locally sourced wind and solar - for more than 12 years beginning in January 2023.

While the new renewable projects are being developed and built, Crown Battery will purchase 100% National Green-e Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) until the IRE supply begins.

"Sustainability is a key buying requirement for us, and we aren't alone," says John Connell, Vice President of SLI Products Group, Crown Battery Manufacturing. "More and more, our customers are asking, 'Do you have a sustainability program in place?' And companies have openly told us that they switched from prior suppliers to us because of our green manufacturing efforts."

"Crown's battery type is already more recyclable than an aluminum can, according to the U.S. EPA," says Hal Hawk, President of Crown Battery. "This commitment to renewable energy makes our batteries even greener." According to the USA, lead-acid batteries are 99% recycled -- the most recycled product in North America. They're 99% recyclable. And 80% of the material for new batteries of this chemistry comes from previously recycled batteries.

How to minimize batteries' CO2 footprint - while creating jobs:

Energy-sipping equipment lowers emissions and costs. Crown Battery's prior energy efficiency enhancements include on-site solar panels, ultra-efficient lighting, and geothermal cooling using colder temperatures deep in the Earth (saving 163,452 kilowatt-hours a year).

Crown has invested more than $8 million of its own money in energy efficiency. The company's latest project, an ultra-efficient charging system, will drastically reduce energy consumption. (Charging accounts for 70% of Crown's electrical usage.) The new charging equipment will also enhance battery performance and lifespan.

"With help from AEP Energy, we've saved enough electricity to power 13,000 American homes...all while creating jobs and reducing operating costs," says Hawk. "Now, we're excited to reduce our carbon footprint even more - and build our batteries with recycled materials and electricity from the sun and wind. Sustainable energy management is the future. Renewable energy is a win-win for our environment, our company, our community, and our customers."

About Crown Battery Manufacturing

Founded in 1926, Crown Battery is the world's leading manufacturer of 99% recyclable, deep-cycle batteries. Crown batteries are 100% US-Engineered and -Manufactured -- every one of Crown's lead-acid batteries comes from the company's ISO 9001:2015-certified plant in Fremont, Ohio. Batteries are made using ~80% recycled materials. The plant also incorporates solar panels, high-efficiency robotic welding, geothermal cooling, and 100% renewable energy.

Crown's consistent efficiency and sustainability efforts earned it the following AEP Ohio's Sustained Excellence Award (2020, 2015, and 2014); Continuous Energy Improvement Award (2016); and Energy Efficiency Champion Award (2013).

Visit http://www.crownbattery.com to learn more.

About AEP Energy

AEP Energy, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, is a certified competitive retail electricity and natural gas supply provider operating in 28 service territories in six states and Washington, D.C. AEP Energy supplies electricity and natural gas solutions for more than 500,000 residential and business customers and takes pride in making it easy for customers to buy, manage and use energy. Based in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago, AEP Energy is committed to excellence by delivering value, innovative energy solutions and excellent customer service. For more information, visit www.aepenergy.com.

Contact:

Tony Zarembski

Public Relations with Crown Battery Manufacturing

anthonyzarembski@gmail.com

734.926.5105

Sarah Devine

Corporate Media Relations with AEP

614.716.2011

mediarelations@aep.com

Related Images

SOURCE: Crown Battery Manufacturing

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640856/Earth-Day-Major-US-Battery-Manufacturer-Commits-to-100-Renewable-Energy-for-Manufacturing-in-2021
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F1's governing body is now listing the 2021 Canadian GP as 'TBA' - to be confirmed.

It is now widely expected that the Montreal race will be scrapped for the second year in succession due to the covid pandemic.

City mayor Valerie Plante, however, is not quite ready to confirm that.

"It is not the city that does not want the race, it is Montreal public health who do not think it is a good idea," she told the Radio-Canada program Le Telejournal.

"We spent a lot of time on the phone over the weekend with our colleagues - you can understand that large sums and contractual agreements are at stake.

"I'd like to give you some news," Plante added, "but it's really important for us to work with our partners to sort this out, rather than putting out information piecemeal."

She insisted: "We want the grand prix to stay. This is our wish."

Also listed as 'TBA' on the FIA's 2021 calendar at present are the races in Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

(GMM)
Two new plaques are being unveiled in Ballyragget in honour of Thomas Phelan, an 18-year-old gunned down by British soldiers near his home 100 years ago yesterday (April 21).

The project is the culmination of hard work by the Ballyragget Town Development Association, Ballyragget Heritage Group and the family of the late Thomas Phelan, with the assistance of the county council.

Grand-nephew of Thomas Phelan, John OShea, says great credit is due to local groups, including Ballyragget Tidy Towns, who helped out, and the people of Ballyragget for their enthusiasm for the project. Unfortunately, due to the public health guidelines at present, there can be no large public gathering or unveiling for the time being.

Thomas Phelan was born in Oldtown, Ballyragget on June 4, 1902 - the youngest in the family, with three siblings. He attended Ballyragget Boys School.

On Thursday, April 21, 1921 Thomas had been recovering from a bout of the flu and felt well enough to cycle his bicycle into Ballyragget to get a newspaper and tobacco. Members of the Old IRA had blocked the road close to the railway bridge close to Oldtown.



Thomas Phelan (RIP)

On Phelans return from the village, he spotted two RIC men and two soldiers from a British regiment in the field near his house. Panicking, he dropped his bike and ran.

The armed soldiers shouted at him to stop but he continued to run. Two soldiers fired six shots at his back, and he fell behind a hedge nearby. His mother, Margaret, had come out of the house and was pleading with the men to stop, but it was too late.

Fatally wounded, the young man died within a few minutes. His body was taken into Kilkenny City as part of an inquest. His death certificate noted the cause of death was shock and haemorrhage caused by a gunshot wound fired by the military in the execution of their duty.

Now, a century on, Thomas Phelan's relatives have welcomed the erection of the memorial plaque at the Square in Ballyragget, and also one to be unveiled at Oldtown, in his honour. They applied to the councils Civic Memorial Committee in order to progress matters, and were assisted by local councillor Michael McCarthy.
Srinagar, April 22 : Armed robbers looted Rs 6 lakhs from a branch of the J&K Bank in Baramulla district on Thursday, police said.

Police sources said armed robbers targeted the Sherabad Khour branch of J&K Bank in Pattan tehsil of Baramulla.

"The bank guard sustained an injury on his hand during a scuffle with the robbers.

"Initial reports indicate they have looted Rs 6 lakh from the bank before escaping in a car. They also decamped with the 12 bore gun of the bank guard," a source said.

An alert has been sounded to hunt down the robbers, and police has reached the spot to ascertain facts, the sources added.
By Julien Ponthus

LONDON (Reuters) - Young British investors are twice as likely to buy cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as they are to buy stocks, a survey by U.S. financial group Charles Schwab indicated on Thursday.

In the survey, 51% of investors aged between 18 and 37 traded or owned cryptocurrencies, double the number of those - 25% - buying or holding equities.

Exposing the gap in generations when it comes to investing, a mere 8% of investors aged over 55 aged trade cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, hit a record of almost $65,000 last week but has pulled back more than 16% since.

Despite the recent pullback, bitcoin has gained nearly 90% this year as large investors, banks from Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley and household name companies such as Tesla Inc warm to the emerging asset.

The spike in interest in cryptocurrencies has come amid a surge in online trading by retail investors, many of them younger people stuck at home with extra cash because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The same trend has spurred a boom in usage of online trading apps such as Robinhood, and also fuelled the social-media driven rally in GameStop Corp stock that pitted retail investors against hedge funds earlier this year.

"As more young people purchase speculative products, there is a fear that these investors are not diversifying their portfolios enough to mitigate risks in case cryptocurrency markets decline," read the Charles Schwab press release presenting the survey.

Its finding showed seven out of 10 young investors were uncertain as to how to build protections against losses in the current financial environment.

The survey was conducted between February and March 2021 among 1,000 UK investors aged over 18 and holding at least one type of investment.

(Reporting by Julien Ponthus and Tom Wilson; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Sunwing returns to London

Sunwing offers convenient flights to Cancun, Varadero and Punta Cana

Sunwing offers convenient flights to Cancun, Varadero and Punta Cana

TORONTO, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Residents of southwestern Ontario will be able to plan their future vacation with ease this winter, as Sunwing has announced theyll be returning to London International Airport for the 2021-2022 season. Starting December 15, 2021 until April 20, 2022, the tour operator will be offering weekly flights to the popular vacation destinations of Cancun, Punta Cana and Varadero.



Were delighted to be returning to London International Airport for the 15th year, commented Andrew Dawson, President of Tour Operations for Sunwing Travel Group. Now more than ever, our customers value the ease and convenience of being able to depart from their regional airport, and were pleased to be offering London residents frictionless vacation experiences under our wing.

The flight schedule from London will be as follows:

Between London and Punta Cana, Wednesdays from December 15, 2021 until April 20, 2022

Between London and Cancun, Thursdays from December 16, 2021 until April 14, 2022

Between London and Varadero, Fridays from December 17, 2021 until April 15, 2022



After over a year of travel restrictions and staying home, were looking forward to welcoming Sunwing back to London International Airport, said Michael Seabrook, President and CEO of London International Airport. Sunwing vacation packages are consistently popular amongst London sun-seekers, and with three tropical destinations to choose from, vacationers will be able to safely head back to paradise right from their doorstep.

Travellers can choose from a range of popular resorts in paradise and book with confidence during Sunwings Freedom 21/22 Sale. From now until April 30, 2021, vacationers can enjoy flexible booking options, the ability to change their plans with ease and enjoy an Early Booking Bonus of up to $1,000 per couple when they book an applicable package for travel between November 1, 2021 and April 30, 2022.

Story continues

In Cancun, customers can Vacation Like a Star at the newly-opened Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Cancun with entertainment-themed activities and A-lister amenities. Those headed to Punta Cana may choose to stay at Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa where they can enjoy All-In Luxury amenities like unlimited reservation-free dining; while those seeking an adults only option may choose to stay at Riu Republica, which is home to the only water park exclusively for adults in the Caribbean. London residents planning a getaway to the Canadian-favourite destination of Varadero can stay at Grand Memories Varadero with convenient amenities, comfortable accommodations and exciting activities.

Vacationers can travel with peace of mind knowing that the highest Canadian standards are in place throughout their entire vacation experience with the Safe with Sunwing commitment, created under the advisement of global healthcare leader Medcan.

About Sunwing

The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing has more flights to the south than any other leisure carrier with convenient direct service from airports across Canada to popular sun destinations across the U.S.A., Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This scale enables Sunwing to offer customers exclusive deals at top-rated resorts in the most popular vacation destinations as well as cruise packages and seasonal domestic flight service. Sunwing customers benefit from the assistance of the companys own knowledgeable destination representatives, who greet them upon arrival and support them throughout their vacation journey. The company supports the communities where it operates through the Sunwing Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on the support and development of youth and humanitarian aid.

https://www.facebook.com/SunwingVacations

https://twitter.com/SunwingVacay

https://www.instagram.com/sunwingvacations

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzjZ-lcuaqBQH7Sq0u3ru7A

For more information:

Melanie Anne Filipp

Director, Corporate Communications & Media Relations

Sunwing Travel Group

1-800-387-5602 | media@sunwing.ca

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a6451fd-c221-4d49-bf7e-b4e8546ad0dd




[April 22, 2021] New Mexico's Gallup-McKinley County Schools Commits to Major Social-Emotional Robotics & Curriculum Program

DALLAS, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gallup-McKinley County Schools , New Mexico's largest geographic district serving over 11,000 students, partners with RoboKind to deploy an assistive technology program to further improve social-emotional outcomes for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). "We are excited to include Milo and friends in our robust support system for students on the Autism Spectrum, as well as looking for opportunities to expand the use of this technology in the promotion of classrooms that reflect Universal Design for Learning principles and practices," commented John Overheim, Director of Services for Exceptional Students at Gallup-McKinley. The social-emotional learning program assists special educators in teaching students with developmental differences social skills needed for emotional regulation, conversations, and other social scenarios. "Working with GMCS is amazing because we get to see the impact when educators commit to system-wide innovation," commented Richard Margolin, RoboKind's Founder and CTO. "Thousands of students, led by their teachers, can now more effectively master social-emotional skills and meet IE goals."



Many research initiatives already leveraged the program to better understand the impact of assistive technology and evidence-based curriculum goal progression. In one example , Dr. Shelley Margow used Quantitative Electroencephalo-graph (QEEG) to map the cognitive function of her patients' brain waves before and after working with [the program]. She stated, "After three months of working with Milo, my students' mental maps showed a huge change in how their brains received and processed information. This correlated with the changes in the ASD learner's overall behavior."

To Learn More About The Research, Visit:

https://www.robokind.com/impact-reports Another study , by South Carolina's Department of Education, found that ninety percent (90%) of students demonstrated mastery resulting in observable generalizing, transference to human-to-human interaction. "We are looking forward to the implementation and interaction with Milo, Carver, Veda, and Jemi," John concluded. About RoboKind

RoboKind ( www.robokind.com ) is an education technology and robotics company that develops robotics and evidence-based, social-emotional instructional curriculum for autistic students. Endorsed by the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), RoboKind works with PK-12 institutions that help educators break down barriers of growth and improve outcomes for students with developmental differences. Press Contact

Daniel Gerow

Director, Communications

Email: dgerow@robokind.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-mexicos-gallup-mckinley-county-schools-commits-to-major-social-emotional-robotics--curriculum-program-301274593.html SOURCE RoboKind

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The Senate is expected to pass on April 22 a bill denouncing discrimination against Asian communities in the United States, and create a new position at the Justice Department to expedite reviews of potential Covid-19-related hate crimes. The bill is sponsored by New York Democratic Rep. Grace Meng and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono.
Ben Fogle has urged the woke brigade to stop 'mistaking' English patriotism with 'racism and xenophobia.'

The TV presenter, 47, has spoken out ahead of St George's Day on Friday 23 April, and expressed concerns that due to England's 'size and power of influence,' many people are left to feel 'a little bit squeamish' about being patriotic.

He went on to say that the public are 'treated as the embarrassing aunt at a wedding' for celebrating the day, but urged people not to feeling embarrassed if they wish to do so.

Speaking to The Express, Ben, who had a Scottish grandfather with Eastern European heritage and Canadian father, said: 'English patriotism is also often mistaken for xenophobia, racism or intolerance, and that is very sad  we need to reclaim it from the racists and the xenophobics.'

Ben Fogle has urged the woke police to stop 'mistaking' English patriotism with 'racism and xenophobia.' Pictured, attending Esquire Townhouse on October 19, 2019 in London

Ben, who 'defines' himself as 'English,' says that 'celebrating Englishness' does not mean you are criticising other nations. Pictured, at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on 6 October 2019

Ben, who 'defines' himself as 'English,' says that 'celebrating Englishness' does not mean you are criticising other nations - nor does it express any dislike towards the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish.

He added: 'We are living in a time when to celebrate national identity is interpreted as dislike or even blind hatred of multiculturalism and internationalism.'

However, Ben went on to say that this is not the case, instead arguing: 'We should be proud of the distinction that differs from our union of nations.'

The TV presenter also noted that Scotland celebrate Saint Andrew's Day, Wales has Saint David's and Ireland has Saint Patrick's Day, yet it is England's St George's Day that often passes by unmarked.

St George's Day will be held on April 23 in England and other countries around the world

According to Ben, now, more than ever - particularly in a 'post-Brexit world' - it is important to 'define our unique distinctions on an international stage.'

St George's Day is an annual holiday that honors St George, the patron saint of England.

King Edward III made St George the patron saint of England shortly after his ascension to the throne in 1327.

He chose St George, historically seen as a chivalrous, righteous and powerful warrior, to be the country's patron saint in an effort to rebuild the nation's monarchy after the tumultuous reign of his father, Edward II, and to project a renewed sense of English power across Europe.
COLUMBUS, OhioOhio lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to legislation that would allow falconers in the state to use owls to hunt for small game.

Senate Bill 28, which now heads to Gov. Mike DeWines desk, would permit the 110 or so Ohioans with a state-issued falconry permit to use owls for hunting animals such as rabbits and squirrels. To become a licensed falconer in Ohio, people must be 16 years old or older, pass a written test, complete a two-year apprenticeship, and keep proper housing and equipment for their birds, among other requirements.

The legislation is the brainchild of Mick Brown, president of the Ohio Falconry Association. Brown, who lives in Martins Ferry, Ohio, told cleveland.com last year that hes thought about the idea for awhile and noted that falconers in many other states are already allowed to use owls for hunting.

Its just, wed like to be able to do it if we choose to do it, Brown said at the time, and it doesnt seem like theres a reason why we shouldnt be able to.

After passing the Senate unanimously, SB 28 passed the House 68-23.

State Rep. Kyle Koehler, a Springfield Republican sponsoring the bill in the House, noted in a floor speech Thursday that 45 other states already allow the use of owls in falconry.

However, state Rep. Richard Brown, a suburban Columbus Democrat, called the bill irrelevant and unimportant, saying lawmakers should be focused on issues such as addressing the states high rate of infant mortality instead of passing bills that only affect 110 people out of Ohios population of more than 11 million.

Referring to Mick Browns earlier comment to cleveland.com that it would be pretty cool for falconers to use owls to hunt at night, Richard Brown said, tongue-in-cheek: I think it would be pretty cool if we named Bigfoot the state cryptid. But Im not going to waste everyones time with that nonsense.

Koehler replied that no one testified against the bill in the Senate or during numerous hearings in the House, and that several falconers have asked the legislature for permission to use owls.

I think we have to represent every Ohioan, whether it is 110 (people) or 11 and a half million (people), Koehler said.

Read more Ohio politics and government stories:

Ohios coronavirus case rate drops; 52 counties on red alert; Franklin County remains purple

Ohio anti-fracking activist joins Greta Thunberg to decry fossil fuel subsidies at Earth Day congressional hearing

Ohio unemployment claims hit months-long lows as officials tout progress with wait times, fighting fraud

Critics say plans forged in secret for asphalt, concrete plants in Cleveland violate vision for Opportunity Corridor

Dont hold your breath on passing marijuana banking legislation, says Senate banking chair Sherrod Brown
The Moral Equivalent of War Turned on Americans

Commentary

The death on April 19 at the age of 93 of Walter Mondalewho may go down in history as the last honest Democratic politician (or the last but one, after his old boss, Jimmy Carter)has taken me for a walk down memory lane: specifically to the moral equivalent of war.

Remember that?

Also known by the acronym of MEOW, it was the hapless President Carters attempt, via an idea borrowed from the psychologist William James, to unify and rally the nation on behalf ofwhat was it again? Oh, right. The energy crisis.

Boy, doesnt that take you back?

It seems that, in 1977, we were importing most of our oil from more or less hostile Middle Eastern countries that had formed themselves into a cartel (known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC) to drive up the price of oil to unprecedented levels, thus crippling our economy, which largely ran on the stuff, then as now.

Since the day 44 years ago when Carter delivered his MEOW speech, of course, we have learned two very important things.

The first is that, by the use of advanced technologies unknown in the 1970s, we could and would become self-sufficient in and even an exporter of oil.

The second is that crippling our economy by cutting down on our oil production and consumption is, as we now suppose, a good, not a bad thing. This is because cutting out the crudeif everybody else in the world did the same (which, of course, everybody else wont) over decades and decadesmight infinitesimally retard the advance of climate change.

What use that may be when the same climate change is now said to be already at crisis stage, I leave it to the reader to work out for himself.

That Carter didnt know these things in 1977, however, is, of course, not his fault. But even at the time, people sort of knew that attempting to drum up war fever, with all its implications of national survival, over having to pay a higher price for the oil to which our industrial economy was and is addicted was fundamentally phony.

I remember my widowed grandmother, already in her 90s at the time, writing to me that she had turned the thermostat down in the house she shared with her older sister, aged 97, in accordance with the presidents request. But she belonged to a generation who knew what a real national crisis was likeand she still expected our national leaders to know as well, and to ask for sacrifice in only the most exigent circumstances.

That Carter betrayed this trust by panicking over the OPEC oil shock is a lot of the reason why Democrats now panicking over global warming have to write such sacrifices into law, thus further diminishing our already diminished economic freedoms, rather than asking for the cooperation of the people. They know the people dont trust them anymore to tell the truth about such things.

All the same, the moral equivalent of war hasnt gone away. She didnt use the expression, but Nancy Pelosi clearly thought that there was still some mileage in the concept when she said, in response to the Derek Chauvin verdict: Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice  Because of you and because of thousands, millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice.

Im not the first to point out that the word sacrifice, used to describe Floyds death under Chauvins knee, is spectacularly ill-judgedas is the thank you for a death that poor Floyd could do nothing either to choose or to forestall.

Reasonable people might conclude that such misuse of ordinary English words extends to her use of the word justice as well, since Pelosi and many others of her party had from the beginning treated the prosecution of Chauvin more like an act of revenge than a quest for justice, as the word used to be understoodback in Mondales day, all those years ago.

But unlike real soldiers, those pressed into fighting, at least symbolically, and dying, however unwillingly, for the PelosiBiden revolution dont always choose to be or even know that they are soldiers. If their deaths, from whatever cause, can be turned to some account in the ongoing effort to politicize everything to their own advantage, thats good enough for the PelosiBiden Democrats of today.

In the Democrat-run city where I live, someone has marked out a plot in one of the riverside parks and erected in it 132 little white flags next to a sign reading:

Alexandria Remembrance

With love we remember our 132 friends and neighbors lost to COVID-19

My immediate reaction was to ask: Hey, what about all the friends and neighbors lost to cancer or heart disease? There must be a lot more of them. Why arent they getting any love or remembrance from the city, or little white flags in the spring sunshine to mark their passing?

But of course, I knew the answer. The virtue-signalers of the left, in Alexandria as in the rest of the country, use the language and imagery of war so promiscuously because they believe they are at war.

And their enemy today is no longer a bunch of Middle Eastern sheikhs but you and I, if we dare to disagree with themor with their agenda, now being feverishly executed while they control both executive and legislative branches of government, for transforming the country.

James Bowman is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. The author of Honor: A History, he is a movie critic for The American Spectator and the media critic for the New Criterion.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Press Release

April 22, 2021 Drilon urges immediate passage of anti-red tagging law, seeks to defund anti-insurgency task force Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Thursday called for immediate passage of Senate Bill 2121 or the proposed "Act Defining and Penalizing Red-Tagging" amid the relentless red-tagging by officials of the government's anti-insurgency task form in the middle of a pandemic. Drilon also called on Congress to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and realign its P19.4 billion budget to fund the social amelioration program (SAP), commonly called "ayuda." "I have filed an anti-red tagging bill, criminalizing and punishing this practice. I urge the Senate leadership to hear this bill as soon as possible," Drilon said. Drilon is the author of the lone anti-red tagging bill. The bill was referred to the Committee on Justice chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon. "The recent events make the menacing effect of red-tagging more pronounced. We must put a stop to this immediately," said Drilon referring to recent red-tagging of various government organizations and even individuals who organized "community pantries" in the localities. "The absence of a law that defines and punishes red-tagging makes it easier for individuals like Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. to make not only unfounded but dangerous and deadly accusations," Drilon said. Once enacted into law, red-tagging will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to Drilon. He added that persons convicted of red-tagging will be barred from holding public office. Under the Drilon bill, the crime of red-tagging is defined as the act of labeling, vilifying, branding, naming, accusing, harassing, persecuting, stereotyping, or caricaturing individuals, groups, or organizations as state enemies, left-leaning, subversives, communists, or terrorists as part of a counter-insurgency or anti-terrorism strategy or program, by any state actor, such as law enforcement agent, paramilitary, or military personnel. The minority leader said the red-tagging by the government's anti-insurgency officials sow fear among Filipinos such as community mobilizers and organizers, whose works have helped hundreds of needy Filipinos in these trying times. This called for the defunding of NTF-ELCAC, according to Drilon, "For the past weeks, I have been urging the President to realign the anti-insurgency budget to fund the most critical "ayuda" to the poor. I am glad that my colleagues joined me in that call. But we do not have to wait for the 2022 budget debates to defund NTF-ELCAC. The President should realign the NTF-ELCAC under the 2021 GAA now. "Now na! Because, as the saying goes, "Aanhin mo pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?" Drilon added, referring to his call to realign the anti-insurgency funds to social amelioration program or ayuda.
Over the last decade, China has rapidly expanded its financial presence across the globe.

It has issued massive loans through its flagship foreign policy project, the Belt and Road Initiative. It has inked contracts with governments from Latin America to Africa and Eastern Europe to South Asia.

But despite being the world's largest official creditor, many of the basic facts around Beijing's foreign lending are still unknown.

Crucial details about the terms and conditions of China and its state-owned entities' development and infrastructure loans in such places are still murky. Few of those contracts between foreign governments and Chinese lenders have been made public.

But a recent study by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank, aims to pull the curtain back on Chinese lending practices by offering a first-of-its-kind analysis of 100 contracts across 24 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, including Montenegro, Kyrgyzstan, and Serbia.

China is the top lender in the world, so it matters how it approaches these contracts, Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and one of the reports authors, told RFE/RL.

What we see is a unique set of restrictions alongside other provisions in contracts that contribute to China being a muscular lender that can strengthen its position vis-a-vis the borrowing country, Morris added. Generally, there is a lack of transparency across the board and wide-ranging terms that make sure China can protect its investments.

Unsustainable debt and the constrictive terms of Chinese loans have come under increased scrutiny in recent years as more governments have signed deals with Chinas state-owned lenders. Concerns have particularly focused on some clauses that allow Chinese entities to seize property or assets when payments cant be met, prompting fears of land or other assets being taken and massive debts leaving governments beholden to Beijing.

Such worries flared up again in April after Montenegros government said that it needs help from the European Union to pay off a $1 billion Chinese loan for a controversial highway project.

Similarly, Kyrgyzstan is also grappling with how to pay back the $1.8 billion -- more than 40 percent of its foreign debt -- it owes to Chinese lenders as repayment dates draw closer and it faces financial hurdles brought on by the pandemic.

'A Muscular Lender'

The Center for Global Development report, which was released in late March, was produced in collaboration with AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary, to break down shared features of Chinese debt contracts and how they compare to lending practices by other multilateral or commercial creditors.

The study looked at contracts signed around the world with Chinas two main state-backed lenders, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank.

The authors were able to identify three key features: a reliance on secrecy clauses to keep borrowing governments from revealing the details of their debt; terms meant to keep Chinese debt out of collective restructuring; and clauses allowing for the cancellation of debt or accelerated repayments, which could potentially influence the policies of debtor countries.

The Chinese government has largely resisted efforts to reveal the full scope of its global lending program around the world. Beijing is part of neither the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Creditor Reporting System nor its Export Credit Group, which are designed to create more transparency around the loan process.

China also is not a member of the Paris Club, a group of creditor nations created more than half a century ago to help countries experiencing payment difficulties with their debt.

More recently, Beijing committed to the G20 Common Framework among G20 and Paris Club members in 2020, extending debt relief to developing countries worth a combined $2.1 billion, perhaps signaling a shift on the issue.

Still, much of Chinese lending remains shrouded in secrecy.

According to the Center for Global Development study, all of the China Development Bank contracts and 43 percent of the Export-Import Bank of China deals seen by the authors included confidentiality clauses about the terms of the loans.

While the authors note that confidentiality is a feature in many loans, the Chinese contracts flip standard practice on its head -- committing the borrowing government, rather than the lender, to nondisclosure.

Similarly, the Chinese deals are far more sweeping in their secrecy, covering all details of the loan and even the existence of debt itself in some cases.

Commercial confidentiality is meant to protect the borrower because they need to give the creditor access to lots of sensitive information, Morris said. But the Chinese confidentiality provisions put a much higher value on secrecy and tend to protect the lender.

Subscribe To Our New China Newsletter It has become impossible to tell the biggest stories shaping Eurasia without considering Chinas resurgent influence in local business, politics, security, and culture. China In Eurasia is the new biweekly newsletter by correspondent Reid Standish in which he builds on local reporting from RFE/RLs journalists across Eurasia to give you unique insights into Beijings ambitions. It's sent on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. To subscribe, click here.

Another unique aspect of the Chinese loans is what the report refers to as no Paris Club clauses, which prevent a borrowing government from restructuring a loan from a Chinese entity elsewhere or seeking debt relief from another source.

Finally, the report cautions about the prevalence of clauses that allow Chinese creditors to cancel a contract or demand immediate repayment in case of major changes to the law or policy within the borrowing country.

While such provisions are normally used by lending institutions around the world to protect against changes that could prevent repayment, the study finds that Chinese contracts use a more ambiguous definition that could allow the creditor to politically pressure an indebted government.

The terms are so broadly written that it could cover any change of policy or law that would affect the relationship, Morris said. If the state-owned creditor becomes unhappy with the government, it can call in the loan early, cancel it, or change the repayment schedule. It provides many levers for influence.

Debt Traps Or Playing A Different Game?

The motives for such provision in contracts issued by Chinas state-owned lenders has been a source of much debate.

Critics argue that they amount to a debt trap deliberately set by Beijing in order to saddle a country with debt and thereby increase its influence and control over that government.

Accusations of such practices resurfaced in the case of Montenegros highway debt to China, which stems from a 2014 loan under a previous government in Podgorica.

The Montenegrin government that came to power last year has warned of the dependency on China that the massive loan could create, and some European officials have echoed those concerns. The terms of the contract, which was signed with the Export-Import Bank of China, could allow that bank to take control of the highway or seize other assets, although there is no indication that the Chinese bank intends to do so.

Having examined the Montenegrin contract and other Chinese deals around the world, Morris said that they dont appear to point toward Beijing deliberately lending in order to draw countries into unsustainable debt situations.

The obligations they place on the borrowing governments are extraordinary compared to other lenders, Morris said. But a general conclusion after looking at the contracts is that Chinese entities are issuing loans with the full intention of getting their money back.

In the case of Montenegro, the European Union rebuffed Podgorica's call for assistance to repay the loan, but Brussels has also indicated it will search for other ways to help the EU candidate country.

According to Morris, the nature of the contract limits the options that Montenegro can pursue elsewhere. And while he does not rule out the possibility of Beijing offering some form of debt deferment or restructuring, the design of the contract ensures that China will have at least a voice in whatever solution is reached.

Any relief [Montenegro] is seeking will need to come from the Chinese and be agreed upon with them, Morris said. There is not a path forward that can ignore the Chinese.
A man arrives to be inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at the Chaoyang Museum of Urban Planning in Beijing on Jan. 15, 2021. (Noel Celis / AFP via Getty Images)

Leaked Documents Reveal Cases of Adverse Reactions to Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccines

People injected with Chinese-made vaccines have experienced a range of adverse reactions, including fever, nausea, and diarrhea, according to internal documents recently obtained by The Epoch Times.

The documents, obtained by a trusted source, also reveal the case of a fully vaccinated Chinese man who later repeatedly tested positive for COVID-19.

An April 8 document titled Statistical Table of Adverse Reactions of COVID-19 Vaccines issued by Laishui Countys community health center in Baoding City in northern Chinas Hebei Province shows that local people injected with Chinese-made vaccines have experienced various adverse reactions such as rashes, fever, nausea, diarrhea, chest tightness, and shortness of breath.

Another document issued by the office of Baoding Municipal Leadership Team for Response to the Epidemic on March 3 recorded a case of a local resident who was quarantined by authorities for 47 days after he was fully vaccinated.

According to the document, Sui, a resident in Lianchi district of Baoding city, had received two doses of a Chinese-made vaccine in December 2020. Afterward, he traveled to Germany in January. When he returned to Baoding on Jan. 11, he was put under centralized quarantine.

Sui had undergone COVID-19 comprehensive tests five times during quarantine, which covered blood routine, CT, blood serum, and nucleic acid tests, the document said. His IgM antibody in the blood serum test was positive every time. As a result, he was kept in quarantine for 47 days and counting, as of the date the document was issued.

The detection of IgM antibodies is a serologic test that may suggest a relatively recent infection.

Screenshot of an internal document entitled Request for Consultation with Provincial Experts on a Resident Surnamed Sui, on March 3, 2021. (Provided to The Epoch Times)

Due to the long period of isolation, Sui was very agitated and calling different government departments many times, according to the document. Therefore, the office of the Baoding Leadership Team for Response to the Epidemic requested that provincial experts have a consultation on his case.

Regarding Suis quarantine, a staff member of the Baoding Municipal Governments Foreign Affairs Office told The Epoch Times: The policy regulates that someone who tested IgM positive must be quarantined at a centralized quarantine site, and only when it turns negative can they be released from the quarantine site.

We basically have experts consult with him once a week, and the conclusion of every consultation is to continue his quarantine.

According to the experts, IgM antibodies appear in the early stages of COVID-19 human infection. After being vaccinated and in quarantine for 47 days, it would be very unusual for IgM antibodies to test positive.

The staff member also revealed that the experts who consulted on Suis case said that the IgM positive result may have something to do with his vaccination. Side effects depend on an individuals physical condition. After being vaccinated, some people may be IgM positive for half a year, while others test negative.

People wait to be inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine at the Chaoyang Museum of Urban Planning in Beijing on Jan. 15, 2021. (Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images)

The quality and efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines have been causing concerns worldwide. Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Gao Fu admitted at Chinas National Vaccine and Health Conference on April 10 that Chinas vaccines have low effectiveness, and he was considering mixing vaccines of different technologies.

He had previously stated that a third dose may be needed for the Chinese-made vaccines to work, in response to a doctor testing positive after getting fully vaccinated, which caused a stir in the country.

Another internal document is the Notice on Further Strengthening the Safety Management of COVID-19 Vaccination issued on April 6 by the office of the Hebei provincial governments Leadership Team for Epidemic Response. The document, marked as extra urgent and non-disclosure to the public, called for increased monitoring of people with adverse reactions. Health and drug regulation departments at the city level or above must investigate and properly handle any cases where vaccination caused death, severe disability, or other adverse reactions that could have a major effect on society, the document reads.

It says government agencies are required to strengthen the monitoring and handling of the adverse reactions that would have a major negative impact on society.

Screenshot of an internal document titled Notice on Further Strengthening the Safety Management of COVID-19 Vaccination that revealed adverse reactions to Chinese vaccines that have appeared in China, on April 6, 2020. (Provided to The Epoch Times)

Gu Qinger and Li Shanshan contributed to this report.
Now through Aug. 1, kids in grades 2-5 along with their teachers and parents can embark on the St. Jude EPIC Challenge and sign up for the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair . It is a virtual event celebrating the innovation generated by students, whether they are creating in their homes or collaborating as a team at their schools.

Students who sign up for this Earth-bound mission are automatically entered for a chance to win exclusive invitations to participate in once-in-a-lifetime Inspiration4 launch experiences. The crew of this history-making mission includes St. Jude cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, now a physician assistant at the hospital that saved her life; Dr. Sian Proctor of Phoenix; Christopher Sembroski of Everett, Wash.; and Mission Commander Jared Isaacman, founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot.

In addition to launching a new era for human space exploration, the Inspiration4 crew is encouraging every aspirational kid who dreams of going to space one day.

The St. Jude EPIC (Experimenting, Prototyping, Inventing and Creating) Challenge is an educational fundraising program that inspires students to apply their education, imagination and a whole lot of heart to flex their creative muscles and prototype a life-improving innovation for the kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

As part of the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair, winners receive more than just blue ribbons and bragging rightsin addition to national recognition, awards include out-of-this-world experiences tied to the Inspiration4 mission. The top educator receives a trip for four to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to witness the historic shuttle, and one class gets the honor of filling a time capsule that will be sent into space, becoming part of history just like the Inspiration4 mission.

"At the heart of the Inspiration4 all-civilian mission to space is the bold goal to not just take scientific advancement to new frontiers in space but to make progress here on Earth for kids around the globe facing cancer and other life-threatening diseases, which has been the mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since our founding," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Similarly, at the heart of the St. Jude EPIC Challenge is the promise we as parents and educators make to our children to help them grow, expand their minds, demonstrate transformative kindness and support them in their endeavors."

As students research, design, and create their idea to help sick children, they will also support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital by promoting their concepts to family and friends via email and social media by tagging @StJude and using the hashtag #StJudeBeEpic. Loved ones can show their support of the ideas by making a donation to St. Jude.

Along the way, St. Jude Education Ambassadors and STEMfluencers will offer messages of encouragement. These educators and self-professed geeks live to share the wonders of science and engineering with people of all ages.

Several space-themed extras make this virtual event one-of-a-kind, down to the panel of judges, who will be revealed this summer. In addition to the national achievement awards, students can earn incentives and giveaways along their EPIC journey, including:

Collectible St. Jude EPIC Challenge pins

Limited-edition items such as a rocket lava lamp, a VR headset and telescope

A 15-minute virtual Q&A with Inspiration4 crew post-flight (up to five classrooms can earn this)

A personalized 15-second video message recorded in space

A trip for two to an Inspiration4 launch party (held off-site)

Thanks to community support through programs like this one, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

Visit stjude.org/epicsciencefair for information on how to participate in the Inspiration4 St. Jude Science Fair. To get started, there is a host of online resources available to teachers, parents and students to encourage collaboration, innovation and ingenuity.

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Related Links

http://www.stjude.org


SAGINAW, MI  Peter Keenan says, contrary to a recent announcement, Saginaws Savoy Bar and Grill is not closing permanently.

Keenan said he has owned the building, located at 127 S. Franklin St., for 40 years. Hes still running the bar, is doing some remodeling, and will be seeking a new business to operate in the restaurant space in the future.

The restaurant business formerly run by Steve West and Jim Atwood, who leased the space, will not be reopening, Keenan said.

They said the Savoy Bar and Grill would be closed forever and that is not factual at all, Keenan said.

The restaurant run by West and Atwood was known for serving a free Thanksgiving dinner every year.

Its still a very tender subject for us. Were sad as well. Were sad for Saginaw. Were sad because we miss our community. Or customers. Our regulars our employees who have become our family, read a recent announcement on the restaurants Facebook page.

Keenan said he has been remodeling the restaurant space, which has been closed for several months, and hell have it back up and running when the time is right.

Were looking forward to reopening when, you know, the pandemic is over, and its safe for everyone to be out, and more people get vaccinated, he said. Theres still plenty of people who dont go out because of the safety issues, and thats understandable.

Read more on MLive:

See what businesses opened or closed in 2020 in Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties

Saginaw County Fair will return for 2021, organizers say

Saginaw teen entrepreneur makes Black Girl Magic popcorn and other treats

Local Eats: Saginaws Yum Yum Cereal Bar offers all things breakfast

Fig & Honey Cheese Co. opening in Old Town Saginaw with bistro-style seating

Texas Roadhouse coming to Saginaws Tittabawassee Road corridor
NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BCM One, a leading provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services, today announced that UCaaSone, the company's managed unified communications as a service (UCaaS) offering that runs on the BroadWorks platform, is now fully integrated with Cisco Webex, the market-leading secure messaging and video collaboration productivity tool.

BCM One provides UCaaS solutions with Cisco Webex and Teams integrations to support a hybrid workforce

BCM One provides businesses with a secure and efficient way to talk, chat, message and video collaborate, enabling employees and customers to communicate in whatever way they desire. All of these activities are contained in a single pane of glass, with ease-of-use, white-glove service, industry-leading SLAs, as well as end-user training with all installs. BCM One is an industry expert at assisting businesses with their communications needs for their current environment, with scalability to adjust to future needs.

With this newest integration, BCM One clients and channel partners have multiple video conferencing options now. In addition to Webex-enabled UCaaSone, the company also offers Voice Enabled Teams for companies standardized on Microsoft. BCM One can enhance your Teams experience by supercharging it into a full enterprise-level voice platform to give organizations a comprehensive, unified communications collaboration platform.

"In today's business world of work-from-anywhere, BCM One's UCaaSone allows businesses large and small to communicate and collaborate seamlessly with employees, vendors, and customers," stated Derrick Dike, BCM One's Director of UCaaS. "With the Webex integration, businesses will experience a complete platform of hosted VoIP, video endpoints, unified applications, video conferencing, and workstream collaboration."

Coupled with the company's managed connectivity and SD-WAN offerings, businesses can procure an end-to-end solution wholly managed by BCM One. SD-WAN for UCaaSone delivers a managed solution that combines UCaaSone with SD-WAN using Versa gateways in the company's NYC and Dallas POPs for business continuity and the VitalView proactive, 24x7 monitoring tool for added insurance for optimal performance.

For more information about BCM One's array of solutions, visit www.bcmone.com.

ABOUT BCM ONE

Founded in 1992, BCM One is a leading provider of NextGen Communications and Managed Services to IT leaders and channel resellers nationwide. Serving over 18,000 customers and 7,000+ channel resellers, BCM One offers UCaaS, SIP Trunking, Managed SIP, Microsoft Teams, Managed SD-WAN, Managed Connectivity, Microsoft Azure, Technology Expense Management and Network Monitoring and Management. BCM One prides itself on its long-standing client relationships backed by their mission statement, "To Provide a World-Class Experience with Every Human Interaction." BCM One's family of brands include: SIP.US, SIPTRUNK, nexVortex and SkySwitch. To learn more about BCM One, visit www.bcmone.com.

For Media Inquiries:

Paula Como Kauth

Office: 212.906.7255 | [email protected]



Related Images

ucaas-providers.png

UCaaS Providers

BCM One provides UCaaS solutions with Cisco Webex and Teams integrations to support a hybrid workforce

SOURCE BCM One
Agartala, April 22 : At least 31 Covid positive patients from other states have fled from a temporary care centre in Tripura on Thursday and police launched a massive search to trace them, officials said.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anirban Das said that these people escaped from the Covid Care Centre at the Panchayat Raj Training Institute at Arundhuti Nagar on the outskirts of Agartala early on Thursday.

"We have alerted all possible places including railway stations and airports. Search is on to locate the fleeing Covid positive patients," Das said.

A health official said that the 31 people from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan came to Tripura recently to attend the interview for recruitment as riflemen in the Tripura State Rifles (TSR). However, the Tripura government, in view of the surge of Covid cases, has postponed the outdoor and physical tests for the recruitment.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
GOVERNMENT has said teachers who have been absconding from work risk losing their monthly salaries as Government moves to enforce the principle of No work no pay.

The number of teachers reporting for duty has decreased since schools reopened last month as they are citing incapacitation.

According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, the situation is more pronounced in Bulawayo and Harare as some teachers elsewhere have ignored the call for strike by their unions.

In Bulawayo, only 50 percent of teachers have turned up for duty with pupil attendance pegged at 68 percent.

Speaking during a Covid-19 Taskforce meeting in Bulawayo on Tuesday, Provincial Deputy Education Director Mr Thabani Sibanda said as of last Friday, the ministry sampled 75 schools for teacher and learner attendance.

From that sampling, statistics showed that the teacher attendance drastically dropped due to incapacitation notices forwarded to schools, districts and the province.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has since asked school authorities to compile attendance registers saying there will be consequences for those who are not attending lessons.

In a post-Cabinet briefing yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government is worried about absenteeism of teachers. She also noted that some of teachers were reporting for duty but not teaching.

Cabinet was informed that the number of teachers reporting for duty had decreased. It is further noted that some of those reporting for duty are not teaching, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

The minister said avenues were open for disgruntled teachers to engage their employer under the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC).

She said teachers who are not reporting for work will not be paid as Government enforces the no work, no pay policy.

Cabinet wishes to reiterate that negotiations for improved conditions of service remain open under the National Joint Negotiating Council and that the no work, no pay policy will be strictly enforced, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She said Cabinet also noted that the strong Covid-19 surveillance system that Government put in place has enabled the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to detect outbreaks early.

Cabinet was informed that on 16th April 2021 more outbreaks were reported at two boarding schools, namely St Davids Bonda Girls School in Manicaland and Embakwe High School in Plumtree. One hundred and forty-five and 91 learners tested positive, respectively, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She said the situation is under control with all the cases being mild and asymptomatic. The Ministry of Health and Child Care is testing and vaccinating members in the adjoining communities where the schools are located.

All those found positive have been quarantined. The Ministries of Primary and Secondary Education; and Health and Child Care have intensified enforcement of the Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in all schools and those found violating the preventive health measures will be sanctioned, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

On the issue of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination programme which is being rolled out across the country, Minister Mutsvangwa said a total of 288 229 people received their first doses while 36 778 got the second jab.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care is carrying out vaccination campaigns all over the country with President Mnangagwa set to receive his second dose today at Kwekwe General Hospital.

The President received his first dose in the resort city of Victoria Falls where he launched the Second Phase of the national vaccination programme last month.

The nation is advised that His Excellency the President will be receiving his second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow (today) at Kwekwe General Hospital. Cabinet wishes to assure the nation that citizens can receive their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccines anywhere in the country without prejudice, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

She said the vaccination of residents in border towns has been prioritised and is well on course.

Government also approved the final Ministerial Action Plan that is compliant with the National Development Strategy 1 (2021-2025), which was presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Dr Frederick Shava.

The ministrys mission is to promote the political and socio-economic interests, the image and influence of Zimbabwe in the international community. It also seeks to protect the interests and safety of the Zimbabwean diaspora.

The deliverables of the Plan include the appointment of eight honorary consuls during the five-year period; establishment of 25 new export markets and facilitating 100 trade investment missions.

It also seeks to improve international relations through such undertakings as signing of 150 co-operation agreements and twenty-six Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs).

The countrys image will be improved through the planned 650 public diplomacy and visibility initiatives both locally and internationally, including press releases, holding regular briefings with diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe and delivering lectures at universities and other key national institutions, said Minister Mutsvangwa.

In line with the decentralisation and devolution thrust, the Ministry is in the process of establishing two provincial offices in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls. Chronicle
French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins has predicted that the issue of giving Ukraine a NATO Membership Action Plan will be discussed at the NATO summit in June, but he recalled that consensus for its adoption was needed.

The diplomat said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

"This issue [of granting the MAP to Ukraine] is absolutely legitimate and I think it will be considered at the NATO summit in June. But the decision belongs to the competence of the Alliance as a whole and it will be made in this format," de Poncins said.

At the same time, in his opinion, the issue of moving towards the prospect of granting Ukraine the MAP is currently "not urgent."

"Ukraine's task today is to implement NATO's Enhanced Opportunities Partnership program, which it joined last summer," the ambassador said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that during talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris on April 16, he raised the issue of granting Ukraine a NATO Membership Action Plan.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrii Taran said on April 22 that Ukraine expected that the seriousness of its Euro-Atlantic intentions would be taken into account at the NATO summit on June 14 and would be reflected in the organization's documents.

op
Lourdes Leon, a.k.a. Lola, is opening up in an interview with Vanity Fair. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

How's this for a dream dinner lineup: Rasputin, Fidel Castro and "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes.

That's the choice of Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, the 24-year-old daughter of Madonna and Carlos Leon, who told Vanity Fair that she would consult the trio for advice before exchanging "some words" with her other picks, Prince Charles and the late Prince Philip.

As for late notables Rasputin and Castro? The former "literally just manipulated the royals," said Leon, and the latter, well, "anyone who's ruled a country would be interesting to talk to about this."

Of Leakes and "RHOA," Leon said, showing off her wry and characteristically Gen Z attitude toward reality TV, "I don't think it's horrible for women to have this show. Even when they're screaming, I love it and it's soothing to my brain."

Leon, known as Lola to her friends, opened up in an interview published Wednesday after living a relatively reclusive life as the child of a global pop star. Despite starring in campaigns for Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs, Leon only recently got on Instagram  her icon a meme of judge Michelle Visage of "RuPaul's Drag Race."

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The model, designer and dancer (did you expect anything less from the daughter of Madonna?) dished on some now-famous actors who were her classmates at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. Timothee Chalamet was her first boyfriend. "I respect him a lot," she said, "we were a little item."

Her memory of Ansel Elgort? "The Goldfinch" star was "a terrible DJ."

As for college, Leon said she traded the University of Michigan for the competitive dance conservatory at SUNY Purchase after seeing her first MAGA hat on the Michigan campus.

Now she plans to make time for the banalities of adulthood, like getting a driver's license.

Story continues

And speaking of Castro, Leon also hopes for more visits to Cuba, homeland to her father's family. "I look like my grandmother and my family members were all freaking out, grabbing my face," she said of an "emotional" trip to the country in 2016.

"That diaspora engine yanks you back."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
[April 22, 2021]

Alvalux Awarded Second U.S. Patent Wearable Light Therapy Device for Eye Disease

LIEGE, Belgium, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Alvalux Medical, a Belgian medtech wearables company, announced today that it has been awarded its second Patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its wearable ocular insert device.

The invention (US Patent 10,953,240) is a small, energized, ocular insert designed to deliver home-based photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy to treat retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy which affect approximately 20 million people in the USA alone.

"This patent represents an important contribution to the future of 'on-eye' miniaturized therapeutic wearables, and it also spawned two other inventions including our on-market, award-winning, CicaLux product line," said Michel Alvarez  CEO and inventor. He added, "I would like to congratulate co-inventor  Professor Denis Flandre  ICTEAM institute at the Universite catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) - for his contribution and shared vision to bring smart, small, wearable, home-therapy devices to people aroun the world."







"This was a great basis for our deeper collaboration and further innovation in smart medical wearables involving ultra-low-power thin-film electronic circuits and sensors," said Professor Flandre.

Alvalux's first patent award announced last month (US Patent 10,953,238) is a wearable dermal repair system marketed under the CicaLux brand that delivers energized combination PBM therapy to treat various skin-related conditions, diseases and disorders. First product CicaLux Energized Scar-Care is available for sale in the European Union, USA and other countries. For more information visit www.cicalux.com and www.cicalux.us.

About Alvalux Medical:

Alvalux Medical is a Belgian based medical device company founded in 2015 by medtech veteran Michel Alvarez. It aims to be a global leader in smart, wearable, energized, therapeutic devices for use at home, at work, or on the go. www.alvalux.com

Distribution and Licensing inquiries: Marie-Noelle Thyrion, marie@alvalux.com.

Media contact: Jayne Morehouse/Jayne & Company LLC, 308157@email4pr.com t: 440-846-6022

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alvalux-awarded-second-us-patent-wearable-light-therapy-device-for-eye-disease-301274766.html

SOURCE Alvalux Medical
Chinas president Xi Jinping has said the country is committed to working with the United States and other countries to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking at the US leaders summit on climate, Mr Xi said China wanted to foster greater harmony between man and nature, but Mr Xi did not update Chinas existing climate commitments which are to reach peak emissions by 2030 and hit net zero by 2050.

We must be committed to harmony between man and nature. Mother nature has nourished us, we must protect it, respect it and follow its laws. We should protect nature and preserve the environment like we protect our eyes.

Mr Xi signalled a strong intention to work with other countries, naming multilateralism as a core means of tackling the climate crisis.

He said: We must be committed to multilateralism. We need to work on the basis of international law, follow the principle of equity and justice and focus on effective actions.

He said China will comply with the Paris agreement and strive to deliver a 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

China is the worlds biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, ahead of the US. But while the US opened the summit with an announcement of deeper emissions cuts, China reiterated its existing policy.

China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, said Mr Xi.

China has committed to move from carbon peak to carbon neutrality in a shorter time span than it might take many developed countries, and it requires extraordinarily hard efforts from China.

We will strictly control coal-fired power generation projects, we will strictly limit the increase in coal consumption over the 14th five-year-plan period, and phase it down in the 15th five-year-plan period.

Mr Xi also said China would support the Cop26 summit in Glasgow in November and was looking forward to hosting the UNs 15th Biodiversity Conference later this year.

The Chinese civilisation has always valued harmony between man and nature. It has been our constant pursuit that man and nature can live in harmony with each other.

We will continue to prioritise ecological conservation and pursue a green and low-carbon path to development.
[April 22, 2021] StayLinked Announces 2020 Partners of the Year

IRVINE, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- StayLinked Corporation, the leader of innovative terminal emulation solutions for the supply chain industry, is proud to announce the winners of the 2020 Partner of the Year awards. "2020 was a challenging year, not only for us, our partners, and our customers, but for everyone across the globe," said Dan Hogan, President of StayLinked. "This year, perhaps more than most, we honor the sacrifices of all of our partners, and we congratulate all of our partners of the year on their incredible performance in the face of adversity, and together we look forward to confronting the ongoing demands that emerged from the past year." We are honored to recognize partners in the following categories: Global Partner of the Year and North American Partner of the Year - SMG3, Schaumburg, Illinois

Strategic Mobility Group (SMG3) is an innovative technology provider that designs and integrates mobile solutions for enterprises. SMG3 consults companies on how to operate more efficiently through the use of mobile hardware, software, professional services, and support. SMG3's focus is to keep businesses up-to-date on the latest technology and provide them with innovative solutions that will maximize efficiency both inside the four walls and out. Helping businesses improve operational efficiencies and ROI is why many of the Fortune 500 companies choose SMG3 to manage their enterprise mobility needs. Latin American Partner of the Year  American Scan, Colombia

American Scan is a Colombian company headquartered in Medellin. American Scan are an authorized center for specialized services and integration solutions for the barcode industry: devices for reading, thermal printing, data capture, mobility, and POS systems. European Partner of the Year  Norlan, Germany

Norlan focuses on system integration of Auto-ID applications for warehouse and transportation logistics. Rapid identification, recording, tracking and transmission of data in company processes with the help of mobile sytems is becoming increasingly important. The multitude of hardware components, the different norms, and standards, as well as short technology cycles makes it difficult for customers to select the right solution due to their complexity. The implementation of customer-specific requirements and optimization goals are the primary focus for the employees of Norlan.



Distributor of the Year  ScanSource

ScanSource is a worldwide leader in offering the industry's best AIDC, point-of-sale, communications, physical security, and emerging technology solutions. We are committed to providing the value-added services and support that enable our customers to be successful. Their goal is to be a trusted partner to their employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. WMS of the Year  Manhattan Associates

Manhattan Associates is a technology leader in supply chain and omnichannel commerce. We unite information across the enterprise, converging front-end sales with back-end supply chain execution. Our software, platform technology and unmatched experience help drive both top-line growth and bottom-line profitability for our customers. Manhattan Associates designs, builds, and delivers leading edge cloud and on-premises solutions so that across the store, through your network or from your fulfillment center, you are ready to reap the rewards of the omnichannel marketplace.

StayLinked Certified Engineer of the Year  Valentin Olmedo, Honeywell

As a premier StayLinked hardware partner, Honeywell has been instrumental to StayLinked's growth around the globe. A large part of this success has been the expectation and the ability of Honeywell engineers to leverage their expert technical knowledge and decades of nurturing relationships to provide industry-best outcomes for customers. One engineer in particular, Valentin Olmedo, has repeatedly gone above and beyond these expectations. Valentin worked tightly with the StayLinked team to implement features that addressed his customer's requirements. We are delighted to announce that his efforts have earned him the 2020 StayLinked Certified Engineer of the Year award. About StayLinked

StayLinked is the proven market leader in Terminal Emulation for the supply chain industry and continues to drive innovation with the most advanced software solutions available for the warehouse. StayLinked enables our customers to easily migrate to state-of-the-art devices, measure and optimize productivity with cutting-edge business intelligence, and interface with ground-breaking technologies in the areas of automation, robotics, augmented reality, and location-based services. For nearly two decades, StayLinked has continued to deliver revolutionary software products with unparalleled customer satisfaction and world-class support to hundreds of partners and thousands of customers around the globe.

For more information, visit www.staylinked.com, email info@StayLinked.com, or call +1-714-918-7700. Press Contact:

Jay Cichosz

StayLinked Corporation

714-918-7709 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/staylinked-announces-2020-partners-of-the-year-301274832.html SOURCE StayLinked Corporation

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Framework for a deep dive sharing the common history of Cinco de Mayo and Juneteenth by Deborah Johnson

Wednesday Apr 21st, 2021 11:34 PM

On the way to San Jose, Santa Clara County, California for a blessed new beginning is at hand.

There is a long history of Mexicans welcoming and assisting Blacks fleeing American slavery. The fact of the matter is that when white slave-hunting militias would come into Mexico demanding that their propertythe enslaved workersbe returned, many Mexicans rejected these pleas and were angered at the fact that these slave hunters would have the audacity to enter Mexico and attempt to impose their laws in anh nation that had already banned slavery for moral and religious reasons.



As early as 1811, the Rev. Jose Morelosa Mexican of African descentled an all-Black army brigade to help fight for Mexican independence. In 1855 more than 4,000 runaway slaves were helped by Mexicans in Texas to escape and find freedom in Mexico. The Underground Railroad was not just into Canada. It went south as well.



Indeed, throughout three centuries, African slaves were joined by Mexicans in opposition to the exploitation of Africans by European immigrantssettlerson the North American continent. Just a few examples of this long and rich history of solidarity are:



 In 1546, Mexico recorded the first conspiracy against slavery, which occurred in Mexico City among a coalition of enslaved Africans and indigenous insurgents.



 In 1609 in Vera Cruz, Mexico, Yanga established the first free pueblo of formerly enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere.



 In 1693 within the area of the United States, which was in fact Mexican territory, an alliance between African runaways and rebellious indigenous tribes developed and resulted in considerable cooperation and intermarriages between them. It was much like that which developed between African people and the American Indian communities.



 In 1820, in Mexico, the pro-independence army commanded by Black Gen. Vicente Ramon Guerrero was joined and saved by the courageous Mexican/Indigenuous leader Pedro Ascensio. This army won many battles in resisting French and American colonial wars of occupation.



 In 1836, during the battle of the Alamo, Mexican troops fought not only to keep the U.S. from annexing Texas, but also to abolish the dreaded practice of slavery carried out by pro-slavery white settlers. While the Mexican people did not have to join in this fight, they believed slavery was wrong, and they helped fight to stop it. Mexicans consistently took in and helped Black slaves who would run away from the U.S. Another underground railroadthis one south of the bordersaved the lives and allowed the freedom of thousands of African people fleeing enslavement by European settlers.



 During the period before the Civil War, Mexican authorities refused to return enslaved runaways to the U.S. slaveholders. Aided by Mexicans in Texas, thousands of runaways escaped to freedom in Mexico. The U.S. government had to send 20 percent of its whole army to the Mexican border to try to stop this and intimidate the Mexican people, but the people continued to aid escaping slaves.



 In 1862, during the Civil War, at the same time French colonialists had invaded Mexico seeking to take over. However, at the battle of Puebla on May 5, the Mexican defenders, with the help of freed African slavesthis army was considered the complete underdogdefeated and turned back the French invasion. It was a great victory, now celebrated as Cinco de Mayo. This victory was also a blow to the slaveholders of the United States.



 One historical event, organized through the solidarity of Mexican, Blacks, Indigenous and Asian mpeople, was the Plan de San Diego. This was intended as a general uprising by these peoples joined in the Southwest, initiated in an effort to regain the lands stolen in the U.S.s aggression in the 1840s, which include California, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and other states of what is now the U.S. Southwest. The plan actually addressed and recognized the contributions of Blacks, Asians and Indigenous people by granting them freedom and autonomy. Although the plan was not successful, it revealed the long history of solidarity of peoples of color in struggle against those who would enslave them.
Biden expected to recognize massacre of 1.5M Armenians as genocide despite Turkish opposition

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President Joe Biden is expected to officially recognize the Armenian genocide despite opposition from Turkey, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who said the administration will release more details in the coming days.

Saturday will mark the 106th anniversary of when the Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey) began to massacre its Armenian Christian minority, resulting in 1.5 million deaths.

At a press briefing Wednesday, Psaki was asked if the Biden administration would observe the anniversary as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

I expect we will have more to say about Remembrance Day on Saturday. But I dont have anything to get ahead of that at this point in time, responded Psaki, not giving additional details.

The question was fostered by an open letter sent by around 100 members of Congress from both parties to Biden asking him to officially acknowledge the Armenian genocide.

The Wall Street Journal reported that unnamed officials said Biden was going to issue a statement on Saturday, possibly including the word genocide.

Officials added no final decisions or briefings have taken place and that Mr. Biden could opt to issue the symbolic statement without describing the killings as genocide, as have other presidents, reported the Journal.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu [of Turkey] told Haberturk television on Tuesday that a declaration by Mr. Biden would only harm ties.

On April 24, 1915, during World War I, Turkish officials began to round up and execute hundreds of Armenian intellectuals due in part to religious intolerance.

After that, ordinary Armenians were turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water, explained History.com.

Frequently, the marchers were stripped naked and forced to walk under the scorching sun until they dropped dead. People who stopped to rest were shot.

Since the end of World War I, Turkish officials have refused to acknowledge the genocide, claiming, among other things, that the widely accepted 1.5 million death toll is inflated.

Although the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution in 2019 to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the past few presidential administrations have been hesitant to do the same.

Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump both issued statements in remembrance of the tragedy, but have refused to call the war crimes a genocide.

At issue are the ties, though at times tenuous, between the United States and Turkey, as both are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that includes 30 countries.
One of Cambridge University's most prestigious colleges has upset LGBTQ+ students and Labour and 'climate justice' campaigners after they were threatened with eviction for displaying political posters and rainbow 'Pride' flags.

Several undergraduates at Jesus College received an email this week asking them to remove all posters, flags or banners displayed inside or outside the college accommodation by the end of today.

This includes rainbow 'Pride' flags left hanging outside college properties in the wake of LGBT+ History Month in March, and small, A4-sized political posters promoting the Labour party stuck in the corners of windows.

And the email, sent by Jesus College, has threatened students that their accommodation licence agreement may be terminated if they do not remove the flags and posters.

The warning was shared on Twitter by Philosophy undergraduate student Aurelio Petrucci, with a picture of a some pride bunting a small poster declaring 'I'm voting Labour' at the upcoming local elections. There is also a row over placards put up by 'Jesus students for climate justice' demanding net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

He tweeted: 'Not content with asking students to remove pride flags, @JesusCollegeCam is now threatening students with EVICTION for displaying political party posters. is this legal???!

'The College needs to reconsider this immediately, and apologise, and I can only hope that they start to listen to the student union and stop trying to curtail our right to free speech and free expression of our identities'.

Several students at Jesus College received an email on Tuesday asking them to remove all items displayed inside or outside the college accommodation by the end of today including this 'Vote Labour' poster and 'Pride' rainbow bunting

This 'Jesus students for climate justice' was a shared as a breach of the rules on social media

Aurelio Petrucci shared this email demanding the removal of rainbow 'Pride' flags left hanging outside college properties in the wake of LGBT+ History Month in March

Posting a picture of Pride flags, he added: 'No more 'lbgt' now thank you!'

Mr Petrucci, a Philosophy Undergraduate, has demanded an apology and has questioned if the college is breaking the law = but university bosses will not back down

The eviction warning, reads: 'As you are aware, it is a breach of the terms of your Licence agreement to display any poster, flag, or banner internally or externally from the property.

'I must ask you to please remove this item by Thursday, 22 April.

'The College will take further action if you fail to put right the breach, which could ultimately result in the Licence agreement being terminated in line with Clause 6.1.'

Aurelio, former President of the Jesus College Students' Union (JCSU), criticised the move, questioning: 'Is this even legal?'

He said: 'Forcing students to remove posters which criticise the College on pain of eviction is truly awful.

'By threatening to evict students for exercising their basic right to self-expression, all this will do is add to the stress and anxiety students are already feeling about the pandemic and their exams.

'Being able to criticise institutions, express one's identity and political beliefs are the core features of British academia.

'[This is] now being trampled by coercion and threats of homelessness/eviction by a Cambridge College.

'The College needs to reconsider this immediately, and apologise.

'I can only hope that they start to listen to the student union and stop trying to curtail our right to free speech and free expression of our identities.'

Jesus College (pictured) has insisted that students must take all the posters and flags down by the end of today

And another group who have spoken out against the email is the Jesus College Climate Justice Campaign (JCCJC).

Some of the posters being banned under the College's licencing rule include divestment posters, calling on full divestment from Cambridge University.

A spokesperson for the JCCJC said that students are being 'locked out' of the key College committee where its investment policy is decided.

They added: 'Divestment posters are just one completely harmless way students are trying urgently to make their voices heard on one of the most important issues of our time.'

A spokesperson for Jesus College said: 'The rules on displaying any flags, banners or posters are a long-standing clause in our licence agreement.

'We have asked that everyone living in College accommodation abides by the agreement they signed.

'We encourage all community members to express themselves and their views, as long as it doesn't break their license agreement or the law.

'We have informed students that we will run an in-depth consultation this term with students, Fellows and staff about the most inventive and creative ways to enable this in College for the benefit of the whole community.

'In the meantime, we have asked that anyone living in College accommodation remove any displayed flag, banner or poster.

'We contacted all students twice about this in March.

'We are now contacting the few students who have not yet followed our request, or let us know that they are not in Cambridge at present, to remind them of their license agreement terms.'

Jesus College also faced backlash from students in March when the Head Porter asked students to remove 'all flags and banners' from windows and walls at the end of LGBT+ History Month.

The College said that it was 'very supportive of LGBT+ History Month and other LGBT+ events and initiatives throughout the year'. But the JCSU LGBT+ Officer at the time described the College's actions as 'disrespectful and flippant.'

The students union wants to find a resolution.

A spokesperson said, 'The Jesus College Student Union (JCSU) has been involved in discussions with the College about this issue since it first arose in February. We have consistently put forward the view that students should be able to express themselves freely by putting banners, posters or flags inside of their window.'

'Our initial efforts led to a compromise, whereby the College waived the ban on flags during LGBTQ+ History Month in February. During this time, it was wonderful to see students flying flags in a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. We received numerous compliments from members of the public, as well as members of the University, and it would be wonderful to see such a display of self-expression all year round.'

'When it became clear that the College were going to require all banners, posters and flags to be removed, we strongly stated our opposition to threatening students with the termination of their licence agreement.'

They added, 'The JCSU successfully campaigned for a working party to formally look at changing the licence agreement to allow flags, banners and posters inside windows. The working party has met several times and a consultation is now being prepared. The JCSU intends to work closely with the College, taking an active role in the consultation to work towards a positive outcome for all parties involved, with the aim of facilitating a change in the licence agreement for the start of the next academic year.'


The U.S. Department of Justice announced an investigation into the policing methods of the Minneapolis police department Wednesday.

The action came one day after former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of George Floyds murder in a trial in the city.

The move is the first major investigation called for by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. He said the investigation would try to find out whether the Minneapolis police department, or MPD, "engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing."



Garland said the investigation will look into the departments use of force, including force against protestors. It will also study police treatment of those with behavioral health problems.

Garland said, "The Justice Department has already begun to reach out to community groups and members of the public to learn about their experiences with the MPD." Federal investigators, he added, will also talk to officers about training and the support they receive.

Former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder Tuesday in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin had pressed his knee on Floyds neck for nearly 10 minutes. Floyds death led to nationwide protests against racism and policing practices in the United States and other countries.

Floyds death could change police practice

President Joe Biden called the verdict "a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America." But he also said the jurys decision was much too rare.

Biden said several things came together in this case, including the video, the witnesses and police official statements in court, for the jury to reach the murder verdict.

It feels like it took all of that for the judicial system to deliver a just, basic accountability,  Biden said.



Vice President Kamala Harris joined Biden Tuesday. She called on the Senate to pass a federal policing bill that has already been passed by the House.

The bill is named George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. It calls for bans on chokeholds, a police method of restraining a suspect by the neck. It also would ban raids called no-knock warrants in which police do not announce their presence.

Last March, a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, was shot and killed by police who entered the wrong house using a no-knock warrant. The bill also requires police officers to stop others from using too much force and create a national list of police wrongdoing.

The bill seeks to end qualified immunity, a legal idea that restricts charging police officers for incidents that take place on the job. Many Republican senators opposed this part of the bill in the Senate. Democrats and Republicans have an equal support in the Senate. The Republicans argued that such changes would harm officers acting in good faith.

Tim Scott is a Republican senator from the state of South Carolina. He told reporters that he would introduce a related proposal in the coming weeks. Scott wanted to put more responsibility in police departments than individuals when a police officer is accused of wrongdoing.

Around the country

The outcry from the video of Floyd repeatedly saying, I cant breathe has led to changes in public opinion about police methods. It also led to new laws in several cities and states.



In an opinion study after Floyds death last May, the Gallup organization reported that a majority of Americans, 58 percent, said major changes are needed to make policing better. Another 36 percent say small changes are needed.

Preventing excessive use of force and holding police officers responsible for wrongdoing were among the ideas receiving public support.

Ballotpedia is an independent organization that informs the public of political issues and elections around the U.S. The organization says that 100 cities and states have made changes to policing policy as a result of Floyds death. Many states, from California to Connecticut, passed laws to ban chokeholds.

The National Conference of State Legislatures reported there are 471 bills being considered in 47 state legislatures to deal with the issues of policing and use of force.

In his speech, Biden recalled his talk with George Floyds daughter, Gianna. He said she told him last year that Daddy changed the world. After the verdict, Biden called Floyds family and he told Gianna that Daddy did change the world.

Im John Russell.

Hai Do wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

engage in v. to do

pattern n. a repeated or regular way in which something happens or is done

practice n. something that is done often or regularly

verdict n. the decision of a jury in a trial

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An Australian Qantas crew have fears they have come into contact with a Covid infected worker based in New Zealand.

The border worker from Auckland Airport tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.

Authorities from The Department of Health will work closely with Qantas in an attempt to identify aircrew - who have since flown to Victoria - that possibly were in contact with the infected worker.

'Management of the Victorian aircrew will depend on the outcome of each crew member's risk assessment,' the department said in a statement on Thursday.

'Some crew will be asked to test and quarantine for 14 days, others will be asked to test and isolate until they get a negative result.'

An Australian Qantas crew have collective fears they have recently come in contact with a Covid-infected worker based in New Zealand (stock image)

Victorian health authorities will also look to urgently contact 520 passengers who arrived in Victoria after boarding a plane in Auckland between April 17 and April 20.

Alternatively, any passengers who travelled to Victoria from Auckland from April 17 onwards are encouraged to monitor for possible Covid symptoms.

Should symptoms develop, passengers should isolate and get tested immediately.

The development comes after dozens of travellers who stayed in a Sydney quarantine hotel this month where three people tested positive to the South Africa Covid strain have already travelled interstate, according to health officials.

NSW Health is urgently tracking 40 returned travellers who stayed at the Mercure hotel in Sydney between April 7 and April 12 after three quarantining guests contracted coronavirus.

Officials have successfully contacted 36 hotel guests but are still desperately trying to reach four remaining people.

They are all being directed to get tested and self-isolate until 14 days after they left quarantine.

The three infected returned travellers, including two who are related, touched down in Australia on April 3.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Thursday said they all travelled on the same plane and were seated in the same section of the aircraft.

Authorities from The Department of Health will work closely with Qantas in an attempt to identify aircrew - who have since flown to Victoria - that possibly were in contact with the infected worker from Auckland (stock image)

NSW Health is urgently tracking 40 returned travellers who stayed at the busy Mercure hotel in Sydney anytime between April 7 and 12 after three quarantining guests contracted the virus

But as they all tested negative during their first Covid swab on day two of their hotel stay, it appears they were not infectious while in transit.

Dr Chant said the trio stayed in adjacent rooms on the 10th floor while completing their mandatory two-week quarantine.

'What we are concerned about is there could have been transmission,' Dr Chant said.

'If that transmission event occurred in the hotel, the question is, could other people have been exposed?'

The hotel quests tested positive to the virus on day seven, 10 and 12 of their stay.

Dr Chant said officials are taking a 'precautionary' approach with their latest health advice as they do not have a 'definitive conclusion' on how the three people contracted the virus.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Thursday said the three people travelled on the same plane and were seated in the same section of the aircraft

There were about 40 people staying on the same hotel floor as the Covid-positive travellers, before they were moved to a health hotel.

'We have managed to contact 36 of those individuals, a number have gone into other states and territories and those states and territories have been alerted,' Dr Chant said.

Health authorities are 'urgently escalating' contact with the remaining four hotel guests.

Meanwhile, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the state's first mass vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush will be open by mid-May.

'We are expecting this hub to be able to dispense around 30,000 vaccines every single week,' she said.

'This has not been done ever, to my knowledge, in NSW,' Health Minister Brad Hazzard added.

Officials have successfully contacted 36 hotel guests but are still desperately trying to reach four remaining people (stock)

GPs will remain the first port of call for those receiving the AstraZeneca jab, but those who want to be vaccinated in a state facility or don't have a GP will be able to get vaccinated at the hub.

Those with underlying health issues are particularly encouraged to go through their GPs.

The Homebush hub will predominantly administer Pfizer vaccines, which are trickier to store and distribute because they have to be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Some other vaccine sites across the state that have been distributing AstraZeneca jabs will be converted to allow them to dispense the Pfizer vaccine.

More than 180,000 COVID vaccinations have already been administered by NSW Health.
WASHINGTON -- Serbian President Aleksandr Vucic highlighted what he said were good personal relations with U.S. President Joe Biden amid expectations that the new U.S. administration could take a tougher stance on the rollback of democracy in the Balkan nation.



In an April 22 interview from Belgrade with the Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council, Vucic said he was actively seeking stronger ties with the United States, but admitted there were difficulties in the bilateral relationship, especially differing views on peace talks with Kosovo.



Vucic, who has met Biden five times, described the U.S. president as "politically the best prepared man I ever talked to."



Biden has considerable Balkan experience and oversaw the region while serving as vice president from 2009 to 2017.



"He always had a good sense and he always wanted to listen to us, which was very good for [Serbia]," Vucic told the audience in English.



Vucic had expressed a preference for former President Donald Trump in the run-up to the divisive 2020 election, raising some concerns his comments could now impact his relationship with the Biden administration.



However, the Serbian leader sought to downplay talks of warm ties with the former U.S. president, saying he knows Biden "much better" than Trump and knows more people from his administration, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.



Vucic, who will seek reelection next year, has been accused of tightening his grip on power and clamping down on the media.



Biden has said he will make strengthening democratic institutions a key focus of his foreign policy, potentially setting the two up for a tough first call.



The two leaders have yet to speak since Biden took office on January 20.



Vucic admitted his country was "not perfect," but said his government was making progress on rule-of-law issues.



"I don't expect an easier time for Serbia because politics is not always about personal issues, but we will do our best to boost the friendship between our two countries," Vucic said.



The Serbian leader has installed a close confidant as ambassador to Washington, expanded the diplomatic mission in Chicago, and taken steps to open a mission in San Francisco as part of a larger attempt to enhance ties with the United States.

Vucic said Serbia needs U.S. support to achieve faster progress, including greater economic growth.



U.S.-Serbian relations were severely strained after the breakup of Yugoslavia three decades ago, though ties have gradually improved.



The United States led a NATO air campaign against Serbian forces in 1999 to stop a deadly crackdown on its ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo.



Washington then led an international campaign to recognize Kosovo's independence in 2008.



Serbia has yet to recognize Kosovo as an independent nation, preventing both countries from joining Western-led organizations, including the European Union and NATO.



During the April 22 talk, Vucic criticized the United States and Europe for its approach to a settlement between Belgrade and Pristina.



"They always just say 'we will just wait for Serbia to recognize Kosovo's independence.' When you ask someone what they offer, you hear nothing. No one can even guarantee you full-fledged membership status [in the EU]. No one can guarantee nothing to you when you ask them, okay, what might Serbs get,'" Vucic said.



He said that, even if a Serbian politician were to cave in to Western demands, the Serbian people would not accept it.



Vucic criticized the European Union for not strongly backing a Belgrade-led plan to create an economic zone for free trade and travel throughout the Balkans.



Currently, only Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia are part of the free economic zone.



Vucic said other countries like Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina may worry that Serbia will dominate the free trade zone and garner most of the benefits.



"We need to understand their fears. We need to convince them that its not good for Serbia only, [but] that its even better for them," he said.

Vucic addressed the recent controversy that erupted following reports that Slovenian President Borut Pahor last month broached the possible "dissolution" of Bosnia-Herzegovina.



The multiethnic country is governed as a Bosniak and Croat federation along with a Serb-majority entity called Republika Srpska.



Separately, a "nonpaper," supposedly by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, had been circulating proposing that proposed "the unification of Kosovo and Albania" and "joining a larger part of the Republika Srpska territory with Serbia.



Vucic, who previously belonged to a radical nationalist party, said his government was "not interested in creating any kind of greater Serbia."



The president said his focus was on making Serbia "great" through economic growth led by foreign direct investment.
Chinese People's Liberation Army personnel attend the opening ceremony of China's new military base in Djibouti on Aug. 1, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Image)

US Military Officials Warn of Chinas Alarming Increase in Naval, Nuclear Military Power

Chinas ability to project its naval power in the Indian Ocean as well as the continued buildup of its nuclear arsenal is of great concern to the United States, two top U.S. military officials said during recent congressional hearings.

The Beijing regimes naval capability now includes a facility at its modernized base in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa thats capable of supporting the countrys growing aircraft carrier force, according to Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of the U.S. Africa Command.

Their first overseas military base, their only one, is in Africa, and they have just expanded that by adding a significant pier that can even support their aircraft carriers in the future. Around the continent, they are looking for other basing opportunities, Townsend told the House Armed Services Committee on April 20.

Beijing opened its base in Djibouti in 2017; it sits just 7.4 miles (12 kilometers) from Camp Lemonnier, which is home to about 4,500 U.S. military personnel and the primary base of operations for the U.S. African Command. Several other countries also have a base in Djibouti, including France, Japan, and Italy.

The presence of so many different military bases is due to Djiboutis strategic locationit sits next to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which separates the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea; the latter is the gateway to the Suez Canal. About 12 percent of world trade passes through the Suez Canal every day.

Currently, China has two aircraft carriersthe Liaoning and the newer Shandongand is building a third one. In January, Chinas state-run media reported that the construction of the third carrier is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Chinese military officials have publicly denied that its Djibouti base was intended for military expansion and claimed that the base was needed to support anti-piracy and humanitarian relief missions.

However, Abhijit Singh, a former Indian naval officer and head of maritime policy at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, said that Chinas Djibouti base most vividly demonstrates Chinas Indian Ocean ambitions, in his article published in Indias newspaper ThePrint in June last year.

The Chinese regime has other ambitions in Africa. Townsend told the committee that China very much ha[s] the intent to establish additional overseas bases in Africa, whether that be on the Atlantic coast of Africa or the Indian Ocean coast of Africa.

China is of great concern. They are literally everywhere on the continent. They are placing a lot of bets down. They are spending a lot of money, Townsend said.

At another congressional hearing on April 20, Navy Adm. Charles Richard, head of the U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the countrys nuclear weapons, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Chinas nuclear stockpile is undergoing an unprecedented expansion, according to his opening testimony (pdf).

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an independent international institute based in Sweden, reported last year that China had an estimated 320 nuclear warheads in its arsenal as of January 2020.

As for how fast China is developing its nuclear capabilities, Richard told the committee: I cant get through a week right now without finding out something we didnt know about China.

Richard pointed to Chinas advancement in developing fast breeder reactors (a type of nuclear reactor) as an example of how rapidly China is changing, or at least how rapidly were figuring it out.

China, the worlds largest carbon dioxide emitter, is pushing for the development of these advanced fast reactors to cut its dependence on coal. A fast reactor makes more fissile materials like plutonium than it consumes, meaning a large amount of these materials could potentially be diverted into making nuclear weapons. China is expected to roll out its first fast reactor in 2023.

With a fast breeder reactor, you now have a very large source of weapons-grade plutonium available to you. That will change the upper bounds of what China could choose to do, if they wanted, in terms of further expansion of their nuclear capabilities, Richard said.
A worker at the Faurecia auto parts plant in Saline, Michigan says he was subjected to harassment and victimized after blowing the whistle on unsafe management practices on a line manufacturing airbags.

Lamont Newton asserts he was forced out of the plant nine months ago for medical reasons and even denied access to unemployment because the companys Human Resources Department misrepresented his condition.

The Faurecia plant in Saline (WSWS)

This is a nightmare, he said. You go get your job, work hard, dont miss a day. You are doing it because of your family. You have great intentions. ... Now Im injured. I cant see. I almost had a heart attack and I have to take medication for the rest of my life.

Conditions at the plant have rapidly deteriorated since Lamont started 10 years ago. Wages have been cut, jobs wiped out and the intensity of work has been continuously ratcheted up. During the past 12 months, the spread of COVID-19 has only made the situation more deadly.

Lamont

Their slogan is Quality is job one, he said. But thats not what they want. They want more and more production, profits and any way they can cheat on materials.

At first Lamont tried to be a model employee, never missing a day, producing videos to promote the company and working as a gap leader to devise methods and job descriptions to streamline production. He had been led to believe that his job as gap leader made work easier and safer for everyone on his team. But over time he came to realize that, on the contrary, the company was using him to speed up the line and bring pressure to bear on his co-workers.

When he appealed to his union, the United Auto Workers, he encountered a corrupt organization that has been thoroughly integrated into company management.

When the company broke a sewer line and the effluent oozed out onto the factory floor, Lamont demanded the right to move his team until the mess was cleaned up. But management forced them to stay right there working next to a pool of excrement in front of the cafeteria.

The situation was beyond revolting. The company and the union responded by distributing paper masks and bringing portable toilets to the line. They drove pump trucks into the plant to evacuate the latrines on the spot.

All the time they were getting people to do more and more, he said. They were also getting rid of people. If a family member died, you could not even get time off for bereavement.

He described employees who, after working 12 hours a day, seven days a week for eight weeks straight were reduced to the point of collapse. When asking for time off, workers would be told by the supervisor to take a card with a phone number and call a counselor, but instructed not to miss work.

To cut costs, the company has eliminated hazmat suits and protective materials. The machines use iso-cyanide and other hazardous chemicals, he added. I watched janitorial people, the so-called process techs, picking up these chemicals with sponges in their hands.

When he went to United Auto Workers Local 892 to take up a fight, the union would say, Yeah, they can do that, he says.

Ford Motor Company opened the giant facility in 1966 to specialize in plastics and interior trim. It currently supplies parts for the F-150 plant in Dearborn, Michigan as well as Jeep, General Motors and Tesla. In 2000 the auto maker spun the plant off as part of Visteon corporation, as part of a strategy to launch a full-scale assault on the wages, safety, working conditions and benefits of the workforce. From its inception the plan enjoyed the full collaboration of the UAW.

By the time Lamont started in 2011, the ownership had shifted to a wholly-owned Ford subsidiary called Automotive Components Holdings LLC, which the auto maker was threatening to shut down altogether.

But the attacks on the workers only intensified when Faurecia Interior Systems acquired the operation in 2012. Through the takeover, the French conglomerate became market leader in North America for exhaust systems and interior parts. The largest shareholder in the company is now Stellantis, the product of a merger between Fiat Chrysler and French automaker Peugeot.

Faurecia exploited the economic crisis of 2008 to launch a major cost-cutting drive and then used the financial crisis that followed to double its size between 2009 and 2014. Last year Faurecia became eighth largest parts supplier to the world auto industry.

The first thing Faurecia did in 2012 was cut a dollar an hour from every hourly employee. UAW 892 did nothing but give a green light to whatever the company wanted. Management went through line by line saying: We dont need that many people over there. We are going to let go the people that came from Ford. You guys can do it with half the people.

As long as he was going along with the program, the supervisors and plant manager were Lamonts best friends. As soon as he began to resist, the company and the union worked to make his life miserable.

A turning point came in March of 2017. According to Lamont, a supervisor turned off the video cameras that monitor scoring, which is a vital process in producing air bags. Lamont was in charge of the line and felt keenly responsible for the safety of future passengers who would depend on the critical parts.

Two months earlier, during January 2017, automotive supplier Takata had pleaded guilty to criminal charges of falsifying data about production of defective air bags, which had been implicated in 16 deaths.

Im not going to jail for their profits, he said. My name is on those sheets and on those videos. When his protests to supervisors and the plant manager fell on deaf ears, he called the hotline at Ford Motor Company. Ford said they would protect his identity, but did just the opposite. They sent a team of investigators that went straight to management and pinpointed the problem.

The pressure on Lamont became excruciating. Several weeks later his windshield was smashed in the employee parking lot. And when he tried to file a grievance in the aftermath of that incident, the officials at UAW Local 892 buried the case, preventing him from taking it to the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board).

Lamont was then assaulted by a co-worker inside the plant, who threw toxic chemicals into his face, causing excruciating pain and permanently damaging his eyesight. The motivations behind the incident were never adequately explained.

While Lamonts health was excellent when he began working in the plant a decade ago, his experiences have left him with serious physical and emotional trauma. My windows are tinted because the light hurts my eyes. I was driving home and having to stop the car because I would start crying. I am not a wealthy person, he said. I am 48 years old. I have worked all my life. Now I have nothing left.

My friends that were in Iraq tell me that a lot of my symptoms are the same as theirs. You are not paranoid, but you are anxious to the nth degree. You are looking over your shoulder. You are under attack and you cannot protect yourself.

Every time he filled out a claim with the state of Michigan for unemployment compensation or public assistance, he was denied. The reason, he says, is that when the state welfare office called the company, They would say, No, he is not laid off. He has the ability to work. He is just refusing to work.

It is sickening, he said. To the management and the union I am dead.

He continued, From August 1 until today, I have lived without any income. I have to depend on friends and family members to help me to survive.

His repeated attempts to go through the channels that are supposed to protect a workers rights at work, filing complaints with HR and grievances with the union, were continuously frustrated.

How can you consciously support something that will never support you? He asks. The corporations own the media, and they dont want anybody to know whats really going on. We do not have a democracy.

The collusion by the UAW with the company has led other workers in the plant to launch an independent Rank-and-File Safety Committee to expose the real conditions inside the plant and fight for emergency measures, including the shutdown of nonessential industries with full compensation for workers, to fight the pandemic. The committee in Saline is part of a nationwide network of safety committees at auto plants, school districts and Amazon warehouses throughout the country.

Lamont is a supporter of the committee. I watched news reports about UAW officials getting 15 month sentences for having fun with the UAW money. That is just terrible. These guys get millions of dollars and all they want to do is preserve the class system. I want UAW members to see the deceit.

When something like this happens and you see the deceit and the betrayal of so many people who have control, and you cant do anything, that stinks.

The way this society is built, the capitalistic way, and the way these people are running their companies, they are destroying people. Obviously profits outweigh the value of life.
Predictiv AI (CVE: PAI- OTC: INOTF) CEO Michael Lende joined Steve Darling from Proactive with another key deployment for their Thermal Pass temperature screening system. The company saying they have sold and installed multiple systems in North Carolina's Iredell-Statesville Schools.

Lende telling Proactive those schools are using Thermal Pass at multiple locations in the central section of North Carolina where more than 20,000 students attend classes across 37 campuses.
A screening committee headed by former U.S. District Judge David Coar will review and vet candidates, and advise the senators on who might be the best fit for the high-profile position. The senators will make recommendations to President Joe Biden, whose nominee will then go through a confirmation process in the U.S. Senate.
COVID-19 Policy

Department of Education Seeking Best Practices for Reopening Schools

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a request for information on how schools, colleges and universities, and early education providers are reopening, operating safely and supporting students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The information gathered will inform ED's Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse, a website under development that will highlight lessons learned from the field and provide resources for meeting student, teacher, faculty and staff needs.

The request for information is focused on three topics:

Safe and healthy environments. Here, ED is looking for institutional approaches to implementing the CDC's recommended COVID mitigation strategies and preparing for and sustaining in-person operations safely. This includes, for example, social distancing during and between classes, mask wearing, use of pods with educational equity and staffing considerations, and protocols for extra-curricular activities.

Here, ED is looking for institutional approaches to implementing the CDC's recommended COVID mitigation strategies and preparing for and sustaining in-person operations safely. This includes, for example, social distancing during and between classes, mask wearing, use of pods with educational equity and staffing considerations, and protocols for extra-curricular activities. Providing support to students. Examples here include helping students deal with grief, re-engaging those who have been chronically absent or have had significant adverse experiences in remote learning, and identifying and mitigating equity issues such as broadband access.

Examples here include helping students deal with grief, re-engaging those who have been chronically absent or have had significant adverse experiences in remote learning, and identifying and mitigating equity issues such as broadband access. Teacher, faculty and staff well-being, professional development and support. This includes stabilizing a qualified and diverse educator workforce, providing access to training in effective virtual or hybrid instruction, mental health support, assistance with childcare, and accommodating staff with health risks.

Submissions should provide a description of the lesson learned or best practice plus a summary of its impact and any evidence of positive outcomes, and include "substantive materials" such as "fact sheets, step-by-step guidance, policies or regulations, sample agreements among partners (e.g., between a local education agency and a local health agency, or an employee union), ready-to-implement resources, videos or other media focused on how to implement practices, and descriptions of how strategies have been implemented."

Submissions can be made by e-mail to [email protected] until September 2021. The full request for information can be viewed in the Federal Register.
Several times in her 74 years of life, Marianne Faithfull has boomeranged from the brink of death.

First there was the summer of 1969, when she overdosed on Tuinal sleeping pills in the Sydney hotel room she was sharing with her then-boyfriend, Mick Jagger; as she slipped under, she had a long conversation with his recently deceased bandmate, Brian Jones, who had drowned in a swimming pool about a week prior. At the end of their spirited talk, Jones beckoned her to hop off a cliff and join him in the beyond. Faithfull declined, and woke up from a six-day coma.

That was before she became addicted to heroin in the early 1970s: At that point I entered one of the outer levels of hell, she writes in her 1994 autobiography Faithfull. It took more than a decade to finally get clean. Since then shes survived breast cancer, hepatitis C and an infection resulting from a broken hip. But, as Faithfull told me on the phone from her London home one afternoon in February, her recent bout with Covid-19 and its lingering long-term aftereffects has been the hardest battle shes fought in her entire life.

You dont want to get this, darling, she said. Really.

She said it, of course, in That Voice, coated with ash but flickering with lively defiance underneath. As its matured  cracked and ripened like a well-journeyed face  Faithfulls voice has come to possess a transfixing magic. Its a voice that sounds like it has come back from somewhere, and found a way to collapse present and past. She can find the Weimar Berlin decadence in Dylan, or breathe William Blakes macabre into a Metallica song.
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison will address issues facing American voters, including voting rights and voter suppression, and the outlook for the Democratic Party in the 2022 midterm elections, at a virtual National Press Club Headliners event at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28.

The hour-long program will stream live on the Club's website and YouTube Channel, and is accessible to both the media and members of the general public free-of-charge. Access the event or download a calendar reminder here.
Egypt, Apr 22, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - To push more digital business opportunities in Egypt's AI industry, the country is primed to host the Egypt edition of Trescon's flagship series - World AI Show on 31 May 2021 virtually. International AI & ML experts, top IT decision-makers will explore the potential of AI in the Egyptian economy.AI represents a golden opportunity for Egypt. With all of the evolutions and benefits of AI, Egypt started its forward-looking steps towards AI with the target that AI composes 7.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2030."Egyptian government currently attaches high priority to AI. Egypt moving up 55 places in one year reflects the government's huge efforts, the most prominent of which are adopting more modern technologies to provide Digital Egypt services," states Amr Talaat, Minister of Information and Communication Technology (Egypt).The conference will explore Egypt's AI market by essentially focusing on leveraging DigitalTransformation, driving business efficiency through embedding AI strategies, overcoming organizational challenges in the wake of Covid-19, driving the growth of the startup ecosystem in Egypt; and much more."We generally talk about emerging technologies and how they impact society. But we have never seen a technology move as fast as AI and its impact on society and technology. In today's world, the playing field is poised to become a lot more competitive. Businesses that don't deploy AI and data to help them innovate will be at a huge disadvantage," said Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.The show will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with speakers in Q&A sessions and network with solution providers in virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms, and private networking rooms.The event will feature a keynote on Egypt's National AI strategy by Dr Golestan Radwan - ICT Minister Advisor for AI, MCIT Egypt, followed by engaging keynote and panel discussions from influential AI leaders from Facebook, Samsung, Renault, among others.- Hubert Etienne - AI Ethics research, Facebook AI, Oxford & ENS France- Patrick Bangert - VP of AI, Samsung- Virginie Martins - Ethical AI & SDG Expert, Member of European Union Alliance- Broecke Stijn - AI Expert/Senior Economist - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, France- Laila Abdullah Al Hadhrami - Digital Transformation & Change Management Expert - Ministry of Technology & Communications MTC, Oman, Director - Oman Smart City Platform- Seham El Behissy - GM Digital & Connected Cars, Renault- Hisham Mohamed Aly - CISO - Risk Division, Emirates NBD- Yasser Abdeltawab Ahmed - Head of Digital Banking, Arab Investment BankWorld AI Show - Egypt is officially sponsored by Lead Sponsors - Microsoft, DELL Technologies and Intel; AI Video Surveillance Partner - Axis CommunicationsTo attend the show for free, register here: https://tresconglobal.com/conferences/ai/egypt/free-pass-registrationAbout World AI ShowWorld AI Show is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events that takes place in strategic locations across the world. It connects top AI experts, enterprises, government representatives, data scientists, technology leaders, startups, investors, researchers, academicians, and global AI innovators - to discuss the impact of AI on commercial applications and the revolutionary ways it can transform businesses and government functions.For further details about the announcement, please contact:Aishwarya G BhandaryCorporate Communications Executivemarketing@tresconglobal.comSource: World AI ShowCopyright 2021 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
The British House of Commons has approved a parliamentary motion declaring that crimes against humanity and genocide are being committed against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in Chinas northwest Xinjiang Province.



The nonbinding declaration passed on April 22 does not compel the U.K. government to act, but is a sign of the growing outcry among lawmakers toward the Chinese government.



At least 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in camps in Xinjiang.



Numerous abuses have been documented in Xinjiang, including arbitrary detentions, forced sterilization of women, forced labor, and other systematic violations of basic freedoms.



The U.S. government and the parliaments of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada have accused Beijing of genocide.



In March, the United States, Britain, and Canada joined the European Union in announcing sanctions against Chinese officials and companies over human rights violations in Xinjiang.



The genocide label and Western sanctions have been met with swift condemnation and retaliation from China, which describes policies in Xinjiang as an internal affair. Beijing claims internment camps in the region provide vocational training and help fight Islamic extremism.



Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has avoided declaring a genocide in Xinjiang, although it admits "industrial-scale" human rights abuses are being committed. The government says any decision on declaring a genocide is up to national and international courts.



Conservative lawmaker Nus Ghani, one of five British lawmakers recently sanctioned by China for criticizing its treatment of the Uyghurs, insisted the government must take action.



There is a misunderstanding that genocide is just one act -- mass killing. That is false, she said, adding that all the criteria of genocide "are evidenced as taking place in Xinjiang.



Ghani said detainees at internment camps are subjected to "brutal torture methods, including beatings with metal prods, electric shocks, and whips," all part of a policy meant to "indoctrinate and 'wash clean' brains."



She added up to 2 million people have reportedly been extrajudicially detained in prison factories and reeducation centers. She also said women in the region are subjected to forced sterilization and birth control to reduce the population of ethnic Uyghurs.



"I do not believe there is any other place on Earth where women are violated on this scale," Ghani said.



She said the Chinese government's own data showed that in 2014 over 200,000 birth control devices were inserted in women in Xinjiang, but by 2018 it had increased 60 percent.



"Despite the region accounting for just 1.8 percent of China's population, 80 percent of all birth control device insertions in China were performed in the Uyghur region."



Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith added: "Why haven't we declared this a genocide? I do urge the government to rethink their position on this."

With reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters
NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  The Virginia city of Norfolk has fired a police lieutenant after news reports that said he donated to and expressed support for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of killing two people during a police brutality protest in Wisconsin last summer.

City officials announced Tuesday that police Lt. William Kelly had been relieved of duty after an internal investigation.

His egregious comments erode the trust between the Norfolk Police Department and those they are sworn to serve. The City of Norfolk has a standard of behavior for all employees, and we will hold staff accountable, City Manager Chip Filer said in a statement.

The development came after news organizations including The Virginian-Pilot reported that they had obtained data from a Christian crowdfunding website that was hacked, apparently showing an initially anonymous $25 donation to Rittenhouses legal defense fund was linked to Kellys work email address.

According to the newspaper, the donation carried the comment: God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. Youve done nothing wrong.

It went on to say, Every rank and file police officer supports you.

Kyle Rittenhouse, left, with backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wis., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, with another armed civilian. Prosecutors on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020 charged Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois in the fatal shooting of two protesters and the wounding of a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a night of unrest following the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake. (Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via AP)AP

According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse, who is white, went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August as the city was in the throes of chaotic protests after a white police officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, in the back during a domestic disturbance. Rittenhouse was 17 at the time.

Rittenhouse is accused of opening fire on protesters with an AR-15-style rifle. Two were killed and one was wounded.

He has argued he fired in self-defense after the protesters attacked him, and his case became a rallying cry for some conservatives who helped raise money for his bail in November. Others have cast him as a trigger-happy domestic terrorist.

Earlier this year, Rittenhouse was captured on video at a bar wearing a T-shirt that read Free as (expletive) and flashing white supremacist signs, according to prosecutors.

The Guardian first reported the news of the data breach and Kellys apparent donation to Rittenhouse.

Kelly was initially put on administrative duty Friday, the city said. He can appeal the firing.

It was not immediately clear if Kelly had an attorney representing him who could comment on his behalf. The Associated Press unsuccessfully attempted to reach him by phone.

Clay Messick, president of the local police union, told the Pilot that the decision to fire Kelly, not a union member, was disappointing.

We were hoping for a full, transparent investigation, he told the newspaper. But after 72 hours, I do not believe that is what we got.'

Norfolk Police Chief Larry Boone said in a statement he hoped the perceptions of an individual officer wouldnt undermine community relations with the department.

A police department cannot do its job when the public loses trust with those whose duty is to serve and protect them, Boone said.

More:

Passed-around remains of Philadelphia MOVE bombing victim spur controversy

Girl charged with murder in stabbing death of 13-year-old classmate in Ohio
President Joe Bidens pick to lead the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division is facing new scrutiny over a plea deal he brokered with a Louisiana district attorney who was accused of coercing sexual favors from as many as two dozen women.

A former FBI agent blasted Kenneth Polite in a whistleblower letter unsealed this week, saying he lacked the courage to seek justice and left victims in the dark about the 2016 case while serving as New Orleans top federal prosecutor.

At issue is the case of Harry Morel, the longtime district attorney in suburban St. Charles Parish who was accused of trading sex for leniency for years from women facing criminal charges in his jurisdiction.

But Morel, 78, was never charged with sexual misconduct, even after Polite received Justice Department approval to indict him on racketeering charges.

Instead, he served less than two years in prison after pleading guilty to a single count of obstructing the federal investigation - a deal the former FBI agent likened to the notoriously lenient plea bargain financier Jeffrey Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida in 2008.

President Joe Bidens pick to lead the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division Kenneth Polite (above) is facing new scrutiny over a plea deal he brokered with a Louisiana district attorney who was accused of coercing sexual favors from as many as two dozen women

At issue is the case of Harry Morel, the longtime district attorney in suburban St. Charles Parish who was accused of trading sex for leniency for years from women facing criminal charges in his jurisdiction

As in the Morel case, the many victims of Epsteins sexual predation were left out of plea negotiations under then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, who later stepped down as labor secretary after new sex trafficking charges were brought against Epstein in New York.

'Polite was supposed to come in and save the day,' said a woman who accused Morel of sexually assaulting her and asked not to be identified. 'The handling of the Harry Morel case was a joke.'

Polite, who served as U.S. attorney in New Orleans from 2013 to 2017, referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

If confirmed by the Senate, Polite would supervise more than 600 federal prosecutors and oversee a wide range of criminal cases as assistant attorney general.

Polite has defended Morels sentence as a just outcome, noting a previous U.S. attorney declined to bring any charges in the case. The plea deal, Polite told reporters at the time, reflected 'significant evidentiary concerns,' including victims who 'would prove to be very difficult witnesses' if brought into court.

But former FBI agent Michael S. Zummer wrote in a 31-page letter that 'several of the witnesses were prepared to testify and several did not have any `baggage of any concern.' Polite, he wrote, 'blamed the victims and witnesses instead of admitting to his and his own offices failures.'

Polite, who served as U.S. attorney in New Orleans from 2013 to 2017, referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment

Tammy Glover, the mother of another Morel victim, said she was in disbelief at Polite's recent appointment given the way she was treated on his watch.

Glover's daughter, Danelle Keim, told investigators Morel groped her while she was facing drunken-driving charges in 2010, when she was 24. Keim later wore a wire for the FBI and recorded Morel when he came to her home and sought sexual favors in exchange for help with a DWI charge.

Keim died of an overdose in 2013 just as the investigation became public.

'It was disgusting,' Glover told The Associated Press. 'Danelle did everything she was supposed to do and they did nothing with this case. It was like she did it for nothing.'

Morel, in pleading guilty, admitted ordering Keim to destroy a memory card containing photos of the two of them meeting. He also acknowledged he 'solicited sex from other individuals who were defendants or who had family members' facing charges.

The Morel case stands out because of the wide gulf between what prosecutors publicly alleged about the district attorney and the actual charge they brought in court. Morels defense attorney, Ralph Capitelli, has said that 'smear tactic' was intended to shame Morel in the absence of stronger evidence.

The FBI fired Zummer for sending his whistleblower letter without approval to the federal judge who sentenced Morel. The long-sealed letter alleges misconduct involving several prosecutors working under Polite and describes 'systemic corruption' in the Justice Department.

In an interview with the AP this week, Zummer said he has no regrets.

'Nominating Ken Polite is no way to restore faith in the federal government,' he said. 'He didnt do the right thing then. He wont do the right thing now.'
Arkansas lawmakers have overwhelmingly passed a bill that would, if enacted, prohibit Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing resources to public schools.

Known as the Arkansas Student Protection Act, the bill passed the state Senate on Monday in a vote of 27-5, having previously passed the state House of Representatives by a vote of 73-18.

Also known as House Bill 1592 and sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark Lowery, the legislation says that a public school or open-enrollment public charter school cannot knowingly enter into any type of transaction with an abortion provider.

Any school found to be violating the measure will appear before the state board to determine Why this subchapter and division rules were violated and How to prevent the violation of this subchapter and division rules in the future.

Source:The Christian Post
Like the old Bourbons who "had learned nothing and forgotten nothing," former President George W. Bush took to the Washington Post recently to call for amnesty for "DREAMers" and enactment of "comprehensive immigration reform."

Bush's op-ed was written for the purpose of promoting his new book, Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants, "a powerful new collection of oil paintings and stories," certainly a valuable addition to coffee tables everywhere.

The book, he said, is designed to "humanize the debate on immigration" and is "not a brief for any specific set of policies." However, it sets forth "principles for reform that can restore the people's confidence in an immigration system that serves both our values and our interests."

He begins by touting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), the Obama proposal to confer citizenship for those brought here illegally as children, known as "DREAMers," a word curiously that is never applied to poor, aspiring Americans.

But it doesn't end there. When it comes to the rest of the illegal population, Bush states:

[U]ndocumented immigrants should be brought out of the shadows through a gradual process in which legal residency and citizenship must be earned, as for anyone else applying for the privilege.

Well, we've heard that before, haven't we? This is gradual amnesty, as opposed to the immediate amnesty that he would confer to "DREAMers."

But don't worry:

Requirements should include proof of work history, payment of a fine and back taxes, English proficiency and knowledge of U.S. history and civics, and a clean background check.

As National Review's Rich Lowry notes, "[s]uch requirements are always promised in comprehensive immigration bills and are always toothless, serving only as a way to deny that the amnesty for illegal immigrants is indeed an amnesty."

Bush calls for increased border security as well and advocates "all the necessary resources  manpower, physical barriers, advanced technology, streamlined and efficient ports of entry ..."

This is all well and good. The open-borders crowd always agrees to "border security"  later. This was the problem with the 1986 amnesty agreed to in good faith by President Reagan.

In 2013, Reagan's attorney general, Ed Meese, explained why it didn't work:

The 1986 reform did not solve our immigration problem  in fact, the population of illegal immigrants has nearly quadrupled since that 'comprehensive' bill. Why didn't it work? Well, one reason is that everything else the 1986 bill promised  from border security to law enforcement  was to come later. It never did. Only amnesty prevailed, and that encouraged more illegal immigration.

Bush proposes more of the same.

Moreover, he proposes more legal immigration as well:

Increased legal immigration, focused on employment and skills, is also a choice that both parties should be able to get behind. The United States is better off when talented people bring their ideas and aspirations here. We could also improve our temporary entry program, so that seasonal and other short-term jobs can more readily be filled by guest workers who help our economy, support their families and then return home.

Notice that Bush is not proposing merit-based immigration as a replacement to the current system. He just wants more legal immigrants.

During an interview on CBS News, Bush confessed that one of his biggest disappointments was not passing comprehensive immigration reform in 2007. That proposal failed because it was rejected by rank-and-file voters in his own party. Yet in neither the Washington Post op-ed nor in the CBS interview did the former president confront and answer the objections of the immigration skeptics. Instead, he just offered up the same mix of failed policies and the same lame cliches.

Bush's portraits show talent and imagination. But his views on immigration policy remain as clueless as ever.

Image: Picryl.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Former President George W. Bush warns of harmful implications that could result from President Joe Bidens plan to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans and sparked the U.S. war on terror.

Biden, the fourth president to handle the conflict in Afghanistan that began during the Bush administration, reportedly went against the advice of military commanders when he announced his recent decision to remove the troops from Afghanistan by September.

The Afghanistan withdrawal was negotiated during the Trump administration in a deal with the Taliban despite heavy opposition from Republicans.

Biden said he spoke with former Presidents Bush and Barack Obama before making his decision.

Source:The Christian Post
The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana is set to open its long-awaited Digital Design and Creative Coding Hub facility in the first week of May 2021.



The digital facility will be opened to the public including artists and creative people, pedagogues, educational and cultural policymakers, local cultural industry enterprises from Ghana, and around the world, as well as German cultural workers and developers of digital creative tools.



Everyone from all walks of life is welcomed to the facility from Monday 3rd May 2021.



The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH), a capacity-building organization, together with its partner organizations from Germany, Code it!, and TinkerToys are coming up with a digital design and creative coding Hub in Accra, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office of the Creative Resources Program.



Digital design and creative coding are redefining programming. In many ways, artists have been at the center of challenging commonly held beliefs and using entirely new mediums to express hypothetical ideas.



The Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana (IIPGH) aims at equipping the public, professionals, and students with skills in emerging technologies needed for entrepreneurship and employment in todays fast-moving technological world.



In addition, use the expertise at its disposal to advise government and other stakeholders on best practices and public policies that would enable the use of ICT in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).



ICT is an essential life skill. We focus on improving the quality of training through extending the range of teaching and learning strategies, meeting individual needs while using participative methods, and motivating the learner. Thus, the hub shall offer the chance to improve the design and creative skills and work towards globally recognized functional skills in ICT, with a focus on early start (from 8 years old).



While never the first thing to come to mind when discussing art, creative coding is revolutionizing what art is and can be. As we enter a more digital world, creative coding maybe the present art movement we need to communicate major societal challenges we are facing as technology advances.



Code it! is a learning platform where beginners and children can learn programming easily and playfully. Code it! teaches basic programming concepts through online courses, live web seminars, and other child-friendly formats. Code it! is designed for independent learning at home, as well as for use at school. While TinkerToys focuses on teaching children and young people how to construct in 3D. With the help of its 3D construction program, children as young as age eight (8) can learn how to construct in 3D.



The Hub is designed as an open space for all interested people, in which artistic and creative expression can be learned, tested, and taught using digital tools. As there are a great need and interest in digital tools and new technologies in Ghana, both for art production and for education, as well as for the development of new business models and the opening of new markets, the hub as a showroom, aims to encourage artists, educators, and multipliers to use innovative digital technologies for creative processes and to demonstrate possibilities for their use in education.



In the Coding Hub, participants including children and young ones can work with the software to create their own utility objects. Not only do children gain competencies in creativity, independence, and critical thinking, but also learn about 3D technology and printing.



By combining learning and creating, projects become playful, while still fulfilling curriculum requirements. The best part: the children can print out and marvel at their constructions on site! We are excited that the Coding Hub shall offer participants a great addition to their daily school and professional lives.



By using the 3D construction program in the classroom, a wide range of learning objectives from the curricula in various subjects can be achieved. As the program is based on analysis of educational content and competencies, we are convinced that the 3D construction program can support both: the creative and the mathematical/informatics learning process.



Our 3D construction program is an object-based design program that allows children and young people to operate with a wide variety of geometric bodies or prefabricated objects. With plug-in connections, (fantasy) figures and models can be created. The software can be used for theme-specific projects (Minecraft, Marvel, Lego, ) as well as for curriculum-related content. Kids can build freely or use building instructions.



For more information visit: https://iipgh.org/

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Saudi-based Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Company has announced that its consortium with Allana International and United Feed Manufacturing Company has signed a deal worth SR859 million ($229 million) with National Center for Privatization to acquire the Fourth Milling Company.

A joint venture agreement would be signed to organise the relations among the consortium members through a holding company that would be incorporated by the consortium members with equal shares, said the company in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The acquisition transaction with National Center for Privatization will be self-financed from the consortium members, in addition to borrowing from local banks under the name of the holding company that will be incorporated, it stated.

The Board of Directors decision comes to support the company's continuous pursuit for integration and investment diversification and to contribute in achieving food security, said the statement.

The three firms will set up a holding company at equal equity ownership to acquire one of the two milling companies offered for privatization by the Saudi Grains Organization in a public competition which includes the Second Milling Company and the Fourth Milling Company, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
China on Thursday offered to provide the necessary support and assistance to India to deal with the sharp increase in the COVID-19 cases in the country.

Asked about the spike in the cases in India by the official Chinese media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that the COVID-19 "pandemic is a common enemy of all mankind that necessitates international solidarity and mutual assistance".

"China takes note of the recent grave situation in India with a temporary shortage of anti-epidemic medical supplies," he said.

"We stand ready to provide India with necessary support and assistance to get the epidemic under control," he said.

China reported the first COVID-19 case in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 and since then the deadly disease has snowballed into a pandemic, affecting more than 143,915,000 people and over 3,060,500 deaths worldwide.

According to Johns Hopkins tracker, the US alone has reported 31,862,987 cases and 569,404 deaths from the deadly virus.

The US has alleged that the COVID-19 may have emanated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) which is a P-4 bio lab, a charge strongly denied by China.

A team of WHO experts, which probed the origin of the coronavirus, concluded last month that all hypotheses included the allegation that COVID-19 could have emanated from a bio lab "remained open".

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while receiving the report of the international experts' team which visited Wuhan, said on March 30 that "as far as the WHO is concerned, all hypotheses remain on the table".

(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 April 16, the China (Shanxi)-ASEAN Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference was held in Beijing. The meeting was co-hosted by the Shanxi Provincial Government and the China-ASEAN Business Council.

Lu Dongliang, Vice Governor of Shanxi Province, said in his speech that during the 30 years since the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue partnership, Shanxi and ASEAN countries have become increasingly close in economic ties, and exchanges and cooperation have become deeper and deeper. More and more investors from ASEAN countries are empowering Shanxi's development and at the same time sharing the dividends of Shanxi's rapid development. In 2020, a quarter of Shanxi's imports and exports came from RCEP member countries. Shanxi and ASEAN countries are highly mutually complementary in economy and trade. The two sides have a broad space for cooperation, especially in digital economy, infrastructure construction, equipment manufacturing, coal chemical industry, and development of characteristic agricultural products. In the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", the cooperation between the two parties will also continue to achieve new and greater results.

Lu pointed out that at present, Shanxi is stepping up efforts to establish an effective policy mechanism for RCEP and working with ASEAN countries to continue to expand trade and investment, jointly respond to risks and challenges, deepen connectivity, and strengthen cultural exchanges. He hopes that all parties take this matchmaking meeting as an opportunity to further enhance understanding, strengthen exchanges, and deepen cooperation, and more enterprises will settle in Shanxi and share the historical opportunities of reform and development on the land of Shanxi.

Xu Ningning, Executive President of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said in his speech that Shanxi and the 10 ASEAN countries can carry out in-depth cooperation in many areas, including connectivity and logistics, resource development, smart city construction, industrial park, and manufacturing, agricultural and economic crop planting and processing, cultural tourism, etc. Shanxi also has many advantageous products for the ASEAN market, and the 10 ASEAN countries can become one of the first overseas regions for Shanxi enterprises to "go out".

Xu put forward three suggestions on enhancing economic and trade cooperation between ASEAN and Central China:

First, the two sides are actively engaging in cooperation and tapping the potential for regional cooperation. With the help of the good foundation built by China and ASEAN in the past 30 years, the close relationship between China and ASEAN as the largest trading partners, the two sides face fine opportunities brought about by RCEP's coming into effect, and the grand opening in Taiyuan in late May. The Central China Investment and Trade Expo is an important platform to formulate and implement an action plan for cooperation between central Chinas provinces and municipalities and ASEAN, and organically integrate the external cycle in the development of the "double circulation" economy with the cooperation of neighboring ASEAN countries. The cooperation between provinces and cities and ASEAN is integrated into China-ASEAN multilateral and bilateral cooperation, and develops by taking advantage of the situation.

Second is to focus on strengthening industrial cooperation and develop the complementarity of industrial advantages. Strengthen industrial cooperation to drive bilateral trade and investment cooperation, use industrial planning and policy alignment to find the entry point of cooperation, give full play to the advantageous role of various economic development zones and logistics parks in industrial cooperation, and strive to locate China-ASEAN industry cooperation mechanism in the central provinces and cities of China to build a focal point for industrial cooperation, improve the level of industrial cooperation and promote industrial upgrading.

Third, companies from both sides should fully grasp and make good use of the China-ASEAN free trade policy and the upcoming RCEP agreement. As the pandemic is still raging in some ASEAN countries, relevant institutions, prefectures, cities, and industry associations in central China can organize more online video conferences, including product fairs, investment projects promotion meetings, etc, actively help companies improve their capacities of international management and help companies better understand ASEAN economic information and broaden ASEANs business channels. This is what the current cooperation between the two companies needs.

H.E. Madam Khek Caimealy Sysoda, Cambodian Ambassador to China, said in her speech that Vice Governor Lu led representatives including the mayors of various cities in Shanxi Province to Beijing to attend the meeting, which demonstrated Shanxi Provinces desire to develop cooperation with ASEAN. In the economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries, local governments play an active role. Chinas central region and ASEAN countries have great potentials for economic and trade cooperation. The signing of the RCEP brings new opportunities for regional openness and cooperation. The 30th anniversary of the establishment of a dialogue partnership between China and ASEAN will enter a new phase of cooperation between the two sides. It will help promote the new development of economic and trade cooperation between central China, including Shanxi Province, and ASEAN countries.

H.E. Madam Khamphao ERNTHAVANH, Lao Ambassador to China, stated in her speech that Chinas Shanxi Province and ASEAN countries including Laos are highly mutually complementary in economic and trade cooperation. The convening of this meeting is of positive significance for enhancing mutual understanding and connection, and developing cooperation potential. Laos and China are connected by mountains and rivers, have good-neighborly friendship and close economic and trade relations. In 2020, Chinese companies' investment in Laos increased by 8.9%. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Laos and the Laos-China Friendship Year. The two countries are accelerating cooperation in all aspects. The China-Laos railway will open to traffic at the end of this year. It is recommended that Chinese companies, including Shanxi companies, pay attention to and seize the opportunities for investment, trade, and tourism cooperation brought by the convenient transportation between the two countries.

At the meeting, Jia Xiaowei, deputy director of the Management Committee of Changzhi High-tech Industrial Development Zone, introduced the cooperation projects in the development zone. Jia said that Changzhi has a profound history and culture, magnificent natural scenery and great Taihang spirit. It has many national honorary titles such as a national civilized city and a national sanitary city. Demonstration zone for resource-based city industry transformation and upgrading. Changzhi High-tech Zone is located in the core area of the city. It is an important bearer of Changzhi's construction of a provincial sub-central city and the main support for Changzhi to "take the lead in creating a new path for transformation and development." He showed the development advantages of the company in Changzhi High-tech Zone with a video.

Xue Ye, deputy general manager of Huayuan International Land Port Group, said in her speech that Huayuan is the largest comprehensive modern logistics group in Shanxi, and it is listed among the top 500 Chinese enterprises, the top 500 Chinese service industry companies, and the top 20 Chinese logistics companies. The national 5A-level integrated service logistics enterprise undertakes the "three missions" of accelerating the investment and construction of Shanxi railways, leading the high-quality development of the logistics industry, and creating a new window for opening up. Currently, Huayuan is taking advantage of the upgrade of the RCEP and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and is actively engaged in the import and export trade of commodities, meat, natural rubber, equipment manufacturing, basalt materials, hemp textiles, epidemic prevention materials and other products with ASEAN countries, and strives to become the main carrier of international trade of the 10 ASEAN countries in the central region.

Wang Xiu, Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanxi Provincial Committee presided over the meeting. At the meeting, the Committee and China-ASEAN Business Council signed a memorandum of cooperation.

Zhang Yu, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, Zhang Hongliang, Deputy Director of the General Office of the Shanxi Provincial Government, Xing Limin, Deputy Director of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Commerce, Yang Chunquan, Director of the Shanxi Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau, Liang Shujuan, Deputy Director of the Shanxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, and Executive Deputy of the Yangquan Municipal Government Mayor Huang Haitao, Executive Deputy Mayor Shang Rihong of Changzhi Municipal Government, Hao Xianmin, Deputy Mayor of Datong Municipal Government, Cui Yuanbin, Deputy Mayor of Yuncheng Government, Liu Jinping, Deputy Mayor of Luliang Municipal Government, Fan Jianmin, Deputy Mayor of Xinzhou Municipal Government, and a total of 50 representatives of provincial entrepreneurs attended the meeting and communicated with more than 200 representatives including those of ASEAN countries online and offline.

Prior to the meeting, Vice Governor Lu met with H.E. Ambassador Khek Caimealy Sysoda, H.E. Ambassador Khamphao ERNTHAVANH, H.E. Ambassador Pehin Dato Rahmani Dato Basir, and H.E. Ambassador Arthayudh Srisamoot, Deputy Director of the Malaysian Embassy in China Sanmugan Subramaniam and Economic Minister See Chee Kong, Minister Counselor of the Indonesian Embassy in China Virdiana Ririen Hapsari, Commercial Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in China Dao Viet Anh, Commercial Counselor of the Philippine Embassy in China Glenn Penaranda and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Myanmar in China Shwe Sin Oo. The two sides vowed to jointly promote the new development of economic and trade cooperation between China's Shanxi and ASEAN.

[ Editor: GSY ]
The Gargoyle wins Society of Professional Journalists regional Mark of Excellence awards

Flagler's online student newspaper has won more than 120 awards since 2007

Flagler Colleges online student newspaper, The Gargoyle, won six awards in the 2020 Society of Professional Journalists Region 3 Mark of Excellence Awards, including finalist in the Best Independent Online Student Publication category. Other schools in that category included winner Berry College and finalist Florida International University. This years Gargoyle editors are students Maiya Mahoney, Casey Niebuhr and Jess Zsiga.

In addition, Gargoyle writers swept the Online Feature Reporting category. Mahoney took the top award in that category with a story titled, Caring for the homeless, physically and mentally.

Alexus Barnhart and Kayla McManama, who both graduated last spring, were the two finalists for Online Feature Reporting.

Other awards included recent graduate Lauren Piskothy, who won the Online Opinion and Commentary category, and student Abby Bittner, who was a finalist in a category for coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because Mahoney and Piskothys entries both won their categories, they will now move on to the organizations national Mark of Excellence Awards competition against winners from all 12 regions. Region 3 covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Since 2007, The Gargoyle has won 124 awards in various awards competitions, including finishing a finalist twice in the Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Awards.

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[April 21, 2021] FEX Global Australian Futures Exchange Deploys Itiviti's Tbricks Connectivity Solution

SYDNEY, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Itiviti, a leading trading technology and service provider to financial institutions worldwide, today announced that the FEX Global Australian Futures Exchange (FEX Global) would rely on Itiviti's Tbricks connectivity solution to provide market participants with a high-performance gateway to trade derivatives. Recently launched, Australian-based FEX Global offers centrally cleared futures and options for the energy, environmental, and commodity product classes. The exchange is focused on enabling the optimization of hedging and risk management for regional to global market participants by providing futures and options for both commodity and energy markets, as well as the emerging renewable energy and environmental markets. "As a market operator, FEX Global strives to offer best-in-class technology solutions and trading products to the markets we serve," said Tom Price, CEO at FEX Global. "Itiviti was a clear choice for FEX Global. We aim at servicing our clients effectively. Itiviti offers both an experienced team and a suite of powerful derivatives trading tools recognized by the world's leading financial institutions. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Itiviti to accelerate our gowth in the region."



"We are delighted to be part of FEX Global's journey, empowering their offering with our derivatives platform. It is a further testament to Itiviti's continued technology investment and our extensive experience in delivering solutions to exchanges and advanced users," said Ofir Gefen, Head of Sales and Revenue, EMEA and APAC at Itiviti. "We see growing demand in the energy derivatives space, and the Itiviti team is proud to work with an innovative exchange like FEX Global to expand our energy solution offering." Itiviti's award-winning Tbricks cross asset trading platform is built for change, enabling users to continuously deploy their proprietary knowledge and capitalize on the trends of tomorrow. Banks and trading firms rely on our solution to automate sophisticated strategies on diverse venues across the globe.

About FEX Global FEX Global is an Australian based company that will provide and operate a range of energy, environmental and commodity based futures and options contracts focused primarily at servicing the Asia-Pacific region. Asian, US and European investors will have the opportunity to manage and trade risk that is more accurately aligned to the underlying energy and commodity raw materials that are produced, exported and consumed in the region. About Itiviti Itiviti provides nearly 2,000 financial institutions worldwide with flexible, cross-asset trading solutions that cover the full trade lifecycle. Through its commitment to technology innovation, relentless pursuit of workflow efficiency and an entrepreneurial culture, Itiviti is disrupting the industry with highly-scalable solutions that deliver unprecedented cost savings for clients. For more information, please visit www.itiviti.com . Follow Itiviti on social media on Twitter @Itiviti_AB , on Facebook @ItivitiAB , and on LinkedIn . For further information, please contact:

Mireille Adebiyi, Chief Marketing Officer, Itiviti Group, Email: mireille.adebiyi@itiviti.com

Agnes Wong, Head of Marketing and Communications APAC, Itiviti, Email: agnes.wong@itiviti.com

FEX Global, Email: enquiries@fex.com.au SOURCE Itiviti

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Celebrities often undergo a lot of major trolling for everything and anything. At times, they need to be schooled for things that they say and do but the audience forgets that they are human too and no one is perfect.



Varun Dhawan, who will turn 34 on April 24, shared a birthday picture made by a fan. However, he had to delete the picture after a few minutes as people pointed out how it is insensitive of him to share a picture of his birthday amid the ongoing pandemic.

The actor wrote that it was to make someone happy. The graphic showcased Varun Dhawan in his various screen avatars. It also had a message saying, 'Stay Home, Stay Safe' written on it.

He shared the picture along with the caption saying, Be safe guys. However, he received so much flak that he had to delete the picture.

 Twitter/Varun Dhawan

Many people on Twitter starting pointing out the strange timing of the post and the picture went viral within minutes. People thought that the timing wasnt right as social media is flooded with pleas for help in securing oxygen cylinders, medicines, hospital beds, and other necessities.



One Twitter user wrote, "Oh Varun. I thought you're one of the sensible ones.

Check out the post here-

Well it was to make someone happy who made the graphic and requested it but I guess this medium Shouldnt be used for that right now. https://t.co/STQ4DIAcZU  VarunDhawan (@Varun_dvn) April 21, 2021

Later, Varun re-tweeted the tweet and wrote, "Well it was to make someone happy who made the graphic and requested it but I guess this medium Shouldnt be used for that right now."



Heres what his fans have to say about this-

What the hell is this

That poster was for Varun

What's the problem if he post that

He just wanted to appreciate his fans

But others!!  Amrin (@varunxsparkle) April 21, 2021

He is sensible and hardworking keep it up Vd... Your fans love u  Roshniebhickram (@roshniebhickram) April 21, 2021

What the hell! That trend was for him! What's the problem if he appreciated his fans efforts. Don't make him feel bad. He is sensible enough!  Nupur  (@Varunxshades) April 22, 2021

Dont make him feel bad. Hes a great person of very high human qualities. Hes a wonderful boy and deserves praise for his kindnesses and caring towards his fans, people in general and animals. He should not have been made to feel he had to delete it.     (@Devoted2SRK) April 21, 2021

Not only this, earlier, many celebrities have been trolled for posting vacation pictures amidst the ongoing pandemic. Recently, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt received a lot of flak for going to the Maldives for a vacation after recovering from COVID19 and completing their home quarantine. People were upset with them as there is a state-wide lockdown in Maharashtra and fans thought they were just trying to escape.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!
Kathmandu, April 22

The rival group led by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal in the ruling CPN-UML has filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Thursday demanding an order that stops the parliamentary party from removing them as lawmakers.

Nepal, Bhim Rawal, Surendra Pandey, and Ghanashyam Bhusal filed a petition at the apex court after 27 lawmakers of the camp were asked for clarification on Tuesday. In his letter demanding the clarification, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, as the parliamentary party leader of the UML, has warned of removing them from the legislature if they continued questioning against the party leadership.

Oli has been accusing them of trying to form a new party.

Meanwhile, Nepal and Pandey among other leaders also submitted the clarification to Oli on Thursday, arguing they were not forming a new party but protesting wrongdoings of the leadership.

On the other hand, Oli and Nepal held a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

These moves come at a time when the party is on the verge of another split with the Nepal-led camp launching a months-long campaign forming parallel committees of sister organisations and district units.

Earlier also, Oli had sought clarifications from Nepal, Rawal, Pandey and Bhusal for speaking and acting against the party leadershipeventually to suspend them from the party.
1. The United States pledged to cut emissions in half from 2005 levels by the end of the decade, a plan that would lead to big changes.

At an Earth Day summit, President Biden declared America has resolved to take action on climate change. His administration also announced it intends to double the amount of money it offers to help developing countries address the issue. Heres how the U.S. plan stacks up globally.

Canada and Japan also made new commitments to cut emissions. China  currently the worlds biggest greenhouse gas polluter  promised to strictly limit coal consumption and renewed its pledge to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2060.
Andaz Mayakoba

Since it first opened in 2016, the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya has become one of Mexicos most beloved beachfront destinations. Located on the exclusive 1,600-acre Mayakoba property that is also home to the Banyan Tree, Rosewood Mayakoba and Fairmont Mayakoba resorts, which puts it in excellent company, the hotel is the first Mexican offering from Hyatts acclaimed Andaz brand. Andaz Mayakoba sits on 590 lushly landscaped, tropical acres boasting Mayakobas renowned beachfront, mangroves and lagoons.

Andaz Mayakoba

The propertys 214 spacious and attractive guest rooms, including 41 suites, are spread out over several buildings designed to blend into the landscape, giving each a sense of privacy and seclusion. Most recently, the resort, which is done in color palettes reflective of stone, sand and water, with a few pops of tropical color, has tightened its focus on wellness and related issues. To that end, Andaz Mayakoba has introduced expanded wellness programming, new health-oriented culinary offerings, and nature activities, along with enhanced cleaning and safety protocols.

Andaz Mayakoba

In this new era of travel, we have put an increased focus on health, wellness and nature to help ensure travelers safety and comfort, the resorts General Manager Pascal Dupuis tells JustLuxe. Our resort lends itself well to these aspects with our vast open layout immersed in nature, which guests can easily navigate on foot or by bicycle, including our breathtaking oceanfront, preserved mangroves and tranquil lagoons.

Andaz Mayakoba

In addition, We recently introduced expanded wellness programming and a dedicated weekly Wellness Calendar including fitness classes, yoga, Mayan meditation, spa workshops and more, he adds, in addition to opening our new Vegan Bar (VB), which offers creative, plant-based seasonal snacks and food made with sustainable and locally sourced ingredients. Guests are easily able to focus on their wellbeing and reconnecting with family and friends in a serene, safe and beautiful setting at Andaz Mayakoba.

Andaz Mayakoba

Andaz Mayakoba

The property, which has quickly become one of the most attractive options for visitors to the Riviera Maya, not least because it offers excellent value for money, also recently debuted the From Mexico to Andaz series, a creative culinary and immersive cultural experience that spotlights different areas of Mexico through a variety of authentic local partners and resort experiences. For the first installment, Executive Chef Miguel Gomez of Andaz Mayakobas acclaimed Casa Amate, one of our favorite restaurants in Mexico, ranked in the Top 120 Restaurants in the country by Guia Mexico Gastronomico, among other honors; and Oaxacan chef Olga Cabrera from Tierra del Sol restaurant, also ranked amongst the Top 120 Restaurants in Mexico, have teamed up to highlight Oaxaca, the state in southwestern Mexico renowned for its food, drink and craftsmanship.

Andaz Mayakoba

Guests can enjoy their creative menu collaboration during the partnership, after which one dish will remain on the menu at Casa Amate throughout the duration of the program (through June), with proceeds going to the Guadalupe Musalem Charity in Oaxaca, benefiting low-income women and girls by giving them scholarships and financial assistance to study high school and college. Additional partners include Oaxacan coffee from Finca Arabia, local chocolate and cacao from Pasion de Cacao, by Roberto Reta, mezcal from Mezcal Amaras and handcrafted jewelry, bags and art from ARIPO de Oaxaca. ARIPO artisan Angelico Jimenez Hernandez will also be leading Alebrijes workshops for guests to learn how to make brightly colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures.

Andaz Mayakoba

We are excited to take our guests on a cultural and culinary journey through Mexico in our new From Mexico to Andaz series, Dupuis notes. We have some wonderful local partners lined up that are very aligned with our brand and our commitment to diversity, authentic culture and giving back to the local community. We are looking forward to offering travelers a true taste of Mexico at Andaz Mayakoba this year.

Andaz Mayakoba

Casa Amate, designed to resemble a private and very elegant modern Mexican house, made to resemble the home of an eclectic traveler passionate about Latin culture, its different rooms are patterned after a library, living room, and dining room, along with a studio bar where the mixology is unparalleled, each designed and furnished in a distinctive style. is emblematic of the architectural excellence to be found at Andaz Mayakoba.

Its structures were designed by acclaimed architect and Costa Rican native Ronald Zurcher, who conceived of them as conversational elements between trees, bedrocks and water without competing in form, inspired by the richness of nature and its wilderness, and organic forms and shapes, as well as Mayan culture. Designed to seamlessly integrate the propertys beautiful environment and local heritage.

Andaz Mayakoba

Andaz Mayakoba

While the spacious suites are extremely popular, the most coveted accommodation is Andaz Mayakobas lavish Presidential Suite. Spanning a massive 4,575 square feet across two floors, its one of the most luxurious accommodations in all of Mexico. The beachfront suite with a private terrace overlooking the ocean has a private pool and separate outdoor dining area, along with two spacious bedrooms on separate floors, each with its own walk-in closet and private balconies and whirlpools. Natural light floods in from the floor-to-ceiling windows and can be further expanded via a connected room. Presidential Suite guests can opt for an in-suite private dining experience with one of the resorts renowned chefs as well as tequila and mezcal tastings, and cooking demonstrations, while a personal butler looks after their every whim while in residence.

Andaz Mayakoba

Andaz Mayakoba
Apologist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter defended Evangelist Franklin Graham after the Seattle police chief rescinded his dinner invitation, due to what the officer believed were the reverends alleged views of the LGBTQ community.

In his Facebook post, reacting to The Seattle Times article, Mr. Ham denounced the statement of the head of Seattle Police Department (SPD) against Mr. Graham's moral stance.

"What this police chief is really saying is that if a sincere Christian like Franklin Graham believes God's Word concerning gender and marriage, that this is hate speech," the apologist began.

In the article, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) invited the enforcement officers of SPD for a dinner at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue as an act of appreciation for their service. The invitation was emailed to the employees on Wednesday.

But on Friday, police Chief Adrian Diaz revoked the invitation on the premise that it was hosted by the BGEA, which is headed by Mr. Graham. The police chief opposed the evangelist's Biblical belief on marriage.

In an email to SPD employees, Diaz claimed that the department "supports the equity and just treatment of all people."

"The SPD did not sponsor this event and is not connected in any way to its hosts. This email is meant to rescind the invitation sent through department email because the event's hosts do not share the inclusive values of the SPD," he further stated in the email.

Mr. Ham pointed out that believing the Bible's definition of marriage is not hate speech.

"In other words, Christians are not free to believe the Bible, and they have to reject what God clearly teaches. But believing God's Word concerning marriage and calling adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, gay "marriage," and transgender sin is not being hateful!" he said.

The apologist further stated that though the Biblical worldview contradicts the LGBTQ's, it does not mean that Christians hate the members of the LGBT community, adding that Mr. Graham actually preaches about the love of God.

"Certainly the LGBTQ worldview and the biblical worldview clash. But just because worldviews differ doesn't mean Christians therefore hate. Franklin preaches the love of God (not hate) and the message of the saving gospel-God's Son died on the cross so those who repent of sin and put their faith and trust in Him will spend eternity with the Lord," Mr. Ham concluded.

BGEA, through its Graham Rapid Response Team, reportedly organized appreciation dinners for enforcement officers as part of its National Law Enforcement Ministry. They have also scheduled dinners for other areas such as Vancouver-Portland and Asheville, North Carolina.

In response to SPD, Mr. Graham released a statement.

He reiterated his appreciation for the service of the enforcement officers "regardless of their beliefs, sexual orientation, or the color of their skin." He added that they deserve the support of the organization and "to know how much they are appreciated."

Mr. Graham further stated that though Diaz rescinded the announcement of the event, the invitation still stands. The evangelist also hoped that many of the officers in the nearby areas will join the event.
LANSING, MI - A law deemed unconstitutional that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer previously used to issue pandemic orders will remain on the books, for now.

The Board of State Canvassers failed to certify the signatures of a petition seeking to repeal the law during a Thursday, April 22 board meeting. The anti-executive power group Unlock Michigan submitted more than half a million signatures in October 2020 in a petition drive aimed at undoing the 1945 law Whitmer used to issue executive orders last year.

The bipartisan canvassing boards 2-2 certification vote follows the petition signatures being deemed valid by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and collected with no prosecutable illegal activity, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Read more: Unlock Michigan petition signatures deemed valid by Secretary of State

Ten days after Unlock Michigan submitted its signatures, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled governors do not have the authority to unilaterally issue executive orders for as long as necessary, as outlined in the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act. The court called that law unconstitutional. The ruling effectively struck down Whitmers initial executive orders, though public health orders issued since then under a different law remain constitutional.

If the Unlock Michigan petition was certified, the Republican-led state Legislature could have officially stripped the 1945 law from the books. Unlock Michigan spokesman Fred Wszolek signaled an upcoming court fight is the next step.

There is no doubt that Unlock MI submitted sufficient signatures to require certification, he wrote on Twitter. There is no doubt what the Boards clear legal duty was. Do we need to seek sanctions and court costs against individual canvassers to get them to start doing their legal duty?

The boards vote followed more than an hour of deliberation over delaying certification in favor of further investigating how Unlock Michigan gathered signatures.

Nessel said Wednesday that while her offices investigation revealed unsavory practices and sleazy tactics by petition circulators, the similarly unethical conduct by witnesses to such activities made it difficult to pursue criminal prosecution.

Julie Matuzak, one of two Democrats on the Board of State Canvassers, introduced the motion for another investigation. It failed in a 2-2 vote, with fellow Democrat Jeannette Bradshaw voting yes and Republican members Norm Shinkle and Tony Daunt voting no.

Im concerned about the validity of some of these signatures, Matuzak said. Not the questions of how they were registered, not if their signatures match, but rather how these signatures were gathered, and it behooves us to actually exercise our power to look at that.

Read more: Unlock Michigan petition effort was sleazy, but not illegal, AG says

Bradshaw added that the board has to make sure Unlock Michigan followed the rules, but both she and Matuzak acknowledged another investigation on top of the Secretary of States review would be unprecedented.

The certification vote follows several months of investigation, Shinkle said, including an extra one by the Attorney Generals office.

This would be just shutting down the process for more than a year, Shinkle said.

Delay would open a Pandoras box of eternal delay tactics, Daunt said.

We shouldnt delay just because we disagree with the content, Daunt said. The (Secretary of States) staff report was very clear. It shows ample signatures have met the qualifications and that its recommended for passage.

For the last seven months, Unlock Michigan locked horns with Keep Michigan Safe, a group that formed with the sole intent of stopping the initiative. The opposition group filed a lawsuit on April 15 urging Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to halt the state canvassing board review based on accusations of unethical signature gathering.

That request was ignored as the Bureau of Elections released its report that out of the 536,700 signatures submitted by Unlock Michigan, the minimum threshold of valid signatures was surpassed by more than 120,000 signatures.

Read more: Lawsuit seeks to block ballot initiative to cancel Michigan governors emergency power

Keep Michigan Safe, through political operatives it hired, secretly recorded Unlock Michigan petition circulators during training and while collecting signatures. Unlock Michigan hired its own firm to manage its signature collection process.

Secretly recorded video showed the trainer advising signature collectors to deceive voters about the intent of the initiative, collect signatures on private property, leave petitions with store clerks to obtain signatures on their behalf and commit perjury during depositions if questioned about signature validity, Nessels office found.

However, a Keep Michigan Safe operative was seen in three additional videos approaching a circulator and asking if she could sign her husbands name. In each case she was told that would be OK, Nessel said.

It is clearly not permissible for a voter to sign someone elses name, the attorney general said. However, the circulator would not directly commit a crime unless and until he or she actually signed the certification of circulator on the petition attesting to the fact that the voters signature is believed to be a genuine signature of the voter.

Nessel said the Keep Michigan Safe operative crossed the line between simply witnessing and recording events and inducing criminal conduct.

The attorney generals report of sleazy actions from petition circulators justifies the Keep Michigan Safe complaints, said group spokesman Mark Brewer in the board meeting.

She found that several circulators engaged in illegal activity, although she concluded she couldnt prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were criminal, he said.

Nessel said in her recommendation that some petition circulators encouraged illegal behavior, but that they simply did not rise to the level supporting criminal charges.

Keep Michigan Safes reading of the attorney generals report is disingenuous, said Unlock Michigan spokesman Eric Doster at the meeting.

The Attorney Generals report only supports that our insistence that Unlock Michigans petition is fully supported and validated by most, but not all, of its signatures, he said.

Matuzak and Bradshaw want to block the will of the people to protect Whitmer, said Michigan Republican Party spokesman Ted Goodman.

Unlock Michigan could file a lawsuit over the failed certification in the Michigan Court of Claims.

Read more from MLive:

AG investigating Unlock Michigan petition group accused of improper signature collection

Petitioners say they have 500K signatures in bid to strip Whitmer of emergency powers
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. (OTCQB:IPCIF) and (TSX:IPCI) ("Intellipharmaceutics" or the "Company"), a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and manufacture of novel and generic controlled-release and targeted-release oral solid dosage drugs, is pleased to announce the completion of a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of 9,414,560 common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares") at a price of CAD$0.41 per Common Share for total gross proceeds of CAD$3,859,969.60.

The proceeds of the Private Placement are expected to be used to maintain the Company's existing operations and for general working capital purposes and to fund research and development activities.

The Common Shares will be subject to a four-month hold period expiring on August 22, 2021 in accordance with applicable securities legislation and the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"). The Private Placement remains subject to the final acceptance by the TSX.

The Common Shares were sold only to non-U.S. persons outside of the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act"). The Common Shares issued in the Private Placement were not registered under the 1933 Act or the securities laws of any state in the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

This press release does not constitute an offer of sale of any of the foregoing securities in the United States.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor will there be any sale of the foregoing securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Intellipharmaceutics

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and manufacture of novel and generic controlled-release and targeted-release oral solid dosage drugs. The Company's patented Hypermatrix technology is a multidimensional controlled-release drug delivery platform that can be applied to a wide range of existing and new pharmaceuticals. Intellipharmaceutics has developed several drug delivery systems based on this technology platform, with a pipeline of products (some of which have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approval) in various stages of development. The Company has abbreviated new drug application ("ANDA") and new drug application ("NDA") 505(b)(2) drug product candidates in its development pipeline. These include the Company's abuse-deterrent oxycodone hydrochloride extended release formulation ("Oxycodone ER") based on its proprietary nPODDDS novel Point Of Divergence Drug Delivery System (for which an NDA has been filed with the FDA), and Regabatin XR (pregabalin extended release capsules).

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this document constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and/or "forward-looking information" under the Securities Act (Ontario). These statements include, without limitation, statements expressed or implied regarding our expectations relating to our goals and plans to fund our current activities and use of proceeds from financings. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "appear", "unlikely", "target", "may", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "plans to", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "confident", "prospects", "potential", "continue", "intends", "look forward", "could", "would", "projected", "goals", "set to", "seeking" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. We made a number of assumptions in the preparation of our forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which are subject to a multitude of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, future circumstances or events to differ materially from those stated in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties relating to us and our business can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of our latest annual information form, and our latest Form 20-F, as well as in our reports, public disclosure documents and other filings with the securities commissions and other regulatory bodies in Canada and the U.S., which are available on www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov . The forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on what we believe are reasonable assumptions as of the date of this document and we disclaim any intention and have no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Trademarks used herein are the property of their respective holders.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to "we," "us," "our," "Intellipharmaceutics," and the "Company" refer to Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Contact Information

Company Contact:

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc.

Isa Odidi

Chief Executive Officer

416.798.3001 ext. 102

investors@intellipharmaceutics.com

SOURCE: Intellipharmaceutics International Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641739/Intellipharmaceutics-Announces-Closing-of-CAD385-Million-Non-Brokered-Private-Placement
- Rapidly aging population, especially in some developed countries leading to increasing number of men with testosterone deficiency spells growth

- Focus of keen players to seek regulatory approvals for new therapies, generic version of established therapies to expand growth vistas

ALBANY, N.Y., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Testosterone replacement therapy is widely used treatment for men with symptomatic hypogonadism. The benefits of testosterone replacement therapy manifest as increased energy and libido level, improved bone density and strength, improved muscle strength, and cardioprotective effects. According to The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, 20% hypogonadism is reported in men over the age of 60 years, 30% in men over 70 years, and 50% in men over 80 years.

Testosterone replacement therapy is a reasonable treatment option often used for men with low testosterone levels and symptoms of hypogonadism. When testosterone is replaced, a number of positive effects of higher testosterone levels are experienced. Thus, the positive results of such therapy has led to a substantial demand for testosterone replacement therapy for men with symptomatic hypogonadism, though there is insufficient data for long-term efficacy and safety of the therapy.

Request for Analysis of COVID-19 Impact on Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/covid19.php

Nonetheless, the beneficial effects of testosterone replacement therapy is rarely disputed instead widely publicized that marks bright prospects for the testosterone replacement therapy market. As such, in the near-term, from 2019 to 2027, the testosterone replacement therapy market is predicted to rise at a solid 4.4% CAGR.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy - Key Findings of the Report

Keen Players seeking Regulatory Approvals for Launch of New Therapies points at Bright Future

Key players in the testosterone replacement therapy market are undertaking efforts to obtain regulatory approvals for launch of new products, integration of novel technologies, and M&As and collaborations with other companies. For example, in the recent past, the U.S. FDA provided approval for a generic testosterone gel to use for testosterone replacement therapy for men with symptomatic hypogonadism. In another example, in March 2019, an oral testosterone capsule produced by Clarus Therapeutics received approval of the U.S. FDA for the treatment of certain forms of hypogonadism.

Request Brochure of Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/brochure.php

While North America to remain Prominent, Asia Pacific to display Stellar Growth Rate

Factors such as increasing adoption of testosterone replacement therapy and high awareness of availability of convenient treatment options makes North America prominent region in the testosterone replacement therapy market.

On the other hand, Asia Pacific is anticipated to chart an impressive growth rate in the testosterone replacement therapy market in the forthcoming years. Focus of key players to target emerging economies in the region such as India, wherein rising disposable incomes is leading to demand for treatment of unconventional health conditions is creating opportunities in the testosterone replacement therapy market of the region. Besides this, a large population base with testosterone deficiency due to several factors in various countries offers immense prospects for testosterone replacement therapy market of the region.

Purchase the Testosterone Replacement Therapy Market Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php

Solid Marketing Programs to create Awareness Paints Strokes of Growth

Leading players in the testosterone replacement therapy market are undertaking solid marketing programs to promote their branded products, and at the same time create awareness among the general population. Companies in the testosterone replacement therapy market are promoting their products directly to consumers and physicians via journals, meetings, and events.

Testosterone Replacement Therapy - Growth Drivers

Continually rising acceptance for testosterone replacement therapy, in the umbrella of hormone replacement therapies due to large number of cases that validate efficacy and benefits of the same paints strokes of growth.

Exploding geriatric population in several parts of the world with high risk of testosterone deficiency fuels growth.

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Testosterone Replacement Therapy - Key Players

AbbVie Inc.

Bayer AG

Eli Lilly and Company

Mylan N.V.

Pfizer Inc.

Ferring Holding SA

Allergan plc

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Kyowa Kirin International plc

Novartis AG

Clarus Therapeutics

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Healthcare Industry:

Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/continuous-renal-replacement-therapy-market.html

Primary Immunodeficiency Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/primary-immunodeficiency-disease-market.html

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Market Definition:

Calcium silicate is a powder procured from limestone and diatomaceous earth. It is extensively used across different end-user industries and is likely to witness rising applications in the years to come. Market Research Future (MRFR) has conducted an analysis recently which states that the global calcium silicate market is poised to expand at a moderate CAGR over the assessment period 2016 to 2023. The growth pace of the market can be accredited to the key advantages offered by the product such as passiveness towards the fire.

Get a Free sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5712

Market Scenario and Growth Factors:

Calcium silicate has paved its way across the construction sector which is poised to influence the revenue growth of the market primarily. It is anticipated to catalyze revenue creation for the players of the calcium silicate market over the next few years. In addition, the implementation of favorable regulatory laws for protecting the health of the workers at construction sites are also projected to support the expansion of the market in the forthcoming years. In addition, rapid industrialization has also unleashed developmental opportunities to the calcium silicate market. The use of the product for insulation in industries is likely to lead the proliferation of the market in the years to come.

Calcium silicate is expected to observe an upsurge in demand for the production of sealants. It helps in sealing micropores which are anticipated to expedite demand generation across the projection period. In addition, it is also likely to gain popularity as an anti-caking agent in food preparation. Also, the product is poised to pave its way across the food & beverage industry as a food additive. These factors are poised to accelerate revenue creation for the participants of the Calcium Silicate Market Analysis over the next couple of years.

The product is expected to witness proliferating applications across industries such as paints & coating materials, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers & insecticides, etc. The growth of these industries is anticipated to boost revenue growth over the next few years.

Competitive Dashboard:

The key players operating in the global Calcium silicate market and profiled in this MRFR report are:

Promat International NV (Belgium)

American Elements (U.S.)

Morgan Advanced Materials (U.K)

Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corp. (U.S.)

Prochem, Inc. (U.S.), Materion Corporation (U.S.)

Mil-Spec Industries Corporation (New York)

Associated Ceramics & Technology, Inc. (U.S.)

Pyrotek (India),

ZIRCAR CERAMICS (India),

Skamol (Denmark),

Industrial Insulation Group, LLC (U.S.)

Market Segmentation:

The global Calcium Silicate Market has been segmented on the basis of application for a detailed segmental analysis. Based on application, the segments include insulation, building materials, sealants, pharmaceuticals, food additive, and others.

Regional Analysis:

On the basis of region, the global calcium silicate market has been segmented into five regions viz. Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and North America. Asia Pacific is expected to retain the leading position over the next couple of years. The regional segment resonates strong growth potential and is anticipated to strike a healthy growth rate in the years to come. Rapid industrialization and urbanization are the key factors expected to encourage the growth pace of the calcium silicate market in the region across the projection period. Fast-developing nations such as China and India are prognosticated to contribute significantly to the development of the regional segment in the foreseeable future. In addition, the growth of the end-user industries such as paints & coating, construction, adhesives & sealants, etc. is also anticipated to catapult the regional segment on upward trajectory.

North America and Europe are also significant growth pockets expected to expand at a substantial pace in the forthcoming years. Technological innovations and increasing consumption levels are forecasted to favorably influence the expansion of the calcium silicate market in these regions.

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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

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Former Officer Derek Chauvin Found Guilty

Faces 40 Years for the Death of George Floyd

Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with the murder of George Floyd. The jurors of the historical trial reached a verdict almost a month before the anniversary of Floyds untimely end on May 25, 2020.

On Monday, April 19, closing remarks were left by Special Assistant Attorney General Steve Schleicher. He went on for almost two hours, followed by an additional three-hour response from defense attorney Eric Nelson.

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Swinging the gavel on the case was Judge Peter Cahill; he interrupted the assembly for a 30-minute intermission. Nelson finished his statement after the break. Judge Cahill prepared instructions for the Jurors on how to take in the extended arguments.

On April 19, Schleicher left the jurors with sentiments of Floyds family who knew and loved him; highlighting his mother, Larcenia Sissy Floyd. Imagery of different ages of Floyd filled the courtroom, ending with a picture of him face down on the pavement with the accused officers knee on his neck.

All it would have taken for Floyd to have survived that Memorial Day, was a little compassion and oxygentwo things that Chauvin deprived him of, reported by Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

The previously mentioned news source captured a statement from Schleicher, Nine minutes and 29 seconds. During this time, George Floyd struggled, desperate to breathe to make enough room in his chest to breathe.

He continued, But the force was too much. He was trapped by the unyielding pavement underneath him, as unyielding as the men who held him down, pushing him with a knee to the neck, a knee to the back, twisting his fingers, holding his legs for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

There was a testimony from a pulmonologist, Dr. Martin Tobin, who described the physical struggle that Floyd experienced to simply take in air. Schleicher went on to paint the scene for the jurors to deliberate on. George Floyd tried, he pushed his bare shoulder against the pavement to lift himself to give his chest and lungs enough room  the pavement tearing into his bare skin.

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So desperate to breathe, he continued, that he pushed with his face to lift himself to open his chest. Although he fought hard for his life, Floyds strength ultimately gave out, said Schleicher this, whose statement was captured by MSR news.

Schleicher protested that Floyd was a man, not superman, responding to the theory that Floyd was experiencing excited delirium which would lend one the ability to have superhuman strength.

The oath of an officer was brought up in court, Schleicher repeated Floyds last words, Please, I cant breathe. The special attorney general continued, to someone he did not know by name but knew by the uniform he wore and the badge he wore, and he called him Mr. Officer. He pleaded with Mr. Officer, said Schleicher. But that officer failed him and the oath he took to protect and serve.

The special attorney general appealed to the jurors beliefs and standards for law enforcement, pointing out the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and other departments spoke out against Chauvins actions.

The assumption on why Chauvin used that level of force was charged to the officers ego, according to Scleicher. The special attorney general broke down Chauvins body language and posture in court; it was about having a level of control in public view.

Bystanders on that day had to watch the last moments of Floyds life take place; they played a critical role in recording and highlighting this repeated transgression happening within the Black community. Through the recording of Floyds death, birthed a global social awakening and exposed the institutionalized racism that has affected the quality of life for Black communities.

Moving into a thorough discussion in the courthouse, the defendants attorney, Nelson, did not discuss the use of force his client used, or the amount of time Chauvins knee was pressed on Floyds throat. He did ask the jurors to consider the totality of the case.

USA Today reported a statement from Judge Cahill in regards to the judgement of the case, It is not necessary for the State to prove that the defendant intended to inflict substantial bodily harm, or knew that his actions would inflict substantial bodily harm, only that the defendant intended to commit the assault, and George Floyd sustained substantial bodily harm.

The jurors deliberated for 10 hours over a span of two days. On Tuesday, April 20, Officer Chauvin was found guilty of the death of George Floyd. According to USA Today, Chauvin will face a max of 40 years but the more realistic number is 12.5 years or 150 months in prison. However, the prosecution is requesting a longer sentence due to additional aggravating factors.

The case was a national highlight, and its verdict weighed heavily on the countrys mind. President Biden was recorded, stating the case is overwhelming. Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. President stressed what Floyds family might be feeling in regards to the case.

The Associated Press captured the president saying, Theyre a good family and theyre calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is, Biden said. Im praying the verdict is the right verdict. I think its overwhelming in my view. I wouldnt say that unless the jury was sequestered now.

Other politicians and community leaders have shared their thoughts in anticipation on this trial and its verdict. In retrospect of when the murder took place, the City of Los Angeles reacted in uprisings. County and City leaders shared their thoughts on the familiar topic of police brutality found within the law enforcement branch.

Pastor J. Edgar Boyd, Sr. minister and CEO First African Methodist Episcopal Church in L.A. said, Today, twelve courageous men and women stood tall, and took a bold step in turning the tide of justice in America.

The senior minister continued, Their verdict was not so much a statement on the guilt or innocence of Derek Chauvin, as it was a clear a revelation of the consciousness and of where this nation should be headed in welcoming the equitable participation of Blacks and people of color, in pursuit of the American Dream. 

Attorney Ricky Ivie, managing Partner of The Law Offices of Ivie, McNeill, Wyatt, Purcell and Diggs stated, I hope this verdict signals a binary shift in our social construct where justice for Black people is the rule and not the exception.

U.S. Representative Karen Bass stated, Today, the jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of the charges against him for the murder of George Floyd. A guilty verdict is only step one, because what we have seen in too many cases is officers walking away from guilty verdicts with minimal sentences. Chauvin must be punished to the full extent of the law to ensure that justice is served.
Representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan took part via video link in the 69th session of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) that was held in Geneva in a hybrid format.

As part of the session, elections of senior officials of the Economic Commission for Europe took place. The chairmanship of the UN Economic Commission for Europe for the next two years (2021-2023) passed from Belarus to Austria. Turkmenistan and Switzerland were elected Vice-Chairs of the UNECE.

In his statement, Turkmenistans representative to the UN Office in Geneva (Swiss Confederation), Ambassador Atageldy Khaldzhanov stressed that Turkmenistan, remaining committed to the principles of neutrality and development of international cooperation, would actively participate as Vice-Chair in the work of the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
WESTPORT, Conn., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- FinTron Invest, one of the youngest investment firms to become a FINRA Member Broker-Dealer (all founders 25 and under), announced today the launch of their newly licensed investing company headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. FinTron will offer investing services through its new, fully connected, all-in-one investing and investment education app, designed by the mobile generation for the mobile generation. The FinTron app is currently available on IOS devices, coming soon to Android.

There has been a significant outflow of millennials relocating from Connecticut over the past few years. With its operations headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, FinTron will contribute to the state economy by providing new employment and internship opportunities to local college students and graduates. FinTron currently employs over 30 staff and contractors. With its new app features, including fractional trading in over 600 stocks and ETFs, budgeting tools, and on-demand / jargon-free education, FinTron will provide financial education tools and resources to today's mobile generation in Connecticut and the surrounding areas.

"Connecticut has been instrumental to FinTron's development - providing us with so many great resources, including the Connecticut Micro-Enterprise Grant, tax credits to early investors, and access to local events that helped us further establish the FinTron brand and product offering," said FinTron's 25-year-old Founder and CEO, Wilder Rumpf. "As young professionals, these are major accomplishments, and we want to do everything we can to give back to our home state."

"The students found FinTron's simulated trading game to be engaging, enjoyed monitoring the progress of their stock, investigating various companies, and purchasing a variety of stocks. The students felt they were becoming a shareholder in the company. The students were enthusiastic when they saw their simulated stock value rise and even more motivated when they knew there was an incentive to win. I was excited to see how much they enjoyed using the program; they found it easy to navigate." - Rosemarie Scioletti, Stratford High School Teacher and Game Administrator

"The simulated FinTron Challenge is a really good supplement for an introductory finance class. I'm dealing with a variety of levels of experience and interest in finance, and I find the user interface is very approachable for my students and helps to make the topic less intimidating. Compared to alternatives on the market that I've used in class and also used personally, it's a big step forward." - Doctor Michael Gorman, Professor and game administrator

About FinTron

FinTron is on a mission to make investing, saving, and budgeting accessible, understandable, and doable for the Mobile Generation through our all-in-one investing, and investment education app. We promote financial freedom for the Digital Generation through better education, affordable financial products, and socially responsible give-back programs. FinTron Invest brokerage accounts are powered by industry leading FinTech APEX Clearing Corp., offering fully SIPC insured accounts.

For generations, personal finance has been done the old, complicated way. For this generation, there's FinTron.

To learn more about FinTron, please visit our website , and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook .

Contacts:

FinTron

Wilder Rumpf

Founder and CEO, FinTron

[email protected]

Media

Michael Herley for FinTron

[email protected]

203.308.1409

SOURCE FinTron Invest

Related Links

https://www.fintroninvest.com


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.
Nurses still need to be in two places at once at the country hospital where a teenager was treated before his sudden death, a coroner has heard.

Several changes occurred to the patient triage process in Broken Hill Base Hospital's emergency department since the September 2017 death of Alex Braes, registered nurse Kristy Kelly told the NSW Coroners Court on Wednesday.

But one nurse was still responsible for both triaging patients in the waiting room and overseeing the department's nursing team.

'You often need to be in two places at once,' she told Mr Braes' inquest.

The 18-year-old from Broken Hill in far-west NSW, died 46 hours after his first visit to the Broken Hill Base Hospital in September 2017 after complaining of severe pain in his left knee

A shortage of resources was one factor contributing to Mr Braes' death, Ms Kelly said.

She was in that dual role when Mr Braes arrived at the hospital on September 21, 2017 - crippled by pain and with his left ankle and knee black.

He presented at the same emergency department three times the day before, reporting knee pain and was treated for a possible ligament injury.

The hospital at the time had a policy - running contrary to a NSW Health mandate - that allowed staff to send patients home without taking a full set of vital signs.

A full set of vital signs, including temperature and respiratory rate, was not taken until the fourth presentation on September 21.

The 18-year-old died about 1am on September 22 soon after landing in Sydney after a prolonged effort to evacuate him from Broken Hill.

Nurses still need to be in two places at once at Broken Hill Base Hospital where Mr Braes was treated before his sudden death, the inquest heard

In lieu of an autopsy, a panel of experts determined he had an unusual presentation of a fast-acting, highly lethal infection called invasive group A streptococcal.

After arriving at on September 21, Mr Braes was put in a non-acute bed.

A nurse in her first month at the hospital was assigned to take a full set of his vitals but was called away to prepare another patient's antibiotics before she could finish.

Elizabeth Keft returned, with IV bag in hand, to see doctors and nurses working on Mr Braes in a resuscitation bay.

'My first thought was 'I haven't finished obs[ervations] for him, I haven't done anything for him, have I missed something?'' she told the inquest.

Like that day, she said the nurses were still often very busy and 'under an awful lot of pressure'.

She had a particular concern for newly graduated nurses assigned to care for non-acute patients who were still learning new skills and could potentially miss a deteriorating patient like Mr Braes.

What is necrotising fasciitis? Necrotising fasciitis is a rare but serious bacterial infection that affects the tissue beneath the skin and surrounding muscles and organs (fascia). It's called the 'flesh-eating disease', although the bacteria that cause it do not 'eat' flesh, but release toxins that damage nearby tissue. Necrotising fasciitis can start from a relatively minor injury, such as a small cut, but gets worse very quickly and can be life threatening if it's not recognised and treated early on. Source: NHS Advertisement

'I think it could easily happen... I have a great fear it could happen,' she said.

'I don't think it's safe.'

Ms Kelly said she'd raised staffing levels with hospital management but was led to believe the department's patient numbers didn't warrant an extra nurse.

'For that (new) triage process to work, there needs to be more staff and more resources to prevent any more tragic circumstances,' the nurse said.

Hospital staff trying to evacuate patients were 'still having issues with planes being grounded due to pilot hours and patients having to wait', Ms Kelly said, while noting she wasn't clear on the ins and outs of the process.

Coroner Elizabeth Ryan has heard the Royal Flying Doctors Service was not able to evacuate Mr Braes as the trip would have exceeded the flying hours for the pilot available that day.

A retrieval team from Sydney then made the return trip to Broken Hill.

A centralised medevac dispatch system has since been introduced and Broken Hill now has formalised agreements to evacuate patients to Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide.

The inquest continues.
The David Sarnoff Industrial Achievement Award is conferred for major impact on the business of the electronic display industry. It's designed to honor outstanding recipients who have had a profound, positive effect on the display industry over a period of many years, and are broadly recognized across the industry.

Since the establishment of TCL in 1981 and since entering the Vietnamese market in 1999, Li Dongsheng has led the company to explore globalization for more than 20 years. He has steered the company to become a vertically integrated conglomerate with 28 R&D centers and more than 120,000 employees.

TCL CSOT, its display manufacturing subsidiary, has created the world's first Generation 11 (Gen11) TFT production line in the country. TCL CSOT has Gen11 and Gen 8.5 fabs for TVs and Gen6 for mobile displays, including flexible OLED panels on polyimide substrate. TCL invests more than 8 percent of sales revenue in R&D and has created the world's first Mini LED TV with quantum dots and local dimming.

Li Dongsheng said: "I am truly honored to win the 2021 'David Sarnoff Industry Achievement Award'. The award shows that TCL's innovative products and forward-looking ideas have been recognized by our peers."

To honor the aspiring individuals for their contributions to the display sector, SID has featured Li Dongsheng and other winners on the front cover of its magazine and interviewed them for a recent issue online.

About TCL

TCL is a multi-national technology brand, founded in 1981.

In 2019, TCL was restructured into two entities, namely TCL Technology Group Corporation and TCL Industrial Holdings. TCL Technology focuses on the semiconductor display and materials industry (with TCL CSOT being a subsidiary), while TCL Industrials focuses on consumer electronics products, including TVs, mobiles, washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioners, and small electrical appliances.

About TCL CSOT

TCL CSOT is a subsidiary of TCL Technology, dedicated to driving greater innovations in semiconductor display. TCL CSOT focuses on the display technologies of mini-LED, micro-LED, and OLED/QLED. The products range from large, small and medium display panels, touch modules, interactive white boards, video walls, automotive displays, and gaming monitors.

SOURCE TCL Group
Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr has announced that his office will no longer prosecute prostitution and unlicensed massage.

The move is a big step forward for a growing movement to change how sex work is approached by the criminal justice system.

Mr Vance said in a statement: Over the last decade weve learned from those with lived experience, and from our own experience on the ground: criminally prosecuting prostitution does not make us safer, and too often, achieves the opposite result by further marginalising vulnerable New Yorkers.

Appearing virtually in court on Wednesday, Mr Vance asked a judge to dismiss 914 open cases involving prostitution and unlicensed massage.

In addition to a further 5,080 cases in which the charge was loitering for the purpose of prostitution, a move that follows New York States repeal of a statute known as Walking While Trans earlier this year.

Mr Vance said he was proud to support the repeal of the bill that for decades unfairly targeted members of the LGBT+ community with its discriminatory enforcement.

Some of the dismissed cases date from the 1970s and 1980s when the city pursued a clampdown on prostitution in an attempt to clean up perceptions of New York.

Mr Vance describing those cases as both a relic of a different New York, and a very real burden for the person who carries the conviction or bench warrant.

Rather than seeking criminal convictions, for years the DAs office has instead offered services to individuals arrested for prostitution. Todays announcement sees the move to decline to prosecute such arrests, and instead provide services and support solely on a voluntary basis.

By vacating warrants, dismissing cases, and erasing convictions for these charges, we are completing a paradigm shift in our approach, says Mr Vance.

The news is welcomed by advocates for sex workers, who noted that Black, Brown, and East Asian women and girls, immigrants, and LGBT+ people have been disproportionately harmed by these laws in the past.

Abigail Swenstein, staff attorney with The Legal Aid Societys Exploitation Intervention Project, who joined Mr Vance in his appearance on Wednesday, thanked the DAs office and prosecutors in the human trafficking unit for listening and acting on what they learned from advocates, survivors, and those with experience as sex workers.

However, this policy should not supplant the need to pass legislation that would fully decriminalise sex work and provide for criminal record relief for people convicted of prostitution offence, she added.

Cecilia Gentili, founder of Transgender Equity Consulting, called the move one of the most significant steps taken nationally in the effort to stop criminalising sex work, lauding the commitment shown by officials to addressing draconian use of laws that disproportionately affect queer, trans, Black, and Brown women.

New York City is showing we can do what it takes to do right for all of us!

The borough of Brooklyn has also eased up its stance on sex work, and does not prosecute but instead refers individuals to social services.

Both Brooklyn and Queens have dismissed hundreds of prostitution cases since the beginning of the year, with the former erasing the criminal history of more than 25,000 people convicted of prostitution.

The DAs office will continue to prosecute other crimes relating to prostitution, including sex trafficking and patronising sex workers.

Advocates for sex workers oppose the prosecution of customers.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The peak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in France "appears to be behind us", Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday, announcing that travel restrictions will be relaxed from early next month.

He told reporters there had been a "genuine fall in the circulation of the virus over the last 10 days", confirming that restrictions confining people to a 10-kilometre (six-mile) radius of their homes would be dropped from May 3.

France is currently under its third lockdown to stem the coronavirus but this time it has been considerably more relaxed than the previous ones, with outdoor activities encouraged to promote mental health.

Most non-essential shops have been closed, however, along with cafes, restaurants and also cultural venues, with players in many sectors piling pressure on the government for a reopening after months of closure.

Castex said "shops, certain cultural and sporting activities and the cafe terraces" could reopen "around mid-May", depending on the evolution of the health situation.

He emphasised that the government could also allow reopenings on a regional basis starting with those areas with lower virus prevalence.

A nationwide 7:00 pm curfew would remain in place until further notice, he said, adding that while the measure would be reviewed in mid-May there was no promise over when it would be relaxed.

There were 5,981 people with coronavirus in intensive care in France on Thursday, official data showed, with the figure to the relief of the authorities flattening out below 6,000 over the last days.

At total of 102,164 people have died in France from the pandemic but, after a slow start, the vaccine campaign is gaining pace with over 13 million people now given at least a first dose.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said that France would begin offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only a single shot, from Saturday to people aged 55 and over.

It will be the fourth vaccine being offered by France after Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

Europe's medicines regulator said Tuesday that blood clots should be listed as a "very rare" side effect of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine, but that the benefits of the shot still outweighed the risks.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin meanwhile said that in order to keep potentially dangerous COVID-19 variants out of the country, all passengers arriving from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India and South Africa would need to observe at their residence a 10-day quarantine which will be monitored by police.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
The Impact of Transfer Pricing: The Senegalese Branch and the Foreign Head Office (By Centurion Tax and Investment Desk)
President Joe Biden proposed a new tax deduction on Wednesday to repay small companies that provide compensated time off to employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of his target of administering 200 million shots in his first 100 days. Businesses with less than 500 workers will be eligible for the tax credit, funded by the COVID-19 stimulus bill passed last month.

US surpassed distributing 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses

Every employee will receive up to $511 a day. Biden called for all businesses to promote workers to get vaccinated, regardless of scale, to have compensated days off and other benefits, such as gift cards or bonuses.

As the U.S. approaches Joe Biden's target of 200 million COVID-19 vaccines administered this week, vaccine availability is beginning to outstrip demand in specific locations. Despite the lack of availability of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, which is currently undergoing a safety investigation, the U.S. has been shipping out more doses than used in recent weeks, according to a senior administration official.

An NBC News tracker indicated that the U.S. had administered 199,426,628 as of April 21, way ahead of schedule with eight days left to meet his target for the first 100 days. Biden stated that the country is entering a new period of its vaccination activities. It begins to turn its attention away from the general public and toward those most at risk.

"Now is the time to launch a new phase of this historic vaccine program. Simply put, if you've been waiting for your turn, don't wait longer. All above the age of 16 should get vaccinated," Joe Biden said.

Although some people resist receiving the COVID-19 vaccine because of safety issues, others feel less pressured about getting vaccinated since they are younger and need an easier procedure with fewer barriers and some support, the administration official said. The paid time off campaign is directed at solving those issues, as per NBC News via MSN.

"No working American should miss a single dollar because they want to serve their patriotic obligation by getting vaccinated," Joe Biden said. He said he is considering exporting some of the doses to other nations, such as Central America and Canada, until he is sure there is enough supply to meet demand in the United States. He said he spoke with Canada's prime minister for a half-hour Wednesday about sending more doses there.

What Biden, Harris Tell George Floyd's Family After Derek Chauvin's Guilty Verdict

Biden sets his target of 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses

President Joe Biden set a target in December to get 100 million COVID-19 vaccines to Americans by his 100th day in office, which his administration achieved in 58 days, in mid-March. After that, he set a new target for himself: to surpass 200 million shots in arms in his first 100 days in office. According to Biden, the previous administration's vaccine schedule would have taken until September to hit 200 million shots in arms.

The President said it is uncertain how many lives were saved due to the country's accelerated mass vaccine program, but analysts say it is in the tens of thousands, Fox News reported. He observed a "dramatic fall" in COVID-19-related deaths among people over 65, with an overall 80 percent decrease in fatalities.

Biden stated that by Thursday, 80 percent of people over 65 had received at least one vaccine. Still, the full effects would not be felt for another month or so as seniors finish their vaccination regimens and become fully vaccinated.

President Biden set a timetable for states to make COVID-19 vaccine supplies available to all adults in the United States by Monday. The deadline arrived when health officials announced that more than half of adults had already received at least one shot of the vaccine.

Biden Administration Rolls Out 100-Day Plan For Electric Grid Cybersecurity Improvement

Biden administration halted J&J's COVID-19 vaccines

After seven reports of blood clots, including one fatality out of almost 7 million shots given, the Biden administration abruptly halted delivery of the one-shot COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. Former President Donald Trump, whose administration invested billions into research and development, was enraged by Biden's attempt to take credit for vaccine rollout.

When Trump was President, the first two vaccines, from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, were approved. Biden as President has taken a cautious approach to the coronavirus, as per the NY Post.

Despite being vaccinated, he wears double masks regularly. He has encouraged Americans to consider small backyard celebrations for the Fourth of July, prompting Republican mockery due to poor outdoor transmission rates and vaccination effectiveness.

Biden Administration Backpedals, Says 'Crisis' Referred to Central America Problems, Not US Border

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp July 11-17 at UW

The Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp is scheduled July 11-17 on the UW campus. Twenty-four students who will be entering seventh or eighth grade this fall will be selected from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. The students will explore exoplanets during the camp.

A few select middle school students will have an opportunity this summer to explore exoplanets during the Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp July 11-17 on the University of Wyoming campus.

Twenty-four students from all backgrounds and economic statuses will be selected from Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. The camp is free to selected participants. The application deadline is Friday, April 30. For inquiries, email Max Gilbraith at planetarium@uwyo.edu.

Campers, who will be entering seventh or eighth grade this fall, are chosen based on demonstrated interest and academic potential in math, science, astronomy and space. As part of the application process, students had to submit written essays on why they wanted to attend the science camp.

There are still openings available, says Danny Dale, a professor in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy, and interim dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. This camp is definitely a highlight of the year for me and the camp staff.

Exoplanets are described as planets outside our solar system, meaning they orbit a star other than our sun, Dale says. Astronomers have confirmed more than 4,000 exoplanets orbiting distant stars, with many more exoplanets waiting confirmation, he adds.

Dale says he wants camp attendees to take away a joy for science and exploration in general; an exposure to college and UW, in particular; build their self-confidence and independence; and have fun.

The camp includes three in-service Wyoming science teachers and five UW students, who will serve as camp counselors. On-campus housing and dining will be provided for attending students. Field trips to the local mountain ranges are likely.

In 2020, the Windy Ridge Foundation made a $500,000 gift to support the Windy Ridge Foundation Astro Camp, which aims to educate the next generation of scientists and engineers while introducing the K-12 community to science programs offered through UW.

Last years Astro Camp was to be the first funded by the foundation gift, but the camp was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dale says.

The Windy Ridge Foundation gave us enough funding for five years of camp, Dale says. This will be our first year funded by Windy Ridge.
John Courage is a rare bird in Texas politics. The self-styled independent Democrat has won two terms on the San Antonio City Council representing District 9 on the North Side, whose voters routinely favor Republicans in general elections. Now hes seeking a third.

Just turned 70, the former Air Force police officer and special education teacher said there is no secret formula for his unlikely political success.

I like to say, Im just your neighbor on City Council, Courage said. This isnt about partisan politics  and all those culture war issues. Its about listening to everyone. Its about potholes and picking up trash and the everyday politics that affects your life.

Culture war issues are part of the mix, however. Council races are officially nonpartisan, but few candidates deny their affiliation with one of the two major parties, and two of Courages challengers are Republicans who accuse him of trying to defund police and highlight his support of liberal causes and policies.

They are Erika Moe, 46, a commercial litigation lawyer making her first run for elected office, and Patrick Von Dohlen, 51, a financial planner and insurance agent who lost to Courage in 2017 and 2019.

Antonio Salinas, an 18-year-old college student, did not respond to an interview request. A fifth candidate, Cory W. Dennington, dropped out of the race.

Von Dohlen also did not return several calls. He is campaigning on social media for smaller government, less taxes and more freedom, and his somewhat narrow losses to Courage in the previous elections have clearly retained the incumbents attention.

Though Courage is one of the more mild-mannered members of the council, he bristles at Von Dohlens claims on social media that he supports defunding police. Courage has expressed support for those seeking reforms to policing and criminal justice, especially after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May, but he voted for a city budget last summer that increased police funding. He said he also supported the San Antonio Police Department filling all its staff vacancies.

Von Dohlen has used social media to attack Courage for having raised his fist in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, a radical Marxist group seeking to defund the police. At least one vocal supporter in a black pickup parked at early voting sites has made similar accusations on a large sign mounted in its bed.

/

A lot of stuff he just makes up. I voted to increase the San Antonio Police (Department) budget by eight million dollars, Courage said. He suggests Im a Marxist or socialist and that I support radical organizations. It is simply not true, a total misrepresentation of what Ive said and done.

On other issues, Courage says he fought for a homestead exemption for property owners that has saved about $12 million for taxpayers across the city and that he was instrumental in setting up a citywide registry for obtaining COVID-19 vaccinations.

I spoke up when Metro Health said the registry might take three to four weeks, Courage said. I wanted it in 10 days.

One of his few complaints about city government  a burr in my saddle, Courage calls it  is in dealing with the San Antonio Water System. Some of its reports to the council seem needlessly complex or dont answer obvious questions, he said.

Im sure theyre diligent, hard workers, but Ive been frustrated with them, he said. I think we need to work with both utilities so council has a better understanding of how those organizations are managed financially. We often get reports that are just what they want to tell us.

Courage taught school for 26 years, mostly special education classes in San Antonio Independent School District and North East ISD, and has a masters degree in computer technology. He served on the Alamo Colleges board in the 1980s, and in the years before joining the City Council in 2017 ran unsuccessfully for the council, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Texas House.

Courage has two sons. He likes to point out that his wife, whose maiden name is True, actually has an even better name for politics: Zada True-Courage.

Moe, who was born in La Jolla, Calif., to a Marine family, but is a longtime San Antonio resident, has two daughters, 11 and 13, and she graduated from Texas Tech University. She got her law degree from St. Marys University and is a certified guardian ad litem who can be appointed in court cases to represent minors and disabled and elderly persons who need an attorney.

I come from a long line of military and law enforcement, Moe said, so her tipping point for entering the council race was the national movement to defund police, though that position was taken by a minority of those calling for reforms.

She said Courages support of a move to get newly hired SAPD officers to live within the city would effectively defund the police because half of them live outside the city.

Moe also faulted Courage for supporting the equity funding policy on the council that in 2019 distributed some additional street maintenance funds to seven poorer districts that historically have had worse roads than District 9, which Courages office said has the best roads in the city because were built on rock, not clay.

Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer

In social media posts, Moe opposed utility executives receiving pay raises and bonuses during the pandemic and generally characterized CPS Energy as unprepared for Februarys historic freeze.

Von Dohlen decries Courages support of a council resolution last August declaring racism a public health crisis, a gun buyback program in September 2019 and another resolution backing the Paris climate agreement, which he suggested was indirectly responsible for thousands of lost power episodes during the massive February storm.

In June 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the climate accord, a newly sworn-in council voted to join more than 300 U.S. cities in pledging to cut greenhouse emissions and improve air quality.

Courage, looking back on his two terms, said he was most proud of his staffs hard work and his ability to recruit people from the community to serve on boards and commissions, even including two opponents from his first race in 2017.

Some days this job is rewarding. Some days its frustrating, Courage said. I dont do it for the pleasure. I just feel its an important duty.

bselcraig@express-news.net
Pope meets with Lebanons PM-designate, urges end of crises View Photo

VATICAN CITY (AP)  Pope Francis met with Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday and urged all Lebanese political leaders to urgently commit themselves to the benefit of the nation, as the country endures a series of crises and disagreements that have prevented the formation of a government.

Francis also reaffirmed during the 30-minute audience his desire to visit Lebanon as soon as conditions permit, according to a statement from the Vatican spokesman.

This is a message to all Lebanese and all parties that we have to hurry up in the formation of a government, Hariri told Lebanese reporters traveling with him after the audience. The pope sees Lebanon as a message of neutrality and coexistence.

Hariris visit to the Vatican comes as Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history following decades of widespread corruption. Since late 2019, the local currency has lost 90% of its value, and more than half of the countrys population now lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

Hariri has been touring the Middle East and Europe to win support for his efforts to form a government. Among the countries he recently visited were France, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He was also meeting Thursday with Italian officials.

Hariri has not been able to form a Cabinet six months after he was chosen for the prime ministers post amid deep disagreements between him and President Michel Aoun.

One of the main points of difference includes Aouns rejection of Hariris plan to choose some Christian members of the new government. Aoun is a Maronite Catholic, while Hariri is Sunni Muslim.

According to Lebanons power-sharing system, the president has to be a Maronite and the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim, while the prime minister has to be a Sunni. Parliament and Cabinet seats are equally split between Muslims and Christians.

The Vatican said that during the meeting with Hariri, Francis expressed his solidarity with the Lebanese people who are living in great difficulty and uncertainty, and recalled the responsibility of all political forces to urgently commit themselves to the benefit of the nation.

Francis is hoping that Lebanon can once again embody the fortress of the cedars, the diversity that from weakness becomes strength in the great reconciled people, the statement said.

Hariri said he asked the Vatican to be concerned about Lebanon and to intervene where they can be effective because this is what concerns Lebanon and the Lebanese. He said: We are in a very bad situation, but once we form a government we can stop the collapse.

The Vatican didnt list the meeting on Francis official agenda given that Hariri isnt yet in office; it was described by the Vatican as a private audience, not an official state visit that carries with it specific protocol.

Lebanon, a Mediterranean nation of 5 million, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. Christians make up a third of the population.

___

Zeina Karam and Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

By NICOLE WINFIELD

Associated Press
South Africa: Cabinet raises concern over bullying incidents

Cabinet has expressed concern about the prevalence of bullying in schools.

This comes after recent incidents of bullying at Mbilwi Secondary School in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, Dinwiddie High School in Germiston, Gauteng and Mathole High School in KwaZulu-Natal.

Cabinet urged education stakeholders, including parents and guardians, to unite against bullying to create an environment that is conducive to learning.

It is the responsibility of each one of us to speak up and report incidents of bullying to the relevant authorities, particularly where the victims are unable or afraid to do so, acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday.

Addressing the media on the outcomes of a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Ntshavheni said Cabinet was saddened by the death of 15-year-old Lufuno Mavhunga from Mbilwi Secondary School in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.

Mavhunga reportedly took her life after a video, which captured her being bullied, became public.

Cabinet has called on authorities to speedily investigate the matter and ensure effective justice.

Cabinet also conveyed condolences to the Mavhunga family and her friends.

Hate crimes

Cabinet has condemned the recent rise of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+) hate crimes that resulted in the deaths of Andile Ntuthela, Siphamandla Khoza and Nathaniel Mbele.

The Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 calls on us to respect the rights of all members of society without any form of discrimination. These heinous crimes and acts of harassment have no place in our democracy, and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all of us, Ntshavheni said.

Cabinet encouraged the public who have information that could lead to arrests and prosecutions of the perpetrators to contact the police through the toll-free number 10111 or visit the nearest police station.

Cabinet further condemned the recent killing of two brothers, Zenzele and Amos Coka, on a farm in Mpumalanga.

The siblings were part of a group of farm dwellers seeking employment as seasonal farmworkers.

Cabinet commended police for the quick response in arresting the alleged offenders who have since appeared at the Piet Retief Magistrates Court.

Cabinet called for calm in the community to allow justice to take its course and ensure that those found guilty face the full might of the law, the Minister said.

Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill

Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved the submission of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Bill to Parliament.

The Bill amends Section 154(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51 of 1977), which a Constitutional Court judgement found to be failing to protect the identity of child victims of crime in criminal proceedings.

The current clause protects the identity of child offenders, victims and witnesses against the harmful effect of the publication of their involvement in criminal proceedings up to the age of 18 years.

The proposed amendments prohibit the publication of any information, which reveals or may reveal the identity of an accused or a witness who is or was under the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged offence. Publication may only be done after it has been authorised by the judicial officer or presiding judge," the Minister said. SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Earth Day, which falls on April 22, was implemented to support environmental protection, but the celebration was birthed from environmental disaster.

In 1969, an oil well blow-out at Union Oil's offshore platform in the Santa Barbara Channel six miles off the California coast

An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of cure oil leaked into the channel, killing some 3,500 sea birds and marine animals, which made headlines across the US and forced.

The deadly spill made headlines around the US, sparking a number of environmental reforms over the next several years and a national day of awareness.

Earth Day was born in the spring of 1970 in the US and is observed in 192 countries to date.

Although the Santa Barbara Oil Spill is far behind us, experts say much more progresses is needed to better prevent and track oil spills.

Scroll down for video

In 1969, an oil well blow-out at Union Oil's offshore platform in the Santa Barbara Channel six miles off the California coast An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of cure oil leaked into the channel, killing some 3,500 sea birds and marine animals, which made headlines across the US and forced

Oceanographer Andy Juhl highlighted in a press release the need for new technology to assist with prevention, as history has shown oil spills have become more disastrous over time.

The Santa Barbara Oil Spill was the largest in US waters, at the time, but is now classified as the third after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in the nation's history, was sparked by an explosion on a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

The enormous blast killed 11 people and unleashed 210 millions of oil into the ocean, which is just a fraction of the total of oil spilled into the oceans, Juhl explained.

The deadly spill made headlines around the US, sparking a number of environmental reforms over the next several years and a national day of awareness. Earth Day was born in the spring of 1970 in the US and is observed in 192 countries to date

The oil spill started in the Santa Barbara, but the oil leak spread 12 miles along th coast of California. Although the Santa Barbara Oil Spill is far behind us, experts say much more progresses is needed to better prevent and track oil spills

Pictured is oil from the Santa Barbara Channel oil spill as it sits on top of the ocean along the California coast

However, prior to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the US was shocked when 10.8 million gallons of crude oil gushed into Prince William Sound, Alaska when an Exxon-owned oil tanker traveling to California struck Bligh Reef.

'Natural oil seeps occur anywhere there are hydrocarbon deposits on the ocean floor, and any place where there's commercial oil extraction going on, you can guarantee that there's going to be natural seepage,' said Juhl.

'There's a giant reservoir of stuff that is lighter than water that is stuck underneath the sediment. So, it finds its way up through cracks and fissures and escapes.'

Beyond natural oil seeps there are many other ways that oil gets into the ocean, he said.

When fossil fuels are burned, soot and complex hydrocarbons are released into the air, fall back down and eventually finding their way into the marine environment.

Leaks from ocean exploration, industrial uses, ballast washing of ships, and from cars can all be washed into oceans.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (pictured) , the worst in the nation's history, was sparked by an explosion on a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The enormous blast killed 11 people and unleashed 210 millions of oil into the ocean

Prior to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the US was shocked when 10.8 million gallons of crude oil gushed into Prince William Sound, Alaska when an Exxon-owned oil tanker traveling to California struck Bligh Reef

'The dramatic spills are actually, in a grand sense, not the biggest source of oil in the marine environment,' said Juhl.

'The bigger problem is actually the ten thousand little cuts as opposed to the gaping wounds that oil spills cause.'

Overall, there have been a lot of improvements in oil spill prevention and detection over the past 52 years, said Juhl.

First, the average consumer is more aware.

'It used to be that when people would change the oil in their car, they would routinely just dump it in a creek somewhere,' said Juhl.

'People would justify it by saying that it would cut down on mosquitoes. But few people would do that now.'

Industry standards have improved too, said Juhl.

'Cars are built better to prevent oil leakage, and storm drains and industrial waste lines are designed so that if a lot of oil enters the system, it can be detected and removed,' he continued.
A 'Karen' who called the police on bikini-clad TikTok stars claiming they were filming on 'private property' did not get the response she had wished for when the responding officer revealed his son was a fan and asked to pose for pictures with the influencers.

TikTok account @tooturnttony posted a video Monday for his 7.3 million followers showing the angry woman on the phone while a group of people are standing around a Lamborghini.

The group appears to be doing a photoshoot with several women sporting bikinis and balaclavas and posing with a duck.

The woman is apparently making a 911 call and a cop later arrives on the scene - only to take photos with the TikTok stars.

The identity of the woman, whose face is censored in the video, is also not known, with the influencers dubbing her a 'Karen' - an unfavorable term that has become synonymous with white women acting in an entitled way.

A 'Karen' who called the police on bikini-clad TikTok stars claiming they were filming on 'private property' did not get the response she had wished for when the responding officer revealed his son was a fan and asked to pose for pictures with the influencers (above)

The video, named 'Let's make Karen's dream come true and blow this up', begins with a shot of the woman on the phone while the group in the photoshoot look on.

'We were trying to do a photo shoot,' a voice says over the top of the footage using the text-to-speech effect.

'But this Karen wouldn't leave us alone.'

The woman is heard telling the group they are on 'private property' and then mockingly urges them to keep filming because she wants to go 'viral.'

'Tape me. Put me on,' she says. 'I love being on social media.'

She then raises her voice shouting: 'Yes, yes! I want to go viral.'

She adds: 'F**k you guys.'

The video then cuts to the group's interactions with the deputy, who appears to be with the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Michigan.

TikTok account @tooturnttony posted a video Monday showing the angry woman on the phone while a group of people are stood around a Lamborghini

The group appears to be doing a photoshoot with several women sporting bikinis and balaclavas and posing with a duck. The woman, known only as 'Karen', appears to call 911 and mockingly tells them to film her

'But the officer was a fan,' the voiceover says, as the deputy, whose face is also censored, leans out of his car and speaks to the influencers.

'My son is like totally into you guys,' says the deputy, who has not been identified.

'Can I stop and take a couple of pictures?'

The voiceover says: 'So we did a photoshoot together.'

The TikTok then features a photo showing the deputy fistbumping @tooturnttony in front of the Lamborghini and standing next to one of the women.

The video had gained more than 4.7 million likes and 28,000 shares Thursday.

'But he officer was a fan,' the voiceover says, as the deputy, whose face is also censored, leans out of his car and speaks to the influencers

'My son is like totally into you guys,' says the deputy, who then poses for photos with them

It is not clear if the group were filming on private property at the time as the woman claimed.

It is also not clear if the woman was still present when the deputy was taking the photos or how the officer responded to the issue prior to the clip filmed and shared by @tooturnttony.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Livingston County Sheriff's Office for comment.
The harassment campaigns allegedly began in May 2016.

Ramajana Hidic Demirovic, a 46-year-old woman who lived in San Francisco at the time, went to a 14-year-old boys high school and threatened him in front of other students.

Documents filed in California federal court allege that Demirovic told the boy that she would rip [his] fing heart out. The boy had dated a girl connected to Demirovic for a few days in February that year.

Nearly five years later, Demirovic, who now lives in Brentwood, was charged in federal court Monday for two counts of conspiracy and cyberstalking in an effort to sabotage the personal relationships, social reputation, academic life, and work prospects of the teenage victims, per the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California. She was arrested last Friday.

The charges were announced Monday in a statement from Acting United States Attorney Stephanie Hinds and FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair.

The connection between Demirovic and the underage co-conspirator remains unclear, but it appears that their close ties motivated Demirovic to allegedly engage in a harassment campaign against three boys from 2016 to 2019.

Soon after the initial incident, court documents allege Demirovic began targeting another boy who her co-conspirator dated for about two months. In August 2016, she allegedly sent a barrage of text messages, calling him an awful human being and telling him that she would file a false restraining order against him in an effort to affect his college applications.

Months later, Demirovic and the teen girl reportedly called the boys employer and school principal to falsely report claims of physical abuse, drug use and alcoholism. The principal prohibited Demirovic from entering the campus following the suspicious contact.

The onslaught of harassment against him continued on Instagram, the documents say. Demirovic, using taunting Instagram handles, reportedly teased the boy because his parents were divorced. A selection of the messages read: Daddy left you so you have to be a fkup, What a sad piece of st you are, and Do you cry every night because your daddy didnt want you.

A third victim was targeted in 2018 after he and the co-conspirator broke up following a ten-month relationship.

Demirovic reportedly contacted that boys school to complain in May 2018, which an assistant principal found strange and worrisome. But in perhaps the most targeted array of attacks, Demirovic reportedly began to impersonate and harass the boy on Instagram using at least three different accounts. A girl he went to prom with was also reportedly subject to months of harassment.

She purportedly contacted thousands of individuals, including family, friends and strangers, using these names to circulate false messages. Using one of these accounts, they allegedly published insults against the co-conspirator ex-girlfriend, calling her a cheating bitch and a fing whore.

And nearly a year after the relationship ended, Demirovic and her underage affiliate sent Instagram messages to people connected to the boy, falsely alleging sexual predation. She also filed a Title IX sex discrimination complaint against him to the school, falsely alleging harassment and stalking.

Impersonations of the victim also continued unabated: At least 21 women received messages in March 2019 from the accounts reportedly controlled by Demirovic and the co-conspirator, in which he solicited dates and hook-ups, made lewd suggestions and described the boys supposed drug abuse.

The effects on these boys were staggering, court documents say. The first victim grew anxious, depressed and began skipping classes and field trips. The second had to change his phone number, lost friendships and continued suffering panic attacks four years after the onslaught of alleged harassment.

And the third, who was allegedly subject to years of abuse by Demirovic, had his life altered. Faulty rumors began floating of his impropriety at his college to the point where one student refused to be his roommate. He began suffering panic attacks, and says that her alleged conduct permanently damaged his personal relationships and reputation.

His parents and younger siblings, also allegedly subject to online and in-person harassment by Demirovic, had to move out the Bay Area due to the ceaseless attacks.

If found guilty of these charges, Demirovic, faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000. She was released on bond Monday, and is scheduled to appear in court next Tuesday.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
An artist shows shadow puppets to students at the No. 6 Middle School in Shahe City, north China's Hebei Province, April 21, 2021. The middle school has invited local artists to introduce the traditional shadow play to students as a part of effort to have its students better know intangible culture heritage. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

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[ Editor: JYZ ]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, spokesperson of the governments anti-communist task force, on Thursday hit back at senators pushing to defund the group, saying it was stupid on the part of the lawmakers and unfair for the governments program.

In an interview with CNN Philippines Balitaan, Parlade pointed out that the senators themselves were the ones who signed and approved the budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

Ill tell you, sila ang stupid kung ito ay binabawi nila, Parlade argued. Pinirmahan nila yung batas na yan para maging serbisyo, ipagpatuloy ang programa ng gobyerno. Ngayon sasabihin nila na ide-defund nila yung NTF-ELCAC?

I think thats unfair, yung mga sinasabi ng mga senador, he added.

[Translation: Ill tell you, they are the ones who are stupid if theyll take this (funds) back. They signed that law to serve, to continue the programs of the government. Now they want to defund the NTF-ELCAC?...I think thats unfair, what the senators are saying.]

Parlade, also the chief of the militarys Southern Luzon Command, said he doesn't earn a single centavo as the spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC, which he called his second job.

A number of senators proposed to review the budget of  and even defund  the NTF-ELCAC for next year amid issues hounding its alleged profiling and red-tagging activities against community pantry organizers.

The NTF-ELCAC has a 19-billion budget for 2021, with around 16-billion to be spent as incentives for barangays that were cleared of insurgency threats.

Senator Richard Gordon, in an interview with CNN Philippines The Source earlier in the day, described the alleged red-tagging of the task force as imbecilic, stupid, and shameful."

But Parlade said it was not fair to label their activities as such.

Senator Gordon, Im sorry, but its not fair to say that what were doing is stupid," Parlade said.Hindi namin nilalalahat (Were not doing this to all pantries). Because there are reports coming from the ground, from the people, from the netizens.

Parlade clarifies 'Same with Satan' comment

Meanwhile, Parlade also tried to clarify a controversial comment he made during a recent television interview, where he compared Ana Patricia Non's single-handed organizing of the first community pantry to Satan's act of deception to Eve, and that it's where it all started.

Parlade said his remarks may have been misinterpreted by the media.

I did not mean that Ana is Satan. I never said that, Parlade said. In fact, I said, I appreciate what Ana is doing.

The community pantry in Maginhawa, Quezon City halted its operations for a day after Non revealed that some police officers started asking regarding her affiliation after days of overseeing the aid project's operations. The development sparked an outrage in social media in the past days.

Apart from the Maginhawa pantry, similar initiatives have also popped up in other areas in Metro Manila and elsewhere around the country, in a bid to help citizens severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Tarnishing militarys image

For his part, Senator Kiko Pangilinan said Parlades comments will only place the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a bad light.

What is the message to junior officers that a senior military official can, in a very unprofessional and undisciplined way, make these remarks and can get away with it? This tarnishes the image of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as a professional and disciplined organization, he told CNN Philippines News Night.

He added that AFP chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejano should discipline Parlade.

What is happening here is because he is not being disciplined and he gets away with it, so he keeps repeating it, said Pangilinan. We urge the AFP to rein in and protect the chain of command.
Buckingham Palace is a 'lot calmer' without Meghan Markle and Prince Harry 'kicking off,' a source has claimed.

The Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, stepped down as senior royals in March, last year and moved to the US where their son Archie, where they are now living in a $14 million mansion in California.

And with Prince Andrew being removed from all duties following the scandal surrounding his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, The Firm have been left without three working royals.

'One of the main issues with Harry and Meghan when they were part of the working family was their inability to understand how things worked,' a source claimed, according to The Mirror.

'It's been a lot simpler without them kicking off over why they couldn't just do what they wanted. 'Things are a lot calmer.'

Buckingham Palace is a 'lot calmer' without Meghan Markle and Prince Harry 'kicking off,' a source has claimed. Pictured, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Peter Phillips and Prince Harry during the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on April 17, 2021 in Windsor

Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on A CBS Primetime Special premiering on CBS on March 7, 2021

While Prince Charles is reportedly working out how things will look with future engagements following his father Prince Philip's death last Friday, aged 99, it's thought Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, who has been hailed as the royal family's 'secret weapon' at a time of turmoil, will be stepping up to help.

Other support will come from the Duchess of Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Anne.

Writing for Town & Country, royal journalist and author Victoria Murphy told how Sophie, wife of Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son, has become a stalwart member of the royal family thanks to her down to earth nature and quietly assured approach to her royal duties.

'Her work does not regularly receive the kind of media attention that the younger royals command, but Sophie, now 55, has become a stalwart member of the "firm",' Murphy wrote, adding: 'The spotlight on Sophie has intensified in the vacuum left as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back.'

The Countess of Wessex has been hailed the 'secret weapon' of the royal family, and is 'down to earth' but not afraid to tell people if she disagrees with them. She is pictured with the Earl of Sussex at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey

Sophie is recognised to be the Queen's favourite royal, and Nash agreed the Her Majesty is 'particularly fond of her. She is pictured with Queen Elizabeth at Royal Ascot in 2019

Meanwhile people who have worked with the Countess of Wessex on a professional level told Murphy that they admired her ability to say what she thinks while still remaining polite.

Amanda Pullinger, CEO of 100 Women in Finance, insisted Sophie 'really is down to earth'. She said: 'She actually presents herself as an ordinary person and I think that is increasingly what the royal family needs to do.

'It's interestingshe's not nicey nicey. Of course she's polite, but she'll tell you what she thinks. If she disagrees she'll say, and she's done it to me a number of times. '

Sophie lives at Bagshot Park in Surrey, with Edward and their two children James, Viscount Severn, 12, and Lady Louise Windsor, 16.

She is recognised to be the Queen's favourite royal, and Nash agreed the Her Majesty is 'particularly fond of her'.

It is often Sophie who's picked to travel with the Queen when she is attending church services at either Sandringham or Balmoral.

She wins the coveted spot as the monarch finds her presence soothing and likes to be completely calm before church.

It is believed that the mother is now seen by the Queen as the Royal Familys safest pair of hands, because her marriage to Prince Edward has lasted, while Charles, Anne and Andrew have all been divorced.
New Delhi: Global pharma major Pfizer on Thursday (April 22) offered to supply vaccines at a "not-for-profit" price for the government immunisation programme in India. It also expressed that it would continue its engagement with the government to make the vaccine available in the country, said a report.

The company also said during the pandemic phase it will supply the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine only through government contracts.

In an email response to PTI, the pharma company said, "Pfizer remains committed to continuing our engagement with the Government towards making the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine available for use in the government's immunization programme in the country."

As stated earlier, Pfizer will prioritise supporting governments in their immunisation programmes and supply the COVID-19 vaccine only through government contracts based on agreements with respective government authorities and following regulatory authorisation or approvals, said the statement.

Pfizer, however, did not reveal the 'not-for-profit' price that it has suggested to the government. The company is committed to working for equitable and affordable access for its vaccine across the world, the Pfizer spokesperson reportedly said.

"... In all our agreements Pfizer has adopted a distinct pricing structure for high, middle, and low/lower-middle-income countries consistent with our commitment to work towards equitable and affordable access for our COVID-19 vaccine for people around the world," PTI quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Notably, the company charges $19.5 per dose from the US government to supply the vaccine. The European Union, however, is under talks with Pfizer/BioNTech for a new contract for 1.8 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

In the EU, Pfizer has significantly increased prices of its vaccine over the last few months -- from 12 euros to 15.5 euros and then 19.5 euros ($23) per dose for orders in 2022-23.

Further, the National Vaccine Strategy aims at liberalised vaccine pricing and scaling up of vaccine coverage. This would augment vaccine production as well as availability, incentivising vaccine manufacturers to rapidly ramp up production as well as attract new vaccine manufacturers, domestic and international, said an official statement from the Health Ministry.

Earlier on Monday, the Centre announced that everyone above 18 years of age would be eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 from May 1. The government, therefore, liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the vaccine doses directly from manufacturers.

Under the third phase of the vaccination drive, the vaccine manufacturers would supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and would be free to supply the remaining 50 per cent doses to state governments and in the open markets.

(With Agency Inputs)

Live TV
Ever since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, an array of information has been sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, from users and activists across the country. They are demanding transparency in various aspects of COVID-19 management, administration and dispersal of vaccineslike the constitution of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), the nodal agency, which coordinates with states; details of the vaccine rollout; the security of the co-win app, essential for your vaccination appointment; the finalisation of pricing of vaccines; safety and clearances of vaccines, details of export of vaccines and dispersal in the domestic market and so on. To date, the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) and related public authorities have declined most of the information.

In what can be safely termed as the biggest national secret of a public issue of epic proportions where each Indian needs to know the facts that directly affect him or her, public authorities, particularly MoHFW, is warding off most requisitions under RTI. The common reply that seems to be mechanically doled out is, information sought is exempted under Section 8 (1)(a) of the RTI Act, 2005 as this may prejudicially affect the strategic, scientific and economic interest of the State. As such no information can be provided.

One of the latest RTI applications was filed by Aniket Gaurav, member of the the Legal Squad organisation. He sought information on whether any ministry under the government of India (GoI) is maintaining the records of the number of people who tested positive for coronavirus, even though they have already received one or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

His RTI application sought details on the number of people who tested positive after the first dose as well as after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine till date; out of the total number of people who tested positive after the first dose as well as the second dose of the vaccine till date, a) the number of people who got infected but had a mild or moderate form of the disease b) the number of people who got infected but suffered from a severe form of the disease.

The reply he got from the MoHFW was, Health being a state subject this cell/office i.e COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Cell (CVAC) of the MoHFW does not have such specific data. However, for statistics/data as available you may visit Ministry of Health & Family Welfares website mohfw.gov.in. or Arogya Setu App (refer link https://dashboard.cowin.gov.in ) or `mygov.In/COVID-19 or `mygov.app.

RTI applicant Mr Gaurav states that, while none of these links or apps has any relevant information, Ministry of Health said that it does not have such specific data but yesterday in the press briefing they came out with some data. While the ministry replied to me under RTI that health is a state subject, then how come they suddenly gave selective information at the press briefing? This is rather strange and unjust.

Puducherry-based Saurav Das, journalist and transparency activist, who has filed a series of RTI applications related to COVID-19 since the past several months, has been denied information without exception.

For example, one of his RTI applications was addressed to MoHFW from which he sought details on its COVID vaccine administration cell. His RTI application requisitioned the exact dates on which the expert group has met till date; certified true copies of detailed agenda of meetings till date; certified true copies of presentations made before the group and detailed information about each of them; the certified true copies of minutes of meeting of each and every meeting that has been held till date ; a certified true copy of notification or office order by which the group was formed; a certified true copy of the list of names and designation of every person of the group; certified true copies of each and every file noting and correspondence related to the formation of the group and certified true copies of each and every noting and correspondence related to the presentations made at each meeting; details of every meeting in which the matter of National Health lD was discussed and; all file notings, correspondences, internal communications, minutes and memos relating to them.

The reply from the CPIO of the ministry parroted the same exemption clause under the RTI Act. That, the information sought is exempted under Section 8(1)(a) of RTI Act, 2005 as this may prejudicially affect the strategic, scientific and economic interest of the State, As such, no information can be provided.

RTI research scholar Venkatesh Nayak has also persistently filed RTI applications regarding the export commitments of the COVID-19 vaccines to various countries; the vaccine purchase agreements with various states in the domestic market and; on the setting of and the working of the COVID Pandemic Joint Monitoring Group (JVG).

In fact, Mr Nayak, had filed an RTI application in April 2020 to the MoHFW, seeking information, including the district-wise number of hospitals and healthcare facilities designated as COVID-19 treatment centres and the postal addresses and telephone numbers of such facilities. His RTI application was pushed around from one public authority to another.

He filed a second appeal with the information commission. In July 2020, chief central information commissioner CIC Bimal Julka had given a stern order and advised the MoHFW to appoint a nodal officer to put up all details on the website in a chronological manner.

He rightly observed in the order, It is well recognised that the impact of COVID-19 pandemic will be far reaching and that all the stakeholders need to be cognizant of the importance of proper data and record management. Such records could also be useful for research and educational institutions involved in tracing the disease, mapping and analysing the pathogens genome to develop vaccines that requires records and data accuracy. Sound records management is more important than ever before with governments initiating unprecedented steps to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stating that Mr Nayak has asked relevant information which must be disseminated, he observed in his order, keeping in view the facts of the case and the submissions made by all the stakeholders and in the light of the decisions cited above as also the observations made in the previous paragraphs, the Commission observed that very pertinent information pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic situation was sought by the complainant which could not be made available by any of the respondents.

He qualified his directive to appoint a nodal officer by stating, the fact that the application shuttled from one division of the public authority to another indicates that there is a very urgent requirement for notifying a nodal authority in the MoHFW/DGHS to compile, collate and consolidate the information sought in the RTI application and suo motu upload the same on the website of the public authority.

Mr Julka went a step further to state that transparency in this vital public issue matter is important even for scientific and academic data. He stated, there is an immense necessity to evolve a strong, robust and effective documentation mechanism and its continuous updation which will be mutually beneficial not only for the government but also for the scientists, researchers, academicians, historians, law makers, etc for future. Therefore, the Commission advises the secretary, MoHFW to designate an officer of an appropriate seniority as a nodal officer to examine the matter and suo motu disclose the information sought in the RTI application on the website of the public authority within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order in the larger public interest.

However, several months down the line after this order, there has been no attempt to make anything transparent so far, leave alone voluntarily uploading information on the website. Every RTI application is stonewalled, in the name of secrecy! Dangerous for transparency and good governance, isnt it?
In 1995, Thomas Cahill came out with the provocatively titled book, How the Irish Saved Civilization. Ireland, contended Cahill,

had one moment of unblemished glory... as the Roman Empire fell, as all through Europe matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish, who were just learning to read and write, took up the great labor of copying all of Western literature....

Then missionary-minded Irish monks brought back to the continent what had been preserved on their isolated island, re-founding European civilization.

And that, Cahill concludes, is how the Irish saved civilization.

But there is more at hand in Cahills study than meets the eye. Beyond the loss of Latin literature and the development of the great national European literatures that an illiterate Europe would not have established, Cahill notes that something else would have perished in the West: The habits of the mind that encourage thought.

Why would this matter?

Cahill continues his assessment: And when Islam began its medieval expansion, it would have encountered scant resistance to its plansjust scattered tribes of animists, ready for a new identity. Without a robust mind to engage the onslaught  and a Christian one at that  the West would have been under the crescent instead of the cross.

Never have the habits of the mind mattered more. As Winston Churchill presciently stated in his address to Harvard University in 1943, The empires of the future will be empires of the mind. Oxford theologian Alister McGrath, reflecting on Churchills address, notes that Churchills point was that a great transition was taking place in Western culture with immense implications for all who live in it. The powers of the new world would not be nation-states, as with empires past, but ideologies. It would be ideas, not nations, that would captivate and conquer in the future. The starting point for the conquest of the world would become the human mind.

But this time, we may need more than the Irish to save us.

We may talk of conquering the world for Christ. But what sort of conquest do we mean? writes John Stott. Not a victory by force of arms.... This is a battle of ideas. Yet there are surprisingly few warriors. Those who follow Christ have too often retreated into personal piety and good works or, as one BBC commentator quipped, Christians have too often offered mere feelings and philanthropy. Speaking specifically to the challenge from Islam, he added that what is needed was more hard thinking applied to the issues of the day.

What remains to be seen is whether there will be any hard thinkers to do it. The peril of our day is that when a Christian mind is most needed, Christians express little need for the mind and, as a result, even less resolve to develop it. There is even a sense that an undeveloped mind is more virtuous than one prepared for battle. Richard Hofstadter, in his Pulitzer prize-winning book Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, identified the evangelical spirit as one of the prime sources of American anti-intellectualism. Hofstadter points out that for many Christians, humble ignorance is a far more noble human quality than a cultivated mind.

Such devaluation of the intellect is a recent development within the annals of Christian history. While Christians have long struggled with the role and place of reason, that the mind itself mattered has been without question.

Even the early church father Tertullian (155  220 A.D.), who had little use for philosophy and was famed for his statement, What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? never questioned the importance of the mind. Tertullians conviction was that Greek philosophy had little to offer in terms of informing the contours of Christian thought, akin to the apostle Pauls quip to the Corinthian church that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men (I Corinthians 1:25). But Tertullian, as well as Paul, would have held in complete disdain any anti-intellectualism that celebrated an undeveloped mind.

Deep within the worldview of the biblical authors, and equally within the minds of the earliest church fathers, was the understanding that to be fully human is to think. To this day we call ourselves a race of Homo sapiens, which means thinking beings. This is not simply a scientific classification; it is a spiritual one. We were made in Gods image, and one of the most precious and noble dynamics within that image is the ability to think. It is simply one of the most sacred reflections of the divine image in which we were created. It is also foundational to our interaction with God. As God Himself implored through the prophet Isaiah, Come now, let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18).

This was certainly the conviction of Jesus, who made it clear that our minds are integral to life lived in relationship with God. When summarizing human devotion to God as involving heart, soul and strength, Jesus added ... and mind (see Mark 12:30) to the original wording of Deuteronomy, as if He wanted there to be no doubt that when contemplating the comprehensive nature of commitment and relationship with God, that our intellect would not be overlooked. The apostle Paul contended that our very transformation as Christians would be dependent on whether our minds were engaged in an ongoing process of renewal in light of Christ (Romans 12:2-3).

All the more reason to be stunned by the words of Harry Blamires, a student of C.S. Lewis at Oxford, who claimed that there is no longer a Christian mind. A Christian ethic, a Christian practice, a Christian spirituality, yesbut not a Christian mind. More recently, historian Mark Noll concurred, suggesting that the scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind. If evangelicals do not take seriously the larger world of the intellect, we say, in effect, that we want our minds to be shaped by the conventions of our modern universities and the assumptions of Madison Avenue, instead of by God and the servants of God.

And even if we do not lose our own minds, we will certainly lose the minds of others. This is the double-edged threat of our day: apart from a Christian mind, we will either be taken captive by the myriad of worldviews contending for our attention, or we will fail to make the Christian voice heard and considered above the din. Either way, we must begin to think, or else lose the fight.

James Emery White

Sources

Excerpted from James Emery White, A Mind for God (InterVarsity Press).

About the Author

James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunct professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book After I Believe is now available on Amazon or your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @JamesEmeryWhite.
The company said it expects to bring Cannabis 2.0 and 3.0 products to the Yukon, which could include vapes, concentrates, beverages, topicals and edibles

Valens CEO Tyler Robson said we have made 'significant progress growing our cannabis distribution network and we expect to increase our national position in the short-term'

Inc ( ) ( ) (FRA:7LV), a leading manufacturer of cannabis products, has announced its entry into the Yukon market with a cannabis purchase and sale agreement with the Yukon Liquor Corporation (YLC).

The Kelowna, British Columbia-based company said the agreement allows for the sale and distribution of Valens-manufactured products to licensed cannabis retailers in Yukon and on Cannabis Yukon, Yukon Liquor Corporation's e-commerce platform.

Valens said it expects to bring a range of Cannabis 2.0 and 3.0 products to the Yukon market, which could include vapes, concentrates, beverages, topicals and edibles, expanding the variety of innovative formats available in the territory.

"Our entry into the Yukon market not only furthers our ability to capture market share in Canada, but also broadens the selection and quality of products that consumers in the territory can access," Valens co-founder and CEO Tyler Robson said in a statement.

"We have made significant progress growing our cannabis distribution network and we expect to increase our national position in the short-term as we continue discussions with other private and government-regulated retailers across the country."

The company said its manufactured products will be shipped to Yukon and available to consumers in the coming quarters.

Valens can process over 425,000 kilograms of biomass per year and its services include numerous types of proprietary extraction, analytical testing, formulation, cultivation, as well as white label product development. Its products include tinctures, soft gels, oral sprays, and vape pens as well as beverages, edibles, injectables, natural health products and it has a strong pipeline of next-generation products in development.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, on April 20, 2021. (Zhen Wang/The Epoch Times)

Cuccinelli: Radical Left Sees Border Crisis as Voter Registration Line

The current administrations actions to diminish border security measures and promise amnesty to illegal immigrants, coupled with Congresss new election reform legislation, is directly related to future votes for the Democratic Party, according to Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security.

The radical left looks at that border and they see a voter registration line. And theyre very confidentI think incorrectlybut theyre very confident that these are future votes for their radical left agenda, Cuccinelli told The Epoch Times American Thought Leaders program on April 20.

A study conducted by Old Dominion University in Virginia suggests that illegal immigrants vote 80 percent Democratic and 20 percent Republican.

The election reform legislation, H.R.1, also known as the For the People Act, was passed by the House on March 3.

The bill would federalize elections, overriding the current constitutional mandate that states choose the manner, times, and places of elections. H.R.1 would also make permanent many of the election reforms adopted as temporary measures in 2020 by a handful of states in response to the pandemic.

The election reforms include radically expanded mail-in, early, and absentee voting, as well as automatic, online, and same-day voter registration with minimal verification. It would also remove voter identification requirements in the 36 states that have them.

Let me play this out for you: Virginias polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. I can go to poll number one at 6 a.m. and say, Hi, Im Ken Jones, I want to register to vote,' Cuccinelli said.

OK, sign here, Ken Jones. And I vote. I go to the next poll, saying, Im Ken Smith, I want to register to vote.

How does anybody at the second poll know that I have registered to vote only an hour before at a different poll?

The automatic registration provisions in the new legislation would shepherd millions of these folks crossing the border onto the voter rolls in the next couple of years, Cuccinelli said.

Theyre designing a system that is so easy to cheat  that one can only conclude thats the purpose, he said.

Illegal border crossings are currently on a trajectory to be the highest in 20 years. However, the number of illegal aliens that will stay in the United Statesrather than being quickly returned to Mexico, as was the case 20 years agois unprecedented.

Currently, only citizens of the United States are legally allowed to vote. While the bill doesnt make it legal for illegal immigrants or noncitizens to vote, it does require agencies to register to vote all eligible individuals served by that agency unless the individual opts out.

For example, 13 states and the District of Columbia currently allow for illegal aliens to possess drivers licenses. Those people would automatically be placed on the voter rolls and any penalty they would have faced for voting would be eliminated.

By eliminating the penalties, they essentially make it legal for illegals to vote, Cuccinelli said. Staff within motor vehicle agency offices will also be reluctant to ask people if theyre eligible to vote, he said.

The radical leftists put a criminal provision in the billa new federal felonyfor any state or local official who in any way impairs, impedes, intimidates anyone from registering to vote, or from exercising their voting rightswhich sounds on its face reasonable, except when you consider how politicized their prosecutions have gotten, he said.

Cuccinelli said the election reform laws are the Democrats path to maintain power for a long period of time, and they view illegal immigrants as part of the cannon fodder in that plan.

The passage of the companion bill in the Senate, S.1, remains uncertain. If Republicans filibuster the proposal, as seems likely, Senate rules require 60 votes to invoke cloture, which limits debate to 30 hours and then requires a vote on final passage.

As the national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, Cuccinelli is actively lobbying against S.1, while encouraging more election transparency and security.

The full interview with Cuccinelli will be viewable on Epoch TV at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, April 23.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 22, 2021 / LeanLife Health Inc. (CSE:LLP)(FSE:LL1)(OTCQB:LNLHF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the first containers of Mike Tyson branded energy drink from FoodCare Group have cleared customs in Los Angeles.

The product cleared customs on April 16, 2021 and is making its way to the Company's distribution facility in Arizona.

Stan Lis, CEO and Director of LeanLife, states: "This is a new product in the US market place, a product of great quality, combined with legendary Mike Tyson's branding, and our experienced sales and distribution team expect a great start."

The Company intends to provide further shareholder updates on specific details of retail distribution as our retail partners begin sales of Mike Tyson's Iron Energy drink.

About LeanLife Health and its Brand Positioning in the Marketplace

FoodCare Group, the supplier and manufacturer of Iron Energy, by Mike Tyson, is a market leader in Poland's energy drink market and is a leading brand in the Middle East. We believe, Iron Energy will also appeal to North American consumers and will quickly gain retail and consumer acceptance and trial.

The annual market value of the combined U.S. and Canadian energy drink markets is estimated at over $14 billion (USD). According to Allied Market Research, the global energy drinks market size was valued at $53.01 billion in 2018, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.20% to reach $86.01 billion by 2026.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, LeanLife now first offers Iron Drink, a Mike Tyson branded energy drink to the consumers in the United State. LeanLife will be aggressively priced and shelf positioned, to appeal to a broad consumer base. A good market shares growth will be expected.

Consumer preference and the increased occasions for energy drink consumption are growing the category. Iron Energy will participate in this phenomenon through category and organic growth. The broad base of health and sport oriented consumers will be attracted to this unique product alternative. Iron Energy is enjoying great success in the European market. We believe Iron Energy will offer a similar success story in North America due to its compelling brand attributes, product taste and energy benefits.

For more information, please contact:

Stan Lis, CEO

604-764-0518

SLis@LeanLifeHealth.com

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control including, the Company's ability to compete with large food companies; sales of any potential products developed will be profitable; the ability to complete sales under the sales agreement. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

THE CSE HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE: LeanLIfe Health Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/641741/Mike-Tyson-Branded-Iron-Energy-Drink-Containers-Have-Cleared-American-Customs
Maharashtra government announced a series of restrictions late Wednesday night. The new guidelines aimed to - and titled - 'Break the Chain' will come into effect from Thursday 8pm and remain in force till May 1 7am.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led government has restricted social gatherings at 25 persons, while attendance at offices has been capped at 15 per cent. Private buses can run at 50 per cent of their capacity.

These new guidelines come as Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state in the country. Weekend lockdown and night curfew are already in place.

Here's what's allowed and what's not in Maharashtra as per the latest guidelines:

Attendance at private and government offices that are not directly connected to COVID-19 management has been capped at 15 per cent.

Offices providing essential services should work at 'lowest required capacity'. They have been allowed to have more than 50 per cent of their workforce present at any given time. Attendance here can go up to 100 per cent if required, and otherwise similarly minimised.

Weddings can have 25 people in attendance. Such ceremonies must be conducted as a 'single event in a single hall, not extending beyond 2 hours'. If found in violation, the people responsible will have to cough up Rs 50,000 fine.

Private vehicles, excluding buses, will only be allowed for essential services or medical emergencies with driver plus 50 per cent of seating capacity. No inter-city or inter-district travel will be allowed for private vehicles, unless it is an emergency. If found violating this rule, violators will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.

Private buses can run with 50 per cent capacity. No standing travellers allowed in buses. Inter-city or inter-district travel by private buses has been regulated. Service operators cannot make more than two stops in a city. Violators will be fined up to Rs 10,000. Repeated defaults will lead to cancellation of licence till pandemic ends.

Public transport usage has been limited to government personnel, all medical personnel, and any person needing medical treatment or any specially-abled person and their attendant. All of these people must have valid ID.

State-run buses are also limited to 50 per cent capacity, with no standing travellers allowed.

All state-run and private bus travellers will be home quarantined for 14 days. They could also face mandatory random rapid antigen tests as they deboard.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccination: India needs 8 yrs 9 months to achieve herd immunity

Also read: Nashik oxygen leak: Heart-wrenching tragedy, says PM; Amit Shah condoles loss of lives
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT

The news outlets being sued by Ben Roberts-Smith have been called on to explain how they obtained material that the former soldier allegedly buried in his backyard, including Department of Defence drone videos of military operations in Afghanistan.

Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith. Credit:Getty Images

Mr Roberts-Smith, a highly decorated former SAS soldier, is suing The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald over reports he allegedly committed murder on deployments to Afghanistan and that he also allegedly punched his mistress in the face in Canberra in 2018.

The Victoria Cross recipient denies the allegations and says the reports are defamatory because they portray him as a criminal.
The Timberlane Regional School Board has approved a plan to end mask wearing outside, but asked the superintendent to meet with the teachers unions to gather input on possibly ending an indoor mask mandate for the final days of the school year.
ATLANTA, April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Conservationists are celebrating news that the Democratic Republic of the Congo officially recognized three new community-managed forest concessions, collectively called the Nkuba Conservation Area (NCA), giving local communities ownership and management rights over their own forests. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund assisted with the formal recognition process and has entered into a 25-year agreement to help develop and implement sustainable plans for the forest home of the critically endangered Grauer's gorilla.

An unhabituated Grauer's gorilla. These critically endangered gorillas have declined in population by 80% over the past 25 years. (Photo credit: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund) Tabu Kamukaye, president of the Union of the Landowners for the Development and the Protection of the Environment (UTDPE), told listeners at the ceremony that "the most important thing the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has done for us is allowing us to send our children to school. We are grateful for that, and we hope that soon, some of our children will get to go to universities as well." (Photo credit: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund)

"The people of Nkuba show us it is possible to protect biodiverse wild spaces and the animals that live in them while at the same time building strong, supportive human communities," says Dr. Tara Stoinski, chief scientist of the Fossey Fund. "In some areas, this community-based model may become a more practical, cost-effective way to preserve wild spaces than traditional national parks."

The Fossey Fund began working in DRC in 2001 to expand protections for Grauer's gorillas. Because most live outside of national parks, they lack formal protection, and their population declined by an estimated 80% over the past 25 years, primarily as a result of poaching. The 1,300 sq km NCA is home to an estimated 200 Grauer's gorillas.

The NCA is in located within the Congo Basin. Covering 1.2 million square miles and spanning six countries, the Congo Basin contains the world's second-largest tropical rainforest, home to numerous endangered plant and animal species. By sequestering carbon, it serves as one of our best natural defenses against climate change. Deforestation rates in the Congo Basin have accelerated over the last two decades; if trends continue, scientists predict there could be no primary rainforest left in the DRC by the end of the century.

Recognizing the importance of protecting these forests, the Congolese government formalized the legal framework for creating local community forestry concessions (CFCLs) in 2016, allowing landowners to apply for official recognition of their custodial rights and responsibilities to forests. In other countries where this approach has been adopted, community ownership provides an incentive to manage forests sustainably, slowing the rate of deforestation.

The recognition of the NCA increases the area of community-owned forests in DRC's Walikale territory by 70%. The project also provides employmentthe Fossey Fund has 70 staff local members on the ground in Nkuba who protect gorillas, study biodiversity and support education, livelihood and food security initiatives that improve human lives near the gorilla habitat.

"Today's announcement is important for the Grauer's gorillas that the Fossey Fund is working so hard to protect," says Urbain Ngobogo, Fossey Fund's DRC country director. "But it's also a big moment for the Congolese, who have shown that we can lead the world in conservation."

Images available here.

About the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

For more, visit: gorillafund.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @savinggorillas. Learn more about conservation efforts in Nkuba in the Ellen DeGeneres-produced film Endangered airing on Discovery+ on Earth Day.

Contact: Donna Gorman [email protected] (404) 624-5881

SOURCE Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Related Links

http://gorillafund.org


(Natural News) A number of new policies in the United States Army are purportedly aimed at service members who decline Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines. These policies, including restriction of movement and limited access to facilities, are in place in at least two military reservations. While the U.S. Army cannot mandate vaccinations, the new rules appear to be a not-so-subtle approach to coerce military personnel into getting immunized against COVID-19.

A memorandum by Maj. Gen. Brian J. Mennes released on March 17 outlined a number of privileges available to vaccinated personnel. Mennes commands the Fort Drum military reservation, located in New York state.

Menness memorandum stated that fully vaccinated military personnel are not required to quarantine after traveling and returning to their post. On the other hand, unvaccinated service members must quarantine for 10 days. Furthermore, family members must be able to quarantine with the service member  which meant that their partners cannot go to work and their children cannot go to school.

The document also said that vaccinated personnel can conduct outdoor physical training without masks, and may be allowed to train indoors without face coverings. However, the document said indoor physical training will only be allowed without unvaccinated personnel present.

The memorandum also mandates personnel  vaccinated or not  to wear face masks at all instances. Unless otherwise directed, a face covering is part of the duty uniform, it said. But the document clarified that face masks may be removed if all people in a room have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

Furthermore, unvaccinated service members will have to undergo additional paperwork to secure approval for leaves. Personnel who have not yet received the COVID-19 jabs will need to have their leave requests approved by an O-5 officer such as a lieutenant colonel or battalion commander, alongside an exception to policy (ETP) document. On the other hand, vaccinated personnel only require the approval of a lower-ranking O-3 officer such as a captain or company commander.

New regulations seem like a response to vaccine hesitancy among the ranks

Meanwhile, Fort Bragg in North Carolina implemented a similar measure designed to pressure military personnel into getting the COVID-19 jab. The commander of the bases 82nd Airborne Division mandated that service members need a vaccination card before entering a military dining facility. The new regulation will impact a huge percentage of lower-ranked enlisted soldiers who do not have access to kitchens in the barracks. Most lower-income personnel depend on the dining facilities for their daily meals while on duty or in training rotations.

The new mandates put in place at Fort Drum and Fort Bragg appear to target personnel who have doubts regarding the Wuhan coronavirus vaccines. A significant number of military personnel refused to get the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use only. Back in February, the Department of Defense (DoD) said almost 75 percent of personnel declined COVID-19 vaccinations. During a Feb. 17 hearing, Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Director of Operations Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro explained that the reason why military personnel are not availing of the jab is because it is not compulsory. He added that the Pentagon received about 916,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses. (Related: MILITARY vaccine mandates? Dept. of Defense purchasing 500 million ApiJect syringes to inject every person in America with coronavirus vaccine.)

Other Pentagon officials also shared with the House Committee on Armed Services the immunization drive ongoing in the armed forces. According to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses, 359,000 troops have received their first dose and 147,000 have completed both doses. Other Pentagon officials who attended the meeting estimated that vaccination of military personnel, civilian staff and the contractor workforce will finish by late July or early August 2021.

Ultimately, military leaders remarked that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the right thing to do and exhorted personnel to get the jabs. We believe that, of course, getting the vaccine is the right thing to do. Its clearly safe for service members, and we need to continue to educate our force and help them understand the benefits, Taliaferro said. (Related: Pentagon reports ALMOST 75 PERCENT of troops turned down Wuhan coronavirus vaccine.)

Visit Pandemic.news to read more articles about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the armed forces.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

Home.Army.mil [PDF]

POLITICO.com
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Netflix invested in becoming a partner in New Mexico with a production hub located in Mesa del Sol.

A new program in collaboration with the New Mexico Film Office, will give New Mexicans with a background in accounting an opportunity to get into production accounting. It is being financed by Netflix workforce development funds.

The Production Accounting and Payroll Training Program is a five-week virtual training program, where participants will learn the ins and outs of production accounting.

Building an end-to-end production ecosystem includes investing in industry focused workforce development and providing New Mexicans with opportunities to transfer existing skills and expertise into the industry. This Production Accounting and Payroll Training Program will do just that, said Alicia J. Keyes, New Mexico Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary. The New Mexico film and television industrys impact on the economy is significant  employing thousands of New Mexicans with well-paying jobs, providing additional revenue streams for local businesses, and building wealth for New Mexico families. A skilled, and scaled up crew base, ensures the film industry remains a pillar of New Mexicos economy for decades to come.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

Keyes said the New Mexico Film Office is partnering with CNM Ingenuity to train New Mexicans to work as payroll clerks, accounting clerks, and payroll accountant and second assistant accountant positions upon completion of the training.

The first training cohort will include up to 15 participants, who must be New Mexico residents and provide proof of previous accounting experience or education. It will begin on May 15.

Upon completion of the program, participants will be eligible for an informational interview with a Netflix production finance executive and may be considered for employment on future productions.

The training will be done by CNM Ingenuity and some of the topics covered are:

 Overview of careers and roles in a production accounting department.

 Accounting tools and technology.

 Payroll and roles of unions.

 Budgeting and cost reporting.

 Production incentives and insurance claims.

At CNM, were honored to be partnering with the New Mexico Film Office to address a growing workforce need in the film industry  accountants trained on the unique aspects of film production and film budgets, said CNM President Tracy Hartzler.

Amber Dodson, New Mexico Film Office director, said the idea grew out of the demand for production accounting within the film industry.

The intention behind this program as well as future workforce training programs is to meet the industrys needs and expand our local crew base, Dodson said.

The training program will be held virtually from 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays with the first session beginning on May 15. To apply, applicants must have previous accounting or finance experience or education. Participants will be responsible for a $50 enrollment fee upon acceptance to the program. Preregistration is required no later than May 13.

Information on how to preregister can be found on the CNM Ingenuity website at cnmingenuity.org.
OMAHA, Neb., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jet Linx , the leading private jet management and Jet Card membership company in the United States, today reinforced its dedication to sustainability through its new partnership with 4AIR , the first and only rating system focused on comprehensive sustainability in private aviation and dedicated to reducing and mitigating aviation emissions. Reducing the environmental impact of aviation activities, the program allows Jet Linx aircraft owners and Jet Card members to purchase carbon offset credits that fund projects designed to counterbalance carbon emissions around the world. The announcement was made by Jamie Walker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Jet Linx.

"We are excited to partner with 4AIR and launch a new initiative that proactively supports and advances our mission to achieve a cleaner, greener future," said Mr. Walker. "This voluntary carbon offsetting program represents a significant shift in our industry's priorities, and we are proud to be pursuing solutions that reduce our carbon footprint and set a new standard for sustainability in private aviation. Together with our clients, we look forward to making a positive impact on our environment and creating a more sustainable world."

Leading Private Jet Company Reinforces Commitment to Achieving Carbon Neutrality for a More Sustainable Future Tweet this

Brian Walker, Jet Linx Director of Flight Coordination, added: "I saw an opportunity for Jet Linx to be stewards of our planet's health and the first step in that responsibility is to offset our carbon emissions. We looked for a partner that gave us options that will grow along with our own growth. 4AIR was the perfect partner."

Through the partnership, 4AIR's Level 1: Bronze Carbon Neutral program will be offered for every Jet Linx flight, allowing Jet Linx clients to purchase carbon offset credits that fund carbon reduction projects that are verified and validated through leading non-profit standards like Gold Standard, Verra, Climate Action Reserve and American Carbon Registry. Jet Linx clients who elect to participate in the program purchase of carbon offsets to match their hours of flight, in which one carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of CO2 equivalent emissions. The credits will fund environmental projects that primarily incorporate forestry and renewable energy in order to address the largest source of global emissions and also support a variety of projects that address community co-benefits. The 4Air portfolio includes project technologies such as solar power in India, cookstoves in developing countries, wind energy in the US and sustainable management of forests worldwide.

Said Kennedy Ricci, President of 4AIR: "4AIR creates a new standard for sustainability in private aviation, giving those who own or fly on private aircraft the ability to address the environmental impacts of their flights. We don't want to merely neutralize the impact of private aviation, but instead make it part of the sustainability solution."

For more information on Jet Linx, please visit www.jetlinx.com or contact a local Jet Linx Base.

About Jet Linx Aviation

Jet Linx Aviation is a locally-focused private jet company founded in Omaha, NE in 1999 as a more personalized approach to national private jet companies. Jet Linx offers three different ways to experience private aviation  a guaranteed jet card, joint ownership, and private jet management program  providing its clients with an all-encompassing, local solution to all of their private jet travel needs. Jet Linx is an IS-BAO Stage 3, ARGUS Platinum and Wyvern Wingman safety rated operator, an accomplishment earned by less than one percent of all aircraft operators in the world. In 2019, Jet Linx became the only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star trained and accredited private aviation company in the world. In addition to establishing the independent global rating system's preeminent and unparalleled service standards for the in-flight experience, Jet Linx also collaborated with Forbes Travel Guide to develop their own customized, proprietary Jet Linx standards of service excellence. Jet Linx is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and has base locations in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Omaha, San Antonio, Scottsdale, St Louis, Tulsa and Washington D.C. For additional information, please visit the Jet Linx website ( www.jetlinx.com ).

About 4AIR

Incubated by Directional Aviation ( www.directional.com ), 4AIR is an industry pioneer offering sustainability solutions beyond just simple carbon neutrality. Its industry-first framework seeks to address climate impacts of all types and provides a simplified and verifiable path for private aviation industry participants to achieve meaningful aircraft emissions counteraction and reduction. All carbon credits through 4AIR are quantified and verified through the most respected and international leading bodies that issue and register credits, including the American Carbon Registry , Climate Action Reserve , Verified Carbon Standard (VERRA) and The Gold Standard . Additionally, end-of-year commitment audits are independently verified by third parties. 4AIR also serves the demand signal working groups with the World Economic Forum's Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition .

For more information, visit us at www.4air.aero .

SOURCE Jet Linx

Related Links

https://www.jetlinx.com


East Rockaway, N.Y.  Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York continued falling on Wednesday, reaching their lowest level since Nov. 29.

Hospitalizations fell 190 to 3,567 and are down 369 over the last week, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomos office.

A total of 811 people were in New York intensive care units with the coronavirus yesterday, down six, and 499 were intubated, also down six.

Cuomo urged continued caution during an appearance today in East Rockaway on Long Island.

Yes, were making progress, he said. Yes, the vaccinations are going to win the war, but were not there yet. People are still dying from Covid, so we still have to stay diligent.

Another 45 people in New York died due to Covid on Wednesday, which brings the statewide death toll to 41,678.

The state confirmed 4,996 new Covid cases yesterday and reported another 242,432 test results. The daily total of new cases is down after an extended plateau, but still far higher than the numbers seen during the summer and early fall.

At that point, the state was often finding less than 1,000 new cases a day, although there was less testing then as well.

The statewide percentage of people testing positive for the virus on Wednesday was 2.06% and the positive test rates seven-day average was 2.57%. Those are the lowest numbers since early November, according to Cuomos office.

In Central New York, the positive rates seven-day average fell to 1.43%, down from 1.45% the day before.

A total of 43% of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and 29.7% have received all required doses, according to Cuomos office.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Not enough CNY nursing home workers get Covid-19 shots; We are in race against time

Months after Covid-19, CNY long-haulers suffer fatigue, breathing problems, loss of smell

See full list of capacity limits for NY stadiums, theaters, arenas, more

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
President Bidens climate plan is ambitious, but achievable, many experts believe. On April 22, Earth Day, Biden announced a national goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. Thats nearly twice the reduction President Obama aimed for, and the most aggressive American effort yet to address global warming.

Biden has also set goals of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in the power sector by 2035 and in the overall economy by 2050. Princeton Universitys Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment recently published a detailed report describing five different scenarios for reaching these goals, an outlook the Biden administration echoes. We see many pathways to the goal, a White House official told reporters in an April 21 briefing.

Theres also a lot that could go wrong. Here are 4 things that could prevent the nation from reaching Bidens climate goals:

Politics. The most obvious threat to Bidens climate agenda is a shift in power in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election. When Donald Trump became president in 2017, he largely reversed President Obamas climate goals, by rolling back new rules on power plant pollution, vehicle fuel economy and other things. Some green energy development continued, such as the rollout of electric vehicles and the retirement of dirty coal-fired power plants that had become more expensive than cleaner plants powered by solar, wind and natural gas. But federal involvement is crucial for providing incentives the private sector cant, such as tax breaks for clean-power generation, coordination of regional planning and funding for new technology where breakthroughs are needed.

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry listens as President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republicans have a decent chance at taking control of at least one house of Congress in 2022, and Trumps narrow loss to Biden last year suggests a Trumpy Republican might have a shot at the White House in 2024. But would Republicans roll back Bidens plan if they could? Trump himself was uniquely regressive, with a 20th-century affinity for coal plants and smokestack industries. Corporate America increasingly supports efforts to combat climate change, and the public does too. Even oil companies such as Exxon Mobil are developing new business units to remove carbon from the air and cash in on the shift to green energy. Theres no Republican climate plan, so its not clear what a GOP president might change. But Biden himself surely realizes that the faster the shift to green energy happens, the more difficult it will be for future leaders to reverse it.

Regionalism. Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector will require lots of new wind and solar facilities, which seems doable. But it will also require a massive revamp of the national power grid, including new high-voltage lines able to move power cross-country, so cheap solar power from the southwest can be used in the east and cheap wind power from the Great Plains can be used in the west. Thats a lot harder.

(From L-R) Russia's President Vladimir Putin, China's President Xi Jinping, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and others are seen on a screen during a climate change virtual summit from the East Room of the White House campus April 22, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

Right now, theres so little interregional planning, almost nothing is occurring, says John Moore of the National Resources Defense council. None of those lines are being built because they cross two or three different grid regions. Sometimes the biggest opponents are power companies that want to build their own lines. If Congress provided funding for interstate high-voltage lines, that could resolve some disputes. Federal coordination could help unsnarl permitting and right-of-way issues. The Biden plan hasnt spelled out how it plans to address regional barriers, but Biden officials say a detailed roadmap is coming within a few months.

Big Oil. The powerful oil and gas industry has lost momentum, with profits down, Congress threatening to kill valuable tax breaks and investors shifting to green-energy darlings. But industry giants such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron have important allies in Congress and many state capitals and they employ roughly 1.5 million Americans in relatively high-paying jobs. If Bidens shift to green energy causes high-profile job losses in oil and gas, it could turn public opinion against the shift. Biden and his climate team seem to recognize the risk. Bidens National Climate Adviser, Gina McCarthy, says any workers displaced form oil and gas must be able to find work for comparable pay without moving halfway across the country. But this will be a messaging battle, with the Biden team trying to prove how green energy helps ordinary families while the opposition champions its own economic benefits.

Pacific Park's solar-powered Ferris wheel lights show a green "Earth" logo at Santa Monica Pier for Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. Pacific Park remains closed during the coronavirus pandemic as part of the state's stay-at-home order. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

[Read more: How Tony Stark inspired Robert Downey Jr. to take action on climate change]

Getting the technology wrong. Innovation can produce surprises, one reason private investors are sometimes reluctant to bet big on apparent breakthroughs. And a wrong bet could set back Bidens climate efforts. One example is electric vehicles, which the Biden plan highlights as a key way to curtail emissions from transportation. But the production of electric vehicles and especially the batteries that power them generates a lot of pollution, and some technologists think cleaner hydrogen-powered cars will ultimately supplant EVs. Biden wants the government to help finance 500,000 EV charging stationsfive times the existing numberand Citigroup estimates the total need might be 1.5 million. But what would happen to those stations if breakthroughs in hydrogen rendered them stranded assets? And would the government compensate private firms if they invested in gateway technologies that turned out not to be the wave of the future after all?

When Biden officials talk about many pathways, theyre leaving room for trial and error and the ability to reboot if one approach fails. Its a shrewd strategy, but there will be challenges when something goes wrong, and managing the failures will probably be as important as touting the successes.

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips, and click here to get Ricks stories by email.

Read more:

Get the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
The officer who fired the shot had been served with a gross misconduct notice

According to a post-mortem he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest

e an Fitzgerald, 31, killed when officers stormed a property in Coventry in 2019

A police officer who shot dead an unarmed man during a raid is to be investigated for gross misconduct, it emerged today.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, was killed when officers stormed a property in Coventry, West Midlands, in an 'intelligence-led operation' on January 4, 2019

The ex-squaddie had had been exiting the property at around 6.20pm when he suffered a gunshot wound to the chest.

Today the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced the officer who fired the fatal shot would now be served with a gross misconduct notice which may lead to a misconduct hearing.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest when officers stormed a property in Coventry, West Midlands, on January 4, 2019

However, the officer will not be subjected to any criminal charges after the IOPC concluded there was no indication an offence had taken place.

It comes after the police launched an investigation into the shooting following a mandatory referral from the force.

Responding to the gross misconduct notice, Mr Fitzgerald's brother, Liam, said: 'Whilst we are pleased that the officer who shot Sean has now at least been served with a gross misconduct notice, we are shocked that the IOPC considers that the officer should not be served with a notice that his actions are subject to a criminal investigation.

'We have only been given limited information to date, but that information indicates that the officer should be under criminal investigation in close co-ordination with the CPS, with a charging decision being made without delay.

'We also call upon West Midlands Police to reconsider the status of this officer.

'Sean was totally unarmed when he died as a result of this officer's actions and we don't believe he should be able to continue carrying a firearm when potential gross misconduct has been identified.

'Sean is greatly missed by all his family and friends and we continue to seek answers and justice for him.'

IOPC regional director Derrick Campbell said: 'This was a tragic incident that led to a man losing his life and our thoughts are with the family of Mr Fitzgerald and all of those affected by his death.

'It is important in cases like this for the circumstances to be examined thoroughly and independently in order to understand fully what happened on that day.

'We know how important it is for all of those concerned to have answers as quickly as possible, but it is also important to have a robust investigation that ensures all lines of inquiry have been properly explored.'

Police officers stand at the scene on Burnaby Road in Coventry after the fatal shooting in 2019

The ex-squaddie had had been exiting the property at around 6.20pm when he suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. Pictured: Officers at the scene in Coventry

The IOPC said serving a notice advises the officer their actions are under investigation and does not indicate that misconduct has been proven.

Mr Campbell continued: 'This has been a particularly complex investigation looking at not only the shooting itself but the intelligence, assessments, planning and decisions which took place prior to the pre-planned police operation.

'It has been an evolving picture, and due to the nature of the issues involved we have had to await expert advice.

'Mr Fitzgerald's family and the force have been updated on our progress so far.

'Once our work, which is at an advanced stage, has concluded, along with the inquest and any disciplinary proceedings, we will be in a position to release the findings of our investigation.'

Following the shooting in 2019, friends of Mr Fitzgerald said he had been visiting friends at the time and was shot during a 'drugs bust gone wrong.'

Cory Brown, 28, said: 'He was my friend. They were all in the house unarmed.

'From what we can gather, they have ran away out of the house because the police raided it.

A cordon is put in place after the fatal shooting on Burnaby Road in Coventry

'The police climbed up ladders and went through windows, almost like it was World War Three.

'Obviously any person in their right mind would've been scared and ran away.

'None of the lads were armed and there was no weapons inside the house - I can guarantee that.

'A neighbour said that she had heard an officer say it was just a warrant gone wrong.'

West Midlands Police said at the time: 'A warrant was executed as part of an intelligence-led operation in Burnaby Road.

'A 31-year-old man was shot and pronounced dead at the scene while two other men were detained by officers.

'The men, both aged 26, have been held on suspicion of being concerned in the production of cannabis

'The matter has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).'
House Democrats in Congress will unveil the language about lowering drug pricing ahead of Biden's proposed American Families Plan. Lowering drug prices is part of Pres. Joe Biden's American Families plan, but there are rumors that Biden might not unveil it next week. This led the Democratic lawmakers to unveil the measures and language of the legislation, according to a recently published article on The Hill.

Democrats Will Unveil Measures About Lowering Drug Prices

According to a top Democratic aide, House Democrats will launch portions of their landmark drug pricing bill, known as H.R. 3, which requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to seek cheaper rates, "as early as tomorrow."

In a recently published article on VOX, the drug pricing provisions may also be included in Biden's American Families Plan, which is set to be unveiled next week. It includes child care, paid leave, and other priorities.

On Wednesday, though, activists and politicians were on high alert due to reports that the opioid price legislation would not be included in Biden's package.

House Committee Panel to Vote on Slavery Reparations Bill

Pelosi's Office Released a Statement

Pelosi spokesman Henry Connelly said, "Lowering health costs and prescription drug prices for America's families is a top priority of House Democrats with overwhelming bipartisan support among the American people, and we expect it to be part of the American Families Plan."

The House drug price bill, which may be released as soon as Thursday, will, however, remain mum about how the billions of dollars in savings will be spent, according to a published article on NBC News.

Democrats are divided on whether to invest the savings on Medicare upgrades to include vision, hearing and dental coverage, lower the retirement age or make the additional financial aid provided by ObamaCare in the previous Biden relief plan permanent.

House of Congress Passes Legislation to Combat Gender-Based Pay Discrimination

Democratic Senators Debbie Stabenow, Sherrod Brown, and Tammy Baldwin reintroduced the bill to drop the Medicare retirement age to 50 earlier on Wednesday. Sen. Bernie Sanders has been making a similar effort.

Sen. Stabeno told the reporters, "I would love to see that happen. I've talked with folks at the White House." But the White House has yet to give any comments.

Pharmaceutical Industry Opposed the Bill

The pharmaceutical industry vehemently opposed the prescription price measure, claiming that it would harm creativity, which contributes to the production of innovative medicines. In advance of the upcoming drug price drive, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America released an alternate agenda earlier this month, calling for insurers to do more to cover prices.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, on the other hand, moved in a statement Wednesday to strengthen HR3, including expanding the number of medications open to agreement.

Doggett said, "Consumers have to cut pills and skip prescriptions while Big Pharma refuses to cut into its massive profit margins. There are multiple rumors about attempts to weaken HR 3 even further."

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A 15-year-old male is dead and a 15-year-old suspect is in custody after the two teens exchanged gunfire, according to reports.

Trevon Dickson was taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital after the shooting Tuesday afternoon but died of his wounds, police tell WBNS Channel 10. Police say Dickson was shot by the suspect, but was able to return fire before collapsing, wounding the suspect.

The teen suspect was driven to Nationwide Childrens Hospital for treatment, ABC 6 reports. He was arrested and charged with murder after being treated.

Police tell WCMH Channel 4 its unknown why the suspect shot Dickson. The shooting remains under investigation.

More crime-related content on cleveland.com:

Columbus police video shows teen charging others with knife before being shot by officer

Body camera video released from arrest of New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore in Cleveland

Man shot to death in Beachwood hotel parking lot identified by police

DEA agent who shot Cleveland man during undercover investigation is identified

Group committed eight carjackings in three days in Clevelands Old Brooklyn neighborhood, police say
The views expressed by public comments are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the TERMS OF USE and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Your comments may be used on air. Be polite. Inappropriate posts or posts containing offsite links, images, GIFs, inappropriate language, or memes may be removed by the moderator. Job listings and similar posts are likely automated SPAM messages from Facebook and are not placed by WFMZ-TV.




By Kim Bo-eun







Renault Samsung is offering test drives of its electric vehicles (EVs) for members of the public, as a means to promote interest in EVs.







The carmaker has partnered with local authorities and the Korea Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA) to enable test drives of its EV model Zoe across the country.







For this month, test drives are available in Cheongju, Busan, Gwacheon, Pyeongtaek, Yangpyeong, Gapyeong, Gimcheon and Sangju. Drives will be available in the cities of Sejong and Wonju in May.







Participants will also be able to take part in an information session about the technologies incorporated in EVs.







Renault Samsung is also running an event at Shinsegae Simon Premium Outlets, where visitors can test drive the Zoe and other models of the carmaker. The event will run until the end of this month.







Visitors to Renault Samsung dealerships across the country will be able to test drive the QM6 until April 26.







KEVA selected Renault Samsung's Zoe as this year's EV sedan. The model was the most-sold EV model in Europe last year, beating sales of Tesla models.







The Zoe has seen sales of an accumulated 300,000 vehicles globally. Renault Samsung said the vehicle has had no battery fires, and attests to its safety and quality.







The Zoe has a 54.5 kilowatt-hour battery that enables a 309-kilometer travel range when fully charged. The model is available for less than 30 million won.







"We hope that many will be able to experience the joy of driving an EV through Zoe, as accessibility of EVs has been low," Renault Samsung's head of sales Kim Tae-joon said.







Details about test drive events will be provided via Renault Samsung's customer center at 080-300-3000.


Europes upstream segment has two main challenges  environment-related long-term objectives that gradually narrow down oil companies maneuvering ability in terms of where/what they can drill and deficit-ridden governments trying to squeeze as much out of their domestic production as it can get. Whilst most of Western Europe, with its shale drilling bans and forced production phase-outs, gradually started to tilt towards the first variant, Romania is one of the rare examples for the latter option. It would seem that with its 2018 so-called Offshore law Romania has buried itself deep enough already to understand the burning need to render drilling profitable again, yet here we go again, Bucharest is voluntarily constraining the number of partners it can work with. And all this (sadly) takes place against the background of ExxonMobil leaving Romanias most promising offshore project.

The Romanian government put forward a draft bill this March, with the purported aim of dovetailing EU procurement norms with its own practice of conducting public tenders. Effectively, countries that do not have multilateral or bilateral agreements with the European Union, would be barred from participating in Romanias tender offerings. This means that only EU-based entities and companies from the United States, Canada, Turkey and Japan would be allowed to bid for Romanias licensing blocks. Apparently for reasons of national security, Romanias oil and gas segment will close out Chinese and Russian investment opportunities, unless either of the countries complies with the EUs procurement practices and pledges to fully align itself in its Europe-oriented operations. Related: Why Is Most Oil Found In Deserts And The Arctic?



There are two main questions stemming from this draft bill. First, would Bucharest seek to utilize this piece of legislation to oil and gas projects or would it rather focus predominantly on nuclear? The thing is that Romania has already cancelled a nuclear deal with Chinas GNPC last year on the expansion of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The Czech Republic has adopted a similar bill in December 2020, banning Russian and Chinese companies from winning the nations Dukovany power plant, so Romania would not even be the first one in EU circles. Judging from public utterances and the general narrative used to present it, the bill was written with a firm eye on oil and gas.

Second, could the suggested bill be circumvented? There is a very slight likelihood that Beijing or Moscow would consent to replicate the EUs tendering format, therefore the stringency of the wording would be of key importance to the bills viability. Perhaps an even more fitting question would be whether Bucharest has any volition to circumvent it  and again, based on what Bucharest is saying, the answer is an unequivocal no.

Concurrently to the public tendering bill, Romanias Romgaz stated it had placed an offer for ExxonMobils stake in the Neptun Deep offshore license block. Romgaz bid for 50%, meaning that if market estimates of $250 million (as per Reuters) are to be correct, lifting such a financing burden will be quite a challenge for the chief Romanian producer. The suggested sum is roughly equivalent to 80% of Romgazs net profit in 2020, which in and of itself would not be problematic, were not Romgaz to function as one of the governments cash-cows. The Government of Romania owns 70.007% of Romgaz, while the rest is free-floating. In the midst of the pan-European travails to bounce back from the COVID-triggered slump, it would seem highly improbable that Bucharest give up its Romgaz dividend, especially as the 2021 budget deficit keeps on widening (at 7.2% currently). Related: Why Natural Gas Wont Be Replaced Anytime Soon

It should not come as a surprise that the Romanian NOC is ready to buy out the ExxonMobil stake in one of the countrys most promising assets, yet still some of the government narrative feels forced. For instance, Romanias energy minister Virgil Popescu stated that he doesnt know if anyone in Romania has deep-water expertise but (he would suggest) the chance should be given to Romgaz. Inadvertently, this triggers a profound question whether there would be anyone left in Romania capable of appraising and developing deep-water fields, arguably the most prolific part of the Southeast European nations resource bounty.

The Austrian-owned OMV Petrom would automatically come up as the only entity fitting that description (after all it was them that discovered the Domino gas field in 2012, hitting a net gas pay of 71 metres), however even they have reservations vis-a-vis the governments energy policy. With ExxonMobils departure, OMV Petrom will spearhead the development of the Neptun Deep license block. OMV Petrom stated that it intends to take a final investment decision on the block in H1 2022, insinuating that it would not move forward were the Romanian government not to amend its controversial offshore law.

Now where does all this leave Romanias ban on Russian and Chinese investment into its public tenders? The prime suspect to be covered by the draft bill is LUKOIL, Russias leading private oil and gas company, which not only runs the 58kbpd Petrotel Refinery but has also held significant acreage in Romanias offshore. LUKOIL also expressed interest in buying out the ExxonMobil stake in 2020, which was met by skepticism from the Romanian government. Then-Prime Minister Ludovic Orban claimed last year that Bucharest would like a serious partner which was from the area of its partnerships, the EU and NATO. Fast-forward to November 2020, LUKOIL announced that it would quit Romanias Black Sea offshore, namely selling 87.8% of the Trident block, straight to the north of Neptun Deep.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Coronavirus vaccine boxes must be defaced with permanent marker and destroyed before they are thrown away, official guidance warns.

NHS England instructions say this is to stop thieves using the cartons to sell fake jabs on doorsteps and the dark web.

They add that vials, which contain doses before they are put into syringes, can only be binned with used needles in yellow clinical waste bags.

While there have been no reports of jab packaging being stolen, the NHS claims this remains a 'significant risk'.

It comes after Pfizer revealed yesterday that it had discovered fake versions of its jab being sold in Mexico and Poland at 700 ($1,000) each.

A fraudster was caught in January giving out a fake vaccine in Britain for 160, and one vial was swiped from an inoculation centre in March.

AstraZeneca jab cartons (pictured) must be drawn on with permanent marker before they are binned, official instructions say

And boxes containing the Pfizer jabs (pictured) must also have their labels defaced and destroyed before they are disposed of as confidential waste

HAVE ANY COVID VACCINES BEING STOLEN? There have been no reports of Covid vaccine packaging - used to transport the precious jabs - being stolen since the roll-out began in December. But there has been a case of a vaccine vial - a small glass bottle containing around six doses of the jab - being swiped from a centre in Edinburgh. A 41-year-old man was charged with the crime in late March, after the vial was taken from a centre on Morrison street. Neil Wilson, chief inspector at Police Scotland, said they were pursuing a 'positive line of inquiry'. 'Members of the public are reminded to remain vigilant to fraudulent offers of vaccine, which pose a risk to public health.' Covid vaccines are not available to private buyers, and are only being sold by vaccine companies to public bodies and national governments. Britain has secured millions of doses of a range of Covid vaccines, enough to inoculate the country several times over. Ministers say this is to ensure they also have enough to administer booster shots to protect against variants that could dodge the current crop of jabs. And that any extra doses will be donated to less wealthy countries vaccination drives. Advertisement

NHS England guidance, titled 'Novel coronavirus standard operating procedure', on how to dispose of Covid vaccine boxes reads: 'All vaccine branded packaging which includes identifiable and sensitive information about the vaccine should be defaced, destroyed, and disposed of as confidential waste.

'This is to ensure patient safety, as well as to prevent vaccine packaging from being stolen and criminally reused or falsified for exploitation, e.g, making counterfeit vaccines to appear legitimate on the black market.'

On vials, they say: 'All needles, syringes and vials should be disposed of as clinical waste and placed into the yellow lidded sharps bins.

'Vials must be put in the sharps container to prevent vaccine vials from being stolen or used to facilitate counterfeit vaccines.'

The Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS)  which provides advice to medics dishing out jabs  also says vaccine packaging should be defaced before it is binned.

Its guidance on disposing of AstraZeneca jab packaging  a cardboard carton that contains at least seven vials  says they should be defaced 'using permanent marker pens, and must be disposed of via the confidential waste stream'.

'Alternatively, packaging must be stored in a secure container(s) and shredded on-site,' it added.

When disposing of Pfizer packaging  large boxes stamped with the manufacturer's logo that can contain 1,000 vials  they say labels must be 'defaced or destroyed' before the box is thrown away 'due to the risk of theft of empty packaging'.

They are yet to provide specific guidance on how to dispose of Moderna's vaccine, which was offered for the first time in the UK last week.

Pfizer revealed yesterday as many as 80 fake jabs were confiscated in Mexico, after authorities found them being sold out of a beer cooler.

They added officials in Poland had seized an undisclosed number of Pfizer-branded vials that were filled with an anti-wrinkle cream.

Criminals first began marketing the counterfeit vaccines on the dark web as early as March 2020 despite none being approved until December. China and South Africa have both confiscated thousands of fake doses being manufactured at warehouses.

In Britain a 92-year-old woman was charged 160 for a fake Covid vaccine in January, after a fraudster turned up on her London doorstep claiming to be from the NHS.

And a Covid vaccine vial was also stolen from a vaccination clinic in Edinburgh this March, with a 41-year-old man charged over the theft.

AstraZeneca said its vaccines are delivered in sealed cardboard cartons each containing at least seven vials, which are secured inside a larger box for transport at fridge temperature.

These are GPS tracked and temperature controlled, to ensure officials can keep an eye on them and that they remain at the right temperature

Pfizer delivers its shots in a large box that can carry up to 1,000 vials, which is surrounded by another box containing dry ice to keep them at an ultra-cold -70C (-94F). These are also GPS tracked and temperature controlled.

Fake Covid jabs were listed on the dark web for around $275 as early as March last year according to scientists at City, University of London. This was despite the first legitimate jabs not being approved and dished out until December.

Britain's drug regulator  the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)  had not heard of any Pfizer jab vials being stolen by the end of March. The same information was not provided for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

More than 33million people in Britain have already received their first dose of the Covid vaccine, and 10million have got both doses.

Boris Johnson is aiming to offer all adults at least one dose of the Covid vaccine by the end of July.

But the national drive was hit by a setback last month after a delivery of five million AstraZeneca doses from India was delayed amid spiralling cases in the country.

And the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ruled under-30s should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca jab after it was linked to very rare cases of blood clots.

This has led to the NHS stockpiling Pfizer and Moderna doses to ensure there are enough for younger age groups, meaning fewer jabs are available for first doses.

Vaccines are also not available for private sale, after jab manufacturers agreed they could only sell them to governments and other public bodies.

The NHS is dishing out the doses by age groups, following advice from No10's top scientists that older people who are most at risk of death and severe illness should be first in line.
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of Earth Day, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, reinforces its commitment to Advancing the world of health by affirming the first phase of its 2030+ sustainability goals  climate change targets.

"At BD, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues are a strategic imperative and essential to the long-term resilience of our business," said Tom Polen, CEO and president, BD. "We know that climate change is a critical issue and we are doing our part in helping to address it. As a leading medical technology company, we are focused on the interconnections between climate and health, which is why we believe in setting science-based targets to help prevent the worst effects of climate change. BD's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2040 across direct operations is consistent with our long-standing global health leadership.

BD recognizes the significant impact climate change could have on our operations, our supply chain and, most urgently, on human health. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that global warming must not exceed 1.5C to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Therefore, setting ambitious emission reduction targets based on science is an important part of our overall strategy to manage and mitigate the impacts of climate change."

BD's climate change targets are aimed at reducing its contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from direct operations. BD is committing to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 46% by 2030 (from its 2019 baseline) and to be carbon neutral across its direct operations by 2040. This science-based target is aligned with the 1.5C global emissions reduction pathway. In addition, BD continues to work with supply chain partners to quantify and reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions.

These new climate targets build upon BD's long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship. To date, the company has achieved a 48% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (on an absolute basis) from its baseline year of 2008, as part of its previous set of sustainability goals. Earlier this year, BD became one of more than 1,000 organizations that support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

For more information about BD's sustainability programs and to review the 2019 Sustainability report and 2019 Climate Change Management report, visit https://www.bd.com/en-us/company/sustainability-at-bd.

About BD

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 70,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/ and Twitter @BDandCo.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the company's control, including without limitation, challenges relating to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, and products, and other factors listed in our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. BD expressly disclaims any undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements set forth herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Contacts:





Media : Investors : Jessica Offerjost Kristen M. Stewart, CFA BD Public Relations SVP, Strategy & Investor Relations 201.258.0964 201.847.5378 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

Related Links

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Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese Mission to the United Nations (UN), has called on the UN and the international community to support the Colombian Government and promote peace, security and development in this country.

Staff of the UN mission in Colombia (Source: UN)

Addressing the UN Security Councils online open debate on the situation in Colombia and operations of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Quy acknowledged positive development steps in the country in the politic and socio-economic fields, particularly amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

He spoke highly of the Colombian Governments commitments to implementing the re-integration process, including the protection of veterans.

The Vietnamese representative proposed all relevant parties continue participating in dialogue in a constructive manner to address challenges and differences in the peace process, particularly the approval of mechanisms which are set up in accordance with the Peace Agreement.

Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Colombia and Head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, spoke highly of political, security and economic progresses in the South American country since the Peace Agreement was signed.

He, however, expressed his concerns over increasing attacks and violence targeting veterans and socialists.

He called on the Colombian Government to continue promoting the political process and protecting the vulnerable groups, especially women and children, in conflict-affected areas.

Participants also suggested the government complete guidance on the implementation of public and socio-economic development policies.

They also reaffirmed their backing for activities of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia and the countrys government during the peace and national reconciliation process.

Vietnam calls on parties in Western Sahara to return to negotiations

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), has reaffirmed Vietnams support for the settlement of the Western Sahara issue via peace talks between relevant parties on the basis of international law and resolutions of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Addressing the UNSCs debate on the Western Sahara situation on April 21, the Vietnamese diplomat emphasised the need to find a fair, lasting and acceptable solution to all parties, which guarantees the self-determination of people in Western Sahara and is consistent with principles and purposes of the UN Charter for peace, cooperation and development in the region.

He also highlighted the role of the UN and other stakeholders, including the African Union (AU), in conciliating, preventing conflicts and building confidence to resolve the issue.

Quy urged relevant parties to restrain and avoid actions leading the escalation of tensions, and return to negotiations as soon as possible with the UNs intermediate role.

The ambassador shared difficulties facing people in Western Sahara, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that priority should be given to ensuring that humanitarian activities are not impeded.

It is necessary to soon appoint an envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Western Sahara to continue implementing negotiation results achieved in 2019, Quy stated.

Reports presented at the debate showed that the Western Sahara situation in recent years continued to witness hostile activities and disrespect for the 1991 ceasefire and the Military Agreement No.1 between relevant parties.

Head of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) Colin Stewart also mentioned difficulties and challenges facing the mission in implementing its tasks, including collecting and verifying information in the field.

Vietnam concerned about recent developments in Somalia

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, on April 20 shared other countries concern over the recent developments in Somalia, which would hinder the electoral process in the country.

Chairing the UN Security Council (UNSC)s informal interactive dialogue on the situation in Somalia, Quy called on relevant sides to restrain themselves from taking acts that could complicate the situation in Somalia and the region at large.

He also appealed to Somalias federal government and federal member states to set aside differences, resume dialogue, and make greater efforts to reach political consensus on the organisation of the election on the basis of the agreement dated September 17, 2020.

The ambassador also reiterated Vietnams support for the mediating role of the UN and regional organisations, especially the African Union and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, in dealing with political problems in Somalia.

Vietnam backs the Somali peoples efforts for peace, stability and development, he said, calling on the international community to assist these efforts on the basis of respecting international law and the independence and sovereignty of Somalia.

The dialogue was the first in-person meeting held by the UNSC since the beginning of this year thanks to endeavours by Vietnam as President of the council in April.

This was also the second time this year that Council members had discussed the situation in Somalia in an informal interactive dialogue. VNA
The CFMMEU and three NSW officials have been slapped with more than $1 million in fines for intimidating a crane company in a Federal Court bid to rein in the construction unions inexcusable and unacceptable conduct.

Federal Court Justice Steven Rares found senior officials from the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union coerced Botany Cranes into reinstating a sacked delegate and signing an enterprise agreement in early 2019.

Former NRL player turned-CFMMEU official Michael Greenfields conduct was described as shocking by the judge. Credit:Yianni Aspradakis

NSW construction branch president Rita Mallia, assistant secretary and former NRL player Michael Greenfield and another assistant secretary, Robert Kera, were fined for their involvement in unlawful pickets outside Botany Cranes depot in January last year.

The pickets blocked cranes coming in and out and made staff fearful, including a female operations manager who heard people being called a bunch of dogs. Later the protesters yelled scum and made monkey noises.
Gladys Berejiklian has opened up about her scandalous romance with political colleague Daryl Maguire and her life beyond her high-pressure job in a photo feature for a magazine in which she wears a classic Carla Zampatti dress.

The NSW premier looked back on a chaotic year riddled by devastating bushfires, coronavirus and personal scandals during a sit down chat with The Australian Women's Weekly this month.

While handling her state's response to the pandemic, Ms Berejiklian's personal life was thrown into the spotlight as her former colleague, Mr Maguire, was subject to an ICAC inquiry into corruption.

Ms Berejiklian gave evidence to the hearing in October and admitted she had 'a close personal relationship' with Mr Maguire, which began in 2015.

Gladys Berejiklian stunned in a Carla Zampatti top and skirt for her interview with Women's Weekly

The premier is pictured with her sisters Rita and Mary. She now wishes she told them about her relationship with Mr Maguire

The very private premier claimed she didn't even tell her family, her closest friends or her colleagues of the relationship's existence. She didn't believe it merited 'sufficient status'.

But the premier has now revealed she wished she had informed her parents and sisters, Rita and Mary, before the bombshell relationship became front page news.

'I couldn't. I wasn't allowed. There was a process in place  I just knew I had to deal with it myself,' she said.

In the wake of the relationship admission, Ms Berejiklian said it had been 'one of the most difficult days of my life' - but she never considered standing down as premier as she did not believe she had done anything wrong.

The 50-year-old told Women's Weekly she struggled with the invasion of her privacy during the inquiry and media reports that followed.

'But that's the thing about public life. Even if you're a very private person, which I am - I'm still very private - even so, there's nothing about you that's off limits, unfortunately. Sometimes it verges on disrespect, but that's just the way it is and you have to accept that,' she said.

The NSW premier looked back on a chaotic 1.5 years riddled by devastating bushfires, coronavirus and personal scandals during a sit down chat with Women's Weekly this month

Ms Berejiklian's personal life was thrown into the spotlight as her former colleague, Daryl Maguire (pictured), was subject to an ICAC inquiry into corruption

Ms Berejiklian was again under fire a month later when she went against her government's advice and failed to self-isolate following a coronavirus test.

She then came under fire for an admission that 95 per cent of the $252million Stronger Communities Fund was given to Coalition electorates.

'If the accusation is that the government favoured certain areas, that's an accusation we'll wear,' Ms Berejiklian told reporters in November.

'It's not an illegal practice, unfortunately it happens from time to time, with every government.'

Despite the criticisms, Ms Berejiklian holds a 75 per cent approval rating according to the most recent NSW polling, with most praising her for an effective and panic-free handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a leader, the premier said she is more rational than emotional but still has room for empathy and compassion.

The premier said she is never left feeling unsupported as she has a strong network with her parents, sisters, extended family, close friends and colleagues holding her up

She is 'a clear thinker' who tends to process things herself when she is facing a rough time.

But the premier said she is never left feeling unsupported as she has a strong network with her parents, sisters, extended family, close friends and colleagues holding her up.

Her faith inherited from her migrant parents also helps her through.

'I'm a very Armenian Orthodox girl  but for me religion is a private thing. I'm quite progressive socially. So even if I don't subscribe to a certain way of life, I strongly believe that individuals should be free to make their choices in life as they want to, irrespective of my views,' she said.

Ms Berejiklian said she hopes her state's response to the coronavirus pandemic will include people 'being kinder' to each other and more considerate.

The premier's interview featured in the May issue of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Montclair State University joined Rutgers University on Thursday as the second state college to require students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus before the fall semester.

Earlier this week New Jersey City University in Jersey City also announced the mandate.

Three private universities in New Jersey have also made similar announcements including Princeton University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Stevens Institute of Technology. The announcement from Stevens, which was also made Thursday, includes staff and students.

Montclair State said the only exceptions will be for medical or religious reasons. Students enrolled in fully online programs that offer no on-campus instruction, activities, or services also do not need to be vaccinated, the school said in a statement.

Nearly 4,000 Montclair students have reported receiving at least one dose.

The university will also host an on-campus vaccination clinic, with the first session taking place Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additional information about the clinic being operated by Walmart is forthcoming, the school said. The school said it cannot at this time mandate that employees get vaccinated.

New Jersey City University students can ask for an exemption for medical or religious reasons also, school president Dr. Sue Henderson said.

FDU said last week it is considering this requirement for faculty and staff and will make that determination shortly.

Princeton said it hasnt decided whether faculty and staff will be required to get vaccinated. Rutgers has stated that it wont be mandatory for employees.

FDU, Rutgers, Montclair, Stevens and NJCU are located in the states four most populous counties (Bergen, Middlesex, Essex and Hudson), which have been among the hardest hit by a virus that has contributed to the deaths of more than 25,300 in the state since March 2020.

Rutgers and Montclair are the two largest four-year schools in the state, while FDU has the highest enrollment of any private school.

Among the schools in the state that dont currently require the vaccination but recommend it are, The College of New Jersey, Rowan University, Stockton University and Ramapo College of New Jersey.

A host of other colleges and universities have not commented on their vaccinations plans.

Anyone 16 or older who lives, works, or studies in New Jersey became eligible for a vaccine on Monday.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
New Delhi:

Reacting to BJP leader Sangeet Soms comments that Taj Mahal belonged to traitors and it should be demolished, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan on Tuesday said that if these monuments reminds us of traitors then we should demolish these.

Azam said that if Taj Mahal reminds us of traitors then we should also demolish Rashtrapati Bhawan, Qutub Minar and Lal Qila.

SP leader said that he was always of the view that we should obliterate all the things which reminds us of the yesterday's rule.

I am always of the view that we should obliterate all the things which reminds us of the yesterday's rule. Why only Taj Mahal, we should also demolish Rashtrapati Bhawan, Qutub Minar and Lal Qila as they all remind us of days of slavery, said Khan.

Azam said that if these monuments reminds us of traitors then we should demolish these.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that it does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers.

Earlier on Sunday, placing the Taj Mahal in the crosschairs of another controversy, BJP MLA Sangeet Som questioned the 17th century architectural marvels place in Indias heritage and said history would be rewritten to erase Mughal emperors from it.

Soms comments during a visit to Meerut district prompted an angry response from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi who asked if the government would tell tourists not to visit the monument.

The BJP stepped into the row with party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao describing Muslim rule in India as barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance while asserting that its members could hold any opinion they want on specific monuments.

Som, the partys legislator from Sardhana, also distorted history to say it was built by an emperor who had imprisoned his father and targeted Hindus.

With PTI inputs

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
We need new tools to provide housing to our existing workforce
Clear frequencies requested for net providing 24/7 coverage of Saint Vincent volcanic eruption

The Caribbean Emergency and Weather Net (CEWN) has been providing round-the-clock coverage during the La Soufriere volcanic eruption on the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Several neighboring islands are also being affected by the disaster.

When responding to disasters and emergencies such as this, the CEWN utilizes 3.815 MHz LSB and 7.188 MHz LSB. CEWN is requesting that radio amateurs not involved in the volcano response to keep these frequencies clear
Shoppers are urged to be careful when ordering online from overseas after dozens of deliveries made by UPS have been hit by unknown and unexplained fees.

The charges can be hundreds - or even thousands - of pounds, and the delivery firm has failed to give a full reason why some of these fees were levied, despite it admitting they shouldn't have been added.

In some cases, shoppers have been asked to hand over hundreds of pounds in cash to delivery drivers on their doorstep or even make a card payment. Without doing this, drivers will not hand over the parcel.

When questioned by This is Money, the delivery company admitted this is its current policy.

Deliver: UPS have been charging its customers hundreds and thousands of pounds in 'fees'

The problems have been unearthed after we reported on a coin collector who was incorrectly told he must pay 368 in 'government charges' for his rare collectable to be delivered, we have heard from hordes of people in the same position.

This has alarmed many shoppers - who often don't get to pick the delivery company - and potentially opens households open to scams.

Adding to the confusion, shoppers in this situation say they have found it difficult to contact UPS and receive a direct answer as to what the extra fees are for - with a warning on its telephone line of a potential wait thanks to the pandemic.

Delivery issues have been constant since Brexit with a study from Which? finding 42 per cent of people who ordered products online between the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January and 16 February experienced some issues.

It revealed the average charge for delivery and handling fees was 41, with some people paying up to 300.

To find out more about the charges and fees customers are facing, we sent over several cases to UPS, asking it to explain exactly what the charges relate to and whether they were correct or not.

How much were customers charged?

The first case we sent over was from a reader, who runs a medical neuro-diagnostic equipment firm, had trouble after his main supplier, which is based in Italy, failed to deliver medical goods on time.

Micromed Electronics Ltd were under contract to deliver the goods to the NHS by 31 March 2021 but their supplier had issues with manufacturing.

To compensate they paid for a next day delivery via UPS with the total invoice for the goods coming in at 6,500.

However, they then received an e-mail from UPS saying they need to make a payment of 1,284.52 again saying they are 'government charges'.

The firm tried to call UPS so they could have a breakdown of charges but after a week of trying to contact the customer service centre, it contacted This is Money.

After we contacted UPS, it said it had been in touch with the firm to say that they are VAT registered so can recover this VAT charge through HMRC VAT returns. The import duties have now been paid and the shipment was delivered.

UPS said that to avoid any surprises, it recommends businesses alert their customers if any of their shipments are subject to customs duties and taxes payable by the recipient.

However, the firm said it had received no contact from UPS.

Another reader, Barry, was charged 449.48 and a UPS brokerage fee for gold coins he purchased at a cost of 2,247.

He was told by the seller, who was based in the US, the fees were not correct but he struggled to get through to UPS which said it wouldn't deliver until he paid up, therefore, he did.

In this scenario, after This is Money contacted UPS, it said that 'due to an incorrectly filled invoice' provided by the shipper, charges were made.

The delivery firm said Barry has now been informed and directed to the relevant department at HMRC where he can recover these charges.

However, Barry said he has still not heard from the company but managed to reclaim the funds by contacting HMRC himself.

Many felt uncomfortable being asked to hand over money to their delivery driver and refused

Meanwhile, another reader, Madan, said during the pandemic his relatives from India sent him some food items with the value equivalent to 131.72.

UPS invoiced him for 103.01 and the courier driver insisted he paid on the doorstep. As the items had been in transit for two weeks, he paid the amount.

In this circumstance, UPS said the charges levied were correct but could not advise as to what they related to, leaving us and the reader confused.

Finally, reader, Steve, was charged 70 after receiving a 267 'green screen' from Germany for his work.

There was no invoice detailing the fees and the driver informed him he could accept only cash or he could ring a mobile number written in hand on the delivery card and they could take payment over the phone.

Needing the goods that day, he paid cash believing it was the most secure method as he did not want my card details being used.

In this circumstance, UPS said the correct charges were levied.

Despite asking multiple times what the exact charges and fees related to in all of the above cases, UPS could not tell us, leaving many customers confused as to whether what they are paying is correct or not.

A UPS spokesperson said: 'Customer satisfaction is important to us and we make every effort to deliver what matters. We are working hard to rectify the situation and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.'

Should customers hand over money on the doorstep?

A number of readers said they were shocked when they were asked to hand over money to their UPS driver.

When asked about doorstep payments, UPS said if it is unable to contact the customer prior to delivery, the driver will collect the payment in person by cash.

If customers do not wish to pay in cash they can schedule re-delivery and pay by card over the phone but the delivery firm added the majority of these payments for taxes and duties are made prior to delivery.

However, this method will no doubt come as a shock to many who would not be happy handing over money to an unknown driver.

Many households said they felt they must pay up as they were concerned about not receiving their items  despite asking exactly what they were paying for and failing to get a response.

To clarify which charges are correct and which could have been wrongly applied, This is Money sets out what you can expect to pay when having goods delivered  and which should raise alarm bells.

Many customers are shocked when they see the fees attached and are not expecting them

What charges are correct?

Customers will be contacted by Royal Mail, Parcelforce, UPS or any other courier company if they need to pay any VAT, duty or delivery charges to receive goods.

They will send you a bill stating exactly which fees you need to pay and will normally hold your parcel for about three weeks. If you have not paid the bill by then, your parcel will be returned to the sender.

VAT: VAT of 20 per cent is charged on all goods, except for gifts worth 39 or less, sent from outside the UK to Great Britain or outside the UK and the EU to Northern Ireland.

Online shoppers who buy items from the EU which originate from further afield - for example, from a seller based in China on an EU platform - and cost more than 135 will also have to pay additional customs duties.

This is because the product originates from outside the EU, so the zero-tariff preference between the UK and EU does not apply.

Prior to Brexit, the cost of the item included VAT but now UK shoppers have to pay it themselves on top of the quoted price.

Customers pay VAT when they buy the goods or to the delivery company before they receive them.

If you have to pay VAT to the delivery company, it's charged on the total package value, including the value of the goods, postage, packaging and insurance and any duty you owe.

VAT is charged at the VAT rate that applies to your goods.

For goods worth 135 or less in total, if you bought them yourself and they are not excise goods, for example alcohol and tobacco, the seller will have included VAT in the total you paid.

You will need to pay VAT to the delivery company if the goods are gifts sent to you by someone else and worth more than 39 or excise goods.

UPS has said drivers will ask customers for cash on their doorstep if fees haven't been paid

Customs duty: Consumers will be charged Customs Duty on all goods sent from outside the UK, or the UK and the EU if you're in Northern Ireland, if they're either excise goods or worth more than 135.

If you're charged Customs Duty, you'll need to pay it on both the price paid for the goods and postage, packaging and insurance.

For non-excise goods worth 135 or less, there is no charge but for gifts above 135 and up to 630 there is a charge of 2.5 per cent. However, rates are lower for some goods.

Meanwhile, for gifts above 630 and other goods above 135, the rate depends on the type of goods and where they came from.

This is likely where confusion is caused as if the rate differentiates, some customers will likely not be aware of how much they should be paying.

Those who are unsure are encouraged to ring the HMRC's helpline on 0300 322 9434 which can help you answer these questions.

The Government suggests that customers should ask for a refund of VAT or Customs Duty if you think you have been charged too much or return your goods.

Returns: To make a return to the EU, consumers now need to complete a customs declaration form and to include the item's description, weight and value. The customs charge is paid for by the recipient upon delivery.
The sell-out by the GMB union of the British Gas engineers dispute against the imposition of a fire and rehire contract was facilitated by the slavish support of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and Socialist Party (SP).

After 42 days of strike action, British Gas was able to enforce its contracts including a 15 percent pay cut by the April 14 deadline. In late March, the GMB had instructed around 7,000 British Gas engineers that they had no other option other than to sign the ultimatum, marking the de facto betrayal of the largest and most protracted strike action in the sector for over four decades.

The union organised a solitary 43rd day of action to coincide with the deadline, but this took the form of a funeral service for the disputewith the GMB making only vague references to continued action without even setting any dates. It has ensured that most engineers have been transferred over to the inferior terms, having signed the contract under duress. Those who refused have been fired without any redundancy pay. According to the BBC, 500 workers had refused to sign by the time the deadline expired, but this was based on assertions by British Gas.

The role of the SWP during the dispute was to insist that success was possible under the leadership of the GMB, providing only that the demand to escalate the dispute was taken up by engineers. As with the entire pseudo-left fraternity, its role was to provide left and militant credentials to the union bureaucracy and disarm workers seeking to fight. Urging all-out action, addressed always to the GMB, served as a cover for the unions efforts to confine its members to rolling industrial action, isolated from any solidarity action with other workers.

Far from advocating genuine solidarity action the coverage from the SWP was replete with calls for Twitter messages of support and financial contributions to the GMB. It placed every confidence in the GMB organising an all-out strike. After 11 days of rolling strikes beginning in January, in a February 2 article, British Gas strikers are resolute, the SWP wrote, If British Gas bosses dont back down, the strike should escalate to indefinite action. Collections and donations to a strike fund will be vital.

The GMBs real orientation was on winning endorsements from the company CEO, investors and major shareholders, from Labour MPs and even from Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government. As proof of its role as a loyal adjunct of the union, the SWPs articles provided direct links for all expressions of solidarity and financial assistance to the GMBs official website. These links included the official petition of the GMB and its pathetic appeal to Centrica (parent company of British Gas) CEO Christopher OShea to act in workers interests and rescind the contracts, alongside its promotion of the political alliance with the Conservative government, which it claimed was in opposition to fire and rehire contracts! The GMBs own accompanying text stated, After months of pressure from MPs of all parties and even the Conservative government, the company will not take its widely condemned fire and rehire threat off the table and so GMB was forced to ballot for industrial action.

After 15 days of rolling stoppages, the GMB suspended strike action on February 11 to enter talks at the conciliation service ACAS. It did so without even demanding the ultimatum to sack workers on March 31 was lifted. British Gas workers saw this as a warning of an impending sell-out and took to social media to condemn the actions of the union, as the WSWS reported .

The GMB emerged from negotiations to present a revised offer essentially no different than that which had provoked the strike action. This included working an additional 156 hours a year for no additional pay, and a six-day rolling roster, which could be changed based on customer demand. The company offered a 4,000 lump sum payment to accept. The GMB presented this to its membership with the firing deadline still hanging over their heads and without a recommendation to reject. This was voted down by a majority of 4 to 1.

The spinelessness of the SWP was exemplified by coverage containing interviews with strikers denouncing the proposed deal, while it refused to advance any criticism or alternative to the GMB. Instead, on March 5, in an article, British Gas workers reject insulting offer and return to picket lines, the SWP stated, The strikes have forced the company to make concessionsescalating them can force more from the bosses. An all-out strike could have the power to take fire and rehire completely off the table and repel attacks on workers conditions.

The repeated call for escalated strike action by the GMB was made even as the union was in the final stages of demobilising opposition to British Gas. It was only after the GMB issued emails to strikers urging them to sign the contract by the March 25 deadline that the SWP made any direct criticism. In a March 21 article, Crunch time looms in British Gas battle the SWP urged, Strikers need to tell their executive that of instead of surrender they want escalation.

Just two days before the extended April 14 deadline, an April 12 SWP article, British Gas workers are victims of fire and rehire, admitted, The GMB called a strike for this Wednesday 14 April. It says further strikes will be called. But the union has made no statements about its members who have been forced to quit their jobs. The GMB national leaders have repeatedly failed to escalate action to break the ruthless bosses assault. Meanwhile, other unions have looked on and done nothing effective.

Even after detailing this treachery the SWP insisted that the dispute must remain in the hands of the GMB, writing, If union leaders dont now challenge fire and rehire it will be used by other firms.

The SWP continues to insist that the trade unions are the basic organisation for combating the employers and that their control over the working class is sacrosanct, no matter what filthy betrayal is carried out. Their comment on April 14 again insisted, After British Gas sackings, unions must shift now.

Socialist Worker article, "After British Gas sackings, unions must shift now"

This is a shift that must be brought about by membership pressure. Workers have to act themselves, the SWP states, but only to push trade union leaders to confront fire and rehire or it will become a terrible norm.

The lesson of the British Gas dispute is that the trade unions act as the essential mechanism for fire and rehire to become the norm. Where they are unable to prevent strikes from taking place, their role is isolate every manifestation of opposition, wear down the resistance, and then impose the dictates of the corporations.

The British Gas dispute confirms that the unions respond to pressure from below not by waging a struggle for the working class, but by integrating themselves closer still into the structures of management and the state apparatus to better suppress their members.

A more elaborated piece on the dispute published April 18, Thousands of British Gas workers let down by unions has the temerity to declare, The problem was the lack of effective strategy on the workers side.

It was the role of the SWP to ensure that workers never had an independent strategy and remained chained to a union apparatus that acts solely on the bosses side.

There was an alternative, the SWP writes. The GMB should have moved early to an all-out strike. Instead of just a backlog of repairs, bosses would have had a crisis on their hands. Other unions with members in different sections at British Gas should have come out in solidarity with the engineers. Instead there are allegations that they did deals with management to advance their own standing at the company.

The [Trades Union Congress] could have called for protests and walkouts. It could have launched a national financial appeal to support an all-out strike. British Gas was a chance to draw a line in the sand, to say the union movement was not going to accept fire and rehire.

This is fantasy dressed up as analysis. Confronted with the reality of organisations that suppress or betray every manifestation of class struggle, and which have worked hand-in-glove with the Johnson government throughout the pandemic, the SWP advances what it describes as an effective strategy that consists of an extended complaint that these same organisations couldve done this, shouldve done that, but didnt.

There is nothing of substance to distinguish between the line of the Socialist Party and the SWP on the British Gas dispute, the GMB and the trade unions. But the SP has done something even the SWP felt unable to emulate. It has responded to the GMBs betrayal with a decision not to comment on the dispute for two whole weeks.

On April 7, the SP wrote a 150-word article, New British Gas deadline and strike dates, noting the plan to take a one day strike on April 14, the new deadline set for signing new contracts being forced on workers using 'fire and rehire' and taking as good faith the GMBs pledge to organise an official national lockout dispute between British Gas and GMB, including further strike action and action short of a strike.

That same edition contained an article indicating why the SP was so keen not to rock the boat, GMB general secretary election: A fighting, socialist leadership needed. It describes an election process where all three main candidates are seasoned bureaucrats, pointed out that the union has served as a hot bed of right-wing conspiracy against former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and was instrumental in sabotaging previous struggles such as the 2011 national pension strike. However, once again the British Gas dispute is presented as a potential lever for a campaign to democratise and transform the GMB into a fighting organisation.

The GMB, the SP insisted, with a fighting programme and with over 600,000 members could have a huge impact across the union movement, both industrially and politically. The tenacious struggle by GMB members in British Gas in taking over 40 days of strike action against fire and rehire shows the potential.

One week later, the GMB sold out the strike. Unable to spin this as proof of the potential to transform the GMB, the SP chose silence as its response. It was not until April 21 that the SP charged Rob Williams of its executive committee to provide a cynical apologia for the GMB. The union is actually praised by the SP for having issued a warning to management about any further offensive even if workers suffer a setback, if action is taken, at least it has more chance of keeping the union intact and creates a fighting record in the workplace.

The SP then asserts, The union recommended that workers should sign the new contracts, to protect themselves from dismissal, but continue the action. However, this had potential risks in leaving some workers isolated, if not properly explained and members sufficiently prepared. Not to worry, however, because, The GMB has said that action will continue, with the SP and other minor bureaucratic flunkeys then offered up as organisers of a national meeting of the British Gas reps and then one for the members to keep members together, i.e., to maintain the stranglehold of the GMB bureaucracy.

The political efforts of the SWP and SP are directed against the initial stirrings of an insurgent movement against the union bureaucracy. But this movement will develop despite their best efforts. Workers cannot and will not reconcile themselves to organisations dedicated to suppressing their struggles and ruining their lives. The call raised by the Socialist Equality Party for the building of a network of rank and file safety and action committees as new and genuinely democratic organs of class struggle, based on the fight for socialism, will meet an ever broader and more determined response from workers facing a brutal offensive by corporate management and the government in British Gas and other industries.
A Syrian surface-to-air missile exploded in southern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military said, in an incident that triggered warning sirens in an area near the secretive Dimona nuclear reactor.

A surface-to-air missile was fired from Syria to Israels southern Negev, the Israel Defense Forces tweeted.In response, we struck the battery from which the missile was launched and additional surface-to-air batteries in Syria.

Syrian state media outlet Sana said the Israeli fire came from the Golan Heights and was targeted towards positions in the vicinity of Damascus in the early hours of Thursday.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Israeli missiles hit the air defence base of the Syrian government in the town of Dmeirroughly 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Damascus.

The strikes destroyed air defence batteries, the Observatory said, with some casualties.

The Dmeir area is believed to be home to weapons depots belonging to militias loyal to Iran, it added.

Sana said Syrian air defence batteries successfully intercepted most of the missiles.

Quoting a military source, the news outlet said four soldiers were wounded and there were some material losses.

Nuclear facilities

While there were no immediate reports of any Israeli wounded or physical damage, sirens sounded near Abu Qrenat village, in the vicinity of the Dimona nuclear site.

Israel has never disclosed its atomic arsenal, but foreign experts say the Jewish state has between 100 to 300 nuclear warheads.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out raids in Syria, mostly targeting Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces as well as government troops.

Israel has long sought to prevent bitter foe Iran from establishing itself in the war-torn nation.

And while the IDF has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, it has rarely publicly acknowledged them.

The latest missile launch comes as tensions run high between Israel and Iran with Tehran promising revenge after the sabotage of its Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

Story continues

Iran said it believes Israel was behind the incidentwhen a small explosion hit the plants electricity distribution earlier this month.

Israel did not claim responsibility for the incident, but unsourced media reports in the country attributed it to the Israeli security services carrying out a cyber operation.

The New York Times, quoting unnamed US and Israeli intelligence officials, also said there had been an Israeli role in the attack.

(AFP)
Mischa Barton and her boyfriend Gian Marco Flamini stepped out for a grocery run in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old actress and her partner appeared to be making the most of the cool morning air as they strolled through a supermarket's parking lot after picking up a supplies.

At one point, the Once And Again star was seen taking a call while her significant other gave her some space to talk.

Doing their thing: Mischa Barton and her boyfriend Gian Marco Flamini were spotted on a grocery run in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Barton was dressed in a flat white Nike t-shirt that was worn underneath a light green button-up while walking through a parking lot.

She contrasted her tops with a set of brown Supreme shorts and a pair of Birkenstock sandals that came in a slightly lighter shade while carrying a small black Fendi purse.

The Lawn Dogs actress' beautiful blonde hair provided an element of bright color to the slightly muted tones of the rest of her outfit.

Flamini wore a light gray crewneck sweater underneath a denim jacket as well as a pair of light beige pants and multicolored sneakers.

Taking it easy: The Once And Again actress wore a white Nike shirt and a pair of Supreme shorts as she made her way through the store's parking lot

Staying safe: Both Barton and her boyfriend were seen wearing facial covering to keep themselves protected while spending time in public, although Flamini later removed his mask

The couple both wore facial coverings to keep themselves safe amid the ongoing state of the global pandemic.

Although she is known for her work in various scripted projects, such as The O.C, Barton joined the cast of the reality show The Hills: New Beginnings, which premiered in 2019.

The reality show serves as a sequel to the original Hills, which ran on MTV from 2006 until its cancellation in 2010.

Several cast members returned for the new version of the show, including Heidi Montag and her husband Spencer Pratt, Whitney Port, and Brody Jenner.

Making moves: Barton joined the cast of The Hills: New Beginnings ahead of the premiere of its first season; she is seen with several of her costars in 2019

Shortly before the premiere of the show's first season, Barton spoke to Glamour and noted that she had joined the show in an effort to take control of her own narrative.

Specifically, the Sixth Sense actress noted, 'I think there has always been a lot of mystery around me. Its fun to allow people to actually see me!'

The performer also spoke about the theme of sisterhood and how she was impressed by the other cast members who raised children while appearing on the series.

'Its girls supporting girls... I hadnt had quite so many girlfriends before this show so its funny to have five women hanging out together. I also respect them so much for being working mothers - that is not an easy job,' she said.

Letting it all out: During an interview that was published just before the show's premiere, the actress noted that she had joined its cast as she felt that it would be 'fun to allow people to actually see me'

Barton then discussed how she has spent much of her life under heavy media attention and the lessons that she gained from her experience.

She remarked, 'I did start being very famous when I was only 17 years old in The OC. Your twenties are crazy anyway and if you magnify that, it was wild doing all of that in the public eye. Theres really nothing I havent started to learn about myself.

'There really was a time when I couldnt do anything or get away with anything or even leave the house without having to really think it through,' she added.
Trend Micro Incorporated, the world's leader in enterprise data security, welcomes its new country manager for India and SAARC, Vijendra Katiyar.

As the country manager, Katiyar will be leading the company's operations in India and in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), with focus on steering both customer and business growth in the region. He will also oversee the management of Trend Micro and increase its overall market share across India. Vijendra Katiyar is also expected to strengthen engagement with the company's channel partners to "help deepen customer engagement and success."

ALSO READ: Cyber Warfare And The Future Of Cyber Security

A Longtime Asset for Trend Micro

The Mumbai-based visionary Vijendra Katiyar, in a company press release, has "had a long and successful journey with Trend Micro." As a part of the Trend Micro family for nine years - starting in 2012 - Katiyar has held various positions in the organization, including being a Regional Account Manager to being its National Sales Manager for India & SAARC. He is also credited as among the people that spearheaded the company's mandate of growing its cloud security business.

Prior to his latest assignment, Katiyar served Trend Micro as its Director - Enterprise Business, India & SAARC. He has proven himself capable of driving strategic and informed business decisions aided by effective tools and processes which translated into a 100% revenue growth for Trend Micro for the last four years.

Overall, his experience spans a wide range, covering sales to cybersecurity thought leadership, to technical consulting for various industries. As Trend Micro stands behind Vijendra Katiyar and his impressive track record, customers of the global cybersecurity leader can expect the same level of service and commitment that Trend has become known for.

Vijendra Katiyar has a master's degree in business IT from RMIT University in Australia and got his BE in electronics and telecommunication from Bharati Vidyapeeth University in India.

Steering Trend Micro Towards Meeting New Challenges

"We have experienced significant growth in the past year, and I look forward to build on this momentum to lead Trend Micro through the next phase of growth," Katiyar said on his new assignment. Recognizing "strong tailwinds" that props the company and opportunities for growth in place, Vijendra Katiyar expresses confidence in Trend Micro's unique position to "meet the demands and challenges in cyber security" and in helping its customers secure their journey towards digitalization.

The new country manager for India & SAARC adds, "I look forward to work more closely with our customers, channel partners and other key stakeholders to build stronger collaborations, build synergies and scale business."

"India is an important strategic market for us, and we are excited for Vijendra to take on this new leadership role," commented Nilesh Jain, Trend Micro Vice President for Southeast Asia and India. Jain notes Katiyar's "proven capability of leading high-performance teams, astute business acumen, and deep expertise in cybersecurity," which will come in handy for the company as Trend Micro customers will need support in navigating through a new generation of cyber threats.

"I look forward to work more closely with our customers, channel partners and other key stakeholders to build stronger collaborations, build synergies and scale business," Jain added in the company statement.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
KYIV. April 22 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The Miss Ukraina-2021 contest will be held at the Ukraina Palace in October, director of the Miss Ukraina contest Veronika Shchyptsova said.

"This year the Miss Ukraina-2021 contest will take place. We plan to hold it at the Ukraina Palace in October," Shchyptsova told a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.

She noted that the prize fund of the competition was increased to UAH 1 million, and it was also decided that all participants in the competition would receive valuable prizes and gifts.

"But do not forget that 25 finalists will compete for the main prize - the coveted Miss Ukraina title, an exclusive crown and UAH 500,000. The Miss Earth and Miss International title holders will receive cash rewards of UAH 250,000 each," Shchyptsova said.

According to her, age restrictions have also changed, and from now on, girls from 17 to 26 years old can apply for participation in the competition.

The jury of the Miss Ukraina contest will consist of both Ukrainian celebrities and international stars, experts in the field of beauty, fashion and television. Shchyptsova said that the guests of the competition, in particular, will be head of the international jewelry company Jacob & Co Jacob Arabo, as well as famous traveler and Ambassador of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Johan Nilsson.

"For the first time in the history of the competition, before the final, we will conduct shooting of a reality show, which opens up for viewers exclusive information about the participants and the Miss Ukraina backstage show," said the head of the competition committee.

The winner of the final of the Miss Ukraina-2021 contest will represent Ukraine at the international Miss World contest in Puerto Rico in December.

Shchyptsova also said that in 2021 she became the owner and head of the competition committee, purchasing it for UAH 1 million.

"In order to bring the project to a significantly higher level, we attract both Ukrainian and international brands," she explained.

According to her, this year it was decided to radically change the approach to the preparation of the Miss Ukraina contest, since it turns 30. "We are preparing the brightest and most ambitious show in the history of the competition," Shchyptsova emphasized.

Open castings are planned to be held in all the largest cities of Ukraine, and Odesa will be the first city on the tour map, the place and date of the selection will be announced in the social networks of the competition.
When asked what drives her passion for ophthalmology, Dr. Montalto said, "I grew up here in Sayville and it is a joy to be able to serve my own community by providing care at SightMD. I love helping optimize my patients vision because while its not always life-saving, it is always life-changing."

SightMD, a leading multi-specialty ophthalmology platform in New York, welcomes Dr. Irene Magramm and Dr. Delia Montalto to its expert team.

Dr. Irene Magramm is a Board-Certified comprehensive ophthalmologist specializing in pediatric and adult strabismus surgery. Dr. Margramm studied medicine at Cornell University Medical College. After medical school, she completed her internship in medicine at St. Lukes Hospital in Manhattan, followed by a three-year residency in ophthalmology at North Shore University Hospital. Dr. Magramm returned to Manhattan for her fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital where she served as full time resident instructor for one year and part time resident instructor for another four years. Dr. Magramm entered private practice in 1987 under the tutelage of her fellowship mentor. After her first day at SightMD, Dr. Magramm said, "I live to be a doctor. SightMD allows me to do what I love most: taking care of patients." Dr. Magramm is seeing patients at our Riverhead office, located at 54 Commerce Drive, Suite 6, Riverhead, NY 11901.

Dr. Delia Montalto earned a biochemistry and molecular biology degree from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. She went on to receive her medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Montalto completed her internship at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson, NY, and her residency in ophthalmology at Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, NY. Dr. Montalto specializes in cataract surgery and strives to help those who have compromised vision affecting their quality of life. When asked what drives her passion for ophthalmology, Dr. Montalto said, "I grew up here in Sayville and it is a joy to be able to serve my own community by providing care at SightMD. I love helping optimize my patients vision because while its not always life-saving, it is always life-changing." Dr. Montalto is now caring for patients at our Sayville office at 153 Main Street, Sayville, NY, 11782.

SightMD is actively seeking ophthalmology professionals who are interested in joining our outstanding team. If you are an ophthalmology practice owner interested in merging or selling your practice, please contact our VP of Growth, Franc Galinanes, at (631) 396-8340 or fgalinanes@sightgrowthpartners.com

About SightMD

SightMD is a rapidly-growing integrated ophthalmic provider group, offering patients access to over 60 ophthalmic surgeons and specialists through the convenience of 41 locations across New York. SightMD's track record of providing clinically-excellent care spans over 50 years, and its services include laser cataract surgery and lens implantation, glaucoma management, retinal disorder treatment, corneal services, neuro-ophthalmology, LASIK laser vision correction, oculoplastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology, and audiology. Sight Growth Partners is the administrative services provider for SightMD. For more information about SightMD, please visit http://www.sightmd.com
This is Part I of a four-part series about digital responsibility.

Digital has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives, and even more so over the past year. There are plenty of benefits to digital, like being able to access electronic health records, apply for a loan at 2:00 a.m., connect with far-away friends, or book your own plane ticket.

But theres also a dark side, which were only just starting to fully graspecho chambers created by highly targeted and often factually questionable content; easy ways to spread violent, racist, hateful rhetoric; increases in depression and anxiety driven by isolation and distorted perceptions of reality; and much more.

How credit unions use and deliver digital impacts members, employees, and the larger community in ways that might not even be on our radar. Done well, there are plenty of benefits. Done not so welleven unintentionallyand the risk of damage is high.

Credit unions are hardwired to be civically responsible, especially when it comes to meeting the needs of the vulnerable and underserved, and the digital space is unearthing both new opportunities and challenges. The emerging concept of digital responsibility, as explained by this 2020 article in MITSloan Management Review, takes into account social, economic, technological, and environmental factors.

When it comes to the environment, you might first think about all the benefits of digital. Remote work options mean less commuter traffic, virtual conferences mean less air travel, and online and mobile tools mean less paper.

But heres a not so fun fact you might find surprising: If the global IT industry were a country, only the United States and China would contribute more to climate change. So how can your credit union become more environmentally responsible when it comes to its digital services, products, and equipment?

Here are a few tips:



Make a NetZero carbon commitment: A NetZero carbon commitment simply means not adding new emissions to the atmosphere. Tim FrickFounder and President of Mightybytes and a recent PixelSpoke podcast guest recommended two steps to make this a reality: power your technology with renewable energy (many utilities offer ways to tap into wind and solar power even if you dont have the equipment yourself) and use offsets through a service like Terrapass to cover the remainder of your carbon footprint. Audit your digital vendors: Here at PixelSpoke, we want our clients to feel good about working with us, not only because of our high-quality services but also because were committed to being a force for good. We are carbon neutral, and as a B Corp, weve met the rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency as regulated by the nonprofit B Lab. Ask your digital vendors if they are actively tracking, reducing, and/or offsetting their carbon emissions. If you are looking for a new vendor, make environmental commitment part of the vetting process.You can find opportunities in places you might not think to lookfor instance, you can change your default search engine to Ecosia to plant a tree with every search, or find a green host for your website through the Green Web Foundations hosting directory. S-t-r-e-t-c-h your equipment replacement cycleand dispose of old equipment properly: Does your credit union dispose of equipment on a set schedule or an as-needed basis? And do you automatically dispose of malfunctioning equipment or investigate a repair? Postponing replacement timelines and repairing equipment when its practical could go a long way toward minimizing e-waste, which comprises a stunning 70 percent of our countrys toxic waste. You can also look for better ways to dispose of equipment  for instance, donating it to Goodwill or a local nonprofit like Free Geek. Last year, Free Geek repurposed one of our older company laptops to facilitate virtual learning for a foster child. Optimize your site speed: How fast does your site load? We all know that the faster your site loads, the less you risk losing users and the higher your website will rank in search engines. But its also worth noting that a slow-loading site also uses more power. Even a simple Google search requires as much energy as lighting up a 60-watt bulb for 17 seconds and emits 0.2 grams of C02. That might not sound like a lot, but shaving just a second off your load time could have a real impact when multiplied by thousands of visits!



Here at PixelSpoke, we conduct site speed audits for our clients to determine where to trim the fat. Common recommended tasks include optimizing image sizes; using JPG images instead of PNG images; examining third-party integrations and looking for code that can be deleted or better streamlined; and deleting obsolete pages, plugins, and/or files. Track and communicate your progress: Im a big fan of the popular adage, What gets measured gets improved. Clearwater Credit Union, a PixelSpoke client, captured year-over-year figures (comparing 2017 and 2018) and used these benchmarks to come up with a list of environmental goals, which included tracking purchased electricity. Clearwater set an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2020, and were excited to report they were successful! Not only did they meet their goal, but they were fully transparent about where they were and where they hoped to be, making a concerted effort to to keep their members and broader community apprised of their progress.

Remember, digital responsibility is not confined to the marketing or IT department. Including environmental goals related to digital in your strategic planning process and making them public commitments can ensure that it becomes a company-wide priority in which all staff members are invested. Proactively communicating progress can further foster this collaborative spirit.

Next month well tackle the social factors that credit unions should take into account when it comes to being digitally responsible. In the meantime, lets start thinking about how we can green our digital spaces and minimize our environmental footprint.
Andhra Pradesh inched closer to the one million cases mark as it reported 10,759 afresh in the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, the single largest number in a day after September 10.

The latest health bulletin put the states cumulative infection count stopped at 9,97,462 from 1.58 crore tests, at an overall positivity rate of over 6.27 per cent.

In the 24 hours ending 9 am on Thursday, the state also reported 3,992 recoveries and 31 deaths.

Andhra Pradesh now has 66,944 active cases after a total of 9,22,977 recoveries and 7,541 deaths, according to the bulletin.

The state government, however, asked the citizens not to panic as it was geared up to handle the situation effectively.

It, however, wanted the people to "behave responsibly" and take all precautions to contain the infection spread.

Following Covid Appropriate Behaviour was the only way to curb the infection, the government stressed.

The Group of Ministers on COVID, which met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas (Nani), left it to the Chief Minister's discretion whether any sort of curbs need to be put in place to contain the virulent spread of in the state.

"The Chief Minister will hold a high-level review meeting on Friday, wherein appropriate decisions will be taken," Nani told reporters after the GoM meeting.

Chittoor district reported 1,474, Kurnool 1,367, Srikakulam 1,336, Guntur 1,186, East Godavari 992, Visakhapatnam 844, SPS Nellore 816, Anantapuramu 789, Krishna 679, Vizianagaram 562, Prakasam 345 and Kadapa 279 new cases in a day.

West Godavari reported 90.

Visakhapatnam crossed 70,000 total cases while Vizianagaram went past 45,000, the lowest in the state.

Chittoor and Krishna also saw five fresh COVID-19 fatalities each, Kurnool, SPS Nellore, Prakasam and Srikakulam three each, East Godavari, Guntur and Vizianagaram two each, Anantapuramu, Kadapa and Visakhapatnam one each in a day.
Museo Vault was founded in 2008 to support the growing Miami art scene. Since then, Museo Vault has become the preferred art logistics partner of the top collectors, galleries, and institutions in the South Florida region. Like UOVO, Museo Vault was the first facility of its kind, purpose-built exclusively for the storage of fine art and cultural artifacts with unprecedented safety and security measures. Its Miami facility, conveniently located in the arts district of Wynwood, sits 18 feet above sea level at the highest elevation point in the city and was constructed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Its satellite facility in West Palm Beach, located in the heart of Palm Beach County, similarly offers fully climatized storage and the highest level security systems.

Museo Vault joins UOVO's network of four purpose-designed facilities in New York, including its flagship in Long Island City and its newest facility in the Bushwick arts neighborhood of Brooklyn. Later this year, UOVO will open a 50,000-square-foot facility in Delaware, strengthening its portfolio and providing access to key markets along the Eastern Seaboard. UOVO is also developing an additional 50,000-square-foot art storage facility in Palm Beach, which will be the first ground-up structure in the area solely designed to store fine art and rare collectibles.

UOVO's expansion to South Florida comes at a time when many New York galleries are opening posts in Miami and Palm Beach to meet the changing needs of collectors. UOVO Founder and Co-Chairman, Steven Guttman, a longtime Miami resident and prominent art collector, said: "Today marks an exciting chapter in our company's development as we strive to better serve our clients under an expanded UOVO footprint. With a highly experienced team of professionals and a dedicated clientele, Museo Vault perfectly aligns with UOVO's mission to deliver exceptional client service with individualized attention and care."

About UOVO

UOVO is the premier provider of storage and services for art, fashion, and cultural artifacts. With more than 750,000 square feet of storage space across 7 locations in New York, Delaware, and Florida, UOVO offers bespoke solutions to meet the specialized needs of any collection. Our full range of services include climate-controlled storage, private viewing galleries, transportation, installation, packing, in-house photography, and digital inventory management. Each UOVO facility is purpose-designed and managed by a team of industry-leading experts dedicated to the highest caliber of security, discretion, professionalism, and care.

Press Contact:

Andrew Barron

+1 646 518 1917

[email protected]

uovo.art

SOURCE UOVO
Highlights Motorola may be working on the Moto G20 smartphone.

The Moto G20 may come with a 6.5-inch HD+ display.

Motorola has not said when it will launch the Moto G20.

Motorola recently winded up launching the Moto G60 and Moto G40 Fusion smartphones. The Moto G60 is the company's first affordable 108-megapixel camera phone. But while the two phones come across as good ones for their price, Motorola is planning to launch another phone that will be for the masses. This phone may be the Moto G20. It has been a part of the rumour mill for quite some time, which is why we know a few things about it. Now, a fresh leak has tipped specifications and renders of the Motorola Moto G20.

Per a new piece of information shared by Nils Ahrensmeier from TechnikNews in a tweet, the Moto G20 will come with a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display. This phone will likely be IP52 splash resistant, which means the phone will handle water spills. This display is expected to come with a waterdrop notch on the top, and inside this notch will be a 13-megapixel selfie camera. On the back, however, the Moto G20 will come with a 48-megapixel main camera. Supporting this camera will be an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

Performance-wise, the Motorola Moto G20 may use a Unisoc T700 chipset. And this processor may be paired with 4GB of RAM, along with 64GB of internal storage. Right now, it is not clear whether there will be more memory variants for this phone. Plus, we also do not know if the Moto G20 will have a microSD card slot to add more storage. At the back of the phone will likely be a fingerprint sensor for biometric authentication. Motorola's upcoming phone will also have a Google Assistant button on the side. The Moto G20 may come with a 5000mAh battery, however, there may not be support for fast charging. And yes, there may also be a 3.5mm headphone jack on the Moto G20.

Motorola Moto G20 expected price

Motorola Moto G20 may come in Sky Blue and Rosa Flamingo colours. According to a previous leak, the Moto G20 may cost EUR 148.07 in Spain. This price translates to roughly Rs 14,000. Right now, there is no official word on the launch, but Motorola is likely to bring the phone to markets soon. It is also not clear if the Moto G20 will arrive in India. However, if we look at the past record, Motorola may actually launch the Moto G20 smartphone in India.
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Market Definition:

Monochloroacetic Acid (MCAA) Market is having a prolific run at present and can expect a safe passage growth-wise is owing to its popularity in the agricultural sector. Monochloroacetic acid is a specialty organochlorine compound that is colorless, crystalline structured mass, and highly soluble in water. The product is becoming widely popular in all the major agricultural countries where the cultivability and infertility of land are perturbing issues. The component is also required in the production of carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC), a necessary water retention agent and viscosity modifier for oil drilling activities. The global monochloroacetic acid market is expecting robust growth with which it can exceed the expected market valuation during the forecast period (2020-2023), explains Market Research Future (MRFR). This extensively studied report encompasses segmental analysis depending on various parameters, drivers that can impact the global market significantly in the coming years, and the latest updates of different market players.

Get a Free Sample of This Reports @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/5991

Market Scenario and Growth Factors:

Monochloroacetic Acid Market Analysis is becoming popular among pharmaceutical manufacturers where its use as a component in the production of maleates, ibuprofen, diclofenac sodium, n-glycine, and others. Personal care and cosmetics industry is also having significant use of the component as a thickener. In the production of PVC resins, the component is gaining traction as well. As a by-product of monochloroacetic acid, sodium chloroacetate is garnering accolades as herbicide which can propel the Monochloroacetic Acid Market Analysis. In the textile industry, monochloroacetic acid finds use as an intermediate in the production of indigo dyes. The demand is burgeoning as the fashion industry is finding it challenging to maintain the pace with the constantly changing trends of fashion. But the monochloroacetic acid market can find it difficult to stay apace as the price of the raw materials fluctuates quite often.

Competitive Analysis:

Notable players of the Monochloroacetic Acid Market as profiled in the report of MRFR are:

Akzo Nobel N.V. (Netherlands)

The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.)

CABB GmbH (Germany), Denak Co., Ltd (Japan)

Daicel Corporation (Japan)

PCC SE (Germany)

Niacet (U.S.)

Xuchang Dongfang Chemical Co. Ltd. (China)

Shiv Chem Industries (India)

Abhishek Impex (India)

Shandong Minji Chemical Co., Ltd. (China)

Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. (India)

Merck KGaA (Germany)

Alfa Aesar, Thermo Fisher Scientific (U.S.)

Anugrah IN-ORG (P) LIMITED (India).

In 2020, PCC SE declared their plan to expand their monochloroacetic acid plant in Poland to keep up with the demand generated by various end-user industries. The production capacity would increase from 42,000 metric tons to 100,000 metric tons.

AkzoNobel and Atul agreed on setting up a production unit in Gujarat in 2020. AkzoNobel plans to expand their incremental investments through this tie-up. Both the companies would benefit from their plans. Atuls growing popularity would be substantiated by the production.

Segmentation:

MRFR segments the Monochloroacetic Acid Market Size by form, application, and end-use industry for a better understanding of the market prospect in the coming years.

Based on the form, the monochloroacetic acid market can be segmented into crystalline, liquid, powdered, and flakes.

Based on the application, the monochloroacetic acid market includes carboxyl methyl cellulose, thioglycolic acid, thickening agent, surfactants, intermediates, and others. As a thickening agent, its utility in food & beverage industry is quite substantial.

The end-user segment of the monochloroacetic acid market comprises agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic & Personal care, textiles, plastics, oil & gas, and others. The component is witnessing significant traction from the agrochemicals sector and having a great run in the pharmaceuticals.

Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/monochloroacetic-acid-market-5991

Regional Analysis:

MRFR report region-specifically segments the monochloroacetic acid market into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific (APAC), and the Middle East & Africa (MEA).

Growing demand from agriculture, textile, and pharmaceuticals are boosting the APAC market, riding on which the region is fetching the maximum market share. Furthermore, a lot of major companies are based out of India, China, and Japan which is substantially assisting the market in having unprecedented growth.

North America has the second largest market. The regional market is getting driven by the pharmaceutical industry and the personal care & cosmetic industry. Europe and Latin America are also going to register a significant hike in terms of revenue.

Note: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and Its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and Wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for a Better Analysis of Market and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-22 22:32:05|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Immigration authorities in Zambia have intercepted 76 Ethiopians for illegal entry, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Ethiopians, aged between 15 and 35, were intercepted in eastern Zambia's Chipata town after they were found concealed in a maize-bran laden truck following a tip-off from members of the public.

Namati Nshinka, Immigration Department Spokesperson said in a release that the Ethiopians have since been detained for further immigration formalities while the driver of the truck escaped.

The spokesperson said a police officer was also arrested for aiding the Ethiopians to enter the country illegally. Enditem
InsidePadua's Arena Chapel, a series of fabulous frescos by Renaissance painter Giotto adorn the walls. In one, banker Enrico Scrovegni can be seen kneeling in front of the Virgin Mary, begging for forgiveness.

He is said to have commissioned the entire set of works to atone for the great sin of charging interest on loans, which was then frowned upon by the Church. But while our attitudes to lending have changed, the symbiotic relationship between money and art continues.

The role of patronage may even be enjoying something of a renaissance for the digital age, thanks to new technology (depending on your point of view).

Mike Winkelmann's huge collage of images, called 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days', was sold as a computerised asset, for 50m

For with the spread of 'cryptomania', artworks are increasingly being tracked using digital ledgers and sold with tokens to ensure their authenticity.

So popular is this trend that a completely digital work by Mike Winkelmann, the graphic designer known as Beeple, recently sold for more than 50million when it was auctioned by Christie's.

The huge collage of images, called Everydays: The First 5000 Days, was sold as a computerised asset, to be downloaded into the digital 'wallet' of the successful bidder. It marked the first time Christie's had sold a completely digital piece of art in its 250-year history.

The auction house also accepted payment in ethereum, the second most popular digital currency after bitcoin.

Crucially, the Beeple artwork was tied to a so-called non-fungible token or NFT. This is a unique crypto-graphic token, essentially a computer file that demonstrates proof of authenticity.

Token art: Works such as Banksys Girl With A Balloon (left) can now be sold as a computerised asset

NFTs exist on the blockchain, the digital ledger system that can be viewed publicly, and traded freely.

Somewhat confusingly, the owner of an NFT does not hold the copyright to a work, but rather proof it is an original and the ability to sell it on.

That has not put off enthusiasts, though. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey sold an NFT of the first ever tweet for 2.1million, while others have included the newest album by Kings of Leon and a host of artworks being sold on online marketplace Opensea.

But nothing has taken off quite like NFT art, which has generated sales of 140million in the past month, according to market tracker Nonfungible.com.

Supporters say the technology is a real breakthrough for the art world, allowing sellers and buyers irrefutably to prove authenticity, something that has long been a t ricky issue for an industry where famous works can disappear from view or reemerge sporadically.

Beeple - whose real name is Mike Winkelmann - sold his artwork tied to a so-called non-fungible token or NFT - essentially a computer file that demonstrates proof of authenticity

In the past week alone, a single piece of pixelated work that is part of a series called Cryptopunks  one of the more popular NFTs  sold for more than $1million.

Artists and collectors are also beginning to securitise collections of artworks and sell shares in the musing NFTs. One example is a collection being launched by London-based investment platform Artcels, featuring works by Banksy, Kaws, Damien Hirst, George Condo and Jeff Koons.

The price of a single share in the portfolio  called Millennials  is $1,000, with up to 250 shares being made available.

Buyers will be able to attend viewings of the artwork multiple times a year at galleries in London, Los Angeles, Mykonos in Greece and Shanghai. Artcels co-founder Elio D'Anna, of Mayfair-based House of Fine Art, said it is being aimed at young people who want to invest in high profile art but may previously have been priced out.

Buyers can fill out paperwork the old-fashioned way or simply obtain a share certificate digitally, in the form of an NFT, which is stored in a digital wallet.

This means they can be freely traded afterwards as well, with any transactions recorded on the blockchain.

D'Anna says NFT sales have 'exploded in the last few months', mostly for completely digital works  those you can never hold in your hands.

Artists and collectors are also beginning to securitise collections of artworks and sell shares in the musing NFTs

And although his gallery offers to send buyers high resolution, digital copies of the works they purchased, most people aren't even bothered. 'Some people do not care about that at all,' he explains.

They just want the tradable value of the token  they believe in owning digital assets, the collectible part.' He is convinced NFTs can be a force for good, because their ability to be written as digital contracts means artists can continue to receive royalties indefinitely, every time they are sold on.

Middle-men and other parties can also be written in.

'That is amazing and it is going to create huge liquidity for the art market, because the creator of the media will get an ongoing royalty forever,' D'Anna added.

However, even supporters have their doubts. Robert Norton, boss of digital art verification firm Verisart, has branded the NFTs craze 'a moment of collective hysteria'.

And after the Christie's auction, Beeple himself converted his haul of ethereum into cold hard cash, saying in an interview later: 'I think it's a bubble.'

He added: 'If it's not a bubble now, I do believe it probably will be a bubble at some point, because there's just so many people rushing into this space.'

Yet that has not put off artists around the globe  Damien Hirst among them  from gearing up to mint thousands of their own digital tokens. What Giotto would have made of all this is anyone's guess.
Bengaluru, April 22 : Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Thursday said that the state government now wants private hospitals to allot 80 per cent of beds including their critical care facility as the state is facing severe health crisis.

In a hurriedly convened press meet, early morning on Thursday prior to leaving to Mysuru, Sudhakar said that the private hospitals must consider this as a health emergency and must allot 80 per cent of their total capacity, be it general wards, rooms, ventilators, high dependency units (HDUs) critical care unit (CCU), intensive therapy unit (ITU) and intensive care units (ICU).

"We are staring at a grim scenario. We need to fight this out together. The government has decided to keep all small hospitals which are less than 30 bed capacity to handle non-covid patients, while all major hospitals above 30 bed capacity, will be converted into Covid care hospitals," he said.

He added that major hospitals will be allowed to treat critical care patients especially dialysis and maternity care, besides emergency. "Apart from these three services, now all major hospitals will have to allocate 80 per cent of their total capacity including critical care infrastructure to the government instead of 50 per cent as it was decided earlier," the minister explained.

On shortage of Oxygen, the health minister added that the government has estimated that in the next one month, it may require 1,500 metric tonnes of oxygen.

"In this regard, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has written to Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industries Piyush Goyal," he said.

He also said that the government had held meetings with the major oxygen producers in the state and among the producers JSW Steel is the largest one, which has already come onboard to support the supply of more oxygen.

Answering to a question on supply of antiviral drug Remedesivir, he said that the state has ordered 70,000 vials of Remdesivir injections of which 20,000 had arrived while the remaining would be supplied in the coming days.

To a question as to why the state did not stock enough oxygen beforehand, the Minister said when the cases had reduced, there was no such demand and hence there was no point in storing it.

The minister's statement came as the demand for oxygen and Remdesivir injection grew in view of the alarming rise in Covid cases, leading to their black marketing as well.

The grim situation could be assessed from the fact that on Wednesday alone, the state reported 23,558 fresh Covid cases and 116 deaths while the active cases in the state have gone up to 1.76 lakh. The active cases comprised 904 patients in the ICU.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

Human ResponseMobilize the Resources

April 21 , 2021 (EIRNS)Two developments this week exemplify the human response to crises, the reflex to mobilize resources to save lives and the future. Argentina has completed its first round of manufacture of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, and sent the 21,000 doses to Russia, to the Gamaleya Institute for quality control evaluation. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez expressed with pride yesterday that, Argentina has become the first country of the region to launch the production of Sputnik V ... [which] is approved in more than 10 countries of Latin and Central America, and production in Argentina will help facilitate deliveries to other partners in the region. It will be a great opportunity to advance in the fight against the pandemic, not only for Argentina but for the entire region, he said. Mass production may begin in June.

In Syria, where more than 20 million people are in dire need of food, medicine and other necessities, a combined effort is reportedly underway among Russia, Iran and the Damascus government, to supply food and fuel. Regional media report that Russia intends to provide wheat to last through 2022, to relieve the terrible bread shortage. Iran has sent four fuel shipments by sea. Russias naval forces are providing protection. These measures are fortunately being done regardless of U.S. sanctions on Syria, some of which have been in place since 2003, when George W. Bush imposed the Syria Accountability Act.

The specifics of these two instances may be different, but they are equally outstanding as exemplifying taking action when and where needed, despite the current so-called rules-based order of international relations, which is a nightmare of sanctions, blockades, punitive tariffs, regime-change crimes, and geopolitical confrontations to the point of threatening all-out war. The United States has sanctions against at least 26 nations. This attempt to dominate by means of we-set-the-rules traces directly back to the British Empire heydays, and today is still centered in London, as well as on Wall Street and offshoots.

Tomorrow starts the two-day White House Leaders Summit on Climate, which absolutely is one of the worst examples of rules-based evilan attempted green global dictatorship, based on a fraud against science. The summits intent, as U.S. Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry said today, is for the U.S. to assume leadership in muscling nations to set more ambitious goals for how much carbon emissions they will reduce by 2030 in each nation, in order to reach carbon neutral by 2050. That, in turn, means that new, green rules will dictate what people and nations can, and cannot do, in their farming, industry, transportation, health care, to simply continue to exist. It guarantees hundreds of millions will die. It guarantees that those suffering from the pandemic and famine today will perish, without fail.

Look at the latest horrors of the pandemic, continuing in the absence of the international collaboration we need to defeat the virus. In India this week, 200,000 daily new cases were registered for the seventh straight day (and despite undercounting). Yesterday, the daily count was 295,041 new cases, and 2,023 deaths in one day.

President Biden is expected to announce that he will stiffen the U.S. green rules, to set a world example, so that U.S. carbon emissions will be reduced by 50% by 2030 (from 2005,) which is up from the former lower U.S. goal for that date. Kerry praised Britain today, for upping its national goal this week to a 78% reduction of carbon emissions by 2035 (compared to 1990). Late last night, the European Commission increased its 2030 carbon reduction goal to 55% (compared to 1990). This is insane.

Now is the time for voices of sanity and compassion to ring out. Ironically, though the Climate Summit is a terrible occasion, the heads of state of major nations whose collaboration for mutual benefit is vital for the world, will all speak tomorrowChina, Russia, the United States, India and many others. However, there is no watching and waiting: It is the activation of every citizen that counts.

The killer green fraud can be stopped. The heritage of methodology and economic programs for development to end the carnage have been especially provided to humanity by statesman Lyndon LaRouche, in his decades of work and courage. Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche today is putting special focus on the moral reaction to act, we call agape, or charity. Indifference is deadly.

Today, President Vladimir Putin conducted his annual address to the Federal Assembly, live to the present audience of deputies and senators, and televised nationally. In addition to his thorough discussion of plans for economic, cultural and scientific improvement of his nationespecially for youthhe strongly denounced the geopolitical attacks on Russia and other nations, incredibly dangerous given the nuclear weapons. He scored how everyone pretends nothing is happening. In particular, Everyone in the world seems to be used to the practice of politically motivated, illegal economic sanctions, and to certain actors brutal attempts to impose their will on others by force. He singled out the recently exposed direct interference in Belarus in an attempt to orchestrate a coup detat, and assassinate the President of that country....

Putin concluded his remarks on the international situation, by reviewing the nuclear arms situation, saying, The five nuclear countries bear special responsibility. I hope that the initiative on a personal meeting of the heads of state of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, which we proposed last year, will materialize, and will be held as soon as the epidemiological situation allows.

Register to attend the May 8, day-long Schiller Institute international conference, The Moral Collapse of the Trans-Atlantic World Cries Out for a New Paradigm.
Just as the guilty verdict was about to be read in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, police in Ohio shot and killed a Black teenager in broad daylight during a confrontation.

The shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant, 16, who was swinging a knife during a fight with another person in Columbus, is in some ways more representative of how Black and other people of color are killed during police encounters than the death of George Floyd, pinned to the ground by Chauvin and captured on video for all the world to see.

Unlike Chauvin's case, many killings by police involve a decision to shoot in a heated moment and are notoriously difficult to prosecute even when they spark grief and outrage. Juries have tended to give officers the benefit of the doubt when they claim to have acted in a life-or-death situation.

While Tuesday's conviction was hailed as a sign of progress in the fight for equal justice, it still leaves unanswered difficult questions about law enforcement's use of force and systemic racism in policing. The verdict in the Chauvin case might not be quickly repeated, even as the list of those killed at the hands of police grows.

This was something unique. The world saw what happened, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, who has examined over 100 use-of-force cases there. To have video, witnesses, forensic evidence and multiple police officers testify against one of their own is unique and demonstrates how high the bar has to be in order to actually have that kind of accountability, he said.

Convictions like Chauvin's are extraordinarily rare. Out of the thousands of deadly police shootings in the US since 2005, about 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter and just seven were convicted of murder, according to data maintained by Phil Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University.

This is a success, but there are so many more unjust murders that still need reckoning, that we still need to address, said Princess Blanding, a Virginia gubernatorial candidate whose brother was killed by a Richmond police officer. Marcus-David Peters, who was Black, was fatally shot by a Black officer during a mental health crisis after he ran naked onto an interstate highway and charged at the officer.

In Columbus, Bryant had been swinging a knife wildly at another girl or woman pinned against a car when the officer fired after shouting at the girl to get down, according to police and body camera video released within hours of the shooting. The mayor mourned the teen's death but said the officer had acted to protect someone else.

Kimberly Shepherd, who lives in the neighbourhood where Bryant was killed, had been celebrating the guilty verdict in Floyd's killing when she heard the news about the teenager.

We were happy about the verdict. But you couldn't even enjoy that, Shepherd said. Because as you're getting one phone call that he was guilty, I'm getting the next phone call that this is happening in my neighbourhood.

In Chauvin's case, by contrast, cellphone video seen around the world showed the white officer pressing his knee to the Black man's neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd gasped for air. It sparked protests across the US, and Chauvin's fellow officers took the extraordinary step of testifying against him.

As we look to future prosecution, the question is going to be: Is this perhaps the beginning of a new era, where those walls of silence are not impenetrable? said Miriam Krinsky, a former federal prosecutor and executive director of the reform-minded group Fair and Just Prosecution. Chauvin's case could also make future juries more skeptical of police, she said.

The day after Bryant was fatally shot, at least two other people were also killed by police in the United States.

On Wednesday morning, a deputy fatally shot and killed a Black man while serving a search warrant in eastern North Carolina. Authorities wouldn't provide details of the shooting but an eyewitness said that Andrew Brown Jr. was shot while trying to drive away, and that deputies fired at him multiple times. And in the San Diego suburb of Escondido, police said an officer fatally shot a man who was apparently striking cars with a metal pole.

On Thursday, a funeral will be held for Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist who was shot during a traffic stop this month in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just a few miles from the courthouse as the Chauvin trial unfolded. In Chicago last month, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was fatally shot less than a second after he tossed a gun and began raising his hands as an officer had commanded.

Police officer Kim Potter, who is white, has been charged with second-degree murder in Wright's shooting. The former police chief said Potter mistakenly fired her handgun when she meant to use her Taser. She resigned from the police force afterward and was charged with second-degree manslaughter. Wright's family has called for more serious charges, comparing her case to the murder charge brought against a Black officer who killed a white woman in nearby Minneapolis in 2017.

(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.)
Stewart-Allen Clark, a General Baptist minister in Missouri, said he is deeply sorry for the insensitive remarks he made about women in a sermon that went viral for its sexist message.

In a statement posted on the website of First General Baptist Church of Malden, Missouri, Pastor Clark apologized for the inconsiderate words he uttered toward women during his February 21 sermon on marital relationship.

"To the ladies within the church, ladies in the community, and those viewing our Livestream; I want to say I am deeply sorry for any and all pain or distress that my words brought on you," he said.

Christian Post reports that the pastor took a leave of absence after netizens rebuked him for his sexist sermon which was first highlighted by artist Reagan Williams.

"On this lovely Sunday morning, I spent my time getting ready listening to a head pastor in Malden who so nonchalantly decided to exercise pastoral abuse toward women," she said in her Facebook post.

In his sermon, Clark repeatedly told women in his congregation the importance of staying attractive to keep their husbands interested in them. His definition of attractive though is keep slim, wear make up, and dress up according to the preference of their husbands.

"Men have a need for their women to look like women. Sweatpants don't cut it all the time. Wearing flip-flops and pajamas to Walmart, that ain't gon' work. Ain't nothing attractive about that. Men want their wives to look good at home and in public. Can I get an Amen?" he said.

He also encourage wives to be sexually available to their husbands quoting 1 Corinthians 7:4.

"So whenever she's not in the mood [take out your body]," he said.

First General Baptist Church, a member of the General Baptist denomination, also released a statement stating that Clark's message was not consistent with their values.

According to Word and Way, Clark went on leave on March 2 to undergo professional counseling. Seven weeks later, his return is hinted in the apology statement.

"I want to say to the church that I'm truly sorry that I embarrassed you," he went on and admitted that the things he said were imprudent and discourteous.

"I sincerely ask for your forgiveness and to be restored as your pastor. I genuinely believe this is the best way forward," he added.

Beside Clark's statement on the church's website, is another statement from the church deacons.

"We, the deacons of the First General Baptist Church of Malden, Missouri, offer this unreserved apology to our congregation, our surrounding communities, our denomination, and the followers of Jesus Christ everywhere," they wrote. "We bear the blame for not offering our pastor counsel, correction, and restoration when errors or inappropriate content was presented."

In their decision to restore their pastor, they said that they want to model Christ's love through forgiveness and that they want the congregation to do the same. The extent of restoration though was unclear whether they'll reinstate Clark to do pulpit preaching or not. The deacons asked for prayers for unity and harmony in their local church so they could continue to advance the cause of Christ.
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed KULR Technology Group Inc. (OTCQB: KULR) ("the Company"), a company that develops, manufactures and licenses next-generation carbon fiber thermal management technologies for batteries and electronic systems. CEO of the Company, Michael Mo, joined Stock Day host, Everett Jolly.

Jolly began the interview by asking about the Company's background and current projects. "At KULR, we come from a 30-year heritage of building carbon fiber thermal energy management technology for aerospace and defense applications," said Mo, before elaborating on the Company's impressive clients. "Our parts are trusted by NASA; they are on the Mars Rover 2020 Perseverance," he shared. "Our parts are also on the International Space Station," added Mo. "Our mission is to take these space proven technologies to make the world of lithium batteries and electronics cooler, lighter, and safer."

Jolly then asked about the advantages of the new administration, as well as the efforts to increase the use of electric vehicles moving forward. "It is a very ambitious plan to bring the green energy jobs back to the US," said Mo. "Electrification is going to be the future of this green economy, and battery storage is a critical part of that ," he continued. "We focus on the safety side of battery storage," said Mo. "There has been a massive amount of risk involved in these large energy storage projects," he explained. "We have a battery safety technology that we developed with NASA in 2015, which is on the International Space Station to keep the electric laptop batteries safe," continued Mo. "We are working with both commercial entities, as well as government regulation bodies to commercialize this technology."

Jolly commented on the Company's recent announcement regarding their decision to move to a larger facility to accommodate their growth and asked whether the Company is moving out of the development stage and closer to commercialization. "We exited 2020 on a very strong growth quarter, we are up about 300% year-over-year on our Q4," said Mo. "We actually see this kind of growth continuing to 2021," he added, before elaborating on the Company's growing management team. "We're definitely gearing up for a scale-up in production and big growth in 2021 and beyond."

"When do you think commercialization will come to fruition and revenues will fall on the balance sheet?" asked Jolly. "Some of the commercialization is already taking place, and you should continue to see revenue ramp up throughout 2020 and 2021," said Mo. "The expectation is that when our revenue run rate gets to about ten million dollars, we will be able to start giving a more definite forecast," he explained. "Before that I think we will just remain focused on growing the top-line as quickly as possible."

The conversation then turned to the Company's partnership with Andretti Technologies. "What are the goals and your ambitions of this technical partnership if you will?" asked Jolly. "We're really thrilled about our partnership with the Andretti's," said Mo. "Michael Andretti's organization is one of the most famous names in autosports in the US," explained Mo. "KULR became the official thermal management and battery safety technology partner for Andretti Technologies," he shared. "The mission of the partnership is to establish a thermal management testing design platform for high performance battery solutions with the highest safety ratings."

"We will also focus on co-developing and marketing battery safety and high-performance thermal management technologies to serve the motorsports world and populate that technology down to the mass market EV applications," continued Mo. "We found the alignment in mission statements to be super exciting for us to work with them."

To close the interview, Mo thanked listeners and shareholders for their interest in the Company and encouraged them to keep up to date on their current projects and upcoming announcements.

To hear Michael Mo's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7850538-ceo-of-kulr-technology-group-inc-michael-mo-featured-on-the-stock-day-podcast.

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the Company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/.

About KULR Technology Group Inc.

KULR Technology Group Inc. (OTCQB: KULR) develops, manufactures and licenses next-generation carbon fiber thermal management technologies for batteries and electronic systems. Leveraging the Company's roots in developing breakthrough cooling solutions for NASA space missions and backed by a strong intellectual property portfolio, KULR enables leading aerospace, electronics, energy storage, 5G infrastructure, and electric vehicle manufacturers to make their products cooler, lighter and safer for the consumer. For more information, please visit www.KULRTechnology.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of offers to buy any securities of any entity. This release contains certain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with our business, which include the risk factors disclosed in our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 14, 2020. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," and "would" or similar words. All forecasts are provided by management in this release are based on information available at this time and management expects that internal projections and expectations may change over time. In addition, the forecasts are entirely on management's best estimate of our future financial performance given our current contracts, current backlog of opportunities and conversations with new and existing customers about our products and services. We assume no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Contact:

Derek Newton

Head, Media Relations

Main: (786) 499-8998

Derek.Newton@KULRTechnology.com

Investor Relations:

KULR Technology Group Inc.

Main: (888) 367-5559

IR@KULRTechnology.com

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81376
BRUSSELS: The NATO military alliance will hold a summit on June 14 in Brussels, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (April 22), in the hope of repairing transatlantic ties under U.S. President Joe Biden amid growing tensions with Russia.

After a bruising four years under Donald Trump, who said that the Western alliance was "obsolete" and used NATO summits to portray an organization in crisis, Biden is seeking to renew ties with the other 29 NATO allies, offering close cooperation.

"This is a unique opportunity to reinforce NATO as the enduring embodiment of the bond between Europe and North America," Stoltenberg said. The summit will follow a Group of Seven meetings of leaders in Britain.

He listed summit discussions focusing on "Russia's aggressive actions, the threat of terrorism, cyber-attacks, emerging and disruptive technologies, the security impact of climate change, and the rise of China".

NATO summits after a U.S. election have traditionally been the setting for the nuclear-armed alliance to showcase unity, welcome a new American president, and agree on political and military goals in its long stand-off with Russia.

NATO, founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the Soviet Union, relies on U.S. leadership. Trump`s veiled threat in 2018 to pull out shook confidence in the alliance, but in a visit to Brussels last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said NATO had "rediscovered its better self".

In a twist of fate, the NATO summit will also consider a report, called NATO 2030, commissioned in 2019 on reforms to the alliance, after Trump questioned its relevance.

Live TV
The Thursday directed the Centre to ensure is supplied to the national capital as per the allocation order and is transported without any hindrance.

The high court said there has to be strict compliance of allocation order issued by the Centre and non compliance would attract criminal action.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said the Centre's allocation of for Delhi from plants in other states like Haryana was not being respected by the local administration there and it needs to be resolved immediately.

It directed the central government to provide adequate security to lorries transporting oxygen and to form dedicated corridors for the same.

The directions came after the Delhi government told the court that oxygen that was to come from Panipat in Haryana was not being allowed to be picked up by the local police there.

The Delhi government also told the court that oxygen which was to be picked up from some units in Uttar Pradesh could also be not lifted from there.

With regard to Delhi government's suggestion to transport oxygen by air, the bench said research by its legal researchers has shown that airlifting of oxygen was very dangerous and it has to be transported either by road or rail.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta told the bench "If there is any roadblock by any individuals or any officers, the officers have been instructed that if they are involved in any such activity they will be departmentally dealt with".

He said if Individuals are involved, then protection would be provided to ensure the commitments are met.

"We must respond with a sense of urgency and sense of responsibility which the situation demands," the SG said.

The high court on Wednesday issued strong strictures against the Central government and private industries and had ordered the Centre to "forthwith" provide oxygen by whatever means to hospitals here facing shortage of the gas in treating serious COVID-19 patients, observing it seems human life is not important for the state.

"You are not exploring all avenues to augment oxygen supply. Beg, borrow or steal," the court had told the Centre, and asked why it was not waking up to the gravity of the emergency situation. It also warned that certainly all hell will break loose with the stoppage of medical oxygen to the hospitals.

The observations and directions by the court came on Wednesday during hearing of a plea filed by Balaji Medical and Research Centre, which owns and runs various hospitals in the name of Max, contending that if supply of oxygen is not replenished on an immediate basis, the lives of the patients who are critical and on oxygen support will be endangered.

(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.)
Democrat Senators urge Biden last Wednesday to pay back expenses for the deployment of the National Guard. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, send the Guard to cope with the border chaos.

Democrat Senators urge Biden to reimburse Arizona

In a letter to Biden, Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) stated their support for the deployment. They endorsed sending the National Guard to the U.S. border to help assist in the immigration crisis, reported the Epoch Times.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, declared this week that he would send up to 250 National Guardsmen to the border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants attempting to breach the border. It will cost about $25 million to do just that.

He said that the influx of immigrants has endangered those near the border, except the media, has not covered how negatively affected everyone is, with the President's blunder in creating the chaos at the border.

Ducey said that Arizona would need to deploy guardsmen, but the White House has no input. The presidPresidentis administration has allowed things to degrade; no action is expected. Ducey said sharply that he'd do what's needed to do, criticizing the indecisiveness of Biden that was unlike Donald Trump.

While the recently signed American Rescue Plan provides some services, sources state that "additional staff are required at the border to ensure our citizens are safe, and migrants are treated equally and humanely." It's not enough, as more are expected to come anytime soon. But Democrat Senators Urge Biden to do what is needed to fix the border.

Biden Administration to Release 400 Migrants in Two Months

Critics of the White House say there is a need for a secure and orderly process at the U.S. southern border that the federal government should do. Instead, the burden fell on the state of Arizona or Arizona border communities; as of this writing, 500 guardsmen are in place at the southern Arizona border sectors. It took Gov. Ducey and the concurrence of Democrat Sistema and Kelly, with other agencies to do it.

The senators were quoted in this statement. "As a consequence, we request that you compensate the state of Arizona for the border security deployment announced by the Governor yesterday and that you keep increasing DHS personnel who can further help with the processing of migrants, securing the border, and conducting out essential security missions."

No White House spokesperson nor the press secretary has made any comments on the concern. The U.S. has struggled to keep the children regulated, opening over a dozen new facilities and asking foster parents to take them in.

Both Republicans and even a few brave Democrats have asked what the President does about the border, besides keeping on giving excuses. Democrats Sinema and Kelly said the President ducking the U.S. border implies something about it, and he should not be allowing festering chaos to affect border communities.

Biden acknowledged the situation as a "crisis" for the first time on Saturday, telling reporters that he planned to increase the number of refugees allowed into the country. That, according to Biden, will help to alleviate the crisis.

Democrat Senators Urge Biden to pay back Arizona is only one of many criticisms of this monumental blunder.

US Border Officials Say Among All the Migrants, 861+ are Criminals

Joe Biden's Policies to Blame for Sending Children to U.S. Border

Biden Administration to Use Taxpayers' Money to Pay for Migrants' Hotel Accommodations

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The descendants of a renowned family of Peking Opera performers have turned their ancestral home in Anhui province into an opera museum. The Peking Opera Grand Masters Hall was opened in Hongxing village, Taihu county on April 18, in what was formerly the home of Ye Tingke more than 160 years ago.

At that time, Ye took his two sons Ye Zhongding and Ye Zhongxing to Beijing to study Anhui Opera  the prototype of Peking Opera. His sons went on to become famous performers in Beijing and were even invited to perform in the Forbidden City for the Qing imperial family. In 1875, the Peking Opera grand master and educator Ye Chunshan, son of Ye Zhongding, was born.

Six generations of the Ye family have been part of the Peking Opera elites, laying a solid foundation and contributing much to the art form's development. Other notable figures of the family include Ye Longzhang, Ye Shengzhang and Ye Shenglan. Fu Lian Cheng, China's first Peking Opera school  founded by Ye Chunshan  also spawned numerous masters as well as generations of opera performers. Even Mei Lanfang, the most renowned Peking Opera master, took lessons and practiced routines there.

"The museum's opening today is a momentous occasion for both the village and my family," said Peking Opera master Ye Jinsen, grandson of Fu Lian Cheng's first president Ye Chunshan at the ceremony. "My abiding memory of my hometown is of my father often talking about the two large maple trees standing in front of our home, which witnessed six generations' efforts in Peking Opera and contributions to the industry."

He went on to express his hope that the Peking Opera Grand Masters Hall will prompt more people to study and fall in love with Peking Opera.

His wife, Sun Ping, who is a Peking Opera grand master and dean of the Art Research School of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), also spoke at the event. She expounded on the important contributions made by the Ye family and Fu Lian Cheng in the formation and development of Peking Opera, and emphasized the family's outstanding contributions in the teaching of Chinese opera. She added that she believes the noble spirit, values and work ethic of the Ye family are models for every modern-day practitioner of traditional culture.

"Fu Lian Cheng contains the extensive and profound legacy of traditional Chinese culture and the national standards for performing arts of Peking Opera, which should become an intangible cultural heritage shared and appreciated by all mankind," Sun said.

The museum will exhibit old photographs, drawings, books, medals, programs and other related research materials  much of which has been donated by Ye Jinsen and Sun Ping. Curated by the Research Institute of Fu Lian Cheng, this is the first Fu Lian Cheng-themed exhibition hall in China, and part of an ambitious plan to build an ecological chain for future Fu Lian Cheng cultural projects.

The local government also lent great support to the museum as a cultural attraction to help promote Peking Opera culture and the local economy. It's their hope that the project can boost tourism in the area and consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation in Taihu county.
In convicting former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Tuesday for the May 25 murder of George Floyd, jurors believed what they had seen. The same video of Chauvin squeezing the life from Floyd, which touched off months of protests, proved to be the definitive evidence.

Now the question is whether that video, and the conviction, will produce broader reforms.

A common refrain since the murder has been that there are good cops and bad cops, which is as true as it is regarding individuals in any profession. But a citizens encounter with police should not depend on luck of the draw. Professional conduct, respect for rights, and the priority to diminish violence all are institutional prerogatives.

The Senate should pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which has passed the House. It would regulate federal law enforcement agencies directly and tie compliance by state and local agencies to access to federal funding. It would:

 Eliminate the qualified immunity that protects police from civil lawsuits.

 Ban no-knock warrants, which led to the fatal police shooting of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2020.

 Mandate training against racial and religious profiling.

 Require police to use body and dashboard cameras.

 Create a national registry to prevent officers fired for misconduct from being hired in other jurisdictions.

 Limit the distribution and use of military-grade equipment by police.

Police are agents of the government. In the United States, the government is the people, to whom police must be accountable.
Dr. Woodcock acknowledged on Thursday differences of opinion within the Food and Drug Administration about the benefits of a temporary halt versus the risks of additional coronavirus infections if the vaccine were temporarily shelved.

As European regulators and C.D.C. and F.D.A. officials grappled with reports of the rare clotting cases in the weeks before the pause, regulators saw an unmistakable similarity in the cases in the United States. All had occurred within one to three weeks of vaccination and they were clustered in women under 50.

One woman in Virginia had died, and three other women had been hospitalized, two of them in intensive care.

Dr. Woodcock said that a warning would have been insufficient if there was in fact a high rate of cases, like one in every 25,000 or 50,000 young women. We would be putting people at risk when we didnt have that information, she said, and pushing ahead amid uncertainty could actually cause a worse reaction in the population.

Some public health experts did express concern, though, given the daily number of new infections and the number of Americans who could have been protected over the past 10 days had the vaccine remained in use.

Its just very hard for me to see, even if you multiply the number of cases by five or by 10, that you come to the conclusion that this is not a good thing to do, giving you the vaccine, said Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The decision to recommend the pause was not cut and dry, Dr. Walensky said, but she added that it had overwhelming support within and outside the agency. She said that the vaccine was going to take a hit regardless given that we had to put the warning on it.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Seven Southeast Asian leaders are expected to attend a summit with head of Myanmar's junta to discuss the crisis caused by the military coup, according to diplomats and officials in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital where Saturday's meeting will be held.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup that deposed Myanmar's democratically-elected government in February, is expected to participate in the summit of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the sources said.

Thailand's prime minister and the president of the Philippines have said they would send their foreign ministers. ASEAN's other members include Myanmar itself, Brunei, Cambodia, the host Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

The meeting is the first concerted international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar where security forces have killed hundreds of pro-democracy protesters since the Feb.1 coup. It is also a test for ASEAN, which traditionally does not interfere in the internal affairs of a member state and operates by consensus.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged ASEAN leaders to help prevent an escalation of the crisis and "possible grave humanitarian implications beyond Myanmar's borders," said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday.

He said U.N. special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener "will be in Jakarta to engage ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of Saturday's meeting, focusing on a political solution."

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group, says 739 people have been killed by Myanmar's security forces since the coup and 3,300 people are in detention.

Myanmar's military has shown no sign of wanting to talk to members of the government it ousted, accusing some of them of treason, which is punishable by death.

Analysts and former diplomats say the summit could be the most consequential in ASEAN's 54-year history.

Story continues

It was imperative there was "a concrete and tangible outcome," said Rizal Sukma, senior research fellow at the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies and, until last year, Indonesia's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

"The summit cannot be another round of expression of concern."

Malaysia and the Philippines have said they would support a plan for the ASEAN chair, Brunei, and the group's secretary-general, or their representatives, to visit Myanmar.

ASEAN officials have also been considering a proposal for a humanitarian mission to Myanmar that would deliver medical supplies needed to counter COVID-19 and other illnesses, along with food. This could be a potential first step in a long-term plan to broker dialogue between the junta and its opponents, diplomats told Reuters.

Last week, pro-democracy politicians, including ousted members of parliament, announced the formation of a National Unity Government (NUG) that nominally includes deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been in detention since the coup, as well as leaders of the protests and ethnic minorities.

Mynamar's home affairs ministry has declared the NUG unlawful, but the NUG says it is the legitimate authority in Myanmar and has requested international recognition and an invitation to the Jakarta meeting. It has also demanded that ASEAN withdraw the invitation to the junta leader.

"Please, ASEAN member states, (do) not recognise the coup," said Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, who has been named as a minister in the NUG.

"Please recognise and hear the cry of Myanmars people... by collaborating, supporting or recognising the National Unity Government of Myanmar," she said in a call on Thursday with an ASEAN lawmakers' group.

(Reporting by Tom Allard and Rozanna Latiff; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
American Airlines reported another quarterly loss but said bookings from leisure travelers are increasing as vaccines become more widespread

American Airlines reported another quarterly loss Thursday as COVID-19 continued to depress travel, but expressed optimism at an industry recovery with vaccinations becoming more widespread.

The big US carrier's first-quarter results were comparable to those of rival carriers Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, who also reported losses and signaled the second quarter would be unprofitable as business and international travel levels remain extremely low.

"The pandemic is far from over," American's CEO Doug Parker and President Robert Isom said in a letter to employees. "But as our world makes daily strides in COVID-19 vaccination efforts, customers are returning to travel and there is no doubt the pace of the recovery is accelerating."

American reported a loss of $1.3 billion in the first quarter, compared with a shortfall of $2.2 billion in the year-ago period.

Revenues fell 52.9 percent from the year-ago period to $4 billion.

Like other carriers, American has reduced headcount through early retirement programs, and deferred new aircraft deliveries to save money and reduce its daily cash burn.

American reached agreements with Boeing to defer receiving some new 787 and 737 planes. On the 737 MAX, American now expects 18 new aircraft deliveries to occur in 2023 and 2024 instead of 2021 and 2022.

American projected that second-quarter capacity would be down 20 to 25 percent compared to the 2019 period and that revenue would be off 40 percent.

In an interview with CNBC, Parker said he expects strong demand this summer for leisure markets with "beaches and mountains."

He said there is "huge pent-up demand" for international travel, but that it was difficult to predict the timing of a recovery.

"Some other countries are starting to drop restrictions and we're seeing bookings pick up immediately as that happens," Parker said, noting a recent step by Greece to lift its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated visitors from the United State and five other jurisdictions.

Shares of American rose 3.3 percent to $21.70 in pre-market trading.

Explore further US airlines eye slow, gradual comeback after 2020 battering

 2021 AFP
Health Minister



Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the state is being allocated 26,000 Remdesivir injections per day by the Centre as against the requirement of 50,000 vials of the anti-COVID-19 drug.

Talking to reporters here, Tope said he will write to the Centre to increase the allocation of Remdesivir to Maharashtra, the worst COVID-19-hit state in the country.

"The state government's daily requirement is 50,000 Remdesivir injections, but the Centre's allocation is 26,000 injections per day. This is for the next 10 days, which is very serious as timely use of the injections to treat co- morbid and serious COVID-19 patients can save lives," he said.

Remdesivir is listed for use in serious COVID-19 patients. In view of a sudden spike in demand of the drug due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Centre last week banned its export till the situation improves.

"I will send a letter to the Union Health Ministry on Thursday to increase the allocation of the key anti-viral drug to Maharashtra," the minister said.

Tope and state Food and Drug Administration minister Rajendra Shingane few days ago had assured that the supply of Remdesivir will increase from April 21.

On Wednesday, the state reported 67,468 fresh cases, taking its tally beyond the 40-lakh mark, while 568 more patients succumbed to the infection, as per the health department.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday came down heavily on the government for its "extremely callous" behaviour towards the issue of procuring and allocating Remdesivir injections for COVID-19 patients, and said the authorities are shirking their responsibilities.

(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.)
This evening, CB3s full board is scheduled to vote on a sweeping new policy meant to streamline and standardize its tortuous liquor license review process. On Friday, we wrote about a contentious committee meeting held last week to resolve several key sticking points embedded in the proposal.

At the insistence of board member and bar owner David McWater, the panel agreed to formalize an unofficial CB3 policy of rubber-stamping licenses being transferred from one operator to another (its a bit more complicated than that  you can read last weeks story for details).

There was another controversial matter that came up during the meeting  the 7th Precincts relatively new crackdown on the neighborhoods bars and clubs (which we reported about in December). CB3 members spoke of another sweep of the neighborhood over Valentines Day weekend, which shut down Clinton Street. McWater said its all too reminiscent of a similar crackdown that occurred in the 9th Precinct (which covers most of the East Village) several years ago:

They come in on a Friday or Saturday night. They throw out all your customers. They turn out all your lights. Youve lost a night of business Youre going to get a ticket for something (even if you run a clean business). Yes, they all get dismissed (in court) but when you go to the SLA (the State Liquor Authority), beyond the legal fees, theyre $2000 each. The average raid costs about $10,000. I got raided, truly because I was community board chair. Then he (the police commander) calls a meeting of all the bar owners and he says Im going to raid every single one of you. Community Board 3 did nothing, no matter how much I screamed and hollered about it. Our rights were not the same as we would have given to Puerto Ricans or the elderly or homosexuals or any other group. Board 3 did nothing. In fact, a lot of people cheered it on. And it went on and on and on I think we need to say somewhere that bars have rights. Theyre members of this community also and that the threshhold for raiding them should be (wrongdoing)

At least one board member, David Crane, took offense to the suggestion that CB3 did nothing. But in the end, board chair Dominic Pisciotta agreed to take the issue on  to research what agencies should be approached (NYPD, SLA, etc)  and to request meetings with the appropriate officials.

This evenings meeting should be an interesting one. It takes place at P.S. 20, 166 Essex Street. The public speaking session begins at 6:30pm.
The swearing-in of the new commander of the Brazilian army on Tuesday was marked by a threat of military intervention to halt any attempt to hold fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro accountable for mass COVID deaths.

Brazil's Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto (Credit: Fernando Frazao/Agencia Brasil )

The main speech at the ceremony, delivered by the newly sworn-in defense minister, Gen. Walter Braga Netto, warned that the armed forces are ready to act to secure Bolsonaros reactionary project.

The moment requires a greater effort at national unity, with a focus on fighting the pandemic and supporting vaccinations. Today, the country needs to be united against any kind of institutional destabilization initiative that alters the balance of power and harms Brazils prosperity, Braga Netto announced.

The defense minister continued: Those who believe we are on fertile ground for initiatives that could jeopardize the freedom won by our nation are mistaken. We must respect the democratic rite and the project chosen by the majority of Brazilians to guide the destiny of the country. The society, attentive to these actions, may rest assured that its armed forces are ready to serve the national interests.

These words expose the fraud of the political narrative promoted by the bourgeois media, the Workers Party (PT) and its pseudo-left allies that Bolsonaros dictatorial moves are nothing more than an authoritarian delirium, and that his sacking of the entire military high command on March 30 only reinforced the generals commitment to democracy.

Such political forces point to the growing opposition of sections of the bourgeoisie and the military to the government as a guarantee against Bolsonaros dictatorial threats.

The launching of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) that will investigate Bolsonaros criminal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seriously deepened the crisis of his administration, has only reinforced these arguments.

The pandemic in Brazil is spiraling out of control, with over 3,000 deaths a day. The country has now recorded over 14 million infections and more than 381,000 deaths. The CPI is expected to target the governments deliberate promotion of mass infection of the population, sabotage of vaccinations, and promotion of potentially harmful drugs like chloroquine as quack cures for the deadly virus. The investigation increases the possibility of impeachment proceedings being opened against Bolsonaro.

Tremendous social forcesand not merely the individual actions of the fascistic presidentare behind the attacks on democracy in Brazil. The explosive growth of the economic and social crisis, and the disaster of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country are accelerating the mortal crisis of bourgeois rule in Brazil.

The devastating effects of the pandemic are compounded by a massive increase in unemployment, wage cuts, and a sharp reduction in the living standards of the Brazilian working class. These conditions, producing unprecedented levels of social inequality in what was already one of the most unequal countries in the world, are rapidly turning Brazil into a powder keg on the verge of exploding. The growth of mass popular opposition is already finding expression in a wave of strikes against workplace deaths and economic attacks suffered by the working class.

Bolsonaro, like the Brazilian ruling class as a whole, is extremely sensitive to these seismic tremors that threaten the entire edifice of capitalist class rule. While a section of the ruling class fears that keeping Bolsonaro in the presidency will accelerate the explosion of resistance by the working class in the streets and factories, the president is seeking to prove that his imposition of dictatorial measures today is fundamental to preventing the crisis from spinning out of control.

After stating that he has been appealing to the Armed Forces in the face of an imminent social explosion in the country, Bolsonaro declared on Wednesday, April 14: Brazil is at the limit. People say that I must take action. I am waiting for the people to give me a sign. Because hunger and unemployment are there.

The sign demanded by Bolsonaro was immediately manufactured by his fascist advisers. On social media, his allies started a campaign with the hashtag I Authorize, which literally means: I give a green light for Bolsonaro to install a presidential dictatorship in Brazil. Based on this slogan, street demonstrations have been called for May 1.

These demonstrations have been endorsed by two federal congresswomen allied to Bolsonaro, Clara Zambelli and Bia Kicis, who defended two parallel demands of the fascistic demonstrations: the reopening of street commerce, and the adoption of printed ballots in Brazil (an argument Bolsonaro has borrowed from Donald Trump to prepare an electoral coup in 2022).

Another pro-Bolsonaro congressman, Otoni de Paula, referring to the opening of the CPI to investigate Bolsonaro, tweeted: I warn the senators and federal deputies, the PR [President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro] will not trade his honor for the chair of the presidency and will only leave it once he is dead. I am warning you, the gentlemens plan will unleash a civil war in this country. He ended his post with the hashtag I Authorize, President.

The choice of the date for these demonstrations, designed to coincide with May Day, expresses the long-term goals of the fascistic movement driven by Bolsonaro: to suppress the political movement of the working class through a pseudo-populist movement that backs the financial elites most brutal attacks against the working masses.

These demonstrations recall nothing so much as the March of the Family with God for Freedom, which was a series of reactionary middle-class demonstrations in 1964 used as popular cover for the military coup engineered by the Brazilian bourgeoisie and US imperialism.

The narrative that the military seized power and installed a dictatorship in Brazil in response to a call by the population to defend democracy, a gross and criminal historical falsification, has been aggressively promoted by the Bolsonaro government and the armed forces.

Braga Netto used his first day as defense minister to issue an order of the day stating that the 1964 coup began with a popular movement in the streets and that through it the military guaranteed the democratic freedoms we enjoy today. His speech on Tuesday is a further development of this narrative, lauding the military as the guarantor of the project chosen by the majority of Brazilians. The implications are unmistakable. Should either the legislature or the judiciary challenge Bolsonaros drive toward presidential dictatorship and thereby threaten instability, the military may once again be forced to intervene to defend democracy.

The dictatorial project being pushed by Bolsonaro, with the aim of imposing upon the working class the most brutal levels of exploitation and the normalization of mass murder, cannot be allowed to triumph. This depends, however, on breaking the political grip of the so-called political opposition to his government within the framework of the bourgeois state, led by the PT and its pseudo-leftist satellites.

Genuine opposition requires the mobilization of a mass movement of the Brazilian working class, organized independently of these parties and the unions, unified with the international working class, and based upon a socialist program for the overthrow of bourgeois rule and the establishment of a workers government.
By Jeff Tittel

When Earth Day was created, it was to draw attention to what was happening to our planet. Rivers like the Passaic were on fire, people couldnt breathe the air, and toxic waste was spilling into our waterways. There was a sense of urgency, which led to a broad public movement and real action. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the EPA. As we recognize the 51st Earth Day, things may have gotten better in some areas, but now we have new problems that are getting dramatically worse.

Last year, we saw a record number and intensity of natural disasters. This year will probably be even worse. Predictions already show that the 2021 hurricane season is going to be record-breaking, and drought conditions out West have increased their wildfire risk even more than usual. The pandemic has also been a stark reminder of how climate change is impacting the world. Air pollution exposure has been shown to increase coronavirus risk, so communities already overburdened by pollution were disproportionately impacted.

On the first Earth Day, I organized seventh-graders in Hillside to clean up the Elizabeth River, an activity that has continued to take place every year. Afterward, we joined a rally in Philadelphia. Since the pandemic started, weve held online protests and webinars instead of going to rallies or beach cleanups. Were still seeing students stand up for our environment, from Greta Thurberg holding political leaders accountable to the Global Climate Strike and the Sunrise Movement. Hopefully, soon we can hold in-person rallies and cleanups again in order to truly make a difference.

Fifty years ago, during the second Earth Day, people were getting organized in local communities to make a difference. They held activist training all over the country, not just on organizing but on politics. The year before, political action spurred by the first Earth Day led to the defeat of seven of the Dirty Dozen in Congress. Now, after four years of having a president who was beholden to the fossil fuel industry, we have a president who is going to get rid of the policies of his predecessor. We can see the true power of grassroots activism because now we have an administration that wants to do something about what is happening to our planet.

Biden is moving forward with strong, aggressive action when it comes to climate initiatives and clean energy programs. However, New Jersey is lagging behind. Environmental activism and climate action is more important now than ever before, especially in New Jersey. We saw how the pandemic disproportionately impacted people living in communities that are overburdened with air pollution. These communities are also bearing the brunt of climate impacts like flooding. New Jersey is also seeing more forest fires and more frequent storms, like the noreaster that caused extreme beach erosion this winter.

In 1970, the NJDEP was established. Here we are 51 years later and DEP staffing for pollution control is down. The department needs more funding so that we have enough people to do the many jobs of the agency, including re-writing the rules that Christie rolled back. This administration also lacks a sense of urgency to get us where we need to go when it comes to Environmental Justice, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gases. The IPCC has warned of a global tipping point if we dont reach 45% reductions by 2030. We need a moratorium on fossil fuel projects so we can get to 100% renewable by 2035 and zero-carbon by 2050.

We are in a climate crisis thats getting worse. Were over halfway to the 100th anniversary of Earth Day. Our job is to make changes now so that things will be better by then. If we do that, we can prevent some of the major disasters and climate impacts like viruses, sea-level rise, and more.

I have been involved in every Earth Day and each one is a little different. Were getting closer and closer to the tipping point. The next few years could be our last chance to make a difference for our children, our grandchildren and our planet.

Jeff Tittel is the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

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This article is adapted from The Exile the first episode of Slow Burns new season.

George W. Bush made the call to launch the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but it wasnt what hed come into office to do. Bush, like any president, was influenced by people in his administration. Some of them had been spooked by 9/11; others had been pushing to get rid of Saddam Hussein for a lot longer. For Ahmad Chalabi, deposing Saddam was his lifes work.

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Chalabi was an aristocratan Iraqi exile who was brilliant and charismatic. He was also a bullshit virtuoso with a core of absolute conviction. If youve heard of him, its probably because he played a very public role in the push for war after 9/11. But hed tried to start another war with Iraq a few years earlierand he got weirdly close to pulling it off.

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By 1995, it had been four years since the U.S. had defeated Saddam in the Gulf War. But he remained in power. He had a big army, and he was still a brutal dictator. The U.S. didnt want him to stay in charge, but he wasnt high on its priority list. Foreign-policy problems like this onehard problems with no obvious solutionstend to get kicked over to the CIA. And thats what happened to Iraq in the 90s.

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Bob Baer was the CIAs directorate of operations at the time. Hes the kind of spy you see in the movies: action-oriented, kind of a maverick. In fact, George Clooney played a character based on him in Syriana. Baer describes his job this way: Essentially youre sent overseas to recruit sources with access to clandestine information or, you know, secrets of a foreign government. And you get them to steal those secrets. Youre basically hired as a thief.

When the Gulf War was over, Baer went on a mission to Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region north of Baghdad. The CIA didnt give him tons of resources; the office he worked out of was kind of a backwater. But he did have one important tool.

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In those days, we had a lethal finding against Saddam Hussein. That means we could use lethal force when it was occasioned to overthrow him, he says. From a Hollywood standpoint, I call it a license to kill.

The Clinton administration had inherited that lethal findingbut they werent in a huge rush to act on it. Baers bosses in the CIA believed that if the U.S. kept the pressure on Saddam, hed eventually self-destruct.

No one had literally said, Dont try to start a coup.

Baer didnt totally agree. The way he saw it, Saddam was a bad guy, and he, Bob Baer, had the legal authority to do something about it.

So, from an isolated office in Kurdistan, he ended up trying to overthrow one of the most notorious dictators in modern history.

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Kurdistan was the perfect place to find allies for a revolution.

The Kurds land is divided up among Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. No one wants to give up their piece of Kurdistan, because its got oil. So the Kurds are ethnic minorities in four different nations. And in Saddams Iraq they were targetedbrutally. By the early 1990s, Kurds had been tortured and executed by Saddams regime in massive numbers. And Kurdish nationalists were long past ready to rise up.

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When Bob Baer showed up in Kurdistan, Ahmad Chalabi was already recruiting Kurdish nationalists for his own campaign to overthrow Saddam.

He was probably one of the more charming people Ive met in the world and one of the most intelligent people Ive met, Baer says of Chalabi now.

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The Iraqi was a sophisticated businessman with the face of a character actor. His family had fled the country when he was a teenager in the 1950s. But in the 90s, he was back in Kurdistan to help Iraqis imagine a better future.

Chalabi had $4 million from the CIAmoney he used to launch an opposition group called the Iraqi National Congress. He imagined it as a kind of government in waiting.

Ahmad Chalabi was not a humble man. His Iraqi National Congress was modeled on the Indian National Congress and the African National Congress, groups associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. He also liked to compare himself to Charles DeGaulle.

But Chalabi was an unlikely candidate to lead a popular uprising. He was back in Iraq for the first time in decades. And Kurdistan, where he was based, wasnt where he was from. Chalabi had grown up in Baghdad, the nations most cosmopolitan city. Now he was holed up in the countrys most impoverished region.

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But Chalabi wasnt the kind of person to live a hardscrabble life. The electricity in Kurdistan wasnt great, so he got a private generator, which he used to watch Jeremy Irons in Brideshead Revisited. He also had a private chef who made him Peking duck. We made furniture locally, he told his biographer Rich Bonin, in 2008. Designs made by people like Frank Lloyd Wright and MacIntosh.

Bonin spoke to Chalabi for more than 60 hours over several years, and the author used those interviews to write his book, Arrows of the Night. (The tapes have never been aired before this season of Slow Burn.) Fighting Saddam does not mean you have to live ineat bad food or live in shabby surroundings and have dirty bathrooms. Certainly not, Chalabi told him.

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When the CIA gave Chalabi $4 million dollars, they didnt think they were financing a revolution. They mostly wanted him to produce anti-Saddam propaganda to build opposition to the regime.

But Chalabi didnt take that job seriously. The Iraqi National Congress was supposed to be publishing a local newspaper. But its office was emptythe paper didnt exist. Chalabi himself was hard to keep tabs on. The CIA gave him an encrypted phone, but he hacked it so they couldnt listen in on him.

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No one at the agency put a stop to any of this. The Americans just wanted some kind of opposition to Saddam, and Chalabi gave them that.

So, despite his many shortcomings, the CIA thought of Chalabi as an asset. What they didnt realize, is that he was using them.

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We never worked with the CIA on providing them the intelligence on Iraq. We never did, Chalabi told Bonin. That was completely outside what we were doing. Instead, he said all that time that he was being paid by the CIA, Chalabi was putting together his own scheme. Thats what annoyed them.

He was going to oust Saddam, using the CIAs money, resources, and manpower. His plan involved a group of generals in Saddams army who, Chalabi said, were ready to seize power. He introduced one to Bob Baer.

Chalabi brings him to me and says, here, talk to this guy. He knows. He can change the regime, Baer says. So we sit down, and he walks me through this secret committee in Baghdad of Sunni generals who are ready to move. He gives me the names. I trace them. Theyre real people. Theres a possibility they could be dissidents.

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The rest of Chalabis pitch to Baer on his plan went like this:

The disaffected Iraqi generals would join forces with the Kurdish nationalists, whod been brutalized by Saddam and were desperate to get rid of him. The generals and the Kurds would get help from Iran, which had its own longstanding beef with Saddam.

Chalabi said this supergroup could take down the Iraqi dictator  if the U.S. would give them a hand.

And what would come after that?

For Chalabi, removing Saddam was only half the goal, biographer Bonin told me last year. The other half of the goal was to become the leader of Iraq himself [] He believed in his heart of hearts that he was the most qualified Iraqi to lead Iraq into the modern world.

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Baer wrote to CIA headquarters to tell them about these disaffected generals who might rise up. His boss wrote back: This is not a plan. So  not an encouraging answer. But Baer heard what he wanted to hear. No one had literally said, Dont try to start a coup.

Baer did wonder if Chalabi was playing him, but he put that thought out of his mind. This was the chance to do something big.

So there they were, Bob and Ahmad, two men with the same absurdly ambitious goal, and the same taste for rolling the dice.

Listen to this full episode of Slow Burn below, and subscribe to Slow Burn on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Join Slate Plus for your ad-free feed.
In response to the guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, the Biden administration and the media have pushed the narrative that police violence is the product of systemic racism and white supremacy.

Speaking Tuesday night, shortly after the verdict was announced, Biden declared that Floyds death had exposed the systemic racism that is a stain on our nations soul. The knee on the neck of justice for Black Americans The pain, the exhaustion that Black and brown Americans experience every single day. He insisted that suppressing police killings requires acknowledging and confronting head-on systemic racism and the racial disparities in policing and the justice system.

The officers involved in the killing of George Floyd (Credit: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)

Without exception, police violence in the United States is presented in the media and political establishment as a racial conflict. The disconnect between this narrative and the reality of police violence is staggering.

According to data collected by the Washington Post, 6,222 people have been killed by police in the US since the beginning of 2015. Nearly three times more people have been killed in encounters with police in just over six years than US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan over the last two decades.

Breaking it down by those victims who have been identified by race, 2,885 are white, 1,499 are black, 1,052 are Hispanic, 104 are Asian, 87 are Native American, and 47 are classified as other. From a standpoint of percentages, 46.4 percent are white, 24 percent black, 17 percent Hispanic, 1.7 percent Asian, 1.4 percent Native American, 0.75 percent other and 8.8 percent unidentified.

Relative to the entire population, there is a disproportionality in the number of African Americans and Native Americans killed by police, while whites, Hispanics and Asians are killed at a rate lower than their share of the population. Native Americans are killed at a rate that is seven times higher than their share of the population, while for blacks it is roughly two times higher.

There is no doubt that racism is a factor in many police killings, but it is not the racism of the entire society. It is racism in a particular segment of society, the police and military forces. The ruling class cultivates within its apparatus of repression all manner of fascistic and reactionary conceptions.

However, once the socioeconomic background of where the victims were killedtypically areas with low median household income and high rates of povertyis factored in, most of the disparity is accounted for by economic factors.

Given the data about police killings, the exclusive focus on black victims is not only a distortion of reality, but it also vastly underestimates the scale of police brutality in the United States. Explaining this social phenomenon through a single factor, racism, leaves out a majority of the victims. The medias presentation implies that police killings of whites and others are legitimate.

The state and mainstream media, most explicitly in the New York Times 1619 Project, have invested an enormous amount in promoting a racialist narrative of American society, that the United States is divided between white America and black America. What accounts for the effort to interpret all American history and contemporary politics through the prism of race and reinterpret all social problems as racial issues?

The alternative to a racial analysis of American society is a class analysis. By blaming systemic racism and white supremacy, the reality of capitalism and class oppression disappears. The issue of social inequality is no longer about the rich against the poor, but white against black.

The responsibility of capitalisma specific political and socioeconomic system that dictates the life outcomes for billions around the worldfor this level of police violence is dissolved. In its place, a psychological attribute, race hatred, is attached to an entire segment of the population. Chauvin is presented as nothing other than a particularly naked expression of a universal hatred of black people by white people. Such a perspective precludes any form of collective action between black and white, driving a massive wedge through the working class and dissolving class antagonisms into race hatred.

Bidens remarks also whitewash the crime committed by Chauvin in order to cover for the police, by transforming it into a crime of the nation, resting in its very soul. The nation, however, did not kneel on Floyds neck; it was Chauvin who killed him. And he had accomplices. The three other police officers who helped him kill Floyd, were white, African American, and Asian American. All were acting, not in accordance with the color of their skin but in their capacity as the uniformed and armed defenders of the state and private property.

Those who appeal to systemic racism as the cause of police brutality cannot explain why the largest share of those killed by the police every year are white. Nor can they explain why police continue to kill three people per day on average, despite all the protests and promises of reform.

During Chauvins trial, which began on March 29, there were at least 56 police killings across the US. Among the victims who have been identified by race, nine were white, nine were black, seven were Hispanic and one was Pacific Islander. On the day of the verdict, 15-year-old MaKiah Bryant was shot and killed by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio. There were also fatal police shootings in Detroit, Michigan, Lakewood, Colorado and Worcester, Massachusetts.

Under conditions of immense social inequality, accelerated by the pandemic, the primary concern of the Democratic Party is to block the emergence of a united class movement against the capitalist system. While the fascistic Trump responded to the mass multiracial protests against police violence sparked by Floyds killing with a ferocious law-and-order campaign, deploying federal Border Patrol agents to suppress protests, the Democrats have their own approach.

No less ruthless than the Republicans, the Democrats mobilize the National Guard to patrol the streets and back up police crackdowns while deploying racial politics in order to divide workers against each other. They seek to obscure the class character of the opposition to police violence and undermine a class movement against police violence. To this end, tens of millions of dollars have been poured into the Black Lives Matter movement and associated organizations to promote the idea that policing is an issue of whites against blacks.

Chauvins trial refutes this racial narrative. A mixed-race jury quickly came to the decision that he was guilty of murder. Witnesses, black and white, testified to their horror over witnessing the cold-blooded killing. As the verdict was read, a multiracial crowd gathered outside the courthouse erupted in celebration.

As a social phenomenon, police violence does not emerge from white supremacy or systemic racism; it is fundamentally rooted in the capitalist order, which police departments were created to defend. Only a working-class movement, united across all racial, ethnic and national divisions, fighting to overturn capitalism and establish workers democratic control of society, can put an end to the reign of terror by the police.
Gods Garage in Conroe has made The Texas Bucket List.

The public will soon have a chance to tune in this weekend as the Emmy Award-winning television shows host Shane McAuliffe experiences all of the hard work and dedication that goes into the auto repair shop.

In the outskirts of the greater Houston area, there is a garage that is not your typical auto repair shop. Instead of just repairing cars, they help to repair lives in the community, said a release about the show.

Gods Garage is located on a 13-acre property off Texas 105 in East Conroe. The nonprofit ministry is dedicated to helping women who are in need of reliable transportation. For almost 10 years since it was founded by a former Lone Star Cowboy Church Childrens Pastor Chris Williams III, the organization has provided free cars and vehicle repairs to over 2,500 single mothers, widows, and wives of deployed military.

It all began in a 40-foot by 40-foot shop at the pastors house. After assisting with simple repairs for a little more than a decade, he spotted a woman and a student from his church walking on the side of the road due to car trouble. It inspired him to start Gods Garage, which opened on FM 2854 in Conroe in 2017.

What began with 18 donated cars and 20 volunteers outgrew the original 5-acre property with at least 100 women on the waiting list. In 2020, garage was on pace to gift 150 cars and provided over 100 cars and 90 repairs in 2019.

That number has since grown to over 300 cars a year that are fixed up and given away.

I dont think its very easy to understand how impactful it is unless you would kind of walk a day in their shoes and understand how essential a vehicle is just in everyday life, expressed Brad Thompson, the board director for Gods Garage.

Gods Garage has a team of over 125 volunteers who work together to make a difference in the womens lives.

Its volunteers that donate their time and skills to make someones life a little bit easier and their charitable actions have made an enormous impact for many mothers, the release stated.

The garage will be featured alongside two other stops  La Sirenita in Freeport and Sand Castle Lessons on South Padre Island as the show continues to tell the tales of the Lone Star State one Texan at a time.

The award-winning TV series shares the joy, wonder, beauty and excitement of Texas. Each week, host Shane McAuliffe sets out to add more people, places, food and music to a list that every Texan should experience, the release stated.

McAuliffe has been recognized with numerous television broadcast excellence awards including a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, three Lone Star Emmy Awards, the Barbara Jordan Media Award, several Telly Awards, and multiple Texas Association of Press Broadcasters awards. Hes a native of Round Rock and attended The University of Houston. The Texas Bucket List is produced by McAuliffe Productions, LP located in College Station, Texas.

Visit thetexasbucketlist.com for more about the show.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Astronomers release new all-sky map of the Milky Way's outer reaches

Astronomers using data from NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency) telescopes have released a new all-sky map of the outermost region of our galaxy. Known as the galactic halo, this area lies outside the swirling spiral arms that form the Milky Way's recognizable central disk and is sparsely populated with stars. Though the halo may appear mostly empty, it is also predicted to contain a massive reservoir of dark matter, a mysterious and invisible substance thought to make up the bulk of all the mass in the universe.

The data for the new map comes from ESA's Gaia mission and NASA's Near Earth Object Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, which operated from 2009 to 2013 under the moniker WISE. The study, led by astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and published today in Nature, makes use of data collected by the spacecraft between 2009 and 2018.

The new map reveals how a small galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - so-named because it is the larger of two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way - has sailed through the Milky Way's galactic halo like a ship through water, its gravity creating a wake in the stars behind it. The LMC is located about 160,000 light-years from Earth, and is less than one quarter the mass of the Milky Way. Though the inner portions of the halo have been mapped with a high level of accuracy, this is the first map to provide a similar picture of the halo's outer regions, where the wake is found - about 200,000 light years to 325,000 light years from the galactic center. Previous studies have hinted at the wake's existence, but the all-sky map confirms its presence and offers a detailed view of its shape, size, and location.

This disturbance in the halo also provides astronomers with an opportunity to study something they can't observe directly: dark matter. Though it doesn't emit, reflect, or absorb light, the gravitational influence of dark matter has been observed across the universe. It is thought to create a scaffolding on which galaxies are built, such that without it, galaxies would fly apart as they spin. Dark matter is estimated to be five times more common in the universe than all the matter that emits or interacts with light, from stars to planets to gas clouds.

While there are multiple theories about the nature of dark matter, all of them indicate that it should be present in the Milky Way's halo. If that's the case, then as the LMC sails through this region, it should leave a wake in the dark matter as well. The wake observed in the new star map is thought to be the outline of this dark matter wake; the stars are like leaves on the surface of this invisible ocean, their position shifting with the dark matter.

The interaction between the dark matter and the Large Magellanic Cloud has big implications for our galaxy. As the LMC orbits the Milky Way, the dark matter's gravity drags on the LMC and slows it down. This will cause the dwarf galaxy's orbit to get smaller and smaller, until the galaxy finally collides with the Milky Way in about 2 billion years. These types of mergers might be a key driver in the growth of massive galaxies across the universe. In fact, astronomers think the Milky Way merged with another small galaxy about 10 billion years ago.

"This robbing of a smaller galaxy's energy is not only why the LMC is merging with the Milky Way but also why all galaxy mergers happen," said Rohan Naidu, a graduate student in astronomy at Harvard University and a co-author of the new paper. "The wake in our map is a really neat confirmation that our basic picture for how galaxies merge is on point!"

A Rare Opportunity

The authors of the paper also think the new map - along with additional data and theoretical analyses - may provide a test for different theories about the nature of dark matter, such as whether it consists of particles, like regular matter, and what the properties of those particles are.

"You can imagine that the wake behind a boat will be different if the boat is sailing through water or through honey," said study co-author Charlie Conroy, a professor at Harvard University and astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics. "In this case, the properties of the wake are determined by which dark matter theory we apply."

Conroy led the team that mapped the positions of over 1,300 stars in the halo. The challenge arose in trying to measure the exact distance from Earth to a large portion of those stars: It's often impossible to figure out if a star is faint and close by or bright and far away. The team used data from ESA's Gaia mission, which provides the location of many stars in the sky but cannot measure distances to the stars in the Milky Way's outer regions.

After identifying stars most likely located in the halo (because they were not obviously inside our galaxy or in the LMC), the team looked for stars that belong to a class of giant stars that have a specific light "signature" detectable by NEOWISE. Knowing the basic properties of the selected stars enabled the team to figure out their distance from Earth and create the new map. It charts a region starting about 200,000 light-years from the Milky Way's center, or about where the LMC's wake was predicted to begin, and extends about 125,000 light-years beyond that.

Conroy and his colleagues were inspired to hunt for LMC's wake after learning about a team of astrophysicists at the University of Arizona in Tucson who make computer models predicting what dark matter in the galactic halo should look like. The two groups worked together on the new study. One of the models by the Arizona team, which is in the new study, predicted the general structure and specific location of the star wake revealed in the new map. Once the data had confirmed that the model was correct, the team was able to confirm what other investigations have also hinted at: that the LMC is likely on its first orbit around the Milky Way. If the smaller galaxy had already made multiple orbits, the shape and location of the wake would be significantly different from what has been observed. Astronomers think the LMC formed in the same environment as the Milky Way and another nearby galaxy, M31, and was on a very long first orbit around our galaxy (about 13 billion years). Its next orbit will be much shorter due to its interaction with the Milky Way.

"Confirming our theoretical prediction with observational data tells us that our understanding of the interaction between these two galaxies, including the dark matter, is on the right track," said University of Arizona doctoral student in astronomy Nicolas Garavito-Camargo, who led work on the model used in the paper.

The new map also provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to test the properties of the dark matter (the notional water or honey) in our own galaxy. In the new study, Garavito-Camargo and colleagues used a popular dark matter theory called cold dark matter that fits the observed star map relatively well. Now the University of Arizona team is running simulations that use different dark matter theories, to see which one best matches the wake observed in the stars.

"It's a really special set of circumstances that came together to create this scenario that lets us test our dark matter theories," said Gurtina Besla, a co-author of the study and an associate professor at the University of Arizona. "But we can only realize that test with the combination of this new map and the dark matter simulations that we built."

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Launched in 2009, the WISE spacecraft was placed into hibernation in 2011 after completing its primary mission. In Sept. 2013, NASA reactivated the spacecraft with the primary goal of scanning for near-Earth objects, or NEOs, and the mission and spacecraft were renamed NEOWISE. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California managed and operated WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The mission was selected competitively under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NEOWISE is a project of JPL, a division of Caltech, and the University of Arizona, supported by NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

This article was originally written for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask--and ultimately answer--humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have developed a new mathematical model for predicting how epidemics such as COVID-19 spread.

This model not only accounts for individuals' varying biological susceptibility to infection but also their levels of social activity, which naturally change over time. Using their model, the team showed that a temporary state of collective immunity--which they termed "transient collective immunity"--emerged during the early, fast-paced stages of the epidemic.

However, subsequent "waves," or surges in the number of cases, are predicted to appear because of changing social behaviors due to pandemic fatigue or variations in imposed mitigations. Their results appeared online on April 8, 2021 in advance of publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The COVID-19 epidemic reached the United States in early 2020, rapidly spreading across several states by March. To mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, states issued stay-at-home orders, closed schools and businesses, and put in place mask mandates. In major cities like New York City and Chicago, the first wave ended in June.

In the winter, a second wave broke out in both cities; indeed subsequent waves of COVID-19 have emerged throughout the world. Epidemics frequently show this common pattern of an initial wave that ends, only to be followed unexpectedly by subsequent waves, but it has been challenging to develop a detailed and quantitative understanding of this generic phenomenon.

Mathematical models of epidemics were first developed almost 100 years ago, but necessarily cannot perfectly capture reality. One of their flaws is failing to account for the structure of person-to-person contact networks, which serve as channels for the spread of infectious diseases.

"Classical epidemiological models tend to ignore the fact that a population is heterogenous, or different, on multiple levels, including physiologically and socially," said lead author Alexei Tkachenko, a physicist in the Theory and Computation Group at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN), a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven Lab.

We don't all have the same susceptibility to infection because of factors such as age, preexisting health conditions, and genetics. Similarly, we don't have the same level of activity in our social lives. We differ in the number of close contacts we have and in how often we interact with them throughout different seasons. Population heterogeneity--these individual differences in biological and social susceptibility--is particularly important because it lowers the herd immunity threshold." Alexei Tkachenko, Study Lead Author and Physicist, Theory and Computation Group, Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)

Herd immunity is the percentage of the population who must achieve immunity in order for an epidemic to end. "Herd immunity is a controversial topic," said Sergei Maslov, a CFN user and professor and Bliss Faculty Scholar at UIUC, with faculty appointments in the Departments of Physics, Bioengineering, and at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

"Since early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been suggestions of reaching herd immunity quickly, thereby ending local transmission of the virus. However, our study shows that apparent collective immunity reached in this way will not last."

According to Nigel Goldenfeld, Swanlund Professor of Physics at UIUC, and leader of the Biocomplexity Group at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, the concept of herd immunity doesn't apply in practice to COVID-19.

"People's social activity waxes and wanes, especially due to lockdowns or other mitigations. So, a wave of the epidemic can seem to die away due to mitigation measures when the susceptible or more social groups collectively have been infected--something we termed transient collective immunity. But once these measures are relaxed and people's social networks are renewed, another wave can start, as we've seen with states and countries opening up too soon, thinking the worst was behind them."

Ahmed Elbanna, a Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Fellow and professor of civil and environmental engineering at UIUC, noted, transient collective immunity has profound implications for public policy. "Mitigation measures, such as mask wearing and avoiding large gatherings, should continue until the true herd immunity threshold is achieved through vaccination," said Elbanna. "We can't outsmart this virus by forcing our way to herd immunity through widespread infection because the number of infected people and number hospitalized who may die would be too high."

The nuts and bolts of predictive modelling

Over the past year, the Brookhaven-UIUC team has been carrying out various projects related to a broader COVID-19 modeling effort. Previously, they modeled how the epidemic would spread through Illinois and the UIUC campus, and how mitigation efforts would impact that spread.

However, they were dissatisfied with the existing mathematical frameworks that assumed heterogeneity remains constant over time. For example, if someone is not socially active today, it would be assumed that they won't be socially active tomorrow or in the weeks and months ahead. This assumption seemed unrealistic, and their work represents a first attempt to remedy this deficiency.

"Basic epidemiological models only have one characteristic time, called the generation interval or incubation period," said Tkachenko. "It refers to the time when you can infect another person after becoming infected yourself. For COVID-19, it's roughly five days. But that's only one timescale. There are other timescales over which people change their social behavior."

In this work, the team incorporated time variations in individual social activity into existing epidemiological models. Such models work by assigning each person a probability of how likely they are to become infected if exposed to the same environment (biological susceptibility) and how likely they are to infect others (social activity).

A complicated multidimensional model is needed to describe each group of people with different susceptibilities to disease. They compressed this model into only three equations, developing a single parameter to capture biological and social sources of heterogeneity.

"We call this parameter the immunity factor, which tells you how much the reproduction number drops as susceptible individuals are removed from the population," explained Maslov.

The reproduction number indicates how transmissible an infectious disease is. Specifically, the quantity refers to how many people one infected person will in turn infect.

In classical epidemiology, the reproduction number is proportionate to the fraction of susceptible individuals; if the pool of susceptible individuals drops by 10 percent, so will the reproduction number. The immunity factor describes a stronger reduction in the reproduction number as the pool of susceptible individuals is depleted.

To estimate the social contribution to the immunity factor, the team leveraged previous studies in which scientists actively monitored people's social behavior.

They also looked at actual epidemic dynamics, determining the immunity factor most consistent with data on COVID-19-related hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and daily deaths in NYC and Chicago. The team were also able to extend their calculations to all 50 U.S. states, using earlier analyses generated by scientists at Imperial College, London.

At the city and state level, the reproduction number was reduced to a larger extent in locations severely impacted by COVID-19. For example, when the susceptible number dropped by 10 percent during the early, fast-paced epidemic in NYC and Chicago, the reproduction number fell by 40 to 50 percent--corresponding to an estimated immunity factor of four to five.

"That's a fairly large immunity factor, but it's not representative of lasting herd immunity," said Tkachenko. "On a longer timescale, we estimate a much lower immunity factor of about two. The fact that a single wave stops doesn't mean you're safe. It can come back."

This temporary state of immunity arises because population heterogeneity is not permanent. In other words, people change their social behavior over time.

For instance, individuals who self-isolated during the first wave--staying home, not having visitors over, ordering groceries online--subsequently start relaxing their behaviors. Any increase in social activity means additional exposure risk. As shown in the figure, the outcome can be that there is a false impression that the epidemic is over, although there are more waves to come.

After calibrating the model using COVID-19 data from NYC and Chicago, the team forecast future spread in both cities based on the heterogeneity assumptions they had developed, focusing on social contributions.

"Generally, social contributions to heterogeneity have a stronger effect than biological contributions, which depend on the specific biological details of the disease and thus aren't as universal or robust," explained Tkachenko.

In follow-on work, the scientists are studying epidemic dynamics in more detail. For example, they are feeding statistics from "superspreader" events--gatherings where a single infected person causes a large outbreak among attendees--into the model. They are also applying their model to different regions across the country to explain overall epidemic dynamics from the end of lockdown to early March 2021.

"Our model can be seen as a universal patch that can be applied to conventional epidemiological models to easily account for heterogeneity," said Tkachenko. "Predicting future waves will require additional considerations, such as geographic variabilities, seasonal effects, the emergence of new strains, and vaccination levels."
A new wave of apps have democratized the concept of investing, bringing the ability to trade in stocks and currencies to a wider pool of users who can use these platforms to make incremental, or much larger, bets in the hopes of growing their money at a time when interest rates are low. In the latest development, Bux -- a startup from Amsterdam that lets people invest in shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without paying commissions (its pricing is based on flat 1 fees for certain services, no fees for others) -- has picked up some investment of its own, an $80 million round that it will be using to grow its business.

Alongside this, the company is announcing a new CEO. Founder Nick Bortot is stepping away and Yorick Naeff, an early employee of the company who had been the COO, is taking over. Bortot will remain a shareholder and involved with the company, which will be using the new investment to expand its geographical footprint and its tech platform and services to users, said Naeff in an interview.

"Since we started, Bux has been trying to make investments affordable and intuitive, and that will still be the case," he said.

The average age of a Bux customer is 30, so while affordable and intuitive are definitely priorities to capture younger users, it also means that if Bux can earn their loyalty and show positive returns, it has the potential to keep them for a long time to come.

The funding is coming from an interesting group of investors. Jointly led by Prosus Ventures and Tencent (in which Prosus, the tech division of Naspers, is a major investor), it also included ABN Amro Ventures, Citius, Optiver and Endeit Capital -- all new investors -- as well as previous backers HV Capital and Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures.

Naeff said in an interview that Bux isn't disclosing its valuation with this round. But for some context, he confirmed that the startup has around 500,000 customers across the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France and Belgium, using not just its main Bux Zero app, but also Bux Crypto and Bux X (a contracts for difference [CFDs] app).

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Crypto remains a niche but extremely active part of the wider investment market and Naeff described Bux Crypo -- formed out of Bux acquiring Blockport last year -- as "very profitable." The bigger Bux had only raised about $35 million before this round, and it's been around since 2014, so while he wouldn't comment on wider profitability, you can draw some conclusions from that.

For some further valuation context, another big player in trading in Europe, eToro, in March announced it was going public by way of a SPAC valuing it at $10 billion. (Note: eToro is significantly bigger, adding 5 million users last year alone.)

Others in the wider competitive landscape include Robinhood out of the U.S., which had plans but appeared to have stalled in its entry into Europe; Trade Republic out of Germany, which raised $67 million a year ago from the likes of Accel and Founders Fund; and Revolut, which has been running a trading app for some time.

The opportunity that Bux is targeting is a very simple one: Technology, and specifically innovations in banking and apps, have opened the door to making it significantly easier for the average consumer to engage in a new set of financial services.

At the same time, some of the more traditional ways of "growing" one's capital, by way of buying and selling property or opening savings accounts, are not as strong these days as they were in the past: The housing market is too expensive to enter for younger people (and some might argue moving more slowly right now anyway), and interest rates are very low, leading those consumers to considering other options open to them. Social media is also playing a major role here, opening up conversations around investing that have existed traditionally as closed loops between professionals in the industry.

Were looking for industries that solve big societal needs and fintech continues to be one of them," said Sandeep Bakshi, who heads up investments for Prosus Ventures in Europe, in an interview. "Interest rates being what they are, there are no opportunities for individuals to save and that represents a massive opportunity, and were happy to partner and be a part of the journey."

Although there is a wave of so-called neobrokers in the market today, Bux's unique selling point, Naeff said, is the company's tech stack.

In comparison to others providing trading apps, he said Bux is the first and only one of them to have built a full-stack system of its own.

"It's not on top of an existing broker, which makes it nimble and modular," he said. "This is especially critical because fintech is a game of scale, but every market is completely different when you consider tax, payment systems and the ID documents that one needs in order to fill KYC requirements."

And that is before you consider that doing business in Europe means doing business in a number of different languages.

"Our system is here to scale across Europe," he said. "The fact that we are live in five countries, and the only neobroker doing that, shows that this modular system is working."

Indeed, the scaling opportunity is one of the reasons China's tech giant Tencent, owner of WeChat and a vast gaming empire, has come on board.

We are excited about backing BUX as they are the leading neobroker in Europe and have been able to build a platform that is sustainable and scalable. BUX is the only neobroker in Europe that offers zero commission investing without being dependent on kickbacks or payments for order flow. This ensures that its interests are fully aligned with its customers. We will support BUX in its journey of pursuing consistent growth for the years to come, said Alex Leung, assistant GM at Tencent, Strategic Development, in a statement.
Guwahati, April 22 : Even as no extremist outfit claimed the abduction of ONGC's three technical staffers, a top Assam Police official on Thursday confirmed that kidnapping was the handiwork of the outlawed ULFA-I.

Special Director General of Police, Law and Order, G.P. Singh, who is camping at Lakuwa in Sivasagar district since Wednesday to supervise the operation to locate the hostages, said that the banned United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent extremists kidnapped the three employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Talking to the media, he said: "Investigation is going on. Around seven people have been detained in connection with the abduction and they are being questioned." The Assam Police, in coordination with the Nagaland Police, are continuing their search operation to trace the three ONGC employees who were abducted from Sivasagar early on Wednesday.

Police officials in Sivasagar said that the ULFA-I terrorists are likely to go to Myanmar with the captives via Mon district in northern Nagaland. The Assam Rifles, which is guarding the India-Myanmar border, has been asked to intensify their vigil along the forested borders.

The three kidnapped employees are Mohini Mohan Gogoi, a junior technician, production, from Sivasagar district, Alokesh Saikia, an assistant junior engineer, production, from Jorhat district and Ritul Saikia, also an assistant junior engineer, production, from Golaghat district.

An ONGC statement said that the abduction took place from a rig site of the company in Lakuwa field of Sivasagar, and the abducted employees were taken away in an ambulance vehicle belonging to ONGC. Later, the vehicle was found abandoned near the Nimonagarh jungles close to the Assam-Nagaland border.

Strongly condemning the abduction of the ONGC employees, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that he has asked Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua and DGP, Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta to take all possible measures for their release.

The outlawed ULFA-I, headed by self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, had recently released radio operator Ram Kumar, a resident of Bihar, and drilling superintendent Pranab Kumar Gogoi of Sivasagar district, over more than 100 days after the two employees of Delhi-based private oil and gas exploration company Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure Ltd were abducted from Arunachal Pradesh on December 21 last year.
RTHK: Prosecutors build case over Genoa bridge collapse

Almost three years after the deadly collapse of the Genoa bridge, Italian prosecutors on Thursday concluded their investigation with a series of damning findings expected to lead to criminal charges.

Giancarlo Cancelleri, infrastructure minister in Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government, expressed shock at some of the conclusions, notably the "total lack of maintenance of the bridge - no intervention for 51 years".

According to media reports, nothing had been done to reinforce the supporting cables on pier nine from the bridge's inauguration in 1967 to the day the pier collapsed on August 14, 2018, killing 43 people.

"We now hope for a swift and timely trial, because we have a commitment to the families of the victims," Cancelleri said.

The tragedy shone a spotlight on Italy's decaying roads, bridges and railways - and on the role of Autostrade per l'Italia, the motorway operator accused of a deadly failure to maintain the Genoa bridge.

Investigators have reportedly identified 69 individual suspects, including the former head of Autostrade's parent company Atlantia, Giovanni Castelluci, and officials from Spea, its subsidiary in charge of maintenance.

The prosecution file highlighted "incomplete" and "inadequate" inspections, according to reports, noting for example that the piers were inspected from below, using binoculars, rather than up close. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-22. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
This article was originally published by the Institute of Current World Affairs in D.C.

BEIRUT  It is a moment of triumph at Rafiq Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), a dilapidated building complex on the southern edge of the Lebanese capital and the countrys largest public hospital. Tents are arrayed to the left and right of the central courtyard, each one devoted to distributing the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Inside the tents, nurses rely on a pen and paper system to track the hundreds of mostly elderly patients who arrive to receive their shots. On the day I visited, the staff briskly registered new arrivals and ushered them to a nearby booth for their shots, completing the entire process in a matter of minutes.

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Over the past 18 months, Lebanese have watched their currency lose over 80 percent of its value, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history destroy the Beirut port and surrounding neighborhoods, and their governments failure to develop a plan to stop the economic bleeding. The official response to the pandemic has been similarly shambolic. The health minister attended a crowded lunch when his own regulations prohibited large gatherings, then promptly contracted COVID-19. Parliamentarians jumped the line to receive vaccinations from a World Bank-funded program; when a World Bank official criticized them, one MP mocked the officials name, purposely mispronouncing it as the Arabic word for rotisserie chicken.

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Aided by these failures of governance, the pandemic has run roughshod across the country. COVID-19 has infected nearly 500,000 people and killed more than 6,000, and over 10 percent of local tests are still coming back positive. Although the World Health Organization does not recommend reopening unless the test positivity rate is consistently below 5 percent, the country has mostly returned to normal life. Public health experts have recently seen glimmers of hope: The test positivity rate has dropped several points over the past month, cases among health care workers have declined to near-zero, and the number of daily deaths has fallen.

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But there is still a long road ahead. Lebanons vaccination rates remain paltry: Only 3 percent of people have received even one shot, and less than 20 percent of the population has even registered for the vaccination program. Vaccine hesitancy also remains a challenge. When I praised the lack of lines in RHUHs AstraZeneca tent to one of the nurses, she shrugged, saying many people had not shown up for their scheduled appointments. On some days this month, up to 30 percent of patients scheduled to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine missed appointments, with many citing health concerns as the reason for remaining unvaccinated.

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While RHUH long represented a microcosm of the states failures, it now offers a glimmer of hope. Five years ago, it was penniless and on the brink of closure, in the words of its manager, Dr. Firas Abiad. Today it is leading the COVID-19 response despite having far fewer resources at its disposal than its private peers.

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The hospitals reversal of fortune is due in no small part to Abiad, a soft-spoken surgeon who serves as chairman of the board at RHUH. In some ways, he functions as Lebanons version of Anthony Fauci: a medical professional who offers data-driven assessments of the course of the pandemic at a time when many government officials seem asleep at the wheel. This experience of trying to fix a public institution, this is going to be the path that will be required in all our institutions, he said. Because I think most of our public institutions are failing at the moment.

A partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was critical to Abiads efforts. The collaboration, which began in 2016, allowed the hospital to overhaul its infrastructure and administration. As a result, its budget deficit declined from roughly $15 million in 2014 to only $400,000 by 2019.

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But with the onset of the financial crisis in late 2019, RHUH was soon faced with an even more daunting challenge. Its revenue streams dried up, the Ministry of Public Health was unable to pay its staff, and the hospital started experiencing supply shortages because importers didnt have enough dollars to buy products from abroad. Doctors and nurses in hospitals across the country have not been provided with proper personal protective equipment, resulting in over 2,600 healthcare workers being infected with the virus.

Faced with these circumstances, the countrys medical professionals have increasingly fled the country. Doctors and nurses salaries have effectively been slashed by the financial crisis, leading over 1,000 doctors and a similar number of nurses to leave Lebanon for jobs abroad. One doctor at a prominent private hospital described how his colleagues with financial commitments abroad were the first to leave: With their salaries trapped in Lebanese banks, it has become impossible to support children in university or pay mortgages on property outside Lebanon. A third of his department will depart by the end of the summer, and many more are pursuing opportunities abroad.

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The departures are placing great burdens on those who decide to stay. The doctor said he has been on call virtually non-stop since last July. Meanwhile, the hospital has also laid off the secretaries who answer the phones, meaning that patients often try for weeks to reach him in order to make appointments. Everybody is angry about it, everybody is frustrated, everybody is tired, he said. And honestly, I dont know how long it is going to last.

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Abiad said that the Beirut port explosion demolished any hope many had that the situation would improve, and many had now finalized their plans to depart.

The financial offers they are getting [abroad], there is no way we can match it, he said. The only thing you can resort to is non-financial incentives: You can bet on their patriotism, or their sense of duty to family, society, community [keeping them in Lebanon].

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RHUH must also still care for the non-COVID patients streaming through its doors. As peoples savings evaporated, they increasingly turned to the public hospital for care. Private hospitals have increasingly turned away patients on state insurance or demanded large up-front payments, pushing the burden onto the underfunded public hospitals. And because of the pandemic, patients have often waited until their conditions grew severe before seeking treatment.

The board of directors resisted a government attempt to have it care exclusively for COVID-19 patients, instead opting to cut the hospital in half, in Abiads words, to care for both groups of patients.

RHUH is the hospital of last resort for many Lebanese, Abiad said. If we had turned into a complete COVID hospital, the damage that would have happened to those patients would probably be worse than what was happening with COVID.

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While Lebanons private hospitals have long been considered the best in the Middle East, its public hospitals have been systematically marginalized and underfunded. The Ministry of Public Health exists mainly as a mechanism to funnel money into the private hospitals coffers: 80 percent of its budget, the third-largest of all ministries, is devoted to reimbursing private institutions for care of those with state-backed insurance. A meager 2 percent of the ministrys budget, meanwhile, goes to public hospitals.

Despite this divergence of resources, RHUH was asked to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 response at the onset of the pandemic, when it was the sole hospital in Lebanon treating patients infected with the virus. Private hospitals, meanwhile, negotiated with the Ministry of Public Health for higher rates of reimbursement before agreeing to treat COVID-19 patients.

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I dont want to use a harsher word, so lets use this word: [The private hospitals] drove a hard bargain with the ministry, said Abiad. Once they reached a price they wanted, thats when they said OK. Now I have my own issues with bargaining in such dire times, but anyway, this is what happened.

Many Lebanese who would happily use harsher words to describe such behavior. The fact that Abiad chooses not to reflects his low-key public persona. His Twitter account has become the best source of information about the spread of the pandemic from a sitting public official: Every day, he offers detailed information about the progress in the vaccination campaign, the strain being placed on the countrys hospitals, and what the countrys citizens can do to stem the spread of the pandemic. But his criticisms of the government response to COVID-19 are couched in medical facts rather than the settling of political points.

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Abiad frames his use of Twitter as a way to combat widespread cynicism among Lebanese about their governments pandemic response. As the state absents itself from daily life, many simply ignore its regulations: The government proclaimed one of the worlds tightest lockdowns earlier this year, requiring citizens to register via an app for any excursion out of their homes. In reality, highways were often packed with cars as people simply ignored the regulations, and the government made little effort to enforce them. I really believe that patients have the right to have full information in a very transparent way, he said. And I felt that this was not happening.

The question of how to reform the countrys broken institutions remains even more daunting. While Abiad speaks in glowing terms about the international partnership that allowed RHUH to revive its operations, he says that it was successful because the ICRC established a regular presence in the hospital to collaborate on administrative and financial reform. It is no easy task to convince other public hospitalslet alone other public institutionsto agree to such partnerships. Abiad worries that gifts of money or equipment absent such oversight will backfire, comparing them to the international aid that has flowed to Lebanon for years, cementing the current status quo. And we all know where that got us.

Last week, Abiad tweeted an excerpt from Joseph Hellers novel Catch-22, the story of how an absurdist bureaucracyin this case the US militarytraps its victims in paradoxes that inexorably lead to disaster. In the passage he posted, a doctor, Doc Daneeka, explains to the protagonist, Yossarian, why he cant get out of flying bombing raids: He must be crazy to continue flying dangerous missions; but applying for excusal demonstrates ones sanity, and thus he must continue flying.

Abiad said that he submitted his resignation four times prior to the current crisis. And yet he, too, has not been able to escape his mission. Those who remain in Lebanon rarely express much hope that there is a way out of the countrys downward spiral, and yet somehow, they press on.

Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle, the quotation posted by Abiad concludes. Thats some catch, that Catch-22, he observed.

Its the best there is, Doc Daneeka agreed.
After his wife Linda died in 2016, Tom Jones feared he would never sing again. Despite his many reported infidelities, the couple stayed together for 59 years. Now, aged 81, Jones says he always brought her the best jokes home from tours. They loved to laugh together. Without Linda, Jones suspected that even his well-oiled songs would stick in his throat. But she told him he should continue singing, so he has.

Surrounded by Time is the fourth album Jones has made with Ethan Johns, the producer who resurrected the Welshmans career with a trio of rootsy Americana records. Beginning with 2010s bluesy Praise & Blame and ending with 2015s Long Lost Suitcase, Johns (known for his work with Laura Marling, Ryan Adams and Kings of Leon) helped Jones find a mature gravitas to balance his bombast. Now Johns has set Jones afloat on a murky sea of electronica. His barnacled baritone steers a steady course through Moog-soaked covers of favourite songs, with sombre lines about dark oceans, soulless days, and skirting a skeleton coast.

The album begins with a pared-back take on I Wont Crumble With You if You Fall, written in 1997 by civil rights activist Bernice Johnson Reagon. Her original speaks to the fatigue caused by political struggle. But Jones sings it as a supportive survival pledge, clearly delivered in memory of Linda. Ive never heard him sounds so vulnerable as when he tremulously promises: I will wake with you in the morning/ And Ill stand beside you as long as I can/ I will hold back the evening of your sun/ But I wont crumble with you if you fall.

From there, he launches into an existentially resigned take on the trippy The Windmills of Your Mind, which won the 1969 Oscar for Best Song when it featured in The Thomas Crown Affair. That was four years after the working-class lad from Wales scored his first No 1 single with Its Not Unusual (1965) and the same year that he breached the Top 10 with Love Me Tonight and Without Love (There is Nothing).

Joness thrill at scaling the charts is captured in a fantastic, staccato piano take on Cat Stevens 1970 song Pop Star. Stevens wrote the track out of contempt for the record execs who wanted him to hit the perky mainstream. But, as a guy who would have spent his life down a coal mine if weak lungs (really!) hadnt made him look elsewhere, Jones sings from the perspective of a man who still cant believe his luck: See me mama! His jubilant anti-snobbery and the jazzy arrangement are a delight in equal measure.

A bleaker success is Joness wise, rumbling, desert blues-backed version of Todd Sniders super-sharp Talking Reality Television Blues. I love Sniders dry acoustic version from 2019. Hes a modern Dylan, tracing the arc of popular culture through from when video killed the radio star, reality killed the video star and reality TV star Donald Trump killed reality with his alternative facts. I wasnt sure Id appreciate Jones take. But he growls such a conversational, experienced, Welsh truth into it that I suspect people who dont know Snider might think hed just freestyled those cleverly turned lyrics live at the mic. No mean feat.

It turns out some of the contempt spat into the lyrics of Hillbilly! is personal. Jones knew Trump from the 1980s when he used to come to my shows in Atlantic City He was going downhill fast, but then, of course, he got The Apprentice gig and that was what set him on his path to The White House, he explains in the press release for this album. Thats what reality television did. But of course, theres nothing real about it at all.

A long-time fan of Bob Dylan and Tony Joe White, Jones turns in moving versions of Dylans One More Cup of Coffee for the Road and Tony Joe Whites Ole Mother Earth. Johns has a blast chucking psychedelic sixties sitar at Malvina Reynolds Hole in My Head.

As a fan whos never been able to join in with lock-in singalongs of Jones 1968 hit Delilah (the whole woman-killing vibe just never grabbed me), Im not quite sure why Jones and Johns have decided to retell the biblical tale of Samson and Delilah here, with the chap yet again emerging victorious. But I love the closing track, a stone cool account of Terry Calliers Lazarus Man. It contains the obvious gag that Lazarus couldnt make a comeback without Jesus (Jones couldnt without Johns). But its also powerfully about the miracle of the life we have when our desire and ability to sing can seem impossible. Jones is an ongoing triumph of hope and experience.
Over the last week, San Antonio law enforcement agencies have been involved in four separate fatal shootings, two of them occurring on the same day. In at least three cases, officers were returning fire.

The most recent shootings happened within two hours of each other Tuesday, with the first occurring about 4 p.m. on a VIA bus and the second at a home on the South Side.

The latest incident started when a man, who has not been identified, drove up to a home in the 400 block of East Pyron Avenue. He walked into the backyard and shot a man who was in a shed, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

The victim, identified Wednesday as Bobby Borrego, 49, lived at the home.

McManus said a woman he identified only as Borregos wife then fired a couple of rounds at the shooter. Police have not said whether she hit the shooter.

A neighbor, Francisco Aguirre, was leaving his home when he heard the gunshots.

You shot him in the head! You shot him! Aguirre heard a woman shout as he and his father crept toward the home to investigate.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Aguirre said his mother called police.

The shooter stayed in the backyard, doing cryptic, strange things, McManus said. He said he wouldnt offer more information on what the man was doing because he didnt want to jeopardize the investigation.

The suspect was still in the backyard when five San Antonio Police Department officers arrived. McManus said the officers split up, with some approaching from the front of the house and the others from behind.

Aguirre saw the police drive up to the home. Moments later, he heard police shouting put the gun down, put the gun down!

As soon as they entered the backyard, the individual started shooting at them, the chief said.

The officers had returned fire, killing the shooter, the chief said. None of the officers was injured, police said.

During the flurry of gunfire, Aguirre and his father ducked behind cars outside their home as bullets ricocheted their direction. A neighbors truck was hit by three bullets, Aguirre said.

Borrego died in the shed, the chief said. Police dont have a motive for why he was shot.

At this time, theres still a lot of investigative work to be done, the chief said.

2 1 of 2 Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer Show More Show Less



All five of the officers, who have between one and 10 years of experience each, will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation, officials said. They have not been identified.

Two hours earlier, a VIA bus was on its regular route along San Pedro Avenue when VIA Metropolitan Transit police pulled it over at the West Olmos Drive intersection.

On ExpressNews.com: Man killed on bus after confronted by VIA police

The two officers were responding to a call for a man with a gun on the bus, VIA Police Chief Mark Witherell said. A VIA spokeswoman said Wednesday the bus operator had called for assistance.

Witherell said the transit officers got on the bus and encountered an armed man. What transpired next isnt known but at some point, one of the two officers fired two shots and the man was killed, Witherell said.

SAPD is investigating the shooting but hadnt released any new details as of Wednesday evening. Neither the officers nor the suspect have been identified.

Four days earlier, a traffic stop turned into a shootout on the West Side.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio police officer shoots and kills two men during traffic stop on West Side

Officer Tyler John Sauvage stopped a blue pickup just before noon Friday in the 2400 block of Pinn Road. After talking with three people in the truck, Sauvage requested backup via radio, according to the SAPD.

He then opened the drivers door, and Alex Anthony Garcia, 25, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, shot him, hitting him in the hand, according to reports. Sauvage returned fire, shooting Garcia and the driver, Sammie Joe Barbosa, 33, and grazing a 22-year-old female passenger, police said.

Garcia and Barbosa were pronounced dead at the scene.

Sauvage has been with the SAPD since January 2016, according to records. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment, officials said.

The woman also was treated at an area hospital.

On ExpressNews.com: Officer kills gunman outside San Antonio International Airport, averting a bloodbath, police say

The day before that shooting, Joe Gomez, 46, 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.

Armed with the gun and a box full of ammunition, Gomez 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.

Maines returned fire, hitting Gomez twice. Police initially said Gomez was killed by Maines, but the Bexar County Medical Examiners office said Gomez died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's Favorite Chef 2021 competition has successfully concluded and the winner is Semone Hopkins from Newport News, Virginia. Competing against more than 25,000 candidates from around the world, Semone works as a pastry chef, baker and cake decorator in addition to catering large-scale events with her specialty: four cheese silky macaroni and cheese. In November 2020, Hopkins received an Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts, graduating Summa Cum Laude from ECPI University. Her prize package includes a $50,000 cash prize and a two-page advertising spread in Bon Appetit, the food and entertaining magazine published since 1956.

The winner of Favorite Chef 2021.

"All my life people have doubted my dreams," Hopkins said. "With $50,000, I can further my passion of pursuing savory and sweet cuisine. Thank you to everyone who made me the Favorite Chef!"

Voting opened for Favorite Chef, an online voting competition for chefs and passionate cooks, in February 2021. Legendary Chef and TV personality Eddie Matney hosted the competition and guided chefs through each round of voting while offering insight and cooking inspiration along the way.

Not only does the Favorite Chef competition showcase talented chefs, but it also functions as a cause-based marketing campaign that aims to shine a light on food insecurity. A donation of $1,152,688.81 will benefit Feeding America, the nation's largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a nationwide network of food banks. Feeding America has worked tirelessly for more than 40 years to provide nourishing food to people who are facing food insecurity while actively working to end the cycle of poverty and hunger, and Favorite Chef is excited for the opportunity to raise awareness for their impactful organization.

"Through this campaign, you are helping to provide 11.5 MILLION MEALS* to our neighbors in need!* We are so grateful for the support of the Favorite Chef team and the voters who helped make this happen," said Michele Bart, Director of New Partnerships at Feeding America.

Contestants who didn't emerge victorious this year can stay tuned for details on Favorite Chef 2022 in the coming months.

1 *$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks.

Related Images

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Semone Hopkins

The winner of Favorite Chef 2021.

SOURCE Favorite Chef
SpaceX is aiming to launch its third crew to the International Space Station (ISS) just before the sun rises Friday, but unlike the previous missions, Crew-2 will be the first to use a recycled capsule and rocket.

The four astronauts, from three different global space agencies including the US, Japan and France, are scheduled to blast off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 5:49am ET.

The Falcon 9 rocket that flew Crew-1 will be used, along with the Crew Dragon Capsule that housed Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in May 2020 - a launch that brought spaceflight back to US soil.

What may be more exciting is Behnken's wife, Megan McArthur, will be seated in the same seat of the capsule that took her husband from Earth to the ISS.

Being assigned to the Endeavour was 'a neat surprise, and kind of a fun twist on the whole thing,' McArthur, who is also pointing the Crew Dragon Capsule, told Business Insider.

'I'm going to launch in the same seat. So that is kind of a fun thing that we can share, you know, I can tease him and say, 'Hey, Can you hand over the keys? I'm ready now to go.'

Scroll down for video

SpaceX is aiming to launch its third crew to the International Space Station (ISS) just before the sun rises Friday, but unlike the previous missions, Crew-2 will be the first to use a recycled capsule and rocket

Crew-2 was scheduled to blast off Thursday, but unfavorable weather along the Atlantic coast forced officials to delay it until the early Friday morning.

NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk told reporters: 'For crewed missions we need to look downrange to make sure weather's good for a potential launch escape, and for recovery of the crew.'

For a launch April 23, the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff of the Crew-2 mission based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria.

For the first time, Elon Musks company is launching astronauts with a previously flown capsule and rocket, just as it's done for station supply runs

The four astronauts, from three different global space agencies including the US, Japan and France, are scheduled to blast off at 5:49am ET. (left to right) Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, Megan McArthur of NASA, Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

The Crew Dragon Capsule set to shuttle the crew into orbit is the same used by Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley May 2020 - a launch that brought spaceflight back to US soil

This crew capsule launched with SpaceXs first crew last May, in what was dubbed 'Launch America.'

This was the first time in nine years that NASA astronauts launched in an American rocket to the ISS, as well as taking off from US soil.

Behnken and Hurley also blasted off during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic - so the mission brought some hope back to the US and maybe even the world.

This crew capsule launched with SpaceXs first crew last May, in what was dubbed 'Launch America.' Pictured is Robert Behnken (left) and Douglas Hurley (right)

Jim Bridenstine, who was the NASA Administrator at the time, said in a May press conference: 'Maybe theres an opportunity here for America to maybe pause and look up and see a bright, shining moment of hope at what the future looks like, that the United States of America can do extraordinary things even in difficult times.'

And the same capsule will again take astronauts to the ISS.

The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European.

It involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet, who is French.

The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European

SpaceX Crew 2 members, from left, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide gather at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on April 16

'This is the third launch in less than a year: Demo-2, Crew-1, and now Crew-2,' Jurczyk said during a pre-launch media briefing on Wednesday.

'I could not be more proud of the NASA and SpaceX teams.'

NASA's spacecraft commander Kimbrough and his crew will spend six months at the space station, replacing four astronauts who will return next Wednesday in their own SpaceX capsule, parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida.

However, during those six months Pesquet plans to dine like a king with a smorgasbord of treats that are unlike any space food before.

However, during those six months Pesquet plans to dine like a king with a smorgasbord of treats that are unlike any space food before. The French astronaut is brining along lobster, beef bourguignon, cod with black rice, potato cakes with wild mushrooms and almond tarts with caramelized pears

He and his crewmates will feast on dishes prepared by three separate French culinary institutions, but the meals are only for special occasions. Pictured are chefs preparing the meals for orbit

The French astronaut is brining along lobster, beef bourguignon, cod with black rice, potato cakes with wild mushrooms and almond tarts with caramelized pears, The New York Times reports.

'There's a lot of expectations when you send a Frenchman into space,' Pesquet said during a European Space Agency news conference last month. 'I'm a terrible cook myself, but it's OK if people are doing it for me.'

He and his crewmates will feast on dishes prepared by three separate French culinary institutions, but the meals are only for special occasions.
A NSW woman who now says she assisted her grazier partner to kill himself first told police she most certainly had nothing to do with his death.

Officers were questioning her about the 'suspicious circumstances' surrounding Mathew Dunbar's death.

One was a Google search made early on the day he died, questioning if the type of gas used would 'show up in an autopsy'.

The only thing Natasha Beth Darcy could think of is that 'he didn't want to get me in trouble,' she said in her police interview played to a NSW Supreme Court jury on Thursday.

Police were investigating 'suspicious circumstances' including a google search whereby Ms Darcy questioned what gas would 'show up in an autopsy,' on the day of her partner's death

'Why would he care?' A police officer responds, before asking if this was his concern, 'Why he wouldn't write a note or something to explain?'

'I keep asking myself the same thing, why didn't he write a note or anything, I have no idea,' Darcy said.

The 46-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering the 42-year-old sheep farmer on his property Pandora in the Northern Tablelands town of Walcha in the early hours of August 2, 2017. Her guilty plea to aiding or abetting suicide was rejected by the Crown.

Darcy said she phoned emergency services when she found him, before administering CPR saying she was hopeful because he felt warm.

But then she noticed the gas cylinder bottle and other paraphernalia.

Ms Darcy suggested that 'he didn't want to get me in trouble,' when questioned about the google search

'I suppose I'd realised... he'd tried to kill himself. I worked that out from an early point.'

Why she never noticed the heavy bottle being brought into the bedroom was questioned, along with its weight given Mr Dunbar had an infected leg and often needed crutches to walk.

Family members who were present also dispute her story that she did not cook dinner that evening.

The Crown argues Darcy sedated and gassed Mr Dunbar in a bid to inherit his $3.5 million property after his will was changed to include her.

In her interview with police Darcy said she had nothing to do with organising the gas cylinder bottle the couple picked up together.

The Crown denied Ms Darcy's requested to change her plea to aiding suicide

Police asked why then did the woman at the store tell them a female ordered it and said Matt Dunbar would be collecting it in his car for an event.

'That was not me,' she said.

In 2015 Mr Dunbar changed his will leaving all of the estate to Darcy, but she was only made aware of this a day before her interview with police, she says.

Once Darcy was told she was the main beneficiary she repeated 'I don't think that's correct,' adding she didn't want to be as people would 'say things they've been saying'.

Mr Dunbar died on August 2, 2017 at his property, Pandora located in Walcha, north western NSW

During their investigation of the bedroom detectives found anti-psychotic medication Darcy denies using but says a friend gave her to help sleep.

After they tell her the box was found ripped open she declines to give her friend's details.

'Do I have to give you her name? She's not a dealer or anything.'

Darcy maintains Mr Dunbar was afflicted by physical and mental health issues that deteriorated after the death of his friend, which also stirred up questions about his sexuality.

'Craig was openly gay but Matt tried to hide it,' she said.

'I would say we had a normal marriage-type relationship without the sex.'

When asked point blank if she had anything to do with her partner's death she repeats through tears, 'No' and 'most certainly not'.

The trial continues.
[April 22, 2021] CNote Celebrates Five-Year Anniversary, Thousands of Jobs Created in Underserved Communities

OAKLAND, Calif., April 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CNote, a women-led community investment platform with a mission of closing the wealth gap, today celebrates its fifth year in operation. CNote partners with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and mission-driven deposit institutions, which are high-impact local lenders dedicated to delivering financial resources to underserved communities. Dollars invested and deposited on the CNote platform are deployed with these frontline lenders to fund women- and BIPOC-owned small businesses, affordable housing development, and further racial justice and economic development across the United States. Investments on CNote's platform have created or maintained over 4,000 jobs. In the past 12 months, over 40% of newly deployed capital has gone to women-led businesses and over 50% to BIPOC borrowers. CNote catalogs the on-the-ground impact of its community investments with regular quantitative impact reporting and by profiling the small businesses, people, and organizations that are positively impacted. CNote's long-term commitment to racial and gender equity investing earned it the Best Women-Owned Business Award from the U.N. Women's Empowerment Principles and the firm has been recognized on the ImpactAssets 50 list showcasing top impact fund managers for two consecutive years. CNote is a Certified B Corporation, which means it meets rigorous social, environmental, governance, and communityperformance standards.



In 2016, CNote launched The Flagship Fund, the first 100% CDFI-focused investment vehicle available to all investors with no minimum. Since then, CNote has introduced two new products: The Wisdom Fund, an investment vehicle for accredited investors designed to increase capital access and lending for women of color; and the Promise Account, a federally insured cash management solution that gives corporations and institutional investors a simplified way to deliver on DEI commitments by depositing cash for competitive returns and positive social impact. After launching with a retail product, CNote has moved to serve foundations and other institutional investors and, most recently, to help corporations mobilize cash deposits and investments to improve their performance on ESG measures. In October of 2020, Mastercard expanded its relationship with CNote by committing $20 million to the Promise Account to fund underserved communities and help women- and BIPOC-owned businesses.

CNote CEO Catherine Berman said, "I'm proud of the team for what we've accomplished over these last five years but, given how challenging 2020 was for low-income people and communities of color, our mission of closing the wealth gap is more urgent than ever." Berman added, "We're most proud to say we're aligned with CDFIs, which have acted as economic first responders throughout the pandemic. They are critical to getting investor capital authentically aligned behind community development that leads to lasting change. We look forward to supporting the CDFI industry and underserved communities for many years to come." About CNote

CNote is a women-led impact investment platform that uses technology to unlock diversified and proven community investments to generate economic mobility and increase financial inclusion. Every dollar invested on CNote's platform funds small businesses owned by women and people of color, affordable housing, and economic development in financially underserved communities across America. With the mission of closing the wealth gap, CNote's customizable products allow anyone to generate social and economic returns by investing in the causes and communities they care about. Media Contact:

Thinkshift Communications

Christine O'Connor | christine@thinkshiftcom.com | 203.927.1753 Related Images

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CNote - Five-Year Anniversary Logo

CNote logo comprised of the borrowers and communities CNote has served since inception. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cnote-celebrates-five-year-anniversary-thousands-of-jobs-created-in-underserved-communities-301275205.html SOURCE CNote

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STORY: Andorra Summit Speeches - Spain announces donation of COVID vaccines

LENGTH: 02:06

FIRST RUN: 2106

RESTRICTIONS:

TYPE: Spanish/Natsound

SOURCE: SEGIB

STORY NUMBER: 4322077

DATELINE: 21 April 2021 - Andorra la Vella/Havana/Buenos Aires

SHOTLIST:

++ON-SCREEN GRAPHICS FROM SOURCE++

SEGIB

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - 21 April 2021

1. Various of summit

2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Pedro Sanchez, Spanish Prime Minister:

"The government of Spain is deeply committed to the region in the fight against the pandemic. Access to the vaccines should be equal and universal. This is why in June, Spain adopted a plan of solidarity vaccines. In this sense, I would like to make an announcement. The government of Spain is going to make available to Latin America and the Caribbean between 5% and 10% of the total number of COVID vaccines that we will receive as a country in 2021. We estimate that this will be 7.5 million doses before the end of the year."

3. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on screen

SEGIB

Havana, Cuba - 21 April 2021

4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban President:

"From finding the first cases of COVID-19 in the country, we have five candidates for vaccines. Two of these, Soberana 02 and Adala, are in phase 3 clinical trials. We hope to have the entire Cuban population vaccinated by 2021 with our own vaccines."

SEGIB

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - 21 April 2021

5. Various of summit, person taking photos

SEGIB

Buenos Aires, Argentina - 21 April 2021

6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alberto Fernandez, Argentinian President:

"The universial distribution of vaccines has a decisive role in the post-pandemic operation. The COVAX intiative  although valuable  is clearly insufficient and should be strengthened to beat the difficulties that we have experienced: developing countries and those with middle and low GDP. The improvement in the structures of a world health program should come from a reform of the system of preparation and readiness for emergencies of the World Health Organization."

SEGIB

Andorra la Vella, Andorra - 21 April 2021

7. Plenary session applauding

STORYLINE:

Spain will donate 5-10% of its coronavirus vaccines to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Wednesday.

This is expected to amount to 7.5 million doses, Sanchez told representatives of 22 countries from across Latin America and Europes Iberian Peninsula at the Iberoamerican Summit in Andorra.

Latin America has suffered from the pandemic in a disproportionate way: its 640 million inhabitants are about 8% of the worlds population, but the region accounts for nearly 30% of confirmed global COVID-19 deaths.

In a departure from previous absences from the summit by Cuban officials, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who has been recently appointed First Secretary of Cuba's Communist Party, delivered a speech at the main plenary.

Diaz-Canel said that five vaccines were being developed in his country, of which two were in late-stage clinical trials.

"We hope to have the entire Cuban population vaccinated by 2021 with our own vaccines," he said.

The summit was due to be held last year but was delayed in the hope of gathering the heads of state and government of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries in person.

But a recent surge in virus infections across the world has resulted in most leaders participating via video conference.

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Renault said the chip troubles for the industry could disrupt production all through the summer

Carmakers Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Hyundai and Volvo have all warned that production will be affected in coming months by a global shortage of computer chips.

JLR said it is pressing pause on production at two UK plants because of a shortage of microchips, which is stemming from a worldwide shortage of semiconductors that has been dragging on the car industry since late last year.

The UKs largest automotive producer told reporters on Thursday that production will be curtailed at its factories at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside for the whole of next week and possibly longer.

Meanwhile in Sweden, Volvo released improved first-quarter profits but confirmed that delays in truck production will occur during the second quarter due to the semiconductor shortage.

Chief Executive Martin Lundstedt said the supply chains remained unstable.

We can therefore not rule out further disruptions in both the truck business and other parts of the group, he said.

The pandemic has had an effect on the supply of computer chips, and this has been exacerbated recently by a fire a factory in Japan and storms in Texas.

Elsewhere in the automotive industry, Hyundai Motor (OTCMKTS:HYMTF) and Renault SA also both warned that disruption in the supply of chips is likely to hit future production.

While reporting a near tripling in first-quarter profit compared to last year, the South Korean carmaker said its assembly lines were halted three times due to supply-related issues in the past month.

But while Hyundai was not as badly affected as some rivals, as it had built up a healthy inventory of chips and prioritised them for its most popular models, the global shortage is catching up with the company.

The problem of semiconductor parts is a little more prolonged than we expected," said executive vice president Seo Gang-hyun, adding that the situation is rapidly changing [and] it's difficult to predict production status after May.

Analysts calculate the chip hiccups so far this year have led to around Hyundai producing 12,000 fewer vehicles.

Renault, which also announced results on Thursday, reckons the chip troubles for the industry are currently at their peak, but warned disruption could continue for months over the summer.

Last week it was reported that several of the French groups car factories will be partly idled for another six months because of the silicon shortage.

Analysts and industry figures say that car companies have been hit harder than other industries that rely on chips.

The automotive industry doesnt count for much in the semiconductors industry, complained a source at one car manufacturer to the Guardian.

Because of carmakers just-in-time model of manufacturing, the pandemic saw the industry rush to cancel orders in the first quarter last year.

Then the likes of Apple, Samsung and the rest of the electronics industry, which have enjoyed an acceleration in demand and not escaped supply tribulations either, bagged most of the extra chips and even when the car makers chip suppliers offered to ramp supply back up for an anticipated rebound in demand in 2021, the automotive industry demurred and so ended up at the back of the queue.

In a way it was a good day for chip maker to announce plans for a 3.2bn London IPO.

The British-Canadian company, however, is not likely to help the auto industry, as its chips are mainly to help drive data through phone networks and data centres.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting time for the chip sector many reasons, said analysts at AJ Bell, with global chip sales rising 5% to a new high of US$430bn in 2020 despite the pandemic and with further growth and increased silicon content per unit in key end markets like autos, mobile devices and data servers expected to fuel global sales growth of around 8% in 2021.

Silicon chips  or semiconductors - are everywhere we look, from our mobile devices, to our computers, cars, washing machines and fridges and new developments within the industry, as chips get physically smaller even as they offer more processing power, will play a vital role in the advancement of 5G mobile technology, artificial intelligence, electric and autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), data networking and cloud storage," the analysts said.

This could all hope to stoke interest in the Alphawave IP flotation, especially as the UK market still lacks the exposure to fast-growing industries that many investors crave.
A woman receives a coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca at a hospital in Gangseo District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



The government is being asked to speed up state compensation for people who suffer side effects from COVID-19 vaccination in order to ensure that payment for medical treatment does not become a burden for those suffering from them.



Under the current compensation system, it may take several months for the health authorities to review any causal link between the vaccine and side effects, during which affected people must receive medical treatment at their own expense.



If the health authorities recognize a causal link between the vaccine and the side effects, the government will cover all medical expenses needed for treatment. In the case of death due to vaccination, 430 million won ($388,000) will be provided in compensation and 300,000 won for funeral expenses.









A 45-year-old nursing assistant who was inoculated with her first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine on March 12 is currently hospitalized after suffering paralysis in her arms and legs. She was diagnosed with acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis (ADEM), an immune response-related reaction.



The nursing assistant's husband posted a public petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website Wednesday urging better compensation procedures and government support.



"Doctors say her condition requires six months to one year of treatment, and she may be left with permanent disabilities. In addition to such concerns, we have to pay 4 million won ($3,580) per week for medical care," he wrote, adding that a local public health center told him to apply for compensation after treatment is completed, and the review could take as long as 120 days.





People wait to receive coronavirus vaccinations at a hospital in Gangseo District, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Queensland holidaymakers who hoped to hit the tropics or live it up in Brisbane could find their dollars stretch further, as the Premier announced a travel voucher giveaway to boost the states tourism.

Through the Holiday Dollars program, 36,000 travel vouchers valued at $100 and $200 will be on offer from April 27 to 30.

Queenslanders are being urged to spend their holidays in greater Brisbane or north Queensland to help boost tourism. Credit:Tertius Pickard

Travellers could receive 50 per cent off at selected accommodation or tourism experiences with the vouchers.

The promotion includes Brisbane, the Whitsundays and Cairns.
New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) A vast majority of COVID-19 recovery funds disbursed in developing countries, including India, have gone to big corporations instead of being directed towards welfare, small firms or those working in the informal economy, according to a report.

India's fiscal response to the pandemic has been "undoubtedly insufficient", the report by the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC) and partners said.

It analysed data from nine countries -- Kenya, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

The FTC is a group that brings together civil society and governments around the world with an aim to stem illicit financial flows that are costing developing countries nearly a trillion US dollars each year.

"The vast majority of COVID-19 recovery funds have gone to big corporations instead of (going) towards welfare, small firms, or those working in the informal economy," the report said.

Among the countries surveyed, Guatemala was the only one that spent more bailout money on social protections than on other categories, totalling 54 per cent. It was followed by India (38 per cent), South Africa (32 per cent), and Honduras (23 per cent, it said.

The percentage of total pandemic expenditures towards big corporate stimulus is 21 per cent (USD 24.65 billion), informal private sector is 3 per cent (USD 3.63 billion), social protection is 38 per cent (USD 43.76 billion) and SMEs is 37 per cent (USD 43.01 billion), the report stated.

It said the total corporate stimulus is likely to be even larger as these numbers do not include expected revenue shortfalls from tax cuts, especially in Bangladesh and India, or the cost of tax amnesty programmes, as in Bangladesh and Honduras.

Matti Kohonen, director of the FTC said, "By the end of 2021, 150 million people are expected to fall into extreme poverty due to the pandemic. But in most countries the main bailout funds are going to big corporations, while those most impacted by this crisis in the Global South - the poor, informal workers, and smaller businesses - are being left out." "This threatens to further widen the gap between rich and poor, and increase countries' mounting debt, all while undermining countries' healthcare and social protection systems," he said.

"Although India's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. number of cases and deaths; efficacy of its lockdown) has been mixed, its fiscal response has been undoubtedly insufficient. The lockdown policies revealed age-old inequalities, especially the sheer number of urban informal workers having to return to their villages as their economic livelihoods were negatively affected," the report said.

Even in the most generous estimate of India's social protection measures during the COVID-19 pandemic (about 2.2 per cent of GDP), it is dwarfed by below-the-line measures, implying measures that are not transparently budgeted (5.2 per cent of GDP) and designed to provide liquidity as well as support to businesses, it said. PTI UZM DIV DIV

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
NEW HAVEN  The 9-year-old grabbed a microphone Thursday and demanded an end to police killings of Black and brown people.

Having shut down a part of Whalley Avenue near Edgewood Park, and with support from school staff, about a dozen young students spoke out against police violence and in favor of the sanctity of Black lives.

She was one of about 40 students in the fourth through sixth grades of Elm City Montessori holding signs and calling for an end to Black deaths at the hands of police officers.

Kids are scared people are going to judge them just because they are Black, she said tearfully. Theyre killing Black and brown people. Im brown and my whole family is brown.

Alanda Canty, a fifth grader, read an acrostic poem attributing positive adjectives with each of the letters of Black Lives Matter.

People are out here dying and its really sad, she said. Weve got to show up for justice.

As some students spoke, they stood beside a friend to offer moral support for their nerves. Others began to cry after finishing brief remarks, running into the arms of a nearby school staff member.

Blacks and whites stand together, cried one boy, his voice shrill from emotion.

Amelia Allen-Sherwood, the anti-bias and anti-racism director for the school, said the purpose behind allowing young people to lead a protest was to demonstrate to them they have incredible and immense power.

Allen-Sherwood said she was not surprised to see the amount of sorrow and rage expressed by some students. She said shed hoped the school could create a venue for students to express the emotions they feel about national and local events.

On Tuesday, a jury found former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty on multiple charges in the death of George Floyd, a Black man. The moment, which attracted national attention, provided a sense of relief to many who feel as though the justice system has overlooked the issue of extrajudicial police killings for so long.

Weeks prior to that, a Chicago police officer fatally shot Adam Toledo, 13.

David Weinreb, the schools magnet resource teacher, said he does not believe the emotions felt by the Montessori students are unique in the city.

The fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students in every public school have strong reactions to what is happening in the city, he said.

Weinreb said its the responsibility of adults to elevate those students voices.

Black people have been scared for a long time, said fourth-grader Angaliez Colon.

Following the event, fourth-grader Alison Maloney said she felt the event was powerful. She said it was her first time speaking at a public protest.

It makes me really sad this is happening to Black and brown people, she said.

Before the students walked back to their school, Black Lives Matter New Haven co-founder Ala Ochumare contextualized for them what they had done.

You all are some powerful, amazing young people, she said. I already know what youre capable of.

Ochumare said she feels motivated to continue advocating for the Black Lives Matter cause in anticipation of todays youth to take over.

Remember, these are your streets, she said.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2021) - Battery Mineral Resources Corp. (TSXV: BMR) ("Battery" or "BMR" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully defined a cobalt mineral resource of over 1 million pounds for the McAra Cobalt deposit.

The McAra Cobalt mineral resource is located 150 km northeast of Sudbury, Ontario and is the first new cobalt dominant mineral resource delineated in the region in the past 50 years. The resource is hosted in the Cobalt Embayment (see Figure 1). The Cobalt Embayment hosts over 70 cobalt-silver deposits that collectively produced 525 million ounces of silver and 50 million pounds of cobalt from high grade five element (Ag-Co-Ni-Bi-As) veins in the Cobalt, Gowganda and Elk Lake Mining Camps.

After acquiring the property in February 2017, BMR launched a multi-faceted exploration program that included geophysical surveys, geochemical sampling and a series of diamond drill programs (56 holes totaling 10,486 m) to define a NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource of 1,124,000lbs Co-Eq that includes 1,102,000 pounds of cobalt and & 11,260 ounces of silver (See Table 1, Figures 2 & 3 and Photo 1).

Table 1: Mineral Resource Statement*, McAra Project SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.

Category Quantity

(000' t) Grade

Metal Cobalt

Percent

(%) Silver

grams /tonne

(g/t) Co-Eq*

Percent

(%)

Cobalt

Pounds

(lbs) Silver

Ounces

(oz) Co-Eq*

Pounds

(lbs) Measured and Indicated** 34 1.47 10.28 1.50

1,102,000 11,260 1,124,000 Inferred 5 1.94 10.84 1.96

214,000 1,650 216,000

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. All composites have been capped where appropriate.

**Underground mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.75% Co-Eq. Cut-off grades are based on a price of US$16 per lb of cobalt, US$17 per oz silver, and assumed recoveries of 100% for underground resources.

*Cobalt Equivalency cut-off grade and equivalency formula are defined Co-Eq (%) = Co% + Cu% x 0.175 + Ag g/t x 0.002

Metal CoEq Price US$/lb Recovery Unit Value Cobalt 1 US$16.00/lb 100.00% $352.74/% Silver 0.002 US$17.00/oz 100.00% US$0.54/g Copper 0.175 US$2.80/lb 100.00% $61.73/%

Battery CEO Martin Kostuik states: "We are excited that this historic discovery at McAra has become a primary cobalt mineral resource. It is the first of its kind in region, for this highly strategic metal, in almost 50 years. It is not surprising given that it is located in Ontario's prolific Cobalt Embayment between the past producing mining camps at Cobalt and Gowganda. The one-million-plus pound cobalt mineral resource outlined by BMR drilling is part of a regionally extensive and highly prospective land package of nearly 120,000 hectares, that may host additional high-grade deposits as our ongoing exploration program progresses. This could become a part of a series of feed sources for a potential cobalt ore processing facility in the region."







Figure 1: Cobalt Embayment Geology, BMR Claim Holdings and McAra Resource Location Plan

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_002full.jpg

Exceptionally high-grade cobalt was intercepted during the McAra mineral resource definition and exploration drilling as tabulated in Table 2.

Table 2: Cobalt Assays above 1% from the McAra deposit and associated silver values

Hole

Number From (metres) To

(metres) Sample Interval

(metres) Cobalt (Co)

Percent (%) Silver (Ag)

Grams per Tonne (g/t) MCD19047 152.26 153.20 0.94 13.20 32.30 MCD19043 94.90 95.87 0.97 12.50 109.00 MCD17005 68.50 69.00 0.50 12.40 559.00 MCD17009 101.30 102.00 0.70 9.83 21.00 MCD18028 163.40 164.00 0.60 5.97 33.2 MCD19046 58.34 59.00 0.66 4.63 12.70 MCD17018 59.00 60.00 1.00 3.83 5.98 MCD17004 42.85 43.60 0.75 3.42 4.93 MCD18030 127.70 128.30 0.60 3.40 4.25 MCD17002 145.30 146.30 1.00 3.03 11.35 MCD17012 100.40 101.00 0.60 2.58 19.65 MCD17001 67.80 68.30 0.50 2.54 3.06 MCD19044 103.50 103.63 0.13 2.01 37.00







Photo 1: Sample of Cobaltite Rich Sulphide Vein Breccia from McAra Surface Outcrop

To view an enhanced version of Photo 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_003full.jpg







Figure 2: McAra Mineral Resource Plan View Showing Informing Drilling - SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (2021)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_004full.jpg







Figure 3: McAra Mineral Resource Longitudinal Section Along the Section A-B Showing Informing Drilling - SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (2021)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_005full.jpg

Background

Between 2016 - 2018 BMR acquired a large portfolio of cobalt-silver properties in Ontario and Quebec through a series of direct purchases, options, joint ventures and/or staked claims. The current exploration portfolio comprises a total of 6,327 Ontario claims (for 118,890 hectares) and 31 Quebec claims (for 1,813 hectares). The BMR assets also include 9 leases (for 658 hectares). The total area occupied by all BMR assets in Ontario is 119,548 hectares 1,195 square kilometres) and 1,813 hectares (18.1 square kilometres) in Quebec.

The majority of BMR 's land holdings are situated west of the historic silver-cobalt mining town of Cobalt and north of Sudbury. This area, known as the Cobalt Embayment, is the historic home of silver-cobalt exploration and mining in Canada. Much of the Exploration and development that occurred in the last century primarily focused on silver with bi-product cobalt. The region hosts multiple high-grade cobalt and silver targets. Conceptually, the Company is looking to delineate a number of resources as a "hub & spoke" type development around a centralized processing plant at Gowganda or Elk Lake.

The McAra Project comprises 1,232 mining claims and 1 mining lease covering 25,187 hectares (252km2) in a single block situated in the townships of Dufferin, Leckie, Leith, Leonard, North Williams and Ray.







Figure 4: BMR's land position in the Cobalt Embayment

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_006full.jpg

Mineral Resource Estimation

The following summary of the McAra mineral resource estimation procedure is extracted from the NI 43-101 "Technical report on Cobalt Exploration Assets in Canada" dated as of May 26, 2020 with an effective date of March 31, 2020, prepared by SRK Consulting ("SRK").

The mineral resource evaluation methodology involved the following procedures:

Database compilation and verification.

Construction of wireframe models for the boundaries of the cobalt, silver, and copper mineralization.

Definition of resource domains.

Data conditioning (compositing and capping) for geostatistical analysis and variography.

Block modelling and grade interpolation.

Resource classification and validation.

Assessment of "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" and selection of appropriate cut-off grades.

Preparation of the Mineral Resource Statement.

Mineral Resource Database

BMR provided a drillhole database to SRK as Excel format files on August 27, 2019, following a site visit by Dr. Lebrun, PGeo and Ms. Protulipac, PGeo from August 26 to 29, 2019, which formed the basis for this mineral resource evaluation. The drilling database was comprised of 128 drillholes, of which 72 were drilled by Wallbridge (WM series) and Liberty Mines (EDS series). A total of 56 Holes were drilled by BMR. For a summary of the available drillholes see Table 3. The effective date of the drilling database was May 1, 2019, representing core from the drilling completed in February 2019.

Table 3: Drilling Database for McAra Project

Operator Diamond Drill Core Years Number of Holes Total Metres Number of Assays Historic 1971-1996 39 5,207 935 Wallbridge Mining 1997-2001 15 2,647 658 Liberty Mines 2003-2004 18 1,580 164 BMR 2017-2019 56 10,486 8,592 Total - 128 19,920 10,349

For the BMR drillholes all final collar locations were surveyed with a Trimble differential GPS instrument using UTM coordinates and BMR completed downhole surveys at intervals of 30 metres using the Easy Gyro system. Historic holes have surveys completed every 50 metres on average. Five 2019 BMR drillholes were cored and logged using orientation tools to provide oriented structural measurements. Core recovery was above 95% in the holes logged by BMR.

SRK considered the implication of including the historic drill holes in the estimation. It was found that holes drilled by BMR through the prospect had excellent spatial coverage through the area of interest, and that there was no evidence of bias introduced by including the historic holes in the estimate. The distribution of BMR and historic holes is displayed in Figure 5.

Based on SRK's review of the available data and site visit completed in August 2019, SRK believes that the drilling, logging, core handling, storage, and analytical quality control protocols used by BMR meet industry best practices outlined in CIM Exploration Best Practices (November 2018). As a result, SRK considers that the exploration data collected by BMR are of sufficient quality to support mineral resource evaluation.







Figure 5: Distribution of Drillholes over the McAra Project Showing Modeled Mineralization Wireframes.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6076/81318_0e8c26ad8448086e_007full.jpg

McAra Resources QAQC

SRK analyzed the analytical quality control data produced by BMR for 2017 to 2019 drilling programs for the McAra deposit. All data were provided to SRK in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets accompanied by original pdf lab certificates. SRK aggregated the assay results of the external analytical control samples for further analysis. Control samples (blanks and certified reference materials) were summarized on time series plots to highlight their performance. Paired data for preparation duplicate assays were analyzed using bias charts, quantile-quantile, and relative precision plots.

BMR used a total of 5 certified standard reference material types with a variable range of expected values for the cobalt and VMS mineralization. Overall, the performance of these materials is acceptable with most failures attributed to the mislabelling of standards, and ranging from 0% to 7%, typically below 4%. The custom-made OREAS high-grade cobalt standard exhibited a failure rate of 89% and a consistent low bias throughout the entirety of its use and should be further investigated and potentially replaced. Continued diligence in monitoring quality control data is strongly encouraged.

Paired field duplicate samples performed generally well. Rank half absolute relative difference (HARD) plots suggested that 88.2% of the duplicate assays conducted on core, had HARD below 10%, suggesting good homogeneity of cobalt within core duplicates. Samples grading over 100 ppm cobalt typically exhibited slightly higher grades in the original samples when compared to duplicate samples, suggesting a possible selective bias at the core sampling stage. BMR is encouraged to continue promoting non-biased sampling procedures.

Overall, SRK considers analytical results from core sampling conducted at McAra are globally sufficiently reliable for the purpose of resource estimation. The data examined by SRK do not present other obvious evidence of analytical bias.

Quality Control

Sample preparation, analysis and security procedures applied on the BMR exploration projects is aligned with industry best practice. BMR has implemented protocols and procedures to insure high quality collection and management of samples resulting in reliable exploration assay data. BMR has implemented formal analytical quality control monitoring for all of its field sampling and drilling programs by inserting blanks and certified reference materials into every sample sequence dispatched.

Sample preparation was performed by ALS Minerals Laboratories (ALS) in Sudbury, Ontario and sample analyses by ALS in North Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS analytical facilities are commercial laboratories and are independent from BMR. All BMR samples were bagged by BMR staff and delivered Upon receipt at the ALS Laboratory in Sudbury, samples were logged in a sophisticated laboratory information management system (LIMS) for sample tracking, scheduling, quality control, and electronic reporting. Samples were dried in special drying ovens prior to crushing. The samples were crushed to 70% < -2 mm and a riffle split of 250 grams was then pulverized to 85% of the material achieving a size of <75 microns. These prepared samples were then shipped to the ALS Laboratory in North Vancouver for analyses by the following methods:

ME-MS61: A high precision, multi-acid digest including Hydrofluoric, Nitric, Perchloric and Hydrochloric acids. Analysed by ICP (inductively coupled plasma) mass spectrometry that produced results for 48 elements.

ME-OG62: Aqua-Regia digest: Analysed by ICP- AES (Atomic Emission Spectrometry) or sometimes called optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for high levels of Co, Cu, Ni and Ag.

Ag-GRA21: Silver by fire assay and gravimetric finish; 30-gram charge. Weight. Used when samples contain > 1500 ppm silver.

Au-AA25: Gold was analysed by a 30-gram fire assay method, followed by AAS (atomic absorption spectroscopy).

Note that 48 element ICP trace element data was also collected and reported by the laboratory. Certified international standards were inserted into sample batches by ALS. Blanks and duplicates are inserted within each analytical run. The blank is inserted at the beginning, internationally certified standards are inserted at random intervals, and duplicates are analysed at the end of the batch.

Qualified Persons

P. J. Doyle, FAusIMM (#208850), Battery Mineral Resources Corp. - Vice President Exploration - Canada, supervised the preparation of and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release pertaining to the Canada Exploration Program. Information about data verification procedures used to support scientific and technical information on the Company's Canadian properties presented herein, as well as with respect to the results of, processing and interpretation of exploration data.

Scientific and technical information pertaining to the McAra Resource Estimate was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., under the supervision of G Cole PGeo (APGO#1416).

Technical reports filed by the Company under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com: "Technical Report on Cobalt Exploration Assets in Canada" dated as of May 26, 2020 with an effective date of March 31, 2020, prepared by SRK Consulting - G Cole PGeo (APGO#1416).

About Battery Mineral Resources Corp.

Battery is a multi-commodity resource company. Battery is engaged in the discovery, acquisition, and development of battery metals (cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel & copper), in North America and South Korea. Battery is the largest mineral claim holder in the historic Gowganda Cobalt-Silver Camp, Canada, with various high-grade primary cobalt silver-nickel-copper targets located in the Cobalt Belt of Ontario and Quebec. In addition, Battery owns approximately 89.2% of ESI Energy Services, Inc., a pipeline equipment rental and sales company with operations in Leduc, Alberta and Phoenix, Arizona. Finally, Battery is currently pursuing a concurrent financing and acquisition to acquire the Punitaqui Mining Complex, a copper-gold mine located in the Coquimbo region of Chile.

For further information, please contact Battery Mineral Resources Corp.:

Martin Kostuik

Phone: +1 (604) 229 3830

Email: mkostuik@bmrcorp.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements related to the completion of Punitaqui Acquisition, the acquisition of the Xiana Indebtedness or the Offering, the use of the proceeds of the Offering, the potential benefits of such transactions and the likelihood of developing the Punitaqui Mine Complex into a sustainable mid-sized copper producer. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of the Company on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to complete the Punitaqui Acquisition, obtaining all required regulatory approvals necessary to complete the Punitaqui Acquisition and the acquisition of Xiana Indebtedness, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, government regulation and fluctuating metal prices. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Battery undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/81318
Travel stop company Loves has opened its 17th truck stop location in Alabama, according to a press release.

The new truck stop, located at 8400 County Farm Road in Irvington, adds 90 jobs and 109 truck parking spaces to the area. The location opened their doors on April 15.

Were excited to open our 17th location in Alabama and add another stop for customers on the Gulf Coast, Greg Love, co-CEO of Loves, said in the release.

The Irvington location is open 24/7 and includes various amenities including:

92 car parking spaces

Eight RV parking spaces

Seven showers

Laundry facilities

A dog park

In addition to those amenities, the location also has a Bojangles, which opened on April 19, and will have Speedco truck care services opening in the future.

Were always looking to grow in areas to meet customers needs, and Mobile, Alabama, came highly requested from professional drivers, the company said in a post on their LinkedIn page.

According to the release, the company also donated $2,000 to the Foundation of the Mobile County Sheriffs Office to celebrate their grand opening.

The Irvington location is the third one on the Gulf Coast. The company also has a location in Prichard, as well as one in Loxley.

Loves Travel Stops & Country Stores has over 550 locations across the United States.
3 1 of 3 GUILLERMO ARIAS /AFP /Getty Images Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy of Viva Aerobus Show More Show Less 3 of 3





If you have your eyes set on a relaxing post-vaccine vacation to Mexico anytime soon, you'll have to stick to airline travel.

Restrictions on non-essential land movement between the U.S. and Mexico border have been extended yet again as the pandemic continues, despite a larger vaccinated population.
A passenger from Air India flight 187 from New Delhi arrives at Pearson Airport in Toronto on April 21, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn)

Canada to Suspend Flights From India, Pakistan for 30 Days

OTTAWAThe federal government is suspending incoming passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next month as cases of COVID-19 surge in both countries.

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says because there are so many people arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan with COVID-19, all commercial and private passenger flights from both countries will be prohibited as of midnight.

He says cargo flights will still be allowed, particularly to ensure shipments of vaccines and personal protective equipment can continue.

Shipments of vaccine to Canada, however, are suspended by India likely until at least June, as the country battles its biggest surge of COVID-19 yet.

More than 300,000 people were diagnosed in India today, its highest single-day total to date.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says half of the people who are testing positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Canada on an airplane came from India, even though Indian flights accounted for only one-fifth of air traffic.

She says passengers coming from Pakistan are also testing positive at higher rates than average.

Alghabra says there are no flights coming in from Brazil at the moment but Canada wont hesitate to ban further commercial flights if the data supports it.

At least 32 flights from Delhi and two from Pakistan have landed in Canada in the last two weeks carrying dozens of passengers who later tested positive for COVID-19.
Three men have been charged over the kidnapping of a nephew of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim in Ryde late last year.

Michael Haddad, 21, the son of convicted drug dealer Marwan Haddad and Mr Ibrahims sister Fifi, was violently abducted on October 24 last year by a group of men who bundled him into a white Toyota Hiace van in the underground car park of an apartment complex.

Detectives last month released CCTV vision of a 2016 white HiAce van that entered an underground car park just before John Ibrahims nephew Michael Haddad was violently abducted. Credit:Police Media

The kidnappers then allegedly demanded a ransom of millions of dollars from Marwan Haddad. Michael Haddad was found with minor injuries in East Hills three days after he was abducted.

Detectives from NSW Police state crime commands robbery and serious crime squad launched an investigation, making three public appeals for information.
Eligibility expansion of the states private school voucher program could add some 12,000 students, or about one-third, to a projected total of 48,000 students over the next two years, according to a legislative report. The programs cost could grow by about 50% to $264 million a year. Income eligibility for a family of four goes from the current roughly $96,000 a year to about $145,000 starting this fall. It also would allow all those students to receive the full voucher amount, rather than the current tiered system that limits full vouchers to such families with incomes of about $48,000.
Head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office Andriy Yermak met with the ambassadors of the G7 countries to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine, renewal of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and other important reforms, the presidents press service reports.

"I hope that we will be able to find a way to effectively monitor the ceasefire violation with the support of the OSCE SMM. The Ukrainian side also suggested that the TCGs security working group unconditionally convene in the event of casualties as a result of shelling in Donbas. We believe that there should be a stricter responsibility for sniper attacks," Yermak said.

The head of the President's Office noted that the process of mutual release of detainees has been blocked.

Yermak also informed that Ukraine, like the entire international community, is demanding and awaiting the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's borders, and that diplomatic pressure from the G7 is important for this.

In addition, during the meeting, the head of the Presidents Office noted that Volodymyr Zelensky and his team are determined to restart the Constitutional Court. To this end, on April 20, President Zelensky signed a decree on establishing a competition commission for the selection of candidates for judges of the Constitutional Court under the President's quota. In this regard, Andriy Yermak called on the G7 ambassadors to nominate constitutional law experts from their countries who could take part in the work of this commission.

iy
An Australian engineer and businessman has been detained in Iraq for 15 days with no explanation, and no contact allowed with his distraught wife and three children.

Robert Pether, from Sydney's north shore, was arrested on April 7 when he arrived at a scheduled meeting with his client, the Central Bank of Iraq, in Baghdad.

Unable to get any help or information from Iraqi authorities, Mr Pether's wife, Desree, turned to the Australian embassy for assistance, but that has also been fruitless.

'They have no idea how to help him,' she said.

'They just keep repeating that they can't discuss the case with me without consent from my husband. There is no support for me at all.'

The father-of-three has been working on rebuilding projects across war-torn parts of the Middle East for the past 10 years and regularly travels between Iraq, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain as part of his job.

His wife and three children, aged 17, 15 and eight, are based in Ireland and often travel to be with Mr Pether at his job sites.

Robert Pether, from Sydney's north shore, was arrested on April 7 for questioning after arriving at a scheduled meeting with his client. Pictured with his two sons

But three weeks ago, while working on site in Dubai, Mr Pether and his manager were contacted by the Central Bank of Iraq, which demanded they return immediately for a meeting to resolve a dispute about a new building project in Baghdad.

'There was never actually a meeting scheduled with any officials or any resolution,' Ms Pether told Daily Mail Australia.

'When they arrived, they were immediately taken into custody.' It is believed both men are now in solitary confinement.

Ms Pether and her two eldest children knew something was amiss immediately.

During his 10 years of travelling in the region for work, Mr Pether had a pattern of calling his wife and children several times a day, and would have been expected to make a call after the meeting.

After several days without contact, Ms Pether was finally able to talk with her husband's employer, who informed her that Mr Pether and his associate had both been detained.

After 10 years of travelling for work, the family have a system which works for their family. Mr Pether normally calls his wife (pictured together on their wedding day) and children several times a day while working overseas

The company assured Ms Pether it had hired a well-respected Iraqi lawyer to take the case, and initially that gave her some reassurance.

'We've been relying on due process 100 per cent... believing they would be released immediately with an apology, but that is looking less promising,' Ms Pether said.

Fifteen days since his arrest, Ms Pether still has not been able to speak to her husband.

She broke the news to her two sons as soon as she realised he was in trouble.

Her eldest is in the midst of completing his final school exams in Ireland and now has the added stress of worrying about his father.

But Ms Pether couldn't bring herself to tell their eight-year-old daughter right away.

Ms Pether couldn't bring herself to tell their eight-year-old daughter (pictured together) right away

'I waited a few days,' Ms Pether said.

'I just kept telling her the phones were down in Iraq... she kept asking why daddy hadn't called.'

After four days, she realised she had to tell her.

'She knew something was wrong because we normally speak to him several times a day.

Pictured: Mr Pether

'I was hiding in rooms crying on the phone constantly.'

It was another few days after the call to his employer before Ms Pether heard anything further about her husband's location or condition.

She claims he has no access to his laptop or phone, and has had no communication with the outside world.

She contacted the Australian embassy and Department of Foreign Affairs to plead for help, but claims she does not have the authorisation under the privacy act to liaise with them on her husband's behalf.

Mr Pether's birthday is on Thursday, and Ms Pether is devastated that he is spending it behind bars.

The 47-year-old secured an engineering job in Dubai in 2011, and has helped to rebuild areas of the Middle East decimated by war.

His most recent project with the Central Bank of Iraq has been going for four years, and Ms Pether claims he'd been 'so excited and committed to rebuilding the country'.

Ms Pether said he's been communicating with locals about the need for more banks and discussing future projects, including a hospital. Pictured: Mr Pether with his daughter on an international trip in 2013

Several of his past public social media posts show his support for the nation and its people.

Ms Pether said he had been communicating with locals about the need for more banks and discussing future projects, including a hospital.

Prior to his arrest and the conflict between his employer and the Central Bank of Iraq, Mr Pether had been 'commended by the client (Central Bank of Iraq) on how well the project had been running' while he was head engineer.

'He has never ever felt unsafe working in the Middle East in 10 years. Not even in Iraq,' Ms Pether said.

'The country is focusing on rebuilding and eagerly inviting specialised labour, contractors and investors... all while claiming that Iraq is a safe place to work.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs for comment.
A phenomenon of "photoexpansion" in hard plastic films with a high glass transition temperature in the dry state was established, which was essentially different from very soft actuators, such as elastomers or gels. The photoexpanding hard actuators were expected to apply in the wide fields because they do not contain vaporable matters such as solvents and were much more thermoresistant than conventional ones.

Ishikawa, April 22, 2021 - Polymers that exhibit their functions by light have been studied for a few decades because they enable device miniaturization, energy saving, and precise signal control. Polymers based on azobenzene, diarylethene, etc. are the pioneers, and many examples of light-driven motors and artificial muscles have been reported. On the other hand, cinnamic acid, which is a constituent of lignin in natural wood, also exhibit the function by ultraviolet (UV) rays, so that it has been applied to polymers. The deformation mechanism of these cinnamate-based polymers has not been clarified because the two reactions of double bond cis-trans isomerization and [2+2] cycloaddition occur almost simultaneously. Since the mechanism has not been clarified, its use as a photodeformable material has not received as much attention as the above-mentioned azobenzene and diarylethene.

To tackle these issues, a team of researchers from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) are investigating photobending mechanism of bio-based polycinnamete films. Their latest study, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, was led by Professor Tatsuo Kaneko and Assistant Professor Kenji Takada also involved Professor Hideyuki Murata, Associate Professor Kosuke Okeyoshi, and Research Assistant Professor Amit Kumar.

In this study, polyesters were synthesized based on coumarates in which hydroxyl groups were substituted in the aromatics of cinnamate. Among them, those showing photodeformability were poly(3-hydroxycinnamic acid) (P3HCA) and poly(3,4-dihydroxycinnamic acid) (PdHCA). Although both films had a cinnamate unit, P3HCA showed convex deformation with respect to an UV source, and PdHCA showed concave deformation, respectively. These differences were analyzed by various spectral analyzes. First, when the fluorescence lifetime was measured, it was found that there are two excited states in P3HCA. Next, by time-resolved infrared (IR) spectroscopic measurement, the absorption of the double bond of the cinnamate unit was traced from the change in the IR spectrum during UV irradiation. In case of P3HCA, it was confirmed that the absorption of cis-formed -CH=CH- bond was increased by increasing the UV irradiation time. On the other hand, in PdHCA, no change in the absorption of cis-formed -CH=CH- was confirmed. To prove these photoexpansions, an experiment was conducted in which a P3HCA film was covered with a photomask and UV rays were irradiated from above. When the free-standing film was irradiated with UV through a photomask, the non-irradiated surface also showed a deformation. Therefore, when an irradiation experiment was conducted with the P3HCA film coated on the glass substrate, there was no deformation of the surface, opposite side, not irradiated with UV, and no deformation of the part covered with the photomask was observed. From the above results, it was found that P3HCA exhibits convex deformation by "expanding" with respect to UV owing to cis isomerization.

There is no other example that is bio-based and can control the deformation with respect to UV light. In addition, by elucidating the deformation mechanism of polycinnamates through this research, precise control of photodeformability based on a dense polymer design can be expected. The fact that the photodeformability differs depending on the "shape" of the molecule, as Prof. Kaneko explains: "even though they are the same constituents, deformation behaviors were different. These results strongly support the correlation between the structure and physical properties of the cinnamate-based polymers, and this study become the good perspective of the bio-based and photoresponsive polymers." In addition, they consider, it can be expected to greatly contribute to the development of new materials based on the molecular design.

Further progress in bio-based polycinnamate as photodeformable materials will hopefully get us closer to more precisely controllable actuator and a sustainable society.

###

Reference

Title of original paper: "Photoexpansion of Biobased Polyesters: Mechanism Analysis by Time-Resolved Measurements of an Amorphous Polycinnamate Hard Film"

Journal: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (ACS Publications)

DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c22922

About Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Founded in 1990 in Ishikawa prefecture, the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) was the first independent national graduate school in Japan. Now, after 30 years of steady progress, JAIST has become one of Japan's top-ranking universities. JAIST counts with multiple satellite campuses and strives to foster capable leaders with a state-of-the-art education system where diversity is key; about 40% of its alumni are international students. The university has a unique style of graduate education based on a carefully designed coursework-oriented curriculum to ensure that its students have a solid foundation on which to carry out cutting-edge research. JAIST also works closely both with local and overseas communities by promoting industry-academia collaborative research.

About Professor Tatsuo Kaneko and Assistant Professor Kenji Takada from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Tatsuo Kaneko received a B.S. in Tokyo Tech in 1993, and a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the same university in 1998. One year before received Ph.D., he joined the faculty as an Assis Prof at Hokkaido Univ, and then moved to Kagoshima Univ and Osaka Univ. After that, he joined JAIST and promoted to Full Professor in 2016. He also joined UCLA as a Visiting Assoc Prof under the acceptance of Prof. Timothy Deming in 2012. Current research interests include soft matters, polyelectrolytes, and bioplastics, for which he has received awards from Chemical Society of Japan and from several foundations. International prizes such as "Best presentation" at the 251st ACS National Meeting, "Distinguished Award" at the 12th IUPAC NMS-XII, and "Gottfried Wagener prize" The 9th German Innovation Award have also been given.

Kenji Takada received his B.S in Hokkaido University in 2011, and a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the same university in 2015. He was subsequently appointed as a researcher and post doctor as JSPS research fellow for young scientists DC1 and PD. In 2021, he joined to JAIST as an Assistant Professor. His research interests are living anionic or radical polymerization of vinyl monomers. He is also studying about biomolecules-based plastics, high-performance polymers, and photo-functionalized materials.

Funding information

This study was supported by the JST-ALCA Program (grant umber JPMJAL1010).
This editorial appears in the April 23, 2021 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this editorial]

EDITORIAL

Urgent Call To Stop

Genocide in Syria and Yemen

The Moral Collapse of the Western System

Cries Out for a New Paradigm

April 15The Schiller Institute is circulating an urgent response from its founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche to Apostolic Nuncio to Syria Cardinal Mario Zenari, who has alerted the world to the acute humanitarian emergency that has been deliberately imposed upon Syria, in the aftermath of nine years of war, through murderous sanctions measures imposed by the U.S. State Department and irresponsibly supported by a number of other governments, most emphatically the British. Action to end the so-called Caesar Sanctions imposed upon Syria will not only help halt the mass starvation and poverty now engulfing that nation, but will also benefit the rest of humanity. It is time to pursue, as the Cardinal states, a pathway of Peace through Development, and to reject outright the moral indifference which increasingly threatens to unleash this scale of calamity throughout the planet.

In her weekly Schiller Institute webcast discussion on April 14, Zepp-LaRouche demanded that the world come to the aid of the Syrian people. As Cardinal Zenari has stated, more than 90% of Syrians are below the level of extreme poverty, and many are in danger of losing their lives due to famine. The last decade of war, the unjust sanctions, and the COVID-19 pandemic have created an absolutely intolerable condition of suffering for the Syrian people.

Similar horrors confront Yemen, where the agonizing reality of hunger is conveyed in the powerful documentary, Hunger Ward, referred to by the head of the World Food Program, David Beasley, who saw children dying before his very eyes in the hospital, and was unable to help.

There is nothing humanitarian in starving children and shutting down hospitals and medical care, based on fraudulent narratives cooked up by British and American regime-change advocates, in and out of government. Zepp-LaRouche stated:

This must stop and the Caesar Sanctions must be lifted. And all the members of the U.S. Congress who do not lift these sanctions make themselves complicit in every death that occurs in the region.

Zepp-LaRouche continued:

This has reached the point where either the world wakes up and we start to remedy this, or we will not survive, because of our own moral failure as a human species. I call on you: Work with the Schiller Institute. Work with its Committee on the Coincidence of Opposites, which is working to get aid programs and reconstruction. I appeal to you: Get in contact with the Schiller Institute and respond to the call by Cardinal Zenari.
Highlights Government may soon introduce new crypto law.

New law to provide investors with exit mode.

Government may look at past crypto transactions.

The Indian government may soon come with a law which is likely to ban all cryptocurrencies, may look into past transactions but, will provide investors with a window to exit from their holdings. According to a new report by The Indian Express, which cites a government official, the possibility of providing a three to six month window has been discussed in inter- ministerial discussions. However, a final draft of the bill is yet to be taken by the Cabinet.

The new law, if imposed, plans to ban all digital currencies in the country including Bitcoin. The investors will only be allowed to trade in digital currency being mooted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Even though the proposed law will restrict future transactions, the government may also seek details of holdings and transactions done in the past, the official added.

Around 7 million Indian investors are believed to hold crypto assets worth over $1 billion. However, no official data has confirmed this. The industry in the past, has asked for reimbursements, if the government decides to go ahead with the ban. While that seems unlikely, the investors will get a window to let go off their assets.

The Indian government has maintained a strong stance against cryptocurrencies and had proposed The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, ahead of Budget 2021. The bill was supposed to lay down the regulatory framework for all transactions in cryptocurrency. However, it has put on hold for further discussion and a committee was formed to provide suggestions.

The official said that the expert panel has submitted its report, which was followed by "inter-ministerial discussions, meetings held by the Cabinet secretary and submissions by various concerned people on the matter to the government." All of this will be taken into account before finalising the law. No timeline for the same has been decided.

The recent development is line with last month's Reuters report which said that a new crypto bill will not only ban digital money but will also fine anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets. The bill was claimed to have provisions to criminalise possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring crypto-assets, a senior government official had said.

That report also talked about a six-month window for investors to liquidate their assets before a penalty is levied on them.

This was followed by a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notification which made it mandatory for all companies in the country to disclose their dealings in virtual currency in their balance sheets. As per the directives, the companies will have to disclose profit or loss on transactions involving cryptocurrency or virtual currency and the amount of holding. They will also have to share details of deposits or advances from any person for the purpose of trading or investing in cryptocurrency or virtual currency.

On the other hand, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had hinted that there will not be a complete ban on cryptocurrency and the government will only look to regulate it. Speaking at the India Today Conclave South on in March, the finance minister said that the government is not shutting all windows for cryptocurrencies, or blockchain, and fintech as yet. She said that a Cabinet note was being readied in this regard, which will give exhaustive information on the formulation of cryptocurrency in India.

"My view on this is that, of course, the Supreme Court has commented on cryptocurrency and while the RBI may take a call on official cryptocurrency, from our side, we are very clear that we are not shutting off all options," said FM Sitharaman.

Meanwhile, RBI is motivated to introduce its own digital currency under a regulatory framework.

"Central bank digital currency is a work in progress. The RBI team is working on it, technology side and procedural side how it will be launched and rolled out," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had said recently.
The dole capitals of Australia have been revealed as having unemployment rates double the national average despite a national spike in job vacancies.

Australia's jobless rate fell to 5.6 per cent in March, the lowest since the start of the pandemic a year ago and job vacancies are at the highest level in 12 years.

But in some outer suburbs and satellite cities, unemployment is double that with poorer areas a 40-minute drive from Sydney and Brisbane struggling the most.

These areas having a higher concentration of hospitality businesses and were more dependent on immigration for economic activity before the pandemic.

Sydney's outer south-west covering Cabramatta and Liverpool has a jobless rate of 11.2 per cent, highlighting higher levels of labour market woes following the end of JobKeeper wage subsidies.

The dole capitals of Australia have been revealed as a rapid Covid recovery brings down unemployment. Sydney's outer south-west (Cabramatta pictured) has a jobless rate of 11.2 per cent - double the national average of 5.6 per cent

Australia's highest and lowest unemployment Highest SYDNEY SOUTH-WEST: 11.2 per cent IPSWICH, QUEENSLAND: 10.1 per cent LOGAN-BEAUDESERT, QUEENSLAND: 9.9 per cent SOUTH AUSTRALIA OUTBACK: 9.2 per cent BLACKTOWN, WESTERN SYDNEY: 9.1 per cent Lowest RIVERINA: 0.8 per cent CENTRAL WEST NSW: 1.5 per cent RYDE, NORTHERN SYDNEY: 1.7 per cent CENTRAL QUEENSLAND: 1.8 per cent TOOWOOMBA: 1.9 per cent Source: A CommSec analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics unemployment data for March 2021 Advertisement

Ipswich, a satellite city south-west of Brisbane, also had a double digit jobless rate, with 10.1 per cent out of work.

Nearby Logan and Beaudesert south of Brisbane had a 9.9 per cent jobless rate, a level even worse than Blacktown in western Sydney's 9.1 per cent.

Conversely, regional New South Wales and Queensland had some of Australia's lowest unemployment, despite the aftermath of Covid, bushfires and floods devastating rural areas.

The Riverina area of southern NSW, covering Wagga Wagga, had Australia's lowest unemployment rate of just 0.8 per cent.

The neighbouring Central West region, taking in Orange and the university town of Bathurst, had just 1.5 per cent of the working-age population actively looking for employment.

Central Queensland and Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, had jobless rates below 2 per cent, while Ryde in Sydney's north was the only metropolitan area with a similarly low level of unemployment.

CommSec, which analysed the Australian Bureau of Statistics data, is still expecting the national jobless rate to fall from 5.6 per cent last month to 5 per cent by December as a result of skills shortages.

Despite the Covid shutdowns and the slow vaccine rollout, employment in the year to March increased in 46 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics's 87 sub regions.

Nonetheless, CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said Australia's border closure was particularly hurting outer suburban areas which had been more dependent on immigration for economic activity.

Ipswich, a satellite city south-west of Brisbane, also had a double digit jobless rate, with 10.1 per cent unable to find work

'Australia's labour market recovery has been astonishing, but uneven across regions and industries,' he said.

'Parts of the country still have high unemployment with the closure of international borders excluding New Zealand, mini-lockdowns and the impact of natural disasters weighing on job creation a year on from the national lockdown.'

But with the JobKeeper wage subsidy ending on March 28, Mr Felsman said 110,000 jobs were likely to be lost in coming months as the hospitality and tourism industries were still devastated by the lingering effect of lockdowns and border closure.

'We still have the uncertainty around JobKeeper,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

The Riverina area of southern NSW, covering Wagga Wagga (pictured), had Australia's lowest unemployment rate of just 0.8 per cent

'There's an expectation that in some sectors, particularly hospitality, there will be some loss of jobs.'

The National Skills Commission, a federal government agency, found there was almost a doubling in the number of vacancies advertised in the past year; a 96.4 per cent increase in the year to the end of March.

A year on from the Covid shutdowns began, 238,700 jobs needed to be filled, the highest number since October 2008 during the height of the Global Financial Crisis.

In one year, the number of jobs need to be filled rose by 117,200.
COLUMBIA  Defenders of Santee Cooper scored a victory April 22 when state senators voted to reform, but not sell, South Carolinas embattled power and water utility.

Senators' 44-1 vote on the compromise capped a three-day floor debate that centered on who should lead Santee Cooper as it moves on from its $4 billion nuclear blunder and how to make the state agency more accountable to utility watchdogs and its customers.

They ultimately agreed to replace Santee Coopers entire 12-member board, three at a time annually, starting in 2022, with one potential exception. The measure allows a reappointment only to directors who came aboard after Jan. 1, 2018  six months after the utility bailed on its jointly owned nuclear power project. One board member fits that description: Charles Leaird of Sumter.

Setting that date had nothing to do with protecting anyone, but rather to toss, over time, anyone involved in the decisions contributing to the failure, said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.

"I do think its real reform," Massey said. "Having said that, I still think Santee Cooper is a dumpster fire. Im still very concerned about the culture at Santee Cooper and think it could fall apart at anytime. However, we have provided sufficient accountability and oversight to prevent that as best we can."

Senators approved giving customers more of a say on decisions that affect their electric rates, in part by subjecting Santee Cooper to similar reviews and oversight that for-profit electric utilities get. And they voted to slam the door shut on Santee Cooper's recent practice of handing out lucrative severance packages to departing executives.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Luke Rankin, one of the utility's chief defenders, said the compromise brings transparency to state-owned Santee Cooper that's more in line with an investor-owned utility.

Rankin said the oversight changes "bring confidence back to Santee Cooper both of it and in it."

But unlike the Houses proposal for Santee Coopers future, the Senates reform plan did not include the option of selling the agency to offload its nuclear debts. Senators overwhelmingly rejected Wednesday even exploring a sale, voting 36-8 against Massey's proposal setting up a potential process.

Taking that off the table is why Sen. Tom Corbin, R-Travelers Rest, cast the lone "no" vote on the compromise.

The Senate passed its bill just days after NextEra Energy, a Florida-based power company that has eyed a Santee Cooper takeover for years, told lawmakers it was willing to submit an improved offer for the utility.

But the bill's passage isn't an end to the debate over Santee Coopers future, one that started in July 2017 when the utility suddenly pulled out of a decadelong effort to expand the V.C. Summer nuclear power plant in Fairfield County.

It does, however, advance the debate to negotiations between leaders of the House and Senate, who now must hammer out a compromise over the differences in their proposals or face the prospect of ending another year without addressing Santee Coopers role in the V.C. Summer debacle.

In 2018, the V.C. Summer ventures abrupt collapse led legislators to slash the nuclear-bloated electric rates of Santee Coopers majority partner on the project, Cayce-based South Carolina Electric & Gas. That utility was then purchased by Virginia-based Dominion Energy in a deal that left SCE&Gs former ratepayers on the hook to pay some $2.3 billion more for the project  or $1,600 per household  over the next 20 years.

But lawmakers still havent addressed Santee Coopers half of the fiasco.

For years, they have explored two options: Selling the agency to offload its debts or reforming it so it wont repeat its costly mistakes.

Doing nothing is not an option, top lawmakers have said.

Efforts to sell the agency so far havent stuck, blocked by Santee Cooper's defenders in the Senate and thwarted by analyses that show a for-profit utility would only raise rates in the long run.

So much of the debate has focused on how to fix the agency without thwarting its ability to borrow money cheaply and provide power at low rates.

The Senates reform plan includes a host of changes, including:

Term limits and greater qualifications for Santee Coopers 12 board members, as well as reducing their terms to four years, down from seven, to allow for more regular review

Replacing all board members with any connection to the fiasco over four years

More oversight of Santee Cooper by state utility watchdogs like the Office of Regulatory Staff and Public Service Commission

Requiring approval from state lawmakers before Santee Cooper can give severance packages to departing executives. (Lawmakers were furious to learn that former CEO Lonnie Carter, who retired just after the V.C. Summer project collapsed, is receiving about $800,000 a year in retirement benefits).

Requiring any new bonding or refinancing of debt to go before a legislative panel for review. If the panel fails to act within 60 days, the bonding would be approved by default.

More opportunities for customers to complain in public hearings about proposed rate hikes before Santee Coopers board votes on them.

One sticking point in the debate this week was what should happen with the agencys current board.

Some advocated wiping out the whole board at once.

But "that sends shock waves across credit-rating agencies" that would harm the utility's credit rating, Rankin said.

So senators opted to rotate members off in a way that "accomplishes a transition" while keeping institutional knowledge on the board, he said.

But Gov. Henry McMaster, who's advocated a sale for years, indicated he could veto the Senate's version, should it reach his desk.

"The governor believes that any bill reforming Santee Cooper must include considering whether a sale is the best option for every South Carolinian," said his spokesman Brian Symmes. "Without giving the ratepayers and taxpayers the whole picture, it's not real reform. It's preserving the status quo."